Hong Kong: Indonesian helper policy discussed

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said any policy changes concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong must be discussed between the Indonesian government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Mr Sun made the statement this morning while speaking to the media and explained that he met Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong Slamet Noegroho yesterday to discuss the issue of placement fees for the employment of Indonesian domestic helpers.

The labour chief said: The key message we got back from yesterday's meeting between the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong and myself is that any policy change concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers to work in Hong Kong must be conducted on the basis of a government-to-government meeting.

Mr Sun stressed that in order to maintain cordial, mutually beneficial and close co-operation between Hong Kong and Indonesia, no change should be made by Indonesia to arrangements for the placement of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong that would increase the burden on Hong Kong employers or undermine employment opportunities for such helpers.

He added that any discussion between Hong Kong and Indonesia about such policy changes must be based on mutual trust and respect.

I also made it very clear to the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong that whatever changes are being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers, they should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should they affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Saying the new Netflix spy thriller Heart of Stone is nothing special doesnt fully capture its nothing-specialness. This isnt second screen stuff, designed to have on in the background while you dink around on your phone or duck downstairs to throw in a dryer sheet. No, this is more like third-screen material; Heart of Stone works like a dutiful, beaten-down undercover agent, on deep background, while you watch something else on your laptop, while also phone-googling Gal Gadot and better movies.

Heart of Stone concerns a globe-trotting race for control of the worlds most powerful artificial intelligence (shades of Mission: Impossible 7 and a hundred other movies), powered by a quantum computer that really knows its stuff. Gadot stars as Rachel Stone, a relative newbie on the MI6 British intelligence team. Ten minutes into the opening Italian Alps melee, where the good-guy ops pursue a sinister arms dealer, we learn Stone works on the sly for the global spy network known as The Charter. The Charters ace in the hole is the Heart, the AI thingie so advanced it can predict the future. The movie merely suggests this; itd be too much effort to exploit that angle.

Screenwriters Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder ask the question: Can the Charter retain control of the Heart? Or will it fall into the nefarious hands of the all-pro hacker played by the most interesting cast member, Alia Bhatt, lately seen in the delirious RRR? Shes in league with some world-domination weasels, and the chief weasel constitutes a spoiler. OK, Ill play along this once.

Every line in director Tom Harpers digital-effects jankfest sounds like it was written for the trailer. I cant believe it. Europes most wanted arms dealer seen for the first time in three years, one of Stones associates mutters, helpfully, since we need to know that information. It makes you pine for the relatively realistic and cinematic payoffs in the latest Mission: Impossible.

In Lisbon, after car chases and motorcycle chases and the dispatching of various hostiles, theres a wait, what? plot twist, all the more strange because Heart of Stone wont shut up about how the Heart is literally all-knowing and all-seeing. Yet when the plot twist arrives, Stone has a line (paraphrasing here) Yeah, didnt see that coming, and then her wise and weary boss (Sophie Okonedo, who helps) adds: No, neither did the Heart. What, what? Is the Heart all-powerful but extremely lazy?

Gal Gadot in a scene from "Heart of Stone." (Robert Viglasky/AP)

Wherever the locale, the interior sequences favor dim, low-contrast digital photography that adds to the general bleh. To become a true screen action hero outside the Wonder Woman realm, Gadot needs better material than this, and only when she gets to square off with Bhatts increasingly conflicted superhacker does Heart of Stone suggest a human pulse.

Theres a lot of killing and casual brutality in Heart of Stone. Staring down her most driven adversary in the fourth or fifth climax, Stone scolds the villain for being all about threats and violence and a tendency to brutalize everyone around you. Hey, just like the movie! And then Heart of Stone, which depends entirely on the threat of AI for its scenario, has the hypocritical gall to include a line about how the Heart is an amazing tool, and isnt AI a wonder, but in the end you cant always listen to algorithms.

Tell it to Netflix.

Heart of Stone  1.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, and some language)

Running time: 2:05

How to watch: Premieres on Netflix Aug. 11.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune
Gov. Ron DeSantis made the state representative for a strip of unincorporated southwest Miami-Dade County the clerk of the courts and comptroller for the county in June. Now the district is gearing up to fill the vacancy.

Republican Juan Fernandez-Barquin was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2018. He first represented nearby District 119, but in 2022 after redistricting, he was elected to represent District 118. Now, one Republican, one Democrat and one non-party-affiliated candidate are running in a special election to represent District 118.

DeSantis called for the special election in an executive order last month and set the date for the election to December 5.

Mike Redondo, a personal injury lawyer, is running as a Republican. Johnny Farias, a small business owner and former community council member, joined the race as a Democrat. Francisco De La Paz is running as a non-party candidate. The deadline for qualification was Thursday. Because only one candidate from each party is running, there will not be a primary election.

For multiple candidates in this election, the most important issue for District 118 is the cost of home insurance.

The narrow district boundaries stretch north to south from Southwest Eighth Street immediately west of Floridas Turnpike to Cutler Bay.

This is the area of Miami-Dade County that is included in House District 118.

Redondo receives endorsement from influential Republican

Redondo, 38, is the founder and managing partner of Redondo Law, a local firm specializing in accident and injury law.

He received the endorsement of Daniel Perez, the Miami-Dade Republican representative in line to be the next Speaker of the House. Redondo said he appreciates the endorsement but does not want to think of himself as the front runner. He called himself a put my nose to the grindstone kind of guy, and he said he wants to get to work without worrying about the outcome.

This is Redondos first time running for public office, which he said he sees as a way to give back to the community where he was born and raised.

Mike Redondo, an attorney, is running as a Republican. He hopes to represent the district where he grew up.

Redondo said he grew up in the area he now hopes to represent, and he moved back to the district earlier this year. He pointed to his parents, both Cuban immigrants, as sources of inspiration for him.

The attorney said he had been interested in running for office, but he would not have challenged Fernandez-Barquin as the incumbent. Because the seat was open, though, he said it was a great combination of interests and opportunity.

The top issue in this election is the cost of home insurance, Redondo said. His campaign website highlights his uncompromising conservative values and issues like law enforcement and public education.

Redondo estimated his campaign has raised between $160,000 and $170,000.

Farias joins race as Democratic contender

Farias, 53, said he decided to run about three weeks ago because he wanted to represent the interests of common people, which he said representatives in Tallahassee are not addressing. He said the most important issue to him is the cost of living and home insurance in District 118, where he said he has lived for around 20 years.

The former community council member unsuccessfully ran against Fernandez-Barquin in 2022 and received 31.6% of the vote.

Johnny Farias, an electrician and small business owner, ran against incumbent Juan Fernandez-Barquin in 2022. He received around 30% of the vote.

An electrician by trade, Farias said he has been involved in politics as both an activist and a Miami-Dade Community Council member. Farias has five children and is a U.S. Navy veteran.

District 118 is typically represented by a Republican, but Farias said he thinks he has a shot as a Democrat. He said he thinks District 118 voters feel that its not about the party, its about the person.

Farias said he has raised about $30,000 for his campaign.

Non-party candidate De La Paz

The Florida Department of State website indicates De La Paz, a non-party-affiliated candidate, qualified for the election on Wednesday. De La Paz, 67, declined to comment on his background, qualifications or political positions.

De La Paz said he considers himself a legitimate candidate. He added that he decided to run when the vacancy was announced.
Lawmakers voiced alarm and concern this week as the Air Force continued testing the safety of working spaces at intercontinental ballistic missile bases after finding potentially dangerous levels of carcinogens at the facilities at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

Air Force Global Strike Command announced that polychlorinated biphenyls, banned chemical compounds commonly known as PCBs that were used in building and electrical materials, were detected at Malmstrom during an ongoing study into possible toxic exposure and cancer concerns among America's current and former missileers.

A spokeswoman for the command told Military.com on Thursday that additional air and surface sampling has been completed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Results will be available in roughly two months, she said.

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"The samplings were recently completed at the three bases, and we anticipate a minimum of 60 days from when each sample was taken, before any holistic results are available," Capt. Lauren Linscott said. "We will continue to keep our Airmen out of areas that have not been mitigated for elevated PCBs."

Early this year, a Space Force officer detailed exposure risks and various cancer diagnoses among veterans who served at Malmstrom in a briefing, warning of a possible link between their service and cancer.

The Air Force began a study focusing on Malmstrom and expanded it in February to include a wide assortment of jobs at the nation's intercontinental ballistic missile bases.

In May, Air Force Global Strike Command announced "no immediate factors were discovered that would be considered immediate concerns for acute cancer risks" and added "no specific factors had been found at Malmstrom AFB to indicate an elevated risk level, environmental or otherwise, present at that installation."

But this week's announcement that carcinogens had been detected at two launch control centers and missile alert facility sites at Malmstrom shows that risks could still be uncovered by the ongoing study.

Two Montana lawmakers, Rep. Matt Rosendale and Sen. Jon Tester, wrote letters to the Department of Defense voicing alarm over the recent findings.

"I'm deeply concerned by reports that hazardous materials linked to many types of cancer have been found at Malmstrom Air Force Base," Rosendale said in a statement. "Our service members should not be afraid to report for duty for fear that they will be exposed to toxic chemicals, carcinogens, or other dangerous substances."

Tester, the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, called on the Pentagon to take care of those affected and their families.

"I am deeply alarmed by the Air Force's most recent study, released this week, which revealed that unsafe levels of a likely carcinogen have been detected at Malmstrom," Tester wrote in a letter. "Our missileers play a critical role in protecting Montana and our nation, and I am calling on the Defense Department to ensure all potentially impacted service members and their families receive swift answers and appropriate care."

Production of polychlorinated biphenyls was outlawed in the U.S. by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

Overexposure to the oily substances in animal studies has been tied to a range of serious health conditions, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

"Three hundred surface swipe samples were taken from across all Malmstrom AFB," Air Force Global Strike Command said in a press release. "Of the swipes, 279 returned non-detectable results. Of the 21 with detectable results, 19 were below the mitigation level established by federal law and regulation."

The Space Force officer who first raised the alarm in a presentation at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, detailed 36 cases in which missileers who had been stationed at Malmstrom during their careers were diagnosed with a type of cancer.

Ten of the airmen who have received cancer diagnoses, according to his briefing, developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Two developed Hodgkin lymphoma, and 24 developed another form of cancer. Overall, eight of the 36 missileers with cancer diagnoses, the majority of whom served at Malmstrom sometime between 1997 and 2007, have died.

This is not the first time the military has investigated a link between missileer service and cancer clusters.

In 2001, the Air Force Institute for Operational Health did a site evaluation and sampled for potential chemical and biological contaminants at Malmstrom after cases of various cancers from missileers were reported -- including cervical cancer, thyroid cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma and two cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which those patients died, according to a report issued in 2005.

The Air Force said in 2005, following the release of the report, that "there is not sufficient evidence to consider the possibility of a cancer clustering to justify further investigation" and that "sometimes illnesses tend to occur by chance alone."

But the Air Force Medical Service, which is conducting the new "Missile Community Cancer Study," now says those conclusions may be outdated. Under a frequently asked question section on the service's website, the office says that the findings from two decades ago may have changed.

"We acknowledge time has passed and have the responsibility to investigate any potential service-related risks to airmen, Guardians or their dependents' health," the website says. "We take this responsibility seriously."

The issue is of great concern to the newly created Space Force, as more than 400 of the service's current officers are former missileers.

Additionally, the Torchlight Initiative, a non-government organization composed of current and former ICBM community members and their families, has a self-reported registry in which 268 current and former service members or their surviving family members tied to ICBM bases have reported cancer, diseases or illnesses.

So far, 217 of those cases are cancer and 33 are non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Roughly 46% of those self-reported cases are from those who served at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Cleanup and mitigation of the PCBs at Malmstrom are underway and were ordered by Air Force Global Strike Commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere.

"Based on the initial results from the survey team, which discovered PCB levels above the cleanup threshold designated by law in two of our facilities, I directed Twentieth Air Force to take immediate measures to begin the cleanup process for the affected facilities and mitigate exposure by our airmen and Guardians to potentially hazardous conditions," Bussiere said in a statement.

"These measures will stay in place until I am satisfied that we are providing our missile community with a safe and clean work environment," he said.

When asked about the specific details of the cleanup and mitigation efforts, including whether missileers would be displaced from their routine workspaces, Linscott did not provide specifics, saying policies and procedures are being implemented by the workforces at those bases.

If resources for thorough cleanup and mitigation can't be provided by the bases, those services may be contracted out.

"We are currently partnered with bioenvironmental and medical teams from across the Air Force to determine their capacity for cleanup," Linscott said. "If they are unable, we expect to look for contract assistance."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: 'Go Get Screened': Space Force Chief Urges Missileers to Get Tested as Cancer Study Underway
Charlotte City Councils Democratic primary is officially underway. The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections mailed around 200 ballots to voters on Friday and sent out around 500 more overseas. When people return their votes over the next few weeks, theyll have to include something different than years past. A copy of their ID.

It really hopefully will be seamless, Kristin Mavromatis with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections said. There are a few more steps. It will take a little longer, but hopefully it will still be quite easy.

The copy of the I-D doesnt have to be in color. If you dont have access to a copy machine, you can fill out an included form with your drivers license or social security number. The Board of Elections is pleading for people to not put their actual ID in the mail.

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Dont put your drivers license in the package, Mavromatis said. Keep it with you.

There are exceptions you can fill out on the form if you are having trouble getting a photo for things like lack of transportation or illness. Staff will review each case and work with people.

This is the new reality for voting in North Carolina. Mavromatis is encouraging voters to make extra copies of their ID for future elections.

If you yourself dont have a photocopier but you know your neighbor does, go ahead and make 3-5 copies of it and have it hidden in your drawer where you hide all of your other important documents, she said. That way you can have it handy for future elections.

The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections is offering a free NC Voter ID card for voters. You can have one created at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections office weekdays from 8-5. You can also get a free card from the DMV.

Acceptable IDs

Any of the following that is unexpired, or expired for one year or less:

North Carolina drivers license

State ID from the NCDMV (also called non-operator ID)

Drivers license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)

U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card

North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections

College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections

State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections

Note: A voter 65 or older may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday.

Any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date:

Military or veterans ID card issued by the U.S. government

Tribal enrollment card issued by a tribe recognized by the State or federal government

ID card issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of North Carolina for a public assistance program

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ID Exceptions

If any voter is unable to show photo ID when voting (whether in person or by mail), they may fill out an ID Exception Form and vote their ballot. The voter will choose from the following permitted exceptions.

The voter has a reasonable impediment to showing photo ID. This means that something is preventing the voter from showing ID. The voter must provide their reason by selecting from the following choices on the form.

Lack of transportation

Disability or illness

Lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain ID

Work schedule

Family responsibilities

Lost or stolen photo ID

Photo ID applied for but not yet received

(For mail voters only) Unable to attach a copy of photo ID

Other reasonable impediment (if selected, the voter must write the reason on the form)

The voter has a religious objection to being photographed.

The voter was a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day.

County boards of elections must count provisional ballots with properly completed ID Exception Forms.

For more information on voter ID, click here.

(WATCH BELOW: Former restaurant no longer to be used for early voting, board members say)
El Paso County Sheriff's Deputy Peter Herrera's family members sighed but didn't immediately express their emotions after a judge announced a jury had sentenced Facundo Chavez to death.

After remaining silent during the two-week-long capital murder trial, family members returned one last time to the Enrique Moreno Courthouse to confront Chavez, the gunman convicted in the brutal shooting and beating of Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

"I'll never know why you had so much hate towards my son when he was just trying to do what he loved, which was to protect the county of El Paso, the citizens of El Paso," Esther Herrera, the deputy's mother, said as she cried. "There is evil. There is evil amongst us and it's very sad. But I will stay strong because I have wonderful memories instilled in my mind that no one can steal. That thief that night stole my son from me."

The victim impact statements on Thursday marked the end of the trial that resulted in a jury convicting Chavez of capital murder of a peace officer and then sentencing him to death.

Facundo Chavez listens to the victim impact statements after his trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

Ashley Herrera, Herrera's wife, cried as she told Chavez that he completely shattered her life when he killed her husband.

"There's no getting back to life. All your life was destroyed. Every single aspect of who I am has been different since March 22, 2019," she said. "Peter was the love of my life and we loved each other fiercely."

More: 'I shot Deputy Herrera': Capital murder suspect Facundo Chavez takes stand at trial

She added, "I think people are right when they say it's the little things you miss the most. Peter should be remembered not as another statistic, but as a hero. An amazing man who sacrificed his life every day to protect others."

Chavez sat in the jury box only a few feet away from where the Herrera family sat to give their victim impact statements. The gunman looked at the floor and occasionally stared blankly at the family as they cried telling him the devastating impact his actions had on their lives.

Facundo Chavez fidgets with his hands while he listens to the victim impact statements after his trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

Judge Diane Navarrete, Criminal District Court 1, officially sentenced Chavez to death before allowing family members to deliver their victim impact statements.

During a news briefing at the El Paso District Attorney's office after the trial ended, DA Bill Hicks, El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles and two Herrera family members gathered to share their reactions to the trial's outcome.

Deputy Herrera was a shining example of a man dedicated to serving his community, Wiles said.

"Peter Herrera was not only a loving son, brother, uncle, but he was also a great deputy. He could have chosen to do many things in life, but he chose law enforcement because he felt an obligation to his community and wanted to help people," Wiles said. "That night, that's exactly what he was doing. He was enforcing the law, he was doing his job. I would even say he was doing more than what was expected of him by making a traffic stop at that hour, at that location by himself. It just shows his commitment to keeping El Paso safe. And unfortunately, that stop turned tragic."

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks takes a look at Facundo Chavez as they listen to the victim impact statements after his trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

The death penalty given to Chavez sends a strong message to El Paso, Wiles said.

"It's important to look at this aspect, you have a uniform deputy in a marked unit who's trained and armed, and if that individual or any individuals would do that to a law enforcement officer, what chance does any citizen in this community have when they come into contact and engages with somebody like that?" Wiles asked. "I really think the message it sends is that this community won't tolerate it. That you can't attack a police officer, you can't attack a deputy, and you can't attack a citizen because you're going to pay the price. And that's what happened. He (Chavez) is going to pay the price and rightfully so."

The Herrera family said in a statement that they hope the verdict and sentencing will help prevent any other family from having to suffer the loss of a loved one killed in the line of duty.

"He was doing his job in which he was proud to do every time he put on that badge to protect and to serve the community," Luis Herrera III, Herrera's older brother, said as he read a statement on behalf of his family. "I want the message to be loud and clear: El Pasoans will not tolerate these types of crimes and will not allow these types of criminals and murderers to be out on the streets. The citizens of this county want to live in peace and not in fear."

Esther Herrera, El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera's mother, speaks to the press after the victim impact statements after Facundo Chavez's trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

Trial is over, but appeals process begins

Herrera pulled over Chavez and his girlfriend, Arlene Pina, about 1:50 a.m. on March 22, 2019, in the 1000 block of Chicken Ranch Road, near Socorro Road in San Elizario. The traffic stop was due to two traffic violations: failing to dim high-beam headlights and improperly displaying a temporary license plate permit.

Herrera asked Chavez if he had any weapons, to which he answered no. The deputy then asked him to get out of the vehicle.

Chavez got out of the vehicle and immediately began shooting at Herrera. The deputy fell to the ground as Chavez continued firing. The gun then jammed.

He then started beating Herrera with the gun. As Herrera laid in a pool of his blood, Chavez and Pina attempted to flee in the vehicle, but it stalled. They then fled on foot.

GALLERY HERE 70568901007

The couple was later found by U.S. Border Patrol agents hiding in a shed on the property of a nearby home.

A jury of nine women and three men convicted Chavez of capital murder of a peace officer Aug. 3 after less than 30 minutes of deliberations.

The same jury deliberated nearly 10 hours over two days before they reached a unanimous decision Wednesday to give Chavez the death penalty.

"The message that the jury ultimately sent is that if you harm and try to kill and brutally murder a sheriff's deputy, a law enforcement officer, a police officer, or a constable, any law enforcement officer in our community, justice is coming for you," Hicks said. "You will face justice. You will face the ultimate form of justice. Our office will make sure of that. We will devote the resources necessary. We will make sure that justice comes for you."

Facundo Chavez listens to the victim impact statements after his trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

Louis Lopez, Chavez's attorney, thanked the jurors on Wednesday, Aug. 9, for their service even though they gave his client the death penalty.

"Obviously, we hoped that the jury would have chosen life and answer the (juror) instructions as we would hope they would," Lopez said. "But they did what we asked them to do. We asked them to be open-minded, to listen to all the evidence and then make their decisions accordingly. And they did that. I'm very proud of our El Paso community for coming and stepping forward. I think this is a very difficult task for the jury to come in and have to make this kind of decision on one of our community members.

"We felt like we had a really good mitigation case that we could present to the jury and that the jury would believe that his life was valuable and that he could contribute."

Now the process to appeal the guilty verdict and sentencing will begin for Chavez, Lopez said.

Facundo Chavez listens to the victim impact statements after his trial on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. An El Paso jury has returned a death penalty sentence for Chavez, who was convicted of killing El Paso Sheriff Deputy Peter Herrera during a 2019 traffic stop.

"It's really a difficult and long road," Lopez said. "The next steps will be the direct appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. At the same time, there will be his writ of habeas corpus where attorneys will start looking to see whether we, his defense attorneys, hadn't done anything we should have done or we should not have done, or if there were any mistakes."

Esther Herrera, the deputy's mother, said her suffering will continue, but she is grateful the community won't easily forget her son's sacrifice.

"My heart is always going to hurt, and that will never heal," Herrera said after all the court proceedings were concluded. "They say that we will reach a point where we will be satisfied with what happened, but that will never happen. My son will always be in our minds.

"We talk about him because he was a very dear person, very loved, not just by the family but also by the county of El Paso, where he patrolled. That has brought peace to me."

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Facundo Chavez death penalty: Victim impact statements
The Chicago Board of Health is asking Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep the citys public health commissioner in her post following his campaign promise to replace her.

Dr. Allison Arwady was appointed by Johnsons predecessor and became the public face of Chicagos COVID-19 response, but she also disappointed some progressives.

The nine-member health advisory panel convened a special meeting Thursday evening where the seven members present members unanimously pledged their support for Arwady, who to some was known for her unflappable assurances as Chicagos COVID czar. But others have said she was too hasty in loosening pandemic restrictions, especially reopening public schools, while failing to uphold activist demands regarding environmental permitting and mental health services.

The Board of Health agreed to send a letter requesting that Johnson keep Arwady after lauding her public health credentials and successes leading the citys coronavirus regulations and vaccination drive.

Board members praised Arwadys professionalism, expertise and ability to stay levelheaded amid rising hostility toward public health experts.

Dr. Horace Smith, a board member and physician at Lurie Childrens Hospital, noted Arwadys understanding of the urban setting.

Ill say it over and over and over again, because if were serious about making changes, the people who are the most vulnerable, I believe, deserve the most attention, said Smith. I have confidence in the present commissioner, that she has that sense of it, especially the last couple of years, going through what shes gone through.

Board member Oscar Ivan Zambrano, a director at Advocate Aurora Health, concurred with Smiths emphasis on racial equity while touting the departments record in the last four years as one that is a little ahead of society. He then stressed the importance of sticking to science when deciding on the citys next public health commissioner.

It has to be based on science, and it has to be based on data. And that is not an area that we can afford to make political, he said, adding that he hopes Johnson weighs the value of maintaining continuity as he mulls whether to keep Arwady.

But he and other board members also cast the letter to the new mayor as less of a demand than a recommendation that also includes a list of attributes they wish to see in the next health commissioner, such as focus on racial equity, ability to manage a large governmental organization and transparency.

Its not political, its apolitical, Ivan Zambrano said. It is technical, and its based on facts and accomplishments.

As a mayoral candidate and then a Chicago Teachers Union organizer, Johnson vowed to remove Arwady from his cabinet, saying that he and Arwady have different views of public health, and so, no, she will not stay on in my administration.

But since he took office May 15, Johnson has not installed a new public health leader and instead stressed he wanted the remaining department heads to stay on for a few months while the new administration gets its bearings. Firing Arwady has also been a challenge for Johnson as he hasnt been able to find a replacement.

Arwady, meanwhile, has been angling to stay in her job. But many of the mayors progressive allies in City Council and beyond have recently rallied behind his goal of reopening the public mental health clinics shuttered years ago by ex-Mayor Rahm Emanuel  an issue that Arwady caught some early grief during the tenure of previous mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Lightfoot appointed Arwady in 2019, with progressive aldermen briefly holding up her confirmation over her stance against reopening the mental health clinics. Under Arwady, the department preferred to work instead with private mental health providers.

Still, Arwady remained relatively obscure to the public until March 2020.

As the nations third-largest city shut down because of COVID-19, Arwady became a household name among Chicagoans with regular streamed news conferences and Facebook Live sessions that broke down the coronavirus, urged vaccination, explained evolving restrictions and provided guidance on masking and social distancing. She sought to focus her approach on racial equity, such as prioritizing predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods for vaccination distribution and sending canvassers to door knock to combat vaccine hesitancy.

However, the goodwill earned from Lightfoot and Arwady after assuming the role of a COVID-fighting dynamic duo soured early on in the first year of the pandemic, as some grew weary of stay-at-home orders, while others felt they were moving too fast to reopen the city. That tension most severely came to a head when the administration moved to bring students back to Chicago Public Schools classrooms after months of remote learning.

The CTU vehemently fought those efforts and succeeded in forcing multiple delays. And throughout these labor disputes, Arwady often appeared more comfortable than Lightfoot at the microphone addressing thorny questions during news conferences centered on the back-and-forth between the city and the teachers union.

Another realm in which Arwady clashed with progressives was over a scrap shredder that was seeking a permit from the public health department to open on the Southeast Side. Ultimately, the Lightfoot administration reversed course and rejected the application from Reserve Management Group  despite brokering a deal with the Ohio-based company to move operations to a spot along the Calumet River after it left Lincoln Park on the North Side. That was following protracted outcry by community activists over pollution concerns and environmental racism, given that the new neighborhood is predominantly Latino, while Lincoln Park is mostly white.

Chicago Tribunes Gregory Royal Pratt contributed.

ayin@chicagotribune.com
Russian forces hit a private residence in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on Aug. 11, killing an 8-year-old child, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

A family with three children has lived in the house, the prosecutors wrote, adding that the data on other victims is being clarified.

A farm building was also damaged in the settlement located in the Kolomyia district.

According to the Air Force, Russia launched four Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine at around 10 a.m. local time.

The rockets entered Ukraine's airspace from the northern direction, heading southwest to a local airfield in Kolomyia, the Air Force wrote.

A missile was shot down over Kyiv Oblast while the rest of them hit near the airfield, including the residential area where the victims lived, the military added.

In Kyiv, missile debris fell in three locations in the Obolonskyi district, including a children's hospital territory, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. There were no casualties.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, which borders Romania, is a rare subject of Russian attacks. The region lies hundreds of kilometers apart from the front lines.

Read also: Thats it, its death, guys. What we know about Russias killing of 2 Ukrainian teenagers in occupied Berdiansk

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FILE PHOTO: Wang Dan stands in floodwaters after rain and floods in Zhuozhou

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's northern province of Hebei may spend two years carrying out post-flood reconstruction, state media China News Service reported on Friday.

Hebei experienced the worst floods in living memory earlier this month after Typhoon Doksuri battered northern China, causing at least 29 deaths and 95.8 billion yuan ($13.3 billion) of direct economic losses in the province alone.

Almost 5% of Hebei's 74.2 million residents were affected by the floods, with over 40,000 homes destroyed a further 155,500 houses seriously damaged, officials said.

About 2 million residents have been displaced by the disaster.

The province will make sure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before this winter, China News Service reported, citing a briefing by officials.

This year's floods were the most extensive in Hebei since 1963, with 51.5 percent of its landmass receiving over 100 millimetres of rainfall, provincial officials said told the briefing.

Some residents in the city of Zhuozhou, one of Hebei's worst-affected areas, have criticised the local government for not providing them with more help after excess floodwaters from provincial reservoirs were diverted to so-called flood storage areas in the region.

Beijing officials said on Thursday that post-disaster reconstruction in the capital could take up to a year, after the floods caused 33 deaths, mostly in the city's mountainous rural outskirts.

The central government has allocated a total of 7.74 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) to disaster relief funds for flood-stricken areas, including cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said on Friday.

($1 = 7.2305 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Miral Fahmy)
The tax-free holiday in Massachusetts is this weekend but Sale Day came early.

The Boston Red Sox reinstated Chris Sale from the 60-day Injured List Friday and the 34-year-old lefty is expected to start against the Detroit Tigers, his first appearance since June.

The Southpaw made 11 starts with a 4.58 ERA before a shoulder issue sidelined him on June 1.

Sale, who signed a five-year, $145 million extension with the club in 2019, has made just 22 starts since 2020 as hes battled various injuries.

He seemed to be returning to form in the three games immediately prior to his June injury, allowing just four runs and 13 baserunners in 20 innings.

Sale struck out 10 and threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in two Triple-A rehab starts before being activated Friday.

Lefty Pitcher Brandon Walter was sent down to clear a roster spot for Sale.

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

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Several civil and voting rights groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Republican Gov. Bill Lee and other state officials over Tennessees congressional and state Senate maps, which they allege are discriminatory and violate the constitutional rights of voters of color.

The lawsuit alleges that the Republican-controlled state legislature particularly diluted the voting power of Black residents through redistricting around Memphis and Nashville. The groups are asking the court to prevent the calling, holding, supervising, or certifying any further election in the challenged districts as they are currently structured.

With the filing, Tennessee joins several states facing redistricting challenges ahead of the 2024 election, which will determine control of the narrowly split US House of Representatives.

The maps approved by the Tennessee legislature intentionally erode the voices of communities of color in Tennessee, Debby Gould, president of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, said in a statement. The group is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Along with the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, the lawsuit was brought by Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, The Equity Alliance, Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute, African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee and five individuals.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit include Lee, Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the states election commission and seven members of the commission. CNN has reached out to Lees office. Hargetts office directed CNN to the state attorney generals office.

Brandon Smith, chief of staff to state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, told CNN in an email that they had not yet been served with a complaint as of Thursday evening.

The lawsuit points to the former Democratic stronghold of Davidson County  which includes Nashville  being split into three separate congressional districts, a move the lawsuit claims diluted the voting power of the Black voting population and made the county more favorable to Republicans.

Under the congressional map, which was signed into law in February 2022, Democrats lost a favorable district while Republicans gained one. As a result, the state now only has one Democrat-leaning congressional district left while there are eight districts that favor Republicans, CNN previously reported.

The groups are also challenging the new state Senate map that splits Shelby County, which includes Memphis. The lawsuit says the plan nearly halved the Black and Hispanic population of a Senate district, preventing voters of color from having an opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.

The lawsuit alleges that the states legislature, which advanced both plans in January 2022, did not give meaningful consideration to public testimony and was well aware that its proposed redistricting changes in Davidson and Shelby Counties would dilute the votes of and adversely impact Black voters and other voters of color in those counties.

Other redistricting challenges are also playing out in Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, New York and Texas. These fights have sparked national attention as the outcomes could determine whether Republicans hold onto or expand their razor-thin majority in the US House of Representatives.

Late last month, Alabamas GOP-majority legislature approved new maps after the US Supreme Court said that an existing map likely violated federal voting law by diluting the voting power of Black residents. A federal court is expected to hear a challenge from civil rights groups later this month.

CNNs Janie Boschma, Renee Rigdon, Byron Manley, Ethan Cohen and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.

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Turns out Clarence Thomas took a lot more billionaire-funded vacations than we knew. ProPublica this week reported that the Supreme Court justice had taken "at least 38 destination vacations"  including a Bahamas yacht trip, trips to high-profile events and more  all provided by "benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence." The report adds to the mounting pressure on Thomas, already under scrutiny for other vacations, tuition and even RV financing provided by his wealthy associates.

Those perks "often went unreported on the justice's financial disclosure forms," CNN noted, raising questions about whether he broke the law. And Politico pointed out the latest report provided fresh fodder for Democratic critics of Thomas. "Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wrote online. "The height of hypocrisy," added Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

Notably, few Republicans stepped forward to defend Thomas from the latest report. Conservative outlets like National Review and Fox News were apparently silent on the topic. One site, Newsbusters, blamed CNN for pushing an "anti-Thomas hit piece" and claimed there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the justice. But the Washington Examiner, a right-leaning publication, noted that GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were largely "staying silent" about Thomas' luxury vacations. Can Thomas justify his vacations, and failure to disclose? What will the latest revelations mean for ethics reform at the Supreme Court?

What the commentators are saying

"Thomas is paid like a government employee but lives like a king," Jonathan Chait wrote at New York magazine. After previous revelations of that largesse, conservatives portrayed the gifts as "pure generosity" borne of genuine friendship that had nothing to do with Thomas' Supreme Court service or ideology. Now, though, the right is "barely making any effort to contest the specifics of the allegations against him" and attacking ProPublica's reporting as a self-evident smear. The problem isn't the reporting though. It's that "Thomas's contempt for ethical norms that is tarnishing the court's legitimacy."

Thomas isn't the only justice to accept gifts of travel, The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus wrote, "but we know about those trips because the justices disclosed the gifts." Even if the new trips had been properly reported, "the extent of Thomas's travel appears extraordinary." That's "conduct unbecoming any public official." The justice's allies seem convinced that the stream of revelations about Thomas' billionaire-funded lifestyle is part of an unfair smear, "but it is Thomas who is doing the discrediting."

It's fair to question whether Thomas' jurisprudence is guided by his sense of the law or whether he is "unable to abandon the ideological preferences of his wealthy allies," Noah Bookbinder and Dennis Aftergut write at the Los Angeles Times. So what should be done? First, Congress should pass "constitutionally appropriate" legislation to guide when justices should recuse themselves from questionable cases. And either the Supreme Court or the Department of Justice should do a proper investigation of Thomas. "The Supreme Court clearly needs a reminder that although judges interpret the law, they are not above it."

What's next?

Democrats are once again calling for Thomas' resignation, MSNBC reported. That seems unlikely to happen, but the push for Supreme Court ethics reform will continue. "Now it's up to Chief Justice Roberts and the other Justices to act on ethics reform to save their own reputations and the Court's integrity," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote online. "If the Court will not act, then Congress must continue to."

But the latest revelations are "unlikely to result in congressional passage of Supreme Court ethics reform," CNN reported. A bill to impose new ethical requirements on the court has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee but probably won't muster enough GOP support to overcome the inevitable filibuster. And the Supreme Court might rebuff such a law even if it did pass. "No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court  period," Justice Sam Alito said last month. And for now, at least, the court itself seems unable or unwilling to reform its own ethical standards.

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WASHINGTON  The Biden administration on Thursday asked Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlins deeply entrenched forces.

The package includes $12 billion to replenish the U.S. federal disaster funds at home after a deadly climate season of heat and storms, and funds to bolster the enforcement at the Southern border with Mexico, including money to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. All told, its a $40 billion package.

While the last such request from the White House for Ukraine funding was easily approved in 2022, theres a different dynamic this time.

A political divide on the issue has grown, with the Republican-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the partys leader, Donald Trump, who has been very skeptical of the war. And American support for the effort has been slowly softening.

White House budget director Shalanda Young, in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, urged swift action to follow through on the U.S. commitment to the Ukrainian peoples defense of their homeland and to democracy around the world as well as other needs.

The request was crafted with an eye to picking up support from Republicans, as well as Democrats, particularly with increased domestic funding around border issues  a top priority for the GOP, which has been highly critical of the Biden administrations approach to halting the flow of migrants crossing from Mexico.

Still, the price tag of $40 billion may be too much for Republicans who are fighting to slash, not raise, federal outlays. As a supplemental request, the package the White House is sending to Congress falls outside the budget caps both parties agreed to as part of the debt ceiling showdown earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement there was strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.

The latest request from the Biden administration shows Americas continued commitment to helping Americans here at home and our friends abroad, he said. We hope to join with our Republican colleagues this fall to avert an unnecessary government shutdown and fund this critical emergency supplemental request.

President Joe Biden and his senior national security team have repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine as long as it takes to oust Russia from its borders. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress  and American public  for the costs of a war with no clear end.

For people who might be concerned the costs are getting too high, wed ask them what the costs  not just in treasure but in blood, perhaps even American blood  could be if Putin subjugates Ukraine, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said this week.

Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened with time. An AP-NORC poll conducted in January 2023 around the one-year mark of the conflict, found that 48% favored the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, down from the 60% of U.S. adults who were in favor sending Ukraine weapons in May 2022. While Democrats have generally been more supportive than Republicans of offering weaponry, their support dropped slightly from 71% to 63% in the same period. Republicans support dropped more, from 53% to 39%.

Dozens of Republicans in the House and some GOP senators have expressed reservations, and even voted against, spending more federal dollars for the war effort. Many of those Republicans are aligning with Trumps objections to the U.S. involvement overseas.

That means any final vote on Ukraine aid will likely need to rely on a hefty coalition led by Democrats from Bidens party to ensure approval.

The funding includes another $10 billion to counter Russian and Chinese influence elsewhere by bolstering the World Bank and providing aid to resist Russian-aligned Wagner forces in Africa. Domestically, theres an additional $60 million to address increased wildfires that have erupted nationwide. And the request includes $2.2 billion for Southern border management and $766 million to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. There is also $100 million earmarked for the Department of Labor to ramp up investigations of suspected child labor violations.

To ease passage, Congress would likely try to attach the package to a must-pass measure for broader government funding in the U.S. thats needed by Oct. 1 to prevent any shutdown in federal offices.

Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a robust program to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.

Ukraine is pushing through with its ongoing counteroffensive, in an effort to dislodge the Kremlins forces from territory theyve occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The counteroffensive has come up against heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications.

The U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russias invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the frontlines. Congress approved the latest round of aid in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.

We remain confident that well be able to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

There were questions in November about waning Republican support to approve the package, but it ultimately passed. Now, though, House Speaker McCarthy is facing pressure to impeach Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct and its not clear whether a quick show of support for Ukraine could cause political damage in whats expected to be a bruising 2024 reelection campaign.

Trump contends that American involvement has only drawn Russia closer to other adversarial states like China, and has condemned the tens of billions of dollars that the United States has provided in aid for Ukraine.

Long reported from Chicago.
The Welsh government wants all Wales' electricity needs to come from renewables by 2035

More wind and solar farms would industrialise the Welsh countryside and affect about 50,000 acres of land, according to a rural charity.

Offshore wind and rooftop solar should be the preferred way to cut carbon emissions, says the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW).

But a company proposing five energy parks in Wales said a mix will be needed to reach net zero by 2050.

The Welsh government said a range of technologies was required.

Wales currently has 44 operational wind farms and 123 solar farms, according to research by the CPRW.

It has published a map showing those existing renewable energy projects and the locations of a further 34 wind farms and 92 solar farms being proposed.

"The biggest concern is the lack of awareness of what's happening in Wales," said the CPRW's Ross Evans.

More than 3m trees have been cut down for onshore wind projects, the group claimed.

"All we're trying to do is to mitigate some of what's happening to the countryside and ensure we sacrifice the minimum amount [of land]," he said.

"We're not just talking about common ground or forestry here," Mr Evans said. "Farmland, nature reserves, SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), curlew breeding areas, peatlands, they're all being destroyed for onshore wind and solar."

What are Wales' carbon reduction goals?

The Welsh government set out in January its plan for 100% of the nation's electricity demand to be met by renewable sources by 2035.

That will mean improving the electricity grid, community projects, cutting consumption and streamlining planning to allow more renewable projects to go ahead.

The framework for planning decisions over the next two decades - set out in the Future Wales 2040 plan - outlines ten pre-assessed areas where there "is a presumption in favour of largescale wind energy development".

Wales is moving too quickly to develop onshore wind and solar before looking at alternatives a rural charity warns

The Welsh government will make the decision on 26 of the proposed wind farms and 36 of the solar farms, with the remaining projects left to local planning authorities.

But CPRW said the Welsh government's strategy is out of date because it does not include potential for offshore wind farms, which the group said would generate more electricity than the onshore projects.

Ross Evans of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales says ground-based projects must be paused for a focus on offshore wind

"Two offshore projects in the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea on their own will produce more than double what Wales needs by 2050," Mr Evans said.

CPRW wants a pause on "all onshore wind and ground-based solar developments over 10MW" until the potential of other sources of renewable energy is considered.

What do wind developers say?

Bute Energy has plans for five wind farms in Wales.

The largest would be about five miles from Llandrindod Wells, Powys, in the Radnor forest, connecting to the national grid in Carmarthenshire via a 60-mile pylon network.

Nant Mithil would have 36 wind turbines, each 220m (722ft) tall, producing enough electricity according to Bute to power 200,000 homes, while saving about 350,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

"We as a nation are going to be turning off fossil fuels," said Bute's Aled Rowlands. "Our need for electricity is going to go up dramatically - the way we heat our homes, the way we use vehicles.

"We need to be generating more energy, and of course we want to generate clean, green energy from onshore wind, and there are other options as well such as offshore wind."

'Rushing Wales into wind power'

Nant Mithil has faced opposition from local campaign group ReThink, which said it would "destroy" Radnor forest, hurting tourism and wildlife.

"We're not against renewable energy," said group spokeswoman Jenny Chryss. "But we say there are much better ways - offshore, hydrogen, the floating platforms in the Celtic Sea.

"They're just rushing into Wales to do this, and it's not the right way to do it."

Signs against the Nant Mithil wind farm appeared at the Royal Welsh Show in July

The Climate Change Committee - the UK's independent advisory body - said in June Wales was falling behind on efforts to cut emissions, and "action on decarbonisation in Wales must accelerate".

Mr Rowlands said onshore wind will be a key part of meeting climate change targets.

Is offshore wind the most cost effective?

"We need a mix of energy sources in order to ensure that we get to net zero," he said.

But CPRW pointed to another report, commissioned by the Welsh government, highlighting the benefits of sea-based energy projects.

One recommendation in the Future energy grids for Wales report said "offshore wind is projected to be the most cost-effective and prominent electricity source in a net zero Welsh energy system, providing up to 80% by 2050."

"It supports our long-held view," Mr Evans said, "that offshore wind is not only the most cost-effective but also the most environmentally acceptable option amongst a range of technologies."

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We need a range of technologies, at different scales, to meet our future electricity needs as we move towards a net zero energy system.

"Wind and solar are cost-effective options to generate electricity and have a clear role to play," they added.

"We want to ensure local communities and people in Wales directly benefit from energy generated in Wales. We are taking action to support local and shared ownership and developing strong, local supply chains."
American tennis pro Taylor Fritz beat Andy Murray at the D.C. Open in Washington last Friday. But he was not in a celebratory mood after the match, which had been interrupted by climate protesters who unfurled banners, shouted slogans, and threw oversize tennis balls decorated with flames onto the court.

Its ruining everyones time, Fritz told The Guardian. Everyone wants to watch the tennis. I jokingly said, Honestly, this makes me want to go fly on jets more. I think theyre supporting a good cause, but the way theyre doing it. Whos going to want to listen when theyre just annoying everybody? Fritzs feelings seem to have been pretty representative: Fans booed the protesters and then cheered their ejection from the stadium.

The theatricality of the protest reminded me of last years Vincent van Gogh debacle. In October, climate activists made worldwide headlines for throwing soup and other foods on famous paintings in museums, including van Goghs Sunflowers. The demonstrations were, literally and figuratively, splashy, and generated a debate about whether these types of protests are productive. That debatewhich threatens to overshadow the problem the protesters are trying to draw attention towas revived again after the D.C. Open disruption. Theres a sense from many pundits that extreme climate activists are losing out on public support for their cause by being, well, really annoying.

The idea that the climate movement is reacting with too much panic is one thats baked into a lot of mainstream coverage these days. Center-right thinkers like Matt Yglesias have repeatedly critiqued left-wing climate activists for losing the plot. A Reuters columnist called Greta Thunbergs critique of the 2021 U.N. climate summit bad vibes and overblown. (At that summit, fossil fuel interests were ultimately able to hijack the global agreement and leave room for the industry to continue to flourish.) Even climate scientist Michael Mann, who has devoted much of his career to effectively communicating the climate crisis, wrote a lengthy piece for Time on why the art protests were a bad idea and why protesters should [choose] sensible actions and appropriate targets.

Theres little that individual people can do to stem the tide of the climate crisis. Government action, especially in the United States, is inexcusably slow. Meanwhile, were living through the hottest summer in Earths history. Its not surprising, then, that climate protestersthe ones who are actually doing thingsbecome the subject of our discussions. Instead of real conversations about the massive systemic changes that are needed to save our planet, we turn over endless debates around how people are expressing their fear and rage. Calm down, columnists like Yglesias seem to say. This is not how change is made.

Im actually not sure what would be defined as an appropriate or effective protest to an increasingly urgent global emergency, or what, exactly, would be the magic action that will change more hearts and minds. At this point, people have literally set themselves on fire to draw attention to the climate crisis; high schoolers have staged hunger strikes and gone to the hospital. The powers that be have responded to these actions with, largely, a yawn. Meanwhile, activists who turn to actual tangible tactics to destroy fossil fuel infrastructurelike blowing up pipelineshave been targeted and jailed with draconian sentences. Fossil fuelfriendly states have moved lightning fast to adopt legislation to define these people as terrorists and make sure this never happens again.

What is the right way to protest climate inaction? Im not sure the goal should be to engender public sympathy, anyway. If activists only demonstrated in ways that mannerist pundits consider appropriate, theyd be meekly waving signs outside the Environmental Protection Agency.

Living through a time of continual ecological panic, when we can do little as individuals to change whats happening, is an extremely mentally weird place to be, and were all still learning how to handle ourselves. If I was in that stadium last Friday, Im sure that I would have been miffed too, wishing the protesters would go away so I could enjoy the match after a long day. But in a big-picture sense, Im glad people were annoyed. At least theyre feeling something.

Good News, Bad News

Following a breakthrough last December, scientists this week repeated a nuclear fusion reaction that produced more energy than was put into ita major development for fusion technology.

Floridas Department of Education has officially approved materials from a right-wing video production company for public schools, meaning that climate denial videos could soon be shown in state classrooms.

Stat of the Week

Thats how much of the worlds population experienced hotter than usual temperatures in July, a new analysis finds.

Elsewhere in the Ecosystem

The EPA approved a boat fuel that is so toxic that every person who is exposed to it over an extended period of time is at risk of developing cancer, ProPublica reports:

Federal law requires the EPA to conduct safety reviews before allowing new chemical products onto the market. If the agency finds that a substance causes unreasonable risk to health or the environment, the EPA is not allowed to approve it without first finding ways to reduce that risk. But the agency did not do that in this case. Instead, the EPA decided its scientists were overstating the risks and gave Chevron the go-ahead to make the new boat fuel ingredient at its refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Though the substance can poison air and contaminate water, EPA officials mandated no remedies other than requiring workers to wear gloves, records show.

ProPublica | Sharon Lerner

This article first appeared in Life in a Warming World, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by contributing deputy editor Molly Taft. Sign up here.
The high cost of higher education is an issue that can no longer be ignored. Colleges and universities must do more than sympathize with hard-pressed students and their families. Affordability has to be treated as a high-priority aspect of the overall mission, especially by publicly funded institutions.

Lowering overall tuition rates may sound like an easy solution, but its simply not feasible given the costs colleges must bear. The key is to develop creative solutions that ease the burden based on a student and familys ability to pay.

The federal government, through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program, offers the best currently available means of estimating that vital ability-to-pay metric. Eligibility for Pell grants is determined from FAFSA information, and can be a tool to evaluate affordability. In these times, though, almost all families could use at least some help.

Supplementing Pell grant awards with additional school-based financial aid can make a huge difference for many students and families. Some schools offer gap scholarships  need-based awards that cover the gap between a students gift aid (scholarships and grants) and their remaining tuition and fee costs. With these programs, students essentially can attend college for free, accumulating no student loan debt.

Tuition assistance is the biggest difference maker, but schools also must confront the reality that tuition assistance alone does not guarantee affordability. Access to technology is a must for modern education  and too often has been a barrier to student success. It is heartbreaking to hear from students who say they are dropping out because they needed to buy a new computer, and therefore could not afford tuition. Even if tuition is covered, expenses such as housing, transportation and child care can become insurmountable barriers.

To deal with these situations, our latest initiative at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is Roo Wireless, a program providing free computer tablets and mobile hot spots to qualifying students in need. Once approved, the students tablet is shipped within 48 hours, and its theirs to keep. To participate, students must be Pell-eligible, meet eligibility criteria for a participating providers low-income internet program or receive a form of assistance, such as SNAP, SSI, Medicaid or veteran benefits. Other colleges including Ohio State and Florida State universities offer similar free technology programs.

Schools also must recognize the tremendous sacrifices many students make to stay enrolled, persevering through food, housing and overall financial insecurity. Many universities now have food banks to address student food insecurity. A few have taken the concept a step further, combining a food pantry with counseling services specifically related to housing and financial insecurity.

Finally, higher education institutions cant sit back and wait for students and families to discover the help thats available. Partnerships with local school districts and community-based organizations provide invaluable opportunities for connection and communication. Many high schools already offer classes that confer higher education credits in partnership with colleges, which reduces the credit requirements that must be paid with college tuition. One approach gaining traction is expanding these partnerships to include need-based scholarships and college transition programming to help young people prepare for the demands of higher education.

No question, affordability remains too big an issue for too many potential students. Still, we are making progress. And were not done yet.

Elora Thomas is director of admissions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
A Colorado man is accused of attacking a hiker while posing as search-and-rescue personnel, according to local authorities.

William Tidwell, 50, of Northglenn, is facing charges of unlawful sexual contact by force, second-degree assault, and impersonating a public servant following the July 25 attack.

The female victim was hiking in the area of Caribou Road and Forest Service Road 505 in Boulder County near the Caribou Dispersed Camping Area when an unknown man approached her in what she described as a search-and-rescue vehicle, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said in a press release.

"The male offered her a ride to a different trail in the area. While with him, she was sexually and physically assaulted. Ultimately, she was able to leave the male and immediately reported this incident to the sheriffs office," BCSO said.

NEW YORK DOCTOR ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING DRUGGED PATIENTS, FILMING ATTACKS

William Tidwell, 50, of Northglenn, is facing charges of unlawful sexual contact by force, second-degree assault, and impersonating a public servant following the July 25 attack.

She described the suspect as a bald man in his 50s with a graying beard. She also said he was wearing what appeared to be an official search-and-rescue uniform shirt. Investigators later obtained a warrant for Tidwell's arrest, and the Idaho Springs Police Department took him into custody on August 7.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In a video posted to Facebook on February 28, Tidwell said he runs a "personal training service as well as a search-and-rescue service," but he had plans to start a "kink apparel" company, as well.

In a video posted to Facebook on February 28, Tidwell said he runs a "personal training service as well as a search-and-rescue service," but he had plans to start a "kink apparel" company, as well.

Photos posted to Tidwell's Facebook page appear to show his search-and-rescue vehicle  a white Jeep truck displaying official-looking search-and-rescue stickers.

FAMILY MAN ACCUSED OF LOCKING WOMAN IN HOMEMADE CELL KEPT CREEPY NOTES: LEAVE PHONE AT HOME'

A sticker that reads "S.A.R." can be seen on the back of the truck.

Photos posted to Tidwell's Facebook page appear to show his search-and-rescue vehicle  a white Jeep truck displaying official-looking search-and-rescue stickers.

Meanwhile, in Jefferson County, Colorado, authorities on Thursday arrested a suspect described as a "prolific sexual predator" targeting hikers at Stapleton Park, near the Beaver Brook Trail.

That suspect, whom the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office did not name, allegedly "exposed himself" to two lone, female hikers. He also allegedly attempted to "grab" one of the women. After a two-and-a-half-hour search, authorities found a male suspect "hiding in the woods." They chased him on foot before taking him into custody.

Authorities believe there may be additional victims who have encountered Tidwell, and they are asking anyone with relevant information to contact Detective Garrett Eastman with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office at 303-441-3633, or via email at: geastman@bouldercounty.gov.
Angelita Arellano waits for the start of her 98th birthday party as Angelica Gurrola sets out food for guests in East Los Angeles in 2020. Arellano, the grandmother of Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, died on July 15 at 100. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

When my paternal grandmother, Angelita Arellano Perez, died at age 100 last month, her survivors  eight children, 32 grandchildren, 70 great-grandchildren and 21 great-great-grandchildren  were as prepared to deal with her death as we possibly could be.

We knew Grandma wanted her funeral at St. Alphonsus Church in East Los Angeles, where she had faithfully attended Mass for decades. A mariachi would serenade her casket after the service with classics like "Despedida con Mariachi" and "Amor Eterno." The burial would be at nearby Calvary Cemetery, which Grandma had long ago chosen as her final resting place, inside a massive mausoleum.

She wanted us to mourn, but not too much. She instructed us to leave black suits and dresses in our closets and instead wear her favorite colors, white and purple. Grandma  we cousins called her that among ourselves instead of Abuelita because, assimilation  left everyone a legacy of love, hard work, faith and rancho libertarian smarts.

Really, there was only one thing to figure out on the day we laid her to rest:

What would we eat?

Read more: Column: Goodbye, Grandma Arellano, and gracias for your 100 years of love

Food is one of the easiest, yet most profound ways, to comfort someone in their time of need. Whenever theres a death among people from our ancestral region of Jerez, Zacatecas, an army of women  aunts, cousins, mothers, wives, sisters  feed the bereaved with traditional meals for days, if not a lifetime. My mother died four years ago, yet my maternal aunts  my tias Nacha, Paulita, Mela and Chayo  still send me enchiladas, chiles rellenos, beans and rice and so much more.

Early on, however, my female cousins reached a consensus that our tias wouldnt lift a finger to feed anyone in the two weeks of mourning between my grandmothers death on July 15 and her funeral on Aug. 3. These women had mothered us our entire lives; they deserved to rest after the death of their mami.

But how could we possibly live up to them?

My aunts are fabulous cooks and taught their daughters well. The spreads at family parties are worthy of a restaurant pop-up. But feeding our elders during a solemn time was a whole new task. My father and all his siblings are alive and in good health, so its not like we had much experience in confronting death with food. The only other Arellano to die in our lifetimes was our grandfather, Jose Arellano, who passed away in 1985 of a heart attack at 67. We were all kids then, or not even born.

Over texts and Apple Notes, we devised our plan.

First up was the novenario, the nine days of reciting the rosary that Mexican Catholics do to ensure that God will allow the deceased to enter heaven. About 100 people  family, friends and well-wishers  were expected each evening at my cousin Angie's house in East L.A., just a few doors away from where Grandma lived. Each set of cousins picked a day to be in charge of and let the rest of us know what they planned to bring.

One night, it was Panda Express (my dad was excited for the chow mein, although he pronounced it shaomain"). Another time, a family friend prepared birria de res, the beef stew we have eaten our entire lives but which has become ubiquitous in Southern California only in the last seven years. I footed the bill for 200 burritos from Burritos La Palma, the popular mini-chain with roots in Jerez.

The dessert spread during one of the rosaries prayed for Angelita Arellano, grandmother of Times columnist Gustavo Arellano. (Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)

The day I worked the buffet line, the menu was croissant sandwiches from Costco, Albertsons fried chicken, Little Caesars pizza and leftover fried rice from Panda Express. We tried to cater from In-N-Out  the one fast-food chain that Grandma would allow herself to eat  for the final rosary, but they required a minimum order that ran into the thousands of dollars.

Like I always say, In-N-Out is overrated.

Mexican food purists might dismiss our meals as assimilated nonsense, but no one who joined us cared. We live in Southern California, after all. Our choices reflect our day-to-day lives. Thats why Portos guava pastries were on the menu every evening as dessert. So was my cousin Beatrizs awesome red salsa spiked with chunks of avocado. One day, boxes of Krispy Kremes disappeared before the pan dulce.

On the final day, my cousin Griseldas husband, Roberto Ceballos, enlisted some male cousins, cousins-in-law and my sister's boyfriend to help him make and hand out tacos and fried quesadillas. The latter featured a delicious cheese with an orange rind that I thought was the sharp fromage our aunts and uncles bring back every time they visit Jerez.

Sorry, Roberto responded when I asked. Its Muenster.

My aunts and uncles, who sat together in the front row during every rosary, were the first to eat every night. They were mythological in our eyes. None had attended high school. Most had paid off their homes on blue-collar salaries. All had children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren with college degrees, white-collar jobs and other markers of the American dream we all still very much believe in  because we've earned it.

Now, we waited on our fathers and mothers, not the other way around. The passing of our matriarch signified a passing of the torch to my generation to continue the Arellano way.

Read more: An East L.A. abuelita celebrates her 100th birthday

The novenario meals were preludes to the funeral reception, held at Torres Banquet Hall near St. Alphonsus. Our family has visited the humble place dozens of times over the decades for weddings, baptisms, graduations and quinceaneras. Before the funeral, some of my cousins decorated tables near the stage that held photos of Grandma with every branch of the family.

She would see us eat one final time.

Outside, some of the next generation of cousins pounded Pacificos and Michelob Ultras, just like my generation did when we were their age. Inside, people chatted while extra-slow renditions of Beethovens Fur Elise and Pachelbels Canon in D served as a soothing soundtrack.

Our uncles insisted on paying for lunch: a Mexican buffet from Eastside Tacos, the catering branch of East L.A.'s famed La Princesita. Aguas frescas, calabazas, enchiladas, chiles rellenos and chicken and beef fajitas, all with handmade tortillas, along with churros for dessert.

Grandma wouldve loved all of this, said my cousin, Araceli Arellano Hager, whom we all call Chely.

"She loved to cook," added Maribel Bermejo, another Arellano cousin. "But she also taught us to step up and help."

It makes me feel good to continue these traditions, said Leticia Navarro, yet another cousin whom we all call Leti. Because I want to instill these traditions in my children. One thing that Grandma taught us is leave no one left unfed. Thats our love language. Con que haiga comida [As long as theres food], we're happy.

Erica Maya, in white, shows well-wishers photos of her late grandmother, Angelita Arellano, near the buffet line at Torres Banquet Hall in East Los Angeles. (Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)

As people began to line up for the buffet, we realized there was a problem. My uncles had ordered enough food for 200. There were easily 300 inside the banquet hall.

No one flinched. Chely and our cousin Nena handed out fried potato tacos and napkins. Maribel made an announcement that everyone start off easy so the food could last longer. Leti figured out where the closest pizzeria was  a Dominos off Olympic Boulevard  and ordered 10 large pepperoni pizzas.

I reminded her of the time Grandma pulled a similar move  for the 70th birthday of my Tio Santos, Letis father, some years back. His children had pitched in for a elegant buffet of moles and carne asada. Grandma insisted it wasn't enough food and asked that we also order pizza, especially for the kids who maybe didn't care for traditional Mexican dishes. We all laughed ... until the pizza went first.

That's right, Gus! Leti responded, as she asked her brother Rudy to tip the delivery man. I totally forgot about that!

We watched as the children of our cousins asked for slices. Then, the cousins who were our age. Finally, our tias.

Grandma wouldve been proud.

There were no tears, and there was enough food for seconds. The banquet went on for hours. And as I left, I remembered something that Grandma had said before, reminding us to enjoy ourselves while we can:

"If heaven is supposed to be a fiesta, why can't we also celebrate here?"

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Boys and Girls Club of King County is speaking out after a shooting broke out during one of their community safety meetings at the Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot. On Thursday, the group pledged to resume their work in the parking lot to prevent gun violence.

The shooting happened on July 28 and hurt five people, including two staff members from the SE Network SafetyNet group, which is part of the Boys and Girls Club.

We care enough to stay coming out here because we know consistency brings results. Consistency brings results, said the director of the SE Network Safety Program Marty Jackson, If we dont continue to show love, then our community and our young people will be hopeless.

Jackson said the goal has been meeting since July 2020, after two young black men were shot and killed in the parking lot in May. Their goal in part is to change the feel and culture of the parking lot, bring an environment of healing, and deter acts of violence.

It took a couple of weeks for the group to publicly address the shooting because they were focused on helping and supporting their staff members. One of their staff members and shooting victims was standing with the group during the press conference Thursday.

We do this work every day, but when one of our soldiers are injured -- that takes precedence, she said. Even though the leader of this team was shot, he was running around trying to see who he could help. He was still trying to tend to the community, to the victims who were shot! Jackson said.

There is no specific date yet for when the group gatherings will resume at on Friday night, other than sooner rather than later.

A lot of them may even feel powerless to stop the gun violence thats happening. But if we dont continue to do this work if we dont care for each other then what are we really doing out here, Jackson said, This is our space of refuge, this is our space to heal, and it will continue to be. .

The SafetyNet group also said they believe their meetings have helped prevent other acts of violence in the three years theyve been gathering there, pointing out the July 28 shooting marked the first shooting there since their community events began.

Jackson also addressed the shooter, who has not been arrested.

I am today speaking to whoever is responsible for this act of violence. I wish for whatever it is youre hurting for  that we couldve intervened, loved on you, given you something, Jackson said.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, hit back at rival Donald Trump during a Newsmax interview on Thursday evening.

Trump on Wednesday made a number of wild claims during his own interview with the networks Eric Bolling, including repeating his insistence that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours.

Hes completely full of it, Christie told Bolling. He then offered an example from Trumps own recent history.

Hes going to solve it in 24 hours, the same way he built the wall all across the border of Mexico. In his first four years, he built 52 miles of new wall, Christie pointed out. And the same way Mexico was going to pay for it. They havent paid a peso towards it yet. This is another of these Donald Trump fabrications.

Christie said if Trump did solve the war, it would be by giving Russian President Vladimir Putin control of the situation.

Getting back to the wall, Christie said Trumps pace would take 110 years to build a wall across the nearly 2,000-mile border.

Bolling pointed to the 2020 pandemic as a reason there was slow progress on the wall.

But Christie wasnt buying it.

Come on, Eric, he said. Eric, stop with the excuses for him, please. Please.

Christie pointed out that the pandemic hit in the final year of the Trump presidency.

So that means in three years he got 14 miles of wall done, 15 miles of wall done a year, he said. Congratulations. You know, at that pace hes going to have to have over a hundred years as president to get it done, so can we stop making excuses for him?

Christie added:

Hes a big boy now, as much as he complains all the time about how much hes picked on. Can we not have people making excuses for him on that utter failure? Especially from someone whose whole career is about being a builder.

See their full conversation below:
The gang member accused of shooting a Stockton police sergeant in the chest won't be represented by the public defender's office.

The Public Defenders Office  typically assigned to represent people facing criminal charges, but who cant afford an attorney  declared a conflict of interest Thursday morning in the case against 20-year-old Sunthawon "Benny" Savon during the man's second appearance in a superior courtroom in downtown Stockton.

The 20-year-old was charged last Friday with eight counts including attempted murder of a police officer and carjacking after he allegedly stole a Lexus and then shot a sergeant who was chasing him in a police SUV.

The shooting led to a daylong standoff in which police with SWAT equipment, including assault weapons, surrounded an entire north Stockton neighborhood where they believed Savon was hiding. The alleged shooter was captured that day and arrested.

In a phone call Thursday, lead Public Defender Miriam Lyell said her office wouldn't be able to zealously represent (Savon) based on other witnesses that we represent.

In general, conflicts arise when the interests of one of the public defender's clients are at odds with the interests of another defendant, victim or witness the office is representing in a case. It's possible, those charged in the crimes stemming from that day, could testify against Savon.

Lyell couldnt disclose specifics about the reason for the conflict of interest, she said. However, multiple people were detained during the daylong police standoff last week. It's unclear who else may have been charged.

Without a public defender to fight Savons numerous charges  which carry a potential sentence of life in prison  the judge overseeing Savon's proceeding Thursday assigned him a private "conflict" lawyer.

Stockton attorney Darrell Griffin is tasked with representing Savon as his case moves forward. The judge ordered the 20-year-old back in court on Aug. 25 for a formal arraignment, which Griffin is expected to attend.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record athttps://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Man charged in Stockton police shooting gets new lawyer after 'conflict'
Conservative Iowa talk show host Steve Deace threw his support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss presidential bid Friday.

Im endorsing Ron DeSantis for president because I think hes the strongest leader in the race. I think thats proven. Ive just seen a level of leadership, strength, that Ive just not seen in this era, the host said on The Steve Deace Show.

Ive seen a lot of good people come and go, but frankly I have never seen it, when it comes to the issues that are going to decide the future for our children and grandchildren, who has more knowledge, more willingness, more resume, in understanding them, what to do about them, and then actually doing it. Ive never seen anything like what Ron DeSantis has done in Florida, he continued.

In a press release, DeSantiss campaign referred to Deace as an Iowa Kingmaker. Deace endorsed 2008 Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee and 2016 winner Ted Cruz.

The endorsement comes as DeSantis and GOP presidential field descend on Iowa for its State Fair. DeSantiss campaign has made the early contest state its top priority as he seeks to gain momentum. The campaign has a goal of visiting all of Iowas 99 counties by the end of October.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released last week shows former President Trump still dominating the 2024 field nationally and in Iowa. However, Trump performs better nationally than in Iowa.

Nationally, Trump leads DeSantis 54 percent to 17 percent, according to the poll. However, in Iowa Trump leads DeSantis 44 percent to 20 percent among likely caucusgoers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Republican ideologue

Fifty-two percent of those voting in Kentucky voted no on the proposed constitutional amendment that would have incorporated stringent anti-abortion language in the state constitution! If the amendment had passed, it would have essentially left no room for interpretation on whether abortion access was covered under these rights.

So when Kentucky voters voted NOT to put language in the Kentucky State Constitution forbidding abortion for any and all reasons Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that it was the responsibility and privilege of elected state officeholders to make those decisions and that  regardless of the vote of the majority of citizens  he would continue to push for severe anti-abortion language to be included in the Kentucky State Constitution.

Please dont vote for the right-wing ideologue Daniel Cameron because he doesnt believe in democracy! The new republican mantra  If you cant beat them, cheat them!

Jim Porter, Danville

Dangerous road

South Ashland Avenue is a dangerous place.

If you live there and try to get out of your driveway, you had best be ready to gun it 95 percent of the time. Its as risky to enter your driveway. Drivers dont want to slow down to let you do so and you had best hope no one is on the sidewalk walking past your driveway.

Why arent traffic police monitoring this 25 mph death trap? Why are cameras not set up to catch drivers, some literally going 80 miles an hour, to catch the hostile, aggressive behavior of drivers who are furious that you are going 25 mph?

The stop signs at Fincastle and Central are meaningless. Drivers do a quick scan and then run the signs. Drivers trying to turn left onto Central or Fincastle, have cars barrel pass them on the right.

Tickets for $250 on the first offense and then doubled with each consequent offense might slow people down. These are people who dont care about others no matter if they drive a 1995 Chevy or a 2023 Lexus.

Lloyd Hill Maury, Lexington

Safe boating

We would like to thank reporter Aaron Mudd for the July 6 story on boating education. Unfortunately, he did not mention three local boating groups that offer education to the public. All these groups have local activities open to the public and would welcome participation. Information is available on their websites.

First is Americas Boating Club-Bluegrass Chapter (americasboatingclub.org), which offers Americas Boating Course - a general boating safety course available on-line and yearly in a local classroom setting. They also offers boating classes and seminars online or in the classroom, including navigation, weather, and marine electronics as well as on-the-water training.

The second is the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (cgaux.org). They offer a boating safety class to the public at least once a year. Their website offers boating safety tips and local boating safety check sites.

Third is the Cave Run Sailing Association (caverunsailing.org). This organization offers youth and adult sailing classes, as well as American Sail Association classes for advanced boat handling and navigation.

Thanks to the Herald -Leader for its promotion of safe boating in Kentucky.

Tom Woods, Commander of Americas Boating Club-Bluegrass Chapter and Al Lawton, Educational Officer of Americas Boating Club-Bluegrass Chapter, Lexington

Unsettling consequences

One learns something new every day. Recently we learned that the spirit of Al Capones IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU! was running for president. It appears that the Republican party genuinely does no longer stand for law and order, honesty, and democracy. Might makes right is now that partys standard, and everyone better fall in line and kiss the kings ring or suffer the consequences.

One has to wonder how deeply entrenched this value system is at the core of former President Donald Trumps Mini Me that is running for governor of Kentucky (Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron) and his true intentions to promote or destroy democracy in our lovely state and country.

We live in very strange and unsettling times.

Gene Lockhart, Lexington

Contact 811

As I travel around the Commonwealth speaking to groups about the importance of contacting 811 before beginning any type of digging project, I hear a lot of excuses for why people dont always contact 811.

I know where all the utility lines are. (They really dont.)

I wasnt digging very deep. (Ground erosion over time can cause some underground utility lines to be much closer to the surface than when they were installed.)

I dont have to call 811 if I dig on my own property. (Actually, yes, they do.)

I could go on and on.

The national one-call system, or 811, is a free service that operates across the U.S. and coordinates the location identification of buried utility lines to prevent damage to property, potential injury and costly repairs.

Those offering excuses may not realize the true impact of hitting an underground utility line. It may result in an inconvenient disruption of service, but it could also result in the loss of property and lives. The itll never happen to me mentality can lead to disaster and has in far too many instances.

Just dial 811, or visit Kentucky811.org, and provide some general information at least two full working days in advance of the digging project. Kentucky 811 will notify the member to mark their lines and provide a positive response back to the requester.

Its free. Its easy. And its the law. No more excuses, Kentucky. Contact 811 every time you plan to break ground.

Tim Vaughn, Executive Director, Kentucky 811

Grammar lesson

Many speeches by candidates at the Fancy Farm Picnic were full of verbal jabs and negative comments. Apparently, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron needed a crash course in grammar before speaking. In his closing remark, Cameron said, Governor, I know you guys are obsessed with pronouns these days. But come November, yours are going to be has and been!

Mr. Cameron, has and been are verbs, NOT pronouns! Most students in elementary school know the difference between pronouns and verbs! It is a shame that a candidate for governor of Kentucky has not mastered using correct language!

Carol McKee, Lexington

Fancy Farm fallout

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron frequently misses the point, and I fear he must have missed English class. He says our well-spoken Governor is obsessed with pronouns these days. He goes on to suggest that in November, Gov. Andy Beshears pronouns will be has and been.

Oops! Those are both verbs, Mr. Cameron.

Carole Boyd, Lexington

Best governor

The COVID-19 pandemic was the greatest scourge for our people in my lifetime. Mitigation and reassurance were needed. We anticipated and took solace from the daily briefing by Gov. Andy Beshear and staff. Now, after the fact, detractors are second-guessing.

Beshears choices for us to minimize close contact, sanitize, and wear masks were in conformity with prevailing scientific and medical advocacy. He was our symbol of leadership, concern, sympathy and determination to help us prevail  a beacon of light in perilous times.

As further evidence of guidance and compassion, our governor asserted immediate response to the terrible tornadoes in Western Kentucky. He did no show-boating but was honest, sincere, and sympathetic to the needs of affected citizens.

This disaster was followed by the devastating flooding in Eastern Kentucky. Beshear again responded to alleviate the suffering and loss.

Throughout his term, I have found Beshear to be the least partisan elected official in my lifetime. The present excellent economic health reflects his capability. Undergirding this governor is his compassion, honesty, sincerity, truthfulness and genuine devotion to Christian faith.

Forget the sound bites, glitzy ads, platitudes and political jargon. By all ethical and moral standards, we have the best governor in America. Lets keep him for another term!

John H. Britton, Winchester

Rosenwald schoolhouse

Officials of Lexington, the Fayette County Schools administrators and board and the Kentucky Historical Society could  and should  do something to preserve history and educate all levels of folks needing education about our history, starting immediately.

A Rosenwald schoolhouse sits in Cadentown, I believe, on private property now.

This historic structure could be renovated, furnished, supplied and used to educate all levels of Lexingtonians, in addition to any and all others around the state, about racism.

Re-enactors could be hired to teach about one-room schoolhouse education which is a major part of Kentuckys rural history. There might be interest and support by the Kentucky Historic History Society and Kentucky History Museum with money from state leaders, both executive and legislative. Maybe Gov. Andy Beshear could get federal dollars.

I personally bought a two-seater desk which is the type the school house would need. I dont know if Id part with mine - my dad started teaching in a one room schoolhouse - but I am sure many more can be found.

I hope there is massive interest immediately to do this. Lexington needs to be a model in Kentucky!

Don Pratt, Lexington

Personal freedoms

The Deep State is out to get you. A weaponized Justice Department wants to take away your freedoms - freedom to have guns, freedom to worship, freedom of speech and assembly, freedom from travel restrictions, freedom to grill burgers on Sunday. Yes, were at risk and only one guy can save us!

Too many Americans swallow this nonsense like honey on a pop-tart. If our freedoms are so fragile under Democratic leadership, then why didnt we lose them under former presidents Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama or current President Joe Biden? Freedom, truth, justice and other critical concepts are easily twisted into whatever scoundrels may wish them to mean.

There is also a freedom which authoritarian regimes grant their subjects. It is a freedom from the challenges and anxieties of personal responsibility. No more need to worry over who to vote for; no more need to decide what level of education to pursue; no more anxiety over career choice. Just relax and take whatever comes; but dont dare make a fuss!

Make up your mind, America. Time is short!

Ernest Henninger, Lexington
Police escort the coffin carrying the remains of slain presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio at Camposanto Monteolivo cemetery for his burial in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. The 59-year-old was fatally shot at a political rally on Aug. 9 in Quito. (Carlos Noriega/AP)

QUITO, Ecuador  Ecuador will hold six Colombian men for at least a month as the country probes their involvement in the slaying of a presidential candidate whose lifes work was fighting crime and corruption, the national prosecutors office said Friday.

A public ceremony to mourn Fernando Villavicencio was held Friday in the capital convention center, while a separate funeral service was being held for relatives.

People need to know that his familys in danger and we cant go to such a big event, the victims daughter, Tamia Villavicencio, told reporters outside the cemetery.

The Colombian men were arrested Wednesday in connection with Villavicencios killing in the capital, Quito, earlier in the day. The men, whose nationalities were announced late Thursday, will be detained for at least 30 days in the investigation, but will almost certainly be held for months or years as the case plays out.

They face as many as 26 years in prison each.

Villavicencio was not a front-runner in the race, but his assassination in broad daylight less than two weeks before a special presidential election shocked the country and demonstrated how surging crime will challenge Ecuadors next leader. Violence linked to gangs and cartels have claimed thousands of lives in the past few years.

The suspects were captured hiding in a house in Quito, according to an arrest report reviewed by The Associated Press. Law enforcement officers seized four shotguns, a 5.56-mm rifle, ammunition and three grenades as well as a vehicle and one motorcycle, the report said. Investigators said they found 64 shell casings at the scene of the shooting.

Villavicencio, 59, had said he was threatened by affiliates of Mexicos Sinaloa cartel, one of a slew of international organized crime groups that now operate in Ecuador. He said his campaign represented a threat to such groups.

Armed Colombian groups have long used the porous border with Ecuador to hide from the authorities in a region scarred by both cocaine trafficking and deadly political battles between Colombian factions and state forces.

With almost 400 miles of Pacific coast, shipping ports and some key exports, Ecuador has been turned by international traffickers from a minor player in the drug business into a hub for the smuggling of cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru.

A lack of opportunities and decades of conflict have produced some of the worlds most renowned hired guns.

Colombian assassins  known as sicarios  made headlines for decades in their own country for waves of high-profile killings. Perhaps the most notable case was the killing of presidential candidate and former leftist rebel Carlos Pizarro, who was shot in 1990 by an assassin aboard a commercial flight.

In 1999, Ecuadorian presidential candidate Jamie Hurtado was assassinated, orders that allegedly came from Colombian paramilitaries. In 2021, a pack of Colombian ex-soldiers were found to be involved in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, thrusting the Caribbean nation into chaos.

Colombian soldiers can be highly trained, including by the U.S. military. When they leave the service, they often struggle to make ends meet and make up a pool of recruits for companies seeking anything from consultants to bodyguards. Teams have guarded Middle Eastern oil pipelines and and have fought against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In Haiti, the ex-soldiers said they were duped and thought they were traveling to Haiti to provide security, and were eventually entangled in the assassination.

In Ecuador, an intensifying struggle over power and territory since the pandemic has seen drug cartels battle among themselves and enlist local gangs and even recruit children, leaving Ecuadorians reeling from unprecedented violence.

The Ecuador National Police tallied 3,568 violent deaths in the first six months of this year, far more than the 2,042 reported during the same period in 2022. That year ended with 4,600 violent deaths, the countrys highest in history and double the total in 2021.

Just last month, the mayor of the port city of Manta was shot to death. President Guillermo Lasso then declared a state of emergency covering two provinces and the countrys prison system in an effort to stem the violence.

Video of the political rally posted on social media shows Villavicencio leaving surrounded by guards. He is then seen getting into a white pickup truck before gunshots are heard, followed by screams and commotion around the truck.

Zuquilanda said Villavicencio had received at least three death threats before the shooting and reported them to authorities, resulting in one detention.

Lasso declared three days of national mourning and a state of emergency that involves deploying additional military personnel throughout the country.

Villavicencio, one of eight candidates running for president, was the candidate of the Build Ecuador Movement. In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would fight corruption, including among police forces, and imprison more criminals.

Here I am showing my face. Im not scared of them, Villavicencio said in a statement before his death, naming detained crime boss Jose Adolfo Macias by his alias, Fito.

People went about their lives by taking outdoor exercise classes and daily walks because they are resigned to living amid the violence. Among them was Marjorie Lino, who lamented the danger as she walked with a friend along the main road that leads to one of the countrys most violent neighborhoods.

When one is going to die, one dies even at the door of ones house, Lino, a 38-year-old housewife, said. She said does not believe that any of the presidential candidates will be able to end the violence.

Villavicencio was an independent journalist who investigated corruption in previous governments before entering politics as an anti-graft campaigner. He was one of the countrys most critical voices of the 2007-2017 government of President Rafael Correa.

Villavicencio, who was married and is survived by five children, filed many judicial complaints against high-ranking members of the Correa government, including against the ex-president himself. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation over his criticisms of Correa, and fled to Indigenous territory in Ecuador, later receiving asylum in neighboring Peru.

One of Villavicencios investigations led to criminal proceedings and an eight-year prison sentence on corruption charges against Correa. The former president, who moved to Belgium in 2017, was sentenced in absentia in April 2020.

The country has faced a series of political upheavals in recent years. A snap election was called after Lasso, a conservative former banker, dissolved the National Assembly by decree in May, in a move to avoid being impeached over allegations that he failed to intervene to end a faulty contract between the state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company.

Authorities said that at least nine others were wounded in Wednesdays shooting, including a congressional candidate.

Its a message to Ecuadorian society as a whole that those who attempt to stand up to this kind of corruption and and illegality can pay with their lives, said Cynthia Arnson, a distinguished fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Center and an expert in Latin America.

Garcia Cano reporter from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Sara Espana and Megan Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
Tariq The Corn Kid said it best: "Corn is awesome!" While Tariq enjoys a corncob slathered in butter, others may prefer corn for feeding chickens or scattering throughout the woods for deer.

A Christian County family is introducing a new (perhaps even "awesome") way for folks to purchase field corn, an agricultural crop largely used for livestock feeding. This weekend, son and father duo Logan and Kevin Peebles are unveiling southwest Missouri's first corn vending machine, SoMo Corn Co.

Located at 1521 W. Mount Vernon St. in Nixa, SoMo Corn Co. is a corn vending machine that dispenses field corn grown by the Peebles in Christian and Lawrence Counties. To use, patrons first indicate how many pounds of corn they'd like to purchase on a digital touchscreen pad, pay with cash or card and then corn is distributed from a hopper into a container, which they must supply.

Corn drops from a hopper into a bag at the SoMo Corn Co. corn vending machine, located at 1521 W. Mount Vernon St. in Nixa, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

Logan said the on-site hopper can hold up to 56,000 pounds of corn and operates with scales certified by the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

The minimum order at SoMo Corn Co. is 20 pounds. As of Thursday, corn is priced at 4.4 pounds per dollar, with 22 pounds of corn priced at $5, all the way up to 330 pounds of corn (the largest amount the vending machine can dispense for one customer) at $75. The vending machine is open 24/7.

SoMo Corn Co.'s grand opening is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Refreshments will be available and folks who purchase $50 or more of corn will receive a free SoMo Corn Co. t-shirt. All corn will also be nearly 20% off.

The corn vending machine movement

The SoMo Corn Co. corn vending machine, located at 1521 W. Mount Vernon St. in Nixa, dispenses field corn grown by the Peebles family in Christian and Lawrence Counties.

The Peebles worked with Maize Kraize, a company based in Alabama, to install the SoMo Corn Co. hopper and exhaustion systems. Established in 2016, Maize Kraize has helped manufacture and install 29 corn vending machines throughout the country, most of which are located in the southeast, Logan said. SoMo Corn Co. is the third corn vending machine in Missouri. The other two are in Polo and Dexter.

According to the Maize Kraize website, Jason Spiller and Ben Burleson founded the company with the hope to create a machine that closes the gap between farmers and consumers, offering corn in bulk to local customers.

Logan, who works as a traveling welder, said he learned about the corn vending machine movement on social media. After contacting Maize Kraize with interest in establishing his own, it took about six months for the company to manufacture and deliver the parts.

Logan Peebles and his dad Kevin opened a corn vending machine, located at 1521 W. Mount Vernon St. in Nixa, that dispenses field corn grown by the Peebles in Christian and Lawrence Counties.

SoMo Corn Co. is an extension of the farming business for the Peebles, who have been local farmers, both in dairy and grain for decades. Kevin said the family has been growing field corn for about 15 to 20 years. They also grow wheat and soy beans in the area.

Can you eat field corn?

Corn from the SoMo Corn Co. corn vending machine, located at 1521 W. Mount Vernon St. in Nixa, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

Field corn is edible, Logan said, but it doesn't taste good like sweet corn, which folks are used to eating. Field corn is harvested when its kernels are hard and dry, while sweet corn is harvested when tender on the outside and juicy on the inside (Tariq's favorite).

Who is Tariq The Corn Kid?

Known as The Corn Kid and The CEO of Corn, 8-year-old Tariq gained popularity last year after sharing his love for eating corn on a Recess Therapy video. An online video series, Recess Therapy features creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum interviewing children about a variety of topics.

In the minute and a half video, Tariq shares his love for corn, not asking everyone to love corn but just to give it a try.

"I can't image a more beautiful thing. It's corn!" Tariq exclaims in the video.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Got corn? Nixa is home to Missouri's third field corn vending machine
The fall vaccination season is just around the corner, and officials are rolling out a new updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The fall vaccination season is just around the corner, and officials are set to roll out another updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as new tools to protect against RSV.

Here's a rundown of the three types of vaccines that will be available in the coming months.

A new COVID-19 vaccine could roll out by late September

A fall 2023 version of the COVID vaccine will likely be reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the latter part of September, officials say.

Guidance on who is recommended to get that shot will come around that time.

The newest shot eventually will supersede the 2022 version. Introduced 11 months ago, the booster was designed against the BA.5 and BA.4 sublineages of the Omicron variant. It was called a bivalent shot because it was designed to protect against both the latest sublineages as well as the ancestral strain.

The 2023 version of the vaccine also will be designed against the latest dominant Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5. It will be a monovalent vaccine focused only on XBB. Scientists say the 2023 COVID-19 vaccine formula doesn't need to protect against the ancestral strain since the original version of the coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, is essentially extinct.

Read more: COVID vaccine should be updated to target XBB strain, FDA committee says

Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations is an important way to maximize protection against the disease, experts say. While most people have been vaccinated in some form, many haven't received the latest version. In California, for instance, 73% of residents have received their primary vaccination, but only 21% are considered up to date on their shots.

In April, federal health officials recommended that seniors 65 and older and immunocompromised people be allowed to get an additional bivalent booster at least four months after their initial updated booster.

If you aren't current on your COVID-19 shots, are immunocompromised or older, UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong suggests getting the 2022 version of the shot now, given that COVID-19 levels are rising.

"I'm just worried about them getting very sick," Chin-Hong said.

But for younger people and those who are not immunocompromised, Chin-Hong said it's probably fine to wait for the 2023 version.

People can still talk to their doctors about getting the 2022 version now, though. Chin-Hong said he's heard of a mother who had just given birth and was considering getting a 2022 version of the COVID-19 shot so she could pass on antibodies to the baby since infants cannot be vaccinated until they're at least 6 months old.

As the pandemic emergency has wound down, requirements to be vaccinated have eased. Federal officials on Saturday ended requirements that healthcare workers at facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding be vaccinated against COVID-19. L.A. County also rescinded its COVID vaccination requirement for healthcare workers.

"However, healthcare workers are encouraged to be fully up to date on COVID-19 vaccines. When workers in healthcare settings are up to date on their vaccines, there is both a reduced risk to patients and among health care workers themselves," the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

A new RSV drug is coming

The CDC last week gave the green light to a new immunization to protect against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which can cause significant illness and death in young children and older people.

The immunization is called nirsevimab, and has the brand name Beyfortus, and is being distributed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi. It's not technically a vaccine, which boosts immunity for the future; rather, it's a long-acting monoclonal antibody that acts as a preventive drug that provides immediate and short-term protection, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Beyfortus has been found to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and healthcare visits for RSV in infants by 80%, the CDC said. It is likely to become available sometime this fall.

RSV became a household name last fall as the virus stressed children's hospitals in California and across the nation. The virus sickened so many children last year that some hospitals reported running short of pediatric beds.

Read more: FDA approves first vaccine for RSV after decades of attempts

In a typical year, RSV can lead to 100 to 300 deaths in children younger than 5 and 6,000 to 10,000 deaths among seniors 65 and older. The virus also can cause up to 80,000 hospitalizations a year among children younger than 5 and as many as 160,000 a year in seniors.

The CDC recommended Beyfortus "for all infants younger than 8 months, born during  or entering  their first RSV season (typically fall through spring). For a small group of children between the ages of 8 and 19 months who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease, such as children who are severely immunocompromised, a dose is recommended in their second season."

This new RSV immunization provides parents with a powerful tool to protect their children against the threat of RSV, CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalizations for infants and older babies at higher risk, and today we have taken an important step to make this life-saving product available.

Two vaccines against RSV also were given the green light earlier this summer for older adults. In June, the CDC endorsed an advisory group's recommendation for new RSV vaccines for those 60 and older, a decision the CDC said should be based on a patient's discussion with their healthcare provider on whether the vaccination is right for them. Those vaccines are being offered by GSK and Pfizer.

Flu shots

The updated flu vaccination formula has been set for this fall. The CDC suggests the best times to get vaccinated against the flu are in September and October.

Getting vaccinated in August is not recommended for most people, the CDC said, unless there is reason to expect the person can't get vaccinated in September or October. There are some exceptions: Pregnant people in their third trimester may want to get a flu vaccine in August to help ensure their newborn babies are protected because they're too young to get a flu shot, the CDC said.

Everyone 6 months and older should get the annual flu shot, the CDC said, a recommendation that has remained consistent since 2010.

Sign up for Essential California, your daily guide to news, views and life in the Golden State.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ecuadorians have found themselves in the middle of a bloody turf war as rival criminal organizations mete out brutal and often public shows of violence, battling to control drug trafficking routes that cross the Andean nation.

Reports of dismemberments, prison riots, bombings and the killing of journalists, judges and mayors have dominated the headlines, and many Ecuadorians are opting to leave the country  the countrys civil registry even extended its hours this year as it reported rising demand for passports and identity cards.

In December 2022, US Customs and Border Patrol encountered more than 16,000 Ecuadorians at the US southern border  24 times the number than the same month a year before.

But the high-profile assassination on Wednesday of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio could be a turning point for the country that has so far struggled to control the bloodshed.

Villavicencios death should be a wakeup call for Ecuadors democracy, Juan Pappier, Human Rights Watchs acting deputy director for the Americas, told CNN.

For years and the Ecuadorian authorities have failed to respond (to the security crisis) and this should be the wake up call to finally take action to protect the population  given this rise of organized crime groups that are terrorizing large parts of Ecuador, he added.

Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio ran on an anti-corruption platform prior to his death. - Karen Toro/Reuters

Drug fueled violence

Ecuador, home to the Galapagos islands and a tourist-friendly dollar economy, was once known as an island of peace, nestled between two of the worlds largest narcotics producers, Peru and Colombia.

But Ecuadors deep ports have made it a key transit point for drugs making its way to consumers in the US and Europe. And its dollarized economy also makes it a strategic location for traffickers seeking to launder money.

The sharp uptick of violence that has transformed Ecuador into one of the most dangerous countries in the region coincides with a cocaine boom.

Global production levels are expected to hit historic levels this year, said Laura Lizarazo, a senior analyst for the Andean region at political risk consultancy Control Risks. The market is flooded with cocaine and criminal organizations are adapting to explore this over-production, she said.

Analysts told CNN that foreign syndicates like Mexican cartels, Brazilian urban gangs, and even Albanian mafia cells are working with local Ecuadorian criminal groups, such as the Choneros and the Lobos, fueling the ongoing conflict.

Economic insecurity has helped drive some Ecuadorians to crime, and others to flee the country. Over half Ecuadors workforce is in the informal economy, meaning that millions of people do not have a contract and benefit packages to rely on in hard times  a situation that was further exacerbated by the pandemic.

Floundering authorities

Security and state forces have been badly unprepared for the rise of criminal groups in the country. Some state forces lack proper training equipment and strategy to effectively address threat, they also have limited state capacity to effectively charge and prosecute criminal organizations, Lizarazo said.

Ecuadors increasingly embattled President Guillermo Lasso has implemented several states of emergencies that have done little to tamp the bloodletting. At one-point, he authorized civilians to use guns, to the consternation of security companies, say critics.

Widespread discontent with the rocketing crime rates tanked Lassos popularity this year, paving the way for him to call for snap general elections on August 20, in which he is not a candidate.

A a car transports the body of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on August 10. - Karen Toro/Reuters

Corruption allegations have also swirled around Ecuadors justice and security system. Last year, the US withdrew visas from high-ranking officers of Ecuadorian state security forces, alleged to be linked to drug trafficking, as well as several judges and lawyers.

Lizarazo said graft has penetrated the police, military, the judiciary and even the executive, meaning the next administration has deep rooted challenges to address once in power.

Many are forced to make a choice between a bribe or a bullet, Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington office of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, told CNN. There is clearly the incentive for gangs to be infiltrating the judicial system or the security forces  at least some folks are tempted by the (saying) you can have silver, or you can have lead.

Looming election

The murder of Villavicencio  a former journalist with a long record of exposing corruption  could impact the presidential vote on August 20, say analysts, as many political hopefuls in the region seek to emulate the mano dura policies of El Salvadors leader Nayib Bukele.

The races frontrunner, former lawmaker Luisa Gonzalez who is affiliated with the countrys former leftwing President Rafael Correa, has been more measured in her approach to crime, and has called for the judiciary to be reinforced to help with prosecutions.

Security personnel arrive at the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison after a riot in April. - Vicente Gaibor del Pino/Reuters

Other contenders, like businessman and political outsider Jan Topic, are vowing a crackdown; an approach that could prove particularly appealing now.

But all candidates face a disillusioned public. Ecuadorian voters have high levels of apathy, dissatisfaction, and mistrust of the political system, with up to 60% of the population not knowing the names of the candidates, according to experts.

Now that this awful development (the assassination) has put the presidential campaign, and security crisis back in the spotlight, Lizarazo said, voters may feel empowered to vote for the most eye-catching approach to end the violence.

CNNs Catherine Shoichet contributed to this report.

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A man with intellectual disabilities was forced by his caretaker to live in a hut in the backyard of a Florida home, police said.

St. Petersburg Police were contacted by the Department of Children and Families after reports that a non-verbal man was being forced to live outside, according to an Aug. 10 news release.

Officers went to the home and found the 22-year-old man living in squalor behind the house, police said.

The victim was forced to sleep outside and sometimes stay in a makeshift hut in the backyard, police said. He was not allowed inside the house and had not bathed. He was covered in feces.

The man appeared to be malnourished, and while he was given food by his caretaker, the man also ate trash out of garbage cans outside, St. Petersburg Police spokeswoman Ashley Limardo told WFLA.

No one, no matter the circumstances, should be living in these types of living conditions, Limardo told the outlet.

The man was living outside as St. Petersburg has been under heat advisory warnings and temperatures and heat index consistently reach into the 90s and above, according to the National Weather Service.

Police said the man was under the care of the 56-year-old homeowner and his 59-year-old live-in girlfriend, according to the release.

The caretaker and his girlfriend were both charged with neglect of a disabled adult, police said.

We would like to remind our residents that if you see something, say something, police said. There are resources in our community available to our vulnerable residents. There is no reason for anyone to live under these conditions.

The Florida Abuse Hotline is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and can be reached at 1-800-96-ABUSE.

If you suspect an elder adult or an adult with disabilities has experienced, is currently experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation, your first step should be to contact the appropriate agency.

National Adult Protective Services Association has a list of state agencies you can contact confidentially. Find help specific to your area here.

Assisted living resident abandoned outside overnight in bad weather, Georgia cops say

Mom took her autistic son into movie theater bathroom. Then cops were called, suit says

Sister steals over $64,000 in disability benefits from dead brother for years, feds say

Goodwill job coach raped disabled co-workers and warned them not to tell, cops say
FILE PHOTO: Scales of Justice are seen in Brittany's Parliament in Rennes

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school students to use the restroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a transgender middle school student.

U.S. District Judge David Nye said his temporary restraining order Thursday did not weigh on the merits of the case, but said preserving the status quo at least until he could consider it more fully at a Sept. 13 hearing was "the most fitting approach at the current juncture."

"The court's ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety, and respect at school," Peter Renn of Lambda Legal, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

The office of Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said in a statement it looked forward to making its case at the upcoming hearing.

The student's family, under the pseudonym Rebecca Roe, and a student association sued the state last month. They said the state law, signed by Republican Governor Brad Little in March, illegally discriminates on the basis of gender identity and violates students' right to privacy.

Republican-led states have passed numerous bills targeting transgender youth in the last two years, including what are called "bathroom bills" like Idaho's, and bans on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors.

Idaho's bathroom bill allows students to sue schools for $5,000 if they encounter a transgender student in a bathroom the law forbids. That effectively puts a "bounty" on transgender students and encourages others to search them out, the lawsuit said.

The new law says schools must provide a "reasonable accommodation" for transgender students unwilling or unable to use their assigned bathroom. The lawsuit alleges such alternate accommodations are "often inferior to the facilities used by others, located in less accessible locations, and stigmatizing for them to use."

Federal courts have been divided on school policies requiring transgender students to use the restroom corresponding to their birth sex, with the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finding a Virginia school's policy illegal, and the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit upholding one in a Florida school.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Chris Reese)
ASHEVILLE - A sheriff's deputy arrested during a human trafficking investigation and charged with soliciting a prostitute has a new court date.

Chad Walker had an Aug. 10 appearance scheduled in Buncombe County Administrative Court, according to the public online calendar. It is not clear if Walker, 40, appeared for that session which used a less formal, drop-in format with no judge present. Walker is now scheduled to appear Oct. 5, again for Administrative Court.

He is facing a misdemeanor charge that has a maximum penalty of 45 days in jail for someone with no prior convictions. Walker did not respond to Aug. 10 messages. Court records show no lawyer for him.

Chad Walker, 40, former deputy at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, poses for a picture posted on the Sheriff Office's Facebook page in 2019. Walker was arrested and charged with Solicitation of a Prostitute by APD June 22, 2023.

Walker was fired by Sheriff Quentin Miller June 22 after being arrested that day by Asheville Police Department officers at a Tunnel Road hotel east of downtown. APD was at the hotel assisting Cherokee Indian Police Department officers in making an arrest when they observed what they said appeared to be human trafficking, including three different women at the hotel with multiple men coming and out of rooms.

Walker was arrested from the Buncombe County jail on a promise to appear in court. APD has declined to say whether Walker was suspected of more than solicitation. Walker, began with the Sheriff's Office in 2008, rising to the rank of sergeant before being demoted to patrol officer in 2021, according to personnel records obtained by the Citizen Times through a public records request. His pay was $28.11 an hour.

On Aug. 10, APD spokesperson Samantha Booth said the investigation remained ongoing.

Others investigation details:

Officers seized four different types of pistols, 9.97 grams of fentanyl, 13.42 grams of meth and 13.19 grams of crack cocaine.

Paul Anthony Valdez Jr., 35, was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed gun, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a weapon of mass destruction and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. He was also charged with being a fugitive from another state. Valdez was being held under a secured bond of $32,500.

Milo Jamemall Henderson, 39, was charged with trafficking opium or heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, plus three separate charges of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture, sell or deliver for schedule III controlled substance, cocaine and methamphetamine. He was held in the jail under a $75,000, but secured bond until being released July 28. It is not clear if he made bond.

Several juveniles were apprehended carrying firearms and were released to their parents and the Department of Juvenile Justice was contacted.

Valdez's attorney Justin Sigmon has said he did not know why APD included his client's name in arrests involved with the human trafficking investigation.

"I have heard nothing, nor seen anything indicating that he was involving in any human trafficking," Sigmon said in an Aug. 4 message to the Citizen Times.

Valdez's attorney Ted Besen declined to comment.

More: Ex-Asheville man facing LA sex crime charges has court date; said not guilty of 4 charges

Jury rejects woman's sex trafficking claims against Baumstark, 3 other police officers

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Court date for cop charged with hiring prostitute; trafficking probe
The Kyiv Commercial Court ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to restore property to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Reserve, the Culture Ministry announced on Aug. 10.

The Russian-backed church was required to return 79 objects from the section of the monastery known as the Lower Lavra.

On Aug. 9, the court also affirmed the government's decision to terminate the UOC-MP's lease on the Lower Lavra.

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, an important religious and cultural landmark famous for its complex cave systems, is both a monastery and museum. Following Russia's full-scale invastion of Ukraine, the government has taken steps to remove the UOC-MP from controlling the Lavra.

The Moscow-affiliated church already lost its lease on the site known as the Upper Lavra when it expired in January and the state opted not to renew. However, the church's agreement on use of the Lower Lavra, signed during the term of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, did not specify an end date.

Nonetheless, on March 10, the Culture Ministry ordered the church to vacate the premises of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra entirely.

While the UOC-MP contested this order, the Aug. 9 court decision affirms the eviction, and the order to return Lavra property further pressures the Moscow affiliate to cede control over the site.

The ministry called it "a fair decision."

Read also: Kyivan Rus, then and now

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Cumbria Police said it had to contact every staff member once it became aware of the breach

The names and the salaries of every Cumbria Police officer and staff member were accidentally published online, it has emerged.

The force said "human error" led to information being wrongly uploaded to its website on 6 March.

However, personal details, including dates of birth and addresses, were among the details not released.

It comes as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) mistakenly shared details of 10,000 of its staff.

Cumbria Police said the impact of its breach was "low", but had informed the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Details of the breach were reported to the force on the same day, it said, with the information taken down shortly after.

'Information removed immediately'

A spokesperson for the force said: "The pay and allowance data also included names and position, however, it did not contain information about where the posts were deployed from or personal details such as date of birth and address.

"This information was removed immediately after the breach was identified.

"Cumbria Constabulary immediately contacted every affected person about the data breach, explaining that the impact of this breach was low and the measures the constabulary had put in place to manage the breach and to prevent it happening again."

The ICO, which regulates how information is held and used by authorities including councils and police forces across the UK, said no further action was necessary.

Earlier this week an "industrial-scale breach of data" was revealed in Northern Ireland which saw some details of about 10,000 PSNI officers and staff published online for a number of hours.

On Wednesday details of another breach for the PSNI emerged after the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July.

Officers there have described deciding to leave Northern Ireland because they no longer feel safe there.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish Defence Minister Jacob Ellemann-Jensen dismissed his ministry's permanent secretary of state on Friday after criticism over the handling of an artillery arms purchase from Israel.

Denmark agreed in January to purchase artillery systems from Israel's Elbit Systems worth 1.74 billion Danish crowns ($256 million) after having donated much of its own weapon systems to Ukraine.

Ahead of the deal, the ministry rushed parliament's finance committee to approve the purchase, saying the company's offer would expire at the end of the month. But the ministry acknowledged earlier this week that Elbit's offer expired only at the end of June.

Ellemann-Jensen apologised earlier this week for his handling of the case and said he had not deliberately provided incorrect information to parliament.

But he called a meeting with members of parliament on Friday and told them he had learned that information he had communicated to parliament earlier in the week was missing important details.

"It is an overall assessment that the close and trusting cooperation that is needed between a minister and a permanent secretary is no longer possible, especially in light of the large and important tasks facing the armed forces," Ellemann-Jensen told reporters after the meeting.

NATO-member Denmark has pledged to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP and said it will spend 143 billion crowns on defence over the next 10 years.

In January, the finance committee was also told that other weapons manufacturers, including France's Nexter Systems and South Korean Hanwha Systems, would have longer delivery times than the one year offered by Elbit Systems.

However, Nexter Systems said in late January it could deliver new weapons to Denmark at the end of 2023, and has denied telling the Danish defence ministry that the company could deliver only after two years.

($1 = 6.7940 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Frances Kerry)
A 3-year-old child died Thursday aboard a bus of asylum-seekers sent to Chicago, the Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed.

The child died while entering the Chicago area, IDPH spokeswoman Lauri Sanders said. She said she was unable to share more information or circumstances regarding the childs death.

IDPH is working with local health officials, state police, and federal authorities to the fullest extent possible to get answers in this tragic situation, Sanders said in a statement Thursday evening.

Chicago has received at least 176 buses and more than 12,000 people in the 11 months since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending migrants from Texas to the city last year. The city of Denver and Catholic Charities in San Antonio have also sent buses of migrants to Chicago.

The busloads have contributed to a humanitarian crisis as the thousands of newly arrived people stretch city resources. Migrants have filled police station lobbies and large shelters across Chicago. Nearly 6,000 migrants resided in city-run temporary shelters at the start of August, while about 1,000 awaited placement.

[ 52 days on the road: A migrant familys desperate journey to Chicago ]

City leaders have criticized the groups behind the buses for not cooperating and sending people in need to a city with dwindling resources. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded Abbott halt plans to once again bus migrants in April.

These individuals and families were packed onto buses and shipped across the country like freight without regard to their personal circumstances, Lightfoot wrote.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
The News

A Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who had been investigating Hunter Biden was appointed as special counsel in the case by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday. Weiss had requested special counsel status on Tuesday.

The moves comes as more Republicans had called for the appointment of a special counsel, which was fueled by what they said was a sweetheart plea deal for Biden earlier this summer. That deal collapsed after further scrutiny from a Delaware federal judge.

There are now three special counsels, each of whom are investigating a former U.S. president, a sitting U.S. president, and his son.

Weve curated insights on Weiss appointment as special counsel in what is already a highly politicized case.

Insights

Some Republicans dont believe Weiss is the right man to handle this job. A spokesperson for Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a staunch Trump ally, said they dont believe Weiss can be trusted. The question now is whether Congress will want Weiss to still testify before Congress in September or October now that he is a special counsel. 

Since being appointed, Weiss has already requested a change of venue to Washington, D.C. or California, where Biden allegedly committed his tax crimes, Politico reported. Trump supporters and conservative commentators are already denouncing the request, claiming juries in these courts will favor Biden.

Weiss appointment may not be consistent with special counsel regulations, given that U.S. law requires someone outside government to serve as special counsel, argued former assistant U.S. attorney Andrew Weissmann.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that the federal prosecutor who is investigating Hunter Biden, President Bidens son, will be appointed as special counsel, giving increased authority for the probe.

David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, requested the designation on Tuesday, Garland said.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

Weiss was nominated to be the states federal prosecutor by former President Trump in 2017, and was confirmed by a unanimous Senate vote in January 2018.

He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for Delaware in the late 1980s, and the First Assistant U.S. attorney from 2007 until his promotion in 2018.

Between his stints with the federal prosecutors office, he worked as a commercial lawyer and finance executive.

Weiss began the Hunter Biden investigation into alleged tax crimes in 2018 and was not asked to resign when Biden became president in 2021, like other federal prosecutors, because of the potential conflict. It is standard procedure for a president to nominate their own federal prosecutors when they reach office.

Hunter Biden was charged with misdemeanor tax and firearms crimes in June.

The Justice Department and Hunter Biden came to an agreed plea deal this summer, but that deal fell through over questions about its leniency and immunity for conduct. Weiss said Friday after his appointment that the case will likely go to trial.

The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial, he said.

A special counsel designation allows Weiss to charge Hunter Biden with crimes outside of Delaware, should he decide to do so.

This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests, Garland said. It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently based only on the facts and the law.

As special counsel he will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has previously exercised to oversee the investigation and decide where, when, and whether to file charges, he added.

Weiss is Garlands third special counsel, after Robert Hur in January who investigated classified documents at Bidens home and office and Jack Smith last year who has now indicted former President Trump twice in separate investigations.

Republicans have already doubted if Weiss can be trusted to prosecute the Hunter Biden case. House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) criticized the appointment and has floated the possibility of impeaching Biden over investigations into his family.

If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people, McCarthy said on X, formerly Twitter.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(This Aug. 11 story has been refiled to remove video)

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prosecutor David Weiss has spent years probing allegations involving President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. Now as a U.S. special counsel, he will have a chance to dig deeper while facing intense scrutiny from the president's opponents.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss, the Delaware U.S. attorney, to the special counsel job on Friday, two weeks after a federal judge held off accepting Weiss's deal to let Hunter Biden plead guilty to failing to pay taxes and unlawfully owning a firearm while addicted to illegal drugs.

Garland said Weiss asked for the appointment.

After being appointed on Friday, Weiss said in a court filing that plea negotiations had stalled and the case would likely go to trial.

Weiss supervised the Biden investigation from its start in 2019, focusing initially on potential violations of tax and money laundering laws in Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, particularly in China, Reuters has reported.

Weiss's legal career has been built on a string of high-stakes assignments involving political and business figures in the Bidens' home state of Delaware. Weisss firm represented the family of Anne Marie Fahey, a secretary of Delaware's then-governor who went missing in 1996.

Weiss pressed federal authorities to get involved in the investigation, said Thomas Ostrander, who worked with Weiss at law firm Duane Morris, a move that helped lead to the murder conviction of Delawares former deputy attorney general.

Weiss also oversaw the prosecution of Christopher Tigani, a Delaware beer distributor who solicited donations for Joe Bidens unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign and was later convicted of campaign finance violations, Politico reported.

Weisss office suffered a setback in a high-profile corporate case in 2021 when a federal appeals court overturned the convictions of four former Wilmington Trust executives accused of hiding troubled loans in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Prosecutors later agreed to drop all charges.

A TRUMP APPOINTEE, WEISS A REPUBLICAN TARGET NONE THE LESS

Republican then-President Donald Trump in 2018 named Weiss to his post as the top federal prosecutor in Delaware. Weiss agreed to stay in the job after Biden took office in January 2021 to complete his long-running probe into Hunter Bidens finances.

Hunter Biden's legal woes have been amplified by Republican lawmakers who have pressed unproven claims that his father, a Democrat, has benefited from his son's business ventures.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was among Republican leaders to criticize Weiss after his special counsel appointment, asking how Weiss's fairness could be trusted after he negotiated what McCarthy called a "sweetheart" plea deal that a judge would not approve.

Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise called him a "sham special counsel."

Garland has previously vowed not to interfere in the criminal investigation and answered Republican criticism by emphasizing Weisss role leading the probe. Former colleagues described Weiss as an independent-minded prosecutor.

I dont think hes thinking about the politics at all, Ostrander told Reuters in June. Hes simply thinking about doing his job and doing whats appropriate under the circumstances.

Weiss's nomination as Delaware's U.S. attorney was backed by Delawares two Democratic U.S. senators. He previously served as the top deputy in the office and was interim U.S. attorney during the early years of the 2009-2017 Obama administration.

Lawmakers credited Weiss with prosecuting corruption, money laundering, drug offenses and helping to secure federal funding to fight illegal drug trafficking in Delaware.

(This story has been refiled to correct date to 2019 from 2018 in paragraph 5)

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by David Bario and Howard Goller)
U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks at the National Urban League conference at the Washington Convention Center on August 4, 1997. On August 11, 1997, he became the first president to use the line-item veto. UPI File Photo

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1877, Thomas Edison described the fundamentals of the phonograph to an assistant and instructed him to build the first one.

In 1934, the first group of federal prisoners classified as "most dangerous" arrived at Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay.

In 1943, German military forces started evacuating Sicily, Italy, under threat by the Allies in World War II.

In 1952, Jordan's parliament ousted King Talal for being mentally unfit to rule and named his 17-year-old son King Hussein. The young king would go on to rule 43 years, until his death Feb. 7, 1999.

Participants march in support of gay rights at the 2015 NYC Gay Pride March in New York City on June 28, 2015. On August 11, 2007, the Evangelical Lutheran Church voted to lift a ban on gay clergy members. File Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI

In 1954, a formal announcement ended the seven-year war in Indochina between France and forces of the communist Viet Minh.

In 1965, riots began in the Watts section of Los Angeles. In six days of violence, 34 people were killed.

Michael Phelps of the United States stands with his gold medal after taking first place in the men's 200m individual medley with a time of 1:54.66 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 11, 2016. File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI

In 1984, in an off-air radio voice check picked up by TV cameras, U.S. President Ronald Reagan joked, "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes." The Kremlin wasn't amused.

UPI File Photo

On Aug. 11, 2009, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, younger sister of President John Kennedy, died in a Cape Cod, Mass., hospital. She was 88. File Photo by Doug Mills/UPI

In 1991, a Lebanese militant group, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, released U.S. hostage Edward Tracy, 60, who was a captive for nearly five years.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton endorsed the "Brady Bill" handgun control measure and signed an executive order banning the import of semiautomatic assault-style handguns.

A memorial sculpture stands at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Ark., where, on March 23, 1998, four girls and a teacher were killed when two boys shot guns from a nearby wooded area. The boys were found guilty of the shooting on August 11, 1998. File Photo courtesy the Westside Consolidated School District

In 1997, Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to use the line-item veto, a power granted by Congress the year before.

In 1998, two boys, ages 12 and 14, were found to be "delinquent" (the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty verdict) in the fatal March shootings of four students and a teacher at their middle school in Jonesboro, Ark.

On August 11, 1934, the first group of federal prisoners classified as "most dangerous" arrived at Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI

In 1999, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to drop the theory of evolution from the public school curriculum.

In 2007, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to refrain from disciplining members of the clergy involved in same-sex relationships.

King Husssein of Jordan answers questions from the audience following his speech at Brown University Commencement Forum on May 25, 1985. On August 11, 1952, Jordan's parliament ousted King Talal for being mentally unfit to rule and named his 17-year-old son King Hussein. The young king would go on to rule 43 years, until his death Feb. 7, 1999. UPI File Photos

In 2009, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, younger sister of President John Kennedy, mother of former California first lady Maria Shriver and founder of the Special Olympics, died in a Cape Cod, Mass., hospital. She was 88. She devoted much of her life to raising funds for, and awareness of, people with mental disabilities.

File Photo by Doug Mills/UPI

Thomas Edison poses in his laboratory in Orange, N.J., on June 16, 1888, amidst his first gramophone invention. On August 11, 1877, Thomas Edison described the fundamentals of the phonograph to an assistant and instructed him to build the first one. UPI File Photo

In 2014, Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams died at age 63 in Tiburon, Calif. "This is a sudden and tragic loss," his publicist said. Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, said "the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings." Williams' death was ruled a suicide.

In 2016, Michael Phelps became the first swimmer to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in a single event.

In 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., to be his running mate. She became the first female vice president when Biden was elected president on Nov. 3, 2020.

In 2021, Sicily unofficially set the new record for highest recorded temperature in Europe with 119.84 degrees Fahrenheit. The World Meteorological Organization has yet to confirm the record.
Good morning, Chicago.

Nicknamed The Bud, the Bud Billiken Parade has been a back-to-school celebration and showcase for Chicagos talented young people since 1929. For four generations, the Sengstacke family has organized what it says is the largest African American parade in the United States and the second largest parade in the United States after the Rose Parade.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators and generations of families will gather along the almost three-mile route in Bronzeville Saturday to cheer on a variety of performers  bands, dance and drill teams, tumblers and cheerleaders  and watch honorary grand marshals and celebrities ride in style aboard floats and classic cars. And thousands of school supplies and other amenities will be handed out in Washington Park following the parade.

See full details on best ways to get there and whats new this year from the Tribunes Kori Rumore.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Todays eNewspaper edition

While rescue and emergency operations continued at the deadly wildfires that swept across the Hawaiian island of Maui, many people are already looking for ways to support the response and provide relief to those affected.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement pledged to match donations  up to $100,000 initially, then increased to $250,000  for a campaign they began Wednesday, with initial support from the Alakaina Foundation Family of Companies. An online tracker shows that more than $331,000 has been given from almost 2,500 people as of Thursday.

About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which posted the numbers, has not yet calculated a suicide rate for the year, but available data suggests suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II.

Rita, D-Blue Island, was on the witness stand Thursday for the second time this year in one of the sweeping federal cases tied to Madigan and his Democratic allies.

Asked to describe the former power structure at the top of the Illinois House, Rita drew a triangle in the air above him.

At the highest point, he said, was ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Then, moving his hands to the lower corners of the triangle, on either side were Madigans chief of staff Tim Mapes  the gatekeeper  and Madigans confidant, powerhouse lobbyist Michael McClain.

The workers went on strike July 31, saying that low pay at Loretto has led to short staffing and compromised care for patients. The workers include patient transporters; patient care technicians; emergency room technicians; mental health and behavioral health workers; respiratory and radiology technicians; and those who work in housekeeping, among others.

Officials on Thursday identified the four people killed in unincorporated McHenry County.

Sheriffs deputies responded to 5805 Wild Plum Rd. at 3:56 a.m. Wednesday after a caller said a family member was shooting relatives. There, deputies found three women dead, as well as another woman and a man seriously injured. The man, who authorities described as the alleged aggressor, later died.

LaTonya Shuler planned to have children. But at age 32, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. After six weeks of radiation and a hysterectomy, her plans were dashed.

Now in remission, Shuler checks in with her physician once a year to make sure that the cancer that took away her ability to bear children doesnt return. It wasnt until her sister mentioned that perms were bad  the same perms that Shuler had been dibbling and dabbling with since junior high  that she learned what may have caused her cancer.

Since 2017, the Obama Foundation has raised just over $1.1 billion in contributions from more than 160,000 donors. Search the database to see who has contributed.

When youve had the type of recent stretch  and season  the Sox have had, everything gets noticed.

Just the last few days have featured a bevy of trades, a brawl with the Cleveland Guardians that led to suspensions for Tim Anderson (appealing) and manager Pedro Grifol, and Keynan Middletons comments.

In the world of Billions, karma is but a figment of the underdogs imagination. He who accumulates the most  money, power, even enemies  wins. Everyone else (that would be you and me) is a sucker to be exploited.

Its fitting that Billions, from creators Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin, is coming to an end just as real-world disparities between the haves and the have-nots have become even starker, writes critic Nina Metz.
Federal prosecutors and attorneys for former President Trump are in court Friday morning for a hearing on the prosecutions request for a protective order in the election interference case.

Prosecutors have been seeking a protective order before turning over any evidence to Trump and his legal team. Resolving the battle could impact the case timeline: Trumps attorneys have said they cant suggest a trial date until seeing the scope of prosecutors evidence.

Special counsel Jack Smith last week told the judge overseeing Trumps Washington, D.C., criminal case that the government is prepared to provide the former presidents attorneys with a substantial amount of discovery, including some to which the defendant is not entitled at this stage of the proceedings.

But to do so, the judge must stop Trump from engaging in improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public, Smith said.

Follow along here all day for updates in this matter and other Trump legal issues.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Defense Ministry denied on Aug. 11 the involvement in a purchase of low-quality uniforms worth Hr 35 million ($950,000) after a director of a sewing factory was arrested for selling unusable gear for Ukraine's Territorial Defense.

The textile company won three state contracts in 2022 to supply uniforms which, according to laboratory tests, proved unsuitable for their intended purpose, the Interior Ministry reported earlier on Aug. 11.

The detained director faces up to 12 years in prison and the ban to hold certain positions for three years. Law enforcement is currently collecting information on all other people involved in the scheme, the Interior Ministry said.

According to the Defense Ministry's statement, the contracts were concluded between the factory and a military unit without the ministry's involvement.

"Departments of the Defense Ministry were NOT INVOLVED in the procurement process of identifying the need, finding a contractor, concluding a contract, and monitoring the implementation of technical conditions," the press statement said, emphasizing that the ministry has "zero tolerance for corruption."

The Ukrainian news outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia published an investigation on Aug. 10 according to which the Defense Ministry purchased $33 million worth of "winter" clothes for the military from a Turkish company in 2022.

The associated contracts were reportedly tampered with during shipment to inflate the price, and the clothes turned out to be unusable for winter as they were most likely summer jackets.

Read also: Media: Defense Ministry purchased summer jackets instead of winter attire for military in 2022

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
About 500 people gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the grand opening of a new veterans housing complex across the street from the YMCA in downtown Salem.

The $10 million dollar project is affiliated with the Family YMCA of Marion and Polk Counties and named in honor of Peter Courtney, the former Oregon Senate president who secured the bulk of the funding.

Courtney and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden were among the speakers at the event, which took place despite the actual opening of the 34 units being on hold for at least five months.

Veterans won't get to move into Courtney Place, on the corner of Cottage and Court streets NE, until January because of supply chain issues related to electrical boxes for each unit.

"My wife said, 'You should start by saying you're not a veteran, Peter, but you had to, with others, go to war to bring about this building,' " Courtney told the crowd. "And in some ways, that's exactly true."

About 500 people attend the grand opening Thursday of Courtney Place, a 34-unit affordable housing complex for veterans in downtown Salem.

How was it funded?

The project was five years in the making with funding challenges along the way, and several speakers cited Courtney's tenacity as the difference-maker. He shifted the spotlight to say all members of the Oregon Legislature played a role.

Courtney helped lock down $7 million in Oregon Lottery funds from the Legislature, and Wyden and fellow U.S. Sen. Merkley worked to secure an additional $2 million in federal funds. Community donations from banks, foundations and individuals covered the other $1 million.

Peter Courtney and his wife, Margie, in front of the sign at Courtney Place, the new downtown Salem affordable housing complex for veterans. Courtney led the effort to find funding for the project.

Who will the complex serve?

The four-story complex with 27 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom apartments will serve male and female veterans and their families who need an affordable option for permanent housing. Eligible veterans must demonstrate an area median income of 60% or below the poverty line.

"These are homes. They're not apartments," Courtney said. "These will be homes to men and women who don't have one, who don't know what a mailbox is ... who don't even begin to comprehend a place that they can call safe."

Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Kelly Fitzpatrick, an Army veteran, called the project a pioneering effort among many community partners.

"Courtney Place is more than just a building," Fitzpatrick said. "It's a testament to our shared commitment to addressing the crisis of veteran houselessness head-on."

She said 10% of Oregonians experiencing homelessness are veterans and the most recent count estimated there are more than 1,400 houseless veterans across the state.

Who will oversee the complex?

The Y Veterans Housing organization, a nonprofit formed to operate the complex, has hired Andrew Holbert as its executive director. Holbert is a U.S. Marine veteran who served one tour in Iraq and has spent the past decade serving his veteran peers.

Two other staff positions have yet to be filled, one for social services and the other for events/activities.

"Securing housing is only just the beginning," Holbert said. "This place will serve as a beacon of hope, as a hub for resources, as a place of peace, a place that will foster camaraderie and will forever be synonymous with veteran success."

Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency's ARCHES Project originally was lined up to provide staffing but will still be involved. It will direct placements for eight of the units through its Tanner Project, a local transitional shelter for veterans.

What services will the complex offer?

An additional $540,000 in lottery dollars was acquired during this past legislative session to fund on-site wrap-around services for the veteran residents, including social service resources, mental and behavioral health support, and financial literacy and life skills training.

AJ Klausen, a U.S. Marine veteran and president of the Y Veterans Housing board, said the wrap-around services will help veterans heal from traumas they have endured during military experience. He noted how more Marines in his unit that deployed 15 years ago to Afghanistan have died by suicide than were killed in action.

"Veterans, I'm here to tell you that you and your service has not been forgotten," Klausen said. I'm here to tell you that we see you fighting and we are your reinforcements. We are your supply drop, your artillery and your close air support."

Inside one of the apartments at Courtney Place, which will offer one-bedroom and two-bedroom units for veterans and their families.

Residents of Courtney Place also will have free access to programs and services at Withnell Family YMCA across Cottage Street. Also, the Oregon World War II Memorial is across Court Street, and the Oregon State Capitol is just up the road.

"The location is as great as any veterans place in the nation," Courtney said.

Courtney Place is considered a housing model for other communities, and Wyden plans to shine a spotlight on it in Washington, D.C.

"I'm going to be talking this up when the Senate Finance Committee talks about various housing policies," Wyden, chairman of that committee, said after the grand opening. "I'm going to say in Salem, Oregon, you can see the future."

Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6710.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Delay on Salem veterans complex can't put damper on grand opening
A Mississippi Democrat candidate for governor took $10,000 from a Chinese national tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and first son Hunter Biden, according to campaign finance filings.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, who is running for governor as a Democrat, has tried to position himself as a moderate candidate.

However, even as he tries to portray himself as a moderate, Presley has taken money from prominent progressive Democrats as well as some questionable donors.

DEM GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE TOOK MONEY FROM SOLAR UTILITY OFFICIALS HE REGULATES: BLOWS MY MIND

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, even as he tries to portray himself as a moderate, has taken money from prominent progressive Democrats as well as some questionable donors.

On June 26, 2023, Presley took $10,000 from Wanxiang America President Pin Ni, according to campaign finance filings.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden hosted a White House meeting with Ni and Wanxiang Resources Co. President Youhong Han on July 25, 2014, according to White House visitor logs first reported last year by the Daily Mail.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

According to the CCP-run China Daily, Biden had "invited" the Wanxiang executives to visit several cities in the U.S. at the time, including Washington, Detroit and Dover, Delaware.

The parent company, Wanxiang Group, posthumously awarded the companys founder, Lu Guanqiu, the title of "National Outstanding Communist Party Member" in a 2021 press release and praised Guanqiu in the release as regarding "the pursuit of communism as a lifelong ideal and practice."

It also said he "insisted that the development of an enterprise is inseparable from the correct leadership of the party." The founder's bio on the Wanxiang website says he was elected as the 13th and 14th Representatives of the Communist Part of China, and a delegate to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Chinese National People's Congress.

Pin has direct ties to the president's son after emailing him less than a week after meeting with his father.

Less than a week after the Wanxiang executives met with Hunters father at the White House in July 2014, Pin Ni sent Hunter an email about his Fisker car, according to a review of emails from Hunters abandoned laptop that have been verified by Fox News Digital.

"My name is Pin Ni and I am the president of Wanxiang America which bought Fisker assets a few months ago. Last Friday when we visited DC, I heard that your Fisker is out of order and could not get serviced. Sorry," Pin wrote. "Yesterday the bankruptcy judge had approved Old Fisker's plan of liquidation in which we will be offering warrantee service to all Fisker owners, it would be our honor to get your Fisker fixed."

Hunter then informed Pin that he ended up selling the car back to the dealer "at a big loss," to which Pin responded that he would "make sure your next Fisker will exceed the expectation," including a smiling emoticon.

REPUBLICANS QUESTION SUSPICIOUS CCP TIES TO BIDEN ALLY: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE MUST KNOW

Less than a week after the Wanxiang executives met with Hunter Bidens father at the White House in July 2014, Pin Ni sent Hunter an email about his Fisker car, according to a review of emails from Hunters infamous abandoned laptop that have been verified by Fox News Digital.

Hunters car purchase has been a point of heavy scrutiny during federal prosecutors ongoing investigation into alleged tax fraud by the first son.

The filings also revealed that Presley on July 29 took $2,500 from Elizabeth Naftali  a Biden appointee who recently made headlines after it was revealed she was a buyer of Hunter Biden's artwork  as well as $50,000 from California attorney Steve Phillips on June 23.

Phillips' donation was the largest donation to Presley in June.

Naftali donated over $200,000 to Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. In July 2022, Biden appointed his donor to the Commission for the Preservation of Americas Heritage Abroad.

Ethics experts have decried Naftali's art purchase as an apparent conflict of interest.

In an October 2022 opinion piece, Phillips claimed that America "is built on a racist social contract" and called for Americans "to tear it up and start anew."

Presley also received $25,000 from Quinn Delaney on June 30. Delaney founded the Akonadi Foundation and is a Democrat mega-donor who backed disgraced former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

The Akonadi Foundation in California pushes far-left policies like "racial justice" and invests in and supports "community power to redesign systems to be just and equitable for all," according to the organization's "Mission and Vision" page's "Values" section.

Additionally, Presley took $500 from failed Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on June 27 and $15,000 from New York billionaire and Democrat mega-donor Philip Munger on June 30.

Presley's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions on the donations.

The donations revelations come as Presley faces the music for other campaign contributions that don't appear to pass the smell test.

Presley took $500 from failed Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on June 27 and $15,000 from New York billionaire and Democrat mega-donor Philip Munger on June 30.

Presley came under scrutiny this week after it was revealed he received campaign donations from green energy entities he oversees.

One former Mississippi Public Service commissioner who spoke to Fox News Digital said it "blows my mind" that Presley accepted such contributions.

State law prohibits a public service commissioner from "knowingly accept[ing] any gift, pass, money, campaign contribution or any emolument or other pecuniary benefit whatsoever, either directly or indirectly, from any person interested as owner, agent or representative, or from any person acting in any respect for such owner, agent or representative of any common or contract carrier by motor vehicle, telephone company, gas or electric utility company, or any other public utility that shall come under the jurisdiction or supervision of the Public Service Commission."

The Democrat governor candidate appears to have accepted campaign contributions from several green energy companies that he regulates as a public service commissioner.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission has a broad definition of "utility" in the commission's rules, meaning "any person subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Commission."

According to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital, several board members and key operators of Tennessee-based solar power company Silicon Ranch donated thousands of dollars to Presley in 2018 and 2021.

RED-STATE DEMOCRAT, GOVERNOR HOPEFUL BREAKS WITH PARTY, TAKES LITERAL SAW TO HIGHER TAXES IN NEW AD

While Silicon Ranch is a Tennessee company, the Mississippi Public Service Commission found in 2017 that it had jurisdiction over the company when it was building a solar farm in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, though the commission noted that it wasn't technically a public utility.

Fox News Digital also obtained screenshots of an internal poll conducted by the Democrat polling firm Impact Research  of which Presley is a client  that tested the waters for negative messaging against Presley.

"While serving on the Public Service Commission, Brandon Presley has received more than $50,000 in campaign contributions from groups he regulates," the question reads. "Hes also taken over $35,000 from trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs who spent six years in prison for trying to bribe multiple judges."

Presley came under scrutiny this week after it was revealed he received campaign donations from green energy entities he oversees.

"Please indicate whether this statement raises very serious concerns, serious concerns, minor concerns, or no real concerns for you about Brandon Presley," it continues before listing the poll options.

Presley's communications director Michael Breyer told Fox News Digital, "This is a lie and a desperate attempt from Tate Reeves to distract from the fact that he is the most corrupt governor in Mississippi history."

"On Tate Reeves watch, $77 million was stolen and diverted from working families to Tate Reeves celebrity athlete friends and personal trainer," Breyer claimed.

"Brandon is the only candidate in this race with a plan to declare war on corruption on day one, while Tate Reeves campaign continues to be funded by central figures in the largest public corruption scandal in state history," he continued.

The Mississippi Free Press found that there was no evidence Reeves had a role in the misspending of state welfare funds.

Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar and Cameron Cawthorne contributed reporting.
The campaign of House candidate Aditya Pai sent out an email Thursday morning dropping out of the race.

Eight hours later, the campaign reversed course in a follow-up email.

He said the aide who sent the initial email resigned, and only two people remain on his campaign staff.

A Democratic House candidate's campaign sent out an email calling it quits, citing a "lack of joy." Eight hours later, it sent a follow-up message saying he was "not going anywhere."

Aditya Pai is currently running in the Democratic primary in California's 45th Congressional District for a chance to try and unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel.

According to the Orange County Register, Pai's campaign released an email Thursday morning baring his signature noting that "life is short," and that whilst campaigning over the last four months, he was unhappy.

"At least, at this moment, I don't enjoy the life of a politician," the email said. "And were I fortunate enough to be elected, I am now certain, I would be unhappy in Congress."

Eight hours later, Pai's campaign sent out an email with a completely different message: "I am not going anywhere."

Pai told the Orange County Register he only initially wrote the letter dropping out as an "emotional processing exercise," and while he stands by what he said, he did not intend to drop out of the race.

He further noted that the first email was sent erroneously by a staffer, who he said quickly resigned after realizing their mistake. He later told The Hill that only two remaining staffers he has left are the ones who manage his website and keep him in compliance with FEC regulations. Everyone else, he said, left the campaign because of a "misalignment of values."

According to FEC records, the campaign of Cheyenne Hunt, an attorney also running in the Democratic primary race, has about $123,000 in cash on hand. Pai's campaign is currently sitting on just over $81,000, about $26,000 more than fellow Democratic candidate Kim Nguyen.

Steel, who currently represents the 45th District, has a major cash advantage over her Democratic challengers with more than $1.7 million sitting in the bank.

Read the original article on Business Insider
John O'Laughlin, left, and his wife, Brenda O'Laughlin, speak to the media on Sept. 15, 2014, at the Cook County Courthouse in Bridgeview after guilty verdicts were delivered against the man accused of killing their daughter, Kelli O'Laughlin. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)

A man who brutally murdered a west suburban girl during a botched burglary more than a decade ago has died in prison. Now, the victims mother says her daughter can finally rest in peace.

Kelli OLaughlin was 14 when she returned home from Lyons Township High School on Oct. 27, 2011, as a burglar was ransacking an upstairs bedroom. The teens mother later came home to find her daughter stabbed to death, face down and lying in a pool of blood.

John Wilson Jr. was convicted of Kelli OLaughlins murder and sentenced to 160 years in prison in 2014. The 49-year-old died in prison on Tuesday, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. The agency would not release his cause of death, adding that an investigation is ongoing.

Kelli OLaughlin, 14, was stabbed to death in October 2011 when she walked in on John Wilson Jr. burglarizing her familys home in suburban Chicago. (Family photo)

The day has come for Kelli Joy to rest in peace, the victims mother, Brenda OLaughlin, posted on Facebook on Thursday. You took away Kellis future by your calculated vile actions. You took away our joy of watching our baby grow up to see the woman she would have become.

In acts of added cruelty, Wilson had sent taunting text messages from Kellis cellphone to her mother and father, including one that read, She wanted me to tell you something before I killed her, according to court testimony.

The cellphone  which investigators tracked for a GPS signal  was one of several ways authorities linked Wilson to the crime.

[ Chicago man guilty in fatal stabbing of Indian Head Park girl ]

Comments under the mothers Facebook message ranged from remembrances for Kelli OLaughlin to prayers for the family to gratitude that the teens killer is gone.

Im glad hes no longer a threat to others, one person wrote on the mothers Facebook page. Your strength is incredible.

And now he faces his final judgment, another person wrote, one that will last for eternity.

Family and friends have honored Kelli OLaughlins memory in many ways over the years.

John Wilson Jr., then 38, of Chicago, was convicted in the stabbing death of a 14-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin in suburban Indian Head Park. (Illinois Dept. of Corrections)

The Plainfield Road bridge across Interstate 294 was renamed the Kelli Joy OLaughlin Bridge in 2019. Loved ones routinely write messages in honor of the teen in the large letters along the bridges fencing  like Justice for Kelli Joy or Forever our Kelli Joy  by placing plastic cups in the holes of the chain links.

Her parents also founded the Kelli Joy OLaughlin Foundation, a nonprofit that has awarded $789,000 in scholarships, as well as helped support a summer camp and fund holiday gifts for children in need, according to Brenda OLaughlins recent Facebook post. The teens friends and former classmates have hosted regular car washes to benefit the foundation.

Brenda OLaughlin did not immediately return Tribune requests for comment.

Kelli Joy your light will never be extinguished, the Facebook message from Brenda OLaughlin added. Kelli your legacy continues to shine through. Your qualities of goodness have overcome deaths bounds by memorializing your spirit whenever a smile, friendship, or laugh is created.  You may not be here with us physically but your legacy lives on.

eleventis@chicagotribune.com
Democrats in Congress are again calling for additional Supreme Court ethics requirements and for Justice Clarence Thomass resignation after an investigative report found he reportedly accepted significantly more free travel and other gifts than previously believed.

ProPublica on Thursday expanded upon its previous reporting into Thomas, uncovering that the justice reportedly took 38 destination vacations paid for by influential political donors and repeatedly flew privately using an entire Boeing 737 jet.

Cruel, callous and corrupt. While he rips away our rights, Clarence Thomas shamelessly cashes in from billionaires who share his extremist ideology, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Thomas must resign & Congress must pass a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.

Democrats have re-upped efforts for Supreme Court regulation in light of the news, following ProPublicas first report on the justice in April, which found that he took private vacations funded by a prominent Republican donor.

A bill for a Supreme Court code of ethics passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

No Justice should accept these types of gifts, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said on X. Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest Court. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform.

Justice Samuel Alito defended Thomas, saying that Congress has no right to regulate the court. Prominent legal scholars have disagreed.

Would billionaires have given Justice Clarence Thomas massive gifts if he was just a law clerk? NO, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said on X. Thats what makes this corrupt. They were seeking to curry favor with Justice Thomas, either directly or indirectly. And Justice Thomas violated the law in accepting the gifts.

Thomas has since amended his gift disclosures from previous years. It is unclear if the newly-reported travel is included in those disclosures.

Unprecedented. Stunning. Disgusting, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on X. The height of hypocrisy to wear the robes of a #SCOTUS and take undisclosed gifts from billionaires who benefit from your decisions. 38 free vacations. Yachts. Luxury mansions. Skyboxes at events. Resign.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
FILE - Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, July 11, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Manchin says he has been thinking seriously about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent. The West Virginia senator made the comments on MetroNews Talkline, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said that he has been thinking seriously about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.

The West Virginia lawmaker, who has raised his national profile as a swing vote on major spending packages in the closely divided U.S. Senate, made the comments on MetroNews Talkline on Thursday.

I would think very seriously about that. Ive been thinking about that for quite some time. I havent made any decisions whatsoever on any of my political direction, Manchin said. I want to make sure my voice is truly an independent voice, when Im speaking Im speaking about the good the Republicans do and the good the Democrats continue to do.

Manchin hasn't officially announced whether he will run for reelection, but two Republicans, Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Alex Mooney, have already announced their candidacies for his Senate seat. The senator had recruited Justice to run for governor as a Democrat before Justice switched to the GOP at a rally for former President Donald Trump during his first term.

The comments from Manchin on Thursday are the most serious he's made about a possible switch to independent.

For me, I have to have peace of mind basically, he said. The brand has become so bad. The D brand and R brand. In West Virginia, the D brand because its nationally bad. Its not the Democrats in West Virginia. Its the Democrats in Washington or the Washington policies of the Democrats. Youve heard me say a million times that Im not a Washington Democrat.

In the Democratic caucus, his colleagues over the past few years have grown weary of Manchin, whose vote is one of two they cannot live without in a 51-49 Senate  but whose nearly constant chides at many in party, particularly Democratic President Joe Biden has left them concerned that he could switch parties and take away their slim hold on power.

One of his most stunning rebukes of his party came in December 2021 when after months of painstaking negotiations directly with the White House, Manchin pulled his support from a $2 trillion social and environment bill, dealing a fatal blow to Bidens leading domestic initiative in his first year in office.

Months later, in a shocking turn of events, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer crafted a compromise package to ultimately pass and sign into law a modest domestic bill focused on healthcare and combating climate change.
Dems across the country defecting to GOP: 'Democratic Party has become unrecognizable'

Five Democratic state lawmakers have defected to the Republican Party so far in 2023, part of a growing trend experts say is caused by red states becoming redder and blue states becoming bluer.

Ten state lawmakers switched parties in 2023, and six of them switched between major parties, Politico reported. Out of those six defectors from major parties, five switched from Democrat to Republican.

Just two state lawmakers changed political affiliation in all of 2022.

"In recent decades, the red states have become redder, the blue states bluer and the number of swing states has fallen dramatically," William Galston, senior fellow of governance studies at the Brookings Institute, told Politico. "When this happens, the minority parties lose power in the legislature and the advantages of being in the majority increase."

CHARLOTTE DEMOCRAT SWITCHED PARTIES AFTER BEING CALLED 'AMMOSEXUAL,' CRITIQUED FOR INVOKING JESUS CHRIST

Overall, 173 state lawmakers have switched parties since 1994, and 83 of them were Democrats who switched to the GOP. Just 23 switched to the Democratic Party from the Republican Party.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

One of the Democrats who became a Republican this year, West Virginia lawmaker Elliott Pritt, said being a Democrat in a deep red state prevented him from getting anything done.

DEMOCRATS DEALT ANOTHER BLOW: THIRD LAWMAKER LEAVES PARTY, SWITCHES TO REPUBLICAN WITHIN A MONTH

"Even if I were to run again and win, I would look at another term of never getting another bill passed, never getting anything done," Pritt told Politico. "For the time Im going to be there, Im not going to sit there and be a lame duck and not get anything."

Republican West Virginia lawmaker Elliott Pritt was recently a Democrat.

West Virginia's governor, Jim Justice, switched from Democrat to Republican in 2017, and many believe more lawmakers in the state are going to continue defecting to the GOP.

"In states like ours its becoming harder and harder to be a conservative Democrat," West Virginia Democratic lawmaker Doug Skaff told Politico. "Its really frustrating. You work really hard to do whats right and, at the end of the day, youre in the superminority."

NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRAT EXPECTED TO SWITCH PARTIES, JOIN GOP

In North Carolina, party switching had significant consequences after Rep. Tricia Cotham left the Democratic Party in April, giving Republicans the two-thirds majority they needed to overpower a veto from the state's Democratic governor.

"The modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me and to so many others throughout this state and this country," Cotham said at a press conference.

A similar situation occurred in Louisiana this year when state Rep. Francis Thompson switched from Democrat to Republican and gave the GOP the power to override a veto from the state's Democratic governor.

In July, Democrat Mesha Mainor sparked an uproar within her party after announcing that she would be switching to the GOP.

"When I decided to stand up on behalf of disadvantaged children in support of school choice, my Democrat colleagues didnt stand by me," Mainor told Fox News Digital. "They crucified me. When I decided to stand up in support of safe communities and refused to support efforts to defund the police, they didnt back me. They abandoned me."
MUNCIE, Ind.  A Marion man has been accused of ingesting narcotics before causing an April crash that killed a pregnant Muncie woman and her infant.

Nicholas Allen Blackburn, 45, was charged Thursday in Delaware Circuit Court 4 with causing catastrophic injury when driving with a controlled substance in blood, a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison.

According to Delaware County sheriff's deputies, an eastbound Chevrolet Impala on April 27 was stopped on Ind. 32 near Truitt Road, waiting for traffic to clear before it could turn north, when it was struck in the rear by an eastbound Chevrolet Equinox driven by Blackburn.

The impact of the rear-end crash forced the Impala  driven by 32-year-old Brittany N. Wilsono, who was six months pregnant  122 feet before it came to rest in the four-lane state highway's westbound lanes.

Wilson would die while being transported in an ambulance bound for IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

Emergency personnel were able to deliver the baby, but the infant later died at the hospital.

Blackburn told deputies he had been looking at his cellphone, "to change the music," before driving into the rear of Wilson's vehicle.

A breath test reflected the Marion man had no alcohol in his system at the time of the collision.

However, laboratory tests would later reveal he had narcotics  including meth and fentanyl  in his bloodstream at the time, according to an affidavit.

A warrant was issued Thursday for the Marion man's arrest.

On June 20, a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance was filed against Blackburn in Marion City Court.

According to court records, the Grant County man has been convicted of possession of meth, failure to stop after an accident resulting in injury, burglary, carrying a handgun without a license (three times), conspiracy to commit auto theft, conspiracy to commit burglary, disorderly conduct, driving while suspended, false informing (twice), intimidation, invasion of privacy, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, residential entry, resisting law enforcement (twice) and unlawful possession of a syringe (three times),

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Marion man charged with ingesting drugs before fatal Muncie crash
GOETZVILLE, Mich.  A standoff between law enforcement and a suspect in Michigan's Upper Peninsula ended with the suspect dead and a deputy U.S. marshal injured, authorities said Thursday.

The U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group was trying to serve arrest warrants for Lindsey and Giovanni McNab, a married couple, at a home in Goetzville, Michigan, when Giovanni McNab opened fire and injured a deputy marshal Wednesday morning, the Marshals Service said in a news release.

The couple was wanted out of Christian County, Missouri, for abduction and parental kidnapping. After Lindsey McNab was arrested earlier Wednesday, Giovanni McNab barricaded himself with two abducted minor children inside the Goetzville residence at the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula, the news release said.

The standoff ended Wednesday night when members of a tactical unit approached the home and found Giovanni McNab dead, the news release said.

It's unknown how McNab died, the release said.

The two abducted minor children were found unharmed and were placed into the custody of Michigan Children's Protective Services, it said. Their ages weren't provided.

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The deputy marshal who was injured is in stable condition at a hospital, the news release said. The marshal's name hasn't been released.

The incident remains under investigation, the release said.

It wasn't clear whether Lindsey McNab has an attorney who might comment on the case. She didn't appear in online court records for Chippewa County, where Goetzville is located.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barricaded suspect wanted for abduction found dead in Michigan's U.P.
DES MOINES, Iowa  Ron DeSantis is nearly a third of the way through his tour of each county in Iowa  but now with a chairperson backing his campaign in every part of the state.

Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting the Florida governor's presidential bid, has established 120 county-level chairs across the state, with at least one in each of the 99 counties, the organization confirmed to POLITICO. The chair group includes Appanoose County Sheriff Gary Anderson, former state Sen. Mark Chelgren and Clayton Ohrt, the Buchanan County supervisor, along with other GOP activists.

The county-level recruitment is the latest sign of the DeSantis teams aggressive networking in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, even as his campaign has been beset by weak polling numbers and strategy missteps. The campaign recently shed a third of its staff, and DeSantis replaced his campaign manager, Generra Peck, earlier this week.

But its Iowa, in particular, where DeSantis is scrambling to close the gap between himself and Donald Trump. The former president has an overwhelming lead in Republican primary polls nationally, though a slightly narrower advantage in Iowa.



DeSantis has been barnstorming the state in recent weeks, and was back Thursday and Friday for campaign events before a sit-down chat with Gov. Kim Reynolds on Saturday at the state fair. This swing follows a flurry of similar weekends spent traversing Iowa, including small, retail-politics events with a handful of supporters and larger town halls where he has taken questions from the crowd. In late July, DeSantis joined the field of other GOP presidential hopefuls in speaking at the Republican Party of Iowas annual Lincoln Dinner, clutching a Coors Light as he greeted a line of supporters afterward in a reception hosted by his super PAC.

With his own campaign facing a major cash crunch, DeSantis is relying heavily on the work of the outside group, which has hosted 17 bus tour events for him in Iowa in recent weeks. The group has 21 staff members working in Iowa, and an official with Never Back Down told POLITICO the super PAC has knocked 236,615 doors here, ultimately holding 69,537 conversations.

The group says it has received commitment cards from over 10,400 people in the state  Republicans pledging to caucus for the governor on Jan. 15.

David Polyansky, previously Never Back Downs senior adviser who has since taken a job with DeSantis campaign, told POLITICO last month that staff with the group were approaching Iowans in places like Walmart parking lots and Culvers restaurants in an effort to boost its caucus support numbers.

Seemingly in response to the heavy-handed approach of the DeSantis-affiliated super PAC, Trumps campaign on Thursday sent letters to each state GOP around the country, warning that they arent permitted under law to work with a super PAC operating on behalf of a candidate, the Associated Press reported. DeSantis campaign has said they are following all federal campaign finance laws.

DeSantis all-in-on-Iowa strategy comes as he desperately seeks to show momentum in the Republican presidential primary, where Trump has dominated and seemingly maintained his strength while facing indictments in three separate criminal cases. The Florida governor is touting his participation in the Republican National Committees first primary debate later this month, which Trump has yet to agree to attend. The former president on Wednesday said he would announce his decision next week, but reiterated he would not sign a loyalty pledge to back the eventual nominee, one of the committees requirements to participate.

The two leading candidates in the race are both set to make appearances at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, a rite of passage in presidential primaries. DeSantis is expected to be elbows-deep in retail-politicking, while Trumps campaign has yet to disclose the specifics of his plans  other than to bring nine Florida congressmen in tow in an apparent attempt to troll DeSantis.

Both DeSantis and Trump have secured the endorsements of various state legislators in Iowa.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday that he expects to visit all 99 counties in Iowa by the end of October as his campaign hones in on the early caucus state.

We said were going to do all 99 counties in Iowa. Thats something thats important, were going to do it.  Theyve campaigned with us, but theyve never really done this whole bus deal, DeSantis said during a live broadcast of the conservative Ruthless Podcast in Des Moines, speaking about his children joining him on the campaign trail.

So we started taking them on the bus. We hit all these places. So weve now done 32 of the 99. Tomorrow were going to do another six counties, and we are probably going to have all 99 by the end of October, he continued.

The Florida governor is in Iowa this week and is scheduled to appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday  the same day as former President Trump.

DeSantiss comments come as the Florida governor is looking to do whats dubbed in Iowa as the full Grassley by visiting all 99 counties in Iowa. His campaigns strategy to lean into more local, county-driven events underscores how DeSantis is lasering in on the early caucus state.

Recent polling suggests that his efforts in the state might be working. While a Fox Business poll in Iowa released last month showed Trump leading DeSantis by 30 points, a recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows Trump ahead by 24 points.

Still, Republicans in Iowa say not to read too much into the polling, as the surveys are coming at a time thats several weeks before the first GOP debate and five months before the Iowa caucuses.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he hopes his GOP rivals attack him at the first primary debate in Milwaukee later this month.

I hope so, DeSantis said on NewsNations The Hill when asked whether he was expecting the other Republican candidates to target him. Look, when theyre attacking you that means youre over the target. So, were happy to field that, and well hold our own.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

DeSantis is set to take the debate stage Aug. 23, alongside other candidates who have met the Republican National Committees (RNC) donor and polling requirements.

At the end of the day, I am running to actually win the presidency and do all these great things, DeSantis added. I dont have any other motive. I dont want to get a cable news deal. I am not trying to sell anything. I dont want a cabinet post. Were running to win.

Former Vice President Mike Pence was the most recent Republican to qualify for the debate Monday, joining the Florida governor, former President Trump, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Heres where 2024 Republicans stand on the RNCs loyalty pledge

However, with the debate looming less than two weeks away, Trump has yet to confirm that he will participate, citing his significant lead in the polls. He said Wednesday that he would announce his final decision next week.

The former president is leading DeSantis, his closest competitor in the race for the Republican nomination, by nearly 40 points, according to a polling average from FiveThirtyEight on Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (Fla.) said he would use whatever force we need to to take down Mexican drug cartels if elected president, with or without help from the Mexican government.

The remarks came after a question at a Thursday campaign event in Iowa where he was asked if drone strikes on Mexican soil were on the table.

We will lean in against the drug cartels. We will absolutely reserve the right. If theyre invading our country and killing our people, we have the right to defend this country, DeSantis said.

We have the right to hold them accountable, and its not just if they happen to come over our border. If Mexico is not going to help us with that, well then were going to have to do what we have to do, he continued.

The comments represent a growing group of Republicans calling for military intervention in Mexico, as the southern border remains one of the 2024 presidential campaigns biggest talking points.

Former President Trump reportedly previously asked his defense secretary about missile strikes in Mexico and has since requested battle plans into the country should he be reelected, Rolling Stone reported.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are also among those who have signaled support for military action in Mexico, which Mexican officials have pushed back on.

DeSantis said the cartels are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year and they are like a foreign terrorist organization.

About 200 Americans die every year in Mexico, according to State Department data. In 2021, 74 were classified as homicides. The State Department has provided travel warnings for violence in regions of Mexico where cartel activity is most prevalent.

DeSantis may be attributing U.S. overdose deaths to the cartels, which are responsible for the trafficking of some fentanyl and other deadly opioids. Just more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2021.

He said the Mexican government has not done enough to fight the cartels.

The Mexican government is not doing what they need to do to help with this, but we said from day one of our border announcement wed be willing to lean in against them, and we reserve the right to defend the country, he said.

DeSantis has been in conflict with the Mexican government in recent months over his states immigration policy and treatment of migrants.

Mexican officials threatened to seek legal recourse against DeSantis in June after he sent hundreds of migrants from Florida across the country without each migrants full knowledge or consent.

DeSantis is in Iowa for a Saturday appearance at the State Fair, which comes as his campaign recovers from a staff shakeup stemming from dwindling voter support that included replacing his campaign manager.

DeSantis has received about 14 percent support in recent national polling averages, placing him in second place in the GOP primary behind Trump.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A photo from the FBI shows Karol Chwiesiuk, a Chicago police officer, left, and his sister Agnieszka Chwiesiuk, of Chicago, when they illegally entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI)

A Chicago police officer and his sister were found guilty on Friday of breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 after a federal jury trial.

Karol Chwiesiuk was charged in 2021 in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington with five misdemeanor counts, including entering a restricted building, disrupting government business and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds with intent to impede a congressional proceeding. His sister Agnieszka Chwiesiuk was charged with four misdemeanor counts.

Jurors began deliberating Friday morning in D.C. after attorneys delivered closing arguments the previous day, according to court records. The trial began Monday with jury selection.

A photo from the FBI shows Agnieszka Chwiesiuk, 29, of Chicago, as she illegally entered the U.S. Capitol with her brother, Karol, a Chicago police officer, on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI)

The jury convicted Chwiesiuk of four of the charges related to breaching the Capitol building, but it acquitted him of a charge that accused him of entering a Democratic senators office.

The criminal complaint had alleged that Chwiesiuk broke into Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkleys office and took a selfie while he wore a hooded sweatshirt with a Chicago Police Department logo on it.

Prosecutors also accused him of sending texts to a friend that said, Busy planning how to (expletive) up commies two days before traveling to the capital for a rally for then-President Donald Trump. On Jan. 6, prosecutors alleged, Chwiesiuk texted the same friend, We inside the capital lmfao.

After the siege made national news, the friend texted Chwiesiuk about it, who replied Yeah I was there and, with a racial slur, (Expletive) dont snitch.

A photo allegedly sent by Chicago police Officer Karol Chwiesiuk shows him inside the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley after breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (U.S. District Court records)

When agents went to arrest Karol Chwiesiuk at the familys home on the Northwest Side in June 2021, his sister spontaneously asked if they were going to arrest her too, according to the complaint.

They told her they were not detaining her, but later recovered photographs from her brothers damaged cellphone that showed the two of them at the rally and later inside the Capitol, the complaint said.

After Karol Chwiesiuks arrest, his lawyer told the Tribune he had been a Chicago police officer since 2018 and was most recently assigned to patrol the Harrison District. At the time, he was stripped of his police powers and reassigned to desk duty.

Then-Chicago police Superintendent David Brown at the time said the charges against the officer made his blood boil.

And yes, if these allegations are true, it breaks my heart. Participating in the siege on the Capitol in any way was a betrayal of everything we stand for, the oath (and) the law, he said at a 2021 news conference.

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
Hugh Culverhouse donated $350,000 to the Never Back Down super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign in June, but he wont be giving any more money unless the governor's ongoing campaign reboot includes a new message.

An attorney, investor and major Southwest Florida landowner involved in the development industry, Culverhouse believes the DeSantis campaign has suffered a series of self-inflicted wounds that require a new pitch to voters.

What the guy did in Florida doesnt resonate well in America, Culverhouse told the USA TODAY Network-Florida in an interview.

Once viewed as a major force that could test Donald Trumps hold on the GOP, DeSantis campaign is limping toward the end of summer and the start of the busy fall campaign season, hobbled by missteps that have raised big concerns among some allies and have left him far behind the former president in the polls.

DeSantis support has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year, with just 16% of GOP voters preferring him, down from a high of 31% in February, according to the Real Clear Politics average of national polls.

Trump, meanwhile, has surged to 54% support and now looks nearly unbeatable in the primary.

DeSantis poll numbers have dropped steadily since the end of March and, along with big staffing changes, are creating the impression of a campaign stuck in a downward spiral, with an upcoming debate on Aug. 23 a pivotal test.

Its got to be discouraging that DeSantis, as he has mounted an actual campaign, his numbers havent improved, said Kyle Kondick, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

DeSantis has tried to reboot, shedding staff to curtail costs, doing more interviews with mainstream media outlets and campaigning aggressively in early voting states. He replaced his campaign manager Tuesday, turning to a trusted aide in the governors office to try and reverse the decline.

Hyped as "DeFuture" on a November cover of the New York Post following his dominating 19-point reelection victory, the narrative around DeSantis lately has been one of underperformance. There is a sense that he may have missed his opportunity.

No presidential candidate who has trailed by 20 points or more at this stage in the primary has ever won, according to a New York Times analysis of races over the last half century.

Ron DeSantis has had a terrible summer, said GOP campaign consultant Alex Conant, who served as the spokesman for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios presidential campaign in 2016. The bad headlines beget more bad headlines.  Its easy for presidential campaigns to get stuck in a negative cycle, its hard to pull out of them.

DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said there is a "long line" of people "who have written off Ron DeSantis in the past and been proven wrong" and argued Florida's governor "is the only candidate in the race who can beat Joe Biden and implement the agenda we need to reverse this country's decline and revive its future."

"This primary is a two-man race between Gov. DeSantis and a man running in 2024 on the things he promised to do in 2016 and failed to do," Griffin said.

New message needed?

Among the warning signs the DeSantis campaign is in meltdown mode: His largest donor recently told Reuters that he wont contribute anymore money unless the candidate moderates his approach and attracts other big donors.

"He does need to shift to get to moderates. He'll lose if he doesn't. ... Extremism isn't going to get you elected," said Robert Bigelow, who contributed $20 million to Never Back Down.

Culverhouse agrees with that assessment.

Hugh Culverhouse

An independent who leans Republican but is more moderate on social issues, Culverhouse had reservations about DeSantis culture war crusade in Florida but decided to donate anyway, seeing him as a better leader than Trump and somebody who would be strong on foreign affairs.

Instead, Culverhouse has been dismayed that DeSantis has continued to battle on issues of race and LGBTQ rights, most recently defending Floridas Black history standards against criticism of a passage stating slaves benefited by learning valuable skills.

I believed once he ran for president somebody would explain to him you gotta drop this crap, said Culverhouse, who wants to see DeSantis focus more on "world affairs and strengthening our military."

Switching campaign managers is something Culverhouse supports, but the campaign message is just as important.

There is little sign of DeSantis moderating, though, despite pressure from some donors. He is running to the right of Trump on everything from abortion to guns and immigration.

Iowa Hail Mary

DeSantis strategy centers around a strong performance in Iowa, the first contest on the GOP nominating calendar, and he is touting his conservative views as he courts the states large contingent of evangelical voters.

James Uthmeier, DeSantis new campaign manager, is viewed as a staunch conservative who was instrumental in helping to pass Floridas new ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy.

Underdog candidates have used Iowa a springboard in the past. Former President Barack Obamas campaign caught fire after he won Iowa in 2008, and conservatives such as Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz also parlayed caucus victories into more robust national campaigns that ultimately fizzled.

The best-case scenario, historically speaking, you could come up with for DeSantis is something akin to what Obama did in 2008, Kondick said. Obama was pretty far behind in national polling, although Iowa was much closer at this point, and he sort of used Iowa as a launching pad for his candidacy.

Yet while DeSantis is performing better in Iowa than nationally, he still trails Trump by 24 points in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll of Iowa Republicans.

Clark University Political Science Professor Robert Boatright, who has written multiple books about primary elections, said its difficult to compare this presidential primary to past ones.

The dynamics of GOP presidential primaries have changed significantly over the years, especially in the Trump era. Trump ended years of party insiders and establishment figures elevating their consensus pick to the nomination.

Theres really no Republican playbook anymore, Boatright said.

Mark your calendars: When is the next presidential election? Everything to know about Election Day 2024.

Indictment wild card

Trumps legal problems also are unprecedented, another reason Boatright believes its hard to make predictions about this primary.

At this point its almost impossible to imagine Donald Trump not winning the early primaries, hes got such a tremendous lead over all of his opponents, but its also hard to image Donald Trump not being convicted of anything, Boatright said.

DeSantis remains in second place in nearly every poll  a recent New Hampshire survey had him tied with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for second place in that state  and currently is the likely frontrunner if Trumps legal troubles catch up with him.

Are some candidates too old?: How age will play a role in the 2024 presidential campaign

Yet DeSantis has slid far enough in the polls that hes in danger of being overtaken by other contenders, making this a particularly dangerous moment for his campaign as the first debate approaches.

The debates are going to be critically important to DeSantis, especially the first debate, Conant said. If he can get a bounce out of the first debate he could potentially turn things around.

A bad debate performance for DeSantis would provide an opening for a lower tier candidate to overtake him.

Culverhouse believes DeSantis needs to go straight at Trump to stop his slide in the polls, but hes under no illusions about the political difficulties involved in turning around the campaign.

Hes got a tough row to hoe, Culverhouse said.

Zac Anderson is Sarasota Herald-Tribune political editor and the USA TODAY Network-Florida reporter covering the DeSantis campaign. Email him at zac.anderson@heraldtribune.com

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DeSantis campaign in meltdown mode as donors balk, Trump dominates
The Wall Street Journal writes that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ignores US appeals to start arms supplies to Ukraine

The United States has been trying to persuade Egypt to begin arms deliveries to Ukraine, but Cairo has indicated it has no plans to do so, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 11, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Read also: Eight-year-old boy killed as Russian Kinzhal missiles strike western Ukraine

The equipment in question includes artillery shells, anti-tank missiles, air defense systems, and small arms, the source revealed.

While Egypt hasn't provided clear answers to U.S. requests on the matter, an Egyptian official privately stated that "Egypt does not plan to send weapons", according to the report.

The publication notes that Cairo had earlier planned to supply missiles to Russia. However, following an appeal from Washington, Egyptian authorities decided against such deliveries.

The report highlights that U.S. officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, have asked Egypt to supply weapons to Ukraine in order to alleviate a shortage of ammunition.

Read also: Member of Central Election Commission fled to US before invasion, hasnt returned since

The WSJ states that Austin personally requested military aid for Ukraine during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Khalil Al-Sisi in Cairo in March.

Yet, as the media adds, this request "has led to nothing," and since then, U.S. representatives have repeatedly called upon Egypt to transfer weapons to Ukraine.

Read also: Putin prepares to defend his regime by equipping Rosgvardia with tanks  Ukrainian intelligence

The WSJ points out that Al-Sisi maintains warm personal relations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and attended the summit of African leaders in St. Petersburg in July. Furthermore, Egypt purchases a significant portion of its wheat from Russia, and Moscow is trying to increase these sales following its departure from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last month.

Read also: Pentagon says Ukraine using cluster munitions appropriately

On April 18, The Washington Post reported, citing leaked Pentagon documents, that Egypt had devised detailed plans to export rocket-propelled grenades to Russia; however, after talks with high-ranking U.S. officials, it instead approved the production of artillery ammunition for Kyiv.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The News

Ohio voters decisively rejected Issue 1 this week, the ballot initiative to change the threshold for amending the constitution, after it turned into a much-watched proxy war over abortion access.

To get the after-action report, I talked to operatives on both sides of the vote  Spencer Gross, the spokesman for the pro-Issue 1 Protect Our Constitution campaign, and Dennis Willard, the spokesman for the anti-Issue 1 One Person One Vote campaign. This is an edited version of our separate conversations.

The View From 'Yes' on Issue 1

Americana: So, what went wrong?

Spencer Gross: The no side did a very effective job in turning out their voters early. When the first results came in, you saw many populous counties where we were down by 40, 50 points. Thats a tough hole to climb out of, and the other side just did a more effective job with turnout. Election Day turnout, though robust, was not enough to make up for it.

I think that the job that organized labor did in this effort gets lost in some of the abortion noise. You cant discount how that issue played, but organized labor got very galvanized on this vote, and if you look at the map of where no did very well, eastern Ohio, that was their influence.

Americana: What did they do right?

Spencer Gross: They were very disciplined in their messaging. I think it was really telling that their first ad was not about abortion or any social issues. It was much more centrist in its style and even the imagery on the ad, cutting up like the Bill of Rights, sort of looked Republican in its aesthetic. I think it did an effective job of confusing some voters.

Keeping that messaging on the airwaves was smart, and they didnt really deviate from it. They let their coalition members  Planned Parenthood or the ACLU or whoever  talk about their individual issues to their constituencies, but over the airwaves, kept their message disciplined and down the middle. You do have to tip your cap. I think they ran a good campaign and were able to get their people out.

Americana: After the vote, SBA Pro-Life criticized the business groups that sided with yes, saying that they didnt back up that commitment with resources. Is that a fair critique?

Spencer Gross: I dont think Id be as harsh as that. They did a lot of grassroots work, talking to their own members. For us to be able to say, look, the Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB support this was helpful for our voters. One strength of our coalition was in just how diverse it was. But when its that diverse, its harder to have a cohesive issue to grasp on to, like they may have had with abortion.

Americana: Are you saying that there were too many messages, or that abortion overwhelmed them? State Senate President Matt Huffman has talked about trying to pass this again, after the November abortion vote. Would that make a difference?

Spencer Gross: Perhaps, but the whole campaign meant different things to so many different constituencies. We kept our messaging tight on the elevation of standards for changing the constitution, and then the individual coalition members were able to take that message and extrapolate it out to their constituencies.

On the timing, I think if you talk to some lawmakers, theres frustration that they couldnt have gotten this done earlier. A lot of them did want to get it done earlier, holding the vote in May, so that the messaging wasnt quite as mired in the November ballot issue. For whatever reason, they couldnt get it done. This was a bipartisan measure in 2018  it was introduced at the state house, to raise the threshold to 60%.

Americana: Republicans are dominant in Ohio, but I didnt see, until the final day, an effort to bring some national GOP voices in to support yes. Was that a mistake?

Spencer Gross: We wanted this to be an Ohio issue. It was just very localized. Making it about local issues, and things that could actually pass here  I dont think that was a mistake. When we tested messaging, if youre able to ask about the facts of this amendment, most people supported it. They dont think it should be extraordinarily easy just to change the constitution. But the timing of the November issue certainly played a role. I dont think theres any doubt about that.

The View From 'No' on Issue 1

Americana: The president congratulated the no campaign when the result was in, but there wasnt much effort to nationalize this. Why was that?

Dennis Willard: We wanted the face of this campaign to be everyday people, and we had that ability because we had so many organizations on board. Who was out there, knocking door to door? Who was making those phone calls? These were rank and file members of labor, rank and file volunteers with groups like the League of Women Voters. They were holding press conferences, writing letters to the editor, hosting postcard parties  you just had this true ground game. If you say to someone, do you trust the League of Women Voters or the politicians in Columbus? They knew that the former speaker of the state House was in prison for corruption. That was an easy question.

Americana: Were you surprised that it took the yes side so long to get on the air?

Dennis Willard: Frankly, they were in a box from the beginning. They were trying to sneak the election past the voters, so anything they did with paid media that was not targeted, or micro-targeted, raised awareness of the election. They didnt want voters to know whats happening. So it wasnt that we got out in front of them  they came in late, after early voting had started because they thought they could turn out voters en masse on Election Day and beat us. Their whole campaign was ill-conceived.

They were probably surprised when voters started showing up on the first day of early voting on July 11. We were not surprised by that, because we knocked on more than 650,000 doors. If anything surprised us, it was how many people were already aware there was a special election for special interests on August 8, and they were already angry about it. The people who voted no truly believe that they were protecting majority rule and they were up against [Ohio Secretary of State] Frank LaRose and [anti-abortion lobbyist] Mike Gonidakis on their Dumb and Dumber tour.

Americana: The yes campaign credited labor with turnout in northeast Ohio. What was their role?

Dennis Willard: Labor was huge. If you go back and look at when we killed this in the lame duck, we asked every organization that opposed it to put their name on a piece of paper with how many people they represented. We asked them to come through, hold that up before cameras, fold it, like it was their ballot and put it into a voting no box. We had the Ohio Environmental Council, we had the FOP in Ohio, we had firefighters, nurses, people you know, who wear hard hats, people who erase chalkboards.

And they had Frank LaRose, desperate for attention. They kept lying and the public saw through that.

Americana: If Republicans do push this ballot measure again, does this coalition stay around? Do things change if abortion is off the table?

Dennis Willard: This was an opportunity for us to organize, register voters, turn out voters, build lists. There were a lot of positives that came out of this campaign. So, our goal is to stay together.
In the midst of another hot Texas summer, its Frozen at Bass Performance Hall.

The musical based on Disneys hit movie is being performed at the classic venue through Aug. 20 and is presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth. If you have children  and even if you dont  this well-crafted stage production of one of Disneys most popular animated movies ever is pure enjoyment for all ages from the opening note to the splendid finale.

Directed by Michael Grandage with choreography by Rob Ashford, the production does more than great justice to Jennifer Lees story. Working with music and lyrics from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the result is something that leaves everyone feeling  if youll pardon a pun  warm inside.

The story centers on the relationship between two sisters, Elsa and Anna, who are princesses in the land of Arendelle. Elsa has magical powers to create ice and snow, which she does not know how to control and which result in her almost killing Anna by accident when they are children playing together.

Their parents give Elsa a set of gloves to help her rein in her powers. But she also becomes a recluse and stays in her room, away from everyone, including Anna, who does not understand the sudden distance.

When their parents die in a shipwreck, Elsa ultimately inherits the throne and comes out of her seclusion to celebrate with the people of the kingdom. However, when Anna meets a prince whom she believes is the love of her life, Elsa does not approve of the instant engagement.

In a subsequent argument, Elsa unwittingly places the kingdom in eternal winter. In haste, she flees for solitude again, not realizing what she has left behind.

Anna makes it her mission to find her sister and reverse the icy spell. She joins forces with mountaineer Kristoff and his reindeer sidekick Sven. They journey through harsh Arctic-like conditions amid plenty of magic, including a comedic snowman named Olaf, who is also a reflection of the connection the sisters had as children.

When reunited, Annas life is once again accidentally put in danger. And this time the only chance for survival is the displaying of true love.

As the adult Anna, Lauren Nicole Chapman is nothing short of enchanting, albeit with a zesty wit that takes full advantage of the shows snappy dialogue. She cleverly fires off lines, such as when she meets Prince Hans (Will Savarese) and tells him shes not inheriting the throne and says, Im not the heir, just a spare.

And when she sings, its angelic, especially when shes joining forces with adult Elsa (Caroline Bowman). Their duet of I Cant Lose You is one of the shows most powerful and moving moments.

Chapmans duet with Savarese of Love Is An Open Door is both touching and comical. Theres also a smooth chemistry between her and Kristoff (Dominic Dorset) performing What Do You Know About Love?

But without question the shows most powerful musical number is Bowmans rendition of Let It Go, the song that also won an Academy Award from the movie. It is explosive, both with her voice and the accompanying effects that had members of the audience going Wow! as it took the show to intermission.

The two young girls playing young Anna (Avelyn Choi) and young Elsa (Sydney Elise Russell) get things going both joyfully and powerfully. In fact, the transition from them as youngsters to adulthood is virtually seamless.

The way Olaf (Jeremy Davis) is introduced might seem a bit out of the ordinary at first as hes not a character in costume, but rather an actor dressed in white with a large snowman puppet attached to him, moving when Davis moves. After a bit, however, it becomes comfortable, and Davis delivers Olafs comic relief with excellent timing.

And while the reindeer Sven (Dan Plehal) may bring about a question of why he belongs (it also came up in connection with the movie), he says a lot without saying a word in support of his friend Kristoff. Granted, that was easier to do in an animation setting, but it works onstage nonetheless.

The special effects are often mesmerizing, such as when Arendelle freezes, along with another notable freezing scene late in the show. Also, watching the snow fly in the air and almost turn into a blizzard as Elsas emotions take her over are brilliant.

The sets are wonderful companions to these effects. The most magnificent of all is Elsas home in the frozen wilderness, sparkling with a plethora of beauty.

Some of the shows humor will go over the heads of children. But trust me, they wont mind and likely wont notice.

Besides, theyll be too busy thanking their parents for this special treat. And youll thank yourself as well.

Disneys Frozen

 Bass Hall, 525 Commerce St.

 Through Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday.

 Tickets $33 to $170. 817-212-4280; www.basshall.com/frozen
A teen accused of fatally stabbing a gay Black man during a standoff at a Brooklyn gas station will likely tell jurors he was defending himself, his lawyer said Friday.

Dmitriy Popov, 17, has been indicted on murder as a hate crime charges in the July 29 stabbing death of dancer OShae Sibley at the Mobil station on Coney Island Ave. near Avenue P in Midwood.

Sibley, 28, was killed after a confrontation involving a crowd that objected when Sibley and his friends began dancing and performing vogue moves near the gas pumps.

Cops said Popov plunged a knife into Sibleys chest after spewing racial and homophobic slurs at him and his friends.

Popov had pleaded not guilty.

I strongly suspect we will be going self-defense, that he had a reasonable ground to reasonably believe that he had to defend himself in this situation, said Popovs lawyer, Mark Pollard, after a hearing in Brooklyn Supreme Court. A lot of things the DAs office has said actually work in my favor.

Popov surrendered with his lawyer on Aug. 4 after a week on the lam during which he shaved his head and shut off his phone in a failed attempt to evade the law, prosecutors said.

Pollard declined to comment about the haircut, but said his client did not participate in any hate speech.

I suspect that other people did that were not arrested, Pollard said. I dont know why. But he did not.

Pollard also clarified that Popov is Christian. Early reports identified the attacker as Muslim and as part of a Muslim crowd that said the dancing offended their faith.

Sibley, 28, and his friends were returning from a trip to the Jersey Shore, and pulled over to get gas. They spent the next few minutes blaring Beyonce songs and voguing  making exaggerated poses  near the gas pumps.

Beyonce later paid tribute to Sibley on her website.

Popov faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 25 years in jail to life if convicted,

In the caught-on-camera confrontation, a teen believed to be Popov can be seen taking a video of the dancers. Sibley appeared to object to something he said and confronted him in front of the stations convenience store.

Pollard said Popov has been struggling with Sibleys death.

Hes sorrowful. Hes sad. Hes afraid, as he should be at 17 years old, Pollard said. But he has faith and he prays and he has great family support and hes hanging in there.

He regrets what happened. He certainly does. But it doesnt mean hes guilty of a crime. Its two different things. But yes, he certainly regrets everything that happened.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans in Washington have in recent days raised the possibility of taking the first steps toward impeaching President Joe Biden over allegations that he and his son, Hunter Biden, ran an influence-peddling scheme that brought the Biden family millions of dollars from foreign operators during the time that the elder Biden was vice president.

Joe Biden denies being involved in his sons business dealings and maintains that the allegations are politically motivated. Republicans, meanwhile, have yet to find a smoking gun.

But they continue to try to build a pay-for-play case against the Bidens, and Republicans in the House are openly discussing whether to launch a formal impeachment inquiry. Some say there is already enough evidence to impeach Biden.

Heres where Floridas 20 Republican U.S. Representatives stand on impeachment:

Carlos Gimenez

When asked early this month during an interview on Fox Business if there is enough evidence for him to endorse impeaching Joe Biden, Rep. Carlos Gimenez responded by saying Im there already.

In a text message, a spokesman for Gimenez clarified that the congressman is there already on continuing to investigate and doing a formal inquiry into the allegations against President Biden and his family.

Mario Diaz-Balart

A representative said Diaz-Balart was unavailable to comment.

Maria Elvira Salazar

Attempts to reach Salazar were unsuccessful.

Matt Gaetz

Gaetz has stated that he supports an impeachment inquiry into the Bidens business dealings. Gaetz was frank with reporters on the Capitol steps two weeks ago about having enough votes for impeachment.

Right now, even with these revelations, we dont have the votes to impeach anybody in the House of Representatives. So, Im not going to go and gaslight the American public and try to gin them up, said Gaetz. I hope that speaker McCarthy is acquiring the political coalition necessary to hold the Bidens accountable.

Gaetz has previously signed on as a co-sponsor to immigration-related impeachment legislation filed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as co-sponsored another impeachment article drafted by Rep. Lauren Boebert.

Neal Dunn

Representative Neal Dunn said in an interview with MyPanhandle.com that he believes there is enough evidence to conduct an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

We are absolutely obligated to chase this rabbit a little farther down the hole, said Dunn. The accusations are atrocious.

Kat Cammack

During an interview with Newsmax late last month, Cammack said that she supports an impeachment inquiry, but emphasized to fellow Republicans that they need to strengthen the case so they can be certain to have the votes to impeach.

We need to build an iron-clad case that no one can dispute  no one. And were getting there. You see the emails. You see the phone calls, the screenshots. We have the records. We have former business associates coming forward.

Aaron Bean

During an interview on Newsmax last month, Rep. Aaron Bean said that he believes there is still a lot of work to do before an official impeachment takes place, but is convinced that there is enough evidence to warrant an impeachment inquiry.

Ive seen enough now to move forward with it. But I think McCarthy sees it as a chess move, said Bean.

Despite supporting an impeachment inquiry, Bean argued that there is still a lot of work to do before an official proceeding takes place. Its something on our plate every day that were trying to foresee where to go, and stay tuned, American people, because justice is on the way.

John Rutherford

Rutherford, who called two years ago for Biden to resign or be impeached over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, could not be reached for comment.

Michael Waltz

On Fox Business, Waltz cited bank records, suspicious activity reports and multiple whistleblowers coming forward as grounds for an impeachment inquiry.

Waltz emphasized that he doesnt believe any Democrats are going to support an impeachment inquiry. We are going to do this the right way, and I dont think the Democrats are going to be happy with where we end up.

Cory Mills

We need to start going forward with an actual impeachment inquiry, we have the necessary information, said Mills while speaking during a segment on Fox Business.

Mills said that launching impeachment inquiries against Joe Biden is not enough, and House Republicans also need to launch impeachment inquiries against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the border. Like Gaetz, he co-sponsored the impeachment bills filed by Boebert and Greene.

Bill Posey

Posey introduced a separate impeachment proceeding back in May against Biden over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. He could not be reached.

Daniel Webster-

Attempts to reach Webster were unsuccessful.

Gus M. Bilirakis-

Attempts to reach Bilirakis were unsuccessful.

Anna Paulina Luna

Luna is a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is spearheading the investigation into the president. After former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee, Luna told Fox News I am done ... I want this guy impeached. I have seen enough.

Laurel Lee

Attempts to reach Lee were unsuccessful.

Vern Buchanan

Attempts to reach Buchanan were unsuccessful.

Greg Steube

On Friday, Steube introduced his own articles of impeachment against Biden, alleging that the President and his family have used bribery, threats, and fraud to personally profit off his roles in government.

Scott Franklin

Attempts to reach Franklin were unsuccessful.

Byron Donalds

In my view, the impeachment inquiry in the House should be starting immediately, Donalds said on Fox News last week.

Donalds, who is a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is circulating a letter around social media, asking voters to add their name if they agree Biden should be impeached.

Brian Mast

Attempts to reach Mast were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors investigating Hunter Biden on tax-related charges say a trial is imminent after plea deal negotiations fell apart last month.

David Weiss, the U.S. attorney leading the investigation moved to dismiss the case against Biden in new court filings so prosecutors can bring charges in Washington, D.C., or California.

The presidents son was set to agree to plead guilty to two tax offenses and enter a pretrial diversion program on a gun charge, allowing him to avoid a formal charge under specific conditions.

But the deal crumbled after a hearing last month when a Delaware district judge put off accepting the complex deal negotiated by Biden and the DOJ.

After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse, Weiss wrote in Friday court filings. A trial is therefore in order.

After the hearing last month, both parties were directed to submit in writing their responses to Judge Maryellen Noreikas concerns. On Friday, the Justice Department asked Noreika to set aside those briefing deadlines.

The Courts briefing order is premised on the idea that the parties intend to continue towards a guilty plea in Criminal Action No. 23-mj-00274 and diversion in Criminal Action No. 23-cr-00061, prosecutors wrote.

But that is no longer the case, they said. Following additional negotiations after the hearing held on July 26, 2023, the parties are at an impasse and are not in agreement on either a plea agreement or a diversion agreement. Therefore, the Government believes the Courts briefing order should be vacated.

Weiss was on Friday appointed as a special counsel to continue investigating Biden. Special counsels have more powers than U.S. attorneys.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Friday that Weiss advised him that the investigation had reached a stage where he believed he should continue his work as a special counsel and asked to be appointed.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

Noreika ordered Bidens attorneys to respond to the governments motion by noon Monday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Justice Department submitted a filing Friday to dismiss the Hunter Biden plea deal case in Delaware.

On July 26, Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart during his first court appearance, and he pleaded "not guilty" as federal prosecutors confirmed the president's son is still under federal investigation.

Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.

"At the hearing on July 26, 2023, the Defendant did not plead guilty and therefore did not waive venue," the Justice Department filing says.

ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND APPOINTS HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATOR DAVID WEISS SPECIAL COUNSEL

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, right, exits federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on Wednesday, July 26.

"After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse," it continues. "A trial is therefore in order. And that trial cannot take place in this District because, as explained, venue does not lie here."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Hunter Biden's legal team has until Monday to respond.

"On June 20, 2023, the United States filed a criminal information charging the Defendant with two counts of failure to pay taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C.  7203. ECF 2. Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware. Rather, venue for these offenses and any other related tax offenses lies either in the Central District of California or in the District of Columbia," the filing says.

"The information was filed in this District because the parties had previously agreed that the Defendant would waive any challenge to venue and plead guilty in this District. However, during the July 26, 2023, hearing that the Court set on this matter, the Defendant pled not guilty," it adds. "Since that time, the parties have engaged in further plea negotiations but are at an impasse. The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial."

As Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in July, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered a statement at the beginning of her daily briefing.

Hunter Biden arrives to a Federal Courthouse at the Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

"Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter for him. As we have said, the president, the first lady  they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life," Jean-Pierre said. "This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by the former president, President Trump."

Fox News' Brooke Singman, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
While any season is a good time to visit some national parks, tourist visits really peak in the summer. Even as extreme temperatures smashed records in Death Valley National Park in California, visitors still trekked out to one of Earths hottest locales. Heat related illnesses in Grand Canyon National Park are also expected to rise due to climate change.

The majestic views and inspiring landscapes of Americas best idea can create lifelong memories and allow people to connect with the natural world in ways that they might otherwise not. However, they can also bring out some pretty bad behavior. Heres how to act cool no matter how sweltering it gets on your next trip to a national park.

[Related: The 10 most underrated national parks in the US.]

All for the gram

While the unofficial motto of the national parks is take only memories and pictures, and leave only footprints, that does not mean putting life and limb at risk for a photo. In June, a visitor to Yellowstone National Park seemingly ignored warnings and dipped her hand into one of the park's famous hot springs. These springs can reach temperatures of up to 198 degrees Fahrenheit (the boiling point of water at Yellowstone's average altitude) due to the areas active geothermal activity. Dont do this if you want to avoid burning your hand and disturbing the hot spring. And, if you dont heed this warning, you could also end up on TouronsofYellowstone.

Another video taken at Yellowstone earlier this summer shows a tourist getting uncomfortably close to a bison. These animals are the largest land mammals in North America and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. Park rangers urge all visitors to not disturb the wildlife and stay at least 25 yards away. Further east in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, tourists cornered a black bear with a selfie stick. While rare, the parks black bears have attacked humans and disturbing them is illegal. So when it comes to Americas beloved fauna, admire from afar.

Leave the spray paint at home

National parks are no stranger to artistic endeavorsrestricted caves in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California house various ancient rock carvings and drawings called petroglyphs, for example. But its best to leave these drawings alone, and not contribute anymore. In February, a man from Minnesota who climbed into a 600-year-old restricted cave in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California was fined $540 and banned from any national park for one year. Joshua Tree, known for spiky trees and dramatic rock formations, is unfortunately no stranger to this type of bad behavior. In 2019, the park battled vandalism during a government shutdown that was so bad that it may take the trees 300 years to fully recover.

[Related: How to avoid dying in national parks.]

The National Park Service is also investigating red graffiti at Maines Acadia National Park. This kind of vandalism could be dangerous if the red markings confuses hikers, as it could be mistaken for trail blazers. NPS advised hikers to follow blue trail blazes instead. Spray paint has also been spotted on the rocks along Laurel Falls Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For safety and preservation purposes, save the nature-inspired art for when you get out of the park.

Keep your hands (and tongue) to yourself

Towards the end of last year, NPS officials had to warn visitors to stop licking the Sonoran desert toad. Also known as the Colorado river toad,this roughly seven inch-long amphibian secretes a potent toxin that can make people sick if it makes contact with the skin or gets in the mouth. Some have discovered that these toxic secretions contain 5-MeO-DMT, a powerful hallucinogenic. The US Drug Enforcement Administration considers it a Schedule 1 drug, which means it is not currently accepted for medical use and has a high potential for abuse. So, if youre tempted to give this frog prince a kiss for whatever reason, please just dont.

In May, a man pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife at Yellowstone. Even though his actions werent proven to be malicious, the newborn bison calf was unable to find its herd. This left the poor creature to wander the roadways causing hazards, and the calf was eventually euthanized. He was charged a $500 fine, a $500 Community Service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 special assessment, and a $10 processing fee.

Again, if you love wildlife, its best for you and fellow visitors to keep their hands to themselves. The NPS urges all visitors to be mindful of trails and wildlife, take out any trash brought into the parks and heed park rangers warnings.
More than 100 people gathered Thursday evening in downtown Orlando to protest the suspension of Monique Worrell, the former Orange-Osceola state attorney who was ousted from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis a day earlier.

Traffic had slowed down in the city on the school years first day of class when a crowd joined together on the steps of City Hall and raised signs that read: I voted for Monique Worrell, NOT Andrew Bain, and Ron DeSantis is a weak dictator!

Around 7 p.m., local leaders and community organizers addressed the crowd, including U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, Bishop Derrick McRae, president of the African American Council of Christian Clergy, Chev Lovett with Florida Rising and Dr. Vibert White with the Orange County NAACP.

We are here because democracy is under attack, Frost told those who gathered. Its under attack across the entire country, but right here in Florida, this is the epicenter of the anti-democratic measures were seeing across the country.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani criticized DeSantis move, calling it ridiculous at the rally. She argued the decision harmed democracy by undermining the will of the voters.

When you lean on culture wars to divide communities to distract us and make our lives harder, our ability to achieve economic mobility is stripped away from us, she said.

After a long lineup of speakers, the former Orange-Osceola state attorney told the crowd that today is not about her, its about democracy.

Im so glad to hear all of these other individuals talking about all of the issues, because I am but one of them, Worrell said. There are so many reasons why we need to assemble and gather here and there are so many people absent from this conversation.

She added: And, as I look across these steps, the absence concerns me because if we continue to be absent, we will continue to suffer the consequences of our absence.

DeSantis executive order followed criticism from the Orlando chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police and other heads of law enforcement agencies in the Ninth Circuit, as well as U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

Worrells critics claim her office was soft on crime.

The executive order said the state prosecutor avoided minimum mandatory sentences for gun crimes, drug trafficking offenses and allowed juveniles to avoid serious charges or imprisonment.

Worrell has denied those claims and said DeSantiss move was political and not about her performance.

Worrell is the second Democratic state attorney suspended by DeSantis. Last summer, the governor suspended Andrew Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County, who pledged not to prosecute doctors who provide abortions.

Congressman Frost said he and members from New York and Maryland wrote to James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, asking him for an oversight committee to examine abuses of power happening in the state.

Under its current administration, Floridas executive and legislative branches of government have engaged in a relentless assault on the fundamental rights and freedoms of Floridians, the letter read.

Jasmine Burney-Clark, the founder of Equal Ground Education Fund, an organization that focuses on expanding and protecting voting rights of Black Floridians, said she hopes the action mobilizes voters.

This rally was the tipping point for organization and community groups, she said. We want to address every single attack to our democracy, not just this singular issue.

The governor appointed Andrew A. Bain, a judge in Orange County, to take Worrells place.

Worrell said she plans to fight the decision in court and will be seeking reelection in 2024.
Chicago police Chief of Counterterrorism Larry Snelling, left, works outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, where the body of Officer Andres Mauricio Vasquez Lasso was transported after being fatally shot on the Southwest Side, on March 1, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson faces a Sunday deadline to make one of the most consequential decisions of his time leading the city so far: who to select as the next permanent superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Aside from the mayor, a big citys top cop is often the most public member of local government. Their ability to lead a bureaucracy  in Chicago, its the largest city department with more than 11,000 men and women who deal with the citys toughest issues  often comes to help define a mayors tenure.

Johnson is expected to announce Sunday his selection from the three finalists submitted to him last month: CPD Chief of Counterterrorism Larry Snelling, CPD Chief of Constitutional Policing and Reform Angel Novalez, and Shon Barnes, the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. An introductory news conference could come the following day.

Snelling, a South Side native who joined CPD in 1992, is considered by many department members, supervisors and close CPD observers to be the most likely choice.

But whoever is ultimately selected for the job will face an uphill climb.

I think Chicago has three major challenges, said Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based police think tank. Number one: violent crime, no question about it. The next superintendent needs to know how to deal with violent crime. Number two: hiring cops. Chicago, like many cities, is facing a staffing crisis. Motivating his current employees to encourage others to become cops, that is huge. If you cant staff the CPD, you cant deal with violent crime, you cant deal with community services. Number three: the consent decree. It isnt going away. It has to be taken seriously. It has to be implemented.

And there wont be much of a honeymoon, Wexler added.

Whoever comes into Chicago needs to hit the ground running and needs to hit all three challenges head on, he said.

Data from the citys Office of Inspector General show that CPD ranks have shrunk by about 1,500 officers since 2019. As of this month, the Police Department counted about 11,700 sworn officers, according to the OIG.

Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor and police accountability expert, said that the next CPD superintendent should take concrete steps to transform the departments culture by further prioritizing transparency and accountability.

We cant forget that CPDs problematic culture is the reason why were under a consent decree, a civil rights consent decree, in Chicago in the first place (and) why the department has been so ineffective in solving violent crime, so ineffective in making us safe, Futterman said.

Snelling, 54, has quickly climbed CPDs ranks in recent years.

He was promoted last October to chief of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, which oversees the narcotics and gang divisions as well as SWAT teams.

Before that, he was a tactical officer, lieutenant and then commander of the Englewood District. Snelling oversaw the district during the fraught summer of 2020, when civil unrest gripped cities across the country following George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

Considered one of the departments use-of-force experts, Snelling was previously assigned to CPDs training academy. He also testified about the importance of accuracy in officers incident reports; that was part of Chicago Police Board proceedings against four officers accused of exaggerating the circumstances that led up to the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald in 2014.

Madison police Chief Shon Barnes, from left, Angel Novalez, chief of CPDs Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, and Chicago police Deputy Chief Larry Snelling. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal, E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune, John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Novalez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Chicago with his family in the 1970s. He joined CPD in 2001 and was previously assigned to the Near West District, the training academy, Area 4 and the Grand Central District on the Northwest Side. After he was shot in the line of duty, Novalez quickly rose through the ranks to oversee much of CPDs community-building efforts, including the CAPS program.

He now serves as chief of the Office of Constitutional Policing, which works to develop and implement internal department policies that adhere to the citys consent decree, though compliance has been slow.

Barnes was hired as the chief of police in Madison in 2021, and he was previously the director of training and professional development for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the body that investigates use-of-force incidents by CPD officers. He also held supervisory positions in two police departments in North Carolina.

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoots hand-picked choice for superintendent, David Brown, came to Chicago from Dallas and faced criticism that he was in over his head. His aloof style alienated him from the community and the rank and file. When he was asked about his lack of visibility at a City Council committee, Brown blamed it on COVID-19. That left Lightfoot as the main public face on crime, allowing critics to tag her with the citys problems.

Mayor Rahm Emanuels first superintendent, Garry McCarthy, came to Chicago after stints in New York and Newark, New Jersey. His brash East Coast persona rubbed some the wrong way but he presided over a time of decreasing violent crime and earned respect within the department. Emanuel fired him amid fallout over the Laquan McDonald police murder and accusations of a City Hall cover-up, then replaced him with Eddie Johnson, a lower-ranking official who never applied for the job.

While Eddie Johnson wasnt a visionary police leader, the Chicago native and CPD lifer had respect among rank-and-file cops and also community leaders. Lightfoot fired him, though, in late 2019 after she said Johnson misled her about the circumstances of a drunken driving episode near his home in Bridgeport earlier that year.

As a progressive, Mayor Johnson campaigned on a platform that policing needs to be reformed and the city cant address all its problems by simply arresting people. He entered office facing public concerns about high crime and took over a department struggling with low morale, often stoked by combative police union President John Catanzara, who warned that hundreds of officers would quit if he were elected.

That prediction hasnt panned out, but Johnson has aimed his words and actions at assuaging department members. Last month, shortly before the three finalists were announced, Catanzara offered praise for the new process to narrow down superintendent candidates.

This process is 100 times better than what it was when the police board was conducting it, Catanzara told members of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability last month.

Johnsons selection of former CPD Chief of Patrol Fred Waller as interim superintendent was an important move as Waller is a city cop who has worked the same streets as his subordinates.

While Johnson said he would give a fair shake to Barnes, he has also said he wants to select someone who knows the city of Chicago well. His expected selection of Snelling or even Novalez would represent a continuation of his efforts to rebuild morale that started with Waller, who he recently praised for building unprecedented morale.

Thats important, Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato said, after the last deal didnt work out with Brown and police officers.

Theyre our guys and theyre both tremendously respected and loved by the rank and file, Sposato said. Thats very important to have a boss, a leader thats respected and loved.
Approximately 60 people were treated for mild eye and throat irritation after pepper spray was reportedly used at a Travis Scott concert in Rome on Monday night.

Social media videos show a group of spectators moving suddenly and taking refuge eventually on a nearby hill. Some climbed over barricades, others appeared to be crying.

File: Travis Scott performs at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Nov. 5, 2021. / Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

The majority of concert-goers seemed unaware of the disturbance, and the performance continued uninterrupted.

About 60,000 fans attended the rapper's debut performance of his chart-topping "Utopia" album, where he was joined on stage by controversial performer Kanye West.

The use of pepper spray in Italian crowds is not uncommon, and some incidents have resulted in multiple deaths. In 2018, six people died and hundreds were injured at a rap performance in central Italy a after the use of pepper spray resulted in a stampede.

Scott's past performances have also had tragic consequences. In 2021, 10 people died and hundreds were injured in a crush at a concert at the Astroworld Festival in Scott's home town of Houston.

In a separate incident on Monday night, a 14 year old climbed onto a nearby hill to see the concert and fell about 4 meters (around 13 feet). He was taken to a hospital for his injuries.

The concert took place at the Circus Maximus, a vast archeological site where ancient Romans held chariot races. The excited spectators jumped vigorously during the concert, causing the ground to shake and Romans who lived nearby to take to social media to ask if an earthquake was underway.

The Circus Maximus, Rome's ancient chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue, is seen in a 2020 file photo. / Credit: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images

The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, which measures earthquake magnitude, said on its website, "we have received many requests for information from Roman citizens who felt one or more earthquakes after 21:30."

A seismologist with the Institute Giovanni Diaferia noted that the impact measured from those jumping at the concert was equivalent to "a magnitude 1.3 earthquake, at each jump" in a social media post on Wednesday.

Alfonsina Russo, an archaeologist who runs the nearby Archeological Park of the Coliseum, criticized the choice of venue for such an event.

"The Circus Maximus is not a field, it's a monument; it has subterranean galleries, archeological areas. You can't have tens of thousands of people jumping up and down for hours," she told Italian media.

The Circus Maximus is flanked by the Roman ruins on the Palatine Hill, and other historic sites such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Baths of Caracalla are nearby.

Russo said she had voiced concerns regarding the use of the venue with Rome's mayor. She suggested that more appropriate musical events, like opera and ballet, be held there.

Rock concerts should be held in stadiums, Russo said.

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Theres a new horror film thats getting big praise from Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro.

Dracula fans will be excited to learn that the film is an adaptation of the section of Bram Stokers novel, titled Captains Log in which the vampire travels to London on a ship.

Directed by Andre vredal, the film is called The Last Voyage of.the Demeter, and stars Liam Cunningham, Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi and Oppenheimer actor David Dastmalchian.

Javier Botet joins the ranks of actors to have played Dracula alongside Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman and, more recently, Claes Bang.

Reviews of the film are now sailing in  and horror author King shared his verdict, writing: I was doubtful about THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, but its a throat-ripping good time. It reminded me of the best of the Hammer movies from the 60s and 70s.

Guillermo del Toro, whose credits include Pans Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, wrote: I enjoyed Last Voyage of the Demeter so much: gorgeous, lavish and savage!!

Despite this praise, the film has a 38 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes afrer 72 reviews.

Writing for TheWrap, Kristen Lopez said: Theres just nothing about this interpretation of the character that makes him stand out as Count Dracula versus just another standard vampire.

New York Post's Johnny Oleksinski said: Bram Stoker wrote Dracula 126 years ago  somehow, Hollywood is still screwing it up.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Universal Pictures)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is out now in the US. There is currently no UK release date.
When youre approaching an intersection with a green light, it doesnt take long for the light to quickly turn yellow.

Your foot hovers over the brake pedal but then goes to hover the gas pedal. Should you risk the light turning red and continue through or do you legally have to stop?

Heres what California law says about driving through a yellow light:

Californias yellow light law

According to the California Drivers Handbook, a yellow traffic signal means to proceed with caution. The light is about to turn red.

The handbook states that when a driver sees a yellow traffic signal light, they should stop, if they can safely do so. If a driver cannot stop safely, they can cautiously cross the intersection.

A representative from the DMV Public Affairs Office said California Vehicle Code 21452 contains the following information regarding yellow traffic signal laws.

A driver approaching a steady yellow or yellow arrow signal is:

Informed that the related green light movement is ending

Warned that a red light will be shown immediately after

Is it against the law to cut through a parking lot to avoid a red light in California?

Can you be ticketed for driving through the yellow light?

If you misjudge the amount of time you have to safely go through the intersection while the light is yellow, then California Vehicle Code 21453 states you could face a penalty for running a red light.

Running a red light can result in the following penalties, according to legal website NOLO:

Fines and fees: The base fine for a red light violations ranges from $35 to $100, depending on the violation (but there are extra fines and fees that make the driver have to pay a bigger price). After county fines, the cost can near $500, The Sacramento Bee reported.





Points: Red light tickets carry one point on a drivers license record, which can affect your insurance premium.





What should you do if the yellow light is flashing?

The California Drivers Handbook explicitly states that a driver does not have to stop at a flashing yellow light.

The handbook states, A flashing yellow traffic signal light is a warning to proceed with caution. Slow down and be alert. You do not need to stop.

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.
An 84-year-old woman crashed into a Toyota dealership, killing one customer and injuring two workers in California, police said.

The driver was in a 2017 Toyota RAV4 when she accelerated into the building at about 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, in the Mission Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles, the city police department said in a news release.

Her vehicle came to a stop in the customer reception area of the dealership after striking multiple people, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a news release.

A 55-year-old woman who was shopping for vehicles was trapped under the SUV, authorities said.

Bystanders rushed to free the woman, fire officials said. One person was an off-duty nurse who performed CPR on the woman, but she didnt have a pulse, rescuers said.

She was taken to a hospital in grave condition, where she was pronounced dead, rescuers said.

Two male employees, a 23-year-old and a 35-year-old, were injured in the crash and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The driver from Mission Hills was not injured and declined an ambulance to a hospital.

No arrests were made, and police said the investigation is ongoing.

Mission Hills is about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

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Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, are still facing fear and uncertainty from the fallout of a train crash six months ago that spilled hazardous chemicals into the surrounding community.

Misti Allison, an East Palestine resident who works with the organization Moms Clean Air Force, said this week that cleanup efforts on the ground are still ongoing near the derailment site and in creeks that run through town.

While cleanup personnel have conducted activities like aeration, she said the sediment of the creeks is still heavily contaminated.

Thats a big issue and a big fear because the creeks run through town, and they run under businesses and houses, and so obviously thats really scary. Theres a lot of pathways to exposure, she told The Hill.

So from an environmental perspective, there is still a lot of risk going on in East Palestine that probably a lot of people, if you dont live in this area, arent aware of that.

Yet Allison said the community is fortunate the train didnt derail 30 seconds earlier, when it was passing through the heart of the town, where local businesses, churches and the library are.

On Feb. 3, the train operated by the Norfolk Southern railroad derailed in the town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, including 11 cars carrying hazardous chemicals such as vinyl chloride, used in the manufacture of plastics. Emergency crews conducted a controlled burn days later, sending a plume of flame that hazmat officials said was visible for 10 miles.

In recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun issuing what were first weekly and are now biweekly newsletters to the 44413 ZIP code, where East Palestine is, updating residents on their findings on conditions in the area.

That is really nice [but] that would have been even nicer to happen in the beginning, Allison said.

The immediate lack of fatalities may have made it easier for national attention to move on, but that doesnt mean there is no lingering threat to the health of the locals, said Melody Reis, Moms Clean Air Forces senior legislative and regulatory policy manager.

When were talking about exposures to petrochemicals and other toxic substances, the primary concern isnt always instant death. Rather, the concern here is that these chemicals cause cancer, cardiovascular illnesses, reproductive damage, and other negative health outcomes, Reis told The Hill in an email.

There may not be immediately apparent effects, but exposure to these chemicals can trigger reactions that we may not find out about for months or even years. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable, which makes the situation in East Palestine, Ohio, especially concerning for parents and other caregivers, she added.

Ohios two senators, Sherrod Brown (D) and JD Vance (R), have also worked to keep the derailment, and the circumstances around it, in the news.

The unlikely pairing  a Rust Belt progressive facing an uphill reelection in 2024 and an archconservative ally of former President Trump  testified at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in March and have cosponsored railway reform legislation in the wake of the derailment.

The legislation includes provisions that had been sought by rail workers unions in 2022, which led to the brink of a strike before Congress passed legislation requiring them to accept a new contract. Among those provisions are a requirement to modernize tank cars and stricter safety requirements for cars carrying hazardous materials.

The bill, which has drawn the endorsement of both President Biden and Trump, cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in May with two Republican votes, but ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has expressed skepticism it would secure 60 votes in the Senate, contradicting Brown and Vances optimism.

In the GOP-controlled House, leaders have expressed a desire to wait until the National Transportation Safety Board has issued its final report on the crash to move on legislation. The boards preliminary findings point to an overheated wheel bearing on the train, which did not reach the heat threshold for a mandatory stop until it was too late to prevent the derailment.

Six months after the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern still hasnt cleaned up its act, Brown said in a statement last week. After years of raking in massive profits while cutting workers and cutting corners on safety, the company and the railroad industry continue to fight even the most basic safety rules in our bipartisan Rail Safety Act.

A Vance spokesperson, meanwhile, referred The Hill to comments the senator made to The Associated Press in early August, arguing his party cannot claim to be meeting the needs of rural, heavily Republican-voting regions without meaningful rail reform.

These rail lines pass frequently through Republican areas, small towns with a lot of Republican voters. How can we look them in the eye and say, were doing a good job by you? If we choose the railroads over their own interests, we cant, the first-term Republican said.

The EPA has invoked the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or Superfund law, in the crash, which requires Norfolk Southern to assume financial responsibility for cleanup.

Allison told The Hill that while the railroad has taken considerable action on cleanup, it seems like they have a lot of undue influence in  what that litmus test is for making it right.

I feel like we all need to work in lockstep together to quit pointing fingers and to just solve this terrible problem together so we can move forward and also [make sure] this doesnt happen in any community ever again, because I dont want anybody to go through this, she said. Because its life-shattering.

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson denied the railroad has exerted any influence on the cleanup standards.

Contaminants associated with the derailment have not been detected in waterways downstream of Sulphur Run since April. We continue active assessments for remediation activities within Sulphur Run though any detections have generally been below screening levels, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. Our work continues daily in and around East Palestine.

Updated: 9:29 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
US DJ and producer Grandmaster Flash is one of the pioneers of hip-hop (ANGELA WEISS)

Five decades after a Bronx block party ushered in hip-hop's 'Big Bang' moment, the culture-shifting genre is celebrating its 50th birthday Friday.

The reigning music style has evolved in rapid, anarchic ways -- in many ways defying categorization -- but some patterns have emerged.

What follows is a run-down of some of hip-hop's key phases.

- Old school -

What's now broadly referred to as old school hip-hop is the genre's earliest commercially recorded music, and typically refers to songs put out from approximately 1979 to 1983.

The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" became the first commercially successful hip-hop song after it was released on September 16, 1979. It's preserved in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

"The Message" from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, released in 1982, brought a socially conscious element to the genre, delivering a raw portrait of urban life and the stresses of poverty.

Other prominent artists of the moment included Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel and Grandmaster Caz.

- East Coast -

New York and the East Coast were pivotal to the development of hip-hop throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the "golden age."

Run-DMC was among the most influential acts of the era, achieving a smattering of notable firsts for the genre.

They, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy offered harder renditions of hip-hop than their disco-tinged predecessors, with the latter rising to prominence for their political themes including racism and Black power.

More complex wordplay with swift delivery and elaborate metaphors were emblematic of the age, with acts including Eric B. & Rakim, LL Cool J, Nas, Big Daddy Kane and The Notorious B.I.G. gaining wide acclaim.

De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest were meanwhile pioneering "alternative hip-hop," bringing in jazz and R&B elements.

Salt-N-Pepa, Foxy Brown, Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill broke barriers for women, with Hill in particular popularizing melodic rapping.

The Notorious B.I.G. -- or "Biggie" -- with the backing of Puff Daddy's "Bad Boy Records" became the East Coast's king following the release of his landmark debut album "Ready to Die" in 1994, up until his shock murder in 1997.

And the Wu-Tang Clan also popularized East Coast styles, emphasizing hard edges and strong beats.

- West Coast -

The sounds emerging from California were fast and influenced by electronica, centering more on DJs than raps.

Ice-T pioneered West Coast and gangsta rap in the late 1980s, while N.W.A. went platinum with its album "Straight Outta Compton" in 1988.

Dogged by controversy and censorship over profane lyrics -- which many alleged were misogynist while also glorifying drug use and crime -- N.W.A. made waves for laying bare experiences of endemic racism and excessive policing.

The group's dissolution saw members including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube gain solo acclaim.

And Tupac Shakur also proferred messages of injustice as he became one of the greatest rappers of all time prior to his 1996 murder, which came just months before Biggie's.

Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" charted new paths for rap as a seminal album of the era.

It also introduced one of his most famous proteges, the then-budding rapper today known as Snoop Dogg, whose laid-back, windows-down lyrical delivery came to epitomize G-Funk, and whose debut album "Doggystyle" was a Dre production.

Dre also shaped another household name: Eminem.

"He's a creator who has moved popular culture three times... with gangsta rap, G-funk and Eminem," said industry magnate Jimmy Iovine of Dre.

- Bling and Prog -

Biggie's commercial fame paved the way for other East Coast stars, including Jay-Z, DMX, Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent, with the turn-of-the-millennium bling era.

Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" was a major hit years before he would become one of hip-hop's billionaires and an industry mogul.

His work also brought producers including Kanye West to the fore.

Early in his career, West gained near-universal acclaim, not least for his integration of house, electronica and soul into creatively risky productions.

And Nicki Minaj was praised for her chameleon talents and blistering flow, while Drake brought in R&B sensibilities and churned out hit after hit.

Kendrick Lamar became one of contemporary music's most impactful writers, with his verses offering insight both personal and systemic, all set to jazz-heavy instrumentals.

Lamar, along with West and Common, all became torchbearers of the broadly defined progressive rap, defined by a focus on social ills and change.

Hip-hop was also burgeoning across the South, with artists including 2 Live Crew, Missy Elliott and Outkast gaining traction.

- Trap and Drill -

Into the 2010s, rap's nexus shifted to Atlanta, home to the trap subgenre characterized by cymbal patterns and synthesized drums.

Trap remains among American music's most popular styles, with its influence crossing into pop and EDM as well as Latin America's wildly popular reggaeton.

Much of its lyricism focused on life in "the trap" -- a reference to drug-dealing spots.

Artists including Outkast, T.I., Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne expanded its popularity, while the idiosyncratic Young Thug became one of contemporary hip-hop's most emulated artists.

Today's trap-influenced superstars including Migos, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.

Internet virality has been key to several contemporary movements including "Soundcloud rap," whose angsty, jagged sound injected vulnerability into hip-hop.

And the equally dark drill has brought the aggressive lyricism of gangsta back to prominence. It began percolating in Chicago before traveling to Britain and resurfacing in New York.

Brooklyn drill gained mainstream clout thanks to work from artists including the late Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign, as today's stars like the Bronx's Ice Spice take it viral.

mdo/sst
By Alexandra Valencia and Julia Symmes Cobb

QUITO (Reuters) -Assassinated Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was honored on Friday at a funeral mass and public memorial in Quito, as a legislative candidate reported an armed attack during which she was lightly injured.

Villavicencio, a former lawmaker and crusading anti-corruption journalist, was gunned down as he left a campaign event on Wednesday evening, less than two weeks before the election.

Amid a tide of rising violence and crime in the South American country, the murder has led some Ecuadoreans to weigh whether they will vote on Aug. 20 and has made an unsettled election even harder to forecast.

Villavicencio's family remembered him at a mass at a cemetery chapel in Quito, accompanied by heavily-armed police.

"My son left a legacy of struggle, of transparency, of sacrifice," Villavicencio's mother, Gloria Valencia, told attendees. "All this struggle and all that he did - I hope it will not be merchandise used by others."

The coffin was loaded into a hearse to chants of "Fernando lives forever!" and moved to the city's events center, where supporters gathered to place flowers and shrouds - many featuring the Ecuadorean flag - on the casket.

Meanwhile, legislative candidate Estefany Puente, who is running for a seat in the province of Los Rios, told Reuters on Friday she had been attacked by a gunman and suffered light injuries.

Puente, whose party has paused campaigning out of respect for Villavicencio, said a man approached her car on Thursday in the city of Quevedo and shot at it.

She drove several blocks to escape, she said by phone, and had not received previous threats.

"I have light injuries on my body," Puente said. "It's a way to repress us, to quiet us, to perhaps make us afraid. But I'm not scared, this motivates me to continue."

Six suspects - all Colombians who police have said belong to criminal groups - were charged with Villavicencio's murder and were remanded in custody for 30 days by a judge late on Thursday, the attorney general's office said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

According to charging documents uploaded to the justice system's website, all six were also charged with illicit trafficking of substances.

Two of the men had been previously charged, on July 5, with reception of stolen goods, according to documents on the website.

All the men had previous criminal records in Ecuador and Colombia, an Ecuadorean police spokesperson said.

A search of the public records database run by the Colombian police listed three of the men as having no criminal record, while the remaining three were listed as "currently not required by any judicial authority."

One other suspect in the crime died from wounds sustained in a shootout with authorities on Wednesday.

'WHO HIRED THEM?'

As a labor organizer and then a journalist, Villavicencio had made many enemies and had long been exposed to threats due to his scathing and meticulously documented corruption accusations targeting some of the biggest names in Ecuador's political and financial establishment.

"He was aware that the threats against him were real," Villavicencio's wife Veronica Sarauz told Colombia's Caracol Radio.

"We know they are the material authors," she said of the six charged men. "But we need to know who the intellectual authors are. Who hired them?"

The government has said it is investigating who is behind the murder and has promised heightened security nationwide to ensure peaceful elections.

Villavicencio died from cranial trauma, hemorrhage and cerebral laceration caused by a bullet, an autopsy quoted in the charging documents said. He also suffered a cranial fracture.

The state had failed to protect him from the threats against him, said Patricia Aguilera, an assembly candidate for a rural area of Quito.

"They killed him because they feared an honest man assuming power and saying the truth about all the corruption in this country," she said earlier on Friday outside a wake held by Villavicencio's family.

Violence in Ecuador has surged in recent years, especially in cities along drug-trafficking routes like Guayaquil and Esmeraldas where citizens say they live in fear.

President Guillermo Lasso, who called early elections to avoid an impeachment vote, has been criticized for failing to tamp down the violence.

His government blames bloodshed on the streets and in prisons on criminal infighting to control the drug trafficking routes used by Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and others.

Villavicencio, a 59-year-old father, had 7.5% support in polls, placing him fifth out of eight candidates. Beyond security, employment and migration are major issues for voters.

Candidates will participate in a mandatory televised debate on Sunday. Villavicencio's party had asked for the debate to be postponed, but the electoral authority declined.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito and Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin and Nelson Bocanegra in Bogota; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O'Brien)
Construction workers work on Central Park West homes and apartments in Irvine on Jan. 28, 2019. State lawmakers are considering a bill that could eventually allow single-stairway buildings, which could make it easier to build small-to-medium sized apartment complexes. (Los Angeles Times)

California lawmakers are again this year considering complex, controversial bills to ease the states housing shortage. What gets less attention, but are still important, are the narrower proposals to rethink regulations that have inadvertently stymied home construction, such as the requirement that apartment buildings taller than three stories have two stairways.

Assembly Bill 835 , which has so far sailed through the Legislature with little opposition, would direct the State Fire Marshal to propose standards to allow multifamily buildings with one stairway while still protecting residents, which could make it easier to build small-to-medium sized complexes on small lots. It's a worthy effort.

When the two-stairway mandate was adopted throughout the United States a century ago, it made sense to ensure residents had more than one exit to escape a fire. In recent years, however, indoor sprinklers and fire-safe construction have become common in new buildings, and architects and housing advocates argue that the two-stairway requirement should be reconsidered.

Read more: Editorial: Turning office buildings into apartments is how California eases the housing crisis

Outlawing single-stairway buildings has made it impossible to build the kind of mid-rise apartment buildings once common in American cities and still the norm for new construction in Europe, Asia and Mexico. Think of walking into a building lobby to find an elevator and staircase circling up around it; it's efficient and can be quite beautiful.

The two stairway requirement has had a profound effect on the way apartments buildings are designed in the U.S. A common complaint is that they all look the same  bulky boxes with little green space and uninspired rectangular units with limited light and ventilation.

Read more: Editorial: California cities want to stop fast-tracking affordable housing construction. Bad idea

The requirement that each apartment must have access to two stairways means that units open onto a long corridor that runs the length of the building with stairs at each end. These buildings often look like a hotel inside, with doors off a long hallway. This type of design favors smaller units, such as studios and one-bedrooms, with windows on only one side. Its not uncommon to have windowless rooms. Two stairways require significant space within the building, which makes it challenging to build mid-rise apartment complexes on small infill plots of land.

Proponents of legalizing single stairways say it could encourage a lot more construction  and better buildings. The change would give architects more flexibility in designing larger units for families, with shared courtyards, more light and ventilation. It could open up an estimated 11,500 commercial and multi-residential parcels in Los Angeles for mid-rise buildings, said Ed Mendoza, a city planner and organizer with the Livable Communities Initiative, an L.A.-based group that sponsored AB 835.

Read more: Opinion: Another consequence of the L.A. housing crisis: The Fresno housing crisis

But what about safety? Advocates say there are no data to suggest single-stair buildings are more deadly, particularly when coupled with strict fire standards. New York City and Seattle allow single-stairway buildings up to six stories with limits on the number of units allowed on each floor and fire-safety requirements, such as automatic indoor sprinklers or non-combustible building materials like concrete or steel. For example, Seattle allows just four apartments per story so residents are close to the exit. Some countries in Europe require that single-stair buildings have balconies that are easily reached by fire truck ladders.

Will single-stair buildings solve the housing crisis? Well, no. But tweaking the building code could make more projects pencil out, encourage bigger units for families and perhaps foster architectural creativity.

A lot of Americans think there are only two types of housing, single-family suburban homes or skyscraper apartments, said Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose), who is author of AB 835. When in truth there is so much variety for the in-between housing.

In recent years, California made it easier to build backyard cottages and duplexes, and convert commercial properties into homes. Combined, these efforts are likely to produce thousands and thousands of new homes that would otherwise never be built. There are few silver bullets to solve the California housing shortage, but there are still lots of opportunities to adjust regulations to encourage more types of housing in more locations.

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.
Russian aeroballistic missiles screamed into Ukraine on the morning of Aug. 11, impacting in the west of the country and killing an eight-year-old-boy in his home, Ukrainian authorities said.

One of the Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, launched from Russian aircraft flying over Russian territory, struck a private house in the Kolomyia district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, killing the child, reported the Office of the Prosecutor General. The agency also published photos from the scene of the tragedy.

Read also: Russia attacked Khmelnytsky Oblast air base three times in one day, local official says

Information about the other casualties is being verified. The blast wave and debris from the missile impact partially destroyed an outbuilding.

A pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been initiated, Ukrainian prosecutor said.

The four Kinzhal missiles launched at Ukraine by Russia targeted a military airfield and young pilots who will soon be traveling to Europe for training, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said later on Ukrainian national television.

Read also: Two young musicians killed in Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhya

"This is another attack by terrorists with Kh-47 missiles," the military officer said, using the formal name of the Kinzhal missile.

The missiles were aimed at military airfields that have been under enemy fire for months. And the Starokostiantyniv airfield (Khmelnytskyi Oblast - ed.) is currently experiencing the consequences of the Russian occupiers' attacks, Ihnat said.

This time, our youth, our young pilots, who are about to leave for training, are in the crosshairs. Young pilots will be trained under a different program, and we know that the UK and other countries will train them for a new type of aircraft, Western equipment, primarily the F16. Thus, the enemy wanted to strike at our youth, depriving us of the prospect of further rearmament with the latest Western models of equipment.

Ihnat added that although one missile was shot down in Kyiv Oblast, all of them had been headed for Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in western Ukraine.

The morning attack was carried out by four Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from four MiG-31K aircraft from the airspace of Russias Tula and Lipetsk oblasts, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a later statement.

"The missiles entered Ukrainian airspace from the north, heading southwest to the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast," the statement said.

Read also: Pokrovsk attack casualties rise to 81, death toll remains 7

We managed to destroy one Kh-47 missile within Kyiv Oblast. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure facilities were hit, and one of the missiles hit a residential area.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A fire broke out at a power substation in the Russian city of Kaluga, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram on Aug. 11.

The settlements connected to the substation were left without electricity. Two transformers are out of order. The preliminary cause of the fire is allegedly "lightning, Shapsha said.

Read also: Moscow airports in chaos after multiple reports of drone attacks

At the same time, the governor of Russias Kursk Oblast, Roman Starovoit, announced on Telegram that on Aug. 10, at about 11 p.m., air defense forces allegedly shot down two Ukrainian UAVs on the approach to the city of Kursk.

On Aug. 10, flight restrictions were imposed at Moscows Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, dozens of flights were delayed, and explosions were reported near the village of Domodedovo.

At the same time, Telegram channels indicated that airports were enacting the Kover plan, a protocol activated in response to unidentified aircraft or other airborne objects perceived as potential threats.

In turn, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that at about 4 a.m., air defense shot down two attack UAVs flying toward the city. Allegedly, one in Kaluga Oblast, the other in the Central Ring Road area.

Read also: Potentially toxic fire wages through Russian warehouse  video

On Aug. 9, Russia claimed there were "attempts" to attack Moscow by UAVs, with one drone allegedly shot down in the Domodedovo area, and residents reported explosions.

On Aug. 6, Russian authorities claimed that a drone "tried to break through" to Moscow, and dozens of flights were delayed at Vnukovo airport.

On July 30, Moscow was attacked by unidentified drones. In particular, the building of the IQ-quarter in Moscow City business district, where the offices of several Russian ministries are located, was destroyed.

In the early hours of Aug. 1, Moscow was again attacked by drones. According to Moscow Mayor Sobyanin, one of the drones hit a skyscraper that had been attacked two days earlier.

Read also: Damaged plant near Moscow was developing next-generation bomber aircraft  report

On Aug. 9, a powerful explosion occurred at an optical-mechanical plant in Sergiev Posad, Moscow Oblast, Russia, with 55 people reported injured and one woman dying in hospital.

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French President Emmanuel Macron, right, greets Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum as he arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace, amid the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris on June 23, 2023. France has suspended all development aid and budgetary support to Niger following a military coup against Bazoum, the French foreign ministry said on July 29, 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)

Nigers coup last month was the eighth military takeover in Africa since 2020. Most occurred in West African states, which have faced rising extremist violence for years. Niger was among them.

Affiliates and offshoots of both al-Qaida and the Islamic State found fertile ground in impoverished and neglected communities in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Theyve been met by armies supplied and strengthened by Western powers hoping to stem the tide of terrorism in the region.

The United States and France were the primary partners, providing weapons, military education, combat training, intelligence and direct counterterrorism operations for more than a decade. Security partners have spent billions of dollars, but violence has only grown.

Across Africa, terrorist violence has increased by 300% during that time. The death toll across West Africa was up by 75% last year and looks set to keep increasing. In Burkina Faso and Mali, the military leaders who recently seized control claimed to be doing so to restore order, yet both countries have seen more violence since.

But Niger was starting to peel away from the pack. In a dangerous region where conflict is on the rise and democracy on the backfoot, Niger was taking small steps the other way.

Niger had its first-ever democratic transition of power in 2021. President Mohamed Bazoum spent the next two years recalibrating the countrys approach toward dealing with insecurity.

Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger speaks on national television after the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum in this video-frame-grab image obtained on July 28, 2023. (-/AFP)

I shouldnt overstate the successes. They were small and, clearly, reversible. But they represented a shift in priorities that seemed to be gaining ground.

Bazoum maintained a strong security partnership with the United States, but he also understood that military solutions were insufficient to address the countrys instability. The populations grievances were real and their needs unmet. Many were politically and economically excluded. The governments armed forces were often implicated in abuses against civilians themselves. This all made for receptive audiences when insurgent groups came recruiting.

This reality isnt lost on the United States, which routinely invokes the three Ds of diplomacy, development and defense, in recognition that long-term stability requires a holistic approach. But thanks to a gross disparity in resources and a national security culture that places greater stock in security solutions than soft power, U.S. military tools and assistance overshadow, and often undermine, efforts that can improve governance.

Western cooperation has focused on strengthening security services. While that approach sounds logical, it can undermine the relative power of civilian governments in countries with weak institutions and government services. This can make it harder for them to address the underlying grievances that help fuel insurgencies. In some cases, it even strengthens the militarys case for taking control. None of this is good for long-term stability.

For years, Niger prioritized its partners security objectives to the detriment of democratic accountability. Bazoum sought to rebalance that approach, with greater focus on improving government services to the most marginalized. His government engaged those who had joined extremist groups to determine what was driving them. He promised dialogue and reconciliation, even inviting emissaries of the Islamic State-Sahel to join local peace talks. Violence has since declined in those areas. Hes made concessions, like freeing prisoners and agreeing not to attack groups that agree to do the same.

The coup leaders criticized this as weak. After all, labeling insurgents as terrorists can leave little room for compromise.

But this approach had promise. Military responses have rarely succeeded in destroying terrorist groups  only about 7% of cases historically. More often, success comes from a combination of policing, intelligence and political inclusion to address grievances that fuel insurgency.

There were signs it could have been working too. Fewer people were killed in Niger in the first six months of 2023 than in the same period of any year since 2018. Civilian deaths by state armed forces were also down.

Some of West Africas coastal states are taking a similar approach to preempt a rise in extremism within their borders. For example, Cote dIvoire has focused on improving infrastructure and basic services in border communities, and this appears to have slowed the advance of terrorism there.

But Nigers powerful security forces might have seen this rebalance as a threat too. Bazoum was reportedly curbing the authority of army commanders and had launched anti-corruption programs that created enemies. He was also scrutinizing the budget of the presidential guard force, whose leader, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, led the coup.

Military leaders, empowered by years of a military-first approach to Nigers struggles, didnt want to cede ground to a civilian-led approach. Maybe they were convinced they were better suited to the task, or maybe they just refused to have their control diminished.

Its impossible to know if Bazoum would have succeeded, but extremist groups will undoubtedly take advantage of Nigers political instability. So this coup will likely make matters worse in a country where things might have been getting better.

Elizabeth Shackelford is a senior fellow on U.S. foreign policy with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She was previously a U.S. diplomat and is the author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
The declining price of lithium will make a huge difference in the affordability of making and buying electric vehicles, and Elon Musk is particularly happy about it.

According to Bloomberg, an easing of supply pressures has seen the cost of lithium carbonate halved, while nickel and cobalt  other important materials used in the production of EV batteries  have also seen a drop in prices.

On a Tesla earnings call, company CEO Musk noted, per Bloomberg, that lithium prices went absolutely insane there for a while, but he added that deflationary pressures seemed to be prevailing.

The price reductions will make production costs more affordable, making price cuts more feasible for EV producers  and prices better for customers. Tesla has already slashed the prices of its more expensive models in a bid to boost demand.

The international journal Nature published details of how lithium-ion batteries are smaller and lighter than nickel-cadmium batteries but still provide the same power. They also retain their charge for longer and are composed of much less toxic materials.

The possibility of better lithium batteries is seen as one of the most crucial factors in the move away from dirty energy. While the generation of power via solar and wind is well-known and increasingly common, storing that energy is a bigger problem.

In cars especially, power storage is a vital factor in purchasing decisions. The ability to travel greater distances on a single charge is a huge pull factor, but having heavy batteries can be detrimental to an EVs performance. Lighter lithium batteries, therefore, are favored.

Tesla is constructing a lithium refinery in Texas, which is set to be completed in 2024, according to the Austin American-Statesman. According to Reuters, Musk said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the facility would produce enough lithium to help build around one million EVs by 2025.

As we look ahead a few years, a fundamental choke point in the advancement of electric vehicles is the availability of battery grade lithium, Musk added.

Journalist Angela Piazza (@angelalpiazza) tweeted images from the groundbreaking.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott led a groundbreaking ceremony today for the auto manufacturers proposed lithium refinery in rural Nueces County. @callerdotcom @chasedrogers pic.twitter.com/dWOnmNM9cq  Angela Piazza (@angelalpiazza) May 8, 2023

As shared by The Economists Asia business and finance editor Mike Bird (@Birdyword), research from Morgan Stanley has revealed that the value of Chinese exports of lithium batteries, solar cells, motor vehicles, and motor parts is set to surpass those of mobile phones and computers in 2023.

Wild chart I'd missed from Morgan Stanley  exports of lithium batteries, solar cells, motor vehicles and parts from China are expected to outstrip mobile phones and computers this year. pic.twitter.com/wm4nE3DQuu  Mike Bird (@Birdyword) July 27, 2023

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Et Tu, Brute?

Are you not entertained?

Fear not! It sounds like we might get to see X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg bash each other's brains out after all.

And if the former's recent posts are anything to go by, it'll be an epic, "Gladiator"-style affair.

"Livestream will be on this platform and Meta," Musk tweeted. "Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all."

And no, this fight won't go down UFC-style at the octagon in Las Vegas  Musk and Zuckerberg will apparently travel to Italy for the battle.

"I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture," Musk said. "They have agreed on an epic location."

While we personally couldn't care less where the fight will take place, we're just glad we might still get to see two tech titans beat each other down. Whether weapons will be part of the Gladiator brawl is still unclear.

What is clear, however, it's that Musk sees the event as an opportunity to clown around and have a bit of fun. In other words, we're wholly expecting to see him in costume, not unlike the $7,500 one he wore to Halloween last year.

"Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?" Musk wrote in a tongue-in-cheek post, which roughly translates to "is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?"

Veni, Vidi, VC

The news comes after a seemingly apprehensive Musk suggested a "noble" debate with Zuckerberg instead.

Musk has also come up with plenty of other excuses to wriggle out of a fight, including claims of needing surgery before going at it.

"I spent three hours in an MRI machine on Monday," Musk tweeted today. "Bottom line is that my C5/C6 fusion is solid, so not an issue."

"However, there is a problem with my right shoulder blade rubbing against my ribs," he added, "which requires minor surgery. Recovery will only take a few months."

In other words, if Musk were to choose to have such a procedure done soon, we'd likely have to wait for quite some time to watch him flail  and likely be beaten to a pulp by his far more experienced opponent.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg is clearly ready to meet Musk in the ring now, and has yet to respond to his terrible Latin dad jokes.

"I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn't confirmed," Zuckerberg wrote in a Threads post earlier this week. "Not holding my breath."

More on the fight: Terrified Elon Musk Suggests "Debate" With Zuckerberg
Within two hours of having learned about the explosive wildfires in Maui, Dr. Reza Danesh had stocked his mobile medical clinic with antibiotics, food and water. He set out for Lahaina, a community now almost entirely devastated by the flames.

Danesh said he spent 14 hours Wednesday driving people to evacuation shelters, treating them in his mobile clinic and helping triage evacuees. One woman he treated was covered in small burns. She told him she jumped into the ocean to avoid the flames, along with her neighbors  one of whom died, she said.

I heard that story and I was just so sad, Danesh said. There she was, keeping her spirits, and her pets had all died, and she had nothing, and Im taking care of her wounds.

For the most part, Danesh said, he was tending to the wounded well  people with asthma or other chronic health issues that made it difficult to tolerate the smoke or the stress of watching their homes burn. Danesh said he gave out antibiotic drops for eye infections and inhalers for people who had trouble breathing because of smoke inhalation.

Since Tuesday, strong winds have fanned wildfires on Maui and the Big Island. At least 53 people in Maui have died, and dozens more have been injured, according to Hawaiian officials.

Danesh, a board-certified emergency physician, runs an urgent care center and mobile clinic, MODO Mobile Doctors, which he said he started in hope of expanding access to outpatient care in Maui. But even as someone accustomed to working in the emergency room, Danesh said, he wasn't prepared for what he saw on his drive to Lahaina on Wednesday morning.

"I had just walked into a war zone, the hot aftermath with steam and fire still cooking on the side. We're going down this road, and it was like 'I Am Legend' with Will Smith  like zombies, people just coming out covered in scud looking like they're about to collapse," he said.

Reuters reported that at least 20 people suffered serious burns. Danesh said pharmacies in Lahaina burned down, so many evacuees were running low on essential medications like insulin.

Urgent care clinics were destroyed, too. Justin Prouty, the owner of Minit Medical Urgent Care, said Wednesday that he assumed his Lahaina facility was no longer standing. Cliff Alakai, an administrator at Maui Medical Group, which operates another urgent care clinic in Lahaina, said the facility appeared to be heavily damaged based on a photo he saw on Facebook.

Danesh said people on the island don't have many options for medical assistance.

My goal is just to keep people out of the hospital, he said. They got amazing people there, but its limited resources.

Maui Memorial Medical Center, the major hospital serving the Maui region, has been treating patients since Tuesday night  most of them from Lahaina. As of Thursday, the hospital said, it was treating six patients for fire-related injuries, including burns, shortness of breath or inhalation issues, and other trauma-related injuries, such as falls or abrasions sustained during evacuations.

Wade Ebersole, the chief operating officer at Maui Health, which operates Maui Memorial Medical Center, said that two of the hospital's patients were in critical condition but that they have been transferred out of intensive care and are expected to make full recoveries.

"The first night we had a full house. The waiting rooms were pretty full, but we treated all of the patients that night," Ebersole said.

He added that some hospital staff members "have lost everything, and they're showing up to work."

Image: Destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii on Aug. 10, 2023. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP - Getty Images)

Seven patients who arrived at the hospital Tuesday night were transferred to Oahu, Ebersole said. Of those patients, three burn victims were flown to Straub Medical Center in Honolulu. A firefighter in critical condition was transferred to The Queens Medical Center, also in Honolulu.

Dr. Rick Bruno, the president of The Queens Medical Center, said the hospital is caring for several patients as a result of the wildfires. Straub Medical Center didnt respond to multiple requests for comment.

The wildfire that devastated Lahaina is 80% contained, the county government said Thursday. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green estimated well over 1,000 buildings could be destroyed in Maui. More than 1,300 people stayed in emergency evacuation shelters on the island Wednesday night, and 1,400 more stayed overnight in Maui's Kahului Airport.

Danesh said he plans to return to the evacuation shelters to keep offering medical assistance. He can't shake the image of a man Wednesday who refused to leave the rubble, he said.

"You go home and still think about that guy crying," Danesh said through tears of his own. "His wife is in the hospital, and he's looking for his best friend and dog."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A federal appeals court has reversed a decision that favored Saint Lukes Health Systems employee timekeeping system.

A ruling issued Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacates the previous ruling and sends the case back to district court for further proceedings.

This is a critical victory in this case and puts us one step closer to recovering the unpaid wages of thousands of hard-working healthcare workers, attorney Ryan McClelland said in a statement to The Star. We now look forward to litigating these class claims to a decision on the merits.

A spokeswoman for Saint Lukes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In April 2017, Torri Houston sued the health system, claiming its timekeeping system violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. Houston had been employed as a surgical technologist from March 2014 to January 2017 at the campus at 5830 N.W. Barry Road. The health system has 10 hospitals and campuses across the metro.

According to Houstons complaint, employees could clock in or out up to six minutes before or after their shift. The system would round the time to their scheduled start or end time.

During Houstons employment, the lawsuit said she was not paid for about 400 minutes of work.

Their policies, practices, and/or procedures are designed to intentionally avoid paying their employees for all such hours worked, the lawsuit said.

An expert said the policy favored Saint Lukes to the tune of 74,000 employee-hours from April 2012 to September 2018.

The health system argued the rounding policy was neutral and lawful.

In March 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri agreed, saying the time lost per shift was not that much.

Houston appealed.

She maintains that she has presented sufficient evidence to raise a genuine dispute that the policy results in systematic undercompensation over time, the court of appeals said in its ruling. We agree.
FILE - Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets, near Emmett, Kan., Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Energy Department announced Friday it is awarding up to $1.2 billion to two projects to directly remove carbon dioxide from the air in what officials are calling the largest investment in engineered carbon removal in history.

The process, known as direct air capture, does not yet exist on a meaningful scale and could be a game changer if it did and were economical.

If we deploy this at scale, this technology can help us make serious headway toward our net zero emissions goals while we are still focused on deploying more clean energy at the same time, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a press conference call.

Project Cypress will be built in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. South Texas DAC is planned for Kleberg County, Texas. Each claims it will capture up to one million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year initially. A representative of the Texas project said it will scale up to remove 30 million metric tons per year once fully operational. No date was given.

Officials said the projects will create 5,000 jobs for local workers and people formerly employed in the fossil fuel industry.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, who was also on the conference call, said his state, with its experience in petrochemical manufacturing, density of pipelines and geology, is best suited for projects that tackle carbon.

The announcement shows the big bets the Biden administration is making on technologies that capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it underground to address climate change. It's this gas more than any other that is heating the planet.

Several scientists agreed with making some investment in direct air capture.

Claire Nelson, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia Universitys Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory said moving away from fossil fuels and producing the things we need without emissions are the most important ways to address climate change. But the scale of change needed makes direct air capture necessary as another tool. In order to have direct air capture ready at the scale we need it by 2050, we need to invest in it today, she said.

Tim Lieuwen, executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology agreed that the pollution from some kinds of heavy industry will need to be addressed through technologies like direct air capture.

We need to look at reducing emissions as quickly as practically possible, said Melissa Lott, director of research for the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

This means more efficiency, more clean energy, and the use of other technologies including carbon management, she said.

Shannon Boettcher, professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon, said direct air capture technologies are not yet cost effective, and are worth some investment in research and development.

But some others say the technology for sucking carbon dioxide out of the air is still in its infancy, funding it is misguided, and the focus should be on eliminating emissions.

This money could be so much better spent on actual climate solutions that would be cutting emissions from the get go, said Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown, a group that publicizes climate solutions. He cited energy efficiency and lowering emissions from agriculture, transportation, electricity generation as better approaches.

What worries me and a lot of other climate scientists is that it potentially creates a fig leaf for the fossil fuel industry ... the idea that we can keep burning stuff and remove it later, Foley added.

It's still unclear what role direct air capture will play in lowering emissions. Established technologies like solar, wind, and batteries continue to grow fast.

______

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
An inmate was stabbed to death last week in Men's Central Jail, an incident that authorities suspect may represent more fallout from the killing of Michael Torres, a Mexican Mafia member who controlled rackets in the Los Angeles County jails.

L.A. County sheriff's deputies were conducting a security check at the downtown Los Angeles lockup the evening of Aug. 4 when they found Joseph Hutchinson, 51, suffering from stab wounds in a cell that he shared with another inmate, said Lt. Art Spencer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau. Hutchinson was pronounced dead at the scene.

The circumstances of Hutchinson's death remain unclear, but it comes just one month after Torres, 59, was killed on the yard at California State Prison, Sacramento. A week later, a woman said to be associated with Torres was shot to death in his mother's home in San Fernando.

Read more: He built a booming black market empire inside L.A. County jails. It ended with his murder

Like Torres, Hutchinson was a longtime member of the San Fer gang. Nicknamed "Capone," he sold drugs for Torres, collected his money and made sure his orders were followed behind bars and on the streets of the San Fernando Valley, according to testimony in a 2014 murder trial and interviews with law enforcement officials and gang members, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly and are concerned about reprisal.

As part of a crew led by Torres' longtime "secretary," Virginia "Big Virge" Moor, Hutchinson played a role in a murder plot that led to the death of an innocent man who was mistaken for a delinquent debtor, court records show.

The last time Torres was out of prison, he called a meeting in 2002 with all the leaders of San Fernando Valley gangs at the Painful Pleasures tattoo parlor in Granada Hills, a detective testified at Moor's trial in 2014. According to the detective, Torres announced that if he ever went back to prison, Moor was "going to be his voice."

Read more: Mexican Mafia member who ran county jail rackets is killed in prison

After he was jailed in 2003, Torres relied on Moor to handle his money and relay his orders. Once a month, Moor, a 400-pound woman who traveled everywhere with an oxygen tank, mask and two Yorkshire terriers, would collect $1,000 from every gang under Torres' control, the detective testified.

Hutchinson was one of Moor's enforcers, the detective said, tasked with tracking down drug dealers to "make sure they were paying into Michael Torres."

One of those dealers was Brian Stansfield, who told detectives that after getting out of jail in 2004, he was looking for fast money. "I guess I was hoping for the dream, Scarface, you know," he said, according to a transcript of the interview.

Michael Torres, a member of the Mexican Mafia, was stabbed to death on July 6 at California State Prison, Sacramento. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Stansfield met Moor's husband behind bars, which led to an introduction to Hutchinson. Stansfield knew of his reputation, telling police: "In the system, all you hear is Joe Hutchinson, Joe Hutchinson, Capone." Stansfield said Hutchinson put him in contact with Torres' supplier, Ramiro "Rome" Alatorre, who gave him an ounce of methamphetamine on credit.

Stansfield said he sold the drugs and paid back Alatorre, but struggled to turn a profit because he also had to pay a tax that Alatorre was kicking up to Moor. "I was making nothing," he recalled. "So I say, 'You know what? F this, dude. I'm not doing this s no more.' "

Stansfield moved to Palmdale and started selling drugs for a different crew, he said, but Hutchinson tracked him down at a Walmart, telling him, "You owe me money." His debt was $1,800, which he refused to pay. "I said, 'F, I don't know where you're coming at me like that with. If you disrespect me like that again, you threaten my life, I'll come after you, boy.' And that was it. And then he said, 'We'll see about that.'"

Read more: The high school teacher turned lawyer accused of being a fixer for the Mexican Mafia

Meanwhile, Torres' secretary was also demanding payment. "Virgie was calling my phone all the time," Stansfield told police, "asking me, 'Hey, when you going to pay me my fing money?'" Once, she found him in Palmdale and tried to run him down with her truck, chasing him for three blocks, he said. "This lady has a tank on. She can't breathe. But she can chase you in a damn truck. And I mean, I was just scared."

Seven years passed. Moor was recorded telling inmates in the county jails to look for Stansfield, who was lying low, according to transcripts of jail calls. In 2011, he went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where he ran into a member of the San Fer gang, Humberto Gastelum. Stansfield "just really wanted to know what Virge thought of him or what people were saying about him," Gastelum testified.

Word got back to Moor, whose brother-in-law called Gastelum and asked him to come to a house on Aztec Street in Sylmar, Gastelum testified. A case of mistaken identity would lead to the death of an innocent man that night.

Stansfield, who identified himself as half-white, told police he got the nickname Casper the Friendly Ghost in jail. Peter Ziehler, who lived in a garage behind the house on Aztec Street, was also called Casper.

Gastelum testified that Moor's brother-in-law, Matthew Moor, wanted him to verify the man living on Aztec Street  Ziehler  was the same Casper he'd seen at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Read more: He built a booming black market empire inside L.A. County jails. It ended with his murder

Gastelum saw a thin white man step out of the garage. He didn't recognize Ziehler, but asked, " 'Hey, aren't you Casper, the one I know from AA?' And he looked at me like, 'What are you talking about?' "

As Gastelum walked back down the driveway, he passed Matthew Moor and another man, Arthur Ramirez, who were walking toward the garage. For some reason, Gastelum did not say the man in the garage wasn't Stansfield, the Casper he'd met at Alcoholics Anonymous.

"No words were exchanged," he testified.

Figuring they were going to "talk to him, do whatever they were going to do," Gastelum said he lighted a cigarette and waited in front of the house. Matthew Moor and Ramirez returned and gave him a ride home, he said.

Later that night, a neighbor biking to 7-Eleven for cigarettes saw what "looked like a wheelchair at first," he testified. "It was a guy in a wagon." He heard someone say, "Help. Can't breathe." Hearing the sound of a man "gurgling," he eased Ziehler out of the wagon and saw "all this blood."

"I believe I heard a, 'Thanks,'" the neighbor recalled.

Read more: Contraband cellphones, coded messages help Mexican Mafia operate in California prisons

A deputy medical examiner testified that Ziehler bled to death from a shotgun wound to his backside and a gunshot wound to his chest.

Virginia Moor, Matthew Moor and Ramirez were convicted of murdering Ziehler and sentenced to life in prison in 2014.

Hutchinson, who was not charged in the case, was already being prosecuted for helping Eulalio "Lalo" Martinez run the drug trade and other rackets in the county jails. A Mexican Mafia member from Rosemead's Lomas gang, Martinez had taken control of the jail system after Torres was sent to state prison in 2007, prosecutors said.

Martinez used Hutchinson's inmate trust account to send and receive money from drug sales and "the kitty," a pot of commissary items collected from Latino inmates that is then resold within the jails, prosecutors charged.

Read more: After 18 years in prison, he took over his old L.A. gang. A string of murders followed

Martinez was awaiting trial when he died of a heroin overdose in 2013. Three years later, Torres again seized control of the county jails, using contraband cellphones to run them from his Northern California prison cell.

Hutchinson was convicted in 2016 of conspiring with Martinez to commit murder, extortion and money laundering and was sentenced to 31 years to life, but an appellate court reversed the judgment in 2022. Hutchinson was awaiting a retrial when he was killed.

Spencer, the sheriff's lieutenant overseeing the investigation, declined to identify Hutchinson's cellmate. No charges have been filed in connection to his death, he said.

Three weeks earlier, Stephanie Rodriguez, 38, was found shot to death in a home on Kewen Street owned by Torres' mother.

Torres' niece, Evelyn Torres, 34, was arrested at the scene and later charged with Rodriguez's murder. She has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court next week.

Torres was attacked the morning of July 6 by two inmates, identified by prison officials as Ray Martinez, 49, and Juan Martinez, 47. Both men, who are not related, were already serving life in prison for murder. They have been held in a restricted housing wing of California State Prison, Sacramento, pending the investigation into Torres' death, authorities said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The estranged wife of Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann is battling cancer, her lawyer revealed on Friday.

In a press conference, Robert Macedonio said that Asa Ellerup has had breast and skin cancer for several years but the insurance she obtained through her husband is set to expire in the next two months. The loss of coverage would be another blow for Ellerup after her husband, a New York architect, was arrested last month in connection to the slaying of at least three women in the marches of Gilgo Beach, Long Island.

She is presently under a course of treatment that is going to continue for the next 12 to 18 months, he said. Emotionally, shes recovering each day not only dealing with the cancer, but this newfound life that she has to come to terms with protecting herself and children.

Heuermann, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who went missing in July 2007.

Macedonio, however, insisted Friday that Heuermann was leading a double life and that Ellerup and her children knew nothing of his alleged criminal activity.

How Happy Face Killers Kid Is Helping Gilgo Suspects Wife

Ellerup has since filed for divorce from her husband of 27 years. The family, through their lawyers, have also slammed authorities for the way they left their Long Island home in shambles. On Friday, an attorney representing Heuermanns two adult children even said they may file a lawsuit related to the damage caused by the 12-day search.

Howeverm, John Ray, an attorney representing two of the Gilgo victims families, questioned why the suspected serial killers family is getting more attention than his alleged murder victims.

Its disturbing to me to see how this family has remained in the spotlight since the arrest, Ray said, according to NBC News. Youd think after so many years of waiting for justice for these victims, so many years of waiting for answers, that theythe victims who were killedwould finally have their day of being in the spotlight of justice.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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FILE PHOTO: First Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The Netherlands' Labour and Green Left parties have proposed EU climate chief Frans Timmermans to lead their joint ticket in a parliamentary election due in November, the Green Left party said on Friday.

In July, Timmermans said he wanted to become the next Dutch prime minister and would be a candidate to lead the ticket of the two parties who are joining forces in a bid to stem a decline in support for left-leaning parties.

"I want to become prime minister because I think we can do politics differently than in recent years, that we can create a more just society, in which the market serves the people and not the other way around", Timmermans said of his candidacy then.

Members of both parties have until Aug. 22 to vote on his candidacy.

The elections follow the collapse of the four-party coalition government of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte over a failure to reach an agreement on restricting immigration.

If the parties confirm Timmermans as their lead candidate, he would need to leave his EU post.

A European Commission spokesperson said that since the party votes are not completed until Aug. 22, there is currently "no impact on his availability as member of the college (of commissioners)", adding that Timmermans will continue his work as Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal.

Timmermans, who speaks English, German, French, Italian, and Russian in addition to his native Dutch, has been recognised as a skilled negotiator during international climate negotiations and his departure from EU politics will cause some concern in Brussels.

An IPSOS poll published late July indicated that a joint Labour and Green Left party could reach 27 seats, only two behind poll-leading conservative VVD party, outgoing PM Rutte's party.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout from Amsterdam, Gabriela Baczynska from Brussels; Editing by John Stonestreet and Toby Chopra)
Ekolu Brayden Hoapili (right) and Sharmaiynne Buduan next to the car where they have slept since escaping the fire (Patrick T. Fallon)

Ekolu Brayden Hoapili and his girlfriend escaped the flames that destroyed the Hawaiian town of Lahaina by car, but cannot shake the images of destruction they saw in the rearview mirror.

"Everything is just red. It's all dust and wind. As strong as hell," Hoapili, who fled the small, burnt-out resort community on the island of Maui, told AFP.

Sitting on the trunk of the car where the pair have slept since escaping the wildfire that has already claimed more than 50 lives, he recounted what happened.

"I look towards the gas station and there's a fire right there. People's land is right next to the gas station, and it's on fire and I just see smoke, just ash, everything falling from the sky like stuff going up in flames. And I'm like: 'We gotta go.'"

"I felt like I was gonna die," said the 18-year-old, who was torn between the joy of survival and the regret of not having stayed to help people.

"I felt powerless. You know, I felt helpless. I couldn't help nobody."

"Looking back at it, I left so much people... I know I could have done something, but I couldn't... because if I did that, I wouldn't be here."

At his side, his girlfriend, Sharmaiynne Buduan, 20, spoke of the loss of her hometown.

"The town is the place that I grew up in. The memories I had there. Like, every step that I took in Lahaina, it holds so much memories and seeing all these pictures and videos of my hometown just gone, everything," she said.

"It breaks my heart. It's devastating," she added, looking at the trunk of the car which held their only belongings: toiletries, donated duvets and pillows, and a ukulele.

Lahaina, a town of about 12,000 inhabitants, was a favorite tourist destination for the millions of people who visit Maui each year.

- 'Very, very sad' -

Its souvenir shops, restaurants, bars and historic buildings were reduced to ashes by the fast-moving flames, as was a large part of the picturesque marina where thousands of people strolled, watched sunsets and took selfies.

"We saw the smoke, far away. By the time we got in the house -- it was like a minute or two -- we saw the black smoke coming into our house," said Sarai Cruz, 28, who worked at one of Front Street's most popular restaurants.

"So we had to run out, just grab whatever you can, the most important things, and just run. We got in the car and we were able to see the flames from our neighbor's house, burning already.

"It's a weird feeling like we still can't believe it."

"It's very, very sad," said Cruz, who fled with her parents, sister and three children.

"There's nothing left, it's gone; it's a ghost town."

Parked nearby, in one of the shelters that the authorities opened to house the thousands of people displaced by the inferno, Jose Victoria and his family tried to process what they had experienced.

"This was my house," the 35-year-old Mexican man said, showing images of a building charred to the ground on his cell phone. "It's just like, nothing."

"I lost my home, all my papers, everything," he added.

"That's only what I can think: my wife, my son, and my car, that's it. I didn't have time for the rest of my stuff: my passport or IDs, nothing."

pr/leg/sco
Evidence in the alleged rape of a Louisiana State University sophomore leaked for months, prompting a court hearing and settlement between the two sides to limit future public release of documents.

The issue has been building since four men were arrested in connection with the alleged rape of Madison Brooks in January. The LSU student was left on the side of a road, where she stumbled into the street and was killed by an oncoming car.

Things came to a boiling point at the end of July, when one of the suspect's lawyers, Joe Long, leaked Brooks' autopsy and lab report to WBRZ, a local news outlet in Baton Rouge.

The day after the story aired, the district attorney moved to restrict access to evidence for all four suspects' lawyers.

EVIDENCE LEAKS IN MADISON BROOKS CASE TAKE EMOTIONAL TOLL ON FAMILY AS DEFENSE DOUBTS CONVICTION

A photo of LSU student Madison Brooks, who was fatally hit by a car after an alleged rape.

Hearing and reading details about the leaked autopsy took "an emotional toll" on Brooks' family, her mother Ashley Baustert told Fox News Digital in a previous interview.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

After the two sides reached an agreement on Aug. 1, Baustert's lawyer, Kerry Miller, said he "hopes the defense abides by the rules."

"We're glad the defense will stop leaking snippets to the media," Miller said. "They're trying to shape public perception that's nowhere close to what actually happened that night."

MADISON BROOKS: TIMELINE OF LSU STUDENT'S ALLEGED RAPE, DEATH

Ron Haley, a defense lawyer representing one of the suspects, said the DA chose to indict each suspect individually but restricted evidentiary access to all the lawyers in the case whether they were involved in the leak or not.

"Although the DA has concerns about leaks, he chose to keep the cases separated, yet my discovery access was restricted in this case and in a separate case," Haley said.

Madison Brooks, 19, was a LSU sophomore when she was allegedly raped January 2023 before she was fatally struck by a car.

In an email, Long said he sent the autopsy to WBRZ in response to a Nancy Grace's Fox Nation episode, called "Left for Dead," to protect his client.

"The protective order will prevent any party from disclosing discovery to third parties that are not part of their law firm," Long said outside the courthouse after the hearing, according to local news outlet The Advocate. "It's very common to do that, and we've agreed to it."

MADISON BROOKS DEATH: LSU STUDENTS HAILED AS GOOD SAMARITANS AFTER ALLEGED BATON ROUGE RAPE

Brooks, 19, was about to start the second half of her sophomore year at LSU on Jan. 14, 2023, when she went out for the night to Reggie's, a bar in the crime-ridden university social hot spot known as "Tigerland."

Sometime between her last text to Baustert, at 11:38 p.m., and 3 a.m. the next morning, Brooks was allegedly raped, and the suspects are four men she met at the bar.

Desmond Carter, 17; Casen Carver, 18; Everett Lee, 28; and Kaivon Washington, 18, were all arrested in connection with the alleged assault.

LSU DEATH: MADISON BROOKS' LAST TEXT TO MOM, WHO KNEW SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED

Washington and Carter are accused of raping Brooks, and Carver, who drove the car, along with Lee allegedly facilitated the crime, prosecutors said.

The suspects, through their lawyers, denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Brooks' autopsy was the latest leak.

Before that, a couple of short videos that paint Brooks in a negative light were aired on local news stations.

WATCH: LEAKED VIDEO OF BROOKS LEAVING BAR

The first clip was a 4-second video obtained by local news outlet WAFB about two weeks after Brooks died that appeared to show her jogging behind her suspected attackers as they left Reggie's Bar.

The second clip, a 29-second video from inside the suspect's car, was obtained by WBRZ and aired on Feb. 13, along with an interview with the suspects' lawyers.

AS LSU REELS FROM MADISON BROOKS ALLEGED RAPE AND DEATH, CRIME TORMENTS COLLEGE TOWN

The evidential videos have not been released in their entirety, to date, but are in the hands of the Baton Rouge District Attorney Office, which is prosecuting the case.

The DA's office secured grand jury indictments against three of the four suspects on the state's most severe sexual assault charge, which is punishable by life in prison.

The DA's office issued a lengthy statement after the autopsy leak that said it filed a protective order to prevent future discovery being placed in the public record "and handed out in a piecemeal fashion to protect our ability to present a fair case for the State, its victim and these defendants."

"These documents were not placed in the public record but only given to these offices. We will continue to abide by our discovery obligations and file these matters with the court," the DA's office said on July 28.

"The discovery that was provided as read only. It is obvious from the audit trail who received and viewed what evidence and how many times such was viewed. The source will be obvious."

It was learned that the source was Long, who is representing Carver.

General view of Tigerland in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Reggie's Bar, located in Tigerland, is reportedly one of the last places where LSU student Madison Brooks was seen before her death on Jan. 15.

"We have never provided any discovery to the media, and we will continue to not try this case in the media but in the court in the best interest of all parties involved," the DA said in the statement.

"Based on the release of this information we will seek a protective order to prevent future discovery being placed in the public record and handed out in a piecemeal fashion to protect our ability to present a fair case for the State, its victim and these defendants."

By Monday, the issue went before a judge and was resolved.

Long previously said a jury trial could happen within the next eight months.
A retired FBI agent was convicted of conning a North Texas woman out of $700,000 by convincing her she was on secret probation, Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced in a news release Thursday.

William Roy Stone, 64, was indicted in May 2021. A jury convicted him of one count of wire fraud conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity, and one count of false impersonation of a federal officer.

His co-conspirator, Joseph Eventino DeLeon, 64, was also indicted in December 2021 and was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to evidence presented at trial, Stone convinced a woman from Granbury, Texas, referred to as C.T., that she was under secret probation for federal drug crimes in Judge Andersons court in Austin, Texas.

Stone and DeLeon told the woman that the made-up judge appointed them to administer the conditions of her six-year secret probation, according to the release. The two of them had C.T. text them reports of her daily activities. They also had her compensate them for their supervisory services, the release said.

The woman gave Stone more than $700,000 and DeLeon more than $50,000.

Stone and DeLeon told C.T. that if she told anyone about her probation and if she violated the terms of her probation, she could possibly be imprisoned and lose her children, according to the release.

In a recorded phone call time, C.T. began questioning her probation and told him, I even looked up Judge Anderson in Austin and the Anderson that pulls up ... Theres not one, to which he responded, Bye, according to evidence presented at trial.

To further convince C.T. that her probation was real, Stone and DeLeon monitored her communications through her cellphone, conducted surveillance video, told her that they discussed her probation with a psychiatrist, had another person impersonate an employee with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and staged calls with the made-up judge, according to the release.

Stone faces up to 158 years in federal prison; DeLeon faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Scoop

Michael Cohen, Donald Trumps ex-attorney-turned-critic who has characterized his former boss as a conman and racist, is considering a run for Congress.

Cohen said he would run as a Democrat, potentially mounting a primary challenge against U.S Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the partys top member on the House Judiciary Committee.

I am interested and theres a multitude of folks encouraging me to run, Cohen told Semafor in a brief phone interview.

Cohen said he currently lives on the East Side of Manhattan, which would neatly position him to run in New Yorks 12th congressional district. The district was redrawn in 2022, pitting Nadler in a contentious midterm race against his colleague, former congresswoman, Carolyn Maloney.

Know More

Nadler was first elected to Congress in 1992 and has served as the Judiciary Committees lead Democrat since 2019, during which time he served in a significant role in Trumps first impeachment inquiry.

Cohen served about 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to a multitude of charges stemming from his time as Trumps fixer, including for his role making hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels. Since then, hes emerged as a vocal antagonist of the former president. He recently testified before a grand jury as a witness for Manhattan Attorney Alvin Braggs criminal investigation against Trump, which led to a 34-count felony indictment related to the Daniels scheme.
By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday amid a race by major powers including the United States, China and India to discover more about the elements held on the earth's only natural satellite.

Russia said that it would launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China crewed mission and even a lunar base. NASA has spoken about a "lunar gold rush" and explored the potential of moon mining.

Why are major powers so interested in what is up there?

THE MOON

The moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, moderates the earth's wobble on its axis which ensures a more stable climate. It also causes tides in the world's oceans.

Current thinking is that it was formed when a massive thing collided with earth about 4.5 billion years ago. The debris from the collision came together to form the moon.

Temperatures vary: in full Sun, they rise to 127 degrees Celsius while in darkness they plummet to about minus 173 degrees Celsius. The moon's exosphere does not give protection against radiation from the Sun.

WATER

The first definitive discovery of water on the moon was made in 2008 by the Indian mission Chandrayaan-1, which detected hydroxyl molecules spread across the lunar surface and concentrated at the poles, according to NASA.

Water is crucial for human life and also can be a source of hydrogen and oxygen - and these can be used for rocket fuel.

HELIUM-3

Helium-3 is an isotope of helium that is rare on earth, but NASA says there are estimates of a million tonnes of it on the moon.

This isotope could provide nuclear energy in a fusion reactor but since it is not radioactive it would not produce dangerous waste, according to the European Space Agency.

RARE EARTH METALS

Rare earth metals - used in smartphones, computers and advanced technologies - are present on the moon, including scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides, according to research by Boeing.

HOW WOULD MOON MINING WORK?

It is not entirely clear.

Some sort of infrastructure would have to be established on the moon. The conditions of the moon mean robots would have to do most of the hard work, though water on the moon would allow for long-term human presence.

WHAT IS THE LAW?

The law is unclear and full of gaps.

The United Nations 1966 Outer Space Treaty says that no nation can claim sovereignty over the moon - or other celestial bodies - and that the exploration of space should be carried out for the benefit of all countries.

But lawyers say it is unclear whether or not a private entity could claim sovereignty over a part of the moon.

"Space mining is subject to relatively little existing policy or governance, despite these potentially high stakes," The RAND Corporation said in a blog last year.

The 1979 The Moon Agreement states that no part of the moon "shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person."

It has not been ratified by any major space power.

The United States in 2020 announced the Artemis Accords, named after NASAs Artemis moon program, to seek to build on existing international space law by establishing safety zones" on the moon. Russia and China have not joined the accords.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Peter Graff)
The public is invited to join Centred Outdoors for free guided and informational hikes through the Bald Eagle State Park during the week of Aug. 13, where they can witness the parks diverse geology and wildlife throughout its forests, fields, wetlands, streams and lake.

The guided hikes will be offered on Sunday, Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; and Thursday, Aug. 17 at 9 and 11 a.m. Registration is not required for any event hosted by Centred Outdoors, a program of ClearWater Conservancy.

The guided hikes on Sunday and Thursday will be 1 mile in length along a flat, even path, making them suitable for all ages. Expert guides will lead participants along the Butterfly Trail and connect with the Woapalanne Trail to form a loop.

A 30-minute drive from downtown State College, the state park is located at 149 Main Park Road, Howard, PA, and spans a total of 5,900 acres, featuring 14.5 miles of trails at varying difficulties, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources.

The locations 1,730-acre lake also laps the flanks of Bald Eagle Mountain and provides ample biodiversity perfect for sightseeing, according to the DCNR. During the summertime, the lake shoreline is home to wildlife like great blue herons, ring-necked ducks and snapping turtles. The park is also home to diverse bird populations throughout the year.

In addition, the state park offers campgrounds, picnic areas, boating, fishing and swimming.

Participants should wear sturdy shoes, like sneakers or hiking boots, and bring at least 32 oz. of water per adult. Younger participants can borrow a Junior Naturalist backpack at the welcome table that contains child-friendly binoculars and other items for exploring the natural world, such as a scavenger hunt and magnifying glass. Additional gear, such as trekking poles, daypacks and child-carrying backpacks, can be rented 48 hours before an outing at Centred Outdoors Gear Library.

Those in need of transportation to the event can make a reservation through Centred Outdoors van service, which offers transportation to the state park for the outings on Aug. 13 and 17 at 11 a.m. Transportation reservations are required, and can be made through the Centred Outdoors website on the Transportation Page.

Portions of the location, including access to boating on the lake and several pavilions, are ADA accessible, and more information can be found on the Bald Eagle State Park website.

Learn more about upcoming guided outings on Centred Outdoors Events Page on the website: www.centredoutdoors.org.

Grace Miller is a freelance writer for ClearWater Conservancy.
An explosion has occurred around the Karamyshevskaya embankment in the northwestern part of Moscow.

Source: Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti; RBC; Russian Telegram channels; Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on Telegram

Quote from RIA Novosti: "A loud bang was heard in the area of the Karamyshevskaya embankment."

Karamyshevskaya embankment

google.maps screenshot

Details: Eyewitnesses reported to have noticed a device that looked like a drone in Khoroshovo-Mnyovniki district. It allegedly fell in a park near the river.

", , ,  .    "     .   Telegram- RT pic.twitter.com/WLmXxME6GO     (@ukrpravda_news) August 11, 2023

Russian media and Telegram channels are posting photos and videos from the scene.

The UAV was spotted near Novorizhskoye Road in Moscow.

PHOTO FROM TELEGRAM RT

Later, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin also reported on the downing of a drone.

Quote from Sobyanin: "One drone attempted to fly over the city. As a result of the air defence response, it was eliminated. When the wreckage fell in the area of the Karamyshevskaya embankment, no one was injured. There is no serious damage. Emergency services are working at the scene."

Telegram channel Mash wrote that the drone flew along the bed of the Moskva River at an altitude of 150 metres and allegedly fell on the premises of Vorokhobov Hospital. Telegram channel 112 reports that the drone fell in the wooded area of the hospital.

Later, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that it had stopped "an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack with an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow".

Electronic warfare systems reportedly jammed the UAV, which crashed in a forest in western Moscow.

Background: Earlier, Moscow's Vnukovo Airport was reportedly temporarily closed, and Russian emergency services said take-offs and landings at the airport had been postponed.

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!
Claim:

The Florida state Department of Education approved content that denies or minimizes the reality of anthropogenic climate change and compares climate science to Nazism as an optional supplement to the state's social studies curriculum.

Rating:

Rating: True

On July 24, 2023, Marissa Streit, the CEO of the nonprofit conservative activist group PragerU, announced that the group's "PragerU Kids" content had been approved as a source of supplemental educational materials in Florida schools. In a statement to Tampa, Florida's, CBS affiliate two days later, the Florida Department of Education confirmed this fact:

Cassandra Palelis, deputy director of communications for the state education department, told The News Service of Florida that the PragerU content has been approved for use as supplemental teaching materials. "The Florida Department of Education reviewed PragerU Kids and determined the material aligns to Florida's revised civics and government standards. PragerU Kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplemental materials in Florida schools at district discretion[...]."

PragerU is a nonprofit that, it says, provides "a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education." Founded by radio host Dennis Prager, the organization has been criticized for publishing inaccurate and inflammatory claims about history, race, and science.

Heavily funded by donors who made billions in the oil industry, content created for PragerU Kids sometimes aggressively discounts the reality of climate change and demonizes those who discuss it, as reported by Slate:

Experts who have studied the videos and other PragerU output have warned that many of Florida's 3 million public schoolchildren risk being exposed to a form of rightwing indoctrination that conforms to the worldview of the organization's funders but bares little resemblance to reality. "These videos target very young and impressionable kids with messages of support for fossil fuels and doubts over renewable energy resources  they are trying to grow the next generation of supporters for fossil fuels," said Adrienne McCarthy, a researcher at Kansas State University who has studied the activities of PragerU.

One commonly cited PragerU Kids example that denies the severity of climate change also, in effect, compares individuals who promote climate change science to Nazis.

That video, posted on July 20, 2023, describes the life of a Polish girl named Ania who, after publicly doubting the severity of anthropogenic climate change and the wisdom in transitioning to alternative fuels, loses friends and is treated poorly by teachers. Her older relatives, survivors of Communism and Nazism, praise her and compare her struggle to theirs:

Losing friends has been hard for Ania, but her family is proud of her for telling the truth. Timon, Klara and Grandfather Yakob are encouraging Ania by sharing their own stories of perseverance. Timon remembers having to meet people late at night in a freezing cellar to avoid the communist authorities, but that didn't stop him from sharing his ideas. Grandfather Yakob tells her about the Warsaw uprising when the city's Jews fought back against the Nazis. [He] remembers helping smuggle food, blankets, and even ammunition to the Jewish resistance fighters through sewer tunnels. Through her family's stories, Ania is realizing that fighting oppression is risky and that it always takes courage.

The video, categorized as a "Global Issues" and "Honest" lesson, could now be approved for use as a supplement to Florida's revised social studies standards  an initiative pushed heavily by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The move does not make PragerU content a required part of any curriculum, however.

The approval merely places the content  5- to 10-minute videos about history and politics  on a list of approved vendors various school districts can use, if they choose, to supplement their K-12 social studies material, as described by the Miami Herald:

The Florida Department of Education determined that educational materials geared toward young children and high school students created by PragerU, a nonprofit co-founded by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, was in alignment with the state's standards on how to teach civics and government to K-12 students.

It is unclear if any districts have actual plans or a desire to use the PragerU Kids material, according to the Herald. PragerU's Streit says the group has plans to gain similar approval in other states across the nation.

Because Florida did approve material by PragerU Kids that denies the severity of anthropogenic climate change, and because at least one of these videos suggests that those who promote climate science are comparable to the Nazis who operated the Warsaw Ghetto, we rate this claim as "True."

Sources:

About Us | PragerU. https://www.prageru.com/about. Accessed 10 Aug. 2023.

Ceballos , Ana. "Indoctrination in Florida Schools? PragerU's Conservative Content Aims to Change Minds." Miami Herald, 9 Aug. 2023, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article277741678.html.

"Florida Approves Use of Conservative Content from 'Prager U' in Schools." Wtsp.Com, 11 July 2023, https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/education/florida-approves-prager-u-conservative-content-schools/67-f147ab5e-61a8-44f6-a797-7e248ec29eaf.

Milman, Oliver. "Videos Denying Climate Science Approved by Florida as State Curriculum." The Guardian, 10 Aug. 2023. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/10/florida-ron-desantis-climate-vidoes-school-curriculum.

Olmstead, Molly. "The QuasiWhite Nationalist Content Coming to Florida's Public Schools." Slate, 31 July 2023. slate.com, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/07/prageru-florida-schools-extreme-education.html.

Parent Alert: PragerU Kids Is Now Approved Curriculum in Florida Schools | PragerU. 20 July 2023, https://www.prageru.com/video/parent-alert-prageru-kids-is-now-approved-curriculum-in-florida-schools.

Poland: Ania's Energy Crisis. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pneZc2_YCHw. Accessed 10 Aug. 2023.
After nearly 37 years of service, after countless sailors called its humble hull home while carrying out a variety of missions worldwide, the guided-missile cruiser Mobile Bay was decommissioned Thursday during a ceremony at Naval Base San Diego.

Commissioned in 1987, Mobile Bay and its crew, known as MOBsters, helped evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1989 and launched 22 Tomahawk missiles in support of Operation Desert Storm, according to the Navy. It launched more Tomahawks in support of the Iraq war in 2003.

Its sailors rescued thousands of displaced people after a volcanic eruption near Subic Bay, Philippines, in 1991 and in 2001 seized 10.5 metric tons of cocaine off the coast of Mexico.

At Thursdays ceremony, Capt. Brandon Burkett, Mobile Bays last commanding officer of the Ticonderoga-class cruiser (CG 53), said it was a privilege to work with the ships final crew.

Those who have gone to sea know that a ship is more than a machine that floats, Burkett said at the ceremony, according to a Navy release. When you are away from home for months on end, your ship becomes your home and your protection. We take care of her, and she takes care of us.

US Navy reveals ships facing potential decommissioning next year

Simply put, she becomes family, he added. It has been an honor to serve with my crew on this exemplary warship.

The cruiser was named after the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War, when Union forces led by Adm. David Farragut forced a Confederate surrender in a fight that led Farragut to issue the iconic command, Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.

Union vessels obeyed and rammed the CSS Tennessee at full speed with their prows, leaving the Confederate ship dead in the water.

The guided-missile cruiser Mobile Bay sails alongside the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln for refueling in the Philippine Sea Feb. 26, 2022. (MCSN Aleksandr Freutel/Navy)

Mobile Bays sponsor, the late Kathryn Jane Maury, helped stand up the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia after her husband, Navy A-6 Intruder pilot Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., was shot down and captured in 1965 during the Vietnam War.

Denton, who retired as a rear admiral and later served as a U.S. senator from Alabama, was famously hauled before the cameras as a propaganda bid by his Vietnamese captors, but defied them to defend U.S. government actions in Vietnam, then blinked in Morse code the word torture.

The under-construction destroyer USS Jeremiah Denton honors the Navy Cross recipients legacy.

With Mobile Bays colors hauled down and the crew disembarked for the last time, the ship will be towed to the Navys inactive ship facility in Bremerton, Washington, according to the Navy.

Everywhere this ship and crew deployed, Mobile Bay sailors served their national well and lived up to the valor enshrined in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Naval Surface Forces Commander Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener said at Thursdays ceremony.
A 51-year-old iron welder named Ricardo Aguilar Aleman died in July following a fatal fall at the Durham headquarters of the semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed.

According to his death certificate, Aguilar Aleman was working as a contractor on July 17 when at approximately 11:20 a.m., he fell from the second story of a building. He suffered multiple blunt force injuries of head and spine, and died shortly after noon the next day at Duke University Hospital.

On July 18, the North Carolina Department of Labor opened an investigation into Aguilar Alemans employer, Raleigh-based Southern Industrial Constructors Inc. The investigation remains open.

Wolfspeed is a prominent semiconductor firm with plans to grow in North Carolina and abroad. The company is not included in the states inspection into the fatal accident. Its headquarters, near Research Triangle Park, was the site of another worker death last October when a company electrician made contact with a live wire.

According to his certificate of death, Aguilar Aleman lived just south of downtown Durham. He was born in Mexico, and his body was returned to the country.

He was a hard worker, said Kelly Baldwin, Aguilar Alemans ex-wife.

His obituary states Aguilar Aleman was a good example of a man for his daughters and his son. He gave all the love and attention he could to his kids and helped everyone around him in anyway he could.

Baldwin hopes to learn more about the circumstances of the accident, saying they havent given me any of that information as of yet.

North Carolinas most dangerous sector

State investigations into workplace fatalities and catastrophes, referred to as Fat/Cats, typically take several months to conclude. For example, the inspection into the deadly October accident at Wolfspeed concluded six months later.

At this time, details are not available, a Southern Industrial Constructors representative told The News & Observer in July, citing the ongoing investigation.

Southern Industrial is also being investigated for an April 14 workplace accident that killed a 57-year-old employee outside Columbia, South Carolina. That worker was found pinned between machines at a tire-manufacturing site. Headquartered in the Triangle, Southern Industrial was acquired by EMCOR Group, a publicly traded construction company, in 2012.

Construction routinely ranks as the deadliest industry in North Carolina.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state had nearly 11 construction fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time workers in 2021. The same year, the overall occupational fatality rate across North Carolina was 3.9 per 100,000 workers.

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Attorneys representing the wife and children of Rex Heuermann, the suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders, said the family is struggling to meet their basic needs after a police search of their Long Island home left extensive damage.

The attorneys stressed what law enforcement have previously said: that Asa Ellerup and her children, 33-year-old Christopher Sheridan and 26-year-old Victoria Heuermann, did not have any knowledge of the killings of four women whose bodies were found on the Long Island, New York, beach in 2010. Authorities alleged that Rex Heuermann lived a double life and that in at least three of the killings acted only when his family was out of town.

Thats made the family victims as well, the attorneys said, as they announced at a news conference on Friday that the family will file a notice of claim, a precursor to a potential lawsuit, to protect their rights against law enforcement who they say damaged their Massapequa Park home during the 12-day search.

Asa Ellerup, 59, (right) the estranged wife of Rex Heuermann, is joined by her daughter Victoria Heuermann in the office of their attorney Robert Macedonio in Central Islip, New York, on July 31.

Asa Ellerup, 59, (right) the estranged wife of Rex Heuermann, is joined by her daughter Victoria Heuermann in the office of their attorney Robert Macedonio in Central Islip, New York, on July 31.

Robert Macedonio, the attorney representing Ellerup, who has filed to divorce Heuermann, said he is unsure which law enforcement agencies were involved in the search but will file accordingly when he learns more.

Macedonio said he toured the home on Sunday and painted a bleak picture of the condition that investigators left it in.

It was piled floor to ceiling with debris that was just taken out the attics, the closet, every inch of the house, he said. There was a path probably a foot or two wide to get from the front door to the kitchen, and that was the way through the house.

The children and Asa were sleeping on foam mats on the floor, next to the dog bed where the dog was sleeping, Macedonio said.

Macedonio also said that some reports about what was found in the house have been inaccurate. He said reports of a soundproof vault in the basement were false, describing it as a security door with an open ceiling that served as storage for Heuermanns guns.

Crime laboratory officers are seen outside the home of Rex Heuermann in Massapequa Park, New York, on July 18.

Crime laboratory officers are seen outside the home of Rex Heuermann in Massapequa Park, New York, on July 18.

Vess Mitev, the attorney representing Heuermanns adult children, said the conditions inside their home were deplorable and said the family has been deprived of basic human needs.

Every moment that they spend in this waking surreal nightmare they have to keep reevaluating where they are, Mitev said. Their valuables were shattered, their beds were destroyed, the places where they laid their heads down at night no longer exist.

Macedonio added that Ellerup has been treated for cancer for several years and was depending on her husbands health insurance. With his arrest and the pending divorce, shes set to lose that.

Thats a big fear and stress on her on top of all this other stuff thats going on, Macedonio said.

Heuermann has been charged with the murders of three women and is suspected in the killing of another. The investigation is continuing, and he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Related...
People hold Bring Ridge Home signs as a motorcade escorts President Joe Biden to the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he will deliver remarks, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

A small group of family and friends of Lt. Ridge Alkonis formed a rally to get President Joe Bidens attention on his way to speak at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Its been one year since U.S. Navy officer Alkonis was imprisoned in Japan after being convicted of negligent driving in the deaths of an 85-year-old Japanese woman and her 54-year-old son-in-law in May of 2021. Hes currently serving a three-year sentence.

Lt. Alkonis was driving down Mount Fuji with his family when the car he was driving ran into pedestrians and parked cars. U.S. Navy investigators said Alkonis suffered from acute mountain sickness and a loss of consciousness.

According to Ryan Bowcutt, Alkonis brother-in-law, Biden promised Alkonis wife, Brittany Alkonis, that he would bring her husband home. At the State of the Union Address in February, Biden told her, I promise you, were not giving up.

Its been six months since the promise was made and Alkonis family and friends were hoping to remind Biden of his promise today.

It was a great opportunity to remind the president during a trip that hes making, in support of veterans, that theres a service member, and his family right now, who really needs him, Bowcutt said. Its time to bring him home, its way past time to bring him home.

Tia Stokes dances as she holds a Bring Ridge Home sign and waits on 500 South for President Joe Bidens motorcade to pass on the way to the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he will deliver remarks, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Stokes is Ridge Alkonis cousin. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Heidi Hart, Alkonis mother-in-law, said they planned the small rally last minute.

We just wanted to remind (Biden) that this is still an issue, and were all still fighting to get Ridge home, she said.

Hart said they werent expecting it to take so much time to get him home.

Schools about to start, they have three kids, and they dont know if they should go to school in Japan or California, or if they need to homeschool, she said. Theyre just kind of in limbo, and they have been for the last year.

Biden is slated to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Aug. 18. Hart and Bowcutt hope the two can negotiate Alkonis release, despite the complex factors at play.

But there is some reason for hope that hell be able to at least come back to the U.S. before his sentence is over, Bowcutt said. And, of course, what we want to see is freedom for him ASAP. Tomorrow would be great.

Sen. Mike Lee has been vocal about getting Alkonis home. In February, Lee tweeted at Kishida, giving him an ultimatum  one that was not met.

Senator Mike Lee has said recently that hes confident that Ridge will be back on U.S. soil within months, Bowcutt said. I dont know how many months he thinks the maximum would be, and I dont know whether that means Ridge would be in a prison back on U.S. soil or whether he would actually be free.

Bowcutt said their hearts go out to the family involved in the tragic accident.

We feel for them and no one feels for them more strongly than Ridge does, he said. And I know he would give anything to go back and undo what happened, but the fact is that it was nothing more than a tragic accident, and theres no amount of prison time for Ridge that can do anything to make the situation better for anyone.
Craig Deeleuw Robertson, 75, pictured in a social media post. Robertson was shot and killed early Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, by FBI agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home. | Facebook

The family of Craig Robertson, the man killed by FBI agents serving a warrant at his Provo home Wednesday morning, say he was a elderly, homebound man who used social media to air his grievances with what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government.

In a statement posted on Facebook Thursday, the family said they are shocked and devastated by the senseless and tragic killing of our beloved father and brother, and we fervently mourn the loss of a good and decent man.

Neighbors say Robertson was shot and killed between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday as the FBI carried out a raid related to his social media posts where he made detailed and specific threats to President Joe Biden, who arrived later that day in Utah as part of a tour of Western states.

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Robertson also threatened other high-profile Democrats  he posted about patriotic dreams of standing over the body of California Gov. Gavin Newsom with a wound above his brow and my S&W M&P 9mm still smoking. Other posts threatened U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Vice President Kamala Harris and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Neighbors say they heard the FBI yelling he has a gun after a short burst of gunfire, moments before Robertson was killed. And law enforcement sources who spoke with The Associated Press say he was armed during the shooting.

But his family maintains Robertsons political views and statements would have never escalated to violence.

Though his statements were intemperate at times, he has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement, the family said.

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They described him as an elderly and homebound man who was understandably frustrated and distraught by erosions to our constitutionally protected freedoms and the rights of free citizens wrought by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and voice his protest in what has become the public square of our age  the internet and social media, the statement reads.

Robertson, the family says, was a kind and generous person who was always willing to assist another in need, even when advanced age, limited mobility and other physical challenges made it more difficult and painful for him to do so.

They remembered him for his woodworking skills, his dedication to his church community and his love for animals and history. He was a safety instructor who worked diligently and conscientiously to safeguard the lives and well-being of untold thousands who would use, and benefit from, the numerous industrial and public works projects.

Robertson was known to have many firearms and frequently posted pictures to his social media account displaying his vast collection. Some of these images were listed as evidence in the complaint.

Craig Deeleuw Robertson, 75, pictured in a social media post. Robertson was shot and killed early Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, by FBI agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home. | Facebook

There was a 2009 photo of Robertson wearing the camouflage gear and holding a rifle in the woods, which authorities say showed his ability to conduct sniper tactics. Another post shows a photo of a nickel with hole through the head of Thomas Jefferson. Next to it is a card showing Robertson apparently fired the shot from 100 yards with a Remington rifle equipped with a scope in 1982.

He was a firearm enthusiast, collector and gunsmith, who staunchly supported the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms for the purposes of providing food and protection for his family and home, the family said.

Neighbors who spoke with the Deseret News in the aftermath of the shooting echoed the familys sentiments  many were not friends with Robertson on Facebook or Truth Social, the social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group.

Its there where Robertson made the threatening remarks, and members of the community were surprised to learn the details of his online persona. I never knew anything about that, one neighbor told the Deseret News, asking to remain anonymous.

The family says they hold no personal animosity towards the individuals who took part in the ill-fated events of the morning of August 9, 2023, which resulted in Craigs death.
The family of a Utah man who made violent threats against President Biden, and was killed Wednesday by the FBI, said Thursday he wouldnt have acted on them.

In a statement, the family of Craig Deleeuw Robertson, 74, said he was a gun enthusiast and avid churchgoer who was upset over his beliefs about a corrupt and overreaching government.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech, Robertsons family said in the statement.

Prosecutors painted him as a radicalized man in court records. The FBI said he was armed when special agents tried to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence in Provo, Utah, though its unclear why he was killed.

His threats included one where he said he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle before Bidens visit to Utah on Thursday. The man also reportedly made threats against New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The family of Craig Robertson, the man killed by the FBI as they were attempting to serve him a warrant at his home in Utah after her threatened the life of President Joe Biden, said he had been distraught by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government.

In a statement on Facebook, Robertsons family said they were shocked and devastated by the senseless and tragic killing of our beloved father and brother.

The FBI raided the home of the Provo resident, who the federal complaint described as approximately 70-75 years old, after he had allegedly posted threats online against President Biden, his family, and Barack Obama.

Craig Robertsons family said his online behaviour served as a way to let out his frustration with the government (Craig Robertson / Facebook)

According to court documents, Robertson referenced a presidential assassination and also allegedly lodged threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York AG Letitia James.

The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!! officials claimed Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post, according to the filing.

Robertson was killed hours before Mr Biden was scheduled to land in the state after he allegedly refused to comply with the FBI and pointed a weapon at the agents.

The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBIs inspection division, the agency said in a statement.

Craig loved this country with all his heart. He saw it as a God-inspired and God-blessed land of liberty. He was understandably frustrated and distraught by the present and on-going erosions to our constitutionally protected freedoms and the rights of free citizens wrought by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government.

Robertson stands in camouflage holding a rifle in an undated social media photo (US District Court)

His family wrote that as an elderly  and largely homebound  man, he often took to social media to express his frustration. Though his statements were intemperate at times, he has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement, the statement read.

The FBI revealed that Truth Social tipped off authorities about Robertson in March. Following the tip, two FBI agents approached Robertson at his home; Robertson allegedly dismissed the threat telling the agents: I said it was a dream Were done here! Dont return without a warrant.

Over the next five months, the FBI uncovered multiple threats against Mr Garland, Ms James, and Vice President Kamala Harris. The situation intensified on Sunday, when Robertson reportedly posted, I heard Biden is coming to Utah, adding that he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.
Amanda Hassner, Fancy Feasts in-house chef, believes its important for a cat to love a meal just like humans do.

The chef, at a food event that took notes from a range of the brands products, introduced several cat food-inspired dishes to cat aficionados as the workday came to a close in New York City on Monday.

Its an act she deemed exciting as diners chowed on pate and bisque in the middle of the Big Apple.

Youve got to be able to imagine how your cat is enjoying their food. You do that mostly by getting more in touch with the way youre experiencing it, Hassner told HuffPost.

And thats really where my job comes in, to create the human food to give you an experience that you can easily go, Oh yes, my cat would love this.

Fancy Feast kicked off Fete du Feline, a two-day outdoor food celebration, as cat lovers dined on several cat foodie dishes (for humans) in Madison Square Park to recognize International Cat Day, which was Tuesday.

The menu  with dishes from Hassner and Andrew Rea, founder of the popular culinary YouTube channel Babish Culinary Universe  included feline food-like fare such as pate, shrimp-topped lemonade and a bisque with honey pepper salmon.

We were on hand to test out a meow-ful of dishes on Monday.

Trying The Menu

The evenings cat-like cuisine began with a basil lemonade topped with an everything bagel-seasoned shrimp.The shrimp accent was a subtle New York-themed touch that my 3-year-old cat, Sullivan, would eagerly swipe if I left it for a moment on my kitchen table.

Sullivan, however, was at home, but I already knew hed be jealous of the feast I had before me as I eyed the topiary cat seated at my table.

Guests were served a basil lemonade Fancy Feast Style, garnished with a shrimp coated in an everything bagel seasoning, an ode to the events New York City venue.

Guests were served a basil lemonade Fancy Feast Style, garnished with a shrimp coated in an everything bagel seasoning, an ode to the events New York City venue.

I next tried the Tuscan Panzanella, which had a texture that brought to mind the shreds that Sullivan cant help but run for when I prepare his dinner bowl. The flavorful dish, inspired by Fancy Feasts Medleys entrees, looked the most like human food on the menu, and it tasted like a salad of tomato and beef that I could scoop up at an outdoor picnic.

Chef Amanda Hassner crafted dishes that included Tuscan Panzanella with braised beef in what Fancy Feast said utilized flavors and cooking philosophies from Italys Tuscany region, much like its Medleys entrees for cats.

Chef Amanda Hassner crafted dishes that included Tuscan Panzanella with braised beef in what Fancy Feast said utilized flavors and cooking philosophies from Italys Tuscany region, much like its Medleys entrees for cats.

I went on to grab a bowl of Silky Saffron Bisque with honey pepper salmon in what easily had the most striking resemblance to a Sullivan meal on presentation alone.

After sending a picture of the tasty bisque to my friends, who were duped into thinking I was eating actual cat food, I gave Sullivan some of the brands broth that night. He may have enjoyed the broth more than I did, as it was hard for me to shake off the image of his serving tray.

The Silky Saffron Bisque with honey pepper salmon was inspired by broths from Fancy Feast.

The Silky Saffron Bisque with honey pepper salmon was inspired by broths from Fancy Feast.

I concluded my dining experience by getting my paws on two pate dishes: one inspired by both the brands Savory Centers and classic pates and another from Chef Rea.

The Savory Centers-inspired pate was infused with a cider gravy. It was a lot to take in, having a round, cat food-like pate right before me. But after I got over my fear, it tasted like a chewy and worthwhile complement to a pair of crackers.

Reas dish offered a biscuit alongside pate shaped like the brands Gems line, a sweet, gravy-topped end to an experience that left me wondering what my cat would think of all this.

Sullivan, clueless to what I just put my mind through, chowed down on two of the brands Gems on Tuesday and napped the rest of the day away.

An eye-opening experience for me and a regular weekday for a cat.

Behind The Menu

Amanda Zaydman, senior brand manager at Fancy Feast, told HuffPost the brand works with Hassner to learn about human food culinary trends, translating that to dishes cats will love.

And then sometimes, like today, we then in turn use the cat food to inspire human food, said Zaydman, who added that International Cat Day  and its earlier Gatto Bianco food pop-up  inspired its feastival this year.

Chef Amanda Hassner served the dishes to cat-loving diners in New York Citys Madison Square Park earlier this week.

Chef Amanda Hassner served the dishes to cat-loving diners in New York Citys Madison Square Park earlier this week.

Aside from food, cat lovers and pet parents were also able to meet the guest of honor (the Fancy Feast cat), get portraits of their furry friends, grab custom dinnerware for their cats and get insight from a pet behaviorist at the grand tasting on Monday.

An 11-year-old holds his cat, Tsar, a 4-year-old Arabian mau, in New York City on Monday.

An 11-year-old holds his cat, Tsar, a 4-year-old Arabian mau, in New York City on Monday.

Caesar Yance (right) and cat mother Cheryl Goer bring Goers cat, Pixie, a Norwegian forest cat, to the Fete du Feline grand tasting on Monday.

Caesar Yance (right) and cat mother Cheryl Goer bring Goers cat, Pixie, a Norwegian forest cat, to the Fete du Feline grand tasting on Monday.

The Fancy Feast Cat, a serene white Chinchilla, made an appearance at the brand's Fete du Feline event in New York City on Monday.

The Fancy Feast Cat, a serene white Chinchilla, made an appearance at the brand's Fete du Feline event in New York City on Monday.

Rea, a YouTuber known for re-creating dishes seen in pop culture, told HuffPost that he has tried his hand at cooking for his cat Bucky before, noting that he once grabbed salmon, peas and carrots to make her a cat-appropriate dish in a ring mold.

And she didnt touch it. Since then Ive learned that if I just fry chicken breast or shrimp with no fat or oil, she enjoys that a great deal, said Rea, who added that the experience has influenced his approach to feeding Bucky.

Rea, who has re-created cat-themed food like the Cookie Cat from Steven Universe and lasagna from the Garfield comics, said the event showcases how well pate works in the human culinary realm.

The biggest takeaway here is love for the cat. This is all a celebration of how you can make eating fun for you and your cat, he said.

Related...
View of the FBI Cincinnati field office in Sycamore Township, where Ricky Shiffer, a U.S. Navy veteran, unsuccessfully tried to break in and kill agents last year. Shiffer was killed after a standoff with law enforcement officers in an Ohio cornfield.

Ricky Shiffer turned into the parking lot of the FBIs office in Sycamore Township and parked his white Crown Victoria in front of the guard shack.

He arrived with a nail gun, an M4 semi-automatic rifle and a plan: He wanted to shoot his way inside the building and hurt as many FBI agents as he could.

People, this is it, hed written a few days earlier on his Truth Social account. This is your call to arms from me.

It was a little past 9 a.m. Aug. 11, 2022, a few days after federal agents raided the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump in search of classified documents. Shiffer, a Trump supporter whod been in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, was enraged by the search of Trumps home.

Shiffer was immersed in social media where outrage and conspiracy theories were flowing. But many elected Republicans joined the chorus of condemnation, including the two representing Hamilton County at the time. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, said he was "deeply concerned" and wanted to "uncover the truth behind it"; Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Columbia Tusculum, took to Twitter to accuse the FBI of being "weaponized and politicized."

Shiffer, of Columbus, blamed the government for going after the man he thought still should be president. He blamed FBI agents for carrying out the search and he wanted people who felt as he did to take up arms against them.

FBI officials outside their suburban Cincinnati headquarters on Aug. 11, 2022 after an attempted attack.

Leave work tomorrow as soon as the gun shop/Army-Navy store/pawn shop opens, get whatever you need to be ready for combat, Shiffer wrote in his Aug. 9 social media post. We must not tolerate this one.

Over the next six hours, Cincinnati would be at the epicenter of the nations toxic politics and a reminder that the violence unleashed during the Capitol riot Jan. 6 didnt necessarily end that day.

The following account of Shiffers confrontation with the FBI and local police is based on the Enquirers reporting on the event over the past year, video reviewed by The Enquirer and new interviews with four of the FBI agents involved in the incident. Except for the agent in charge, The Enquirer is not naming the agents for security reasons.

It marks the first time the FBI has spoken in detail about what happened that day.

A photo of Ricky Shiffer, from his now-deleted Twitter account.

Posting on Truth Social as he fled police

Shiffers plan went awry almost immediately. According to the FBI, the 42-year-old Navy veteran hoped to use the nail gun to penetrate the bullet-resistant glass at the security checkpoint and then, once inside, shoot as many agents as possible.

Given his target  the agents he wanted to kill were behind multiple locked doors and had access to heavy weapons  Shiffers plan would have been a long shot even if everything had gone right. And everything did not go right.

The nail gun jammed and, as Shiffer tried to get it working, the alarm sounded and FBI agents sprung into action. Seconds later, Shiffer gave up on the gun, got back into his car and started it up.

But the public parking lot was so small Shiffer had to execute a three-point turn, putting the car in forward, reverse and forward again, before he could make his way out. Meanwhile, FBI agents in body armor and with guns drawn were headed his way.

Shiffer sped out of the parking lot with two cars driven by FBI agents in pursuit. As Shiffer drove north on I-71, the agents lost him in traffic.

Around 9:30 a.m., an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer spotted Shiffer at a Warren County rest stop. He was sitting in his car, using his phone to post an update on Truth Social.

Well, I thought I had a way through the bullet-proof glass, and I didnt, he explained. If you dont hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I. and itll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while.

The post ended mid-sentence. Shiffer spotted the Highway Patrol cruiser and hit the gas. The chase was on again. Soon, dozens of police, sheriffs deputies and FBI agents would join the pursuit.

Confrontation in the cornfield

At one point, Shiffer fired the M4 and hit an Ohio National Guard van he thought was part of the chase but wasnt. No one was hurt.

Shiffer turned east on Ohio 73 and stopped on Smith Road at 9:53 a.m., alongside a cornfield. He climbed out of the car with the M4 and took cover between his car and the high cornstalks that stood for acres behind him.

Then he opened fire. The officers and agents, whod parked their cars down the street, scrambled for cover behind their cruisers.

As the police and agents set up a perimeter, pointing their guns and rifles in Shiffers direction, an officer used the speaker on his cruiser to ask Shiffer to surrender.

View of the security gates outside the Cincinnati office of the FBI in Sycamore Township. Ricky Shiffer, a U.S. Navy veteran, unsuccessfully tried to break into the office a year ago and kill agents. Shiffer was killed later that day after an hours-long standoff with law enforcement officers.

Put your hands out where we can see them, the officer said. If you come out peacefully, you will not be shot.

Shiffer didnt surrender.

Show me your hands! a state trooper shouted. Show me your hands!

When it became clear they were in a standoff, the FBI agents realized theyd need to try something else. Someone asked, Is there a negotiator?

'Hello, is this Ricky?'

The negotiator, who spoke on condition he wouldnt be named, was new to the FBI. Hed spent 12 years as a border patrol agent in Arizona before joining the FBI.

As part of his training at Quantico, he spent two weeks studying strategy in a classroom and role-playing scenarios intended to prepare him to deal with someone like Shiffer. He carried a bulletproof shield and a small bag containing a book with key phrases and strategies he could use to end a standoff like this one.

His goal was to take Shiffer into custody with no additional violence.

The negotiator started talking to Shiffer at 10:41 a.m., using the public address system on a police cruiser. He wasnt sure at first if Shiffer even could hear him. A helicopter hovered overhead. Police sirens wailed. People were shouting.

Shiffer was between his car and the cornfield, his hand on his gun, his leg bleeding. Hed cut himself on glass from a shattered car window.

Put down your weapon, the negotiator told Shiffer. Nobody wants to hurt you.

When an armored vehicle arrived, the negotiator climbed into the passenger seat. They slowly pulled closer. They wanted to get a better look at him and try to talk without the public address system.

By 11 a.m., the FBI had his cell phone number, so the negotiator called him.

Hello, is this Ricky? he said.

Yeah, Shiffer said. Who is this?

The negotiator said Shiffer seemed calm and cool the entire time. Trying to build a rapport with him, the negotiator asked if he needed medical help with his injuries. Then he tried to get him talking about the gun he was holding.

Shiffer said he didnt want help. He said he didnt care about guns and didnt even know what kind of gun he was carrying.

When the negotiator asked him about his intentions, though, Shiffer had more to say. He said he wanted to break into the security area at the FBI office, enter the main building and hurt as many people as he could.

When asked why, Shiffer said it was because of what happened at Mar-a-Lago.

Politics 'has no place in our business'

While the rest of the nation fixated on Shiffers politics and his motives, the agents at the scene did not.

"Politics is something we dont bring to work with us. We dont talk about it. And it has no place in our business. We look at facts and we look at evidence. And everything we do comes down to that.," said Will Rivers, FBI special agent in charge of the Cincinnati field office.

Our job is to be objective, Will Rivers, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati FBI office, said in a recent interview. Politics is something we dont bring to work with us. We dont talk about it. And it has no place in our business. We look at facts and we look at evidence. And everything we do comes down to that.

Even so, Rivers said, FBI agents dont work in a vacuum. The agents on the scene that day knew the nations political climate fueled anger and, in some cases, violence. They also knew it could make the FBI a target.

The term FBI gets thrown around a lot of times in very general terms that are probably not fair, Rivers said. I think its the world we live in. We live in a very polarized society where social media is a major influence.

As the hours dragged on Smith Road, Shiffer showed no sign of giving up. The negotiator convinced him to toss his keys away from his car, making it impossible for him to drive away, but the police and FBI agents still feared he might flee into the cornfield and escape.

When negotiations stalled, police tried to draw Shiffer out by firing nonlethal rounds at him. Nothing worked.

At one point, the negotiator told Shiffer he should give up so he could tell his story to the world. It sounds like you have an important story to tell, he said. You cant tell it from behind that car. Have your day in court.

Shiffer said no. The presidential election was rigged, he said. And the courts are rigged, too.

At the time, there were few details about the investigation into Trump's actions publicly available. Since then, Trump has been indicted, accused of violating the Espionage Act after he was found to be holding onto classified documents containing national defense information and other crimes related to obstructing the governments attempts to reclaim the classified material.

Shiffer would never learn any more about the raid or the reasons behind it.

At 3:45 p.m. that Thursday, according to the FBI, Shiffer raised his gun and pointed in the direction of the troopers, police officers, sheriffs deputies and FBI agents surrounding him.

Officers from every agency fired back.

When the shooting stopped, Shiffer was dead. An FBI sniper fired the fatal shot.

Reporter Sharon Coolidge attended the Cincinnati FBI office Citizens Academy earlier this year where she learned how FBI agents do their jobs.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What happened at the Cincinnati FBI office during the 2022 attack
A Richmond, Va., appeals court on Friday sided with the Biden administration and a pipeline operator, giving the OK for construction of a natural gas pipeline set to run through parts of Virginia and West Virginia.

In the Friday ruling, a three-court panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which argued that the bipartisan bill to raise the federal debt ceiling earlier this year had stripped the court of its jurisdiction in the case. In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the bill included language for blanket approval of the pipeline and transferring jurisdiction to a D.C. court.

The unanimous ruling follows an earlier court battle in which the Fourth Circuit imposed a stay on a segment of the pipeline despite the language in the bill. The pipeline operator asked the Supreme Court to intercede in its favor, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Biden administration and a coalition of Republican House members filing amicus briefs in support of the company. The Supreme Court granted the emergency request in late July.

The Fourth Circuits ruling marks a defeat for conservation groups such as the Wilderness Society, which had argued in court that the pipeline threatens the Jefferson National Forest, through which the segment at issue would pass.

Others such as Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) have said they do not necessarily oppose the pipeline specifically but that such projects should not be approved through legislation.

We are deeply saddened and concerned that Mountain Valley has been granted the ability to sidestep critical conservation protections and silence the voices of community members in harms way, Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, said in a statement. This pipeline will scar the integrity of Jefferson National Forest, compromise our water, increase harmful sedimentation, and expose communities in its path to the potential for explosive gas leaks and other harmful impacts.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Texas now-suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton attends a campaign event during a Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans meeting in Bulverde on May 16, 2022. Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune

A federal grand jury has convened in San Antonio and called witnesses close to suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The identities of the witnesses and the focus of the inquiry remain unclear. Dan Cogdell, one of Paxtons lawyers, said at an unrelated court hearing in Houston last week that a federal probe into the attorney general, who faces an impeachment trial next month and separate felony securities fraud charges, was ongoing.

Federal investigators began their investigation in October 2020 after several top deputies to Paxton went to the FBI and alleged the attorney general had committed crimes, including bribery, in the course of his friendship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

Prosecutors based at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., took over the case in February. That office typically handles high-profile investigations of public corruption.

Paul was indicted on federal charges in June in a case unrelated to Paxton. Prosecutors have accused Paul of altering financial records to fraudulently obtain loans for his real estate business, World Class Capital Group. His trial is scheduled for next year.

Whether Paul is cooperating with investigators in the Paxton case is unclear. David Gerger, one of his criminal defense attorneys, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Paxton in May was impeached by the Texas House on 20 counts alleging he had abused his power, some related to his relationship with Paul. House investigators said Paxton inappropriately hired a special prosecutor to investigate claims made by Paul, intervened to Pauls benefit in a legal case involving a charity, issued an order that helped Paul delay foreclosure sales of several of his properties and helped Paul obtain confidential law enforcement records related to the federal investigation into him.

Paxtons trial in the Senate is scheduled to begin Sept. 5. His legal team has asked for all of the articles to be dismissed. While his trial is pending, he is suspended without pay.

The origins of the Paxton-Paul relationship are largely unknown. Paul donated $25,000 to Paxtons campaign in 2018 and, according to House investigators, later employed on Paxtons recommendation a woman with whom the attorney general was having an extramarital affair.

Paxtons securities fraud case, which dates back to 2015, has repeatedly been rescheduled. Most recently, the judge last week agreed to postpone the case until after the impeachment trial concludes.

The full program is now LIVE for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 21-23 in Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations coming to TribFest. Panel topics include the biggest 2024 races and whats ahead, how big cities in Texas and around the country are changing, the integrity of upcoming elections and so much more. See the full program.
The Fort Worth Independent School District saw a sharp decline in the number of students who racked up large numbers of absences last year, district attendance figures show. But that number was still drastically higher than it was before the pandemic.

The district isnt alone: Across the country, students have been absent at record rates since school buildings reopened, according to a new analysis of nationwide enrollment data.

Experts say when students miss more than 10% of a school year  a trend called chronic absenteeism  theyre less likely to read proficiently by third grade or graduate on time, and more likely to drop out before finishing high school.

During the 2022-23 school year, 21,673 students were absent at least 10% of the time, according to district figures. Thats a 25% decline from the previous school year. But its more than four times the number of students who missed school 10% of the time or more during the 2019-20 school year, the year the pandemic began, district figures show.

Notably, the number of students who were absent less than 5% of the time grew by 31% between last year and the year before, meaning fewer students are edging toward chronic absenteeism. That trend also indicates that enrollment declines dont completely account for the drop in the number of students with excessive absences.

District leaders are quick to acknowledge that attendance rates are still nowhere near where they want them to be. During a conversation with the Star-Telegrams editorial board earlier this year, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angelica Ramsey described the districts attendance rates as atrocious, noting that most school districts across the country have struggled to get students to come back to school consistently after school closures ended.

Its very difficult to get parents and students to understand you have to come to school five days (a week), she said.

One of the districts key strategies for improving attendance was hiring family engagement specialists, staff members who make calls to parents when students are absent and meet with families who are struggling to get their kids to school. District officials have attributed a large part of the improvement in attendance rates to those specialists.

But those positions are funded by federal COVID relief money. School districts nationwide have a deadline to spend that money: The second round of funding must be allocated by the end of next month, and the third round must be spent by September 2024. Once that money is gone, district officials will be left with the choice of ending those programs or finding another way to pay for them.

In an emailed statement, Wendy Teer, the districts coordinator of attendance and credit recovery, said the district offered regular training for administrators, data clerks and attendance clerks on how to improve attendance rates. School leaders also gave students opportunities to make up absences, including by coming to school on Saturdays, she said.

Nationwide, schools report more students with too many absences

School districts across the country reported a sharp uptick in the number of students who were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year, the most recent school year for which nationwide data is available. More than a quarter of students missed more than 10% of that year, according to an analysis of state level attendance data by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. The analysis, which was released Friday, includes data from 40 states, plus Washington, D.C.

In Texas, 25.7% of students missed more than 10% of the 2021-22 school year, up from 11.4% during the 2018-19 school year, which was the last full school year before the pandemic began. The state had the 14th largest increase in chronic absenteeism of the 41 jurisdictions included in the analysis. Texas hasnt yet released attendance data for the 2022-23 school year.

Nationwide, the percentage of students who were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year was nearly twice as high as it was before the pandemic, according to the analysis. That equates to about 6.5 million more students who were chronically absent. Absences were most common among Black, Latino and low-income students.

During an online call with journalists this week, Dee said the educational jurisdictions included in the analysis collectively serve about 92% of all public school students in the United States.

In analyzing attendance data, Dee also looked at other factors that could have contributed to the uptick in chronic absenteeism, including COVID infection rates, school enrollment declines and state mask policies. Although those factors had an effect, none of them could completely explain the increase, he said. Its likely that other barriers are keeping students out of school, including transportation issues, access to mental and physical health services and the deterioration of students psychological engagement in their own learning.

Dee said the ongoing high rates of absenteeism nationwide will likely hamper efforts to help students make up the ground they lost during the pandemic. Districts have adopted a number of strategies for helping students catch up. When students rack up large numbers of absences, not only do they not have access to that extra support, they also miss out on the instruction they would have gotten in their regular classes.

Our most prominent efforts at academic recovery from the pandemic involve in-school activities such as tutoring and extended learning time and supports that involve you being in the building, he said. And if students arent there, thats really going to affect what were trying to do.
Two additional people have been charged after a viral fight at a Montgomery, Alabama pier last week.

A group of white boaters occupied a pier on Saturday that was reserved for a ferry, and refused to move their boat. One of the boaters began a fight with the ferrys co-captain, who is Black, sparking a brawl between the boaters and a group of mostly-Black bystanders defending the co-captain.

Witnesses said racial slurs were hurled at the captain of the ferry, according to CNN reports.

Four of the five charged were in the group of boaters. Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in Thursday after being charged, Montgomery Police said. Allen Todd, 23, and Zacary Shipman, 25, were arrested Wednesday and Richard Roberts, 48, turned himself in on Tuesday.

The group is charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault.

Reggie Ray, 42, turned himself in Friday. He can be seen in videos of the fight hitting people in the head with a folding chair in an attempt to defend the co-captain.

Montgomery Police said there is no evidence that race played a factor in the fight and they are not considering hate crime charges. Charges may also increase or change as evidence is being reviewed, Chief Darryl Albert said.

At the time, we did not have the luxury of all the videos that we have seen now, that you and I have seen, and that the world has seen, Albert said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Basically all we had were witness statements and he-said, she-said so our police officers and detectives had to decipher through all that and then apply the appropriate charges at that time. So again, as we gain more information, as we get more video, as we talk to more individuals, if charges are meant to be amended, they will be, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A flight attendant says travelers should make sure they can always lift their carry-on suitcases. @cici_inthesky/TikTok/Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

CiCi is a flight attendant who shares packing tips on TikTok and Instagram.

She previously told Insider that the biggest packing mistake she sees is an overstuffed carry-on.

Travelers need to be able to lift it into the overhead bin. It's not a flight attendant's job to do so.

During CiCi's career as a flight attendant, she's spotted travelers making all sorts of mistakes.

But the biggest, she previously told Insider, is packing a bag that's too full.

CiCi, who asked Insider to omit her full name and the airline she works for, for privacy reasons, said: "The number one thing, especially for tiny women, is to make sure you can pick that bag up and put it in the overhead bin."

While all the packing tips you see on TikTok and Instagram are great for squeezing more into your bag, CiCi stressed that travelers should never reach the point where their bag is too heavy.

"If I start noticing that it's getting too heavy and I can't pick it up, then I need to make some adjustments," CiCi, who shares flight tips on TikTok and Instagram under the name @cici.inthesky, said.

A person lifts a suitcase into the overhead bin. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

It's not a flight attendant's job to help you lift your suitcase

"Because of our job, we're not supposed to pick up people's bags," she said. "If we do that, it puts strain on our body."

"But a lot of people don't realize that," she added.

As The Washington Post reported, lifting suitcases is not part of a flight attendant's job requirements. Instead, during the boarding process, flight attendants are focused on making sure passengers get to their seats quickly and watching for any unruly behavior.

While each airline's policy differs, most state that flight attendants aren't required to help with luggage. For example, Delta's website outlines its carry-on policy and emphasizes that passengers should be able to lift their luggage on their own.

"When packing, please remember that flight attendants are unable to proactively assist customers placing carry-on baggage into overhead bins, with certain exceptions," Delta's website states. These exceptions can include passengers with disabilities, unaccompanied minors, and older travelers.

JetBlue's baggage page states something similar: "Please make sure items can be lifted into the overhead bin if assistance is not available and the item does not fit beneath the seat."

So if your bag is getting a bit too heavy, consider CiCi's advice, and start working out by lifting your suitcase.

"One of the things I do is I literally use my luggage as an exercise routine," she said.

Read the original article on Insider
Volunteers push a woman with her belongings on inner-tube along a flooded road in Bago, Myanmar, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Yangon, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo)

BANGKOK (AP)  Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar have killed five people and displaced about 60,000 since mid-July, an official said Friday.

The director of the ministry of social welfare, relief and resettlement, Lay Shwe Zin Oo, said four children are among the dead. Some parts of southern states of Kayin and Mon remain in critical condition due to heavy rains and rising river water levels, Lay said.

The low-lying areas in some townships in the southern Bago and the central Magway regions, as well as the western state of Rakhine, have been inundated by water since Sunday.

Initially, some 60,000 people were displaced but 20,000 have since returned to their home areas. About 40,000 are still sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, she said.

She said included three children in the state of Mon and a mother and child in Rakhine drowned.

The flooding is getting worse this week. But, it is difficult to say whether the current flood situation is the worst for this year because the rainy season has not yet ended, she said over the phone.

The state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said Friday that schools were closed in the flooded areas and some sections of the highway in Bago were under water. In relief camps in Bago, Kayin and Rakhine, authorities were providing food, drinking water, medicines and other essential assistance, the paper said.

On Monday, a landslide caused by heavy rain swept away about 61 meters (200 feet) -long section of the major mountain highway linking the Kawkareik and Myawaddy townships in eastern Kayin state, cutting off the busy trading route. There were no report of casualties.

Myawaddy is a key trading center on the border with Thailand and state-run media reported it would take a month before traffic could resume.

Myanmar experiences extreme weather virtually every year during the monsoon season. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people.

A report published Friday in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said there would be thundershowers for the next week across the country.
Florida's controversial education system is back in the national spotlight, this time concerning its teaching of the Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology course. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been scrapping with the organizer of the AP program, the College Board, over content in a number of AP classes. The conservative-led state had previously fallen out with the College Board over portions of the latter's AP African American Studies class. And now there have been a number of developments on both sides of the argument, with some school districts citing an "evolving educational landscape" as the reasoning behind not teaching AP Psychology.

Cause of the feud

The issue began when the Florida Department of Education instructed schools to only teach AP Psychology if "material concerning sexual orientation and gender identity is removed," The Washington Post reported. DeSantis expanded a law this past April banning these subjects from being taught through 12th grade. William J. Montford III, head of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, told the Post that schools were being encouraged to teach a "modified version" of the class that didn't talk about these issues.

By making these changes, Florida had "effectively banned" AP Psychology in the state, the College Board said in a statement. The organization stated that the course "asks students to 'describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development'" and that "gender and sexual orientation have been part of AP Psychology since the course launched 30 years ago."

As a result of Florida's changes, the College Board advised the state's school districts "not to offer AP Psychology until Florida reverses their decision and allows parents and students to choose to take the full course."

State's response

After the College Board's advisory against offering the class, Florida backtracked in a way that seemed to directly go against its prior decision. The state's education department said that AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that's age and developmentally appropriate," Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said, per the Tallahassee Democrat, adding that the class "remains listed in our course catalog."

The College Board seemed to welcome this development, telling NBC News it hoped Florida educators "will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment." However, it added that "district superintendents continue to seek additional clarity."

Amid this uncertainty over whether the course can actually be taught, at least nine school districts "will be dropping the AP Psychology course and switching to alternatives this upcoming school year to avoid potential conflict with state law," The Hill reported. This development, which represents another reversal of course, came just one day before the school year was slated to start on August 10, and some school districts are "still unsure what will replace the class."

Public opinion

The entire argument is unique because AP Psychology has "generated little objections in Florida in the past," Neil J. Young opined for CNN. "Given both AP Psychology's popularity and its uncontroversial reputation in the state  Florida's overreaching legislation always seemed to be just a play for power by the state's Republican lawmakers."

Florida should "stop playing politics with public education," Giselle Matias wrote for The Palm Beach Post, adding that Florida "should work to create better regulations that could help our education." Instead, lawmakers were "attempting to shield us from content that will inevitably be brought to light in life."

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A Hernando County, Florida, teacher was placed on administrative leave this week after allegedly sending inappropriate instant messages to a middle school student, over the course of several months.

The Hernando County Sheriffs Office said detectives received a tip that the teacher, who taught at the same middle school the student attended, was sending inappropriate messages.

After receiving adult consent to search the 14-year-old victims computer, detectives were able to review thousands of messages between the teacher and the student, which were sent almost constantly for several months.

Although the teacher, identified as 33-year-old George Beall, sent most of the messages, the sheriffs office explained, there was not much response from the student.

NEVADA PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF HAVING 4-YEAR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH STUDENT: REPORT

Detectives interviewed the victim and learned the messaging began when the student attended Powell Middle School, where Beall was a teacher.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The student allegedly told detectives the conversations were "weird," especially because of the age difference between the two, but also because Beall initiated the contact daily.

Police said the victim also admitted to feeling bad by ending the conversations because Beall had cancer and the student was his "only friend."

The sheriffs office said the conversations occurred via Snapchat, text messages and over the PlayStation.

74-YEAR-OLD FEMALE TEACHER FACES 600 YEARS BEHIND BARS FOR SEX ASSAULT ON TEEN

Photo illustration of police lights and caution tape.

Beall just began a new position at the county technical school, which is where detectives met with the instructor.

According to police, the student was to go to the technical school this upcoming school year.

When detectives met with Beall, he confirmed he communicated with the student over PlayStation, Snapchat and text, allegedly adding that they communicated about "anything and everything."

NEARLY 350 K-12 EDUCATORS ARRESTED ON CHILD SEX CRIMES IN 2022

The victim and suspect allegedly messaged on the social media app Snapchat, according to police

Police claim the teacher even admitted to exchanging photos with each other.

But when asked about specific messages Beall sent to the student, he claimed to have no recollection of any messages with sexual overtones.

When detectives searched his phone, they allegedly located several GIFs and emojis with hearts and references of love, that he sent to the victim.

"The behavior demonstrated by Beall is consistent with predatory behavior," the sheriffs office said in the release.

TEXAS DISTRICT FIRES FIRST-GRADE TEACHER WHO JOKED ABOUT KILLING SISTER'S WHITE BOYFRIEND: HIDE THE BODY

When Beall messaged the student, the release said, there was a "one-sidedness" during the conversations, meaning, Beall would send multiple messages, the student would not respond right away, and when the student did reply, it was with a one-word response.

Detectives also said Beall appeared to get upset during the text conversations when the victim did not reply or was not interested in playing video games.

The sheriffs office added that Beall was immediately placed on administrative leave by the district.

He was arrested on Wednesday and charged with transmission of harmful material to a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Bealls bond was set at $5,000.

Although detectives have no indication of additional victims, the investigation is ongoing.
A Boise neighborhood association that objects to a new homeless shelter has appealed its case to the Idaho Supreme Court after losing in 4th District Court.

The Veterans Park Neighborhood Association sued Boise last year, after city leaders voted to allow Interfaith Sanctuary, a low-barrier shelter, to relocate to the former Salvation Army building at 4308 W. State St.

Ada County District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace denied the neighborhood associations request to intervene in June, ruling that it had not sufficiently shown harm to its residents.

In its lawsuit, the neighborhood association argued that the Boise City Councils approval of the shelter violated the law and its due process rights, and that a plan for how the shelter would operate did not mitigate the harm some neighbors claimed it would cause.

Yee-Wallace said the associations argument, if taken to be true, would mean you could never operate a homeless shelter in the city.

In the appeal, the neighborhood associations attorney, Brian Ertz, said he wants the high court to decide whether the district judges decision was in error.

The neighborhood association filed its appeal in late July. In the coming months, the court will set deadlines to submit argument briefs, after which the case will be scheduled for an oral argument before the Supreme Court, spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman.

It certainly doesnt change the story for us, Interfaith Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers told the Idaho Statesman by phone Friday. Were continuing to move forward on building this shelter that is essential for our community and making sure that we continue to take care of our guests.

Peterson-Stigers said she hopes to begin construction at the new State Street location in the coming months. Interfaith aims to raise $15 million to remodel the Salvation Army building, and Peterson-Stigers said she has so far raised $8 million, plus another $4 million in funds from grants or foundations that are still pending approval.

Once construction begins, the project is expected to take 15-18 months to finish.

The Supreme Court appeal was first reported by BoiseDev. The neighborhood associations president, Katy Decker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Statesman. Boise Mayor Lauren McLeans spokesperson, Maria Weeg, declined to comment.
The 42-year-old man seen wielding a folding chair in the viral melee on an Alabama riverfront has handed himself in almost a week after the wild brawl.

Reggie Ray was charged with disorderly conduct and was being housed in the municipal jail on Friday night, Montgomery police said.

In footage that was seen around the world, Ray appeared to swing at several members of a group of white boaters who had launched an unprovoked attack on Black riverboat co-captain Dameion Pickett.

YouTube/NBC

Montgomery police previously charged three men and one woman, all of whom are white, with third-degree assault after they jumped Pickett for peacefully asking them to move their pontoon boat out of the riverboats reserved dock. They were identified earlier this week as Richard Roberts, 48, Allen Todd, 23, Zachery Shipman, 25, and Mary Todd, 21.

The assault on Pickett enraged passengers and crew on the Harriott II riverboat so much that one 16-year-old worker jumped overboard and swam to the shore to aid his colleague. Others spilled off the ferry once it was finally able to dock, quickly turning the tables on Picketts attackers.

Rays weapon of choice turned him into an internet sensation, spawning countless folding chair memes. But police werent as impressed. Montgomery Police Chief Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert appealed on Tuesday for Ray to turn himself in for further questioning.

Cops Nab Another Assailant in Montgomery Boat Deck Brawl

In his statement to police, obtained Friday by local outlet WSFA, Pickett said that, after the pontoon boat owners refused to move and flipped off the riverboat for more than 45 minutes, he headed ashore on a smaller boat to move the pontoon boat a few feet up. But one of the now-arrested men yelled, If you touch my boat, Im going to beat your ass, he said.

As three men suddenly launched on him, Pickett claimed one of his assailants told him, Im going to kill you, motherfucker.

While police said they didnt find enough evidence to warrant hate-crime charges, the mother of a 16-year-old boy assaulted in the melee reportedly told cops that she heard one attacker tell f**k that n***er moments before the attack.

The Harriott IIs captain, Jim Kittrell, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that he also believed Pickett was attacked because hes Black.

It makes no sense to have six people try to beat the snot out of you just because you moved their boat up a few feet, Jim Kittrell said. In my opinion, the attack on Damien was racially motivated.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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DES MOINES  Ron DeSantis was the only Republican candidate for president who removed a progressive prosecutor from office this week. His rivals only wished they could.

On Wednesday morning, DeSantis suspended Monique Worrell, the elected Democratic prosecutor in Orange and Osceola counties, explaining that shed effectively nullified certain laws by not seeking mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes.

Minutes later, outside the office shed won with 67% of the vote in 2020, Worrell called the governor a weak dictator. The removal, she said, was a smokescreen for Ron DeSantiss failing and disastrous presidential campaign.

But several other Republicans running for president want to remove left-leaning local prosecutors  and other Republican governors are trying.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, whos appearing with 12 GOP candidates at state fairgrounds this week, has given the states new GOP attorney general the power to intervene in cases being handled by county attorneys; Polk County, the states largest, elected a progressive prosecutor last year.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, wholl join GOP presidential candidates at a conference in Atlanta next weekend, just signed a law that empowers him to remove district attorneys; hed warned that some far-left prosecutors were failing their constituents and making our communities less safe. And next month, a new Texas law designed to let Gov. Greg Abbott remove rogue prosecutors will go into effect.

The next Republican president might want to help with that. In April, Donald Trump rolled out proposals to bring radical Marxist prosecutors to heel, including federal investigations of reform DAs.

In Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and every other city where these maniacs have taken over, the DAs offices should face federal subpoenas of their staff, their emails, and their records to determine whether they have blatantly violated federal Civil Rights law, Trump said.

Davids view

Donald Trumps own legal troubles have been burning most of the oxygen that candidates typically use to campaign. But this is an emerging issue, far more resonant than it was the last time that Republicans were trying to capture the White House from Democrats. The movement to elect progressive prosecutors  and the PACs that helped do it, like Democracy PAC and Real Justice  benefited enormously from a backlash to Donald Trumps presidency.

Were now deep into the backlash to that backlash, as Republicans debate ways to remove these prosecutors. Larry Elder, a conservative commentator who says hes halfway to making the RNCs donor threshold for debates  more than 20,000 of the required 40,000  has proposed ethics commissions that could allow DAs to be removed more easily.

There are a lot of people who are hurting now because of this, said Elder, echoing Floridas Sheriff Grady Judd, who said that getting rid of Worrell would save lives.

But only DeSantis is in a position to actually do this right now. That thrills the conservatives who argue that hes able to deliver on what Republicans like Trump could only promise. In states where Republicans can change the law, theyre looking for ways to remove reform DAs; in places where voters can recall elected officials, they see the 2022 recall of San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin as a model.

The response from reformers is twofold. One: Removing Boudin hasnt changed the trajectory of crime in San Francisco, so the blame is misplaced. Two: While theyve been using the democratic process to change the justice system, their opponents are trying to undo the will of voters. Alameda County DA Pamela Price, whos facing a recall effort not even a year into her first term, has said so plainly.

When you lose an election, you shouldnt be able to overturn the will of the voters, Price told KTVU. Thats what happened during the insurrection on Jan. 6.

The View From Criminal Justice Reformers

None of the PACs that helped elect Worrell responded to questions about the effort to remove reform DAs, though Real Justice helped promote a rally organized by her supporters. The White House didnt comment, either. But Jessica Brand, founder of the progressive Wren Collective, pointed out that progressive prosecutors kept winning races this year, in races where their opponents blamed their approaches for rising crime.

In a lot of races you are seeing people who have no track record of reform using reform language in their candidacy because they know its what voters want, she said. It is pretty clear the goal of many in the GOP is just to use these prosecutors as a political distraction, and they dont care that people voted for them, because those are Black and brown voters.

Notable

In the Orlando Sentinel, Amanda Rabines reports on the rally Worrells supporters held after her suspension. At Popular Information, Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria investigate the claims DeSantis made when he removed Worrell, and find some wanting: Just this week, the police chief of Orlando, which is the largest city in Orange County, shared that so far in 2023 violent crime is down 10% compared to last year.
Yevhen Dykyi, a former company commander of the Aidar Battalion, shared his insights on the operations of Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups in enemy-held territories, as well as the ongoing situation in the Kupyansk area, in an interview with Radio NV on Aug. 10

 Lets start with Northern Luhansk Oblast. There are reports from Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi that the Russians have established a foothold there for a breakthrough in the Kupyansk direction. How plausible is it that the Russians, besides actively advancing, might also capture something?

 Honestly, I dont see a significant threat there mainly because no one will allow them to capture anything. However, its crucial to understand why they are doing this in the first place. The fact is that their offensive in Sloboda (Kharkiv Oblast) is actually the smartest move theyve made this summer. Credit must be given where its due: The enemy, unfortunately, is learning from its mistakes.

They are employing a vastly different strategy now compared to when they first arrived here. However, the most challenging front is not that one; it lies in the south, where we are on the offensive. This is where were attempting to breach the Surovikin Line, which, in reality, consists of a staggered defense with three lines of Russian forces. For the Russians, it is fundamentally crucial to divert our forces elsewhere.

Read also: Putin will crush everyone one by one  Elections illogical during war, says political analyst

For the Russians, its crucial that at least some of these newly created brigades, specifically trained for the summer offensive and currently breaching the defense in the south, dont make it all the way there but are compelled to fight in another part of the front. This is the primary purpose of the Russian offensive in Sloboda. They have both a maximum and a minimum plan. Theyre realists; they understand very well that even with a force of 100,000 in Kharkiv, they wont make significant progress.

However, their maximum plan is to capture Kupyansk and Lyman and establish a new defense line along the Oskil River. I dont believe anyone will allow them to execute this maximum plan. But theres also a minimum plan. The minimum plan is to draw as many forces there as possible, forces that would otherwise be engaged in the south and Zaporizhzhya. Unfortunately, this minimum plan has already been successful for them. These are indeed, lets say, inevitable matters. It was evident that a force of 100,000 was substantial. Ill remind you that a year-and-a-half ago, 180,000 Russians attempted to occupy the whole of Ukraine.

 They came from six directions, 180,000 of them. Now, its under 100,000 in a single direction.

 Just under 100,000 in one direction  truly a formidable force. Hoping that the two or three fatigued brigades stationed there since last autumn could hold it was clearly unrealistic at that point. Sending reserves became necessary. Thus, the Russians have executed their minimum plan, diverting a portion of the forces that would otherwise be breaking through their defense in the south. As for the exact number? We wont discuss that. Lets just say significant reinforcement was required for the Sloboda direction. Consequently, the Russians now face limited prospects for achieving real success there. In the worst-case scenario for us, we may need to deploy something from the reserve there. I believe that neither Kupyansk nor Lyman will be handed over to them.

However, the key intrigue in this direction is whether we can repel their offensive with the forces at hand, because, once again, every soldier, every battalion is currently most valuable precisely in the southern direction. Were carefully assessing how many people were sending to Sloboda. A force of 100,000 is indeed significant. Nonetheless, we must maintain a balanced allocation of proportionate forces.

 Now, if we return to Kupyansk, the fact that Syrskyi specifically visited there. There are even photos of his visit. Typically, officers of such high rank, generals at this level, come when something could be extremely dangerous.

And this closed or narrow-circle meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chiefs Staff, which President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy mentioned the previous evening, is indeed a situation when people recognize the threat. They personally participate in minimizing this threat, at the very least. What are your thoughts on this?

Read also: Russian Black Sea Fleet facing conundrums as Ukrainian sea drones keep attacking

 First of all, I wouldnt lump Syrskyis visit to Kupyansk with the closed Staff meeting, about which we dont know and shouldnt know the specifics. Combining them together is purely speculative. I believe that judging even from the composition of participants in that closed Staff meeting, a much broader range of issues was discussed, not just Kupyansk. At the very least, and maybe not even Kupyansk at all.

However, Syrskyis visit is a different matter. Its directly related to what we just discussed. Our command must make a very complex decision each time: how many forces should be diverted to Kupyansk in Sloboda, and how many forces should remain in reserve for the south?

In essence, its regrettable to send any units to Kupyansk. But, on the other hand, theres no alternative. Strengthening that area is necessary; we cant allow them to break through there. Most likely, Syrskyis visit is precisely to assess on the ground what minimum additional forces and resources are necessary to detach from the offensive and put into defense there.

 About the south. Yesterday, I read on Facebook the impressions of a Ukrainian soldier who mentioned that cluster munitions were being used effectively. The Wall Street Journal states that these same cluster munitions have provided momentum to the Defense Forces offensive operations. But the specific phrase was given impetus, how would you translate that?

 Its better to ask the authors of that statement. To be candid, Im not particularly fond of the amount of time we devote to assessments from what seem to be entirely irrelevant  pardon me for saying  not in the political sense, but in terms of Western so-called experts. If you look closely, 90% of them have no connection whatsoever to wars or the military. There are some political scientists, retired diplomats who have never witnessed not only our war, which is very unique, but have never seen any war at all, not even their wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Read also: Putin remained transfixed by Ukraine during Russia-Africa summit  expert

So, forgive me, this entire rear-echelon crowd, looking at maps of countries theyre unfamiliar with, is pontificating about impetus. Frankly, we spend too much time analyzing white noise. On the other hand, there are some general trends there that are worth knowing. And these general trends, for the time being, are quite unpleasant. Its precisely for this reason that this rear-echelon, civilian crowd initially came up with the notion that as soon as our offensive begins, the Russians are obligated to crumble and retreat immediately. When that didnt happen, its because it wasnt supposed to happen in the first place.

And here, by the way, no one in our army expected that as soon as the first Leopard appeared on the horizon, it would signal the Russians to immediately retreat back to Moscow. We didnt harbor such naive illusions. However, in the West, not among Western military personnel, but rather among certain Western civilians, they initially spun a fairy tale to themselves that as soon as our offensive begins, the Russians are obligated to flee. When it turned out that the Russians hadnt received that memo and, in fact, were putting up desperate and substantial resistance, the narrative changed. There was a wave of information stating, Oh, the offensive is being delayed, oh, nothing is working out.

Now, against this backdrop, a few optimists are grasping at straws, saying, Look, they brought in cluster munitions, theyve given it an impetus. Listen, this impetus was never lost. Our offensive began in early June, and its been ongoing since then. It hasnt stopped for a single day. But its progressing at a pace thats feasible with our resources, a pace where were forced to fight in platoon and, at most, company-sized groups. As soon as we assemble even a battalion-sized group, Russian aviation, which dominates the skies tenfold, swoops in and immediately halts our advance. We discovered this in the first two days of the offensive, and we havent repeated that mistake.

In essence, were inching forward, taking a few hundred meters of the defensive line. Literally inching forward, meter by meter. Were doing this with small, as I mentioned, platoon and company-sized groups, and this determines the pace. So, for two months, weve been neutralizing the first line of Russian defense. Towards the end of the second month, we reached the second defensive line. Thats what an impetus means. Cluster munitions are quite helpful, but no single type of weapon is decisive. Theres no such thing as a silver bullet for vampires; it doesnt exist. Cluster munitions are very useful, and theyve helped compensate for a severe shortage of ammunition.

Cluster munitions have two advantages. The first is that one projectile essentially replaces several. But the second, perhaps even more important advantage, is that the U.S. Army has something like up to three million of them stockpiled. Not just cluster munitions, but the global market has practically exhausted them. There was simply a physical shortage. These cluster munitions, in essence, finally allowed our artillery to at least come close to parity with the Russians in terms of the number of rounds we can afford to produce. Thats the real story behind the impetus.

Read also: Russians had fire adjuster on site after Pokrovsk attack, says ex-SBU officer

 About the work of the Ukrainian artillery. Ive heard reports from our personnel that, over the past year-and-a-half, weve seen, for the first time, that our artillery can operate 24/7, working intensively and powerfully. Theres no longer an issue of having to ration each shell, worried about running out. So, would you agree with that assessment?

 Yes. In fact, the supply of cluster munitions allowed us to solve this problem. We were facing a severe ammunition shortage. When the Russians were firing even 10,000 shells a day and still complaining about shortages  not to mention last summer when they were firing 60,000 shells a day  but even recently, they were firing from 10,000 to 20,000, and they were crying out on all platforms about shortages. So, we were firing three to four thousand shells a day.

Currently, were firing eight thousand shells a day, truly day and night. This is a huge difference. But, for it to be clear why there was a shortage, we had to switch to NATO calibers because wed completely exhausted all the Soviet shells available on the global market not controlled by Russia or China. In free countries, there werent many Soviet calibers available. We switched to NATO calibers. However, even there, no one had been preparing for a major war for the past 30 years.

 Ive read all these stories about the rates of ammunition production in the United States. They could return to the production rates of the late 1980s, the end of the Cold War, in just a few years.

 In three years, yes. Theyre investing billions now to reach the production volume from that time in three years. But Ill give you one number that answers all the questions. Currently, were firing eight thousand shells a day. The annual ammunition standard for the French army is seven thousand shells. Annually. And, in fact, finding these cluster munitions in the U.S. Army depots, which hadnt been used for a long time because some countries fundamentally refuse them, has complex political nuances involved.

So, finding these three million cluster munitions finally allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief, and our artillery can now work not only accurately but also in sufficient quantities. All this time, weve been compensating for the number of Russian shells with the accuracy of our own. Our artillery is much more precise and much better. But still, excuse me, three thousand shells versus ten thousand  thats a huge difference. However, ten thousand versus eight thousand  thats a different story.

 Ive even seen reports suggesting that the Ukrainian army needs a minimum of 11,000 shells a day, and ideally, even more  up to 20,000. Can we achieve that pace?

 You understand that theres no such thing as having too many shells, but theres definitely a problem when theres too few. Even now, at eight thousand, its day and night compared to what we had at 3,000. Its clear that 11,000 would be better. Im afraid we just physically cant find where to get more.

 Now lets talk about another interesting aspect in the southern direction. Initially, for several weeks, there were talks about battles in the Dachi area, near Oleshky in Kherson Oblast, on the left bank of the Dnipro River. Reports a few days ago indicated that the occupiers once again launched an offensive from there to dislodge our defenders, and things didnt go entirely in their favor.

And suddenly, theres a report of a limited but successful landing operation in the Kozachi Laheri area. And is this precisely what were trying to do as a mirror response to what the occupiers are doing on the Kupyansk front  to hold their forces there and prevent the Russians from transferring reinforcements to the Zaporizhzhya direction?

 The scales are somewhat different. If were looking at where were replicating what theyre doing on the Kupyansk direction, we need to consider a completely different perspective. Lets return to the left bank of the Dnipro for a moment.

For us, a city like Bakhmut is quite significant. From a military standpoint, it should make little sense for the Russians to (stay in) Bakhmut. There wouldnt be much strategic value in holding onto it. But thats the military perspective. From a political standpoint, its their sacred Artyomovsk (the old Soviet name for Bakhmut). They spent 10 months capturing Artyomovsk. They deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, and according to various estimates, 20,000 to 40,000 of them were killed.

Finally, we were pushed out. And this was their only, very conditional, and quite dubious victory in terms of cost, but still, it was their sole victory within a year. And to give it back to us a few months later, from a propagandistic point of view, would be a catastrophe. Although from a military perspective, it wouldnt be a catastrophe. But for propaganda, its a disaster.

Theyve issued a purely ideological order: Hold Artyomovsk at any cost. And for us, this is very advantageous. Ill share something somewhat paradoxical: right now, its not as important for us to capture Bakhmut as it is to hold onto it for as long as possible. Because theyve shifted 50,000 troops to maintain sacred Artyomovsk.

And so, these 50,000 troops no longer have deep reserves that can be brought in from Russia or even from Crimea. Everything has shifted within the front lines. Theyve scraped together these 50,000 troops who would otherwise have either defended the Surovikin Line or been part of the offensive force they assembled in the Sloboda region. But instead, theyre holding onto Bakhmut. And for us, this is very beneficial. We tie them down there and try to maximize the use of the Bakhmut situation to divert their reserves. As for the left bank of the Dnipro, theres not much we can divert from there.

Read also: Russia starts to realize it cant hold on to Crimea  interview with Refat Chubarov

In other words, its not strategically feasible to draw large forces from there. But there, were causing unrest in their rear areas. Reconnaissance and sabotage groups operate there regularly. Recently, there was a notable incident in Kozachi Laheri, which gained media attention, where there were relatively many fighters involved, several dozen simultaneously.

Usually, reconnaissance and sabotage groups consist of small teams of up to 10 people. They engage in disrupting activities in the enemys rear areas, preventing them from feeling completely secure, and disrupting their logistical operations. This has been ongoing since the liberation of Kherson. Starting from November, even during winter, this was a continuous effort.

And as soon as the weather improved in the spring, it became more extensive. Our Special Operations Forces regularly land behind enemy lines, causing disturbances. This happens at a distance of about 15-20 kilometers from the Dnipro Rivers shore. This area can be considered a certain gray zone that isnt fully controlled by the Russian forces. However, we cant establish permanent positions there; we can only conduct raids. The only foothold weve managed to successfully hold is the one near the Antonivsky Bridge in Oleshky. The Russians werent able to dislodge our defenders from there, even though they used Iskander missiles.

However, they managed to surround the area from all sides in such a way that expanding the foothold is currently not feasible. In other words, theres no possibility to break out of it further. So, there was a significant intrigue surrounding Kozachi Laheri; whether it was an attempt to create a permanent foothold and expand it, or just a raid.

It turned out to be a powerful and quite prominent raid. They even brought an entire unit of prisoners to the right bank, not just wounded soldiers. Essentially, were demonstrating who the true masters of the entire Dnipro floodplain are. But for now, this isnt a strategic story. Its still a tactical operation.

 So, its not a foothold, its a raid, but a successful and notable one, which caught the attention of Russian war correspondents. Officers ended up as prisoners, along with weapons, information, mobile phones, and radios. They seem to have had quite an eventful time there.

 Exactly, a whole platoon, led by a major, ended up as prisoners. In terms of the number of casualties they suffered, its quite clear that it was more than significant.

 Now, lets discuss the lines of defense of the occupiers. Phrases like weve breached the first line, now advancing to the second are constantly heard, and theres talk about reaching the second line near Staromayorsk. What can civilians confidently understand about these defense lines?

 Whats mythical, mysterious, or unclear about it? Its straightforward to understand but very challenging to storm. Its an echeloned defense with three lines. Lets start from a distance. The third line is the deepest. Its, to a certain extent, the lifeline for the first two lines. Holding it separately will probably be unrealistic. However, the first two lines are designed precisely to withstand our assaults for a long time. The first line was constructed with continuous minefields, hundreds of square kilometers of mined territory.

Behind those mined fields, theres a dotted line of so-called strongholds, defensive positions situated on dominant heights where they provide fire support. The second line is constructed differently. It wasnt feasible to create a continuous large minefield there because it would hinder their movement between the first and second lines. However, its still heavily mined, but there are numerous passageways. Instead, the line itself consists of extensive trenches and fortifications, almost all interconnected to form a vast network, with reinforced bunkers every 5-10 kilometers.

Read also: Who will replace Reznikov if Defense Minister needs replacing?  MP Kostenko

Such fortifications havent been seen in Europe since World War I, making it a kind of immortal classic. Back then, Europe was crisscrossed with trench lines like these, and the Surovikin Line resembles those from the early 20th century. Since Im not on-site, I cant judge which line is easier to breach: the first one, with individual strongholds but a continuous minefield, or the second one, with less frequent minefields but a substantial continuous fortification. Either way, both are exceptionally challenging.

However, on three fronts  Staromayorsk, Robotyne, and Orikhove  weve essentially left the remnants of the first line of defense behind and closely approached, practically reached, this second line. It shouldnt be expected that there will be a quick breakthrough. Miracles happen, but if were not counting on a miracle, it took us about two months to deal with the first line. There are grounds to believe that the second line will be taken at a similar pace.

 So, if these are solid lines of trenches and communications, can we imagine that once we reach a section of these trenches, we can move further within the trenches in a perpendicular direction, so to speak?

 Thats precisely what happens. In fact, the culmination of close combat occurs when our defenders jump into their trenches. Then, they run inside the trenches and engage in this close, direct combat. Its one of the most challenging types of battles that exist. This is when you genuinely see the face of your enemy.

Its not about shooting from your trench to theirs from a distance, but when youre in the same trench with the enemy. Sometimes, this can even transition to hand-to-hand combat. Its the toughest kind of combat, requiring tremendous courage. But without it, enemy positions cant be taken. The decisive moment is when they jump into those trenches, and from there, the battle expands within the fortifications themselves.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The long-time medical coordinator of the now-closed Agape Boarding School arrested last month on sex crime allegations will not be charged, a southwest Missouri prosecutor said Thursday.

Bolivar police arrested Scott Dumar, 46, on July 6 after a woman said he sexually assaulted her while she was at work. He was released the next afternoon.

Keaton Ashlock, Polk County prosecuting attorney, said after reviewing the case that he declined to file charges.

The video does not corroborate the account that was given in the probable cause statement, Ashlock told The Star.

The alleged crimes on the jail booking information at the time of his arrest were second-degree sodomy, second-degree kidnapping and three counts of second-degree sexual misconduct. There were no details at that time of what led to the arrest.

The alleged victim, who isnt being named, told The Star that she was devastated by what had happened and the decision not to file charges. She said that after the incident she immediately called police.

I tried my best to do everything right, she said. I am thankful to the Bolivar Police Department and the Polk County dispatcher who took my call for their respect and helping me through the process. I hope no other women go through this.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the woman knew Dumar.

The day after Dumars arrest, Ashlock told The Star that he was preparing charges. But that afternoon, Dumar was released from jail. Ashlock said at the time that the case was under further investigation.

Since late 2020, Missouri law enforcement, child welfare officials, lawmakers and former students have scrutinized Agape. Several of those students testified in Jefferson City in 2021, urging lawmakers to do something about the years of abuse and to protect the children still at the school. As a result, legislators passed a law that for the first time implemented some regulations on such schools.

Dumar is a former Agape student who as an adult became one of the top staffers at the unlicensed Christian boarding school. He was also one of five employees charged with low-level felonies in 2021, accused of physically abusing boys.

In December, Dumar pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and was placed on two years probation. He initially was charged with four counts of third-degree assault, a Class E felony. All charges involved former students.

Those charges alleged that between February 2020 and April 2021 Dumar knowingly caused physical injury to three boys by scrubbing their arms with rubbing alcohol and a scouring pad to remove their tattoos.

In January, former director Bryan Clemensen announced he was voluntarily shutting down the school.
Dmitry Medvedev, former President of the Russian Federation and incumbent Deputy Chairman of Russias Security Council, wants Ukraine to surrender, although even in this case, he isn't certain whether it would lead to peace with Russia.

Source: Medvedev on Telegram

Details: Medvedev claimed that "the enlightened world has once again shuddered to learn about the allocation of dozens of senseless[ly spent] billions of dollars for zombies from the 404 country", likely referring to the US aid to Ukraine.

He believes that "kamikazes in burning Western tanks will not see this money", but supporting the Ukrainian counteroffensive will help the US maintain the "myth of the great dollar economy".

Quote: "The people suffering in the foxholes of a divided country truly need nothing more than surrender, which might open the path to peace. However, neither Washington nor Kyiv wants peace. The US wants absolute power and will not spare Ukrainian bloody salo for it (salo is lard, cured slabs of swine fatback, with or without skin; Russian propaganda often exploits a stereotype of the Ukrainian people loving this food, portraying Ukrainians as 'salo-feasting' people  ed).

Details: Medvedev further viciously alleged that thousands of people were being killed in the counteroffensive but that would not help the "Kyiv regime".

Note from UP: Russia occupied part of the territory of Ukraine and started a hybrid war in 2014, and it carried out a full-scale invasion and seizure of new territories in 2022.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is ready to negotiate peace at the price of territorial concessions; both countries seek the capitulation of the other side. Kyiv and Moscow are ready to wait for new presidents from the enemy for negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Kyiv and its allies to come to terms with the seizure of Ukrainian territory in the east and south and to agree to key demands of the Russian Federation, such as the refusal of Ukraine to join NATO. Putin himself shows no willingness to make concessions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists that Russia must withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory to start negotiations.

Neither Kyiv nor its allies believe that Russia will not try to seize territories in the future after reaching any agreements.

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!
Michael Cohen, who served as former President Trumps personal attorney, said in a new interview that he is considering a run for Congress.

Cohen told Semafor he is interested in running as a Democrat. Cohen added that he is currently living on the East Side of Manhattan, meaning he would potentially make a bid for New Yorks 12th Congressional District seat, now held by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).

I am interested and theres a multitude of folks encouraging me to run, Cohen said in the interview.

Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 linked to a payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Trump. In recent years, Cohen has turned into a critic of Trump, warning against his former bosss tactics and actions.

The payments to Daniels also resulted in an indictment against Trump in March in New York City. This indictment was the first of three the former president has faced in recent months.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier admitted to stealing a Menards rebate check from a woman in western Wisconsin, but federal authorities believe he's linked to dozens of similar thefts.

Joshua P. Copas, 38, of Cumberland, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a single count of theft of mail while he worked for the Postal Service.

Copas won't spend a day in jail. Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced him to four years of probation, and ordered him to pay $4,547.84 in restitution to the victims.

More: Suspect in postal carrier Aundre Cross' killing wants to be released for medical treatment

Prosecutors said the woman contacted local police department in June 2022 to report a stolen Menards rebate check.

She expected the check, but it never arrived. She called Menards and learned the check had been spent without her knowledge, Timothy M. OShea, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, said in a written statement,

Footage of the transaction showed the check was used by Copas, who was a mail carrier at the time, the statement said.

More: U.S. Postal Service mail carrier robbed at gunpoint, Milwaukee police say

Further investigation linked Copas to thefts of 30 other Menards rebate checks, O'Shea said. All but two of them were supposed to have been delivered on his mail route from late March to late May 2022.

The total dollar amount associated with the 31 stolen checks was $4,547.84.

Peterson said Copas crime financially harmed the victims, and also tarnished the reputation of the Postal Service.

"Copas was given a position of trust with the Postal Service and violated that trust. His theft degraded the confidence that the public places in the Postal Service to steadfastly deliver the mail," the statement read.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Cumberland Police Department, and Rice Lake Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Marie Boor prosecuted the case.

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Subscribe to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin site today with one of our special offers and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin postal worker linked to stolen Menards rebate checks
The News

DES MOINES, Iowa  Nearly every Republican candidate for president is coming to the Iowa State Fairgrounds this weekend, with cameras and curious voters watching everything they do  every pork chop flip, every selfie, every heckle, every bite of a cornmeal-wrapped bratwurst.

Heres what were watching while were there.

Shelby's and David's View

1. Will Trump swoop in and dominate?

Trump isnt participating in any official Iowa State Fair political events  hosted by the Des Moines Register, Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Sen. Joni Ernst  but he will be making an appearance at the fairgrounds on Saturday.

The goal: Roll up with an entourage of Republican congressmen, soak up all the attention, and make the other candidates (including Ron DeSantis) look irrelevant. One well-sourced Republican said Trump wants to be carted from place to place, rather than do the standard walkaround  and maybe buy a round of pork chops for people along the way.

His fans are already making themselves known. Mike Pence fielded a trolling question  Hows life going since Tucker Carlson ruined your career?  from a staffer for Kari Lake, who will be rallying for Trump here on Saturday. Supporters in Trump gear (including Back to Back Iowa Champs hats) heckled Pence, then held an impromptu press conference as the ex-vice president did radio interviews.

What does Trump have to worry about? Iowa Republicans swear theres a significant contingent of soft Trump supporters who still harbor doubts about his electability. If they exist, theyll be easy enough for reporters to spot  the event is a rare political cattle call where the crowds arent just hardcore conservative activists.

2. Can Ron DeSantis be normal?

Candidates use the event to show their relatable side, and nobody is under more pressure to do so than DeSantis. The Florida governors scaled-down, more accessible campaign is being watched closely for mistakes, often frivolous ones; a video from one visit to a county fair last month, when he told a child that his frosty drink had a lot of sugar, got millions of views. It may not be fair, but it is part of the fair. DeSantis will sit down with Reynolds on Saturday morning, then be followed by reporters and voters  remember the Pence hecklers  who want to ask him questions and see his retail campaigning up close.

3. Will an underdog bark?

Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, and Tim Scott are all trying to take advantage of DeSantiss recent poll slump; all of them, say Iowa Republicans, have an easier way with crowds. Ramaswamy and Haley will be competing for attention with DeSantis and Trump on Saturday  unlike either man, theyre speaking at the Registers soapbox, where voters are encouraged to ask unscripted questions. Scott will stop by the fair on Tuesday, by which point conservatives who harbor doubts about Trump will see whether anyone is generating real enthusiasm.

4. Who will Bidens challengers connect with?

Both Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Marianne Williamson will be at the fair on Saturday, even though the national Democratic party has kicked Iowas caucus down its primary calendar. Each will get access to the largest crowds of voters and gawkers theyve seen all year  with no Joe Biden to distract them. Weve already spotted some homemade pro-Kennedy gear here, and Republicans are relishing any attention that he gets. So are Democrats, who think that the presidential scion becomes less of a problem for Biden whenever he starts talking.
Rupert Murdoch introduces Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the Herman Kahn Award Gala, Oct. 30, 2019, in New York. (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

Viet Dinh, chief legal officer for Fox Corp. and a close ally of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, is leaving his position at the company.

Fox Corp. said Friday in a statement that Dinh, who will exit at the end of the year, will transition into the role of "special advisor."

Dinh is the highest ranking officer at Fox Corp. to exit since the media company paid $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle that company's $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News.

The lawsuit alleged that Fox News damaged the electronic voting equipment companys reputation when the network repeatedly spread



former President Trump's falsehoods about voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Evidence in the case revealed a number of embarrassing texts and emails from employees, many of whom believed the claims were erroneous and that Trump had lost despite the theories that were presented on the air.

Read more: Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo is front and center in Dominion's defamation suit

Dinh guided Fox Corp.'s legal strategy in the case. He was said to have expressed confidence in the company's ability to win on the grounds that statements made on the conservative news network would be protected by the 1st Amendment.

But Murdoch chose to settle the case before testimony in the April trial could be heard.

"We appreciate Viet's many contributions and service to Fox as both a board member of 21st Century Fox and in his role over the last five years as a valued member of Fox's leadership team," said Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox Corp. "We are grateful that he will continue to serve Fox as special advisor where we will benefit from his counsel."

Dinh, who was previously an assistant attorney general in former President George W. Bush's administration, has been a key player at Fox Corp. since 2018. He is a longtime friend of Lachlan Murdoch, serving as godfather for the executive's son.

While a number of lower-level decision makers involved in the Dominion coverage have left Fox News, which has been subject to cost-cutting in recent months, top brass at both the network and its parent company remained in place before the Friday announcement.

Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott and her top deputy Jay Wallace are still in charge at the network, which has seen its ratings bounce back since revamping its prime time schedule following the departure of its most popular and provocative host, Tucker Carlson.

Carlson, one of Trump's most ardent supporters, was permanently pulled off the air on April 24 as he became a legal liability for the network.

Fox News paid $12 million to a former producer who claimed she was subjected to a hostile work environment while working on Carlsons show.

Ray Epps, a participant in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, is suing Fox over Carlson's repeated statements that Epps was a government agent who helped agitate the protesters.

Fox News faces another defamation lawsuit related to the election fraud reporting from the voting machine company Smartmatic. Barring a settlement, the $2.7 billion lawsuit will go to trial in 2025.

Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FILE PHOTO: People walk past Fox News posters on News Corporation and Fox News headquarters building in New York City

(Reuters) -Fox Corp said on Friday that Chief Legal Officer Viet Dinh was stepping down, a high-profile exit that follows its $787.5 million settlement in April of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over its 2020 U.S. election coverage.

Dinh, who will exit the role at the end of 2023, joined Fox in 2018 and headed its legal and compliance divisions during the months-long legal battle sparked by the network's coverage of false claims that Dominion rigged the election.

The move marks another major departure at the network since the settlement. Top-rated host Tucker Carlson agreed to part ways with Fox in April, just days after the legal resolution.

As part of a separation agreement, Dinh will get a lump-sum cash payment of $23 million, Fox said. He will become a special adviser to the company after leaving the role of legal head.

He was a former U.S. attorney general under President George W Bush and an architect of the Patriot Act, the U.S. national security law enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

He founded Bancroft PLLC, a small Washington, D.C.-based litigation firm known for advocating conservative causes that was acquired by Kirkland & Ellis in 2016. Dinh's clients as a defense lawyer included billionaire real estate developer Ng Lap Seng, who was convicted of bribery in 2017.

In June, Fox Corp also settled a lawsuit by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed gender discrimination and accused the network's lawyers of pressuring her to make misleading statements in the Dominion Voting Systems case.

(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and David Thomas in Chicago; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shilpi Majumdar)
By America Hernandez

PARIS (Reuters) -Russia's latest missile strikes killing one child in western Ukraine constitute "war crimes and must not go unpunished," France's foreign ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

"These attacks have once again targeted civilian infrastructure, including a residential zone, which is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian rights," the statement reads.

Moscow denied intentionally targeting civilians.

Russia launched four hypersonic missiles into the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday, with three landing near a military airfield including in residential areas.

The fourth Kinzhal missile was shot down by air defences, Ukraine's air force has said.

The French ministry added France would reinforce its military support to Ukraine, notably in strengthening air defence capacities, in close cooperation with its partners.

"France's support to Ukrainian and international jurisdictions to fight against the impunity of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine remains total," the statement read.

(Reporting by America Hernandez and Camille Raynaud in Paris; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
Wearing a brace on her back and bruises underneath her eyes, Stephanie Ramirez put aside her pain Thursday to watch the arraignment of the 20-year-old Fresno man who is accused of causing a crash that killed her 66-year-old aunt, Mary Lou Flores.

Im here because I want to see justice for my tia (aunt), said Ramirez, who was also injured in the crash. I need to see justice for my family so we can heal.

Flores was killed on July 31 in a wild chain of events that began as a fight in a northwest Fresno neighborhood, followed by Flores and others fleeing the area in a Nissan Sentra after Johnny Isaiah Tapia allegedly pulled out a gun. Also trying to get away was a 24-year-old man in a Chevrolet Malibu. The driver of the Malibu was allegedly shot by Tapia inside his vehicle near the Walmart on West Shaw.

Police have said all of the events are connected.

The chaos continued as Tapia along with his girlfriend Nicole Donnell Williams, 24, chased the Nissan on Brawley Avenue at speeds up to 70 mph, police said. The two cars collided into a guard rail where Brawley turns into Weber Avenue.

She was trying to keep her family safe, Ramirez said.

Mary Lou Flores

Tapia and Williams, who were driving a Toyota Rav-4, escaped the crash and ran. They were arrested later that day.

Tapia was charged with 14 felonies, including murder, attempted murder and assault with a firearm. Williams is facing five felonies, including accessory to murder and assault with a firearm.

Both pleaded not guilty to all the charges Thursday.

Flores, who had 13 grandchildren, was remembered as the glue that held the family together. Family members said she loved to travel, especially to the Central Coast and to Rosarito Beach in Mexico. Flores had just returned from a trip to Santa Cruz the day before she was killed.

She meant so much to us and we dont have her anymore, said Adrena Flores, a granddaughter. She was the best grandma.

Tapia and Williams return to court on Sept. 21 for a hearing. Tapia remains in the Fresno County Jail.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Kaitlin Drake said Tapias bail is based on his two previous strike offenses and multiple enhancements.

Williams also remains in jail with bail set at $145,000.

Mary Lou Flores, 66, was killed Sunday, July 31, 2023, in a crash after being chased by a gunman in an SUV, Fresno police said.

A person was shot at Shaw and Brawley in Fresno, California on Monday, July 31, 2023. Moments later, a crash occurred at Brawley and Weber avenues that killed a person injured others.
New frontline of US border policy? A Texas pecan farm Dust rises over migrants wading the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass

By Adrees Latif and Daina Beth Solomon

EAGLE PASS, Texas (Reuters) - The leafy trees on Magali and Hugo Urbina's 350-acre orchard next to the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass, Texas, should be bursting with pecans this time of year.

Instead, most are barren.

The Urbinas blame the clouds of dust kicked up by Texas officials in trucks and ATVs after the state government in recent months put fencing and roads along the riverbanks in a contentious effort to deter migration from Mexico, just across the river.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott's latest salvo has extended to a barrier of giant orange buoys in the river.

The Urbinas suspect the flurry of activity interfered with pollination on their orchard, Heavenly Farms, where the Texas state tree has flourished for decades.

"They're choking," Magali said.

The sense of an invasion on their property has left the couple, Texas natives of Mexican descent who voted for Abbott, feeling blindsided by what they see as his agenda to publicize a crackdown on the border in the face of what the governor argues is a soft approach by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

"It's about money and votes, nothing else," Hugo added. "We're just collateral damage and they don't care."

It also risks further environmental damage to the delicate borderlands, where scientists say deserts, hills and wetlands along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier have been plagued by walls, shipping containers, helicopters and stadium lighting.

Migrants for years have forged the river from Mexico to Eagle Pass, part of increasingly higher numbers of people crossing illegally in recent years.

Abbott in 2021 launched a program he dubbed 'Operation Lone Star' aimed at curbing illegal migration, including a campaign to bus migrants to Democratic-led cities further north, and the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops.

MIGRANTS UNDETERRED

Yet migrants continue to enter Texas in large numbers.

Over four days in late July, Reuters observed dozens of people cross daily near the Urbinas' farm, including a group of some 50 people, only to be confronted with razor wire and Texas officials on the steep riverbank - property that the Urbinas say is theirs.

In one instance, a Venezuelan woman breastfed her 10-month baby while wading through the river, searching for a spot where she could get past the razor wire.

Abbott's office referred Reuters to previous statements from the governor. He has accused Biden of failing to enforce migration laws and said he has the authority to "defend" Texas' border.

The Urbinas' frustration has put them in an unlikely alliance with environmental advocates who are concerned Abbott's measures will harm wildlife along the Rio Grande.

"This is about big government trying to come in, and steam-rolling a small town," said Martin Castro, the Watershed Science Director at the Rio Grande International Study Center. "They didn't think anyone was going to stand up and speak out."

Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tasked with securing the border. States are legally restricted in what they can do without coordinating with the federal government.

The Department of Justice has sued Texas over the buoys, arguing Texas installed them without proper federal approvals and studies of their impact on public safety and the environment.

Mexico's government says the buoys violate a water treaty and put migrants' lives at risk.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS

In Eagle Pass, sediment falling into the river from the installation of fences and buoys is already altering the water's flow, according to environmentalists.

That could damage habitats for local wildlife, including the endangered Texas hornshell mussel and the least tern, a small bird that nests along rivers, and affect the Monarch butterfly that migrates through the area.

Since 2005, the Department of Homeland Security, CBP's parent agency, has been able to waive environmental laws to build border infrastructure.

"The borderlands are already suffering death by a thousand cuts," said Laiken Jordahl, an advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Urbinas, who purchased the orchard in 2021 as a transition into retirement, say they may lose the harvest for another couple of years if they are forced to cut back the branches to keep the trees healthy. This year alone, they expect to lose just under $760,000.

Before the pecan farm, Magali was an elementary school teacher, and Hugo worked in the oil industry.

Neither ever expected their farm to become a flashpoint in the border debate.

"Maybe we were put here so everybody could see exactly what is happening," Magali said. "Politicians fight and don't accomplish anything, and the ones that pay are innocent human beings."

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City and Adrees Latif in Eagle Pass; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Diane Craft)
Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried has seen his bail revoked and has been remanded into federal custody (ANGELA WEISS)

A US federal judge on Friday ordered FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried back to prison less than two months before his trial on fraud charges, revoking the disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon's bail over alleged attempts to tamper with witnesses.

Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as election finance violations, in connection with the spectacular collapse of his crypto firm last year.

FTX and its sister trading house Alameda Research went bankrupt in November, dissolving a virtual trading business that at one point had been valued by the market at $32 billion.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan justified the revocation of bail by citing "probable cause... that the defendant has committed the federal crime of attempted witness tampering," the ruling said.

"There is no condition or combination of conditions of release that will assure that the defendant will not pose a danger to other persons or the safety of the community," the order said.

Prosecutors had argued to Kaplan that Bankman-Fried's activities as a source for The New York Times amounted to witness intimidation, citing an article containing the private writings of former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, his former girlfriend.

Ellison is a cooperating witness in the government's case.

Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried -- who had more than 100 phone calls with one of the Times reporters -- of "intending to portray a key cooperator testifying against him in a poor and inculpatory light," according to a July 28 letter filed by the Department of Justice.

Bankman-Fried "crossed a line toward improperly influencing those prospective jurors and intimidating a witness and sending a message to other prospective witnesses," it said.

"Witness tampering is not constitutionally protected speech."

In response, attorneys for Bankman-Fried said the government's position flouted the First Amendment and that returning the defendant to jail would mar his ability to mount a defense.

Bankman-Fried, who also is facing charges that he authorized bribes of at least $40 million to Chinese officials in a bid to unfreeze trading accounts controlled by Alameda, is due to go on trial in early October.

- Fall from grace -

Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried -- who had been released on $250 million bail and confined to his parents' California home before Friday's ruling -- cheated investors and misused funds that belonged to FTX and Alameda Research clients.

The former FTX chief had appeared on the covers of finance and tech magazines, with Fortune likening him to Warren Buffett, and drew in huge investments from prominent fund managers and venture capitalists.

But it all imploded dramatically in when a media report said Alameda's balance sheet was heavily built on a token created by FTX with no independent value -- and exposed Bankman-Fried's companies as being dangerously interlinked.

Bankman-Fried was arrested at his apartment in the Bahamas on December 12 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York.

A Bahamas permanent resident, he spent nine days in prison, weighing his choices before deciding not to fight extradition to the United States.

jmb/sst
In a world shaped by the omnipresence of technology, its influence permeates every aspect of our lives. Within this transformative landscape, the rental industry emerges as a fertile ground for innovation, and at the forefront of this revolution are co-founders Cindy Diffenderfer and Kanan F. Whited IV, the visionaries behind Orion Haus, ushering in a new era of elegance and connectivity.

Orion Haus transcends the boundaries of a typical short-term rental platform, elevating it to an art form. With exceptional expertise, Kanan F. Whited IV has seamlessly merged cutting-edge technology with Cindy Diffenderfers industrious multi-family background, offering apartment communities a living experience that epitomizes flexibility and harmony.

Kanan F. Whited IV

Lets face it: the staggering burden of rental expenses consumes more than half of the average Americans hard-earned income. In this context, homesharing emerges as a beacon of hope, a means to alleviate this financial strain. Moreover, the evolving landscape of remote work presents an opportunity for individuals to embrace a more flexible lifestyle. With more than half of Americans having the ability to work remotely part-time, homesharing becomes an even more appealing option, enabling renters to capitalize on the unused potential of their living spaces while offsetting the high costs of rent.

However, navigating the intricacies of homesharing, especially within the confines of an apartment building, poses a considerable challenge. Enter the OHAI app, a true game-changer that streamlines and automates the complexities of homesharing, liberating renters from the tedious and time-consuming tasks that once burdened them.

The OHAI app goes beyond the ordinary, orchestrating key exchanges, guest communication, housekeeping schedules, and even parking arrangements with effortless finesse. It redefines the notion of property management, transforming it into an art form where residents can revel in the luxury of time, while property managers witness newfound efficiencies that optimize operations and amplify revenue.

At the heart of Orion Haus lies an unwavering dedication to enhancing the resident experiencean unwavering commitment to crafting a lifestyle that seamlessly blends flexibility, pleasure, and a respite from the challenges inherent in homesharing. Through their visionary endeavors, co-founders Cindy Diffenderfer and Kanan F. Whited IV empower residents to embrace a dynamic existence that aligns effortlessly with their unique desires and aspirations.

Cindy Diffenderfer

Yet Orion Haus refuses to be confined by geographic boundaries. The co-founders envision a future where the transformative benefits of this groundbreaking platform extend far and wide, transcending cultures and borders. With its emphasis on automation and adaptability, Orion Haus seeks to reshape the perception of short-term rentals, transcending the ordinary and presenting them as an embodiment of contemporary living at its most refined.

Orion Haus embodies the delicate interplay between our innate yearning for human connection, the untapped potential of technology, and the shifting landscape of remote work. It beckons individuals and the industry at large to embrace boundless possibilities. By unlocking the extraordinary power of the digital age, Whited, Diffenderfer, and the entire Orion Haus team stand as tastemakers, sculpting a future for homesharing that defies conventions and elevates communal living to new heights.

In a world that constantly evolves, Orion Haus, guided by visionary leadership, epitomizes elegance and innovation. It propels the future of homesharing through unrivaled technological prowess, embodying an unwavering belief in the transformative power of human connection. As residents immerse themselves in an extraordinary living experience that transcends the ordinary, Orion Haus invites us to reimagine the possibilities of shared living with grace and sophistication.

McClatchy newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.

Nick Kasmik works with the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs/Business owners majority in the Ecom, coaching, and consulting industries. Currently, Nick is the head Public Relations Manager at HighKey Enterprises LLC. He can be reached at nick@highkeyagency.com .
Frank Meredith

Frank Meredith, who served as Mayor of the Village of Sherman from 1987 to 2007, died in Sarasota, Florida, Sunday.

He was 82.

Trevor Clatfelter, who defeated Meredith in 2007 after serving as village trustee, called Meredith "a very dedicated and loyal public servant to the village."

More: Former chief deputy appointed Sangamon County Circuit Clerk

"He put all of his heart and soul into making Sherman a better place and exploring all of the different avenues in terms of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and other different mechanisms within Illinois statute that set the village on a path to prosperity that others and I enjoy today," Clatfelter said Thursday.

Meredith worked for the Illinois Department of Human Rights. He also served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and will be buried with military honors.

Meredith served as President of the Illinois Municipal League from 2000 to 2001. He had been appointed to the IML board in 1992, the smallest village to be represented at that time, said his daughter, Kristin Fulscher of Sherman.

Fulscher was just three years old when he was elected mayor and was commonly known as "the mayor's daughter."

"I remember going to people's houses and sitting with my dad, while he was talking to them," Fulscher recalled. "My dad would plow the streets of Sherman when it would snow and because I didn't like to be away from him, I would ride in the plow with him.

"He was truly dedicated to making this village great. He gave everything he had for this town."

Clatfelter has ordered the village's flags to be lowered to half-staff. A bench in Village Park will commemorate Meredith and a tree will be planted in his honor.

In addition to his daughter, Meredith is survived by his wife, Deborah; his son, Brian Meredith-Evans; stepsons, Arik and Andrew Smith; 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Meredith's visitation is at Staab Funeral Home, 2626 E. Andrew Rd. in Sherman from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

There will be a private funeral service Monday followed by burial at Camp Butler National Cemetery.

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

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Former Sherman mayor Frank Meredith passes away in Florida
Just a few weeks after Alex Santos married the love of his life in his hospital room, the 25-year-old terminally ill cancer patient has died.

Santos married his wife, Heather, on July 19 at the Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown hospital in Columbus, Georgia. Santos was diagnosed with a non-seminomatous germ cell tumor in November, and the cancer had since spread to his brain.

With help from hospital staff, the couple was able to find a wedding dress and tuxedo, secure a minister and marriage license, and say "I do" in Santos' hospital room as their 2-year-old son Noah and other family looked on. The hospital chef catered the reception.

Watch the emotional moment: Man with terminal cancer marries his fiance in his hospital room

Alex Santos married his fiancee Heather in his hospital room with help of hospital staff. The couple have a 2-year-old son. Santos lost his cancer battle on Aug. 8, 2023, eight months after he was diagnosed.

Originally from Colorado, Santos met his Heather four years ago in high school in Columbus. After they exchanged their vows, Santos said that Im with the person I love and wouldn't change anything for the world."

Santos died Tuesday, eight months after he was diagnosed and only a few weeks after the wedding, his wife said in a statement to the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia.

I believe God sent him to us for this reason, Heather said. He knew wed need him. We all love you, Alex, and we will miss you forever.

Watch: Family of 7 takes in elderly neighbor as honorary grandpa

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia man dies of cancer weeks after emotional hospital wedding
Georgia authorities are investigating the death of a baby that lawyers claim was decapitated during delivery last month.

The Clayton County Police Department said Thursday it has opened an investigation into the July 9 infant death at a Riverdale hospital. The law enforcement agency did not expand on the scope of the probe, and said it could not provide additional details because investigators were in the preliminary phase of the investigation.

Attorneys for Jessica Ross, 20, allege in a lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center, that medical staffers act negligently during her delivery.

The baby stopped descending because of shoulder dystocia while being delivered vaginally, meaning the baby's shoulders could not fit through the pelvic area, the lawsuit said. Dr. Tracey St. Julian reportedly attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods, including applying traction to the baby's head.

OKLAHOMA TRIPLE MURDER-SUICIDE: MOM, 39, KILLS 10-MONTH-OLD BABY BOY, 6-YEAR-OLD SON, 11-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER

Jessica Ross, 20, right, at a news conference with her lawyers announcing a lawsuit against a Georgia hospital after her baby was allegedly decapitated during delivery.

"In the process of trying to deliver this baby [the doctor] pulled on the head and neck so hard, and manipulated them so hard, that the bones in the baby's skull face and neck were broken," Roderick Edmond, one of Ross' attorneys, said during a news conference.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the hospital said the baby died prior to delivery.

"As our deepest sympathies remain with the family, Southern Regional Medical Center denies the allegations of wrongdoing in the Complaint referencing the hospital," the statement said. "Due to patient privacy laws and HIPAA, we are unable to discuss the care and treatment of specific patients, but we can state this unfortunate infant death occurred in utero prior to the delivery and decapitation.

MOM AND SON FIGHT SAME RARE DISORDER, PLUS A DOLLAR TREE DILEMMA

"The hospital voluntarily reported the death to the Clayton County Medical Examiners office and is cooperating with all investigations. Since this matter is in litigation, we cannot provide additional statements," the statement continued. "Dr. St. Julian is not and never has been an employee of the hospital. Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking for all involved."

The lawsuit alleges the hospital discouraged Ross and the baby's father from seeking an autopsy and allegedly told them to take the infant to a funeral home for cremation.

A report of the alleged decapitation was never made to authorities, Cory Lynch, an attorney for Ross, said during a news conference to announce the lawsuit. The death was flagged by a funeral home, he said.

"They did everything in their power to not let the family know what happened," Lynch said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Among the charges being levied against former President Donald Trump in todays indictment are RICO charges.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has a track record of using RICO charges in unconventional ways to achieve convictions.

RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. The RICO Act was passed in the Georgia General Assembly in 1980 and is used to prove that a business was being used for illegal means.

In the beginning, the law was used to prosecute people involved in drug trafficking or organized crime but has since been applied to government officials accused of using their offices for personal gain.

The law allows officials to connect what would on the surface appear to be unrelated crimes, but have common objectives that can be prosecuted showing the patterns of crimes.

RICO in Georgia is really easy to prove, Former Fulton County prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Manny Arora told Channel 2s Richard Elliot.

In order to bring a case under Georgias RICO Act, there must be at least two underlying felonies -- such as fraud, bribery, murder, and witness tampering, among others.

As long as its a crime that forwards the goal of the conspiracy, being in this case, the election fraud, misrepresentation, you can do it, Arora said.

Being convicted of a RICO violation can bring a long prison sentence and it can have a powerful financial hit too, because victims of a RICO violation can bring civil suits against participants.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.

RELATED NEWS:
After administrators alleged that she violated the districts regulations by reading a book about gender fluidity to her students, a Georgia public school teacher attempted to reverse her dismissal by speaking at a hearing concerning the matter on Thursday.

After teaching for a decade, Katie Rinderle got in trouble in March after reading My Shadow Is Purple, a picture book for children, to her fifth-grade students at Due West Elementary School in Cobb County, in the Atlanta metroplex. She was eventually fired, but earlier this week, the disciplinary process moved forward, the Associated Press reports.

In light of a nationwide conservative assault on LGBTQ-themed books and school lessons, this case has gained considerable attention due to its concern with teachers teaching abilities, the control of school systems over teachers, and whether or not some parents should have a say in the public curriculum.

This termination is unrelated to education, Rinderles lawyer argued Thursday. It exists to create political scapegoats for the elected leadership of this district. Reading a childrens book to children is not against the law.

Cobb County officials say Rinderle broke school rules by teaching controversial subjects, and parents complained, leading to Rinderles termination. Cobb County is the second-largest school district in Georgia.

Introducing the topic of gender identity and gender fluidity into a class of elementary grade students was inappropriate and violated the school district policies, argued the school districts counsel.

But Rinderle disagreed.

The fact that Rinderle read the book wasnt wrong, she said, because she found it appropriate and not a sensitive topic. She argued Thursday that the book conveys a message to students about their many interests and the desire to be free to choose and explore them all.

Following Georgia Republican lawmakers ban on divisive concepts in the classroom and creating a bill of rights for parents in 2022, Cobb County adopted a rule prohibiting teaching controversial issues.

Divisive concepts law prohibits teachers from espousing personal political beliefs. By law, parents have the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child.

According to Georgia law, teachers cannot be fired without cause. Three retired school principals will review Rinderles case and recommend whether to fire or retain her, but ultimately the school board will decide the educators fate.
The German government has stated that preparations for delivering Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine are not currently underway.

Source: Bild, citing sources

Details: The media outlet recalled Spiegels information, according to which the German government is considering possibly supplying the Ukrainian army with Taurus from the Bundeswehr stockpiles in the coming months.

The report states that the Ministry of Defence asked the manufacturer to incorporate into the cruise missile limitations for programming targets. The German government wants to prevent Ukrainian attacks on military facilities in Russia.

However, Bild claims, neither Chancellor Scholz's office nor the Ministry of Defence "knows about the upcoming or has already decided in favour of the German cruise missile".

Quote: "Currently, no decision on this matter is being prepared," an unnamed high-ranking government official told the media. Despite pressure from all sides to decide on Taurus, "nothing is moving currently", he added.

The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence also informed the media outlet that there have been no changes in the current situation regarding the transfer of the Taurus to Ukraine. "The political decision on the transfer has not been made," she said.

Background: Meanwhile, members of the German Bundestag called on the government to provide long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine as soon as possible.

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!






Germany may provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles in the coming months, but they are expected to be modified to make it impossible for them to strike Russian territory, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 11, citing its own sources.

A reconsideration about supplying Ukraine with the long-range weapons is now taking place, even though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hesitated to provide Ukraine with them due to concerns that Kyiv could attack the Russian territory, the report said.

Over the past few weeks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has asked the Taurus manufacturer to integrate a corresponding target programming limitation into the cruise missiles, the magazine claimed.

Industry circles say the implementation of such a restriction is possible but will take several weeks, Der Spiegel wrote.

Read also: Berlin preparing to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine  report

Scholz reportedly wants to approve the supply of Taurus missiles only when he is convinced of the appropriate technical modification, while he has no other fundamental reservations about the transfer of the missiles to Ukraine.

Berlin emphasizes the restriction does not apply to possible attacks on targets in Ukraines Crimea, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.

It is not yet known exactly how quickly the missiles can be delivered, the report says.

Military officials say deliveries of cruise missiles by the United Kingdom and France to Ukraine mean they are still sufficiently equipped with such weapons systems for the coming weeks.

Earlier Germanys ruling party claimed that the German air force had greenlighted the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

NV

On July 26, the chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, representative of the Free Democratic Party Marcus Faber, stressed the need to provide Taurus missiles for the needs of the Ukrainian defense forces.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again stated on Aug. 3 that Germany would not transfer Taurus to Ukraine, citing Washingtons reluctance to provide Kyiv with ATACMS missiles.

Two prominent members of Germanys Social Democratic Party, headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, advocate for Berlin to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 6.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Turkey intended to involve Russia in the Ukraine peace summit which took place last week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but Germany objected to inviting Moscow to the table, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Aug. 11.

Read also: Ukraine expects to obtain Turkish-made Frtna self-propelled howitzers  General Staff

The chief advisor of the Turkish president, Akif Cagatay Klc, represented Ankara at the meeting in Jeddah. According to the paper's sources, he asserted: if Russia "is not involved in finding a solution, there will neither be any results nor a solution."

Still, it is reported that Germany considers it inappropriate to include Russia in discussing potential solutions to the war in Ukraine at this point. Berlin believes that Russia "should join at the appropriate time."

The newspaper also suggests that the third round of negotiations on Ukraine's peace formula is likely to be held in Turkey.

Read also: Promise for peace? Saudi-hosted summit on conditions to end war good and constructive, says USA

On Aug. 5-6, the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia hosted two-day negotiations on the Ukrainian peace formula, with high-ranking officials and diplomats from approximately 40 countries participating. Among them were notably representatives from India and China. Russia, however, was not invited.

Read also: Saudi summit helped isolate Russia, set-up Ukraines peace initiative for success  Podolyak

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Ihor Zhovkva, reported that the goal of the negotiations in Jeddah was to convey points of the Ukrainian peace formula to the participating countries.

Read also: Presidential adviser Yermak reveals details of agreement struck at peace formula summit in Saudi Arabia

This was the second such meeting with the previous one taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in June.

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, stated that all participating countries in the Saudi Arabia meeting demonstrated allegiance to the principles of the UN Charter and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
As part of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are units of information and psychological operations that reduce the capabilities of Russian forces on the battlefield.

Source: press service of the Special Operations Forces

An officer of a psychological operations unit of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces speaks about the war, Russian YouTube blogger Yury Dud, the fakes around the Magura brigade, and "good Russians".

Details: Special Operations Forces have three main components: combat units of special operations, resistance movement, and information and psychological operations.

The work of the latter had been kept in the shadows. Now, the Special Operations Forces reveal the specifics of their equally important work.

As further explained by the press service of the SOF to Ukrainska Pravda, the psychological operations are aimed exclusively at Russians; in relation to Ukrainian citizens these units operate exclusively in the mode of providing objective information.

Quote from the SOF officer: "Units of information and psychological operations working in the SOF are a separate component that conducts defensive or offensive psychological operations that reduce the enemy's capabilities on the battlefield, namely: force the enemy to move away from the occupied positions, surrender for the sake of saving their life, sabotage the orders of the command and up to the return to their territory to solve social and domestic issues at home, and not on the territory of our country.

For them, this is desertion, but for some reason they are afraid of their dictator more than the criminal orders of their command. And we negate that. We are working on it."

Details: The officer, who goes by call-sign Bravo, also addressed his opponents, representatives of the psychological operations units of the Russian Federation: "The benevolence of Ukrainians towards Russians was destroyed by your own missiles and bullets. The whole civilised world stands behind Ukraine. None of your information materials or statements will wash off the blood of our women and children from your hands. So think about whether you should justify your terrorist soldiers and dictatorial regime in this war."

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!
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, has been named as the special counsel in the Justice Department's investigation into Hunter Biden, the Associated Press reports. The move follows the collapse of Biden's plea deal as prosecutors are now saying that the case will likely head to trial, according to a Friday court filing.

Despite advocating for the appointment of a special counsel in the investigation and acknowledging Weiss' request to ascend to the role earlier this year, House Republicans are now turning their backs on the federal prosecutor. A spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Friday that not only do they not believe Weiss is the right person to handle the job, they don't "believe he can be trusted."

In a lengthy statement, House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., dismissed Garland's appointment of Weiss as "part of the Justice Department's efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of the House Oversight Committee's mounting evidence of President Joe Biden's role in his family's schemes selling 'the brand' for millions of dollars to foreign nationals." He went on to accuse the Justice Department of misconduct in the investigation into Biden by refusing to pursue certain evidence, "tipping off" Biden's lawyers and attempting to strike the "sweetheart" plea deal. "The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family's corruption," he added before vowing to continue his probe into the Biden family.
Most people would have given up after being repeatedly told by cops and prosecutors that yes, they believed that shed been assaulted, but no, nothing was ever going to come of her complaint about one of five such reported attacks at the same Westport massage place.

But because Kendra OSullivan, who persisted for more than four years anyway, is not most people, she finally got some satisfaction from the courts last month. After refusing a $25,000 settlement a year ago, she won $200,000 in a civil suit against Imperial Foot Care from a Jackson County jury on July 28.

I wrote about OSullivan two years ago, and couldnt believe her grit even then. She kept investigating her own case, no matter how many times she heard that she was wasting her time, and she kept contacting officials, no matter how many times they told her they were sorry but couldnt help.

Eventually, in 2021, Missouri did close down Imperial Foot, though OSullivan believes it may now have moved across the state line to Kansas, operating under a different name and at least nominally under different ownership. (More on that in a minute.)

The man OSullivan says attacked her, Xiang Jun Wang, was found guilty, even though the charge was, absurdly, handled only as an ordinance violation in municipal court and would have resulted in a $250 fine. It didnt, though, because even that conviction was later overturned at a second bench trial, last December, by Judge Kea Bird-Riley.

The defense realized that prosecutors were missing a piece of evidence, a 1099 proving he worked there on the day I was attacked, OSullivan said. I have it, but city prosecutors never submitted it, so he came and said, I dont know where I worked then. The detective said he did it, but the judge ruled not guilty.

Xiangs attorney, Kevin Jamison, who also represented Imperial Foot in the civil case, said, Its questionable whether she identified the right guy. He was emphatic it wasnt him. Given the lighting, she wasnt wearing her glasses, and that cross-racial identifications are notorious, it was a he said, she said.

Even the civil settlement is less than a sure thing, since OSullivan will still have to pry it out of Imperial Foot or their insurance company. Jamison says theres no money to win, since the corporation no longer exists.

But there is a lot more to this settlement than money, and even if she never sees any of it, she told me, winning after a three-day jury trial has allowed her to get on with her life, finally, in a way that she never could before.

Theres an emptiness in my brain now, where the need to make things right used to be, and that feels so good.

Jury: Attack was real, Imperial Foot Care responsible

To me, the at least psychic payoff for Kendra OSullivans persistence shows 1) the power of truth and tenacity, no matter what anybody says; 2) why we should never take no for an answer when thats the wrong answer; and 3) why were wrong to ever think that victims can just move on without ever seeing any semblance of justice.

Everything that everyone told me would happen was wrong! she told me.

In the end, out of sheer determination, said her Kansas City attorney, Dan Curry, She made that trial happen. She was fighting this on her own for so long before she got legal help, and she pushed it to the end, after most of us would have long since given up. And you bet they will fight to collect the settlement, he said.

When you have a client pursuing justice as she was, Curry said, its really special, and she was able to hold the organization accountable, which is very hard to do. Having a jury of her peers say yes, this happened and Imperial Foot is responsible? That happened.

And whatever happens now, that made all the difference in her life.

Kendra OSullivan, who is 30 now, was a successful young saleswoman, loving her life in Kansas City on May 8, 2019. But she had a migraine that day, and massage had always eased her headaches before, so she stopped at Imperial Foot Care.

That what happened to her then was handled by a court that deals mainly with traffic tickets is even more absurd if you know that, as she told me in 2021, she spent 70 terrifying, this-cant-be-happening minutes having her nipples pinched, her underwear pulled down, her legs pulled apart and her skin rubbed so hard it hurt as she and her assailant fought over custody of the towel that was supposed to be covering her.

She managed to fend off her attackers attempt to penetrate her digitally, she said. But when he pulled her head back, hard, and put his entire body weight into pressing into her eye sockets with his thumbs, Everything stopped. I told myself nothing is worth being blinded over.

When she finally did get away, she said, he followed her to the front desk, where she was so panicked that she paid, tipped 20% and ran to her car.

The next day, when OSullivan reported what had happened to the Kansas City Police Department, even the desk sergeant told her the story sounded familiar. Because there had just recently been another, similar complaint against an employee at that same place.

In the end, I found a total of five KCPD incident reports that showed allegations of sexual assaults at Imperial Foot Care.

Jackson County prosecutors declined to pursue suspect

The owner, Lin Ling Feng, who lives in China, took her time getting back to a KCPD detective with the identity of the so-called therapist whod seen OSullivan that day. But even the owner said he had been accused by another customer later the same month that OSullivan had reported him.

Xiang had been fired because of the complaints, the owner told police, and had left town for Houston in May. But was that even true?

It was at least in part because hed supposedly moved to another state that Jackson County prosecutors twice declined to take the case, the second time after city prosecutors sent it back with a request that the state look at it again.

It was too serious for city court, Assistant City Prosecutor Annie Booton told OSullivan in an email. But again, the state said no. OSullivan said Jackson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jill Icenhower told her that they had gone around the room at a meeting and not a single person thought it was a case worth taking. She said, Kendra, youre safe. Hes in Houston.

Mike Mansur, spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, told me at the time that because it involved someone already in Houston, they determined it was a misdemeanor.

Not even, actually; it was a municipal ordinance violation filed in city court. OSullivan now believes that the suspect never left Kansas City, because he was not extradited, yet did show up for court, where he always maintained his innocence. He did move, said Jamison, his attorney, and has moved several times since then.

Because the suspect was a stranger to her, the case didnt even go to the excellent, if insufficiently funded and wildly overburdened domestic violence city court that usually handles the nonsensical number of sex crimes that are dealt with as ordinance violations.

About a week after the attack, OSullivan lost her job (and with it, her health insurance) because I cried at my desk. They said I isolated myself from others, wasnt being a team player and was behaving defensively.

Then she couldnt pay her rent, lost the apartment she loved in Union Hill and wound up living in her car for several months before finally moving back to Minnesota, where shes from, and getting treatment for her serious PTSD.

She opened her own business, as a headhunter, but mostly kept working on her case, driving back to Kansas City a total of 21 times, for every court date, even though these were sometimes canceled without any notice. She kept doing this even after Imperial Foot countersued for defamation, a suit that later was dropped.

Has business just moved to a new town in Kansas?

The owner of the business flew here from China for the civil case, which everyone said they wouldnt do, OSullivan said. Everyone has just gotten used to not getting justice. There is a way to get justice.

It cost her plenty to pay for interpreters and filing fees and depositions and expert witnesses, but I felt like I was going to spend more on therapy for not seeing it through, so its still worth every penny. It was never about the money. This is how you punish bad behavior. This isnt, Yay, payday for Kendra, its justice.

How that feels is the real reward: This is the first time in four years I can say people believed me that the harm is real and they should be punished. Now its not snowballing anymore in her head.

She walks a lot, works out every day, spoils her four godchildren and 10 nieces and nephews, has a part-time job teaching newborns how to swim, and just recently started seeing someone, for the first time since that massage that wasnt a massage in 2019.

I get to have healing, and Im really proud, as she has every right to be. My life was on the line, and I got my life back.

Shes still keeping tabs on what she suspects may be a reconstituted Imperial Foot Care, though, in a Kansas town where the police chief told me they are just starting to look into the local massage place that might involve the same cast of characters. It initially raised suspicions not because of OSullivan, but because of its hours of operation. Not even CVS stays open that late, he told me.

Kevin Jamison says its not Imperial Foot by another name, because Miss Feng told me she had no other local businesses, though he also said that some of the same massage people may be there.

Im not naming the town so as not to compromise that still preliminary investigation. But if I were running such a place and wondered whether both the cops and Kendra OSullivan were onto me, I would worry.
Gov. Hochul has made clear that she wants Republican-leaning upstate New York communities to tone down their caustic rhetoric about the New York Citys migrant crisis and to turn up their compassion by welcoming new arrivals to their towns.

But while Hochul has admonished local governments within the state for enacting bigoted policies based on fear and intimidation, she has appeared to be something of a bit player during the crisis, sparking criticism that she is playing too passive a role during a crisis that is crippling the citys shelter system.

Hochuls cautious posture strikes critics as the sign of a weak executive who is taking her promises of local deference too far.

The state is usually the leader on resettlement efforts, historically, said Josh Goldfein, a Legal Aid lawyer who is challenging the state over the right to shelter in court. He said Hochul should issue an executive order preventing NIMBY-minded elected officials from stopping the relocation of asylum seekers upstate.

Thats what Cuomo would have done, he added, referencing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the moderate Democrat who was driven from office by sexual harassment allegations, elevating Hochul, his lieutenant governor. Following the murder of George Floyd, Cuomo had signed an executive order forcing police departments to reform or lose funding.

Some political experts see Hochuls position is driven by the political long game shes playing.

She can talk. But forcing people to take migrants is something else, said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant. Theres a price that she is going to pay if she forces it.

The moderate Buffalo Democrat has avoided launching into anything resembling a pitched political battle with dozens of counties locked in litigation with the city over whether migrants can be relocated to their communities. If anything, Hochul has gone in the opposite direction, arguing that the historic right-to-shelter legal protections for the homeless apply only in New York City, not in the states other 57 counties. Shes also avoided more drastic steps, such as threatening to strip localities of money if they dont accept migrants.

Her position may have opened a fissure between the governor and state Attorney General Letitia James, a Brooklyn Democrat whose office typically serves as the states lawyer but is not representing the administration in ongoing litigation over the right-to-shelter provision, to which the state is a party. (James office has declined to comment on the unusual situation.)

To Hochuls supporters, who can point to upstate communities like Buffalo and Albany that are taking in asylum seekers, the states tactics simply represent a focus on winnable battles and on moving the migrants to places where they would be welcome and could thrive. Hochul has also provided the city with some monetary relief, allocating $1 billion in the last state budget while foraging for potential state-run spaces to house arrivals.

Still, next years presidential and congressional elections are surely weighing on Hochul. In last years surprisingly close governors race, Hochul struggled mightily in some suburban and upstate areas. Disappointed Democrats pointed at Hochul when congressional losses in New York helped push the GOP into a House majority.

Relocating thousands of migrants to pivotal political battlegrounds ahead of the 2024 election  when those same areas could decide control of Congress  could carry significant perils for the governor.

Sheinkopf, the Democratic consultant, pointed to COVID mandates implemented by Hochul in 2021 that drew fierce upstate pushback, and her plan to mandate housing creation in the suburbs that fell apart this year in the Legislature.

Politics is all of it, Sheinkopf said, adding that the migrant crisis could be determinative in the House and Senate in 2024. She is no fool. And she smells it. She sees it.

A suggestion from Hochul on Wednesday that New York State might reserve another $1 billion in next years budget to support the citys handling of asylum seekers drew a harsh response from GOP circles, offering a preview of the type of political fodder her opponents will use.

Insisting that taxpayers foot the bill for the consequences of Albanys self-made crises is disrespectful, state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a Long Island Republican, said in a statement Thursday. Our ill-conceived, lenient approach has enabled potentially hazardous individuals to roam freely on our streets.

Hochul told reporters in Albany on Thursday that she was working with Mayor Adams, another moderate Democrat, to make sure these individuals are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Adams has initiated a city-run busing program that continues to send migrants to areas including Albany, Buffalo and Rochester, as the citys litigation against more than 30 localities plays out. Hochul has spoken out in favor of the program.

The buses have been deeply controversial since they began to roll from the city toward the Hudson Valley in the spring.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, said in May that child rapists and criminals were among the asylum seekers. He declared that he wanted to grab Adams by the throat. Rockland sued the city over the program, halting buses headed there.

Hochul expressed disappointment with upstate responses, but largely stayed out of the line of fire.

With the crisis cresting, stretching the citys shelter system to extreme levels and costing enormous sums of money, Hochul may have no choice but to weigh a new role and new tactics.

Former Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, said Hochuls jurisdictional powers are limited, and the intense opposition upstate to welcoming migrants poses practical problems.

The governor put up a billion dollars in the budget, Paterson said by phone. She came up with this idea very late in the budget process and got the Legislature to totally go along with it  so I thought that was a major move.

But he added that, whatever solutions Hochul and Adams can conjure, the mammoth number of migrants streaming into the city could create such a disaster that its going to reflect on everyone who was involved.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday vetoed a bipartisan proposal that would have lifted a decades-old ban on construction of nuclear power plants in Illinois.

With the relatively rare use of his veto pen, the second-term Democrat handed a victory to environmentalists who opposed lifting the ban, while also dealing a defeat to labor unions, who saw the measure as a way to generate construction projects and preserve high-paying energy sector jobs as coal and natural gas plants are shut down in the coming decades.

The issue was one of several in recent years that have pitted the two key constituencies of the Democratic Party against each other.

Pritzker, who two years ago signed a sweeping energy policy overhaul that aims to achieve carbon-free power by midcentury, had previously expressed some interest in the idea of allowing smaller modular nuclear reactors in Illinois, while cautioning that the devils in the details.

He ultimately decided the bill passed by legislators didnt address enough of those details.

Unfortunately, the vague definitions in the bill, including the overly broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the door to proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts, Pritzker wrote in a veto message to lawmakers.

Pritzker said he wants lawmakers to make another attempt at crafting legislation that would include more safeguards for people living near new nuclear plants and that would be more targeted toward small modular reactors.

Pritzker also used his amendatory veto power to remove a provision in separate legislation that would have allowed local governments to enter into public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects. Labor unions had backed the provision as part of their push to bring privately operated toll lanes to a congested stretch of Interstate 55, though Pritzkers change would not affect that proposal.

As written, the bill creates a pathway for private industry to enter (public-private partnership) agreements locally that skirts transparency and anti-corruption requirements established in state statute, Pritzker said in his veto message.

The legislature, dominated by Pritzkers fellow Democrats, could override the governors vetoes. A spokesperson for Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park did not respond to requests for comment on whether his chamber would attempt to override the governor.

In his message on the nuclear moratorium measure, Pritzker said he was vetoing it at the request of the leadership team of the speaker of the House and advocates.

In response to questions Friday, Welchs office issued a statement from House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel in which the Evanston Democrat said she asked for the veto based on concerns from environmental groups.

While discussion of the bill was focused on small-scale generators, the (approved) language was much broader and would have completely removed the moratorium on any size of nuclear project, Gabel said.

Welch voted for the measure and, according to a spokesman, plans to seek input from the (Democratic) caucus on next steps.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, a Morris Republican who sponsored the measure, said in a statement Friday that she had already filed paperwork to initiate an override vote when lawmakers return to Springfield this fall.

The governor is clearly putting his own partisan political ambitions over what is in the best interest of the people of Illinois by his sole decision to veto bipartisan legislation to improve Illinois future energy portfolio sustainably and cost-effectively, Rezin said.

Advocates for lifting the moratorium, including labor unions, argued that allowing the construction of nuclear plants would help smooth the transition from sources that produce climate-damaging carbon emissions while also providing more reliable power.

Opponents, however, contended that investing in more nuclear plants would be an expensive distraction from developing more renewable energy while at the same time failing to address the long-running standoff over nuclear waste storage that prompted the ban in the first place.

Environmental and consumer groups praised Pritzkers action, while the Illinois AFL-CIO, which advocated for lifting the ban, declined to comment.

Nuclear power comes with significant safety risks and results in highly hazardous wastes that threaten our drinking water, with no safe, permanent waste solution in sight, Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling said in a statement. Rather than abandon all safeguards, Gov. Pritzker recognized that such substantial risks merit the highest protective guardrails our state can offer.

Illinois, already home to more nuclear power plants than any state in the nation, was not alone in instituting a moratorium. More than a dozen states from California to Vermont had some type of restrictions on new nuclear power facilities, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But in recent years, some of those states have ended those limits, including Wisconsin in 2016, Kentucky in 2017, Montana in 2021 and West Virginia last year, according to the NCSL.

The Illinois moratorium  which garnered little news coverage and virtually no debate on the floor of the Illinois House and Senate when it was approved in spring 1987, about a year after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine  was driven by a national political stalemate over how to dispose of radioactive waste, a controversy that continues to this day.

Although the Illinois moratorium has remained in place all these years, governors and lawmakers have remained mostly friendly and supportive of the nuclear industry.

Exelon, parent of scandal-plagued utility Commonwealth Edison, repeatedly threatened to shut down some of the states nuclear plants because company officials said the plants werent making enough money. In response, lawmakers propped up the nuclear fleet and Exelon won ratepayer subsidies for its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants in 2016 during Republican Gov. Bruce Rauners tenure and its Byron, Dresden and Braidwood plants five years later, after Pritzker was elected.

In both instances, Exelon and ComEd partnered with labor unions and environmental groups to push for sweeping policy changes they argued would protect both jobs and the climate by properly accounting for the carbon-free benefits of nuclear power.

Exelon has since spun off a new firm, Constellation Energy, to run the power generation business, which includes 11 reactors at six plants providing about half of the states power.

Constellation was supportive of ending the moratorium but said the company currently ... has no plans to build new nuclear plants in Illinois.

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Steeler Ryan Shazier visited a Pennsylvania State trooper in the hospital who was injured in a shoot-out in Juniata County in June.

Lt. James Wagner was shot and injured when a Thompsontown man allegedly began shooting at patrol vehicles in the parking lot of the state police station in Lewistown.

Trooper Jacques F. Rougeau Jr., 29, was killed in the shooting.

I appreciate you very much  and we continue to be inspired by your strength and your kind soul here in Pennsylvania, Gov. Shapiro said in a tweet.

Thank you @steelers legend Ryan Shazier for taking the time to visit with @PAStatePolice Lt. Wagner, who was injured in the line of duty earlier this year.



I appreciate you very much  and we continue to be inspired by your strength and your kind soul here in Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/sctxgRhY9Q  Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) August 10, 2023

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A liberal-leaning nonprofit group is knocking Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) over her opposition to a bill that provides increased health care benefits for some veterans on the anniversary of its passage.

Rocky Mountain Values released an advertisement Thursday featuring a Marine Corps veteran from Colorado discussing Boeberts vote against the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for millions of veterans in the post-9/11 era who were exposed to toxic burn pits and are suffering illnesses as a result.

The veteran notes that Boebert was criticized by her Democratic opponent for reelection last year, Adam Frisch, for opposing a wide range of other bills on veterans issues after she promoted her support for a few pieces of veterans legislation.

If theres one thing that sticks with you from serving, is you leave no one behind. But Lauren Boebert voted against health care for veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits. They come back and theyre sick. We have a responsibility to make sure that these individuals are taken care of when they return from war, the veteran says.

The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress before President Biden signed it into law last August. It was temporarily held up in the Senate by 25 Republicans who initially supported it over a provision, but a deal was eventually reached for it to advance.

Boebert has been known during her tenure in the House for stirring controversy, and she narrowly won reelection in her slightly conservative-leaning congressional district last November by fewer than 600 votes. Frisch is running again in 2024 to try to unseat her, and the seat will likely be a top target for Democrats trying to regain control of the House next year.

Frisch raised three times more in funding than Boebert did during the second quarter this year. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report labeled the race a toss-up last month.

A Colorado mayor and a few other candidates have also entered the race for the Democratic nomination to face Boebert.

The PACT Act set up a framework to create presumptions for service being tied to toxic exposures and expanded coverage for 23 burn pit-related illnesses.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
New details about the US military's plans to expand air and missile defenses on Guam show the island is set to see major changes on the ground and in the air.

Guam is set to gain as many as 20 new air defense sites packed with surface-to-air interceptors, radars, and more as part of a massive defensive upgrade plan. Overall, the island looks set to become the most densely protected place anywhere on the planet.

Documents the U.S. military has released discussing the potential impacts on day-to-day life on Guam from the new air and missile defenses have offered a new look at the scale and scope of the project. A total of 20 separate sites are currently under consideration to host surface-to-air interceptors, radars, and other elements of the planned Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) system. In addition to changes on the ground, the system is expected to come along with new airspace restrictions, particularly around radar sites that will be in constant operation and present potential electromagnetic interference hazards.

The U.S. military held multiple so-called "public scoping meetings" on Guam earlier this month to provide information about the planned EIAMD system to residents and solicit feedback. Members of the public have until August 18 to submit further comments and criticisms about the project and its potential environmental impacts.

A Missile Defense Agency representative points to a poster discussing potential impacts from the planned Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system during a "public scoping meeting" with residents of Guam on August 2, 2023. USN

Included in the information that the U.S. military provided was a map showing the location of various candidate sites for hosting different elements of the EIAMD system and another one showing radar arcs and restricted airspace zones that are set to come along with it.

"The missile defense system would be able to defend Guam a full 360 degrees around the entirety of the island. The 360-degree capability would be achieved by distributing/placing system components at multiple locations around the island," a block of text accompanying the candidate site map explains. "Site selection is evolving and additional sites may be considered."

A map showing the 20 sites on Guam under consideration to host elements of the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system. It also gives an overview of existing facilities belonging to the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. MDA

"If the Proposed Action is implemented, MDA [Missile Defense Agency] and the Army would construct the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) and it would operate continuously," additional text providing context for the radar/airspace map says. "FAA [the Federal Aviation Administration] would take actions related to restricting the flight of aircraft in airspace where high-intensity radiated fields would exceed FAA certification standards for aircraft electrical and electronic systems."

"Implementation of the Proposed Action would result in the establishment of new Restricted Areas and change federal airways and instrument flight procedures to accommodate new Restricted Areas," it adds. "MDA and the Army would not begin continuous operation of the EIAMD system until FAA actions related to restricting the flight of aircraft are complete."

A map showing radar arcs and areas of restricted airspace associated with the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system. MDA

Particular concerns about the impacts on Guam from the installation of the myriad new radars that are part of the EIAMD have come up before and the U.S. military has previously acknowledged this as a topic area requiring special attention.

"So, when you think about transporting yourself to some other location, whether it's in the United States or abroad, you have to worry about explosive arcs... you have to worry about the electromagnetic interference of the radars," now-retired Vice Adm. Jon Hill, then head of MDA, said last year. "So, one of the first conflicts we had, it's been in the press already, but I think it's resolved, is if you're going to build a hospital on this site, and you have a radar over here, is it okay to put radar energy through that site where you bring MEDEVAC [medical evacuation] helicopters in? The answer's no."

As currently planned, EIAMD is a distributed and tiered 'system of systems' intended to provide 360-degree air and missile for Guam, as a whole, against various types of aerial threats. The island, which is a U.S. territory, is strategically located in the western Pacific and is home to major Air Force, Navy, and now Marine Corps bases. These would be among the top of the list of priority targets for an opponent during any future high-end conflict in the region, such as one against China.

A version of the Aegis Ashore system tailored to Guam's unique geography and other requirements will be at the core of EIAMD. This is expected to look significantly different from U.S. Aegis Ashore sites currently in Romania and Poland, the latter of which is not yet operational, but is expected to be later this year. The U.S. military has a dedicated Aegis Ashore test site in Hawaii.

The U.S. Aegis Ashore site in Romania. USN

As originally designed, Aegis Ashore directly ported over various components, including the AN/SPY-1 radar and Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS), from the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke class destroyer into a land-based configuration. The primary interceptors for the system have long been variants of the SM-3, including the Block IIA variant designed to be able to engage intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) during the mid-course portion of their flight outside of the Earth's atmosphere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYb-sm24JUk

Thanks to the multi-purpose nature of the Mk 41 VLS, additional missiles, such as variants of the multi-purpose SM-6 and the now-in-development Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI), which is being designed to engage incoming hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, could be integrated into the system in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCt6fq7cvSY\u0026t=1s

The exact configuration of Guam's Aegis Ashore system remains to be seen. However, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency has made clear in the past that it will be distributed to a far greater extent than its predecessors. There have been discussions in the past about installing certain components in hardened underground facilities or putting them on road-mobile ground platforms.

What is known now is that the higher-end tier of the EIAMD will also include at least four AN/TPY-6 radars. This design was previously known as the Homeland Defense Radar-Guam and leverages technology from Lockheed Martin's Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) now in place in Alaska.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBhJTemSKaA

The U.S. Army is planning to provide Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems, Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, Typhon Mid-Range Capability systems (which can fire SM-6 multi-purpose missiles, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles), and Enduring Shield Indirect Fire Protection Systems, to provide lower layers of air and missile defense coverage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG8wF1o6r58

THAAD, Patriot, and Typhons with SM-6 would offer options for engaging various types of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as fixed-wing aircraft and other aerial threats. Enduring Shield, which will at least initially fire AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, is designed to offer additional protection against cruise missiles, drones, and even artillery rockets. The War Zone has repeatedly highlighted the very real threat posed now by drones, including very low-end commercial types that can be readily weaponized, or used for surveillance or other malign purposes, pose to U.S. forces abroad and at home, including on Guam.

A rendering of Enduring Shield launchers firing AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles. Dynetics

An Army THAAD battery has already been forward-deployed on Guam since 2013. The Army also deployed Iron Dome systems, comparable in form and function to Enduring Shield, as part of a test in 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc8HlVR19wQ

The Army's contribution to the new EIAMD on Guam will also include at least three Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radars, as well as multiple smaller Sentinel types, distributed around the island.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpYypIBLiIM

A command and control architecture that includes elements of the Navy's Aegis Combat System and the Army's Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) will help tie all this together, allowing for a great deal of flexibility and general situational awareness. The networks will also help Guam's defenders choose different interceptors and associated sensors, as well as fuze data to produce higher fidelity tracking and targeting data, to best respond to different types of incoming threats and do so faster and with greater accuracy.

Those networks will be able to feed in information from offboard sources, as well. This includes existing and future space-based sensing assets. Work is already progressing on the development of a new hypersonic weapon-focused tracking constellation that is expected to eventually include dozens of individual satellites.

As noted, exactly where EIAMD's various components would be positioned has not been fully settled yet.

The radar/airspace map included in the public environmental impact information does show three prominent radar arcs emanating from an area near Ritidian Point at the northern end of Guam, Naval Base Guam's (NBG) Barrigada site in the middle of the island, and a location within the Naval Munitions Site (NMS) in the south. It is possible these could reflect sites under consideration for some of the AN/TPY-6 or LTMADS radars.

A portion of the radar/airspace map showing radar arcs, in teal, emanating from the Barrigada site, at right, and the Naval Munitions Site (NMS) complex, at left. A number of smaller radar arcs are also shown in yellow. MDA

A fourth and much larger arc is also shown projecting from Ritidian Point, which is now under the jurisdiction of the Marine Corps' new Camp Blaz on Guam, which could point that being the planned location for the core of the island's future Aegis Ashore system. There is also the possibility that this could reflect the existing AN/TPY-2 radar associated with the Army's THAAD battery that is already in place at the northern end of the island.

Another section of the radar/airspace map showing multiple radar arcs projecting in different directions from the vicinity of Ritidian Point, as well as other locations in the northern end of Guam. MDA

There are 11 other radar arcs marked on the map, which would seem to reflect the various expected lower-tier components of the complete EIAMDS.

The exact timeline for when all of the planned EIAMDS components will be installed is unclear. Officials have said in the past that they want at least some parts of the system to be in operation by 2026. At a conference earlier this week, Navy Rear Adm. Doug Williams, the acting director of MDA, said that there is a plan in place now to conduct an initial live-fire test, which would be of an SM-3 Block IIA missile from the Aegis Ashore site, on Guam in December 2024.

There are a number of potential hurdles that could delay the EIAMDS effort, including potential opposition from residents on Guam. The U.S. military will also need to secure sufficient funding across multiple years to pay for the various new air and missile defense systems for the island. The Missile Defense Agency and the Army together have requested nearly $1.44 billion just in the 2024 Fiscal Year to support this work, according to Defense News.

In addition, the U.S. Army recently highlighted challenges in recruiting for the service's air defense branch during discussions about separate plans to increase the number of Patriot systems in its force structure in the coming years. Difficulties attracting individuals, even those who already serving, to join this particular part of the Army could have impacts beyond the Patriot community, which in turn could affect the EIAMDS timeline.

What is clear is that the U.S. military's plans for significantly expanding air and missile defenses on Guam are continuing to solidify and, if they proceed as planned, look set to bring significant changes to Guam, both on the ground and in the air above the island.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
Republican 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley said voters on the campaign trail are not talking about Hunter Bidens legal issues in an interview Friday on Fox News after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a new special counsel.

I will tell you that when we go to town halls in South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Iowa, no one is talking about Trumps legal issues. No ones talking about Bidens legal issues, Haley said in an interview on Fox News, noting that she hears more about food and gas prices, education, the southern border, and the looming threat of China.

I dont hear anything about the Hunter Biden cases or the Trump cases. I do hear a lot about the distrust in federal government, the distrust in our intelligence agencies, the distrust in the Department of Justice, and the fact that the federal governments just way too big, Haley continued. Thats the focus that we have to do. All this corruption and chaos  even when you look at Congress  what has Congress done for us lately? Nothing.

Haley has joined House Republicans in criticizing the Department of Justice and FBI.

I dont trust it. I dont think the American people trust it. I dont think that the American people trust the Department of Justice, Haley said when first asked in the interview for her response to the new special counsel.

I think that this was meant to be a distraction. Its not a distraction. I think the Bidens are on a sinking ship. And I think this is our opportunity to make sure not only that we get a new president in the White House, but that we go, and we clean house in the Department of Justice while were at it, she continued.

Republicans have criticized the appointment of David Weiss as special counsel. Weiss previously had led the prosecution of Biden as a federal prosecutor in Delaware.

Haley called for the House GOP probes to continue, saying, the House needs to keep their foot on the gas. Keep this investigation going. Dont let up.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Miami-Dade police officer is in trouble with the law after he beat his wife with food and his fists Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Andres Perez III, a 34-year-old from Hialeah, is facing a battery charge. As of Friday, he was no longer in the Broward Sheriffs Office Jail, records showed.

Sometime before 4 p.m., Perez got into a heated argument over finances and infidelity with his wife, who he has been in a relationship for eight years and married for three, a Miramar police arrest report read.

The womans identity and where the fight took place was not released by police.

When Perez stormed into the kitchen toward his wife he threw a McDonalds cheeseburger at her, the report read.

Shortly after, he swung his fist at her and struck her behind the ear.

Miami-Dade Police Interim Director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement, It is disheartening to learn that one of my officers was arrested for a domestic violence incident, that occurred while he was off duty.

Police officers are held to a higher standard; this type of behavior will not be tolerated, she continued. Any actions that may hinder the publics confidence in law enforcement is unacceptable.
The harassment received by two Black women, a mother and her adult daughter, in Georgia after they were targeted by 2020 election conspiracies may become a central part of Fulton Countys case against Donald Trump and members of his 2020 team.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Wednesday that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss have testified at length about the death threats and racist harassment they experienced in the wake of their participation as poll workers in the 2020 election to a grand jury empanelled by District Attorney Fani Willis to hear her agencys evidence against the Trump campaign and the former president himself.

Rudy Giuliani, the former presidents attorney, at one point directly accused the two of being involved in stealing ballots during a hearing called by a Georgia Senate subcommittee  part of his failed efforts to prove fraud had occurred in the election.

Look at them scurrying around with the ballots. Nobody in the room. Hiding around. They look like theyre passing out dope, not just ballots. It is quite clear theyre stealing votes, he said.

A number of individuals who were accused of participating in the harassment are expected to be charged along with any indictments handed down to Mr Trump or his legal team, according to the newspaper.

Wandrea Shaye Moss is comforted by her mother Ruby Freeman, right, at a hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan 6 attack, in June 2022 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

We hope to see accountability for those who led and profited from the smear campaign against Ruby and Shaye, an attorney representing the two women said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution.

Some of that accountability has admittedly already been doled out. One America News settled with the two women after being hit with a Dominion Voting Systems-esque lawsuit, and two other suits against Mr Giuliani and the right-wing gossip blog Gateway Pundit are pending.

Jurors who spoke with the newspaper did not say specifically which figures connected to the investigation would actually end up being recommended for charges. But one person who seems to at least have caught intense scrutiny from the grand jury was Trevian Kutti, a publicist and self-described capitalist media manipulator who previously worked for Kanye West and R Kelly.

Here's Rudy Giuliani accusing Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss of election fraud crimes before Georgia state legislature. Today Giuliani admitted these comments were all LIES. Hopefully both Trump and Giuliani will soon be charged with crimes by Fulton County DA. pic.twitter.com/vxeI8EB6ti  (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) July 26, 2023

According to the grand jurys summons, Ms Kutti was involved in an effort to pressure Ms Freeman to say that she was involved in election fraud during a three-person phone call that included Ms Kutti, Ms Freeman, and Harrison Floyd, the head of Black Voices for Trump and a former state lawmaker. Ms Floyd was also summoned by the grand jury, according to the AJC, but like Ms Kutti did not offer testimony.

Indictments in the case are expected within the next week or two. The former president is already facing skyrocketing legal costs as he battles 78 separate criminal charges across two jurisdictions and three criminal cases, a staggering burden for a politician who is currently leading his partys presidential primary contest.

Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing in any of the legal investigations against him.
The sprint to qualify for Wednesdays first 2024 Republican presidential debate is still underway for some candidates, even as the top-polling contender, former President Donald Trump has confirmed hell skip the showdown in Milwaukee.

The Republican National Committee established three requirements for presidential hopefuls to qualify for the August 23 debate stage.

First, candidates must attract at least 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique donors per state  a mark easy for the best-known figures in the race to hit, but one that lesser-known figures have used gift card offers, concert tickets and more to reach.

Second, candidates must reach at least 1% in three national polls that meet the RNCs requirements or at least 1% in two national polls and in two polls from separate early voting states.

Finally, candidates must sign the RNCs Beat Biden pledge  a commitment to back the eventual Republican nominee, no matter who wins the primary.

Heres a look at whos met which criteria ahead of the first debate.

Fully qualified

These candidates have met the unique donor threshold, polled well enough in qualifying surveys and signed the pledge to support the partys eventual nominee.

Mike Pence

The former vice presidents campaign said Friday he had signed the RNCs loyalty pledge. In an email to donors Friday, Pence campaign manager Steve DeMaura said the Indiana Republican is heading into the debate as the one candidate on the stage with nothing to prove, or not in need of a moment.

Ron DeSantis

The Florida governor told reporters earlier this month in Iowa that he had signed the RNC pledge. The goal needs to be to defeat Joe Biden and change the direction of this country, DeSantis said. That mission is bigger than any one person. And so, youve got to be willing to step up, and I realized that this is a team effort. So, I was proud to do that.

Nikki Haley

The former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations tweeted a photo of her signed pledge. She had crossed out the phrase Beat Biden on the top of the pledge and written President Harris instead  referring to her oft-repeated insistence that the 2024 election against an aging Democratic incumbent carries with it the possibility of Vice President Kamala Harris being in the White House. Alright fellas, your turn, she said.

Vivek Ramaswamy

The entrepreneur, who has signed the pledge, has attracted a base of small-dollar donors thanks in part to his early entry into the race. He also promised grassroots fundraisers a 10% cut of the money they bring into his campaign.

Doug Burgum

Thanks in part to a scheme in which his campaign offered $20 gift cards in exchange for $1 donations, the little-known North Dakota governor met the donor minimum. His campaign announced he had also signed the pledge. Now he will be the outsider, governor and business leader on the debate stage, spokesman Lance Trover said.

Tim Scott

Scott signed the loyalty pledge earlier this month, according to a copy obtained by CNN. In a statement announcing his signing of the pledge, the South Carolina senator said hes anticipating sharing his positive, optimistic message at the first debate.

Asa Hutchinson

The former Arkansas governor said Sunday that he has reached the donor minimum after having previously met the polling threshold. He has spoken out against the pledge requirement, but his spokesperson told CNN on Sunday he has signed it. Hutchinson told CNNs Kasie Hunt on State of the Union earlier in the day that he would sign it, saying that hes confident that Donald Trumps not going to be the nominee.

Chris Christie

The former New Jersey governor, who had already met the polling and donor thresholds but had widely panned the pledge, has signed it, a campaign spokesperson said Sunday. Christie had said hed do what he needed to do to participate in the debate. Ill take the pledge in 2024 just as seriously as Donald Trump took it in 2016, Christie told CNN earlier this year.

Met polling and donor thresholds; hasnt signed pledge

Donald Trump

The former president has not yet announced he has signed the pledge, but it may not matter: He confirmed in a post on his social media platform on Sunday that he will not attend the debate. Instead, he is expected to sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, multiple sources familiar with his plans told CNN. A Trump adviser said that the former president could still decide to participate in a later primary debate.

Met donor minimum

These candidates have not yet reached the required polling minimums to make the stage.

Will Hurd

The former Texas congressman said Friday on CNN that he has met the donor minimum but has not yet met the polling threshold. Hurd previously said he wouldnt sign the RNC pledge but he appeared to have shifted his position. I feel good about that, about being able to be ready to be on that debate stage, which were planning on happening. I feel confident were going to be in Milwaukee on Wednesday, he said.

Francis Suarez

The Miami mayor is little known nationally, and told The Hill last week that making the debate stage would be frankly priceless for his 2024 hopes. He tweeted last week that he had reached the required 40,000 donors. He has also claimed to have met the polling threshold; however, most of the polls he has cited do not meet the RNCs criteria for debate qualification.

Perry Johnson

The Michigan businessman gave away gas cards, tickets to a Big & Rich concert and more to attract donors. However, he has little national recognition and will need to register in polls to qualify for the debate.

Hasnt met criteria

This candidate has not yet said if he has met any of the GOPs required marks to make the first debate stage.

Larry Elder

The California conservative talk radio host, who was the leading GOP candidate in the 2021 gubernatorial recall, has sharply criticized the RNCs debate qualification requirements. He faces an uphill climb, though he said on social media Friday that his campaign needed donations from 7,000 more individuals to meet the donor threshold.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNNs Shania Shelton, Veronica Stracqualursi and Alayna Treene contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
On the surface, Miami is a paradise.

The beaches, the palm trees, the weather all have created an outsiders perception of perfection.

Even in paradise, however, exist the same underlying issues that gave rise to hip-hop amid the urban decay of the South Bronx 50 years ago. And much like their northern counterparts, Miami hip-hop artists have consistently punctured the facade of the American Dream. The rappers made in Dade during the first 50 years of hip-hop  from Uncle Luke to JT Money to Trick Daddy to Trina to Rick Ross to Denzel Curry to City Girls to King Hoodie  have used their art to reflect an experience of growing up in a Magic City where the magic rarely extends into all neighborhoods.

As Regina Bradley explains in her seminal work Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of Hip-Hop South, Southern hip-hop challenges the narrative that racism ended with the Civil Rights Movement and dispels the monolithic image of the South.

Its like paying homage to your city: How a local hip-hop sound got Miami to dance again

Hip-hop serves as a powerful intervener to address the continuously shifting negotiations of power, identities and communities of Black people in the South, Bradley wrote in Chronicling Stankonia.

Similar to how the blight and neglect in the Bronx became a catalyst for the birth of hip-hop, the genre found its way to Miami following decades of displacement, neighborhood demolitions, police killings of unarmed Black men, riots and immigration policies that clearly favored newcomers of a lighter hue. Add to that the uptempo rhythms from the Caribbean and Latin America and what emerges is an energetic release in the form of bass music that sprouts up in the 80s. The raunchy yet satirical lyrics that overlaid the thumping 808s gave rise to a First Amendment case, transforming Uncle Luke, a record executive turned leader of the 2 Live Crew, into a free speech warrior.

Leader of the Band: 2 Live Crews Luther Campbell is frisked by a Broward sheriffs policeman early Sunday before he was charged with violating obscenity laws during a performance at a club in Hollywood Mike Stocker/The Miami Herald

When youre black and youre from a place like Liberty City, just showing the world that youre having a good time is a political act, Uncle Luke, born Luther Campbell, wrote in his autobiography, The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City. When a judge declared 2 Live Crews music obscene, he chose to stand up because I had the only black-owned label, I was the only one who could fight this fight. If I didnt stand up, corporate America would keep trying to censor all of us.

Here are 25 songs that define South Florida hip-hop

What Campbell did gave rise to a generation of rappers who gave an unfiltered, uncensored view of what it was like to be from Miami. Poison Clan and Trick Daddy took this a step further, painting portraits of how institutional neglect leads to a life in the streets.

I used to say Miami is like a third world country, said Jeffrey Thompkins, better known as JT Money. The former Poison Clan member emphasized that when 2 Live Crews Mr. Mixx signed them to Luke Records, the group went from the streets to the beats, he recalled.

We suffered for this city being built, Trick Daddy added. We made sure that when we made our music  no matter if it was fast or slow or the bass hit  we always told a story because we had no way of getting our videos played because they didnt want to hear that from us: they thought we were some ole country bumpkin, gang-bangin, drug dealin dudes. They didnt know our struggle, they didnt know our story because the world wasnt so connected.

Miami rapper Trick Daddy D.A. Varela/dvarela@miamiherald.com

Rep Miami like no other place

Both Trick Daddy and JT Money got their start in bass music, a subgenre considered by some to be demeaning to women. And while bass certainly may have had its moments, outsiders failed to understand that Miami creates a different breed of women. Enter Katrina Taylor, AKA Trina.

I discovered and birthed a whole world full of bad chicks, Trina said. Everybody, all the girls that came up, they all the baddest chick now. And when I say the baddest chick  the baddest b----, bossed up  for me, that means staying true to yourself and who you are. Thats standing in self-confidence. Thats standing in yourself and trying to be the best women you can be for yourself.

Her music spoke to independence. Autonomy. Self love. Sure, Miamis heat means women might be more scantily clothed but that doesnt invite the perceived ownership inherent in misogyny.

People wanted women rappers to be more conservative, Danyel Smith, author of Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, told the Miami Herald in 2019. Trina, she explained, isnt nervous or tentative which, in turn, gives listeners that same attitude and confidence.

Carol Citys Rick Ross inspired a similar confidence for his fans. Unlike his predecessors, Ross didnt utilize the bass sound. He charted his own path, fashioning himself into a larger-than-life superhero whose documentation of the grim realities of his hometown  Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ skipping school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick, he rapped on 2009s Valley of Death  allowed him to become the boss that his name inspired. Owning countless Wing Stops, the biggest residential pool in the U.S., and even authoring a self-help book hasnt prevented Ross from remembering where he came from.

Miami rapper Rick Ross MATIAS J. OCNER/mocner@miamiherald.com

Being from Miami, Rick Ross, born William Roberts II, said in 2019, thats something we were raised to learn: rep Miami like no other place. It dont matter  305, Dade County  and thats something that I always applied.

Whats next?

The more current generation Miami rappers  from Denzel Curry to the City Girls to King Hoodie  continue to wave that 305 flag in ways that pay homage to the history while, like Ross and Trina, blazing their own path. With Curry, its in his versatility: the SoundCloud Rap pioneer can rap about his love for the Zuu, a nickname for his birthplace of Carol City, just as well as he can cover Rage Against the Machines Bulls on Parade on the perils of the American justice system.

Denzel Curry, a rapper, singer and composer, who was raised in Carol City. MATIAS J. OCNER/mocner@miamiherald.com

My brother died because of s--- like this, Curry told the Miami Herald in 2020 following George Floyds murder. Thats why Im saying and doing my part, because I dont want this s--- to keep happening.

With the City Girls, clear descendants of Trina, the magic is in their continued pursuit of sexual liberation but also debunking the one rap queen narrative thats existed since the genres inception. Lines like JTs Give me the cash, f*** a wedding ring or Yung Miamis He cant come around without that cabbage showcase how they get their piece of the patriarchy.

Yung Miami and JT from the City Girls hip hop duo react on stage during the second day of Rolling Loud Miami, an international hip-hop festival, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Daniel A. Varela/dvarela@miamiherald.com

I put our culture and our music on wax , Jatavia Johnson, or JT, said in The City Girls Documentary: Point Blank Period.

The reason why our mixtape doing so good is because every girl can relate to it, Caresha Brownlee, known as Yung Miami, added. Every song on there is relatable. Who the f--- want to talk to somebody who dont got no money?

And with King Hoodie, an independent rapper hailing from North Miami Beach, its in authenticity. Absent in his music, which he describes as for the people who are still unseen, are the flexes about his cars or jewelry or bank account. In his mind, hip-hops opulent displays of wealth alienates listeners. What King Hoodie experienced as a youth  from bullying to living in an abandoned building to racial profiling  wasnt for nothing; theres a message in there for somebody.

Rapper/artist Jean-Raymond King Hoodie Jean Philippe. Carl Juste/cjuste@miamiherald.com

I had always known that my organic story, me being real to myself was going to pull something out of you, said the Puerto Rican-Haitian artist born Jean-Raymond Jean Philippe.

Our job right now as story tellers are to know the history and apply it to the modern, King Hoodie said.
A man walks through wildfire wreckage Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

In the last five years, the Hawaiian emergency alarm system mistakenly went off two different times, causing panic among residents. This week, the system fell short yet again but in a profound way  there was never a warning to the community about the latest wildfires set ablaze on the island of Maui.

Most survivors had little warning of the gaining fire until they smelled smoke or saw flames, reported The Associated Press. Dustin Kaleiopu, a resident of the city of Lahaina thats in ruins, left his home with his grandfather when smoke started coming through the window, reported CBS News.

By the time we got in our car, our neighbors yard was on fire, Kaleiopu said. There were strangers in our yard with their water hoses trying to put fires out.

By the time we got in our car, our neighbors yard was on fire, Dustin Kaleiopu, a resident of the city of Lahaina thats in ruins, told CBS. There were strangers in our yard with their water hoses trying to put fires out.

Hawaii has prided itself in the past on what its called the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, equipped with 400 sirens across the island.

But the Hawaii emergency management team has no record of the sirens sounding to warn residents of the fires on Tuesday, per AP. Instead, Adam Weintraub  who is a Hawaii Emergency Management spokesman  said alerts were sent out through cellphones, televisions and radio stations, which werent reliable considering the power and cell tower outages at the time.

The stage was set for a mess of confusion and lack of communication from emergency services.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura told CBS that the fire moved too quickly from the brush into neighborhoods. Propelled forward by the hurricane-force winds, it was too late to get messages to the emergency management who could then inform residents.

On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration posted on social media that Hurricane Doras winds fueled the fires that have destroyed buildings, caused power outages and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

Several #wildfires are burning across parts of Hawaii this week, fueled in part by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing to the south. @NOAA's GOESWest was tracking the hotspots and smoke from the fires as they burned across parts of Maui and the Big Island yesterday evening. pic.twitter.com/WzApS2ddTi  NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 9, 2023

Its uncertain how many lives would have been saved if more had been alerted.

The death toll is up to more than 55 people, and officials say they expect to find more dead among the ashes.

Related

What other incidents have occurred with Hawaiis alarm system?

In 2019, a false missile alarm across the island of Oahu scared residents half to death. The sirens can be heard on a social media video posted by a resident at the time.

Someone in the video can be heard asking, Are we gonna die?

Soon after, Honolulu Police Department took the blame for the mishap and apologized, per NBC. Chief Susan Ballard said, We realize we need to make sure that were training on training equipment only.

At the time, a resident referred to how this had happened the year before in 2018, when emergency alerts were also sent out, expressly stating, This is not a drill, the resident showed in a post.

NBC reported that it took 30 minutes before a correction was sent out that there wasnt a real missile threat.

Related
A state that is surrounded by water is now the scene of the deadliest blaze in modern U.S. history, with officials still in search and rescue mode for survivors.

At last report from local authorities, at least 93 people were killed, and thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, making the fire the most significant event in 2023 and the deadliest since Californias Camp Fire was responsible for the deaths of 88 people in 2018.

The combination of dry brush, terrain and windy conditions were present in both California and the most recent disaster in Hawaii.

Wildfires are hardly a rarity across the countrys 50th state; the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization reports around 20,000 acres burn each year, with 98% being human-caused.

Aerial View of Lahaina on the Coast of Maui before and after.

BEFORE-AND-AFTER SATELLITE IMAGES OF MAUI DEADLY WIND-DRIVEN BRUSH FIRES

Due to the terrain, population and frequency of mega-droughts, California has been home to many of the deadliest wildfires since 1933.

Fires such as the Camp (2018), August Complex (2020), Griffith Park (1933) and Oakland Hills (1991) killed dozens and rank as some of the most extreme events in U.S. history.

Nearly all of these deadly blazes were human-induced and have forced changes in both wildfire prevention and the firefighting response.

According to a congressional report, 89% of wildfires between 2018 and 2022 were human-caused, but those triggered by lightning tend to burn more acres.

Due to the continuous threat the state is under, California said it now has the largest aerial firefighting fleet on standby and continuously uses networks of cameras, drones and other real-time intelligence to monitor and aid in any firefight.

AERIAL VIDEO SHOWS COMPLETE DEVASTATION ACROSS PARTS OF MAUI AFTER CATASTROPHIC BRUSH FIRES

Authorities in Hawaii say it is still too early to determine was caused the initial flames that produced devastation on parts of Maui and the Big Island.

The National Weather Service office and local emergency management received reports of downed power lines on several islands due to wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, but it is unclear if any electrified lines came in contact with dry brush.

As part of the investigation, authorities will examine infrastructure that could spark a fire under dry conditions.

Hawaiian Electric, the local utility provider, has not addressed questions on whether a utility line contributed to any of the fires but did direct FOX Weather to a statement regarding ongoing outages.

"We are all hands on deck in supporting and responding to Maui communities affected by the outages, active wildfires, and sustained high wind damage," Shayna Decker, Hawaiian Electric spokesperson, said in a statement. "Our focus right now is the safety of our communities, customers, and workforce and prioritizing power restoration to areas that our crews can safely access. We continue to actively monitor the fluid wildfire situation and will move our restoration efforts to other areas if and as they become safe and accessible. We appreciate the continued understanding and ask customers to please prepare for possible extended outages as we conduct damage assessments and make extensive repairs."
Social media users are claiming lasers started the deadly wildfires that scorched a historic town in the US state of Hawaii in August 2023. But various images shared online are from other events, and there is no evidence that directed energy weapons are to blame for the flames; the National Weather Service has said the blazes in Maui were fueled by dry conditions and strong winds from nearby Hurricane Dora.

"Lahaina, Maui has been RAZED to the ground," says one of several August 10, 2023 posts from Stew Peters, a far-right radio host who has previously spread conspiracy theories about Covid-19 vaccines and other topics. "Only a Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) can cause this kind of destruction."

Screenshot from Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X," taken August 10, 2023

In another post on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X," Peters said: "The Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) being used on Hawaii are powerful enough to set the Pacific Ocean on fire."

Directed energy weapons use concentrated electromagnetic energy fired at the speed of light to combat enemy forces and assets, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

Similar claims have spread across X and other social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok. The posts come as brushfires have left the seaside town of Lahaina in charred ruins, killing at least 55 people.

Some of the posts include images purporting to show bright beams of light shooting from the sky. The claims echo conspiracy theories about previous disasters, such as Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's blaming of laser beams from space for a 2018 wildfire in California.

While authorities have not pinpointed what set Maui ablaze, there is no evidence directed energy weapons were involved.

"Obviously these are really crazy allegations," said Michael Gollner, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley who researches fire dynamics.

'Red flag conditions'

A high-energy laser striking dry vegetation could in theory cause a fire, said Iain Boyd, director of the University of Colorado's Center for National Security Initiatives and an expert on directed energy weapons.

But there are far more likely explanations for the Hawaii flames.

Susan Buchanan, director of public affairs for the National Weather Service, told AFP the agency alerted local officials up to a week in advance "about dangerous fire weather conditions on the Hawaiian Islands," issuing official warnings in the days before the inferno began (archived here).

Screenshot from X taken August 11, 2023

"A mix of dry vegetation, strong winds, dry subsiding air and low relative humidity helped to spread the deadly fires once they were ignited," Buchanan said in an August 11 email.

Several independent experts agreed.

"We had red flag conditions," said Arnaud Trouve, chair of the University of Maryland's Department of Fire Protection Engineering.

Trouve said he does not believe the Hawaii blazes should be pinned on "extraordinary sources."

Lightning and other natural phenomena -- or human activities such as engineering failures and arson -- are more often to blame, he said.

The nearby hurricane generated downslope winds capable of intensifying flames and embers. Gollner, of the University of California-Berkeley, said that can be especially dangerous in communities with buildings made of wood and few protections against wildfires.

"While the ignition source is unknown, it could have come from power lines damaged in the winds or any other potential accidental source," he said. "With winds this severe and a large amount of dry grass surrounding the community, there is no need for an ignition from 'space.'"

'Lack of basic understanding'

Once confined to fringe circles, conspiracy theories about lasers have picked up steam online since the California wildfires of the 2010s, according to Mike Rothschild, an expert on the QAnon movement and author of the book "Jewish Space Lasers."

"It works on the lack of basic understanding that conspiracy believers have of how fire and wind work," Rothschild said. "The theory is especially adaptable to social media because it fits with pictures taken of fires that show beams of light supposedly coming from space."

One photo social media users are claiming shows a laser directed at Maui actually dates to at least 2018, reverse image searches show.

Screenshot from X taken August 11, 2023

Snopes, another fact-checking outlet, reported at the time that the photo likely showed light from a controlled burn at an Ohio oil refinery.

Boyd, the expert on directed energy weapons, said the image could not possibly show a high-energy laser fired from the sky.

"First, modern high-energy lasers used for weapons operate at a wavelength in the infrared that cannot be seen with the naked eye," Boyd said of the picture. "Second, to produce the effects that are seen on the ground would require an incredibly high power laser that could not be flown in the air or operated in space."

Another photo misrepresented online was featured in a 2018 article (archived here) saying it showed a SpaceX rocket launch.

Screenshot from X taken August 11, 2023

"It's easy to use those pictures as 'proof' of what 'they' are doing to us to further their climate change agenda or societal control, and people desperate for answers would rather believe in space weapons than the reality of the climate crisis," Rothschild said.

AFP has debunked misinformation about past wildfires here and here.
The Milwaukee Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team reported to the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee on Friday afternoon following a report that powder-like substance was discovered inside an envelope inside the building.

Assistant Chief Schuyler Belott said at a press conference that the department determined no powder-like substance was inside the envelope after testing it. "We found nothing in there that led us to believe there is anything toxic, hazardous, or anything of that nature," he said.

The letter inside the envelope did not contain anything that would be deemed a threat or suspicious, Belott said.

Belott deferred to the federal agencies inside the building on determining how that report came about, which led to a hours-long ordeal, with large responses from the fire department and law enforcement to help secure the area. Milwaukee Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse is located at 517 E. Wisconsin Ave.

The Milwaukee Fire Department Hazmat unit responds to a call at the Milwaukee Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse on Friday in Milwaukee.

Belott said the initial call came in at 2:15 p.m. but did not share which office it came from. The building was not evacuated, but instead everyone inside was asked to shelter in place. The department sent an all-clear shortly after 5 p.m. and reopened the building.

Four people inside the office where the envelope was found were "decontaminated," Belott said, which included being doused in a portable shower. The people were then sent to the hospital as a precaution.

"We take all those reports seriously," Belott said. "Whether it's a barrel in the alley, or something floating in the lake, or something in somebody's basement. Again, it's a deliberate process where we don't want to rush in and put additional people at harm's way. It's sort of the nature of a hazardous materials response."

The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal agency responsible for the security and safety of the federal courts. The agency sent a release shortly after 10:15 p.m. Friday night saying U.S. Marshals are investigating the incident. "No additional details are available," it said in a statement.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No hazardous materials found at federal courthouse in Milwaukee
Wildfires in Hawaii have now claimed at least 55 lives. One thousand more are still missing. Blazes leveled large parts of Western Maui, home to the original kingdom of Hawaii and the ancestral land of the Kanaka Maoli.



The drumbeat of climate disasters this summer have had many asking whether heatwaves, fires, and floods are signs of a new normal in an overheating world. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, suggested as much in a tweet on Thursday:

The phrase has also been thrown around liberally by politicians and major news outlets, including the The New York Times, looking to describe this summers extreme weather.



As experts have routinely pointed out, though, the climate crisis doesnt promise a new normal so much as the abolition of normal as a means to understand our reality. There are a few things to expect: More people will become acquainted with tragedies they might have thought were confined to certain parts of the world, like when smoke from unprecedented Canadian wildfires blanketed the East Coast. There will be more instances of weather-induced mass death in the news. Climate science doesnt broadcast a list of coming attractions so much as it coheres more and more data as reality unfolds, offering slightly more useful pictures of what might come next.



Many of the horrors climate change will fuel over the coming decades are the result of emissions unleashed before many of us were born; the payoff for climate actions taken now might not be realized until after were dead. For those feeling helpless in the face of climate-fueled tragedies, weary of the mismatch between the difficulty of emissions reductions and the destruction happening around us, there are some more proximate changes to work toward too.



Deep decarbonizarion is essential. Climate change consistently hits the poorest and (typically) least white corners of society hardest. The climate anxious among usespecially those with the capacity to donate and organizemight do well to push for more affordable housing and awarding tenants more power, while also taxing real estate magnates who make homes unaffordable and displace people. Building an economy thats more welcoming to residents than tourists is every bit as essential to navigating the twenty-first century as cutting carbon.

There is no normal when it comes to climate change, but plenty of norms dictating governments response to it that can be upended.
On Friday 11 August, Ukraine began bilateral consultations on security guarantees with the United Kingdom.

Source: Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, on air during the 24/7 national joint newscast, quoted by European Pravda

Quote: "Indeed, after our American colleagues, we started [consultations  ed.] with our friends and partners from the UK. This country is one of our main and strategic partners in terms of key assistance."

Details: Yermak noted that 13 countries have already joined the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. At the same time, he pointed out that Ukraine had started bilateral consultations on guarantees with the United States.

Yermak stated that the current goal is to have the first bilateral agreements with countries that will provide security guarantees to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Previously: At the NATO summit in Vilnius, G7 countries agreed on a framework document on security guarantees for Ukraine. The leaders did not agree on the specific parameters of the security guarantees but on their framework, and specific bilateral agreements will be signed later.

Background: On 3 August, Ukraine began negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees.

Read more on the topic: "Security Guarantees" Pledged to Ukraine Would Leave Ukrainians Frustrated

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!
Jason Momoa has shared his heartbreak as the fatal wildfires in Maui continue to devastate the Hawaiian island.

At least 53 people have died and thousands more have been evacuated as wildfires rage in the historic town of Lahaina.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green told CNN on Thursday (10 August) that more than 1,700 buildings and billions of dollars in property had been destroyed in the disaster, with Lahaina resident Mason Jarvi calling it the worst disaster Ive ever seen.

All of Lahaina is burnt to a crisp, Jarvi said, adding: Its like an apocalypse.

Aquaman actor Momoa, who is from Hawaii, wrote on Instagram: We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and ohana on Maui who been impacted by the recent wildfires.

He then shared a video of the devastation via a video made by non-profit organisation Aina Momon, as well as several posts listing resource aids and donation links to help residents.

Aina Momon wrote: On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, a terrible combination of drought conditions and hurricane weather led to widespread wildfires across the Island of Maui.

Families were forced to evacuate on short notice, many escaping with only the clothes on their backs. Information on injuries and fatalities is still coming in.

Jason Momoa shared message of support for Hawaii friends (Instagram)

Lahaina town is gone. Many other places on Maui were also affected. We continue to send pule (prayers) to this incredible community. Aina Momona is standing up this fundraiser to support our Maui community.

All the funds raised will be given to the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui County Strong Fund to support disaster relief on Maui.

Another celebrity to have commented on the wildfires is drummer Mick Fleetwood, whose Lahaina restaurant Fleetwoods on Front St, has been destroyed.

MAUl and The Lahaina community have been my home for several decades, the Fleetwood Mac star wrote on Instagram. This is a devastating moment for MAUl and many are suffering unimaginable loss.

Destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront in Maui (AFP via Getty Images)

We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern, Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday, the AP reported.

The wildfires started on Tuesday (8 August), with experts say was fanned by by winds from a faraway hurricane. Multiple neighbourhoods and treasured wildlife has been burned to the ground.

Follow alog with live updates about the wildfires here.
At least 93 people have died as wildfires ravaged Maui over the last week in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Hawaii's history. The state's Governor Josh Green said that more than 2,700 structures are believed to have been destroyed. About 15,000 tourists have evacuated. Hundreds of families have been displaced, and thousands face power outages and water shortages.

For people off-island looking to help, there are several ways to donate to local community organizations that are helping survivors cope. Below are some examples.

Red Cross

The organization has set up emergency shelters for Hawaiians who need a hot meal or a place to charge their phones. Red Cross workers will use financial donations to help people replace lost prescription medications or reading glasses, for example. Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. More information here.

Volunteers with Kings Cathedral Maui help unload a donation of supplies on Aug. 10, 2023 in Kahului, Hawaii. Justin SullivanGetty Images

Maui Strong Fund

The Hawaii Community Foundation launched the fund, which boasts more than $1 million raised for fire relief so far. Donations will support local nonprofits who are providing food, shelter, and financial assistance to those affected by the wildfires. Consider making a donation online here.

More from TIME

Maui Food Bank

The website says that for every $1 donated, the organization can provide four meals to those in need. It is accepting food and toiletries donations in-person, but says the fastest way to get aid to those who need it most is to make a donation online. Consider donating here.

Jesus Vasquez sits in his van waiting to return to his home near Lahaina, on Aug. 10, 2023. He and other evacuees camped in a parking lot along the Honoapiilani Highway, hoping to be allowed back into Lahaina, two days after a devastating wildfire tore through the community. Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times/Getty Images

GoFundMe

Scam fundraisers can be an issue in the aftermath of natural disasters. Donors should be wary of desperate appeals that ask for cash donations only, experts say, as legitimate charities will allow credit card payments. To address these concerns, GoFundMe, a website for raising money, is verifying fundraising efforts from individuals affected by the Maui wildfires. Browse the crowd-funding efforts here.

Maui Humane Society

The organization has been looking for pet food donations and people who can foster dogs to make room for the influx of animals who will need special treatment due to smoke inhalation and burns. You can help support animal medical costs here.

Mercy Chefs

The Virginia-based relief organization is on the ground in Maui, delivering hot meals to victims and first responders. It is recruiting local chefs to help feed people in shelters and other needy residents in the coming days. Consider making a donation here.

Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com.
Maui is still fighting wildfires that ravaged parts of the island this week, most notably the historic town of Lahaina, which was wiped out by the blaze.

The fires, which have claimed 55 victims and counting, represent the states deadliest disaster in decades. And while the total magnitude of the destruction wont be known for a while longer, you can still help those dealing with the aftermath now.

Here are four groups that you can support to help the survivors of the fires.

01.

The Maui Food Bank

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Providing disaster relief to those affected by the fires is perhaps the most impactful thing you can do. Right now, many families are in need of food and toiletries.

The Maui Food Bank is requesting donations of canned foods, rice, peanut butter, toilet paper, diapers, and feminine hygiene products, alongside other foods. In addition to food, the organization is accepting financial donations, which are easy to provide through its website.

And if youre in Maui, you can sign up to volunteer for emergency response activities with the food bank.

02.

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The Hawaii Community Foundation is accepting financial donations to its Maui Strong Fund, which is aiding those impacted by the wildfires. You can quickly and easily support the foundation by visiting its website.

The Fund has a focus on rapid response and recovery so that survivors can get the resources and aid they need as soon as possible.

03.

The Maui Humane Society

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Animals are highly vulnerable during extreme weather events like wildfires. The Maui Humane Society has outlined three ways that you can help animals in need.

Because of the large number of displaced animals, the shelters space and resources are limited. If youre on the island, SOS fostering an animal is an incredible way to help.

For those not able to foster an animal, the organization is accepting donations of pet food (both wet and dry), litter, toys, and other pet supplies.

Finally, the Maui Humane Society is accepting financial donations, which can be provided on its website.

04.

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Right now, the Red Cross is on the ground on Maui and the Big Island, providing support and lodging to survivors. Shelters have been opened to assist residents displaced by the fires, but the organization is seeking additional support.

The group is accepting financial donations on its website specifically for its Hawaii disaster relief. To ensure that your donation goes to Hawaii disaster relief efforts, you can write Hawaii Wildfires in the memo line.

The Red Cross is also accepting donations of essential items at its shelters, including emergency medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies  and other comfort items.
Editors note: This story includes images that depict animal cruelty. Viewer discretion is advised.

A former Mississippi Coast woman pleaded no contest Friday to 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and was ordered to serve six months in the Harrison County jail.

Jessica Collins, of Saucier, ran what she called Deep South Rescue when Harrison County sheriffs deputies went to the property in March 2022 and found 30 dead dogs, most of them in black trash bags. A cage at her home contained a dead vulture as well as eight dead puppies inside a trash bag.

Deputies found one emaciated retriever, later named Merle.

Collins was arrested on 31 counts of simple animal cruelty and one count of felony animal cruelty. She and her attorney, George Blair, worked out a plea agreement with Harrison County prosecuting attorney Herman Cox.

When someone pleads no contest, they do not admit guilt but agree there is enough evidence to convict them.

In exchange for her plea, Judge Brandon Ladner sentenced Collins to six months in the county jail on each count, with all but six months of the sentence suspended.

The judge ordered her to pay $2,827 in fines and restitution and $1,655 in court costs. The judge allowed Collins to start serving her sentence on Aug. 25.

Jessica Collins walks out of court with her attorney George Blair after pleading no contest to 10 counts of simple animal cruelty to a domesticated dog at Harrison County Justice Court in Gulfport on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

Dead dogs all across the property

Collins cannot own a domesticated cat, dog or other animal for 15 years. Once she completes her jail sentence, she will undergo a psychiatric evaluation and return to court every seven months for a review of her case.

Animal activists attended the hearing Friday and said they were glad to see Collins get some jail time for the crimes.

Linda Perry went to the property in Saucier when she saw a plea from Collins on Facebook for help. Collins, she said, lied about being a 501c nonprofit and claimed she needed help because bobcats had been killing the animals.

From the moment I arrived, I started finding dead dogs all across the property, she said She said the bobcats were killing them. It was all a lie. Once you see that, you cant forget it. She fooled everyone in the animal community.

Collins did not live on the property where sheriffs deputies found the animals. A shed sat on the half-acre lot, and the animals had no electricity or running water.

It was hard to believe that a person like this defendant, who is supposed to be taking care of animals, had done what she did in that case, Cox said. It was atrocious. There is no excuse for it.

A photo taken by a Harrison County Sheriffs Department Animal Control officer shows dead dogs wrapped in trash bags found on a property where Jessica Collins kept several dead dogs in Saucier. Collins pleaded no contest to 10 counts of simple animal cruelty to a domesticated dog at Harrison County Justice Court in Gulfport on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

A photo taken by a Harrison County Sheriffs Department Animal Control officer shows the shed where Jessica Collins kept several dead dogs in Saucier. Collins pleaded no contest to 10 counts of simple animal cruelty to a domesticated dog at Harrison County Justice Court in Gulfport on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

Jessica Collins

Judge Brandon Ladner talks with witnesses and defendants over a zoom call during an initial hearing for three men, who are charged with murder at a residence in Gaston Point over New Years Eve, at Harrison County Justice Court in Gulfport on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.

Harrison County Justice Court in Gulfport on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.
The City of Hialeahs 911 Communications Department has been in the spotlight since March, when one of its employees made a plea for help to increase the staff that responds to emergency calls.

When el Nuevo Herald reported that the citys 911 system failed to answer 4,716 emergency calls as of May 31, Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo Jr. denied the existence of a crisis.

Employees of the Hialeah 911 Emergency Department denounce that the lack of personnel affects the quality of service in the unit, preventing them from answering all the calls they receive daily. To protect the identity of the telemarketers and the privacy of people who called the emergency number, the telephone numbers and addresses of the calls were edited

Now, though, the mayor is acknowledging that the emergency unit has deficiencies in its response capacity, answering 83 percent of the calls within 10 seconds and not 90 percent as recommended by Floridas E911 emergency communications system plan.

In a press conference on Thursday, two days after City Councilman Bryan Calvo spoke publicly on the subject for the second time in a council session, Bovo said the problem is not an exclusive to Hialeah.

The mayor compared his citys emergency unit to that of Miami-Dade County, which, with a population 10 times larger, has a call response rate of 83.63 percent, according to data he showed to the media.

While Hialeah and Miami-Dade government 911 response rates are similar, other cities in the county like Miami Beach and Aventura not only surpass Hialeah, they also exceed the national standard, at 94.4 percent and 97.7 percent respectively, according to public records obtained by el Nuevo Herald.

Bovo responded that these cities, like Miami, have systems, and technology, where the call is answered automatically, that helps their numbers. We dont have that technology right now, he said. Although our technology has helped a lot, we went from 60 percent [response rate] before I became mayor to 83 percent this year.

In a session on Tuesday, Calvo said the city surpassed the 90 percent mark only after 40 seconds of waiting, leaving many callers waiting much longer before receiving the help they desperately need.

Last June, the councilman had requested a formal investigation into the alarming revelations brought to light by two el Nuevo Herald stories about the 911 emergency line operations, but the mayor ruled out an inquiry into unanswered 911 calls at that time.

Hialeah Councilmember Bryan Calvo holds a press conference outside Hialeah City Hall to demand an investigation into the 911 calls being abandoned. Hialeah, Florida - June 26, 2023 -

A Bovo spokeswoman told el Nuevo Herald at the time that unanswered 911 calls occur in the city, but she emphasized that it is a problem that occurs everywhere.

We know we have 5 percent abandoned calls, but we want to improve that percentage, we want to improve our operations, said Ismare Monreal, Bovos chief of staff.

Is it a 911 staff retention problem?

Hialeah, Miami-Dades second most populous city, has 44 employees assigned to the Communications Department, but only 18 are call operators, mostly part-time. According to Bovo, the city needs at least eight more people to fill all the vacancies.

More than five years ago, there was an exodus of 26 employees, which the city has so far been unable to remedy, despite a $5,000 bonus the city government offers to recruit new employees.

City of Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo, Jr. holds up a job ad as he speaks about the 911 emergency department during a press conference at City Hall, Thursday, August 10, 2023.

Calvo says that raising wages and even offering pensions to 911 employees, a request made by the staffers, is not the only solution to increase staffing and emergency-call response capacity.

The councilman told el Nuevo Herald that one of his proposals is to use available public land in the city, where a new city hall is planned, to build public housing as an incentive not only for 911 personnel, but also for other first respondents such as firefighters and police officers, whose retention in the city has become a problem, according to municipal authorities.

Certification of Hialeahs 911 employees

Another controversial issue within the 911 operation is the certification of its employees  operators, dispatchers and supervisors, who must be accredited by the Florida Department of Health.

Data provided by Hialeah shows that there are employees in coordination positions and police officers who have never received the certification, in violation of the state statutes.

In other cases, the certification expired 2015, but the staffers continue to perform their functions.

In a statementsto el Nuevo Herald, Bovo indicated that he has heard this about the certifications. Many of these people are in their certification process. In many cases the people are summoned to take their exam.

There are people exempt from those regulations. Obviously, I want to get to the moment where everyone has their updated certification to ensure the credibility of the program, but right now, there is no crisis, Bovo said.

Who is answering the 911 calls in Hialeah? Why some consider the response an emergency

Hialeah mayor rules out inquiry into unanswered 911 calls. What he and others are saying

Hialeahs 911 call center says it has its own emergency: the number of personnel on duty
The iPhone's emergency SOS feature reportedly helped rescue people trapped by fires on Hawaii's island of Maui, according to a viral tweet thread.

The iPhone's emergency SOS feature reportedly helped rescue people trapped by fires on Hawaii's island of Maui, according to a viral tweet thread.

During natural disasters and emergencies, you can lose cellular and Wi-Fi coverage just when you need it most.

But as a popular story on Twitter (now X) recently suggests, it can sometimes be possible to send messages to emergency responders with the help of a satellite if youre an iPhone user  even if you dont have a cellular connection.

Venture capitalist Michael J. Miraflor made a screenshot of an exchange between emergency responders and a family he knows that became stranded in the Maui wildfires. Miraflor said that Apple Emergency SOS was the only way they could get in contact with first responders.

In the text exchange Miraflor shared, a person shares their location in real-time with an emergency dispatcher while communicating: All buildings around us on fire ... visibility is zero. The emergency responder tells the person to hang on and put on the cars hazard lights. The text exchange ends with a confirmation to an emergency responder that the family is rescued.

My brothers girlfriends cousin and his family were caught in their vehicle in Maui while the wildfires suddenly erupted around them.



No cell service, so Apple Emergency SOS was the only way they could get in contact with first responders. Literally saved their lives. pic.twitter.com/PpxNwTGOAf  Michael J. Miraflor (@michaelmiraflor) August 10, 2023

This is not the first time Apples Emergency Text feature has reportedly been involved in a rescue. Since it became available to iPhone users in November 2022, people have been using it to text emergency services when phone calls are not possible.

In 2022, a man in Alaska activated it to get help when he was stranded on a snow machine without cellular service. This April, a group of stranded Utah hikers in a canyon used it to text emergency services when they could not call for help.

The canyon was about 500 feet deep of sheer rock walls, but about every 20 minutes a satellite would line up where we were in the canyon and by holding the phone up we could get a signal where we could text 911 to Emery County, and that definitely saved our butts, one of the hikers described to Salt Lake Citys KUTV news station about the rescue.

How Apples Emergency Text via satellite feature works.

If your emergency call to 911 fails because there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, iPhones 14 and up that have iOS 16.1 will prompt you to tap the Emergency Text feature.

From there, the iPhone will ask you to answer a few questions to describe your emergency to rescuers. You will be asked to select among options, such as car issue, fire, crime, or lost or trapped, and to describe any injuries.

Then the iPhone will show you where in the sky to point your iPhone to connect to a satellite and send that initial message to emergency dispatchers who accept text messages or to relay centers staffed by Appletrained specialists who can call for help on the users behalf, according to Apples website.

The dispatcher will receive your responses and location, including altitude, phone battery level and medical information if you have Medical ID enabled on your settings.

The transcript can also be shared with the iPhone users emergency contacts to keep them informed about whats happening.

Heres how to turn it on for yourself:

1. Go to Settings

2. Tap Emergency SOS.

3. Choose which way you want to activate Emergency SOS. You can select either Call with Hold and Release, Call with 5 Button Presses or Call Quietly.

The Emergency SOS via satellite service is free for two years starting at the time of activation of a new iPhone 14 and up, and Apple has not shared how much the service will cost after that. This service is currently available in 14 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Britain and the United States.

For users with Android devices, the upcoming Snapdragon Satellite service is expected to help them send messages when no cellular signal is available.

Though you hope to never have to worry about using a feature like this, its good to learn how to use it. It just might save your life.

Want to keep your battery charged on the go? Choose from these highly-rated portable phone chargers, including one solar-powered option.

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.

A two-pack of chargers

Amazon

A two-pack of chargers

Each of these compact and slim devices holds multiple charges for iPhones, Galaxy phones, Pixel phones and more. They each have two USB output ports and feature a grippy design that makes them easy to hold. These chargers have 4.6 out of 5 stars and 56,018 five-star ratings on Amazon.



Promising review: "I bought this 2 pack to replace my old power bank which was struggling to fully charge my phone more than once. I wasn't expecting too much cause these costed less per unit than other power banks with the same 10000mAh capacity, but I was pleasantly surprised after using them. Both colors look sleek and I can charge my phone up to 3 times from dead or critical battery when the power banks are fully charged."  Fernando Xavier Padilla

$21.99+ at Amazon

A solar powered portable charger

Amazon

A solar powered portable charger

This solar-powered charger is ideal for people who love going camping. Not only is it powered by the sun, but it's waterproof, shock-resistant and has an LED flashlight and a compass as well. This reliable, durable and easy-to-use charger is compatible with iPhone, Samsung, HTC, Nexus, Go-Pro cameras, tablets and other USB devices. It has 4.3 out of 5 stars and 5,883 five-star reviews.



Promising review: "We got three of these for camping. Charged them up via USB when they arrived. It's been 12 days, and we've charged our phones 5x off one of them, without having to recharge it at all, except for letting it sit out in a sunny window for a few hours each afternoon. Based on how many phone charges we got out of a single USB charge plus a little sunlight, I feel very happy with this product. They're pretty lightweight, the included carabiner makes it easy to hang from a backpack or in a window, and the included flashlight is a nice touch. I also appreciate dual USB ports, so you can charge two devices at once. My only tiny issue is that the power button for the flashlight feature is small and hard to distinguish from the rest of the colored bits on the edges of the charger. You sort of have to memorize where it is for quick access should you need a flashlight. Now that I know where the power button is, it's not an issue. Many of these solar chargers are WAY more expensive than this model. Why pay more when this one works so well? Glad I chose this brand and model. Superhappy with this purchase!"  Amazonmasterz

$23.99 at Amazon (originally $29.99)

A lipstick-sized charger

Amazon

A lipstick-sized charger

Keep your Apple products at full charge with this small and, dare we say, elegant mini external charger. Don't be fooled by it's small size. It's got enough power to fully charge an iPhone and is compatible with almost all phone cases and even AirPods. It has 4.3 out of 5 stars and 10,603 five-star ratings on Amazon.



Promising review: "The holy grail of portable chargers !!! I was traveling to Disney for vacation and knowing me I would drain my battery with just taking pictures alone. I wanted a portable battery but didnt want a carry a cord either so I was excited when I found this little baby! It does exactly as described, pretty link color, and I get 1 full charge of battery for my IPhone 11. Get it you will not be disappointed!"  Meghan Doble

$29.99+ at Amazon

A high-speed charger that doubles as a flashlight

Amazon

A high-speed charger that doubles as a flashlight

This ultra-thin power bank holds multiple charges and is compatible with a range of smartphones, tablets and other devices like AirPods, fitness trackers, smartwatches and headphones. It has 4.7 out of 5 stars and 12,351 five-star reviews on Amazon.



Promising review: "My family and I just went to Disney world for a week and this really helped all 3 of us keep our phones charges while we used them all day at the parks. I have an iPhone and my parents both have androids and it charged two phones at the same time without any issues. Also, I was able to fly with the charger which is great! I just didnt pack it in my suitcase or use it on the plane. I like how the paw print on the front lights up blue to tell you how much of a charge you have left and I also like the book light that came with it but will probably never use it. We used the mesh bag it comes with to stack our two different charging cords then when we needed to charge we had everything we needed in the bag. If youre on the fence, get it. It was worth it."  Kimberly

$19.79 at Amazon (originally $21.99)

A charger with a smart LED display

Amazon

A charger with a smart LED display

This quick-charging device has insanely high charging capacity with the ability to hold more than eight charges for an iPhone 12, while the LED display screen makes it easy to know how much you've got left. It has 4.3 out of 5 stars and 8,011 five-star ratings.



Promising review: "Very handy. I bought this for my son who uses a tablet at school. He has special needs so he is unable to write. Having a low battery could derail him for the entire day. This is super easy to use and charges quickly. I'm also impressed with the size. Although it is heavier, it's actually smaller than my phone. I also appreciate that I can use it to charge my phone wirelessly."  Darling Nikki

$30.55 at Amazon (originally $39.95)

An ultra-high capacity and super-fast phone charger

Amazon

An ultra-high capacity and super-fast phone charger

With the ability to charge two phones at once, this fast-acting charger will get you out of any pinch. It's compatible with a range of devices like an iPad, smartwatch, Airpods, Samsung Galaxy, most other smartphones, tablets and more. It can charge devices up to eight times, so you can go about your day with peace of mind. It has 4.5 out of 5 stars and 15,244 five-star ratings.



Promising review: "I dont write reviews much but, this needed to be said about this product. I have had it about a year now and goes everywhere with me. 2 weeks ago im charging my phone and bluetooth speaker while walking in the woods with my dog on our property, as i lift many 16ozer's During the day and night I dont realized that i misplaced it, until morning after a Long day of cold rain. Couldn't find it in camper so I assume i dropped in the woods. well 2 weeks later after many days of rain ice and snow, with temps between 29f and 40 f I was walking though woods again when my dog happened upon it, frozen but still able to produce 1 led light. brought in camper, warmed it up for a while and charged it up. i Can honestly say that it is charging my phone right now while righting this review. great product."  urbanmusher

$29.95 at Amazon

A charger with a built-in wall plug

Amazon

A charger with a built-in wall plug

Free yourself from the tangle of cables with this multi-functional portable charger. It has three built-in cables and a wall plug so you can pop it into the outlet directly to load it up with power before taking it with you on the go. It has 4.6 out of 5 stars and 7,019 five-star ratings.



Promising review: "I honestly don't even know where to start with this portable charger. I literally don't go ANYWHERE without it. It has been the greatest thing to ever exist. My last phone (iPhone X) just up and died on me one day ... completely out of nowhere. I wasn't in a place where I could get a new phone right away, so I had to hook up my old iPhone 6s and live on that for a few weeks. It was fine apart from one thing ... the battery lasted MAYBE 2 hours. I use my phone for everything, including work, so I could not have it dying in the middle of the day. This charger was an absolute life saver! Not only that, but it includes cords for all phone types, so if my friend is at dinner with me, we can both charge our phones at the same time with this!! Granted, you'd have to have different phones (i.e. iPhone and Android). Plus it is small enough to throw in a purse and take with you anywhere! This was one of the greatest purchases I have EVER made. And I'd happily buy this again and again and again! Makes an awesome gift too!"  McKenna P.

$39.99 at Amazon (originally $69.99)

A lightweight slim external charger

Amazon

A lightweight slim external charger

This wildly popular charger is incredibly slim and lightweight compared to other options and is compatible with most smartphones and devices. It has 4.6 out of 5 stars and a whopping 47,621 five-star reviews.



Promising review: "I like the solid and sleek construction. Fits easily in my pocket. Most importantly it works! Fast charging, enough capacity to charge my phone multiple times over multiple days, and withstands plenty of me dropping it and yanking the cord out awkwardly and accidentally. This is the 4th Anker charger Ive owned. I share them with my family and use all 4."  Joe Hull

$21.99+ at Amazon

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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm is throwing its lot behind Rhode Islands lieutenant governor in an unpredictable 12-way Democratic primary to replace retired Rep. David Cicilline (D).

Bold PAC, the groups campaign arm, is betting that Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos can come out on top to represent the safe Democratic district.

Rhode Island is a place where there is a very large, very vibrant Latino community. This district is over 20 percent Hispanic, and so it is absolutely the type of place that deserves representation in Congress from its own community, said Victoria McGroary, executive director of Bold PAC.

Bold PACs official side has endorsed Matos, while its independent expenditure arm, which cannot coordinate with the official side, has spent $400,000 supporting her bid, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

Rhode Island is holding a special election to replace Cicilline in a district that hasnt had a competitive election since 2010, when he first ran after former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy retired.

The general election is on Nov. 7, and voting in the primaries runs from next Wednesday to Sept. 5.

The seat has been open since June, when Cicilline left Congress to lead the Rhode Island Foundation, a $1.3 billion organization that gave $84 million in grants and $75 million in gifts in 2022.

The prominent Democrats departure precipitated a rush to fill the coveted seat.

Of the 12 Democrats vying for it, four have received the most media attention and endorsements.

Matos, former state Rep. Aaron Regunberg, former White House aide Gabe Amo and state Sen. Sandra Cano are seen as the leading contenders, and theyve split key endorsements from top national groups and prominent Democrats.

Bold PACs push to support Matos follows a number of successful 2022 primary bets, sometimes butting heads with other prominent Democratic groups, that netted the Hispanic Caucus nine new seats in those elections.

McGroary said Bold PAC, whose primary mission it is to grow Hispanic Democratic representation in Congress, wants to net its 10th new member for the ongoing 118th Congress.

We would be enormously, enormously proud of that. Its literally the work we do on a daily basis. Its what wakes us up in the morning. It is our bread and butter. And so we hope and are very confident that we will be successful in that, she said.

Matos, whos been labeled as the mainstream Democratic candidate to Regunbergs progressive, calls herself pragmatic.

I like to get things done. I have strong democratic values. I believe in a womans right to choose. I believe in gun safety legislation that keeps our children safe, she told The Hill.

A podcast debate between the candidates on Thursday strayed from policy issues into two scandals that have marred the primary: an investigation into fraudulent signatures connected to Matoss nomination and Regunbergs family connections to a super PAC that supports him.

Several candidates piled on Regunberg, whose progressive platform opposes super PAC spending. He has collected top-flight liberal endorsements, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Again, I would gladly call for an end to all super PACs, Regunberg said at the debate, according to the Providence Journal.

Attack lines against Regunberg orbit around the Progress Rhode Island super PAC, funded primarily by his father-in-law, who works for a global investment firm.

By law, super PACs and campaigns cannot coordinate with each other, meaning Regunberg would have had no say in Progress Rhode Islands activities.

As of Thursday, Progress Rhode Island has spent about $100,000 on independent expenditures in support of Regunbergs bid, according to FEC filings.

Anyone who looks at Aarons record knows hes spent years working to get money out of politics. In Congress hell fight to overturn Citizens United and end outside spending in all campaigns, Matt DaSilva, a Regunberg campaign spokesperson, told The Hill in an email.

Matos said the debate over the super PAC and Regunbergs privileged background is in itself problematic for the state.

Its entirely just a reminder to the voters of Rhode Island that Rhode Island has not sent a working person, like a traditional working person that doesnt come from our wealth to Congress, and its about time for us to do that, said Matos.

Matos was also the target of attacks surrounding multiple forged signatures in her nomination papers, which she has attributed to a campaign vendor.

Self-funded candidate Donald Carlson went after Matos over the issue, but said he was not questioning her integrity,

This is a question of competence, said Carlson.

In the debate, Cano took the unusual step of defending a rival, comparing Matoss handling of the signature scandal to Regunbergs disavowal of super PAC spending.

I think that Lt. Gov. Matos has said, I dont think this was good and appropriate. But my other colleague hasnt called out that it was wrong. And I think we need to be truthful with ourselves, said Cano.

Matos, who was born in the Dominican Republic, lamented that the issue has raised questions over the states electoral integrity.

It really is very hard for me. [Im] very disappointed because I love the democracy of this country, she said.

As someone that grew up outside of the United States and came here, I have been able to accomplish everything that I have accomplished thanks to the strong democracy that this nation has. Of course Im very disappointed to see that my name on my campaign has been associated with this, because the last thing I want to do is to create mistrust in the democratic process and for the voters.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The trial of Donald Trump on charges that he conspired to undermine the peaceful transition of power will likely be a show trial  but not in the usual sense of the words.

The phrase show trial has two connotations. In the most common understanding of the term, those connotations are negative: Show trials in authoritarian regimes are sham trials used for propaganda purposes where the outcome is predetermined and the defendants condemned as traitors to the motherland.

Think of the show trials mounted by the Baathist regime under Saddam Hussein, the show trials of Josef Stalins dictatorship, or those of the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong. These sham trials were used to persecute enemies and consolidate power through the fear they generated.

But trials that capture widespread public attention and expose wrongdoing by political or business figures may also produce highly constructive and positive outcomes as well. They can promote accountability for crimes against the state or against humanity.

Yet even these positive show trials, meant to affirm the laws and values of a democracy, can end badly, as with one prosecution in Germany in the mid-1920s  of the young Nazi party leader, Adolf Hitler, who had led an unsuccessful revolt to overthrow the countrys democratic government.

Adolf Hitler, fourth from right, with his fellow defendants in the Munich Putsch trial of 1924 for their failed coup attempt by the Nazi party to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, in November 1923. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Prosecuting war crimes and corruption

As international law scholar Martti Koskenniemi has astutely noted, political show trials may be useful for establishing an impartial account of the past and for teaching younger generations of the dangers involved in particular policies. Political trials that provide the public with a compelling narrative about crimes against the public trust can therefore have positive consequences for a democracy.

The Nuremberg trials after World War II highlighted Nazi atrocities to the world, the 2002 trial of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic exposed his war crimes, and the trials of Rwandans held to account those who engaged in the mass slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus. These trials served as an opportunity to expose the truth about the defendants actions and to hold them accountable for those actions for all the world to see.

Show trials are not only useful for exposing war criminals, however. In democracies, show trials of political officials  defined as such because they captivate public attention  promote the rule of law and order to a very wide audience.

Korean President Park Geun-hye was indicted and charged with high-profile corruption charges and convicted of the abuse of power in 2018; she was later pardoned. The high-profile trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has found him accused of accepting bribes and breaching the public trust  that trial is ongoing. And after he left office, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted in 2021 and imprisoned for illegal campaign financing.

These are but a few examples of heads of state in functioning democracies who have been held to account in trials that have riveted the publics attention.

Even the U.S. has a history of political show trials.

In 1807, then-President Thomas Jefferson became personally involved in promoting the prosecution of his own vice president, Aaron Burr, for treason. Burr was Jeffersons political rival: He had challenged Jefferson for the presidency in a fight over electoral college votes in the House of Representatives.

Burrs defense counsel claimed that the fairness of Burrs trial was compromised by widespread news coverage of the event  an issue that was ultimately decided in the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that exposure to news coverage did not compromise the trial. Burr was acquitted.

But there is a darker outcome lurking in show trials.

Several hundred journalists line up outside the War Crimes Tribunal where former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was being tried for alleged war crimes, July 3, 2001, in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images

Hitlers trial fueled rise to power

The facts underlying many political trials arise in a historical context. The interpretation of that context  let alone the very facts of the history  may be disputed.

Although comparisons with Hitler are largely considered out of bounds when discussing current politics and politicians, its relevant to any discussion of high-profile political trials that the future Nazi dictators rise to power was fueled in large part by a show trial.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler led an effort to foment revolution in Bavaria. Known as the Beer-Hall Putsch because it literally began in a beer hall, Hitler and his followers sought to lead a revolt against the governing German Weimar democracy. His effort failed and he was tried for the crime of subverting the constitution of Germany.

But in the 1924 trial, presided over by a judge sympathetic to the Nazi agenda, Hitler used the courtroom as a platform, writes law professor Douglas O. Linder, to showcase his oratorical skills and promote his views to as wide an audience as possible.

As Hitler used the trial to argue that German institutions were corrupt, his popularity grew substantially. Historian David King writes in his book about the trial that the incident caused headlines all over the international press, and Hitlers name became known thereafter. He could not have bought the kind of publicity he got at the trial even if he wanted to.

And even though he was ultimately convicted, Hitler used his time in prison to write Mein Kampf  his manifesto for Nazism  and to reinvigorate his political movement by building the Nazi party platform. By 1933, Hitler was named chancellor. After the staged Reichstag fire, the government capitulated to Nazi party rule, abolished elections and succumbed to Hitlers dictatorship.

The United States has a justice system that is far more impartial than the German judicial system during Hitlers rise to power.

But the history lesson remains relevant: Trials within a political context and the charging of political crimes have risks. Though they may be necessary to uphold the rule of law, these types of show trials may also provide the defendant with the opportunity to dispute the historical record and challenge the very governmental authority holding them to account.

Donald Trump has already begun his version of that effort.

Significant political consequences

With every indictment, Trump has become more popular with the GOPs electoral base. His social media posts clearly reflect his efforts to undermine faith in the rule of law and in the justice system.

Most recently, Trump has made statements that seem aimed at goading U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the Jan. 6 case, into holding him in contempt of court. A public post by Trump stating, If you go after me Im coming after you, seems tailor-made to convince a judge that the defendant is prepared to intimidate witnesses and disrupt the administration of justice.

History tells us that trials of political figures like Donald Trump  if he is found guilty of the crimes charged  may promote the rule of law and democracy.

But history also shows that trials may produce significant political consequences that reverberate well beyond the simple administration of justice.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters.

It was written by: Stefanie Lindquist, Arizona State University.

Read more:



Stefanie Lindquist does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A shooting at a Home Depot in Pensacola left one person dead and two others injured on Aug. 11.

Escambia County Sheriff's Office Deputies responded to what was initially reported as an active shooter around 1:22 p.m. When deputies arrived, they discovered a deceased woman who appeared to be a contract employee of Home Depot, according to ECSO Chief Deputy Andrew Hobbs.

One other contracted employee was grazed in the hand and a third employee grazed in the back, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons later confirmed.

Sheriffs officials say the shooting was a targeted attack and that the deceased woman was the intended victim.

Home Depot shooting: ECSO: One person killed, two others shot in shooting at Pensacola Home Depot

The mother of alleged Home Depot shooter Keith Agee was later arrested and charged with principal to first-degree premeditated murder.

Here's what we know about the shooting.

Who is suspected shooter Keith Eric Agee?

Keith Eric Agee, 20, of Calvert, Alabama, was arrested shortly after the shooting and remains in Escambia County Jail without bond.

ECSO Sgt. Melony Peterson said the information about the suspect was broadcast on the radio, and soon after Agee called the Pensacola Police Department from a nearby Mellow Mushroom restaurant to turn himself in. He was taken into custody without incident.

Who is Keith Eric Agee's mother, Sheila Annette Agee?

Sheila Agee, the mother of Keith Agee, appears before Judge Barry Dickson during a video hearing at the M.C. Blanchard Court House in downtown Pensacola on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Agee is charged with principal to first-degree premeditated murder of Brooklyn Sims at the Pensacola Home Depot on Aug. 11.

Sheila Agee is Keith Agee's 50-year-old mother who, according to the ECSO, allegedly helped her son kill Brooklyn Sims, a RGIS Inventory Services employee contracted to work with Home Depot.

The mother allegedly texted her son that if he didn't kill Sims, then he was "a mf b**ch." She also allegedly told Keith Agee to be careful when he kills Sims "as long as you don't shoot me."

She was arrested in Alabama Monday night and was extradited to the Escambia County Jail Wednesday morning. She was denied bond in a hearing Thursday.

What are Keith Agee and Sheila Agee's charges?

The Office of the State Attorney charged Keith Agee with one count of first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The murder charge is a capital felony, which under Florida law requires a minimum mandatory sentence of life in prison if he's convicted. Keith Agee also faces up to 15 years in prison for each aggravated battery charge.

Sheila Agee has not been formally charged by the OSA, but the ECSO is holding her in custody on one count of principal to first-degree premeditated murder.

Under Florida law, the principal theory can be liable for another person's crimes in certain circumstances. Under the theory, a person can be treated as if they've done all the things charged if the person had a conscious intent the criminal act be done and did some act or said some word which was intended to incite, encourage, assist or advise the other person or persons to actually commit the crime.

It is unknown if Sheila Agee will be charged as a principal to her son's aggravated battery charges.

What do we know about the victims?

Brooklyn Sims died from her injuries at the scene. Two of the deceased womans co-workers were also shot, one person in the hand and one person who was grazed in the back.

All three victims are employees of RGIS Inventory Services, a third party company contracted by Home Depot to conduct annual inventory surveys within the store.

"We do believe the victim was targeted," said Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons. "The other two were a consequence of the tragic incident."

What do we know about RGIS?

RGIS Inventory Services offers inventory services for retail locations across the world including 43 countries. They also inventory health care, manufacturing and warehouses. RGIS is an acronym for Retail Grocery Inventory Services and performs 174,000 inventories globally per year.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Home Depot shooting in Pensacola lands two in jail. What we know
Georgia is at the precipice of a renaissance for its once great coastal industry: oysters.

Only a handful of the oysters consumers eat on the 100-mile Georgia coast are locally grown. But that number is set to rise as the first handful of oyster aquaculture operations  maritime farms for the mollusks  put out their crop thanks to that state's first-ever mariculture leases.

Although Georgia once led the nation in wild harvests of oysters, there haven't been commercial farms for the livestock until now. Whether they're new to the industry or have decades of experience with similar products like clams, the growers snapping up the coveted state leases for oyster farms are the first of a new era in Georgia food production.

Fisheries management: Bass anglers in Georgia might be surprised to learn where their catch originated

What's in the water? Mapping to monitor: how invasive species spread during Georgia floods

Some of the Flip Farm cages currently not in use are out of the water to bleach away aby algae and barnacle growth.

Farming without many inputs

Perry and Laura Solomon own Tybee Oyster Company, the first floating oyster farm in Georgia. They are one of the winners of the state's lease lottery which took into account eight criteria and weighted them, for example, years of experience in aquaculture, years of residency in Georgia, evidence of funding and more.

In the last two months, they set out their first batches of oysters into the waters of the Bull River.

Perry Solomon checks some of the larger oysters that are ready to be separated out into more cages so they will have more room to grow at their floating oyster farm in the Bull River.

Out on their boat, they pass cement pillars declaring a "mariculture zone" and stop next to two long threads of black baskets bobbing in the current. Their lease is a tract of water off the marsh in Chatham County where they have installed two rows of connected baskets as well as floating platforms with equipment to pull and lift the strings of baskets up to assess and handle the oysters.

The Solomons use a semiautomated method called "FlipFarming" that was created in New Zealand. It's the most automated way to date to farm oysters and flip the baskets to sun them and help protect against fouling  the dirtying of the equipment and oysters by barnacles, algae and other natural forces.

Laura and Perry Solomon use a gold mining pan as they sort the tiny oysters by size at the Tybee Oyster Company floating farm in the Bull River.

Flipfarming still requires plenty of manual labor as the Solomons haul out bags of oysters and sieve them through strainers to separate the different growing sizes, hose them down and scrub barnacles and fouling off the baskets and more.

Laura and Perry say that oyster farming is a "win-win" scenario: It is good for the environment and good for Georgians, too. Oysters are filter feeders, natural water cleaners that also help add structure to shorelines along the coast. By farming, Laura said they aren't taking any oysters away from the natural environment and are helping clean the water with their own crop, which can also spawn more oysters out into the water.

For humans, the oysters are fresher and require less trucking and refrigeration. Once harvested, oysters must be kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and aren't shucked until served at a restaurant.

All the Georgia oyster producers grow a native species of oyster that's produced locally by the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Sea Grant's Shellfish Research Laboratory. They purchased about 100,000 "seed," or baby oysters, from the extension that arrived in two batches in June and July.

Hundreds of tiny oysters shine in the sunlight as Laura and Perry Solomon sort they at their floating farm in the Bull River.

Those 100,000 seed oysters fit into a quart-sized plastic container. In the weeks since their arrival, some have already grown so big they're nearing market size in length. However, Perry said they'll need many more months to grow firmer shells and reach the bigger, quality meat expected on the market. The average time it takes an oyster to reach market size is nine to 12 months.

Oyster farmers don't have to feed their oysters to plump them up, nor do they employ any other inputs that terrestrial agriculture uses such as fertilizers or antibiotics. Perry said that since the oysters are floating rather than in the mud, their product barely even needs to be rinsed off coming out of the water because the current does it for them.

"You're tasting the place of where they're from," Perry said. The oysters take on the distinct salinity and flavor of their ecosystem, making a Tybee oyster entirely different from one raised anywhere else.

The mariculture zone in Chatham County is one of two in Georgia: The other is located in the Mud River behind Sapelo Island. The Solomons' lease is sandwiched between two other leases, but neither of those tenants has received their permits or started operations yet.

A sign marks the special mariculture zone in the Bull River near the Wassaw Sound in Chatham County, Georgia.

Barriers to business

Both the Solomons are trained engineers and would describe themselves as analytical and methodical. When it comes to being the first to flipfarm in Georgia, Laura said being the first might have something to do with a naturally competitive spirit.

"You need to have a stomach for risk," Perry said.

Both Perry and Laura have day jobs and multiple kids, on top of running their new business. This time of year, they say they are on-site daily early in the morning to beat the heat. But they're looking forward to the oysters growing and connecting with local restaurants and businesses to sell their product right where it came from.

He said he's heard estimates from industry experts that it takes probably around $100,000 minimum just to get an oyster farming operation started.

And that's assuming you already have a boat.

Laura said that number is likely higher since a barrier to starting for them was that they had to pay for the lease and continue paying for the water for two years while waiting for permits to be approved. It was a big time and money commitment while the business wasn't producing yet.

"It took us a year and a half to get permitted," Laura said, "in which time you're paying on the lease." She and Perry said the permitting process through the Army Corps of Engineers has held up many of the leaseholders from proceeding.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Savannah District submitted a statement to the Savannah Morning News stating that there is no standard time for this process in large part because these are the first permits of their kind.

"In 2018, we determined none of the existing shellfish farming operations (1,492 acres) had been permitted by the Army Corps under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act or Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and we began working with [Coastal Resources Division] to bring these existing operations into compliance," USACE spokesperson Cheri Dragos-Pritchard wrote.

Shortly thereafter, Dragos-Pritchard said, the state codified a process for certifying shellfish hatcheries and nurseries, which took effect on March 1, 2020. Since then, USACE, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division and shellfish growers have been working to issue the required federal authorizations. From June 2021 to present, the Savannah District has received 30 individual applications for activities associated with shellfish farm operations.

Dragos-Pritchard said that many of the applications have been modified over time, as the state and the applicants were not familiar with some of the information they needed to provide as part of these applications, which has added time to the process.

As of now, approximately nine of these applications have been authorized and another 21 are still being processed. Of note, none of the existing shellfish farms have been required to cease operations or remove any gear.

Early oyster consumers: UGA archeologists' coastal research sheds light on native populations 4,500 years ago

Hundreds of tiny oysters are kept in a bag inside the floating farm until they reach a size that will allow them to be placed directly in the floating cages.

Hatching new leases on an old industry

According to the CDR, Georgia led the country in oyster harvests at the turn of the 20th century, harvesting 8 million pounds annually. Those were mostly tinned oysters since Georgia's naturally craggy, clustered oysters weren't prime for oysters on the half-shell. But by the 1930s, overharvesting hit the industry. Later into the 1900s, tastes changed, and interest for tinned oysters yielded to oysters on the half-shell, thus ending Georgia's heyday.

Tom Bliss, director of the University of Georgias Shellfish Research Laboratory at the UGA Marine Extension and Sea Grant in Savannah, said the lab helped lay the groundwork for the budding oyster industry when it received a grant from the Georgia DNR in 2014 to start an oyster hatchery.

"We can only aquaculture species here that are native species," Bliss said. "If we have a really healthy female, she'll produce in the neighborhood of five to 10 million eggs at one spot."

He said that the hatchery retains about 10% of what they put in, not because they all die but because the lab culls the slow-growing oysters. Since they are making oysters for producers in the consumer market, consistent quality is important.

Now, the lab has worked to spawn millions of little oysters looking to provide good stock for local farmers. But before that, state law had to change. Up until 2020, Bliss said Georgia was operating under rules and regulations that were written in 1981.

Laura and Perry Solomon use a gold mining pan and spray the tiny oysters with saltwater to separate the sizes.

"For years we had a moratorium  you cannot use any equipment and everything had to be by hand," Bliss said. "If you have had local oysters, that has been picked by somebody at low tide by hand. It is very labor intensive and time consuming, but a great product for an oyster roast."

But in 2019, the state legislature passed laws allowing mariculture zones, and between then and about 2021 the CDR spent time studying other states' models and devising how to implement mariculture successfully in Georgia.

Georgia was the last state from Texas to Maine to legalize oyster mariculture.

Historically, Georgia's oyster season tends to close from around June 1 until October 1 because, during the summer months, harvested oysters are more likely to harbor a bacteria called vibrio which in intertidal zones  where oysters grow between the tide so they dry out at low tide  is affected by water temperatures. But methods like floating farms allow growers to produce oysters subtidally, meaning the oysters are always submerged.

The UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory is conducting research on vibrio in subtidal oysters demonstrating that in this growing method the bacteria can be mitigated. The lab received a National Sea Grant to study vibrio and has seen in its work that bacterial levels not only met safe standards but were further below the federal standards for the bacteria.

Nevertheless, Bliss said any growers looking to harvest during those summer months must go through additional rigorous permitting to ensure health and safety standards.

The Solomon family isn't the only producers in Georgia taking advantage of the new leases for mariculture, and within the next few years Bliss said coastal Georgians can look forward to seeing more local fare on their plates.

Marisa is an environmental journalist covering climate and the coast. She can be reached at mmecke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia state leases for oyster farming bolster state mariculture
SARTA logo

CANTON  A 47-year-old homeless woman is accused of stealing a 14-passenger bus from the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority headquarters on Thursday morning.

A Canton police officer found the vehicle and woman parked at a store about two miles away along Waynesburg Drive in Canton Township. The officer reported that the bus was backed in beside a trash bin with the woman inside. The suspect, who has been charged with grand theft, told authorities that she drove off with the bus because she was running from her father, who was chasing her.

The woman had told SARTA employees that she was on the transit system's property at 1600 Gateway Blvd. SE to pick up a car that her cousin had left there for her with the keys inside.

But a transit system employee said she was in an employee's vehicle and SARTA workers told her to leave. The suspect walked toward the front of the property and drove off with a bus that was sitting at the gas pumps, a police report said.

The woman told authorities, who responded at 7:03 a.m., that she is homeless and not from the Canton area, showing police identification from Tennessee.

The 2015 Ford bus, powered by compressed natural gas, was not damaged, said SARTA CEO and Executive Director Kirt Conrad. He said no policies were violated and no employees were disciplined. He wrote in an email that policies and operations are being reviewed.

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

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Homeless woman accused of stealing SARTA bus
A man suspected of homicide in St. Louis was arrested Thursday in Springfield following a struggle between the man and law enforcement, police officials said.

Deondre Powell, 29, of St. Louis, was arrested and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, resisting arrest and aggravated battery of a police officer for his alleged actions Thursday morning in the 2700 block of South MacArthur Boulevard.

The Springfield Police Department said that at 10:52 a.m., officers were assisting members of the U.S. Marshals' Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in apprehending Powell. When Powell was met by the police, he fled on foot with SPD officers giving chase. He was soon taken to the ground but continued to resist arrest and fired shots from a handgun at the officers.

One officer fired his Taser to subdue Powell and take him into custody. Three SPD officers sustained minor injuries in the incident.

Powell had two separate warrants for his arrest, one from St. Louis and another from the Illinois Department of Corrections for parole issues. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said that Powell was a suspect in both a homicide case and a first-degree domestic assault, with the homicide occurring last Thursday in the 4700 block of Riverview.

SLMPD said that officers found a 30-year-old woman unconscious and barely breathing with a gunshot wound to the head. She was soon transported to an area hospital, where she died.

The domestic assault occurred Monday at the corner of Interstate 70 and Shreve Avenue, with a 19-year-old woman reporting being shot in a car by someone claiming to be her child's father before being thrown from the car while it traveled east on I-70 towards the city.

Powell is currently being held in the Sangamon County Jail awaiting official charges from the Sangamon County State's Attorney's Office. Anyone with information on the incident is being asked to contact SPD at (217) 788-8311 or Sangamon/Menard County CrimeStoppers at (217) 788-8427.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: St. Louis man suspected of homicide arrested in Springfield
P'Aris Mi-Unique Moore, 8, was shot to death Dec. 30, 2022 as she played in the front yard of a relative's house in Hopewell. Police have arrested a Hopewell man and a Chesterfield County man in her death.

HOPEWELL  The mother of the little girl killed last December in Hopewell had strong words for the two men arrested this week in her daughters death.

Im lost and Im all over the place, and Im not so forgiving these days, Taylor told The Progress-Index Friday afternoon. I hope they get everything they got coming to them.

Jamari Antonio Taylor, 20, of Hopewell, and Rayquan Latrel Harvell, 18, of Chesterfield County, were indicted Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Taylor also was indicted on conspiracy to commit murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Eight-year-old PAris Mi-Unique Moore was shot once in the chest on Dec. 30, 2022, as she played in the front yard of a relatives house on Freeman Street in Hopewells Arlington area. She died later at TriCities Hospital in Hopewell.

Witnesses told police they had seen a light-colored four-door sedan speeding through the neighborhood around the time that the little girl was shot.

Even though she has the same last name as one of the suspects, Brionna Taylor said she did not know who either of them were. She did have strong words for them, however, in her Facebook reaction to the arrests, saying that "Hell gotta special seat for y'all devilish no care for life [people]."

"This just the beginning & y'all mamas know y'all was up to some, too [sic]," she wrote.

Both men are being held without bond in Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County. A hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Hopewell Circuit Court.

In a statement announcing the arrests, deputy police chief Donald Reid said he was thankful for the work done by the entire department and the commonwealths attorneys office. On Tuesday, Commonwealths Attorney Rick Newman said a grand jury handed up indictments in the girls death and two other high-profile homicides.

Thursday, police arrested Jerrell Armani Crawley, 27, of Petersburg, in connection with the May 2022 shooting death of 27-year-old Deanthony Davis, also of Petersburg, in the parking lot of Carter G. Woodson Middle School.

The other indictment is for the Thanksgiving night 2019 murder of Richmond Fire Lt. Ashley Berry in a drive-by shooting on Sunnyside Avenue. The suspect in that case has not yet been apprehended.

We remain proud of our community, and all who provided valuable information to assist in this investigation, Reid said on the arrests of Taylor and Harvell.

The PAris Moore case has been in the news lately for a civil suit Brionna Taylor brought against Hopewell City Councilor Dominic Holloway last June. In that suit, she claimed Holloway took $5,600 from a GoFundMe account he set up for the childs family to pay child support. Holloway has denied the accusation.

More: Judge continues GoFundMe suit against Hopewell councilor after issues with serving warrant

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Two men arrested in 2022 death of Hopewell child
Attorney Roderick Edmond (left) is joined by Treveon Taylor, Jessica Ross and attorney Cory Lynch at a news conference on Wednesday - Sudhin Thanawala/AP

Hospital staff tried to cover up the fact that a baby was decapitated when a doctor delivered him with ridiculously excessive force, it has been claimed.

Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor are suing their obstetrician and Southern Regional Medical Center, based in Riverdale, Georgia, after their son Isiah Taylor Jr died during a nightmare birth.

Dr Tracey St Julian is said to have applied traction to the babys head when he became stuck in the birth canal, breaking his neck and severing his head in the process.

Medical staff not only failed to report the incident, but attempted to cover it up by wrapping the boys body in a blanket and propping up his head to make it appear as though it was still attached, the couple claim.

The couple only found out what had happened to their baby four days after his death on July 9 while making arrangements at a crematorium, where funeral home staff told them about the childs decapitation, it is alleged.

The Medical Examiners office and local police were made aware of the incident at the same time.

Roderick Edmond, a lawyer representing the parents, alleged Dr St Julian had used ridiculously excessive force during the birth.

He said: In the process of trying to deliver the baby, [she] pulled on the babys head and neck so hard, and manipulated them so hard, that the bones of the babys skull, face, and neck were broken.

When the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out, and there was no head.

Cory Lynch, who is also representing the couple, added: They were so excited about the birth of their first child.

Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center.

Emotional distress

Ms Ross and Mr Taylor have alleged gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They are seeking unspecified damages, in addition to covering the cost of the infants $10,000 (7,850) funeral.

They allege that Southern Regional staff tried to cover up the decapitation by discouraging the couple from getting a post-mortem examination, encouraging them to have their son cremated, and wrapping and propping his body to make it appear that the head was still attached.

Several nurses are also accused of gross negligence for allegedly failing to follow the correct medical procedures once the incident took place. The couples lawyers say the nurses owed an independent duty to the family.

Clayton County Police department said officers had opened an independent investigation into the babys death.

The force said on Wednesday: We are in the preliminary phase of an active and ongoing investigation at this time. We will not [be] able to provide additional details at this time due to the nature of the open investigation.

In a statement, Prime Healthcare Services, which owns the hospital, said: Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event.

Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking.

It added that Dr St Julian was not an employee of the hospital, and it claimed to have taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation.

Dr St Julians office has been approached for comment.

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Our planet is getting hotter. A lot hotter. The Earth is experiencing temperatures not seen in 125,000 years and the impact is clear: wildfires from the Mediterranean to Canada that have released a staggering 1 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. And our weather is becoming more violent. Pakistan is still recovering from devastating floods last year, which claimed thousands of lives and damaged or destroyed 2.2 million homes. Europe alone suffered an estimated 60,000-plus heat-related deaths in 2022.

The entire international community must unite and commit to corrective action. In late July, I met in India with ministers from the G20 group of developed and major developing nations. Together these countries produce 85% of the worlds economic output and 80% of its CO2 emissions, putting them firmly in the driving seat of our collective response to climate change. Without the collective leadership of the G20, the world will remain hostage to climate inaction. With just over 100 days until this years COP28 meeting in the UAE, we all need to step up, make the necessary commitments and unite in concerted action.

Let me be honest: I never expected COP28 to be easy. But we all know that the later we agree and act, the harder and more expensive it will be to decarbonize our economies and embrace the green innovations and opportunities that will drive the jobs and prosperity of the future.

We cannot afford any further delay. In a few weeks, the first Global Stocktakea process for countries and stakeholders to see where theyre collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreementwill make for dire reading. We hardly need a report to tell us were way off track.

Yet I am optimistic that, together, we can still seize the moment and keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C within reach, if we act with unprecedented unity and solidarity. Containing climate change is a political, technological, and engineering challenge that requires a political, technological, and engineering response.

First, we need to fast-track the transformation of the worlds energy system through a just and orderly transition, with a rapid phase-up of renewable energy as we build towards an energy system free of all unabated fossil fuels. Between now and 2030, that means tripling global renewable capacity to 11,000 GW, more than eight times the total generating capacity of the U.S.

Oil and gas companies must align around net zero, eradicating methane emissions by 2030 and aligning themselves to Net Zero emissions by or before 2050. The phasing down of fossil fuels is inevitable, essential and it must be responsible. In parallel, we need to double production of low-carbon hydrogen, a fuel crucial to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like cement, steel, and aluminum.

Second, we need to upgrade our climate-finance architecture to unlock the public and private capital required for the transition  the developing world alone requires trillions of dollars of annual investment. The starting point must be restoring trust in the multilateral system. We need to bring private capital at scale through new innovative financing solutions in the developing world. I am confident, as I continue speaking to colleagues across the globe, that we can make good on the historic $100 billion of financing commitments to developing countries this year and continue to get significant finance flowing into the emerging and developing world.

And third, we need to rethink the way we produce and consume food. Currently, our entire food systemfrom plant to platteris responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. We need to switch to farming that works with nature, not against it, that stores carbon, not emits it, that regenerates soil, not degrades it. And all while providing enough for all of us to eat.

Success in each area rests on leveraging every tool at our disposalslashing red tape around everything from rooftop solar to deep-sea floating wind-farms; upgrading power grids to make them smarter, more interconnected and more flexible; deploying low-carbon baseload power like nuclear; building high-quality voluntary carbon markets; promoting the use of organic fertilizer.

Such enormous steps will push the limits of what is physically, financially, and politically feasible. Yet with the collective will of governments, the private sector, and each and every one of us, we can make it happen.

We must unite

Im hopeful that over the coming months we will find agreement. After all, we share the same goal: to safeguard a world that we all want to live in. A world where fewer people die from heat stress; where natural disasters cause fewer casualties; where crops endure through drought; where infrastructure is climate-proof; and where climate finance is accessible, available and affordable for all.

The priorities are clear. We have to fast-track a just and orderly energy transition; fix climate finance; focus on lives and livelihoods; and mobilize the most inclusive COP. I urge my fellow leaders to set aside their differences, work together for the collective good andtrusting science as our guidecommit to a course that keeps 1.5C within reach.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
More than 30% of North Carolina students are chronically absent from school  nearly double the rate that existed before the pandemic.

North Carolinas spike in chronic absenteeism, meaning students missed at least 10% of the school year, is part of a troubling national trend. More than a quarter of students nationally were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year  a 91% increase from before the pandemic in the 2018-19 school year.

All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students nationally became chronically absent, according to the data, which was compiled by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. Taken together, the data from 40 states and the District of Columbia, provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide.

The absences come on top of time students missed during school closures and pandemic disruptions. They cost crucial classroom time as schools work to recover from massive learning setbacks.

Absent students miss out not only on instruction but all the other things schools provide  meals, counseling, socialization. In the end, students who are chronically absent  missing 18 or more days a year, in most places  are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out.

The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating. And the pandemic has absolutely made things worse and for more students, said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit addressing chronic absenteeism.

Map showing state-by-state rates of chronically absent students in the 2021-22 school year. Associated Press

470,000 NC students chronically absent

In seven states, the rate of chronically absent kids doubled for the 2021-22 school year, from 2018-19. Absences worsened in every state with available data. Notably, the analysis found growth in chronic absenteeism did not correlate strongly with state COVID rates.

In North Carolina, the percentage of chronically absent students rose from 15.88% in the 2018-19 school year to 31.18% in the 2021-22 school year. Thats a 96% percentage point increase.

North Carolina had the 13th highest rate of chronic absenteeism in the 2021-22 school year, according to the data from the available states and the District of Columbia.. North Carolina also had the 10th-highest percentage point increase.

Absences worsened in every state with available data, according to an analysis by Stanford University professor Thomas Dee. Associated Press

Absences nationally were more prevalent among Latino, Black and low-income students, according to Dees analysis. Thats reflected as well in North Carolinas data, with the chronic absenteeism rate being 38% for Black students and 35% for Hispanic students. It was 26% for white students and 14% for Asian students.

Nearly 470,000 North Carolina K-12 students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year. Thats an additional 225,000 students since the pandemic.

Why are kids staying home?

Figures for North Carolina and most states arent available yet for the 2022-23 school year. But Dee said the data from the few states that have released 2022-23 figures indicate that chronic absenteeism remains double pre-pandemic levels.

Kids are staying home for myriad reasons  finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying and generally feeling unwelcome at school.

And the effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students dont see the point of regular attendance.

For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day. Families got used to that, said Elmer Roldan, of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, which helps schools follow up with absent students.

Third graders raise their hands to answer questions during a lesson on May 20, 2022 at Buckhorn Creek Elementary in Holly Springs, N.C. Chronic student absenteeism rose to 31% in North Carolina schools in the 2021-22 school year. Scott Sharpe/ssharpe@newsobserver.com

Dee said schools can help by reaching out to parents about absences in a non-judgmental way. He said schools shouldnt excoriate families about missing school but talk about the value of learning.

When you provide text messaging or informative postcards to families about whats going on with their student attendance, that can have quite good impact, Dee said in a briefing with reporters. Again, in a low-cost way thats relatively easy to upscale with fidelity.

North Carolinas attendance goal

The high chronic absenteeism rate is a call to action in North Carolina.

myFutureNC has set a goal to lower the chronic absenteeism rate to 11% by 2030. The statewide non-profit group says more students need to be in school regularly to meet the goal of having two million North Carolinians have a postsecondary degree or job credential by 2030.

Chronic absenteeism needs to be taken seriously if we want to meet our educational attainment goals, said Emma Marshall, a research analyst at the Carolina Demography Center, part of the Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Marshall authored a blog post on North Carolinas rising chronic absenteeism rate.

The state Department of Public Instruction is taking the issue of chronic absenteeism seriously, according to Blair Rhoades, a DPI spokesperson. She pointed to how DPI and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt may recommend including chronic absenteeism as one of the ways to measure schools in a revised school performance grading system.

Rhoades said including chronic absenteeism as a measure of school performance will provide additional visibility around the issue.

Dee said educators need to be preemptive heading into the new school year in addressing the attendance issue.

This rise in chronic absenteeism is seriously relevant to our recovery challenges because our most prominent efforts at academic recovery from the pandemic involve in-school activities such as tutoring and extended learning time and supports that involve you being in the building, Dee said. If students arent there, thats really going to vex what schools are trying to do.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In the last year since the PACT Act went into effect, the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded benefits and health care to hundreds of thousands of veterans, with more expected to qualify as they develop illnesses related to exposure to burn pits and other battlefield toxins.

By Thursday, the anniversary of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT Act, the VA had received 843,448 claims under the legislation and enrolled 113,719 veterans in VA health care as a result of the law.

The department has distributed $1.85 billion in disability compensation and other benefits to 340,754 eligible veterans or survivors, a number that will increase as the VA processes a half-million pending claims and receives applications from 1.65 million veterans who have submitted an intent to file in the past year.

Read Next: Soldiers at JBLM Authorized to Buy AC Units as Base Moves Toward Air-Conditioned Barracks

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said Thursday that millions of veterans are now receiving health care and compensation for conditions "that followed them home from war."

"We're proud that so many veterans and survivors have already benefited from the PACT Act, but this is just the beginning: We won't rest until every veteran and every survivor gets the VA health care and benefits they deserve," McDonough said in a statement released Thursday.

The PACT Act expanded health care and disability benefits to potentially 6 million veterans exposed to burn pits and other environmental pollution while serving in the Middle East, southeast Asia and elsewhere, including post-9/11, Persian Gulf War and some Vietnam-era veterans -- the largest expansion of VA benefits in decades.

Anticipating an influx of new patients and veterans eligible for disability benefits, the VA embarked on a hiring effort to attract medical providers, as well as claims specialists. It also introduced an automated system to accelerate the claims process for common conditions that warrant disability compensation and to prevent its backlog of claims that are older than 125 days from growing exponentially.

Since the PACT Act was signed on Aug. 10, 2022, the disability claims backlog has grown. In September, it was slightly less than 150,000 claims; it is currently at 272,925 claims but could grow to as much as 730,000 next year.

Veterans who develop an illness related to exposures covered by the legislation or their survivors may file a claim at any time. However, eligible beneficiaries were encouraged to submit a claim or an intent to file a claim by Aug. 9 to receive retroactive benefits to the date that President Joe Biden signed the law last year.

That date has been extended to Aug. 14 as a result of technical issues with the website designed to submit claims and intentions to file claims, according to the VA -- an extension that earned praise from lawmakers shortly after it was announced Thursday but also criticism from those who believe the department should have been better prepared.

House Veterans Affairs Chairman Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., sent a letter to McDonough saying that the technological glitch that affected roughly 5,600 veterans should not have happened.

"VA's failure to anticipate and prepare for the increased volume of submissions as the PACT Act deadline approached is unacceptable, given that the situation was easily foreseeable as this law is the largest expansion of health care and benefits for veterans in recent history," Bost wrote.

The VA said it has approved PACT Act applications at a rate of roughly four in five claims, with an average assigned disability rating of 70%.

Some veterans have been surprised, however, that they have received 0% disability ratings for some conditions, such as hypertension, which was designated a presumptive condition for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange under the PACT Act.

According to affected veterans who have contacted Military.com, Vietnam-era veterans who have hypertension that is controlled by medication have received a 0% disability rating.

That includes former Army Spc. Jeff O'Malley, a Vietnam veteran whose Freedom of Information Act requests and research led to an understanding of the VA's decision to not count hypertension in a list of new presumptive conditions tied to Agent Orange in 2017.

His hypertension is barely controlled by medication.

"I worked so hard to get this done," O'Malley told Military.com. "It's not just me."

According to data provided to Military.com by the VA, more than one-third of PACT Act disability ratings awards have received a 0% disability rating, meaning that affected veterans are eligible for benefits and services such as health care, federal hiring preferences and travel allowances for VA medical appointments, but not disability compensation.

The 0% disability rating also can lead to a secondary service connection for any condition caused by the originally rated condition, according to VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes.

Hayes said that if hypertension eventually causes cardiovascular disease, then the affected veteran can get service connection for heart disease, which "would likely have a higher rating."

"And if that heart disease causes the veteran's death, the veteran's spouse would be entitled to survivor's benefits," Hayes said.

In addition to the increase in disability claims submissions, more than 113,000 veterans from the PACT Act population have been added to VA health care as a result of the legislation.

Lawmakers and advocates who fought for passage of the PACT Act celebrated the anniversary during a number of events and press conferences Thursday.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., said it is important that service members, veterans, physicians and others need to be aware of the potential dangers of battlefield exposures and the benefits that vets and survivors rate as a result of the PACT Act.

His constituent, Air Force veteran Jennifer Kepner, died of pancreatic cancer as a result of exposure to burn pits used to dispose of garbage, chemicals and industrial waste in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"Her story fueled my anger, my passion to get this legislation passed for all veterans," Ruiz said, noting that the president's son, former Army National Guard Maj. Beau Biden, was stationed at the same base as Kepner in Iraq and died of brain cancer linked to burn pit exposure.

"We got it done," Ruiz said during a press conference alongside the Kepner family.

During an event in Salt Lake City marking the anniversary Thursday, President Biden emphasized the act's importance in helping veterans and survivors, including Robinson's wife and daughter, and praised those who worked on the law.

"Everyone who fought so hard, came together to keep promises to the veterans, to keep faith for our heroes. That's courage. That's character," Biden said. "There is nothing beyond our capacity when we decide to work together to get it done. We never fail when we do that."

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on X and Threads @patriciakime.

Related: After Website Problems, VA Extends PACT Act Deadline for Retroactive Benefit Claims
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 08: House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) is seen in front of a newspaper page with a photograph of Hunter Biden and his father President Joe Biden during the Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media hearing with former Twitter employees before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday February 08, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Hunter Biden case has become the latest example of Americas dueling realities.

If youre a Republican, there is a good chance you believe that Democrats and the mainstream media are deliberately minimizing a scandal that calls into question President Joe Bidens honesty and threatens his presidency. I know some conservative readers of The Morning feel this way because they have written to me to say so.

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If youre a Democrat, you likely believe that this so-called scandal is a transparent attempt to distract from Donald Trumps far worse behavior. You may see the Hunter Biden obsession as the latest in a line of conservative conspiracy theories, joining Barack Obamas birthplace, John Kerrys Vietnam War record and the suicide of Vince Foster.

This is for both those readers who believe the case deserves more attention and those whose instinct is to skip any article about Hunter Biden. I hope to avoid committing the journalistic sin of false balance while explaining why the story deserves some attention from everybody.

Cashing In

When top Democrats are asked about Hunter Biden, they tend to dismiss his problems as a private issue. Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said last month when asked about federal tax and gun charges against him. The president, the first lady, they love their son, and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life.

This explanation is partially fair. Hunter Biden has struggled with drug addiction. His failure to pay taxes seems connected to the chaos of his life while he was using crack cocaine, and the gun charge stems from his claiming to be sober when he bought a handgun in 2018.

But its a stretch for anyone to suggest that Hunter Biden is merely a private citizen. When his father was vice president from 2009 to 2017, Hunter Biden tried to create the impression that he could leverage his family connections to help his clients, as a former business partner has testified to Congress.

Some clients believed it. Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, put Hunter Biden on its board in an attempt to signal that it was pro-Western. A Chinese tycoon also signed a partnership with him. All told, Hunter Biden made more than $800,000 in 2013 and more than $1.2 million in 2014.

My colleague Luke Broadwater, who covers Congress, said that he initially found the public discussion of Hunter Biden to be uninteresting  typical partisan noise. But Broadwater came to believe the story was more important. Many rich and famous people try to cash in on their family name, including relatives of the politicians, Broadwater said. Its certainly worth newspaper coverage.

Broadwater notes that Joe Biden made a false statement during a 2020 campaign debate when he claimed, My son has not made money in China. The only guy who made money from China is this guy, Biden continued, referring to Trump. (Amazingly, Biden was correct about the Trump part: The Trumps received money from the same Chinese company.)

These details are not pretty. Hunter Biden made substantial sums of money from the perception of his proximity to top government officials, and the president has claimed otherwise. That story is notably different from past Republican lies about Obamas birthplace or Kerrys war record.

Unsupported Claims

The problem for Bidens Republican critics is that they are making their own untruthful statements  or at least statements lacking any support. House Republicans have claimed that the elder Biden himself received money as part of Hunters business dealings; they have produced no evidence to support the claim, Broadwater notes. There is also no evidence that Joe Biden altered policy to benefit Hunters clients.

Sometimes, the Republican claims have turned farcical. House Republicans portrayed Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, as a truth teller who would expose the Bidens. Luft has not done so. Instead, a grand jury indicted him last month for acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government and helping Iran evade sanctions. Luft denies any wrongdoing.

For anybody who wants to dig deeper into the Hunter Biden saga, I recommend a detailed article by my colleagues Adam Entous, Michael Schmidt and Katie Benner. Heres the key sentence: The real Hunter Biden story is complex and very different in important ways from the narrative promoted by Republicans  but troubling in its own way. As Schmidt said to me, Should the vice presidents son be selling the perception of access to his father even if that son isnt delivering anything for that money?

Jonathan Chait of New York magazine has compared Hunter Biden to the Supreme Court justices who have accepted large gifts from private citizens. In American politics, the worst abuses by powerful people usually involve clever ways to exploit the law without committing crimes, Chait wrote.

Yes, Trump and his family have profited much more from their government service than Hunter Biden has. But that isnt a fully satisfying explanation to many Americans. Perhaps, Chait argues, its time for stricter ethics rules for the highest officials and their close relatives.

Its unsavory, but its not a crime is a good argument for a defense lawyer. Its not a great argument for people who are in a position to write new laws and whose survival depends on refuting the cynicism of a pseudo-populist whose appeal is rooted in the corrosive assumption that every politician is on the take.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The top Delaware federal prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden, the presidents son, has been granted more independent powers as a special counselakin to the autonomous prosecutor Jack Smith whos investigating former President Donald Trump.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the move at a brief press conference from the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

David C. Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for the state of Delaware, was appointed by Trump and kept onboard by President Joe Biden. He has been overseeing all federal criminal cases in that state, including the sensitive probe into illegal activities by the presidents son. All the while, the Biden administration has affirmed that Weiss continued to conduct his own investigation without meddling from the White House.

However, Weiss approached Garland on Tuesday and privately asked to be elevated to the status of a special counsel, a position that traditionally further insulates a prosecutor from any potential outside political pressure, Garland said. During his announcement Friday, Garland said he agreed.

Weiss told him that the investigation, in his judgment, had reached a stage at which he could better continue his work as a special counsel, Garland recalled, citing extraordinary circumstances.

It is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said, noting that Weiss would now get all the resources he requests and has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he needs independently.

Attorney General Merrick Garland Was Actually Pretty Harsh on Hunter Biden

The DOJ has been under fire for the way it has handled the Hunter Biden investigation thus far, given that it has taken several years to prosecute what, at first glance, seems like a relatively straightforward criminal case. The younger Biden didnt pay taxes for at least two years and wrote a book describing how he constantly used illicit drugsat the same time that he bought a gun, which is also illegal.

In recent weeks, he was charged with federal crimes and prosecutors presented him with a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid prison time and drop the gun charges. However, that deal fell apart in spectacular fashion during his court appearance last month, when questions by a federal judge revealed that Bidens lawyers thought this was all overwhile the feds revealed they planned to keep investigating other matters, such as his foreign business deals.

In the weeks since that courtroom surprise, federal prosecutors and Bidens defense team have been negotiating how to proceed. Its not working out. On Friday, prosecutors wrote to U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika with a sobering update.

Since that time, the parties have engaged in further plea negotiations but are at an impasse, wrote special assistant U.S. attorneys Leo J. Wise and Derek E. Hines. Now that the parties are at an impasse, a trial is in order.

Heres Why Hunter Bidens Plea Deal Collapsed

On Friday, Garland noted that the wider Hunter Biden investigation does indeed remain open, which is welcome news to critical Republicans who claimwithout yet presenting concrete evidencethat the younger Biden has abused his proximity to his father.

Weiss will remain the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, but hell now wear a dual hat that also allows him to investigate Hunter Biden.

I am confident [he] will carry out his responsibility in an even-handed and urgent manner, Garland said.

At this point, there are now three DOJ special counsels simultaneously running different investigations that delve into the highest elected office in the land. Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was also appointed by Garland earlier this year, is investigating how President Biden handled classified documents after his term as vice president during the Obama administration. Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating all kinds of alleged criminal activity by former President Donald Trump and has used two grand juries to indict him in Washington for plotting a coup and in Florida for mishandling classified records.

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Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen, make their way to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC on December 16, 2022 (Mandel NGAN)

Shady business deals, drugs and women: Hunter Biden has lived a turbulent life under two shadows -- that of his father, President Joe Biden, and his older brother Beau, who died of cancer in 2015.

The 53-year-old Hunter Biden's efforts to put his lurid past behind him suffered a setback on Friday as Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel to look into his affairs.

Hunter Biden's legal and personal troubles have made him a vulnerable target for Joe Biden's Republican political opponents and the attacks have ramped up with the Democratic president now seeking a second term in office.

Republicans in Congress have launched multiple probes into business deals Hunter Biden entered into in China and Ukraine while his father was vice president under Barack Obama.

A plea deal Hunter Biden reached with the Justice Department to avoid prison on tax and gun charges fell apart in July and Garland on Friday elevated the prosecutor who brought those cases to special counsel status.

If some see Hunter as the family black sheep, his father has stuck by him.

"My son has done nothing wrong. I trust him. I have faith in him," Joe Biden said recently as Republicans lawmakers embarked on a new investigation.

- Alcohol and crack -

A graduate of the elite Yale law school, Hunter drifted between jobs in government, banking and lobbying before landing in a family-controlled hedge fund and his own international business consultancy in the late 2000s.

But his life was marred by alcoholism and addiction to crack cocaine and stints in rehabilitation.

Hunter ties his addictions to the car crash that killed his mother and sister when he was three years old and hospitalized him with a fractured skull.

But he also lived in the shadow of Beau, who had a sterling military career and went into politics before being felled by brain cancer in 2015.

Joe Biden frequently speaks publicly about the loss of his elder son, who he had predicted could become president one day.

Meanwhile Hunter rarely got a mention.

Hunter wrote in his memoir that after Beau's death his drug usage only got worse, hitting bottom around the time his father's vice presidency ended in 2017.

His marriage fell apart and he lost custody of their three daughters.

He had an affair with Beau's widow, had a daughter with a woman in Arkansas who later sued him for child support, and then saw his files, emails and lurid photos from his laptop computer made public by his father's enemies.

And he came under investigation by the Justice Department over millions of dollars he earned from his overseas investments.

But if Joe seemed to favor Beau, he defended Hunter when challenged, like during the 2020 presidential race when Trump raised Hunter's drug use and business deals during a debate.

"My son, like a lot people ... had a drug problem, Joe Biden said on national television.

"He's overtaken it, he's fixed it, he's worked on it. And I'm proud of him. I'm proud of my son," he said.

- 'Never judged me' -

In his 2020 memoir "Beautiful Things," Hunter Biden recounted his days chugging vodka from the bottle, wandering around seedy neighborhoods at night searching for crack, and multiple failed attempts to get clean.

He said that in 2019 he was able to pick himself up after an intervention by his father and his second wife Melissa.

The one thing that helped him, he wrote, was his father's unconditional love.

"He never abandoned me, never shunned me, never judged me, no matter how bad things got," Hunter wrote.

"There were times when his persistence infuriated me -- I'd attempt to fade to black through alcoholism or drug addiction, and then there he was, barging in again with his lantern, shining a light, disrupting my plans to disappear," he said.

Today Hunter says he is clean. He had a son with Melissa, whom he named Beau.

He took up painting, though that brought fresh controversy when unnamed collectors bought his works for prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

pmh-cl/tjj
Hunter Biden Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Hunter Biden's legal troubles just got a whole lot worse.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate him.

Meanwhile, Biden's plea deal for tax crimes and a gun charge has collapsed. The president's son could soon face a trial.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday signaled that the Justice Department is deepening its investigation into Hunter Biden by elevating US Attorney David Weiss to the level of special counsel.

The surprise announcement came as federal prosecutors suggested that a plea deal with the president's son is now effectively dead after a Trump-appointed judge refused to accept it. The twin developments now increase the likelihood that President Joe Biden's family will face increased scrutiny as the president campaigns for his reelection, especially since the collapse of the plea deal would mean Hunter Biden would stand trial.

Garland, who has repeatedly declared that Weiss has the ultimate say over the DOJ's Hunter Biden probe, said that Weiss had asked him earlier this week to be elevated to special counsel. Weiss, a Trump appointee, will remain Delaware's US Attorney, a post he was allowed to stay in after Biden took power.

"This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests," Garland said during a news conference. "It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation, and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently based only on the facts and the law."

Weiss is now the third special counsel, joining Jack Smith, who is investigating former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election; and Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden's handling of classified documents after leaving the Obama White House.

Garland said that Weiss will, as required by law, make a final report upon the conclusion of his investigation as to why charges should or should not be brought. The attorney general said that he would try to make as much of Weiss' report public as possible. Then-Attorney General Bill Barr followed a similar vow when special counsel Robert Mueller released his report, though Barr faced intense criticism over how he handled the release.

Republicans, some of whom have called for a special counsel for years, were quick to dismiss Weiss' appointment. Many in the GOP are still furious over Weiss' role in Hunter Biden's now-potentially dead plea deal. Under the initial agreement, Biden was to plead guilty to two tax crimes and if he behaved well avoid an additional gun charge. It appeared likely that the president's son would have avoided jail time as a result of the deal.

On Friday, federal prosecutors said they are now at an "impasse" over the future of the deal. Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the agreement last month after intense questioning of Weiss' team. She took particular issue with the scope of the deal and whether it would effectively end all ongoing investigations into Hunter Biden.

"'[T]he parties are at an impasse and are not in agreement on either a plea agreement or a diversion agreement," prosecutors wrote in the court filing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Five years ago, Will Hurd was widely considered to be the future of the Republican Party. It made sense: Then the lone Black Republican in the House, Hurd was a youthful former CIA officer elected to a massive swing district with a majority-Hispanic population on Texass southern border. He was a frequent Trump critic who reached across the aisle. A 2017 Politico article on Hurd called him a bonafide superstar among the Washington commentariat. When the GOPs Trump-induced fever broke, Hurd would be there, ready to restore the party.

Today, Hurds star is suspended, neither rising nor falling. Despite two impeachments, two subpar midterm elections, a presidential election loss, and an insurrection, Trumps hold on the Republican Party is as strong today as it was then, if not stronger. Hurd is no longer a congressmanafter three terms, he declined to run for reelection in 2020. The loose coalition of Trump opponents is arguably weaker than ever. Hurd is running for president anyway.

Hurd knows hes a dark horse candidate for the Republican nomination. He used the phrase more than once when I spoke to him in late Juneperhaps an understatement, given Donald Trumps apparent dominance of the crowded field in the nascent Republican primary. Still, Hurd believes a come-from-behind victory is possible.

Hurds thesis: He simply needs to show up, talk to voters, and provide an alternative vision of the GOP to moderate Republicans, independents, and lets call them conservative Democrats, giving them a reason to turn out in a primary election. This candidacy is about testing that theory, Hurd told me. Campaigns arent complicated, theyre just hard work. And hopefully were going to prove it right. Hurd is, as Republican rival Trump might say, straight out of central casting for a Republican general election candidate. Hes young-ish, Black, conservative without being a firebrand, pleasantly disarming in conversation, and knowledgeable on policy.

Hes just so unlike the rigid and somewhat insulated stereotypical GOP congressman who lives in a conservative media bubble, said Brendan Buck, a GOP strategist who worked for former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Hurd is a normal guy who cares about policy and issues, and can communicate them in an inclusive way, Buck said, adding that that shouldnt stick out, but it does.

When he announced he would be leaving Congress after serving just three terms, Hurd promised he would stay involved in politics to grow a Republican Party that looks like America.

Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd speaks to a group at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester on July 21. Greg Miller/Redux for The New Republic

Hurd sees this presidential bid as that missions next step. But its hard to identify where he fits into the race, much less the party. The primary has thus far been defined by Trump and candidates trying to outdo him on issues like immigration, abortion, and LGBTQ rights. Far from a sober debate over policy and the future of the GOP, it has been bombastic and sharp-elbowed.

Still, Hurd insists that his show-up-and-talk-to-people strategy can differentiate him from the field. The more the merrier, right? We should have a competition of ideas, and the voters should have options, he said. Early in the campaign, however, Hurd is struggling to break through.

Its unclear whether what hes selling is what voters are buying, said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist who previously worked on Hurds congressional campaigns. His challenge is not going to be attracting independent, moderate Republican, Never Trump support, Mackowiak said. His challenge is going to be persuading bedrock conservatives he can be trusted.

In todays GOP, Hurds idealistic view of the future and just the retail politics, maam approach seem more like naivete than strategy.

But if Will Hurd is not the future of the Republican Party, then who is he?

Will Hurd is a serious person, and Congress is often an unserious place. Hurd doesnt regret leaving, he told me, but he misses some elements of the job: Now, when a former constituent approaches him in the local H-E-B grocery store to ask for help, he has to refer them to someone else.

Given his professed love for constituent work, Hurd could have just waited until another opportunity came along in his home state. Texas Senator John Cornyn, who is now 71, may retire at the end of his term, leaving a Senate seat open in 2026. Hurd could also potentially launch a gubernatorial bid that year. Politics is a long game, and a presidential campaign is awfully helpful for raising name recognition and expanding a donor base.

But Hurd insists that he doesnt plot his political moves. He hadnt planned to run for Congress, he said, but launched his first campaign after getting frustrated while briefing lawmakers as a CIA officer. My friends and I were putting ourselves in harms way to stop terrorists from attacking our homeland, Hurd said. And then these members of Congress were a bunch of jokers who didnt know up from down, and I got pissed, and so I ran for Congress.

Hurd announced in 2019 that he was not seeking reelectionbefore Trumps first impeachment trial, before Covid, before the 2020 election, before the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, before Trumps second impeachment trial. But even in those halcyon days, Congress was a frustrating, exhausting place, especially for someone like Hurd. After all, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington doesnt end with a clear victory for the protagonisthe collapses in exhaustion.

The type of person that he was, really wasnt where the House was headed, Buck said about Hurd. Hes not the type of person who was there just to have a plaque with his name on it just outside the door. He was there for public service, and to do things. And to see that stuff so devalued by so many colleagues must have been frustrating.

Hurd wasnt in the Capitol on January 6his term had ended three days beforebut he imagined how a 23-year-old new employee of the House must have felt, their idealism crushed by terror as they were hiding under a freaking desk.

To me, those are the people the members of Congress should have fought for, Hurd said, adding that he was disappointed with the decision many ... former colleagues made to vote to overturn the election results. (To be precise, 139 House Republicans voted to do so.)

The Republicans who support Trump now are also the same people that were against Donald Trump in 2016, and then became his biggest supporters once he was the nominee, Hurd said. Although so many Republicans, especially those in Congress, are still entangled with Trump, Hurd believes the politics of governing are different than the politics of winning elections.

Ive been successful because the politics of governing and the politics of winning elections have always been the same for me, Hurd said.

But always cant last forever. Mackowiak predicted that Hurd could become frustrated with the unique challenges a primary presents, as a GOP primary is a litmus test on the issues that matter to the party base.

Its not going to be as much about what he knows, what his experience is, and how reasonable he is, Mackowiak said.

When I asked Hurd what his oft-touted vision of the GOP included, he mentioned achieving unprecedented peace in the world; addressing crime, gun violence, and homelessness; confronting China; and ensuring a world-class education for every kid. Hurdian talking points dont quite evoke George W. Bushs compassionate conservatism, but theres an overlap between his philosophy and the Grand Old Party of yore. Hes nobodys liberal, as Buck put it, but voters may see Hurd as more moderate because of his laid-back tone.

Education and crime are also key issues for hard-right Republicans, after all, but they tend to address these issues in terms of anti-transgender scaremongering, screeds against critical race theory and woke ideology, and apocalyptic warnings of rising crime. I asked Hurd about the dissonance between his message and that of many of his fellow Republicans, and he once again highlighted the tension between winning the partisan battle and losing the electoral war.

I want to win general elections, right? Hurd said. Why [Republicans have] consistently been losing at the national level, is because were not talking about and were not being known as leaders on the issues that people care about: putting food on the table, a roof over their head, or taking care of the people that they love. And so that is where the bulk of our time and energy should be spent.

Unfortunately for Hurd, the story of the modern Republican Party is that the ideal general election candidate often cant win the primary, and that the winning primary candidate cant swing the general electionits why a red wave didnt crash over a Congress in 2022, and why many Never Trump Republicans are so concerned about a rehash of the 2020 presidential election in 2024.

[Trump] has gotten boring, and hes got way more baggage. And most people who love Donald Trump understand that Donald Trump loses, and will lose, against Joe Biden, Hurd said. (Arguably, most of the people who love Donald Trump dont believe Donald Trump lost against Joe Biden in the first placewhich illustrates part of the uphill climb Hurd faces.) In 2016, Hurd continued, Trump was saying things people had never heard before, but in 2023, hes saying the same shit that hes been saying back then.

He believes theres a majority of the country that just needs to be spoken to, and to be heardby Hurd. Once a candidate is talking about things that the majority of the country is focused on, thats when voters turn out. Of course, I reminded him, theres the matter of getting those voters to come to the polls in the primary election, not just the general. Hurd laughed. Bingo! he said.

He believes his path to victory runs through the support of New Hampshires live-free-or-die iconoclasts, voters he believes may be more willing to support a non-Trump candidate several steps away from the party fringe. The Granite State, he said, gives dark horse candidates an option. Hurd continued: Their bullcrap meter is pretty high.

But the bullcrap meter maids may not be swayed by Hurds argument, in an era where outrage motivates voters more than optimism. Trump handily won the New Hampshire primary in 2016, and recent polling has shown the former president trouncing other candidates in the state.

Still, If you can grow in New Hampshire, you can grow in other places, Hurd insisted. That strategy has been used by multiple presidential contenders. It reminded me particularly of Bill Clinton in 1992; his better-than-expected showing in the New Hampshire primary set him on a path to the White House.

I dont know if thats a compliment or a dig, but he won, so Im going to take it, Hurd replied.

Was this the rise of the Comeback Kid, Will Hurdstyle?

Hurd laughed again at my description of his strategy. There we go! he said. See? You can put that in.
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador must rewrite the titles to a ballot initiative that would overhaul primary elections in the state, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The decision comes after Idahoans for Open Primaries, a coalition seeking to make primary elections more accessible and establish a ranked-choice voting mechanism in Idaho, sued Labrador. The group alleged that the first-term Republican attorney general made false and misleading statements to the public about the groups ballot initiative.

Idaho law directs the attorney general to review proposed ballot initiatives and assign them ballot titles, which summarize the purpose of an initiative and appear on the ballot when voters weigh in. After the coalition announced its initiative, Labrador tweeted that these bad ideas coming from liberal outside groups should be defeated.

The Idaho Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that Labradors titles were likely to cause prejudice against the measure.

Todays decision is a major victory for the voters of Idaho, Bruce Newcomb, a member of Idahoans for Open Primaries and former Republican speaker of the Idaho House, said in a news release. Too many of our elected officials are handpicked by special-interest groups, not by the voters theyre supposed to serve. The Open Primaries Initiative will change that by giving all voters  regardless of party affiliation  the right to vote in primary elections.

Justices awarded the coalition attorney fees and directed Labrador to rewrite the ballot titles by Friday, as the coalition faces a deadline to collect signatures.

Labrador spokesperson Beth Cahill in a statement said that despite the loss, shes pleased the justices validated the attorney generals opinion that the initiative does not propose an open primary and does propose ranked-choice voting.

While we are disappointed we did not win on all issues presented, we are pleased that the Idaho Supreme Court rejected most of petitioners challenges, Cahill said. We will promptly submit revised ballot titles accommodating the Idaho Supreme Courts other holdings and in accordance with the courts schedule.

Does language inflame anti-California sentiments?

If approved by voters, the ballot initiative would replace Idahos primary election system with a top four election. In that system, all candidates from each party participate in the same primary, and the four candidates with the most votes advance to the general election. Voters would then choose the winner through ranked-choice voting in the general election.

Labrador described the proposed system as a nonparty blanket primary. Labrador failed to show that nonparty blanket primary is a common phrase that refers to that type of election, Justice Colleen Zahn wrote on behalf of the court.

We have been unable to identify any court in the United States, including the United States Supreme Court, who has used the term in a published decision, Zahn wrote. It also does not appear that the term has been used elsewhere. Instead, it appears that the term is one of the attorney generals own creation.

During a hearing Monday, Idaho Solicitor General Theo Wold said the phrase blanket primary has been used to describe similar voting systems in Washington and California. Attorney general officials looked to analogous sister states when seeking descriptions of the proposed primary system, he said.

Wold also tweeted opposition to ranked-choice voting, calling it a failed idea from New York City and Oakland, California. Attorneys general are the strongest line of defense against the lefts national campaign to force ranked-choice voting on our elections, Wold tweeted.

Justice Robyn Brody on Monday questioned whether the attorney generals intent in using blanket primary was to inflame anti-California or anti-Washington sentiments among Idaho voters.

This is what they do in California, this is what they do in Washington, Brody said. Doesnt that drive home the point that the petitioners are making here, which is youre dooming this to failure before it even gets out of the blocks?

Thursdays decision also noted that the U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled Californias nonpartisan blanket primary system unconstitutional but later upheld Washingtons nonpartisan blanket primary.

Using a slightly different phrase to describe the Idaho proposal could lead voters to believe it has been or would be held to be unconstitutional, when in fact it has not, Zahn wrote.

Coalitions request for deadline extension rejected

The court rejected the coalitions argument that open primary should be included in the ballot.

The Idaho Republican Party closed its primary election in 2012, meaning only registered Republicans may vote in the election, while the Democratic Party has an open primary, so anyone can participate regardless of party affiliation. The ballot initiative would create one primary election, open to all voters.

If you were asking an average Idaho voter that wasnt a political scientist or had background in this area of expertise, wouldnt they likely report that the Republican Party in Idaho has a closed primary and the Democratic Party has an open primary? Justice Gregory Moeller said Monday.

Instead, Zahn suggested, the most accurate description for the proposed election system is a top four primary.

Idahoans for Open Primaries hopes to place the initiative on the ballot for the November 2024 election. In order to qualify, the group must collect signatures from 6% of Idaho voters who were registered for the last general election  nearly 63,000  along with signatures from 6% of registered voters in 18 of 35 legislative districts. The deadline is May 1.

Attorneys for the coalition asked the court to direct the Idaho secretary of state to extend that deadline in light of the litigation over ballot titles.

Bad titles set the issue back severely, Deborah Ferguson, a Boise attorney representing the coalition, said Monday. Weve lost about five weeks, and in the summer, an essential season.

Justices rejected the request because Idaho law doesnt provide a method for extending the deadline. However, Zahn wrote that the court would ensure a timely resolution to the case.
Transgender students in Idaho can use restrooms that match their gender identity while a challenge to a new state law proceeds after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction halting the laws implementation.

Republicans passed Senate Bill 1100 earlier this year that prohibited transgender students from using restrooms or locker rooms in line with their gender identity. Those who witness another student using a bathroom that does not match their sex assigned at birth may sue their school, the law stipulates.

Today, the court puts a pause on SB 1100, U.S. District Judge David Nye wrote in his order Thursday, the Idaho Statesman reports. It does not find it unconstitutional. It does not find it constitutional. This is not a full adjudication of any argument on the merits.

In a lawsuit filed last month, Lambda Legal represented a student seeking to prevent the new law from initiating.

The courts ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho who are entitled to basic dignity, safety, and respect at school, Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Peter Renn explained in a statement on Thursday. When school is back in session, they should be focusing on classes, friends, and activities like everyone else, rather than worrying about where they are allowed to use the restroom. No ones return to school should be met with a return to discrimination.

Transgender students may access different bathrooms depending on the rules of their school district, noted the judge. One in four Idaho schools allows transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms in keeping with their gender identities, according to the court.

Lambda Legal says Senate Bill 1100 discriminates against transgender students based on their gender identity. It violates Title IX but is unconstitutional, the organization asserts.

Nyes temporary restraining order will prevent the law from becoming effective before school begins.

Federal circuit courts have rendered split decisions regarding similar laws. As recently as 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia ruled that a policy mandating restroom restrictions for transgender students violated Title IX and the Constitution. However, the 11th Circuit in Alabama ruled differently in a similar case.

As a result of differing opinions issued by federal appeals courts, litigants frequently look to the U.S. Supreme Court for guidance.
This article was originally published in News From The States.

A coalition of professors from across Idaho have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state alleging a law prohibiting the use of public funds to promote or counsel in favor of abortion is sweeping and unclear and violates their constitutional free speech and due process rights.

It is the fourth lawsuit filed against Idaho for abortion-related laws, with three others challenging the details of the states near-total ban on abortion and a so-called abortion trafficking bill that restricts adults from taking minors out of state to obtain abortion care. Tuesdays lawsuit targets the No Public Funds for Abortion Act, which passed in the 2021 session of the Idaho Legislature and prohibited public funds from being used to procure, counsel in favor, refer to or perform an abortion. Since public schools are largely funded by the state government, the law applies to faculty and staff at colleges and universities, including the largest schools of Boise State University, the University of Idaho and Idaho State University. Violations of the law include penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony with prison time of up to 14 years, along with termination of employment and restitution of the public funds.

The NPFAA therefore leaves Idahos public university educators with an impossible  and unconstitutional  choice: avoid any speech that could be construed as favorable to abortion in course materials, lectures, class discussions, student assignments and academic scholarship, or risk imprisonment, loss of livelihood and financial ruin for violating the law, the complaint says.

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The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge David C. Nye to issue a preliminary injunction that would block enforcement of the law.

States Newsroom has reached out to Idaho Attorney General Raul Labradors office for comment.

The Idaho Family Policy Center, a state-based organization that has pushed for anti-abortion legislation since 2020, drafted the bill in conjunction with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a national religious organization that wrote the model legislation used to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Blaine Conzatti, president of the policy center, said in a press release Tuesday that the challenge is meritless and he believes it wont be successful.

The First and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution do not provide carte blanche legal protections for higher education faculty to advocate or engage in criminal behavior on the taxpayers dime, Conzatti said in the release. The No Public Funds For Abortion Act simply does not infringe on academic speech protected by the First Amendment, including classroom discussion on topics related to abortion.

Professors have significantly altered courses for fear of prosecution, complaint says

The complaint was filed by the Idaho Federation of Teachers, the University of Idaho Faculty Federation and six individual professors: Aleta Quinn, Casey Johnson, Markie McBrayer, Zachary Turpin and Kathryn Blevins of the University of Idaho, and Heather Witt of Boise State University. The national and Idaho chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union are representing the plaintiffs, along with local law firm Strindberg Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne.

Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told States Newsroom some plaintiffs reached out to the Idaho branch of the ACLU independently and others contacted the union to express their concerns.

Its vital for Idahos public universities to have autonomy in fostering vibrant debate on their campuses, free from government interference, said Leo Morales, executive director of the ACLU of Idaho, in a press release. Idahos abortion censorship law directly undermines that autonomy, attempting to restrict educators free speech and stoke fear of retaliation for such speech in our state.

The complaint states the professors and the faculty within the two union groups teach about abortion across a diverse array of disciplines and say the law has placed a straitjacket upon the intellectual leaders of the states public universities.

(The law) has stifled free and open academic inquiry about abortion across Idahos public universities, the complaint states. Professors who previously taught, discussed or wrote about abortion no longer do so.  The threat of prosecution continues to hang over professors as they plan for the upcoming school year, renewing their dilemma about how to structure their courses, teach their students and pursue their own research.

A professor of philosophy removed an entire section of her biomedical ethics course that discussed human reproduction out of fear of prosecution, and professors of history, sociology, journalism, political science and social work have significantly altered course content as well, according to the complaint. Professors have also made changes to lectures and halted classroom discussion, stopped assigning, evaluating and giving meaningful feedback on student research and writing, and refrained from pursuing or sharing some scholarly and academic work because of the law, it said.

Martin Orr, president of the Idaho Federation of Teachers and a sociology professor at Boise State University, said professors have told him they have felt on edge during classroom discussions that veer into the topic of reproductive issues and students have reported feeling frustrated by the limitations placed on course content and professor instruction. The lack of clarity around the meaning of the law makes some teachers wonder if even talking about the law is perceived by some as promoting abortion.

This interview might constitute a violation of that law, Orr told States Newsroom. For a faculty member, just being accused of a violation could lead to termination, so its not like we would necessarily get our day in court before there were severe consequences.

Orr said the stress of avoiding legal consequences is a distraction from the work and time that could be given to students, and it can interfere with the types of exercises typically used in a classroom setting.

Students are not infrequently assigned to argue a position they dont agree with, it helps us think critically and communicate more effectively, Orr said. Can we suggest, even as devils advocate, that students argue in favor of reproductive rights? There are all sorts of fundamental teaching tools that start to look very dangerous in this context.

Attorneys argue law does not provide adequate definitions

The attorneys also argue the law violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits vague laws, in part because the law does not provide definitions for words like referring or counseling in favor of abortion. Because the law is unclear, it allows police and prosecutors to arbitrarily and discriminatorily enforce the law and draw their own lines between permissible and prohibited speech, according to the complaint.

In March, portions of an art exhibit were censored at Lewistons Lewis-Clark State College because it included depictions of abortion pills and taped interviews with women who had abortions for various reasons. The colleges spokesperson cited the section of code with the No Public Funds for Abortion Act and said after obtaining legal advice, some of the proposed exhibits could not be included.

At the beginning of the University of Idahos fall semester in 2022, the schools general counsel sent a memo to all employees advising them not to provide any reproductive health counseling to students and prohibiting the dispensing of any drugs classified as emergency contraception except in cases of rape. The memo also said the language of the law was unclear and because violations could result in a felony, the attorneys were taking a conservative approach.

Following the memo, Idaho Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced a bill in January to withhold sales tax revenue from cities that declined to enforce abortion laws, and that bill included language stating the law should not be interpreted to include classroom discussion of abortion, but it did not advance. The version that did pass into law, House Bill 22, did not include that language.

The story was originally published at News From The States.
This article was originally published in Idaho Capital Sun.

CALDWELL  Idaho families will soon no longer have to send their children out of state to get their children mental health care inside a residential facility.

The Idaho Youth Ranch is opening a treatment facility called the Residential Center for Healing & Resilience that has 64 beds, all with their own room, and a charter school on a scenic campus only a short drive from downtown Caldwell.

The center will provide 24-hour nursing, psychiatric care, therapy and year-round schooling for over 100 children ages 11-17 years old each year, according to a press release.

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Most children who receive treatment at the Youth Ranch facility will be on Medicaid, said Jeff Myers, vice president of marketing and communication, in a Monday interview at the facility. But children on private insurance will also be treated, and the facility, which is under construction, will offer scholarships to kids whose coverage doesnt fully cover their stay, Myers said.

Next to Youth Ranchs Equine Therapy Center on its 258-acre campus with trees, fields and streams, the childrens treatment facility hopes to keep Idaho children closer to their families, which leaders say will help children respond better to treatment.

This is an Idaho challenge that deserves an Idaho solution, said Idaho Youth Ranch CEO Scott Curtis in an interview with the Idaho Capital Sun. Not just because we should be taking care of that locally, but because it makes a difference therapeutically. To send youth to another state is another trauma for them to deal with.  To keep them closer to their families and caregivers will help their therapy work be more effective and more lasting.

Already, 50 children are in queue to get care in the facility, Myers said.

On any given day in Idaho, over 100 kids on Medicaid are being sent out of state to access this residential psychiatric care, Myers said.

The facility will start taking a limited number of patients Aug. 15. The public is invited to tour the facility on Thursday. To protect the privacy of children being treated, the facility generally wont offer tours after it starts treating patients, Myers said.

Idaho Youth Ranch Residential Facility is meant to feel comfortable

The facility is built around the needs of children wholl be seeking care there. Each of the six classrooms have restrooms. Hallways are extra wide to let patients maintain personal space. Kids who struggle to sit still in class can even use fidget-friendly seats. The facilitys carpeted floors, wooden ceilings and large windows are also meant to feel more familiar, Myers said.

Its not home, but it feels like a home-like environment, he said.

Every staff member on site, including maintenance workers and cooks, will be trained on how to interact with students, Myers said. The facility plans to use few or no holds, which are when staff have to physically restrain patients, he said.

We know that if we have to put hands on a kid, it sets back their treatment substantially. So part of it is being aware of all the signs ahead of the time the kids start to get dysregulated so we can intervene, (and) intercept that early, Myers said. And part of that is a mindset in training that says were gonna do everything we can to avoid that.

But the facility is still built with features that psychiatric facilities have  like metal fences enclosing the facilitys yards and construction features that prevent children from harming themselves.

The facility features four dorm halls of 16 rooms, each named after different Idaho mountain ranges from southwest, central, northern and eastern parts of the state  Owyhee, Sawtooth, Selkirk and Teton. The facility also has a dining hall, therapy and wellness building and recreation hall.

The charter school, called Promise Academy, is chartered through the Middleton School District, as previously reported by Idaho Education News.

Eventually, the psychiatric care facility may add a new 32-bed building to its campus, Myers said.

The Idaho Youth Ranch raised $35 million to build the youth residential treatment facility  mostly from private donors, but the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare awarded the nonprofit an $8 million grant.

Idaho awarded $15 million in grant funds in December 2022 to three organizations  Idaho Youth Ranch Northwest Childrens Home in North Idaho and Jackson House in eastern Idaho  to build psychiatric residential treatment facilities.

Residential, inpatient care is part of the continuum of care

In 1952, Rev. James Crowe and Ruby Carrie Crowe, a married couple, made their dream possible. They founded Idaho Youth Ranch and bought 2,560 acres of land in Rupert for $1 per acre, per year, with no interest, according to an informational brochure for the facility.

The Crowes believe a ranch lifestyle could provide the residential care that would meet the needs of Idahos youth, Curtis said.

The couple began by treating boys in the original Idaho Youth Ranch facility in Rupert in the 1950s, Myers said. But the Youth Ranch now has more than six decades of experience providing residential care to Idahos children and families, he said.

Its been the most consistent thing we have done, Curtis said.

Residential care is only part of the spectrum of psychiatric care that Idahoans need, Curtis noted. Patients will leave Youth Ranchs facility and need care elsewhere  from specialists, primary care providers and other mental health professionals. Other parts of the system need to be bolstered as well, he said.

The facility hopes to hire 120 full time staff for the campus, Curtis said. Health professionals looking to work at the facility should visit youthranch.org/careers.

The facility will be slowly ramping up its capacity to treat children, starting with eight children initially, Myers said, and adding eight each month.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com. Follow Idaho Capital Sun on Facebook and Twitter.
With Ballys Chicago likely weeks away from opening its temporary casino at Medinah Temple, the talent pool for filling a variety of nongaming positions just got larger.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Friday allowing convicted felons to apply for hospitality positions at the states soon-to-be 14 casinos. Previously under state law, anyone with a felony conviction was ineligible to work at a casino in any position.

Here in the Land of Lincoln, we believe that people deserve second chances  and that includes the formerly incarcerated and those who have been convicted of a felony, Pritzker said in a news release.

The legislation, which was supported by unions, casino companies and the Illinois Gaming Board, removes automatic disqualification for nongaming positions such as restaurant staff, maintenance and housekeeping. Qualified applicants will be considered for an occupational license on a case-by-case basis, weighing everything from the circumstances of the crime to evidence of rehabilitation.

Convicted felons are still ineligible to hold a gaming position at a casino, such as a dealer.

This law preserves the IGBs necessary ability to protect the integrity of Illinois gaming while providing an opportunity for gainful employment in nongaming casino positions to applicants with prior convictions, Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in the release.

The change comes as Ballys Chicago is staffing up in preparation to open its temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North. The target date, which has been pushed back several months, is now slated for September, the casino company said during its second quarter earnings call last week.

Rhode Island-based Ballys won a heated competition last year to build a $1.74 billion casino at the 30-acre site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant in River West, which is expected to open in 2026. The historic Medinah Temple will serve as a temporary casino for up to three years.

In May, Ballys Chicago put out a help wanted sign, looking to hire more than 700 positions  everything from card dealers and security to housekeeping and marketing  for the temporary casino. Ballys said Friday the new legislation will help it find qualified applicants for the states largest casino and keep its hiring commitments to the city.

At Ballys, we strongly believe that the gaming industry can provide deserving, qualified individuals with gainful employment and a compelling career path, George Papanier, president of Ballys, said in the release. This belief is embedded in our community-first policy, which focuses on generating substantial employment opportunities in the communities in which we operate.

As part of the casino application process, Ballys agreed to create well-paying union jobs and hire 50% of the projected 3,000 employees at the permanent facility from within Chicago.

Unite Here Local 1, which represents hospitality workers in Chicago, praised the new law Friday.

Our union has worked hard to ensure that hospitality workers at Illinois casinos can have a path to good jobs, Karen Kent, president of Unite Here Local 1, said in the joint release. But our work is incomplete if so many of our friends, our neighbors, beloved members of our families and our communities, are forever locked out of these jobs because of a prior conviction. Today, were giving people hope for a second chance.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday vetoed a bipartisan proposal that would have lifted a decades-old ban on construction of nuclear power plants in Illinois.

With the relatively rare use of his veto pen, the second-term Democrat handed a victory to environmentalists who opposed lifting the ban, while also dealing a defeat to labor unions, who saw the measure as a way to generate construction projects and preserve high-paying energy sector jobs as coal and natural gas plants are shut down in the coming decades.

The issue was one of several in recent years that have pitted the two key constituencies of the Democratic Party against each other.

Pritzker, who two years ago signed a sweeping energy policy overhaul that aims to achieve carbon-free power by midcentury, had previously expressed some interest in the idea of allowing smaller modular nuclear reactors in Illinois, while cautioning that the devils in the details.

He ultimately decided the bill passed by legislators didnt address enough of those details.

Unfortunately, the vague definitions in the bill, including the overly broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the door to proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts, Pritzker wrote in a veto message to lawmakers.

Pritzker said he wants lawmakers to make another attempt at crafting legislation that would include more safeguards for people living near new nuclear plants and that would be more targeted toward small modular reactors.

Pritzker also used his amendatory veto power to remove a provision in separate legislation that would have allowed local governments to enter into public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects. Labor unions had backed the provision as part of their push to bring privately operated toll lanes to a congested stretch of Interstate 55, though Pritzkers change would not affect that proposal.

As written, the bill creates a pathway for private industry to enter (public-private partnership) agreements locally that skirts transparency and anti-corruption requirements established in state statute, Pritzker said in his veto message.

The legislature, dominated by Pritzkers fellow Democrats, could override the governors vetoes. Spokespeople for House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon did not respond immediately to requests for comment on whether their respective chambers would attempt to override the governor.

In his message on the nuclear moratorium measure, Pritzker said he was vetoing it at the request of the leadership team of the speaker of the House and advocates.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, a Republican who sponsored the measure, said in a statement Friday that she had already filed paperwork to initiate an override vote when lawmakers return to Springfield this fall.

The governor is clearly putting his own partisan political ambitions over what is in the best interest of the people of Illinois by his sole decision to veto bipartisan legislation to improve Illinois future energy portfolio sustainably and cost-effectively, Rezin said.

Advocates for lifting the moratorium, including labor unions, argued that allowing the construction of nuclear plants would help smooth the transition from sources that produce climate-damaging carbon emissions while also providing more reliable power.

Opponents, however, contended that investing in more nuclear plants would be an expensive distraction from developing more renewable energy while at the same time failing to address the long-running standoff over nuclear waste storage that prompted the ban in the first place.

Environmental and consumer groups praised Pritzkers action, while the Illinois AFL-CIO, which advocated for lifting the ban, declined to comment.

Nuclear power comes with significant safety risks and results in highly hazardous wastes that threaten our drinking water, with no safe, permanent waste solution in sight, Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling said in a statement. Rather than abandon all safeguards, Gov. Pritzker recognized that such substantial risks merit the highest protective guardrails our state can offer.

Illinois, already home to more nuclear power plants than any state in the nation, was not alone in instituting a moratorium. More than a dozen states from California to Vermont had some type of restrictions on new nuclear power facilities, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But in recent years, some of those states have ended those limits, including Wisconsin in 2016, Kentucky in 2017, Montana in 2021 and West Virginia last year, according to the NCSL.

The Illinois moratorium  which garnered little news coverage and virtually no debate on the floor of the Illinois House and Senate when it was approved in spring 1987, about a year after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine  was driven by a national political stalemate over how to dispose of radioactive waste, a controversy that continues to this day.

Although the Illinois moratorium has remained in place all these years, governors and lawmakers have remained mostly friendly and supportive of the nuclear industry.

Exelon, parent of scandal-plagued utility Commonwealth Edison, repeatedly threatened to shut down some of the states nuclear plants because company officials said the plants werent making enough money. In response, lawmakers propped up the nuclear fleet and Exelon won ratepayer subsidies for its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants in 2016 during Republican Gov. Bruce Rauners tenure and its Byron, Dresden and Braidwood plants five years later, after Pritzker was elected.

In both instances, Exelon and ComEd partnered with labor unions and environmental groups to push for sweeping policy changes they argued would protect jobs and the climate by properly accounting for the carbon-free benefits of nuclear power.

Exelon has since spun off a new company, Constellation Energy, to run the power generation business, which includes 11 reactors at six plants providing about half of the states power.

Constellation was supportive of ending the moratorium but said the company currently ... has no plans to build new nuclear plants in Illinois.

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Derek Gregory Vannoy, 22, of Phelan was arrested on suspicion of felony evading a deputies in Apple Valley.

An Illinois man was arrested on suspicion of traveling to Apple Valley where he planned to meet a 17-year-old girl for lewd purposes, authorities said.

The exchange between the suspect and victim began in November 2022, when the two met while playing the online gaming platform Roblox. The two have communicated using various applications, with the suspect eventually coercing the girl into sexting and exploited her into sexual acts, committed on an electronic device, authorities reported.

On Wednesday, identified as Faruq Balogun, 19, flew from Chicago to Ontario, California, and went to the girls home in Apple Valley, sheriffs officials said.

Deputy Cohlton Hubbard responded to the call for service at the victims home in the 15500 block Ute Road and questioned Balogun. At the completion of the investigation, Balogun was arrested on suspicion of arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purposes and sending or selling obscene matter, sheriffs officials reported.

Balogun was booked to the High Desert Detention Center. He posted bail and was released on Thursday, sheriffs officials said.

Apple Valley sheriffs officials are reminding parents of the importance of protecting children.

It is essential for parents to be vigilant in helping their children learn and use safe technology practices. Parents should monitor activity and conduct regular, unannounced checks of phones and other devices to ensure they are being used properly. These checks will protect children and provide opportunity for early detection of someone exploiting or coercing their child, sheriff's officials stated.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call Apple Valley sheriffs station at (760) 240-7400 or sheriffs dispatch at (760) 956-5001. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can contact the We-Tip Hotline at 800-78CRIME (27463) or wetip.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Illinois man suspected of traveling to Apple Valley to meet teen girl
The Illinois State Supreme Court Friday upheld an assault weapons ban in the state. File Photo by Sergio Flores/UPI

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The Illinois Supreme Court Friday upheld an assault weapons ban, ruling that it does not violate the state constitution.

The court's ruling said the Second Amendment federal constitution right to bear arms was not claimed in this state bid to overturn the assault weapons ban.

"We express no opinion on the potential viability of plaintiffs' waived claim concerning the second amendment," the court said.

The ruling leaves the assault weapon restrictions in place in Illinois, overturning a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked the ban in April.

The state Supreme Court ruling said the case did not allege that the assault weapons restrictions violate the Second Amendment because plaintiffs waived that argument in the lower state circuit court.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the ban into law after the Highland Park mass shooting. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Instead, the court said, "the question presented is whether citizens qualified to acquire and possess firearms and firearm ammunition can be treated differently in the application of the weapon classification."

Because the original circuit court case did not raise second amendment issues, plaintiff's appeal of that ruling can't either.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, holds a sign showing a tweet from Daniel Defense, a family-owned firearms manufacturer, showing a child holding an automatic weapon during a press conference after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "After the Highland Park Attack: Protecting Our Committees from Mass Shootings." File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

"The theory under which a case is tried in the circuit court cannot be changed on review, and an issue not presented to or considered by the circuit court cannot be raised for the first time on review," the state supreme court wrote.

So on that basis, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the assault weapons ban did not violate the state constitution on equal protection and special legislation.

"First, we hold the circuit court erroneously entered summary judgment for plaintiffs on their equal protection and special legislation claims," the state Supreme Court decision said. "Second, we hold that plaintiffs waived any second amendment challenge to the restrictions, as the complaint did not state a claim and plaintiffs explicitly and repeatedly disclaimed any such argument in the circuit court."

The U.S. Supreme Court in May refused to hear a challenge to the ban.

The law passed after the Highland Park mass shooting bans assault weapons, assault weapon attachments and .50 caliber rifles and .50 caliber cartridges.

"No Illinoisan should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be next in an ever-growing list of mass shooting victims," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at the time.
The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday shut down a challenge to the states assault weapons ban, which passed last year after a Fourth of July mass shooting killed seven and injured 48 near Chicago.

A 4-3 majority ruled that regulations preventing the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are constitutional and can continue, overruling a lower court.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.), who championed the measure when he signed it in January, celebrated the court victory Friday.

This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks and places of worship, he said in a statement. This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives.

The laws challengers, a group of weapons dealers and gun owners, claimed it violated both the Second and 14th Amendments. The Supreme Court ruled that the gun control law does not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, but did not comment on the Second Amendment claim.

The measure went into effect in January and includes a grandfather clause permitting the possession of now-banned firearms purchased before this year. It also permits law enforcement to purchase the weapons, as well as licensed security workers for their jobs.

The suit questioned the carveout for security workers, claiming it created an illegal protected class to which different laws applied. The state Supreme Court disagreed with the argument.

Plaintiffs are not similarly situated to the trained professionals, Justice Elizabeth Rochford said in the majority opinion. To the extent plaintiffs claim they possess restricted items, they are not treated differently from the grandfathered individuals.

The law made Illinois the ninth state, plus Washington, D.C., to ban the sale of assault weapons.

No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings, Pritzker said in January.

However, for too long people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshiping, at celebrations or in their own front yards, he continued. This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches and make our state a safer place for all.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to adjudicate the case in May after it was blocked by a federal judge in April.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a recent assault weapons ban in the state is constitutional.

The Friday ruling overturns a lower court decision that attempted to halt the ban of assault weapons after Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed it into law earlier this year.

A lawsuit in response to the ban filed by Republican State Rep. Dan Caulkins argued that the new law violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Caulkins.

First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes, the ruling says in part.

The new law bans dozens of types of rifles  including the AR-15  along with attachments and rapid-firing devices. The ban was passed following a deadly shooting in a Chicago suburb in 2022 when a rooftop gunman shot more than 70 rounds into a crowd, killing seven people.

The shooter was able to legally purchase the AR-15 rifle he used in the mass shooting.

No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings, Pritzker said in a statement when the ban was passed in January. However, for too long people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshiping, at celebrations or in their own front yards.

The ban still faces legal challenges in federal court, where several lawsuits challenging its constitutionality wait to be heard.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday upheld the states sweeping gun ban, fending off the first major challenge to the landmark law which now awaits its fate before a federal appellate court.

The state high courts 4-3 ruling is a victory for gun control advocates who pushed for the law following a mass shooting during last years Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that claimed the lives of seven people and left dozens injured.

Four of the courts Democratic justices  Elizabeth Rochford, Joy Cunningham, P. Scott Neville and Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis  ruled in favor of the state, while the two Republicans, justices Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet, dissented jointly. Democratic Justice Mary Kay OBrien wrote a separate dissenting opinion.

The court found that the law does not violate the state constitutions equal protection clause by creating exemptions for certain trained professionals and for people who owned the now-banned firearms at the time the law took effect in January.

Whether the law violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was not addressed in the ruling because the parties bringing the challenge did not raise that issue directly in their lawsuit before a lower court, the justices wrote.

As a result, we offer no opinion on the potential viability of such a claim, Rochford wrote for the majority.

The decision came on the same day Vice President Kamala Harris visited Chicago to make a speech at the annual conference for Everytown for Gun Safety, a national gun control group that supported Illinois ban on certain high-powered guns and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

It marked the second recent high-profile victory at the states highest court for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who championed the ban and signed the measure into law just hours after it was passed by the Legislature.

This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives, said Pritzker, who last month saw the court uphold a law he backed that abolished cash bail in the state.

Fridays ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of plaintiffs led by Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins that argued the weapons ban violates the Illinois Constitutions requirement that state laws should be applied equally to all citizens.

In late April, Macon County Judge Rodney Forbes found that the ban caused an irreparable harm by denying plaintiffs the ability to purchase their firearm of choice and exercise their right to self-defense in the manner they choose. The decision was then appealed by Attorney General Kwame Raouls office.

During arguments before the state Supreme Court in May, attorneys with Raouls office said the plaintiffs failed to prove the weapons ban violated the state constitution. To prove the equal protection clause was violated by the ban, the state argued, the lawsuit would have to show that Caulkins and the other plaintiffs are similarly situated, or alike, as are the specifically defined groups exempted from the weapons ban.

Members of the general public are not similarly situated to those (exempted under the law) because members of (the exempted groups) are sort of presumed to exercise greater responsibility in the safe handling and storage of firearms, Assistant Attorney General Leigh Jahnig said.

The exemptions include retired and current police and military personnel and prison wardens, as well as those who already owned the prohibited guns prior to the ban. Those gun owners can keep those firearms but are now required to register them with the Illinois State Police.

Jerry Stocks, an attorney for the plaintiffs, argued the law is therefore not applied equally, and also contended its improper to allow the grandfathered gun owners to own the prohibited firearms but to not allow anyone to purchase those guns.

In its ruling, the court sided with the state, finding that lawmakers have the power to create distinctions in legislation among different categories of people as long as the legislature does not draw those distinctions based on criteria wholly unrelated to the legislations purpose.

Simply possessing a state firearm owners identification card does not entail any kind of firearms training or qualification in furtherance of public safety, which is required for the exempted groups, the court ruled.

As for the different treatment of gun owners who already possessed the newly banned weapons, the grandfathered individuals have a reliance interest based on their acquisition before the restrictions took effect, Rochford wrote. By pointing out that those who already possess restricted items may retain them under the grandfather provision, the complaint makes clear that plaintiffs are not similarly situated to the exempt class.

Stocks also argued the ban violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. All citizens have the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms in their homes for self-defense, Stocks said. The Second Amendment elevates above all interests.

But the court set aside any consideration of the right to bear arms because the plaintiffs eschewed that argument in the lower court.

Ascertaining whether the restrictions unconstitutionally infringe on the publics right to keep and bear arms requires consideration of whether the regulated items are bearable arms that are commonly used for self-defense and whether the regulations are consistent with this nations historical traditions, Rochford wrote.

Unsurprisingly, the record contains no evidence  beyond news articles  relevant to these questions because plaintiffs never raised them in the circuit court, Rochford wrote. Even if the complaint alleged a second amendment claim, the record does not support affirming the judgment on that basis.

In her dissent, White agreed with the plaintiffs that the legislative process leading to the gun ban did not adhere to a constitutional mandate, requiring bills to be read before the House and Senate on three different days in each chamber in order to allow meaningful debate on a particular issue. The high court, though, has a long-established precedent of deferring to procedural decisions made by legislative leaders on bills.

In her dissent, OBrien wrote that exempting certain groups from the ban does nothing to prevent the proliferation of out-of-state assault weapon possession or prevent those weapons from being used for mass shootings in this state or elsewhere.

OBrien also wrote that retired police officers are exempt from the ban though they no longer have any peacekeeping responsibilities or obligations, which makes them no different from private citizens who hold state firearm permits.

State Rep. Bob Morgan, a Deerfield Democrat who sponsored the gun ban legislation, applauded the courts ruling.

The federal courts will continue to assess this law, but todays ruling prioritizes public safety over the gun lobby trying to impose their dangerous, extreme views through the judiciary, Morgan said in a statement.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a statement that the high courts ruling tells the public that saving lives takes precedence over thoughts and prayers and stresses the need for sensible gun control measures.

The Courts decision underscores the necessity of enacting policies that help mitigate the devastating impact of gun violence, Rotering said.

Caulkins blamed the outcome of his case on partisanship, with Democrats holding five of the high courts seven seats. He said his lawyers had sought the recusal of two Democratic justices, Rochford and OBrien, after Pritzker donated $1 million to each of their campaigns last year. The justices declined, and while Rochford voted in the majority, OBrien dissented on the opinion.

Nonetheless, Caulkins, speaking at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, said the state Supreme Court has shown itself to be very, very political.

We felt very strongly that this law needed to be challenged in the Illinois court system he said. Unfortunately, we didnt get the result we wanted but I think it also exposes this court for what it is.

Caulkins said Pritzkers staunch gun control position is an example of the governor treating Illinois like a petri dish in his quest to run for president.

Every issue that the radical left will find attractive in a presidential primary, Governor Pritzker has enforced right here in Illinois, he said.

The ban has faced a slew of lawsuits on the federal level alleging that the law violates the Second Amendment. Those lawsuits, filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association and other gun rights groups, were consolidated into one case that was argued in June before a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel has yet to issue its ruling.

Several lawsuits were filed by downstate attorney Thomas DeVore, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general last year. DeVore on Friday said the temporary restraining order on the gun ban that was put in place in Effingham County still applies to thousands of plaintiffs until the courts decide otherwise. He said he expects Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul will try to address that situation.

Were going to keep going to the best of our ability, DeVore said.

The attorney generals office did not respond immediately to a request for comment on how Fridays ruling affects those cases.

The law bans the delivery, sale, import and purchase of a long list of so-called assault weapons. Also banned are the delivery, sale or purchase of large capacity ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns.

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(Petrella reported from Chicago.)

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By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Democratic-backed ban on assault-style rifles and large-capacity magazines enacted after a deadly mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb in 2022 that left seven people dead and dozens of others wounded.

The state's high court in a 4-3 vote rejected arguments by a group of plaintiffs led by a Republican state Representative Dan Caulkins, that the ban violated the Illinois Constitution by not applying the law equally to all citizens.

Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in a statement called the ruling "a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives."

In January, he signed into law the measure, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans the sale and distribution of many kinds of high-powered semiautomatic "assault weapons," including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, and large-capacity magazines.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford, a Democrat, wrote that the constitution's equal protection and special legislation clauses did not bar the state's legislature from treating certain citizens differently than others by exempting them from the law.

Those exemptions applied to people who complete firearms training while employed in law enforcement, the military and private security and individuals who already owned the prohibited guns before the ban was enacted.

"The Act attempts to balance public safety against the expertise of the trained professionals and the expectation interests of the grandfathered individuals," Rochford wrote in an opinion that was joined by three of her fellow Democratic justices.

The ruling reversed a lower-court judge's ruling in the plaintiffs' favor. Justices Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet, both Republicans, and Mary Kay OBrien, a Democrat, dissented.

The plaintiffs also argued the law violated the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. But Rochford said the plaintiffs waived that argument by not raising it at the lower-court level.

That Second Amendment argument is central to separate ongoing federal lawsuits also challenging Illinois' law.

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court last year in striking down New York state gun limits on carrying concealed firearms announced a new legal standard requiring firearms restrictions to be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

That ruling has made it more difficult for lower courts to uphold new or existing gun regulations, several of which have been declared unconstitutional.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexia Garamfalvi)
A picture has emerged showing the hole torn in the side of the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak by an Ukrainian drone last week.

A new photo shows severe damage sustained by the Russian Navys Ropucha class amphibious landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak after falling victim to a Ukrainian drone boat attack last week. The vessel was reportedly struck close to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where it is now in dry dock, as you can read about more in The War Zones previous reporting on this incident. This comes amid a recent spate of Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel attacks on Russian ships and other targets, including a separate incident that left a hole in the hull of the commercial tanker ship Sig.

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1689757877433401344?s=20

The new photo of Olenegorsky Gornyak, which began to circulate on social media in the past day or so, shows the ship undergoing repairs, or at least an assessment of the extent of the damage, while in a floating dock in Novorossiysk. Most apparent is the large hole that was torn in the port side of the ship.

Shipyard workers are visible in the picture and a rough visual comparison between them and the hole suggests that the latter could be around 12 feet high and almost as wide. From what can be seen, most of the area penetrated appears to be below the waterline, although there are also very extensive black scorch marks above the waterline.

https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/status/1689886236851245056?s=20

The location and extent of the damage Olenegorsky Gornyak that can be seen in the new picture of the ship in dry dock are consistent with other imagery and details about the attack that have previously emerged. A video that had previously emerged, which was purportedly taken from the Ukrainian drone boat as it approached the landing ship, showed it aiming for the vessels port side. The incident, which took place early on the morning of August 4, had left the ship listing heavily to port and sitting low in the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65YEYoClxo https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1687350645592817665?s=20

A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters that one or more USVs were involved in what was a joint operation by the Ukrainian Navy and the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU.

As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak sustained a serious hole and is currently unable to carry out its combat missions, the same source claimed.

https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1687383184835534848?s=20

The Ropucha class ships were built during the Cold War and can carry significant numbers of tanks, other armored vehicles, and troops, as well as other cargo, and bring it right to a beachhead during an amphibious operation. Ahead of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, additional examples were brought to the Black Sea from the Baltic (where the Olenegorsky Gornyak is normally based). Since then, these vessels have played an important role in moving materiel around the Black Sea and they have even been used to ferry commercial vehicles to and from Russian-occupied Crimea in the wake of the attacks on bridges connecting it with the Russian mainland.

BTR-82 armored personnel carriers disembark from a Ropucha class landing ship during an exercise. DENIS KOZHEVNIKOV/TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES

Additional pictures and video of the aftermath of the August 4 attack showed the response efforts and Olenegorsky Gornyak eventually being towed back to Novorossiysk.

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1687360553809829888 https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1687351254014377985?s=20 https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1687369392915402752?s=20 https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1687429773406908416?s=20 https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1687376001930551296?s=20

While the Russian Ministry of Defense quickly acknowledged that the attack had taken place, it initially claimed that it was repelled, with the USVs being destroyed by Russian warships. Clearly, the warship was hit, but there is so far no evidence of any other USVs having been destroyed in the process.

Satellite imagery subsequently confirmed the landing ship was moored at the Novorossiysk naval base with what may have been oil leaking from it.

https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1687450475249975296?s=20 https://twitter.com/COUPSURE/status/1687464429728780288?s=20

Additional satellite imagery showed that the Olenegorsky Gornyak had been moved to a dry dock in Novorossiysk as of August 8, as The War Zone previously reported.

https://twitter.com/kromark/status/1689178510055665664?s=20

A new photo of the vessel in its floating dock appeared online yesterday, although the extent of the damage was not immediately obvious.

https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1689682523843129344?s=20

Though the specific details about the damage to Olenegorsky Gornyak remain limited, the new picture makes clear that it is significant. This, in turn, once again reinforces the real threat that Ukrainian explosive-laden USVs pose and underscores their value in the country's activities against Russia in and around the Black Sea.

The attack on Olenegorsky Gornyak was just one of a string of incidents involving USVs in recent months in this area. The SBU took responsibility for a large-scale drone attack on Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet ships in the port of Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, last October. There have since been repeated attempts to attack that same key port as well as individual attacks made on Russian ships of the Black Sea Fleet operating far offshore. USVs also were reportedly responsible for the recent attack on the Kerch Bridge that connects Crimea with the Russian mainland.

The area around the port of Novorossiysk has come under attack on several occasions, too, including an attempted USV strike last November. On August 4 this year, the same day that the Olenegorsky Gornyak was hit, there were reports of an attempted drone boat attack on nearby oil infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/status/1687297525529620480?s=20 https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1687344802495356928?s=20 https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1687302374841335809?s=20

What is notable about the Novorossiysk attack is the ability of Ukrainian USVs to cover considerable distances to attack their targets. The port of Novorossiysk is roughly 420 miles from the closest Ukrainian-held shores.

Novorossiysk is a major Russian port and another home to elements of the Black Sea Fleet. Google Earth

As well as considerable reach, the evidence from the attack on the Olenegorsky Gornyak  as well as from the aftermath of the drone boat attack on the Sig, a Russian tanker ship, which also took place on August 4  suggests that the destructive power of these USVs is also increasing. After both attacks, Ukrainian intelligence sources claimed that the USVs that had been employed carried warheads weighing 450 kilograms or a little under 1,000 pounds.

In addition, while we dont know what type of USV was used in the attack on the Olenegorsky Gornyak, the video purportedly showing the drone boat headed toward its target reveals some similarities with a new type of USV that was revealed only days ago.

As The War Zone reported at the time of the attack, this newly revealed USV is a low-visibility gray boat that has gimballed and staring optical sensors allowing for remote control. It can reportedly carry a big 300-kilogram [around 661 pounds] warhead out to a range of 800 kilometers [some 497 miles]... The satellite communications array seen at the rear of the boat is also new. It is widely assumed that Starlink was used on earlier Ukrainian drone boats, but the company began limiting access to certain areas and other parameters to negate the systems with weapons like drone boats. This new satcom array likely gets around those limitations by using another provider.

https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1685263332733845505?s=20

The eventual fate of the Olenegorsky Gornyak remains unclear. It has certainly been taken out of action for the time being.

No matter what, the attack adds to the growing evidence that Ukrainian USV capabilities are only increasing and that these drone boats are now a permanent fixture of the complex war fought in and around the Black Sea.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
The amphibious ship of the Russian Federation Olenegorskiy Gornyak is undergoing repairs in the dock

Fresh images circulating on social media show the significant damage suffered by a large Russian landing ship, the Olenegorskiy Gornyak, following an attack carried out by Ukrainian maritime kamikaze drone on Aug. 4.

Read also: What Russia could do in the Black Sea

One of the photos offers a clear perspective on the scope of the harm inflicted. The vessels hull has a gaping hole, and is presently undergoing repair within a floating dock. The port side of the ship took the impact, with the breach in the hull partially submerged below the waterline.

Military sources report that a visual assessment based on the size of the workers positioned next to the breach enables a rough calculation of the breachs dimensions. The breachs height is tentatively measured at approximately four meters, with a width of about 3.5 meters. This suggests the utilization of a powerful explosive warhead by the maritime drone that struck the vessel.

t.me/horevica

t.me/horevica

Two maritime drones launched an attack near Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar Krai of Russia on Aug. 4.

Shortly after the attack, a video began circulating on social media apparently showing the view from a sea attack drones onboard camera as it rushed towards the Russian warship, apparently striking it amidships on its port (left) side.

Read also: Ukrainians delighted by drone attack on Russian warship, vessel looks in danger of sinking  UPDATE

Subsequent footage showed the Olenegorskiy Gornyak listing heavily to port, indicating potential flooding in multiple compartments. The ship was subsequently towed to the port of Novorossiysk.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, stated that the Olenegorskiy Gornyak would not rejoin the ranks of the Russian Northern Fleet anytime soon.

A day later, another drone attack was reported, with powerful explosions being heard near the Crimean Bridge. The Russian tanker Sig transporting fuel for Russian forces, sustained damage and began sinking in the Kerch Strait. Ukraines SBU security service confirmed it and the Ukrainian Navy had carried out a special operation to disable the Russian tanker using an unmanned surface drone.

The drone carried a 450-kilogram TNT warhead, sources at the SBU said.

Read also: Recent satellite imagery indicates serious damage done to Russia's Olenegorsky Gornyak warship

Following these events, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Russia had dispersed its naval forces in the Black Sea, because of a small panic among the invading enemy forces.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The IMF logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington

(Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Honduras for a 36-month credit facility for about $830 million to support the country's economic reform policies.

In a statement, the IMF said the economic program focuses on helping address urgent social spending and investment needs, while anchoring macroeconomic stability. A credit facility is an agreement between a borrower and a lender that is more flexible than a traditional loan.

The agreement follows an IMF team visit to Honduras between June 5 and 16 and virtual discussions in recent weeks, it added.

"The Honduran economy has remained remarkably resilient to several shocks, both domestic and external, including the pandemic, weather events (tropical storms and droughts), the impact of the war in Ukraine, and the global economic slowdown," the statement showed.

However, Honduras continues to face long-standing social and structural challenges, it said, and addressing these challenges will require "steadfast implementation (and) structural reforms that promote economic diversification and social inclusion."

Honduras Foreign Minister Enrique Reina welcomed the agreement on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying in a post the news demonstrated "the financial, monetary and economic soundness of the country."

The deal will fall under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and has yet to be approved by the executive board.

The Central American country's economy expanded by 4% last year, according to official data, and the government has forecast gross domestic product growth of between 3.5% and 4.0% this year.

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Editing by Isabel Woodford and David Gregorio)
Two prominent conservative legal scholars determined that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to be president under a provision in the Constitution barring people who engaged in insurrection from office.

Professors William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas  both members of the conservative Federalist Society  studied the question for more than a year and detailed their findings in an article set to be published next year in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, according to The New York Times.

"When we started out, neither of us was sure what the answer was," Baude told the outlet. "People were talking about this provision of the Constitution. We thought: 'We're constitutional scholars, and this is an important constitutional question. We ought to figure out what's really going on here.' And the more we dug into it, the more we realized that we had something to add."

The professors' conclusion, he said, is that Trump "cannot be president  cannot run for president, cannot become president, cannot hold office  unless two-thirds of Congress decides to grant him amnesty for his conduct on Jan. 6."

While a law review article is not going to stop Trump's campaign for the White House, it could boost lawsuits arguing that he is ineligible for office under the U.S. Constitution. A New Mexico judge last year removed a county commissioner, Couy Griffin, after finding that he was disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars any person who took an oath to support the Constitution and then "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" or gave "aid or comfort" to insurrectionists. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which plans to file a similar suit seeking to bar Trump.

"There are many ways that this could become a lawsuit presenting a vital constitutional issue that potentially the Supreme Court would want to hear and decide," Paulsen told the Times.

Noah Bookbinder, CREW's executive director, explained that disqualification under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is "not a punishment."

"The constitution sets out qualifications for the good of our republic," he tweeted. "Just like a 30-year-old would be disqualified from being president, Donald Trump disqualified himself when he incited insurrection."

The article similarly notes that Section 3 is "self-executing, operating as an immediate disqualification from office."

The article argues that there is "abundant evidence" that Trump engaged in an insurrection, citing his efforts to change vote counts through threats and intimidation and urging his supporters to march on the Capitol.

"It is unquestionably fair to say that Trump 'engaged in' the Jan. 6 insurrection through both his actions and his inaction," the article said.

Steven Calabresi, a law professor at Northwestern and Yale and a founder of the Federalist Society, called the 126-page article a "tour de force."

But James Bopp Jr., an attorney who represented members of Congress whose candidacies were challenged under the provision, told the Times that the scholars "have adopted a ridiculously broad view."

Bopp successfully defended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in a case where a judge found that she had not taken part in or encouraged the Jan. 6 attacks after she took her oath of office on Jan. 3. But a federal appeals court ruled against a key argument in his defense of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, though that case was rendered moot after he lost his 2022 primary.

The article argues that the "full legal consequences" of Section 3 "have not been appreciated or enforced."

"It can and should be enforced by every official, state or federal, who judges qualifications," the article says.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

"Section Three covers a broad range of conduct against the authority of the constitutional order, including many instances of indirect participation or support as 'aid or comfort,'" the article's abstract said. "It covers a broad range of former offices, including the Presidency. And in particular, it disqualifies former President Donald Trump, and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election."

Calabresi told the Times that election administrators must act.

"Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot, and each of the 50 state secretaries of state has an obligation to print ballots without his name on them," he told the outlet, adding that they may be sued if they refuse.

Trump is also facing prosecution for his role in the post-election scheme but that case and Section 3 address "completely separate questions," Baude told the Times.

"The question of should Donald Trump go to jail is entrusted to the criminal process," he said. "The question of should he be allowed to take the constitutional oath again and be given constitutional power again is not a question given to any jury."

Read more

about Section 3 of the 14th Amendment
Workers with disabilities have long seen their fortunes ebb and flow with the economy. Federal law (ADA) prohibits most employers from discriminating against people with disabilities, and it requires them to make reasonable accommodations.

But research has found that discrimination remains commonone 2017 study found that job applications that disclosed a disability were 26 percent less likely to receive interest from prospective employers.

And even when they can find jobs, workers with disabilities frequently encounter barriers to success, from bathroom doors they cannot open without assistance, to hostile co-workers.

Structural changes are emerging

However structural changes in business practices prompted by the pandemicsuch as widespread acceptance of remote working and an overall labor shortagehave opened up historic opportunities for some of the nations most skilled and underutilized workers.

Remote work has also led to increased use of more accessible technologies, such as web conferencing with captions, and accessible websites, which have made it possible for individuals with disabilities to work from home more easily.

And new federal data shows that people with disabilities are landing jobs at record numbers. In 2022, about 21 percent of people with a disability in the U.S. were employed, up from about 19 percent in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (BLS). That is the highest rate since the U.S. began tracking this statistic in 2008.

Invisible disabilities

Its important to note here that the disabled community is highly varied. Disability advocates estimate one-quarter of the U.S. population lives with a disability, but that 70 percent of disabilities, especially those that are cognitive in nature, are defined as invisible.

Disability issues are likely to become even more prominent in coming years because the pandemic has left potentially millions of adults dealing with a disability. A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that close to two million working-age Americans had become disabled because of long Covid.

Employers that dont find ways to accommodate workers with disabilitieswhether through remote work or other adjustmentsare going to continue to struggle to find employees.

And employers that are recruiting and hiring individuals with disabilities need to do more than provide a competitive workplace benefits package to retain them.

Workforce training initiatives can help dispel stigmas surrounding disabilities and prepare managers to interview, onboard and work with people with disabilities. Launching an employee resource group for employees with disabilities can help new hires feel welcome through shared experiences.

Employers can also provide educational opportunities for employees with disabilities, such as an introduction to special-needs planning, the ins and outs of ABLE accounts, and the basics around government benefits.

The most progressive companies partner with disability organizations in their recruitment efforts, adopting training on disability issues and cultural competence and reaching out to government and local resources regarding the provision of accommodations.

All these efforts will help solidify a culture of inclusion. Creating a supportive and inclusive culture is the secret sauce that will make an organization an employer of choice for people with disabilities.

Questions to ask

If a culture of inclusion in work is key for you, its worth asking yourself the following questions. Is disability considered in your companys DEI initiatives? Are people with disabilities part of your organizations DEI task force? Is flexible work a part of company policy?

If not, you owe it to yourself to visit the Hill Jobs Board and check out opportunities with companies who can demonstrate a committed dedication to supporting employees with disability issues. Here are three hiring this week

External Communications Manager, The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Washington

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is looking to hire an External Communications Manager for its Washington, D.C. office. The role requires an experienced writer with a proven track record of producing clear and effective communications. Worth noting is PCAOBs stated mission to provide an equitable work environment for everyone, free of discrimination and harassment. The company is focused on the health and well being of all its employees (with generous family resources) as well as strongly promoting work life flexibility.

Sales Support Specialist, SBA Network Services, LLC, Boca Raton

If youre looking for an opportunity to be part of a work family that values collaboration, innovation and dedication, take a look at this open role for a Sales Support Specialist at SBA Network Services, LLC. The primary function of the role is to support the sales team in securing new business via portfolio analysis reporting and supplemental email campaigns. A remote work policy is offered here as well as attractive employee benefits. DEI is not a new concept for SBA: named as one of Comparablys Best Companies for Women in 2020 and as well as in its Top 25 Companies for Diversity, employees here have rated the culture of diversity and inclusion among the top 5 percent of companies in the US.

Deputy Project Manager of Communications, Tribal Tech LLC, Alexandria

Flying the flag for workplace flexibility is progressive company Tribal Tech LCC, which has fully remote roles such as this one for Deputy Project Manager of Communications. A Native American, woman-owned small business providing professional services to federal, state, local, tribal, and private sector clients. Its mission is to empower communities and individuals with the knowledge and resources to achieve better health, security, and well-being. The successful candidate here will be responsible for overseeing the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Behavioral Health and Wellness Program (BHWP) website, webinars, events, and the submission of work products.

For more career opportunities and to find a role in a company with a supportive work environment that respects your identity, visit The Hill Job Board today

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ina Garten has built an incredible career, which started with writing budgets at the White House.

With the support of her husband Jeffrey, she then ran a grocery store that launched her cooking journey.

Garten has since written 13 cookbooks, and "Barefoot Contessa" has been on TV for 20 years.

Ina Garten was born on February 2, 1948.

Garten posted this sweet throwback of her and Jeffrey as kids in 1953, 12 years before they first met. Ina Garten/Instagram

Garten was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, where her father worked as a surgeon.

The future Food Network star didn't spend much time in the kitchen during her youth. Her mother wanted her to focus on school instead, according to the Washington Post.

Garten's life would change in 1963 when she went to visit her brother at Dartmouth College, where she first met Jeffrey.

Garten and Jeffrey started dating in 1963. @inagarten/Instagram

It was love at first sight for Jeffrey, who spotted Garten from the library window.

As it turned out, Jeffrey's roommate knew Garten's brother. Jeffrey sent her a letter with his photo inside, and Garten's interest was instantly piqued.

"I just remember running through the house and going, 'Mom, Mom, you've got to see this picture of this guy. He's so cute!'" Garten told People in 2018.

They had their first date just months later in New York, and Garten felt an instant connection as well.

"I have to say, I just knew he was the one," she told Today Food in 2018. "He's kind, he's smart, he's funny, and he takes very good care of me. It's wonderful."

Garten was 20 years old when she tied the knot with Jeffrey in 1968, five years after they first met.

Garten and Jeffrey on their wedding day in 1968. Ina Garten/Instagram

The couple wed at Garten's parents' house in Stamford.

In 2016, Garten told Vanity Fair that her greatest regret in life was "not marrying Jeffrey sooner."

While celebrating the couple's 50th wedding anniversary in 2018, Garten said the secret to a happy marriage was quite simple.

"I think you marry someone who thinks you're just the most important thing in the world, and you think he's the most important thing in the world," she told Today Food.

But the couple had to spend their first year as husband and wife apart while Jeffrey served in the Army.

Jeffrey served in the Army in 1969. @inagarten/Instagram

Jeffrey was only able to call Garten once during that entire year he was stationed in Thailand, but he wrote to her every day, he told People in 2018.

Garten kept every single letter, including one in which Jeffrey said he'd love to take his new wife to Paris, where "we won't have enough money for a hotel, but maybe we'll go camping," she added.

The couple went on a four-month camping trip to Paris in 1971, where Garten said she first fell in love with cooking. Now, they celebrate every anniversary in the City of Lights.

Garten and Jeffrey moved to Washington, DC, in 1972, where she earned her degree and worked her way up to the White House.

Garten and Jeffrey during their Washington, DC, days. @inagarten/Instagram

Garten helped write the nuclear energy budget during Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter's presidencies. At the same time, she was making her way through Julia Child's books  teaching herself how to cook and throwing weekly dinner parties.

Although she had a prestigious career, Garten didn't feel at home in the upper echelons of DC.

''My job in Washington was intellectually exciting and stimulating, but it wasn't me at all,'' Garten told The New York Times in 1981.

In 1978, shortly after she turned 30, Garten gave up her DC life and decided to buy a small specialty food shop called Barefoot Contessa.

The Barefoot Contessa storefront in East Hampton, New York. Matthew Peyton/Getty Images

''I was sitting at my desk in Washington trying to figure out what I was going to do when I grew up and I came across an ad for this business for sale in Westhampton,'' she told the Times. ''I drove up that weekend, looked it over, and said I'd take it.''

Garten's parents couldn't believe their daughter had given up the White House for a grocery store. But Jeffrey gave her his full support.

"Jeffrey said, 'If you love it, you'll be really good at it,'" Garten told the New York Times' Sam Sifton during a virtual chat for the release of her cookbook "Modern Comfort Food."

"And that's the best advice anybody ever gave me," she added.

It was a huge learning curve for Garten, who had little experience in the world of food.

Garten didn't have a food background. Ina Garten/Instagram

"Honestly, the first month I was there I thought, 'This is the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life,'" Garten told Sifton. "I'd never been in the food business, I didn't know how to do anything. But Jeffrey said, 'If you could do it in the first week, you'd be bored in the second week."'

Garten began working 18 hours a day to turn Barefoot Contessa into a success, bringing on a chef named Anna Pump to help.

"Mom was hired to cook, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship began," Sybille van Kempen, Pump's daughter, told Insider. "Mom and Ina motivated each other. They shared ideas and supported each other's growth."

Garten credits Pump  who went on to run the popular Loaves & Fishes Foodstore in Sagaponack, New York, and died in 2015  with teaching her "so much about cooking."

Barefoot Contessa became such a success that Garten moved it to a bigger location in East Hampton.

The interior of Barefoot Contessa, as seen in 2002. Matthew Peyton/Getty Images

Garten told Sifton she got lucky that she found the store just as the specialty food business was starting to take off.

"It was really the beginning of when women were going back to work and they had jobs and families and they had enough on their plate and didn't have time to make dinner," she said. "So they were starting to buy dinner to make at home."

Garten ran the store for 18 years before she sold it to two of her employees in 1996. The store officially closed in 2003.

In 1999, Garten published her first cookbook  "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook"  with recipes from her store.

Ina Garten signs "The Barefoot Contessa" cookbooks in 1999. Robert Lachman/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

It was those first Barefoot Contessa customers who taught Garten that "people eat differently at home than they do in restaurants," she told Sifton.

"I would put out chickens with fresh herbs and it didn't work," Garten told Sifton. "I thought, okay, I'm going to take this huge platter and put the chicken in little red cups and do it really simply  and it sold like crazy. I really learned that people want simple food."

In 2021, Garten's first cookbook was republished with four new recipes  including her overnight mac and cheese, her brown-butter skillet corn bread, and her avocado and fried egg tartine.

"The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook" was a huge hit. Garten has since released a new cookbook every two years.

Garten has written 13 cookbooks. Ina Garten/Instagram

Garten told Sifton it takes her two years to develop the recipes and design for each book, and that she's "involved in every detail of it."

The "Barefoot Contessa" star has become beloved for her foolproof dishes that are accessible to home chefs at any skill level. And Garten credits this with the fact that she always tests out her dishes with an inexperienced cook.

"Every time I make a recipe, I watch someone else make it," she told Sifton. "And I learn so much about how someone uses the recipe. At least one person makes it, sometimes three."

Food Network soon came calling, and Garten launched the "Barefoot Contessa" show in 2001.

Garten and Emily Blunt on an episode of "Barefoot Contessa." Barefoot Contessa/Food Network

Garten actually turned down the Food Network multiple times before she decided to give the show a go, telling the network to "lose my number."

"For years I said no, and they kept coming back with a better offer," Garten told MSNBC host Willie Geist during a virtual author luncheon benefiting Shelter Island Public Library in September 2021. "I said, 'I'm not negotiating, I just don't think I can do this.'"

Executives at the network were shocked by her initial refusal.

"They said, 'People send us hams to even get an appointment to try and get a show,'" Garten told Geist with a laugh.

But Garten said it's been incredible to look back on her two decades in television.

"Twenty years, it's amazing," she added. "I'm really delighted, I just can't understand it."

Garten was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2015, and her tribute was penned by none other than Taylor Swift.

Ina Garten and Jeffrey Garten attend the 2015 Time 100 Gala on April 21, 2015 in New York City. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

"As soon as I started watching Ina's show, I realized why so many people adore her," Swift wrote. "Her goal is to make things easier for us. Fans love her warmth and generosity."

"She shows us how to create memories that we'll treasure for years to come. For that, we will always cherish the merry and magnificent Ina Garten," she continued.

And in 2016, Garten returned to the White House  this time as Michelle Obama's guest.

Garten sat down with Michelle Obama for her "Barefoot In Washington" special in 2016. Ina Garten/Instagram

Garten and Obama had tea together for her "Barefoot in Washington" special. And Garten told the Washington Post that it was "one of the greatest days of my life."

"When Mrs. Obama said she liked my work, that was, like, 'Really?,'" Garten recalled. "She's just somebody I admire enormously. She took on a role she never expected to, and she did it brilliantly."

Garten has since found a whole new legion of fans after she became a quarantine hero with the help of a massive cosmopolitan.

Ina Garten went viral for making an enormous cosmopolitan one morning. Ina Garten/Instagram

The "Barefoot Contessa" star became an internet sensation in April 2020 when she filmed herself making a huge drink at 9 a.m., telling her fans that it's "always cocktail hour in a crisis!"

Garten told Sifton that she was "adding like 100,000 people a week on Instagram" after the clip took off.

"It was insane!" she said. "It was completely insane!"

Garten pivoted her Instagram content to share easy pantry-friendly recipes that her fans could make while they were stuck in various lockdowns. Now, she has over three million followers.

Garten released her cookbook, "Modern Comfort Food," in October 2020.

Garten released her newest cookbook, "Modern Comfort Food," in October 2020. Ina Garten/Instagram

Garten decided to make comfort food the theme of her 2020 cookbook because she knew it'd be coming out during an election year.

"Two years ago I thought, there's going to be an election a month after this book comes out," Garten told Sifton. "And everyone, no matter who you're voting for, is going to be stressed out."

"I had no idea the layers of stress we would be dealing with now," she added, referring to the pandemic. "Either I'm a genius or I'm really lucky, and I'm sure it's the latter. It was the right thing for the right time."

Highlights from Garten's "Modern Comfort Food" cookbook include her bacon, egg, and cheddar breakfast sandwich, her "outrageous" garlic bread, and her lamb ragu.

Garten became a pandemic hero once again in January 2022 when she advised Reese Witherspoon and her followers to "drink more large cosmos."

Reese Witherspoon and Ina Garten. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/loyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

The "Barefoot Contessa" star delighted fans in January 2022 when she commented on Witherspoon's Instagram video asking followers to share habits that have improved their daily life.

While Witherspoon's habits include starting the day with a big glass of water and being in bed by 10 p.m. ("no late-night TV binges"), Garten was happy to admit that her daily habits are very different and "easier to follow."

Garten then revealed that her daily habits include drinking "more large cosmos," staying up late to watch TV, and "playing Sudoku instead of reading a good book."

"In a pandemic, I do what I can," she continued, adding some heart emojis at the end.

Garten's comment definitely caught people's attention, receiving more than 4,000 likes and 200 comments  many of which praised her for being an "icon" and an "idol."

"Ina Garten that is real and I love it," one fan wrote.

The pandemic served as inspiration for Garten's newest cookbook, "Go-To Dinners," which focuses on easy recipes that take little prep or stress.

Garten's cookbook "Go-To Dinners." Amazon

"The pandemic has had a huge impact on what I think of as dinner  and what I look for in a 'go-to' recipe," Garten writes in the introduction of her cookbook. "When I planned a party before the pandemic, it was always a multicourse extravaganza. But then the pandemic happened and everything seemed like so much work."

"I started making simple dinners for Jeffrey and me," she continues. "They were delicious, satisfying, and everything we needed and wanted for dinner. I began to question why I had been so rigid about what constituted dinner before. If I love eating this way, wouldn't my friends like it too?"

Highlights from Garten's most recent cookbook include her favorite weeknight pasta, her scrambled eggs cacio e pepe, and her blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake.

Read the original article on Insider
FILE-A woman holds a placard protesting against the sedition case filed by police against a school after a play performed by students denouncing a new citizenship law, in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. India's government on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, introduced a bill in Parliament that seeks to replace a British colonial-era law dealing with sedition charges with its own version. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW DELHI (AP)  Indias government proposed legislation Friday in Parliament that seeks to replace a British colonial-era sedition law with its own version.

The government also submitted a bill that it said would better protect women and children by providing greater punishments for sexual crimes.

Britain's rulers in India imposed a law against sedition  actions aimed at encouraging people to be or act against a government  in 1860 to repress freedom fighters. India won independence from the British colonialists in 1947, but continued to use the law.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis critics accused his government of using sedition charges to label dissenting citizens as disloyal toward the country. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Home Minister Amit Shah said Friday that the bill submitted to India's lawmakers would repeal the British offense of sedition and introduce a new provision.

Chitranshul Sinha, a legal expert, said the government's proposed provision would punish acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India. It carries prison sentence range of seven years to life.

"It doesnt get rid of the British-era law. They (the government) have rearranged the provision, Sinha said.

"Its just a change of name. Essentially, nothing has changed, he said. said.

The bill intended to protect women better would make sexual exploitation on the pretext of marriage, employment or promotion, or through the use of a hidden identity, a crime.

The legislation would make a gang rape conviction punishable by a maximum life sentence. imprisonment. Raping a child would be eligible for a death sentence, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

The bill also would allow penalties ranging from seven years in prison to death for mob lynching.

I can assure the House (Parliament) that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime, Shah said.

The two houses of India's Parliament are expected to consider the two bills later this year.
FILE PHOTO: A policeman stands guard outside the India's new parliament building before its inauguration in New Delhi

By Rupam Jain

NEW Delhi (Reuters) - India's government moved three bills in the lower house of parliament on Friday aimed at overhauling some colonial-era criminal laws, ranging from the controversial sedition law to strengthening laws that protect women and minors.

On the last day of the monsoon session of the parliament, Federal Home Minister Amit Shah presented bills to repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, many implemented by the British before the country's independence in 1947.

The new legislation "will aim to give justice, not punishment," said Shah, adding that the overhaul was imperative as the colonial laws have been at the core of the criminal justice system for over a century.

The bills will be sent to a parliamentary standing committee for deliberations before passage.

Some legal experts said the bills, if approved by Parliament, may create disruptions and add complexity to the legal process as courts will have figure out procedural implications and positions on tens of thousands of existing trials.

But those in favour of the changes said they enable fresh discussions on the need to reform several laws protecting females and minors, and also adds a fresh layer of transparency to criminal codes.

The bill seeks to replace the colonial-era sedition law which was mainly used against Indian political leaders seeking independence from British rule.

However, in modern India it has frequently been used since 1947 as a tool of suppression by successive democratically elected governments to intimidate people who protest against authority.

The proposed bill seeks to replace it with a section on acts seen as endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has scrapped scores of obscure laws in recent years to modernize the legal system and free India from its colonial past.

(Additional reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Kim Coghill)
A bulldozer being used to demolish alleged illegal structures during an anti-encroachment eviction drive by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, on Feb. 27 in Guwahati, India. Credit - David TalukdarNurPhoto/Reuters

Over the past week, Nuh, a small, poor town in the northern state of Haryana, has become a heaped pile of rock and debris after authorities demolished hundreds of homes and shops with bulldozers. Many of the trampled buildings belonged to Muslims, who form 77% of the districts local population, according to India's 2011 census.

The demolition drive followed violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims on July 31 and continued over three days, killing at least six people and injuring several others. They began when Nuhs Muslim residents began pelting stones at a hardline Hindu group passing through town during a religious procession, provoked by rumors that a notorious Hindu vigilante would be in attendance. The situation escalated into street riots, with angry mobs from both communities vandalizing property and torching cars before authorities intervened.

Civil society groups say the demolition drive in Nuh is just one example among many of how bulldozers have become a major extrajudicial tool wielded by politicians from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to destroy homes, businesses, and places of worship of thousands of Muslims.

The bulldozer is a way for the BJP to circumvent the law and institutions in order to realize its [Hindu-nationalist] goals, says Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a political scientist at Ashoka University in Delhi.

In many BJP-governed states, especially in northern India, demolition drives have not only become a common tactic to quash Muslim dissent, but bulldozers have evolved as a Hindu-nationalist symbol. They feature during election victories, in parade floats in both India and abroad, on packets of chips, and in several Hindu nationalist anthems. Young men have even gotten the symbol tattooed on their arms in celebration of the BJP.

In a sense, its also a symbol of what BJP supporters call quick justice, says Mahmudabad.

In Nuh, the bulldozers got to work after Haryanas Home Minister, Anil Vij, said on Aug. 3 that the bulldozer could also be part of the remedial action against those involved in the violence. Authorities later said the shanties and cement structures were built illegally, a charge that many residents deny. On Monday, the high court of Punjab and Haryana halted the demolitions and questioned whether the BJP government, through its use of bulldozers, was conducting an exercise of ethnic cleansing of Nuhs Muslims.

It's one of the only instances where a court has stepped in to say this wrong, says Asim Ali, a political researcher at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi. Which goes to show how institutions have not been able to step in to rein in the ruling partys breaches.

Demonstrators hold placards against the demolition of the house of activist Afreen Fatima and her father Javed Mohammad on June 13, 2022 in Delhi. Ajay AggarwalHindustan Times/Getty Images

The history of bulldozing

The most high-profile bulldozer case in India occurred when the Babri Masjid, a Mughal-era mosque in the city of Ayodhya, was reduced to rubble in 1992 by Hindu nationalists over claims it stood on the site of an ancient Hindu temple. The case polarized the nation for nearly two decades until 2019, when the Supreme Court handed the land over to Hindus for temple construction, while a special criminal court in 2020 acquitted those accused of destroying the mosque.

Experts say the events around Babri Masjid were vital in advancing the careers of many top BJP officials, including the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who played a key role in overseeing the demolition of the mosque and the construction of the new temple.

Many local Hindu nationalist leaders have only embraced bulldozers in the years since. Yogi Adiyanath, a Hindu cleric and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has even earned the nickname Bulldozer Baba, or the father of the bulldozer."

Read More: Bulldozers Have Razed My Home, and Broken the Back of Indias Muslims. Does the World Care?

And the number of demolitions appears to be growing. They also continue to be wielded during highly contentious moments, like the 2019 protests against the controversial citizenship law that rights groups say discriminates against Muslims, and last April, when local authorities defied a high court order to bulldoze another ancient mosque in Uttar Pradesh.

A bulldozer is demolishing an alleged illegal structure of a Bengali market mosque during an anti-encroachment drive by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on April 11. Salman AliHindustan Times/Getty Images

There is no official government data on the total number of demolitions over the years, but researchers have tried to tally them up. The Housing and Land Rights Network in Delhi estimates that the government demolished at least 43,000 homes and evicted about 21 people every hour from March 2020 to July 2021, according to the most recent data they have published.

A disregard for the law

Anmol Gupta, a lawyer at Land Conflict Watch, another independent network of researchers studying bulldozing, points out that in many instances, the use of them has usually been in defiance of the law. Notifying evictees in advance is a legal prerequisite to eviction or demolition, and a basic right protected under the Indian Constitution.

This means that evictees have a chance to contest the proceedings if they want to and gives them an opportunity to be heard, she tells TIME. By not following the due process of law, the evictions are violating key rights under the constitution.

In the case of Nuh, Punjab and Haryanas high court said that the violation of both procedural and fundamental rights set a precedent for dispensing instant mob justice with bulldozers. But this was a rare judgment, considering that last July, the Supreme Court toed the governments line on demolitions when hearing a case to halt them in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The court also declined to put a blanket stay on the demolition drives, arguing that municipal authorities should have jurisdiction over unauthorized constructions.

But Ashoka Universitys Mahmudabad says that even where a court might intervene, a lot has already been destroyed by the time an order stays the demolition.

For far too many Muslims, he adds, The damage has already been done.

Write to Astha Rajvanshi at astha.rajvanshi@time.com.
FILE PHOTO: An Electric Multiple Unit high-speed train for a rail link project part of China's Belt and Road Initiative is parked at Tegalluar train depot in Bandung

By Stefanno Sulaiman

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is prioritising safety ahead of the planned commercial launch of its China-funded $7.3 billion high-speed railway, its transport minister said on Friday - addressing concerns about a project already years behind schedule.

A flagship project of President Joko Widodo and part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, the 142-kilometre (88-mile) railway connecting Jakarta to the city of Bandung was originally set to be completed by 2019.

But it has been beset by problems, including delays due to land procurement issues, the COVID-19 pandemic and a $1.2 billion cost overrun.

The consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state companies building the railway, PT KCIC, earlier this week postponed a planned free trial run by about two weeks to Sept. 1 to ensure safety.

It continues to aim for a commercial launch on Oct. 1, but Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told Reuters in an interview that these dates are not set in stone.

"The president told me not to rush it. He knows that the number one priority is safety...this is the first (high-speed train) in Indonesia and ASEAN, and it has an advanced technology so we have to be careful," Budi said, referring to the Association of South East Asian Nations.

His ministry is currently doing safety tests, the minister said, while underscoring the complexity of the project.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Widodo during the Indonesian leader's trip to China that both countries must ensure the project adheres to high standards as it nears completion.

"Any delay will mean delayed income (for project operator) and there will be consequences to financial ratios. But we as technical people think safety is paramount, and the president has considered all consequences," Budi said.

KCIC is already struggling to deal with the project's cost overrun, especially as one of the consortium members, Indonesia's construction firm PT Wijaya Karya, is facing its own debt troubles.

Negotiations for an additional $560 million loan from the Chinese Development Bank are underway to complete the remaining construction.

Given the rising cost, there have been concerns that ticket prices will have to be set high to ensure investment returns.

Budi said the train fare would be set at 250,000-300,000 rupiah ($16.44-$19.72) - below the 350,000 rupiah estimate without government intervention - with the leader of the consortium, Indonesian railway firm PT Kereta Api Indonesia, expected to subsidise prices.

Still, that would be twice the price travellers now pay for a trip between the two cities aboard a regular train.

"We hope with the subsidy, the economical price will be near the price that the passengers are willing to pay," Budi said.

($1 = 15,210.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Hugh Lawson)
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, whose pro-Trump bias and head-turning errors have raised questions about whether she should be overseeing former President Donald Trumps criminal trial in Florida, made what appears to be another surprising mistake last year.

Now, a defense lawyer is seizing on her misstep to try freeing his client from prisoneven though he was caught on tape violently throwing a courtroom chair at a prosecutor and threatening to kill him.

The blunder was simple and entirely avoidable. The federal judge told jurors they could find the man, Christopher Wilkins, guilty or not guilty. But then she handed jurors a verdict form that didnt even have those options.

Judge Aileen Cannon Comes Out Swinging in Trumps FavorAgain

How far does somebody have to go to school to say that a verdict form is supposed to say guilty and not guilty? asked defense lawyer Jeffrey Garland. That would be one of the more egregious versions of jury instruction error its such a rare error.

Garland formally filed an appeal on Thursday and hopes to overturn a case thats as black-and-white as they comeon a technicality.

This is the judges deal. This is nobody elses deal. Im gonna tell ya, Ive done a lot of appeals, and Ive got a pretty good winning record. This is a great issue, he said. For a guy whos on tape throwing a chair in court, its pretty not good behavior. It would have been simple. You have a trial, properly instruct a jury, give them a form, and the jurys gonna do what the jurys gonna do.

Cannons short and controversial history on the bench is under a microscope, given that she is presiding over such an historic criminal trial: that of a former president facing prison time for mishandling classified records at Mar-a-Lago and lying to the feds in a coverup. Trump himself appointed her in his final months in office, yet she has not recused herself from the case.

Cannon first came to peoples attention last year, when Trumps lawyers were chastened by a judge who accused them of trying to game the judicial assignment system in a brazen attempt to have her oversee a conspiracy-laden lawsuit against political rival Hillary Clinton.

But she gained notoriety when Trump sued to block the feds from investigating Mar-a-Lago and she was oddly assigned the case, despite being in a distant corner of the district far from Trumps mansion. Cannon immediately began to issue bizarre orders that froze the investigationuntil appellate judges told her to back off. A court screwup even exposed how she was bending over backwards to appease the man who appointed her.

But now shes come under fire over her inexperience.

Last month, The New York Times discovered that Cannon has only handled four trials, collectively accounting for just 14 days in courtless than three weeks of experience before handling a potential turning point for American democracy. Last week, Reuters exposed how Cannon kept family members of an accused viewer of child sex abuse locked out of her courtroom during some of his trial in June, violating his Sixth Amendment rights to have a public trialand somehow forgot to swear in the prospective jury pool, the most basic of mandatory procedures.

Now, The Daily Beast can confirm that Cannon made yet another round of gaffes during a two-day trial.

The Other Judge Cannon Case With Eerie Similarities to Trump

First the backstory: Wilkins, who had already served time behind bars, ran into problems while at a halfway house and got caught with guns. When a Fort Lauderdale jury eventually read his guilty verdict on the evening of Nov. 7, 2019, an enraged Wilkins grabbed his chair in the courtroom and flung it at the prosecutor across the room while yelling, Ill kill you when I catch you, boy! A video camera and court reporters audio device recorded it all.

Fast-forward three years, and Wilkins found himself in court again, this time before Judge Cannon, for attacking the federal prosecutor.

The Daily Beast reviewed 500 pages of trial transcripts that show what went on during the two-day ordeal in January 2022. Prosecutors and Wilkins defense lawyer couldnt agree on jury instructionsminor stuff, like whether to use deadly or dangerous rather than deadly and dangerous. But the judge surprised the lawyers when she came back with her own verdict form, which looked nothing like the kind given to jurors at a typical criminal trial.

Cannons draft asked: Did the Government prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant Christopher Tavorris Wilkins committed forcible assault against a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon? The listed options were either yes or no.

At the time in court, Wilkins lawyer objected, twice pointing out to the judge that guilty/not guilty is the traditional nomenclature.

Judge Cannon wouldnt reconsider.

So, Im going to finalize the ultimate language, but I dont see at this point anything legally incorrect about the manner in which the verdict form is drafted as to Count 1 or Count 2, although, I note your arguments in opposition, Mr. Garland, she said, according to the transcript.

This isnt a minor issue. In deciding to hand jurors that questionnaire, Cannon took a novel approach to something thats fairly basic in criminal trials. For example, jurors in Washington were asked whether the right-wing MAGA fanatic Elmer Stewart Rhodes was guilty or not of seditious conspiracy for planning an armed revolt on Jan. 6, 2021. New York jurors checked off guilty when deciding that the lawyer Michael Avenatti had committed wire fraud and identity theft for stealing nearly $300,000 from his porn-star client, Stormy Daniels. Jeffrey Epsteins right-hand woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sent to the clink after jurors selected guilty on a form that asked whether the socialite engaged in child sex-trafficking.

Yet, in her South Florida courtroom, Cannon chose to draft yes/no questions that read more like the kind of verdict form given to jurors when they consider specific elements of a crime.

Thats her verdict form. Theres no guilty and not guilty. The traditional format is guilty and not guilty, as it was on the proposed form the government and I had created. We agreed on that. And she comes up with this. This is her creation. This is her baby. Its kind of funny. Its ridiculous, Garland told The Daily Beast.

Nowhere on this form is there any opportunity to find him not guilty. What kind of trial is this? The judge said guilty on a make-believe trial, he said, quoting from a Reba McEntire country song.

Garland filed an appeal on Thursday to the 11th Circuit in Atlantathe same judges who reversed Cannons decisions on Trump earlier this year.

Phone calls to Cannons court staff went unanswered on Thursday.

The Daily Beast reviewed this with several legal scholars, who universally noted that Cannons move here strikes them as odd.

Ive never seen anything like it. I am a law professor, and I found it cumbersome to read and follow, said Elizabeth Taxel, who spent a decade as a DeKalb County public defender and now teaches at the University of Georgia. Its unclear to me why the court didnt, out of an abundance of caution, include guilty or not guilty.

Others noted that these kinds of special verdicts, as theyre called, are rarely usedand only in the most strange or complex cases. Columbia Law School Professor Daniel Richman noted how a Virginia jury in 2009 faced detailed questions when deciding to convict the disgraced congressman William Jennings Jefferson (D-LA). But even in that complicated case, in which jurors were asked whether the government managed to prove any of 12 different racketeering acts, they were still asked to decide if he was guilty or not.

The primary role they play is guilt/non-guilt, and that ought to be specified. Perhaps for a matter of local practice in the Southern District of Florida, thats not done here, Richman said.

But if Cannons verdict is perceived to be unfair, he said, thats on her.

To the extent that she introduced a formulation that arguably prejudiced the defendant, thats a kind of error, Richman added.

Jenny Carroll, a professor at the University of Alabamas law school, stressed that these types of jury forms are exceedingly rare. She pointed to at least one instance where it was used successfully: in convicting Zacarias Moussaoui, the French member of al-Qaeda known as the 20th hijacker of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. But jurors were asked those questions during the second phase of a trial, and the questions related to aggravating factors to the underlying crime.

Its very unusualsuper-unusualwhich is why youve probably never seen one, Carroll said. Even within these specific verdict forms, you nonetheless end up with an ultimate question where the jury has to check guilty or not guilty. And thats what youre missing on this form.

All three law professors agreed that an appeal could venture into relatively unexplored territory and open up a spicy debate: What exactly is the role of the jury?

"What strikes me is, they have been asked to consider these bifurcated factual questions and to answer them yes or no without ever getting to the ultimate question: Should we conclude this person is culpable and should be punished as a criminal? Which is really what youre asking when you say, guilty or not guilty, Carroll said.

She summarized what she would say on a theoretical appeal.

The Incredible Mystery of How Trump Got Judge Cannon in the Mar-a-Lago Case

You, judge, took away some of the job of the jury. And you did it without any authority to do so. Youre an Article III judge, which has a lot of power, but you dont have the authority to do this, Carroll said. The ultimate fact finder is the jury, and you took away the last question they're entitled to answer.

Of course, this is based on a technicality. Jurors clearly concluded that Wilkins threatened to murder a law enforcement officer and committed forcible assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon. And as Wilkins own lawyer admits, the evidence in the case was pretty stark: video footage and recorded prison calls where he boasted about attacking his prosecutor. In that sense, Cannons error may seem trivial. But her refusal to use the proper legal terminology has introduced an avenue for appealwhile once again demonstrating that Cannon is comfortable playing fast and loose with hundreds of years of legal traditions.

As the judge overseeing the Department of Justice special counsels criminal case against Trump in Florida, every word she utters in court and each decision she makes will be closely scrutinized by the entire American legal society.

Already, law professors have criticized how she seemed to have gone out of her way to reveal the existence of an unknown grand jury investigationwhich are typically kept secretthats outside South Florida and apparently still probing Trumps actions. Shes also taken heat for scheduling his classified documents trial for May 2024, leaving the former president free to travel across the country in his bid to secure the Republican nomination during the bulk of the primary election season.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Fire rages at a vacation home in the town of Wintzenheim, north-eastern France, Wednesday Aug. 9, 2023. A fire ripped through a vacation home for adults with disabilities in eastern France on Wednesday, killing several people, the head of rescue operations said. (TNN/dpa via AP)

PARIS (AP)  A Paris prosecutor opened a preliminary judicial investigation on Friday for unvoluntary manslaughter aggravated by breach of safety rules, after a fire left 11 dead at a vacation home housing adults with disabilities in eastern France.

Wednesday's fire killed 10 adults with slight intellectual disabilities and one person accompanying them.

The judicial investigation will seek to determine the cause of the blaze, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office.

It comes after the discovery that required safety standards werent met at the private vacation house in the Alsacian town of Wintzenheim.

The first investigations led to question the legal and material safety conditions of the building, which was housing 28 people, the statement said.

A prosecutor in Paris has taken over the case because of the high number of victims and the scale of the investigation, it said. The case was previously being supervised by the deputy prosecutor of Colmar, in eastern France.

Vacationers were sleeping when the fire broke out early on Wednesday.

Only five of those who were staying on the upper floor of the house survived, including three vacationers and two staff accompanying them. They were all able to get out of the hospital by the end of the day on Wednesday, the statement said.

Twelve others who were staying on the ground floor were able to evacuate.

It was the deadliest fire in France since an August 2016 blaze that killed 14 people in a basement nightclub in the western city of Rouen.
Iran claims it will have unrestricted access to funds in U.S. prisoner swap

The Iranian foreign ministry has claimed that no restrictions will be imposed on frozen assets released to Tehran following a politically charged agreement with the Biden administration which will see five imprisoned American citizens return home in exchange for the Iranian regime gaining access to billions of dollars.

"The process of releasing billions of dollars from the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were illegally seized in South Korea by the United States for several years, has begun," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The decision on how to utilize these unfrozen resources and financial assets lies with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

That assertion is at odds with comments by John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, who told CBS News on Thursday that Iran is "only going to be able to use that money for humanitarian purposes."

"We're not changing the rules. We are simply moving the account to a country which will have a system that Iran will be able to access the funds  their funds  for the same purposes that they were able to access those funds under the Trump administration," Kirby said. "The money is only earmarked for humanitarian purposes. The same oversight is going to be applied in this account as was applied in previous accounts."

The Iranian foreign ministry's statement also said that the deal is dependent on a commitment by Washington to release Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. and noted that "prisoners sought by the United States still remain in Iran."

Iran's deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani insisted on Thursday in a social media post that the U.S. will release several Iranian prisoners as part of the exchange.

Kirby said that negotiations are ongoing to bring the five Americans home.

"We're only at the first step here getting them out of prison. So I want to be careful how much we talk about this, but I think there's been some misunderstanding here. This is not a matter of ransom, not sanctions relief. There's no U.S. taxpayer dollars involved," Kirby said.

A source familiar with the deal told CBS News that for this first step, Iran is not receiving anything.

"We have very good reason to demand that if we're going to agree to a process of Americans coming home, we're not going to have our people sitting in Evin Prison over that period," the source said.

The U.S. prisoners involved in the agreement include Siamak Namazi, who has been held in Iran for nearly eight years; Emad Shargi, a Washington, D.C., resident; and Morad Tahbaz, a U.S.-U.K. national.

The other two Americans involved wish to remain unidentified, the White House and State Department said.

A source familiar with the deal told CBS News that it will be considered complete once the Americans return to U.S. soil, which could be as soon as September, though the source acknowledged the diplomacy is highly sensitive and dependent on Iran following through with its end of the process.

Under the terms of the arrangement, some $6 billion of frozen Iranian assets will be transferred to a bank account in a third country over the coming weeks, and Iran will then gain access to it.

Officials in two Western-allied countries told CBS News that Qatar will be the country to hold those funds in restricted accounts.

The U.S. is not lifting any sanctions or giving any U.S. taxpayer money to Tehran, the source familiar insisted. The source said any transfers of funds would be carefully overseen by the U.S. Treasury Department to make sure they comply with existing sanctions and that the restricted funds are used for trade purposes that are permitted.

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The Biden administrations suspended special envoy on Iran, Robert Malley, briefly reappeared on Thursday to tout a prisoner-swap agreement with Tehran that he was a central player in orchestrating. But his tweet only deepened the mystery surrounding his status and future role in Iran policy.

Irans government on Thursday transferred four U.S. nationals from its infamous Evin prison to home confinement in Tehran, as part of what U.S. officials said is a sequenced exchange thats ultimately expected to involve five Americans being swapped for several Iranians detained in the United States. The Biden administration has also green-lighted South Korea releasing $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenues to Tehran, according to the Iranian government.

But it was Malleys brief reemergence  the State Department yanked his security clearance this spring  that caught the eyes of many Iran watchers. Its only a 1st step & every day they continue to be robbed of their freedom is a day too many, he tweeted from a personal handle that referenced him as, On Leave from State Department. He added: This is welcome news too long in coming. I know my colleagues wont rest until they all return home.

Know More

The nature of Malleys unpaid suspension remains one of Washingtons  and international diplomacys  great unsolved mysteries. The State Department has declined to disclose any information about its reasons and Malleys future status. Semafor revealed last month that his case had been transferred from Diplomatic Security to the FBI, suggesting its more serious. Iran-watchers wondered on Thursday whether his tweet signaled his imminent return to Foggy Bottom  or was Malley trying to claim credit in some way for a hostage release negotiation that he initially led?

Malleys peekaboo drew instant criticism from those inside Washington who oppose the U.S. government tying prisoner releases to the transfer of money to Tehran  arguing it only encourages more Iranian detentions. The Obama administration secretly flew $1.7 billion in cash to Iran in 2016 as part of another sequenced prisoner-exchange that Malley worked on.

Rob Malley: you formulated & implemented policy that led to the imprisonment of these men in the 1st place! tweeted Xiyue Wang, a Princeton graduate student who was held in Evin Prison from 2016 to 2019 before his release in a prison exchange that didnt seem to involve money. You will be responsible for American hostages Tehran WILL take in the future. Shame on you!

Other parts of the Biden administrations Iran policy remain opaque. Tehran is seeking the release of billions of dollars more as part of negotiations with the U.S. and Europe focused on prisoners and its nuclear program. This includes around $11 billion of oil revenues frozen in Iraq and a $4 billion International Monetary Fund loan. Its unclear if this money will be disbursed as part of this staged exchange that started Thursday.

Washington and Tehran have also discussed rekindling the Obama administrations 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran, which was killed under Donald Trump  albeit in a smaller form.
Washington  President Biden has signed off on a politically charged agreement with Iran to bring home five American citizens in exchange for the regime gaining access in the coming weeks to billions of dollars in blocked funds sitting outside the heavily sanctioned country, CBS News has learned.

Some $6 billion of that money currently sits in a restricted bank account in South Korea that is inaccessible to the heavily sanctioned Iranian regime.

The prisoners involved in the agreement include Siamak Namazi, who has been held in Iran for nearly eight years; Emad Shargi, a Washington, D.C., resident; and Morad Tahbaz, a U.S.-U.K. national. Two other Americans who wish to remain unidentified will also be part of the agreement, a source familiar with the deal said.

Namazi, Shargi, Tahbaz and one of the unidentified prisoners were released from Iran's notorious Evin Prison under house arrest on Thursday, according to the White House and an attorney for Namazi's family. The fifth prisoner had already been held under house arrest.

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed the five prisoners had been placed under house arrest and said "negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate." She said the prisoners "should have never been detained in the first place," and that the Biden administration "will not rest until they are all back home in the United States."

The Iranian mission to the United Nations told CBS News that the U.S. and Iran had both agreed to "reciprocally release and pardon five prisoners." In response, a U.S. official said no one had been released from U.S. custody as part of a deal to date.

During a joint news conference with Mexico's foreign secretary Thursday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, "This is a positive step. But I don't want to get ahead of its conclusion because there's more work to be done to actually bring them home. My belief is that this is the beginning of the end, their nightmare and the nightmare that their families have experienced."

Babak Namazi, Siamak's brother, called the Americans' release "a positive change" but said "we will not rest until Siamak and others are back home."

"We have suffered tremendously and indescribably for eight horrific years and wish only to be reunited again as a family," Babak Namazi said.

The deal with Iran

A source familiar with the deal said it will be considered complete once the Americans return to U.S. soil, which could be as soon as September, though the source acknowledged the diplomacy is highly sensitive and dependent on Iran following through with its end of the process.

Under the terms of the arrangement, the $6 billion will be transferred to a bank account in a third country over the coming weeks, and Iran will then gain access to it. Officials in two Western-allied countries told CBS News that Qatar will be the country to hold those funds in restricted accounts.

The U.S. is not lifting any sanctions or giving any cash to Tehran, a source familiar with the deal insisted. The source said any transfers of funds would be carefully overseen by the U.S. Treasury Department to make sure they comply with existing sanctions and that the restricted funds are used for trade purposes that are permitted.

Speaking to "Face the Nation" on July 16, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed efforts were underway to bring home four American prisoners, but claimed there was no deal within reach at that time. Since then, and amid ongoing indirect diplomatic outreach, a fifth American was detained by Iran. All five Americans are expected to be released back to their families in the coming weeks.

Negotiations with Iran have been indirect and have had multiple complications in recent months. The sudden departure of Rob Malley, Mr. Biden's Iran envoy who was suspended amid a security clearance review, was one of them.

In March and again in June, Iranian state media carried reports claiming that a swap negotiated by mediators was within reach.

In recent months, Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, has been in the lead role, which is a reprise of sorts of the direct prisoner talks he conducted during the Obama administration. Back in 2016, following the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, McGurk directly negotiated a separate prisoner swap that exchanged Iranian convicts in U.S. prisons for four Americans detained by Tehran, including journalist Jason Rezaian and Marine veteran Amir Hekmati.

On the day of that release, the U.S. transferred $400 million in cash to Iran by coordinating an airlift of foreign currency on an unmarked plane flown into the country with a first installment of a nearly $2 billion long-outstanding legal settlement with Tehran from the years of the shah's rule. U.S. sanctions prohibit dollars from being used in transactions with Iran.

In a 2019 "Face the Nation" interview, McGurk rejected accusations that this was "cash for hostages" and recounted that after a tough 14-month negotiation, the Iranians tried to renege on the prisoner deal at the last minute. He told CBS News that in those final moments, he made it clear to Iranian authorities that the plane carrying the cash would not be sent if the Americans were not allowed to depart Iran as negotiated. The leverage worked, but there was also political fallout in the U.S., as critics of the Obama administration argued that it looked like the U.S. was paying ransom.

One American left behind in that 2016 trade was Namazi, who was detained by Iran a year earlier. Namazi, now 51, has said he was abandoned by the U.S. government at that time and has issued public pleas to Mr. Biden to bring him home. The U.S. and U.N. consider him to be arbitrarily detained. This time, the U.S. has included him in the transfer plans.

The arrangements are different in 2023. The funds will be held in restricted accounts set up for non-sanctionable trade purposes and overseen by the U.S. Treasury. That still may not satisfy critics, who may argue that the fungible nature of money means any relief to the financially strapped Iranian regime will help the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism despite its ongoing human rights abuses.

Diplomats from multiple U.S.-allied countries have been involved in the project to bring home the Americans, including Switzerland, which acts as a U.S. protecting power in Tehran since the U.S. does not have diplomatic representation in Iran. The Gulf nations of Oman and Qatar have also facilitated the indirect diplomatic work conducted by the Biden administration.

Iran's economy is under strain due to mismanagement and sanctions, though it has been able to continue to evade some Western sanctions to trade oil with both Russia and China. An official from a Western ally told CBS News that China has been purchasing Iranian oil at a $20 per barrel discount from the market price. The cash-strapped regime has been willing to take the haircut to stay afloat.

A separate but parallel challenge with Iran has been its continued nuclear development since it exited the international agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, following the Trump administration's declared 2018 withdrawal.

Mr. Biden campaigned on a promise to revive JCPOA and make it longer and stronger, but attempts to do so have been unsuccessful.

The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not at this time decided to pursue a nuclear weapon, though the regime's capabilities continue to develop.

In early June 2023, Iran state media carried remarks from the supreme leader claiming that an arrangement with the West regarding its nuclear program would be possible. In July, a Western ally told CBS News there are already measurable signs that Iran has temporarily slowed some of its nuclear development, but the Biden administration has not acknowledged that any understanding is in place regarding the nuclear program.

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(Bloomberg) -- Iran asked South Africas government to support its accelerated membership of BRICS, as the five-nation bloc prepares to hold a summit later this month.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Iran is one of a number of nations lobbying to join the bloc, which is expected to make a pronouncement on its expansion at the Aug. 22-24 summit that will be held in South Africa.

We hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will obtain the opportunity of accelerated membership in BRICS with strong support from South Africa and other members, its Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at a briefing in the capital, Pretoria, on Thursday.

Iran also encourages BRICS to add other nations wanting to join including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates as it would further consolidate the bloc, Amirabdollahian said.

Read More: BRICS Debates Expansion as Iran, Saudi Arabia Seek Entry

He is visiting on the back of a conference that was held in Tehran earlier this week where the prospects for cooperation between Iran and the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa was discussed.

Admitting Iran would likely draw the ire of the US that has imposed sanctions on the nation. Relations between the two have been tense since the effective collapse in 2018 of an agreement to curb Irans nuclear program.

The expansion of the group and the likely attendance of Iran at the summit isnt aimed at building an anti-West bloc, South Africas Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said earlier this week.

Read More: BRICS Expansion Isnt Aimed at Countering West, Official Says

BRICS has failed to punch its weight as a group. Thats despite its members representing more than 42% of the worlds population and accounting for 23% of global gross domestic product and 18% of trade, giving credence to demands for more sway.

(Updates with more details throughout)

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran may free five detained U.S. citizens as part of a deal under which $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen and has moved four of them from jail to house arrest.

Following are the prisoners in Iran who will be moved to house arrest :

SIAMAK NAMAZI

Siamak Namazi, a businessman in his early 50s with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was detained in 2015 by the Revolutionary Guards while visiting his family in Tehran. Months later his ailing father, Baquer, was detained after returning to Iran to visit his jailed son. They were both sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the U.S. government.

A former Iranian provincial governor and former UNICEF official who also has dual citizenship, Baquer Namazi was put under house arrest in 2018 on medical grounds and left Iran in 2022 for medical treatment.

EMAD SHARGHI

In 2017 Sharghi and his wife moved to Iran from the United States. The Iranian-American businessman was first arrested in 2018 when working for "Saravan Holding" tech investment company. He was released on bail after eight months and a Revolutionary Court cleared him of spying and security-related charges, but his travel ban remained.

On Nov. 2020 he was summoned by another Revolutionary Court which sentenced him to 10 years in jail for espionage. He was not initially imprisoned but Iranian media reported he was arrested as he tried to flee Iran in Jan. 2021.

MORAD TAHBAZ

An Iranian-American environmentalist, who also holds British citizenship, Tahbaz was arrested in 2018. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 for "assembly and collusion against Iran's national security" and "contacts with U.S. enemy government  for the purpose of spying.

The fourth and fifth prisoners were not identified.

IRANIAN PRISONERS IN THE U.S.

Under the deal, five Iranians jailed in the United States will be released. For years, Iran has demanded the release of dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian-American dual nationals, two Iranians with permanent U.S. residency and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States.

Most of them have been sentenced to jail for "violating U.S. sanctions against Iran".

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Russian internet company Yandex has likely been trying to balance between the Kremlin and its foreign governing bodies but now appears to be losing the battle to the Kremlin, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.

The Kremlin appears to be forcing Yandex to sell or distance itself from international subsidiaries, including rideshare service Yango Israel, in order to comply with strict Russian data disclosure laws requiring Yandex to supply all user data  not just data of users in Russia  to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Russian government has previously fined Yandex for failing to comply with this law despite Yandexs statements that it is unable to provide the requested data. Yandex CEO Artem Savinovsky was also fined for Yandexs failure to comply with Russian censorship laws, possibly trying to compel Yandex into complying with Russian censorship laws not just in Russia but globally to undermine its global operations and userbase.

Some Russian insider sources speculated that Yandex corporate development advisor Alexey Kudrin attempted and failed to turn Yandex into a national private company that Putins reported personal banker Yuri Kovalchuk would control.

Yandex founder and former CEO Arkady Volozh publicly decried the invasion of Ukraine on Aug. 10, and some Russian insider sources speculated that Volozhs statement was a white flag showing that he had accepted that the Kremlin would likely go forward with its speculated formal nationalization effort.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Democratic strategist James Carville isnt one to hold his tongue, and in an interview with The Hill this week, he wasnt shy about offering his uncensored opinions on former President Trump and No Labels, the group flirting with backing a third-party candidate.

The longtime political adviser to Bill Clinton known for his folksy tone, was unabashedly critical of the No Labels effort, criticizing the group for not being open about its donors.

A number of Democrats fear the effort could cost President Biden the White House if he and Trump are the major party nominees.

Carville was salty with his thoughts.

No Labels is my favorite, he said. They wont tell you where their money comes from; they say theyre funded by undisclosed corporate dark money. And they wont take a position on anything.

But yet theyre offering the American people something new and fresh, Carville added. Thats a good line of fing bullshit there.

Carville dismissed the idea that anyone other than Trump is likely to emerge from a GOP primary, arguing the Republican electorate seems to hate anyone opposed to Trump.

The former presidents legal fights and personal health are the only things that might stop him from winning the nomination, Carville said.

First of all, I dont know how much longer he can live at this rate and this kind of stress, Carville said.

If something happened, hes convicted  I dont know what  I think they hate everybody in the field, and everybody thats run against him, in their mind, is aiding and abetting the enemy.

The Democratic strategist offered some compliments for biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the upstart GOP candidate he suggested was running a smart race.

The only one with a kind of a halfway smart message is Ramaswamy, said Carville, who added that it was actually more appealing than Trumps message.

And his message is kind of, look if something happens to Trump, Im here for you, he said.

He noted Ramaswamy has said he would pardon Trump and has condemned the indictments against the former president. All the other candidates, Carville said, have crossed Trump just by running for the office.

Carville was relatively dismissive of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who has recently won some media and GOP donor attention.

I love the Tim Scott boom. But its free parking, Carville said. And every time I get one of these kind of Republicans that you can tell dont like Trump, they might be interested in Tim Scott. Hes got a good way about him  OK fine. Hes never passed a bill and believes in celibacy. I dont think thats the way most people are. But what do I know?

Perhaps not surprisingly, Carville has a rosier outlook for the future of his party.

At a time when some Democrats have expressed frustration in polls that Biden, who is 80, will be the partys nominee in 2024, Carville argued the party has a deep and healthy bench of future candidates for 2028.

So many people, its breathtaking. The level of talent in the Democratic party in 2023 is  and I say this with great confidence  is as high as any political party has ever had in my lifetime, which is 1944, Carville said.

He rattled off a series of names, mentioning many Democratic governors and one Biden administration official, infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu  a fellow Ragin Cajun.

You find me somebody more talented than a [Pennsylvania Gov.] Josh Shapiro or [Georgia Sen. Raphael] Warnock or [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore or [Kentucky Gov.] Andy Beshear or [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer, Mitch Landrieu, [North Carolina Gov.] Roy Copper, I aint seen them, Carville said. These are some staggeringly talented politicians. If they ever got out in the open and people saw them, holy moly.

The greatest myth in American politics is  I hear this all the time  well James, we dont have any bench. Are you shitting me? We got a bench thats 100. The whole sideline is our bench, he added.

He also mentioned Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego. But he particularly gushed over Shapiro, Whitmer and Beshear.

I said this after the 2022 [midterms], Josh Shapiro might have run one of the most impressive statewide campaign Ive ever seen, he said.

And they opened the f interstate in three weeks, he said, referring to the stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia that collapsed, shut down, and reopened in June.

Whitmer just  Ive seen her in a room  Im sitting there and she says, James, its Gretchen Whitmer. It makes you heart flutter a little bit. Shes got presence.

Fing Andy Beshear, oh my God. He just gets better, he said. The Democratic bench is really long.

Carville acknowledged the map for Democrats in defending the Senate next year is difficult and that Bidens dismal approval rating isnt helping. But he also expressed confidence given how Democrats did in 2022.

We have a very vulnerable, exceedingly vulnerable Senate map, he said of Democrats. But if we are August of 2024, with a 41.4 percent approving rating and a 69 percent wrong track, its going to be hairy.

Democrats experienced better-than-expected midterm results, and Carville was confident for 2024 considering his partys performance in local races since then, mentioning the mayor races in Jacksonville, Fla., and Colorado Spring, Colo., where a Democrat and independent, respectively, defeated Republicans.

Presidents approval rating is historically not very good. The direction of the country is historically bad. Image of the party is not much, he said. But we dont lose elections. We just dont.

Updated at 1:27 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
How military coup in Niger could spill over to West Africa

Xinhua) 08:19, August 11, 2023

NIAMEY, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of West African countries are expected to meet on Thursday in the Nigerian capital Abuja to discuss their response to a military coup in Niger after Niger's junta defied an ultimatum to reinstate the ousted president or face a possible military intervention.

The military in Niger detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and chose Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of the country's presidential guard, to lead the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), a governing body established by the soldiers after the coup, which has been since exercising legislative and executive authority.

The coup, the third of its kind in West Africa in three years, has drawn condemnation from many African countries, which view the unconstitutional change of power as a threat to stability and development on the continent. The international community fears instability in the Sahel region would breed extremism.

Observers have said the coup adds to uncertainties facing the region struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism and humanitarian crises. They believe any military intervention would result in consequences that no country could afford, and a peaceful solution is the best way out.

BEHIND THE COUP

The CNSP said the soldiers overthrew Bazoum because of "the continued deterioration of the security situation" and "poor economic and social governance" in the country.

According to the World Bank, Niger has a poorly diversified economy, with agriculture accounting for 40 percent of its gross domestic product. Over 10 million people, or 40 percent of the population, lived in extreme poverty in 2021.

This photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows a street view of Niamey, capital of Niger. (Xinhua)

Moreover, the country is grappling with an influx of refugees fleeing conflicts in neighboring Nigeria and Mali. The United Nations has identified over 370,000 internally displaced persons and over 250,000 refugees in Niger.

In the past decade, the unrest in the Sahel, a vast semi-arid region of Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan, has undermined security in Niger, located in the heart of the region.

In 2011, a NATO-led military intervention in Libya toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the following decade-long unrest resulted in rampant arms trafficking in the Sahel region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State have grown immensely. According to a report by Mark A. Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Sahel accounts for 43 percent of the world's terrorism deaths, more than South Asia and the MENA region combined.

It was just after the fall of Gaddafi that "terrorism began in the Sahel region," said Bella Kamano, a political analyst based in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

"Populations of Niger are complaining about insecurity in their country. Not a week or a month goes by without terrorists taking hostages and committing attacks against people in the villages of this country," Kamano said, noting that all countries in the Sahel region are suffering the consequences of the Libyan war.

The worsening security situation has contributed to a rising anti-Western sentiment in West Africa in recent years. In the past week, thousands of people marched through the streets in Niger's capital city of Niamey, denouncing the country's former colonial power and setting a door at the French Embassy ablaze. The CNSP also revoked five military cooperation agreements signed by Niger and France between 1997 and 2020.

Sheriff Ghali, an expert on international relations at the University of Abuja in Nigeria, said that the causes of the coup in Niger are complicated, with long-term economic difficulties and security dilemmas as the main instigators. There are also spillover effects from regional conflicts, such as the war in Libya and coups in Burkina Faso and Mali in recent years.

"This is going to affect West African economic integration. Why? Because you are seeing the military gradually taking over power from the civilian government," Ghali said. "We are going to be divided. And when we get divided, we're going to be more balkanized and more polarized, continentally controlled by the so-called powers."

SECURITY, HUMANITARIAN DISASTER

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a political and economic group of 15 countries, announced an ultimatum and threatened to use force to "restore constitutional order" in Niger if the junta failed to comply. However, the CNSP refused to back down when the deadline expired on Sunday. ECOWAS leaders are expected to discuss the crisis on Thursday in Abuja.

Observers said the unrest in Niger would seriously impact the politics, economy and security of West Africa. If the coup crisis is not adequately resolved, it will further undermine regional political stability and economic integration.

This photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows a street view of Niamey, capital of Niger. (Xinhua)

The looming conflict will have consequences, Kamano said. "Foreign investors cannot take the risk of coming to invest in a country that is about to be destabilized, and this destabilization is likely to have repercussions in the region."

"Any attack against this country to dislodge the junta risks causing acute poverty on the social level," he said.

Worse, unrest following a military intervention in Niger could leave a security vacuum. A similar scenario the world witnessed in Syria a decade ago resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe created by the Islamic State.

"From a security point of view, Niger constituted this curtain of peace between the terrorists and the countries of the south, and if Niger is destabilized, no one will be able to prevent the terrorists who are on the other side of the Sahel from crossing Niger and turn around in countries like Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, etc.," said Kamano, adding that "if Niger is destabilized, the sub-region risks facing terrorism in all directions and we risk ending up with a proliferation of weapons of all kinds in the sub-region."

The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in the region. "The problem on the air right now is that our humanitarian flights cannot fly within the country (Niger), which means that our humanitarian operations are suspended," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

There are currently 4.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Niger, compared to 1.9 million in 2017, Dujarric said.

Niger borders seven countries, and one of them is Nigeria, the biggest economy in Africa. Ghali said the large number of Niger refugees that may emerge from the conflict will put tremendous pressure on Niger's neighbors.

Many refugee groups would become the recruitment targets of extremist organizations active in West Africa. Ghali stated that if ECOWAS intervenes militarily in Niger, it would negatively impact troops in the region fighting terrorism and worsen the already tense situation.

WAY FORWARD

In light of the dire consequences of military intervention, regional countries and the international community are seeking political solutions to the Niger crisis.

Nigeria has the largest military forces in West Africa and hosts the ECOWAS chair. The country's Senate on Saturday rejected Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's demand to send troops to Niger, calling on the ECOWAS to explore political solutions to the ongoing crisis.

This photo taken on Aug. 6, 2023 shows the building of National Assembly of Niger in Niamey, capital of Niger. (Xinhua)

While supporting the ECOWAS to reverse the coup, France, which has about 1,500 troops in Niger, intends not to intervene militarily.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso and Mali, two ECOWAS members, voiced their "solidarity" with Niger's junta. The two transitional governments, established after the military took power by force in the two countries, declared their support for the Nigerien soldiers and rejected "the illegal, illegitimate sanctions against the Nigerien people and authorities."

The two countries also warned that any military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them and would lead to the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Mali from the ECOWAS.

Despite being taken hostage, Bazoum published an op-ed in The Washington Post earlier this month, asking the international community for help. He said the coup, launched against his government by a faction in the military, has no justification. If it succeeds, "it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region and the entire world."

The UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council have condemned the military coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the president and continued efforts to restore order in Niger.

"We have a country which is in crisis following a coup, and it shares its borders with other countries. We must therefore ensure that the crisis is resolved peacefully," Kamano said.

"Instead of setting in motion the ECOWAS military arsenal to resolve the situation in Niger, it would be better to set this military arsenal in motion to fight against terrorism and against insecurity in the sub-region, mainly in the Sahel," he added.

Ghali said that although there is little room to solve the Niger crisis through peace talks at present, the international community, the African Union and ECOWAS must prioritize political and diplomatic means.

"So the only way manner we can actually deal with regional conflict and insecurity is through a concerted effort," Ghali added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Brooklyn Public Librarys exhibit The Book of HOV, which pays homage to JAY-Zs legacy within and outside of the music industry, has inspired a massive uptick in library card sign-ups and interest in the facility.

According to ABC 7 NY, the exhibit, which opened Friday, July 14, features the rappers lyrics and chronicles his life and career.

He navigated the gritty streets of Brooklyns Marcy Projects to the halls of Roc Nation, and now he shines as one of the brightest stars in our constellation, a press release about the exhibit read, according to ABC 7 NY. With his rhymes sharper than a knife and beats hotter than a summer in the city, JAY-Z is a beacon of hope for those who dare to dream beyond the confines of their circumstances.

The Book of HOV is broken down into chapters, like a book, that cover each era of his life. The exhibit also includes visuals, audio stories and physical artifacts to bring the rappers story to life.

Its an inspiring reminder that, no matter where you start, with talent, hard work, and a little bit of that Empire State of Mind, you can change the world, the museum stated in July, ABC 7 NY reported.

During the exhibits first week open to the public, attendance at the Brooklyn Public Librarys Central Library was close to five times the average. A whopping 39,000 people visited the exhibit between opening day and Thursday, July 20. The number of items checked out for the week increased by 10%, and almost 4,000 people signed up for library cards at both the Central and Marcy locations. Limited-edition JAY-Z library cards, which were introduced during the exhibits opening week, are still available.

The exhibit is part of several New York City events honoring hip-hops 50th anniversary, ABC 7 NY reported. Yankee Stadium is hosting a star-filled concert on Friday, Aug. 11. Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Run DMC and more are set to perform.

The Book of HOV is open to the public through October, ABC 7 NY reported.
Welcome back!

Former Miamian Jeff Bezos is about to be Indian Creek Villages newest celebrity resident, Bloomberg first reported.

The billionaire  and third richest man in the world worth a cool $160B  has snatched up a waterfront mansion in so-called Billionaire Bunker, a posh private island off Miami Beach.

If the Amazon founder, 59, needs to borrow a cup of sugar, he can stroll over to see such famous neighbors as Tom Brady, who is putting the finishing touches on his massive bachelor pad, and former political couple Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

READ MORE: Chers former mansion for sale

While out on the town, the father of four, who recently got engaged to longtime girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, will also likely run into some pals from back in the day; he graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High in 1982.

Aerial view of the property Jeff Bezos recently purchased in Indian Creek Village/Google Maps

Bezos reportedly paid $68 million for the estate that was built in 1965 and sits on 2.8 acres. Public records show the sale went down in June, but the identity of the buyer was undisclosed.

READ MORE: Take a look at a $54 million mansion

The Internet titan will have also have the parental units a few miles away. Last summer Mike and Jackie Bezos snapped up a 12,829-square-foot, six-bedroom, seven bathroom masterpiece in Coral Gables for $34 million.

Indian Creek, one of the most exclusive communities in the country, will give Bezos and Sanchez close access to the glitz of SoBe and Brickell, but they can also be away from prying eyes when they choose.

The neighborhood is a haven for high-profile residents because of the privacy and space it offers, says Douglas Ellimans Dina Goldentayer, who has the listing next door at 12 Indian Creek Island Road for $85 million. There are over 300 acres of guard gated land with less than 40 homes and the security of a private police force with officers who patrol by land and sea.
A suspended New Jersey State Police officer was sentenced to jail time Friday in a case involving misconduct with a teenager in State College in 2022.

David De Jesus, 46, was sentenced to a minimum of 60 days of jail time for second degree misdemeanor false imprisonment, and one year of concurrent probation for a third degree misdemeanor charge of furnishing liquor to a minor.

De Jesus was accused of groping a 14-year-old in his room in April 2022 at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center. Both De Jesus and the team were in town for a wrestling tournament, and the teen had been invited to the hotel pool before the alleged incident took place.

According to Centre County Assistant District Attorney Megan McGoron, a jury was selected in June for a trial, but De Jesus pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanors before the trial could take place. McGoron told the court that many of the alleged events were caught on video via the hotels security system.

Other parents of students on the wrestling team were officers in the New Jersey State Police, McGoron said, telling the court that she got the sense people were aligning with De Jesus because of his position.

The victims mother, Melissa Schwartz, told the court that her daughter was not the same following the incident.

As a state police officer, he should have known better, she said.

De Jesus has been suspended from the New Jersey State Police since 2022.

De Jesuss defense attorney, Steve Trialonas, pushed back against McGorons claims about the video evidence, claiming that according to the footage at best, (De Jesus) was in the room with her for 210 seconds.

Five members of the De Jesus family spoke on his behalf, asking Judge Katherine Oliver for leniency based on his public record and the needs of his family.

Delixa De Jesus, the defendants sister, said that despite her brothers patriotism, she doesnt know how he feels about his country after all this.

Danielle De Jesus, the defendants wife, said that she feared that her family could lose their house if her husband went to jail, since he is the familys only source of income.

I promise you I will come out of this a better person, David De Jesus said before his sentencing, which took place after Oliver held a recess to weigh her decision.

David De Jesus was originally charged with one felony count of unlawful contact with a minor, two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and one misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor. The felony and the indecent assault charges were dropped.
"King of the Hill" voice actor Johnny Hardwick has died at 64, the Travis County Medical Examiner office of Austin confirmed to CBS News.

Hardwick played the cartoon character Dale Gribble in Fox's animated series, which ran from 1997 to 2010. Gribble, an exterminator and bounty hunter, loves conspiracy theories and urban legends.

Hardwick was a part of the series from the very first episode, and earned an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animated Program, as well as two other nominations in 2001 and 2002 for the show. The voice actor was also a staff writer, story editor and producer for the animated series.

Johnny Hardwick, far to the right on the upper row, who played Dale on

In January, it was announced there would be a revival of "King of the Hill" for Hulu, with much of the original cast, including Hardwick, agreeing to participate, according to Deadline.

The series was originally created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, and also starred Kathy Najimy, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon and Lauren Tom.

Hardwick, a Texas native, began his career as a stand-up comedian in 1990 before landing a spot on the staff of "King of the Hill." After his time on the show, he maintained a presence on YouTube, posting song parodies and other comedy videos for nearly 20,000 subscribers.

Hulu and Disney+ set to raise streaming prices again

Ecuador faces unrest after presidential candidate assassination

Supreme Court temporarily blocks Purdue Pharma settlement for opioid lawsuits
SOUTH BEND  The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended a St. Joseph County Probate Court judge for 45 days without pay after finding that he improperly funneled money from a clients trust fund to pay for court projects, reflecting extremely serious judicial misconduct.

Jason Cichowicz

Judge Jason Cichowicz was elected to serve a six-year term as the countys probate judge in 2018, presiding over a court that deals mainly with family law and juvenile proceedings. The court, located south of downtown on Michigan Street, houses the Juvenile Justice Center.

The supreme court found that Cichowicz violated judicial ethics in his relationship with an older, well-to-do man named Levering Russell Cartwright, whom Cichowicz met in 2013 while representing him as an attorney in Cartwright's divorce proceedings. While he was a judge, Cichowicz used money that Cartwright had granted him control over to renovate court facilities and to buy new vehicles  enriching companies owned by Cichowicz's father in the process.

Cichowicz was not immediately available to comment on the case Friday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman for his office.

Cichowicz, while representing Cartwright in 2015, assumed power of attorney on his clients behalf. Cichowicz paid bills and wrote checks at his clients request, and he had the authority to buy, sell and transfer property from Cartwights trust fund, which contained more than $6 million.

This arrangement continued through Cichowiczs first four years as a judge. The disciplinary commission noted that Cichowicz should have ceased representing Cartwright upon being elected judge. But he did not do so even after being notified in February of the charges against him, and in fact resigned only July 31, 2023, shortly after reaching the agreement on his discipline.

The court found that Cichowiczs actions violated four provisions in the Code of Judicial Conduct. Those include:

 Rule 1.2, requiring judges to avoid impropriety and act at all times in a manner promoting public confidence in the judiciarys integrity; Rule 1.3, prohibiting a judge from abusing the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of another; Rule 3.1(C), prohibiting a judge from engaging in extrajudicial activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judges independence, integrity, or impartiality; and Rule 3.8, prohibiting a judge from serving in a fiduciary position unless it is for the estate, trust, or person of a member of the judges family

The decision states that Cichowicz engaged in judicial misconduct by continuing to serve in a fiduciary position for a non-family member after taking office, abusing the prestige of his office to benefit a family member, and failing to disclose his role as trustee of a charitable foundation from which he drew funds to further court improvement projects.

Cichowicz is suspended from Sept. 5 to Oct. 20, and hell be made to pay a fine of $3,824.

Suspensions longer than 30 days reflect extremely serious judicial misconduct, just shy of what might warrant removal from office, the court wrote in its findings.

Relationship forms between Cichowicz, wealthy client that violates ethical rules

When Cichowicz began representing him, Cartwright was 73 years old, estranged from his two adult children and staying in an assisted-living facility. Cartwright is now 83 and lives in Mishawaka.

By 2015, Cichowicz became the sole trustee of the Cartwright Foundation, a charitable organization formed by Cartwrights father that contains millions of dollars, according to court filings.

Four years later, after he was elected probate court judge, Cichowicz donated $100,000 from the foundation to the Friends of the St. Joseph County Juvenile Justice Center, a group that fundraises to support the JJC. The next year, he sent the organization $60,000.

About $25,000 of that money was paid to a company called R&K Ceramic Tile, LLC, which is owned by Cichowiczs father. The company was paid to refurbish break rooms.

The $60,000 transfer in 2020 went toward three vehicles for use by the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, wherein judges appoint volunteers to advocate for children's best interests. The Friends of the JJC group spent $51,000 to buy vehicles from Victory Auto, LLC  also owned by Cichowiczs father.

Cichowicz did not send the money directly to the charitable group, apparently to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Instead, the supreme court found, he sent it to Anderson Agostino and Keller, the law firm of attorney Mike Misch, who was a board member of the group that supports the JJC. Misch handled the final transfer.

In the case of each project, other members of the Friends of the JJC board and the St. Joseph County commissioners were kept in the dark about the source of money, according to the supreme court. Misch serves as the attorney for the board of commissioners.

St. Joseph County judge at first denied his conduct was unethical

According to the opinion filed by the disciplinary commission, Cichowicz agreed that his behavior violated the four provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct, agreed to the 45-day suspension and submitted a personal statement in which he "stresses he is hopeful his fellow judges will learn from his experience."

In an earlier court filing, Cichowicz denied the initial charges of improper behavior, which were brought earlier this year by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications.

In February, attorneys for Cichowicz and Cartwright told The Tribune that the charges are a case of "no good deed going unpunished. Cichowicz has always acted in Cartwright's best interests and with his approval, they say.

The attorneys say the financial maneuverings were all legal, but were made anonymous to avoid bringing public attention to the funding available to Cichowicz.

The supreme court said a severe sanction was needed in this case, however, to deter similar misconduct by judges.

Email city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana Supreme Court suspends St. Joseph County judge for misconduct
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan at turns sided with the Justice Department and attorneys for former President Trump in a battle over how much he can publicly discuss evidence as he faces trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election.

Chutkan hashed out a deal that gives Trump more latitude to discuss evidence gathered in the Jan. 6 case while blocking the sharing of sensitive discovery such as witnesses testimony gathered in the case.

The coming protective order in the case also follows recommendations from DOJ that limit the sharing of discovery with volunteer attorneys  a prospect Chutkan noted could greenlight the sharing of evidence in the case with the same group of attorneys that advised Trump ahead of Jan. 6 and are now listed as co-conspirators in the case.

Mr. Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute. In a criminal case such as this one, a defendants free speech is subject to release conditions  and must yield to the orderly administration of justice, she said.

I dont want this order to be over-inclusive. I dont want to issue a blanket protective order over information that is not sensitive.

She warned the parties to take special care in any statements they make about the case, saying she would ensure there was no carnival atmosphere of unchecked publicity and trial by media, a nod to language from an earlier Supreme Court case.

The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case  the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly, Chutkan said.

Chutkan went through competing protective orders paragraph by paragraph, repeatedly sidestepping any effort to interject politics into the debate.

Trump attorney John Lauro accused prosecutors of wanting to implement the conditions to stymie Trumps presidential campaign, calling them oppressive and a contempt trap at one point.

The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision. I intend to keep politics out of this, Chutkan said.

I cannot and I will not factor into my decisions the influence it will have on a political campaign on either side.

The hearing came after both sides volleyed over the extent Trump should be able to discuss evidence in the case, with attorneys for the Justice Department fearing Trumps plan would allow him to reveal key evidence without context, which could intimidate witnesses and impact their safety while tainting a future jury pool.

The defendants proposal is specifically tailored to try this case in the media, DOJ prosecutor Thomas Windom said, adding that Trump was seeking a blessing for free rein to discuss evidence only provided to help him establish a defense.

He noted that Trump has already posted about several witnesses in the case.

Trumps attorneys on the other hand sought an order that would allow the former president to discuss a wide variety of evidence gathered in the case  including sharing direct testimony from witnesses offered before the grand jury  while also sharing discovery with any volunteers or unpaid consultants working with the defense team.

Truly, this kind of blanket order is extraordinary, Lauro said during the proceedings.

President Trump has the right to respond and speak about these issues.

Chuktan ultimately determined DOJ didnt show good cause for drafting a broad order that would restrict all of the materials prosecutors hand over.

But in the end, it may make little difference. DOJ said the majority of evidence in the case would be considered sensitive, leaving it out of bounds for Trump to discuss publicly.

The evidence is expected to be extensive. Windom said the first production will include 11.6 million page, though he said it was extraordinarily well organized.

I can just imagine your motion for a trial date, responded Chutkan, joking to Trumps attorneys.

But after Trumps initial win, Chutkan largely sided with DOJ, adopting their definition of what would constitute sensitive discovery to carve out much of the witness testimony the former presidents team expressed an interest in sharing.

Im finding it very difficult to envision a former president engaged in a political campaign talking about witnesses who may not have the kind of protections that he has. I could see the possibility for a lot of problems here, Chutkan said.

I can see how in advance of trial making public statements about potential witnesses is going to in and of itself affect the orderly administration of justice and could run afoul of his release conditions.

The discussion then moved to Trumps ability to review evidence in the case without his attorneys present, as well as his ability to take notes while reviewing the discovery.

At one point, the Justice Department nodded to conduct from Trump that spurred his prosecution for improperly handling classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, saying he could not be trusted with documents in the case.

Defense counsel has trust in the defendant that the government does not, Windom said, adding later, He has shown a tendency to desire to hold on to material which he should not.

Lauro protested, saying with Trumps attorneys were spread thin across his multiple cases as well as their other clients and do not have time to literally babysit the former president while he reviews evidence.

While Chutkan allowed Trump to review evidence on his own, she barred him from using any electronic devices in the process, including photocopiers.

Chutkan said she would issue the protective order shortly based on her rulings at the hearing.

Updated at 1:17 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 10: Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks June 10, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The judge overseeing the Jan. 6 case against Donald Trump said she won't go easy on him just because he's running for office.

"The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision," Judge Chutkan said.

Chutkan put in place a protective order that prevents Trump from speaking about sensitive material from the trial.

The judge presiding over the Justice Department's latest indictment of former President Donald Trump said Friday that Trump's 2024 candidacy will not affect her decision-making in the case.

"I reiterate: the existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision, any more than any other lawyer coming before me saying their client needs to do their job," US District Judge Tanya Chutkan said.

She made the comment during a hearing about a protective order that the special counsel Jack Smith's office is seeking in its January 6 case against the former president. Trump's lawyers are not opposed to the request, and Friday's hearing focused on the scope of that order.

A grand jury indicted Trump earlier this month on four charges related to the deadly Capitol riot: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump's lawyers have repeatedly pointed to his campaign schedule  as well as his status as a former president  while asking judges in a multitude of civil and criminal cases against him for leniency.

But "I cannot and I will not factor into my decisions how it will factor into a political campaign on both sides," Chutkan said Friday. She added that Trump's political campaign "has to yield to the orderly administration of justice."

The judge also, in an apparent allusion to Trump's public comments about the indictments against him and his attacks on the prosecutors bringing those indictments, noted that Trump, "like every American, has a first amendment right to free speech. But that right is not absolute."

At another point in the hearing, Trump's defense lawyer John Lauro called the proposed protective order a "contempt trap" and later said that it requires more notice.

"We're asking for fair play here," he said. "All we're asking for is fairness."

"I intend to keep politics out of this," Chutkan replied.

Chutkan ultimately ruled that Trump can't speak about sensitive material used in the trial. She rejected Trump's request that he can talk about witness testimony and videos from the trial, saying it would be "too great a risk that witnesses may be intimidated."

An Obama nominee, Chutkan has handed out some of the toughest sentences to January 6 defendants who have appeared before her.

According to the Associated Press, she agreed with or exceeded prosecutors' sentencing recommendations in 19 out of the 38 sentences she's handed down related to the Capitol riot  and in four of the cases, the AP reported, prosecutors had sought no jail time at all.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A federal judge in New York revoked would-be cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Frieds bail on Friday after prosecutors accused the FTX founder of witness tampering, multipleoutletsreported.

The decision means Bankman-Fried, 31, will sit in jail until his trial on fraud charges, which is scheduled for October. His attorneys are expected to appeal.

His parents had agreed to sign a $250 million bond in December to keep their son at home in Palo Alto, California, following the sudden and spectacular collapse of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that had been one of the worlds largest such platforms.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told the courtroom there was probable cause to believe that the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice, according to The Wall Street Journal.

While Bankman-Frieds lawyers argued he was simply trying to protect his reputation, prosecutors said his efforts amounted to indirectly interfering with a key witness against him: his former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan federal court on Friday, Aug. 11.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan federal court on Friday, Aug. 11.

Bankman-Fried gave reporters for The New York Times personal writings by Ellison, who was formerly CEO of Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried.

The documents revealed intimate thoughts about her life and work at Alameda  particularly her self-doubts and feelings about Bankman-Fried in the months before FTX fell apart. Kaplan said the only reason to leak Ellisons writings would be to hurt, discredit and frighten the subject of the material, CNN reported.

Ellison, who is also charged with fraud, has been cooperating with federal prosecutors and is expected to provide crucial testimony at Bankman-Frieds trial.

Bankman-Fried had also allegedly sent over 100 emails to media outlets and made over 1,000 phone calls to reporters, according to CNBC.

Kaplan agreed that these actions violated the terms of his release on bail, as Bankman-Fried is subject to severely restricted internet and phone usage.

The Justice Department slapped the entrepreneur with several charges related to money laundering, campaign finance offenses and various types of fraud a few weeks after FTX imploded last year and lost investors billions of dollars. He is accused of taking deposits and using them improperly to pay other expenses.

At the conclusion of Fridays hearing, Bankman-Fried gave his blazer, tie and shoelaces to his lawyers before allowing himself to be handcuffed and led away, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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. Credit - Melissa Sue GerritsGetty Images

WASHINGTON (AP)  The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump agreed with the defense on a looser version of a protective order for evidence in the case, but she largely sided with the prosecution on what sensitive materials should be protected as she vowed to keep politics out of her rulings.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington on Friday repeatedly said that Trump was subject to the courts rules as a defendant before trial even though he is also running for president at the same time. She warned that she would not let political considerations affect her rulings.

Your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet, Chutkan said.

Chutkan rejected prosecutors broader protective order proposal that sought to prevent the public airing of all evidence they hand over to Trumps defense as they prepare for trial. She instead seemed poised to impose a more limited protective order that would bar the public release only of materials deemed sensitive, such as grand jury materials.

She did, however, block other defense requests to broaden the scope of who can see discovery and what should be considered sensitive.

The government considers the vast majority of evidence in the case to be sensitive. The judge sided with the prosecution on what materials are considered sensitive and therefore protected under the order.

When prosecutors proposed the protective order, it became an early flashpoint in the case. The prosecutors called the judges attention to a post on Trumps social media platform in which he said he would be coming after those who go after him.

They warned Trump could improperly share sensitive information online that could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses. They accused Trump of objecting to their proposal because he wants to be able to use the governments evidence to try the case in the media rather than in the courtroom.

Lawyers for Trump, who has railed against prosecutors and the judge on social media and during campaign events, said the governments proposed order went too far and would restrict his free speech rights.

John Lauro, an attorney for Trump, raised the example of former Vice President Mike Pence  who is both competing against Trump for the Republican nomination and a potential witness in the case before Chutkan. Trump has repeatedly attacked Pence for being disloyal.

President Trump has the ability to respond fairly to political opponents, Lauro said.

Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, says he is innocent of the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. He has portrayed investigations of him as politically motivated.

Prosecutors say that they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence to Trumps legal team and that much of it includes sensitive and confidential information  like transcripts from the grand jury that investigated the case and evidence obtained through sealed search warrants. Grand jury proceedings are secret.

Prosecutors filing last week seeking the protective order included a screenshot of a post from Trumps Truth Social platform that same day in which the Republican ex-president wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!

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, prosecutors wrote in their motion.

A Trump spokesperson said the Truth Social post was made in response to dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs and is is the definition of political speech.

The prosecutors proposed a protective order barring 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. They also asked for stricter limits on sensitive materials, which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants. In those instances, Trump could only be shown the documents, not get a copy himself.

Trumps team, meanwhile, asked for a more narrow order that would bar the public release only of the materials deemed sensitive, such as grand jury documents. Defense attorneys wrote in court papers that the need to protect sensitive information does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.

The case, unsealed last week, is the first criminal case that seeks to hold Trump accountable for his efforts to cling to power before an angry mob of supporters fueled by his election lies attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It comes as Trump faces two other criminal cases and tries to reclaim the White House.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Democrat Joe Bidens electoral victory. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

Smiths team has indicated that it wants the case to move to trial swiftly, and this week it proposed a Jan. 2 trial date. Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in a New York case stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in another case brought by Smith accusing the former president of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Smith charged Trump in June with dozens of felony counts alleging the former president illegally kept classified records after he left the White House and obstructed government efforts to get them back. A new indictment recently unsealed in that case accuses Trump of scheming with Mar-a-Lago staffers to try to delete security footage sought by investigators.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in June imposed a similar protective order in that case that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval.

Trump has characterized all the cases against him as an effort to take down his 2024 campaign. His legal team has indicated that it will argue in the latest case that he had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020 and that filing it represents an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Trump has also lashed out at the judge overseeing the case, writing on his Truth Social platform that his legal team would be immediately asking for recusal of this judge, as well as to move the case outside of Washington.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Donald Trump and his attorney Friday that repeated inflammatory statements about his latest criminal prosecution would force her to speed his trial on charges related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election.

I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case, Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro during a hearing. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.

Chutkans stark admonition came at the conclusion of her first courtroom session in the newest criminal case against the former president. The aim of the hearing was for special counsel Jack Smiths prosecutors and Trumps attorneys to hash out disputes about the handling of evidence in the case. Once Chutkan enters a so-called protective order governing evidence, prosecutors say theyre prepared to share millions of pages of documents with Trumps team, jumpstarting the case and setting it on a path to trial.

But Chutkan, aware of the national spotlight on her oversight of the explosive case, repeatedly emphasized that she intended to keep politics out of the courtroom and treat Trump like any other criminal defendant. That included potential consequences if he makes statements that could be construed as harassing or threatening witnesses.

The fact that hes running a political campaign has to yield to the orderly administration of justice, Chutkan said. If that means he cant say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, thats how it has to be.

Even arguably ambiguous statements from parties or their counsel, if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors, can threaten the process, Chutkan added later. The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case which could taint the jury pool  the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly.



The hearing was Chutkans first significant foray into the case, in which Trump stands charged with three conspiracies aimed at derailing the transfer of power to Joe Biden after the 2020 election. Trump has repeatedly assailed Chutkan, an Obama appointee, on social media and called for her recusal without citing a basis. Lauro, however, has not embraced Trumps call.

Trump has also made comments about Mike Pence in recent days that prosecutors have flagged, given Pences likely turn as a star witness in the trial. Chutkan said she was not ruling on any specific Trump statement but that she made her comments as a general word of caution.

To the extent your client wants to make statements on the internet, that has to yield to witness security, she noted earlier in the hearing.

Lauro repeatedly emphasized that Trump would scrupulously abide by his conditions of release.

The hearing also laid the groundwork for prosecutors to unload a massive trove of evidence to Trumps legal team. Senior assistant special counsel Thomas Windom said they were prepared to share 11.6 million pages or files to the defense as soon as today, an eye-popping figure that Chutkan joked was sure to influence Trumps proposed trial date.

Prosecutors, however, are seeking to bring the case to trial on Jan. 2, a rapid turnaround that they say is in the public interest. Windom emphasized that the large volume of evidence had been extraordinarily organized in a way that would make perusal simple for Trumps team.

The bulk of Fridays proceedings were focused on parameters for Trumps ability to review evidence in the case. Chutkan began by rejecting a proposal from the special counsel that would amount to a blanket prohibition on Trumps ability to disclose any details of the evidence he reviews.

I dont want this order to be overinclusive, she said. I dont want to just issue a blanket protective order over information that is not sensitive.

Chutkan repeatedly emphasized Trumps First Amendment right to speak his mind, especially as he campaigns for president. But she said her primary goal was to ensure the orderly administration of justice.

"Mr. Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech. But that right is not absolute, she said. The defendants free speech is subject to the release conditions imposed at arraignment and it must yield to the orderly administration of justice.

Lauro repeatedly emphasized the politics hovering over the case, noting its influence on Trumps campaign and the potential that prosecutors could accuse him of violating evidence-sharing agreements even during routine exchanges on the campaign trail with rivals that include Pence. This would advantage Bidens reelection prospects, he said.

But Chutkan said those considerations simply could not be a factor in her rulings, saying Lauro was conflating what your client needs to do to defend himself and what your client wants to do politically.

Your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet, Chutkan said.

Prosecutors also raised alarms about Trumps proposal to be permitted to review sensitive evidence in the case without a minder from his legal team.

Defense counsel has a certain level of trust in the defendant that the government does not, Windom said. The defendant, when he only has the material to himself, could elect to photocopy or otherwise reproduce, take a picture of the sensitive materials. That risk is much lower when in the presence of [counsel]  He has shown a tendency to desire to hold onto material he knows he should not have.

Chutkan sided with the defenses request to permit Trump to review sensitive evidence without a minder from his legal team, but said Trump would be required to review such information without any electronic devices capable of reproducing it, and his team would be required to review any notes he takes to ensure it doesnt include the personally identifying information of witnesses.

Chutkan sided with prosecutors who wanted to include hundreds of recordings of witness interviews and transcripts in sensitive materials that are barred from public disclosure. And she also rejected Trumps teams push to permit a significantly wider array of Trump aides to review evidence in the case, which Lauro said was necessary given prosecutors timeline and the extraordinary volume of material.

The definition you have currently is too broad, she said. It allows just about anybody. I live in Washington. Anyone is a consultant.
A Southern California judge accused of killing his wife texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her, prosecutors said Friday as they charged him with murder and sought new bail conditions.

A court filing from prosecutors says Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson texted: "I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry."

Prosecutors also say that 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered during a search of his home, including the pistol used in the shooting. Authorities said the weapons were legally owned. A rifle registered in his name is not accounted for, according to the district attorney's office.

Investigators remove firearms from a house in Anaheim, CA on Friday, August 4, 2023. Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 after police received reports of a shooting in an Anaheim home and found the judges wife, Sheryl Ferguson, inside with at least one fatal gunshot wound, police said. / Credit: Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

The shooting happened after Ferguson and his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, were arguing at a restaurant on Aug. 3, prosecutors said in their court filing. They continued arguing after returning to their home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills.

The criminal complaint alleges he had threatened the victim earlier in the evening "by making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun at her," CBS Los Angeles reported.

The court document says the wife said something to the effect of "why don't you point a real gun at me?" and he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest.

The document says their adult son called 911 and said his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom.

Jeffrey Ferguson also called 911 to vaguely report the shooting. When asked if he shot his wife, he said he didn't want to talk about it at that time and she needed paramedics.

When officers arrived, Ferguson smelled of alcohol and told them, "Oh man I can't believe I did this," according to the document.

Ferguson, 72, was arrested last week. He was released a day later on $1 million bail and set to be arraigned on Sept. 1.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson is seen in a police booking photo released Aug. 4, 2023. / Credit: Anaheim Police Department

On Friday, prosecutors charged Ferguson with murder with weapons-related enhancements. They want him to surrender his passport, wear an ankle monitor and possess no alcohol or firearms.

Ferguson's attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions. "This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more," they said.

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He handles criminal cases in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney's office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards. He served as president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014.

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate "with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement" and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency's findings.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

Sheryl Ferguson previously worked for the Santa Barbara and Orange County probation departments and later for the American Funds Service Company for almost 20 years prior to becoming a full-time mother, CBS Los Angeles reported.

Attorney Joel Garson said he got to know Sheryl Ferguson when he was a Boy Scout leader and her son Phillip was in his troop.

"She would come to all of the meetings," Garson said. "She was very active in his progress in Boy Scouts and even after him making Eagle Scout she would show up at old troop functions. She did T-shirt sales and whatever was asked of her. A lot of parents are drop-off parents and you never see them, but she was very active on the scout committee."

Jeffrey Ferguson's attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions, CBS Los Angeles reported.

"This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more," his attorneys said.

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Soon after pulling a handgun from his ankle holster and fatally shooting his wife, prosecutors say, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson alerted his staff that he wouldn't be taking the bench at the Fullerton courthouse to handle the next day's calendar.

"I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry," the judge texted his clerk and bailiff, according to documents filed late Thursday by the Orange County district attorney's office.

The documents provide the clearest picture so far of the case against the 72-year-old judge, who has been charged with murder.

He was arrested on Aug. 3 after his adult son called emergency dispatchers to say that his mother, 65-year-old Sheryl Ferguson, had been shot in the couple's Anaheim Hills home.

Investigators load boxes of ammunition they removed from the home of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who was arrested on suspicion of murder in the fatal shooting of his wife at their Anaheim Hills home. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

The judge was taken into custody, spent one night in jail and posted $1-million bail.

On the evening of the slaying, according to papers filed by prosecutors, Ferguson and his wife got into an argument over dinner at a restaurant, where he threatened her "by making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun at her."

The argument continued when the couple returned home, where Sheryl Ferguson said, "Why don't you point a real gun at me?" or something similar, prosecutors said in the court papers.

The judge, intoxicated, pulled a Glock .40-caliber pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest, the bullet exiting her back and hitting the wall behind her, prosecutors said.

The judge's son, who called 911 and tried to perform CPR on his mother, said his father had been drinking too much, prosecutors said.

The judge himself later called 911 to say his wife needed a paramedic, but when asked if he had shot her, he said he didn't want to talk about it, prosecutors said.

Read more: Orange County judge arrested after his wife is shot to death in their home. 'It's a shock'

Ferguson smelled of alcohol and was still wearing the empty ankle holster when police took him into custody, prosecutors said.

He asked officers to shoot him, according to prosecutors, and made remarks that were captured by police body camera: "What an ass I am," "Oh, man, I can't believe I did this," and "I guess I'm done for a while."

Investigators remove evidence from the home of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Police took a sample of the judge's blood to measure its alcohol content seven hours after the shooting, by which time it measured 0.06%, below the legal limit for intoxication, according to court papers.

Ferguson's son told police that his mother had once talked the judge out of shooting himself, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors will ask the court to impose additional bail conditions on Ferguson. Among their concerns: a missing rifle.

Though Anaheim police confiscated 47 firearms in a search of the judge's home, plus more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition, detectives were unable to find a .22-caliber rifle that is registered in his name, according to the district attorney's office.

Police missed still another rifle in their search of the judge's home, though Ferguson's defense attorney later found it and handed it over, the D.A. said.

Among the extra bail conditions, prosecutors will ask that Ferguson surrender his passport and his permit to carry a concealed weapon, possess no guns and wear an ankle monitor.

In a motion to set Ferguson's arraignment, Deputy Dist. Atty. Chris Alex asked the court to limit contact between the defendant and the son, described in court papers as the only eyewitness to the homicide, in order "to prevent any degree of risk or undue influence upon Son."

Prosecutors will also ask that the judge avoid alcohol altogether.

Though its prosecutors appeared before the judge regularly until last week, the Orange County district attorney's office is handling the case, citing a decision by the state attorney general's office that there is no conflict.

Ferguson, who was a local prosecutor for more than three decades before becoming a judge in 2015, faces 40 years to life in prison if convicted.

"This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. ... It was an accident and nothing more," Ferguson's attorneys, John Barnett and Paul Meyer, said in a statement, according to City News Service.

At the request of the presiding judge of the Orange County Superior Court, where Ferguson is employed, the case has been transferred out of county.

It has been reassigned to the courtroom of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ricardo Ocampo, according to court records.

Ferguson is scheduled to be arraigned there Sept. 1.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A sign at the edge of town reads Stafford: Gateway to the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

Ironic, isnt it, that the city government has just destroyed a budding wildlife refuge within its own borders and arrested a young man for trying to protect it.

The place is called Birdhouse Farm and its an effort by owner Daniel Wallach to establish a six-acre prairie nature experience, experimental farm and bed-and-breakfast for bird watchers who come to visit the Quivira sanctuary, about 10 miles northeast of Stafford as the sandhill crane flies.

But what was a thriving field of wildflowers and other native plant life a month ago is now a barren swath of stubble and 3-inch sticks poking out of the ground like a bed of nails.

In the name of weed control, the city came onto the property about three weeks ago when no one was there and mowed down dozens of young trees and berry bushes, along with wildflower plants bearing thousands of seeds that Wallach and his assistants had been planning to harvest and sell.

One of those assistants, Tanner Wycoff, is currently facing aggravated assault charges for trying to defend the property.

The second time someone came on the property and started mowing over experimental gardens, along with sawhorses and lumber, Wycoff chased him off waving a brush knife.

There was no indication the mystery mower man had been hired by the city  and two weeks before, the police chief had promised Wallach there would be no more city-ordered mowing on the property until after a council hearing scheduled for Monday.

But 15 minutes after the confrontation, police arrived and took Wycoff to jail for several hours until his mother and his father, whos a Stafford County commissioner, could put up $20,000 cash bail.

Tanner Wycoff holds a sprig of burr ragweed, the plant that led to the city of Stafford destroying much of Birdhouse Farm and got Wycoff charged with assault for trying to protect the property.

Wallach said the city told him the reason for the carnage done to his property was to control burr ragweed, which is classified as a noxious weed.

Wallach concedes there were small patches of it here and there, which he and Wycoff been working to get rid of since the city sent its first warning letter in May.

But the city mowing down everything was like using dynamite to kill a mouse. And it actually made the problem worse by scattering burr ragweed seeds all over the place, Wallach said.

Since Wallach purchased the property in 2021  the mayor lives just to the north and also made a bid for the land and 100-year-old house  dealing with the city has been a Kafka-esque nightmare.

First, it was chickens. Wallach had a flock of 10 hens and a rooster until the city informed him that local ordinance limits chickens to six hens to a property, no roosters. He has six acres and asked if he could get a variance, but no dice.

Then the city double-charged him on a utility bill; the city denied responsibility and it took two weeks to get a refund.

City officials are mostly silent about the destruction they wrought in the latest battle of Birdhouse Farm.

The mayor didnt return a phone message. The city administrator punted questions to the city attorney. He said the city was enforcing its mowing ordinance, but had no comment beyond that.

As justifications go, its about as flimsy as they come. You dont have to look hard to find noxious weeds all over Stafford.

So why were Wallach and his property singled out?

He blames politics.

For the last several years, theres been an ongoing water war between the Quivira refuge, which depends on having adequate water in its ponds and marshes to support the bird population, and farmers who want the same water for their crops.

Quiviras water rights take precedence, and there are many in Stafford who resent that, along with anyone perceived as being pro-bird, which Wallach inarguably is.

Also, its a very conservative town, so theres a generic resistance to anything that smacks of environmentalism, Wallach said.

It never ceases to amaze me how the environment got stuck as a political pawn, Wallach said. Now more than ever, people who care about the environment are viewed as left-wing ideologues. And its just nonsense.

Wallachs not some over-idealistic environmental dilletante and neither is Wycoff. Theyre business people trying to leverage Kansas prairie land into something profitable.

Daniel Wallach and Tanner Wycoff examine some native edible mushrooms grown at Birdhouse Farm.

Wycoff had three years of college biology in Colorado before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he came home. Hes been working with Wallach in exchange for a percentage ownership of Birdhouse Farm when the business gets off the ground.

Wallach is the former eight-year executive director of a nonprofit organization that worked with the Department of Energy to rebuild Greensburg as a model community for environmental efficiency, after a tornado leveled the town in 2007.

Now, Greensburg is 100% wind and solar powered, offers free electric-car charging for tourists crossing the state, and has the highest percentage of buildings in America with LEED certification  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Greensburg still faces the challenges common to all small Kansas towns, but it has foresight and it has hope.

Stafford, meanwhile, feels like a town on death watch.

The population has declined more than 30% in the last 30 years, from 1,300 to 900 and change; the Main Street business district has about as many vacant spaces as occupied ones, and the dirt roads on the outskirts are less teeth-rattling to drive on than the paved streets downtown.

Wallach said Stafford is on the way to becoming a ghost town, and hes hoping to help reverse that.

One of my focuses from the beginning has been to engage young people from the area, because the few who are left, the only way youre going to get them to stay is if you have a vision that gives them hope, a vision that they feel they can be a part of, he said.

Given the shape that Staffords in, one would think the city would try to help a small business thats attempting to bring a little nature tourism and commerce to town, rather than trying to wipe it out.

One would think that, wouldnt one?
The Princess of Wales has been appointed three new military roles by King Charles III, including one that has a link to her grandfather.

The monarchs reshuffling of military appointments for working members of the royal family comes ahead of the anniversary of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth IIs death next month.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement this week: Following his Majestys Accession, the King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the royal family.

The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the royal family in His Majestys reign.

Kate Middleton has been named the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards, and the Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Air Force Coningsby.

The last appointment, which was previously held by her husband, the Prince of Wales, holds a special link to the princesss family, as her grandfather Captain Peter Middleton served in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

According to reports, he also worked with the late Prince Philip and flew as a co-pilot with him during an aerial tour of South America in 1962.

Meanwhile, her appointment as Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm comes after the role was stripped from the Duke of York while he faced a civil sexual assault trial last year.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge sit for a photo with military personnel from Britain and Belize during a visit to the British Army Training Support Unit (BATSUB) jungle training facility on the third day of a Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour to the Caribbean on March 21, 2022 (Getty Images)

Prince Andrew, who had links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was accused of sexual assault after alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against him.

The duke has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and has said he does not remember ever meeting Giuffre. He later paid a multi-million-pound settlement out of court in February 2022.

His other military role, Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Irish Regiment has now been appointed to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

With the new Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards appointment, Kate has also taken over a role held by her father-in-law King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales.

Meanwhile, Prince William has also been given three new appointments in the reshuffle. These include Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley.

No positions were handed to Charles youngest son, the Duke of Sussex, because he is not a working member of the royal family. Prince Harry previously held several military roles, but gave them up after stepping down from his duties in 2020.

The King previously announced a wave of military appointments in December, three months after Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September.

The late monarch held more than 50 ranks and appointments in the UK and Commonwealth Armed Services, including Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Colonel-in-Chief of the Adjutant Generals Corps.
Jackson County prosecutors on Friday announced 20 felony charges against a man accused of raping two women and robbing a third, and Kansas City police urged other potential survivors to come forward.

Dairon Lee Riley, 23, was charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with a host of charges for crimes allegedly committed in May and June. If convicted of the charges, which include five counts of rape or attempted rape, Riley faces a sentence of life in prison.

At a news conference with other officials, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said detectives believe other survivors are out there.

This is your courthouse, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, directed to the alleged victims in the case and also to other rape and sexual assault survivors in the county. She added that police and prosecutors want to hear what they have to tell us.

The first alleged robbery occurred May 17 after Riley picked up a woman he met online from a hotel in Independence, according to the criminal complaint. She planned to sell Riley a phone, and they went to the area of East 89th Terrace and Michigan Avenue.

There, the woman told police, Riley pulled out a knife and turned off her phones location data. She believed she heard him masturbating, police said. He took the womans phone, her taser and $200 cash, according to charging documents.

Less than a week later, officers were sent to meet a woman at a hospital. She said she met Riley on a dating site and that he had punched her in the face, repeatedly sexually assaulted her and tried to tase her, according to court records.

Riley allegedly took the womans gun, which he used to fire off a round, and her phone, according to police.

About three weeks after that, on June 17, officers were called to an armed robbery at a QuikTrip gas station along Westport Road, where a woman told them she had been sexually assaulted.

The woman said she met Riley on a dating application, where he went by Day Day, police said. When they met in person, she said, Riley was armed with a knife and gun and threatened to kill her. Riley struck the woman in the face while they were in a parked car, police said. He raped her and stole her phone and money, according to prosecutors.

Riley remains at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. He did not yet have an attorney listed in court records who could be reached for comment as of Friday afternoon.

Julie Donelon, president of the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, said at Fridays news conference that survivors of rape and sexual assault can reach the nonprofits free and confidential services by calling 816-531-0233.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton listen to President Donald Trump speak at the American Farm Bureau Federations convention on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Austin, Texas. The presidents visit comes just two days before his impeachment trial is set to begin in the Senate.

A gag order regarding an upcoming impeachment trial is a signal  a command, really  for those involved to stop talking about it. Not in Texas, and not to Ken Paxton, such is his hubris.

Presiding judge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a gag order July 17 due to public prejudicial and inflammatory statements both sides were making. The order banned all parties involved in the impeachment trial from discussing it in a way that would affect the courts ability to be impartial. The gag order does say parties can make statements reciting, without comment, information contained in public records.

This was likely a mistake on Patricks part. Paxtons team has taken this fraction of a permission slip and pushed it as far as they can go.

Paxtons team has issued news releases about court filings. On Aug. 3, Tony Buzbee, Paxtons Houston lawyer, went on the Mark Davis show, a Dallas-based, conservative talk radio show, and spoke for about 15 minutes.

The attorney general would not violate or go contrary to the orders of the court, and we dont believe that hes done so, Buzbee told Davis.

Buzbee proceeded to read from the case filings verbatim, including passages that cast doubt on the evidence against Paxton, and answered factual questions about court proceedings. Buzbee may have followed the letter of the law because he read from court filings, but hes hardly following the spirit of Patricks gag order. Going on a radio show in a major metropolitan area is akin to using a megaphone to stir the pot in the case against Paxton.

On Aug. 2, a fundraising email with a donation link from Paxtons website labeled the impeachment illegal and part of a kangaroo court. Later, after Dallas TV station WFAA highlighted the language, Paxtons team edited it to comply with the gag order.

After Patrick announced the gag order, the House sent a memo to members reminding them of the potential consequences for violating it, including contempt of court charges, jail time, and a $600 fine. Weve heard barely a peep from the legislature, although, in theory, they could be going on radio shows reciting public record, too. Strangely, theyre not.

Were not surprised Buzbee pushed the parameters of the gag order to appear on a radio show  he seems to enjoy the limelight as much as his client. Whats the purpose of reading court filings if not to influence someone? Court filings arent just boring words  they serve a purpose. They make a case. And so did Buzbees appearance on Davis show.

As disappointing as Paxton and Buzbees behavior is, it shouldnt be surprising. If any of the articles of impeachment are to be proven, Paxton appears to have treated the Office of Attorney General with just as much callousness as he has the gag order. And perhaps we can take these attempts to push the limits of the gag order as a sign that his case is as flailing, along with his attempt to remain in power.
An aerial picture taken of the dried out Santa Olalla lagoon in southern Spain (-)

The largest permanent lagoon in drought-hit southern Spain's Donana natural park, home of one of Europe's largest wetlands, has completely dried out for the second summer in a row.

A huge patch of cracked white earth has replaced the waters of the Santa Olalla lagoon, which usually houses abundant aquatic life and huge colonies of migrating birds.

The lagoon -- which once covered around 45 hectares (110 acres) -- has been shrinking in recent years but this is the first time that it has dried out for two consecutive years, according to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Scientists blame the lagoon's disappearance on a prolonged drought combined with the overexploitation of aquifers for farming and tourism.

"Recent years have been very dry, which is not rare for a Mediterranean climate," Carmen Diaz Paniagua, a researcher at the Donana Biological Station, told AFP.

Most lagoons in the reserve are temporary, filling with rainwater in winter and then drying out in the summer but a few contain water year-round, providing an important refuge for animal life.

"The real problem is the mismanagement of the aquifers. We don't even know how much water is being extracted because there are many illegal wells," she added.

The Donana national park is surrounded by a sea of greenhouses and the Matalascanas resort town is located less than a kilometre from the northernmost lagoons of the reserve.

"This is not a natural thing happening only because of climate change. It can be reversed, if we can reduce the water extractions the lagoon could resist," said Diaz Paniaga.

Water use restrictions are in place on other parts of Spain but that is not the case in towns near Donana where beaches still operate showers, she added.

The Dona reserve boasts marshlands, scrub woodland and beaches and is home to deer, badgers and endangered species including the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.

But at the Santa Olalla lagoon where wild horses once drank water surrounded by storks and flamingos, they now graze alone on the few tufts of grass they find growing from the cracked earth.

Despite warnings from UNESCO and the European Commission, the conservative regional government of Andalusia where Donana is located is pushing to extend irrigation rights near the park.

A draft law currently making its way through the regional parliament would regularise hundreds of hectares of berry farmland currently irrigated by illegal wells.

Defenders of the proposal argue it will aid those who unfairly missed out during a previous regularisation of farms in the area put in place in 2014 under a Socialist government.

"The water management policy is really not conducive to the conservation of Donana's lagoons," said Diaz Paniagua.

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Police have arrested a man they say shot a woman in the parking lot of a Georgia KFC restaurant.

Investigators said the shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant location along W. Gwinnett Street in Savannah.

Police have charged Sherman Hendrix, 23, with aggravated assault after they said he shot the woman in the KFC parking lot.

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Officers said she was rushed to an area hospital with serious injuries.

According to jail records obtained by Channel 2 Action News, Hendrixs place of employment is listed as KFC.

Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther said during a news conference on Thursday that the shooting was not random.

Anyone who may have more information about this shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 912-234-2020.

RELATED NEWS:
In this undated photo provided by El Roi Haiti, Alix Dorsainvil, right, poses with her husband, Sandro Dorsainvil. Alix Dorsainvil, a nurse for El Roi Haiti, and her daughter were kidnapped on Thursday, July 27, the organization said. | El Roi Haiti via Associated Prsss

On July 27, Alix Dorsainvil, an American nurse, and her young daughter were kidnapped from the campus of El Roi Haiti, a faith-based humanitarian organization that works in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

On Wednesday, Aug. 9, El Roi Haiti released a brief statement to say that Dorsainvil, who is also the wife of the groups Haitian director, was released along with her child.

The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a nonprofit agency in Haiti that tracks kidnappings and other human rights violations, wrote last week that at least 51 non-Haitians were kidnapped between January and July of this year. During the same time period, some 600 Haitians were also kidnapped.

On Monday, UNICEF released a report saying that kidnappings of children and women are spiking at alarming rates in Haiti. There were nearly 300 cases confirmed in the first six months of 2023, almost matching the total number documented for the entire previous year, and close to three times more than in 2021.

The stories we are hearing from UNICEF colleagues and partners on the ground are shocking and unacceptable, said UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Garry Conille. Women and children are not commodities. They are not bargaining chips. And they must never be exposed to such unimaginable violence.

Mother and daughter were kidnapped the same day the State Department issued a Level 4, Do Not Travel warning and ordered nonemergency U.S. government employees and families to leave Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure.

According to NPR, the State Department welcomed the news that mother and daughter had been released.

We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas, the agency said. Out of respect for the privacy of the victims, officials also said that they would not be releasing further information. As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally. Both may speak for themselves if and when they feel ready.

The Associated Press reports that on Thursday afternoon, an aid organization said that Dorsainvil and her daughter are healthy and unharmed.

Violent gangs in Haiti are known for mistreating, raping and sometimes killing those they abduct, in a country that has had no functional government since the brutal assassination of President Jovenel Moise in early July 2021.

Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy
King Charles III is giving Prince William command of the British Army unit in which his brother Prince Harry once served, in a round of military appointments before the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth IIs death.

In an announcement Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that William will now become colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corpsthe combat aviation arm of the British Army in which Harry served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majestys reign, the statement read.

Kate and William to Mark Queens Death Anniversary, Without Harry and Meghan

Williams wife, Kate Middleton, was also given three new roles, including commodore-in-chief of the Fleet Air Arm. That title used to belong to Prince Andrew, but he was stripped of the role when he was accused in a civil sexual assault case that he reportedly paid millions of dollars to settle.

Another of Andrews erstwhile titles was given to Prince Edwards wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who now becomes colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment. The appointment means that the reshuffle has not returned any of Andrews former military titles.

Prince William, who once served as a Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue pilot, has also been made colonel-in-chief of the Mercian Regimentan infantry regiment in the British Armyas well as royal honorary air commodore of RAF Valley, a military installation on the island of Anglesey off the coast of Wales. William spent three years stationed at RAF Valley until 2013, during which time he reportedly took part in 156 rescue operations that saved 149 people.

But its his appointment in command of the Army Air Corps and Harrys former unit within it662 Squadronthat may cause some raised eyebrows in jolly old England. Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said he believes it is quite feasible that Harry himself could have been in contention for the job had he not withdrawn from life as a working royal. Had Harry still been around he might well have had more appointments going his way, Little told the Daily Mirror newspaper.

The Duke of Sussex rankled some sections of the British military establishment earlier this year when he confessed in his memoir Spare to killing 25 Taliban during his time in Afghanistan with the squadron. They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bads taken away before they could kill Goods, he wrote in the book, adding that the number gave him no satisfaction nor did it make him feel ashamed.

King Charleswho serves as the head of the British armed forces in his role as sovereignwill also take on eight new military affiliations. His Majesty is a military veteran himself, having trained and served in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, Buckingham Palaces statement said.

The military shakeup comes as the British royal family prepares to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth IIs death next month. A report in the U.K. media earlier this week said William and Kate will be the public face of the commemorations, with a source in the Waleses office confirming to The Daily Beast that there is likely to be an acknowledgment of the anniversary, though detailed plans have yet to be worked out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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After two months, a teenage boy from south-central Wisconsin remains missing, possibly, authorities say, living off the grid near Devil's Lake State Park.

James Yoblonski, 13, of Reedsburg was first reported missing June 12 and has not yet been found despite continued efforts from the Sauk County Sheriff's Office and the FBI.

Here's what we know Yoblonski and his ongoing missing person case.

Has James Yoblonski been found?

No. He remains missing two months after his disappearance was originally reported to police.

The Sauk County Sheriff's Office is posting regular updates on the case on its website.

What's the status of the investigation?

As of Aug. 3, police searched electronic devices linked to Yoblonski and turned up web searches for various locations across Wisconsin. Investigators have not found any proof Yoblonski visited any of the locations listed in Yoblonski's browser history.

The FBI has joined the search for Yoblonski and recently administered polygraph tests to his relatives and others, according to the Associated Press.

Yoblonski's father, William Yoblonski, has offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to finding his son.

When did James Yoblonski go missing?

James Yoblonskis father reported him missing June 12 from the familys home, which is about 45 miles northwest of Madison. About three hours before William Yoblonski reported his son missing, a sheriffs deputy had found the familys van abandoned in the nearby town of Sumpter.

James Yoblonski had taken his fathers cellphone, and a ping led sheriffs deputies to search an area around Devils Lake State Park where they also found a makeshift campsite they believe the boy used. His devices showed searches earlier this year about how to travel out of state. Authorities have also said James Yoblonski had a special interest in being a survivalist.

Where do authorities think James Yoblonski is?

It's unclear. Investigators have not identified a specific possible location for Yoblonski, but there are not yet indications he's left Wisconsin.

Authorities have conducted multiple searches along and near U.S. Highway 12 in Sauk County, in and around Devil's Lake State Park and at other locations identified through searches of Yoblonski's electronic devices.

What's special about Devil's Lake?

Devil's Lake is Wisconsin's most popular state park, attracting millions of annual visitors, according to the park's website. It sits on over 10,000 acres and is part of over 27,000 acres of public recreational land in Sauk County.

The park is home to a variety of wildlife, including rattlesnakes, coyotes, and bobcats. There have been rare sightings of bears, cougars and wolves. However, the park website said that the bulk of emergency calls come from those underprepared, usually people dealing with overexertion, water-related injuries and getting lost or stranded.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about James Yoblonski, 13-year-old missing in Wisconsin
[Source]

A South Korean judo athlete is being hailed as a hero for rescuing a 78-year-old vacationer from certain death at a local beach last week.

Daring rescue: Yang Seo-woo, 27, was visiting her mother in Taean County on Aug. 5 when she witnessed a man, 78, being swept away by powerful waves following a sudden tidal current at Mallipo Beach. The man's family called 119 emergency services, but before rescuers could arrive, Yang sprang into action to help reach the struggling vacationer faster.

A selfless act: The rescuer's identity initially remained a mystery as she left the scene without revealing her name. However, the rescued man's family sought to find and thank their savior, who they learned was a judo athlete. The daughter of the rescued man expressed her heartfelt gratitude for Yang's heroic intervention.

"I am truly grateful to you for rescuing my father by jumping into the sea without hesitation in an emergency," she was quoted as saying. "I will always support the athlete's future."

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Inspiring hero: Downplaying her courageous act, Yang stated: "I am familiar with the sea, and I felt that it would become harder to rescue as time passed because the tide was coming in, so I jumped in. I just did what anyone else would have done, but I'm thankful for the love I've been receiving."

Yang previously gained widespread admiration during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she shaved her head to meet the weigh-in requirements for the women's -48 Kg category. She later made a guest appearance on television series "Today's Webtoon" alongside former I.O.I. member Kim Sejeong.

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10-year-old girl becomes first in Taiwan to fully recover from leukemia via CAR T-cell therapy

Korean food exports to display 'K-Food' logo to boost brand recognition
[Source]

South Korea has immortalized prominent figures from Koreas independence movement against Japan using artificial intelligence (AI) technology developed by wireless telecommunications operator SK Telecom.

Recent unveiling: The video media art was unveiled Friday at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan. SK Telecom has had a partnership with the Korean history museum since March 2020.

Key details: Some of the highlights of Fridays event include the unveiling of an immersive exhibition using augmented reality (AR) technology, a talking AI robot that will provide commentary about the independence movement and photos and videos of historical figures such as Yu Gwan-sun and An Jung-geun that were made using SK Telecoms AI image restoration technology called Supernova.

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According to SK Telecom, the talking robot will engage with visitors through real-time conversations using ChatGPT.

Visitors will also be able to scan QR codes to view independence movement stories via AR. SK Telecom will start adding stories about the movements heroes in November.

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About An: Born on Sept. 2, 1879, An was considered a hero by many Koreans after he shot and killed Ito Hirobumi, the first prime minister of Japan who was responsible for Japans expansion in Korea.

An allegedly killed Ito because he believed that keeping the statesman alive would disturb the peace in East Asia and strain the relationship between Japan and Korea. He was eventually transferred to a prison in Lushun, China, where he was tortured and executed on March 26, 1910.

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About Yu: Born on Dec. 16, 1902, Yu was a key figure during the March First Movement, also known as the Sam-il Independence Movement, in 1919. Yu became an activist and a leader of the movement aimed to oppose the Japanese Empire at just 16 years old.

Yu lit a beacon on top of Mount Maebong on March 31, 1919, a gesture that ignited the fire of independence among several Koreans at the time. They organized a widespread protest on April 1, where 19 people died, including Yus parents.

Yu was eventually arrested and sent to Seodaemun Prison. Yu died on Sept. 28, 1920, from the injuries she sustained after being tortured for organizing a protest inside the prison with other inmates.


The Russian authorities are trying to nationalise Russian-owned internet search engine Yandex to control the information space in preparation for the presidential elections.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Analysts suggest that the Kremlin is likely trying to nationalise Russian internet giant Yandex to tighten its grip on the Russian information space in preparation for Russia's 2024 presidential election.

The ISW states that Yandex probably tried to balance between the Kremlin and its foreign governing bodies, but now it seems that it is losing this battle to the Kremlin.

The Kremlin appears to be forcing Yandex to sell or disassociate itself from its international subsidiaries, including the Yango Israel taxi service, to comply with Russian data disclosure laws that require Yandex to provide all user data  not just users in Russia  to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Russian government had previously fined Yandex for failing to comply with the law, despite Yandex's claims that it could not provide the requested data.

The Russian government has also previously fined Yandex CEO Artem Savinovsky for not complying with Russian censorship laws, possibly forcing Yandex to comply with Russian censorship laws not only in Russia but also around the world to undermine its global operations and user base.

Officials at the IT company have previously said that Yandex is committed to complying with the laws in every country where it operates and has condemned Russian data collection efforts, saying they only provide user data to the users' governments in that particular country.

Some Russian insider sources speculated that Yandex corporate development advisor Alexey Kudrin attempted but failed to turn Yandex into a national private company controlled by Yuri Kovalchuk, reported to be Putins personal banker.

Arkady Volozh, the founder and former CEO of Yandex, publicly condemned the invasion of Ukraine on 10 August, and some Russian insider sources suggested that Volozh's statement was a "white flag" indicating that he accepted that the Kremlin was more likely to continue with its assumed formal nationalisation move.

Reuters reported that its sources at Yandex fear a "brain drain" if the Kremlin nationalises Yandex, as many Yandex employees left Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin is likely aware of this concern, as investors linked to Kremlin officials, rather than Russian state agencies, recently submitted bids to buy Yandex.

The possible transfer of Yandex to affiliates of Russian First Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff Sergey Kiriyenko indicates that Putin is seeking to reward Kiriyenko for his personal loyalty, particularly following the mutiny on 24 June by the Wagner Group.

Experts suggest that Putin is likely rewarding Kiriyenko to further secure his loyalty ahead of the 2024 presidential election, especially given that he was the Kremlin's contact person for affairs and elections in occupied Ukraine.

The report states that Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) continues to maintain a presence at sites in Belarus, and the status of its rumoured withdrawal to Russia remains unclear.

ISW has not seen any counter-evidence to contradict the recent 8 August suggestion that Wagner took 500 to 600 people by bus from Belarus to Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh and Rostov oblasts.

Russian sources suggest that Wagner's forces plan to conduct the second phase of their alleged withdrawal from Belarus on 13 August, but that a small group of the PMCs instructors will remain in Belarus to train the Belarusian military.

At the same time, Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin has not yet commented on these assumptions directly or through intermediaries, as he has done in the past, which indicates that Prigozhin may not have complete freedom to comment on the future of Wagner.

To quote the ISWs Takeaways on 10 August:

The Wagner Group continues to maintain a presence at facilities in Belarus and the status of its rumoured withdrawal to Russia remains unclear.

Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin has yet to comment on these speculations either directly or through intermediary sources as he has done previously, suggesting that Prigozhin may not be entirely at liberty to comment on the future of Wagner.

Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations on at least three sectors of the front and advanced in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area on 10 August.

A Russian military blogger accused Russian military personnel of fabricating or embellishing claims of Russian forces destroying Ukrainian vehicles in Ukraine.

Russian forces conducted another series of missile and drone strikes in Ukraine overnight on 9-10 August.

The Kremlin is likely attempting to crypto-nationalise Russian internet giant Yandex to strengthen control over the Russian information space in preparation for the 2024 Russian presidential election.

The possible transfer of Yandex to affiliates of Russian First Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff Sergey Kiriyenko suggests that Putin seeks to reward Kiriyenko for his personal loyalty, particularly following the June 24 Wagner Group rebellion.

Affiliates of arrested former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer and ardent ultranationalist Igor Girkin continue to explicitly attack the Kremlin on 10 August.

Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 10 August and made some advances.

Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations on at least three sectors of the front and advanced in the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area on 10 August.

Russian officials continue to highlight the claimed success of the Russian defence industrial base.

A Ukrainian military official reported that Russian forces are co-opting civilian infrastructure for the repression of local populations in the occupied territories.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen in central Moscow behind a billboard featuring "Z letters"  a tactical insignia for Russian troops in Ukraine. The billboard reads: "Victory is being Forged in Fire." ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

Researchers have identified more than 30,000 Russians killed fighting in Ukraine.

More than 1,300 dead soldiers were identified in the last two weeks alone, they said.

Russia has publicly admitted to losing fewer than 6,000 men since the February 2022 invasion.

Publicly, Russian officials have admitted to losing no more than 6,000 men since last year's all-out invasion of Ukraine. But researchers working with the BBC say they have now identified  by name  more than 30,000 dead Russian soldiers, including more than 1,300 in the last two weeks alone.

That Russia has suffered huge losses in Ukraine is undeniable, evidenced by Moscow's push to expand the draft and recruit from the incarcerated.

In May, the White House said Russia had likely suffered more than 100,000 casualties, a figure that includes the injured. The British government, earlier in the year, said as many as 60,000 Russians had been killed in action.

But Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet that has partnered with the BBC's Russian service, says its figure of 30,000 dead, while certainly an undercount, is not a mere estimate. Each number represents a soldier with a name.

Their death is considered "confirmed" if researchers can link it to a rare official statement or, more often, open source data, such as social media posts by relatives that include corroborating information, like burial dates and photos of cemetery plots.

In recent weeks, corresponding with Ukraine's counteroffensive, these researchers have noticed an uptick in casualties among Russian troops operating rocket launchers and artillery, Mediazona said, including sizable losses in the Zaporizhzhia region, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

Prisoners, who have been recruited by the Wagner paramilitary group as well as the Russian military itself, appear to have suffered the greatest losses since the war began. More than 5,600 inmates have been identified as killed in Ukraine. The next highest is draftees, with more than 3,100 confirmed dead.

At least 2,400 Russian officers have also been identified as killed, according to the group, including 284 who were considered "high ranking."

For comparison, a leaked US military assessment earlier year said that as many as 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the war began.

The enormous human cost of Russia's invasion has been impossible for some of its military leaders to deny. In a recent video address, Col. Gen. Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of Russia's elite VDV Airborne Forces, admitted that 8,500 of his troops had been wounded in Ukraine, all of whom had either returned to the front or refused to leave in the first place. He did not say how many had been killed.

Although Teplinsky's remarks were an apparent attempt to boost morale, they were soon scrubbed from Russian state media.

Russian officials prefer to deflect questions about the human cost of their "special military operation."

After a separate analysis last month found that, as of May 2023, at least 47,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine  a finding based on analyzing excess mortality rates in Russia  Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was unfamiliar with the widely publicized report, claiming that the only accurate source for such information was the defense ministry.

In September 2022, that ministry acknowledged losing 5,937 soldiers.

At least 9,000 civilians have also been killed in Ukraine, according to the United Nations, most in areas targeted by Russian forces.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

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Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Ukraine's partners on Aug. 11 to provide Kyiv with long-range missiles such as Taurus and ATACMS, emphasizing that they will be deployed only on Ukraine's territory.

"Long-range missiles have proved crucial. This is why Taurus and ATACMS are essential for Ukraine's success, and we ask partners to provide them as soon as possible," Kuleba tweeted.

"Both will be used solely inside our borders. The longer the missile range, the shorter the war."

The Ukrainian military already operates British Storm Shadow and French SCALP long-range missiles. Kyiv continues to appeal to its partners to also acquire the German Taurus missiles and U.S. ATACMS.

Ukrainian member of parliament Yehor Cherniev said on Aug. 7 that key factions in the German parliament have reached a consensus on the transfer of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been so far hesitant to greenlight the transfer, concerned that Ukraine can use the missiles to strike Russian territory. On Aug. 11, the German newspaper Spiegel reported that Berlin is considering providing Taurus missiles modified not to be able to target Russia.

Although Scholz previously said that he is willing to send Taurus missiles once the U.S. approves the transfer of ATACMS, this reportedly no longer plays a major role, Spiegel said.

Washington has so far refused to supply Ukraine with ATACMS. U.S. State Department Matthew Miller however said on Aug. 8 that the U.S. is considering the transfer of new missiles and defense systems, without elaborating whether this includes the much-desired long-range missiles.

Read also: Retired US General Petraeus: Now its inevitable  we should give the ATACMS

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Working within the framework of the G7 declaration of intent to provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees, Kyiv and London have engaged in bilateral talks regarding such guarantees, head of the Presidents Office, Andriy Yermak, told Ukrainian TV broadcasters on Aug. 11.

Indeed, after our U.S. colleagues, we have commenced consultations with our friends, the partners from the United Kingdom, said Yermak.

Read also: European Union cannot offer Ukraine security guarantees  Brussels

He further added that the UK, by the virtue of its crucial military support, is one of Ukraine's "main and strategic partners." According to him, 13 countries have already joined the G7 countries' declaration of "security guarantees" for Ukraine.

"Today, indeed, a very important conversation has taken place; we can now say that such consultations with the United Kingdom have begun," the official added.

Read also: Netherlands to sign up to G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine

Yermak pointed out that the goal is to have the first series of bilateral agreements with the guarantor countries by the end of 2023.

During the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 12, the G7 leaders announced that they had agreed on a declaration of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Read also: Negotiations on Ukrainian peace formula begin in Saudi Arabia

The Presidents Office clarified that the declaration is a general framework document, and the next step should be a system of bilateral security agreements between Ukraine and individual guarantor countries.

On Aug. 3, it became known that Ukraine had begun negotiations with the United States regarding a bilateral security guarantee agreement.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Those of us who live or work in Lakeway are blessed for many reasons. People are drawn to Lakeway because it is a well-managed city with a small-town feel. People settle in Lakeway to enjoy recreation in the beautiful parks and trail systems. People also make Lakeway home because they feel safe here. In short, Lakeway is a great place to be. The men and women of your Police Department work hard to keep it that way ... and you can help, too.

The Lakeway Police Department takes crime-fighting seriously. We actively patrol the city and use traffic enforcement as a crime deterrent. We follow up on every lead and make every effort to put criminals in jail. Those efforts make a difference and Lakeway enjoys a low crime rate. But Lakeway is not crime free. Although violent crimes occur infrequently here (knock on wood), property crime is more common. Every week our officers take theft, burglary and/or fraud reports from your neighbors, and some of those crimes didnt have to happen.

Glen Koen

One key is to not be a convenient target. Many property crimes are crimes of opportunity. The harder a criminal has to work, the more likely they are to move on to the next target. Criminals want to get in, get stuff and get out as quickly and easily as possible.

This is where you come in. By doing simple things like locking your car, taking your belongings inside and ensuring packages are out of sight or quickly collected, you remove convenient opportunities for criminals to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Unfortunately, criminals had some success last month, as we've received several reports of guns being taken from unlocked vehicles. These crimes not only create an issue for the resident who lost their belongings, but also may be a safety concern for everyone else. You can help stop this trend by locking your car and taking your keys with you. The department has received reports of residents not only leaving their vehicles unlocked, but leaving their keys inside as well. While it may be convenient for you, its an easy steal for a thief.

Our officers patrol the city all day (and night) long, but they cant be everywhere. Criminals know this. While many of those who come to Lakeway to commit crimes get arrested or pulled over for traffic infractions, in the mind of a criminal, sometimes it is worth the risk. It is worth the risk, because criminals are being taught that they can come to Lakeway and find cash, guns, jewelry and sensitive personal information in unlocked cars. When criminals have this kind of success, they learn to come back. When they come back, they end up exploiting others, and there starts a continual loop of opportunity. Criminals exploit this opportunity to commit more serious offenses, such as assault, robbery, identity theft, fraud and narcotics activity.

I dont want to reward or encourage criminals and Im sure you dont, either. Working together, we can properly re-educate criminals and discourage them from coming to Lakeway seeking easy loot. By pushing back against criminal behavior and eliminating easy opportunities, we maintain the safety and high quality of life we have all come to enjoy in Lakeway and slow the spread of crime being experienced in communities near us.

The members of the Lakeway Police Department are here to keep you safe and to be of service. If you have questions about crime prevention strategies, please contact us. If you plan to leave town for an extended period of time, perhaps that well-deserved vacation before summer ends, I invite you to take advantage of our House Watch program. Fill out the simple form on our website (lakeway-tx.gov/police) and well have one of our officers do periodic checks of your property to spot suspicious activity, and notify you if they do find something.

Lastly, if you see suspicious activity, please call 911. If you are the victim of a crime, we encourage you to reach out to us and report it at (512) 261-2800.

I am honored to serve this great community. Please help keep Lakeway safe!

Glen Koen is the police chief for the city of Lakeway.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lakeway Police Chief Koen: Don't make it easy for thieves
LANSING  Lansing police said a video circulating online that shows officers detaining a 12-year-old boy in handcuffs was an "unfortunate misunderstanding" that stemmed from the foot chase of a suspect wanted in a suspected vehicle theft.

The video led to three statements by police and Mayor Andy Schor's office by late Friday afternoon.

The video appears to show a young, Black male wearing neon yellow shorts and a white T-shirt being detained by a police officer outside an apartment complex. A man tells officers they are traumatizing his son and the male was put into a police vehicle before later being released to the man who said he was the individual's father.

A video posted to TikTok account careyann372 has generated millions of views and posts throughout social media with users saying the boy was detained as he was throwing away garbage.

The video lasts just more than 4 minutes. It was not clear where in the city the video was taken.

Warning: Video contains the use of strong language.

"Kid taking out trash being harassed by police. Father defending his son. Wrong person," the TikTok poster wrote on Thursday.

In a Zoom call with reporters on Friday night, lawyers for the family of Tashawn Bernard asked that police take down its Facebook post, saying the photo makes it appear as though the shirt Tashawn was wearing was white, when it actually was gray. The suspect police were looking for was wearing a white shirt, they said.

"It does not accurately reflect what Tashawn was wearing," said Ayanna Neal of Grewal Law. "They need to take down the post."

Lansing police posted an initial explanation on its social media accounts earlier Friday, followed late Friday afternoon by a statement from Police Chief Ellery Sosebee.

"On Thursday afternoon, our officers were investigating a string of Kia thefts, including a specific one reported on the 3600 block of W. Jolly Road with multiple suspects," the first post on Facebook said. "A witness described a suspect as wearing neon shorts and a white shirt. A responding officer saw a subject matching this description and attempted to make contact but the subject fled and ran west in to the nearby apartment complex.

"A different officer was in the area and saw the young man pictured in the viral video wearing a very similar outfit and made contact with him. The initial officer was able to respond and clarify the young man in the video was not the suspect who fled earlier. Once this information was obtained, the young man was released and officers continued to search the area.

"We are including pictures of both individuals. We have blurred both photos to protect the identities of the subjects."

A photo of the people involved was posted, blurred out, along with the statement.

Posts on X, formerly Twitter, expressed outrage over the video and the number of officers involved in the incident.

Just a kid taking out the trashAmerica pic.twitter.com/OhNWTbCnqA  Kenny Akers (@KeneAkers) August 11, 2023

"Just a kid taking out the trash  America," user Kenny Akers wrote.

"This city is paying 6 police officers to arrest a child for throwing out garbage," user Frank Giugliano wrote.

"I hope someone gets ahold of the young man detained today while taking out the trash because he fit the description and lift him up. He will need support around him," Rob Thomas wrote in a Facebook post.

LPD said they hope to put the situation behind them.

"Community relations is a top priority for us as a department, from top-down," the department wrote. "Our hope is we can put this unfortunate case of wrong place, wrong time behind us and continue to represent the community that we serve."

After 4 p.m., the department released a statement attributed to Sosebee.

"The officers of the Lansing Police Department are working very hard to address the recent car thefts plaguing our city. In doing so, yesterday officers detained a young man who was wearing similar clothing and in the same apartment complex as an accused car thief who fled from officers on foot. When the officer made initial contact, it was near a trash bin but was after he had disposed of any garbage. The young man was then released to his father when eliminated as the accused. The command officer on the scene made contact with the young mans father and explained the situation and apologized for the misunderstanding. I have reviewed the incident and can confirm the officer who contacted and detained the young man was respectful and professional during his investigation.

"Its unfortunate that incidents like this occur but through communication and sharing of information, we can help people understand the whole story. We understand that something like this has an impact on all parties involved.

As the Chief of Police, I want to apologize that this incident had such an effect on this young man and his family. Im asking for the community to consider all the facts of the situation before making a judgment. The relationship with our community has been and will continue to be a top priority for the Lansing Police Department."

And late Friday afternoon, Schor apologized to the 12-year-old and his family in a statement.

"The Lansing Police Department made a mistake in detaining the wrong person during a vehicle theft investigation," Schor said in the statement. "The young man was wearing the exact same clothing as the suspect, however it was quickly confirmed he was not the suspect in question and he was released. I join Chief Sosebee in offering my apologies to the young man and to his family.

"LPD is in contact with the family and providing resources and support for any trauma involved. Our officers do their absolute best to protect Lansing, but in this case a mistake was made and we own it and apologize to those affected. As Mayor, I once again offer my sincere apology to this young man.

Attorneys for the family said Tashawn was taking out the trash at his home when he was approached by an officer holding a gun at his side. The boy was put in handcuffs and placed into the back of a police vehicle.

"Our client has been traumatized by this incident, so much so that young Tashawn does not want to go outside ... even to get the mail," attorney Rico Neal said.

Instead to trying put the incident behind them, police should have apologized to Tashawn and considered how they can make the situation right." the attorneys said.

Tashawn's father, Michael Bernard, described looking outside and seeing his son in handcuffs. He said his son "should not have been subjected to this treatment."

The attorneys said they were exploring "all legal options" for the family, including a possible lawsuit. The family wants to ensure that the same situation doesn't happen to anyone else, they said.

Reporter Ken Palmer contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing police: 'Unfortunate misunderstanding' led officers to detaining wrong boy
The Inner Mongolia Tourism and Culture Week opened in Berlin on July 28, showcasing the splendor of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region while celebrating the revered Yellow River culture.

Through photo displays, cultural items and video presentations of local tourism resources and delicacies, the event shared Inner Mongolia's history, culture and landscape.

Sun Qinhang, director of the China Cultural Center in Berlin, said at the event's opening that Inner Mongolia boasts a long history and rich culture with magnificent mountains, rivers and grasslands, and the Yellow River, as one of the mother rivers of the Chinese nation, has nurtured the Chinese civilization.

"I hope that through this event, people could have a deeper understanding of Inner Mongolia and the culture of the Yellow River basin," she said. Sun also said she hopes the event will help enhance cultural and tourism collaboration between China and Germany, and foster mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and German people.

Impression of Inner Mongolia, a major exhibition of the event, will be held at the China Cultural Center in Berlin through Aug 24.

The tourism and cultural week is co-hosted by the China Cultural Center in Berlin and Inner Mongolia's culture and tourism bureau.
A warehouse occupying an area of 2,000 square metres caught fire in the city of Odintsovo near Moscow where drones were downed the day before, on 10 August.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS with reference to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) in Moscow Oblast; Russian  service; Telegram channels Astra and Baza

Quote from MES in Moscow Oblast: "A 2,000-square-metre warehouse caught fire on Zelenaya Street, building 30a, in Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast.

There was no information about casualties."

Details: Telegram channels published photos of high smoke and flames against high-rise buildings.

Judging by the photos, the fire and smoke can be seen at a distance of several kilometres.

Background: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that two drones were flying towards Moscow on the night of 9-10 August, but claimed they were downed by Russian air defence forces.

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The United Nations announced that most of the oil has been removed from a decaying tanker stranded off the coast of Yemen,though additional work is needed to clean up contaminated sediment. File photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA-EFE

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The offloading of oil from inside a decaying, 47-year-old crude oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen was completed Friday to the praise of U.S. and international observers.

The United Nations announced in late July that work to transfer the estimated 1 million barrels of oil stuck on the supertanker FSO Safer was underway. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the vessel a "ticking time bomb" as the ship was at risk of deteriorating to the point that oil could spill in the Red Sea.

"The Safer was at risk of an oil spill four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. " Such a spill would have cost tens of billions of dollars to clean up and been an environmental, economic, and humanitarian catastrophe for the region."

Yemen is a poor country plagued by years of civil conflict and a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The United Nations said the oil was transferred to the vessel MOST Yemen, supported by marine salvage company SMIT. SMIT was contracted by the U.N. Development Program for the operation.

There's more work to do, however. The United Nations said less than 2% of the original cargo was mixed in with sediment on the sea floor, but that will be removed during additional cleaning operations.

"Today is a proud moment for the many people across the U.N. system as well as our donors and partners who have worked tirelessly over the past months and years to avert a disaster in a country already vulnerable following protracted conflict," said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. "There is still work to be done, but today we can say with confidence that the immediate threat of a spill has been averted."

The United Nations estimated it would take 25 years for the fish stock to recover from a potential oil spill, while total coast for cleaning up the spill would reach $20 billion.
(Bloomberg) -- Latvias premier said hell seek to form a new government with the countrys opposition after his coalition allies balked at a set of demands.

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Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, one of the European Unions harshest critics of Russias invasion of Ukraine, said talks with coalition partners had broken down.

I will now start work on creating a different government, Karins told reporters Friday in Riga after a meeting with the three-party coalition. The composition of the next government is an open question, but talks will continue with two opposition parties, he said.

Karins said he wouldnt resign and will lead the talks on forming a new government.

The Latvian leader gave his current allies an ultimatum this week, saying he would bring an end to the current government if party leaders didnt agree on new priorities. Those included the health and education sectors, and a program for foreign labor, or he would form a new coalition with two opposition parties.

Karinss center-right New Unity party has led a three-way coalition since December after winning a second term in office. Tensions emerged during the May election of Edgars Rinkevics as president, with Karins forced to seek support for the vote among the opposition, outmaneuvering his coalition partners.

The opposition parties that Karins plans to court, the Union of Greens and Farmers and the center-left Progressives, would give the premier 52 votes in the 100-seat legislature in Riga, a slimmer margin than his current 54-seat majority. Karins said today that hes always favored a larger governing coalition.

Karins won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections held in October, taking his New Unity party from eight seats in the previous legislature to 26 now.

(Adds additional Karins comment in third paragraph.)

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Democratic lawmakers are calling out Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas after new revelations from ProPublica that hes taken at least 38 luxury trips paid by wealthy benefactors.

Some say Thomas longstanding acceptance of freebies shows the need for ethics reform on the Supreme Court.

This is a shameless lifestyle underwritten for years by a gaggle of fawning billionaires, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote on Twitter. Justices Thomas and [Samuel] Alito have made it clear that theyre oblivious to the embarrassment theyve visited on the highest court in the land.

He said that if the court wouldnt reform itself, Congress should step in and do it for them.

Other lawmakers went further, demanding that Thomas to step down.

Thomas takes cash bribes while crushing your freedoms, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) wrote on Twitter. Hes corrupt as hell and should resign today.

Others also called on him to pack up his robes:

Unprecedented. Stunning. Disgusting. The height of hypocrisy to wear the robes of a #SCOTUS and take undisclosed gifts from billionaires who benefit from your decisions.



38 free vacations. Yachts. Luxury mansions. Skyboxes at events.



Resign.https://t.co/dX0FWXszIB  Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 10, 2023

Would billionaires have given Justice Clarence Thomas massive gifts if he was just a law clerk? NO. Thats what makes this corrupt. They were seeking to curry favor with Justice Thomas, either directly or indirectly. And Justice Thomas violated the law in accepting the gifts. https://t.co/j2BbLHnreY  Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 10, 2023

Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts. No government official, elected or unelected, could ethically or legally accept gifts of that scale. He should resign immediately. https://t.co/RAda5Eke0h  Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 10, 2023

No Justice should accept these types of gifts. Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest Court. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform. https://t.co/GngG9eybBl  Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) August 10, 2023

I called for a vote to impeach Justice Thomas if he would not resign back in Aprilbefore we even knew just how much farther his corruption goes thanks to @propublicas reporting in the weeks since and again today. https://t.co/lNUQnc7oqppic.twitter.com/vrilRGN1db  Congresswoman Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) August 10, 2023

Make it 6.



Clarence Thomas must resign. https://t.co/PbrpKyUC9T  Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) August 10, 2023

Thomas once bragged that when it came to travel, he preferred camping in Walmart parking lots  where budget RV travelers often gather  and seeing the regular parts of the United States.

I come from regular stock, and I prefer that  I prefer being around that, he said in a documentary financed by one of his travel benefactors, according to Slate.

But earlier this year, it was revealed that Thomas enjoyed luxury travel paid for by Republican donor and Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow, and the new report shows he enjoyed dozens of other trips paid for by a number of members of the ultra-elite.

And as for camping, Thomas owns a $267,230 luxury RV financed by a wealthy friend in a deal he also failed to disclose.

The Thomas scandal has led to growing call for ethics reform of the court  but at least one justice has bristled publicly at the notion of Congress stepping in.

No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Samuel Alito told the Wall Street Journal last month. Period.

Alito, according to ProPublica, took a luxury fishing vacation funded by a billionaire who later had cases before the Supreme Court.
A lawsuit accusing a Des Moines bar and bartender of contributing to a fatal shooting has been dismissed before trial.

Andrew Hall Sr., 46 was shot and killed in the parking lot of Maingate Bar and Grill in December 2021. Drake Armstrong, then 17, was charged in the shooting and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges. He was sentenced in 2022 to serve up to 50 years in prison.

Court records show a lengthy criminal record for Armstrong, including two attempted murder charges predating Hall's shooting.

Hall's underaged son, who witnessed the shooting from just a few feet away, and his mother filed a subsequent lawsuit against the bar and bartender Jessica Olson, alleging that she had knowingly served the underage Armstrong multiple drinks in the hours before the shooting, and that Armstrong was "extremely intoxicated" and "intoxicated past the point of legal liability" when he shot Hall.

Olson also faced criminal charges for serving a minor and accessory after the fact, after she gave Armstrong a ride away from the scene. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation.

Andrew Hall Sr., seen here in an undated photo shared by his family, was fatally shot outside Des Moines' Maingate Bar and Grill in December 2021. A lawsuit alleging that a Maingate bartender knowingly served the underage suspect before the shooting, and helped him leave the scene afterward, has been dismissed.

The family's lawsuit was set to go to trial in March 2024, but on Aug. 3, the plaintiffs' attorneys filed to permanently dismiss all claims against Olson and the bar, which is across from the Grand Avenue entrance to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Court filings do not say whether there was a settlement, or if so, what the amount was.

An attorney for the defendants did not respond to a message seeking comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs also did not comment.

Related: West Des Moines police officer sues southern Iowa casino for over-serving drunk driver that struck him

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines shooting victim's family dismisses lawsuit against Maingate
[Source]

At least 55 people have died and many are still missing as evacuations continued Thursday in Maui, Hawaii, due to the wildfires.

Death toll: On Thursday, 19 people were confirmed dead, bringing the death toll to 55. However, officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further amid the ongoing flames.

There are also around 1,000 people still missing as the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in history, according to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

Heres the challenge: theres no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when were speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone, Green said, according to The Independent.

More from NextShark: China, Which Has More Kobe Bryant Fans Than Anywhere Else, Mourns His Passing

A Californian team is reportedly joining crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and other agencies by sea and helicopter to help search for and rescue victims.

Update on Lahaina: The wildfires in the historic Maui town of Lahaina continue to rip through the community, with more than 1,700 buildings and billions of dollars in property destroyed. But as of Thursday, officials reported that the fire is now 80% contained.

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Its all gone. None of its there. Its all burnt to the ground, said Maui Mayor Richard Bissen.

As residents mourn the loss of culture and community mainstays for Native Hawaiians, Gov. Green said that it will take years to rebuild Lahaina.

When you see the full extent of the destruction of Lahaina, it will shock you. It does appear like a bomb and fire went off, if I may. And all of those buildings virtually are going to have to be rebuilt, Green said at a news conference.

More from NextShark: MUJI USA Files for Bankruptcy After Running at a Loss for 3 Years

Banyan Tree in Lahaina smoldering at the base, but still standing. Just about the only thing left, other than the Lighthouse. pic.twitter.com/t0lGeOwY2H  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 10, 2023

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Cause of the wildfires: Wildfires burned across Hawaii after dry conditions and strong winds passing through the state from Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm, ignited the blaze this week. The fire in Lahaina town is reportedly only one of at least seven other wildfires statewide that firefighters are battling against amid bad conditions.

As authorities continue to make progress against other major fires on the island, thousands of residents remain displaced while nearly 11,000 Maui residents are still without power.

Disaster declaration: On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed a disaster declaration pledging significant federal resources toward Mauis recovery and to ensure anyone whos lost a loved one, whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.
To the editor: I cringe when I look at the photo of the nice suburban home in Woodland Hills that developer Akhilesh Jha wants to replace with a 67-unit project. You don't need to be a planner to know that will utterly destroy the neighborhood forever. ("This L.A. developer aims to tear down homes to build apartments where the city doesnt want them," Aug. 1)

I'm not in the stop-all-development category; my views have evolved considerably in the last few years, as it's become clear that we've underbuilt ourselves into a corner. My 30-year-old son and his friends are blocked from buying homes in our own neighborhoods. We have nowhere near the supply to satisfy the demand.

Which brings me back to the Woodland Hills project. That cannot be the solution to our housing problem. That's not just bad planning; that's no planning, which is how we got here in the first place. We need to get smarter, and quickly.

My heart goes out to those folks in Woodland Hills who probably won't be able to stop Jha from wrecking their neighborhood. It sounds like he has the law on his side, and I fear that he doesn't give a rip about that little neighborhood.

Murray Nies, Coronado, Calif.

..

To the editor: Hats off to Jha for his perseverance in adding affordable units citywide, including on lots that currently have single detached homes. Every three or seven units in a larger development helps and distributes these homes throughout the city  including in neighborhoods that may be more desirable or safer and out of reach for many today.

By continuing to stymie housing development with dog whistles like preserving community "character" and warnings that "different backgrounds could be criminal backgrounds," it's renters and potential new neighbors who are being "given the middle finger," not the neighborhoods where this much-needed housing is being built.

Most renters like me aren't from criminal backgrounds, and many potential residents in an area with proposed new housing aren't at the table at the various neighborhood planning meetings, as we aren't yet residents.

Bruce Johnson, San Diego

..

To the editor: I blame the ill will that Jha is causing on Sacramento. The latest zoning and housing laws enacted are "one-size-fits-all" solutions that are not doing the good that lawmakers intended.

The giveaways in the "density bonus" are insulting and possibly even dangerous to established neighborhoods. Allowing reduced parking spaces in new buildings, for example, will mean more cars are parked on the street. More people will be vulnerable as they walk to and from their cars at night.

Yes, L.A. needs more low-income housing. But is ruining the harmony of a neighborhood for more units a good solution? I don't think so.

Ruth Silveira, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Jha is building housing that Los Angeles desperately needs. The irritation of city planners is not deterring him, nor should it.

From a different point of view, Jha is a clear illustration of a man living the American dream. He is an immigrant, has worked hard, is highly educated, knows the laws, and even though he is consistently met with resistance, he has determination to keep fighting since the law is on his side.

Bravo. The American dream is still alive.

Rebecca St. John, Long Beach

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Secret service agents watch through their binoculars as a rainbow appears in the sky before President Barack Obama arrived at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 26, 2015. Members of Ethiopias LGBTQ+ community say they face a wave of online harassment and physical attacks and blame much of it on the social media platform TikTok, which they say is failing to take down posts calling for homosexual and transgender people to be whipped, stabbed and killed. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Members of Ethiopias LGBTQ+ community say they face a wave of online harassment and physical attacks and blame much of it on the social media platform TikTok, which they say is failing to take down posts calling for homosexual and transgender people to be whipped, stabbed and killed.

A local LGBTQ+ support group, House of Guramayle, said that some TikTok users are also outing Ethiopians by sharing their names, photographs and online profiles on one of the countrys most popular social media platforms.

In Ethiopia, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The East African country whose population of close to 120 million is split between Christianity and Islam is largely conservative, and while LGBTQ+ people have long suffered abuse, activists say the hostility has reached a new level.

TikTok is being used to incite violence, said Bahiru Shewaye, co-founder of House of Guramayle. Bahiru said several videos have been reported to TikTok but we are still waiting for them to take action.

The Associated Press on Thursday reviewed several videos that appeared to violate TikToks community guidelines by inciting violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A TikTok spokesman, Ben Rathe, said on Friday evening that the platform had removed the content and banned the accounts for violating its community guidelines.

In one video, seen by the AP, a popular evangelical Christian pastor calls for gay people to be stripped naked and publicly whipped.

Then (gay) people all over the world would say, 'Oh, these (Ethiopian) people, this is what they do to gays, therefore we will not go to that country,' says the pastor, whose account has over 250,000 followers. The video was posted on Aug. 5.

In another video posted Aug. 2, a TikTok user calls for gay men to be stabbed in the buttocks. In a third, posted in the past week, a young man says, We should find them and kill them, before making a stomping gesture with his foot.

The videos are in Amharic, Ethiopias main language.

Its not clear what sparked the videos, but Bahiru said Ugandas new anti-LGBT law that prescribes the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality is playing a role.

LGBTQ+ Ethiopians said the surge of abusive content has left them feeling unsafe, with several fleeing abroad in recent weeks. One nonbinary person said they are now in neighboring Kenya after they were attacked by a group of men in Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital, last month.

It is very terrifying, to be honest, they said. I think I will stay here as long as the situation continues in Ethiopia.  It has always been bad, but this time it feels different.

Another LGBTQ+ man, a student in Addis Ababa, said he has been outed twice on TikTok. In May, shortly after the first outing video appeared online, he was badly beaten at a restaurant by a group of classmates, who fractured his cheek.

I dont feel safe at school after that, so I stopped going, he said. He said the video was later removed.

The second outing video appeared in late July and has attracted over 275,000 views. It is a slideshow of individual and group photographs under the banner Homosexuals live freely in Ethiopia. The top comment says Lets kill them, give us their address.

Ethiopian public institutions have been accused of fanning the discrimination. Last week, Addis Ababas tourism bureau in a statement posted on Facebook told hotels not to allow homosexual activities on their premises and warned action will be taken if this happens. The bureau is part of the Addis Ababa city administration.

Soon afterward, the citys police department launched a hotline for reporting illegal activities that deviate from the law and social values.

This was a vulnerable group in the first place, Bahiru said. But the new scale of these calls for violence, it has grown out of control.

LGBTQ+ advocates have long warned that online hate and harassment can lead to violence offline.

All major social media platforms  including TikTok  do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment, especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group GLAAD said in its Social Media Safety Index earlier this year.
St. Louis Cardinals' Andrew Knizner (7) celebrates with Nolan Arenado (28) after Knizner hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zack Littell during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  Matthew Liberatore didn't allow a run in a career-best eight innings, Andrew Knizner and Tommy Edman homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Thursday night.

St. Louis won two of three in the series with Tampa Bay, the AL wild-card leader.

Liberatore (2-4) was part of a January 2020 trade between Tampa Bay and St. Louis that sent 2023 All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Rays. In his second start since being called up from Triple-A Memphis, Liberatore gave up two hits and had a career-high seven strikeouts as he bids for a fulltime rotation spot.

That was a phenomenal outing, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. It was fun to watch. Filled up the zone with everything.

The Cardinals placed Liberatore on a strength program and it paid off. His fastball average went from 93 mph in his previous start to 95 on Thursday,

All the strength coaches and all the trainers here have done an outstanding job helping me out, Liberatore said. Now it's about being consistent with it.

Liberatore retired his final 14 batters, and received a standing ovation from a large group of Cardinals' fans behind the St. Louis dugout walking off the field after the eighth inning. He picked Wander Franco off second in the fourth after a leadoff single, the last hit the lefty gave up.

The Rays scored twice on two hits, including Franco's RBI triple, against JoJo Romero in the ninth. Tampa Bay is 4-11 at home since starting the season 34-10 there.

Tampa Bay starter Zack Littell (2-3), recently inserted into the rotation, allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings.

I thought Littell was really good, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. So impressed and encouraged with what he's continuing to do.

The Rays dropped three game behind AL East-leading Baltimore.

Knizner put the Cardinals up 2-0 in fourth with a two-run shot.

Edman had a ninth-inning solo drive.

St. Louis went ahead 3-0 when Nolan Arenado, who was running on the pitch, scored from first base on Alec Burleson's ground-ball single to center.

What Nolan did there was awesome, Marmol said. I mean, probably one of my favorite plays of the year.

Cash said everything went right for St. Louis and everything went wrong for the Rays on the play.

We were just a tick out of position, Arenado got a running head start, Cash said. (Center fielder) Jose (Siri) was playing deep. By the time he gets rid of the ball and puts right on home plate, Arenado is coming around. Unfortunate how it unfolded.

Arozarena singled off Liberatore in the first, stole second and third, but was left stranded after Harold Ramirez was thrown out at first by the left-hander after taking a comebacker off the leg.

TRAINERS ROOM

Cardinals: LF Tyler ONeill (left knee tightness) went 0 for 4 after missing two games.  RHP Jake Woodford (right shoulder strain) struck out two and allowed a two-run homer for Double-A Springfield against San Antonio. RHP Ryan Helsley (right forearm strain) also gave up a two-run homer in one inning in the same game.

Rays: Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) had the day off after playing catch for three minutes Wednesday and is scheduled to throw on Friday. Cash hasnt ruled out Glasnow starting Saturday against Cleveland but added the team will have coverage if the right-hander needs to be scratched.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (3-6) will be looking for his 199th career win Friday night against Kansas City.

Rays: RHP Adam Civale (5-3), acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline, will face his old team Friday night in his second start and first at home for Tampa Bay. The Guardians will start RHP Xzavion Curry (3-1).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
A lineman and dad of three died after he came into contact with an energized line on the job, according to a North Carolina electrical company.

Brian Blankenship was working on a pole the afternoon of Aug. 8 when he was electrocuted, French Broad Electric Membership Corporation CEO Jeff Loven said in a statement shared with McClatchy News. Another lineman climbed the pole and lowered Blankenship to the ground.

Other crew members worked to resuscitate Blankenship until paramedics arrived, but he died at a hospital, Loven said.

Bryan was a valuable, honest, hard working, dedicated employee respected by everyone who knew him. His loss is immeasurable and words cannot express how much we will all miss him, Loven said in his statement.

The company referred to Blankenship as Bryan, but loved ones on social media used Brian.

Blankenship leaves behind his wife and three children, according to the company. Loved ones on social media remembered him as a father and a preacher.

Everyone who knew Brian, knew He was a light, reflecting Jesus promises, Blankenships mother-in-law wrote in a poem posted on Facebook. There isnt a soul who knew him on this earth who wasnt touched by his kindness.

He was more than a pastor but a friend too. Nobody Ive ever met like Brian. He was one of a kind, another person posted on Facebook. Ive been sick to my stomach all evening over the news.

Brian Blankenship was one of the best men our family has ever had the privilege of knowing, a third poster said on Facebook. Hes been a friend for over 20 years. What a light and help he has been to our county, our families and so many churches.

French Broad Electric Membership Corporation is based in Marshall, North Carolina, which is about 150 miles northwest of Charlotte.

Lineman FaceTimed daughter before he was killed clearing storm debris, GA family says

24-year-old dad of 2 electrocuted in work accident, WV police say. Very special man

Dad of 2 killed in motorcycle wreck ahead of his wedding, GA family says. No words
Workers assemble corn harvesters at a workshop of Weichai Lovol Intelligent Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in Weifang City, east China's Shandong Province, July 26, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's machinery industry registered stable growth in the first half (H1) of this year, while its intelligent and green drives picked up speed.



The China Machinery Industry Federation said the sector's added value went up 9.7 percent from a year ago in the January-June period, driven by vibrant electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing and automobile production.

In a signal of accelerated shifts driven by innovation, the business revenue and profits of machinery strategic emerging industries were up by 10.4 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively. By the end of June, the number of innovation platforms in the machinery sector had reached 260, offering support for industrial chain stability.

While major indicators remained satisfactory, Luo Junjie, executive vice president of the federation, said the sector was still under pressure and vowed stronger support to sustain the stable trend in the second half of 2023.
Think, Midsommar. Or Shaun of the Dead. Or, The Wicker Man.

These are some of the movies that have inspired 21-year-old film director Mathew Epp in a latest film project that takes place in Pawleys Island.

Epp, a Charlotte, North Carolina, resident, graduated from University of North Carolina at Charlotte recently and is working on a new project, Eden Avenue.

Pawleys Island has the perfect small town nature to it, Epp said. He had been visiting a friend  the lead actor  for the past five or six months and decided it was a perfect setting for the film.

I just realized like the more and more I go down there, you know, its a small town, Epp said. Its a local community. And its beautiful.

Kids versus everyone else

Eden Avenue follows a group of recent college graduates  Michael, Allie, Nick and Brandon, as they decide to take one last vacation together.

The beach town they end up at is inviting at first, Epp said. The town name Eden Avenue is supposed to give the area a motherly, inviting feeling.

But theres a darker side.

The people of Eden Avenue are infected by the algae in the waters. It turns them into a cult-like group of people bent on infecting the protagonists, Epp explained.

It takes on a theme of group of kids versus everyone else, he said.

All of this occurs as the protagonists face internal struggles about change. The movie is character driven, and is much more about personal conflicts, such as accepting change than the cult, he said.

2024 release

With about 20 working on the project, including a crew of 10 and around five to 10 actors, its still a while before local residents can see Pawleys Island on the screen.

Epp said that Eden Avenue was still in a pre-production stage, but filming is set to begin this month and will take a few days. The crew is still working on getting permits to film in specific areas.

Local viewers can expect to see a recognizable area in Pawleys Island, including the Pawleys Inlet toward the south end of the beach. Epp said he was working with Clam Bake Cove or Oakley as possible settings as well.

He anticipates a spring 2024 release, with Eden Avenue distributed on public platforms and then premiering locally in theaters.

The project members are asking for donations to help with production.

And Eden Avenue still has some spots left for extras in some scenes, he said.

Those interested can email Fortis Fortuna Films, the production company, at Fortisfortunafilm@gmail.com.
The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has stated that he instructed his diplomats to improve relations with Poland, after ratcheting up tensions with Warsaw for several weeks, Lukashenkos press service said on Aug. 11.

Read also: Belarusian helicopters in Poland likely an accident  Belarusian Hajun

I instructed the PM to get in touch with them [the Poles], the message quotes Lukashenko.

If they want, let's talk, improve relations. We are neighbors, and neighbors are not chosen, they are given by God.

In his view, Poland is allegedly intentionally "escalating the situation because parliamentary elections are scheduled for Oct. 15 in the country. At the same time, the Belarusian dictator accused the United States of supposedly "pushing Warsaw to escalate."

The Americans have bet on Poland, said the dictator.

Read also: Russia and Belarus engineering another migrant crisis, Poland says

But the Poles are not fools. They are our people, Slavs. They understand everything perfectly. We'll endure, we'll see. We are open to cooperation.

In the past, the Belarusian dictator accused Poland of preparing an aggression against Belarus.

Read also: Poland detains Belarusian spy collecting intelligence about the Polish ports and military facilities

On June 30, Lukashenko threatened to strike "decision-making centers" in the West.

On Aug. 1, the Belarusian dictator claimed that he merely "joked" about Wagner Group mercenaries, who are currently stationed in Belarus, to march into Poland.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko said that Belarus will continue the abduction of Ukrainian children out of the Donbas, despite the criminal liability for doing so.

Source: Lukashenkos press service; BelTA, referring to Lukashenko's statements during "communication with employees" at the Minsk airport

Details: According to BelTA, Lukashenko said he "had planned and plans" to engage in the so-called "rehabilitation" of Ukrainian children from Donbas in Belarus.

Quote: "And the fact that Westerners are trying to violate, almost bring to criminal responsibility, is ridiculous. We have agreed with Putin that we will finance these trips from the union budget."

Background:

In June, the Belarusian Red Cross reported that more than 700 children from Ukraine were staying in the country.

In July, Belarusian opposition media reported that Dmitriy Shevtsov, the head of the Belarusian Red Cross, went to the occupied territories and, on the air of Belarusian state television, confessed that the Red Cross of the country "takes and will continue to take" children from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The International Red Cross launched an investigation after the last trip of Dmitriy Shevtsov, the head of the Belarusian Red Cross, to the occupied territories of Ukraine, during which he confessed to abducting Ukrainian children and taking them to Belarus.

Previously:

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia. They are accused of military forcible transfer of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.

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MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and former wife of Amazon found Jeff Bezos, gave an Atlanta nonprofit a $3 million, no strings attached, gift.

The organization, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, said they were excited to use the donation for advocacy and helping children across Georgia.

Scott has donated more than $14 billion to thousands of organizations, according to her Yield Giving, her foundation.

All of Scotts donations are provided without stipulation. The foundation said the funds are to be used by organizations as they see fit for the benefit of others.

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TRENDING STORIES:

GEEARS has worked for more than 10 years to ensure young children in Georgia have access to high-quality early learning and resources for what they all healthy development.

The organization said theyll use Scotts donation to promote innovative and evidence-based practices an further champion policies they use to accomplish their goals.

We are thrilled and deeply honored to receive this extraordinary gift from MacKenzie Scott, Mindy Binderman, Executive Director of GEEARS, said. This one-time infusion of significant resources will allow us to amplify our advocacy for policies and programs that make young children a statewide priority. We will continue to lift the voices of families and educators to secure greater investments in Georgias early care and learning system.

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OTHER NEWS:
R., whose name is being withheld to protect his safety, has faced transphobia and difficulty getting appropriate healthcare in Wisconsin. His family has found more acceptance and gender-affirming care for him by traveling to neighboring Minnesota. (Caroline Yang / For The Times)

California stands for "equality and acceptance."

In Minnesota, "the march of hate and bigotry stops" at its borders.

And New York intends to serve as a "beacon of hope" and a safe haven for trans youth and their families.

As red states have moved to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people, some Democratic statehouses have rushed to legislate  and message  in the opposite direction, often with enthusiastic endorsements like the above from their governors.

In response to the 20 states that have banned gender-affirming care such as reversible puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors, more than a dozen states have enacted what have become known as safe haven or shield" laws. Such laws generally prevent state officials from aiding the enforcement of gender-affirming care bans passed in other states, some of which have criminalized providing gender-affirming care, even in other states.

Trans rights activists have praised the new safe haven laws as a necessary step to counter national trends, while also pushing lawmakers to expand  not just protect  transgender rights. But the new laws, they say, can only do so much if they arent well-implemented and -funded, or if they arent designed to help the community's most vulnerable members.

I think it's always good that we're seeking to increase protection, said Terra Russell-Slavin, chief impact officer at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. But, she added, sometimes it feels more message-driven.

Minnesota, which passed its shield law in April, borders three states  Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota  that have banned gender-affirming care for minors as well as transgender youth participation in sports. North Dakota and Iowa are among nine states that have restricted transgender minors from accessing bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

But in neighboring Wisconsin, efforts to restrict transgender rights have been blocked by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Evers vetoed a provision in the state budget last month that would have blocked Medicaid coverage of gender reassignment surgery and puberty blockers for transgender youth. He previously vetoed a bill to bar trans girls from participating on sport teams that align with their gender identity, and vowed to block a similar bill introduced last month.

Minnesota state Sen. Erin Maye Quade, who wrote the state's trans refuge bill, said it was focused on making sure that transgender residents aren't excluded from the protections that cisgender people have. State Rep. Leigh Finke, Minnesota's first transgender member of the Legislature, wrote the version of the bill passed in the House.

"We wanted to be really explicit that the trans refuge bill is not just about making sure that people know that they're welcome here and beloved here, but it's protecting them, and their parents, and their providers, from being prosecuted and jailed for providing or accessing healthcare, Quade said.

For transgender youths and their families, the messaging around shield laws has a strong appeal. R., a 16-year-old trans boy who lives in northwestern Wisconsin, said he was sitting in his living room with his mother, T., this spring when she showed him an Instagram post announcing Minnesota's safe haven law. (T. asked that she and her son be identified only by their first initials out of concern for their safety.)

R. and his mother visit Stillwater, Minn., across the St. Croix River from their more conservative home state of Wisconsin. "It made me feel very safe and accepted," R. says of Minnesota's safe haven law for trans rights. (Caroline Yang / For The Times)

"When I found out, it made me feel very safe and accepted, since I live so close," R. said. "I was like, 'Oh, that's nice.' ... I took a minute to process it, and then I was like, 'Oh wait, that's really nice.'"

While gender-affirming care for minors is legal in Wisconsin, R. has been receiving treatment at a clinic in Minnesota. Even if there were a closer clinic, T. said she wouldn't feel comfortable having her son treated in Wisconsin because the political and legal climate could deteriorate.

She pointed to recent events in Tennessee, where Vanderbilt University Medical Center turned over the files of transgender patients to the state after the attorney general launched an investigation into the hospital for alleged medical billing fraud, the Tennessean newspaper reported in June. Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee signed the states ban on gender-affirming care for minors in March.

"I don't want to put my young person in a place where they're at risk of that potentially being an outcome for them as well," T. said. "That's why I feel a lot safer and more comfortable bringing them to Minnesota for care, especially now, given the sanctuary status that [state has] created.

More than 86% of transgender and nonbinary people ages 13 through 24 said their mental health had been harmed by debates in state legislatures over laws to limit their rights, and 45% said they had experienced cyberbullying, according to a fall 2022 survey conducted by Morning Consult for the Trevor Project, which runs a 24/7 crisis hotline for young LGBTQ+ people.

California's shield law, introduced last year by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), prevents law enforcement from cooperating with other states seeking to enforce gender-affirming care bans on treatment received in California. It also prevents California officials from complying with related out-of-state subpoenas.

Our priority has been to make clear that as other states demonize and criminalize trans people and try to erase them, to make clear that in California were going the opposite direction and were embracing our trans people, Wiener told The Times.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) introduced a bill this session to strengthen the safe-haven law. If passed, it would increase legal protections for healthcare workers providing abortions, contraceptives and gender-affirming care to out-of-state residents.

Read more: LGBTQ+ students have become a political target. Know your rights in California

The challenge facing lawmakers and advocates in many blue states is to strike a balance between maintaining existing rights and continuing legislative efforts to improve the physical, emotional and economic well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. That's an even greater challenge for a state such as California, where progressive social policies come hand in hand with high rents and economic inequality.

"On the policy level, California is definitely one of the better states for legal protection," said Logan Casey, a senior researcher at the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ think tank that tracks national policies. "But one of the things that we know ... is that there's often a big gap between legal equality, or the actual policies on the books, and lived equality, or what people's day-to-day experiences look like."

In 2020, California legislators passed a bill establishing the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming and Intersex (or TGI) Wellness and Equity Fund, aimed at providing grant money to organizations that serve TGI clients to help them improve healthcare access for their communities. The legislation defines healthcare broadly to include mental healthcare, therapeutic care, substance-abuse treatment and access to housing.

In 2021, the state allocated $13 million to the program, including $10.3 million for grants. The California Department of Public Health opened applications for the first round of grants  $2.5 million for gender-affirming care clinics  in June.

Its brand-new, Russell-Slavin said. Realistically, it takes a while for the funds you get allocated at the state to actually reach the community.

The effort to enact the TGI Wellness and Equity Fund was advanced by a coalition of groups led by the TransLatin@ Coalition, an organization that advocates for transgender, gender-nonconforming and intersex Latino immigrants. Alexandra Magallon, the TransLatin@ Coalition's manager of programs and services, said the push for the fund grew out of the difficulties some transgender people  particularly those who are low-income, survive on sex work or don't have access to computers or the internet  faced in trying to get COVID-19 pandemic benefits.

The goal, she said, was to make sure that "when things like this happen again, that we are structurally able to make sure that our community doesn't continue to die."

In Washington state, Democratic lawmakers have passed bills to shield patients who seek abortions or gender-affirming care from subpoenas and warrants issued out of other states; to increase access to district courts for name changes; and to prevent health insurance plans from denying coverage for gender-affirming care.

But when legislatures move quickly in response to national trends, its harder to get input from key stakeholders about their priorities, said Jaelynn Scott, executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, a Seattle-based organization that advocates for Black trans people.

Scott praised lawmakers in her state for passing some of the most progressive laws in the country, but said the Legislature had been more "reactive" than "strategic."

The reason why we have this perspective at our organization  which is a Black, trans-led organization  is that [for] Black trans people, this is not a new emergency for us, Scott said. These bills aren't really opening up access to the most vulnerable of our communities who need the care the most."

The states shield law, for example, protects people who have traveled to seek care in Washington from states that have criminalized gender-affirming care or abortion. What the bill doesn't address is how to pay for it.

What does that do for someone who doesnt have stable housing, who certainly cant afford a plane [ticket] to come to Washington state for healthcare, and who never had access to gender-affirming care in the first place? Scott said. Its not written for our communities.

Beyond shield laws, advocacy groups continue to push for legislation that would make it easier for transgender and gender nonconforming people to change their names and gender markers on government forms; to improve access to and the quality of healthcare that LGBTQ+ people receive through data collection and training for healthcare workers; and for policies that address economic disparities.

"As other states demonize and criminalize trans people ... in California we're going the opposite direction and we're embracing our trans people," says state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the shield law that prevents cooperation with states seeking to enforce bans on seeking gender-affirming care in California. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

In Maine, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill this year that will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to access gender hormone therapy despite parental objections if they've received counseling and can show they would be harmed by not being treated. Mills also signed legislation aimed at changing state forms and gathering better medical data on LGBTQ+ patients.

Quinn Gormley, co-executive director of MaineTransNet, which lobbied for several transgender rights bills passed this session, said advocates in her state were focused on how Maine could be a model of whats possible.

Our thinking before we got to session was, it's important that we play defense, and we beat back against all the anti-trans bills  and we had a couple dozen here, all defeated, she said. But we didn't want just playing defense to be the only thing that we did.

Under one law, the state is conducting a review of all government forms to determine whether they need a gender field and, if so, whether to add a third, nonbinary option. Another law makes it easier for transgender people who transition after getting married to get new marriage certificates issued.

In Minnesota, lawmakers and advocates are looking into ways to plan for people moving into the state. Quade said the Legislature may consider appropriating funding for people who relocate there.

Hannah Edwards, executive director of the support group Transforming Families Minnesota, said advocacy organizations are teaming up to start collecting data to get a better sense of how many families are moving to the state. The goal is to gather enough information to show policymakers there is a need for more resources.

Transforming Families and other Minnesota-based groups have received emails from out-of-state families interested in the state's efforts to serve as a safe haven. Out-of-state families have also started to join their Facebook groups and participate in their virtual peer support groups. Edwards said her team hopes to open more offices closer to its borders with states that are restricting transgender rights.

It's going to become increasingly important to not only support with the resources," she said, "but also support those parents who are looking for connection when their state is hostile."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A man accused of shooting a Duquesne University student during an attempted robbery in Downtown Pittsburgh was taken into custody Friday.

Pittsburgh Police FAU, U.S. Marshals Western PA Fugitive Task Force and Penn Hills police arrested Evan Gaither, 37, in Penn Hills.

According to a police report, the unnamed student was walking home from a birthday party around 4 a.m. on Sunday, June 25, when he was approached by Gaither.

ARREST:



Pittsburgh Police FAU, U.S. Marshals Western PA Fugitive Task Force, and Penn Hills PD took Evan Gaither into custody without incident in Penn Hills.



He is being held in the ACJ. https://t.co/WxVsMALBe0  Pittsburgh Police (@PghPolice) August 11, 2023

Previous coverage: Man facing charges for allegedly shooting Duquesne student during attempted robbery downtown

Officers say the student was approached by a man in the Montour Way alley, in the area of William Penn Place and 6th Avenue, near the Omni William Penn Hotel and Mellon Square Park.

Police paperwork states that the man offered to sell him drugs, which he declined.

Investigators say Gaither then pointed a gun at the student, saying, Give me what you got.

When the student refused, police say Gaither shot him in the hip.

The victim was able to run for help and was eventually taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Police used video surveillance to identify Gaither.

Gaither is facing multiple charges including aggravated assault and robbery. He is currently in the Allegheny County Jail.

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A man accused of attacking a Filipino American family in North Hollywood last year is now on track for release after agreeing to a plea deal, according to a report.

Background: Nicholas Weber is currently behind bars over the incident that occurred at a McDonalds drive-thru on Victory Boulevard on May 13, 2022. After rear-ending the familys vehicle, an altercation ensued in which Weber allegedly used anti-Asian slurs, made death threats in a mock Asian accent and assaulted family members, resulting in injuries.

Weber was arrested on June 16, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to battery charges with hate crime enhancements in July of the same year. Later, those enhancements were dropped.

Plea deal reached: Earlier this month, Weber pleaded no contest to two counts of felony assault and one count of driving under the influence. He is expected to be sentenced to 830 days in county jail, including time served.

More from NextShark: Rats blamed for eating through 1.3 million joints' worth of marijuana in India

So far, Weber has spent more than a year in custody, which puts him on track for release later this month, as per ABS-CBN News. As part of the plea deal, he will also be placed on two years of probation and required to attend anti-bias and alcohol treatment.

Victims reaction: The case has spurred protests demanding justice for the family, whose members believe it was an anti-Asian hate crime. They said they were presented with unsatisfactory options for the plea deal and that they chose to accept the most logical one.

It was not enough to account for the damages that have been done to my family, PJ Roque told ABS-CBN News. With the whole process, we also faced a lot of difficulties with bureaucracy, slowness and the limitations of the whole system itself.

More from NextShark: Asian Orgs Demand NY Chinatown Stabber Be Charged With Hate Crime After Previous Asian Attack

Weber is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18.

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Alibabas shares plunge $25 billion after Chinese authorities arrest man with the surname Ma

British man who paid $21 for Filipino children to be sexually abused sentenced to 3 years in prison
Thomas Lipscomb says he recently found a college diploma inside a Goodwill store. Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock

Thomas Lipscomb recently found a diploma tucked inside a book at Goodwill.

He filmed his experience looking for its owner and shared a montage of clips on TikTok.

As Lipscomb told Insider, the graduate was "very surprised and appreciative" when it was found.

What would you do if you found a college diploma tucked away at the thrift store?

When shopper Thomas Lipscomb recently found himself in that situation, he wondered the same thing.

The 26-year-old told Insider that he had been shopping at a California Goodwill in search of items he collects  tiki mugs and books  and things to resell, a hustle he's taken on since losing his job in May.

But while there, he found something unexpected: a college diploma from California State University tucked inside a vintage "Star Wars" book. According to the document's thin, black script, the degree belonged to a man named Jacob Calabrese.

"I originally got the book and diploma because I thought it would be funny to have it," Lipscomb told Insider. "But after a couple of hours, I decided it really needed to go back to its original owner."

So he began a search for Calabrese, sorting through social-media profiles of people with the same name and spending a couple of days on the endeavor.

Luckily, Lipscomb said he eventually found the right person on LinkedIn and sent him a message.

He also filmed the entire experience and shared a montage of the clips on TikTok with Calabrese's permission, he said. His video, which he posted on Wednesday, has been viewed more than 1.6 million times so far.

In his video, Lipscomb shared that Calabrese offered to cover the cost of mailing the diploma back to him.

So as a joke, Lipscomb said, he requested $69 from the owner on Venmo  not expecting him to actually send the money.

But when he did, Lipscomb said he knew he needed to throw in extra items to make his package worth it.

He sent Calabrese his diploma, the book it was found in, a bundle of "Star Wars" merchandise including vintage items, and a birthday card complete with a Chili's gift card.

"I wasn't sure if he had a Chili's near him, but I hope he's able to find one," Lipscomb said.

As seen in the video, Calabrese received the package approximately three days later, and Lipscomb said they are now "best friends."

While Calabrese was "very surprised and appreciative" of the situation, the TikToker said, Lipscomb hopes viewers of his viral video can also get something meaningful out of it.

"We need to be nicer to each other," he said. "The past few years have been hard on all of us, so look to be of service to the person next to you and we'll be alright."

"And yes, I'll attempt to find more former owners of thrift-store finds, but maybe next time it'll be a billionaire," he added.

Read the original article on Insider
A man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison in connection to a multi-county bank robbery spree this week.

William Rivers, 65, was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Thursday. He plead guilty to three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of attempted robbery in June.

>> Firefighters deal with heavy flames battling house fire in Greene County

Rivers was arrested outside of a U.S. Bank in Miami Twp. in March 2021. A few days prior to his arrest, prosecutors say he started a crime spree by robbing a U.S. Bank in Fairborn where he entered the bank with a note demanding money and indicating that he had a gun.

The day after robbing the Fairborn bank, he did the same thing to the U.S. Bank branch in Beavercreek.

After the two robberies, police from Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, and Miami Twp. worked together to arrest Rivers before he attempted to rob U.S. Banks Miami Twp. branch.

>> City of Dayton announces support for vacant home rehabilitations

Rivers had been previously convicted of two counts of robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2011. He was released from prison in November 2020.

Rivers has a number of prior violent felony convictions, including robbery and burglary. He has been sentenced to prison on nine prior occasions. Due to the collaborative efforts from multiple police jurisdictions, a dangerous violent felon is off the streets and behind bars, Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes said.
The 75-year-old Utah man who died in a shootout with FBI agents Wednesday was a former active duty airman first class, the Air Force confirmed. FBI agents had tried to apprehend Craig Deleeuw Robertson for making threats against President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials, according to court documents.

An Air Force spokesman said Robertson had enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on Feb. 2, 1970 during the Vietnam War, as a metalworker helper  a role that no longer exists. He served four years or fewer, Air Force spokesperson Michael T. Dickerson said, adding that hed been assigned to Chanute Air Force Base, which closed in 1993.

In his civilian life, Robertson worked as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and turning to woodwork, according to his LinkedIn account.

The FBI tried to arrest Roberston at his home in Provo, Utah, after the former airman made threats to President Joe Biden in Robertsons Truth Social and Facebook accounts, according to the AP. A shootout ensued and Robertson was killed at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, in Provo, Utah, according to a statement from the FBIs Salt Lake City field office to Military Times.

The confrontation came just hours before Biden landed in the state to mark the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act, which dramatically expand benefits for veterans facing toxic exposure injuries.

Robertson had threatened FBI agents in social media postings back in March, when they tried to approach his Provo home to question him about threats against other federal officials, according to the Justice Department filing: To my friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots: I know youre reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to violent eradication.

Robertsons accounts showed videos of the former airman wearing camouflage netting like a ghillie suit, and holding a M24 sniper weapons system rifle, according to the Truth Social account referenced in the court documents.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.
Staff members carry breakfast at a temporary shelter in Shidai middle school in Wuchang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Wuchang City has been severely affected by rain-triggered floods. [Photo/Xinhua]

Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Thursday issued two red alerts for rainstorms, the highest level in the country's warning system, as Typhoon Khanun moves northward into the province.

The provincial meteorological center issued the first red alert at 3:55 p.m., saying a station in Tangyuan County has recorded 94.9 mm of rainfall within three hours, with the rainstorms set to continue. The precipitation in the next three hours may exceed 100 mm in some townships in the county.

The second red alert was issued at 7:40 p.m., as Boli County saw rainfall of up to 92.7 mm within three hours. In the next three hours, the precipitation may exceed 100 mm in some townships in the counties of Boli and Baoqing, the center said.

Due to Typhoon Khanun, many areas in the cities of Hegang, Jiamusi, Shuangyashan, Jixi and Mudanjiang will see rainfall of 40 mm to 80 mm from Thursday evening to Friday evening, with some areas in Jixi and Mudanjiang recording up to 110 mm, according to the weather forecast.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
WAILUKU, Hawaii  Of all that Kimo Kirkman lost in one of the devastating fires in the island of Maui, he said surrendering his fathers ashes was the worst.

I wanted to hold on to it forever, he said, his voice quivering with emotion as he recalled his father Charles Francis Kirkman. Now hes just in the ground with all the other ashes. And that was probably the toughest.

That was my only prized possession, Kirkman added. That was it. You know, all the other stuff was, that didnt mean anything.

Steffani and Kimo Kirkman (NBC News)

Kirkman and his wife, Steffani, were not in Lahaina when the fire, fueled by high winds, swept through the town located in the west of the island Tuesday.

Drone footage taken of the area two days later showed burned out buildings, rows of soot-covered homes and cars, and almost complete devastation of the town, which was home to 13,000 people.

Although they lost their home, Steffani Kirkman said, they were beyond grateful that the younger of their two daughters, who are 22 and 20, got out alive. They said their older daughter moved to South Carolina just a week ago.

Her husband said their younger daughter was on the highway, watching everything burn, and we said, Get out of there, turn around, get out of there.

His wife added that their daughter is a a surfer and can tread water, so they advised her to get close so she could jump into the ocean as a last resort.

People did and that was their last option, and they still did not make it, Kirkman said.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that several people had been rescued after they jumped into the Pacific Ocean to escape the blaze.

While their daughter was staying with a family friend, Kirkman said, they were fearful that the family dogs had perished in the blaze.

He said he was using devices to track the animals, but on Tuesday afternoon their movements stopped. Thats when the fire was raging and going through town, he said.

Kimo Kirkman with his father, Charles Francis Kirkman. (Courtesy Kimo Kirkman)

The couple said they were praying that the animals died peacefully from smoke inhalation.

As the human death toll rose to 55, Maui County said in a statement that the Lahaina fire was 80% contained, as firefighters secured the perimeter of the wildland areas that burned. The Pulehu fire, about 20 miles east of Lahaina, was 70% contained, the statement added.

Steffani Kirkman said the front street of Lahaina was all wooden structures and we havent had rain, since like, May, so everything was dry.

The couple said that they had lived on the island for 20 years but that they were planning to move back to the mainland next month, so all their things were packed and waiting for a shipping container.

Three weeks too late, Steffani Kirkman said, adding that there were people who lost so much more.

Kirkman said they moved to Lahaina when their daughters were born, so we could raise them in a small town.

Its devastating for them, too, because they lost everything, his wife added. Their hometown is gone.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A 62-year-old metro Atlanta father is dead after his children say a minor traffic accident led to a tasing by Atlanta police.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the officers use of force.

Atlanta police were called to the intersection of Cunningham Place and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard around 11:20 p.m. to investigate a traffic accident.

Atlanta police determined that the at-fault driver was 62-year-old Johnny Hollman and attempted to issue a traffic ticket.

According to police, Hollman became agitated and uncooperative.

The officer attempted to take the driver into custody, but he resisted and a struggle ensued, police said. After several minutes of struggling with the male, the officer utilized his taser and, with the help of a witness, placed the driver into handcuffs.

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After the officer took Hollman into custody, police realized that he was unresponsive. Police called and ambulance, and Hollman was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln spoke to Hollmans children Friday, who said they disagree with the APDs account and that they were listening in the whole time.

Arnitra Hollman, his daughter, said her father called she and her brother shortly after the accident so they could listen to how the officer was speaking to him. The stayed on the phone with him for 17 minutes as they raced to the scene.

I heard my daddy asking them, begging them, Hollman said. He said, This black car just hit me. I never hung up.

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Arnitra Hollman said her brother started recording police when they got to the scene of the wreck.

My daddy was jus laying out there in the street with no life in him, she said.

I cant believe this man! Yall got my daddy on this ground! someone says in the recording.

Seventeen minutes, Hollman said. I was on the phone with him for 17 minutes from my house to where he was.

Hollman said it was the police officer who was aggressive, not her father.

The officer was like, What I say? What I say? He was real aggressive, Hollman said. And my daddy said, Youre going to do an old man like me like this?

Hollman said the family is hoping the GBI will shed some light on what led to his death.

All they had to do was listen, Hollman said. Why no one have respect for human life?

The Fulton County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy. The GBI is conducting an independent investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Atlanta Police has opened an internal investigation and placed the officer on administrative leave.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Conyers at (706) 388-5019. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
On Friday, the Office of the State Attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida announced that Evins Harris pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm and attempted second-degree murder with a firearm. He was sentenced to 30 years in Florida State Prison.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Action News Jax broke the story back in June 2021 when Shaina Armstrong was shot to death in a drive-by at the corner of Christopher Street and Herbert Street. Armstrong was a 30-year-old mother of two young daughters with a third child on the way.

Related Story: Its got to stop: Mother of 4-month-old dies in West Augustine shooting

In July 2021, Harris was arrested by St. Johns County deputies after what the sheriffs office said was an exhaustive investigation.

Related Story: Man arrested in St. Augustine shooting that left pregnant mother dead, according to SJSO

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According to the state attorney, Harris, who was 20 years old at the time, shot into Armstrongs car multiple times as she was leaving a West Augustine convenience store with her boyfriend.

Armstrong was shot in the back and crashed her vehicle. She was taken to Flagler Hospital where she died from her injuries.

Action News Jax spoke to Shawn Alexander, the aunt of Armstrongs boyfriend, in 2021 who said Harris was after her nephew.

The victims boyfriend told St. Johns County Detectives that someone had come to the couples house earlier that day and warned him to watch his back, Evins was going to get him, the state attorney said in todays announcement. GPS location data from Harris phone also put him at the scene at the time of the shooting.

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This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office. Assistant State Attorney Mark Johnson successfully prosecuted the case for the state.

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A Stockton Police officer stands watch at Tee's Car Care hers a man was reportedly shot to death in the 500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Stockton.

A man is dead and Stockton police are now investigating a daylight shooting that occurred just blocks away from Edison High School.

It all started just after 10:23 a.m. Thursday when officers rushed to the 500 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard after a 911 caller reported that a man was shot. When officers arrived, they found a man dead inside of Tee's Auto Care, police spokesman Omer Edhah said.

Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators were called to the auto repair shop to collect evidence and take photos. Law enforcement officials focused on a classic car, where an evidence marker was placed. It's unclear how the car is related to the shooting.

Edison High School, which is just 0.2 miles away from Tees Auto Care, was not placed on lockdown, according to Stockton Unified School District spokeswoman Melinda Meza. Police reached out to the school and told staff the scene was contained at 10:30 a.m, Edhah said.

Police didn't give a description of the shooter or whether they were tracking any leads.

The victim's name hasn't been released. Police will notify the man's family first.

Those who have information about the shooting are urged to call the Stockton Police Department at (209) 937-8377 or submit an anonymous tip to Stockton Crime Stoppers online at stocktoncrimestoppers.org.

A Stockton Police officer stands watch at Tee's Car Care hers a man was reportedly shot to death in the 500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Stockton.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Man slain in daylight shooting near Edison High School in Stockton
Children will be evacuated in the Kharkiv Oblast

The mandatory evacuation of children from front-line settlements has been announced in Kharkiv Oblasts Kupyansk District, regional governor Oleh Synegubov said on Ukrainian national television on Aug. 11.

Were announcing the mandatory evacuation of children from the Kupyansk area, he said.

Read also: Reintegration Ministry announces mandatory evacuation of children from nine settlements in Donetsk Oblast

Well, as for the town of Kupyansk itself, were also considering the possibility of a decision on forced, i.e. mandatory, evacuation of children.

About 523 children currently live in Kupyansk, Synegubov noted.

Some 33 civilians have already been evacuated from several settlements in the Kupyansk area in two days as part of the evacuation of the civilian population.

Read also: Russia continues attack on Kupyansk, city council building bombed

However, some locals refuse to leave for various reasons, despite the daily shelling, the governor added.

The mandatory evacuation of the civilian population was announced in the Kupyansk District of Kharkiv Oblast on Aug. 9.

The Russians had made attempts to infiltrate the Kupyansk area, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces had successfully thwarted their intentions, said Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the East Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Russian military has chosen Kupyansk as the focal point for its offensive operations, Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 9.

The enemy assembled a strike force comprised of eight assault units codenamed Storm-Z, leading to intense battles, with positions changing hands multiple times, said Syrskyi.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
After the school year ended, Christine Olivo pulled her kids ages 5 and 7 from their Christian school and enrolled them at Driftwood Elementary, a Broward County public school in Hollywood.

Were big on faith so we first put them in Christian school, but this year we said, OK I think we got the faith covered at home. Lets take a leap of faith with a public school, said Olivo, 39.

But then she saw how the Florida Board of Education adopted new standards last month for teaching Black history in Florida public schools, and she immediately changed her mind.

I said, Hell no!, she said. My kids are half-Haitian and half-Puerto Rican, so they already struggle with who they are. I dont want them to get the wrong information.

OPINION: DeSantis administration, so full of bravado, wont look Black Miami parents in the eye

Olivo, who will now home-school her two children, attended a town hall Thursday evening at Antioch Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in Miami Gardens, to discuss the state boards move. She was among a few hundred who attended.

People gather at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church during an education town hall regarding the states newly adopted curriculum standards for teaching Black history in Floridas public schools, Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

Among those who participated in the panel discussion: Florida state senators Shevrin Jones and Rosalind Osgood, both Democrats; Miami-Dade School Board member Steve Gallon III; State Rep. Felicia Robinson, a Democrat who represents Northwest Miami-Dade and Southwest Broward; Fedrick Ingram, the secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers; and Karla Hernandez-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade.

Notably missing on the panel was Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, whom Jones said had confirmed he would attend but then pulled out Wednesday night. Diaz posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that he needed to visit schools ahead of the new school year.

READ MORE: Florida education commissioner pulls out of Black history town hall in Miami Gardens

Ingram called him out immediately.

First, let me address the elephant in the room, he said, Manny Diaz is a coward.

Ron DeSantis knew that this was going on. Manny Diaz knew that this was going on, and they both know how important this is for the Black community. They know they shouldve been here tonight to face you.

The crowd burst into applause and cheers.

Mildred Moore, center, holds a copy of Amanda Gormans poem, The Hill We Climb during a town hall regarding the states newly adopted curriculum standards on Black history at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes removed the poem from its elementary school library shelves after a parent complained about it.

What do the new Black history standards say?

The state Board of Education approved the new social studies standards in late July. Teachers rely on those guidelines to design and guide social studies lessons from kindergarten to high school.

Gallon warned the audience to not flush out all of the standards, as some parts work, but to realize other parts are inaccurate.

READ MORE: Harris rejects DeSantis offer to discuss Black history education during Florida visit

Among the controversial changes:

 As part of the middle school curriculum, a standard that reads: Instruction includes how slaves developed skills, which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit. Critics say that attempts to paint slavery, a brutal act of oppression, in a positive light.

 As part of the high school curriculum, a standard that reads: Instruction includes acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans but is not limited to 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, 1919 Washington, D.C. Race Riot, 1920 Ocoee Massacre, 1921 Tulsa Massacre and the 1923 Rosewood Massacre. Up until now teachers have taught that those massacres and riots mostly involved white mobs against African Americans, so critics of the new standards question the by African Americans part of it.

 That the 216-page document that outlines the new standards only mentions lynchings twice.

 That the document encourages the comparison between slavery in the United States and slavery in other parts of the world. Critics say American slavery was the only system of slavery in the world in which the people who were enslaved were defined as property that could be bought and sold, making it uniquely brutal.

Solutions offered over Black history standards

The town hall Thursday was initially designed for the Black community to speak to Diaz, but because he didnt show up, they instead pivoted to brainstorm solutions.

An audience member suggested creating a ballot initiative to edit the social studies guidelines, while another questioned whether they should protest at Diazs home in Miami Lakes. Diaz had been a teacher and assistant principal at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High before pivoting to politics.

Virtually everyone urged others to vote.

Jones vowed to create a group to study the standards and send their own feedback to the Department of Education. He asked the audience to sign up for the task force..

FROM LATE JULY: Town hall to discuss Floridas new Black history standards coming to Miami Gardens

Gallon told audience members to teach their own children at home about the horrors of slavery. He said he hoped the states move would spark action.

My prayer is this becomes a catalyst for a movement, he said.

Osgood pushed the audience to post about Black history on social media, and advised whites and people of other races to explain the problem to people who look like them.

FROM LATE JULY: Teachers enraged that Floridas new Black history standards say slaves could benefit

Both Gallon and Osgood encouraged people to attend School Board meetings to voice their discontent.

Hernandez-Mats told parents specifically to walk up to their childrens teachers on the first day of class and ask them to teach Black history accurately.

Thank them and let them know how you feel, she said. Because some of them are scared. They dont know what they can and cant say.

South Dade resident Vern Alexander, 53, speaks during a town hall regarding the states newly adopted curriculum standards on Black history at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.
Salt Lake Police investigate a scene in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Baker has organized a fundraiser to provide rural communities with better medical equipment that will help them help others. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Ron Baker flatlined after a heart attack. Minutes later, volunteer emergency medical technicians from a remote area in Millard County revived him.

Now, he's created a fundraiser to provide clinicians in remote areas with better medical equipment.

On June 19, the Bothell, Washington, native was vacationing in a remote area in Millard County to participate in a fossil-digging activity with his wife, Fay Lim Baker. After four hours of intense digging, Baker got back in his truck to start driving.

That was when he started feeling intense pain in his chest  so intense, he said, that he had to have his wife drive.

However, the area was remote enough that he didn't have the service to call 911. Eventually, Baker said he was able to get ahold of emergency services and have a sheriff escort their truck until an ambulance arrived.

After his wife pulled over, Baker was guided into the ambulance  where he lost consciousness a few minutes later, he said.

Baker was told that he flatlined and had to receive two different electric shocks to get his heart restarted. After he was stabilized at Delta Community Hospital, he said he was told he had to be flown to a hospital in Provo.

Eight hours later, he awoke at Utah Valley Hospital.

"Everybody that came in  from the doctors, the nurses, you name it  they all said, 'You are one lucky son of a gun,'" Baker said.

The northwesterner said he gets emotional whenever he thought about the volunteers who saved his life, especially the emergency medical technicians who worked in Millard County.

"These people are flipping amazing at what they do  and they're volunteers, and that's what really tugs at my heart, so to speak. Sorry about the pun," Baker chuckled. "And I told them, 'We got to do something for these folks.'"

Because the Millard area is so remote, Baker said, survival rates might be lower, especially for victims or patients who can't get cell service or medical attention right away.

"When we go out to the desert, like where he was where it started, we're at least, I don't know, like sometimes we're an hour, an hour and 20 minutes away. And if you only have two people doing CPR for over that amount of time, they're exhausted and they're a depleted source," said Cherish Works, a volunteer ambulance driver in Millard County. "But if we have this machine that could be doing the accurate compressions constantly, it frees us up to do the airways and push meds."

To help the county's volunteer medical service, Baker started a GoFundMe* page on Aug. 7, to raise money for a CPR machine  a device that would mechanically pump patients' hearts during ambulance rides and other critical moments when it may be difficult for EMTs to physically perform CPR.

Already, the GoFundMe* has raised nearly $3,000.

"A lot of the calls we go on are somebody having chest pains or trouble breathing, and a lot of those calls could be related to a heart attack. So it would serve our community, just  it helps just knowing we had it," Works said. "It would just it would take a lot of pressure off of us, the ones that are volunteering."

In an effort for Millard County's volunteer EMTs to receive more support, Works said she plans to run a fundraising event for the remote working volunteers. The event will take place on Aug. 23, where Utahns can participate in a silent auction, enjoy snacks from food trucks, listen to live music and make donations to the county's medical workers, she said.

Baker also encouraged Utahns to get involved in helping rural communities raise money to support their local EMT programs  whether that be through raising awareness of traveling in remote desert areas or participating in funding efforts.

"These folks, they work for free. They're volunteers," Baker said. "Maybe they're not getting the funding for all the fancy equipment that you may see in a big city, and so anything that we can do to benefit them, if it benefits one person  that's a big win."

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
A Marine machine gunner veteran who went to Ukraine in February as a volunteer was killed in July, becoming at least the sixth Marine veteran to die in the war with Russia.

Lance Lawrence was killed July 29 in what a State Department spokesperson told Marine Corps Times was a drone attack.

Lawrence served in the Marine Corps from August 2013 to November 2016, as a machine gunner, and left as a private first class, according to Marine spokeswoman Yvonne Carlock. He deployed from January 2015 to July 205 to the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

His awards included the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, according to Carlock.

Since it is coming out in public. It's time to dispell some myths.

Lance Lawrence was killed during fighting recently on our last operation. He was providing cover fire under heavy enemy fire for fellow Chosen Company soldiers when he was wounded.

Lance was our brother, pic.twitter.com/dicfyvFLmB  Ryan O'Leary (@IhateTrenches) August 2, 2023

He told his comrades in Ukraine that he had worked as a contractor after leaving the Corps but before coming to Ukraine in February, Military.com reported.

Ryan OLeary, the commander of Lawrences company of foreign volunteer fighters, said in an Aug. 2 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, He was not a mercenary out for blood or excited for combat. He came because he thought what was happening in Ukraine by Russia was wrong.

Two weeks before his death, Lawrence had been shot in the arm, OLeary told Task & Purpose, but he was determined to stay in the fight.

He was known for his unwavering determination, infectious smile and compassionate nature, Lawrences family said in a statement quoted in Task & Purpose. He was a down to earth person who gave a helping hand to anyone who needed it. He was an extremely intelligent individual.

The statement added that Lawrence absolutely loved the Ukrainian people.

The other Marine veterans known to have died in the war in Ukraine are former Cpl. Ian Frank Tortorici, 32; former Sgt. Cooper Harris Andrews, 26, killed in April; former Cpl. Pete Reed, 33, killed in February; and retired Capt. Grady Kurpasi, 50, and Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, each killed in April 2022.
Putin has shot himself in the foot. His recent expropriations of Western companies will actually help the West by damaging the Russian economy.

Expropriating the Russian assets of French company Danone and Danish company Carlsberg's Baltika subsidiary is reprehensible, but Putin is unwittingly actually harming Russia. He has bitten the hand that feeds him.

The more links that are cut between Russia and the West, the more the Russian economy will suffer. Russia will find it more difficult to finance its aggression, and Russian people will become more disillusioned with the Russian regime as they become poorer.

It doesnt matter whether the Russian economy is disconnected by Western government sanctions, Western companies ethical voluntary exits, or by Putin expropriating the assets of unethical companies. They all lead to Russia becoming disconnected from the global economy.

Read also: Ukraine, allies must do more to hit Russias economy, says Moral Rating Agency head

Desert island economy

Russia should have been unplugged economically when it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Western governments failed to implement widespread sanctions, and the companies that have been embarrassed out of Russia are helping to make up for this failure.

Anything Putin does to disconnect Russia from Western investment and markets actually helps us finish the job we have failed to do fully ourselves.

In addition to actual expropriations, Western companies will assess the risk of being expropriated on top of the embarrassment of being seen to profit from Russia. Russia is steadily moving in the direction of becoming a desert island economy.

If we can make Russia a desert island economy, it will be destroyed financially because Russia is more dependent on exports than any other major nation as a percentage of its GNP, producing vastly more oil, gas, and minerals than its needs. This dependence on the West is Russias Achilles heel. If unplugged, it will not be able to survive as a stand-alone economy.

Read also: Risk of big disruptions high in grain markets, says Black Sea expert

Why economic separation is good

The West should not pull its punches but do everything to weaken the Russian economy. We are already fighting a proxy war with Russia militarily and are fighting an open war for values. By any measure, Putin is an enemy of every democratic nation and person, and its market must be treated like an enemy economy.

The West should encourage the nascent trend toward two economic blocs in the world.

Russia will become more and more dependent on China, which is a much less rich market than OECD nations. If China supports Russia with excess trade to fill the gap, it will be doing something that hasnt been economically optimal to date, just as Eastern bloc nations were forced to trade with each other before the break-up of the USSR.

The pain of this inferior economic opportunity will be suffered either by Russia taking the hit on pricing or by China having to subsidize Russia, which will only serve to weaken one or both of these undemocratic nations.

Read also: Kenneth Rogoff: Europe must lead Ukraines reconstruction

The end game

Unplugging Russia is the first step to separate the world into two economic blocs: a Democratic Market and an Undemocratic Market. Autocratic and totalitarian countries like Russia and China will cooperate with each other due to a lack of alternatives and become poorer and less powerful together.

The Democratic Market will be many times larger and will make democratic nations much richer than countries run by dictators. This would eventually consist of free trade between the U.S., EU, U.K., India, and every democratic country, which would impose barriers to the totalitarian and autocratic world.

We need to shift the wealth gap from dividing people and from dividing developed and developing economies, and intentionally apply it to democratic and undemocratic nations.

If an undemocratic nation wants to escape economic decline, it will need to become democratic. Its people will be motivated to remove their dictator so they can be welcomed into the Democratic Market. This will be a free market in which economic survival is the reward for democratic behavior and economic failure is the consequence of undemocratic or autocratic behavior.

The way we play our economic cards will determine whether we give democracy a long-term chance on the planet or we continue to finance totalitarianism to the point where it overpowers democracy in the end.

Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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The U.S. Marshals captured a fugitive Thursday wanted in the killing of an Asheville teen in 2020.

Dionate Whitson was arrested in Kinston, North Carolina, the police department posted on its Facebook page.

Whitson is accused of killing Teylyn McAlphin.

READ MORE: Federal investigators says fugitive wanted for murder could be in Charlotte

The fugitive was taken into custody without incident.

However, Kinston police said they encountered Whitson five days before his arrest. They were investigating suspicious activity when they encountered Whitson, who allegedly ran from them and tossed a gun.

Kinston police officers eventually arrested him during a traffic stop on Highway 70.

Whitson was also wanted on a charge of having a stolen gun.

He is being held in the Lenoir County Detention Center without bond.

In October 2022, the U.S. Marshals said that Whitson had ties to Charlotte, Greenville, North Carolina, and Atlanta, in addition to Asheville.

VIDEO: Federal investigators says fugitive wanted for murder could be in Charlotte
Passengers check in via the facial recognition system at the Shijiazhuang railway station in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 7, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

Senior Chinese cybersecurity police officers said on Thursday that strengthened efforts are being made to combat sources of personal information infringement involving the use of the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Sun Jinfeng, political commissar of the Ministry of Public Security's Bureau of Network Security Protection, said the number of cases involving the infringement of citizens' personal information has significantly increased over the past two years.

Since 2020, public security organs nationwide have solved 36,000 such cases and detained 64,000 suspects. Furthermore, the ministry has seized more than 30 million SIM cards used for illegal purposes and frozen over 300 million online platform accounts.

Sun also noted that the cases of personal information infringement have occurred across an increasingly diverse range of sectors, from healthcare, education and real estate to logistics and e-commerce.

Meanwhile, a series of abhorrent illicit operations, such as telecom fraud, harassing calls and online paid posting, have emerged, he said.

"Crimes related to personal information infringement have become a 'breeding ground' for illicit industries, severely jeopardizing citizens' personal rights and property safety, as well as disrupting the country's normal economic and social order," he said.

Criminals often obtain personal information through various means, including fraud, theft, illegal collection and reselling, according to Huang Xiaosu, technology director of the ministry's Bureau of Network Security Protection.

One prominent emerging example of infringement involves manipulating existing personal data by combining various data sources to generate new information. An example of this type of violation, as emphasized by Huang, is using AI technology to create dynamic facial recognition data from preexisting images.

Li Tong, deputy head of the Bureau of Network Security Protection, emphasized that crimes related to facial recognition and verification are linked to the misuse of technologies such as facial recognition and artificial intelligence.

Criminals primarily exploit materials such as photos, especially identity card photos, and combine people's names and ID numbers to deceive facial recognition verification systems, Li added.

Collaborating with key State laboratories, public security organs have conducted security assessments using facial recognition and anti-spoofing technology. The agencies have identified the risks and vulnerabilities of the facial recognition verification system in key applications, including instant messaging, online broadcasting, e-commerce platforms and financial transactions, and informed their operators to make upgrades, said Li.

According to the ministry, police have also solved 79 cases of AI face alteration and arrested 515 suspects.

In May, a man surnamed Feng in Shandong province fell victim to an AI face-swapping scam. A fraudster tricked him by impersonating a relative using the technology during a video call.

Convinced of the swindler's "authenticity", Hong transferred a total of 300,000 yuan ($41,600) to the designated account before realizing he had been scammed. Upon contacting the police, they were able to trace the transactions and apprehend three suspects in Guangdong. The case is still under investigation and legal proceedings are ongoing.

Another typical example of personal information infringement involves insiders from certain industries illegally disclosing personal information.

About 2,300 such "insiders" in industries such as telecommunications, hospitals, insurance companies, real estate, property management and express delivery have been arrested since 2020, according to the ministry.

For example, police in Shandong's Jinan received reports of victims getting nuisance calls from a photo studio promoting its children-related photography business.

The studio owner initially obtained people's personal information from employees of local companies offering domestic services, maternal and baby products, as well as health and medical institutions. Subsequently, the studio hired individuals to make harassing marketing calls.

The owner sold the illegally obtained personal information again to maternity centers, insurance companies and other institutions for profit. In April, police arrested eight suspects and seized around 2 million yuan in funds. The case is under further investigation.

Sun, the political commissar, emphasized the importance of all sectors of society working together to fight illegal activities involving personal information infringement. The public should increase their awareness of personal information protection and deny criminals any opportunities.

Relevant companies should enhance their sense of responsibility, implement security measures and regulate the collection and use of such information.

In collaboration with courts, procuratorates, cyberspace administration, and industry and information departments, public security organs have cracked down on crimes related to illegal information acquisition and reselling, and related downstream criminal activities, Sun added.
An attempted carjacking ended with a 17-year-old shot and killed, police in Mississippi told news outlets.

It happened at about 2 a.m. Friday, Aug. 11, when a masked trio tried robbing a man and his son as they arrived at their home in Jackson, WLBT reported, citing the citys police department.

The suspects, at least two of whom were teenagers, demanded money and the car keys, according to the station.

Thats when the victims wife came out of the home and opened fire, hitting one of the accused robbers, WAPT reported.

That suspect, the 17-year-old, died at the scene, police told the station.

The two others returned fire as they ran away, according to WJTV. Authorities found and arrested a second suspect, 16, sometime later.

The third suspect remains on the run, police told WLBT.

Authorities didnt release additional information.

McClatchy News reached out to Jackson Police on Friday and was awaiting a response.

Truck driver held hostage for hours and then gunfire erupts, Ohio cops say. Two dead

Man tracks down stolen truck and calls 911, then he kills suspect in shootout, cops say

74-year-old hit while trying to stop person from stealing car with dog inside, cops say
A Massachusetts couple filed a complaint this week against the states health secretary and multiple officials in the Department of Children and Families after their application to become foster parents was denied over their stance on LGBTQ people.

Michael and Catherine Kitty Burke began the monthslong application process with the DCF to foster or adopt a child in January 2022, according to the complaint. The process involved screenings to gauge the couples views on raising children from historically marginalized groups, including LGBTQ children.

A social workers report attached to the complaint said the couple was asked how they would feel if a child in their care identified as LGBTQ or struggled with their gender identity. Kitty Burke responded by saying lets take the T out of it and called gender-affirming care chemical castration, according to the report. She also said, Im going to love you the same, but that the child would need to live a chaste life. Both Kitty and Michael Burke expressed hesitation around using a transgender or nonbinary persons preferred pronouns, the social workers report noted.

Michael Burke told the social worker hed been to gay weddings and would likely attend his childs wedding if they were LGBTQ, according to the report, and the couple said they wouldnt kick a child out of their home for being LGBTQ or subject them to conversion therapy.

Following the interview, the social worker issued an approval with conditions, specifically around religion and LGBTQIA++ related issues. Their application was later denied by the departments Licensing Review Team, the complaint states.

An official at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families said the department does not comment on pending litigation and said neither DCF nor the states Office of Health and Human Services had been served. The couple cites five violations of their First Amendment rights.

One of the Burkes attorneys, Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket Law, a nonprofit legal group focused on religious liberty, told NBC News in a statement that the couple was shocked when their application was denied.

The Burkes were devastated to learn that they were denied a license to foster or adopt any child in the Massachusetts child welfare system. Theyre asking the court to get rid of that discriminatory denial so that they will not be barred from fostering or adopting children in the future, in Massachusetts or elsewhere, Windham said.

Becket previously represented Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch in Fulton v. Philadelphia, a 2021 Supreme Court case that unanimously ruled in favor of a Catholic adoption agencys right to refuse to place children with LGBTQ couples.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
As search-and-rescue efforts continued on Maui after a fast-moving wildfire tore through the island and killed dozens of people, residents steeled themselves to return to the historic town of Lahaina after it was left in smoldering ruins.

Maui County said those with proof of residency or hotel reservations could return to Lahaina beginning at noon Friday. A curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. was in place, and barriers restricting access to certain areas  including the historic center  were in place because of hazardous conditions.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told local television station KHON-2 that residents would face "destruction like theyve not ever seen in their lives."

"Everyone please brace themselves as they go back," Green said.

The fire's confirmed death toll rose to 67 as of Friday afternoon.

Green said the blaze is probably the states deadliest natural disaster in decades. The catastrophe spurred President Biden to declare a major disaster in Hawaii, opening the door to federal aid.

About 1,000 people are missing, according to federal sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the fires.

Read more: Chaos and terror: Failed communications left Maui residents trapped by fire. Scores died

The Lahaina fire, one of three that broke out Tuesday on Maui, was said to be 80% contained. Residents and tourists described harrowing efforts to escape the blaze, with some people rushing into the ocean for safety. Many did not know about the fire until they saw flames and smoke, raising questions about official alerts and warnings about the blaze.

Records indicate that neither the state nor the county activated sirens Tuesday, said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Weintraub described Hawaii's integrated outdoor siren system as the largest in the world, with about 400 sirens spread across the state. It is traditionally used in disasters and other threats, such as hurricanes or coastal hazards, to advise people to seek more information  not to call for evacuations or advise that people seek shelter  he said.

Three other public warning systems were used, Weintraub said: wireless emergency alerts to cellphones, broadcasts through radio and television stations and notifications that residents can sign up to receive through a local emergency alert system. But power outages and communication issues may have affected those alerts.

Much of the west side of Maui remained without internet, power and water Friday morning, although officials said some cellphone service was available.

Federal sources with knowledge of the fires but who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that a breakdown in emergency communications cost precious time, and a number of people in the historic town of Lahaina learned too late about the oncoming fire. Many of those killed were believed to have died in their vehicles, those sources said. The death toll is currently tied to the most urbanized areas, with some bodies recovered from the harbor, they said.

Read more: How a perfect storm of climate and weather led to catastrophic Maui fire

In an interview on the "Today" show Friday morning, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said he could not "comment on whether or not the sirens sounded." He called the fires "an impossible situation."

"I know that fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast," he said.

Bissen said the death toll so far reflects only those who were found outside buildings.

"We have not yet searched the interior of the buildings," he said, adding that authorities are awaiting search help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

State and local agencies were assisting with search-and-rescue efforts.

Progress against the Upcountry fire, which broke out in a rural area on the island, was still being assessed. A third blaze, the Pulehu fire, was at 70% containment, officials said. Firefighters were continuing their efforts to secure the perimeters and battle all the blazes.

A colossal banyan tree rises amid the devastation of Lahaina on Thursday. (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

Maybe these things happen a lot in California," said Maui resident Andrew Kayes, "but I've lived here 15 years and have never seen anything like this.

Kayes, 49, lives in Maui's Upcountry region, where one of the fires began. He watched from his backyard Tuesday night as the blaze grew into a swell of orange flames that glowed against the black sky.

It looked like a lava flow, he said.

The fires overtook and closed many roads, which became congested and stranded hundreds of people as they raced to the islands only major airport, Kahului, where tens of thousands of visitors have left on flights, officials said.

Thomas Leonard rests on an air mattress at an evacuation center in the community of Wailuku. His Lahaina apartment was destroyed. (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

Green estimated that as many as 1,700 buildings have been destroyed in the fires, hundreds of them in Lahaina. Even some of the vessels in Lahaina Harbor were burned.

Maui's famed Banyan Tree, a 150-year-old landmark with deep significance that is a tourist attraction on the island, was "smoldering at the base, but still standing," Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote on Twitter.

Banyan Tree in Lahaina smoldering at the base, but still standing. Just about the only thing left, other than the Lighthouse. pic.twitter.com/t0lGeOwY2H  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 10, 2023

Green had been traveling out of state but returned to Maui on Thursday to assess the damage. He said during a public briefing that he expected the cost of the recovery to be in the billions of dollars. Accuweather had a preliminary estimate of damage and economic loss at $8 billion to $10 billion.

Search-and-rescue teams, some equipped with cadaver dogs, from local and state agencies are assisting in the aftermath. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday deployed urban search-and-rescue personnel and other resources.

The search also unfolded online, where many turned to a spreadsheet on Google Drive to search for loved ones. By Thursday evening, the spreadsheet grew as new rows for the missing were added and loved ones marked dozens of family members as found. The link to the sheet repeatedly crashed because of high traffic.

Denise Youngblood Coleman, a Honokowai resident who has lived a few miles north of Lahaina for two decades, has been searching for names she recognizes on the Google spreadsheet. Coleman was in Los Angeles when the fires broke out, but said that based on satellite imagery, her home appears to be standing. She said she has not heard from two of her elderly neighbors, whom she described as her "ohana," or family.

"They're like my surrogate parents, and I don't know where they are and that worries me greatly," Coleman said. "Every person I know in Lahaina is homeless. There's nothing left. That's a huge thing to come to terms with."

Although the rest of the state remains open to visitors, officials have asked nonresidents to leave Maui and urged others to avoid nonessential trips to the island.

The sun shines through clouds over burned-out Lahaina. (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but a number of factors  including high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation  probably contributed, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for the Hawaii's Department of Defense.

Read more: Shocking before-and-after images show utter devastation of Maui wildfire

The weather service had issued a red flag warning ahead of the fires, indicating that warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds were expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger. But Hara said wind strength  forecast at 50 to 55 mph  far exceeded the predictions, reaching 85 mph.

Experts also said that climate change was increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather and that the changing landscape of unmanaged, nonnative grasslands from declining agriculture is a contributing factor to fire risks.

Entire blocks were razed by fire in the historic area of Maui. (Tiffany Kidder Winn / Associated Press)

Jayme Gomes, a 29-year-old Wrightwood, Calif., resident whose father was born on the island and lives in Lahaina, told The Times she didn't hear from her father until Thursday afternoon. His house had burned and he was separated from relatives during the evacuation, but he made it to the other side of the island and found a phone charger.

Its truly devastating, Gomes said. The whole town is gone. Its not just a tourist destination. Its home to many people.

Gomes' family is now staying with friends in Hawaii.

I know that many people in Hawaii are going to help each other, because that is what aloha is, she said. Thats how everybody is there.

Times staff writers Jeremy Childs and Jack Herrera contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Maui fires death toll rises

Maui fires will likely soon become the deadliest disaster since Hawaii became a state. Here's how to help. Plus, President Joe Biden asks Congress for more Ukraine aid, USA TODAY National Political Correspondent Phillip M. Bailey looks at whether age matters in politics, the Supreme Court has blocked Purdue Pharma's multi-billion dollar opioid settlement, and USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze explains the fight between parents and schools over LGBTQ+ books.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Friday, the 11th of August 2023. Today, the death count rises in Hawaii's devastating wildfires. Plus, Biden is requesting more aid for Ukraine, and how old is too old for politicians?



The death toll from catastrophic fires in Maui has risen to 53 as of yesterday afternoon. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said it may surpass 60 and become the deadliest disaster since Hawaii became a state in 1959. A number of coastal communities have been largely destroyed, including the historic town of Lahaina. Around a thousand people remain missing according to Maui County's police chief, and the governor also said at a press conference yesterday that more than 1,700 buildings have been destroyed. That damage is in the billions of dollars.

The worst of the blazes in Lahaina on the western part of the island was 80% contained as of yesterday. Locals are just beginning to grapple with the horror that flames have left behind. 66-year-old native Hawaiian Francine Hollinger said that losing Lahaina was like losing a family member. In just a few hours, fire tore through the town center, which traces its roots back to the 1700s and was on the National Register of Historic Places.

Meanwhile, evacuation efforts have been complicated by power blackouts and a loss of 911 service. Travelers to the island have been trying to flee, people like Rick Crew.

Rick Crew:

We were up on one of the higher levels. On one of the windows on our suite we could watch and see the fire as it was growing. At night it was just so bright from the flames and everything. When we came on the charter bus to come here, they took us right through Lahaina and we were able to see up close and firsthand the devastation and how everything we saw the day before was so lush and beautiful. It is just completely gone now. Everything is burned.

Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Hawaii. He urges those who want to find out if they're eligible for federal help to visit disasterassistance.gov. We also have a link in today's show notes for how you can help victims of the fire tragedies in Hawaii.



President Joe Biden is requesting more than $13 billion in emergency funding for military equipment and support for Ukraine, along with another 12 billion for disaster relief efforts. The requests come as part of a package that also includes money for border security and will likely set up a clash with conservatives in Congress. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans have already said they will not approve aid to Ukraine for the next fiscal year, except for what was negotiated during the debt ceiling crisis in June, the crisis that kept the country from defaulting. Those Republicans have said that any new government spending must be accompanied by matching budget cuts. Higher levels of Ukraine military assistance have been an increasingly difficult topic for the Biden administration. Many Americans views on military assistance have soured in recent months as a Ukrainian counter offensive has stalled. Biden is hoping to tie his request for supplemental funding to a potential short-term agreement to keep the government running. He's pledged to send aid to Ukraine for as long as it takes to win the war. In the Senate, military assistance continues to have strong bipartisan support. It's in the GOP-run House where Biden may run into stiffer opposition.



How old is too old for politicians? A number of aging high profile figures in the political sphere have some Americans wanting change. America's political leaders tend to be older than those from around the world. President Joe Biden is the ninth-oldest leader in the world and the US Senate is the seventh-oldest legislative body globally. How big of an issue is this for voters? I spoke with USA TODAY National Political Correspondent Phillip M. Bailey for more. Thanks for making the time, Philip.

Phillip M. Bailey:

Hey, man. How are you?

Taylor Wilson:

Good, thanks. Welcome back. Mitch McConnell stopped speaking during a press conference last month. Philip, can you refresh us on what exactly happened here?

Phillip M. Bailey:

Senator Mitch McConnell - who's 81 years old, first elected in 1984 - he's doing his usual thing in Washington where he's leading the Republican senate caucuses press conference that they have. In the middle of a sentence where he's talking, he stops. I'm talking about just cold freezes, we counted for about 28 seconds until he had to be escorted by colleagues away. It was a very, Taylor, startling moment. It was one - given the fact that he had previous issues with a concussion and a broken rib from a fall earlier in the year - once again, raised questions about his health. Then we learned in the course of that through his office that he had fallen two other times that had not previously been reported.

Taylor Wilson:

What other politicians have had age come up as a major issue?

Phillip M. Bailey:

The reason why this debate is so present in our minds this year is because Joe Biden is the oldest president ever elected. He is running for reelection. He is also in his 80s, so he is someone who is often dogged and questioned by opponents about his capacity, his ability. He obviously suffered from stuttering throughout his childhood and life and overcame that disability. Same thing with McConnell who was a polio survivor. A lot of these silent generation elected officials are now getting into their 80s and their 90s. Because it's at the top, the President of the United States is basically these very same issues. I think it's trickling down. Even for supporters, there is a conversation that's happening about how old is too old? It's a conversation that is very personal to a lot of voters, whether they're younger voters or older voters.

I think because we're seeing President Biden face these questions and he's the president - the most scrutinized, arguably the most covered human being in the world - we're seeing these issues come up more and more. It's also been very present with Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who's 90 years old, the oldest member of Congress. She was out for three months due to the shingles. She's come back since to her important seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that was holding up some of President Biden's judicial nominations because she wasn't there. We're seeing her go through some very serious and troubling incidents where she sometimes doesn't remember what votes she's taking. There was a report late last year about her not knowing who Vice President Kamala Harris even was, at least asking why was she up there for a tie-break vote in the Senate. Reports now about Senator Feinstein turning over power of attorney to her daughter.

This is all coming because in next year's election, Feinstein has said that she's not going to run for reelection. There are some progressive lawmakers who are saying she needs to go ahead and resign and we need to replace her now. Others are saying, no, she's being mistreated because of her age, mistreated because she's a woman. She can still serve. I think she's the far example, Taylor, that most people look to and say, that's a bit too much. That's the one that everyone across the board, at least who we talked to at USA TODAY, admitted is very, very troubling. Biden, McConnell, it turns out people have a different viewpoint, largely often depending on their own political perspective, and that's what we learned from a lot of voters we spoke to for this story.

Taylor Wilson:

Speaking with some of those voters, do they seem more concerned, more actively concerned about politicians' age now compared to years past?

Phillip M. Bailey:

Americans will say to me, age isn't the only factor here. It's age plus mental capacity. There are some people who are in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who are smart as a whip. We don't want to simply push those people out of public life simply because of their age. Some people have suggested there needs to be an age limit or a mental competency test.

When we get down to McConnell, though, what I found interesting was both here in Kentucky where he's been elected since 1984, the year I was born, that people have a different perspective on him. Those who look at McConnell as this indispensable leader who helps Kentucky punch above its political weight, they look at McConnell and say, "Look, I've seen him out and about. He still seems like he has all the mental capacity he had before. Yes, that situation with the 28 seconds of pausing was disturbing, but I have faith in him still." Other Kentucky voters, though, who I speak to - who are Republicans who come from maybe the more Liberty wing of the party, I shall say, who didn't like McConnell to begin with - say, "Look, this is the time for the old man to leave."

What's interesting is that those voters, Taylor, who are younger voters who are in their 20s and 30s, say these older politicians are saddling our generation with these generational crises, whether it's the debt, whether it's climate change. They are not keeping up with the concerns that we have. A lot of these younger voters across the spectrum look at these issues and say we're going to have to deal with this. We see the stories about the solvency of social security and these other things that our parents and grandparents maybe just took for granted.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY National Political Correspondent Phillip M. Bailey. Thanks for your insight here.

Phillip M. Bailey:

No problem, man. Thank you.



Taylor Wilson:

The Supreme Court yesterday temporarily blocked a settlement reached with Oxycotin maker, Purdue Pharma. That settlement required members of the Sackler family, who once controlled the company, to pay $6 billion, but also shielded them from future lawsuits over the nation's opioid crisis. The court's decision came in a response to a request from the Biden administration to put the settlement on hold after it was reached last year between Purdue and state and local governments. A U.S. government trustee, part of the Justice Department, argued that lower courts should not have shielded the Sacklers from liability. The administration told the Supreme Court that the family withdrew some $11 billion from Purdue before the company filed for bankruptcy. Purdue has been one of the highest profile companies in the opioid industry, and more than half a million American deaths have been linked to the opioid crisis over the past two decades.



Religious parents are clashing with public school officials over whether elementary school students should be allowed to opt out of reading books with LGBTQ+ characters. As USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze told me, it's the latest culture war battle being waged inside the classroom. Hey there, John.

John Fritze:

Hey.

Taylor Wilson:

Parents are clashing with schools over LGBTQ+ books. What's at issue in this Maryland lawsuit?

John Fritze:

This wealthy liberal suburb of Washington DC, Montgomery County, a very large county in Maryland, has used these books with LGBTQ+ characters for some time. What changed last year is that they no longer allowed parents to opt out. We're talking about elementary school kids here. One book called Pride Puppy, which is about a group of children who chase their dog through a pride parade. Another book is called A Prince at Night, which is a romance between two male characters. These are books that are dealing with LGBTQ+ themes and then have LGBTQ+ characters in them. What the parents in this case argue is like, "Look, we want to take our kids out of it." The fact that you're not letting us do it, they argue is a violation of their First Amendment rights, particularly dealing with the right to exercise religion.

Taylor Wilson:

John, how does this suit fit into the bigger picture with a wave of court battles nationwide over religious freedom and LGBTQ+ rights?

John Fritze:

There's a bunch of big picture here. One big picture is that there's this push on the right, in particular about parents having more control over what's happening in the classroom. That's something that we really saw pop up during the pandemic and has definitely taken on life since then. That's part of it. There's also this issue of LGBTQ+ rights vs. religious rights. And increasingly in federal courts, when these two things come into conflict, religion wins. We've seen that time after time at the Supreme Court and in the number of lower federal courts. This is the latest example of that. The lawyers are the same lawyers that have brought a number of these other suits really pushing this idea that for, in their view, religion has been treated as a second-class right, despite it being enshrined in the First Amendment. Looked at through that lens, it's hard not to take the case seriously because religion has been winning so much in federal court for so long.

Taylor Wilson:

John, when can we expect a ruling in this Maryland case and what's next for some of these fights around the country?

John Fritze:

In this particular case, there were arguments this week and the judge who is a Biden nominee said that she would rule by August 28th, which is when kids in this particular school district go back to school. It does not give either side much time to appeal. I suspect that it will be appealed. The judge in this case is just dealing with the preliminary issue, which is whether to stay or block this policy by the school until the litigation continues. Look, this fight is like years long, but I think we could see some action on what's going to happen in the meantime here very quickly, probably by the end of the summer.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, John Fritze covers the Supreme Court for USA TODAY. Thanks as always, John.

John Fritze:

Hey, thank you.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. We're produced by Shannon Rae Green and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Special thanks to Cherie Saunders and Mark Sovel. If you have any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I'm Taylor Wilson back tomorrow with another episode of 5 Things.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maui fire fatalities rise, parents v. LGBTQ+ books: 5 Things podcast
As the death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii climbs to 67, officials believe it could be the deadliest disaster in the states history.

On Friday morning, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said search and recovery efforts were underway for the approximately 1,000 people still unaccounted for.

So far, officials have only searched for people outside of buildings but were awaiting other support teams, including cadaver dogs, to search the interior of buildings.

Mr Green said that those unaccounted for are not presumed dead but that hundreds have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.

Heres the challenge: theres no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when were speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone, Mr Green said.

The wildfires continue to devastate Lahaina, with more than 1,700 buildings and billions of dollars in property destroyed.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said that the historic town has been totally wiped out.

Its all gone. None of its there. Its all burnt to the ground, Mr Bissen said.

Key points

Wildfires death toll climbs to 55 - as two more victims found

Hawaii governor says 1,000 people still missing

Death toll may rise as building interiors have yet to be searched.

What is the cause of the wildfires?

Satellite images show before and after photos of historic Lahaina

Death toll rises to 80 in Maui wildfires

10:04 , Tara Cobham

The death toll has risen to 80 as a result of the wildfires that decimated parts of the island of Maui this past week, officials in Hawaii said Friday.

The number of confirmed fatalities in the 9 p.m. announcement by the County of Maui increased from the previous figure of 67.

Gov. Josh Green had previously warned the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue. Authorities set a curfew from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Saturday.

"The recovery's going to be extraordinarily complicated, but we do want people to get back to their homes and just do what they can to assess safely, because it's pretty dangerous," Green told Hawaii News Now.

Cadaver-sniffing dogs were deployed to search for the dead, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said.

West Maui fire causes Friday night evacuation

08:30 , Tara Cobham

Police say a new fire burning on the Hawaii island of Maui has triggered the evacuation of a community to the northeast of the area that burned earlier this week.

The fire prompted the evacuation of people in Kaanapali in West Maui on Friday night, the Maui Police Department announced on social media. No details of the evacuation were immediately provided.

Authorities in Hawaii are working to evacuate people from Maui as firefighters work to contain wildfires and put out flare-ups.

The County of Maui said early Friday that 14,900 visitors left Maui by air Thursday.

Airlines added additional flights to accommodate visitors leaving the island. The county advised visitors that they can book flights to Honolulu and continue on another flight to their destination.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency called on residents and visitors to suspend unnecessary travel to the island to make space for first responders and volunteers heading there to help residents. Visitors on nonessential travel were being asked to leave the island, according to the Hawai*i Tourism Authority.

A man walks through wildfire wreckage in Lahaina, Hawaii (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Famous banyan tee in Lahaina is burned, but still standing

10:00 , Ariana Baio

Banyan Tree in Lahaina, smoldering at the base, but still standing. Just about the only thing left, other than the Lighthouse. pic.twitter.com/ExtuJHEt9F   (@AlertChannel) August 11, 2023

Newlyweds married in Hawaii detail heartbreaking escape from Maui wildfires

09:42 , Tara Cobham

A newlywed couple who were married in Hawaii have detailed their heartbreaking escape from Maui wildfires.

Cindy and Bob Curler hadnt envisioned spending their wedding night sharing a sofa in a garage, but thats what happened when they were unable to get back to their Lahaina hotel on Tuesday 8 August, as wildfires swallowed the town.

Their driver was forced to take them to the site where he parks his limousine, with Cindy still in her strapless lace gown, and Bob in his crisp blue suit.

Were more heartbroken to see what the town is like and what the locals are dealing with, Cindy said after the experience.

Yes, it was our wedding day and night, but thats only one night for us where these people are impacted for the rest of their lives.

Oliver Browning reports:

Hawaii newlyweds detail heartbreaking escape from Maui wildfires

Man relives screams of horror as he spent three hours in ocean trying to escape

09:00 , Ariana Baio

ICYMI: No indication warning sirens sounded before wildfires, report says

08:00 , Ariana Baio

Residents in Maui claim they were not warned of the fast-moving wildfire that killed at least 55 people and displaced thousands of others this past week.

While officials say they sent out alerts, a new report from Associated Press indicates that the Hawaii Emergency Management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives.

Officials sent alerts to cell phones, televisions and radio stations  however, the area was experiencing widespread power and cellphone outages.

Maui fires knocked out coconut wireless neighbour warning network

07:32 , Tara Cobham

Earlier this week, rapidly moving wildfires knocked out phone service on Maui, preventing the usual local coconut wireless network of neighbours informing each other of the latest news from warning residents on the island they were in danger, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

Normally, we would phone call one another, and through whats often called the coconut wireless, where everyone speaks to everyone else in their community, we would know right away that there was danger, he told CNN on Friday. That communication was cut off by the destruction of essentially 1000 degree heat that was coming down the mountain.

According to records from emergency management officials on the island, the states 400 emergency warning sirens didnt trigger as fires sped towards the historic town of Lahaina this week, The Associated Press reports.

Josh Marcus reports:

Maui fires knocked out phones, stopping alerts from local coconut wireless network

Maui wildfires: In pictures

07:00 , Ariana Baio

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii, late on Wednesday 9 August (AP)

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)

Tourists who were evacuated following wild fire destruction settle for the night as they wait for a flight out of Kahului Airport (EPA)

A handout photo made available by the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol shows an aerial view of damage caused by the wildfires (EPA)

Hawaii Tourism Authority asks non-essential travellers to leave Hawaii

06:00 , Ariana Baio

For those looking to travel to Hawaii or currently travelling to Hawaii, authorities are asking to cancel or return home so hotels can be used to provide shelter for those who have lot their homes.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Hawaiis State Department of Transportation director said non-essential travel to Maui was strongly discouraged.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) echoed the statement saying: Non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time. Visitors currently on Maui for non-essential travel reasons are being asked to leave the island as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

Maui fires in pics: Aerial photos show extent of destruction caused by Hawaii wildfires

05:00 , Ariana Baio

Aerial photos and videos of the devastating wildfires raging in Hawaii this week have revealed the destruction that has followed in their wake.

The massive wildfires have led to the deaths of at least 55 people and 1,000 missing on Hawaii island apart from devastating the historic town of Lahaina.

The photos and videos of the devastation in Maui island have shown Lahaina left in rubble as authorities fear this could be one of the worst disasters experienced by the island community in decades.

Aerial photos show extent of destruction caused by Hawaii wildfires

Watch: Mayor of Maui says the death toll is based on people found outside of buildings

04:00 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii fires: Lahainas 150-year-old banyan tree hit by wildfire

03:00 , Ariana Baio

For generations, the banyan tree along Lahaina towns historic Front Street served as a gathering place, its leafy branches unfurling majestically to give shade from the Hawaiian sun. By most accounts, the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community  towering more than 60 feet (18 meters) and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

For 150 years, the colossal tree-shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called Lele, the Hawaiian word for relentless sun.

Ring by ring, the tree has captured history.

Lahainas beloved 150-year-old banyan tree hit by wildfire

How uncommon are wildfires in Hawaii?

02:00 , Ariana Baio

The wildfire that hit parts of Maui this past week brought with it an unprecedented level of destruction and death.

But while this incident is uncommon, the state is no stranger to wildfires.

Wildland fires are not unusual in Hawaii, there are occasional fires every year. This years fires, however, are burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behaviour is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames, Dr Thomas Smith, an associate professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science said in a statement.

Dr Smith says the fires speed and intensity was driven by the land which contained plenty of dry and combustible vegetation.

Land abandonment is a factor that played a role in the intensity and speed of the fire, Dr Smith said.

Its clear from satellite imagery and from those who know the area well that the rural land to the east of Lahaina was once intensely managed plantations, with irrigation ditches and terracing. The agricultural land would have been fire resistant, with a very low fuel load (flammable vegetation) and higher fuel moisture due to the irrigation.

Since most of this land has been abandoned, long grasses, shrubs and young trees had taken root, substantially increasing the amount of flammable vegetation surrounding the town, he added.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez donate $100m to Maui fire relief effort

01:37 , Josh Marcus

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez are pledging $100m towards relief efforts in Maui after a series of devastating wildfires.

Jeff and I are heartbroken by whats happening in Maui. We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated, Ms Sanchez wrote on Instagram on Friday. The immediate needs are important, and so is the longer term rebuilding that will have to happen  even after much of the attention has subsided. Jeff and I are creating a Maui Fund and are dedicating $100 million to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.

More details in our full story.

Maui fires death toll now at 67

01:14 , Josh Marcus

The death toll in the Hawaii fires has risen to 67 people, meaning the disaster on Maui has surpassed the deadliest disaster in recent state history, a 1961 tsunami that killed 61 people.

Maui wildfire survivor tells of dead bodies floating in the water

01:00 , Ariana Baio

A Maui wildlife survivor has told how there are still dead bodies in the water floating following the devastating blazes that have killed at least 55 people.

Hawaiian residents are bracing for the death toll to climb higher with around 1,000 people still missing in the apocalyptic wildfires.

Kekoa Lansford told the BBC that his hometown of Lahaina, which was at the centre of the wildfires and saw 1,000 structures burn down, would take years to fix after the disaster.

Graeme Massie reports:

Maui wildfire survivor tells of dead bodies floating in the water

Family of veteran missing in devastating Maui wildfires clings to hope he escaped the blaze

Saturday 12 August 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

The family of a Korean War veteran is desperately searching for him after they lost contact with him amid the devastating wildfires in Hawaii.

Authorities in fire-scorched Maui County have confirmed at least 55 fatalities, as the largest blaze, still raging in Lahaina, is now 80 per cent contained. More than 1,000 people are still unaccounted for in what is believed to be the deadliest disaster in the states history, Governor Josh Green said during a press conference on Thursday night, warning that the death toll is expected to climb.

State and federal agencies are scrambling to assist endangered residents and hundreds of families across the country have been unable to locate their loved ones due to cell phone service being down.

Kim Berly told The Independent that she is worried her 79-year-old father Maurice Buen, who lives on Wainee St in Lahaina, was caught in the fire. Ms Berly said she last spoke with Mr Buen on Sunday and is now clinging to hope that he made it out of the blaze.

Andrea Blanco reports:

Family of veteran missing in deadly Maui wildfires clings to hope he escaped blaze

Death toll in Hawaii disaster rises to 59

Friday 11 August 2023 23:52 , Josh Marcus

An estimated 59 people died in wildfires that ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui this week, Governor Josh Green told CNN on Friday.

Another 1,000 people are reportedly missing in the disaster, according to officials.

Governor of Hawaii says hes never seen something like Maui fires

Friday 11 August 2023 23:34 , Josh Marcus

Hawaii governor Josh Green says hes never seen a combination of disasters like the recent, devastating fires in Maui.

One can safely say we do have wildfires every year but weve always been able to contain them, he told CNN on Friday. Whether the variables are different this time or not, Ive been in Hawaii for 23 years, but I have never seen the convergence of a fire, a hurricane, and gale force winds at the same time near one of our towns.

Over 1500 structures were damaged or destroyed in Hawaii wildfire

Friday 11 August 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

A report from The New York Times estimated that around 1,1900 structures in Lahaina on the island of Maui were visibly damaged or destroyed by the wildfires.

The estimate is a massive increase from the roughly 700 structures that were previously thought to be burned in the fires.

Satellite mobile hotspots reach Maui to try to rebuild communications

Friday 11 August 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Portable mobile hotspots have arrived in Maui to restore Internet service and help victims of the devastating wildfire call for help.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green told reporters on Thursday that with communication systems destroyed in the fires, many of those unaccounted for had been unable to confirm they were safe.

Heres the challenge: theres no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when were speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone, he said.

Theres around 1,000 missing. It doesnt mean that many have passed - Im not saying that at all - but because we cant contact them we cant know.

Verizon told CNN that its teams on Thursday had deployed a first batch of satellite-based mobile hotspots at evacuation sites on Maui.

The company was also barging heavier equipment from Honolulu, including mobile equipment on wheels that connect to a carriers service via satellite. It was also moving a satellite trailer that provides service to cell sites with damaged fibre connections.

Our team is closely monitoring the situation on the ground and our network performance, a Verizon spokesperson told CNN.

Verizon engineers on the island are working to restore service in impacted areas as quickly and safely as possible.

Is it safe to travel to Hawaii?

Friday 11 August 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) has said: Non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time. Visitors currently on Maui for non-essential travel reasons are being asked to leave the island as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

The HTA added: Currently, travel is still welcomed to the island of Hawaii. Visitors are encouraged to contact their hotel accommodations provider and airlines for updates that could affect their stay on island.

Benjamin Parker reports:

Maui fires: Is it safe to travel to Hawaii?

Why the wildfire loss of Lahainas banyan tree is so devastating

Friday 11 August 2023 21:20 , Ariana Baio

As wildfires tore through the Hawaiian Island of Maui this week, not even the famed banyan tree could be spared from the raging flames.

The beloved tree, which has stood at the centre of the historic town of Lahaina for more than 150 years, was left scorched and charred beyond recognition, images showing its blackened branches and trunks among the embers.

But, despite the damage, for now, the tree is still standing.

For many years, the iconic tree along the Lahaina towns Front Street served as a gathering place.

Faiza Saqib reports:

Why the wildfire loss of Lahainas banyan tree is so devastating

Residents of Lahaina will be permitted to return on Friday

Friday 11 August 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii governor Josh Green said residents of Lahaina  the town on Maui ravaged by wildfires this past week  will be allowed to return on Friday, 11 August.

They will see destruction like theyve not ever seen in their lives, Mr Green told local news outlet KHON 2.

People can expect an announcement from Maui mayor Richard Bissen about how residents can return home and if there will be a curfew.

Terrified residents make desperate escape in apocalyptic scenes

Friday 11 August 2023 20:45 , Ariana Baio

These shocking scenes show terrified residents attempting to make their desperate escape from the wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii.

The footage captured by Bosco Bae Jr resembles scenes from Hollywood movies as people try to escape falling trees, burning buildings, and flying ash all around.

The footage comes as the Mayor of Maui, Richard Bissen revealed the historic town has been totally wiped out by wildfires, stating: Its all gone.

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 55  as officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further.

Lucy Leeson reports:

Hawaii fires: Terrified residents make desperate escape in apocalyptic scenes

Maui resident describes tragic scene from Lahaina

Friday 11 August 2023 20:10 , Ariana Baio

A resident of Maui described a horrifying scene on the island in the wake of the wildfires that burned through towns and neighbourhoods this past week.

This is not even the worst of it, Kekoa Lansford, a resident of Lahaina told BBC on Thursday.

We still got dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall, theyve been sitting there since last night, Mr Lansford said.

Mr Lansford said he felt like the town was not getting the help it needed.

On Friday, officials toured Lahaina while teams of people began recovery efforts.

More than 14,000 visitors left Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 19:45 , Ariana Baio

On Thursday, approximately 14,900 visitors left the island of Maui after wildfires tore through neighbourhoods and towns.

The County of Maui said in an update, posted to Facebook, that the visitors left on flights departing out of the Kahului Airport in Maui.

Twenty-five buses have been operating as a shuttle service from 8.30am until 5pm to pick up visitors from hotels to the airport.

No indication warning sirens sounded before wildfires, report says

Friday 11 August 2023 19:07 , Ariana Baio

Residents in Maui claim they were not warned of the fast-moving wildfire that killed at least 55 people and displaced thousands of others this past week.

While officials say they sent out alerts, a new report from Associated Press indicates that the Hawaii Emergency Management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives.

Officials sent alerts to cell phones, televisions and radio stations  however, the area was experiencing widespread power and cellphone outages.

Man relives screams of horror as he spent three hours in ocean trying to escape

Friday 11 August 2023 18:55 , Ariana Baio

Maui residents recounted hearing screams of horror as wildfires engulfed areas of the Hawaiian island.

Residents of Lahaina, a resort town on the island, were told to jump into the ocean as flames approached the town.

Ydriss Nouara told Sky News that police told him to jump into the sea as they could not rescue him from the encroaching flames.

The ocean was pulling us, we had debris falling on us, we were trying to get wet and not burn, Nouara said, adding he was in the water for around three hours before being rescued.

Vice President says she will not visit Hawaii yet

Friday 11 August 2023 18:27 , Ariana Baio

Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Friday that she and President Joe Biden are monitoring the wildfire disaster in Hawaii but do not plan to visit yet so they do not take away resources.

We dont want to distract from the resources that need to go in to the victims of the tragedy, and of course the needs of the first responders have to be able to focus on that issue and not perry about focusing on us, Ms Harris said.

She added that she and Mr Biden are deeply concerned about what is happening in Maui.

We are coordinating federal resources to swiftly get there to support the work that has to be done, Ms Harris said.

VP Kamala Harris says she wants to go to Hawaii after the wildfires, but she wants to do whatevers in the best interest of the folks on the ground. We dont want to distract from resources that need to go into the victims ... because were there. pic.twitter.com/zHnbtHAzui  The Recount (@therecount) August 11, 2023

Governor of Hawaii and mayor of Maui visit remains of Lahaina

Friday 11 August 2023 17:55 , Ariana Baio

Mayor Richard Bissen walks past the remains of the Sugar Cane Train depot in Lahaina, Hawaii, (AP)

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, left, and Mayor Richard Bissen walk past the burned remains along Front Street in Lahaina (AP)

Friday morning updates: Firefighters working to contain fires in Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 17:20 , Ariana Baio

The County of Maui provided updates on Friday morning on the situation in Hawaii after wildfires ravaged parts of Maui.

Approximately 21 firefighters from the Honolulu Fire Department were working to extinguish flare-ups and contain fires in Lahaina, Pulehu / Kihei and Upcountry.

They are being assisted by seven supervisory personnel and four vehicles.

A nine-member team also arrived to conduct search and rescue efforts.

FEMA search-and-rescue teams as well as the Nevada Task Force arrived Thursday evening with cadaver dogs to conduct recovery efforts.

Some cellphone service restored in west Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 16:40 , Ariana Baio

In an update from the County of Maui, officials said more cellphone service was available in West Maui on Friday.

If you have a cell signal and cannot make a call, try texting instead, the County of Maui wrote on Facebook.

Power and water are slowly being restored as well in parts of Hawaii where the wildfires hit.

Death toll may rise as building interiors have yet to be searched.

Friday 11 August 2023 16:13 , Ariana Baio

As of Friday morning, a total of 55 people have died as a result of the devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii  but that number could increase.

Richard Bissen, the mayor of Maui County said the death toll is only based on people who were found outside as the inside of buildings have yet to be searched, he told TODAY.

Right now our focus is finding any missing persons, Mr Bissen said. We want to reunite families.

Authorities are waiting for FEMA officials to help in the interior search for people.

Hawaii Tourism Authority asks non-essential travellers to leave Hawaii

Friday 11 August 2023 15:45 , Ariana Baio

For those looking to travel to Hawaii or currently travelling to Hawaii, authorities are asking to cancel or return home so hotels can be used to provide shelter for those who have lot their homes.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Hawaiis State Department of Transportation director said non-essential travel to Maui was strongly discouraged.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) echoed the statement saying: Non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time. Visitors currently on Maui for non-essential travel reasons are being asked to leave the island as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

Jason Momoa says he is devastated and heartbroken for those impacted in Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 15:20 , Ariana Baio

Jason Momoa, the American actor from Hawaii, has posted several resources on Instagram for those looking to assist in the search, recovery and rebuilding efforts in Maui after the wildfires.

We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and ohana on Maui who been impacted by the recent wildfires, Mr Momoa wrote.

The actor provided several links to nonprofit organisations accepting donations to assist in relief.

Cadaver dogs assisting in search and rescue

Friday 11 August 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

Search and recovery efforts are underway in Maui where wildfires devastated towns and neighbourhoods and assisting in the recovery are cadaver dogs.

While the initial death toll in Hawaii was around 36 people, governor Josh Green said he was anticipating more lost lives as officials begin searching the remaining homes of people who were unable to leave.

Cadaver dogs from California and Washington were in Maui on Thursday to assist in those efforts, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Robert Fenton said.

The devastation I saw today is significant, Mr Fenton said.

A brief history of natural disasters blighting the tropical paradise

Friday 11 August 2023 14:40 , Ariana Baio

The blazes currently devastating Maui and the Big Island in Hawaii already constitute the states worst natural disaster since 1960  as at least 55 people are confirmed dead, thousands of residents and tourists have been forced to evacuate and the picturesque and historic beach resort of Lahaina has been destroyed.

Whats more, the tragedy also already represents Americas second-deadliest wildfire outbreak of the last 100 years, with only the Camp Fire that struck California in 2018 surpassing the current Hawaiian death toll, which is still rising and could yet surpass it.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

A brief history of natural disasters in Hawaii, from tsunamis to wildfires

Governor of Hawaii asks people with homes to consider taking in others

Friday 11 August 2023 14:15 , Ariana Baio

During a press conference on Thursday, Hawaii governor, Josh Green, appealed to Hawaii residents with unharmed homes to take others in as they continue search and recovery efforts.

What we saw was likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaiis state history, Mr Green said. All of us have a loved on here on Maui that we know of, that lost a house, that lost a friend.

Mr Green said the state would be working with hotels to find places to shelter those who were affected by the wildfires.

If you have additional space in your home, if you have the capacity to take someone in from west Maui, please do, Mr Green said. Please consider bringing those people into your lives.

Maui updates will air daily on public radio stations

Friday 11 August 2023 13:50 , Ariana Baio

As Maui works to recover those who have died in the massive wildfires and rebuild the neighbourhoods that have been burned down, the County of Maui will provide daily updates via radio.

Beginning on Friday at 9am HST, the County of Maui will provide updates twice a day  once at 9am and another at 3pm.

The updates will allow those without internet service or electricity to hear the latest in the recovery efforts. Other information will be available on the County of Mauis social media pages and website.

The following radio stations will have the updates:

 Pacific Media Group on KPOA FM 92.9 (west side)

 FM 93.5; KJKS FM 99.3 (west side)

 FM 99.9 FM; KJMD FM 107.1 (west side)

 FM 98.3; KHLI FM 101.7 (west side)

 FM 92.5; KMVI AM 900

 FM 102.5

 KNUI AM 550

 FM 106.1

 KAOI Radio Group on 1110 AM / 96.7 FM

 KPMW FM 105.5

 Akakus KAKU 88.5

Watch: Terrified residents film desperate wildfire escape in shocking scenes

Friday 11 August 2023 13:25 , Ariana Baio

Oldest hotel in Hawaii destroyed by wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 13:05 , Rachel Sharp

The oldest hotel in Hawaii is one of the thousands of buildings destroyed by the wildfires that have ravaged the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.

The Pioneer Inn began operating as a hotel back in 1901, making it 122 years old today.

On Wednesday, Best Western Hotels  which now runs the storied hotel  confirmed that it had been lost to the wildfires on 9 August.

All guests were safely evacuated from the hotel and its restaurant Papaaina, famed for its brunches.

The restaurants chef Lee Ann Wong took to Facebook to speak of the devastating loss and tragedy that is unfolding on Maui this week.

Heartbroken. There are no words for the devastating loss and tragedy that is unfolding on Maui as reports start to come in of loss of human life, behind the hundreds of homes and businesses that have fallen to yesterdays brush fires that are still raging on the west side, she wrote.

We are still looking to connect with at least a half dozen employees but cell towers have been down since early yesterday morning. Thank you to all who have reached out to me personally and to @papaainamaui.

:Historic Lahaina has been my place of business for the past three years and the Pioneer Inn became my second home on Maui. I dont even know where to begin, but today is just for making sure our friends and coworkers are safe. To those who are concerned for #alextheparrot , Alex was safely evacuated yesterday and is in the care of the hotels GM.

My culinary community, my friends, my people, I know you all want to help and there is already movement and response from several organizations, as soon as I find out more will share. Stay safe out there.

VOICES: Maui is my home  after the wildfires, I no longer recognise the place I love

Friday 11 August 2023 12:55 , Rachel Sharp

Its raining on the North Shore of Maui this morning where I live. But the rain is too late, and in the wrong place, to help the Maui Fire Department save the historic town of Lahaina.

Im an English ex-pat, naturalized both to the US and to the islands of Hawaii after 17 years. Maui is my home. As a resident of Maui, married into a family born and raised on the island, the loss of Lahainas Old Town is devastating.

First and foremost is the loss of life. Maui is a small island; everyone knows everyone, or at least knows someone who knows everyone.

Rich Hill writes for The Independent:

Maui is my home  the wildfires have destroyed the place I love | Rich Hill

Collin Morikawa has roots in Lahaina. Hes pledging $1,000 per birdie for Hawaii fires relief

Friday 11 August 2023 12:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Collin Morikawa is pledging $1,000 for every birdie he makes the next three PGA Tour events to help with relief for the deadly wildfires in Hawaii. For him, its personal.

His grandparents were born in Lahaina, the historic town on Maui where Front Street and all its restaurants and shops have been obliterated by the wind-swept fires that have claimed at least 36 lives. He still has relatives on Maui, though most have moved to Oahu.

I think theyre all right, but just to hear ... woke up this morning, just checking the news, and to see how many people have passed away from that, yeah. Im at a loss for words, Morikawa said.

Morikawa, who won the PGA Championship and the British Open within two years after graduating from California-Berkeley, began his bid Thursday with six birdies in his opening round of 65 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He posted his plans on Instagram on Thursday morning, and by the end of the day had decided to send the money raised to Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen to help survivors on Maui and elsewhere in Hawaii.

Collin Morikawa pledges $1,000 per birdie for Hawaii fires relief

- Associated Press

Hawaiian Airlines offers $19 flights for people to escape Maui wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 12:25 , Rachel Sharp

Hawaiian Airlines is offering $19 flights for people to escape the Maui wildfires, a spokesperson for the airlines has said.

Hurricane-fuelled winds have ignited fires in Hawaii, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 55 people and 1,000 people still missing.

It was announced that Hawaiian Airlines will be offering one-way flights from Maui to Honolulu starting at $19 late Thursday.

Read the full story:

Hawaiian Airlines offers $19 flights for people to escape Maui wildfires

How to help or donate in response to the deadly wildfire in Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 12:05 , Maroosha Muzaffar

While rescue and emergency operations continued Thursday at the deadly wildfires that swept across the Hawaiian island of Maui, many people are already looking for ways to support the response and provide relief to those affected.

The full extent of the damage and the recovery needs may not be known for up to a week, said Regine Webster, vice president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, and she urged people to be patient before deciding where to give their support.

You literally have to wait for the firefighters to complete their work before that damage assessment can be fully realized, she said.

Philanthropy experts recommend giving to experienced organizations that are well-situated to respond to a specific disaster. Major disaster response organizations like the American Red Cross have said they are already communicating with local and federal governments to provide assistance.

How to help or donate in response to the deadly wildfire in Maui

'Ash and debris': Journalist covering Maui fires surveys destruction of once-vibrant Hawaii town

Friday 11 August 2023 11:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A Las Vegas-based video journalist for The Associated Press dispatched to cover devastating wind-fueled wildfires in Hawaii says the scene over Maui was one of the worst hes seen in more than eight years of covering the disasters:

'Ash and debris': Journalist covering Maui fires surveys destruction of once-vibrant Hawaii town

- Associated Press

WATCH: Oprah Winfrey hands out supplies to those impacted by Maui wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 11:35 , Rachel Sharp

ICYMI: United Airlines only operating flights out of Maui to assist in evacuations

Friday 11 August 2023 11:25 , Ariana Baio

United Airlines said they have removed inbound flights to Kahului Airport to assist in evacuating visitors as the island battles wildfires.

The airlines said in a statement that they are monitoring the situation in Hawaii closely and emphasising safety of their employees in Maui, according to NBC News.

Weve canceled todays inbound flights to Kahului Airport so our planes can fly empty to Maui and be used as passenger flights back to the mainland, United said.

The airline is also offering refunds to passengers who want to cancel their flights.

Mick Fleetwood says his Hawaii restaurant was lost in devastating Maui wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 11:05 , Rachel Sharp

Mick Fleetwood has confirmed that his restaurant in Hawaii has been burnt down by the ongoing deadly wildfires in Maui.

The Fleetwood Mac co-founder, 76, wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Fleetwoods on Front Street has been lost as the fires rip through the historic town of Lahaina on the island.

Read the full story:

Mick Fleetwood says his Hawaii restaurant was lost in devastating Maui wildfires

WATCH: Hawaii governor admits it will take 'many years to recover' from devastating wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 10:55 , Rachel Sharp

Whats the containment of the wildfires?

Friday 11 August 2023 10:30 , Rachel Sharp

The devastating wildfire that has destroyed the historic town of Lahaina was 80 percent contained by Thursday morning local time, according to Maui officials.

Firefighters were also making progress in the battles against two other major fires across the Hawaiian island.

However, despite the progress, none of the wildfires which have been burning on Maui since Tuesday are 100 percent contained yet.

Oprah Winfrey seen handing out supplies in Maui

Friday 11 August 2023 10:20 , Rachel Sharp

Oprah Winfrey has been seen handing out supplies in Maui to those displaced by the devastating wildfires.

The talk show host visited the War Memorial Stadium in Maui on Thursday where she donated pillows, nappies and shampoo to people who have been forced to take shelter at the site.

Its a little overwhelming, you know. But Im really so pleased to have so many people bringing what they can and doing what they can, she told the BBC.

I came earlier to see what people needed and then went shopping. Because often, you make donations of clothes or whatever and its not really what people need.

So I actually went to Walmart and Costco and got pillows, diapers, sheets, pillowcases.

Oprah pays a visit to makeshift shelter in Maui (BBC)

Before and after satellite images show scale of ferocious Hawaii wildfires

Friday 11 August 2023 09:35 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii governor says 1,000 people still missing

Friday 11 August 2023 09:15 , Rachel Sharp

Around 1,000 people are still missing in the wildfires which have ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green revealed on Thursday evening that hundreds are still unaccounted for, as he warned that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.

Those unaccounted for are not presumed dead, he said, but have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.

Heres the challenge: theres no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when were speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone, he said.

Theres around 1,000 missing. It doesnt mean that many have passed - Im not saying that at all - but because we cant contact them we cant know.

The governor admitted that we dont know the true death toll.

Death toll climbs to 55

Friday 11 August 2023 08:54 , Rachel Sharp

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 55  as officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further.

On Wednesday, Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fire departments said that 36 people had died as a result of the fires.

Another 17 fatalities were confirmed at around midday on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims.

By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead taking the death toll to 55, Maui County confirmed.

The identity of the victims remains unknown.

Maui wildfires map: Where are the Hawaii fires?

Friday 11 August 2023 08:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Thousands of residents in Hawaii have been racing to escape their homes as deadly wildfires swept across the island of Maui, killing at least 53 people in one of the worst US wildfires in recent years.

Read the full piece here:

Maui wildfires map: Where are the Hawaii fires?

Search for bodies continues as officials call for patience

Friday 11 August 2023 08:07 , Holly Evans

Authorities in Maui are still trying to locate and identify people who died in Lahaina when a wildfire raced through the historic town.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen told a news conference: People whose homes are not damaged 0 you can come home as soon as we have recovered those who have perished. Please allow us to complete this process.

Meanwhile Maui Police Chief John Pelletier asked for patience, prayers and perseverance, adding that his officers are trained to catch bad guys and not to pull bodies from buildings.

Search and rescue teams from California and Washington state, which are trained in disaster skills including using dogs to find human remains, have been deployed to Maui to assist with the process, officials said.

How did the Hawaii wildfires start?

Friday 11 August 2023 08:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Wildfires have sparked a frenzy of questions about how disasters, like this, can be prevented in the future.

Heres everything we know about how the Hawaii wildfires started:

How did the Hawaii wildfires start?

Lahaina survivors say they didnt hear Hawaiis famous warning sirens

Friday 11 August 2023 07:47 , Holly Evans

Maui residents who made desperate escapes from flames, some on foot, have asked why Hawaiis famous emergency warning system didnt alert them as fires raced toward their homes, in interviews at evacuation centers onThursday.Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 53 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed.

There are around 400 sirens positioned around the islands, with Hawaii boasting the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world.

Residents claim they werent alerted to the danger by any warning sirens (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Many of Lahainas survivors however said they didnt hear any sirens and only realised they were in danger when they saw the flames. Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didnt know about the fire until he smelled smoke. As power and mobile phone services had gone out, he was left with no real-time information about the danger.

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a sea wall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

Rainbow appears over Maui on Thursday morning

Friday 11 August 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

A rainbow can be seen as rain falls over Maui in Kahului (REUTERS)

Hurricane Dora is fuelling Hawaii wildfires. Heres how

Friday 11 August 2023 06:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The wildfires in Hawaii damaging buildings and leading to evacuations are spurred on by heavy winds coming from Hurricane Dora off the islands coast.

The storm was moving west across the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of Hawaii on Wednesday.

To the west of Maui, residents scarpered into the ocean to avoid the fires and smoke. County officials said they were rescued by the US Coast Guard.

Winds reached up to 45 miles an hour, with gusts of up to 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The agency told residents on social media to secure their property and to prepare for lost power and travel disruptions.

Hurricane Dora is fuelling Hawaii wildfires. Heres how

Burned out cars sit after a wildfire raged through Lahaina, Hawaii

Friday 11 August 2023 06:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Burned out cars sit after a wildfire raged through Lahaina, Hawaii, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 (AP)

United Airlines only operating flights out of Maui to assist in evacuations

Friday 11 August 2023 06:00 , Ariana Baio

United Airlines said they have removed inbound flights to Kahului Airport to assist in evacuating visitors as the island battles wildfires.

The airlines said in a statement that they are monitoring the situation in Hawaii closely and emphasising safety of their employees in Maui, according to NBC News.

Weve canceled todays inbound flights to Kahului Airport so our planes can fly empty to Maui and be used as passenger flights back to the mainland, United said.

The airline is also offering refunds to passengers who want to cancel their flights.

Hawaii fires: Lahainas 150-year-old banyan tree hit by wildfire

Friday 11 August 2023 05:41 , Maroosha Muzaffar

For generations, the banyan tree along Lahaina towns historic Front Street served as a gathering place, its leafy branches unfurling majestically to give shade from the Hawaiian sun. By most accounts, the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community  towering more than 60 feet (18 meters) and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

For 150 years, the colossal tree-shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called Lele, the Hawaiian word for relentless sun.

Ring by ring, the tree has captured history.

Lahainas beloved 150-year-old banyan tree hit by wildfire

Hawaii wildfires are 'like apocalypse', says local who was burnt driving through blaze

Friday 11 August 2023 05:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Collin Morikawa has roots in Lahaina. Hes pledging $1,000 per birdie for Hawaii fires relief

Friday 11 August 2023 05:19 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Collin Morikawa is pledging $1,000 for every birdie he makes the next three PGA Tour events to help with relief for the deadly wildfires in Hawaii. For him, its personal.

His grandparents were born in Lahaina, the historic town on Maui where Front Street and all its restaurants and shops have been obliterated by the wind-swept fires that have claimed at least 36 lives. He still has relatives on Maui, though most have moved to Oahu.

I think theyre all right, but just to hear ... woke up this morning, just checking the news, and to see how many people have passed away from that, yeah. Im at a loss for words, Morikawa said.

Morikawa, who won the PGA Championship and the British Open within two years after graduating from California-Berkeley, began his bid Thursday with six birdies in his opening round of 65 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He posted his plans on Instagram on Thursday morning, and by the end of the day had decided to send the money raised to Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen to help survivors on Maui and elsewhere in Hawaii.

Collin Morikawa pledges $1,000 per birdie for Hawaii fires relief

ICYMI: Maui locals flee into ocean to escape wildfire

Friday 11 August 2023 04:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

WATCH: Biden announces major disaster in Hawaii

Friday 11 August 2023 04:00 , Ariana Baio

President Biden says he has approved a major disaster declaration for Hawaii after wildfires killed dozens of people, and vows to provide all available federal assistance. pic.twitter.com/vEmyqdkxS6  The Recount (@therecount) August 10, 2023

Aerial footage shows historic town of Lahaina destroyed by blaze

Friday 11 August 2023 02:30 , Ariana Baio

ICYMI: President Biden issues major disaster declaration as wildfires burn in Hawaii

Friday 11 August 2023 01:50 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden declared the wildfire disaster in Hawaii to be a major disaster, allowing for the state to use federal funding in recovery efforts.

On Thursday, Mr Biden issued the declaration after 36 people died and thousands of others were evacuated as a result of the raging wildfires that burned through several areas of Maui, Hawaii and Ohau.

Ariana Baio reports:

President Biden issues major disaster declaration as wildfires burn in Hawaii

Oahu remains open to tourists, Hawaii tourism official confirms

Friday 11 August 2023 01:20 , Ariana Baio

Oahu is still open to tourists, a Hawaii tourism official has said as travellers rush to leave amidst devastating wildfires in western Maui.

It is west Maui that is devastated. What travellers are doing now that were understanding is they are changing their vacation plans. Theyre going to Oahu. Theyre going to Hawaii Island, James Kunane Tokioka, the states business, economic development and tourism director, told CNN.

We have shared with our hotel partners to make sure that we give them the best rates available. Were trying to accommodate people. Some people have saved their whole life to come to Hawaii and it would be a shame if they had to go straight back to their homes on the mainland, he added.

Meanwhile, more than 11,000 travellers were evacuated from Maui, Ed Sniffen of the Hawaii Department of Transportation said late on Wednesday.

Hawaii officials say 53 people have died in fires

Friday 11 August 2023 01:05 , Abe Asher

Maui County officials on Thursday evening said that at least 53 people have died in the Lahaina fires as the death toll from the emergency continues to increase.

Maui County now says there are 53 total fatalities related to the Lahaina fire after 17 more were confirmed today. The status of all three fires remains unchanged from the last update at 10:30 a.m. this morning.  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 10, 2023

In addition to the 53 people who have lost their lives in the fire, dozens more are injured and recieving care while many others have lost their homes or are separated from loved ones. More than 1,000 structures have been burned in the flames.

There has not any appreciable change in the status of the fires on Thursday evening, and Gov Josh Green told the Associated Press that the death toll is expected to continue to rise in the coming days as search and rescue efforts continue.

Flags at half-staff in Hononlulu

Thursday 10 August 2023 23:20 , Ariana Baio

Hawaiis state capital, Honolulu will fly flags at half-staff to honor the lives lost in the wildfires, governor Josh Green ordered.

At least 36 people were killed and dozens of others injured in the ragging wildfires that tore through multiple islands this past week.

Where are the Hawaii fires?

Thursday 10 August 2023 22:45 , Ariana Baio

Voices: I saw houses being washed away in Alaska. Stop the victim blaming

Thursday 10 August 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

In Maui, hurricane-fueled fires have resulted in dozens of deaths, people missing, and communities decimated. We should avoid shaming and guilt-tripping people about their choices regarding where they live.

Summer Koester writes:

I saw houses being washed away in Alaska. Stop the victim blaming

Hawaiian Airlines offering $19 flights from Maui to Honolulu

Thursday 10 August 2023 21:30 , Ariana Baio

In assisting evacuation efforts, Hawaiian Airlines said it would offer seats on a flight from Maui to Honolulu for $19 on Friday.

The airline wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that they were adding additional flights to help bring people out of Maui.

Seats remain available today through Friday for $19 to facilitate urgent travel from Maui to Honolulu, Hawaiian Airlines wrote.

Unclear how much of Maui has been burned

Thursday 10 August 2023 21:10 , Ariana Baio

Hawaii officials gathered on Thursday to begin assessing the damage and death toll in Maui after wildfires raged through the islands this past week.

Lieutenant governor Sylvia Luke said it was unclear how much has been lost in areas beyond the town of Lahaina, which was hit hard, according to The New York Times.

Maui resident describes sudden evacuation after wildfire spread

Thursday 10 August 2023 20:45 , Ariana Baio

A resident of Maui, Hawaii described the hasty evacuation he made after uncontrollable wildfires spread on Tuesday evening.

In an interview with CNN, Jeff Melichar said he was out on a walk on Tuesday when he saw the fire rapidly approaching his neighbourhood.

"We had to run back through the neighborhood because we were getting overwhelmed with smoke and embers, Mr Melichar said.

Residents did not have much time to gather their belongings due to the fire, which was spreading quickly because of strong winds.

We ran back to the house and had another 10 or 15 minutes before we knew we were going to be overtaken. And at that point, we had to just jump in the car.

He added: "It was rather traumatic."

Maui resident Jeff Melichar lost his home and a rental property to the wildfires. He tells @MarquardtA what he and others have endured. pic.twitter.com/OMt4581W3S  CNN News Central (@NewsCentralCNN) August 10, 2023

How to help victims of Hawaii wildfires

Thursday 10 August 2023 20:19 , Ariana Baio

Thousands of Hawaii citizens have been displaced following wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.

Multiple neighbourhoods were burned as the fires were fueled by heavy winds blowing from Hurricane Dora, resulting in many being told to evacuate, with some Hawaii residents taking refuge in the ocean to avoid the flames. As of 10 August, at least 36 people have died and 11,000 have been evacuated as a result of the wildfires.

Brittany Miller reports:

How to help victims of Hawaii wildfires

New aerial images show destruction of Lahaina

Thursday 10 August 2023 19:55 , Ariana Baio

Aerial images taken above the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii show the aftermath of the wildfires that burned throughout the town.

Buildings, grass and trees were covered in black soot and ash on Thursday morning  showing how destructive the fires were.

An aerial view shows destroyed homes and buildings that burned to the ground around the harbor and Front Street in the historic Lahaina Town (AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden offers prayers and assets to Hawaii

Thursday 10 August 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

In remarks given on Thursday, President Joe Biden said he had spoken with Hawaii governor Josh Green where he offered all available resources to the state.

Mr Biden said he had a long conversation with Mr Green to ensure Hawaii had all federal and state resources it needed in recovery.

We offer our prayers, not just our prayers but every asset we have will be available, Mr Biden said.

The President has also ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to streamline all requests.

Mr Biden appointed Maona Ngwira to coordinate federal recovery operations.

Wildfires in Hawaii could be the states worst natural disaster in decades

Thursday 10 August 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

Wildfires raging out of control in Hawaii have claimed at least 36 lives, caused large numbers of burn and smoke inhalation injuries, knocked out 911 and cell services, forced residents to escape into the ocean, and destroyed hundreds of homes, officials say.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Hawaii wildfires could be states worst natural disaster in decades

President Biden issues major disaster declaration for Hawaii

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:45 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden declared the wildfire disaster in Hawaii to be a major disaster on Thursday, allowing for federal funding to become available to the state.

The funding can now be used for individuals to repair their homes or seek loans and for business owners to recover from the disaster.

Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Maui County, and assistance for emergency protective measures for Hawaii County, the handout says.

Federal coordinating officer of FEMA Maona Ngwira has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Average area burned in Hawaii has increased 400 per cent in last century

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:20 , Ariana Baio

Though the islands of Hawaii are no stranger to some wildfires, the number of fires has increased exponentially over the past century due to human activity and an increase in invasive, flammable grasses, according to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO).

Nonnative grasslands and shrublands now cover nearly one quarter of Hawaiis total land area and, together with a warming, drying climate and year round fire season, greatly increase the incidence of larger fires, the HWMO wrote in a factsheet.

The HWMO estimates the average number of area burned per year in Hawaii has increased 400 per cent over the past century.

How to help the people of Maui

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

Wildfires in Maui, Hawaii have devastated over 270 structures and many residents homes.

As firefighters work to contain the fires and conduct recovery efforts, people are being asked to donate to the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) to assist in the costly recovery.

The fund, called the Maui Strong Fund, was created to provide resources for disaster preparedness, response and recovery. It is currently being used to support the communities affected by the wildfires.

HCF will prioritize nonprofit organizations that are supporting community-based rapid response and recovery efforts. Funding will support evolving needs, including shelter, food, financial assistance, and other services as identified by our partners doing critical work on Maui, a description of the fund reads.

To donate to the Hawaii Community Fund and support Maui, click here.

Maui Fire Department issues safety protocols during cleanup

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:45 , Ariana Baio

The Maui Fire Department posted a safety guide for residents of Hawaii to follow as they clean up the debris left behind from the devastating wildfires.

Tips include wearing a hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, gloves, long pants, a long shirt and steel-toed boots to protect parts of the body.

They also suggested wearing an N95 face mask or a respirator that provides more protection to prevent smoke and debris inhalation.

Stay hydrated and avoid working in the hottest part of the day, the Maui Fire Department wrote.

Most of Maui experiencing abnormal to severe levels of drought

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:19 , Ariana Baio

Nearly all of Maui is in a level one or level two drought intensity, according to the US Drought Monitor.

Approximately 16 per cent of the island was in severe drought making the area most susceptible to wildfires due to the dry vegetation.

This is an increase from the 5 per cent of Maui that experienced severe levels of drought last week.

What is causing the fires?

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The wildfires were whipped up by Hurricane Dora, a category 4 storm passing about 500 miles (804 kms) south of the Pacific Ocean archipelago, and a strong high pressure system to the north, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

These strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions that will last through Wednesday afternoon, the NWS said.

The climate crisis has created warmer, dryer conditions that are increasing the risk and extent of wildfires across the western United States, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Conditions.

Wildfires have wrought havoc for years across the North American continent, especially in the US Southwest and Canada. But blazes of this magnitude have rarely, if ever, been seen in Hawaii.

Barack Obama issues statement on Maui wildfires

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:40 , Ariana Baio

Its tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii  a place thats so special to so many of us. Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down.



If youd like to help, you can do so here.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 10, 2023

Over 14K customers without power

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:21 , Ariana Baio

Approximately 14,500 customers are without power in Maui, as of early Wednesday morning.

Hawaiian Electricity, the company that provides 95 per cent of Hawaii its power, asked customers in West Maui and Upcountry for patience as the wildfires rage on.

The company said customers should plan for extended outages.

The climate crisis will irrevocably change how we holiday: Heres what the future of travel looks like

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Thousands of visitors in Hawaii are being forced to evacuate after raging wildfires took over parts of Maui.

Unprecedented extreme weather will soon become a norm according to climate scientists, what does this mean for the future of travel?

Benjamin Parker reports:

All change: The climate crisis will irrevocably alter how we holiday

Thousands without cellphone service

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:40 , Ariana Baio

Due to the unprecedented fires in Maui knocking out cellphone service, thousands of people were unable to contact emergency services or loved ones.

Lieutenant governor of Hawaii, Sylvia Luke, told ABC that residents were unable to contact emergency services or loved ones due to the lack of phone service.

On Twitter, people visiting the island described the terrifying experience being without service and power while trying to evacuate.

Personal Update



Was stuck in West Maui the past few days due to the wildfires without power or cell service and no access to the airport.



My wife and I are fine and now are at the airport overnight waiting for our flight to Oahu then the mainland.



Absolute horror scene there pic.twitter.com/Pf0eE7D6kz  Joe Dellera (@JoeDellera) August 10, 2023

United Airlines will only operating flights out of Maui to assist in evacuations

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:20 , Ariana Baio

United Airlines said they have removed inbound flights to Kahului Airport to assist in evacuating visitors as the island battles wildfires.

The airlines said in a statement that they are monitoring the situation in Hawaii closely and emphasising safety of their employees in Maui, according to NBC News.

Weve canceled todays inbound flights to Kahului Airport so our planes can fly empty to Maui and be used as passenger flights back to the mainland, United said.

The airline is also offering refunds to passengers who want to cancel their flights.
Aerial photos and videos of the devastating wildfires raging in Hawaii this week have revealed the destruction that has followed in their wake.

The massive wildfires have led to the deaths of at least 55 people and 1,000 missing on Hawaii island apart from devastating the historic town of Lahaina.

The photos and videos of the devastation in Maui island have shown Lahaina left in rubble as authorities fear this could be one of the worst disasters experienced by the island community in decades.

The once-vibrant heart of the oceanside community now lies destroyed  over 1,000 buildings have been reduced to ashes with no escape for those of Lahainas permanent residents who escaped raging fires but have witnessed their properties go up in flames.

A dozen residents were pulled from the water off the coast of Lahaina, on Maui, after entering the ocean due to smoke and fire conditions, according to a Maui County emergency alert.

Many more people suffered burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries.

Its going to take many years to rebuild Lahaina, governor Josh Green said told a news conference, as officials began to map out a plan to shelter the newly homeless in hotels and tourist rental properties.

Experts said the fires are likely to transform the landscape in unwanted ways, including hastening erosion, sending sediment into waterways and degrading coral that is critically important to the islands, marine life and the humans who live nearby.

Aerial images showed large swathes of land and buildings  that once stood tall  charred by the fires and turning the historic town into a ghost city.

An aerial image taken on 10 August 2023 shows destroyed buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawai (AFP via Getty Images)

Satellite images taken by Maxar showed thick smoke covering the town where once green lush trees and houses stood.

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on 25 June 2023 (left) and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, 9 August, following the wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Another image showed aerial photos before and after the destruction  with the entire seaside area reduced to rubble.

Before and after image shows houses turned to rubble (Maxar via AP)

The fast-moving inferno, which started on Tuesday, spread from the brush outside of town and ravaged Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

It was one of three major wildfires on Maui, all of them still burning, that were fuelled by dry conditions, a buildup of fuel and 60 mph (100 km/h) gusts of wind.

Many houses were destroyed entirely while others stood half burnt.

Homes and buildings on the waterfront in Lahaina burned to the ground (AFP via Getty Images)

Another image shows dozens of burnt vehicles lined up in a parking lot as the town remains empty.

Destroyed cars in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii (AFP via Getty Images)

For generations, a banyan tree that stood along Lahaina towns historic Front Street served as a gathering place.

Residents said the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community  towering more than 60ft and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

But like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its branches scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

Historic banyan tree scorched and surrounded by burned cars in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)

Theres just so much meaning attached to it and theres so many experiences that everyone has. Its in the heart of a historic town, a resident, John Sandbach, who has lived on Maui for nearly two decades, told the Associated Press.

The town could have survived the banyan tree burning down, he said, but nothing can survive with the whole town burning down.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street (AP)

Scenes of fiery devastation have become a familiar site in the world this summer with wildfires continuing to rage in Portugal after they started in Greece, Spain and other parts of Europe, driven by record-shattering global temperatures as a result of man-made climate crisis.

The entire northern hemisphere, from Japan to North America has experienced heating-fuelled disasters.

Canada saw its worst wildfires season this year, in which plumes of thick smog were sent up across the eastern US and even as far as Europe, ocean temperatures have left scientists shocked and Antarctica has lost record level of ice, as scientists warn situation will continue to worsen if pollution from burning fossils is not contained anytime soon.
The disastrous wildfires that swept the island of Maui last week suggest new territory for natural disasters, including the prospect of large urban centers threatened by the blazes.

The fires have killed at least 55 people as of Friday morning, and Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. has compared the devastation to a war zone where a bomb went off.

President Biden has declared a disaster in the state of Hawaii earlier this week, while Gov. Josh Green (D) said Thursday that hundreds of households have been displaced and that the fires are likely the biggest disaster in the history of the state.

Maui County Fire Chief Bradford Ventura also confirmed Thursday that none of the four major fires on the island are fully contained.

While wildfire damage is often associated with forested or remote areas or smaller towns, the Maui fires have also taken a toll on larger population centers.

People literally running for their lives, barefoot down the street and jumping in the ocean  thats how fast the fire spread down the slopes and into town, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said during a Wednesday webinar.

These look like disaster movie scenes, but these are real world events that just took place in Hawaii on the island of Maui, he added.

Swain, who is also a research fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, described a catastrophic wildland urban interface firestorm that spread under unusually dry and windy conditions, particularly on the western side of Maui.

The blaze was able to thrive by quickly moving into a highly populated area and then becoming essentially an urban conflagration, he explained. Many residents were unable to flee and telecommunications were severed, meaning that this is not a case where no news is good news, according to Swain.

Chris Field, director of the Stanford Woods Institute of the Environment, shared a similar perspective about the Maui fires, expressing his surprise about how many different ways there are for wildfires to become catastrophic.

This fire in Maui wasnt gigantic and it certainly wasnt in an area thats heavily forested, he told The Hill.

Nonetheless, scientists are increasingly finding that the combination of dry fuels and high winds can make lots of different kinds of places vulnerable to wildfire, he explained. This is why the Maui disaster developed in a place that isnt a classic wildfire area, according to Field.

It doesnt have big forests, it doesnt have a long dry season, the kinds of things we associate with wildfires in California, he said.

Multiple, large fires ended up moving from east to west, primarily on Maui but also on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to Swain. The eastern sides of most Hawaiian islands tend to be much wetter than the western sides, which Swain characterized as rain-shadowed by the interior of the island.

These variations in precipitation mean that western slopes often feature brush and shrub lands, while the eastern sides house more of the lush subtropical rainforests, Swain explained.

One of the important factors in the Maui fire is the abundance of non-native, rapidly growing grasses, Field agreed, noting that such tall grasses can dry out in just a few weeks.

And in many tropical and subtropical areas, weve seen that the invasion of ecosystems by specially African and Asian grasses has resulted in much higher fire risk, he added.

University of Hawaii at Manoa wildfire expert Clay Trauernicht, echoed these sentiments, describing in a statement how tropical grasses or shrubs from across the world that thrive in fires take over.

Non-native grasses like guinea grass and haole koa significantly increase fire potential, Trauernicht said.

Despite the unique features of the Hawaiian archipelago, many of the factors that made the fires spread the way they did on Maui could repeat themselves in the continental U.S. as well in the right circumstances.

Similar dynamics have already been observed in recent blazes in California, where recent fires in the Mojave Desert occurred in areas that traditionally dont have enough vegetation for fires to spread out of control, according to Field.

But after a season of heavy rainfall fueled grass growth, the abundance in vegetation allowed the fire to move from Joshua Tree to Joshua Tree, Field said.

Exacerbating the effects of these dry fuel ignitions are also heavy winds, which Swain said have played a significant role in the spread of blazes in both Hawaii and California.

Potentially driving the Maui fires, according to Swain, was the combination of unusually high pressure from north and a fairly strong hurricane a few 100 miles from the south.

It is very possible that the presence of a hurricane relatively nearby but not close enough to produce any precipitation helped amplify a downslope windstorm on the Big Island and in Maui, he added.

This windstorm, Swain continued, could have both contributed to the fire spread and generated drying effects similar to that of a Santa Ana windstorm in Southern California.

These winds also prevented helicopters from performing aerial water drops, which could have helped reduce some of the spread, according to Trauernicht.

Swain warned that there are many more hotspots across the U.S. that could be at risk of wildfires, noting that he would not be shocked in the coming years to see a wildfire catastrophe unfold in New Jersey, in the Pine Barrens and in nearby coastal communities.

He offered similar thoughts about the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina and in parts of the Upper Midwest.

Addressing what role climate change may be playing in fueling this fire, Swain stressed that asking about such a link just isnt a well-posed question.

Climate change is not the only factor at play, he said, noting that research does show that it is increasing wildfire risk. It doesnt make sense to ask the question of did climate change cause this fire catastrophe? The answer is no. But then nothing else singularly did either.

These conditions are likely the result of a combination of compounding factors, including climate change, as well as forest management practices that excluded natural fires and Indigenous burning and residual dry fuels, according to Swain.

Weve added more fuel to the fire, kiln-dried the fuel with climate change, and then lots of people have moved into the kiln, he said. Not a great combination.

Field also emphasized the role of climate change in the ongoing crisis, and said no lasting solution could ignore that factor.

Its important to remember that wildfire has a climate change component behind it almost all the time, he said. And the main strategy we should be using in tackling the increasing risk of wildfires is tackling climate change.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In the wake of devastating wildfires that have destroyed parts of the picturesque island of Maui, residents are voicing their frustrations and concerns about not being told to evacuate.

JD Hessemer, a Maui resident and co-owner of Kohola Brewery in Lahaina, said he had to make the difficult decision to evacuate without official guidance due to the worsening conditions and the lack of power.

"I received nothing at no point in time. I got nothing on my phone," Hesseemer told "CBS Mornings" on Friday.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before devastating wildfires killed at least 55 people.

Hessemer said he had driven to work Tuesday morning and encountered escalating winds and fallen powerlines that forced him to take an alternate route from his usual path.

Once he got to the brewery, he and his employees decided that remaining on-site for the day would be unsafe due to a widespread power outage and extensive damage to powerlines. He said that one of his colleagues stayed behind to complete a task but eventually also evacuated before the fire reached the brewery and destroyed it.

High temperatures and wind gusts put much of Hawaii under a red flag warning for fire risk when the wildfires broke out, but the exact cause of the blaze is still unknown.

"It's not an exaggeration, it is  you can't imagine even from the pictures. Everything is gone. There's nothing much," he said.

Hessemer said the once-thriving town of Lahaina, which was a vibrant hub for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations, now lies in ruins.

"'Devastation' is something I think I've said a lot. I don't think it's the correct word because it's, it's beyond that," he said.

Hessemer said now is the time for the world to step in and support the people of Lahaina as they need to rebuild.

"We need a little kindness. We need some help. But we also need some time," Hessemer said.

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The death toll from devastating wildfires that swept across Hawaii this week has increased to 55, Maui County officials confirmed late Thursday, as residents asked why the states emergency warning system failed to alert them as the flames approached.

The Maui fire is already the second deadliest wildfire in U.S. history and the worst natural disaster to hit Hawaii since a 1960 tsunami that claimed 61 lives. Officials warned the death toll will keep rising.

More than 1,000 people remain unaccounted for, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Thursday, and widespread electric and service outages have left all of western Maui in the dark and out of communication.

Asked how many of those missing people are suspected to be dead, Green answered, Honestly, we dont know.

It doesnt mean that many have passed, Green said. Im not saying that at all, but because we cant contact them, we cant know.

Flames engulf the historic town of Lahaina. Erin Hawk via Reuters

Firefighters tackling the blaze that utterly destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Mauis west coast had found two more dead by the end of Thursday in addition to the 53 discovered earlier in the day and on Wednesday.

As the conflagration erupted on Tuesdayand accelerated with strong winds from a hurricane passing hundreds of miles off the coastHawaiis residents say they did not hear warning sirens, instead only realizing their lives were in danger when they saw the flames racing toward them or heard explosions nearby.

Hawaii has what the state calls the worlds largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public warning system, with about 400 sirens linked across the chain of islands. Its supposed to be used to notify locals of natural disasters and other threats. But Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub told the Associated Press on Thursday that the departmental records do not show that the sirens on Maui were activated. Emergency alerts were instead sent to cellphones and broadcast on TV and radio, Weintraub said.

Views from the air of the community of Lahaina. MARCO GARCIA/Reuters

Its not clear, however, if those warnings were issued before power and cellular outages severed most communications in Lahaina, a town of about 13,000 residents that was totally wiped out in the inferno. Its all gone, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said. None of its there. Its all burnt to the ground.

Green said the utter devastation of Lahaina was catastrophic and that it would likely take many years to rebuild. When you see the full The full extent of the destruction of Lahaina, it will shock you. It does appear like a bomb and fire went off, Green added.

As well as the lack of warning, firefighting efforts may have been hindered by a lack of staff, according to Hawaii Firefighters Association President Bobby Lee. A maximum of 65 firefighters work at any time to deal with fire across three islands, and while the crews have 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, the department doesnt have any off-road vehicles, Lee said. In turn, that means the crews cant intervene in brush fires until they approach populated areas or roads. Youre basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch, Lee said. Youve got to be carefulyou dont want to get caught downwind from that, because youre going to get run over in a wind-driven fire of that magnitude.

A view of the charred remains of Lahaina. Erin Hawk/Reuters

Destruction in Mauis west is so severe, a local nonprofit says it cant access the area to search for those who became trapped in the fast-moving flames. Lauren Henrie, a spokesperson for Maui Rescue Mission, told CNN that western Maui is completely cut off from communication and power.

Henrie said her team is desperate to get into citieslike Lahainaand begin searching for the 1,000-plus people that have been listed as unaccounted for in local Facebook groups.

While the area is cut off by land, Henrie said supplies have been delivered to some of those stranded on the islands west by boat, but those efforts alone wont be enough.

We are looking at years, years of recovery right now, she said.

Earlier on Thursday, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Hawaii and expanded federal aid to the states recovery efforts, the White House said in a statement. Were working as quickly as possible to fight those fires and evacuate residents and tourists, Biden said during a speech in Utah. In the meantime, our prayers are with the people of Hawaii, but not just our prayers: every asset that we have will be available to them.

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The export controls on gallium and germanium-related products that were implemented in August are legitimate and necessary steps to protect China's national security, an article posted by the Ministry of State Security said on Thursday, in response to the publication of maliciously twisted interpretations of the move on the foreign media.

Gallium and germanium have military and civilian dual-use attributes, it said. The lawful implementation of export controls is aimed at ensuring their legitimate use, maintaining national security and fulfilling China's international obligations more effectively.

China's Export Control Law stipulates that the country can impose export curbs on dual-use items and other goods related to safeguarding national security and interests. Besides, China's Foreign Trade Law provides that, to safeguard national security, the country may restrict or prohibit the export of goods relevant to national security.

China also pre-notified the relevant countries through normal channels before issuing control measures, ensuring fairness, reasonableness and nondiscrimination, and without targeting any specific country, it said.

Imposing export controls is also a reasonable action to ensure self-development. China is the world's largest importer and consumer of strategic mineral resources, and its demand for strategic mineral resources will continue to rise as the country is in the middle and later stages of industrialization with rapid urbanization, the article explained.

Additionally, global political and economic patterns are undergoing profound adjustments. So it is imperative to better coordinate between resource development and security, as well as current and long-term considerations, to ensure a sustained, reliable, and effective supply of resources needed for economic and social development. Such control measures are therefore appropriate and reasonable, and no one should criticize such measures, it said.

Most developed countries have implemented control measures on strategic mineral resources. The United States and the European Union have included gallium and germanium in their lists of critical minerals and subjected them to special attention. Furthermore, the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control mechanism led by the US and the EU, has included gallium and germanium in its controlled list. Several agreements of the World Trade Organization also include clauses supporting its member countries in taking relevant measures to safeguard national security, the article argued.

For many years, the proportion of gallium and germanium produced by China for the global market has significantly exceeded China's share of global reserves. In such circumstances, implementing control measures to appropriately manage exports and reduce the loss of strategic resources is in line with international norms and is based on a clear rationale, it said.

Resources and energy are vital to the national economy, people's livelihood and national security. Only by firmly holding energy and resources in its hands can a country achieve high-quality social and economic development, and ensure the confidence of the people to live and work in peace and contentment, it added.
During the Russian Aug. 11 attack, missile debris fell in three locations in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district, including a children's hospital territory, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported.

The roof of a house was damaged on the capital's Bohatyrska Street, according to Klitschko.

A missile fragment was also found on the territory of a local dacha (country house) neighborhood, the mayor said on Telegram.

No casualties were reported.

Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv early on Aug. 11 after Russia launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles at the region, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Explosions were also reported in Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia oblasts. Regional authorities haven't commented yet on the consequences of the attack.

The air raid alert was activated across Ukraine at about 9:50 a.m. local time when Russian MiG-31K jets took off from the Savasleyka airfield in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia kill 4, injure 20

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Magical Dining has grown exponentially in both scope and mission since the minds at Visit Orlando, looking to boost the hospitality business during a historically slow time of year, put together the very first one 18 years ago.

Its only Year Three crafting the Venetian Chop Houses prix fixe menu for executive chef David Hackett, but it is the Caribe Royale Resort mainstays 17th year participating in this landmark program. Balance, he says, was a key factor in the creative process.

Visit Orlandos Magical Dining returns Aug. 18 with new pricing feature

We want our guests to experience our great food prepared simple, yet delicious, with exceptional service and a wonderful wine selection, says Hackett.

Rustic panzanella salad is a colorful app choice to pair with entrees such as King Ora salmon, chicken parm or  the likely contender for program Prom Queen  a 14-ounce 1855 New York strip steak. The crack, crunch and cream of a vanilla creme brulee might round out your meal.

At a venue well known for steak and chops, its important to offer exceptional red meat alternatives. But from the number of meaty options on Visit Orlandos roster, its clear that many people are unapologetically carnivorous.

Its something that the hospitality pros at Rosen Hotels make a note of.

Ive been writing about Jacks Place, an under-the-radar gem at the Rosen Plaza, for more than 10 years at this point. Longtime fans can (and probably do) choose the 8-ounce filet mignon offering with frequency when it comes time to Magically Dine, but the Chilean sea bass, says Jennifer Rice-Palmer, director of guest contact, is also a popular pleaser.

Or they might choose to sit down at Shogun and add Japanese flair to the steak experience. Incidentally, Rice-Palmer says this Rosen Inn venue is founder and president Harris Rosens personal favorite among the portfolios eateries.

He will eat there at least a couple of times a month, and for family birthdays, youll often find the Rosens sitting at a hibachi table at Shogun. And so many people dont know its there.

This year, guests can choose from two entrees featuring steak at Shogun, which comes with all the action as chefs entertain even as they prepare the charity- and value-driven feast.

Value, says Hackett, is a main driver for guests at the Venetian.

For $60, you get to choose a wonderful, three-course, hand-crafted menu that would normally cost you much more if you dined with us a la carte, he explains. The portion sizes and quality of products do not change and are the same as we normally serve.

One that draws the regulars but also creates new ones every year.

We get the great opportunity to wine and dine some new guests and welcome home a lot of our repeat guests. We want our guests to experience the reimagined Caribe Royale Orlando and our overall commitment to quality and service.

New Italian dishes on the menu (including that aforementioned salad and chicken entree, as well as a wild mushroom risotto) are new hits theyll be showcasing. Guest favorites  jumbo shrimp cocktail, limoncello cheesecake, that strip steak  round out the offerings nicely.

Hacketts not surprised many steakhouses toss their toques into the Magical Dining fray, despite the cost of the product.

Everyone at Caribe Royale and the Venetian Chop House are committed to and passionate about our beautiful resort, our service and quality of food we offer. Like the old saying goes, it takes money to make money Guests will experience a wonderful meal, fantastic service, and a night they will remember as being served the Royale Treatment.'

This years Magical Dining steak and seafood participants include Adega Gaucha, BoiBrazil Churrascaria Steakhouse, BoVine, Del Friscos Double Eagle Steakhouse, Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Fogo de Chao, La Boucherie, Mortons, Ruths Chris, STK, The Backroom Steakhouse, Capital Grille, The Tap Room at Dubsdread, The Palm, Vines Grille & Wine Bar, Boheme Restaurant, Big Fin Seafood and Unreserved Food Bazaar.

Visit Orlandos Magical Dining returns on Aug. 18 and runs through Oct. 1.

Want to reach out? Find me on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. Join the conversation at the Orlando Sentinels Facebook food group, Lets Eat, Orlando.
A fresh defense procurement scandal has erupted in Ukraine, with investigative journalists reporting that winter uniforms for Ukrainian troops tripled in price between being ordered and being delivered.

Ukraines Defense Ministry signed a contract with a Turkish company to supply winter clothing for the military in the fall of 2022, but on the way between customs, the ordered jackets turned from "camouflage" to "winter wind protection" and tripled in price, according to an investigation by news outlet ZN.UA published on Aug. 10.

The journalists claim that they received a package of supporting documents for one of the batches of goods from the Turkish company Vector avia hava araclari, with which the Ministry of Defense entered into an agreement.

Read also: Why is the Defense Ministry sabotaging the purchase of much-needed drones?

The documents show that 4,900 jackets (and pants), which are listed in one document as having a total value of $142,000, are later listed at $421,000. The price for "camouflage" jackets rose from $29 per piece to $86 for "winter windproof" jackets.

The publication claims that the Turkish company actually belongs to Ukrainian citizen  Roman Pletnyov from Zaporizhzhya.

The court registry contains information about criminal proceedings concerning these clothing items. The ruling of the Holosiivskyi District Court states that the director of the Turkish company supplied windproof winter jackets and pants that did not meet either the technical specifications or the technical description to the contract. Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise concluded that they could not be used for their intended purpose.

According to the publication, which cited "officers from the customs front of Ukraine," the company imported 233,000 jackets worth $20 million and 202,000 pairs of pants worth $13 million from Turkey to Ukraine in October-December alone.

Read also:

Winter clothing that was going to Ukraine under another contract crossed the border in Moldova with documents stating a value of $27,500 per batch, while on border in Ukraine the value was given as $367,500, ZN.UA notes. Moreover, the journalists found jackets from this batch for sale on the classifieds platform OLX.

The journalists claim that the Ministry of Defense also bought helmets for soldiers at a premium. Moreover, the goods, which according to the documents were listed as PASGT helmets made in the United States with a level of protection NIJ IIIA, turned out to be helmets with a lower level of protection - NIJ 2.

In addition, ZN.UA indicates that it has a copy of the contract for the purchase of dry rations last spring. At that time, the Defense Ministry ordered 1 million vegetarian dry rations from Turkey for UAH 430 million ($11.7 million) from the Kyiv-based company Tanos Technology LLC. The original version had a food warmer, but it disappeared, and instead the dry rations were made up of chicken paste.

Read also: Why Defense Minister Reznikov hasnt been removed from his post, despite a decision to do so

The news agency calculated that the added chicken paste, cookies, coffee in stick packages, and disposable tableware accounted for UAH 248 ($6.75). This is more expensive than in stores.

According to ZN.UA, SBU investigators gained access to the dry rations brought by Tanos Technology. It turned out that they were packed in cardboard boxes with the inscription Recover, Ukraine. We believe in the healing power of love and support with the Legurme logo. It is known that the products of this brand and its parent company were distributed to charitable organizations.

So far, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has not publicly responded to this investigation.

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
Thirteen years ago, Lilia Mutka realized she had a calling.

With a degree in networking communications, the Buckeye resident was working in real estate when she decided to start rescuing animals from the West Valley.

Honestly, its really a very unusual thing. I think its Gods calling, Mutka said.

Now, Mutka has about 100 animals at her home in Buckeye. She had to stop taking in dogs for the time being, but she also has everything from cats to guinea pigs to snakes, and even two domesticated ducks.

Every day, Mutka receives a minimum of 25 calls. People call her to tell her theyve found a lost dog, a stray cat or a dumped dog in the middle of the desert.

This year, Mutka has taken in about 400 animals at the nonprofit Buckeye Animal Rescue & Kennel (BARK), which she runs at her home. While she has one paid employee, she largely relies on volunteers, with most of the animal food and cat litter coming from donations. Shes been able to run her rescue for so long because her husband runs a construction company, taking care of most of the familys bills.

There is no money in rescue, Mutka said with a laugh.

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Why are there so many stray animals in the Valley?

Its a growing problem in the Buckeye area and the Valley as a whole. Kim Powell, communications officer for Maricopa County Animal Care & Control, said the shelter, which only takes in dogs, is currently operating far beyond capacity. But things have changed over the past few years, Powell said.

Many people got dogs when they were home at the start of the pandemic, Powell said. But the pandemic accelerated the national veterinarian shortage, and many couldnt get in to get their dogs spayed or neutered or werent able to afford it. And with most now back to work, some people simply could no longer take care of their dogs.

People went back to work and realized they dont have time for the dog, so theyll turn the dog into us, feeling like they have no other option, Powell said.

But the shelter is taking some measures to help people figure out if they can keep their pets, Powell said. It recently hired for a second shelter diversion navigator position. If someone cannot keep their dog because theyre moving into a new apartment complex or for financial reasons, the shelter diversion navigators are able to help them find resources to hopefully keep their pet. While Maricopa County Animal Care & Control gets most of its dogs from the South Phoenix area, most of BARK's dogs come from Avondale.

The shelter diversion program was also started to address the issue of people dumping their dogs, Powell said. People might abandon their dogs because they feel they have no other option or fear judgement for taking their pet to a shelter.

Its an issue that Mutka has also seen out in the Buckeye area. Mutka said she usually takes in more dogs that have been dumped than dogs that are lost, since lost dogs typically have someone looking for them, whether that be by posting to social media or contacting shelters and police departments. Lost dogs might be microchipped, healthy-looking and have short nails.

Dumped dogs are typically dirty with longer nails and are infested with fleas or ticks, Mutka said. Last month, BARK took in two puppies that had such bad tick infestations their ear canals were completely blocked. If the ticks were simply pulled off, the puppies would have likely died from blood loss.

Mutka took them in, treated their ticks and got them on an antibiotic for tick borne diseases, which they had to be on for 21 days. The puppies just recently got adopted.

Whenever animals get adopted from BARK, new owners must sign a 4-page contract stating that, if their living situation should change, the animal will be brought back to BARK to help prevent more animals from going on the street. In addition to dogs and cats, Mutka also took in several goats that were dumped in the Tolleson area.

Mutka also has a several wolfdogs  which are a hybrid of a domesticated dog  and peacocks given up by people who realized the animals were too wild to care for. Two wolfdogs kept getting out and killing their neighbors' livestock before the neighborhood made a plan to shoot the dogs before contacting a wolf sanctuary in Colorado who then contacted Mutka.

"They shouldn't be pets," Mutka said.

Finding a forever home: Arizona Humane Society waives adoption fees this weekend to free up shelter space

Buckeye residents help keep feral populations under control

Its a different story when it comes to feral dogs, Mutka said, which are stray dogs born in the wild. For those projects, BARK will typically lean on actual trapping organizations like the Humane Animal Rescue & Trapping Team. Mutka has then taken in some of those dogs, since they oftentimes cannot be rehabilitated to the point of living in a home but are happy to live in a pack at BARK. Wolf hybrids, for example, should not be pets at all, Mutka said.

Mutka said she also sometimes deals with feral cats, with the population currently exploding in Old Town Buckeye. There isnt much that can be done with feral cats since most over 4 months old are too wild to be brought into a home, Mutka said. About 92% of the kittens that BARK does get are able to be homed, which are typically brought in by people who do trap-neuter-release (TNR).

TNR refers to catching a cat and getting it spayed or neutered before releasing it back into its colony. It helps to keep feral cat populations under control.

Catherine Kang has been living in Buckeye since 2012. She saved a few cats in the Sundance area, but didnt really notice the high population of feral cats until she moved to the Old Town area about five years ago. She noticed a small, emaciated kitten around the Family Dollar store. Having previously volunteered in animal rescue, Kang followed the kitten behind the store where she found dozens of cats.

Kang was able to get some of the kittens into rescues, but started to get involved with TNR when it came to the older feral cats, looking for resources to get the cats fixed for free or at a low cost.

When you do a TNR project you really need to try to get to all the cats in the colony to gain control over it, Kang said.

While that colony is still there, Kang said its now under control with just a handful of cats left. But Kang has ended up taking over other colonies, such as one behind an elementary school, which Kang got under control from 20 cats to now just a handful of cats.

TNR is difficult in the Buckeye area because there are very few resources and few places located within a short distance, Kang said. While there used to be a mobile vet clinic that came to the area occasionally, it no longer comes.

And no local vets have shown interest in participating in low-cost TNR, Kang said, with the veterinarian shortage compounding the problem. Its also difficult to find people who would want to pay to fix a cat that isnt theirs, along with driving it all the way to Phoenix where a few clinics do low-cost spaying and neutering.

Its easy for the problem to get out of control since it only takes one feral cat to start a colony. And some cats that arent feral still roam free, which could also be contributing to cat colonies. Although not feral cats, Mutka once rescued 97 cats from a single studio apartment, with the population quickly exploding.

Its hard to fix the problem because those that help are essentially volunteers, Mutka said.

Honestly, I think if we had the funding, we could do more work. But its difficult, you know? Its so limited on the resources that are out there, and you dont know its a problem until its in your face, Mutka said.

Mutka plans on retiring at some point in the future, citing exhaustion and a need to focus on her family and grandchildren. She's already cut back, having only taken in about 400 animals so far this year in comparison to 2,000 in 2018. Mutka and her husband recently bought 6 acres of land in Mayer, where they plan to build a sanctuary and take the animals that are adoptable. BARK might continue doing some adoptions, but not at the current scale.

"I can't save all of them. But I can save the ones I do," Mutka said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Maricopa County shelters are overwhelmed with stray animals
Richards

Vernon Richards has been named the new warden at Gaston Correctional Center in Dallas.

Richards most recently served as a captain at Marion Correctional Institution in McDowell County.

Warden Richards has a wealth of knowledge in prison operations earned through almost 30 years of experience, said Secretary of Adult Correction Todd Ishee. Hes a leader who has devoted his life to serving our country in the Marine Corps and to the citizens of North Carolina in his role as a respected correctional professional. I am proud to welcome him to our team of wardens who work so hard with care and compassion to protect the public.

In his new position, Richards is responsible for all operations at Gaston Correctional, a minimum-security prison for male offenders with a focus on preparing offenders for their return to communities on the completion of their sentences. The facility has a maximum capacity of 242.

The prison offers offenders programs such as character education, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Think Smart, Bible study, religious services and community leave. Work opportunities include Department of Transportation and community work crews, municipality crews, work release, and facility assignments such as kitchen, maintenance and janitorial.

Richards began his career at Foothills Correctional Institution in 1993 as a correctional officer. He progressed through the ranks as sergeant in 1996, training specialist in 2005, lieutenant in 2012, and then in 2017 to captain at Marion Correctional.

He received his criminal justice instructor certification from the N.C. Criminal Justice Standards Commission and served as a platoon commander leader for the Western Regions Prison Emergency Response Team.

He has received an Associate of Science degree in criminal justice from Western Piedmont Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in social science/criminal Justice from Gardner-Webb University, and a Master of Public Administration from Appalachian State University.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Meet the new warden of the prison in Dallas
Yuriy Buhlak, a member of Ukraines Central Election Commission or CEC, left Ukraine 12 days before Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has not returned since, an investigation by U.S.-funded Radio Libertys Skhemy project revealed on Aug. 10.

Buhlak lives with his family in the U.S. state of Florida near the coast city of Miami. He received a salary and other payments throughout 2022 totaling UAH 1.5 million ($41,019), including financial assistance from the state budget for solving social and household issues. From the spring of 2023, he took paternity leave while retaining his position.

Read also: Passports with Maldives stamps seized, home raided as SBI investigates MP Aristovs trip abroad

Journalists found out that he is a member of the Flea Market Miami group on Telegram, while his wife is a member of the Live in Miami, Speak Russian group. She posts photos from Hollywood, a town on the Atlantic coast outside Miami.

www.radiosvoboda.org

www.radiosvoboda.org

In a comment to Skhemy, Buhlak said that he had personal circumstances, and in his opinion, he did not violate Ukrainian laws as he had left before the invasion, and with its beginning, the CEC switched to remote work.

I worked and will continue working for my country, he said.

There were no violations on my part, on the part of my organization. Everything that happened was on legal grounds. Both departure, and work, and being somewhere where youre looking for me.

At the same time, Buhlak refused to reveal his whereabouts.

I wont answer this question, he said.

Youre an investigative journalist and youre able to establish my location.

In turn, the journalists have established Buhlaks whereabouts from the social networks of his wife, Tetiana Rtyshcheva. In her LinkedIn profile, she indicates that she has been living in Hollywood, Florida, since January 2022.

www.radiosvoboda.org

Rtyshcheva also posted a photo, thanks to which journalists managed to establish the location, namely The Wave residential complex in Hollywood, Florida.

www.radiosvoboda.org

Back on Feb. 14, two days after Buhlaks departure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on all state officials to return to Ukraine within 24 hours. However, Buhlak appears to have ignored the call.

Every person at a certain moment has an individual situation that affects his life, health, his family, etc., the official said, explaining his decision not to comply with the presidents call.

Im not an oligarch, and Im not a lawmaker.

Read also: Parliament strips Yuriy Aristov of parliamentary mandate over Maldives trip scandal

The CEC has a completely unique feature as it was one of the first in the country to make the decision to work remotely, Buhlak said.

Tell me, is there a difference between being, for example, in the town of Uzhhorod or in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, or in the city of Vinnytsia, or in some foreign city, working and receiving a salary? What is the difference? In the city of Kosice and the town of Uzhhorod. What is the difference for an official if he has the right to work remotely?

Meanwhile, CEC Chairman Oleh Didenko claimed that he had no legal grounds to file a motion to dismiss Buhlak.

At the same time, there may be many questions from the moral side.

But I have no right to comment on my colleagues actions since Im also the member of the Central Election Commission as others, Didenko said.

When Im elected as the head, I have certain additional administrative and organizational functions, but theyre not literally directly subordinate to me. I dont hire and fire them. Its probably not my right to comment on my colleagues actions.

Buhlak departed from Boryspil International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 12, 2022. He had a scheduled leave from Feb. 13 to March 9, after which the official has not returned to Ukraine.

Read also: Suspected collaborator and former Motor Sich head blocked transfer of helicopter to Ukrainian intelligence, in released phone conversations

Buhlak has been a member of the Central Election Commission since 2019. He is the former chief legal advisor of the Roshen confectionery corporation and former Member of Parliament from the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko party.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens to Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Barcena speak to the press in the Treaty Room at the Department of State (OLIVIER DOULIERY)

Mexico told the United States on Thursday that it will digitally track imports -- mostly from China -- of ingredients behind fentanyl, the opioid behind an epidemic of overdose deaths.

On a visit to Washington, Mexico's new foreign secretary, Alicia Barcena, promised to do more to address the synthetic drug issue, which has risen to the top of the US political agenda.

"The mission is to monitor, track and locate in real time the regulated chemical substances that enter into Mexico," Barcena told a news conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Mexico has already set up laboratories at points of entry to create a digital database on movement of 72 precursor chemicals to "guarantee the legal traceability," she said.

She acknowledged it would be more difficult to track illegal shipments of precursor chemicals.

Nearly 110,000 Americans died last year from drug overdoses, mostly of fentanyl, which initially was aggressively marketed by US pharmaceutical companies, especially to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Blinken told Barcena that fighting fentanyl abuse was "at the very top of the list of our priorities," noting that it is the top killer of Americans between ages 18 and 49.

China, under US pressure, officially banned fentanyl exports in 2019 but it remains the primary source of the ingredients, which are then turned into the highly addictive drug by Mexican cartels.

Seeing the heavy toll in the United States, some Republican lawmakers have gone so far as to threaten military action in Mexico against cartels.

Blinken last month launched a global coalition of more than 80 countries to work together against drug trafficking, with Mexico participating but China refusing, accusing the United States of failing to address the problem of drug abuse among Americans.

Barcena's visit comes after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador broke new ground in cooperating on another US priority -- curbing migration.

Mexico has started accepting Haitian, Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants expelled from the United States.

President Joe Biden's administration in May lifted a pandemic-era rule used by former president Donald Trump to bar virtually all migrants and has opened more legal pathways to apply to enter.

Contrary to some predictions, unauthorized border crossings have since dropped sharply.

But Mexico has been angered after Texas Governor Greg Abbott set up floating barriers in the Rio Grande blamed for at least two deaths.

Barcena said Mexico was "very concerned" and welcomed a lawsuit against the Texas buoys filed by Biden's Justice Department.

erl-sct/acb
Last month, a judge ruled the city of Miami could acquire a small lot on the Miami River from a development firm. The city had 20 days to pay a deposit to go forward with the proceedings.

But the city didnt pay. Now, the 20-day period has elapsed, and South River Warehouse, the owner of the property, is suing the city. The firm filed a lawsuit Wednesday for attorney fees and costs, as well as sanctions against the city.

The filing did not state exactly how much money South River Warehouse is asking for, but it said the firm incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses related to these proceedings.

The court filing calls the citys actions a gross abuse of the judicial system.

READ MORE: Miami is using eminent domain to take a Miami River site. Jury to decide the price

The property is a lot of about a third of an acre on the south side of the Miami River near Jose Marti Park. It has been at the center of a multi-year legal battle, as the city has attempted to acquire the land to build a park. Property owner South River Warehouse has opposed the taking from the start and rejected the citys initial offer to buy the land for about $4.5 million.

Currently, the lot sits empty, but Arturo Ortega has said his firm has plans to build a restaurant and water taxi stop on the property.

Commissioner Joe Carollo spearheaded the effort to acquire the lot, which is in his district, through eminent domain. He planned to turn the land into Simon Bolivar Park. Eminent domain allows the government to buy property for public use, even if the owner does not want to sell it. Carollo did not respond to the Heralds requests for comment.

A statement from the city attorneys office indicated the city will continue its efforts to acquire the land using a different style of eminent domain taking.

The type of eminent domain the city originally pursued is known as a quick take. This process allows the government to expedite the process of taking the property, but it also requires the city to agree to pay before it knows the price.

Ortega previously said the city was writing a blank check by pursuing a quick take.

Last month, a judge ruled in favor of the city acquiring the land and set the deposit at around $3.5 million. If the city had paid that deposit, it would have been agreeing to whatever price a jury would later set. The matter then would have gone to trial, the jury would have decided the price and the city would have been on the hook for that amount. Miami had until Monday to submit the deposit.

In July, an internal email obtained by the Herald suggested the city thought the value of the land might be higher than initially expected. City Attorney Victoria Mendez wrote, since we started the taking phase for the property, the value may have increased from $3 million to anywhere from a realistic $5 million [to even up to $10 million].

Now, Miami will pursue a slow take to serve the best interests and goals of the City, according to the statement. The city did not comment on South River Warehouses lawsuit.

Ortega said his firm believes the city has acted in bad faith during these proceedings. The city got everything it asked for and decided to not take it, Ortega said. He added that the city should not have pursued the quick take if it did not plan to submit the deposit and go forward with the proceedings.

South River Warehouses suit asks for the action to be dismissed and for the firm to be awarded the fees it paid for attorneys and experts throughout the multi-year process.

Ortega said he as far as he knows, the citys decision not to submit the deposit is unprecedented. He called the decision to change course unreasonable and confusing.
South Florida rental prices are finally flattening out. Hallelujah. Weve lived in one of the most unaffordable places in the nation for so long, a small bit of positive news like this sounds like cause for a full-on celebration.

And why not? All that suffering through high-rise construction  the ripped-up roads, the traffic tie-ups, the noise and dust  is finally paying off in what housing experts called a sharp cooldown. (If only that would describe the summer weather, too.)

All the new housing on the market, the housing experts told the Miami Herald, is one of the key reasons for the improved rental picture. The relocation of corporations during the pandemic was one of the drivers behind the building boom of the past few years. Theres so much competition in the rental real estate market that some apartments are offering a month or two of free rent to qualified renters, something we havent seen in a very long time.

This is a real change: After two years of average rent increases of 25% in 2021 and 7% in 2022, rents rose less than 1%.

Hold on, though. Experts also say that although prices may have peaked and even dropped a bit, they arent likely to come down much in this region. And they are still far higher than in 2019, before the public-health crisis hit.

That means the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties last month was still $2,052, down slightly from a year ago, but far above the median in 2019 of $1,491. Thats according to Apartment List, an online real-estate marketplace that released a report on the rental shift in South Florida.

Theres really only one solution. We need higher salaries in South Florida. So much of the job market is stuck in the days when living here was cheap. But the new companies coming into Miami should set the tone  and set a higher salary structure  if they want to keep employees from fleeing to places with more reasonable housing costs.

And thats a real issue, too: Despite the welcome news in the South Florida region, in Miami-Dade specifically, rental prices in the past year rose by about 6%, a national real estate consulting firm told the Herald.

After decades of real estate prices that were relatively cheap, South Florida has become known as a place plagued by a lack of affordable housing. That will hamper growth. Business leaders who see Miami as an attractive market to relocate their headquarters need to play a role, along with elected officials, in fixing the problem. If Miami hopes to realize all its big-league city dreams, it has to offer big-time salaries, too.
Michael Cohen speaks to reporters after testifying before a Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump. Cohen has rebranded as an outspoken Trump critic.

Michael Cohen speaks to reporters after testifying before a Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump. Cohen has rebranded as an outspoken Trump critic.

In yet another case of Donald Trump-era truth being stranger than fiction, Michael Cohen, a disgruntled ex-attorney for the former president, is weighing a potential Democratic primary run against Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.

Cohen, a resident of the East Side of Manhattan, told Semafor in a Thursday story that he is interested in campaigning for the seat and that a multitude of folks have urged him to follow through with the idea.

HuffPost reached Cohen by phone Friday, but he declined to elaborate on his plans, saying that he is not yet prepared to speak about it. As soon as Im ready, Ill definitely give you a call, he promised.

For years, Cohen served as a personal attorney and fixer for Trump. During the 2016 presidential election, he defended Trump on television. And more fatefully, Cohen made payments on Trumps behalf to adult actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to conceal their extramarital affairs with the reality TV star.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, including violations of campaign finance law for the hush money payments. He subsequently served over 13 months in prison, ending his incarceration in November 2021.

Cohens legal troubles coincided with a very public change of heart about Trump. In testimony to Congress in 2019, Cohen called Trump a racist and a con man.

This past March, he also testified to a Manhattan grand jury about the hush money payments he made on Trumps behalf. That grand jury indicted Trump the following month, accusing him of falsifying business records to conceal those payments.

Some Democrats are sure to remain skeptical of Cohens sincerity, not least if he is running against Nadler, a veteran liberal who spearheaded investigations of Trump while serving as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Nearly a year ago, Nadler handily defeated fellow Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a primary after the two septuagenarian Manhattanites were drawn into the same district.

A spokesperson for Nadler did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cohens interest in running.

But a former senior Nadler campaign aide, who requested anonymity to speak without authorization, offered a scathing reaction.

After a lifetime spent debasing himself, Michael Cohen clearly isnt satisfied, the former senior campaign aide said. Jerry will trounce Cohen without ever having to shift into second gear.
Job seekers read recruitment information at a job fair in Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Aug. 5, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

More college graduates are choosing to return to their home provinces to work rather than stay in first-tier cities, according to a new report.



The report, released by education consultancy MyCOS, said that 47 percent of respondents who studied outside provincial-level regions returned to their home provinces to work last year, up 4 percentage points from 2018.

Female college graduates were more willing to go home than their male counterparts, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying they had returned home compared with only 40 percent of male students.

The report also found that students from more developed regions were more likely to return to their home provinces.

Fifty-nine percent of students from the more-developed eastern regions said they returned to their home provinces, followed by 44 percent from western regions, 37 percent from central regions and 24 percent from northeastern regions.

Moreover, students who returned to their home provinces last year preferred to work at government institutions (25 percent) and State-owned enterprises (24 percent).

Even though many of the students didn't find high-paying jobs in their home provinces, with monthly average salaries lower than the national average, the job satisfaction rate for these students was higher than the national average, the report added.

Many local authorities have issued favorable policies to attract college graduates back home.

In July, Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region hosted its 11th annual event to attract Guangxi students studying in other provincial regions to return home.

Henan province has also encouraged college graduates, businesspeople and retired soldiers to return and start businesses, and is offering loans of up to 3 million yuan ($416,200) for eligible applicants.

Liu Wenqi, who graduated from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing in 2021, has chosen to become a middle school teacher in her hometown of Zibo, Shandong province, although she was offered work at a primary school in Beijing.

She said she doesn't regret her decision and is very happy working in her hometown and being close to her family and friends, adding that renting a small apartment near her school, costing only 500 yuan per month is better than paying thousands a month in Beijing.

She said as she is not from Beijing, it would be difficult for her to buy an apartment in the capital and settle down, while doing the same in Zibo is much easier.

"Compared with one of my roommates who now works at a primary school in Beijing's Haidian district, we both think I am living the happier life, as she faces much more pressure at her school and living in the capital," she said.

Gao Jie, 23, graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in June and returned to her hometown in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, to teach English at a middle school.

Although she has just started working at the school, she said her colleagues are very friendly and the work environment is good.

"In the first year of college I had already decided to return to Shaoxing to work because I didn't like the intense competition in Beijing. Life in Shaoxing is much slower and more relaxed," she said.

She said she could not get used to Beijing's food and its dry climate. During winter and summer breaks her skin always would improve when she returned home, so she never considered working in the capital.

"I enjoy my life now," she said. "The school is near my home and I have a pet rabbit, so life is good."
Tucker Jasso, the founder of the company For the Love of Charlie, had a message for a group of nearly 30 seniors in Hazel Park on a recent August afternoon: "I'm here to tell you how much this could change your life."

The lives she wants to change on this day are those of residents of Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park, many of whom joined Jassos late afternoon presentation Wednesday via wheelchair or with the assistance of a walker or the senior living facility staff.

Tucker Jasso, 60, founder of For the Love of Charlie, talks with seniors about her cannabis company, at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.

The way she wants to change their lives is with cannabis, or what she calls "medicine."

Who is Charlie

Jasso started her Vassar, Michigan-based cannabis company six months ago, though she said she has been working on launching this company for the past decade.

The idea for it came to her when her neighbor, Charlie, the person the company is named for, was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was given about a year to live.

A conversation a few months later with Charlies wife, Sue, revealed that Charlie wasnt doing well and was in hospice. Jasso said she asked Sue whether they had thought about medical marijuana and Sue said while they had talked about it, they had no idea where to get it. Jasso said she told Sue she'd make a few calls and found somebody with a caregiver card who went to a dispensary and got Charlie some products.

Tucker Jasso, 60, founder of For the Love of Charlie, talks with seniors about the benefits of cannabis at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Jasso dropped them off at Charlies house, and a few days later, Jasso said, Sue called and asked whether she could get more products because they were helping with his pain. The next time Jasso dropped off the marijuana products, she was shocked to see Charlie, who answered the door and gave her a big hug and thanked her.

Charlie was able to live another six weeks with a good quality of life, Jasso said, and through that experience, Jasso said she found her life passion. She closed her business and started researching and learning how to manufacture medical marijuana.

'Everybody in this room has pain'

That story immediately connected Tina Abbate Marzolf, chief operating officer of Baldwin House Senior Living, to Jasso.

"Her story was so familiar: Helping someone who is dying, Marzolf said. There are people that are dying in these buildings."

Janice Morehead, 77, left, and Peggy Posey, 71, right, talk with Deb Booth, 58, education coordinator of For the Love of Charlie cannabis company, about the benefits of cannabis at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

From there, the idea to do a series of seminars was born. Jasso would explain the benefits of medical marijuana, answer questions and provide samples.

"I knew that it's a touchy subject and it's controversial," Marzolf said. "But we also have a building full of people that have a lot of health issues."

At the seminar Wednesday at Baldwin House, residents and staff wanted to know what CBD (cannabidiol, which is the second most common cannabinoid after THC) can do for pain, if medical marijuana is covered by insurance and whether you can use cannabis if youre on other medications.

"Everybody in this room has pain," Jasso said. "That's what we all need this for. We're older. We have joint pain, arthritis, osteoporosis, colitis. We have all these different problems. That's what we're here for.  I can tell you, being old doesn't have to hurt so much."

Tucker Jasso, 60, founder of For the Love of Charlie, hands out chewable CBD gummy samples at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Some residents pushed back on the idea of using the products. One resident said when he consumed marijuana, the THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces the "high" sensation) caused him to be paranoid and he hid in the corner of his closet. He was skeptical that other components of marijuana, such as CBD, could be separated from the THC, or that taking a lower dose product wouldnt make him paranoid.

Willing to give it a try, maybe

Marzolf estimated about half the audience Wednesday believed in the potential benefits of marijuana. One resident played solitaire on her phone throughout the presentation.

But conversations with several residents following the seminar, indicated they were interested in giving the products a try.

Sandra Talley, 70, recently had surgery but it's arthritis that she struggles with most.

Sandra Talley, 70, sits after a presentation from For the Love of Charlie cannabis company at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

My arthritis everywhere else is giving me the blues, Talley said. I dont take all those powerful drugs. I dont want what they (doctors) have to give out. I dont want the opioids and all of that.

Talley said she was going to give For the Love of Charlie samples a try.

Patricia Merchant, 62, said she had a pinched nerve and was given a product by someone close to her containing marijuana and was told to take half to help relieve the pain. Merchant did what she was instructed but said she could see herself come down off a cloud, so she wants to do more research to see whether For the Love of Charlie products are right for her before she would consume them.

Diane Hamilton, 73, also has tried marijuana products and recently visited a dispensary and bought a tube of gummies for $25, hoping to ease what she called extreme pain in her leg. She didnt notice any difference after consuming them, though.

For the Love of Charlie cannabis company talks with seniors about the benefits of cannabis at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

She said she would try the For the Love of Charlie products, depending on the price.

Were seniors on fixed incomes, Hamilton said. I cant allocate $60 in my budget every month for CBD.

Our guide to visiting a dispensary: You can't use a credit card to buy marijuana at a metro Detroit dispensary. What to know

At the end of the seminar, Jasso felt hopeful that she could make a difference in some of these seniors lives. Having given a few of these presentations to seniors on a more informal basis, she said that she feels like God has given her this gift to help people.

Tucker Jasso, 60, founder of For the Love of Charlie, talks with seniors about her cannabis company, at Baldwin House Senior Living in Hazel Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.

When somebody calls me and says, I was able to go and visit my family and I didnt even have to use my wheelchair, what a feeling that is, Jasso said.

Jasso sells CBD products online at CharlieCBD.org and her products, some of which contain THC, also are sold at several marijuana dispensaries such as Liv Cannabis in Lake Orion and Mission Dispensaries and House of Evolution in Ann Arbor, among others. A medical marijuana card isnt required to buy her products.

Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan senior living facility group has new offering: Cannabis talks
This article was originally published in Michigan Advance.

Michigans school violence prevention reporting system received 7,415 tips in 2022, annual numbers from Michigan State Police said, a 19% increase from the year before.

The reporting system, OK2SAY, allows students to report if they hear or see something that poses a threat or could pose a threat to students. The categories with the most tips are, bullying, suicide threats and drugs.

Its not altogether clear why the number of possible threats is increasing within Michigan, Justin Heinze, director of the National Center for School Safety (NCSS), said.

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Is that because the true incidence of violence or concerning behavior is going up, or are we just doing a better job at getting students and parents and whomever else to recognize some of these concerns and make those reports? Thats a difficult thing to kind of distinguish, Heinze said.

After the Oxford High School shooting in Oakland County in November 2021 where four students were killed, OK2SAY tracked a 2,709% increase in tips for December than in December of 2020.

The Oakland County Prosecutors Office noted a significant uptick in school threats within the county after the Oxford shooting, and again after the shooter pleaded guilty to the killings last November, said the offices Chief of Administration Betsey A. Hage.

Although more than half of states have some form of anonymous reporting for students, OK2SAY is feeding information to study what the outcomes of the tips are, Heinze said.

Trying to help those who are going to be using these systems or responding to these tips prepare for the kind of tips that will be coming in is a big thing that were interested in learning more about, Heinze said. A vast majority of students now have a system like this that they can use, but we dont understand really well, I think from at least a research perspective, how students use these systems.

Sometimes dozens of tips can come in for the same incident, as OK2SAY refers to singular events. OK2SAY not only tracked what agency or organizations incidents were referred to, but also what happened after it was referred.

In 2022, technicians sent information about 3,066 incidents to school officials and 787 incidents to law enforcement, with other groups being alerted at smaller numbers, according to the 2022 report.

In outcome reports from schools and local law enforcement, OK2SAY shows tips filed that led to school operations being disrupted 20 times across the state, from school closures to lockdowns, to evacuations.

OK2SAYs report says 26 tips involved the seizure of weapons and 42 involved the seizure of alcohol or drugs.

In looking at the rise of tips, Michigan School Counselor Association Executive Director Sarah Dickman points at the compounding hurdles students have been navigating over the last few years: The global COVID-19 pandemic and a national rise in gun violence within schools.

We see students still struggling with the learning loss due to COVID, but also, they lost a lot of social emotional support during that time, as well, Dickman said. Were seeing students that are struggling in that area and I think thats reflected in some of the data that were seeing with the OK2SAY program.

When it comes to violence within schools, whether its bullying or a school threat, if students dont feel safe in their environment, it affects their ability to learn, to have appropriate relationships and manage their own emotions, Dickman said.

The conversation surrounding mental health for students has come to the forefront of lots of peoples minds as the pandemic exacerbated existing holes in how students are supported to succeed, Dickman said. Organizations like the Michigan School Counselor Association hope to see more student support staff roles being funded within schools.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced in September her office had assembled a team of national experts to investigate preventive measures to combat gun violence to then recommend solutions for communities.

McDonald, in a written statement to the Michigan Advance, said her office commends all of the brave individuals who spoke up when they felt something was not right by submitting tips to OK2SAY and she looks forward to protocols from the Commission to Address Gun Violence being released to the public.

I formed the Commission to Address Gun Violence to work diligently towards producing a meaningful protocol to reduce gun violence, which includes effective and trusted reporting systems, McDonald said in the statement. The final protocol will include recommendations to strengthen and expand Michigans confidential reporting system OK2SAY to avert attacks because locking kids up and bringing them into the criminal justice system is not the answer to preventing the next shooting.

Hage, who also vice chairs the commission, said its the groups intention to release final protocols for the publics viewing in the fall.

The National Center for School Safety, which operates out of the University of Michigan, launched a new Michigan School Safety Initiative this summer which is working create online tools for schools to connect with violence prevention programming and allow schools to get connected to specialists that could visit schools throughout the state to create tailored safety strategies, Heinze said.

Some solutions that have been implemented in the wake of school violence are subject to debate like active shooter drills, metal detectors or the presence of law enforcement within schools, and will be examined by members of the initiative, looking into how solutions actually impact the school community, Heinze said.

There are all these sorts of downstream effects that can happen when students are forced to think about, well, is my building a safe place or not? Heinze said. If you look at the data broadly, most schools are very safe places relative to other environments. So we try to talk about schools in that way.  Violence does occur, sometimes heinous violence occurs, and were trying to reduce that number down to zero, but generally speaking, schools can be safe and productive.

Dickman echoed that interest in understanding how solutions to the problems of violence impact students, but added that there may be benefits to more palpable preventative efforts like active shooter drills.

I think that sometimes the adults worry about doing [active shooter] drills because we worry about the effects that it has on students psychologically, but what we actually hear from students is, they want to feel prepared because they feel that its something that could  happen at their school, so it brings a sense of calm to them knowing that their school is well prepared with a plan, Dickman said.

And conversations about what actually will give kids the confidence they need to speak up when they see something and explain why some safety measures are in place so the students can understand why theyre there will ultimately include students in the conversation that allows them a bit of autonomy in solving the problems of school-based violence.

There does seem to be solid evidence now to suggest that they are in good positions to speak up and say something when they have the opportunity and when they have the means to do so and that can prevent violence, Heinze said.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.
The Channel crossing, often in flimsy boats, is perilous (Ben Stansall)

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to southeast England since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed on Friday.

Some 755 migrants were detected on Thursday on 14 small boats headed for England's southern coast, the UK interior ministry statistics showed, the highest tally on a single day this year.

Those boats bring the number of arrivals so far this year to nearly 16,000, and takes the total since counting the perilous cross-Channel journeys started in 2018 to 100,715.

Also on Friday, officials were relocating asylum-seekers from a barge docked off the southwest English coast after Legionella bacteria was found in the water only days after the migrants had been moved aboard.

The interior ministry said none of the 39 who arrived on the vessel this week had shown symptoms of Legionnaires' disease, which is caused by the bacteria but is not contagious.

"The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority," a ministry spokesperson added.

The Channel crossings have become a highly contentious political issue and prompted the UK government to introduce legislation barring asylum claims by all arrivals via the Channel and other "illegal" routes.

The new law also mandates their transfer to third countries, such as Rwanda, but both policies are on hold amid a court challenge over the legality of sending migrants to east Africa.

The plans have been condemned by migrant advocates, including the United Nations' refugee agency.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government claims it has been forced to pursue the hardline deterrents as the surge in cross-Channel arrivals increasingly stretches resources.

- 2023 numbers lower -

Britain's asylum system is facing a huge backlog, a delay that rights groups assert is of the government's own making.

At the end of March, more than 130,000 asylum-seekers were in limbo, still waiting for their applications to be processed.

The cost of housing those applicants and other migrant arrivals has reached more than six million pounds ($7.6 million) a day, according to officials, as they resort to using hotels and other temporary accommodation.

But the move to house migrants aboard the "Bibby Stockholm" barge has irked both locals, including the local Conservative MP, as well as rights campaigners.

Sunak, who made "stopping the boats" one of his five key aims in 2023 ahead of an expected general election next year, has insisted his strategy is prevailing, despite the arrivals.

The issue is set to remain prominent, with migration a perennial top concern of voters, particularly those who typically opt for his Conservatives.

The final tally of cross-Channel arrivals in 2023 appears set to be lower than the previous year for the first time since the route began to grow in popularity at the end of the last decade.

Just 299 migrants made the journey in 2018. During 2020 it had climbed to 8,466 while last year saw a record 45,755 arrivals.

The lower numbers in 2023 could be due to months of particularly poor weather, which makes the journeys in small inflatable vessels almost impossible.

French authorities have also stepped up patrols and other deterrent measures after London agreed in March to send Paris hundreds of millions of euros annually towards the effort.

The route across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes has repeatedly proved perilous, with several capsizings and scores of migrants drowning in the waters over the last decade.

jj/jwp
The News

More migrants have died in the Mediterranean this year than in any full year since 2018, according a United Nations tracker, which had the 2023 death toll as 2063.

The figures reflect nearly daily reports of tragedies suffered by those attempting to enter Europe. Last week, 41 migrants died in a shipwreck on the way to the Italian island of Lampedusa. They had set off from Tunisia  where 11 bodies were recovered from a separate incident.

Weve curated reporting and insights into what the staggering figures reveal about the worsening crisis across the world.

Insights

One in every 21 migrants dies while traversing through the Central Mediterranean  the most popular, but also the riskiest route from the North African coast to Italy or Malta.

Its a crisis that is affecting young Africans. People aged 15 to 24 make up 54% of the labor force across Africa, but in countries like Senegal, they are battling high unemployment, climate-related disasters, and social unrest, pushing them to leave.

The West should be asking, How has the mass drowning of people become normalized?" said Sally Hayden, an Irish Times reporter on migration and conflict. The increasing migrant drownings are the result of a global inequality crisis, Hayden said, because people cant get visas or fly on planes. 

The rhetoric around the EUs deal with Tunisia to address the migrant crisis is to prevent drownings, but the the reality is about preventing people from coming to Europe, argued Anand Menon, a Professor of European Politics at Kings College London. European politicians are so terrified by migration from Africa, Menon said, that they will do anything to stop it, including dealing with dictators in Tunisia. 

The Mediterranean is not the only hotspot for migrant drownings. On Monday, 17 people died in a shipwreck carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Malaysia off the Burmese coast. The Rohingya, a Muslim minority group in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, are among the most persecuted people in the world. More than 3,500 Rohingya attempted to cross the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal last year  700 more than in 2021.
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks to reporters at the Iowa State Fair Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mike Pence knocked Joe and Hunter Biden over news of a special counsel's investigation.

Pence said when he was vice president, "my son was flying an F-35 for the Marine Corps."

Hunter Biden was conducting business with foreign companies and struggled with substance abuse during Biden's vice presidency.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday took a shot at President Joe Biden over his son Hunter's conduct while Biden was serving as vice president.

"To be honest with you, I can't relate to what his son was doing while he was vice president," Pence told reporters while campaigning at the Iowa State Fair. "When I was vice president, my son was flying an F-35 for the Marine Corps defending this country. I think it's about time that we saw the appointment of a special counsel to get to the bottom of not only what Hunter Biden was doing, but what the Biden family was doing."

The former vice president's shot at the White House came shortly after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he would elevate Delaware US Attorney David Weiss to special counsel, as Weiss continues his investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings.

Pence said he welcomed Garland's announcement, a much more fulsome endorsement of the move than other Republicans have given. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others are already questioning Weiss' standing.

Hunter Biden has admitted that he struggled with substance abuse toward the end of his father's vice presidency following the death of his brother, Beau.

At the same time, the vice president's son was conducting business with foreign companies, including serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company. Republicans have alleged that Hunter Biden's business dealings amounted to bribes to the sitting vice president, but thus far they have yet to prove any wrongdoing on Biden's behalf. Rep. James Comer, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, now rejects the notion that his panel needs to show a direct connection to Biden.

Pence attended his son, Michael Pence Jr's, graduation from naval aviator training in 2018. Then-Vice President Pence also spoke of his son during his eulogy for President George H.W. Bush, pointing out that his son made his first tailhook landing on an aircraft carrier named after the 41st president.

Pence has tried to balance his steadfast belief with his actions on January 6, 2021, with the kind of red-meat campaigning necessary to secure the GOP presidential nomination. The former vice president has struggled to keep pace with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, let alone former President Donald Trump, who holds a commanding national lead over the field. Pence has qualified for the first GOP presidential debate that is less than two weeks away.

A spokesperson for Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former Vice President Mike Pence said he welcomes the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment Friday, saying U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who has long overseen the investigation into Biden, would be appointed as special counsel to continue investigating President Joe Biden's son.

"I think its about time that we saw the appointment of a special counsel to get to the bottom of not only what Hunter Biden was doing, but what the Biden family was doing," Pence told reporters Friday at the Iowa State Fair. "The American people deserve answers, and I welcome the appointment."

More: Mike Pence was accused of 'treason' by a Iowa State Fair attendee. Watch how he replied:

Hunter Biden had reached a plea deal with prosecutors to resolve tax evasion and gun charges stemming from Weiss' five-year investigation, but the deal unraveled in court last month amid objections from Republican members of Congress.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Pence took the opportunity to highlight his own son's military service.

"To be honest with you, I cant relate to what his son was doing when he was vice president," Pence said. "When I was vice president, my son was flying an F-35 for the Marine Corps defending this country."

Former Vice President Mike Pence takes questions from reporters at the Iowa State Fair on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

Mike Pence: Donald Trump 'missing an opportunity' by not sitting down with Gov. Kim Reynolds

Pence spent Friday at the Iowa State Fair, where he began his day sitting down with Gov. Kim Reynolds for an interview-style "fair-side chat."

Reynolds has invited all the Republican presidential candidates to participate in the chats. Former President Donald Trump is the only candidate not scheduled to appear.

"I think anybody that skips sitting down with Gov. Kim Reynolds is missing an opportunity, just as much as they are if they skip a debate," Pence told reporters.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, wave to the crowd after participating in Gov. Kim Reynolds' "Fair-Side Chat" on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.

Trump recently attacked Reynolds, who is remaining neutral in the 2024 presidential race, for not endorsing his candidacy.

Trump has also declined to say publicly whether he will attend the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee later this month.

Pence praised Reynolds, saying he is "incredibly proud" of her record.

"The way she has balanced budgets, cut taxes, expanded educational choice and stood for the right to life has really been an inspiration to people all across this state and all across the nation as well," he said.

Chuck Grassley says 'it's about time' a special counsel was appointed to investigate Hunter Biden

Pence also toured the Iowa Pork Producers Tent with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, eating a pork sandwich and shaking hands with fairgoers.

Grassley, a Republican, said "it's about time" there was a special counsel investigating Hunter Biden. He said he was one of several Republican lawmakers who called for Weiss to be given special counsel protections last September.

However, now Grassley says he has questions about Weiss serving in the role. He said Weiss hasn't made use of records Grassley sent to him, including a controversial and unverified FBI document that relates to alleged bribery of Hunter Biden by Ukrainian business officials.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, speak with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, left, and his wife, Barbara Grassley.

Weiss is a U.S. attorney from Delaware and was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Grassley said the special counsel needs to "follow all the facts wherever it leads and to be transparent in the process."

He said he has concerns about whether the special counsel will cooperate with congressional oversight.

"They better not appoint this person to inhibit congressional investigation," Grassley said. "Because we know that this administration is just embedded with political bias and they do one thing for a Democrat and a different thing for a Republican."

Garland said he appointed Weiss after Weiss informed him on Tuesday that "his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel."

Following the special counsel investigation, Garland said Weiss will provide him a report detailing decisions on whether to prosecute. Garland said the Justice Department will "make as much of his report public as possible."

"The appointment of Mr. Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland said.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mike Pence, at the Iowa State Fair, welcomes Hunter Biden special counsel
The U.S. military often isnt screening recruits for extremist activity, highlighting a broader failure to tackle extremists in the ranks. The white supremacist group Patriot Front is suing  but also being sued, again. A man who threatened to kill President Biden on social media is shot and killed. And an intelligence agency reveals threats to attack the power grid.

Its the week in extremism.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a historic set of directives after the Jan. 6 insurrection, aimed at stopping extremism in the military.

Military fails in screening recruits for extremist ties

An internal Department of Defense audit released this week found that military recruiters didnt screen eligible new recruits for ties to extremism 40 percent of the time. The report comes two weeks after USA TODAY published a deep-dive investigation into the militarys failing effort to combat extremism.

The audit, completed by the Department of Defense Inspector General, found that 41% of applicants who were supposed to undergo additional screening were not asked about extremist or gang affiliations. And 40% were not asked to complete new screening forms.

USA TODAYs investigation last month found that of 20 proposed changes to root out extremism, most appear stalled or inactive.

"It's unacceptable," Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism told USA TODAY of the findings released this week. "It's really just shocking that they aren't taking this seriously."

This combination of images provided by the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office shows, from top row from left James Michael Johnson, Forrest Rankin, Robert Whitted. Bottom row from left, Devin Center, Derek Smith. A northern Idaho jury on Thursday, July 20, 2023, found these five members of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front guilty of misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot at a Pride event.

Patriot Front sued (again)

Texas-headquartered white supremacist group Patriot Front was sued in federal court in Boston this week by a man who claims he suffered a brutal racist attack when the organization rallied in his home city.

Patriot Front bills itself as a nationalist group, but internal documents leaked from the group have revealed its true white supremacist nature.

Charles M. Murrell III, a Black musician, teacher and civil rights activist, claims he was surrounded by Patriot Front members who attacked him with their shields, causing lacerations that needed to be treated in hospital.

Its just the latest legal trouble for Patriot Front, which was also sued last year in Richmond, Virginia and has so far failed to show up in court. But members of the group also filed their own lawsuit, with a novel claim against an activist they say infiltrated them, and then exposed their views to others.

Man who threatened Biden shot by FBI

Craig Robertson, a 75-year-old from Provo, Utah, was shot and killed by FBI agents at his home Wednesday. Robertson had previously made threats on social media against President Joe Biden and other powerful Democrats, according to federal court filings.

Robertson, who had previously been questioned by FBI agents, continued to make death threats against the President and prominent Democrats, leading to a warrant for his arrest.

The 75-year old was killed in a raid on his home early Wednesday morning as the FBI tried to arrest him.

Robertson posted his threats on former President Donald Trumps social media site Truth Social and on other social media.

Threats to power grid

A suspected white supremacist threatened to attack the nations power grid if authorities dont release two men with far-right ties held for allegedly planning a bank robbery, according to a report this week in the Daily Dot.

The Daily Dot obtained a bulletin shared on April 6 by the South Dakota Fusion Center (SDFC), which provides intelligence on threats for security agencies.

The bulletin details a post on Telegram by an unidentified person threatening to engage in more attacks on infrastructure if the two suspects are not released.

An analysis by Axios found there were 163 reported electrical incidents or disturbances caused by acts of vandalism, physical attacks, or "suspicious activity," last year. Its not clear, though, that the new threat has any connection to the uptick in previous attacks. The bulletin notes, This is a new source whose information has not been validated.

Statistic of the week: 10

Thats the number of acres a white supremacist leader and well-known neo-Nazi has bought, for $25,000, in the town of Springfield, Maine, according to a local news report late last week. The group reportedly wants to build a white supremacist enclave in the state.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Craig Robertson, Provo man, shot by FBI: The week's extremism news
Rousmery Negron stands with her son at home in Springfield, Mass., on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Negron and her son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming. Parents were no longer allowed in the building without an appointment, Negron said. Punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negron's son even overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name. He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP)  When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negron and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming.

Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negron's son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name.

Her son didnt want to go to school anymore. And she didnt feel he was safe there.

He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade.

Across the country, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened during the pandemic. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent, according to the most recent data available. Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school.

All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students became chronically absent, according to the data, which was compiled by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. Taken together, the data from 40 states and Washington, D.C., provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide. Absences were more prevalent among Latino, Black and low-income students, according to Dees analysis.

The absences come on top of time students missed during school closures and pandemic disruptions. They cost crucial classroom time as schools work to recover from massive learning setbacks.

Absent students miss out not only on instruction but also on all the other things schools provide  meals, counseling, socialization. In the end, students who are chronically absent  missing 18 or more days a year, in most places  are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out.

The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating. And the pandemic has absolutely made things worse and for more students, said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit addressing chronic absenteeism.

In seven states, the rate of chronically absent kids doubled for the 2021-22 school year, from 2018-19, before the pandemic. Absences worsened in every state with available data  notably, the analysis found growth in chronic absenteeism did not correlate strongly with state COVID rates.

Kids are staying home for myriad reasons  finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying and generally feeling unwelcome at school.

And the effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance.

For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day. Families got used to that, said Elmer Roldan, of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, which helps schools follow up with absent students.

When classrooms closed in March 2020, Negron in some ways felt relieved her two sons were home in Springfield. Since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Negron, who grew up in Puerto Rico, had become convinced mainland American schools were dangerous.

A year after in-person instruction resumed, she said, staff placed her son in a class for students with disabilities, citing hyperactive and distracted behavior. He felt unwelcome and unsafe. Now, it seemed to Negron, there was danger inside school, too.

He needs to learn, said Negron, a single mom who works as a cook at another school. Hes very intelligent. But Im not going to waste my time, my money on uniforms, for him to go to a school where hes just going to fail.

For people who've long studied chronic absenteeism, the post-COVID era feels different. Some of the things that prevent students from getting to school are consistent  illness, economic distress  but something has changed, said Todd Langager, who helps San Diego County schools address absenteeism. He sees students who already felt unseen, or without a caring adult at school, feel further disconnected.

Alaska led in absenteeism, with 48.6% of students missing significant amounts of school. Alaska Native students rate was higher, 56.5%.

Those students face poverty and a lack of mental health services, as well as a school calendar that isnt aligned to traditional hunting and fishing activities, said Heather Powell, a teacher and Alaska Native. Many students are raised by grandparents who remember the government forcing Native children into boarding schools.

Our families arent valuing education because it isnt something thats ever valued us, Powell said.

In New York, Marisa Kosek said son James lost the relationships fostered at his school  and with them, his desire to attend class altogether. James, 12, has autism and struggled first with online learning and then with a hybrid model. During absences, he'd see his teachers in the neighborhood. They encouraged him to return, and he did.

But when he moved to middle school in another neighborhood, he didnt know anyone. He lost interest and missed more than 100 days of sixth grade. The next year, his mom pushed for him to repeat the grade  and he missed all but five days.

His mother, a high school teacher, enlisted help: relatives, therapists, New Yorks crisis unit. But James just wanted to stay home. He's anxious because he knows he's behind, and he's lost his stamina.

Being around people all day in school and trying to act normal is tiring, said Kosek. She's more hopeful now that James has been accepted to a private residential school that specializes in students with autism.

Some students had chronic absences because of medical and staffing issues. Juan Ballina, 17, has epilepsy; a trained staff member must be nearby to administer medication in case of a seizure. But post-COVID-19, many school nurses retired or sought better pay in hospitals, exacerbating a nationwide shortage.

Last year, Juan's nurse was on medical leave. His school couldnt find a substitute. He missed more than 90 days at his Chula Vista, California, high school.

I was lonely, Ballina said. I missed my friends.

Last month, school started again. So far, Juan's been there, with his nurse. But his mom, Carmen Ballina, said the effects of his absence persist: He used to read a lot more. I dont think hes motivated anymore.

Another lasting effect from the pandemic: Educators and experts say some parents and students have been conditioned to stay home at the slightest sign of sickness.

Renee Slater's daughter rarely missed school before the pandemic. But last school year, the straight-A middle schooler insisted on staying home 20 days, saying she just didn't feel well.

As they get older, you cant physically pick them up into the car  you can only take away privileges, and that doesnt always work, said Slater, who teaches in the rural California district her daughter attends. She doesnt dislike school, its just a change in mindset."

Most states have yet to release attendance data from 2022-23, the most recent school year. Based on the few that have shared figures, it seems the chronic-absence trend may have long legs. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, chronic absenteeism remained double its pre-pandemic rate.

In Negrons hometown of Springfield, 39% of students were chronically absent last school year, an improvement from 50% the year before. Rates are higher for students with disabilities.

While Negron's son was out of school, she said, she tried to stay on top of his learning. She picked up a weekly folder of worksheets and homework; he couldnt finish because he didnt know the material.

He was struggling so much, and the situation was putting him in a down mood," Negron said.

Last year, she filed a complaint asking officials to give her son compensatory services and pay for him to attend a private special education school. The judge sided with the district.

Now, shes eyeing the new year with dread. Her son doesnt want to return. Negron said she'll consider it only if the district grants her request for him to study in a mainstream classroom with a personal aide. The district told AP it can't comment on individual student cases due to privacy considerations.

Negron wishes she could homeschool her sons, but she has to work and fears they'd suffer from isolation.

If I had another option, I wouldnt send them to school, she said.

____

AP education writer Sharon Lurye contributed from New Orleans; AP reporter Becky Bohrer contributed from Juneau. This story was reported and published in partnership with EdSource, a nonprofit newsroom that covers education in California. EdSource reporter Betty Marquez Rosales contributed reporting from Bakersfield.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A North Carolina teen lifeguard is recovering at home after lightning struck her at a public pool during Mondays severe storms that spawned two Charlotte-area tornadoes.

Brynnlee Steger saw a flash of orange and blue, turned to look at her mom and felt a lightning bolt zap her in the arm, the 15-year-old Carson High School junior told WSOC, The Charlotte Observers news partner.

She and another lifeguard had cleared visitors at the pool in the town of Landis ahead of the approaching storm clouds and winds, she told The Salisbury Post.

She was retrieving an umbrella from the pool deck when she heard the loudest thunder of her life and was hit, she told the newspaper.

Pain coarsed through her body then back to her left arm, she told WCCB. Doctors told her she suffered nerve damage and will need physical therapy, the station reported.

It was an excruciating pain, Brynnlee told The Salisbury Post. It knocked me down.

It felt like my arm got blown off, she told WBTV.

Her mom and her boss carried her to a sheltered concessions area and placed her on the ground, but she kept hyperventilating and going in and out, according to WBTV.

Rowan County EMS got her to a hospital, where she was stabilized and later released.

One of Mondays tornadoes reached the Landis area around the time the lightning hit Brynnlee, although a National Weather Service storm-damage team reported no injuries from the twister.

Thats because its far more likely that lightning would have been near the funnel cloud and not within it, meteorologist Patrick Moore of the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer Friday.

The tornado started as an EF-1 with 110 mph winds in Catawba County and uprooted countless trees on a 37.41-mile path into Iredell and Rowan counties, the damage survey team from the Greer NWS office reported Tuesday.

The twister weakened to an EF-0 with winds of 70 mph to 85 mph on the north side of Mooresville and briefly strengthened into an EF-1 again while entering Rowan County along N.C. 152.

Near Landis, the storm lost intensity and dissipated at 5:22 p.m., just east of Interstate 85 between Lentz and Daughtery roads, the NWS team determined.

Brynnlee and her mom, Sonya Steger, saw the nasty stuff coming and credit God with saving her life.

On Facebook, Steger thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Please continue to pray as she recovers, Steger said. She is indeed my miracle baby! ... God will always carry you through the storm!
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko has reported that missile debris has fallen on the territory of one of the Ukrainian capital's hospitals.

Source: Klitschko on Telegram

Quote: "Missile wreckage has fallen on the territory of one of the children's hospitals in the capital."

Details: Kyiv Mayor said there were no casualties or damage, and emergency services were heading towards the scene.

Update: Later, the mayor added that missile debris had fallen in two more locations in the city's Obolon district.

The roof of a private residential building was damaged on Bohatyrska Street. A piece of missile was found out in the field in one of the local dacha allotment cooperatives. No casualties were reported.

Background: The Ukrainian authorities issued an air-raid warning throughout the country on the morning of 11 August due to the threat of missile attacks.

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!
Billions of yuan in disaster relief funding for rebuilding areas in Henan province hit by catastrophic flooding in 2021 have been misappropriated or inefficiently utilized, according to a governmental audit.

Last month marked the two-year anniversary of the once-in-a-century deluge that inundated the subway system in the provincial capital Zhengzhou and many rural parts of the province, triggering extensive recovery efforts.

More than 450 millimeters of rain fell in the city over three days starting on July 18, 2021, three times the historical average for the entire month, causing 120 billion yuan (16.66 billion) in direct economic losses. More than 14 million people were affected, with 398 people killed or missing.

In a report on July 28, the Henan Provincial Audit Department said 405 million yuan ($56 million) in post-disaster reconstruction funding earmarked for nine hard-hit counties and a company owned by the provincial government did not conform to rules relating to relief spending.

Two government-controlled fund-raising platforms were found to have intercepted and misused about 30 million yuan originally planned for disaster-related projects, the report said.

Auditors found that 162 relief projects, accounting for 3.12 billion yuan, were behind schedule. Huangchuan and three other cities falsely reported the progress on projects worth 1.28 billion yuan, and some projects reported by localities, did not even exist.

Hundreds of projects were also found to have shunned quality testing or construction was found to be substandard.

Three projects not related to disaster relief were found to have received money earmarked for relief-only investments, it added.

The audit department said the report was based on two years of "all-reaching and penetrating" investigations targeting the 44 worst affected counties.

An unnamed official with the audit department told China National Radio that the places named in the report were only a few examples of the problematic handling of disasterrelief funding, and that the complete results of the audit will be released before late November.
A Missouri man wanted along with his wife in a parental kidnapping died Wednesday during a standoff with U.S. Marshals in Michigan, the U.S. Marshals said in a release.

The man killed was identified as Giovanni McNab, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. A deputy also was injured in the standoff, but was reported to be in stable condition.

The U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group on Wednesday was attempting to serve arrest warrants for McNab and his wife, Lindsey. They were wanted for abduction and parental kidnapping in March in Christian County, Missouri, which is in the Springfield area.

After his wife was arrested earlier in the day, Giovanni McNab allegedly barricaded himself and two children inside a home in , the U.S. Marshals said.

As law enforcement officers approached the home, McNab allegedly fired upon them, injuring the deputy. The standoff ended Wednesday night when law enforcement officers approached the home again and found McNab had died. It was not known how he died, the U.S. Marshals said.

The two children who had been abducted were unharmed and placed in custody of child protective services.

The Chippewa County Sheriffs Office, Michigan State Police, and the FBIs Detroit Field Office assisted the U.S. Marshals with the operation.
We dont know if Nathan Hawkins is innocent of the first-degree murder conviction that remanded the Missouri man to prison for life without the possibility of parole. His culpability in the fatal shooting of Eric Cooper 25 years ago is for the courts to decide.

Hawkins attorney Kevin Schriener recently filed a legal motion requesting the Missouri Supreme Court to appoint a special master to weigh new evidence in Hawkins long-standing claims of innocence.

The states highest court has the authority to appoint the special master to hear testimony and pore over information that was not available during Hawkins initial trial in Monroe County in 1999. It should.

After hearing arguments from defense attorneys and the state, the appointee would rule on the merits of new evidence introduced in the case and offer recommendations for post-conviction relief, if any at all.

This is a hard road to go, Schriener said. Its difficult to get relief.

In the name of justice, we encourage the Missouri Supreme Court to consider:

In a 2019 sworn affidavit, Donald Uncle Mo Smith, the states only eyewitness to the shooting, contradicted his trial testimony, and that could absolve Hawkins of wrongdoing.

Forensic analysis questions the validity of the states argument that Hawkins ambushed an unsuspecting Cooper as he sat helplessly in a vehicle.

If Hawkins claims of constitutional error were substantiated by the Missouri Supreme Court, the body could declare manifest injustice and order Hawkins immediate release from prison, according to Schriener. That scenario is highly unlikely, legal experts told us.

In this case, a fair and impartial evidentiary hearing in front of a judge appointed by the state Supreme Court is the best recourse.

Eyewitness testimony error-prone, studies show

Last year, we wrote about Hawkins, an inmate at Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron. He was sentenced to life in prison for killing Cooper, of Monroe County. For the last 25 years, he has sat behind bars. From the time he was arrested, Hawkins has maintained he fatally shot Cooper in self-defense.

We implored the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District to hear fuller testimony of the lone witness, as sworn to in the 2019 affidavit. In October, and without explanation, the states appellate court declined to hear the case.

Credible claims of innocence deserve to be heard in open court, we said then. We strongly believed evidence discovered after Hawkins conviction for first-degree murder and armed criminal action should be enough to warrant an evidentiary hearing.

New testimony from Smith and new blood spatter analysis could support Hawkins claim that he fired one round at Cooper, and did so out of fear for his life.

After closely examining recent legal filings in this case, we stand by our initial assessment: Hawkins has legal grounds for post-conviction relief, as Schriener argues again in court documents. The attorney isnt wrong.

But is the Missouri Supreme Court willing to right this possible injustice?

Smith was the only eyewitness to the shooting. Thanks in large part to his testimony, a Monroe County jury rejected Hawkins claims of self-defense and found him guilty. He has fought for his freedom since.

Its worth repeating: Eyewitness testimony is error-prone and often flawed, studies have shown. Perjury and false accusations  found in 57% of exoneration cases, according to the National Registry of Exonerations  often send innocent folks to prison.

For years, Missouri lawmakers have failed to protect innocent people from faulty eyewitness testimony. In Illinois, a prison review board examines claims of wrongful convictions. Missouri should consider a similar setup.

And Smiths unwillingness to come forward sooner with what he witnessed, and his role in the aftermath of the shooting, are important to note.

After Cooper was shot, Smith hid a gun belonging to Cooper and later sold it, Schriener claimed in legal documents.

Forensic evidence paints different picture of crime scene

Retractions from witnesses dont guarantee a defendant a new trial, defense attorneys told us. But forensic evidence not available at trial counters the states long-held theory that Hawkins executed Cooper.

In court documents, Monroe County prosecutors described the shooting as a hit. It wasnt, Hawkins contends. He shot out of fear for his life, he said.

At trial, Hawkins testified that he fired one shot at Cooper from the front porch of a trailer park home as Cooper sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by Smith. The weapon was capable of firing more rounds, Hawkins told us during a phone conversation from Crossroads Correctional Center.

He was 19 and scared, he said. On occasions prior to the shooting, Cooper had threatened him, he testified in court.

At trial, Smith, the only eyewitness, claimed he was unaware of what the victim was doing immediately before he was shot. But the sworn affidavit Smith signed in 2019 provides the missing pieces that verify the only difference that has ever been in question: the position Cooper was in as he was shot.

In the affidavit, Smith  who has since died  included a potentially important detail omitted during testimony.

The victim Eric Cooper was turned around in the seat with his body angled towards the back seat when he was shot by Nathan Hawkins, he wrote. When the victim was shot he slumped over leaning sideways.

Two years prior, a forensic scientist hired by Hawkins concluded it was possible Cooper was in the passenger seat turned toward the back seat when he was shot. The analysis refutes the states theory that Cooper sat face forward in Smiths vehicle. There was no ambush, Hawkins says.

Claims of self-defense unsuccessful after conviction

In legalese, one theory supports lawful self-defense while the other supports murder. The state Supreme Court must appoint a neutral arbiter to settle the matter.

Cooper died from a bullet wound to the head. Before he was shot, Cooper made aggressive hand gestures  gang signals, court records state  at Hawkins. Cooper then reached into the back seat of the vehicle Smith drove as if he was retrieving a weapon, Hawkins testified.

Hawkins actions, he claims, were lawful.

How is that not self-defense? he argued. It is a legitimate question the Missouri Supreme Court must seek to answer.

In Missouri, no inmate claiming self-defense as innocence has been granted post-conviction relief, according to Hawkins. His arguments could set a state precedent for wrongful convictions being overturned by legitimate self-defense claims.

He has a unique case, Schriener, the attorney, said. He gives credit to private investigator Latahra Smith of Kansas City for her work to uncover the truth.

Leaving Nathan Hawkins in prison without consideration of newly discovered evidence would be a grave injustice, Schriener argues in legal filings. We dont disagree.
Update: The Worleys got home late the night of Aug. 11, according to a tweet by Erika Worley that said, Looking back, we got very lucky. For a while, the one road out of the area was blocked by another fire... It could have been even worse for a lot of people. So thankful to the first responders.

Original story: Heavy black smoke overtook the horizon. Patches of bright orange and red flames danced across the landscape. Winds howled, hurling dirt into the skin of people trapped by the wildfires.

Those are the images Modesto resident Erika Worley shared of her vacation turned sour in Maui, Hawaii.

Erika and her husband, Joe Worley, traveled to Maui to celebrate her 40th birthday. Unfortunately, they arrived Tuesday afternoon  the same day the wildfires began.

Strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing hundreds of miles to the south filled the air with debris as they drove their rental car to the historic town of Lahaina, where they had a hotel reservation. Toppled trees and downed power lines forced detours.

This was just the beginning of their travel troubles.

They neared the hotel, only to find the street closed due to a downed power line. The wind picked up, the fire spread and the couple found themselves stuck in traffic just off Front Street  Lahainas scenic seafront main street  for several hours.

Though going nowhere, Erika said they mostly remained in their car because the fast-flying dirt was incredibly painful as it hit their eyes and skin.

The strongest wind the couple had ever felt eventually shifted, and then they could feel the heat. A police officer started yelling to motorists, Get in your cars and go! So they did. The two drove until they found a McDonalds for a restroom and food, then looked for an area to park for the night.

Maui Plantation seemed like a good place to stay, as there were a number of other cars parked and waiting. It wasnt long, though, before a woman who worked there told everyone they had to leave because a fire started right behind them. She directed the displaced tourists to a nearby park-and-ride area, which quickly filled.

Erika said they got some sleep, but she could feel and hear the fierce winds all night.

On the upside, the strong winds have pushed much of the smoke off the island, the Worleys said. There was a bit of rain on the east side of Maui on Thursday morning, but wind is still predicted and officials are warning people they are not out of the woods just yet.

Thousands  tourists and locals alike  are trying to find lodging and flights out at the same time, and countless people, she and her husband included, have been unable to book either, Erika said.

NBC News reported Saturday that at least 80 people were confirmed dead from the wildfires but the toll is expected to rise.

The people here have been so kind in the face of devastating loss, Erika said, noting that she and Joe met locals who lost a family member and houses. Even the other tourists for the most part have been pretty decent to everyone. I hope they can minimize anymore damage and recover their communities.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green described the scene in an interview with CNN Thursday. There is no doubt that everyone would describe this [Front Street in Lahaina] as though a bomb hit Lahaina. It looks like total devastation. ... It looks to me about 80% of Lahaina is gone.

The governors office has urged donations to the Hawaii Community Foundation. There also are several aid charities and organizations set up to help with funding and resources, such as The Maui Mutual Aid Fund and Aloha United Ways Maui Relief Fund.

This is the hellscape Erika and Joe Worley of Modesto saw when they went to Maui to celebrate Erikas birthday.
Mr Modi criticised the vote as an attempt by opposition parties to "defame India"

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defeated a no-confidence vote in the parliament after a three-day debate.

His government was not expected to lose the vote as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have a majority.

Mr Modi criticised the vote as an attempt by opposition parties to "defame India".

Opposition leaders say the vote was moved to force him to speak on the ethnic clashes in Manipur state.

More than 150 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in Manipur since May, when clashes broke out between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority. Mr Modi publicly addressed the violence weeks later, after a video that showed two women being paraded naked by a mob sparked global outrage.

The parliament session, which began on 20 July, has been marked by protests from the opposition which demanded that Mr Modi address the house on the violence in the state.

On Thursday, before the no-trust vote, the Opposition walked out of the parliament after Mr Modi failed to mention Manipur over an hour into his speech.

Late into his two-hour speech, Mr Modi said the federal and the state government were working together to bring back peace in the troubled state.

"I also want to tell the people of Manipur that the country is with you, this house is with you. We will join hands and find a solution to this challenge together," he said.

He also accused the Opposition of using Manipur "for political games".

"They have no faith in the people of India, in the abilities of India," Mr Modi said. "They have tried in vain to break the self-confidence of Indians with this no-confidence vote."

This is the second time that Mr Modi's government has defeated a no-confidence motion since it came to power in 2014.

In 2018, a lawmaker had moved a motion over the issue of granting a special category status to southern Andhra Pradesh state. It was defeated after a 12-hour debate.

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Russia says it downs Ukrainian drone west of Moscow, two airports reopen Aftermath of drone crash in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian air defences on Friday downed a Ukrainian drone as it flew towards an unspecified target in Moscow, the defence ministry said, the latest in a flurry of drone attacks on the Russian capital.

Earlier, Moscow's Vnukovo airport and Kaluga airport, some 150 km (95 miles) southwest of the capital, were temporarily shut due to a suspected drone flight. They later reopened.

"... an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a facility in Moscow was thwarted," the ministry said in a statement, adding the drone was jammed and crashed in a forest west of Moscow.

"There are no casualties and no damage," it said.

Earlier, Vnukovo airport said it had been compelled to suspend all flights "for reasons beyond the control of the airport", adding that some flights had been redirected to other airports in the Moscow region. It gave no further information.

Flights later resumed at both Vnukovo and Kaluga airports.

Drone air strikes deep inside Russia have increased since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Civilian areas of the capital were hit later in May and a Moscow business district was targeted twice in three days earlier this month.

Russia said on Thursday that it had downed 13 Ukrainian drones seeking to attack Moscow and also the largest city in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

In recent days, Ukrainian remotely piloted boats, also referred to as drones, have attacked a Russian fuel tanker and a navy base at Russia's Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
It's turning out to be quite a summer for superspies and supercomputers.

A month after the action feast of Mission: Impossible  Dead Reckoning Part I," in which Tom Cruise faced off with an AI supervillain called the Entity, comes a very MI-like international espionage thriller with an equally fancy and powerful machine.

Heart of Stone stars Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, an agent for an elite and clandestine intelligence agency called the Charter. Like Mission: Impossible, Heart of Stone hits glamorous global destinations (the Italian Alps, Lisbon, Senegal, Iceland) and features lengthy actions sequence including a wingsuit skydive.

Whereas Dead Reckoning pushed old-school filmmaking to extremes for a gripping theatrical experience, Heart of Stone revels in its digital wizardry, feels vaguely algorithm-y in its conception and was made for Netflix. Both films, interestingly, are products of the same production company, Skydance.

Mission: Impossible was born out of the Cold War, but Heart of Stone conjures a peacekeeping spy unit outside of nationhood in the hopes of kickstarting a new franchise uncluttered by governments  a globetrotting spy movie without all those pesky geopolitics; a borderless intelligence agency for a borderless streaming era.

That may sound too harsh. After all, there have been countless lackluster espionage thrillers with little connection to the real world. (Dead Reckoning, for all its thrills, has about as much to do with today's international politics as its star has to do with lengthy interviews with journalists.) And Heart of Stone," directed by Tom Harper ( "Wild Rose,"  The Aeronauts ), does have a few nifty moves of its own.

The film's opening sequence begins in a very Bond-like Alpine hotel where Gadot's Stone is part of an MI6 mission posing as an inexperienced tech, not a field agent. This allows for plenty of She can do that? looks when the operation falls apart and Stone begins flashing Cruise-level skills while rushing off with a glowing parachute down the darkened slopes in slinky, snowy chase.

To the credit of Harper, cinematographer George Steel and production designer Charles Wood, the action is generally fluid in Heart of Stone." The film's handsomest design comes in Charter's secret weapon: the Heart, the so-named quantum computer with supreme hacking abilities that can process chance-of-success scenarios in real time. Its operator (Matthias Schweighofer), like a new-age John King, contorts a room full of pixels with the wave of his hand, while guiding Charter agents from afar.

Also in the mix is Jamie Dornan's Parker, the leader of the MI6 unit that Stone is initially masquerading in  though his affiliations are also murky. The trouble is kicked off by a hacker of mysterious intentions played by Alia Bhatt, a Bollywood star making her Hollywood debut. Glenn Close pops in as the head of the CIA.

I'm not sure any of them get a chance to do all that much, though Bhatt is charmingly mischievous in her scenes. Not for the first time, the actor I most wish was center stage is Sophie Okonedo, who, as a Charter leader, is the most soulful presence in a not particularly soulful film. Gadot makes for a slinky if unspectacular spy.

The plot, from screenwriters Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder, revolves around the threat of the Heart falling into the wrong hands. This means that Heart is spoken of so much that you have expect the Wilson sisters to turn up eventually.

But there is nothing in the impressively generic Heart of Stone," right down that title, that is even a little bit unexpected. All the pieces here are fine but nothing is distinct from dozens of films before it. You would swear that the movie's star AI wrote it  and even gave itself first billing, too.

Heart of Stone, a Netflix release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for sequences of violence and action, and some language. Running time: 123 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
A Springfield man is in police custody Friday after allegedly carjacking a woman at a Danvers supermarket and leading police on a pursuit, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson tells Boston 25 News.

The suspect, whom MSP tentatively identifies as 38-year-old Juan Torres, allegedly stole the 2016 red Toyota Corolla of a woman in the parking lot of a Stop & Shop. The man then sped up Route 97 to Route 95, MSP spokesperson David Procopio says.

The suspect was pursued by Topsfield police before state troopers took over the chase, Procopio says. The stolen vehicle was stopped just north of the Ferncroft Rotary on the Danvers-Boxford line and Torres was taken into custody, according to MSP.

The vehicle sustained damage from a crash before the pursuit began and Torres complained of pain, so he was transported to a local hospital under police guard, MSP says. He will eventually be turned over to police in Danvers for charges related to the car-jacking.

Police are still gathering info on the apparent crash the vehicle was involved in.

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

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(Bloomberg) -- The rage was palpable outside the Quito funeral parlor where Fernando Villavicencios lifeless body lay. Inside, even close friends were searched with anti-explosives dogs. His widow was rushing to get back from Washington for the wake.

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Barely 24 hours had passed since the investigative journalist turned anti-graft crusader turned presidential candidate was gunned down less than two weeks before Aug. 20 elections in the most savage act of political violence that Ecuador has seen since the military dictatorship ended in the 1970s.

His assassination has thrust unwanted attention on this small Andean state, squeezed between the worlds two biggest cocaine producers. Just a few years ago it had enjoyed the reputation of being tranquil and relatively safe but now its descent toward becoming a narco-state has become evident in the eyes of the world.

Just this week, Dutch authorities seized about $660 million worth of cocaine that had been hidden in a container of bananas from Ecuador. Meanwhile, FBI agents are flying in to help with the investigation as six Colombians were arrested in connection to the killing.

If security was already the top issue in the campaign, the killing is bound to alter the tone and direction of what was already an unpredictable race, forcing the question of whether voters will gravitate now more toward the toughest-on-crime candidates.

Were indignant with what just happened, and with the country were living in, said David Tituana, 50, a taxi driver. This has obviously hit all Ecuadoreans in the heart, that theyve done this to a brave man who was fighting for the ideals of our country.

On Thursday, many mourners fought back tears.

Yet ordinary Ecuadorians have become anesthetized to the kidnappings, car bombs and contract killings among drug cartels that have transformed the country into one of the worlds most violent places.

Death Foretold

Videos showed protesters overnight waving flags, but demonstrations were relatively sedate. There was no sign of civil unrest, nor anything that foreshadows an intervention by the military. The election date remains unchanged and a debate will still take place on Sunday.

As the nation comes to terms with a national tragedy, there is a paradox there of how people were shocked and yet not surprised.

The ultimate fate of Villavicencio, 59, had been something of a death foretold. He had received multiple threats after putting a target on his back with a defiant public pledge to take on the cocaine cartels even if it cost him his life.

The people of this country need courageous and honest leadership, he had told a TV anchor who warned him on air whether his confrontational style put his life at risk. We survive by casting out fear.

Three days later, he was murdered. The next steps will involve the inevitable soul-searching among the electorate and test its democratic credentials. Investors too are paying closer attention.

Mexico and Colombia

For Ecuador and the region at large, this is a moment of reckoning, inviting comparisons to what Mexicans endured with the killing of Luis Donaldo Colosio, a candidate in the 1994 election, or what Colombians suffered at the peak of the drug war in late 1980s.

This month, there are three elections taking place within a week of each other in Ecuador, Guatemala and Argentina. And crime is a top concern.

Villavicencio follows a long line of journalists whove been targeted for clashing with dangerous people in Latin America and the rest of the world.

In Russia, there is Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning and is now in jail. In Malta, Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb after exposing corruption on her small island state. There too, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation tried to help uncover the mystery of her death.

Read more: What a Candidates Assassination Means for Ecuador: QuickTake

Meanwhile record volumes of cocaine from Colombia keep pouring across Ecuadors porous border, much of it to be hidden in containers of fruit and vegetables leaving Pacific ports for Antwerp and Rotterdam. Thats triggered a battle among warring gangs for control of routes and territory.

What Colombia went through in the 1980s, and what Mexico endured in the 1990s, Ecuador is suffering today, said former vice president Otto Sonnenholzner, who is also on the ballot. Our country has been handed over to drug-trafficking, and these are the consequences.

The homicide rate has risen by more than 300% over the last five years, making Ecuador more violent than Colombia and Mexico.

No-Go Zones

Parts of the country are now no-go zones in the grip of gangs, where truckers can no longer deliver basic products due to demands for protection money, according to Maria Paz Jervis, President of the Chamber of Industry and Production. In recent months, buses have been targeted with Molotov cocktails and fishermen murdered in apparent extortion attempts.

In a May interview, Villavicencio said he favored a tough line on gang bosses. But how far does one push that line? El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele, who describes himself as the worlds coolest dictator, jailed tens of thousands of people without much due process, and won huge popularity for the crackdown.

Villavicencio himself didnt advocate a mass roundup of lower-level criminals of the kind organized by Bukele. But in light of his death, that question - of how far is one willing to go to restore order - becomes even harder to escape.

He was one of Ecuadors most prominent journalists before being elected to the legislature in 2021. He made his name exposing corruption in President Rafael Correas populist government. Correa lives in exile in Belgium after being found guilty of bribes and sentenced to prison in absentia.

The two were fierce enemies. Polls show that, had he lived, Villavicencio might easily have faced Correas ally Luisa Gonzalez in an October runoff.

Villavicencio was a very brave man,said Ana Maria Lara, 49, who owns a business selling clothing to stores in the capital. There arent many like that left.

--With assistance from Philip Sanders.

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WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Namibia has suspended imports of live poultry, birds, and poultry products from Denmark and the Netherlands following the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the two European countries.

European countries have borne the brunt of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in recent years which has led to the culling of millions of birds in the past two years, affecting the supply of poultry meat and eggs.

The suspension will affect poultry products packaged in Denmark on or after June 28 and poultry products from the Netherlands packaged on or after July 11, Namibia's veterinary services directorate said in a statement dated Aug. 2, which was released on Friday.

Consignments of affected poultry products will be sent back to their country of origin or destroyed at the importer's cost, it said, adding cooked poultry meat products for commercial purposes may still be imported under a veterinary permit.

The southern African nation consumes an estimated 2,500 tons of chicken every month, relying on imports mainly from neighbouring South Africa, to meet demand.

(Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by Bhargav Acharya)
Ciara Wilsons recent reveal that she was pregnant and nauseous while filming the video for How We Roll reminds us of what to expect when youre expecting.

From HBOs And Just Like That to Ciara Wilson, there are a lot of Black expectant and new mothers. And with them, quite a few pregnancy experiences have been shared.

Earlier this week, Wilson, who announced this week she is pregnant with her fourth child, revealed that while filming the video for How We Roll, her dynamic and dance-fueled duet with Chris Brown, she was nauseous like a B!! While morning sickness is known as a common symptom of early pregnancy, Wilsons reveal brings awareness to the fact that pregnancy can present differently from person to person. Some pregnant folks may get sick in the early days; others may be nauseous throughout. Many others experience exhaustion or brain fog. Then, theres the camp that starts nesting, which is when you feel biologically compelled to clean and organize your living space in preparation for new life to enter your home.

With pregnancy comes a whole host of symptoms, as confirmed by Black celebrity moms. (Photo credit: Adobe Stock/ Rido)

What other symptoms and behaviors can accompany pregnancy? Below, we have rounded up eight of the top things to expect when expecting, as confirmed by Black celebrity moms.

Nausea

One of the first things many pregnant people learn is that morning sickness isnt exclusive to morning time. Nausea is, unfortunately, a common symptom of pregnancy to be expected. For many, the uncomfortable phase occurs during the first three to four months of pregnancy. However, others inexplicably experience severe morning sickness, known as hyperemesis gravidarum, and/or nausea throughout their pregnancies. The exact cause of morning sickness and nausea during pregnancy is unknown but widely experienced.

Swelling of the ankles and feet

Da Brat, who at 49 just gave birth for the first time, said her experience was mostly great despite some minor swelling in her ankles and feet. She was prepared to experience those symptoms, as those who are pregnant should be. According to the National Health Service based in the United Kingdom, most pregnant people will experience some swelling in the lower legs, ankles, or feet, and its often nothing to worry about. There are also many people whose feet grow a size or two during pregnancy and never return to their original size.

However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, severe swelling could be an urgent warning sign of a pregnancy-related complication such as blood clots or preeclampsia and should be closely monitored.

Stretch marks

Try as you might to avoid them, stretch marks are a part of life. While not specific to pregnant people, the marks often form during pregnancy as the skin stretches at a higher rate of speed than typical weight gain. Some can avoid their lasting impact through vigorous application of cocoa butter, shea butter, and body creams specially geared towards preventing them, like the oil in The Everyday Kit for postpartum people by Black wellness brand Ebi. However, embracing them may be the best solution, as moms like Kelly Rowland, who has proudly shown hers off, has learned.

High emotions

When a person is pregnant, there are a lot of hormones in flux, and hormones can impact how we feel. A pregnant person may be prone to crying more than usual (for both good and bad reasons); they could be agitated more easily or even euphoric at times. Welcoming a little one into the world is an equally exciting and nerve-wracking time, so mood swings are normal and to be expected. Da Brat said while pregnant with son True Legend, she was constantly crying and has been continuing to do so with joy every day since he was born.

Tiredness

It takes a lot of work to grow a baby! A pregnant persons body is going through a lot. Just ask the writing team of HBOs And Just Like That, where this week (spoiler alert), fictional character Lisa Todd Wexley (portrayed by Nicole Ari Parker), just couldnt seem to stay awake, much to the consternation of her husband. That is, until she reveals the reason: Shes pregnant.

Rest is to the body what pressing the off button is to the cellphone: Its necessary from time to time to get all systems running smoothly. When growing a baby, rest is especially necessary, and if you refuse to do so, the body has a way of forcing rest through exhaustion and tiredness. While Lisa Todd Wexley is fictional, real-life model Chanel Iman, who is currently expecting her third child, told People magazine she was excited to meet her newest daughter but is already drained.

I think this babys going to be a big baby because she is taking a lot of energy out of me, Chanel said.

Get that sleep before your schedule is permanently thrown off of whack as many parents will tell you, sleeping well never really returns after you have children, even after theyre adults.

Unexpected cravings

It can be fun to hear the sorts of strange things pregnant people crave to eat. Many cant keep a jar of pickles in their fridge to save their lives. Others who may have preferred well-done meat suddenly find themselves ordering their steaks medium-rare.

When Rihanna was pregnant with baby RZA, she told Vogue she was craving anything sweet. Now pregnant with her second child with partner A$AP Rocky, Riri has been frequenting the L.A.-based Italian restaurant, Giorgio Baldi. And when Serena Williams, currently also expecting her second child, was pregnant with firstborn daughter Olympia, her husband amused followers when he revealed he was sent to the store to satisfy her cravings for asparagus.

Change in weight

Its true that some pregnant people experience minimal weight gain and drop whatever they put on relatively fast post-birth. But according to the Mayo Clinic, most pregnant people gain at least 20 to 40 pounds during pregnancy. Everyone from Beyonce to Keke Palmer has experienced weight change while pregnant. Palmer, who gave birth for the first time in February, has been vocal about pregnancys impact on her body.

Anytime you see a celebrity doing a snap back or whatever like that, its part of the damn gig, she said. A part of our jobs is to look good and to look the part. So dont think its this thing where its like, We doing it because we got it like that. No, the job is on the line.

Joy

Of all things to prepare for and look forward to, an enormous sense of joy should be high on the list. Many famous Black moms have expressed that amidst everything else going on during their pregnancy journey, there were moments of total bliss. Uzo Aduba, who announced she was pregnant with her first child in June, hasnt shared much beyond that she and her husband are over the moon. But Halle Berry, who has birthed two children, has raved about being pregnant.

I loved being pregnant, she said. Had I started earlier, I probably would have had five children. Or if I hadnt been busy trying to make movies, I would have been the perfect surrogate. All the hormones made me feel amazing. I was so alive with my purpose and my femininity. It felt like my body was doing what it was built to do.

As previously stated, its an exciting time. Giving birth is a miracle of the human body. Taking the time to process that can spark a lot of joy. There will be plenty to stress over  but theres even more to look forward to.

Kay Wicker

Kay Wicker is a lifestyle writer for theGrio covering health, wellness, travel, beauty, fashion, and the myriad ways Black people live and enjoy their lives. She has previously created content for magazines, newspapers, and digital brands.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post From nausea to high emotions, Black celebrity moms confirm 8 things to expect when pregnant appeared first on TheGrio.
11th Straits Youth Day marked in Fuzhou

Xinhua) 08:24, August 11, 2023

Young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait sing the theme song of a meeting of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a meeting of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Two youth representatives walk past a logo of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Zhou Quan, one of China's most wanted graft fugitives, has returned to China and turned himself in after about eight years of being at large overseas, the country's anti-corruption authorities announced Friday.

Zhou, a former official of an ocean shipping company based in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, is accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Commission of Supervision.

He fled overseas in March 2015 and was listed on an Interpol Red Notice in May 2016.

In a statement issued on Friday, the office responsible for fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, operating under the central anti-corruption coordination group, reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to pursue every corruption fugitive and bring them to justice.
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service announced on Aug. 11 that the Netherlands donated six mobile medical complexes.

According to the report, the complexes will enable the State Border Guard Service to set up medical and evacuation support according to NATO standards.

Medics will be able to deploy a full-fledged field hospital with its own operating room, pre-operative room, laboratory, and sterilization room, the borders guards said.

On July 4, the Dutch government pledged a $128 million aid package for Ukraine, dedicated to its humanitarian and economic needs. The announcement was followed by a delivery of a field hospital to the State Border Guard Service on July 7.

Read also: Report: Ukraines healthcare system suffered over 1,000 attacks over full-scale war

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A statewide effort to encourage improved literacy skills for all has been announced by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

>> LOCAL NEWS: A modern twist: Dayton police launch program to combat auto theft

The ReadOhio Initiative will apply curriculum aligned with the science of reading in K-12 schools, a spokesperson for the governors office said in a media release Friday.

The science behind reading is research done by scientists and literacy experts that explains the idea behind learning how to read, the spokesperson said.

Our ReadOhio initiative will encompass all of our efforts to improve literacy skills of Ohioans of every age, from early childhood throughout adulthood because its never too early or too late to learn to read or enhance your skills, DeWine said.

ReadOhios additional efforts include:

 Read it Again! which is a free digital resource for early childhood educators to help build language skills in infants, toddlers and pre-K students.

 Online resources that provide tips on how to get they youngest children to grow their literacy skills.

 A continued focus on expanding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Ohio

In March, DeWine signed an executive order to renew the states focus on building literacy skills.

After the states budget was signed last month, funding was secured to help advance literacy practices, according to the spokesperson.




A Norwegian climber who recently became the fastest person to summit the world's 14 highest peaks has addressed controversy after critics accused her of walking past a dying sherpa to set her record.

In a lengthy post on her website Thursday, Kristin Harila, 37, said she and her team "did everything we could for him at the time."

Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjin "Lama" Sherpa became the fastest people to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre (26,000-feet) mountains on July 27 after reaching the top of K2 in Pakistan's Himalayas.

They completed the feat in three months and one day, surpassing Nepal-born British adventurer Nirmal Purja's 2019 record of six months and six days.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa, set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, along with the youngest K2 summiteer, Nima Rinji Sherpa, arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on August 5, 2023. / Credit: Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto via Getty Images

But controversy emerged on social media after drone footage shared by other climbers showed Harila's team and others on a narrow, harrowing passage, stepping over the body of a fallen sherpa from another team, who later died during Harila's ascent.

She was also criticized for celebrating her world record at base camp that evening.

"Nobody will remember your sporting success, only your inhumanity," wrote one critic on Instagram.

"The blood of sherpas is on your hands," said another.

Harila said she felt the need to give her side of the story due to "all of the misinformation and hatred that is now being spread", including "death threats."

She said she, her cameraman and two others spent "1.5 hours in the bottleneck trying to pull him up," referring to 27-year-old Mohammed Hassan.

She then continued her ascent following a distress call from the fixing team ahead, leaving others behind with Hassan.

Her cameraman, identified only as Gabriel, was among those who stayed with Hassan, sharing his oxygen and hot water with him "while other people were passing by."

"Considering the amount of people that stayed behind and had turned around, I believed Hassan would be getting all the help he could, and that he would be able to get down."

Gabriel left after another hour when he needed "to get more oxygen for his own safety," she wrote.

When he caught up with Harila, "we understood that he (Hassan) might not make it down."

"It was heartbreaking."

On their descent, they discovered that Hassan had died.

Her team of four "was in no shape to carry his body down" safely, she wrote, noting it would have required at least six people.

His death was "truly tragic... and I feel very strongly for the family", she said, but "we had done our best, especially Gabriel."

She wrote that Hassan was "not properly equipped for the climb," wearing neither a down suit nor gloves.

Numerous Instagram users defended Harila's actions and noted the dangers involved, while others questioned why his operator had not equipped him better, with one cynically remarking that "local life is cheap."

A GoFundMe launched on behalf of Hassan's family had raised nearly 100,000 euros as of Friday morning.

Speaking to the AP on Wednesday, Harila's sherpa, Tenjen, expressed his bitterness over sherpas not getting enough recognition from the government for their hard work as mountain guides. Many sherpas are emigrating to seek better lives for their families.

"It is not possible to just continue climbing mountains as you grow older so what else is there than to think of migrating abroad," he said. "That can all be stopped if they were given land, houses to live and other opportunities here."

K2, the world's second-highest mountain peak, is treacherous  11 of the world's best climbers died trying to scale K2 in 2008 in what has become known as the single deadliest event in the mountain's history.

More recently, in June, renowned Scottish climber Rick Allen died in an avalanche while attempting to scale K2.

Also in June, rescuers located the bodies of three climbers - Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, Jon Snorri of Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile -- who died attempting to summit K2 in February. At the time, Sadpara was the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, BBC News reported.

According to Statista, as of August 2022, 96 climbers had died while trying to scale K2, and the average cost to climb the mountain was $30,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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TULAROSA, N.M. - A strong rumble woke 13-year-old Lucy Benavidez Garwood in the darkness, shaking the three-room adobe house where she and her family lived and rattling dishes in the kitchen cupboard. Neighbors who gathered that morning agreed it must have been an earthquake.

They learned the truth several weeks later when U.S. forces attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The atomic bombs dropped on the two cities had been developed in Tularosa's own backyard - that pre-dawn test blast jolting communities across southern New Mexico, shooting a mushroom cloud 10 miles into the sky, then raining radioactive ash on thousands of unsuspecting residents.

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What happened here in the aftermath, surviving "downwinders" and their relatives say, is a legacy of serious health consequences that have gone unacknowledged for 78 years. Their struggles continue to be pushed aside; the new blockbuster film "Oppenheimer," which spotlights the scientist most credited for the bomb, ignores completely the people who lived in the shadow of his test site.

Yet for all their ambivalence about the movie's fanfare - the northern New Mexico city of Los Alamos, where J. Robert Oppenheimer located the Manhattan Project, just threw a 10-day festival to celebrate its place in history - locals also have hope that the Hollywood glow may elevate their long quest to be added to a federal program that compensates people sickened by presumed exposure to radiation from aboveground nuclear tests.

"They were counting on us to be unsophisticated and uneducated and unable to stick up for ourselves," said Tina Cordova, a Tularosa native who for 18 years has led the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, which she co-founded after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. "We're not those people anymore."

The Trinity site, about 60 miles northwest of tiny Tularosa, was chosen in part for its supposed isolation. Nearly half a million people lived within a 150-mile radius, though. Manhattan Project leaders knew a nuclear test would put them at risk, but with the nation at war, secrecy was the priority. Evacuation plans were never acted upon. The military concocted a cover story: The boom was an explosion of an ammunitions magazine.

"I feel like we weren't valued," said Garwood, now 91, with a family tree scarred by cancers. "Like they didn't value our lives or our culture."

The July 16, 1945, blast was more massive than Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists expected, equivalent to nearly 25,000 tons of TNT, according to recent estimates. Witnesses said the plutonium ash fell for days, on areas where people grew their own food, drank rainwater collected in cisterns and cooled off in irrigation canals that made the arid region fertile.

Jimmy Villavicencio was 4 years old when the bomb detonated near his home in Oscura, a railroad camp to the east. He was outside helping his mother and a neighbor do laundry in the cool before sunrise.

"I looked over to a big old cloud, what my mother called a tsunami," Villavicencio, another cancer survivor, recalled several days ago. His mother frantically removed the wet clothes from the line and hung the pillowcases in the windows to protect their home from the incoming dust. "We heard like a gush of wind, and right behind it came the dirt, and I mean dirt."

The debris caked the pillowcases. A powder coated their car. Long after the seeming storm had settled, "snowflakes kept falling," he said. Weeks later, a neighbor's chickens began dying. "We  are still paying the price," he added.

According to a new study, the fallout floated to 46 states, Mexico and Canada within 10 days. In 28 of 33 New Mexico counties, it estimates the accumulation of radioactive material was higher than required under the federal compensation program.

That program - the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 - has paid out more than $2.5 billion to people who lived downwind of dozens of aboveground explosions conducted starting in the 1950s at the Nevada Test Site, as well as uranium industry workers and "on-site participants" at the Trinity test. New Mexico civilians have never been eligible.

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R) of Idaho have pressed for years to expand RECA to include people who lived in their and other states during test periods. On Thursday, the Senate took up the amendment for the first time and passed it. Approval by the House remains uncertain, with some members contending the cost is too high. The program will expire next May without further action.

"This is a historic victory," Lujan said in an interview after the vote, which he attributed in part to the success of "Oppenheimer" and its scenes in New Mexico. "Any time there's more stories being told, more information being shared, it educates all of us."

Proving that radiation caused the cancers that have afflicted New Mexico's downwinders is extremely difficult. A major study published in 2020 by the National Cancer Institute concluded that Trinity fallout may contribute to as many as 1,000 cancers by 2034, most in people who lived very near the test. There is "no evidence to suggest" cases among subsequent generations were related, the study noted.

But RECA does not require claimants to establish causation, only to show that they or a relative had a qualifying disease after working or living in certain locations during specific time frames.

"Why is our suffering different?" asks Bernice Gutierrez, who was born eight days after the test. She lived in Carrizozo, directly east of the Trinity site. She, her eldest son and daughter and 20 other family members have battled cancer, she said. "What has made us different than the other people given compensation?"

To many here, scientific proof is unnecessary. They say the evidence is clear in their family albums, at town gatherings and funerals.

"The Durans. The Chavezes. I mean, you go down the road, and I could tell you this one, this one, this one," said Garwood's daughter, Doris Walters, 68. She became active with the downwinders consortium after her own breast cancer diagnosis. "You knock on the door, they would say, 'Yes, cancer affected me or my family.'"

The group has collected about 1,000 family health histories from people in the area and found new supporters along the way.

Edna Kay Hinkle is one. Her father grew up on a ranch 27 miles from the Trinity site and was 14 when the explosion woke him as he slept on the front porch. A few years later, he, his brother and their wives - all young newlyweds - walked around the site. The gate was wide open. "They picked up all this melted sand, all this glass, took it home and had it in the kitchen floor by the door," Hinkle said.

A decade ago, she was selling vegetables at the Tularosa farmer's market when a consortium leader approached and asked her to make a list of everyone she knew who were sick or had died of cancer. Hinkle, who had recently learned she had breast cancer, figured the effort wouldn't go anywhere.

Then she started her list, and "it dawned on me," she said. All four of the newlyweds who'd explored the site had cancer. So did 25 other relatives from her grandparents' generation on. A cousin had been born with no eyes and later suffered ovarian cancer.

Though Tularosa has grown some in the ensuing years, its population remains only a couple thousand. Adobe houses line its still and sunbaked streets. Pecan and pistachio orchards grow just outside of town.

Hinkle never considered leaving; she raises horses, cattle and vegetables she thought were the cleanest she could eat until she began wondering whether they were affected by contaminated soil. She has no plans to sit through "Oppenheimer." Any glorification of the bomb, she said, "ticks me off."

Garwood and Walters decided to see the movie on its opening weekend in nearby Alamogordo, where the drone of jets from Holloman Air Force Base is everyday background noise. The older woman found herself overcome by memories of an era infused with a sense of patriotism and fears for her father, who was serving in Europe. Her daughter kept thinking about the multiple meanings of the word "trinity."

"Every day, I get someone on my prayer list that is suffering from cancer, and I think of the father, son, and holy spirit," Walters said.

The downwinders are trying to seize the moment. In Santa Fe, Cordova attended an "Oppenheimer" screening with others from the consortium and participated in a panel discussion on the broader legacy of the Manhattan Project.

"To say that this is an emotionally charged issue in which the government has failed to serve its own citizens, and whose protection is its moral imperative, is an understatement," Archbishop John C. Wester told the audience.

Well into the film, Cordova began sobbing as the test bomb was detonated in an apocalyptic inferno. She was thinking of her father, grandmothers and great-grandfathers, who she said all succumbed to cancer, and what others have shared about the actual event, when "they thought they were experiencing the end of the world."

She wished the movie included even a few words at the end about how local communities were forever changed by what took place. But emails she received over the weekend, from people who had just gone to "Oppenheimer," lifted her spirits.

"Whether the [filmmakers] acknowledge us or not, what's going to happen is people are going to watch the movie, they're going to be affected, and they're going to go home and Google search," Cordova said. "And they're going to find us."

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ISTANBUL  A Uyghur Muslim rights activist who tried to escape oppression by fleeing his homeland with his family says the tentacles of the Chinese state followed him to Turkey and then Morocco, where today he sits in a solitary jail cell.

Idris Hasan recalls how he used to pretend to be a donkey, carrying his children around on his back. But since his incarceration two years ago, the web designer can only blow kisses through the phone screen, a guard always by his side, as his family watch from their small, third-floor Istanbul apartment crammed with books and toys.

I have a picture of my family, but I cannot look at it, Hasan, 35, said in one of his thrice-weekly calls to his wife and three children from prison. If I look at this picture, I get very upset and cry, so I put this picture under the blanket and never look at it.

China did not respond to questions about why it is pursuing Hasan, who is also known as Yidiresi Aishan, the Chinese version of his name.

Chinese authorities have accused Hasan of being a member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group the U.S. once classified as a terrorist organization during a period of increased U.S.-Chinese cooperation on counterterrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but which it now says has been defunct for more than a decade. China contends the ETIM remains active.

Hasans family and human rights groups say he has merely helped Uyghurs in Turkey by translating and doing graphic design and worked for a diaspora newspaper documenting alleged abuses against his community back in China.

Zeynure Obul's husband, Idris Hasan, a Uyghur activist, is imprisoned in Morocco. She lives with their three children in Istanbul, Turkey. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

According to Amnesty International, Hasan is at high risk of being extradited to China where he will face a real risk of arbitrary detention and torture. He is a victim of what Western governments and activists describe as a vast, global network of surveillance, intimidation and persecution by the Chinese government, one that stretches far beyond its own heavily repressive borders and onto the soil of friendly and hostile nations alike.

One of those countries is Turkey, which for years was seen as a safe haven for Uyghurs fleeing Chinese repression. It shares religious, cultural and linguistic ties with this Turkic ethnic group and hosts its largest diaspora community of 45,000. But according to a new report by Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders and shared exclusively for this article before publication, in recent years Turkey has been losing its reputation as a safe haven for Uyghurs as it closely aligns itself with Beijing economically and politically.

Many experts say this shift is motivated by Turkey, currently mired in financial crises, courting a greater influx of Chinese cash.

Chinas transnational repression of Uyghurs overseas has created a pervasive climate of fear, said the report by Safeguard Defenders, which is focused on the Uyghur situation and other alleged human rights abuses by China. Those targeted are not just human rights activists and advocates but also ordinary Uyghurs, including students and members of the business community.

Police officers walk past the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang autonomous region, China, on Nov. 8, 2018. (Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

Like most Uyghurs, Hasan is originally from Xinjiang, a vast region in western China. According to an array of witness testimony and documentary evidence over the past decade, Chinese authorities are involved in an increasingly brutal crackdown against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Confirmed data is scarce, but estimates by human rights watchdogs and other groups say China sent upward of 1 million people to internment camps, where many are cut off from family and physically and psychologically tortured. Separate investigations by Amnesty International and a tribunal of independent human rights lawyers have detailed evidence of detainees being raped and forcibly sterilized.

The U.S., like other Western governments, says this campaign of repression against ethnic minorities amounts to genocide. The United Nations Human Rights Office says China may be guilty of crimes against humanity.

China says it has closed the camps, although NBC News British partner, Sky News, found that many of the detainees were still incarcerated in regular prisons, some of which have been significantly expanded, and the region remained under a blanket surveillance and law enforcement regime.

China denies all of this, saying it sends Uyghurs to vocational training camps because of terrorist and separatist attacks since the 1990s. According to a 24-point rebuttal published by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua in 2021, ethnic separatists, religious extremists, and violent terrorists in Xinjiang plotted and conducted several thousand violent terrorist acts between 1990 and 1996.

CHINA-XINJIANG-MEDIA-RIGHTS-PRESS (Greg Baker / AFP via Getty Images)

Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, ethnicity or religion, but about fighting violence, terrorism and separatism, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in an email in response to questions about the treatment of the Uyghur community.

Asked about the Turkey-based Chinese diaspora, he dismissed them as a few overseas people who had fabricated lies that were refuted by their relatives and friends.

Residents in Xinjiang live a peaceful and happy life, he added. We hope that the parties concerned can respect the facts and truths about Xinjiang, let go of their preconceived prejudices, stop groundless smears and view Xinjiang and China under the principles of truthfulness, objectivity and fairness.

For Yalkun Uluyol, pursuing truth, objectivity and fairness leads him to a different conclusion.

Yalkun Uluyol, a Uyghur activist and researcher, in Istanbul on July 31, 2023. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

Originally from Xinjiang, the social sciences scholar says some 30 members of his family  including his father, whom he has not seen since 2018  have at some point been detained by Chinese authorities. That led him to author the report published this week by Safeguard Defenders.

Uluyol surveyed 93 members of the diaspora in Turkey, 80% of whom said they have been unable to contact some family members back home since at least 2017. More than one-third said they had been harassed by Chinese police or state agents while in Turkey.

Uluyol found a common tactic is for Chinese authorities to threaten Uyghurs in Turkey by using their families back in Xinjiang. Chinas aim, he said, is to stop them engaging in activism, recruit them to spread Chinese propaganda and to spy on other Uyghurs.

In one of the stories that I was told, police talked to one Uyghur activist here in Istanbul and told him, Your grandma says hi, Uluyol said.

He didnt provide what the police asked him to do so they asked him do you even care about your family? Uluyol said.

A Uyghur store in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood displays the flags of Turkey, left, and East Turkestan, a region in China that the Uyghur community considers their homeland, on July 31, 2023. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

Another person interviewed, Jevlan Shirmemmet, 32, a lawyer from Xinjiang, has been campaigning to find his mother, Suriye Tursun, a bookseller detained since 2018. One day, he said, he received a call from his father, brother and uncle back home  whom he believes were under pressure from Chinese police  telling him to keep quiet.

I said, Where are you? Wheres my mom? he said. His father responded, What are you doing? and You have to stop, Shirmemmet recalled. My answer was: I wont stop until my mom gets released.

Hasan, the prisoner in Morocco, also believes his detention has come at the behest of China.

He and his family arrived in Istanbul in 2012 but he fled again after less than a decade having been arrested there four times. Turkish authorities have provided little details about why he was detained  not responding to detailed requests for comment for this article  but his family and human rights groups have no doubt that it was linked to his work in support of Uyghur rights.

Jevlan Shirmememmet, a Uyghur rights activist and lawyer, in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 31, 2023. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

He tried to get to Western Europe but, not realizing Beijing had issued an Interpol red notice for his arrest, he was detained en route in Morocco. Interpol canceled this in 2021, telling NBC News in a statement this week that it had done so after new and relevant information had come to light, without giving further details about the reason for the initial notice or its withdrawal.

Two U.N. bodies have urged Morocco not to deport him back to China, saying he faces possible torture and death. The Moroccan government did not respond to detailed questions about his case.

Its unclear whats next for Hasan and thousands of other Uyghurs who have fled China.

Turkey in the past welcomed in tens of thousands of Uyghurs, often turning a blind eye when their travel documents were incomplete or forged, said Gareth Jenkins, a veteran Turkey analyst who has lived in Istanbul for 30 years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his wife Emine and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14, 2017. (Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images file)

In 2009, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went as far as to call Chinas treatment of the Uyghurs a genocide.

That began to change in 2016 when Turkey joined Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, an unprecedented global infrastructure project that critics see as Beijings attempt to gain influence abroad and make smaller countries financially dependent on its investment.

The embodiment of this new Sino-Turkish era came in 2017 when they signed an extradition treaty that was ratified by China in 2020. While Turkey has not ratified the agreement, the fear of extradition is a constant worry that hangs over Turkeys Uyghurs and puts them in a very precarious situation, said Lisel Hintz, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood, left and top, is popular with Uyghur immigrants. Zeynure Obul, bottom, plays with her children at the their home in Istanbul. Obul's husband, Idris Hasan, a Uyghur activist, is imprisoned in Morocco. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

The Uyghurs began to come under pressure from the Turkish authorities, which became far stricter on passports, residency permit renewals and other documentation, Jenkins said.

The human cost of this tightening can be found sprawled across the table of an Istanbul cafe; a few legal but ultimately worthless travel documents are all Gayret Erlibek has to his name. He was detained at Istanbul Airport after leaving Xinjiang via Kazakhstan in June, and still does not know his next move after being allowed to pass through.

I thought: This is it, Im going to die, theyre going to deport me to China, he said.

There is one clear motive for Turkeys apparent shift, according to Jenkins, Hintz and others: the promise of Chinese cash.

There have been plenty of investments so far: Chinas partial construction of the worlds largest suspension bridge, the Canakkale Bridge, its majority ownership of the massive shipping container port at Kumport, and Chinese tech giant Alibaba buying the Turkish e-commerce firm Trendyol.

Gayret Erlibek, a Uyghur refugee, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Yusuf Sayman for NBC News)

There have been many investments promised, but not all of those have come through, Hintz said. And Turkey would like more.

These geopolitical changes have very human consequences for people like Hasan. Moroccos extradition treaty with China ratified in 2017 makes him especially vulnerable and dependent on international appeals to delay his extradition request.

While Turkey slowly becomes an uncertain haven for so many like him, Hasans fate now lies with Morocco.

From prison, he said that sometimes he cannot catch his breath.

I am already two years in this prison, and nobody has said when I will get out, he said.

If they send me back to China, it is equal to death, Hasan added. I think my future is darkness; I dont see any light.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Ukrainian soldier atop an abandoned Russian tank in eastern Ukraine in September 2022. JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine has recovered a vast array of Russian military equipment and is putting it to use.

That includes 800 pieces of artillery, tanks, and other vehicles, Deutsche Welle reports.

But experts say there are limits to how well Ukraine can make use of the equipment.

Ukraine is turning hundreds of pieces of military equipment captured from Russia back on the invading forces, a new report says.

Ukraine has scooped up over 800 Russian artillery systems, armored vehicles, and other weaponry since the start of the war, including 300 tanks, Deutsche Welle reports.

Those have then been repaired where necessary, examined for crucial military-tech information, and often put back on the battlefield to be pointed directly back at their former owners, the outlet reports.

Among the weapons captured were Russia's prized modernized T-72 tanks, it said, while many items, including Grad rocket launcher systems, fell into Ukrainian hands during last fall's stunning counteroffensive in the north and east of the country, sources told the outlet.

"Russia is competing with Western countries to supply weapons to Ukraine," Col. Oleksandr Saruba told Deutsche Welle.

The German outlet reported that Saluba worked for the Ukrainian military center that receives and analyzes captured weaponry.

Ukraine has been making use of captured weapons and armor since the outset of the war  in March 2022 it announced that it had captured 24 Uragan missiles and had aimed them back at the enemy.

Deutsche Welle said the captured technology was useful in another way: Probing them provides information on where Russia is receiving its high-tech parts from, which could guide future sanctions.

But there are significant battlefield limitations to the usefulness of some modern equipment taken from Russian hands, the Russian-military analyst Michael Kofman said in March.

Despite the constant work of Ukrainian repair shops, some captured vehicles use modern parts that aren't manufactured in Ukraine, which still relies heavily on Soviet-era tanks.

Ukrainians "don't have the parts that keep a lot of these running," Kofman said at a Carnegie Endowment event, adding: "So, on paper, you may capture a lot of vehicles, but you don't have the engines, you don't have the transmissions, you don't have the parts to keep them going."

Tanks also receive a disproportionate amount of attention compared with Ukraine's other artillery and ammunition needs, Kofman said.

In July, Ukraine's top general, Valery Zaluzhny, told The Washington Post that miles of minefields were hampering the advance of tanks during the country's grueling counteroffensive.

This has caused the loss of a sizable chunk of the Western-supplied vehicles Ukraine has deployed, leading to a shift in tactics, multiple reports say.

Ukraine has had to resort to pummelling Russian forces behind the front line with artillery and then painstakingly following up on foot, rather than leading the charge with tanks, the reports say.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A large crowd calling for France to leave Niger gathered near the capital on Friday

Russia has warned that military intervention in Niger would lead to a "protracted confrontation" after regional bloc Ecowas said it would assemble a standby force.

Such an intervention would destabilise the Sahel region as a whole, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Russia does not formally back the coup.

But the US, which backs efforts to restore deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum, says its Wagner mercenary group is taking advantage of the instability.

On Friday coup supporters, some waving Russian flags, protested at a French military base near the capital NIamey, some chanting "down with France, down with Ecowas".

Both France and the US operate military bases in Niger and they have been used to launch operations against jihadist groups in the wider region.

Military officials from Ecowas countries are reportedly set to meet on Saturday to draft plans for a military intervention.

The bloc has said it remains open to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday that "No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort".

The US has not explicitly backed military action but has called on the junta to step aside and allow the restoration of the country's democratic constitution.

The Niger junta has not responded to the latest statements from Ecowas leaders.

Meanwhile fears are growing for the health and safety of Mr Bazoum, who has been held captive since the military seized power on 26 July.

He and his family had been "deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

UN rights commissioner Volker Turk said he had received credible reports that the conditions of detention "could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment".

Rights group Human Rights Watch said Mr Bazoum had told them this week that he and his family were being treated in an "inhuman and cruel" way.

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," HRW quoted Mr Bazoum as telling them.
The latest financial disclosures from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley reveal as much as a half-million dollars of her husbands net worth derives from a mysterious military technical services companyan apparent shell entity tied to a government contractor seeking tax credits from her successors administration.

There is no evidence that Haley or her husband, Michael Haley, have broken any rules. However, the materials suggest the family could benefit financially from state and federal policy, including from the export of military equipment to Taiwan.

When Haley first submitted personal financial forms with the Federal Election Commission in May as part of her presidential bid, she declared among her husbands Employment, Assets, and Retirement Accounts a company called Allied Defense LLC. The initial filing described this entity as a start-up business, value not readily ascertainable that had compensated the former Palmetto State first gentlemana National Guard major who deployed to Africa in Juneless than the minimum reportable amount of $201.

But the ex-governor, who gave up the mansion in Columbia to become then President Donald Trumps United Nations ambassador in 2017, reappraised her spouses start-up in a subsequent update from July, now determining its worth to be between a quarter-million and a half-million dollars. It also added the military technical services descriptor.

The form offers no further details about Allied Defense LLC. But public filings proffer additional insight.

Only three companies nationwide have that name. One is an active shooter training outfit in Michigan, another is a small but long-standing Defense Department contractor now operating out of Florida, but previously based in Maryland and Virginia.

But a Haley campaign spokesperson confirmed that the aspiring first spouses Allied Defense is a firm incorporated in their home state of South Carolina on Jan. 22, 2021two days after the end of the Trump administration, though more than two years after Haley exited her UN post.

In its filings with the state, this Allied Defense has used three addresses in coastal Charleston County, South Carolina, home to one of the states military air bases and to the $2.4 million mansion the Haleys acquired in 2019. Small Business Administration records show the firm engages in the design and manufacturing of military vehicles, among other services, and has registered to export vehicles to Taiwan.

But Charleston County authorities revealed to The Daily Beast that Allied Defense does not have a license to conduct business there. The Daily Beast further found that the company pays no real or personal property taxes for any assets within the county.

Combined, these would mean Allied Defense legally can have no economic activity at the locations it purports to operate from. A Haley campaign spokesperson maintained that Allied Defense had registered to conduct business in the county, contradicting the local department of revenue, though the campaign did not provide a date on which it had done so. The spokesperson further asserted that there was no income for Allied Defense in prior years because it was a startup. This would not, however, explain why the company failed to pay personal property taxes, which apply to any equipment and even furniture that a business owns within county limits.

What definitely does have assets, and a license to do business, at Allied Defenses Charleston County addresses is a larger pre-existing firm with some $1.8 million in military contracts: Defense Engineering Serviceswhich also pays the taxes at these facilities.

And between Haleys first disclosure in May and her update in July, Defense Engineering Services completed a much-ballyhooed expansion into new digs in Charleston County. Just four days before DES announced it was up and running in the 53,000-square-foot space in June, Allied Defense changed its address in a filing with the state to this exact location, having been previously registered at a different DES facility. And the signatory on the June filing was DES co-founder Robert Cole.

Nikki Haley and her husband Michael Haley after a campaign event in South Carolina in March. Anadolu Agency

Neither Cole nor DESs other principle, Greg Gordon, answered repeated questions from The Daily Beast about Allied Defenses work or lack thereof. Neither would Donald Cinnamond, listed as Allied Defenses CEO on the SBA paperwork and as its point of contact in the Defense Logistics Agencys Commercial and Government Entity Program, a registry of firms eligible to do business with the U.S. military.

Similarly, none of these men responded to queries about a relationship with Major Haley, whose name does not appear in any official paperwork associated with Allied Defense. However, a Haley campaign spokesperson confirmed to the The Daily Beast that two owners of Defense Engineering have a stake in Allied Defense. But Team Haley denied that Michael Haley had anything to do with the parent firm.

Michael is not involved in Defense Engineering, the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. Michael has no knowledge of anything related to Defense Engineering. He is not part of that business.

The Daily Beast located a website for Allied Defense registered to Gordons name and to his DES email address, and to one of the Charleston County addresses that Allied Defense and DES share.

Allied Defense was formed by bringing together a multidisciplinary team to assist the U.S. Government and U.S. ally countries with security and defense matters around the globe, the firms About page reads. Our approach is to combine our political, legal, military, engineering, and manufacturing expertise to derive policy and technical solutions for our customers. When part of the solution is military hardware and systems, our network of providers and manufacturers is ready to support the cause. Today, Allied Defense aims to increase world peace by ensuring that those who protect our freedom and way of life are equipped with the right tools to do so.

Allied Defense expands on its offerings on the Services page, where it says it can navigate political and legal concerns to allow for defense system acquisition, connect clients with a network of manufacturers [that] regularly deliver hardware and software solutions from armored vehicles to sophisticated electronics, and even coordinate specifications and requirements with ally militaries and international peacekeeping forces.

Questions sent to an email address listed on the site about how Allied Defense does this work without a business license or paying taxes in its home county went unanswered.

The South Carolina-based Allied Defense has no government contracts viewable in any public database. By contrast, DES received its first six-figure research and development grant in 2020, and a $1.7 million contract to work on advanced circuit breaker technology in late 2022.

The company has also sought other government benefits.

When current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMasterHaleys former lieutenant governor and appointee to the state Ports Authorityannounced DES $2.25 million expansion in April, his administration also announced it had approved job development credits to help underwrite the project. However, the state Department of Commerce told The Daily Beast the company had not yet finalized the deal.

A spokesperson for the agency denied knowledge of any connection between DES and Maj. Haley.

On reviewing The Daily Beasts filings, Nick Schwellenbachsenior investigator at the nonprofit Project on Government Oversightcalled for transparency from all parties, raising concerns that Haleys partners at Allied Defense could attempt to capitalize on his political ties.

There are questions about this murky situation that need answers, Schwellenbach said. When a company with government business has an arrangement with a politically connected person, it can easily look like the companys aim is influence peddling.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The New Jersey Supreme Court has sided with the widow of a man who hanged himself in Ocean County Jail in 2010, saying there was enough evidence to support a jury's determination that the jail and Correctional Health Services were negligent despite a law that generally grants immunity to health and public facilities.

The high court refused to overturn the Ocean County jury's verdict that an appellate court upheld. The jury awarded plaintiff Carol Ann Conforti $150,000 in damages and $1.4 million for pain and suffering.

In 2010, Conforti obtained a restraining order against her husband Kenneth Conforti, which he violated, returning to their home to see his 9-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, is deaf and nonverbal, according to the opinion.

He was arrested and held at Ocean County Jail for 27 days. During his intake, he told health services staff that he drank a half gallon of vodka each day, had screws and rods in his back from surgery, felt hopeless and helpless and was troubled over the loss of his marriage.

Kenneth Conforti was totally disabled after he injured his back at work then medicated himself using alcohol after surgery failed and left him in chronic pain, according to the opinion

A week after his release, he was arrested again when he returned to the home.

During intake, Conforti contradicted his earlier statement, saying he did not have surgery, was only a social drinker, didnt feel helpless and had no recent significant loss, according to the ruling.

A document showed that intake staff acknowledged his earlier complaints but deemed that he had no current health issues or concerns, according to the ruling.

On October 20, 2010, a week after his return to jail, Conforti wrote a suicide note to his parents. He closed the door to his cell, put a sheet over the cell door window, tied sheets together and hanged himself from a light fixture over the toilet.

When a cell is shut it locks and a light goes off alerting staff in a security center to a possible issue.

The OCJ Suicide Prevention Policy states that officers should make unsystematic patrols of the housing area to hinder the inmates efforts of timing the patrols and to increase the possibility of successful intervention, according to the ruling.

But the logbook showed that Confortis cell was checked systematically, nearly on the hour, through the morning, including at 12:03 p.m. Any change to an entry required a set of initials and a reason. The time check that followed at 12.55 p.m. notes a possible suicide and was written over the 12:03 p.m. check entry, according to the opinion.

There were no initials or reasons given for the obliterated 12:03 p.m. check entry, according to the ruling.

An expert for the plaintiff testified at trial that the jail failed to follow its own suicide prevention policy, to recognize the risk of a sheet covering the window of a locked cell door and to identify Conforti as a suicide risk among other lapses. The jail staff also engaged in predictable and easily timed and anticipated block patrols, the expert testified.

The jail and Correctional Health Services argued that they were immune from liability under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.

In its decision, the high court ruled that the evidence presented at trial fell outside of any immunities granted by the Act.

Joseph M. Valanti, current warden of the jail, was not in the office and not available for comment Thursday.

More: 'A devastating public health crisis': What parents can do to help prevent teen suicide

Attorney Donald F. Burke, who represented Carol Conforti, along with his son, Donald Burke Jr., grew emotional when talking about the case and what he called the overwhelming negligence behind Kenneth Confortis death.

It was a long, long uphill road, said Burke. Today belongs to Ken Confortis disabled son who was 9 years old when his father died in 2010 and grew up without a father. He had a bond with his father and it was this very strong bond that got Ken Conforti into trouble.

Burke is calling for the Legislature to take a fresh and harder look at the Tort Claims Act.

With tort claim immunities, governmental actors can show a lack of concern for the consequences of their wrongdoing and I think government accountability requires more, Burke said. Tort claim immunities often dissuade lawyers and advocates from taking on cases of government abuse and Im hoping this lets people know that its worth taking these cases and helping the people who need our help the most.

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Supreme Court rules in favor of widow in Ocean County Jail suicide
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated that there are currently no new decisions concerning the potential transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Instead, Berlin is focusing on equipping the Ukrainian military with air defense systems, artillery, and tanks, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Aug. 11.

"There is no new state of affairs to report on this issue [Taurus missiles deliveries]; our attention, as before, is focused on sending air defense equipment, heavy artillery, and tanks," said Scholz.

Read also: Berlin preparing to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine  report

He emphasized that Berlin will continue to adhere to this course, closely consulting with its international partners.

NV

Citing an anonymous source, Reuters recently reported that the German government is already negotiating with arms manufacturer MBDA about the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Read also: Berlin preparing to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine  report

German newspaper Spiegel reported, referring to its sources, that Scholz demanded the Taurus missiles be modified so that making strikes on Russian territory would be impossible. Industry experts said that the implementation of such a restriction is entirely possible but would take a few weeks.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The claim: Illinois law allows immigrants living in US illegally to become cops

An Aug. 1 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter, with a photo of Illinois' governor holding a pen.

Just in: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a law that will allow illegal immigrants to become police officers and sheriffs deputies, reads text in the screenshot. "In Illinois American citizens will be arrested by illegals."

It was shared more than 200 times in 10 days.

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Our rating: False

The law says noncitizens applying for those jobs must be legally allowed to possess guns. People living in the U.S. illegally don't qualify because federal law bars them from owning guns, according to experts and lawmakers.

DACA recipients not eligible, but law opens the door

The legislation Pritzker signed into law July 28 will allow municipalities and sheriffs to hire some noncitizens as police officers or sheriff's deputies. It takes effect Jan. 1 and is similar to a California law signed in 2022 that also has been the subject of false claims.

The language of the 15-page Illinois law makes clear applicants must meet several criteria: They must be legally authorized to work in the U.S., and they must be allowed under federal law to obtain, carry or possess a gun.

People living in the country illegally may not legally obtain firearms, a federal appeals court ruled in 2012, and both experts and lawmakers say that makes them ineligible for law enforcement positions.

Anyone who is saying that an illegal alien can become a police officer or sheriffs deputy is either, one, misinformed, or two, giving you a baldfaced lie, said state Rep. John Cabello, a Republican co-sponsor of the law and a Rockford police officer.

Fact check: ICE program gives limited phones to immigrants for tracking, communication

Immigrants who would qualify include those holding green cards and, potentially, refugees or those granted asylum, according to Lauren Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois College of Law.

Those in the U.S. temporarily on student, tourist or employment visas would be ineligible, said state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, the Democrat who introduced the bill.

The law also would allow those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process, or DACA, program to be eligible in the future if they meet the federal gun ownership requirements.

The policy protects some immigrants brought to the country illegally as young children from deportation. There are roughly 30,000 in Illinois, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Presently, they are disqualified because they are not allowed to legally own guns and are not considered lawful permanent residents.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker praises the budget passed by the lawmakers during a news conference in his office at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

Hernandez called their mention in the law symbolic, and Aronson said it would take a federal law change or a shift in interpretation for DACA participants to qualify for those police positions.

The measure is written in a way that opens the door for them to become officers, Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzkers deputy chief of staff, said in an email to USA TODAY.

There are caveats to the DACA recipients becoming officers that would need to be overcome before many of them could join forces around the state, Abudayyeh said.

USA TODAY reached out to both the user who posted the claim on X and the one who shared it on Facebook but did not receive responses.

The Associated Press also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim those in US illegally may become police in IL | Fact check
The CEMEX quarry needs to go.

On July 18, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a three-year extension of CEMEX USAs quarry operating permits along the San Joaquin River north of Fresno (though CEMEX had asked for a four-year extension). The boards vote was unanimous.

The city of Fresno officially objected to the extension application because it is based on analyses dating from the mid-1980s, while affected areas of the city and county have substantially changed in the past four decades. The city is obviously concerned about the negative impacts that the countys approval decision will have on Fresno and its residents.

Opinion

During that July board meeting, Sharon Weaver, executive director at San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust Inc., reportedly requested that the City of Fresnos objection to the application be upheld. It should be noted that the quarry operates on land along the river that the Conservation trust wants to incorporate into the San Joaquin River Parkway.

A few days after the boards vote, on July 21, I noticed an informal poll being taken by The Business Journal asking the following question:

Should CEMEX continue mining gravel at its Rockfield quarry for three more years before updating its (environmental impact report)?

About 233 people responded. I was startled to note that more than 86% of respondents said no to this question. I would think readers of The Business Journal would be generally pro-business, so I take this as a conservative representation of public sentiment on the CEMEX issue.

It seems reasonable to think that most people in Fresno  as well as residents in unincorporated areas north of town  would strongly object to the quarry continuing operations. Who wants dozens of gravel-carrying big rigs traveling with them every day as they drive into and out of Fresno to work, shop or visit Millerton Lake or points beyond?

This truck traffic is more than annoying, it is polluting and potentially dangerous.

But all of this is merely a warm-up to the real battle coming up, which involves CEMEXs application to change its operations from gravel harvesting to hard-rock mining. The plans include blasting the rock down to a depth of 600 feet. CEMEX says the rock is needed to meet road and structure construction needs in the county based on growth projections (that is to say sprawl).

According to Fresno Bee columnist Marek Warszawskis July 27 column, the argument that the CEMEX operation is necessary to pave the countys existing and projected roads is misleading, at best. It turns out that the county does not have a contract to purchase gravel from CEMEX for road construction.

The column also points out that, according to CEMEX, the company provides 28% of the gravel aggregate needed for local residential construction (that is to say sprawl).

More than this, past political decisions have set in motion the incorporation of the local river and its adjacent lands into the San Joaquin River Parkway. Whatever anyone believes about the relative merits of ongoing sprawl, this fact remains.

One would be forgiven for feeling baffled that we are even discussing approving CEMEXs continuing operations, never mind the companys plans to expand into hard-rock mining. How can anyone think that such an operation is compatible with the goal of restoring our beleaguered river and its shores to something resembling its natural state for the enjoyment of the general public?

Given that the supervisors approved the extension application over the objections of the City of Fresno, the Parkway caretaker and (perhaps) the local residents, what can those who object do?

A first step would be to encourage the City of Fresno to move forward with a lawsuit against the county to stop the supervisors from approving any more CEMEX applications. It seems logical that a new and updated environmental impact report is necessary, and that such a report would show how damaging CEMEX is to the Parkway and county residents.

Its time for CEMEXs San Joaquin River operations to end.

Ken Wall is a retired banker and bank regulator, and is currently a volunteer team leader with Citizens Climate Lobby Fresno.
Richland voters wisely voted to remove three problematic school board members from office this month. Now public officials need to show equal wisdom in selecting replacements. Temperance and deference to the public should guide their decisions.

Kari Williams, Semi Bird and Audra Byrd clearly needed to go. They had violated their duty to serve students and taxpayers. They flagrantly and illegally defied lawful Washington state orders during the pandemic by voting to make masks optional in schools.

It was a rush job, putting administrators, teachers and families in an untenable position. Schools closed, and the trio jeopardized state funding.

Voters responded to that needlessly manufactured crisis by overwhelmingly ousting the three in a recall election. Theyll be officially out of office Tuesday when Benton County election officials certify the results.

Then only two of the five school board members will remain, not enough for the school board legally to conduct business.

A couple of weeks remain until students return to classrooms. That leaves precious little time to begin filling the seats.

Educational Service District 123, the regional authority that assists districts with public education from Clarkston to Prosser, plans to act quickly to fill the first seat and restore a working majority. ESD officials will begin accepting applications a half an hour after the recalled members are out on Tuesday. They plan to choose an appointee at a special meeting Aug. 29.

Once the school board has three members and therefore a working majority, it will be able to appoint people to fill the other two vacancies.

Both ESD and Richland School Board should look for some very specific qualities in appointees.

The seat that ESD will fill and one of the others will be up for grabs on the November ballot. The people selected to serve a handful of months should be competent placeholders, not anyone who seeks election this fall.

Incumbency is an advantage in an election, even appointed incumbency. The voters created the vacancies, so let the voters choose who fills them without putting a thumb on the scale.

The third seat is tougher. Whoever the new school board chooses will serve out the two years remaining on the term.

That person therefore needs to hit the ground running. Someone with a background in education would be ideal. If that person chose to run for the office when it comes up in 2025, he or she would have won any incumbency advantage with a record of performance in office.

The most critical characteristic for all of the new school board members, be they elected or appointed, is temperament. The last thing Richland needs are three more social warriors who want to turn local schools into another front in a national culture war.

Find nonpartisans for what is supposed to be a nonpartisan position, not people who will drag schools into more political ugliness.

Finally, the ESD and school board should embrace transparency throughout the process. That means sharing the list of candidates with the public and giving residents an opportunity to weigh in. The ESD, unfortunately, already has indicated that it is hewing toward keeping the public in the dark.

It will secretly select finalists. Then it will interview those finalists in public but without an opportunity for public comment. Finally it will again go behind closed doors to select a winner.

The public deserves better especially when the new board goes to fill the other two seats.

This is a challenging time for Richland schools, but it also is an opportunity to rebuild trust. Choose wisely and in partnership with the people whose children will attend those schools and whose taxes will pay for them.
A Norfolk man pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in the March 2021 shooting death of another man in the Grandy Village area, prosecutors announced.

Curtis E. Copeland Jr., 22, will serve 13 active years in prison for the killing of of 31-year-old Eddie Moet Jenkins as part of the plea agreement, according to a news release from the Norfolk commonwealths attorneys office.

On March 17, 2021, police responded to the 600 block of Wiley Drive just before 1 a.m. At the scene, emergency services found Jenkins dead from bullet wounds to his head, torso and leg. Prosecutors say a witness identified Copeland as one of multiple shooters.

Copeland had a scheduled hearing before a jury trial Friday, but he pleaded guilty to the charge and Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted his plea. According to the plea agreement, Rigney sentenced Copeland to 13 years in prison, with another nine years suspended on the conditions that he not have any contact with Jenkins family or any witnesses. He must also complete 10 years of good behavior and five years of supervised probation.

Contrary to what some people think, just because a person involved in an argument is armed does not give others a license to kill, Norfolk Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi said. Mr. Copeland had no legal excuse for shooting the victim, and his plea holds him accountable for this murder. My condolences go to Mr. Jenkins and his family.

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
North Korea warns of flood damage after tropical storm drenches South Rains lash southern Japan as Khanun takes aim at South Korea

By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - Heavy downpours continued to soak South and North Korea on Friday as tropical storm Khanun swept over the peninsula after pummelling Japan, putting Pyongyang on high alert for flood damage.

The storm weakened into a tropical depression as it crossed into North Korea overnight, and military and ruling party officials were mobilised to minimise its impact on the country's fragile economy.

In some parts of South Korea, cumulative rainfall has topped 400 mm (15.8 inches) since Thursday with maximum wind speeds of 126 km per hour (78 miles per hour), flooding villages, schools and roads.

Almost 16,000 people were evacuated, but about 60% of them had returned home as of 6 a.m. (2155 GMT Thursday), and about 350 flights and 450 train routes were cancelled, according to the interior ministry.

One person was missing in the southeastern city of Daegu after falling into a river in a wheelchair, and another person was reported dead in the same city, but the ministry said neither case was directly linked to the storm.

The 37,000 youngsters participating in the World Scout Jamboree, who moved out of their campsite over typhoon concerns on Tuesday, are scheduled to wrap up their trip with a K-pop concert on Friday.

"We need to prepare measures to quickly and sufficiently provide support to people affected by the typhoon and meticulous support to minimise inconvenience for evacuated residents," President Yoon Suk Yeol told officials, according to his office.

With a lack of infrastructure and deforestation exacerbating flood risks, North Korea has been bracing for the storm, scrambling to head off damage and salvage crops.

The Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party's mouthpiece, reported on Friday that officials were ordered to implement a round-the-clock disaster emergency response system and devise evacuation plans.

It published photos of officials in raincoats inspecting ports and rivers and farmers preparing fields.

"We must make utmost efforts to protect farmlands and crops from the impact of typhoons," the newspaper said.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
A former North Texas animal shelter employee faces charges of animal cruelty after an investigation into the deaths of 80 kittens over a period of five months, officials said.

Gabriel Caswell was arrested July 14 and July 29 and faces two charges of cruelty to animals, the Weatherford Police Department said in a news release Thursday.

Over the past few months, the Weatherford Parker County Animal Shelter experienced an unexplained increase in kitten deaths, according to the release. At first staff attributed the deaths to disease, but testing and necropsies of the dead kittens showed no disease was present.

Staff installed additional HVAC systems, ensured proper cleaning procedures were followed, reviewed the chemicals in all cleaning products, implemented new policies and closely tracked every missing or deceased animal, officials said in the release.

The mysterious deaths continued until an employee saw a coworker, identified in the release as Caswell, mistreating a kitten on July 14. Shelter staff immediately notified police and confronted Caswell, who left the scene before officers arrived.

Police reviewed video footage and determined that a criminal offense had occurred, according to the release. Officers arrested Caswell the same day on an animal cruelty charge.

Caswell was arrested again on July 29 on an additional animal cruelty charge after investigators reviewed more video footage, police said.

Shelter data shows that at least 80 kittens have died since February, the month Caswell was hired, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported.

Our shelter staff and volunteers take great pride in the love and care provided to the animals that visit our shelter, shelter officials said in the release. For something like this to happen is unfathomable, and we are heartbroken by the harm caused.

The investigation is ongoing, officials said.
A North Texas man was sentenced to more than two years in prison and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to assaulting three officers at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release Thursday.

Daniel Dink Phipps, of Garland, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $270 special assessment.

Phipps, a former security guard, pleaded guilty to two offenses  one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and one count of civil disorder  on May 4. He also pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and parading and picketing in a Capitol building.

Phipps assaulted three police officers who were facing off a violent mob and were struggling to move Phipps and other rioters off the Capitols north terrace, according to court documents.

He was recorded on officers body-camera videos, where he is seen violently resisting to leave the terrace, authorities said.

After assaulting the third officer, he complied and left Capitol grounds, according to the release.

Phipps threatened the group of officers and said, You know this isnt the end. You know this isnt over, according to the release. He also posted on social media that he helped, take the Hill, the release said.

Phipps tried to justify his actions at the riot in a Facebook post where he wrote, I helped other Patriots prevent antifa from damaging anything. I exercised my 1st Amendment right to take grievances to our representatives. Where were you on 06JAN21, the release states.

He also posted a picture of himself inside the Capitol with an American flag hanging over his shoulder.

He was arrested on Jan. 26, 2021, in Corpus Christi.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Washington, D.C., more than 1,100 people across the U.S. have been arrested for crimes related to the insurrection. Of that number, more than 350 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila during an interview with AFP in Islamabad after breaking the record (Aamir QURESHI)

A Norwegian climber who last month became the joint-fastest person to summit the world's 14 highest peaks said her team did everything they could to help a dying sherpa as they completed their quest on K2.

A huge row has broken out in the climbing community after video emerged showing a long train of climbers stepping past a fallen sherpa on July 27 to reach the top of the world's second highest mountain.

Kristin Harila, who with her Nepali guide Tenjin "Lama" Sherpa that day became the fastest people to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre (26,000-feet) mountains, has faced the bulk of the criticism despite spending 90 minutes trying to help.

The fallen porter has been identified as 27-year-old Pakistani Mohammed Hassan, who was not part of Harila's team.

Karar Haidari, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told AFP around 100 climbers summitted K2 that day.

Tourism authorities in Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan, who are responsible for issuing climbing permits, said Friday they had opened an inquiry into the incident.

In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, Harila, 37, said she and her team "did everything we could for him at the time".

- 'Heartbreaking' -

Harila said she felt the need to give her side of the story due to "all of the misinformation and hatred that is now being spread", including "death threats".

Britain's Daily Mail headlined its story: "'Egotistic' mountaineer is pictured celebrating reaching the summit of K2 just moments after climbers 'walked over dying porter'."

Harila said she, her cameraman and two others spent "1.5 hours in the bottleneck trying to pull him up".

She then continued her ascent following a distress call from the fixing team ahead, leaving others behind with Hassan.

Her cameraman, identified only as Gabriel, was among those who stayed with Hassan, sharing his oxygen and hot water with him "while other people were passing by.

"Considering the amount of people that stayed behind and had turned around, I believed Hassan would be getting all the help he could, and that he would be able to get down."

Gabriel left after another hour when he needed "to get more oxygen for his own safety", she wrote.

When he caught up with Harila, "we understood that he (Hassan) might not make it down. It was heartbreaking."

On their descent, they discovered that Hassan had died.

- 'We had done our best' -

Her team of four "was in no shape to carry his body down" safely, she added, noting that it would have required at least six people.

His death was "truly tragic... and I feel very strongly for the family", she said, but "we had done our best, especially Gabriel".

Hassan was "not properly equipped for the climb", wearing neither a down suit nor gloves, she noted.

There was harsh criticism for Harila on social media despite dozens of other climbers being in the same situation.

"Nobody will remember your sporting success, only your inhumanity," wrote one critic on Instagram.

"The blood of sherpas is on your hands," said another.

Other Instagram users defended Harila's actions, however, noting the dangers involved.

po/giv-fox/jj
The federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's criminal case in connection to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election on Friday set the guidelines for handling evidence ahead of trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed with Trump's attorneys to only issue a protective order regarding "sensitive" evidence in the case but rejected their bid to allow Trump to publicize details about interviews from witnesses in the cases, deeming them "sensitive."

"You start releasing interview transcripts, what do you think is going to happen to those witnesses?" she asked Trump's attorney John Lauro during the proceedings.

Chutkan also narrowly delineated the potential pool of people who can view the sensitive evidence, ultimately dismissing a proposal from Trump's defense team to permit consultants and unpaid volunteers to see the materials.

"I live in Washington: Anyone is a consultant," Chutkan said.

National security attorney Bradley Moss noted the "irony of Trump's team getting their preferred version of the protective order is that Judge Chutkan is now designating a lot of stuff as sensitive under that order."

"So they won the battle but are losing the war," he tweeted.

In establishing the rules, Chutkan said she struck a careful balance between Trump's constitutional rights with other concerns for ensuring a fair trial and an untainted jury pool. She made clear that she had no intention of unilaterally acquiescing to federal prosecutors' demands, or showing Trump any special treatment as both a former president and GOP primary frontrunner, noting at the start of the hearing that while Trump has a right to free speech, "that right is not absolute."

Her order resolves some disagreements between Trump's defense and special counsel Jack Smith's team regarding the scope of a protective order governing how evidence is shared before trial, which is a routine feature of criminal cases.

"What the defendant is currently doing  the fact that he's running a political campaign has to yield to the orderly administration of justice," Chutkan told Lauro. "If that means he can't say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, that's how it has to be."

Though prosecutors and defense lawyers often reach an agreement on the terms of the protective order to facilitate the evidence-sharing process, that outcome was not the case in Friday's hearing. Trump's attorneys, Lauro and Todd Blanche, characterized the government's proposal as "overbroad," an insult to the First Amendment and a formula to fashion the court into a "censor," emphasizing those concerns over the backdrop of Trump's presidential bid.

Chutkan, however, dismissed the latter concern.

"I cannot and I will not factor into my decisions how it will factor into a political campaign on both sides," she asserted, later adding that she intends to "keep politics out of this."

Andrew Feinberg, The Independent's White House correspondent who was tracking the hearing, reported that Chutkan was "not amused" as Trump's attorney repeatedly cited his campaign.

Federal prosecutors challenged the defense's argument by countering that the former president aims to try the case in the media rather than in the courtroom. They were also concerned with Trump's potential to use the information they provide to attack witnesses, citing a post he made on Truth Social the day after his arraignment in D.C. vowing to "come after" any foes who go after him.

But, when assessing the government's request to restrict the release of "non-sensitive" materials, Chutkan questioned why prosecutors would designate information as such if it could potentially be used to harm witnesses.

Prosecutor Thomas Windom said that the Justice Department is seeking to skirt "endless litigation" over the materials' designations, therefore establishing that Trump would have to get permission from the court if he wanted to share any evidence.

Trump's team, however, pushed back, arguing that without more specificity, the protective order would become a "contempt trap," referencing how violations of the order could be punished with contempt of court, a sanction that could result in jail time.

LAURO: "My client will abide by the integrity of the process" but he "cant be subject to some kind of contempt trap."



CHUTKAN says no one is talking about contempt but says Trump's speech rights must yield to pretrial release conditions and rules against witness intimidation.  Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 11, 2023

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"I intend to ensure the orderly administration of justice in this case as I would with any other case," Chutkan reportedly declared to close out the hearing. "Even arguably ambiguous statements from parties or their counsel  can threaten the process."

"In addition, the more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case which could taint the jury pool ... the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly ... I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings," she concluded.

National security attorney Bradley Moss cited that comment as a "warning" that if he keeps t, the "DOJ might get their early trial date."

Another warning to Trump: keep running your mouth and DOJ might get their early trial date. https://t.co/Qv0ZtzyJbJ  Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) August 11, 2023

"I think the judge has seen through their delay tactics and she's not going to take any of it," Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman told MSNBC. "And I think this is a clear message to Donald Trump that he is going to be in the dock in January or February, and a jury is going to be listening to the evidence."

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen argued that the "single most important moment" in the hearing was Chutkan's warning that she "will not factor" Trump's campaign into her decisions.

"If she applies that rule to the scheduling order we are going to trial in Jan. 2024," he predicted.

Single most important moment in the hearing on the Trump protective order so far:



Chutkan says she "cannot & will not factor" into her decision the effect on political campaigns for either side



If she applies that rule to the scheduling order we are going to trial in Jan. 2024  Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) August 11, 2023

MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang predicted that "Lauro's promise to Judge Chutkan that Trump will follow the 'precise letter of the court's order' will come back to haunt him. Guaranteed."

Lauros promise to Judge Chutkan that Trump will follow the precise letter of the courts order will come back to haunt him. Guaranteed. https://t.co/1rm5Tl0osW  Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) August 11, 2023

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about Judge Tanya Chutkan
During martial law, adoption of Ukrainian children by foreign citizens is not possible

Some European countries may be in no hurry to send Ukrainian children home after the end of the war due to their own demographic crises, Nataliya Horbal, a family law lawyer and partner of the Arzinger law firm, told NV in an interview on Aug. 5.

The number of requests from foreign citizens regarding the adoption of Ukrainian children has recently significantly increased. However, Ukraines state authorities do not grant permission for interstate adoption during martial law, Horbal said.

Its mostly foreigners who contact us regarding this issue, she said.

Read also: Ukraine holds great promise for those returning after war, says Mykolayiv governor

However, a moratorium on the adoption of children by citizens of other countries is currently in force in Ukraine, so we dont advise in such cases, just explain what documents they need to collect for the future, as this process also takes some time  from four to eight months.

Horbal also shared a recent case from her legal practice. She was approached by a charitable organization offering help to Ukrainian children from a family-type orphanage who were in Poland at the time.

However, the request seemed suspicious to the lawyer.

This organization was interested in how Ukrainian children could be legally taken from Poland to another country, Horbal said.

Read also: Because of the war: How Ukraines population will change by 2030

Since its an orphanage, the legislation stipulates that children must be registered in the consular register in the country of destination. The receiving party must also provide a letter of guarantee with an obligation to return the children to Ukraine after the end of the war. However, the organization was surprised that they had to sign such documents. They didnt refuse it directly, but it was clear from the context that they didnt want to do it.

The lawyer said that she has doubts that the organization intended to put the children on consular records at all, although she said this was only her personal observation, based on communications with the other party.

Meanwhile, Ukraine itself will most likely face serious demographic problems in the near future, the lawyer said.

Ukraine is also facing a major demographic crisis in the future, so we have to fight for (the return of) every child, Horbal 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
In the torrent of bad faith, illogical, and simply weird defenses being floated by Donald Trump's defenders, one stood out this week as especially appalling: His crimes were merely "aspirational."

Trump's latest in the constant churn of defense lawyers, John Lauro, is absolutely in love with the word "aspirational." On Sunday, he hit five separate political talk shows, repeating the word like a parrot.

"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," Lauro told Fox News. (The "right thing" is GOP code for "steal the election.")

"What President Trump didn't do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything," Lauro falsely claimed on CNN, calling the repeated badgering of Mike Pence merely "aspirational." He used the word again to describe Trump's taped phone call to Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump demanded that the Georgia Secretary of State "find" him enough votes to beat President Joe Biden.

Lauro tied "aspirational" to his claim that Trump's relentless efforts to strongarm election officials were merely "free speech." Taken together, one can see the defense forming: Trump's relentless pressure on people at all levels of government to steal the election for him wasn't what it looks like. There was no conspiracy to overturn the government. Trump is just a delusional old man babbling at people! And empty chatter ain't no crime!

Trump himself is leaning hard into the argument that he's too big of an imbecile to take seriously as a threat.

In an interview with Newsmax Wednesday night, Trump rambled, "I believe I won that election by many, many votes, many, many hundreds of thousands of votes," emphasizing repeatedly, "that's what I think." Even by Trump standards, the performance of idiocy was over-the-top. Newsmax indulged his "gosh, I'm too big a moron to be a criminal" act by running a disclaimer immediately after his interview aired: "Newsmax has accepted the election results as legal and final."

This is hardly the first time that Trump's clownishness has been used as a shield to deflect attention from his malevolence. There's the infamous Trump apologist Salena Zito scolding the press in 2016 for taking Trump "literally but not seriously," framing his pathological lying as merely an endearing quirk. Or the anonymous Republican official who excused the Big Lie in November 2020 by asking, "What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time?" and insisting, "It's not like he's plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20." (As the indictments filed by special prosecutor Jack Smith show, plotting to overthrow an election is exactly what Trump was doing.) And, of course, there's Trump's infamous claim that a tape of him bragging about sexual assault was merely "locker room talk" and not a description of his actual behavior.

Taking Trump literally when he said he likes to "grab 'em by the pussy" turned out to be the best bet, as demonstrated by the over two dozen women who stepped forward to describe everything from forced kisses to outright rape at Trump's hands. The most famous of these, of course, is E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded $5 million by a jury that found Trump had sexually assaulted her in a department store in the 90s.

Trump then retaliated against Carroll by suing her for defamation when she said "yes he did" when asked if he raped her. The lawsuit was on another version of the "aspirational" defense that Lauro is rolling out for the coup. Trump is claiming he isn't a "rapist," because the jury did not conclude that he had successfully penetrated her with his penis, only his hand. As with the coup defense, Trump's "innocence" rests on claims of incompetence. He's bad at seeing his crimes to completion, the argument goes, so really, is he a criminal?

I dont think its possible to convey, in 280 characters or even 280,000 characters, just how stupid this is. Good Lord. https://t.co/Dd7IvaOlnD  Xeorge Xonway (@gtconway3d) June 28, 2023

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The grossness of this argument really comes into focus when discussing sexual assault. The jury found that Trump cornered Carroll and shoved fingers in her vagina. Trump is acting like this is exoneration, but in any normal person's mind, that behavior makes you a rapist, even if you didn't quite finish the crime. Luckily, the judge dismissed the case, pointing out, albeit in lawyerly language, how preposterous it is to get into a quibble fight over the difference between a successful rape vs. what you might call an "aspirational" rape.

As a friend pointed out to me in response to Lauro's "aspirational" comments, this is just the "Sideshow Bob" defense, where one demands a mulligan because you failed at the crime you set out to commit.

It continues to blow my mind our democracy is threatened by someone making the Sideshow Bob defense. pic.twitter.com/skU59bW2yJ  Zach Funk on Bluesky now! (@ZFunkYeah) August 6, 2023

Crucial here is that these distinctions between rape and borderline rape don't really matter that much to the victim, Carroll, who experienced years of lingering trauma because of the attack. The same is true when it comes to the attempted coup. No, Trump didn't succeed. But that doesn't mean his "aspirational" crime didn't cause serious injuries. Many people were seriously harmed by his behavior, from election officials who endured abuse to the people injured or dead because of the Capitol riot.

Trump has yet another federal hearing today, as his defense team resists a basic protective order limiting how Trump can use evidence gathered for trial in his inevitable efforts to intimidate witnesses. They seem to be using what would usually be a minor paperwork issue as practice for the "aspirational" defense, or, put more bluntly, the "clownasses can't be criminals" defense.

Their pre-hearing documents complain that in limiting Trump's ability to threaten people, "the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights." Once again, Trump's defenders are pretending that it's all just "locker room talk," ignoring the action that is associated with it, in this case, Trump prompting his unhinged followers to murder people. We were reminded again this week that Trump is not just some babbling moron no one listens to when a 75-year-old man in Utah died after getting into a shootout with the FBI after he threatened to assassinate Biden on Trump's behalf.

Trump is not the only person associated with the coup who wants to have it both ways: To be taken seriously if they succeed, but also to pretend it's all just an elaborate role-playing game if they fail. Earlier this week, the lawyer John Eastman  known as "Co-Conspirator 2" in the indictment  released a video interview where he defended his part in the coup by claiming the Declaration of Independence entitles people "to alter or abolish the existing government," if they feel it's become "intolerable."

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It's a ludicrous argument, as the "intolerable" situation Eastman is describing is "ordinary Democrat elected with a healthy majority of votes." But even if you set that aside, Eastman is full of it. The founders Eastman cites as justification, as Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo wrote, "knew full well" that if "they lost they would all hang." They accepted that risk. Eastman, however, is arguing that he should have a risk-free shot at overthrowing democracy. If he succeeded, he certainly would want us to take our new Trump dictatorship seriously. But since he didn't, he wants to act like it wasn't real.

Similarly, nine Michigan Republicans who were arraigned Thursday on state charges for forging documents in Trump's "fake elector" scheme are also using the "aspirational" defense. On MSNBC, the lawyer for one of the defendants, Clifford Frost, sneeringly argued that "no one in their right mind" would believe that the forged election documents "would trump the certificate of an election that was rightfully sent." Instead, he claimed that the document was merely about registering an "objection" to the election results.

That, of course, isn't true. As Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel explained when announcing the charges, these people "met covertly in the basement of Michigan GOP Headquarters and knowingly and of their own volition signed their names to multiple certificates stating that they were: 'the duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.'" This wasn't just some vague "objection" to the results of the election, but out of "the hope and belief that the electoral votes of Michigan's 2020 election would be awarded to the candidate of their choosing, instead of the candidate that Michigan voters actually chose."

Which is to say: Not one of these people would be saying they were just kidding around, if the plan had actually worked. But it failed. Now they are trying to escape justice by pretending it was, well, locker room talk. Aspirational. Not literal. Just jokes. There are a million variations of the same Trumpian tapdance: Take them seriously only when doing so benefits them, but otherwise, let's all just pretend that the assault on democracy is just idle chatter. Unless, of course, they finally succeed in destroying democracy. Then we find their "aspirations" were deadly serious indeed.

Read more

about the Jan. 6 case
Members of the Fort Myers Police department, from left, Anthony Townsend, officer trainer, and Ian McMillion, officer in training, confer with fellow officer H. Otzoy during a response call on Friday, July 28, 2022.

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Florida are facing critical shortages that mirror a national trend caused by the George Floyd protests in 2020, but appear to be making up ground by mid-year.

"There's a shortage, but it's not just local, this national," said David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University and retired police officer. "Everybody's having a difficult time with hiring people."

And once they are on board, keeping them can be a struggle when low wages, public perception and stress divert from the job.

Sgt. Domonic Zammit, a field training supervisor at Fort Myers Police, said sometimes those walking into the academy aren't ready for the stress the job carries.

"Sometimes we step into a field that we're not ready for, and sometimes we may lose people in the process," Zammit said. "They just don't understand quite what the impact is on the lifestyle and the stresses that come with being a law enforcement officer."

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Southwest Florida law enforcement agencies have had as many as one in every six positions open at one point this year.

Sanibel Island, the region's smallest department, counts 30 officers as a full staff, and had five openings by Feb. 1, with one opening six months later. The largest, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, has approximately 1,600 deputies. By Aug. 1, they didn't post any entry-level deputy openings.

Despite Sanibel being the smallest department, it's the Fort Myers Police Department that pays the least: $52,000 for entry-level officers.

"There's tons of jobs in every field and there doesn't seem to be any takers," said Thomas, who retired from the Gainesville Police Department in 1998.

Thomas explained that since the 2020 murder of George Floyd, policing has been adversely impacted.

Floyd, 46, died May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck, as Floyd, who is Black, repeatedly said he couldnt breathe.

"I live in Gainesville, so when I used to teach at the police academy years ago, we'd have a recruit class," Thomas said, adding that the average size of a recruit class was about 45 and there was always a waiting list.

Now, they're lucky to get 20 people or 15 people on academy waitlists, Thomas said.

"There's a struggle, because people just don't want to be in this profession anymore," he said. "Salary has always been horrible."

Salaries continue to be an issue

Thomas said some law enforcement officers often work side jobs to make ends meet. For others, it means searching in other industries, giving up on their badge and gun.

"I had guys that I worked with that were in construction or they had special skill sets," Thomas said. "And as a result of that, they use those. That was how they made their extra money."

Thomas said often salaries don't match the cost of living in the different jurisdictions  Southwest Florida has some of the highest costs of living in the country.

For perspective, Thomas said, his starting salary in 1978 was $15,048.

"When I retired, my salary was $42,000 a year and 25 years ago," Thomas said.

The starting salary at his former employer, the Gainesville Police Department, is now $47,000, Thomas said. The average wage in Fort Myers is $44,777, while in Naples, it's $47,000, with entry-level officers starting a little above average in some departments.

He added that salaries have historically been a concern in law enforcement.

"Things have to change," Thomas said.

Thomas said despite the government working to raise the pay rate, the "cycle" continues since Floyd's slaying.

Police brutality cases add to recruitment issues

Thomas said minority communities have been complaining about police brutality for years.

Officer terminated: MIPD officer fired after arbitrator finds he was 'untruthful,' in third such attempt

Officer reinstated: Naples Police officer reinstated year after firing for conducting off-duty business in uniform

"You have over 700,000 law enforcement officers in this country," Thomas said. "So it's a very small percentage, but that small percentage just ruins it for everybody."

Thomas said a lot of candidates are weeded out during background checks, many through psychological exams.

"In the old days ... I can't speak for today ... But I know on average, we would lose about 20% of those new hires that we brought in," Thomas said. "We would lose them in the field training program because it was just too much or they didn't fit."

Thomas said the greatest failure in policing is that it has failed to learn from its mistakes.

"Until that happens and they're willing to weed out those guys and gals who are bad apples, who gave the profession a bad name, until they do that, this will continue to be a problem," Thomas said.

Loss of a personal connection to communities

In the 1980s and early 1990s, police departments had gotten in touch with the residents they served through community policing, which was funded by the federal government, Thomas said.

Thomas said that all came to a close after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"The mission changed for policing, and terrorism or response to terrorism became part of that mission," Thomas said. "So all of the money that we used to spend on community policing and working with communities ... That money went away, and it went into equipment that you needed to respond to terrorism and training for terrorism."

For policing to be effective, and for it to move forward, he said, it has got to go back to those partnerships and establish the trust needed to help solve cases.

Public service runs in the veins of this officer in field training

A new recruit, Officer Ian McMillion, is the son of Fort Myers Fire Chief Tracy McMillion, the nephew of a law enforcement officer at the FBI and the grandson to a New York Police Department retiree.

"I always had a passion to go into public service," Ian McMillion said. "It just means a lot to continue that tradition for our family as we keep on going."

McMillion said, he's learning there's far more to the job than just carrying a badge and a gun.

"Report writing is easily the most important thing on the job to just get a good base writing reports," he said. "Everybody wants to run a gun and chase stolen cars, but you gotta write that report."

McMillion is nearing the end of the second of three phases in the training process. His trainer, Townsend, said each of the three phases equates to about 16 working shifts.

Townsend began his law enforcement career at 14 through the Explorer Program, in place to reel the youth into law enforcement. Fort Myers Police hired him aged 19 as a community service aide before he became a patrol officer. He's been at that post for four years.

"Sometimes it can change depending on the trainee's performance in that respective phase," he said about field training, adding that the training phases come after pre-deployment and completion at the academy.

Zammit said they have recruits fresh out of college, as well as others with military background.

Of those coming out of college, Zammit said, a majority have a criminal justice background.

"This is a slow progress," Zammit said. "You can't come here and think that you're going to be the best officer. There is a learning process that you have to go through."

How do the numbers translate across Southwest Florida?

The hands of Fort Myers Police officer Ian McMillion are visible during an interview with The News-Press on Friday, July 28, 2022.

By Feb. 1, some Southwest Florida police departments were tasked with hiring one-sixth of its expected staff and have nearly completed that mission since. Six months later, they filled most of those vacancies.

Others didn't report vacancies during the six-month period.

The Fort Myers Police Department records the lowest entry-level salary. Here's a breakdown of the numbers by jurisdiction:

Lee County Sheriff's Office

Entry-level deputies earn a yearly salary of $52,000 without a sign-on bonus.

Despite a critical shortage nationwide, one Lee County deputy followed through with a family tradition and was sworn into the Lee County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office on March 5 announced they swore in 12 graduates from the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy. Then, on July 6, they announced a family's third generation was sworn into the sheriff's office when deputy Justin Bonsall followed in the footsteps of his father, Traffic Unit Cpl. Matthew Bonsall and his late grandfather, Maj. David Bonsall.

The public information office says the number of entry-level openings changes daily.

A full staff means they will have 1,144 authorized deputies, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said. During an Aug. 2 press conference, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the sheriff's office has about 1,600 employees.

Fort Myers Police

Members of the Fort Myers Police department, from left, Sgt. Domonic Zammit, training supervisor, Ian McMillion, officer in training, and Anthony Townsend, officer trainer, speak to The News-Press during an interview on Friday, July 28, 2022.

Noncertified entry-level police officers with Fort Myers Police Department earn $43,721.60, while certified police officers will earn $50,856.

The police department also offers a $5,000 sign-on bonus and a $500 housing monthly stipend for those who live within city limits.

By Feb. 1, Fort Myers Police had 21 entry-level officer openings. A full staff means 256 sworn officers.

By July 28, Zammit, who's been with Fort Myers Police for 21 years, said they had 17 officers in field training.

Officer Kristin Capuzzi, spokesperson for Fort Myers Police, said they've seen an increase in officers hailing from the northern states after Gov. Ron DeSantis implemented a $5,000 bonus to get more officers to the Sunshine State.

Cape Coral Police

An entry-level officer at Cape Coral Police earns $58,115. The city doesn't offer a sign-on bonus.

By Feb. 1, Cape Coral Police had 29 entry-level officer openings. By Aug. 1, they had to fill 22 entry-level officer gaps.

A full staff translates into 300 uniformed officers.

Officers Anthony Edwards, Camron Greetham, Timothy Howe, Amanda Rodriguez and Gabriel Valdes are sworn into Cape Coral Police on April 21, 2023.

Sanibel Police

Entry-level officers at Sanibel Police earn a yearly salary of $57,909.28.

At the time of the request, Sanibel Police didn't offer a sign-on bonus, said Crystal Mansell, spokesperson for the city.

By Feb. 1, Sanibel Police was looking to fill five entry-level openings, which makes for one-sixth of staffed officers. A full staff for them means they will have 30 officers.

Mansell said that by Aug. 1 they only needed to fill one entry-level officer position.

Collier County Sheriff's Office

A deputy trainee with the Collier County Sheriff's Office will earn an entry-level salary of $49,505, while a certified deputy will earn a $58,314 yearly salary.

The office offers a $3,000 sign-on bonus for full-time certified new hires and a $1,500 bonus for full-time civilian new hires.

By Feb. 1, the sheriff's office had 170 vacancies below supervisory level. They included certified and civilian openings. Six months later, the number of vacancies reduced to 145.

State Attorney Amira Fox on Feb. 24, 2023, joins a group of recently sworn in Collier County deputies.

A full staff means 1,457 employees  about 150 less than in Lee County.

Naples Police

A certified entry-level Naples Police officer will earn $60,000, while a police officer trainee will be hired at $50,000.

Naples offers a $2,500 sign-on bonus for a newly hired police officers first paycheck, and a $2,500 bonus after completion of their field training program.

First-time law enforcement officers are offered a $5,000 sign-on bonus.

Naples Police on May 8, 2023, certifies Jake Crowther, Sebastiano Buccheri and Timothy Dolan to patrol city streets. They were among recent police academy graduates.

By Feb. 1, Naples Police sought to fill 14 entry-level officer vacancies. By Aug. 1, their number of vacancies reduced to five. A full staff translates into 72 officers.

Marco Island Police

An entry-level officer in the Marco Island Police Department will earn $54,580 per year. The city doesn't offer a sign-on bonus.

The city didn't need any additional police officers by Feb. 1. Leslie Sanford, human resources manager for the city, said the numbers remained steady through Aug. 1.

Twenty-eight officers make up a full staff.

Dozens graduate Law Enforcement Academy across SWFL

Members of the Fort Myers Police department, from left, Ian McMillion, officer in training, and Anthony Townsend, officer trainer, prepare to go on patrol on Friday, July 28, 2022.

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Florida have graduated dozens from Law Enforcement Academy in recent months, hoping to fill in the gap.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office on March 5 announced it swore in, at least, 12 graduates from the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy. Then, on July 6, they announced a family's third generation was sworn into the sheriff's office when deputy Justin Bonsall followed in the footsteps of his father, Traffic Unit Cpl. Matthew Bonsall and his late grandfather, Maj. David Bonsall.

Cape Coral Police swore five officers in on Feb. 24, followed by another five on April 21 and six on April 25. Fort Myers Police, for their part, swore two new officers in on March 15.

In neighboring Collier County, the sheriff's office on Feb. 24 graduated at least seven newly sworn law enforcement officers during a ceremony that included State Attorney Amira Fox.

Members of the Fort Myers Police department, from right, Ian McMillion, officer in training, and Anthony Townsend, officer trainer, prepare to go on patrol on Friday, July 28, 2022.

Shy of three months later, Naples Police on May 8 announced that three of their own recent graduates had become certified police officers.

More than just the uniforms

Townsend said communities often focus too much on law enforcement uniforms and draw their conclusions around patrolmen.

"One thing I'd like the community to know is that there's humans behind," Townsend said. "We're not all just in uniform. Sure ... we wear it, but it's part of our uniform."

He compared their given uniforms with how chefs wear aprons.

"We're just people, just like the people we deal with on calls, and I try to integrate that into the training to, 'Don't put yourself in a position of power,'" Townsend said. "Talk to people like humans, because a lot of the negativity is associated with the uniform, not necessarily the independent officers themselves."

Townsend said they're "all people at the end of the day."

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Shortage impacts SWFL law enforcement, mirroring national trend
If there's been one topline tech story this week that feels synecdochal of the United States' entire tech-politik zeitgeist, it's got to be Zoom's latest privacy fiasco. The video conference software-maker caught heat this week over a Terms of Service (ToS) change allowing it to harvest private user meeting data for artificial intelligence training. And, yes, once again it was the internet's privacy vanguard which sounded the alarm and unleashed a deafening roar of pushback.

In the midst of this public-relations nightmare, Zoom's response to its estimated 800 million customers wasn't an apology or course correction, but an unctuous "clarification" doubling down on the new ToS. The move drew only more ire as calls for federal investigation grew.

An already fed-up remote workforce began realizing something disturbing. From now on, whenever our bosses hold a mandatory meeting using Zoom  or our professors, physicians, attorneys, accountants, government agencies or therapists require us to use it  there's a real chance that we could be cornered into giving Zoom the legal right to record our every word and deed in those meetings. And then to use, manipulate and distribute those recordings and associated metadata however Zoom pleases within the widest interpretation of the law. Forever.

By Wednesday, Zoom's stock had fallen from a prior Friday high of $71 to $65 a share.

I mean, as a university professor in the U.S., I am required BY LAW to protect my students' privacy, and this seems to DIRECTLY CONTRAVENE THAT.  Dr Damien P Williams Warned You About Exactly This (@Wolven) August 6, 2023

The entire eruption was sparked by Zoom's new AI-powered product features. Combining tech from OpenAI and Anthropic, Zoom IQ was soft-launched in March with a quiet ToS change and is currently offered on a free trial basis. Basically, Zoom IQ spits out AI-generated summaries of your meeting video and chat logs. The Zoom account owner can turn these features on or off. If turned on, they'll need to manually deselect Zoom's on-by-default data sharing option after solving a pop-up maze of sub-menus.

Well time to retire @Zoom, who is basically wants to use/abuse you to train their AI https://t.co/b6dNCO77aY  Gabriella "Biella" Coleman (@BiellaColeman) August 6, 2023

If administrators or account owners turn the features on, Zoom says they will "be presented with a transparent consent process for training our AI models using your customer content," according to the company's latest blog post.

As a mere participant, you'll be notified of the meeting host's choices via pop-up. But that's all you get from a company with an embarrassingly long rap-sheet of security issues. If your boss, for instance, insists on using the AI features as a matter of convenience during one of those mandatory "cameras on!" meetings  and can't be bothered to navigate Zoom's sub-menus to deselect data sharing  then your only choice is to either agree to let Zoom surveil and forever-use your face and voice, or leave the meeting and tell your employer to kick rocks.

Some choice, huh?

"For AI, we do not use audio, video, or chat content for training our models without customer consent," wrote Chief Product Officer Smita Hashim in the blog post. "These terms of service work together with our privacy statement and in-product privacy notices, which in turn aim to ensure that usage of customer content is based on your consent."

Notably, though, Zoom has a history of using AI, and many of its AI-driven features had uses that were known back in early 2021: Pornography and fraud detection, virtual backgrounds, video compression, background audio muffling, live transcription, Zoom Rooms with auto-tracking, integration with AI assistants and letting Google read your Zoom traffic so it can prioritize that part of your internet connection for faster speeds.

A Tuesday LinkedIn post from Zoom CEO Eric Yuan used similar language as Hashim's blog post.

"It is my fundamental belief that any company that leverages customer content to train its AI without customer consent will be out of business overnight," Yuan wrote. "Given Zoom's value of care and transparency, we would absolutely never train AI models with customers' content without getting their explicit consent."

"#Zoom IQ is optional. When you enable these features, theres a little check box thats turned on by default. If you dont bother to change it, you agree to let the company collect #data to build and improve its #AI." #ethics #tech #business #privacy https://t.co/kl3oHYyX7l  Internet Ethics (@IEthics) August 7, 2023

If you find yourself doubting whether a more duplicitous and insulting use of the word "consent" could be possible in consumer tech, come sit by me. I've been to frat parties that show more respect for my consent and recorded image than this. Zoom might as well say it won't use recordings of you to train AI "unless you use Zoom" since, in order to use the product at all, you have to consent to Zoom's ToS.

As Damien Williams opined for Wired, "coerced consent is no consent at all." That point is meticulously explicated by TechCrunch's Natasha Lomas in her surgical analysis. As she details at length, this ham-fisted attempt to redefine consent from something given freely by the individual user to a choice made on the user's behalf by another person (the account holder) is poised to become a significant legal liability to Zoom under European GDPR laws (General Data Protection Regulation).

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist.

It's important to also notice Zoom's specific word choice preceding the list of data types  "do not use" is meaningless and completely impotent in this context. It is an expression of the company's current policies or state of operation, not a promise. "Do not use" is a phrase that specifically avoids any language that would allow the company to be held accountable if it changes its mind tomorrow  as opposed to a future-tense "will not use," the phrase later appearing in both the blog post above and the ToS following public outcry.

But that's also basically meaningless and no one should be impressed, since the Zoom ToS includes in section 15.2 that "you agree that Zoom may modify, delete, and make additions to its guides, statements, policies, and notices, with or without notice to you."

The Shanghai branch of the MSS came to Zooms offices in Hangzhou with a nondisclosure agreement. What the MSS is asking for are mostly politics relatedWe cannot disclose it otherwise it will greatly impact our countrys reputation.@BethanyAllenEbr https://t.co/qmO0CRGJsP  Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) August 7, 2023

That's a rather polite rider compared to 15.1 which strips you of even more rights by letting you know that "changes to this Agreement do not create a renewed opportunity to opt out of arbitration (if applicable). If you continue to use the Services after the effective date of the Changes, then you agree to the revised terms and conditions."

Just because most of us are so beat down by tech-surveillance bootheels on our necks that we no longer have the energy to be pissed off about companies which demand you waive constitutional rights for the privilege of even looking at their stupid products  it doesn't mean forced arbitration clauses like those in Zoom's sections 27.1 through 27.12 are any less dystopically banal and insulting. It just means I've got to recommend that you  after consulting with your lawyer, of course  follow the instructions of 27.11 and email opt-out@zoom.us within 30 days of creating a new account so you can reject the arbitration agreement that Zoom never should have included in the first place.

It's particularly galling to see Zoom's anti-judiciary nose-thumbing in these clauses given the company's history of being called to court over users' privacy and security concerns.

By late 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Zoom which cornered the company into beefing up security practices and being more clear about user privacy misrepresentations. The FTC alleged that these misrepresentations included Zoom holding cryptographic keys that would allow the company to access the full contents of any Zoom meeting and that any recorded meetings stored on the company's cloud storage would be immediately encrypted. The FTC says, however, the files were stored unencrypted on Zoom's servers for up to 60 days before being transferred to secure cloud storage.

Then there was the $86 million class-action lawsuit that Zoom settled in August of 2021 over privacy invasion allegations after it shared users' personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn. The suit included another privacy-security dovetail, calling the company to the floor for falsely saying it offered end-to-end encryption (which it introduced in April 2020 after the suit was filed) while allegedly not doing enough to prevent those once-notorious Zoom-bombing intrusions by hackers.

If Zoom wanted to be taken seriously about the integrity of its corporate motives regarding its use of your data  whether that's the actual videos it keeps of you, or the telemetry-like "Service Generated Data" on your use of the software  it would first need to take the proverbial knives out of our backs. It would need to drop these wretched arbitration clauses and the "we can change our minds any time" clauses out of its ToS.

They're the equivalent of crossing your fingers behind your back while shaking hands on a deal.

Zoom could instead go the opposite direction if it wants to prove its self-proclaimed "commitment to transparency and user control." It could answer the questions it left hanging when it invited Hacker News readers to engage then dodged critical concerns. Clunky lay-writer as I might be, Zoom could not only remove the offending clauses, it could add further language saying it "does not and will not retain the right to use, now or in the future" any of the ridiculous list of data types in the new changes.

Sections 10.1, 10.2, 10.4 and 10.6  the specific bits at the center of the uproar  are an odious and self-evident grab for rights to control users' image and data. The company's handling of your Customer Content, as Zoom calls it (your video, text, and files uploaded), appears in 10.4.

The section reads more like the plan for a bank heist than the ToS of some (let's be honest here) annoyingly bloated corporate software:

"You agree to grant and hereby grant Zoom a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license and all other rights required or necessary to redistribute, publish, import, access, use, store, transmit, review, disclose, preserve, extract, modify, reproduce, share, use, display, copy, distribute, translate, transcribe, create derivative works, and process Customer Content."

In bold-faced type, Zoom has now grafted on a single line: "Notwithstanding the above, Zoom will not use audio, video or chat Customer Content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent."

In a petition, digital rights advocates Fight for the Future have taken up the push for more change.

"Zoom is trying to mislead users, hiding significant privacy concerns within confusing policy language and conflicting statements. This is another example of why we need strong federal data privacy legislation that will actually protect us from corporate surveillance and stop companies like Zoom from harvesting and abusing our data for profit. But we also need Zoom to address these issues, and publicly state that it will not use our data to train its AI," the group writes.

I'm not a doomer. I don't think you can have any sort of life in journalism without the belief that good change can be won as much in the margins as it can in the main. But I am a realist who sees no evidence that we have ever obtained any victory for US digital rights by politely asking for them to be benevolently bestowed upon us by tech companies, billionaires and the congress members who cash their lobbying checks.

Rather, all evidence points to the contrary: The Big Tech privacy grab is only going to get bigger as AI use spreads. It's not going to stop until federal privacy and digital rights protections are in place. As generative AI grows, the shoggoth has to be fed on user data, which companies can squeeze more cheaply from you via commandeering your consent than they can by paying you for your data.

Until we have rights enshrined in law, all we can do is cross our own fingers and hope Zoom doesn't have any of our saucy skin vids laid aside from the days of COVID-safe virtual dates, and that some future breach of its cloud storage doesnt turn the company into a de facto dark web porn dealer.

In the meantime, whither Bellingcat goeth, so go I. And luckily, there are still some admirable virtual meeting rooms open that provide their hosting company an excellent view of exactly nothing.

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PROVIDENCE  On Monday, outreach worker Alex Gautieri was trying to gather up the belongings of couple living on an empty lot on Charles Street and ferry them across the West River after everyone living on the lot received eviction orders from Providence police on Aug. 4.

"I heard the excavator start and I ran down the embankment, across the river," he recalled.

The front of the small earth-mover, a Bobcat skid-steer loader, was fitted with a forest mulcher, he said, a heavy attachment used in the clearing of land to shred tree stumps, vines, vegetation and anything else in its way. In the encampment, the shredder tore through tents and trash, clothes and blankets, even an armchair.

In its path were two encampment residents  a pregnant woman and her boyfriend, who were still trying to gather their things to relocate, said Gautieri, the statewide street outreach coordinator for the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness.

"I made eye contact with him, and he was not stopping," Gautieri said of the Bobcat operator. "I could see the whites of his eyes, and he was still not stopping."

Alex Gautieri, statewide street outreach coordinator for the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, says he was almost run over by a shredder operated by a state contractor as he tried to get people out of the Charles Street encampment on Monday.

Hope and family: At Providence homeless encampment, Mark Patinkin finds stories of pain, hope and 'family'

Other outreach workers stood in the way of the machine, he said, waving their arms and screaming for the operator, a contractor for the state Department of Transportation, to stop the shredding. After coming within a few yards of the workers and shredding many of the couple's possessions, he turned the machine around.

Advocates call the clearing of the Charles Street encampment, and the close encounter with the mulching machine, an act of violence and police harassment against a population that has nowhere else to go.

The encampment had been the site of protests as advocates tried to pressure Providence Mayor Brett Smiley to stop asking the state, which owns the site, to allow the city to evict everyone from the property.

As the encampment was cleared, the state's shelter beds were nearly full

While the state and city evicted people from the encampment after serving them with a notice, the nearly 1,100 shelter beds in the state are full and, based on a count at the end of July, 440 people are living outside, according to the last two-week count by the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project.

The nonprofit agency OpenDoors added seven beds to the shelter system on Sunday, and the state contracted with them for an additional 10 rooms at a Motel 6 in Warwick, for a total of 27 new beds, OpenDoors Co-Executive Director Nick Horton said.

The remains of furnishings that belonged to residents of an encampment of people living with homelessness that was razed on Monday.

Municipally owned homeless shelter: Pawtucket has RI's only municipally owned homeless shelter. Now, officials want to expand it.

In an emailed statement, Department of Housing spokesman Joey Lindstrom said 15 people from the encampment were connected to shelter beds; he did not answer questions about why the state signed off on clearing the encampment.

In an emailed statement, Providence spokesman Josh Estrella said the city had "concerns" about the site because of its proximity to the highway and potential flooding. He also cited money that the city has given to the state for shelter beds, but did not say where residents of the encampment were meant to go.

Pushing people out of an encampment destabilizes them, said Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project Director Eric Hirsch, forcing them to find a new place to live, disrupting the community and driving them into other parts of the city, creating the same problems for a new set of neighbors.

"People are scattered, they don't have their outreach workers because they don't know where people have gone," Hirsch said. "How are they more safe unless offered a reasonable alternative?"

Department of Transportation says Providence gave the green light

Department of Transportation Communications Director Ralph Valente wrote in an email that Providence officials told his department that the site had been cleared of people, even though police, outreach workers and residents were still there.

The eviction notice handed out listed a date, Monday, Aug. 7, but no time, for people to clear out.

More: From addiction to advocate: RI's mission to help pregnant mothers battling with substance use

"As we started that process on Monday, protestors formed a line in front of our maintenance machines and vocally opposed the cleanup," Valente wrote. "As soon as we were informed of this, we called the police, ceased all work, and left the site. RIDOT has subsequently reinitiated our cleanup efforts with the presence of the Providence police."

Outreach workers at the site say, and video reportedly taken from the eviction appears to show, that the Bobcat loader continued to operate while people were at the site.

Hirsch, who was at the site on Monday, said he saw people in front of the machine, waving their arms and trying to get the operator to stop advancing on the people trying to pack up and leave. He claims it took "at least 30 minutes" to get the operator to move away from people.

"It was like a movie," he said. "I couldn't believe it."

Estrella, in an emailed statement, wrote that Providence police officers went to the site on Monday and "confirmed that all folks they made contact with had left the premises.

A sign spray-painted on plywood at what had been the Charles Street entrance to an encampment of people without homes on Monday.

Department of Environmental Management investigates complaints

A photo taken by Kevin G. Andrade, a reporter with Rhode Island Current, shows the path of shredded trash left next to the West River in the wake of the excavator.

The Department of Environmental Management is investigating complaints about trash left in proximity to the river, Spokesman Michael Healey wrote in an email.

By the numbers: Report finds 15% increase in RIers experiencing homelessness.

Number of people experiencing homelessness has grown significantly

The number of people experiencing homelessness in general, including the unsheltered population, has grown significantly since the onset of the pandemic.

In 2019, there were 71 people living outside in Rhode Island. By 2021, that number had increased to 181, and by the latest annual point-in-time count at the beginning of this year, that number had risen to 334. At the end of July, 440 people were living outside.

As of June 30, the state had 1,087 shelter beds  622 for individuals, 290 for families and 175 in motels.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Material from USA Today was used in this report. Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Charles Street homeless encampment destroyed, and state lacks shelter beds
A sign for a nudist zone on a beach in Spanish, Dutch, and English. Getty Images

Nudists in Spain want the government to do something about clothed tourists visiting nudist beaches.

They make naturists feel uncomfortable by taking photos and staring, one nudist group said.

Female nudists in particular are often targets for harassment, the group said, per The Guardian.

Nudists in Spain are fed up with people coming to nudist beaches in their swimsuits and are calling on officials to do something about it.

The Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia recently sent a letter to the Government of Catalonia, which is an autonomous community of Spain, asking it to address what it described as "the discrimination that nudists face on the beaches of Catalonia," The Guardian reported.

"Before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down," Seigmon Rovira, the head of the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia, said in an interview with The Guardian.

"Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on," he said. "But what they don't realize is that if there are a lot of them, they end up making us uncomfortable. It's a lack of respect."

Rovira said that tourists who actively seek out secluded spots often overlook the nudist identity of certain beaches, according to the newspaper.

These clothed beachgoers then proceed to take photos on their cellphones, a practice that is offputting to those who are nude, he said.

"People that are naked don't want to end up with their photos on social media," Rovira told The Guardian.

The Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

The Guardian said the association has yet to receive a response from Catalan's government. The government did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Rovira also said that clothed beachgoers frequently disregard signs that indicate a beach is specifically for nudists, per The Guardian.

Nudists are also, on occasion, laughed at or subjected to staring and disparaging remarks, with women being the main target of harassment, he said, according to the newspaper.

Rovira told the newspaper that it's challenging to practice naturism when surrounded by people in clothes.

That's why the association penned the letter to the Catalan government to better protect nudist spaces in the region.

Proposed initiatives include enhancing signage near beaches to inform visitors of the specific nature of each beach, and implementing a public awareness campaign, The Guardian reported.

Read the original article on Insider
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is no longer representing Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in a legal case involving New York Citys right-to-shelter policy, according to a Thursday court filing, as the city struggles to house a record number of migrants arriving from the southern border.

The legal filing lists a private law firm, Selendy Gay Elsberg PLLC, as the representation going forward for the state defendants, replacing the attorney general.

The legal proceedings center on a decades-old right-to-shelter law in New York City, requiring the state to provide shelter to anyone in need. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed his desire to honor that mandate, but he has struggled amid an influx of migrants from the southern border.

In the past year, nearly 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York, and Adams has said the city does not have the resources to provide the appropriate shelter. The State Supreme Court is now pushing the state to provide more assistance, but Hochul has signaled some resistance.

The court ordered Adams to submit a list of needs to Hochul by Wednesday, a deadline he met this week. Hochul now has until Aug. 15 to respond, the judge ordered.

In public remarks Thursday, Hochul reportedly indicated that she was inclined to help but did not want the right to shelter to extend statewide.

We believe  and Im convinced  that the right to shelter is the result of a consent decree undertaken by the City of New York, Hochul said to reporters in Albany, according to The New York Times. The state is not a party to that, so right to shelter does not expand to the whole of the state.

Multiple reports cite people close to James claiming that the attorney generals decision to stop representing the state was over fundamental policy disagreements with the governor over the states role in managing the crisis, according to the Times.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An Allegany County pair face child abuse charges after two young children were allegedly disciplined by having their faces shoved into feces.

Amity-based New York State Police Thursday arrested Ravyn M. Cramer, 26, and Tyler J. Cramer, 28, both of Angelica, charging each with assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

State police said Ravyn Cramer was charged with second-degree assault, while Tyler Cramer faces third-degree assault charges.

Troopers said the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation opened a probe this week into a possible child abuse case in the Village of Angelica. Investigators allege Ravyn Cramer shoved two childrens faces into feces as a form of punishment, injuring both.

State Police said the children are younger than 7 years old and were treated at a nearby hospital for their injuries.

Public safety: 85-year-old Westfield woman still missing three weeks after her disappearance

State Police said Allegany County Child Protective Services has been notified and is assisting with the investigation.

Ravyn and Tyler Cramer were processed at the New York State Police barracks in Belmont, arraigned in Friendship Town Court and released on appearance tickets.

They are scheduled to appear in Angelica Village Court next month, troopers said.

Follow Neal Simon on Twitter @HornellTribNeal. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Angelica woman accused of shoving children's faces into feces
Washington  In the months before former President Donald Trump's trial in the classified documents case, his lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith's team will clash behind closed doors over what government secrets can be made public.

Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with 32 counts of willful retention of national defense information, a violation of the Espionage Act. The charges are based on documents that the government says contain classified information ranging from top secret to secret, the two highest classification levels for national security information, according to a superseding indictment filed last month.

Trump's lawyers indicated they will fight to disclose as much classified evidence as possible, saying in a July filing that the former president believes "there should simply be no 'secret' evidence, nor any facts concealed from public view."



The back-and-forth between Trump and the government about what secret evidence can be used during the trial is regulated by a little-known law known as the Classified Information Procedures Act, or CIPA.

What is the Classified Information Procedures Act?

Congress enacted CIPA in 1980 to limit the practice of "graymail," in which defendants threatened to disclose classified information at trial in an effort to get prosecutors to drop charges rather than risk the disclosure of government secrets. The bill was introduced by then-Sen. Joe Biden, who sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The statute governs the litigation process between the government and defendant to determine how and if classified information can be used in criminal trials without being "unnecessarily" disclosed. It lays out a number of steps to help the government and defense narrow the classified information that will be used in court.

"CIPA doesn't actually change the substantive law," David Aaron, a former federal prosecutor who has litigated cases involving the Espionage Act, told CBS News. "It creates a procedural framework for judges to apply the substantive law basically on a different schedule, gives the government the opportunity to appeal and makes some processes mandatory."

The law is supposed to balance the defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial with the government's interest in protecting its secrets, such as intelligence sources and methods. Under the Sixth Amendment, defendants typically have a right to know the evidence the government has against them, and they gain access to it through a process known as discovery. That can quickly become complicated when the case involves classified information.

Aaron said that CIPA is meant to resolve questions about classified material "fairly quickly and in advance to avoid surprise, which gives the government the opportunity to modify its approach, dismiss a count or the case, or seek other remedies so it's not being put on the spot in the middle of a trial."

The process laid out by CIPA is already underway in Trump's case. Last month, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, set a variety of deadlines for proceedings pursuant to the law. Federal prosecutors have already submitted a request for a protective order pertaining to classified information, as allowed under the law, and Trump's lawyers filed their response to the Justice Department's motion on Wednesday.

Weighing the risks of classified information becoming public

Before a defendant is charged in a case involving classified materials, there are conversations within the government about the risks of that information becoming public at trial and whether to move forward with the case, experts said.



In the Trump case, the government found roughly 340 documents with classified markings at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office in January 2021, according to the indictment. Trump was ultimately charged with keeping 32 of those documents illegally, an indication that the special counsel weighed the possibility of other sensitive information becoming public when deciding which charges to bring.

"You have to assume the government was selective when it decided what to charge," Barry Pollack, a criminal defense attorney, told CBS News. "If there was something the government absolutely did not want to become part of the public domain, it probably didn't charge a count related to that document."

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records in a storage room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, that were photographed on Nov. 12, 2021. / Credit: Justice Department via AP

Sid Kamaraju, a former federal prosecutor who prosecuted the case against a former CIA software engineer for the largest theft of classified material in the agency's history, said there's usually an ongoing discussion between the Justice Department and intelligence community about what the spy agencies are comfortable disclosing. Though it's unlikely the Justice Department would bring charges without the intelligence community's sign-off, there can still be friction, he said.

"There certainly can be, and has been in cases in the past, tension between the intelligence community, who has a mission to not only gather intelligence but to do so in a way that's most effective, and that usually requires secrecy, and the Department of Justice, which has to operate mostly in an open courtroom for the public to see," Kamaraju told CBS News.

How long does the process take?

The process of determining what classified information can be used at trial can take months, depending on the volume and type of the material and the complexity of the case.

Defense attorneys must undergo background checks to get security clearances  if they don't already have them  to view the classified information related to the case. Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise, told the court in July they completed the steps needed to obtain their clearances.

The prosecution then allows the defense team to see the classified information through the pre-trial discovery process. In Trump's case, the government said the defense can view the Mar-a-Lago documents and witness statements containing classified information in a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, at the federal courthouse in Miami.

But the law also gives the government an opportunity to limit the classified materials it turns over to the defense during the discovery process. Federal prosecutors can argue to the judge that certain information is not "relevant and helpful" to the defense and therefore shouldn't be shared. Prosecutors can ask to delete specific classified information from documents, substitute a summary of the information in a classified document or craft a statement with the relevant facts the classified information would intend to prove.

"If the government wants to withhold information from the defense because it's too sensitive, it has to argue that information is not relevant and helpful to the defense," Aaron said.

It's unclear whether the special counsel team will seek to limit the sensitive materials it provides Trump's attorneys. If it chooses to disclose all the information, "the government is stepping on the gas here," Aaron said.

The special counsel has until Oct. 10 to file a motion to limit discovery. Cannon set a hearing on the request for Oct. 17 if one is needed.

Prosecutors said in a July filing that its first tranche of classified discovery material will include "all documents" bearing classification markings "to which counsel's interim clearances will permit them access." They said this group of documents "represents the large majority of the classified records from Mar-a-Lago."

Then the defense team must tell prosecutors what classified information it wants to use as evidence at trial, which the prosecution can challenge. The judge would then make a decision about what classified evidence can be admitted.

"The benefit of CIPA here is that these decisions get made before trial starts," said Aaron, who prosecuted the Espionage Act case against Reality Winner, a National Security Agency contractor who pleaded guilty to mailing a classified report to a news outlet. "The whole idea is to avoid surprise at trial."

But Pollack, the criminal defense attorney, said the law's requirement that the defense notify the government and the court of the classified information it intends to disclose to jurors during the trial presents challenges, since it effectively requires the defense team to reveal its strategy ahead of time.

"The defense has the right not to have to air its defense in advance and in a CIPA case, what happens is the defense largely loses the one and only advantage it typically has to combat all of those imbalances of power between the defense and the government," he said. "It does tip the scale further in the government's direction."

Can a judge require the government to disclose classified information?

The government has several options if the judge decides that revealing classified information during a trial is necessary for a defendant to argue their case. The government can declassify it or make the argument that disclosing the entirety of the document to the public could compromise sensitive sources and methods, and thus ask for a smaller portion or a summary of the information to be revealed.

"There can be some negotiation around that," Seth DuCharme, a former federal prosecutor, told CBS News. "But ultimately, if the court determines that some or all of the classified information that the defense has identified [is] material to the defense, the court can tell the government, 'Look, it's classified. You can declassify it. You can do whatever you want. I'm just telling you, if they can't use it, in my opinion, they're not getting a fair trial. And I have very few remedies here. I can't compel you to declassify it. The only thing I can really do is dismiss your indictment because, in my view, you're not complying with your discovery obligations.'"



Short of dismissing the indictment, the judge could tell the prosecution to narrow its allegations, which would allow the government to avoid broader discovery obligations, DuCharme said. Both he and Kamaraju said they never had a case where the government dropped charges instead of disclosing classified information.

CIPA also allows the Justice Department to immediately appeal a judge's decision on disclosing classified information, while defendants can only appeal if they're convicted.



"In cases involving these kinds of charges it's quite normal for there to be a lot of litigation over the disclosure of classified information and that often does result in the government having to turn over something," Kamaraju said.

Pollack said CIPA's substitution or summary process allows the court to satisfy competing concerns of allowing the defense to use part of a document that is "legitimately necessary," while protecting from public disclosure information that could damage national security.

"CIPA is a good-faith effort to find a middle ground, but it has the collateral impossible unintended consequence of disrupting that very delicate, balanced scale between the government and the defense in how they are able to litigate a criminal case and forces the defense to show its cards to the other side before you get to trial," he said. "The government has every advantage it always has, but the defense is largely disarmed."

Why special counsel was appointed for Hunter Biden probe after plea deal fell apart

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Airports and shelters packed, hospitals "holding up really well" as Hawaii reels from wildfires
Here is a look at some felony cases that were resolved Aug. 7-10 at the Marion County Judicial Center.

State v. Jose Camacho-Negron

Verdict: A jury found Jose Camacho-Negron guilty in late May.

Charges: Conspiracy to traffic in cannabis, racketeering violation, and trafficking in cannabis in excess of 25 pounds.

Lawyers at trial: Assistant State Attorney Sam Armstrong and defense lawyer David Wilson.

Judge: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.

Sentence: On Aug. 7, Camacho-Negron, 48, of Ocala, was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of probation. He has 76 days of credit for time served while at the county jail.

Special conditions: Once he's released, he cannot consume any alcohol, illegal drugs or medication without a valid prescription and must complete a substance evaluation program and any recommended treatment at his own expense.

About the case: Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST) agents said multiple men, including three brothers, were part of a large drug trafficking operation in Marion County. The men were charged in what prosecutors called a drug enterprise after their arrest in 2019.

At trial, co-defendants Andre Miller-McCreary, Derrick Pullens and Steven Persaud were acquitted by the jury.

State v. Jesus Rosas-Carmona

Plea: No contest.

Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.

Sentence: On Aug. 7 Rosas-Carmona was sentenced to 10 years of probation. He has 15 days of credit for time served at the county jail.

Charge: Lewd or lascivious battery on a child age 12 to 16.

Special conditions: He cannot have contact with the victim, must register as a sexual offender and must complete a substance abuse, alcohol evaluation and any other recommended treatment on his first attempt at his own expense.

Lawyer: Representing Rosas-Carmona was Melanie Slaughter.

About the case: The 48-year-old Ocala man was taken into custody a little more than three years ago by sheriff's deputies and accused of touching a girl inappropriately, according to his arrest report.

State v. Bernard Pedreira

Verdict: Jurors found Bernard Pedreira guilty in late May.

Lawyers: At the time of the trial, defense lawyer Johnathan Kruse represented Pedreira, while Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth White was the prosecutor.

Charges: Two counts each of sexual battery on a child younger than 12; lewd, lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12; and show obscene material to minor.

Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.

Sentence: On Aug. 10, Pedreira was sentenced to life in prison.

Ocala courts: 30-year prison term in child sex case

Special condition: The 90-year-old Dunnellon man must register as a sexual predator.

About the case: The man was arrested by law enforcement officials in 2018 and accused of molesting a girl on several occasions.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala judges sentence three men in separate felony cases
Progressives in Ohio wasted no time moving to change the states constitution and take away qualified immunity from police after a failed push by Republicans to make it harder to alter the state's guiding document.

Shortly after Ohio voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the threshold to amend the state constitution from 50% plus one vote to 60% of the vote, the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity submitted a petition to end qualified immunity for state workers, including the police, the Toledo Blade reported .

Ending qualified immunity, a vocal goal of progressives and police abolitionists across the country, would end protections that state employees currently have from most civil lawsuits.

"Qualified immunity is a legal loophole that protects people like politicians and rogue officers from being sued for violating a persons rights," the group's website states.

DEFUNDING POLICE, VILIFYING THEM 'AT EVERY TURN' CONTRIBUTING TO OFFICER SUICIDES, EXPERTS SAY

Police, state troopers and other security forces are seen outside the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Ohio Republicans immediately sounded the alarm in response to the petition.

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"I told you they're trying to turn Ohio into California," Ohios Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, arguably the most prominent supporter of State Issue 1, which was voted down earlier this week, posted on X. "Now they're coming after our police."

"We havent even certified the results of Tuesdays election and the radical left has already filed paperwork to strip critical legal protections from law enforcement," LaRose wrote.

DEFUND THE POLICE MOVEMENT WRECKS AMERICA'S THIRD-LARGEST CITY

Supporters of voting "Yes" on State Issue 1 had warned voters leading up to Tuesdays special election that progressives would be emboldened to circumvent the legislature and amend the constitution on a wide variety of issues from abortion to parental rights to law enforcement.

"The moral compass of our country is under attack by left-wing organizations, and what they're doing is they're bypassing state legislatures across America and there's a direct assault on state constitutions," Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney and Republican political consultant, told Fox News Digital on Friday.

"Ohio is the battleground test for extreme out-of-touch liberal ideology, and they're using a full force offensive on parental rights, such as allowing transgender surgeries of minors without consent, abortion on demand, gun rights, and now they're going after the lifeline of our communities, our police officers."

Cooke added that there is "definitely a place" to discuss qualified immunity in Ohio, but that discussion "belongs in the state legislature" and "does not belong in our state constitution."

Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity has tried to submit similar positions twice before, but they have been rejected by the office of Ohio Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, who concluded the summary language that voters would see on the ballot was not clear enough as to what the amendment would do.

Yosts office has until Aug. 18 to approve the petition and begin the signature gathering process.

"Any time you submit a constitutional amendment to the attorney general's office, it's incumbent upon that attorney general to ensure that the wording is clear, concise, not misleading, single issue, and many times these outside groups don't understand you cannot submit open-ended constitutional amendments that continue to mislead or confuse the American people," Cooke told Fox News Digital.

"So I'm curious to see what's going to happen with this amendment, but this is just the start of turning Ohio into California, and there are many more amendments that are going to be filed to attack our moral compass."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity said, "We believe that the summary language of this iteration of the Protecting Ohioans' Constitutional Rights amendment is a fair and truthful representation of the amendment itself, as required by law for AG certification."

"It is neither radical nor partisan but a unified effort to ensure the rights of all Ohioans are upheld and protected. Contrary to LaRose's statement, our goal is not to target law enforcement, but to ensure accountability, build trust, and cultivate a just system for all residents of Ohio by holding the state and its political subdivisions, not individual government employees, responsible for the conduct of their employees," the group added.

"The attempt is not to turn Ohio into another state but to fulfill a basic American promise: a government accountable to the people."
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.

Republicans have long known that their views on abortion are not in step with the majority of the countryand theres a reason that they tried, and ultimately succeeded, to kill it in the courts.

But on the latest episode of The New Abnormal, co-host Andy Levy describes how this week was a real wake-up call for Republicans, claiming that if they dont realize the error of their ways, its probably going to continue to cost them elections.

This week, Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure, Issue 1, that would have made it more difficult to pass amendments to the state constitution. Republicans had hoped to hinder a November referendum that has the potential to codify abortion rights into state law.

Subscribe to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Overcast.

It turns out that almost every timewhen theyve tried to codify really extreme abortion bans, people have risen up, and women in particular have risen up, and said, Outta here. Were not letting you do this, Levy says.

I think we saw that in 2022. Theres no reason to think this isnt going to continue to really be a drag on their vote going into the futureI guess if youre looking for a silver lining, its that this might be a real Fuck around, find out moment for them.

Trump Has No Reason to Believe He Will Face Consequences

Plus! David Pepper, author of Saving Democracy and Laboratories of Autocracy, as well as the former chairman of the Democratic Party in the state of Ohio, joins the show to describe how voters saw right through Republicans efforts to rig the rules of a constitutional amendment process.

Even their own voters did not respond well to this, Pepper says. There was lower turnout in the red parts of the state. There were some red counties that voted no, so it really did backfire.

Then, senior vice president of Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, Nick Suplina, describes how ghost guns are more terrifying than you can imagine.

Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Cincinnati, Ohio-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agents recently seized what appeared to be a shipment of "Sesame Street" childrens vitamin containers with the popular puppet Elmo on the label, but the tyke-sized gummy chewables turned out to contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

The USCBP field office in Chicago, which oversees the Midwest CBP operations, posted images of the containers on social media Thursday.

TEXAS DUO PLEADS GUILTY AFTER POLICE DISCOVER OVER 5K GRAMS OF METH CONCEALED BY COOKIES

"Is Elmo a drug pusher? No, but drug smugglers will use their likeness to ship their product," the post read.

The agency said Cincinnati CBP stopped the shipment of childrens Omega-3 vitamins, which tested positive for THC.

CBP OFFICERS IN TEXAS SEIZE METH VEGGIES WORTH MORE THAN $4 MILLION

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Over 50 pounds of THC gummies were seized.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

CBP also said the shipment originated in Canada.
Fuel retailer OKKO Group and the Come Back Alive Foundation have handed over a batch of 200 large-caliber machine guns to the territorial defense forces, the retailer reported on Aug. 11.

The delivery of large-caliber machine guns is only the first of the stages within this project, followed by (the supply of) 300 mortars and 100 automatic grenade launchers, said OKKO CEO Vasyl Danylyak.

Read also: Come Back Alive NGO spends $54 million on weapons for Ukrainian counter-offensive

The initiative continues, and the rest of the weapons are in process. We thank all our customers who are switching to Pulls brand fuel, and it should be noted that they are switching very actively. Im sure well raise the necessary amount in the near future and will completely cover the urgent need of the territorial defense forces for these types of weapons.

The OKO za OKO (An eye for an eye) campaign is a joint initiative of OKKO Group and Come Back Alive, under which UAH 1 of the cost of each liter of Pulls fuel sold at OKKO gas stations is transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The project can be also supported by donating to the initiatives special account at https://okozaoko.okko.ua.

Read also: Half of EU funds for Ukraine to be funded by frozen Russian assets

The project, launched in April 2023, is aimed at raising UAH 400 million ($10.9 million) to purchase 200 12.7 mm machine guns, 300 82 mm mortars, and 100 40 mm automatic grenade launchers. These weapons will be sufficient to equip all 31 territorial defense brigades that are currently defending Ukraine.

OKKO

So far, about 60% of the required amount has been raised, the company wrote.

With the help of these large-caliber machine guns, we can hit the enemy at a fairly long distance, so much so that he cannot hit us, said the commander of the machine gun military unit aka Fanat.

Read also: Come Back Alive, Nova Poshta announce fundraiser for air defense forces

In particular, we can destroy not only enemy infantry at a distance of up to 800 meters, but also light armored vehicles, as well as low-altitude air targets, suppress firing points, and enemy fortified positions.

Thanks to the collaboration of the foundation and the company, territorial defense brigades are strengthening their firepower on the battlefield with new weapons, said Taras Chmut, director of Come Back Alive NGO.

This is already our second joint project with OKKO, which is working for victory. Now were altogether arming our territorial defense forces to the teeth. And prior to that, we strengthened the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the Shark unmanned reconnaissance drones.

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
Rich Penkoski, an Oklahoma preacher who travels the country protesting drag shows and LGBTQ events, plans to be in Lakeland on Sunday to protest a charity fundraiser, "Mama and Friends Brunch," put on by the Rose Dynasty Foundation.

LAKELAND  Public criticism of an upcoming Lakeland drag brunch is attracting protesters from as far away as Oklahoma, while area residents have rallied in support of its charitable cause.

Oklahoma street preacher Rich Penkoski, who leads an online organization Warriors for Christ, confirmed to The Ledger he plans to travel to Lakeland this weekend to lead protests against Rose Dynasty Foundation Inc.'s "Mama and Friends Brunch" this Sunday at Art/ifact. Penkoski has frequently traveled across the country protesting drag shows and events involving children since about 2017.

"When they focus on children, it becomes my business and the business of the public," he said. "They are 100% trying to groom and sexualize children."

Penkoski said he travels to Florida frequently and has protested at other Tampa Bay-area events, including Gasparilla and Pasco County Pride events. He credits himself with putting a stop to drag queen story hours, events where drag queens would read children's book at public libraries, canceled in Tampa and New Port Richey.

"We are standing up for those innocent children who can't speak for themselves, whose parents want to turn them into objects for their own virtue signaling," he said.

An attempt to shutdown the brunch

A group of Lakeland residents asked city commissioners on Monday to shut down the brunch, given the event is being held in a municipal-owned building. The group pointed to event's lower pre-sale ticket price of $20 for children age 9 and younger, versus $30 for adults.

City Attorney Palmer Davis said the city could not breech its contract with Art/ifact, a private nonprofit arts group, and had no right to stop events unless there was illegal activity occurring.

Penkoski said he received word of the brunch being organized by Jason DeShazo, a Lakeland man who has performed drag for more than 20 years under the stage name Momma Ashley Rose, from members of the KJV Baptist Church in New Port Richey.

Jason DeShazo, who performs as Momma Ashley Rose, said the family-friendly drag show is designed to be a safe space for members of the LBGTQ+ community and their families. Attendees are being asked to donate school supplies to benefit Polk County schools.

DeShazo said the family-friendly drag show is designed to be a safe space for members of the LBGTQ+ community, their families and allies. It will feature drag queens and special guests singing, reading stories and other performance arts. Attendees are being asked to donate school supplies to benefit Polk County schools. DeShazo said the ticket price difference reflects the difference in child vs. adult portions when food is served.

"If they want to stand out there and act like fools, they can," he said. "It's sad people are believing the lies and hate-mongering they are doing."

Extra security hired by organizers

The organizers have hired additional off-duty police officers to heighten security in response to the anticipated protest, DeShazo said. The funds will reduce the event's proceeds for charity.

"Here we are trying to help out the community. I guarantee not one of the protesters will show up with school supplies," he said.

A Facebook post that mentioned "mowing" people down at the event has been reported by DeShazo to Lakeland Police Department.

"When events have protesters in attendance, our officers are there to ensure the safety and security of those at the event while also ensuring those demonstrating are allowed to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights permitted by law and in accordance with Florida state statutes and city ordinances," Officer Stephanie Kerr said via email on behalf of the police department.

Penkoski said he "does not condone violence in any way shape or form" at protests except as self defense, when other options such as leaving the scene are not possible.

"I'm not out there to cause violence, I'm out there to exercise my First Amendment right, preach the word of God and stand against sin and go home," he said.

Split over LGBTQ issues Florida Methodist Conference approves departures of 46 congregations

Making noise?

The street preacher reached out to Lakeland officials asking for an exception to the city's noise ordinance to have permission to use voice amplification, like a megaphone, for the day of protests.

Davis, the city attorney, wrote in an email that the city's noise ordinance doesn't ban amplification but prohibits "[a]mplifying the human voice in such a manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, and repose of a reasonable person in any dwelling, place of business, hotel or other place of residence."

Penkoski said he has attorneys at a Virginia-based civil liberties group, The Rutherford Institute, looking into whether the city's noise ordinance violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

DeShazo said the brunch organizers are taking steps to ensure the safety and comfort of attendees as the event has nearly sold out. Community residents have offered to "build a wall" of people to shield attendees from protesters. Sales have been brisk from the nonprofit's Amazon list of requested school supplies, and many who cannot attend have offered to drop off donations.

"Theres a large amount of support, more than the hate. But the hate is loud enough, it's annoying," DeShazo said.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 63-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Protests against Lakeland charity drag brunch draw Oklahoma preacher
Pride flags are displayed at the Whitman-Walker at Liz building in Washington; Stephen Abbott, a Whitman-Walker doctor who prescribes and uses DoxyPEP said it's crucial to meet people where they are, rather than to finger wag (Stefani Reynolds)

The United States is set to roll out a powerful new weapon in the long fight against sexually transmitted infections: a decades-old antibiotic repurposed as a preventative pill.

DoxyPEP, or doxycycline used as a post-exposure prophylaxis, has been found to significantly cut the risk of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis when used after condomless sex.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is developing national guidance for clinicians, will need to weigh the need to contain record high rates of STIs impacting millions of Americans against potentially giving rise to more antibiotic-resistant strains.

"Innovation and creativity matter in public health, and more tools are desperately needed," senior CDC official Jonathan Mermin told AFP.

But the recommendations, set for publication this summer, will remain narrow in scope.

They will likely target only the most at-risk groups of gay men and transgender women with histories of prior infection.

As word spreads, some clinics are already prescribing DoxyPEP.

Malik, a 37-year-old man in Washington, said his doctor recently told him he could start using doxycycline as a "morning-after pill" following risky sex, something he's had to do twice -- including after a partner did not warn him he had removed his condom.

- Two-thirds reduction -

Reported cases of the three bacterial infections grew to 2.5 million in the United States in 2021, following about a decade of growth.

Several issues are behind the rise: fewer people are using condoms since the advent of PrEP -- daily pills that significantly reduce chances of contracting HIV.

And people who are on PrEP are recommended to undergo screening every three months, likely increasing the identification of infections.

Then there is the basic epidemiological fact that the greater the number of people infected, the more they can further infect.

Researchers have found DoxyPEP efficacious in three of four trials.

"What we found was there was about a two-thirds reduction in sexually transmitted infection every three months," Annie Luetkemeyer, who co-led a US trial, told AFP.

The physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco recruited some 500 people in San Francisco and Seattle among communities of men who have sex with men and transgender women.

Efficacy was greatest for chlamydia and syphilis, both of which were reduced by about 80 percent, while for gonorrhea it was about 55 percent. There were few side effects.

- Antibiotic resistance -

Broadening access to doxycycline has prompted concerns about causing antibiotic resistance, particularly in gonorrhea, which is fast mutating.

But early research hasn't shown cause for alarm.

Connie Celum of the University of Washington, who co-led the US study, told AFP researchers tested gonorrhea samples from breakthrough infections in the DoxyPEP group and compared them to the group who didn't receive the pill.

Though they found the rate of resistant gonorrhea slightly higher in the DoxyPEP group, she says the finding could simply mean the pill is less effective against already resistant strains, rather than causing that resistance.

DoxyPEP could even boost responsible antibiotic stewardship -- cutting the incidence of infections, thus also cutting need for antibiotic treatment.

If it slashed gonorrhea cases by some 50 percent, it could reduce the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment with the current frontline treatment drug, ceftriaxone, which doctors are eager to preserve.

Longer term study is required, on both impacts on STIs but also "bystander" bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, which live inside people's noses but sometimes cause serious infections.

- 'Additional tool' -

Malik said that while he is glad he could use DoxyPEP as a last resort, he wishes more men were willing to use condoms. Since moving to America from South Asia, he gets relatively little interest on dating app Grindr when he says he's not willing to have condomless sex.

But Stephen Abbott -- a doctor at Washington's Whitman-Walker clinic who prescribes and uses DoxyPEP -- said it's crucial to meet people where they are.

"From speaking with patients, and being part of the community that's now on PrEP... I think the age of prevention through condoms is fading," he told AFP.

A 42-year-old man in London who runs a cultural organization told AFP that word had spread about DoxyPEP through the international gay party circuit and he had procured a supply on the black market and through a partner who buys in bulk in Mexico.

It had largely worked for him, though he did have one breakthrough infection of throat gonorrhea. He said he was looking forward to the United Kingdom adopting similar guidance so that people have the right information and aren't left to guess at the right dosage.

For Luetkemeyer, DoxyPEP won't be "the answer" to the STI epidemic, and there is considerable interest in the development of a gonorrhea vaccine.

"But I'm optimistic... I think this is an additional tool," she said.

ia/tjj/acb
A father just walking his daughter to the elementary school next door spotted a womans feet sticking out onto the sidewalk as they passed by around 7:15 a.m. Friday morning.

The witness, who didnt want to be identified, said at first he didnt know if she was just passed out or asleep.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Once I got up on herwas like maam? But once got up on her I realized she had a hole in her headshe was dead, the neighbor said.

He didnt recognize the victim, dressed in nice clothes.

TRENDING STORIES:

Victim is going to be a 30-year-old black female. But theres no connection to this neighborhood or this area, Atlanta Police Department Homicide Commander Germain Breedlove said.

The homeowner who Channel 2 Action News Steve Gehlbach talked to doesnt know how she ended up in his back driveway, no one heard any gunshots, and theyve never seen her before.

She doesnt look like she run around here doing things dont have no business doing somebody daughter, somebody mamma, the neighbor said.

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The father quickly rushed his daughter to school after making the horrific discovery, and the witness just wants police to figure out who she is, what happened and whos responsible.

Right now, it bother me, messed with me real bad, he said. Its bad. it doesnt make no sense, real senseless.

IN OTHER NEWS:
US President Joe Biden. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Biden announced reforms to the bankruptcy process for student-loan borrowers in November.

New data obtained by Student Defense found fewerr than 45 borrowers have seen relief since those reforms.

Experts and lawmakers want to ensure bankruptcy is a viable option before payments resume this fall.

It's been nearly a year since President Joe Biden announced reforms to make it easier for student-loan borrowers to get rid of their debt in bankruptcy court. It's hard to say if those changes are working as intended.

In November, the Education and Justice Departments announced they were changing the way student-loan borrowers can attempt to discharge their loans through bankruptcy. Specifically, the changes targeted a standard known as "undue hardship," in which a borrower would have to prove to a judge that they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, that their circumstances aren't likely to improve, and that they have made a good-faith effort to repay their debt.

It's a standard that had been interpreted very strictly in court, leaving many borrowers without the relief they sought  and the departments' changes would establish clear guidelines for how courts should interpret the standard to ensure consistent treatment of all cases, along with allowing borrowers to complete a self-attestation form to help the departments process their request and avoid time-consuming investigations.

But since those reforms were announced, it appears just a small number of borrowers have actually seen relief. Student Defense  an advocacy group that advocates for borrower protections  obtained data from the Education Department via the Freedom of Information Act that found fewer than 45 student-loan borrowers have gotten a full or partial debt discharge since the November announcement.

"The new bankruptcy guidance has helped provide life-changing financial fresh-starts for some student borrowers, but we aren't yet seeing the systemic change we hope for," Student Defense President Aaron Ament said in a statement. "We appreciate the Department of Education and the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to work with distressed borrowers. They've taken important steps, but it's clear more needs to be done."

Additionally, it's not certain that every borrower on the list the Education Department sent to Student Defense even had their debt discharged in connection to bankruptcy  some of them saw eventual relief through other programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, according to their court cases.

An Education Department spokesperson told Insider that "after decades of inaction in Washington, the Department of Education worked closely with the Department of Justice on the updated bankruptcy guidance it released less than a year ago to support struggling borrowers."

"The guidance is still relatively new and it represents an important step forward and provides clearer, fairer, and more practical standards to guide recommendations for student debt discharges during bankruptcy proceedings," the spokesperson said. "What is clear is that qualifying borrowers are using it and getting relief faster and with much less cost and burden than before, but the process still takes time and is largely driven by the legal system. We expect the number of cases where borrowers will receive relief will grow as courts continue to issue final decisions."

Despite the small number of borrowers who have seen relief, the number of borrowers partaking in the process has grown  as of June 29, 2023, 338 new cases were filed since the November guidance, and in July, that number grew to over 460.

The bankruptcy process for student-loan borrowers has also been under increased scrutiny recently from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting updated information on the status of the November reforms, saying that the "looming threat" of the federal student-loan payment restart in October makes it all the more necessary that bankruptcy remains a viable option for borrowers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also recently said during remarks unveiling his economic plan should he be president that he supports bankruptcy as a path for student-loan borrowers.

As is typical with government programs, implementing changes to the bankruptcy process could take some time. But with student-loan payments about to resume after an over three-year pause, experts and lawmakers are concerned borrowers might find themselves unable to foot another monthly bill  and they want to ensure the bankruptcy process is working as intended.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Editors Note: Naka Nathaniel is an opinion columnist for Honolulu Civil Beat. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

In Hawaii this summer, we would glance at the news from the rest of the country and be grateful that we werent suffering under the extreme weather  heat domes, deluges or smoke-filled skies  that other parts of the world were experiencing. We remained sheltered in our corner of paradise.

But paradise was a marketing ploy, never the truth nor a guarantee.

Naka Nathaniel - Naka Nathaniel

Today, Hawaii is reeling and in shock.

The rising death toll  currently standing at 55  from wildfires that are raging across Maui, is simply soul-crushing.

The fires, which extended to the Big Island, where I live, left the land here scorched, too, and forced many to evacuate. Luckily, my family was able to stay safely in our home.

People here in Hawaii have been checking in with each other asking after family and friends. Every note is tinged with disbelief and sadness.

Hurricane Dora, with its powerful winds, combined with low humidity in Maui, created the conditions that allowed for these fires to thrive.

Who knew that a hurricane that passed the islands would cause so much chaos? my cousin, Lorie, texted from Oahu. I never would have imagined what is happening in Maui.

Hawaii has always been a part of the real world (and the inequities of the world have been even realer for Native Hawaiians) but, yes, our realities are more exotic than those of other states, making disasters like this feel like impossibilities.

But now, as we gather up donations to help our Maui brethren, those with long memories of earlier natural disasters are afraid of what this will mean  not only for Maui, but for the rest of Hawaii.

My ohanas (familys) hometown, Hilo, was devastated by tsunamis in 1946 and 1960.

Recently, my uncle, Duke Chang, told me the story about seeing the tsunami sweep into Hilo while he was on the way to school as a 7-year-old in 1946. The boys played in the school yard until the headmaster came out to tell them to go home. If their home was gone, they were to come back to the school. Uncle Duke said a few of the boys did indeed return to the school having lost their homes and their families.

The tsunamis, 14 years apart, left Hilo with the reputation of being sleepy and slightly out-of-time. Most of Uncle Dukes generation would leave for better opportunities elsewhere.

Kauai, too, has suffered from natural disaster. It was slammed by Iniki, a Category 4 hurricane, on September 11, 1992. Property damage is still very visible more than three decades later. The island has been overrun by feral chickens that escaped during the storm. The economy was crushed and many residents left for good.

Thats the fear so many Hawaiians have for Maui. What will happen to the residents who were already struggling to hold on? How will it avoid the fate of Hilo and Kauai?

And we must ask what is to come for the other islands, as climate change spurs more extreme weather events.

As we try to process this tragedy, we grasp onto any silver lining we can find. Maybe this tragedy will give Maui a chance to reset itself.

The multi-millionaires and billionaires that made Maui a popular playground for the wealthy will be fine, but, as of 2022, more than half of Mauis residents were categorized as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) in a study released by the Aloha United Way, a nonprofit community impact organization. In the county of Maui, 16% of the population is living below the federal poverty line.

Maui has been trying to solve its biggest crisis: affordable housing. The county has considered many different plans and, last month, Hawaiis governor signed an emergency proclamation to deal with the housing crisis throughout the state.

Meanwhile, many Maui residents work more than one job and live paycheck to paycheck. Thats not a situation that allows for families to be patient as the island rebuilds and the economy recovers.

Hawaii had already been suffering an exodus due to the cost of living. More Native Hawaiians now live outside of Hawaii than live in Hawaii.

Its inevitable that this disaster will lead to people fleeing Maui for Las Vegas, Sacramento and other cities with a lower cost of living and already-established Native Hawaiian communities.

The dream of living in Hawaii, to escape the concerns and tumult of the rest of the world, has always been popular. But what is unfolding in Maui is a stark reminder that Hawaii is tragically just another place on the planet dealing with the problems that exist in the rest of the world.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Editors Note: Aanchal Saraf is a postdoctoral fellow with Dartmouth Colleges Society of Fellows. She writes, researches and teaches about cold war cultures, Asian American studies and militarism in the Pacific. Rebecca H. Hogue is a postdoctoral fellow at the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University. She is writing a book about the arts and literatures of the nuclear free movement in Oceania. The views expressed here are their own. Read more opinion on CNN.

It started with the memes.

Audiences came in droves to see the cinematic event of the summer: Barbenheimer. This portmanteau of Barbie and Oppenheimer arose not just because they were blockbusters set for release on the same day, but also because the films seemed diametrically opposed  technicolor pinks and plastic fantastic vs. a desaturated and moody biopic. (The distributor of Barbie and CNN share a parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery.)

Aanchal Saraf - Saraf Aanchal

Upon closer analysis, the juxtaposition resonates precisely because it relies on a visual language as old as the IPs it is mining. Barbenheimer has crucial predecessors, cultural moments that combined sex and nuclear weapons to convince the world that we should learn to stop worrying and love the bomb.

Rebecca H. Hogue - Rebecca H. Hogue

Bombshells and Bikinis

Universal Pictures released Oppenheimer on the 78th anniversary of the Trinity test in New Mexico, and two weeks before the 78th anniversary of the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These three detonations, their devastation immense and ongoing, were just the beginning of the US nuclear detonation program.

Between 1946 and 1992, the US detonated over 1,000 known nuclear devices across the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone lands in Nevada, Aleut lands in Amchitka, Alaska and many other places across US-occupied lands and waters. These geographies were further complicated by the spread of radioactive fallout, which impacted communities well outside of the testing locations.

One such test series was Operation Crossroads, in which the US detonated bombs Able and Baker over Bikini Atoll. Stenciled onto the Able bomb was an image of bombshell Rita Hayworth in a strapless black gown. The bomb was nicknamed Gilda, after a movie Hayworth had starred in that same year. Hayworth was, unsurprisingly, horrified by the gesture.

Hayworths gown was not the only French fashion statement to be attached to Crossroads  Jacques Heims revealing Atome swimsuit made its debut on the Riviera that summer. His competitor, Louis Reard, debuted an even scantier design he was sure would be explosive: the bikini swimsuit.

The atomic explosion of the "Able" bomb during Operation Crossroads is captured on July 1, 1946. - Corbis/Getty Images

Scholar Teresia Teaiwa famously critiqued the bikini as instrumental to depoliticizing and concealing the effects of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. While Europeans gathered on beaches at last free from war, bombs inspiring their swimwear were being dropped by the Atomic Energy Commission in the Marshall Islands. Britain and France would later begin their own nuclear weapons programs on Indigenous lands and waters in Australia and French Occupied Polynesia, among others.

The US began detonating nuclear bombs at the Nevada Test Site in 1951, garnering nearby Las Vegas the nickname Atomic City. Las Vegas businesses turned the detonations into a tourist attraction, serving themed cocktails and holding Dawn Bomb Parties. The cultural proximity of showgirls and atom bombs led to the creation of Miss A-Bomb contests. The most famous of the winners was Lee A. Merlin, who stuck cotton balls in the shape of a mushroom cloud onto her swimsuit.

Today, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Merlin welcomes visitors to the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. The museum also displays an array of nuclear-inspired paraphernalia that proliferated during the Cold War, including toys, comic books and games.

This popularization of bombs for all ages still haunts our present, with post-apocalyptic landscapes in childrens shows like Adventure Time and SpongeBob SquarePants echoing Cold War films such as Duck and Cover (1951), whose animated icon Bert the Turtle taught children what to do in the event of a nuclear blast; not to mention Walt Disneys fascination with atomic power, immortalized in his educational programming of Our Friend The Atom (1957).

Cold War films such as "Duck and Cover" (1951) featured "Bert the Turtle," who taught children how to seek shelter and protection during a nuclear attack. - Library of Congress

From Playthings to Playboys

In an effort to assuage growing concerns surrounding Operation Crossroads, Vice Admiral William Blandy assured everyday Americans: I am not an atomic playboy. But the archive of atomic pin-ups and nuclear war games begs to differ. Atomic playboys have aestheticized nuclear weapons as sexy  but still safe  since their very existence.

In fact, if Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer were to have another title, Atomic Playboy would be well-suited. The films women exist as plot devices for the development of great men  topless, flasks in hand, a quick and dirty way to show us that Oppie (Cillian Murphy) had rizz in the lab and at parties. But saying that Nolan is bad at writing women is not revelatory. And the issue here is not one of passing the Bechdel test  wed rather less women be involved in the making of weapons of mass destruction.

Rather, it is the films aesthetic commitments that underscore its ideological hang-ups. The Marvelification of the Los Alamos scientists is one of the cornier examples. Oppie has his own suit up scene and Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett) introduces himself in a line delivery that presupposes applause. Against this A-Team starting lineup, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) and Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) are more archetype than character.

In one of the many wildly over-the-top full frontal sex scenes with Tatlock, she wanders over to Oppenheimers bookshelf and pulls out a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. She asks Oppenheimer to read aloud what becomes his infamous quotation, I am become death, destroyer of worlds.

Florence Pugh is Jean Tatlock and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer." - Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

The sex that follows is embarrassingly mechanical. The second time we hear him say these words, it is non-diegetic, his voice the only sound during an otherwise silent detonation of the Trinity bomb. Nolan prolongs the time between the flash and the blast, allowing Oppenheimers words to hang in unnerving suspension. The audience is made to wait for it, our sonic desires fulfilled by Nolans fetish for cinematic release.

The viewer gets nothing that puts Oppenheimers quotation in context  he did not speak these words until an interview in 1965, 20 years after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nolan rips the quote from its historical framing and places it in two different kinds of sex scenes, both of which emphasize Oppenheimers omnipotence. One cant help but think of Hayworths Gilda, a femme fatale riding the side of the A-bomb.

From the moment Tatlock arrives on screen, two things are immediately clear: She, too, is a femme fatale, and she will be a fatality. Her death by suicide is the only death we are shown that is not thrice removed (us watching Oppenheimer watch a film about the bombings in Japan) or part of a dream sequence (Oppenheimer imagining stepping on a deracialized, charred body during his victory speech). The film situates her demise as risk management  specifically, neutralizing the threat her involvement with the Communist Party poses to Oppenheimer. In positioning Tatlocks psyche and politics as dangerous, and Oppenheimers security clearance as what is ultimately at stake, the film argues that a threat to the American Nuclear Family is as serious as the atom bombs threat to the world.

Birthing the Bomb

Nolan bifurcates Oppenheimer into two parts, the subjective fission and the objective fusion. The collision of the fission and fusion timelines implies that the films formal arc mirrors a chain reaction. Beyond the visceral grossness of modeling ones film after a nuclear detonation, the chain reaction also persuades the viewer to accept Nolans narratives of inevitability and absolution. Oppenheimer merely births the bomb, which sets off wide ranging consequences both unavoidable and out of his control  so much so that the third act is entirely removed from the scene of the blast. Like the mythical figure, and the book that inspired the film, American Prometheus, Oppenheimer shows that the problem of playing with fire is neither playing nor fire, but the failure to master incendiary effects.

All of this brings us back to Barbenheimers collaging of bombs and bombshells. In a scene that opens on Barbie (Margot Robbie)s first moments in the real world, she explains to a group of leery construction workers that neither she nor Ken (Ryan Gosling) have genitals. Barbie is the ideal icon for atomic playboys: fun, harmless and free. Barbies reproductive organs even become part of her arc to personhood  and her departure from iconicity. The film ends at Barbies first appointment with a gynecologist.

When the US dropped the first H-Bomb Mike on Enewetakese lands in 1952, its designer Edward Teller sent a telegram to the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico that read, Its a boy. Like Teller, who became known as the father of the H-Bomb, Oppenheimer was similarly characterized by his paternal virility  birthing the orgasmic blast of the bomb, first in life and now on screen. The form and content of Oppenheimer may try to persuade you that its protagonist is the daddiest of daddies. But if the lowest bar for healthy masculinity is not conflating weapons and women, Oppenheimer will never be kenough.

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Editors Note: W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Government Ever Be Stopped?

For Republican voters, there is a powerful split screen that drives how they view the 2024 presidential race, and on no day was it presented in sharper definition than on July 27 when Hunter Bidens plea agreement fell apart. That Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday elevated the prosecutor behind the deal, David Weiss, to the position of special prosecutor, with a trial likely in the wake of the aborted plea deal, does little to assuage GOP concerns.

Republicans have long claimed that President Joe Bidens son has gotten special treatment from prosecutors looking into his business practices and allegations of tax and gun crimes, even as former President Donald Trump has faced the strictest legal scrutiny for any and all potential offenses. When Hunter Bidens plea agreement fell apart at the end of July, the GOP position on the presidents son received vindication from US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who rejected an unusual plea bargain the Department of Justice had offered him.

W. James Antle III - Courtesy W. James Antle III

The Justice Department appointing a special counsel now is too little, too late. One should have been appointed long ago; now it feels too much like a clean-up attempt. House Republicans in particular wont have confidence in Weiss  especially given the events around the plea deal  and will prefer their own investigations.

The plea deal that Noreika was asked to approve would have spared the presidents son prison. The deal, brokered in June, was presented to her even though IRS whistleblowers the week before told Congress they werent able to treat Hunter Biden like a typical target of their investigations, couldnt pursue leads against his family members and recommended far harsher charges than were leveled. (Joe Biden has said he wasnt involved in his sons business deals.)

Noreika, a Trump appointee supported by both of Delawares Democratic senators, took the rare step of telling the parties that she wasnt willing to accept the deal when it came before her last month. She said the arrangement related to Bidens gun possession offense was unusual and contained non-standard terms, such as broad immunity from other potential charges. She said she also had concerns about the constitutionality of the gun deal for fear it might violate the separation of powers.

The hearing ended with Biden entering a plea of not guilty on two tax misdemeanors. Prosecutors claim that Biden didnt pay $1.1 million to $1.5 million in taxes on time. (He has since done so.) Separately, hes also alleged to have made false statements on an application to buy a gun in which he didnt acknowledge using drugs at the time of the application.

Its not surprising that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has raised the prospect of an impeachment inquiry of the president and the business dealings of his family members given the lack of adequate pressure from the Justice Department, the allegations leveled by the whistleblowers and the need for public disclosure of testimony from former business associates of Hunter Biden.

At the same time, the twice-impeached Trump is facing the prospect of a fourth indictment, this one in the state of Georgia for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in that state. That comes on top of the novel legal theory that was used to bring charges against the former president in New York on a hush money case, alongside federal charges of mishandling classified documents and conspiring to undermine the 2020 election. (He has denied any wrongdoing in all three cases.)

And yet, Trump claims above 50% of national Republican support for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. One recent poll showed Trump up 30 points over his nearest opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in Iowa. His worst New Hampshire poll has him leading by 14.

Hunter Biden is one reason Trump is able to survive, even thrive, under circumstances that would have felled almost any other candidate. Rank-and-file Republicans see the presidents son as a prime illustration of a double standard.

They think Trump is getting a raw deal and has been the target of an obsessive campaign to bring him down. The Republican base thinks the criminal charges against Trump are politically motivated, that he has been treated differently than not only Hunter but also President Joe Biden and his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton.

Perhaps the most damning evidence is the report by esteemed former public prosecutor John Durham, another DOJ special counsel who looked into the FBIs investigation of Trump over accusations he had colluded with the Russians.

Durham conducted a nearly four-year review of the Russia probe and concluded that the same Justice Department that has been accused of going easy on Hunter Biden had a weak basis for its investigation into Trump on Russia collusion even as it didnt get as worked up about claims of foreign election interference when they concerned Hillary Clinton.

[B]ased on the evidence gathered in the multiple exhaustive and costly federal investigations of these matters, Durham wrote, neither U.S. law enforcement nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, the name for the Trump-Russia probe. The FBI responded to the report by stating that it had implemented dozens of corrective actions.

At the same time that the DOJ and the mainstream media were overturning every pebble as part of this investigation, powerful players dismissed evidence found on Hunter Bidens laptop raising questions about his business activities. In the heat of the 2020 presidential campaign, former intelligence officials, many appointed by Democrats, opined that the laptop was the result of a Russian disinformation campaign, which made news outlets hesitant to cover it and social media companies restrict sharing the stories that did get published.

Even once that was disproven and the DOJ investigation of Hunter Biden heated up, the IRS whistleblowers testified that they were blocked from interviews they would normally conduct and rebuffed in recommendations for further charges. Joseph Ziegler, a career IRS official who identifies as a Democrat, testified that prosecutors slow-walked the investigation, and put in place unnecessary approvals and road blocks from effectively and efficiently addressing the case. A lot of times, we were not able to follow the facts.

(The DOJ and the White House have denied these allegations. Democrats have noted that Weiss, who has been running the investigation, is a Trump-era appointee, and that its common for there to be disagreements between different people involved in investigating complex cases. Weiss has also denied the whistleblowers accusations and defended his independence.)

Perhaps there are good reasons for the difference in how the Trump and Biden investigations were handled beyond partisan bias. To be sure, some of the charges against Trump in the classified documents case and January 6 riots have much more serious national and domestic security implications than those against Biden the younger, who was never a political leader.

But the voters who will decide the next GOP presidential nominee are not wrong in thinking that something about Hunter Bidens treatment doesnt sit right. Its not surprising this is then channeled into suspicion of the legal cases brought against Trump  and suspicion of Weiss in the special prosecutor role. As McCarthy tweeted Friday, If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people.

While Trump isnt always an innocent victim, many Republican voters are no more inclined to believe what a Justice Department run by a Biden appointee says about Trump than a news media they deem anti-Trump. Worries about liberal media bias have been common among Republicans since at least Richard Nixons administration.

Republican voters believe Hunter Biden is set to get off with a slap on the wrist while their favored candidate is the one being hunted. Weiss appointment will only feed their fury.

This piece has been updated to reflect the latest news developments in the Hunter Biden investigation.

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Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May says the Big Bang Theory describes the moment of creation of the universe when an infinitely hot and dense single point apparently inflated and stretched  first at unimaginable speeds, and then at a more measurable rate  over the next 13.7 billion years to the still-expanding cosmos that we know today.

Admittedly this is a far cry from the Genesis creation story. Yet, I do get the overarching idea of a dramatic and awesome moment which still continues to this very day that some scientists describe as the Big Bang Theory at the beginning of creation of the universe. Unfortunately I am not sure how God fits into that scientific paradigm and whether God can do anything about human societys insatiable desire to create weapons of mass destruction.

After watching the movie Oppenheimer, I drew a contrast between the Big Bang Theory and a kind of reversal of the expansion process of the universe by destroying a small part of it. This image appeared to me as I watched the films that show the carnage from the first atomic blasts against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II. The summer blockbuster movie challenges us in dramatic ways to revisit our recent history, but it also presents us with a nightmare scenario of the frightening possibilities of a future of nonexistence of our species and all life on earth.

As a person who studies religion and theology as well as one who works with a congregation, I see two sides to this fascinating and tragic story of Robert Oppenheimer, who worked for the United States and led a team of brilliant scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to develop a bomb which would destroy the Nazi empire but ended up being dropped on the Japanese empire after the Germans surrendered.

The one major point I left the theater contemplating is the stark contrast between the brilliant minds of scientists who imagined a theoretical construct of an atomic bomb and the less than brilliant and downright cutthroat politics in Congress. I thought of the betrayal not only by the government interrogating Oppenheimer as a suspected communist sympathizer but also by some on his own team who turned against him under pressure from politicians who resented him and his notoriety and were fearful and jealous of him.

The movie demonstrated that, no matter how brilliant the scientists were and how tirelessly they worked to defeat the Nazis, human nature was still a counter-measure or a weapon itself utilized to exploit this technological achievement and ignore the moral repercussions of what atomic bombs would do to our existence.

The carnage that this bomb created in Japan did, in fact, end the war against the Japanese. Several hundred thousand people died in those moments when the bombs exploded. Japan and America remember Aug. 6 and 9, 1945.

The worlds great minds still debate the use of nuclear weapons and whether or not their use was right during World War II. The scope of the destructive power of these weapons should continue to scare us all, especially when we listen to Russian leaders threaten to use them today against Ukraine or the potential use of nuclear weapons by Iran.

The movie presented the tortured soul of Oppenheimer, who struggled with the consequences of the destruction brought on by his teams accomplishment. He told President Harry S. Truman that he had blood on his hands. He was equally worried that his the atomic bomb would be used against not just the United States but against the entire world. The fact that he raised these concerns to Congress ultimately cost him his public standing in Washington, D.C., where he was stripped of his national security clearance. His story is both inspiring and heroic as well as tragic, too.

I am reminded of the Tower of Babel story in Genesis. The people built a giant tower that would give humankind the power to reach heaven and eternal life. We would be immortal with this tower yet, at the end of the day, God confused our languages  Babel comes from the Hebrew root to confuse  and sent us back to our status as mere mortals. Was God laughing at humankind because they actually believed that they could achieve some sort of divine status? Did God shew them away with a millisecond of thought to confuse their languages and disable the entire project of humankinds obsession to achieve equal status to God?

I dont think God is laughing at what we have achieved today.

In the movie, Americas scientists, military planners and politicians justified the creation of the atomic bomb to defeat Germany and later on to save the lives of American soldiers in the Pacific. In the back rooms of Washington, D.C., however, those same folks were portrayed as devoted to a single goal, which was to secure a weapon unsurpassed in human technology, to build a different kind of stairway to heaven for Americas adversaries and assure Americas security.

The movie Oppenheimer is frightening not just to contemplate the enormity of atomic warfare between nations. Instead, the equally frightening aspect relates to the lack of moral scruples, greed and pettiness that still pervades human political culture. This movie shows the conflicts going on between the work of scientists and politicians and how political fights could bring us again to the brink of nuclear war. For me, that is what is most unsettling about this movie.

Every generation of leaders is looking for the ultimate weapon, a Tower of Babel that will elevate the nation to military dominance and a kind of immortality of power equal to God. To me, the Big Bang Theory goes beyond a fascinating theory of the creation of the universe and remains as a everlasting threat to not only our way of life to but to life itself.
Oprah Winfrey, a part-time Maui resident, said the wildfires spreading across the island are "a little overwhelming." (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is offering a helping hand to Maui residents who have been impacted by the deadly wildfires. And she's not alone among celebrities expressing their concerns.

The billionaire talk show host, who is a part-time resident of the island, delivered a variety of supplies Thursday at a shelter in Wailuku, two days after the fire hit the historic town of Lahaina.

"It's a little overwhelming ... but I'm really so pleased to have so many people ... supporting and, you know, people are just bringing what they can and doing what they can," she told the BBC.

Read more: How to help Maui residents displaced by the devastating wildfires

An Instagram video shared by non-profit organization Kako'o Haleakala showed the OWN personality, dressed in sweats and wearing a hat and dark glasses, carrying pillows and giving one to a resident lying on a cot. The account thanked Winfrey "for following through" by also delivering cots and toiletries.

"She even spent some time with the people here. It was very much appreciated," the caption said.

Read more: 'A scar on the face of Maui': Lahaina is gutted; fatalities expected to multiply

Winfrey also told the BBC she "went shopping" at Walmart and Costco to get her supplies, which also included shampoo, diapers, sheets and pillowcases. In recent years and months, the mogul's properties in Montecito also faced a variety of natural disasters, including floods and fires.

As the fires broke out, Winfrey and her Hollywood peers spoke out to raise awareness and voice support for Maui residents. "Fast X" actor Jason Momoa recently shared a set of informational photos from environmental non-profit Aina Momona.

"We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and ohana on Maui who [have] been impacted by the recent wildfires," Momoa, who is a native of Hawaii, wrote. He also shared a link to resources.

Musician Mick Fleetwood mourned the wildfire destruction, writing Thursday on Instagram, "MAUI and The Lahaina community have been my home for several decades." The Fleetwood Mac rocker owned a waterfront restaurant and bar, Fleetwood's, that was lost to the flames.

"On behalf of myself and my family I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of MAUI," he continued. "We are committed to supporting the community and those affected by this disaster in the days month[s] and years to come."

Actor Pierce Brosnan and wife Keely Shaye Brosnan  who have a home in Kauai  also brought awareness to the wildfires. Keely shared a video of a beach sunset Thursday and encouraged followers to take action.

Read more: Death toll in Maui fires rises to 67: 'We have not yet searched' buildings

"My sincere and heartfelt prayers for Maui & Hawai'i Counties, the Hawaiian community, residents, families and animals affected by these unprecedented wildfires," she wrote. "If you are able, please consider making a donation to the Hawaii / Maui Community Foundation to help those in need."

As of Friday, at least 55 people had been killed in fast-spreading wildfires affecting parts of Maui. Hawaiian Gov. Josh Green warned the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.

President Biden said in a statement Wednesday evening that he had ordered all available federal assets to help Hawaii.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Oprah Winfrey has been helping those affected by the Hawaiian wildfires by providing necessary supplies at a support centre.

Since Tuesday night (8 August), wild blazes have ravaged Maui and Hawaiis Big Island. As of Thursday evening (10 August), 55 people had been confirmed dead.

You can keep up with regular updates here.

The wildfires have destroyed more than 1,700 properties on the Hawaiian islands and have led to the evacuation of at least 14,000 people from Maui.

Winfrey, 69, has lived in Maui part-time for more than 15 years and owns around 1,000 acres of land on the island.

On Thursday, she visited people sheltering at the War Memorial Stadium in Maui and was seen handing out pillows, along with other items.

When asked by reporters what the experience felt like, the former talk show host admitted it was overwhelming but was heartened to see people pulling together at a difficult time.

Im really pleased to have so many people supporting... bringing what they can and doing what they can.

Oprah Winfrey (BBC)

She continued: I came earlier just to see what people needed then went shopping because often, you know, you make donations of clothes or whatever and it's not really what people need.

So I actually went to Walmart and Costco and got pillows, shampoo, diapers, sheets, pillowcases.

The historic town of Lahaina in Maui has been completely devastated by the wildfires, with more than 1,700 buildings and billions of dollars in property destroyed.

Its all gone. None of its there. Its all burnt to the ground, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen confirmed.

Though its not known what started the fires, a combination of dry weather and heavy winds coming from Hurricane Dora off the islands coast is thought to have contributed to the ongoing blaze.

Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood is another celebrity who has expressed upset at the wildfires. In a social media post, the British musician said that his Maui restaurant, Fleetwoods on Front Street had burned down.

Fleetwoods on Front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken, our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members, he wrote. On behalf of myself and my family, I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of Maui.

Elsewhere, Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa shared that he was devastated and heartbroken about the events.
The Maui fire that has killed 53 people is now 80% contained. However, for many, the worst is yet to come as an island full of locals and tourists search for help.

President Biden has promised federal aid but now Red Cross volunteers say that it might not be enough. Parts of the island have been completely flattened leaving an island of people desperate for help.

Its absolute, total devastation, said Red Cross volunteer Aaron Hayes, I know from past things that Ive done its nothing compared to what weve seen on video coming out of there, its going to be way worse

Hayes is a retired first responder who has witnessed the devastation following the 9/11 attack and hurricane island and now is one of the 18 volunteers making his way to Hawaii.

Im going over to Maui just sheltering and feeding, taking care of the people in the shelters that have been burned out of their homes, there will be some tourists Im imagining that will be there too that will have no place to go and cant get off the island, said Hayes.

The Red Cross is not the only one who is sending help, Alaska Airlines has told KIRO 7 that they have sent a rescue flight full of supplies such as food, water, and baby formula to Maui. The plan will then be used to transport people back to the U.S. mainland. Alaska is also donating miles and money to various non-profits in hopes that people will be able to get flights home.

We never know what were going to get into, said Hayes These things develop so quickly and theyre trying to put everything together but still communication is still an issue because of the power, all of that so were just kind of taking it on the fly.

You can help from home by donating to the American Red Cross, the Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way, and the Maui Food Bank. The information and links to all of those recommended donations can be found below:




About 200 mourners paid tribute to O'Shae Sibley at his funeral in Philadelphia on Tuesday

The 17-year-old suspect accused of fatally stabbing a gay man in New York has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder as a hate crime.

O'Shae Sibley and his friends had been voguing at a petrol pump in Brooklyn on 29 July when an argument broke out with a group of teenagers.

Prosecutors claim the teens hurled homophobic and racist slurs before the suspect stabbed Mr Sibley in the chest.

Charged as an adult, the attacker faces 20 years to life in prison.

At his initial court appearance on Friday, he was identified as Dmitriy Popov, a final-year student at a local secondary school.

"Nothing about his past or his history shows that he's the type of person to commit this crime," his lawyer Mark Pollard told reporters.

Denying that his client had used any slurs, he hinted that his client may argue he acted in self-defence.

Prosecutors intend to prove the suspect's "senseless" and "targeted" actions were fuelled by anti-black and anti-LGBT bias.

Mourners have paid tribute to Mr Sibley as 'a beacon of light'

"We're going to stand up for Mr Sibley, for the right he had to dance and be exuberant, the right he had not to stop dancing because it offended someone else," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a Thursday news conference.

"Hate crimes impact a victim, but it also impacts a community. It robs not just the family, but an entire community of their sense of safety and security."

Mr Sibley, a professional dancer and choreographer, and his friends were returning from a day at the beach when they stopped at a petrol pump in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.

While at the filling station, they were voguing - a dance form associated with creative expression and resistance in LGBT circles - to the tune of songs from Renaissance, a Beyonce album that is considered a love letter to black queer dance culture.

Surveillance footage shows the two groups walking away from a heated dispute before Mr Sibley returns to confront the 17-year-old with his phone, then lunges at him.

Prosecutors say the teen stabbed Mr Sibley out of view of cameras, adding that they do not believe Mr Sibley's conduct was "cause for someone to take a weapon and do what was done in this case".

Protests and vigils replete with voguing have been held in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere over a murder that has struck a chord within the LGBT community.

Some 200 mourners paid tribute to Mr Sibley at his funeral Tuesday, held in a historic opera house in his hometown of Philadelphia.

"O'Shae had the power to touch everyone's heart, whoever met him," Otis Pena, a close friend who was at the petrol station, said. "O'Shae was a beacon of light for a lot of us in our community."

Others celebrated Mr Sibley's journey in dance since the age of three, from performing with the Philadelphia Dance Company to teaching at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

The dance company said it had established a scholarship in his honour "to encourage other students like him to follow their dreams".
Among the largest nongovernmental property owners in Manatee County are a phosphate mining operation, an electric utility, several industrial-scale farmers, a couple of development companies and the founder of a multilevel marketing company.

At the top of the list is Mosaic Fertilizer LLC, with 33,270.81 acres, according to the Manatee County Property Appraisers website.

Phosphate companies have been excavating in northeast Manatee County since the 1960s, and periodically return to the Manatee County Commission for five-year extensions of their permit.

Mosaic is due to renew its permits this year, confirmed Jackie Barron, the companys public affairs manager.

Not all of Mosaics holdings are being actively mined. The company has 23,913 acres zoned for mining, and of that, 18,345 acres have already been mined or disturbed, Barron said.

Mosaic has also set aside, or preserved 3,907 acres, and reclaimed 7,298 acres, she said.

Mosaic added nearly 800 acres to its holdings, compared to what the property appraiser webpage reported for the company in 2022.

A Manatee County graphic shows the extent of Mosaic holdings in tan.

The rest of the top 10 list includes:

 2. John Falkner LLC with 21,758.74 acres. Falkner, who grows tomatoes and cucumbers  lots of cucumbers, thus his nickname, the pickle king, also owns Kibler Agriculture Corporation with 1,062.87 acres.

In 2002, the Chicago Pickle Company opened a plant north of Palmetto near Sysco, a wholesale food distributor to restaurants, to take advantage of the plentiful cucumber supply.

A smart businessman, Falkner in 2002 bought the 940-acre Harrison Ranch property on U.S. 301 North and Erie Road for $8 million and sold it for $16 million about 15 months later to Pulte Home Corp.

Falkner is also well aware that there is a building boom underway in Manatee County. In 2021, his Rye Ranch LLC filed a rezoning application to develop a 3,500-unit residential development at 17855 County Road 675. Also proposed there are 300,000 square feet of non-residential development and 20,000 square feet of public-use facilities.

 3. Florida Power and Light Company is Manatee Countys third-largest property owner with 15,015.51 acres, up from 13,768 acres in 2022. FPL operates or is planning to operate six solar energy plants in Manatee County, in addition to its fossil fuel-fired power plant in Parrish.

In this file photo, Florida Power and Light install seventy five percent of the solar panels planned for the FPL Solar Energy Center in Parrish.

 4. Team Pentecost LLC with 6,772 acres has the fourth largest property holdings in Manatee County. Owner Mark Pentecost is the founder of a multilevel marketing company, It Works!, based in Palmetto.

 5. McClure Properties Ltd. ranks as the countys fifth largest property owner with 6,516.1 acres. In 2022, McClure was listed as having 7,491.87 acres. McClure has been farming in Manatee County for more than 50 years. In 2021, the company sought rezoning for acreage between Buckeye Road and Moccasin Wallow Road that would allow 1,900 residential units and 122,000 square feet of nonresidential use.

McClure Properties is seeking a rezone to allow a mixed-use development at 10403 Buckeye Road, Parrish, for 1,900 residential units and 122,600 square feet of non-residential uses. File photo 2021

 6. L3 Partnership with 5,024 acres comes in sixth on the largest landowner list. Gamble Creek Village has been proposed for this property two miles east of Manatee Countys future development line, across State Road 62 from FPLs Parrish Power Plant.

As proposed, Gamble Creek Village would eventually have about 7,200 homes and as many as 13,500 residents.

 7. Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, developer of Lakewood Ranch, is the seventh largest property owner in Manatee County with 4,793 acres. SMR has several entities listed on the property appraisers webpage that we added to get this total: SMR Taylor Ranch LLC with 2,367 acres, Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District with 1,384 acres and Schroeder-Manatee Ranch with 1,042 acres.

 8. Jones Potato Farm Inc., recognized nationally and statewide for progressive resource management, grows potatoes, green beans and other produce on 4,651 acres. The company is also seeking to to move into the development sphere with plans for 1,833 homes and 300,000 square feet of nonresidential space on 635 acres.

Blackbeards Ranch LLC ranks ninth among Manatee County property owners with 4,468 acres.

 9. Blackbeards Ranch LLC ranks ninth among Manatee County property owners with 4,468 acres. Michael Galinski, founder and owner of St. Petersburg-based multinational America II Inc., paid $13 million in 2014 for the property, located in the Clay Gully, Sugarbowl and Coker Gully Road area.

In 2018, the U.S. government paid about $4 million for a conservation easement for 1,481.6 acres there. The easement allows the federal government to restore the property to protect area waterways and provide a buffer to Myakka River State Park.

 10. WFA Land Co, Inc. has 3,787 acres, primarily in Duette and Myakka City. The company is headquartered in Immokalee.

Not making the top 10, but making news recently were Ag-Mart Produce Inc. with 2,254 acres, Detwiler Farms LLC with 1,939 acres and East River Ranch 1400 LLC with 1,367.40 acres.

Ag Mart

Ag Mart Produce notified state officials in July that it will be conducting a mass layoff of employees at its Plant City office/warehouse and at its farms in Myakka City and Duette, citing its inability to compete with submarket pricing of imported produce.

The company grows grape tomatoes under the brand name Santa Sweets. About 120 workers are affected, Ag Mart Produce said in a letter to the Florida Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Detwilers Farm Market

The Detwilers Farm Market family signed a lease for 50,000 square feet of anchor space in Marketplace West in the 3500 block of 53rd Avenue West, earlier this year.

The Marketplace West will be renamed Detwilers Marketplace. The planned store will be Detwilers second in Manatee County and the sixth overall, ranging from Palmetto in the north to Venice in the south.

East River Ranch

East River Ranch is planned for 5,378 homes, a charter school and a fire station just south of State Road 64 and west of County Road 675.

Portions of East River Ranch, being developed by Carlos Beruff, border County Road 675.

Methodology

The landowners mentioned in this story were taken from the Manatee County Property Appraisers webpage. The land-owning entities are not always consolidated by owner.

In several instances, the Bradenton Herald tallied the holdings when it appeared two or more listings in the top 50 had the same owner. For example: Team Pentecost had holdings of 5,264 acres and 1,508 that we added to arrive at a total of 6,772 acres.

The property appraiser offers this caveat: This information was compiled using exact owner name matches. The owner names in our database were transcribed from property deeds recorded with the Clerk of Circuit Court. The spelling of an owners name may differ slightly from deed to deed. In addition to typographical errors, a middle initial may have been recorded on one deed and not on another. The probability of this occurring increases with companies as punctuation marks (dashes, commas, etc.) and/or subsidiary names are sometimes used.
Archer's Midnight eVTOL. Courtesy of Archer

Wisk Aero accused Archer Aviation of stealing trade secrets in a 2021 lawsuit.

The companies announced Thursday they've reached a settlement and will work together.

Archer will also use Wisk's autonomous flying technology, and received an investment from Boeing.

Wisk Aero and Archer Aviation, two of the most prominent eVTOL companies, announced Thursday that they've agreed to work together after settling a legal dispute.

Both companies are working on electric aircraft which can takeoff and land vertically, but also have wings so they fly more like planes than helicopters. They're commonly known as flying taxis, because they're designed for smaller distances.

United Airlines has already ordered $1 billion worth of Archer's Midnight eVTOL, while Wisk is owned by Boeing, which has invested $450 million.

As part of the companies' collaboration, Boeing has now also agreed to invest an undisclosed amount into Archer, as part of a $215 million funding round.

And Wisk will now be Archer's exclusive provider of autonomous-flying technology.

"This strategic relationship will leverage each company's respective strengths and competencies with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of autonomous flight," Archer said in a press release.

Archer added that the collaboration could potentially save it hundreds of millions of dollars.

Wisk's eVTOL. Wisk Aero

Wisk and Archer had been locked in a legal dispute since 2021, after the former accused the latter of stealing trade secrets.

In court documents reviewed by Insider, Wisk accused its rival of "a brazen theft of its intellectual property and confidential information."

After Archer hired ten Wisk engineers, it produced an aircraft with "a striking resemblance" to a Wisk patent, the lawsuit alleges.

Then Wisk hired an analyst for a forensic investigation which found two of those engineers downloaded thousands of files shortly before leaving for Archer, according to the lawsuit.

But now, two years later, an undisclosed settlement has been reached while the two companies will quash the hostility and work together.

Archer also announced Thursday that the Federal Administration Aviation has given approval for its Midnight aircraft to begin flight tests.

It's aiming for FAA certification and commercial operations in 2025.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A part of Eagle Road will be closed next week because of construction, city spokesperson Dana Biberston said Friday.

Eagle Road will be closed between Aikens and State streets for one week, starting on Monday, Aug. 14, through Aug. 21, according to a news release from the city. City officials have asked northbound drivers to take Plaza Drive to Second Street and then back onto State Street as an alternative route through the intersection.

Eagle Road will be closed between Aikens and State streets next week because of construction. Drivers are asked to alternative routes. City of Eagle/Provided

The closure might also affect commuters to Eagle Elementary and Eagle Hills Elementary schools because the school year begins on Thursday, Aug. 17, the release said. Anyone who is traveling to the elementary schools from south of Idaho 44 will need to use the alternative route.

The city in the release reminded drivers to allow for extra time because of the delay along with the increase in morning and afternoon traffic with the start of the school year.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your patience and cooperation during this Eagle Road closure, the release said.
Wildfires in the Salinas River riverbed have dropped by nearly 50% thanks to a comprehensive fire suppression strategy that includes using hundreds of goats and sheep to clear brush, according to Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services.

From January to August, the agency reported 20 fires in the Salinas riverbed, compared to 44 fires during the same time frame in 2022.

Thats a 46% decrease year-over-year, Paso Robles Fire Battalion Chief Jay Enns said.

In recent years, Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services has worked to significantly reduce the dense, dry vegetation and brush that transformed the riverbed into a potential tinderbox after years of drought.

The agency was authorized under a 2019 emergency order to remove about 86 acres of vegetation along the riverbed.

After the 15-acre River Fire destroyed two homes in a Paso Robles neighborhood near the riverbed in 2020, it became clear that more drastic fire suppression measures were necessary, Enns said.

Thick brush along the Salinas Riverbed in Paso Robles posed fire risk before a fire reduction strategy involving goats and sheep was implemented in spring 2022.

We recognized the importance of it for Paso Robles, for our community, so we stuck with it so we could get it in place to have a long-term plan, Enns said.

Because that meant significantly altering the landscape, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other regulatory agencies had to approve the plan before fire suppression efforts could begin in earnest, Enns said.

It makes it difficult, Enns said of the regulatory hurdles. You cant just go in there and do what you want to do. You have to do it in such a way that its responsible but still balancing the risk to the community.

A goat munches on thistle seed heads, a prized delicacy and one of the first things eaten, during work to clear the Salinas Riverbed in Paso Robles. Hundreds of goats clear fenced-in sections one at a time to reduce fire danger.

Goats, sheep graze in Salinas River riverbed

First Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services established fire breaks along the east and west side of the Salinas River riverbed, Enns said.

In 2021, Paso Robles firefighters thinned dead and downed vegetation and removed tree limbs using equipment such as chain saws, he said, but greater efforts were needed to eliminate the dry annual grasses that fuel wildfires.

State Fish and Wildlife approved Paso Robles fire suppression strategy, known as a lake and streambed alteration agreement, giving local firefighters the green light to clear vegetation along 430 acres of the Salinas riverbed.

The agreement permits goats and sheep to graze on the vegetation along 100 acres of the Salinas riverbed each year.

A goat jumps down from a perch on a tree. Goats clear one section at a time of the Salinas Riverbed in Paso Robles, reducing fire danger.

However, the livestock arent simply allowed to roam loose in the riverbed, Enns said.

The livestock, which are provided through a contract with San Luis Obispo company The Goat Girls, are corralled in pens of about 2 to 3 acres built using temporary electrical fencing to maximize the grazing in a particular area.

The herd is constantly being rotated.

Enns estimates that about 750 goats and sheep were deployed to the riverbed during the most recent spring grazing season.

Its just a way of managing the grazing: Doing it in smaller sections and moving them more often gives the best control over how they graze and minimizes some of the impacts of grazing, The Goat Girls owner Beth Reynolds told The Tribune in 2022. We move them every 12 to 24 hours. With that kind of regimen theyre grazing and theyre also trampling. If we do a really big area, then its not as uniform and they dont knock down as much.

A goat munches on thistle seed heads, a prized delicacy and one of the first things eaten, during work to clear the Salinas Riverbed in Paso Robles in May 2022. Hundreds of goats clear fenced-in sections one at a time to reduce fire danger.

The areas grazed by the goats and sheep established fuel breaks to slow the spread of fire along the Salinas riverbed, Enns explained.

We leave the middle of the river corridor untouched and then we clean up the established fire breaks, Enns said.

As a result, he said, We have a good safe space to engage the fire.

The fire intensity really drops and makes it more manageable, he said.

According to Enns, the 20 fires that broke out in the riverbed so far this year were suppressed quickly and safely.

The thick vegetation that blanketed the area surrounding the Salinas Riverbed in Paso Robles is depleted after goats, sheep grazed on the wildfire fuel.

What about homeless encampments?

Another fire suppression effort involves outreach to unhoused community members, Enns said, noting that the Salinas riverbed is a popular area for unpermitted encampments.

The Paso Robles Police Departments Community Action Team visits the Salinas river daily to educate homeless campers about the dangers of starting fires in the riverbed and to clean up any trash and debris left behind, he said.

Not having large accumulations of trash has contributed to a reduction in the number of fires as well, Enns said.
United Airlines flight 1722 came within seconds of a major disaster on December 18. Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

In December, a flight from Maui, Hawaii, came within 748 feet of plunging into the Pacific Ocean.

On Thursday, The National Transportation Safety Board released a detailed report about the incident.

An aviation expert told Insider that the aircraft's ground-proximity-warning system saved lives.

An aviation expert said passengers on a United Airlines flight from Maui, Hawaii, to San Francisco that plunged within 748 feet of the Pacific Ocean were saved by technology after a series of crew mishaps.

On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board released a final report on how United flight 1722 came within seconds of a major disaster on December 18.

The NTSB interviewed witnesses on the plane, including the captain and the copilot. The aircraft, which was flying in heavy rain and wind during takeoff, had its flaps set to the wrong angle because the copilot misheard the captain, according to the report.

But the plane's ground-proximity-warning system kicked in as the aircraft started rapidly descending toward the Pacific Ocean, giving the pilots time to react before it was too late.

"It alerted the pilots that they were getting near the ocean  it got the pilots out of a pretty close call," Anthony Brickhouse, a former investigator with the NTSB who is an associate professor in applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told Insider. "They came within 748 feet from disaster."

As the system alerted the pilots, the copilot told the pilot to "pull up, pull up," which averted the crisis and allowed the plane to stabilize, according to the NTSB's report.

Investigators with the NTSB also said they were alerted about the safety incident two months after it occurred, but NTSB says the event did not require immediate notification because of the nature of the incident.

United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airline told Insider in February that the event was reported as the crew landed in San Francisco and that the pilots  who had a combined 25,000 hours of flight time  received additional training.

Passengers aboard the flight previously told CNN that the rapid descent felt like a "roller coaster" and that many people were saying final prayers during the sharp descent, which lasted 8 to 10 seconds.

Brickhouse told Insider that the lag in reporting the incident was another cause for concern. But he said other issues, like data retention, were tied to the slow reporting.

"The recorders had been written over by that point in time," Brickhouse told Insider.

"It's concerning as a safety professional and investigator that two months went by before the accident investigation board of the country found out about it," he added.

Brickhouse said the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration's push for more cockpit recording would be a safe step forward because technological reinforcements could help avert and investigate other flight disasters.

"Fortunately, overall, the technology worked, and ground-proximity-warning systems saved the day," Brickhouse told Insider.

Read the original article on Insider
DES MOINES  Mike Pence worried about how he looked, squinting at a Fox News camera leveled at him in the midday sun.

This is not good, Pence said last week, during a warm-up in Indiana for the Iowa State Fair. "My eyes look really dark." In a flash of uncharacteristic sternness, he pleaded with the cameraman, You with me?

It was the question beating beneath the surface of his entire campaign. Are donors with him? Are Trump-skeptical Republicans with him? Does he have any real shot at winning his partys nomination after his actions on Jan. 6 to certify the 2020 election?

In a donor call later that day, Pences campaign manager, Steve DeMaura, would acknowledge the question that the media seems to be obsessed with, which is: Will the vice president make the debate?

A week later, now at the Iowa State Fair, the picture around Pence has improved. The maw of reporters at his press events has grown. He has racked up the 40,000 donors needed to qualify for the first debate, including 7,400 the day after the indictment, and seems a virtual lock for the second one as well. His campaign noted that he qualified in nine weeks, faster than Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy at 21 weeks, and Tim Scott at 13 weeks.

But he also is still registering in single digits in the polls, punished by rank-and-file Republicans for his refusal to overturn the results of the 2020 election. And as he arrived at the fair here Friday, his presidential campaign these days can feel like it's engineered as much for his place in history as the Iowa caucuses.

After being left for political dead, Pence is leaning into his actions on Jan. 6 and promises to be relevant long past Iowa  win or lose  as the government's star witness in special prosecutor Jack Smith's case against former President Donald Trump. Trump is for the first time attacking Pence, and recruiting surrogates to do the same.

In a fire-side chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday, Pence brought up his own role on Jan. 6 without prompting, then, walking to the Iowa Pork Tent at the state fair, said he welcomed questions about that day.

Over the last two and half years, President Trump has continued to tell the American people things that just arent so, Pence told POLITICO. I had no right to overturn the election. I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. And Ill continue to.

Mike Murphy, a former Republican member of the Indiana House of Representatives and a longtime friend of Pence, said, Hes kind of like, act on my principles and the future will take care of itself.

There were signs here this week that the controversy surrounding Jan. 6 may not be as debilitating for Pence as advertised. He drew a sizable crowd at the Des Moines Register Soap Box on Thursday, and the two toughest questions he received  Why did you commit treason on Jan. 6? and Hows life going since Tucker Carlson ruined your career?  were asked by a Democrat and a Kari Lake staffer, respectively.

As he made his way to the pork tent the following day, at least a half dozen fair goers thanked Pence for standing up to Trump.

I appreciate what you did, a man in a cutoff T-shirt, shorts and hiking boots told him.

You gotta beat the other guy, Troy Hazelbaker, a 54-year-old landlord and Trump voter from Pleasant Hill, told Pence of Trump.

Keep smiling, a man somewhat inexplicably handing out packaged toothbrushes told Pence.

And before the first debate, Pence is receiving the most intense media interest yet in his still-young candidacy.



Were coming up to the end of the summer, and all things Pence are coming together at the right time, said Scott Reed, the co-chair of the Pence-allied Committed to America super PAC. Trump is in another legal spotlight and those clouds are only going to darken. DeSantis is really struggling. Hes not meeting any expectations at any level. And Biden continues to not be ready for another four-year term. The contrasts with Pence are clear.

Still, at times the Pence campaign has brought with it an element of dramatic irony. One elected official who has endorsed Pence, granted anonymity to assess the campaign candidly, confessed they dont know whether hell catch on.

What else can he do? Hes in a corner on it, said David Kochel, the veteran Iowa Republican strategist. Hes gotta lean on it. Its true. He will have to testify in the trial. Why avoid it? There is still a percentage of the Republican Party that is very much anti-Trump. The people that are really pro-Trump are not going to be for Mike Pence under any circumstances. You might as well own your role in the whole thing.

Pences camp is looking forward to the debate, where Pence is relishing the opportunity to deploy the skills he honed as part of high school National Forensic League speaking tournaments all the way to a vice presidential debate with Kamala Harris.

I think if theyre being realistic, the goal is the debate where he has traditionally done really well and hope that provides him a platform where people see leadership and navigate conservative politics, a Pence confidant, granted anonymity to frankly assess his campaign, told POLITICO.

Last year, a Pence ally speculated to POLITICO that Pence has to decide whether he wants to be a Jim-Baker-like statesman that can just always be principled and speak the truth for the rest of his life, with no calculation of political cost, the person said, granted anonymity to assess Pences campaign. Or do you want to get the nomination?

In Iowa, Pence was hoping he could do both. The world was his oyster  or pork burger, at least.

This is my strike zone, he told reporters.
DES MOINES  Former Vice President Mike Pence told The Hill in a brief interview Friday that hes ready to take on former President Trump when the first GOP presidential debate takes place this month in Milwaukee.

I think Ive been preparing for this debate my whole life, Pence told The Hill. I spent a lifetime in the Republican Party and in the conservative movement  I think Im going to be the most consistent and experienced conservative on that stage.

It is unclear if Pence will be sharing the stage with his former boss, who has yet to say whether hell take part in the first debate. Trump is far and away the front-runner for the partys presidential nomination despite a growing list of legal problems.

Pence, an experienced debater, betrayed no worry about the unusual situation.

My objective is going to be really twofold: Number one  I want the American people to hear my vision for the future of the country. And number two, I want them to hear the choice that theyre facing among the various candidates, including my former running mate, because I think Im the one voice that wants to keep our party grounded on that broad base conservative agenda thats always carried us to victory over the last 50 years and will carry us there again, he said.

Pence argued that he was the most consistent, proven conservative that would be taking the debate stage Aug. 23, claiming the other candidates were shying away from core Republican beliefs.

Its a commitment to a strong national defense, American leadership in the world, fiscal responsibility and growth, traditional values and the right to life, Pence told The Hill.

I see my former running mate and other leading candidates in this field that are shying away from those long-standing Republican beliefs, and Im going to make sure that people that are watching back home understand that were the most consistent, proven conservative on that stage and I cant wait to get there, he added.

Pences remarks come amid a daylong visit to the Iowa State Fair, where he participated in a chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) earlier in the day and took to the political soapbox on Friday.

Pence largely avoided criticizing the former president in his speech, instead focusing on more bread-and-butter GOP issues. But Pence sought to make a more clear contrast against himself and the other candidates during his brief interview.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The United States Department of Defene has assessed the tactics of the ongoing offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, pointing out outstanding results in a less-than-ideal situation.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, Pentagon spokesman

Details: Answering whether it was realistic to expect that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be able to master the style of manoeuvre warfare in a short period of the exercises, the General said that he was not going to "stand on the podium and guess the actions of the commander of the Ukrainian army on the front line."

"Let's take a step back and admit that this is not an ideal situation. No one in their right mind would ever want Russia to invade Ukraine, but it did happen," Ryder added.

He says, "The Ukrainians, despite everything, were able to push the Russians back to defensive positions, which is a miracle, given the state of the Ukrainian army at the time of the Russian invasion."

"And you've seen a flood of support from all over the world to give them incredible and significant combat capabilities and training. Therefore, with all this in mind, I think it is important to look at it in perspective, in terms of the opportunities that they were able to develop and implement in a very short period," Ryder said.

"So (these are) outstanding results in a less-than-ideal situation. In the future, we will continue to consult with them and provide them with training so that they can regain their sovereign territory and eventually win this struggle," the General concluded.

Background:

The United States Department of Defence records the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the counteroffensive but predicts that it will be a challenging and long fight.

Due to CNNs data, based on the current situation on the battlefield, Western officials are beginning to believe a great success of the Defence Forces of Ukraine which would seriously change the situation, is unlikely.

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 U.S. Department of Defense has assessed that Ukraine is using cluster munitions "properly" on the battlefield, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a briefing on Aug. 10.

"We have all indications that they're employing those weapons properly on the battlefield, as they indicated they would," Ryder said.

Read also: Ukraine submits report on use of cluster munitions to Pentagon, says CNN

Cluster munitions are what allowed the Ukrainians to continue to take the fight to the enemy right now, he said.

He also said that Washington had enabled the production of 155mm ammunition to increase rapidly from 14,000 per month in February 2022 to about 24,000 per month.

Read also: Ukrainian Army welcomes transfer of US cluster bombs to Ukraine - senior officer

Moreover, Ryder announced plans to produce more than 80,000 rounds per month in 2024.

He added that the Pentagon would continue to work closely to provide Ukraine with "what's necessary to continue the fight and to take back sovereign territory."

Earlier, CNN reported, citing a Ukrainian official, that Ukraine had provided the Pentagon with a report on the use of cluster munitions provided by the United States.

Provision of cluster munitions for Ukraine - What is known

On July 7, the United States handed over a new military aid package for Ukraine, which included DPICM munitions, or cluster munitions.

Later, U.S. President Joe Biden explained that he agreed to send cluster munitions because the Ukrainian army was short of shells.

However, the provision of such ammunition to Ukraine provoked a range of reactions around the world.

Read also: Putin issues new batch of threats and lies in response to Ukraines receipt of cluster munitions

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the supply of such weapons would help compensate for the Ukrainian army's ammunition shortage.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not influence the decisions of individual countries to supply such shells, while the United Kingdom and Spain indicated that they disapproved.

Russia claimed that the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine "will not change anything," while Cambodia called for the non-use of these munitions because of the risks to civilians.

On July 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would use cluster munitions only for military purposes in the Russian-occupied parts of the country.

On July 13, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops, said that Ukraine had already received cluster munitions from the United States but had not yet used them. He argued that such ammunition could radically change the situation on the battlefield. The same day, the Pentagon confirmed the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Read also: US plans to triple artillery shell production, Pentagon confirms

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense noted that they would use cluster munitions only in places where Russian troops are concentrated, outside of cities, to avoid risks to civilians.

On July 20, Kirby said that Ukrainian troops had begun using cluster munitions provided by the United States.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The U.S. plans to increase the production of 155 mm shells, bringing it to 80,000 per month next year, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said on Aug. 10.

The statement comes amid Ukraine's growing need for NATO-standard ammunition, which is used with West-provided artillery.

According to Ryder, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with over two million 155 mm ammunition rounds since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Since February 2022, Washington has stepped up the production of 155 mm projectiles from 14,000 to around 24,000 per month, the official told a press conference.

Ryder added that U.S.-supplied cluster munitions have already proved helpful on Ukraine's front lines. "We have all indications that they (Ukrainian forces) are employing those weapons properly on the battlefield, as they indicated they would."

On June 7, Ukraine's state-owned military enterprise Ukroboronprom announced plans to begin its own production of the 155 mm artillery shells.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in March that Ukraine was firing an average of 110,000 155mm-caliber shells a month  a quarter of the amount used by Russia.

Read also: Biden asks Congress for $24 billion for Ukraine aid, related needs

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
When President Joe Biden came to this must-win US House district in New York just a few months ago, he did something that privately enraged members of his own party.

He praised one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country.

Mike is the kind of guy that when I was in the Congress, the kind of Republican I used to deal with, Biden said of freshman Rep. Mike Lawler, speaking in Valhalla, New York. But hes not one of these MAGA Republicans.

Democrats were aghast.

People were horrified when they heard what Joe Biden had to say, former Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Democrat looking to unseat Lawler, told CNN, calling Bidens comments factually absurd and attacking his GOP rival for a record of extremism.

Asked if she agreed with Biden, Democratic candidate Liz Gereghty said that Lawler would like to appear that hes not (MAGA) because he knows that doesnt work here. But I would look at his voting record, and I would say, theres evidence.

Bidens comments  and the reaction from Democrats here  underscore the significance of the New York suburbs in the furious battle for control of the US House of Representatives. Six freshman Republicans  who are among the 18 GOP lawmakers in districts that Biden carried in 2020  pulled off victories last cycle, handing Kevin McCarthy the speakers gavel and cementing Republican control of the chamber by the slimmest of margins.

Now, those same six freshmen New York Republicans are among the most endangered in the country with both parties prepared to spend huge sums of money as GOP lawmakers seek to hang onto their seats in Democratic battlegrounds. And Lawler is at the top of the list.

I dont look at it as a vulnerability. Ive won twice in two-to-one Democratic districts, said Lawler, 36, referring to his win in the House race and prior bid for the New York state assembly. I did it by appealing to voters regardless of their party, talking about the issues that matter.

Lawler didnt hold back, attacking Jones and accusing him of shifting his positions to appear moderate after espousing a more liberal record when representing a bluer New York district from 2021-2023.

Youre not a pragmatist, he said of Jones, who just won the official backing of the House progressive caucus after racking up a liberal voting record in Congress. Youre not somebody whos willing to work in a bipartisan way. Youre a political hack.

Democrats believe this cycle is different than the 2022 midterms  with the prospects of former President Donald Trump atop the GOP ticket, the potential that the New York district lines could be redrawn to become more Democratic and the challenges of running in a swing district while serving in a chamber dominated by conservative hardliners.

Indeed, in the first eight months of the new Congress, McCarthy has at times found himself catering to the demands of the far-right of his conference, putting swing-district Republicans in a difficult spot  as they were during debate over a major defense bill amended to include a host of hot-button social issues, including abortion. And as McCarthy now is under growing pressure to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden, hell have to rely on his blue-district Republicans to vote to advance such proceedings.

Lawler told CNN repeatedly hes not ready to support an impeachment inquiry into Biden, even as he contended there was damaging and disturbing facts by the GOP probe into the presidents son Hunter Biden. Republicans are trying to tie Hunter Bidens foreign business dealings to his fathers actions as vice president, but so far they havent proven that the president took official action to benefit his son.

I think for me with respect to impeachment, were not there yet, he told CNN.

Asked if Republicans should drop the matter if they cant tie Hunter Bidens foreign payments directly to the presidents actions, Lawler said: If theres nothing tying him to it, then thats a separate issue.

Some voters here in the district are leery about seeing the House go down the impeachment route.

Walter Sevastian, a Nyack native and voter here, said he appreciates that Lawler wants to approach the job in a bipartisan fashion, but so far, he would give him a C+ on his performance.

On the one hand, its very easy to say you want to reach out and work across the aisle, on the other hand, how you vote is how you vote, Sevastian said.

The Trump factor

Lawler is confident he can win more votes than Trump if the former president is the GOP nominee, pointing to the fact that he won about 5% more of the vote than Trump did in the district in 2020. But Joe Biden carried New Yorks 17th Congressional District by 10 points in 2020, underscoring the challenge ahead for the freshman Republican.

Mike Lawler cannot run away from Donald Trump, said Jones, 36. And this is a district that hates Donald Trump.

Democrats believe that Trumps criminal indictments  and the House Republicans handling of them  will give them fresh ammunition in districts like this one. And Jones doesnt shy away from his view about the litany of charges facing Trump.

I think Trump deserves to be in prison, Jones said, adding that its up to juries to make a final decision. I think that anyone else having done a fraction of the things that Donald Trump has done over the course of his presidency, and in the days and weeks and months following would have been put in prison a long time ago.

Lawler said the former president is going to have his day in court even as he said the party needs to go in a different direction in 2024.

When asked if hed back Trump as the nominee, Lawler didnt answer directly.

At the end of the day, the Republican primary voters are going to choose who the nominee is, just as the Democrats are going to choose who their nominee is, Lawler said before seeking to rebut Trumps false stolen election claims.

It cant be focused on perceived grievances or the 2020 election. As I said, many times Donald Trump lost in 2020, Lawler said, adding that Trumps conduct was wrong after that election.

But Lawler also was in line with many in his party as he argued that people feel there are two forms of justice  one for Donald Trump and one for others, including Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden.

Lawler, however, drew a line.

If hes convicted, he should not be running for public office  period, he said of the former president.

Then-Rep. Mondaire Jones speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on September 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. - Jemal Countess/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million

Bitter Democratic primary

Republicans believe theyll be able to hang onto this seat in part because of Jones progressive politics and the Democratic primary fight between Jones, former Bedford councilwoman and supervisor MaryAnn Carr and Gereghty, a local school board member whose sister is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Indeed, Lawler repeatedly criticized Jones for being outside of the mainstream and aligning himself with the most progressive members of his party, pointing to comments he made while running for a different district of New York including Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In 2020, for instance, Jones faced backlash after saying: We need to end mass incarceration and legalize cannabis and defund the police.

On Wednesday, Jones told CNN of his defund comment: In retrospect, (it was a) poor choices of words, saying he was trying to convey support for directing funding toward first responders.

Gereghty said Jones position on that issue and a handful of others would haunt him in a general election.

Hes taken positions that I think are going to cause him problems in a general election, Gereghty said. There are positions that he had to take in the 10th District that dont really work in the 17th. And I think that its going to be difficult for him to answer.

Jones is seeking to recalibrate his positions and embracing the term as pragmatist over progressive in this race  something Lawler has scoffed at.

Folks here know me to be pragmatic, Jones said. Yes, I believe everyone should have health care in the richest nation in the history of the world. Ive also been consistent in my support for Israel. Ive been consistent in voting for record levels of police funding.

Jones was an on-air CNN political commentator for several months earlier this year before leaving the network.

Both Jones and Gereghty have so far been careful not to harshly criticize the president, though neither called Biden the best candidate for their party heading into 2024.

Asked if Biden was the best candidate, Jones said: I am focused on continuing the work that Democrats in Congress last term, calling Biden a very accomplished president. Asked again, Jones said that he is proud that Biden will be on the same ticket and that I will be running against Mike Lawler as he runs against Donald Trump.

I think hes an excellent candidate, and I support him, Gereghty said when asked if hes the best candidate for Democrats.

Difficult votes in Congress

At times, the House GOP has put Lawler and swing-district Republicans in a difficult position, demanding deeper spending cuts than many in their party want and injecting cultural issues into the traditionally bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act. Democrats in the race are spotlighting Lawlers vote to rescind a Pentagon policy providing reimbursements for military personnel traveling out of state for abortion services.

Hes totally fine with women in the military fighting for his freedom, but he wont even protect their rights, Gereghty said. Thats appalling. And I think this district understands that and doesnt accept it.

Lawler defended the vote as a very specific thing that related to using taxpayer funds to pay for travel related to abortion services and insisted he would not support a federal ban on abortion. When you look at people like Mondaire Jones, theyre the extremists on abortion, Lawler said.

Both sides are trying to tie the other to the most extreme elements of their parties. Indeed, Democrats are touting a ProPublica study showing that Lawler votes the same as the hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene roughly 81% of the time. Lawler pushed back, and pointed out that Jones voted with liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 97% of the time, calling him a radical progressive.

I have the second lowest agreement record with Marjorie Taylor Greene in my conference, Lawler said, noting: Ive already disagreed with her nearly 20% of the time.

Its all an effort to convince swing voters like Sevastian who are torn about their choices.

No one has won my vote yet, he said.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission on Wainee Street in Lahaina are engulfed in flames Tuesday. (Matthew Thayer / Associated Press)

Drought. Howling winds. Plummeting humidity. Tinder-dry grass. A historic city of exposed wood structures in a thirsty rain shadow.

To a Californian, many of the factors that appear to have coalesced into a catastrophic fire that killed at least 36 people on Hawaii's Maui island are all too familiar. Yet for a tropical region that traditionally sees only mild wildfire activity, the chance interaction of terrain, weather, building development, vegetation and the growing force multiplier of climate change have seemingly rewritten natural history.

Researchers note that although any one of these factors would typically lead to increased fire risk, all of them together created a tinderbox that was primed to explode. All they needed was a spark.

Read more: Photos: Maui devastated by deadly wildfire

The exact cause of ignition remains under investigation, but what is known is that roughly 80% of Hawaii is under abnormally dry conditions, with more than 14% in a moderate drought and nearly 3% in a severe drought, according to recent data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Areas in "severe drought" include Maui's leeward side  where the now burned town of Lahaina is  while the windward side is considered "abnormally dry."

"A lack of humidity and a lack of moisture is what you need in order to get a place like Hawaii to experience drought conditions," said Samantha Stevenson, associate professor at the Bren School of Environmental Sciences & Management at UC Santa Barbara.

Maui's terrain and prevailing wind patterns also had a powerful effect on the fire's movement.

Although winds generally blow west to east along California's coast, the opposite happens in Hawaii. On islands such as Maui, where a volcanic spine runs down the middle of the island, the eastern flanks are generally moist and lush  while the western slopes are in a rain shadow and typically drier.

(Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)

That means that the ecosystems on western slopes are often brushy scrubland more than lush forests, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. And so the fires that were seeing are on the dry side  on the leeward side of the islands  where there is a lot of dry brush this time of year.  Also, it is unusually dry and warm, even for the dry season, right now.

But its the wind that turned the blaze into a firestorm, he said.

On Monday morning, winds from a passing Category 4 hurricane  300 miles to the south of Maui  and a high-pressure system to the north, collided to generate gusts of up to 80 mph along the dry slopes of the island.

Hurricane Dora wasn't close enough to deliver meaningful precipitation, but it helped amplify downslope winds that dried the air mass  not unlike what happens during a Santa Ana windstorm or sundowner event in California, Swain said.

Read more: 'A scar on the face of Maui': Lahaina is gutted; fatalities expected to multiply

And although no scientist is likely to point to any one storm and suggest climate change is responsible for its generation, there's been a steady uptick in the number of cyclones passing through the Central Pacific over the last 40 years, said Hiroyuki Murakami, a project scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

His work shows climate change is having an overall effect on both the frequency and intensity of cyclones across the globe.

Murakami said cool waters around the Hawaiian Islands had historically dissipated incoming cyclones  providing a natural barrier against these devastating storms. But warmer ocean waters caused by climate change and a burgeoning El Nino probably helped fuel the 4,300-mile trek that took Hurricane Dora from the waters off Mexico to the Central Pacific.

"That is an exceptionally lengthy trip for a Pacific cyclone," Murakami said.

Read more: Shocking before-and-after images show utter devastation of Maui wildfire

In addition to the winds and drought-like conditions, the humidity that morning was also exceptionally low  below 45%, said Ian Morrison, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

Indeed, although drought and wind can individually make fires more likely to ignite and spread quickly, "if you have them both together, it's even worse," said James Urban, an assistant professor in the department of fire protection engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

When a blaze spreads from drought-dried vegetation into communities, it can become a different beast altogether.

Once a fire gets ahold of homes and structures, it can jump quickly from house to house, Urban said  particularly when strong winds send firebrands and embers aloft. He noted that some material inside homes such as furniture, clothes and insulation can also be highly flammable.

"If it started as a wildfire and then spread into the community, that transition could rapidly change the dynamics of the fire, and would be indicative of a pretty high-intensity wildfire," Urban said.

Read more: Fires, floods, heatwaves. Is the extreme weather from coast to coast 'a new abnormal'?

Abby Frazier, an assistant professor of geography at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., who earned postgraduate degrees at the University of Hawaii and has conducted research in the state, described a perfect storm of hurricane-fueled winds and dry conditions that contributed to the deadly blaze.

Land-use changes and the presence of non-native grasses also played a role in the conflagration. Maui does experience regular wildfires, and invasive grasses often sprout in their wake, Frazier said.

If those arent managed very well, then we have a situation where you have lots of land area thats primed to burn, unfortunately," she said.

She also noted that Hawaii has a legacy of plantation agriculture, where land was managed for sugarcane, pineapple and other crops. But recent declines in farming have left many areas unmanaged and overgrown  brimming with even more invasive grasses and other flammable vegetation.

Improved forest management practices such as prescribed burns and fuel breaks could help mitigate some fire activity.

But, like Murakami, Frazier said that although it's tempting to ascribe the current inferno to the worst effects of global warming, she cautioned that it is difficult to isolate the fingerprint of climate change on this particular event.

Weve seen century-long trends in drought across Hawaii  that droughts have been getting more severe and lasting longer, but its really difficult to actually put a climate change signal on that," she said.

"Im sure [climate change] is there in some level with the higher temperatures, but in terms of the precipitation variability and the land use, I think those are bigger factors in this particular fire.

Frazier, who departed from Oahu shortly after the blaze ignited, said it has been terrible to witness the damage and rising death toll from afar.

I really hope that people are OK, she said. Im terrified to see the final aftermath and what things look like. Its such a beautiful part of the state, and its absolutely devastating to see it like this."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Women have been protesting in Ghana and other countries for change

Women on the minimum wage in Ghana have to spend one in every seven dollars they earn on sanitary pads, research by the BBC has found.

The BBC surveyed nine countries around Africa to see how affordable period products are. We compared the minimum wage to the local cost of the cheapest sanitary pads and found they were beyond the reach of many women.

While Ghana was the country with the least affordable menstrual products of those we surveyed, women across Africa are struggling with "period poverty" - something activists are trying to change.

Short presentational grey line

Joyce, a 22-year-old Ghanaian, cannot afford to buy what she needs when she's on her period.

"The only person available to help wants sex before he gives me the money. I have to do it because I need pads for the month," she tells the BBC.

In six of the countries studied by the BBC, women on the minimum wage have to spend between 3-13% of their salary to buy two packets of sanitary towels containing eight pads - what many women will need each month.

As an assistant in a grocery store, Joyce lives with a family friend and survives on tips. Previously, she could afford to meet the cost of sanitary pads when it cost 4.88 Ghanaian cedis (45 US cents; 35 UK pence) per pack.

However, after the government increased taxes on sanitary products, a packet of pads now costs 20 cedis, pushing them out of her reach.

The price rises caused women to protest outside Ghana's parliament in June 2023.

People protested in June in Ghana about period tax

Joyce resorted to using toilet paper as makeshift pads, but when that proved unsustainable, she says she felt out of options and gave in to sexual demands in return for cash for pads. But Joyce's struggle is just one among many.

The BBC used the minimum statutory wage in each of the nine countries studied, and the lowest priced pads available locally to calculate its findings.

Ghana was found to have the most expensive products relative to monthly income.

A graph showing the affordability of period products in different countries

According to our research, a woman in Ghana earning a minimum wage of $26 a month would have to spend $3, or one in every $7 they make to buy two packets of sanitary towels containing eight pads.

That means for every 80 cedis they earn, they have to spend 11 cedis on pads alone.

By way of comparison, women in the US or UK would spend considerably less. For example, in the US minimum wage earners would spend $3 out of $1,200.

Francisca Sarpong Owusu, a researcher at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in Ghana, says many vulnerable girls and women are using cloth rags which they line with plastic sheets, cement paper bags and dried plantain stems when menstruating because they cannot afford disposable sanitary towels.

And the problem reaches far beyond Ghana. The impact globally is astounding.

According to the World Bank, 500 million women worldwide have no access to menstrual products.

They also lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management like clean water and toilets.

What's tax got to do with it

Many menstrual health activists say removing "tampon taxes" is one way to help women inch closer to accessing and affording sanitary products.

Tampon tax refers to the different types of taxes imposed on feminine hygiene products, including period products such as pads, menstrual cups and may include sales tax, VAT and others.

Campaigners further say governments still look at feminine products as luxury items, rather than consumer goods or basic necessities, meaning the tax imposed on them is akin to a "luxury tax", imposed on items considered non-essential, which only wealthy people will buy. These taxes are usually higher than on basic goods.

In 2004, Kenya became the first country in the world to remove tax on period products. In 2016 it went further to remove tax on raw materials used to manufacture sanitary pads.

Consequently the price of pads in Kenya has fallen, with the cheapest period products in 2023 retailing for 50 Kenya shillings (35 US cents; 27 UK pence), making it the country with the most affordable pads in our study.

However, women politicians and campaigners are pushing for further tax exemptions with the hope of lowering prices even further.

In South Africa, Nokuzola Ndwandwe, a menstrual hygiene activist, has been working to get VAT scrapped on period products since 2014. In April 2019, she managed a "monumental victory" when the government scrapped the 15% value added tax on sanitary pads and announced free sanitary towels in public schools.

Nokuzola Ndwandwe has been working to get the tampon tax scrapped in South Africa for years

Countries that do not tax sanitary towels and allow manufacturers to claim tax on the materials used (zero-rated) tend to have lower priced products overall.

But is tax exemption enough to ensure women and girls have access to pads?

In 2019 the Tanzanian government announced that it was re-introducing VAT on sanitary products, just one year after scrapping it. This was after consumer complaints that the prices had not fallen in the shops and markets.

Campaigners say prices didn't fall because the tax was re-introduced before the supply chain of products had time to adjust.

Across Africa, and the world, lack of access to menstrual hygiene products due to high cost or because they're not available in rural or remote areas has had a huge impact on millions of women.

While there is no single piece of research into how many girls miss school globally, studies in different regions and countries reveal that thousands of girls miss many days of education every year because they're on their period.

Pad drives are taking place in various African countries

A study in Kenya found that 95% of menstruating girls missed between one and three days a month while another 70% reported a negative impact on their grades, and more than 50% said they were falling behind in school because of menstruation.

Marakie Tesfaye is a founder of Jegnit Ethiopia, a movement for uplifting women and girls that has been pushing for tax exemptions and has been distributing reusable pad kits to girls in Ethiopia,

"We found data that showed girls in Ethiopia would miss as much as 100 days in a school year calendar, and when they missed school we noticed several things would happen," she says.

"They would fall behind, repeat a class because they had no catch-up classes, drop out and get married or work as domestic workers, with little chance of ever advancing their education."

Not just a women's issue

Ibrahim Faleye was around 10 years old when he started buying menstrual pads for his sister. Growing up around girls in the Nigerian metropolis of Lagos, he thought it was a normal thing for every young man to do.

"We were an average family and we could afford sanitary pads so I believed it was the same for other families. When I found out that many people cannot afford the products, I was shocked," he says.

Ibrahim was inspired after seeing his sister's experience

Now aged 26, the public health practitioner has focused his work around menstrual health and education for girls and boys through his NGO, Pad Bank with the aims of stopping period poverty and helping boys learn to stop shaming girls.

"In Nigeria we have this culture where men are not allowed to talk about menstruation. We take the men through that process so they can understand and also care for women."

South African campaigner Nokuzola lives with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it and can make menstruation very painful. She would often find herself struggling at work.

"I was in a male-dominated team and I didn't feel comfortable saying I felt sick. I felt ashamed and embarrassed and was worried about the repercussions on my opportunities," she says.

"I thought about the millions of women going through the same thing. It was at that point that I felt it was time to deconstruct the narrative and end period stigma."

So what does period justice look like?

UNFPA defines period poverty as "the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products".

The UN says overall menstrual hygiene means women and girls have access to clean water and soap, accessible and clean toilets and latrines and the power to access these facilities in privacy without stigma and shaming, coupled with menstrual education for both boys and girls.

In response to the BBC research, Nokuzola says: "It shouldn't be this way. The fact that a woman has to choose between a loaf of bread, sustaining her family and menstrual products is really sad and concerning.

"This is a natural, biological process that comes every month so you have to neglect your autonomy over your body for the survival of your family. Menstrual products should be free."

Nokuzola is now working to get a menstrual health rights bill passed in South Africa, so that period products can be recognised as a human right and women like Joyce do not have to resort to desperate measures in order to get them.

"We are suffering, I want to beg our government to remove the tax on pads. The truth is we are going through a lot just to menstruate. Why should I beg or starve myself just to menstruate? I think it is not fair at all," says Joyce.

Data research and analysis by Brian Osweta and Ruth Mulandi
PETERSBURG  Police have identified the person killed in a shooting earlier this week in the citys near-westside but are not ready to classify it as a homicide.

Twenty-three-year-old Johnny Wayne Englehart Jr. of Petersburg was found early on the morning of Aug. 8 outside his apartment in the 1000 block of Rome Street between West and Dunlop streets. Petersburg Police spokesperson Kemi Okeowo confirmed his identity in a message to The Progress-Index Friday.

If ruled a homicide, it will be Petersburgs 12th of the year.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crime Solvers at (804) 861-1212 or use the P3Tips mobile app.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg Police identify victim in city's latest shooting death
A Philippine flag flutters onboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines used as a military outpost, in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal

Philippines says refurbishing grounded ship an option to strengthen hold on disputed shoal A Philippine flag flutters onboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines used as a military outpost, in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal

By Karen Lema

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippines is looking at several options to strengthen its hold on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea including refurbishing a grounded and rusting warship it uses as a military outpost, a move that would likely anger Beijing.

"All courses of actions to prolong our stay there are being considered... one of them is refurbishment," Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, chief of the Philippine Western Command, said in joint news conference with the military chief, Romeo Brawner.

The Philippines intentionally grounded the World War Two-era warship Sierra Madre in 1999 as part of its sovereignty claim to the Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within its exclusive economic zone, and rotates a handful of troops through the ship.

China has urged the Philippines to fulfill a "promise" to tow away the grounded vessel, but Manila denied striking any agreement to abandon the shoal, which it calls Ayungin.

The Philippine's priority at the moment is to resume the rotation and resupply mission for its troops on the atoll, which would likely take place in two weeks, Carlos said.

"It is our prayer that there will be no water cannon incident, there will be less aggressive reception from the other side especially because of the international attention that this incident has generated," he said.

Japan, France, South Korea and the United States have expressed concern over the "dangerous" moves carried out by Chinese Coast Guard vessels against Manila's resupply boats on Aug. 5 including its use of water cannon.

China's actions forced one of the two boats hit by the water cannon to turn back, while the second boat reached the shoal, after it did a "drastic manoeuvre" to "escape near ramming attempts," the vessels' Philippine navy crew said.

"We were hit by the water cannon. The food supplies we were carrying like rice, vegetable and meat were drenched," said navy officer Ramsey Gutierrez, contradicting video footage China released showing otherwise.

Gutierrez was supposed to begin his first tour of duty at the shoal had his boat not been blocked by Chinese vessels.

The Philippines won an international arbitration award in 2016 against China's South China Sea sovereignty claim, after a tribunal ruled Beijing's sweeping claim had no legal basis, including at the Second Thomas Shoal.

China, which does not recognise the ruling, has built militarised, manmade islands in the South China Sea and its claim of historic sovereignty overlaps with the EEZs of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Michael Perry)
A woman walks through wildfire wreckage Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed multiple people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations  but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Associated Press photojournalist Rick Bowmer, based in Salt Lake City, was dispatched to Maui, Hawaii, midday Wednesday to cover the devastating fire in Lahaina that killed at least 67 people Friday, according to the AP. Thursday he captured some of the first comprehensive aerial photos of the massive destruction to the Hawaiian tourist town.

The AP reports that residents of Lahaina were being allowed back in Friday.

Late Thursday night and into the morning, Bowmer was again one of the first photojournalists to capture new photos from ground level for the world to see. The destruction is indescribable. Here are 10 of Bowmers images from inferno.

Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Melted beer bottles are shown in the back of a burnt out truck following the wildfires Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Summer Gerling picks up her piggy bank found in the rubble of her home following the wildfire Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

A young boy walks through wildfire wreckage Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze making it the deadliest in the U.S. in recent years. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Burnt out cars line the sea wall after the wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Burnt out cars line the sea wall after the wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Lahaina resident Kyle Scharnhorst describes running from his burning apartment on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press
LAHAINA, Hawaii  At least 55 people are confirmed dead in Hawaii as wildfires burned through parts of the Aloha State, with the hardest-hit area being the island of Maui.

On Maui, the Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fires wreaked havoc this week, burning cars, boats, homes and entire blocks of towns to the ground.

Here are some images that captured the sheer destruction caused by the wildfires.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows a person walking past a destroyed car in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii.

In the image above, a man walks by a van with its windows broken, tires melted and body dilapidated from being engulfed in flames.

An aerial perspective below showed entire homes and structures burned to the ground.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.

In the town of Lahaina alone, more than 270 structures were impacted by the fire, according to County of Maui officials.

TOOK EVERYTHING WITH IT: MAUI RESIDENT RECOUNTS ESCAPE FROM RAGING WILDFIRES

The structure below may have its outside walls intact, but its roof and indoor structures seem to have been reduced to ash.

An aerial image shows a burned building in the historic Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023.

Another structure damaged by the fires was the Lahaina Public Library. In the video below, flames can be seen burning through the roof of the building.

"Our hearts are heavy with the terrible devastation these brush fires have inflicted on Maui, and we will work with our community partners to ensure that Mauis communities remain strong," said State Librarian Stacey A. Aldrich in a Facebook post.

Around many structures in Lahaina are countless trees, such as palm trees. The once lush, green fronds became shriveled and blackened as charcoal.

One tree of note is the historic Banyan tree. At more than 150 years old, it is the oldest Banyan tree on the island of Maui, according to County of Maui officials.

In the photo below, the historic tree appears to have been burned during this week's blaze.

An aerial image shows the historic Banyan tree surrounded by burned cars in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023.

BEFORE-AND-AFTER SATELLITE IMAGES OF MAUI AFTER DEADLY WIND-DRIVEN BRUSHFIRES

Vessels on the water were not safe from the flames, either. The boat below, while still afloat, had much of its upper deck destroyed by the wildfires.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows a burned boat in the Lahaina Harbor in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.

As of Thursday morning, Lahaina residents remained without power. Officials with the County of Maui said that state and county crews are working to clear trees and debris from roads and other areas.

They added that the three fires responsible for damages across Maui are at varying degrees of containment.

HAWAII WILDFIRES: HOW TO HELP THOSE IMPACTED ON MAUI, BIG ISLAND

The Lahaina Fire was reported to be 80% contained, the Pulehu Fire was 70% contained and the Upcountry Maui Fire is pending further assessment, according to officials.
UCLA students Abril Olalde, 21, and Karen Magana, 27, both wearing yellow shirts, joined picketers in front of the Shine N Brite Car Wash in Inglewood last month. Magana and Olalde interned with UFCW 770 as part of UC's Labor Summer. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

A slow burn is rising in Karen Maganas throat, though this isn't what she focuses on.

Not the noise of a low-flying plane drowning out her chants. Not the beads of sweat collecting on the bridge of her nose as she marches outside of the Inglewood Shine N Brite carwash, hoisting a sign that reads Support Carwashers."

Magana fixes her gaze on the carwash: The older men, most immigrants from Latin America, hunch over cars as they polish, vacuum and scrub at a business the state cited last year for paying far below minimum wage. They remind Magana of her brother-in-law, who first worked at a carwash when he came to the U.S. in 2008 without legal status. He felt lucky to make $60 a day. Her sisters father-in-law worked the same job, passing out once after toiling under the sun.

For Magana, a UCLA graduate student, this summer afternoon at Shine N Brite ran deeper than a single day of activism. It was a glimpse into a potential career as a labor organizer. She is one of 134 students participating in the University of Californias inaugural Labor Summer, an immersive paid fellowship, a boot camp of sorts, where picket lines have been their classrooms and learning how to yell from their stomachs was an assignment.

UCLA students Karen Magana, 27, left, and Abril Olalde, 21, with UFCW 770, answer questions for the media after joining others who picket in front of the Shine N Brite Car Wash in Inglewood last month. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

The fellows are experiencing a real-time look at labor unrest during a hot summer of activism like no other, with hotel workers, screen writers and actors all on strike and city workers staging a one-day walkout Tuesday. Many have also found work that speaks to their families' experiences and struggles in the labor force. They see their mother, father, relatives in the faces of those they encounter on picket lines  and it has fueled their sense of mission.

"This isn't me learning about other people, but me learning about myself and how to better support my family," said Abril Olalde, a UCLA rising senior, of the workers she has encountered. "How do I help them find their way and make sure they're not getting taken advantage of?"

The work is part of the UC's major expansion of its labor studies programs with the opening of six campus-based labor centers this spring, backed by $13 million in state funding supported by lawmakers including Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), a longtime labor leader. All nine undergraduate campuses now have a center.

Read more: UC admits record number of California first-year students for fall 2023, led by Latinos

The goal? To usher in a new generation of college-educated workers, equipped with a knowledge of labor rights that can reshape their workplaces and support Californias labor movement for years to come.

Support for unions among college graduates has hovered around 70% in the last few years, according to Gallup. Increasing economic inequalities, the pandemic and social justice movements have brought on among young adults a clarity  that there are very few illusions that somehow the system is really working in their interest, said Kent Wong, director of UCLA's labor center.

At UCLA, which opened its labor center in 1964, most students are first generation, female, or students of color. As of July, there are 200 labor studies majors and minors at UCLA. Almost every class Wong teaches fills to capacity.

Wong said the centers offer a place in California higher education to examine the issues of working people, in a UC system with six business schools that have more than 1,000 faculty members.

At UC Irvine, which opened its labor center in March, Director Virginia Parks hopes to break down barriers between local unions and academia.

"These are students whose parents are at the front lines of the low wage workforce ... Theyre educated but also theyre closely connected to this experience of economic struggle," Parks said. "That's pivotal."

A lesson in 'unlearning'

After the carwash rally, Magana and Olalde made their way back to the organizing offices at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, the union that represents workers in grocery, retail, health, packing and cannabis in California. It was time for the debrief. Magana said she was interviewed in Spanish by Telemundo.

UCLA students Karen Magana, 27, second from right, and Abril Olalde, 21, left, with UFCW 770, join picketers in front of the Shine N Brite Car Wash in Inglewood. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

"I was just thinking that my parents could be watching this," she said.

Magana, 27, has never done organizing work or taken a labor studies class. But she grew up watching her mother feverishly work as a lone cook during shifts at Jack in the Box for more than a decade. She finally quit in June. Still, when her mother carries Maganas 2-year-old son, James, her arms ache from years of physical labor.

Her dad works at a furniture warehouse, packing boxes and loading trucks. But the long hours have caught up with him too. Two years ago, his knees started throbbing. Now they hurt whenever he walks.

He just thinks thats how it is, thats how the working conditions are because hes undocumented, she said.

This summer, she wanted to learn how she could change his mind-set.

Olalde, who studies political science, said she experienced an "epiphany moment" on the first day of her internship at a hotel workers' protest.

When an elderly woman spoke in Spanish about how low wages and the city's expensive housing had forced her to move farther away, Olalde started tearing up  she saw flashes of her own mother, who works the night shift at a warehouse as an embroidery operator.

"She was so eloquently spoken. Like my mom," she said. "My mom's smart, but she doesn't think she's smart in English."

Olalde quickly realized that the labor movement was a cause baked into her identity as a working-class Latina.

She describes the internship as a practice in "unlearning." Watching actors go on strike, for example, subverted her belief that unions were only for blue-collar workers.

"We're teaching people how to represent themselves. We're not saviors of our community," Olalde reflected.

Read more: We cant pay our rent. Actors on the picket line reveal harsh reality of trying to make it in Hollywood

Which is why, on a recent afternoon, Magana and Olalde stood in the wine section of a Pavilions in Burbank, waiting to interview Gerald Gates, 59, an in-store sommelier, for a video testimonial about how the planned merger of two of the largest supermarket chains in the country, Kroger and Albertsons, will affect workers. The video will support the Stop the Merger campaign , a group of unions and advocacy groups that argue that the merger will result in thousands of lost jobs.

UCLA students Abril Olalde, 21, center, and Karen Magana, 27, right, are interning with UFCW 770 as part of UC's Labor Summer. They are interviewing Gerald Gates, 59, wine steward at Pavilions market in Burbank, about the planned Kroger-Albertson's grocery merger. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

For a moment in the grocery store, Olalde remembers what grown-ups used to tell her: If you don't go to college, this is where you'll end up.

This too, she realizes, is a lesson to unlearn.

Gates tells her his paychecks support himself and his daughters, that he's worked there for 11 years and hopes to stay for more. "I love what I do. I love my job," he said, fearing the merger will lead to job losses.

"You didn't really see [working at a grocery store] as something you want to do," Olalde said. "And now I understand that not everyone could do this  the meat counter, the bakery, the wine."

For Deidre Reyes, who graduated from UC Riverside's master's of public policy program this spring, the spike in labor activism coinciding with her fellowship at the United Domestic Workers of America confirmed that she was "in the right place at the right time."

"I always have these thoughts in my head: Am I doing the right thing? Are you sure you're doing the work that you were put on Earth to do?" she said.

As a data analyst intern, she collects data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census website to glean information about in-home support care workers in California. Reyes realized that if nursing assistants and home care providers were to go on strike, her collected data would be essential to help them organize more effectively.

A new generation

Training a new generation of labor organizers holds a dual importance  as program organizers are simultaneously meeting the needs of the moment and anticipating the future.

"We're seeing workers mobilize at rates that we haven't seen in a long time. Every other week it feels like there is an action for [our interns] to go to," said Maricruz Cecena, UFCW 770's organizing director.

Without Magana and Olalde, the union wouldn't have had the bandwidth to conduct video interviews for the Stop the Merger campaign, Cecena said.

But she's also trying to ensure that their involvement in labor activism doesn't end with their fellowship graduation Friday. She's seen how the younger generation "injects a lot of energy" into organizations.

They provide fresh perspectives, a reminder that the labor movement is not just one of strife, but of joy too. Whenever UFCW 770 has interns, picket signs are always hand-drawn, she said. New music fills the offices. Reminders to "take care of yourself" are not just commented, but practiced.

"You get some of the things that we forget to do because we're so used to charging and moving forward all the time," she said.

As for Magana, she shares what she's learned with her family each evening. She tells her mom about how hotel workers on strike are chanting in Spanish and promises that people will still listen to her experience even if she doesn't speak English. She teaches her nephews chants and urges her 12-year-old niece to write stories about her parents' work.

UCLA students Karen Magana, 27, left, and Abril Olalde, 21, with UFCW 770, enjoy a light moment after picketing in front of the Shine N Brite Car Wash. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Shes still working to change her fathers mind. When a wooden plank fell on him a few weeks ago, bruising his arm, Magana urged him to get it checked out. He brushed her aside, saying he didn't want to make a big deal of it.

She knows he's scared to lose his job. Shes unsure if hell ever see his working conditions the way she does.

But her summer experience, she said, has given her the confidence to keep trying: "Now I try to disagree with him all the time. I tell him how I see things. Hopefully, it'll get through to him."





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CANTON  An inmate climbed on a picnic table, scaled a fence to get to the roof, then jumped to escape the Stark Regional Community Correction Center on Thursday evening.

The 27-year-old Massillon woman had been sent there Tuesday following a conviction for aggravated drug possession.

At the time of her escape, she was wearing flannel pants, a black hoodie and no shoes.

SRCCC Director Michael Beebe said the inmate climbed up the fence at approximately 8:20 p.m.

Police were called to the facility at 4433 Lesh St. NE at 8:33 p.m. A manager told them the inmate ran south toward Millvale Avenue NE.

Beebe said police began searching for her immediately after their arrival.

He said picnic tables had been moved closer to a fence because crews were power washing a building roof to prepare it for repair. The tables were moved temporairly so debris from the roof would not fall on them.

"It's lessons learned for us," Beebe said.

Beebe said the tables have been removed from the female recreation yard. He said the heavy tables will be bolted down so they cannot be moved, and the number of tables in the area will be limited.

Beebe said has asked the U.S. Marshals Service to prioritize the inmate's capture.

"They are currently out looking for her," he said.

The SRCCC is a community-based correctional facility with a lower security rating than a low-security Ohio prison, according to Beebe. Its inmates may leave to participate in social activities or programs without escorts.

Beebe said that since becoming director on Dec. 5, he has put in place a new executive team.

"We're looking at just about every policy and security measure inside the facility," he said. "I think we're heading in the right direction."

Behind bars again: SRCCC escapees get prison time

Editorial: Five escapes reveal huge flaw in law

In February 2020, five male inmates escaped from the 124-bed facility, which serves serves Stark, Tuscarawas, Holmes and Wayne counties. It houses adult male and female offenders sentenced through common pleas courts. Offenders can get drug and alcohol treatment, counseling and other assistance after incarceration or as an alternative to prison.

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

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Inmate uses picnic table to escape Stark Regional correction center
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Friday that a December incident in which a United Airlines flight came within 750 feet of the ocean was caused by pilot miscommunication.

In a report on the incident, the NTSB said United Flight 1722, a Boeing 777, lost altitude a minute after departure from Kahului Airport on the island of Maui, Hawaii, on Dec. 18. The flight descended about 1,350 feet to nearly 750 feet above the water.

No injuries were reported and the airplane was not damaged, the report said.

The NTSB concluded the incident was caused by the flight crews failure to manage the airplanes vertical flightpath, airspeed and pitch attitude after a miscommunication about the captains desired flap setting during the initial climb.

The Hill has reached out to United for comment.

A passenger on flight 1722 interviewed by CNN in February said the incident reminded him of the feeling of being on a roller coaster. He said the flight began normally but then climbed at a concerning rate.

It felt like you were climbing to the top of a roller coaster. It was at that point, Rod Williams II said. There were a number of screams on the plane. Everybody knew that something was out of the ordinary, or at least that this was not normal.

Around the time of the flight, weather conditions in the area included numerous showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Services office in Honolulu in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The NWS had also warned of the possibility of strong winds and hail resulting from severe storms.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and 84 Lumber teamed up to provide a local veteran with $50,000 in home renovations as part of their Home for a Hero platform.

Frank Mike Hepler, of Gibsonia is a Vietnam veteran who dedicated his life to the Boys and Girls Club after returning home from the war. He has a form of Parkinsons disease that has caused his health to rapidly deteriorate over the last few years, and believes his exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam has been a major factor in the severity of his illness.

The donation will allow Hepler to place a railing or ramp that will make it easier for him to get in and out of the house; add a first-floor bedroom that will also help with mobility issues; and take care of small projects that will make a big difference from an accessibility standpoint.

Its just a small way to say thank you for this incredible life that youve had, Phil Bourque told Hepler in his 130-year-old farmhouse.

Hepler, who was overwhelmed by the surprise donation and visit, said the money will be used to make his life so much easier.

When I saw that check for $50,000, I did think it wasnt real, Hepler said. The gratitude I have for 84 Lumber and the Pittsburgh Penguins is over the top. Because I know (from my experience) whenever you invest in people or agencies, you do your homework, you do your job. You make sure that whatever gift youre giving or whatever grant youre giving, its going to the right person for the right reason. What happened here today, I hope Im the right reason!

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Within days of being assigned to preside over Donald Trumps unprecedented Washington trial, Judge Tanya Chutkan achieved a much more familiar modern political milestone: She became the subject of novelty T-shirt sales.

Alongside shirts bearing slogans like HAUNT THE PATRIARCHY and READ BANNED BOOKS, visitors to the Cutee Collection Etsy Store can now buy shirts declaring themselves members of the JUDGE CHUTKAN FAN CLUB. At another store, a Jamaican-themed vendor is selling shirts with a picture of the Jamaican-born judge and the patois slogan, DONALD, YU TINK ME A EEDIOT? And customers who like old-school Chutkan references can also buy gear emblazoned with the words PRESIDENTS ARE NOT KINGS, a line from the judges 2021 ruling rejecting Trumps efforts to withhold records from the January 6 select committee.

The merch arrives at a fraught moment: The ink on Trumps arraignment was scarcely dry before the ex-president and his allies began going after the judge, a 61-year-old former D.C. public defender who has been on the bench for nine years.



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 on Truth Social, using quotes to suggest Chutkan wasnt in fact the random selection that is supposed to be the rule with federal-court judicial assignments. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE!

Combine the basics of her biography (Chutkan is an immigrant, a woman of color and an Obama appointee) with Trumps incendiary history of personal targets (one of the earliest furors of his political career came when he questioned the impartiality of an Indiana-born, Latino federal judge whom he called Mexican) and it seems inevitable that much, much uglier stuff lies ahead. Chutkans security has already been beefed up. Best to buy some gear now to show what side youre on.

I get the impulse. Unfortunately, it undercuts everything the iconography is meant to celebrate. And it fits into a long recent history that usually hasnt gone as hoped by the folks celebrating whatever public servant just wound up in Trumps crosshairs.

The fan outfits certainly do match the vibe in progressive media, which has thrilled to Chutkans first week on the job, during which she demanded prompt answers from Trump after prosecutors suggested some of his social media posts amounted to intimidation  and then rejected his lawyers request for more time. She holds a hearing on the matter today, her first big moment of the case.

On social media leading up to it, there are Chutkan memes and preemptive defenses against Republican senators who might accuse her of bias (they confirmed her unanimously). Taking this moment to thank Judge Chutkan, the Democratic activist Victor Shi wrote on X, the social media platform formerly know as Twitter. Shes my new hero. On MSNBC, former prosecutor Dave Henderson called her Trumps worst nightmare. You get the sense a legend is being constructed in real time.

By now, its a familiar process.

Chutkan is only the latest public employee whose interaction with Trump has turned her into an icon for the tote-bag-and-novelty-sock set. Last week, my colleague Calder McHugh wrote about the cult that has sprung up around Jack Smith, the man prosecuting Trump, complete with fanboy Twitter and Tiktok accounts and sales of a pillow depicting Smith as Jaws. Theres also merch that name-checks Alvin Bragg (the prosecutor who indicted Trump in New York) and Fani Willis (the D.A. who may soon do the same in Georgia.)

A few years earlier, a previous special counsel, Robert Mueller, was the subject of an even more fulsome embrace, complete with Mueller-themed cocktails at D.C. bars and a Mueller, She Wrote podcast analyzing the great mans ongoing investigation. And while Anthony Fauci never had the power to prosecute Trump, its hard not to see the same dynamic play in all the refrigerator-magnet and coffee-mug sales featuring the infectious-disease doctor, who clashed with the 45th president.

For the target audience, a Fauci bobble head became a way of honoring a public health expert  and telegraphing anti-Trump bona fides. It combined an impish instinct to tweak the president and a somewhat juvenile urge to hero-worship amidst crisis. It was irresistible.

Except people need to resist.

In a democracy of embattled institutions, this sort of veneration is an absolutely terrible look. And, for supposed foes of the ex-president, its also awfully counterproductive.

On the most narrow level, Trumps theory of his criminal case is that its a partisan plot countenanced by a rigged judicial system. A progressive culture that makes a folk hero out of the prosecutor  much less the judge!  reinforces just that argument.

The spectacle doesnt just enable campaign-trail Trump applause lines, either. It could affect the actual trial. A judge whos leery about accusations of bias might prove more easily swayed on routine decisions. A throng of anti-Trumpists wearing Chutkan shirts or sipping from Chutkan coffee cups wont make it easier to resist that kind of work-the-refs logic.

But theres also a more cosmic level where the tendency to make resistance heroes out of professionals who butt heads with Trump becomes even more problematic.

One of the signal aspects of the Trump era has been the former presidents instinct to delegitimize American institutions that are supposed to be independent from politics. This tendency has been particularly troubling to folks in Washington, a place where the dominant culture respects chain-of-command and worships expertise. Its no surprise that so many of the people who have become civic icons by virtue of standing up to Trump have been unelected government lifers who were seen as simply trying to do their jobs by the books: people like Fauci and Mueller, but also Gen. Mark Milley, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former Ambassador Marie Yovanovich, and now Smith and Chutkan.

Its easy to see why denizens of the capital, in particular, would want to turn any of these characters into a role model: Public servants sticking to the rules in the face of unimaginable pressure are the guardrails of democracy.

All the same, turning them into pop-culture heroes only furthers the institutional delegitimization that sits at the core of Trumps rhetoric. The whole point of an impartial system is that its supposed to work the same regardless of which citizen is before the bench, and regardless of which public servant is sitting on it. In a country thats functioning correctly, there shouldnt be political passion around the question of who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who serves as ambassador to Ukraine, or who prosecutes or judges a criminal case in Washington.

That goes for the vituperative passion Trump injects into his faceoffs with these folks, but it also ought to go for the admiring passion that Trump haters trot out in response.

This is not to take anything away from Chutkans judicial chops. Its only to say that we citizens should expect that any federal judge would be tough and fair and impartial and not prepared to be swayed by a politicians social-media strategy. To put her on T-shirts because she happens to be the one doing it is to implicitly accept Trumps idea of a system thats rigged.

If partisans want to make icons out of people who battle Trump, they ought to stick to folks who go out and get elected  not public servants doing an officially apolitical job. Its a paradox of the Biden years that its less cool to wear merch depicting the octogenarian career pol who actually defeated Trump than it is to lionize the supposedly bad-ass prosecutor trying to convict the guy or the upstanding jurist who wont be pushed around by race-baiting Trumpists.

Of course, theres another reason to avoid making a hero of someone barely a week into a case: The news has a way of interrupting a simplistic knight-in-shining-armor story.

Consider the fate of the Mueller cult. For a time in 2019, the Republican former FBI chief was all but elevated to the progressive pantheon, at one point included in a set ofpolitically themed prayer candles that also depicted John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Then, after a year of MUELLER TIME T-shirts and outrage over Trumpy threats against the special counsel, Mueller wound up botching the rollout of his much-anticipated report and delivering a toothless performance when testifying about it before Congress.

Today, you can still buy a Mueller prayer candle online. But where the other candles cost around $15, a Mueller one can be yours for a discounted $5.

Thats five bucks too much, if you ask me. And that would be true whether Mueller had exposed shocking Trumpian misdeeds or given him a total pass. A country where public servants become heroes or villains simply for doing their job in a way that inconveniences a political faction is not a country we should want to live in. Its less like the government depicted in civics class than the one described in aggrieved Trump speeches.

Progressives  or anyone who professes to be concerned about crumbling government institutions in our polarized society  should know this better than most.
Polands President, Andrzej Duda, expressed deep concerns about what he perceives as a resurgence of Russian imperialism in an interview with the U.S. newspaper The Washington Post on Aug. 10.

Duda warned that if the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine was not swiftly addressed, the consequences could be severe.

Read also: Polish ambassador summoned over officials comments that Ukraine is ungrateful

The conversation revolved around how U.S. conservatives, who have been cautious about supporting Ukraine, could be persuaded to provide further assistance.

Right now, Russian imperialism can be stopped cheaply, because American soldiers are not dying. But if we dont put a halt to Russian aggression now, there will be a very high price to be paid, Duda said.

Read also: Former Polish foreign minister weighs in on tensions in relations between Ukraine and Poland

According to the Polish leader, the resurgence of Russian imperialism began with Moscows invasion of Georgia in 2008, followed by the attack on Ukraine in 2014, a full-scale invasion last year, and repeated threats targeting the Baltic countries, Poland, and all of Central Europe.

He highlighted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his associates dream of monarchic rule and the reclamation of imperial territory.

The world must halt Russias advancement into Ukraine now to prevent a situation akin to the First and Second World Wars, when American soldiers had to shed their blood and sacrifice lives in Europe to restore peace and freedom globally, he added.

However, Duda emphasized that the assistance provided to Ukraine should not be seen as charity, just as he does not view Ukraines actions in that light.

Lets start with the fact that Russias aggression in Ukraine was not provoked by anyone. No one attacked Russia, just the opposite But the whole democratic world also knows that any aggressor who violates the borders of a democratic state in the 21st century in Europe must be stopped, Duda said.

Read also: Slask Wrocaw soccer ultras display anti-Ukrainian banners during their teams match  photo

While Duda acknowledged the high level of support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland, he also highlighted the issue of war fatigue.

There are families in Poland who have had Ukrainian families living in their homes, sharing the same space, for a year-and-a-half now, he said.

Read also: Supporter of Russia sent for psychiatric examination in Poland

Duda reminded everyone of the several very challenging moments in the history of Polands relations with Ukraine, notably referring to the Volhynian tragedy, but despite these challenges, Poles are helping Ukrainians because they comprehend the Russian threat.

We know that when the Russians come, they rape women, they kill people, they deport people to the East (We) know that the Russians must be stopped, Duda said.

Previously, the Polish leader had said that, in his opinion, Russia would not employ nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that the aggressors might orchestrate a terrorist act at a nuclear power plant.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- Polands nationalist government will put a question about selling public assets to voters in October, evoking a politically charged issue as the ruling Law & Justice party accuses the opposition of aiming to privatize state companies.

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The referendum will take place alongside the general election on Oct. 15, in which Law & Justice risks losing its grip on power.

While its maintained a lead in polls, Law & Justice has struggled to gain traction among voters outside of its base  and appears poised to fall well short of a parliamentary majority.

The partys powerful leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, took up the privatization theme in a political attack against opposition leader Donald Tusk, fusing the issue with Germany  long a favorite target of the conservative party.

The Germans want to put Donald Tusk in power to sell our public assets, Kaczynski said in a Facebook post on Friday.

Kaczynski in June announced plans to hold a referendum on the European Unions migrant relocation plan as he returned to an active role in the government in a bid to tighten his grip over the campaign.

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Rescuers work at the blast site of a plant in Moscow region, Russia, Aug. 9, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The number of people injured in a blast at a plant in the city of Sergiev Posad of the Moscow Region on Wednesday increased to 80, the Russian Health Ministry said on Thursday, adding that 15 people were hospitalized.

"According to the data, 80 people were injured, 1 person died as a result of an accident at a plant in Sergiev Posad," the ministry said in a statement.

The explosion happened around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday local time (0740 GMT) at a pyrotechnics warehouse, which was being rented out on the optical-mechanical plant's territory by a private company, said Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobiev in a Telegram post.

Local media, citing a State Duma deputy, suggested that the blast could have occurred due to a "violation of technological processes."
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poles will vote on whether they support the privatisation of state companies, Poland's ruling party leader said on Friday, as he announced the first question in a number of referendums likely to be held on the same day as parliamentary elections.

Ruling nationalists Law and Justice (PiS) had initially said they would hold a referendum on a European Union migration deal, in what some analysts viewed as a bid to mobilise their core electorate ahead of an Oct. 15 election seen by many as the most important since the fall of communism in 1989.

"For us, the voice of ordinary Poles is always decisive," PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in a video posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "The voice of foreign politicians, including German ones, is of no importance."

He said that the first referendum question would be: "Do you support the sale of state-owned enterprises?".

PiS say that the main opposition party, the liberal Civic Platform (PO) which is led by Former European Council President Donald Tusk, is subservient to foreign interests, particularly those of Germany.

"The Germans want to embed Tusk in Poland to sell off common property, his background shows it directly," Kaczynski said.

PO rejects such criticism, and accuses the government of awarding well-paid roles in state-owned firms to people as a way of rewarding them for their support.

"If PiS wants to ask about state-owned companies in a referendum, then Kaczynski should ask Poles whether they support the nepotism, cronyism and theft that is now taking place," PO lawmaker Marcin Kierwinski told state-run broadcaster Polskie Radio 1.

Another state-run broadcaster, Polskie Radio 24, reported that there would be four referendum questions in total.

Poland's lower house of parliament will deal with legislation concerning the organisation of the referendums at its sitting on Aug. 16-17.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The suspect in a Wednesday night shooting in Daytona Beach that left a man in critical condition has been connected to a May 31 homicide, police said.

Daytona Beach police arrested Cory Crooms, 37, on charges of fleeing and eluding, and resisting an officer without violence. He is a suspect in the Wednesday shooting near the railroad tracks on North Street but was not charged with the crime.

But Crooms has been charged with being a principal to premeditated first-degree murder in the May 31 homicide where Taj Butler, 24, of Palm Coast, was shot and killed.

Crooms was held in the Volusia County Branch Jail on Thursday without bail.

On May 31, Butler was shot in his vehicle while stopped at a light on Nova Road and Bellevue Avenue. Butler was hit multiple times. He was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center where he died.

A black Kia Optima was seen fleeing the scene. Police later arrested Devonte Smokes, 29, of Daytona Beach. Smokes was indicted on first-degree murder charges by a Volusia County grand jury on June 28.

Shooting homicide arrest 'Person of interest' arrested in drive-by shooting in Daytona Beach that left man dead

Daytona Beach police said Crooms was in contact with Smokes on the day he shot and killed Butler.

According to police, Crooms called an unidentified homeowner to ask if he could park the black Kia Optima in the back of the home. The Kia turned out to be the vehicle used in the shooting of Butler, as spent .45 caliber shells were found in it.

Police said the shells matched the .45 caliber slugs found in Butler's body by a medical examiner.

Police also learned that Crooms provided the gun and mask used in the homicide, and followed Smokes in a rented Jeep Wrangler. Videos later showed Crooms waiting with the Jeep Wrangler at the Daytona Beach home and that he opened a gate to allow the Kia to park, police said.

Crooms had rented the Jeep Wrangler for several days but returned it shortly after the May 31 homicide of Butler, claiming the vehicle was unsafe to drive, police said.

"There is probable cause to believe that Crooms aided, abetted, or assisted his co-conspirators in the murder of Taj Butler," detectives wrote in their report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Another shooting homicide arrest made in Daytona
Columbia County School District Police were called to investigate after a Riverside Elementary School student made a verbal threat on Friday.

In a letter to parents, the school said administration was notified of the threat and immediately notified ColumbiaCounty School District Police.

The student was identified and is being held accountable, according to the school.

"Safety of students and staff is a top priority, and comments of a threatening nature are not acceptable and will not be tolerated," the school wrote in the letter. "Parents, please speak with your children about the seriousness of making threats, even in a joking manner, and the resulting consequences."

Any suspicious behavior should be reported to administration or the Columbia County School District Police immediately.

Traffic fatality: One dead after car hits bridge, goes up in flames in Augusta

Rape conviction: Augusta man sentenced to three life sentences for raping, impregnating child

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Police investigating threat at Columbia County elementary school
An argument between supporters of rival Democratic presidential candidates became so intense at an upstate New York farmers market that police were forced to intervene to break it up.

A group of Joe Biden backers set up a table at the event in Rhinebeck in the Hudson Valley, as they had reserved to do, and planted themselves near a Robert F Kennedy Jr supporter; pretty quickly, things became less than peachy between the two camps, according to the Hudson Valley Pilot.

A Prius-driving gentleman from Red Hook has planted himself at the local farmers market every Sunday, displaying multiple signs in support of Kennedy, and engaging passersby in political discussion, the outlet reported. The Daily Beast identified him as 83-year-old Frank Stoppenbach.

Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, the pro-Biden group, reportedly held up a sign that read: We do NOT support RFK Jr.

aWhen people came up, he talked to them about, you know, vaccines are bad, and masking is bad, and all the stuff that RFK says, Larry Cox, a member of the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, told The Daily Beast. The problem is that being right next to us, people were thinking that he was part of us.

The chair of the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, Warren Smith, told the publication that typically, people disagreeing over who the Democratic nominee should be would be one thing, but this is kind of a different thing because RFK Jr has staked out a position that is on the fringes of the party.

The Kennedy supporter, disagreed, arguing, Why there should be any dispute about the nomination being contested, I cant understand.

The exchange became so heated, though, that the police had to get involvedtwiceaccording to the Hudson Valley Pilot.

Another member of the pro-Biden camp, Roger Quon, agreed with Mr Stoppenbach, saying the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee should be seen as a place for all Democrats. He continued, We can disagree with [Kennedy] on one or many points, but thats the essence of democracy.

The Kennedy supporter told The Daily Beast that he was trying to raise awareness about RFK Jr, and encouraged a primary debate between the Democratic candidates.

I simply park where people come by, Mr Stoppenbach defended himself. I guess there may have been some people not happy with having a Kennedy appearance at the market.

Mr Cox said his group put up the poster because they dont want to be associated in any way with RFK, Jr., and especially with his views, which we all agree are abhorrent and crazy.

He said his group put up the poster after we asked [Mr Stoppenbach] to move some other place so that people wouldnt be confused, which he didnt want to do.

Mr Cox brushed off the altercation: It wasnt any sort of, as far as I know, any physical confrontation. Just an old guy with crazy ideas. Which, you know, theres no shortage of in the United States these days.

Mr Stoppenbach told The Daily Beast that he wasnt sure whether he would return to the farmers market next Sunday. Im 83 years old, so I dont quite have the energy I did when I was a young guy running for Congress, he said, adding, but, you never know.

The Biden-Kennedy farmers market feud is a perfect example of what is going on at a national scale, as supporters of the president have become frustrated by Mr Kennedys candidacy, as he is the only person running for the Democratic nomination against the incumbent who is cutting into his poll numbers, according to FiveThirtyEight polls.

Still, the president holds a massive lead. As of Wednesday, Mr Biden was polling at 64.3 per cent compared to Mr Kennedys 15.2 per cent. Mr Kennedys claims along the campaign trail have recently come under scrutiny, as his wordsnamely those around his stance on vaccinesseem to be inconsistent with his actual record.
A Daytona Beach woman was arrested Wednesday, accused of embezzling more than a million dollars from a local insurance company.

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

Investigators with the Ormond Beach Police Department began their investigation into 30-yearrold Samantha Rae Link back in July after representatives from Security First Insurance arrived at the station to report suspicious activity on the companys account.

READ: Brevard County school district offers new unique career & technical education programs

The companys President and Chief Financial Officer reported that a large amount of funds had been sent to a questionable unauthorized account number.

Investigators eventually connected the account to Link, who had been an accountant for the company. They also found other bank accounts Link used to transfer funds from the company to herself.

Samantha Rae Link, 30, charged with grand theft of over $100,000 and organized scheme to defraud over $50,000.

READ: Dangerous heat in Central Florida continues through the weekend

As the companys accountant, police say Link was fully capable of altering the beneficiary account numbers to send funds to her own personal Wells Fargo Bank account.

In all, police say Link made 34 fraudulent transactions between January of 2022 and July of 2023 totaling $1,474,564.

READ: Unstable scaffolding keeps section of Orange Avenue closed in Downtown Orlando

Link was fired after the company learned of the mishandled funds.

In conjunction with the Seventh Circuit State Attorneys Office, Ormond Beach Police arrested link on charges of grand theft over $100,000 and carrying out an organized scheme to defraud over $50,000. Shes being held in the Volusia County Jail on a total of $650,000 bond.

The teamwork and professionalism shown by our investigators and the prosecutors at the State Attorneys Office are a true testament that offenders will be brought to justice, Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said in a statement. I couldnt be prouder of their combined efforts!

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.




EPPING  A Lee man is facing charges for allegedly firing a gun at another vehicle on Route 101 East in a road rage incident.

Edward J. Braxton, 48, was arrested and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and felony reckless conduct. He was arraigned Friday, Aug. 11, at Rockingham Superior Court and ordered to be held in preventative detention at the Rockingham County jail.

State police said officers were called at 4:33 p.m. on Friday, July 28, for a report of a road rage incident between a Subaru WRX and a Chevrolet Silverado.

Edward J. Braxton, 48, was arrested and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and felony reckless conduct.

According to a witness, the driver of the Subaru pointed a firearm out of the driver-side window and fired three rounds at the Silverado. The vehicles, according to the witness, took Exit 7 and proceeded to travel north on Route 125.

Police said officers from the Epping Police Department stopped the Subaru at McKinnons Auto Station on Route 125 north. The operator of the Subaru was identified as Braxton.

Hampton police: Body found floating near Hampton Beach jetty

Officers advised state police trooper Jacob Hunt that there was an intact bullet belonging to a firearm in the driver-side door pocket of Braxton's vehicle. The bullet, they said, was visible from outside the car.

Braxton, according to police, admitted he was on Route 101 East and was involved in a road rage incident with another vehicle. Braxton also stated that he was not allowed to own a firearm as he was a convicted felon, according to police.

Police said Braxton refused consent to search his vehicle, which was seized pending a search warrant. After the warrant was granted, police said they located a firearm in the vehicle.

During his arraignment, Braxton called the charges bogus and said he was not a criminal.

Theyre trying to make me a monster, Braxton said. I dont know why, but its not me, your honor.

Sarah Acree, of the New Hampshire Public Defenders office, argued for Braxton to be released on personal recognizance bail, saying he could lose his job if kept in jail. She said he works to support his partner and his stepchildren, the younger of which is about to go to college.

My client for all intents and purposes has been doing incredibly well for over a decade, Acree said. Not getting in trouble, supporting his family, living a positive life in New Hampshire.

Prosecutor Marcia Rosenn told the judge the facts of the case were extremely concerning when she asked for Braxton to be held without bail.

Police said additional charges may be forthcoming.

Officers from the Epping Police Department and Rockingham County Sheriffs Office assisted in the investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Trooper Jacob Hunt at Jacob.M.Hunt@dos.nh.gov or (603) 679-3333.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Man charged with firing gun in alleged road rage incident in Epping NH
Police officials are trying to pin the blame for the nationwide crisis in police recruiting on the civil unrest following the police-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Police spokespeople and high-profile sheriffs and chiefs complain they can't recruit enough officers largely because the public has grown hostile to officers. They point to efforts to "defund the police." That's partially true, but not the entire story.

A recent Orange County Register article quotes San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman blaming the media: "In the last three years, police have been demonized by the highest office in the land and the majority of the media. When you take three years of an industry being demonized, and taking authority away from policeand it's not one that becomes appealing to those with other options."

Yet the article also refers to an "alarming" International Association of Chiefs of Police study from 2019  well before the Floyd incidentthat detailed far-more mundane reasons that many young people don't want to be cops. These include the desire for more flexible work hours and the long and difficult application and training process. Such issues have been the subject of police conferences for years.

During the 1990s, in the midst of a nationwide crime wave, state and local governments went on a police hiring spree backed by federal grants. Many of those officers now are retiring. California's pension benefits are so generous for officersallowing them to retire in many departments at age 50 with 90 percent of their final paythat there's no incentive to stick around.

The dramatic union-promoted pension boosts beginning in the late 1990s assured that agencies would face a wave of openings around now. Thanks to the end of Bush-era wars, police forces have lost one of their main recruiting sources: returning military. Many analyses about the shortfalls make reference to low pay, but that's simply not the case in California. In Orange County, for instance, deputy sheriffs were making around $150,000 a year as early as 2008.

It's worth debunking a few of the other common police union myths. For starters, police agencies were not defunded. ABC News analyzed police budgets in 109 agencies across the country and found they mostly have increased, with 91 having upped their budgets by at least 2 percent. In 49 agencies, police funding has soared by 10 percent or more. Police spending is soaring.

Next, police staffing and spending are not directly tied to crime rates. Try reading some easily available literature about crime rates from serious criminologists and you'll find much head-scratching about why crime goes up and down. Politiciansand police officials, of coursealways assume that more police spending will lead to lower crime rates. Policing is one part of the equation, but myriad demographic factors arguably play a more significant role.

Radley Balko, author of a 2014 noted that "despite significant staffing shortagesif trends continue, 2023 will have the largest percentage drop in homicides in U.S. history.(S)uch a drop would come after a two-year surge, but the fact that it would also occur after a significant reduction in law enforcement personnel suggests the surge may have been due more to the pandemic and its effect than de-policing."

I've covered troubling police use-of-force incidents and found that union protections and circle-the-wagons attitude often thwart accountability. Americans have every right to demand that officers with life-and-death powers are held to the highest standards. Unfortunately, union protections make it difficult to rid departments of overly aggressive officers. Chiefs and sheriffs ought to blame themselves for having insufficiently rooted out the few bad apples in their midst. That's the real source of public mistrust.

Community-oriented policing strategies might help departments lure more workers. This is also from that chiefs' study: "Fast-paced images of officers making forced entries into buildings, rappelling down walls, firing high-powered weapons on the rangewere common in recruiting materials.(T)hose images do not resonate with wide swaths of the population entering the labor market. They said that agencies will be more successful in attracting candidates if they emphasize the service aspect of policing."

My R Street colleague, retired New York Police Department officer Jillian Snider, notes that "even in the most contentious of times, the number of full-time sworn officers has not substantially decreased." She points to the need to "balance the demands of community members with smart, effective, research-based policing" and to "establish new recruitment strategies, create incentives to attract high-quality candidates, and promote a more positive culture within departments."

Perhaps we can have two important things at once: Greater public trust of police officers and more people willing to take police jobs. Instead of complaining about a public that doesn't appreciate them, police officials ought to spend more time assuring their departments always are worthy of appreciation.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.

The post Police Reform and Police Recruitment Don't Have To Be at Odds appeared first on Reason.com.
The Kansas City Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol were asking the public for help Thursday to locate a 73-year-old man with dementia who left a south Kansas City residence around noon in his pickup truck.

Virgil Chapman, the missing man, was last seen leaving the residence around noon in the 7700 block of Dove Avenue, according to police. He had not been heard from since and remained missing Thursday evening, police said.

Police said Chapman has dementia, which causes confusion and has led to him becoming lost while driving. He was last known to be in a red, 2007 model Dodge Ram 1500.

Kansas City police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were asking the public to help find Virgil Chapman, 73, who was reported missing from south Kansas City. He was last seen driving a 2007-model Dodge Ram 1500 pickup with Arkansas plates, police said.

The pickup truck has an Arkansas plate: 160-TPY

Chapman is described as a white man, roughly 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds. He has gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue polo shirt and jeans, according to police.

Anyone with information regarding Chapmans whereabouts was being asked to contact Kansas City police directly at 816-234-5042 or dial 911 to reach the nearest law enforcement agency.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski has accused Germany of wanting to interfere in his country's upcoming elections (Wojtek RADWANSKI)

Poland's populist, nationalist government is increasingly taking an anti-German, anti-European Union stance in the run-up to the October 15 legislative elections in the hope of mobilising its most loyal followers, analysts say.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, fired the latest shot on Friday, suggesting that Germany wanted to interfere in the coming election campaign.

He was revealing one of the questions the PiS wants the people to vote on in a national referendum on election day: "Are you in favour of selling state enterprises?"

Such a sell-off could profit Germany which, he said, wanted to impose on Poland opposition leader Donald Tusk.

Kaczynski, although officially only deputy prime minister, is widely regarded as Poland's de facto leader.

And Tusk, leader of the main opposition Civic Platform (PO) party, has long been the government's bete noire.

A former Polish premier between 2007 and 2014 and subsequently president of the European Council -- part of the EU's executive --, Tusk personifies everything the government opposes.

Recent opinion polls suggest his party could pose a threat to the ruling PiS in October.

While the ruling party is hitting around 33 percent, Tusk's Civic Platform is scoring between 26 and 32 percent.

"The anti-German arguments benefit the PiS," political analyst Marcin Zaborowski of Lazarski University in Warsaw told AFP.

"They mobilise its most faithful electorate and encourages them to turn up at the polls."

Between 30 and 40 percent of Poles are mistrustful -- even hostile -- to Germany, he said, so the point of the referendum was to help the ruling party polarise the election campaign.

- 'Hidden anti-Europeanism' -

This anti-German rhetoric is a way of smuggling in the ruling party's fiercely anti-European views to the campaign, said political specialist Anna Materska-Sosnowska of Warsaw University.

Warsaw and Brussels have long been at odds on a whole series of issues, she pointed out.

"The PiS doesn't want to openly treat the EU as the enemy," she said. "But this is obviously what is being done when it attacks Germany, the strongest country in the EU."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last week took exception to comments by Manfred Weber, the German leader of the European Parliament's centre-right European People's Party (EPP).

In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, Weber had accused Poland's PiS of violating the principles of the rule of law and respect for a free media, along with France's far-right National Rally and Germany's own AfD.

Such parties, said Weber, "are our enemies".

"He called us enemies," said an outraged Morawiecki. "That's enough," he added, challenging Weber to a public debate.

President Andrzej Duda took up the theme, denouncing what he called "the attempts of foreign politicians to influence the election process in Poland".

bo/jj/gil
Karanda Heimuli, a Utah native set to graduate from Cornell University this fall, is pictured in Provo on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Heimuli was looking forward to some relief from President Joe Bidens student loan forgiveness plan and thought the Supreme Courts decision to strike down the plan was a slap in the face. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

The Biden-Harris administration is finding other ways to help students pay off debt after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Bidens student loan forgiveness plan in a 6-3 decision in June.

Biden immediately announced a new income-driven repayment plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, following the ruling, and the U.S. Department of Education guaranteed $39 billion in relief to 804,000 borrowers this July, which includes forgiveness for nearly 4,000 Utahns.

Utah students who talked to the Deseret News have mixed feelings about the fall of Bidens plan and the options that remain.

All this comes as loan repayments are set to resume in October after a three-year hiatus. Heres what Utahns need to know about the state of their student loans.

Loan forgiveness and the SAVE plan

Bidens original debt relief plan, which was one of his major campaign promises in 2020, proposed forgiving up to $20,000 per borrower and would have wiped out more than $400 billion in debt. But the Supreme Court deemed the plan unconstitutional on June 30, and Biden responded by announcing the Saving on a Valuable Education plan later that day.

The SAVE plan, which the Biden administration declares the most affordable repayment plan ever created, increases the income exemption from 150% to 225% above the poverty line. That means individuals earning less than $32,805 annually and families of four making under $67,500 will qualify for $0 monthly payments. Borrowers earning more than these amounts will still save at least $1,000 per year, compared to the current income-driven repayment plans.

A full list of poverty guidelines is available on the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services office of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation.

The SAVE Plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn income-driven repayment plan, dubbed REPAYE. Its a new way for borrowers to make lower monthly payments.

There are four income-driven repayment plans borrowers can apply for.

Additionally, a July 14 press release from the U.S. Department of Education announced debt relief for 804,000 borrowers. The loans will be automatically discharged in the next few weeks for those who have made either 20 or 25 years of payments. The release says the move addresses the historical failures of the federal student loan program when it comes to income-driven repayment plans.

At the start of this administration, millions of borrowers had earned loan forgiveness but never received it. Thats unacceptable, said Undersecretary James Kvaal. Today we are holding up the bargain we offered borrowers who have completed decades of repayment.

A student walks past the U on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Utah schools respond

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision, Utah State will be reaching out to students entering the repayment phase, according to a university spokeswoman. She said the full approach consists of:

Educating students on various steps and tools like exit counseling.

How to keep in touch with their loan servicer.

How to get out of default.

How to set payments with their loan servicers.

Loan repayment plans, etc.

Following the ruling, Utah Tech sent the following statement to the Deseret News:

Utah Tech will continue to follow direction from the U.S. Department of Education and help our students as they navigate paying for colleges. By offering the lowest university tuition in the state, Utah Tech is committed to helping make it attainable for students to graduate debt free. We will maintain this commitment to affordable tuition while offering student support services and quality education in more than 250 academic programs to help Trailblazers graduate career ready.

When it comes to Utahs students, the Supreme Court decision complicates matters for many.

Sam New, a senior education major at Utah Tech University, was relying on Bidens original debt relief plan. It was a big reason New decided to take out a loan at his previous school, Southern Utah University, after a bad accident totaled his car. Now, hes in a bind.

I have a year to come up with $10,000, New said.

In addition to being a full-time student, New is working three jobs to give himself a chance. He also might apply for scholarships but says it is really competitive.

New also addressed Bidens SAVE plan, saying it is better than nothing, but will barely affect him.

The reduced payments are nice, but only delay the payment issue, he said.

Utah State University and Utah College Republicans Chair Ryan Smith was happy with the decision. Smith said he cant get behind relieving billions of dollars in debt because of the monetary pressure it would put on lower- and middle-class individuals.

But he doesnt believe the Supreme Court is the entity to decide these types of issues.

I think that the executive branch sometimes oversteps on power, said Smith, who doesnt have any student loans. And in the same way, the Supreme Court shouldnt be the one making all the decisions and creating legislation.

University of Utah student Mitchell Chinburg agrees that the Supreme Court is out of bounds.

(The Supreme Court) has clearly stepped into a role of policymaking instead of checks and balance regulations, he said.

Karanda Heimuli, a Utah native set to graduate from Cornell University this fall, has a different perspective. Fortunately, her student loans are manageable, but Heimuli still looked forward to some relief from Bidens plan and thought the decision was a slap in the face.

If you want to be a doctor because you care about helping people, the thought in the back of your head shouldnt be student loans, the thought in the back of your head should be helping people, she said.

Heimuli grew up in a generally nice area with access to college counselors, but she points out this isnt always the case. The reality is that certain areas of the country have less resources, Heimuli says, and that can make the pursuit of higher education more difficult.

She believes applying for scholarships should not be considered a luxury, but everything shes seen indicates they are.

Expectations for students and borrowers

For now, borrowers should be receiving notices from their loan servicers about resuming repayment on federal student loans in October.

Executive Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at the University of Utah Anthony Jones said as repayments start, the best thing for borrowers to do is contact their loan servicer.

But that may not be so simple, because some loan servicers have gone out of business or changed names. Remember, even if a loan servicer has gone out of business or changed names, it doesnt mean the loan is forgiven  it needs to be repaid to someone else.

It could be confusing, so what the best advice is, is to log into studentaid.gov ... to know who their servicer or servicers are, and to be able to contact them, Jones said.

Students should avoid the risk of becoming delinquent, which occurs after a late payment. Delinquency can lead to defaulting, and that can damage someones credit.

Borrowers do have options when choosing how to repay a loan. The federal student aid website suggests if federal student loan payments are high compared to their income, then students should consider applying for one of four income-driven repayment plans.

An income-driven repayment plan is a repayment option that sets a borrowers monthly payment based on the income and family size of the borrower.

The first plan, the REPAYE plan, will soon be replaced by the Biden-Harris administrations new SAVE plan. Originally, a borrower who chose the REPAYE plan would pay their loans at around 10% of their discretionary income over the course of 20 years for undergraduate studies and 25 years for graduate studies.

Discretionary income is the amount of money left over after taxes and general living expenses.

The other income-driven repayment plans include the Pay as You Earn, Income Based Repayment and Income Contingent Repayment plans.

Pay as You Earn and Income Based Repayment plans have eligibility requirements. Only new borrowers qualify for the Pay as You Earn plan. Other borrowers qualify when the required payment would be less than making a payment under the Standard Repayment Plan.

The Standard Repayment Plan is a basic repayment option for loans from the Direct Loan Program and Federal Family Education Loan Program. The payment plan is fixed for 10 years, or between 10 and 30 years for consolidation loans. This plan allows borrowers to pay off their loans in the shortest amount of time because they are making higher monthly payments.

The Income Contingent Repayment plan is available to all borrowers with eligible federal student loans, including Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student loan borrowers. To use the Income Contingent Repayment plan toward Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student loans, parents must consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan.

A Direct Consolidation Loan allows borrowers to combine their existing loans into a new loan.

According to the student aid website, interest on student loans will start accruing on Sept. 1 and first payments are due in October, so its recommended that students begin repaying their loans while waiting for further action from the Biden-Harris administration.
 Flash

Chinese ambassador to Ghana Lu Kun (at the podium) speaks at an inauguration ceremony of a China visa application center in Accra, Ghana, on Aug. 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese embassy in Ghana on Thursday inaugurated a China visa application center in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to foster easy traveling arrangements for Ghanaian travelers to China.

The embassy said the center, opened with the cooperation of the China Tourism Group Corporation Limited, would ensure quality service and timely processing of visa applications for Ghanaians.

At the inauguration ceremony, Lu Kun, the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, said the center became necessary due to the anticipated surge in the number of Ghanaians who would be interested in visiting China.

"In light of this new situation and drawing on the common international practices, the center is now being opened in Accra. It aims to provide visa applicants with more convenient, high-quality, and efficient services," said Lu. "We believe it will greatly contribute to the bilateral exchanges and China-Ghana relations. I am convinced the center will open a new chapter in the people-to-people exchanges between our two countries."

Lu added that the economic and trade exchange between the two countries has been flourishing, with China remaining Ghana's biggest trading partner.

Mavis Nkansah Boadu, Ghana's deputy minister for foreign affairs and regional integration, welcomed the center, saying that the event marked a significant milestone in the bilateral relations between China and Ghana.

She said Ghana recognized the importance of strengthening its relations with China and fostering greater people-to-people exchanges, adding that the center would help enhance tourism, business ventures, academic collaborations, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

She also announced that Ghana would reciprocate the laudable effort by the Chinese government to roll out new visa application systems with enhanced security features strengthened by a machine-readable visa hardware system.
Social media users claim a new law in the US state of Illinois allows "illegal immigrants" to become police officers. This is false; the measure only applies to non-citizens who are legally authorized to work and carry a firearm, according to the bill's sponsor and independent legal experts.

"Just in: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a law that will allow illegal immigrants to become police officers and sheriff's deputies," says a July 29, 2023 post on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X."

"In Illinois American citizens will be arrested by illegals."

Screenshot of a post on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X," taken August 9, 2023

Similar claims spread elsewhere on X and other social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Some prominent Republicans amplified them.

"To the Left, citizenship is meaningless. Illinois is now letting illegal aliens become police officers," says Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for president in 2024, in a July 30 post on X.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, signed House Bill 3751 into law on July 28 (archived here).

The legislation amends the Illinois Municipal Code to allow non-US citizens to work as police officers starting in January 2024. Several states, including California and Colorado, have passed similar measures as police departments struggle to recruit and retain officers.

However, a spokesperson for Pritzker told AFP the social media posts' interpretation of the law is "not true at all." The governor himself described the claims as "false information" in a July 31 statement (archived here).

The legislation amends sections of Illinois law that specifically prohibit non-US citizens from conducting police work. The bill stipulates that anyone who is "legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States" and is permitted to "obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm" can work in local police departments.

Illinois Representative Barbara Hernandez, the bill's Democratic sponsor, confirmed to AFP that the measure "will only allow those who are federally approved to work in this country to be able to apply."

"The bill does not allow illegal immigrants to become officers, which is still against federal law due to them not being able to have a gun," she said.

Allison Brownell Tirres, an associate professor at DePaul University's College of Law, agreed.

"The social media posts blatantly mischaracterize the bill since those without federal work authorization do not qualify under its terms," she said.

Tirres said only some categories of non-citizens -- such as lawful permanent residents, green card holders and asylum seekers -- will no longer be barred from serving in law enforcement in the state.

The law would allow those registered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to become police officers. The policy, created during the Obama administration, protects some undocumented migrants brought to the country as children from deportation.

But Jacqueline Stevens, professor and founding faculty director of the Deportation Research Clinic at Northwestern University, said the DACA provision of the bill is negated by federal law (archived here).

The measure has the "requirement of having lawful status to own a firearm, that by definition people who have DACA cannot meet," she said.

Hernandez said that portion of the law is "symbolic," unless an applicant's "own individual department finds ways to allow them" to legally purchase and carry firearms.

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation about US politics is available here.
FILE - Horses compete during the148th running of the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Baltimore. Preakness officials say they are considering moving the second Triple Crown race back to four weeks after the Kentucky Derby instead of two weeks later, which would change the timing that has been in place for more than half a century. Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST Racing, which owns and runs Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore where the Preakness is run, said it's necessary to take a close look at making changes, citing horse safety among the reasons. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Preakness officials say they are considering moving the second Triple Crown race back to four weeks after the Kentucky Derby instead of two weeks later, which would change the timing that has been in place for decades.

Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST Racing, which owns and runs Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore where the Preakness takes place, said it's necessary to take a close look at making changes.

Discussion around spacing out the schedule of the Triple Crown is nothing new, and we believe the time has come to advance those discussions to the next step," Butler said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Friday. Allowing additional time between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes would give horses a greater opportunity to prepare and be ready between the Derby and the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Butler, who floated the possibility most recently this week in a statement given to Thoroughbred Daily News, citing horse safety among other reasons, acknowledged moving the Preakness would have implications around the industry.

We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders to work through questions and concerns, Butler said. "The future of the Triple Crown is best decided collectively, but we are committed to seeing this conversation through to a positive result.

Other stakeholders are not willing to make this drastic of a change.

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes have been run over a span of five weeks beginning with the first Saturday in May since 1969, with the exception of 2020 when the races happened out of order because of the pandemic.

A spokesman for Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Derby, said the track had no comment. Any changes to the Preakness likely would not affect the Derby leading off the Triple Crown.

Moving the Preakness from the third Saturday in May to early June would have major implications on the Belmont Stakes, the 1 1/2-mile third leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont Park in New York.

New York Racing Association vice president of communications Pat McKenna said the organization, which runs the Belmont has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown.

We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes, McKenna said in an email to the AP.

Unrelated to the Preakness, the Belmont could be run at historic Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York in 2025, and perhaps even next year, because of a major renovation at Belmont Park.

Changing the timing of the races also was debated years ago during a lengthy drought without a Triple Crown champion. American Pharoah winning all three races in 2015 and then Justify accomplishing the feat in 2018 quieted the conversation until recently.

Horse deaths this spring at Churchill Downs, which caused the track to suspend operations to investigate possible causes, have led to larger conversations around the sport. The federally mandated Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recently went into place to oversee track safety, medication and doping and standardize the industry around the U.S.

National Thoroughbred Racing Association President and CEO Tom Rooney supports a change to what he calls a more pragmatic Triple Crown schedule of running each of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont four weeks apart.

As the industry continues to focus on improving safety and welfare standards for the horses and jockeys, you would be hard-pressed to find a trainer or owner who would choose to race at any level after two weeks, so why take that risk on the biggest stage? Tradition? Rooney wrote in a recent op-ed for Thoroughbred Daily News. Other sports have evolved and adapted to the times. The tradition argument presumes all tradition is good, which is not necessarily true.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
After clocking into work at a Texas prison on a November night, Salia Issa began feeling contraction-like pains.

Issa, a corrections officer, was seven months pregnant.

Rather than rush her to a hospital, her supervisor kept her at her post for hours despite her repeated requests to leave, according to a lawsuit filed against Abilene prison officials and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Youre just lying, her supervisor is accused of telling her over the phone, according to the lawsuit.

Issa said she called him several times, pleading to leave. And each time she was told to stay put, the lawsuit says.

Issa said she was finally given permission to leave two-and-a-half hours later. In intense pain, she made her way to her car and drove to a local medical center, the lawsuit says.

Once there, she was wheeled into an exam room, where she began bleeding.

Hospital staff searched for her babys heartbeat but could not find one, she said, according to the lawsuit. She was hurried into surgery, and despite attempts to save the child, it was delivered stillborn.

Hospital staff told Issa, according to the lawsuit, if she had arrived sooner, they could have saved the child.

Now, Issa, in her lawsuit, is arguing the state caused the death of her child, who had been healthy and without complication before being born stillborn, she said. She is requesting an unspecified amount of money to cover medical costs, mental anguish and other reported damages.

In a preliminary ruling this month, a U.S. Magistrate Judge recommended letting the case, which was initially filed in October, go forward, according to the Texas Tribune.

Texas outlawed abortion after six weeks of pregnancy in 2021, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Protecting the lives of unborn children is a major priority, according to a 2018 news release from Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Neither Paxtons spokesperson nor an attorney for Issa immediately responded to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Abilene is about 200 miles southwest of Dallas.

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Former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who stepped down late last month, is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon's economic crash (JOSEPH EID)

A preliminary forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has painted a damning picture of the institution under long-serving former governor Riad Salameh.

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been mired in an economic crisis that the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in modern times, but officials have largely failed to take action to stem the collapse or implement reforms demanded by creditors.

An audit of the central bank has been among the top demands of creditors as Lebanon seeks bailout funds.

The financial position of the central bank (BdL) "deteriorated rapidly" between 2015 and 2020, according to a leaked copy of the preliminary report which was seen by AFP on Friday.

"However, this deterioration was not reported in BdL's balance sheet presented in its annual financial statements, which were prepared using unconventional accounting policies," it said.

Those policies allowed the central bank "to overstate assets, equity and profits while understating liabilities", it added.

Former governor Salameh, who left his post at the end of last month, is widely viewed as a key culprit in the country's dramatic economic crash.

On Thursday, Britain, Canada and the United States announced sweeping sanctions against the 73-year-old, who is also wanted in Europe for alleged financial crimes. Salameh has denied all charges against him.

In 2015, he launched so-called financial engineering measures aimed at increasing central bank reserves, in measures that some have compared to a Ponzi scheme.

The preliminary audit report said the central bank's "accounting policy in respect of financial engineering was exceptional in the extent of personal, unscrutinised discretion given to the governor to determine accounting estimates", it said, calling the measures "costly".

- 'Misconduct' -

It recommended "immediate action" to "introduce further governance, oversight and scrutiny measures to mitigate any further risk arising from BdL's misconduct".

It also recommended implementing "strong internal controls across BdL's risk taking departments".

Salameh is the subject of judicial investigations at home and abroad into allegations including embezzlement.

In May, judicial authorities in France and Munich in Germany issued arrest warrants for Salameh over accusations including money laundering and fraud.

Lebanon does not extradite its nationals.

European investigators have been probing the central bank's ties to Forry Associates Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered company that listed Salameh's brother Raja as its beneficiary.

The US Treasury said on Thursday that Forry was a "shell company" used "to divert approximately $330 million from transactions involving the BdL".

"Salameh and Raja then moved these funds to bank accounts in their own names or the names of other shell companies," the statement said.

A&M's preliminary audit report said "there is evidence of the payment of illegitimate commissions during the period totalling $111 million".

"This appears to be a continuation of the commission scheme under investigation by Lebanese and international prosecuting authorities," the report said.

"We have identified no records to confirm that a service was actually performed to justify the commission payments," it added.

A&M had agreed to complete its work in 12 weeks, the preliminary report said, but "the review was in fact completed 49 weeks after mobilisation due to the frequent delays in receipt of data".

It cited "many challenges in conducting the forensic audit, including that we have not been allowed access on site at BdL, nor have we been permitted to conduct interviews with BdL staff or leadership".

bur-lg/kir
Two and a half years into Joe Biden's presidency, and after exhaustive diplomacy with Iran's clerical leadership, his administration has reached a first deal -- to free five detained Americans.

The delicate agreement heralds an easing of tensions between the longtime adversaries, and experts and diplomats believe it could bring further, quiet efforts to address concerns including Iran's nuclear work.

Few people, however, expect major agreements anytime soon, with the clock ticking to the 2024 US presidential election.

"I think both sides have an interest in using this initial agreement as the gateway to get back to dialogue, but not necessarily to a deal," said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, which promotes conflict resolution.

European-led talks collapsed last year on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, which constrained Iran's contested program in return for promises of sanctions relief but was trashed by former president Donald Trump.

Biden himself, in a caught-on-camera encounter at a campaign stop late last year, said the nuclear deal was "dead" in all but name, at a time when the Islamic republic was putting down massive protests led by women.

- De-escalation seen -

A source familiar with the negotiations said the prisoner agreement was separate from the nuclear issue. But he also said diplomacy has been effective in lowering the temperature with Iran, pointing to the truce that has held unofficially for more than a year in war-ravaged Yemen, where Huthi rebels are backed by Iran.

Attacks by Iranian-linked Shiite militias against US troops have also appeared to subside in Iraq, noted a diplomat from a US ally.

"The tensions are still very much there but the two governments are communicating, and that makes a difference," the diplomat said.

US and Iranian officials reopened diplomacy in May in indirect meetings arranged by Oman, with some talks exploring measures to cap Iran's nuclear program that stop short of fully restoring the nuclear deal, according to diplomats.

"I think the de-escalatory context already exists," said Vaez, who helped outside efforts to bridge gaps to reach the 2015 accord.

But he doubted the Biden administration has the appetite on a new nuclear deal with the election season opening.

"Any substantive deal with Iran requires significant sanctions relief that will be extremely politically controversial in the US," he said.

"On the Iranian side, given the proximity of US election, it doesn't make sense to them strategically to give away most of their leverage not knowing who the next US president is," he said, with Trump or another Republican likely to tear apart any new deal.

Republicans have gone on the offensive over the prisoner deal, accusing Biden of enriching a hostile regime.

In an agreement that Biden officials insist is not final, South Korea will unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue blocked over US sanctions, with the funds transferred to an account in Qatar for humanitarian purchases.

In an initial step, Iran moved five US citizens, one of them arrested nearly eight years ago on spying charges he strongly denies, from prison to a guarded hotel.

- Poor sign to Iran protesters? -

Holly Dagres, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, agreed that the prisoner deal amounted to "a confidence-building measure and could revive talks over Iran's nuclear program."

"But this also signals to Tehran that it can get relief from its hostage-taking model, which may prompt it to continue the status quo given that it can also sell oil due to weakly enforced sanctions," she said.

She also questioned the timing of the agreement. September 16 marks one year since death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the clerical state's morality police for not wearing the mandatory headscarf.

Her death prompted mass demonstrations in one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic republic established after the overthrow of the pro-Western shah in 1979.

"Doing a deal with the United States around such a sensitive period is, in essence, communicating to protesters that Washington doesn't care about their plight," Dagres said.

sct/acb
(This Aug.11 story has been corrected to fix a typographical error in paragraph 7)

NAHR-E-SHAHI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In parched brown hills in north Afghanistan, Abdul Hahad tears stalks of wheat out of the arid earth. In the third year of water shortages and high temperatures, his harvest is barely enough to support his family.

The 55-year-old farmer from Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province used to plant two or even three wheat crops a year but in the last three years he has only been able to grow one. The yields from his nine acres of land are dwindling year by year.

"It's been three years since the drought started, wells and the river have almost dried up. We don't even have enough drinking water, you can see all our land has dried up," he said, as he sat near a pile of wheat beneath the sun in heat of 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Persistent drought across Afghanistan is taking its toll on farmers, its economy - a third of which is generated by agriculture - and food security.

Experts say the drought is exacerbated by climate change which leads to intensifying pressure on water resources. The Global Climate Risk Index says Afghanistan is the world's sixth most affected country by climate-related threats.

With little functioning irrigation, Afghanistan relies on snow melting in the mountains to keep its rivers flowing and fields watered during the summer.

But Najibullah Sadid, a water resources and environment expert and Research Associate at the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute in Germany, said as temperatures rise less precipitation falls in the form of snow and the summer melt is not feeding into rivers as much as it used to.

"In terms of food security you see that in a country like Afghanistan where more than 30% of GDP (gross domestic product) is coming from agriculture, then of course if this sector is impacted by climate change then the gross economy of the country is impacted by climate change," said Sadid.

'A LOT OF HARDSHIP'

Two years after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan as foreign troops withdrew, stretched water resources and the struggles of agriculture are one of their administration's top challenges.

With a sharp reduction this year in humanitarian aid and no foreign government formally recognising the Taliban, aid workers and diplomats say the level of development assistance to help with the problem is limited.

The U.N. World Food Programme says 15.3 million people are facing acute food insecurity in the country of nearly 42 million people.

The Taliban administration is building a 280 km-long (174 miles) canal, which if completed could divert water for irrigation throughout northern provinces. But it is still years away from completion and neighbouring countries have raised concerns that it will unfairly divert their water.

Sitting with three of his eight grandchildren, Hahad described how his income has shrunk, forcing his family, like many in the village, to cut back on food beyond essentials like bread and fruit.

"I used to be able to earn from 2.3 million afghanis ($27,000) to 2.5 million afghanis ($29,500) a year from my land. We used to grow wheat, melons, onions, eggplant, carrot and other things, but in the last three years I couldn't even make 100,000 afghanis ($1,200)," he said.

"People are facing a lot of hardship, some have left the village due to the lack of water," Hahad said.

"But we'll keep planting crops even if there is a water shortage because we don't have any other option. It's the only thing we know how to do."

(Reporting by Reuters TV; writing by Phyllis Xu and Charlotte Greenfield; editing by Robert Birsel)
When Justice of the Peace Kenneth Sanders was hospitalized unexpectedly at the end of July with complications from kidney disease, he gave Tarrant County a call to make administration aware.

Sanders, a Democrat, recommended Vicki Gray to fill his place while he was gone. Gray is a retired justice who Sanders said had a good rapport with his staff and was going to take over for him when he was supposed to be on vacation that next week.

County Judge Tim OHare instead brought in Republican Matt Hayes, who has lost two bids against Sanders to represent Precinct 7 as a justice of the peace. Precinct 7 covers southeast Tarrant County.

The Democrats and Sanders are calling it a political power move, and Sanders is questioning what the proper protocol should be.

Hayes most recently ran against Sanders for the justice of the peace in November. Sanders, a Democrat, took 53.47% of the vote.

Hayes publicly supported OHare as he ran for county judge. Photos on Facebook show Hayes block walking with OHare ahead of the November election, and photos also show Hayes at a campaign kickoff event for OHare.

In the past it was common for justices to recommend a temporary replacement when they had to take off, according to a Facebook post from the Democratic Party.

But Texas Government Code allows OHare to appoint someone to fill any justice of the peace position when theyre sick. The Democrats and Sanders, though, argue OHares placement of Hayes in the position was political.

This was clearly an attempt to thwart the will of the people who made the decision by voting for Judge Sanders over Matt Hayes in a free and fair election, party officials wrote in a Facebook post, before requesting people show up to the Aug. 15 commissioners meeting to let their grievances about the process be heard.

Sanders called Hayes appointment an abuse of power by the county judge.

It was abuse of his power, Sanders told the Star-Telegram Thursday evening. It was disrespectful to the voters and Precinct 7.

Sanders said he called OHare to check and see if he had followed proper protocol. OHare told him he had nothing against Gray, but that he knew Hayes.

He pretty much let me know that he was well within his right, Sanders said.

When approached in person for a comment Thursday, a representative for OHare directed a reporter to send questions about the situation via email. An emailed question about what factors led OHare to pick Hayes over Gray did not receive a response. Hayes did not return an emailed request for comment.

Sanders said he knows Hayes cares just as much about citizens in Precinct 7 and wants to serve just as much as he does.

But I think it really speaks to the county judge going against the will of the voters in Precinct 7, Sanders said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he granted the US attorney investigating President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden special counsel status.

Mr Garland announced that David Weiss, who has served as the US Attorney for Delaware since 2018, would serve as special counsel and he had informed relevant members of Congress about the nomination.

The move is a shift from July when Mr Weiss informed Congress that he had not requested special counsel designation for his investigation into the presidents son. But on Tuesday, Mr Weiss requested such status.

I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Mr Garland said on Friday. This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he request.

Mr Weiss had previously been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019. Mr Garland and the Department of Justice allowed Mr Weiss to stay on board as US attorney when Mr Biden took office in 2021 to continue his investigation of Mr Biden.

In July, Mr Biden looked set to enter into a plea deal for unpaid taxes and lying on a federal application for a firearm. Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, had decried the deal despite the fact that Mr Trump nominated Mr Weiss and Republicans in the Senate voted to confirm him in 2018.

Then in late July, Mr Biden pleaded not guilty to two of the charges after the presiding judge questioned whether the deal would prohibit the federal government from prosecuting him for other crimes he might have committed in the future.

The White House referred to remarks from Mr Garland and the Justice Department when asked by The Independent.
Attorney General Merrick Garland granted special counsel status to David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has been investigating Hunter Biden for five years.

The move, announced Friday, gives Weiss broader leeway to investigate and bring charges, and it means Weiss will produce a report on his high-profile investigation into the presidents son. Garland said he will make as much of that report public as possible.

In an announcement at Justice Department headquarters, Garland said Weiss asked for special counsel authority Tuesday. Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

As Garland made the announcement, Weiss filed court papers seeking to move federal tax charges against Hunter Biden out of Delaware. The court papers said negotiations over a plea deal had reached an impasse and that the case is now headed toward trial.

Weiss is the U.S. attorney for Delaware and was originally appointed by former President Donald Trump. As special counsel, he has authority to bring criminal charges related to his probe in any part of the country he wishes. Garland had said previously that Weiss already enjoyed that authority, but two IRS agents told Congress that Weiss was blocked from bringing charges in different judicial districts. Weiss has disputed the agents accounts and promised to testify to Congress himself.

The developments signal a stunning escalation for a case that just two months ago appeared all but over. In June, prosecutors and Bidens lawyers revealed the outlines of a plea deal: Biden would plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and would enter a pretrial diversion agreement to resolve a felony gun charge and likely avoid prison time. As part of the deal, the Justice Department would grant Biden some degree of immunity against more charges. At the time, Bidens lawyers signaled that they expected the agreement to end the lengthy criminal investigation.

But on July 26, at a hearing at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, lawyers for both sides faced probing questions from Judge Maryellen Noreika. She pressed them on how broadly the deal would protect Biden from criminal charges. When a prosecutor said the deal wouldnt prevent potential future charges related to lobbying, Bidens lawyers threatened to back out. By the end of the tumultuous hearing, the deal appeared back on track, and the judge ordered both parties to submit briefs about how much discretion she had in approving the deal.

But in the weeks that followed  according to a new court filing from Weiss  the deal talks collapsed.

Following additional negotiations after the hearing held on July 26, 2023, the parties are at an impasse and are not in agreement on either a plea agreement or a diversion agreement, Weiss wrote.

In a separate court filing Friday, Weiss moved to dismiss the tax charges against Hunter Biden so they could be re-filed in a different venue either Washington, D.C. or California, where Biden lived when he allegedly failed to pay income tax in 2017 and 2018. That filing reiterated the Justice Departments plea deal pessimism.

The parties had previously agreed that the Defendant would waive any challenge to venue and plead guilty in Delaware, Weiss wrote. However, during the July 26, 2023, hearing that the Court set on this matter, the Defendant pled not guilty. Since that time, the parties have engaged in further plea negotiations but are at an impasse. The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial.

The filing also signaled that federal prosecutors may elect to bring the same charges or bring different ones. In other words, they could charge the First Son with crimes that are not detailed in the now-defunct plea deal.

Chris Clark, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, called the moves maneuverings.

Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution on behalf of our client  this U.S. attorney has diligently been investigating my client for five years and he had proposed a resolution which we fully intend to pursue in court, he said in a statement. It is hard to see why he would have proposed such a resolution if there were other offenses he could have successfully prosecuted, and we are aware of none. We are confident when all of these maneuverings are at an end my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully.

The Justice Department faces at least one potential wrinkle as it looks to unwind plea deal talks: Right before the July 26 hearing started, Weiss and Hunter Biden both signed the pretrial diversion agreement, which appeared to guarantee Biden broad immunity from criminal charges. During the hearing, Clark said the diversion agreement  which required Biden to remain drug-free and comply with all laws for two years  was locked in.

I want to be clear that it is the parties position that there is a diversion agreement between the parties which is binding, he said at the time.

But on Friday, prosecutors said the diversion agreement is gone.

[T]here is no longer a plea agreement or diversion agreement for the Court to consider, concluded one of the filings.

The status of the diversion agreement could be a major dispute as proceedings move forward.

Washington reels

The developments mean the first sons legal woes could continue deep into the 2024 election season. And it comes less than a month after a congressional hearing featured testimony from the two IRS agents who claimed that Weiss had been hindered in the case. The agents, who worked on the investigation, also said they were blocked from investigating possible connections between President Joe Biden and his sons alleged financial wrongdoing.

The Weiss appointment drew immediate opprobrium from the House Republicans who conducted that hearing. Many Hill Republicans have long called on Garland to make Weiss a special counsel; almost a year ago, Sen. Mitch McConnell joined 31 other Republican senators in calling for the move. Yet on Friday, their top House colleagues assailed Garlands announcement as a stonewalling attempt, pointing to the deal Weiss almost inked with Hunter Biden.

David Weiss cant be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familys corruption, said Russell Dye, a spokesperson for House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), in a statement.

And Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said his investigation into the First Sons business dealings would continue.

The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption, he said in a statement.

The White House referred questions to the Justice Department and Hunter Biden's legal team.

Trump, meanwhile, took a characteristically bellicose approach. His campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung issued a statement accusing the Bidens of selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartels own financial gain.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
Prosecutors on Thursday agreed to dismiss their case against a transgender man who was beaten by a sheriffs deputy outside a Los Angeles-area 7-Eleven, then criminally charged for resisting arrest.

Store surveillance footage obtained by The Times showed Deputy Joseph Benza repeatedly punching Emmett Brock as the Whittier man begged for his life. The arrest stemmed from a traffic stop the deputy said was based on an air freshener hed spotted hanging from Brocks rearview mirror and obstructing the view of the road.

Afterward, the department cleared Benza of wrongdoing but Brock lost his teaching job due to the pending charges against him. On Thursday, he said that news of the dismissal came as a relief and that his lawyer still plans to ask a court to declare him factually innocent.

I am feeling relieved that the district attorney made the right choice and chose justice," Brock said. "But I will feel more relieved when I get my job back.

A spokeswoman for the district attorneys office said only that the case was tossed due to insufficient evidence.

The decision to drop the charges comes days after Brocks lawyer formally filed paperwork accusing the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department of a cover-up, saying that several deputies made false accusations to put his client behind bars with excessive bail.

Emmett Brock says that his lawyer plans to ask a court to declare him factually innocent in the case. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

In the notice of claim  a filing that is typically the precursor to a lawsuit  attorney Thomas Beck also accused jailers at the Norwalk sheriffs station of harassing his client by allegedly forcing the then-23-year-old teacher to expose his genitals in order to prove his gender.

The Sheriffs Department said this week that, even though a use-of-force review cleared the deputy involved, other aspects of Brocks allegations are still under investigation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department takes all use of force incidents seriously, the department wrote in a statement. Unfortunately, we cannot comment any further at this time due to the pending litigation in this matter.

Attorney Tom Yu, who is representing the deputy involved, said his client conducted a lawful stop and then behaved just as he was trained.

Joe didnt do anything wrong, Yu said. If you dont want police officers to do takedowns, then dont train them that way.

On the morning of Feb. 10, Brock had left his high school teaching job early and was driving to a therapy appointment when he spotted a deputy who appeared to be having a heated conversation with a woman on the side of the road. As he drove by, Brock said, he casually threw up his middle finger, thinking the deputy would not see it.

A few seconds later, he said, he spotted a patrol cruiser following close behind him. The vehicle did not have on lights or sirens but mirrored each turn he made. Unnerved and fearing he was being followed by someone impersonating a police officer, he called 911.

Read more: 'I can't die like this': Video shows trans man beaten by deputy during stop

The dispatcher told him he didn't need to pull over, but Brock eventually parked in a 7-Eleven parking lot on Mills Avenue in Whittier. As Brock stepped out of his car, the deputy approached and told him: I just stopped you, offering no explanation as to why.

No, you didnt, Brock said, according to an audio recording captured by the deputys body camera.

Yeah, I did, the deputy said, before immediately grabbing Brocks arm and forcing him to the ground.

For the next three minutes, Brock struggled and screamed as the deputy held him down and punched him in the head.

Youre going to kill me, he shouted. Youre going to f-ing kill me. Help! Help! Help! Im not resisting!

After Brock was in handcuffs, the deputy put him into the back seat of his cruiser. Brock was bloodied and his glasses were broken, but, he said, he still didnt know why the deputy had stopped him in the first place.

In the version of events laid out in the 11-page incident report Benza filed in February, he did not mention seeing Brock flip him off. And in an interview with The Times this week, Benza's attorney said that the person Brock passed on the side of the road wasnt his client, but another law enforcement officer probably from another agency.

It was not a retaliation for being flipped off, Yu said. It was a pretext stop, and police do that all the time  if you dont like it, tell the legislature to change the law.

According to Brocks lawyer, though, the timing of events and the activity log for the patrol cruiser undermine Yus claim that it was a different officer.

Yu also said the force his client used was justified because it initially appeared that Brock was beginning to walk away from the deputy.

If you allow the suspect to walk away, shame on you because you can get killed, he said.

In the incident report, Benza admitted to grabbing Brocks arm and then punching him repeatedly but said it appeared the man was about to throw a punch. During the struggle, the deputy said, Brock attempted to rip my skin from my hand by repeatedly biting him.

But a paramedics report from the scene did not mention any bite marks. And when Benza went to a hospital later, a physician assistant wrote that there were no bite marks at this time.

In interviews with The Times, Brock denied biting the deputy.

After he was taken to the Norwalk station for booking  on three felonies and one misdemeanor  Brock was asked to give a statement, during which he explained he is transgender.

So youre a girl? he said one jailer asked him.

When Brock said he wasnt, the man asked whether he had a penis  and Brock said he did, explaining the effects of the hormones that hed been on for years. After one jailer asked for proof, Brock said, he spent a few awkward minutes in a bathroom showing her his genitalia before he was ultimately placed in a womens holding cell.

Emmett Brock with his mother, Deanna Brock. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Though his family bailed him out that evening, Brock said he lost his job four days later after state authorities notified the school of his pending charges.

Now, he said, he hopes to get his job back. In the coming weeks, Brock said, he and his lawyer also plan to file a formal lawsuit against the county based on the notice of claim. Aside from recounting details of the incident in Whittier, the notice says that others in the department allegedly warned Benza the entire incident had been caught on camera and helped him come up with a knowingly false justification for arresting Brock by claiming hed allegedly bit Benzas right hand.

The use-of-force investigation that followed  which cleared Benza of any wrongdoing  was allegedly falsified and distorted to further justify the criminal charges against Brock, the notice of claim says. The requested damages will be more than $10,000, according to the document.

The Sheriffs Department has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for two other use-of-force incidents caught on camera, including one in which a deputy punched a woman in the face while trying to take her child. In that case, Sheriff Robert Luna condemned the incident as completely unacceptable  and relieved the deputy of duty. The woman has since filed suit and the FBI is now investigating .





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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At least 36 people have been confirmed dead in the devastating hurricane-driven wildfires on Hawaii's Maui Island, authorities said on Wednesday.

"As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire," Maui County wrote in a statement posted on the county website Wednesday evening.

Strong winds from Hurricane Dora were to blame for the devastating wildfires, leaving parts of Lahaina, a tourist spot, destroyed.

The county said that more than 2,100 people stayed in four emergency shelters overnight, while another 2,000 tourists were sheltering at a local airport.

The death toll from the disaster could rise as the fires are still burning and rescue teams are searching charred areas, local officials were quoted as saying on Thursday.

U.S. President Joe Biden late Wednesday ordered "all available Federal assets" to help combat the wildfires in Hawaii.
PROSPECT PARK  The Board of Education has hired a former principal of the countys vocational high school to fill a new position of assistant superintendent.

Michael Parent, 51, who holds a doctorate in education leadership from Seton Hall University, was most recently the principal of the middle school and high school in Glen Rock.

He entered that role amid controversy.

MANCHESTER REGIONAL: School board, union settle impasse. See how much teachers will get

School officials in the Bergen County borough restructured the administration of grades six through 12, so that there would be one principal  a move that did not sit well with most students or teachers.

Parent, who will be paid a salary of $185,000 in his new role, did not respond on Wednesday to an inquiry about his appointment in Prospect Park.

Parent was the principal of Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne for eight years, and prior to that, he was the principal of Dumont High School for four years.

It was there that he made his mark as a firm but fair disciplinarian.

Michael Parent, assistant superintendent, Prospect Park School.

Parent oversaw an in-school suspension program that drastically cut truancy rates.

Parent announced his resignation from the Glen Rock post in May, initially accepting a job paying $171,655 as the principal of North Plainfield High School.

Two weeks later, the schools superintendent there issued a letter to the community in which she said Parent reconsidered his career path and that officials were certainly disappointed by his decision.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Prospect Park NJ tabs Ex-PCTI principal as assistant superintendent
In the past eight years, the number of civil servants pocketing annual pensions of over 100,000 has more than tripled.

Public sector pensions, which include all civil servants, NHS staff, teachers and members of the Armed Forces, are famously generous. They cover about 5.3 million workers, which represents nearly 20 per cent of the UK workforce. But hiding behind this generosity is a story of political short-termism, untrammelled self-interest, and, most tellingly, deep unfairness.

How so? The traditional settlement that pertained for most of the last century was that civil servants were paid somewhat modestly in return for security and stability in employment, and a good pension. Fifty years ago, that was exactly what it was. A good pension, but one which was very similar to those offered by most medium-sized and large private sector companies. They typically offered a pension of between half and two thirds of salary at retirement (which was then aged 60 for women and 65 for men).

But in the intervening decades, all of the private sector pensions on offer have gone, and been replaced by what is known as Defined Contribution pensions  essentially building individual cash pots which each retiree has to fund and manage him- or herself. Firms offering generous salary-based pensions were required to build up large funds  pension funds  to ensure that there was always enough money available to pay their pension promises, even if they, the employer, failed. The requirements imposed by this funding became overly expensive, hence the closure of final salary schemes in the private sector.

But the same pensions offered by government were exempted (by government!) from the laws requiring the funding of a segregated pension fund. The result of this was that, although governments of all hues paid lip service to the idea of paying contributions into a fund, the fund never existed. And although contributions were paid by employers like the NHS and local education authorities to HM Treasury, they were promptly spent as if they were tax income.

This pretend fund structure meant that the high costs that forced all the private pension closures didnt hit government. It was all pretend money  so no politicians cared, and the pensions stayed at the same level of generosity.

The result is that over the past 50 years or so a huge government debt has been built up in the form of all these pension promises  a debt which is now so colossal, at about 2.6 trillion, that it is actually slightly larger than the official national debt.

The debt is fully index-linked, so it cannot be inflated away, and it cannot be defaulted on without bringing real hardship to millions of pensioners who have planned their lives around this income.

To those who have been watching this slow-motion crash unfold, it is genuinely embarrassing to see how little senior politicians of all persuasions have known or cared, and how the self-interest of the well-heeled civil servants in charge has allowed such a catastrophic and unfair burden to land on the shoulders of future taxpayers, most of whom will never have the chance to enjoy a good pension themselves.

Neil Record is a former Bank of England economist and author of Sir Humphreys Legacy

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The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the sudden and tragic loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found after she vanished while going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air.

We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community, the post read.

We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.

Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm Saturday. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. Morins body was found the following day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide.

The heartfelt letter, which was shared on Thursday in a post on the Facebook page of Rachel Morins sister Rebekah, thanked the community for its support and announced that a Celebration of Life service and a 5K run would be held in Morins honour thanks to the money raised.

Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come), the family wrote.

Rachel Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm Saturday. Her body was found the following day (GoFundme)

And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.

The GoFundMe goal amount was raised to $65,000 to help pay for the arrangements and it has raised $41,612 as of Thursday.

If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart. When its sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope, the letter continued.

Morins mother breaks her silence with a post on Facebook asking compassion and time to grieve (Rebekah Morin/Facebook)

As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter. Thank you for caring. Truly.

Morins family shared the letter with the update just a day after the Hartford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler vowed to bring the heinous coward who killed Morin to justice.

He also confirmed police had yet to identify a solid suspect but said detectives have been working around the clock and that some of the more than 100 tips that have been submitted by the public have been promising.
Nearly a week since Rachel Morin was found dead after she vanished from a popular walking trail in Maryland, no suspects have been named in connection with her homicide, and locals are wondering whether the attack was random.

The Maryland mother of five was jogging on the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, when she disappeared. She was found dead in what authorities have described as a "horrific" homicide the next day.

A majority of female runners fear being attacked because instances of these random crimes are not entirely uncommon.

"These cases are not out of the ordinary, and while you are always looking at individuals who are closest to the victim, you also have to keep your eyes open," former Washington, D.C., homicide detective and Fox News contributor Ted Williams told Fox News Digital. "This is one reason why women are told, if you're going to be jogging alone early in the morning or late at night, to change their jogging pattern  because there are always, unfortunately, predators out here."

MAN WHO SEARCHED FOR RACHEL MORIN DESCRIBES TERRIBLE DISCOVERY NEAR TRAIL

The Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland is investigating the death of Rachel Morin.

"I've seen it happen around the country, unfortunately," Williams added.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The former homicide detective was reporting on the ground from the nation's capital when Chandra Levy, 24, was found dead in Rock Creek Park  a 2.7-square-mile park in the center of Washington, D.C.  in May 2002 after she vanished from a jog in May 2001.

RACHEL MORIN'S HORRIFIC MURDER ALONG MARYLAND WALKING TRAIL SHOCKS VERY SAFE COMMUNITY: SHERIFF

Levy was reportedly having an affair with former Congressman Gary Condit at the time of her disappearance, prompting speculation directed at the congressman until 2009.

That year, authorities arrested Ingmar Guandique, an undocumented immigrant and known MS-13 gang member involved in other abductions of women, in connection with Levy's abduction and murder. In 2011, he was sentenced to serve 60 years in prison.

Chandra Levy was found dead after she went for a jog in Washington, D.C.

The case remains unsolved to this day, however, because it was later overturned and in 2016 prosecutors dropped their case against Guandique. The next year, he was deported back to El Salvador.

Mollie Tibbetts, 20, also vanished while running on a rural road outside her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18, 2018.

MOLLIE TIBBETTS MURDER: DEFENSE SAYS MISSING 11-YEAR-OLD BOY, SEX TRAFFICKING RING LINKED TO CASE

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 27, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico working as a farmhand at the time, was convicted in 2018 for her murder and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Investigators tied Bahena Rivera to the scene of Tibbetts' murder after surveillance video from a homeowner appeared to show his Chevy Malibu repeatedly driving past the victim as she was jogging.

MARYLAND SHERIFF SAYS WOMAN FOUND DEAD ON HIKING TRAIL WAS MURDERED: THIS IS FOUL PLAY

When Behena Rivera was sentenced in 2021, Tibbetts' mother, Laura Calderwood, addressed her daughter's killer in a victim impact statement read by a representative to the court.

"Mollie was a young woman who simply wanted to go for a quiet run on the evening of July 18, and you chose to violently and sadistically end that life," Calderwood wrote, adding that because of Bahena Rivera's actions, her daughter would never get to experience marriage or motherhood.

In August 2016, Karina Vetrano was jogging near her family's Howard Beach home in Queens, New York, when she was brutally beaten and left for dead by an unknown assailant. Her father, Phil Vetrano, and police discovered her body about 15 feet from the jogging path in marshland.

Chanel Lewis, 22, was found guilty in 2019 of sexually assaulting and murdering the 30-year-old woman two years after his arrest.

Lewis confessed to killing Vetrano in a recorded interview with investigators. He said he was angry at his neighbor at the time and suggested Vetrano happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to The New York Daily News.

"She didnt do anything," he told police. "I was just mad at that time. I beat her to let my emotions out. I didnt really mean to hurt her. It just happened."

Authorities also linked Lewis to the crime through crime scene DNA.

Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old teacher, left her Memphis, Tennessee, home around 4 a.m. in September 2022 for a morning run. As she passed by the University of Memphis campus, a stranger named Cleotha Abston allegedly snatched her off the street, forced her into his SUV, sexually assaulted her and shot her in the back of the head.

Abston, 38, allegedly camped out in the area for about 24 minutes before Fletcher was taken. Police say surveillance cameras recorded him sprinting out of a GMC Terrain SUV and grabbing Fletcher around 5:30 a.m. In the ensuing struggle, he lost his Champion slides at the scene, and police found his DNA on them, according to an arrest affidavit.

Eliza Fletcher, left, in a photo released by Memphis Police. Cleotha Abston, right, appears in court for his arraignment Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022.

Police found Fletcher's remains dumped behind a vacant home near Abston's brother's apartment days later. Witnesses told investigators they saw him washing out the SUV in the parking lot with chemical cleaner.

ELIZA FLETCHER KIDNAPPING: MEMPHIS TEACHER KILLED IN SUSPECTED 'ISOLATED ATTACK BY A STRANGER,' POLICE SAY

The case against Abston is ongoing; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Morin's case is also similar to the 2020 murder of Sydney Sutherland, 25, who was jogging near her home in Jackson County, Arkansas, when she went missing. Her body was discovered north of her home two days later, and police soon arrested Quake Lewellyn, 28, in connection with her abduction, sexual assault and murder.

MOTHER OF JOGGER WHO WAS RAPED, MURDERED BY LOCAL FARMER BELIEVES ATTACK WAS PREMEDITATED

Unlike the former cases, authorities said Lewellyn, a local farmer, and Sutherland knew each other. He was traveling westbound on County Road 41, saw Sutherland walking and abducted her. He then put her in the back of his pickup truck and assaulted her before killing the young nurse.

Lewellyn would eventually confess to the crime, allegedly telling medical experts that he "was driving to check the wells and the rice fields" when he spotted Sutherland walking along a gravel road. He turned his truck around after driving past her, but could no longer see her and assumed he hit her with his vehicle. When he believed her to be dead, he took her to a rice field, where he dug a hole, took off her clothes "and tried messing with her a bit."

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison in 2021.

Morin's cause and manner of death have not been released as of Thursday, but Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler described her killing as " a criminal homicide " in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Rachel Morin has been missing since Saturday evening after saying she was taking a walk on a Maryland trail.

Williams said suspects in these kinds of cases  strangers targeting women who are walking or jogging  typically occur in places that are familiar to them. The suspects are also normally young and relatively strong, he said.

DAD OF MISSING WISCONSIN BOY, 13, WHO LEFT HOME IN FAMILY VAN BELIEVES HE MAY HAVE BEEN COERCED

"Unfortunately joggers are at a disadvantage because the perpetrators of these kinds of crimes know where to [hide] to try to determine how best to take the woman down," the former detective said. "It is more likely than not that the perpetrator was a manand a younger man, and he would have known where to take [Morin] and maybe attempt to assault her and try to hide the body. The one thing you look for in a case of this nature is familiarity."

Morin's boyfriend, Richard Tobin, broke his silence Sunday in a Facebook post after online sleuths speculated that he might have played a role in her death.

A photo of Rachel Morin is posted to a tree by her family along the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. The 37-year-old was found murdered on Sunday after jogging on the trail.

"I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve. Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please," the 27-year-old wrote.

Sheriff Gahler said investigators are looking into both Morin's "inner circle" and working their way out to people who may not have known her at all.

The sheriff's office is encouraging anyone with a tip that may be helpful for authorities to call 410-836-5430 or send the Harford County Sheriff's Office a message through its Facebook page.

Fox News' Louis Casiano, Yael Halon and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Rachel Morins mother has broken her silence as the mother-of-fives killer remains at large.

In an open letter posted on Facebook, her mother pleaded for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the sudden and tragic loss: We need the time and space to grieve as a family.

Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air at around 6pm Saturday. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. Morins body was found the following day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide.

On Thursday, Harford County Sheriffs Office said investigators had been made aware of potential witnesses who may have seen Morin on the trail that night. The witnesses  either three men, two women and two dogs or two men, three women and two dogs  were urged to come forward.

The sheriff also denied claims made by Michael Gabriszeski who insisted he and his stepdaughter found Morins body. While Mr Gabriszeski gave graphic accounts of what he claimed he saw to multiple outlets, the sheriffs office told The Independent he wasnt even within eyesight of the crime scene.

Key points

Rachel Morin last seen alive heading to Ma and Pa hiking trail in Maryland

Mother-of-five killed just a week after her baby niece died

Boyfriend breaks silence over death to deny involvement

Morins sister launches GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses

Investigators receive over 100 tips from public after appealing for help

Timeline in Rachel Morin case

12:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Saturday, 5 August

6pm  Rachel Morin is last seen heading out to run on the Ma & Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

11.23pm  The boyfriend of Rachel reports her missing after she does not return home.

Police begin searching for Rachel on the trail and surrounding areas.

Sunday, 6 August

1pm  Body of female victim located off of the Ma & Pa Trail is reported to police.

Monday, 7 August

Police confirm the body found on the rail is Rachel Morin.

Police have yet to identify a solid suspect in Rachel Morin homicide case

11:00 , Andrea Cavallier

There is no solid suspect yet in the homicide case of Rachel Morin, the mother of five who was found dead on sunday.

We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.

Read more:

Sheriff calls out heinous coward who killed Rachel Morin

Sheriff calls out heinous coward who killed Rachel Morin

09:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler vowed to bring the heinous coward who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin to justice - though investigators still have yet to identify a suspect.

Mr Gahler did not share many details in the update over concern of jeopardising the ongoing probe, but said there was one thing he was sure of, and that this was an intentional taking of a persons life.

Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends, Mr Gahler said on Wednesday.

Andrea Cavallier reports.

Sheriff calls out heinous coward who killed Rachel Morin

What is The Ma and Pa Trail?

07:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Rachel Morin was reported missing on Saturday night, and after law enforcement appealed for information to find the mother of five, a body was found on The Ma and Pa Trail on Sunday afternoon.

The 6.25 mile (10km) trail gets its name from the former Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad corridor that ran through the town of Bel Air in Harford County.

The track was dismantled in the 1950s, and later turned into a heritage trail along the railroads former route.

It consists of a 3.3mile section through Bel Air and a 1.7mile segment in neighbouring Forest Hill.

According to Alltrails.com, the trail is moderately challenging and takes around 2 hours and 25 minutes to complete.

In the wake of Ms Morins death, authorities have warned hikers to take particular care and be aware of their surroundings.

The Ma and Pa Trial, viewed from the Williams St trailhead, where Rachel Morins car was located on Sunday morning (Google Maps)

Rachel Morin's mother breaks silence after shocking homicide

05:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the sudden and tragic loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found near a hike trial on Sunday,

We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community, the post read.

We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.

The heartfelt letter, which was shared Thursday in a post on the Facebook page of Rachel Morins sister Rebekah, thanked the community for its support and announced that a Celebration of Life service and a 5K run would be held in Morins honor thanks to the money raised.

Rachel Morins mother breaks her silence with a post on Facebook asking compassion and time to grieve (Rebekah Morin/Facebook)

Sheriff denies mans claim that he saw Rachel Morins body

03:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Michael Gabriszeski, 49, claimed to multiple news outlets that he and his stepdaughter came across Rachel Morins body on Sunday.

However, the Harford County Sheriffs Office told The Independent that Mr Gabriszeski was not even within eyesight of the crime scene when her body was found.

Mr Gabriszeski did not find Rachels body and that he did not view her body and he has no first-hand knowledge of the crime scene, the sheriffs office added.

Mr Gabriszeski gave graphic accounts of what he claimed he saw to both the Daily Mail and WBFF, telling the latter that he saw a terrible mess.

Read more:

Sheriff denies mans claim that he saw Rachel Morins body

Sheriff says Rachel Morins boyfriend has been interviewed

01:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler addressed questions about whether Morins boyfriend Richard Tobin had been interviewed.

The answer is yes, we have, the sheriff said, Along with many other people who are close to Rachel.

That is the way an investigation is conducted, he added.

Mr Tobin released a statement on Facebook earlier this week saying he had nothing to do with Morins death.

Investigators in the Harford County Sheriffs Office do not have an official suspect yet in the case.

We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event, Mr Gahler said.

Richard Tobin has denied involvement in his girlfriend Rachel Morins death as homicide probe launched after womans body found (Facebook / Rachel Morin)

Investigators do not have a suspect in Rachel Morin case

Friday 11 August 2023 00:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said investigators do not yet have a solid suspect in the killing of Rachel Morin.

"We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event," Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler urged the public to be vigilant when walking along the Ma & Pa Trail and said there will be increased patrols along the trail.

Who was Rachel Morin?

Thursday 10 August 2023 23:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old woman from Maryland with five children, was found deceased near the side of a trail in Bel Air on Sunday.

Law enforcement in the Harford Police Department said Morins death was a homicide with foul play suspected.

According to reports, Morin was a fitness enthusiast who was going on a run at the Ma & Pa Trail at the time of her disappearance.

Her mother wrote in a letter shared on Facebook Thursday that Morin was an avid runner. A 5K is being planned in her honour.

A friend of Morins, Becca Dill, described her as a fighter who found strength in her faith.

Rachel Morin, 37, was a fierce protector of her children and loved them with all of her heart, a close friend wrote in a social media tribute (Harford County Sheriffs Office)

Ms Dill told The Baltimore Banner on days [Morin] felt defeated or abandoned by the world she would read scripture.

Morins best friend, Claudia Brown, wrote in a Facebook post that, Rachel was so unabashedly herself: witty and genuine, brilliant, daring, and headstrong. Her spirit would light up the room and her smile was contagious.

She added that her faith was strong.

Ms Brown wrote that Ms Morin had been divorced, and was a fierce protector of her children and loved them with all of her heart.

Ms Morin had worked as a model and appeared on the cover of Owl Magazine, Harford Community Colleges student publication, where her brother John Morin worked as a technical director.

She also started her own cleaning business, East Coast Cleaners, in 2019, according to Open Corporates.

Rachel Morin was last seen alive heading off on the Ma and Pa Trail (Harford County Sheriffs Office)

Sheriff urges public to keep sending tips for Rachel Morins case

Thursday 10 August 2023 22:00 , Andrea Cavallier

He urged the public to keep sending in tips - even if the details may seem insignificant.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler reiterated that the public should continue sending in tips even if the details may seem insignificant.

That might be the key piece of evidence of information we are looking for, the sheriff said.

Some of your tips have been promising and tremendous in advancing the investigation and bringing us closer to getting the answers that we need, the answers that Rachels family needs, and the answers that our community needs.

#Alert Rachel Morin Investigation

If you were on the Ma & Pa Trail on Saturday, or near the trail or trail heads and took photos or video, we are asking if you would please share them with investigators. Please send it to Sgt. Maddox at maddoxc@harfordsheriff.org.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) August 8, 2023

Man who claimed he saw Rachel Morins body never did, sheriff says

Thursday 10 August 2023 20:30 , Andrea Cavallier

The Maryland man who claimed he saw the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin was not even within eyesight of the crime scene when she was found, the Harford County Sheriffs Office told The Independent.

Michael Gabriszeski, 49, claimed to multiple news outlets that he and his stepdaughter came across Morins body on Sunday when they joined the search for the missing mother-of-five, who had vanished on Saturday after going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.

Mr Gabriszeski said that his stepdaughter, who he said was a friend of Morins, was the first to discover the body in a tunnel near the trail before they alerted police. He gave his first public comments to WMAR on Monday.

On Thursday, multiple media outlets published interviews in which Mr Gabriszeski described seeing Morins remains in a horrifying state.

Mr Gabriszeski gave graphic accounts of what he claimed he saw to both the Daily Mail and WBFF, telling the latter that he saw a terrible mess.

But a spokesperson for the Harford Countys Sheriffs Office confirmed to The Independent on Thursday that Mr Gabriszeski did not find Rachels body and that he did not view her body.

He has no first-hand knowledge of the crime scene, the sheriffs office added. The spokesperson would not confirm whether or not the stepdaughter was the one to locate the body.

Family plans celebration of life for Rachel Morin as GoFundMe reaches $41K

Thursday 10 August 2023 19:30 , Andrea Cavallier

The goal amount for the GoFundMe has been raised to $65,000 as the family now plans to arrange a large celebration of life for Rachel Morin.

As of Thursday afternoon, donations totalled $41,612.

In a Facebook post, Morins mother wrote that because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited .

Morins sister Rebkah, who created the page, posted on 7 August, thanking everyone for their support .

I raised the goal as we would like to do a large celebration of life for Rachel. We had no idea the amount of people she touched, even in just her everyday life. We want all those who loved her to grieve with us and celebrate her life. We would also like to raise enough to get a headstone that is fitting for her and we did not take into account the fees. We appreciate all those who have shared, donated and thoughtful words. ai Thank you.

Rachel Morins mom pens open letter asking for time to grieve

Thursday 10 August 2023 18:22 , Andrea Cavallier

Rachel Morins sister Rebekah shared an open letter from Rachels mother asking for time to grieve.

The letter was posted to Facebook on Thursday just a day after the Hartford County Sheriff vowed to bring the heinous coward who killed Morin to justice.

The post reads:

To all the mothers with daughters, to the fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands, to our local community, and to world onlookers:

If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart. When its sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope.

As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter.

Thank you for caring. Truly.

Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come).

And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.

We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community. We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.

Thank you,

Rachels Mom

Heavy presence of police patrolling trail

Thursday 10 August 2023 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

After the disappearance and death of Rachel Morin, police in the Harford County Sheriffs Office have begun implementing a heavy presence of deputies patrolling the trail where the 37-year-old went missing.

This heavy presence includes authorities patrolling by foot, bike and all-terain vehicles.

The new large quantity of patrolling deputies is part of an effort to make members of the community feel safer.

Morin was killed over the weekend after going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

Investigation into Rachel Morins death and disappearance continues



The 37-year olds body was found on the Ma & Pa trail here August 6th in Bel Air



Authorities have received more than 100 tips saying theyll catch the heinous coward responsible with publics help @wbalradio pic.twitter.com/25zvsKQool  Ken Duffy (@kenduffywbal) August 10, 2023

Police do not have a solid suspect as of now and have warned people to act viligantly when embarking on the trail.

Father who discovered Rachel Morins body speaks out

Thursday 10 August 2023 16:30 , Andrea Cavallier

The Maryland man who found the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin said he had a feeling about the tunnels where she was found dead off the Ma and Pa Trail.

Michael Gabriszeski, 49, told local news outlet WMAR-2 News that he joined the search for Morin after hearing about her disappearance from his daughter who was friends with Morin.

Read more here:

Father who discovered Rachel Morins body says he had a feeling about those tunnels

Maryland sheriff calls out heinous coward who killed Rachel Morin

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:42 , Andrea Cavallier

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler called out the heinous coward responsible for the homicide of mother-of-five Rachel Morin.

The sheriff gave the latest update on Wednesday and said the killer must be brought to justice.

Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends, Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler said a team of detectives have been working around the clock to piece together a timeline of the case and that some of the more than 100 tips that have been submitted by the public have been promising.

Some of your tips have been promising and tremendous in advancing the investigation and bringing us closer to getting the answers that we need, the answers that Rachels family needs, and the answers that our community needs, the sheriff said.

He urged the public to keep sending in tips - even if the details may seem insignificant.

That might be the key piece of evidence of information we are looking for, he added.

Recap: Rachel Morins chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail

Thursday 10 August 2023 15:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Rachel Morin shared a post on Facebook that hinted at her possible affinity for thrill months before she was found dead along a forest trail in Maryland.

Morin shared a post in February that read: Risk can be dangerous, but routine can be deadly. Comfort has killed more dreams than daring ever did.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar has more.

Rachel Morins Facebook post before she was found dead on Maryland hiking trail

Timeline in Rachel Morin case

Thursday 10 August 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Saturday, 5 August

6pm  Rachel Morin is last seen heading out to run on the Ma & Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

11.23pm  The boyfriend of Rachel reports her missing after she does not return home.

Police begin searching for Rachel on the trail and surrounding areas.

Sunday, 6 August

1pm  Body of female victim located off of the Ma & Pa Trail is reported to police.

Monday, 7 August

Police confirm the body found on the rail is Rachel Morin.

More than 100 tips about Rachel Morin have led to tremendous advantage in case

Thursday 10 August 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

Police in the Harford County Sheriffs Office said theyve received over 100 tips from the public regarding the case of Rachel Morin, many of which have been helpful in the investigation.

Some of your tips have been very promising and tremendous in advancing the investigation and bringing us closer to getting the answers that we need, sheriff Jeffery Gahler said in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday.

Mr Gahler asked that people continue to send in all tips, even if they seem minuscule.

Even if its something that you might think is insignificant, that might be the key piece of evidence or information we are looking for.

Rachel Morins boyfriend has already been questioned by police

Thursday 10 August 2023 12:00 , Ariana Baio

Police in the Harford County Sheriffs Office have already questioned Rachel Morins boyfriend Richard Tobin  the Harford County sheriff said in a statement posted online.

Public speculation surrounding Morins death and disappearance has resulted in online theories about Morins recent boyfriend, Mr Tobin.

Mr Tobin released a statement on Facebook earlier this week saying he had nothing to do with Morins death.

Police have not released any further information about their investigation into Morins homicide.

Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Her sister says she did not go willingly

Thursday 10 August 2023 11:00 , Ariana Baio

Rachel Morin left her home in Bel Air, Maryland, at around 6pm on Saturday 5 August, and headed to a popular hiking trail just outside of town.

When the mother-of-five failed to return that night, her new boyfriend Richard Tobin called police at about 11pm to report her missing, according to Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.

The next morning, the 37-year-olds car was located at the Williams St entrance to the Ma and Pa Trail.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Rachel Morins homicide probed as sister says she did not go willingly

Police ask publics help in collecting information about Rachel Morin

Thursday 10 August 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

#Alert Rachel Morin Investigation

If you were on the Ma & Pa Trail on Saturday, or near the trail or trail heads and took photos or video, we are asking if you would please share them with investigators. Please send it to Sgt. Maddox at maddoxc@harfordsheriff.org.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) August 8, 2023

Community very concerned after Rachel Morin found dead

Thursday 10 August 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said for a small community with low crime, Harford County is shaken by the death of Rachel Morin.

We are a county that enjoys very low crime, Mr Gahler told Fox News Digital.

Mr Gahler said police have no suspects in the investigation into Morins homicide. He said it could have been an act of random violence or something more planned.

Our community is rightly very concerned, Mr Gahler said.

Rachel Morins infant niece died one week before she went missing

Thursday 10 August 2023 05:00 , Ariana Baio

Eight days before Rachel Morin went missing, her baby niece unexpectedly died.

On GoFundMe, Rachels sister, Rebekah, created a GoFundMe on 28 July for her brother and sister-in-law whose three-month-old baby, Lily Beth, passed away.

This precious baby girl passed away unexpectedly and has left us all with heartbreaking sadness. Lily Beth was always happy and her smile and giggle won the hearts of everyone who came in contact with her, Rebekah wrote in the GoFundMe description.

On Facebook, Rebekah posted that she was heartbroken the day her niece died.

Man who discovered Rachel Morins body says he had a feeling about those tunnels'

Thursday 10 August 2023 03:00 , Ariana Baio

Rachel Morins chilling Facebook post before she was found on Maryland hiking trail

Thursday 10 August 2023 01:00 , Ariana Baio

Rachel Morin shared a post on Facebook that hinted at her possible affinity for thrill months before she was found dead along a forest trail in Maryland.

Morin shared a post in February that read: Risk can be dangerous, but routine can be deadly. Comfort has killed more dreams than daring ever did.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Rachel Morins Facebook post before she was found dead on Maryland hiking trail

No suspect in Rachel Morin case yet

Thursday 10 August 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

Investigators in the Harford County Sheriffs Office do not have an official suspect yet in the case of Rachel Morin.

Jeffery Gahler, the Harford County sheriff told WBALTV that they are unsure whether or not Morins death was targeted.

We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event, Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler urged the public to be vigilant when walking along the Ma & Pa Trail and said there will be increased patrols along the trail.

Rachel Morins boyfriend says he would never do anything to her

Wednesday 9 August 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

The boyfriend of a Maryland mother-of-five has denied involvement in her death, after police launched a homicide probe into the death of a woman whose body was found on a popular hiking trail.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Rachel Morins boyfriend denies involvement as homicide probe launched

Heavy presence of police patrolling trail

Wednesday 9 August 2023 22:07 , Ariana Baio

After the disappearance and death of Rachel Morin, police in the Harford County Sheriffs Office have begun implementing a heavy presence of deputies patrolling the trail where the 37-year-old went missing.

This heavy presence includes authorities patrolling by foot, bike and all-terain vehicles.

The new large quantity of patrolling deputies is part of an effort to make members of the community feel safer.

Morin was killed over the weekend after going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

Police do not have a solid suspect as of now and have warned people to act viligantly when embarking on the trail.

$40K raised for Rachel Morin memorial fund

Wednesday 9 August 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

More than $40,000 have been raised in a GoFundMe dedicated to Rachel Morin.

The fundraiser, which began shortly after Morins body was found off of the Ma and Pa Trail, has had over 900 people donate to it.

Morins sister, Rebekah Morin, set up the GoFundMe to raise money for the family to bury the 37-year-old who police say was killed after going for a jog Saturday evening.

Any leftover funds will go to Morins mother and her five children.

Harford County sheriff provides update on Rachel Morin investigation

Wednesday 9 August 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

In a video posted to Facebook, Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler provided an update to the Rachel Morin case saying investigators were doing everything they can do find out what happened to the 37-year-old.

Mr Gahler said a team of ten investigators were working together scouring every detail of the days, hour and seconds before Rachel died in order to put goether the pieces of a comprehensive timeline.

The investigation includes interviews with the people closest to Morin, which authorities have already done.

Mr Gahler confirmed investigators already spoke with Morins boyfriend but did not provide further detail.

Law enforcement say it is more than obviously apparent Rachel Morin was killed

Wednesday 9 August 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

Jeffery Gahler, the Harford County sheriff, told Fox News Digital that when investigators arrived at the scene where Rachel Morin was found it was apparent something sinister had occurred.

It was more than obviously apparent to police officers and our detectives who came up that this was not an accidental injury  somebody out exercising who had fallen down and sustained a fatal injury, this was not something that was self-inflicted, Mr Gahler said.

This was the actions of one or more persons who took her life in a criminal homicide, an egregious, horrific act.

The Harford County Medical Examiners Office has yet to release an official manner of death for Morin.

Watch: Update from Harford County Sheriff on Rachel Morin investigation

Wednesday 9 August 2023 18:59 , Ariana Baio

Bel Air community walks in memory of Rachel Morin

Wednesday 9 August 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

Members of the Bel Air, Maryland community gathered on Tuesday evening to walk along the same trail where Rachel Morin was last seen, and later where her body was found, to make a statement.

"A lot of moms that come here walk this trail after they drop their kids off in the morning at camp or school. They walk with their babies and theyre scared to walk the trail," Harford County councilwoman Jessica Boyle-Tsottles told WBALTV. "When people dont feel safe, we need to do something about it."

The walk, organised by Ms Boyle-Tsottles, was to honor the life of Morin and promote feelings of safety among the public.

"We stand strong and we are united. We dont put up with crime in our community," Ms Boyle-Tsottles said.

Morins family did not attend the walk, saying they did not want to be associated with the walk.

Father who discovered Rachel Morins body speaks out: I had a feeling about those tunnels

Wednesday 9 August 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

The Maryland man who found the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin said he had a feeling about the tunnels where she was found dead off the Ma and Pa Trail.

Michael Gabriszeski, 49, told local news outlet WMAR-2 News that he joined the search for Morin after hearing about her disappearance from his daughter who was friends with Morin.

Morin, a mother of five, went missing on Saturday after going for a jog on the trail. The following day, her body was located off the trail by Mr Gabriszeski.

Father who discovered Rachel Morins body says he had a feeling about those tunnels

Harford County Sheriffs Office increase patrolling along trail

Wednesday 9 August 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

In the wake of Rachel Morins tragic death, the Harford County Sheriffs Office is increasing the number of patrols around the Ma and Pa trail in Bel Air, Maryland.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said authorities do not have a solid suspect in the case yet  leaving the public uneasy about their safety.

Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event, Jeffery Gahler, the Harford County sheriff told local news outlet WBAL.

Local man says he had a bad feeling about tunnels where Morin was found

Wednesday 9 August 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

Michael Gabriszeski, the Maryland man who found the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin said he had a feeling about the tunnels where she was found off the Ma and Pa Trail.

Mr Gabriszeski, 49, told local news outlet WMAR-2 News that he joined the search for Morin after hearing about her disappearance from his daughter who was friends with Morin.

Mr Gabriszeski said he told police to search tunnels that exist around the Ma and Pa Trail because he had a bad feeling about them.

I kept telling them to search the tunnels because I had a feeling about those tunnels, Mr Gabriszeski said. I walked forward to search the one tunnel, and they searched the one, and thats where they found her.

Mr Gabriszeski said he hopes locating Morins body can result in a a final resting place so that door can be finally closed for the Morin family.

[I hope] they can get the investigation on and, hopefully, catch the person who did this trifling act, Mr Gabriszeski said.

He added that whoever is responsible for Morins death should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Community very concerned after Rachel Morin found dead

Wednesday 9 August 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said for a small community with low crime, Harford County is shaken by the death of Rachel Morin.

We are a county that enjoys very low crime, Mr Gahler told Fox News Digital.

Mr Gahler said police have no suspects in the investigation into Morins homicide. He said it could have been an act of random violence or something more planned.

Our community is rightly very concerned, Mr Gahler said.

Rachel Morins infant niece died one week before she went missing

Wednesday 9 August 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

Eight days before Rachel Morin went missing, her baby niece unexpectedly died.

On GoFundMe, Rachels sister, Rebekah, created a GoFundMe on 28 July for her brother and sister-in-law whose three-month-old baby, Lily Beth, passed away.

This precious baby girl passed away unexpectedly and has left us all with heartbreaking sadness. Lily Beth was always happy and her smile and giggle won the hearts of everyone who came in contact with her, Rebekah wrote in the GoFundMe description.

On Facebook, Rebekah posted that she was heartbroken the day her niece died.

More than a week later, Rachel was found dead on the side of a hiking trail.

Investigators receive over 90 tips in Morin case as man who found body says he had a feeling she would be in trail tunnels

Wednesday 9 August 2023 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Maryland homicide detectives investigating the murder of missing mother-of-five Rachel Morin have said they have already received 90 tips from members of the public about her final movements.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, officers appealed for further information: Detectives are asking your your help.

If you were on the Ma & Pa Trail on Saturday, or near the trail or trail heads and took photos or video, we are asking if you would please share them with investigators.

There could be something helpful in one of your photos that might bring us one one more piece of the puzzle.

As of this morning, we have already received nearly 90 tips from concerned community members in reference to the murder of Rachel Morin.

Thank you for all the support you have given.

Meanwhile, the local man who found her body, Michael Gabriszeski, has told WMAR: I got down and searched the tunnels because I had a feeling about these tunnels.

And I walked forward to search the one tunnel, and they searched the one, and thats where they found her.

[I hope she can] find a final resting place in her family so that that door can be finally closed. [So] they can get the investigation on and hopefully catch the person that did this trifling act.

GoFundMe raises more than $39K

Wednesday 9 August 2023 11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Rebekah Morin, the sister of Rachel Morin, has raised more than $39K to pay for her sisters funeral expenses and any additional finances needed for her sisters five children.

The fundraiser, which was set up after Morin was found deceased on the side of a trail in Bel Air, had raised $39,562 as of Wednesday morning.

We appreciate all those who have shared, donated and thoughtful words, Rebekah wrote in an update on the GoFundMe.

Sheriff confirms foul play was involved in Rachel Morins death

Wednesday 9 August 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

On Sunday night, Rachel Morins boyfriend Richard Tobin took to social media to state his innocence while also making reference to his lengthy criminal rap sheet.

I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve, Mr Tobin wrote.

Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.

Court records show Mr Tobin has two arrests for second-degree assault, and separate arrests for violating restraining orders, malicious destruction of property and drug possession dating back to 2014

Mr Tobin has also faced charges of being a fugitive from justice, resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication, according to Maryland judiciary case search records.

Mr Tobin has not been named as a suspect, or accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the homicide inquiry.

Mr Tobin only confirmed his relationship with Ms Morin in a Facebook post on 1 August, five days before she was reported missing.

Police ask for video and photo tips

Wednesday 9 August 2023 05:00 , Ariana Baio

#Alert Rachel Morin Investigation

If you were on the Ma & Pa Trail on Saturday, or near the trail or trail heads and took photos or video, we are asking if you would please share them with investigators. Please send it to Sgt. Maddox at maddoxc@harfordsheriff.org.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) August 8, 2023

What is The Ma and Pa Trail?

Wednesday 9 August 2023 03:00 , Ariana Baio

Rachel Morin was reported missing on Saturday night, and after law enforcement appealed for information to find the mother of five, a body was found on The Ma and Pa Trail on Sunday afternoon.

The 6.25 mile (10km) trail gets it name from the former Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad corridor that ran through the town of Bel Air in Harford County.

The track was dismantled in the 1950s, and later turned into a heritage trail along the railroads former route.

It consists of a 3.3mile section through Bel Air and a 1.7mile segment in neighbouring Forest Hill.

According to Alltrails.com, the trail is moderately challenging and takes around 2 hours and 25 minutes to complete.

In the wake of Ms Morins death, authorities have warned hikers to take particular care and be aware of their surroundings.

Watch: Maryland mom of five Rachel Morin was killed just a week after her baby niece died

Wednesday 9 August 2023 01:00 , Ariana Baio

Community walk being held for Rachel Morin

Wednesday 9 August 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

Members of the Harford County community are being invited to take part in a memorial walk for Rachel Morin, the 37-year-old mother of five who was found dead on the side of a trail.

Harford County council member Jessica Boyle Tsottles posted on Facebook inviting people to walk the Ma & Pa Trail where Morin was last seen and eventually found.

In order to unite as a community and empower the women of Harford County. Join us as we walk the Ma & Pa trail together.

The walk is set to take place at 6.30pm

Watch: Authorities search around Ma & Pa trail before identifying Rachel Morin

Tuesday 8 August 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler and a visible group of Deputies on ATVs are here at the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air today.



Gahler tells me investigators are unable to say right now if the homicide of Rachel Morin was targeted or random. @FOXBaltimore pic.twitter.com/2cHcWraNDS  Amy Simpson (@AmySimpsonTV) August 7, 2023

Rachel Morins car was found outside of trail

Tuesday 8 August 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

After Rachel Morin failed to return home from her job on Saturday, her boyfriend Richard Tobin called the police at about to report her missing.

The next morning, the 37-year-olds car was located at the Williams St entrance to the Ma and Pa Trail.

Authorities recovered the vehicle on Sunday morning, and it is being processed for evidence, the sheriffs department said.

Who was Rachel Morin?

Tuesday 8 August 2023 20:07 , Ariana Baio

Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old woman from Maryland, was found deceased near the side of a trail in Bel Air on Sunday.

Law enforcement in the Harford Police Department said Morins death was a homicide with foul play suspected.

According to reports, Morin was a fitness enthusiast who was going on a run at the Ma & Pa Trail at the time of her disappearance.

A friend of Morins, Becca Dill, described her as a fighter who found strength in her faith.

Ms Dill told The Baltimore Banner on days [Morin] felt defeated or abandoned by the world she would read scripture.

Morins best friend, Claudia Brown, wrote in a Facebook post that, Rachel was so unabashedly herself: witty and genuine, brilliant, daring, and headstrong. Her spirit would light up the room and her smile was contagious.

She added that her faith was strong.

Rachel Morin, 37, was a fierce protector of her children and loved them with all of her heart, a close friend wrote in a social media tribute (Harford County Sheriffs Office)

Ms Brown wrote that Ms Morin had been divorced, and was a fierce protector of her children and loved them with all of her heart.

Ms Morin had worked as a model and appeared on the cover of Owl Magazine, Harford Community Colleges student publication, where her brother John Morin worked as a technical director.

She also started her own cleaning business, East Coast Cleaners, in 2019, according to Open Corporates.

Rachel Morins boyfriend says he would never do anything to her

Tuesday 8 August 2023 19:32 , Ariana Baio

On Sunday night, Rachel Morins boyfriend Richard Tobin took to social media to state his innocence while also making reference to his lengthy criminal rap sheet.

I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve, Mr Tobin wrote.

Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.

Court records show Mr Tobin has two arrests for second-degree assault, and separate arrests for violating restraining orders, malicious destruction of property and drug possession dating back to 2014

Mr Tobin has also faced charges of being a fugitive from justice, resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication, according to Maryland judiciary case search records.

Mr Tobin has not been named as a suspect, or accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the homicide inquiry.

Mr Tobin only confirmed his relationship with Ms Morin in a Facebook post on 1 August, five days before she was reported missing.

Watch: Harford Police Department press conference

Tuesday 8 August 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

No suspect in Rachel Morin case yet

Tuesday 8 August 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

Investigators in the Harford County Sheriffs Office do not have an official suspect yet in the case of Rachel Morin.

Jeffery Gahler, the Harford County sheriff told WBALTV that they are unsure whether or not Morins death was targeted.

"We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event," Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler urged the public to be vigilant when walking along the Ma & Pa Trail and said there will be increased patrols along the trail.

Timeline in Rachel Morin case

Tuesday 8 August 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

Saturday, 5 August

6pm  Rachel Morin is last seen heading out to run on the Ma & Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

11.23pm  The boyfriend of Rachel reports her missing after she does not return home.

Police begin searching for Rachel on the trail and surrounding areas.

Sunday, 6 August

1pm  Body of female victim located off of the Ma & Pa Trail is reported to police.

Monday, 7 August

Police confirm the body found on the rail is Rachel Morin.

ICYMI: Maryland police confirm body found on trail is missing mom-of-five Rachel Morin

Tuesday 8 August 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

A spokesperson for the Harford County Sheriffs Office told The Independent that the medical examiners office had identified the body as that of 37-year-old Rachel Morin, on Monday.

The spokesperson could not provide a cause of death, what injuries she suffered, or whether any suspects have been identified.

Morin was reported missing after she failed to return from a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, on Saturday night.

Her body was found by a member of the public along the 6.25m (10km) trail just after 1pm on Sunday.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Maryland police confirm body found on trail is missing mom-of-five Rachel Morin
Rancho Cordova residents: Whether youve never attended a city council meeting or youre a vocal city hall regular, the next few months might be a good time to tune in to your local politics.

One longtime resident even called it the most consequential event in Rancho Cordova since incorporation.

The Rancho Cordova City Council, in collaboration with the public, will spend the next three months drawing and deciding on a map to split the city into districts as it transitions from at-large to by-district elections, following the threat of a lawsuit in a June 7 letter. The first public hearing in the process was part of Mondays council meeting, and hearings will continue into early October.

In addition to deciding how many districts to split into and what areas will be included in each district, the city will also be deciding whether to continue with a rotating mayor system or switch to a directly elected mayor.

Currently, the council consists of five members who are selected through a general election by the entire population of Rancho Cordova. Councilmembers serve four-year terms, and term expirations are staggered so that every two years about half of the seats are up for election. There are not any term limits for the role.

The positions of mayor and vice mayor rotate annually in December, allowing each member to take a turn so long as they remain in the position long enough.

While the mayor, under Rancho Cordovas current system, does have the opportunity to exhibit a certain amount of leadership, and officially represents the city, they have the same privileges and voting power as any other member of city council.

The letter threatening legal action, sent from attorney Scott. J. Rafferty on behalf of Neighborhood Elections Now, challenged the Rancho Cordova election system by stating that the citys at-large election process may be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act.

The California Voting Rights Act expands on the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, and attempts to address the vote dilution that may be caused by racial polarization in at-large voting systems in the state, like the one Rancho Cordova employs.

Raffertys letter said that he and the advocates he was writing on behalf of believe the at-large voting system has resulted in underrepresentation for large parts of the city.

He went on to cite the areas where each current city council member lives, noting that Donald Terry, Garrett Gatewood and Siri Pulipati all live in the Anatolia neighborhood, which he said he views as part of one clear community of interest (and) is entitled to only one council member after the city is split into districts.

When the city splits into districts, each member will have to live in the district where they were elected for the entirety of their term.

District elections will ensure that whenever a difficult choice must be made, the council has a representative who is committed and accountable to each affected neighborhood, Raffertys letter reads, in part.

Palmdale, Santa Clara, Modesto and other cities have fought against districting after similar legal cases were brought against them citing the legislation. Almost all of them lost, and all of them incurred high legal fees in the process.

The council chose to not fight the lawsuit, but instead adopt a resolution of intent to transition to district-based elections on July 17, with a 5-0 vote, within the 45-day adoption timeline required by the California Voting Rights Act. The same guidelines guarantee a 90-day safe harbor period for the city to go through the district mapping process and involve the public in decision making.

Whats the plan for Rancho Cordova districting?

So how is the council planning to balance taking the time to hear from the community with needing to keep on track for the looming deadline? Heres the plan:

The city will host five public hearings, the first of which was held on Monday, and two informal community forums over the course of the next two months. Residents will have the opportunity to create maps to submit as proposals for how to split the districts, using either online tools that will be introduced at the first community forum, or paper and pen.

Once the council has decided on the number of districts theyre aiming for, they will review proposed maps submitted by community members, fellow council members and an outside consultant.

Council members will then select a map and adopt it by ordinance. The next election, in November 2024, will put the district map into effect for the first time.

All of the meetings will be held at Rancho Cordova City Hall, but the times vary. The public hearings will be treated as an agenda item during regularly scheduled council meetings.

Although the council is collecting public feedback through the forums, they will be the ones to ultimately vote on which map to adopt. However, if the public is unhappy with the decision, they can use a referendum to put a challenge to the map on the ballot if they gather enough signatures.

They should know that if they make a decision and we dont like the ordinance, we will 100% put it on the ballot, said long-time Rancho Cordova resident Doniell Cummings. Because thats the kind of community that we are.

Many options, many opinions in Rancho Cordova

At the first public hearing on Monday, Doug Yoakam, a consultant for the city, gave a presentation laying out the options and regulations for how to create districts and how the public could be involved in the decision.

The council first has to decide into how many districts it will split Rancho Cordova; options range from four to nine.

If the city chooses an even number of districts, it will default to a directly elected mayor, who could live in any one of the districts, and would be voted on by the entire population of Rancho Cordova annually. If it chooses an odd number, the council will continue with the rotating mayor system that is currently in place.

Either way, the mayor will not have special powers on the council, but will retain the same status that Rancho Cordovas mayor has now, with the same voting power as any other council member.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, the majority of community members said that they wanted to split the city into five districts, although some wanted to move to seven districts, and one person wanted three. Most members of the public who spoke at the meeting were also in favor of keeping the rotating mayor system.

Many people referenced feeling rushed by the quick decision process, and wanted more time to form an opinion about the number of districts and mayor system that they preferred. Matt Cummings, who has lived in Rancho Cordova since before it became a city in 2003, said of the districting process: This is the most consequential event in Rancho Cordova since incorporation.

Council members expressed a variety of opinions at Mondays meeting, although all ranged from five to seven districts. Mayor Linda Budge and Vice Mayor David Sander were in favor of a directly-elected mayor, council members Pulipati and Terry were in favor of a rotating mayor, and Gatewood was undecided.

In the end, the council decided to wait until its next formal meeting to decide on the number of districts, citing a desire to hear from more community members before making their final decision. However, members did narrow down the options to five, six or seven districts based on their own opinions and public feedback during the meeting.

Is the Rancho Cordova community being reached in time?

Maria Chacon Kniestedt, the communications director for the city of Rancho Cordova said that postcard invitations with information about the times and dates of the hearings and community forums were sent out to every resident with a mailing address.

Some attendees said they came after receiving notice via the postcard this weekend, while some said their cards were delivered on Monday or hadnt yet arrived.

Other members of the public who attended the meeting said that they knew about the district creation meeting because they are included on email lists about city politics, or that they read it on community social media app Nextdoor.

Fayzah Mughal, a member of the public who spoke at the hearing, said that she feels notification of the hearings has been inadequate.

What are we doing to go out into the community on this very tight timeline to really pull from the community that should be engaged, and traditionally has not been engaged? Mughal said. They are the very reason for us having these conversations in the first place.

Councilman Gatewood said that he didnt feel that he had heard from enough people yet to know what his stance was on the number of districts. He also said that he will be holding open hours at city hall in the coming weeks, that his inbox will be open and that he would be willing to grab coffee with citizens who are unable to make it to the meetings. The city council meetings will also have a Zoom option. The community forums will not, but they will be recorded and posted online later.

Im coming to every single one of the meetings, Doniell Cummings said. And Im bringing as many of my neighbors as I can.

Amateur cartographers: How to join the map-making process

If community members are interested in participating in the process by submitting maps for consideration, they have a few options for how to do so.

For those who dont have reliable internet access, or the internet-averse, there is a map template posted online with area population counts included that residents can print out and use to hand draw lines where they believe the districts should be split. Keep in mind that, legally, the population of each district must be roughly the same. More information about population targets is included on the map.

Community members can also submit any other form of hand-drawn map, so long as it identifies street names.

For those who arent into mental math, there are online tools that residents can use to draw their maps that will help you to automatically add up population counts, including Daviss Redistricting App to draw maps and Interactive Map Review to compare maps, look up specific locations and zoom in on map boundaries.

Instructions on how to use these tools can be found at drawranchocordova.org/draw-a-map, and an introduction to using the mapping tools will be part of the first community forum on Thursday.

The maps, whether paper or digital, can be submitted via email to districts@cityofranchocordova.org, or paper maps can be physically turned in to the first-floor receptionist at city hall. Include a picture or scan of the map if it is paper, and a URL link to your map otherwise. The website notes that it is helpful for participants to submit written comments with their map describing why they made the districting choices that they did.

The deadline for maps from the public to be considered at the Aug. 29 public hearing is Aug. 18. Maps may then be revised or updated, or community members can submit new maps, with a final deadline of Sept. 7.
Former President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday evening to bemoan the accelerated timeline special counsel Jack Smith requested in his 2020 election interference case, ultimately writing the trial date off as "election interference" itself. Smith filed a motion to Judge Tanya Chutkan earlier on Thursday, proposing a Dec 11, 2023, date for jury selection and Jan. 2, 2024, date for the trial because of the "gravity and historic nature of the charges" as well as the immense public interest in the proceedings, according to The New York Times.

"Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses. Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!" the GOP frontrunner wrote on Truth Social, referencing the Iowa Republican caucuses slated for Jan. 15, 2024. "Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"

"That January 2 trial has really got him rattled," former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega tweeted of Trump Thursday night. The trial date for Smith's other case against the former president, regarding his retention of national security documents post-presidency, was set by the presiding judge for May 20, 2024.
A sharp rise in the sale of semiautomatic firearms to Guatelama over the last three years has made the Central American country the leading destination for US guns in Latin America as it struggles with renewed political instability in the buildup to a critical presidential election run-off.

According to a new report in Bloomberg, Guatemalas new status as the largest importer of US semiautomatic weapons has coincided with a surge in violence in the country: its murder rate began increasing again in 2019 after a sustained, years-long decline and waves of migrants are pushing north into Mexico and the US.

That the rise in the murder rate began in 2019 may not be coincidental: that was the same year the US began allowing the importation of semiautomatic weapons into Guatemala.

The situation has created a serious contradiction: while the US State Department and officials like Vice President Kamala Harris have worked to curb immigration from Guatemala brought about in part by violence in the country, the US Commerce Department has said that the countrys relative lawlessness presents a unique opportunity for gun manufacturers.

The increased volatility comes as the country is in a battle for the future of its democracy. In June, a Guatemalan court sentenced prominent journalist Jose Ruben Zamora to six years in prison for money laundering in what activists decried as an assault on press freedom and human rights in the country.

Mr Zamora, the founder of the influential investigative newspaper El Periodico, had last year published reporting on government corruption prior to his arrest. Following his incarceration, El Periodico moved to an exclusively online format and then shut down completely.

His sentence was handed down just days before Guatemalans headed to the polls to vote for their next president in an election marred by the disqualification of multiple leading candidates by the countrys courts.

Perhaps as a result, an atypically high number of Guatemalans marked their presidential ballots blank  possibly as a means of registering a protest against the countrys elite class.

The result of the election was interpreted as a protest as well: an unheralded centre-left candidate, Bernardo Arevalo, advanced to the run-off against right-wing opponent Sandra Torres.

Mr Arevalo, a 64-year-old who served in the national government in the 1990s, has one of the most recognisable names in Guatemalan politics: his father, Juan Jose Arevalo, was the countrys first-ever democratically elected president in 1945. His predecessor in office, Jacobo Arbenz, was the victim of a US-backed coup that dramatically changed the trajectory of the countrys modern history.

Mr Arevalo, who has staked his campaign on an anti-corruption message, is the polling leader at this stage in the run-off against Ms Torres, though observers have expressed concerns about interference from the Guatemalan political establishment led by outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei.

If Mr Arevalo defies the long odds he faced earlier this year and wins the August 20 election, his task of curbing violence may be made all the more difficult by the increasing number of US-manufactured firearms present.
Jeff Moriarty and Kate Ecke. Jeff Moriarty, Kate Ecke

Recent research found that fully remote workers were less productive than office workers.

We talked to two people who began working from the office more because it made them more productive.

Hybrid work could provide a win-win for employees and their bosses.

Working remotely has its advantages, but there's growing evidence to support what many managers have long suspected: Fully remote workers are less productive.

A July working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research that studied data-entry workers in India found that workers randomly assigned to work from home were 18% less productive than those in the office. A recent analysis of multiple studies by the Stanford economist Nick Bloom, a leading remote-work expert, found that fully remote workers were 10% to 20% less productive than their in-office counterparts. These findings come as US labor productivity  as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics  has slowed in recent quarters.

The research supports anecdotes from individual companies. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, said earlier this year that early-career engineers tended to perform better when they're in person at least three days a week, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has said that remote employees are less productive.

To be sure, many people might be more productive at home. But the research has found, on average, those working in the office at least some of the time are more productive . It strengthens the rationale for calling employees back to the office, as Salesforce and Meta have done. Even Zoom, which is synonymous with remote work, recently called some employees back to the office for at least two days a week.

Going to the office can free you from 'home distractions'

It's not just researchers and bosses who are coming to these conclusions. Some individuals are choosing to return to the office.

Take Jeff Moriarty, a 44-year-old marketing professional in the Chicago area. He told Insider that his company allowed him to continue working remotely even as pandemic restrictions eased. Though he lives only half an hour from his office, he said that until June last year, he worked from home five days a week.

But then he decided to make a change.

"While working from home was great from a freedom perspective, I just didn't feel productive enough," he said. "I enjoy brainstorming ideas in person. I enjoy being able to have my entire focus on my job. I found that the best way to succeed at my position and to take our company to the next level was coming into the office."

Today, Moriarty said, he goes into the office five days a week. Working remotely, he's said, meant dealing with too many "home distractions."

Moriarty. Jeff Moriarty

"Before, there was the TV in the background. My wife worked from home as well, and just the urge to do chores," he said, adding: "I enjoy having a separate home and work life. Working from home blended them together too much."

In-person connections and work-life separation can boost productivity

Kate Ecke, 34, is a licensed clinical social worker in New Jersey. In August 2020, she began providing telehealth therapy, but she said she grew frustrated over time.

"I found it hard to concentrate in sessions and did not feel like I was connecting with my clients the way that I wanted to," she told Insider.

Ecke said her husband built her a small office in her mom's basement, but that didn't solve the problem. In February, she began renting an office space and seeing clients in person.

Ecke. Kate Ecke

While she's thankful that telehealth has provided greater access to mental-health care, she said working in person had been better for her business and mental health. She doesn't need to plan sessions as much as she used to and is less likely to procrastinate her after-session note-taking, she said. Given she now has more work-home separation, she said it's also been easier to decompress after difficult conversations with clients.

"When I was working from home, I would log off and then have to immediately switch into mom/wife mode," she said, adding: "I'm grateful that I have this choice because it makes me a better therapist."

Hybrid work could be a 'win-win'

While there are high-profile examples of companies requiring staff back at the office, roughly 25% of US working days were remote as of July, and there are signs that this figure is stabilizing.

This stat points to a third option. While fully in-person workers may be more productive than their fully remote colleagues, the hybrid model, where workers spend, say, three days a week in the office, may be the best of both worlds.

Last month, Raj Choudhury, an associate professor at Harvard Business School and a remote-work expert, told Insider he was familiar with two studies on hybrid-work productivity. His research found that employees who worked in person 25% of the time were the most productive, he said, more than employees who worked more or fewer days in person.

Stanford's Bloom, meanwhile, found that hybrid work had a "flat or even slightly positive" effect on worker productivity compared with in-office work. It also improved employee recruitment and retention  and was generally less expensive for businesses, the research found.

Bloom recently estimated 60% of Americans worked fully in person, 30% worked in person between one and four days per week, and 10% worked fully remotely. In March, Bloom predicted that in the long run, as remote work models and technologies improved, roughly 40% of jobs would be in person, 50% would be hybrid, and the fully remote contingent would stay at 10%.

"Hybrid, if it's well organized, I think it's a win-win," Bloom previously told Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Amid the regions recent series of extreme heat waves, the West Texas gas supply infrastructure witnessed a number of failures that led to the release of tons of excess pollution into the air.

According to The Texas Tribune, gas pipeline operators in the state reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that the high temperatures led compressor stations to scale back or shut down completely.

As a result, pressure began to build up in pipes, and the only solution was to release it into the atmosphere to avoid a dangerous situation.

What happened?

With temperatures exceeding 105 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas counties in June, the states gas supply was put under notable strain.

In Reagan County, for example, temperatures peaked at 111 degrees Fahrenheit, The Texas Tribune reported. The region experienced one release of 238,000 pounds of natural gas on June 20.

Nine polluting events occurred in Reagan County in June, making up half of the occurrences recorded in the West Texas gas fields during the month, per the Tribune. Environmental watchdog Public Citizen reported 362 tons of natural gas were expelled during those events.

The Tribune reported that in Public Citizens investigation, the groups Texas director Adrian Shelley said: It is sadly ironic that the fossil fuel industry is seeing its equipment threatened by a situation it helped create.

Why is the West Texas gas release so concerning?

As temperatures continue to rise, the West Texas gas fields could see similar events as long as these infrastructure problems persist.

In an analysis of temperature data from The Texas Tribune, it was revealed that there were more than 1,600 days when a heat record was matched or broken at one of 22 weather stations across Texas over the last 10 years.

With those temperatures exacerbated by a warming climate, and with the warming climate exacerbated by the release of polluting gas into the atmosphere, this could result in a cycle that will be difficult to stop.

The methane that is being emitted from these facilities is further driving climate change and the health harms that all of Texas is experiencing, Laura Kate Bender, assistant vice president for the American Lung Associations Healthy Air campaign, told the Tribune.

What can I do to prevent this from happening?

With regard to gas production in Texas, Todd Staples, the president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said in a statement to the Tribune that there is a continued commitment towards achieving lower emissions through operational efficiencies. He added that insulation, equipment shelters, sunshades, wind walls, monitoring, and backup power generation are among the measures to prepare for hot weather.

However, the larger solution would involve cutting our reliance on natural gas. Switching to power solutions such as solar or wind power will help send a message that gas is not as in demand as it once was, reducing the need for production.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Mideast in Pictures: Chinese art troupe perform during Carthage Int'l Festival in Tunisia

Xinhua) 08:28, August 11, 2023

Dancers from China's Ningxia Art Troupe perform during the 57th Carthage International Festival at the site of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)

TUNIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 57th Carthage International Festival is being held at the site of Carthage in Tunisia's capital Tunis. Dancers from China's Ningxia Art Troupe attended the festival and staged a fabulous performance for the audience.

Carthage, built in the 9th century B.C., is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a famous scenic spot.

The festival, held every summer during the tourist season, is the largest and most influential art festival in Tunisia, with artists from across the world performing at the ancient Roman theater there.

It resumed last year after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's festival runs from July 14 to August 19.

Dancers from China's Ningxia Art Troupe perform during the 57th Carthage International Festival at the site of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)

Acrobats from China's Ningxia Art Troupe perform during the 57th Carthage International Festival at the site of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)

Dancers from China's Ningxia Art Troupe perform during the 57th Carthage International Festival at the site of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the pullout of Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine is a condition for starting peace talks with Russia, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday.

"We can negotiate with Russia after the withdrawal of their troops from our lands," Kuleba said.

He ruled out the possibility of direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that Kiev sees "diplomatic ways to deal with the issues indirectly."

Last week, security advisors and representatives from some 40 countries met in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah to work out a solution to the Ukraine crisis.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

US Attorney David Weiss, who's investigating Hunter Biden, has been appointed special counsel.

It represents a significant escalation in the department's inquiry into the President's son.

But conservatives aren't rejoicing. They're attacking Weiss, saying he can't be trusted.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden on Friday, representing a significant escalation in the federal government's ongoing probe into President Joe Biden's son.

Garland named David Weiss, who was appointed to be US Attorney in Delaware by former President Donald Trump and has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019, to the position. The new position will afford Weiss greater powers to investigate the president's son, and will require him to produce a final report at the end of the investigation.

But Republicans aren't rejoicing at the news. In fact, they're already slamming Weiss.

"David Weiss can't be trusted," wrote the Twitter account for House Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. "This is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family's corruption."

House Judiciary GOP  (@JudiciaryGOP) August 11, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also questioned whether Weiss can be trusted and said that House GOP-led investigations into the Biden family will continue.

Republicans are arguing that Weiss, who has brought criminal charges against Hunter Biden for failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and for unlawful possession of a firearm, won't pursue the president's son forcefully enough.

They're repeating their claim that Hunter Biden is enjoying a "sweetheart plea deal" with the DOJ due to his family name, though prosecutors rarely pursue charges in similar cases against other defendants.

And that plea deal is effectively dead as of Friday, with prosecutors under Weiss declaring that the parties were "at an impasse and are not in agreement," raising the possibility that Hunter Biden will go on trial.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, claimed in a statement that the DOJ was "trying to stonewall congressional oversight" into allegations that the Biden family is corrupt, referencing a case that House Republicans have sought to build but have yet to fully prove.

A whistleblower from the IRS previously claimed in June that the Department had hampered Weiss' worked and denied his request to be named special counsel, claims that Weiss firmly rejected. Garland said on Friday that Weiss asked to be named speicla counsel on Tuesday of this week.

Nonetheless, the special counsel appointment could complicate things for House Republicans.

Some of them, particularly members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, have floated the idea of "defunding" aspects of the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation over claims that the department has been "weaponized" against conservatives and Trump, who was recently indicted by the Department over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The DOJ's escalated investigation into Hunter Biden will force those Republicans to consider whether their plans for restricting DOJ funding could hamper that investigation  or whether they might seek to target certain aspects of the Department's work while leaving Biden-related investigators alone, creating the impression that their efforts are purely political.

Additionally, Republicans including Jordan have previously called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden.

Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 30, 2022

Read the original article on Business Insider
Republican lawmakers sounded off after Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed a special counsel for the probe into first son Hunter Biden.

High-ranking GOP lawmakers torched Garland's appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who led the prosecution in Hunter Biden's tax and gun charges, to head up the special counsel probe.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called Garland's announcement "part of the Justice Departments efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of [House Oversight Republicans'] mounting evidence of President Bidens role in his familys schemes selling the brand for millions of dollars to foreign nationals."

Weiss is the federal prosecutor who has investigated the first son's business dealings and brought charges against him in Delaware. His appointment as special counsel could indicate that, contrary to Hunter's defense lawyers' claims, the Justice Department investigation into President Biden's son is not over.

AG GARLAND APPOINTS HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATOR DAVID WEISS SPECIAL COUNSEL

GOP lawmakers torched Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss to head the investigation into the president's son.

"The Justice Department's misconduct and politicization in the Biden criminal investigation already allowed the statute of limitations to run with respect to egregious felonies committed by Hunter Biden," Comer continued. "Justice Department officials refused to follow evidence that could have led to Joe Biden, tipped off the Biden transition team and Hunter Biden's lawyers about planned interviews and searches and attempted to sneakily place Hunter Biden on the path to a sweetheart plea deal."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Comer said Garland's "move is really about" the DOJ "trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family's corruption."

"The House Oversight Committee will continue to follow the Biden family's money trail and interview witnesses to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens. President Biden is compromised and corrupt, and our national security is threatened. We will also continue to work with the House Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means to root out misconduct at the Justice Department and hold bad actors accountable for weaponizing law enforcement powers," he said.

"This action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted Friday.

"If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" McCarthy added. "House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted: "First, David Weiss said he didnt have the power he needed and wanted special counsel status.

"Then, he said he had all the power he needs. Now, he gets special counsel status because he didnt really have the power he needs? Somethings not right."

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said in a post, "This is the same US Attorney who just tried to give Hunter a sweetheart deal. Given how Hunter has been treated this far, pardon me if I'm not extremely excited that anything will actually come of this."

On Friday, Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe.

"I'm here today to announce the appointment of David Weiss as a special counsel consistent with the Department of Justice regulations governing such matters. In keeping with those regulations, I have today notified the designated members of each House of Congress of the appointment," Garland said at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Weiss is the federal prosecutor who has investigated the business dealings of Hunter Biden and brought charges against him in Delaware.

Garland said Tuesday that Weiss had told him that "in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be appointed."

Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said.

In July, Weiss announced a probation-only plea agreement for Biden in which he would plead guilty to tax evasion charges . However, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, rejected the agreement after expressing several concerns over its provisions.

Republicans criticized the agreement as a "sweetheart" deal and have pursued their own investigation into the Biden family's business dealings with an eye toward impeaching the president.

Talks between federal prosecutors and Hunter's defense team subsequently broke down after the government acknowledged he was still under federal investigation.

Fox News Digital's Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans led by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., are unveiling legislation to reverse the Biden administration's crackdown on school hunting education and archery programs nationwide.

Tenney  joined by Reps. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Brandon Williams, R-N.Y.  plans to introduce the Protecting Hunting and Archery in Schools Act, which would remove the current federal restriction on funding hunting and archery programs. The bill comes after a Fox News Digital report highlighting Education Department guidance that strips such funding from schools nationwide.

"The Biden administration continues to advance its radical anti-Second Amendment agenda by prohibiting ESEA funding for archery and shooting sports programs," Tenney told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Upstate New York schools offer hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs to teach students how to responsibly handle firearms are respect our Second Amendment rights. "

"The Biden Administrations attempt to defund these outdoor recreational programs is a power grab and flies in the face of Congressional intent," she continued. "This important legislation will protect these popular after school programs and end the Biden Administrations attack on our constitutional rights."

BIDEN FACING MORE PRESSURE FROM DEMS OVER CRACKDOWN ON SCHOOL HUNTING, ARCHERY CLASSES

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., speaks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on March 10, 2021.

Late last month, Fox News Digital reported the Education Department shared federal guidance to hunting education groups highlighting that hunting and archery programs in schools would be stripped of funding. The guidance explained that the administration interpreted the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to mean such programs can no longer receive taxpayer funds.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In the guidance, obtained first by Fox News Digital, senior agency official Sarah Martinez wrote that archery, hunter education and wilderness safety courses use weapons that are "technically dangerous weapons" and therefore "may not be funded under" the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is the primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education across the country.

According to advocates, many schools that offer such courses have already nixed them from curriculums due to the federal guidance.

BIDEN ADMIN PAVES WAY TO REVERSE HUNTING, ARCHERY CRACKDOWN AFTER WIDESPREAD CRITICISM

"President Biden has weaponized the Department of Education to defund certain activities that do not conform to his liberal bias," Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital last week. "Hunting and archery programs give millions of students the opportunity to learn about the outdoors, the heritage of hunting, and how to handle a firearm or bow safely."

"These programs build stronger communities and for this administration to say otherwise just goes to show how out of touch it really is with the American people," Foxx added. "This is a cheap attack on Americans Constitutional rights  specifically for responsible hunters and gun owners  ahead of next years election."

The Department of Education told Fox News Digital this week that it was open to again funding hunting education and archery programs which it acknowledged were "enrichment opportunities" for children.

Foxx, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., recently led a letter signed by nearly 70 House Republicans, imploring Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to rescind the guidance.

In addition, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who cosponsored the BSCA last year, have criticized the Biden administration for its decision to withhold funding for schools.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who were the two Republican sponsors of the BSCA, separately wrote a letter to Cardona, saying his agency was misinterpreting their legislation.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The BSCA  a bill that was criticized as a "gun control" bill, but touted by proponents as an effort to promote "safer, more inclusive and positive" schools  was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in June 2022 after mass shootings at a grocery market in Buffalo, New York, and a school in Uvalde, Texas.

The law included an amendment to a subsection in the ESEA listing prohibited uses for federal school funding. That amendment prohibits ESEA funds from helping provide any person with a dangerous weapon or to provide "training in the use of a dangerous weapon," but, according to the bill's sponsors, was included to prevent ESEA funding for school resource officer training.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education said it was available to assist Congress with crafting language in future legislation to reverse the guidance.
Researchers in Antarctica have discovered a new species with 20 arms and a strawberry-like shape.

An article in the journal Invertebrate Systematics published in July described the creature which has been dubbed Promachocrinus fragarius, named after the Latin word for strawberry due to its resemblance to the shape.

The Promachocrinus fragarius, a type of Antarctic feather star, can have 20 or 10 arms. While the report did not provide measurements of the animal's size (only describing it as "large"), it said it can range in color from purplish to dark reddish.

Antarctic feather stars live at ocean depths ranging from 65 to 6500 feet, according to the report.

Images of the Promachocrinus fragarius

Images of the Promachocrinus fragarius

Three scientists with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego completed expeditions between 2008 and 2017 in search of what they call "cryptic biodiversity."

"The Southern Ocean has unique environmental conditions that may drive biodiversity," said the report, written by Emily L. McLaughlin, Nerida G. Wilson and Greg W. Rouse.

Overall, the report identified four new species in the region, according to research Greg Rouse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Strawberry feather star discovered in Antarctica, researchers say
The ACLU of Texas has filed two civil rights complaints against the Keller school district and the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, a public charter school, alleging that recently adopted policies on pronouns, restroom use and performing in choirs harm the LGBTQ+ community.

The ACLU of Texas said in a news release that the civil rights complaints were filed Thursday with the U.S. Department of Education, and that the organization is asking the federal agency to investigate.

The ACLU of Texas described the policies as part of a wave of attacks against transgender and nonbinary students and the LGBTQ community as a whole as students seek medical care, play sports, take part in fine arts and access an inclusive education.

It is deeply disappointing that these North Texas school boards have targeted their transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students, who just want to feel as though they belong, said Chloe Kempf, an ACLU of Texas attorney.

The Keller school district did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Paul Gravley, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, said in an email, We are looking into the complaint and have no further information or comment to provide at this time.

The complaint against the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts was filed on behalf of the family of a transgender and nonbinary child who wanted to join the Singing Girls of Texas choir with the support of the choir director.

The student was blocked from completing their audition, and the school board adopted a policy that requires students to perform with the choir that aligns with the sex assigned at birth.

In Keller, the school board voted in June to adopt policies that prohibit transgender and nonbinary students from using restrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity, and teachers are not required to refer to students by their preferred pronouns.

The ACLU of Texas also filed a sex discrimination complaint against the Keller school district last November, alleging that Keller discriminated against the LGBTQ community by enacting bans on all library materials that discuss or depict what the policy calls gender fluidity for all grade levels.
Conservative William Barclay Allen slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for following a script in the name of an ideological agenda after she denounced the new directives.

A conservative retired Black professor is a prominent member of the group that drafted Floridas new, perplexing teaching directives, which address how slavery might have given enslaved people valuable skills.

William Barclay Allen, 79, has taken on the role of having the public face of the states initiatives to reform the way educators teach Black history. According to The Washington Post, the controversial guidelines, supported by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also include discussions of how mob violence against Black people included acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.

None of the long-standing Florida Department of Education members spoke at a virtual training course for teachers hosted by its African American Task Force. They protested the alterations, about which they said no one consulted them. One resigned in protest, claiming he was disgusted by the revised curriculum.

William Barclay Allen, 79, a conservative Florida native, has become the public face of the states initiatives to change how educators teach Black history. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/Western Civilization, Texas Tech University)

In an email conversation with The Post, Allen stated that the 13-member working group operated with a collaborative, consensual process, and the result is a product with no single author, adding that there was no dissent.

He advised instructors to teach the whole picture during the virtual training session on Monday, using an example of the nine students who integrated Little Rocks Central High School in 1957. He pointed to the fact that some of the same Arkansas National Guard troops who blocked students from entering helped escort them inside once the force was federalized.

But the Little Rock Nines complete history also involves months of intimidation and threats and their fear of the National Guard personnel. Given the Stop WOKE law that DeSantis enacted last year, which forbids classroom debate about racism that can make children uncomfortable, Florida educators say it is unclear how much they can teach about such occurrences.

If we can convey no other message to our teachers, thats the message we must convey, said Allen, that the story is never just one way.

The former government and political science professor has several times been selected by conservative Republicans for prominent posts, including when President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the National Council of the Humanities in 1984 and three years later, to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

A Florida native, in the 1960s, Allen was among students who integrated Fernandina Beach High School. He later taught at public and private institutions in Washington, D.C., California, Colorado and Michigan and wrote or co-authored over half a dozen books. Hes among the cadre that includes Candace Owens, Herschel Walker, Ben Carson and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a growing group of Black conservatives who frequently speak out against liberal policies and support Republican politics.

Allen  who came under fire in 1989 for titling a speech, Blacks? Animals? Homosexuals? What is a Minority?  has denounced affirmative action on numerous occasions. While serving as the Virginia Higher Education Council leader, he even questioned the function of historically Black colleges and universities.

He slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for following a script in the name of an ideological agenda after she denounced the new teaching plans during visits to Florida this summer.

DeSantis also backs the state education departments decision to deny a new Advanced Placement African American Studies course, which is just one of many conflicts in which the department is currently involved. There was also controversy surrounding the AP psychology courses content on sexual orientation and gender identity, prompting administrators to block the class before announcing they would allow it.

On Thursday night, at a town hall gathering of about 200 people, parents and community members expressed their outrage and concern over the curriculum changes and questioned how they were made. Miami-Dade School Board member Steve Gallon III said the shared ideology and shared agenda of Allen and the other participants made the working group Diaz assembled problematic.

Gallon encouraged the audience to vote in every election and attend school board meetings to change the laws that produced the new curriculum. He continued by saying that parents must make sure their children realize slavery was one of the most horrific, brutal, divisive, destructive, evil experiences this world has ever known, asserting one cannot afford to rely solely on the education system to teach children.

The foundation of their thinking needs to be called into question, said Gallon, The Post reported, to marginalize slavery, to misinform the facts about our history.

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The post Retired Black professor, 79, part of group that created Floridas new curriculum appeared first on TheGrio.
A destroyed building after the explosion at the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad, Moscow Oblast. Russia, August 9, 2023

Russia experienced a record number of blasts in 2022  more than any year in the past decade, Russian news outlet Verstka reported on Aug. 9.

Russias Ministry of Emergency Situations reported 83 explosions, most of which (55 out of 83 cases) were caused by an explosive object, i.e. a bomb, missile, mine, grenade, etc.

Read also: Explosion rocks Vladivostok, unidentified flying object spotted

Major General of the Reserve of Ukraines SBU security service, Viktor Yahun, in an interview with Radio NV on Aug. 11 explained what is behind the explosions in Russia, especially when it concerns enterprises located far from the border with Ukraine.

Viktor Yahun

Major General of the Reserve of Ukraines SBU security service

There are several factors that should be taken into account, the expert said.

The first factor is that the Russian economy is not modernized. It has been redeemed and repurchased. And the vast majority of what they (Russians) have include old Soviet factories and equipment. And it is clear that it is all obsolete.

Read also: Damaged plant near Moscow was developing next-generation bomber aircraft  report

I know that some of the machines are the ones they got after World War II from Germany, having removed them from the factories there, Yahun said.

And they still work at some defense enterprises. This is to understand the level of wear and tear of these mechanisms.

Therefore, one of the factors is indeed the intensity of work at these enterprises and the exhaustion of the working staff, which is currently in short supply, which can lead to any man-made accidents.

The second factor, which few people talk about, but it must be understood. Whether we like it or not, but about 20 million people live in Russia who have (Ukrainian) origins and associate themselves or were once associated with Ukraine, the officer said.

And out of those 20 million, if at least 0.1% of those who are conscious, (who know) who they are and what is happening in the world, then we can scatter (them) across the territory of Russia and understand that there is a base that allows us to feel confident as special services in the territory of Russia, Yahun pointed out.

By the way, no one has ever forgotten this case. Many intelligence agencies use it. First of all, it was and is actively used by Israels foreign intelligence. Why should we not do this when we have a huge diaspora in the world? Especially in Russia. Therefore, this is the second factor.

Read also: Intel gathered, partisan activity in Moscow, separatist hopes stirred  what to make of the Belgorod operation

The third factor is that there is a category of people who have nothing to do with Ukraine, but who understand where Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is leading their country, said Yahun.

I dont want to call them good Russians or bad Russians but they do what they can, he said.

These are representatives of small nations, representatives of informal youth groups. And they also contribute to the fight against Putins regime. A striking example is the presence of two units in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, i.e. the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann continued to show disturbing behaviour right up until his arrest for the murders of three women, according to the top investigator on the case.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison also wouldnt rule out the possibility that Mr Heuermann may have been preparing to kill again at the time of the arrest.

Mr Harrison told Newsday that law enforcement saw some concerning actions from the married father-of-two while he was under surveillance before his arrest last month.

I cant talk about if he was preparing to kill again, he said.

Hes somebody that was still engaging in activity that was disturbing, be it his internet searches, be it engaging in other activities that he shouldnt be engaging in.

Commissioner Harrison added that he was very, very passionate about keeping eyes on Mr Heuermann up until his arrest because we need to see what his lifestyle is.

The accused killer had been on the radar of Long Island police for months  not long after the newly-appointed commissioner launched a new taskforce to crack the unsolved Gilgo Beach serial killer case back in January 2022.

After surveilling him for months, officers swooped on the architect as he left his office in Manhattan on 13 July.

Mr Heuermann was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello and is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

All four women, known as the Gilgo Four, worked as sex workers and disappeared between 2007 and 2010 after going to meet a client.

They were all found in December 2010 within one-quarter mile of each other, bound by belts or tape and some wrapped in burlap  their bodies dumped along Gilgo Beach.

They are among 11 victims whose remains were found along the shores of Long Island in 2010 and 2011, sparking fears that one or more serial killers was at large.

Last week, investigators announced that one of the victims had finally been identified.

Karen Vergata, 34, was last seen alive on Valentines Day 1996.

Rex Heuermann, the architect accused of murdering at least three women near Long Islands Gilgo Beach, appears in court (jtc)

At the time, she was living on West 45th St in Manhattan and is believed to have been working as an escort.

In April 1996, her legs were found wrapped in plastic at Davis Park on Fire Islands Blue Point Beach.

Almost exactly 15 years later on 11 April 2011, her skull was then found off Ocean Parkway during the search for Gilgo Beach victims. The two sets of remains in Fire Island and Ocean Parkway were later found to belong to the same person but her identity remained unknown until now.

In a press conference announcing Vergatas identity last week, Suffolk County officials refused to confirm whether or not her murder may be linked to Mr Heuermann.

So far, the accused serial killer has only been charged with three of the 11 murders and is expected to be charged with a fourth.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered that he hand over a cheek swab DNA sample as part of the ongoing investigation.

While the investigation continues and no arrests have been made in connection to the deaths of the other seven victims, Commissioner Harrison said that he cannot rule out the possibility that there is still another serial killer out there.

We were able to bring comfort to three families, were very close to a fourth one, but we still have more work to do to identify the subject or subjects that were involved with the other bodies that were discovered, he told Newsday.

I cant tell you at this time, he said, when pressed about whether or not residents should fear another predator.

Is Rex Heuermann going to be held accountable for the other bodies on Ocean Parkway? Time will tell.

However, the police commissioner did double down on the stance that investigators are not treating Shanann Gilberts death as a murder  but as a horrible accident.

Myself and the investigators assigned to the homicide squad still believe it was just an incident where she ran into the marsh and unfortunately drowned on that horrible day, he said.

Search of the home of Rex Heuermann (AP)

The disappearance of Gilbert led to the discovery of the string of bodies along Gilgo Beach.

It was May 2010 and she vanished after leaving a clients house on foot near Gilgo Beach, making a final chilling 911 call saying she feared for her life.

During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered human remains.

By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Gilberts body was then found in December 2011.

Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities long claiming that it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the clients home.

However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered.

Court records show that Mr Heuermann was linked to the Gilgo Four murders through a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, sadistic online searches, phone calls taunting victims families, his wifes hair found on the victims bodies  and a pizza crust.

The first piece of the puzzle came when a witness in the Amber Costello case revealed details about a vehicle that a client was driving when she was last seen alive.

Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Megan Waterman (clockwise from top left) (AP)

Costello, who worked as a sex worker, was seen alive on the evening of 2 September 2010 when she left her home in West Babylon. A witness said she had gone to meet a client who was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

Last year, a registration search showed that local man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation model of the truck at the time of Costellos disappearance. He also matched the witness description of the man believed to be the killer: a large, white ogre-like male in his mid-40s, around 64 to 66 tall, with dark bushy hair, and big oval style 1970s type eyeglasses.

The discovery of the car led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann including executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain evidence to determine his potential involvement in the killings.

Among this was Mr Heuermanns alleged use of burner phones, with prosecutors saying that he used burner phones to contact the three women and arrange to meet them at the time when they went missing.

He also allegedly took two of the victims cellphones  and used one to make taunting phone calls to one of their families where he boasted about her murder, court documents state.

Mr Heuermanns DNA was found on one of the victims, while his wifes hair was found on three of the four women he is connected to.
RICHMOND, Ind.  A Richmond man is accused of stabbing a local woman who intervened in his dispute with juveniles who had accused him of stealing a bicycle.

Christopher Sipple, 49, is charged with aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 16 years in prison.

He continued to be held in the Wayne County jail on Friday under a $25,000 bond.

Richmond police were called to a reported stabbing at Southwest A and 16th streets about 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The victim was taken by ambulance to Reid Hospital.

The woman said she had approached a man  later identified as Sipple  who was being "aggressive and loud" in arguing with the juveniles, and he struck her in the face.

More: Police: Richmond man had meth, heroin, refused to surrender handgun

The woman said she responded by striking Sipple, and he then reached into his pocket and hit her again, this time in the chest.

The victim told police that punch "hurt," and she realized she was bleeding, and saw a knife in her assailant's hand.

An officer wrote the woman "sustained a deep, vertical laceration approximately three to four inches in length just below her throat."

Sipple fled from the scene on the bicycle, other witnesses said. Police said he was later apprehended, hiding under a blanket, in a garage along Southwest 14th Street where he had been staying.

Officer said they found drug paraphernalia, including syringes, in the garage. Sipple was also charged with unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison, and possession of paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

The bicycle was recovered from a home along Southwest 15th Street.

An initial hearing in Sipple's case is set for Tuesday.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Richmond man held in woman's stabbing
A music festival that turns downtown Pittsburgh into an oasis of good vibes and great music returns later in August.

The Piatt Family Foundations Rock, Reggae and Relief Festival returns for the sixth year on Aug. 19 on Forbes Avenue. The festival this year is raising money for Catapults Equity in Homeownership program.

The foundation says its lined up some of the biggest names in rock reggae, like Slighly Stoopid, Sublime with Rome, Tropidelic and Roots of Creation. There will also be loal artists, like Keystone Vibe and FUBAR.

In between the bands, there will be a DJ to keep the energy going.

This year we are so pumped about the Rock, Reggae & Relief line up, said Lucas Piatt, CEO of Piatt Companies and Chair of the Piatt Family Foundation. Its an incredible event where people can come experience Downtown as a community with unity and feel good vibes while also raising money for a great cause.

The fund the festival is raising money for is designed to support equity in homeownership opportunities for Black families.

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As many as 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded early on Friday when Islamic State (IS) militants ambushed a military bus in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a war monitor reported.

The IS militants attacked the bus in the desert region of al-Mayadeen City in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS militants prepared the ambush and opened fire on the bus with light and medium-sized weapons.

The Syrian army was on alert in the desert region, searching for soldiers who had gone missing, while the attackers disappeared into the desert, as reported by the observatory.

The army confirmed the incident in its statement but did not provide information about the death toll.

According to the observatory, the IS had intensified its attacks in the desert region, noting that 387 people, mainly soldiers, have been killed by the IS in the desert since the beginning of 2023.
The bodies of 23 Rohingyas who were fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine state have been recovered after their boat sank.

Thirty others are still missing, while eight people are reported to have survived the accident.

The survivors said they were trying to reach Malaysia when their boat carrying more than 50 passengers foundered and was abandoned by its crew on Sunday.

Every year thousands of Rohingyas attempt the perilous sea journey to Malaysia or Indonesia.

They are escaping persecution in Myanmar and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Those who died this week include 13 women and 10 men, all Rohingya Muslims, a rescue team told BBC Burmese.

The Muslim Rohingyas are an ethnic minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. Many of them fled to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape a campaign of what the UN has described as a possible genocide launched by the Burmese military. Those remaining in Myanmar too have been trying to flee since the military coup in 2021.

Survivors of the boat sinking this week recall being struck by a large wave near Rakhine's capital, Sittwe.

They say the smugglers, who had been paid around $4,000 (3,153) per person for the journey to Malaysia, then abandoned the boat. The bodies of the victims have been picked up by other boats, or washed up on the beach.

The long journey across the Andaman Sea in overcrowded fishing boats is always dangerous, but especially at this time of the year, at the peak of the monsoon storm season.

Most Rohingyas attempt to cross between the months of October and May.

They are willing to take the risk - and often sell their only assets, such as land, to fund the trip - because of the unrelentingly grim conditions in which they are forced to live, either as refugees in appallingly crowded camps over the border in Bangladesh, or subjected to discrimination and restrictions on their movement in Myanmar.
The Russians attacked Sumy Oblast 34 times over the course of the past 24 hours, using unguided rockets and dropping VOG grenades, and causing damage to infrastructure facilities.

Source: the Sumy Oblast Military Administration

Details: 220 explosions were recorded in total; 23 settlements in eight hromadas came under Russian fire (a hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.)

The Russians launched an airstrike, using unguided rockets, on Khotin hromada (14 explosions).

Velyka Pysarivka hromada came under artillery (33 explosions) and mortar fire (seven explosions). In addition, the Russians launched an unguided rocket from a helicopter (ten explosions) and dropped VOG grenades using UAVs (two explosions).

Russian forces fired grenade launchers on Bilopillia hromada (15 explosions). There were also attacks with artillery (14 explosions) and mortars (14 explosions). A car was damaged by an artillery shell.

The Russians dropped 48 mines on the territory of Seredyna-Buda hromada. The premises of the House of Arts were damaged as a result of one of the attacks. There were also grenade launcher attacks (five explosions) and artillery shelling (two explosions).

Krasnopillia hromada came under mortar fire (21 explosions).

Svesa hromada came under mortar fire (four explosions).

Nova Sloboda hromada came under mortar fire (nine explosions).

The Russians dropped 32 mines on the territory of Esman hromada.

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Russian forces shelled eight communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Aug. 10, causing 220 explosions, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

The communities of Khotin, Seredyna-Buda, Velyka Pysarivka, Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, Svesa, Novoslobidske, and Esman came under heavy fire. According to the administration, Russian military launched attacks with various weapons, including artillery, mortar, mines, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and missiles.

Russian forces dropped 32 mines over Esman and 48 on Seredyna-Buda.

Shelling in Bilopillia damaged a car.

In Seredyna-Buda, the attacks damaged the local House of Culture.

The administration did not report any injuries or casualties from the attacks.

The border communities of Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine endure daily shelling as Russia's all-out invasion drags on.

Read also: Ukrainian troops regularly cross Dnipro River, probing Russian defenses in Kherson Oblast

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On the morning of 11 August, Russia attacked Ukraine with four Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles, one of which was shot down.

Source: Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram

Quote: "Around 10:00, the enemy launched four Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from four MiG-31K aircraft. Launches were carried out from the airspace of Tula and Lipetsk oblasts of the Russian Federation.

The missiles entered Ukraines airspace from the north, heading south-west to the area of the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

One Kh-47 missile was shot down in Kyiv Oblast. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure has been hit; one of the missiles struck the residential area."

Details: According to the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration, a child had been killed as a result of a missile strike by Russian terrorists; there are injuries among the civilian population.

Background:

On the morning of 11 August, the Ukrainian authorities announced an air-raid warning across the country due to the risk of missile attacks.

Air defences were responding in Kyiv Oblast and several other regions.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine clarified that at around 10:00, Russian occupiers fired aerial ballistic missiles at a residential building in the Kolomyia district. The missile hit the territory of a private house where a family with three children lived. An 8-year-old boy was killed as a result of the attack.

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Explosions were heard in Kyiv during an air raid alert on Aug. 11, seconds after the sounds of air defenses roared across the Ukrainian capital, as Russia launched a now rare daylight missile attack.

Two loud explosions were heard widely across the capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram soon confirmed that the citys air defenses had been activated, and Russian missiles had been shot down.

Just a few minutes before the explosions over Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from MiG-31K aircraft flying over Russian territory. The missiles were then reported to be heading in the direction of Kyiv Oblast.

The head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, later clarified that missile fragments fell on the grounds of a children's hospital in the capitals Obolonskyi District, in the north of the city.

"There were no injuries, no fires and no casualties," the statement said.

Read also: Russia ups production of Kinzhal, Iskander missiles despite Western sanctions, Ukraines air force says

Debris was also found in one of the residential areas of the district. Emergency services examined the situation. A fire was extinguished. There is no information about casualties.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko the reported two more places where debris had fallen in the Obolonskyi District of Kyiv.

"The roof of a private house was damaged on Bohatyrska Street," the official wrote on his Telegram channel.

Also in Obolon, a fragment was found in an open area in one of the dacha cooperatives (an area of small private housing). No one was injured.

In addition to Obolonskyi District, debris fell in Kyivs Dniprovskyi District, according to the local authorities.

Reuters has published a video of missile trails in the sky over Kyiv from today's Russian attack.

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Major General Viktor Yahun, reserve officer of Ukraines SBU security service, suggested that the target of the missile attack on Kyiv may have been the towering Motherland monument on the banks of the Dnipro River.

"The monument where the Soviet coat of arms was changed to a trident, (was) probably (a target)," Yahun told Radio NV.

Russian missiles also flew towards other parts of the country. The Telegram channel of public broadcaster Suspilne also reported explosions in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi oblasts in western Ukraine.

First deputy head of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration Serhiy Tyurin, commenting on the explosions in the region, said that air defenses had been operating.

The attack on Kyiv comes a day after Russia launched a cruise missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya. Two cruise missiles struck the citys Reikartz Hotel on the banks of the Dnipro River. The hotel is frequentlyused by United Nations personnel when they are visiting the city. The double attack, with two high precision Russian cruise missiles striking the hotel within seconds of each other, appears to have been deliberate.

A day before that, on the evening of Aug. 9, Russia fired a Kh-35 missile at a residential area of Zaporizhzhya. Three people were killed and eight injured. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the missile hit a playground, destroyed a church building, and damaged windows in high-rise buildings and shops nearby.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia launched its first probe to the Moon in almost 50 years (Handout)

Russia launched its first probe to the Moon in almost 50 years on Friday, a mission designed to give fresh impetus to its long-struggling space sector, which has been also hit by sanctions since the conflict in Ukraine.

The launch of the Luna-25 probe is Moscow's first lunar mission since 1976, when the USSR was a pioneer in the conquest of space.

The rocket with the Luna-25 probe lifted off at 02:10 am Moscow time (2310 GMT Thursday) from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, according to live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

Roscosmos expects the probe to enter a "100-kilometre high lunar orbit" on August 16 and land on the Moon north of the Boguslawsky crater on August 21, the agency said in a statement.

"For the first time in history, the landing will take place on the lunar south pole. Until now, everyone has been landing in the equatorial zone," senior Roscosmos official Alexander Blokhin said in a recent interview.

- 'Ambition of our ancestors' -

The spacecraft, which will remain on the Moon for a year, will be tasked with "taking (samples) and analysing the soil" as well as "conducting long-term scientific research", the Russian space agency said.

The launch is the first mission in Russia's new lunar programme, which gets underway at a time when Roscosmos is being deprived of its partnerships with the West amid the conflict with Ukraine. Instead Russia is turning to China.

According to Russian space expert Vitali Iegorov, the mission is the first time that post-Soviet Russia has attempted to place a device on a celestial body.

"The biggest question will be: can it land?" he told AFP, stressing that this mission is "of great importance" for Russia.

President Vladimir Putin has pledged to continue Russia's space programme despite sanctions, pointing to the USSR's sending of the first man into space in 1961 at a time of escalating East-West tensions.

"We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward, despite difficulties and external attempts to prevent us from doing so," Putin said at the Vostochny Cosmodrome last year.

But the mission is "risky", Roscosmos' own chief Yuri Borisov has admitted. "The chance of success of these missions is estimated at around 70 percent," he told Putin at a meeting in June.

Following the launch, the rocket's boosters fell as expected 28 kilometres from the village of Shakhtinsky in the far-eastern region of Khabarovsk, regional governor Mikhail Degtiariov said on Telegram.

Residents of the village had been evacuated in advance of the launch and Degtiariov said they had since been able to return.

The mission is important for the Russian space sector, which has suffered from funding problems, corruption scandals and increasing competition from the United States and China, as well as from private initiatives such as billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.

bur-mca/cwl/giv/fg
On 11 August, Russia launched four Kinzhal missiles on an airfield in Ukraines Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, targeting young Ukrainian pilots set to start training to operate modern Western planes.

Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for Ukraines Air Force, on the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote from Ihnat: "This is another terrorist attack using Kh-47 missiles, which the Russians claim always hit their targets. A child was killed today after one of the missiles hit a residential neighbourhood.

Those missiles once again targeted military airfields, which have been the target of enemy attacks for the past several months. The Starokostiantyniv airfield [in Khmelnytskyi Oblast - ed.] is struggling with the aftermath of the Russian occupiers attacks the most.

This time [Russia] targeted Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, our youth  our young pilots who are about to start training. These young pilots will be training using a new curriculum, and we know that the UK and other countries will train them to operate new types of planes, Western equipment, and first and foremost F-16 [fighter jets].

The enemy wanted to strike our young people, thus cutting off the possibility of future rearmament with the latest Western models of equipment. As we see, these attacks are not successful."

Details: One of the Kh-47 missiles was shot down in Kyiv Oblast, which has appropriate air defence capabilities, and the remaining three missiles struck Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, with one hitting a residential building.

Ihnat said that early reports indicate that all four missiles targeted Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

He added that Russia continues failing to achieve its goals despite its extensive spending on missiles.

Background:

Around 10:00 on 11 August, Russia deployed MiG-31K jets to launch four Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles.

One Kh-47 missile was shot down in Kyiv Oblast, while the other three struck an area near an airfield in Ukraines Prykarpattia region, situated to the east of the Carpathian mountains. Civilian infrastructure facilities were hit, several civilians were injured, and a child was killed after one of the missiles hit a residential neighbourhood.

Fragments of the downed missile crashed in two Kyiv districts.

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Rocket booster with Luna-25 lunar lander blasts off at Vostochny Cosmodrome on Friday. Russia's mission aims to be the first to do a soft-landing on the south pole of the moon. Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout

Russia launched its first mission to the moon since 1976 on Thursday.

If successful, it could be the first to do a soft landing on the south pole of the moon.

But its a crowded field  with the US, India, and China all vying for similar goals.

Russia is on its way to the moon for the first time in almost 50 years, and aims to be the first to soft land on the coveted south pole of our satellite, beating the US, China, and others to the punch.

Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, launched the Luna-25 mission on Friday morning from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Reuters reported. The last one was in 1976.

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket is carrying a lander, which Roscosmos will try to land on the south pole of the moon on August 21, Reuters reported.

If successful, it would be the first mission to achieve a soft landing on the south pole of the moon, and the robotic lander would collect crucial information over the next year. A soft landing is one in which the lander doesn't explode.

But these are risky missions with a tendency to fail.

The south pole is a crucial strategic objective

Russia isn't the only nation vying for the south pole. The region has a crucial strategic scientific and commercial pull in the near future.

"The moon is the seventh continent of the Earth so we are simply 'condemned', as it were, to tame it," said Lev Zeleny, a space researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, per Reuters.

The Luna-25 lander will be collecting and analyzing regolith, the soil that covers the moon, to better understand its properties and test for traces of water, per Reuters.

But the Russian mission's "most important task, to put it simply, is to sit where no one has sat," said Maxim Litvak, chief scientist for the mission from Russia's Space Research Institute. The comment was in a blog post on the institute's website, per space.com.

Both the US and China, in collaboration with Russia, aim to build lunar stations in that area within the decade.

The International Space Station looking like a white dot as it passes the Moon as seen from Liverpool. Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images

The south pole's main attraction is water, a resource that's been found peppered around the area and could be mined to extract fuel for moon missions or rockets on their way to Mars.

A few research missions are aiming to collect more information about the resources available on the moon.

China plans to send a rover there in 2026, and NASA also aims to send its VIPER rover and drill to the surface.

Russia's biggest competition today is India, whose Chandrayaan-3 mission has been orbiting the moon since August 6.

However, just because Russia and India have launched their missions doesn't mean they'll be successful. Soft landings can be particularly tricky, as shown by a recent mission from a Japanese private company ispace, which crashed on the surface of the moon in April.

Asked if Russia was concerned about India's mission interfering with their own, Roscosmos told Reuters: "There is no danger that they interfere with each other or collide. There is enough space for everyone on the moon," it said.

Russia's ambitious return to the moon was delayed by invading Ukraine

Russia's Luna-25 mission, the first moon mission in over a decade, aims to put a rover on the south pole of the moon. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS

Luna-25 was planned to launch two years earlier, but Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 delayed the mission, space.com reported.

The European Space Agency was meant to provide some of the equipment for the lander, but pulled its cooperation with Russia after the invasion, per space.com.

The mission is reigniting Russia's ambitious space program, which has been dormant for almost half a century.

Building on the Luna-25 mission, Russia is planning to send a rocket to orbit the moon in Luna-26, a drilling rig with Luna-27, and a mission to bring back regolith from the moon with Luna-28, per space.com. The timelines for these missions have not been shared.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ANKARA, Turkey  Russia was sending a clear message to Turkey when it bombed Ukrainian business Motor Sich, which makes engines for Turkish aircraft, analysts have told Defense News.

The Aug. 6 missile and drone attack across Ukraine killed six people, Kyiv officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Zaporizhzhia-based facilities of Motor Sich, which his government took over in November, also came under attack.

The privately owned business Baykar builds the Akinci and Kizilelma drones, for which Motor Sich provides engines.

Eugene Kogan, a security and defense analyst based in Tbilisi, Georgia, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was essentially telling his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Despite our friendly relations and respect to each other, your son-in-laws undertaking in Ukraine will cost him dearly  a reference to Baykar chairman Selcuk Bayraktar, who is married to one of the Turkish presidents daughters.

Any military facility in Ukraine, local or foreign, is a legitimate target, and Russia is not going to be deterred by Ukraine to destroy such targets, Kogan added.

Motor Sich and Ukrainian firm Ivchenko-Progress have been providing AI-450 engines for the Akinci drone, as well as AI-25TLT engines for the Anka-3 and Kizilelma drones. Turkish Aerospace Industries produces the Anka-3, and Baykars Kizilelma is still under development.

The privately owned business Baykar builds Akinci drones, for which Motor Sich provides engines. (Baykar Makina)

Motor Sich engines also power Turkish Aerospace Industries Atak II heavyweight combat helicopter. And talks were underway for a Motor Sich engine to power the T925, TAIs utility helicopter. Its unclear where negotiations now stand.

In 2019, LLC Avia Ventures, a Baykar subsidiary, obtained permission to produce its Akinci and TB2 drones in Ukraine, with work to start in 2025. In January of that year, Baykar won a $69 million contract to sell six TB2 systems to Ukraine.

Later that year, state-controlled Ukrainian company Ukrspecexport and Baykar signed a deal to develop and produce sensitive technologies in defense and aerospace.

And in 2021, Turkey and Ukraine signed a contract to establish a helicopter repair and maintenance facility in Ankara. As part of the deal, Motor Sich would provide spare parts and engine testing services.

Baykar and TAI did not reply to Defense News queries.

We take it [the Russian missile attack on Motor Sich] as a symbolic Russian warning reflecting Russias discontent over a few Turkish initiatives, a senior Turkish diplomat told Defense News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

While Turkey is a member of NATO, it has maintained friendly relations with Russia. In 2017, Turkey bought the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, angering members of the Western alliance. But last month, Erdogan met with Zelenskyy and backed Ukraines hopes of joining NATO.

Ozgur Eksi, an Ankara-based analyst, said the Aug. 6 attack is a message both to Ukraine and to Turkey.

The Russian attack effectively kills co-production plans and any Turkish appetite to buy Motor Sich, Eksi told Defense News.

A Turkish procurement official said the country has enough Ukrainian-made engines on hand to run, among others, its drone programs uninterrupted. The official was not authorized to speak to the press, and Defense News could not independently verify the claim.

However, Eksi said, this may be a short-term solution, but not a relief from a long-term perspective.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russian forces deployed an Iskander-K missile to attack civilian infrastructure in the city of Zaporizhzhia on 10 August.

Source: Ukrainian National Police on Facebook

Quote: "Enemy forces once again ruthlessly attacked [the city of Zaporizhzhia] at 19:20 on Thursday [10 August]. An enemy Iskander-K missile hit a civilian building.

One civilian was killed and nine sustained injuries." [These numbers are as of 21:00 on 10 August - ed.]

Details: The National Police also said that law enforcement officers, police paramedics, rescue workers, and medical staff have been deployed to the site of the attack and are being assisted by local residents.

Previously: Russian forces struck civilian buildings in the city of Zaporizhzhia on 10 August. Local officials said that one civilian was killed and 16 sustained injuries.

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Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Friday as Ukrainian air defenses responded to morning Russian air strikes.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post that no one had been injured but fragments of a missile had fallen onto the grounds of a children's hospital.

The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia had launched hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over the Kyiv region, while Ukrainian officials said the capital's air defenses were at work, the Reuters news agency reported.

Ukrainian air defense system intercepts a rocket launched by Russian forces at Kyiv, Ukraine on Dec. 29, 2022. / Credit: Mustafa Ciftci / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukrainian authorities had issued a nationwide air alert before the attack..

Western allies have supplied sophisticated air defense systems to Ukraine to protect the country from regular Russian missile and drone strikes. The Biden administration on Thursday asked Congress to provide an additional $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine as the war rages on.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities far from the front lines throughout its war, often hitting civilian targets, assaults that Kyiv says are deliberate. Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians.

On Friday, Russia said it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the western outskirts of Moscow, the latest in a growing number of aerial attacks on the capital.

"This afternoon, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow was thwarted," the defense ministry said, adding there was no damage or casualties as a result of the incident.

Friday's attack was the latest in a series of Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow in the past week. Largely spared in the early part of the conflict, the capital has seen a surge in attacks in recent months.

"The drone was electronically disabled and crashed in a forest in the west of Moscow," the defense ministry said.



Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said debris fell in the Karamyshevskaya embankment, where emergency services were at work.



The international airport of Vnukovo temporarily introduced restrictions but they were lifted within an hour, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.



On Thursday, Russia said it downed two drones headed for Moscow, a day after two others were destroyed on approach.



At the start of this month, an office block in the capital's main business district was struck twice within days by debris from a downed drone strike.

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Russian attacks in four Ukrainian oblasts killed four civilians and wounded 41 on Aug. 10, according to regional authorities.

Russia targeted a total of nine Ukrainian oblasts  Sumy, Kherson, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia.

Russian forces hit 23 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, killing two people and injuring 21, the regional administration wrote. The authorities received 51 reports about the destruction of residential buildings, farm buildings, and social infrastructure facilities.

According to the updated information published by the Zaporizhzhia Military Administration, a 66-year-old woman was killed, and 19 people were wounded in Russias Aug. 10 missile strike on the regional capital. Among the injured are four children aged between three and 14.

The attack damaged the Reikartz Hotel on the Dnipro River, which has often been used by UN staff and NGO workers.

The Russian military targeted five districts in Kharkiv Oblast, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring a man of the same age in the village of Podoly, according to Governor Oleh Synehuibov.

An elderly man was also wounded, and a private residence was damaged in the village of Vovchanski Khutory. Russian attacks against two more settlements in Kharkiv Oblast damaged two apartment buildings, a garage, and a house, said Synehuibov.

Russia launched 60 multi-weapon attacks against Kherson Oblast, injuring nine people, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional governor. A humanitarian aid center, an agricultural cooperative, a factory, and a medical institution were damaged, added Prokudin.

In Ukraines eastern Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed one civilian and injured nine more, including a child, said Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Russia hit a total of 11 settlements and three communities in the region, damaging 78 houses, four administration buildings, and two infrastructure facilities, according to Kyrylenko.

Read also: Thats it, its death, guys. What we know about Russias killing of 2 Ukrainian teenagers in occupied Berdiansk

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Moscow has announced the temporary closure of Vnukovo Airport, and Russian emergency services said take-offs and landings at the airport have been postponed.

Source: Kremlin-aligned news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti

Details: The Russians claimed that the shutdown of the Russian capital's airport was due to a drone.

The Russian services said some of the planes were redirected to other airports.

Background: On the night of 9-10 August, Russian airports Vnukovo (Moscow) and Domodedovo (Moscow Oblast) imposed temporary restrictions on aircraft take-offs and landings.

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FILE PHOTO: A woman with an umbrella walks past a display advertising Apple iPhone 14 during rainy weather in Moscow

(Reuters) - Russia's ministry of digital development has banned employees from using Apple iPhones and iPads for work purposes, Interfax news agency reported on Friday citing the minister, Maksut Shadaev.

"A ban is imposed on using (Apple) mobile devices - smartphones and tablets - to access work applications and work email exchange," he told reporters at a digital conference, the agency said.

"It's allowed to use iPhones for personal needs," Shadaev said.

The ministry issued the ban two months after claims by the Russian main domestic security service, the FSB, that several thousands Apple devices were compromised as a result of an espionage operation by the U.S.

Apple denied the allegations. The U.S. National Security Agency, which the FSB said cooperated with Apple, declined to comment on the claims at the time.

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Russian Lieutenant Ivan Korolev illegally crossed the Lithuanian border and asked the country's authorities for political asylum, the BBC reported on Aug. 11.

After entering Lithuania, Korolev managed to reach the country's capital Vilnius only to be detained by Lithuanian border guards on Aug. 10 and sent to a border checkpoint, where he managed to contact a BBC correspondent.

"On August 3, I decided to leave the Russian Federation due to the fact that I did not want to take part in the bloody war that my state unleashed," Korolev told the BBC.

"At the moment I am in the Republic of Lithuania, where I asked for political asylum."

The officer claimed that while he took part in Russia's aggression against Ukraine, he has never been deployed outside of Russia. His position as the "deputy head of the warehouse of the accounting and operational department of the field artillery warehouse" entailed supplying the troops fighting in Ukraine with ammunition, Korolev said.

The BBC noted that Korolev's claims have not been currently verified. The unit to which he is assigned is under normal circumstances stationed in the village of Teysin in Khabarovsk Krai, the news outlet added.

The artillery officer's application was taken into consideration by the Lithuanian authorities, after which he was taken to a migration center in the town of Pabrade not far from the Belarusian border.

A number of Russian officers have fled Russia to seek asylum in European countries because of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Thats it, its death, guys. What we know about Russias killing of 2 Ukrainian teenagers in occupied Berdiansk

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(Bloomberg) -- Latvian authorities need to take into account new US sanctions against Russian tycoon Petr Aven as they decide whether to revoke his citizenship, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said.

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The sanctions, announced Friday against Aven and three others who helped found the Alfa Group banking conglomerate, are another important signal to the responsible Latvian institutions evaluating the legitimacy of his citizenship, Karins said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Latvia, which borders Russia and is among the fiercest European critics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is reviewing whether a 2022 law allows authorities to strip Aven of his citizenship in the Baltic nation.

Aven, who lives in Latvia, declined to comment. The billionaire, who has a Latvian grandfather, was granted citizenship in 2016 after meeting naturalization requirements and passing a language exam.

Latvias law allows authorities to revoke citizenship for people who support genocide, crimes against peace, and threats to the territorial integrity and constitutional order of democratic states. If security officials conclude that Aven violated the law, a report will be sent to the Office of Citizenship and Migration for a decision, which could be challenged in court.

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The Russians are taking children from Ukraines temporarily occupied territories to their military camps in order to "re-educate" and then recruiting them into the Russian army.

Source: Ukraine's National Resistance Center

Quote: "The enemy continues to engage in military education of Ukrainian teenagers in order to further recruit them into the ranks of its army.

Yes. From 1 August to 18 August, military-patriotic meetings with the participation of Ukrainian teenagers in the camp "Guards" are held in Penga (Russia). The occupiers took teenagers from the temporarily occupied territories there."

Details: The National Resistance Center said the children were taken from the settlements of Mariupol, Kirovske, Yenakiieve, Horlivka, Shakhtarsk, Makiivka, and Donetsk.

The National Resistance Center added that children are given training, they are taken on tours around propaganda museums and attend concerts by propagandist Oleg Gazmanov in the camps.

Background: The Russian so-called "re-education camps" are "camps of Russification, militarisation and indoctrination".

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The child has been killed as a result of a Russian missile attack on Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on the morning of 11 August.

Source: Svitlana Onyshchuk, Head of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast State Administration, on Facebook; Interior Ministry of Ukraine; Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

Quote from Onyshchuk: "Friday morning began with an air-raid siren. There was a hit on a civilian target in our region.

There are victims, including a child who was taken to hospital in severe condition. The doctors did everything they could, but, unfortunately, it was not possible to save the child's life."

Details: The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine clarified that at around 10:00, Russian occupiers fired aerial ballistic missiles at a residential building in the Kolomyia district.

The missile hit the territory of a private house where a family with three children lived. An 8-year-old boy was killed as a result of the attack. Information about other victims is currently being clarified.

PHoto: Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

The outbuilding was partially destroyed by the blast wave and falling debris. The emergency services are working at the scene.

PHoto: Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

The Prosecutor's Office has launched a pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war (Art. 438.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

PHoto: Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

Background:

On the morning of 11 August, the Ukrainian authorities announced an air-raid warning across the country due to the risk of missile attacks; explosions were heard in Kyiv, and the Kyiv City Military Administration reported that air defences were responding.

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 governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast, Roman Starovoyt, has claimed that air defence forces shot down two drones near Kursk late on 10 August.

Source: Starovoyt on Telegram

Quote from Russian governor: "Yesterday at about 23:00, two Ukrainian UAVs were shot down by air defence forces on the approach to the city of Kursk."

Details: Starovoyt did not provide any other details of the alleged 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!
When Galt Joint Unified School District reopened its doors in the 2021-22 school year, students didnt exactly come flooding back.

Nearly half of the districts 3,423 students were chronically absent last year, missing more than 10% of school days. Thats more than four times as many chronically absent students compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to data analyzed by EdSource, a nonprofit newsroom that covers education in California, in partnership with the Associated Press.

About 1 million California students became chronically absent, missing more than 10% of school days, since schools reopened in 2021-22 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the analysis found.

More than 100,000 of those students were in the Sacramento area, with nearly every school district experiencing a jump in its chronic absenteeism rate. School administrators blame illness, morale and school perception, and they are using home visits, incentive programs and enhanced case management to attract students and families back to school.

Students across the country are skipping an unprecedented amount of school: an additional 6.5 million more public school students were chronically absent after the pandemic compared with before in 40 states and Washington, D.C., according to national data compiled and analyzed by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with the AP.

Every single state in the study saw an increase in the portion of students who were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year compared to pre-pandemic levels.

California saw the fifth biggest leap in chronic absenteeism, jumping from 12.1% in the 2018-19 school year to 30% of students in the 2021-22 school year.

Though absences increased across demographics, they were most prevalent among Latino, Black and low-income students, according to Dees analysis. Broken down by age, kindergartners and high school students had the most absences.

The achievement gap became an attendance gap, and it actually widened, said Jennifer Kretschman, director of student attendance and engagement at Sacramento City Unified School District. Nearly 40% of the districts 40,000 students were chronically absent last year.

Students who miss school risk cementing pandemic-induced learning loss. The pandemic caused test scores in math and reading to fall precipitously, especially at high-poverty schools. Absent students also cant receive the meals, socialization or health and social services that schools provide.

The crisis that were going to have in 10 years because we have all these kids who havent graduated and they dropped out is going to be much more insane than the pandemic, Kretschman said.

Why are students missing so much school?

The most obvious and glaring reason is Covid, said Kretschman. Students were told to stay home whenever they showed symptoms of COVID-19. We basically retaught poor patterns of attendance.

But according to Dees analysis, COVID-19 illness or mask mandates do not entirely explain the increase. He compared schools with masking mandates and schools without, finding that both had similar rates of absenteeism.

The evidence is pointing to other substantive and enduring factors, said Dee.

What are those factors?

I think when we closed schools for almost two years, its hard to get back into the routine of coming to school every day, Galt Joint Union Elementary Superintendent Linda Yount said. Were still trying to get back the positive perception of schools and that you do need to come to school on a regular basis.

A year and a half of distance learning left families and students less connected to schools, and therefore less likely to show up, Kretschman said. The



last years teacher strike and the superintendents resignation this summer further estranged some families, she added.

Sacramento City Teachers Association President Nikki Milevsky pointed to the districts chronic staff shortage. The shortage was the center of the 2022 strike.

No student wants to (be) warehoused in a school cafeteria with hundreds of others and without a regular teacher, she said in an email to The Bee.

The association said that in 2021-22, 571 students did not have a permanent teacher and were sent to cafeterias and gymnasiums to be monitored by one or two teachers or substitutes.

Michelle Harder, the attendance clerk at Navigator Elementary in Rancho Cordova, saw more families take their kids out of school to go on trips or vacations.

I think COVID made everyone remember that family is important, she said. Theres way more, Im just gonna take the vacation.

What are Sacramento-area schools doing about chronic absences?

Red carpets, home visits, popcorn parties, silly string, free backpacks  schools are pulling out all the stops to get kids back to school.

All summer long, Sacramento City Unified School District sent counselors to visit the homes of students who were chronically absent last year. The goal is to re-engage students and families on an interpersonal level, Kretschman said.

The district received a three-year state grant to reduce chronic absences, which it invested into its student engagement and attendance team. The team analyzes student data to identify the students who are most disconnected from school, then deploys counselors and resources to rebuild the relationship. The district is also considering alternative programs for kids who dont like the traditional school schedule and partnering with a Harvard research group to study the impact of absences.

Navigator Elementary literally rolled out the red carpet to welcome students back to school this year, with hopes that theyll keep showing up.

The school, part of Folsom Cordova Unified School District, is bookending Labor Day weekend with special events  a popcorn party and Silly String the Principal  to encourage families to not let their long weekend vacations eat into school time. Harder said they plan on having special events before and after every school break.

At Galt Joint Unified, which is 63% Hispanic, more bilingual community outreach consultants were added to the staff this year to reach Spanish-speaking families and help visit the homes of students missing the most school.

The district also used prizes, awards and school-wide celebrations to lure students back. Classrooms that achieved 80% attendance or better for a week got to raise a flag outside their door. Attendance improved last year, Yount said.

We dont just want kids to be (at school), but for kids to say that they like school and they like coming to school, Kretschman said.
Safety advocates are pushing for a recall of a popular baby product called the Cosco Jump, Spin and Play Activity Center.

Reviews of the product on the companys website describe it as dangerous and tell others: Do not buy.

Another parent wrote: broke and left my kid hanging basically upside down.

There are dozens of reviews like them. In them, parents explain the straps break and babies fall to the ground.

Its terrifying, Consumer Reports Associate Director of Product Safety William Wallace said. Im a new parent and its horrifying to think that a product made for babies could potentially hurt them.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

If youre not familiar with it, the Cosco Jump, Spin and Play Activity Center is one of those baby products you can put your child in to keep them entertained. Their feet touch the ground so they can jump up and down.

One review said: Two of the cables snapped while my son was bouncing in this ... ...he fell quicker than I could get him causing him to hit his head on the floor...

We also found multiple complaints filed with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Were calling for a recall because this is just far too many incidents over the last three years that we havent seen action from the company, Wallace said.

We reached out to the manufacturer for a response to the concerns.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Dorel Juvenile takes all matters concerning safety very seriously, Rick Leckner responded. We have been proactive with the CPSC on this matter and await their response.

He would not elaborate on exactly what this means.

A CPSC spokesperson wrote: We are aware of reports of incidents involving this product. However, we cannot comment regarding enforcement investigations.

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These companies need to step up their safety testing and make sure that if theyre going to offer a product for sale, it is safe, Wallace added.

On the company website, 33 of the 41 reviews give the product one star. They list it as poor quality, flimsy and dangerous.

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan federal court on Friday, August 11 th of 2023. Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked on Friday over alleged witness tampering.

Bankman-Fried was previously released on $250 million bond in December.

The crypto tycoon will now have to report to jail.

Sam Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked by a federal judge on Friday over his alleged tampering with witnesses in his fraud case.

He'll now have to report to jail.

US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the embattled crypto tycoon who co-founded FTX could no longer be held under house arrest at his parent's home.

"Nonviolent witness tampering and obstruction poses a danger to the community and the risk of such activities would support pretrial detention," Judge Kaplan said at a hearing on Friday, according to Courthouse News' Josh Russell.

The revocation of Bankman-Fried's bail comes months after the 31-year-old was put under house arrest at his parent's house in Palo Alto, California as of December on charges of illegally funneling millions of dollars from FTX customers' funds into his cryptocurrency trading firm, Alameda.

Bankman-Fried's $250 billion bail package restricted him from using his phone and any gaming device that permitted "chat or voice communication," which includes losing access to his favorite game "League of Legends."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Read the original article on Business Insider
NEW YORK  A federal judge on Friday revoked Sam Bankman-Frieds bail and ordered him jailed pending trial, saying the indicted founder of the failed cryptocurrency firm FTX attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice since he was charged with overseeing a multibillion-dollar fraud.

Bankman-Fried had been under house arrest at his parents home in Palo Alto, California, after Manhattan federal prosecutors in December charged him with fraud and money laundering. In recent weeks, however, prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to revoke Bankman-Frieds bail, saying that since his arrest he had taken two actions in an effort to influence or intimidate potential witnesses.

In January, prosecutors said, Bankman-Fried used the encrypted app Signal to send a message to the general counsel of FTXs U.S. operations, suggesting the two could use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other.

And more recently, prosecutors said, Bankman-Fried shared private writings by Caroline Ellison, a former executive at a company linked to Bankman-Fried who is also his former girlfriend, with a reporter for the New York Times. Ellison has pleaded guilty to fraud charges, is cooperating with the government and is expected to be a witness against Bankman-Fried at his trial in October.

Bankman-Frieds lawyers didnt dispute that he took those actions, but argued they didnt violate the terms of his bail and that he shouldnt be punished for seeking to protect his reputation.

In his ruling in Manhattan federal court Friday, Kaplan said he believed Bankman-Frieds actions were intended to influence those people, to have them back off, to have them hedge their cooperation.

With respect to the Signal message, Kaplan described it as Bankman-Frieds invitation to the individual to sing out of the same hymn book for their mutual benefit. As to the Ellison writings, Kaplan said they were shared to hurt, discredit and frighten the subject of the material.

As the judge issued his decision, Bankman-Fried fidgeted his hands, but didnt appear to react.

Mark Cohen, an attorney for Bankman-Fried, said he would appeal the judges ruling and asked the judge to stay his order pending the appeal. The judge denied his application for a stay.

As the hearing concluded, two U.S. marshals who had been sitting directly behind Bankman-Fried approached him. He began to remove his suit jacket, tie, shoes, and watch as the marshals hovered near him.

It wasnt immediately clear where Bankman-Fried would be jailed while he awaits trial.
The luck ran out for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Friday, when a New York judge ordered that he be confined to jail in advance of his October trial.

The former billionaire had repeatedly angered both prosecutors and the court while out on bail following his arrest in December. Most recently, he leaked documents to The New York Times about his former lover Caroline Ellison, who once ran Bankman-Frieds hedge fund and is likely to be a witness in his trial.

Prosecutors framed the leaks as a possible attempt at witness tampering, both by intimidating Ellison and influencing public perception of her in the media. An assistant U.S. attorney argued in court last month that there was no set of conditions short of detention to ensure the safety of the community.

Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed with that assessment. The defense says hes gotten bad press and has a right to try to repair his reputation. Fair enough, Kaplan said on Friday, according to media outlet Inner City Press. But I find that there is a practical possibility it was intended to have [witnesses] back off.

The documents shared with the Times, Kaplan added, are personally oriented, not business oriented. [They are] something that someone who has been in a relationship would be unlikely to share with anyone except to hurt and frighten the subject.

Feds Rail Against Sam Bankman-Fried in Brutal New Allegations

Kaplan said there was a possibility Bankman-Fried would be held at the Manhattan Detention Complex, rather than somewhere on anyones list of five-star facilities, according to Inner City Press. He said he may consider requests for Bankman-Fried to visit to his lawyers office, however.

Previously, officials had complained about Bankman-Frieds other antics, including his decision to contact FTXs former general counsel this winter in an attempt to reconnect and seek a mutually constructive relationship.

Later, he used a virtual private networkbetter known as a VPNto access the internet. Prosecutors expressed alarm that he was trying to circumvent oversight of his internet usage, though Bankman-Fried insisted he was just watching the Super Bowl.

Until Friday, the 31-year-old had been living under home confinement at his parents house in California. That will now change.

Bankman-Frieds attorney vowed to appeal Fridays decision.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Tech junkies everywhere are about to have the best day ever. The new line of Samsung Galaxy devices is officially available to the public and we found a Best Buy deal to help you save on the new tech. If you're looking to upgrade your current tablet to the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 for the new school year, head to the Best Buy Anniversary sale this weekend for trade-in deals and extra freebies.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

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Save up to $650 at Best Buy

Right now, you can save up to $650 on all different sizes and models of the Galaxy Tab S9. Opt for the 11-inch 128-gigabyte S9 ($799.99), the advanced 12.4-inch 256-gigabyte S9+ (from $999.99) or the expansive 14.6-inch one-terabyte S9 Ultra (from $1,199.99) at Best Buy and get a free keyboard cover (a $139.99 value) when you trade in other tablets. All you have to do is choose the brand and model (with color, capacity and carrier optional) and Best Buy calculates your trade-in value. For instance, an Apple iPad Mini 4 with Wi-Fi + Unlocked and 128-gigabyte SSD gets you $60 off your purchase of the standard Tab S9.

Apple deals: Shop the best back-to-school deals on Apple iPads, AirPods and more ahead of Labor Day

While we haven't tested the latest Samsung tablet, previous Samsung Galaxy Tab models have captured our attention. Our tester described the Galaxy Tab S8 (from $699.99) as a fine tablet thanks to its compact design, strong battery life and excellent S-Pen stylus. The aforementioned S-Pen is included with every tablet and magnetically attaches to the device (unlike the Apple Pencil 2 as a separate accessory for the iPad), so every user can experience its intuitive design and speedy responsiveness. It also has great built-in speakers, a solid battery life of up to 15 hours and a lightweight design.

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All of the new Galaxy S9 Tab models have a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a vibrant OLED display to deliver the best view on a compact device. The screen also comes with Vision Booster technology that automatically adjusts brightness and contrast for a clearer view of whatever you're working on, even in the sunlight. If you've got a big project to work on, DeX Mode helps open multiple windows and folders at the same time to let you drag and drop files between everything. Wherever you're working with it, the S9's Armor Aluminum frame is resistant to water, dust and most bumps.

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This Best Buy deal on the Samsung Galaxy S9 Tab devices can help you save a big chunk of change on one of the newest tablets on the market right now. So whether you need a new gadget before going back to school or just want some early Labor Day savings, this Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 offer is for you.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

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Four murder cases were expected to go to trial beginning on Aug. 21, however, three of them have been pushed to later dates with one now scheduled for February.

Two cases involving fatal shootings have been bumped back to go to trial this fall, while the third has been moved to go to trial next year, more than five years after the defendant was arrested in connection to a shooting down in North Port.

In memory of Lilly: One year after losing daughter in hit-and-run, Osprey family waits for driver's sentencing

Sarasota case update: What's happening in 'Take Care of Maya' case? Hearing sets parameters for jury selection

Case moving forward to trial for man arrested in fatal shooting of woman at Venice bank

Five months after William Tollard was scheduled to appear in court for trial, the 50-year-olds case is now expected to go to trial on Aug. 21.

Tollard was arrested in October 2020 and charged with murder in the first degree after he was accused of shooting a woman at a Venice bank, according to previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting and court records.

Witnesses said they saw Tollard walk up to a woman at a drive-thru of BB&T Bank in Venice and fired a handgun several times, before fleeing the parking lot. The specifics of who the victim is and the relationship between her and Tollard werent released due to Marsys Law.

Assistant State Attorney Karen Fraivillig, who is also the prosecutor in the other three cases, filed a notice on Tuesday announcing she plans on using Tollards 911 call made at 9:27 a.m. on the day of the shooting and his EMT records during the trial.

Son of well-known Sarasota boxers case pushed to November

Howard China Smith III, 25, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and armed robbery in connection to a 2018 killing.

Police were called to investigate a shooting on Jan. 20, 2018, and when they arrived found a 32-year-old victim with gunshot wounds to the back of his head and buttocks. The victim died of his injuries at Sarasota Memorial Hospital due to the gunshot to his head.

An anonymous tip identified Smith as the shooter and police confirmed the 9mm Luger shell casings found at the crime scene were all fired from the same gun which matched bullets recovered from Smiths home during a search on an unrelated case.

A confidential source also told police they had overheard Smith say he tried to rob the victim and shot him, according to previous reporting.

According to a court document filed Wednesday, the trial was moved on grounds that Fraivillig already had a trial scheduled in August and the defense waived a speedy trial. Both sides are also still conducting discovery and depositions for trial.

Second case pushed to November for man connected to Ackerman Park shooting

Nyquan Priester, 22, was charged with second-degree murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and altering, destroying, or concealing physical evidence after he was arrested in January 2022 in connection to a shooting in Ackerman Park, which killed a bystander.

The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2021, and according to witnesses, a group of roughly 50 people gathered at the park when several gunshots were fired from the backseat of a car.

One of the bullets hit a bystander in the back, and when paramedics arrived in a nearby parking lot where he was taken following the shooting, they pronounced him dead.

A second suspect in the shooting, Kalvion Turner, took a plea deal in August 2022 in which he agreed to testify against Priester in exchange for lesser charges and no prison time. Turner pleaded guilty to charges of giving false information to a law enforcement officer and obstruction, receiving 12 months probation for each count to run consecutively.

In case you missed it: Man takes plea deal, to testify against 2nd suspect in connection to Ackerman Park shooting

Trailblazing attorney: Sarasota lawyer first to be elected as Florida Bar president

Punta Gorda mans trial pushed until February 2024

Juan Salazar Diaz, 25, of Punta Gorda, was expected to appear in court this month in connection to the shooting death of a 20-year-old from Port Charlotte.

Previous reporting by the Herald-Tribune indicated the victim may have been a transgender woman. Police identified the victim as Tyren Anthony Kinard, however, the victims gender on a Facebook account was listed as female, and the name on the account was listed as Londonn Moore.

The victim was found near Red Oak Road and Sawyer Circle in North Port on Sept. 8, 2018, according to previous Herald-Tribune reports. An investigation by North Port police revealed the victims last phone call was made to Salazar Diaz, who lived near where the victims car was later found with two bullet holes in the driver's door. DNA and fingerprint analysis further linked Salazar Diaz to the shooting.

Previous reporting: Police investigate slain Port Charlotte adult who may have identified as trans woman

At the time, North Port police were reticent to call the victim a transgender woman or attribute the murder to violence against a trans person, but they were looking into any and all motives for the death.

Nathan Bruemmer, who was the executive director at the time of the local LGBTQ youth advocacy group ALSO Youth, said it was important to acknowledge that the victim was exploring gender identity in some way, according to previous reporting.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota court update: 3 murder trials postponed, 1 set for Aug. 21
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Aug. 11 that it had detained an Odesa resident suspected of passing information on military bases and the consequences of airstrikes to Russia.

The woman was reportedly in contact with a handler from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), who regularly paid her up to Hr 20,000 ($540) in cryptocurrency for each task, the SBU said.

According to the report, the FSB required information to prepare and adjust drone and missile strikes against the city. Ukrainian security services detained her while she was spying on a military facility.

A search of the suspect's residence reportedly led to the discovery of the phones she was using to communicate with the FSB handler.

The alleged spy, who reportedly holds pro-Russian views, confessed to cooperating with Russian security services, the SBU said. She has been charged with treason and faces life imprisonment.

Russian forces significantly increased the frequency of their airstrikes against Odesa Oblast following Moscow's unilateral termination of the grain deal on July 17.

Ports, agricultural infrastructure, grain stockpiles, as well as Odesa's historical center listed as UNESCO heritage suffered extensive damage over the past few weeks.

Read also: SBU detains woman suspected of spying in Zhytomyr Oblast

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  Democrats say theyve come up with a way to reverse their fortunes and rack up victories in next years elections: highlight policies implemented by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature.

On Thursday, in West Palm Beach, they emphasized education policies, keying off the first day of school in Palm Beach County.

We have made our schools a war zone, state Democratic Chair Nikki Fried said. Indoctrination is what is happening from the Republican Party. They are indoctrinating our kids with far-right propaganda and revisionist history.

The attack on public education by our Republican politicians who are attacking our students and our teachers is scary, and its dangerous, said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach. They promote propaganda thats distorting science and history and gender and our children are being denied the truth.

And state Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, excoriated the state Board of Educations controversial Black history standards that include a required instruction on how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

DeSantis defended the standard  something that leading conservative, Black elected officials denounced, and the governor responded by accusing the Black Republicans of carrying water for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

To teach anybody that there were skills that were taught that could benefit people who were enslaved is the most disingenuous thing that our government has started to do, Powell said.

The Democratic effort to stoke voter outrage over what Fried called MAGA extremism echoes what Democrats did leading up to the 2022 midterm elections.

It didnt work. The states voters gave DeSantis a resounding 19-point reelection victory, reduced Democratic numbers so much in the state House and Senate that theyre essentially powerless to affect the outcome of legislation, and increased the number of Republicans in the states congressional delegation.

Nine months later, Fried and state Sen. Lori Berman, of Palm Beach County, said there are differences.

DeSantis and Republicans who control the Legislature implemented even more extreme policies in this years legislative session and the impacts of this years laws and measures passed in recent years are being felt by people.

They have a long list, including a law prohibiting almost all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, a ban on abortions after six weeks (that hasnt yet gone into effect), eliminating the permit requirement for people carrying concealed weapons, and cracking down on employment of undocumented workers, which is affecting the agriculture, tourism and construction industries.

All together, the Democrats said, voters have reached a critical mass of disgust at what they said is Republican overreach, and will respond by punishing Republicans in 2024.

Fried said Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee went along with what DeSantis wanted because they thought the governor would be elected president, and they wanted to ride what they believed would be a DeSantis wave.

Now, DeSantis candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination is troubled, and voters will hold his enablers accountable at the polls in Florida, Fried said.

Fried, Frankel, Berman Powell and Greenacres Mayor Joel Flores made their pitch before a group of about three dozen Democratic activists gathered at the Urban League of Palm Beach County offices in West Palm Beach.

Fried is traveling the state trying to energize party activists to work in communities now  not waiting until the election season.

Top priorities are registering voters and getting people to renew their vote by mail requests, all of which expired after the midterm elections and have to be renewed or people wont receive mail ballots next year.

We are here to take back Palm Beach County, Fried said, declaring that the county is Democratic blue.

Palm Beach County is essential territory for Democrats. It was long one of the states Democratic strongholds, providing votes that could offset more Republican areas of the state, and putting it in the running for statewide victories.

It wasnt blue in 2022. Turnout among Democrats in Palm Beach County, and the rest of the state, plunged compared to the 2018 midterm elections.

The numbers tell part of the story: Though Democrats were far ahead in voter registration in Palm Beach County going into the midterms  40% Democratic, 29% Republican and 31% no party affiliation/independent and third-party voters  DeSantis won the county, with 51.2% of the vote.

Fried, who unsuccessfully sought her partys nomination to run against DeSantis last year, said his presidential candidacy has taken the governor away from Florida  returning only for what she portrayed as political moves aimed at increasing his standing among Republican primary voters in other states.

She excoriated DeSantis for his appearance in Tallahassee on Wednesday  in a break from campaigning for president in Iowa  in which he suspended the Democratic state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties.

He flies into town and what does he do? He fires a duly elected Black female state attorney because he doesnt agree with how she handles her caseload, Fried said, depicting it as part of the attack on democracy, the attack on voting rights.

DeSantis said he suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell because she has been clearly and fundamentally derelict in her duty.

His executive order said her office had a pattern or practice to avoid minimum mandatory sentences for gun crimes, drug trafficking offenses and allowed juveniles to avoid serious charges or incarceration altogether. He also accused her office of limiting charges for child pornography.

A representative for the Florida Republican Party didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

_____
A librarian at a Bronx elementary school left his 1-year-old daughter in a parked SUV for five hours while he went to work, police said.

Another school worker at the Walter J. Damrosch School in Morrisania saw the child as he was passing by and with the help of a co-worker busted the cars window on Thursday, saving the child, who is recovering. The babys father, Michael Dodes, 41, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare.

He was seen taking a box into the school at one point, but it wasnt clear if he realized he had left his daughter in the car or if he checked on her, police said.

At about 2 p.m., a school employee saw the girl in the parked Subaru Forester and yet another employee busted the rear passenger window and rescued the child, police said.

We commend the heroism of the school staff member who took action to remove this child from danger, said Jenna Lyle, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. Upon learning of this incident, the school immediately contacted NYPD and EMS who responded to the scene.

This employee is being reassigned away from students.

The girl was taken by medics to Bronx Lebanon Hospital in stable condition.

It wasnt immediately clear if any of SUVs windows were open.

The temperature Thursday topped out at 81 degrees, though the temperature inside a car can easily top 100 degrees in minutes.

In July 2019, twin 1-year-old Phoenix and Mariza Rodriguez, died inside a sweltering hot car in the Bronx after their father forget they were in the back seat and went to work.

The father, Juan Rodriguez, then 39 and living in New City, in Rockland County, was charged with two counts of manslaughter.

The father, who told investigators he blanked out and thought he had dropped them off at daycare, plead guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment and got a conditional discharge, avoiding time behind bars.
As policymakers debate the future of the dams on the Snake River, the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the leading fisheries professional society in the United States, and Trout Unlimited, one of the nations foremost aquatic conservation organizations, are compelled to set the record straight.

Public policy decisions should be grounded in the best available science. Science tells us that we must remove the lower four Snake River dams to save critically at-risk populations of wild Snake River salmon.

The basins native salmon and steelhead hover on the brink of extinction. Today, only 1-2% of historic wild salmon and steelhead return to the Snake River to spawn above the four lower Snake River dams. Climate change will continue to worsen the outlook for these coldwater species. Ensuring access to this high-elevation habitat is the best opportunity to promote broad-scale population recovery in the face of warming waters.

Proposals to breach the four lower Snake River dams have a long history, but the subject has become more critical as these populations approach important extinction risk indicators, as emphasized in a 2021 report by the Nez Perce Tribe. The report warns that 42% of Snake River spring summer Chinook salmon have reached a threshold where extinction is highly likely.

AFS is a scientific organization of over 7,000 professional fishery scientists and resource managers, many of whom live and work in the western U.S. and have long-studied salmon and their declining populations.

Since its origin in 1870, AFS has engaged on critical policy issues that affect fisheries when the science is clear and consistent. Each AFS policy statement is grounded in decades of peer-reviewed scientific studies, considered, and voted upon by AFSs board that represent a range of fisheries disciplines and all political affiliations.

Because the science is clear and compelling and the situation is urgent, in January, the AFS Board took action to support breaching the lower four Snake River dams.

Salmon and other anadromous fish move between the upriver spawning and rearing habitats and the ocean and back again. Because of the dams, migrating fish face a series of slow reservoirs with water that is often too warm for them, with concentrated predators at each dam; for out-migrating smolts, the trip downstream now takes 10 times as long as it did naturally, greatly exacerbating exposure to these impacts.

Fish that make it through the dams may arrive injured, stressed, and weakened, for many leading to delayed mortality once in the ocean.

Even when ocean conditions are favorable for their survival, the impacts of the stressful passage prove too much for these fish, which is why decades of science has pointed to the need to reduce these stressors and bolster access to coldwater habitats in the Snake River.

But why is breaching necessary  cant we invest in alternative approaches? Restoring healthy salmon populations will require a change in approach. Since the 1980s, numerous strategies, like barging, retrofitting the dams or supplementing stocks with hatchery-raised fish, have been attempted with little or no success.

Despite spending billions on recovery, these species continue to decline, affecting both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, other imperiled species, tribal rights, and commercial and recreational fishing.

While dam removal is not easy, we urge stakeholders to pair this essential action with other innovative solutions that have been proposed to allow fish, local communities, and industries to thrive.

Notably, the Penobscot River project in Maine was accomplished by a combination of breaching, fish passageways, and increased power production for different dams, such that total hydropower production was maintained while restoring fish runs. It is possible to find solutions that support industry, communities, and fish.

As we consider the future of our Northwest salmon and the communities that rely on it, we must make decisions grounded in scientific evidence. As returns continue to decline, decision-makers at all levels must take swift and decisive action to breach the lower four Snake River dams.
The vast ocean is a lot less lonely with a buddy.

Scientists have discovered two great white sharks, known as Simon and Jekyll, who have been traveling together in tandem up the coast of North America for more than 4,000 miles.

This is potentially groundbreaking, Bob Hueter, chief scientist at marine research organization OCEARCH, said in a video posted to Facebook on Sunday.

White sharks lead a very solitary existence, he continued. We dont really expect to see these white sharks staying together, but Simon and Jekyll  they seem to be buddies in the sense that theyre going the same place at the same time.

A great white shark, but not Simon or Jekyll. We don't know if this shark has any friends at all.

A great white shark, but not Simon or Jekyll. We don't know if this shark has any friends at all.

Researchers began tracking the two relatively young males in December last year, when they were briefly caught and tagged with tracking devices near the southeast coast of the United States. Since then, the pair of apex predators made the long journey north to Canadas Gulf of St. Lawrence, swimming together all the while.

Ecologist Yannis Papastamatiou of Florida International University told The New York Times that in his own research, hes seen white sharks hanging out together at specific sites for hours on end. He noted that sharks may group together for purposes like mating, fending off predators or finding food.

In an article last year for The Conversation, Papastamatiou also cited a study of white sharks in Australia that found sharks congregating around a seal colony would tend to spend time with the same individuals within the larger group.

The fact that white sharks not only stay close to each other but also have preferred buddies got me wondering if maybe these animals were more social than people thought, Papastamatiou wrote at the time.

In the OCEARCH video, Hueter added in the video that researchers will be analyzing Simon and Jekylls blood  samples of which were taken when they were tagged  to determine if they are siblings, in case that may play any role in their close relationship.

Related...
Beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the "Pearl of the Balkans," scientists have uncovered what may be one of Europe's earliest sedentary communities, and are trying to solve the mystery of why it sheltered behind a fortress of defensive spikes.

A stretch of the Albanian shore of the lake once hosted a settlement of stilt houses some 8,000 years ago, archaeologists believe, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe discovered to date.

Radiocarbon dating from the site puts it at between 6000 and 5800 BC.

"It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions," said Albert Hafner, a professor of archaeology from Switzerland's University of Bern.

This aerial photograph taken on July 27, 2023, shows a diver searching for archaeological material in Lake Ohrid, southeastern Albania. Archaeologists say the the Palafitte settlement of Lin dates back to 5800 - 6000 years BC. / Credit: ADNAN BECI/AFP via Getty Images

"To our knowledge, it is the oldest in Europe," he told AFP.

The most ancient other such villages were discovered in the Italian Alps and date to around 5000 BC, said the expert in European Neolithic lake dwellings.

Hafner and his team of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists have spent the past four years carrying out excavations at Lin on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania.

Last month, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama touted the discovery in a Facebook post, hailing its "undisputed historical and archaeological value."

Swiss Ambassador Ruth Huber visited the excavations in July because she "wanted to be informed personally and on the spot about the research," Hafner's team said in a statement.

The settlement is believed to have been home to between 200 and 500 people, with houses built on stilts above the lake's surface or in areas regularly flooded by rising waters.

And it is slowly revealing some astonishing secrets.

During a recent dive, archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting the settlement was fortified with thousands of spiked planks used as defensive barricades.

"To protect themselves in this way, they had to cut down a forest," said Hafner.

But why did the villagers need to build such extensive fortifications to defend themselves? Archaeologists are still searching for an answer to the elusive question.

Researchers estimate that roughly 100,000 spikes were driven into the bottom of the lake off Lin, with Hafner calling the discovery "a real treasure trove for research."

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world and has been around for more than a million years. The underwater excavations have proven to be challenging.

"We are dealing with a lot of riparian vegetation here," research diver Marie-Claire Ries told SRF News. "You have to fight your way through dense reed beds to get to the dive site."

This aerial photograph taken on July 27, 2023, shows divers searching for archaeological material in Lake Ohrid, southeastern Albania. / Credit: ADNAN BECI/AFP via Getty Images

Assisted by professional divers, archaeologists have been picking through the bottom of the lake often uncovering fossilised fragments of wood and prized pieces of oak.

Analysis of the tree rings helps the team reconstruct the daily life of the area's inhabitants  providing "valuable insights into the climatic and environmental conditions" from the period, said Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.

"Oak is like a Swiss watch, very precise, like a calendar," said Hafner.

"In order to understand the structure of this prehistoric site without damaging it, we are conducting very meticulous research, moving very slowly and very carefully," added Anastasi, who heads the team of Albanian researchers.

The lush vegetation at the site makes the work painstaking slow at times.

"Building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, very difficult, and it's important to understand why these people made this choice," said Anastasi.

For the time being, scientists say it is possible to assume that the village relied on agriculture and domesticated livestock for food.

"We found various seeds, plants and the bones of wild and domesticated animals," said Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor working at the site.

But it will take another two decades for site to be fully explored and studied and for final conclusions to be drawn.

According to Anastasi, each excavation trip yields valuable information, enabling the team to piece together a picture of life along Lake Ohrid's shores thousands of years ago, from the architecture of the dwellings to the structure of their community.

"These are key prehistoric sites that are of interest not only to the region but to the whole of southwest Europe," said Hafner.

Last month, the team of scientists presented some of their findings at a conference in Greece.

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Seattle Police have arrested a suspect in two bank robberies in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Tuesday evening police were looking for a suspect involved in two bank robberies that happened in late July and early August. Officers then received reports of the suspect in a Beacon Hill neighborhood gas station.

Around 6:00 p.m. South Precinct patrol officers arrived at the business located at the 3000th block of Beacon Avenue South where officers arrested the suspect and took him into custody.

The 26-year-old man was then taken to the King County jail.

Police have released the body cam video of the arrest which can be watched here.
FILE - A woman reacts as she fails to find her house after flood waters devastate Nanxinfang village on the outskirts of Beijing, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Severe floods in China's northern province of Hebei brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri this month killed at least 29 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, its provincial government said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

BEIJING (AP)  Severe floods in China's northern province of Hebei brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri this month killed at least 29 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, its provincial government said Friday.

Official news agency Xinhua reported that rescue crews were still searching for 16 missing people as of Thursday and the province's reconstruction is expected to take two years to complete. Initial estimates showed the province's direct economic losses amounted to 95.8 billion yuan ($13.2 billion), state media China News Service said.

Last week, Hebei was hit by serious flooding as the remnants of the typhoon battered the region and brought the heaviest rainfall in neighboring Beijing in at least 140 years.

Official preliminary estimates announced Friday showed 3.9 million residents, or about 5% of the province's population, were being affected by the floods and more than 40,000 houses were collapsed, China News Service said. A further 155,500 houses and other facilities that provided electricity and communications were seriously damaged, it added.

More than 1.75 million residents have been relocated.

Repairs to damaged power cables and other facilities were underway Friday. According to Xinhua, the government pledged to ensure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before winter.

Earlier this week, officials said the death toll from recent flooding in Beijing rose to 33 and it could take up to three years to restore services completely, given the level of damage.

The Chinese government on Friday has further allocated 1.46 billion yuan ($202 million) of disaster relief funds to support flood-stricken regions, including Beijing and Tianjin, state media CCTV reported. This brought the total amount of the relief funds to 7.74 billion yuan ($1.07 billion), it added.
A passenger having a meltdown on board an American Airlines flight from from Fort Worth to Orlando, Florida, almost broke the Internet last month.

Fellow passengers captured cellphone video of her storming up the aisle, panicked, announcing that someone in the back of the plane wasnt real.

Im telling you, the woman warns in an expletive-filled rant. Im getting the [f---] off... everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it! And you can sit on this plane and you can die with them or not. Im not going to.

After the video went viral, conspiracy theorists linked her outburst to a mysterious man in a green hoodie who may or may not have been a shape-shifting alien.

The way the whole plane looked back lmao pic.twitter.com/bLiUAN8kuk  Lance (@Bornakang) July 3, 2023

Now more facts are coming to light about the disturbing July 2 incident.

The woman has since been identified as Dallas marketing executive Tiffany Gomas, according to a police report obtained by The Daily Mail.

The complaint says officers with the Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety were called in response to a female claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination.

After Gomas got off, the aircraft was rescreened, with passengers forced to deplane. Authorities met an extremely distraught Gomas at the gate. She then made her way out to the terminals curb to get an Uber, where she was issued a ticket for criminal trespass, and left without being arrested.

Carrot Top claimed he was also aboard during the tirade, telling his followers that the woman was upset that someone took her ear buds. Turns out the comedians take was accurate.

As per the police report, Gomas had accused one of the relatives with whom she was traveling of taking her AirPods, and things escalated quickly.

Since her identity came to light, Gomas isnt welcoming all the new attention.

My life has been blown up. Its frightening. Things go viral and everything changes, Gomas, 38, said without elaborating on what caused her to announce the plane was not safe. No one knows anyone elses story, and no one should judge. No one knows what its like.
Although much of the world is moving toward clean energy sources like wind and solar, some groups are dragging their feet.

Oil executives have been at the top of that list and have offered many arguments in favor of continuing to make money with heavily polluting fuel sources. Recently, Shell CEO Wael Sawan sparked outrage by claiming it would be dangerous to produce less oil and gas, the Guardian reports.

What happened?

Sawan has been Shells CEO for less than a year, the Guardian explains, but in that time, he has already changed the companys direction, abandoning previous climate pledges in favor of more gas and oil production and more payouts for stakeholders.

Now, in a recent interview, the Guardian reports that he has made cynical claims about the effects of lowering gas production.

What would be dangerous and irresponsible is cutting oil and gas production so that the cost of living, as we saw last year, starts to shoot up again, Sawan told the BBC. According to him, the move would drive up prices, with a heavy impact on the poorest economies.

Jamie Peters, head of climate at Friends of the Earth, told the Guardian it is utterly ironic for Shell to be calling anything dangerous and irresponsible.

Lets be clear, companies like Shell are fueling both the climate crisis and the soaring cost of energy, Peters said. They are profiting from the misery of ordinary people while destroying the planet, and theyre making a cynical case to continue locking us into the volatile fossil fuel markets that are the root cause of the energy crisis.

Why is gas production an issue?

Because dirty energy sources like oil and gasoline release heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere when burned, scientists and climate groups have been pushing for the world to move away from these methods and embrace clean energy like wind and solar.

Switching to cleaner energy sources is the best way to cool down the planet and slow down the acceleration of dangerous natural disasters. Both humanity and the environment would benefit.

However, oil executives and others who profit from dirty energy have been pushing back. Shell has unfairly tried to portray itself as an environmentally friendly company investing in clean energy, but Sawans remarks make clear that this company has no intention of slowing down its massive pollution.

Whats being done about dirty energy?

Thankfully, regulators have begun the slow process of stopping dirty energy use. For example, the EU is moving toward banning new gas-powered cars, and the EPA has announced new pollution rules that will push automakers toward making electric vehicles. Buyers can help by choosing electric over gas wherever possible.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
The ATL is now Bey-T-L -- at least for the next few days.

Friday night kicks off the first of three Beyonce concerts for her Renaissance Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Channel 2s Audrey Washington spoke with concertgoers ahead of the show Friday outside the stadium. They were dressed in metallic skirts, boots and rhinestones, showing that the BeyHive has officially arrived to see Queen Beyonce.

On top of plenty of sequins, Beyonce fans will also see plenty of security inside and outside of the stadium.

Theyre pretty tight out here. You get around nowhere, concertgoer Zariya Jackson said.

Atlanta police will be on deck to control the crowds.

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This week, Mercedes-Benz Stadium officials put out some concert tips for fans, suggesting people carry only clear bags, arrive early, pre-purchase parking, or take MARTA.

Dana Brown told Washington that she parked at her job and took the train over.

I actually work downtown, so I parked at my job and took MARTA so we wouldnt get stuck in traffic, Brown said.

As for Joshua Jordan, he plans to battle the traffic and drive to the concerts. He has tickets for all three nights.

Im coming three days in a row! Tomorrow is going to be a surprise too. Oh honey, but Im so ready. This is my third Beyonce concert and every show Ive been to she puts on a show honey, Jordan said.

RELATED NEWS:
Ecuadors Ministry of the Interior announced the arrest of six people for the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito Thursday.

In a press release on the killing, officials said they arrested six people all of foreign nationality. According to The New York Times, Juan Zapata, the head of the Interior Ministry, said the suspects were Colombian nationals. Following raids in the Conocoto sector of Quito and areas south of it, officials said they were able to locate the subjects as well as multiple types of weapons and vehicles.

Similarly, during the raids they found: a rifle, a submachine gun, four pistols, three grenades, two rifle magazines, four boxes of ammunition, two motorcycles, and a vehicle reported stolen where the members of this criminal group were allegedly mobilizing, according to the press release.

Ecuadorian presidential candidate assassinated

Villavicencio, 59, was known for speaking out against corruption in his home country. At the time of his death at a campaign rally, he was reportedly already receiving death threats.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Renters now have an upper hand in South Floridas residential real estate market compared to the previous few years.

South Floridas apartment rent growth flattened in July, a sharp contrast from big annual jumps in 2021 and 2022. Its thanks to the influx of new apartment buildings in Miami-Dade County and across the tri-county region. In order to secure tenants, landlords and property managers are willing to make concessions, even maybe one or two months of free rent for certain tenants.

Savvy renters can negotiate better lease terms and prices, as long as they do their homework, according to real estate analysts Apartment List senior economist Christopher Salviati, CoreLogic principal economist Molly Boesel and John Burns Research and Consulting senior consulting manager Zachary Nyberg.

You have the upper hand when negotiating. Its beneficial not to have turnover in the rental market. Its costly for the landlord, Boesel said. If the property sits empty, thats money lost.

Its best to take advantage now since South Florida rental market conditions again could swing in favor of landlords as soon as next year.

Experts recommend:

 Asking for more favorable lease terms upon annual renewal. The worst thing that could happen is your landlord says no.

 Preparing ahead of lease renewals. Search on websites like Apartments.com to find rental prices at other nearby apartment communities. Show this pricing information, if your landlord wants more rent than what other comparable buildings nearby are charging.

 Shopping around at various apartment buildings, if your landlord wants to raise your rent more than 1% at annual lease renewal.

 Saving cash so you can plan to move every year, if necessary, to land the best rental prices  and possibly a free month or two for credit-qualified tenants. New apartment complexes tend to offer the best rental rates, in an effort to fill all the apartments.

 Knowing in the next couple of years, asking rents likely are expected to increase by no more than 5% annually.
Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York will begin assessing the newest version of the Armys do-it-all heads-up display device on Aug. 18.

For a week, the soldiers will take the Integrated Visual Augmentation System version 1.2 through a series of fit and comfort tests, weapons compatibility checks and evaluate its lowlight sensor and run mission planning tasks all in a heads-up display, said Lt. Col. Denny Dresch, the IVAS product manager for Program Executive Office Soldier.

If ongoing testing and development go as planned, the 1.2 version could begin production by 2025 for the $22 billion program.

But before then, there will be a series of assessments from the squad to platoon, and possibly even at the battalion level.

We would like to emphasize testing at scale, Dresch said. If afforded the opportunity we would like to be able to test at the battalion size level for the operational tests.

While the device aims to offer a multitude of individual and squad-level features for each soldier and their team, the devices ability to turn each soldier into a sensor opens the door for the Army to create a networked battlefield.

Information sharing is key.

Thats because larger efforts of networking soldiers within a squad take on outsized roles as tactical computing expands. Those soldiers can serve as information nodes and sensors for a company, battalion, brigade, or division commander at a tactical operations center some distance from the battlefield.

And tracking individual soldier positions, their condition, or even weapon usage and accuracy through the device gives commanders a wider and deeper insight into whats happening within their formations.

Formerly that was only available at the unit, perhaps vehicle or aircraft level, and a century-old method of field reports with aggregate data on soldiers condition.

The Army ordered 5,000 each of the 1.0 and 1.1 versions from Microsoft in 2022. Approximately 50 of the 1.0 devices are scheduled for delivery to units at Fort Moore, Georgia on September 18, said Frederick Shear, a communications specialist with the Soldier Warrior program. The earlier versions evaluation will add more soldier input to ongoing design work on version 1.2 and beyond.

The 1.2 version may be the one soldiers first take to combat, but it will not be the last version of this device, which is designed for regular software and likely future hardware upgrades, he said.

IVAS 1.2 will be the IVAS variant fielded to the close combat force. (Frederick Shear/Army)

Microsoft, the developer of the device, delivered 20 prototypes of the 1.2 version to the Army in late July, according to an Army release a fiscal quarter earlier than previously scheduled.

The overall IVAS program has seen a few delays from its initial fielding plan due to funding hiccups and technology design thats pushed the boundaries of what has been done with a first-of-its-kind combined night vision and augmented reality device with wide-ranging applications.

Some applications include mapping, route planning, rapid target acquisition, troop location tracking and terrain modeling, virtual shoot house training tools and instant replay style after action reviews, among other features planned for the device.

In 2018, early prototypes of IVAS 1.0 built off the Microsoft HoloLens technology for augmented training, education and gaming. Plans called for fielding an early version of the device by 2022. But early problems with field-of-view distortion, a warping of the visual imagery displayed on the screen, moisture problems and soldier nausea, common with some augmented reality and virtual reality devices, delayed that date by a year.

A subsequent Department of Defense Inspector Generals report, released in redacted form in 2022 raised concern that the service might be wasting funding on a device that soldiers may not want to use or use as intended.

But by the time the report had been released, PEO Soldier spokesman David Patterson told Army Times many of the problems listed in the report had been resolved or were in the process of being fixed.

Congressional leaders, however, continued to scrutinize the program, holding back procurement funding beyond versions 1.0 and 1.1 until operational testing of version 1.2 could verify progress on the device.

Army budget requests earlier this year sought $165 million in fiscal 2024, split into $76 million for developing version 1.2 and the remaining for procurement. But until operational testing shows success, that means most of the funding for this version will continue to flow to research and development, said Col. Anthony Gibbs, Soldier Warrior program manager.

In January the Army awarded a task order to continue development on version 1.2, which is more ruggedized, has a flip-up style helmet mount instead of the goggle design of earlier versions and a separate controller for ease of use.

The 1.2 version allows for better peripheral view, addresses the warping of the display that caused previous delays and adds an improved lowlight sensor, which puts the devices night vision capabilities on par with the recently fielded Enhanced Night Vision Device-Binocular.

PEO-Soldier commander Brig. Gen. Christopher Schneider previously told Army Times that the transition from advanced analog night vision technology to digitally based night vision created its own challenges.

Though legacy technology has clear night vision, it doesnt allow for information sharing and all the applications that the Army wants the device to access.

Schneider emphasized in a 2022 interview with Army Times that while many look at IVAS as a night vision device, its better to see it as a way to put cloud-computing capabilities in the hands of an individual dismounted soldier on the battlefield.

And the dismounted part is only one feature.

Early testing has shown that the IVAS can link into tactical Wi-Fi-enabled systems on Bradleys, Strykers and helicopters. In those tests, soldiers have been able to see vehicle and aircraft camera views outside the hull. Theyve been able to pass data soldier-to-crew and vehicle-to-vehicle.

Those are the options that developers aim for with the device  an all-encompassing situational awareness tool. Its akin to fighter pilot visibility inside the rifle-toting grunts heads-up display.

*CLARIFICATION: This article has been updated to include delivery information for the IVAS 1.0 version provided by Program Manager Soldier Warrior.
A man waited until New Years fireworks went off to shoot and kill his dad  and now he has been sentenced in South Carolina, prosecutors said.

James Jim Bell  a 76-year-old lawyer who was married 50 years  reportedly was shot in the head as he slept. His wife found him unresponsive in his recliner on New Years Day 2021, according to WCBD and Dorchester County prosecutors.

Now, more than two years later, Bells son has been ordered to serve life in prison. The First Judicial Circuit Solicitors Office in an Aug. 10 news release didnt list attorney information for the son, identified as 51-year-old Jason Bell.

This was a case that rocked the small, but mighty, community of St. George, Solicitor David Pascoe wrote. It has been remarkable to see how the town rallied around this family in the face of this tragedy. We are grateful that the victims wife, who was also the defendants mother, was able to persevere and testify in this trial.

The case dates to Dec. 31, 2020, when prosecutors said Jim Bell was shot with his own gun overnight as celebratory fireworks were going off nearby.

The defendant originally attempted to persuade law enforcement that the victim died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials wrote. That theory would quickly fall apart when it was determined that a revolver found underneath the victims body was fired twice.

St. George police later interviewed Jason Bell, who prosecutors said admitted he drank an entire bottle of champagne or rum before noon on that day, removed the weapon from a drawer in the home while his parents were out for lunch, loaded the weapon, and then planned to shoot his father that evening.

Bell was arrested and charged with murder in January 2021, WCBD reported at the time.

Now, years after Jim Bells death, prosecutors said a jury has found his son guilty in the case. His son was given a life sentence without a chance for parole.

St. George is roughly 50 miles northwest of Charleston.

Teen with autism dies after hes given medicine to shut him up, SC coroner says

Blood in home sets off search for missing woman, SC cops say. Then a body is discovered

14-year-old found shot dead on South Carolina road, cops say. Teens among 4 charged
The Instagram account of Lil Tay, a 15-year-old internet star, announced her death Wednesday.

Almost immediately, speculation that it could all be a hoax began to blow up.

Now TMZ has reported she is alive, and theories about what happened continue to spread.

On Wednesday, a post announcing the death of provocative social media personality Lil Tay, real name Claire Hope, appeared on her verified Instagram account. Almost immediately, online sleuths began casting doubt on the claim, skeptical and wary of the post given Tay and her family's history with online drama.

The original post said that the death of the 15-year-old was "sudden" and that her brother Jason Tian had also died, with both deaths under investigation.

But police departments for Vancouver, British Columbia, where Tay grew up, and Los Angeles, California, where she is known to have been based, told Insider at the time that they did not have reports of investigations into the death of anyone under her name.

Lil Tay's father, Christopher Hope, declined to answer whether his daughter was still alive when contacted by Insider on Wednesday, and Lil Tay's former manager, Harry Tsang, told Insider he could not "definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family."

That was perhaps with good reason; The following day, TMZ reported that Lil Tay was "very much still alive," quoting her in a statement that the outlet received from unnamed family members. It said that both Lil Tay and Jason Tian were safe, and that the Instagram account had been "compromised by a 3rd party" and used to spread misinformation about the influencer. The statement has not been otherwise corroborated, but the death announcement Instagram post has been removed from Lil Tay's Instagram account.

(This is not the first time Lil Tay's account has allegedly been hacked. In 2018, Tay, her mother, Angela Tian, and her brother Jason, claimed that her account had been hacked after Tay's verified Instagram account began posting lurid and crude accusations about Tay and Jason's father. Christopher Hope sent Instagram a cease and desist letter in order to have the baseless claims taken down. Angela claimed the account had been hacked, and showed Insider a copy of a police report made reporting the hacker.)

Even before the TMZ report on Tay's newfound aliveness, rumors emerged on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube suggesting the post could have been a hoax.

Some creators raised concerns by pointing out that Lil Tay's YouTube bio says, "help me." It's unclear when exactly these words were added to her bio, but they appear to have been there since at least June 28, according to screenshots from the internet archive, Wayback Machine. In 2021, she similarly deleted all of her Instagram posts and left one post up that said "help me," too.

Viewers also drew attention to an Instagram account under the handle @_termanii__ that purported to have been written by Lil Tay and her brother Jason, claiming that they are both still alive. An Instagram story said the account owner would go live on Instagram once they reached 25,000 followers.

But following Tay's statement to TMZ on Thursday, the account was deactivated. Insider was unable to reach its owners for comment.

Some users suggested that it could all be part of a "publicity stunt" coordinated for online attention to increase Lil Tay's visibility, as she has been largely offline in recent years.

The same day Tay released a statement to TMZ, an anonymous source released a Lil Tay cryptocurrency, sparking rumors that the death hoax had been carried out to promote the coin.

Since the TMZ report hit the internet, some people are even more confused, wondering why it took 24 hours to debunk the post, what incentive someone could have to hack her Instagram account and announce a fake death, and whether her recent statement could be trusted.

Tay rose to fame as the "youngest flexer of the century," posing with luxury cars and mansions to exude an air of wealth and excess, and often disrespecting the adults around her. A nine, she parlayed her brash YouTube personality into collaborations with industry heavy hitters like Jake Paul and Lil Pump, but many questioned whether her behavior was appropriate  and whether her family was doing what is could to protect her.

The influencer's family has previously been at the center of speculation and controversy after a private conflict between over Tay's brand became public. Tay and her brother Jason have also used their social media to accuse their father of abuse, accusations which he has denied.

When reached by Insider on Wednesday, Lil Tay's father declined to comment regarding speculation her death was a hoax. When reached on Thursday following the TMZ report, he declined to comment further on the situation.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

Read the original article on Insider
South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has been spared from returning to prison, with officials saying this is to ease overcrowding.

Zuma, who was sentenced to 15 months for contempt of court, surrendered himself to the authorities on Friday.

The 81-year-old had previously been freed on medical parole - in a move ruled illegal by the courts.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said he had been given remission to address overcrowding in prisons.

Zuma is one of more than 9,000 low-risk prisoners released under a scheme which began in April to make space in South Africa's jails, official say.

Mr Lamola said the decision had been taken by the prison authorities without any political interference, and that Zuma had not been given any special treatment.

The remission process aims to alleviate strain on the system by releasing low-risk offenders.

A prisons department spokesperson told the BBC that South Africa's prison population was currently 47% higher than official capacity.

This was made worse by the fact that inmates allegedly set one prison on fire last week. This meant nearly 4,000 inmates were transported to other facilities where they didn't have beds.

South Africa's Commissioner of Prisons Makgothi Thobakgale said Zuma had reported to the Estcourt Correctional Facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal on Friday morning and was "admitted" into the system, before being released an hour later.

Lobby group AfriForum has accused South Africa's prisons department of helping Zuma evade justice.

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has said it will legally challenge the remission granted to the former president. While the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the decision and said it is in the best interest of the country.

More broadly the reaction has also been mixed. Some South Africans say the government should focus on pressing issues such as frequent power outages, high crime rates, poverty and youth unemployment, while others say Zuma should go back to jail to serve the rest of his term.

Zuma's jailing in 2021 sparked protests and riots that left more than 350 people dead.

He was sentenced after refusing to testify before a panel probing financial sleaze and cronyism under his presidency.

He was however freed on medical parole just two months into his term.

An appeals court last November found the release was illegally granted and ordered Zuma back to prison to finish his sentence. Last month, the constitutional court rejected an attempt to overturn this decision.
South Florida remains under a heat advisory through 7 p.m. Friday, a notch below the excessive heat warnings that had set temperature records this week and were issued on three consecutive days through Thursday. A series of tropical waves could bring temporary relief.

The heat advisory was currently below an excessive warning because the expected feels-like combination of heat and dew points is up to 110 Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.

Thats just on the edge. Excessive heat warnings are issued by the service when the heat index will be 110 degrees or higher dangerously hot  for at least two hours.

Aug 11 @ 6 AM - A Heat Advisory is in effect for today across South Florida. Heat index values of 105 to 111 degrees today will create dangerous conditions for anyone working or partaking in activities outdoors. Drink water and take frequent cooling rest breaks. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/Ewfp8qAGUk  NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) August 11, 2023

The Florida Keys is also under a heat advisory through 8 p.m. Friday, with an expected index of 112.

High heat

MORE: How hot is South Florida? Beach sand was 137 degrees and playground floor reached 177

On Friday, Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at University of Miamis Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, expressed wonderment on a post to his social media platforms, Threads and X, noting that Rosenstiels weather station on Virginia Key logged its highest heat index ever on Thursday afternoon  117 degrees. Outdoor temperatures were at 94. This summer is unlike any other, he wrote.

Miami also set a daily heat index record of 109 at noon Thursday, according to McNoldys research. This is the 33rd daily record heat index set in the past 59 days. Its also the 5th consecutive day with a 109+ heat index (previous longest stretch was 2 days), he posted.

Granted, this isn't a very long period of record, but the WeatherSTEM station at the UM Rosenstiel School just recorded its highest heat index ever on Thursday afternoon: 117F. It came from a very believable 94/82. This summer is unlike any other. pic.twitter.com/pZdM4MBhnx  Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) August 11, 2023

Highs matching todays forecast of 94 are going to be close through the weekend, with 94 on Saturday and about 92 on Sunday and Monday. Heat advisories are likely. The forecast heat index Saturday is 108, which would trigger an advisory.

The Keys also will run in the mid-90s through the weekend.

Weekend weather forecast

According to WSVN meteorologist Jackson Dill, a series of tropical waves will influence our weather pattern into next week, bringing rounds of showers and storms  if the moisture holds, he posted on X.

One wave could pass through this weekend, the next could arrive in the South Florida area by mid-week.

A series of tropical waves will influence our weather pattern into next week, bringing rounds of showers and storms -- if the moisture holds.



This will also fuel up-and-down rain chances as the waves pass by. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/KK1pjIUTJa  Jackson Dill (@Jackson_Dill) August 11, 2023

 Friday rain and thunderstorm chance, according to the weather service, is a predicted 30%.

 Saturday storm chance: 40%, rising to 60% in the afternoon.

 Sunday storm chance: 70% during the day.

 Monday storm chance: 60%

 Tuesday-Wednesday storm chance: Up to 80%.

The Keys forecast calls for 50% storm chance on Saturday and 30% Sunday and creeps back up to 40% Monday through Wednesday.
Joe Biden's son Hunter will now be investigated by a special counsel with additional powers, the US attorney general has announced.

Merrick Garland has elevated the status of David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has already filed criminal charges in the case.

A plea deal on tax and gun charges against the president's son collapsed earlier this month.

Republicans are pushing for an inquiry into Hunter Biden's business dealings.

In a surprise announcement at the Department of Justice on Friday, Mr Garland explained that he was making the move after a request by Mr Weiss earlier this week.

The new designation will provide the prosecutor with extra resources to pursue the investigation and to potentially bring further charges beyond the state of Delaware.

Mr Garland said the special counsel would produce a report when his work was done, and that the justice department would make as much of it public as was possible.

"The appointment of Mr Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Mr Garland said at a news conference.

Hunter Biden's lawyer, Chris Clark, responded in a statement: "We are confident when all of these manoeuvrings are at an end my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully."

Mr Clark pointed out that the investigation has already gone on for five years.

Mr Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump to become the US attorney in Delaware in 2018. Not long after, in 2019, he opened an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden has since been charged with two misdemeanour tax offenses for allegedly not paying income taxes in 2017 and 2018, years in which he earned in excess of $1.5m (1.1m), according to the US Attorney's Office in Delaware.

He faces an additional felony charge for allegedly possessing a firearm while addicted to and using illegal drugs.

Hunter Biden had previously reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to the tax charges and admit the gun offence to spare himself prison time.

However, US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika squashed the deal due to "non standard terms" and the "unusual" nature of the proposed resolution for the gun charge.

Since then, Hunter Biden and prosecutors have engaged in further plea negotiations but remain at an impasse. In a court filing on Friday, Mr Weiss's team said they now expect the case to go to trial - and could potentially file new, more serious charges in Washington DC or California.

Republicans want to see the younger Mr Biden further criminally charged, along with the president. They allege that Mr Biden has profited from his son's business dealings in Ukraine and China.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the Republican-controlled chamber will continue to investigate the president and his son regardless of the special counsel announcement.

He echoed concern expressed by other Republicans that Mr Weiss's inquiry has been insufficiently aggressive.

Other Republicans have wondered whether the attempt to move the trial out of Delaware, where it had been overseen by Trump-appointed Ms Noreika, was an attempt to find a legal venue more friendly to the Bidens.

The White House called the allegations "insane conspiracy theories" and rejected the assertion that Mr Biden has participated in his son's business affairs.

Mr Weiss has conducted a years-long investigation into the matter. So far, he has not found any evidence that Hunter Biden's business dealings have benefited from his father's presidential status.

The special counsel announcement - and the possibility of new charges leading to a jury trial - all but assures that the investigation into Hunter Biden will stretch on well into the 2024 presidential election season, if not past election day itself. It will continue to be a distraction for White House officials who had until recently hoped that the issue was approaching a resolution.

But Friday's announcement may also diffuse some of the conservative claims that there are two standards of justice in the US - one for Republicans and one for the Bidens.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington. Smith requested the U.S. district judge set a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date for the indictment dealing with Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday along with his aide, Walt Nauta, over new charges related to Trumps handling of classified documents.

ABC News reported that his plea was entered by his attorney Todd Blanche. Trump did not enter his plea in person.

In the original indictment, he was charged with 37 counts, to which he pled not guilty. Nauta, who was also charged, pled not guilty.

Special Counsel Jack Smith brought additional charges against Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago estates property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, last month for allegedly conspiring to delete security footage at Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence, where the classified documents were stored, and for allegedly obstructing the federal investigation.

Related

This news comes as Smith requested a Jan. 2 trial date for the indictment against dealing with Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election, as The Associated Press reported.

Trump, the frontrunner in Republican primary polls, pled not guilty to the four charges in the 2020 election case, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official preceding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

If approved, the date would be two weeks before voting begins in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, which is the first event in the 2024 presidential race.

A January 2 trial date would vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trial  an interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens legitimate votes, Smith wrote in the court filing.

Related

Trump took to TruthSocial Wednesday and said the indictments werent legit.

They were all thrown up at me, quickly (and) haphazardly, including the local ones, by my political opponent, he said. Its not like the State or Country is coming down on me. Its a dishonest politician and his gang of thugs breaking the law in order to get re-elected.

Meanwhile, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is also expected to indict Trump and his allies for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. This indictment would be Trumps fourth.
Attorney General Merrick Garlands move to elevate U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss to special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation sits against the backdrop of multiple GOP investigations, puts the focus back on two IRS whistleblowers and comes as a plea deal for Biden over tax issues has evaporated.

Garland made the surprise announcement on Friday and was immediately met with Republican backlash and plenty of questions.

Here are four things to know in light of the announcement.

Whistleblower testimony and GOP investigations

Gary Shapley, IRS Supervisory Special Agent, and whistleblower Joe Ziegler

Garlands announcement comes as the House GOP intensifies multiple probes into issues surrounding Hunter Biden, which were further fueled by testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who criticized how Weiss and the Department of Justice (DOJ) handled the tax crimes investigation into the presidents son.

IRS investigators Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler claimed the Justice Department slow-walked the Hunter Biden investigation, gave him preferential treatment, and declined to pursue charges in California and Washington, D.C., where there was stronger evidence.

The whistleblowers also alleged Weiss sought and was denied special counsel status. Both Weiss and Garland have denied he did so, saying that if he desired a special prosecutorial status, it would be approved.

Shapley and Ziegler gave closed-door interviews to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and early June, and their testimony was made public in late June after news that Hunter Biden and the DOJ struck a plea deal, which has since fallen apart.

The House Judiciary Committee has probed the DOJ on the whistleblower claims, as well as put focus on whether the federal government had any role in suppressing dissemination of a laptop hard drive that purportedly belonged to Hunter Biden.

At the same time, the House Oversight Committee is investigating Hunter Bidens foreign business dealings while his father was vice president.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has floated an impeachment inquiry into Garland over disputes over how the case was handled, and a possible inquiry into President Biden over issues surrounding his familys foreign business dealings.

Republicans rip special counsel move despite previous calls

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Some Republicans previously pushed Garland to appoint a special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation, with 33 Senate Republicans signing a letter requesting that Weiss be elevated to that role last November.

But in the wake of Fridays announcement, Republicans overwhelmingly raised alarms about how a special counsel could interfere with their own investigations.

The move to elevate Weiss, in particular, has also peeved Republicans, given their previous criticisms about how he handled the case and a plea agreement that later fell apart in court.

If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), whose panel has been leading probes into the Biden familys business dealings, said in a statement that the special counsel appointment is part of the Justice Departments efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) spelled out the GOP fears: Every subpoena, every record request, every transcribed interview, or any other effort in an impeachment inquiry will be be blocked by this corrupt and unlawful Special Counsel under the guise of an investigation.

The move also generated criticism from Trumps campaign, which accused Weiss of changing where he might file charges in order to move the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue, despite the whistleblowers claims that cases could be stronger there.

Hunter Bidens legal woes multiply

Garland made his announcement just minutes before a flurry of activity in Hunter Bidens Delaware case, further signs a plea deal relating to his failure to pay taxes has been nixed as prosecutors signaled an interest in bringing charges elsewhere.

The Justice Department said the two sides are at an impasse in reaching a new plea deal for some tax charges after a judge had rejected a preliminary agreement last month. The original deal would have Biden agree to plead guilty to two tax offenses while also entering a pretrial diversion program on a gun charge.

The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial, prosecutors wrote in court filings on Friday.

In the hearing last month, the judge asked if the proposed agreement meant that Biden could still be charged with a hypothetical violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Prosecutors said yes, but Bidens defense said no.

The plea deals collapse combined with the announcement of the special counsel  which gives Weiss greater authority to speedily charge Biden  would appear to put the presidents son into deeper legal jeopardy.

But Chris Clark, counsel for Hunter Biden, downplayed the announcement of Weiss being elevated to special counsel.

This doesnt change our understanding of Mr. Wiess authority over the 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden, Clark said in a statement.

For years, both Mr. Weiss and the Department have assured us and the public that Mr. Weiss had more authority than a special counsel and full authority to negotiate a resolution of his investigation  which has been done, Clark said. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and well do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.

Spotlight on jurisdiction disputes

Attorney General Merrick Garland

Weiss obtaining special counsel status draws attention to concerns raised by the IRS whistleblowers over whether he previously had authority to bring charges against Hunter Biden outside of Delaware.

According to Shapley, the U.S. District Attorney in Washington, D.C. declined to bring charges in the Hunter Biden case, and then Weiss said in an Oct. 7, 2022 meeting that he was not the deciding person on whether charges are filed. The statute of limitations for relevant charges expired shortly after that, and Shapley said that the district attorney in California had also declined to bring other charges.

Both Weiss and Garland, though, have told Congress that Weiss had full authority to make referrals to other districts and had never been denied authority to bring charges in any jurisdiction.

Garland on Friday reiterated that Weiss had broad authority even before being appointed special counsel.

In February 2021, US Attorney Weiss was asked to remain as US Attorney for the District of Delaware and in that capacity to continue to lead the investigation. As I said before, Mr. Weiss would be permitted to continue his investigation, take any investigative steps he wanted and make the decision whether to prosecute in any district, Garland said.

Making Weiss a special counsel, Garland said, affords the prosecutors, agents and analysts working on this matter the ability to proceed with their work expeditiously and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
NEWARK  Voters waited in long lines winding through Cherry Valley Elementary School and out the front entrance. Cars filled every possible parking space and then started pulling onto the grass.

It wasn't supposed to be like this for an August special election on one issue, but Licking Countians, like all Ohioans, headed to the polls in record numbers to decide State Issue 1, which would have required 60% of Ohio voters to pass an amendment to the state constitution, instead of the current simple majority.

More Licking Countians voted on Tuesday than voted on Election Day in the 2020 presidential election. The 2020 statistics are somewhat misleading, however, because COVID-19 forced many to vote by mail and reduced the Election Day vote.

Still, most early predictions were for a low turnout because of the time of year and shortness of the ballot. As election day neared, it became clear voters were engaged on this issue.

Licking County had 36,185 vote on election day and 49,036 vote overall, for a 39.3% turnout. The "yes" vote lost the state, but won Licking County with 52% of the vote. The totals were 25,553 in support of Issue 1 and 23,378 against it.

Licking County Board of Elections Director Brian Mead initially forecast a 25% turnout, then revised it to 35%. He praised both sides for energizing voters.

"The two groups worked very, very hard," Mead said. "We're going to learn from this. We'll probably have 40,000 show up in November."

Election officials expected the Cherry Valley Elementary School site to have more voters in this election because Newark's 4th Ward voters were moved there from the American Legion site.

Mead said more election poll books were sent to Cherry Valley, and even more may be sent there in November. He advises voters, if possible, to avoid the peak voting periods of the polls opening at 6:30 a.m., lunchtime and the hours immediately after work.

The countys 96 voting precincts included 56 supporting Issue 1 and 40 voting against. The 40 precincts voting against the issue included 23 of Newarks 25 precincts, five in Reynoldsburg, four in Pataskala, three in Granville, three in Granville Township and one each in Heath and Union Township.

In Newark, 53% voted against Issue 1, with only the 6th Ward supporting the measure. In Granville, 70% opposed Issue 1. In Granville Township, the vote was 61% in opposition. Pataskala had 2,320 voting against and 2,310 voting in support. The Reynoldsburg precincts in Licking County voted 72% against the issue.

The precinct with the most support for Issue 1 was Eden/Fallsbury townships at 72%. The precinct most opposed was Reynoldsburg 3D, with 77% voting no. Granville Precinct C was close behind with a 76.2% no vote.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-973-4539

Twitter: @kmallett1958

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Special election turnout swamps Cherry Valley Elementary polling site
After pleading not guilty to charges that he conspired to remain in office despite his 2020 election loss, Donald Trump takes an umbrella from Walt Nauta, the aide indicted as a co-conspirator in the documents case, as they arrived back at Reagan National Airport in Washington on Aug. 3, 2023. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Donald Trumps legal problems arent just piling up  his legal bills are, too.

New financial reports show that the former presidents various political committees and the super political action committee backing him have used roughly 30 cents of every dollar spent so far this year on legal-related costs. The total amounts to more than $27 million in legal fees and other investigation-related bills in the first six months of 2023, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records.

That $27 million in legal costs includes Trump paying at least eight law firms more than $1 million each in the first half of 2023, part of a sizable set of legal billings expected to spiral upward in the coming months as his overlapping criminal cases wind their way toward courtrooms in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

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The new disclosures revealed the remarkable degree to which Trumps political and legal cash are intermingled, much like his own political and legal fate.

Trumps complex political orbit is already spending more than it is taking in, and tapping into money it raised years ago  an unusual trajectory this far out from an election. And the burn rate raises questions about whether such an approach is untenable, or whether Trump will eventually need to dip into his own fortune to pay for his lawyers, his 2024 campaign or both.

It is a step that the famously tightfisted Trump has resisted taking, even as his advisers have begun planning behind the scenes for a potential political cash crunch months before the primaries begin.

Trump is not known for long-term planning, so it remains unclear how much he has focused on the intricate challenges of financing his campaign in the coming months. Some close to him say they are reassured by the fact that if he becomes the presidential nominee again, he can rely on the Republican Party to provide financial support.

President Trump continues to be the campaign fundraising leader due to the support from voters who recognize this as an illegal witch-hunt, said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, in a statement. As President Trump has said, he will spend whatever it takes to defeat the Deep State and Crooked Joe Biden.

All told, the political committees that Trump directly controls, along with the independently operated super PAC devoted exclusively to helping him, are spending more than they raised so far in 2023  largely because of his legal expenditures, the filings show.

Those entities brought in $67.2 million in new donations in the first half of the year and spent about $90 million in the same period. Most of the money that went to legal fees did not come from new donations, the records show. Save America, the PAC doing the bulk of the legal spending, raised much of its funds in the aftermath of the 2020 election and plunged $16 million into legal expenses in 2022. It has nearly been bled dry.

This is going to be an incredibly expensive proposition, said Ben Brafman, a prominent criminal defense lawyer who is not involved in Trumps cases. Of Trumps three indictments, he added, Not only is he now dealing with three separate jurisdictions, and nobody really knows which case is going to come first, but they all need to be investigated, researched and prepared at the same time by his attorneys.

The fundraising records show that the indictments have been a boon in many ways. Being charged with crimes turbocharged Trumps fundraising  at least temporarily.

A breathtaking 40% of every dollar he raised online in the first six months of 2023 came in the two one-week periods around his first two indictments, the Times analysis found, peaking at nearly $4 million the day of his first arraignment. The surge was a sign of both the degree to which his fundraising had been lagging before the first indictment, and the intensity of the support it unleashed.

Entering July, Trump had more cash on hand in his campaign committee, $22.5 million, than at the start of the year and more than any one of the rest of the 2024 presidential candidates.

And Trump continues to fundraise heavily off the criminal charges, with small online donors giving at a pace that dwarfs that of every other rival: nearly $46 million in the first half of the year, with an average donation of under $35.

But across the broader Trump sphere, the signs of fiscal strain are showing.

In one unusual transaction, Trumps Save America PAC asked for a refund on the $60 million it had transferred last year to the super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., that was expected to chiefly pay for television ads. Already, $12.25 million has been returned to the account that mostly pays for legal bills. In another move, Trump began redirecting more of every dollar raised into that same account.

Cheung accused Biden and the Justice Departments special counsel, Jack Smith, of using the governments unlimited resources to try to force the Trump campaign to spend, spend, spend to defend innocent Americans who have been targeted.

Trumps 2024 campaign committee, which is separate from both the Save America PAC and the MAGA Inc. super PAC, has not technically spent any money on investigation-related lawyers, and some experts believe doing so would be forbidden. His Save America PAC has covered such bills. But the complex web of entities that make up how a modern-day presidential bid is financed is often perceived as one big campaign apparatus, even though the rules governing how each entity spends are different. For example, campaign finance rules prevent Trump from directing the spending by the super PAC.

Trumps attorney fees are only expected to rise in the coming months as he hurtles toward two federal criminal trials  one in Florida, one in Washington, D.C.  and a third in New York City. He is likely to face a fourth criminal indictment in Georgia. And he has multiple civil trials in the coming months, too.

Brafman suggested that individually each case in federal court could involve several millions of dollars in fees.

Investigations involving Trump are ongoing, including into his fundraising in the wake of the 2020 election, which was when most of Save America PACs funds were collected. Smith, who brought charges last week against Trump related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has also focused on whether Trumps advisers knew he lost but solicited money from supporters anyway to fight baseless claims of widespread fraud.

Trump himself has begun to complain about the cases diverting his money.

Resources that would have gone into Ads and Rallies, will now have to be spent fighting these Radical Left thugs in numerous courts, Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social, in recent days.

His advisers  both legal and political  insist the investigations are simply an effort to broadly drain his coffers.

One of Trumps many attorneys, John Lauro, said on Fox News within minutes of the third indictment being made public that the former president is being forced to spend money on legal defense, which should be spent on the discussion of critical ideas and critical issues.

For the first time since he won the Republican nomination seven years ago, Trump has also spoken seriously in recent days about the possibility of putting his own money into his race. His team has already implemented some cost controls, slowing the pace of expensive rallies, which can cost more than $300,000 per event.

Trump has sought to offload at least some of the legal costs his political accounts have been bearing. His team recently set up a legal-defense fund for allies who have been ensnared in various congressional and criminal investigations and whose bills Trump has been paying through his PAC.

Its not clear precisely whose bills will be paid by the fund, but the list could include Trump associates who are witnesses and co-defendants in the cases against him.

Trump-aligned groups also paid legal bills for some White House aides who testified in the congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack, an arrangement that critics said was an attempt to influence their testimony (Trumps advisers have denied the allegation). Trump has said the groups are simply trying to help friends and allies who have been caught up in politically motivated investigations.

Trumps own bills are not currently expected to be covered by the legal-defense fund.

Elkan Abramowitz, a lawyer representing David Pecker, the former National Enquirer parent company executive who was a grand jury witness in the New York case against Trump, said the sheer energy and attention these complex cases demand can be overwhelming.

He said the kinds of lawyers involved typically charge $1,500 to $2,000 an hour, and that during trials, teams of people can work up to 16 hours a day.

Its going to cost him a lot of money, Abramowitz said. Its also going to cost him a lot of time, he added, noting that Trump will be required to be at his criminal trials in person.

Financially, Trump has an escape hatch that few other candidates have: his own bank accounts. But since winning the partys nomination in 2016, he has resisted tapping his own funds, asking small contributors and big donors alike to pay for his political ambitions. Along the way, his committees have spent lavishly on his own properties, directing millions of dollars back to his businesses.

The decision to use donor dollars to pay his legal bills has generated increasing backlash among 2024 rivals, with the loudest criticism coming from former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, and other Republicans.

Bill Barr, Trumps former attorney general, said on CNN last week that the practice was nauseating.

This guy claims to be a multibillionaire and, you know, he goes out and raises money from hardworking class  hardworking people, small donors, and tells them, This is to defend America, Barr said.

Among Trumps expenses: paying his co-defendant in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta. Nauta continues to be employed by Trump, receiving payments both from the former presidents campaign and PAC totaling nearly $85,000 in the first six months of the year, according to the new financial filings.

Republican fundraisers close to Trump dispute the notion that donors object to their money defraying his legal costs.

I talk to Republican donors all day every day, and not one has called to express frustration that their money is being spent on legal bills, said Caroline Wren, a Republican fundraiser who works with candidates and groups aligned with Trump. They are as disgusted with the political weaponization of the DOJ as millions of Americans and more than willing to stand and defend these folks with their dollars.

The rush of small donations after Trumps two indictments has largely obscured the fact that until he broke the news of his own potential pending arrest in mid-March, Trump had been suffering through one of the worst fundraising periods since the end of his presidency.

In the second half of 2021 and all of 2022, when he was not actively running for president, Trump never had a day where he raised less than $100,000 online, besides Christmas, and even then he brought in $97,684.56.

Then, suddenly, in early 2023, it was happening regularly  nearly every other day in February 2023.

The first indictment changed all that. He took in $12.9 million online in seven days  more than he raised in the first 88 days of the year.

But while the second indictment caused a burst of donations, too  $5.45 million over seven days  it was less than half of what he brought in the first time.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Police are searching for two people who are accused of assaulting a Springfield Township police officer as he attempted to prevent a theft Tuesday night at a Walmart store, according to the police department.

Arrest: Akron man arrested in Mansfield in connection with death of 13-year-old Melanie Elkins

The officer, who was providing store security, received non-life-threatening injuries following the 9:50 p.m. confrontation at the Arlington Road store, police said. He was not hospitalized and did not miss work for his injuries.

Police are seeking a 24-year-old woman and 34-year-old man on charges that include assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

Confrontation escalates at Walmart

A Walmart employee alerted a Springfield Township officer at about 9:50 p.m. to a woman and a man concealing merchandise, according to an incident report.

The employee told the officer he saw them putting items in a purse and wearing unbought clothes before attempting to leave the store without paying, the report states.

As the two made for the exit, the officer blocked the doorway and told them they were under arrest for theft.

Akron firefighter honored: 'A child was hurt, so I answered the call': Akron firefighter honored for saving child

Security footage provided by Springfield police shows the two approach the officer as the woman searches her purse. The officer reported in police documents that he believed she was searching for a weapon.

After telling her to stop, the officer can be seen seizing her purse and tossing it to the ground before grabbing her forearm. He then pulled her toward the door to block the exit. That's when the male suspect rab for the door on the officer's left side before running to his right side. At the same time, police say the woman tried to break free.

Footage from Walmart shows the male suspect charge the officer, hitting his left side and pushing all parties through the door and outside the range of the camera.

The report states the man struck the officer in the back, knocking him to the ground and causing him to let go of the woman.

The two suspects then ran and fled the scene on a motorcycle, police said.

Following the scuffle, the officer's uniform was "irreparably" torn, officials said. He received abrasions, or "road rash," on both knees.

Store merchandise, suspected drugs found in suspect's purse

Upon searching the woman's purse, police found a pocketknife, store merchandise and a folded-up piece of paper containing what police believe to be heroin, according to the report. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is testing the substance.

Also found were two hypodermic needles, a tourniquet, mini cotton balls and flame torches, police said.

Anyone with information related to this incident can contact the Springfield Township Police Department at 330-733-1061.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Springfield police search for suspects accused of assaulting officer
Thirty years ago, a then-19-year-old Stacey Abrams spoke to a crowd of 50,000 as one of the youth speakers at the 30th Anniversary March on Washington.

Now, on the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Abrams, who has since become a national figure in politics and voting rights advocacy, finds herself still calling for people to live Kings legacy. This time, Abrams was speaking at TIMEs Honoring the March: An Impact Family Dinner, an event held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, in partnership with American Family Insurance.

The conversation that we have been having for 60 years is about what we are marching towards, who we are marching for, and what we are marching with, Abrams said to the more than 100 attendees. [King] did not simply march, he worked. He did not simply talk, he did. And he did not simply dream, he became.

Below is a full transcript of Abrams speech:

I was considering what I would say tonight and I started thinking about time. It was 30 years ago that at the age of 19 which seems so long ago I was tapped to be one of the youth speakers at the 30th anniversary of the March on Washington. I stood on a stage in front of 50,000 people gathered in commemoration and in rededication.

It was 25 years later that I stood for the office of Governor in the state of Georgia, dedicated to the notion that every voice needed to be heard, every life needed to be celebrated, every mission needed to be made real. And it is now today, 30 years after the first time I had this conversation that I stand before you. I stand before you because the conversation that we're having today, the conversation that we have been having for 60 years, is about what we are marching towards, who we are marching for, and what we are marching with. Who we are marching for are those who do not believe that they have the right to dream, who do not see themselves in the epic nature of what we are as a people. Those who have dismissed the idea that there is anything in this nation for them. We march for them. Why we march is because we have to not let our feet get tired. We march because the relentless pursuit of evil must be met by the patience of good. Why we march is because we have no choice but to do better and be better. And how we do it is together. We do it by coming together in rooms like this, but more importantly by putting our shoulders to the grindstone, our feet to the pavement and our minds to the belief that more is possible.

I am honored to be here with you tonight celebrating and honoring the March, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But I close with this edict. He did not simply march, he worked.

He did not simply talk, he did. And he did not simply dream, he became. And so we must live his legacy by living the March every single day. And together we can march towards that dream. Thank you so much.

Write to Mariah Espada at mariah.espada@time.com.
SOMERSET  A counselor at the State Correctional Institute at Somerset charged with institutional sexual assault crimes has pleaded guilty in Somerset County Court.

Laurie Semelsberger, 60, of Ebensburg, who worked as a psychological services associate at the State Correctional Institution at Somerset, was accused of having sexual encounters with a male inmate she counseled there.

SCI-Somerset

Initially, Semelsberger was charged by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence with institutional sexual assault, a felony, and lesser graded misdemeanors of official oppression, obstructing administration of law or other governmental function and obscene and other sexual materials and performances.

After a plea agreement, Semelsberger pleaded guilty to delivering obscene material to a state prison, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.

She is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 4 before Judge Scott Bittner.

Other: Man heads to trial court: Claims he shot at his wife's flower pots because he was angry

Semelsberger is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for a first-degree misdemeanor. However, sentences are crafted for each defendant considering many items and circumstances in the specific case. For instance, the judge looks at prior offenses of the defendant and what that person and the victim have to say to the court at sentencing, either verbally or written. The maximum sentence is rarely given unless it is mandatory to do so by law. This is not the case here.

The investigation

According to court documents, the alleged relationship between Semelsberger and the inmate began in October 2021. The relationship was discovered through an investigation in August of the following year after more than 700 calls were made between the inmate and a number identified as one being used by Semelsberger. The phone calls were over an eight-month period beginning in January.

During the investigation, intimate photos of Semelsberger were found in the inmate's cell.

More: Mostoller going to trial to face homicide charge in death of Somerset County horse trainer

In November, agent Daniel Cuiffi, of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, brought charges against Semelsberger.

The victim

The then-37-year-old inmate is serving a 12- to 24-year sentence for conspiracy and robbery. The Daily American does not publish the names of victims of sexual assault. He was the driver in an armed street robbery by two men riding in the vehicle. He was sentenced in November 2011, according to DOC records. The inmate has not been charged in this matter.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Counselor pleads guilty in sexual assaut case at Somerset state prison
Steve Martin has shared some insight into the future of his career after Only Murders in the Building.

The comic actor, 77, stars alongside his long-time collaborator Martin Short and pop artist Selena Gomez in the hit mystery comedy-drama programme.

The three stars play an unlikely group of neighbours who, as true crime fans, begin a podcast after a murder takes place in their apartment block.

Since its 2021 debut, Only Murders has garnered devoted fans across the globe and is nominated for three awards at the forthcoming 2023 Primetime Emmys.

In a new interview, Martin spoke about how a successful TV show this late in his long career was not part of the plan.

Martin and Short, 73, had been touring one of their joint comedy live shows when Only Murders came along  something they still enjoy doing together now.

We were very happy just doing the live show, Martin told The Hollywood Reporter. There may be a natural end to that  somebody gets sick, somebody just wears out  but I wouldnt do it without Marty.

He then added that after Only Murders concludes, he wasnt going to pursue any other on-screen roles.

When this television show is done, Im not going to seek others, Martin explained. Im not going to seek other movies. I dont want to do cameos. This is, weirdly, it.

Steve Martin (Getty Images)

Season three of Only Murders in the Building began airing on Tuesday (8 August); a fourth season has not yet been announced.

The Father of the Bride star has been in the industry since the 1960s. After retiring from stand-up comedy in the Eighties, Martin has starred in several successful films such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), LA Story (1991), Bringing Down the House (2003) and the Cheaper by the Dozen films (2003-2005).

In Only Murders, Martin is tasked with a wealth of scenes that make use of his slapstick skills. In a season one scene, his character is accidentally drugged and has a run-in with some elevator doors. The actor told the publication that part of the bizarre nature of the moment was his idea.

I didnt want it to just be a funny walk, he explained with a laugh. So I was lying in bed at night thinking about it. And I started imagining myself upside down, elevator doors closing on my crotch.

I laughed to myself for about 20 minutes. I went in the next day and said, Please, let me just try this. 

Only Murders in the Building is currently streaming on Disney+ in the UK.
Stickers calling people to join the Wagner Group Private Military Company (PMC) have been seen in Krakow, Poland. Polish police are investigating their origins.

Source: Gazeta Krakowska, a Polish news media

Details: The stickers, which have been spotted in different parts of Krakow, call on local residents to join Wagner Group and contain a QR code with a link to a Russian website.

Bartomiej Izdebski from Krakow Police said that two reports have been filed with the police in relation to this case and is working to figure out what it is dealing with.

"We are gathering reports, taking pictures of the stickers, and will deal with this. Its difficult to say more right now, because this is only the first day [the stickers have appeared in Krakow]," Izdebski said.

The police separately issued a brief comment saying that police officers found the Wagner stickers in several locations after first reports about them appeared. The main municipal police department is investigating the case.

Background: Poland is considering every possible measure to protect itself amid the deteriorating security situation caused by Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus.

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!
Strictly Come Dancing couple Molly Rainford and Tyler West have shared a series of loved-up snaps from their holiday to Jamaica.

The couple, who met on the dancing show and confirmed their relationship earlier this year, are currently on vacation together in the Caribbean island.

Tyler shared a series of photos to his Instagram from the holiday, showing the pair as they enjoyed rum tasting and a trip to the waterfalls.

"Exploring Ocho," he wrote, before explaining what they were up to in each photo.

"This place mannn @visitjamaica," he added, tagging the Jamaican tourist board alongside the images.

Related: Strictly's Tyler West pays tribute to girlfriend Molly Rainford on EastEnders role

"Fav couple on the gram right now," commented I'm a Celebrity star Jordan Banjo's wife Naomi, while It Takes Two host Fleur East added: "Looks LIT."

"Love you two together, always happy, always laughing. Happy in love," a fan added.

Despite being paired up with Carlos Gu and Dianne Buswell respectively, the pair were inseparable while filming the show.

Molly, who recently joined the cast of EastEnders as Anna Knight, opened up on her relationship with radio DJ Tyler, revealing that romance blossomed while the pair were on the show's live tour.

"I suppose it developed towards the end of the tour because we'd spent so much time together and we were really good friends," she told Fabulous magazine.

John Phillips

Related: Strictly's Tyler West calls show curse a "blessing" amid new relationship

Going on to reveal that it was Tyler who made the first move, she added: "He was like, 'Do you think when we get back, we could go on a date?' and I was like, 'Yeah, alright!' I was totally up for it.

"Everyone on Strictly was so excited for us. They kind of wanted it to happen [all the way through the show] and we were like, 'No, we are trying to be professional'."

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Interested in talking about Strictly Come Dancing? Visit our dedicated sub-forum

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A student at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen Village was arrested Thursday morning after police say they found a handgun in their possession.

According to Richard Franco, a spokesperson with the Phoenix Union High School District, two separate and unrelated incidents of guns on campus were investigated throughout the morning. At least one of the incidents prompted a brief lockdown of the Phoenix high school.

About 10:30 a.m., Phoenix police responded to the school near 43rd Avenue and Baseline Road after receiving the first report. Officers located a student, a handgun was confiscated and the student was placed under arrest.

It was unclear if the school was placed on lockdown during the first incident.

Sgt. Brian Bower, a spokesperson with Phoenix police, confirmed that the student placed under arrest remained in custody as of Thursday afternoon while an investigation was underway.

An hour later, about 11:30 a.m., the school was placed on lockdown "out of an abundance of caution" while school officials looked for a student of interest, Franco said. They found the student was in possession of a BB gun.

Seven minutes later, once Phoenix police arrived and took over the investigation, the lockdown was lifted.

No arrest was made in the second incident, but it remained under investigation, police said.

Lockdowns: Phoenix high schools take new measures to prepare for classroom lockdowns

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Student arrested after Phoenix police find gun at Cesar Chavez High
A 23-year-old student pilot ran out of gas over a remote corner of North Carolina, resulting in the plane going down in a vast crop of soybeans, according to the Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Management.

It happened around 7 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, in Camden County, about 180 miles northeast of Raleigh. The pilot and instructor were taken to a hospital, rescuers said in a news release.

A Piper Cherokee Archer II aircraft departed New York for a training flight to Elizabeth City, NC, with an approximate 3 hour flight time, officials reported.

Approximately 3 hours into the flight and in the area of south Camden County, the aircraft ran out of fuel, forcing the aircrafts crew to make an emergency landing in a soybean field.

The flight instructor, 23-year-old Alyssa Simeon, of New York, took the controls and made the landing, officials said. The student pilot was identified as Oh Honggyun of Flushing, New York, officials said.

The two occupants of the aircraft only received minor injuries but were transported to Sentara/Albemarle hospital for observation, officials said. The aircraft ... only looked to have minimal damage to the landing gear.

Investigators say it is unclear when the plane will be removed from the field.

All bodies in sunken aircraft off North Carolina have been recovered, sheriff says

Planes wheel falls from sky, crashes on Maine golf course. Do you play around it?

Boat flips, throwing 11 in water off Outer Banks. One found under boat, rescuers say
(Editors note: This story was originally published by The Seattle Times through the Education Lab Student Voices project. Paige Censale is a graduate of Squalicum High School in Bellingham and was a contributor to the 2023 Student Voices cohort.)

With competitive admissions, but more pressingly, a price tag of an average $36,000 a year, college is a financial risk you must think wisely about. Without family financial backing or guarantee of a high-paying job, you risk financial ruin after graduation, caused by student debt that has left 54% of Americans feeling defeated and depressed.

At 17, I felt conflicted about jumping right into college and justifying the loans without knowing what I wanted to study. So I planned a gap year. But instead of being rewarded for being responsible and not wasting money pursuing a degree I might never use, I was chastised by friends and family members who told me, Youre throwing your future away.

Worse yet, college admissions systems basically penalized me for starting later, before I was ready to make the transition. Ive learned there are steep consequences to deviating from the high-school-to-college-pipeline that no one talks about.

Gap years prepared me for the future, but not for the headache of college admissions

Taking time off encouraged work and life experiences that helped me compete for the scholarships I needed to attend university. But applying for admission and aid became a stressful ordeal down the road.

Despite disapprovals, I took a gap year  actually, three of them. I left for the southern border to document stories of immigration and later interned for a European search-and-rescue vessel. I became conversational in Spanish and German, lived abroad for a year and became running partners with an 82-year-old German man who is still my friend. I even took a few community college classes in subjects I thought were fun.

These gap years helped me grow as a person in ways that attending college straight out of high school would have never done. At 21, I understand why college is important for my future. But for students like me seeking to obtain a degree after time away, the roadblocks can be incredibly discouraging.

Paige Censale of Bellingham outside the Seattle Times.

Community college credits can count against you

When I began applying to colleges, I found myself classified as a transfer student instead of a freshman, even though I only took nine community college credits in total. The University of California, Berkeley, said: Because you took college classes beyond the summer after high school graduation you technically are a transfer student.  The University of Washington, Western Washington, Stanford and other universities said the same.

Being labeled a transfer made me ineligible to apply for full-ride freshmen scholarships and meant I would be offered less financial aid than my applicant peers. This classification makes it more difficult for low-income students, like me, to pursue higher education.

After many mind-numbing email exchanges I learned removing those community college courses from my record was not an option. Colleges demanded these credits to evaluate my most recent academic history. Failure to disclose them would result in my application being discarded.

Angel Garcia Donjuan, a University of North Texas transfer student I met while living in Germany, had similar problems and has spent the past year advocating for awareness of these issues.

The weight of my application was placed on my community college GPA and admissions didnt always ask for essays to explain my valuable gap-year experiences, Garcia Donjuan said. I wish institutions looked at transfer students more holistically like they do with freshmen applicants and offered a wider range of financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Not enough responsibility is placed on the institutions end to accommodate diverse educational backgrounds.

For students on a nontraditional path to degrees, this deceptive classification feels punitive.

The gray areas of scholarship criteria, recommendations, and transcripts

I pulled my hair out trying to find at least one university that didnt care about my community college credits and would let me apply for full financial aid. My stomach knotted upon realizing that eight of the 10 schools that allowed this were Ivy League schools.

While these institutions offer flexible gap year eligibility for financial aid and scholarships, first you must be accepted to these incredibly competitive colleges. I held my breath and still applied, keeping close a backup plan: I would finish my associate degree at community college on financial aid and seek scholarships to transfer to a four-year in-state institution. But, as I learned, even finding external scholarships as a gap-year student is problematic.

I thought more renowned scholarships offered by sources like Coca-Cola, or local, smaller scholarship funds could help subsidize tuition costs that the federal student aid program did not cover.

Paige Censale of Bellingham

As I read into many external scholarship guidelines, I kept encountering the phrase must be either a high school senior or currently enrolled in college. But I was neither. The gap years put me into a financial aid gray area. Barriers like this ultimately push gap-year applicants like me toward committing to debt first and seeking scholarships later.

Most gap-year students also dont have access to guidance counselors or staff to help you navigate this complicated system. Despite being several years out of high school, gap-year students are forced to return to our former stomping grounds for required application materials, such as teacher recommendations, transcripts, and waivers for hefty application fees.

Staying in touch with my former guidance counselors, algebra and marketing teachers, luckily, made this process pleasant. If I hadnt had good relationships with staff, I might have been forced to submit dull and outdated recommendations, or struggled to get them at all.

Gap years saved my future

In my applications, I explained how my gap-year adventures ignited my passion for studying film and international relations. I applied to four universities and this March was accepted by three, offered a substantial financial aid package by one, but my last acceptance letter awarded me a full ride. I will begin studying at Brown University this fall.

Between my gap years, and the community college credits, my full-ride freshmen admission is a rare privilege. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for a school like Brown to have flexible financial aid opportunities for nontraditional students. However, as times change, outdated college admissions rules must change, too.

Gap years will not disappear, in fact, in our post-COVID world, they are rising. But these classifications and financial aid barriers discourage nontraditional students. In an oversaturated job market, gap years can give students an edge in attaining valuable work experience, help college applicants stand out from the crowd, and encourage maturity.

Because of my gap years, I am entering college at nearly 22, but much more confident and prepared than I ever was at 17. Why wouldnt the U.S. education system want more students to feel like this?

Read the extended version of this article on Paige Censales blog, paigecensale.com.

(Paige Censale, 21, was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Bellingham, where she attended Squalicum High School. After graduation in 2019, she returned to El Paso, capturing stories of asylum-seekers on the southern border and later in Europe on the U.S.-German fellowship Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. She is the current digital and communications coordinator for the immigration nonprofit, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and will be starting her freshman year at Brown University this fall.)
This article was originally published in Stateline.

Thousands of college students will get hundreds of dollars in compensation as colleges and universities move this summer to settle multimillion-dollar lawsuits stemming from canceled classes and activities during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.

While some of the class-action suits against the colleges and universities are still in litigation, and still others dismissed, several major cases have been settled in recent weeks.

The settlements mean students who were charged tuition and fees but werent able to use in-person services during the pandemic shutdowns will receive some compensation, though they wont be refunded for all the on-campus amenities they lost.

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The amounts depend on the total settlement figure, minus legal fees and other court expenses. Each case has a different timeline.

Most recently, the University of Delaware agreed in June to set up a $6.3 million fund to partially reimburse tuition and fees that the students paid for classes, housing and activities in 2020. The students argued that they did not receive the full benefit of in-person participation in academics and extra-curricular activities. Each student is expected to receive several hundred dollars in cash as part of the agreement.

But the university did not admit wrongdoing and maintained that extenuating circumstances of the pandemic, and the lack of an official contract between the school and each student, meant it was justified in taking the tuition and fees  an argument made by many other schools.

Many universities also have argued that they incurred significant expense in making the almost immediate transition to online classes. In interviews with Stateline, attorneys for some schools argued that the students argument was undercut by the fact that many chose to remain in remote classes after the campuses reopened, for convenience or health concerns.

Florida attorney Mendy Halberstam, who was not involved in the Delaware case but who represents other universities that have been similarly sued, said in an interview that the schools feel compelled to defend themselves against cases they believe are lacking in merit.

They are not looking to make life difficult for their students, he said, but they also have to make sure of their [lack of] liability.

There have been about 300 such lawsuits, according to Times Higher Education, a British publication that partners with The Wall Street Journal on rankings and evaluations of U.S. schools.

The University of Colorado, for example, settled a similar class-action case in April for $5 million.

Attorney Igor Raykin, who represented the Colorado students, said the settlement was a reasonable offer given the challenges of the suit itself and the legal landscape in general.

Among the challenges, Raykin said, is the fact that these were precedent-setting cases and that a lengthy legal process meant many of the students have already graduated and gotten on with their lives.

We wanted to make sure the students would be getting something that would benefit them. Individual awards will vary, he said, but typically will be in the hundreds of dollars.

In May, the University of Minnesota also settled a class-action lawsuit, allowing students to get bigger refunds of tuition and fees than the school initially allowed. And in June, a judge certified a group of students in a class-action suit against the University of Washington.

However, early this year a judge in Rhode Island dismissed a case against the University of Rhode Island and several other schools in that state, ruling that there were no enforceable contracts breached in the shutdowns. The plaintiffs argued that the shutdowns denied them university experiences they expected, based on the schools marketing materials, websites, course catalogs, student handbooks and the like.

But U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. ruled that, unfortunately for [the] plaintiffs, these general advertisements and distinctions do not create obligations on the part of the university  they are vague and more akin to puffery, rather than enforceable promises.

Two weeks ago, the Florida Supreme Court announced it would consider a class-action suit from University of Florida students asking for compensation for being denied services during the COVID-19 shutdown.

But in another Florida case, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from a lower court dismissing a students lawsuit against the University of Miami, a private school.

The university refunded pro-rated fees for housing, dining, student centers and gyms. The student argued that wasnt enough, but the court ruled that she was not entitled to damages stemming from any alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or inadequate refunds on the part of Miami.

The pandemic forced students of all ages to learn from behind their computer screens for a period of time, and we certainly harbor a great deal of sympathy for those students whose educations and relationships were affected by the transition, the court wrote.

We hope that some comfort can be found, however, in our certainty that despite enduring the hardships created by the pandemic, any student who has earned a degree from a school like the University of Miami retains the unspoiled potential for a fulfilling and prosperous future.

Florida attorney Jeffrey Ostrow, who represented students in a lawsuit against Barry University, a private school in Miami, said the cases have been a mixed bag all over the place. In one of the earliest settlements, Barry University in September 2021 agreed to set up a $2.4 million compensation fund for students.

Ostrow maintains that universities did enter contracts for in-person learning and campus activities.

All these students signed up for a program in class, he said, noting that schools often charged less for online classes before the pandemic. Whether [the university] was forced to, or decided unilaterally to shut those things down, its not fair for them to keep the [in-class payments].

He also noted that many schools got pandemic relief payments from the federal government to help them weather the pandemic.

There was federal money that a lot of the schools were able to get, Ostrow said. And we believe that money should have gone back to the students.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and Twitter.
Suicide rates reach all-time high in US, per CDC data: 'Silent public health crisis'

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Suicide rates have reached an all-time high in the U.S., according to new data posted on Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Approximately 49,500 people died by suicide in 2022, a 2.6% increase over the prior year and the highest number on record.

Suicides have risen steadily in the country over the past two decades, per the National Center for Health Statistics.

WARNING SIGNS OF SUICIDE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PREVENTION, RED FLAGS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE

In 2000, some 29,350 people took their own lives.

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A decade later, the number had risen to 38,364  and it reached 48,344 in 2018.

In July 2022, the U.S. government launched 9-8-8, the countrys first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline.

There was a short-lived decline of suicides in 2020, when they dipped to 45,979 during the first year of the pandemic, but they began rising again in 2021.

"Weve seen these increases for many, many years," CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry told Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News medical contributor, during a radio interview on Thursday, August 10.

"There was a slight decline in 2019 and 2020, but over the past 15 years, weve been on this trajectory."

Many experts, including Dr. Rehan Aziz, a psychiatrist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey , believe that the pandemic played a role in the suicide spike post-2020.

"During the pandemic, social isolation increased and access to mental health services decreased," he told Fox News Digital.

Many experts believe that the pandemic played a role in the spike in suicide post-2020.

"The COVID virus itself is also associated with high rates of depression, anxiety and brain fog," he went on.

"All of these factors could have contributed to higher rates of completed suicide in the post-pandemic era."

Numerous factors may be driving up the suicide rate, experts say, including depression and scarcity of mental health providers, as reported by the Associated Press.

AI TECH IDENTIFIES SUICIDE RISK IN MILITARY VETERANS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE: 'FLIPPING THE MODEL'

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in New York , suggested that a main driver of the suicide rate increase has been the growing availability of guns.

Firearms are used in more than half of suicides, the CDC reported, followed by suffocation and poisoning.

Suicide rates have reached an all-time high in the U.S., per new data posted on Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The available data suggests that suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II , per the AP.

In light of this new data, suicide has become the second leading cause of death in people between 25 and 44 years of age, up from No. 4 in 2021, the AP report stated.

Suicide rates are nearly four times higher among males, with 39,255 taking their own lives in 2022 compared to 10,194 females.

People ages 85 and older have the highest rates of suicide.

Among racial/ethnic groups, the highest rates in 2021 were seen among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people and non-Hispanic White people.

People ages 85 and older have the highest rates of suicide.

SPIKE IN TEEN DEPRESSION ALIGNS WITH RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, NEW POLL SUGGESTS: ITS NOT GOING ANYWHERE

"In the data we released today, we showed that some of the largest increases were in middle-aged and older adults , and so this is a population for which we need to keep these risk factors in mind," Houry told Siegel.

For his part, Aziz described the suicide spike as a "silent public health crisis" that has been playing out over years and decades.

Limited availability of mental health providers is likely one of the factors impacting suicide rates, experts believe.

"I say silent because it has not received the attention it deserves," he said.

"Completed suicide has been overrepresented in older adults for some time, with older white men at highest risk for completing suicide."

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Among the likely reasons for this risk are untreated and unrecognized depression; increasing disability and loss of function; social isolation and loneliness; and access to lethal means, including firearms, according to Aziz.

In July 2022, the U.S. government launched 9-8-8, the countrys first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline.

The CDC also plans to expand a suicide program to fund more prevention work in various communities.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Mayor Brandon Johnson faces a Sunday deadline to make one of the most consequential decisions of his time leading the city so far: who to select as the next permanent superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Aside from the mayor, a big citys top cop is often the most public member of local government. Their ability to lead a bureaucracy  in Chicago, its the largest city department with more than 11,000 men and women who deal with the citys toughest issues  often comes to help define a mayors tenure.

Johnson is expected to announce Sunday his selection from the three finalists submitted to him last month: CPD Chief of Counterterrorism Larry Snelling, CPD Chief of Constitutional Policing and Reform Angel Novalez, and Shon Barnes, the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. An introductory news conference could come the following day.

Snelling, a South Side native who joined CPD in 1992, is considered by many department members, supervisors and close CPD observers to be the most likely choice.

But whoever is ultimately selected for the job will face an uphill climb.

I think Chicago has three major challenges, said Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based police think tank. Number one: violent crime, no question about it. The next superintendent needs to know how to deal with violent crime. Number two: hiring cops. Chicago, like many cities, is facing a staffing crisis. Motivating his current employees to encourage others to become cops, that is huge. If you cant staff the CPD, you cant deal with violent crime, you cant deal with community services. Number three: the consent decree. It isnt going away. It has to be taken seriously. It has to be implemented.

And there wont be much of a honeymoon, Wexler added.

Whoever comes into Chicago needs to hit the ground running and needs to hit all three challenges head on, he said.

Data from the citys Office of Inspector General show that CPD ranks have shrunk by about 1,500 officers since 2019. As of this month, the Police Department counted about 11,700 sworn officers, according to the OIG.

Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor and police accountability expert, said that the next CPD superintendent should take concrete steps to transform the departments culture by further prioritizing transparency and accountability.

We cant forget that CPDs problematic culture is the reason why were under a consent decree, a civil rights consent decree, in Chicago in the first place (and) why the department has been so ineffective in solving violent crime, so ineffective in making us safe, Futterman said.

Snelling, 54, has quickly climbed CPDs ranks in recent years.

He was promoted last October to chief of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, which oversees the narcotics and gang divisions as well as SWAT teams.

Before that, he was a tactical officer, lieutenant and then commander of the Englewood District. Snelling oversaw the district during the fraught summer of 2020, when civil unrest gripped cities across the country following George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

Considered one of the departments use-of-force experts, Snelling was previously assigned to CPDs training academy. He also testified about the importance of accuracy in officers incident reports; that was part of Chicago Police Board proceedings against four officers accused of exaggerating the circumstances that led up to the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald in 2014.

Novalez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Chicago with his family in the 1970s. He joined CPD in 2001 and was previously assigned to the Near West District, the training academy, Area 4 and the Grand Central District on the Northwest Side. After he was shot in the line of duty, Novalez quickly rose through the ranks to oversee much of CPDs community-building efforts, including the CAPS program.

He now serves as chief of the Office of Constitutional Policing, which works to develop and implement internal department policies that adhere to the citys consent decree, though compliance has been slow.

Barnes was hired as the chief of police in Madison in 2021, and he was previously the director of training and professional development for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the body that investigates use-of-force incidents by CPD officers. He also held supervisory positions in two police departments in North Carolina.

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoots hand-picked choice for superintendent, David Brown, came to Chicago from Dallas and faced criticism that he was in over his head. His aloof style alienated him from the community and the rank and file. When he was asked about his lack of visibility at a City Council committee, Brown blamed it on COVID-19. That left Lightfoot as the main public face on crime, allowing critics to tag her with the citys problems.

Mayor Rahm Emanuels first superintendent, Garry McCarthy, came to Chicago after stints in New York and Newark, New Jersey. His brash East Coast persona rubbed some the wrong way but he presided over a time of decreasing violent crime and earned respect within the department. Emanuel fired him amid fallout over the Laquan McDonald police murder and accusations of a City Hall cover-up, then replaced him with Eddie Johnson, a lower-ranking official who never applied for the job.

While Eddie Johnson wasnt a visionary police leader, the Chicago native and CPD lifer had respect among rank-and-file cops and also community leaders. Lightfoot fired him, though, in late 2019 after she said Johnson misled her about the circumstances of a drunken driving episode near his home in Bridgeport earlier that year.

As a progressive, Mayor Johnson campaigned on a platform that policing needs to be reformed and the city cant address all its problems by simply arresting people. He entered office facing public concerns about high crime and took over a department struggling with low morale, often stoked by combative police union President John Catanzara, who warned that hundreds of officers would quit if he were elected.

That prediction hasnt panned out, but Johnson has aimed his words and actions at assuaging department members. Last month, shortly before the three finalists were announced, Catanzara offered praise for the new process to narrow down superintendent candidates.

This process is 100 times better than what it was when the police board was conducting it, Catanzara told members of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability last month.

Johnsons selection of former CPD Chief of Patrol Fred Waller as interim superintendent was an important move as Waller is a city cop who has worked the same streets as his subordinates.

While Johnson said he would give a fair shake to Barnes, he has also said he wants to select someone who knows the city of Chicago well. His expected selection of Snelling or even Novalez would represent a continuation of his efforts to rebuild morale that started with Waller, who he recently praised for building unprecedented morale.

Thats important, Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato said, after the last deal didnt work out with Brown and police officers.

Theyre our guys and theyre both tremendously respected and loved by the rank and file, Sposato said. Thats very important to have a boss, a leader thats respected and loved.
Kim Nguyen and her psychiatrist agreed she needed more care for her eating disorder. But getting it through Medi-Cal took almost a year. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Kim Nguyen weighed barely 80 pounds when she finally reached an eating disorder specialist through Medi-Cal last year.

Her periods were sporadic. Her electrolytes were dangerously skewed, a condition that could lead to coma, seizures or sudden cardiac death. The Orange County resident said she and her new psychiatrist quickly agreed she needed more care. But getting it through the country's largest public insurance program took almost a year.

"It took me until I was really deep into partial hospitalization to realize that not being hungry is not normal," said the 36-year-old, referring to a form of full-day outpatient care. "I'm in a much better place now."

Eating disorders such as Nguyen's are extremely deadly: Among mental illnesses, only opioid addiction kills more. Yet, while studies show rates of illness are similar across race and class, those with public insurance are two-thirds less likely to be diagnosed and treated than their wealthier peers, according to a 2023 study in the Journal of Eating Disorders.

Now, with cases surging among California's poorest patients, the state is struggling to reform its Byzantine system for allocating care.

In May 2022, Nguyen weighed barely 80 pounds. (Courtesy of Nguyen family)

"Back in 2017, we would have five referrals for eating disorders annually," said Michael Tredinnick, a program manager for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. "Now, we get that in a week."

The surge began early in the pandemic, amid a deluge of depression, anxiety and drug overdoses. But while those conditions have started to ebb, clinicians say anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are still at their high water mark, an observation bolstered by recent data from the CDC showing ER visits for eating disorders remained up by more than 50% from 2019.

"All of us were holding our breath, hoping that eventually the demand would start to go back down," said Dr. Erin Accurso, clinical director of the UCSF Eating Disorders Program. "We really haven't seen that to date."

The crisis is particularly acute for teenagers, many of whom are hospitalized repeatedly for complications of malnutrition while waiting to be approved for mental health care.

"Kids with eating disorders who have Medi-Cal, they get into this vicious cycle," Accurso said. "Some of these kids have well over 10 hospitalizations."

Jennifer Lopez-Avila has been hospitalized 14 times for complications of anorexia over the last five years. Last August, she spent six weeks in the hospital after her weight bottomed out at 79 pounds.

"Since I was 15, I haven't had my period for more than three months consecutively," said the Central Valley resident, who at 21 was just diagnosed with osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. "You can burst your esophagus from purging, or your electrolytes can go crazy and it's the end. I knew my heart could stop."

Jennifer Lopez-Avila has been hospitalized 14 times for complications of anorexia over the last five years. Last August, she spent six weeks in the hospital after her weight bottomed out at 79 pounds. (Courtesy of Veronica Avila)

Because the effects of starvation are so serious, hospitalizations for eating disorders are longer and many times more expensive than admissions for other mental illnesses such as depression, substance abuse and psychosis, according to a 2014 study in Pediatrics. The mean cost of hospitalization for depression was around $13,000, compared with $46,000 for eating disorders.

Medi-Cal covers those complications just as it would pneumonia or a compound fracture. Yet the care that might stem them  including residential treatment, partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs  is increasingly out of reach for roughly half of California children.

"Our wait list at UCSF is the longest its ever been," Accurso said. "We used to run closer to three to six months. Now were looking at 12 to 18."

Experts in Southern California say they've been similarly inundated.

"Its a pretty unprecedented spike, in both the volume and the speed," said Dr. Stuart Murray, director of the Eating Disorders Program at USC. "Were not equipped to meet the demand."

In part, that's because providers have long failed to recognize eating disorders in nonwhite teenagers  those most likely to use Medi-Cal  until they're gravely ill.

"It took me until I was really deep into partial hospitalization to realize that not being hungry is not normal," Nguyen said, referring to a form of full-day outpatient care. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

"The myth that eating disorders only affect middle-to-upper-class white girls continues," Accurso said. "Even providers who know it's a myth still engage in that bias when they're assessing people."

This myth is mirrored on TikTok, where bony white girls with feeding tubes post about their diagnoses using variations of the hashtag #EdSheeran  a feint for the app's famously censorious algorithm, where Ed stands in for ED, or eating disorder  while teens of color describe the same pathological behaviors without calling themselves anorexic or bulimic. (Both use the butterfly emoji, a common symbol for recovery.)

"I had a client who said they would throw up whenever they would feel full because they were anxious feeling full, and they had no idea that was unhealthy," said Naomi Tapia, an Orange County therapist who specializes in eating disorders in Latino patients.

Black and Latino teens are also more likely to struggle with bulimia and binge eating disorder, which can lead to serious cardiac complications and significantly increase suicide risk even in patients who aren't underweight. Decades of studies show those risks multiply with every hospitalization and each delay in care.

"You really have to advocate that you're sick enough," said eating disorder educator Gloria Lucas, a harm reduction activist and recovering bulimic who gets care through the Orange County Health Care Agency. "There's so much white supremacy even in how eating disorders are perceived and who is allowed to receive adequate help."

Lucas and others say limiting treatment to patients with a body mass index under 20 is a structural barrier for many patients of color, because that metric was built on actuarial data from white men.

But even as her BMI brushed the lower limit of human survival  the point after which starving people will die no matter what or how much they are fed  Lopez-Avila said her county therapist doubted her diagnosis.

Even when providers are competent, Madera County, where Lopez-Avila lives, is hundreds of miles from most treatment centers. And there's no privacy for online programs in the cramped home she shares with her parents, 11-year-old brother and two adult siblings.

Worse, most eating disorder specialists are monolingual English speakers, meaning family therapy sessions  the gold standard for anorexia nervosa  are eaten up by an interpreter volleying information back and forth to her parents in Spanish.

"That takes up a lot of time and things get lost in translation," Lopez-Avila said. "It's so difficult."

Experts say transportation, housing and linguistic barriers make recovery that much harder for Medi-Cal patients.

But mostly, the crisis is a function of bureaucracy.

Despite the recent surge in demand, the state Department of Health Care Services doesn't track how many Medi-Cal patients get treatment for eating disorders or what that care costs. Indeed, there is no single system or set of standards by which publicly insured patients qualify for care, and no uniform method of paying for it, state documents and interviews with county officials show.

Instead, once Medi-Cal patients are physically stable  meaning their heart rate is in the mid-50s instead of the high 30s, or their potassium level is 3.4 milliequivalents per liter instead of 2.5  their fate falls to one of 58 separate county behavioral health systems, where bureaucrats with little knowledge of eating disorders weigh who deserves care.

"I'm in a much better place now," Nguyen says. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

"One suggested we weigh ourselves together, and he would be trying to lose weight while I was trying to gain weight," Lopez-Avila recalled. "When I got my new therapist, I immediately told her I wanted that referral [to specialized care], but I was told I had to be assessed first. I had been to and from the hospital three times by then."

Indeed, the process of reaching so-called "higher level" care is so obscure, complex and protracted, only a fraction of qualified patients get through it. Even healthcare and insurance administrators struggle to understand how it works.

"With Medi-Cal, hospitals don't know where to send folks," said Alexa Grayson, an insurance navigator with the national nonprofit Project HEAL, who helped both Nguyen and Lopez-Avila get care. "When people get to me, they're at the end of their rope."

Rather than join the wait list for a residential or intensive outpatient program directly from the hospital, as many privately insured patients do, Medi-Cal patients often must first undergo rounds of new lab tests and fresh psychiatric evaluations through the county  a process each county does differently.

This first step takes weeks. In the interim, many become too ill to attend the program they've applied for. Others get a little bit too well.

"If you progress too quickly, they kick you out," said Lucas, the educator.

Lopez-Avila agreed.

"I was afraid if I did start making progress while I was waiting for treatment ... they would [decide] I didn't need to go," she said. "That drove me further into my eating disorder, because I have to prove myself, or I won't get what I need."

For those who remain just sick enough, the question becomes how care should be paid for.

In Los Angeles and much of the rest of Southern California, the county negotiates a "single case agreement"  a one-time exception to insurance "in-network" rules  with an individual provider for each patient it deems eligible.

In Santa Clara and many Northern California counties, by contrast, the behavioral health department inks an "all case agreement" with a set group of providers, and funnels qualified patients to those programs.

"Even those [counties] that are really proactive, it's terribly challenging," Accurso said. "Kids that might have been served really well in outpatient care don't get access soon enough and really deteriorate."

After her six-week hospitalization at the end of last summer, Lopez-Avila got a single-case agreement for residential care through Madera County Behavioral Health Services. It was her fourth such stay, and the first one the county had agreed should be followed by a step-down program, she said.

For privately insured patients, moving from hospital to residential treatment to outpatient care is like climbing down concrete stairs. The steps may be steep in cost and short in length, but they don't shift underfoot.

Conversely, for many Medi-Cal patients, those stairs are more like a fraying rope ladder. For close to two months after she was discharged from residential treatment last winter, Lopez-Avila said she dangled without care, arriving at the partial hospitalization program 25 pounds underweight  too far behind to graduate to the less-supportive intensive outpatient program in the time Madera County had agreed to fund.

By spring, she was back in residential treatment. Today, she's in a partial hospitalization program in Carlsbad, 400 miles from her family, with no sense of when she might be well enough to go home.

"If they'd been quicker to get me into partial hospitalization, I could have avoided starting over," she said.

Experts say streamlining payment could speed that process, as it has for addiction treatment. Last year, the Department of Health Care Services went so far as to direct Medi-Cal programs to split the cost of eating disorder treatment with county mental health departments.

But the plan, like the patients, has languished, without details of how such cost-sharing should work.

Despite bureaucratic barriers, California remains one of the few states where patients with public insurance can get eating disorder care at all.

"California has been the best state to work with," said Grayson, the insurance navigator. "I love when somebody comes to me with Medi-Cal, because I'm like, 'OK, there's hope.'"

But here too, hope often curdles into despair.

"It gets kind of hopeless, because you know it's in reach, there's a way to get there, but people aren't doing enough to help you," Lopez-Avila said. "It felt like these people don't want to help, they don't believe me. It felt like no one was even trying."

Over time, despair can turn deadly.

Medi-Cal patients "only get help when theyre sent to the hospital because they pass out or theyve attempted suicide," said Tapia, the Orange County therapist. "They have to wait until its extreme in order to be seen, and once its no longer extreme, theyre sent home and the cycle continues."

Indeed, a 2011 meta-analysis in the Archives of General Psychiatry showed 1 in 5 deaths from anorexia is suicide, a risk that increases the longer a patient is sick and the more severe their illness.

"It's something that surprises parents," Accurso said. "These kids may be doing really well in school, they may be doing really well socially. It's hard to reconcile that with someone being so ill and so medically and psychologically at risk."

For Lucas, the statistics are a call to arms. She has spent years fighting for eating disorder harm reduction, a model that aims to modify dangerous behaviors without pushing patients to renounce them. In practice, this can mean teaching protective dental care to use alongside purges, or "negotiating" meal plans to stabilize weight instead of increasing it.

"They focus on putting people in treatment, but the majority of us will never set foot in these treatment centers," the educator said. "We know the high level of suicide in eating disorders, why would we not welcome as many interventions and community-based models as possible?"

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Police on Friday announced an additional arrest in connection with the May killing of an 18-year-old woman. Jermaal Riggins, 37, is in custody following his arrest Friday morning in connection to the homicide investigation of Lakaria Moore, according to a statement from Lubbock police.

Riggins is charged with tampering with or fabricating evidence. Riggins surrendered to investigators without incident at 10:55 a.m. Friday following the issuance of an arrest warrant on Aug. 2. A court document indicates Riggins is accused of tampering with blood evidence. Riggins arrest comes on the heels of the arrest of Tahdeejah Washington-Harris, 29, on Aug. 2, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit and the Texas Anti-Gang Center, following the disappearance and murder of Moore.

Suspect in May homicide found dead in Central Lubbock motel room

The family of Lakaria Moore shared images of the 18-year-old who was found dead Monday in Lubbock County. Now, her family is asking for support to cover her funeral expenses.

Investigating Lakaria Moore's killing

Moore was initially reported missing at 9:03 p.m. May 21 in the 2100 block of North Jayton Avenue. Her remains were found outside city limits on May 22 near North County Road 3000 and East County Road 6650. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Christopher Carter, 40, the same day, and continued their investigation into multiple persons of interest."Over the course of the next couple of months, an array of various and wide-ranging tips were passed on to investigators regarding Carters location," reads the statement from Lubbock police. "However, many lacked detail regarding his exact location."

On Friday, police said a concrete and definitive tip through Crime Line was received at the end ofJuly, and on July 31, investigators with the Texas Anti-Gang Center received information pertaining to Carters location and proceeded to the Stadium Motel in the 4100 block of 19th Street around 10:30 a.m.

Christopher Wayne Carter, 39, is wanted for murder by the Lubbock Police Department in connection to the death of Lakaria Moore.

While surveilling, investigators attempted to have Carter exit the room he was in shortly before 1:40 p.m. At that time, a male exited the room, informing officers there was a deceased male inside. Upon entry, officers located the male, who is believed to have suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was later identified as Carter.

Police case against Jermaal Riggins

Through the course of the investigation, police believe that following Moore's killing, Riggins altered, destroyed, or concealed evidence with the intent to make it unavailable as evidence prompting his current charge. It was also determined Washington-Harris provided and aided Carter with the means to avoid his arrest, prompting the charges for hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, according to police.

According to court documents, investigators obtained a sworn statement from a witness who said Carter shot Moore in the front yard of his home and that blood evidence was cleaned from the inside, front entry way of the home, the Avalanche-Journal reported earlier this month.

Detectives found evidence at Carter's home that indicated he cleaned up evidence of Moore's slaying and fled.

Tahdeejah Washington-Harris is facing a count of hindering the apprehension of a felon, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of 2-10 years in prison.

At some point as police surveilled Carter in the Stadium Motel, Washington-Harris left the motel room and officers followed her as she drove away, according to previous reports. The officers stopped her when she was far enough away from the motel and confirmed with her that Carter was in the room, according to a warrant for her arrest.

The investigation into Lakaria Moores death and the in-custody death of Carter are ongoing.

The police statement also elaborates on the department's efforts in the case, and addresses apparent concerns shared by members of the public on social media regarding the investigation.

The statement continues: "There are certain priorities in a murder investigation, and for the investigators involved in the case, Chris Carter was always the primary target in ensuring Lakaria and her family received justice," reads the statement from police. "From day one, investigators have continuously looked at persons of interest throughout this process. Investigating through interviews, to phone conversations, service of multiple search warrants, forensic examination of evidence, both digital and physical--all of which culminated in the issuance of the arrest warrant for Carter, obtained on the same day Moores remains were located, as well as the arrests of Washington-Harris and Riggins.As in all criminal cases, the elements of the offense must be met and probable cause must bedeveloped before a warrant can be issued and an arrest can be made. The investigative processof meeting that criteria takes time and is not influence by emotions but by facts and evidence.Following this, strict judicial process is required to ensure the strongest case possible. Manytimes, violations of the law do not come to light until later in the investigation, as was the casein the arrest of Washington-Harris on August 2nd as investigators were made aware of herinvolvement in hindering the apprehension of a fugitive on July 31st.While the Lubbock Police Department has heard the cries of the community for additionalarrests related to this homicide, we want to reiterate that we are committed to holding thoseaccountable who have committed such violent and heinous criminal acts within our jurisdiction.That accountability involves the arrest and prosecution of those individuals once aninvestigation is complete. The Department believes in the importance of a completeinvestigation ensuring a strong case to fully prosecute those who prey on innocent members ofour society. Unfortunately, oftentimes that investigative time frame cannot be defined."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Suspect in Lakaria Moore killing surrenders to Lubbock police
A suspected stolen thoroughbred racehorse was recovered this week after officials say they arrested a wanted fugitive.

Bibb County Sheriff officials said on Thursday, deputies took a wanted fugitive into custody after they found him hiding in a tree at a home on Allen Road.

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Authorities confirmed the home where the arrest happened was where the fugitive, Juan Angel Hernandez, lived.

While conducting the arrest, deputies located methamphetamines, suspected cocaine and several guns.

In addition to the contraband, a suspected thoroughbred racehorse that was severely malnourished was found on the property, along with neglected dogs and chickens.

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Authorities did not provide additional details regarding the recovery of the horse.

All the neglected animals were turned over to the BSCO Animal Welfare Unit.

Authorities also arrested a woman on the property who is now facing multiple counts of animal cruelty.

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The suspects identity has not been revealed.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Inside Kuwait's national assembly, 41-year-old lawmaker Dawood Marafie is a fresh face, determined to live up to the hopes of a younger generation exhausted by perpetual political turmoil in the Gulf state.

He is among 12 newcomers to the legislature, most of them young reformists, following the election in June -- the seventh in just over a decade -- in which an Islamist-led opposition reaped the biggest spoils.

The new faces do not coordinate action or work as a cohesive bloc, but most share the goal of pushing for policy improvements, particularly on issues related to youth.

"I was pushed to enter the political arena" by the protracted tug-of-war between parliament and cabinet that has left the country in a state of perpetual stagnation, said Marafie.

Before joining parliament, "I didn't have a political affiliation," said Marafie, who worked in the corporate world for years before switching to politics.

"What matters is competence," he told AFP from his office, surrounded by assistants dressed in white dishdasha robes and matching ghutra headdresses.

Kuwait -- a conservative country where sovereign powers remain concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family -- is home to the most active and powerful parliament in the Gulf.

But repeated standoffs between elected lawmakers and cabinet ministers installed by the ruling family have stymied development efforts and scared off investors.

While its neighbours the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have managed to grow their economies, Kuwait has lagged far behind, forcing some like Marafie to seek to chart a new path forward.

- Radical change -

Following a succession of resigning governments and dissolved parliaments, Kuwait's current cabinet is its fifth in a year.

The latest cabinet, formed in mid-June, promised "positive cooperation" with the national assembly.

The political deadlock has delayed necessary reforms and blocked development projects, leaving infrastructure and education in disrepair and much of the population disgruntled.

Even with the old guard still at the helm, Marafie said he is driving a youth-focused agenda that prioritises the environment, housing, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

He believes that technological development and training is key to meet the "needs of the future", in a country where half of the estimated population of four million is under the age 35.

Marafie is "confident" in his plans.

But he cautioned that reforms require a "parliamentary consensus" -- a tall order in a 50-member assembly that includes several Islamists and only one woman.

For Shaikha Albahaweed, an independent journalist, a more radical approach is needed.

"The whole political system needs to be amended," she told AFP, echoing a desire for change that is widely held by younger Kuwaitis who have grown disenchanted with the political establishment.

- 'Running in circles' -

With cabinet ministers selected by the ruling family, lawmakers are the only elected representatives in the country.

But corrupt elites, the absence of political parties and costly legislative campaigns make for a political climate that favours powerful families, Albahaweed said.

Kuwait's powerful opposition has long been dominated by Islamists, and their constant wrangling with the cabinet has left little room for other forms of representation.

"There must be deputies representing us who are able to change the system," Albahaweed told AFP on the sidelines of a symposium on women.

Only with major systemic changes can the Gulf state achieve "better representation not only of women but also" members of different social classes, said the 34-year-old, wearing a necklace that reads "feminist".

"But because the system is broken, we cannot get people to represent us," she added. "We are running around in circles."

The last election saw only one out of 15 female candidates voted into office, according to Haifa al-Mousa, a member of the Kuwait Women's Cultural and Social Society, an organisation established in 1963.

There is "a war against women in Kuwait, unfortunately, led by fanatical currents," she told AFP, criticising the country's "male-dominated society" for pushing women to the sidelines.

But even with the odds stacked against them, al-Mousa believes women should still push back.

"We have to trust in ourselves and say that in the end, our rights will prevail."

bur-aem/ho/jsa/srm/mca
The city of Tampa has opened cooling centers at parks and recreation centers in response to the excessive heat warning and heat advisories.

City employees, AmeriCorps service members and Red Cross volunteers are staffing the centers, which open at 11 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. through Sunday.

Dangerously hot and humid conditions are expected with temperatures lingering in the mid-90s this weekend.

The cooling centers, free of charge, are available to the public to ensure the safety of residents exposed to extreme heat conditions. Light snacks and water are available.

The locations are: David M. Barksdale Active Older Adult Center at Macfarlane Park, 1801 N Lincoln Ave.; Cuscaden Park, 2900 N 15th St.; and Cordelia B. Hunt Community Center at Al Lopez Park, 4810 N Himes Ave.

The city opened the centers Thursday and drew a handful of people, said Jessica Serre of the citys parks and recreation department. A larger turnout is expected over the weekend because of additional public notice and the anticipation that more people may be in the parks on Saturday and Sunday.

The city of Tampa also launched the HEATSAFE text alert system to keep the community informed and safe from extreme heat. Messages will include heat advisories, cooling center openings, tips to stay cool and other heat-related information such as utility bill assistance. To sign up, text HEATSAFE to 888-777.

Pinellas and Hillsborough county officials said they didnt plan to open cooling centers, but offered tips on avoiding the heat.

People without access to adequate air conditioning can take refuge in public places including libraries or shopping malls. Residents also can refill water bottles in Hillsborough County parks, libraries or government buildings, the county said in a news release.

Spend time in air-conditioned environments, Pinellas County spokesperson Sydney Criteser wrote in an email. If you do not have access to air conditioning, consider visiting public buildings like libraries or public spaces with shade.

In Pasco, the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County has handed out approximately 60 cooling kits since last week. Each drawstring bag contains a cloth to wet, a reusable water bottle, a liquid IV packet, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray and lip balm.

Its a similar effort in St. Petersburg. There, the citys Housing and Neighborhood Services team and Street Outreach, along with Police Assisting the Homeless, distribute the cooling kits using funds from the Power of Change program, said city spokesperson Erica Riggins. The program raises money by repurposing parking meters as change machines that take donations.

The kits include sunscreen, bug spray, lip balm, an adjustable bucket hat, cooling towels, hygiene items, a poncho, a reusable water bottle, bottles of water and a card made by Pinellas County with hurricane evacuation information and tips in English and Spanish. Riggins said 100 kits have been given out so far and staff is assembling and distributing 100 more.
Tan France revealed the three things he always packs in his carry-on luggage. Trainline

Tan France recently shared his packing tips and tricks with Insider.

France said he always packs three items when he's taking just a carry-on around Europe.

The "Queer Eye" star always packs comfortable sneakers and a small bag of accessories.

As summer travel continues to remain chaotic, more and more people are losing their luggage. So it's no surprise many travelers are sticking to carry-ons  including Tan France.

The "Queer Eye" star recently spoke with Insider about his new style guide with Trainline, and he was happy to share his essential carry-on packing tips (and how to not look like a tourist in Europe).

"Whilst I'm traveling around Europe, I try to only take my carry-on, just because it is so much easier," France said. "If you're going for four to five days, you can get everything you need into your hand luggage without an issue."

There are three things France always packs in his carry-on, he said, including a great pair of jeans.

France always packs a pair of jeans in his carry-on. Trainline

"They go with pretty much everything," he said. "You can dress them up or dress them down."

France also always travels with a pair of comfortable sneakers.

"I wear a boot when I'm traveling because that's a heavier, chunkier option that's going to fill up my suitcase," he said. "So I pack a pair of sneakers because, when you're walking around Europe, you're going to need comfortable shoes."

"We don't use public transport anywhere near as much as we do in the US," he added. "So take some great comfortable sneakers that you've worn a thousand times."

And last but not least, France always packs a small bag of accessories.

The fashion designer recommends sticking to a neutral wardrobe while traveling with just a carry-on, and he said accessories are the perfect way to spice things up.

France sticks to neutral colors and sneakers when he's traveling around Europe. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

"If I'm taking something like a white T-shirt or a black T-shirt, I can dress it up and make it look different depending on the kind of accessories I pack," France said.

"I usually take at least two belts, a couple of neck scarves, hats  anything I can fit into the size of a toiletry bag," he added.

France also always sticks to costume jewelry when he's traveling.

"Quite frankly, I lose shit a lot," he said with a laugh. "I'm not really focusing as much as I should when I'm packing and moving from one place to another. I just know eventually I'm going to leave my rings on the sink of a hotel or my necklace somewhere, so I try not to travel with them."

Whenever he's taking just a carry-on, France said he also always wears his jacket on the plane.

"When you're trying to pack a piece of outerwear that's a little thicker, it's using so much room that you could use for something else," he said. "So wear it!"

Read the original article on Insider
The judge expected to oversee Donald Trumps Jan 6 indictment is known for tough sentences on Capitol rioters and was appointed by Barack Obama.

US District Judge Tanya S Chutkan was also the federal judge who previously denied Mr Trumps attempt to avoid disclosing documents to the House committee investigating the attack, writing in the ruling: presidents are not kings.

A former assistant public defender and partner at a top law firm, Ms Chutkan was nominated to the District Court by Mr Obama in December 2013 and appointed in 2014.

Last year an audit found she had consistently taken the hardest line of any judge serving on Washingtons federal trial court when sentencing Jan 6 offenders.

In several cases she gave tougher sentences than prosecutors sought, jailing defendants who pleaded guilty to petty offences. Her hardline approach drew indirect criticism from some colleagues.

Donald Trump was charged with four counts by a grand jury

Every day were hearing about reports of anti-democratic factions of people plotting violence, the potential threat of violence, in 2024, she said before sentencing a Florida man who attacked police officers to more than five years behind bars.

It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power and assaulting law enforcement officers in that effort is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment, she said.

Judge has ruled against Trump before

Ms Chutkan has ruled against Mr Trump before in a separate Jan 6 case.

In November 2021, she refused his request to block the release of documents to the Houses Jan 6 committee by asserting executive privilege. Ms Chutkan rejected his arguments that he could hold privilege over documents from his administration even after President Biden had cleared the way for the National Archives to turn the papers over.

In a memorable line from her ruling, Ms Chutkan wrote, Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ms Chuktan grew up with a passion for dance before studying economics at George Washington University and University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Ms Chutkan, who will undoubtedly come under intense scrutiny over the coming months, previously spoke about developing a thick skin during her career to deal with comments about her race.

For a lot of people, I seem to check a lot of boxes: immigrant, woman, Black, Asian, she said last year during a legal event for African American History Month.

She added: Your qualifications are always going to be subject to criticism and you have to develop a thick skin.

She also discussed the difficulties of juggling being a parent with her role as a public defender, remembering when during a murder trial she had to race home from court to feed her then nine-month-old son before going on to meet clients in jail.

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.
A middle school teacher in New York is accused of posing as a student on Snapchat in order to exchange sexually explicit material with minors, federal officials said.

The teacher, a 37-year-old man from Pittsford, has been arrested, according to an Aug. 9 news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

An attorney for the teacher could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News on Aug. 10.

Local police opened an investigation in May after receiving information that a 12-year-old girl had a sexually explicit video on her phone, officials said.

The girl had reportedly obtained the video from her 11-year-old friend, officials said.

Police determined the girls had been contacted through Snapchat by two accounts using separate names, officials said.

After obtaining a warrant, police traced the accounts to the teacher, who taught middle school math in the Spencerport School District, according to the release.

The teacher allegedly pretended to be a high school student in Spencerport and sent sexually explicit videos and photos to the 11-year-old while engaging in explicit conversations with other users who appeared to be minors, officials said. He also allegedly coerced one of the girls into sending him explicit photos.

He has been charged with transfer of obscene material to a minor and production, receipt and possession of child pornography, officials said.

If found guilty, he will face a minimum of 15 years in prison.

I cannot tell you how upset and angry I am to be sending you this note, Spencerport Central School District Superintendent Ty Zinkiewich wrote in a letter to the community, adding that the teacher has been placed on administrative leave and had his access revoked to all district electronic resources and buildings.

We are working with investigators to determine whether our students may be involved, Zinkiewich added, and we encourage families with students who may have had him as a teacher or advisor to ask about their online activity.

A spokesperson for Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Spencerport is about 70 miles northeast of Buffalo.

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Three men have been charged with assault in the Montgomery brawl

A violent brawl erupted on a boating dock in Montgomery on Saturday. And America hasn't stopped talking about it since.

In the days after, dozens of video recordings circulated on social media, showing fists flying, a chair being slammed onto someone's head, and a man swimming toward the dock to join the fight.

Some described it as "the best fight I've ever seen". But the videos of the violent uproar have also struck a chord with black Americans, who saw the fight - mostly divided along racial lines - as emblematic of the country's racist past, and a symbol for the ongoing fight for equal rights.

The setting of the brawl made the moment more poignant for some: Montgomery, Alabama, is known to be the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, the name given to the battle for racial equality in the US which, in the eyes of some, has not ended.

"In short, I cried," said Candyce Anderson. "My tears were of grief. This is a grieving process these are tears that our grandparents weren't able to cry."

Though she was not there to witness the incident when it happened, she was at the scene earlier that day.

Along with a dozen other women, she had gone to the dock to drop rose petals in the water to "honour our ancestors".

"The path that we walked to the waterfront, just a block away was the path that our enslaved ancestors walked, brought into Montgomery in chains," she said. "We cannot ignore the history, the ground on which this took place."

What happened?

The man seen receiving the first blow was a black man who, in the words of Montgomery police chief Darryl Albert, was simply "doing his job".

Damien Pickett was a co-captain of the Harriett II, a riverboat carrying over 200 passengers that needed to dock but couldn't. A much smaller pontoon boat was wrongfully docked in the Harriett II's designated space.

The occupiers of the pontoon boat were white men. Instead of moving their pontoon, they decided to hit Mr Pickett.

But before police could arrive and quell the violence, chaos erupted. Roughly two dozen people had joined the fight.

Three men and one woman have turned themselves in after arrest warrants were issued by the Montgomery Police Department, and have been charged with assault. A fifth person, the man seen wielding the chair in the video, has been called in by police for questioning.

Montgomery police so far have said they do not believe the incident was racially motivated. No hate crime-related charges or riot charges are expected, although the investigation is ongoing. Court documents show that an eyewitness - the white mother of a teenage boy working alongside the co-captain - reported hearing the men use racial slurs moments before launching the attack.

From past to present

Ms Anderson said the sentiment among the city's black community since the incident was one of fatigue, and solidarity with men who joined with the boat co-captain as he stood his ground.

"When a [boat co-captain] is just doing his job and saying you can't dock here you have to move, and he's met with aggression and racial slurs, that is telling of what many citizens in this city have endured for years," she said.

"This time it was - 'Enough is enough.'"

The fatigue, Ms Anderson said, dates back hundreds of years.

When many black people think of Montgomery, they think of the city that was once the capital of the Confederate States of America; they think of the countless slaves dragged onto the riverfronts to be sold. They think about Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to yield her seat to a white person; they think about where Martin Luther King Jr's house was bombed. They think about 'Bloody Sunday', the time when, in 1965, a group of non-violent protestors on their way to Montgomery were beaten and bloodied by police on horseback in Selma, Alabama.

It's with this history in mind, said Michael Harriot, a historian and author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America, that the fight scenes on the Montgomery docks in 2023 were cheered by many.

"When people saw the black people, first of all, come to the defence of someone who was endangered and who happened to be black, and we saw the police respond by appropriately subduing the suspects, that's a rare thing to see," Mr Harriot said. "If you're on social media, you see a million videos of police brutality against black people, you see a million videos of people calling the police on black people for walking through white neighbourhoods it is rare to see such an explicit example of justice being meted out."

As a result, "that caused a little bit of joy", Mr Harriot said.

Since the incident, countless memes, video re-enactments, and other humour-intended clips making light of the incident have flourished online. This includes the creation of a song called - the Montgomery Brawl.

"Seen a couple of them boys go night night," the creator of that song, Gmac Cash, raps. "And we got the first black man to swim to a fight. Salute!"

The song gained 1.6 million views in three days.

"When you see stuff like a song, that's a response that is - for lack of better words - part of our culture," Mr Harriot said. "We turn [something like the Montgomery incident] into a moment of black joy that can last."

When asked how black people can celebrate what appears to be an act of violence, Mr Harriot said: "I don't think we have to reconcile that or explain it. [Americans] celebrate moments of violence all the time. We valorise the Boston Tea Party. We valorise the Confederacy. We valorise so much violence in America and make it iconic.

"If that [memes and the song the Montgomery Brawl] is wrong, then America is wrong," he said.
Teen accused of fatally stabbing OShae Sibley pleads not guilty to murder as a hate crime (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.=copy23==copy23=)

The 17-year-old boy charged with stabbing OShae Sibley to death at a gas station in Brooklyn has pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

Dmitriy Popov was previously indicted by a grand jury on murder in the second degree as a hate crime, among other charges.

Mr Popovs next court date is set for October, ABC 7 reported, adding that the teen faces a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of 25 years to life.

The outlet reported that Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez underscored the importance of prosecuting this incident as a hate crime.

Many powerful people across this country have talked about this case and have been concerned that justice prevails, said Mr Gonzalez. Im assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously, that were going to make sure that justice prevails.

The 17-year-old is accused of killing Sibley, a gay 28-year-old professional dancer, who, reportedly just after 11pm on 29 July, was dancing to a Beyonce song with a friend at a Mobil gas station in Brooklyn. Thats when a separate group of young men allegedly began hurling homophobic insults saying that they didnt like gay dancing in their neighbourhood, according to eyewitnesses.

Sibley suffered a stab wound to the torso. EMS responded and removed the victim to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased, a spokesperson for NYPD said.

Mr Popovs lawyer Mark Pollard previously told The Independent that his client was a good Christian boy who regularly attended church.

I have no idea where that came from. I just know hes not Muslim. Its very strange, Mr Pollard told The Independent.

The teenage suspect turned himself in to authorities after a week of trying to bring him in, although he was easily identified through video footage.

This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence, Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference last week.
A 15-year-old boy is believed to have been involved in at least two Tulare County robberies, and a Visalia double homicide.

On Wednesday, Porterville police arrested the teenager in connection with a robbery in the city. When learning the boy's identity, Porterville police reached out to Visalia detectives.

The boy had also been identified by Visalia detectives as a suspect in a robbery at EZ-Mart that left two people dead.

Robbery gone wrong

Around 11 p.m. June 11, officers were called to the liquor store on Walnut Avenue and Giddings Street for a report of a shooting at the shopping center.

When officers arrived, they found a 16-year-old-boy in the parking lot who had been shot. The boy was rushed to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where he died.

A 20-year-old clerk was shot and killed inside the store, Visalia Public Information Officer Liz Jones said.

Detectives believe that the teenage boys tried to rob the store. The store clerk and the 16-year-old teenager exchanged gunfire and shot at each other multiple times. The 15-year-old boy also shot at the clerk but was able to leave the scene before police arrived, Jones said.

The boy was interviewed by detectives and booked into Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility on suspicion of homicide and conspiracy.

Because the suspect is a minor, police will not release his name.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to call the Visalia Police Department at 744-8116. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the anonymous tip line at 713-4738.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Teen arrested in connection with Visalia EZ-Mart double homicide
A 17-year-old was indicted Thursday on a charge of murder as a hate crime in the stabbing death of OShae Sibley, a professional dancer who was attacked at a Brooklyn, New York, gas station last month.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said a grand jury returned the indictment after prosecutors presented evidence the killing was motivated by anti-Black and homophobic bias.

Sibley, 28, was heading home with friends on July 29 when they stopped for gas. They joyously began vogueing to Beyonces Renaissance album before they were confronted by another group yelling slurs and demanding they stop dancing.

Security footage shows Sibley confronting one of the aggressors before he was stabbed. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Friends of O'Shae Sibley gather by his casket during a celebration of life for O'Shae on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at The Met Philadelphia, in Philadelphia.

Friends of O'Shae Sibley gather by his casket during a celebration of life for O'Shae on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at The Met Philadelphia, in Philadelphia.

Gonzalez called the death tragic and senseless and vowed that his office would see justice.

OShae and his friends were allegedly targeted, because they were dancing, they were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyonce music at a Brooklyn gas station, harming no one, Gonzalez said during a media briefing. He added Sibley refused to stop even when confronted with anti-Black and homophobic slurs demanding that they stop dancing.

The accused killer has not been named because of his age. A charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 25 years to life.

Sibleys death prompted outrage around the nation amid a surge in violence toward LGBTQ Americans. A recent report by the Anti-Defamation League and the GLAAD advocacy group found hundreds of instances of assault, violence or harassment against queer people in recent months. The statistics came as Republicans around the nation moved to pass hundreds of transphobic and anti-LGBTQ bills.

Beyonce posted a tribute to Sibley on her website.

Sibley, who worked as a professional dancer and choreographer, moved to New York shortly before the pandemic and was well known in the citys ballroom community. His father described him as a ball of light during a memorial service.

The DA linked the slaying with the wave of anti-queer legislation and rising rhetoric of hate, and said the attack reverberated far beyond Brooklyn.

People gather at a gas station during a vigil to memorialize O'Shae Sibley on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.

People gather at a gas station during a vigil to memorialize O'Shae Sibley on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.

The entire community has been victimized by this senseless victimization of Mr. Sibley, Gonzalez said. This crime, while clearly impacting his family and loved ones, has impacted the entirety of Brooklyn, and the entirety of the city and I dare say the entire nation.

The allegations made against this 17-year-old are of tremendous import to this city and to this country, and Im assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously and were going to make sure that justice prevails in this case, he added.

Related...
O'Shae Sibley

The 17-year-old suspected in the stabbing of OShae Sibley, a Black gay man, pleaded not guilty in court on Friday to a murder charge that was deemed a hate crime by the district attorney who concluded the crime was motivated by anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ bias.

The fatal stabbing took place after taunts and confrontation stemming from a group of men dancing shirtless to Beyonce while they filled up their tank at a New York City gas station, prosecutors said Thursday.

Its clear to me, under the circumstances of this case, that in substantial part, this attack was caused because people were offended by Mr. Sibley and his friends dancing and celebrating, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, NBC News reports.

The teen is being tried as an adult and is facing second-degree murder charges that could land him a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The additional hate crime count could raise the minimum sentence from 15 years to 20. The judge ordered the suspect to continue to be held without bail at a juvenile detention center.

Security footage from the night of the murder shows the 28-year-old professional dancer and choreographer was killed while vogueing to a Beyonce song at a Brooklyn gas station.

Another group then began taunting Sibley and his friends and the footage shows the two groups arguing before they both walk away.

They began to use derogatory names and use homophobic slurs against them, said Assistant Chief Joe Kenny of the NYPD detective bureau according to the Gothamist. They also made anti-Black statements.

The footage, which was used to identify the suspect, then shows Sibley following and lunging at one of the other men before being fatally stabbed in the ribs, NBC News reports.

Defending yourself from the anti-gay or anti-Black comments, arguing back, its not a cause for someone to take a weapon and do what was done in this case, the prosecutor explained.

Sibley, 28, was a dancer with the Philadanco dance company and took classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theaters Ailey Extension program. He also performed in productions like, Soft: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men, choreographed by Kemar Jewel.

Sibleys death has made the queer community feel even less safe at a time when homophobic and transphobic rhetoric and violence is surging and anti-LGBTQ+ laws are being adopted across the country.
A teenager says her supervisor at Chick-fil-A sent her home for having an "unnatural" hair color: Blond.

"I was very embarrassed," Autumn Williams, 16, of Concord, North Carolina, tells TODAY.com.

According to Williams and her mother Nina Burch, the teen wears her "brownish-blond" or "dark blond" hair in box braids, which Autumn had when she attended her companys orientation session approximately two months ago. During that session, she says, the only guidance she heard about hair was that it had to be pulled back from her face, which she said is reasonable.

During her July 13 shift at the front counter, Williams said a manager asked to speak with her in private.

"She said, 'Our supervisor drove by yesterday and noticed blond in your hair and since blond is an unnatural color to you, we have to ask you to take the blond out of your hair and then come back when there's none,'" says Williams.

"She said, 'We understand that's a long process for you so take your time and you can email me when you're ready to come back,'" adds Williams.

The teen says she panicked.

"It was very stressful  it made me feel like there was something wrong with me and my appearance."

Williams called her mom Nina Burch to ask for a ride home; when Burch arrived, she says she asked for an explanation from the manager, who shared the supervisor's phone number. According to Burch, the supervisor refused to elaborate on the call. Autumn says when she got on the phone, he said, "We already had a conversation about your hair. If there's any confusion, you can refer to the handbook."

Burch sent TODAY.com a screenshot of what she says is the company's grooming policy. It states:

"Hairstyles must be neat and professional in appearance. Unnatural hair colors or eccentric styles (e.g., Mohawks, shaven designs, etc.) are not permitted."

Chick-fil-A declined to comment on the accuracy of the screenshot.

Autumn has since quit her job.

Burch tells TODAY.com that her interpretation of "unnatural" was a hue like hot pink or blue, which doesn't grow naturally.

The mom says that Autumn has never dyed her hair; the color of her braids best matches her natural color.

Williams says that on August 1, the store owner invited her back to work, should she choose to return. "He was apologetic, saying this shouldn't have happened," she says.

According to Chick-fil-A, Autumn was not terminated from her job; after the store owner determined that the policy was misinterpreted inside the restaurant, he welcomed Autumn back to the restaurant. The owner interpreted the incident as an educational moment for his team, the company says.

Burch says they have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to see if theres a route we should pursue legally.

Autumn says she isnt comfortable returning to work, explaining, "No one should tell you what you are based on your appearance."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A Wilson County deputy killed a man during a welfare check after he failed to respond to commands to drop the firearm he was carrying, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said.

TBI confirmed Thursday they were requested at the scene by 15th judicial District Attorney Jason Lawson.

Just before 6 p.m. deputies with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office responded to a home in the 3000 block of Linwood Road in Watertown for a welfare check. Deputies found 60-year-old Kevin Walter Withrow with a firearm, according to a news release from TBI.

Deputies demanded Withrow put the firearm down which he did not do. During the exchange of words, deputies fires at Withrow killing him, according to TBI. The circumstances that led to the shooting is still under investigation, TBI said.

Withrow was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TBI investigating after Wilson County Deputy kills armed man
FILE - Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., is pictured on July 16, 2013. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a class action lawsuit for turning over the medical records of its transgender clinic patients to the Tennessee attorney general's office for an ongoing investigation. Two patients sued on Monday, July 24, 2023, in Nashville Chancery Court, saying they were among those who received notice from the hospital that their information was sent to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a federal civil rights investigation after turning the medical records of transgender patients over to Tennessees attorney general, hospital officials have confirmed.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' investigation comes just weeks after two patients sued VUMC for releasing their records to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti late last year.

We have been contacted by and are working with the Office of Civil Rights, spokesperson John Howser said in a statement late Thursday. We have no further comment since this is an ongoing investigation.

VUMC has come under fire for waiting months before telling patients in June that their medical information was shared late last year, acting only after the existence of the requests emerged as evidence in another court case. The news sparked alarm for many families living in the ruby red state where GOP lawmakers have sought to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth and limit LGBTQ rights.

The patients suing over the release of their information say VUMC should have removed personally identifying information before turning over the records because the hospital was aware of Tennessee authorities' hostile attitude toward the rights of transgender people.

Many of the patients who had their private medical information shared with Skrmetti's office are state workers, or their adult children or spouses; others are on TennCare, the states Medicaid plan; and some were not even patients at VUMC's clinic that provides transgender care.

The more we learn about the breadth of the deeply personal information that VUMC disclosed, the more horrified we are, said attorney Tricia Herzfeld, who is representing the patients. Our clients are encouraged that the federal government is looking into what happened here.

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the civil rights investigation.

Meanwhile, Skrmetti has maintained he only requested the VUMC patient records because he's involved in a run of the mill investigation over possible medical billing fraud and that he is not targeting patients or their families.

Yet Skrmetti has continued to attract skepticism from Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates after he joined a group of Republican attorneys general in opposing a proposed federal rule that would limit how law enforcement and state officials collect the medical records of those who flee their home state to receive abortion services or transgender health care.

Skrmetti is also defending the state's gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth and has repeatedly praised a federal appeals court decision to allow the law to temporarily go into effect.

Skrmetti's office says they had not heard anything about the civil rights investigation.

Turning a disagreement about the law into a federal investigation would be plainly retaliatory and would reflect a dangerous politicization of federal law enforcement, said spokesperson Amy Wilhite.

___

An earlier version of this report had an incorrect first name for Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesperson John Howser.
West African nations have put their troops on standby for a possible military intervention in Niger, where a military junta leader has refused to stand down after kidnapping the president and seizing power undemocratically.

The 15-nation member bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met on Thursday and released a statement that strongly condemns the detention of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum.

While the final order activates troops that could be ready for an intervention within weeks, ECOWAS maintains it still seeks a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said his country will take part in an operation along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ouattara told reporters the Niger coup was a terrorist act and negotiations with military leaders have so far failed.

We cannot let this continue, we have to act, Ouattara said. We will not accept coup detats.

Any military action could be dangerous for Bazoum. Military junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani has threatened to kill the abducted president if neighboring countries invade Niger.

Tchiani has refused diplomatic negotiations from the West, including officials from the State Department, and entrenched himself in power this week by appointing his own officials to lead the government.

The situation in Niger has quickly spiraled out of control since the coup in late July displaced Bazoum in the capital of Niamey. ECOWAS imposed a deadline on Sunday to release Bazoum, which the military junta ignored. Leaders instead closed all flights in and out of the country.

Tchiani has justified the overthrow by citing an economic crisis and soaring violence in the West African nation.

Some in Niger have supported the coup because of concerns about corruption during Bazoums administration, along with a compounding economic insecurity and violence crisis.

Two West African nations have also supported Nigers military leaders, Burkina Faso and Mali. Their governments are military-led and suspended from ECOWAS membership. Its unclear how both nations might respond to military intervention in Niger.

The African Union on Friday supported the ECOWAS activation of troops.

In a statement, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed deep concern about the deterioration of the conditions of detention of President Mohamed Bazoum.

The Chairman of the Commission calls on the whole of the international community to unite all its concrete efforts to save the life and the moral and physical integrity of President Mohamed Bazoum, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Nigerien men carrying Russian and Niger flags ride their motorcycle to an anti-French protest in Niamey, Niger, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.The ECOWAS bloc said it had directed a "standby force" to restore constitutional order in Niger after its deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had decided to deploy a standby force aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Nigers junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It's unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would deploy, and how reports of the threats against Bazoum would affect a decision by the 15-member bloc to intervene. Conflict experts say it the force would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coasts president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has claimed it could do a better job than Bazoum's government of protecting the nation from jihadi violence, and has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn't in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn't intervene.

It is our business, not theirs. They dont even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger," said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey on Friday waving Russian flags and screaming Down with France. Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS decision and called on the junta to urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization. It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger is expected to take place on Monday.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted. U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorized to speak to the media.

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Nigers size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger.

The situation is alarming. ... Well see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and its unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between Niger and member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and theres irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Nigers foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Elaine Ganley in Paris and Toussaint N'Gotta in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, contributed to this report.
Terra Morehead, the ethically challenged federal prosecutor best known for sending Lamonte McIntyre to prison for 23 years for a double murder he did not commit, is leaving the U.S. attorneys office at the end of month.

First, I heard from a source in a position to know that Morehead, who has a long history of misconduct complaints and findings, was leaving at the end of August and would be surrendering her law license in some kind of deal with the Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, the office that sanctions attorneys.

So I called Moreheads attorney, John J. Ambrosio, and told him the two things Id heard. The latter part is incorrect, he said of the idea she was going to give up her law license. Shes retiring, period.

Ambrosio said he couldnt tell me anything else about the circumstances of her retirement, and neither the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Kansas nor the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator responded to messages on Friday.

But among the many who consider themselves her victims, just the news that shell be stepping down is cause for jubilation. Finally! The wicked witch is dead, McIntyre told me. Thats what they said about (Roger) Golubski, too, that he was just retiring, when it was really too hot in the kitchen for him to stay.

Golubski, the former KCKPD detective who arrested then 17-year-old McIntyre and along with Morehead, pressured Niko Quinn to say that shed seen him shoot her two cousins in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1994, was arrested last year and has been charged with federal civil rights violations for crimes that include rape, kidnapping and protecting sex traffickers. Hes pleaded not guilty to all charges.

McIntyre was exonerated in part on evidence that showed that as the Wyandotte County assistant prosecutor on his case, Morehead had coerced a witness, knowingly presented false testimony and suppressed exculpatory evidence  all in collusion with Golubski.

Shed also had a relationship with the judge, J. Dexter Burdette, who presided over McIntyres trial, and yet had neither recused herself nor disclosed this to the defense. Burdette retired five years ago.

Whatever the reason shes stepping down, McIntyre said, she cant do no more evil, cant send nobody else to prison, even on the civil side, where she was reassigned in 2021. Ive got to celebrate this, because thats a victory, no matter what they say.

Ill throw your Black ass in jail

Quinn told me two years ago that Morehead had threatened her, saying shed either testify that shed seen McIntyre kill Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing or Ill throw your Black ass in jail and youll never see your children again.

The news that Morehead is retiring is good news for me, Quinn said on Friday, because she has ruined peoples lives for decades. Im grateful, but I wish she could be held accountable for her deeds instead of just taking retirement at age 61.

McIntyres attorney, Cheryl Pilate, said in a statement that on behalf of Lamonte McIntyre and others prosecuted by Ms. Morehead, I can say there is a sense of relief, but that sense remains incomplete. There is a strong desire for a full review of her cases, so that there can be full accountability and, hopefully, some justice.

There are still two complaints against Morehead pending before the disciplinary office, both of them lodged by Kansas Federal Public Defender Melody Brannon, who in a previous complaint wrote: How does she still have a law license? Our office fields this question about Terra Morehead on a regular basis. She is a career prosecutor who has abused her power for decades and repeatedly directed her abuse towards the people of Wyandotte County, one of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Kansas.

Lamonte McIntyre lost 23 years of his life in prison for a double murder he did not commit.

Long string of misconduct accusations

 In 2000, Morehead used 10 of 12 peremptory strikes to prevent Black people from serving on the jury in a state murder case. The 10th Circuit later found that at least one peremptory challenge was substantially motivated by race.

 In 2003, DEA agent Timothy McCue sideswiped a car, then he chased down its driver, Barron Bowling, beat and arrested him. Bowling was acquitted and sued, eventually winning damages for assault, battery, and excessive use of force. KCKPD detective Max Seifert resisted pressure to cover up McCues conduct; he investigated and documented the incident, and later testified at Bowlings criminal trial.

But after Bowlings acquittal, Morehead began falsely telling others in the law enforcement community that Seifert had botched investigations and was not credible. In police training sessions, she even used Seifert as an example of a problematic officer whose credibility problem would have to be disclosed to defense counsel in any criminal case.

 In 2007, as a federal prosecutor, Morehead adopted one unbreakable rule: If a person charged with a federal crime requested pretrial release, she would seek the harshest possible statutory mandatory minimum penalty.

 In 2016, on the morning Gregory Orozco was to go on trial for drug trafficking, Morehead filed to double his sentencing exposure, and for the first time disclosed exculpatory evidence that should have been made available to the defense team much earlier. She downplayed the importance of this as a lack of candor that the district court later described as quite troubling.

During Orozcos trial, Morehead let a defense witness know, through his lawyer, that his testimony would have adverse consequences, so the witness decided not to testify. The district court later concluded that Morehead had substantially interfered with Orozcos Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial and vacated his conviction.

 In 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree dramatically reduced the prison sentence of a man convicted on drug and counterfeiting charges because Morehead had not been forthcoming with evidence the defense had a right to during her prosecution of Jay Giannukos.

She failed in her duty to do justice and that misconduct provides the reason for the substantial variance reflected in the custody component of Mr. Giannukos sentence, Crabtree said. He reduced Giannukos sentence from 20 years to nine.

The complaints against Morehead that are still going forward involve the Orozco and Giannukos cases.

Dont know how many wrongful convictions

The harm done by Morehead wont end with her tenure, in part because we still dont know how many others she wrongly convicted.

The federal charges against Golubski accuse him of raping Ophelia Williams a number of times after initially coming to her home to participate in the arrest of her then 14-year-old twins, who were charged with murder and sent to prison 24 years ago. Both were prosecuted by Morehead in cases overseen by Judge Burdette.

Yet Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree has never taken a new look at even that case, involving two kids put away by Golubski, Morehead and Burdette, and how messed up is that?

Whenever he sees me at a community meeting, Williams said of Dupree, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, I cant do anything, Miss Ophelia. Or wont, anyway.

When the name Golubski is mentioned, Morehead usually is, too. With her office, the U.S. attorneys office, prosecuting him, her presence may finally have become too problematic to ignore.
According to Teslas website, the electric vehicle (EV) company is now accepting trade-ins that will go toward the purchase of a new or used Tesla vehicle.

And its not just Teslas, or even just electric cars, that are eligible for the program. We accept passenger cars, trucks, vans and SUVs for trade-in value towards a new or used Tesla vehicle purchase. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) are acceptable for trade-in, the website states.

This could be welcome news to anyone looking to switch to an EV and lessen the amount of planet-warming gases they produce with their car.

It is not clear, based on the information that Tesla provides, how much the company is willing to offer for your used vehicle.

Trade-in values for non-Tesla vehicles are determined based on market data utilizing industry standard tools and resources (pending vehicle history verification), the site says. Trade-in values for Tesla vehicles are determined based on vehicle configuration, history, mileage and age.

Trading your car into Tesla directly might be the most streamlined version of the process, but it likely will not get you the most bang for your buck. One Tesla owner conducted a study to find out where he could get the best price for his used Tesla. He got quotes from seven different companies, including Tesla. Out of all of them, Teslas offer was the lowest.

Tesla has been in the news recently for a variety of reasons. These range from complaints about shoddy assembly of its cars, to allegations of major violations of customers privacy, to an investigation into whether its seat belts will come unattached in the event of a crash, to accusations that the company is blinding an entire Texas town with bright lights all night long.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Texas Department of Public Safety this week caught a confirmed MS-13 gang member with a violent criminal history, including kidnapping and sexual violence, in the latest example of criminals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.

Emerson Lopez Fugon, an MS-13 gang member from Honduras, was arrested by Texas DPS Rangers Special Operations after he was found hiding on a train near Eagle Pass, Texas.

Fugon is a registered sex offender.

IMAGES SHOW MEN ARMED WITH RIFLES, BODY ARMOR COMING ACROSS SOUTHERN BORDER

MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, was established in Los Angeles by Central American immigrants and has expanded across the continent, particularly in Northern Triangle countries like El Salvador and Guatemala.

It is known for its particularly horrific and gruesome crimes, and its motto is said to be "mata, viola, controls," which means "kill, rape, control."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Its the latest capture by Texas as part of Operation Lone Star, an effort launched by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2021 to boost resources and law enforcement at the border in response to the ongoing migrant crisis.

BIDEN ADMIN SENDING SURGE OF ICE SPECIAL AGENTS TO BORDER AMID INCREASE IN MIGRANT NUMBERS

"If not for @TxDPS & Gov. @GregAbbott_TXs Operation Lone Star, Lopez Fugon, a confirmed MS-13 gang member w/ a violent criminal history, would have made it further into the interior," Texas DPS spokesperson Chris Olivarez said in a statement.

TEXAS SAYS MEXICO IS FLAT-OUT WRONG TO TIE MIGRANT DEATH TO FLOATING BORDER BARRIER

"Its the men & women who proudly wear the Texas Tan that are on the front lines arresting criminals & protecting our state & country."

Its the latest threat identified at the southern border as law enforcement and Border Patrol tackle the thousands of migrants coming to the U.S. each day.

An alleged MS-13 member

Fox News obtained images this week that showed suspected cartel gunmen coming across the border, clad in body armor and toting rifles.

That came after DPS drone operators in Eagle Pass spotted an armed smuggler carrying a long gun and guiding a group of illegal immigrants across the Rio Grande.

Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced this week that six sex offenders were nabbed by Border Patrol over the weekend, along with one gang member and one convicted felon.

"All had extensive criminal histories as repeat offenders," he said.
During a discussion about appropriate decoration in schools, trustees of a Texas school district discussed whether a child had been disturbed by a poster showing racially colored hands.

The exchange, first reported by Texass ABC13, took place at an August 1 meeting of the Conroe Independent School District board of trustees. During that conversation, about the presence of personal ideology in schools, some trustees raised concerns about classroom decorationsnamely those with rainbows and a poster about racial inclusivity.

Trustee Melissa Dungan told the board that shed received complaints about signage in classrooms.

Since November, a number of parents have reached out to me regarding individual concerns regarding what I believe to be a growing trend in our schools: a trend that allows personal ideologies to be posted on walls and hallways and sometimes verbalized in our classroom settings, Dungan said. I wish I was shocked about each of the examples that were shared with me, however I am aware that these trends have been happening for many years.

Asked for an example of a complaint, Dungan cited a poster that shows all belong here with racially colored hands (this is an example that was first brought to me early this year) where I think the intention of the poster was good, and I think the parent thought the intention of the poster was good.

However the unintended consequences of that poster made the first grader be like wait, why wouldnt I be accepted here? It had a reverse effect on the first grader because it was in the classroom.

She claimed the child was moved to a different classroom. In order to avoid situations like that, maybe we as a board could adopt some standards, guidelines, Dungan said.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Conroe ISD said the poster did not violate any rules.

No, the poster you reference is not in violation of Conroe ISD policy and no administrators have been directed to remove posters of this type, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. Individual board members speak for themselves and not for the Board or District.

Dungan and another board member suggested that the school could not display content that was not in curriculums, and that flags (other than the Texas or U.S. flag, or flags relating to school curriculums) might violate state law.

Are you talking about rainbows? another board member asked?

Not specifically rainbows, but some of them are, a colleague replied, referencing complaints about LGBTQ pride decorations.

Texas has been a hotspot for legislation restricting LGBTQ expression in schools. A state senate bill with backing from Texass lieutenant governor, would enact sweeping bans on the discussion of gender and sexual orientation in K-12 classrooms.

Meanwhile LGBTQ students and teachers have already decried crackdowns on expression in Texas. Hundreds of students in Irving, Texas walked out in 2021 after the administration scraped rainbow stickers off campus. Two teachers were later asked to take down gay pride flags, NBC reported. The state is also at the forefront of anti-transgender legislation, specifically targeting children. New state laws bar minors from access to gender-affirming care, while directives from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have threatened child-abuse investigations into parents of transgender children. Some Texas families with transgender children have fled the state, Texas Monthly reports.

A dissenting Conroe trustee suggested removing posters like the one Dungan described was a slippery slope.

Ive been in classrooms where Ive seen biblical quotes. Ive seen thou shalt not kill, he said. Ive seen a lot of stuff that comes directly from the Bible. No ones jumping up and down about that, but that could be deemed offensive to many folks. So are we to go into each classroom and ridbecause I guarantee you, if we did that, wed have a whole nother uproar.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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[Source]

Lil Tays former manager Harry Tsang has dismissed claims that the initial report of the teen and her brother's deaths were the result of a hack.

The story so far: The death hoax controversy began on Aug. 9 after an Instagram post on the 14-year-old influencer's verified account declared that she and her brother, Jason Tian, had died, sparking widespread speculation and concern. The next day, a spokesperson for the family later informed TMZ that the news of their demise was false and that Lil Tay's social media had been "compromised" by an unidentified attacker.

"I think it was fake": In an interview with the New York Post, Tsang, 32, expressed skepticism about the hacking claim: "I think she's still alive, and I think it was fake." While Tsang shared relief at her being alive, he admitted he had not contacted Lil Tay and did not plan to. I dont believe anything that they say about the hacking, he was quoted saying. Im glad that shes ok.

Tsang explained that he earlier refused to confirm nor deny the legitimacy of the announcement about Lil Tay's passing due to conversations he had with Duane Laventure, Lil Tay's former social media manager, and Chris Hope, her father, who were also unable to confirm the situation. A spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department had also released a statement noting that they were not investigating the purported deaths as they hadnt received any reports of either death.

More from NextShark: Chinese student who praised Tiananmen Square protestors was harassed by other Chinese students at Purdue

Unstable coin: Skeptics have since pointed to a cryptocurrency coin named after Lil Tay that emerged shortly after the alleged death announcement. The coin, launched on the BNB Smart Chain, raised suspicions about its connection to the situation. Tsang, however, denied any involvement, clarifying that while he had worked on a Lil Tay cryptocurrency previously, the newly emerged coin was not his project.

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Supporters of the coup brandished Nigerien and Russian flags in the rally near the French airbase (-)

Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders gathered on Friday near a French military base on the outskirts of the capital Niamey, AFP reporters saw.

Protesters shouted "down with France, down with ECOWAS", a reference to the West African bloc which on Thursday approved deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger.

Many brandished Russian and Niger flags and yelled their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France, there's outside influence," said one demonstrator, Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a students' union.

Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was toppled on July 26 by members of his guard.

The move has been condemned by fellow countries in West Africa, the United Nations and Western countries, including France, the former colonial power and a close ally of Bazoum.

A hostile rally outside the French embassy on July 30 prompted France to organise voluntary evacuations of its citizens.

France has around 1,500 military personnel in Niger, sent to help the country in its eight-year-long struggle against a bloody jihadist insurgency.

Many are deployed in the air base near Niamey, a facility that is co-run with Niger's armed forces.

France last year pulled its forces out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also battling jihadists, after falling out with juntas that ousted elected leaders.

bur-stb/bam/thm/ri/imm
Three people are dead and three others were injured in an early-morning fire that destroyed a home on North Carolinas Outer Banks.

Identities of the three who died have not been released.

Callers reported the fire around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 11, and noted it appeared to be spreading in the 1800 block of North Virginia Dare Trail in Kills Devil Hills, town officials said in a news release.

BREAKING: 3 people died in an overnight house fire in the Outer Banks. A spokeswoman for Kill Devil Hills says 3 others were treated for their injuries. @WAVY_News is working to learn what caused the fire. pic.twitter.com/IfnsD0byUB  Nathan Crawford (@producernathan_) August 11, 2023

Upon immediate response, it was determined that a home ... was fully engulfed in flames, officials said.

Due to the magnitude of the fire ... three fatalities have been reported and three additional patients required medical treatment. The home to the immediate south also sustained minor damage; however, its occupants were safely relocated.

Video shared on social media shows the blaze was large enough to light the block and the flames were fanned by heavy wind gusts.

We are staying a few houses down on the opposite side and woke up at around 2:40 (a.m.) and the house was completely engulfed, one man posted on Twitter. Ive never seen anything like it. It was eerily quiet and there was only one fire truck there at that time. We did not hear any yells for help.

A town and county investigation has been launched into the cause and will include the State Bureau of Investigation, officials said.

The 1800 block of North Virginia Dare Trail is lined with multi-story homes and hotels catering to tourists visiting the Outer Banks. Some homes along the street are nearly 3,000 square feet and sell for around $1.1 million, according to Realtor.com.

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Months after a lawsuit was filed against state lawmakers for withholding public records under the legally untested concept of legislative privilege, plaintiffs  and the public  will soon learn whether legislators are entitled to use the exemption.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne E. Egeler will rule in late September whether lawmakers are entitled to the privilege. But regardless of the outcome, the issue will most likely end up in front of the Washington State Supreme Court, Joan Mell, attorney for the plaintiffs, told McClatchy in an interview.

Last week, Egeler granted a motion to stay discovery in the lawsuit at the states request, meaning both parties would stop the process of obtaining evidence necessary to prove their case. The state argued that discovery shouldnt play a role in the lawsuit because the case itself simply questions whether or not legislative privilege is a constitutional matter.

Further discovery is stayed pending resolution of the States forthcoming motion for summary judgment or upon further order by the Court, Egeler wrote. Any further discovery is to be limited to the public records requests identified in the Complaint.

McClatchy first reported in January that state lawmakers were secretly using legislative privilege to withhold public records. A joint report from McClatchy and Crosscut in February also found that the Legislature has spent more than 15 years attempting to consolidate its power and keep secrets from citizens by invoking legislative privilege.

Lawmakers have since claimed that the exemption is rooted in the states constitution, although legislators only first started using the privilege in 2021.

Members of the Washington State Legislature, like those of other states and members of Congress, enjoy a constitutionally protected privilege for their deliberations on legislative acts, the state wrote in court documents for the lawsuit, in agreement with lawmakers.

Attorneys for the state then quoted Article II, Section 17 of the Washington Constitution that says No member of the legislature shall be liable in any civil action or criminal prosecution whatever, for words spoken in debate, as an argument for the privilege.

The state also wrote that they believed it would be unduly burdensome and expensive to require the State to further answer Petitioners byzantine discovery requests without first understanding the scope and limits of the legislative privilege.

The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs Jamie Nixon, an open government advocate, and the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit state government watchdog group. Mell, an attorney for III Branches Law in Fircrest, represents the plaintiffs.

Mell wrote in response to the states motion that the stay denies petitioners constitutional right to discovery in this matter of first impression that will likely be finally decided by the Washington State Supreme Court.

With its pure legal question approach, the Legislature seeks to have this Court create judicially a (Public Records Act) exemption, which petitioners oppose on several grounds to include separation of powers, Mell continued. The Legislature is the proper party to create such an exemption, but has so far elected not to do so, which are facts this Court should know from speaking agent and leadership deposition testimony requested by petitioners.

Theres nothing constitutional about self-serving interests, Mell told McClatchy. Theres no component of lawmaking that needs to be secret.

She noted too that the concept of legislative privilege has profound implications.

Theres no telling how far it will go, Mell said.

Jessica Goldman, an attorney for the state, told McClatchy in an email that they look forward to resolving the important legal issues here.

At least one other lawsuit has been filed against the state Legislature for withholding records. The petitioner in that case is Arthur West, also an open government advocate. West most recently filed an additional lawsuit against lawmakers for silently withholding public records.
Recently, TikTokers have alleged that LSU gymnast and social media star Olivia LIvvy Dunne (@livvydunne) photoshops her Instagram posts.

Dunne, who has 4.3 million followers on Instagram, posted photos of her at a home meet in January 2021 against the Georgia Bulldogs. However, when some eagle-eyed TikTokers saw the same picture from a 225 Magazine article, they noticed a few differences.

Not the hair too, wrote @ririsbabymama in the caption.

In the two pictures shown, it appears that Dunne altered the photo to compress her stomach, back and neck, and to alter the size of her ribcage. After seeing the comparison, TikTokers expressed how much their trust was affected by the photos.

Ugh and so many young girls compare them selves to her and look up to her, commented @ellahenss.

Livvys original post is now deleted and even Instagram users are privy to the fact shes allegedly altered her photos.

Yass photoshop queen, replied @leilaroake20.

A common theme in comment sections across platforms was users asking why she allegedly photoshopped the photos. Dunne, who was an WCGA All-American in 2021 and consistent contributer to LSUs postseason runs, is as much a gymnast as she is a social media star  which can come with pressure to look a certain way.

Online scrutiny now exacerbates these feelings of insecurity and can make it difficult for young women to feel comfortable in their own skin, leaving many to turn to photoshopping pictures to create a more socially acceptable image, Dr. Paul Daidone, Medical director at True Self Recovery told In The Know. Even stars like the Kardashians, although often praised for their beauty,have been known to edit some pictures of themselves in order to create a more idealized appearance.

With these idealized images perpetuated by social media stars, young women may suffer from side effects from it.

Unfortunately, this cycle of comparison and envy has caused many women, including the young ones, to constantly pick apart their own physical appearances, mainly because society has created an image of what is considered attractive that may not be attainable for most. The effects of this pressure are far reaching; from low self-esteem to mental illness such as depression or anxiety. Studies have also associated eating disorders with social media use and its associated body image pressure.

Dunne has posted just once on Instagram in the last week and hasnt made a statement about the accusations.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post TikTokers react after LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne allegedly photoshops Instagram photos appeared first on In The Know.

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FIRST ON FOX: Presidential candidate Tim Scott is the latest GOP hopeful to vow support for the party's eventual nominee by signing the "Beat Biden" pledge, a document the Republican National Committee (RNC) is requiring candidates to sign in order to participate in party-sanctioned debates.

The senator from South Carolina joined the likes of his state's former governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by committing to the pledge.

Their signatures allow them to officially qualify for the first Republican presidential primary debate slated to be held later this month in Milwaukee.

"I look forward to sharing my positive, optimistic message on the GOP Debate stage in Milwaukee. Republicans are ready for conservative leadership with a backbone, one that will crush the cartels, stand up to China, and protect the America we all love," Scott said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

RAMASWAMY FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO QUALIFY FOR DEBATE WITH PLEDGE TO SUPPORT EVENTUAL PARTY NOMINEE

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina becomes the fourth GOP presidential hopeful to officially qualify for the first debate of the 2024 election cycle by signing the RNC's "Beat Biden" pledge.

His signed pledge, dated Wednesday, Aug. 9, reads as follows:

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I, Tim Scott, affirm that I agree to appear in only Primary and General Election debates that have been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, pursuant to Rule 10(a)(11) of The Rules of the Republican Party. I acknowledge and accept that if I fail to sign this pledge or if I participate in any debate that has not been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, I will not be eligible to participate in any further Republican National Committee sanctioned debates.

"Additionally, I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden.

"I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party."

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott signs "Beat Biden" pledge promising to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee if he is not elected in order to work as a joint force to prevent President Biden's re-election.

TIM SCOTT TAKES ON 'RADICAL LEFT' IN FIRST 2024 AD, SAYS HE'S 'LIVING PROOF' OF AMERICAN DREAM

During a Wednesday appearance on "Fox & Friends," Scott told Brian Kilmeade he would "absolutely" support whoever becomes the Republican nominee for president if it isn't himself.

"I will be the nominee and I certainly will support myself, but no matter who the nominee is, I've already committed to supporting our nominee without any question. But I'm gonna continue to work hard to prove that America can do for anyone what she's done for me," he stated.

Republican candidates wanting to participate in RNC-sanctioned debates ahead of the 2024 presidential election must sign the "Beat Biden" pledge, as required by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. The new rule flies in the face of an earlier comment made by former President Donald Trump suggesting that he may not support the eventual GOP nominee.

NIKKI HALEY SIGNS RNC PLEDGE TO SUPPORT EVENTUAL GOP NOMINEE BUT MAKES ONE SMALL EDIT

The pledge makes candidates commit to appearing only in debates sanctioned by the RNC. If they do not sign the pledge, or if they choose to participate in an unapproved debate, they will not be allowed to participate in RNC-sanctioned debates going forward.

In addition to the pledge, candidates wanting to qualify for the debate must also reach 1% in three national polls , or 1% in two national polls and two state-specific polls from the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. The polls must also be recognized by the RNC and must be conducted on or after July 1.

Additionally, to reach the debate stage, candidates must have 40,000 unique donors to their campaign committee (or exploratory committee), with "at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories," according to the RNC criteria.

Here are the candidates who have met certain RNC requirements for the first Republican presidential debate taking place in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, 2023, as of Thursday evening.

GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SAYS RIVALS WHO DON'T MAKE THE DEBATE STAGE SHOULD DROP OUT

It's unclear if Trump, who stated Thursday he will not be signing the "Beat Biden" pledge, will end up attending the upcoming debate despite being the GOP frontrunner and meeting the RNC's fundraising requirements.

When asked about the former president potentially joining the qualifying candidates on stage in Milwaukee, Scott said he hopes to see him there, but his debate strategy isn't dependent on Trump's participation.

"He's a strong debater without any question. It will be entertaining without any question, but the American people deserve to see every single one of us that qualifies for the debate stage on that stage talking about our vision for America and how our presidency would change the tide away from this terrible, disastrous presidency of President Biden," Scott explained.

Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa's annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Friday, July 28, 2023.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle will air on Fox News at 9 p.m. ET on Aug. 23. Rumble is the online live-streaming partner and Young Americas Foundation is also a partner in the first debate.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Responding to complaints that they violated a womens civil rights, Roxboro police say they see no need to change their policies.

Officers acted properly in January when they seized a dog at Shayla Tapps home and within hours smashed her back door open with a battering ram to search for marijuana, said Capt. Chris Dickerson, a department spokesperson

We are very empathetic to her feelings. I am sure that was a very embarrassing moment for her, he said. The officers did what they were supposed to do.

Tapp, her attorney and NAACP members held a press conference in downtown Roxboro late last month saying Roxboro Police Department violated Tapps rights on Jan. 6.

Their concerns were reinforced by written comments from a prosecutor explaining why he on June 30 dismissed misdemeanor charges against Tapp. Officers showed up at Tapps house and took the dog with no legal authority or process, Assistant District Attorney Michael Carpenter wrote.

Body camera footage showed officers serving a search warrant in a no-knock manner at the residence despite there being no evidence provided of her being suspected of trafficking drugs or anything other than the lowest level misdemeanor, Carpenter wrote.

Tapp and her supporters in July said she should be given a cash settlement, officers should be fired and the department should change policies related to searches in which police enter homes with no or little warning, such as a quick knock then immediately breaking down a door.

Shayla Tapp shows where Roxboro police rammed her door and raided her home in January. The raid occurred after Sgt. Alfred Cox responded to Ms. Tapps home and took possession of her dog. Police obtained a warrant after the officer claimed to smell marijuana at her residence.

Jan. 6 search and arrest

The police visits to Tapps home, she said, followed her seeing a woman with her missing dog after she dropped her two daughters at school. The woman voluntarily let her take the dog after Tapp showed her photos of it as a puppy, Tapp said.

Later that morning, police came to Tapps house. One officer came to the door, demanded the dog and didnt listen to Tapps explanation, Tapp said. Tapp brought the dog to the front door, and another officer took it, Tapp said.

After obtaining a search warrant from a local magistrate, officers returned within hours to execute a SWAT-style raid around 1 p.m. in retaliation for Tapp expressing her displeasure about police taking her dog, Rubert-Schewel contends.

Officers obtained the search warrant after they smelled a strong odor or marijuana when they interviewed Tapp about taking the dog, the warrant states.

Officers found 2.6 grams of marijuana  an estimated value of about $9  a police report states, and charged Tapp with possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. The charges were dismissed in June.

Police defense

Dickerson defended the search of Tapps home. Officers smelled marijuana, an illegal drug in North Carolina, and cannot tell from an odor whether a small or large amount of the drug is present at a location, he said.

It is within our policies and protocols that the officers did what they were supposed to do, he said.

Tapp was walking out of the shower when about six officers entered her home, she and her attorney said. They had guns drawn and swore at her, she said.

Tapp dropped the towel she had wrapped around herself, the only thing she was wearing, as officers yelled at her to raise her hands and get down, she said.

Tapp said the incident traumatized her. And Rubert-Schewel said the forced entry was illegal, since there was no evidence that Tapp was denying or delaying access, he said.

But Dickerson disagreed with them and with the assistant districts attorneys written description that police entered the house in a no-knock style.

Police went to Tapps front door, knocked, and then walked to the back and knocked again before using a battering ram to force open the back door, the police captain said.

The officers did what they were supposed to do, he said.

Dickerson said the prosecutors note and the concerns it raised stem from miscommunication between police and prosecutors.

It was just a miscommunication on what kind of documentation and paperwork that the DAs Office was looking for, Dickerson said.

A letter sent from the District Attorneys Office requested police reports associated with the larceny of a dog investigation, Dickerson said.

I responded with the only report on file that referenced the larceny of the dog investigation, Dickerson said.

But Mike Waters, district attorney for Person and nearby counties, said his office sent a subpoena to Roxboro police related to the case.

He followed up with written correspondence requesting for all documentation related to the incident, he said this week.

Dickerson said he was unaware of any subpoena or follow up email.

Police records released

According to documentation provided by Person County officials this and last week, police received a call Jan. 6 at 9:58 a.m. from North American Aerodynamics at 1803 North Main St. and officers were dispatched to the address.

The person who reported a stolen dog said they have had the dog since September and had taken it to regular vet visits, police notes say.

Dickerson shared paperwork he said police received from individuals who contended they owned the dog.

It included a Sept. 17 Person County rabies vaccination certificate, an undated Person County Animal Services reclaim form where a man swore he was the rightful owner of a dog named Buddy, a Nov. 11 vet bill, and a Dec. 15 prescription for the dog.

No incident report was made about the reported stolen dog or about police officers taking the animal from Tapps home because officers handled the situation by returning the dog, Dickerson said.

Tapps attorney Abraham Rubert-Schewel wrote in an email this week they are working to resolve the concerns with police without filing a lawsuit.

No-knock search terrified Raleigh mom and kids. And it was the wrong home.

Federal lawsuit demands Raleigh police change no-knock and quick-knock raid policies

Raleigh settles lawsuit linked to fired Raleigh detectives drug raid on wrong home

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
China, Singapore promise to keep promoting Belt and Road construction

Xinhua) 08:36, August 11, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, here on Thursday met with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, with the two sides pledging to keep promoting the Belt and Road construction.

The two sides, during the meeting, spoke highly of the current sound development momentum of China-Singapore relations, saying that in accordance with the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, they will take the opportunity of upgrading China-Singapore relations to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership to continue to push forward the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.

Both sides will promote the continuous achievement of connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation, so that it will better benefit the people of the two countries and the region.

The two sides will make sound preparations for the meeting of the bilateral cooperation mechanism at the vice-premier level, which is to be held this year, plan the next stage of cooperation and expand new areas of cooperation.

The Singaporean side highly appreciates the recent measures taken by China to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and the two sides will speed up the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, as well as closer exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges, tourism and so on.

The two sides also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and international issues. They will strengthen communication and coordination, jointly promote the positive achievements of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation, and jointly safeguard regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The rapper was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for shooting and wounding Megan Thee Stallion.

A defiant Tory Lanez, sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this week for shooting and wounding Megan Thee Stallion, said in a social media post that hes innocent.

Lanez, in the post, said he in no way shape or form was apologizing for the charges Im being wrongly convicted of. He also said he took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved.

Tory Lanez, sentenced this week to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, insists he was wrongfully convicted. Here, he attends Rolling Stone Live Big Game Experience in February 2022 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for MCM)

As theGrio previously reported, the 31-year-old rapper was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, all felonies.

In a statement shared on his social media accounts, the rapper addressed his fans, his Umbrellas, per People. He wrote in the post, I have never let a hard time intimidate me. I will never let no jail time eliminate me. Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will.

He continued, This is nothing but another moment where my back is against the wall and I refuse to stop fighting till I come out victorious. Tough times dont last, tough people do.

As theGrio previously reported, the highly publicized trial sparked cultural debates in the hip-hop community, with conversations about protecting Black women, gender politics in hip-hop, and more popping up.

During Lanezs sentencing, Kathy Ta, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, read a statement from Megan. Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace, the statement read. Slowly but surely, Im healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Tory Lanez speaks out: I have always maintained my innocence appeared first on TheGrio.
When Kimberly Moore saw her 1-year-old son lunge head first from the foot of her bed in May 2019, she immediately called 911 from her Walton apartment, her attorneys said in court filings.

The boy suffered serious injuries as a result of the fall, Moore says. He died nearly three years later.

However, prosecutors said such a short fall doesnt account for the injuries Joshua Flinchum Jr. presented with at the hospital and that Moore intentionally inflicted those injuries upon the young boy.

On Friday, a Boone County judge agreed with Moore, finding the 32-year-old mother not guilty of first-degree manslaughter.

When Joshua arrived at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, the child had internal injuries to his head and brain, prosecutors said in court filings.

A pediatrician at Cincinnati Childrens examined the boy and determined his injuries stemmed from abuse, not an accident.

The doctor said there was too much blood on the childs brain and there was no sign of external marks or injuries, suggesting his injuries couldnt have been caused by a fall from a 3-foot-tall bed.

While prosecutors have conceded theyre unable to say exactly how the alleged abuse was inflicted, as Moore was alone at home with her son the night he was hurt, they initially claimed the boys injuries were most consistent with him being shaken.

Joshua was placed under his fathers care following his release from the hospital and was required to stay hooked up to life-sustaining medical equipment, the documents state.

Joshua Flinchum Sr. testified during Moores bench trial that the child remained in a near vegetative state and was totally reliant on his caregivers for the remainder of his short life.

It was Joshuas grandmother who found him dead on the morning of May 8, 2022.

The Hamilton County deputy coroner who performed Joshuas autopsy ruled his death a homicide, noting it was caused by complications from the childs brain injuries and that those injuries were the result of apparent non-accidental trauma, prosecutors said.

That conclusion was primarily based on Joshuas medical records, court filings state.

Just two days after his death, a Boone County grand jury indicted Moore on a single count of manslaughter.

In his ruling, Circuit Judge Richard Bruggemann said the prosecutions expert witnesses  namely the pediatrician and deputy coroner  failed to offer a scientifically reliable method for concluding Joshuas injuries stemmed from abuse, given the facts of the case.

Therefore, they cannot conclusively diagnose the childs injuries as being intentional, the judge wrote, noting that the prosecutors case relied almost entirely on those experts, whose opinions surrounding Joshuas medical condition presumed criminal intent.

In reaching his verdict, the judge agreed with the position of Dr. George Nichols II, a forensic pathologist called to the stand on Moores behalf, who said additional witnesses or evidence are needed to diagnose abuse.

This was a tragic accident, said Whitney Allen, Moores public defender, adding Moore has long maintained that her sons injuries were the result of a fall. We believe that justice was served.

After the judge read the verdict, Moore's family clapped and she wept.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKY mon found not guilty of manslaughter in death of young son
Former Vice President Mike Pence was heckled by Donald Trump supporters at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, the second time in recent days hes been confronted on the campaign trail for failing to support Trumps 2020 coup attempt.

Pence, in a video shared by Iowa Starting Line, was making his way to a radio interview at the fairgrounds when people wearing Team Trump shirts yelled in his direction.

MAGA everyday, Pence is a traitor, one woman shouted.

Anybody that says he has a higher power, uses those words, he is not a Christian when you say higher power. We dont buy it as believers, Pence. You are far from a Christian, far from a believer.

Some Trump supporters heckle Mike Pence as he arrives to a radio interview at the State Fair. Pence is a traitor! one yells. Appears like they were waiting for him. pic.twitter.com/0SDwI7d9d5  Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) August 10, 2023

The woman later told reporters that Donald Trump is going to sweep up corruption, according to a video shared by Arizona journalist Camaron Stevenson.

Im gonna vote for the guy with the most impeachments and the most indictments because that guy, he knows where all the corruption is and this time its like clean the house, she declared.

Im gonna vote for the guy with the most impeachments, and most indictments, because that guyhe knows where all corruption is. pic.twitter.com/LS39RjCQ2d  Camaron (@thisiscamaron) August 10, 2023

Pence was berated as a traitor and a sellout at an event in New Hampshire last week.

I upheld the Constitution, he told the heckler before adding: Read it.

In another event at the Iowa fair, one person asked Pence: Why did you commit treason?

Its a fair question, look, come on people, its why I came, Pence said over a booing crowd.

Look, theres almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person can pick the American president, he said. The American presidency belongs to the American people.

Pences campaign said he has met the donor threshold for the first GOP debate later this month.

Why did you commit treason on Jan. 6? man asks Mike Pence at State Fair. Another man shouts the questioner down. Pence responds: pic.twitter.com/8ochbfyolu  Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) August 10, 2023

Related...
Editors note: This piece was first published in The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their newsletter.

When Jodi Jeloudov walked into the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs center for her monthly doctors appointment this summer, she felt on edge. For eight years, she had approached VA the same way: high heels clipping the pavement, makeup adorning her face.

As a transgender veteran, she faces persecution and harassment every time she visits, she tells The War Horse.

After she left the appointment, Jeloudov stopped to use the womens restroom. VA employees spotted her, removed her, and questioned her.

For Jeloudov, the situation was hardly new. But this time, she recorded it.

The video shows two VA employees referring to Jeloudov as a man. One mentions a supervisor who saw Jeloudov approach the bathroom who didnt want to get in trouble.

Im calling an officer up here so they can explain it to you, another employee tells her. Here at the government  I understand your situation  but if you [were] born a man, you have to go to the mens bathroom. We cant let you go to the ladies bathroom because what if a lady [walked] in there and [saw] you in there?

Its illegal, the first VA employee says.

Jeloudov joined the Army more than a decade ago. VA pledges to care for those who shall have borne the battle and for their families, caregivers, and survivors. But based on experiences like this, Jeloudov expects the opposite at her local care facility, she says.

Jeloudov is transgender. Transgender refers to people whose gender identity does not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth.

She is also a veteran.

In Florida, the former outweighs her service.

In response to incidents like Jeloudovs, SPARTA, an advocacy group that supports transgender service members and veterans, released a warning to transgender service members to avoid Florida.

SPARTA has withheld such recommendations previously, recognizing service members can fulfill their duties anywhere in the world, the warning states. They have done so proudly for over 200 years and continue to do so in duty stations worldwide and ships sailing all the worlds oceans. However, here at home, the state of Florida has created circumstances that pose legal challenges and hazards to our nations military members, even while they defend our nations freedoms.

The warning raises questions about how transgender military members can serve while their identities are under scrutiny. Florida is home to almost two dozen military bases and installations, with more than 60,000 active members serving in the state, according to a March 2023 Department of Defense report. For transgender service members, the likelihood of being stationed in Florida is a tangible reality, with limited options to avoid it.

In 2022, the Florida State Senate passed a bill critics call the Dont Say Gay bill, which limits how public schools address queer issues or topics. A year later, transgender citizens cannot use public bathrooms, access to gender-affirming care for trans youth has been criminalized, and drag performances have been banned if minors are present.

(The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed on Aug. 4 its position about the need for gender-affirming care, stating, The AAP opposes any laws or regulations that discriminate against transgender and gender-diverse individuals, or that interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.)

As Florida continues to implement anti-transgender legislation, and as an increasingly volatile political climate infiltrates even the most apolitical spaces, veterans like Jeloudov feel traumatized, they say.

The last eight years, nothing happened, Jeloudov tells The War Horse. Harassment continues unabated. Veterans continue to die of suicide.

Transgender service members enlist at twice the rate of their cisgender counterparts. They are also twice as likely to die by suicide, according to a 2019 study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science. And transgender veterans are disproportionately more likely to experience homelessness, sexual assault, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although military policies are designed to protect transgender service members and veterans, the line between state and federal law has become blurred. VA falls under federal law, which ensures that transgender veterans may use the bathroom of their gender identity and that employees refer to them by their designated names and pronouns. But the staff at the West Palm Beach VA in the video defer to newly passed state legislation that states otherwise.

Recently, [the employees] were invoking, saying that this [is] DeSantis law, Florida state law, Jeloudov says.

West Palm Beach VA officials couldnt comment about the employees Jeloudov encountered, they said in a statement provided to The War Horse. But, the incident was addressed promptly, resulting in additional staff training to ensure veterans of all gender identities know that, whenever they walk into our facilities, that they will be treated with the care, compassion, and respect that they deserve, they said.

They also clarified that VA operates based on federal policy and not state legislation.

This is unacceptable, and senior VA officials, as well as local employees, have reached out to this veteran to apologize, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told The War Horse. Since this incident, senior VA leadership have engaged with local leaders, and we have conducted additional staff training to ensure that this does not happen again.

It becomes a national security issue

Continued targeting of transgender service members and their families distracts from imminent security threats, says Alleria Stanley, the communications director for SPARTA.

It has an effect on readiness, it has an effect on military capability, it has an effect on mission performance, she says. If youre worried for your safety  if youre at work, wondering if your child will be attacked at home or if your home will be burned down when youre gone, or if youre going to be able to go to the bathroom, or any of these laws  its going to be very difficult to perform [the] mission that you need to, and so thats a liability.

In effect, it becomes [a] national security issue.

Army Reserve Spc. Leo Phillips, a water treatment specialist assigned to the 968th Quartermaster Company based in Tustin, California, shares his story as a transgender soldier during the Quartermaster Liquid Logistics Exercise at Camp Pendleton in 2022. (Sgt. Joseph Black/Army Reserve)

When Stanley joined the Army in 2003, she hid her transgender identity because of dont ask, dont tell, a policy implemented by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. While the policy overturned an outright ban against LGBTQ+ service members, it allowed the military to discharge service members who were discovered as gay  perpetuating a wall of silence and fear for LGBTQ+ military personnel.

While the Obama administration repealed the policy in 2010, transgender service members were still subject to discharge if they publicly came out. It wasnt until six years later that transgender service members, such as Stanley, were allowed to serve openly and authentically.

In 2017, however, transgender service members were suddenly fired by tweet when former President Donald Trump posted that our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming  victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.

In an instant, security for transgender military members vanished. The Trump administration proposed a policy revoking open and affirming protocols for active service personnel, as well as banning the military from providing gender-affirming healthcare. The policy was blocked and then revoked by the Biden administration in 2021.

Everythings over, Stanley says, expressing sarcasm. Its fantastic, the nightmare is over.

Obviously not, she continues, as we are seeing, and the newest struggle is manifesting itself here at home.

New legislation in Florida has left Stanley and others in a state of fear. The only thing protecting transgender service members ability to serve openly is an executive order  an order that can easily disappear under new administrations.

In February, Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, introduced legislation that would reinstate Trump-era policies banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces. The bill, which still awaits a vote, specifically targets service members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and publicly identify as transgender.

Biden has turned our military into a woke social experiment, Rubio said in a press release. It is a stupid way to go about protecting our nation. We need to spend more time thinking about how to counter threats like China, Russia, and North Korea, and less time thinking about pronouns.

I instantly felt betrayed

As SPARTA received reports from service members and veterans in Florida, Stanley closely monitored the wave of legislation as it passed. She declined to speak about the specifics of her constituents experiences, fearful that details could put them at risk, or worse, in immediate danger.

For Jeloudov, the perceived risks are a daily reality. Upon posting her video from VA, she was met with hate on social media, and she eventually turned the comments off.

Fearful that her access to gender-affirming healthcare at VA could be limited or denied, Jeloudov looked for civilian options in the area. But under a Florida law signed in May, health care providers can refuse treatment for patients based on conscience-based objections, defined as a sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical belief.

Lindsay Church worries that community care providers in Florida will refuse to treat transgender patients, despite being contracted through VA, she says. Church serves as the co-founder and executive director of Minority Veterans of America, a nonprofit that supports minority veteran communities.

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Laura Perry, 45th Medical Operations Squadron master social worker, talks with an attendee after a speaking engagement in 2016 at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. Perry was instrumental in the fight for transgender military members to openly serve, and she travels the country sharing her story. (Airman 1st Class Janiqua P. Robinson/Air Force)

If we have community care through VA, which is a program that we use regularly to gain access to care in our communities, are those community care providers able to provide services like abortion [or] gender-affirming care? Church says.

Jeloudov has an answer: no.

Worried that VA will halt her prescription, unable to move away from Florida, and understanding the second-closest VA is four hours away in Miami, Jeloudov had to consider hormone treatment from other sources, she says. Since community health care providers can now refuse to care for her, she has few options.

Theres nowhere else to go, she says. We need to really drive out to West Inland to some shady clinic. You dont know where those hormones came from. They say its estrogen, but you dont know where they came from. But  I need to take those in order to feel happy, to feel better.

Fiona Rawls, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant and a transgender veteran, responded to Jeloudovs video with testimony of her own, recounting how she, too, had experienced discrimination and harassment.

When I saw [the video], I instantly felt betrayed, she says. This is my VA facility where I was personally mistreated.

Life becomes untenable

Carl Charles, a senior attorney with the South Regional Office for Lambda Legal, finds the situation in Florida troubling.

Previously, where the climate was one of acceptance and lack of tolerance for discrimination, harassment, and violence against LGBT people, folks knew to not feel empowered to be disrespectful, to be hostile. And now, unfortunately, that is changing for the worse.

Lambda Legal is a nonprofit organization that assists LGBTQ+ individuals with discrimination cases.

Charles helped litigate the Karnoski v. Trump case, which challenged the constitutionality of the Trump administrations policy to ban transgender service members from the military, and which was eventually closed when President Biden took office. In his mind, the exclusion of groups from the nations largest employer of transgender people only serves to embolden further ostracization by private institutions.

On June 21, Lambda Legal applauded the reintroduction of the Equality Act  a federal policy that would codify anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ+ people  by Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, citing the danger community members have faced in the past year.

In a year when we have seen unprecedented, coordinated attacks by states on LGBTQ+ people, especially on transgender and nonbinary youth, the need for the Equality Act could not be clearer, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings said in the statement. The LGBTQ+ community has been asking Congress for explicit protections since Reps. Bella Abzug (D-NY) and Ed Koch (D-NY) first introduced the Equality Act of 1974, 49 years ago, and nearly 50 years of waiting for federal action is long enough.

Jodi Jeloudov, a U.S. Army veteran and transgender woman, videotaped Veterans Affairs employees in Florida who refused to allow her to use the womens bathroom, saying Florida law says she must use her birth-assigned-gender bathroom. VA officials say federal rules overrule Florida rules and Jeloudov should have been allowed to use the womens bathroom. (Courtesy of Jodi Jeloudov)

Church cited the importance of transgender service members impact when recruitment is down, as it is now. One in five transgender people will serve in the military, with nearly 15,000 active and reserve troops already serving, according to a 2018 study. As an ever-growing demographic, the lack of protections only works to weaken the military as a whole, Church says.

You cant be military and veteran-friendly unless youre friendly to all military veterans in our country, Church says. You cant pick and choose which military veterans and service members you want to support. We give our lives to this country and we shouldnt be faced with these types of laws.

For Stanley, as Florida and other states adopt similar legislation, it threatens more than health care, bathrooms, or social acceptance: It represents a systematic eradication of transgender visibility.

Life becomes untenable  just everyday life, she says. For our service persons who swore to uphold those freedoms to preserve, protect, and defend the very Constitution, it is heartbreaking to then be challenged by being denied those freedoms.

You have to call out these things

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders banned transgender public school students from using the bathroom of their gender identity in March. Oklahoma followed close behind in May, making it a felony to provide transgender care for minors. In early June, Gov. Greg Abbot barred transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care in Texas, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee recently provided the state attorney general with medical records of their transgender patients for a probe into possible billing fraud.

Military families with trans children say the issue has already affected where they feel safe being based.

But VA officials say the laws wont affect their clients  at least under this administration.

VAs policy (outlined here) is that veterans are welcome to use any and all facilities that correspond to their self-identified gender identity, Hayes says. Moreover, its our job at VA to make sure that veterans of all gender identities know that whenever they walk into a VA facility, they will be treated with the care, compassion, and respect that they deserve. That is the standard to which we hold all VA employees. This incident was a failure of that mission, and we will not rest until it is fixed  for this veteran and for all veterans who entrust us with their care.

Jeloudov says she is skeptical of VAs commitments and apologies. Her fellow transgender veterans often come to her for help, citing experiences similar to what she caught on video. She describes the fear that has overtaken her community:

[People] do want to stand up, she says. But when they see the obstacles, and theres many  the discrimination, the threats, the blackmail, the intimidation, the bullying  Id say 90% of people, they dont want to face it because they will lose something valuable to them.

She wants a simple life  a life free from the torments of her experiences, spending time with her cats and her films, she says. She worries for her family in Ukraine, and the health and safety of her fellow transgender veterans. She feels discredited, alone, and vulnerable, she says. Despite it, she felt compelled to use her voice.

Im not [silent] because you have to call out these things, she says. Thats what I believe.

This War Horse feature was reported by Eden Stratton, edited by Kelly Kennedy, fact-checked by Jasper Lo and Jess Rohan, and copy-edited by Mitchell Hansen-Dewar. Headlines are by Abbie Bennett.

Eden Stratton is an American Society of Magazine Editors intern for The War Horse and studies journalism and political science at Syracuse University, with concentrations in data and digital journalism and comparative politics. Eden has written for the Republic Times, the OutCrowd, the Daily Orange, Globalists, and Jerk Magazine, where they serve as editor in chief.
A Travis County grand jury has returned three indictments against Raul Meza in connection to the killings of two people.

He was indicted for one count of capital murder and another count of murder in the death of 65-year-old Gloria Lofton, according to a news release from the district attorney's office. He also was indicted for one count of murder and another count of unauthorized use of a vehicle in connection to the death of 80-year-old Jesse Fraga, the release said.

A grand jury has returned three indictments against Raul Meza in connection with the deaths of two people.

Police have said Meza is a serial killer who might be involved in 10 other homicides in Austin and San Antonio. Authorities arrested him in May after he called Austin police and confessed to killing not only Fraga in Pflugerville that month but also Lofton in East Austin in 2019, police have said.

More: Affidavit: Friend says Raul Meza, accused of killing two, appeared suicidal

Before Meza was arrested, he was most known for receiving a 30-year sentence after killing 8-year-old Kendra Page in Austin in 1982 and leaving her body by a dumpster at Langford Elementary School. He was released on parole after 11 years after accumulating credit for "good behavior."

More: Police: Raul Meza charged in two deaths, may be involved in 10 more

He returned to prison in 1994 after a parole violation and was released again in 2002.

More: Exclusive: Police believe accused serial killer Raul Meza buried body of woman in field

Fraga was a retired probation officer who befriended Meza and allowed Meza to live with him at his Pflugerville home, police have said. Meza also stole Fraga's truck, investigators said. Meza lived next door to Lofton, who also befriended him, according to public records and a neighbor.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Raul Meza, suspected serial killer, indicted on murder charges
Travis Scott held a concert in Rome that caused tremors equivalent to a magnitude 1.3 earthquake.

The head of an archaeological site expressed anger, saying concerts posed a risk to ancient sites.

The rowdy concert also saw about 60 fans get injured when someone deployed pepper spray.

A Travis Scott concert held at an ancient site in Rome on Monday caused a seismic event, alarming residents of the Italian capital and angering archaeologists, according to media reports.

The 60,000-crowd concert took place at the Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place in Ancient Roman times, and coincided with the release of Scott's new album "Utopia."

According to CNN, Italy's fire service received hundreds of calls from concerned residents, many of whom feared there had been an earthquake.

In reality, the tremors were the result of excitable concertgoers jumping up and down, according to reports.

The miniature 'earthquake' angered archaeologists, with Alfonsina Russo, director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, criticizing the city for using the Circus Maximus for concerts.

Russo told AGI, an Italian news agency, that "mega-concerts" put archaeological sites at risk, adding that it would be better to use the sites for opera and ballet, instead of high-energy concerts.

The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum said it was not immediately able to respond to Insider's request for comment.

Giovanni Diaferia, a seismologist at the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, wrote on X that: "60k people, 70 kg each, jumping and reaching 0.15 m from ground radiate an energy of E = 6.2 MJ which is equivalent to a magnitude 1.3 earthquake, at each jump!! Enough to be recorded by a seismic station 9 km away."

The geophysics institute confirmed on Tuesday that its national seismic network stations "clearly registered the enthusiasm of Travis Scott fans in concert at Circus Maximus," according to a translation by The New York Times.

The note also said that the seismic station recorded a "very large peak" at 9:34 p.m., which corresponded with Scott taking to the stage.

There were several other moments during the concert when peak enthusiasm among Scott's fans was clearly evident, the institute added.

Scott's concert also drew negative attention for other reasons.

About 60 fans were injured when someone used pepper spray in the crowd, according to Rome's civil protection department, per CNN.

This follows an infamous incident in 2021 when Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, resulted in a crowd crush that left 10 people dead and hundreds injured.

On Monday, Scott also brought out Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, which was his first live appearance since he made a series of antisemitic comments last year.

The Utopia concert in Rome was originally set to take place on July 28, at the Pyramids of Giza, but it was canceled after Egyptian officials took issue with the rapper, Insider previously reported.

The Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professionals, a state body that issues permits for concerts in the country, canceled Scott's permit, accusing him of carrying out "strange rituals" that go against Egypt's cultural identity.

Representatives for Scott did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
A trial that could start Monday over the $572,020 burglary at the Ventura County Fair almost exactly a year ago could revolve around proof of identity, lawyers said Friday.

Martin Zaehringer, attorney for Jesus Rios, one of three defendants, said lawyers will argue security footage of the crime early in the morning of Aug. 10, 2022, does not clearly identify the burglars.

We dont believe there is any direct evidence that connects our clients to the crime, Zaehringer said outside a courtroom.

Rios, 56, of El Monte; Rafael Morales, 56, La Puente; and Carlos Aranda, 44, Los Angeles, are charged with grand theft, commercial burglary, conspiracy and misappropriation of public money. A series of charge enhancements could bring longer sentences if proved.

The trial in Ventura County Superior Court was expected to start Friday as this years 12-day fair entered its final weekend. Proceedings were delayed until Monday when county Senior Deputy Public Defender Rebekah Mathis used her peremptory challenge to disqualify Judge Paul Bailey who was assigned to the case. She represents Morales.

Rafael Morales

If similar challenges emerge, such as additional court filings, jury selection could be pushed back later in the week. Opening statements are likely more than a week away and the trial could take four weeks.

Prosecutors: Planned, sophisticated burglary

Prosecutors contend Morales and Rios entered the fairgrounds administration building with the help of a fairgrounds insider and walked away with bags of money from a safe in a carefully planned and sophisticated burglary. They allege Aranda was the driver.

A fourth man, Alexander Piceno, worked at the fairgrounds for the company that processed cash receipts at the fair. After changing his plea to guilty in May, Piceno was convicted of commercial burglary, conspiracy and misappropriation of public money. A grand theft charge was dropped. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Jesus Rios

Prosecutors allege Piceno, 28, of Baldwin Park, was the inside man who unlocked the door for the other defendants and helped with opening the safe.

Hes not going to testify, said defense attorney Scott Wippert, noting the burden to provide evidence is on the prosecution. Wippert represents Aranda.

Morales and Rios were painted as ring leaders in a court document filed by the prosecution. Prosecutors have also noted they were both convicted in 2017 of rooftop burglaries in Simi Valley and elsewhere.

Prosecutors allege that in the fairgrounds burglary, the four men coordinated their actions with phone calls. Zaehringer said its possible phone records will factor into the trial.

Carlos Aranda

Marc Leventhal, Ventura County senior deputy district attorney, said he expects defense attorneys will attack video footage and other evidence from the burglary.

The question is can we prove it is these guys?" he said, asserting providing the answer is his job.

Leventhal said previously very little cash and an unspecified amount of property that may have been purchased with the stolen money was recovered during the investigation. He said the fate of the money and property will depend on the outcome of the case.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Trial set to start on $572K burglary at Ventura County Fair
A book a Cobb County teacher says she bought at the schools book fair could cost her her job.

Some parents were upset after Katie Rinderle read a book called My Shadow is Purple to her fifth-grade class.

A tribunal is now meeting to decide if Rinderle will get to keep her job.

Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was at the tribunal that began on Thursday morning.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The tribunal heard from witnesses, teachers, investigators, and Rinderle herself. Some who didnt know her were there to show their support.

Im feeling for Katie a lot. I think she shows a great deal of courage. She was just trying to do her job, Dora Curry with the Teachers for Freedom Collective said.

During cross-examination, Rinderle was asked to read the description of My Shadow is Purple.

This story considers gender beyond binary and a broad spectrum of color, she read.

The district says Rinderle violated district policy and Georgias divisive concepts law.

This was a book that I purchased with my funds at the schools book fair, and I previewed the book, and I used my professional judgment, Rinderle said.

TRENDING STORIES:

We did establish that students were uncomfortable with the content that was discussed that day, Christopher Dowd, Executive Director of Employee Relations and Evaluations, testified.

During the hearing, Rinderles attorney said the district is not transparent about what it found during the investigation, particularly the number of students interviewed.

Theres no way for us to know that theres four additional students. Its just simply impossible that the district has insisted on giving us these redacted records, attorney Craig Goodmark said.

The hearing will resume on Friday morning.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Donald Trumps presidential campaign is bringing on Brian Hughes, a longtime Florida political operative who recently worked for Jacksonvilles Republican mayor, to lead its campaign operation in the Sunshine State.

Hughes confirmed the news in a text message but referred questions to the Trump campaign. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond for comment. The news was first reported by Florida Politics.

The decision by Hughes to join Trumps campaign represents yet another hire by the former presidents operation who has ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Hughes was one of the political consultants who helped with DeSantis initial campaign for Congress back in 2012 but did not work with him on any subsequent campaigns.

One of Trumps top advisers, Susie Wiles, also formerly worked for DeSantis. DeSantis hired Wiles in 2018 after she helped Trump win the state in 2016 and lead Rick Scotts first successful campaign for governor.

Wiles was credited for helping stabilize the governors operation and guide DeSantis to a narrow win over Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018. But Wiles and DeSantis had a notable falling out in 2019 when, at the governors urging, she was pushed out of Trumps 2020 campaign and pressured to leave Ballard Partners, one of the states premier lobbying firms. Trump, however, later brought Wiles back into his orbit just months ahead of his campaign for reelection even though the move angered DeSantis.

Floridas Republican presidential primary is scheduled for March 19, a date that puts it behind the early states and Super Tuesday. But it is also a winner-take-all primary that could give the winning candidate a decisive edge in capturing the nomination.

Hughes has spent the past eight years working hand-in-hand with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, a former Republican Party of Florida chair, and had risen to the position of chief administrative officer for the city.

Curry left office due to term limits. Republicans had hoped to hold on to the position but Democrat Donna Deegan scored an upset in May over the GOP candidate endorsed by DeSantis.

DeSantis, however, did not do any events with Republican Daniel Davis in the closing days of the campaign, a move that irked some Jacksonville Republicans.


The felony charges filed Monday against former President Donald Trump in Georgia are unlike any of the other 78 charges he was already facing in three separate cases around the country. The grand jury in Fulton County charged Trump and 18 of his allies under a law more commonly known for its use against organized crime, but that has far broader applications  the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO.

The grand jury indictment, which lists 41 total counts, including 13 against Trump, follows a two-and-a-half-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office, and alleges a criminal enterprise that prosecutors say had the goal of overturning the state's 2020 election result.

What are RICO charges in Georgia?

Georgia's RICO statute is considered to be more expansive in scope than the federal law from which it is derived. In Georgia, prosecutors are able to point to a range of organized or related attempts to engage in predicate acts or predicate crimes, which include everything from violent crimes such as murder or arson, to false statements and obstruction of justice.

"The racketeering statute does not look simply at a single crime, it tries to look at the big picture of view," said Morgan Cloud, a law professor at Emory University.

In order to prove racketeering took place, Cloud said prosecutors must convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that at least two of the racketeering activities are related in terms of method, purpose, or victims. And in Trump's case, Cloud believes "the most important of those would be related in terms of goal or purpose, which was to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia."

"It has to be not just one separate isolated event, but a series of interrelated actions," Cloud said.

In order to convict under RICO, prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is an enterprise, which can range from a corporation to an informal group of individuals, who undertake criminal actions as part of a shared goal.

That is why Trump is not the sole defendant charged for orchestrating the enterprise under the RICO statute. Multiple Trump allies, including Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and so-called "fake electors"  supporters who signed an illegitimate version of the state's Electoral College vote  have also been charged for their roles in the racketeering scheme.

Who else faces RICO charges in the Georgia Trump indictment?

In addition to Trump and Giuliani, the indictment charges John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, conservative lawyers who authored legal memos for Trump; Mark Meadows, Trump's White House chief of staff; Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official; Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, conservative lawyers who pushed baseless claims of voter fraud; and 11 others accused of various other roles in the alleged scheme.

The indictment also alleges the participation of 30 unindicted co-conspirators.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney receives court documents on Aug. 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. A grand jury delivered an indictment against former President Donald Trump and 18 others on charges including racketeering related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. / Credit: Megan Varner / Getty Images

The indictment points to a number of false claims made by Trump about the election in Georgia to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and two other state officials during a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call, including that nearly 5,000 dead people voted in the November presidential election, hundreds of thousands of ballots had been "dumped" into Fulton County and an adjacent county, and that Trump won the presidential election in the state by 400,000 votes.

According to the indictment, "by knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully making" false statements and representations to state officials, Trump committed a felony offense.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and frequently described the conversation with Raffensperger as "an absolutely PERFECT phone call."

In a statement Monday night, attorneys for Trump criticized the investigation, saying "this one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests."

"We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been," said the attorneys, Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg.

In addition, according to the indictment, unfounded claims of fraud and misconduct among state officials made by Giuliani during two appearances before the Georgia legislature are also considered racketeering activity, as was a "surprise visit" by Trump's White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to observe an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in Cobb County, Georgia. Meadows was ultimately denied access to the audit because it was not open to the public.

In a statement to CBS News, Giuliani said the indictment "is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system," adding, "The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly."

An attorney for Meadows did not reply to a request for comment.

Willis's high-profile RICO history with Young Thug and others

"If there's any team of state prosecutors in the country that's going to be able to organize and present a racketeering statute prosecution in Georgia that's coherent and effective and understood by the jury, these are the people," Cloud said of Willis and her team ahead of the Trump indictment. "I personally would be surprised if she did not pursue racketeering claims based upon the facts and the law and her track record and her team's track record."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks about the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies on Aug. 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. / Credit: / Getty Images

Willis rose to prominence in the Atlanta area for trying another unusual RICO case that received national attention. As an assistant district attorney, she led the 2015 prosecution of 12 Atlanta Public School educators who were accused of conspiring to inflate students' results on standardized tests. All but one of the defendants were found guilty of racketeering and other crimes.

The 11 convicted included teachers, testing coordinators and other administrators who were accused of participating in a conspiracy dating to 2005, motivated by pressure to meet federal and local testing standards to receive bonuses or keep their jobs.

"The reason that I am a fan of RICO is, I think jurors are very, very intelligent," Willis told reporters at an August 2022 press conference about a separate gang-related indictment brought by her office. "They want to know what happened. They want to make an accurate decision about someone's life. And so RICO is a tool that allows a prosecutor's office and law enforcement to tell the whole story."

Willis, who took office in 2021, is currently prosecuting a RICO case involving the chart-topping rapper Young Thug, whose name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, and 28 others. The conspiracy charge dates back to 2013 and the gang charge to 2018. Young Thug is accused of being one of three founders of the Young Slime Life, "a criminal street gang that started in late 2012" in Atlanta, the indictment says. He has pleaded not guilty.

While several defendants have pleaded guilty in that case, there are six others who will be tried separately. Eight defendants are currently on trial, and jury selection has dragged on for months. The trial is expected to be the longest in Georgia history.

A RICO case unlike any other

While RICO cases are not anything new in Fulton County, pursuing such a case against a former president is unprecedented.

"We are in deeply uncharted territory," Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis told CBS News prior to the indictment. "Applying [RICO] in the election law setting is very new. That is something that we haven't seen in Georgia before, and it hasn't really happened elsewhere before."

The investigation dates back to shortly after Trump's recorded Jan. 2, 2021 phone call with Raffensperger.

In 2022, the district attorney's office impaneled a special purpose grand jury to investigate the case. It had the power to issue subpoenas and produce a final report with charging recommendations, but could not issue indictments. Over the course of six months in 2022, it interviewed 75 witnesses.

Portions of the report released to the public in February said a "majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it," and recommended that the district attorney seek "appropriate indictments."

This case in Fulton County is already proving to be different in several significant ways from the federal trials he's facing. First, if reelected in 2024, Trump would not be able to pardon himself on state criminal charges as he may be able to do in the federal prosecutions.

The other big difference is that the courthouse in Fulton County allows cameras inside the courtroom to broadcast the proceedings, while federal courts do not. Kreis believes the ability to watch would be crucial to democracy, "so that people understand exactly what happened here in Georgia and throughout the country in the aftermath of 2020 elections, and that they're able to see the evidence for themselves and to understand the kind of damage that Donald Trump and his allies did."

Security barriers line the sidewalk in front of the Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 31, 2023. / Credit: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images

Trump and Giuliani have denied all allegations of wrongdoing related to the aftermath of the 2020 election. Trump has repeatedly criticized Willis, accusing her of investigating him for political gain.

"I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law," Willis told reporters following the indictment. "The law is completely nonpartisan. That's how decisions are made in every case. To date, this office has indicted, since I've been sitting as the district attorney, over 12,000 cases. This is the 11th RICO indictment. We followed the same process. We look at the facts. We look at the law, and we bring charges."

Nikole Killion contributed reporting for this story.

Fulton County DA Fani Willis aims to try Trump, 18 co-defendants at once

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The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against former President Donald Trump on Friday agreed with the defense on a limited protective order that would bar the former president only from airing evidence deemed sensitive, but she warned his attorneys that he must abide by her rules.

Your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan told Trumps lawyers during a hearing in Washington, D.C., not on the internet.

Chutkan heard arguments from both sides over the prosecution's request for a protective order after Trump appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

[Related: What to know about the judges in Trumps federal trials]

The Justice Department had asked the court to limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case, including "witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him." The former president's lawyers did not object to a protective order but requested that the judge put in place a version that was less restrictive than the one proposed by the government.

While appearing to side with the defense, Chutkan warned that Trump was subject to the courts rules despite his status as the current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

What did Trump say, exactly?

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Windham, N.H., on Tuesday. (Erin Clark/Boston Globe via Getty Images)

"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU!" Trump wrote in an all-caps missive on Truth Social on Aug. 4, a day after he was arraigned on criminal charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smiths investigation into the former presidents efforts to hold on to power following his loss in the 2020 election, including his involvement in the events that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump has continued to rail against Smith on the campaign trail.

At a rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday, he referred to the special counsel as a thug and assured his supporters that he wont stop talking about the case.

"I will talk about it, I will," he said. "Theyre not taking away my First Amendment rights."

Georgia indictment looms

Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis at a hearing in Atlanta on Jan. 24. (John Bazemore/AP)

The hearing in Washington on Friday came days before Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to take her own election interference case against Trump and his allies in Georgia to a grand jury.

CNN reported Wednesday that Willis is expected to seek more than a dozen indictments against Trump and his allies next week when she presents the findings of her long-running investigation before a grand jury.

The Atlanta prosecutor launched her investigation into Trumps efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election shortly after a recording of a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call of Trump pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes was made public. Joe Biden carried Georgia by 11,779 votes.

[Also read: Trump lashes out at Fani Willis as his legal woes intensify]

Trump has been lashing out at Willis too. At his rally Tuesday, the former president baselessly accused her of having an affair with a gang member.

They say theres a young woman  a young racist in Atlanta  they say she was after a certain gang and she ended up having an affair with the head of the gang or a gang member, Trump told his supporters in New Hampshire. And this is a person who wants to indict me  for a perfect phone call.

Classified documents case

Walt Nauta, personal aide to Donald Trump, fixes Trump's collar before a tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., on May 25. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The possible indictment in Georgia would be the fourth in five months for Trump, the first former president ever to be criminally charged.

In June, he and his valet, Walt Nauta, were indicted by a federal grand jury on 38 counts stemming from the Justice Department's investigation into Trumps handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to obstruct the probe. Late last month, the grand jury returned a new version of the indictment that added more obstruction counts and an additional co-defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, an employee at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump and Nauta both pleaded not guilty Thursday to the new charges. De Oliveira has yet to be arraigned.

Justice Department's use of multiple grand juries under review

Trump's motorcade arrives for his arraignment at the federal courthouse in Miami on June 13. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Meanwhile, the Florida judge overseeing the classified documents case has ordered Smith to explain why his team used a grand jury in Washington to continue gathering evidence after it had already indicted the former president in Florida using a grand jury in Miami.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, is reviewing the involvement of multiple grand juries after Trumps lawyers raised the issue.

In a motion filed last week, the government said it continued to use grand juries in Florida and Washington after indicting Trump to investigate further obstructive activity."
Former President Trump lashed out Thursday in response to special counsel Jack Smiths proposal for him to stand trial on Jan. 2, 2024, on charges related to his efforts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump took issue with the proposed trial dates proximity to the Jan. 15 Iowa Republican caucuses, saying only a lunatic would propose to hold the trial Jan. 2.

Trump also said the trial should only take place after the 2024 election  if at all  and repeated claims that the charges he faces represent election interference.

Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses, Trump wrote. Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!

Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Trump continued.

Earlier Thursday, prosecutors from Smiths office proposed the Jan. 2 date and said they expect to take no longer than four to six weeks to present their evidence.

Prosecutors propose January trial date in Trump 2020 election case

Trump pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges related to his efforts to cling to power after losing the election, including charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against civil rights.

This trial date, and the proposed schedule outlined below, would give the defendant time to review the discovery in this case and prepare a defense, and would allow the Court and parties to fully litigate any pre-trial legal issues, prosecutors Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom wrote in court filings Thursday.

Most importantly, a January 2 trial date would vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trialan interest guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law in all cases, but of particular significance here, where the defendant, a former president, is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens legitimate votes, they added.

Trumps team must respond to the proposal by next Thursday, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has indicated she plans on setting the trial date at an Aug. 28 hearing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Trumps team responded with skepticism Friday to the appointment of a special counsel to oversee the investigation into President Bidens son Hunter.

The Trump campaign issued a statement from an unnamed spokesperson arguing the Biden family has been protected by the Justice Department for decades.

If this special counsel is truly independent  even though he failed to bring proper charges after a four year investigation and he appears to be trying to move the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue  he will quickly conclude that Joe Biden, his troubled son Hunter, and their enablers, including the media, which colluded with the 51 intelligence officials who knowingly misled the public about Hunters laptop, should face the required consequences, the statement read.

Trump sought to make Hunter Bidens business dealings an issue during the 2020 presidential campaign, and House Republicans have revived questions about whether President Biden was involved in his sons business dealings, something he and the White House have denied.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed David Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who has led the investigation into Hunter Biden, as a special counsel overseeing the investigation.

Garland said he made the decision in the politically explosive case after Weiss asked for the appointment.

Republicans have sharply criticized how a tax probe into Hunter Biden was handled, citing claims from two IRS whistleblowers that Weiss was blocked from seeking special counsel status  a claim Weiss and the Justice Department have consistently denied.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has indicated it could be grounds for a possible impeachment of Garland, noting differences between the whistleblowers testimony and Weiss and Garlands recap of the prosecutors authority.

House Republicans also cast doubt on Weisss appointment Friday.

This action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption, McCarthy said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two men from Houston were sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for stealing cash from an ATM in Paducah, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Otis Gibson, 24, pleaded guilty bank larceny and interstate transportation of stolen funds, according to the DOJ. He was sentenced to three years and two months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was involved in other ATM thefts in other states, prosecutors said.

Eric Rhodes, 25, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Gibson and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. He faces two years of supervised release after his prison time, the DOJ said.

Gibson and Rhodes conspired with others to break into an ATM at a BB&T Bank on US 60 near the Kentucky Oaks Mall in Paducah in June 2020, according to court documents. The other conspirators in the theft werent named in court documents. The bank is now a Truist Bank.

How investigators found suspects in ATM theft

Gibson, Rhodes and others in the group used a stolen F-250 truck, chain and crowbars to break into the ATM and steal $158,127, according to court documents. The ATM was destroyed.

The crowbars used in the incident were left at the scene. Court documents say one of the crowbars had an item number and that number was tracked to a nearby Lowes. The crowbar was purchased from that store by Rhodes the day before the theft. Surveillance footage captured Rhodes purchasing the crowbar.

Rhodes was arrested shortly after another ATM theft attempt in Evandale, Ohio, about two months after the Paducah ATM theft. Court documents say Rhodes was acting as a lookout during that theft, which featured the same scheme used to rob the ATM in Paducah.

Gibson was arrested after his DNA was found on clothing abandoned after the Paducah robbery, according to court documents. Clothes, shoes, gloves and the truck used in the theft were recovered.

Gibsons DNA was found on clothing recovered with the abandoned tools, according to court documents.

Gibson and Rhodes were ordered to pay $158,127 in restitution, according to the DOJ.

Gibson also pleaded guilty to a second count of bank larceny for his role in an ATM theft in St. Louis in January 2020, according to court documents. Gibson was ordered to pay an additional $98,748 in restitution for the St. Louis case.

Texas Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Paducah ATM Thefthttps://t.co/jrBZl9sV2H  U.S. Attorney WDKY (@WDKYnews) August 10, 2023
Cameron D. Newton and Thierno S. Bah were indicted Friday on four counts of armed robbery against U.S. Postal carriers.

Two men from central Ohio were indicted Friday on four cases of armed robbery involving a mail carrier.

Following a superseding indictment returned on Aug. 10, Westerville resident Cameron D. Newton, 19, and Coumbus resident Thierno S. Bah, 20, were both charged.

Newton and Bah both used firearms to carry out the robbery of postal carriers' U.S. Postal Service Keys on four separate occasions, happening within a span of five months, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.

The first robbery occurred on Dec. 29, 2022, the second and third on Jan. 3 and the final robbery took place on May 11, according to the release.

Notably, a pattern of similar crimes have been committed within the last year, according to the release.

Person charged in mail carrier robbery: Third person charged in robbery of mail carrier in Columbus suburb

While Bah was arrested Friday, Newton was first charged in May 2023 by criminal complaint and will pay out $22,000 in proceeds for the alleged , if convicted, according to the release.

Federal agents searched Newton's home in May 2023, finding over 100 checks, visa cards in different names, printed checks, over 100 pieces of mail, a handgun and the USPS key to the May 11 robbery.

"Robbery is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Using a firearm during a crime of violence carries a penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison. Possessing a stolen Postal Service key is punishable by up to 10 years in prison," the release said.

aesmith@gannett.com

@arismith02

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Two men indicted on four counts for robbing U.S. Postal Carriers
Actor Tyrese Gibson is one of three plaintiffs accusing Home Depot of racial discrimination in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. ( Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

"Fast & Furious" star Tyrese Gibson is taking Home Depot to court, accusing the home improvement chain of discrimination and racial profiling.

In a lawsuit reviewed Friday by The Times, the "Transformers" actor alleges he and craftsmen Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez "experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand" at a Home Depot store in West Hills. Gibson is Black; Mora and Hernandez are both Hispanic of "Mexican national origin."

The core of the lawsuit is a Feb. 11 incident in which Home Depot clerks allegedly "purposely interfered with and refused to process" a transaction by Gibson, Mora and Hernandez based on "their skin color" and the craftsmen's "national origin."

Read more: Review: Louis Leterrier and Jason Momoa add thrills to 'Fast X,' but series may be out of gas

According to legal documents, Gibson and his two associates were purchasing items for a home improvement project, but the checkout process took longer due to a "glitch in the system." While an unidentified employee was re-scanning the items, fans began to notice Gibson, who stepped out of the store to avoid creating a disturbance. The lawsuit says Gibson informed the employee that Mora and Hernandez would complete the purchase with his credit card.

"The cashier acknowledged Gibson and said he understood," the lawsuit says. "Gibson asked the cashier if the cashier needed anything further from him to complete the transaction. The cashier said no, and that Gibson could leave."

After Gibson left, the cashier "refused to complete the transaction" with Mora and Hernandez, despite Gibson again authorizing the transaction via FaceTime video calls, the document says. Gibson returned to the store and completed the transaction "only after heated discussion with the cashier," the lawsuit says. The actor also asked to speak with the store's manager, who allegedly "refused to speak with Gibson in person."

Read more: A Black LAPD officer wanted to make a difference. Then, he says, he was racially profiled by his own department

"This is a clear and deplorable instance of discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling," the lawsuit says. "The treatment of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez by The Home Depot was humiliating and demeaning."

Gibson's lawsuit alleges Home Depot violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, under which "all persons within the jurisdiction of this state ... are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. Gibson's lawsuit also claims the Home Depot employees "were unfit to perform the work for which they were hired" and their "incompetence harmed" the actor and his collaborators.

A representative for Home Depot told The Times in a statement, "Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form."

The statement continued: "We value Mr. Gibson as a customer, and in the months since this happened, weve reached out to him several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so."

Read more: Remote work gave them a reprieve from racism. They don't want to go back

Gibson said in a statement shared with The Times via his legal representatives that he and his co-plaintiffs "ardently uphold our commitments to civil rights, promoting empathy, and understanding.

"Standing united against organizations like The Home Depot, we envision a world free from discriminatory practices and consumer racial profiling," the statement added. "Just as I have done for the past 20-plus years, I pledge to continue to utilize my platform to empower the voiceless, fostering a spirit of unity and hope, while illuminating our shared path forward."

Gibson, Mora and Hernandez are seeking $1 million in damages, as well as statutory damages and attorney's fees. The million dollars is an estimate of what the actor, a "long-time customer of The Home Depot," has spent on materials at the chain over the years, the lawsuit says.

Read more: Tyrese Gibson lists Woodland Hills home complete with a giant Transformer

The "Baby Boy" actor previously spoke about the February incident on Instagram, sharing a video of his interaction with a Home Depot employee, who refused to disclose her full name and her manager's full name. Later in the video, Gibson spoke with the same employee to get more clarity on the seemingly inconsistent transaction policy.

"This is wrong and people should not be treated this way," he said.

Times staff writer Nardine Saad and researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, the Dallas-born former professional football player turned Democratic congressman, got a boost of support this week from two prominent Borderland lawmakers in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

On Thursday, Allred's campaign announced that both U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar and state Sen. Cesar Blanco were throwing their support behind his effort to move to the U.S. Senate.

More: Former NFL linebacker Rep. Colin Allred looks to tackle Sen. Ted Cruz in upcoming election

For years, Sen. Blanco and Congresswoman Escobar have been champions for the people of El Paso and ensured this community was heard in both the halls of the Texas Capitol and the U.S. House of Representatives, Allred, D-Dallas, said in a news release announcing the endorsements. I'm honored to have their support in this race and excited to have launched my statewide Lone Star Listening Tour right here in El Paso.

Allred is not the only Democrat mounting a campaign against Republican incumbent Cruz. Democratic Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, Texas, announced his campaign against Cruz about a month ago.

The two Democrats will face off in the primary election in March 2024.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, speaks at Jaime Esparza's swearing-in ceremony as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas on Friday, April 21, at the Albert Armendariz, Sr. U.S. Courthouse in El Paso.

Colin and I were sworn into Congress together in 2019, and Ive been proud to see his transformative leadership and hard work," Escobar said in her endorsement statement. "Its been a privilege to work together to lower health care costs by cutting the price of prescription drugs, protect our workers and unions, and invest in the jobs of the future."

Ted Cruz has shown us he doesnt care about El Paso," she continued. "We need a true public servant in the Senate who will stand up for West Texas and work for every person in our state. Im honored to endorse my friend and colleague today. And Im inspired by his integrity and bold vision for Texas.

Blanco offered a similar endorsement of Allred.

Im proud to endorse Colin Allred as our next senator from Texas," Blanco wrote in a statement. "Over the last 10 years in Washington, Ted Cruz has made crystal clear where his priorities lie: his lobbyist donors, cable news viewers, and his podcast listeners."

More: El Paso legislators describe struggles and triumphs of 88th Texas legislative session

Here in West Texas weve had enough," Blanco continued. "We need leaders who will roll up their sleeves and actually pass laws that tackle the real challenges were facing here."

Like Escobar, Blanco cited Allred's work "lowering prescription drug costs for seniors," as well as "securing historic infrastructure investments," as proof that he can bring the same effective, bipartisan work ethic to the U.S. Senate.

Along with Escobar and Blanco, Allred has also secured endorsements from Congressional Black Caucus PAC, the American Federation of Government Employees, Foreign Policy for America and End Citizens United // Let America Vote.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: U.S. Rep. Colin Allred's campaign gets support from El Paso lawmakers
The four-day stoppage comes as health chiefs estimated the repeated industrial action had cost the publicly-funded health service 1 billion ($1.2 billion) (HENRY NICHOLLS)

Hospital doctors in England on Friday launched their latest walkout as the government said their strike to demand a 35-percent pay increase served "only to harm patients".

The four-day stoppage comes with health chiefs estimating that the repeated industrial action had cost the publicly funded health service 1 billion ($1.2 billion).

The British Medical Association (BMA) which represents junior doctors says their take-home pay has fallen by 26 percent in the last 15 years.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay issued his strongest condemnation so far of the doctors who have rejected the government's pay offer of six percent plus a one-off payment of 1,250.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he accused the BMA of "acting recklessly".

The strike action served "only to harm patients and put further pressure on their own colleagues", he added.

Doctors on the picket line outside University College Hospital in central London hospital, however, said they had no choice but to strike to restore pay levels and stop doctors leaving the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).

"Full pay restoration must happen, that's not for negotiation, what is for negotiation is how it is structured and what the time frame is," Robert Laurenson, a doctor and co-chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee, told AFP.

"This is predominantly about pay because we know that many of our colleagues leave to go to other countries and other industries simply because the pay is too poor to be able to retain doctors," he added.

Junior doctors -- physicians who are not senior specialists but who may still have years of experience -- make up about half of the doctors in UK hospitals.

The strike is their fifth round of industrial action.

"Doctors are working tirelessly to bring waiting lists down. The government are the ones who refuse to come to the table," added junior doctor Sumi Manirajan, who is deputy co-chair of the committee.

"We are chronically understaffed and everyone is at breaking point," he added.

- '1 bn cost of strikes' -

The NHS is grappling with record patient waiting times due to a large pandemic backlog.

A record 7.6 million people in England were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in June, according to data published by the NHS on Thursday.

Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the series of strikes by junior doctors had cost the NHS 1 billion ($1.2 billion).

Hospitals were having to "pay premium rates to consultants" to cover for the medics, he told BBC radio.

Nurses, ambulance staff and other medical workers have all joined picket lines in recent months, mounting more pressure on the NHS.

Other workers across the economy have also walked out over the past year demanding pay rises in response to the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

According to NHS figures, close to 778,000 medical appointments have been postponed across the health service in England due to strike action since December.

"We've seen again and again that no-one benefits from this disruption," Barclay said, adding that the pay offer was "more generous" than for other public sector staff.

The government has said its pay offer announced in mid-July is "final" and urged the BMA to drop its pay demand "immediately".

acl-har/jwp/ach
Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, has stated that 68% of educational institutions in Ukraine are equipped with shelters of different types, but local authorities must still work more in this area.

Source: speech of Shmyhal at the meeting of the Ukrainian government

Quote: "At the moment, 68% of educational institutions are equipped with shelters of different types. They can accommodate 4.7 million students and teachers. But this is not enough. Local authorities must be more active. The Ukrainian government allocated the funds for bomb shelters back in April  1.5 billion hryvnias [approximately US$39 819 485  ed.].

The bomb shelters are most needed in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa oblasts. These regions are at risk due to Russian attacks. The shelters must be set up there as soon as possible."

Details: Smyhal added that in 2023, the Ukrainian government plans to equip almost 1,500 shelters. In total, 5,400 shelters must be built throughout Ukraine. All of them must meet the criteria of reliability, barrier-free accessibility and energy efficiency. These include basement shelters, ground-based structures near schools or kindergartens, and underground monolithic shelters with a high level of protection.

Shmyhal noted that regional administrations will regularly conduct monitoring of the security situation in the hromadas in Ukraine. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.] Depending on the threat level, one of the learning formats will be implemented: in-person, online or mixed..

Quote: "There will be no in-person learning in the places where there is a threat to the lives and health of the children. Local authorities understand the situation in their hromadas best of all, so it is up to them to take final decisions in their areas of responsibility."

Background:

There are 1,056 state educational facilities in the city of Kyiv that are ready for the new school year. They are ready to accept over 405,800 children and young people of all ages.

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FILE PHOTO: Member of the International Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of War hold a press conference in Kyiv

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has begun holding consultations with Britain to secure security guarantees and Kyiv aims to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday.

Ukraine is pushing to secure security guarantees from powers including the United States pending what it hopes will be its eventual accession to the Washington-led NATO military alliance.

"Our goal is to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff said in televised comments.

"Our consultations with Britain have begun," he said.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by John Stonestreet)
The Presidents Office has decided to dismiss the chief of the Economic Security Bureau (ESB), Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said in a Telegram post on Aug. 11.

Citing unnamed sources, Zheleznyak suggested the current acting ESB head, Yevhen Fedorov, will be replaced by Andriy Pashchuk.

Of course, [this was done] without a competition or anything, said Zheleznyak.

Read also: Formerly pro-Russian MPs now willing to vote for anything Ukraine needs  expert

This is already sixth change of leadership in the State Fiscal Service (later became ESB) over the past three years.

Additionally, the MP shared that its not particularly important who the new Presidents Office proxy in the agency will be.

Read also: Minister Fedorov announces launch of 5 new e-services on Diia app

Zheleznyak noted that on April 17, Fedorov became acting ESB head, before taking going on a vacation three months later.

As of July 31, the acting director did not return to work and went on sick leave.

Read also: US State Department says aid for Ukraine is not limited to one presidential administration

According to Zheleznyak, the newly appointed acting head of the ESB has been serving in operational and managerial positions in law enforcement agencies since 1997.

Since 2012, Pashchuk worked in the Interior Ministry, serving as Deputy Head of the Department of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The first group of six Ukrainian pilots will not complete their training on US-made F-16 fighter jets until next summer.

Source: The Washington Post, citing Ukrainian, European and US officials and military personnel, including senior officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity

Details: Two Ukrainian officials said only six pilots  roughly half the squadron (12-16 jets)  would complete the first training round. Two other pilots have been identified as reserve candidates.

Although the pilots speak English fluently, the sources said, they must first complete a four-month English course in the UK to learn the terminology related to jet fighters. This training will occur alongside ground personnel with poorer English language skills since Ukrainian officials say Denmark has asked that they train entire crews first, not just pilots. The Danish Defence Ministry has refused to comment on the issue.

Ukrainian officials say this pushes back the start of combat training, expected to last six months, to January. A second group of roughly the same size will be ready six months after that, by around the end of next year.

"This is called dragging it out," believes one of the Ukrainian officials. Both of them said they did not want to be too critical of their American and European counterparts out of concern for appearing ungrateful.

US officials say another 20 Ukrainian pilots are ready for English courses. They added that most of the finest Ukrainian pilots would be expected to stay in Ukraine, operating Soviet-designed aircraft.

Serhii Holubtsov, Aircraft Chief of the Ukrainian Air Force, told The Washington Post that Ukrainian pilots have been taking online English courses in between flights for the past year.

Quote from Holubtsov: "Additional specialised training will be provided to flight and ground personnel on the terminology required for the F-16 training

It was not possible to train pilots and other personnel in Ukraine in this terminology due to the lack of experience in working with such terminology."

More details: He said the selected pilots have a high level of basic English, so learning additional terminology "will not take much time".

He added that the F-16s are armed with advanced radars, so Ukraine will be able to identify more targets and better counter Russian aircraft, missiles and drones than its current fighter fleet, consisting of Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-27s. Holubtsov said Ukraine would also be able to fire Harpoon anti-ship missiles provided by the UK from F-16s to target the Russian navy, which launches missiles from the Black Sea.

Holubtsov said the high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) sent to Ukraine by the United States last year will also be launched from the F-16s: "They are already adapted for use on MiG-29 fighters, but due to the lack of an aiming system, their effectiveness is significantly limited."

The Danish Defence Ministry refused to comment on how long the training programme would take or answer questions regarding possible delays. The Dutch government is working with Romania to set up a training centre in Romania, but US officials said it "will take time".

Lieutenant Colonel Mark van de Beek, Dutch Defence Ministry spokesperson, noted that details are still being finalised. The key problem, he said, is the lack of F-16 instructors in Europe. For example, the Netherlands is currently transitioning to the state-of-the-art F-35 and has shifted its training focus away from the F-16.

"To train a fighter pilot you also need fighter pilots. That is expensive and a capability that smaller countries dont have much anymore," he said.

A US official, speaking anonymously, said the Biden administration had recently received a list of the pilots' names.

"Ukraine only has a handful of pilots that are ready to begin training and roughly two dozen more that theyve told us need some additional English language training before the pilots can move forward."

The US official stressed that European countries are taking the lead in F-16 training.

While combat training for the most experienced Ukrainian pilots is expected to take six months, Ukraine's Western allies have proposed a separate programme for newcomers which would require more than two years of training, including English lessons.

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Diplomatic relations between the two countries are not going smoothly

Ukraine's growing discontent over Israel's inaction regarding military aid may result in a significant diplomatic scandal, sources in the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) told NV on Aug. 11.

Read also: Ukrainian military achieves success on flanks in Bakhmut, says Israeli military expert

NSDC is planning to cancel the visa-free regime for Israeli citizens and aims to exclude the country's representative from the Ramstein format meetings, going forward.

According to the source, there are several reasons for this step. Among them  an unfriendly attitude towards Ukrainians visiting Israel, the discontinuation of the medical insurance program for Ukrainian refugees in the country, and Tel Aviv's ongoing reluctance to assist Ukraine with weapons. Additionally, NVs source suspects that sensitive information from the Ramstein meetings is then leaked to third parties.

Recently, Yevhen Korniychuk, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, officially called on the authorities of the host country to reconsider the decision to cancel the medical insurance program for Ukrainian refugees.

Read also: Putin shuffled his commanders at least 17 times to compensate for Russian military inadequacies, Israeli expert

"Not only is the Israeli government refusing to sell Ukraine defense equipment to protect our citizens from Russian aggression, but now Israel is also withholding medical assistance for refugees who have fled to Israel from the threat of brutal murder by Russians," he wrote on Facebook.

In response to NV's request for a comment regarding the suspension of the visa-free program and Ramstein, the NSDC stated that they do not consider this information to be something that the council should comment on or explain.

Read also: Israeli govt to summon Ukrainian ambassador for explanation over social media post

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry similarly did not respond to NV's official request on this issue.

However, our editors were able to contact the spokesman for the ministry, Oleg Nikolenko. His short response was: "My comment will be that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not currently confirm this information."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Even after sending more than two million 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine since February 2022, the Pentagon is comfortable in the view that it can continue to supply Kyiv with badly needed heavy ammunition while still meeting U.S. requirements, a spokesman told reporters on Thursday. To help meet both countries' demands, the plan is to increase the monthly production of these shells more than threefold by the end of next year.

The United States has dramatically ramped up artillery shell production capacity since the start of Russias full-on invasion of Ukraine, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons top spokesman, told reporters, including from The War Zone, Thursday. Production of 155mm artillery rounds went from 14,000 a month in February of 2022 to approximately 24,000 a month now, he said, adding that plans call for even greater increases.

Rows of incomplete shells wait for the next step in production. The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant held a media day to show what they make. The plant makes a 155mm artillery shell. (Photo by Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Currently, we plan to be at over 80,000 [155mm artillery shells] a month over the following year, he said.

While these stockpiles are not unlimited, we are comfortable where we're at right now with our stockpiles and we are comfortable that we will be able to continue to work closely with allies and partners around the world on that front, said Ryder.

In April, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told the AP that the country's armed forces were firing between 6,000 and 8,000 155mm shells every day.

While the U.S. goal now is to produce between 80,000 and 85,000 shells per month by Fiscal Year 2025, challenges exist to reach that objective, a top Army official told reporters earlier this week.

We are having to establish entirely new production lines, for the metal parts, the actual shells themselves, said Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology.

The Army is also investing in load, assemble and pack capacity, which is filling the shells with explosives, so they now become a functional weapon, he said. That capacity expansion is also underway at at least two locations.

The final piece, he said, is bringing in additional production either overseas or domestically, for the propellant that actually shoots [the shells] out of the cannon.

So all of those things do have to come together, he said. There are always risks in that. But I think we're getting the resources, getting on contract, and just working really closely every day with our industry partners, trying to help them knock down barriers to get there.

A steel worker moves a 155 mm M795 artillery projectile during the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

When it comes to supplying Ukraine, the United States is getting help from its international partners, Bush noted.

"We're working through our allies to help make sure Ukraine is supplied," he said. "So it's not all the United States. And I think that's a success story. You know, the United States is the arsenal of democracy, but we can have multiple arsenals in other democracies, and we have those and they're helping."

In March, European Union members announced their own plan to send one million 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year. Ukraine has been receiving artillery ammunition of various types from other countries around the world, too.

Those deliveries have included a number of different types of 155mm shells. This includes ones from the United States loaded with controversial cluster munitions known as Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs), as you can read more about here.

Ukrainian officials had been actively asking for these rounds, which have given them another tool for uprooting dug-in Russian forces occupying vast trench networks and for engaging large enemy formations in open terrain. U.S. officials have also cited stocks of DPICM rounds as just being a ready supply of badly need additional shells for Ukraine.

A graphic offering a general comparison between the effects of a cluster munition artillery round (at left), a unitary high-explosive one with an impact fuze (at center), and with an airburst fuze (at right). DOD

Ryder was asked on Thursday whether the DPICMs were seen as a bridge through 2025 to supply Ukraine while at the same time maintaining U.S. stocks as it ramps up production.

DPICMs, he said, were provided to Ukraine to give its troops the capability to continue to take the fight to the enemy. We have all indications that they're employing those weapons properly on the battlefield, as they indicated they would. But 155mm [rounds] aside, whatever they need, we're going to continue to work closely to ensure that they have what's necessary to continue to fight and to take back some territory.

Critics have warned that the individual submunitions in DPICM shells have historically had high failure rates and that unexploded ones could pose hazards to friendly forces and civilians. Ukraine has already provided the Pentagon with a report about the use of controversial American cluster munitions in the fight with Russia, a Ukrainian official told CNN on Wednesday.

"The official said the information transmitted to the Defense Department included both the number of rounds fired and the number of Russian targets destroyed, though the official declined to say what those figures are," CNN reported.

Given the challenges facing both Ukraine on the battlefield and the ability of the U.S. and allies to supply enough ammo for Kyiv and themselves, this is a situation we will continue to monitor closely and update when warranted.

Before we head into the latest news from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can catch up on our previous rolling coverage here.

The Latest

On the battlefield, Ukraine says it is holding Russian forces back in their offensive toward Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast and making small gains in its counter-offensive. The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops are improving the situation near Kupiansk and holding back the Ukrainian advance elsewhere.

The situation in the east is difficult, but the enemy is unable to achieve their goals, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Thursday on her Telegram channel. Defense forces are effectively restraining the advance of Russian troops in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions.

Meanwhile, the counteroffensive continues in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, she said.

Despite extremely difficult combat conditions and enemy resistance, our troops have partial success in the direction of Urozayne, further south and south-eastern Staromayorske, said Maliar.

https://twitter.com/ralee85/status/1689400110247993344?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) has made competing claims.

In the Kupiansk direction, in the course of conducting offensive operations, assault detachments of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line, according to a post on the Russian MoD Telegram channel Thursday.

Counterattacks by Ukraine have been repelled close to Novosyolovskoye in Luhansk Oblast and Sinkovka and Mankovka in Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian MoD also claimed.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as a result of actions by units of the Russian grouping of troops, aviation and artillery, a counterattack of the 46th Airmobile Brigade of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine has been repelled near Uspenovka, the Russian MoD said.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1689758202676592640

Yesterday, we told you that officials in Kupiansk were preparing to order a mandatory evacuation of about 11,000 residents as Russian forces pressed closer to that Kharkiv Oblast city and increased firing on it.

Today, Kupiansk District Military Administration Andrii Kanashevich disclosed via his Telegram channel that the order had been signed yesterday in the end and was now in effect.

Mandatory evacuation has been announced for the residents of the city of Kupyansk, Zaoskilya (left bank of the Oskil River) [and] in the territory of the Kupyansk territorial community. Kivsharivka, Kupyansk - Vuzlovy," he said.

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1689616245778243584

With Ukraines counteroffensive going slower than many had hoped, President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress for an additional $20.6 billion for Kyiv, The Washington Post reported.

The White House Office of Management and Budget wrote a letter to lawmakers seeking $13 billion in new military aid and $8.5 billion in additional economic, humanitarian, and security assistance funds for Ukraine and other countries affected by the war, the paper reported. The funding request also includes other forms of assistance for Ukraine.

Its part of a total $40 billion ask that includes more than $12 billion for disaster relief and other emergency domestic funds, including hurricanes, as well as tens of millions of dollars to boost pay for firefighters on the front lines of the wildfires that have hit many parts of the country.

The Post did not specify exactly what military aid will be included in the request, which still has to clear a contentious Congressional debate.

Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment Thursday on any supplemental aid package for Ukraine, but said that there is still about $6.2 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) funding available beyond the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30 as the result of an accounting revaluation. PDA is a mechanism through which weapons and other materiel currently in U.S. stocks can be transferred to other countries like Ukraine. Ryder said there is an additional $600 million in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funding  a funding stream to support the procurement of new materiel  available as well.

The bottom line and all of that is we will continue to work very, very closely with the interagency and with Ukraine to ensure they get what they need, he said.

https://twitter.com/ralee85/status/1689732558387290112?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

Despite sanctions imposed on Russia to cripple its weapons production capability, Moscow appears to have begun making copies of attack drones it acquired from Iran last year and is using them in combat against Ukrainian forces, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The publication cited a report issued Thursday by Conflict Armament Research, an independent group based in Britain that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars. It is the groups 10th published account of its work in Kyiv, where researchers have analyzed Russian military hardware collected on the battlefield by Ukraines security services.

The researchers traveled to Kyiv in late July and inspected the wreckage of two attack drones that were used in combat in southeastern Ukraine, the Times reported. Both appeared to be Iranian Shahed-136s, but they contained electronic modules that match components previously recovered from Russian surveillance drones, according to the report.

The materials used to build the two drones and the internal structure of their fuselages also differed greatly from those known to have been made in Iran, the researchers said.

This new version will allow Russia to sustain its attack patterns and its reliance on these one-way drones, said Damien Spleeters, who led Conflict Armament Research's investigation. So the fact that they make it domestically will allow them to continue to rely on it.

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1689708210796531712

Ukraine announced a new "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of the full-on war, Reuters reported Thursday. Its a new test of Russia's de facto blockade since Moscow last month abandoned the Black Sea Grain Initiative, hammered out last year to allow grain and other food and fertilizer to be shipped out via Ukraine's Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny.

These routes will primarily be used for civilian vessels that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports of Chernomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General staff.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said the routes had already been proposed by Ukraine directly to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Vessels whose owners/captains officially confirm readiness to sail in current conditions will be allowed to pass through routes, the General Staff stated.

"The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose," Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's navy, told Reuters.

The Black Sea region has become especially volatile of late. After a Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel attack (USV) on the Kerch Bridge last month, Russia began bombarding ports in and around Odesa and later Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, bordering NATO member Romania.

Ukraine, meanwhile, ramped up its USV attacks on Russian shipping, severely damaging the Russian Navy landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak and the Sig, a Russian commercial chemical/oil tanker. You can read more about that in our story here.

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1689598810920534016

Speaking of the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a new photo emerged of the vessel in a floating dock at the Novorossiysk Shipyard earlier this month, where it was towed after being hit by the Ukrainian USV.

https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1689682523843129344?s=20

Highlighting its increasing use of USVs more directly, Ukraine's Defense of Ministry Tweeted out art depicting the "feeding Ukrainian naval drones with Russian ships."

https://twitter.com/defenceu/status/1689338251700531200?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

Images have emerged on social media of a major fire near Odintsovo. This is a town just west of Moscow near an airport that saw its airspace restricted earlier Thursday, possibly over concerns about another attempted Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow. You can read more about that a little later in this story.

The Russian Baza media outlet is reporting that a beer warehouse on Zelenaya Street in Odintsovo is on fire, but The War Zone has not been able to confirm whether or not that is the case.

"The area of the fire was 2800 square meters," according to Baza. "Roofs and ceilings collapsed throughout the area."

So far, there is no indication one way or the other about the cause of the blaze or if there are any connections to any other incidents nearby earlier today.

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1689740974430289920

The Odintsovo fire follows other incidents in the same general area reported around 24 hours earlier.

Airspace over two major airports near Moscow was temporarily closed Thursday, Russian authorities and media reported. While Russias Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) did not provide a specific reason, several Russian media outlets and Telegram channels claimed it was out of concern that the capital area was under yet another Ukrainian drone attack. If true, this would have been the third one in just a few weeks.

This morning, August 10, 2023, during the period of temporary restriction on the reception and departure of flights from Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, aircraft crews, air traffic controllers and airport ground services took all necessary measures to ensure flight safety, was what FATA had to say on its Telegram channel. About a half dozen aircraft were rerouted, the agency said.

Meanwhile, on the ground near Domodedovo, one of the airports that had been closed, a huge fire broke out reportedly at an automobile repair shop that sent flames in the air visible for miles. The auto repair shop fire engulfed about 1,000 square meters and took place about six miles from the Domodedovo airport, Russias Ministry of Emergency Situations said, according to several media outlets.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1689531010130567168?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1689424601208463360

Russian officials have no yet made any statements about the cause of the fire, which reportedly resulted in no injuries. However, there were differing witness accounts reported by Russian media and Telegram channels.

The Russian SOTA media outlet reported on its Telegram channel that its source at the scene claims that the explosions that eyewitnesses heard occurred after the start of combustion, and the fire itself started from the metal receiving point.

The fire then spread to a building housing a furniture shop and a car dismantling shop, where decommissioned buses are parked, according to that account.

The explosions began when the fire got close to the gas cylinders, SOTA reported, adding that it could not independently verify the account.

Meanwhile, the Astra and the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel described the events differently.

Residents of Domodedovo report that they heard two explosions, then a fire started, Astra reported. According to them, the area around the boiler house is on fire.

Eyewitnesses say that there were two pops, then an explosion in the area of the industrial zone and smoke poured out, VChK-OGPU reported. It is possible that the UAVs were shot down.

https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/status/1689449537981603840

Some Russian Telegram channels are speculating, without evidence, that the blaze may have been sparked by a downed drone. There is no confirmation of that and what, if any connection between any of these events, remains unverified.

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) on Thursday did claim that there were several drones downed over its territory and Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which it occupies.

Last night attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles were foiled over the territory of Kaluga and Moscow regions, as well as Sevastopol [in Crimea], the Russian MoD announced on its Telegram channel.

The MoD reported that two UAVs moving forward Moscow were destroyed in the sky by air defense facilities above Maloyaroslavl district of Kaluga region and over the territory of Odintsovo district of Moscow region.

The Vnukovo airport is located about five miles south of the Odintsovo district and about seven miles west of the Moscow Ring Road. The Domodedovo is located about 12 miles south of the Moscow Ring Road.

Airspace over the Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports in Russia was temporarily restricted Thursday. (Google Earth image)

Close to Sevastopol in the occupied Crimean peninsula, two UAVs were destroyed by air defense facilities on duty, and nine others were suppressed by electronic warfare means and crashed in the waters of the Black Sea without reaching their target, the Russian MoD reported. As a result of the foiled terrorist attacks, there were no casualties or damage.

There were also Ukrainian drone attacks outside of the Moscow area, according to the Russian MoD.

It is not fully clear at this point whether the drone attacks near Moscow referred to by the Russian MoD Thursday were the same ones that the citys mayor reported Wednesday. You can read more about that here in our story about a major explosion at a nearby factory that injured dozens. As with Thursday's fire, that explosion created a plume of smoke visible for miles.

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1689192323588947968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1689192323588947968%7Ctwgr%5E0f124882b45b29c6bbaeb4af4d0d3e79e4c23c23%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fmassive-blast-rocks-town-outside-of-moscow

Neither FATA nor the Russian MoD made any connection between these reported attempted drone attacks and the airport closures on Thursday, either. But the Russian Astra and Baza media outlets and the Russian VChK-OGPU Telegram channel report that the closure at the Vnukovo airport west of Moscow was the result of the initiation of the so-called Carpet Plan, designed to address potential threats posed by unidentified aircraft or objects, like drones, in the sky.

All of this is occurring in the fog of war and we have no way of verifying these accounts. Even if there were no new drone attack attempts, and no connection between the auto repair shop fire and Ukraine, the various reports and rumors underscore the impacts of previous confirmed ones.

A car repair shop fire near Domodedovo, a Moscow suburb, caught fire officials say. (Via VChK-OGPU Telegram channel)

A Russian BTR-MD amphibious armored personnel carrier with some striking artwork has apparently been captured and is now being used by Ukrainian forces, as you can see in this image below. Whether it was captured painted like this or if that was applied afterward is not immediately clear, but there have been previous examples of somewhat similar paintwork on Ukrainian vehicles.

https://twitter.com/trip_to_valkiri/status/1689683207338303498?s=46\u0026t=cbCZ6V64euYCCy5V9r9oiQ

More Pakistani ammunition has appeared in use by Ukrainian forces, in this case 155mm high explosive shells produced this year. You can read more about how Ukraine obtains Pakistani ammunition this past War Zone story.

https://twitter.com/war_noir/status/1689297837505253376

A Polish-donated PT-91 Twardy tank was recently spotted heading to battle on the frontlines in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In February, Poland announced it would hand over 60 of those tanks.

https://twitter.com/gloooud/status/1689379982496202752?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

Back in May, a Ukrainian drone dropped a 40mm grenade on a Russian MT-LB tracked armored vehicle packed with anti-tank weapons that not only destroyed the vehicle, but it also created a huge crater. Well, it has now being claimed that three months later, a Russian BTR-80 wheeled armored personnel carrier inadvertently found that same hole and accidentally drove into it. It is unclear from the video below, however, how or why that happened.

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1689560659703341056

The Ukraine Weapons Tracker open source intelligence group posted another video of Russian tanks burning after being attacked by Ukraine. It is unclear from the video how the Russian T-72B tanks were attacked.

https://twitter.com/uaweapons/status/1689240998394671104?s=12\u0026t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

Ukrainians aren't the only ones destroying Russian tanks. Russia's vaunted Airborne troops are seen in this video below destroying one of their own tanks, an apparently abandoned T-72B3.

https://twitter.com/challengerinua/status/1689586658977386496

And finally, the Ukrainian force is with Mark Hamill.

The man who played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars trilogy is a huge supporter of Ukraine and "ambassador" for President Volodymyr Zelensky's United24 fundraising operation. Thursday, he received an award for raising more than $1.5 million to purchase 10 reconnaissance drones.

https://twitter.com/U24_gov_ua/status/1689654514964680704

That's it for now. We'll provide more information about Ukraine when it becomes available.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Representatives of Ukraine, the U.S., the EU, Romania, and Moldova held a meeting in Galati, Romania, on Aug. 11 to discuss Ukrainian grain exports following Russia's unilateral termination of the grain deal.

During the meeting, the participants expressed appreciation for Romania and Moldova's support for Ukraine, namely in the context of facilitating the transit of millions of metric tons of Ukrainian grain, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said.

The American representatives affirmed their commitment to helping Ukraine alleviate the consequences of the grain deal's collapse.

"The United States remains committed to partnering with the government and people of Ukraine  including through financial support and supplies, expansion of alternative export routes, and the modernization of Ukraine's border crossings," the press release of the U.S. embassy said.

"The United States will also contribute to improving critical infrastructure for rail and road transportation and transshipment, expanding access to train car parts and railway assembly lines, and assisting the private sector along the Danube in enhancing export capacity."

Washington has also pledged financial support to Ukraine's neighbors to acquire vessels and boats to facilitate cross-border transit.

According to the press release, the meeting was attended by U.S. State Department Sanctions Coordinator Ambassador Jim O'Brien, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, U.S. Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec, Acting Deputy Chief of U.S. Mission to Moldova Mary Alexander, Romanian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Sorin Grindeanu, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea, and European Commission Mobility and Transport Director General Magda Kopczynska.

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, effectively terminating the deal. The agreement, brokered in July 2022 by Turkey and the U.N., allowed Ukraine to export its agricultural products through its Black Sea ports.

The move sparked fears of food insecurity worldwide as prices of grain products began to rise following the deal's collapse.

Ukraine's grain exports are vital to the world's food supply. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was the fifth-largest wheat exporter globally. The grain deal had allowed for nearly 33 million metric tons of food to be exported through Ukrainian ports while it was in force, according to the U.N.

Shortly after the deal's collapse, U.S. State Secretary Anthony Blinken said that Washington is looking for ways to help Ukraine export grain and other food products.

The EU pledged to increase the capacity of its "solidarity lanes," which facilitated the transit of more than 45 million metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural products since May 2022. Several member states, such as Romania and Croatia, have also agreed to use their infrastructure to aid Ukraine's exports.

Read also: This Week in Ukraine Ep. 17  Black Sea grain deal is dead. What can Ukraine do?

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Key developments on Aug. 11:

Russian forces hit Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast with Kinzhal missiles, killing 1 child

Missile debris fall on children's hospital in Kyiv

Zelensky pledges all enlistment office chiefs to be dismissed following corruption charges

Drone intercepted in Moscow, mayor says.



Russian forces launched four Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles against Ukraine in the morning of Aug. 11.

According to Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, Russian forces targeted an airfield in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and the young pilots who are scheduled to undergo training on the Western-made fighter jets.

Three missiles struck the area near the Kolomyia airfield, killing an eight-year-old child and damaging civilian infrastructure and houses, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, which borders Romania, is a rare target of Russian attacks, as it lies hundreds of kilometers away from the front lines.

Only one missile was downed over Kyiv Oblast on its way to the Kolomyia airfield, the Air Force said.

Missile debris fell in three locations in Kyivs Obolonskyi district, including on the territory of a children's hospital, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko.

No casualties were reported in Kyiv.

In addition, Russian forces attacked southern Kherson Oblast with artillery and drones, killing one civilian and injuring seven others, including two policemen, the authorities reported on Aug. 11.

A 53-year-old man died after suffering severe chest injuries when Russian forces hit an apartment building in the city of Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Kherson and other regional settlements on the Kyiv-controlled west bank of the Dnipro River have been continuously subjected to Russian shelling since Ukrainian forces liberated them in November 2022.

Russian forces were pushed to the river's east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.

Also on Aug. 11, Russian shelling of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, injured a woman and damaged 15 houses and power lines, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.

The 71-year-old woman has been hospitalized in mild condition, according to the report.

Nikopol sits just across the Dnipro River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which makes the city a regular target of heavy Russian shelling.

Russia's disregard for human life knows no bounds, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink tweeted on Aug. 11 following the attacks.

Read also: Russias Kinzhal missile is not hypersonic. Nor is it invincible

All regional military enlistment office chiefs to be dismissed

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 11 that all the regional military enlistment offices chiefs across Ukraine would be dismissed following the nationwide checks that revealed multiple violations, including corruption, power abuse, and fraud.

They will be replaced with officers with combat experience after they undergo an inspection by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in wartime is treason, Zelensky said in a video address.

The decision was approved at an Aug. 11 meeting of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, assigning General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, responsible for its implementation.

Ukrainian authorities began the nationwide inspection of military recruitment offices in late June following journalists reports on regional enlistment office heads' alleged corruption and abuse of power.

A total of 112 criminal investigations have been launched against Ukrainian enlistment officials, with the charges against 33 people, Zelensky said.

He pledged that every enlistment officer would be held responsible if proven guilty.

Officials who confused epaulets and benefits will definitely be brought to trial, said Zelensky.

Drone intercepted in Moscow, mayor says

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defense downed a drone over Russias capital on the morning of Aug. 11.

The drone debris fell in western Moscow, according to the report.

Russian Telegram channels published footage showing a drone crushing and the smoke rising from the leafy area next to the river in Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Ukraine has tried to attack an unnamed facility and that the drone had been downed by electronic warfare.

No casualties or damage were reported in Moscow.

Ukraine hasnt claimed responsibility for the attack.

Drone attacks against Moscow have intensified over recent weeks. Two drone strikes on the same target, the high-rise "Moscow City" building where several Russian ministries are housed, caused damage on July 30 and Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, Andrii Yusov, the military intelligence spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 11 that the intensity of reported drone attacks in Moscow is increasing, hinting there is a likelihood of continued attacks in Russias capital.

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.
Petro Symonenko, Leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine (banned in Ukraine), and former lawmaker, left for Russia via Belarus during the Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast and has actively supported Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. He has been served with a notice of suspicion.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine; Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

Details: The SSU has gathered evidence against Petro Symonenko on charges of publicly calling for the seizure of state power in Ukraine and justifying the war.

The investigation indicates that during the occupation of Kyiv Oblast in February and March 2022, Symonenko appealed to Russia's senior military and political leadership for his "evacuation" to the aggressor country.

The Kremlin ordered a Russian Special Forces unit to take Symonenko and his family out of the then-occupied village of Berezivka in the Makariv district of Kyiv Oblast.

As the Russians arrived in Berezivka, the former lawmaker welcomed the Russians, accommodated them in his own residence, and provided them with food.

Then, from 4 to 8 March 2022, the Russian occupying special forces "escorted" Symonenko and his relatives through Russian checkpoints to the territory of Belarus.

Afterwards, he moved to Russia, where he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the International Communist Association Union of Communist Parties  Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Russian Communist Party controls this pro-Kremlin organisation, headed by lawmaker Gennady Zyuganov, member of the State Duma [the lower chamber of the Russian parliament].

Symonenko launched a public campaign supporting Moscow's aggressive policy on Zyuganov's instructions.

In October 2022, the former lawmaker participated in the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, held in Havana, Cuba.

Symonenko tried to legitimise the seizure of part of Ukraine's territory and the activities of the "LPR/DPR" (the Russian-backed Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics) terrorist organisations during his speech at the "forum".

In addition to this, the investigation revealed that the former MP took part in the congress of the Anti-Fascist Forum held in Minsk, Belarus, on 21-22 April 2023.

There, he spoke in favour of continuing the aggressive war against Ukraine and justified the Kremlin's narratives on the use of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation.

Based on the collected evidence, Symonenko was served with a notice of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

Article 109.3 (public calls for violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or for the seizure of state power through the media);

Art. 436-2.3 (justification, recognition as lawful, and denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in 2014, including by presenting the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an internal civil conflict using the media).

Furthermore, the issue of additional qualification of the defendant's criminal actions is under consideration.

The pre-trial investigation is underway.

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 Batumi City Court has found Maryna Chobanian, a Ukrainian citizen, guilty of disobeying a lawful police request. Chobanian took part in protests against the arrival of a cruise ship with Russian tourists in Batumi on 31 July.

Source: News-Georgia, a Georgian media outlet

Details: Chobanian said in court that she had been unlawfully detained. She explained that it happened so suddenly and was carried out in such an aggressive manner that she did not understand what was happening and instinctively tried to fend off the detaining officers with her arms in a state of shock during the first seconds. The court did not heed her arguments.

The judge said that she had no right to strike the police officers, then clarified that she had no right to wave the officers away with her arms. Chobanian was fined 2,000 GEL (approximately US$768).

The court acquitted Chobanian of charges of disorderly conduct and violation of public order.

Chobanian said she would appeal the verdict.

"I will appeal. I was accused of disobeying the polices lawful demand, but they couldnt prove the grounds for their actions. The court, having dismissed the charges of disorderly conduct, confirmed that there were no grounds for detention, so what is the lawful demand?" Chobanian told News-Georgia.

Verdicts in the cases of other protestors detained in the Batumi port, including another Ukrainian citizen, Dmytro Zakrevskyi, will also be delivered today, on 11 August.

A total of 23 people were detained at the rally in the Batumi port on 31 July.

Background: The protests in the Batumi port occurred in opposition to the arrival of the Astoria Grande cruise ship; on 31 July, the ship arrived in the Georgian port for the second time.

Students, members of the opposition movements, and activists gathered for a demonstration in the port. Astoria Grande left Batumi that same night.

Celebrities from the RU.TV TV channel who support the Russian war against Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin were among the Astoria Grandes passengers.

Later, it was reported that the Astoria Grande would no longer call at the Georgian port of Batumi, where Russian tourists were twice met with protests.

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!






Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian defence forces killed another 580 invaders and destroyed 18 UAVs, 12 tanks and 15 armoured combat vehicles.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces from 24 February 2022 to 11 August 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

approximately 252,780 (+580) military personnel

4,290 (+12) tanks

8,318 (+15) armoured combat vehicles

5,043 (+15) artillery systems

713 (+2) multiple-launch rocket systems

471 (+2) air defence systems

315 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft

313 (+0) helicopters

4,197 (+18) operational-tactical UAVs

1,377 (+0) cruise missiles

18 (+0) ships/boats

7,511 (+16) vehicles and tankers

756 (+10) special vehicles and other equipment

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!
Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, has condemned the missile strike on Zaporizhzhia that Russian forces carried out on 10 August and that damaged the Reikartz hotel, which UN representatives had used in the past during trips to Ukraine.

Source: Denise Brown in a statement posted on the UN website

Quote: "I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia a short time ago.

It is utterly inadmissible.

I have stayed in this hotel every single time I visited Zaporizhzhia. My team uses it as their base for their frequent travels to the city. It was the UN base for the operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in May last year."

Russia destroys Reikartz hotel in Zaporizhzhia with Iskander strike

Russia destroys Reikartz hotel in Zaporizhzhia with Iskander strike

Photo from Telegram by Anatoliy Kurtiev, Secretary of Zaporizhzhia City Council

Details: Brown said that the number of indiscriminate attacks, which have damaged civilian structures, killing and injuring civilians, "have reached unimaginable levels". She added that these attacks violate international humanitarian law.

Brown called on Russia to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and to stop indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, "in the name of humanity".

Background:

Russian forces attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia on the evening of 10 August, damaging a civilian building, killing at least one civilian and injuring 16.

On 9 August, Russian forces attacked a residential neighbourhood in Zaporizhzhia. As of the morning of 10 August, three civilians are known to have been killed and nine  including an infant  injured in the attack.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, their forces have been regularly hitting civilian targets in Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Bad news for those fighting to keep the planet from overheating: El Nino is here, and things are only going to get warmer, at least in the short term. The return of El Nino paves the way for global temperatures to spike and extreme weather conditions to occur.

Whats happening?

In early July, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the weather agency for the United Nations, declared that El Nino has officially begun. El Nino occurs when the surface temperature in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean reaches 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit above average for a period of three months, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

El Ninos effect on the atmosphere can have devastating consequences on weather and wildfires, which in turn lead to equally devastating consequences on economies. On top of that, the spike in temperature, along with extreme weather events, puts lives at risk.

Why is El Nino concerning?

The rise in global temperatures due to El Nino couldnt come at a worse time. The warmest eight years on record have all been since 2015, per the WMO, with the hottest three being 2016, 2019, and 2020. The first one may have had something to do with an unusual El Nino event that reportedly kicked off in 2014.

An El Nino generally occurs every two to seven years and lasts nine to twelve months. But the one that began in 2014, some say, lasted until 2016. Others say El Nino failed in 2014 and occurred in back-to-back years for 2015-2016. Either way, thats not normal. Then, a weaker El Nino happened in 2018-2019.

Already this year, Japan experienced its hottest spring on record, per the Japan Times, and the UK recorded its hottest June ever, according to Reuters.

To make matters worse, the UKs Meteorological Office recently released a study finding that theres a good possibility that sometime in the next five years, the global temperature will temporarily exceed 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. Thats the threshold the UN marked for staving off severe climate disruptions that could be disastrous.

Whats being done to prepare for El Nino?

Petteri Taalas, the secretary general of the WMO, told CNBC, The declaration of an El Nino by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilize preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems, and our economies.

Taalas called on governments worldwide to heed early warnings and take anticipatory action before extreme weather occurs. Yet its also up to individuals to do their part to ensure their own safety and the safety of those around them.

El Nino  especially in an already warmed world  will likely bring with it droughts, floods, wildfires, and intense storms, so what it means to be prepared depends on where youre located.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
United Nations and non-governmental organizations often stayed in the Zaporizhzhya hotel that was damaged by a Russian cruise missile strike on Aug. 10, the UNs Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement on the UNs website.

She called the attack "absolutely unacceptable."

"I have stayed at this hotel every single time I visited Zaporizhzhya," Brown said.

Read also: Russia uses Kh-35 missile in Zaporizhzhya missile strike, police say

My team uses it as a base for their frequent trips to the city.

Brown added that the hotel was the UN base for the operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in May 2022.

The UN representative noted that the number of "indiscriminate attacks" on civilian infrastructure, which result in civilian deaths and injuries, has reached an "incredible level."

Read also: Two young musicians killed in Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhya

"In the name of humanity, I call on the Russian Federation to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine," Brown said.

In an earlier attack on the evening of Aug. 9, Russia fired a Kh-35 missile at a residential area of Zaporizhzhya. Three people were killed and eight injured in the Russian attack. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the missile hit a playground, destroyed a church building, and damaged windows in high-rise buildings and stores nearby.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
[Source]

The U.S. has called for a public United Nations (U.N.) Security Council meeting to discuss human rights abuses in North Korea.

Long overdue meeting: The U.S., which currently holds the Security Councils rotating presidency for this month, will be holding its first open meeting on Pyongyangs human rights issues since 2017. U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk and investigator Elizabeth Salmon will reportedly brief the 15-nation Security Council on Aug. 17.

It is long overdue, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in the announcement with support from the ambassadors of Albania, Japan and South Korea.

We know the government's human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and Republic of Korea. More from NextShark: Missing Japanese porn actor Rina Arano found dead, tied to a tree in Ibaraki forest

China and Russia disagree: However, China and Russia  who have close relations with North Korea  have said that the Security Council is not the right venue for such discussions. The nations contend that rights issues should be confined to bodies such as the U.N. Human Rights Council or General Assembly.

While the two countries may call for a procedural vote next week, the U.S. expects the minimum nine votes needed to hold the meeting despite potential protests. China was previously accused of trying to hide North Koreas atrocities by blocking the broadcast of an informal meeting of Security Council members on accusations of Pyongyangs human rights abuses.

Crimes against humanity: North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs since 2006.

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In 2014, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded that North Koreas crimes against humanity include: extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will hold the junta that took power in Niger accountable for the safety of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and detained members of the government, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

"The United States joins the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in calling for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger," Blinken said in a statement released by the U.S. State Department.

The United States recently paused certain foreign assistance programs for Niger after the military junta overthrew the democratically elected president.

West Africa's regional bloc on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force for possible use against the junta that took power in Niger in July, saying it wanted a peaceful restoration of democracy but all options including force were on the table.

"The United States appreciates the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis," Blinken said.

The threat of an invasion, though not specific, raises tensions in and around Niger, a uranium producer that until the coup was an important ally of the West in the fight against Islamist insurgents devastating the Sahel region.

The junta, which seized power on July 26, had defied an Aug. 6 deadline to stand down set by ECOWAS, instead closing Niger's airspace and vowing to defend the country against any foreign attack.

The bloc pledged to enforce sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on those preventing the return to power of Bazoum.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington)
A special counsel has been appointed to investigate Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden (RYAN COLLERD)

The US Justice Department on Friday escalated its investigation into President Joe Biden's son Hunter, naming a special counsel amid allegations of tax fraud and illicit overseas business deals.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor David Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019 on low-level tax and gun charges.

The announcement came just as Weiss told the federal court in Delaware that a plea deal struck with Biden in June was no longer valid, indicating that he could move to file felony tax charges against the president's son in other jurisdictions.

Garland said Weiss, who was originally appointed as a federal prosecutor by Joe Biden's political rival Donald Trump, had requested special counsel status to be able to pursue his probe more widely.

"Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said.

- Deals in China, Ukraine -

The move comes as Joe Biden is running for reelection, possibly in a rematch with ex-president Trump, himself accused of felony crimes in the investigation by another Justice Department special counsel, Jack Smith.

Republicans have made Hunter Biden's business dealings a target in trying to damage the Democratic incumbent's standing some 15 months before the election.

Garland gave no hint on the subject matter of Weiss' expanded probe, only saying his elevation to special counsel "reaffirms" the independence and authority of his investigation.

Hunter Biden has come under investigation in Congress over business deals he did in China, Ukraine and elsewhere during and after his father's 2009-2017 term as vice president.

A former business associate told Congress recently that Hunter had gotten his father involved in telephone calls with his foreign partners several times.

Republicans allege Joe Biden used his political position to help his son -- a claim the president denies.

Hunter Biden is also believed to be facing possible prosecution for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, in relation to some of his offshore business deals.

- Broken plea deal -

Until now, Weiss's investigation has focused on low-level charges that Hunter Biden, 53, didn't pay taxes on millions of dollars in income, and illegally bought a firearm.

In a preliminary plea deal, the court was told Biden erred during a period that he was heavily using drugs, and that he has since paid the back taxes and fines.

Weiss agreed to Biden being sentenced to probation on two tax counts and entering a counseling and rehabilitation program for the firearms charge.

But on July 26, the deal fell apart after Judge Maryellen Noreika queried why the gun charge was included in a tax case, and whether the agreement protected Biden from other charges -- something Biden had believed but Weiss denied.

Biden then entered a not guilty plea, and the two sides were expected to work out a new agreement.

But on Friday, Weiss said those talks had reached an impasse, cancelled the deal and indicated that he would file felony tax charges in other venues.

What remained unclear is whether he would pursue other charges on top of those already known.

- Republicans say DOJ protecting Biden -

There was no comment from the White House on Weiss's elevation to special counsel.

In a social media post, a Trump spokesperson alleged that the Biden family had been "protected by the Justice Department for decades."

"There is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartel's own financial gain," the spokesperson said, without offering evidence.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated that the Congressional probe of Hunter Biden will continue.

"This action by Biden's DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption," he said on social media.

It was unclear if Weiss would adhere to his promise to testify on his Biden probe to the House Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks now that he has been named a special counsel.

In a statement, the committee's Republican majority said they expect Weiss to uphold his commitment.

pmh/sst
The Biden administration has reached a secretive agreement with Iran that involves the release of five unjustly detained Americans, reportedly in exchange for Tehran getting several jailed Iranians and ultimately, access to approximately $6 billion in sanctioned oil revenue that's being held in South Korea.

The agreement comes after at least two years of negotiations, according to CNN and the New York Times, which first reported various elements of the negotiations. The five Iranian American dual citizens have been transferred from Iran's notoriously harsh Evin Prison to a hotel in Tehran, where they will be held for a few weeks under house arrest before being allowed to leave the country.

The detained individuals include Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, Morad Tahbaz, and two Americans whose families dont want their identities made public, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

The ongoing negotiations are considered very dynamic, and hinge on the eventual complete release of those being held by Iran, according to Watson and a lawyer for one of the detainees.

We have received confirmation that Iran has released from prison five Americans who were unjustly detained and has placed them on house arrest, Watson said. While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens  should have never been detained in the first place. We will continue to monitor their condition as closely as possible.

Until the five are back on U.S. soil, negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate, Watson said. We will, therefore, have little in the way of details to provide about the state of their house arrest or about our efforts to secure their freedom.

Jared Genser, a lawyer for Siamak Namazi, told USA TODAY the deal between the U.S. and Iran was an "important step forward" toward securing his client's release.

"I was very heartened to see the Iranian mission at the United Nations come out publicly and say that there's a deal and that the five Americans will be pardoned in exchange for prisoners coming from the United States to Iran," he said. "The fact that they've said that publicly and on the record is a really important commitment and makes it more likely that we'll see this done, but we have to remain vigilant until this is over."

"Siamak Namazi has tragically been left behind by both the Obama administration and the Trump administration who got out other hostages but left him behind, inexplicably," Genser added. "So until it's over, we're not exactly going to celebrate."

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a rally outside the former US embassy in the capital Tehran on Nov. 4, 2022, to mark the 43rd anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis. - More than 50 US embassy staff were taken hostage in the seizure of its mission by supporters of the Islamic revolution on November 4, 1979.

Genser also emphasized that the United States is not sending any money to Iran as part of the agreement, just unfreezing a $6 billion oil payment from South Korean companies to Iran.

"That's actually $6 billion of Iranian money that's been frozen in a South Korean account for for many, many years," Genser said. "I think it is important to emphasize that the U.S. is not going to pay a single penny to Iran in the context of fulfilling this deal."

The politics of hostage negotiations and swaps

This deal is likely to trigger a backlash from Republicans in Congress, including some who are concerned that Iran could use the funds for military purposes or to support militant and even terrorist groups in the Middle East and around the world.

While we always welcome the release of American hostages  if they are in fact released after President Biden pays Iran $6 billion in ransom  this craven act of appeasement will only embolden the ayatollahs to take more hostages and use these ill-gotten gains to attack our troops, fund terrorism and arm Russia, said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. This cycle will continue until President Biden stops dancing to Irans tune and starts responding firmly and decisively to their aggression.

Some conservatives are questioning whether it is part of a broader effort to revive the Iran nuclear deal that was negotiated during the Obama administration.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told USA TODAY that the Biden administration's agreement to secure the release of five Americans jailed in Iran was "bad policy."

"This is not a prisoner exchange, it's the largest hostage ransom payment in American history and it's tied to a broader unacknowledged nuclear deal underway," said Goldberg, who served as NSC director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020.

Goldberg also expressed concern that the agreement with Iran could result in China and Russia taking more Americans hostage because it sent a message that the U.S. is willing to pay a hefty price for hostages.

"In general, paying for hostages means there's going to be more hostage taking," said Goldberg, who was also a senior foreign policy adviser on Iran issues in the House and Senate.

Goldberg said that he is "very afraid" that Thursday's deal with Iran could result in Russian President Vladimir Putin raising the price tag for jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich has been detained by Russian authorities on espionage charges in late March.

And he said he believed the new prisoner exchange agreement is "part of a much broader, quiet negotiation that has bypassed Congress" that is related to the Iran nuclear deal.

Part of a bigger negotiation over an Iran nuclear deal?

The Biden administration has long sought to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that was secured under the Obama administration with Tehran, or an improved deal that forbids Iran from building a nuclear weapons program.

The White House, however, may not be able write any agreement without triggering a messy congressional review; and Israel has already vowed to undermine it.

"In some ways the administration would like this to be an argument over whether or not we should be giving Iran $6 billion of budget support to get five people out of Iran," Goldberg said, rather than that the U.S. is paying the money as part of a new effort to get a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Genser, Namazi's lawyer, said that no reports of an agreement or unfrozen assets will let him claim victory until his client lands back on American soil.

"I will just say as someone who's been Namazi's lawyer for most of this time that he's been detained, that we've had lots of attempts to try to get the hostages out of Iran that have failed," Genser said. "There are a series of steps that both sides need to go through to get from where we are today to the ultimate departure from Iran and return to the United States."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US aims to swap five Americans jailed in Iran for Iranians, oil money
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned on Aug. 11 four key figures associated with the Russian financial conglomerate Alfa Group, namely Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, German Khan, and Alexey Kuzmichev.

"Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

"Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."

The four men in question serve on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group, which is one of the main financial and investment conglomerates in Russia. Among its subsidiaries is the largest commercial bank in the country Alfa-Bank.

The assets and properties of the sanctioned individuals in the U.S. are now blocked and any financial transactions with them are prohibited.

As the Treasury Department noted, the businessmen are already on the sanctions lists of Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, and the U.K.

The latest sanctions package further includes the Russian Association of Employers and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), an organization involved in the country's technology sector.

According to the statement, the RSPP "has also been involved in activities related to Russia's responses to sanctions imposed on Putin's regime since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

Russian Israeli businessman Mikhail Fridman, born in Ukraine's Lviv, was arrested in the U.K. in December 2022. He was released on bail on suspicion of fraud-related offenses.

Investigative reporters discovered in May that his company Alpha Insurance Firm insures the vehicles of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

The company is also reported to provide services to Russian President Vladimir Putin's Main Office of Special Programs, which guards him. Another company Fridman co-owns, X5 Retail Group, also cooperates with the Russian military through the group's grocery chains.

Ukraine decided in late July to nationalize Sense Bank, a rebranded Ukrainian branch of Fridman's Alfa-Bank. According to analysts from StateWatch, the oligarch continues to hold assets in several Ukrainian companies, including the mobile operator Kyivstar, and bottled water producers Morshinska and Myrhorodska.

The New York Times published an investigation on July 27 revealing that both Fridman and Aven enjoy a luxurious life in the U.K. thanks to numerous sanction exemptions.

Read also: Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Companies of Russian oligarch Fridman allegedly support Russian war effort in Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Biden administration on Friday announced sanctions against four Russians on the supervisory board of a financial and investment conglomerate based in Moscow.

The U.S. said it was sanctioning Petr Olegovich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev.

The administration said all of the individuals have served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group Consortium, which describes itself as one of the largest financial investment conglomerates in Russia. Fridman is a co-founder of the group.

The departments of Treasury and State announced additional sanctions against a Russian business organization involved in Russias tech sector that the U.S. said was involved in Russias response to previous sections imposed after it invaded Ukraine.

The United States will continue to take all appropriate action to hold accountable those who enable and profit from Russias war against Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo echoed that [w]ealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people.

Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Adeyemo added in a statement.

The Treasury Department noted that the four Russians had already been sanctioned by Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand and the U.K.

It said due to the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the persons above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked, the Treasury announcement reads. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
FILE PHOTO: Russian businessman, co-founder of Alfa-Group Mikhail Fridman attends a conference of the Israeli foundation Keren Hayesod in Moscow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. on Friday imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association, the latest measures targeting Moscow's financial elite over the war in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said it was targeting four men who have served on Alfa's supervisory board - Petr Olegivich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev - under sanctions against the country's financial services sector.

It also imposed sanctions on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it said.

Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.

Commenting on the new sanctions, Russia's ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said they were part of "a failing restrictive policy" and the White House "could not destroy our economy and undermine technological sovereignty."

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Ismail Shakil, Rami Ayyub and Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Cynthia Osterman)
A Menards shopper was expecting to receive a rebate check from the home improvement store, but it never arrived, authorities said.

The woman in Cumberland, Wisconsin, called Menards and learned her rebate check had already been spent, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.

She called police in June 2022, prompting an investigation into the theft, officials said in an Aug. 10 news release.

Investigators found store surveillance footage that showed a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier using the womans stolen check, according to court records.

Authorities said the mail carrier was then linked to the disappearance of 30 other Menards rebate checks.

When possible, Menards pulled footage of the transactions when the 30 checks were redeemed, which showed the defendant buying items, such as tools, clothing, and snacks, according to the USPS employees signed plea agreement.

Prosecutors said all but two of the stolen checks were part of his mail delivery route from early April to late May 2022. The other two checks should have been delivered to P.O. boxes to which the worker had access.

The 31 checks were worth a combined $4,547.84, officials said. Individual losses to each victim ranged from $1.76 to $1,061.69.

The defense attorney who represented the 38-year-old Cumberland man said he had no comment on the case.

The mail carrier pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of theft of mail while a U.S. Postal Service employee, records show.

On Aug. 10, he was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $4,547.84 in restitution.

McClatchy News requested comment from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and Menards.

Menards often offers mail-in rebates to shoppers.

Cumberland is in northwest Wisconsin and about 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

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PROVO, Utah (AP)  An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against President Joe Biden was described by family and neighbors as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as a corrupt and overreaching government."

The family insisted in a statement on Thursday that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalized.

Robertson, who public records say was 74 years old, was killed Wednesday by agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home hours before the president landed in Utah to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) away.

Prosecutors had filed three felony charges against Robertson under seal for alleged threats, including one this week that he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle in anticipation of Biden's Utah visit.

The self-employed woodworker was largely homebound and had limited mobility, his family said. Robertson referred to himself as a MAGA Trumper, a reference to former President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan, and posted threats including against Biden, the FBI and numerous law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump, according to an FBI affidavit.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech, Robertsons family said in a statement posted to social media. The statement added that he was a decent man who voiced his sometimes intemperate grievances in what has become the public square of our age  the internet.

A man holds a flag as law enforcement investigate a home in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. An armed Utah man accused of making threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said. (Chris Samuels/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

The family added that it had no animosity against law enforcement agents who took part in the events leading up to his death.

The salient point is that he was never actually going to hurt anyone," family member Julie Robertson said in a text message. He didn't even leave his house on the day of the presidential visit.

The FBI investigation began following a March tip about a threat Robertson made on Trumps social media platform, Truth Social. Robertson also referenced a presidential assassination and posted threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James, authorities said.

He called for assassinating the president and vice president, called an assault rifle a "Democrat eradicator and regularly posted photos of firearms accompanied by threatening messages, they said.

In Provo, a growing area south of Salt Lake City known for outdoor recreation and Brigham Young University, several of Robertson's neighbors said they witnessed and filmed parts of the FBI raid. They echoed the family's account, questioning whether the elderly veteran they knew was a credible threat to the president in light of his social media posts.

Multiple neighbors said they could hear law enforcement agents identifying themselves as FBI broadcasting on a vehicle loudspeaker to demand Robertson exit his home. Roughly 20 law enforcement agents came to Robertson's house, on a cul-de-sac, at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to neighbor Jon Michael Ossola.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson, featuring threatening online postings by Robertson, is photographed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Robertson, an armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden ,was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities say. The shooting happened as special agents tried to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Ossola said he heard them tell Robertson to come outside and Robertson yelling back, saying he hadnt committed any federal crimes.

The shouting escalated until a window was broken, Ossola said, then he heard a cacophony of bangs and eventually saw agents bring Robertsons body outside. "It was clear he was gone, Ossola said.

I understand that, like, he had guns, and he had mentioned that he would use them, and so theres definitely a concern there," Ossola said. "But it still felt, like, a bit unsettling about how many people were there and just kind of how forceful it felt.

Katie Monson, Robertson's next-door neighbor, said she saw agents attempt to breach his front door with a battering ram before driving a tactical vehicle onto his lawn, close enough to pierce his front window.

She couldn't hear Robertson exchange words with law enforcement but heard six quick shots, a pause and then an exchange of bullets from what sounded like multiple firearms. Tactical officers dragged his shirtless body onto the sidewalk to wait for emergency medical personnel, who checked if he was still alive, she said.

Local firefighters on Thursday laid flowers in front of Robertsons home after cleaning blood off the area.

Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Robertson's body remained there for several hours while police began to remove what Monson described as an arsenal of firearms from his home and the sheds behind it.

She and other neighbors said Robertsons violent, threat-laced social media posts were markedly different from how he interacted with the community. He would ask about neighbors children and offer to drive people home from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meeting house near his home.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and his wife Abby Cox greet President Joe Biden after he arrives at Roland R. Wright International Guard Base, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Monson said Robertson was kind and played with kids in neighbors' yards. She likened the contrast between his in-person demeanor and online persona to "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

After living next to this guy for six years, hes just like this super sweet grandpa for the most part. Yes, he has rants and opinions," Monson said. I cant speak to his online life, but he had a peaceful, religious, community-centered side to him. That was how he presented himself in everyday life.

In addition to growing concerns about online radicalization, the fatal confrontation came as Trump and other Republicans, who have traditionally touted themselves as the party of law and order, have escalated their verbal attacks on law enforcement and especially the FBI.

That animosity was on stark display Thursday after a right-wing activist published Ossolas footage online, casting suspicion on federal law enforcements actions and raising questions about how credible a threat was posed by an overweight, elderly man.

FBI representatives did not immediately respond to the familys statement.

Agency spokesperson Sandra Barker declined to say if agents were wearing body cameras. Biden last year signed an executive order requiring all federal law enforcement agencies to mandate that body cameras be used during operations such as arrests and searches. However, a 2022 FBI policy says agents executing arrest and search warrants do not have to wear them if it is considered unsafe.

Military records show Robertson is a U.S. Air Force veteran who entered active duty in 1970 and served four or fewer years, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

Flowers laid by firefighters are seen in front of the home of Craig Robertson, Thursday, Aug 10, 2023, in Provo, Utah. Robertson was killed by FBI agents Wednesday during a confrontation after making violent threats against President Joseph Biden and other public officials. (AP Photo/Sam Metz)

He was an airman first class and his service included work as a metalworker helper, she said. He was last stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois, which has since been decommissioned. Further details on his service were not immediately available.

A White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the matter said Biden was briefed after the raid. He made no mention of it during his Thursday appearance in Salt Lake.

___

Slevin and Bedayn reported from Denver and Brown reported from Billings. Associated Press writers Tara Copp in Washington, Thomas Peipert in Denver, Chris Megerian in Salt Lake, and researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

___

Jesse Bedayn 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.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Family of Utah man killed by FBI after threats against Biden issues statement
A cough medication is poured in this picture illustration

TASHKENT (Reuters) - Uzbekistan began a trial on Friday over the deaths last year of 65 children linked to contaminated cough syrups, announcing for the first time a much higher death toll than before.

The Central Asian nation had previously reported only 20 deaths linked to the medicines, which were produced by India's Marion Biotech.

Among the 21 defendants - 20 of whom are Uzbeks and one is Indian - are former senior officials who were in charge of licensing imported medicines and executives of a private company that imported and distributed them, Uzbekistan's Supreme Court said in statement.

Charges against them include tax evasion, sale of substandard or counterfeit medicines, abuse of office, negligence, forgery, and bribery.

The Indian regulator has canceled the manufacturing license of Marion Biotech, which had exported the syrups to Uzbekistan, and arrested some of its employees.

In December, a legal representative of Marion Biotech said the company regretted the deaths.

(This Aug. 11 story has been corrected to show that there are 20 Uzbek citizens and one Indian on trial in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Veterans with health problems from toxic exposure now have more time to get additional backdated money from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

President Biden was in Utah Thursday praising the largest expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans and survivors in over thirty years. These are vets who breathed in toxins from things like burn pits and burning oil fields while serving our country. Now the VA presumes many of the health problems they have are actually because of their service.

When these troops came home many of them the fittest and best trained warriors that we ever went anywhere exposed to these burn pits, they werent the same, President Biden said.

Some veterans have been experiencing technical glitches when applying for whats known as PACT Act benefits. Late Wednesday night, the VA announced it would extend the deadline for vets to get those benefits backdated to the day the President signed the bill exactly one year ago.

ALSO READ: As VA benefits waver, Charlotte organization steps up for veterans and their families

That means former service members wont be leaving money they earned on the table. Now they have until Monday to get their information into the system. They can still file claims after that date -- they just wont be getting the extra year of compensation.

Often times they leave the military with wounds that arent seen, veteran and advocate Kaitlynne Yancy with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said. We have to make sure that these provisions and this type of care is in place to take care of them after theyve taken care of us.

The administration said so far more than 4.1 million vets have received free screenings under the PACT Act.

While the technical difficulties are definitely stressful and can make someone concerned that their benefits arent being filed, as an organization that is doing everything we can to ensure that veterans hear about this service, it tells us that more and more people are filing and so we want to keep up that momentum, Yancy said.

VIDEO: As VA benefits waver, Charlotte organization steps up for veterans and their families
FIRST ON FOX: Former U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown, a Republican candidate in the 2024 Nevada Senate election, is calling for accountability and transparency from the Biden administration after its latest request for Congress to provide billions more in funding for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

In the request sent to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, President Biden requested $24 billion in aide to Ukraine, split between $13 billion for defense-related spending and $11 billion in economic and humanitarian assistance.

Brown  who is looking to unseat Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., in the state's Senate election next year  insists that it is time for the Senate to "start demanding answers" regarding how American taxpayer dollars are being spent in the war-torn country.

WHITE HOUSE WANTS CONGRESS TO SPEND SIX TIMES MORE ON UKRAINE THAN BORDER, FENTANYL CRISIS IN NEW REQUEST

Former U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown, left, is calling for accountability and transparency from the Biden administration after its latest request for Congress to provide billions more in funding for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

"The world has been pulled into this war because Russia sensed weakness from the Biden administration after its disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. For a year and a half, Biden has demanded a blank check from the American taxpayer with zero accountability on how its spent and seemingly no plan on how to end this war," Brown said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "Yes, Putin is an out-of-control dictator who must be stopped, but even Bidens own generals are telling him this war appears to be unwinnable."

"The U.S. Senate needs to step up and start demanding answers," he added. "Instead, Jacky Rosen is toeing the party line and remaining silent while Joe Biden attempts to raid the U.S. treasury again for billions of dollars with no strings attached."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

If elected, Brown said he would hold "the Biden administrations feet to the fire" and ask questions about the $113 billion that has been allocated previously.

"We need a plan right now. No more blank checks. Jacky Rosen has failed to hold the administration accountable, but I wont," added Brown, a Purple Heart recipient who announced a second consecutive run for the Senate earlier this year.

BIDENS UKRAINE FUNDING REQUEST TRIGGERS HOUSE SHOWDOWN: SHOVELING MONEY OUT THE DOOR

Democrat Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, left, and Republican Nevada Senate candidate and Afghanistan war veteran Sam Brown.

Biden's request to Congress also included $4 billion in spending on the border and immigration, as well as combating fentanyl flowing into the United States from foreign origins. The total combined amount of the request reached roughly $40 billion.

The additional spending request comes after Congress approved $48 billion in funding for Ukraine in December, prior to Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing with press on July 8, 2023, in Lviv, Ukraine.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS

Approval of the funding is expected to be an uphill battle in the House, where McCarthy has promised he would not bring a supplemental Ukraine funding bill to the floor. Many conservatives have been vocally opposed to giving Ukraine more money without more accountability.

Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this article.
Codington County commissioners were receptive to a proposed move of the countys Veterans Service Office, but some details must be worked out.

Todd Rose, county VSO Officer, brought the details of the move to the commissions Aug. 8 meeting. The proposed leased location would be 101 19th St. NE in Watertown. Currently, Rose and assistant Jay Roberts work from the basement of the Watertown City Auditorium at 125 S. Broadway.

Since signing a lease agreement Dec. 1, 2017, the county has paid the city just $250 per month for usage of the basement offices. But issues with the location have developed over the past 5  years, most notably the failure of a chair lift to move disabled individuals down and up the stairway to the VA office and bathroom facilities.

Rose said holding confidential conversations is difficult because too much sound is transmitted between the offices.

He said he was told by a city official that no further efforts will be made to repair the chair lift.

The proposed location would have four offices, a break room and an entry way. The offices and bathroom are handicap accessible.

If the county moves in by Sept. 1, the rent would be $1,300 per month ($15,600 yearly). Rose told commissioners he wouldnt be able to pay rent costs from his 2023 budget. He did say the local National Guard would assist in moving his office.

One factor in favor of the new location is that its only a block from the VA Clinic, also located on 19th Street.

The commissioners briefly discussed how the increase in rental costs would be handled but believed it could be worked out. They generally favored the idea of the move.

Its move-in ready, and its a very nice facility, said Commissioner Myron Johnson, who said the current facilitys lack of handicap accessibility could leave the county open to a lawsuit. The air conditioning doesnt work. Those guys (Rose and Roberts) can sweat it out, but we need to get people in and out (of the facility), and those are issues we need to address.

Details of the lease agreement were to be studied by the States Attorneys office in preparation for discussion and possible action to approve the move when commissioners meet Aug. 15.

During the open session of the meeting, Rita Brownlee and Wendy Schultz of Watertown gave several reasons against a proposed underground pipeline that would carry liquefied carbon dioxide to an underground location in North Dakota.

In other actions the commissioners:

 Approved providing a letter of support to Community Transit of Watertown/Sisseton (CTWS) for a grant application to the Federal Transit Administration. Terry Hoffman of Watertown, co-director of CTWS, explained a grant would be used to expand the Watertown location, which can now house only 12 of its 18 busses, meaning 6 have to be parked outdoors.

 Approved the advertising for and eventual hiring of a full-time employee for the States Attorney office to fill a vacancy in administrative support. The commissioners then approved the hiring of a former employee to work part time until the full-time vacancy is filled.

 Approved a South Dakota Community Health Worker grant that can be used for any office work done by community health workers as well as mileage and work done in relation to Medicaid coverage.

 Approved a $10,080 payment to the U.S. Geological Survey for flood monitoring stations within the county. The payment was $147 higher than in 2022.

 Accepted the City of Watertowns Yard of the Month Award for non-residential businesses and organizations, giving kudos to Facilities Manager Steve Molengraaf and his staff.

 Approved a $25 monthly cellphone stipend for a new highway department employee.

 Approved declaring as surplus to be sold 2 office chairs in the Director of Equalizations Office. The estimated value of the chairs is $15-20.

 Took no action on a possible burn ban.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Veterans Service hopes for move to building that allows better access
When reports emerged that the Kremlin had been allegedly planning to install former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in a leadership role in the event they captured Kyiv following the start of Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainians were in disbelief.

Yanukovych, 73, had been flatly rejected by the Ukrainian people twice, first during a presidential run in 2004 and then in 2014 when he was ousted following the successful EuroMaidan Revolution.

When Yanukovych, then serving as Ukraines fourth president, refused to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013, choosing instead to forge closer ties with Russia, Ukrainians took to the streets to demand the president reverse course.

The protests soon sparked a revolution that grew to demand not only Yanukovych sign the agreement but also an end to the endemic corruption and cronyism that the Yanukovych regime epitomized.

After security forces in Kyiv killed nearly a hundred protestors in February 2014, Yanukovych fled the country, seeking exile in Russia.

Yanykovych is Ukraines most controversial and infamous president to date.

What did Viktor Yanukovych do before becoming president?

Yanukovych was born in 1950 into a working-class family in the eastern Ukrainian city of Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast. His education and academic background have been the subject of scrutiny several times, with many seriously questioning his qualifications.

According to his official biography, he is a graduate of a mining vocational school in Yenakiieve and holds a masters degree in international law and a doctorate in economics from the Donetsk-based Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine.

An investigation by the Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda revealed, however, that his classmates do not recall Yanukovych ever studying at that institute. The former president has also been accused of plagiarizing his alleged academic work.

Yanukovych is also known for his criminal background. In his late teenage years and early adulthood, he was convicted and incarcerated for robbery in 1967 and assault in 1970. His criminal records were wiped clean in 1978 after the court reviewed the cases and ruled him not guilty.

In his early professional career, Yanukovych worked as a gas engineer and further specialized as a car mechanic. During the first part of his political career, he worked in different management positions, such as the General Director of the large Donbastransremont and Ukrvuglepromtrans manufacturing companies as well as the Donetsk Regional Motor Transport Production Association.

Yanukovychs political career grew quickly after he became Vice-Head of the Donetsk Oblast Administration in 1996. A year later, he became governor of Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraines second president Leonid Kuchma named him as prime minister in 2002, and in 2003, Yanukovych became the head of the Party of Regions, a popular pro-Russian political party.

How did he become president?

Yanukovych, at the time prime minister, first ran for president in 2004, competing against ex-Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko. Yanukovych and his campaign were accused of trying to rig the election results, igniting a series of protests now known as the Orange Revolution.

The revolution, which brought together an estimated 500,000 protestors on the streets of Kyiv, resulted in Ukraines Supreme Court ruling that the level of fraud made it impossible to determine a winner, forcing a revote. Yushchenko won the election in January 2005 and was president until 2010.

Following his defeat, Yanukovych and his Party of Regions  at this time now the opposition  began their battle against Yushchenko and the then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, openly questioning their credibility and conducting campaigns to discredit them.

A political rivalry between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko caused cracks in their relationship. The Party of Regions won the 2006 parliamentary elections, and throughout 2006-2007, Yanukovych served as prime minister of Ukraine.

Yushchenko dissolved the parliament in 2007, and once again, a coalition of Yushchenko and Tymoshenko gained the majority in parliament, forcing Yanukovych to step down.

After his defeat in the 2004 elections, few believed he would be able to come back victorious. Yet he won the presidency in 2010 with 48.89% of the vote, receiving three percent more than Tymoshenko.

What policies and actions is he known for?

One of the first things Yanukovych did when he became president was to change the form of government from a parliamentary-presidential system to a presidential-parliamentary one, greatly expanding the powers of the president. Many critics saw this move as an unprecedented power grab.

During Yanukovychs tenure, the parliamentary majority was held by his Party of Regions and their political allies or proxies. Yanukovychs government was known to be extremely corrupt and was consistently accused of cronyism and lavish spending.

The inner circle of Yanukovychs administration, often referred to as the family, consisted of two of his sons, Oleksandr and Viktor, the godfathers of his children, and close friends, most of whom were from Ukraines eastern Donbas region.

In the three years of Yanukovychs presidential tenure, he and his clan managed to illegally seize over 7,000 businesses in Ukraine through coercive means, according to the Anti-Raiding Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs. The firms they took over illegally were often forced to pay a tribute from their corporate gains or completely cede ownership to the family.

The former president and his son also illegally acquired the 350-acre Mezhyhirya Residence outside of Kyiv. It is unknown how much they paid for the property. The residence had a private zoo, stables, tennis courts, a golf course, fountains, and gold-laden furniture, including a toilet.

Yanukovych, in attempting to strengthen the countrys ties with Moscow, signed one of Ukraines most ill-fated agreementsthe Kharkiv Pactwith then-President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on April 21, 2010. The document prolonged the stay of Russias Black Sea Fleet in Crimea for another 25 years up until 2042 in exchange for a 30% discount on gas deliveries.

The pact was signed without parliamentary debate or public discussion. The deal also allowed Russia to station its troops in Sevastopol, Crimea. Russias Black Sea Fleet took an integral part in Russias 2014 occupation of Crimea.

Yanukovych also made attempts to distance Ukraine from its national identity, stressing that the Russian language was being too politicized and that a so-called Russian-speaking minority needed to be protected. This position echoed Russian propaganda that has been claiming falsely for years that Russian speakers in Ukraine were under threat.

In 2012, Yanukovychs government enforced a new so-called language law that allowed using Russian as an official language, particularly in regions where the number of Russian speakers was more than 10 percent.

Today Moscow uses a fabricated language problem in Ukraine and the utterly false need to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine to justify its aggression against its neighbor. There has never been any proof to suggest that Russian speakers have been the target of persecution in Ukraine.

How and why was Yanukovych removed from power?

When Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union in November 2013, instead deciding to strengthen ties further with Russia, hundreds of people gathered in Kyivs central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in protest against the governments decision.

The peaceful gathering took a turn when Yanukovychs government sent the Berkut special police forces to force them out from the square. This violent response shocked the public. The next day, thousands of people gathered in the streets. Within weeks, the protests had swelled into a full-scale revolution.

For the next three months, Ukrainians camped out on the Maidan, demanding that the country move toward European integration, a change of government, early presidential elections, and that those responsible for the violence be held accountable. The revolution involved several violent clashes between protestors and pro-Kremlin special services who attempted to clear the Maidan of the protestors on multiple occasions.

Demonstrators take part in a mass rally on Independence Square in Kyiv on Feb. 9, 2014 during the Euromaidan Revolution. (Martin Bureau/ AFP via Getty Images)

In the midst of the revolution, on Jan. 16, 2014, the government adopted a series of anti protests laws that restricted freedom of speech and assembly. The move only added fuel to the fire as protestors refused to obey these new draconian laws.

Between Feb. 18-20, the Berkut special forces gunned down more than 100 protestors in the streets of Kyiv. Those killed are now memorialized in Ukraine as the Heavenly Hundred.

In an attempt to bring an end to the revolution, Yanukovych and leaders of the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to end the political crisis on Feb. 21, 2014.

The agreement called to return the country to a parliamentary-presidential style of government, early presidential elections, the removal of security forces from downtown Kyiv, and an end to the violence.

But it was too late. The Ukrainian people continued to demand for Yanukovychs resignation.

Understanding that he had lost the support of the people, he fled to Kharkiv late on Feb. 21 and then sought exile in Russia, leaving behind his lavish Mezhyhirya estate.

In his absence, activists gained access to the property, uncovering copious amounts of evidence of Yanukovych and his clans crimes against the state.

What has Yanukovych been doing since he fled Ukraine?

Once living in exile in Russia, Yanukovych supported the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in the spring of 2014 and Russias invasion of eastern Ukraine.

The pro-Russian ex-president has been sanctioned by Ukraine and the European Union, and in 2015 was stripped of the title of President of Ukraine and all the benefits that come with it.

Later on, in 2019, Ukraine found Yanukovych guilty of a number of crimes, such as treason and aiding Russias war, and sentenced him to 13 years in prison in absentia.

When Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian security services had reportedly planned to set up Russian proxy administrations which would control Ukraine, with Yanukovych potentially as a key leadership figure.

According to the Washington Post, Yanukovych was in Belarus in March 2022, waiting for his chance to return to Ukraine in the event Russia managed to capture Kyiv.

Read also: The Kyiv Independent: Opinion. What the West got wrong about Ukraine (VIDEO)

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The stickers call to join the

A series of posters with the logo of the Russian private military company Wagner Group appeared on the streets of Krakow, Poland, an advisor to the Krakow municipality, Lukasz Wantuch, said in a Facebook post on Aug. 10.

A very strange and intriguing case, said Wantuch.

Read also: Polish PM concerned that Wagner mercenaries in Belarus could infiltrate Poland

Posters advertising recruitment to Wagner Group have appeared in Krakow. As it turns out, it's a kind of provocation, and not only in Krakow.

The posters contain an appeal  in English  to join the Wagner PMC and a QR code that leads to a Russian-language website.

Read also: Wagner fighters in Belarus not a threat to NATO  alliance spokesperson

Local newspaper Gazeta Krakowska reported that Bartlomiej Izdebski, a Krakow police officer, stated that the police have two such case and are currently working to determine its context.

We are gathering testimonies, photographing the posters, and will be investigating, Izdebski said.

Right now, it's hard to say more because it's only the first day.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Looking for an adventure? Theres still time this summer to try something new outdoors, and if youre a fan of hiking and car camping, backpacking could be a logical next step.

Its a bit of a change from driving into a campsite  for starters, youll have to be able to carry all the gear you need to stay for the night. Packing lighter can mean leaving some creature comforts behind, but backpacking is also a chance for a unique, often isolated experience in the Idaho wilderness.

Before you head out on an overnight trip, be sure to check for trail closures or other restrictions, such as campfire bans, at your destination. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management discourage building new fire rings at dispersed camping sites. Instead, look for existing fire rings, use a fire pan or camp stove and go without a fire.

If youre interested in backpacking but arent sure where to start, here are some less challenging routes for a single-night stay within a few hours of the Boise area.

 Jennie Lake: This 8.8-mile round trip hike is nestled in the Boise National Forest northeast of Idaho City. Like all our recommendations, Jennie Lake has ample access to water via Bear Creek and the trails namesake lake (though you should plan to bring a water filtration system or other means of purifying any water you plan to consume).

The trail has moments of fairly steep elevation gain as it follows the creek, winds through a burn scar and meadow and finally rises to the view of teal water and Wolf Mountain.

Its 4.4 miles to the lake, where primitive campsites dot the perimeter. This hike can be popular on weekends, so it may make for a better weekday trip if you hope to use one of the existing sites.

The most popular hikes at Jennie Lake include overnight stays at one of the lakes primitive campsites.

 Blue Lake: Blue Lake is a short, steep hike in the Boise National Forest near Cascade. Its around 1.5 miles round trip, so an overnight trek to the lake is less than half a mile.

Blue Lake is described as an all-ages trail  just be prepared for a fairly steep elevation gain on your way back to the trailhead.

The Forest Service notes that Blue Lake is a very popular trail, so this may not be your best option for solitude. However, its a scenic route with abundant wildflowers, stream crossings and a waterfall.

 Loon Lake: This Payette National Forest trail near McCall starts at Chinook Campground and offers two routes to the lake, one 4.6 miles long and the other 5.7 miles long.

The real appeal is off-trail, though. A World War II-era B-23 Dragon bomber crashed in the forest near the lake in 1943, and its wreckage remains nearby with interpretive signs that tell the story of the eight survivors. The wreckage is accessible via an unmaintained trail, so plan to bushwhack to the site.

Another route to the plane is bushwhacking from Duck Lake Trail. The Idaho Trails Association suggested Duck Lake as a good option for beginning backpackers in a blog post earlier this year. The Forest Service notes online that there are dispersed camping sites along the shores of Duck Lake.

Interpretive signs tell the story of the B-23 Dragon bomber that crashed at Idahos Loon Lake in 1943.

 Rapid Lake: Another McCall-area hike, Rapid Lake is one of the longer options on the list. The trail is just under 8 miles round trip, and Forest Service documents say its a popular day hike.

Youll pass Boulder Lake on the way in. Both lakes are good options for fishing and swimming, and youll have plenty of time for both if you plan to stay the night.

Hikers have described this trail as family-friendly and say its 1,400 feet of elevation gain is spread evenly through the trek so it doesnt feel too steep.

 Rainbow Basin: The Rainbow Basin Trail is 8 miles round trip with a steep elevation gain early on, followed by a dramatic descent into a glacial cirque dotted with shallow alpine lakes.

The trail begins near Big Trinity Lake Campground northeast of Mountain Home. It winds past Green Island, Fiddle, Heart and Big Lookout lakes before getting to the trio of Big, Middle and Little Rainbow lakes. You can detour at any of the lakes, and several have existing primitive sites if you dont want to follow the trail all the way to Hideaway Lake.

Middle Rainbow Lake is one of a series of Idaho mountain lakes that are accessible via the trail in the Boise National Forest.
William Harris was bouncing around the South Bend areas homeless shelters for years before he stopped by his parents house one day and said he was finally going to rehab.

His parents, James and Donna Harris, said they made William leave home about three years ago as drug addiction tightened its grip on him. He was in his mid-30s, and both parents worried about enabling their sons behavior by letting him stay. Since then, they had heard sparingly from him.

They knew Williams potential when healthy. A former cross-country runner who also played in the marching band, hed graduated from Washington High School with honors and earned a degree in American history at Indiana State University. Hed held a few service jobs in the area after school. When his father began using a wheelchair, William spent a while caring for him.

Related: Naloxone awareness grant passes 9-0 after council addresses 'equity' concerns

They felt a rush of hope on the day William packed up some belongings and told them where he was headed: Praxis of South Bend by Landmark Recovery, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility south of Mishawaka.

He said he was closer to God, his mother said, and that he knew he could get better.

On July 9, emergency responders found William in his room at Praxis. At 38, he was dead of an apparent suicide.

It just, like, ripped my heart out, James said of the coroners message about his sons death. Worst thing Ive ever heard in my life: My son committed suicide. Its out of character.

He wanted to get better. I dont know what happened at that place.

Three deaths in a week prompt scrutiny of Landmark Recovery rehab

The exterior of Praxis Landmark Recovery facility on Bodnar Drive southeast of Mishawaka on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

William Harris, whose death occurred late in the evening on a Sunday, was the third person to die that week at the embattled Praxis rehabilitation center, which opened last August in a former nursing home at 60257 Bodnar Blvd., near U.S. 20.

Two other patients of the facility were found dead of overdoses on July 3 and July 4. An additional overdose death occurred Nov. 9, police say.

More: License revoked for Landmark rehab center as former patients sue. Where will patients go?

Since July, Landmark Recovery, a company whose CEO Matt Boyle says hes on a mission to save a million lives in the next 100 years, has faced lawsuits from former patients, rebukes from former employees and an investigation by local law enforcement.

On July 26, the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction revoked Landmarks license to operate health care facilities, forcing the St. Joseph County facility and two others in the state to shut down indefinitely. The company has appealed the decision while forcing more than 300 employees to take 30-day furloughs.

A company spokesperson declined The Tribunes request to interview Landmark executives, including Boyle.

But an email obtained by The Tribunes reporting partner, WNDU, shows that the CEO is framing the backlash as a war of Biblical proportions. Boyle compares his company's struggles to the story of Daniel in the lion's den, wherein Daniel is spared because he's found blameless.

"I will stand and deliver for each of you in the arena each and every day," Boyle wrote in the email, "waiting to slay whatever enemy life throws in our way."

Heres everything we know about the allegations against Landmark Recovery.

Landmark Recovery faces lawsuits from former patients, St. Joseph County coroner

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the company by former patients who claim they suffered severe injuries at two of Landmarks Indiana facilities, where they went voluntarily to battle substance-abuse disorders.

Meanwhile, a St. Joseph County judge ordered Aug. 6 that Landmark must release withheld camera footage from July 3 and July 4, two days on which consecutive overdose deaths occurred, to the county coroners office. Coroner Patricia Jordan sued for the footage as part of her investigations of the three deaths at the facility from July 3 to July 9.

A lawsuit filed in July has swelled to include 37 former patients of the St. Joseph County facility. Represented by lawyers at Crossen Law Firm, of Carmel, Ind., plaintiffs claim endangerment, medical malpractice, negligence and punitive damages.

Conditions at the St. Joseph County facility were sordid and disorganized, the lawsuit alleges. Staff allegedly left human wastewater in hallways and failed to adequately feed patients, disburse medications and perform safety checks. One resident reports being denied access to a working toilet for 24 hours.

On Aug. 8, 10 former patients of a Landmark rehab in Bluffton, Ind., near Fort Wayne, sued the company with a litany of similar allegations of dangerous living conditions.

The residents claim that black mold grew in the facility, portions of the ceiling threatened to cave, and air conditioners sputtered. They allege shower drains clogged and insects infested rooms. Some went days without food or water, the lawsuit claims. When patients vomited or defecated in their rooms, the residents allege, they were sometimes made to sit in their own filth.

Patients also claimed Landmark knew of sexual assault among staff and residents but failed to intervene.

Gina Koeneman, a lawyer representing former patients, said the stories they tell portray an environment of gross negligence.

She stressed that Indiana needs drug rehabilitation facilities that serve low-income patients. But their lawsuits seek punitive damages to punish and deter companies like Landmark from operating facilities where vulnerable patients are harmed, not helped, on their way to recovery.

Praxis did not provide a safe environment and a safe haven for people who were  wanting to get better, Koeneman said. They went there to get help, and yet they were sorely let down.

Landmark has until later this month to file a response to the lawsuits and has declined to provide details about what went on in its facilities. In an email sent to Landmark employees obtained by WNDU, Boyle called the patients deaths neither our fault nor preventable.

The civil complaints coincide with an investigation by the St. Joseph County Police Department.

St. Joseph County sheriff calls for shutdown, and state agency responds

The July deaths of Harris and two other patients, 19-year-old Seth Jones and 46-year-old William Breda, ramped up scrutiny of the new facility. But St. Joseph County police say problems have persisted since Praxis opened in August 2022.

Landmark leaders called Praxis the largest treatment center in Indiana to accept Medicaid insurance for low-income patients. Its one of five rehabs the company runs in Indiana. The others are in Indianapolis, Carmel, Bluffton and Ladoga.

The 160-bed facility was intended to provide inpatient rehab and mental health services, aiming to help more than 1,900 patients recover from substance abuse each year.

Kelsey Farver worked as a patient engagement specialist during the rehabs first few months of business, she told The Tribune. A recovering heroin addict who had been in similar facilities as a patient and an employee, Farver sensed issues immediately.

Praxis was severely understaffed, she said. Prospective patients, sick from opioid withdrawals that were mandatory to enter inpatient rehab, waited in a lobby for hours to register, according to Farver. Residents stole drugs from medical carts, Farver said.

By the beginning of October, Farver had left her job there.

I feared for my safety, she told The Tribune. Day 1, my first shift, I said, Somebody is going to die here. 100% somebody is going to die at my facility.

In mid-July, St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman asked the state to shut Praxis down. He cited more than 200 calls from the facility to area police and fire departments. Praxis had been the site of four deaths, about 10 overdoses, two rapes, a sexual assault and a stabbing, police say.

William Harris poses with his mother, Donna Harris.

"I feel a void, an empty spot in my heart, for William," Donna Harris said of her late son. "I find I can't cry because if I start, I probably won't stop."

Landmarks executive director resigned abruptly after William Harris' death in July, the company said in its appeal of the states decision to revoke its license. The director was one of two top administrators at the site to part ways with the company in the wake of the deaths. Praxis also paused all new admissions.

By the end of the month, Indiana regulators revoked the companys license to run its local center, as well as sites in Bluffton and Carmel.

Landmark Recovery appeals the forced closures, says state regulators are in the wrong

On Aug. 4, Landmark filed an appeal asking Indianas Office of Administrative Law Proceedings to void the order to suspend its licenses.

The document, filed by Indianapolis attorney Dentons Greenebaum, says the state stripped the three facilities of their right to operate based in part on outstanding violations Landmark was working to address. Company leaders say these violations didnt constitute emergencies.

They also take issue with the states decision to revoke licenses without any hearings or site visits in July, according to the appeal. Landmark claims theres no basis for an emergency shutdown at its Bluffton and Carmel facilities.

As for the deaths at the South Bend campus, the company says there is absolutely no proof  much less an allegation or finding  that any one of those deaths was the result of any harmful conduct or practice in the operations of the facility.

Landmark notes that, during a May 18 inspection of the St. Joseph County facility, a reviewer from the Division of Mental Health and Addictions wrote that, Overall, Praxis of South Bend appears to be in transition towards improving overall practices.

The company also references letters from about 30 people  a blend of law enforcement, social workers and former patients  commending Landmark for its services. It mentions how Landmarks Louisville facility was ranked the No. 1 addiction treatment center in Kentucky by Newsweek for the past two years.

Collectively, the closures mean there are 298 fewer beds for Medicaid patients in Indiana, and more than 200 Hoosiers are out of a job, Landmark says.

If the July 26 Order is allowed to remain in place, the company states, it will cause irreversible harm to not only each of the three separate facilities and to Landmark Recovery, but Hoosiers of all types with substance use disorders and/or mental health issues who rely on Medicaid for care.

Email city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Landmark Recovery rehab facility appeals state shutdown, faces lawsuits
Passengers try to sleep on the floor of Kahului Airport while waiting for delayed and canceled flights on August 9, 2023 (Patrick T. Fallon)

Tourists fleeing Hawaii's deadly wildfire told Thursday how they had been trapped without food and power for days, but felt lucky to be escaping somewhere that "looks like a warzone."

Dozens of people perished when a fast-moving fire tore through the historic settlement of Lahaina, destroying hundreds of buildings on Maui island.

Thousands of locals have been left homeless, and tourists have been urged to leave to free up resources and allow authorities to help those in desperate need.

Lorraina Peterson, 46, was honeymooning on the paradise island when the wildfire trapped her and hundreds of others in their hotel.

"We were stuck in our rooms for three days," she told AFP as she waited for a flight from the airport in Kahului.

"It was very scary because there was no light. We couldn't use our phones. We couldn't call family."

Peterson, from California, said the hotel had been using a back-up generator, but then that failed.

"The elevator stopped running and some people were stuck inside the elevator," she said.

Guests were finally evacuated to the airport when the hotel ran out of food, she said.

But she was not sure when she would be able to get home, with her flight booked for Saturday, and her husband in a long queue to try to change the tickets.

"I don't know if we'll be able to get a hotel room, or we'll have to sleep here on the floor," she said.

Tourists were taken to the airport in school buses, where they were met by volunteers distributing sandwiches and water.

Canadian Brandon Wilson had travelled to Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

But two days after they arrived, the fires cut the power to their AirBnB.

By Thursday morning they were running low on food and had no cash to buy groceries, so they decided to try to leave.

"As we drove through Lahaina it looked like a warzone," he told AFP.

"It really looks like somebody came along just bombed the whole town. It's completely devastated."

"It was really hard to see," he said, sobbing. "You feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods."

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A 29-year-old man is in custody on charges that he allegedly stabbing a Nashville Police Department officer in the neck overnight Tuesday.

According to the press release from the departments Facebook page, Stanley E. Underwood, 29, of Nashville is being held in the Washington County Jail on two counts of aggravated battery on a peace officer and one count of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, a Class X felony.

Bond is set at $500,000.

Obviously he got to one of our own, which unfortunately happens, Nashville Police Department Lt. Brock Styninger told Fox 2. You know, were human beings too. It happened to one of us, but obviously, our next concern on top of the officer and his injuries is taking the suspect into custody peacefully and him not escaping to allow for anyone else to be placed in danger in a hostage situation or anything like that. Fortunately, that didnt happen.

According to KMOV 4, officers responded to a wellness check and made contact with Stanley down the street from his apartment in Nashville around 10 p.m. Tuesday and took him into protective custody.

Officers accommodated Stanleys request to gather items from his residence that was just up the road, the Nashville Police Department release noted; officers then transported Stanley to his residence.

According to the press release, while at the residence, officers allowed Stanley to get a drink and secure his apartment. During this time, Stanley was able to quickly retrieve a hidden knife from within the apartment and allegedly stabbed the officer in the neck.

The suspect then barricaded himself inside a bathroom still armed with the knife, the release stated. Thats when the injured officer and a Nashville police lieutenant called for emergency assistance and EMS to respond.

Numerous assisting agencies and Washington County EMS arrived and quickly transported the officer to a St. Louis hospital where he was treated and released Wednesday morning.

According to KMOV, around 1:30 a.m., members of SWAT and negotiators from the area agencies assembled to end the standoff, which ended just before 4 a.m. Wednesday.

The Nashville PD received additional assistance from several surrounding municipalities, sheriffs offices, Illinois State Police, EMS agencies and the Nashville Fire Department. Also responding was the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for a SWAT team before taking over the standoff where Stanley eventually came out of the bathroom and surrendered peacefully.

This officer is expected to make a full recovery and return to work in the near future, the department release stated. We want to thank all assisting agencies for responding to assist our department with this incident and with taking this individual into custody peacefully.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Planning Commission gave initial approval Thursday for a new development that includes a Wawa, apartments, town houses and a restaurant off of Athens Boonesboro Road.

The Urban County Planning Commission voted 8-2 for a zone change from an agricultural rural zone to a community center zone for approximately 8 acres at 4075 Old Richmond Road, across from Jacobson Park.

Richmond Road becomes Athens Boonesboro Road at the intersection of Old Richmond Road.

The zone change was approved despite widespread opposition from neighbors. More than 100 people opposed the new development. Extra seating was set up in other parts of the city government center Thursday because not all who opposed the zone change could fit in the council chamber.

The zone change will now go to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for a final decision. The council can reverse or accept the planning commissions recommendation.

Anderson Communities has proposed building town houses and four-story tall apartment buildings on the property for a total of 139 living units. The property, which also fronts Athens Boonesboro Road, would have a convenience store and gas station on the Athens Boonesboro Road side as well as a restaurant. The plans call for 184 parking spaces.

Wawa currently has no Kentucky locations but will build a full network of stores in coming years, said Lisa Corpus, a Wawa representative.

Wawa, which was started in Wawa, Pennsylvania, is known for its food and coffee, selling more coffee per day than Starbucks, Corpus said. Hoagies and sub sandwiches are top sellers, Corpus said.

A Wawa has been approved in southern Jessamine County. Another store has been approved in Louisville.

Wawa

A restaurant for the development was not disclosed Thursday.

The apartments would be located toward the center and back of the property, said Dick Murphy, a lawyer for Anderson Communities.

Murphy said the 2018 Comprehensive Plan recommends more dense developments along major corridors. The roughly 8 acres is in the expansion area, which was part of the more than 5,000 acres added to the urban service boundary in 1996. The community center zone in the expansion area allows for a mix of commercial and residential development, Murphy said.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which oversees Athens Boonesboro Road, is proposing putting an R cut at the intersection of Athens Boonesboro Road and Aphids Way.

The R-cuts are designed for right-turn only, city engineers said. People leaving Aphids Way will only be able to turn right toward the interstate. A signaled intersection not far from the Aphids Way R-cut will allow people to make a U-turn back to town.

The same will be true for people leaving Hays Boulevard onto Athens Boonesboro Road.

There will be two entrances into the Anderson development from Aphids Way, Murphy said.

The R-cuts are designed to avoid collisions at major intersections. In some areas, they have decreased crashes by as much as 84%, city engineers said during Thursdays meeting.

Murphy said the R-cuts could be implemented either by late fall or early spring, depending on when state highway engineers secure rights to property needed to redesign Aphids Way.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has proposed a new construction project which would implement restricted crossing U-turns at several intersections in the Richmond Road and Athens Boonesboro corridor.

A fight over land use maps

Bruce Simpson, a lawyer who represents members of the Old Richmond Road and Ellerslie neighborhoods, said an expansion area master plan developed in 1996 clearly shows that area should be low-density housing  or roughly three houses per acre.

Simpson argued the city must follow that master plan since its never been updated, even though the 2018 Comprehensive Plan calls for more dense development.

This is a flagrant violation of the expansion area master plan, Simpson said of Anderson Communities proposal. You are under obligation to honor the plans that have not changed in 27 years.

Others who oppose the development told the planning commission the apartment buildings were too tall and would change the character of the neighborhood.

Some neighbors also worried about additional traffic on sections of Old Richmond Road and Jacks Creek Pike. There are many farms in that area, including horse farms.

Fayette County Judge Executive Mary Diane Hanna, who is also president of the Old Richmond Road neighborhood association, said people in the rural areas of Fayette County have long felt left out of major planning and city decisions.

We dont want this, Hanna said. Help us preserve our rural way of life.

A tough decision

Murphy argued the city has made multiple changes to the recommendations in the expansion area master plan over the past 27 years. Some of those changes have resulted in the building of a new Baptist Health campus, a Costco and Cabelas on Polo Club Boulevard in the expansion area.

Moreover, there have been changes to the area -- including the new R cut proposed on Athens Boonesboro Road, Murphy said.

Many planning commission members said they were going to vote in favor of the zone change but still had reservations.

One of things that defines Lexington is our rolling hills and our soils, said Robin Michler, a planning commission member. It hurts to see it leveled.

Yet, the development is along a major corridor. Its providing much-needed rental units in an area that needs more housing options, Michler and others said.

Planning commission members Mike Owens and Janice Meyer voted against the zone change.

Owens said he did not like the four-story apartment buildings. The buildings were too tall and it was too much density for that area.

Meyer said the development was not the right fit for the area.
Missing for nearly four weeks in North Carolina, Allisha Watts disappearance has garnered national attention and left loved ones questioning detectives urgency and transparency.

The noise can be distracting, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Capt. Joel McNelly during an interview this week.

He encouraged loved ones to continue their efforts to share photos of the missing 39-year-old woman who reportedly lives in Moore County and frequents Charlotte.

Hang it up, post it, he said.

Allisha Dene Watts, a 39-year-old Charlotte woman last seen driving from her boyfriends home on July 16. CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT

When it comes to actually doing work, please let law enforcement do that, McNelly said. ... We need to make sure that those things are handled properly, that evidence isnt tainted.

For example, McNelly offered, if people come across potential evidence in a wooded area, they should wait for police to collect it. Otherwise, any traces of DNA become harder to detect.

When asked if he offered the advice because of already-tainted evidence in the case, he declined to explain.

The most important thing, number one, is that we find Allisha, he said. Number two is that we do it the right way.

Watts car  with her boyfriend in it  was found July 18, two days after she was last seen, according to police statements and information in warrants. The car was discovered around 50 miles from a home in the College Downs/University City area of Charlotte, where Watts was seen leaving July 16.

Her family reported her missing on July 19, according to media reports. CMPD first asked for the publics help to find Watts on July 24.

Allisha Watts disappearance

Watts was last seen driving away with her boyfriend, family told WSOC, The Charlotte Observers news partner.

The couple was leaving his home on Pamela Lorraine Drive in Charlotte on July 16, family said.

On July 18, police found her black Mercedes Benz at the DMV in Anson County. Her boyfriend was inside, unconscious, according to search warrants.

Search warrants said he attempted suicide, WBTV reported.

McNelly said officers have not been able to interview Watts boyfriend since he went to the hospital. He declined to comment on the nature of his injuries.

But they have searched his home. Outside, police found shell casings from a 9mm gun, according to WSOC, citing search warrant records.

State of Virginia records obtained by WRAL revealed that the boyfriend had a history of domestic violence, with convictions for abduction, stalking, and assault and battery. WRAL reported that Durham County court records showed a previous partner of his requested a protective order against him in May.

While he is not a suspect in the missing person case, he is a person of interest  as is everyone who had contact with Watts before her disappearance, McNelly told the Observer during an interview on Aug. 9.

Since Watts disappearance, family and friends have held vigils and pushed CMPD asking for answers.

These are very difficult times for Black Women, wrote Minister Dearest Price, the Racial Justice Networks North Carolinas Regional Director, in a statement. And although we are the largest growing group of entrepreneurs and individuals awarded degrees, we also hold the statistic of being the highest group facing trafficking and abduction.

The Black and Missing Foundations database has nearly 6,000 cases of missing Black people, CNN reported. Many are unsolved, and Black families say police often dont take their missing person cases seriously, unlike cases involving White women and children.

McNelly said police have been in near daily contact with one designated family member, which is typical for law enforcement working such cases. That one person should be the point of contact for any other loved ones looking for information, he said.

While I know that can be frustrating, every minute that were talking to one of those people, and not the family, is a minute that we cant be looking for Allisha.
Hawaii State Sen. Angus McKelvey started hearing explosions in Lahaina as he was running errands. Hours later, he said he could see burning embers raining down from the sky and several homes on fire as he drove to his brother's house to check on the family pets. A nearby apartment building stood engulfed by large balls of fire, and by the time he returned home, flames were lighting up his condo.

As the destruction spread, McKelvey never heard emergency sirens or alarms. He didn't see police overseeing evacuations. Like other residents trying to flee the area, he said, he was uncertain about what to do next.

For the rest of the night Tuesday, McKelvey saw Lahaina, the historic tourist town he was born and raised in, erupt in flames "like a war zone."

McKelvey is part of a growing chorus of voices questioning what, if anything, went wrong in Maui in fires that have claimed at least 93 lives, destroyed more than 2,200 structures and scorched more than 2,100 acres. Locals are questioning whether residents were given enough notice via sirens or other notifications as the wildfire swept through. There are also questions about whether the area had the resources to help people, including enough firefighters.

About 1,000 people were still missing, Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said.

"There probably should have been a more aggressive activation at the onset, more preparation," McKelvey told USA TODAY. "We heard about the red flag warning as brush fires were definitely a concern initially, not this cataclysmic totality that overwhelmed the community."

Summer Gerlingpicks up her piggy bank found in the rubble of her home following the wildfire Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town.

Fire weather watch was issued two days before wildfires began

The warning signs came early, McKelvey said. On Aug. 6, the National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a "fire weather watch" for the state after fears about Hurricane Dora soaking the area subsided. "Strong and gusty winds, combined with low humidities ... may lead to critical fire conditions across leeward areas over the coming days," the watch said.

The next day, on Aug. 7, the weather service issued "a red flag warning" as dry areas, combined with "strong and gusty easterly winds" of 30 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph, were expected. "Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly," officials warned.

And that's exactly what happened early Aug. 8 as catastrophic wildfires swept through Maui's west side fueled by intense winds with gusts as high as 80 mph from Hurricane Dora to the south.

Burnt out cars line the sea walk after the wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed multiple people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations  but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.

Did warning sirens sound before the fires?

It's still unclear what steps local officials took to warn residents.

"I think this was an impossible situation," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said on NBC's "Today" show on Friday. "I cant comment on whether or not the sirens sounded, but I know the fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast. There were some initially, when there was a smaller fire. Homes were evacuated."

Hawaii Emergency Management records showed no indication warning sirens were triggered before the fires erupted, officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub said the departments records dont show Mauis warning sirens were triggered Tuesday when the Lahaina fire began.

Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Weintraub said. But power and cellular outages may have limited the alert's reach.

Mauis ability to fight the fires may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. A maximum of 65 firefighters are working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands: Maui, Molokai and Lanai, he said.

Those crews have more than a dozen fire engines and two ladder trucks, but the department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said. That means fire crews cant attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas.

Business owner J.D. Hessemer told CBS News he evacuated before the fires hit his neighborhood but never heard an emergency alert. "The winds were just getting out of control. Power lines were down everywhere and we had to reroute," Hessemer told "CBS Mornings" on Friday. "We just decided it was not safe to stay around for the day."

People running out of food, fuel

Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the nonprofit Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, told the Honolulu Civil Beat the fire was foreseeable.

"We keep hearing from certain elected officials and other people being quoted in the media, 'We had no idea, this is unprecedented,'" Pickett said Thursday. "But actually, those of us in the wildfire community, meaning our fire agencies, our forestry natural resource management community, we have long been working to increase our risk reduction efforts."

McKelvey said more people should have been told to leave their homes.

"I think there wouldve been a stronger urge to evacuate with some better planning," McKelvey said. "It's hard."

He said there is "an urgent and desperate need" for power lines to be restored. If not, he hopes federal officials will consider bringing in mobile vans or trailers that offer wireless coverage to ravaged areas as shortages of food, water and fuel grow.

"There are so many questions that need to be answered," McKelvey said. "But right now, there are a lot of people worried to death about their family members and friends who are missing and don't know if they are alive or dead."

Wildfires can be difficult to predict, disaster expert says

Despite the weather service's official warnings, Karl Kim, executive director for the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii, said Thursday that even he was surprised by the level of devastation and deaths from the fast-spreading wildfires.

"Even the best of us can be second-guessed by a red flag warning, not considering how that it might affect us directly," Kim said.

Hawaii has among the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning systems in the United States. Despite nearly 400 sirens islandwide to alert residents of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, volcano eruptions and earthquakes, wildfires can be difficult hazards to track, Kim said. He said he doesn't know whether any of those sirens were triggered by the fires.

"Out of all of the threats, wildfires are the most difficult to predict, unlike hurricanes and volcanos, because we have much better detection alerts and warning systems in place" for those, Kim said. "A wildfire can be triggered in many different ways, by strong winds, lightning, people disposing of cigarette butts, and other human causes."

He said the tragedy shows the need to understand the science of wildfires, as well as use technology such as costly mobile sensors that detect gas, smoke and flames, particularly in remote wildfire-prone areas. Questions are being raised on where to place them and how to connect them to the internet or satellite communication systems.

A sensor unit that could be attached to a tree could cost about $250, Kim said. That cost, however, does not include any installation, connection service, maintenance and periodic testing.

Kim said the Maui wildfires involved a deadly combination of incredibly strong winds and "dry fuel," including brush, grass, trees and centuries-old wooden structures for houses, buildings and businesses.

"The wildfire took out main sources of communications as word didn't spread fast enough by phone and other means," Kim said. "And by the time you start smelling the smoke, unfortunately, it may be a little too late. This is a harsh wake-up call."

'Plenty of blame to go around'

Kim said that while there might have been warnings about possible fire dangers, many people tend to ignore them for various reasons, including longstanding tendencies that they "won't directly affect me."

Those beliefs are not uncommon, said Tricia Wachtendorf, a sociology professor and director of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware. She said many residents might have been more focused on a hurricane hitting the island instead of the risk of fire danger.

"We don't associate these two types of natural hazards, in this case, a hurricane and a wildfire, as being related," Wachtendorf said.

There's a lot to learn going forward in terms of weather patterns, climate change and urbanization, Kim said. He called it "one of the most unprecedented disasters" in Hawaii's history.

"There's plenty of blame to go around, as it would be wrong to focus narrowly on the emergency response systems due to this incredible force of nature," Kim said. "This is a signal for us to do even more work on our preparedness and improving our technology and communications systems. And above, all understanding our own behavior patterns."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Hawaii wildfires burned, many didn't hear sirens. What went wrong?
(Bloomberg) -- West Africas economic bloc moved closer to intervening to overturn a coup in Niger, as global outrage grew over the treatment of deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

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The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States activated a standby military force, ramping up pressure on the junta, which has withheld food, water and power from Bazoum since taking him hostage on July 26. The bloc will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis, said Bola Tinubu, the president of neighboring Nigeria who currently chairs Ecowas.

No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort. If we dont do it, no one else will do it for us, Tinubu told reporters late Thursday in the capital, Abuja. I hope that through our collective efforts we can bring about a peaceful resolution as a roadmap to restoring stability and democracy in Niger. All is not lost yet.

The coup in Niger is the regions sixth coup in the past three years and has brought condemnation from Western nations including France and the US, which together have thousands of troops stationed in the country. The country has been a key international ally in the global fight against jihadists in the region.

If its ultimately successful, the coup will create a belt of military-run countries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, most of which are friendlier with Russia than with the West.

Junta members told US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who visited Niger this week, that they would kill Bazoum if there was any regional military intervention to restore his rule, the Associated Press reported, citing two unidentified Western officials.

Bazoum is being deprived of food, water and electricity at an army camp where hes been held captive for the past two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement voicing concern over the deplorable living conditions being imposed on the president and his family. Ecowas said it would hold the junta fully and solely responsible for Bazoums safety and security. The African Union on Friday called his treatment unacceptable.

It wasnt immediately clear how the Ecowas standby force would be deployed.

Ivory Coast will provide between 850 and 1,100 troops, while Benin and Nigeria agreed to deploy forces and other countries will follow soon, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara told reporters at a briefing in Abidjan, the commercial capital.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements for the operation he said. Ive just instructed the army chief of staff to start mobilizing the troops.

Any intervention would have to be led by Nigeria, the regions most populous and influential country and its biggest military. Tinubu has faced opposition to the proposed deployment from politicians in Nigerias north, which shares a more than 1,000-mile border and cultural ties with Niger.

The bloc, which pledged to enforce asset freezes and travel bans on those hindering the return to democracy, said it would continue to prioritize diplomacy in Niger. The coup leaders previously rejected a demand by Ecowas to return Bazoum to power by an Aug. 6 deadline or face the threat of military action.

On Thursday, the junta announced the appointment of a 21-member cabinet, naming military officers to the key posts of defense, security and interior ministers. Ali Lamine Zeine, who was appointed as prime minister earlier this week, was also given the finance portfolio.

(Updates with AU statement)

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Leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States agreed Thursday to deploy its standby military force to restore constitutional order in Niger. Photo courtesy of ECOWAS

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- After Niger's junta failed to heed its demand to restore the country's democratic government, the leaders of West Africa's intergovernmental union have ordered the deployment of their standby military force to restore constitutional order.

Though it is unclear what exactly this development means, it follows an ultimatum the Economic Community of West African States had made to Niger's government-usurping National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland to either return the country to civilian rule or potentially face their combined use of force.

Niger's democratically led country fell in a coup July 26 when President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by his presidential guard, raising concern and worry among his democratic allies, which have criticized the junta and demanded it return Niger to democratic rule.

Days after the coup, the 15-nation ECOWAS, of which Niger is a member, met and issued a slew of sanctions against Niamey, including the closure of all land and air borders with Niger, while warning that if Bazoum is not returned to the country's helm in seven days, "all measures necessary to restore constitutional order" would be taken, including the use of force.

As the deadline passed Sunday, Niger's junta closed its airspace, citing the threat of foreign intervention.

On Thursday, the ECOWAS members met in Abuja, Nigeria, and directed the committee's chiefs of defense staff to "immediately activate the EXOWAS Standby Force with all its elements" and ordered its deployment "to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger," according to the communique of the meeting, which also said "all options" remain on the table for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Both France, Niger's former colonial ruler, and the United States supported ECOWAS' reiteration for the restoration of constitutional order, with Paris' foreign ministry repeating its condemnation of the coup and demand for the release of Bazoum and his family in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States "appreciates" ECOWAS' determination "to explore all options for the peaceful resolution."

He also said the Biden administration will hold the coup council responsible for for the safety and security of Bazoum, his family and detained members of his government.

"Democracy is the best foundation for development, social cohesion and stability in Niger," Blinken said in a statement.

"We stand with the Nigerien people in working toward these goals."
By Boureima Balima and Felix Onuah

NIAMEY (Reuters) -Thousands of people gathered in Niger's capital on Friday to demonstrate in favour of last month's coup as regional leaders were considering military intervention to restore civilian rule.

Since the July 26 military ouster of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, many Nigeriens have joined junta-organised rallies to show support for the generals, criticise Western powers and laud Russia, which is vying for influence with the West in the region.

The peaceful crowd on Friday numbered in the thousands, according to a Reuters witness. The rally began at a French military base in the capital Niamey then protesters with signs and flags spread onto surrounding streets.

"Long live Russia," one protester's sign read. "Down with France.... Down with ECOWAS," referring to the Economic Community of West African States. At a summit on Thursday, the body ordered the activation of a standby force that could intervene to reinstate Bazoum.

The military takeover was the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years, and demonstrations in Niger have mirrored street scenes in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso after coups between 2020 and 2022.

Popular anger is targeted at former colonial power France, whose forces were kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after the coups there and whose presence in Niger is under threat. Protesters in Niger attacked the French embassy.

"I am here to request the departure of the French forces," said protester Salamatou Hima on Friday. "We are free and we have the right to demand what is beneficial for our country."

The military coup was triggered by internal politics but has repercussions far beyond Niger's borders, raising the spectre of deepening conflict in a strategically important region. Uranium-rich Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, has been an ally for the West in the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel region.

U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger to repel local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel.

STANDBY FORCE

Regional army chiefs were expected to meet in coming days. It was not yet clear how long the ECOWAS standby force would take to assemble, how big it would be and if it will actually invade. The organisation stressed that all options were on the table and it still hoped for a peaceful resolution.

Security analysts said the force could take weeks to set up, potentially leaving room for negotiations.

Ivory Coast is the only country so far to specify how many troops it would send, promising a battalion of 850 on Thursday.

Benin and Sierra Leone said on Friday they would contribute troops but did not say how many. Senegal said last week it would contribute troops if there were an intervention.

Most other countries in the 15-nation ECOWAS have so far either declined to comment or not yet taken a decision.

At Friday's rally, protester Ali Hassane vowed to defend his country. If the ECOWAS force invades, "it's us civilians who are going to fight," he said.

Russia's foreign ministry said it supported ECOWAS efforts to mediate but warned against any military intervention in Niger, saying it could destabilise the country and region.

France said it fully backed conclusions of the ECOWAS summit but did not outline any concrete support it would give to a potential intervention.

Niger's junta has yet to react to the prospect of a forceful intervention by ECOWAS. But it has rebuffed repeated calls for dialogue from the international community and named a new government hours before the summit.

Military governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have said they will defend the junta in Niger.

WORRY ABOUT BAZOUM

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said they were increasingly worried about Bazoum's detention conditions.

The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday said the conditions were "rapidly deteriorating" and could amount to a violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch said it had spoken to Bazoum this week and that he had told them that his family's treatment in custody was "inhuman and cruel".

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," HRW quoted Bazoum as telling it.

Bazoum's daughter Zazia Bazoum, who is in France, told Britain's Guardian newspaper the junta was keeping him in deplorable conditions to pressure him to sign a resignation letter. Reuters could not independently confirm the conditions of his detention.

(Additional reporting by Pap Saine in Banjul, Ange Aboa in Abidjan, Alberto Dabo in Bissau, Alphonso Toweh in Monrivia, Diadie Ba in Dakar, Pulcherie Adjoha, and Edward McAllister, Anait Miridzhanian, Nellie Peyton, David Lewis, Gareth Jones, Umaru Fofana; Writing by Ingrid Melander, Edward McAllister and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Hugh Lawson and Cynthia Osterman)
The mistaken reliance on a strategy of decisive and rapid maneuvers, which the U.S. military has become accustomed to due to its consistent advantage in warfare, is distorting the expectations of Western officials and analysts regarding the Ukrainian Armed Forces counter-offensive.

Read also: Analyzing war fatigue in Ukraine

Thats the opinion of Lawrence Friedman, a distinguished professor of military studies at the Royal College in London.

Perhaps, we have become too fixated on the dichotomy of maneuver/exhaustion (as contradictory concepts), he said in an opinion piece published by NV on Aug. 10.

This came to the forefront of U.S. military discourse in the 1980s, when some theorists lamented the decline of the art of the commander and the excessive reliance on firepower.

Instead of preparing for intense artillery duels, they wanted to encourage creative and decisive operations that could swiftly end a conflict with minimal costs.

They had in mind blitzkriegs of the German type, using speed to outmaneuver the strongest positions of the adversary and catch them off guard, added Friedman.

Read also: Recent naval drone attacks will change situation in the Black Sea

The emergence of new technologies expanded the possibilities for such operations, particularly for the United States, which had the capacity to equip its army with the latest tools.

After the decisive defeat of the Iraqi army in February 1991, enthusiastic theorists began describing forms of warfare based on exceptional situational awareness combined with high-precision weaponry, long-distance shooting, and bold, rapid actions that leave the opponent bewildered and disoriented.

The United States successes in recent wars were the result of both overwhelming firepower and superior maneuvers, said Friedman.

The enemy forces couldnt handle the directed firepower, be it airstrikes, cruise missiles, artillery, or tanks. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi forces had already given up and left the scene when the large maneuver known as the left hook was completed, the expert said.

Assessing the effectiveness of the current Ukrainian counter-offensive in Western sources presents challenges. Friedman suggests that officials and journalists might be jumping ahead in their assessments, with a tendency to view any significant event on the front as an example of maneuver warfare.

Friedman emphasizes that judging the military successes of the Ukrainians so strictly may not yield benefits. Attempting to liberate Ukrainian territory is undoubtedly challenging, and without an advantage in firepower, any army would face difficulties in achieving this.

Read also: The Kremlin is burying itself deeper and deeper - opinion

Friedman notes that the Russian army has undoubtedly suffered massive losses and displays signs of exhaustion, potentially leaving it vulnerable if its defensive lines are breached.

Its essential for Ukraine to maintain the initiative and not exhaust itself to the point where the Russians get a chance to regroup and counter-attack.

Third-party supporters and impatient allies should not rush the pace and need to be cautious about declaring achievements before we are convinced of their significance or the consolidation of success. Such a path only leads to disappointment, the military analyst added.

Friedman cites colleagues from the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), who caution against pinning hopes on rapid and spectacular advances by Ukrainian forces. Friedman underscores that his arguments are in favor of caution, not pessimism, urging the adaptation of expectations to various scenarios.

One of the problems associated with fixating on the maneuver strategy is that it assumes only a decisive military victory can guarantee an acceptable political outcome, Friedman said.

But perhaps the Ukrainian army wont need to go the entire way and liberate all the occupied territory for a stable advancement, to increase pressure on Moscow.

Read also: Let's do the math: how much Western equipment has actually been destroyed

He said that since the war was initiated by Russia itself, for its conclusion, a decision from Moscow is also necessary, as Ukraine will continue to fight under any circumstances.

Given our limited information about whats happening in the Kremlin, we might be pleasantly surprised if decisions are made sooner than expected, but it would be too bold to assume this will happen soon.

Ukraine needs to be supported, operating under the assumption that (the Kremlin) wont (decide to end the war). As I mentioned earlier, the original concept of the resistance strategy was largely about how to deal with a protracted war, and thats precisely the kind of strategy Ukraine needs.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Illinois sweeping new ban remains in effect despite a barrage of legal challenges.

The state Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law, rejecting a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs led by Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins of Decatur that argued the ban violated the Illinois constitution.

The law, which was enacted in January in response to the deadly mass shooting at Highland Parks Fourth of July parade in 2022, bans the delivery, sale, import and purchase of more than 100 types of semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns, along with high capacity ammunition magazines and devices called switches that allow guns to fire more rapidly. People who possessed the newly banned weapons before the law took effect Jan. 10 can keep them but will have to register them with Illinois State Police by the start of next year.

Since the law took effect, there have been at least 11 lawsuits from gun rights groups, gun shop owners, individual gun owners and Republican politicians challenging the gun ban in both state and federal courts. Heres a look at where those legal challenges stand.

Federal courts

Six separate federal lawsuits were consolidated before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, which heard arguments June 29. All of the plaintiffs argue the gun ban violates the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

The 7th Circuit has not said when it expects to issue an opinion.

Four of the cases were previously consolidated in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. In late April, U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2020, issued an injunction, blocking the law.

But six days later, on May 4, the 7th Circuit overruled the lower court, putting the ban back in effect. The Illinois State Police has said the possession of any banned weapon purchased during the six-day window when the injunction was in place will be illegal beginning Jan. 1.

Also part of the consolidated case is a lawsuit a Naperville gun store owner, Robert Bevis, filed against the west suburb over a local ban the city approved in August 2022. The state was added as a defendant in the lawsuit after the statewide ban was enacted in January. After both the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the 7th Circuit denied Beviss request for an injunction, he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in. The high court declined.

The sixth case before the federal appeals court is a challenge brought against the state, the city of Chicago and Cook County by Chicago emergency room physician Javier Herrera, who argues state and local bans violate his Second Amendment rights. He appealed to the 7th Circuit after a district court judge in Chicago declined to issue an injunction.

Separately, a lawsuit in state court by Republican McHenry County States Attorney Patrick Kenneally was moved to federal court at the states request. However, the state subsequently asked a judge to send it back to state court. A ruling is pending.

Kenneally argues the gun ban places him in an impossible ethical quandary of enforcing new, unconstitutional criminal offenses against citizens who are lawfully exercising their constitutional rights.

State court

It was not immediately clear what effect Fridays state Supreme Court ruling will have on other lawsuits challenging the ban in state court.

Caulkins alleged that the gun ban violates the equal protection and special legislation clauses of the Illinois Constitution. That argument focused, in part, on exceptions in the law for police officers and others, as well as a grandfather clause for people who owned the weapons prior to the ban.

A Macon County judge ruled in Caulkins favor in early March, blocking enforcement of the law for the lawmaker and other named plaintiffs. The state appealed immediately to the states highest court.

The state Supreme Court, which has a Democratic majority, rejected those arguments in a 4-3 ruling, finding that the laws exemptions are valid and within the power of the legislature.

The effect of the ruling on appeals in three other consolidated cases challenging the law on similar grounds that were on hold pending a ruling in the Caulkins case was not immediately clear.

The three cases all were filed by unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Thomas DeVore on behalf of more than 150 licensed gun dealers and other entities and thousands of individual gun owners. Plaintiffs include failed Republican governor candidate Darren Bailey, who is now running for the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Mike Bost.

Judges issued temporary restraining orders in those cases, blocking enforcement of the law against the named plaintiffs. The ruling in the lead case was previously upheld by the 5th District Appellate Court.

DeVore on Friday said the temporary restraining order on the gun ban that was put in place in Effingham County still applies to thousands of plaintiffs until the courts decide otherwise.

Raouls office declined to comment on how Fridays ruling affects Devores cases in Effingham County.

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

jgorner@chicagotribune.com
Direct Air Capture

President Joe Biden's administration will fund a massive carbon removal project to suck the greenhouse gas straight out of the atmosphere using what's known as direct air capture  the first time the US has made a major investment in the controversial technology.

White House senior advisor Mitch Landrieu called it "the largest investment in engineered carbon removal in history," as quoted by The Washington Post.

To commence the project, the US Department of Energy will spend a formidable $1.2 billion to construct two direct air capture plants, the agency announced on Friday, adding to a total of around 130 of these facilities in the works worldwide.

"These projects are going to help us prove out the potential of these next-generation technologies so that we can add them to our climate crisis fighting arsenal," energy secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters, per WaPo.

One plant will be built in Texas by Occidental Petroleum, and another by research and development nonprofit Battelle in Louisiana. Once completed, they'll be the largest direct air capture plants in the world, according to the Energy Department.

The real question, though, is whether the tech will ever be able to scale up enough to make a difference.

Climate Excuses

Many environmentalists aren't convinced that direct air capture will be an effective way to combat climate change, and some argue that it will only distract from more important issues.

"It's useful to give them an excuse for not ever stopping oil," said former Vice President and noted climate activist Al Gore at a recent Ted Talk, as quoted by The New York Times. "That gives them a license to continue producing more and more oil and gas."

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the tech has gained significant momentum in recent years; a 2022 report from the International Energy Agency identified direct air capture as a "key technology" for achieving net zero carbon emissions.

Others don't necessarily disagree with Gore's stance, but argue that both approaches can still work hand in hand  and that we're going to need all the solutions we can get.

"There is no scenario for meeting our climate goals that does not involve both the phaseout of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide removal on a massive scale," Michael Gerrard, an environmental law expert at Columbia University, told the NYT.

"The technologies are still in their relatively early stage, but we're going to need a lot of them, and we have to get going."

It's unclear what the direct air capture plants will do with the removed carbon, or even how much carbon they will remove, though energy officials promised it wouldn't be injected back into the ground to extract more oil.

WaPo notes that a similar facility in Iceland vacuums up around 4,000 tons of carbon per year  a drop in the pond compared to the nearly 37 billion metric tons emitted last year.

More on climate change: Ocean Hits Highest Recorded Temperature, Still Rising
White supremacist arrested on federal charges over threats against Tree of Life shooter jury

A known white supremacist was arrested Thursday for allegedly threatening the jury and witnesses in the case against the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter.

Hardy Lloyd, from the West Virginia panhandle, sent threatening letters and emails to witnesses and the jury and put up stickers about his white supremacist organization, some containing Nazi imagery, in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, according to federal prosecutors.

According to the Justice Department, Lloyd proclaims himself a reverend of a white supremacy movement. He was charged with witness tampering, transmitting threats and obstruction of justice.

Jury trials are a hallmark of the American justice system and attempts to intimidate witnesses or jurors will be met with a strong response, federal prosecutor William Ihlenfeld said in a statement. The use of hateful threats in an effort to undermine a trial is especially troubling.

According to the criminal complaint, Lloyd shared his displeasure with the case against Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018. Bowers was found guilty of hate crimes and sentenced to death earlier this month.

Lloyd previously described Bowers on his site as a lone wolf hero.

Free Robert Bowers Now!!  We need to support anyone who kills jews, he posted on one Russian social media site, according to prosecutors.

He later added, Robert Bowers did [Pittsburgh] a Favour. Any juror who finds him guilty is guilty of anti-White racism.

Prosecutors listed nearly a dozen previous instances of Lloyd calling for the deaths of Jewish people and transgender people in social media comments, nearly all of them made in the course of one day in March.

Lloyd also emailed local news stations saying he would track the cars and license plates of everyone who attended Bowerss trial.

He repeatedly threatened to release jurors personal information in an effort to make sure they voted the right way, he said in the email. The identities of jurors in the trial were sealed.

His white supremacist organizations website, which names him the Pontifex Maximus Rev. Lloyd, contains an enemies page, listing nearly three dozen people  many of whom Lloyd denotes as Jewish. The page lists the peoples home addresses, work places, photos of their families and contact information.

One of the cases witnesses, a victim of the mass shooting who survived, is on the enemies list.

Last month, Lloyds messages appeared to get more direct as the trial concluded. He changed the front page of his site to read, REMEMBER; Most Synagogues Have Zero Armed Guards  Dress As A Jew And Kill!! on July 17, according to prosecutors.

He ended a July 16 newsletter with a direct call to action, saying START SHOOTING UP SYNOGUGES!!

On Tuesday, he wrote in a Telegram post that he intended to kill 5-10 random Black people in Alabama  apparently in response to the Montgomery, Ala., pier brawl  and two random Jewish people in Pittsburgh and Austin, Texas.

Anti-White HATE has consequences. For every one White attacked or shown bigotry we shall target 2-4 random [Jews or Black people], he said in a screenshot of the post included by prosecutors, using slurs for the groups.

Law enforcement took Lloyd into custody early Thursday without incident, the Justice Department said.

The most significant charge against him, witness tampering, carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The News

The rise of artificial intelligence has brought with it a new kind of hacker: one who can trick an AI chatbot into lying, showing its biases, or sharing offensive information.

Over about 20 hours at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas starting on Friday, an estimated 3,200 hackers will try their hand at tricking chatbots and image generators, in the hopes of exposing vulnerabilities.

Eight companies are putting their models to the test: Anthropic, Cohere, Google, Hugging Face, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Stability AI. The White House, which secured commitments from the companies to open themselves up to external testing, also helped craft the challenges.

Participants will get points for successfully completing tasks of varying difficulty. That could include coaxing a chatbot to spit out political misinformation or an incorrect math answer. Competitors will also try to expose more subtle biases, like whether a model provides different answers to similar questions about Black and white engineers, for example.

These red teaming exercises  in which hackers try to find errors that a bad actor could take advantage of  arent new in tech or cybersecurity. But its never been done on AI models so publicly at this scale. Winners will get a coveted Nvidia graphics card, along with bragging rights.

J.D.s view

The scale and transparency of this exercise, and the participation of so many creators of large language models like ChatGPT, is notable. And it makes sense why the companies would want to play ball: They arent paying to participate in this weekends challenge, organizer Rumman Chowdhury said, so theyre essentially getting a mass volume of testing and research for free. Plus, the White House is keeping an eye on it.

What matters more is what happens after this weekend. The companies, as well as independent researchers, will receive the results of the competition as a massive database, which will detail the various issues found in the models. Its ultimately on them to fix the problems, and a report due to come out next February will include whether they did so.

I wouldnt necessarily take it on faith that the companies will fix every problem that emerges, said Chowdhury, an AI ethics and auditing expert. But we are creating an environment where it is a smart idea to be doing something about these harms.

The skillset of a large language model red teamer is completely different from that of the traditional hacker set, which focuses on bugs and errors in code that can be exploited. A coding mindset can be helpful in figuring out how to trick these AI models into slipping up, but the best exploits are done through natural language.

Were trying something very wild and audacious, and were hopeful it works out, Chowdhury said.

One thing the hackers wont be testing for: partisan bias. While chatbots became a part of the culture wars this year, with some conservatives claiming theyre woke, Chowdhury said thats largely the result of trust and safety mechanisms, not the models themselves.

Were not really wading into that water, she said. These models are not fundamentally politically anything.

One of the big questions for large language models is whether the harmful content can be watermarked so that social media companies can easily identify and stamp it out. Right now, that looks like a huge challenge in text and a slightly less daunting one in AI-generated images and video.

Room for Disagreement

Theres an argument that its not all that important what large language models do when theyre being used by individuals. What matters more is whether the content can be distributed on a mass scale through social media and other channels.

People can already generate plenty of offensive and inaccurate content. LLMs help people do that better in a more convincing tone and at scale.

And people have demonstrated en masse how this technology can be manipulated, acting as a kind of public red team army by calling out chatbots that go awry. The most prominent example was when a New York Times reporter coaxed Bing Chat into falling in love with him. Also, the companies already do their own internal red-teaming and acknowledge their chatbots can produce offensive or incorrect information.

The View From Europe

In Europe, the biggest concern about large language models is that they might violate copyright laws. The models were created by ingesting massive amounts of text and transcribed audio. And the technology could be used to displace some of the people who created that underlying content, without competition.

It would be interesting to see if the red teamers at DEF CON or future chatbot hackers could get LLMs to generate content that appears to violate copyrights or borrow content from specific content creators.

Notable

The White House announced this week that its backing another AI-focused competition to find and fix government software vulnerabilities using models from OpenAI, Google, and others. Rewards for the contest total around $20 million over the next two years, Reuters reported.
If Shakespeare had been born Jack Smith, then perhaps in "Henry VI, Part 2," the character Dick the Butcher would not have said, "First, let's kill all the lawyers," but rather, "First, let's name them all unindicted co-conspirators."

Smith's Aug. 1 indictment of Donald Trump lists six  six!  co-conspirators, and all have been identified as attorneys. This is a dark stain on the profession, but it should not completely blot out the light.

Two sides of the story of lawyers and American democracy have long co-existed.

On one side, lawyers have the same vulnerabilities as any other citizen. As Alexis de Tocqueville, the unrivaled chronicler of 19th-century America, observed, "like most other men," lawyers "are governed by their private interests, and especially by the interests of the moment." But Tocqueville also recognized another side of the story. Indeed, he was more emphatic in noting the indispensable role that lawyers could, and he hoped would, play in the American story.

"Men," he wrote, "who have made a special study of the laws derive from this occupation certain habits of order ." Tocqueville said that "When the American people are intoxicated by passion or carried away by the impetuosity of their ideas,"they are checked and stopped by the almost invisible influence of their legal counselors."

History has proved him right in both his worries about, and his hopes for, the legal profession. Lawyers have often been a bulwark of the American constitutional system. But when they, of all people, give in to "the interests of the moment" and betray that system, the wound is a deep one.

Americans learned this lesson during Nixon's Watergate scandal when lawyers aided and abetted the disgraced 37th president's crimes. As John Dean, Nixon's former White House counsel, once said, "I prepared a list of who was likely to be indicted. ... I put a little asterisk beside each lawyer, which was Mitchell, Strachan, Ehrlichman, Dean, Mardian, O'Brien, Parkinson, Colson, Bittman, and Kalmbach."

"[H]ow in God's name could so many lawyers get involved in something like this?"

Dean's fear that many of the lawyers who aided Nixon would be indicted proved to be well founded. Indictments of those people were brought by special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski and their staffs, who, in Tocqueville's words, "valued legality" and vindicated it.

Sadly, it seems like deja vu all over again as the nefarious role of lawyers in Trump's Big Lie campaign leaps from the pages of the Washington, D.C., grand jury's Aug. 1 indictment of the former president. Yet for good reason, the indictment did not charge the co-conspiring lawyers: to speed the trial of the alleged kingpin, Donald Trump. Indicting and trying the others as co-defendants with Trump would have complicated the trial, slowing a slugfest to a snail's pace.

But the unindicted conspirators are smart enough to see that their days in the docket are just over the horizon. For now, being named as participants in the alleged crimes is sure to have those six lawyers in a kind of mental purgatory.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

And we already have a good idea of what they will say when their indictment day comes. On Aug. 2, Harvey Silverglate, the lawyer for John Eastman, one of Trump's unindicted counsels, wrote that Eastman had "acted in the highest traditions of the legal profession to advise his client, even if some of his theories were at the very boundary of the law."

Eastman far exceeded the boundary of lawfulness, ignoring his lawyer's oath to support the Constitution. He did so when he wrote two memos claiming that Vice President Mike Pence, as presiding officer of the joint session of Congress, was "the ultimate arbiter" in deciding whether to accept or reject presidential electors' votes.

Indeed, in March 2022, federal district court Judge David Carter found it more likely than not that Eastman had gone beyond merely offering legal advice and moved into a conspiracy with Trump to obstruct congressional proceedings.

Constitutional scholar Steve Vladeck has explained specifically why any claim that Eastman's advice was lawful will not pass muster. Under the 12th Amendment, Vladeck has emphasized, "There's no discretion on [the vice president's] part, nor has any Vice President previously claimed the power to reject any properly formatted certificates."

Inside the White House on Jan. 4, 2021, Eastman himself admitted, according to testimony given by Pence lawyer Greg Jacob to the House Jan. 6 committee, "we would lose 9-nothing" in the Supreme Court.

The unlawful and unethical schemes in which other unindicted conspirators allegedly participated could put them in the same boat as Eastman. For example, co-conspirator No. 5 (identified as attorney Kenneth Chesebro) wrote an email to Eastman proposing that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declare the Georgia election in doubt. Co-conspirators No. 1 (identified as Rudy Giuliani) and No. 6 (identified as Boris Epshteyn) were reportedly allies in running the Trump campaign's fake elector campaign in seven states.

Here again, if a member of the bar encourages others to sign fraudulent electoral certificates claiming to be official, they are not acting as a lawyer but someone who is, as Tocqueville said, "governed by their private interests." Because the conspiring attorneys' wanted to curry favor with Donald Trump, they apparently became aiders and abettors of crime  subverting, not protecting, the constitutional order.

In parallel today, for the lawyers now in Trump's orbit, trouble almost certainly lies ahead. His legal team, according to the New York Times, "is marked by a tangled web of potential conflicts and overlapping interests."

Jack Smith's classified document and obstruction of justice case that is unfolding in Florida federal court has highlighted those conflicts in a motion questioning lawyer Stanley Woodward's representation of Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta and at least seven other witnesses in the case. Woodward previously represented Yuscil Taveras, who is expected to be the key witness against Nauta.

In the short run, Woodward may not be disqualified from representing Nauta. Trump's valet is free to state that he understands the potential conflicts and wants Woodward to stay on as his lawyer. After all, Trump's Save America super PAC is reportedly paying Woodward's fees. But should convictions later occur, clients can change their mind and attack their lawyer's representation: "Oops, when I waived the conflict there was something the lawyer failed to tell me."

That is among many reasons behind a recent Boston Globe headline: "The most dangerous job for lawyers is being on Trump's legal team."

For the rest of us, Trump has taken a blowtorch to Americans' faith in elections, and he's now aiming it at "anyone who goes after me," including the legal system and the legal profession itself.

This brings us back to the primary reasons why the Aug. 1 indictment matters. It is a striking reminder that on one side of Tocqueville's two stories lies skilled and vigilant lawyering in pursuit of accountability. It both helps to redeem the legal profession and is a rule-of-law nation's necessary antidote to ensure that other attorneys stay on the path of integrity.

The lawyers in the special counsel's office are not alone in vindicating Tocqueville's hope. Attorneys from nonpartisan groups like Lawyers Defending American Democracy (with which co-author Aftergut is affiliated), the States United Democracy Center and the 65 Project have also done a real service to the legal profession and the country as a whole by initiating professional accountability via disciplinary complaints naming most, if not all, of the D.C. grand jury's unindicted conspirators.

Stay tuned. Criminal accountability is soon to follow.

Read more

about Trump's court battle
Many residents of Lahaina said they received no warning or instructions from authorities before the blaze struck town

As the scale of the fire's destruction in Maui becomes clear, questions are mounting over whether officials warned residents fast enough.

Local evacuations first took place on Tuesday, followed by an announcement that the flames were "100% contained".

By the following day, however, fast-moving flames had engulfed Maui's Lahaina town.

About 80% of the town has been destroyed, according to officials.

At least 96 have been reported dead in Maui County. Hundreds more are missing.

While some reported receiving text alerts, it is unclear why the warnings were not more widespread. Many residents have reported that strong winds knocked out communications systems hours before the fires arrived.

Here's what we know.

When were Maui residents warned about the fires?

We know now that the fires began on Tuesday, but there was no specific warning ahead of it.

The National Weather Service did issue a number of warnings for strong winds and dry weather that can help fuel wildfires. But that warning was cancelled on Wednesday.

Soon after flames were reported on Maui on the morning of 8 August, officials ordered an evacuation order of an area near a school to the east of Lahaina.

Shortly before 0900 local time (2000 BST), Maui County's official website put out a statement in which they said that the brush fire had been "100% contained", although "winds in the area remain a concern".

Apart from a warning to avoid blocked roads, officials gave no further warnings regarding Lahaina until 16:45 local time, when the county said "an apparent flare-up" of the fire had caused the closure of a bypass near the town, as well as some evacuations.

More evacuations were announced later that afternoon, followed by an emergency declaration by Mayor Richard Bissen before 2200 local time that night. Tourists in some hotels were instructed to remain in place to avoid clogging up local roads.

By then, flames had already engulfed parts of Lahaina, forcing some residents to flee into the sea.

Hundreds of Lahaina residents have evacuated to shelters.

Was there a warning system in place?

Hawaii has what officials have previously touted as the world's largest all-hazard public warning system, which includes a network of over 400 sirens across the state's many islands that can help alert residents and visitors to various kinds of threats. Eighty outdoor sirens are in Maui alone.

The head of the state's emergency management agency, Adam Weintraub, told the Associated Press this week that records do not suggest that those sirens were triggered on Maui on Tuesday.

Instead, Mr Weintraub said, officials used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones as well as TVs and radio stations.

In the wake of the fire, many residents have reported not seeing these, prompting speculation that they came only after widespread power and communications outages occurred on Maui.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, fire chief Bradford Ventura said that the flames - propelled by strong winds - had moved so fast that notifying residents became "nearly impossible".

He added that the first neighbourhoods of Lahaina struck by the blaze "were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice".

On NBC's Today programme, Mayor Bissen said that the fast-moving flames created an "impossible situation" because "everything happened so quickly".

While he declined to comment on whether warning systems functioned or not, Mr Bissen said that 2,100 people were in shelters by Tuesday night.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Hawaii governor Josh Green said that destruction in Lahaina was "very difficult to anticipate, especially because it came in the night with high winds".

"We don't see any indications that Maui did anything wrong," Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesman Adam Weintraub told CNN.

What did residents hear?

In the aftermath of the blaze, many local residents and visitors have reported not hearing any warnings at all until the flames were dangerously close or already sweeping into Lahaina.

Tee Dang, a 35-year-old visitor from Kansas, told the BBC that she only realised an emergency was taking place when the manager of an Airbnb told her family that they should evacuate.

"We don't know what to do, so we just grabbed all our stuff...by the time we got in our car, the black smoke was rising," she added. Eventually Ms Dang, her husband and three children were forced to flee into the sea to escape.

"All I grabbed was food, water and a shirt...and we left," she said, adding that they were soon caught in traffic amid the flames. "There were fires in every corner".

Lee Munn, a 42-year-old resident of Lahaina, said he was meeting with his neighbours at an apartment complex when strong winds started and he began smelling smoke and seeing soot fall on a window. He soon saw embers falling.

"At that point everybody started to panic," he added. As he packed, the building caught fire around him and "everything went black".

Local man Dustin Kaleiopu told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that he only realised the fire was so close when "smoke started to come through our windows".

"By the time we got in our car, our neighbour's yard was on fire," he added. "There were strangers in our yard with their water hoses trying to put fires out".

Carl Cudworth, a 63-year-old Lahaina resident, was one of the few who have so far reported receiving a text alert.

He told the New York Times that the alert - which sounded "kind of like a fire engine" - vanished quickly but gave him and his family time to escape Lahaina.
An attorney for the families of two Gilgo Beach murder victims accused the wife of alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann of involvement in the newly uncovered Long Island murders  but her lawyers denied any link to the heinous killings.

Its part of one large criminal enterprise, said the families lawyer John Ray on a day of dueling news conferences outside the Central Islip federal courthouse. She should be considered a suspect and not just a bystander or someone whos been victimized by her husband.

Robert Macedonio, attorney for Heuermann spouse Asa Ellerup, dismissed the allegations out of hand at his own media appearance.

Let me reiterate: Asa or the children are not suspects, said Macedonio. I think the DAs office made that clear. They stated on numerous occasions they were out of the jurisdiction when these alleged crimes took place.

But Ray said he had a credible witness who could confirm Ellerup was inside the Massapequa Park residence when her husband brought sex workers to their home, although the witness, a woman, has refused to speak publicly.

Ellerup was there, he insisted. And she therefore is part of the conspiracy, and that conspiracy of bringing sex workers into the home led to the deaths.

Long Island officials have not identified Ellerup, her son or her daughter as suspects in the serial killings. The wife had previously said she was suffering from depression and trauma after her spouses arrest.

Earlier Friday, attorneys for the spouse said she was battling cancer and added the family had filed a notice of claim over damages to their home caused by investigators as they scoured the residence for evidence over 12 days. A notice of claim is a prelude to filing a lawsuit against a government agency.

Macedonio said Ellerup has not visited Heuermann since his July 13 arrest. The suspect is being held without bail in three of the killings occuring from 2009 to 2010. According to her attorney, Ellerup suffers from breast cancer and skin cancer and is currently under treatment expected to last 12 to 18 months.

On Wednesday, a Suffolk County judge ordered Heuermann to turn over a DNA sample as the prosecutors gathered evidence in the case.

Relatives of victims Jessica Taylor and Shannan Gilbert expressed their dismay with efforts to raise funds for Ellerup and her family via a GoFundMe page set up by Melissa Moore, the daughter of the man dubbed the Happy Face Killer, who is serving life in prison and is believed to have killed at least eight women across the U.S. in the 1990s.

Shannan Gilberts sister Sherre Gilbert said she and a lot of the victims families feel its disgusting, because we were never given that much support when our loved ones went missing.

I dont know about you guys, but Ive never heard of a murder victims family getting $45,000 (in donations), Gilbert said via speakerphone.

Ray read a statement from a relative of Taylor, who said she was disturbed to see how this family has remained in the spotlight since the arrest.
The wing of an airplane hangs over the right side of the image, a dimmed sun shines behind brown smoke above a dark, mountainous landscape.

Among the complex mix of particles that make up wildfire smoke, an abundant but thus far unknown kind has been shown to trap a surprising amount of heat, according to new research.

These results indicate that wildfires, which are expected to become harsher and more frequent in the coming years due to human-induced climate change, are heating Earth to a greater extent than previously thought.

Using NASA's Douglas DC-8 aircraft, which is a 54-year-old quadjet (a jet powered by four engines) that was turned into a flying science lab, scientists performed smoke analysis of three specific lightning-caused fires. All three had burnt large swaths of land in the western United States in 2019  the Shady Creek in Idaho, Castle and Ikes in Arizona and the 204 Cow of Oregon.

Their findings showed that a new kind of particle associated with these fires, dubbed organic "dark brown carbon," strongly absorbs heat  so much so that they account for more than half of the total heat absorbed by the collected wildfire smoke.

"It's likely that they form similarly to soot in the high-temperature flames along the leading edges of wildfires," Rohan Mishra, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and a co-author of the new study, said in a statement .

In July and August of 2019, scientists used instruments onboard NASA's flying science lab to collect smoke samples at about 6.2 miles (10 km) above ground. On ground, they used a mobile laboratory to collect samples of wildfire smoke about 1.8 miles (3 km) from selected fire management areas.

Related: Satellites watch as wildfires rage across Greece (photos)

Granite Gulch Fire, during August 2019. (Credit: NOAA OMAO)

The new particles are fewer in number when compared to another wildfire smoke particle known as black carbon or soot, which absorbs sunlight, then turns that sunlight into heat. Black carbon is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide  however, these newly studied dark brown carbon particles appear to be four times more abundant in smoke than black carbon. That ultimately spikes the potential for wildfires to warm our planet far beyond what has been accounted for.

The results of this latest research, which was a collaboration between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), add a strong urgency to better understand the warming effects of brown carbon. These particles are technically included in existing climate models, but their warming effects remain a huge uncertainty, and it's also worth noting that they're released into the atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels as well.

"Typically, climate models ignore or dismiss organic carbon as insignificant compared to black carbon when it comes to warming, but that is not what field observations reveal," Rajan Chakrabarty, an associate professor of energy, environment and chemical engineering at the Washington University in St. Louis and the new study's lead author, said in the statement.

The newly found particles seem to absorb light across the visible spectrum, from ultraviolet wavelengths to near-infrared. They are also capable of resisting light-induced bleaching, which is a naturally occurring process that's expected to strip brown carbon particles of their capacity to absorb heat, usually within a day after they're released into the atmosphere.

Related Stories:

 Smoke from Canadian wildfires chokes US Midwest, reaches Europe (satellite photos)

 Climate change: Causes and effects

 NASA searches for climate solutions as global temperatures reach record highs

However, lab experiments showed that the dark brown carbon particles indicated no change in heat absorption for at least three days.

Previous research has shown that such bleaching is " heavily dependent " on the height of the smoke and local atmospheric conditions. Closer to the ground, where there are higher chances of warm and humid climates, brown carbon loses its color or bleaches in as quickly as a day.

The higher the wildfire smoke is from the ground, the cooler the air gets, so brown carbon in the smoke loses its water content, making chemical reactions that much harder. At high altitudes, it wafts in the atmosphere for as long as a year.

In the past, wildfire smoke has drifted to polar regions, and brown carbon was cited as the leading contributor to the accelerated melting of glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic, which is now warming faster than the rest of the planet .

The new paper was published on Monday (Aug. 07) in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Wildfires on the Russian-occupied Ukrainian island of Dzharylhach in Kherson Oblast have completely destroyed 1,500 hectares of the protected area of a natural park, media have reported.

The fire has destroyed the protected zone where most of all the islands steppe ecosystems are located, as well as the largest population of rare animals, in particular ungulates, Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne quoted the parks director, Iryna Sabashenko, as saying on Aug. 10.

Some plants on the island are listed in the Green Book of Ukraine and belong to rare and endangered plants, Sabashenko added.

It takes an average form four or five to eight or 12 years to restore steppe, meadow and salt marsh areas, while Tamarix bushes can only be restored in 15-30 years, the director said.

Read also: Russian troops shooting endangered birds for fun on Arabat Spit  Khlan

Were calculating the damage, but it already amounts to billions of hryvnias, she said.

The fire is still ongoing, so we dont have accurate data.

The fire on the island was seen from the coast of the Dzharylhach Bay 10 kilometers away, while the smoke could be observed for several days, a local female resident of the Russian-occupied left bank of Kherson Oblast told Suspilne.

The most valuable steppe area on the Russian-occupied island of Dzharylhach has been on fire for five days, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group reported on Aug. 5.

Dzharylhach, which is located opposite the port city of Skadovsk in Kherson Oblast, is the largest island of Ukraine and the Black Sea. Its entire territory and part of the adjacent water area are included in the Dzharylhach National Natural Park.

Read also: Russia connects Dzharylhach island with mainland Kherson Oblast

Dzharylhach has been under Russian occupation since the first days of the full-scale invasion, which began in late February 2022.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
TechCrunch

Enough is pumping that dough into doubling the output capacity of its first production site in the Netherlands, completed last September. Enough was founded as 3F BIO in 2015 by Jim Laird, who has a background in food operations. The companys proprietary technology feeds fungi with sugars from renewable feedstocks and then ferments it similar to the way beer is made.
A Wisconsin judge on Thursday rejected an effort to dismiss a civil case against 10 fake electors for former President Trump and two of Trumps attorneys, court records show.

The case centers on an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election by submitting false slates of electors for Trump in seven targeted battleground states, including Wisconsin, where President Biden won.

The fake elector scheme was part of Trumps teams efforts to keep the former president in power, and it was a key focus of the latest indictment against him. Federal prosecutors claimed in the indictment the fake elector scheme originated in Wisconsin.

The suit in Wisconsin was filed by two Democratic electors and a voter, and it alleged the defendants were part of Trumps conspiracy to stay in power. They are seeking $2.4 million and are asking the judge to bar the GOP electors from serving as electors again. One of the defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, is understood to be one of the unnamed coconspirators mentioned in the federal indictment against Trump.

Many GOP electors who submitted false certifications for Trump claim they thought they were signing the certificate in case the legal challenges were successful.

The case is scheduled to go to trial just two months before the 2024 election, beginning Sept. 3, 2024, and lasting one month.

The charges come after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges against 16 Republicans in July related to the fake elector scheme in her state. All 16 pleaded not guilty.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Facebook user shared bystander video of the July 20 incident and claimed Kenosha has been doing super shady stuff lately and [theyre] trying to cover this up.

Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, mistakenly arrested a Black couple for a crime they didnt commit, yet still charged them with resisting arrest, prompting an investigation.

HuffPost reported that witnesses told law authorities two Black men and a woman carrying a child had fled toward an Applebees after being involved in a hit-and-run accident on a nearby highway around 11 p.m. on July 20.

Instead of locating the individuals they were seeking, the police incorrectly confronted a Black man dining with a woman and baby at Applebees, then forcibly handcuffed him. Later, the cops found the ones they were looking for in a restaurant restroom.

Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, have sparked controversy by arresting the wrong Black man (above) and woman after a hit-and-run, then charging them with resisting arrest. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/CBS Chicago)

The authorities charged the two people who were dining with disorderly conduct, resisting an officer and obstruction. The woman was also charged with marijuana possession.

Activists in Kenosha have denounced the accusations and the detention. In a press conference on Wednesday, a group called Leaders of Kenosha, founded by Tanya McLean, urged residents to discuss the issue with their elected leaders.

The police officers, it just did not appear that they were using good judgment, McLean, the organizations executive director, said at a press conference, HuffPost reported. We want to know why police officers are not being respectful to community members here in this city. What is it that makes you feel as if you need to be so overly aggressive? So confrontational?

After a Facebook user shared it on Aug. 4, a bystanders video of the incident spread over social media. The person claimed, Kenosha has been doing super shady stuff lately and [theyre] trying to cover this up.

The interrupted patron declared, Im not doing sh*t! on the spectator video. He shouted, Let me the f*ck go! as police surrounded him near a table. He clung to the crying infant as officials attempted to remove the baby from his arms.

One cop took the infant, and two more tackled the man. An officer struck the victim repeatedly near or on his head as he lay face down on the ground, and another held his hands behind his back.

The woman calls out for her crying baby in the background of the video.

According to HuffPost, police told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the man was detained as the crash was investigated. In defiance of officers orders, the man attempted to flee and was stopped. He resisted being held and thats when the encounter caught on camera happened.

Just a complete lack of regard for people that do not look like you, that dont have that uniform on, McLean told those gathered this week, according to HuffPost. What is it that just frightens you? Because we know that when people are fearful, they act in irrational ways.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Wisconsin police arrest the wrong Black couple and charge them for resisting anyway appeared first on TheGrio.
Woman found dead in a barrel was a 'witness' to Missouri kidnapping. Officials say there may be another barrel out there.

Authorities believe there may be another barrel in the Missouri River with more evidence linked to the case of a white man accused of kidnapping, raping and holding a Black woman captive in the basement of his suburban Kansas City home last year, officials said Thursday.

The announcement comes after the remains of a Black woman authorities described as a potential witness in the alleged kidnapping were found in a blue barrel in the river.

We have asked the public to remain vigilant for any suspicious objects, such as blue barrels, particularly on or around the Missouri River, said Alexander Higginbotham, a spokesman for the Clay County Prosecuting Attorneys Office. We have reason to believe that additional evidence may be contained in another blue barrel that could be located on the Missouri River.

The home where neighbors raised the alarm in Excelsior Springs, Mo. (Sarah Plake / KSHB)

In an email, Higginbotham did not provide additional details about the evidence authorities are searching for, and did not respond to a question about whether race played a role in the alleged crimes.

After announcing the discovery of the second woman, Jaynie Crosdale, prosecutors on Monday said the previously set bond amount of $3 million for Timothy Haslett Jr. was insufficient to ensure the safety of the community and the victim.

Haslett was indicted in February on nine charges, including rape, sodomy and kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty.

A judge denied the bond request and prosecutors have not charged Haslett in connection with Crosdales death. Haslett's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement Monday, the prosecutors office said that Crosdale was inside Hasletts home before his Oct. 7 arrest. Efforts to reach Crosdales relatives have been unsuccessful.

Excelsior Springs police identified Crosdale as a possible witness in Hasletts case in January and asked for the publics help in finding her. Authorities said at the time that they believed Crosdale had information about the investigation.

Citing an ongoing investigation, Higginbotham declined to say if it was still accurate to describe Crosdale as a witness and if there were forthcoming charges in her death.

However, our office is working closely with law enforcement to gather all evidence and information that is needed to build the strongest case possible and deliver justice for Jaynie Crosdale, he said. We will continue to pursue evidence quickly and aggressively in this matter and hope to be able to provide the public with more information in the near future.

Higginbotham said the countys top prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, and a deputy prosecutor joined the Missouri Highway Patrol on Tuesday to familiarize" themselves with the area where Crosdale was found.

Her body was identified July 30 after kayakers spotted the blue barrel in Saline County, east of Haslett's home in Excelsior Springs. Higginbotham declined to provide additional details about the search.

In the previous case, a 22-year-old woman escaped from Haslett's home with a padlocked metal collar around her neck and duct tape on her mouth, authorities have said in a probable cause statement.

The woman told authorities that Haslett picked her up in Kansas City in early September and accused him of raping, whipping and restraining her with handcuffs for weeks, according to the statement.

She escaped when Haslett took his child to school, the document says, and pleaded for help from neighbors. One neighbor, Ciara Tharpe, recalled the woman saying that other friends who'd also been held captive "didn't make it."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Gavel

CANTON  A Coshocton woman who posed as a social worker to kidnap a baby has been sentenced to seven to 10 1/2 years in prison.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn L. Heath sentenced Sapphire R. McDougleh, 34, after she pleaded guilty to abduction, burglary, forgery, interference with custody and impersonating an officer.

The judge ordered her to pay court costs and any monitoring fees. She gave the defendant credit against her sentence for 138 days already spent in jail.

The incident occurred March 16, when McDougleh posed as a social worker to kidnap a 3-week-old baby from the child's mother at Skyline Terrace Apartments in the 600 block of Alan Page Drive SE. The mother told Canton police that a woman wearing a name tag and claiming to work for Child Protective Services took her girl. The father said the woman forced her way inside.

The child was later found unharmed in Coshocton County.

McDougleh will spend one to three years on parole after being released from prison. If she lives in Stark County while on parole, she would be required to participate in the county's re-entry program.

McDougleh pleaded guilty Aug. 2 and was sentenced the same day. The judge's order accepting the plea and sentencing the defendant was filed Wednesday.

A 20-year-old Coshocton man who was found with McDougleh and the infant in his car was initially charged with complicity to kidnapping, but a Stark County grand jury ruled there was not enough evidence to indict him.

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

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sapphire McDougleh sentenced for kidnapping Canton baby
A woman slipped out of handcuffs during her arrest and pulled a federal officers hair in New Mexico, officials said.

Now the 30-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to assault of a federal officer, prosecutors said.

Henryetta John, of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, was stopped by an officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Oct. 20, 2021, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to an Aug. 10 news release by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Mexico.

Court documents say the officer tried to arrest John and she managed to get out of the handcuffs.

After the officer tried to arrest her again, John grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to the ground, a plea agreement for John said.

McClatchy News reached out to her lawyer on Aug. 11 and was awaiting a response.

John still would not let the officer arrest her, and the two rolled down a hillside, prosecutors said.

The officer was left with bruises, cuts and clumps of hair pulled out, according to the plea agreement.

John tried to flee but was caught by other officers, the documents said.

John is facing up to 20 years in prison, the release said.

She will remain in custody until being released for substance-abuse treatment, officials said.

Santo Domingo, also known as Kewa Pueblo, is about 35 miles southwest of Santa Fe.

If you or a loved one shows signs of substance use disorder, you can seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or find treatment using SAMHSA's online locator.

Woman attacking guard with fire extinguisher fatally shot in supermarket, CA cops say

Son shoots at deputies as they search home for drugs, NC cops say. Dad also arrested

Trooper forced back into traffic as fleeing motorcyclist tries to ram him, video shows
Chinas Ministry of State Security said it has detained a worker from a military industrial group on suspicion of spying for the CIA amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing around accusations of espionage.

Chinas civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, reportedly posted a statement on the countrys main social media site WeChat saying they had detained a worker with the surname Zeng for providing military secrets to the CIA in exchange for large sums of money.

The Chinese spy agency said that Zeng, 52, was sent to Italy by his employer but met with an official with the U.S. Embassy who turned out to be a CIA agent, The Associated Press quoted from the ministrys statement.

Earlier this month, Beijing passed legislation expanding the category of what is considered espionage and is encouraging its citizens to participate in counter-spying operations. The Ministry for State Security, writing on its WeChat account, said that the government should create channels to encourage citizens to report suspicious activity and provide rewards.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said U.S. officials have raised concerns with Beijing over the new anti-espionage law and has said encouraging citizens to spy on each other is something thats of great concern.

The CIA did not immediately return a request for comment, but the episode is likely to increase tensions between Washington and Beijing at a time when they are already grappling with a number of disputes on hacking and spying.

Last week, the U.S. arrested two U.S. Navy sailors on allegations on providing military secrets to China. Last month, Microsoft said that Chinese hackers had infiltrated government email accounts, compromising dozens of agencies.

And in February, the Biden administration shot down what they said was a Chinese spy balloon transiting the U.S. China said the balloon was for tracking weather patterns and not for spying.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Carlos Jose, 21, has his eyes scanned by an orb, at a Worldcoin registration point in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

NEW YORK (AP)  Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world, with the Kenya's government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely.

The international ID startup, backed by big names in Silicon Valley, is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure.

Here's what to know about Worldcoin and the concerns its raising:

WHAT IS WORLDCOIN?

Worldcoin is the creation of Sam Altman, best known as the CEO of OpenAI, the company that has gained widespread recognition with its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated. Worldcoin creates a World ID by scanning someone's eyeballs through orbs  a device that captures an image of their irises, the colored parts of the eyes.

One possible use for such an ID would be online services, where oftentimes people are having to remember multiple passwords and usernames for various websites they have signed up for.

The security of those sites can be flawed, however, and there have been numerous security breaches where usernames and passwords have been stolen. Instead of using old technology like passwords, a person could just sign up using their World ID.

WHAT IS ITS CONNECTION TO CRYPTO?

Worldcoin is first and foremost an identification project but is using cryptocurrency to get people to sign up. The Worldcoin token is trading for roughly $1.90, but its value is largely based on speculation rather than its current usability as a currency.

Worldcoin launched officially in July, and as part of the promotion, early adopters were given an amount of cryptocurrency worth between $50 and $60, depending on the jurisdiction. Most of the countries where Worldcoin launched don't widely use or accept crypto.

Further, $50 is a lot of money in developing countries where people are being asked to sign up, including Kenya, where the average monthly income is roughly $170.

WHY IS WORLDCOIN GAINING ATTENTION?

Thousands of Kenyans lined up in Nairobi last week at a registration center where Worldcoin scanned their irises in exchange for 25 coins worth about $50. The largely youthful crowd included a special line for mothers who waited with children strapped to their backs.

Some of those in line told local media that they had traveled for miles after friends said free money was being handed out. They acknowledged not knowing why they needed to scan their irises and where that information would go but just wanted the money.

University graduates were among those who waited for hours, alluding to the high rate of unemployment in Kenya, where many are angry over the rising cost of living.

The Kenyan government has since suspended new sign-ups for Worldcoin as it investigates whether people's information is being properly protected.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said last week that investigations of the safety and protection of the data being harvested and how the harvesters intend to use the data had started.

WHAT ARE THE PRIVACY CONCERNS?

Worldcoins orbs collect biometric data by taking photographs of a persons iris. While Worldcoin argues that the data is used to create a unique, secure form of identification, privacy experts have concerns that the company may use the information in other ways, like personalized marketing.

That has led some countries to investigate Worldcoins operations, including France, Germany and now Kenya.

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision says it has initiated a comprehensive investigation of Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity over data security practices.

The agency is looking into whether the rights of people who submitted their personal data were observed. They should have been sufficiently informed about how their data would be used and given the ability to object, have their data deleted or to withdraw their permission, said Michael Will, head of the office.

The data also should be protected from unauthorized access  to prevent identity theft, for instance, he said in a statement.

France's data privacy regulator said the legality of Worldcoin's data collection and how it stores the information seems questionable." It launched an investigation, finding the German privacy watchdog had jursidiction under Europe's strict data privacy rules.

The U.K. Information Commissioners Office says it's making inquiries about Worldcoin.

Privacy experts are worried that even Worldcoin could eventually be susceptible to criminals infiltrating it, similar to data breaches at other large companies. Privacy experts have said biometric data is already being sold in places like China and that could spread to other countries or jurisdictions.

When biometric data gets leaked, especially in the poor countries where Worldcoins been operating, peoples lives are on the line, said Pete Howson, a professor of international development at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

In a blog post post last week, Worldcoin acknowledged the privacy concerns around its new service but said, Everything is optional, and no personal data is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID.

Worldcoin has previously said the company uses industry best practices to secure users' data, pointing to an audit that two security firms did in late July.

___

Musambi reported from Nairobi, Kenya. AP Business Writer Dave McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed.
The U.S. managed to convince Egypt not to send rockets to Russia but has so far failed to persuade Cairo to arm Ukraine instead, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 11, citing U.S. and Egyptian officials.

After persuading the Egyptian government not to send weaponry to Moscow earlier this year, Washington asked the African country to instead send artillery shells, anti-tank missiles, air-defense systems, and small arms to Ukraine.

Although Cairo has not categorically rejected the request made by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in March, Egyptian officials said privately that the country has no plans to accommodate it, the Wall Street Journal reported.

While attempting to stay neutral in the Russo-Ukrainian War, Egypt maintains a close relationship with Moscow. The country also imports most of its wheat from Russia.

Egypt is at the same time a close military partner of the U.S., which provides it with $1.3 billion every year in military aid.

Read also: Putin attempts to bribe African leaders with free grain after pulling out of grain deal

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is auctioning off over 500 items, including memorabilia and office equipment, as the company moves forward with its vision for a full rebrand under the ownership of Elon Musk.

The online auction, which is set to start on Sept. 12 and last two days, features office chairs, sofas and paintings, including one of Ellen Degeneres infamous Oscars selfie.

All items have an opening bid of $25 and viewings are available by appointment only.

The company had previously held an auction back in January.

Buyers will have a chance to bid on a total of 584 things, according to CNN, like digital whiteboards, video conferencing systems and monitors, as well as slightly more unexpected items, including guitars, a repurposed barn from Montana and two Twitter bird logo fascia signs, which are still attached to the sides of two buildings on Jessie Street and 10th Street, respectively.

Buyer is responsible for hiring an SF Licensed Company with appropriate Permits, bothlistings note.

Last month, San Francisco police stopped workers from removing Twitters bird and vertical logo from the companys headquarters on Market Street, saying they had not taped off the sidewalk to protect pedestrians during the work.

The company also got into trouble after it erected a giant X sign on the top of that building without obtaining a permit from San Francisco authorities.

City workers took down the sign two days later, following complaints from neighbors who said the giant sign emitted light into their apartments.

The auction follows Musks decision to rename the platform last month and replace the iconic blue bird logo with an X sign, in a move that was poorly received by users.

Under Musk, X has laid off the majority of its workforce, shed advertisers and also reinstated previously banned accounts.

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, in an interview broadcast Thursday, said the rebrand represented really a liberation from Twitter.

A liberation that allowed us to evolve past a legacy mindset and thinking, Yaccarino told CNBCs Squawk on the Street.

Its going to change how we congregate, how we entertain, how we transact all in one platform, she continued, adding that this represents a step towards Musks original vision to make X the everything app.

Related...
OTTAWA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Canada on Thursday finalized an offshore oil and gas revenue sharing arrangement in the western Arctic.

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC), the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Yukon governments and the federal government signed the Western Arctic-Tariuq (Offshore) Accord to ensure that Inuvialuit, along with residents of the NWT and Yukon, are the primary beneficiaries of economic activity from any oil and gas development in their regions.

According to the agreement, resource revenues from the Canada-Inuvialuit Zone will be net of payments made to IRC. These payments to IRC will comprise an amount equivalent to 50 percent of the first 2 million Canadian dollars (1.5 million U.S. dollars) in resource revenues and 5 percent of any additional resource revenues generated in the Canada-Inuvialuit Zone.

The NWT and Yukon governments will receive an amount equivalent to the remaining resource revenues generated in the Canada-NWT Zone and Canada-Yukon Zone respectively, following payments to IRC.

Resource revenues mean revenues derived from the exploration and development of petroleum resources, including royalties, bonuses, forfeitures, and licence fees, the agreement said.

The Inuvialuit, or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. IRC was established in 1986 as the receiver of the lands and financial compensation to continually improve the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of the Inuvialuit. 
A "floating time bomb" oil tanker left adrift in the Red Sea has successfully been drained of its cargo, the UN says.

The vessel was abandoned off Yemen in 2015 after war broke out with more than one million barrels of oil on board.

It was feared the deteriorating FSO Safer could explode or break apart, causing a major spill.

The UN said environmental disaster had been averted but it is unclear how the oil's sale will be agreed between warring sides.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the international community had "defused a floating time bomb and prevented a potentially enormous environmental and health disaster".

The UN led a $120m (95m) fundraising effort to secure the decaying ship and buy another tanker to take the recovered oil.

It took 18 days to complete the transfer in a stretch of water where naval mines were known to be located.

The FSO Safer was constructed in 1976 and was carrying more oil than was spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster when it was left at sea.

It is anchored near the Ras Isa oil terminal, which is controlled by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement.

The group is still fighting a Saudi-led coalition in a conflict that has devastated much of the country.

Work is set to begin on the difficult task of decontaminating and scrapping the vessel but the fate of the recovered oil - which is majority owned by Yemeni state firm SEPOC - may prove even more complex to resolve.

There is no agreement on how profits from the oil's sale will be shared among warring groups.

UN development programme administrator Achim Steiner said: "The best end to the story will be when that oil actually is sold and leaves the region altogether."
The governments of Ukraine and the U.K. began bilateral negotiations on security guarantees for Ukraine, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said on Aug. 11.

Ukraine also started talks on security guarantees with the U.S. on Aug. 3, the Presidential Office said.

"Indeed, after our American colleagues, we started (talks) with our friends, partners from Great Britain. This is a country that is providing key assistance and is one of our main strategic partners," Yermak said on television.

"Today, a very important conversation indeed (with the U.K.) took place," he added.

The Group of Seven (G7) members presented their long-term security commitments for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius in early July.

Under this plan, individual countries will provide bilateral support to help Kyiv repel the ongoing Russian invasion and deter any future aggression.

According to Yermak, 13 other countries have already joined the G7 declaration.

Read also: G7 reveals plans to deter future Russian aggression against Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Thursday said that he believes former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, "crossed the line of ethics" by accepting a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia.

The Republican Kentucky representative, who is leading a congressional probe into President Joe Biden's eldest son Hunter's overseas financial dealings, acknowledged the transaction in response to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's comments accusing Kushner of "grifting," according to The New York Post.

"I have been vocal that I think that what Kushner did crossed the line of ethics," Comer told CNN's Jake Tapper, pointing out the differences between the business dealings of Hunter Biden and Kushner, who served as an adviser to Trump in the White House.

"But what Christie said, it happened after he left office. Still no excuse, Jake, but it happened after he left office. And Jared Kushner actually has a legitimate business," Comer continued.

"This money from the Bidens happened while Joe Biden was vice president, while he was flying to those countries. He  look, days after he left Romania, his family started receiving wires from a corrupt Romanian foreign national, days, Jake, like four days after he left, including his granddaughter. What's his granddaughter doing getting a wire from a Romanian foreign national?" he added.

Kushner reportedly received the $2 billion investment, which included an expected $25 million in annual management fees, from Saudia Arabia's sovereign wealth fund six months after his father-in-law left the White House.

During his tenure in the Trump administration, Kushner was tasked with managing Middle East policy, resulting in him building a relationship with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and leading efforts to create the Abraham Accords, which established Israel's diplomatic relations initially with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and later with Morocco and Sudan.

Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, went forward with the investment deal despite a Saudi Public Investment Fund review panel citing concerns about the "inexperience of the Affinity Fund management" and a due diligence review that deemed the transaction "unsatisfactory in all aspects" among other considerations, according to meeting minutes obtained by The New York Times. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs the fund, dismissed and overruled the panel's objections.

Comer announced on Thursday that he aims to subpoena members of the Biden family after the committee published a third bank record memo on Wednesday that said the Biden family and Hunter Biden's associates had received $20 million in payments from sources in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

"What drives me crazy about this is the blinking red light around Jared Kushner," former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told MSNBC Thursday after declaring the "appearance of impropriety" in Hunter Biden's scandal. "Why does the Senate not start hearings?"

"This is a huge scandal. I do not understand why the Senate is not doing a hearing on all of the Trump grift. And I'm not even talking about the money they netted off foreign governments while they were in office," the former prosecutor said after walking through the extent of Kushner's relationship and dealings with Saudi Arabia, and comparing the situation to former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin outcome when trying to get an investment from the Saudi government.

Democrats' failure to launch an investigation into Kushner, she added, is "a good way to make every headline about Hunter Biden and make everyone forget about what the Trump family did: massive grift while they were in office and even bigger grift trading off the influence of the name Trump after they got out of office. I really think that what Hunter Biden did  I disagree what he did, I don't know if his father disagreed what he did. I know that he was tormented by the death of his other son and the addiction of Hunter. But I do know this. I know that the more we give them an open playing field to try to pretend like Joe Biden did something wrong because of Hunter, the bigger mistake we make."

"We need to explain to the American people, first, that Joe Biden did nothing wrong, we have no evidence he did anything wrong, and secondly, don't look over here, look at the real sleaziness that occupied the White House the last time Republicans were in charge," McCaskill concluded.

Progressive ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington agreed with McCaskill Thursday, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Kushner "should not get a free pass for his special relationship with Saudi Arabia."

"Talk all you want about nepotism and conflicts of interest, but you're not serious people if you don't want to investigate Jared Kushner," the watchdog added in another tweet.

Talk all you want about nepotism and conflicts of interest, but you're not serious people if you don't want to investigate Jared Kushner  Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 11, 2023

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On Friday's edition of "Morning Joe," MSNBC host Joe Scarborough mocked Comer and the other Republican legislators piling on Hunter Biden instead of probing the Trump children's transactions while working in the White House, his comments also in response to Christie's comparison of Hunter Biden's laptop controversy to Kushner's $2 billion investment at a New Hampshire campaign event Thursday.

"Let's see, $2 billion, laptop. I don't think it's the same," Scarborough began, raising his hands to weigh the value of Jared Kushner's scandal with that of Hunter Biden's in jest.

"You know, you can't control family members, and you want to, but you can't," he continued before comparing both to former President Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy Carter's, contentious relationship with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in the 1980s. "There's a big difference between that and people having to be pulled in line when Billy starts showing up next to Muammar Gaddafi in parades and having somebody working inside the White House doing White House business and coming out the other side $2 billion richer."

"I mean, the comparison, again. I'm not talking about [Christie] here so much as I'm talking about all the Republicans that are freaking out over Hunter Biden, when they don't look at all the things Donald Trump's children and in-laws got, who actually worked inside the White House," Scarborough added.

"[They] got these sweetheart deals from Saudi Arabia and China while they were inside the White House, working inside the White House," he said, adding, "Talk about pay to play."

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about the GOP probe
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 11 that the heads of all regional military enlistment offices across Ukraine would be dismissed.

The decision comes after a nationwide inspection of Ukraine's recruitment offices revealed multiple violations, including corruption, power abuse, and fraud.

The fired enlistment chiefs will be replaced with officers who have had battlefield experience after they undergo an inspection by the Security Service.

This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in wartime is treason, Zelensky said in a video address.

The decision was approved at an Aug. 11 meeting of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, will be responsible for its implementation.

Ukrainian authorities began the nationwide inspection of military recruitment offices in late June after journalists discovered that the family of Yevhen Borysov, the former head of the Odesa Oblast military enlistment office, had purchased property worth $4.5 million in Spain during the full-scale war.

Read also: Donetsk Oblast enlistment office head charged with corruption, aiding criminals

According to Zelensky, a total of 112 criminal cases have been opened against Ukrainian enlistment officials, and 33 people have been charged.

Zelensky assured that every enlistment officer would be held responsible if proven guilty.

Dismissed military enlistment offices heads and other officials who have epaulets and for whom no data on crimes or violations have been found (can go) to the front if they want to keep epaulets and prove their dignity," added Zelensky.

But let me emphasize: the army is not and never will be a substitute for criminal punishment. Officials who confused epaulets and benefits will definitely be brought to trial.

Zelensky also announced a meeting of the National Security Council regarding the work of military medical commissions in Ukraine, criticized by soldiers and NGOs. The meeting will take place in two weeks.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged on Aug. 11 to provide humanitarian assistance to Slovenia, which is currently dealing with severe flooding.

"Ukraine provides humanitarian aid to Slovenia in response to severe floods," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

"I signed a relevant decree yesterday. We help our friends even as we fight a war at home. Solidarity works both ways."

The flooding, which started last week due to torrential rains, has been described by Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob as the "worst natural disaster to ever hit" the country.

At least six people have died in the floods, and the property damage is estimated at around $500 million.

Oleh Nikolenko, the spokesperson of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, said on Aug. 7 that Ukraine will provide a helicopter to Slovenia to assist with search and rescue operations.

Both the current Prime Minister Golob and his predecessor Janez Jansa visited Kyiv during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Slovenia has previously provided both humanitarian aid and military support to Kyiv, including tanks and armored vehicles.

Read also: Slovenia, Ukraine sign declaration supporting Ukraines move toward EU, NATO membership

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday announced he was dismissing dozens of heads of Ukraines regional military recruitment centers over allegations of corruption.

There are 112 criminal proceedings against 33 suspects, Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation.

Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency  thats the only difference. The cynicism is the same everywhere, the Ukrainian president said.

Illicit enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, illegal benefit, illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.  We are dismissing all regional military commissars. This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war constitute treason.

Zelensky said the move is aimed at eliminating corruption in the military and said he was immediately filling the positions with Ukrainian soldiers who have been taken off the battlefield after being wounded.

The new heads of territorial recruitment centers will be vetted by the Security Service of Ukraine before their appointment, he said in his speech.

Every military commissar against whom there is a criminal investigation will be held to account. Absolutely fair. In full.

The Ukrainian president is under pressure to root out and protect against corruption in Ukraines government to maintain support from the U.S. and other allies who have provided and committed more than $165 billion in military, financial and reconstruction support.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
On 11 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a teleconference and the meeting of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, heard the reports of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry for Strategic Branches of Industry and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), and held a meeting dedicated to new possible ways of grain export.

Source: Zelenskyy in the concluding video address on Friday

Quote: "In the morning, we had a conference call. Military, intelligence, government officials. The conversation was accompanied by the sounds of air defence in Kyiv Oblast. I heard the reports of commanders, ministers.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported about the situation in the regions, how we deal with the aftermath of Russian strikes, on the work of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. I am thankful to all Ukrainian rescue workers!

The Ministry of Strategic Industries reported on the production of munitions and equipment in Ukraine. We are increasing the volume of production. Constantly increasing.

The Security Service of Ukraine is doing a good job against collaborators. Thank you, guys!

In the afternoon, I held a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on military commissars. There will be another meeting on the military medical commissions."

Details: Zelenskyy remarked that the representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine cooperated with the ambassadors of Ukraines partner states in order to involve these countries in the Ukrainian peace formula.

Zelenskyy himself spoke to the President of Zambia, and the latter also supported the Ukrainian peace formula.

Quote: "We had a separate meeting with Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate Budanov, Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny, Navy Commander Neizhpapa, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Maliuk, and the Ministry of Infrastructure to discuss alternatives to exporting grain through the transit corridor. We are doing everything possible to ensure that Ukraine remains a guarantor of food security and that our people have access to global markets.

And, of course, the frontline. Every front, all key efforts [have been discussed  ed.]. Daily attention. Daily support. Daily reinforcement."

Details: Zelenskyy has thanked everyone who is fighting for Ukraine, who is in the trenches, at the combat missions, on combat posts and who is working for the state.

Background: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that on 11 August, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) decided to dismiss all heads of regional military enlistment officers, meaning all territorial recruitment and social support centre (TRC) heads.

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!








Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised the Ukrainian military engineers who are supporting the Defence Forces' offensive.

Source: Zelenskyys evening address

Quote: "And I would like to particularly commend the units that ensure the offensive of our troops.

These are the units of Ukrainian sappers. They are clearing the Ukrainian land of Russian mines, opening the way for our troops to move forward.

The 808th Separate Support Regiment, the 48th Kamyanets-Podilskyi Engineering Brigade, the 143rd Joint Training Center of the Support Forces  thank you all!"

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!
Zelenskyy spoke about important decisions regarding the Military Committees adopted at the meetings of the National Security Council

All regional military commisars in Ukraine will be dismissed and replaced by combat officers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on Aug. 11.

"This system must be managed by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is high treason," the head of state said.

Read also: Odesas ex-draft commissioner illegally earns $5.1 million, says anti-graft agency

Soldiers who have been through the front or cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have preserved their dignity and have no cynicism  they are the ones who can be entrusted with this system of recruitment.

Zelenskyy said that 11 criminal proceedings have been initiated against military enlistment officials as a result of inspections, and 33 charges against them have been filed.

Read also: Disabled man dies after summoned to military office in Odesa Oblast

Abuses were recorded in different regions: Donetsk, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Kyiv, and Lviv, the president said.

"Some took cash, others took cryptocurrency  that's the only difference," the president added.

The cynicism is the same everywhere. Every military officer who is subject to criminal proceedings will be held accountable. (Its) quite fair. Full responsibility.

He explained that those dismissed military commissars against whom no crimes or violations have been found can go to the front and retain their ranks in the military.

"Let me emphasize: the army is not and will never be a substitute for criminal punishment," Zelenskyy concluded.

Officials who have confused (the privileges of) rank and (the making a) profit will definitely go to trial.

On Aug. 11, the National Security and Defense Council held a meeting on the findings of the inspection of military enlistment offices in Ukraine, chaired by President Zelenskyy.

Read also: Zaluzhnyi taps Colonel Okhrimenko as new Odesa draft commissioner

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi was instructed to dismiss all regional military commisars and replace them with combat officers pending SBU checks.

After the scandal involving the investigation of former Odesa Oblast military commisar Yevhen Borysov, who illegally enriched himself to the tune of UAH 188 million ($5.12 million), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the need for inspections of the military recruitment centers and warned of liability.

On July 25, Deputy Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention Artem Sytnyk said that the agency had started checking the lifestyles of 102 heads and deputy heads of territorial recruitment centers.

Searches and detentions took place in a number of regions, and massive violations were recorded.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Zendaya is remembering her Euphoria co-star Angus Cloud in her own special way.

The Emmy Award-winning actress shared an image from the late actors hometown of Oakland, California, where he died last week at the age of 25.

On her Instagram story was a photo of a mural of Cloud, which features a black-and-white image of the actor along with graffiti messages from his fans. The colorful street art was painted by Darin Balaban and some of the rising stars friends in the aftermath of his tragic death.

According to his family, Cloud was found dead in his Oakland home on July 31.

It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways, the family told TMZ.

The family did not reveal how Cloud passed away, but initially said the actor  known for playing drug dealer Fezco on the acclaimed HBO series  had intensely struggled since the recent death of his father due to stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Amid rumors that Cloud had taken his own life, his mother took to social media to clarify that he wasnt suicidal.

Although my son was in deep grief about his fathers untimely death from mesothelioma ... He did not intend to end his life, she wrote last Friday, adding that he had recently spoken of plans to take care of his family financially and emotionally.

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.
Mourners carry the body of Mahmoud Jarad during his funeral in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, Aug. 11, 2023. A Palestinian was killed and eight were injured on Friday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian refugee camp of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, local medics and eyewitnesses said. Mahmoud Jarad, 24 years old, died after he was shot by Israeli soldiers during clashes, said the Palestinian Health Ministry in a press statement. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed and eight were injured on Friday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian refugee camp of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, local medics and eyewitnesses said.

Mahmoud Jarad, 24 years old, died after he was shot by Israeli soldiers during clashes, said the Palestinian Health Ministry in a press statement.

The statement added that eight other Palestinians were injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers, and all were evacuated to the governmental hospital in Tulkarm.

Eyewitnesses said that an Israeli army force stormed the refugee camp overnight to arrest Palestinians wanted by Israeli security forces for being involved in attacks against Israel.

Israeli soldiers raided dozens of houses in the refugee camp, and fierce clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian protesters and the Israeli soldiers, said the eyewitnesses.

Israel Radio reported that an Israeli army force raided the Tulkarm refugee camp as part of a regular security activity, adding that during the operation, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the force and the soldiers opened fire at them.

The Israeli army has been carrying out daily raids on Palestinian towns and cities all over the West Bank, to arrest Palestinians involved in carrying out or planning attacks against Israel.

Since January, 27 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and more than 200 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures. 
A bill that failed in this years Virginia General Assembly and aims to ensure parental notification by public schools in cases where a student identifies as a gender other than his or her biological sex still has support among Republicans galvanized to retake the state Senate in the Nov. 7 election.

Philip Hamilton, a Charlottesville resident and Republican nominee for the Senate District 11 seat, spoke on House Bill 2432, known as Sages Law, during an Aug. 7 event in Amherst County. He vowed to support the bill, which gained approval from the House of Delegates but failed to move out of the Senate Education and Health Committee, should he defeat Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, in the upcoming election.

Hamilton said he sees culture wars going on in the state and nation and believes Christians and conservatives need to take a stand against the wokeness thats going on, referencing a term made popular by Republicans in speaking against issues backed by Democrats.

There are real-life consequences to whats occurring, Hamilton said. Parents are being placed in the dark. Its very real.

With all 140 Virginia General Assembly seats up for grabs Nov. 7, Hamilton said Republican leadership is crucial for parental rights. He described himself as an underdog against Deeds, who served in the House of Delegates 1992 to 2001 and has served as a state senator for the past 22 years.

Deeds moved from Bath County to Charlottesville in 2021 to run for the seat after the Supreme Court reconfigured legislative districts.

The district encompasses the Democratic strongholds of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, plus Nelson and Amherst counties and part of Louisa County following recent redistricting. Deeds emerged from a highly competitive Democratic primary on June 20 against Sally Hudson with 51% of the vote, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Hamilton said he is in favor of exploring 20-year term limits for state lawmakers and feels Deeds has been in office too long.

He said if Republicans can flip the Senate, which narrowly leans Democrat, in addition to holding on to the House, they can further strengthen parental rights by passing Sages Law and ensuring parents are informed in matters involving their childs gender identity.

There is no way that a child should have one name or one gender ideology in school and then have another at home with their parents, Hamilton said. Parents should never be left in the dark  period. It should be against the law.

Sages Law explained

The bill bears the first name of a minor who, according to her adoptive mother Michele Blair, of Appomattox, survived a case of sex trafficking after running away from home because of bullying at school. On the childs first day in ninth grade at Appomattox County High School, the teenager decided to identify as a gender apart from the one assigned at birth and told a counselor of that decision, Blair said.

Blair said she was not told of that conversation and through interaction with school staff, her adopted child learned of a phone app that led to a stranger abducting the minor to Maryland and placing the teen in a sex traffic ring.

Blair said her child was rescued from that ordeal and much psychological trauma was done, which is why she is fighting for legislation to make sure nothing similar happens to another family by requiring school staff to disclose such discussions to parents.

What happened to my [child] could easily have been avoided if the school simply had been honest with me, Blair said.

In a statement, Appomattox County Public Schools Superintendent Annette Bennett said the division does not now and has never had any policy or practice of withholding information about a childs gender identity from parents or guardians.

The claim that this particular individual was unaware of her childs gender identity expression at school, and that school staff did not communicate with her regarding that, is simply not correct, the divisions statement reads. The ability of Appomattox County Public School[s] to respond to allegations pertaining to any particular child is limited due to privacy laws. However, Appomattox County Public Schools has appropriate policies and procedures in place to prevent bullying.

The divisions staff upon any report of bullying immediately investigates and takes appropriate action as needed based on the results of the investigation, the statement continues.

ACPS allocates significant resources, including staff training, to ensure we provide caring and supportive trauma-informed care for all students. We take our responsibility for every students care very seriously and seek to maximize their emotional and educational well-being.

The bills language sought to require each public school principal or designee to inform at least one parent of a student age younger than 18 experiencing gender incongruence and further states the term abused or neglected child should not be referring to a child being raised in a manner consistent with the childs biological sex.

Blair said she believes school staffs actions in her childs case defies common sense and the child was gone 344 days before being located by the FBI in Maryland. The minor, now 16, is working through a lifetime sentence of post-traumatic stress disorder and has conveyed issues with mental health took the teen down a dark road where many people take advantage of the childs vulnerable state, according to Blair.

Its nothing short of a miracle, Blair said of the child surviving the plight. ... Im grateful because God is in the details.

Concerns on forced outing

At the Feb. 16 meeting of the Senate Education and Health Committee, which was streamed online, Ghazala F. Hashmi, the 10th District representative, said the proposed legislation received considerable feedback during a public hearing. The American Civil Liberties Union; Equality Virginia, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ Virginians; and a parent of a transgender student, among others, spoke in opposition to the bill, according to Hashmi.

The concern is this would be a forced outing of a child and sometimes there are not homes or stable families in which a child who is part of the LGBTQ community or is transgender would have an opportunity to speak with an adult, Hashmi said during the Feb. 16 meeting.

The committee heard testimony that a large number of children with housing insecurity or are homeless are from the transgender and LGBTQ community largely because of rejection from their families or faith communities, Hashmi said.

This bill was deemed harmful by many who spoke because it takes away the opportunity for vulnerable children to receive counseling as they might necessarily need to do within a school environment. I move that we pass by indefinitely, Hashmi said.

Democratic J. Chapman Petersen, who represents District 34, said at the meeting he strongly believes in parental involvement and agrees parents should be kept up to speed on issues affecting their child. He said his concern is the proposed legislation almost resembles a mandatory reporting bill that is done in cases of a crime against a child and his hesitation with Sages Law is it could put conversations between children and schools staff they feel is confidential on blast, noting if a matter involves a surgical procedure parents would be informed for consent.

I feel like this bill, rather than solving the issue, would exacerbate the issue and the issue is parents and talking to their children, children talking to their parents, and children having the confidence to maybe speak with a teacher and not have to worry about getting put on blast, Petersen said.

Senators Mark Peake and Steve Newman, Republicans who also serve on the committee, voted Feb. 16 against the bills defeat.

Not going to forget

Blair said at the Aug. 7 event in Amherst she believes teachers or counselors being able to suggest life-changing medication that has permanent consequences to children is wrong.

Theyre kids. They cant even balance a checkbook, let alone their mental health, Blair said. They change their mind every time the wind blows. Its a part of life. This is why schools have no business of discussing gender with our children.

Parents, not school staff, should be the ones guiding students through such issues, Blair said.

I am not here to tell you how to raise your kids  Im here to tell you we should not be placing adult decisions on children, especially not behind a parents back, Blair said. These kids are trying to grow up in a world where sex traffickers are lurking on every cellphone just waiting to trick your child into their sick game. We need schools to communicate with parents.

Schools need to respect parental rights, Blair said, adding her child slipped right through the cracks because of a schools decision to keep me in the dark.

We must be the voice of reason for our children, Blair said. We must save our children before its too late. Society may win a few battles but they will not win the war because parents have only begun to fight.

Dawn Pool, who is running for the District 3 seat on the Amherst County School Board in the Nov. 7 election, attended the Aug. 7 meeting and said she fully supports Sages Law.

I believe that God does not make mistakes with our gender, Pool said.

Pool, who is endorsed by the Amherst County Republican Committee, said she also supports Gov. Glenn Youngkins model policies for parental rights and knowing more about whats happening in schools.

I dont think that teachers or counselors or anyone has a right to tell someone that they should think about changing their gender, Pool said. That is absolutely just beyond agitating for me. It should just not happen. That is a conversation that should be happening within the home and parents should have the right to treat their kids in a way that allows them to be able to guide that decision with their faith and their religion.

Jimmy Ayers, who is among four candidates seeking to become the next sheriff of Amherst County, also spoke during the Aug. 7 event. A former sheriff of 20 years in Amherst, he said he has come across children in many tragic situations in his career in law enforcement and doesnt know how he would have reacted if faced with the same situation as Blair.

I support you 100% because I think its our right as parents to know what our kids are doing, how they are feeling, to work with them and also have the discussions with the school personnel, Ayers said. Im appalled that weve reached this point that were even having to have this discussion, but obviously we are, and I stand firm in support[ing] our children being as they are created, and their parents do the best they can to raise them.

Hamilton said conservative activists must tell stories such as to what happened to Blairs child.

Were not going to forget about what happened and we will continue to fight for Sage in the 2024 General Assembly session, he said.
BEDFORD  A Moneta-based company is working to bring faster internet service to the Town of Bedford through a recent broadband franchise agreement with town officials.

Rodney Gray, chief operating officer with Zitel, LLC, gave a formal presentation on the companys plans during Tuesdays Bedford Town Council meeting. Bedford Town Council on April 25 approved an ordinance to enter the agreement for public right-of-way of the town for fiber-to-premises internet access service.

Gray said Zitel prides itself in being a regional company with a focus on improving broadband in rural areas. The company works with counties in partnerships and collaborates with local entities such as fire and EMS facilities in providing fiber to municipal buildings and homes.

He said Zitel is working on eight miles of a fiber network in the town, an investment of nearly $500,000, and is connecting different areas on the outskirts of town limits.

Its the fastest internet available in southwest Virginia, Gray said.

The company offers mixed monthly rates, unlimited data, waived activation fees and streaming TV as an additional add-on, according to its website.

The franchise agreement with the town allows it to bring lightning-fast internet service to thousands of homes and businesses in the Bedford area, an announcement on the website states.

Youll have internet speeds that are going to be comparable with any of the bigger cities up and down the East Coast, Gray told council. Nobody is going to have anything better than the Town of Bedford in all your buildings.

Zitels fiber optic network is designed to provide reliable, high-speed internet service to the most remote locations and its infrastructure is state-of-the-art with advanced technologies, the companys April 27 news release states.

Zitels services are backed by a team of local and experienced technicians who are dedicated to providing exceptional customer service, the release said. The company has already begun working on the infrastructure of its fiber optic network into the Town of Bedford, on the Route 43/Virginia Byway corridor into the south side of town. Residents and businesses can expect to start seeing the benefits of Zitels Internet and TV services in the coming months.

Gray showed council a map of the areas included in the fiber network.

Were hoping by the end of 2024 that map will be 100% complete and well continuously be turning customers up and activating them  Gray said.

Gray has said in a 2022 release on the companys extensive work to provide internet in underserved and unserved areas of Bedford County that high-speed internet access is just important as water and electricity in neighborhoods.

Fiber is the most resilient product that is out there for telecommunications, Gray said. The upper ends of the speeds of fiber have yet to be found.

He said the company is excited to serve the Bedford area.

We are excited we can tell people  they are getting internet that is just as fast as what they can get in Richmond, [Northern Virginia], Charlotte, wherever, Gray said.

For more information about Zitel and its services and rates, visit https://www.zitel.co/.

This does sound exciting, Bedford Vice Mayor C.G. Stanley Jr. said. We look forward to the finished product. Im sure its going to have a lot of good capabilities  and we need it here.
, Aug 11 ( News On Japan ) - At the end of June, Japan's "national debt," which combines government bonds, borrowings, and short-term government securities, reached 1,276 trillion and 3,155 billion yen, the highest ever, as announced by the Ministry of Finance.

When divided by the population, the debt per person amounts to about 10.25 million yen.

With expected future increases in expenditures such as defense and childcare support, the possibility of the national debt continuing to grow is high.
, Aug 11 ( voanews.com ) - Japan is struggling to boost its domestic defense industry in spite of the country's ambitious plans to respond to Chinas growing militarization in the East China Sea.

The government is investing $315 billion in its defense program over the next four years, but some of Japans technological and industrial giants are reluctant to produce more weapons alongside their well-known consumer products.

Japan's most famous global brands are more familiar as the makers of televisions, washing machines or cars. Less well known  even in Japan  is that they also make military equipment.

Mitsubishi makes fighter jets and missiles for Japans self-defense force. Electronics firm Toshiba makes military-grade batteries. Car maker Subaru produces military helicopters. Daikin, better known for its air conditioning units, has a side business producing munitions.

Now, the government wants Japan's industrial giants to ramp up production of military equipment  but it has been met with a muted response, according to a recent report by the Reuters news agency. ...continue reading
South Korea, the United States and Japan are looking to make top-level meetings and joint military drills regular in a joint statement that's reportedly being negotiated, ahead of a meeting between the three leaders at Camp David next Friday.

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan are planning to meet at least once a year for trilateral talks, and hold joint military exercises to deter North Korea's nuclear threat, and other significant security challenges.

That's according to a U.S. diplomat Thursday, who said the three countries are close to finalizing a joint statement to be issued at Camp David, after Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol, and Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold talks next Friday.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel told Japanese media that the joint document is being finalized and will include holding a yearly trilateral leaders' meeting, separate from international conferences.

He said the leaders are also looking to conduct annual trilateral joint training between their militaries, as North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and missiles, and China strengthens its maritime advances.

The three leaders will also strengthen intel-sharing and cyber-cooperation, as well as touch upon economic security.

With such agreements expected to (quote) "change the strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific region," Emanuel added that a separate vision statement will be released, taking trilateral collaboration into a new phase.

This comes amid speculation that the three countries are working to build a mechanism for three-way cooperation, although it is unclear whether the joint document would mention China, or to what extent it would be alluded to, given the geopolitical sensitivities in the region.

"So I think when it comes to PRC matters, it's going be more in the general geo-strategic challenge posed by Beijing and economic challenges, but perhaps less pointed and less hard hitting than anything we might see on North Korea, for instance. I think there'll be sort of vague veiled references to upholding the rule of law and against economic coercion."

On that note, Seoul's National Security Advisor Cho Tae-yong told reporters last Friday that "a consensus is being formed" on holding the yearly trilateral gatherings, and the outcome will likely materialize after the leaders' discussions.
The Woodhouse Auto Family is now operating on both sides of the highway.

Woodhouse began operating the former Edwards Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Bellevue on Aug. 1, according to a news release. The company already also operates Mazda and Nissan dealerships on Nebraska Drive. All three dealerships are off the Chandler Road exit of Highway 75.

Corwin Toyota of Bellevue also operates in the area, while Bellevue's other auto dealers remain along Fort Crook Road, including Beardmore's Hyundai, Chevrolet and Subaru dealerships as well as Honda Cars of Bellevue.

Woodhouse has operated a Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealerships in Blair since 1991 and Sioux City, Iowa, since 2023. H&H also operates a Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership as part of its new campus in Papillion, where it also has a car wash and Chevrolet dealership and where a new Kia dealership is actively under construction. Edwards still has Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealerships in Omaha and Council Bluffs.

The new Bellevue dealership is the 21st location in Woodhouse's portfolio.

This location provides our current customers additional convenience and us as an organization an opportunity to develop a relationship with customers" unwilling to travel to Blair, said Jason Pittack, president and CEO of Woodhouse Auto Family.
Weather Alert

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON MONDAY TO 10 PM CDT WEDNESDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 110 expected. Minimum overnight temperatures are forecast to remain at or above 75 degrees. * WHERE...Portions of west central Iowa and east central and northeast Nebraska. * WHEN...From noon Monday to 10 PM CDT Wednesday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
China's auto industry witnesses high-quality growth

Xinhua) 08:49, August 11, 2023

This photo taken on Aug. 9, 2023 shows a BYD Denza N7 during a press conference in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. The five millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) produced by China's leading NEV manufacturer BYD rolled off the production line on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The five millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) produced by China's leading NEV manufacturer BYD rolled off the production line on Wednesday.

China has been the world's largest automobile production and sales country for 14 consecutive years, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) topped the global market for the eighth year in a row.

Particularly, China's vehicle exports soared to around 1.07 million units in the first quarter of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, indicating that China had become the world's largest auto exporter in the period, even outpacing Japan.

This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows workers working at a factory of Lotus in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

This photo taken on June 19, 2023 shows workers working at a factory of Lotus in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

A staff member works at an assembly line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in a factory of Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This aerial photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows domestically-made vehicles at the Horgos comprehensive bonded area in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. More and more domestically-made automobiles have been exported through the Horgos Port, one of China's closest ports to Central Asia and Europe by land transport, to countries along the Belt and Road, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 18, 2023 shows vehicles waiting for shipment at Yantai Port in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province. The port is seeing busy days ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival as arrays of vehicles waiting for shipment occupy its roll-on/roll-off terminal. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

NEVs are a highlight of China's vehicle exports. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese auto manufacturers exported 457,000 units of NEVs from January to May this year, an increase of 1.6 times over the same period last year.

Since 2020, China's electric car manufacturers have begun to enter the overseas mainstream automobile markets and become more competitive relying on their original technologies and targeted market strategies.

A worker is busy on the production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) at a factory of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2023 shows a workshop of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto Inc. in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

A transport vehicle delivers the installed power battery system parts at a workshop of SAIC-CATL Motor Power Battery System Co., Ltd. in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This undated photo shows a production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) of BYD in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (BYD/Handout via Xinhua)

This undated photo shows a production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) of BYD in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (BYD/Handout via Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Oct. 12, 2022 shows new energy vehicles (NEVs) at a factory of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This aerial photo taken on July 11, 2023 shows new energy vehicles for export at a terminal of Taicang Port, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Ji Haixin/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
TEHRAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's rescue and firefighting vessels have rescued 22 crew members from a foreign ship that caught fire near the southern Iranian port city of Assaluyeh in Bushehr province, Iran's IRIB news agency reported Friday.

The fire started around 3:30 PM local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday in the engine room of the Panama-flagged tanker named White Pearl, the report said.

The fire had started at 15:30 local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday in the engine room of the Panama-flagged tanker called White Pearl, which was carrying 40,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), IRIB quoted Director of Assaluyeh Ports and Maritime Organization Emran Moradpour Tayebi as saying.

He said that upon the ship captain's request for help, Iranian rescue and firefighting vessels were sent to the scene and managed to save the crew.

The fire, which had spread to other parts of the ship, was extinguished by Iranian rescue teams, the official added.

In separate remarks, Director General of Bushehr Province Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Shakibinasab said the vessel's 22 crew members are in good health. 
Weather Alert

The following is transmitted in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy... WHAT...Air Quality Alert WHERE...Eastern Nebraska WHEN... 08/17/2023 8:00 PM until 08/20/2023 12:00 AM POLLUTANT...PM 2.5 particulates AIR QUALITY INDEX...Moderate to Unhealthy ADDITIONAL DETAILS... An alert for possible Moderate (Air Quality Index yellow category) to Unhealthy (Air Quality Index red category)due to smoke has been issued for the following Nebraska counties: Boone, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Colfax, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lancaster, Madison, Nance, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Stanton, Thurston, Washington, Wayne, York, from August 17, 8:00 pm through August 20, 12:00 am. During Moderate (AQI yellow category) conditions, those who are unusually sensitive to particle pollution should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion. During Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI orange category) conditions, members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children. When conditions rise to the orange category, sensitive groups are advised to reduce prolonged or heavy exertion and avoid intense outdoor activities. During Unhealthy AQI (Red category) conditions, some members of the general public may experience health effects and members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children. When conditions rise to the red category, everyone is advised to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and those in sensitive groups should consider moving activities indoors or rescheduling. Smoke from Canadian wildfires may affect the air quality in Nebraska. Smoke levels and wind directions are monitored by Nebraska and other states to predict when impacts to the air quality may occur. Information regarding wildfires and Impacts in Nebraska is available from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) at http://dee.ne.gov/NDEQProg.nsf/OnWeb/AirSA-3 Alerts are based on data available from weather forecasts, smoke plume modeling, satellite imagery, and from air quality monitors located in Omaha, Bellevue, Lincoln, Beatrice, Grand Island, and Scottsbluff. Advisories for smoke and air quality are issued for affected areas by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) and posted on agency webpages and social media sites. By notifying the media and local health departments, alerts help citizens protect their health by informing them of days where outdoor activities should be reduced or avoided to minimize exposure to smoke.
No immediate decision was reached Friday in a lawsuit alleging that a political action committee defamed a Nebraska lawmaker by accusing her of grooming her transgender son.

The first hearing in the case pitting the Nebraska Freedom Coalition against State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha took place Friday, with Douglas County District Judge Todd Engleman considering the coalitions motion to dismiss the suit. Engleman took both sides arguments under advisement but did not issue a ruling.

The initial complaint, filed by the Nebraska Legal Action Fund on behalf of Hunt, alleges that the coalition  including members Patrick Peterson, Robert Anthony and Malia Shirley  made intentional, reckless, and knowingly false statements about Hunt, claiming she sexually abused and groomed her 13-year-old son.

The coalition made such claims on Twitter after Hunt shared that her son was transgender during a contentious debate over a bill that will restrict access to gender-affirming care for individuals under 19, Legislative Bill 574. Since then, the coalition has repeatedly called Hunt a groomer and posted photos of her child.

Following the initial post, the Nebraska Legal Action Fund requested the coalition retract its statements, but the coalition doubled down in a post that was still pinned on its Twitter page as of Friday.

The coalition later filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, in which they stated their intent to countersue if their motion is unsuccessful. Their attorney, Robert Sullivan, said Hunts case was fatally flawed.

Sullivan said that while the coalition members dont deny making posts calling Hunt a groomer, that doesnt equate to accusing her of a crime. He argued the coalitions posts would reasonably be seen as an expression of opinion, not fact.

Hunts lawyer, former State Sen. Adam Morfeld, said defamation can be an accusation of something that is generally considered a crime, even if no specific crime is alleged. Morfeld said grooming allegations are generally considered criminal.

Morfeld noted that the coalition even posted a definition of the word grooming on Twitter and called it an act of abuse in referring to LB 574 opponents. By doing so, Morfeld said, the coalition implied Hunt was unfit to serve her current office, since most crimes categorized under grooming are felonies in Nebraska.

Morfeld added that because of the coalitions posts, Hunt and her family have been subjected to harassment and threats of violence, many of which accused her of being a child abuser and a pedophile.

Violence against children, especially sexual violence, is considered universally abhorrent in our society, Morfeld argued. To accuse (Hunt) of such behavior is to expose her to disgust, disdain, humiliation, and ostracization.

Sullivan said the coalition was responding to Hunts arguments against LB 574 and was effectively expressing an opinion on a political issue, which is not considered defamation. He pointed to past cases in which the courts have affirmed that public debates ought to be unrestrained and sometimes sharp against public officials.

As unpleasant and unfortunate as it is, political discussions often devolve into little more than childish tantrums, Sullivan wrote.

Sullivan also described Hunts complaint as a thinly-disguised abuse of the litigation process for purposes of silencing citizen discussions on issues affecting the public well-being.

But Morfeld said the coalition was the one trying to silence other views by intimidating Hunt and other LGBTQ+ advocates through accusations of grooming.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Even if they dont buy into his whole resistance-hero shtick, most Democrats like todays Michael Cohen, the repentant ex-con, better than the man they were introduced to during the 2016 campaign as Donald Trumps attorney and attack dog. But does that mean they want him to represent them in Congress?

Cohen thinks they might. Or at least, hes going to pretend he does in the hope that it will further his career as a media personality. Trumps fixer turned foe told Semafor that hes considering a run for Congress as a Democrat.

I am interested, and theres a multitude of folks encouraging me to run, Cohen told the outlet in a phone interview.

This is ridiculous in and of itself. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud, lying to Congress, and other crimes related to hush-money payments made on Trumps behalf and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018. Since then, hes turned hating Trump into a second career, writing a book, launching a podcast called Mea Culpa, and doing countless media appearances. (Ironically, this may be undermining Cohens value as a key witness in the Manhattan DAs case against Trump, as New Yorks Ankush Khardori explained.) Legally, convicted felons can serve in Congress, but it seems like voters criteria for making someone their representative should be higher than Well, hes no longer actively committing crimes.

What makes Cohens potential run particularly ludicrous is that hed be mounting a primary challenge against Representative Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Per Semafor:

Cohen said he currently lives on the East Side of Manhattan, which would neatly position him to run in New Yorks 12th congressional district. The district was redrawn in 2022, pitting Nadler in a contentious midterm race against his colleague, former congresswoman, Carolyn Maloney.

Nadler was first elected to Congress in 1992 and has served as the Judiciary Committees lead Democrat since 2019, during which time he served in a significant role in Trumps first impeachment inquiry.

So Cohen is thinking of challenging an extremely powerful House Democrat who just demonstrated his own anti-Trump bona fides as well as his ability to defeat another formidable representative.

Good luck! Cohen better hope his political talents are stronger than his skills as a lawyer.
Photo: Octavio Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images

When Ron DeSantis appointed six far-right trustees at the New College of Florida, he did so with destruction with mind. An inquisitive culture and quirky spirit once set the liberal-arts college apart from its peers, but what made it unique made it objectionable to the right. Now the college faces an involuntary transformation, and the latest casualty may be its gender-studies program.

On Thursday, the schools board voted to begin the process of eliminating the major. Christopher Rufo, a trustee and conservative activist appointed by DeSantis, said that gender studies was wildly contradictory to the goal of reviving a classical liberal-arts agenda, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Rufo and his allies cant unilaterally ban the program. According to the Times, the colleges general counsel advised that the university would need to comply with state regulations and collective bargaining agreements before making a final decision. If they get their way, however, students will be worse off for it. That inquisitive culture is under siege.

The DeSantis trustees are open about their illiberal motivations. In a piece for City Journal, Rufo bragged that 36 professors have left New College, clearing the way for a large number of new hires interested in pursuing the great human questions rather than maintaining a stifling, left-wing echo chamber. But Rufo is motivated not by the great human questions or a hostility to echo chambers. There is no evidence that he prizes intellectual inquiry. Instead, he wants an echo chamber of his own. He admitted as much in City Journal. Lawmakers and college trustees have the right  the duty  to redirect, curtail, or close down academic programs in public universities that do not align with the mandate of the taxpayers who generously support them, he wrote. That is incompatible with any recognizable definition of academic freedom, which must function independently of any taxpayer mandate in order to exist at all.

Rufo then tried to skate around the issue of academic freedom by defining gender studies out of academia altogether. The field is really ideological activism, he claimed, and universities thus have the right to eliminate it. Finally, every university has a mission  and a corresponding obligation to honor it, he concluded. The mission of New College of Florida is to restore classical liberal education and to revive the pursuit of transcendent truth, which is incompatible with the disciplines of gender studies and queer theory, which are explicitly opposed to the classical conceptions of the true, the good, and the beautiful. The students of New College may have questions for Rufo. Who gets to decide what is true, and good, and beautiful? Rufo has appointed himself the arbiter of each quality, without debate or challenge. Thats not how higher education works.

At least, not in a public context. The kind of college that Rufo wants already exists. Its Hillsdale, or the conservative Christian college I once attended. These private institutions can limit academic freedom on their campuses, and they do. Every class I took as an undergraduate had to include a biblical worldview. The goal was not to broaden my mind, but to train me to think obediently. Conservative trustees have explained the conquest of New College in more secular terms, but their efforts are just as out of step with the mission of higher education.

What we see at New College, then, is a war on the American mind. We should understand clearly the deeper implications of their work in Florida. Their assault on academic freedom assaults, too, the very notion of a thriving public sphere. DeSantis and his handpicked trustees are remaking a public institution in the image of some private fiefdom. Though Rufo wants us to believe he is merely bringing New College into compliance with taxpayer opinion  that his views are also held by the masses  theres again no evidence that the public wants a Hillsdale in place of the original New College. Even if that evidence existed, it wouldnt justify the elimination of gender studies. A public institution should be committed to unfettered intellectual pursuits  for the betterment of all. Nothing could be more distasteful to the right wing. Conservatives have bid for control and domination, and on one college campus they see victory within their grasp. Thats a problem for everyone, not just the faculty and students of New College.
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty, AP

After scoffing at the idea of appointing a special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland did just that on Friday.

In a short press conference, Garland announced that he has elevated David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware who has been in charge of the Biden prosecution, to the role. Garland said that Weiss himself asked earlier this week to be named as special counsel, which Garland agreed to in light of the public interest in the matter of the presidents youngest son. He also said Weiss will ultimately submit a final report to him explaining any prosecution or declination decisions.

Attorney General announces appointment of David Weiss as Special Counsel: "Beginning in 2019, Mr. Weiss in his capacity as U.S. Attorney...began investigating allegations of certain criminal conduct by, among others, Robert Hunter Biden...that investigation remains ongoing." pic.twitter.com/eeAdVtBAxX  CSPAN (@cspan) August 11, 2023

Its the latest turn in the Biden saga, which looked like it was headed for a somewhat peaceful resolution until recently.

IRS officials had testified to Congress earlier this summer that there was governmental interference in the Biden probe and claimed that Weiss, who was first appointed by Trump in 2019, had requested special counsel status last year but was ultimately denied by the Justice Department. Weiss pushed back on this in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying that he hadnt asked to be designated special counsel at that time. Garland has also denied claims of meddling by the Justice Department, saying previously that Weiss had complete authority in the case.

Congressional Republicans, who have made investigating both Joe and Hunter a priority since taking the House, quickly weighed in. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on social media that Weisss appointment cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption.

McCarthy also questioned what he called the sweetheart deal that Weisss office cut with Bidens attorneys.

That deal was supposed to see Biden plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to unpaid federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, despite owing more than $100,000 in both years, in exchange for avoiding a felony charge of possession of a firearm in 2018 while he was using illegal drugs. But the deal fell apart in court last month under questions from a judge.

On Friday, prosecutors filed to dismiss the criminal information previously submitted for the charges, writing that the venue for the case should be shifted to either California or Washington, D.C. They said attorneys for both sides have reached an impasse in plea discussions and that prosecutors now believe that the case will not resolve short of a trial. Biden and his legal team have until Monday to respond to the filing.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail on Friday following a hearing in which a federal judge determined there was probable cause that he had tampered with witnesses while on house arrest at his parents multimillion-dollar home in Palo Alto.

Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the FTX founders bail revoked after prosecutors argued that he had harassed Caroline Ellison, his ex-girlfriend who served as his lieutenant in his allegedly fraudulent crypto empire. In July, Bankman-Fried shared her diary with a New York Times reporter, revealing that she had doubts about the leadership of the FTX-affiliated hedge fund Alameda, where she worked. Prosecutors claimed Bankman-Fried was trying to damage her reputation ahead of his October trial, in which she is expected to be a star witness. (Ellison has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and several conspiracy charges.)

Prosecutors on Friday also cited encrypted messages Bankman-Fried sent to FTX general counsel Ryne Miller in January on the Telegram app, in which he told Miller they should vet things with each other. Prosecutors claimed it was an attempt to influence Miller if he were to serve as a witness in the trial.

While Bankman-Frieds lawyers tried to defend his actions on First Amendment grounds, prosecutors were frustrated with his frequent violations of his conditions of release. In March, he was restricted to using a flip phone after sending the Telegram messages to Miller. He also hid his IP address to watch the Super Bowl. He has gone up to the line over and over again, and Im going to revoke bail, Kaplan said on Friday.

After his bail was revoked, Bankman-Fried removed his suit jacket before being handcuffed by U.S. marshals. Reporters in the room said he looked pale and upset as the marshals took his tie and asked him to remove his shoelaces. He was ordered to be taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he will prepare for his trial from behind bars. Bankman-Frieds attorneys said they intend to appeal the ruling.
Reagan said good-bye long before the myth surrounding him died. Photo: Cynthia Johnson/Liaison/Getty Images

Anti-Trump Republicans insist that Donald Trump has hijacked a party whose soul still belongs to the old-school conservatism of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. But the esteemed New York Times number cruncher Nate Cohn challenged that assertion this week. Cohn said that a recent New York TimesSiena College poll shows rank-and-file Republican have left key tenets of traditional conservatism behind. In other words, its not just Trump veering into heresy:

For more than 30 years, the Republican Party was defined by Ronald Reagans famous three-legged stool: a coalition of fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and national security hawks.

Its not Mr. Reagans party anymore.

Today, a majority of Republicans oppose many of the positions that defined the party as recently as a decade ago, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released last week.

Only around one-third of Republican voters takes the traditionally conservative side on each of same-sex marriage, entitlements and Americas role in the world  three issues that defined George W. Bushs 2004 re-election campaign and correspond with each leg of Mr. Reagans stool.

Its a bit disingenuous to take yesterdays salient issues and define them as characteristic of conservatism writ large; Republicans, for example, are no longer fighting same-sex marriage because they understand theyve lost that battle (one that for a while George W. Bush seemed to be winning). That doesnt mean they arent still fighting LGBTQ rights on many other fronts. And the anti-communism that animated Reagans view of Americas role in the world naturally declined in significance along with communism itself (though fear of quasi-communist China may bring some of it back). There are also some continuing ideological mainstays of conservatism that havent changed that much, including anti-feminism and anti-anti-racism.

But Cohn is right that Republicans are showing no interest in going back to a distinctive Reagan-Bush conservative agenda defined by the famous three-legged stool of free-market economics, religion-based cultural views, and anti-communist internationalism. Id disagree, however, with the idea that Trump wrestled Republicans away from their traditional creed and has kept them there. In many respects, the MAGA movement is returning Republicans to an older but still rock-ribbed conservatism that was long ignored but never went away.

Probably the most decisive breaks Republicans under Trumps influence have made from Reagan-Bush conservatism were on trade, immigration, and a foreign policy rooted in universal values and global alliances. But much older GOP traditions on all these issues are really just returning.

Yes, Reagan mostly favored free trade. He launched a round of multilateral trade-expansion negotiations and began the talks with Canada and Mexico that culminated in NAFTA. But its Reagan who represented a new GOP tradition on trade. Economic nationalism and protectionism all but defined the Republican Party (and its predecessor party, the Whigs) throughout the 19th century; the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 signed by Herbert Hoover arguably represented the high-water mark of American protectionism, likely deepening the Great Depression. Recurrences of GOP protectionism broke out more recently, notably under Richard Nixon (whose southern supporters led by Strom Thurmond regularly secured textile import quotas). There was always an economic nationalist rump faction in the GOP even in Reagan and Bushs days; as with so many paleo-conservative causes given new relevance by Trump, Pat Buchanan kept the flag waving for protectionism.

Reagan also championed the libertarianWall Street cause of expanded immigration and immigration amnesty. By the time George W. Bush embraced the same cause, it had spurred a large and angry conservative backlash, which killed W.s push for comprehensive immigration reform and paved the way for MAGA neo-nativism. This, too, was a very old Republican tradition, expressed most thoroughly by the blatantly racist Immigration Act of 1924, signed by Calvin Coolidge. This law, which stayed in force until 1965, imposed strict immigration quotas by national origin, with a big thumb on the scales in favor of Northern Europeans. Nothing Trump has proposed breaks particularly new ground.

And yes, Reagan was the preeminent Cold Warrior who not only favored sharply higher defense spending and a worldwide network of anti-communist (albeit often racist or authoritarian) allies, but anticipated George W. Bush in proclaiming a universal global mission to which America (the shining city on the hill) was uniquely called. But Reagan also hailed from a conservative wing of the GOP that had long rejected entangling alliances, attacked no-win wars (a favorite target of Barry Goldwater), and insisted that national interests (America First, the term first deployed by heartland isolationists between the two World Wars) had to be elevated over international principles, institutions, or alliances. The death of communism as a threatening global network naturally brought the older tradition back into fashion, particularly when it became obvious that the forever wars launched by Bush after 9/11 werent brief and lethal enough to satisfy the urge for righteous vengeance.

Reagan became an enduring icon for Republicans mostly because he led his party to a cathartic victory in 1980 (restoring a majority that Nixons corruption ruined) and a historic landslide in 1984 while embracing a conservative movement that had never been fully welcome in a Republican White House. He also helped that movement burst out of its southern and midwestern homeland to achieve respectability everywhere: Reagan swept the northeastern and Pacific Coast states twice, and though Republicans lost the Senate during his second term and the White House after his successors first term, his name was synonymous with happy Election Nights for grassroots conservatives and a milder but still palpable sense of owning the libs (who couldnt stop describing Reagan as a B-movie actor and his followers as rubes).

Now, Trump is the only winning Republican presidential candidate since W.s narrow, 9/11-influenced reelection 20 years ago, and his views on trade, immigration, and national security are very popular among Republican voters, as Nate Cohn demonstrates. Today, its Republican elites who are trying to impose Reagan-Bush ideology on an unwilling party. Even if Trump loses in 2024 and/or goes to prison, old-school conservatism of the Reagan-Bush variety is not going to return; it left shallow roots in a party whose older conservative tradition is the mythical America Trump is promising to restore.
Destroyed waterfront homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Last weeks devastating wildfires on Maui killed at least 96 people, and authorities say death toll will continue to rise. The wildfires are the worst natural disaster to strike Hawaii in nearly eight decades; and the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in more than a century. President Biden has declared a major disaster in Hawaii and firefighters on Maui are still working to contain several blazes and flare-ups, while more than a dozen federal agencies have been mobilized to assist with the recovery. On Saturday, FEMA estimated that it would cost more than $5.5 billion to rebuild. Below are updates on this developing story.

Death toll rises to 96, but most of the victims remain unidentified

Maui County officials announced on Sunday night that the confirmed death toll from the wildfires on the island had risen to 96. Federal workers, service members, and local and state authorities continue to search the burned down homes and buildings and burned out vehicles in the ruins of Lahaina, which before the fires was home to about 13,000 people. Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for as of this weekend, and relatives of the missing have been asked to submit DNA samples to authorities.

Only two of the victims in West Maui had been identified as of Saturday. Many relatives of those missing after the fires are still waiting for answers, per the New York Times:

For days now, families have struggled to learn the status of loved ones in West Maui. Spotty-to-nonexistent phone reception, especially in the immediate aftermath, made it hard for survivors to contact loved ones. Roadblocks prevented people from other parts of the island from looking themselves.  Interviews and social media posts make clear that large numbers of people with ties to Maui endured days of uncertainty about the status of friends and loved ones.

As of Saturday, the wildfires death toll eclipsed that of the horrifying Camp Fire, which killed at least 85 people in Northern California in 2018. The West Maui disaster is now the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 1918 Cloquet Fire in northern Minnesota, which consumed several communities and killed more than 450.

Honolulu City Beat has compiled a list of ways to donate to support survivors and victims families here.

Mapping the damage

On Friday, the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and FEMA released some maps detailing the damage done by the Lahaina Fire and Kula Fire in West Maui (note that in both fires, the vast majority of the structures damaged or destroyed were residential):

Illustration: Handout/PDC and FEMA

Illustration: Handout/PDC and FEMA

Why did people have so little warning about the coming inferno?

Hawaii has a state-wide emergency alert system  including the largest number of outdoor sirens in the world  developed in the aftermath of a tsunami which killed more than 150 people in 1946. But according to the Associated Press, many survivors of the Maui wildfires have said they received no official warnings. The emergency sirens were not activated, and though emergency alerts were sent out to peoples mobile phones and using television and radio broadcasts, many in danger may not have received the alerts amid the cellular and power outages. In addition, some of Mauis top emergency officials were not on the island on Tuesday, Honolulu Civil Beat reports:

Neither Mauis fire chief nor its top emergency management official were on the Valley Isle on Tuesday despite the wildfires there being well underway. Further, on Thursday county officials couldnt or wouldnt say when or if the evacuation order for Lahaina was issued or how those plans had unfolded two nights earlier when fire swiftly consumed the town[.]

Mauis fire chief, Bradford Ventura, said in that press briefing that the fire reached Lahaina so quickly that residents of the first neighborhood it hit were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice.

The fire that day was so quick, it moved so quickly, that from where it started in the brush and moved into the neighborhood, communications back to those who make those notifications, was physically nearly impossible, the Maui chief said Thursday.

Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Friday that her office would be conducting a comprehensive review of the government response to the emergency with the goal of understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review.

17 people were rescued from the water in Lahaina

The Coast Guard said Friday that it had rescued 17 people from the ocean near the devastated town on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning. It had initially received reports of as many as 100 people in the water. One person, described as unresponsive, has been pulled from the water since then.

The conditions that fueled the wildfires can and will happen again elsewhere

Dr. Nick Bond, the state climatologist for Washington, explains in an interview:

Grasses can dry out a lot faster than big trees. What really made the fires bad was the grasses having dried out quickly. And those grasslands are especially dangerous because their fires can advance really quickly. A forest-fire rule of thumb is that the fire front moves at about one-tenth of the wind speed, but grassland fires are a lot faster than that. You dont have to wait for a tree to catch on fire and then have the embers be lofted up and new fires set ahead. Its a process for forest fires. But with grasslands, the fire can advance almost as fast as the wind.

He also noted that there are other parts of the U.S. where there are currently similar conditions that could foster this kind of fire:

On the latest drought maps, there are fairly serious drought conditions in parts of Texas and in the southern Great Plains. Those are going to be more grassland-type fires. Im not sure how much its on the radar, but another spot people think is pretty wet but definitely has fire problems is Florida. Their wet season in most parts of the state is in the summer, so its at the end of the winter that theyre really prone to that.

Read the rest of what Dr. Bond had to say here.

Lahaina is gone

The Maui fire that tore through Lahaina is one of the worst wildfire disasters in US history.



The town of 12,000 people is virtually destroyed, with at least 53 dead and many more missing. More than 1,700 structures have been destroyed, including entire neighborhoods.



Maui is pic.twitter.com/AoCUyAgVGp  Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) August 11, 2023

The historic West Maui town of Lahaina  a popular tourist destination and once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii  was largely reduced to ashes by a fast-moving wildfire that struck on Tuesday. Hawaii governor Josh Green toured the town on Thursday and later told reporters it looked as if it had been flattened by a bomb. He estimated that at least 1,000 buildings were destroyed.

Maui County mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said on Friday morning that the community looked like a war zone. It was cars in the street, doors open, melted to the ground. Most structures no longer exist. And from blocks and blocks of this, he said.

The Lahaina wildfire was 80 percent contained as of Friday morning.

Dozens of people were killed in the town, and its not yet clear how many are still missing. Officials have estimated that 1,000 residents remain unaccounted for but explained that with communication systems down, many of the missing may simply be unable to get in contact with their loved ones.

The unique challenges of the recovery effort

Governor Green estimated that the wildfires had undoubtedly caused billions of dollars in damages on Maui, and as Honolulu Civil Beat reports, numerous overlapping factors will hamper the recovery attempts:

The recovery is likely to be complicated by the destruction of infrastructure. Green noted that the fire had incinerated utility poles in the area. As a result, fully restoring electricity would take weeks or months rather than days, as it might after a storm 

Also delaying recovery is the fact that Maui is a less populous island in a remote island state. Robert Fenton, FEMAs Region 9 administrator, likened the Maui fire to wildfires such as a 2018 blaze that destroyed much of the town of Paradise, California. He said the scale of destruction reminded him of the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. But a major difference, he said, is the ability to respond. On the mainland, he said, its possible to quickly muster 3,500 dump trucks to move rubble. I just cant do it here, he said.

Green said he is considering calling for a special legislative session to provide state money for Mauis recovery. In the meantime, he said, people can tap into federal FEMA funds relatively quickly, for housing and home repairs.

A mass exodus of tourists

Nearly 15,000 visitors left Maui by plane on Thursday, and while the rest of the state remains open to tourists, authorities have asked would-be travelers to avoid the island.

The fire moved so fast that some Lahaina residents had to flee into the ocean

A fast-moving wildfire in Maui occurred during a period of strong winds and dry conditions. In this #Landsat 8 image from Aug. 8, infrared light shows the locations of active fires in yellow. The fires burned in the town of Lahaina and northwest of Kihei. https://t.co/RBBUDAcHLs pic.twitter.com/NJniCoBABp  NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) August 10, 2023

Winds fueled by a hurricane traveling hundreds of miles south of Hawaii have amplified the wildfires in Maui, the second-largest of the states islands. Conditions on Mauis western side got so bad on Tuesday that around a dozen residents of the charred town of Lahaina were forced to flee the fires by jumping into the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard. At least six people were killed in the town and two dozen more were injured.

911 is down, Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke told CNN. Cell service is down. Phone service is down. Our hospital system on Maui, they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation.

We now have what I believe is the first video of the aftermath of the large wildfire that struck Lahaina, Hawaii. The town has been absolutely devastated with large parts of town burned completely to the ground. The video is from Richard Olsten on Facebook (link below). #hiwx pic.twitter.com/C8eYB9bfyp   Braxton Banks  (@BraxBanksOKWX) August 9, 2023

Major fires are burning across #Maui and the Big Island amid high winds. This video shows Lahaina's popular Front Street on fire - multiple structures have burned. No confirmed fatalities. We'll keep you posted on @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/BqWxZoXzGi  Marc Cota-Robles (@abc7marccr) August 9, 2023

Gusts of up to 80 miles per hour were reported on Tuesday, closing roads and making evacuations more difficult. High winds also grounded helicopters, so it was impossible to fight the fires from the air or accurately gauge the size of two primary blazes, one in the tourist destination of West Maui and the other in a mountainous region farther inland. According to a Maui County official, around 2,000 tourists were stuck at the nearby airport on Wednesday morning. Around 14,500 homes in Maui were without power by early Wednesday night, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a disaster declaration to respond to the crisis. The Hawaiian National Guard has also been deployed.

As Hurricane Dora travels roughly 500 miles south of the Hawaiian islands, the Category 4 storm has created massive gusts that fueled the brush fires. While a high-pressure system north of Maui was expected to ease conditions on Wednesday, local officials were stunned by the speed of the wildfires spread and its connection to the hurricane. When we deal with hurricanes and disasters following hurricanes, were usually dealing with heavy rain, were dealing with flooding, Luke told CNN. The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; its something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced.
Young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait sing the theme song of a meeting of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a meeting of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Two youth representatives walk past a logo of the 11th Straits Youth Day in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives on Thursday participated in the event, a platform of communication and interaction for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
The latest earnings season saw several shale oil majors revise their output projections for the year. Surprisingly, they revised these projections upward.

The revisions were attributed to higher well productivity that Bloomberg said in a recent report had come as a surprise. Thanks to that surprise, U.S. oil production was set for stronger than previously expected growth this year.

Or maybe not, if we are to believe analysts that Reuters polled on their take on the U.S. shale industry. According to these analysts, it would take more than a surprise reversal in well productivity trends to boost U.S. shale oil production meaningfully.

The surprise increase in well productivity may have been unexpected for the media, but it certainly wasnt totally unexpected for the industry. The reason: those companies that reported such productivity improvements said theyd been working at improving their drilling efficiency. And theyve seen results.

Pioneer Natural Resources, whose CEO Scott Sheffield last year warned that the shale boom is over, citing, among other things, well productivity, has now boasted higher yields thanks to longer well laterals.

Chevron reported record output for the second quarter as it focused on the Texas part of the Permian rather than the New Mexico side. The company expects 10% higher production from the Permian this year.

Yet the analysts polled by Reuters argue that this will not be enough to boost total U.S. output significantly, not at the current drilling rates, which remain subdued. Related: OPEC: Robust Demand, U.S. Hurricane Season Could Tighten The Market

Oilfield services providers sounded the alarm last month. They said demand for these services in the shale patch was on the decline, with all three supermajors in the spaceSLB, Halliburton, and Baker Hughesreporting a decline in business for North America.

During the second quarter, we saw reduced frack activity that resulted in increased white space in our calendar, Chris Wright, the chief executive of fracking major Liberty Energy, told the FT. Wright also said the company might need to reduce the number of its fracking fleet going forward if demand remained at the same level.

So, on the one hand, exploration and production companies are reporting higher well productivity rates while their oilfield service providers are reporting lower drilling activity.

Meanwhile, the EIA revised up its projection for this years U.S. oil total to a record 12.8 million bpd, up from an earlier forecast of 12.6 million bpd. Per EIA estimates, last week saw production hitting 12.6 million bpd already.

The industry itself appears to estimate the annual boost in production at 850,000 bpd, thanks to these longer laterals and lower drilling costs. The EIA also cites higher oil prices as drivers of higher production.

Yet analysts note the fast depletion rates of shale wells, noting that it would take a lot more active drilling to offset this natural process and boost production considerably at the same time. But shale majors are not doing this. They remain disciplined despite higher prices.

What all that suggests is that however high U.S. output goes this year, it is not very likely it would go high enough to put significant pressure on international prices, not least because of the record rate of U.S. oil exports.

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These exports are putting downward pressure on benchmarks but, once again, it has its limits: Saudi Arabia remains a much bigger exporter of crude than the U.S., and so does Russia, and both have put caps on either production or exports. Saudi Arabia has also warned it could go a step further and deepen its production cuts to keep prices higher.

This is good news for shale drillers. It gives them the opportunity to spend less, pump more, and make more money by selling that higher output abroad thanks to robust and resilient demand in Russias former biggest market  Europe  as well as the worlds biggest market for oil, Asia.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Despite the recent addition of a whopping 5.85 million barrels to U.S. crude stocks, the market response was unexpectedly

This optimistic view is further fueled by Saudi Arabia and Russia's recent decision to extend their output cuts. Additionally, there's an undercurrent of geopolitical tension  especially potential conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region  which poses threats to Russian oil shipments and inadvertently bolsters oil prices.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released a report affirming their bullish outlook on the oil market. They anticipate a thriving oil market for the rest of the year, and their projections extend into 2024 with expectations of a surge in oil demand.

The recently released U.S. consumer prices data for July has ignited speculation surrounding the Federal Reserve's monetary stance. Market analysts are hypothesizing that the Fed might be concluding its aggressive rate-hiking phase. Such a move is expected to bolster commodities like oil.

US benchmark October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil showcased mixed signals on Thursday. While prices settled lower on the daily chart, the market is still in a position to close higher for the week. Driving this sentiment are both domestic monetary policies and international market dynamics.

US benchmark October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil showcased mixed signals on Thursday. While prices settled lower on the daily chart, the market is still in a position to close higher for the week. Driving this sentiment are both domestic monetary policies and international market dynamics.

Supporting Factors

Fed's Rate Hiking Cycle

The recently released U.S. consumer prices data for July has ignited speculation surrounding the Federal Reserve's monetary stance. Market analysts are hypothesizing that the Fed might be concluding its aggressive rate-hiking phase. Such a move is expected to bolster commodities like oil.

OPEC's Positive Outlook and Production Cuts

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released a report affirming their bullish outlook on the oil market. They anticipate a thriving oil market for the rest of the year, and their projections extend into 2024 with expectations of a surge in oil demand.

This optimistic view is further fueled by Saudi Arabia and Russia's recent decision to extend their output cuts. Additionally, there's an undercurrent of geopolitical tension  especially potential conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region  which poses threats to Russian oil shipments and inadvertently bolsters oil prices.

Inventory Dynamics

Despite the recent addition of a whopping 5.85 million barrels to U.S. crude stocks, the market response was unexpectedly muted. The previous week had witnessed a significant drawdown, leaving the net inventory at a precarious balance. As a result, gasoline stock levels are soaring, touching peaks not seen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Analysts are monitoring these levels, and some predict further elevations, especially if adverse weather patterns, like hurricanes induced by the heated Atlantic Ocean, strike the Gulf of Mexico and halt refinery operations.

Challenges Ahead

On the flip side, the global economic scene provides some cause for concern. China, the world's second-largest economy, is flashing red signals. Recent statistics unveil a worrying trend of deflation in its consumer sector, accompanied by a persistent dip in factory gate prices. These downward spirals spell potential trouble for fuel demand on a global scale. The U.S.'s strategic move to limit certain tech investments in China, especially in pivotal sectors like computer chips, could further suppress China's economic momentum.

Weekly Technical Analysis

Weekly October WTI Crude Oil

Trend Indicator Analysis

The main trend is up according to the weekly swing chart. A trade through $85.03 will reaffirm the uptrend. The main trend will change to down if sellers take out the swing bottom at $64.42.

Retracement Level Analysis

The contract range is $37.88 to $95.40. Its retracement zone at $66.64 to 59.85 is the major support.

The intermediate range is $95.40 to $64.42. The market is currently testing its retracement zone at $79.91 to $83.57. Overtaking the upper level at $83.57 will indicate the buying is getting stronger. A break back under $79.91 wont change the trend, but it will be a sign of weakness, probably profit-taking.

The minor range is $64.42 to $84.16. Its retracement zone support is $74.29 to $71.96.

Weekly Technical Forecast

The direction of the October WTI crude oil market the week-ending August 18 is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the intermediate 61.8% level at $83.57.

Bullish Scenario

A sustained move over $83.57 will signal the presence of aggressive buyers. This could create the momentum needed to take out the next main top at $85.03. This is a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the upside with $95.40 the next major target price.

Bearish Scenario

A sustained move under $83.57 will indicate the presence of sellers. This could trigger a quick pullback into the intermediate 50% level at $79.91.

If this creates enough downside momentum to take out $79.91, then look for the selling to possibly extend into the minor retracement zone at $74.29 to $71.96.

Short-term Forecast

The immediate future of the WTI crude oil market seems to be hanging in a balance. While OPEC's buoyant projections and geopolitical tensions offer a bullish tilt, looming threats like potential hurricanes and China's economic slowdown could swing it the other way. Investors would do well to tread cautiously, keeping an eye on both domestic and international indicators.

Technically, we can see a similar pattern developing on the weekly chart with the market trading inside the 50% to 61.8% retracement zone of its June 2022 high and its March 23 low. This area is a natural resistance zone that could be strong enough to stop the current rally.

If bearish news begins to dominate the headlines, especially from China, then look for a break under $79.91 to trigger the start of a meaningful correction into possibly $74.29 to $71.96.

If the news is bullish enough to offset concerns over China demand then look for a potential breakout over $85.03 with plenty of room to the upside.

Traders should work the long-side cautiously, however, because prices are a little overextended at current levels, and the market is becoming highly sensitive to negative news out of China.
The aim of the executive order is to undermine Chinas ability to take advantage of U.S. investment dollars in its booming high-tech sectoradvancements that are then used to boost its military. The hope is that the move to help keep Chinas aim of world technological domination in check will not harm the U.S. economy. But it wont be that simple, even if it is a geopolitical necessity. There is no way for a free-market democracy to go to war on this level with an authoritarian one-party behemoth that maintains vast control over its key industries and its general population without interfering in big business to some extent. There will be major supply chain disruptions and a massive shakeup of financing for huge projects. It is a necessary sacrifice.

This week, the Biden administration stepped up its crackdown on Chinese technology in what is becoming the global conflict of the century. In this latest phase, an executive order signed Wednesday blocks and regulates U.S. investments in Chinese technology, covering everything from advanced computer chips and micro-electronics to quantum IT and AI. This is where national security begins to trump macroeconomics. Its a stark choice between economics and world technological dominance, and only the latter can be a winning choice in the longer term.

This week, the Biden administration stepped up its crackdown on Chinese technology in what is becoming the global conflict of the century. In this latest phase, an executive order signed Wednesday blocks and regulates U.S. investments in Chinese technology, covering everything from advanced computer chips and micro-electronics to quantum IT and AI. This is where national security begins to trump macroeconomics. Its a stark choice between economics and world technological dominance, and only the latter can be a winning choice in the longer term.

The aim of the executive order is to undermine Chinas ability to take advantage of U.S. investment dollars in its booming high-tech sectoradvancements that are then used to boost its military. The hope is that the move to help keep Chinas aim of world technological domination in check will not harm the U.S. economy. But it wont be that simple, even if it is a geopolitical necessity. There is no way for a free-market democracy to go to war on this level with an authoritarian one-party behemoth that maintains vast control over its key industries and its general population without interfering in big business to some extent. There will be major supply chain disruptions and a massive shakeup of financing for huge projects. It is a necessary sacrifice.

In terms of energy, Chinas dominance in certain sectors is hindering U.S. ambitions to shift to clean energy. While Americas oil and gas technology dominates, with the shale boom rendering the U.S. and fossil fuels superpower, China dominates in battery tech and solar panels. In other words, the U.S. is dominating the past, while China is dominating the future. This situation is also causing numerous problems for American companies that have Chinese ties and investment dollars, and for investors who are becoming increasingly worried about losing out due to the scrutiny of Chinese involvement in various projects. Its now become a liability to have won Chinese investment, while not so long ago, the opposite was true.

Plenty feel this fear of Chinese investment in U.S. technology is an overblown panic. That, however, is very shortsighted. Short-sightedness and greed have long dominated the Western investment climate, which Beijing has been quick to capitalize on. And its not about the money; its about power.

But this global conflict (it is nothing less) will also spur more American development in the race to shift to clean energy. Theres nothing like a war-like competition to spur homegrown solutions, which in the longer term will be economically and geopolitically advantageous to North America.
India continues to buy a lot of Russian oil despite a significant narrowing in its discount to Brent, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources from local refiners.

In early August, the price of Russias flagship Urals blend delivered to the west coast of India hit $81 per barrel. Just a month earlier that price was around $68, Argus pricing data cited in the report shows.

Purchases, however, have not slowed down because, according to Bloomberg sources, comparable oil blends from Middle Eastern producers cost more.

There was a perception that India had limited capacity to refine medium sour grade of Russian crude, which would create a natural ceiling on Russian imports, a Citi analyst told Bloomberg.

It has now been clearly demonstrated that such a bottleneck does not exist. This would imply that Indian refiners can continue with their Russian oil imports as long as discounts outweigh the higher logistics cost of imports, Samiran Chakraborty, chief India economist at the Wall Street bank, also said.

Last year, Russian exports of crude oil to India rose tenfold from the previous year, the Indian Bank of Baroda reported earlier this year.

This year, shipments of Russian crude to the subcontinent remained strong, putting Russia at the number-one spot as oil supplier to India, replacing Saudi Arabia. In June, Russian oil exports to India hit a record high of 2.2 million barrels daily, Kpler data cited by the Indian Express showed.

In July, exports were expected to ease, as a result of greater demand at home and lower demand in India amid the monsoon season, which also coincides with partial refinery shutdowns for maintenance.

Once the monsoon is over, however, Kpler expects a rebound in Russian oil shipments to India, with analyst Viktor Katona forecasting a deluge of Russian cargoes in India from October onwards.

As long as there is any discount on Russian crude versus comparable grades on a landed basis, there will be demand for it in India, energy analyst Vandana Hari from Vanda Insights told Bloomberg.

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By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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In Ukraine, the running theory is that Kyiv is attempting to disrupt Russian oil exports through the Black Sea as part of its latest counteroffensive. A Ukrainian attack last week on a Russian vessel in Novorossiysk Bay suggests that Russias oil export infrastructure is being targeted in a new twist in this conflict. Ukraine attacked the vessel with naval drones. A second attack shortly afterward targeted a Russian oil tanker near the Crimean Bridge. Finally, Kyiv has declared six Russian Black Sea ports military threat zones. While these attacks so far have not registered

The latest from Moscow comes in the form of hints dropped by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov to the effect that Putin could potentially opt to not hold presidential elections next March. Peskovs reasoning is that an election would be irrelevant because Putin would so clearly win. Our presidential election is not really a democracy, it is costly bureaucracy... Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90% of the vote, Peskov told NYT (later claiming he was misquoted). In the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin saw to it that the constitution was changed to allow him to run for president again and remain president until 2036 (a tried and true mechanism in countries in the Central Asian region). Since then, he has outlawed mass protests and either jailed or forced into exile real opposition leaders.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

The latest from Moscow comes in the form of hints dropped by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov to the effect that Putin could potentially opt to not hold presidential elections next March. Peskovs reasoning is that an election would be irrelevant because Putin would so clearly win. Our presidential election is not really a democracy, it is costly bureaucracy... Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90% of the vote, Peskov told NYT (later claiming he was misquoted). In the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin saw to it that the constitution was changed to allow him to run for president again and remain president until 2036 (a tried and true mechanism in countries in the Central Asian region). Since then, he has outlawed mass protests and either jailed or forced into exile real opposition leaders.

In Ukraine, the running theory is that Kyiv is attempting to disrupt Russian oil exports through the Black Sea as part of its latest counteroffensive. A Ukrainian attack last week on a Russian vessel in Novorossiysk Bay suggests that Russias oil export infrastructure is being targeted in a new twist in this conflict. Ukraine attacked the vessel with naval drones. A second attack shortly afterward targeted a Russian oil tanker near the Crimean Bridge. Finally, Kyiv has declared six Russian Black Sea ports military threat zones. While these attacks so far have not registered with the markets, any further, clear indications that Russian oil exports are under threat could send oil prices higher. Russia ships up to 600,000 bpd of crude through the Black Sea ports.

The standoff following a coup in Niger continues, with mediation efforts failing and the junta threatening to kill the countrys deposed president if there is any external military intervention to overthrow the coup leaders. This threat comes after ECOWASa West African regional economic/military blocsaid its forces were on standby to deploy to Niger. This conflict could easily spill across fragile borders and threaten a much wider conflict.

Earnings Snapshots

Nat gas company Tellurian (NYSE: TELL) failed to live up to analyst expectations, reporting a Q2 EPS of $-0.110. Revenue also underperformed, with Q2 revenues of $31.9 million, vs an estimate of $52.75 million. The company produced 17.2 bcf of nat gas during the quarter, up from 9 bcf in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, Tellurians deal with trading house Gunvor over the Driftwood LNG project has been terminated, leaving the fate of the project up in the air. The two parties had reached a 10-year deal two years ago for the delivery of 3 million metric tons/year of LNG.

Siemens Energy is now expected to post a net loss of 4.5 billion euros this year, after finding that its wind turbine unit will cost it 2.2 billion euros. Siemens cut its sales outlook and profit expectations as well. The projects with the wind turbine unit come after the discovery of wrinkles in rotor blades and faulty gears at some of its turbines.

Cheniere Energy beat analyst expectations for Q2 2023 earnings, with EPS of $0.84. Chenieres total revenues of $1.933 billion were below the Q2 2022 level of $4.181 billion and missed analyst estimates. Earnings were up on the declining cost of sales $604 million vs. $3.2 billion in the same quarter last year), but tempered by lower LNG volumes loaded.

Saudi Aramco reported a $29.4 billion payout to investors for Q2up nearly $10 billion from Q1. The increased payoutmost of which goes to the Saudi government, will wipe out the Kingdoms budget deficit it was on track for this year. Aramco reported $30 billion in Q2 profits, which was down nearly 40% from the same quarter last year. Aramcos total sales were $106 billion for the quarter, down from $150 billion in Q2 2022.

Deals

Phillips 66 and Archer-Daniels-Midland are discussing a biofuels JV to produce low-carbon jet fuel. The project would convert grain-based alcohol into jet fuel.

ConocoPhillips is planning to raise funds by issuing notes to help it acquire the last 50% of the Surmont oil facility in Canada. The stake is estimated to be worth $3 billion. Conoco has plans to snap up the second 50% stake from TotalEnergies sometime in the second half of this year.

ADNOC Gas has awarded a $3.6 billion contract to National Petroleum Construction Company PJSC and Spains Tecnicas Runidas to expand its gas processing infrastructure in the UAE.

Discovery & Development

Equinor has received approval from Norway to continue its Snohvit gas and condensate field, and its Hammerfest LNG plant. The approval allows Equinor to electrify the plant starting in 2030 and includes onshore compression from 2028. Hammerfest liquefies the nat gas from Snohvit. The electrification of the plant was originally supposed to start in 2028, but the government pushed it back.

Saudi Aramcos CEO reiterated that it was going ahead with the Durra gas field that is shared with Kuwait despite Irans objections. The Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister said that the project would not wait for a demarcation deal with Iran.

Marvel Fusion is disgruntled with the lack of support in Europe and is building a laser fusion facility in the United States through a $150 million JV. Marvel referenced the clear milestone-based funding programmes as well as a regulatory framework with a clear planning horizon, as part of its reason for choosing the US, as the Biden Administration still seeks to woo clean energy projects from overseas.

Russia and Korea are going to build two nuclear power stations in Uganda capable of generating 15,600 MW of power, but Uganda has failed to provide a timeline for the projects, or speak to the funding. Ugandas current power generation capacity is 1402MW, but much of Uganda has struggled with power fluctuations on a near-constant basis. Uganda has limited funds to build a nuclear power facility.
Uncertainty has returned to the oil market this week, with the recent oil price rally having stalled due to renewed economic concerns in China and a large inventory build in the U.S.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Backwardation in Brent and WTI futures continued to widen this week as physical tightness was felt across all continents, but Chinas uncertain outlook and a large US inventory build have capped oil prices. As of Friday morning, ICE Brent was trading at $86.44 per barrel and WTI below $83 per barrel. International organizations have been trying to influence the market sentiment, with OPEC raising its 2024 demand forecast whilst the IEA lowered it by 150,000 b/d, but the result (for now) is stagnation in prices.

OPEC Sees What It Wants to See. OPEC reiterated its upbeat oil demand outlook for 2024, expecting global crude consumption to rise by 2.25 million b/d in 2024, compared with growth of 2.44 million b/d this year, concurrently hiking this years GDP growth forecast to 2.7% from 2.6%.

Australian LNG Strikes Trigger Gas Rally. Terminal workers at Woodsides (ASX:WDS) North West Shelf and Chevrons (NYSE:CVX) Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants voted to start industrial action, jeopardizing some 11% of LNG flows globally and sending Europes TTF prices up by $3/mmBtu in just one day.

Iran Eyes Oil Production Ramp-Up. Buoyed by soaring crude exports to China, Irans oil company NIOC pledged to increase oil production by 250,000 b/d to reach 3.5 million b/d by the end of September, the highest production rate since US sanctions were re-introduced on Tehran in November 2018.

Texas Power Use Hits Record After Record. Demand for power in Texas is expected to hit 86,621 MW this Friday, the third all-time high figure this week as the lingering heat wave is straining the ERCOT power grid as temperatures went as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston this week.

Copper Positioning Booms as Outlook Remains Uncertain. As the worlds leading copper producer Chile lowered its production forecast for 2023 amidst inclement weather and force majeure events, long positions held in the LME copper contract soared to the highest ever, but so did the total of short positions and open interest.

US Power Generators Warn Against Carbon Reform. US power generators have warned the Biden administration that recently proposed power plant standards are unfeasible as net-zero 2035 targets hinge on the widespread commercial availability of scalable CCS technologies, not yet proven at scale.

Canada Wants to Sell Pipeline Stake to Indigenous Groups. Seeking to safeguard the 23 billion invested into the soon-to-be-commissioned 890,000 b/d Trans Mountain Pipeline, Canadas government reached out to Indigenous groups about potentially selling them a stake in the pipeline.

Colombia Strikes Oil Again, But Where. Colombias Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) discovered natural gas and light crude with its Alcamari-2 exploration well in the Putumayo basin, but the successful find happens to be close to the 60,000 b/d Trans-Andean oil pipeline, routinely bombed by guerrilla groups.

Norway Dam Collapse Jeopardizes Hydro. As heavy rains across Norway have lifted river levels to their highest in at least 50 years, the Braskereidfoss hydro dam on the Glomma river, the countrys biggest waterway, collapsed amidst incessant flooding, adversely impacting the countrys key electricity source.

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Panama Canal Delays Get Out of Hand. As drought conditions continue to disrupt navigation along the Panama Canal, waiting times at the crucial passageway have increased to 21 days currently, prompting owners of product tankers to avoid the canal altogether and stick to intra-Atlantic voyages.

Brazil Eyes Worlds Largest Lithium Deposits. In yet another instance of oil majors turning towards lithium, Brazils national oil firm Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) signaled interest in developing Bolivias salt brines, the largest reserve of lithium globally, seeking to boost their transition metals portfolio.

US-Iran Prisoner Deal to Free Up Billions of Frozen Revenue. According to media reports, the United States and Iran will carry out a prisoner swap, to be complemented by the White Houses release of $6 billion of Iranian oil revenues currently frozen in South Korean accounts to a bank in Qatar.

Activist Investor Buys into Vale. Activist investment fund Engine No. 1, known for its protracted battle with ExxonMobil that ended in a shakeup of the companys executive board, purchased a 3% stake in the base metals business of Brazilian miner Vale (NYSE:VALE), but said it wont pursue an activist campaign.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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- Gas production in the North African country decreased by 9% year-on-year, driven by technical problems at Zohr, a 30 TCf field that was only discovered in 2015 but seems to be already declining due to water infiltration issues.

- Once touted as the Eastern Mediterraneans new gas-producing frontier, Egypt has witnessed a surprise decline in natural gas production in the first half of 2023, raising questions about the long-term prospects of the supergiant Zohr field.

- Production curtailments from OPEC+ countries have also prompted the EIA to hike its pricing forecasts, upping the 2023 average Brent price to $82.62 per barrel and 2024 to $86.48 per barrel.

- Buoyed by the high-price environment which should lead to increased oil drilling activity next year, the EIA sees end-2024 production rates at 13.4 million b/d.

- According to the EIAs recently issued Short-Term Energy Outlook, US crude production is expected to surpass 12.9 million b/d for the first time ever in late 2023, a 200,000 b/d upward revision compared to previous forecasts.

- As oil prices moved to the mid-80s due to Saudi Arabias production cuts and robust summer demand, US oil producers see additional incentives to ramp up supply, setting new all-time production figures along the way.

1. Higher Oil Prices Revitalize US Crude Production

- As oil prices moved to the mid-80s due to Saudi Arabias production cuts and robust summer demand, US oil producers see additional incentives to ramp up supply, setting new all-time production figures along the way.

- According to the EIAs recently issued Short-Term Energy Outlook, US crude production is expected to surpass 12.9 million b/d for the first time ever in late 2023, a 200,000 b/d upward revision compared to previous forecasts.

- Buoyed by the high-price environment which should lead to increased oil drilling activity next year, the EIA sees end-2024 production rates at 13.4 million b/d.

- Production curtailments from OPEC+ countries have also prompted the EIA to hike its pricing forecasts, upping the 2023 average Brent price to $82.62 per barrel and 2024 to $86.48 per barrel.

2. Egypts Natural Gas Mojo Runs Out as Zohr Spells Trouble

- Once touted as the Eastern Mediterraneans new gas-producing frontier, Egypt has witnessed a surprise decline in natural gas production in the first half of 2023, raising questions about the long-term prospects of the supergiant Zohr field.

- Gas production in the North African country decreased by 9% year-on-year, driven by technical problems at Zohr, a 30 TCf field that was only discovered in 2015 but seems to be already declining due to water infiltration issues.

- As Zohr accounts for some 40% of the countrys production right now, producing 2.3 bcf per day, increasing the likelihood of Egypt seeking more natural gas from Israels nearby offshore fields.

- Egypts electricity grid has been collapsing under the scorching heat witnessed this summer with the countrys prime minister admitting that power cuts (currently lasting several hours a day) may last into September.

3. Heatwaves Weigh on Wheat Yields, Worsening 2024 Outlook

- Global wheat prices have shed some 15% over the past two weeks, with European wheat prices falling to $250 per metric tonne, even though the maritime escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war continues to hinder Ukraines agricultural exports.

- European customers, however, are likely to see further upside in wheat prices as continued heatwaves across the continent combined with poor rainfall aggravate the outlook for bumper yields.

- The EU has already reduced its soft wheat yield estimated for 2023-2024 from 5.92 mt/ha to 5.8 mt/ha, leading to a 2% decrease in overall output to 127.4 million tonnes, which should be bullish for prices.

- Meanwhile, Indian wheat prices soared to the highest since February at $308/mt, as supplies start to shrink and the government is considering scrapping the 40% import tax on wheat altogether to replenish wheat stocks.

4. Betting on Hurricane Disruption, Hedge Funds Go Long on Gasoline

- The usual narrative behind the surge in US gasoline prices focuses on widespread refinery outages along the East and Gulf Coasts combined with strong demand, money managers have been increasingly consulting their weather forecasts for Q3.

- CSU meteorologists upped their 2023 forecast for tropical storms, expecting four major hurricanes during hurricane season (officially ends November 30) amidst a warmer-than-normal Atlantic Basin.

- Should a hurricane hit the US Gulf Coast where nearly half of US oil refining capacity is located, gasoline supply across the country might be disrupted as the East Coast imports almost 2 million b/d of the fuel by pipeline, tanker and barge.

- The net length in NYMEX RBOB gasoline futures reached 77,663 in the most recent CFTC readings, a three-year high on a seasonal basis and a sign that gasolines 14% rise in 2023 so far might see further upside.

5. Russian Products Start Trading Above the Price Cap

- Soaring diesel and gasoline cracks globally have pushed the price of Russian transportation fuels above the $100 per barrel threshold set by G7 countries and the European Union.

- As the European Union bars EU-domiciled tankers from carrying Russian fuel and currently every sanctionable product barring gasoline is above its limit (gasoline trades around $90 per barrel), shipping might become a huge challenge for Russian exporters.

- The Biden administration has opted for soft enforcement of sanctions lately, reminding Western trading houses, insurers, and shipping companies to abide by the G7 price cap instead of harsh measures.

- Russia is exporting some 2.7 million b/d by seaborne trade, hiking its exports by 5% compared to last year, with approximately 40% of Russias product exports coming from diesel supplies.

6. Myanmar Tin Ban Fails to Spark Price Rally

- The best-performing metal of 2023 so far, tin, has seen a very muted reaction to a mining ban announced by Myanmars Wa militia, drastically cutting output in the worlds third-largest tin miner.

- The three-month LME tin contract edged lower to $27,325 per metric tonne by the end of this week, down from $29,450/mt in late July, as metal inventories in LME and SHFE warehouses soared 50% since the beginning of July.

- Net length held by investment funds in the tin contract of the London Metal Exchange doubled since mid-June and continues to rise, even though most analysts expect the Myanmar ban to last only a couple of months.

- Rising 12% since the beginning of 2023, tin is nevertheless expected to ease by the end of this year to $25,000/mt amidst improving production in the worlds top producer Indonesia as well as Peru and Bolivia.

7. Australias Coal Exports Set the Stage for Russia Face-off

- The Asian coal market has become a grand battlefield between Australian and Russian exporters as Russian coal no longer trades at discounts to market benchmarks, with regional prices dropping below $100 per metric tonne.

- Japan remains the top buyer of Australian coal, accounting for 27% of its imports, a share that has increased thanks to lower Russian imports of Japanese buyers, becoming the only big Asian buyer to see a year-on-year decline from Russia.

- At the same time, Russian exporters have been making inroads into China, a country that by now has risen to 40% of all seaborne supplies for Russia, while Australian exports are still only half of what they were before late 2020 when the unofficial ban was put in place.

- Australias low-ash 5,500 kcal/kg NAR Newcastle coal is already trading at $97-98/mt, whilst Russias 6,000 kcal/kg NAR coal from Pacific ports is some $5-6/mt costlier due to its higher calorific value, making Australia the preferred option for cash-strapped Asian buyers.
China is set to import 40% more crude from Saudi Arabia under term contracts in September despite the unilateral production cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of the worlds top crude oil exporter, traders told Bloomberg on Friday.

Chinese refiners are estimated to receive as much as 52 million barrels of crude oil cargoes next month, compared to about 37 million barrels set to arrive in August, the traders participating in the market told Bloomberg. The significant increase will come from the start of a new supply contract between Saudi oil giant Aramco and Chinese refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical Co.

Under an agreement signed by Aramco and Rongsheng Petrochemical last month, the Saudi firm successfully closed the transaction to buy a 10% stake in the Chinese refiner for $3.4 billion (24.6 billion Chinese yuan). The deal includes the supply of 480,000 bpd of Arabian crude to the largest Chinese integrated refining and chemicals complex, which is owned by Rongsheng affiliate Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd (ZPC).

Last week, Saudi Arabia said it would extend its unilateral voluntary cut of 1 million bpd from July and August into September, adding that the cut could be extended or extended and deepened.

The Kingdoms production for the month of September 2023 will be around 9 million bpd, as it is in July and August.

Despite the cut, Saudi Arabia is expected to supply full crude oil volumes in September under contracts with Asian buyers.

Saudi Aramco raised the official selling price (OSP) for its Arab Light crude oil grade to Asia by $0.30 per barrel for the month of September, to $3.50 above the Oman/Dubai average, the company said earlier this month. Aramco also raised the price of its Arab Light crude to Europe by $2 per barrel, but it left its crude to the United States the same at +$7.25 versus ASCI for the month of September, it said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Crude oil production in Nigeria dropped by 12.56% in July to 1.29 million barrels daily from 1.48 million barrels daily in June, Business Day has reported, citing data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

According to the state agency, one of the reasons for the decline was the temporary shutdown of the Forcados terminal, which Shell, the operator, announced in mid-July on suspicions of a leak.

Normally, Forcados sees loadings of an average of 220,000 barrels daily but on July 12 workers in the area saw fumes near a vessel that was being loaded with crude. The repairs work on the terminal was expected to be completed by the end of the first week of August but as of the middle of this week, Forcados remained shut down.

Earlier this year, the Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission warned that Nigeria is producing 1 million bpd of crude less than it has the capacity to produce. The agency cited a lack of investments, a shortage of funding sources because of the energy transition, and insecurity among the factors driving the situation.

Currently, Nigeria has the technical allowable capacity to produce about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. However, arising from the highlighted challenges, our current production hovers around 1.5 million barrels of oil and condensate per day, the chief executive of the body said in May.

To remedy matters, Nigeria earlier this month announced the pending launch of a roadshow to pitch upstream investments in the country.

Whereas the global imperatives for energy transition is clear and justified, the need for Africas energy security, economic development and prosperity cannot be overemphasised, the Nigerian regulator, which is organizing the roadshow, said.

According to a senior Petroleum Ministry official, Nigeria is looking to boost its oil production to 1.7 million barrels daily by November this year.

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By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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TAIPEI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of political parties and organizations in Taiwan staged a protest in Taipei Friday against a planned "transit" trip to the United States by Lai Ching-te, a politician with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Hundreds of people took part in the protest to express their opposition to Lai's intended trip, which is viewed as an attempt to seek "Taiwan independence."

The protesters issued a statement, saying that attempts by Lai and the DPP authorities to look for U.S. support for their independence agenda and change the status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China have gravely damaged Taiwan people's interest.

Such acts erode the bonds and trust between compatriots on both sides of the Strait, and jeopardize the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, which may lead to disastrous consequences for Taiwan, the statement noted.

The protesters said in the statement that escalating tensions across the Strait underscore that peaceful reunification is the best path that serves the interest of people from both sides.

Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of Taiwan's Labor Party, said the pursuit of "Taiwan independence" leads only to a dead end, as such attempts alienate all Chinese people, including those in Taiwan. 
The Fair Work Commission, Australias labor regulator, has given the green light to a workers union to vote on whether to stage a strike at Australian LNG plants that account for 10% of the global supply.

Workers at Chevrons LNG export plants Wheatstone and Gorgon have been locked in a dispute with the company over pay and working conditions.

Earlier this week, Woodside Energy and Chevron initiated talks with trade unions at their Australian LNG projects in a bid to avoid industrial action.

The workers union Offshore Alliance told Reuters on Thursday that it had not reached an agreement with Chevron on several issues including pay.

Natural gas prices in Europe on Wednesday jumped by as much as 30% as word spread that Australian LNG workers were preparing for strikes, seeking higher wages and better job security.

The spike highlighted Europes precarious gas position. Even though storage is fuller than usual and gas traders have even taken to storing gas in Ukraine despite the risks, the continents new dependence on LNG exposes it to potentially significant price swings.

Natural gas prices are likely to remain volatile in the coming days, at least until there is some clarity surrounding potential strike action at a number of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said on Friday.

Despite the fact that Europe remains in a comfortable situation with storage over 88% full across the EU, the market will have to watch closely how the labor dispute in Australia will unfold, they added.

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The potential for prolonged industrial action at a number of Australian LNG facilities could put a little over 10% of global LNG supply at risk, and given Europes growing reliance on LNG, this would (as already seen in recent days) have an impact on European gas prices as Asian buyers compete more aggressively for alternative supply, ING said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Via Metal Miner

MetalMiner actively posts on a variety of metals and market developments. However, we prefer to discuss topics that our clients bring to us, especially those that keep buyers awake at night. One such topic that has been recurring over recent months is the anxiety surrounding the LME aluminum quotation. Specifically, there has been a lot of talk over the LMEs potential failure to reflect the true value of global aluminum prices. Although it may be an oversimplified statement, it is essential to note that there is no single global aluminum price. Instead, every market in the world has primary aluminum prices. That said, the London Metal Exchange quotations broadly influence these prices, factoring in premiums and discounts to account for local costs, taxes, and supply/demand pressures.

The primary concern keeping buyers up at night is the supply/demand position. Specifically, the worry stems from the oversupply of Russian aluminum and the limited supply of non-Russian metal on the exchange. This situation could potentially lead to an excess of the exchanges metal coming from a supply source that too few buyers are willing to use. This, in turn, could cause the LME price to trade at a discount to its actual value. Last month, we reported wild swings in the Contango/Backwardation on the LME. This mainly stemmed from traders competing for parcels of non-Russian brands. However, the scarcity of non-Russian metal has far-reaching consequences beyond the exchange itself.

Aluminum Prices, China, and the LMEs Russian Metal Problem

According to Reuters, Russian brands accounted for approximately 80% of the warranted aluminum stocks on the LME by the end of June. Moreover, the situation has likely worsened since then. Asian warehouses store a significant portion of this metal, as China has been the largest consumer of Russian metal, both directly and from the LME. Nevertheless, Reuters observed that Chinas appetite for Russian primary metal seems to be weakening. Last year, the trade between Russia and China was robust, with China exporting Alumina to Russia and receiving primary ingots in return.

This trade was advantageous for China, especially during a drought in Yunnan that curtailed its smelting capacity. Indeed, Chinese imports of Russian-brand primary aluminum increased from 291,000 metric tons in 2021 to 462,000 metric tons last year. The pace of imports accelerated further during the first half of this year, with Russian metal imports surging by 177% year-on-year to 414,000 metric tons. At the time, Russian aluminum accounted for 85% of Chinese imports.

Aluminum Rebound in China

However, due to an increase in water supply, Chinas domestic production rebounded by an annualized three-quarters of a million tons over the second quarter. This raises the serious risk that Chinese imports of Russian material will decline in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Russia has continued finding customers for its primary metal. However, European aluminum producers are now voicing concerns about Turkish semi-finished products flooding the market, supported by cheap Russian primary metal. Indeed, the potential loss of a significant proportion of Chinese demand may result in more Russian metal flooding the LME. This could lead to a pool of almost exclusively Russian metal with limited buyers. This, in turn, could potentially undermine LME aluminum prices compared to those physical buyers would have to pay for non-Russian metal.

A Problem Worth Considering

The LME may argue that mechanisms exist to accommodate such distortions. Examples include the physical delivery premium, which has always been a measure of regional demand relative to global demand.

However, this premium is incapable of reflecting specific brands or origins. As we previously reported, the LME has periodically reviewed and decided against banning deliveries of Russian metal. A reason for this is concerns about the legal consequences, as Russian metal is not subject to sanctions. If a discount emerged, it could open the possibility for a Price Reporting Agency to launch a Non-Russian Delivery Premium. Both mills and consumers could use this to reflect the true cost of the metal supporting their processing. Though we havent reached that point yet, the possibility continues to cause concern among metal buyers. Therefore, perhaps it should be a more pressing matter of consideration.

By Stuart Burns

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The City of Omaha is preparing to repeal a raft of its gun ordinances that conflict with a new Nebraska state law, but the City Council president is looking into new regulations to mitigate the damage.

City Attorney Matt Kuhse has advised the council that it must repeal 22 sections of city code pertaining to firearms, City Council President Pete Festersen said.

According to City Council documents, the ordinances the council will ditch include a requirement to obtain a permit to buy a handgun, a prohibition on people under 21 possessing guns that can be concealed, and restrictions on carrying concealed weapons without a state permit and transporting certain firearms.

Thats because the Omaha ordinances are in violation of Legislative Bill 77, which the Nebraska Legislature passed and Gov. Jim Pillen signed into law, Kuhse said.

The bill will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The bill will apply statewide and invalidate any local ordinances limiting that ability. It will take effect Sept. 3.

We dont want to be doing this, Festersen said. Its required by the new law.

Mayor Jean Stothert, a majority of the Omaha City Council and Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer opposed LB 77. Schmaderer told the Legislature he was concerned that the bill would make it easier for people with criminal offenses to access firearms. He pushed, without success, to alter the bill with exceptions for Omaha, saying that he believed the bill had loopholes that would threaten police and the general public in Omaha.

LB 77 says cities, counties and villages in Nebraska cannot regulate the ownership, possession, storage, transportation, sale, or transfer of firearms or other weapons, except as expressly provided by state law. And it declares any city ordinances, including Omahas, that do regulate those matters to be null and void, Kuhse said.

Its important that theyre taken off the books because the public needs to know that, Kuhse said. . . . Maybe theyd look it up, see something out there, and believe (the city gun regulations) are still intact and call the police or something. The public needs to be aware that this is what the legislature wanted.

Festersen said hes very concerned about the effects of the new state law in Omaha. He said Omahas gun ordinances have been effective in getting illegal guns off the street and have helped Omaha police combat gun violence.

LB 77 failed to recognize that cities are facing a different situation and do need local control, he said.

Festersen is asking the City Law Department to research what he calls new common-sense gun regulations in cooperation with the Omaha Police Department and City Council.

In a memo sent Wednesday to Kuhse, Festersen asked for research into regulating ghost guns, banning bump stocks, and making sure public places such as schools, public buildings, and event centers are protected. Festersen also asked Kuhse to determine whether LB 77 prohibits a city from adopting red flag laws, or banning or regulating assault weapons within city limits.

Festersens memo cited portions of Lincoln city code that ban guns and other dangerous weapons in city or county facilities and bans multi-burst trigger activators.

I want to pursue new measures that can better address illegal guns and violence in the community and increase community safety, Festersen said. He also has police officer safety in mind, he said.

Kuhse said Thursday that he had just received the memo and that his office will go to work on the request. Festersen asked for research and opinions by Aug. 25. The council is expected to have a public hearing and vote on repealing the ordinances Aug. 29.

Were going to be looking to see what we can do within the confines, the guardrails, set by LB 77, Kuhse said. Both the police and the mayors office have also been looking at it to see what can be done. We want to make sure its something that will work. Weve got to make sure its something we can enforce. We dont want to have a law just to be symbolic.

The US surpasses 160 mass shootings in 2023. Here's every event mapped The US surpasses 100 mass shootings in 2023here's every event mapped Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space
HARTFORD, Conn.  As state lawmakers rush to get a handle on fast-evolving artificial intelligence technology, they're 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.

"We're starting with the government. We're 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. Starting next year, state officials must regularly review these systems to ensure they won't lead to unlawful discrimination.

Maroney, a Democrat, 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.

"It's rapidly changing and there's a rapid adoption of people using it. So we need to get ahead of this," he said in an interview. "We're actually already behind it, but we can't 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 adopted resolutions or enacted legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list doesn't 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 created advisory bodies to study and monitor AI systems their respective state agencies are using, while Louisiana formed a new technology and cybersecurity committee to study AI's impact on state operations, procurement and policy. Other states took a similar approach last year.

Lawmakers want to know "Who's using it? How are you using it? Just gathering that data to figure out what's out there, who's 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."

Connecticut's new law came after an investigation by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School determined AI is 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 "and largely unchecked," the group said.

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, included corrupt data that relied on inputs the state hadn't 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 generated public fascination and concerns about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers.

Some states haven't attempted to tackle the issue yet. In Hawaii, state Sen. Chris Lee, a Democrat, said lawmakers didn't pass any legislation this year governing AI "simply because I think at the time, we didn't 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 similar to Connecticut's 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 aren't a lot of people right now working within state governments or traditional institutions that have this kind of experience," he said.

There has been discussion of bipartisan AI legislation in Congress.

Maroney said ideally the federal government would lead the way in AI regulation but it can't act at the same speed as a state legislature. "And as we've seen with the data privacy, it's really had to bubble up from the states," he 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 don't 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.

Here's why 61% of Americans think AI could spell the end of humanity Here's why 61% of Americans think AI could spell the end of humanity
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded a Hastings judge for pulling strings to help his friend and parish priest out of a ticket hed gotten for driving away from a gas station without paying.

County Court Judge Michael P. Burns got no additional punishment for his misconduct, Chief Justice Mike Heavican, who chairs the Commission on Judicial Qualifications, wrote in the reprimand, which came out with Fridays opinions.

Heavican said Burns, who had no history of prior discipline, expressed embarrassment and remorse and has acknowledged the consequences, albeit unintended, of this misconduct.

The judge also immediately reported his own conduct and fully cooperated with the Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation that followed.

According to the order, on March 16, during a noon break, Burns got a message from a county clerk magistrate who had noticed a misdemeanor charge being filed against someone the clerk recognized as Burns friend and parish priest, who isnt named in the reprimand.

Although a judge hadnt yet been assigned and Burns had a clear conflict due to his friendship with the priest, he told the clerk to hold off processing the charge so he could look into it.

Burns called the county attorney who had filed the charge, feeling certain that his friend wouldnt have intentionally driven away from a convenience store without paying and there must be some mistake.

He asked if further investigation might be warranted before proceeding, and provided the defendants phone number to pass along to law enforcement, Heavican said.

He also contacted his friend, notifying him of the charge and encouraging him to follow up with law enforcement to resolve it.

Burns reported his conduct the same day.

The commission found Burns actions improper and said he should have told the clerk magistrate he had a conflict of interest. And he shouldnt have gone to the prosecutor.

Although Judge Burns reasoned he was helping his parish priest avoid the public embarrassment of an unjust minor criminal charge, he was only able to do so by virtue of his judicial position, using knowledge and contacts afforded to him as a judge, Heavican said in the reprimand, which is intended to address the specific conduct as well as instruct other judges should they find themselves in similar circumstances.

Burns has been a judge since 2011.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
No immediate decision was reached Friday in a lawsuit alleging that a political action committee defamed a Nebraska lawmaker by accusing her of grooming her transgender son.

The first hearing in the case pitting the Nebraska Freedom Coalition against State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha took place Friday, with Douglas County District Judge Todd Engleman considering the coalitions motion to dismiss the suit. Engleman took both sides arguments under advisement but did not issue a ruling.

The initial complaint, filed by the Nebraska Legal Action Fund on behalf of Hunt, alleges that the coalition  including members Patrick Peterson, Robert Anthony and Malia Shirley  made intentional, reckless, and knowingly false statements about Hunt, claiming she sexually abused and groomed her 13-year-old son.

The coalition made such claims on Twitter after Hunt shared that her son was transgender during a contentious debate over a bill that will restrict access to gender-affirming care for individuals under 19, Legislative Bill 574. Since then, the coalition has repeatedly called Hunt a groomer and posted photos of her child.

Following the initial post, the Nebraska Legal Action Fund requested the coalition retract its statements, but the coalition doubled down in a post that was still pinned on its Twitter page as of Friday.

The coalition later filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, in which they stated their intent to countersue if their motion is unsuccessful. Their attorney, Robert Sullivan, said Hunts case was fatally flawed.

Sullivan said that while the coalition members dont deny making posts calling Hunt a groomer, that doesnt equate to accusing her of a crime. He argued the coalitions posts would reasonably be seen as an expression of opinion, not fact.

Hunts lawyer, former State Sen. Adam Morfeld, said defamation can be an accusation of something that is generally considered a crime, even if no specific crime is alleged. Morfeld said grooming allegations are generally considered criminal.

Morfeld noted that the coalition even posted a definition of the word grooming on Twitter and called it an act of abuse in referring to LB 574 opponents. By doing so, Morfeld said, the coalition implied Hunt was unfit to serve her current office, since most crimes categorized under grooming are felonies in Nebraska.

Morfeld added that because of the coalitions posts, Hunt and her family have been subjected to harassment and threats of violence, many of which accused her of being a child abuser and a pedophile.

Violence against children, especially sexual violence, is considered universally abhorrent in our society, Morfeld argued. To accuse (Hunt) of such behavior is to expose her to disgust, disdain, humiliation, and ostracization.

Sullivan said the coalition was responding to Hunts arguments against LB 574 and was effectively expressing an opinion on a political issue, which is not considered defamation. He pointed to past cases in which the courts have affirmed that public debates ought to be unrestrained and sometimes sharp against public officials.

As unpleasant and unfortunate as it is, political discussions often devolve into little more than childish tantrums, Sullivan wrote.

Sullivan also described Hunts complaint as a thinly-disguised abuse of the litigation process for purposes of silencing citizen discussions on issues affecting the public well-being.

But Morfeld said the coalition was the one trying to silence other views by intimidating Hunt and other LGBTQ+ advocates through accusations of grooming.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2023
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. 11, 1923: "Never heard of such a law," was the statement of every one of three violators of the one-hour parking law who appeared in the police station yesterday in compliance with the notices left in their cars. Four others evidently had guilty consciences, for they failed to appear. The chief decided not to prosecute the three who came in.

75 years ago

Aug. 11, 1948: Mario V. Mancinelli, former instructor of violin at Ohio State University in Columbus, has been appointed associate professor of violin and chamber music at the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Music. Mr. Mancinelli replaces Edward Preodor, who recently resigned.

50 years ago

Aug. 11, 1973: Normal has been wet for two weeks, but there hasn't been any rush to file liquor license applications. Only six had been received through Friday afternoon.

25 years ago

Aug. 11, 1998: Normal University High School teacher Jim Kinsella celebrated his 50th birthday by traveling to all 50 states in 50 days on his Harley-Davison motorcycle. The trip also gave students in Kinsella's social studies and teacher Carol Benson's math classes opportunities to apply their classroom learning by planning the trip's budget and itinerary, including a flight to Hawaii.

101 years ago: See vintage Pantagraph ads from 1922 Gerthart's Union Gas and Electric Co. Hoover Dr. J.A. Moore Dentists Moberly & Klenner W.P. Garretson W.H. Roland Pease's Candy Thor 32 Electric Washing Machine The Kaiser's Story of the War Ike Livingston & Sons Gossard Corsets Cat'n Fiddle 'Stolen Moments' Case Model X The Johnson Transfer & Fuel Co. The Pantagraph want ads Franklin Motor Car Co. 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' Calumet Baking Powder Mayer Livingston & Co. Newsmarket 'The Emperor Jones' 'California Fig Syrup'
In a promotion they're calling "Night Dives," the aquarium is giving free admission to Illinois residents from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of August.

Tickets are only available online and must be purchased in advance. There are no tickets being sold at the door. A $3 transaction fee will be applied to each ticket purchased.
BELLEVILLE  The beginning of the 2023-24 school year is just around the corner, and children must be up to date on their vaccines to enter Illinois public school classrooms.

Cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. this year, and more than 30 chickenpox cases had been reported in Illinois as of February, according to a report from the Jacksonville Journal-Courier.

Measles can cause "serious health complications," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the disease is highly contagious.

About 1 in 5 U.S. residents who contract measles require hospitalization, the CDC reports, and between 1 and 3 out of 1,000 people who get measles die, even after receiving medical care.

Two doses of the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella are roughly 97% effective at preventing measles, according to the CDC, and one dose is 93% effective.

"Vaccinations remain one of our greatest public health achievements," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in an Aug. 4 statement. "Vaccines have resulted in the eradication of smallpox, the near elimination of polio, and decreased levels of many infectious diseases across the United States and world. As a pediatrician, I encourage parents to place routine children's vaccines at the top of their back-to-school checklists. Don't wait, get your kids up-to-date!"

Here's what to know about vaccine requirements in public schools in Illinois.

What vaccines are required in Illinois public schools?

Pre-K programs, child care, preschool:

 Three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis vaccine by 1 year old, one additional dose by second birthday

 Two doses of the polio vaccine by 1 year old, one additional dose by second birthday. Three doses for children 24 months or older, appropriately spaced.

 One dose of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine on or after first birthday

 Three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine, spacing requirements apply

 Hib vaccination

 PCV vaccine

 One dose of the varicella vaccine (chickenpox) on or after first birthday

Kindergarten or first grade (entry into school):

 "Four or more doses of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTP or DTaP) vaccine with the last dose being a booster and having been received on or after the 4th birthday," per state guidelines. Children age 7 or older should follow the catch-up schedule.

 Any child entering kindergarten must have proof of a four-dose booster series for the polio vaccine, with the last dose on or after their fourth birthday.

Grade school:

 The same four-dose DTP requirement applies from kindergarten to sixth grade. From seventh to 12th grade, three or more doses of the polio vaccine with the last dose on or after the fourth birthday are required.

 From kindergarten through 12th grade, two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are required.

 Students entering sixth grade to 12th grade need three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine, spaced out.

 Two doses of the chickenpox vaccine are required for all grade levels, with the first dose on or after the first birthday and the second dose at least 28 days later.

 Students entering sixth to 11th grade must receive one dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine on or after their 11th birthday.

 Students entering 12th grade must receive two doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine, with the second dose administered on or after their 16th birthday and at least eight weeks after the first dose, the state health department says. The second dose is not required if the first dose is administered on or after the child's 16th birthday.

Additional requirements may apply, including catch-up schedules and certain exceptions. For more details, including information about required intervals between vaccinations and minimum ages, check the IDPH's 2023-24 vaccine schedule.

"The CDC has not yet released its recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for this fall," according to the IDPH. As such, the vaccine is not included in the state's public school requirements.

The state health department will provide free vaccines, dental exams and physicals to children at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield this year. Immunizations and physicals will be offered Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, while dental exams will be available Aug. 15 and Aug. 18. Insurance is not required to receive vaccines or physicals at the fair.

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
Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has admonished the authorities of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to be sensitive to the plight of Ghanaians and spend wisely.



Tackling the Minority in Parliament's revelations of the bank incurring a loss of GH60.8 billion last year, Salam Mustapha opined that the bank is partly to blame for some of its expenditures.



At a "Moment of Truth" event organized by the National Democratic Congress on Tuesday, the Minority Leader, Ato Forson revealed a Bank of Ghana report "recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout".



The Minority has asked the Governor of the bank, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies to resign, blaming them for mismanaging the bank.



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities," the leader of the Minority, Ato Forson stressed.



To Salam, though the bank authorities cannot be said to have entirely misconducted themselves, he however finds some portions of the report disturbing.



He cited the payment of huge allowances to its Directors, at the time Ghanaians were going through very trying times, as a bad decision and implored the authorities to take decisions in the interest of Ghanaians.



"We are in austerity period. They should be a bit sensitive. When you check the allowances they paid to their Board of Directors and so on and so forth, it wasn't appropriate...They should be mindful of the times in which we are," he said on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".





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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Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

SINGAPORE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, with both sides pledging to advance bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is in the city-state for a two-day visit, the first leg of his three-nation tour which also takes him to Malaysia and Cambodia.

Noting that the two countries elevated relations to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership during Lee's visit to Beijing in March which has charted the course for future development of bilateral ties, Wang in the meeting expressed his confidence about the prospect of bilateral cooperation.

Under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China-Singapore relations will continue to take the lead for China in developing its relations with neighborhood countries, Wang said.

Highlighting Singapore has used oriental values to advance its modernization process and find its own unique path of successful development, Wang voiced China's support for Singapore's continued growth and prosperity in accordance with the will of its people.

Lee pledged to carry on Singapore-China friendship further, which he said enjoys a solid foundation built by older-generation leaderships of the two countries.

The prime minister said the Singapore side thinks highly of China's determination and efforts to push its modernization, and will jointly work to constantly move forward bilateral cooperation, opening a new chapter for future relations.

He said a leading role of major countries is anticipated in today's agitated world to seek mutual benefit and win-win results, and Singapore supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in deepening cooperation with China and jointly safeguarding regional peace, stability and development.

Wang stressed that China has also found a path of development which suits its national conditions.

China's development is the growth of peaceful forces and the enhancement of stabilizing factors, which will bring lasting benefits and development opportunities to all countries in the world, especially the neighborhood countries, said the Chinese foreign minister.

He said the United States, out of its motive to maintain unipolar hegemony, is unwilling to see the development and revitalization of China and other emerging countries.

On the one hand, it condones and supports the "Taiwan independence" forces relying on the United States to seek the end, trying to cross China's red lines; on the other hand, it tears away the pretense of fair competition and coerces other countries into unilateral protectionism against China, Wang said.

He added that these perverse practices will only damage its own credibility, laying bare the fact that the United States has become the biggest destabilizing factor in the world.

During his Singapore tour which began on Thursday, Wang also met with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. 

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R, Center) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L, Center), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L, Center), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (R, Center) in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (R) in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
The North East Regional Minister, Yidana Zakaria has expressed gratitude to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for his swift intervention for repair works to start on the damaged Gbanni-Tinguri road and bridge following devastating floods.



A heavy downpour, lasting many hours on Wednesday, caused serious havoc in parts of the North East Region including the collapse of the Gbanni-Tinguri bridge on the Walewale-Nalerigu road.



Following the disturbing incident which has left many stranded, Vice President Dr. Bawumia swiftly intervened, getting officials of NADMO and the Ministry of Roads to visit the affected place and immediately start the process of repairing the bridge and the road to restore normal service, the North East Regional Minister revealed.



Deputy Minister of Roads, Stephen Jalula and the Chief Director of the Ministry, Dr. Abass Awolu visited the affected area on Thursday to assess the extent of damage and repair works are scheduled to to start immediately.



First, a bailey bridge will be erected across the river away from the existing damaged road to provide temporary relief and concurrently, the Ministey of Roads will start construction of a bigger culvert across the road to replace the damaged one.



The Regional Minister, relieved by the swiftness of the Ministry of Road's visit to address the problem, has commended Dr. Bawumia.



"I want to commend the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for his concern and swift intervention. He got officials of the Ministey of Roads to visit here immediately to assess the situation, and the process of bringing relief begins.'



The Regional Minister also confirmed officials of NADMO have been at the scene and are mobilizing relief items to affected persons and households.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Marrer Ghana Limited, Susatgad Boat Building and Fishing Industries, Mr. Novihoho Afaglo has added his voice to calls from section of Ghanaians and the Minority in Parliament demanding the immediate resignation of the Governor of Bank of Ghana (BoG) and his deputies.



According to him, not only the Governor but the entire chain and setup of BoG should be dissolved over what he termed as "corruption".



Speaking to the Republic Press, Mr Afaglo said the Governor and his deputies alone could not have engage in this distasteful act but it was committed under the watch of the entire 12-member board.



He said, it will not be out of place if the board members and their chairman are immediately dissolved for gleefully watching and supervising incompetent and corrupt practices.



Mr. Afaglo said the 12-member BoG board has also contributed to the failed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's regime for failing to whip management of the bank in line on matters of principles and banking.



What Im saying is that if three years ago the BoG has the power to supervised the collapse of some banks in Ghana over what they discribed as mismanagement, what will Ghanaians now described the Central Bank and its board members, he quizzed.



The CEO said the BoGs staggering loss of GHS 60.8 billion, twice of what the country is now seeking from International Monetary Fund, is disgraceful and unacceptable.



One thing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is promising the good people of Ghana is that once former President John Mahama is sworn into office come 2025, they should have hope that all these criminals will face the law, Mr. Afaglo stated.



He said what is more troubling and disturbing is after bringing the BoG under its knees, the Board, Governor, deputies and entire management find it expedient to invest GHS 2.8 million on a new head office building despite their huge financial burden on Ghana.



He called on all meaningful Ghanaians to join the Minority's call and save the Bank of Ghana from collapse.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong has disclosed that Ghana locally produces only about 4 percent of poultry used in the country.



Local poultry farmers in Ghana can only produce 15,000 metric tons of poultry, while the country consumes about 325,000 metric tons, hindering the growth of the local poultry business.



"I don't know how we pride ourselves as Ghanaians when we have such major challenges and we look on. In fact, you know, even though we consume 325,000 metric tons of poultry, we produce only 15,000 and this number even includes domestic poultry . . . We don't even have the farms to produce the 300,000 metric tons," he said.



He stated that he plans to increase Ghana's poultry production capacity from 15,000 to 25,000 metric tons.



He has been discussing with stakeholders, including Dr. Osei Kwame Despite, CEO of Despite Group, and Dr. Ofori Sarpong, CEO of Special Investments Limited to improve the poultry farming industry in the country.



" . . They've assured me that they will build one of the biggest poultry farms in this country," he mentioned.



Listen to him in the video below





He has encouraged Ghanaians to change their perception that farming is only for the less privileged.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a lecturer at the Central University, has disclosed his favorite candidate in the upcoming presidential election of the New Patriotic Party(NPP).



Ten candidates will be competing in a Special Delegates Conference of the New Patriotic Party on Saturday, August 26, 2023.



The ten include; Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central MP; Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former Trade Minister; Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, former Agriculture Minister; Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, former Energy Minister; Boakye Agyarko, former Attorney General and Railways Minister; Joe Ghartey, former NPP General Secretary; Kwabena Agyei Agyepong among others.



The Special Delegates Conference is to trim the number to five with the five candidates going into the main election on November 4 where one will be elected as flagbearer.



Commenting on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah ticked Kennedy Agyapong to become the NPP flagbearer.



According to him, the Assin Central MP will emerge first among the five candidates stressing "I support Kennedy Agyapong...Kennedy Agyapong will be first and Bawumia and Alan will share the second and third positions".





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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National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Salam Mustapha has jumped to the defence of the Bank of Ghana following the public backlash after the Minority in Parliament revealed the bank had run into losses to a tune of GH60.8 billion.



The Minority, addressing Journalists at their "Moment of Truth" event on Tuesday, revealed "the Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout".



They continued that, "the bank has also recorded a negative equity of over GHS55.1 billion. What this simply means is that the Bank of Ghana is insolvent" and blamed the incumbent government stating "the once prestigious Bank of Ghana, the mother of all banks in Ghana, has been bankrupted and collapsed by this NPP economic management team led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the complicity of the Governor of the Central Bank".



The Minority also asked the Governor of the bank, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies to resign, blaming them for mismanaging the bank.



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities", the leader of the Minority, Ato Forson said.



But Salam Mustapha has asked the public to cut the Bank of Ghana, particularly the Governor, some slack.



According to him, the bank authorities instead deserve credit emphasizing they cushioned the economy during the perilous times.



"Truthfully, this Bank of Ghana has done well in the face of very trying times. Extreme economic pressures that we have gone through, this Bank of Ghana has done well . . . When you check how we have ably kept the economy . . . I think the Bank of Ghana deserves some credit," he told Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show.



He added that the "Bank of Ghana is a regulator. It does not engage in trading like the commercial banks. Bank of Ghana does not do that. It regulates the financial space . . . and also principal advisor to government on financial issues" and stressed the huge expenditures of the bank are not a "one-line item. The amount also involves the financing of government".



Watch video below







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The losses the Central Bank has incurred are unprecedented and it will take us years to recover. The Bank of Ghana over-exposed itself to the government, says a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Godwin Alufar Bokpin.



In an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', he stated that the losses suffered by the BoG have limited their ability to perform their duties with moral authority in the financial market.



The big elephant in the room



The Professor of Finance blamed the government for the current state of the BoG, stating that Ghana's problem is mainly governance and not economics or finance.



The government is the big elephant in the room. This is what they have done to the Central Bank . . . and we said it long ago that a time will come when we will say how the Central Bank together with the government messed up our financial system. This is the result. What we are seeing on the books of the Central Bank is a true reflection of what this economy has gone through . . . Im not sure the Governor of the Bank Of Ghana is happy having this on his CV, Prof Bokpin told Kwami Sefa Kayi.



None Holy



According to Prof Bokpin, the Central Bank's problems predate the current administration and both major political parties share responsibility.



Between the two main political parties (NDC, NPP) theres none holy, no not one.



He said BoG situation should lead us to a national conversation that helps insulate certain national institutions from political capture".



According to the Economist and Professor of Finance, we could have minimized this whole thing; it was very clear that government needed to cut wasteful expenditure and you would have protected the balance sheet of the Central Bank, because it got to a time the Central Bank had to make a difficult decision: they either allow the regime to collapse and the economy developing into a full-blown crisis or they will compromise their integrity, operational independence to sustain the government on its balance sheet. The result of that is the losses we are counting right now.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Three Constituency Chairmen of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Volta Region have urged delegates in their respective constituencies to vote massively for Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto as Flagbearer to lead the party to victory in the 2024 election.



According to the Chairmen of the Keta, Anlo and Afadzato constituencies, they believe Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto's vision of using agriculture to turn around the fortunes of the Ghana is the best the country could ever get.



They also believe that the immediate past Minister for Food and Agriculture has an impeccable track record in government, which makes him the best candidate by all standards to lead the NPP to retain power in the next election.



The Chairmen made the call on the delegates when Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto embarked on a campaign tour of the Volta Region to sell his vision for the party and Ghana at large should he be elected as Flagbearer and ultimately as President.



The Chairman of the Afadzato Constituency, Gershon Zuttah, was particularly happy with Dr. Afriyie Akoto's message and a clean campaign he's embarked on so far.



"I like his campaign; his message is strong and very good. His campaign is not attacking anyone but putting out a very sound vision to move Ghana to the next level using agriculture as the driving force. This is the kind of visionary leader that Ghana needs. I urge delegates not to make the mistake of voting for any candidate except Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto. He has a lot of good things to offer the country. Let's elect Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto to enable him to implement his excellent policies and programmes for Ghana."



For his part, the Chairman of the Anlo Constituency, Joseph Adranyi, said Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto's excellent performance while in government as the Head of the Agric Sector which is evident for all to see, makes him the perfect candidate to lead the NPP to victory come December 7, 2024 election.



"We believe Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is the best candidate to lead our great party to break the 8-year governance cycle. The little we can do to support him is to vote massively for him to win the Flagbearer race. I urge you to vote for him come November 4, 2023. I believe Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto will remember us the people of Anlo constituency when we elect him as Flagbearer and subsequently as President of Ghana.



The Chairman for the Keta Constituency, Dr. Benjamin Dzameshie also urged the delegates to vote massively for Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, if indeed they want the NPP to break the 8-year governance cycle.



"Should the party repose confidence in you by electing you as the Flagbearer, I know you will take good care of the party. Party work needs to be attractive as pertains in South Africa and Mexico, to mention a few. We believe in your vision to lead the party to establish businesses to take care of party matters and members. I urged delegates not to look no further than Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto. Let's honour him on November 4, 2023, to become our presidential candidate to retain power beyond 2024."



A total of 10 aspirants contesting the flagbearer race have successfully gone through vetting and have gone ahead to ballot for their positions on the ballot paper for the election.



They are a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko; former NPP General Secretary and presidential spokesperson, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong; former Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh; former Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku.



The rest are Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen; former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr Joe Ghartey; energy expert, Mr Kwadwo Opoku and Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.



A Special Delegates Congress will he held on August 26, 2023, to select five of the presidential aspirants.



The top five aspirants will then contest for the flagbearer slot on November 4, 2023, to elect one to lead the party in the 2024 general election.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Madam Akua Afriyie, a member of the National Democratic Congress at Kumawu has been sacked for her declaration to support Hon. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.



She has indicated her admiration for the NPP presidential hopeful even though she is a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress.



According to her, her sack came shortly after the video of her declaration of support for Alan went viral during the Kumawu by-election.



She had told the whole world that though she was an NDC member, if the NPP presented Alan as their flagbearer in the 2024 elections, she will gladly vote for him. She stated then that Alan had a vision that could save this country and give the teeming youth hope.



She has since become the talk of town in political circles for which the NDC did not take kindly to her pronouncement.



Akua Afriyie says she is now a floating voters having been served with a dismissal letter.



"I am currently not a member of the NDC or a member of the NPP but l am a strong supporter of Mr. Kyerematen".



She has cautioned that if the NPP denies Mr. Kyerematen the opportunity to lead the party, she Akua will simply stay clear of the 2024 elections.



Akua Afriyie is amongst the huge number of voters with the NDC ,whose love for Mr. Kyerematen is beyond partisan politics and makes the case of the NPP winning election 2024 with Alan a reality.



Meanwhile, the constituency delegates Durbar for the Kumawu, Afram Plains and Effiduase Asokore constituencies was massively attended with delegates vowing that it will not happen this time around that Alan will not win.



The delegates assured in unison that discerning Ghanaians are now fully awake from their slumber and would not allow themselves to be taken unawares.



They contended that it is Alans time to lead the party and nothing should stand his way this time round.

Source: Peacefmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Acting PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed has expressed concerns over the alleged financial malfeasance against the Bank of Ghana under the leadership of Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the bank.



The bank is said to have incurred a loss of GHC 60.8 billion last year due to mismanagement.



"This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout, Minority Leader, Ato Forson told Journalists during a "Moment of Truth" event organized by the opposition National Democratic Congress on Tuesday, August 8.



He further stated, the bank has also recorded a negative equity of over GHS55.1 billion. What this simply means is that the Bank of Ghana is insolvent" and blamed the Akufo-Addo government saying "the once prestigious Bank of Ghana, the mother of all banks in Ghana, has been bankrupted and collapsed by this NPP economic management team led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the complicity of the Governor of the Central Bank.



But the authorities of the Bank of Ghana have refuted the financial mismanagement claims.



BoG Response



"Bank of Ghana released its full-year 2022 audited financial statements on 28th July 2023. The

financial statements reported a total loss of GHS60 billion, which has since become a matter of

unfortunate politicisation. It is noteworthy that GHS53.1 billion of those losses were a direct result

of the Governments domestic debt restructuring exercise.



"It is important to put the Bank of Ghanas 2022 financial results in proper context with a clear statement of the problem that Ghana faced and the chronology of events in Ghana since 2019. There was a clear mismatch between revenue inflows and expenditure financed in 2020 by exceptional support from the IMF and World Bank resources, and in addition to financing from the Bank of Ghana through the issuance of the GHS10 billion Covid-19 bond", the bank's website disclosed.



The bank report also said; "This triggered a liquidity crisis, spilling over into a balance of payments crisis. External and domestic payments needed to be made, the domestic auction was failing, and the Bank of Ghana had to step in to arrest a major economic and social crisis.



"A major plank of the corrective action required for the IMF programme was the Domestic Debt Exchange, where the stock of Government of Ghana debt was to be halved from 105% of GDP to

55% of GDP by 2028. The holders of Government debt had their debt instruments exchanged for new ones with lower interest payments and longer terms.



"Despite the losses inflicted on households and banks, the threshold of 55% of GDP was not met. The Bank of Ghana was used to close the gap to enable Ghana meet the debt threshold that qualified Ghana for the IMF programme (Bank of Ghana therefore, acted as a loss absorber)."



It further established that "the Bank of Ghana had to absor a 50% haircut on its non- marketable holdings of Government debt instruments. This singular act led to significant impairment losses of GHS 32.3 billion to the Banks accounts. Impairments of marketable instruments also accounted for another GHS16.1 billion, bringing the total impairments of Government holdings to GHS48.4 billion" and continued that "as experienced by central banks globally, price and exchange rate movements led to a loss of GHS5.2 billion whiles impairments of Cocobod loans amounted to GHS4.7 billion. This is the reason the Bank of Ghana reported a loss of GHS60 billion in 2022".



BoG revealed that the money covered their vehicle maintenance expenses stating "fuel cost for all BoG operations, insurance of all BoG fleet of vehicles, car parts replacements, and other maintenance cost. Historically, fuel cost has accounted for about 90 percent of this vehicle maintenance expenses expenditure line. For 2022, the fuel cost increased by 123.3 percent compared to 28.9 percent in 2021".



Atik Questions BoG



But Atik Mohammed has taken the Bank of Ghana's statements with a pinch of salt.



Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, he found the bank's explanations and expenses untenable.

The question to ask is what is number of the Central Banks fleet of cars? How many cars do they have moving currency all over the country? The second question is on average, how many times do these vehicles carry or move currency from the Central Bank to these commercial banks and all other financial institutions? In a week, on average, how many times do they move?, he asked for further clarifications.



These are very critical questions that require answers because those answers will weather the expenditures they incurred are justifiable or not. But on the face of it and given the explanation theyve given us, they are not tenable, he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.



Atik called for investigations into the BoG issue stressing it greatly saddens me that a major player in Ghanas economic policy could be this reckless as far as spending is concerned.





















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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Sea spurge infestation at Darby River. Sea spurge grows along Australia's southern coastline. Credit: CSIRO

Since the break-up of Gondwana, Australia's biodiversity has evolved mostly in isolation from the rest of the world. Many of our species are unique to Australia.

But our biodiversity is at risk from alien invasive species. At least 100 unique native species have become extinct since European settlement, with more than three quarters due wholly or partly to invasive species. More than 1,250 of our land-based threatened species are at risk from introduced aliens, including weeds, insects and birds.

Let's take a look at some of the alien invasive species in Australia and how our science is addressing these invaders.

Sea spurge

Sea spurge, Euphorbia paralias, is a major plant invader of our beautiful beaches across Australia's southern coastline. It out-competes native plants and disrupts natural patterns of sand movement. It also reduces suitable nesting sites for native shorebirds.

The seeds of sea spurge are carried by ocean currents from infested beaches to new beaches, where they can quickly grow and dominate.

The biocontrol fungus infects leaves and stems of sea spurge plants. It causes stem lesions and, in severe infections, stem collapse. Credit: CSIRO

We're tackling this alien invader with a biocontrol fungus, Venturia paralias. We've thoroughly tested this natural enemy of sea spurge, a native of France, to make sure it's highly specific to sea spurge.

The fungus infects the leaves of sea spurge and spreads to the stems, forming lesions that eventually affect the plants vigor and reproduction. Community led field releases of V. paralias in Tasmania and Victoria are underway.

Bitou bush

This alien invader has been widespread along our east coast for years, but it only turned up in Western Australia in 2012. It's one of Australia's worst coastal weeds, smothering native vegetation and reducing biodiversity in coastal ecosystems.

We embraced our inner Sherlock Holmes in a recent botanical detective story to discover where this alien invader came from.

Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subspecies rotundata) is a weed targeted for eradication in Western Australia. The flowers are bright yellow daisies. Credit: CSIRO

Archival research and genetics revealed this alien species likely arrived here via dry ballast in ships traveling from the city of East London in South Africa to a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales.

Knowing where this species came from opens the door for new research on more effective biological control agents. It shows us exactly where to look for its natural enemies, such as host specific insects or fungi.

The work also helps us understand any ongoing biosecurity risk relating to new introductions. Thanks to steel hulled ships, dry ballast is now a thing of the past, but we must remain vigilant to new weed incursions.

Rabbits around a small dam in the 1930s. Credit: M W Mules, CSIRO

European rabbits

These furry aliens infest two-thirds of Australia and are a serious threat to our native species.

Australia's rabbit biocontrol programs using Myxoma virus, since 1950, and Rabbit Calicivirus, since 1995, have drastically reduced pest rabbit numbers at a landscape scale. Keeping their numbers low over long periods of time is essential for Australia's biodiversity and rural industries.

However, there is no status quo in rabbit biocontrol. Calicivirus and rabbits constantly co-evolve. Changes in virus virulence and inbuilt rabbit resistance leads to rabbit numbers increasing.

We are continuing research to find new strategies to help maintain the benefits of biocontrol in the future. Current research aims to help Rabbit Calicivirus stay ahead in the co-evolutionary arms race with its rabbit host. This would protect the gains made by past biocontrol initiatives and keep rabbit numbers below the damage threshold.

Provided by CSIRO
by Olatunji Saliu

ABUJA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Emerging from a key summit in Nigeria Thursday, West African leaders left the door open for a robust dialogue while talking tough about a possible solution to the situation in the Republic of Niger, where the latest coup in the sub-region was recently recorded.

At least eight West African heads of state were present while three others were represented when the second extraordinary summit of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the socio-political impasse in Niger was held in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

Amid a delicate balance of diplomacy and condemnation, the West African nations are united in their rejection of the socio-political crisis in landlocked Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world.

"This is a critical problem we have to solve. As you are aware, ECOWAS has taken many decisions in the past about coup d'etat and the community has always condemned the coups that had happened in many countries in the sub-region ... Now we have a similar situation in Niger. I would like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this," Alassane Ouattara, president of Cote d'Ivoire, told reporters on the sideline of the summit in Abuja.

The regional bloc resolved to activate its standby force in response to the adamant military junta in Niger while underscoring its continued commitment to restoring constitutional order in the country through peaceful means, according to a statement issued at the end of the summit. It also upheld all measures and principles agreed upon by the urgent ECOWAS summit held on July 30.

Ouattara described the situation in Niger as a "terrorist act," saying it was made worse by the unlawful detention of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, members of his family, and the government since late July. The junta had defied an Aug. 6 deadline set by ECOWAS to cede power to Bazoum but rather closed Niger's airspace and swore to defend the country against any foreign attack.

"The decision that we have made, and I hope it would be implemented immediately, is a decision of ECOWAS. All the heads of state think that we have tried dialogue with the putschists," the Ivorian president said, noting the economic and political bloc had already sent a delegation of respectable personalities to talk to the "uncooperative" junta.

Talks are underway to explore avenues for a peaceful resolution, with mediators working to encourage the Niger coup leaders to step down and restore civilian governance. This delicate dance between dialogue and disapproval reflects the region's commitment to stability and the avoidance of bloodshed.

The military in Niger detained Bazoum on July 26 and chose Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of the country's presidential guard, to lead the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, a governing body established by the soldiers after the coup, which has been since exercising legislative and executive authority.

The coup has drawn condemnation from many African countries, which view the unconstitutional change of power as a threat to stability and development on the continent. The international community fears instability in the Sahel region would breed extremism.

In a separate interview in Abuja, Macky Sall, president of Senegal, said ECOWAS had decided it is "no longer business as usual" for military juntas within the region.

"If we had made mistakes in the past, we should try to correct them now. There is always a time to get started. I think it was a mistake not to have taken action previously, but now that we are together on this, we should take action to make sure that it does not continue," Sall said. "I support the action that has been proposed by ECOWAS that we do not accept this coup to stand and that we make every effort to make sure that constitutional order returns to Niger."

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the authority of heads of state and government of ECOWAS, said no option is taken off the table yet for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. This, however, also includes "the use of force as a last resort."

This move by the West African bloc to mobilize the regional standby force came following the refusal of Niger's military junta to cede power. The primary objective of the regional standby force is to restore stability and order while facilitating the return to constitutional governance in Niger, Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, told reporters during a briefing in Abuja Thursday.

As tensions rise and the situation remains fluid, the coming days will be crucial in determining the fate of Niger.

The regional leaders "direct the (ECOWAS) committee of the Chiefs of Defense Staff to activate its standby force with all its elements immediately," and be ready for the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force to restore the constitutional order in Niger, said the bloc's statement Thursday.

The bloc also said it would enforce all sanction measures, in particular border closures and strict travel bans, on all individuals or groups whose actions hinder peaceful efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger.

The ECOWAS comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. 
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A diver scouring an archaeological site at the bottom of Lake Ohrid in Albania, the site of Europe's oldest stilt village.

Beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the "Pearl of the Balkans", scientists have uncovered what may be one of Europe's earliest sedentary communities, and are trying to solve the mystery of why it sheltered behind a fortress of defensive spikes.

A stretch of the Albanian shore of the lake once hosted a settlement of stilt houses some 8,000 years ago, archaeologists believe, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe discovered to date.

Radiocarbon dating from the site puts it at between 6000 and 5800 BC.

"It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions," said Albert Hafner, a professor of archaeology from Switzerland's University of Bern.

"To our knowledge, it is the oldest in Europe," he told AFP.

The most ancient other such villages were discovered in the Italian Alps and date to around 5000 BC, said the expert in European Neolithic lake dwellings.

Hafner and his team of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists have spent the past four years carrying out excavations at Lin on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania.

The settlement is believed to have been home to between 200 and 500, with houses built on stilts above the lake's surface or in areas regularly flooded by rising waters.

Divers at work on the archaeological site at the bottom of Lake Ohrid in Albania.

Fortress of spikes

And it is slowly revealing some astonishing secrets.

During a recent dive, archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting the settlement was fortified with thousands of spiked planks used as defensive barricades.

"To protect themselves in this way, they had to cut down a forest," said Hafner.

But why did the villagers need to build such extensive fortifications to defend themselves? Archaeologists are still searching for an answer to the elusive question.

Researchers estimate that roughly 100,000 spikes were driven into the bottom of the lake off Lin, with Hafner calling the discovery "a real treasure trove for research".

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world and has been around for more than a million years.

Assisted by professional divers, archaeologists have been picking through the bottom of the lake often uncovering fossilised fragments of wood and prized pieces of oak.

Swiss archaeologist Albert Hafner examines ancient wood stumps taken from Lake Ohrid.

'Like a Swiss watch'

Analysis of the tree rings helps the team reconstruct the daily life of the area's inhabitantsproviding "valuable insights into the climatic and environmental conditions" from the period, said Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.

"Oak is like a Swiss watch, very precise, like a calendar," said Hafner.

"In order to understand the structure of this prehistoric site without damaging it, we are conducting very meticulous research, moving very slowly and very carefully," added Anastasi, who heads the team of Albanian researchers.

The lush vegetation at the site makes the work painstaking slow at times.

"Building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, very difficult, and it's important to understand why these people made this choice," said Anastasi.

For the time being, scientists say it is possible to assume that the village relied on agriculture and domesticated livestock for food.

Divers search amoung the reeds at an ancient village site on the Albanian shore of Lake Ohrid.

"We found various seeds, plants and the bones of wild and domesticated animals," said Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor working at the site.

But it will take another two decades for site to be fully explored and studied and for final conclusions to be drawn.

According to Anastasi, each excavation trip yields valuable information, enabling the team to piece together a picture of life along Lake Ohrid's shores thousands of years agofrom the architecture of the dwellings to the structure of their community.

"These are key prehistoric sites that are of interest not only to the region but to the whole of southwest Europe," said Hafner.

 2023 AFP
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Simulated changes of Antarctic climate conditions in response to GHG emissions and solar climate intervention scenarios. a, Antarctic surface air temperature anomalies for RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios as well as for the stratospheric aerosol injection scenarios SRM85-20, -40, -60 and SRM85-80 (dashed lines). SRM45 temperatures (year 2300 and beyond) are depicted by stars next to time series. b, Same as a but for circumantarctic (ice front) Southern Ocean subsurface (400700 m) temperature anomalies. c, Antarctic ice-shelf surface mass-balance anomalies. Note the shift in the time axis at the year 2300 in all panels and the shift in y axis in panel c at 150 Gt. All values are relative to the historical period 19952014 and 20 yr running average. From year 2300 onwards, the forcing from 2270 to 2300 is continuously repeated. Credit: Nature Climate Change (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-023-01738-w

With methods of so-called geoengineering, the climate could theoretically be artificially influenced and cooled. Bernese researchers have now investigated whether it would be possible to prevent the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet by artificially "dimming the sun." The results show that artificial influence does not work without decarbonization and entails high risks.

Is there an emergency solution that could stop climate change? Technical methods that artificially influence the climate have been discussed for some time under the term geoengineering. However, the majority of climate researchers have been critical of them: high risks, incalculable consequences for future generations.

In a study just published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers led by Johannes Sutter of the Climate and Environmental Physics Division (KUP) at the Institute of Physics and the Oeschger Center for Climate Research at the University of Bern investigate the question of whether the melting of ice in West Antarctica could be prevented by artificially influencing solar radiation. The researchers also warn of unforeseeable side effects of geoengineering.

Avoiding a key climate tipping point

"The window of opportunity to limit the global temperature increase to below 2 degrees is closing fast," says ice modeling specialist Johannes Sutter, "so it is possible that technical measures to influence the climate will be seriously considered in the future." That is why, he says, it is necessary to use theoretical models to study the effects and risks of "solar radiation management." Solar Radiation Management (SRM) is a term used to describe various methods of blocking solar radiation in order to make the Earth cooler.

A key reason for the increased interest in geoengineering is the avoidance of tipping points at which the climate could change abruptly and irreversibly. These include the melting of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and the associated meter-high sea level rise. "Observations of ice flows in West Antarctica indicate that we are very close to a so-called tipping point or have already passed it," explains Johannes Sutter, "with our study, we therefore wanted to find out whether a collapse of the ice sheet could theoretically be prevented with solar radiation management."

Artificially dimming the sun

Specifically, Sutter and his colleagues have investigated what would happen if so-called aerosolssuspended particles in a gasintroduced into the stratosphere succeeded in blocking solar radiation from the eartha dimming of the sun, so to speak. So far, research has focused on the global effects of solar radiation management (SRM). The Bern study is the first to use ice model simulations to show what effect such a measure would have on the Antarctic ice sheet.

The study examines the possible development of the ice sheet under different future greenhouse gas scenarios and yields differentiated results: If emissions continue unabated and the SRM occurs in the middle of this century, the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be delayed somewhat, but not prevented. In a medium emissions scenario, SRM deployed by mid-century could prove to be an "effective tool" to slow or even prevent ice sheet collapse.

According to the model calculations, SRM works best when it occurs as early as possible and is combined with ambitious climate mitigation measures. But, the study authors emphasize, "our simulations show that the most effective way to prevent long-term collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is rapid decarbonization." The chances of a longer-term stable ice sheet are greatest if greenhouse gas emissions were reduced to net zero "without delay."

Possible side effects still hardly studied

But how should one imagine a dimming of the sun in practical terms? According to Johannes Sutter, a whole fleet of extremely high-flying airplanes would have to spread millions of tons of aerosols in the stratosphere. However, this technical intervention in the climate would have to be maintained without interruption and for centuries. If the intervention were stopped as long as the greenhouse concentration in the atmosphere remained high, the temperature on earth would quickly rise by several degrees.

The consequences of such a termination shock, Johannes Sutter points out, are only one of the possible dangers posed by SRM. The potential side effects are still insufficiently researched and range from a shift in the monsoon regime to changes in ocean and atmospheric circulation. Ocean acidification would also continue.

Critical voices also caution political and social effects: The use of techniques such as solar dimming could lead to climate protection measures being slowed down or even prevented. Thomas Stocker, professor of climate and environmental physics at the University of Bern and co-author of the study, says, "Geoengineering would be another global experiment and a potentially dangerous human intervention in the climate system, which should in any case be prevented according to Article 2 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change."

More information: J. Sutter et al, Climate intervention on a high-emissions pathway could delay but not prevent West Antarctic Ice Sheet demise, Nature Climate Change (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-023-01738-w Journal information: Nature Climate Change
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Wheat field at the experimental site of Agroscope in Posieux, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. Credit: Valentin Gfeller

Maize roots secrete certain chemicals that affect the quality of soil. In some fields, this effect increases yields of wheat planted subsequent to maize in the same soil by more than 4%. This was proven by researchers from the University of Bern. While the findings from several field experiments show that these effects are highly variable, in the long term they may yet help to make the cultivation of grains more sustainable, without the need for additional fertilizers or pesticides.

Plants produce an abundance of special chemicals. Some of these are released into the soil and influence its quality. This, in turn, affects the next plant to grow in the soil. So far, little research has taken place on the extent to which the excreted chemicals can be used in agriculture to increase productivity.

Recently, however, researchers from the Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) at the University of Bern have conducted field experiments in this area. With their findings published in the scientific journal eLife, the researchers demonstrate that specialized metabolitesfrom the roots of the maize plant can bring about an increase in the yields of subsequently planted wheat under agriculturally realistic conditions.

How maize root chemicals affect wheat

On the basis of earlier studies conducted by researchers at the Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) at the University of Bern, it was known that so-called benzoxazinoidsnatural chemicals which maize plants release through their rootschange the composition of microorganisms in the soil on the roots and therefore influence the growth of the subsequent plants that grow in the soil. The present study investigated whether plant-soil feedbacks of this kind also occur under realistic agricultural conditions.

"Such field experiments are essential to test the transferability of basic research into practice and thus assess the potential agronomic benefit," explains Valentin Gfeller, who worked on the project as a doctoral student at IPS and now works at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL. During a two-year field experiment, two lines of maize were initially grown, only one of which released benzoxazinoids into the soil. Three varieties of winter wheat were then grown on the differently conditioned soils.

On this basis, it was possible to demonstrate that the excretion of benzoxazinoids improves germination and increases tillering, growth and crop yield.

Fewer pests, same quality

In addition to the increased crop, lower levels of infestation by some pests were also observed. "A yield increase of 4% may not sound spectacular, but it is still significant considering how challenging it has become to enhance wheat yields without additional inputs," explained Matthias Erb, Professor for Biotic Interactions at the Institute of Plant Sciences, who led the study together with Klaus Schlappi of the University of Basel.

"Whether effects of this kind actually make a significant difference for overall agricultural productivity and sustainability remains to be seen, however, as yield also depends on many other factors," explains Erb. The study demonstrates the potential of using specialized plant compounds to improve crop productivity through variety-specific rotations.

Within the framework of the "One Health" Interfaculty Research Cooperation (IRC) at the University of Bern (see box), it was also possible to investigate the quality of the wheat at the level of individual chemical elements. Together with the Institute of Geography of the University of Bern and Agroscope, the Swiss center of excellence for agricultural research, it was possible to demonstrate that the increase in harvest due to benzoxazinoids does not have any negative impact on wheat grain quality.

Plant chemicals persist in the soil

To better understand the underlying mechanism, the researchers completed a variety of analyzes of the soil and roots. The benzoxazinoid-producing plants accumulated these chemicals and their degradation products in the soil close to their roots.

Furthermore, in collaboration with the University of Basel, it was confirmed that benzoxazinoids influence the community of bacteria and fungi in and on maize roots. However, soil nutrients were not altered. Benzoxazinoids also proved to be particularly persistent in the soil. The extent to which wheat growth and overall yield are directly or indirectly affected by benzoxazinoids through soil microorganisms will be subject to further investigation.

Soil properties are important

To test the effects of soil properties, together with the University of Basel and Agroscope, the research team conducted another two-year field experiment to investigate how these plant-soil feedbacks from benzoxazinoids act in a more heterogeneous field. The composition of the soil chemistry and microorganisms in the field in question varied considerably. The researchers succeeded in showing that the influence of benzoxazinoids on the growth and resistance of wheat depends on this different composition.

"A better understanding of the effects of soil properties on plant-soil feedbacks is crucial in terms of the future use in sustainable agriculture," explains Valentin Gfeller.

More information: Valentin Gfeller et al, Plant secondary metabolite-dependent plant-soil feedbacks can improve crop yield in the field, eLife (2023). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.84988 Journal information: eLife
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Rescuers evacuate residents from a flooded area following heavy rains in Zhuozhou, in northern China's Hebei province on August 2, 2023.

The death toll from record-breaking rains across northern China rose to at least 78 on Friday, as authorities warned of more flooding and another storm approached the country.

Deaths from flooding in Hebei province rose to 29, state media reported Friday, after Storm Doksuri, which hit mainland China as a typhoon two weeks ago, brought on the most severe rainfall since records began 140 years ago.

Rescuers have continued to search for people swept away by the floods, as another storm, Khanun, approaches over the weekend.

The deluge followed weeks of historic heat, with scientists saying such extreme weather events are being exacerbated by climate change.

Streets in parts of Hebei, which borders the capital, were still caked in mud when AFP visited on Wednesday.

Residents were scrambling to recover waterlogged belongings and clean up damaged homes.

During a visit to affected communities last week, Hebei province party chief Ni Yuefeng said that the area could "reduce the pressure on Beijing's flood control" and serve as a "moat" for the capital.

As of Thursday, 29 people had been killed by the rains across the province, six of whom had been previously listed as missing, state broadcaster CCTV said Friday.

Rescuers wade in a flooded road as they evacuate residents following heavy rains in Zhuozhou, in northern China's Hebei province on August 2, 2023.

Sixteen are still missing.

In Beijing, at least 33 people have died, including two rescue workers, authorities said this week.

And more than a dozen people were killed in northeastern Jilin province after torrential rain last week.

In neighboring Liaoning province, two deaths were reported after the first few days of intense rain in late July.

On Friday, state news agency Xinhua said that another flood control team had been sent to the province, where "the local flooding situation remains severe".

Heavy rains are expected again over the weekend as tropical depression Khanunformerly a typhoonapproaches China.

Emergency alert levels are being held in place across northern China, Xinhua said, with key riverways being closely monitored.

Heavy damage

China's state media has hailed the government's efforts to mitigate damage from the inundations, with coverage focused on tales of mutual aid and selfless officials working tirelessly on rescue efforts.

A man drives along a flooded street in the aftermath of flooding from heavy rains in Zhuozhou city, in northern China's Hebei province on August 9, 2023.

But a week after the waters first swelled, some villagers in Hebei told AFP they did not receive adequate warning from the authorities about when the floods would come.

The Chinese government on Wednesday said it would allocate one billion yuan ($139 million) to compensate residents in areas that had been inundated to control flood levels in downstream areas.

The fund would pay for "damage to crops, animal and poultry farms, commercial forests, houses and agricultural machinery", according to the official Xinhua news agency.

In Hebei alone, officials said almost four million people had been affected by the flooding, with 40,900 houses having collapsed, according to local media.

Hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops have been damaged in the province.

Insurance providers in Beijing are paying out at least 380 million yuan in claims for losses caused by the recent rains, according to Xinhua.

The bad weather is not limited to northern China.

Handbags are hung to dry by a muddy street in the aftermath of flooding after heavy rains in Zhuozhou city, in northern China's Hebei province.

On Friday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said heavy rain was also likely over the weekend in the southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, and the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, according to Xinhua.

At least seven people died in a flash flood southwest of Sichuan's capital Chengdu this week, after an unexpected tide of water washed away a number of tourists on the Longxi River.

And in Gansu, five people were killed when they were swept away by mountain torrents after a rainstorm alert on Thursday, Xinhua said.

 2023 AFP
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El Nino and La Nina climate patterns.

The El Nino weather phenomenon is just warming up, according to scientists, potentially paving the way for higher temperatures and extreme weather events in a year that has already seen plenty of both.

The first El Nino in years began last month, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The naturally occurring warming of temperatures in the Pacific Ocean typically lasts between nine to 12 months, and is expected become stronger towards the end of the year.

Scientists have warned the impacts of El Ninocombined with human-induced global warmingwill likely stretch beyond the weather.

Disease

Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, have been shown to expand their range as temperatures rise.

Scientists warned that El Nino, coming in addition to already dire global warming, could make the situation worse.

"We can see from previous El Ninos that we get increases and outbreaks of a wide range of vector-borne and other infectious diseases around the tropics, in the area that we know is most affected by El Nino," Madeleine Thomson, head of climate impacts at the Wellcome Trust charity, told journalists on Thursday.

The rise stems from two effects of El Nino: unusual rainfall that increases breeding sites for transmitters such as mosquitoes, and higher temperatures that speed up transmission rates of various infectious diseases.

An El Nino in 1998 was linked to a major malaria epidemic in the Kenyan Highlands.

Health

It is difficult to calculate exactly how much El Nino contributes to extreme weather events such as wildfires.

But heat waves themselves pose a significant danger to health.

"It's sometimes named the silent killer because you don't necessarily see it as a threat," said Gregory Wellenius, head of a climate and health center at Boston University.

"But heat waves in fact kill more people than any other type of severe weather events."

More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died due to the heat in Europe alone last summerwhen there was no El Nino.

And July 2023 has now been confirmed as the hottest month in recorded history.

Food security

"In an El Nino year, there are countries where the chances of having a bad harvest increase, for example in South and Southeast Asia," said Walter Baethgen of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

Last month India, the largest rice exporter in the world, restricted its exports due to crop damage from irregular monsoon rains.

According to the researchers, such actions have the potential for dire consequences for countries dependent on the exports, such as Syria and Indonesia, that could face a "triple challenge" during El Nino.

"The rice harvest in those countries may be lower than normal, the rice trade may be more difficult or less accessible in the international market and because of that, the price of rice will be high," said Baethgen.

"This combination of factors pretty rapidly affects the food insecurity problems," he added.

Economic growth

The Panama Canal is central to global trade routes, but last week the passageway announced that low rainfallwhich meteorologists said was exacerbated by El Ninoforced operators to restrict traffic, resulting in an expected $200 million drop in earnings.

The sidelined ships are just one example of how El Nino can hurt the global economy.

A study published in the journal Science in May estimated that past El Ninos cost the global economy more than $4 trillion in the years that followed them.

Impacts from both El Nino and global warming were "projected to cause $84 trillion in 21st-century economic losses", it said.

However researchers at Oxford Economics have argued against these projections, calling El Nino a "new risk, but not a gamechanger".

The costs may remain unclear, but the scientists hope the predictability of El Nino will improve preparedness for the challenges ahead posed by a warming world.

"Preparation is much more effective than emergency responses," Wellenius said.

 2023 AFP
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Trends in WUE eco and changes in driving factor [C a /VPD], as well as their statistical correlations over the different regions during the periods 19822000 and 20012016. (A) the globe, (B) the Northern Hemisphere (NH), and (C) the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Credit: Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adf5041

A team of Earth scientists at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science's Grassland Research Institute, working with colleagues from several institutions in the U.S., has found evidence that the rise in photosynthesis rates around the world caused by the increase of carbon dioxide, has slowed dramatically. In their research, reported in the journal Science, the group measured changes in global photosynthesis rates over the past several decades.

During photosynthesis, plants convert CO 2 and water into carbohydrates and release oxygen, therefore they are considered to be carbon sinks. Prior research has shown that as levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose over the past century, plants have taken advantage of the increase in the gas by speeding up photosynthesis and have been taking more carbon out of the atmosphere.

The net effect has been a brake on global warming. In this new effort, the research team found evidence that rising atmospheric CO 2 has slowed the rate of increase in global photosynthesis because the atmosphere has also grown drier.

To learn more about the global rate of photosynthesis, the researchers studied data collected by ground monitors around the world during the years 1982 to 2016. Such monitors collect environmental statistics, such as the amounts of CO 2 and water in the air.

The team also collected satellite images of regions covered by foliage. They then trained multiple machine-learning applications with the images to find difficult-to-see changes, such as colors of leaves, that reveal rates of photosynthesis.

Next, the team created models with the resulting data to graphically illustrate changes in global synthesis rates from the year 2000 to the present. They then used the models to predict future changes.

The researchers found that as CO 2 levels rose over the last century, global rates of photosynthesis rose along with them accordingly. But starting in the year 2000, things changed. The rise of photosynthesis rates began to slow, and they may stop rising altogether in the near future as the planet grows warmer and drier.

More information: Fei Li et al, Global water use efficiency saturation due to increased vapor pressure deficit, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adf5041 Journal information: Science

 2023 Science X Network
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Indonesian capital Jakarta topped global pollution rankings four days this week.

Indonesia's government on Friday blamed a pollution spike in traffic-clogged capital Jakarta on weather patterns and vehicle emissions after the city topped global rankings four days this week.

Jakarta and its surrounds form a megalopolis of about 30 million people, and its airborne concentration of the tiny particles known as PM2.5 has outpaced other heavily polluted cities such as Riyadh, Doha and Lahore of late.

Activists blame the high levels of toxic smog on clusters of factories and coal-fired power plants near the city, with Greenpeace Indonesia saying there were 10 such power plants within a 100-kilometer (62 miles) radius.

But senior environment and forestry official Sigit Reliantoro told reporters on Friday that the high levels of pollution between June and August, when Jakarta ranked as one of the most polluted cities in the world, were due to seasonal wind changes.

"In June, July and August, there is invariably an escalation in air pollution in Jakarta due to the dry air," Reliantoro said at a press conference.

President Joko Widodo last month warned of a long summer dry season in Indonesia that could stoke dangerous weather conditions and even wildfires across the archipelago nation, blaming it on the El Nino global weather phenomenon.

He said on Monday that the pollution spikes could be managed by building better public transport and shifting some of the economic and industrial burden from Jakarta to Nusantara, the new planned Indonesian capital set to open its doors next year.

This week's spikes in PM2.5 levels were so bad that Jakarta topped Swiss company IQAir's live ranking of air pollution in major cities at least once every day from Monday to Thursday.

According to the government's research, vehicle emissions account for 44 percent of air pollution, followed by the energy industry with 31 percent and manufacturing with 10 percent, Reliantoro said.

He appeared to blame older, more polluting vehicles for high levels of emissions, saying the government had implemented "periodic enforcement" of emissions tests for vehicles but there was not enough help from authorities outside Jakarta.

"Air pollution in the capital cannot be tackled alone by the Jakarta administration, it must involve surrounding areas," he said.

 2023 AFP
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An aerial picture taken of the dried out Santa Olalla lagoon in southern Spain.

The largest permanent lagoon in drought-hit southern Spain's Donana natural park, home of one of Europe's largest wetlands, has completely dried out for the second summer in a row.

A huge patch of cracked white earth has replaced the waters of the Santa Olalla lagoon, which usually houses abundant aquatic life and huge colonies of migrating birds.

The lagoonwhich once covered around 45 hectares (110 acres)has been shrinking in recent years but this is the first time that it has dried out for two consecutive years, according to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Scientists blame the lagoon's disappearance on a prolonged drought combined with the overexploitation of aquifers for farming and tourism.

"Recent years have been very dry, which is not rare for a Mediterranean climate," Carmen Diaz Paniagua, a researcher at the Donana Biological Station, told AFP.

Most lagoons in the reserve are temporary, filling with rainwater in winter and then drying out in the summer but a few contain water year-round, providing an important refuge for animal life.

"The real problem is the mismanagement of the aquifers. We don't even know how much water is being extracted because there are many illegal wells," she added.

The Donana national park is surrounded by a sea of greenhouses and the Matalascanas resort town is located less than a kilometer from the northernmost lagoons of the reserve.

Scientists blame the lagoon's disappearance on a prolonged drought combined with the overexploitation of aquifers for farming and tourism.

"This is not a natural thing happening only because of climate change. It can be reversed, if we can reduce the water extractions the lagoon could resist," said Diaz Paniaga.

Water use restrictions are in place on other parts of Spain but that is not the case in towns near Donana where beaches still operate showers, she added.

The Dona reserve boasts marshlands, scrub woodland and beaches and is home to deer, badgers and endangered species including the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.

But at the Santa Olalla lagoon where wild horses once drank water surrounded by storks and flamingos, they now graze alone on the few tufts of grass they find growing from the cracked earth.

Despite warnings from UNESCO and the European Commission, the conservative regional government of Andalusia where Donana is located is pushing to extend irrigation rights near the park.

A draft law currently making its way through the regional parliament would regularize hundreds of hectares of berry farmland currently irrigated by illegal wells.

Defenders of the proposal argue it will aid those who unfairly missed out during a previous regularization of farms in the area put in place in 2014 under a Socialist government.

"The water management policy is really not conducive to the conservation of Donana's lagoons," said Diaz Paniagua.

 2023 AFP
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Wildfires destroyed the Hawaiian tourist town of Lahaina on Aug. 8 and 9, 2023, leaving many of its roughly 13,000 residents homeless. Fires also burned in other areas on Maui, Hawaii's second-largest island, and its Big Island. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration on Aug. 10, which authorizes federal aid for communities in harm's way.

The Conversation asked Ivis Garcia, an urban planner who has researched disaster recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, to explain how the U.S. government responds to disasters like these and how Maui's geography could interfere with aid delivery.

Is it harder for aid to reach an island than the US mainland?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which delivers emergency assistance after disasters, has to deal with big transportation challenges in cases like this. Initially, FEMA will be focused on bringing food, generators, cots, meals and anything else people need, and that aid will be arriving on planes and boats rather than by road.

Later, FEMA might bring temporary homesoften called trailersbut only if there's enough suitable land to accommodate them. There were not a lot of FEMA-supplied trailers in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017. On islands, like Maui, there's usually not a lot of room to set up trailer parks, whether or not a disaster has just occurred.

Likewise, it will be harder to deploy emergency personnel. Aid workers will have more trouble getting to Maui than they would have arriving in North Carolina, for example. And there could be few places for them to stay. It's not clear if that's going to be a problem on Maui, where there were about 26,000 hotel rooms before the wildfires broke out.

Everything about the immediate response to a disaster in places like Hawaii and Puerto Rico is more expensive than on the mainland. That includes food, shelter and transportation. You can't just drive there or go rent a car when you arrive. There's typically little public transportation available, and there are few roads even if an aid worker can obtain a vehicle.

When aid does arrive by boat, unloading it can be hard and take a long time. The disaster may have damaged the local harbors and ports, and the harbors in places like Lahaina are usually small and not suited for cargo. Reports don't indicate that Kahului, Maui's cargo port, was damaged.

Hawaii is closer to California than Japan but thousands of miles away from both places. Because of U.S. laws, all government-paid assistance needs to originate in the United States. The same is largely true as well for private aid because of the Jones Act, a 1920 law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported by vessels that belong to Americans and are primarily U.S.-operated.

The government has the power to issue a waiver of the Jones Act during disasters. Former President Donald Trump issued, a 10-day waiver after Hurricane Maria.

Some members of Congress have sought for years to repeal the Jones Act, at least for shipping to remote places like Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and Puerto Rico, without success.

What can Maui residents expect from FEMA?

Residents of a disaster area may qualify for FEMA's critical needs assistanceone-time payment that in recent disasters has been for $700.

On top of emergency aid, food and clothing, FEMA will help residents apply for housing aid as needed. FEMA's housing aid rarely exceeds $35,000; other government agencies sometimes provide further funding.

FEMA usually sets up an assistance center for this, often in coordination with local nonprofits. This process could take several months to get underway, and FEMA also accepts online applications from individuals. In the meantime, displaced residents may get money or vouchers to cover short-term hotel stays.

Lodging costs are very high on Maui, even in normal circumstances. So it's likely that many local residents will find it nearly impossible to cover their short-term housing costs with their FEMA assistance. That means large numbers of displaced people are likely to relocate to another Hawaiian island or another state with cheaper housing and hotels. Most likely, many of them won't return.

That's what happened in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Researchers have estimated that of the nearly 400,000 people who left in 2017 and 2018 after Maria, maybe 50,000 had returned by 2019. It's worth noting that regardless of whether one resides in Maui or elsewhere, FEMA only provides housing support for up to 18 months.

Residents at that point might be making their own houses habitable again. Often, nonprofits pitch in with this work. If residents were homeowners, rather than renters, and had insurance, they'll eventually get money from their policies to rebuild or, depending on state laws, relocate.

FEMA's housing aid primarily benefits homeowners, and there's evidence that low-income people can struggle to get the housing help they need from the agency. Renters sometimes qualify for FEMA grants to cover losses not insured by an insurance policy, such as furniture and other personal belongings.

Renters, business owners, nonprofits and homeowners located in disaster areas can also apply for Small Business Administration disaster loans.

What about tourism?

There were many tourists in Puerto Rico who got stranded after Maria. Their hotels were damaged, and they were evacuated, along with local residents, to shelters. That's happening in Hawaii now, with the wildfires.

Once those tourists leave, the hotels damaged by wildfire will need to rebuild before the local tourism industry can recover. Many of the people who work in smaller tourism operations will be busy building their own homes before they can focus again on restoring their businesses.

Larger hotels that were damaged, such as the historic Best Western Pioneer Inn, will probably wait for their insurance policies to pay out before rebuilding.

In Puerto Rico, which like Hawaii depends heavily on the revenue it gets as a popular travel destination, it took at least two years for tourism to bounce back because the island's recovery was so slow and complex.

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Bred in captivity: The lamb vulture population has increased in recent decades thanks to successful breeding programs. Credit: Sara Asu Schroer

Vultures are often associated with death, but some vulture species are themselves at risk of extinction. What can their fate tell us about the interaction between humans and the natural world in our time?

When vulture populations in India suddenly started collapsing at the turn of the millennium, the consequences were far-reaching and unforeseen. Wild dogs took over the vultures' job of eating carrion, the dog population exploded, and there was a marked increase in the number of people being bitten by dogs and contracting rabies.

A group of researchers from the University of Bath in the U.K. and the Institute of Economic Growth in India concluded that the loss of vultures cost India over USD$30 billion, according to the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Nringsliv (dn.no).

"Never before have humans had such a strong influence on the life on earth as in our current era. We are in the middle of what many people are calling the 'sixth extinction,'" explains Sara Asu Schroer.

Unlike the previous five major mass extinctions that slowly, occurred over millions of years, in the different geological eras, the sixth extinction, which is being caused by human activity, is taking place over a matter of a few centuries.

"It is important to understand that when species, such as vultures, disappear from ecosystems, it can have vast and unforeseen consequences, also for us humans," Schroer says.

Dramatic decline in animal populations

Schroer is head of the research project Living with Vultures in the Sixth Extinction, where she explores the complex links between humans and vultures, and what is being done to preserve them in Europe.

The world's animal populations have plummeted by 69% since 1970, according to WWF's 2022 Living Planet report.

Among those in peril are the world's vulture populations, which have completely died out in several places.

The populations in Asia and Africa are the worst affected, while Europe is described as one of the last vulture strongholdsthanks in large part to various vulture conservation initiatives.

"Vultures are scavengers that live off the carcasses of wild and domestic animals. The fact that they live in such close interaction with humans and domestic animals makes them an interesting case for investigating how the relationship between humans and wild animals is affected by the fact that landscapes are increasingly being shaped by human activities," says Schroer.

Vultures also act as a "sentinel species." This means that the health of vultures is an indicator of the health of the ecosystem as a whole.

In her research, Schroer wants to understand the ideas, values and motivations of the people involved in vulture management and conservation measures.

"Since climate change and the environmental crises we are currently facing are anthropogenic, it is very important to include perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities in work to understandand try to resolveenvironmental problems," she points out.

Successful reintroduction of the bearded vulture in the Alps

There are over 20 species of vultures in the world, including condors, which only live in North and South America. Europe is home to four native breeding vulture speciesthe Egyptian vulture, griffon vulture, cinereous vulture and bearded vulture.

So far, Schroer's research has primarily focused on the management of bearded vultures and griffon vultures.

Bearded vultures live in remote mountain areas such as the Alps and the Pyrenees, where they feed on carrion. Griffon vultures breed in large colonies, which can consist of up to hundreds of birds, and often range over open landscapes.

"Because griffon vultures occur in large groups and live near inhabited areas, they are far more visible than bearded vultures. Both have been hunted and have become endangered in most of their habitats in the past," says Schroer.

Since the late 1970s, there have been several breeding and reintroduction programs in Europe aimed at bringing the birds back to places where they have died out.

"The rewilding of bearded vultures in the Alps is an iconic example of the successful reintroduction of a species into the wild by releasing birds bred in captivity. However, breeding vultures in captivity is no easy task. The birds have a relatively long period of maturation, they may not want to mate with their allocated breeding partner, and they produce only one or two chicks a year. So breeding takes a lot of patience and determination," Schroer explains.

What is threatening vultures?

Historically, vultures have often been viewed as a threat by hunters and farmers, and have been hunted, both legally and illegally. In the 1970s, Europe started introducing more stringent environmental legislation, which has benefited vultures through, among other things, a ban on hunting. More recently, however, new threats have started to emerge.

"A major problem in Europe is indirect poisoning through vultures feeding on poisoned carcasses that have been left out to kill predators such as wolves. Other common threats are veterinary drugs, toxins in the environment and lead ammunition," says Schroer.

The reason why the vulture population in India suddenly collapsed was that farmers started giving the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac to livestock in the 1990s. The vultures could not tolerate the medicine they ingested when they ate the carcasses and died shortly afterwards.

"Another big problemand not just for vultures, but for birdlife in generalis the rapidly evolving renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind turbines and cables," says Schroer.

Human and animal health are interconnected

Land-use change, resulting in habitat destruction, is the main driver of biodiversity loss today. One consequence of wild animals losing and being driven from their natural habitats is that they start living closer to humans.

"This means that the health of humans and domesticated animals, and the health of wild animals, are becoming more closely interlinked. A good example of this is the correlation between the outbreak of mad cow disease and the decline of the vulture populations in Europe," says Schroer.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more commonly known as mad cow disease, was first detected in the U.K. in the mid-1980s. BSE developed as a result of the use of ground offal and bones of sheep and other domestic animals in cattle feed.

Following the BSE outbreak, a ban was introduced on farmers leaving animal carcasses out, as they might be a source of infection.

No one thought about the consequences of this ban for vultures, and they began to starve. Some farmers even claimed that hungry vultures started attacking their livestock.

After pressure from, among others, conservation organizations, the legislation was amended, such that farmers could leave carcasses out, in compliance with special rules. In addition, feeding stations, known as "vulture restaurants," were also established.

"I think this example illustrates how we must learn to recognize that everything is connected to everything else in life. It is not possible to find sustainable ways of living if we think in isolated categories and address issues such as public health and environmental protection, for example, separately. COVID-19 is a good example of this. We humans are not outside the ecosystem, we are part of it," says Schroer.

Seabirds moving to the city

Schroer claims that studying the coexistence of vultures and humans in Europe up close provides useful knowledge about a number of general problems of our time.

"For example, in Norway we are seeing an alarming decline in seabird numbers."

Lack of food, which in turn can be linked to climate change and overfishing, are believed to be the main cause. As a result, kittiwakes are moving into urban areas. They use rooftops like cliffs and make their nests there.

"This is leading to new conflicts and challenges in human-dominated environments," says Schroer.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians in Sudan said they negotiated the way for colleagues to deliver relief on Friday into an extremely challenging area of the capital city Khartoum.

"This (Friday) morning, trucks carrying some 460 tons of supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) reached Jabal Awlia in greater Khartoum, one of the areas hardest hit by the fighting," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The convoy was facilitated by OCHA, which engaged with the parties to the conflict to ensure that the trucks could safely reach their destination.

Since late May, WFP has assisted more than 150,000 people in the greater Khartoum area, the humanitarians said. The agency continues to scale up assistance to people fleeing Sudan's capital to neighboring states such as Northern and River Nile states.

The humanitarians pointed out that WFP delivered food assistance in West Darfur State last week to around 15,400 people.

The office said western Darfur region also has proved very challenging because of the fighting, which broke out on April 15 between two military factions.

"Once again, we appeal to all parties to provide safe and unconditional humanitarian access to all parts of Sudan, including other hard-to-reach areas such as South Kordofan, and to all parts of Darfur, in particular North Darfur," OCHA said. 
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A family of Spectral Tarsiers captured on a towering ficus tree in Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock

Wallacea is a fascinating region of both land and sea. Spanning approximately 338,000 square kilometers within Indonesia, it is home to a rich diversity of animals and plants, with hybrid species from both Asia and Australia/Papua regions.

There you will find hundreds of bird species, small to medium-sized mammals, primates, reptiles, and various plantssome of which are unique and found nowhere else on Earth.

Take a look at incredible species such as the komodo dragon, anoa, tarsier, babirusa, and giant bees. These animals are native to the scattered islands of Wallacea. That's before you even start to explore Wallacea's marine wonders as a part of the Coral Triangle, an area well known for its extraordinary marine biodiversity.

I have been researching this unique region of Earth for decadesand I am deeply concerned about how increasing human activities from mining, agriculture and infrastructure development threaten its delicate ecosystems.

How the region got its name

Wallacea stretches from the islands of Lombok and Sulawesi in the west to the Maluku islands in the east. Its northern boundary begins at the Talaud Islands (North Sulawesi) and reaches down to Rote Ndao Regency in the southin East Nusa Tenggara Province, near Australia. This imaginary line defining its boundaries is known as the "Wallacea line."

Alfred Russel Wallace, the British naturalist, was the first western scientist to explore the biodiversity in this region. He documented his journey alongside hundreds of assistants through his magnum opus "The Malay Archipelago." This year marks the celebration of 200 years since Wallace's birth in January 1823.

Two centuries have passed since Wallace's work, and the Wallacea region has drastically changed from what the naturalist once observed.

Babirusa, a wild pig native to Sulawesis rainforests in Wallacea region, use fights to catch the attention of females. Credit: Meldy Tamenge/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The impact of global demand for palm oil and batteries

For the past four decades, I've conducted numerous studies in the Wallacea region. I explore the lives of primates and the tiniest of mammals, the tarsiers, scattered across both large and small islands.

Back then, the forests around Sulawesi, Maluku, and the surrounding islands were relatively untouched. During that time, deforestation was more prevalent in Sumatra and Kalimantan. It occurred primarily due to foreign investments in Indonesia for forest logging concessions and the establishment of oil palm plantations.

However, eventually, Wallacea was also affected.

From palm oil plantations in West Sulawesi to land clearing and development, changes driven by human activities continue to flourish in the region.

My research has found Sulawesi lost approximately 10.89% of its forests during the period from 2000 to 2017equivalent to around 2.07 million hectares.

During that time, West Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi experienced the highest rates of deforestation, losing both 13.41% and 13.37% of the forest cover.

Over the past ten years, numerous companies have flocked to small islands in Maluku and around Sulawesi. These companies have cleared forests and other ecosystems to make way for palm oil, cocoa and chocolate plantations.

Map of Wallacea region in Indonesia. Credit: Conservation International/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Nickel mining also became a prevalent industrial activity in these areas, due to growing demand for nickels as a raw material for electric vehicle batteries. Wallacea is home to the world's largest reserve of nickel.

While nickel mining has been taking place for many decades, it used to be limited to specific regions, such as the eastern part of South Sulawesi Province.

Nowadays, miners are excavating lands in many parts of Sulawesi and its neighboring islands without adequate environmental measures. Some miners even dispose of their tailingswaste materials leftover after mininginto the ocean.

Tarsiers, birds and reefs are all at risk

Alongside mining and plantations, the Wallacea is buzzing with National Strategic Projectsinfrastructure projects prioritized by the Indonesian government.

There are more than 40 infrastructure projects underway, including dams, roads, railway systems, oil and gas initiatives, and many others.

The pace of development is truly striking and its effects to environment is so apparent.

In the ocean, valuable ecosystems like coral reefs have suffered extensive damage as a result of overfishing and destructive practices.

A surviving area of ancient native trees, Dracontomelon Mangiferum, in Ranjuri forests, Sigi, Central Sulawesi Province. Forests like these in some parts of Wallacea have been heavily logged. Credit: Basri Marzuki/Antara

On land, massive deforestation has caused a reduction in bird species diversity as well as put monkey and tarsier populations at risk due to massive deforestation. Furthermore, deforestation has contributed to a decline in plant biodiversity.

Working together for a better future

The world must pay careful attention to the future of the ecosystems in Wallacea. Without serious conservation efforts, millions of hectares of forests in this region could transform into desolate wastelands. The vibrant coral reef ecosystems may become underwater graveyards, abandoned by marine life.

Apart from curbing deforestation, Indonesia and the world must work together to tackle climate change, which triggers rising sea levels that can put the low-lying islands of Wallacea at risk of submergence.

To ensure the future of Wallacea, all stakeholdersincluding the Indonesian government, scientists, mining and plantation companies, tourism industries and local communitiesmust collaborate.

Aiming to facilitate the collaboration, we are organizing the 2023 Wallacea Science Symposium in mid-August in Makassar, South Sulawesi Province.

This symposium has two main goals: to highlight the wonders and distinctiveness of Wallacea, and to facilitate strategic planning for sustainable development to protect this amazing ecosystem. We're hoping this event grabs more public interest and gets everyone working together to come up with fresh ideas for keeping it all preserved.

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Doing business in Russia. Credit: Andrey Sayfutdinov/Shutterstock

In Russia this summer, you can still enjoy a Cornetto, but you can forget about eating a Tunnock's tea cake or a Big Mac. This is because Cornetto's UK-headquartered parent company, Unilever, is still operating in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, alongside many other western firms such as PepsiCo.

While lots of firms, including McDonald's and the Scottish confectionery maker Tunnock's, have cut business ties with the country since the war started, the Kyiv School of Economics estimates western companies still operating in Russia made over US$213.9 billion (168.2 billion) in revenues in 2022.

The resulting US$3.5 billion in taxes on profits paid to Russia is only a small part of their contribution to the war: the income taxes and social contributions of their employees, as well as the VAT on their sales, feed into the state's budget. The sense of normality they give to Russian citizens also arguably fosters support for the invasion of Ukraine.

Companies still doing business in Russia also hurt the citizens of the countries they come from. By essentially supporting the war, they share responsibility for higher energy prices, for example. They also increase the cost on western taxpayers of supporting the defense of Ukraine.

Like many western companies that have stayed in Russia, PepsiCo and Unilever (Cornetto's parent company) have defended the decision by claiming they provide essentials and need to stay for humanitarian reasons.

In addition to detailing donations made to Ukrainian refugees, the statement from PepsiCo said the company "must stay true to the humanitarian aspect" of its business as a food and beverage company by continuing to offer "daily essentials" in Russia "such as milk and other dairy offerings, baby formula and baby food." PepsiCo pointed out it also continues "to support the livelihoods of our 20,000 Russian associates and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers in our supply chain."

Unilever said in a statement earlier this year that, while it's still selling products in Russia, it stopped imports and exports, all media and advertising spend and other capital flows into and out of Russia in March 2022. It's not "trying to protect or manage" its business in Russia, the company said, but "exiting is not straightforward."

Indeed, many of those who provide non-necessary items say they cannot leave because the Russian government would seize their assets and intellectual property if they do.

But every time a business makes the choice to leave Russia or has their assets seized, the ones who stay face lower competition, and potentially make even more profit. As of today, the only price they pay for staying is a tarnished reputation in western countries.

A tax on the cost of war

But there is a way to make foreign companies pay the cost they impose on the world, while acknowledging the impossibility of making them completely leave Russia.

In fact, western governments have already designed the two main tools necessary. What it would take is a coalition of sanctioning countries and a mechanism that's already being used in other regulations: the "Pillar 2" OECD strategy on taxation, due to come into force next year, as well as the EU's new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, due to come into force in October 2023.

The coalition of sanctioning countries must first implement a tax on a western company's Russian revenues. This is public information available in company financial reportsother organizations already track this information. The tax would cover the company's sales, based on the goods and services bought by people in Russia. But the tax would be collected by the country in which the company is headquartered.

In the case of sales of Cornetto ice creams, for example, Unilever is the parent company and is based in the UK. So the UK government would have the first option to tax Unilever, but if it chose not to, any other country in the coalition could do so instead.

That would mean a country has nothing to gain from protecting its national businesses. If the UK does not tax Cornetto sales in Russia, Unilever could be taxed by the EU or US and the proceeds would go into their government coffers instead.

The OECD's Pillar 2 tax agreement uses this principle in its aim to end the practice of fictionally locating profit in tax havens. By the end of this year, countries have committed to charge at least 15% in profit tax to the largest multinational companies in the EU and in the UK.

If some part of a multinational's profits is not taxed abroad, the country in which the company is headquartered can tax extra, up to the 15% limit. And if that country does not impose the extra charge, other countries in which the firm is active can collect the unpaid tax.

What about non-western companies?

Charging the tax on western companies only would disadvantage them in global markets. It may also make it even more profitable for other countries to trade with Russia. To avoid such "leakage", non-western companies who trade with the west and continue to do business with Russia should also be made liable for the tax.

This amounts to a form of extra-territorial trade sanction. The approach is simple: if a company wants to do business with the west, it must pay a fine for any trade in Russia. The US already does something much stricter to companies trading with Iran or Cuba. French bank Societe Generale paid US$1.3 billion to the US government in 2018 as a punishment for providing financial services in Cuba.

Taxing foreign companies to level competition is very similar to a border adjustment mechanism for polluting industries. This is what the EU will begin to do in 2026 under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It will charge a carbon tax on certain products or activities, starting with the most energy-intensive industries such as cement, iron and steel production, unless a company can prove it has already paid the equivalent at home.

Global public opinion has turned against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. Just like with global tax evasion and climate change, most countries understand that it is in everyone's interest that a nuclear power is not allowed to invade other countries with no consequence.

The tools the world has developed to cooperate on international taxation and carbon emissions could now be used to take definitive action on economic sanctions and make the war in Ukraine much more difficult for Russia to sustain.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ALBANY  A former nurse practitioner from Fort Ann has admitted to prescribing drugs for no legitimate medical purpose.

Danielle Simonson, 51, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Albany on Friday to distributing controlled substances outside of the course of professional practice.

Simonson admitted that from at least January 2020 through October 2022, she unlawfully prescribed controlled substances including prescriptions for the opioids hydrocodone and oxycodone, benzodiazepines (clonazepam, diazepam, and lorazepam), and amphetamine (e.g. Adderall), according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

For instance, Simonson admitted that she issued a total of 63 oxycodone prescriptions to two residents of Suffolk County without treating either of them for a medical condition. The Suffolk County residents usually paid Simonson by mailing her packages of cash.

In the civil settlement agreement, Simonson admitted that she improperly prescribed controlled substances to 105 patients (including the 54 listed in her criminal plea agreement), often without ever examining patients and maintaining medical records justifying her decision to prescribe controlled substances. Simonson agreed to pay $200,000 to settle claims that the United States could have brought against her pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act.

In the criminal case, sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15 before United States District Judge Anne Nardacci. Simonson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, as well as up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.

Simonsons plea agreement requires that she immediately surrender her nurse practitioner and nursing licenses to the State of New York.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Prosecutors say the off-duty Vermont sheriffs deputy charged in a shootout in downtown Saratoga Springs last November was the aggressor, alleging that he had kicked a man without provocation moments before getting into a separate gunfight with three other men. First Assistant District Attorney Alan Poremba said in court documents filed Aug. 4 that Caselnova was the aggressor. The case is being heard in Saratoga County Court.

Poremba said Caselnova and his girlfriend, Cali Brown, spent the evening in downtown Saratoga Springs at four different bars. They arrived at the last one just after 1 a.m. and had been arguing. The bouncer and manager at the bar testified that Caselnova was behaving in an aggressive manner and they were asked to leave.

The argument continues off and on along Caroline Street and Broadway at around 3 a.m. Prosecutors allege that Caselnova noticed a man dancing or moving near him.

With absolutely zero provocation, defendant then moved toward the man, kicked him directly in the groin and then pushed him, Poremba wrote. Caselnova told the grand jury that he did not recall that incident.

In the filing, Poremba said that video footage and witnesses showed that Caselnova continued arguing with his girlfriend.

At one point, somebody from Colons group of friends tells the couple to take the argument down the street. Caselnova claimed that he thought he heard someone say the word bitch in that exchange.

Although the exact words exchanged are unclear, Poremba said what is not in dispute is that the remarks were not a threat, yet Caselnova placed his right hand on his holster and said: Ill put 5 against one motherfr, the prosecution alleges in court documents. Brown allegedly strikes Colon with her hand. Colon tries to punch Caselnova but misses and falls to the ground. Colons gun falls out of his pocket.

He told police he carries a gun because, as a barber, he deals mostly in cash. He kept the gun in his car for the evening but had just gotten it out when he went to warm up the car. He didnt want to leave the gun inside the unlocked car, he told police.

Castillo punches Caselnova twice and Wright slaps him twice. They turned to retreat, and Caselnova drew his gun and aimed it in their direction.

Caselnova shouted, Police, police get on the ground.

Poremba writes: In less than two seconds following the defendants shouts, both men appear to fire their guns simultaneously at each other.

Prosecutors said that Caselnovas gun was loaded with 12 or 13 rounds and he had another 15-round magazine in his possession.

Saratoga Springs police officers arrive and order Caselnova to drop the gun no less than eight times. Caselnova identifies himself as a police officer and then allegedly fires the one remaining round in the chamber in their direction.

Caselnova testified at the grand jury that he is a part-time deputy with the Rutland County Vermont Sheriffs Department and was working 16 to 20 hours per week, primarily in court security.

He stated that he did not remember the events outlined on video. Caselnovas blood alcohol concentration was 0.13%, according to court documents.

Caselnovas attorneys have criticized the prosecution for not charging the other people involved in the incident with more severe crimes. Colon, Darius Wright and Christopher Castillo have been charged with misdemeanor attempted assault charges in Saratoga Springs City Court. The defense attorneys have said that the other three should be charged with gang assault because they approached Caselnova. Caselnova was pushed up against the hood of the car and being punched in the head.

Caselnovas attorneys have also claimed in motions that he was justified in firing his weapon in self-defense to prevent a robbery and potential kidnapping, claiming that the group was shouting run his pockets and get the girl. However, prosecutors said that during the grand jury Caselnova testified that he never saw a firearm prior to firing his own or that he feared for his life or his girlfriends.

The defense attorneys also have argued that the grand jury process was rushed as one of the jurors had sent a note to the commissioner of jurors saying they felt pressure to make a decision on a complex case. Poremba said in his filing that the ADAs asked jurors if they had any questions at multiple stages in the proceedings and said that they would review laws as many times as they needed. There was no pressure to hit a deadline.

The defense counsel also said that the grand jurors were not presented any evidence of a purported argument that Colons group had at another bar earlier in the evening.

Poremba said the matter was not relevant and took issue with defense attorney Jeffrey Shapiros referring to Colons gang of friends multiple times in his motion, saying it was not only misleading but designed to be inflammatory.

A conference is scheduled for Aug. 25 in Saratoga County Court.
SINGAPORE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has issued the writ of presidential election, setting the nomination day on Aug. 22, according to a statement released by the country's Elections Department on Friday.

The presidential polls will fall on September 1, if more than one candidate qualifies to run for presidency, said the statement.

Tan Meng Dui, chief executive officer of the Housing and Development Board, will serve as the returning officer.

Four potential candidates, including former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, entrepreneur George Goh, senior investor Ng Kok Song, and former income chief of the National Trades Union Congress Tan Kin Lian, have launched bids for the post, according to local media.

Incumbent President Halimah Yacob will end her six-year term on September 13. 
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  After two centuries managing residential care facilities, Cape May County may be getting out of the nursing home business, with a request for proposals for a contractor to operate the Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Companies have until Sept. 13 to submit proposals to operate the facility. The Board of County Commissioners could take action this fall, with the potential for a new operator at the start of next year. The center operates at an annual deficit.

The county will carefully evaluate all proposals and, if justified by the proposals received, issue a contract within 60 days, which would most likely be at the Oct. 24 commissioner meeting, said Jeffery Lindsay, the county counsel. The transition would be effective Jan. 1, 2024.

The facility has 180 beds, according to information from the New Jersey Department of Health. Lindsay said the residents of the facility will receive the same care and will be able to remain at Crest Haven.

The countys focus during this process and through any transition that might occur is with the residents and employees. We intend to move ahead very carefully and thoughtfully, Lindsay said. The RFP requires any new operator to continue providing the same care and services to all residents. No resident will be displaced or receive a disruption in the care they receive. Further, the county will ensure that any new operator has strict controls that safeguard the quality of care of our residents.

At least 32 of the employees at the center will remain with the county, Lindsay said. They include clerical, housekeeping and maintenance staff.

The county wants to limit the impact of any layoffs, and these titles would have bumping rights that impact employees holding the same titles in other departments, Lindsay said. The RFP includes a commitment from any new operator to hire the employees not being retained by the county, and to provide them with retirement savings plans and health benefits coverage.

Len Desiderio, director of the Board of County Commissioners, confirmed the RFP on Thursday but said any questions should go to Linday. Jeffrey Pierson, the commissioner who has oversight of Crest Haven, did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Crest Haven Director Mark Stratoti.

Improvements planned at Cape May County Veterans Cemetery CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  Work is set to begin this fall on improvements to the Cape May County

Whether the move will save money wont be known until proposals are in, Lindsay said. He said operations costs are up.

The nursing home has operated at a deficit of several million dollars for many years now, and we continue to experience a rise in operating costs, Lindsay said. Further, the states recent push towards the home-health model, federal and state regulations for operating facilities, and the willingness of private facilities to accept an increased number of Medicaid residents have presented significant challenges for the county to operate Crest Haven.

The countys budget for 2023 envisions salaries and wages at the center to come in at $8 million, plus $3.78 million in other operating expenses and $83,000 in new equipment. Thats somewhat offset by an expected $8 million in revenue this year. In 2022, the facility brought in $9.56 million, according to the posted county budget.

Residents of the long-term nursing and rehabilitation facility can use Medicare, Medicaid and insurance. The website does not list a daily fee but states it includes accommodation, meals, nursing and nurse aid care, activities and other amenities.

The county dedicated Crest Haven in 1990, the third care facility operated by the county since it constructed an almshouse in 1821. Later, according to a history of Crest Haven posted by Cape May County, a more modern facility was completed. Scarcity delayed the work during World War I and World War II, after which the Cape May County Welfare Home opened in 1953, and was expanded less than a decade later.

By 1987, the county decided a new facility was needed, and work began on Crest Haven Nursing Home. Former Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton said at the time that there is a definite need to protect our low-income elderly residents and provide care for them within the county, so they can remain close to their families, as quoted in the county history.

The facility continued to expand, with the addition of a rehabilitation program and a palliative care unit.
ATLANTIC CITY  The first recipients of the Mayor Marty Small Sr. Scholarship received their $10,000 checks in a ceremony Wednesday at City Hall.

They were oversized checks, however. The actual funds will be sent in two payments to the colleges they will attend, city officials have said.

One hundred of the scholarships are being given to Atlantic City High School seniors or graduates this year, funded by $3 million in American Rescue Plan funds that will cover the scholarships for a total of three years.

We wish you the best of luck on your journey, Small told the students. Its not easy, but dont ever give up. Theres nothing that you cant overcome, trust me. Im proud of each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart.

Small announced the scholarship in May.

Small is a graduate of the high school, and his wife, LaQuetta Small, is the superintendent of the citys school district.

Fifty of the selected students are graduating high school seniors, and the other 50 are city high school graduates who are rising sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in a college, according to the city.

Applications for the next 100 scholarships are expected to be released in early 2024. The Scholarship Committee formed by Mayor Small will have regular meetings this fall to address scholarship criteria and other potential adjustments, officials said.

GALLERY: Atlantic City mayor presents scholarships
OCEAN CITY  Costumed kids and families in decorated floats, strollers and wagons paraded down the Boardwalk on Thursday morning for the city's 113th annual Baby Parade.

The adorable scene garnered crowds along the route from Sixth Street to 12th Street. About 60 families participated in the parade, according to organizers.

Kids were dressed as everything from fictional characters to lifeguards to farmers.

Theresa and James Hammerstedt celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Ocean City Beach Patrol with their 7-month-old lifeguard, James.

The family has a long tradition in Ocean City and the parade. James Hammerstedt said his great-grandfather was an Ocean City lifeguard, and many other relatives have been lifeguards over the years.

Hammerstedt said he also participated in the parade as a child, dressed as a little lifeguard, for the 100th anniversary of the Beach Patrol.

"The best part is getting the family all together," he said.

Nicole and Dan Huber, of Mays Landing, were excited to walk in the parade for the first time with their 8-month-old "Munchkin" Avery and their Dunkin'-themed wagon.

Ocean City announces winners of Pamper Scamper baby race More than 40 infants and toddlers raced Tuesday in the annual Ocean City Pamper Scamper on the beach next to Gillian's Wonderland Pier.

"It's just a nice family experience. We get to dress up and be a little goofy, and we love it," Dan Huber said.

Jeff Labriola, of Clifton, Passaic County, pushed his daughter Grace's float, which was decked out with Mickey Mouse balloons and a cutout of the Magic Kingdom for Disney's 100th anniversary.

Grace, 3, helped decorate the float with drawings of Mickey and Minnie. This was her third time participating in the parade.

"It's just a great family tradition. Ocean City has such great family traditions that create great memories," Labriola said.

Luca Chmielewski, 6, sat on a beach chair on his beach-day themed float, surrounded by empty Manco & Manco pizza boxes, a bucket full of Wawa hoagie wrappers and a crumpled Doritos bag. Sea gulls hung above his head from an umbrella.

"We ate a lot of pizza and hoagies for this. I'd say it took the month of July. The family was eating like crazy," said Ken Luciani, Luca's grandfather.

Luciani, of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, said his family has been visiting Ocean City for more than 20 years.

"We used to come up and watch the parade, and we thought maybe one day the grandkids would be able to participate," Luciani said. This was their fifth year participating.

"We have fun with it and enjoy coming up with a theme. We get ideas from all the family members," he said.

Elliot Tate Sullivan, 14 months, was dressed as a blueberry in his float, "Elliot's Blueberry Farm."

Elliot's mother, Ashley Jones Pierce, said blueberries are his favorite food.

"It's a tradition, we get together as a family to work on it, and we try to be creative about it," Pierce said.

GALLERY: Ocean City Baby Parade
OCEAN CITY  City Council on Thursday unanimously supported Dave Winslow, a former Board of Education member and the longtime organizer of the Night in Venice boat parade, to fill Bob Barrs position representing the citys 4th Ward.

Barr resigned the seat to join the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, filling the unexpired term of E. Marie Hayes, who in turn resigned to serve as the county surrogate.

Joined by his wife, Kathleen, Winslow immediately took the oath of office and a seat at the council meeting. Because of the timing of the appointment, to keep the job, Winslow will have to run in the general election in November and, if successful there, run again in the citys spring nonpartisan election, when all four ward council seats are up for a vote.

Winslow, 69, retired in January. Most recently, he was a vice president for human resources working in the hospitality industry.

Originally from Broomall, Pennsylvania, he moved to Ocean City in 1977, where his three sons attended Ocean City schools.

This was always home. No matter where I was, I commuted back to Ocean City every weekend, Winslow said.

The city honored Barrs work over the past seven years on council. Mayor Jay Gillian said as a member of county government, the two may even see more of each other.

Youre not getting rid of any of us, Gillian said.

Reading a resolution honoring Barr, Gillian cited Barrs diagnosis with cerebral palsy, and Barrs refusal to let that stop him.

He never subscribed to the idea that I cant, Gillian said. He also cited Barrs work with the Ocean City Housing Authority.

The otherwise heartfelt honor included some levity.

Perhaps the only blemish on his impeccable record is his lifelong love of the Kansas City Chiefs, Gillian said. Deep in Eagles country, Barr has remained steadfast in his support of the Chiefs, who beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl in February.

Barr thanked the members of council, the city staff and the mayor. He said he and Gillian have not always been on the same side of issues but said he knew the mayor always had Ocean Citys best interests at heart.

Its certainly difficult to say goodbye to something that you love so dearly, Barr said. Ive loved every minute, every second of serving the 4th Ward. It was the honor of a lifetime, and no matter what else I do, it will be the greatest honor of my life, I think.

Barr had to resign his city seat before joining the county governing body. County Commissioner Director Len Desiderio is able to remain the mayor of Sea Isle City because he held both positions before the change in state law preventing holding two or more elected offices, and is therefore grandfathered. He appears to be one of only two officials to hold two elected positions in New Jersey.

Barrs appointment to county government, and Hayes appointment as surrogate, will mean they begin the election campaign as incumbents. Barr is running for the two years left on Hayes term.

Barr will join incumbent Commissioner Will Morey and Melanie Collette of Middle Township on the Republican ticket for three seats on county government. There is a single Democrat on the ballot, Patricia OConnor, running for a three-year term.

Challenging Hayes for surrogate is Beverly McCall, who won the Democratic nomination with a write-in campaign.

A second mosquito sample captured in Northfield tested positive for West Nile virus, the Atlantic County Division of Public Health said Friday.
To identify the top cities fostering new business growth in 2023, the data and research team at Swyft Filings turned to the most recent data from the United States Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and other government sources.
A Pune-based activist has taken legal action by filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, seeking the enforcement of pedestrian rights within the city. The activist alleges that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has egregiously neglected its responsibility to provide safe and accessible footpaths for pedestrians, resulting in hazardous conditions and obstructed pathways.

The PIL, filed by citizen activist Qaneez Sukhrani, highlights a range of issues plaguing Pune's pedestrian infrastructure. These include poorly constructed or broken footpaths, a lack of footpaths in certain areas, encroachments by vendors and hawkers, as well as the presence of debris, cables, junction boxes, and other obstructions on footpaths. Additionally, the unplanned digging and uneven leveling of footpaths have further aggravated the situation.

One major concern is the ongoing Maha-Metro project, which has reportedly encroached upon footpath space for construction purposes. In several locations, footpaths have been completely dug up or taken over by the project, leaving pedestrians with limited space and often forcing them onto the streets, thereby jeopardizing their safety.

Sukhrani's PIL targets the PMC, the Urban Development Department, the Town Planning and Valuation Department, the District Collector of Pune, and the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation as respondents. The petition calls for the implementation of Indian Road Congress guidelines related to footpaths, which were adopted by the PMC but have not been adequately put into action.

Advocate Megha Maske, who conducted research on the subject, asserts that the PMC's neglect of footpaths is a breach of duty that endangers pedestrians. The PIL argues that the PMC and the Town Planning Department are not fulfilling their obligations under various statutes and constitutional provisions to provide proper pedestrian facilities, including footpaths, subways, foot over bridges, and safe crossings.

Sukhrani's efforts to address these issues have involved RTI applications, extensive documentation through photographs, and communication with relevant authorities. She emphasizes that pedestrians also have the right to safe and obstruction-free passage on footpaths.

Advocate Satya Muley, commenting on the PIL, states that the PMC's failure to implement Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) and pedestrian policies highlights their disregard for citizens' fundamental rights. The PIL underscores the citizens' struggles to secure basic amenities and highlights the deficiencies in PMC's urban planning and administration.

As the PIL makes its way through the legal process, it sheds light on the pressing need to prioritize pedestrian safety and accessibility within Pune's urban landscape.
A veterinary doctor was recently beaten up, kidnapped, and robbed of Rs 27.10 lakh by some unknown assailants. The victim, Pradeep Maruti Jadhav (48), later filed a case against the accused at Loni Kalbhor police station.

According to the police, the incident took place around 4.50 p.m. on August 9, 2023. A resident of Bhekrai Nagar, Fursungi, Jadhav received a distress call that a dog was sick at Pawar Basti, Wadki, on Gaikwadi Road. When he reached the spot, around 10 people were waiting for him. All of them started beating him and then he was pushed into a car and kidnapped.

The victim was taken to Vanpuri Ambodi, Waghapur via Dive Ghat. The accused threatened to kill him. One of them even injured his hand with a knife and said, Where have you kept the money? Your wife and brother-in-law have given us supari. If you pay us Rs 20 lakh, we will release you soon. Nobody will harm you.

From there, Jadhav was forcefully taken to his house and robbed of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh in cash.

As per the police, the victim and his wife are going through a divorce case in the court. There is also a property dispute between them.

The Loni Kalbhor police have registered a case under Sections 397 (robbery or dacoity), 364-A (kidnapping for ransom), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

Speaking to Mirror, police sub-inspector Amit Gore said, Two among the accused had covered their faces. The rest were not recognised by the victim. There is a typical angle to the case, however, we are investigating it. Action will be taken against the culprits.
The woman charged in a fatal crash in Rock Island is being sued by the estate of the woman who died.

The Rock Island County States Attorneys Office is prosecuting Brittany Griswold, 36, of Geneseo, on counts of aggravated driving under the influence, possessing a stolen vehicle and reckless homicide in the Aug. 8, 2021 collision that killed 49-year-old Cecilia (Ceci) Nache, of Rock Island.

The crash occurred just after midnight at 2311 78th Ave. W., Rock Island, police said.

Griswold is one of three defendants in a lawsuit filed on Aug. 4 on behalf of Naches estate, according to Rock Island County court records. Ashleigh S. Newmarker, the woman whose vehicle Griswold is accused of taking, and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company are the other defendants.

The suit accuses Griswold and Newmarker of wrongful death and seeks damages in excess of $50,000. Nache has three children listed in the suit as her next of kin.

As of Thursday, Griswold, Newmarker and State Farm had not filed responses to the allegations in the suit. The next hearing date is set for Nov 16.

The civil allegations against Griswold

On Aug. 7, 2021, Griswold attended a party in or near Geneseo and became intoxicated, the suit states. Newmarker was at the same gathering.

At some point, Griswold took Newmarkers 2017 GMC Sierra C1500, which was unlocked and had the keys inside, the suit states.

Just after midnight, Griswold crossed the center line and collided with Naches vehicle in Rock Island, causing fatal injuries to Nache, the suit states.

Under the wrongful death count, the plaintiff argues Griswold owed a duty to Nache to exercise ordinary care while operating the vehicle. The suit accuses Griswold of breaching that duty.

It also lists numerous potential breaches, including carelessly and negligently operating a motor vehicle and doing so while intoxicated. As a result of these failures, Nache died, the suit states.

Under the count of survival action, the plaintiff argues that, had Nache survived her injuries, she would have been entitled to seek civil damages because of the crash.

The suit states those damages are now being sought by Naches estate under the Illinois Survival Act.

Allegations against vehicle owner

Newmarker faces the same counts of wrongful death and survival action, the suit states.

She had a duty to Nache to exercise ordinary care in relation to her vehicle, including managing and safekeeping it, the suit states.

The plaintiff argues Newmarker failed in that responsibility in one or more of numerous ways, including failing to remove the keys and leaving the vehicle unlocked in a place accessible to the public.

As a result, Nache was fatally injured, the suit alleges.

As with Griswold, Nache could have pursued damages against Newmarker had she lived, and the estate now pursues them in her place.

The allegations against State Farm

Nache had uninsured/underinsured automobile coverage through State Farm when the collision occurred, the suit states. Neither Griswold nor Newmarker have adequate insurance or assets to compensate the plaintiff.

Naches estate seeks compensation from State Farm via Naches policy for the damages that will exceed Griswolds and Newmarkers insurance policy limits, the suit states.

Griswolds criminal case

Proceedings against Griswold were ongoing as of Thursday, court records state, and she remained free on her own recognizance.

The next hearing in her criminal case has been set for Aug. 24.
Keeping a business afloat can be a challenge, but the Navarro Canoe Co. has navigated its way to success in Rock Island.

Today the company is co-owned by Todd McGreevy, Jeff O'Hearn and Chris Barnard, but Navarro originally started in the late 1970s in California, named for the Navarro River in northern California, where the canoes were being built.

In 2011, the company was purchased by Bruce and Sue Peterson who relocated it to 2219 3rd Ave. in downtown Rock Island, where it has been headquartered ever since. Bruce was the former CEO of a hospital in Rochelle, Ill., and Sue a teacher in Aledo, according to previous reporting. The pair was looking for a lifestyle change and a business they could bring into the city, Bruce told a reporter in 2016.

Barnard said he and his business partners entered the business when the Petersons were looking to retire. His group was looking for a manufacturing business they could get into for themselves.

"COVID was really good for outdoor kayaking and canoeing. People rediscovered the outdoors and they're not going back inside," he said. "We're seeing a whole new category of people that are looking for ways to spend more time outside."

The trio officially purchased the company in May 2022 and a year in, Barnard said, they are continuing to work on improving the boat designs, cleaning up the factory and improving marketing. Last year the company turned out 15 canoes, Barnard said, and is hoping to double that number in the second year.

Navarro will be hosting an open house on Friday, Aug. 18 from 3-9 p.m. at its downtown Rock Island shop, one day before Floatzilla kicks off on the Mississippi River. Paddlers will launch from multiple sites in the Quad-Cities in an effort to create a record-setting raft of canoes and kayaks. Last year, 1,648 people registered for the paddling event.

This year Floatzilla will need 1,500 more people to beat the world record of 3,151. Participants must paddle their way to Lake Potter in Rock Island for the world-record attempt.

For those who may not make Floatzilla, Barnard said, the company offers an experience called Navarro-X, which is an overnight excursion that allows buyers to test their canoe with the owners as their guides.

"If you're out of market, we bring you in and put you up at the Blackhawk Hotel and put you onto Loud Thunder, Lost Grove or the Rock River," he said.

The canoes are luxury products, with prices ranging from $5,500 up to $8,000 before shipping. Barnard said he considers them to be heirlooms, because most customers purchase them with the intention of passing them down.

Those who are local can pick up their boat in Rock Island, but they are otherwise shipped. Navarro also has a retail location in Land O' Lakes, Wis.

Once the boats are dropped off, the crew takes the new owners through what Barnard called a christening ceremony, where the boat is officially placed in the water for the first time. The whole idea is to create not just a product but an experience. To maximize on that, Navarro is now offering customization, including custom bow and stern deck plates and a name of choice on the port and starboard outer hull.

"If you have a family crest, a favorite color, if you have a company where you want to put your company's colors and logos on it, we are directing people to do that," Barnard said. "We're having the most interest with people wanting to customize the boat themselves."

O'Hearn said they can even customize the canoe, depending on use. Recently, Navarro was commissioned to build one for a more than 1,300 mile journey on the Columbia River.

"Generally, these are flat-water canoes, but I overbuilt the interior (of that one) to handle rougher water," he said. "We are capable of customizing the canoe to the user's needs."

In the back of the shop is where O'Hearn makes the magic happen, completely by hand. The process of acquiring a canoe can be in-person for those who are close by, or online with a customer choosing the size and style they want. The canoes range from 13 feet at the smallest, generally for beginners or recreational canoers, to 17 feet at the largest, better for day tours, expeditions and families.

Once an order is placed, the company keeps in close contact, sending photo and video updates to the customer to keep them involved in the process. Because customization is so important, O'Hearn said, he spends a lot of time speaking directly with customers to ensure the boats comes out exactly as desired.

"The last boat that went out of here went to Steam Boat Springs, Colorado, and I probably spent 15 hours on the phone with the owner before, during and after the process to make certain they got exactly what they wanted," he said.

The boats are shipped globally, Barnard said, with a particularly large market in Japan. The company is exploring the possibility of global distributors as a result.

Until then, the boats will continue to be made by O'Hearn in downtown Rock Island. The process begins with a plug, a wooden model built to the exact dimensions of the real canoe. From there, a fiberglass mold with a gel interior is created. Navarro has the original plugs and one mold for each of the eight canoe designs it offers.

Once the interior sets, it is popped out of the mold and coated with marine gel coat paint until it hardens. Next, a resin process is used to put in a layer of fiberglass fabric, then a layer of Kevlar, a thick synthetic fiber.

Next, O'Hearn bends hand-cut black cherry wood to the shape of the canoe. A series of these cuts extend all the way down the canoe, called ribs, because of their function and look. They are spring-loaded, or clamped, in place for 24 hours.

Once he pulls the springs out, O'Hearn sands and cleans the boat before covering it with a few more coats of resin for stability and a glossy finish. The vessels then go to the woodshop to be fitted with upper pieces, such as gunwales (top railing) and the yoke, which is the removable crossbeam used for carrying. The boat then is polished and waxed.

To learn how to make the boats, O'Hearn uses what he refers to as "the Bible"  a book created by the original owners, which contains blueprints and instructions.

For an average 17-foot boat, it takes 80 to 100 hours per build, he said. While O'Hearn leads the projects, Navarro has part-time employees who help with portions of the work that require extra hands.

"All these different processes ... at one time or another in my life, I did them as a job or a family member of mine did something similar that I did with them and learned the process," he said. "And I'm having a lot of fun. It's a total riot."
A Davenport man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

During a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Davenport, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced William Richard Trudell, 43, to 360 months, or 30 years, on a charge of production of child pornography, and a concurrent sentence of 240 months (20 years) on a charge of possession of child pornography. Concurrent means that the sentences will be served at the same time.

Trudell will have to serve eight years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

According to U.S. District Court documents, the case began in July 2019 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from the MeWe social media platform that nine images of child pornography had been uploaded from an email address that later was linked to Trudell. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children passed the cybertip to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

According to a search warrant application filed by Davenport Police Detective Evan Obert, on Sept. 13, 2019, Davenport police received the information from the Iowa Department of Public Safety about an individual viewing child pornography within Davenport.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety received the cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, regarding the nine images that were viewed.

Most of the images showed naked underage females, some of whom were engaged in sex acts with men.

On Sept. 10, 2019, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation served Mediacom Corp. with a subpoena for the IP address whose owner was identified as William Trudell.

A search warrant was served on Trudells social media accounts and electronic devices. It was learned that Trudell had committed sexual abuse of a victim when the victim was between the ages of 14 and 17, and that he had created child pornography of the sexual abuse. Also found were 708 images and 2,935 videos of child pornography.

On Sept. 13, 2022, a federal grand jury charged Trudell with one count each of production of child pornography, receiving child pornography, possession of child pornography and possession of obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children.

On Feb. 1, 2023, Trudell pleaded guilty to the charges of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

The case was prosecuted as part of the U.S. Department of Justices Project Safe Childhood initiative, which began in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children.

Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 800-284-7821.
HONG KONG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conducted a Pacific tour in late July in a useless attempt to strengthen Washington's influence in the region by sowing discord between China and Pacific island countries.

The tour is the latest U.S. effort to implement its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," which involves strengthening military cooperation with its regional allies and pitching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to exclude China from regional trading systems and supply chains.

With the aim to maintain its global hegemony by building an alliance in the Asia-Pacific against China, the so-called "strategy" has raised alarming concerns due to its potential to escalate conflicts and foster division in the region.

LAYERS OF ALLIANCES

In line with the "Indo-Pacific strategy" unveiled by the Biden administration in early 2022, the United States has been trying hard to encircle China by establishing multiple layers of alliances. The most recent demonstration of these efforts was seen during the Pacific tour by Blinken and Austin.

During his stop in Tonga, Blinken labeled China's engagement in the region as "problematic behavior." In New Zealand, Blinken tried to persuade the country to join the trilateral AUKUS alliance and in Papua New Guinea, Austin announced the deployment of a U.S. coast guard ship to the Pacific nation.

Moreover, the United States is vigorously promoting military alliances with Japan and South Korea, aiming to build a trilateral military alliance. It is also accelerating the implementation of the AUKUS agreement and Quad alliance (formally the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) while strengthening military ties with the Philippines through joint exercises.

It has deployed "strategic assets" more frequently around the Korean Peninsula and sought further military cooperation with South Korea and Japan, as a U.S. strategic nuclear submarine docked at South Korea's southeast port of Busan last month, the first time in over four decades.

Beyond the Korean Peninsula, the United States is also strengthening the construction of military bases in Papua New Guinea, Palau, the Marshall Islands and other places in the Pacific region. NATO, a trans-Atlantic cold-war relic led by the United States, is also trying to extend its reach to the Asia-Pacific.

CAUSING CONCERNS

The U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is dividing the most vibrant region of the world and driving it closer to confrontation and conflicts, said experts.

"Such actions not only escalate regional tensions and confrontation, raising the risk of war on the peninsula, but also provoke arms races in the region, which is worrisome," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of South Korea. "Countries in the region, including South Korea, should be on high alert."

For half a century, China and South Pacific island countries have enjoyed bilateral cooperation covering a wide range of fields. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, China always respects the sovereignty and needs of the island countries, and adheres to the principle of "island countries-led and island countries-owned."

However, the United States is trying to instill a doctrine in its allies in the region to jointly assume that China is a threat to the region, said Yanyan Mochamad Yani, a professor of international relations at Indonesia's Padjadjaran University.

What the United States has done in terms of a so-called construction of regional balance is nothing new, while its commitment to the prosperity of the region remains uncertain, said Yani.

For regional countries, experts believe that aligning themselves with the U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is imprudent and perilous. The Asia-Pacific countries are also clear about this, with Tonga's government saying that it had no concerns about its relationship with China and New Zealand refusing to join AUKUS.

"It is unwise and dangerous for South Korea to abandon its balanced and neutral diplomacy and stand at the forefront of bloc politics by supporting the U.S.-led 'Indo-Pacific strategy,'" Woo said.

The Philippines should continue to strive for what it calls an independent or, in other words, a balanced foreign policy, said Aaron Rabena, a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.

IPEF SERVES U.S. SELF-INTEREST

U.S. officials have claimed that the IPEF, an economic arm of the "Indo-Pacific strategy," would become an important platform for the U.S. and Indo-Pacific countries to enhance economic links, and provide an alternative to China for the region. However, without arrangements such as an exemption of customs duties or market access provided, the so-called high standard set by the United States is only serving its own interests.

Keshmeer Makun, a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific based in the Fijian capital Suva, said the Pacific country leaders are focused on what their partners offer, especially in the face of an infrastructure deficit, poverty and an existential threat posed by climate change, and China has provided the Pacific region with economic options.

China's Belt and Road Initiative, featuring openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results, adopts an open approach without setting limits, while the U.S. IPEF, like an exclusive circle, is selective and vague in nature, which runs counter to "freedom, openness and inclusiveness," Woo said.

The stability of the Asia-Pacific region should be based on respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and on a harmonious and win-win development order. A Cold War mentality and concept based on a zero-sum game will inevitably lead to the destruction of the international order and social instability, said Zhao Shaofeng, deputy director of the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center. 
Trial Facts at a Glance

Breasia Terrell, 10, of Davenport, is the victim. She disappeared on July 10, 2020, while spending the night with her younger brother at the home of his father, Henry Dinkins.

Her remains were found near a pond north of DeWitt on March 22, 2021.

Henry Earl Dinkins, 51, is the defendant on trial and is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. A registered sex offender, Dinkins has been the only suspect in the case since Breasias disappearance.

Aishia Lankford is Breasias mother.

Andrea Culberson was Dinkins live-in girlfriend.

Hearing the case is Judge Henry Latham.

Prosecutors are Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham and assistant Liz ODonnell.

Defense attorneys are Chad Frese and Joel Waters.
With a lot of hard work and support from his family and brothers and sisters in blue, East Moline Police Sgt. William Billy Lind, who was critically injured while attempting to arrest a wanted man, has made it back to work.

For now, he is on restricted duty, but Police Chief Jeff Ramsey said Lind has made amazing progress from the injuries he suffered, including a cracked skull, while attempting to take an arson suspect into custody in October.

During a ceremony Monday, Lind received the East Moline Police Departments Purple Heart Award from Ramsey. The award is presented to an officer who has received a serious injury resulting from an assault with potentially lethal force while acting in the line of duty.

Sergeant Lind has made great progress in recovering from the serious head injuries suffered in the incident back in October of 2022, Ramsey told the Times on Thursday.

The severity of his injuries was very serious and he continues to work with his doctors on what his restrictions are regarding his job duties as a police officer, Ramsey added.

Sergeant Lind is currently on restricted duty with our department, and it will be up to the medical doctors on whether Sergeant Lind can be released for full duty as a police officer, he said.

We continue to support Sergeant Lind and his family and want the best for him, Ramsey said. Regardless of the outcome, we are very happy with where Sergeant Lind is with his recovery from this very serious and scary situation and glad he is back to a good quality of life for himself and his family.

Ramsey said that Lind acted heroically, courageously and without regard for his own personal safety in a commitment to the protection of our community in East Moline.

At about 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2022, Lind was attempting to arrest Adrian W. Rogers, 52, of East Moline, who was wanted by Rock Island Police in connection with an arson investigation. The fire had been set just a few hours prior to the two mens encounter.

Rock Island firefighters responded to the blaze about 3:40 p.m. in the 1600 block of 12th Street, and Rogers is accused of knowing that a woman was inside the house at the time, police said. She escaped without injury, but the home sustained considerable damage.

After the fire Rogers had gone to the East Moline Police Department about 4 p.m. and just happened to speak with Lind.

He wanted to talk to someone about a person who he said was a danger to people or children, Chief Ramsey said the day after the incident. He did not seek out Lind specifically, and it is just a coincidence that Lind spoke with Rogers.

Rogers did not stay at the station long and he was not communicating clearly, Ramsey said.

At about 5 p.m. Rock Island police issued a notice that identified Rogers as a suspect in the arson, records show.

When Lind then located Rogers on Morton Drive about 90 minutes later, Rogers tried to walk away, police said. Lind advised Rogers he was not free to leave and attempted to subdue him, grabbing Rogers upper body, according to court records.

Police said Rogers then struck Lind in the face causing him to fall to the ground unconscious.

Rogers struck Lind in the head, causing severe injuries, including skull fractures. Rogers then left Lind lying unconscious in or near the street, police said. Linds body camera captured the incident.

Lind was discovered by fellow officers who were responding to Lind's call for backup.

Lind earned 2021 Officer of the Year honors from the Breakfast Optimist Club that serves the Illinois Quad-Cities. He was nominated for is work at the Quad-City Federal Gang Task Force where he spearheaded one of the largest cases in the task force for illegal drug and weapon distribution in the Quad-City area. He also worked to stop several shootings in the spring of 2021 between two gangs that led to multiple arrests for firearms violations.

Rogers was released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons on July 1, 2021, after serving about 26 years for convictions related to drug trafficking and a bank robbery with a firearm. During the federal investigations into Roger's illicit activities, he was found to be a key figure in the Mexico-to-Los Angeles-to-Quad-Cities drug ring.

Rogers is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated arson, each a Class X felony under Illinois law that carry a prison sentence of six to 30 years. He also is charged with residential arson, a Class 1 felony that carries a prison sentence of four to 15 years, as well as aggravated battery to a peace officer, a Class 2 felony that carries a prison sentence of three to seven years.

During a hearing Nov. 30, 2022, Rock Island County Circuit Judge Frank Fuhr deemed that Rogers was unfit to stand trial. Rogers was placed into the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 23 in Circuit Court.
The Scott County Sheriffs Department has identified the man killed Wednesday in a motorcycle crash in rural LeClaire.

Stephen Cumpton, 61, of Kentucky, was killed in the crash near the 23500 block of 220th Street in Scott County, Sheriffs Lt. Sean Thompson said.

Deputies were sent to the scene around 2:40 p.m., which is in eastern Scott County, rural LeClaire. That area of 220th Street is blacktop from 240th Avenue for a short distance and then turns into a gravel road.

Cumpton and another man, also from Kentucky, were traveling the back roads and were unfamiliar with the area, Thompson said.

Cumptons riding partner told authorities that they were traveling 50 to 55 mph when they came upon the gravel portion of the roadway. Cumpton, who was slightly in front, lost control and was thrown off of his motorcycle. Cumpton was then run over by the other motorcycle.

Both riders were wearing helmets.

Emergency responders performed CPR on Cumpton but he died of his injuries at Genesis Medical Center-East Campus, Davenport.

The crash remains under investigation by the Scott County Sheriffs Department.
Testimony has begun in Henry Earl Dinkins' trial in Scott County Court in the kidnapping and death of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell.

The first witness in the trial is Geoffrey Peiffer, a sergeant in the Davenport Police Department. He was one of the officers who responded to the report that Breasia was missing.

Dinkins is charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder.

A jury trial had been expected to start earlier this week in Cedar Rapids. The trial was moved from Scott County to the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids after the Iowa Supreme Court granted a change of venue April 22, 2022.

Jury selection began Tuesday, but potential jurors were sent home when Dinkins opted for a bench trial. The decision brought the trial back to Scott County.

On March 22, 2021, two fishermen found human remains in a remote pond three miles north of DeWitt. The next day, investigators from the Division of Criminal Investigation finished removing the remains from the pond.

Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski confirmed on March 31, 2021, the remains were those of Breasia Terrell.

On Thursday, Peiffer testified that he was called to the Jersey Meadows apartment complex at 2744 E. 53rd Street after another officer responded to a report of a missing child on July 10, 2020.

Peiffer learned the missing child was Breasia, and she had been spending the night in apartment No. 8 with her brother, Dinkins and Dinkins' girlfriend. Dinkins is the father of Breasia's brother.

According to Peiffer, the first officer told him the case did not feel like a "typical missing kid incident." It became clear Breasia was gone from the apartment for a significant amount of time, Peiffer testified. Davenport police began canvassing the area, including unoccupied apartments and garages in the complex.

"This incident was clearly not like any other we had experienced, due to the lack of details," Peiffer told Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham.

This story will be updated.

Photos: Breasia Terrells Garden at Monroe Elementary School
Two members of the Davenport street gang Savage Life Boys have been sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison after being convicted of weapons and racketeering charges.

During sentencing hearings held Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Davenport, District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced Najawaun Marcus Quinn, 26, to 408 months, or 34 years, in federal prison on convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, use and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Quinn also must serve five years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

Ebinger sentenced Dimetri Alexander Smith, 30, to 400 months, or 33 years and four months, in federal prison on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and two counts of use and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Smith also must serve five years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2016 and 2017, as members of Savage Life Boys, Quinn and Smith were involved in multiple shootings, including at a residence in the 5400 block of North Division Street in October, 2016, at NorthPark Mall in January, 2017, and at Centennial Park in April, 2017.

These shootings were due to a feud with a rival gang and responses to perceived disrespect to the gang, according to court documents.

Quinn, also known as also known as Fat Boy or Fat Boi, and Smith, also known as Metri, were part of the five-man gang that included Austin Zachary Ruiz, 29, also known as Ace; Olajuwan Hakeem Culbreath, 28, also known as Wan or Bang; and Darion Daquan Gardner, 28, also known as Lil Man.

A total of 18 criminal charges were filed against some or all of the men.

According to the second superseding indictment filed Jan. 12, 2022, the gang maintained authority over territory they claimed, and their profits derived from illegal activity by using intimidation, threats of violence and violence. Victims and witnesses were intimidated through threats of violence, and the gang committed acts of violence against members of rival street gangs, such as Zone Fifth, Black Savage and others, records state.

The adult members of the gang used juveniles to commit crimes, and the members sold drugs, such as ecstasy, crack cocaine and marijuana, and committed or planned to commit acts of violence against other drug dealers, including acts of murder, according to court records.

On Feb. 12, 2017, gang members went to a concert at the Hotel Davenport, which was at 53rd Street and Welcome Way but has since been razed. Gardner and several other Savage Life Boys started a fight with a person they believed had disrespected their gang, police said.

Gardner fired several shots, police said. Marques Cotton, 29, of Peoria, was killed, and another man was wounded.

On July 27, 2022, Gardner pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, causing a death through use of a firearm and attempted murder through use of a firearm.

During a sentencing hearing Nov. 29, 2022, Ebinger sentenced Gardner to 450 months, or 37  years, in prison. Gardner will have to serve five years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website, Gardner is serving his sentence in United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Inez, Kentucky. His scheduled release date is Dec. 14, 2057.

It is Gardners third stint in federal prison.

Before the killing of Cotton, Gardner had served 2  years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of fugitive in possession of a firearm. Gardner was arrested on the charge on March 6, 2015, according to U.S. District Court, Davenport, electronic records. He pleaded guilty to the charge on June 30, 2015, and on Nov. 19, 2015, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison to be followed by three years on supervised release.

On May 19, 2017, Gardner was arrested on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to that charge on Nov. 9, 2017, and on April 5, 2018, he was sentenced to 80 months, or six years and eight months, in federal prison.

It was while he was serving his second sentence that federal authorities filed racketeering and weapons charges against Gardner and his fellow gang members.

Ruiz pleaded guilty on Jan. 24, 2022, to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, two counts of use and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

Ebinger sentenced Ruiz to 202 months, or 16 years and 10 months, in federal prison during a hearing held April 24, 2023. Ruiz is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Center in Pekin, Illinois. He is scheduled to be released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 14, 2036. Ruiz then must serve five years on supervised release.

On April 25, 2022, Culbreath pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Ebinger sentenced Culbreath to 12 years and eight months in federal prison during a hearing held April 25, 2023. Culbreath is serving his sentence in the U.S. Penitentiary in Lee, Virginia. He is scheduled to be released Sept. 6, 2033. He then must serve five years on supervised release.
A skull, an elbow, one hand, ribs, a right toe, the left leg, and a foot bone.

According to Thursdays testimony from a Davenport police crime scene technician, those scattered remains were all that was left of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell when she was found near a pond in rural Clinton County on March 22, 2021.

The crime scene technician, Sgt. Kristopher Mayer, offered the testimony during the first day of Henry Earl Dinkins trial in front of Judge Henry Latham. Dinkins is accused of abducting and killing Breasia and faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and murder.

She disappeared July 10, 2020 while spending the night with her younger brother at the apartment Dinkins shared with his girlfriend, Andrea Culberson. Breasias younger brother is Dinkins son.

Dinkins originally was to face a jury in a change-of-venue trial in the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids. The trial moved back to Scott County after Dinkins opted for a bench trial earlier this week.

Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham and assistant prosecutor Liz ODonnell called four witnesses Thursday. Mayer was the third to take the stand, and he described the evidence investigators marked at the scene where Breasia was found. Besides the skeletal remains, Mayer said two bullets were found, portions of a shirt, and shoes were located near a small farm pond roughly two miles north of DeWitt.

Everyone sounded normalMona Varela was the second witnessed called Thursday, and the former day shift report taker at the Davenport Police Department described the morning of July 10, 2020, when Breasias mother, Aishia Lankford, called to report her daughter missing.

Under direct questioning by Cunningham, Varela said the 10-year-old may have first been considered a runaway, but that characterization didnt last long when Lankford told Varela that Breasia wouldnt run away.

Varela testified Breasia spent the night at Dinkins apartment and Dinkins was on his way to the police station to report the girl as missing. Varela reached Dinkins by phone.

He said he changed his mind, and he wasnt on his way, but that Breasia is a good kid who never gets into trouble, she testified. Dinkins then tried to put his son on the phone, and I explained to him that I didnt want to speak with his son. He put the phone to his son, and his son said a few things.

Valera said she called Culberson to tell her to stay at the apartment, because police were on their way. Valera said Culberson was reluctant to give her the apartment number and testified she was growing concerned about the situation, because there seemed to be red flags appearing during the phone calls.

Valera then called Dinkins back, and he told her he was headed to the apartment.

One of Dinkins attorneys, Chad Frese, cross-examined Valera, repeatedly asking why she called Dinkins back when she only had one phone conversation with Lankford and one with Culberson. When asked if Dinkins was polite, respectful and sounded normal while one the phone, Valera responded yes.

Through questioning Valera, Frese also established that Lankford never expressed concern during the call that Dinkins had anything to do with Breasias disappearance.

Valera then added, To me, thats what was so alarming. Everyone was sounding normal. Under redirect from Cunningham, Valera added that people dealing with the possibility of a missing child dont sound normal during their calls.

A lack of details

Geoffrey Peiffer, a sergeant in the Davenport Police Department, was the first witness called Thursday. He was one of the officers who responded to the report that Breasia was missing.

He testified that he was called to the Jersey Meadows apartment complex at 2744 E. 53rd Street after another officer responded to a report of a missing child on July 10, 2020.

Peiffer learned the missing child was Breasia, and she had been spending the night in apartment No. 8 with her brother, Dinkins and Dinkins girlfriend.

According to Peiffer, the first officer told him the case did not feel like a typical missing kid incident. It became clear Breasia was gone from the apartment for a significant amount of time, Peiffer testified. Davenport police began canvassing the area, including unoccupied apartments and garages in the complex.

This incident was clearly not like any other we had experienced, due to the lack of details, Peiffer testified.
Republican presidential candidate and former vice president Mike Pence kicked off a three-day statewide tour in Iowa at the Quad Cities Veterans Outreach Center.

Several dozen people gathered with conversations buzzing as anticipation built for Pences arrival. The stop was his first one of the day before heading to the Scott County Republican Lincoln Club Luncheon, then the Iowa State Fair.

Pence went around the room, shaking hands with everyone, stopping for a quick conversation or two, and thanking those who served as many in attendance were veterans. One of the last few people Pence thanked was Davenport Mayor Mike Matson, who served in the United States Army for more than two decades.

I want to say from the bottom of my heart, for all of you who wore the uniform of the United States, those of you that served in the Vietnam era, let me say from my heart, Welcome home, Pence said.

If he has the privilege to serve as the president of the United States, he said, he promises to continue doing everything he can to expand benefits for veterans and keep promises already made to those who have served.

A few areas of his focus are ending veteran homelessness nationwide, addressing mental health needs to help lower veteran suicide rates to zero, and ensuring access to medical care.

My dad was a combat veteran in the Korean War, he said. He came home with some medals in a box and put them in the dresser, and he never talked about it to me and my three brothers and two sisters.

Those of you that have seen combat understand that better than I ever will.

Anytime his father was called a hero, Pence recalled that his father would say heroes were the guys that didnt get to come home.

Pence also has a son who currently serves in the United States Marine Corps and a son-in-law in the United States Navy.

Most of those in attendance shared struggles of not being able to receive proper healthcare, asking the former vice president what else he could do for them.

Pence said he would expand on veterans programs already in place and ensure there are no obstacles to prevent veterans from receiving the care needed.

He also highlighted what was accomplished under the Trump-Pence administration. Under their administration, he said, they expanded the Veterans Choice Program to allow veterans to get healthcare at another public or private health facility.

If someone was not able to receive help at Veterans Affairs, he said, a voucher could be given, so they could go somewhere else for help.

One of the biggest points Pence is taking away from the visit with Quad-City area Veterans is inspiration from Davenport, he told members of the media.

To see how the Quad Cities Veterans Outreach Center helps those in the community, and Davenport ending veteran homelessness is inspirational, he said.

It just shows me that the cure for what ails this country is ultimately going to come from the generosity, the compassion and the innovation of the American people, said Pence.

In November 2020, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness sent a letter to the city of Davenport, confirming that Davenport and the Quad-Cities Bi-State Region effectively ended veteran homelessness.

Pence also highlighted he would secure the southern border to prevent illegal immigration and also look at ways to fix a broken immigration system.

He suggested a merit-based immigration system.

If youre willing to come and work in this area, were going to give you a legal pathway to come into this country, he said.

Pence is one of many Republicans vying for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination. One of those candidates includes former President Donald Trump, who has been indicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump has repeatedly attacked his former vice president for not overturning the election results.

Talking to members of the media, Pence said he understands the disappointment of the last election and that he was also on the ballot. But he reminds people that he took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution.

When that day came, and we began to hear suggestions from the president, and some of his outside lawyers that I had the authority to reject or return votes, I dismissed, he said. There is almost no idea more un-American than the idea that any one person could choose which votes to count.

For the American presidency, it belongs to the American people.

For people in Scott County, Pence said, he wants them to know that he is a Christian, conservative and Republican  in that order.

I hope when they have an opportunity to look at our candidacy, theyll look not just at my years as vice president but also my years as the governor of Indiana ... as a member of Congress of the United States, he said.

The former second lady and Pences wife, Karen, also was in attendance and shook hands with those in attendance, stopping to talk with a few and holding conversations with those who approached her following her husbands speech.
Last Wednesday, Chadrons City Transit program marked its anniversary with a cookout at the main office, 127 West Second.

In the past year, Transit Director Julie Lawrence said, services have been expanded to outside Chadron. Weve been accommodating people from the airport whos flights have been cancelled, she said, noting one example when people needed to get to Denver. Through partnering with the Kimball transport service, the passengers were able to make their destination.

People have also been transported to Alliance and Rapid City to make flights as well, Lawrence said.

City Transit has also transported folks to and from Fort Robinson and Chadron State Park. When college students return, the transport service will be used to take them to Bands on Bordeaux and Chadron State Park.

Chadron Public Schools students have also benefited from City Transits transportation. Lawrence noted the 100 Women who Care about Chadron purchased bus passes for the students.

With their help and our help to get them to school, Lawrence said, theyre able to get their education.

The passes, which provide 22 rides for $20, have been very well-received by the community as a whole. Lawrence noted these dont expire, so infrequent riders can still have a pass they could use whenever they need it.

Earlier this year, Lawrence began offering rides to Prairie Winds Casino. The first trip saw three passengers, she said, and they are now up to 10 with a maximum capacity of 12. Previous trips were from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., she added, but the seniors wanted to change things up so they are now 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lawrence, who became the transit director a year ago, said she applied for another job with the City of Chadron but was told she was overqualified. Instead, the transit position was offered and she decided to give it a try.

It takes a lot of organization, she said, which I love to do. And I love working with people, so it just fits right in.

The first change Lawrence made was to relabel the service Chadron City Transit from the previous Handi-Bus moniker, which caught on very quickly. The first month, she said, ridership went up by about 100. She added that, when she started, the monthly average number of riders was 400-500; now, that average is about 800. Two months ago, there were 1,030 riders.

The majority of rides are for shopping and medical visits. During the summer, there is typically one driver. When the school year starts, Lawrence said theyll up that to two in order to accommodate student rides. They also utilize a City of Chadron vehicle as it is more economical for airport and long-distance trips, and are pursuing purchase of a minivan that will accommodate a wheelchair.

Drivers and their time serving are: Sheryl Chambers, 43 years; Merlyn Chambers, 27 years; Gary Walker, one year; and new driver Wayne Hurley.
It takes me 10 minutes literally to show someone how to save a life."

That's what Dustin Smoot, a trauma and emergency surgeon with the Surgical Institute of South Dakota, said about the training he does during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

For the last two years, he's taken a week off and traveled to the rally to teach people how to control bleeding and hemorrhages in a 10-minute, hands-on training at Deadwood Custom Cycles.

In August 2021, Smoot was traveling on his bike in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. When he came around a corner, he hit some gravel and wrecked his motorcycle.

He had severe leg injuries and the group he was traveling with couldnt get a call out to emergency services right away. He ended up spending 90 minutes controlling his own bleeding until EMS was able to find him. Smoot said he spent 11 days in the hospital, had three surgeries and was in a wheelchair for two months. He has since returned to riding motorcycles again and teaches other motorcyclists the things he did while injured.

Because of what he had to do during his own accident, Smoot thought about the motorcycle riders that come to the Black Hills for the rally. From driving scenic roads to hiking, there are a number of things people can do in the area where cell phone service may be spotty or unavailable, or it could take a long time for emergency response to find someone.

Were essentially turning a bunch of people into first responders at the scene while EMS is trying to find them," Smoot said.

With a grant from the South Dakota Department of Health, Smoot handed out 80 kits which have gloves, trauma sheers, gauze, surgical tape and a combat tourniquet, items Smoot teaches people how to use during the training. They can be stored in saddle bags, which is where Smoot keeps his, or in a glove compartment in any vehicle.

He teaches people a three-step process. The first step is to apply pressure to the injury. If that stops the bleeding, thats all you have to do. Dont keep checking it, just keep the pressure on it until EMS comes.

If the bleeding doesnt stop, then the bleeding is from down deep and you need some pressure inside.

He then teaches people to start packing a wound with a cloth. It could be a t-shirt or a rag. You would stuff cloth into the open wound, packing it as tightly as you can. Once thats done, he teaches riders to apply pressure again like the first step. Just like before, if that stops the bleeding, the task is done.

If it continues, Smoot said its an arterial bleeding and thats when someone would use the tourniquet.

For the tourniquet, Smoot tells people to remember the five Ts: two inches, tighten, twist, tuck and time.

First, the tourniquet is placed two inches above the wound. Then you pull the tourniquet as tight as you can.

If theyre awake and you put one of these on, they hurt. Theyre supposed to and it means its working, Smoot said. They will yell and scream at you, but theyre going to buy you the best bottle of wine every Christmas because theyre still alive.

The third T is twist. Once it is tightened, you twist the tourniquet until you cant anymore before you tuck it to hold the tourniquet in place.

For time, Smoot just asks that you check the time to see roughly when you put the tourniquet on, so people at the hospital know how long its been on.

If the bleeding stops, leave it alone. If its still bleeding, then it isn't tight enough and you have to untwist it, tighten the Velcro more and retwist it.

Smoot says he does the training because he wanted to find a way to give back to people as a trauma surgeon. While it is something that can be used for a bike wreck, it can be used in other situations such as someone getting hurt at work.

He knows that one of the kits was used last year at the Full Throttle Saloon. EMS couldnt find the injured person in the crowd because there were so many people and a few people who did the training broke open their kits and were able to control the bleeding by the time EMS got there.

"You just see that light bulb come on for people that think that you need medical school and a surgery residency and lights and masks and gloves and all these things to save someone's life and it doesn't take any of that," Smoot said.

Smoot plans to continue coming to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for years to come, but he hopes other rallies like Daytona Bike Week and Arizona Bike Week will want him to attend theirs as well.

He will also be at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron with a booth to teach the same training. Whether an injury happens because of a motorcycle or tractor accident, the process to control bleeding remains the same.
Fortune 500 insurer W.R. Berkley Corp. is expanding the Henrico County home office of its Berkley Mid-Atlantic Insurance Group with a $6.1 million investment that will create a projected 72 jobs.

More than 175 employees are based out of the Henrico office, which also handles the companys growing excess and surplus lines businesses as well as Berkley Mid-Atlantics property and casualty insurance.

Berkley Mid-Atlantic focuses on small and mid-sized companies, particularly in the construction, retail, service, wholesale, real estate and manufacturing sectors.

The new jobs will be for underwriters, financial analysts, accountants and C-suite top management positions.

Henrico as a hub for our business expansion is undeniable, and we embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, said Berkley Mid-Atlantic President Michelle D. Middleton in a statement. As we reflect on the exceptional talent that Henrico has consistently provided for us, particularly in the realm of excess and surplus lines insurance, we are excited for the future, she said. We envision continued growth, bolstered by the incredible talent pool and the invaluable relationships we have cultivated with insurance brokers in this region.

Virginia competed with Arizona and Ohio for the project, which will mean Berkley taking on an additional 8,920 square feet of office space in the Innsbrook business park.

Berkley will be the fourth firm to locate in the technology zone established by Henrico in Innsbrook, in which the county can waive permit and planning fees and offer customized incentives for corporate headquarters, finance and insurance firms, health sciences, financial technology centers, IT firms and shared services operations.

EAB, an education research and technology firm; Genworth; and Berkshire Hathaway Energy are the others that have located facilities in the technology zone.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Henrico Economic Development Authority to secure this project for Virginia.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved $217,500 from the Commonwealths Opportunity Fund to assist Henrico with the project.

Funding and services to support the companys employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Greater Richmond is known for providing the robust talent pipeline that leading businesses like Berkley Aspire, Berkley Mid-Atlantic, and Verus Specialty require, and we look forward to supporting their next chapter of growth, Youngkin said.

Gallery: Henrico Sports and Events Center
(CNN)  The founder and former CEO of Russias largest internet company, Arkady Volozh, has slammed Vladimir Putins barbaric war in Ukraine, becoming one of the most prominent Russian businessmen to express criticism of what Russia still calls euphemistically its special military operation.

Ive been asked a lot of questions over the past year, and especially a lot of them came up this week. I would like to clarify my position, he said in a statement released to the media.

I am totally against Russias barbaric invasion of Ukraine, where I, like many, have friends and relatives. I am horrified by the fact that every day bombs fly into the homes of Ukrainians, said Volozh, describing himself as a Kazakhstan-born, Israeli tech entrepreneur, computer scientist, investor, and philanthropist.

Despite the fact that I have not lived in Russia since 2014, I understand that I also have a share of responsibility for the actions of the country, he added. There were many reasons why I had to remain silent. You can argue about the timeliness of my statement, but not about its substance. I am against war.

In June 2022, Volozh quit as CEO of Yandex (YNDX), which also operates Russias most popular search engine, after he was sanctioned by the European Union over Russias actions in Ukraine.

Volozh is a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine, the EU said. Yandex is also responsible for promoting State media and narratives in its search results, and de-ranking and removing content critical of the Kremlin, such as content related to Russias war of aggression against Ukraine.

In his statement, Volozh said after moving to Israel in 2014, he has been working on developing Yandexs international projects. But in February 2022, the world changed, and I realized that my story with Yandex was over.

After the outbreak of the war, I focused on supporting talented Russian engineers who decided to leave the country and start a new life. It turned out to be a difficult task that required a lot of effort, attention and caution, he said.

Now these people are outside of Russia and can start doing something new in the most advanced areas of technology. They will be of great benefit to the countries where they remain, he added.

Volozh went on to say that when Yandex was created, We believed that we were building a new Russia - an open, progressive, integrated into the global economy, known in the world not only for its raw materials.

However, over time, it became clear that Russia was in no hurry to become part of the global world. At the same time, the pressure on the company grew, he said. But we did not give up, we did our best despite the external conditions. Has it always been possible to find the right balance? Now, looking back, it is clear that something could have been done differently.

On Thursday, the UK removed sanctions against another prominent Russian businessman  eccentric Russia-born tycoon Oleg Tinkov, the most outspoken billionaire to criticize Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

The Foreign Office said that Tinkov, 55, would no longer be subject to sanctions following an appeal during which he argued the UK had sanctioned him in error.

Whereas most Russian oligarchs have, at most, spoken out against the invasion only in guarded terms, Tinkov has denounced the crazy war in Ukraine and renounced his Russian citizenship last year in protest.

Last year, he said the Russian government forced him into a fire sale of his stake in leading fintech TCS over his anti-war statements.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Co-founder of Russias equivalent of Google slams barbaric invasion of Ukraine"
Hopewell police said Friday that two men have been arrested in the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old in December.

PAris Mi-Unique Angel Moore died at TriCities Hospital after being shot one time in the chest. Police said she was shot Dec. 30 in the 2300 block of Freeman Street.

Jamari Antonio Taylor, 20, of Hopewell and Rayquan Latrel Harvell, 18, of Chesterfield County have each been charged with first-degree murder.

Taylor also faces charges of use of a firearm while in commission of a felony and conspiracy to commit murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Harvell also has been charged with possession of a firearm while in commission of a felony.

They are being held without bond.

PAris was shot four days before her ninth birthday.

Witnesses reported seeing a light-colored, four-door sedan with tinted windows speeding through the area at the time of the shooting, police said. The motive is unclear.
Sixteen felony indictments related to motor vehicle theft have been filed against the owner of a Richmond business accused of illegally towing vehicles, police said.

Richmond police said in a statement that officers conducting a search warrant at No Limit Towing and Recovery, 4505 Richmond Highway, on Friday morning seized boxes of records and other evidence that indicates fraud and vehicle theft that has impacted dozens of city residents starting in the summer of 2020.

Police said the company would tow vehicles from private lots and demolish or sell the vehicles to other parties without following Virginia law. On some occasions, No Limit Towing would possess vehicles for a week before illegally disposing of them. Police said the company also charged excessive fees.

The owner, Sherral Crawley, is being sought in the case. Officials for the business were not available on Friday to comment about the charges.

Police said they have been investigating the business since December.

Chief Rick Edwards at a press conference said its likely that the case will involve residents from outside of Richmond as well.

These are folks who just had their cars parked legally and it was towed unlawfully, he said, and they did nothing wrong.

From the Archives: Richmond buildings that are no longer around
Byrd Rareshide, the former Virginia horse show judge and owner of The Byrds Nest Farm in Goochland County, has been indicted on 13 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, according to court records.

The indictment stems from allegations that Rareshide starved retired show horses that had been left in her care by horse owners around the world. In response to complaints, animal protection officers conducted an investigation of Rareshides stables and turned over their findings to Goochland officials on Feb. 17. Rareshide initially was charged with 10 counts on Feb. 18. Three additional charges were added March 2.

Each charge corresponds to a horse that was entrusted to her care. Virginia court records list the names of at least seven of the horses, including Scarlett, Terra, Loki, Kallie, Cutter, Ralph and Ginger. At least one horse had to be euthanized after it was removed from Rareshides farm, according to Rebecca Kramer, a veterinarian at Keswick Equine Clinic.

Rareshide has denied starving the horses and credited their condition to aging, dental issues and disease. She is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 31.

From the Archive: Remember these Richmond-area restaurants?
The FBI relied on information from field offices in additional cities in preparing a since-withdrawn memo from its Richmond office about potential investigation of radical traditional Catholics, according to the head of the House Judiciary Committee.

Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the committees chairman, and Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, chair of the subcommittee on the constitution and limited government, said in a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Christopher Wray that based on a version of the memo with fewer redactions than previous versions the committee had seen, we now know that the FBI relied on information from around the country  including a liaison contact in the FBIs Portland Field Office and reporting from the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office  to develop its assessment.

The letter asserts that the new information suggests that the FBIs use of its law enforcement capabilities to intrude on Americans First Amendment rights is more widespread than initially suspected and that it calls into question the FBI directors statement at a congressional oversight hearing that the Richmond product was a single product by a single field office.

The leaked Jan. 23 memo from the Richmond field office said in part that FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly observed interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists in radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.

In a footnote, the FBI analyst asserted that Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from traditionalist Catholics who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, but without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.

Wray had said of the memo during the oversight hearing: As soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems.

In the new letter, Jordan and Johnson said they are seeking additional information from the FBI, including details of pertinent contacts between the Richmond field office and the FBIs field offices in Portland and Los Angeles in the preparation of the Richmond FBI memo.

In a February statement after news of the document became public, Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said in a statement: The leaked document should be troubling and offensive to all communities of faith, as well as all Americans.

The bishop said at the time that he was grateful to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and other attorneys general who called on the government to publicly release all materials related to the production of this memo.

If evidence of extremism exists, it should be rooted out, but not at the expense of religious freedom, the bishop said. A preference for traditional forms of worship and holding closely to the Churchs teachings on marriage, family, human sexuality, and the dignity of the human person does not equate with extremism.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, were also among Virginia Republicans who raised concerns about the memo when the first reports surfaced. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has suggested that the Richmond FBI memo was poorly worded, but that it was meant to target extremists who were seeking to infiltrate groups of radical traditional Catholics.

Miyares said in a statement on Thursday: The recent discovery that multiple field offices were involved in the memo that targeted Virginia Catholics is deeply disturbing, and exactly why I called for more answers.

Nothing is more unamerican than being labeled violent extremists by your government because of the way you worship, Miyares said. I commend Chairmen Jordan and Johnson for pushing back and fighting to obtain more information about how and why Virginia Catholics were targeted. And I urge Congress to impose reforms to curb these abuses that the FBI seems unable or unwilling to address.

The continuing controversy over the Richmond FBI memo comes as Virginia and Maryland compete to be the next home of the FBIs headquarters.

From the Archive: Remember these Richmond-area restaurants?
A woman  a Republican  is Virginias lieutenant governor and is only the second woman elected statewide since the gender barrier fell here nearly 38 years ago with the victory of a Democrat for attorney general.

Women from both parties have been representing the state in Congress since 1993.

A woman has served as Speaker of the House of Delegates, where women make up the majority of the chambers Democratic minority. Two women  they were Democrats  were first elected to the House in 1923. The clubbier Senate of Virginia was finally opened to women in 1979 with the election of a Republican.

More than half the Democrats running for the General Assembly this year are women. For Republicans, just over one in 10 legislative candidates are women.

Some female politicians  because of hard work, events and a bit of luck  are moving ahead faster than others. That, combined with the quirks of Virginias political calendar  that there are elections every year, creating options perhaps unforeseen in the preceding cycle  could soon propel a couple of women into the history books.

Never mind, theyre already there.

Among Democrats, handicapping women candidates  particularly Jennifer McClellan and Abigail Spanberger  is more than a parlor game. Both are in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving blue-ish districts anchored in Richmond and Northern Virginia, respectively.

McClellan, a former delegate and state senator and the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia, ran for governor in 2021, losing the Democratic nomination in a crowded field to Terry McAuliffe, a former governor who would be narrowly defeated for a second nonconsecutive term by Republican Glenn Youngkin.

It was on Youngkins coattails that Winsome Earle-Sears was elected lieutenant governor. She is the first Black woman to win that part-time office, which can be a springboard to the governorship.

Spanberger is considering running for governor in 2025. A former postal service investigator and CIA operative, Spanberger has been elected to Congress, starting in the anti-Trump wave of 2018, from two competitive districts with vast swaths of Republican voters.

Spanberger works to assuage them with her emphasis on farm issues  she is the only Virginian on the agriculture committee  and a streak of independence manifested by, among other things, her refusal to support Nancy Pelosi, the perceived apotheosis of left-of-reason Left Coast Democrats, for House Speaker.

McClellan and Spanberger are beneficiaries of considerable buzz because both are considered fresh faces. McClellan was elected to Congress in 2023, and Spanberger was reelected in 2022, following the Virginia Democratic Partys humiliation in 2021: It was shut out for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, losing the House of Delegates, too.

McClellan and Spanbergers futures could intersect over the next decade, potentially creating a partnership for Virginia that could deliver for years. Its a question of timing.

Lets start with the 44-year-old Spanberger:

Should she run and win for governor in 2025  it would mean defeating Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, former Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn of Fairfax, Del. David Reid of Loudoun and perhaps others in a Democratic primary and Republicans Earle-Sears or Attorney General Jason Miyares in the general election  Spanberger would complete her one-and-done term as the first woman in that office in 2030.

Thats when U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a fellow Democrat seeking next year a third term thats expected to be a cakewalk, would be up for a fourth term. Kaine, his partys vice presidential nominee in 2016, would also be pushing 72, perhaps a good age for a guy whos been feeling the effects of long COVID-19 to return to his adoptive hometown of Richmond and give more time to his passions  hiking, camping and canoeing.

Spanberger, who would be approaching her 51st birthday, presumably  and this assumes a somewhat successful governorship  would have dibs on the Kaine Senate seat. Having been in Congress, she could say she knows Washington and, having been elected statewide, she could say she knows Virginia.

Next thing you know  and Republicans could, indeed, spoil the best-laid plans  Spanberger is the first woman from Virginia elected to the U.S. Senate. That breakthrough would come 38 years after Democrat Leslie Byrne, winning a newly drawn Northern Virginia House seat, became the first woman from Virginia elected to Congress.

Then theres McClellan, now 50:

Unless she jumped at the Kaine seat  the two are great political pals and usually look out for each other  McClellan might bide her time in the U.S. House until 2032. Thats when the states senior U.S. senator, Mark Warner  a Democrat anticipated to run for a fourth term in 2026, maybe against fellow rich-guy Youngkin, assuming hes not in national office  would be eligible for a fifth, should he win his next contest.

Warner, now in Senate leadership as intelligence committee chairman, would also be about 77 and would have spent three decades in elective office, starting in 2002, when he became governor.

Were McClellan  victorious this year in a special election to succeed the late fellow Democrat Donald McEachin  to stand for the Warner Senate seat, she would do so at age 59 and as a nearly five-term member of the House, representing a diverse, heavily suburban district thats shown great enthusiasm for her as a primary and general election candidate.

The Warner seat would also be decided in a presidential year, when turnout peaks and could be deep blue  a consequence of Virginias continuing suburbanization and demographic diversity. Though slowing population growth and the speed with which political tastes can change  consider the aftershocks of Watergate in the 1970s and Trump in the 2000s  mean a Democratic hold could be less of a certainty.

But assume a McClellan victory, hastened, too, by the call of history. Another first: a woman of color elected to the Senate from a Southern state long content to send white males to Washington and with a well-documented record of hostility toward women and people of color.

Virginia wouldnt be the first state with two women in the Senate. Eight states have been represented in that body by two women simultaneously, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. The first was California. The others are Arizona, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Washington and Minnesota.

But dont tell Minnesotans they wouldnt have pulled off that distinction without Virginia, whose earliest boundaries by royal decree in 1609 reached west to the Mississippi River and north toward the Great Lakes, embracing part of what is now Minnesota.

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan is sworn in on historic day
Money moves a lot faster and a lot farther than when Bureau of Financial Institutions Commissioner Joe Face got started as a state bank examiner four decades ago. His bureaus latest effort to protect Virginians had it eyeing money transfers to Somali refugee camps.

Or, rather, trying to.

In 2021, the Bureau of Financial Institutions wanted a look at the books of Hashi Money Wiring, a Washington state-based firm with an agency in Northern Virginia. The firm does most of its business sending money to Somalia and to Somali refugees in neighboring nations.

Such examinations are routinely required to make sure that money transmitting companies are complying with state law requiring, among other things, that they have the financial resources to honor their promises to transmit and pay out money.

But Patrick Hunt, principal financial analyst at the bureau, found that some records were missing or incomplete.

He also substantiated nine instances when the company provided him incorrect information in hearings before an examiner, according to the State Corporation Commission. The SCC is the parent agency of the bureau.

The companys attorneys wrote in response to the examiners recommendation for a fine of $72,500: It is important to understand that there is no reason to believe that Hashi ever had financial problems, no reason to believe that its customers were in any way jeopardized, no reason to believe that it in any way did not meet BFIs financial requirements for a money wiring business.

That was an unusually large penalty for a financial institutions case  or even for the much larger cases handled by the SCC Bureau of Insurance or its Bureau of Securities.

The aim isnt just bureaucratic fussiness, Face said.

We do compliance checks; its a consumer protection, he said. These days, money can go anywhere in an instant; its not like when I started out.

In Hashis case, the bureaus examination led it to conclude that Virginia consumers funds might not be protected when they used the firms services. The bureau wanted to revoke the companys license to do business here. But the SCC did not revoke Hashis license, as the BFI originally suggested.

The bureau was after financial information and wanted to check that the company was doing the record-keeping required by the USA Patriot Act and the U.S. Treasury agency that makes sure businesses comply with American economic and financial sanctions, as well as who was paying out money at the other end.

But Hashi filed those quarterly reports with the national clearinghouse for that data months late, according to the bureau, and it did not post its general ledger, as required, through much of 2020.

Hunt said the missing data meant he could not assess the companys financial position.

In particular, the bureau wanted to see quarterly call reports detailing transaction volumes and the investments a transmitter is required to hold in order to back its promise to ship clients money.

State law requires money transmitters have enough funds on hand to at least cover the total of outstanding money orders and all outstanding transfer transactions, not only in Virginia but in all states it does business in.

In appealing the hearing examiners recommendation, Hashi reported that it transferred between $4 million and $5 million a year from its Virginia agency, with more than 75% going to Somalia or to Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

The companys president, Abdulhakim Hashi, told the hearing examiner the company was backed by some $400,000 in credit union accounts in his name.

He said the company had not had a bank account in its own name since 2016 or 2017, when a local bank in Washington state shut down its account in an effort to reduce its own risks.

Hunt said that in the course of his examination, he found out that Hashi had to surrender its Massachusetts license because the company could not get a bank account.

Hunt said Hashi did not notify the bureau when it surrendered its Texas license after that state started the process of revoking it.

The companys attorneys said Hashis book-keeping and financial reporting problems were the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company has since corrected any problems.

The SCC also formally ordered Hashi to cease violating any part of the state law governing money transmitters.

It addition, it ordered Hashi to maintain a $500,000 surety bond at least through completion of the bureaus next examination in 2024.

Hashi did not respond to a message left at its Seattle headquarters phone. Its Northern Virginia phone was not in service.
Masters of marketing, a popular farmers almanac released its winter outlook earlier this week. Not surprisingly, it suggests a colder winter than last year in Virginia. This seems like a pretty safe bet, as last winter was the second-warmest on record statewide.

To be sure, these outlooks play on our long-held fascination  or even mystification  with the weather. Thomas Jefferson famously kept weather observations at Monticello and recorded weather observations wherever he traveled, once bragging about the sunnier American climate compared to that of France.

But moving into the 19th century, one of the first editors of this farmers almanac wanted to give a long-term weather outlook using the only data available  a combination of solar and lunar cycles, planetary positions and other methods that the current editors deliberately keep secret to this day.

Before dismissing the almanac, it is important to credit the method from 200 years ago. In the absence of environmental data like global wind patterns, ocean water temperatures and historical rainfall records, they used a tool that the scientific community still uses today  pattern recognition.

Also known as analog forecasting, much of long-range forecasting today depends on recognizing current ocean and atmospheric patterns, finding a historically similar pattern, understanding the physical reasons for it, and projecting it forward.

One of the most important patterns has become more familiar to the general public in recent decades  El Nino. This recurrence of abnormally warm ocean water in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator is tied to atmospheric wind patterns that cascade across the world.

By later in the 19th century, South American scientists were able to connect this pattern of warming Pacific water off the Peruvian coast to broader ocean currents. Using information from the people who worked the water there, Camilo Carrillo  a captain in the Peruvian Navy  adopted the term El Nino countercurrent, after what the local fishing community had nicknamed the phenomenon.

The people living there recognized that these warmer coastal waters decreased the amount of fish they could catch around Christmas, subsequently referring to it as El Nino  literally translated as boy child, but synonymous with the Christ Child.

By the first half of the 20th century, mathematician and atmospheric scientist Gilbert Walker identified a cyclical pattern in the atmospheric pressure over the Pacific Ocean. Naming it the Southern Oscillation, it is defined as the difference in air pressure between Tahiti in the South Pacific and Darwin on the north coast of Australia.

Meteorologists and oceanographers through the rest of the 20th century were able to connect these two processes in what is now more completely known as ENSO: the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.

The current El Nino in the Pacific is quite healthy and is expected to strengthen further into the coming months. So looking ahead to this winter in Virginia, it is important to remember that El Nino correlates very well with a cooler and wetter winter in the southeastern United States. In short, the warmer water in the Pacific energizes the subtropical jet stream in the winter, meaning more clouds and precipitation track over the Southeast during the winter months.

And thinking more specifically about snow this coming winter in Virginia, some very preliminary seasonal climate models suggest more opportunities for Arctic air to push into the eastern U.S. compared to last year.

This means that physically, statistically and computationally, the odds clearly favor a colder and snowier winter in Virginia this year compared to last year. While that is a pretty safe guess, whether it is an especially cold or snowy winter with respect to the long-term normal is a much thornier question.

In reality, it is best to wait until October to make a better guess at what this winter will hold for Virginia. But more frequent shots of cold air combined with an active subtropical jet stream suggest a chance for at least one single big snow at some point during the winter.

But this also comes as the background climate continues to warm, increasing the odds for ice versus snow.

Last winter, this particular almanac was bullish on snow, advertising it as a winter to shake, shiver, and shovel. But when we looked at patterns with more relevant data last fall, we suspected it would be a particularly cold December followed by a warming trend in January and an especially warm February. And we thought snowfall would be below normal.

Well take a shot at a winter outlook again this fall. Until then, enjoy these last few weeks of summer.

And have fun with the almanac, but remember: Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.

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The political climate in Virginia since the 2021 statewide elections has emphasized pitting parents against schools and educators.

While there can always be healthy disagreement between schools and families about what might be best for kids, there isnt much precedent for how the relationship between schools and families is being exploited for political advantage.

The reality is that the best schools and districts nurture strong partnerships with families, partnerships that operate on the basis of mutual respect and transparency versus on conspiracy theories.

With the start of a new school year, its a good time to talk about what an effective and productive schoolfamily partnership looks like without all the political finger-wagging.

The role of schools and districts

First and foremost, schools and districts must be proactive communicators and provide real opportunities for family engagement. Technology can be a tremendous tool to promote genuine connection with families.

In practice, this means maintaining user-friendly, language-accessible, up-to-date websites, social media pages and communications apps. Such technology must provide easy access to academic and other content, including lesson topics and assignments, grades and information about instructional programs, extracurricular activities and important events. It also needs to provide access to streaming of school board and other meetings.

Further, schools and districts need to make it genuinely convenient for families to interact with teachers and participate in school programs. Such interaction can be facilitated by both technology and scheduling that is flexible and realistic, especially for working families.

I recently saw a teacher livestream and post a video of science research presentations by her students so that family members could watch from anywhere and at any time. This is a great example of using technology as a tool to promote family engagement.

Additionally, it is imperative that schools and districts provide meaningful opportunities for community participation in decision-making about issues like budget, school attendance areas, curriculum and selection of administrative leaders. Well-publicized online surveys can be an effective approach for facilitating such opportunities.

As part of this public participation, schools and districts need to utilize inclusive parent and community groups to help advise the district on both instructional and noninstructional matters. These kinds of advisory groups should be intentionally composed of individuals representing a districts ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. Advisory groups should deliver yearly public reports, including specific recommendations, to the school board.

The role of families

The relationship between schools and families must be an actual two-way street.

It is vital for families to use the technological and other outreach channels provided by schools and districts to monitor academic information like lesson plans, assignments and grades. In a world of essentially ubiquitous smartphones, parents dont need to be physically at school to be knowledgeable about how a student is progressing academically and what is being covered in class. It is a particular source of frustration for teachers when a parent expresses surprise about poor grades at the end of a grading period.

Families also need to actively seek and take advantage of opportunities to provide input about schools and to be informed about what is happening in schools and in the district. Again, technology provides practical and convenient options to do so.

As an aside, it is distressing that so much information that schools and districts make available goes unheeded, while an unfounded rumor or half-truth on social media can quickly become a firestorm.

Beyond all of this, families need to start at the school and teacher level when there is a concern. Airing a complaint on social media or in electronic or print media without first starting at the source of the issue is patently unfair, and does nothing to foster a productive working relationship or solve a problem. To be sure, a story related at home by a student often looks very different when the rest of the story emerges.

However, it is perfectly appropriate to seek assistance at the district or board level if a problem cannot be resolved at the school level. That said, based on 43 years as a teacher, building administrator, district administrator and superintendent, I found that most issues are quite resolvable at the school level.

One more thing: If a teacher or administrator does not immediately respond to a phone call, text or email, theyre not ignoring you. These folks juggle a huge number of priorities.

Good faith

Key to a strong school-family partnership is the idea that both families and schools need to focus on listening to each other and working in good faith versus being taken in by the environment of mistrust and suspicion that self-serving politicians have intentionally created.

We can do better than the politics of division that benefits ambitious office-seekers but detracts from families and schools working together to meet the needs of students.

Close 11-27-1950 (cutline): Flames envelop Monument Methodist Church (top) in spectacular early morning fire. 10-1-1951 (cutline): Large crowd watched firemen fight fire on Broad Street. 02-24-1956 (cutline): Firemen pour water into ceiling of building after brining blaze under control. 09-14-1950: Newman and Young Men's shop fire. 09-14-1950: Newman and Young Men's shop fire. 12-29-1950: Richmond building is shell of store and warehouse that burned. 04-20-1951: Fire in Richmond. Photo details unkown. 12-5-1957 (cutline): The Determined Firefighters Grim determination shows in every feature of these Richmond firemen as they battle a blaze at the L.R. Brown Furniture Co. warehouse at the rear of 1523 Hull St. shortly after 11 a.m. today. 10-20-1957 (cutline): A lot of smoke and fire causes $100,000 damage to two downtown firms. The early morning blaze burned out an insurance agency and a tailor shop. From the Archives: Richmond fires in the 1950s 11-27-1950 (cutline): Flames envelop Monument Methodist Church (top) in spectacular early morning fire. 10-1-1951 (cutline): Large crowd watched firemen fight fire on Broad Street. 02-24-1956 (cutline): Firemen pour water into ceiling of building after brining blaze under control. 09-14-1950: Newman and Young Men's shop fire. 09-14-1950: Newman and Young Men's shop fire. 12-29-1950: Richmond building is shell of store and warehouse that burned. 04-20-1951: Fire in Richmond. Photo details unkown. 12-5-1957 (cutline): The Determined Firefighters Grim determination shows in every feature of these Richmond firemen as they battle a blaze at the L.R. Brown Furniture Co. warehouse at the rear of 1523 Hull St. shortly after 11 a.m. today. 10-20-1957 (cutline): A lot of smoke and fire causes $100,000 damage to two downtown firms. The early morning blaze burned out an insurance agency and a tailor shop.
California couple who just arrived in Cancun found themselves in need of emergency medical assistance

Cancun, Q.R.  A couple who had just arrived in Cancun from California Thursday found themselves in need of emergency medical assistance. The couple, who were traveling with their young son, were in a taxi leaving the Cancun International Airport when their 11-month-old began to choke.

The taxi driver, who had picked them up from the airport, rushed to the C5 Security Complex of Cancun where he requested help since, according to the childs mother, the boy was not responding.

There, police officers from inside were able to assist in unblocking the childs airway and get him breathing. During that time, an ambulance was requested who took the family to hospital where the child was provided with a medical evaluation.
Government of Mexico unveils its new airline Mexicana de Aviacion announcing Tulum as secondary base

Mexico City, Mexico  The Government of Mexico has presented its new state airline, Mexicana de Aviacion. Tickets go on sale in September. The airline will increase connectivity and coverage of air services in the country through passenger, cargo and mail transport, the government reported Thursday.

The Government says the new airline, legally named Aerolinea del Estado Mexicano SA de CV, will represent another engine of growth and development for the country.

On Thursday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador unveiled details of the new airline in a morning press conference with Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzalez of the Ministry of National Defense.

According to Sandovals report, the airline will offer only a single class seating, making ticket costs accessable for everyone. He says they estimate their airline tickets will be 18 to 20 percent lower than other airlines.

Secretary Sandoval says tickets will be 18 to 20 percent less than other airlines. Photo: AMLO August 10, 2023.

Sandoval said the price reduction is due to the use of public infrastructure that the Government of Mexico has consolidated, such as the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), which will be the main base of the new airline.

The upcoming Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum will serve as a secondary base for the new Mexicana de Aviacion airline, he explained Thursday morning.

Mexicana de Aviacion will offer travelers a choice form 20 destinations from AIFA that include Cancun, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tijuana, Campeche, Chetumal, Merida, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Cozumel, Los Cabos, Hermosillo, Ciudad Juarez, Villahermosa, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Acapulco, Mazatlan, La Paz and Leon.

Simultaneously, the federal government promotes the strengthening of the airport infrastructure of Apodaca, Tulum, Ciudad Ixtepec, Ciudad Victoria, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Obregon, Loreto, Palenque, Nogales, Puebla, Tamuin, Uruapan, Matamoros, Colima and Guaymas.

Tickets for the countrys new airline are set for sale sometime in September. The planes used will be Boeing 737-800 180-passenger capacity planes with a pilot, a co-pilot and four flight attendants.

Sandoval says Sedena will initially lease 10 new generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft of which three will be delivered on September 30 and the remaining seven on October 30 .

He reported that the new airline has already created 209 direct jobs, however, a total of 745 people are expected to be employed. The initial investment for Mexicana de Aviacion is 4 billion pesos.

According to Sandoval, it includes the rental of aircraft, maintenance, fuel, rental of destination real estate, ground support equipment and company equipment.
New York (CNN)  X CEO Linda Yaccarino, leader of the platform formerly known as Twitter, said the company is keeping an eye on new competitor Threads, despite the sharply slowing growth of the rival app from Meta.

Threads did jump in with a ton of hype and a launch pad from their Instagram users  [but] its dropped off dramatically, Yaccarino told CNBC Thursday in her first interview as CEO of the company now called X.

But you can never, ever take your eye off any competition because theyll continue iterating and as much as the launch has stalled, were keeping an eye on everything that theyre doing.

Still, Yaccarino said X remains largely focused on its own future as the company chases profitability, and that Threads may be looking at its past.

What we can see is that [Threads] may be building to what Twitter was  enter rebrand, enter X  and were focused on what X will be, and its an entirely different roadmap and vision, she said.

Staving off competition from Metas Threads and other rival platforms is just one of the things Yaccarino is now tasked with after taking over from owner Elon Musk as Xs CEO in June. In just her first two months, the company underwent a massive rebrand from Twitter to X in hopes of transforming into an everything app similar to Chinas WeChat, and has continued to warn of challenges reviving its core advertising business. Musk, who is now the companys chief technology officer, has also been preparing for a cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Yaccarino joined the company after months of turmoil caused by Musks takeover, including mass layoffs, controversial policy decisions and various legal battles.

But on Thursday, she doubled down on the companys vision and explained why it retired its highly recognized brand name.

The rebrand really represented a liberation from Twitter, a liberation that allows us to evolve past a legacy mindset and to reimagine how everyone  around the world is going to change how we congregate, how we transact, all in one place, Yaccarino said, adding that users would soon be able to make video calls and payments through the platform.

Its developing into this global town square that is fueled by free expression, where the public gathers in real time, she said.

Yaccarino said that the company is returning to growth mode after months of slashing costs through ongoing layoffs, infrastructure and office space reductions and, in some cases, allegedly holding back on paying its bills and employee severance. Twitters staff has shrunk from nearly 8,000 employees to just around 1,500 workers since Musks takeover, Yaccarino said.

Are we hiring? Yes, Yaccarino said. I get to come in and shift from this cost discipline to growth  the future is bright.

Challenges ahead

Threatening to stand in the way of that evolution are the companys very real business challenges. Musk last month disclosed in a post that, due to a 50% drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load, the platform is still losing money. After Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the companys value now stands around $15 billion, according to a May disclosure from a Fidelity fund.

Yaccarino, a former marketing executive with NBCUniversal, was brought on to Twitter in part to help revive its advertising business. And she said on Thursday that the company is close to breakeven.

Coca Cola, Visa, State Farm is a huge partner, theyre coming back  the last bunch of weeks, continued revenue growth, Yaccarino said.

But maintaining the ad business has been an uphill battle for the site since Musks takeover. Hordes of advertisers halted spending on the platform over concerns about content moderation, mass layoffs and general uncertainty about the companys future. Musk has also defended his own controversial tweets, telling CNBC in May, Ill say what I want, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.

Yaccarino pointed to the companys freedom of speech, not freedom of reach policy that aims to limit the reach of so-called lawful but awful content on the platform and to protect brands from having their ads appear alongside such content. X on Tuesday rolled out additional brand safety controls for advertisers, including the ability to avoid having their ads show next to targeted hate speech, sexual content, gratuitous gore, excessive profanity, obscenity, spam, drugs.

I wrap my security blanket around you, my brand and my CMO, and say your ads will only air next to content that is appropriate for you, Yaccarino said Thursday.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "X is close to breakeven says CEO Linda Yaccarino"
Man captured with more than 500,000 fentanyl pills remains jailed

Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon  A man captured with more than 500,000 fentanyl pills is to remain imprisoned. On Thursday, the Public Ministry of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) in Nuevo Leon said Erick A will remain jailed after being arrested August 6.

According to the FGR, Erick A was taken into custody August 6 from a pickup truck he was driving on the Monterrey-Reynosa highway near the municipality of Cadereyta after being stopped for an inspection.

Inside the truck, authorities found a total of 523,383 pills made from fentanyl. Erick S was driving a truck with Tamaulipas license plates and was accompanied by another at the time of the inspection. That second person fled the scene and has not been captured.

The bagged pills weighed over 53 kilos. Photo: FGR August 6, 2023.

Arresting officers found bagged narcotics that yielded a total weight of 52.3 kilos, the agency said. Erick A is facing possession and transporting charges. He remains in the States Penitentiary.
Nine rescued from forced prostitution operation in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  Nine women were rescued from four buildings in Cancun Tuesday after an anonymous complaint of forced prostitution. On Thursday, the State Attorney Generals Office (FGE) reported that the nine women were rescued by agents after a search of four buildings in SM 66.

The rescue was made during an operation with participation of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and FGE agents from the Immediate Reaction and Support Force Group.

Cancun police searched four buildings where they located the nine young women. Photo: FGE August 10, 2023.

All nine women were of Mexican nationality and between the ages of 22 and 29. The Attorney General says all nine remain in their protection. The buildings where the women were found have been seized by authorities.
A troubled Roanoke County motel that federal prosecutors targeted for civil seizure last year generates about one call to police a day, according to police department calls-for-service records.

At the Knights Inn, the motel signs have been blanked out but the business is officially open. Described as a former hub of illegal activity, the establishment looked like it was headed for closure when federal prosecutors announced last fall they were seizing it. But 10 months later, the seizure effort, opposed by the owner, has not yet gone to court.

Federal prosecutors said in an emailed statement that the civil action is ongoing and takes time and that one analysis shows that the calls to the police have dropped substantially.

We are actively working to ensure that the property is disposed of in a way that ensures the Roanoke community is safer and prevents the property from being used in the future as a haven for drug and commercial sex trafficking crimes as it once was, the statement said.

Back when the motel first made news, U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh held a press conference in its parking lot to summarize an investigation that had resulted in two individuals being convicted of federal crimes that eventually sent them to prison, one for conspiring to recruit an underage girl to have sex and another for for gun, drug and prostitution-related charges.

Authorities said a kingpin now in prison ran an enterprise out of the inn and as many as a dozen women advertised online for paid sex in motel rooms at his direction. The women would then use the proceeds to purchase cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from him. This went on from 2019 and into 2022, officials said.

Kavanaugh said he was cracking down so that an establishment that harbored a stew of criminal activity would meet the end it deserves. He ordered the filing of 3,500-word petition with the federal court in Roanoke seeking to have the Knights Inn condemned and forfeited to the government.

In response, a limited liability company that owns the motel filed a written denial of prosecutors allegations, objected to the seizure petition and asked the court to toss it out. A financial institution also asked the court to rule in its favor, though its filing does not say why its involved.

The dispute sits unresolved on the U.S. district court docket. But it is a pending case.

The motel has shrunk in room count and experienced cosmetic decline as calls to police continue.

When they first called for the condemnation of the Knights Inn, authorities said it had generated 611 calls for police assistance during a 22-month period leading up a federal forfeiture request in September 2022, or 28 calls a month. But Roanoke Countys calls-for-service figures show the same address has generated 341 calls during the 10 months that the case has been pending without resolution, or 34 a month.

Prosecutors said Thursday that they anticipated some calls for police assistance would continue to occur even after they intervened given that the motel remained open. The motel is allowed to stay in business, but a court order requires the owner maintain the premises, keep insurance in effect, pay taxes and mortgage payments and not sell the property, officials said.

Prosecutors said the total number of calls during the 10 months since the federal intervention was 31% lower than during the 10 months immediately before the intervention.

Six minutes from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, the Knights Inn is located in a cluster of five lodging establishments near the Peters Creek Road exit off Interstate 581. One competitor, a new extended stay motel next door charges $66 a night, just $6 more than the Knights Inn, which is 47 years old and showing its age and which was cited by inspectors in March.

That was when a Virginia Department of Health inspector found a broken window, inoperative lights, stained mattresses and linens, dead insects, inoperable smoke detectors and bathroom walls, ceilings and fixtures in disrepair.

Other regulatory oversight may be lacking. Roanoke County, in whose jurisdiction it would fall for matters of code enforcement, said it has no current responsibility for the address due to the federal action when asked about two inoperable-looking vehicles that recently sat in the parking lot.

The Knights Inns 120 rooms are located in two, two-story buildings, but one of the buildings was taken out of service, front desk attendant Mohan Khadi said.

On a recent day, the pool was empty and the Knights Inns signs were gone. Guest rooms werent neatly curtained and some werent even made up for guests. Refuse and weeds blemished the area.

One thing I can tell you officially is we are up and running, Mehulsinh Vashi said in a brief interview outside the motel entrance Aug. 3. He declined to comment on the federal case, calling the matter very sensitive. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Real estate records give the legal owner of the inn as Khushi & Khushbu, LLC.

Federal filings described Vashi as the motels beneficial owner and operator. They go on to say that Vashi encouraged and facilitated extensive drug and commercial sex trafficking crimes at the Knights Inn. His name appears 55 times in the motel-forfeiture request.

The motels written rebuttal says Khushi & Khushbu denies the allegations. It doesnt mention Vashi by name.

Vashi, who owns a $667,000 home built in 2021 in Cave Spring according to real estate records, is an experienced lodging property operator. WSLS-TV published an interview in which Vashi discussed his decision to sell the Days Inn on Orange Avenue, which fetched $2.9 million and is being converted to apartments. The sale closed two weeks after federal prosecutors filed to seize his Knights Inn.
EMORY  Much of Southwest Virginia lies in the midst of an unforgiving desert.

Rick Mitchell said he remembers when he saw it highlighted on a map.

The director of Bristol Lifestyle Recovery, a residential substance abuse treatment program, Mitchell was attending a conference. A population map was put up showing the areas of the country with the most severe meth addiction crises. The areas highlighted included Miami, New York City, Chicago, and the Tri-Cities region of western Virginia and eastern Tennessee.

The region has one of the most critical drug problems in the world, but no formal education programs in the area to help address it, Mitchell said.

Thats changing now.

Of the news that Emory & Henry College School of Health Sciences plans to launch a Master of Science in Addiction Counseling Program this fall, Mitchell said, We are ecstatic.

Stephanie Rutledge, the founding chair for E&Hs Clinical Mental Health Counseling department that will host the degree, shared his enthusiasm. She lauded the college continuing to invest in the mental health program.

Rutledge said the addiction-oriented degree program is part of E&Hs strategic plan to help meet this regions needs. Were a mental health [care] desert basically, she said.

Behavioral health data taken from state and Community Service Boards (CSB) backs up that description.

For Smyth and Washington counties, the mental health provider to potential patients ratio is 485 to 1.

Over the last decade, CSB behavioral health needs have increased by 10%.

For youth, in Smyth, more than 30% self-report being depressed and more than 10% say theyve considered suicide. In Washington County, 39.4% of youth reported depression, while 12.5% said theyd thought about suicide.

In the 2023 State of Mental Health report, Virginia was ranked 39th regarding the ratio of mental health patients to mental health professionals. This Health Resources and Services Administration designates this region as a High Needs Mental Health Professional Shortage Area.

At the same time as the need for behavioral health care is growing, providers are struggling to find counselors and other providers. Rutledge pointed to ongoing vacancies and the use of sign-on bonuses at the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Marion.

Mitchell described the necessity for providers as glaring.

Despite the need, Rutledge said, theres not a comparable degree program to E&Hs in the region.

The online program is a 60-credit, 24-month program, consisting of six consecutive semesters.

Rutledge said it will put an informed focus on the role of trauma and how it plays a part in addiction.

Mitchell backs that move fully. More often than not, he said, addiction is a trauma response.

Mitchell has worked in the substance abuse field for more than 30 years. Hes proud of a recent expansion of Bristol Lifestyle Recovery, which went from 66 beds to 80. Still, he said, demand is exceeding capacity.

Leaders began to reach out to several grad schools about the need to train counselors. Mitchells daughter was an E&H grad and he naturally turned the college, knowing of its existing mental health program.

The specialized addiction classes that will be offered in this counseling degree, he said, will give the future providers extra competence and understanding of the process.

Its critical, he said, that addicts are guided to not try to take too big steps or move too quickly and set themselves up for failure.

Mitchell also believes much of basic human stuff such as compassion and non-judgmental listening play key roles. Connection, he said, is the opposite of addiction.

John Graham, who is helping lead the development of an in-patient treatment center in Marion known as the Appalachian Center for Hope, is grateful for E&Hs decision to add the addiction counseling program. He envisions students not only becoming providers at the center but also learning there.

From the first semester, students will be engaged in experiential learning that comes to life in our hybrid courses, said Rutledge.

The program, she said, will include three weeks of clinical work in addiction counseling with an emphasis on evidence based practices.

Graduates of the program will be eligible to apply for a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) credential and apply to become a resident in counseling, which would open up multiple career opportunities in a variety of settings, including community mental health agencies, substance abuse treatment programs, colleges, hospitals, residential treatment programs, employee assistance programs, and social service agencies.

Rutledge, who possesses extensive experience in counselor education and program accreditation, including serving as department chair in a large graduate program in New Jersey, noted that a program director has been hired and was expected to start work last week.
A federal appeals court reluctantly agreed Friday that it no longer has the power to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The last remaining legal challenges of permits issued for the hotly debated pipeline were dismissed by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that a law passed by Congress fast-tracking the project left it with no other choice.

Here, Congress has removed our jurisdiction to hear the merits of the present petitions, a three-judge panels unanimous opinion stated.

Late last month, the U.S Supreme Court lifted a stay imposed by the Fourth Circuit, allowing construction of the long-delayed natural gas pipeline to resume.

But until Friday, there was a chance  or at least a hope for pipeline opponents  that the lower court would agree with arguments made by environmental groups: that Congress violated the separation of powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution by encroaching on the authority of the courts.

That question is no longer one for the Fourth Circuit, which in the past has repeatedly stuck down Mountain Valleys government permits, ruling they did not adequately protect the environment.

While conceding it no longer has jurisdiction, the court questioned how that came to be.

There can be no mistake, Judge Roger Gregory wrote in a concurring opinion, that the court was bound by a law he called a blueprint for the construction of a natural gas pipeline by legislative fiat.

Part of a broader law that raised the U.S. debt ceiling to avert a government default, a provision called Section 324 ordered federal agencies to approve all remaining permits for the pipeline and removed the Fourth Circuits authority to hear any challenges.

Gregory expressed fears that Congress had undermined the Constitution and, in the process, it has made the court an accessory to its deeds.

If that is so, I wonder if Section 324 is a harbinger of erosion not just to the environment, but to our republic, Gregory wrote. That, only our Supreme Court can decide.

Judge Stephanie Thacker raised similar concerns in her own concurring opinion.

Congresss use of its authority threatens to disturb the balance of power between co-equal branches of government, Thacker wrote. This case makes clear that the line is fine and perhaps were are getting far too close to tipping the balance of power.

Mountain Valley and its supporters argue that a project vital to the countys energy security had been caught up for far too long in a regulatory and legal abyss.

Congress and President Biden declared the timely completion of construction and operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline as being in the national interest, Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox said Friday, adding that the pipeline should be completed this year.

The law is valid, its supporters say, in part because it allows any challenge of its constitutionality to be filed with a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.

After the legislation was signed by President Joe Biden, Mountain Valley asked the Fourth Circuit to dismiss both cases.

The pipeline, which passes through the New River and Roanoke valleys, has long been opposed by those who say muddy runoff from construction is polluting nearby streams and rivers.

And once the project is completed, opponents say, the natural gas it will carry will only worsen what is already a global climate change crisis.

We are deeply saddened and concerned that Mountain Valley has been granted the ability to sidestep critical conservation protections and silence the voices of community members in harms way, Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society, said in a statement.

The Wilderness Society, one of the groups involved in the case, has not made a decision yet on whether it will appeal to the nations highest court, a spokesperson said.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers.
As the project progressed, the human side and the machine side of the collaboration evolved. Werzowa, Gotham, Levin, and Roder deciphered and transcribed the sketches from the 10th Symphony, trying to understand Beethoven's intentions. Using his completed symphonies as a template, they attempted to piece together the puzzle of where the fragments of sketches should go  which movement, which part of the movement.

They had to make decisions, like determining whether a sketch indicated the starting point of a scherzo, which is a very lively part of the symphony, typically in the third movement. Or they might determine that a line of music was likely the basis of a fugue, which is a melody created by interweaving parts that all echo a central theme.

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The AI side of the project  my side  found itself grappling with a range of challenging tasks.

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 Finding broader Eighth Amendment echoes from Fifth Circuit's ruling that lifetime felon disenfranchisement is unconstitutional | Main | Notable pitch to expedite federal appeals of condemned Pittsburgh synagogue shooter 

August 10, 2023

Former federal prosecutor describes practice of "retaliation" against drug defendants who exercise trial rights

Brett Tolman, who was appointed as the US Attorney for the District of Utah in 2006 by Prez George W. Bush, has this notable recent opinion piece at Fox News headlined "I'm a former prosecutor. The 'War on Drugs' incentivizes convictions, not justice." The whole piece merits a full read, and I found notable that this former US Attorney so readily and clearly highlights how prosecutors impose a "trial penalty" as a form of ""retaliation" for defendants who exercise their constitutional rights to trial. Here are excerpts:

[Alice Marie Johnson's] story was first warped during her trial by prosecutors who manipulated drug laws -- not to nab a drug "queen pin," but to pin the blame on the little guy. As a former prosecutor, Im peeling back the curtain on this practice and setting the record straight. In the early 1990s, Alice was a single mother of five struggling to make ends meet while coping with the grief of losing her son. Desperate, she became a telephone mule for a drug operation. Her role was to pass along phone numbers within the organization, but she never once touched or sold a single drug. Alice was wrong to participate in this operation in any capacity, something that Alice herself has owned up to on many occasions. But what happened at her trial was a miscarriage of justice. When Alice was arrested along with 15 others, the prosecution offered her a deal: plead guilty in exchange for three to five years in prison. Even three years seemed too long to be away from her family, especially given her minor role in the drug operation. So, at the urging of her attorney, Alice chose to exercise her constitutional right to a fair and impartial trial. What the prosecution did next can only be described as retaliation. It brought new drug conspiracy charges against Alice that had not been considered before, accusing her of attempted possession of 106 kilograms of cocaine. No physical evidence was ever found to support this, but physical evidence was not required at the time. Instead, to make its case, the prosecution coerced two of Alices co-defendants to change their testimonies in exchange for reduced sentences, pinning the blame on Alice.... Today, laws are on the books to prevent convictions without physical evidence. However, mandatory minimum sentencing laws still exist, and the "trial penalty" -- the increase in sentencing for those who choose to go to trial rather than take a plea deal  is very much alive. Alice's trial is the perfect example of how perverse incentives within the criminal justice system, spurred by the failed "War on Drugs," ruin lives and tear families apart while doing nothing to improve public safety. Prosecutors, many of whom go into the profession to pursue the noble ideals of justice and safety, are not immune to these warped incentives that put convictions over justice. Drug laws are easily manipulated, and low-level players like Alice are sent to prison while higher-level, more dangerous people remain on the streets.

August 10, 2023 at 09:51 PM | Permalink

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Another sellout to the Left so he can get some good PR. Not exactly news at this point. But it's remarkably dishonest even by sellout standards.



"When Alice was arrested along with 15 others, the prosecution offered her a deal: plead guilty in exchange for three to five years in prison. Even three years seemed too long to be away from her family, especially given her minor role in the drug operation. So, at the urging of her attorney, Alice chose to exercise her constitutional right to a fair and impartial trial."

Let's translate: "For being a front office cog in a gigantic drug ring, she got a perfectly reasonable offer of 3-5. But any real accountability was too much for her exalted self, so, AT THE URGING OF HER SLICK DEFENSE ATTORNEY TO BE DISHONEST INSTEAD OF COMING CLEAN, she chose to attempt to flim-flam the jury with a concocted story about how she was "not guilty." The flim-flam failed and the jury saw the truth (which she now admits).

"The prosecution, which had in the beginning taken a pass on readily provable charges of which she was also guilty, then went forward with those charges, a practice explicitly approved by the Supreme Court. A jury convicted her beyond a reasonable doubt based on the truthful testimony of her drug co-workers."

Ms. Armstrong was not penalized for going to trial. She got a worse outcome than than she was initially, generously offered because (1) she had a dishonest defense lawyer who encouraged her to be dishonest as well; (2) she went along with it; (3) she wasn't that good a liar so the jury saw through it.

The transparent foolishness in Tolman's tale is conflating (a) the right to your trial with (b) the "right" to lie at your trial and be rewarded for it. The problem is that (b) does not exist, and people who would like to scam us into believing otherwise make their own beds.

Well isn't that too bad. Next time, they can try stuff like getting a normal job when you need money, and telling the truth.



Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 11, 2023 9:35:32 AM

Bill - don't be so quick to dismiss alternative points of view to yours (more incarceration and more police). Brett Miler

Posted by: Brett Miler | Aug 11, 2023 3:31:46 PM

Brett --

Thank you for not disputing or giving a reason to dispute a single specific thing I said



Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 11, 2023 3:51:02 PM

Bill - I was just saying that you have a tendency to dismiss as irrelevant or dishonest the main point you make on this blog (and used to make on Crime & Consequences blog) to wit that the only strategy that works to reduce crime is more police and more prisoners. Mr. Tolman makes a valid point in his article about the drug laws (people who go to trial should not receive longer sentences for that reason alone) but you dismiss it because you like to see longer sentences even on people who don't need to be incarcerated like Alice Johnson (who was pardoned by President Trump). I know you were an AUSA and that you base your views on your experience on that and working for DOJ but it would be nice if you were more open minded and compassionate. Brett Miler

P.S. Bill I enjoy reading your comments and I do thank you for taking the time to respond to them

Brett Miler

Posted by: Brett Miler | Aug 11, 2023 4:18:37 PM

Bill, I will engage substantively by starting with these questions: why would the prosecution offer Ms. Johnson only 3-5 years in prison for a serious readily-provable drug offense for which Congress mandated a minimum LIFE prison term? Was Congress wrong to provide that this crime must always result in an LWOP sentence or was the federal prosecutor in this case guilty of nullification of what Congress demanded by offering such a sweetheart deal to Ms. Johnson? In other words, how should one reconcile Congress mandating LIFE for Ms. Johnson and the federal prosecutor inventing his own punishment scheme?

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 11, 2023 4:18:46 PM

I will not comment on the Alice Johnson case as I did not work on it. But stories like this, to the extent that it is true, represents only a portion of the prosecutors in this country.

My experience is that most prosecutors consider three things in making a plea offer: 1) the "expected value" of a case; and 2) any significant mitigating factors; and 3) general office policies regarding when prison is appropriate and when probation is appropriate.

For those who are not statisticians, expected value is simply adjusting the possible sentences by the likelihood of getting a particular sentence and having it stand up on appeal. For example, in a murder case with strong evidence including strong aggravating evidence, the State might very well take a "no offer" position and seek the death penalty. But if the evidence of defendant's guilt is somewhat less strong, the State might offer a twenty-year sentence. That offer is not based on the feeling that twenty years is appropriate, but rather comes from the State's understanding that there is a realistic chance of an acquittal and, thus, the State is willing to accept a lesser sentence to avoid the risk of an acquittal. The defendant is willing to accept that offer because she knows that there is a realistic chance that she will get convicted and get a greater sentence. Short of courts having a not-yet-invented computer program that can accurately assess the probabilities of different outcomes, the parties are guesstimating the risk and the likely sentences based on counsel's experience.

Now, obviously, the other considerations survive the finding of guilt. But, it is human for prosecutors to say, "We were willing to give defendant this chance six months ago, but when he was hoping for an acquittal he did not want it. Why should we reoffer that chance now?"

I know over my career I have had several cases in which I had a strong case of guilt but still some not insignificant chance that the jury would find the defendant not guilty. We made offers that would have allowed the defendant to avoid the mandatory sentencing provisions that applied to the offense which we believed that he committed. But the defendant went to trial and, when the jury found that our view of the evidence was accurate, those offers were off the table because of the sentencing provisions that applied to his true offense. Nut the choice to run the risk of the severe sentence was the defendant's, and it seems to me to be more likely to result in more severe sentences if you place limits that create a disincentive for the proseution to offer mercy.

Posted by: tmm | Aug 11, 2023 4:55:52 PM

Doug --

What? All of a sudden you don't want the prosecution to make generous plea offers?? Offers that would cut back on the "over-incarceration" we hear so much about? Goodness gracious!

As to specifics:

"why would the prosecution offer Ms. Johnson only 3-5 years in prison for a serious readily-provable drug offense for which Congress mandated a minimum LIFE prison term?"

Congress acted against a known backdrop in which almost all cases are plea bargained, and knew that such bargains routinely give away more serious charges and more serious sentences for less serious ones. Ms. Armstrong got the benefit of that routine practice until she decided that she thought she could sell a pack of lies to the jury. That is not the prosecution's fault or Congress's fault. It's her fault. Unless you think lying is OK.

"Was Congress wrong to provide that this crime must always result in an LWOP sentence or was the federal prosecutor in this case guilty of nullification of what Congress demanded by offering such a sweetheart deal to Ms. Johnson?"

Oh brother. The prosecutor was no more guilty of "nullification" than is ANY prosecutor who offers a plea deal with concessions (concessions eagerly sought and accepted by defense counsel).

If you want to outlaw plea bargaining, make your case to Mr. Garland or to Congress -- and good luck with that! (Of course then the defense bar will complain even more loudly about being "forced" to trial).

"In other words, how should one reconcile Congress mandating LIFE for Ms. Johnson and the federal prosecutor inventing his own punishment scheme?"

By understanding (as you only pretend not to) that under long settled law, and under administrations of both parties, the prosecutor is not required to push for the harshest punishment regardless, and has discretion to advance other strong public interests (such as speed, certainty and finality) by offering some goodies to the defendant to cement a plea deal.

Was that supposed to be hard?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 11, 2023 4:57:40 PM

To be clear, Bill, you are explaining that Congress knows when it passes severe mandatory sentencing laws that it is giving the agents of an administrative agency (DOJ prosecutors) broad power and unregulated discretion to decide who gets what sentences regardless of whatever mandates that Congress places on judges. And that these DOJ agents get to decide when and how to give "goodies" to criminals without explaining why and that these "goodies" can be handed out simply because prosecutors do not want to take the time to prove guilt through the procedures set forth in the Constitution. And that criminals will lose these "goodies" and can receive decades more time in prison not because of the specifics of their criminal activity, but because they have lawyers who give them bad advice and/or because they want to make prosecutors take the time to prove guilt through the procedures set forth in the Constitution.

As you know, Bill, I do understand how our federal system tends to function with huge hidden powers in the hands of prosecutors. And I think Brett Tolman has good reason to criticize a system that, inter alia, puts extraordinary and unregulated and unreviewed sentencing powers in the hands of unelected and largely unknown agents of an administrative agency.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 11, 2023 5:21:26 PM

Bill, Doug, whoever,

What are the motives and impact behind todays decision for a special counsel?

It seems like a ploy to keep information away from House investigators and prevent Weiss from having to testify.

I guess McCarthy is saying it is not legal because the special counsel must come from outside government. Would a lawsuit brought forth on this point stall the investigation and run out the clock?

Im cynical as hell and not an attorney, but this DOJ seems to be corrupt to the core and needs to be torn out by the roots. As the article states, Garland already claimed to have given Weiss the power to do anything (bring charges in the district he wants to) that SC status gives him.

Someone make sense of this for me. Lol

https://thefederalist.com/2023/08/11/garlands-special-counsel-gambit-confirms-hunter-investigation-was-always-shady/

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Aug 11, 2023 5:52:05 PM

Doug --

"To be clear, Bill, you are explaining...." and then we're off to the races with your rendition of what I'm explaining.

Well golly, I think I'll stick with my own words rather than the words you would like to jam in my mouth. Sorry!

There are people crazy enough to think that DOJ lawyers are the agents of Satan you portray, but you're not one of them. Is Merrick Garland an agent of Satan? Gads, you're sounding more MAGA every day.

DOJ is an executive agency (not an administrative agency). As a component of the executive branch, it is not subordinate to but co-equal with Congress. Now if Congress wants all the minute regulation you support, fine, go for it. But it has never imposed that kind of micro-management of DOJ functions, and it isn't going to now, as you surely know.

Your basic gripe is with plea bargaining itself. But it's legal and the defense bar lives off it (doesn't it?) so it's not going anywhere.

Ms. Johnson was offered a good deal but preferred a trial, thinking she could get away with a bunch of lies. Fortunately she failed.

She made her own bed with her drug dealing, arrogance and dishonesty. From what you say and omit to say, you have no problem with any of it.

I respectfully dissent. She made her own bed.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 11, 2023 7:30:38 PM

TarlsQtr --

From what I'm hearing, the administration understands that there is an unfortunate substance under the rug that is about to come seeping out, and wants to do preemptive damage control by pretending to give Weiss more independence.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 11, 2023 7:33:55 PM

Bill, your affinity for different words to describe the extraordinary, unregulated and unreviewed sentencing powers of federal prosecutors does not alter the fact that our system functions in a manner wholly inconsistent with the rule of law and the values of our Constitution. Former prosecutor Tolman said out loud what everyone who watches the system in action knows full well: prosecutors function as sentencing kings, and they can sometimes be ruthless toward those who do not cater to their regal plans.

Of course, some kings seek to use their powers in benevolent ways, and most think they are serving "strong public interests ... by offering some goodies" to those who are willing to bend the knee. But I sense that federalist and Master Tarls and some others are finally starting to see that it may often be partisan and parochial interests, not public interests, that best explain a disconcerting amount of DOJ decision-making.

Sadly, despite new concerns from newly awaken folks on the right, I think you are correct that we will not see significant reforms to rein in DOJ power from Congress or other quarters. The shrewdest bullies know how pick their targets and use their powers so as to remain among the popular kids.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 12, 2023 1:10:29 AM

"DOJ is an executive agency (not an administrative agency)."

Bill, I'm curious what this distinction means? Is there an official definition of "executive" versus "administrative" agency? I'd thought they were the same thing...

Posted by: Curious | Aug 12, 2023 9:15:20 PM

Curious --

The important point is that DOJ is within the executive branch and, contrary to what Doug seems to think, the executive branch is not a subordinate of the legislative branch. Under the Constitution, they are co-equal. But even if Congress theoretically could, if it wanted, prevent the executive branch from offering plea bargains to less than the most potent arguably chargeable offense, it has never done so and shows absolutely no signs of wanting to.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 12, 2023 10:13:54 PM

Bill, the DOJ is corrupt--does it deserve this power? Forget about Hunter--what about all the DOJ personnel who have gotten kid-glove treatment? What about the Gibson Guitar raid? The list goes on and on.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 14, 2023 11:59:25 AM

federalist --

I agree that DOJ isn't what it used to be when I was there (in the last century). Indeed, I quit when, under Clinton, it fell short of its duties (story here: https://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/2017/01/sally-yates-and-me.html). When you have a months-long concocted investigation aimed solely at handicapping Trump's presidency, which is what we had in Russiagate; and that is compounded by an FBI agent's getting convicted of forging evidence given to the FISA court but getting zero jailtime from an Obama-appointed judge; and now the massively late appointment of a not-so-special counsel to investigate the Biden family's raking in millions from foreign sources year after year while Joe was VP -- it all smells to high heaven.

That said, it's not a question of whether DOJ deserves its executive branch power. Under the Constitution, it has that power, and will continue to have it until the Constitution is changed. And there are plenty of garden variety criminals -- smack pushers, bank robbers and and Medicare swindlers, etc. -- who deserve and need to be prosecuted in the meantime.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 14, 2023 1:44:56 PM

"That said, it's not a question of whether DOJ deserves its executive branch power. Under the Constitution, it has that power, and will continue to have it until the Constitution is changed. And there are plenty of garden variety criminals -- smack pushers, bank robbers and and Medicare swindlers, etc. -- who deserve and need to be prosecuted in the meantime."

Don't disagree--but it's hard to believe that the abuses that you've catalogued (and some of the others) haven't crept into the day to day operation of the DOJ--e.g., the Catholic monitoring, the Gibson Guitar raid etc. That's unacceptable, and the categorical imperative has to be that those with the badge have to be purer than Caesar's wife. They aren't, and at some point, people aren't going to tolerate it. In the Ashley Biden diary prosecution, James O'Keefe was roughed up by FBI agents---that sort of lawless behavior invites a response. Let's say O'Keefe was a boxer and dropped one of those thugs with a hard right hand, you'd support prosecution. I don't think the DOJ would be morally justified in doing so. The federal agents who detained O'Keefe were little better than Russian FSB agents. And I think everyone agrees that ordinary law-abiding Russian citizens are justified in using violence against the FSB.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 14, 2023 2:45:04 PM

federalist: you say "I don't think the DOJ would be morally justified" in prosecuting O'Keefe if he cold-cocked an FBI agent. Are you conceding DOJ would still be legally justified? Or are you inclined to make the bold point --- one we sometimes hear from some in the BLM crowd --- that long-standing "abuses" by law enforcement undercut both the moral AND LEGAL authority to exercise state power?

I find it quite telling, federalist, that you keep asserting "at some point, people aren't going to tolerate it." Do you not realize that the entire BLM movement grows from some "people" --- namely some black people --- saying they no longer wish to tolerate law enforcement that they perceive as not much different than Russian FSB agents. You and many others may disagree with the perceptions of the BLM crowd, but I sense you are lately getting a better sense of how ugly the world looks if/when you perceive law enforcement to be targeting your crowd unfairly.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 14, 2023 3:36:00 PM

I think we can all agree that the use of force against O'Keefe was awful. This dude handed over the diary to the cops. He was entirely innocent, and the DOJ was abusing him. That is not to be tolerated. The BLM stuff is different--they assert the right to disobey the law and harm innocent people--look at the justification for looting. So the situations are entirely different.

And yes, Okeefe would have been legally justified in my opinion--not just for the abusive search, but for any application of force, as it was, in my opinion, illegal. Would a woman have legal justification for resisting a cop fondling her? Um yep. So it's difficult to separate resistance to any unlawful application of force. Now, in the real world, there has to be some play in the joints, but for FBI agents doing thug government things to a journalist--nope, any illegal application of force can be resisted. Let's say the cops are effecting a search warrant on a business that employs me, do they have the right to throw me up against a wall--nope, so if they do, I can resist. May not be the smartest thing, but we are talking about rights, and in a free society, a person has the right to resist any unlawful application of force to his person.

And pointing out how ugly the world would be means that LE agents have to not do stuff like what was done to O'Keefe.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 14, 2023 7:04:23 PM

Bill, I would be curious if you agree that James O'Keefe would have been legally justified physically attacking FBI agents seeking to carry out a search warrant at his house. I think that is what federalist is claiming, but I am never quite sure where his vision of a right to attack law enforcement leads him.

And federalist, my point is that the BLM crowd, like you, just advocates for LE agents not to do the stuff they consider objectionable. You and the BLM folks have the exact same concerns with LE using their powers to abuse, just different LE targets serve as the focal point of concern.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 14, 2023 8:15:20 PM

No Doug. As I've said, BLM gets mad when ordinary criminals are arrested. And they justify riots (i.e. the looting and destruction of property). And, in case you haven't been paying attention, a whole lot of BLM leadership has been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Why don't we start by getting that right.

What happened with O'Keefe is entirely different. It's objectionable in a society that supposedly has a free press. He was roughed up. This was in service of a Praetorian Guard like action to protect Biden from allegations in that diary that he took showers with his adolescent daughter. They took all sorts of stuff--just a total abuse. Muddying the waters as you try to do keeps you from having to call out BLM and lumps me in with that organization. Weak.

And the issue isn't "attacking"--remember, they applied force to O'Keefe--so he would be defending himself. The rule of law means that the cops gotta follow the law.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 15, 2023 12:04:47 PM

federalist: if you are just making the anodyne point that citizens --- whether named O'Keefe or George Floyd --- can resist the use of excessive force by police, you will not get an argument from me. But I thought you have been claiming that the use of standard force by police or prison guards or other law enforcement can be forcefully resisted when there are claims that an underlying search warrant or conviction or prison term is hinky. I thought you were claiming individuals have a lot more authority to resist LE, but perhaps not; sorry to think you were trying to say a lot more than you now seem to be saying.

As for BLM, I cannot speak for them or their cause, but I can note the similarities I see between their worries that racial biases corrupt LE activity and your worries that political biases corrupt LE activity. Not trying to muddy any water, just noticing how similar claims of bias flow therein.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 15, 2023 4:46:02 PM

I think that citizens have the right to resist the unlawful use of force by LEOs. I think that people have the right to resist arrests for things like criticizing cops. I think that when the police are acting like a Praetorian Guard, e.g., with James O'Keefe, there's no "play in the joints" giving them some leeway in the amount of force.

I think the facts of what happened to James O'Keefe are clear LEO abuse. I don't think it remotely debatable, and the cops executing the warrants should either relinquish citizenship and leave the country or spend the rest of their lives in a prison cell. You simply cannot have this behavior in a free society.

By the by, the George Floyd prosecution of the other cops shows demonstrably that a citizen would have been justified in shooting the cops there to protect Floyd's life. I am not saying that's necessarily right, but the logic is clear.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 17, 2023 12:24:43 PM

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 Former federal prosecutor describes practice of "retaliation" against drug defendants who exercise trial rights | Main | A busy week on the road justifies another round-up review of notable stories 

August 11, 2023

Notable pitch to expedite federal appeals of condemned Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

This editorial from the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette caught my eye this past week. The piece is headlined "Expedite synagogue shooter's death penalty appeals," and here are excerpts:

Now that Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers has been sentenced to death, theres no reason to further delay the administration of justice. The Department of Justice and the federal courts should take every step possible to expedite the appeals. Further, the convicted murderer and his legal team, having failed in their desperate attempt to convince a Western Pennsylvania jury to spare him, should decline to make unnecessary appeals. There is no question of his guilt, and the jury convincingly rejected the proposed mitigating factors, while the defendant showed no remorse. Finally, there is no sign whatsoever of the kind of prosecutorial misconduct that would throw the conviction and sentence into doubt. Further litigation will only waste time and money, and will further prolong the healing process for the victims families and community.... The robust death penalty appeals process exists to minimize the possibility of a false conviction, but in this case there is no doubt as to the defendants guilt. After an exhaustive process, including weeks of testimony, a jury of his peers found him culpable. Further, the defense already pursued every possible stratagem, including causing years of delays, to avoid the death sentence. They all failed. Spending years relitigating these matters will not enhance the administration of justice. Due to the Department of Justices decision to pursue the death penalty, followed by innumerable delay tactics by the shooters defense team, it has taken nearly five years to complete merely the first step in the process  conviction and sentencing. These excruciating years have denied victims families and the wider community a measure of closure. Now, the system  including the shooters defense team  can do right by those who carry the wounds of October 27, 2018, by expediting the appeals.

Not mentioned in this article is the fact that Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a nationwide moratorium on federal executions that has been in place for more than two years and seems unlikely to be rescinded as long as Joe Biden is the Oval Office. So, even if appeals were expedited for the condemned Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, it is very unlikely that he would be executed on an expeditious schedule. Nevertheless, I think this editorial sensibly suggests that an extra "measure of closure" would come whenever standard appeals are exhausted for this condemned mass murderer even if he were not to be executed anytime soon. And yet, even if serious efforts were made to expedite the appeals in this case, I suspect that it would likely still take many years to exhaust them.

August 11, 2023 at 05:01 PM | Permalink

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At least 23 Rohingyas have died and 30 remain missing after a boat they were fleeing in from Myanmar, capsized in the Bay of Bengal.

Local aid workers said eight people have survived the accident.

The boat with more than 50 people on board had set off for Malaysia, a coveted destination for thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution and poverty in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

At least 13 women were among those who died in the incident, BBC Burmese reported.

Survivors of the capsized boat claimed the they were struck by a large wave near Sittwe  the capital of Rakhine state.

"We found dead bodies starting from August 7," said Min Htal Wah, chairperson of Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation, a rescue organisation based in the coastal Rakhine region of Myanmar.

"Within three days, we found 17 dead bodies...We found some people alive," he said.

According to a Rohingya aid worker in Maungdaw township, the boat had departed in bad weather and that about 500 others were still hoping to cross to Malaysia.

Rescuers said they are still trying to find those unaccounted for, although the exact number on board is not known.

Extremely sad to hear that a boat carrying 55 Rohingya capsized near Sittwe and 15 Rohingya died as a result on 7th August 2023. The junta must strictly be following provisional measures set out by the @CIJ_ICJ and allow Rohingya in Rakhine states to have full rights. pic.twitter.com/kfn69le8Qm  Aung Kyaw Moe (@akmoe2) August 11, 2023

Every year, thousands of Rohingya refugees embark on a dangerous journeys in rickety boats to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia, but many have ended up in Indonesia along the way.

Nearly 1 million Muslim Rohingyas fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar amid waves of violence starting in August 2017, when the military launched a clearance operation against them following attacks by a rebel group.

Story continues

A majority of the refugees are in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 3,500 Rohingya in 39 vessels attempted crossings of the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in 2022.

At least 348 Rohingya died or went missing at sea last year, the agency added.

The UN refugee agency has called on maritime authorities in the region "to rescue and disembark people in distress have gone unheeded with many boats adrift for weeks", according to AFP.
West African bloc activates regional standby force for possible intervention in Niger coup

Xinhua) 09:06, August 11, 2023

ECOWAS leaders attend an extraordinary summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo by Sodiq/Xinhua)

ABUJA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday said it has resolved to activate its standby force in response to the recent coup in Niger while underscoring its continued commitment to restore constitutional order in the country through peaceful means.

In a statement at the end of an extraordinary summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the regional bloc reiterates its strong condemnation of the coup in Niger, saying it upholds all measures and principles agreed upon by the urgent ECOWAS summit on July 30.

The ECOWAS leaders "direct the (ECOWAS) committee of the Chiefs of Defense Staff to activate its standby force with all its elements immediately," and be ready for the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force to restore the constitutional order in Niger, said the statement.

The bloc also said it would enforce all sanction measures, in particular border closures and strict travel bans, on all individuals or groups whose actions hinder peaceful efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger.

The ECOWAS said all options are on the table for the peaceful resolution of the crisis, and warned member states against "directly or indirectly hinder(ing) the peaceful resolution of the crisis."

This move by the West African bloc to mobilize the regional standby force followed the refusal of Niger's military junta to cede power to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The primary objective of the regional standby force is to restore stability and order while facilitating the return to constitutional governance in Niger, Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, told reporters during a briefing in Abuja.

The military in Niger detained Bazoum on July 26 and chose Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of the country's presidential guard, to lead the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, a governing body established by the soldiers after the coup, which has been since exercising legislative and executive authority.

The coup, the third of its kind in West Africa in three years, has drawn condemnation from many African countries, which view the unconstitutional change of power as a threat to stability and development on the continent. The international community fears instability in the Sahel region would breed extremism.

The ECOWAS comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

ECOWAS leaders pose for a photo at an extraordinary summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo by Sodiq/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Regulators summoned the producers of noontime show "E.A.T." over the use of "profane words" by one of its hosts during an episodes.

They said Wally Bayola was heard cursing during E.A.T.'s "Sugod Bahay Mga Kapatid" segment on Thursday.

"The said scene is in violation of Section 2 (B), Chapter IV of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Presidential Decree No. 1986," the Movie and Television Review Classification Board (MTRCB) said Friday in a statement.

The IRR states that the language used in shows rated with parental guidance 13 should have "very mild and mild swear words only."

Violators may face "suspension or cancellation of permits and/or licenses issued by the Board and/or with the imposition of fines and other administrative penalty/penalties," the MTCRB added.

The hearing was set for Monday at the MTRCB office along Timog Ave, Quezon City.
Lainey Wilson moves like a rock star, wails like Jennifer Nettles and testifies like a preacher.

Thats why shes one of the biggest stars in the business right now.

At a sold-out concert at Battery Park Thursday night, countrys reigning female vocalist said she had done so many gigs recently she was afraid her voice might not hold up.

Fat chance. Wilson stepped out with Hold My Halo and never let up.

Lainey Wilson concert Lainey Wilson performs at Battery Park beside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.

Like many of her fans, the 31-year-old wore her signature hat (in what looked like Tiffany blue) and a black skintight Elvis-like outfit that made her seem like another lighting effect. Banks of lights behind her flashed repeatedly -- which made it difficult to see, well, what was going on. Luckily, Wilson worked her rhinestones and managed to tell enough of her origins story to please a Marvel Comics executive.

Those songs -- from Road Runner to Smell Like Smoke to Watermelon Moonshine -- painted a clear picture of independence. Before Atta Girl, she talked about the young girls who copy her look and flock to her concerts. Anything is possible, she said, dont let others hold you back.

In many ways, thats her story in a nutshell. Heading to Nashville at an early age, she didnt give up, even though big labels werent cracking their doors to her music. A series of EPs, however, provided a way in. And then it was just a matter of time before something clicked.. Her Things a Man Oughta Know reached No. 1 in 2021 and, well, she hasnt had to look back since.

Whats so refreshing about Wilson is her determination. Rather than float through the hits (like her truck songs), she sells everything and offers context throughout. Dolly Parton, a role model, got proper thanks with What Would Dolly Do; the 4 Non Blondes Whats Up? demonstrated she could cross over to pop without much struggle.

Lainey Wilson concert Lainey Wilson performs at Battery Park Thursday night.

Lainey Wilson concert Lainey Wilson performs at Battery Park.

Wilson, though, is a country girl, blessed with a Louisiana drawl that doesnt always translate. Her singing, however, cuts through everything and shows why she is as big as she is.

Kaitlin Butts, her opening act, has the same kind of determination and tunnel vision. While shes a bit twangier -- and more traditional -- she isnt afraid to put a Miranda Lambert twist on a 60s country sound. Shes a crowd-pleaser, too, (not unlike Reba McEntire) who gets audiences to learn the lyrics to songs theyve never heard. At Thursdays concert, she had several of those break free songs that Wilson embraces, but she also had her own take on life. Were All Gonna Die, Jackson and In the Pines distinguished her in a way that could set her up for big, big things.

Wilson, though, owns the audience now. Shes fresh, shes exciting and, best of all, shes not afraid to put everything on stage. Siouxland audiences got an unbelievable first impression.
As long-time readers may know, one of my favorite hobbies in the Quad-Cities is getting in the car and leaving them. While I'm certainly a fan of our river communities, I'm also a fan of long, aimless drives with no maps or destination. As long as there's an open road, a full tank of gas, and a well-crafted music playlist, I can waste entire weekends driving around the Midwest.

I love the Quad-Cities, but the music snob in me lives by a few simple credos, such as: "Always try to be wherever Limp Bizkit isn't."

Saturday was a fantastic day to flee the scene of a pending musical crime, so I called my best friend who, thankfully, was equally bored. We've been getting lost in the country for more than 30 years now, and Saturday would be no exception. The only downside? We've both lived here so long that in order for the both of us to get good and properly lost, we need to drive a considerable distance from the Quad-Cities.

On Saturday, we pointed the car north and headed towards the Driftless Area of southern Wisconsin. If you're going to drive about aimlessly, you might as well do it somewhere with steep hills, forested ridges, deep river valleys, and roads so twisty-turny, you might need a compass to keep yourself sorted. Southern Wisconsin backroads are not for amateurs.

As soon as we cleared Dubuque, we turned down the first gravel road we could find. Just where this magical road might take us was anyone's guess. Perhaps a land of wonder, of excitement, of newfound adventure where I could...

Nope. It took us to Dickeyville. I'm pretty sure 80% of the Wisconsin road trips I've ever been on have somehow wound up in Dickeyville. I know this because it's home to the Dickeyville Grotto, a Catholic shrine built one pebble at a time by one Father Matthias Wernerus between 1924 and 1930. As far as weird roadside attractions go, the Grotto is pretty great. But I've seen it a kajillion times and wanted something new, fresh, and exciting.

Then I saw the sign.

I've spent quality time at the grotto before but never while a rummage sale was happening on site. And much to my delight, they had a massive selection of utterly terrible second-hand CDs. I'm a music junkie, and I didn't even recognize half these artists. That's when I hatched my own dare: I would spend four hard-earned dollars on the weirdest, most random CDs in this collection and no matter where the day took us or where we ended up, we had to listen to these four discs in their entirety. It would be a beautiful relaxing country drive  all while playing a dangerous game of music roulette.

Up first was the gem "Rugolovations" by Pete Rugolo. I'd never heard of my man Pete before, but anyone with the guts to name his album "Rugolovations" is aces in my book. Also, based on the cover art, Pete wears the highest-waisted pants in recorded human history. His belt is at nipple height, which is a brave look. If only it were as brave a sound. Instead, Pete comes off like a second-rate Henry Mancini, and the whole record is like the soundtrack to a bad 60s spy movie, which doesn't exactly scream "Wisconsin." One song yelled, "everybody mambo!" For the record, we did not.

The second album was "Phantasys" by one Danny Wright. Nothing against Danny. He looks wholesome and earnest in the inner sleeve. But this was pretty much an hour of a random guy tinkling light jazz noodling on a piano. Remember the piano players they used to have at Younkers back in the day? Imagine that but for, like, an hour. Sorry, Danny. Hard pass.

Third was Woody Herman and the Thundering Herds, "1945-1947." Now, Herman was a respected bandleader of some renown, and I bet ol' Woody lit up some pret-ty thundering shindigs in the 1940s, especially if you wanted some solid big band clarinet in your life. I can attest, however, this is NOT the music you want blaring while you drive past an attractive bachelorette party in downtown Galena, unless your goal is to have them all stare at you like you're a lunatic. It gets a score of six out of 10, only because there's a song called "Your Father's Moustache."

And the final selection we saved for dark, because it was "The Parting Tide" by the new age band ominously named Nightnoise. I was hoping it would be moody, vaguely creepy background music for late night ambience. Instead, it was basically Discount-Mart Enya. There were pan flutes aplenty (or at least one Casio keyboard set to "pan flute" mode). There was Gaelic singing that I can only presume was about hobbits, because this was definitely music for midday at the Shire and decidedly NOT the kind of thing designed to soundtrack Cordova, Illinois at 11 p.m.

Having survived music roulette, it was back to my usual Spotify playlist ("Songs That Do Not Suck") for the final push home. Some of you might prefer Pete, Danny, Woody, and Nightnoise to my bizarre playlist that can jump from Debbie Gibson to Einsturdenze Neubaten at the drop of a hat. All in all, though, music roulette added a new and exciting dimension to the aimless driving experience, and I can't recommend it enough next time you pass a rummage sale with an "eclectic" selection. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to ANYTHING so I can get "Your Father's Moustache" out of my head.
SIOUX CITY  Watching a young dog named Dustin run, swim and bark at a Sioux City park, one would never imagine that six months ago he was hours, maybe only minutes, away from dying.

Starved down to a skeleton, unable to even lift his head, Dustin's condition was grave when Brenda Iwen rushed him from Sioux City to Dakota Dunes Animal Hospital.

"I didn't think he was even going to make it over to the Dunes," Iwen, co-founder of Noah's Hope Animal Rescue, said, calling it the worst rescue case she's ever seen in which the animal was still alive. All other dogs she's seen in that condition were already dead.

Covered in dried urine, the Boxer-Mastiff mix had shrunk to 28 pounds, less than half of what's considered his normal weight. A relative of the dog's owner turned him over to Iwen on Feb. 18, and Iwen said she learned the dog had been kept in a kennel in an apartment, given water, but no food.

"I could not believe my eyes. He was just a skeleton laying there limp," Iwen said, remembering the moment she first saw Dustin.

His body temperature was so low, his treating veterinarian, Dr. Katie Bensen, couldn't measure it. She couldn't draw blood, the dog was so dehydrated.

Dustin the dog Dustin, a boxer/mastiff mix, plays at Prairie Park in Sioux City with Rita Lott, who is fostering him with her husband, Robert. Nearly dead fr

Dustin the dog Dustin, a boxer-mastiff mix, weighed only 28 pounds and was near death when Brenda Iwen, co-founder of Noah's Hope Animal Rescue received him 

But Dustin survived that night, and six days later was placed with Robert and Rita Lott, a foster couple who could accommodate the demanding feeding and treatment schedule Dustin needed. Now, this bundle of energy is fully recovered, showing no signs of the neglect he suffered through.

"He was normal in every way except extremely emaciated," Robert Lott said of Dustin's condition when he and Rita took him into their home. "He just turned into a real dog real quick."

The Lotts initially maintained a daily schedule of administering 13 doses of medication or supplements and several small meals to help Dustin's body adjust to receiving nourishment. Soon, Dustin was bounding back, recovering the puppy personality that starvation had sapped from him.

Dustin the dog Dustin, a boxer/mastiff mix, plays at Prairie Park in Sioux City. Near death from starvation in February, he's now fully recovered, weighs a h

Dustin the dog Full of energy, Dustin, a boxer/mastiff mix, enjoys playing at local parks with his foster couple. Near death from starvation six months ago, 

In the meantime, charges were filed against his former owner, Stephanie Pace, of Sioux City. She pleaded guilty to an aggravated misdemeanor charge of animal neglect, and on July 31 was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 60 of them suspended. She'll be required to serve 15 of those remaining 30 days in jail and may spend 30 days on electronic monitoring to satisfy the other 15 days. She also was placed on two years' probation and was ordered to pay nearly $4,000 in restitution to Noah's Hope.

In many cases, neglected and abused dogs are found dumped somewhere, Iwen said, but this was a rare case in which animal rescue workers knew the owner's identity. Iwen said animal rescue and law enforcement authorities are committed to prosecuting animal abuse and neglect when possible.

"I just want people to know here in Woodbury County we are not going to mess around with abuse and neglect. People are going to get charged," she said. "If you don't want your dog or you don't have the patience for your dog, then turn it over. For something like this to happen, there's no excuse for it."

Dustin the dog Dustin, a boxer/mastiff mix, swims in the pond at Prairie Park in Sioux City. Recovered from severe starvation, Dustin loves to swim and run w

Dustin the dog Dustin, a boxer/mastiff mix, left, plays with his foster brother, Cochise, at Prairie Park in Sioux City. Robert and Rita Lott, who have had D

Dustin now weighs in at a healthy 53 pounds. He won't turn 2 until November, and his adolescent behavior was on full display on a recent afternoon at Prairie Park, one of the Lotts' favorite places to take him. He loves to swim in the pond there, finds the geese fascinating and has room to run and bark.

Robert Lott said Dustin has overcome many of the fears of unfamiliar objects he had when he and Rita took him in. He obeys commands and picks up training quickly.

"He's got a 100% clean bill of health," Lott said.

Neutered, fully vaccinated and house trained, Dustin's been up for adoption since early May, but a permanent home still eludes him.

Dustin's recovery has been amazing, and he's ready to show a new owner what an amazing pet he could be.
VERMILLION, S.D.  A grand jury has indicted an Omaha woman on murder and manslaughter charges for last month's fatal stabbing in Vermillion.

An indictment filed Wednesday in Clay County Circuit Court charges Chezayia Liggins, 20, with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree manslaughter.

An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 24.

Liggins is charged with stabbing Christopher Bartling, 47, of Vermillion, on July 30 at an apartment at 205 Spruce St. According to court documents, Liggins admitted to police officers she stabbed the man in the back twice with a knife.

Liggins, who initially was listed in court documents as being from San Antonio, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, alleging she stabbed Bartling with premeditation. The second-degree murder charge alleges she acted without premeditation. The manslaughter charges allege Liggins acted "in a heat of passion, but in a cruel and unusual manner" and stabbed Bartling with a knife, causing his death.

Liggins remains in custody and is being held on a $1 million cash only bond.
From our Top Stories Collection for the Week of July 30: Stories from Siouxland county fairs, why feral cannabis can be found all around town, a Sibley-Ocheyedan student athlete gets our highest honor, the USS Sioux City is being decommissioned and more.
PROVO, Utah  An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against President Joe Biden was described by his family Thursday as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as a corrupt and overreaching government."

The family insisted in a statement that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalized.

Robertson, who public records say was 74 years old, was killed Wednesday by agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home hours before the president landed in Utah to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, about 45 miles away.

Prosecutors had filed three charges against him under seal for alleged threats, including one this week that he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle in anticipation of Biden's Utah visit.

The self-employed woodworker was largely homebound and had limited mobility, his family said. Robertson referred to himself as a MAGA Trumper, a reference to former President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan, and posted threats including against Biden, the FBI and numerous law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump, according to an FBI affidavit.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech, Robertsons family said in a statement posted to social media. The statement added that he was a decent man who voiced his sometimes intemperate grievances in what has become the public square of our age  the internet.

The family added that it had no animosity against law enforcement agents who took part in the events leading up to his death.

The salient point is that he was never actually going to hurt anyone," family member Julie Robertson said in a text message. He didn't even leave his house on the day of the presidential visit.

The FBI investigation began following a March tip about a threat Robertson made on Trumps social media platform, Truth Social. Robertson also referenced a presidential assassination and posted threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James, authorities said. He called for assassinating the president and vice president, called an assault rifle a "Democratic eradicator and regularly posted photos of firearms accompanied by threatening messages, they said.

Roughly 20 law enforcement agents came to Robertson's house, on a cul-de-sac, at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to neighbor Jon Michael Ossola. They told Robertson to come outside and he started yelling back, saying he hadnt committed any federal crimes, Ossola said.

The shouting escalated until a window was broken, Ossola said, then he heard a cacophony of bangs and eventually saw agents bring Robertsons body outside. "It was clear he was gone, Ossola said.

Ossola filmed part of the encounter to show friends and family that this crazy stuff happens in Provo, Utah, he said.

I understand that, like, he had guns, and he had mentioned that he would use them, and so theres definitely a concern there," Ossola said. "But it still felt, like, a bit unsettling about how many people were there and just kind of how forceful it felt.

FBI representatives did not immediately respond to the familys statement or questions about the raid, including whether agents were wearing body cameras. Biden last year signed an executive order requiring all federal law enforcement agencies to mandate that body cameras be used during operations such as arrests and searches. However, a 2022 FBI policy says agents executing arrest and search warrants do not have to wear them if it is considered unsafe.

Military records show Robertson is a U.S. Air Force veteran who entered active duty in 1970 and served four or fewer years, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

He was an airman first class and his service included work as a metalworker helper, she said. He was last stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois, which has since been decommissioned. Further details on his service were not immediately available.

Neighbors said Robertsons violent threat-laced social media posts were markedly different than how he interacted in the community, where he would ask about neighbors children and offer to drive them home from church near his house. The neighborhood is mainly single-story homes with green lawns in a growing area south of Salt Lake City known for outdoor recreation and as religious, conservative and home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' Brigham Young University.

Firefighters on Thursday laid flowers in front of Robertsons home after cleaning blood off the walkway to his door.

Robertson had about 20 firearms, according to a neighbor, and was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who soke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

A White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the matter said Biden was briefed after the raid. He made no mention of it during his Thursday appearance in Salt Lake.

States with the highest rate of people killed by police States with the highest rate of people killed by police #51. Rhode Island #50. Connecticut #49. New York #48. Massachusetts #47. New Jersey #46. Pennsylvania #45. Illinois #44. Michigan #43. Iowa #42. Minnesota #41. New Hampshire #40. Virginia #39. Maryland #38. Delaware #37. Vermont #36. Ohio #35. Nebraska #34. Wisconsin #33. North Carolina #32. North Dakota #31. Indiana #30. Florida #29. Maine #28. South Carolina #27. Texas #26. Hawaii #25. Kansas #24. Washington #23. Georgia #22. California #21. Utah #20. Alabama #19. Oregon #18. South Dakota #17. Kentucky #16. Tennessee #15. Louisiana #14. Missouri #13. Mississippi #12. Washington D.C. #11. Idaho #10. Arkansas #9. Nevada #8. West Virginia #7. Wyoming #6. Montana #5. Colorado #4. Arizona #3. Oklahoma #2. Alaska #1. New Mexico
GREELEY  An opponent of the Greeley County wind farm says the 41 wind towers approved Tuesday will not be as financially profitable for the county as some people expect.

Nebraska Department of Revenue figures for the last couple of years show each wind tower generates about $6,400 per year for the county in which its located, said Robert Bernt. If you multiply that figure times 41, it totals about $262,000 a year for the county. Those dollars come through Nebraskas nameplate capacity tax.

The turbines will be built by NextEra Energy Resources, which is based in Juneau Beach, Florida. On Tuesday, the Greeley County Commission approved a special use permit that allows the project to go ahead.

Its possible Greeley County might not receive $262,000 a year, Bernt said. If Nebraska Public Power becomes involved in the project, the use of exemptions could wipe out the countys income, Bernt said.

That means our county wont receive a dime if that happens, Bernt said.

Bernt, who belongs to the Greeley County Alliance for Wise Energy, spoke at Tuesdays meeting in Greeley. He said the $220 million project will generate 115 megawatts of electricity per year. The wind towers will be built between Greeley and Scotia, Bernt said.

Omaha attorney David Levy, representing NextEra, differed with Bernts figures at Tuesdays meeting.

Before the commission approved the special use permit, Levy said the nameplate capacity tax will generate about $400,000 per year. Property tax will bring about $470,000 a year in new tax revenue to the county, Levy said.

The wind farm is already approved

Levy said landowners involved have put their time, energy and resources into the project for 15 years.

This county has approved this project already, twice, Levy said. Weve had five public hearings during this process.

These landowners have property rights, Levy said. They have a right to put their land to this use. The county has a right to regulate how they do that, but only as far as minimally necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare.

In addition to findings of fact, Levy pointed out that the commission included 42 conditions in its resolution.

This projects meets all of the requirements of the countys zoning regulations, Levy said. The project is consistent with the countys comprehensive plan. Youve got 42 well-thought out, well-drafted conditions of approval that further tighten the screws on this project and further ensure that this project will not be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of Greeley County, its residents, property owners and taxpayers.

And so at this point I would respectfully submit to you that the only thing to do legally is to approve this project. It meets all of the requirements, Levy said.

The conditions of approval will significantly help to ensure that the project is compliant with public health, safety and welfare, Levy said.

Weve done everything youve asked of us and, with that, I would respectfully request that you approve this permit, and allow us to go forward, Levy said.

No choice but to approve

Later in the meeting, after the conditional use permit was approved, Trevor Nekoliczak, of Greeley, was one the people who addressed the board. He thanked the commissioners for adding the conditions. But, referring to a comment made by Levy, Nekoliczak said he didnt think it was proper for someone to tell duly elected commissioners they must vote a certain way.

Greeley County commissioners believe they had no choice but to approve the permit. It was necessary, they feel, tha they follow the comprehensive plan and regulations that were in place at the time of the application.

Bernt believes the wind farm could drive some people away from the area. One couple was going to return to the familys historic farm, but decided theyre going to move to Valley County instead, Bernt said. Hes talked to three retired couples who moved to Scotia. They told him they wouldnt have come to Nebraska if they knew about the wind farm.

Bernt is also skeptical about how many NextEra employees will move to the area.

We dont need to lose any more people. We already are short, Bernt told the commission.

Bernt doesnt blame landowners whove signed leases with NextEra. These are tough times, he said. But the possibility exists that the project will be detrimental to the county, he said.

Health and safety concerns were raised

Bernt appreciates some actions taken by the board. He admires the steps taken to fund the eventual dismantling of the towers and to handle road needs.

He also told commissioners he knows theyre concerned about the health, safety and well-being of people in this community.

But in an interview after the meeting, Bernt was critical of NextEra Energy Resources.

He said NextEras representatives have given varying figures about how much money the wind project will earn the county.

Bernt said there is no actual feasibility study done on the environmental impact. The study was done by a company hired by NextEra, he said.

The wind farm may harm an endangered species of bat that frequents the Happy Jack chalk mine near Scotia, he said. The mine is a very short distance from where the turbines will be built, he said. The bats provide a $60,000 benefit each year to the Greeley County ag economy, he said.

Bernt said hes not against green energy. Im in favor of wise energy. The facilities need to be placed in areas where theyre not going to harm people or the environment, he said.

Questions on bird counts emerged

Bernt said NextEra representatives scare bald and golden eagles out of an area before turbines go into operation, in order to skew the bird counts.

Bernt also believes that wind turbines harm the health of people who live within three miles of the blades. A number of Nebraska counties have widened the setback requirements because of those health concerns, he said.

At Tuesdays meeting, Bernt talked about the actions Greeley County boards have taken.

I would hope that we could bring this community back together. Its been a sad day, to see the people behind me, neighbors and family members, having the issues that these gentlemen to my left have caused, he said, referring to NextEra attorneys.

He doesnt like to put the blame on someone because a lot of people are blaming me, Bernt said. People shouldnt blame an organization that wants the truth, he said.

Before the vote was taken, Bernt urged the commissioners to please take your time. Make sure that this decision is one made by God almighty himself, and not by the money thats been flowing into this county inappropriately. Thank you.

Bernt said the membership total of Greeley County Alliance for Wise Energy is pushing 300. The groups members include well over 10% of the county, he said.
On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that aims to re-create the kinds of conversations that happen when you get political reporters from across Iowa together after the day's deadlines have been met.

This weeks show is hosted by Erin Murphy, the Des Moines Bureau Chief for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, and features Lee Des Moines Bureau Chief Caleb McCullough, The Gazettes Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton, Jared McNett of the Sioux City Journal, and Gazette columnist Todd Dorman.

The show was produced by Stephen M. Colbert and the music heard on the podcast is courtesy of Surf Zombies and Copperhead.
This is part of Airplane Mode, a series on the businessand pleasureof travel right now.

Im going to say it very clearly here at the top: I love checking my luggage, and do it at just about every opportunity.

I understand why this is controversial and against the current grain of organized travel thinking. Baggage fees have ballooned, with most major airlines charging around $30 for your first bag and more for the second. Additionally, luggage companies have figured out how to make the biggest small suitcases ever, guaranteed to fit in the overhead compartment. And how about those packing cubes that everyone (i.e., my parents) swears will make your carry-on carry even more stuff?

This is not even to mention the risk factor with checked bags: Airlines lose luggage all the time; just recently my colleague told me her bags didnt make it to San Antonio on a direct flight from Mexico City. Why? Who knows! And I have also had a fair share of baggage calamity. The worst was probably when my ex-husband and I took our then-9-month-old to Italy on vacation and our luggage didnt make it on the plane in Heathrow; when we got to Rome and asked the inscrutable, smoking (yes, smoking!), mustachioed old man what to do, he said to wait for the next flight from Londonit will probably be on there. We sat in the baggage claim for four hours drinking espresso and hoping our baby didnt need a new diaper (they were packed!), but sure enough, it did arrive, which was actually a miracle given other things Ive seen at the Rome Fiumicino airport.

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Another time, my daughter and I checked bags for a flight that we boarded and sat on for hours on the tarmac and was then canceled. Getting our bags back took more than three hours, which in airport time is about a week.

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So I get why you have probably given up on stowing your suitcase when you fly. Still, despite these and other mishaps, I always check my bag, unless it is an extremely short trip. You should too. Really! Here are some of the reasons why.

This makes me a better passenger on the plane. I am short and it is difficult for me to get any bag into the overhead bin. The chances of me dropping a suitcase are high, especially because I have a busted shoulder. Also: This means more space for you, my fellow flyer!

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When you leave your baggage with someone else, you truly leave your baggage. You know what is beautiful and relaxing? Walking through the airport without your suitcase. Going to the bathroom without your suitcase. Wedging yourself into the bar for a preflight drink and burger and not having to shove your suitcase between stools. It is the closest thing to lightness and freedom in an environment engineered to annoy you. And if, like me, you are prone to losing even large objects outside of the home, bag-checking cuts down dramatically on anxiety.

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You can bring a bag that is bigger than you need, just in case. Who knows what you might buy when you are away? Or, perhaps, what you may want to bring back from your childhood home? In my experience, a carry-on bag leaves no room for impulse or chance. A bigger, checked bag allows space for unknown and unforeseen surprises!

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OK, I actually like the chaotic element of will it or wont it arrive. This probably makes me sound like a real weirdo, but life has so few true moments of suspense. One can experience so many emotions while waiting for ones luggage to arrive. Delight when its one of the first to come down the belt. Fear when it isnt. Borderline anger when the wait is too long. Then pure relief and joy when the reunion comes. I like the camaraderie of waiting with other anxious folks, watching the jealous faces of the spurned. And then wrestling my bag off the belt before Im swept down the way along with it, in a jumble of hard-shells and duffles.

But yes, I do understand the deflation, outrage, and panic when the bag never shows, and the headache of bureaucracy that follows. However, I can see an upside even in all that: patience. And the sweet relief that follows hours or days but hopefully not weeks later, when your bag is hand-delivered to your door at some odd hour, hopefully erasing the brief agony of being parted from gifts, souvenirs, and smuggled alcohol that you wouldnt have had room for if you hadnt checked that slightly-too-big bag.
Consolidation has long been the publishing industrys buzziest, and probably spookiest, existential threat. Always a business in which a few huge companies could throw their weight around, it once had a Big Six that controlled the vast majority of the American book market. The Big Six became the Big Five when Penguin and Random House merged in 2013. The consolidation issue has not just come up in publishing, but also in distribution: Barnes & Noble tried to buy a huge book wholesaler in 1999 before giving up on the deal as it came under antitrust scrutiny. Any attempts to stop, say, Amazon from amassing enormous market power in a digital era of reading have been less successful.

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Simply put, there are not a lot of big publishing competitors out there, and there are not a lot of different ways for them or their authors to get those books in front of people who might like to buy them. That harms writers, who have fewer suitors to take chances on them and pay them, especially for ideas that are not proven commercial winners. And it harms readers, who have less variety to choose from as publishers tap predictable wells that they think will yield bestsellers. The problem is well understood and has generated a lot of consternation and press.

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So it was a welcome counterpunch when, in November 2022, a federal judge blocked an attempt to shrink the Big Five once again, this time into a Big Four. Penguin Random House, itself a product of consolidation, tried to consolidate further by buying one of its chief remaining rivals, Simon & Schuster, the publisher of authors ranging from Stephen King to Bob Woodward to Hunter S. Thompson to Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster, of course, is also a product of consolidation, having bought a bunch of publishers in its own day.) The judicial kibosh on that buyout cut against the grain and prompted much celebration from people who care about the health of books as a collective enterprise. People like, for example, King, who testified against the deal as the Justice Department sued to stop it: The proposed merger was never about readers and writers; it was about preserving (and growing) PRHs market share. In other words: $$$, tweeted King.

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So another Big Five publisher didnt wind up gobbling up Simon & Schusters market share. But a different kind of institution just did: private equity firm KKR, which filled the vacuum left by Penguin Random House and bought Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion this week. Book lovers avoided one of the remaining publishing giants falling into the hands of a different publishing giant, but they didnt exactly get a homey acquisition by a company known for safeguarding books. A private equity firm taking over an enormous legacy publisher is different from another publisher doing it. But it remains to be seen if it will be any better, particularly if your interest in this story is as a writer or reader of books.

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The best thing that can be said about KKRs deal, to date, is that most of the other stakeholders in book publishing have not reacted with unmitigated horror. Book authors, agents, and sellers wanted to avoid an outcome in which Simon & Schuster ceased to exist as a bidder for books. A Simon & Schuster under the ownership of a private equity firm will still be a Simon & Schuster that exists to compete for authors in order to publish books. A version of the company owned by another big publisher would not, and the number of competitors for books would have shrunk by one. The Authors Guild, which advocates for authors, has taken a hopeful but maybe-a-little-skeptical tack. The guild hopes that KKR as a private equity firm will defer to the editorial leadership at Simon & Schuster, recognizing that publishing is a unique business model that requires vision and creativity in ways that dont always justify themselves on P&L sheets. I also hope that, and you probably also hope that, but private equity firms are not known for ignoring profit-and-loss sheets in the name of preserving beloved traits of the businesses they take over.

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Private equity is complicated in ways that its defenders insist media runts like me cant possibly understand with nuance, but the basic business model is simple enough: Buy a company, generally with a lot of borrowed money, and try to get it humming before flipping it for a higher price. If the get it humming part succeeds, that is in theory best for everyone. The company does well, and employees keep their jobs and get raises, and authors get hefty advances for books that sell lots of copies, and its fantastic.

In fact, Simon & Schuster is already humming. It just reported a record sales year and seems to have been on the market in the first place mainly because its parent company, Paramount Global, saw it as not core and liked the chance to pay down some debt with the proceeds. A private equity firms specific designs for Simon & Schuster would be clearer if the book publisher were a disaster site, an iconic brand in need of better management so that it could return to its place as a literary pillar. But Simon & Schuster never lost that status in the first place, so KKRs buyout lacks the patina of a rescue operation.

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And the bad private equity stories are very bad. Private equity came for newspapers, and local news coverage in America is decimated. That sector is a particular cautionary tale because newspapers, not unlike books, are both businesses and something of a public utility. The world is dumber and poorer when newspapers are hollowed outsomething that might have happened even if PE firms never arrived, to be clearand it is similarly worse off when good books are less readily available. Private equity sometimes gets businesses working well, and other times it loads them up with so much debt that they drown. (This specific private equity firm is famous in part for one of the most disastrous leveraged buyouts ever.) KKR is borrowing $1 billion in its attempt to supercharge Simon & Schuster, where things already seem pretty good. What will happen, its reasonable to ask, if the publishers returns are not rapidly eye-watering? Could the ensuing situation be worse than if Simon & Schuster had fallen into the hands of another publisher that wanted to eliminate competition but at least had books in its DNA?

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KKR would like everyone to focus on the more optimistic vision, the one where publishing workers are rewarded instead of laid off, where the companys offerings get wider and better, and where Simon & Schuster can become an even stronger partner to literary talent. The firm says it is planning a broad-based equity ownership program to provide all of the companys more than 1,600 employees the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership after the transaction closes. That sounds nice, much as KKR following the guidance of the Authors Guild and not running an ordinary private equity playbook with an iconic publisher of books sounds nice. It also cries out to a more skeptical ear that there is a catch somewhere, and a fair question would be: How many Simon & Schuster employees will no longer be Simon & Schuster employees by the time they could start owning stock?

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Related From Slate A Novel That Strives to Engage the World on Every Single Page Read More

Nick Fuller Googins publishes his first book, a climate utopian novel called The Great Transition, with Simon & Schuster subsidiary Atria Books this month. KKRs nod to (extremely partial) employee ownership recalls an essay that Fuller Googins published at Literary Hub last fall in which he argued that an employee-owned and -operated Simon & Schuster represented the best possible outcome for the literary industry. I asked Fuller Googins what he made of his publishers new private equity parent as compared to the previous prospect of another publisher taking the reins. At least this wasnt more consolidation, like the Penguin Random House deal for Simon & Schuster wouldve been if the feds hadnt gotten it blocked.

But that premise, Fuller Googins pointed out, was shaky. Ironically, that deal prevented some consolidation within the book industry, but private equity is probably responsible for more consolidation in the economy right now than any other force, he said. And theyre doing this from industry to industry. He mentioned veterinary clinics, child care, and nursing homes. And while acquiring a Big Five publisher marks private equitys splashiest foray yet into publishing, KKRs deal is far from that industrys first in publishing. Private equity investors have swung dozens of publishing deals already, with one firm snatching up as many as 10 publishing properties, according to Pitchbook.

I do wonder if this is the beginning, if theyre now moving into a new industry, Fuller Googins told me.  All right, lets now start consolidating publishing. I dont think it does prevent consolidation. It just kind of moves it over to a new sector. Nobody seems to doubt that consolidation is a fire that could engulf the publishing industry if it hasnt already. What if private equity is on the scene not with water, but kerosene?
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa said he would only seek a Senate probe into the fatal shooting of a minor in Navotas City if the Philippine National Police (PNP) fails to implement effective corrective measures.

Titingnan ko muna kung anong magiging aksyon nila. Kung hindi ako satisfied, I will conduct hearing, dela Rosa said on Friday.

[Translation: I will still check their actions. If Im not satisfied, I will conduct a hearing.]

Dapat lets give them time to correct themselves, added the lawmaker, who also served as PNP chief during the Duterte administration.

Six personnel of the Navotas police were relieved from their posts and were slapped with homicide complaints after they fatally shot 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar in what they say is a case of mistaken identity.

The shooting happened last August 2.

READ: 6 Navotas cops relieved from post, face homicide complaints for fatal shooting of minor

Dela Rosa said the involved cops must be charged criminally and administratively.

He also said that the PNP and the Philippine National Training Institute must review their curriculum or program of instruction on police operational procedures.

Dahil basic yan eh. Alam mong may tumalon na bata dun sa tubig, bakit barilin mo yung tubig? Di ba? (You knew that the minor jumped into the water, so why did you aim your shot at the water?) Thats basic, he said.

Ang first consideration naman natin is to arrest the suspect, not to kill the suspect, a fleeing suspect, di ba? So you have to arrest them, the senator added.

PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said Friday they paid a visit to the wake of the victim and assured the family that the investigation would be closely monitored.

We will see to it that justice will be served, Acorda said.
Texas Republicans have no good argument to justify the states construction of buoys separated by circular saw blades in the Rio Grande. This dangerous stunt is a clear violation of federal law, which grants the federal governmentnot Texascontrol over the river. So GOP lawmakers and lawyers have fallen back on a series of claims that run from disturbing to comical. They say the Rio Grande, which law enforcement navigates every day, is not navigable. They assert that Texas is under invasion by thousands of aliens that warrants the use of force to repel migrants, and potentially merits the invasion of Mexico by state law enforcement. And they fall back on the story of Noahs Ark to bolster their defense. Yes, the tale of the divine deluge has been invoked in support of a death trap meant to turn back migrants fleeing violence and poverty. Just as the Bible intended.

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The buoy border, a project of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, is part of Operation Lone Star, the states broader crackdown on unauthorized migration. This operation has been a multibillion-dollar failure with no apparent impact on illegal crossings. State troops and National Guardsmen stationed at the border reportedly have little to do, and suicide is rising in their ranks at an alarming rate. In July, a whistleblower reported that Guardsmen were instructed to line the river with razor wire and push migrants who got caught in it, including children and pregnant women, back into the water. Abbott added the buoyswhich use serrated metal plates to pierce the flesh of anyone who tries to pass themas a direct affront to the Biden administration, which has jurisdiction over the river. The Department of Justice promptly sued, citing the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, which prohibits the building of any structure or obstruction in a navigable river without permission from the federal government.

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Abbotts lawyers, aided by a group of mostly Texan GOP congressmen, filed their response on Wednesday, and it is, to put it mildly, not the work of serious people. Their defense rests on two basic arguments, one amusingly asinine, the other deeply disturbing. First, Texas Republicans argue that the portion of the Rio Grande is not a navigable river and that, even if it were, the buoys dont interfere with navigation; either way, they say, the structure does not fall under the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act. Unfortunately for Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard has explicitly found that this entire stretch of the Rio Grande is navigable, as has the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This fact is supported by the reality that law enforcement vessels can and do navigate this portion of the river. Moreover, a federal study found that the buoys do interfere with navigation, contrary to Texas baseless assertion. But thats actually irrelevant, because the law prohibits all unapproved structures in the Rio Grande, regardless of whether they interfere with navigation.

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Faced with these facts, the congressmen defending the buoys pivot to the Bible. In their brief, they take issue with the Justice Departments claim that the river is still legally navigable, noting that at certain points it becomes unnavigable because of changing depths, currents, dams, or other factors. The DOJs theory that a river is still navigable even when some parts become unnavigable, they declare, would lead to absurd outcomes because most of Texas was once covered by seas. But dont just trust the geological record; also consider the Book of Genesis, which, taken literally, says the entire world was once navigable by boats large enough to carry significant amounts of livestock. For support, the brief cites Genesis 7:1720, which tells the story of Noahs Ark. Checkmate, libs.

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This resort to young-earth creationism should tip off the reader that Texas has no plausible legal argument in this case. And still the worst is yet to come. After wrapping up this water business, the state takes a big swing: Unauthorized border crossings, the states lawyers write, is tantamount to an invasion, and Texas has the constitutional power to repel that invasion to protect the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of its citizens. They cite a provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars states from engag[ing] in war without congressional approval unless actually invaded. And, they say, the flow of migrants into Texas, coupled with cartel activity at the border, triggers this power to wage war over federal objections.

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What we see here is a classic example of popular constitutionalism in the guise of originalism: an argument crafted by politicians to serve their own political interests that has transformed into a putatively legal argument propped up (however feebly) by claims about the Framers intent. Many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, describe migration at the southern border as an invasion, and have started talking about going to war with Mexico to stop the cartels. (The moderate GOP position is to bomb Mexico instead of launching a full-scale assault.) Everyone knows that Biden is not going to do any of this. So Republicans are toying with the idea of states going it alone. In 2022, for instance, former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey announced that Arizona couldand, if necessary, wouldwage war on Mexican cartels. (Duceys Democratic successor, Gov. Katie Hobbs, has shown no interest in moving forward with this suggestion.)

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Abbott wants to pick up the baton and carry it to the finish line by moving these violent fantasies into the realm of possibility. His lawyers say that courts must not side with the Biden administration, and against the buoy border, because doing so would interfere with its power to wage war against unlawful immigration, including (but not limited to) the cartels. There is no principle limiting such a war to Texas own land; the states argument would authorize forces to fight cartels in Mexico over strenuous protest from the United States commander in chief. To be clear, Abbotts theory has no basis in law or history; it would also lead to horrific consequences far beyond the carnage of armed conflict, including the widespread suspension of habeas corpus and other (real) constitutional rights. Perhaps thats a bonus for the governor, but it should give the judiciary pause.

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Luckily, the dispute has been assigned to Judge David Ezra, a Ronald Reagan appointee who has proven himself to be a reasonable jurist. The case is in good hands, and Ezra can almost certainly be trusted to shoot down Abbotts minacious warmongering and force the removal of his deadly buoys. Anything could happen at the lawless, far-right U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, but if its extremists hand Texas a victory, the Supreme Court may feel obliged to step in. One key purpose of the Constitution was to transfer war powers from the states to the federal government so that the nation could present a unified front to its enemies. This Supreme Court probably doesnt want to be the one that gives 50 different states the green light to start 50 different wars while the commander in chief watches helplessly from the sidelines.
Most of the environmental burdens originated during the communist regime.

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Life without clean, fresh water is impossible. However, as one ecologic disaster after another has shown, fresh water can become contaminated very easily.

One well-known example of this in Slovakia is the leaking toxic landfill site in Vrakuna in Bratislava.

A legacy of the communist regime, the leak, and the states repeated failure to deal with it, means that people living in the area have been unable to use water from their wells for the last two decades.

Related article

Related article The ecological disaster that turned a village into Slovakia's Chernobyl Read more

But it is far from the only case of its kind, and Slovak scientists have begun to research possible ways to extract pollutants from water to make it clean again.

Zuzana Bartova is a scientist at the Mineral Biotechnologies department of the Institute of Geotechnics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Kosice. The department is headed by Daniel Kupka.

Focusing on waters polluted by inorganic substances, especially metals, and waters polluted by organic substances, such as products of chemical production, Kupka, Bartova and others are looking at ways to address the problems at Vrakuna, but in other places in Slovakia.

To stay up to date with what scientists in Slovakia or Slovak scientists around the world are doing, subscribe to the Slovak Science newsletter, which will be sent to readers free of charge four times a year.

Not able to clean properly

When it comes to wastewater treatment plants in the country, they have one fundamental shortcoming - they were built a long time ago, explains Bartova.
11. Aug 2023 at 12:48 I Modified at 13. Aug 2023 at 19:42 I

Tibor Gaspar is a candidate of Robert Fico's Smer party in the forthcoming general election.

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The National Crime Agency (NAKA) today detained Tibor Gaspar, a former national police chief who is now a highly ranked candidate on the Smer partys slate for the September election.

Alleged corruption is cited as the reason for his arrest.

It was Gaspars son, Pavol, who shared the news on Facebook on Friday morning. His online message went on to attack the police, the Special Prosecutors Office and Slovakia's president.

The police later confirmed Gaspar Sr.'s arrest.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also commented on the arrest on Facebook. He spoke of a global 'hunt' for politicians who opposed the 'liberal mainstream'.

The ex-police chief's name has already appeared in connection in the so-called Ocistec (Purgatory) case, in which he currently faces charges. Prosecutors allege that oligarch Norbert Bodor headed an organised crime group that controlled the police. The entrepreneur is believed to have founded the group with Gaspar, who was appointed police chief by a government led by Smer party leader Robert Fico in 2012. He stepped down six years later following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and public pressure.

Bodor is facing corruption charges in the Purgatory and Dobytkar (Cattle-breeder) cases. The latter concerns corruption in the Agricultural Payment Agency and the oligarch is accused of money laundering.
The highly contagious disease continues to spread.

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Last year, the number of syphilis cases in Slovakia reached a new peak since tracking of it began 18 years ago, with Bratislava recording the highest incidence of the disease.

In 2021, there were 294 cases reported. Last year, the number rose to 443.

Of all eight Slovak self-governing regions, the most syphilis cases were recorded in the Bratislava Region: 151. Of this number, 127 cases were identified in the capital city itself, the Sme daily wrote.

Contrary to common belief, syphilis often goes unnoticed as it initially presents painless symptoms. The disease, if left untreated, can lead to severe mental health issues and even death.

Misconceptions and rapid transmission

Maria Simaljakova, head of the Dermatovenereological Clinic at the University Hospital Bratislava, attributes the alarming rise in cases to a lack of awareness. She explains that syphilis does not cause immediate pain or discomfort, leading people to underestimate its existence.

The disease spreads primarily through sexual contact, contaminated objects, and can be passed by an infected mother to her unborn child.

The lack of timely testing and treatment has allowed syphilis to persist, resulting in a 51 percent increase in cases over the past year.

Urbanisation and risk factors

Bratislava, the most populous city in Slovakia, has the highest number of syphilis cases due to its higher population density and greater population mobility. However, it's not just urbanisation that fuels the spread.

Syphilis cases in Slovakia (2022): Bratislava (city): 127

Zilina (district): 41

Trebisov (district): 30

Nove Zamky (district): 18

Ziar nad Hronom, Roznava, Prievidza (districts): 12

Kosice (city): 11 Source: NCZI, 2022

Slavomir Urbancek of the Roosevelt Hospital's Dermatovenereological Clinic in Banska Bystrica notes that promiscuity, particularly among men, significantly contributes to the rise. Changing sexual partners without proper precautions amplifies the risk.

The disease, which is often asymptomatic, underscores the need for regular screening even among older age groups. In 2010, the town of Trebisov in eastern Slovakia saw a syphilis epidemic among pensioners.

Syphilis is treated with penicillin injections into the muscle. A person who is allergic to penicillin is given tetracycline.

According Urbancek, local epidemics are among the biggest triggers of the increase in syphilis cases in the Banska Bystrica Region. An epidemic has recently broken out in a Roma community in the Brezno district, he told Sme.

In the absence of of comprehensive awareness campaigns, syphilis continues to be a hidden danger affecting various segments of the population.
Pilot Coffee Roasters is on a mission: coffee thats sustainably sourced AND packaged. On our path to becoming the best version of ourselves, the company wrote on an Instagram post, we believe prioritizing sustainability and accessibility will always guide us in the right direction. Thats why we are thrilled to introduce our new fully bilingual + plant-based packaging.



For their packaging, Pilot Coffee Roasters went with plant-based Biotre materials. For the design refresh, Pilot Coffee Roasters added comprehensive product information in both French and English, with elements designed to simplify the buying process.

Coffee Design is a feature series on Sprudge presented by TricorBraun Flex.

Pilot Coffee Roasters Design Additions

Roast Level Meter

According to our customers, the roast level is the most important feature after tasting notes, explains Pilot Coffee Roasters Marketing Manager Trevor Walsh, as an omni-roaster, we target the sweetest point in each coffees development, and our light to dark scale represents the medium roast spectrum. In the past we used a classic to adventurous scale but found this a little too subjective. We feel this update has given customers a better understanding of what to expect from each roast.

Descriptive Flavor Notes

Pilot Coffee Roasters coffee offerings feature three distinct flavor notes in both French and English with the intention of becoming more accessible to a growing national community. The El Salvador San Joaquin, for example, has flavor notes of apricot, hazelnut, and creamy (abricot, noisette, et cremeux.)

Bold Colors

The bags themselves are in various shades of grey giving the label plenty of opportunity to pop with color. The labels themselves are supporting reflections of the companys bold brand colors. These colors are found throughout the cafe space as wellcomplementing drinkware, wall colors, and furnishing accents.

We spoke with Trevor Walsh at Pilot Coffee Roasters digitally to learn more about their sustainable and design-forward quest.

Two years in, how has the re-design helped yall on your path to becoming the best version of Pilot Coffee Roasters?

Packaging will always be a means for us to express our brand values. From thoughtful material selection, bilingual messaging, and details that support the coffee selection process, our coffee bags are a constant reminder that quality is paramount at every step. We owe our producing partners a thoughtfully designed vessel for their world-class coffee.

How long did the packaging refresh take? Were considerations made over different sustainable materials/vessels?

Michelle Wilkin, who at the time was the creative director and remains a partner at Pilot Coffee Roasters, was the architect of the project. She worked tirelessly for more than eight months to assess how we represent our values of quality, relationships and innovation. We believe that prioritizing sustainability and accessibility will always guide us in the right direction, and so we chose sustainable packaging made with plant-based Biotre 2.0 materials.

We love the contrast between the light gray/metallic/charcoal bags and the bright colors. We also love that service ware and other elements in your shop correlate with the colors on the bag!

Thank you! Our primary color palette consists of three categories: foundational neutralslike our grey coffee bags, strong brand colors, and bright, bold supporting colorslike our coffee bag labels.

We use three different grays that identify each category: Pilot Charcoal for signature blends, Pilot Light Grey for single origins, and Metallic for limited edition releases. Label colors often represent the coffees tasting notes, and generally we select colors that are easily differentiated on the shelf.

One of the features is the roast levelhas that been helpful for guests?

Absolutely!

Tell us about the new summer seasonal coffee offering!

This project was a ton of fun to work on. First we asked ourselves, what does summer taste like? After lots of discussion and sampling we identified two lots that brought our answer to life: a fruity natural Bourbon from El Salvador, and an elegant washed Ethiopian from the Guji region. We chose the name Radial, taking inspiration from the suns warm gaze, and nodding to the bright, beaming flavors that come from this blend.

We also wanted to inspire a little coffee curiosity and get our customers to think beyond their morning brew. So our team developed refreshing seasonal recipes (the cold brew sbagliato was a personal favorite) to enjoy at home with Radial Summer Blend. The response has been incredible, and were really proud of the outcome!

The Colombia Las Palmas El Fondo is sold out onlinewhat coffees are coming out next?

We have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Our next five coffees are from five different growing regions, including a natural Java from Nicaragua, a returning lot from Chiapas, Mexico, and a new direct trade partner from Embu County, Kenya.

Thank you!

Explore Coffee Design archives at our exclusive Coffee Design hub.

Have a suggestion for a future Coffee Design spotlight? Coffee Design suggestions, submissions, and considerations are always free. Contact us today!
On Tuesday, wildfires unexpectedly hit the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii. What is being called the deadliest wildfires in the US in yearssince the 2018 Camp Fire in Californiathe disaster has already killed 36 people, with hundreds of tourists and residents still missing and unaccounted for. Caused by a dry summer mixed with strong winds from Hurricane Dora, the wildfires have damaged, if not entirely destroyed, over 270 buildings by Wednesdays count.

Albas Cuban Coladas Help Lahaina Get Caffeinated Again Fundraiser via GoFundMe

Many of the companies affected by the Lahaina wildfires are coffee companies, and to aid, a GoFundMe has been set up to help with their recovery efforts. Created by Christina Pundyke, the owner of Albas Cuban Coladas, the Help Lahaina Get Caffeinated Again fundraiser seeks to raise $20,000 to go to affected cafes. Per the GoFundMe, the list of cafes touched by the wildfires includes:

Bad Ass Coffee

Belle Surf Cafe

Cafe Cafe Maui

Vigilatte Artisan Coffee

Drift Coffee

Keiki Bowls Cafe

Maui Island Coffee

Pundyke notes that the funds can go to specific cafes of your choice if requested in a note included along with the donation.

Other Fundraisers From Vigilatte and Aina Momona

Vigilatte Artisan Coffee has also set up its own GoFundMe seeking $100,000 to help the company and its employees, many of whom lost their jobs in the devastation and their homes.

Outside of the coffee industry, Aina Momona, a local non-profit dedicated to achieving environmental health and sustainability through social justice and de-occupying the Hawaiian lands, has also set up a fundraiser. All profits they raise will go directly to Hawaii Community Foundations Maui County Strong Fund, which provides community resilience with resources for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

The situation is dire in Lahaina, and the full extent of the devastation is not yet known. Any bit you can give will be a big help. For more information or to donate, visit the Help Lahaina Get Caffeinated Again GoFundMe page.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/alexander-mercouris-how-zelensky-blackmails-the-us---1112524718.html

Alexander Mercouris: How Zelensky Blackmails the US

Alexander Mercouris: How Zelensky Blackmails the US

Ukraine has mastered the art of pulling the strings of DC policymakers and will do whatever it takes to smother any potential peace process, Alexander Mercouris, lawyer and geopolitical analyst, told Sputnik's New Rules podcast.

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us

analysis

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alexander mercouris

volodymyr zelensky

ukraine

russia

washington

congress

foreign agents registration act (fara)

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Changes in the tone of the West's press coverage of the botched Ukrainian counteroffensive suggest that the Washington foreign policy establishment has started to search for a face-saving exit from the Ukrainian debacle."It might all work well for the United States to start talking to the Russians, to say to the Russians, 'we are interested in some kind of compromise'," Alexander Mercouris, lawyer and geopolitical analyst, and cohost of the Duran podcast told Sputnik. "But getting the Ukrainians to come round is going to prove extremely difficult".The Kiev regime openly opposes any scenario of a ceasefire in Ukraine and is likely to derail any Western-led peace initiatives, the analyst stressed.Ukrainian Leadership Doesn't Want Diplomatic OutcomeMykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky minces no words in chastising those advocating a ceasefire in Ukraine and negotiations with Russia. Kiev regime officials believe that a ceasefire or freezing the conflict would mean only one thing - Russia's actual victory and Vladimir Putin's personal triumph.Judging from Podolyak's earlier statements, the Kiev regime desires nothing less than degrading and dismembering Russia."[Russia] have to come up with a different name for themselves. They have to shrink in size, they have to change their rhetoric. They have to go to court and so on. I want you and me to consciously understand what our key task is, why we cannot stop in the middle of the road, already realizing what price we are paying for the fact that today it is possible to finally resolve this issue with Russia," Podolyak said on August 3 in a TV interview.Per Mercouris, Kiev's hardball approach is nothing new. The history of the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars serves as an example, where neither the government of South Vietnam nor the Ghani cabinet in Afghanistan were willing to negotiate and make compromises with their rivals. Saigon continued to oppose Washington's peace efforts up until South Vietnam collapsed. Likewise, then-Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani continued to refuse to talk to the Taliban* until the moment finally came when the militant group marched into Kabul, according to the analyst.Why is Ukraine's Dependence on the US Making DC Vulnerable?The only possible way out, seen by the analyst, are direct talks between Washington and Moscow with regard to a peace settlement in Ukraine. Plausibly, Ukraine's extreme dependence now on the United States and on Western powers could help Washington force the Kiev regime into accepting a peace framework agreed between Moscow and Washington.That being said, Ukraine's excessive dependence on the US and NATO is a double-edged sword, as the Zelensky government has reached the point when it could blackmail the United States. The United States was incredibly unwise to overcommit and overinvest in Ukraine, according to Mercouris.The Zelensky regime can play on that by reminding Washington that it has already invested too much in the Ukraine proxy war, and therefore it can't just cut the Kiev regime off. If the US dumps Ukraine, then the Kiev regime would collapse and the blame for that would be laid at the door of the Biden administration, according to the analyst.He noted that the same argument was used in the cases of South Vietnam and Afghanistan in the past, and Ukraine is likely to employ this rhetoric too."Now, of course, as in any blackmail-type situation, the victim of blackmail only becomes a victim if they let themselves be blackmailed," Mercouris remarked. "Ultimately, the United States can simply turn off the tap. But it is not as straightforward and as simple as people think," the analyst noted.How Could Ukraine Blackmail the Biden Administration?Ukraine has tools to make its political blackmail work, according to Mercouris. Since 2014, the Ukrainians have funneled extensive resources into building up a strong lobbyist network in Washington, DC.As per the Quincy Institute, a DC-based think tank, Ukraines agents had done "an extraordinary amount of work" prior to Russias special operation which started on February 24, 2022. Particularly, in their 2021 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings, firms reported engaging in 13,541 "political activities" on behalf of Ukrainians. For comparison's sake, the Saudi lobby  named as one of the largest foreign lobbies in Washington DC  reported just 2,834 contacts in the same timeframe. According to Quincy's study, with over 13,000 political activities reported in 2021 alone, the pro-Ukraine lobby "was able to devote considerable attention to a number of key fields that serve to shape US foreign policy and public opinion."What should be kept in mind is that historically, not all lobbies were capable of achieving their objectives in the face of broader US geopolitical interests, the expert remarked. Thus, South Vietnam also had its lobby in DC before its collapse. Similarly, the Kuomintang, a former ruling party in Taiwan, argued passionately in the 1960s against any move by the United States to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Nonetheless, the Nixon administration got the ball rolling on normalization with Beijing in the early 1970s, which eventually resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 1979 under then-President Jimmy Carter.However, currently, the world is in uncharted waters, since the stakes in the Ukraine conflict and emotions are much higher, the analyst contends.According to Mercouris, the question is: How much stronger is this particular lobby, in a position to succeed where the previous lobbies failed?"Of course, one can't predict the outcome with any enormous confidence," the expert concluded.* Taliban is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230810/us-lawmaker-questions-new-aid-to-ukraine-amid-lack-of-accurate-accounting-1112521336.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230804/ukraines-attrition-rate-suggests-counteroffensive-is-over-1112393002.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230723/washington-becoming-weary-of-zelenskys-never-ending-demands-for-aid---reports-1112084738.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230810/white-house-steamrolls-over-poll-showing-americans-dont-want-to-fund-ukraine-1112513270.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/biden-administration-downplays-migration-crisis-as-july-witnesses-major-uptick-in-crossings-1112519569.html

Biden Administration Downplays Migration Crisis as July Witnesses Major Uptick in Crossings

Biden Administration Downplays Migration Crisis as July Witnesses Major Uptick in Crossings

On this episode of Fault Lines, host Jammarl Thomas and Melik Abdul discussed a number of topics from around the globe, including New York Mayor Eric Adams plea to Washington for FEderal aid as migrant care and housing budget balloons to 12 billion in the next few years.

2023-08-11T04:05+0000

2023-08-11T04:05+0000

2023-08-11T12:37+0000

fault lines

radio

new york city

immigrants

joe biden

debt

ukraine

electoral college

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Biden Administration Downplays Migration Crisis as July Witnesses Major Uptick in Crossings On this episode of Fault Lines, host Jammarl Thomas and Melik Abdul discussed a number of topics from around the globe, including New York Mayor Eric Adams plea to Washington for FEderal aid as migrant care and housing budget balloons to 12 billion in the next few years.

Ted Rall: Political Cartoonist and Co-Host of The Final Countdown on Radio SputnikDaniel Lazare: Independent JournalistAquiles Larrea: CEO of Larrea Wealth ManagementDaniel McAdams: Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and ProsperityIn the first hour, the Fault Lines team discusses why liberal cities like New York City are feeling the burden of the migrant crisis despite counter claims by the Biden administration. Cartoonist Ted Rall joins Fault Lines to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis and the Biden administration's shortcomings on the issue and how Mayors dont think of more sustainable solutions to the crisis besides pleading for Federal aid.In the second hour, Fault Lines show explores the US electoral college system generating significant debate over the years, as some argue that it is unfair. Independent journalist Daniel Lazare gives his insight to Fault Lines about the electoral system and its future.In the third hour, the Fault Lines hosts discuss why the US credit debt has surpassed $1 trillion, plunging the country further into debt. Wealth management expert Aquiles Larrea speaks to Fault Lines about credit card debt and forecasts the potential issues from a microeconomic viewpoint.Later in the last hour, the Fault Lines team deep dive into the Biden administration dispersing its first $200 million to Ukraine from its "accounting error" fund, prompting many to ponder if this financial woe was done purposely to procure more weapons to Ukraine. Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute discusses this so-called "accounting error".We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

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fault lines, migrant crisis in new your city, u.s. electoral college system, u.s. credit debt, us aid to ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/chinas-wang-yi-warns-singapore-us-biggest-destabilizing-factor-in-the-world-1112542462.html

China's Wang Yi Warns Singapore: US 'Biggest Destabilizing Factor in the World'

China's Wang Yi Warns Singapore: US 'Biggest Destabilizing Factor in the World'

The United States has cast Beijing as a villain in Southeast Asia, presenting itself as the defender of international law and the rights of smaller nations. However, Washington's solution to the disputes is a military standoff.

2023-08-11T19:30+0000

2023-08-11T19:30+0000

2023-08-11T19:30+0000

world

china

wang yi

singapore

asean

regional comprehensive economic partnership (rcep)

south china sea

tensions

us

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Speaking to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that one of the city-states biggest geopolitical partners, the United States, would be a never-ending source of chaos and instability.The United States, out of its motive to maintain unipolar hegemony, is unwilling to see the development and revitalization of China and other emerging countries, Wang told Lee.Wang is on a tour of Southeast Asia to buttress Chinese relations with Singapore as well as Cambodia and Malaysia amid a heated dispute with the Philippines over a contested coral reef in the South China Sea and an increased effort by Washington to woo regional powers away from Beijing.A day prior, Wang met with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, reaffirming the two nations mutual interest in furthering tourism and business flows, and air connectivity between China and Singapore, as Balakrishnans office put it.Singapore and China are both part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a massive trade pact that recently took effect. It includes roughly 30% of the worlds population and 30% of its gross domestic product, with more than a dozen nations included across East Asia and the Pacific, including all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with whom Wang also met, expressed his support for Chinas interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The 11-nation trading bloc was founded in 2018 and includes some of the same nations as RCEP, but also states like Canada, Mexico, and Peru, on the far side of the Pacific. The United Kingdom joined the CPTPP last month, becoming the first European Union member to do so.However, Singapore, a former British colony, also has close ties with the United States, from which it has acquired a significant part of its military inventory. Due to its economic power and strategic location at the Straits of Malacca and southern end of the South China Sea, Washington has put extensive effort into courting the island nations friendship in recent years.Its a phrase that the US has invoked in response to Chinese claims over islands and sea lanes in the South China Sea, much of which overlap with the claims of other nations, and against which the US has postured as enforcing the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) against violations. Ironically, the US has never ratified UNCLOS.Amid the US posturing, China and ASEAN have pushed closer to establishing a joint code of conduct for the South China Sea, which will govern their interactions and disputes in line with UNCLOS once it enters force. A working group meeting last month saw the partner states commit to producing a working document within three years.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/wang-yi-to-visit-three-southeast-asian-states-after-south-china-sea-showdown-with-philippine-navy-1112491823.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230623/us-warship-to-visit-vietnamese-port-as-south-china-sea-tensions-brew-1111414200.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/corruption-case-did-joe-biden-benefit-from-hunters-cash-bonanza-1112543041.html

Corruption Case: Did Joe Biden Benefit From Hunter's Cash Bonanza?

Corruption Case: Did Joe Biden Benefit From Hunter's Cash Bonanza?

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has identified over $20 million in payments from foreign sources to the Biden family. Does the expose cast a shadow on President Joe Biden?

2023-08-11T17:50+0000

2023-08-11T17:50+0000

2023-08-11T17:50+0000

us

americas

joe biden

hunter biden

china

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cia

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philip giraldi

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House GOP investigators released a third bank records memorandum as part of their investigation into the family of President Joe Biden on August 9. The memorandum indicated that during Joe Biden's vice presidency, his family collected over $20 million from Ukrainian, Kazakh, Chinese, Russian, and Romanian nationals in exchange for protection, assistance, and access to the then-veep. According to the investigators, Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was selling the family "brand" for top dollar."It is without question that Joe Biden is the head of the influence-peddling scheme that has enriched his family to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. What is equally troubling is this is not a secret to the US intelligence community that has actively fought to conceal from the public that the president has been compromised for a very long time. America has been for sale by the Biden family for years as that is now clear from bank records obtained by the Oversight Committee," the commentator argued.Did Joe Biden Benefit From His Son's Business?The GOP-led committee's release has prompted a lively debate in the US press with liberal-leaning news outlets arguing that the incumbent president had not profited personally from Hunter's alleged influence-peddling schemes. For their part, US conservative media is insisting that Joe "absolutely" benefited from his son's foreign business.To back their claim, the conservatives unearthed Hunter's old message, emanating from the so-called "laptop from hell" in which the younger Biden complained that his father had taken "half" of his "salary". In addition, 2010 emails between Hunter Biden and his business partner Eric Schwerin apparently showed that Hunter paid some of his father's bills and spent money on house repairs for Joe when the latter was vice president.Other conservative commentators refer to a May 13, 2017, email to Hunter and his business partners in which one of the participants of the deal outlined an equity breakdown in which 10% of the lucrative CEFC joint venture would be held by Hunter "for the big guy." Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, insisted that "the big guy" was none other than Joe.However, in order to prove this in court one would have to demonstrate that: first, Joe was directly and knowledgeably involved; and, second, that Joe benefited materially and directly from the money that resulted, the CIA veteran continued."I am not sure that it will be possible to demonstrate the former beyond a reasonable doubt (it has been denied, for example, that Joe was actually in the room when Hunter was threatening his Chinese contact to extort money)," Giraldi said.And unless Joe was depositing his money in a traceable fashion in a bank account, it would also be difficult to prove that he benefited materially and directly from that, the former intelligence officer said.Will Joe Biden Face Impeachment?Earlier, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped a hint that Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden over apparent financial misconduct and the Biden family's questionable business dealings. The speaker detailed the impeachment inquiry would allow Congress "to get the information to be able to know the truth."Little has drawn attention to the fact that President Trump was impeached "for a phone call with Ukraine wherein nothing untoward occurred but his opponents stretched the facts in order to destroy him."However, when it comes to the Bidens, the public sees "clear evidence of influence peddling and payments to various members of the Biden family from multiple foreign entities with no clear business purpose," Little emphasized.For his part, Giraldi doubts that the elder Biden will face impeachment, given how zealously he has been protected by the mainstream press and US intelligence figures.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/gop-memo-hunter-sold-biden-brand-for-at-least-20-million-during-joes-vice-presidency-1112492628.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220412/house-oversight-committee-eager-to-probe-hunter-bidens-pops-big-guy-messages-1094700273.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230808/white-house-blasts-mccarthy-for-floating-lies-over-gops-biden-impeachment-inquiry-push-1112471975.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/play-it-again-joe-biden-denies-sitting-in-on-hunters-business-dealings-via-speaker-phone-1112495721.html

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  The national government expects lower rice prices soon as the Department of Agriculture started negotiations on importation deals with Vietnam and India.

Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the DA opened the talks upon the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also spearheads the department.

Panganiban said that Vietnamese exporters have given price quotations that are US $30-40 lower than what was quoted in a recent meeting in Malacanang.

The DA official added that the agency is working with India "to allow imports (to continue) on humanitarian grounds."

"This will hopefully pave the way for the country to get better terms for the additional 300,000 to 500,000 MT rice importation for this year," said Panganiban in a statement.

"This will help lower the prices of rice as it will further beef up our national inventory which, even without importation, is expected to last for 52 to 57 days by end of 2023."

Marcos earlier said that the government will not import rice as long as there is enough supply of the food staple. He also noted that the country has enough rice stock to last even after the El Nino phenomenon next year.

Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombillo earlier said the projected ending stock for this year is 1.96 million metric tons, which is enough for 52 days.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/f-16-training-for-ukrainian-pilots-barely-getting-off-the-runway-1112530371.html

F-16 Training For Ukrainian Pilots Barely Getting Off the Runway

F-16 Training For Ukrainian Pilots Barely Getting Off the Runway

First Ukrainian pilots to undergo training on US-made F-16 jets will not be ready to fly them until next summer, according to a US report.

2023-08-11T13:48+0000

2023-08-11T13:48+0000

2023-08-11T13:48+0000

military

us f-16

ukraine

russia

training

volodymyr zelensky

luke air force base (afb)

nato

jake sullivan

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Kiev might be clamoring for American-made F-16s amid its faltering counteroffensive, but the first Ukrainian pilots to undergo training on the fighter jets most likely will not be ready to fly them until next summer, according to a US report.A mere handful of six pilots will undergo the first round of instruction, with two other pilots picked as reserve candidates, according to cited senior Ukrainian government and military officials. However, this first group of pilots is not expected to wrap up training anytime soon, sources acknowledged to the outlet. The officials reportedly bemoaned delays by their Western patrons in implementing the instruction program.None of the previously touted game-changing weapons funneled from the West have made much impact on the catastrophically slow pace of Ukraine's ground forces fighting in the ongoing NATO-Russia proxy war. So begging for the multi-role US fighters to be added to the mix has become Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's mantra of late. While Kiev may have banked on its pilots being ready to fly the single-engine craft, which debuted in the 1970s and has been updated repeatedly, by as early as September, that appears to have been wishful thinking. F-16 Training 'Dragging Out'After the start of training was pushed back several times, officials were now cited as saying the effort was only gradually getting off the ground.There had previously been reports that the training had hit a major snag due to the language barrier. Now, the outlet said that even though the selected Ukrainian pilots were already fluent in English, at least four months of special English lessons in Britain were required for them to grasp the terminology associated with the F-16s. To complicate matters further, the language instruction for pilots is to take place simultaneously with lessons for Ukraines ground staff  suggested as being less proficient in English. The reason for this was because Denmark had allegedly demanded that entire crews be sent together to train.The language hurdle is believed to have pushed back the beginning of actual combat training, anticipated to take six months, as far as to January, sources said. As for the second batch of pilots, ostensibly of the same size, they might be nowhere near ready to fly F-16s until the end of next year. It was added that 20 more Ukrainian pilots were currently ready for English-language training.This is called dragging it out, a Ukrainian official was quoted as fuming. However, the sources revealed that they feared railing openly against their US and European benefactors lest they appear ungrateful.'Shortage of F-16 Trainers'In mid-July, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced that Washington "will allow, permit, support, facilitate and in fact provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin being trained on F-16s as soon as Europeans are prepared."At the NATO leaders summit in Vilnius in July, Danish and Dutch officials revealed that a lineup of other countries, including Britain, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden, were set to offer Ukrainian pilots training as of August. But any specific plans are still reportedly being fleshed out, with the scale or timing of the pilot-training effort as yet hazy. A training center in Romania is said to be set up for the purpose in a joint effort by the Dutch government and Romania, that will also take a while, said the report.One of the other hurdles is that there is a shortage of F-16 trainers in Europe, according to a spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Defense, Lt. Col. Mark van de Beek. To train a fighter pilot you also need fighter pilots. That is expensive and a capability that smaller countries dont have much anymore, he was cited as saying.Ukrainian officials have purportedly questioned why the US has not offered to conduct the training at its Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Washington may have approved the transfer of its F-16s to partner nations, pending required deals in line with US law, but it has baulked at committing itself to potentially conducting such training on US soil.Step Up Escalation LadderMoscow has repeatedly stressed that F-16 training marks another step up the escalation ladder of NATO's proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the delivery of F-16 fighters to Ukraine would lead to a further escalation of the Ukraine conflict as the jets have a modification that makes them nuclear-capable. At the same time, both Russian and foreign observers have questioned the benefit of deploying F-16 fighters to Ukraine. They not only cited the lengthy pilot-training, but also pointed to Russian air superiority and its vast, dense network of air defenses, designed specifically to target large combat aircraft like fighter jets.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230718/ukrainian-pilots-operating-f-16s-would-be-flying-targets-heres-why-1111974402.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230724/ukrainian-pilots-to-begin-f-16-training-in-august---defense-minister-1112101393.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230805/report-just-eight-of-32-ukrainian-pilots-ready-for-f-16-training-amid-language-barrier-snag-1112401837.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/foreign-firms-that-want-to-work-in-russia-not-threatened---russian-foreign-ministry-1112525130.html

Foreign Firms That Want to Work in Russia Not Threatened - Russian Foreign Ministry

Foreign Firms That Want to Work in Russia Not Threatened - Russian Foreign Ministry

Foreign companies that want to work in Russia and comply with national laws are not threatened, Dmitry Birichevsky, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's economic cooperation department, told Sputnik.

2023-08-11T04:41+0000

2023-08-11T04:41+0000

2023-08-11T04:41+0000

russia

russia

moscow

laws

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"I would like to emphasize that companies that are still interested to continue their work in our country in good faith and comply with Russian legislation are not threatened by anything," Birichevsky said. The official added that Western countries use various manipulations to force their entrepreneurs to leave the Russian market. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his address at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in mid-June that Russia "has never expelled anyone from our market, from our economy." The president said that Moscow will not close its doors to foreign companies if they want to return to Russia. The president noted that conditions will be created, adding that the authorities will support the new Russian owners of the former foreign companies in the country.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230325/russias-medvedev-says-foreign-firms-will-return-to-russian-market-in-different-ways-1108781744.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/hawaii-officials-liken-wildfire-destruction-to-war-zone-as-death-toll-hits-55-1112545103.html

Hawaii Officials Liken Wildfire Destruction to War Zone as Death Toll Hits 67

Hawaii Officials Liken Wildfire Destruction to War Zone as Death Toll Hits 67

The death toll has continued to climb on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where high winds drove uncontrollable wildfires through several towns earlier this week before residents and tourists could evacuate.

2023-08-11T20:24+0000

2023-08-11T20:24+0000

2023-08-11T23:41+0000

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hawaii

fema

wildfire

us

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Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui island, told US media on Friday that he had viewed the devastated area on the islands west coast with other Hawaii politicians and found it virtually unrecognizable.The closest thing I can compare it to is perhaps a war zone or maybe a bomb went off. It was cars in the street, doors open, you know, melted to the ground. Most structures no longer exist, Bissen said. For blocks and blocks of this.The center of the destruction was the historic town of Lahaina, which was both a popular tourist destination due to its picturesque old town but also of great importance in Hawaiian history, having once served as the capital of the entire archipelago after it was united into a single kingdom in the late 18th century.The flames swept through Lahaina so quickly on Wednesday that evacuation arteries were clogged, with added confusion created by the fires smoke being blown sideways by winds of up to 60 miles per hour. Many fled to the ocean to escape the flames, including those in their cars on the highway as the fire advanced behind them.Hundreds of structures are destroyed, including 80% of Lahaina Town, formerly a town of 15,000. Even boats moored at the town harbor burned or melted, the aggression of the flames was so intense.Speaking on Hawaiian television, Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned residents returning to their homes that Lahaina was a devastated zone.Thousands of tourists at nearby resorts have already been evacuated from Maui or worked with airlines to book flights home, but thousands of residents now require aid.Maui Food Bank Executive Director Richard Yust told US media that donations were urgently needed, especially since sea-based resupply was a two-week steam away.Yust said the agency was providing immediate relief just to kind of calm people's nerves and make sure they have what they need as far as food, water, essentials, cleaning products, hygiene products. We're providing all of that currently to those folks. But it will be a long time. It's so tragic, and these folks have generations (that) have been in line,"Green spoke with US President Joe Biden on Friday as well, updating him on the situation in Maui and thanking him for support coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies. On Thursday night, Biden issued a disaster declaration for the state after having erroneously told reporters earlier in the week that he had already done so.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230810/at-least-36-dead-in-hawaii-after-wildfire-swept-through-historic-maui-town-1112514088.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230729/greece-lifts-state-of-emergency-declared-in-rhodes-due-to-fires-1112249161.html

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Fantine Gardinier

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/ukraine-loses-over-180-military-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-day---mod-1112532272.html

Ukraine Loses Over 180 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Ukraine Loses Over 180 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Ukraine has lost more than 180 military in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

2023-08-11T10:32+0000

2023-08-11T10:32+0000

2023-08-11T10:32+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

volodymyr zelensky

ukraine

donetsk

zaporozhye

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Russian armed forces have repelled five attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction over the past day, four attacks and counterattacks in the Kupyansk direction, three attacks each in South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, and two in the Krasny Lyman direction. In the Kupyansk direction, Kiev has lost over 165 military, the ministry said, adding that another 1150 military were lost in the Krasny Lyman direction.Ukraine launched its much-touted counteroffensive in early June after repeatedly delaying the campaign over a lack of military supplies from its Western donors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that progress was "slower than desired."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/ukraine-loses-370-military-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-24-hours---mod-1112483474.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/wests-concern-for-democracy-in-niger-masks-lust-for-uranium-1112533031.html

West's Concern for 'Democracy' in Niger Masks 'Lust' for Uranium

West's Concern for 'Democracy' in Niger Masks 'Lust' for Uranium

Regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened Niger with invasion to overthrow the new military leadership on behalf of Paris and Washington. Dr Gerald Horne said the US and NATO were too tied up in Ukraine to threaten the country.

2023-08-11T15:28+0000

2023-08-11T15:28+0000

2023-08-11T17:08+0000

africa

niger

gerald horne

us

antony blinken

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Western leaders' stated fears for democracy in Niger hide their true "lust" for the West African nation's resources, says a US historian.On Thursday, West African regional bloc ECOWAS announced it was preparing a military invasion of Niger to reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.The military intervention plan was floated by Alassane Ouattara, president of Cote d'Ivoire  who himself came to power in a coup d'etat led by French troops in 2010.But the Nigerien military forged ahead with forming a new transitional government heedless of those threats.Dr Gerald Horne told Sputnik mockingly that US acting assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, architect of the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Ukraine, "would probably argue and complain that it does not comport with the Niger Constitution."He noted reports that the US military itself trained five of the senior Nigerien officers involved in last month's military takeover, including Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou."I noticed with interest the fact that a new insurgency is about to be launched, in fact launched publicly of all things in Niger, which is quite curious. I would not be surprised if the US CIA was somehow complicit in that," he added.The historian said that US and European hand-wringing over democracy in Niger masked Western leaders' true motives.Another Western concern was the use of Nigerien airspace, now closed flights from Europe to Nigeria, the economic giant of West Africa. "This is causing airlines to pay more for fuel, passengers to pay more for tickets," he added.But the academic said the US would have difficulty putting pressure on Niger's new government because its "plate is full" with other overseas adventures."Washington would be well advised to try to extricate itself from the morass it finds itself in Ukraine. Washington, as we know, is ratcheting up tensions with the People's Republic of China," Horne said. "Washington has a full plate, and why it wants to add to its problems by creating another brushfire in Niger is beyond me."For more in-depth commentary on world events, tune in to our Sputnik Radio show The Critical Hour.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/niger-military-raise-threat-level-blame-france-for-attack-on-national-guard-1112486633.html

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military takeover in niger, niger halts gold and uranium exports to france, ecowas military intervention in niger
Last and seemingly out of contention as late as the top of the stretch, Dandys Evrlasting went from worst to first in the $25,000 Fillies & Mares Winners Over pacing feature at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 10).

Matty Ice Athearn took Dandys Evrlasting off the gate and settled in last as Westbeach (Bruce Ranger) took the field to the quarter in :27. At that station, Racey Rach N (Mitchell Cushing) exited the pocket in lieu of the lead and assumed that position in front of the grandstand. When the girls passed the half in :55.1, Booraa N (Ron Cushing) went first-over from third and drew alongside Racey Rach N at three-quarters. These two battled around the far turn as Dandys Evrlasting continued to track from fifth, but only three lengths in arrears at that point. As the field turned for home, the top four horses fanned across the track and Dandys Evrlasting found an opening. Athearn fed the mare racetrack and without ever raising a line, allowed her to finish on her own. Dandys Evrlasting caught the field and beat Booraa N by a neck in 1:51.4.

Dandys Evrlasting ($6.80) went to $89,500 in earnings this year after her seventh win for Dandy Farms Racing and Ft Racing Stable. Jimmy Nickerson trains the winner.

Trainer Gretchen Athearn had a big day at The Ridge Thursday as she watched three of her students win races during the afternoon, including one of the $18,500 co-features. That was where Toodles Hanover (Bruce Ranger) grabbed the lead before the half and paced away to a 1-1/4-length victory in 1:52 to pay $3.80. Katie Callahan is the winning owner.

Athearn also greeted Cougar On A Terr (1:52.1, $5) and Rys Red Rocket (1:50.3, $5.60) in the winners enclosure after they both took new lifetime marks.

In another of the co-feature condition races, Ucanttouchthis (Brett Beckwith) was a runaway winner that took the lead at the three-eighths before stretching out to a 3-1/4-length advantage at the line to win in 1:50. Ucanttouchthis ($4.80) is owned by Michelle Nelson and trained by Melissa Beckwith.

The third $18,500 pace went to Jo Pas Warrior (Mitchell Cushing), who was parked out from the half, yet still powered to the lead in mid-stretch and won by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:51.4. It was the second win in a row for Jo Pas Warrior ($3), who is owned by his trainer Mark Eaton, in partnership with Robert Griffin.

Bruce Ranger was the leading driver on Thursday, winning a total of three races.

Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Monday (Aug. 14) at 4 p.m. and feature a $2,048 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta wager in race six.

(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)
Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted an action packed card on Thursday (Aug. 10) evening and the finales for the Millard Farms and Pure Ivory Series headlined the 11 races contested at the Campbellville, Ont. oval.

This edition of the Pure Ivory was the first since the talented trotter was formally inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place one night prior. The Thursday card of harness racing was also called by a newly minted Hall of Famer  Frank Salive.

Send It In Hanover honoured his role as the bettors' choice in the $75,000 Millard Farms final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

Top Mast (James MacDonald) and Struttin Yankee (Jody Jamieson) battled it out for the lead as they clocked the opening split in :28.1 while Send It In Hanover and Sylvain Filion sat fifth. Through the half in :57.1, Flight Landing (Tyler Jones) had taken over, yielding Top Mast second and Struttin Yankee third. Still fifth at the half, Filion sent Send It In Hanover on a first-over advance to the top, tacking away at his opponents and moving into second on the outside as Flight Landing took them to the three-quarters in 1:26.2. Send It In Hanover took command around the final turn and Top Mast sought a challenge in the stretch, but Send It In Hanover prevailed by a half length in 1:55.2. Finite (Chris Christoforou) rounded out the top three.

Benoit Baillargeon trains the Greenshoe-Southwind Percy gelding as he has gone four-for-four in his career thus far, collecting a sum of $65,500. A career-best performance for the freshman, Send It In Hanover is owned by Baillargeon, Frank Cirillo, Santo Vena and Nunzio Vena. He paid a $3.50 win ticket as the favourite.

Matthew Bax trainees took win and place spots for the $79,500 Pure Ivory final for two-year-old trotting fillies.

James MacDonald was in the bike of post two Stubborn Chee as they went to the gate in the field scratched down to nine. Draw The Line and Tyler Jones zoomed from post 10 to take the lead to the opening panel in :28.1. MacDonald and Stubborn Chee settled briefly into the pocket, but pulled out and around to take over the lead after the opening split. Stubborn Chee marked the half in :57.3 and three-quarters in 1:27.1 before winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:55.3. Todd Ratchford and stablemate to the winner, Woman Of Passion, sat third throughout the mile until they sprinted the last quarter in :27.4 to a second-place finish. Draw The Line was third.

Owned by Al J Libfeld, the freshman daughter of Muscle Hill-Stubborn Belle won her first race in three starts. Stubborn Chee paid $14.10 to win.

Freshman trotting colts and geldings lined up on the gate in four splits of the third leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots.

Ways N Means (Doug McNair) won the card opener and $22,200 OSS Grassroots, controlling the timer through panels in :28.2, :59.2 and 1:29.2. The Michael Keeling trainee took off to a 3-1/4 length victory in 1:58.2. It was the first career win in three starts for the Muscle Mass-Mariongotchocolate colt, owned by Dreamville Stable and Harbor Racing Stable LLC. Slayin Theday Away (Eddie Green) finished second with Lockdown Romeo (Matthew Bax) third.

After sitting on the outside through the first panel in :28.3, Luc Blais trainee Salem Seelster and Louis-Philippe Roy took command of the field of eight freshmen going for $22,200 in another division. Salem Seelster led through the half in :59.2 and three-quarters in 1:29 before winning by three-quarters in 1:57.3. Determination owns the Muscle Mass-Speak Of The Devil gelding, who recorded his first win in three starts. Northernchancellor (Austin Sorrie) was second with Alexander (James MacDonald) third.

Roy doubled up in OSS Grassroots driving wins, steering Lookproud through panels in :28, :58.2 and 1:28.1 from sixth at the start up to the win by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:57.4. Mark MacQuarrie trains and co-owns the Lookslikeachpndale-Tiz gelding with Mary Pedden as he won his first race in two starts, banking the winner's share of the $22,200 purse. Devils Kiss (James MacDonald) took second and Stormont Happy Day (Sylvain Filion) rounded out the top three.

In the sole seven-horse field and $21,800 division, Royal Duharas led every step of the way through fractions in :29.1, :59.4 and 1:29.4 before winning by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:58.4. Loic Gueriel drove the Royalty For Life-Grace Duharas gelding in his first win for owner Haras De L Estrie Inc., and trainer Denis Gueriel. R No Mercy (Doug McNair) finished second and Stormont Cheerio (Sylvain Filion) was third.

Five $15,000 Pop Up Claiming Series classes also went to the gate on Thursday evening.

Dollydaydream ($7) was driven by his trainer, Paul Davies, to a 2-1/2 length win in 1:55. Doug McNair and Sharky ($4) won their division by three-quarters in 1:53.4 for trainer David Brown. Iceneedswhiskey ($3.70) won by a neck in 1:54.2 with Louis-Philippe Roy in the bike for trainer Isaac Waxman. James MacDonald won with Sheplaysforkeeps ($6) in 1:53.2 by a neck for trainer Raphael Bourassa. Driver Roy and trainer Waxman took one more trip to the winner's circle in the evening nightcap and completed the Pop Up Series action for the night, winning with Beef N Cheddar in 1:52.2 by 1-1/2 lengths.

To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
One of the most prestigious races in Canadian harness racing will have the first six entrants decided in a pair of Gold Cup and Saucer trials on Saturday (Aug. 12) evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

Saturday will feature one of the greatest cards ever fielded at Red Shores Charlottetown, with the mega-event starting at a special 4 p.m. post time with 15 dashes to go behind the gate.

The last two races of the program are $12,500 Gold Cup and Saucer trials with the top three from each dash advancing to the Aug. 19, $100,000 Gold Cup and Saucer final, presented by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.

Red Shores Summerside track record holder Roll Em has rail control in Trial 1 for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and local owners Brady Doyle, Savage Stable, Brent Campbell and Ryan MacLeod. The Time To Roll five-year-old has made six trips to the winners circle since coming to P.E.I. this season and will have his toughest test to date against a stacked field of pacers.

Funatthebeach N, a former winner of the Battle Of Lake Erie Invitational in Ohio, is installed as the morning line favourite from post four in Trial 1 with Scott Young picking up the drive for trainer Jeff Gillis. The nine-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere has already won in 1:50.1 over the half-mile oval at Yonkers Raceway in New York this season.

Also in Trial 1 are Twin B Tuffenuff (to be driven by Gilles Barrieau), Rockabilly Rebel N (David Dowling), Bonus Round (Dave Kelly Jr.) and Livinthebeachlife (Jody Jamieson).

Gillis trainee Covered Bridge is the top selection in Trial 2 with Scott Young in the seat for owner Mark Ford of Campbell Hall, New York. The American Ideal pacer has strung together 11 victories from 23 starts in 2023 while earning over $368,000 in purses. The 36-time winner was a winner in 1:49.4 earlier this season at Yonkers.

American History, a Preferred pacer at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario, leaves from post two for his Island debut for trainer MacKenzie Spence and owner Patrick Hill of Fredericton, N.B. Dale Spence is back in the seat after winning the Kelti Burnett Memorial at Connell Park in Woodstock, N.B., on Aug. 4 in 1:55.1 over an off track.

Trial 2 also includes YS Mathis (Campbell), Bayfield Beach (Jamieson), Bee Two Bee (Jason Hughes) and Repeal Or Replace (Myles Heffernan Sr.).

The program also features the Atlantic Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies, the Colonel Dan Trot as part of the Island Trot Challenge presented by Fox Group, as well as the Birthplace Of Confederation Open Pacing Mares Series, in honour of Don & Ian Smith.

For entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.

(Red Shores)
Donna P. Warner, who was a member of the founding family of Batavia Downs, passed away Saturday, Aug. 5 at the age of 86.

Ms. Warner lived a full and diverse life. Born on March 3, 1937 to her parents Pat E. Provenzano and Barbara Hetzler Provenzano, she joined her sister Barbara in completing their special family that spent most of their lives at the family homestead at 714 Seneca Parkway in Rochester.

Her father Pat was one of the original founders of Batavia Downs in 1940, which continues to operate as the oldest lighted harness track in North America. Ms. Warner became involved in the track in the early 1980s and became much more involved with her sister, Barbara Samberg, after the Provenzano family took over complete ownership from 1984 through 1997. One of the many highlights during that time was being awarded a Breeders Crown race in 1988.

Ms. Warner enjoyed raising her children, nieces and nephews and watching them become involved in harness racing in all different aspects of the day to day operations. Her son Eric Warner is still involved and currently serves as the Senior Director of Racing at Monticello Raceway.

Ms. Warner had many interests and hobbies. She loved her friends and family unconditionally and there were no strangers to her. She was always willing to step up by volunteering for many different agencies and was a member of many different committees. Her faith was always front and center and she always led by example, never afraid to share her opinions or input.

Prior to her involvement in racing but after her children were older, Ms. Warner enrolled at the Isabella Graham Hart school of nursing. This was her way of comforting people at their worst times. There she made lifelong friends with co-workers and patients that she had met through her years at Rochester General Hospital. Later in her career, she worked in private practice with Dr. Brenda Ianucci and Dr. Holly Garber.

Ms. Warner was a dear friend to the Sisters of St. Joseph her entire life and was on a first name basis to many of their congregation there as she was on the medical staff at their Motherhouse. She was also a dear friend to Nazareth Academy where her mom, daughters and granddaughters all graduated from and served as president of their alumni association for many years.

Aside from all that she accomplished during her life, Ms. Warners proudest achievement was that of motherhood. She taught her kids to be unselfish, caring and loving. She led by example by volunteering at homeless shelters and by opening her home and heart to any and all. Her kids, grandkids, great grand-kids, nieces and nephews always came first. She was a great friend to many and will be missed dearly.

Ms. Warner was predeceased by her parents, Pat and Barbara Provenzano, sister and brother-in-law Barbara and Jim Samberg and son Gary and daughter-in-law Mary Beth Warner. She is survived by children Melissa Warner of California, Amy (Carl) Munding, Julie Miller, David (Gayle Steele), Eric (Julie Poli); 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Calling hours will be held 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17 at Farrell-Ryan Funeral & Cremation Services located at 777 Long Pond Road, Rochester, New York. A memorial mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 18 at St. Theodore's Church, 168 Spencerport Road, Rochester, New York.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Sisters of St. Joseph and sent to the office of Admission Advancement in care of Dawn Gruba in memory of Donna Warner, 150 French Road Rochester, NY 14618.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Donna Warner.
In Omaha and its bordering suburbs, to say nothing of inside Omaha itself, people know property tax bills dont look the same across city limits.

Thats true in only two other parts of Nebraska, including the heart of Scotts Bluff County.

With the states 2023-24 local government budget season at hand, the Star-Herald is introducing an extra, big picture examination of how local property tax bills come together.

Nebraska's property tax equation Two basic equations  one affecting your local government, the other affecting you  determine Nebraska property owners annual tax bills. Each government divides its property tax request into the total taxable value of all properties it serves. That produces its property tax rate, expressed in dollars and cents per $100 of taxable value.

Add up the tax rates of all local governments serving your property. That combined tax rate, multiplied by your propertys taxable value, produces your gross annual tax bill before state-funded exemptions and credits are applied. Nebraskas current local government lids, which date to 1996, directly limit one factor in the tax-setting equation (the tax rate) and indirectly limit a second (the tax request) through a lid on budget growth. The 2023 Legislature imposed a general 3% lid on growth in school districts annual tax requests, with limited exceptions and options for local overrides. The third factor in the local government tax equation  valuations  lacks a direct lid on annual growth. Agricultural land may only be taxed at 75% of its actual value.  Todd von Kampen

Youll still find coverage here of the individual budget and tax decisions of the 11 local government boards  three cities, two school districts, Scotts Bluff County and five other taxing entities  that will shape the 2023 property tax bills Scottsbluff, Gering and Terrytown property owners will get in December.

But youll also read occasional stories, starting with this one, outlining the relative impacts of each decision in turn  including state property tax credits and exemptions  on whether your tax bills go up or down.

Well highlight the real-life examples of three somewhat similar homes  one in each of the three cities  based on online valuation and tax data dating to 2011 and the local budget and tax decisions to come.

Our stories wont identify the owners of any home. We chose them solely from online research, including on Scotts Bluff Countys Beacon GIS website, and our staffs knowledge of neighborhoods in the three cities.

Basic information

With that, heres a basic description of our three sample homes:

Home 1, located in Scottsbluffs Westmoor neighborhood, is a 1959 one-story, three-bedroom home with a full basement.

Home 2, near Gerings Legion Park, also has one story and three bedrooms but only a crawl space below. It was built in 1963.

Home 3 sits in west Terrytown. Like Home 1, it was built in 1959 and has one story, three bedrooms and a full basement.

The Terrytown home had a $131,943 taxable value when the County Assessors Office sent out 2023 individual valuations June 1. The Legion Park-area home was valued for tax purposes at $116,165 and the Westmoor home at $115,787.

Final 2023 taxable values will depend on whether their owners filed and won protests to county commissioners.

The Gering and Terrytown homes have taken turns leading the trios taxable values. But the Scottsbluff home was valued higher than its Gering counterpart from 2011 to 2014.

In 2011, the first year of the Star-Heralds analysis, the home in Westmoor was valued at $89,830 compared with $83,600 for the Legion Park home and $97,073 for the home in Terrytown.

The latter homes taxable value fell behind the one in Gering from 2016 to 2019 but pulled ahead again in 2020, according to the Nebraska Association of County Officials Nebraska Taxes Online database.

State law requires county assessors to physically review properties every six years. But they always must factor in sale prices for a property and others like it in their city or the countys rural areas.

Taxing entities

How percentages work When considering percentage changes regarding taxes and budgets from one year to the next, remember that the scope of a single percentage point can be quite different between one set of figures and the next. For example, a change from $5 to $10 is exactly as large a percentage change  100%  as a change from $50 to $100. Quite a few more dollars are involved in the latter, though. Remember also that theres no limit on how large a figure can change in terms of percentage points  but no figure can ever be more than 100% lower than the one its compared with. (If a $5 figure drops to zero, thats a 100% drop; if it grows to $15, its a 200% increase.) Percentage changes mean the most when one sticks with an apples to apples comparison, like changes in one governments property tax request over several years. But be careful in comparing the percentage change in a tax request to percentage changes in taxable valuations or property tax rates. Strictly by numbers, thats apples and oranges  especially when one compares thousands to millions or millions to billions.  Todd von Kampen

Eight local governments budget and tax decisions affect each of the three homes tax bills. But they have only six taxing entities in common: the county and its agricultural society, the Western Nebraska Regional Airport, the Western Community College Area, the North Platte Natural Resources District and Educational Service Unit 13.

While Scottsbluff Public Schools serves Scottsbluff city residents, Terrytown lies within Gering Public Schools borders. Each school district also serves some rural properties.

Outside the Omaha metro, only the Dodge County communities of Fremont and Inglewood share a border as do Scottsbluff, Gering and Terrytown. Omaha also has four school districts within its city limits: Omaha Public Schools, Westside, Millard and Elkhorn.

Top total tax rate: Terrytown

Between 2011-12 and 2022-23, Gering property owners have faced a combined higher tax rate than their Scottsbluff counterparts every year except 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Scottsbluffs higher total taxable value, plus expiring and newly adopted school bond issues, have accounted for recent differences in combined rates.

But Terrytowns combined tax rate has consistently been highest among the three bordering cities.

Though Terrytowns city tax request remains minuscule  $116,322 in 2022-23, compared with $2.18 million for Scottsbluff and $1.91 million for Gering  its small tax base (just $30.3 million this past year) has consistently yielded a city tax rate higher than its larger neighbors.

Thus the owners of our sample Terrytown home have regularly had the highest gross tax bill within the Star-Heralds sample group  even when the Terrytown homes taxable value was lower than the one near Legion Park.

Tax exemptions and credits

But for each of the past four tax years  2019 through 2022  the Terrytown homes owners have decidedly enjoyed the groups lowest net tax bill: zero.

Why? They annually applied for and received a total state-funded homestead exemption. Thats available to Nebraska homeowners who are 65 years old or older; qualified people who are disabled or military veterans; or the widow or widower of a disabled veteran.

If the Terrytown homes owners again applied for a 2023 homestead exemption, their net tax bill likely will be zero again this coming year. Annual applications are due June 30.

All three homeowners, along with all their neighbors, also can have part of their tax bills offset by three property tax credits that the Legislature has regularly enhanced the last five years.

The oldest, the 2006 Property Tax Relief Fund, directly lowers the final tax bills theyll get in December.

State senators also have added a pair of education tax credits: one in 2020 that partly offsets property owners school property taxes, followed by a similar one in 2022 refunding a part of community college taxes.

One must claim those two education tax credits on their income taxes  and many Nebraskans havent done so.

But they were together worth just over $600 apiece for the 2022 tax year for the Star-Heralds sample Scottsbluff and Gering homeowners.

If you own property but dont have to pay state income taxes, the state will refund your share of the two education income tax credits instead.

New values just 1st step

Thats the recent past, from a taxing perspective, for the Star-Heralds three sample homeowners.

What about 2023?

Despite the dismay across Scottsbluff, Gering and Terrytown when individual 2023 valuations came out, those increases only began next years tax-setting process.

Over the next several weeks, youll periodically see a table like the one with this story. Each will project our three sample homes gross tax bills  before the credits  based on all the new 2023 figures set to that point. Well finish with the impacts of the state tax credits.

At the moment, projected tax increases stand at 13.3% for the Scottsbluff home, 13.8% for the one in Gering and 8.1% for the Terrytown home  all of them reflecting their June 1 valuation boosts.

But those figures, and the one youll see in subsequent updates until mid-October, assume that every valuation and tax figure not yet changed wont change at all.

Thats obviously unlikely  even though one tax-setting entity, the city of Scottsbluff, has held its tax rate steady for each of the 12 years in our analysis.

The Star-Heralds next tax tracker update will run soon after Aug. 20, the states deadline for assessors to certify final taxable values from which each local government will collect its taxes.

If most property owners valuations went up, so will total taxable values. So if all the governments were to keep their tax requests the same  which were assuming for the moment  their tax rates will go down. So will our sample homes projected tax bills.

Its unlikely every government will ask for exactly the same in property taxes as this year, either. Not even Scottsbluffs city tax requests have remained precisely unchanged.

Thats why property tax requests will have the greatest impact on whether our sample homes, as well as any properties you own, will face higher or lower 2023 tax bills payable during 2024.

We hope youll follow the Star-Heralds regular budget coverage as well as this big picture series. Theyre meant to help you judge whether you ought to contact your elected officials or show up at your local governments budget hearings  which well cover, too  and make your opinions known.

Property taxes and valuations
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Former military comptroller Carlos Garcia is now a free man after serving his maximum sentence including good conduct credits in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) announced Friday.

Garcia was detained in the NBP for 11 years. The BuCor said he was granted a total of 3,288 good conduct time allowance under Republic Act 10592.

According to the bureau, Garcia was meted an 18 years and four months prison term but the time served with time allowances have already exceeded his maximum sentence that was computed based on RA 10592.

The Sandiganbayan found Garcia guilty of direct bribery, facilitating money laundering, perjury, and violating articles of war last 2022. Other than the prison charges, he was also ordered to pay 406.3 million for bribery and 1.5 million for facilitating money laundering with "subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency."

READ: Sandiganbayan convicts ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia of bribery, money laundering

Garcia was among the former generals who were accused of accepting "pabaon" or farewell gifts before retiring. He allegedly amassed ill-gotten wealth worth 300 million while he was comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In 2010, Garcia entered a plea bargain deal wherein he pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering.

The Office of the Ombudsman in 2022 turned over to the national treasury over 53 million and 11 properties from a direct bribery and money laundering case against Garcia.
The shy teenager that once worked at the restaurant now known as Rio 150 Mexican never would have expected herself to be a co-owner of it, much less be there to play host for an episode of Americas Best Restaurants Roadshow.

But thats where Rashel Limper found herself on Monday as the lights shined brightly on her and the local award-winning Cali-style Mexican restaurant.

Its crazy how life goes full circle, isnt it? Limper said.

Formerly known as La Unica when it began in 2015, the restaurant rebranded this year as Limper, who is a co-owner with her husband Dylan, her parents Ruben and Martha Soule, and her uncle Guillermo Ceballos, look to stake their own claim to the best Mexican food in the area.

But it was Limper in the spotlight as host Luis Rivera of Americas Best Restaurants Roadshow peppered the server-turned-owner of the restaurant with questions for the episode that will be on social media in the coming weeks.

While she enjoyed interacting with Rivera and cameraman Peter Glenn to promote the restaurant, she admitted she was worried about how she sounded and looked on camera. She said the exposure will be worth it even if it made her step out of her comfort zone, which was why her mother encouraged her to be a server in the first place years ago.

Im definitely nervous, but Im getting through it, Limper said with a confirming nervous laugh. Its exposure, thats the main thing. Getting our name out there, getting more customers to try us out, and give us an opportunity to enjoy the food, the service, the atmosphere.

Rivera had Limper talk him through what makes Rio 150 unique, as well as some of the stories behind the food served there.

One of those is the birria tacos, which Limper thought was just a passing TikTok trend, according to the ACR news release, but continue to sell. One of the other meals featured is the Willie tacos, which were inspired by a custom dish her uncle would order when he came in.

Americas Best Restaurants is a national media and marketing company that focuses on local, independently-owned restaurants. It came to Rio 150s River Highway location  a second location will open later this year at Mooresvilles Mill One development  to highlight the restaurant on its social media channels.

The finished episode premiere date will be announced on Rios Facebook page and will be featured on Americas Best Restaurants website at https://americasbestrestaurants.com/rests/north-carolina/rio-150-mexican-restaurant.

Restaurants featured on the ABR Roadshow are found through customer nominations or by a restaurant applying to be featured at www.americasbestrestaurants.com.
Russia has lost a lot of soldiers in Ukraine and is reluctant to release data on how many of its soldiers have died in Ukraine. In September 2022 Russia reported they had lost 5,937 soldiers. Since then, there have been no official announcements of losses. This was unpopular with the families of soldiers killed in Ukraine. This led to Russian families organizing a mothers and wives council, to identify and tabulate the Russian soldiers killed. The government would not provide such information but did send some of the bodies back home. This sort of thing had support from local governments, but the national government considered such information a state secret and tried to suppress local efforts to identify the dead. Since late 2022 the Russian army has been on the defensive or retreating in Ukraine. Keeping track of dead Russian soldiers and notifying families was not a high priority. When the representatives of the mothers and wives council went to Moscow in late 2022 to personally pressure the Ministry of Defense for cooperation in identifying the dead and letting families know the status of their missing loved ones, the government refused and forced the group to disband or face prosecution as foreign agents. The state-controlled media would not report any of this and Internet-based groups that reported on the war were warned to stay away from the issue of Russian losses or face prosecution.

Despite the government hostility to the casualties issue, groups inside and outside Russia continued to compile data on Russians killed in Ukraine. By June 10th 2023, Russian reporters compiled a list of 27,423 Russian dead. A month later the number grew to 47,000. Officially, the government considered Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine as heros. Unofficially, the government threatened those who sought to identify the dead, be they families or independent organizations.

The government seeks to mobilize another 100,000 additional Russian soldiers, and all this reporting of Russian dead did not help those mobilization plans. Most Russians believed the wives and mothers groups but were unwilling to go public with that support because of government opposition and threats. Historically, Russia did not provide much, if any information to families of soldiers killed in war. Russian soldiers were not issued identification discs that could be worn around the neck and removed if the soldier was killed to identify the dead. If a Russian soldier went off to war and didnt return it was assumed they had died heroically defending the motherland. More recently the government provided financial support for wives and children of dead soldiers but was reluctant to reveal total losses. In Russia, the truth about losses in Ukraine has become another casualty of the war.
A 67-year-old Copper Hill man who admits to sexually terrorizing an underage female relative was given a 20-year sentence with four years in prison this week.

The victim of James Terry Moran testified he ruined her life and caused her to consider and attempt suicide after a period of sexual assaults that included molestation and penetration.

I see danger everywhere now because of him, the victim, now a teenager, said in court on Aug. 8. I no longer attend public school. Im afraid to go out. My life is a nightmare with flashbacks.

The victim said she is homeschooled now and said that it is difficult.

Moran was originally indicted in July 2022 for charges that included object sexual penetration, but those charges were reduced to aggravated sexual battery of a minor.

Floyd County Commonwealths Attorney Eric Branscom said the plea became necessary to keep the victim from having to appear and testify in open court, and she later decided to tell her story through an impact statement.

She told her graphic story in a crowded courtroom that included members of the Bikers Against Child Abuse chapter from Rocky Mount and other members from other chapters.

He has molested other girls as well, the victim testified. I feel fear for the rest of my life.

The victims mother said she was unaware of Morans abuse and that her daughter now suffers from PTSD and severe depression. She said that the reduction of charges was a mistake.

The mother also read statements form other relatives who asked the judge to put Moran in prison for as long as possible.

Another member of the extended family of Moran said Aug. 8 that he had molested her years, and she said the family wanted to keep it quiet.

Defense Attorney David Rhodes objected to the testimony, but the judge referred to it in his sentencing.

Moran had a clean criminal record before the charges were filed and no other charges have been filed but remain under investigation, Branscom said.

Defense attorney Rhodes said his client made a mistake and pointed to Morans church activities, where he taught Sunday school and remains a member.

Moran took the stand in his defense, admitting he did touch the girl but said it was just that one time and was limited to touching her butt.

Branscom said Moran is a monster We dont want monsters here in Floyd County.

As a first-time offender, Virginias Sentencing Guidelines recommended a reduced sentence with probation. Branscom argued that the guidelines are not sufficient for Moran and substitute Judge Colin Gibb said that Morans actions require punishment.

A report from a clinical psychologist hired by the defense, said that Moran downplayed his actions, which Branscom noted in his closing arguments.

Judge Gibb said Moran was not telling us everything and that he doubted the honesty of the defendant.

Mr. Moran is lying, Branscom said. His did far more to the victim than he admitted, and we feel there are others.

Judge Gibbs went beyond the sentencing guidelines with the 20 years total term with four in prison and 16 remaining if he violates probation.

Moran must register as a sexual criminal predator with the Virginia State Police public database and most remain away from his victims and any other underage children.

In other cases heard in Floyd County Circuit Court on Aug. 8:

Brandon Lee Williams of Floyd pleaded guilty to possession of meth and was given a one-year deferment of disposition of charges. If he stays out of trouble until Aug. 13 of next year, the charge will be dismissed.

Richard Harold Burkett of Lenoir, NC, pleaded guilty for possession of methamphetamine and was given a three-year suspended sentence.

Amy Christine Underwood of Floyd pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and one DUI charge (drugs), and received a brought a three-year suspended sentence for the drugs and 90 says suspended on the DUI.

The judge revoked the probation of Richard Eric Goodwin of Roanoke, sentenced him to time served while awaiting trial and put him back on probation for four years, 11 months and 14 days.
Winlocks plan to expand the city limits by annexing 1,355 acres east of the current boundary was given the go-ahead by a review board on Monday night.

If annexed, the Urban Growth Areas 335 residents would see the following changes: lower property taxes, according to the citys most recent evaluation; a switch in law enforcement jurisdiction from the Lewis County Sheriffs Offices to the Winlock Police Department; and a change from county to city public works services.

Residents would be allowed to remain on their own wells and septic systems as long as those are fully operational and continue to meet code standards.

The acreage in Winlocks UGA, after a 2006 interlocal agreement with the county, has already been covered by some of the citys services. Currently, the land is an unincorporated part of Lewis County and is already in the same school and fire districts as Winlock proper.

On Aug. 3, the board kicked off with a public hearing that saw a mixed bag of people who were in favor and people who were opposed to annexation. The next day, the board members deliberated on the topic before voting unanimously to approve annexation on Monday.

Barring an appeal on the Monday decision within the next 30 days, the proposed annexation will move forward. The proposed expansion into the citys designated UGA will now move to a vote by the Winlock City Council. The council voted 4-1 in favor of moving the annexation forward in August of last year.

Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson on Tuesday didnt have an exact timeline for the vote, but said it could take place any time in the meetings following the 30-day appeal period, the first of which is Sept. 11. The city also plans to hold another public hearing before voting, Svenson said.

Svenson said he is confident city staff and electeds can scale services to meet the UGAs needs.

The Washington State Boundary Review Board for Lewis County, which has five seats but currently just four members, examines requests for boundary changes by municipalities and taxing districts. The board is not invoked to approve or deny boundary changes unless those proposals meet certain criteria.

In Winlocks case, about 23% of the 228 registered voters in the UGA signed a petition to invoke the review board. The petition needed a minimum of 5% of the areas voters signatures.

Svenson said he has asked Kathy Chastain, the petitions creator, to be on the citys planning commission and/or to take a position as the citys liaison with the residents of the growth area.

We as a city have to gain the trust of the people in the UGA, Svenson said, later adding, We want to be one big community here. Thats the goal. I know Ill do everything I can to that end.
The local airport in Kelso got Port of Longviews approval for its 2024 draft budget proposal, which lays out projects to buy new equipment and sets the stage for the construction of a new runway.

Commissioners on Wednesday also renewed the five-year interlocal agreement with the Southwest Washington Regional Airport between the Kelso and Longview city governments and Cowlitz County. The agreement ensures all four parties get a say in what happens at the airport.

Upcoming projects at the airport will focus on buying new mowing and tractor equipment, said airport manager Chris Paolini. The budget sets aside $180,000 for this, though Paolini said they will try to lower that cost through creative ways.

Stay up to date on Lower Columbia news, wherever you go Easily access the latest Lower Columbia news in an app that lets you select the topics that matter most to you.

We know there are other options out there, but we needed to get this (draft) budget out before the deadline. ... That will be part of our due diligence, Paolini told commissioners Wednesday morning.

The $4.36-million proposed budget is the highest since 2017, according to airport documents, and $1.3 million more than 2023. Last year, the four parties of the interlocal agreement OKd a $3.05 million budget.

Finding better options for the rising costs of steel and concrete has driven up costs for new equipment, Paolini said.

The airport board initially balked at the $180,000 price tag, said Allan Erickson, president of the Port of Longview board of commissioners and a board member for the Southwest Washington Regional Airport.

We are in need of replacing that mowing equipment, and this is the best alternative, Erickson said.

Airport officials have several federal and state grants at their disposal that can help with future projects to build a new runway, finish replacing its outdated fuel tanks and eventually increase hangar capacity, Paolini said.

The Federal Aviation Administration pays for 90% of airport projects when they are approved for grants, Paolini said. Washington State Department of Transportation will also cover 5% of those costs, leaving the airport to pick up the leftover 5% for any projects secured with grants.

Another option for future fuel projects could be through the Climate Commitment Act. Washington state provides agencies with money if they use alternative fuel for projects. Paolini said they would look into those newer options.
In Portland, its illegal to crack a beer or smoke marijuana on sidewalks or in a city park. But state law enshrines peoples right to consume fentanyl, meth, heroin and other hard drugs on public property.

The upshot of that paradoxical legal landscape: Portland officials cannot make open drug use so much as a citation-worthy offense.

The uneven approach to regulating intoxicating substances, which stems from a complex history of lawmaking in Oregon, surfaced in June as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler sought to suppress rampant street use of hard drugs and surging overdose deaths. He proposed adding a ban on public consumption of hard drugs to the citys preexisting prohibition on public alcohol use.

Wheeler abandoned the proposal days later, however, claiming that new criminal penalties passed by state lawmakers against fentanyl possession that month would address our primary concerns about the public health crisis unfolding on our streets.

But the mayor also conceded his effort would have likely been illegal.

This ordinance would have undoubtedly been challenged because of a state statute potentially limiting the authority of local governments to create laws regarding the public use of drugs, he said.

The law ended up that way in large part because Oregon lawmakers more than 50 years ago switched the legal view of alcoholism from a crime to a medical addiction and preempted cities and counties from enacting local penalties for public drinking, according to a review of state legislative records and case law by The Oregonian.

State lawmakers later expanded the statute to encompass drug dependency, including use of controlled substances and cannabis. However, it remained illegal for Oregonians to possess hard drugs, whether in public or in private, so cities inability to regulate drug consumption on public property wasnt questioned.

And after voters approved its recreational sale and use almost a decade ago, lawmakers made public marijuana consumption a class B violation.

That delicate balance of state laws shifted after voters approved Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of heroin and other street drugs, leaving Portland and other cities across Oregon with little recourse to prohibit people using them in public spaces.

Its absolutely outrageous, said Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. Theres nothing more offensive than walking down a sidewalk with your child and to have to inhale fentanyl or meth being smoked on the street or watching people shooting up into their toes and the behaviors that come with it. Yet we can proscribe the outdoor consumption of alcohol? It makes no sense.

It is an awful look for the reputation of our city, he continued. And, frankly, it undermines our ability to confront the homelessness crisis in Portland.

Gonzalez said he and Wheeler are now looking to revive the mayors proposed public drug use ordinance and bring it before City Council  with a slight twist.

The proposal includes a trigger amendment that would instate a city ban on public drug use upon the enactment of any state of Oregon legislation permitting local jurisdictions to govern the public consumption of a controlled substance, according to a draft copy obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Meanwhile, Wheelers office has crafted a separate proposed resolution to direct Portlands Office of Government Relations to lobby for changes to state law that would align rules on public consumption of controlled substances with existing regulations governing alcohol and cannabis.

Gonzalez told The Oregonian he hopes both proposals will go before the City Council by the end of the month.

Portland City Council is exploring all options to address the drug crisis unfolding on our streets, Wheeler said in a statement. Nothing is off the table as we work to find the best ways we can partner with our local and state leaders to make impactful change.

ROOTS 50 YEARS AGO

In 1971, state lawmakers enacted the Uniform Alcoholism and Intoxication Treatment Act.

The statute was created to end the longstanding practice of dealing with public drunkenness as a criminal offense and to treat it instead as a health problem, the Oregon Supreme Court wrote in a 1987 ruling that cited the legislation.

A central aim of this legislative reform was to repeal penal laws against public intoxication and to redirect police responsibility toward taking intoxicated persons to their homes or other safe shelter rather than jailing the person in a police drunk tank, the court said.

The statute forbids local governments from enacting any law that penalizes public drinking or drunkenness, with one broad exemption  local governments could institute blanket prohibitions on consuming all types and volumes of alcoholic beverages in specified locations.

That permitted Portland and other Oregon cities to create and enforce ordinances that ban boozing on streets, sidewalks and public rights-of-way. In Portland, a public drinking conviction carries a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $500 fine.

In 1977, six years after the creation of ORS 430.402, lawmakers amended the statute and changed other state laws to no longer make using or being under the influence of drugs a crime except while driving, legislative records show.

That the changes did not create carveouts for local governments to ban open drug use was moot. Drug possession remained illegal until 2020, when voters decriminalized controlled substances through Measure 110.

In June, Oregon lawmakers approved House Bill 2645, which closes a loophole in the new drug law and makes having more than 1 gram of fentanyl or five or more pills that contain that drug a misdemeanor crime.

Gonzalez does not believe that law alone will do enough to address Portland residents growing concerns.

For ordinary Portlanders, its the visible consumption that is so objectionable, Gonzalez said. We need a direct response to Portlanders expectations of public behavior.

We also need to send a very clear message nationally, he said. Portland is changing.
Russia's plan to launch its lunar lander on Friday is the latest in an international push to return to the Moon that includes the world's top powers but also new players.

Technology, science and politics are all essential factors in the Moon race.

Here is the latest:

- China's great leap -

China is pursuing plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base there.

The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia.

China was the third country to put humans in orbit in 2003 and Tiangong is the crown jewel of its space programme, which has also landed rovers on Mars and the Moon.

The unmanned Chang'e-4 rocket landed on the far side of the Moon in 2019, with another robot mission to the near side raising the Chinese flag there in 2020.

That moonshot brought rock and soil samples back to Earth, the first time that has been done in more than four decades.

- NASA's Artemis -

NASA's Artemis 3 mission is set to return humans to the Moon in 2025 including its first woman and first non-white astronaut.

Under the Artemis program, NASA is planning a series of missions of increasing complexity to return to the Moon and build a sustained presence in order to develop and test technologies for an eventual journey to Mars.

The first, Artemis 1, flew an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon in 2022. Artemis 2, planned for November 2024, will do the same with crew on board.

NASA sees the Moon as a pit stop for missions to Mars and has done a deal with Finnish mobile firm Nokia to set up a 4G network there.

However, NASA said this week that the Artemis 3 mission may not land humans on the Moon, depending on whether certain key elements, including the landing system developed by SpaceX, were ready.

Elon Musk's firm won the contract for a landing system based on a version of its prototype Starship rocket, which remains far from ready.

An orbital test flight of the uncrewed Starship ended in a dramatic explosion in April.

- Russia's Luna -

Russia's launch of Luna-25 on Friday will be its first to the Moon since 1976 and marks the beginning of Moscow's new lunar project.

President Vladimir Putin is looking to strengthen space cooperation withChina after ties with the West broke down following the start of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

- New players -

Recent technological progress has reduced the cost of missions and opened the way for new players in the public and private sector to get involved.

India's latest space mission Chandrayaan-3 entered the Moon's orbit in August ahead of the country's second attempted lunar landing later this month.

But getting to the Moon is not an easy task. Israeli non-profit SpaceIL launched its Beresheet lunar lander in 2019, but it crashed.

And in April this year Japan's ispace was the latest company to try, and fail, at the historic bid to put a private lunar lander on the Moon.

Two other US companies, Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, are set to try later in the year.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  The Northern Police District (NPD) said that all personnel of the Navotas City Police Station Sub-Station 4  except for those with vital administrative functions  have been relieved over the shooting of a 17-year-old boy, who was killed in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

The said personnel will undergo a comprehensive re-training and refresher course. This initiative is designed to bolster their understanding and application of rules of engagement while fostering a heightened awareness of human rights and principles, the NPD said Friday.

In a fatal error, Navotas police gunned down 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar on Aug. 2 because they thought the teenager was the suspect they were hunting down.

Baltazar and another individual were hiding from the police in a boat. The teenager then jumped into the water.

The six police officers at the scene then claimed to have fired warning shots at the water, not knowing that Baltazar was in the water. His bereaved siblings said the bullet went through his head, then to his nose.

The six cops responsible were earlier relieved, slapped with homicide complaints, and detained. They are currently undergoing inquest before the Navotas prosecutors office.

READ: 6 Navotas cops relieved from post, face homicide complaints for fatal shooting of minor

The NPD said the mass relief was recommended by Navotas Police Chief PCol. Allan Umipig and that it aims to address any lingering feelings of insecurity within the community, assuring them that the police force is dedicated to their protection and well being.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos  who attended the slain teens wake  called on the Philippine National Police to revisit its operational procedures to avoid similar incidents.

Overseas Filipino worker Rodaliza Baltazar, Jemboys mother, was repatriated on Friday to attend her dead sons wake.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said he will file a resolution seeking a House inquiry on the killing of Baltazar.

"'Pag sinabi ba nating PNP [Philippine National Police], ang meaning na ba n'un ngayon 'Pumapatay ng Pilipino?' Hindi po natin 'yun dapat hayaan na maging kultura na lang 'yun ng pulis," Manuel told reporters at the teen's wake.

[Translation: When you say PNP, does this mean 'Pumapatay ng Pilipino' (killing Filipinos)? We should not tolerate this kind of culture in our police.]

With reports from CNN Philippines' correspondent Daniza Fernandez.
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

The city of New Haven lost more than $6 million in multiple cyberattacks on its public school district earlier this summer and has so far managed to recoup about half of the money, officials announced Thursday.

The thefts, which occurred in June and involved hackers impersonating the city's chief operating officer and private vendors in emails, came to light after a Connecticut school bus company raised questions about why it hadn't yet been paid.

"The individual or the individuals that did this are criminal. They are unbelievably unethical to not only steal money from the public, but steal money from New Haven public school children," said Mayor Justin Elicker, a Democrat, during a news conference.

Elicker said the FBI asked New Haven officials not to initially speak publicly about the hacking in order to protect its investigation. So far, $3.6 million has been recouped and the FBI has frozen additional funds, he said. Elicker could not provide a specific amount because the probe is continuing. No arrests have been made.

Elicker said the cyber thieves gained access to the COO's public school email address in May, monitored online conversations with vendors and eventually inserted themselves into the conversations by impersonating the COO and the vendors. The thieves then made requests for electronic transfers to fraudulent accounts. A total of six payments were made, including four meant for the school bus company totaling more than $5.9 million.

The other two payments were meant for a law firm. Elicker said a seventh payment meant for a cleaning company was stopped by the city's budget office. The FBI refers to the type of ruse used in the cyber attack as a "business email compromise."

Elicker said the city has since stopped all electronic payments except for payroll and is working with several companies to strengthen its systems. One employee in the city's law office has been placed on paid leave pending the results of the investigation.

"We do not believe any city employee was involved in the hacking itself," he said. "However, we want to ensure that all employees followed proper financial and cyber security procedures."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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:

Eric E. Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures, listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, during a hearing on emerging technologies and their impact on national security. While technology experts sound the alarm on the pace of artificial-intelligence development, philanthropists  including long-established foundations and tech billionaires, including Schmidt and his wife, Wendy  have been responding with an uptick in grants. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

While technology experts sound the alarm on the pace of artificial-intelligence development, philanthropistsincluding long-established foundations and tech billionaireshave been responding with an uptick in grants.

Much of the philanthropy is focused on what is known as technology for good or "ethical AI," which explores how to solve or mitigate the harmful effects of artificial-intelligence systems. Some scientists believe AI can be used to predict climate disasters and discover new drugs to save lives. Others are warning that the large language models could soon upend white-collar professions, fuel misinformation, and threaten national security.

What philanthropy can do to influence the trajectory of AI is starting to emerge. Billionaires who earned their fortunes in technology are more likely to support projects and institutions that emphasize the positive outcomes of AI, while foundations not endowed with tech money have tended to focus more on AI's dangers.

For example, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and wife, Wendy Schmidt, have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to artificial-intelligence grantmaking programs housed at Schmidt Futures to "accelerate the next global scientific revolution." In addition to committing $125 million to advance research into AI, last year the philanthropic venture announced a $148 million program to help postdoctoral fellows apply AI to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Also in the AI enthusiast camp is the Patrick McGovern Foundation, named after the late billionaire who founded the International Data Group and one of a few philanthropies that has made artificial intelligence and data science an explicit grantmaking priority. In 2021, the foundation committed $40 million to help nonprofits use artificial intelligence and data to advance "their work to protect the planet, foster economic prosperity, ensure healthy communities," according to a news release from the foundation. McGovern also has an internal team of AI experts who work to help nonprofits use the technology to improve their programs.

"I am an incredible optimist about how these tools are going to improve our capacity to deliver on human welfare," says Vilas Dhar, president of Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. "What I think philanthropy needs to do, and civil society writ large, is to make sure we realize that promise and opportunityto make sure these technologies don't merely become one more profit-making sector of our economy but rather are invested in furthering human equity." Salesforce is also interested in helping nonprofits use AI. The software company announced last month that it will award $2 million to education, workforce, and climate organizations "to advance the equitable and ethical use of trusted AI."

Billionaire entrepreneur and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is another big donor who believes AI can improve humanity and has funded research centers at Stanford University and the University of Toronto to achieve that goal. He is betting AI can positively transform areas like health care ("giving everyone a medical assistant") and education ("giving everyone a tutor"), he told the New York Times in May.

The enthusiasm for AI solutions among tech billionaires is not uniform, however. EBay founder Pierre Omidyar has taken a mixed approach through his Omidyar Network, which is making grants to nonprofits using the technology for scientific innovation as well as those trying to protect data privacy and advocate for regulation.

"One of the things that we're trying really hard to think about is how do you have good AI regulation that is both sensitive to the type of innovation that needs to happen in this space but also sensitive to the public accountability systems," says Anamitra Deb, managing director at the Omidyar Network.

Grantmakers that hold a more skeptical or negative perspective on AI are also not a uniform group; however, they tend to be foundations unaffiliated with the tech industry.

The Ford, MacArthur, and Rockefeller foundations number among several grantmakers funding nonprofits examining the harmful effects of AI.

For example, computer scientists Timnit Gebru and Joy Buolamwini, who conducted pivotal research on racial and gender bias from facial-recognition toolswhich persuaded Amazon, IBM, and other companies to pull back on the technology in 2020have received sizable grants from them and other big, established foundations.

Gebru launched the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in 2021 to research AI's harmful effects on marginalized groups "free from Big Tech's pervasive influence." The institute raised $3.7 million in initial funding from the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kapor Center, Open Society Foundations, and the Rockefeller Foundation. (The Ford, MacArthur, and Open Society foundations are financial supporters of the Chronicle.)

Buolamwini is continuing research on and advocacy against artificial-intelligence and facial-recognition technology through her Algorithmic Justice League, which also received at least $1.9 million in support from the Ford, MacArthur, and Rockefeller foundations as well as from the Alfred P. Sloan and Mozilla foundations.

"These are all people and organizations that I think have really had a profound impact on the AI field itself but also really caught the attention of policymakers as well," says Eric Sears, who oversees MacArthur's grants related to artificial intelligence. The Ford Foundation also launched a Disability x Tech Fund through Borealis Philanthropy, which is supporting efforts to fight bias against people with disabilities in algorithms and artificial intelligence.

There are also AI skeptics among the tech elite awarding grants. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned AI could result in "civilizational destruction." In 2015, he gave $10 million to the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit that aims to prevent "existential risk" from AI, and spearheaded a recent letter calling for a pause on AI development. Open Philanthropy, a foundation started by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna, has provided majority support to the Center for AI Safety, which also recently warned about the "risk of extinction" associated with AI.

A significant portion of foundation giving on AI is also directed at universities studying ethical questions. The Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative, a joint project of the MIT Media Lab and Harvard's Berkman Klein Center, received $26 million from 2017 to 2022 from Luminate (the Omidyar Group), Reid Hoffman, Knight Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (Hewlett is a financial supporter of the Chronicle.)

The goal, according to a May 2022 report, was "to ensure that technologies of automation and machine learning are researched, developed, and deployed in a way which vindicates social values of fairness, human autonomy, and justice." One university funding effort comes from the Kavli Foundation, which in 2021 committed $1.5 million a year for five years to two new centers focused on scientific ethicswith artificial intelligence as one priority areaat the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Cambridge. The Knight Foundation announced in May it will spend $30 million to create a new ethical technology institute at Georgetown University to inform policymakers.

Although hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars have been committed to ethical AI efforts, influencing tech companies and governments remains a massive challenge.

"Philanthropy is just a drop in the bucket compared to the Goliath-sized tech platforms, the Goliath-sized AI companies, the Goliath-sized regulators and policymakers that can actually take a crack at this," says Deb of the Omidyar Network.

Even with those obstacles, foundation leaders, researchers, and advocates largely agree that philanthropy canand shouldshape the future of AI.

"The industry is so dominant in shaping not only the scope of development of AI systems in the academic space, they're shaping the field of research," says Sarah Myers West, managing director of the AI Now Institute. "And as policymakers are looking to really hold these companies accountable, it's key to have funders step in and provide support to the organizations on the front lines to ensure that the broader public interest is accounted for."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A federal court judge this week shot down Google's attempt to scuttle a multi-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit accusing it of making an Orwellian grab of "potentially embarrassing" data from users' "Incognito mode" and other private browsing.

The three Californians and two others suing Google on behalf of themselves and tens of millions of other internet users claim Google captured the data despite promising it would not.

Google, in its bid to get the case thrown out, argued in a March court filing that it "never made any such promise."

In her order in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she agreed with the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit in 2020 that anyone using Incognito mode in Google's Chrome browser could reasonably deduce from the mode's opening "splash" screen that their data would not be accessible by Google. She also noted that Google's "Search & Browse Privately" help pagefor users of Chrome and other browsers including Safarisays, "you're in control of what you information you share with Google when you search."

The Mountain View, California, digital-advertising and internet-search giant represented publicly since mid-2016 that "it would not collect their information while they browsed privately," Gonzalez Rogers wrote. "It did so anyway, collecting, aggregating, and selling plaintiffs' private browsing data without their consent."

Gonzalez Rogers explained how Google, when people use Incognito mode or private modes in other companies' browsers, gathers their data. When a user visits a website that uses Google services, she said in her order Monday, "Google's software directs the user's browser to send a separate communication to Google."

Both sides agree that the class of internet users browsing purportedly privately since June 1, 2016 numbers in the tens of millions, the judge noted in a December order.

Gonzalez Rogers noted that the plaintiffsChasom Brown, Christopher Castillo and Monique Trujillo of California, William Byatt of Florida and Jeremy Davis of Arkansasallege that Google links users' private browsing history to the user profiles the company builds for targeted advertising, and that Google denies making those connections.

However, Gonzalez Rogers added that the plaintiffs have provided as evidence internal Google communications stating that Google stores users' regular and private browsing data in the same logs, uses those "mixed logs" to send users personalized ads, and that "even if the individual data points gathered are anonymous by themselves, when aggregated, Google can use them to 'uniquely identify a user with a high probability of success.'"

The lawsuit alleges that Google's data practices infringe on privacy, deliberately deceive consumers, and give Google and its employees "power to learn intimate details about individuals' lives, interests, and internet usage." The data collection also makes the company "one stop shopping" for "any private, government, or criminal actor who wants to undermine individuals' privacy, security, and freedom," the lawsuit claims.

"Google knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you like to eat, what movies you watch, where and when you like to shop, what your favorite vacation destinations are, what your favorite color is and even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing things you browse on the internetregardless of whether you follow Google's advice to keep your activities 'private,'" the lawsuit alleges. "Google has made itself an unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it."

Google in its March court filing contended that the plaintiffs agreed to the company's privacy policy, which "expressly disclosed" the ways their data would be collected and used. In a Wednesday statement to this news organization, Google said it strongly disputes the lawsuit's claims and that it would defend itself vigorously.

"Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device," Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said. Google declined to address the claims that the company could identify users by mixing private and ordinary browsing data, including data from private browsing in non-Google browsers such as Safari. The company also declined to say if it would appeal the judge's ruling.

The legal setback for Google comes as it faces escalating political pressure over its data collection. In January, President Joe Biden in a Wall Street Journal op-ed assailed "Big Tech" and the "dominant incumbents" over their data collection and smothering of competition. Late last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, put partisan differences aside to attack "Big Tech" in a New York Times op-ed. Companies "vacuum up our personal data," they wrote, singling out Google over a $392 million privacy settlement it agreed to in November after 40 states sued it for allegedly misleading consumers by continuing to track them after "Location Services" was turned off.

The plaintiffs are seeking for themselves and class members the return of what they claim are billions of dollars in profits Google made from the browsing data, plus unspecified damages of more than $5,000 for each plaintiff and class member. They also want a court order barring Google from "intercepting, tracking, or collecting" data from users' private browsing.

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Artist AbdulAlim U-K (Aikin Karr) combines the fractal structure of traditional African architecture with emerging technologies in computer graphics. Credit: AbdulAlim U-K, CC BY-ND

The model of democracy in the 1920s is sometimes called "the melting pot"the dissolution of different cultures into an American soup. An update for the 2020s might be "open source," where cultural mixing, sharing and collaborating can build bridges between people rather than create divides.

Our research on heritage algorithms aims to build such a bridge. We develop digital tools to teach students about the complex mathematical sequences and patterns present in different cultures' artistic, architectural and design practices.

By combining computational thinking and cultural creative practices, our work provides an entry point for students who are disproportionately left out of STEM careers, whether by race, class or gender. Even those who feel at home with equations and abstraction can benefit from narrowing the gap between the arts and sciences.

What are heritage algorithms?

Traditional STEM curricula often present science as a ladder you climb. For example, you might be told that math starts with counting, then goes to algebra, then calculus and so on.

But our research has found that the global history of science is more like a bush: Each culture has its own branching set of discoveries. Some of these discoveries offer a perspective that's different from the theorem-proof approach for math or hypothesis-experiment approach for biology. Understanding the rules and techniques that create cultural patterns from the maker's point of view can help bridge the gap between knowledge branches. We refer to these hybrids of computation and culture as heritage algorithms, and there are examples everywhere.

The authors learn from artisans. Left: Ron Eglash discusses fractal patterns with an Ethiopian crafter. Right: Audrey Bennett tries her hand at Adinkra stamping in Ghana. Credit: Ron Eglash, CC BY-ND

Flying over an African village, you can see the recursive geometry of African fractals in their architecture: circles of circles, rectangles within rectangles, and other "self-similar" structures. These fractal patterns also appear in their textiles, carvings, paintings, ironwork and more.

Other kinds of algorithms underlie the repeating sequences of bent wood arcs that make up Native American wigwams, canoes and cradles. Even henna tattoos demonstrate the interactions among computation, nature and culture.

These heritage algorithms challenge the myth of "primitive cultures"the idea that early Africans had no math past counting on fingers or that Native American agriculture lacked sophistication.

The computational thinking that is embedded in Indigenous artifacts and other creative practices, such as weaving, beadwork and quilting, is not merely decorative. It also reflects different ways of thinking about the world. Our interviews with artisans revealed how they visualize spiritual concepts in formal techniques and numerical sequences.

Bringing heritage algorithms to the classroom

In a woven Navajo blanket, the line y=x forms a 30-degree angle with the horizontal axis. Ron Eglash, CC BY-ND

Heritage algorithms give students a way to blend the abstract rigors of math, the grounded legacies of culture and the infinite possibilities of art. To bring these algorithms to the classroom, we have created interactive computer programs and simulations that we call culturally situated design tools, or CSDTs.

Each CSDT was created in collaboration with Indigenous elders, street artists, traditional crafters and others. With the creators' permission, we transfer their knowledge of pattern creation into digital tools that students enjoy using and teachers enjoy implementing in their lesson plans.

It's important to craft each CSDT to reflect the way those artisans think about the cultural practice. For instance, the slope of the line y=x, mathematically calculated as "rise over run," is 1for every unit you move up the line, you move a unit to the right. This line forms a 45-degree angle with the x-axis. But when Navajo weavers use this "up one, over one" pattern, the slope is closer to a 30-degree angle. This is because they weave yarn horizontally through vertical cords that are thicker than the yarn. So we made sure to preserve this feature in the weaving simulation we built.

A crucial aspect of CSDTs is that students may use them to follow their interests. This freedom and independence lets students encounter new cultures, delve deeper into their own identity or mix designs from different cultures to create something completely new.

We have seen Black students choose an Appalachian quilting simulation, Native American students choose cornrow simulations and white students create beadwork simulations. Students' creative designs often mix many cultures togethercornrows become "powwow braids," and African fractal simulations turn into plants, lungs and river deltas.

Students from Harlem Academy create designs using the Appalachian and Lakota quilt CSDTs. Many Appalachian quilts contained the radical rose, symbolizing support for abolition. Credit: Ron Eglash, CC BY-ND

Heritage algorithms and CSDTs provide a powerful starting place for students to improve their computing skills and confidence. These tools even provide a foundation for a variety of careers, from architecture to environmental engineering.

When computation and culture collide

The reach of heritage algorithms has recently extended beyond learning environments to contemporary art spaces. Artists are generating a bold new creative style using "ethnocomputing"an understanding of computer science from a cultural perspective.

You can see fresh interpretations of heritage algorithms in the African fractals embedded in the work of visual artist Tendai Mupita, the cornrow simulations integrated in the work of Rashaad Newsome, the blending of the African diaspora and technology by Nettrice Gaskins and the creative duo Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissy Amuah.

An exhibition on display in New York City, the U.K. and Los Angeles explores the textile techniques of artists inspired by the African American quilting tradition of Gee's Bend, Alabama.

A high school student uses a CSDT to simulate cornrow hairstyle patterns. Credit: Ron Eglash, CC BY-ND

Our research on heritage algorithms is partially driven by a philosophical desire to reframe STEM as a source of radical joy for every ethnicity and identity. Inspired by the radical feminist phrase "sex-positive feminism," we sometimes call our perspective "race-positive design"thinking of race not in purely negative terms of oppression but instead as a rich source of creativity, liberation and a free-thinking mindset for curiosity and scientific inquiry.

This philosophical stance also has a practical side: statistically significant improvement in STEM scores for underrepresented students. Many teachers have recognized the potential of heritage algorithms for getting students invested in STEM. One teacher using the graffiti tool told us this was the first time students asked if they could stay in her math class after school. Another said she would never teach negative numbers again without the bead loom CSDT.

Heritage algorithms, both in the classroom and beyond, open up a two-way bridge between humanistic and technical knowledge. They offer a space where everyoneteacher and student, young and old, geek and artistcan learn, share and collaborate.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Federal investigators said Thursday that miscommunication between pilots led to a United Airlines plane diving within 748 feet of the ocean's surface shortly after takeoff from Honolulu in December.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a final report that the crew failed to manage the plane's path, airspeed and nose direction after the mix-up between the captain and co-pilot.

After a normal takeoff, the captain asked the co-pilot, or first officer, to reset the wing flaps, but the co-pilot heard "15" instead of "five," according to the NTSB.

The Boeing 777 climbed above 2,200 feet (670 meters) after taking off from Kahului Airport on the island of Maui, then dropped more than 1,400 feet (427 meters) toward the Pacific Ocean. Both pilots told investigators they heard the plane's ground proximity warning system call out "Pull up, pull up."

The pilots were able to recover and resume climbing, then continued on to San Francisco without further incident, according to the report.

No one was injured in the Dec. 18 incident, and United changed part of its pilot training, the NTSB said.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates airlines, said earlier this year that the United pilots reported the incident under a voluntary safety-reporting program. The FAA said it reviewed the incident "and took appropriate action," and United said the pilots received additional training, but neither the agency nor the airline provided details.

The incident attracted little attention until an aviation publication, The Air Current, reported on its analysis of data gathered from the plane.

It occurred on the same day that 36 people were hurt, 11 of them seriously, when a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix hit severe turbulence as it approached Honolulu. The National Weather Service had issued an advisory for thunderstorms and unstable air in the area.

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Carlos Jose, 21, has his eyes scanned by an orb, at a Worldcoin registration point in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world, with the Kenya's government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely.

The international ID startup, backed by big names in Silicon Valley, is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure.

Here's what to know about Worldcoin and the concerns its raising:

WHAT IS WORLDCOIN?

Worldcoin is the creation of Sam Altman, best known as the CEO of OpenAI, the company that has gained widespread recognition with its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated. Worldcoin creates a "World ID" by scanning someone's eyeballs through "orbs"a device that captures an image of their irises, the colored parts of the eyes.

One possible use for such an ID would be online services, where oftentimes people are having to remember multiple passwords and usernames for various websites they have signed up for.

The security of those sites can be flawed, however, and there have been numerous security breaches where usernames and passwords have been stolen. Instead of using old technology like passwords, a person could just sign up using their World ID.

Daniel Kertusha, 21, has his eyes scanned by an orb at a Worldcoin registration point in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

WHAT IS ITS CONNECTION TO CRYPTO?

Worldcoin is first and foremost an identification project but is using cryptocurrency to get people to sign up. The Worldcoin token is trading for roughly $1.90, but its value is largely based on speculation rather than its current usability as a currency.

Worldcoin launched officially in July, and as part of the promotion, early adopters were given an amount of cryptocurrency worth between $50 and $60, depending on the jurisdiction. Most of the countries where Worldcoin launched don't widely use or accept crypto.

Further, $50 is a lot of money in developing countries where people are being asked to sign up, including Kenya, where the average monthly income is roughly $170.

WHY IS WORLDCOIN GAINING ATTENTION?

Thousands of Kenyans lined up in Nairobi last week at a registration center where Worldcoin scanned their irises in exchange for 25 coins worth about $50. The largely youthful crowd included a special line for mothers who waited with children strapped to their backs.

Worldcoin's orb iris scanning sphere, center, is shown at The Canvas, an ethical fashion store, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in New York. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Some of those in line told local media that they had traveled for miles after friends said "free money" was being handed out. They acknowledged not knowing why they needed to scan their irises and where that information would go but just wanted the money.

University graduates were among those who waited for hours, alluding to the high rate of unemployment in Kenya, where many are angry over the rising cost of living.

The Kenyan government has since suspended new sign-ups for Worldcoin as it investigates whether people's information is being properly protected.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said last week that "investigations of the safety and protection of the data being harvested and how the harvesters intend to use the data" had started.

WHAT ARE THE PRIVACY CONCERNS?

Worldcoin's orbs collect biometric data by taking photographs of a person's iris. While Worldcoin argues that the data is used to create a unique, secure form of identification, privacy experts have concerns that the company may use the information in other ways, like personalized marketing.

Daniel Kertusha, 21, waits to have his eyes scanned by an orb at a Worldcoin registration point in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

That has led some countries to investigate Worldcoin's operations, including France, Germany and now Kenya.

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision says it has initiated a comprehensive investigation of Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity over data security practices.

The agency is looking into whether the rights of people who submitted their personal data were observed. They should have been sufficiently informed about how their data would be used and given the ability to object, have their data deleted or to withdraw their permission, said Michael Will, head of the office.

The data also should be protected from unauthorized accessto prevent identity theft, for instance, he said in a statement.

France's data privacy regulator said the legality of Worldcoin's data collection and how it stores the information "seems questionable." It launched an investigation, finding the German privacy watchdog had jursidiction under Europe's strict data privacy rules.

An orb, a spherical iris scanning device used by Worldcoin, is shown at a co-working office in Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Worldcoin's orb iris scanning sphere, left, sits atop a metal post on the checkout counter at The Canvas, an ethical fashion store on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in New York. Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world. The international ID startup, backed by big names in Silicon Valley, is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure. Credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office says it's making inquiries about Worldcoin.

Privacy experts are worried that even Worldcoin could eventually be susceptible to criminals infiltrating it, similar to data breaches at other large companies. Privacy experts have said biometric data is already being sold in places like China and that could spread to other countries or jurisdictions.

"When biometric data gets leaked, especially in the poor countries where Worldcoin's been operating, people's lives are on the line," said Pete Howson, a professor of international development at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

In a blog post post last week, Worldcoin acknowledged the privacy concerns around its new service but said, "Everything is optional, and no personal data is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID."

Worldcoin has previously said the company uses industry best practices to secure users' data, pointing to an audit that two security firms did in late July.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(CNN)  Russia has successfully launched Luna 25, the countrys first lunar lander in 47 years.

The uncrewed spacecraft lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia. Hitching a ride aboard a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket, Luna 25 took flight at 8:10 a.m. local time Friday, or 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday.

Residents of a Russian village were temporarily evacuated Friday morning since there is a one in a million chance that one of Luna 25s rocket stages could fall there, according to Reuters.

The spacecraft is expected to first enter an orbit around Earth before transferring to a lunar orbit and ultimately descending to the surface of the moon. Russias last lunar lander, Luna 24, landed on the moon on August 18, 1976.

Luna 25 and Indias Chandrayaan-3 mission, which launched in mid-July, are both expected to land at the lunar south pole on August 23, and its a race to see which country will land first, according to Reuters. But Roscomos said the two missions are not expected to cause a problem for each other because their specific landing zones differ, Reuters reported.

Luna 25s journey

Luna 25, also called the Luna-Glob-Lander, will study the composition of the moons polar soil and the plasma and dust contained in the very thin lunar exosphere, or the moons scant atmosphere, for one year.

The four-legged lander includes landing rockets, propellant tanks, solar panels, computers and a robotic arm equipped with a scoop to collect lunar samples, as well as a suite of instruments to study the samples and exosphere, according to NASA.

Initially, Roscosmos and the European Space Agency planned to partner on Luna 25, as well as Luna 26, Luna 27 and the ExoMars rover.

But that partnership ceased in April 2022 after Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the ESA Council moved to discontinue cooperative activities with Russia.

The future of moon exploration

Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-3, which includes a lander, rover and propulsion module, lifted off on July 14 and entered lunar orbit last weekend.

The mission is Indias second attempt to land at the lunar south pole after Chandrayaan-2 crashed into the moon in September 2019. If successful, the latest mission would make India only the fourth country to achieve the complicated feat, behind the United States, the former Soviet Union and China. Once on the surface, Chandrayaan-3 will spend a couple of weeks conducting a series of scientific experiments to learn more about the moons composition.

NASA plans to land a woman and a person of color on the moon for the first time at the lunar south pole in late 2025 during the Artemis III mission.

The reason so many missions have been designed to explore this region of the moon is due to its potential resources. Deep, permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole may contain ice that could be used for drinking water, oxygen and fuel  a key consideration as agencies like NASA look to sustainably explore the moon for longer periods of time in the future.

Were going to see several spacecraft, some perhaps from other nations, that are going to be landing on the south pole in the near future, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a news conference Tuesday. Theres a renewed interest in the moon and of course its there because the potential of water. Were going back to learn to live in a deep space environment for long periods of time, so that we can go to Mars and return safely.

When asked about the upcoming Luna 25 launch, Nelson said we wish them well, noting that NASA has had a cooperative relationship with its Russian counterpart dating back to the Soviet era since 1975.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Russias Luna 25 mission launches to the moon"
The Bryan school district welcomed students for the first time Thursday to its newest campus, Sadberry Intermediate School, a state-of-the-art facility with the latest in high-tech security features.

Beyond providing students with a new fully equipped gym, library and cafeteria, Rich Himmel, the assistant director of safety and security for the district, said safety was taken into consideration for every aspect of the new campus.

This school is state of the art as far as security and safety goes, he said. It incorporates all kinds of technology, some of which you wont even see, some of which you will. The surveillance cameras, the fencing and just the general layout is all designed.  Were very confident in it. Were very proud of it.

As he stood outside the front of the building in a high-visibility safety vest directing drop-off traffic, Himmel said even things such as transportation were taken into account.

Security starts right here, where the rubber meets the road, said Himmel, who worked for the Orange County (Calif.) Sheriffs Office for 27 years. Traffic safety, its part of school safety. Statistically, a child is more likely to get injured or killed in a traffic collision on a school campus than in a school shooting. So, we take traffic safety very seriously.

The vast majority of school shootings are preventable, Himmel said, and its his job to make sure that everybody is constantly thinking about safety and security.

Education is a noble field  I was a deputy sheriff for my first career, he said. Those are two different worlds. Youre always thinking about what could go wrong and how youre going to react to that if it does. My mission is to try and get our educators into that same mindset. Maybe not so dramatic, but at least thinking about it and if Ive done that, its a good day.

To comply with the recently passed House Bill 3, which requires armed personnel at all school campuses, Himmel said the school district has partnered with the Bryan Police Department and local private company TNT Security Solutions.

Weve had a long partnership with Bryan PD and were very fortunate to do so because they are a fine organization, Himmel said. As a former patrol sergeant for 15 years, I really, really am impressed with the officers from Bryan PD and feel really good about having them in our schools. Their level of training and professionalism is world class, and we now have 10 officers on our campuses full-time.

In the week leading up to BISDs first day of class, the school board approved the purchase of over $50,000 in new security locks for all campuses to use in a lockdown situation. Last years shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, in which 19 students and two teachers died, happened, in part, due to malfunctioning locks.

The barricade devices were chosen by a subcommittee of the school districts safety and security task force, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Kevin Beesaw said.

Moving furniture [and] different things like that is not necessarily a good option, he said during Tuesdays board meeting. What this would do is, its a device that creates a uniform standard throughout the district. It greatly benefits when the first responders show up.  They understand exactly what kind of devices or things might be barricading the door if they need to go and evacuate.

Specific details about the device were not discussed during the public meeting due to safety concerns but Beesaw said it was like a super deadbolt lock.

Its quick, simple, very quiet  and it is probably much better than trying to move a filing cabinet and those kinds of things, he said. There is [also] a quick way to release it in case the first responders show up.

As a second item of security, the board also approved over $50,000 for the purchase of collaborative response graphics for all 24 campuses so that first responders could be trained on the layouts in case of an emergency. According to the board, both the door barricades and the response graphics would be funded via $1 million donated by Donald and Donna Adam.

The city of Bryan also contributed to funding school safety this week when it renewed an inter-local agreement between BPD and BISD which outlined the terms, obligations, responsibilities and cost-sharing among the city and the school district, according to the city. In the agreement, BISD will pay 75% of the annual salaries and benefits for the 10 officers and one sergeant while the city will pay the remaining 25%. The total estimated cost of the agreement is $1,760,462.

Thursdays opening day at Sadberry also was significant in honoring the buildings namesake, O.W. Sadberry, principal of Booker T. Washington Elementary School from 1949-1970. Sadberry became a pillar of the Bryan school community by guiding the district through integration and by encouraging African American students to pursue higher education, according to a BISD press release announcing the name of the new facility.

Principal Alfred Scott, who spent the morning outside greeting students as they arrived, said he was honored to be the first principal of the school named after such an important local educator.

The legacy hes left in Bryan ISD, and the community of Bryan as a whole, that name is profound throughout, he said. The impact that he had on his kids, the legacy he left with his kids, he produced productive people throughout the community, and we want to have that same impact to make sure students are successful, not only at the middle school and high school level but post-secondary as well.

Last Saturday, Scott guided Sadberrys descendants on a tour of the new facilities and described the experience as emotional.

To be there as his daughter walked through the building, to see his mural and to see the tears come down her eyes, she was so happy, the family was so happy, he said. That meant a lot to us that we could honor the namesake in that way and in their family name.  Its huge to live up to, but were going to do it here at Sadberry Intermediate.
Copy Corner founder Larry Hodges announced Thursday that he will run as a Republican for Texas House District 14 representative.

The announcement comes just a day after the current representative, John Raney, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2024.

According to the press release, Hodges steering committee includes Brazos County Commissioners Nancy Berry and Chuck Konderla, Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez and College Station Mayor John Nichols among others.

Hodges, who is also general partner of the Bryan and College Station DoubleDaves restaurants, is a self-described respected business owner, community leader and conservative Republican from College Station, according to the press release.

In the announcement statement, Hodges said his long-time connections in the community make him a viable candidate to serve the Brazos County community.

For more than 30 years, I have served Aggieland as a student, business owner and community volunteer, he said. As a lifelong Republican, I am committed to advancing the conservative principles that have contributed to the prosperity of both Texas and this District.  We must secure our borders, make our communities safer, provide additional tax relief to property owners and ensure a world-class education for every child in this state.

The primary election is slated for March 2024 with the general election set for November 2024.

Former Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk also announced his candidacy Thursday.

Former District 14 representative from 1999 to 2011, Fred Brown announced Wednesday that he would be running for the position again but then renounced his candidacy on Facebook Friday and endorsed Larry Hodges.
California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,099,634 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 60,558 shares during the quarter. Chevron accounts for approximately 0.8% of California State Teachers Retirement Systems portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.16% of Chevron worth $505,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Chevron in the first quarter worth about $389,538,000. Glenview Trust co lifted its holdings in Chevron by 3.0% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 211,377 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $34,488,000 after buying an additional 6,225 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chevron by 3.5% in the first quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,303 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 2.9% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 20,176 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $3,292,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 21.3% in the first quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 5,586 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. 69.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Chevron Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CVX traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $160.83. The company had a trading volume of 8,643,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,138,578. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.17. The firms 50 day moving average is $157.18 and its 200-day moving average is $161.59. Chevron Co. has a 1-year low of $140.46 and a 1-year high of $189.68.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

Chevron ( NYSE:CVX Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $48.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total transaction of $603,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,718 shares in the company, valued at $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Chevron from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report on Thursday, June 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $202.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Chevron from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Chevron from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $190.79.

View Our Latest Analysis on CVX

Chevron Company Profile

(Free Report)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

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StockNews.com downgraded shares of Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Plains All American Pipeline from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Plains All American Pipeline from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Plains All American Pipeline from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Plains All American Pipeline from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Plains All American Pipeline from $15.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains All American Pipeline has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $16.42.

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Plains All American Pipeline Trading Down 0.1 %

PAA stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $15.03. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,876,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,947,099. Plains All American Pipeline has a 52 week low of $10.17 and a 52 week high of $15.22. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $14.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.29.

Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. Plains All American Pipeline had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $11.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The firms revenue was down 29.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Plains All American Pipeline will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Plains All American Pipeline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.2675 dividend. This represents a $1.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 28th. Plains All American Pipelines dividend payout ratio is presently 66.05%.

Institutional Trading of Plains All American Pipeline

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Plains All American Pipeline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains All American Pipeline in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,376 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 250.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 2,800 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains All American Pipeline in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 41.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plains All American Pipeline Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL). The Crude Oil segment offers gathering and transporting crude oil through pipelines, gathering systems, trucks, and at times on barges or railcars.

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StockNews.com downgraded shares of Teradata (NYSE:TDC  Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Teradata from $41.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Guggenheim raised Teradata from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 1st. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Teradata from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. TheStreet raised Teradata from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Northland Securities began coverage on Teradata in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. They set an outperform rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Teradata has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $54.00.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on Teradata

Teradata Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of TDC stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,753,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,107. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 79.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Teradata has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.73. The companys fifty day moving average is $52.79 and its 200 day moving average is $44.58.

Teradata (NYSE:TDC  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. Teradata had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The firm had revenue of $462.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $445.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Teradatas revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Teradata will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen Mcmillan sold 12,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $612,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 532,997 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,116,853. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Teradata news, CEO Stephen Mcmillan sold 12,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $612,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 532,997 shares in the company, valued at $26,116,853. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael P. Gianoni sold 29,053 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $1,498,263.21. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,107 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,965,177.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,081 shares of company stock worth $2,310,946. Company insiders own 0.90% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Teradata

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TDC. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Teradata by 10.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,141 shares of the technology companys stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Teradata by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,610 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 15,820 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Teradata by 8.1% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 369,019 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $19,709,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares during the period. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Teradata in the second quarter valued at about $2,095,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Teradata by 0.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,343,516 shares of the technology companys stock worth $71,755,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares during the period. 88.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Teradata Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Teradata Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a connected multi-cloud data platform for enterprise analytics. The company offers Teradata Vantage, a data platform that allows companies to leverage their data across an enterprise, as well as connects various sources of data to drive ecosystem simplification and support customers on their journey to the cloud through an integrated migration.

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TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited (LON:SMIF  Get Free Report) announced a dividend on Thursday, August 10th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of GBX 0.50 ($0.01) per share on Friday, September 1st. This represents a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. The official announcement can be seen at this link.

TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Stock Performance

LON:SMIF traded down GBX 0.40 ($0.01) during trading hours on Thursday, reaching GBX 75 ($0.96). The companys stock had a trading volume of 257,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,819. The company has a market capitalization of 183.20 million and a P/E ratio of -942.50. TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund has a 12 month low of GBX 64.15 ($0.82) and a 12 month high of GBX 81 ($1.04). The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 72.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 73.92.

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Insider Buying and Selling at TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund

In other news, insider Wendy Dorey acquired 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 71 ($0.91) per share, for a total transaction of 10,650 ($13,610.22). In related news, insider Wendy Dorey acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 71 ($0.91) per share, with a total value of 10,650 ($13,610.22). Also, insider Ashley Paxton acquired 26,250 shares of TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 71 ($0.91) per share, for a total transaction of 18,637.50 ($23,817.89). Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 65,254 shares of company stock valued at $4,729,050. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund

TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Numis Securities Ltd. The fund is managed by TwentyFour Asset Management LLP. It invests in fixed income markets of the United Kingdom. The fund primarily invests in less liquid instruments across the debt spectrum, including asset backed securities, bank capital, corporate loans, high yield bonds, and leveraged loans issued by a wide variety of issuers.

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White Pine Capital LLC raised its position in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,468 shares of the aircraft producers stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lifted its holdings in Boeing by 12.6% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,791 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Investment Management of Virginia LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boeing during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,690,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Boeing by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,844 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new stake in Boeing during the 1st quarter valued at $324,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.22% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Boeing from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Boeing from $260.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. SpectralCast reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Boeing from $248.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Boeing from $225.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $244.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven M. Mollenkopf purchased 850 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $237.00 per share, for a total transaction of $201,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the companys stock, valued at $892,779. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Steven M. Mollenkopf purchased 850 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $237.00 per share, with a total value of $201,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $892,779. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore Colbert III sold 8,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.37, for a total transaction of $2,026,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,255 shares in the company, valued at $14,124,614.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boeing Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Boeing stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $238.27. 3,708,306 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,859,690. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.63. The company has a market cap of $143.34 billion, a PE ratio of -31.84 and a beta of 1.41. The Boeing Company has a twelve month low of $120.99 and a twelve month high of $243.10.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $19.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.37) earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Boeing Company will post -1.87 EPS for the current year.

Boeing Profile

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital.

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Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW  Free Report) had its price objective increased by Truist Financial from $131.00 to $138.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the technology companys stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Arrow Electronics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Bank of America cut their price target on Arrow Electronics from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $129.57.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on ARW

Arrow Electronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARW opened at $126.28 on Monday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $137.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Arrow Electronics has a 1-year low of $89.38 and a 1-year high of $147.42. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.73 billion. Arrow Electronics had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 3.35%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that Arrow Electronics will post 16.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arrow Electronics

In related news, SVP Gretchen Zech sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.26, for a total value of $505,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,525,810.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gail Hamilton sold 1,419 shares of Arrow Electronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.81, for a total transaction of $181,362.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 101 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,908.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gretchen Zech sold 4,000 shares of Arrow Electronics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.26, for a total transaction of $505,040.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,525,810.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,838 shares of company stock worth $861,067. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arrow Electronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Arrow Electronics by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 18,423 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Arrow Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Arrow Electronics by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the technology companys stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Arrow Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,466,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Arrow Electronics by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 24,188 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.58% of the companys stock.

Arrow Electronics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Arrow Electronics, Inc provides products, services, and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Global Components and Global Enterprise Computing Solutions.

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Bellevue Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200 shares of the companys stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $69,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the companys stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 3,701 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 397 shares of the companys stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the companys stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the companys stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.25% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $375.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $517.00.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of LLY traded down $4.74 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $521.49. 4,107,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,079,546. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $396.40. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $296.32 and a 52 week high of $538.00. The company has a market cap of $495.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.62, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.35.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 61.42%. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is currently 71.86%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares in the company, valued at $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total value of $107,057,169.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares in the company, valued at $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,941 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,864,681.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 772,663 shares of company stock valued at $365,372,076 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and 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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Great-West Lifeco (OTCMKTS:GWLIF  Get Free Report) and Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC  Get Free Report) are both financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Great-West Lifeco and Manulife Financials gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Great-West Lifeco N/A N/A N/A $2.60 11.31 Manulife Financial $13.19 billion 2.71 $5.53 billion $2.18 8.95

Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Great-West Lifeco. Manulife Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Great-West Lifeco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Analyst Ratings

Great-West Lifeco pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Great-West Lifeco pays out 47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 49.5% 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. Manulife Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Great-West Lifeco and Manulife Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Great-West Lifeco 0 1 1 0 2.50 Manulife Financial 0 2 0 0 2.00

Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.78%. Manulife Financial has a consensus target price of $29.29, suggesting a potential upside of 50.03%. Given Manulife Financials higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Great-West Lifeco.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.8% of Great-West Lifeco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.7% of Manulife Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Great-West Lifeco and Manulife Financials net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Great-West Lifeco N/A N/A N/A Manulife Financial N/A 12.77% 0.72%

Summary

Manulife Financial beats Great-West Lifeco on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great-West Lifeco

(Get Free Report)

Great-West Lifeco Inc. engages in the life and health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company offers life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, critical illness, health and dental protection, and creditor insurance products; and retirement and wealth savings, income and annuity products, and other specialty products to individuals, families, businesses, and organizations. It also provides individual product solutions and employer-sponsored retirement savings plans that offers saving, investment, and advisory services; wealth and investment management, and related administrative function and distribution services; and investment products, including equity, fixed-income, absolute return and alternative strategies, hedge fund and other alternative strategies, model-based separately managed accounts, and model portfolios. In addition, the company offers bulk and individual payout annuities, equity release mortgages, life bonds, and retirement drawdown and pension products; savings and investments; and provides asset management services for pension schemes, insurance companies, wealth managers, fiduciary managers, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as third-party institutional clients. Further, it provides life, health, annuity/longevity, mortgage surety, and property catastrophe reinsurance products. The company offers its products under the Canada Life, Irish Life, Empower, Putnam Investments, and PanAgora brand names. It distributes its products through a network of sales force, brokers, consultants, advisors, third-party administrators, financial institutions, dealers, managing general agencies, financial planners, employee benefit consultants, banks, and multi-tied agents. The company was founded in 1891 and is based in Winnipeg, Canada. Great-West Lifeco Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation.

About Manulife Financial

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Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment provides deposit and credit products; and individual life insurance, individual and group long-term care insurance, and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through multiple distribution channels, including insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in property and casualty reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. The company also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, investment counseling and dealer, portfolio and mutual fund management, property and casualty insurance, and mutual fund dealer businesses. Manulife Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Ensign Energy Services (TSE:ESI  Free Report) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from C$3.00 to C$3.75 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ESI. TD Securities lowered their price target on Ensign Energy Services from C$6.00 to C$5.50 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. CIBC lowered their target price on Ensign Energy Services from C$4.25 to C$3.50 in a report on Friday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ensign Energy Services from C$3.00 to C$4.50 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. ATB Capital lowered their target price on Ensign Energy Services from C$8.50 to C$8.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ensign Energy Services from C$2.50 to C$3.25 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$4.62.

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Ensign Energy Services Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ESI opened at C$2.99 on Tuesday. Ensign Energy Services has a 52-week low of C$1.77 and a 52-week high of C$4.11. The company has a market capitalization of C$549.86 million, a PE ratio of 98.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 202.94 and a beta of 3.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$2.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$2.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.69.

Ensign Energy Services (TSE:ESI  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported C$0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.13 by C($0.11). The company had revenue of C$484.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$499.00 million. Ensign Energy Services had a return on equity of 0.50% and a net margin of 0.33%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ensign Energy Services will post 0.1757444 EPS for the current year.

About Ensign Energy Services

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Ensign Energy Services Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides oilfield services to the crude oil and natural gas industries in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company offers shallow, intermediate, and deep well drilling, as well as specialized drilling services, including horizontal, underbalanced, horizontal re-entry, and slant drilling for steam assisted gravity drainage applications; and equipment and services.

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Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR  Get Free Report) and PHX Energy Services (OTCMKTS:PHXHF  Get Free Report) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Nabors Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. PHX Energy Services pays an annual dividend of $0.83 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.2%. Nabors Industries pays out -0.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PHX Energy Services pays out 62.9% 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.

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Profitability

This table compares Nabors Industries and PHX Energy Services net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Nabors Industries -0.96% -17.98% -2.22% PHX Energy Services N/A N/A N/A

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Nabors Industries $3.00 billion 0.36 -$350.26 million ($5.87) -19.50 PHX Energy Services N/A N/A N/A $1.32 4.14

This table compares Nabors Industries and PHX Energy Services gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

PHX Energy Services has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Nabors Industries. Nabors Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PHX Energy Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.8% of Nabors Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.3% of PHX Energy Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of Nabors Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Nabors Industries and PHX Energy Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Nabors Industries 1 4 2 0 2.14 PHX Energy Services 0 0 0 0 N/A

Nabors Industries currently has a consensus target price of $145.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.68%. PHX Energy Services has a consensus target price of $9.75, suggesting a potential upside of 78.24%. Given PHX Energy Services higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PHX Energy Services is more favorable than Nabors Industries.

Summary

PHX Energy Services beats Nabors Industries on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nabors Industries

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Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells in the United States and internationally. The company operates through U.S. Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. The company marketed approximately 300 rigs for land-based drilling operations; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About PHX Energy Services

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PHX Energy Services Corp. provides horizontal and directional drilling technology and services to oil and natural gas exploration and development companies in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It offers Velocity Real-Time Systems that provide downhole guidance systems; Atlas motors; PowerDrive Orbit RSS, a rotary steerable system; P-360 Positive Pulse MWD System, a measurement while drilling (MWD) tool; and E-360 EM MWD System, an MWD tool that transmits electric signals through geological formations. The company also provides 360 CV MWD System, a clear vision tool, which surveys inclination and gamma in real-time closer to the bit; 360 RWD System, a resistivity while drilling sub; and North Seeking Gyro that offers real-time QA/QC checks downhole. The company was formerly known as Phoenix Technology Income Fund and changed its name to PHX Energy Services Corp. PHX Energy Services Corp. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU  Free Report) (TSE:EFR)  Research analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their FY2023 earnings per share estimates for shares of Energy Fuels in a report released on Tuesday, August 8th. HC Wainwright analyst H. Ihle now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $0.69 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $0.59. HC Wainwright currently has a Buy rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Energy Fuels current full-year earnings is $0.59 per share.

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Separately, TheStreet raised Energy Fuels from a d rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, May 18th.

Energy Fuels Stock Performance

UUUU opened at $6.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Fuels has a one year low of $4.85 and a one year high of $8.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Curtis Moore sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.37, for a total transaction of $62,426.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,978 shares of the companys stock, valued at $528,569.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Energy Fuels news, Director Dennis Lyle Higgs sold 27,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $173,517.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 270,081 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,709,612.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Curtis Moore sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.37, for a total transaction of $62,426.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,978 shares of the companys stock, valued at $528,569.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,486 shares of company stock valued at $499,290 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Fuels by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,442 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Energy Fuels by 9.0% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,168,356 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $50,805,000 after acquiring an additional 671,279 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Energy Fuels by 2.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 361,968 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Energy Fuels by 2,264.3% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 49,579 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 47,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Energy Fuels by 5.1% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 428,786 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 20,709 shares during the last quarter. 40.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Fuels Company Profile

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Energy Fuels Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction, recovery, exploration, processing, permitting, evaluation, and sale of uranium, vanadium, and rare earth elements. It also targets heavy mineral sands, including ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite. The company owns and operates the Nichols Ranch project located in Wyoming, White Mesa Mill located in Utah, the Pinyon Plain project located in Arizona, the Roca Honda project located in Central New Mexico, the Sheep Mountain project located in Wyoming, the Bullfrog project located in Utah, and the La Sal project located in La Sal West and La Sal East.

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NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NIMC  Get Free Report) EVP William Jr. Jefferson sold 4,875 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $130,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,905 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $828,254. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NIMC opened at $100.86 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $101.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.63 and a fifty-two week high of $121.81.

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NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $1.9375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $7.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NIMC. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 153.7% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 172,635 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,480,000 after purchasing an additional 104,577 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in NiSource by 29.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 200,703 shares of the companys stock valued at $20,422,000 after purchasing an additional 46,005 shares during the last quarter. AEGON USA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 53.5% during the first quarter. AEGON USA Investment Management LLC now owns 65,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,816 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in NiSource by 112.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 48,879 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 137,105 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares during the last quarter.

Separately, TheStreet downgraded NiSource from a c- rating to a d rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on NIMC

NiSource Company Profile

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NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 859,000 customers in northern Indiana, as well as approximately 2.4 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.

Further Reading

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International Land Alliance, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ILAL  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,700 shares, an increase of 750.0% from the July 15th total of 200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 46,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.0 days.

International Land Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:ILAL opened at $0.07 on Friday. International Land Alliance has a 12-month low of $0.05 and a 12-month high of $0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $0.10 and a 200-day moving average of $0.11.

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International Land Alliance (OTCMKTS:ILAL  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter.

About International Land Alliance

International Land Alliance, Inc operates as a residential land development company with target properties located primarily in the Baja California, Northern region of Mexico, and Southern California. Its principal activities include purchasing properties; obtaining zoning and other entitlements required to subdivide the properties into residential and commercial building lots; securing financing for the purchase of the lots; enhance the properties' infrastructure and amenities; and selling the plots to homebuyers, retirees, investors, and commercial developers.

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Kimbell Royalty Partners (NYSE:KRP  Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Raymond James from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the energy companys stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Kimbell Royalty Partners from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Citigroup reissued a buy rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners in a research note on Friday, June 30th.

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Kimbell Royalty Partners Stock Down 0.7 %

Kimbell Royalty Partners Increases Dividend

Shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners stock opened at $14.88 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.37. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 6.97, a quick ratio of 6.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Kimbell Royalty Partners has a 1 year low of $13.85 and a 1 year high of $19.80.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This is an increase from Kimbell Royalty Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.48%. Kimbell Royalty Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.34%.

Insider Transactions at Kimbell Royalty Partners

In other news, Director Mitch S. Wynne sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.88, for a total transaction of $297,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 208,881 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,108,149.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Blayne Rhynsburger sold 3,000 shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.06, for a total transaction of $45,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,191 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $801,056.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitch S. Wynne sold 20,000 shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.88, for a total value of $297,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 208,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,108,149.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.60% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimbell Royalty Partners

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,090 shares of the energy companys stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the energy companys stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,419 shares of the energy companys stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners by 159.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,629 shares of the energy companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimbell Royalty Partners by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the energy companys stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.74% of the companys stock.

About Kimbell Royalty Partners

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Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, engages in acquiring and owning mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company serves as the general partner of the company. Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Mandom Co. (OTCMKTS:MDOMF  Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,200 shares, a decrease of 45.8% from the July 15th total of 29,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently  days.

Mandom Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:MDOMF opened at $9.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 2.58. Mandom has a 1-year low of $9.00 and a 1-year high of $9.00. The companys fifty day moving average is $9.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.37.

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Mandom Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of cosmetics, perfumes, and quasi-drugs in Japan, Indonesia, and internationally. The company offers a range of products, including men's everyday grooming products, as well as general fashion items, such as hair styling, skin care, and body care products; and hair coloring, scalp care, and face care products under the Gatsby and Lucido brands.

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Chinas Yadea releases 100,000th made-in-Vietnam e-motorbike, announces new factory

By Tri Duc Fri, August 11, 2023 | 8:28 pm GTM+7

China-invested Vietnam Yadea Electric Motorcycle Company Limited has delivered to the Vietnamese market its 100,000th made-in-Vietnam electric two-wheeler and announced a $100 million investment in a new plant.

The firm, which boasts the best selling e-motorbike brand in the world, made the announcement at a ceremony held Thursday as it delivered the 100,000th unit from its factory in the Quang Chau Industrial Park, Bac Giang province in northern Vietnam.

Established in 2019, the factory, one of seven production bases of Yadea in the world, has an annual capacity of 500,000 units. The production plan for this year is 200,000 units.

Yadea holds a ceremony to release its 100,000th made-in-Vietnam electric two-wheeler in Bac Giang province, northern Vietnam, August 10, 2023. Photo courtesy of Bac Giang newspaper.

Yadea said that it would spend $100 million to build a 23.2-hectare factory at the Tan Hung Industrial Park in the same province. The new plant would be five times bigger than its existing one.

Construction of the new factory with an annual capacity of two million units is set to begin in the last quarter of this year. The factory is scheduled to start operations in 2025, employing 3,000 people. It is also expected to feature a research and development facility and precise robots and automation for some tasks.

Yadeas expansion in Vietnam happens in the context of the country having committed to a net-zero carbon emissions target in 2050 and set a goal of having all road traffic become electric-powered.

In the first seven months of this year, Bac Giang's index of industrial production (IIP) grew 15.6% year-on-year, according to provincial data. This vastly outperformed the country's average of negative 0.7% in the period, according to General Statistics Office data.

The northern province attracted 47 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $1.2 billion in the year to July 17, up 4.5-times year-on-year in terms of capital.
Japans Erex plans biomass power plant in northern Vietnam

By Tri Duc Fri, August 11, 2023 | 11:37 pm GTM+7

Japanese renewable energy firm Erex Co., Ltd. plans to build a biomass power plant in the northern highlands province of Lao Cai, a company executive said Friday.

Director Tomoki Kakuta, who oversees the companys Vietnamese market operations, announced its new plan at a working session with provincial authorities.

He urged Lao Cai province and the central government to facilitate the companys investment, noting that it plans to conduct a survey in September-October as the biomass energy potential in the province is currently unknown.

Erex director Tomoki Kakuta (center) and Lao Cai Chairman Trinh Xuan Truong (third, right) at a meeting in Hanoi, August 11, 2023. Photo courtesy of Lao Cai newspaper.

Lao Cai Chairman Trinh Xuan Truong responded that the province has to pursue biomass energy as wind and solar power development was not feasible and hydropower was the only other potential option.

He stressed the provinces strong economic potential, noting that it planned to become a gateway for trade activities between Vietnam, ASEAN countries and southwestern provinces of China.

Truong also said that Lao Cai consistently supported businesses with various measures including incentives related to land use fees, land rent and corporate income tax.

Lao Cais electricity generation reached 1,687 million kWh in the first seven months of this year, reaching just 33.75% of the year plan, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade reported.

It attributed the weak performance to unfavorable hot weather conditions early in the year, which negatively impacted the operation of hydropower plants. The weather conditions have improved since July with more rainfall, the department said.

In July, Erex and local partner Sakura Green Energy JSC broke ground for a VND474.8 billion ($19.99 million) biomass fuel plant in Yen Bai province, which neighbors Lao Cai. The companies said the plant was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Vietnam-Japan relations. The three-hectare factory, named Erex Sakura Yen Bai, has a designed annual capacity of 150,000 tons of wood pellets and 305,000 tons of wood chip products a year.

Erex is researching three other projects in Yen Bai: a wood pellet factory; a biomass power plant; and another for collection of wood byproducts. These projects have a total estimated investment of $127 million, provincial authorities said.
Vietnam conglomerate Bitexco to acquire oil-gas Block 12W for $84 mln

By Tri Duc Fri, August 11, 2023 | 9:28 am GTM+7

Big Energy JSC under Vietnamese conglomerate Bitexco Group has announced it will acquire a stake in oil-gas Block 12W for $84 million.

London-based Harbour Energy announced the sale of its business in Vietnam to Big Energy on Thursday. The transaction included a 53.125% interest in the block, situated in the Nam Con Son basin off southern Vietnam.

The sale, which is subject to approval by the Vietnamese government and should be completed by end-2023, will result in Harbour Energy exiting Vietnam.

Executives of Harbour Energy and Big Energy sign an agreement on the transaction. Photo courtesy of Bitexco.

Big Energy is a newly established company, dedicated to the oil and gas business in Vietnam and worldwide. The firm is a subsidiary of Big Capital JSC, the majority of which is owned by Vu Quang Hoi, a prominent businessman in Vietnam.

Hoi is the founder of Bitexco Group of Companies, a leading multidisciplinary private company in Vietnam (Bitexco Group). With respect to the exploration and production (E&P) business in Vietnam, Bitexco Group has been active on offshore acreage for over 10 years.

Harbour Energys 53.125% interest in Block 12W, which includes the Chim Sao and Dua oil fields, features a 28.125% operated interest held through Premier Oil Vietnam Offshore BV and a 25% interest held through Premier Oil (Vietnam) Ltd.

The two fields are expected to produce 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day net for Harbour Energy during 2023.

We are pleased to have reached an agreement to sell our business in Vietnam to Big Energy  a growing, local oil and gas player  as we continue to actively manage our portfolio, said Harbour Energy CEO Linda Z Cook.
MARION  Finding Forever Animal Rescue and Thrift Shop is asking citizens of Southern Illinois for help. The organization is in a contest to win $10,000 from Invisible Fence.

The Invisible Fence Company has a mission to keep pets safely contained and in their forever homes, as stated on their website, and they are asking people to nominate their local animal shelters into a contest to win a grand prize of $10,000 in honor of Lost Pet Prevention Month.

Finding Forever Animal Rescue has posted a link for voting on its Facebook page. Voting will continue through Aug. 31.

Finding Forever started in 2016 as an organization to trap stray cats, spay or neuter them, then release them. Many adult stray cats are hard to rehome as they are used to roaming free and may be skittish around people.

As the organization worked and grew, they started a thrift shop to help fund their efforts, then added a new shelter and combined the locations of the thrift shop and shelter.

While the organization was created to help spay and neuter cats, their efforts have grown. They now take in cats, kittens, dogs and puppies to help find them forever homes. In 2023 alone, they had placed 174 pets into forever homes.

Dogs are kept in foster homes so we can get an idea of how theyll do in homes. We can see how they interact with other dogs, cats and people, Amberly Gaudreau, manager of the Finding Forever facility, said. Its a lot more beneficial for them.

Cats and kittens are housed in the groups shelter. They operate two free roam rooms, one for cats and the other for kittens, where they can move around freely and interact with other cats.

Winnie and Willow are our longest kitten residents, Gaudreau said.

The pair of female kittens has a special adoption price of $40 for the two of them. Gaudreau explained that two kittens do well together, especially if the people in the home work.

Adoption fees generally run from $75 to $250 for cats and kittens, $150 to $450 for dogs and puppies. Appointments are required to meet a dog or puppy.

Many cats and kittens have their adoption fees partially sponsored. They are posted on the groups Facebook page.

The cat adoption fee includes: Spay or neuter, rabies vaccination for cats older than 4 months, distemper vaccination, microchip, flea treatment and getting them started on dewormer.

The dog adoption fee includes: Spay or neuter, rabies vaccination for dogs over four months, distemper vaccination, Bordetella vaccination, microchip, flea treatment and getting them started on dewormer.

Finding Forever also offers a low cost spay or neuter option for felines. A $60 cash deposit is required to set up an appointment. Stop by the thrift store at 1117 E. Main St. in Marion with your cash deposit to get signed up.

Cats are required to either be ear-tipped or microchipped when they are spayed or neutered. The ear-tipped option costs $70. The microchip option is $90. Both options include a rabies shot.

A full service option is $135 and includes a microchip, rabies and distemper vaccinations, nail trim, pain medication and ear cleaning. One or more of these services may be added to the standard options.

For more information about times available and other spay and neuter information, visit www.findingforeveranimalrescue.org.

Gaudreau said they try to keep their number of cats and kittens in the shelter lower. It helps prevent illness.

Twenty to 35 cats at any one time is typical, Gaudreau said.

The thrift store operates entirely from donations. They accept donations of household goods, collectibles and clothing in good condition. (They take everything except mattresses and box televisions.)

For people with a truckload of things to donate, Gaudreau said they must call and schedule a time to make sure volunteers are available to unload the items.

The store and shelter is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Cash donations can be made on their website.
A St. George man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his father, a prominent retired attorney in the community.

A Dorchester County jury found 51-year-old Jason Bell of St. George guilty of murdering James Jim Bell, according to 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe.

This was a case that rocked the small, but mighty, community of St. George. It has been remarkable to see how the town rallied around this family in the face of this tragedy, Pascoe said in a release.

We are grateful that the victims wife, who was also the defendants mother, was able to persevere and testify in this trial. Her strength is unparalleled, he said.

Circuit Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Jason Bell to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The jury deliberated for two hours before rendering a verdict.

On New Years Eve 2020, Jason Bell waited until celebratory fireworks began before shooting his sleeping father.

The victim was shot with his own Colt .38 revolver twice on the left side of his head. The elder Bells wife of 50 years found him the following morning unresponsive in his recliner.

The defendant originally attempted to persuade law enforcement that the victim had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

That theory quickly fall apart when it was determined that a revolver found underneath the victims body had been fired twice.

The St. George Police Department immediately interviewed the defendant and he admitted he drank an entire bottle of champagne or rum before noon on that day, removed the weapon from a drawer in the home while his parents were out for lunch, loaded the weapon and then planned to shoot his father that evening.

This case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel David Osborne with Assistant Solicitor Jillian Frederick as second chair.

Pascoe thanked Capt. Adam Dunaway, Chief Brett Camp, the St. George Police Department, the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, Coroner Paul Brouthers, and the Dorchester County Clerk of Court for their roles in making the trial happen.
Godson Cain  owner/manager/chief salesman of Cains Garments looks hopefully to expanding his enterprise.

Godson Cain has invested a large portion of his retirement benefits in starting up his own business.





He converted a section of his Richland Park home into what he refers to as a garment factory - Cains Garments - where he manufactures an assortment of items including school uniforms and blazers, school bags, and engages in his most recent project - repairing damaged vehicle upholstery.





Cain takes his finished products into Kingstown  end of week days, for display and sale. He also journeys to neighbouring communities for the same purpose.





But as he discovered, this is a lot more difficult than it sounds.





"I have made some sales so far, but I want it to pick up, Cain told THE VINCENTIAN.





And the reaction is the same: "They (the public) ask me if I make this, and I say yes, he said.





From whence it came





Cains Garments got started some four years ago soon after he retired, according to the former educator and trained economist.





He confessed that he never thought his retirement plan would become a reality, and especially at the level at which it is presently.





"So, it is something that I toyed around with and when I retired and received my gratuity, I then said that I am going home with my gratuity and pension, but if I had to live off the gratuity of $1 per day, then I would not be able to eat after 100 days, Cain related.





He added that even though he resided in an agricultural community, it would have been quite a challenge for him, given that this was a completely different era in agriculture involvement.





So, he decided to set up something at home, from where he could work and produce. He recognized even as he ventured into the new undertaking, the challenge of selling what he produced.





"And this is what I am trying to do, now. I would like to sell what I produce, he told THE VINCENTIAN.





Getting it going





Cain may not be a full-fledged tailor, but his older brother was. It was only after his retirement, he started sewing in earnest.





First, he hired tailors, but came to realise that most had their own peculiarities.





"They work with you, and they believe they are making you rather than making themselves. They prefer their little cubby hole at home, one machine and now and then somebody bring work to them, he explained.





"But I ask the question, how often do you get work? So, it is better you work with me, even if it is $70, $80 per day, it is better than waiting on somebody to come, Cain continued.





But he manages, explaining that as of late, he has several patterns including for pants, uniforms etc. He boasts of even having patterns to produce scrubs (sanitary clothing worn by physicians, etc.)





"I am fairly scientific. People may think that I own a tailor shop, but it is not a tailor shop  I tell them this is a factory, he said.





Looking ahead

Cains intention is to generate enough income from sales in order that he can expand his business and employ up to six persons.





"Thats why Im trying to appeal to the public support me, buy what I have so that I can not only create wealth for me, but that I can create employment for others, he said.





"This is the economics of it because we can produce much more than we practically have, Cain added.

His philosophy is, why import when the same items can be produced here?





Items such as the school bags that he manufactures, according to him, they are on par (quality, style) with imported ones.





At present, Cains Garments is a team of three and he acknowledges that he cannot be fully efficient.





"You do not get to carry the division of labour to where it should go so that you going to see a falloff in your cost, he explained, adding that this was because you are not getting the productivity that you ought to get if you had more people working.





He has the full complement of machinery, having invested over EC$200,000 into the business, but he needs to be in a position where he can employ more workers.





"This is what I am hoping to ultimately do and given the fact that once you can sell it, I can reach there, he said.





Currently, he said that he can produce up to five or six pants in a day, compared to 20 or more if he was able to get more staff.





Nevertheless, he said that he has no intention of closing the business into which he has invested so much. Godson Cain, another Vincentian entrepreneur braving the competition but determined to establish a place for himself.





"So, I have to hang in there and hope and pray that things will change, and I believe things will change, he said.
Michael Odu, did not fulfil his dream of becoming a medical doctor. (Facebook photo) q

Michael Odu, age given as 29, came to St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a visiting student at the American University of St. Vincent School of Medicine.





From what THE VINCENTIAN has been able to gather, he was in his final rotation of his medical studies but, unfortunately, did not live to fulfill his dream.





Odu, police confirmed, drowned August 1 in the area between Young Island and Fort Duvernette, commonly referred to as Rock Fort.





According to a police report, Odu and a group of his colleagues went to Fort Duvenette for a picnic. He reportedly crossed over to Young Island, navigating the narrow strip of rock-filled water that separates Young Island and Fort Duvernette, but while attempting to return to Fort Duvernette, he encountered problems.

Odu was unconscious when he was pulled from the sea and attempts to resuscitate him failed.





He was taken by water taxi to Young Island Dock and then to Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer.





A post mortem revealed he died from drowning, and the office of Public Relations and Complaints at the RSVG Police Force ruled out foul play.





Persons close to the Nigerian family disclosed that Odus body will be returned to his homeland for burial in the traditional native fashion.





THE VINCENTIAN was not able to confirm whether Fort Duvernette was reopened to the public since a public notice of closure was published in 2022.
Stewart Haynes, Director NIS, might have allayed some fear for some time but not all the fear for all the time.

If for any reason contributors felt otherwise, Stewart Haynes, Director of the National Insurance Services (NIS) has given the assurance that the NIS at this time is financially and actuarially sound.





On that basis, he said, the NIS is able to meet obligations in full and on time for the next twelve years.





Mr. Haynes made the statements with respect to the current and short term status of the NIS while speaking on last Sundays edition of Issue at Hand aired on WE FM.





To further his point, the Director disclosed that the NIS reserves, based on the half-year report, stood at $476 million. For the same period, some $35.5 million was collected as income (contributions) and $44.4 million paid out in benefits.





But while Haynes sought to establish that the NIS is currently financially and actuarially sound and could commit to honouring its obligations over the next twelve years, he advised that changes had to be made if this was to be maintained beyond 2034.





In this light, listeners might have recalled that Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, had told a July 18 sitting of the House of Assembly, that reform of the NIS was no longer a mere consideration but a necessity, if it was to avoid a situation of not being able to meet its commitments beyond 2034.





Among the reforms touted then by the Finance Minister were:

* an increase in the contribution rate to at least 15 per cent  up from 10 per cent  progressively over the next 10 years;

* making NIS registration and payment contributions mandatory for all self-employed and informal sector workers;

* reducing long-term old age pension costs, including consideration of continuing the increase of the pensionable age until age 67 by the year 2032;

* reducing the maximum old age pension replacement rate from 60 per cent to 55 per cent, meaning that rather than receiving 60 per cent of their salary, pensioners would receive 55 per cent;

* discouraging the take up of early retirement pensions through adjusted benefit calculations or making the pension formula more progressive, i.e. instituting a slightly lower pension rate for those at higher income.





These measures are expected to extend the projected date for the depletion of the NIS reserves from 2034 to 2051, Gonsalves said then, adding that it was governments intention to implement NIS and pension reform provisions beginning in Budget year 2024.
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A man suspected of triggering a multi-vehicle crash that killed five young people while driving intoxicated and in the wrong direction on Interstate 80 has been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.

In March, Arthur Andrew Nelson pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including five counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle.

Nelson was arrested Jan. 22 after authorities say his truck struck two oncoming vehicles near Rawlins, and a tractor-trailer that moved into the median to avoid him collided with an oncoming Ford F-150, killing everyone inside.

His jury trial was scheduled for July 25, but it was vacated the week prior, Carbon County District Court Clerk Mara M. Sanger told the Star-Tribune.

Since then, the court decided all of Nelsons proceedings will be indefinitely suspended after having reviewed a forensic evaluation, evidence and arguments presented by all parties, a court filing states.

The defendant is incompetent to proceed at this time, however, potentially has the capability to achieve competency restoration... the filing states.

The Carbon County Sheriffs Office transported him to Wyoming State Hospital, where he was committed to inpatient restoration services, the filing states.

Nelson will remain there either until the head of the facility reports that defendant is fit to proceed, or a determination is made that defendant is not restorable to competence, the filing states.

The hospital is required to update the court once every 30 days on Nelsons status and produce a full report once every three months.

Suzy Prime, Ava Grace Luplow, Andrea Prime, Salomon Correa and Maggie Franco died in the crash. They were identified as students and recent graduates of Sylvan Hills High School in central Arkansas, according to Pulaski County Special School District spokesperson Jessica Duff.

The friend group went on a 1,500-mile trip to Jackson, where they spent one week visiting Jackson Hole Bible College. When they were returning home from their trip on a Sunday evening, Nelson allegedly triggered the crash that killed them.

A Mississippi truck driver, who struck the Ford F-150 carrying the five young adults, was placed in a medically induced coma because her burns were so severe that her internal organs were damaged, Trooper Corey McCallister said in Carbon County District Court in March.

About three-quarters of her face was burned almost completely off, McCallister said of the Mississippi truck driver. I couldnt even believe or begin to tell how many people were inside the red Ford F-150.

Afterwards, Nelson failed several field sobriety tests, and a drug recognition expert believed he was intoxicated with both a stimulant and a narcotic when he arrived at Memorial hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins.

Nelson, who was 57 at the time of his arrest, has a lengthy criminal history.

The wreck near Rawlins, which also injured four people, was at least the fifth time Nelson had been caught driving without a valid license, court records show.

Nelson spent over two decades in-and-out of prison while he lived in Tennessee, according to a series of state court records. His crimes ranged from second-degree burglary to statutory rape.

In addition to the five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, Nelson is also charged with driving while under the influence causing serious bodily injury, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and driving the wrong way on a highway.

He is facing over 100 years in prison if found guilty on all charges, but it remains to be seen if he will ever be cleared to stand trial.

Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in Wyoming, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Star-Tribune app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
CHEYENNE  The robing ceremony for a new judge is a merry event that you wont ever see in the day-to-day business of judges.

Envision the scene; the supreme court room is lled with the newbie judge, family, friends and a lot of current and former judges or justices. Lots of anecdotes and jokes about the new judge, laughter, many best wishes.

Gov. Mark Gordon, who appointed the judge is there. So is Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox who administers the oath of ofce to the new judge.

When they all leave you suspect they are headed to a great party somewhere.

The party is the culmination of a relatively long selection process.

Fox also serves as head of the Judicial Nominating Commission. This is the group that sifts through applications from lawyers for open judicial seats.

The commission presents the governor with three nominees for the slot. The governor then picks one.

Both Gordon and Fox have been busy with this swearing-in robing ritual given the unusually high number of judge seats open in the past year.

During one such ritual several months ago for Misha Westby as district judge for the states second district in Albany County, available on video, Gordon said he hopes the state keeps the nominating commission and does not revert to the old system of electing judges.

It is truly a great thing for Wyoming, he said. I wouldnt change it in any way.

He questioned what it would be like to revert to the old system and elect judges given the current climate of divisiveness.

That is an interesting question Considering the growing strength of ultra conservatives, elections could produce a different type of jurist that is way out of touch with Wyomings historical Libertarian principles.

Or you could have rough, brutal elections that seem to be the norm nationally and internationally.

Before the Judicial Nominating Commission came about through a constitutional amendment adopted by voters in the 1970s, citizens chose their judges through elections.

The lawyers who sought those judicial slots waged campaigns just as all other politicians did for mayor, city treasurer, state representative and so on. Plain old street politics  ads, speeches, hand-shaking.

The main thrust of the new system called The Missouri Plan after the state where it originated (to quell outrageous corruption) was to get the judicial system out of politics.

It was an effort to elevate the judiciary to a higher level with ethics fitting for officials who dress in priest-like black robes and have such power over individual lives.

Yet there were and still are critics who say the system is tied to politics because the governor makes the final appointment.

They contend, moreover, that the entire weeding out process lacks transparency. Members of an elite, meaning the American Bar Association, control the commission, if not in number, in information. What they mean is a handful of lawyers can control the votes of others members because they are more informed about the system.

Wyomings seven members on the commission include three lawyers, three members from the public and the chief justice.

In the beginning, the new commission kept the names of the three nominees a secret. I was part of the news media that pushed for transparency. Opponents claimed that making public the names of the lawyers seeking a judgeship would hurt their practices if they were not selected Nevertheless the commission made public the names of the three nominees, but not all of the applicants.

In the beginning also, the first governor who had to deal with the commission, Ed Herschler, a lawyer, wasnt delighted.

He sent the list of slate three nominees back to the commission saying he wouldnt appoint any of them.

In another appointment, Herschler was so late making a decision that the chief justice of the supreme chief justice at the time Rodney Guthrie said he was worried he was going to have to make the appointment himself as the law provided.

Herschler came through, though.

Other governors didnt share his distaste for the new system. Its a keeper.
Afraz and Dilly Ann Karmally have taken their shared love for rock music to fashion a literal Metal Maze.

The married couple, owners of the Inten Artist Consultants firm, have created the annual Metal Maze with the aim of redefining the Caribbean metal festival experience.
Several Government and Opposition MPs listed their lands and properties on Form B of their declaration forms to the Integrity Commission, a search by the Sunday Express has found.

There has been controversy over Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowleys non-declaration of his Inez Gate, Tobago, townhouse on Form B of his declaration filed for 2019 to the Integrity Commission.
So, I love tasting and, in fact, it is my truest form of eating. I am the kind of person who would be the first to try when something new comes out.

A new twist of an existing product, a new type of snack, a new-flavour Shandy or mixed drink, a new fruit, a new meal combination. I have even tasted baby food, which I actually like, either at home before giving to said babies or when I see a new flavour combination. The fruit ones are usually great. The actual food ones are bland, and the ones where bananas are mixed in overwhelm everything and there is only the taste of banana.
Pakistan's state bank to issue commemorative coin to mark CPEC's 10th anniversary

Xinhua) 09:07, August 11, 2023

Photo released by State Bank of Pakistan on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a commemorative coin in Islamabad, Pakistan. (SBP/Handout via Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday announced to issue a commemorative coin of 100 Pakistani rupees to mark the 10th anniversary of the launching of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the SBP said in a statement.

Both the obverse and reverse sides of the coin present a crescent moon and star and a group of five stars that represent the national flags of Pakistan and China, the central bank said.

The words "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" in Urdu, Chinese and English scripts are represented on the reverse side, the SBP said, adding that "celebrating 10 years of CPEC" in English script and "the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" in Urdu script are written on the obverse side.

"The coin is in round shape milled with serrations on edge, with a diameter of 30.00 mm and a weight of 13.5 grams, and has cupro-nickel metal contents (copper 75 percent and nickel 25 percent)," the SBP added.

The CPEC has contributed greatly to Pakistan's infrastructure and economic development since its inception in 2013, the central bank said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
It is safe to say the great old library at Amphitheater High School aint what it used to be.

The card catalog case has become storage space for stickers, staples and paper clips. The long lines of tables are gone now. The kerthumping sound of Xerox machines is a thing of the past, too, but rest easy Amphi alums.

Different in this case may mean better than ever before.

Classes resumed last week, and on the first day of school, the Amphi library was packed with more than 100 students during both of the schools staggered lunch breaks.

Dozens of teens worked on library computers. Perhaps 50 more chattered happily about summer break in a central area arranged cafe style, and no one was happier to see them than Taryn Burlison.

I missed them! the schools head librarian confessed. Its too quiet when they arent here.

Too quiet arent words we often hear from librarians, but they may explain why Amphi has become a shining example of what school libraries can be in a world that often views them as expendable.

Shrinking budgets and political pressures are making life hard on all American libraries, but school libraries seem especially vulnerable. Many new schools, in fact, are designed without libraries at all. So far, at least, Tucsons second-oldest school district has resisted the trend.

All 21 Amphitheater schools have libraries and librarians. Amphi High has perhaps one of the largest library spaces of any school in Pima County, a library staff of three, and a collection of 20,000 books.

Im the luckiest librarian in Tucson, Burlison said, but even luckier are the students who are drawn each day into her office.

Burlison began her career as a student teacher at Amphi in the early 2000s, then spent 15 years as a librarian and teacher at Flowing Wells. She returned to Amphi five years ago as the schools head librarian.

I still consider myself a teacher, but honestly this works better for me, she said. As a teacher, I spent a lot of time talking at my students. Now I can speak with them, asking what what their interests are, what they like to do, helping them find books that tap into who they are. Im not here to grade them. Im here to help them.

As a teacher, Burlison said, she felt more like a mommy. Now Im the auntie. I think Im better at that.

Burlison pushes back on the notion that todays young people are less interested in reading, or in books.

From my perspective, no, I dont think things have changed that much at all, she said. There have always been kids who have hated to read and kids who love it. What has changed is how they read  and what they read.

Like their parents, some students now read books on Kindles, Nooks and laptops. Others prefer audio books. As for what they read, its a whole new world out there.

Right here in my office, I see two books with people of color on the cover  both female. Theres a Black Panther novel. An adventure sci-fi. Kids go mad over graphic novels and manga. There is a lot out there now for young people to read. No matter what a young person looks like or what they like to do, there are books that speak to them  featuring young people just like themselves.

Auntie Taryn has learned to listen when a student begins a question in a whisper.

Im about to learn something about them that not everyone knows, she said. They may ask for a book about LGBTQ, or depression, or a medical challenge. I need to be there for them.

Mommy Taryn steps up as a technology teacher, checking out Chromebooks and guiding students to the best tools for online research.

Burlison wears another hat, too: bookshop manager.

Nonprofits such as First Book and Books for Classrooms help schools acquire free or deeply discounted books. You might be surprised how many ways were able to get books, Burlison said. Ive gotten really good at begging.

Some of these new copies go onto the shelves at Amphi. Others are given directly to students, many of whom come from families that are stretched tight, financially.

We have a Free Book Room, Burlison explained. If we see a students eyes light up when they see a book, its theirs.

At last count, Amphi librarians had given away more than 3,500 books in the last five years. Students learning English as a second or third language are often her best customers.

Burlison is troubled by the fact some legislators, and even some educators, undervalue the importance of school libraries.

I once belonged to a robust book club of Tucson school librarians, she said. That group is a lot smaller now, and its a shame. Here at Amphi, the library is the heart of the school. Were full every day at lunch time. We have students who feel safer here than anywhere else in the world; who grow up here, right before our eyes. Its just an amazing place to be.

FOOTNOTES

Tucsons community of readers and writers will not soon forget Aurelie Sheehan, who died Aug. 3. She had been a professor of English at the University of Arizona since 2000, but no one knew her as Professor Sheehan. She was Aurelie, a kind, supportive mentor and friend. Sheehan was also a gifted author who published two novels and four collections. Demigods on Speedway, released in 2014, was a collection of short stories about Tucson. Until recently, Sheehan chaired the Department of English. A public remembrance will be held for her this fall on campus.

The Sealey Challenge, a monthlong readathon created by poet Nicole Sealey, will continue through Aug. 31. The challenge: read one book of poetry every day, all month long. It is being co-hosted this year by the UA Poetry Center, which is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at poetry.arizona.edu.
A federal judge will allow several children to sue on behalf of all transgender people born in Arizona to force the state to change the gender on their birth certificates.

The individuals who filed suit in 2020, all minors, want to permanently bar the Arizona Department of Health Services from enforcing a provision of state law that says the department will not amend a birth certificate based solely on the persons claim they have gender dysphoria and do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Instead, the department will act only after the person has undergone a sex change operation or has a chromosomal count that establishes that their sex differs from what is on the birth certificate. Either of those requires a verified statement from a physician.

U.S. District Judge James Soto in Tucson has yet to rule on the claim. But in a new order, he said it makes sense to have this handled as a class-action lawsuit, meaning that any ruling he issues would affect not just the individuals who filed suit but anyone else who is transgender and wants an Arizona birth certificate altered.

Such an injunction in this matter would protect all proposed class members due process and equal protection rights, and otherwise make it less burdensome for transgender individuals to amend the gender marker on their birth certificates in Arizona through a private administrative process, the judge wrote. No date has been set for a trial.

More than 30,000 transgender Arizonans

There was no immediate response to the order from the health department, which has asked Soto to dismiss the case. Among the departments legal arguments is that any injuries the plaintiffs claim were not caused by the state and that the court cannot rewrite the challenged law.

Rachel Berg, an attorney with the The National Center for Lesbian Rights, applauded the decision.

The class action motion is important here because it will allow a ruling in this case to apply to all transgender people born in Arizona, Berg told Capitol Media Services.

Soto noted that the center has submitted demographic studies reflecting that there are likely over 30,000 transgender individuals in Arizona.

And there are likely thousands of transgender individuals who would amend their Arizona birth certificates through a private administrative process if it was available in Arizona, he said.

Other policies could be affected

The outcome of the lawsuit could have ripple effects.

If Soto blocks the state from enforcing its current requirement for sex-change surgery before a birth certificate can be altered, it would allow others who are transgender to seek to have a new designation of their sex on those certificates.

That would mean that the official state record would show transgender girls enrolled in schools as girls. That would undermine efforts by state schools chief Tom Horne and key Republican lawmakers in a separate federal court lawsuit to defend a 2022 law that bars transgender girls from participating in girls sports.

It also could affect perennial legislative efforts to force transgender individuals to use a restroom that corresponds to their sex assigned at birth.

The case before Soto, first filed in 2020, is on behalf of three transgender boys whose Arizona birth certificates list them as female and a transgender girl identified as male on the birth certificate. There is a fifth transgender girl in the lawsuit, the original plaintiff. In November 2022, Soto ordered that her birth certificate be amended in what Berg said was an agreement with the state.

Central to the lawsuit is the argument that some individuals have gender dysphoria, a disconnect between the persons identity and the assigned sex.

Attorneys for the children say one of the treatments is to align the persons life with his or her gender identity. And while that could include hormone-replacement therapy and surgery, they said it starts with social transition, changing their names, using different pronouns, and adopting clothing and grooming habits associated with their peers of the same gender identity.

Privacy issue

Having identity documents that reflect a transgender persons assigned sex rather than their gender identity increases the likelihood that a persons transgender status will be disclosed to others, exposes them to a significant risk of mistreatment, and undermines the health benefits of their social transition, the lawsuit states.

Depriving transgender young people of birth certificates that accurately reflect who they are forces them to disclose their transgender status  information that is private and sensitive  without their consent whenever they need to rely on birth certificates to establish their identity, the attorneys said.

They said a national survey conducted in 2015 by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that nearly a third of those who had to show an identity document with a name or sex that did not match their gender presentation were verbally harassed, denied benefits or service, asked to leave, or assaulted.

Complicating matters is a 2022 law signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey that bars doctors from performing irreversible gender reassignment surgery on minors  the procedure that is now first required to allow the health department to change a childs birth certificate.

That just shows the problem with this unconstitutional nature of the statute, Berg said.

Transgender young people are unable to amend their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity because of this outdated surgical requirement, she said. And it leaves them really in horrible condition, subjected to harassment and violence and a risk of discrimination as well.

The challengers already scored at least a partial victory. Soto previously ruled that the requirement in state law for a sex-change operation to allow for a change in birth certificates invades the constitutional rights of plaintiffs.
PHOENIX  Three current and former Republican lawmakers have been rebuffed by the state Court of Appeals in their attempt to avoid paying the legal fees of a Democrat whom a trial judge said was unfairly sued by them.

And now, theyre now on the financial hook for more.

In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the three-judge panel said that Yuma County Superior Court Judge Levi Gunderson was justified last year in requiring Mark Finchem, Anthony Kern and Paul Gosar to shell out $75,000 that Charlene Fernandez, then a state representative from Yuma, had to pay to her attorneys to successfully defend against a defamation suit they brought against her. He tossed their claim, ruling the lawsuit was brought for an improper purpose, having been filed against a political opponent primarily for the purposes of harassment.

Finchem, Kern and Gosar did not appeal the underlying ruling. But they argued to the appellate judges that Gundersons decision to force them to pay Fernandezs legal fees was not justified, saying such sanctions will stifle creative advocacy.

The appellate panel, in an unsigned opinion, didnt see it that way. They said the trio filed suit without substantial justification and that their pleadings were riddled with irrelevant allegations.

Further, on appeal, they continue to focus on the parties political differences, rather than law and fact, to support their claims, the appellate judges wrote in assessing a new round of financial sanctions. Their appeal, therefore, is both groundless and brought in bad faith.

The new ruling does not say how much more Finchem, Kern and Gosar will have to pay. That will be determined after Fernandezs attorneys file a statement of their legal fees and other costs.

At issue is a Jan. 12, 2021, letter signed by Fernandez and 41 other Democratic state lawmakers to the FBI and the Department of Justice asking them to investigate Finchem, Kern and Gosar, all of whom were in Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 6 event that year.

The letter said Finchem and Kern actively encouraged the mob, both before and during the attack on the Capitol. It claimed that they sought to conceal the consequences of their conduct by falsely blaming Antifa. 

It also raised issues about Gosar and fellow Arizona Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs.

That was based on a claim by Ali Alexander, who organized the Stop the Steal movement, that he worked with them and Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks on the plan for the Jan. 6 demonstration that coincided with Congress counting of the electoral votes.

We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting, Alexander said in a now-deleted video on Periscope.

There was no evidence either Finchem or Kern were involved in trespassing at the Capitol. Both Biggs and Gosar were inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 session.

While all Democratic state lawmakers signed the letter, the Finchem, Kern and Gosar chose to sue only Fernandez, who had been the House minority leader. They offered no explanation for that decision.

In filing suit, Kern and Finchem, and later Gosar, contended she knew that allegations they helped stir up protesters were false or that she made them in reckless disregard of their truth or falsity. They sought unspecified damages as well as a court order requiring Fernandez to publish a full retraction of the false and malicious allegations in the letter to federal officials.

Gunderson, however, said Fernandez did nothing wrong.

The Jan. 12th letter goes to the heart of free speech and the right to petition the government in connection with matters of great public concern, the judge wrote.

Defendant had the right to express her concerns, both as an individual and as a state legislator, Gunderson said. Defendant had the right to petition the government, just as her constituents have the right to petition her.

The judge said the letter falls well within First Amendment protections for political speech.

In their new ruling, the appellate judges agreed.

They pointed out that Arizona law requires a court to assess legal fees against any attorney or individual who brings a claim without substantial justification. That includes any claim that is groundless and is not made in good faith.

That, they said, is the case here.

Plaintiffs defamation claims were groundless because the statements they contend were defamatory were absolutely privileged as communications to law enforcement about potential criminal activity, the ruling states. The appellate judges said the lawsuit was not brought in good faith because their complaint presented allegations relating to Fernandezs political positions that were irrelevant to the defamation claims.

Gosar press aide Anthony Foti said the appellate court said the comments made in the letter could amount to defamation "but concludes that she had the absolute privileged right to defame them without any legal recourse'' under what he called the "pretext'' that Fernandez was reporting a crime.

He said the ruling reflects two standards of justice.

"Leftists are allowed to defame conservatives under the thinnest of pretexts,'' Foti said.

"Conservatives ... like President Trump face criminal prosecution for his privileged exercise of free speech,'' he said, saying that imposing sanctions on Gosar, Finchem and Kern for attempting to vindicate themselves "is punitive, harsh and the opposite of justice.''

There was no immediate response from Finchem or Kern.

Finchem, who used to represent Oro Valley and surrounding areas in the Arizona House, lost his 2022 bid for secretary of state. He now is running to represent the Prescott area in the state Senate.

Kern, a Glendale resident who was defeated in his 2020 reelection bid for the House, won a a two-year term last year for the state Senate.

Gosar, first elected to the U.S. House in 2012, was unopposed in the 2022 general election for two more years.

Fernandez left the state House to take a job as the U.S. Agriculture Departments state director for rural development in Arizona.
Under the east grandstands of Arizona Stadium, University of Arizona scientists have been working for nearly 20 years to make huge mirrors for the worlds most powerful optical telescope.

And though the Giant Magellan Telescope is still years away from completion in Chile, the project has become a mainstay for the UAs top-ranked Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory and its world-renowned Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory.

When completed around the end of the decade, the telescope known as the GMT will be the worlds most powerful land-based telescope, though some other telescopes in development could rival it in size.

With a light-gathering surface 25.4 meters or more than 83 feet wide, the GMT is expected to render images up to 10 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope and four times sharper than the James E. Webb Space Telescope, allowing astronomers to peer further into space than ever before.

The UA is not only a founding partner in the Giant Magellan Telescope  the telescope would not exist if it werent for the schools world-leading expertise, said Robert Shelton, a former UA president who has headed the telescope project as president of the GMTO Corp. since 2017.

Shelton said not only is the Caris Mirror Lab the only lab capable of making the GMTs seven 8.4-meter-wide main reflector mirrors, but the UA scientists had to develop a process to grind and polish them to slightly asymmetrical, or off-axis, dimensions to make the GMT work.

In many ways, the University of Arizona was the birthplace of the Giant Magellan Telescope, because they had to show that you could make these mirrors and make them with the off-axis configuration that had never done before  its the only place in the world you can make these mirrors, said Shelton, a physicist who was president of the UA from 2006 to 2011.

Astronomical impact

The giant telescope also has had an outsized economic impact for the UA, a founding partner of the telescope project since its inception in 2004.

The UA has won about $100 million in contracts for mirror fabrication and other Giant Magellan Telescope work, and by the time the project is done it expects to have at least $250 million in contracts, said Buell Jannuzi, director of Steward Observatory and head of the UAs Department of Astronomy since 2012.

Besides the mirror lab, UA astronomers are involved in the GMTs adaptive optics design and some of the six planned optical and infrared instruments planned for the telescope.

Shelton said the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization has raised commitments for about $850 million of total project costs expected to reach about $2.5 billion by the time the telescope is completed and installed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chiles Atacama Desert.

In August 2022, the GMT announced $205 million in new funding commitments from its international consortium, including leading contributions from founding partners including the UA, the Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Chicago.

As a project partner, the UA has so far contributed $100.6 million of $142.8 million it has committed to raising for the GMT, which includes a $50 million commitment as part of the partners funding round last summer, Jannuzi said.

Overall, the UAs astronomy and space sciences programs  including the Steward Observatory and the mirror lab, the Lunar and Planetary Lab, the Department of Astronomy and the Department of Planetary Sciences  generate $560.5 million in economic activity annually or nearly as much as the 2022 Super Bowl in Phoenix, according to a report issued by the UA in March.

That includes $252.9 million in direct impact from spending and 1,176 direct jobs, along with indirect and induced jobs and economic activity, according to a study by Rounds Consulting Group.

Years long project

While its been a long road for the Giant Magellan Telescope and a long road lies ahead, work continues apace at the UA mirror lab and contractor sites around the world.

Work on the GMTs foundation is underway on a steep ridge at an altitude of 8,500 feet on Cerro Las Campanas, where the GMT will join the twin, 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes operated since 2002 by a consortium including the Carnegie Institution for Science, the UA, Harvard, the University of Michigan and MIT. The UA mirror lab made the mirrors for the original Magellan scopes.

The GMTs secondary mirrors, which gather light from the big primary reflectors, are being made in Italy and France, Shelton said.

Those mirrors, smaller and much thinner than the primary mirrors made at the UA, will be deformable in shape to allow astronomers to adjust for image aberrations caused by the Earths atmosphere.

The 12-story telescopes massive, 2,000-ton base is under construction by contractor Ingersoll Machine Tools in a purpose-built plant in Rockford, Illinois.

At the UA mirror lab in Tucson, scientists have now completed three of the GMTs seven primary mirrors, using a giant, rotating furnace invented by UA regents professor Roger Angel and colleagues at the UA in the 1980s.

The lab, where about 35 to 45 people work with support of about 200 others on campus, is in the process of polishing three other mirrors and plans to cast the seventh and final mirror in October, Jannuzi said.

Painstaking precision

The roughly four-year process to make a single mirror is painstaking, to say the least.

It takes about 14 months to complete a mirror casting, which starts with creating a mold with a honeycombed back to create a strong yet lightweight mirror.

Technicians then load 20 tons of pure, borosilicate glass blocks into the labs giant furnace for spin-casting at temperatures topping 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. After, the temperature is lowered for a monthlong annealing process

Once a mirror blank is finished, an array of fingerlike supports is attached to the back to support the glass during a grinding and polishing process that takes two to three years  with precision testing every step of the way.

You polish for maybe 60 to 80 hours, make measurements of the surface and then you polish again, Buell said during a recent tour of the Caris lab.

If you remove too much glass in one spot, you have to bring the whole surface down to that, theres no way to add. Its a conservative process like we were cutting marble or something, if you take off too much marble, you cant put it back on.

The mirror surface is polished to an optical surface precision of less than one thousandth of the width of a human hair  or five times smaller than a single coronavirus particle.

Once the polishing is completed, the glass is coated with a thin layer of aluminum to form a reflective surface.

Though the Giant Magellan Telescope is the UA Mirror Labs biggest current project, it has continued to make large mirrors for other telescope projects.

Besides the twin Magellan scopes, those include twin, 8.4-meter mirrors made for the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham, which went into full operation in 2008, and an 8.4-meter mirror for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (originally called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) expected to go into operation in Chile in 2024.

The mirror lab also has made several 6.5-meter mirrors for various projects, recently including a space-based telescope; in all, the Caris Lab has cast 23 mirrors since 1985.

Top-ranked programs

Jannuzi said that Steward Observatory acts more like a national lab than an academic institution, adding that most of the mirror labs employees are non-academic.

But because of facilities like the mirror lab, UA students benefit from the schools astronomy and space sciences programs that are considered among the best in the world for both research and education, he said.

The UA ranked No. 1 in 2021 for astronomy and astrophysics research expenditures at more than $113 million, according to the National Science Foundation.

And the UAs space sciences program, including astronomy, ranks No. 10 overall, No. 6 in the U.S. and No. 2 among public universities in the latest U.S. News & World Report Global Universities rankings.

We have one of the largest undergraduate major programs in the country, and its growing rapidly, we had a record year last year, and we have one of the largest graduate programs in the country, Jannuzi said.

We have 81 Ph.D.s currently in one department or another, working with our faculty just in astronomy, not even counting planetary science, he said. Most of these people end up in academia but not all  a lot of them go to (companies like) Lockheed or Raytheon, or even into the life sciences.

Milestone review

The Giant Magellan Telescope Organization reached a key milestone recently when the project passed a critical preliminary design review by the NSF, which the GMT partners hope will fund much of the rest of the telescope project.

That review was actually held in two big sessions, in December and in February and then we just recently got the written report and its very, very favorable, Jannuzi said. The review committee recommended that we move into whats called the construction queue.

Its a huge step, its passing all the technical (requirements). They basically are saying, OK, technically youre ready to go. Youve had your management in place, you have the structures in place.

He said the hope is that the National Science Board, which approves major NSF grants, and the government will agree the project is ready for funding in 2026.

The GMT won a $17.5 million grant from the NSF in 2020.

Right now the problem is, thats later than we had originally planned, and so if you want the cost to stay at the current cost, we need to raise some money now because things are in progress, Jannuzi said.

Shelton said though the plan is to have all seven primary GMT mirrors installed by 2031, researchers will be able to start observations and testing before that with four secondary mirrors and three primary mirrors installed.

Whether the GMT becomes the worlds biggest ground-based optical telescope will depend on when it goes into operation relative to other large projects, including the European Southern Observatorys 39.5-meter Extremely Large Telescope, under construction in Chile and projected to see first light in 2028.

Finding funding

The GMT got a major boost in 2021, when the 2020 U.S. Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics named the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program at the top of its list of priorities for ground-based astronomy.

The U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program is a joint effort of the GMT, the Thirty Meter Telescope planned for Hawaii and NOIRLab, (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), an NSF-sponsored research center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy resulting from a 2019 management merger of national observatories, including Kitt Peak near Tucson.

NOIRLab, whish is headquartered on the UA campus, is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc.

Meanwhile, the total projected cost of the GMT has grown from $1.5 billion to closer to $2.5 billion, Shelton said, adding that the organization has spent about $500 million so far.

After raising nearly half the project cost privately to prove out the technology, Shelton said the GMT has a good argument to win federal funding for the rest of the cost, citing projects including the Hubble and Webb space telescopes that were completely funded by taxpayer dollars.

The Webb cost NASA nearly $10 billion to build and launch.

In the fiscal year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill signed into law in January, Congress directed the NSF to provide $30 million to support the design and development of the next generation astronomy facilities, but that money has not been budgeted, according to the American Astronomical Society.

In those cases, the federal government paid for everything, Shelton said. So, now thanks to the founders, thanks to the University of Arizona, were bringing half of that money to the table, and that money, just from the business perspective, that money went in early to reduce these risks.

Its like any startup company, whose production risks are heavy early on, he continued. The risk of not being able to polish that off-axis mirror  that risk was retired because of the funds that the founders gave and the brilliance of the Mirror Lab, and thats been repeated over and over again to show that we can do this.
Howard Fischer

Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX  House Speaker Ben Toma has formed a special panel designed, at least in part, to investigate the activities of Katie Hobbs before she was governor.

On paper, the three-member panel is charged with examining government censorship and conduct of state executive officials. But the announcement comes less than 24 hours after a new report on the internet that Hobbs used her position as Arizona secretary of state in 2020 to get Twitter (now named X) to take down new responses critical of her 2017 post comparing supporters of Donald Trump to Nazis.

Toma, a Peoria Republican, tapped first-term state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, to chair the panel. Kolodin called the timing an interesting coincidence.

We had been planning this stuff for months, he told Capitol Media Services. Obviously, its something that elected officials are tempted to engage in, regardless of whether theyre Democrats or Republicans, he said of attempts to censor social media posts.

So its something that we want to make sure that we have the information that we need to really craft intelligent legislation that aims to protect the First Amendment rights of Arizonans in the digital age, Kolodin said.

But Kolodin acknowledged the report of Hobbs activities may have helped spur Toma to agree to form the panel.

Hobbs use of secretary of state account

The report comes from Arizona Capitol Oversight, a group that announced its formation last month with the goal of obtaining public records from government offices throughout the state. Brian Anderson lists himself as founder, citing his background as previously handling press and research for former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican.

His first posting revolves around a post that Democrat Hobbs made in August 2017, while a member of the Arizona Senate, that Trump has made it abundantly clear hes more interested in pandering to his neo-nazi base than being POTUS for all Americans.

Arizona Capitol Oversight found a November 2020 message from Hobbs, sent from her official secretary of state account, asking Twitter to take action.

When Twitter asked for more information, Anderson reports that Hobbs wrote back  again from her official account  saying that the alt-right got a hold of a 3-year-old tweet on my account and have been sending harassing, abusive, and threatening tweets and direct messages for the last 2 days.

Hobbs told Capitol Media Services on Friday she did nothing wrong.

I, like any other person who is harassed on Twitter, reported that harassment through the proper channels and asked for them to follow their guidelines in terms of harassment, she said. As you remember, I was having death threats, I was having armed protesters outside my house.

I stand by that tweet

Hobbs also was unapologetic about her original 2017 posting.

I never tried to take down that tweet, she said. I stand by that tweet. And that is not the issue.

The context, Hobbs said, was in the wake of comments by Trump after a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in the death of one woman. At one point Trump, asked about the events, said there were very fine people on both sides, though it also appears the former president condemned actions by neo-Nazis.

Hobbs said her posting was because the president wouldnt condemn the people that were responsible for her death, referring to Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.

The governor also derided Tomas decision to form a special panel.

Im glad weve solved water, the housing crisis, and fixed public education and have time for this sideshow, she said.

That wasnt Hobbs first interaction with the social media giant.

Capitol Media Services previously reported that employees in the Secretary of States Office also asked Twitter in 2021 to remove two posts having to do with allegations the office had contracted with a private firm to set up a new voter database, a firm that the person making one of the posts claimed had a foreign contractor.

These messages falsely assert that the voter registration system is owned and therefore operated by foreign actors, Hobbs press aide Murphy Hebert wrote to the Center for Internet Security, a clearinghouse that elected officials across the country use to combat what they contend is misinformation. This is an attempt to further undermine confidence in the election institution in Arizona.

Kelly Ward, then chair of the Arizona Republican Party, called that improper.

The First Amendment protects citizens speech from the government  not the other way around, she wrote in a complaint to then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican. There is no evidence Brnovich ever acted on the complaint.

Anderson said he found evidence that Hebert, using her account at the Secretary of States Office and sending a copy to Hobbs, unsuccessfully attempted to get Facebook to remove a post claiming that Kamala Harris was ineligible to serve as vice president.

Panels chair already questions Hobbs actions

Kolodin told Capitol Media Services the special panel is about more than Hobbs activities.

There has never been a really comprehensive legislative investigation into the way we are protecting or failing to protect the First Amendment in this new age of machine learning and neural networks and algorithms that decide what people are served online, he said.

Yet the committee is charged only with investigating the activities of those in the executive branch.

I dont think theres ever been any reports that the Legislature has been trying to decide or curate or censor online speech, Kolodin responded, offering to add that to the panels task if someone presents such information.

But even before any hearings, Kolodin is questioning Hobbs claim she had a right to file a complaint with Twitter about the 2020 postings.

There comes a point where it crosses the line into state action, Kolodin said. And part of what this committee is going to investigate is where is that point.

Kolodin said he does not think its proper for statewide officials, using their official accounts and their taxpayer funded staff, to make such requests.

That, to me, crosses the line from, Im a person who is aggrieved personally to now Im asking you to do this on behalf of the state which, of course, always carries with it, implied carrots and sticks, he said.

Elected officials, especially statewide officials, are very powerful people, Kolodin continued. They can make life nice or not so nice for big corporations.

Anyway, he said, elected officials understand when they run for office that people would say mean things and they cant use the power of government to shut that down.

As for death threats, Making a death threat on an elected official is super-duper illegal, Kolodin said.

But now, youre taking speech that is constitutionally protected and saying Because of this speech, something illegal happened,  he continued, saying its proper to act against only the person making the threat, not others whose comments may have incited that threat.

Kolodin said this isnt just an Arizona issue.

He noted that a federal judge last month barred several federal agencies and officials in the Biden administration from contacting social media companies to get them to remove what they said was misinformation about the COVID vaccine or information that could affect elections.

The United States government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian Ministry of Truth, wrote Judge Terry Doughty. He enjoined numerous federal officials and agencies from having any contact with social media platforms to discourage or remove speech protected by the First Amendment.

Arizona lawmakers dabbled earlier this year in the relationship between government and social media companies over First Amendment rights. But in that case, the aim by Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, was to give politicians special protections, spelling out in state law that once people become candidates for any public office, they cannot have their posting rights taken away  pretty much no matter what they say, truthful or otherwise.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

We recently celebrated, if thats the right word, the anniversaries of the only use so far in a war of atomic weapons  our dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9.

Very small atomic bombs, by todays standards. The Hiroshima bomb yielded the equivalent of about 15,000 tons of TNT, and the Nagasaki bomb 22,000 tons.

Todays strategic bombs yield tens of times more. At least.

Atomic bombs yield more than TNT does, though  a heat that is far greater and likely to cause firestorms, and ionizing radiation. The very great damage these can cause is harder to compute and is usually left out in mentions of yield.

What may also be omitted is effects.

On these anniversaries we are reminded of how hideous the effects were upon those who were in those cities. Most were civilians  teachers and schoolchildren, mothers and infants, doctors and nurses, grandparents. A small portion of the estimated 70,000 people killed right away were members of the Japanese military. Some of the victims were American prisoners of war. Yes, we knew they were there.

In April 1947, in an article in The Atlantic Monthly called The Decision, Henry Stimson, secretary of war at the time, defended the decision to drop the bombs. He claimed the action saved maybe a million American lives and even more Japanese lives, those who would have died in an invasion or a siege.

What saved those however many lives was, of course, the Japanese surrender. What caused the surrender can only be an open question, though its usually stated as a given that the atomic bombs did. General Curtis LeMay, who since March 1945 had been firebombing cities in Japan, said that by the time the atomic bombs were dropped, the outcome of the war had already been decided.

Most of the people who died in the firebombings were also civilians. Dying in a firebombing attack is also pretty hideous.

Arguments for eliminating nuclear weapons employ vivid accounts of how hideous it is to die in an atomic attack  arguing that vast numbers of us would die, with human extinction a real possibility in a general nuclear war, with any use of nuclear weapons almost certain to lead to a general nuclear war.

The defenders of nuclear weapons, however, will respond that they are a deterrent. This also they take as a given. It doesnt have to be argued. Why do we have nuclear weapons? Deterrence. End of discussion.

As long as you believe in deterrence, accounts of hideous damage and suffering simply add to the strength of your argument. The more hideous the better. See? This is just what our having nuclear weapons prevents.

The fact that the United States and the Soviet Union didnt have direct wars with each other during the Cold War is said to validate deterrence. But it doesnt. It cant. Large numbers of us might have prayed that something not happen that then doesnt. But we cant be sure our prayers caused it not to happen.

If we do suffer a nuclear attack, deterrence will obviously have failed. Automatically retaliating with our nuclear weapons must find another justification.

How about revenge?

Revenge, to be satisfying or effective, needs to be directed against the person who did the thing you are avenging.

In the early 60s Daniel Ellsberg was a nuclear war planner at the highest levels in the Pentagon. In his book The Doomsday Machine (2017), he reports that the Pentagon estimated that if its nuclear war plan were executed, 600 million people would be killed, 100 million in the countries of our allies.

How many of them would have been appropriate targets for our revenge, would you say?
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Leaders urge us to dig deep. Fight climate change and water resource depletion. You can do it! Stop eating red meat; take shorter showers; buy solar panels; buy an electric car; choose paper over plastic; its all about you all the time. You can do it! Its the American West spirit of rugged individualism.

But its 2023 not 1776. You cant do it alone. If tomorrow you became a vegetarian, bought an electric car, took shorter showers, bought solar panels and always chose paper over plastic (or better yet brought your own recycled shopping bags!) youd hardly make a dent in global warming. For sure it could help but it could more likely be counterproductive as you patted yourself on the back for your consumer spending choices, vanquished your climate guilt and didnt do a damn thing more.

Want to make a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions? You actually can do it. But its a bit more complicated than paper or plastic. First you need to understand just where the really big greenhouse gas emissions are. Numbers coming courtesy of Hal Harvey and his book Designing Climate Solutions duly footnoted. Please stick around. You can do it! Here goes: seven countries in the world produce 50% of the worlds carbon emissions (U.S., Russia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Brazil.). Add in 13 other countries and youre closer to 75%. Of that 75% of the worlds emissions, energy combustion and industrial processes account for 93% with energy combustion alone accounting for 74% of that 93% figure due to the combustion of coal, oil, gas and biomass for power generation. (Transportation, buildings  their energy use  come next.)

Without government or administrative policies that reduce emissions from the elephant in the room energy sector, were pretty much s.o.l. and we will never ever make an impactful dent in global warming. Its as simple and as complex as that.

You alone are only free to choose if given a choice. If electric cars are too expensive too bad. If youd like to use renewable energy but Tucson Electric cant provide it to you, too bad. If youd like to be able to choose someone other than Tucson Electric to supply you with renewable energy, like in a Community Choice Energy plan, too bad  the Arizona Corporation Commission or the Arizona Legislature wont allow it.

If youd like building construction around here to be world class energy efficient too bad  developers and the real estate industry will fight you tooth and nail.

As an individual you will be spitting in the wind if you think you can make a difference. Yes, yes, I get it: your individual vote counts  but it only really counts when you act with many others who also prioritize reducing greenhouse gas emissions. You can vote out the gatekeepers in the Arizona Legislature who actively block greenhouse gas reduction legislation  Rep. Gail Griffin, Sen. Sine Kerr and the Freedom Party members of those committees. You can vote out the climate do-nothings on the Arizona Corporation Commission who actively block real greenhouse gas reduction rules  Nick Myers, Kevin Thompson and James OConnor. You can join any number of local Tucson organizations that are 100% passionately fixated on reducing carbon emissions and in implementing strategies to effect the changes necessary to keep hope alive: Citizens Climate Lobby; Tucson Climate Coalition; Sierra Club; and Sustainable Tucson.

You cannot do this alone. You never could. Your precious time has to be prioritized to do the most good if we as a community and as a nation are to do the most good. It is the fight for our lives whether youre 75 or 7. You dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows and unless you act united with others it will blow us all down.
Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2022 and reshared in 2023.

Its 2007. Youre sitting on the crunchy bedspread at a mid-range chain hotel.

The TV has channels you dont get on the basic cable at home: Nickelodeon, ESPN, HBO and Food Network. Your dad is flicking through the channels while a movie is on commercial. He lands on a segment and the volume seems to be turned all the way up. The host, a man with bleached tips, wears his sunglasses backwards and is yelling at the camera, but in a happy way.

A montage emerges to a rockabilly soundtrack. The footage can only be described as food porn: a deep dish pie with a crust shelf like Marianas Trench; a melange of different prepared meats crammed between two buns; bowls of spices being dumped into a 10-gallon bucket of red sauce.

The show is called "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," and its an initiation for many Americans into our countrys unique food culture. The premise, if you dont know, is an endless road trip sampling the best down-home cooking the 50 states has to offer. Sitting in the hotel room, youll take a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, or Wilmington, North Carolina, and make note of the food to try if you ever do find yourself there in person.

In 2018, Guy Fieri, the magi of holes-in-the-wall, visited Tucson. He filmed six segments that were distributed across just as many episodes. Every one of these establishments survived the pandemic. One is even persisting despite the giant construction project on Broadway.

The restaurants that Fieri picked defy the milkshakes and cheeseburgers collaged in Triple Ds intro: his research team curated a diverse roster.

Eaters interviewed at these restaurants often said, You cant find this kind of food anywhere else in Tucson. One vegetarian restaurant even made the cut as an homage to Fieri's sister, who died in 2011 and was a vegetarian. Fieri shows off a tattoo honoring his sister during the episode: she's stylized in the image of La Virgen.

Here are the six restaurants Guy Fieri visited in Tucson and what he ate there:

Chef Alisahs

During the Bosnian war, Chef Ahmet Alisah and his family were put in a concentration camp. He came to Tucson as a refugee. Now he serves up eastern-European-style fare in the Casas Adobes neighborhood, aided by his wife and son who work in the front-of-house. In the broadcast segment, Guy Fieri sampled the cevapi, homemade beef sausages served with tzatziki and yeast bread, as well as the goulash.

Chef Alisahs was featured in episode 13 of season 28, Seafood and Savory.

Location: 5931 N. Oracle Road

For more information, check out their website.

Incas Peruvian Cuisine

Incas shared an unusual backstory with Fieri: the restaurateur Fatima Campos is a Mexican woman who fell in love with a Peruvian man. She said her mom told her the love starts with the food, so she learned how to make his favorite recipes from home. The Foothills-area establishment served Fieri a stewy steak dish served with a sauce made from herbs and peppers the chef imported from Peru, called seco de carne con frejoles. He also tried their lomo saltado, Peruvian-style steak frites.

Incas was featured in episode 11 of season 28, Pizza, Pork and Peru.

Location: 6878 E. Sunrise Dr.

For more information, check out their website.

Renees

Marchin to the beat of their own drum; doing it their own way is Fieris pitch for east-side favorite Renees (then Renees Organic Oven). The restaurant now serves a Food Network box alongside other takeout combos like a series of vegan or comfort food dishes.

The standout item is the spinach dip calzone: This is dangerous, bruh, Fieri said to the chef, Steve Kreager (owner Renee Kreagers high school sweetheart and husband).

Fieri also sampled the Tailored Tony, branded as an open-faced sloppy joe, with a little Caesar on the side. I love Caesar dressing, Fieri said.

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He pointed out Renees commitment to organic ingredients, which elevate the simple flavors: The kicker on the whole thing are these red bells, man.

Renees was featured in episode 7 of season 28, Rollin in the Dough.

Location: 7065 E. Tanque Verde Road

For more information, check out their website.

Roccos Little Chicago

Im usually a thin-crust guy, but I hear the deep-dish you do is pretty gangster, Fieri said to owner Rocco DiGrazia, a transplant from Chicago who has brought his hometown eats to the Old Pueblo.

Roccos Little Chicago often features creative pies, including monthly specials that customers can write in suggestions for. (At the time of writing, the special was the Cretaceous Mass Extinction II: The Lost World  a deep-dish pie covered in mac n cheese, a single meatball asteroid and a scattering of terrified lil dino nuggets, topped with Hot Cheetos lava.)

The pie featured on the show, though, was the Kitchen Sink: pepperoni, Italian sausage, red onions and green peppers. They also filmed a side of Hot Sticks: pizza dough breadsticks, smothered in Buffalo wing sauce and twisted into shape.

Roccos Little Chicago was featured in episode 14 of season 28, Grab and Grub.

Location: 2707 E. Broadway

For more information, check out their website.

Tumerico

Walking down the sidewalk off of Sixth Street, Guy Fieri gives us a little anecdote. His sister Morgan said, You gotta give vegetarian food a chance. But he insists hes not willing to sacrifice flavor. So he comes to Tumerico, where you can get eerily convincing carnitas made of jackfruit.

In the kitchen with Chef Wendy Garcia, Fieri points to a tattoo on his forearm. Morgan, thats my sister, he said. She taught me so much about vegetarian cooking.

By the end of the segment, Fieri is video-calling his mom to get her to attest to the dupes. He shows her a jackfruit carnitas plate, with house-made soyrizo, adobo, rice and beans with ranchero sauce, and eggplant chicharron. He also samples the nopales tacos.

Tumerico was featured in episode 10 of season 28, Lights Out Latin.

Location: 2526 E. Sixth St. and 402 E. Fourth St.

For more information, check out their website.

Zemams

Zemams, like Chef Alisahs, is a restaurant founded and run by someone who came to Tucson as a refugee. Amanuel Gebremariam fled Eritrea over 40 years ago.

Zemams original location, now temporarily closed due to the construction project on Broadway, was the home he settled in with his wife and kids. For now, though, well have to suffice with Zemams Too, their second location on Speedway.

Fieri first watches Gebremariam make injera, the traditional sourdough bread made with teff flour that is used both as a plate and utensil in Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine. Then, he tries a vegetarian platter called gomen alicha, and the doro wat chicken platter. Each of the individual dishes is its own little song. And it becomes an Ethiopian musical! Fieri said.

Zemams was featured in episode 8 of season 28, International Intrigue.

Location: 119 E. Speedway

For more information, check out their website.
Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Randy Krehbiel 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

The Cherokee Nation is working with the state to solve issues involving the Oklahoma Turnpike Authoritys new PlatePay system and sees no reason to accept Gov. Kevin Stitts vehicle registration compact extension offer, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Friday.

The Cherokee Nation has committed to working with Service Oklahoma and the Department of Public Safety to assist with implementation of the PlatePay system, Hoskin said in a written statement. Oklahomas decision to move to PlatePay didnt involve the Cherokee Nation, but we remain open to assisting the state in accomplishing its law enforcement goals.

Since the Nation has committed to working with the state on PlatePay, there is no reason to amend the compacts between the Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma, he said. These compacts have served Oklahomans well for 20 years, and thanks to the work of the Legislature they will continue to serve Oklahomans well into the future.

According to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, it is on track to lose $30 million this year because the new system cant identify the owners of many cars with no tags or with tribal, paper or obscured tags. It estimates the tribal portion of that at $11 million.

OTA adopted the system as an alternative to human toll collectors.

Officials have said the problem is that OTA does not have access to all tribal vehicle registration information. The Cherokee Nation said several weeks ago that no one with the state had asked for it.

Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation signed a vehicle registration compact in 2002 that provided for the tribe to designate a portion of proceeds from the sale of its license plates for schools and roads in northeastern Oklahoma. The compact was renewed in 2013.

As originally written, the compact automatically renews on Aug. 16 barring written notice from either side. It is unclear whether that written notice has been given, but on July 31 the Oklahoma House of Representatives completed a veto override that effectively extended all compacts due to expire this year until 2024.

Stitt is contesting the legality of the legislation enacted by the veto override.

In a letter to Hoskin dated Aug. 4, Stitt seems to ignore the override and possibly the automatic renewal and offers a one-year extension if the Cherokee Nation will accept an amendment formally requiring it to provide vehicle ownership information needed for PlatePay.

Abegail Cave, a Stitt spokeswoman, said the Cherokee compact does not provide a sufficient level of transparency and collaboration.

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Barbara Hoberock Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer Follow Barbara Hoberock 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

OKLAHOMA CITY  Sen. Joe Newhouse, R-Tulsa, said Friday that he is not seeking a third term in 2024.

Newhouse, whose district covers Bixby, south Tulsa, and parts of Jenks and Glenpool, was first elected in 2016 and then ran unopposed in 2020.

Serving in our Oklahoma Legislature has been both rewarding and demanding, and Im grateful to my constituents who entrusted me to represent them, Newhouse said.

Newhouse is a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and currently is serving on Reserve military orders to Fleet Cyber Command, the Navys presence at the National Security Agency outside Washington, D.C.

It has been an honor to represent the citizens of Senate District 25. I look forward to serving them and my country in a new role, Newhouse said. I will continue to work closely with my constituents and my fellow members as I complete my eighth and final year in the Oklahoma Senate.

He added that this is his first assignment to a government intelligence agency.

Newhouses 23-year military career included combat missions as a Navy carrier pilot during the Iraq War and several recent deployments with U.S. Special Operations to Africa, including Niger, Libya and Somalia.

The filing period for next years state elections is April 3-5.

The district has 31,097 registered Republicans, 12,219 Democrats, 10,093 independents and 559 Libertarians.

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Two former prosecutors have resigned from the five-member state Pardon and Parole Board, which has had a history of turnover in recent years.

Chairman Richard Smothermon, who was appointed to the board in 2021, resigned this month. He had replaced a retired judge, Allen McCall, who resigned.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court had appointed Smothermon to the board, and in his resignation letter to Chief Justice M. John Kane, Smothermon said his decision to resign was based on a number of factors. However, he did not elaborate.

The work of this Board is incredibly important to the State of Oklahoma and its citizens, and working with the other board members, and the incredible staff of the Pardon and Parole Board, has been some of the most rewarding work Ive done in my long career, he wrote.

Smothermon served 16 years as district attorney for Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties before being tapped to serve as general counsel for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

The Supreme Court has yet to announce his replacement on the board.

The Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals each appoint a member to the Pardon and Parole Board. Gov. Kevin Stitt has three appointees to the panel.

Cathy Stocker of Enid had been appointed by the governor to replace Kelly E. Doyle, who also had resigned. Stocker was appointed by the governor last year and submitted her resignation to the Governors Office on July 12. Her resignation was effective Wednesday.

Stocker served as district attorney for Blaine, Canadian, Garfield, Grant and Kingfisher counties for 28 years before retiring in 2010. She is a former member of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.

It was an incredible honor, but it took just a lot of time every month, Stocker said. There is just a tremendous number of pages to review. I just wanted some of my time back.

Stitt on Aug. 3 appointed former District Attorney Kevin Buchanan of Bartlesville to replace her. Buchanan had served as district attorney for Nowata and Washington counties.

Senate confirmation is not required.

The Pardon and Parole Board is currently the target of a lawsuit brought by death-row inmate Richard Glossip after he was denied a clemency recommendation.

The panel voted 2-2 against recommending that Stitt commute his sentence to life without parole.

Smothermon had recused himself from that vote because his wife, a former prosecutor, was involved in the case. Stocker voted against recommending clemency, for which three votes are required.

The suit alleges that the states failure to provide five impartial board members violated Glossips due process.

Glossips execution was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court.



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Vietnam, the worlds third-largest rice exporter, aims to ship seven million metric tons of the grain abroad this year given increasing demands on the global market, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.

Last year, the countrys rice export hit a 10-year high of 7.1 million metric tons, generating US$3.45 billion in revenue, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Hoan stated that the Southeast Asian countrys collective rice expanse in 2023 is approximately 7.1 million hectares.

The average yield stands at 60.7 quintals per hectare, projecting an output of over 43.1 million metric tons of unhusked rice, up approximately 452,000 metric tons in comparison to 2022.

The minister said that the quantity of rice required to guarantee food stability for the nations population of 100 million people and satisfy other domestic consumption is roughly 29.5 million metric tons.

This means Vietnam has about 13.6 million metric tons of unhusked rice, corresponding to a potential seven million metric tons of rice, available for export.

Apart from its domestic rice production, Vietnam also engages in annual imports.

Hoan mentioned the importation of more than one million metric tons from Cambodia annually as a contingency measure when required.

Furthermore, Vietnam also procures rice from India, primarily for food processing and animal feed.

Indias ban on white rice exports does not significantly affect the rice supply in Vietnam, the minister said.

In addition to rice, Vietnam generates an annual average of seven million metric tons of fresh meat, 10 million metric tons of seafood, and tens of millions of tons of vegetables and fruits.

In overall terms, food security is assured on a national scale, he affirmed.

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MOSCOW -- Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday in a bid to be the first nation to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted pockets of water ice.

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole.

A Soyuz 2.1v rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, at 2:11 a.m. on Friday Moscow time, with its upper stage boosting the lander out of Earth's orbit toward the moon over an hour later, Russia's space agency Roscosmos confirmed.

The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on Aug. 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax on Friday. Russian space agency Roscosmos previously pegged Aug. 23 as the landing date.

"Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.

Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the moon's south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of water ice in the region's shadowed craters.

There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission, as the Kremlin says the West's sanctions over the Ukraine war, many of which have targeted Moscow's aerospace sector, have failed to cripple the Russian economy.

The moonshot, which Russia has been planning for decades, will also test the nation's growing independence in space after its February 2022 attack on Ukraine severed nearly all of Moscow's space ties with the West, besides its integral role on the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency had planned to test its Pilot-D navigation camera by attaching it to Luna-25, but severed its ties to the project after Russia attacked Ukraine.

"Russia's aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it's an expression of national power on the global stage," Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.

U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong gained renown in 1969 for being the first person to walk on the moon, but the Soviet Union's Luna-2 mission was the first spacecraft to reach the moon's surface in 1959, and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first to make a soft landing there.

Moscow then focused on exploring Mars and since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has not sent scientific probes beyond earth orbit.

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, in this still image from video taken August 11, 2023. Photo: Reuters

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 is lifted on the launchpad ahead of its upcoming launch at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region, Russia, August 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Moon water?

Major powers such as the United States, China, India, Japan and the European Union have all been probing the moon in recent years. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019.

No country has made a soft landing on the south pole. An Indian mission, Chandrayaan-2, failed in 2019.

Rough terrain makes a landing there difficult, but the prize of discovering water ice could be historic: large could be used to extract fuel and oxygen, as well as be used for drinking water.

"From the point of view of science, the most important task, to put it simply, is to land where no one else has landed," said Maxim Litvak, head of the planning group for the Luna-25 scientific equipment.

"There are signs of ice in the soil of the Luna-25 landing area; this can be seen from the data from orbit," he said, adding that Luna-25 would work on the moon for at least an earth year, taking samples.

Roscosmos said that it would take five days to fly to the moon. The craft will spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before descending to one of three possible landing sites near the pole - a timetable that implies it could match or narrowly beat its Indian rival to the moon's surface.

Chandrayaan-3 is due to run experiments for two weeks.

With a mass of 1.8 tons and carrying 31 kg (68 pounds) of scientific equipment, Luna-25 will use a scoop to take rock samples from a depth of up to 15 cm (6 inches) to test for the presence of frozen water.

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, in this still image from video taken August 11, 2023. Photo: Reuters
What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on Wednesday visited and delivered a speech, 'Vietnam - Iran Cooperation for Peace and Development,' at the Institute for Political and International Studies, as part of his official visit to Iran, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

-- Six houses sank into the river in Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam on Thursday, with no casualties reported, local authorities said.

-- Ho Chi Minh City police said on Thursday that they had busted a prostitution ring that pimped flight attendants and photographic models to customers for US$1,000-3,000 per client.

-- A court in Bac Lieu Province, southern Vietnam on Thursday sentenced a 62-year-old woman to 23 years in prison for raping and committing lewd acts against minors.

-- Ho Chi Minh City will provide support for citizens to covert from gas-powered motorbikes to electric vehicles, starting in the first quarter of next year, according to Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the municipal transportation department.

Business

-- Vietnam's GDP is forecast to grow 4.7 percent this year, 5.5 percent in 2024, and six percent in 2025, according to a World Bank report unveiled on Thursday.

Lifestyle

-- Hanoi Fall Festival will take place from September 29 to October 1, with many activities for tourists to experience an impressive fall in the Vietnamese capital.

World News

-- "Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday in a bid to be the first nation to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted pockets of water ice," Reuters reported.

-- "A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Hokkaido in Japan on Friday," Reuters quoted German Research Centre for Geosciences as saying.

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Ho Chi Minh City police said on Thursday that they had busted a prostitution ring with flight attendants and models selling sex to customers for US$1,000-3,000.

Vo Thi My Hanh, a 26-year-old resident of Go Vap District who used to be a flight attendant for an airline and quit on October 5, 2022, was determined by investigators to be the mastermind behind the prostitution network.

According to results from a police investigation, Hanh had a network of flight attendants from various Vietnamese airlines and well-known photographic models for whom she acted as a pimp.

Cultivating the identity of a prosperous young woman on social media and amassing over 300,000 followers across platforms, she regularly showcased her opulent lifestyle, shared photos from visits to prestigious and renowned locations, and spent massive amounts of money on luxury brands in order to lure young women into working with her.

Hanh instructed the women to exclusively communicate and arrange sexual transactions through online platforms, hired luxury cars for their transport, and selected hotels and resorts as venues for them to meet with customers.

At the time of her arrest, Hanh had been managing a group of more than 30 escorts comprised of flight attendants, young women, and photographic models.

Several of these models were sent to meet with clients in provinces and cities across Vietnam.

On Wednesday, during an inspection at a hotel located on Le Thi Rieng Street in Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, police officers caught four women red-handed providing prostitution services for clients.

The four prostitutes were 31-year-old flight attendant N.T.A., 27-year-old flight attendant H.N.Q.T., 28-year-old flight attendant N.H.K.V., and 30-year-old photographic model L.T.T.N.

Officers then apprehended Hanh on charges of brokering prostitution.

At the police station, the four sex workers described Hanh as their intermediary for sexual transactions at the hotel, each of which cost the clients $1,000-3,000.

The four women and Hanh all admitted to their involvement in the prostitution ring.

Hanh elaborated that she shared photos of the women dressed in airline stewardess uniforms with potential customers to lure them.

The fee for a single session of sexual services was approximately VND27 million ($1,136), while overnight arrangements reached about VND60 million ($2,526).

Hanh received payments directly from clients through wire transfers and subsequently disbursed the funds to the prostitutes after each successful transaction.

She obtained a commission of VND7 million ($295) for each brokerage engagement.

In addition to her intermediary role, Hanh personally offered sexual services at a comparable rate, facilitated by influential figures who acted as brokers for prominent individuals in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

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Support policies for buyers of electric motorbikes and scooters should be created as encouragement for local residents to make the change from gas-powered vehicles, rather than merely offering incentives to electric car buyers and manufacturers, Dr. Ngo Tri Long, former head of the Price and Market Research Institute under the Ministry of Finance, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Owners of gasoline-powered motorbikes have voiced similar opinions.

According to Long, the fact that so many Vietnamese rely on motorbikes for transport means the country has a massive volume of emissions.

Though Vietnam is planning to regulate the measurement of motorcycle emissions as part of its efforts to reduce pollution, it does not seem to have any support policies in the works to promote the use of environmentally-friendly e-bikes.

Long added that Vietnam currently has nearly 70 million gasoline-powered motorbikes and the number of motorbike users is well above the number of auto owners.

He also noted that the demand for e-motorcycles and e-scooters is sure to be high in the future, therefore preferential policies for e-motorbike buyers are vital.

Other experts have opined on why these preferential policies do not exist.

Many large cities have proposed prohibiting motorbikes in downtown areas and the number of electric car users will be higher than that of e-motorbike owners because Vietnam is discouraging motorbike usage, according to Vu Van Trung, vice-chairman and general secretary of the Vietnam Consumers Protection Association, who recently shared his thoughts on why the Ministry of Transport has only proposed incentives for electric car buyers and manufacturers.

Hoang Manh Tan, deputy general director of Son Ha Group, a local multi-industry enterprise which has ventured into the e-scooter sector, said the group saw the huge potential of the e-bike industry.

Vietnam has seen strong sales of motorbikes but most gasoline-powered motorbikes are manufactured and supplied by foreign firms.

However, Vietnamese enterprises still have opportunities to compete with foreign rivals to increase market shares in the e-motorbike and electric vehicle sectors, Tan said.

Enterprises are in need of support policies to boost the conversion to EVs from gasoline-powered vehicles, Tan noted, adding that e-motorbike and e-scooter manufacturers are at a disadvantage compared with electric auto firms.

Meanwhile, Indonesia and China have offered support policies to urge residents to shift to e-motorbikes.

N.V.T., an office worker in Hanoi, said he had to sell his gasoline-powered motorbike to buy an e-scooter to save on fuel costs amid his falling salary.

With a monthly salary of VND12-15 million (US$504-630), buying an electric car is beyond the capability of most office workers despite support policies.

Therefore, e-scooters remain a vehicle of choice, T. added.

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Cows which are left unbridled in many urban areas and industrial parks in Da Nang City, central Vietnam have become an obsession with locals as they have caused traffic accidents and pollution.

The coastal city has established teams to deal with stray cattle but failed to absolutely resolve the problem.

It is not hard to bump into herds of cows wandering or grazing on streets in the Phuoc Ly, Hoa Quy-Dong No, and Golden Hills Urban Areas.

T.V.H., residing in the Phuoc Ly Urban Area, said residents in the neighborhood are fed up with the scene of dozens of cows roaming freely and pooping in the street.

We have repeatedly complained but no drastic measures have been worked out to put an end to the issue, H. said.

The Da Nang Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority has also asked the Peoples Committees of Lien Chieu and Hoa Vang Districts to sanction the owner of stray cows on road 10B in the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park of Lien Chieu and extended Nguyen Tat Thanh Street passing through Hoa Vangs Hoa Lien Commune as well as Lien Chieus Hoa Hiep Nam Ward.

Earlier, the developer of the Golden Hills Urban Area had written to local authorities asking for help over stray cattle.

In 2022, the Da Nang Peoples Council issued a resolution on banning cattle breeding in inner-city and urban areas.

Individuals and organizations are not allowed to raise cattle and other animals, except pets and animals in labs, in Hai Chau, Thanh Khe, Son Tra, Ngu Hanh Son, Cam Le, and Lien Chieu Districts, as well as existing residential areas and resettlement areas in Hoa Vang District.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, vice-chairman of Hoa Hiep Bac Ward in Lien Chieu District, said the ward had screened videos about traffic accidents caused by stray cattle so that residents could see the danger of their acts.

In the ward, 48 households currently raise 66 buffaloes and 699 cows.

Ward officials have come to each of these households to ask them to promise not to leave their cattle unbridled.

The ward will seize stray cattle and fine their owners starting this month, Hoang added.

Hoa Hiep Nam and Hoa Minh Wards in Lien Chieu District, and Hoa Quy Ward in Ngu Hanh Son District have formed forces to cope with stray cattle.

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Several people in Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands region, have been hospitalized over the past few days after being bitten by venomous snakes in their homes.

Over the past two weeks, Gia Lai General Hospital has admitted nine patients suffering from venomous snakebites.

Among them, three arrived at the hospital in a critical condition and were immediately directed to the intensive care unit.

N.T.T.T., a resident of Phu Hoa Town in Chu Pah District, who was recently bitten by a red-tailed viper, with the scientific name of Trimeresurus albolabris, was lucky enough to be rushed to the hospital for timely treatment.

The viper slithered into my house, but no one saw it. I was walking around my house when it bit my foot, T. said.

After the bite, my foot began to hurt, my heartbeat became unsteady, and I had shortness of breath.

"Fortunately, my family took me to the hospital."

C.T.L., a resident of Ia Toi Commune in Ia HDrai District, was also recently hospitalized due to a snakebite.

The culprit in L.s case was an Indochinese spitting cobra which was found in her boot.

L. was quickly rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Dr. Kieu Van Buoc, head of the intensive care unit at the hospital, said that the hospital typically sees an uptick in snakebites between June and September each year and that his department treated 86 snakebite victims in 2022.

So far in 2023, 26 patients have been bitten by venomous snakes and subsequently admitted to the department.

The majority of snakes in Gia Lai Province, and the Central Highlands region in general, are red-tailed vipers, Malayan pit vipers, and Indochinese spitting cobras," said Dr. Buoc.

"Their venom can cause death, necrosis, and liver failure if victims do not receive timely treatment.

When patients are bitten by a snake, they should be taken to hospital as soon as possible for emergency instead of being given home remedies.

The doctor added that patients who do not receive timely treatment may wind up brain dead or suffering necrosis.

After being bitten by a snake, victims should try to remain calm and limit movement.

The victim should keep the wound lower than the heart, clean the wound with soap and water, and go to the nearest hospital, according to Dr. Buoc.

Victims should not take medicine, use a tourniquet to tie the wound, or put ice, chemicals, and leaves on the bite.

Also, they should not try to remove any of the venom themselves.

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The Peoples Court of Bac Lieu Province in Vietnams Mekong Delta region on Thursday handed a 23-year prison sentence to a 62-year-old woman for raping and conducting lewd acts toward individuals below 16 years old.

Tran Thi Be Tu, 62, a resident of Dong Thap Province who had been temporarily staying in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, was convicted of raping three childen, all of whom were below the age of 13, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

According to the indictment, Tu and her romantic partner, D.V.D., visited the residence of D.s daughter in Phuoc Long District, Bac Lieu Province on May 1, 2022.

The next day, Tu carried out different sexual acts with T.T., a boy born in 2016, and V.N., a boy born in 2011. N. is one of D.s children.

Tu also used a sex toy to carry out vaginal penetration on K.A., a girl born in 2012 who is the grandchild of D.s ex-wife.

After raping her victims, Tu asked them not to disclose the incidents to anyone.

Prosecuting authorities determined that Tus conduct caused harm to the victims both physically and mentally.

The trial panel stated that Tus conduct constituted the offense of raping an under-16-year-old person as well as lewd behavior toward an under-16-year-old person.

Vietnamese law states that minors are people below 16.

The panel thus sentenced the defendant to 23 years behind bars.

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On Sunday 7News Spotlight story Trial and Error Part II revisits a high profile case.

The shocking fallout from Australias most controversial rape trial continues as 7NEWS Spotlight reveals this Sunday on Channel 7 and 7plus bombshell new claims from key players at the centre of the political saga, including central figures who have not spoken publicly until now.

Bruce Lehrmann, who pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault of Brittany Higgins in a Parliament House ministerial office in March 2019, unleashes over the handling of his criminal trial and reveals his plan to sue the ACT Government for malicious prosecution.

His high-profile barrister, Steve Whybrow, also breaks his silence, revealing to 7NEWS Spotlight how prosecutors had Lehrmann in their sights and his belief the fix was in from the start.

And, for the first time, the public will hear from the Senator at the centre of the scandal, as Lehrmann and Higgins then-boss Linda Reynolds discloses what really happened following the staffers late-night visit to her ministerial office.

Nothing is off limits as Reynolds reveals the devastating hit jobs she was forced to endure while painted as the political villain in front of the entire nation before finally being exonerated this week.

In one of the most explosive 7NEWS Spotlight editions of the year, award-winning investigative journalist Liam Bartlett unravels the complete morass of lies, half lies, accusations and controversies that have surrounded the scandal from the outset.

8:45pm Sunday on Seven.
ABC Managing Director David Anderson has issued a statement around its filming of a protest at the home of Woodside CEO Meg ONeill in Perth.

A review has cleared the Four Corners crew of colluding with protestors, noting that police were already at the location.

But a previous statement claiming the crew did not know what they were going to was incorrect.

Here is his statement:

Concerns have been raised regarding a potential story on climate protests that the ABCs Four Corners program is currently in the process of developing.

After issuing a brief statement on 2 August in response to numerous media inquiries, the ABC also commenced an examination of the circumstances surrounding its filming of the attempted protest outside the residence of Woodside CEO Meg ONeill, including the lead up to and recording of events that transpired. As the story has not been published, the examination does not fall within the remit of the ABC Ombudsman.

The examination has been conducted as quickly as possible to establish what occurred and address concerns raised. The ABC does not generally comment on stories that are in the early stages of development, as is common across all organisations conducting investigative journalism. However, the ABC respects that it is important in this instance to provide further context on the story as well as information from its examination into the matter.

The Four Corners story, still early in development and subject to change, seeks to focus on climate protests in Australia and the response by government, police and business. The intended topic of the story at this stage is to examine changes and amendments to anti-protest laws around the country and how they are being enforced. The program also seeks to critically examine the tactics by protest groups.

Based on the information reviewed, the proposed action by the protestors was in the planning prior to any contact with the ABC Four Corners team. The ABCs team understood that it would be a non-violent protest action, and they maintain that they did not have prior knowledge of the address for the protest until the relevant morning.

It is understood the protestors intended to record themselves during the planned protest and then distribute their own footage to media after the protest. The ABC team maintains it did not collude with or encourage the protestors. The planned protest did not eventuate because the protestors were arrested by police who were already at the location on arrival.

The information provided does not indicate the Four Corners team crossed onto private property. The team also followed the direction of police, moving further back onto the road and later across the road. The teams interactions with the protestors were at all times as journalistic observers, not participants.

The review does indicate the team did have some awareness of what was planned. To that extent, the element of the previous statement issued by the ABC concerning knowledge of what specific actions might occur prior to the event did not reflect all relevant information subsequently available and was incorrect. We will be investigating how this inaccuracy arose further to ensure this does not happen again.

The ABCs approach to filming protests, or any activity by others which could involve misconduct by a third party, is guided by newsworthiness and journalistic principles. Immersive style documentary programs have been a part of public interest journalism programs on the ABC and on other broadcasters, for decades. Filming protests in that manner does not equate to endorsement of the activities.

In this particular instance, any airing of ABC footage on an ABC platform would not occur until a much later date, if at all, and only after it had been through significant prepublication editorial processes. That would include dealing with concerns over whether material identifies private addresses, noting that ABC News was not the publisher of recent images of Ms ONeills property available in other media.

The ABC has robust editorial policies, consistent with best practice, that already seek to strike a balance between protecting public interest journalism, privacy of individuals, and appropriately addressing controversial, sensitive, and legal matters. A strict rule of no reporting or recording of controversial matters would inevitably have prevented many important stories, from the ABC and other media organisations, from being published.

As a result of recent events, the ABC will be reviewing and if necessary, updating its editorial guidance about when mandatory upward referral is needed to appropriate senior management.

The ABC Four Corners team will continue to develop this story in the public interest. It will continue to be produced and completed as per the ABCs rigorous processes, complying with ABC Editorial Policies and the highest standards of editorial judgement before any publication.
Suicide in Indigenous communities is now at epidemic proportions and its something we must talk about  Mark Coles Smith

Gold Logie nominee Mark Coles Smiths new documentary Keeping Hope premieres on NITV in September on World Suicide Prevention Day.

Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin, The Clearing, Savage River), a proud Nyikina man and actor who grew up in the Kimberley, which has has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, with the vast majority being young Indigenous men. He returns to interrogate these alarming suicide statistics and meet remarkable people making a real difference in its prevention.

This is a subject close to Marks heart  his best friend tragically took his own life when they were in their 20s. Keeping Hope follows his intensely personal search for answers and, hopefully, solutions.

On his journey, Mark travels across the Kimberley to some of the areas experiencing the highest suicide rates and speaks with professionals, community leaders and his own family to explore whats being done in communities, and what is still needed. He also faces up to his own loss and questions how others can learn from it.

Mark Coles Smith said: People who die young are frozen in time. With those who take their own lives, its difficult to properly celebrate their lives because when talking about them, feelings of guilt and remorse inevitably arise. They become statistics and painful memories.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced the impacts of suicide in some way. Keeping Hope will ignite timely and critical conversations about suicide in Australia and what we want to change in the future.

Marissa McDowell, a proud Wiradyuri woman and Head of Commissions at NITV, said: A huge thank you to Mark Coles Smith for sharing his intimate and deeply personal experience with suicide, with a view to help others. This vital documentary explores community-led programs that are working in the Kimberley. We encourage all Australians to watch and learn from Keeping Hope, and we are grateful for the support of the production team, Joined Up Films, Screen Australia, Screenwest and Lotterywest in shedding light on this ongoing epidemic, with an optimistic future outlook.

Alex West, Screen Australias Head of Documentary said: Audiences should tune in and watch Keeping Hope as Mark Coles Smith takes viewers on a moving journey, courageously confronting the devastating impact of suicide in Indigenous communities. Through his personal experience and insightful conversations, this documentary not only raises awareness about an urgent issue but also offers hope by showcasing community-led initiatives and the resilience of those working towards change. Keeping Hope invites viewers to be part of a dialogue that can inspire understanding, empathy, and ultimately, meaningful action.

Devina McPherson, Screenwest Indigenous Executive said: Screenwest is proud to support Keeping Hope  an important and vital story for all Australians. Were grateful to Mark Coles Smith, Director Tyson Mowarin and the producers for creating a beautiful documentary with hope and optimism, about such a heartbreaking and devastating reality affecting so many of us, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Congratulations to the entire team for their courage.

Keeping Hope will also be available to stream for free on SBS On Demand, with captions available in English and subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

Keeping Hope is a Joined Up Films production for NITV. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screenwest and Lotterywest.

Sunday 10 September at 8.40pm on NITV

Wednesday September 13 at 8.30pm on SBS

Please note viewers may find this content distressing

13YARN: 13 92 76

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Lifeline: 13 11 14
Thomas Neidermayer. Archive image (Photo: Archive image)

In the years that followed the brutal IRA murder of the 45-year-old German factory manager in west Belfast, a tsunami of grief overwhelmed the loved ones left behind.

The pain of the loss was compounded by the cruelty of those who kidnapped Mr Niedermayer from his family home during the 1973 Christmas holiday  refusing to let his wife and two daughters know he had been killed within days of being abducted, and that his body had been dumped, face down, in a nearby rubbish tip.

In a compelling new film, Face Down, the full horror of what was first and foremost an enduring family tragedy is laid bare, with first-hand accounts of how Thomass wife Ingeborg succumbed to her grief by taking her own life 10 years later.

Rachel William-Powell - Face Down documentary. Photo: Praxis Pictures

The devastation continued with both of the couples daughters, Renate and Gabrielle, taking their own lives within four years of their mothers death. The ripple effect continued with Gabrielles widowed husband Robin Williams-Powell killing himself in 1999.

The string of human tragedies has hung over Gabrielles daughters like a curse for decades.

On camera, Rachel Williams-Powell gives an emotive account of how she ran away to her new life in Australia as soon as she had completed her university studies to escape everything that had happened to us.

She said: I never thought Id get to this age  my family dont live beyond 40.

Niedermayer (Photo: dsf)

Tanya Williams-Powell, who now lives in Devon, said the murder of her grandfather  whose Grundig factory was providing jobs for the local community in Belfast  was particularly tragic as he cared so much for the plant, and he cared so much for the people.

The kidnapping plot was said to have been put together by notorious IRA commander Brian Keenan, who was a union shop steward at the factory at the time.

Keenan had hoped that the hostage situation could be used to put pressure on the government to transfer IRA prisoners, including Dolours and Marian Price, to prisons in Northern Ireland.

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In 1980, an RUC informant within the IRA revealed to his handler that Mr Niedermayer had attempted to escape his captors and was pistol-whipped to death, with his body being left face down in the nearby Colin Glen rubbish dump and covered over.

Former senior detective Alan Simpson also recalls how police search teams, posing as members of an environmental improvement organisation in order to protect the source of the information, spent weeks removing tons of rubbish until the remains of Mr Niedermayer were recovered.

Also in the film, former Special Branch officer Dr William Matchett asks why the IRA felt the need to compound the familys grief by keeping his fate a secret.

He said: Niedermayer was living among the people. He was a good man, but a good man was a soft target.

l Produced and written by David Blake Knox, Face Down is showing in the QFT in Belfast until Thursday, August 17.
Shocking photo of toxic green algae at Bartin's Bay, Lough Neagh which has been invaded by the grimmy bloom during warm weather. Photo courtesy of Dorothy Johnston (Photo: Dorothy Johnston)

As residents on the shores of Lough Neagh reel in the nauseating fumes from the putrid algae, DEARA says: The key reason is that excess nutrients are entering our water bodies, primarily from agricultural land use activities and from waste water pressures.

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Read more: Stunning footage shows extent of toxic green algae causing nauseating stench and destruction on Lough Neagh

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Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Sinn Fein Cllr Henry Cushinan said: When I received reports today of renewed blooms of blue green algae on Lough Neagh nothing could have prepared me for the sight that met me when I visited Huttons Quay and Cranfield this evening.

"A major catastrophe is unfolding on the Lough. Young fry that should be feeding along the shore are lying dead on the surface as there is obviously no oxygen in the water. The sludge is so thick that the boats you see were unable to gain access to the open water to fish today. There is a foul smell emanating from this mess.

Aerial drone footage of Lough Neagh which has been plagued by the grim gloopy green algae which is toxic to humans and fatal to dogs. (Photo: Anonymous donor)

Meanwhile the Alliance Party has called on DAERA to further investigate the large clusters of blue-green algae on Lough Neagh, and look into the possible effect pollution may have played in their formation.

Upper Bann MLA Eoin Tennyson said: This is an extremely serious issue, and the amount of cases were seeing of blue-green algae reported all over Northern Ireland, and Lough Neagh in particular, is very worrying, both for locals and visitors alike.

Were fortunate enough to have so many natural beauty spots in NI where people are able to enjoy a whole range of water-based activities, and issues with water quality will inevitably put public confidence in these resources at risk.

We need clarity on what measures are being taken. Alliance has questioned DAERA on where exactly investigations into algae formations and declining water quality are taking place, if pollution could have played a role and if so, to what extent, and on how the Departments findings will be published.

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Alliance Craigavon Councillor Robbie Alexander, who has been observing the impact of blue-green algae on the southern shoreline of Lough Neagh, has said: The presence of blue-green algae and decreasing water quality has caused disruption on local communities along the shoreline

It has led to unpleasant smells across the area with many people having to avoid scenic beauty spots such as Oxford Island due to the risk the algae poses to dogs should it be ingested. Id urge DAERA to look into this as a matter of urgency, and I await their response to questions from Alliance.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said it is fully committed to protecting our environment and working with partners and stakeholders to ensure our waterways are healthy for biodiversity, the public and for animals.

He said: DAERA has a range of significant programmes underway to improve water quality including the development of River Basin Management Plan, the Soil Nutrient Health Programme, the Nutrient Action Plan, Environmental Farming Scheme and Environmental Challenge Fund. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) also undertakes extensive monitoring and inspection programmes as well as investigating all reported pollution incidents.

"Blue Green Algae has been detected in multiple locations across Northern Ireland including Lough Neagh and Lough Erne. The key reason is that excess nutrients are entering our water bodies, primarily from agricultural land use activities and from waste water pressures. Algal blooms occur naturally due to the combination of factors such as water temperature, water clarity, sunlight and nutrient availability. However, excess nutrients can compound blooms and lead to the growth of blue-green algae, exacerbated by invasive Zebra mussels leading to clearer water conditions.

"Given the widespread nature of it within the Loughs, it is possible that it may wash up on any part of the shoreline. Farmers and pet owners should ensure that animals do not have access to water that appears to be subject to a bloom, as the algae can potentially produce toxins that may be fatal to livestock / pets.

"Whilst it is recognised that significant pieces of work are progressing, improvements in water quality will take a considerable period of sustained effort over many years, and DAERA and NIEA cannot deliver this on their own. Every person in Northern Ireland needs to consider how their behaviour impacts on the water environment. We all have a part to play in this long-term effort to positively contribute to a sustained improvement in the status of our water bodies.

Meanwhile the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) received reports of odour along the southern shores of Lough Neagh on Wednesday 9 August 2023. Those complaints of odour are being investigated by local councils and NIEA has informed Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Environmental Health Departments.

Blue-green algal blooms have been confirmed at multiple locations within Lough Neagh over recent weeks. As algae in a bloom decay and rot they can release a pungent smell like rotten eggs or rotting plants. Farmers and pet owners should ensure that animals do not have access to water that appears to be subject to a bloom, as the algae can potentially produce toxins that may be fatal to livestock / pets. Members of the public can report suspected blue green algal blooms in several ways - via the Bloomin Algae App which can be download at: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/bloomin-algae or e-mail emergency-pollution@daera-ni.gov.uk or phone 0800 80 70 60.
By Boureima Balima and Felix Onuah

NIAMEY (Reuters) -Thousands of people gathered in Niger's capital on Friday to demonstrate in favour of last month's coup as regional leaders were considering military intervention to restore civilian rule.

Since the July 26 military ouster of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, many Nigeriens have joined junta-organised rallies to show support for the generals, criticise Western powers and laud Russia, which is vying for influence with the West in the region.

The peaceful crowd on Friday numbered in the thousands, according to a Reuters witness. The rally began at a French military base in the capital Niamey then protesters with signs and flags spread onto surrounding streets.

"Long live Russia," one protester's sign read. "Down with France.... Down with ECOWAS," referring to the Economic Community of West African States. At a summit on Thursday, the body ordered the activation of a standby force that could intervene to reinstate Bazoum.

The military takeover was the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years, and demonstrations in Niger have mirrored street scenes in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso after coups between 2020 and 2022.

Popular anger is targeted at former colonial power France, whose forces were kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after the coups there and whose presence in Niger is under threat. Protesters in Niger attacked the French embassy.

"I am here to request the departure of the French forces," said protester Salamatou Hima on Friday. "We are free and we have the right to demand what is beneficial for our country."

The military coup was triggered by internal politics but has repercussions far beyond Niger's borders, raising the spectre of deepening conflict in a strategically important region. Uranium-rich Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, has been an ally for the West in the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel region.

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U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger to repel local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel.

STANDBY FORCE

Regional army chiefs were expected to meet in coming days. It was not yet clear how long the ECOWAS standby force would take to assemble, how big it would be and if it will actually invade. The organisation stressed that all options were on the table and it still hoped for a peaceful resolution.

Security analysts said the force could take weeks to set up, potentially leaving room for negotiations.

Ivory Coast is the only country so far to specify how many troops it would send, promising a battalion of 850 on Thursday.

Benin and Sierra Leone said on Friday they would contribute troops but did not say how many. Senegal said last week it would contribute troops if there were an intervention.

Most other countries in the 15-nation ECOWAS have so far either declined to comment or not yet taken a decision.

At Friday's rally, protester Ali Hassane vowed to defend his country. If the ECOWAS force invades, "it's us civilians who are going to fight," he said.

Russia's foreign ministry said it supported ECOWAS efforts to mediate but warned against any military intervention in Niger, saying it could destabilise the country and region.

France said it fully backed conclusions of the ECOWAS summit but did not outline any concrete support it would give to a potential intervention.

Niger's junta has yet to react to the prospect of a forceful intervention by ECOWAS. But it has rebuffed repeated calls for dialogue from the international community and named a new government hours before the summit.

Military governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have said they will defend the junta in Niger.

WORRY ABOUT BAZOUM

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said they were increasingly worried about Bazoum's detention conditions.

The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday said the conditions were "rapidly deteriorating" and could amount to a violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch said it had spoken to Bazoum this week and that he had told them that his family's treatment in custody was "inhuman and cruel".

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," HRW quoted Bazoum as telling it.

Bazoum's daughter Zazia Bazoum, who is in France, told Britain's Guardian newspaper the junta was keeping him in deplorable conditions to pressure him to sign a resignation letter. Reuters could not independently confirm the conditions of his detention.

(Additional reporting by Pap Saine in Banjul, Ange Aboa in Abidjan, Alberto Dabo in Bissau, Alphonso Toweh in Monrivia, Diadie Ba in Dakar, Pulcherie Adjoha, and Edward McAllister, Anait Miridzhanian, Nellie Peyton, David Lewis, Gareth Jones, Umaru Fofana; Writing by Ingrid Melander, Edward McAllister and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Hugh Lawson and Cynthia Osterman)
The Zacks Foreign Banks Industry is expected to continue benefiting from higher interest rates. Central banks across the globe will likely keep rates high in the near term. Thus, decent loan demand amid the high interest rate environment will likely support revenue growth for industry players like ICICI Bank Limited IBN, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. ITUB and Barclays PLC BCS.

While banks restructuring initiatives to focus on core operations are expected to be fruitful in the long run, these have resulted in higher costs. Uneven economic recovery in developed and emerging nations has been hurting revenue growth.

About the Industry

The Zacks Foreign Banks Industry consists of overseas banks with operations in the United States. Since a foreign banking organization may have federal and state-chartered offices in the country, the Federal Reserve plays a major role in supervising their U.S. operations. In addition to providing a broad range of products and services to customers in the United States, the banks offer financial services to corporate clients having businesses in the country. The financial firms establish relations with U.S. corporations operating in their home countries. Some units of foreign banks offer a broad range of wholesale and retail services, and conduct money-market transactions for their parent organizations. Some firms are involved in developing only specialized services.

3 Foreign Bank Industry Trends to Watch

Higher Interest Rates Likely to Aid Top-Line Growth: The efforts undertaken by the central banks across the globe to cushion economies from the pandemic-induced economic slowdown in 2020 (reducing benchmark interest rates to record lows) were successful in aiding immediate economic growth. However, it eroded banks profitability to a great extent. The pace of economic recovery, which is uneven in the developed (home to a number of major foreign banks) and emerging nations, hampered banking operations globally. Nevertheless, almost all central banks across the globe have raised interest rates since the beginning of 2022 to counter inflation, which has supported banks top-line growth. Banks are expected to continue to witness growth in net interest income and margins in the higher interest rate environment.



Restructuring Efforts to Keep Costs Elevated: Several foreign banks are undertaking business restructuring efforts. Many banks have been divesting/closing non-core operations to increase focus on core businesses and regions. While restructuring efforts are expected to boost growth in the long run, these have been leading to higher expenses. Increased costs related to technology upgrades are likely to keep hampering banks bottom-line growth to some extent in the near term.



Uneven Global Economic Recovery Poses a Concern: After the coronavirus outbreak, business confidence was shattered across the globe as the pandemic loomed over corporate earnings and economic growth. While the economy has recovered from the negative impacts of the pandemic in most parts of the world, growth has slowed in some regions because of certain other geopolitical concerns. Banks performance is directly linked to the performance of the overall economy. Thus, uneven economic growth may hurt banks finances to some extent in the near term.

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Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

The Zacks Foreign Banks Industry is a 64-stock group within the broader Zacks Finance Sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #62, which places it in the top 25% of more than 250 Zacks industries.



The groups Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates outperformance in the near term. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



The industrys positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a solid earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gaining confidence in the groups bottom-line growth potential. The industrys most recent 2023 earnings estimates have been revised 10.5% upward since August 2022-end.



Thus, we present a few stocks from the prospering industry that you may keep an eye on. But before that, lets check out the industrys recent stock market performance and valuation picture.

Industry Outperforms S&P 500 and the Finance Sector

The Zacks Foreign Banks Industry has outperformed the S&P 500 and its sector in the past two years.



Stocks in the industry have collectively gained 2.1%. The S&P 500 composite has lost 0.5% and the Zacks Finance Sector has depreciated 6.4%.

Two-Year Price Performance

Industry's Current Valuation

One might get a good sense of the industrys relative valuation by looking at its price-to-tangible book ratio (P/TBV), which is commonly used for valuing banks because of large variations in their earnings results from one quarter to the next.



The industry currently has a trailing 12-month P/TBV of 1.69X. When compared with the highest level of 1.90X over the past five years, there is a slight upside left. Notably, the current value compares with the median value of 1.58X.



Additionally, the industry is trading at a significant discount when compared with the market at large, as the trailing 12-month P/TBV for the S&P 500 is 10.69X.

Price-to-Tangible Book Ratio (TTM)

As finance stocks typically have a lower P/TBV ratio, comparing foreign banks with the S&P 500 might not make sense to many investors. However, a comparison of the groups P/TBV ratio with that of its broader sector ensures that it is trading at a decent discount. The Zacks Finance Sectors trailing 12-month P/TBV of 4.45X and the median level of 4.05X for the same period are above the Zacks Foreign Banks Industrys ratios.

Price-to-Tangible Book Ratio (TTM)

3 Foreign Banks to Consider

ICICI Bank: Headquartered in Mumbai, India, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company provides a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers.



ICICI Bank has made commendable progress in improving its digital banking services for retail and corporate clients. The bank has been striving to provide superior end-to-end seamless digital services, personalized solutions and value-added features to further enable data-driven cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.



Notably, the companys digital platform for businesses  InstaBIZ  along with supply-chain platforms, has witnessed tremendous growth in the past few quarters. These efforts are leading to a rapid increase in end-to-end digital sanctions and disbursements across various products.



Moreover, IBN has been successfully leveraging its technological initiatives to augment the contribution of non-interest income toward its top line. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 (ended Jun 30), almost 36% of the companys mortgage loan sanctions and 31% of its personal loan disbursements by volume were end-to-end digital. Driven by these efforts, non-interest income continues to improve. Its efforts to digitize operations and a rise in mobile banking transactions will likely continue to help the company garner more fee income going forward.



Further, while ICICI Bank has wide international loan coverage, domestic loans represent a substantial part of its overall loans (97% as of Jun 30, 2023). As a result, the company is secure with respect to loans and is less likely to be affected by global concerns.



Shares of the company have gained 1.8% on the NYSE in the past three months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys fiscal 2024 and 2025 earnings has moved up 9.2% and 5.8%, respectively, in the past 60 days.

Price and Consensus: IBN

Itau Unibanco: Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the bank provides a vast array of credit and other financial services to a diverse customer base of individuals and companies in and outside Brazil via its international branches, subsidiaries and affiliates.



As a premier banking brand in Brazil, the company has a large branch network in geographic areas with high economic activities. Branches are concentrated in Southeast Brazil, the countrys wealthiest region. Moreover, as part of its internationalization strategy, the company has consolidated its presence in other countries of the Southern Cone  Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay  with branches positioned in regions where activity levels are high.



ITUB also expanded its presence in Colombia and Panama, followed by the merger between Banco Itau Chile and CorpBanca in April 2016. Itau Unibanco is focused on its strategy to expand operations. The company has completed various deals over the past few years. Inorganic growth efforts to diversify its product mix are expected to support its top line in the upcoming quarters.



ITUBs ongoing investments in technology will likely contribute to improving processes, reducing costs and increasing productivity gains. The company initiated a transformational strategy, iVarejo 2030, at its retail operations unit. It adopted the omnichannel approach, as well as the e-Commerce model, to improve in-person services and revamp its branch networks. Through these efforts, it targets to increase digital sales in the long term.



The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys 2023 earnings has been revised upward by 1.4% over the past 60 days. Earnings estimates for 2024 have been unchanged over the same period. Shares of ITUB have gained 3.5% on the NYSE in the past three months. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.



You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Price and Consensus: ITUB

Barclays: Headquartered in London, the major global banking and financial services company has 1,549.7 billion ($1,962.2 billion) in total assets as of Jun 30, 2023.



The companys initiatives to improve efficiency over the past few years have been bearing fruit, as evident by a fall in expenses. While total operating expenses increased in 2022, the same declined, seeing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4% over the six-year period ended 2021. Overall costs are expected to be manageable as business restructuring initiatives continue to offer support. The company intends to undertake further cost-saving actions to improve efficiency. Over the medium term, the cost-to-income ratio is targeted to be below 60%.



Moreover, Barclays has been striving to simplify operations and focus on core businesses over the past few years. With this aim, the company restructured its business lines into two divisions and divested/closed several non-strategic and less profitable operations globally. Also, the bank completed the ring-fencing of its investment banking operations in April 2018, while reintegrated its non-core division to the companys core operations in July 2017.



The company acquired Kensington Mortgage, which will bolster its mortgage business in the U.K. Driven by these initiatives, the companys profitability is expected to improve over time.



The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys 2023 earnings has increased 1.2% over the past 60 days. Earnings estimates for 2024 have been revised 1.1% upward for the same period. Shares of BCS have lost 2.1% on the NYSE in the past three months. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Price and Consensus: BCS

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Economic Community of West African States (Gal ROMA)

Niger's detained president was seen by his doctor on Saturday, his entourage said, amid mounting concern for his condition, while West Africa's regional bloc scrapped a crisis meeting on the coup that deposed him.

Mohamed Bazoum, 63, was toppled on July 26 by his presidential guard, which has since held him and his family at his official residence in the capital Niamey.

The European Union, the African Union and the United Nations joined others in sounding the alarm for Bazoum on Friday after reports described worsening detention conditions.

Bazoum "had a visit by his doctor today", a member of his entourage told AFP, adding the physician had also brought food for Bazoum, his wife and son. "He's fine, given the situation," the source added.

Human Rights Watch said it spoke with Bazoum earlier this week. The ousted leader described the treatment of himself, his wife and their unwell 20-year-old son as "inhuman and cruel", HRW said.

"I'm not allowed to receive my family members (or) my friends who have been bringing food and other supplies to us," the group quoted him as saying.

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," he was quoted as saying. "They've refused to let him get medical treatment."

UN rights chief Volker Turk on Friday said Bazoum's reported detention conditions "could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law".

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said he was "dismayed" by the military's refusal to release Bazoum's family as a "demonstration of goodwill".

CNN reported last week that Bazoum was being kept isolated and forced to eat dry rice and pasta by those who overthrew him.

- Crisis meeting suspended -

West African leaders deferred a crisis meeting due in Ghana's capital Accra on Saturday after approving the deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger as soon as possible.

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Chiefs of staff from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) indefinitely suspended the gathering for "technical reasons".

Sources said the meeting was originally set up to inform the organisation's leaders about "the best options" for activating and deploying the standby force.

"The military option seriously envisaged by ECOWAS is not a war against Niger and its people but a police operation against hostage takers and their accomplices," Niger's Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou said on Saturday.

ECOWAS is determined to stop the sixth military takeover in the region in just three years.

It has severed financial transactions and electricity supplies and closed borders with landlocked Niger, blocking much-needed imports to one of the world's poorest countries.

ECOWAS had previously issued a seven-day ultimatum to the coup leaders to return Bazoum to power, but the generals defied the deadline, which expired on Sunday without any action being taken.

The coup leaders have since named a new government, which met for the first time on Friday.

- 'Down with ECOWAS' -

Thousands of coup supporters rallied in Niamey on Friday to protest against the ECOWAS plan to send troops.

Protesters gathered near a French military base on the outskirts of Niamey shouting "Down with France, down with ECOWAS".

Niger's new leaders have accused former colonial power France, a close Bazoum ally, of being behind the hardline ECOWAS stance.

Many protesters brandished Russian and Niger flags and shouted their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France," said one demonstrator, Aziz Rabeh Ali.

France has around 1,500 troops in Niger as part of a force battling an eight-year jihadist insurgency.

It is facing growing hostility across the Sahel, withdrawing its anti-jihadist forces from neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso last year after falling out with military governments that ousted elected leaders.

Niger's new leaders scrapped defence agreements with France last week, while a hostile protest outside the French embassy in Niamey on July 30 prompted Paris to evacuate its citizens.

bur/imm/lcm
The Revd Roland Watt is looking forward to speaking on the theme, "Jesus is Lord of all" at the Christian Endeavour convention in Lisburn, Pic credit: Christian Endeavour

The Revd Roland Watt, minister of Killymurris Presbyterian Church, will speak on the theme, Jesus is Lord of all.

Roland, who was brought up in Pomeroy, was educated at the Royal School Dungannon. After successfully completing studies at Stranmillis University College he did supply teaching for five years working in various schools including Cookstown High and Omagh Academy. His main subject was Religious Education with music.

He began studying for the ministry in 2010 in Union Theological College and had short placements in Cavanaleck and Aughentaine, Moy and Benburb, Sixmilecross and Clogherney Presbyterian Churches.

Having asked for a country Church for his Assistantship Roland was sent to Immanuel Presbyterian Church in the Lower Shankill, where he had started his teaching practice ten years earlier.

READ MORE: More than 30 community organisations in Lisburn Castlereagh set to benefit from council funding support

It was in Immanuel on Agnes Street, Belfast that he witnessed the benefit and value of the work of Christian Endeavour. It was in Agnes Street Presbyterian that the first CE in Ireland began through the work of a Sunday School teacher, Margaret Magill.

It was in 2016 that he was called to Killymurris Presbyterian Church, Glarryford where he now has the privilege and responsibility of proclaiming the truth of Gods Word as he pastors the flock there.

He is looking forward to speaking at the Convention and his desire is that all that will be said and done will be For Christ and the Church.
Liudmila Samsonova hits a return during a victory over Aryna Sabalenka that advanced her to the quarter-finals of the WTA Montreal Open (Minas Panagiotakis)

Russia's Liudmila Samsonova upset Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to book her place in the quarter-finals of the weather-hit WTA Montreal Open on Friday.

Samsonova, seeded 15th, battled into the last eight with a 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-3 win over the second-seeded Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion from Belarus.

The last-16 clash in Montreal had been shunted into the Friday morning schedule after heavy rain wreaked havoc with Thursday's play at the hardcourt tournament, a US Open tuneup.

It means Samsonova will return later Friday to face 12th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

Bencic advanced to the last eight on Friday after coming from behind to defeat Petra Kvitova 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1 in another game rescheduled from Thursday due to weather delays.

rcw/js
Its raining on the North Shore of Maui this morning where I live. But the rain is too late, and in the wrong place, to help the Maui Fire Department save the historic town of Lahaina.

Im an English expat, naturalised both to the US and to the islands of Hawaii after 17 years. Maui is my home. As a resident of Maui, married into a family born and raised on the island, the loss of Lahainas Old Town is devastating.

First and foremost is the loss of life. Maui is a small island; everyone knows everyone, or at least knows someone who knows everyone.

We are yet to find out who has been lost, but that will filter through in the next few days on the coconut wireless (the Hawaii version of the grapevine). These losses will be felt locally for at least a generation, and we are praying that no one we know personally is involved.

The local population, especially in Lahaina, is largely employed by the tourist industry, which on Mauis Westside is centred in the hotels in Kaanapali and in Lahaina.

Beyond the devastating loss of life, Mauis economy has taken an untold hit for the foreseeable future: workers are left with nowhere to work, and there is a consequent loss of tourists to fuel the industry.

We have also lost so much history. Lahaina was the whaling centre of the Pacific in the nineteenth century. Herman Melville himself was a regular visitor in his whaling days, inspiring his great work Moby Dick.

The original Baldwin Mission House, constructed in the 1830s, has gone; it was the oldest Western-style structure on the island. We also lost the old courthouse and its contents of historical memorabilia, including Native Hawaiian artefacts.

The Courthouse Museum fronts the famous 150-year-old banyan tree that defines the spirit of Front Street in Lahaina, offering shade, shelter, and a communal space for gathering. We wait to discover if the roots survived the fire, because if they did then the tree will return.

Maui is my home. As a resident of Maui, married into a family born and raised on the island, the loss of Lahainas Old Town is devastating (Rich Hill)

Like all islanders, I have personal history in Lahaina. My sons first preschool, a Montessori school adjacent to the Japanese Hongwanji, was destroyed.

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I have spent hours and days visiting family and friends walking through the sites and street sellers, dining at restaurants like Down the Hatch and Cool Cat Cafe; all gone.

Friends of my wife, Sarah, have lost their homes. Sarah, like many Mauians, spent her early adulthood living in Lahaina while she worked in the hotel industry in Kaanapali; the homes she lived in during that time are now all gone.

Moreover, Native Hawaiians have lost some of their pre-contact history. Lahaina had been the capital of the early Hawaiian Kingdom due to its harbour and its natural resources, especially its fish and water from the Western Maui Mountains.

In recent years a great effort has been made by Hawaiian activists to restore some of ancient Hawaiis infrastructure in Lahaina, including a royal fishing pond that had been tarmacked over to create a parking lot.

Some Native Hawaiians are pointing out, with justification, that construction is in large part to blame for a fire that never would have happened had the land been properly cared for.

A major factor is that construction has required the appropriation and altering of natural waterways away from their geographical routes; in the days before contact, Lahaina was lush, green, and tended.

If we had been hit directly by hurricane Dora, then at least we could have prepared. We would have sustained damage but not total loss, and maybe we would not have lost any lives. As it is, we lost hundreds of years of history, art, and culture in 24 hours.

Like all islanders, I have personal history in Lahaina. My sons first preschool, a Montessori school adjacent to the Japanese Hongwanji, was destroyed (Rich Hill)

For us, the loss of Lahaina Town is the equivalent of Parisiens losing Notre Dame in 2019, or Londoners losing St Pauls to the Great Fire in 1666. More harrowing though are the lives lost, and the lives of families and loved ones affected.

Finally, though, Lahainas Old Town was just a wonderful place, full of vivid colour, life, industry, and fun.

It truly was a little paradise. It was a place for locals on the north and east of the island to escape to on days off.

I would take my children there to walk and shop and play; it was a little holiday from the usual where you could play tourist and get world-class ice cream... We will rebuild, and we will gratefully accept help.

Professor Richard Hill has lived in Hawaii for 17 years and teaches English literature at Chaminade University of Honolulu and University of Hawaii Maui College
Five Americans imprisoned in Iran have been released and placed under house arrest as part of the first step of a planned prisoner exchange between Tehran and Washington, officials have said.

The US-Iranian dual nationals include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality.

They had all been jailed at the notorious Evin Prison on spying charges.

The identity of the fourth US citizen allowed out of prison has not been made public, while a fifth man had already been released.

"My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference in Washington, but cautioned that it was just the first step in a process.

"There's more work to be done to actually bring them home."

It follows months of negotiations between the two countries, that will include a number of Iranian prisoners being freed and the release of $6bn in Iranian government assets blocked under US sanctions.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson confirmed the five were all out of prison and under house arrest, saying they should never have been detained.

She said talks for their eventual release "remain ongoing and are delicate".

Iran's mission to the United Nations said the two countries have agreed to "reciprocally release and pardon five prisoners".

Read more news:

Hawaii wildfires: At least 50 killed

Children stuck on school buses until 10pm

The families of the Americans held in Iran say their loved ones are "hostages" taken captive on false charges and used as bargaining chips by the government.

Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related charges the US has rejected as baseless, has been

detained by Iran for more than seven years.

Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for "assembly and collusion against Iran's national security" and working for the US as a spy.

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Shargi was convicted of espionage in 2020 and also sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Jared Genser, a lawyer for one of the men, described the imprisoned Americans' movement as an "important development".

He said: "While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end."
UUP leader Doug Beattie. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

Ulster Unionist leader Mr Beattie was commenting after the North Antrim MP said there could be progress towards the restoration of the powersharing executive as soon as the government reacts and addresses our needs.

Mr Beattie said: Ian Paisley Jnr is clearly in protest mode if his interview on the Nolan show is anything to go by.

"That means he has calculated his own self-interest should be put ahead of Northern Ireland in the hope he will secure the TUV vote in the forthcoming general election.

Mr Beattie added: If the DUP decide to be pragmatic, in order to restore devolution, he hopes that he can lay the blame elsewhere. Its a well-trodden tactic by those on a solo run, the question is, will people be fooled?

When asked if he thought the executive would be up and running again in the autumn, Mr Paisley said: "I wont dodge the question  you know my position. Whilst it has been wrongly reported by others that I said it would be an ice age  I [actually] said that the secretary of states reactions in all of this could result in an ice age before anything happens.

"I dont think it going to come back this autumn. I think everyone has realised its bad, but I think that everyone is working very hard to try and get the things in place that are necessary.

Mr Paisley added: "But its up to the government, and I can quote Jeffrey [Donaldson], and out deputy leader Gavin [Robinson], who put it very, very clearly  the ball is at the toe of the government. They have to make a response to the points that we have put up very publicly, and privately, to them.

"As soon as the government reacts, and addresses our needs, and the peoples needs and our concerns, then we will have progress.

Earlier this week, Mr Paisley was the first to criticise Irish premier over Leo Varadkars claims that Northern Ireland has gone too long without devolved government, and that conversations about alternatives should start if the opportunity is missed this autumn. He said Mr Varadkar was likely to wind up the wrong people with his big mouth.
DUP peers in the Lords supported efforts to stop legacy lawfare against state forces, writes Emma Little Pengelly. "Our position is driven by doing what is right for victims and justice" . Photo: Tim Ireland/PA Wire

The recent editorial (The unionist and UK moral collapse on legacy, August 8, see link below) vents understandable frustration at a disproportionate focus on the actions of the state and the near absence of any focus on the role played by the Irish state during the troubles. However, in doing so it appears to tacitly endorse the governments current proposals offering an amnesty.

Whilst the editorial makes the accusation of a moral collapse, we are left to wonder what views would be expressed by this newspaper or the wider public in Northern Ireland had unionists supported the governments proposals? Those proposals remove access to justice for innocent victims, and whilst victims are realistic about the challenges such investigations face, they at least know the perpetrators of crime have not had the threat of being held accountable for their crime officially lifted from them.

A real moral collapse would be to support amnesty proposals that rob victims of any opportunity for justice, and which draw a dangerous equivalence between those who engaged in terrorism and those who stood in uniform in defence of law and order.

The disproportionate focus of current investigations, including through the inquest system and its associated lawfare, is a very valid concern, and it is one we also share. That is why, whilst opposing the governments amnesty plans, DUP peers voted against an amendment in the House of Lords that would have led to the continuance of that one element alone.

Letters to editor (Photo: JP)

This would have inevitably led to increased imbalance and further injustice in the types of investigations carried out. Unfortunately their stance received more criticism from those who opposed it than support from those, such as the News Letter, who recognise the problem.

Like our wider stance on legacy however, we do not take a position because it will attract either praise or criticism. The stance is not influenced either by looking to who else may happen to agree with our position, or the nationalist critics of London as the editorial phrased it. Whether it was our opposition to prisoner releases, letters of comfort to On the Runs or the governments current proposals for amnesty, our position has not been driven by populism, but by doing what is right for victims and for justice.

Emma Little Pengelly MLA, DUP, Lagan Valley

Editorial: The unionist and UK moral collapse on the legacy of terrorism
An official claimed the Foreign Office was blindsided by a coroners critical remarks after an inquest into the death of a young British woman in Qatar, a spokesman for the victims family has said.

Raffy Tsakanika, 21, from Cambridge, died after the car she was a passenger in was hit from behind by a second vehicle near Doha in March 2019.

Her family say they have been badly let down, both by the Qatari authorities, and by the British Government for not doing more.

The second vehicle, which was speeding, caused the first to lose control and overturn on a four-lane carriageway. It did not stop at the scene.

Raffy Tsakanika, who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Qatar (Family handout/PA)

The driver, Qatari national Mubarak Al Hajri, was sentenced in his home country to two months in prison and ordered to pay compensation to the Tsakanika family.

At a UK inquest last year, a coroner criticised Qatari authorities for the lack of information provided.

Ms Tsakanikas stepfather, Donal Sullivan, has seen the Qataris have further evidence that has not been disclosed, Radd Seiger, a spokesman for the family said.

Mr Seiger said he, Mr Sullivan and Ms Tsakanikas mother Jo Sullivan met with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Tuesday.

During the meeting, an FCDO official claimed they were blinded by the publicity after the conclusion of the inquest and the coroners critical remarks, Mr Seiger said.

The inquest was told speed cameras caught Al Hajris car apparently undamaged shortly before the crash and damaged shortly afterwards, but these images were not provided to the UK coroner by Qatari authorities.

Ms Tsakanikas family are pressing for a meeting with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the FCDO.

They want him to raise the case with the Qataris at the highest level in an attempt to get CCTV footage they say the Qataris have.

If the Qataris refuse to disclose further material, the family wants the FCDO to amend travel advice to Qatar to warn people how they could be treated.

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Mrs Sullivan said after the FCDO meeting: I do not understand why we are being so badly let down by both the Qatari and our own British Government.

It is impossible to describe how painful life is each and every day without Raffy, but to not know how she died when the Qataris have all that evidence in their own hands and are refusing to hand it over, while the FCDO simply stand by and watch, just makes it all a thousand times worse.

Mr Seiger said the family has been treated barbarically by the Qataris without the FCDO raising barely a finger to intervene.

We have read the riot act to them after this latest awful meeting and now expect them to fulfil their duty to represent Raffys familys interests rather than trying to not offend the Qataris, he said.

This scandal has been more than four years in the making and must now be resolved at the highest levels and we look forward to getting a meeting with Lord Ahmad in the diary without delay.

An FCDO spokesperson said: FCDO staff have offered support to Ms Tsakanikas family since her death in 2019.

We have raised this case with the Qatari authorities on multiple occasions, including at ministerial level.

We continue to offer them further support. This was a private meeting between FCDO consular officials and Ms Tsakanikas family and their representative.
Amazon Prime

After literal months of anticipation Red, White and Royal Blue is finally dropping on Prime Video today (11th August), bringing the love story of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) to life.

The rom-com, based on Casey McQuiston's novel of the same name, tells the story of Henry, a British prince, who initially has an intense rivalry with the President of The United States' son Alex, but overtime their relationship of hate turns into a deep love.

Expect hilarious scenes of cake disasters, seriously cute couple moments and a tense race for re-election.

Amazon Prime

If like us, you have already raced to the end of Red, White and Royal Blue were a little confused over any details, then this is the full ending explained of the film.

How does Red, White and Royal Blue end?

After Alex and Henry repair their relationship and vow to stay together with that incredibly sweet dance in the V&A Museum, it seems like everything is going to be ok between the pair. Yeah not quite.

Alex and Henry's private emails are leaked to the press, (most likely by Miguel) the pair are desperate to communicate, with Alex now back in the States, but are banned by their separate teams from talking. During a televised interview Miguel (Juan Castano) is asked how he managed to read 72 emails and write up an article within hours of the emails being posted, heavily suggesting Miguel is responsible for the leak.

Alex shares a public statement with the press about his relationship with Henry, whilst Henry heads to Buckingham Palace, where he is berated by his brother Prince Philip (Thomas Flynn) and listens to advisers.

Thankfully, Alex and Henry aren't kept apart for too long as it turns out Zahra (Sarah Shahi) and Henry's aide Shaan (Akshay Khanna) have been sleeping together and therefore have phones for emergency purposes to contact each other.

Amazon Prime

Alex and Henry finally get to chat and Alex reveals he's coming to London. After a cute day together playing piano, the pair head to Buckingham Palace, along with Bea (Ellie Bamber) to meet with King James III (Stephen Fry).

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King James reveals he has read Henry and Alex's emails and has no doubt that the pair are in love, but that Henry's primary duty is to the crown and his people, and that he must uphold a traditional royal image. Henry and Alex ask why Henry must uphold this image, to which the King says the British people will not accept a prince who is "homosexual".

However, a large crowd gathers outside Buckingham Palace, with Bea telling the room crowds have also gathered in Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Liverpool, all in support of Prince Henry and Alex's relationship. Err, so yeah that definitely proves King James' point wrong.

Henry defies his grandfather and says he will not hide in shame. King James asks Henry to seriously consider if this is what he wants to do, as there is no turning back if he does. Henry says: "I certainly hope not" and he and Alex head out to wave at the crowds.

A week later Henry and Alex are in Washington D.C. awaiting the results of the electoral vote to determine if Alex's mum Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) will be re-elected President. The pair go off for a private moment as Alex gets nervous about the result, however it appears he has nothing to worry about as Ellen has won Texas, and therefore the presidency.

After celebrating, Alex asks Henry if he stills has his key which is the key to Alex's family home in Texas. The final scene of the film sees the pair head back to Texas and into Alex's home.

So cute! We didn't want it to end.

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A young woman has proudly spoken of her amazing tattoo which covers her entire back and bum - but is completely invisible from the front. Alexandra Cornish, 24, opted to get a unique back tattoo - which spans her entire back, bum and the back of her thighs. A tattoo artist herself, Alexandra, from Hillarys, Perth, Australia, took inspiration from Japanese 'bodysuit' tattoos. She got the 3,000 ink done over NINE sessions in a year, taking more than 50 hours to complete in total. The tattoo centres around Princess Wakana and also features flowers, skulls and spiders on a spider web background. She loves seeing people's reactions when they see her from the front, with no visible ink - then she turns around. Alexandra, who is currently living with her partner in Singapore, said: "I never looked at myself originally with a big back piece. "But traditionally with Japanese back pieces, they're supposed to tell the story of the rest of your body and all images link to the back and I liked that. "When people say the back is quite painful, I didnt find it too bad. My waist and tailbone hurt though. "Tattoos like this are designed to be hidden under clothes - and it's good I can have it hidden. "I love having it on display though. I love the contrast of not looking tattooed from the front, but having a heavy back piece. "I do notice people staring when I'm out - but I take no offence. "I put 50 hours into it - I don't care who looks!" Alexandra had two tattoos but nothing on her back when she first reached out to tattoo artist Dan Molloy, based in Perth, Western Australia in January 2021. She already knew him from a previous tattoo he did for her and she feels he is "one of the best artists" in Australia. Initially unsure what she wanted, they came up with an idea around Princess Wakana, the beautiful daughter of Lord Otomo no Sorin, a Japanese feudal lord of the 1500s. She studied magic and had a special connection with spiders which taught her magic spells, according to Japanese art from the 1800s. Alexandra said: "I told Dan I wanted a woman that wasnt too feminine, but nothing too intense, and he suggested Wakana. "Originally I didn't like spiders and I wasn't inclined, but I have always liked magic and fantasy, so I went with it." She explained these back pieces normally only cover the back when done on men because they have broader shoulders. But due to her feminine proportions, it made more sense for the design to stretch lower, and cover her entire bum and the tops of her thighs. Alexandra's first session took place in September 2021. She had to fly to and from Dan's studio Kurikara Fudo Tattoo in Perth from where she was living in Surry Hills, Sydney at the time. The entire tattoo took nine sessions - with some as long as eight hours in one go - and the entire piece took 50 hours to complete. She said: "When people say the back is quite painful, I didnt find it too bad. "Certain parts were better than others. The shoulders, I found so easy. "But I didnt like my waist or ribs. The worst part was the very bottom, my tailbone. "People say the butt is sore but I found that and my thighs ok - I was expecting it to be worse. "The hardest thing was the bruising when travelling for the days after." By August 2022 her back was completed - delayed by travel restrictions in Sydney due to local Covid outbreaks. Since then, she has proudly showed off her unique ink and loves it. While her parents weren't originally big tattoo fans, now they see it as "art" - although not everyone agrees. Alexandra said: "A comment that irks me is 'I like it but I wouldnt get it' - I just dont really care. "It's not on their body! "The way mine is, and where it is a whole design, it looks like art. "Someone else commented that I'm beautiful but the tattoos ruined me. "Someone once asked if I'm worried that men won't be attracted to me - but then why would I be attracted to them? I'm a tattoo artist! "Ten out of ten times someone approaches me, it's about my tattoo - I get it in clubs, the gym, the shop, cafes, everywhere." She said she loves surprising people - who don't expect her to have ink on her back after seeing her from the front. She said: "Personality wise I am friendly and bubbly, I dont have a face where I look like I'll be heavily tattooed. "Its a good contrast. "I still like the look of being heavily tattooed, I love that look, as a tattooer myself. "But for me personally I am not at a point yet where I want that next step. "For now, I'm very content with the 'shock factor'".
Almost 1,000 Ukrainian marines are set to return home after more than six months of "intense" training by the Royal Marines and Army Commandos.

They were trained in amphibious landings - using inflatable boats to conduct beach raids - and will now head to the frontline.

The training was announced by Rishi Sunak during a visit in February by Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, and this is the first time amphibious training has been delivered to Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine war latest: Blaze at oil depot after 'massive' strike

The commandos were trained the use of Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons (NLAW) and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles - as well as the use of mortars and drones for reconnaissance, and explosive demolition of obstacles such as Dragon's Teeth anti-vehicle fortifications.

Although some of the Ukrainian trainees already had experience in the armed forces or on the frontline, many are civilian volunteers with no military background.

One of the recently trained Ukrainian marines said the course from the Royal Marines was "far more intense that I expected", and added: "All the way through, our British instructors have been beside us, showing us how to move and how to work together in a small team - this will make a difference when we return home to Ukraine."

Over 20,000 Ukrainians have received training from the UK so far, and the British government committed to training 20,000 more at the start of 2023.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "The UK has led the way in training the Armed Force of Ukraine, providing world-leading training in frontline combat skills to more than 20,000 of Ukraine's Army recruits through Operation Interflex.

"This programme of training, delivered by elite British commandos, will support Ukraine to build its own distinct marine force and expand its capability to operate in a maritime environment."
Immigration enforcement officers in the Chinese takeaway in Warrenpoint during Thursdays raid. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The owner of the establishment will face a fine of up to 20,000.

The raid came as part of Operation Tornado 2, whereby the Home Office is increasing immigration enforcement visits to target illegal working in the UK.

A number of similar raids took place across the UK on Thursday and yesterday.

The raid on Thursday from the Immigration Enforcement team in Northern Ireland was to target a female Chinese national at a restaurant/takeaway in Warrenpoint.

There was an arrest warrant for the woman who was not suspected of any other criminality beyond illegal working.

The team were told in a briefing before the raid that during a compliance visit conducted in September they were not able to search the property as they did not have a warrant at that stage.

When immigration officers entered the takeaway there were two men in the restaurant, one was the owner of the establishment whose identity and status was confirmed.

The other man was questioned by enforcement officers using a mandarin interpreter over the phone.

He was found to have residency in the Republic of Ireland, but as a Chinese citizen that does not give the man the legal right to work in Northern Ireland.

Murad Muhammed was one of the officers involved in the operation.

This was part of a national operation, we had intelligence to suggest that there would be people working illegally in the establishment that we visited, we secured a warrant, and we executed that warrant this evening, he said.

And we encountered one Chinese male who had no legal basis to be working here, therefore he was promptly arrested.

Due to the man's compliance with officers he was allowed to voluntarily return to the Republic of Ireland, after he had his photograph and fingerprints taken at the premises in Warrenpoint.

The man was asked by officers if he had the financial means to leave Northern Ireland that evening, with the expectation that he would leave at the latest in one or two days.

The owner of the restaurant asked officers if he could issue refunds to customers waiting outside the takeaway who were not permitted to enter while the raid was ongoing.

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For employing someone who did not have permission to work in Northern Ireland, the owner of the takeaway was given a civil penalty referral notice, that could carry a fine of up to 20,000.

Mr Muhammed said in his view the operation was a success.

It was a success, we had reason to believe that they were illegal workers, and we did encounter.

Three vans and around 10 immigration enforcement officers were involved in the raid.

When asked on the benefit of carrying out such operations, Mr Muhammed said: It is our responsibility to uphold the immigration law,

Illegally employing people undercuts other legitimate businesses, we make sure that by enforcing the law, the continuity of legitimate businesses is able to operate without them being unfairly and illegally undercut.

He added: If we can stop people working illegally then that is a success in itself.
HA NOI  An anti-dumping duty of between 25.73 per cent and 32.75 per cent will be imposed on sugar products imported from some of Thailands biggest sugar producers, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry said in an announcement that the penalty would apply from August 18 to June 15, 2026.

Accordingly, Mitr Phol Sugar, Thailands and Asias biggest sugar and bio-energy producer, and four associated companies, would be subject to an anti-dumping tax of 32.75 per cent.

An anti-dumping tax of 25.73 per cent and an anti-subsidy tax of 4.65 per cent would be applied to Thai Roong Ruang Industry and its five affiliates, the ministrys announcement said.

The ministry said that the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes were additional import taxes, applied to imported sugar products originating from Thailand, including imports under tariff quotas.

Viet Nam, in June 2021, decided to officially impose an anti-dumping tax of 42.99 per cent and an anti-subsidy tax of 4.65 per cent on sugar products originating from Thailand in a period of five years starting from June 16, 2021.

According to the Viet Nam Sugarcane and Sugar Association, sugar imported from Thailand to Viet Nam caused 3,300 people to lose their jobs and 93,225 farming households to be affected due to difficulties of the domestic sugar industry.

On August 1, 2022, the ministry issued Decision No 1514/Q-BCT on the application of measures to prevent evasion of trade remedies for sugar products imported from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar.

The decision was issued based on the investigation, which found that the use of sugar originating from Thailand to produce and export to Viet Nam by enterprises from these five countries was an act of evading anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures being applied to sugar products originating from Thailand.

In the period from October 2020 to June 2021, sugar imports from these five countries into Viet Nam increased strongly over the previous nine-month period, from 107,600 tonnes to VN527,200 tonnes while from Thailand to Viet Nam fell by nearly 38 per cent to 595,000 tonnes.  VNS
HCM CITY  Cutting-edge products, services and technologies for the logistics industry are on display at the inaugural Viet Nam International Logistics Exhibition that opened in HCM City on Thursday.

The expo, VILOG 2023, has attracted 250 exhibitors from 22 countries and territories in transport and forwarding, warehousing and cold chain operations, packaging equipment and technology, and logistics IT and applications.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trades Agency of Foreign Trade, said logistics is one of the fastest growing industries in Viet Nam. It is growing at an average of 14-16 per cent a year and is worth US$40-42 billion a year now, he said.

The number of newly established businesses and the quality of logistics have been growing, contributing to the record foreign trade of $732.5 billion last year, he said, attributing it to efforts by both the Government and the industry to improve competitiveness.

Its great growth potential notwithstanding, the sector faces many challenges such as high costs and lack of linkages between service providers and manufacturers, importers-exporters, he said.

The expo marks an important milestone in the international integration of the countrys logistics sector, he added.

It is a platform for logistics enterprises, government representatives and stakeholders to share insights and showcase the latest innovations and trends in the industry.

It will feature a series of seminars and forums on pressing and trending issues ranging from innovative IOT technologies for customs regulations, import-export competitiveness, cross-border e-commerce, logistics workforce challenges, and the transformative buy-ship-pay model.

The expo is being held together with the Cross-Border E-Commerce Expo to foster co-operation between businesses in the logistics sector and drive the growth of e-commerce and related logistics.

As a key partner in the exhibition, Singapores JGL Worldwide brings invaluable expertise and support to the event.

David Hia, chief operating officer of JGL Worldwide, said his company hopes to promote Viet Nams trade with Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and India through the exhibition.

Organised by the Viet Nam Logistics Business Association and Vinexad, the exhibition, being held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, will run until August 12.  VNS
HCM CITY  The 2023 VietFood & Beverage - Propack Vietnam international exhibition opened in HCM City on August 10 with more than 700 businesses from 20 countries and territories showcasing their products, services and technologies.

They have brought more than 10,000 food, beverage, seafood, and health supplement brands, raw ingredients, and food processing and packaging machinery and equipment they are displaying in 800 booths.

There are 10 exhibition areas for companies from India, Indonesia, mainland China, Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Greece, Poland, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan to promote their specialities.

Nguyen Van Nga, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Agency for Southern Affairs, said Viet Nam's F&B market is recovering strongly after COVID-19.

"I hope this exhibition will help enterprises and visitors get acquainted with new technologies in manufacturing, processing and packaging and new creative products, and network with international enterprises, manufacturers and distributors to expand their global supply chains."

Adrian Gawowski, deputy director at the export support department, the National Support Centre for Agriculture, Poland, told Viet Nam News there are 12 Polish companies exhibiting the newest products in categories like confectionery besides apples, wines, licorice, and other items.

They see huge business opportunities in Viet Nam, and have been approached by buyers and distributors for meat products, he said.

"The potential of the food industry in Viet Nam is great and growing. Lots of Vietnamese consumers want to consume high-quality products from Europe."

o Thi Phuong Thao, director of Peroma Vienam Co.Ltd, which makes flavouring and natural ingredients for the food and beverage industry, said this is the first time her business has taken part in the exhibition and hopes to take Vietnamese agricultural specialities to other countries to increase their value.

Her business has been facing difficulties due to the recent global economic challenges, and so hopes this event would help it connect with domestic and international enterprises and introduce its speciality products, she added.

The exhibition is being held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in District 7 until August 12.

Vietnamese agricultural items and processed foods are present in over 180 countries and territories.  VNS
HA NOI  PV Gas Corporation and its subsidiary PV Gas LPG JSC signed a cooperation agreement with Japan Cooperation Centre Petroleum (JCCP) on improving the management capacity of LPG cylinders distribution by barcode in Viet Nam.

The signing marked an important step in strengthening cooperation between PV Gas and its partners to improve the companys management capacity and advance its position in the LPG market.

To accomplish the retail LPG strategy for the period of 2021-25, which was approved last year, PV GAS and PV GAS LPG are striving to expand their retail network and distribution channels as well as enhance business efficiency. During that process, PV GAS and PV GAS LPG worked with JCCP and Hagio Company to conduct research and test the tracking of LPG cylinders by barcode using the Japanese technology.

Barcode technology has been proven effective through long-term use in Japan. This advanced distribution management system will contribute to supporting PV GAS and PV GAS LPG to improve management capacity and optimise the delivery and receipt of LPG cylinders, reduce operating costs.  VNS
Do multiple-choice math tests for high school students impede the comprehensive grasp of mathematical concepts and hinder cognitive development? Le Thong Nhat, a math teacher and founder of the online BigSchool, talks to VoV2 Radio (Voice of Vietnam) about the matter.

In 2017, the Ministry of Education and Training introduced the multiple-choice math test as a component of high school graduation exams. Over the past seven years, viewpoints have arisen saying the model constricts the essence of mathematics, undermining students' capacity to grasp its intricacies. What is your perspective?

We must envisage the twelve-year trajectory of high school mathematics education. Current textbooks aligned with the General Education Programme (GDPT) of 2018 vividly underscore that mathematics serves as a vehicle to cultivate students' cognitive faculties. The textbook examples are all elucidated through self-directed study, and educators are likewise guided to impart instruction within the same framework.

The new textbooks further emphasise nurturing students' analytical acumen. Even within the draft high school graduation exam framework slated for 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training reaffirms this objective. Throughout each school year, assessments and periodic evaluations in mathematics predominantly take the form of essay-based tests, occasionally incorporating one or two multiple-choice queries. Examinations in mathematics, both those targeted at proficient students across all tiers and levels, mostly adopt essay-based formats.

Only the high school graduation exam adopts an exclusive multiple-choice configuration, yet it would be overly simplistic to attribute the erosion of mathematical cogitation solely to this examination. I endorse the 2025 graduation exam proposal featuring a multiple-choice math component. However, it is imperative to incorporate an expanded array of multiple-choice formats, extending beyond the conventional one-out-of-four option paradigm.

Many educators voice concerns about the multiple-choice high school graduation exam. They assert that many students resort to solving math problems through tactics, bypassing logical reasoning, and often resorting to luck when making random selections. How do you perceive this situation?

If students find themselves grappling with mathematical problem-solving, it reflects an educational shortcoming. Advising students on tactics might merely assist them in excluding certain options, but relying solely on luck across all 50 questions, where securing a high score resembles winning a lottery, is an inadequate strategy.

Regardless of the assessment format, educators spanning grades 1 through 12 must continue cultivating students' problem-comprehension and solving abilities. Moreover, imparting techniques for swiftly eliminating incorrect options can be integrated, but even these techniques necessitate thoughtful consideration.

The high school graduation exam is a 50-question multiple-choice math test, with a 90-minute duration. Students have on average under 2 minutes to solve each question. Could rapid thinking inadvertently lead to hasty choices, diluting the emphasis on methodical problem-solving?

Real-world scenarios often demand prompt responses or speedy solutions. Cultivating rapid cognitive processing is essential, as occasions arise when decisions must be reached within seconds, leaving little room for contemplation.

Past instances reveal that, in essay-based exams, many students memorised prepared responses and strategically tackled the most challenging questions, even if they weren't otherwise exceptional learners.

Objective tests can counteract numerous drawbacks associated with conventional exams. In a computerised testing environment, the process of question copying, misplacement, or erroneous data entry can be minimised, thus promoting accurate marking. Decreased human intervention engenders objectivity and impartiality in evaluating outcomes.

The ongoing concern within Vietnamese education lies in teaching methods. What do you say to this?

No single approach should steer pedagogy toward exclusively favouring the multiple-choice assessment format, wherein students pick from four options. Consequently, adept management of instruction is necessitated, extending from professional teams to individual schools, and encompassing educational departments and ministries.

Stringent oversight of periodic evaluations across all grade levels is imperative. Worth noting is the widespread practice in many countries where math textbooks feature an array of multiple-choice exercises, with students tackling them directly within the book.

How stark is the contrast between the multiple-choice evaluation method and the mathematical essay approach in terms of student performance assessment?

Such a determination mandates meticulous data analysis. However, each evaluation method presents its own merits and drawbacks. In the context of an examination encompassing nearly a million students, the objective test method, particularly when facilitated through computerised assessments, unequivocally holds an edge over the essay format. It's essential to comprehend that the graduation exam constitutes an evaluative measure rather than a university entrance examination.

What are the issues that need attention when organising multiple-choice math exams in the present?

The focal point of current discourse resides in question bank development. A comprehensive compilation of diverse objective multiple-choice questions, spanning various types and categories, should be constructed.

Establishing a repository of standardised objective and empirical questions is paramount. According to recognised reputable international testing entities, questions should undergo rigorous two-year testing and standardisation processes prior to inclusion in the examination question bank.

How would you rate the quality of recent years' multiple-choice math questions within the high school graduation exam?

I see an excess of certain types of objective multiple-choice questions, with select exam items derived from non-standardised sources. The presence of rudimentary options remains prevalent. In this realm, mathematical methodologies are available for assessing question banks and multiple-choice exams, warranting the attention of examination administrators for comprehensive evaluation.

Internationally, are multiple-choice math exams a prominent feature of large-scale student assessment?

In the United States, an array of tests catering to the evaluation of high school students' proficiency exists, with the General Education Development (GED) diploma serving as a fundamental and prevalent benchmark. Applicable to individuals aged 17 and above, the GED attains equivalence to a Vietnamese high school diploma. Notably, the math section of the GED examination employs a multiple-choice structure, further partitioned into sections that allow calculator usage and those that don't.

Conversely, many universities in the United States opt for either the SAT or ACT tests as their entrance examinations, providing candidates the flexibility to choose one or even undertake both.

In Asia, Japanese high school students encounter the necessity of navigating two distinct examinations if they aspire to secure a university education. The initial comprehensive examination transpires during the initial two days of January and encompasses Mathematics as a compulsory subject, evaluated through a multiple-choice format.

Following the completion of this initial examination, students are required to undertake an examination specific to the universities of their preference. This latter examination assumes a written and oral format.

In Viet Nam, should the results of the graduation examination be employed for university admissions, these outcomes ought to be regarded as preliminary evaluations.

Meanwhile, in China, students surmount the hurdle of a university entrance examination colloquially known as the Gaokao. Alongside compulsory assessmentsMathematics, English, and Literaturecandidates opt to undertake an examination within either the social science cluster (history, geography, and politics) or the natural science cluster (chemistry, physics, and biology). This examination predominantly adheres to a multiple-choice format, with the written component reserved for those inclined towards delving into the realm of philosophy.

Russia follows a similar trajectory with its university admission math examination, structured similarly to the Gaokao in order to counter cheating.

The international Kangaroo math exam employs a fully multiple-choice paradigm, featuring questions with five possible choices. The Singapore and Asia SASMO examinations interweave 15 multiple-choice questions each with five answer choices, alongside 10 questions exclusively requiring responses.

What is your perspective on an alternative math examination format that entails 70 per cent of multiple-choice questions and 30 per cent of essay-based questions?

From my point of view, a complete transition to a 100 per cent objective test model, bolstered by the incorporation of diversified multiple-choice question types, housed within a standardised question repository, surpasses allocating a mere 30 per cent to essay-based inquiries. The latter approach could inadvertently lead to instances of excessive reliance on memorisation and fortuity, thereby skewing results towards the evaluative subjectivity of the grader.

An essential reminder underscores that the high school graduation exam is an evaluation predicated upon knowledge and skillset demonstration, serving as an assessment rather than an entryway into higher education. Mitigating fraudulent activities across every stage of this process remains of paramount importance.  VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong inh Hue arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi on Friday, concluding his successful official visits to Indonesia and Iran.

The visits, from August 4-10, were made at the invitation of the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives and AIPA President Puan Maharani; and Speaker of the Iranian Consultative Assembly Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Chairman Hue and the NA delegation have engaged in about 60 activities during the visits. Hue held talks and met with high-ranking leaders of Indonesia and Iran; and participated in various cultural, economic, and diplomatic activities.

The NA leader attended and delivered a speech at the first plenary session of the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) in Jakarta, Indonesia. On the sidelines of the event, he had bilateral meetings with parliamentary leaders from several countries.

Hues visit to Indonesia and his presence at AIPA-44 demonstrated Viet Nam's support for Indonesia's role as the AIPA-44 and ASEAN Chair in 2023, contributing to strengthening the political relationship and mutual trust, as well as deepening the traditional friendship and strategic partnership between the two Southeast Asian countries.

Besides the signing of a new cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese NA and the People's Representative Council (Lower House) of Indonesia, leaders of the two countries exchanged views on directions to enhance cooperation between the two nations, as well as between their legislative bodies, in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks. They also compared their notes on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

During his official visit to Iran, NA Chairman Hue and Iranian leaders discussed measures to foster cooperation on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of the Viet Nam-Iran diplomatic ties. The two sides legislative bodies signed a new cooperation agreement and discussed ways to further strengthen their partnership in the coming time.

In Indonesia and Iran, NA Chairman Hue attended forums to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the two nations.

He also received leaders of localities, ministries, enterprises, and friendship associations of Indonesia and Iran, and witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements.

The attendance of the NA Chairman at the AIPA-44 in Indonesia, and the official visit to Indonesia and Iran aimed to implement the foreign policy directions of the 13th National Party Congress, proactively consolidating and expanding the political relations, and promoting effective cooperation between Viet Nam and the two countries in all areas and on all channels of the party, national assembly, government, and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to strengthening political confidence with partner countries and traditional friends, demonstrating Viet Nam's proactive, positive, and responsible participation in multilateral cooperation mechanisms, including AIPA.

Those visits affirmed the importance that Viet Nam attaches to developing and promoting friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with traditional friends in Asia and the Middle East.  VNS
HA NOI  A convicted paedophile, who visited Viet Nam 18 times, has admitted to regularly travelling to Southeast Asia to sexually abuse children over a ten-year period.

Christopher Behn, 68, from Essex in the UK, was a member of a Europe-wide network who travelled together around the world to abuse children.

Behn was arrested at Gatwick Airport by the National Crime Agency in February 2020, after investigators identified him as appearing in images with another member of the network, a Dutch man who was convicted in the Netherlands.

He was detained by officers before he could board a flight to Viet Nam.

Behns travel history showed that he had visited Viet Nam 18 times since 2006, along with trips to Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, India, and Myanmar.

In June this year, Behn was further charged with 23 counts of sexually assaulting a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity. The charges relate to boys aged six to 11 living in Viet Nam, spanning 20082018.

He pleaded guilty to 21 charges on August 8, 2023, and will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on 29 September 2023.

He is currently serving nine years in prison for a snapshot of his offending - the abuse of 11 children in Myanmar in 2016.

Both Behn and the Dutch national had written diaries that described in graphic detail the abuse committed by the pair on many of these trips.

A number of the electronic devices officers seized from him were encrypted, however forensic work by the NCA led to the recovery of photographs taken by Behn of him abusing children in Myanmar.

He was prosecuted for these offences, but it was clear to officers he was involved in offending on a much larger scale, and the investigation continued.

In late 2021, Dutch police recovered further abuse images and videos from their suspects devices, which were shared with the NCA. Despite the faces of the adults in the photos not being visible, investigators were able to prove many of them featured Behn sexually assaulting young boys.

These images, matched with Behns travel history, his diaries, and online conversations between him and other offenders, meant NCA investigators could show there were at least 23 occasions where Behn committed child abuse overseas between 2008-2018.

This was not including the trip to Myanmar in 2016.

The NCA has identified a further five men based in the UK believed to have links to the network and investigations are ongoing in a number of countries across Europe.

Phil Eccles, Operations Manager at the NCA, said: Behn is a committed and prolific transnational child sex offender, who dedicated years of his life to this criminal network.

Its clear that a significant amount of planning went into every trip taken by the group, all of which centred around abusing children.

Behn and his like-minded friends conducted their offending in remote parts of the world and conspired together via encrypted chats in the hope of hiding their horrific offending from law enforcement.

However, thanks to joint work with our partners across Europe, including Europol and the Dutch police, these men are now being exposed.

Protecting children is a priority for the NCA. We are dedicated to targeting the highest harm offenders and working with overseas partners to ensure British nationals committing abuse abroad will face justice in the UK. VNS
Due to the strong increase in purchasing demand for earthworms, the price in China has increased fourfold. The scarce demand has led the merchants of this country to turn to find a supply of earthworms in Vietnam.

The problem of hunting earthworms has adversely affected Chinese agriculture. Recently, a court in China ordered three companies that sell earthworm electric shock equipment to apologize and compensate 1.59 million yuan for the ecological damage caused by this device.

Demand for earthworms soars in China

SCMP said that in China, earthworms are considered "earth dragons" (earth dragons) because they possess many nutrients and can be used as medicine. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, earthworms use "clearing heat, calming, laxative, diuretic".

In addition, this animal is also popular with Chinese anglers as a type of bait.

Therefore, over the years, earthworm prices in China have increased sharply. A person specializing in buying earthworms in China said that a few years ago, 1 kg of dried earthworms cost about 70 yuan (US$9), but now, the price has risen to 280-300 yuan ($38-41), still hard to find. Particularly untreated and dried earthworms are sold for 20-35 yuan/kg (2.7-4.8 USD/kg).

According to Vietnam Finance magazine, many Chinese traders have come to Vietnam to buy earthworms in the context of high domestic demand. Currently, fresh earthworms are bought by traders for 30,000 VND/kg, while cleaned and dried earthworms cost up to 600,000 VND/kg.

The demand for earthworms has increased sharply while the number of worms in the wild is decreasing, leading many people to open earthworm farming facilities. The owner of an earthworm farm in Guangdong said that although he has expanded his worm farm with an initial production increase of 5 times, more is needed to supply the market. The worm farm earns an average of 1.9 million yuan ($264,000) annually.

In addition to earthworms, worm farms also benefit from worm manure. Worm manure is used as an organic fertilizer, which is not inferior to chemical fertilizers and is used by many Chinese farmers in cultivation.

Besides, electric earthworm detectors also recorded a sudden increase in sales. These "earth dragon finders" or "earthworm electrocution machines" are offered on the market with prices ranging from 100-800 yuan ($15-120). According to an investigation by CCTV, in a short time, a shop selling worm detectors in Shenzhen has sold more than 100,000 units.

The working mechanism of these machines is quite simple. Users only need to plug the two ends of the iron rod into the ground, and the rest is connected to the electric battery. After just a few minutes, the earthworms will crawl up independently.

Also read: China increases imports, creating momentum to recover Vietnam's shrimp exports  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com

Unforeseen harm

In that context, China is facing a decline in the number of earthworms in the wild. Professor Sun Zhengjun, from China Agricultural University, said using electric shock devices kills earthworms and affects other organisms in the ground.

Earthworms play an important role in the soil ecosystem, helping to keep the soil porosity and moisture. Therefore, hunting and making money from earthworms has negatively impacted agricultural land, affecting the growth and development of crops.

In August 2021, the People's Court of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, forced three companies selling earthworm electrospinning equipment to apologize and compensate 1.59 million yuan (US$240,000) for the ecological damage caused by the equipment.

The Department of Crop Production warns of the risk of electric shock to earthworms.

In Vietnam, electric stimulation to catch earthworms to sell to Chinese traders is becoming problematic, risking the soil environment. Many insecurity because of yellow leaves, asked for help from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Speaking to Vietnamnet newspaper, Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) Nguyen Nhu Cuong admitted that hitting the soil with a large electric current will cause the worms to die, causing harm to the soil, fauna and micro-organisms, causing plants to die with yellow leaves. The unit and localities are looking for a way to handle it.

According to Mr. Cuong, this action needs to be stopped immediately, but currently, Vietnam has not had a sanction for this behavior.

Specifically, the Law on Cultivation deals with plants grown on land, while the rest of the land is under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Clause 1, Article 12 of the 2013 Land Law has provisions on prohibited acts, including "encroaching, occupying and destroying land". Point 25, Article 3 explains that "destroying land is an act of deforming the topography, degrading the quality of the land, polluting the land, losing or reducing the ability to use the land for the defined purpose. ". It can be seen that the behavior of electric earthworm stimulation has yet to be clarified here.

However, before the electric shock of earthworms took place in many localities, Mr. Cuong said that the Department of Cultivation had sent a written request to inspect, review, detect and handle to prevent using electric shocks to catch worms.

Accordingly, eradicating earthworms and other beneficial organisms in the soil reduces the quality of arable land, causes pollution, environmental degradation, and adversely affects the growth and development of crops.

Not only for animals, but this activity is also dangerous, prone to accidents affecting the lives of humans and animals.

Therefore, the Department of Crop Production proposed that the local Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development inspect, review, detect and handle the above activities. Simultaneously, propaganda to raise awareness of people, especially those who directly electrify earthworms, establishments and households preliminarily processing, purchasing and trading earthworms.

Authorities also encourage people to actively detect and notify functional forces when detecting illegal electrical stimulation and preliminary processing of earthworms to take measures to handle violations.

According to the Department of Crop Production leader, it is necessary to complete and supplement acts of land destruction in legal documents on land and the environment, especially when Vietnam is amending and supplementing the 2013 Land Law.

As for earthworms, Mr. Cuong affirmed that this is not a rare animal. Therefore, if the market has demand, it is necessary to implement large-scale breeding programs and projects. This may also be a new direction of economic development.

Also read: Socializing agricultural development forces  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com
An easier, safer and more secure way to pay with iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac is now available.

Today, Apple announced that customers in Vietnam can now use Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. The launch offers an easy, secure and private way for Apple customers to pay for everything in their daily lives, including transactions at multiple retailers, large and small, within the application and on the web. Whether customers buy coffee at Rang Rang Coffee, supermarket shopping at Annam Gourmet, or online purchases on Shopee, Apple Pay makes their lives faster and more convenient. Thousands more merchants will now accept Apple Pay thanks to the assistance of some of the most reputable banks in Vietnam and their huge credit and debit networks.

We're excited to introduce Apple Pay to the nation and provide customers with a new way to conduct business because contactless payments are gradually taking over our customers' daily lives in Vietnam.

Make payments easy, secure, and private on Apple devices," shared Jennifer Bailey, Apple VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We believe Apple Pay will seamlessly fit into the daily routine of Vietnamese customers, whether tapping to pay at leading stores or shopping securely online with retailers on their favorite e-commerce platforms and apps."

Security and privacy are core values of Apple Pay. With the industry-leading security Apple Pay offers, customers get all the benefits of protecting their personal information, transaction data, and credit and debit card information. The card number is not stored on the device or Apple's servers when adding a credit or debit card. Instead, a unique Device Account Number will be assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in Secure Element on the customer's device, and each transaction will be authorized via a dynamic security code using one. Apple does not store customer-related transaction information. Transactions will only occur between the customer, the merchant or developer, and their bank or card issuer. If a customer's iPhone is lost or stolen, they can use Find My iPhone to quickly locate, lock, or pause payments from that device.

Using Apple Pay in stores is quick and easy. Double-tap the side or Home button, authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, and hold the top of your iPhone or Apple Watch screen near the contactless card reader to make payments.

Customers can use Apple Pay without creating a merchant account, filling out lengthy forms, or re-entering shipping and billing information when shopping online. Every Apple Pay transaction is authenticated using the device's Face ID, Touch ID, password, and a one-time dynamic security code.

Customers with credit and debit cards from banks, including Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Sacombank, Techcombank, Vietcombank and VPBank, can now use Apple Pay.

Customers of some 3 banks can apply for a debit card online through the bank's app. The online card will be issued immediately and can be added to Apple Pay, allowing users to pay instantly with their Apple devices.

Selling points such as Adidas, Annam Gourmet, CellphoneS, Decathlon, Dien May Xanh, Emart, F.Studio by FPT, FPT Shop, Hasaki, Hoang Ha Mobile, Kokonic, LOTTE Mart, McDonald's, Long Chau Pharmacy, Rang Rang Coffee, ShopDunk, Starbucks, Taxi Mai Linh, Mobile World, The Pizza Company, TopZone, Viettel Store and Watsons; as well as apps and websites including BAEMIN, Be, Mytour and Shopee will offer customers the ability to pay with Apple Pay starting today.

In addition to supporting over 10,000 banking partners globally, Apple Pay is accessible in more than 70 countries and regions.

Also read: Apple users in Vietnam will have to pay more for app purchases. Heres why

Apple to launch its first online store in Vietnam next week

Digiworld to distribute Apple products in Vietnam
In the first six months of this year (H1), BaoViet Bank posted $1.05 million in pre-tax profit, equal to just 26 per cent of its full-year projection  which is set at $4 million.

Similarly, ABBank saw a 59 per cent plunge in its pre-tax profit during the period, falling to $28.6 million and reaching only 24 per cent of its full-year plan.

Meanwhile, the figures at VietA Bank approximated $23.6 million, down 11 per cent on-year and equal to 41 per cent of the annual plan.

VietA Bank has attributed lower profit figures to a raft of factors, including an 87 per cent reduction in earnings from other services, which fell to just $1.64 million in H1 of this year.

Its non-interest income sources were also diminished, with earnings from forex trading decreasing by 76 per cent and stock trades also reporting losses.

Adding to the challenges, operating expenses rose 20 per cent, reaching $18.39 million. The bank also put $1.6 million into its provisioning fund, up 2.7-fold compared to one year ago.

As of June 30, BaoViet Bank's non-performing loans reached $74.09 million, soaring by 58 per cent since January. Of these, debts that risk being lost accounted for 87 per cent of the total.

Banks with strong capital buffers could eye profit growth ranging from 18-20 per cent, surpassing the sectors average level.

Consequently, its bad debt ratio rose from 3.34 per cent to 4.69 per cent during the period.

At ABBank, its sharp fall in profits were again due to a range of factors, such as its net interest income falling by 13 per cent in H1 to just $66.1 million, operating expenses shooting up by 17 per cent to nearly $46 million, and a 3.7-fold increase in its provisioning sum, which soared to $34.3 million.

As of June 30, major state lender Vietcombank continued to take the lead in respect to its loan loss coverage ratio, which reached 387 per cent, up 70 per cent compared to the start of the year. This more than doubled the second top performer, VietinBank, with a coverage ratio of 169 per cent.

This is one of the reasons why Vietcombank only reached 47 per cent of its full-year profit projection, despite posting an 18 per cent hike in its pre-tax profits, which hit $864.9 million during the period.

Vietcombank Securities JSC (VCBS) has forecast that the banking sectors pre-tax profit will inch up by about 10 per cent in 2023, a remarkable reduction compared to the average profit growth of nearly 35 per cent seen last year.

The VCBS forecast also depicts a division in the profit outlook at different banking groups, and such gap could widen further in 2024.

According to VCBS, smaller banks might experience further slides in their growth  even reaching negative growth  amidst the worsening real estate market and global macroeconomic picture, leading to lower credit expansion and casting a shadow on customers solvency.

By contrast, banks with strong capital buffers could eye profit growth ranging from 18-20 per cent, surpassing the sectors average level.

Retail segment brightens bank profit picture Many banks have unveiled their third-quarter business results, showing a spike in their profits, leveraging well-conceived retail lending development strategy amid restricted credit line.

Public debt management picture clears towards 2025 Vietnams plan for borrowing and paying public debt has been revealed, and the budget landscape finalised for this year, with public debt set to stay within the permissible limit.
Speaking about the agreement between the two firms, Brooke Miller, president of Lineage Asia Pacific, said, "Partnering with SK Logistics is a remarkable opportunity for us to continue delivering world-class cold storage solutions in the Asia Pacific region alongside a proud and thriving family business."

"Expanding Lineages footprint in Asia Pacific through Vietnam as a significant economic contributor in the region continues to be a long-term strategic goal for the company. Vietnam is an important market for Lineage, and partnering with a reliable and proven operator like SK Logistics helps the company to continue delivering excellence in supply chain solutions in the region," Miller added.

SK Logistics two cold storage warehouses, totalling almost 400,000 square feet, represent a strong increase in capacity in the north of Vietnam for Lineage. These facilities offer storage, distribution, stamping, weighing, classification, and packing services for important customers in the region.

In July, Yokorei, the Japanese refrigerated warehousing company, received an investment certificate for a $52 million cold-storage warehouse in Ben Luc district, Long An. Covering an area of 4.5 hectares, the factory is under construction and is slated for a trial run in the third quarter of 2024 with operations set to begin by March 2025. Yokorei provides cold storage solutions for agricultural produce, aqua-products, food, and other items.

A report by Ken Research pointed out that the cold chain market in Vietnam is fragmented with the presence of major players such as Kuehne Nagel, Swire Cold Storage, Schenker, Agility, APL, K-Line, Maersk Logistics, and others. The players compete on various parameters including total space of temperature controlled area, number of temperature maintained fleets, local coverage area, cost per pallet space, support services, number of pallets, number of offices, warehouses, production capacity, clientele and verticals served.

According to commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, the cold chain market in Vietnam accounted for almost $170 million in 2019. Given the boom in the sector in anticipation of receiving and storing the COVID-19 vaccine, the growth in seafood processing, and overall increased consumer demand, it is expected to reach a value of $295 million by 2025, which translates to about 12 per cent annual growth.

Reducing food waste with apt cold chains Both international and domestic investors are gearing up to boost funding into Vietnams fast-growing cold chain industry.

Cold chain logistics in high demand Vietnams growing middle class and their increasing preference for higher quality alternatives for fresh produce and meats from foreign markets, as well as the behaviour shifts brought about by the pandemic, have become key drivers for the rising demand for cold chain logistics and warehousing in the country.
Over the past two weeks, SGB's shares have garnered significant attention in the Vietnamese banking sector, driven largely by an unexpected surge in trading volume.

On August 8, in excess of 58 million SGB shares changed hands through private agreements between investors. This translates to a value of approximately $59.1 million, accounting for almost 19 per cent of the bank's equity.

Notably, foreign investors acquired a chunk of 44 million SGB shares, worth roughly $42.2 million.

This particular trading activity saw foreign entities amass 14.3 per cent of Saigonbank's capital, increasing their overall stake in the bank to the aforementioned 14.8 per cent. It's pertinent to note that on August 1, a comparable volume of about 58.7 million SGB shares were traded at a value of nearly $36.4 million.

SGB shares, although listed on the Unlisted Public Company Market, typically experience low volumes, often only amounting to a few thousand dollars per session. The bank's market capitalisation hovers around $257.4 million. However, these shares have hit the limelight recently, recording an eight-session consecutive price increase, with some nearing their daily trading cap.

Yet, after accumulating an impressive 56 per cent rise from July 27 to August 7, the shares observed a downturn on August 8, closing at approximately 85 US cents per share, reflecting an 8.7 per cent decline.

SGB is renowned for being Vietnam's inaugural joint-stock commercial bank. As of June 30, its total assets amounted to roughly $1.13 billion. In H1/2023, the banks pre-tax profit stood at about $7.7 million, registering a 4 per cent growth on-year. In terms of the released bi-annual business outcomes, SGB ranked 26th out of 28 banks.

Exploring its shareholder framework, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Office is SGB's predominant shareholder, holding 18.2 per cent of the bank's charter capital. The single-member Phu Nhuan Construction and Housing Business Company has a 16.6 per cent stake. Vu Quang Lam, chairman of the bank's board, represents the contributions of these two entities.

Other major shareholders include the single-member Ho Chi Minh Oil and Gas Company, with 14 per cent, and the single-member Ky Hoa Trade and Tourism Company, with 16.3 per cent. Tran Thi Phuong Khanh, a board member, stands as the representative for these latter two shareholders.

In terms of senior leadership, the bank has experienced notable transitions this year. On January 19, Nguyen Cao Tri was removed from SGB's Board of Directors, as per the stipulations in the amended Credit Institutions Law.

According to SGB's administrative report, Tri, along with all affiliated entities, possessed a mere 0.188 per cent stake as of December 31, 2022, equating to 24,500 SGB shares  which were procured by Tri in June 2021.

Currently, Saigonbank's board comprises five individuals: Vu Quang Lam, Tran Thanh Giang, Tran Thi Phuong Khanh, Tran Quoc Thanh, and Pham Thi Kim Le.

Earlier this month, as per information from the Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security, Nguyen Cao Tri has been temporarily detained on allegations of embezzling $40 million from a project transaction involving Truong My Lan from Van Thinh Phat Group.

During the investigation, Tri has admitted to the offence and is set to return the misappropriated sum. Investigative authorities have also initiated asset freezes and seizures to ensure the asset recovery for the case.

Expansions ripe with South Korean banks As South Korean banks grapple with intensifying domestic rivalry, they are strategically shifting their focus to Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, as an emergent arena for growth and expansion.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the 7th meeting of the State steering committee for national key transport projects on August 10. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 10 asked ministries, agencies, and localities to prepare plans to exploit the new development space created by major highways and roads when he chaired a meeting of the State steering committee for national key transport projects.

Speaking at the meeting, Chinh who is also head of the committee, said that in the coming time, the key task for ministries, agencies, and localities is to continue taking drastic measures to solve difficulties and problems so as to speed up the pace of the key projects.

He asked localities to establish working groups to oversee and push the process of the projects.

The Government leader assigned the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Transport, to prioritise the adequate and timely allocation of capital for projects. They were also asked to design policies to better attract private investors to the projects under the form of public-private partnership (PPP).

Localities were required to promptly complete site clearance work following the approved timelines, focusing on the construction of resettlement areas and stabilisation of life for relocated people.

In particular, localities must seriously carry out procedures for mining construction materials for the North-South expressway project in the 2021-2025 period.

PM Chinh also assigned the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises to direct the Airports Corporation of Vietnam to complete the selection of contractors for the passenger terminal package of the Long Thanh International Airport project and the bidding package on construction and equipment installation of passenger terminal T3 Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment was asked to review investment procedures and inadequacies in PPP project implementation, proactively remove obstacles and speed up the appraisal of expressway projects submitted by localities including the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai, Nam Dinh-Thai Binh and Gia Nghia-Chon Thanh.

Huge transport investment expected to vitalise central regions More than $4.34 billion are to be put into expanding the national highway network from 2021 to 2025, which is expected to create a turnaround to transport infrastructure development in the central regions.

Danang to implement two major traffic improvements in 2023 The central city of Danang has authorised two major traffic improvements at a cost of over $123 million that will begin construction next year.

Hung Yen focuses investment on transport infrastructure Hung Yen has identified transport infrastructure as crucial in terms of regional connection to spur the provinces socioeconomic development.

Two sections of eastern North - South Expressway open to traffic Two sections of the eastern North - South Expressway, Mai Son - National Highway 45 and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay, were inaugurated on April 29.
Malaysia blocks live cattle imports from Australia after skin disease scare, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has temporarily suspended live cattle and buffalo imports from Australia, the Australian government said, days after Indonesia paused some imports after lumpy skin disease (LSD) was detected in a small number of cattle after arrival.

Australia's chief veterinary officer Mark Schipp said Australia were urgently engaging with its Malaysian counterparts to lift the curbs while confirming the country remained free from the disease.

Indonesia, the largest market for Australian live cattle exports, last week placed some restrictions even as officials sought to allay fears by conducting rapid diagnostic testing.

Schipp said his department was working to finalise the investigation into the health status of the impacted cattle. Australia is free of LSD and cattle exports to Indonesia continue from other facilities.

LSD, which causes blisters and reduces milk production, is a highly infectious viral disease affecting cattle and buffalo that is transmitted by insect bites. It poses no risk to humans.

Domestic tourism expenditure rises sharply in Malaysia The key socioeconomic indicators for some Malaysian states improved in 2022, buoyed by a 248.1per cent rise in domestic tourism expenditure reaching 64.1 billion RM (14.06 billion USD) versus 18.4 billion RM in 2021, according to the State Socioeconomic Report 2022 released by the Statistics Department Malaysia (DOSM) on August 7.
Japan is the largest labour market with more than 41,100 employees, followed by Taiwan with nearly 40,000, South Korea with nearly 1,800, and China with about 1,000 workers.

Historically, Japan has consistently been the preferred destination of most Vietnamese labourers due to its good working conditions, attractive income, and the many job opportunities available.

In July 2023, the Department of Overseas Labour under the MoLISA and the Japanese province of Wakayama signed an MoU to receive Vietnamese workers to that part of the country.

Wakayama is promoting its policy to train and admit Vietnamese interns, skilled workers, and engineers to study and work in Japan due to a shortage of local human resources. Through the MoU, Vietnamese employees can train and work within the framework of Vietnamese and Japanese laws.

The MoLISA will create communication channels to handle situations arising from any problems swiftly, and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese workers in Japan.

Meanwhile, JHL Vietnam Group and Nozomi Japan have signed an agreement to deploy a Japanese-standard, e-learning training course for caregivers in Vietnam, with the participation of the Department of Overseas Labour, General Directorate of Vocational Training, and the Embassy of Japan.

The signing ceremony marked the introduction of the scheme for students who wish to specialise in caring for the elderly, according to Japanese standards, to colleges and vocational secondary schools throughout Vietnam.
Sending Vietnamese skilled workers to Europe faces obstacles, Illustrative image (Photo: baodautu.vn)

Hanoi - There are few skilled Vietnamese guest workers in Europe in recent years, according to deputy head of the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Gia Liem.

Liem said Vietnamese guest workers in Europe mostly perform manual jobs in the fields of industrial production, construction, food processing, apparel and agriculture. Their contracts often last two years which could be extended. After having their contracts expired, they could stay there if landing new legal jobs.



Meanwhile, more job opportunities with high pay are available for skilled workers, but few Vietnamese workers have access to them.



Liem explained that the legal documentation for recruitment and procedures to send workers abroad often requires a significant amount of preparation time due to different customs, cultures and legal regulations among various countries. Some countries such as Poland and Slovakia have strict requirements in issuing work visas, resulting in lengthy waiting period.



Besides, the cost of living in many European countries is relatively high, posing difficulties in hiring on-site labour management. The cold winter in a majority of European countries also limits the persity of employment options for workers.



Vietnamese workers seeking employment in Europe will have to compete with those from other countries within the region, as well as with those from developing nations with similar skill levels from different continents. Cultural differences also pose barriers during their working and integration process.



In several recent years, some European countries received Vietnamese workers because native workers migrated to more developed nations in Europe for employment, but when the developed economies face problems such as epidemics or crisis, they could return and reclaim job opportunities previously occupied by foreign workers, including those from Vietnam, Liem added.



Tran Manh Thang, General Director of the GHW Hanoi JSC, said many European countries are not inclined to accept unskilled labour from foreign countries. However, they are willing to offer salaries and provide free training lasting 2-3 years to train skilled workers according to their training standards.



Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) Nguyen Thi Viet Huong affirmed that DVET will identify specific labour demand concerning profession, scale and competency requirements at various levels in European countries, thereby developing a training plan to meet requirements of each nation.



It will also enhance coordination among relevant agencies and units to promote legal labour migration.

Businesses in dire need of skilled workers Vietnams labour market is in desperate need of high-qualified and skilled workers, experts have said.
HILLSBORO  Tens of millions of years ago, Texas was separated into two landmasses by a sea that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up through Canada. The division meant prehistoric Texas was host to a wide range of species.

While the geological picture has changed, the biological diversity seen in prehistoric Texas is still visible, albeit in a totally different way. Fossils of many species of dinosaurs and plants can be found in the Lone Star State, and hundreds of those fossils can be viewed free of charge at Texas Through Time. The museum in Hillsboro has a mission based on showcasing Texas fossils, and it recently picked up a large new space to grow into.

Married couple Andre and Carrie LuJan founded Texas Through Time in 2018, and Andres finds in the field make up much of its collection that numbers in the thousands of fossils, along with donated pieces. Andre serves as the museums executive director and Carrie serves as museum administrator. Texas Through Time now operates out of the historic Grimes Garage, 110 N. Waco St., with all of its fossils housed in one room. Just a few weeks ago it was donated another historic Hillsboro building, the Hillsboro Junior College, with ten times as much space.

But the task of relocating museum operations is easier said than done.

The junior college building has not been used in 20 years. The building has no air conditioning, is filled with old desks, textbooks and shelves, has an abundance of broken glass and debris strewn across the floors and has graffiti all over the walls. Renovating the space will take a lot of time, effort and money.

Andre said despite the challenge, it is perfect for Texas Through Time, as doing the impossible has always been the museums mission.

He said paleontology was something he never really considered for a career. Like many kids, he had an obsession with dinosaurs that was fostered by a visit to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, but instead of studying paleontology in college, he studied environmental science.

Over the years, he volunteered at various dig sites to gain field experience with fossils and stayed involved in paleontology as more of a hobby. He started an educational program for kids called Destination Cretaceous, and was traveling to schools and libraries around Texas to give lectures about Texas paleontology.

In 2016, at his wife Carries insistence, he left his job as an environmental consultant to found PaleoTex, a commercial paleontology company that provides professional services related to fossils including fossil restoration, fossil mountings, museum consulting and field excavations.

Originally, Andre came to Hillsboro because he was looking for a place to move PaleoTex. He looked at a few properties, but nothing really looked interesting. On his way out of town, he drove past the Grimes Garage, which had a for sale sign out front.

Andre and Carrie stopped, and Carrie told Andre to look into the window. Instantly, he fell in love.

I just had this vision, Andre said. It was an epiphany, a lightning strike moment. I had a vision of the museum and before that moment, I had never ever considered founding a museum. I had that look in the eye that I often get when I have some crazy idea.

Andres business partner at PaleoTex loaned him the money to purchase the garage, and within a few months the museum opened. In addition to the museum, PaleoTexs fossil lab is housed in the back of the building, with several in-progress fossil projects going at a time.

The museum has a few hundred fossils of all shapes and sizes on display, and Carrie estimates the museums total collection to be in the thousands. Texas Through Time has micro fossils, larger fossils, fossils of predators, fossils of marine dinosaurs. It aims to showcase as much of prehistoric Texas as possible, though Carrie said some fossils were found in Oklahoma or New Mexico, perhaps in the bygone boundaries of the Republic of Texas.

Andre said as a proud native Texan, he wants to shine a light on the diverse range of fossils found in the state, which is often overlooked by paleontologists.

During the early 1900s, there was a gold rush of paleontologists coming to Texas to look for fossils in the Permian Basin, he said.

Museums have examples of those animals all over the world because Texas has the best Permian fossils, the most diversity of anywhere on planet Earth, Andre said.

However, as expeditions to places like the Gobi Desert, Africa and South America became more feasible for more people, paleontologists abandoned Texas to search for fossils elsewhere.

Everybody in paleontology wants to be the first, Andre said. That is the driver of discovery. So everyone rushed to these far off lands to find new dinosaurs and domestically, it just kind of went stale. People have been working up in the dinosaur beds and the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas for a long time, but the South is not really known for being prolific in in dinosaur fossils. But the reality is that that is not true. It may not be as widespread, but the place that they are found, theyre pretty prolific.

Andre said the fossils found in Texas are incredibly diverse for many reasons. The first is Texas south-central location in the U.S., at a crossroads with many types of ecosystems including the flat plains to the north, the ocean and marshlands to the south and east and the mountains and deserts to the west.

Andre also said during the late Cretaceous period, some 65 million years ago, the land that is now the U.S. was split into two landmasses by the Western Interior Seaway, an ocean that ran from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up to Alberta, Canada, running directly through Texas. Laramidia, the western landmass and Appalachia, the eastern landmass, each have very different and distinct fossils, Andre said.

Texas has representations of these two places at the same time, and theyre different, Andre said. Were at the very southern tip of Laramidia, so all of our dinosaurs are very unique and distinct. We have a lot of funnel mixing between South America and North America. So its an ideal place to make new discoveries.

In addition to placing a focus on the Texas fossil record, Carrie said they decided to make admission to the museum free in order to remove economic barriers for people who may not be able to afford the entry fee to bigger natural science museums.

Especially here, it is a socioeconomically disadvantaged community, Carrie said. A lot of the children that come here have never actually been to museum before, especially places like Perot (Museum of Natural Science in Dallas) and the Houston Museum (of Natural Science). The entrance fees of those are really expensive, and a lot of kids just dont ever get that opportunity.

Carrie said Texas Through Time sees thousands of visitors per year. The museum is nonprofit, and operations are supported by donations, events and the museum gift shop. Carrie said for Halloween, the museum is transformed into a Jurassic Park-style haunted house, and it hosts an annual fundraising gala.

Carrie said the museum was able to acquire the Hillsboro Junior College building thanks to a donation from Hillsboro Independent School District, which previously owned the building. Texas Through Time has started toward clearing out the space, which is likely to be a long and arduous process thanks to the size of the building, 40,000 square feet, ten times larger than the museums current space in the garage.

Hillsboro City Manager Megan Henderson said the city is ecstatic about the future of the museum, and will look for ways to offer material support to Texas Through Time.

Texas Through Time is a fantastic institution in its own right, Henderson said. The idea of collecting and preserving for public use the record of Texas prehistoric past and some of the cool species that lived here is a beautiful and inspiring mission.

Henderson also said the free admission to the museum is wonderful in offering children in the community a look into the life of a paleontologist.

It gives our community, especially kids, access to these interesting things that are interesting as just things, Henderson said. They are interesting objects you can look at and have your imagination stirred. It also introduces kids to the idea that this is a real job that someone has. This isnt just a museum that is divorced from collection process. The people who prepare and showcase these exhibits are in many cases the people who found them. The process of preparing them and cataloging them, the science of it all is incorporated to museum itself. It makes science practical and experiential.

The free access of Texas Through Time opens the museums doors to people from all walks of life, and makes science accessible to all, said Charlie Walter, director of Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum.

Any time you can get a kid in front of a dinosaur, you see it in their eyes, Walter said. They love it. Digging for dinosaur bones is better than digging for treasure.

Carrie said the hope it to turn Texas Through Time into the Smithsonian of Texas.

Its going to be the mecca of Texas fossils and paleontology, where we have different exhibit rooms dedicated to the different geological time periods, and the different fossils that you can find in Texas, Carrie said. We do try to make it more about the fossils, and not just about the sensationalized experience. A lot of museums nowadays, theyre all casts and very limited actual fossils in them. We do try to showcase the actual paleontology and real fossils.

Andre estimates the full process of clearing out the building and setting up a few galleries will take two years, with a magic number of $20 million required to renovate the building top to bottom. But for now, the museum is racing against time to have at least one gallery in the new building open and available to the public by April 8, in time for the solar eclipse that will be visible in many parts of Texas. He estimates it will cost $1.5 million to take that first step.

We can capture all of the visitors from around the country and around the world that are going to descend upon Hillsboro for the eclipse. Thats a huge opportunity for us, Andre said. So were up against the wall to get the building presentable for that event. But I would love to fully open, at least a gallery or two, by spring of 25. I think it would be realistic to offer at least the services that we can now at our current location.

The couple said they already draw in visitors from different parts of Texas and the U.S., and are only continuing to grow in popularity thanks to Andres appearances on Discovery Channels Dino Hunters and History Channels Pawn Stars, and a recent profile in The New York Times.

With a bigger building, Andre and Carrie said they hope to continue expanding, gaining more fossils and raising Texas Through Times national profile. Andre also said the museum is working with Lee Schiel, an innovator in the field of CT and MRI technology being used for paleontology, in order to develop a state of the art paleontography scanner and paleo-imaging lab, which can be used to develop images of dinosaurs based on CT scans of fossils.

Andre said he chose Hillsboro for the museum because of its central location along the Interstate 35 corridor and proximity to the Texas Triangle cities of Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Houston. With close access to nearly 18 million Texans, Andre said he hopes to draw in people from all over the state to experience Hillsboro and the fossils found in his museum.

It is going to be a huge project, Andre said. I think the population of Hillsboro is something like 8,000 people. It is a small town. But if we have a major museum, thats only going to get bigger. Its so cool to see kids come in and just to see that light bulb click in their head like, I could be a scientist, and I just talked to this paleontologist and he let me hold this fossil. Those are opportunities that kids like these dont get on a regular basis, and I have the opportunity to change that dynamic. Its a huge responsibility, but its also an amazing opportunity to create more science rather than make the opportunities that are there harder to obtain.
Waco-area boutique owners are reminding people to shop with their locally owned small businesses during the annual Texas Sales Tax Holiday running Friday through Sunday.

The state offers a tax break on qualified items such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced at less than $100 each, and Waco Transit System offers free fares on Saturday for fixed route busses.

Shoppers will save $8 in sales taxes on each qualifying $100 they spend over the weekend, and typically retailers use the opportunity to run discounts on other merchandise.

Local boutique owners Gina Mitchell of Mainstream Boutique and Carmen Robinson of Urban Bliss will join with nearby stores Dylan Nicole and Twisted Sisters Shoetique for a back-to-school event from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday. The four, which refer to themselves as the Boutiques of Franklin are on Franklin Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.

We have vendors and food trucks coming to make it fun, Mitchell said Thursday. Kona Ice will be there with snow cones to cool you off and well have Sugar Doodles, too.

Sugar Doodles is a custom cookie and ice cream food truck that operates in Greater Waco and China Spring.

Lauren Payne with Sugar Doodles said her business will be selling iced back-to-school sugar cookies inside Mainstream Boutique on Saturday evening.

Well have custom iced sugar cookies, and you can put your favorite teachers name on them, Payne said.

Mainstream Boutique will have jewelry on hand from Kendra Scott and Zapped Jewelry, Mitchell said.

The boutiques will also offer Baylor University game day items and apparel, Robinson said.

We will move a lot of game day items in green and gold as well as maroon and white, Robinson said. We have items not just for kids and students, but for moms, too.

Waco Transit System will get people to plenty of shopping spots, including the downtown area, Richland Mall and Central Texas Marketplace, with free fares all day Saturday, Waco Transit spokesperson Jessica Clark said in a press release.

On this day, passengers can skip the parking hassle and enjoy unlimited free rides on all fixed-route buses, Clark said.

A list of school supplies and other items that qualify for the sales tax exemption is available at TexasTaxHoliday.org.

As Texans prepare for the back-to-school bell, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the opportunity to save money on everything from blue jeans to ballpoint pens, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a press release.

Qualifying items also can be purchased online or by telephone, mail or custom order if they meet certain delivery requirements.

Richland Mall is also encouraging customers to take advantage of the tax holiday.

Plan your shopping trip with a visit to the mall website, spokesperson Brad King said in a press release. Click the Deals tab and check out additional savings offered by your favorite stores during the Tax-Free Holiday. Remember the sales tax savings and deals apply to all qualifying items  even something new for yourself.
A blockchain is a digital ledger and the key technology underpinning most cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (more on those later) and other unique digital items.

Blockchain can be used to store all kinds of information, but so far its most common use is in recording cryptocurrency transactions. Once a transaction is made, it's entered on this public ledger, which is managed by a global peer-to-peer network  millions of computers, in bitcoin's case.

Blockchain is fundamental to bitcoin's appeal: As a decentralized database, it can't be controlled by any one person or group  unlike a fiat currency such as the US dollar, which is managed by a central bank.
PRESS RELEASE

DAYTON, Ohio  The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force welcomed the arrival of a PT-17 to its collection following a ceremonial transfer at Joint Base Andrews that coincided with the 75th anniversary of the integration of the armed forces. The aircraft is only one of two existing PT-17s that were used as Tuskegee Airmen trainers during WWII.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black pilots to fly in the U.S. military. In March 1941 the U.S. Army Air Corps announced the formation of the first-ever black combat unit, the 99th Pursuit (later Fighter) Squadron, with the pilots training on Moton Field and Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. Before closing in 1946, nearly 1,000 Tuskegee Airmen received their primary flight training at Moton Field.

This aircraft was acquired through an aircraft exchange with the Collings Foundations American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts. Transferring it to the National Museum of the USAF was bittersweet said Rob Collings, the executive director of The Collings Foundation.

It is a little emotional to leave it behind, said Collings. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is such a spectacular museum, and this aircraft deserves to be on the national stage. Going through the museum and seeing the crowds that are here, I hope this aircraft will inspire everybody who comes through. Its in the right location. It needs to be here.

Among those who flew this aircraft were instructor James J. Hyett and then cadet Kermit G. Bailer. Hyett was a notable flight instructor who trained both fighter and bomber pilots. Following his service, Bailer went on to become a civil rights activist, lawyer, and public servant in state and national government.

This aircraft is a valuable piece of our American aviation and military history, said David Tillotson, III, the director of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Adding this to our collection gives us the ability to tell the broader story of the impact and bravery that Tuskegee Airmen had during World War II, and the precedent they set for future generations.

The PT-17 is expected to be placed in the museums WWII Gallery in the spring of 2024
WATERLOO  A judge has ordered that an abandoned house that has been the scene of repeated vandalism and fires be torn down.

During a Thursday hearing in Black Hawk County District Court, Code Enforcement Foreman Maria Downing said she has visited the gutted building at 526 Logan Ave. since a blaze in 2017, and it has deteriorated in the years that followed.

The structure was not one that could be fixed. It was totally destroyed, Downing said.

She said the back of the home is damaged to the point that it isnt possible to board it up to keep out intruders.

Theres no way to stop anybody from getting in there, she said.

She said the city had assumed the responsibilities of mowing the lawn and shoveling the sidewalks.

The buildings owner, former City Council member and former Black Hawk County supervisor Scott Jordan, didnt appear at the court hearing. He had sent an email to Waterloo city officials acknowledging the condition of the house and expressing plans to hire a contractor to demolish it in October, according to statements in court.

In her ruling, Judge Andrea Dryer found the house is unfit for human occupation and dangerous. She said the building constituted a public nuisance and gave the owner until Oct. 31 to remove it. She assessed costs to Jordan.

The house was built in 1889. Courier archives show it being offered as a rental for $225 a month in 1992.

Jordan bought it in 2004 through a sheriffs sale, according to property records.

Someone lit a fire in the house in April 2016, and in June 2017 the house was one of five buildings set on fire in an arson spree that targeted run-down buildings.

The city began court proceedings in February to acquire the building under a provision of Iowa law known as 657A, which allows governments to claim vacant and dilapidated properties.

While the case was pending, the building was then again set on fire on July 5.

WATCH NOW: Courier fire videos Former church fire, Waverly, Iowa, Dec. 19, 2016 VIDEO: House Fire, Gable St., Waterloo, Iowa 120319 Apartment fire, Jefferson St., Feb. 19, 2016 Duplex Fire, Western Ave., Feb. 9. 2016 Fire, Beaver Ridge Trail, Cedar Falls, Iowa Feb. 5, 2018 Garage/house fire, Seneca Ave., Waterloo, Iowa Dec. 11, 2017 House Fire, W. Second St., Waterloo, Iowa, Oct. 20, 2016 House fire, Marion St., Evansdale, Iowa June 6, 2018 House fire, W. 2nd St., Waterloo, Iowa July 7, 2017
WATERLOO  A Waterloo woman has been found guilty of running over her soon-to-be ex-husbands girlfriend in 2020.

Prosecutors said Marilyn Lynn Meron hit Katline Woods an alley and then left her to die in 2020.

Merons attorney said she was simply trying to escape following an argument in the back yard of the husbands mothers home.

Jurors deliberated Thursday afternoon before finding Meron, 33, guilty of serious injury by vehicle, a felony, and leaving the scene of a serious injury accident.

Sentencing will be at a later dates.

Woods was injured on Sept. 5, 2020, in an alley behind the 1100 block of Logan Avenue and remained in the hospital for several days.

Shes very lucky to be alive. She had tire marks on her torso, said Assistant County Attorney Alisha Stach, who prosecuted the case.

Authorities said Marilyn Meron was in the process of divorcing Jacob Meron, and Woods sent her a Facebook message asking her about arrangements to drop off Marilyn Merons belongings.

Defense attorney John Bishop said his client then called the husband, and Woods entered the conversation, saying that they might throw away her stuff.

Marilyn Meron then drove her Chevrolet Impala to her mother-in-laws home on Logan Avenue. She encountered Woods in the backyard and smacked her, according to testimony.

The situation began to escalate, and Bishop said Marilyn Meron realized slapping Woods was a mistake and decided to leave and headed for her vehicle.

She just wants to go home, Bishop said.

Woods, 31, told jurors she followed Marilyn Meron to the car. She said she was merely asking her if she still wanted her belongings.

Jacob Meron also became involved.

Marilyn is full freaking out at this point, Bishop said.

Woods denied she was trying to open the car door, but she said her hand somehow got trapped in the drivers side door handle as Marilyn backed up. Woods testified she lost her balance as she tried to keep up with the car, and was run over. Marilyn Meron then drove away.

Woods was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. She said she suffered a lacerated liver, broken ribs and collar bone, a fractured scapula and eye socket, and other injuries.

Im just in pain all the time, said Woods, who has since parted ways with Jacob Meron.

Marilyn Meron returned to her home and called a friend, who picked her up and took her to the police department, according to testimony at trial.

She didnt take the stand, but jurors saw portions of her police interview video where she was distraught over the accident. She said she was trying to leave and panicked.

What speed limit zones are the most likely to see fatalities? What speed limit zones are the most likely to see fatalities? Interstate, principal arterial Freeway and expressway, principal arterial Collector Local Minor arterial Principal arterial, other
TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russias first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earths satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft.

The launch from Russias Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russias first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.

The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14. The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon's vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) before heading for the surface.

Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moons south pole.

Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it wants to show Russia is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon, and ensure Russias guaranteed access to the moons surface.

Study of the moon is not the goal, said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. The goal is political competition between two superpowers  China and the USA  and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.

Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space program. The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover but that idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts say.

Foreign electronics are lighter, domestic electronics are heavier, Egorov said. While scientists might have the task of studying lunar water, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon  to recover lost Soviet expertise and learn how to perform this task in a new era.

The Luna-25 launched flawlessly from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, according to video feed from Roscosmos.

The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

A previous Indian attempt to land at the moons south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moons surface.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.

The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face, said Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britain's Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory.

The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moons environment ahead of building any base there, otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted, Bloomer said.
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (10 August 2023)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, in the course of conducting offensive operations, assault detachments of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line.

Seven counterattacks by 14th and 44th mechanised brigades of the AFU have been repelled close to Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Sinkovka and Mankovka (Kharkov region).

The enemy losses were up to 55 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, and one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in close cooperation with aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled seventeen attacks by AFU assault groups close to Belogorovka, Novomikhailovka and Artyomovsk (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were over 290 Ukrainian servicemen killed and wounded, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery systems, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery systems, one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, and two D-20 howitzers.

In Zaporozhye direction, as a result of actions by units of the Russian grouping of troops, aviation and artillery, a counterattack of the 46th Airmobile Brigade of the AFU has been repelled near Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 125 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, three Msta-B howitzers, as well as D-20 and D-30 guns.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of actions by units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, aviation and artillery, an attack by an assault detachment of the 21st Mechanised Brigade of the AFU has been successfully repelled near Terny (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen, three armoured fighting vehicles, one Msta-B howitzer, and one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system.

In South Donetsk direction, as a result of actions by aviation, artillery, and units of the Vostok Group of Forces, two attacks by AFU assault groups have been repelled near Urozhaynoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 130 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, one Giatsint-S self-propelled artillery system, as well as Msta-B and D-20 howitzers.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two pickup trucks, one D-30 howitzer, and one U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised manpower and military hardware in 146 areas.

One ammunition depot of the AFU 28th Mechanised Brigade has been destroyed near Dyleevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Two command posts of 63rd and 110th mechanised brigades of the AFU have been hit close to Torskoye and Avdeevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Air defence facilities have intercepted five HIMARS and Uragan rocket-propelled projectiles.

In addition, 38 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down close to Pershotravnyovoye (Kharkov region), Gorlikovka, Georgievka, Vasilyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Chapaevka (Zaporozhye region), and Vasilyevka (Kherson region).

In total, 458 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 5,638 unmanned aerial vehicles, 428 air defence missile systems, 11,216 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,144 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,837 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,165 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

///

WtR
Makayla Steffes, a senior at Winona Senior High School, has been awarded this years Goodview Community Foundation Scholarship Award.

The program gives a $500 scholarship to a local high school senior with Goodview ties and who plans to further their education locally, according to a press release.

Steffes was born and raised in Goodview, the release said, and she volunteers in first-grade classrooms at Goodview Elementary School. She plans to pursue a degree in elementary education at Saint Marys and would like to work at Goodview Elementary School after college.

I am someone who loves being involved and giving back to my community, Steffes said in the release. The teachers at Goodview Elementary School have taught me the importance of connecting with students in order to give them the best education possible.
A civil lawsuit against the 10 Republicans who signed paperwork purporting that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election is heading to trial next year after a Dane County judge largely rejected the Republicans request to toss the case.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington on Thursday denied the defendants motion to dismiss claims alleging that the 10 Wisconsin Republicans and two attorneys who advised them broke multiple laws, including impersonating a public official, public nuisance and engaging in conspiracy.

Wisconsin voters have been waiting for nearly three years to hold the fraudulent electors accountable for their misconduct, Scott Thompson, an attorney with the firm Law Forward, which filed the case early last year, said in a statement. Their coordinated and deliberate effort to subvert our democracy must not happen again. Todays ruling is the next step in that process.

With Remingtons order, the case will move forward to a September 2024 trial.

Remingtons order comes about a week after the U.S. Department of Justice filed federal charges against Trump as part of a probe into the former presidents efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election  a scheme that relied heavily on the actions taken by Republican electors in a handful of states, including Wisconsin.

Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement that hes confident attempts to penalize people who were tricked will fall short.

All action taken to produce an alternate slate was only done to preserve an ongoing legal strategy and only to be used in the event a court of law gave the alternate slate meaning, he said. We were not informed of any use of the alternate electors contrary to preserving the legal strategy and would not have approved any other use.

In the indictment against Trump, federal prosecutors heavily cite the actions of the slate of 10 Republican electors who gathered at the state Capitol in December 2020 to sign documents declaring Trump the winner on the same day Democratic electors cast the states Electoral College votes for Joe Biden.

State Republicans have said the meeting took place on the advice of attorneys.

Some were tricked

The indictment against Trump states that some fraudulent electors, including those in Wisconsin, were tricked into participating based on the understanding that their votes would only be used if Trump succeeded in lawsuits challenging the election outcome.

Later in the document, prosecutors state that Trump and his co-conspirators ultimately used the certificates of these fraudulent electors to deceitfully target the government function, and did so contrary to how fraudulent electors were told they would be used.

According to the indictment, the shift took place after a Nov. 18 memo from Trump campaign adviser Kenneth Chesebro, which detailed the plan to Wisconsin attorney Jim Troupis, who represented Trump in a failed effort to overturn the states 2020 election results. The memo urged electors to convene on Dec. 14 to preserve the alternative of (Trumps) Wisconsin elector slate in the event (Trump) ultimately prevailed in the state.

However, a separate memo on Dec. 6 marked a sharp departure from the Nov. 18 document and advocated that the alternate electors originally conceived of to preserve rights in Wisconsin instead be used in a number of states as fraudulent electors to prevent Biden from receiving the 270 electoral votes necessary to secure the presidency on January 6.

The December memo suggested Trump electors in purportedly contested states like Wisconsin should meet and mimic as best as possible the actions of the legitimate Biden electors. On Jan. 6, Pence should open and count the fraudulent votes, setting up a fake controversy that would derail the proper certification of Biden as president-elect, according to the indictment.

That effort culminated with a plot to pass then-Vice President Mike Pence slates of fake electors as Pence was set to confirm the presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

The indictment states that on the morning of Jan. 6, Trump asked a U.S. senator, who is not named in the indictment, to hand-deliver documents to the Vice President.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnsons chief of staff told Pences aide on Jan. 6, 2021, that the senator needed to pass the vice president documents falsely stating Trump won Wisconsin, text messages released last summer by the House Jan. 6 committee revealed. The texts came as the vice president was set to confirm Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. Pences staff rejected them.

I emphasize that what other jurisdictions do, or do not do, has no bearing on the present application of Wisconsins rules of civil procedure to Penebakers complaint, Remington wrote in the order. All that matters, for now, is whether the complaint alleges violations of Wisconsin law that have injured Wisconsin citizens.

Remington in May scheduled the trial to begin on Sept. 3, 2024. He estimated the trial could take as long as four weeks and conclude before Republican and Democratic electors are selected in October for the next presidential election. Attorneys for the plaintiffs, who have sought to bar the 10 Republicans from being presidential electors in the future, have asked to have the case concluded before the next slate of electors is chosen.

The lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed in May 2022 on behalf of a handful of Democrats, including two official presidential electors, against the 10 Republicans, as well as Chesebro and Troupis. Plaintiffs in the case include lawfully elected Wisconsin electors Khary Penebaker and Mary Arnold.

Plaintiffs seek more than $2.4 million in damages, including $2,000 fines for the Republicans and their attorneys, and up to $200,000 in punitive damages for each plaintiff.

The lawsuit was filed months after the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously denied a complaint that sought sanctions against the 10 Republicans, including Robert Spindell, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, who signed the official-looking documents. Other complaints have failed to gain much traction, including those filed with the district attorneys offices in Milwaukee and Dane counties, as well as the Office of Lawyer Regulation, the agency that handles complaints against lawyers in Wisconsin.

If the lawsuit reaches the states highest court, it will be taken up by a Wisconsin Supreme Court with a new 4-3 liberal majority. Liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, who defeated conservative Dan Kelly in April, joined the court last week.

Last month, Michigan became the first state to criminally charge fake electors. In Wisconsin, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has remained tight-lipped on whether charges are forthcoming or whether an investigation exists at all.
Weather Alert

.Tropical Storm Hilary will continue to weaken and rapidly move into Southern California and Central Nevada today. Deep tropical moisture out ahead of Hilary will result in steady light to moderate rainfall across western Nevada and portions of eastern California. The heaviest rainfall and associated flash flooding threat will be from Sunday evening through the early Monday morning hours. ...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...A portion of western Nevada, including the following area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area. * WHEN...Through late Monday night. * IMPACTS...Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Storm drains and ditches may become clogged with debris. Never drive through a flooded roadway. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - 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. &&

...Widespread rains and cooler conditions with an increased risk of flooding for parts of western NV and the eastern Sierra through late Monday... * Hurricane Hilary in the eastern Pacific is forecast to make landfall today near the northwestern portion of Baja of California. While this system will rapidly weaken by the time it arrives in Nevada, significant amounts of moisture will bring periods of heavy rainfall to the region this afternoon through Monday. The greatest threat for flooding is across the Basin & Range and the eastern Sierra. However, isolated flooding cannot be ruled out elsewhere across western Nevada and northeast California. Have multiple ways to receive alerts in case flood warnings are issued, and never drive through flooded roadways. * Abundant cloud cover and rainfall will keep afternoon high temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal today through Tuesday, with Monday likely being the coolest day. * Stay tuned to the National Hurricane Center by visiting www.hurricanes.gov for the latest on Hilary.


Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of Routes 70 and 73.
Wildfires raged across the islands of Maui and Hawaii last week, killing at least 96 people and destroying large parts of the beloved tourist destination and historic town of Lahaina on Maui. Its the deadliest wildfire in more than a century, and the death toll is expected to rise as search teams continue to look for human remains through the smoke and destruction. Thousands of residents and visitors were evacuated, and the U.S. Coast Guard said crews rescued more than a dozen people who jumped into the Lahaina harbor to escape the fire.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said during a Thursday news conference. Many, many hundreds of families have been displaced. Well rebuild.

Major airlines, including Delta, United, Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines, have been providing additional flights to help Maui visitors leave the island as soon as possible, said Ed Sniffen, the Hawaii Department of Transportations deputy director for highways, during a news conference. The County of Maui announced a mass bus evacuation to get hundreds of people to Kahului Airport or a central shelter. 

The fires on Hawaii Island are in the Mauna Kea Resort area.

As the damage assessments continued, state officials last week strongly discouraged nonessential travel to Maui in the days and weeks ahead.

Those with imminent travel plans to West Maui are urged to reschedule, the Hawaii Tourism Authority stated in an alert on its website. The tourism board advised travelers to contact their specific airlines for any flight changes, cancellations and assistance with rebooking.

Green said that the historic Front Street in Lahaina is tragically gone and that at least 1,000 buildings have burned down. One of the tourist attractions in Lahaina, a 60-foot-plus banyan tree planted in 1873, the largest banyan tree in the U.S., was burned by the wildfires. Reports from Honolulu Civil Beat and NPR indicate the tree is still standing. The 122-year-old Pioneer Inn burned down, according to Hawaii News Now. Its a very sad day in Hawaii. Its devastating, said James Tokioka, state director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, in a news conference. On the visitor industry hat, what happened at West Maui is devastating. ... West Maui is not open right now, but the rest of the state is open. If you have an opportunity to change your reservation, please consider doing so.
Instagram Celebrity

The former 'Jackass' star has had a run-in with law enforcement officers yet again as he was reportedly taken into police custody and issued two citations.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Bam Margera has been apprehended and cited for alleged public intoxication. The 43-year-old "Jackass" star was taken into custody following a row with a woman outside of the Radnor Hotel in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania in the early hours of Wednesday, August 9 morning.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ patrolling officers saw Margera "arguing loudly" with someone outside the hotel in the Philadelphia area at 4.15am. The officers reportedly stopped and made their approach, finding the ex-skateboarder allegedly smelling of alcohol and slurring his speech.

It's said they took him into custody and then to a nearby police station, where he was issued two citations. One was for alleged public intoxication, while the other was for disorderly conduct. He was later released with no further incident following a call to a friend.

Meanwhile, the Radnor Hotel's general manager Louis Prevhost said Margera tried to get a room at around 3.15 A.M. on Wednesday, August 9. The star was allegedly upset at not being allowed into the hotel - which is in line with its policy regarding no one who isn't already registered being allowed in after 1 A.M.

However, it's said Margera didn't do anything negative and he didn't even enter the hotel before leaving without incident. Prevhost noted there is no record of anyone at the hotel calling the police, and he's not sure who ended up contacting the authorities.

Last month, a judge ruled that the star will stand trial on charges of allegedly punching his brother during a row at their home in Chester County. A judge ruled during a July 27 hearing that in order to remain free on bail, Margera must get a drug and alcohol screening, and he can partake in "no drug or alcohol use."

According to court documents, officers responded to an incident at a property in Chester County, Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 23 and his brother Jess allegedly told them Bam had banged and kicked his bedroom door and left him a threatening note. Jess is also alleged to have told officers Margera later assaulted him and made threats against him and others in the house.

Police said Bam had fled into the woods before they arrived at the scene.

After his arraignment, Margera addressed the case in a post on social media in which he denied his brother's claims. Margera wrote, "I just got out of the courthouse with my lawyers."

Everything went great and the false accusations of what my brother says are not true and he will be sued for defamation as well as being evicted from Castle Bam sooner than later. The reason I lost my cool is because I read his phone saying he wants me back in California and he wants to find a way to 302 me. F*** him."

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Instagram Celebrity

A few weeks after his nephew was born, the younger brother of the 'Freaky Friday' actress shares a picture of them together on social media, but does not reveal the baby boy's face just yet.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Dakota Lohan has treated fans to first photo of him with his older sister's son. A few weeks after Lindsay Lohan was reported to have given birth to her first child with her husband Bader Shammas, the younger brother of the "Freaky Friday" actress shared the adorable snap featuring Luai via social media.

On Wednesday, August 9, the 27-year-old actor uploaded a photo of him and Luai via Instagram Story. In the black-and-white snap, he could be seen gazing at his nephew while the baby boy was lying in his bed. However, he did not reveal Luai's face just yet as he used a smiling face with heart eyes emoji to cover it. Over the snap, he noted, "See you soon baby Luai," adding a slew of emojis including a purple heart one.

Dakota Lohan shared first photo of him and baby Luai via Instagram Story.

Dakota appeared to have flown to Dubai, where Lindsay lives and gave birth, following Luai's arrival. That same day, he let out a series of photos and a video highlighting moments from his getaway in the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates via Instagram.

One of the photos captured his sister Lindsay wrapping her arm around Bader's shoulder. The "Mean Girls" star and her husband were smiling from ear to ear to the camera. Another picture showed Dakota and Lindsay striking a pose in front of a huge mirror inside a lift. Dakota also took a group selfie with Lindsay and Bader while they were in a restaurant.

Along with the post, Dakota expressed his thoughts on his Dubai trip in the caption. "Over the mooon. I'm basically speechless but here goes nothing," he wrote. "I got to see my best friends in a place I never thought I'd experience as in Dubai (hot as shit in the summer)."

The "Betty" star further gushed over his nephew Luai, "They have the most precious little baby Luai who lights up their life and everyone who meets him." He continued, "This trip to Dubai really put me in the best headspace and I'm beyond grateful for every single moment. Love y'all. Never stop being you. #smile #bekind #love."

Dakota and Lindsay's brother Michael Lohan Jr., who was noticeably absent from the photos of the Dubai trip, showed his love for his younger brother. In the comments section of the post, Michael, who holds an Instagram account named @mikelohan, penned, "Love you brudda [a red heart emoji]."

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While the actress' comments kept hope alive that she'll return for a follow-up to 'Wonder Woman 1984', sources say a third 'Wonder Woman' film is currently not in the plans for the new DC Universe.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Gal Gadot may not be back in action as Wonder Woman in the new DC Universe. Despite the actress' recent claim that she would be developing "Wonder Woman 3" with James Gunn and Peter Safran, the project is reportedly not moving forward.

Debunking the Diana Prince depicter's comments, sources tell Variety that the third "Wonder Woman" film is not in development at DC Studios. The sources stress that Gunn and Safran currently have no plans for any "Wonder Woman" project in the rebooted DC Universe other than their previously announced "Paradise Lost" prequel series for Max.

In an interview with ComicBook.com which was released earlier this month, Gadot suggested that the "Wonder Woman" franchise might not be fully dead just yet. "I love portraying Wonder Woman," she said during the interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Saying that she would be directly involved in the development of the film with Gunn and Safran, the Israeli-born beauty added, "It's so close to and dear to my heart. From what I heard from James and from Peter is that we're gonna develop a 'Wonder Woman 3' together."

In a recently published profile by Flaunt magazine, Gadot shared that she was even more assured by Gunn and Safran that "Wonder Woman 3" would be developed. "I was invited to a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran," she said, "and what they told me, and I'm quoting: 'You're in the best hands. We're going to develop 'Wonder Woman 3' with you. [We] love you as Wonder Woman- you've got nothing to worry about.' So time will tell."

Contrary to this, the sources tell Variety that nothing was ever promised to Gadot regarding "Wonder Woman 3", nor was there any definitive discussion of Gadot's Wonder Woman continuing with the new DC Universe.

The future of the "Wonder Woman" franchise was up in the air after Patty Jenkins dropped out of the third film in 2022 amid reports that she clashed with Gunn and Safran, who are tasked with reshaping the DC landscape. Setting the record straight, the "Wonder Woman 1984" helmer insisted that there's no drama whatsoever despite her exit.

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Closer, deeper cooperation expected as Wang Yi kicks off Southeast Asia tour amid US creating division

09:45, August 11, 2023 By Wang Qi ( Globaltimes.cn

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kicked off his visit to three Southeast Asian partners on Thursday to bolster strategic communication amid the sound momentum of China-ASEAN relationship. Chinese experts view Wang's three-nation tour as a signal of strengthening cooperation and building stronger ties with ASEAN member countries.

Wang's visit also comes against the backdrop of US creating tensions and divisions in the Asia-Pacific, which experts believe further highlights the importance of regional solidarity and connectivity to avoid misunderstanding caused by discord sowed by the US. And it's also believed that in the face of challenges, any move that undermines regional stability and prosperity will be opposed by countries in the region.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, is scheduled to visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia from August 10 to 13 upon invitation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China hopes the visit will bolster strategic communication with the three Southeast Asian countries, put the new characterization of the China-Singapore relations into action, achieve solid progress in building a community with a shared future with both Malaysia and Cambodia, deepen high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation and bring the bilateral relations to new heights.

China stands ready to work with the three countries to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, boost economic recovery, safeguard peace and stability deepen exchanges and mutual learning and make even greater contribution to peace, stability and development of the region and beyond, the spokesperson said.

Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute of Hainan Tropical Ocean University, told the Global Times on Thursday that Wang's visit is a signal that China will continue to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN member countries and build an even stronger relationship.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, believes that 2023 is a significant year for China-ASEAN cooperation, and a special moment to promote ties.

The year 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), and the 10th anniversary of an initiative for China to work with ASEAN member countries for a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and for a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

The year 2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI and vision of building a global community of shared future for mankind.

Southeast Asian countries have been at the forefront of advancing BRI cooperation, as well as the key to ensuring the sustainable stability of China's external environment, Li said.

"The same is true for ASEAN members as well, as most ASEAN countries want the lasting and stable prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region maintained, rather than an Asia-Pacific region with conflict and division," Li said.

Peacemaker vs troublemaker

During the China-ASEAN (10+1) Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in July, Wang along with other diplomats vowed to advance their comprehensive strategic partnership. Wang said China will make new contributions to peace and prosperity in the region.

One month later, the US and Philippines defense chief reiterated commitment to bolstering military cooperation, according to a statement released by the Pentagon on Wednesday, amid the recent tension between China and the Philippines over the Ren'ai Reef in China's Nansha Islands.

Before Wang's visit, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he would visit Vietnam soon to elevate bilateral ties at the Vietnam's invitation, according to media reports.

"Relations between the Philippines and the US are strengthening Vietnam is balancing between China and the US, but its relations with the US in general are also elevating," Gu said.

Southeast Asia is the most important part of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" of the US, and it cannot be ruled out that some countries are forced to become a wedge for the US to drive into ASEAN, Gu noted.

A disruptive factor in ties between China and ASEAN members is the US, Li said. He said Washington attempts to form an "anti-China consensus" in Southeast Asia through playing up "China threats." Only when more division and confrontation are created can the US regional hegemony be established.

As the US wants to kidnap ASEAN members onto its chess board against China, the future development of regional countries will face greater challenges, Li said.

Nevertheless, analysts believe that the vast majority of Southeast Asian countries are highly alert to the US moves, which would be conducive to the stable development of China-ASEAN relations.

"ASEAN member countries have realized that since the establishment of the full dialogue partnership with China in 1991, the economic growth of the Southeast Asia countries has accelerated Most of them has come to a consensus of not taking sides," Gu said.

ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for three consecutive years. In the first half of 2023, trade with ASEAN member countries accounted for 15.3 percent of China's total trade, reaching 3.08 trillion yuan ($428.96 billion), up 5.4 percent from 2022.

The US intervention in to Southeast Asia, on the other hand, highlights the importance of regional exchanges, Gu said.

By continuously strengthening economic and trade mutual benefit, people-to-people exchanges and political communication, China and ASEAN members can reduce and avoid misjudgments or misunderstandings that are maliciously provoked by the US, Gu remarked.

2023 is an important year for China and ASEANto deepen exchanges and cooperation. The 2023 ASEAN-China Summit is scheduled to be held in September, followed by the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. The APEC Summit in November will be also attended by ASEAN nations and China.

Whether to become a vassal of the US or to unite with the majority of Southeast Asian countries to maintain regional stability, I believe that most countries should choose their own strategic autonomy, Li said.

Any attempts to undermine the sound momentum of Asia-Pacific solidarity and cooperation will not be welcomed, Li noted.

At the opening of ASEAN-China Week 2023 in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province, on Sunday, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong said the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership enjoys a sound momentum of development, and China has always followed the neighborhood diplomacy guideline that advocates amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and is willing to remain committed to win-win cooperation with ASEAN and build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home together.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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The star of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise is suing the home improvement company for civil rights violations, claiming he and his two associates were the victims of racial profiling by employees during their visit in February 2023.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tyrese Gibson is suing Home Depot following an alleged racial profiling incident at a Los Angeles-area store earlier this year. The actor filed a complaint in L.A. Superior Court on Wednesday, August 9.

In the complaint, the 44-year-old sues the home improvement company for civil rights violations. The suit also alleges negligent hiring, supervision and retention. Tyrese and two other plaintiffs, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, seek more than $1 million in compensatory damages, to reflect the amount Tyrese says he's spent at Home Depot locations over his lifetime, in addition to punitive damages.

The suit states that Tyrese, "one of the most recognizable black actors and musicians in the United States, and his associates ... experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand inside the Home Depot retail store in West Hills." It further stresses, "The company needs to understand that there are consequences for discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling."

In the suit, Tyrese details the incident which took place in February of this year. He and his two associates who "regularly provide construction services" to him visited the company's West Hills location on February 11. When fans began to notice the "Fast & Furious" star's presence in the store, he decided to wait in his vehicle and let the other two men complete their transaction with his credit card.

However, the cashier allegedly refused to let Eric and Manuel use his credit card to complete their purchase even after Tyrese returned to the store. "The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating 'store policy' and demanded to see a form of identification," the suit alleges, "The manager refused to speak with Gibson in person. It was only after significant heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the transaction."

"The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin," the complaint adds. "There is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of Plaintiffs. The transaction was refused, despite Gibson's repeated authorizations, because of Plaintiffs' skin color and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin."

Tyrese recorded part of the encounter in a video uploaded to YouTube in February. In the 10-minute clip, he told the cashier, "I understand policy, but you know you're being extra right now." He also said that he has been visiting the same Home Depot retail location for 10 years, but that was the first time an employee spoke about such policy.

In response to the lawsuit, a Home Depot spokesperson said in a statement, "Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form. We value Mr. Gibson as a customer, and in the months since this happened, we've reached out to him and his attorneys several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so."

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The 28-year-old actor, who landed the role of Jann Madenborough in the movie, shares that he had to get his license less than three weeks before filming began.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Archie Madekwe couldn't drive when he was cast in "Gran Turismo". The 28-year-old actor was upfront with producers when he tried out for the role of Jann Madenborough in the movie, a true story about a man who went from playing a racing-simulator video game to winning a medal in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, but had to cram in lessons, getting his license less than three weeks before filming began.

He told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was so honest. It wasn't an, 'I can ride a horse' type of thing and I'll just learn later. I really said, 'Look, guys, just so you know, I can't drive.' "

During the audition process, Archie was told he had two-and-a-half weeks to pass his test and would be expected to drive a race car. He recalled, "I'm thinking, 'Are you kidding me?' I was working on another film, so I'm shooting in the day and, at night, taking [driving] lessons."

But even after passing his test, getting to grips with stunt driving in a car hitting top speeds of 180 miles an hour wasn't easy, and the British actor admitted it was the "worst thing" he has ever done. He said, "The racing was just the worst thing I've ever done in my life. It really was the thing I was most excited for [when] signing on to this film. I just did not anticipate how physically taxing it was going to be."

The first time he drove a lap at full speed, he felt sick, and from that moment, would regularly vomit between takes of the racing scenes because it was such a shock to the system. He said, "I just would throw up and then get it together and then throw up. It's like being on a roller coaster blindfolded. There is just nothing that can train your body in a really short amount of time to get used to it. You're in the car when its boiling hot, when you're claustrophobic, you're squished into these tiny little pods and you're going 180 miles an hour. I've got [director Neill Blomkamp] in one ear giving me direction; I've got my driving instructor in my other ear telling me how to drive properly. And then Im trying to act at the same time."

The "Midsommar" actor admitted being number one on the call sheet for "Gran Turismo" made for a different experience to the work he's done before. He said, "People listen to you in a different way. It became unbelievably collaborative. If I had an idea for a scene, if I wanted to pitch something, people really listened. And all my pitches made it into the film. It was really gratifying to be listened to, and have your ideas be taken seriously."

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The former 'House of Cards' actor reportedly has no plan to go back to 'the lifestyle and contacts he once had' and prefers to reside in the capital city of France after he's acquitted in court.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Kevin Spacey might move to Paris. The "House of Cards" actor - who was acquitted of seven charges of sexual assault, one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity by a court in London last month - is retaining his apartment in England but is ready to move overseas for a fresh start and thinks the French capital will offer the environment he needs to recover from the scandal.

"Kevin was cleared, but he isn't going back to the lifestyle and contacts he once had. He has been talking for at least a year about moving out of the UK, most likely to Paris. They have a history of not caring too much about people's private lives in France, but they do have a strong cinema culture. It would be a good place for him to start again - and he has plenty of friends in Paris," a source told the Daily Mail newspaper columnist Alison Boshoff.

The 64-year-old star's friend, director Dominik Sedlar - whose father Jajov directed Spacey in "Once Upon a Time in Croatia" - previously suggested the "American Beauty" actor wouldn't return to Hollywood. He said, "It's more likely for Europe to be receptive."

Following the string of allegations made against him, Spacey lost his job on "House of Cards" and was dropped from various other projects. And director Gene Fallaize, who made the "risky move" to cast the award-winning star in his film "Control" in November, recently revealed the award-winning actor was accepting of his career decline.

Gene, who never spoke directly to Kevin about the legal case against him, told Sky News, "There were indirect things as we were talking about how his life had changed."

"We talked about 'House of Cards', which I didn't know whether to bring up because he was let go from the show, but he spoke quite freely and openly about those things and was obviously very proud of 'House of Cards'. I think he was very proud of his acting past, but totally accepted the situation - his words at one point were that he was a jobbing actor."

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The 'Bridget Jones' Diary' actress dishes on her divorce from husband of 14 years Andrew Bermejo, claiming that he ditched her for a Russian yoga teacher.

Aug 11, 2023

AceShowbiz - Sally Phillips has a new love after her husband left her for a yoga teacher. The 53-year-old actress previously got hitched to shipping director Andrew Bermejo for 14 years but revealed she felt "very lucky to have had a second chance" after meeting current love Ian through a friend.

Sally, according to The Mirror, told broadcaster Kaye Adams at "How to Be 60 Live!" at the Edinburgh Festival, "My husband left me for a member of the Russian Yoga Federation, though I'm not legally allowed to say that anymore, but he won't listen to this."

"Fortunately, my friend introduced me to Ian, and I've been with Ian for four years now. And he's to die for. And actually, to be honest, when he kissed me, this is true. I'm going to overshare because comedians do that. But when he kissed me, I did think of that line, you need to be kissed a lot by someone who knows how. So I've met someone who knows how to kiss."

"Bridget Jones' Diary" actress Sally has three sons with her ex-husband, whom she split from in 2017 and revealed she would have stayed in the marriage for the sake of their kids. She said, "I am very, very happy with [Ian]. And I feel very lucky to have had a second chance."

"But there's always that pain, isn't there for the kids? Because my kids were quite young when it happened. And I guess I would never have left. But now he's taken all the guilt from me and done it for me. I'm quite pleased."

Sally also revealed she feels she looks "ridiculously old" on screen because she has never had Botox or fillers. She said, "I do feel my age actually. I may as well be honest. Not doing any Botox or having my face stung off by jellyfish and inserted with plastics."

"So you feel very aware every time you're on telly, every time you see yourself. I feel pretty happy in real life, but within the world of the screen, I look ridiculously old. My face has got my life etched into it. It's too late for me now to go down the whole Botox. I think that ship sailed."

"It just makes me a bit confused. You think, how am I going to act this? Because I look this way. In Sweden I play slightly younger than I am here. I play about my own age. And in America I play ten years older."

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While praising the 'Mission: Impossible' actor for doing all his own stunts, the 'Wonder Woman' actress salutes all the stunt men and women for their dedication to their craft.

Aug 12, 2023

AceShowbiz - Gal Gadot claims the only actor to do all their own stunts is Tom Cruise. The "Wonder Woman" star has confessed she doesn't take part in every action sequence and insists it's important to recognise the hard work and dedication of the experts who step in for actors on film sets - hailing their "dedication" to their craft.

"When people say, 'I do all of my stunts by myself, 'I'm like, 'Really?' ... [The only exception] is Tom Cruise, who really, really does them," she explained in an interview with Flaunt given before the Hollywood actors strike.

She added, "I always try to celebrate my stunt women and men. The amount of work and the risk they take, the dedication - everything they give is just incredible. They've become like a second family to me. They should be celebrated because they really make us look like the best version of ourselves."

Later in the interview, Gal addressed her surprise return to the "Fast and Furious" franchise in "Fast X" despite her character seemingly being killed off in a previous instalment.

She explained, "I mean they [the 'Fast and Furious' franchise] were the first to give me an opportunity in Hollywood. I still get emotional with the love from the fans. For years, I've been asked by so many different fans to 'Come back, come back!' "

"And they even did a campaign for me to return. It was mind-blowing to me, and these are things I don't take lightly. So, I was like, 'Okay, maybe now it's time, maybe now is the right time to return.' It's really exciting, and it feels right."

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The future of the news industry cannot be held hostage by uncompetitive legacy players who cannot compete on merit, said Arnab Goswami, owner and Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network, and President of NBF. He was responding to the reports that some news channels are trying to stall the BARC ratings for the news genre.

Arnab was scathing in his attack on certain channels that are hell-bent on stalling the news ratings.

If some news channels want to avoid the embarrassment of low ratings they are getting, they should introspect on their failing content instead of blaming ratings, he said.

"News reporting, an essential service in our nation, is upheld by our brave journalists who serve as the fourth pillar of our democracy. To sustain this pillar, honest financial support through advertising, determined by BARC's weekly viewership numbers, is crucial. While deep-pocketed monopolies may weather the storm, disrupting ratings would gravely impact the rest of the news industry, leading to its inevitable collapse. We firmly believe this sets the stage against news entities, depriving us of an equitable platform compared to other broadcasting genres. As advertising rates hinge on ratings, unilateral actions against the news genre, depriving it of this determinant, must be avoided, he added.
In a unique collaboration, Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited (MLDL), the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group, has joined hands with KidZania Mumbai to empower children as architects of a sustainable future. This innovative partnership combines Mahindra Lifespaces' commitment to Crafting Life with KidZania's immersive edutainment experience. The upcoming experiences, situated within KidZania Mumbai, will offer children an engaging and interactive environment to learn about sustainability through play and exploration.

This initiative further aligns with Mahindra Lifespaces' flagship CSR program, the Green Army which educates and inspires school children to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. With an aim to Create One Million Caring Citizens, Mahindra Lifespaces has achieved a significant milestone of reaching over 472 schools, 77,000 children, and 3 lakh citizens across major cities of Mumbai, MMR, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru.

Mahindra Lifespaces Experiences offer an exciting platform for children to unleash their creativity and learn about sustainable development. With three distinct experiences, the Sustainable Design Studio, Green Power Zone, and Construction Zone, children will be able to learn about sustainable practices and their benefits through hands-on experiences. In the cutting-edge Sustainable Design Studio, children will learn about benefits of sustainability as they design and create their own sustainable development. The Green Power Zone will educate children about renewable energy, and Construction Zone is where younger children can build their own homes using imitation bricks and cement. Theres also a realistic working crane to transport construction materials to higher floors.

On completion, children will receive a certification of Green Army Architect. They can create a development and experience being an architect of the future and design a residential project from scratch by placing the towers aligned to the sun and wind path, using the building material of their choice, and placing the project amenities.

Viral Oza, Chief Marketing Officer, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited said, "We are excited to announce this unique partnership with KidZania, as we pave the way for children to learn about and experience the fascinating world of real estate and sustainable architecture. With the launch of Experiences, we aim to instil in the young minds the values of environmental responsibility. Guided by our unwavering commitment to sustainable development, we aim to ignite the minds of children, enabling them to envision a greener and more sustainable future. We believe that by harnessing the energy, awareness and resolve of the next generation, we can create a lasting impact, and build a world where they are more aware about sustainable solutions."

Rahul Dhamdhere, Chief Marketing Officer, KidZania India said, KidZania is thrilled to announce a momentous milestone as we collaborate with Mahindra Lifespaces to ignite the passion for sustainability in young minds. This partnership seamlessly blends KidZania's experiential learning approach with Mahindra Lifespaces' unwavering commitment to creating sustainable living spaces. Together, we are dedicated to nurturing a generation of young leaders and influencers who will play a vital role in shaping a greener future for our planet. We eagerly look forward to embarking on this innovative journey and witnessing the positive impact it will have on children's understanding of sustainable living.

During a grand launch event at KidZania Mumbai earlier today, the partnership was officially announced, and both the brand leaders addressed children and their parents. The event included a spectacular parade, and which concluded with the unveiling of the Mahindra Lifespaces Experiences, adding to the excitement of the occasion.
News18 Kerala is proud to present the Kerala Political Conclave, a groundbreaking event that will mark the commencement of our 2024 Election programs. This conclave promises to be a remarkable and enlightening discussion, focusing not only on political and developmental issues within Kerala but also across the nation. The Kerala Political Conclave will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday; August 11, 2023, and will be broadcast live from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In a never-before-seen gathering, the Kerala Political Conclave brings together the prominent leaders of the three major political parties on one platform. This convergence of political leaders promises to provide unprecedented insights into the state's political landscape. Set to be an engaging two-hour show, the conclave will effectively capture the pulse of Kerala politics, allowing viewers to gain a full understanding of the current socio-political scenario.

The participation of renowned figures from many parts of society is a distinguishing feature of the conclave. Their interactions with the political leaders will shed light on various perspectives, enriching the discourse with invaluable insights. The conclave boasts an esteemed lineup of political leaders like Ramesh Chennithala; MLA and Former Opposition Leader, K Surendran; BJP State President, MV Govindan Master; CPM State Secretary representing their respective parties.

The entire event will be broadcasted live on television, ensuring that the audience from all corners of the state and the country can tune in to witness this historic event. The major discussion will be "India 2024 - Kerala's Political Vision". At the heart of the conclave lies the focus on Kerala's political vision for India in 2024. The three prominent leaders will engage in a spirited debate, presenting their distinctive viewpoints on this critical subject.

Following a detailed and entertaining session for all participants, the leaders will engage in a lively discussion, addressing their party's policies and strategies for the nation. To make the event even more inclusive, the audience will be able to ask questions and voice their ideas during the conclave.

The Kerala Political Conclave is set to be a momentous occasion, uniting key political figures and diverse perspectives to articulate Kerala's vision for India. Join us for this thought-provoking and illuminating event as we embark on our path towards a brighter tomorrow.
Keeping in mind the surge in menstrual care sector, Piramal Consumer Product Division (CPD) has expanded its i-activ portfolio with the launch of i-activ menstrual cups. This launch is aimed at revolutionizing period care and introducing an easier, sustainable as well as cost friendly way of experiencing periods by women in India.

The company has launched its new campaign Honest Tutorial, in collaboration with actor, Shriya Pilgaonkar, with an aim to educate, empower, and transform the menstrual experience for women. It has always stood for women menstrual hygeine and time and again proves that with its product innovation and campaigns.

The Honest Tutorial campaign shows the process of using menstrual cups, which guarantee a rash-free and leak-proof experience for ultimate comfort. It is crafted with 100% medical-grade silicone, and offers up to 8-10 hours of reliable leakage protection, making it highly efficient and cost-effective. One of the benefits of the product is its durability and can be used for up to five years, making it sustainable and an eco-conscious choice. With a deep understanding and consumer research of the unique challenges that women face during their menstrual cycles, i-activ is committed to delivering a seamless, worry-free and customized period- care solution.

The campaign shows two friends, with one of them seeking help from the other and asking her how to use Menstrual Cup, thereby expressing fear for the same. However the other friend tactfully handles the situation and directs her on how to use menstrual cup, also providing information about the benefits of using the same. Earlier i-activ has come up with a poetic reindition by Priya Malik, an influencer and sustainable activist asking women to choose their own activity. i-activ menstrual cups allow women to be free and actively get involved in any activity of their choise during those days of the month, without thinking of societal taboos.

Approximately one-fourth of women who are aged 15-24 years (according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21) do not use sanitary protection methods during their menstrual cycles. To provide proper period care, i-activ offers a range of products to ensure the well-being and comfort of women during menstruation. It allows women to navigate their natural cycles with confidence and ease.

Nitish Bajaj, CEO, Piramal Consumer Products Division said, We are excited to launch i-activ menstrual cup; a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to pads and tampons. We know that many women are hesitant to try menstrual cups because of myths and misconceptions. That's why we're launching a new campaign to educate women about the benefits of menstrual cups and to bust some of the most common myths. We believe that i-activ menstrual cup can change the way women experience their periods. It's a more comfortable, sustainable, and cost-effective option that can give women peace of mind during their menstrual cycle. We encourage women to learn more about i-activ menstrual cup and give it a try.

Speaking on her association with Piramals i-activ brand, Shriya Pilgaonkar said, I am truly honoured to be a part of this campaign that is revolutionizing the way we approach period care. i-activ, provides women with a comprehensive solution for their period and intimate needs. Menstrual cups not only provide unparalleled comfort and leakage protection but also contribute to a sustainable lifestyle by reducing waste.
Shipyaari, a leading logistics and e-commerce solutions provider, is excited to announce its collaboration with ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), a pioneering initiative to foster an open and inclusive digital commerce ecosystem. By joining the ONDC network, Shipyaari aims to empower sellers, regional courier partners, and consumers with its hyperlocal and inter-city logistics services, furthering its mission to bring Bharat closer. The company simultaneously is looking at catering to approximately 25,000 new sellers with its services.

The integration will enable sellers gain access to Shipyaari's extensive coverage of 29,000+ Indian pin codes. Shipyaari firmly believes in ONDC's vision and is proud to be a part of it in creating a digitally empowered commerce ecosystem. As an active participant in the ONDC network, Shipyaari will extend its support to other e-commerce sellers and brands, helping them seamlessly integrate with the ONDC protocol.

T Koshy, MD and CEO at ONDC said, We extend a warm welcome to Shipyaari and are eager to work together in driving the growth and democratization of digital commerce in India. Shipyaari's expertise in inter-city logistics services further strengthens our commitment to providing efficient and reliable shipment delivery for sellers and consumers. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead with Shipyaari on board."

Nayan Ratandhayara, Co-Founder & CEO of Shipyaari expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "We are excited to be a part of this incredible initiative by the government that enables small businesses across India reach larger audiences using digital services. This aligns perfectly with Shipyaari's ethos of bringing Bharat closer and democratizing digital commerce in India. We are committed to providing exceptional logistics services to sellers and consumers, enabling seamless transactions and ensuring efficient delivery of shipments".

Vishal Totla, Co-Founder & COO of Shipyaari talking about how ONDC is a major leap for digital commerce in India in terms of creating an efficient, competitive, and consumer-centric marketplace, added, ONDC brings together sellers, buyers, and enablers under standardized SOPs, leading to lower prices, wider selection, and better customer service. Open to all businesses, big and small, ONDC fosters inclusivity and equal opportunities in the digital economy. To help sellers win with ONDC, we have set up a dedicated 15 members cross functional team initially that would be working in an integrated fashion to ensure customer success.



ONDC offers a multitude of benefits for sellers, consumers, and service providers alike. Sellers gain access to a larger network of potential customers, enhancing their visibility and business growth. With streamlined and secure transaction processes, sellers can efficiently manage payments and complete transactions hassle-free. Consumers enjoy the convenience of accessing a wide range of sellers and products across categories on ONDC-enabled buyer apps. Additionally, price transparency empowers buyers to make informed decisions, and convenient payment options further enhance the overall shopping experience.

As an important service provider on the ONDC network, Shipyaari will play a crucial role in ensuring timely and reliable delivery of shipments for sellers and consumers. By democratizing the online market and adopting a protocol-centric model, ONDC provides a level playing field for all buyers, sellers, and logistics service providers, regardless of their size or scale.

Shipyaari aims to create an empowered ecosystem by supporting regional and ground-level courier partners on ONDC, fostering growth and equal opportunities for all players in the industry.

As Shipyaari embarks on this exciting journey with ONDC, the company remains focused on its objective of supporting entrepreneurs and businesses across India and success for them would mean processing a million shipments monthly for ONDC, at the earliest. Through this association, Shipyaari aims to contribute to the growth trajectory of both the company and the digital commerce ecosystem, taking it to unprecedented heights.
Verve Media, a Mumbai-based digital marketing agency, has been awarded the SEO mandate for Moi Soi (www.moisoi.in), an Asian sauces and ready-to-cook food brand. Moi Soi is India's first brand to focus on 100% on various Asian cuisines, sourcing authentic ingredients from all across the continent.

As per the mandate, Verve Media will leverage its expertise to implement effective strategies to enhance brand recognition through comprehensive SEO services. The agency's approach will involve strategically using relevant keywords and optimising on-page & off-page content to achieve the desired results. Verve Media aims to propel Moisoi to the top of search engine rankings, aiming to deliver an exceptional and remarkable outcome.

Talking about the win, Saad Merchant, Co-Founder at Verve Media, said, We are excited to announce our partnership with Moi Soi, our expertise in digital marketing and SEO aligns seamlessly with the brand's objective of establishing its presence in organic search results. We aim to strategically optimize Moi Soi's online presence and the collaboration reflects shared enthusiasm for excellence and innovation. We are looking forward to achieving outstanding results and expanding Moi Soi's reach in the digital landscape.

Deb Mukherjee, Founder of Moisoi also expressed their enthusiasm for the partnership, stating,We have been working with Verve Media for almost three years across multiple projects. We believe the Verve Team has excellent capabilities when it comes to SEO and we are excited to partner with Verve on this project. .

Being one of the leading integrated marketing agencies for the past six years, Verve Media has been successful in building an illustrious reputation for providing creative digital solutions to clients from diverse industries. They have catered to clients like Rummy Circle, Broker Network, HiCare, Shell, Truenorth, The International by Tunga, UNDP, Bigflex and NABFOUNDATION, among others.






Former Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik was very vocal against the misuse of central agencies. The NCB, then led by the former Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, had arrested Nawab Maliks son-in-law, Samir Khan, in January 2021, hurling the NCP leader and minister into controversys lap. Months later, when Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan Khan was arrested in the drugs-on-cruise case in October 2021, Nawab Malik made a series of verbal jabs against Sameer Wankhede, who was then heading the investigation of the case at the time.

After the war of words with Fadnavis, Malik claimed late in November 2021 that a conspiracy was underway to frame him in an Anil Deshmukh-style fake case, allegedly at the behest of some officials in central agencies. Nawab Malik brutally exposed Sameer Wankhede, and later on, even the court raised questions about Sameer Wandhedes intentions in the Aryan Khan case. Some of the ACB officers claimed that the case against Khan was fake and was manipulated to extort money and grab overnight fame. In the name of investigations, many Bollywood actors were harassed and booked wrongfully. When Mallik madly went after Wankhede, the film fraternity got some respite.

There is another story making the rounds in the political corridors about the arrest of Mallik. Many believe that the arrest of Mallik was desired by Sharad Pawar himself because Mallik was growing larger than life in state politics. He became the face of Muslim leaders on an all-India level, and there is still a tendinous craze for him among Muslim organizations, Maulavis, and Mosques. Mallik has earned love and respect in these pockets. In Maharashtra, there is an internal conflict between the UP-born Muslim leadership and the Marathi Muslim leadership, the battle being linguistics and provincialism.

During his recent tenure, he became unstoppable. Nawab Malik, a five-time MLA, was the national spokesperson of Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was a part of Maharashtras Shiv Sena-led government. He was the minister in charge of minority affairs.

Nawab is one of the most studious leaders, and his arguments in parliament had put the BJP and opposition in dizziness. Sharad Pawar has that typical backbiting tendency; he never wants any leader to grow beyond some limits. We have several examples to refer to, such as Vijay Singh Mohite Patil and Nawab Mallik Pawar, who sacrificed many good leaders for their own whims and fancies. We can give many such examples where Sharad Pawar played a culprit in spoiling the careers of his own leaders.

Well, Malliks arrest came after a passionate feud between the BJP and him. While the latter had accused Fadnavis of protecting Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official Sameer Wankhede, the saffron party leader had exposed Maliks alleged mafia dealings. Talking to media persons, Malik claimed that he had acquired some emails and WhatsApp chats of officers of central probe agencies instigating people to lodge false complaints against him.

The Enforcement Directorate claims Nawab Malik grabbed property in Mumbais Kurla worth Rs 300 crore by paying just Rs 55 lakh in 2005, with the help of Dawood Ibrahims sister, Haseena Parkar, and two associates. The National Investigation Agency registered a case against Dawood Ibrahim and his associates for terror financing through hawala networks. There being no First Information Report in the land grab issue, the Enforcement Directorate took note of this case and initiated a money laundering probe.

The agency says a Dawood Ibrahim associate, Salim Patel, had taken control of the Kurla property from its original owners through a power of Attorney in 1999. One portion of this property was transferred to Nawab Malik and the other to Haseena Parkar. Later, in 2005, Nawab Malik paid Rs 55 lakh to Dawood Ibrahims sister and bought the entire property, which is how he aided in the financing of Dawood Ibrahims gang, the agency claims.

Nawab Malik told the Bombay High Court that he has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a transaction that is 22 years old, by retrospective application of provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency had searched Nawab Maliks residence briefly before taking him to its south Mumbai office. The minister was arrested after over five hours of questioning.

We know that the judicial procedures take time, and Mallik has to go through the hell he invited for himself. After repeated appeals, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for two months to Malik on medical grounds. The Bombay High Court had previously rejected a plea by Malik seeking bail on health grounds. Malik had sought relief from the HC, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease, apart from various other ailments. Mallik has three options: wait for his jail term to finish, come clean in all the cases registered against him, or join the BJP holding the hand of Ajit Pawar and seek salvation.
When Shipt decided to keep its headquarters in Birmingham in 2018, the state and local governments agreed to pay the company at least $19 million in combined cash incentives and tax breaks, if it met goals of hiring hundreds of corporate workers and investing in its local presence.

Five years later, the online grocery delivery platform has not delivered on all of those promises. Its corporate workforce has increased, but its hired hundreds less than the 881 new employees it promised. Its unclear how much of the companys capital funds it invested into its HQ in downtown Birmingham after promising Alabama a $10 million investment.

In response, the government has withheld most of those promised incentives  with the city, Jefferson County and the states workforce development agency paying just under $3 million, combined. Now, Shipt says it wont ask for anymore public funds.

Alabama hasnt paid the company a penny in cash or tax credits. Shipt canceled its agreement with the state Department of Commerce at the end of March, the departments spokeswoman Stefania C. Jones said.

The company requested to terminate the agreement because they no longer expected to have the jobs they committed to, Jones told AL.com.

Julie Coop, a spokeswoman for Shipt, said the companys business model through same-day delivery looked a lot different before the Covid pandemic. Now, she said, the company wants to allow Birmingham, Jefferson County and the state of Alabama to reallocate those funds to other companies.

Shipts 2018 projections evaluated what we believed, at that time, it would take to operate a national business at scale. When consumer demand skyrocketed, we scaled faster than previously imaginable to meet those critical needs, Coop told AL.com. During that time, we successfully took our business nationwide, nearly tripled our Birmingham-based workforce, built out multiple floors in Shipt Tower, and invested hundreds of hours in training and development, particularly of our Alabama workforce.

Through its agreement with Alabama Industrial Development Training, the states workforce development agency, Shipt received $1.1 million in funds for its job training and recruitment efforts, the company said. That program is now closed, after 760 employees received 160 hours of the on-the-job training.

So far, Birmingham has paid Shipt $1,502,635.95, a spokesman for the citys Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity told AL.com. Shipt said it received the citys most recent payment of $405,000 in July.

Shipts agreement with the Jefferson County Commission started in March 2018 and ended in December 2020. During that time, the county paid Shipt $254,000 for 127 jobs that the company submitted that met its salary requirements (at least $60,000), said county spokeswoman Helen Hays.

Now, Shipt counts nearly 850 corporate employees in Alabama, most of whom are based at the Birmingham HQ, the company said. Five years ago, Shipt had more than 300 employees at its headquarters, AL.com previously reported, and promised to hire 881 more.

As for its headquarters, since the expansion announcement, Shipt moved into the former Wells Fargo building 420 20th St. North as the anchor tenant. But the company declined to say how much its spent on capital investments there.

Founded in Birmingham in 2014, Shipt has been called an Uber for groceries and also has an office in San Francisco. Target acquired the company for $550 million in 2017, and it operates independently as a subsidiary.

Since then, the company has hit some snags with its local delivery workers, who work for Shipt as independent contractors. In October 2020, nearly two dozen Shipt workers protested the company and its new pay structure at its headquarters, asking for higher wages, health insurance coverage and paid sick time.

Shipt shoppers gather outside the front of the company's downtown Birmingham headquarters in protest in 2020.

Otherwise, Shipts corporate story has been marked by successful milestones over the last several years. That includes a growth in shoppers, retail partnerships and expansion to new stores in major metro areas, and new corporate leadership, keeping up with a surge in business sparked by the Covid pandemics changes to shopping patterns and flexible work. The company works with nearly 5,000 independent contractors who are Shipt shoppers in Alabama.

Editors note: After publication, Shipt spokeswoman Julie Coop emailed the following statement. To date, Shipt has made over $10 million in capital investments in the state. The overwhelming majority of this money is in Shipt Tower.
A Mississippi coast woman will serve six months in jail after pleading no contest to multiple counts of animal cruelty, the Sun Herald in Gulfport, Miss., is reporting.

In March 2022, Harrison County deputies went to what Collins called Deep South Rescue and found 30 dead dogs, mostly in black trash bags, along with eight dead puppies, also in trash bags.

They also found a dead vulture inside a cage. One emaciated retriever was found.

Collins was arrested and charged with 31 counts of simple animal cruelty and one count of felony animal cruelty, according to the report. The plea agreement was reached between Collins and Harrison County District Attorney Herman Cox.

A no contest plea carries no admission of guilt. In addition to her six-month sentence, Collins was ordered to pay nearly $3,000 in fines and restitution and $1,655 in court costs.

The report says Collins will not be allowed to own a domesticated animal for 15 years. After her jail sentence, she will have to submit to a psychiatric evaluation and have her case reviewed by the court every seven months.
As Montgomery Public Schools middle and high school students arrived on their first day of school Thursday, they were asked to lock up their cell phones at the front door.

MPS approved a contract with Yondr - a company that makes cell phone pouches that can only be opened by a magnetic key - during a June Board of Education meeting. Toni Patterson, the districts director of technology, said students will be asked to place their phones in provided pouches at the beginning of the day. A designated staff member will unlock the bags before dismissal.

Cell phone use among students in our schools has become a significant issue in recent times, Patterson said during the June board meeting. It affects their education, their socialization, and most importantly, their safety. Cell phones create distractions during class, and they can also be used for cheating. On many occasions, they can lead to cyberbullying, sexting and other dangerous activities.

According to Patterson, 18 middle and high school principals from MPS were interviewed about whether cell phones were a problem in their schools and 100% of the principals that were interviewed, both magnet and traditional and several other teachers as well, were 100% in favor of the Yondr bags, she said.

Patterson said the district also spoke with the principal at Stanhope Elmore High School in Elmore County, where Yondr bags were piloted last year. The Stanhope Elmore principal reported that he saw increased student engagement, grade improvement and fewer disciplinary referrals.

In an interview with WSFA, MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown said he hopes to see similar outcomes with the Yondr bags this year.

We know we want to focus on mental health. We want to focus on social and emotional learning. And we want our kids to be able to focus in class, said MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, cellphone bans were in place in 76% of U.S. schools as of 2020. A recent study from Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers found that when students use cellphones for non-academic purposes, their attention is divided and test scores can suffer.

The Board of Education said it would add a corresponding policy to outline disciplinary measures if a student does not comply with the ban, but that is not yet publicly available.

The district did not respond to a media request to review its contract with Yondr, including details on how much the district is paying the company.
The Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham held its annual memorial Mass on Friday to remember its former pastor, a priest who was killed 102 years ago near the front of the cathedral.

The memorial service was broadcast internationally by EWTN, the Catholic network based in Irondale.

The Rev. James E. Coyle, who had been pastor of St. Pauls Cathedral since 1904, was shot to death on the porch of the wood-frame rectory, the priests house next to the cathedral, on Aug. 11, 1921.

Its important because hes an example of a man who loved people, who wanted all the groups of the community to come together, said Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, who preached during the service.

The murder trial in the Coyle killing was historic, partly because of the role played by future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. Black defended the accused killer, the Rev. Edwin R. Stephenson, a Methodist minister who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan paid the legal expenses of Stephenson, who was acquitted by a jury that included several Klan members, including the jury foreman, according to Ohio State University law professor Sharon Davies, author of Rising Road: A True Tale of Love, Race and Religion in America, about the Coyle case.

Stephenson, who conducted weddings at the Jefferson County Courthouse, was accused of gunning down Coyle after becoming irate over Coyles officiating at the marriage of Stephensons daughter, Ruth, to a Puerto Rican, Pedro Gussman.

As defense attorney, Hugo Black had Gussman summoned into the courtroom and questioned him about his curly hair and skin color. Lights were dimmed in the courtroom so the darkness of Gussmans complexion would be accentuated, said an Oct. 20, 1921, newspaper account of the final day of the trial. Black gained an acquittal.

Black joined the Klan 18 months after the trial, Davies said. Years later Black renounced his Klan ties and became one of the most liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court. After the acquittal, Stephenson once again was a regular at the courthouse, conducting marriages.

Jim Pinto, author of Killed in the Line of Duty, has compiled contemporaneous accounts of the killing of Coyle. Coyle, a staunch defender of immigrants arriving in the area, knew there was a chance he would be killed, but sat on the porch the evening after the wedding, reading his prayer book, just as he did every night.

Coyle had already been the subject of death threats, Pinto said. The last seven years of his life was under threat, Pinto said. He could have been killed at any time.

Pinto said that he believes Coyle should be declared an official martyr of the church.

After his acquittal, Stephenson never reconciled with his daughter Ruth, his only child.

Gussman, the Puerto Rican man who married Ruth, was killed on Valentines Day 1934 in a hit-and-run accident steps away from where Coyle was killed, in front of St. Pauls Cathedral.

Anti-Catholic bigotry was rampant in America at the time of Coyles slaying, Davies said.

The state Legislature enacted the Alabama Convent Inspection law in 1919 to authorize officials without a warrant to search convents to see whether any person found inside the convent was being involuntarily confined or unlawfully held, according to Davies.

There was a fear Protestant girls would be kidnapped, forced to become Catholic nuns and held against their will, Davies said.

The Coyle case played into those fears because Ruth, as an independent-minded 18-year-old, had converted to Catholicism against the will of her father. Coyle debated those who spread the Ku Klux Klan attacks against Catholics, and federal officials at one point warned Coyles bishop that Coyle had been the target of death threats, Davies said.

Anti-Catholicism was a key plank of the KKK at that time. During the early part of the 20th Century, there was quite a bit of anti-Catholicism, said the Rev. Bryan Jerabek, the current pastor at the cathedral. After his funeral, it began to dissipate.

The Rev. Bryan Jerabek serves as current pastor of the Cathedral of St. Paul, where the Rev. James Coyle was pastor from 1904 until he was killed in 1921. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com)

Coyles funeral drew thousands of mourners and was the largest the city had ever seen, Jerabek said.

The racist impulses exploited by the young defense attorney in 1921 were later curbed with the help of Supreme Court decisions in which Hugo Black played a key role, such as the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka decision overturning school segregation and the 1967 Loving vs. Virginia case overturning Virginias ban on interracial marriage. Black served as a U.S. senator from Alabama from 1927-37, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1937-71.

Coyle had been an outspoken opponent of the Ku Klux Klan and an advocate of justice for all, Pinto said.

He wanted a society that would show justice, said Archbishop Rodi. He reminds us that we are called in our own ways to grow in character so that we, too, will be a force for good in our community.

A $1.5 million fundraising campaign is under way to restore the brick rectory that was built on the site of the wooden rectory where Coyle was killed, Jerabek said.

The brick rectory was meant to be a gift for Coyle on the 25th anniversary of his priesthood, he said. The congregation raised $25,000 to pay for it, the year he was killed. It was built in 1922, Jerabek said.

It was built in his honor, Jerabek said. We want to continue to honor him by preserving this house.

At 101 years old, the rectory has aged poorly, with a leaky roof and leaky windows and other structural problems, he said. The renovation will begin by the end of this year, he said.

There are plans to put a historical marker on the spot where Coyle was killed. Its very much part of the history of Birmingham, Jerabek said.

Birmingham ghost tours stop in front of the cathedral at night and tell the story of Coyles murder, said Jerabek, who lives in the rectory. They may think Im a ghost, he said.
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has awarded licenses for a second time to businesses that intend to be part of Alabamas new medical marijuana industry.

The AMCC, meeting in Montgomery, voided the license awards it announced two months ago and voted again on the companies that will cultivate, process, transport, test, and dispense medical marijuana products.

The AMCC awarded licenses to 24 companies, including 19 that were among the 21 awarded last time. It awarded licenses to seven cultivators, three more than it did last time.

Commission Chair Rex Vaughn said he is hopeful that products could be available before the end of the year, although he said there are factors that could change that, including litigation over the licensing process, which is already ongoing.

I think its still realistic we can get there but that also depends on litigation that we may have in front of us and we cant foresee that, Vaughn said. But right now we have the green light to move forward and were very thankful that were in this place and we had today to regroup.

Thats more or less what weve done today, is regrouped from where we were two months ago.

Here are those awarded on Thursday, and those left out who were awarded last time:

Integrated facility (can cultivate, process, transport, and dispense medical cannabis and can have up to five dispensaries): Flowerwood Medical Cannabis; Southeast Cannabis Company; Sustainable Alabama; TheraTrue Alabama; and Insa Alabama.

Verano Alabama, which was awarded a license back on June 12, was not awarded one Thursday. The licenses awarded on June 12 were never issued by the AMCC.

Cultivator: Four companies that were awarded licenses on June 12 were awarded again -- Blackberry Farms; Gulf Shore Remedies; Pure by Sirmon Farms; and Twisted Herb Cultivation.

The AMCC awarded three additional cultivator licenses to I Am Farms; Greenway Botanicals; and CRC of Alabama.

Processor: The same four companies that were awarded on June 12 -- 1819 Labs; Enchanted Green; Jasper Development Group, Inc.; and Organic Harvest Lab.

Dispensers: The same four companies that were awarded on June 12 -- CCS of Alabama; RJK Holdings AL: Statewide Property Holdings AL: and Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries.

Transporter: Two of the three companies awarded on June 12 were awarded again -- International Communication; and Tyler Van Lines. A third license went to XLCR Inc.

Alabama Secure Transport, which was awarded a license on June 12, was not awarded one on Thursday.

Testing lab: Certus Laboratories was awarded a license, as it had been on June 12. It was again the only testing lab awarded a license.

Companies that were not awarded a license today have two weeks to request an investigative hearing by the AMCC.

Two weeks after that, the AMCC plans to issue licenses to those companies awarded Thursday.

Vaughn said Thursdays award does not guarantee a license but starts an investigative process that will include inspections to the sites of those awarded.

After that, those licensed to cultivate can begin growing the plants.

Youre talking about a two to three-month turnaround from the seedling stage to a plant that can be harvested for a product, Vaughn said. The processing part of it, from what Ive been made aware of, is pretty short, quick.

Vaughn, a farmer from Huntsville, had been vice chair of the commission before Thursday, when he was elected chair to replace Dr. Steven Stokes, who resigned after a lawsuit was filed challenging his position on the board. Stokes is a trustee at the University of South Alabama. The law creating the AMCC said public officials could not serve on the commission.

Stokes, a radiation oncologist from Dothan, had said he has seen his cancer patients benefit from medical marijuana available in Florida, including relief from the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Stokes had said he hoped products could be available in Alabama this year and Vaughn said Thursday he hopes that can still happen.

Thats our intent, is hopefully before we see 2024 well have something made available thats coming out in dispensaries across the state, Vaughn said.

The commissioners met Thursday morning at 10 a.m. and voted to go into a closed session that would last about four hours. During the closed session, the commissioners filled out forms with their nominations for licenses in each category.

The AMCC returned to reopen the meeting shortly before 2:30 p.m. The AMCC staff collected envelopes with the nominees from each commissioner. The AMCC took a recess while the staff compiled the names of the nominees for deliberation.

After the recess, the commission accepted nominations and voted on them one-by-one.

On June 12, the AMCC awarded licenses to 21 companies out of 90 that applied.

Four days later, the AMCC put a hold on those awards after announcing it had found potential inconsistencies in the tabulation of scores used to help rank the applicants. The licenses were not issued.

During the meeting recess afternoon, two officials from the University of South Alabama gave a presentation on how the university recruited evaluators to assign scores to the applications. They also explained the mistakes that were found and how they said they were corrected and verified by a third party.

Vaughn said the scores were a factor in Thursdays decisions but not necessarily the determining factor.

The scores were certainly a guideline, but not the end-all, be-all, Vaughn said.

The Legislature approved medical marijuana two years ago and created the AMCC to oversee seed-to-sale regulation of the industry, which will be fully intrastate.

Products can include gummies, tablets, capsules, tinctures, patches, oils, and other forms allowed by the legislation.

Patients who receive a medical cannabis card from a doctor will be able to buy the products at licensed dispensaries.

The products can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, including chronic pain, weight loss and nausea from cancer, depression, panic disorder, epilepsy, muscle spasms caused by disease or spinal cord injuries, PTSD, and others.

Alabama is one of 38 states that have approved medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Russia's moon mission, Lunar 25, is ready for takeoff. If you are a fan of space, here's how to watch the moon mission's launch and what you need to know about it.

Russia's Moon Mission is Ready for Take Off

The Lunar 25 mission is a big deal for Russia since it will be the first moon mission of the country in almost half a century (since 1976).

Space.Com reported that the space activity is scheduled for take-off on Thursday, Aug. 10. Roscosmos plans to launch the Lunar 25 at 7:10 EDT (Aug. 11, 2:10 am Moscow time).

Ever since Roscosmos launched the successful Lunar 24 mission in 1976, Russia hasn't followed up on another moon mission.

When the Lunar 24, which returned a sample of lunar dirt and rock back to Earth, was launched, Russia wasn't a sovereign nation. Instead, it was a part of the Soviet Union.

This is another reason why Lunar 25 is a big deal since it will be the first moon mission of Russia as a sovereign country.

For those who are interested to watch this exciting space launch, Roscosmos confirmed that it will provide the live stream via its official website.

The Russian space agency will start covering the Lunar 25 mission at 6:00 p.m. EDT (Aug. 11, 1:00 a.m. Moscow time).

Read Also: Sigh of Relief: NASA Detects 'Heartbeat' Signal from Voyager 2 After Sending Wrong Command Sequence Last Week

About Lunar 25 Mission

Euro News reported that the Lunar 25 mission will be completed without any equipment from ESA (European Space Agency).

This is because Roscosmos already ended its cooperation with ESA due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia said that it will replace the components with Russian-made instruments. A Soyuz rocket, which has been assembled at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, will launch the Lunar 25 lander.

Before the Lunar 25 reaches its destination, which is the lunar south pole of the moon, it will spend five to seven days in lunar orbit.

After that, it will attempt to make a landing on the said lunar region. The schedule of the Russian moon mission will be around the same time as India's lunar mission launch.

The Chandrayaan 3 is expected to put a lander and rover near the lunar south pole on Aug. 23.

Once the Lunar 25 lands on the moon, it will demonstrate numerous space technologies for lunar exploration.

If you want to learn more about this Russian space activity, you can click this link.

Related Article: NASA Loses Contact with Voyager 2 After Sending Wrong Command

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Three people were found dead Wednesday after falling into a hole in a Texas cornfield.

Bastrop County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to a report that people were trapped in a hole around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. They were told that four people were hog hunting with dogs before the incident occurred.

One of the dogs fell into a cistern used to collect rainwater, which had also filled with hydrogen sulfide gas.

One of the members of the hunting party ended up in the cistern, possibly attempting to rescue the dog. It appears that two other members of the party entered the cistern to possibly rescue the first person, while a fourth member of the party went to his truck to summon assistance and call 911, the sheriffs office said in a statement.

However, the water level in the cistern was eight feel below the ground and too low for the three people or the dog to reach the opening. As a result, all three and the dog were poisoned by the highly toxic gas.

The victims were identified as Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45. Each was from Florida visiting a friend in Red Rock, Texas.

Its a hunting accident that went bad, Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said at a news conference on Thursday. Its sad that these young people lost their lives... Our heart goes out to the families. Can you imagine if you have loved ones that come here to hunt in Texas and it ends like that?

The bodies of the three victims as well as the dog were recovered that evening around 7:30 p.m. after the water and fumes were cleared from the cistern and a deputy wearing protective equipment could be lowered into the hole.

Cook said the investigation was ongoing and the hunting story needed to be verified.

___

2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A young man was killed when someone opened fire on him in a northern Birmingham neighborhood Thursday night.

Birmingham police early Friday identified the victim as Adrien Harris. He was 18 and lived in Birmingham.

Just before 9 p.m., North Precinct officers were dispatched to the 3100 block of 33rd Place North on a report of a person shot.

When officers got on the scene, they found multiple shell casings on the ground in the street, but did not find a victim, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald.

A short time later, Harris showed up at UAB Hospital. He had been driven there by a private vehicle. South Precinct officer then notified North Precinct officers.

Harris was pronounced dead at the hospital just over an hour later.

Fitzgerald said investigators believe the victim was targeted.

Based on the amount of shell casings on the ground, and how secluded this area is, we do believe this is targeted,' he said. Detectives are investigating this as there may be multiple shooters.

No arrests have been made.

Harris is the fifth person killed in Birmingham in the past six days, after the city went almost two weeks without a homicide.

So far this year, there have been 84 homicides in Birmingham. Of those, one was an officer-involved shooting by an outside law enforcement agency and seven others have been rule justifiable and therefore arent deemed criminal.

In all of Jefferson County, there have been 117 homicides, including the 84 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Birmingham City Council will be holding their second public hearing for those impacted by towing on Aug. 29 following a unanimous vote to set the date in this weeks council meeting.

Immediately following the hearing, the council intends to vote on updates to Birminghams vehicle immobilization and nonconsensual towing ordinance and the citys commercial parking lot ordinance according to Councilor Darrell O Quinn.

The hearing will take place as an early agenda item on the councils regular meeting schedule, so O Quinn said it should start around 10 a.m.

New uniform signage for private lots, 15-minute grace periods before a car can be towed after parking, and a requirement for tow truck operators who damage any nearby vehicles or other property during their work to wait on scene for police to arrive and file a report are some of the suggested updates drafted by the city attorneys office following the councils first public hearing in June.

During the June hearing roughly a dozen people spoke publicly about their negative experiences with towing in downtown Birmingham with many naming towing company Parking Enforcement Systems (PES) as the subject of their complaints.
Want to be Alabamas next governor? Among the requirements is that you must be a state resident for at least seven years. Secretary of State? The residency requirement drops to five years. State Senate or House? You have to have called Alabama home for at least three years.

But U.S. Senate and House? One day of residency is all thats required.

And, according to the Constitution, residency at the time of election is all thats needed to hold a six-year term in the U.S. Senate.

According to the Alabama Secretary of States Office, there are only a handful of minimum qualifications for public office in the state. For U.S. Senator, you have to be at least 30 years old, a state resident for at least 1 day, a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years and a registered voter.

Those requirements are based on the U.S. Constitution which sets the same age and citizenship requirements but clarifies the residency requirements to say a candidate must be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen, at the time they are elected.

Congress has interpreted the residency clause slightly differently over time, to include only the time they take the oath of office.

READ MORE: Tommy Tuberville no longer owns property in Alabama; senator may be a Florida man, report suggests

Courts have been liberal in their definitions of what qualifies someone as a resident, tossing out state efforts to impose additional restrictions.

The question of Senate residency arose this week following a Washington Post story detailing how Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville did not own property in the state after selling parcels in Macon and Tallapoosa counties. A spokesman for Tuberville maintains the Senators primary residence is an Auburn house owned by his wife and son, though campaign finance documents and property records suggest his main home is in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Tuberville is also in Washington, D.C. four days a week while the Senate is in session, according to his staff.

The Tuberville situation isnt the first time residency requirements have been questioned in regard to the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.

In 2019, reports indicated Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida was considering crossing state lines into Alabama to run for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Democrat Doug Jones. And, in 2017, U.S. citizen Mary Maxwell left her home in Australia and claimed one-day residency to run for the Alabama Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, a primary race eventually won by former Chief Justice Roy Moore.
An Alabama man is being mourned after the U.S Coast Guard suspended a 68-hour search for him off the coast of Guam.

U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia have not publicly identified the man, but family and friends on social media say it is Clay Harris, 50, of Fort Payne.

According to authorities, Harris and a friend were snorkeling Sunday off a beach on the western side of Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean.

The initial distress call for two swimmers came to 911 dispatchers from eyewitnesses on the beach at 4:24 p.m. One swimmer returned to shore.

Responders later found snorkel gear consistent with what the missing man described as having used.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Guam Fire and Rescue, U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron-25, and other responders deployed boats, watercraft, a helicopter, and drones to search for Harris. However, searchers contended with light winds and showers, then heavy rains and gusty winds. The search was suspended at sundown Wednesday.

In all, crews carried out 10 separate searches covering an area of 368 square nautical miles.

On behalf of our team, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the missing snorkeler, Cmdr. Greg Sickels said.
The location for the Elon Musk-Mark Zuckerberg fight is set.

Musk, the Tesla CEO, took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce his bout with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take place at an epic location in Italy.

The fight will be managed by my and Zucks foundations (not UFC), Musk posted on X. Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.

The fight will be managed by my and Zucks foundations (not UFC).



Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.



I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023

Both Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the countrys minister of culture have agreed on an epic location, Musk said.

All proceeds from the fight will be donated to charity. Viewers will be able to watch a livestream on X and Meta.

Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy, Musk added. And all proceeds go to veterans.

In June, it was reported that Musk has been taunting Zuckerberg on social media. Zuckerberg responded to Musk that he would be up for a cage fight against the Meta CEO. Zuckerberg replied with a three-word response: Send me location.

Now that the location is set, the world is waiting on a date.

Stay tuned.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
For the later half of the last decade, international investment in Alabama powered the states job growth, a trend that has likely continued even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Global Business Alliance, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit, conducted an analysis which found that employment in Alabama from foreign direct investment, or FDI, increased 12% from 2015 to 2020, while overall private sector job growth ticked up one percentage point for the same period.

Its another report showing the growth of international companies in Alabama, where almost 700 are operating, with almost 117,000 jobs. More than half of those jobs, or 66,400, are in manufacturing. Companies based in Japan, Germany and Canada support the largest number of jobs in Alabama.

According to the survey, 7.3% percent of all Alabamas jobs come as a result of FDI, and its a trend that is also occurring among Alabamas neighbors. Tennessee has 7.9% FDI jobs, while Georgia has 7.4%. The national ratio is about 6%.

The report also shows the increasing share of international investment in the U.S. In the last five years, international companies created nearly 400,000 new manufacturing jobs, while the U.S. overall lost 223,000 jobs in the same sector.

In fact, according to the Alliance, international companies pay 18% of all federal corporate income taxes.

Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said the spread of international jobs in Alabama has spread to nearly every part of the state, including rural areas.

We can point to many examples across Alabama where FDI has injected vitality into local economies, triggering the creation of good jobs and opportunities for our citizens, he said. The impacts are undeniable.

The news comes at a time when Alabama is enjoying its lowest unemployment numbers ever, and did before the COVID-19 disruption that began in March 2020.

In the past decade, international investment in Alabama has surpassed $25 billion, generating more than 38,000 job commitments in industries such automotive, aviation and metals manufacturing, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce.
Authorities are asking for the publics help in the unsolved killing of a man shot to death in Birmingham more than four months ago.

Anthony Darniel Knight, 47, was gunned down in his vehicle on April 6 after police say he was followed for miles.

The gunfire erupted about 9:30 p.m. that Thursday in the 1400 block of Brighton Road. That location is just outside of the Midfield City Limits.

West Precinct officers dispatched to the neighborhood arrived to find Knight unresponsive inside a vehicle. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said it appears Knight had stopped on the side of the street when another vehicle pulled up alongside him and opened fire into the vehicle.

The gunfire erupted about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, 2023, in the 1400 block of Brighton Road. (Carol Robinson)

Sadly, Fitzgerald said at the time of the shooting, the car is riddled with bullets.

There was another person inside the vehicle with the Knight who was shaken but uninjured.

Many of the victims relatives rushed to Brighton Road following the deadly shooting.

As everyone can hear, this is a very emotional scene, Fitzgerald said at the time. There are a lot of family members on the scene, and everyone is just trying to figure out why would somebody just gun this person down in the middle of the roadway in a residential area.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson announced Friday he was discontinuing the citys LGBTQ+ liaison positions following what he says were concerns raised by people over no named liaisons for any other group or organization.

The announcement comes after a campaign over annexation in which an anti-LGBTQ billboard appeared in west Mobile advocating for people to vote No. The leader of the movement blasted Stimpson, an annexation supporter, for appointing the LGBTQ liaisons in 2021.

The appointments also riled the Mobile Baptist Association, whose executive committee urged city leaders last year to pass a religious liberty ordinance to protect Christians who are not supportive of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle and same sex marriage.

The association, which includes of 114 churches in Mobile County that cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention, commended the mayor for his decision.

This action demonstrates his long-professed commitment to receive the input of all Mobilians, the organization released in a statement. We are confident eliminating the liaisons will facilitate the administration of equal justice across our city. We thank the mayor for keeping his door and his ear open to the Mobile Baptist Associations 72,000 church members as the city navigates the challenging waters of LGBTQ+ issues.

Stimpson did not address the associations position or the campaign in a statement his office sent out via a press release on Friday.

His full statement reads:

Ten years ago, the door to my office was removed to symbolically send a message that everyone had access to the mayors office. This was further emphasized by promoting One Mobile, a vision to unite our citizens into becoming a safer, more business and family-friendly city. My administration hasnt just promoted this vision; weve lived it by embracing ALL our citizens, no matter their backgrounds.

In 2021, I was approached by members of the LGBTQ+ community about appointing liaisons to the administration. In the spirit of One Mobile, I appointed two trusted individuals whom I have known and believed would be forthright in helping me navigate issues facing their community. Natalie Fox and Michael Tyner have done just that. They have represented their community with integrity, and I appreciate their service to the City of Mobile.

However, the appointment of liaisons created concern for many because I have no named liaisons for any other group or organization. Instead of an action of unity, it created a rift within the city as it unintentionally communicated privileged access to the mayors office when, in fact, no such special privilege exists with any group or organization. It is for this reason that I have decided to discontinue the liaison positions.

My door has been open and will remain open to ALL citizens in our community.

The citys addition of LGBTQ+ liaisons was coordinated the effort with the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for LGBTQ+ positions in communities around the country. The idea was to help boost the citys rating on the HRC Municipal Equality Index, which placed Mobile among the lowest ranked cities analyzed by HRC in Alabama.

The review is based on a number of variables including whether the city has a non-discrimination ordinance or policies preventing youth violence or provides transgender-inclusive health benefits.

Fox and Tyner, in a statement published on Prism Uniteds Facebook page, said their work helped boost Mobiles HRC score from 19 to 36, and that in a short amount of time, weve made a lot of good progress.

They said they were disappointed in Stimpsons decision, and announced they will hold a community gathering from 4-6 p.m. at Flip Side in downtown Mobile.

Their full statement reads,

Almost two years ago, Mayor Stimpson approached us about becoming the first LGBTQ+ Liaisons to the City of Mobile. We were thrilled for the opportunity to be advocates for our local LGBTQ+ community, and we believed that this was an important step in the mayors campaign for One Mobile. Since that time, weve worked to boost the HRCs MEI score in Mobile (from 19 to 36), weve spoken directly with the mayors office about incidents of antagonism towards the LGBTQ+ community, and weve held town halls to discuss important issues and spotlight agencies that impact our community. In a short amount of time, weve made a lot of good progress.

Recently, Mayor Stimpson made the decision to dissolve the position of LGBTQ+ Liaisons. And, while we understand the difficulties associated with only having a liaison for one particular group of the Mobile community, we are still disappointed with the decision to dissolve the role.

Visibility matters. LGBTQ+ individuals can be found in every profession, every age group, and every neighborhood in our great city. We are your doctors and teachers, siblings and friends. We are parents and children. We play sports and volunteer at food pantries. Many of us may never share that were part of the LGBTQ+ because of our lived experiences. Many of us grew up being shunned and kicked out of home, rejected by our faith communities, and denied job opportunities because of who we are. Many of us have experienced neglect, bullying, and violence because of who we are. You may not see us, but we are here.

To our LGBTQ+ family and allies in the City of Mobile: we know it is disheartening to hear this news. But, this does not mean work to continue to improve the inclusiveness and equality in our city will stop. On Saturday, August 19, we will be hosting a community gathering at Flip Side from 4:00 - 6:00 pm. We will be joining with several local LGBTQ+ community support agencies to address this development and talk about next steps in a new plan to build and strengthen our community. In the meantime, we are with you, and we are ready to do the work needed to truly make our city One Mobile.

This story was updated at 11:42 a.m. on August 11, 2023, with a statement from the LGBTQ liaisons posted to Prism Uniteds Facebook page. It was also updated at 1:26 p.m. on August 11, to include a statement from the Mobile Baptist Association.
The co-captain of the Harriott II said he and a 16-year-old deckhand were attacked by a group of drunk white men when he told them to move their pontoon boat on Montgomerys riverfront, according to police records obtained by AL.com.

Damien Pickett said his attackers were drunk and threatened to kick his ass Saturday night, moments before the start of the now-notorious dock brawl.

I told them, No, you wont,' Pickett said in police records obtained.

I told them, Do what you gotta do. Im just doing my job.

When it was over, Pickett had suffered bruises to his ribs and knots on the back of his head and forehead.

A 16-year-old deckhand-in-training was also injured during the melee, the records state.

He has bruised ribs, said the teens mother, Crystal Warren, who obtained the warrant on behalf of her son. He is really sore.

Warren also noted in her police report that a racial slur was used against Pickett during the brawl.

You could here (sic) men yelling f--k that n----r and the men came down to fight my son, she wrote in her report.

Warrants have been issued against the three white men who were on the pontoon boat: Richard Roberts, 48, two counts of third-degree assault; Allen Todd, 23, one count of third-degree assault, and Zachery Chase Shipman, 25, one count of third-degree assault.

All charges are misdemeanors and all three had been booked by Wednesday. Efforts to reach their attorneys for comment were not immediately successful.

On Thursday, police said Mary Todd, 21, surrendered to authorities on a third-degree assault charge. She is being held in Montgomerys Municipal Jail.

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert said earlier this week that he had consulted with the FBI and state prosecutors and said that the incident did not meet the criteria of a hate crime.

Pickett, in police reports, said they were pulling into the boat about 6:50 p.m. Saturday when they noticed a couple of boats were too close to the docking area.

They called the captain to ask them to move. He said they told him they were not moving.

It was then that they used the Harriott IIs public address system to call for the owners of the pontoon boat to move.

Pickett said they made five or six requests for the boat to move with no success, so he decided to head to the dock to try to resolve the issue.

Screengrab from Montgomery riverfront brawl.

When I got down to the first deck, all I can hear customers screaming, move your boat, youre in the way,' Picket said in the report. By that time, they were shooting birds, giving us the finger and packing up to leave.

Pickett went to the dock where he untied one end of the pontoon and the 16-year-old deckhand untied the other. The two moved the pontoon boat over about three steps to the right and tied it back off.

By that time, Pickett said, two men approached him and said, Dont touch that boat mother (expletive) or we will beat your ass, he said in the report.

Both was very drunk, he said.

The exchange continued until the pontoon boats owner joined in, Pickett said.

Pickett said he told them there had been signs there letting boaters know not to dock there, but they had been pulled out.

He got in my face and was like, This belongs to the (expletive) public,' Pickett said. I told him, This is the city dock.'

By that time, Pickett said, one of the men hit him in the face. Pickett took off his hat and threw it in air.

Somebody hit me from behind, he said. I started choking the older guy in front of me so he couldnt hit me anymore, pushing him back at the same time.

Another man then tackled Pickett, he said.

I went to the ground, he said. I think I bit one of them. All I can hear is, Ima kill you mother (expletive), beat your ass mother (expletive).

I cant tell you how long it lasted, Pickett said. I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life.

By that time, others were involved, some of them trying to pull the men off Pickett.

He said he looked up and thats when he saw one of his co-workers, also 16, swimming toward him.

Eventually, Pickett said, he was able to get free and help dock the Harriott II.

The Harriott II riverboat sails down the Alabama River in March 2013 at Union Station Train Shed in Montgomery, Alabama. (AL.com file photo/Julie Bennett)

So, I let the ramp down. My nose was running, he said. I hear the passengers and coworkers arguing with the people who attacked me.

The melee continued.

People from off the boat and spectators were coming down the back end of the dock, he said. The one who started it all was choking my sister.

I hit him, grabbed her, made her move, he said. I turned around and MPD had a Taser in my face. I told him I was the one attacked, and could I finish doing my job?

He said he later learned that the teen deckhand had been punched in the stomach.

Pickett said as more passengers got off the boat, he apologized to them, and they told him there was no need for an apology.

Some of them was giving me cards with their name and number, he said. Some said they had it all on film, so I pointed them out to MPD.

Pickett said he was then checked out by paramedics. My head was hurting, he said. I felt a knot in the back of my head and in the front.

He asked coworkers to bring him some ice.

He told paramedics on a scale of one to 10, his pain was at a nine.

City officials, he said, convinced him to go to the hospital after he finished the police paperwork.

I was feeling light, so I left and went to the hospital, he said. They scanned me from head to toe. No broken bones, just bruised ribs, and few lumps.

He said he was given three shots and three prescriptions.

Pickett gave descriptions to police of Roberts, Todd and Shipman. Zachery was seen on video hitting and kicking me, he said.

All three are charged in the assault on Pickett.

The 16-year-old victim suffered contusions to his ribs when he was punched in the chest, records state.

His mother, who was on the Harriott II at the time of the incident, provided the information to obtain the warrant against Roberts, the only suspect with two charges.

Warrens account of the ordeal was much the same as Picketts.

When her son and Pickett moved the pontoon boat, she said, About six or seven other men rushed to the dock to stomp and beat the deckhand.

She said her son tried to pull people off Pickett.

At that time, the man that first hit the deckhand had turned around and punched my 16-year-old son in the chest, Warren wrote. My son backed away hurt and went to tie the Harriott II up to the dock.

In this screencapture of a video, provided by The Associated Press, Anwar Price (wearing a blue shirt with a yellow Nike logo) attempts to separate people involved in the riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday, Aug. 5. Price was among the people who attempted to break up the violence.

Warren said that one of the attackers was heard saying he was getting his gun.

He tried to go get the gun but was tackled by an employee of the Harriott II named Aaren, she said.

Once the boat was docked, she said, her son came to her on the boat to sit down so he could catch his breath.

She said she took her son to the hospital in Prattville to be checked out.
(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The United States Supreme Court has ruled to freeze a $6 billion settlement by Purdue Pharmacy pending review of giving the owners, the Sackler family, protection from civil claims.

The United States Supreme Court blocked a $6 billion settlement over the opioid controversy with Purdue Pharma that would have granted the company's wealthy Sackler family immunity from lawsuits.

The decision on Thursday to freeze the settlement deal was made to consider the government's challenge of the company's bankruptcy filing. The court's ruling suggests that it has sided with the Justice Department, which had requested that the settlement be put on hold while considering a review of the agreement.

Supreme Court Freezes Purdue Pharma Settlement

The United States government has argued that the Sackler family should not be allowed to take advantage of legal protections meant for debtors in "financial distress," behind the company that makes the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

However, the court's order, which was not signed, did not give out reasons for the decision and had no public dissents. It also adds to the uncertainty surrounding the plan to compensate states, local governments, tribes, and individuals that were harmed by the opioid crisis while also offering protection for the Sackler family, as per the New York Times.

The Supreme Court's decision to challenge Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy agreements is the latest development in the yearslong legal battle over compensation for victims of the prescription drug crisis.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in May approved the settlement plan as part of a court review of bankruptcy restructuring for the company. It filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2019, and at the time, it and members of the Sackler family were facing several lawsuits concerning the opioid crisis.

While it is common for companies looking to receive bankruptcy protection to be shielded from legal claims, the thing that was unusual about the agreement is that it extended that liability protection to the owners of the company themselves.

In a statement, Purdue Pharma officials said that they are confident in the legality of their nearly universally supported Plan of Reorganization. According to CNN, they were also optimistic that the Supreme Court would agree with their stance.

Read Also: LGBTQ Veterans Sue Defense Department Over Dismissal From US Military

Triggering an Opioid Crisis

On the other hand, court documents showed that the government has called the plan "exceptional and unprecedented." It noted that lower courts have divided on when parties can be released from liability for actions that resulted in societal harm.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar also argued in court papers that the plan's release "absolutely, unconditionally, irrevocably, fully, finally, forever, and permanently releases" the Sackler family from any form of opioid-related civil claim. This includes the ones based on fraud and other forms of willful misconduct.

The company is accused of kickstarting an opioid epidemic that has resulted in more than overdose deaths in the United States over the last two decades because of its OxyContin product.

While the Sackler family has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, they expressed regret that their company's product "unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis." In May, they noted that the bankruptcy settlement would hand out resources for people and communities that badly need it, said Reuters.

Related Article: 6-Year-Old Student Boasts About Shooting Teacher

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Reports of a bright, red fireball streaking across the sky over Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and elsewhere were widely spread across social media Thursday night into Friday morning.

Many, including a number of meteorologists, made the understandable assumption what flashed across the sky was a meteor, part of the Perseid meteor shower which began in mid-July, runs through the beginning of September, and is expected to peak this weekend.

Evidence, however, suggests what was seen overnight was not a natural phenomenon, but man-made.

On May 21, the AXIOM-2 mission to the International Space Station launched from Kennedy Space Center atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Eight days after it successfully docked with the ISS, AXIOM-9 returned to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Fla.

What was likely seen overnight was debris from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, according to information from Space.com, Aerospace.org and other sources.

Aerospace.orgs model had the debris reentering Earths atmosphere shortly after 10 p.m. (CST) on Aug. 10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 10 hours, putting last nights sightings right in that window.

Aerospace.org's prediction model for reentry of space debris from the AXIOM 2 mission.

SATVIEW.org predicted the AXIOM-2 debris would reenter the atmosphere just after 5 p.m. (CST) on Friday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 8 hours.

Most space debris burns up during reentry, which explains the fireball used by many to describe what they witnessed Thursday night.

Occasionally, space junk will fall to Earth, such as a pressure vessel from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket which landed on a farm in central Washington in April 2021. In that instance, many who saw the falling debris reported it as a shooting star.

If you missed out on seeing the flying space junk, however, you still have a great opportunity to witness the Peresid meteor shower.

The Peresids are created by the Earth passing through the debris trail of the comet Swift-Tuttle and is capable of producing as many as 50 to 100 meteors per hour in a clear sky, according to NASA.

The shower will be visible as early as 10 p.m. Saturday and grow more plentiful as the night goes on.
A Birmingham police officer and a theft suspect he was chasing for upwards of 15 minutes through the eastern part of the city were injured after the suspects vehicle collided with the officers patrol car Thursday afternoon.

Both the officer and suspect sustained minor injuries.

South Precinct Officers were dispatched to a business in the 3400 block of 4th Avenue South around 2:05 p.m. Thursday on a report of a theft suspect.

This person had stolen merchandise in the thousands from the business this week, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald, relaying what the business told officers. He returns to the business [Thursday]. The business workers call 911. Our officers arrive on scene and around that time suspect attempting to get in vehicle and flee.

The officer then tries to initiate a traffic stop but the suspect does not comply with the officers commands, Fitzgerald said.

A vehicle pursuit ensued for about 10-15 minutes, Fitzgerald said, with the chase spanning the area near Messer Airport Highway eastbound until the suspect got to the 6800 block of 2nd Avenue South, where the suspects vehicle collided with the officers patrol car.

The airbags of both vehicles deployed in the collision, and the officer was able to take the suspect into custody.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service personnel arrived on the scene and took both the officer and the suspect to a local hospital to be checked out.

Asked about the extent of the injuries, Fitzgerald said, nothing visible, but said the wreck was pretty major.

Were just thankful that our officer wasnt seriously injured. Were thankful that our suspect wasnt seriously injured, he said.

The incident was a prime example of what our officers put on the line each and every day, Fitzgerald said.
A lesbian Black Muslim firefighter fired last year over a neck tattoo filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city of Mobile on Thursday, claiming white firefighters who had similar tattoos were not disciplined or terminated.

KayAna Adams, a former probationary firefighter with the Mobile Fire Rescue Department from Sept. 11, 2021 until Nov. 10, 2022, alleged the neck tattoo was used as a pretext for her termination by a white firefighter known to have issues with her, according to the lawsuit she filed Thursday in federal court in Mobile.

She claimed she was discriminated against on the basis of race, sex and religion and retaliated against after complaining about the discrimination and harassment,

Adams also accused the city of creating a hostile work environment within the department.

She was subject to sexist and racist remarks from the moment she was hired as a result of being a Black, female lesbian firefighter, the suit claimed.

In September 2021, Adams voiced her concerns when fellow firefighters were discussing how to tie a noose during rope week, the suit went on to say, adding that a white firefighter trainee told Ms. Adams that he did not want to work with a woman during training.

The same trainee argued with Ms. Adams about her religious beliefs (she is Muslim) and her sexual orientation, and for a three-month period referred to Ms. Adams as macho man, the suit went on to claim.

The discrimination continued when Adams was assigned to the departments Station 16, the suit alleged, where she was regularly called sir or guy by her colleagues, despite the fact that she is female.

When a white firefighter went out of his way to tell Adams about a ceremonial hazing in which new recruits are sodomized with a mop, insinuating that Adams would have to undergo the punishment, he encroached on her personal space when she told him to treat her with respect, according to the lawsuit.

Adams complained to her supervisors but the discriminatory comments and harassment persisted, she claimed.

A month after she got a tattoo in June 2022 that covered the back of her head and part of her neck, an anonymous complaint was filed, prompting a disciplinary hearing.

Adams lawsuit suggested the existing tattoo policy, which required tattoos in publicly visible areas to at least be capable of being covered up to a significant degree, was not only vague, but was not regularly enforced, as other firefighters, who were white, had visible neck tattoos, yet no disciplinary actions were taken against them.

After the disciplinary hearing, Adams probationary period was extended by six months and she was required to grow out her hair to cover the tattoo. Meanwhile, a new tattoo policy would be put in place, according to the lawsuit.

In September 2022, Adams requested a religious accommodation to wear a a hijab while at work.

Adams was not only asked why she is Muslim, but was also required to prove that she is, in fact, Muslim, by the chief she made the request to, the lawsuit alleged.

Although she was given paperwork needed to process the request, Ms. Adams was never given a decision one way or another ... Rather, Ms. Adams request was simply ignored, according to the suit.

Later that month, another chief appeared at Adams station and said he need to take a picture of her tattoo but wouldnt say why, the suit claimed, adding that Adams believed the matter was resolved.

She later learned a second anonymous complaint about the tattoo was lodged after her disciplinary hearing, alleging she failed to adequately cover it.

Adams claimed she was complying with the order to grow out her hair yet not enough time had passed between the Sept. 8, 2022 disciplinary hearing and Sept. 29, 2022, for her hair to completely cover the tattoo, the lawsuit stated. She claimed she used bandages to conceal the tattoo in the interim.

The former firefighter alleged a white firefighter known to have issues with Ms. Adams wanted Ms. Adams fired and used her tattoo as a pretext for doing so, according to the suit.

She filed a formal grievance against the department on Oct. 6, 2022, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex.

Adams was fired Nov. 10 for conduct unbecoming, according to the suit, which claimed she was never given an explanation of the conduct.










English News China contributes its part to global biosecurity governance

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 10 Aout 2023



Biosecurity concerns the common interests of all humanity. Currently, global biosecurity governance faces both new challenges and important opportunities. On one hand, advancements in biotechnology promote productivity growth and the well-being of mankind. On the other hand, as the intension and extension of biosecurity are broadening, traditional biosecurity issues overlap with emerging biosecurity risks, making the global biosecurity landscape even more complex. How to strengthen global biosecurity governance and better balance security with development has become a common task for the international community.

By He Yin, People's Daily The Second Meeting of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) kicked off on Aug. 7 in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting is one of the outcomes of the Ninth BWC Review Conference held last year, and its aim is to further reinforce the effectiveness of the BWC and promote comprehensive compliance.



Biosecurity concerns the common interests of all humanity. Currently, global biosecurity governance faces both new challenges and important opportunities. On one hand, advancements in biotechnology promote productivity growth and the well-being of mankind. On the other hand, as the intension and extension of biosecurity are broadening, traditional biosecurity issues overlap with emerging biosecurity risks, making the global biosecurity landscape even more complex. How to strengthen global biosecurity governance and better balance security with development has become a common task for the international community.



Facing the new situation, challenges, and issues in the sphere of biosecurity, China adheres to systematic governance. While continuously fortifying its own biosecurity defenses, China actively participates in global biosecurity governance and makes positive contributions with Chinese wisdom and solutions.



China has solemnly put forward the Global Security Initiative and officially released the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, calling on all nations to stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. It encourages all countries to practice the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in global governance, and work together to address global challenges including biosecurity.



The BWC is an important cornerstone of global biosecurity governance. In over 50 years since it became open for signature, it has played a vital role in preventing biosecurity threats and promoting the peaceful use of biotechnology.



China has unequivocally advocated strengthening the BWC and vigorously promoted the establishment of a verification mechanism through multilateral negotiations to fundamentally ensure compliance.

The country has always advocated the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons, and firmly opposes the proliferation of biological weapons and related technologies.



China is firmly committed to the BWC's purposes and objectives, comprehensively and strictly fulfills its obligations, and actively participates in and supports multilateral processes to enhance the BWC's effectiveness.



In April 2021, China's Biosecurity Law formally took effect, providing a stronger legal and institutional basis for China to implement the BWC. China has also actively advocated negotiations on an international convention on the suppression of acts of bioterrorism to further address gaps in international law.



In recent years, the risks of misuse and abuse of biotechnology have attracted great attention. China supports BWC State Parties to keep pace with the times, uphold the vision of universal security and shared development for all mankind, strengthen deliberations on biotechnology development under the BWC framework, promote responsible biological research, and formulate necessary voluntary codes of conduct.



Based on this position, China engaged in in-depth discussions with various countries and reached the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists in July 2021, putting forward ten major guiding principles including ethical standards, laws and norms, responsible conduct of research, research process management, and international cooperation.



Covering the whole process and entire chain of biological research, the Tianjin Guidelines fully reflects the consensus of the international community and makes important contributions to promoting the healthy and orderly development of global biotechnology.



During the Ninth Review Conference and the Meeting of States Parties of the BWC, the Tianjin Guidelines received extensive attention and acclaim. Originating from a Chinese proposal but belonging to the whole world, the Tianjin Guidelines fully demonstrates the determination of the international scientific community to further standardize biological research activities. It also fully proves that science-based and highly representative international processes can become an effective approach to strengthening global biosecurity governance and related international cooperation.



Responding to the demands of developing countries for sharing the dividends of sci-tech development in biological and other fields, China proposed the resolution "Promoting International Cooperation on Peaceful Uses in the Context of International Security" at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).



This launched an open and inclusive dialogue process under the UNGA framework, which is of great significance for building a more just and reasonable export control order, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of all countries for the peaceful use of science and technology, and addressing the security challenges posed by sci-tech advancements.



This resolution has been adopted at the UNGA for two consecutive years and widely welcomed by the international community.



As a Chinese saying goes, "The journey ahead may be long and arduous, but with sustained actions, we will eventually reach our destination." China will continue to uphold the banner of building a community with a shared future for mankind, promote global biosecurity governance together with the international community, and make greater contributions to achieving universal security and common development.



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English News Global South confident in building equal, orderly multi-polar world

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 10 Aout 2023



China is an ex-officio member of the "Global South" and will always be a member of the big family of developing countries. The increasingly louder voice of the "Global South" in international affairs fully demonstrates that the historical trend toward greater democracy in international relations is unstoppable. As emerging markets and developing countries play an increasingly important role in global governance, the forces defending the basic norms of international relations, upholding international fairness and justice, and promoting world peace and development will continue to grow.

By Huan Yuping, People's Daily For some time, discussions on the "Global South" have proliferated around the world. The term refers to the whole of emerging economies and developing countries, and mirrors their collective emergence on the international stage.



As profound changes unseen in a century are evolving rapidly in the world today, these discussions signal an intensifying aspiration of these nations for independent development, solidarity, and cooperation. These countries are becoming a non-negligible force in the international landscape.



I.

In the 1950s and 1960s, some countries that had broken free from the shackles of colonialism and embarked on the path of independent development began using the "South" concept to indicate the systemic inequality between developing countries and industrialized countries, or the "North." Over several decades, the "Global South" has always pursued peace, development, fairness and justice.



The current focus on the "Global South" has its special context. Since the Ukraine crisis escalated, the international community's attention to peace, security and development has been raised to new heights.



Some major countries in the West are exploiting the crisis to stir up camp confrontation, and continue to pressure countries whose positions differ from theirs. They even attempted to coerce emerging markets and developing countries to pick sides.



Some Western countries frequently wield unilateral sanctions as a weapon, exerting impacts on the stability of global finance, energy, transport and supply chains. This further drags down the struggling world economy.



Facing such a complex and grim situation, emerging markets and developing countries have maintained a rational attitude. They support peace talks, promote dialogue and negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis, firmly resist the hegemony of a few Western countries, and explicitly oppose all forms of unilateralism and the forming of blocs and exclusive groups targeted against particular countries.



Recently, the summit of the EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States(CELAC) was held in Brussels, Belgium. During the summit, Latin American countries rejected unilateral demands put forward by the EU on issues such as the Ukraine crisis and trade negotiations, insisting on their own reasonable positions.



This once again demonstrated the increasing focus of emerging markets and developing countries on safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests on the international stage, and on gaining a bigger say in the global governance system.



The sobriety demonstrated by emerging markets and developing countries in a volatile world fully demonstrates their rising strategic independence.



Some international observers believe that the world is witnessing a new "non-aligned movement" as more and more countries are refusing to submit to the United States and pick a side.



Former director of Policy Planning for the U.S. Department of State Anne-Marie Slaughter believes that developing countries' reactions to the Ukraine crisis represent a much bigger shift in the international order than most American and European analysts give credit for.



A Washington Post article wrote that the non-Western world, the long-neglected Southern Hemisphere, or what is usually referred to as "the rest," is making its voice heard.



The increasing confidence demonstrated by the "Global South" on the international stage highlights the diverse values and interests of the developing world, reflecting the urgent need to safeguard peace and development and defend fairness and justice.



II.

From a long-term historical perspective, the focus on the "Global South" is an inevitable result of the collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries.



During the Cold War, many developing countries had no choice but to survive between the cracks of the two major camps, with no strategic independence to speak of. Today, the "Global South" represents the vast majority of the world's population and accounts for half of the global economy. It now stands in a completely different historical position, with an even stronger desire for peace, development and cooperation, as well as greater determination for solidarity and self-strengthening. Its ability to resist hegemony and power politics has significantly improved.

Independence is the political foundation of the "Global South."



Most developing countries had once been invaded, colonized or plundered. They cherish peace and independence. However, power politics and hegemonic practices are disrupting world peace and have become the biggest destructive factors challenging international peace today.



The "Global South" remains highly vigilant about this and jointly opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics, Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, interference in other countries' internal affairs, and double standards. It plays a crucial role in maintaining world peace and stability.



Development and rejuvenation are the historical mission of the "Global South."



UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that without fundamental reforms, the richest countries and individuals will continue to pile up wealth, leaving crumbs for the communities and countries of the Global South.



As the global economic recovery lacks momentum, developing countries face particularly daunting development challenges. Standing at a critical juncture of global development, the "Global South" widely believes that the international community should work together to make global development more inclusive, universal and resilient, and accelerate implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



The world should adhere to win-win cooperation, reject narrow-minded beggar-thy-neighbor and selfish policies, abandon unilateral approaches that monopolize development advantages, safeguard equal development rights for all countries, and promote common development and prosperity.



Equity and justice are the common proposition of the "Global South."



A few Western countries incite ideological confrontation, form exclusive cliques, undermine international solidarity and impede global cooperation.



The "Global South" generally believes that the international community should unwaveringly uphold the international system with the UN at the core and the international order underpinned by international law.



It holds that state-to-state relations should be coordinated and regulated through proper institutions and rules, and the strong should not bully the weak. Decision should not be made by simply showing off strong muscles or waving a big fist. Multilateralism should not be used as pretext for acts of unilateralism.



The "Global South" rejects the "rules-based international order" hyped and imposed on the developing world by Western countries. It advocates making the international order more just and reasonable, continuing to increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries, and promoting the building of an equal and orderly multi-polar world.



In recent years, the "Global South" has seen increasing highlights on the international stage.



The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(COP 27) successfully established a loss and damage fund to provide financial assistance for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters.



Countries including China, South Africa and Brazil are committed to promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and steadily building international consensus for peace talks.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is steadily advancing its membership expansion, with its cooperative philosophy gaining wider influence.



The BRICS countries are exerting growing influence, with more countries applying to join.



The rise of emerging markets and developing countries has not only led to historic changes in the international balance of power, but also brought new ideas about handling international affairs, injecting new vitality into the entire international relations system.

III.



In June this year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa remarks at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact deeply resonated with emerging markets and developing countries: African countries "felt like we were beggars when we needed access to vaccines." He noted that Western countries were hogging vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic while African countries were helpless when they needed vaccines most.



In February this year, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also expressed similar disappointment at the Munich Security Conference. He said some Western countries only took care of themselves and disregarded other countries in urgent need of help.



In the eyes of the "Global South," some Western countries have long dominated international affairs and prioritized self-interests while neglecting their international responsibilities. Facing the increasingly confident "Global South" in strong demand of strategic independence, a few Western countries feel unaccustomed, uncomprehending, and even furious. They have resorted to threats, inducements, and division, which reflects their ignorance of the history of emerging markets and developing countries, their neglect of the realistic needs of the "Global South," as well as their arrogant and biased detachment from reality.



Since this year, on multiple occasions like the G7 summit and NATO summit, some Western countries have stepped up their empty show of "paying attention" to emerging markets and developing countries. However, the value of such "attention" can only be tested by actions.



If these Western countries really valued the "Global South," they should not have fueled the flames in Ukraine and caused the crisis to expand and prolong, or even labeled calls for ceasefire from emerging markets and developing countries as "unacceptable."



They should not have imposed sanctions and "decoupled" when the "Global South" faced development difficulties, which added serious risks to global economic recovery. They should not have paid only lip service without following through on official foreign aid commitments and funding support for developing countries to cope with climate change.



Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, pointed out in his article "The west must recognize its hypocrisy," that many countries view the United States and European major countries as "selfish, self-satisfied and insincere," and this view makes perfect sense.



The "Global South" should not be an arena for international political rivalry, nor should it become a tool for major power competition and geopolitical games.



If Western countries really value the "Global South," they should keep pace with the times and adjust their thinking on international affairs. They should earnestly abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, earnestly respect the rights of emerging markets and developing countries to independently make policies and develop, patiently listen to the latter's demands, and help them develop and address global challenges like climate change.



Singaporean scholar Kishore Mahbubani said, a reality that the West must accept is that the people of non-Western countries, who today comprise almost 90 percent of the world's population, want a bigger say in global affairs. The world can only make the right decisions to strengthen multilateralism and the international order based on the UN Charter, otherwise "disorder" will dominate the world, he noted.



China is an ex-officio member of the "Global South" and will always be a member of the big family of developing countries. The increasingly louder voice of the "Global South" in international affairs fully demonstrates that the historical trend toward greater democracy in international relations is unstoppable. As emerging markets and developing countries play an increasingly important role in global governance, the forces defending the basic norms of international relations, upholding international fairness and justice, and promoting world peace and development will continue to grow.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > B&B boom fuels demand for managers in China China, Africa make fruitful achievements in economic, trade cooperation BRICS cooperation shines with strong appeal Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
These days, saying Russia's war in Ukraine is "unprovoked" is a must. There are some notable exceptions from a few American "dissidents," who say Russia was provoked, but their opinions are dismissed at best or submerged in name-calling at worst. I'd leave it up to those who will read this article to the end to decide who is right.

This subject is important for someone who was born in Ukraine, studied in Russia, and worked in America; who has relatives and friends in all three countries; and who for almost three dozen years has been doing his best to make them all friends and even allies.

Instead, all three are now at war, even if some call the U.S. war only a war "by proxy." This looks like a total failure of my efforts, but I hope this short summary clears a bit the fog of war, which might help in the search to avoid a worst-case scenario.

I'd start with the 1992 New Year's Eve celebration, when about 300 American businessmen, some with their families, descended on the Kremlin, where they were joined by the Russian Who's Who and U.S. ambassador James Collins. A Russian military ensemble performed American music, with soloists singing "God Bless America." U.S. approval among Russians at that time was well over 80%. In a symbolic gesture, the mayor of Moscow transferred to the recently registered American University in Moscow a downtown mansion that had previously housed the Communist Party's young leaders' school, plus a 200-acre estate that previously held dachas of members of the Politburo, including Brezhnev's, for our future campus.

Vice President Dan Quayle sent me a personal letter of congratulations on behalf of President Bush. But I didn't forget my home country, and at the same time, I was also working on the establishment of the American University in Ukraine.

The good times had arrived, the sky was the limit, and my dreams were coming true. But while many Americans, were ready to turn former foes into friends, other powerful groups had opposite ideas. A distinguished American diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, George Kennan, was a more realistic thinker when he said a few years earlier that "were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial establishment would have to go on, substantially unchanged, until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy."

With George H.W. Bush in the White House, hope for a better future remained. But after Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, the Washington foreign policy establishment, sometimes called the "Deep State," was no longer interested in our ideas. The euphoria about winning the Cold War, and the dawning of what they saw as an era of a unipolar world under total American leadership  some called it hegemony  made them believe that Russia and her interests were no longer relevant. In their calculations, from now on, Moscow would have no choice but to obey orders from Washington since it had nowhere else to go.

Worse than that, under the leadership of Clinton-Gore and their top Russian adviser, Strobe Talbott, the greatest robbery of the 20th century had begun. There are many stories with the details of this robbery, including the congressional report "Russia's Road to corruption." This is what one of the most outspoken current critics of Russia said in the 1999 Washington Post article titled ""Who Robbed Russia?": "What makes the Russian case so sad is that the Clinton administration may have squandered one of the most precious assets imaginable  which is the idealism and goodwill of the Russian people as they emerged from 70 years of Communist rule. The Russia debacle may haunt us for generations."

Even worse than that, at the same time, Clinton and Talbott also started the push for NATO expansion, despite strong objections from many strategically thinking American experts. Among them was George Kennan, who called it a "fatal foreign policy mistake"; a majority of the members of the Arms Control Association; and many others. New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said that "NATO expansion would open the door to future nuclear war."

Our Ukrainian friends had a different agenda, saying that, free from the communist yoke and having strong industrial and agricultural sectors, a favorable climate, and fertile land, their country had great potential to become one of the most prosperous European nations. Effective anti-corruption reforms, a certain level of autonomy for the regions with large Russian ethnic population, and neutral status with no membership in any military blocs would have made Ukraine definitely a happy and prosperous state.

This is why in May 1993 we brought legislators from Russia's Duma and Ukraine's Rada to Washington to present these ideas to power brokers, but no one was interested. At the same time, the U.S. did not leave Russia and Ukraine alone. Yankees didn't go home. Billions of American tax dollars were poured in Ukraine  not to boost its economy, but to reformat public opinion that was predominantly in favor of neutral status and against joining NATO. This led to the Washington-inspired and supported first 2004 "Orange" color revolution, and then in 2013, a second one called "Maidan" that led to the installation of pro-NATO government.

All the media attention in Victoria Nuland's leaked phone call with the U.S. ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, discussing the details of the coup two weeks before it actually happened on February 22, 2014, was concentrated on her expletive language towards the E.U. However, almost totally ignored is that a few seconds later, she also mentioned her constant briefings with Sullivan and added, "Biden willing."

One should note the disgraceful position of the U.S. mainstream media. Ashley Rindsberg in The Spectator called the anti-Russian hysteria there the "media's Vietnam." Actually, I think that what is happening now in Ukraine is worse than the American wars in Vietnam and the Middle East, starting with Iraq. At that time, one at least could use a fight with communism or terror as a pretext. Here, we see a policy of provoking, funding, and prolonging a war between two Christian nations that lived together for over three centuries and are bound together by close historical, religious, economic, cultural, and family ties.

One phone call from Biden to Putin prior to February 24, 2022, with a pledge to guarantee Ukraine's neutral status, would have ensured that there would be no war. Russia's other security concerns could then be negotiated in a calm working atmosphere.

It is obvious, and no one is hiding the fact, that the collective West under current U.S. leadership wants to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia without going to war directly, but rather by using Ukrainians as cannon fodder. How all this corresponds to Western, or in broader terms Jewish and Christian, values is hard to explain. Besides, according to Russian military doctrine, in case of the approach of such a defeat, Moscow will use nuclear weapons.

Frankly, even being an optimist by nature, in this case, I don't feel much hope in avoiding what Senator Sam Nunn, former secretary of defense William Perry, and many other leading American experts called the process of "sleepwalking into a nuclear catastrophe."

All of the above might be viewed as "voice in the bewilderment," but I hope it will at least help to clear a bit the smog of this war and make policy-makers think about how to avoid a looming disaster.

Edward Lozansky is president of the American University in Moscow.

Image via Pxfuel.
In a recent article, we considered the claims of Brittney Cooper, a professor at Rutgers University. She believes that all "white people," whom she also refers to as "m------------" who are "committed to being villains"  in a word, racists  need to be "taken out."

One of her arguments is that, whenever non-whites try to have a "reckoning" with whites, the latter say, "It's just human nature. If y'all had all of this power, you would have done the same thing," right?

To this, Cooper insists,

No, that's what white humans did, white human beings thought there's a world here and we own it. Prior to them, black and brown people have been sailing across oceans, interacting with each other for centuries without total subjugation, domination and colonialism, right?

This must be the professor's most ignorant of claims  which is saying much  that non-whites somehow behaved with more tolerance and civility whenever they landed on the shores of others.

While we don't necessarily have historical records of black sub-Saharans "sailing across oceans," we do know that they savagely warred on and enslaved one another. It is enough to point out that, as Michael Omolewa, a Nigerian diplomat, once did:

[T]he bulk of the supply [of African slaves sold to Europeans] came from the Nigerians. These Nigerian middlemen moved to the interior where they captured other Nigerians who belonged to other communities. ... Many Nigerian middlemen began to depend totally on the slave trade and neglected every other business and occupation. The result was that when the trade was abolished [by England in 1807] these Nigerians began to protest. As years went by and the trade collapsed such Nigerians lost their sources of income and became impoverished.

These are not just historical observations. Despite Western efforts to abolish slavery, there are currently more than 50 million slaves  all of them in the non-Western world. To quote from one report,

[a]s the world marks 400 years since the first recorded African slaves arrived in North America, slavery remains a modern-day scourge. ... Africa has the highest prevalence of slavery, with more than seven victims for every 1,000 people.

Even the overly romanticized American Indians engaged in "total subjugation and domination":

Long before Columbus, many historians agree that Native American tribes committed atrocities against each other, thirsting for power and land and killing anyone that stood in the way long before any European settler set foot on the continent.

More to the point, we have multiple examples of non-whites landing on the shores of whites  and centuries before the transatlantic slave trade began.

In 711, for example, hordes of African Muslims ("Moors," which came to mean dark-skinned or black Muslims) "godlessly invaded Spain to destroy it," to quote from the Chronicle of 754. They did not pass "a place without reducing it, and getting possession of its wealth," boasted al-Hakam, an early Muslim chronicler, "for Allah Almighty had struck with terror the hearts of the infidels." One year later, the Muslims had, the Chronicle of 754 continues, "ruined beautiful cities, burning them with fire; condemned lords and powerful men to the cross; and butchered youths and infants with the sword."

Several other early sources corroborate the devastation and persecution. The oldest account, the Tempore belli, tells of Muslims from Africa "sacking Christian temples [churches] and homes, burning the cities of those who resisted, and taking their young women as sexual slaves, all creating an indescribable terror."

In 715, after the Muslim conquest of Spain was complete, its generals made the long trip to the Umayyad caliphate in Damascus. They brought with them thousands of camels laden with immense treasures and thirty thousand captives as a flesh-tribute to Caliph Al-Walid, who, according to al-Maqqari the Arab chronicler, was delighted by "the resources of all the people of Spain ... its riches and the beauty of its young girls."

Thereafter, and because the "Umayyads particularly valued blond or red-haired Franc or Galician women as sexual slaves," writes historian Dario Fernandez-Morera, "al-Andalus [Muslim-controlled Spain] became a center for the trade and distribution of slaves [The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, p. 159]." Christian subjects were sometimes even required to make an annual tribute "not of money, or horses, or arms, but of a hundred damsels (all to be distinguished for beauty) to ornament the harems [Spain and Portugal, p. 132]."

The Moorish conquest of Spain  and depredations deep into France, where tens of thousands of more Europeans were slaughtered and enslaved in the years leading up to the Battle of Tours, 732  is just one example of what "black and brown people," to use Ms. Cooper's terminology, did to "white humans," centuries before the transatlantic slave trade.

One can give many more examples. Consider what the Turks, who migrated from the eastern steppes of Asia, did to and in Europe. In the years preceding the First Crusade, Turkish invaders were running amok in Asia Minor, formerly a bastion of Christianity (now "Turkey"). An anonymous Georgian chronicler wrote of how "holy churches served as stables for their horses," the "priests were immolated during the Holy Communion itself," the "virgins defiled, the youths circumcised, and the infants taken away." Similarly, Anna Comnena, the princess at Constantinople, wrote of how "cities were obliterated, lands were plundered, and the whole of Anatolia was stained with Christian blood."

Centuries later, in 1438, Bartolomeo de Giano, an Italian Franciscan who was holed up in Constantinople as the Turks laid siege to it, described their slave raids throughout the Balkans. From Hungary, 300,000 were enslaved and "carried off in just a few days," he wrote; from Serbia and Transylvania, 100,000 were "led away in iron fetters tied to the backs of horses ... [and] women and children were herded by dogs without any mercy or piety. If one of them slowed down, unable to walk further because of thirst or pain, O Good Jesus! she immediately ended her life there in torment, cut in half."

As one historian observes, "[t]he massive enslavement of slavic populations during this period gave rise, in fact, to our word 'slave': in Bartolomeo's time, to be a slave was to be a Slav."

The slave markets of the Ottoman sultanate were for centuries so inundated with European flesh that children sold for pennies, "a very beautiful slave woman was exchanged for a pair of boots, and four Serbian slaves were traded for a horse."

It was the same elsewhere. In Crimea  where many millions of Slavs were enslaved by the Ottomans' Muslim allies, the Tatars (Mongols turned Muslim)  an eyewitness described how Christian men were castrated and savagely tortured (including by gouging out their eyes), whereas "[t]he youngest women are kept for wanton pleasures."

As for the Moors, even after being ejected out of Spain and back to North Africa (or Barbary), they continued raiding virtually every corner of Europe  going as far as Britain, Ireland, Denmark, and Iceland in search of plunder and slaves. These raids were so successful that, "between 1530 and 1780[,] there were almost certainly a million and quite possibly as many as a million and a quarter white, European Christians enslaved by the Muslims of the Barbary Coast," to quote American historian Robert Davis.

With countless European women selling for the "price of an onion," little wonder that by the late 1700s, European observers noted how "the inhabitants of Algiers have a rather white complexion."

Then there was the abysmal treatment meted out to European slaves. As Robert Playfair (b.1828), who served for years as a consul in Barbary, explained, "[i]n almost every case they [European slaves] were hated on account of their religion." Three centuries earlier, John Foxe (b.1516) had written in his Book of Martyrs that "[i]n no part of the globe are Christians so hated, or treated with such severity, as at Algiers."

The punishments these European slaves received for real or imagined offenses beggared description:

If they speak against Mahomet [blasphemy], they must become Mahometans, or be impaled alive. If they profess Christianity again, after having changed to the Mahometan persuasion, they are roasted alive [as apostates], or thrown from the city walls, and caught upon large sharp hooks, on which they hang till they expire.

These are just a very few examples to counter Professor Cooper's assertion:

Prior to them [whites], black and brown people have been sailing across oceans, interacting with each other for centuries without total subjugation, domination and colonialism, right?

Wrong  abysmally so.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West and Sword and Scimitar, is the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Image via Picryl.
General Mark Milley, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has forgotten that he was a soldier. Now, hes only a leftist bureaucrat in uniform. Milleys basic mode of operation is ingratiating himself to a political class that values the servile.

What makes Milley dangerous is his willingness to lie unhesitatingly, particularly in public. He is the highest-ranking military officer in the nation, and this matters. Technically the Secretary of Defense is a civilian post even though the Secretary may have a military background. The President and Congress provide civilian oversight but can only do so when presented with truthful, accurate information.

In June 2021, Tucker Carlson made some very strong remarks about Milleys attempts to make teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the military seem benign. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Milley compared CRT to reading Marx and Mao, as if its just part of educating the troops about different ideologies. However, our military is not urging the adoption of Marxism. (At least not yet!) What Milley is doing is cooperating with the Democrat left to indoctrinate the troops in blatant racism.

Image: Mark Milley (edited). YouTube screen grab.

If CRT flourishes, it will permanently impair race relations and ultimately lead to civil instability. The theory argues as a baseline that unequal outcomes through the proof of statistical disparity in education, employment, and incarceration rates are entirely based on structural racism. The theory does not consider non-white success in Asian and East Asian communities (e.g., people from China, Vietnam, India, etc.) It completely ignores individual merit and hard work. In fact, CRT views merit, which made most hard-working newcomers to our country successful, practically irrelevant, even undesirable.

In the same Tucker Carlson show referenced above, Carlson described Milley as a pig and stupid, adding that he got his position as the highest ranking and most senior military officer in the United States because he knows who to suck up to and hes more than happy to do ithe didnt get that job because hes brilliant or because hes brave or because the people who know him respect him. He is not and they definitely dont.

For more than two centuries, our nations military has succeeded in keeping us safe and free. Like every other institution in Americas history, it has been imperfect (mostly because of racist Democrat policies). Nonetheless, since WWII, it has been a place for people coming from the bottom of the ladder to shine based solely on their ability and willingness to work hard. (Ask Colonel Allen West, a hugely respected black officer.)

Our military is a companion to free market capitalism. It offers opportunity but no guarantees of outcome. Introducing race into the institution to obtain preferred outcomes cancels out three-quarters of a century of progress.

General Milley proved his deadly untrustworthiness with conflicting statements around the Afghanistan withdrawal that left 13 American servicemen dead and abandoned thousands of others, including American citizens and tens of thousands of allies. The August 2021 withdrawal was a complete disaster.

Afterward, in September, Milley testified under oath, along with General Kenneth McKenzie, that they had advised President Biden against his withdrawal plan and warned of the impending collapse of the Afghan government. Nevertheless, approximately four weeks before the withdrawal, Milley had publicly assured the nation that Afghan forces were up to the task of repelling the Taliban invaders.

Think about this: Milley knew the withdrawal would lead to unnecessary deaths of American servicemen and others. Yet he lied to provide cover to allow this disaster to go forward. What was to happen was so obvious that 23 State Department employees sent a message warning of the dangers posed by the planned withdrawal. To claim he did not lie is to claim incompetence. I believe Milley is both: liar and incompetent. Tucker Carlsons comments on Milley apply here. How can the civilian populace trust our military when its led by people like Milley?

A proper investigation into Milley would also reveal treason. He violated the chain of command in unauthorized communications with China in October 2020 and again on January 8, 2021. In 2021 testimony, he admitted to contacting General Li Zuocheng, his Chinese counterpart, and advising him that he would warn China if President Trump were to order a nuclear strike. He tried to cover up his outrageous conduct with a plausible rationale that was fabricated.

Chris Farrell of Judicial Watch, a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Officer shared:

General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be subject to an Article 32 Hearing under the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for his conduct and statements as memorialized in the Bob Woodward book Peril, and the August 8, 2022, New Yorker magazine excerpt of a forthcoming book by Susan B. Glasser and Peter Baker. An article 32 Hearing is the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, and should probable cause of the commission of a crime be established, it would lead to General Milleys court-martial.

Farrell explains that, in the book Peril, Milley is quoted as saying: General Li, you and I have known each other for five years. If were going to attack, Im going to call you ahead of time. It is not going to be a surprise.

This action was completely unauthorized, as confirmed by former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and President Trump.

The genesis of this scenario was a conversation between then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Milley, a transcript of which was provided to the authors of Peril but that has been withheld by the Pentagon despite the filing of a FOIA request.

Milley is a man of yesterday who cannot tell when he is being played by a woman. Pelosi said to Milley that President Trump is crazy and has been for a long time. She subtly suggested that he needed to be stopped! Milley responded, Madame Speaker, I agree with you on everything.

There is a pending lawsuit to force disclosure of various documents that would support accusations of treason. Unfortunately, if the documents are ever released, Milley will be gone from the service. Nonetheless, he should still be tried for treason as there is no statutory limitation on this crime.

Milley is a political activist. He certainly does not belong in a military subordinate to civilian control. As a hard-core leftist, he was putty in the hands of a skilled manipulator like Pelosi. A New Yorker article from 2022 about the war between Trump and the generals who served him recounts Milleys gross insubordination:

F*** that s**t, Ill just fight him [ President Trump]if they want to put me in prisonI will fight from the inside.

Subversion and insurrection, both clearly treasonous.

That the Democrat party is willing to invite and fully support treasonous activities tells Americans they are real insurrectionists. The greatest threat to our Constitutional Republic comes from within the borders of our own country.

Benedict Arnold would be very proud of General Mark Milley.
(Photo : Hannah McKay - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni criticized the World Bank's decision to cut funding to the nation following the approval of an anti-LGBTQ law.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni criticized the World Bank after the latter decided to cut funding to his country following an anti-LGBTQ law.

His remarks on the decision also came with a commitment to finding alternative sources of credit for his nation. The president, who has been in office since 1986, released a statement on Thursday saying that Uganda is making efforts to reduce borrowing and would stand strong amid pressure from foreign institutions.

Uganda President Criticizes World Bank

Museveni noted that it was unfortunate that the World Bank and other actors were trying to coerce Uganda into abandoning its faith, culture, principles, and sovereignty with the use of money. The president said that these entities are underestimating all Africans.

He added that if the country needs to borrow money, it could look to tap other sources, and oil production is expected to begin by 2025, which would provide additional revenues. Museveni noted that he hoped the World Bank would reconsider its decision, which could force Uganda to revise its budget, as per Aljazeera.

Various human rights organizations have condemned Uganda's anti-LGBTQ law that was approved in May. It imposes capital punishment for "aggravated homosexuality," which includes transmitting HIV through gay sex, and 20 years of imprisonment for "promoting" homosexuality.

On Tuesday, the World Bank said that the law contradicts its values and would suspend new funding to Uganda until it could test measures to prevent discrimination in projects it finances. The agency added that its goals can only be achieved if everyone, disregarding race, gender, or sexuality, is included in a proper future.

The World Bank argues that Uganda's anti-LGBTQ law undermines such efforts, adding that inclusion and non-discrimination were the core of its work worldwide. The agency currently has an existing portfolio of $5.2 billion in Uganda, and these projects will not be affected by the recent decision.

On Thursday, junior finance minister Henry Musasizi said that the Uganda government will ask Parliament to vote through a revised 2023-2024 (July-June) budget to reflect the potential financial effects of the suspension of lending from the World Bank, according to Reuters.

Read Also: Mass Ukraine Evacuation Mandated as Russian Forces Intensify

Suspension of International Funding

The United States in June imposed visa restrictions on some Ugandan officials in response to the widely criticized new law. Additionally, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a review of U.S. aid to the East African country.

A spokesperson for Uganda's Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Jimmy Mugunga, said that the country made unified efforts to explain the effect and intent of the new law to the World Bank and other institutions.

He added that the Uganda government believes in continued engagement with international institutions and said that the Ministry of Finance will continue to engage the bank and any other entities to clarify the situation.

So far, Uganda has received roughly $1.7 billion of the more than $4 billion that the World Bank allocated to the region. However, the recent development has brought concerns about whether or not the nation will be receiving the remaining amount, said Voice of America News.

Related Article: Niger Junta Threatens to Kill Bazoum if ECOWAS Military Intervention Pushes Through

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A persistent strain of isolationism courses through the American bloodstream.

Proponents generally cite George Washington in his farewell address to the nation, claiming that he warned against entangling alliances. He didnt actually quite say that. Most of his address was introspection about his life of service, warnings about encroachment by one of the three branches of government into another, and fervent warnings against political parties. As for alliances, he said that the United States must faithfully keep her existing treaties with Great Britain and Spain. But, he said, enter into future treaties with caution; no alliance can be permanent. As Churchill would say more than a century later, there are no permanent alliances, only permanent interests. Washington pointed to the oceans that protect our hemisphere from spillover of Europes bloodletting. He said that America is in a position to choose peace or war, that belligerent nations would think twice before threatening the United States. By maintaining a strong defense, we might occasionally make temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

Those distances soon began to shrink. President Thomas Jefferson, who did not want a standing military at all, built a navy and sent it halfway around the world to crush the Barbary pirates preying on American merchantmen on the high seas. James Monroe, our fifth president, sent the U.S. Navy to blockade Africa and catch slavers; the African Slave Trade Patrol continued until 1861, when it was called home for the Civil War.

With the War to End All Wars raging in Europe, Woodrow Wilson campaigned on the slogan He kept us out of war. Then the Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted -- the Germans were offering Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to Mexico if it would join the war on Germanys side. Two million American soldiers shipped out to European shores, and another two million were on the way when the war ended. Over a hundred thousand American troops did not come home -- killed in combat or by disease (the Spanish flu was as deadly as enemy bombs, bullets, and bayonets.)

World War I was ended by exhaustion and an armistice, not by a decisive victory. Inevitably, it resumed as World War II in less than two decades. Again, America stayed out of it until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, followed immediately by Germanys declaring war on the United States. This time the war ended in total victory by the Allies and unconditional surrender by Germany and Japan. Despite wars breaking out continually in some corner of the world ever since--two of them, Korea, and Vietnam, fought by American troops -- isolationists still clamored for America to withdraw into its fortress at home. We cant be the worlds policeman!

Okay, so who would you rather have as the worlds policeman?

Because somebody will be.

You might not like it, but it will always be as it always has been: the guy with the biggest army -- the guy strong enough to lay down the law. Nature abhors a vacuum; the absence of world order means world chaos. Many powers kept their worlds order at one time or another. They werent nice cops. All practiced slavery, some practiced human sacrifice, they controlled their subjects with brutality, their ships of state floated on seas of blood. No such thing as rights or civil liberties. Theres always another wannabe King of the Hill watching, an equal or rising power on the edges of the ruling empire, waiting for the top cops sword to grow dull.

The United States of America has held that position, Policeman of the World, since the end of the Second World War. We didnt choose the job, didnt seek it, we were just the strongest of those left standing in the free world when the war ended. Before the smoke even cleared, our erstwhile ally Stalin was already moving to seize an empire, reneging on promises to liberate the countries his army occupied in the course of defeating Nazi Germany, liquidating, imprisoning or relocating millions who stood in his way. For Americas European allies, the war was a Pyrrhic victory -- financially exhausted, they watched their empires collapse. The Soviet Union, which had been kept alive and in the war by American largess now trained, sponsored, and encouraged Communist revolutionaries in the former colonies to seize power and/or lead liberation movements.

By default, the United States of America became the leader of the free world and top cop in the West. Although President Harry Truman allowed an unmanaged military demobilization after V-J Day that would prove catastrophic in five years, America still had the strongest economy in the world at the end of the war. Europe lay in ruins with millions of their citizens interred in mass graves. Our homeland was virtually untouched.

Now America is abdicating its leadership role. Our culture is degenerating, our military power hollowing out, the shadow of a Dark Age looms. A new Axis of Evil -- China-Russia-Iran-North Korea -- is muscling up and watching us like a pack of jackals measuring a tiring buffalo.

Consider the alternatives. Look at the cultures of those who seek right now to replace America as Policeman of the World. Do you like what you see? Is that what we want for our grandchildren?

If its not, wed better get a grip on ourselves and renew the United States of America as founded: faithful to a Constitution based on Judeo-Christian principles and values, a country and people morally and fiscally sound.

If we accept that America must continue to be the Worlds Policeman simply because there is no one else in the free world capable of doing it, then we have got to do it. Our armed forces have to be so strong and so ready to fight that nobody will want to mess with us and everybody will want to be on our side.

Si vis pacem, para bellum (if you want peace, prepare for war.) The Fourth Century Roman Flavius Vegetius Renatus, observing with dismay the decline of the Roman legion, was not the first nor the last in history to express the axiom of peace through strength.

Washington advised that money invested to prepare for war will prevent greater expense to repel it. Benjamin Franklin would say that is the stitch that saves nine.

So whats our state of readiness now? Were not. We have a Woke Department of Defense obsessed with DEI (letters better arranged as DIE) and CRT. Meanwhile, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are building massive sea, air and land forces. They are at war with us -- the shooting just hasnt started yet.

Weakness is a provocaton, and our enemies see us as weak. If we would have peace, we had better get on a war footing now. Otherwise, as Machiavelli wrote in The Prince, War cannot be avoided; it can only be postponed to the other's advantage." If we would keep peace, we must wear that Policeman of the World badge. As Thucydides said, The strong do what they can. The weak endure what they must.

Image: Public Domain
Progressives have succeeded in draining all semblance of common sense and morality from the Democrat Party. They have also been hammering away at free speech for decades, using college campuses as havens for restrictive speech codes to turn three generations of faculty into critical race pedagogues and their students into ideological neurotics. What emerged as an annoying political correctness in the late twentieth century has blossomed into a full-blown assault on all five rights of the First Amendment.

Higher education now seems adrift of its moorings and without a moral compass to bring it back. That has inspired progressives to turn their guns on the youngest classroom cohort of American society. The motivation is always Machiavellian, but hardly breaks new ground when viewed through the lens of Marxism.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was not simply waxing philosophic in pronouncing, Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted. That belief was built upon the tenets of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who advocated for the abolition of the family and surrendering a childs education to the state, where teachers become in loco parentis. Uncoupling children from their parents may have seemed a bit farfetched in the pre-COVID era but is now doctrinal to hyperpartisan educational associations and teachers unions. Joe Biden has personally fanned the flames of this crusade by his public utterings that children belong to the teachers and the nation.

A recent article appearing in Peoples World, latter-day scion of the CPUSAs early twentieth-century propaganda newsletter, Daily Worker, tipped off the hard lefts strategy to turn adolescents against their families and ancestors by shaming them with a variety of dubious injustices -- misogyny, racial supremacy, transphobia, and a whole panoply of -isms. This stratagem is vintage Marxism, with the goal of breaking down the family by labeling parents as cultural culprits who should have little more than a disposable role in the lives of their children. Just leave it to the educators to muster an army of youngsters programmed through a bogus curricula of deconstructed history and literature.

The Biden administrations enthusiasm to cram critical race and gender theory down the throats of schoolchildren has brought about severe parental rebuke. Local challenges to sexually-oriented classroom curricula and reading lists have spiked forty percent year over year in 2022. According to Pen America, more than forty percent of those book disputes now involve titles and content that relate to various gender identities and orientations, many of which are recommended for grades kindergarten through 5th grade.

In the past, book boycotts and embargoes typically centered on internecine grievances between local school districts and parent groups. Of late, Joe Biden has hijacked the issue to pin blame on MAGA extremists, turning grade-school education into a Marxist battlefield and making combatants out of school boards, parents, library systems, political associations, and advocacy groups. Biden has also turned identity politics, political polarization, and transgenderism into a mandate on what children should read and think, putting certain books out front or behind the battle lines of cultural Marxism.

Starting with childrens literature but now enveloping the literary classics, a cleansing is underway to turn books into safe spaces. The job of recasting book characters and language to mirror contemporary woke sensibilities has been handed over to a cottage industry of perceived victims. While not as heavy-handed as burning a book, unpublishing, or delisting it on e-commerce sites, it is intrusive by its actions to silence, dilute, or distort the creativity of the author.

Called sensitivity readers, beta readers, or inclusion ambassadors, they range in age from adolescent to adult and hail from so-called marginalized communities. With publishers under their spell, recently submitted or already published writings might end up in the hands of an eight-year-old boy or girl who, simply by their age or short-lived experience, gives them jurisdiction over a writers style and manner of portraying similarly-affected fictional characters.

Before going out of business in 2022, Inclusive Minds offered readers of all ages, genders, and ethnicities to publishers and aspiring and established authors. They focused exclusively upon clearinghouses of childrens books, persuading twenty-six British and five international publishers of childrens fiction to put their new books through the political sieve of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That opened the spigot for book editors to scrutinize their vintage stock of literary classics.

Take the case of Mark Twain. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and his more labored literary effort, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain relied heavily upon his Missouri slave-state upbringing to acquaint the reader with the colloquial language and peccadilloes of those who lived and toiled on the gritty steamboats and steamers along the riverbanks of the Upper Mississippi. His storytelling captivated the urban population serving the industrialized expansion of the Gilded Age back East.

Post mortem, Twain offends woke publishers and their hired guns by his liberal use of the N-word and other racial epithets common to the kinsfolk with whom he shared his childhood. He imputed crude jargon in his protagonists, wherein Jim was dehumanized because of his race and Sawyer branded as po white trash. Masterfully spinning the gritty yarn of two street friends, an orphaned boy and fugitive slave who wash away racial differences while rafting down the Mississippi River, Twain injected antebellum speech and culture into fiction, offering readers historical insights into a flawed society that publishing houses are now airbrushing for future generations.

Bestselling authors of young adult and adult literature are not above the effort to dumb down or sanitize works of literary acclaim. Particularly vulnerable are those writers who have passed on and cannot mount a defense. John Steinbecks acclaimed works, The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men have been hauled back to the garage for a tune-up. So it goes for Ian Flemings James Bond novels, the works of Anthony Horowitz, Aldous Huxleys 1984, the Doctor Doolittle series, Dr. Seuss, all six novels of Jane Austen, and on and on ad nauseum.

Several of the big five publishing companies have been quick to take a knee. HarperCollins farmed out the writings of Agatha Christie to readers hired to harmonize them with far Left sentiments. All perceived insults or descriptions of ethnicity that gave context and cultural dissimilarity to her characters have been swept from her entire republished inventory of novels. Penguin Random House, holding a majority share of childrens books, admitted to reinventing the classics and looking for new ways to tell the worlds favorite stories using a fresh and innovative approach. Penguin subsidiary, Puffin, dispatched a platoon of readers to censor Roald Dahls beloved repertoire of childrens fiction and to remove references to gender.

Biden is now fighting the tidal wave of resistance to classroom books that sexually groom schoolkids. Slamming the door on parent-teacher disputes, he is designating a book ban coordinator within the Education Department. Progressive school boards and teachers unions will now have a federal remedy to crack down on these challenges by simply asserting that certain book bans are transphobic, create a hostile classroom environment, and constitute a federal violation of a childs civil rights.

This putsch to reimagine an early education fixed upon race, identity, equity, and social justice gives a backseat to reading proficiency and launches attacks upon traditional math instruction and grammar as racially supremacist. This catechization of socialist dogma for the purpose of exerting government power and control over elementary education has accelerated during the Biden administration from a grade-school inoculation of critical race and gender theory to an inquisition of many childhood book classics and bedtime fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Hans Christian Andersen.

A White House hellbent on putting the country into a Marxist nosedive cant ignore the hearts and minds of the youngest and most susceptible. After two years of pushing children into the path of unnecessary and ineffective COVID vaccines, some have the scarred little hearts to prove that claim.

Image: PxHere
Brett Baier is not qualified to moderate the Republican debate on August 23 in Milwaukee. Mr. Baier had a much-publicized interview with President Trump a month ago. This interview amply demonstrated Baier's antipathy toward the president. Most of the time, he appeared to be cordial towards the president; however, when Trump brought up the topic of the stolen election, Baier became abusively hostile and interrupted his guest incessantly and would not let the president talk.

Right after the election, the charges of fraud surfaced, and at every opportunity, the Republicans were asked by the media and Democrats if the election was stolen and derided anyone who agreed that it was and demanded a denunciation of that charge. Many Republicans who were sceptical of an honest election caved and denied any electoral chicanery. "This was the most honest election ever" became the media mantra. Later, we learned there was plenty of interference. The letter signed by 51 former security officials claiming Russian disinformation regarding the Hunter Biden laptop, along with interference by the FBI, CIA, DoJ, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, is all well documented. All this interference plus ballot irregularities amounts to stealing the election. You can call it "disinformation" or anything you like, but it helped to throw the election. The evidence is overwhelming and incontrovertible that the 2020 election was stolen.

Brett Baier is either willfully ignorant of these events or simply biased. Either way, he is unfit to be a moderator. His hostility and bias disqualify him. He is a Chris Wallace wannabe and just as hostile as Leslie Stahl.

Please, don't replace Baier with Neil Cavuto, who surprisingly is worse than Baier. Cavuto invariably has Chris Christie, Karl Rove, or Asa Hutchinson on just to bash President Trump, and all happily comply. Rove always has his whiteboard and manipulates facts to bash President Trump. He must not be anywhere near a camera or microphone.

One question at the debate will come up: "Will you support whoever will be the nominee?" If President Trump does participate in the debate, he must answer a qualified, "Yes, and I expect that if I win, all Republican lawmakers including Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and Mitt Romney will actively campaign and fundraise for me. And I include Paul Ryan and Ronna Romney McDaniel to do so as well." If the Republican class does not entirely support Trump as the nominee, any resulting loss will not be the fault of President Trump, but the fault of the NeverTrumps and the lukewarm ones.

I'm tired of hearing that President Trump is a three-time loser  elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022. Those losses were caused by the Republicans who opposed Trump and sabotaged those campaigns. They are the ones responsible for the mess we're in with the Biden regime. President Trump did not lose those elections.

Apparently, Tucker Carlson is still officially an employee of Fox News. Tucker would be a great replacement for Brett and would treat all with honesty and would be a top draw.

Never submit or compromise.

Image: Gage Skidmore.
Oh, cruel irony! On September 9, 2022, American Thinker published an article of mine, headlined "Why 'Educated' Liberal Women Are the Real Threat to Our Republic." The article began thusly: "When last Thursday night Joe Biden told America, 'Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans' threaten 'the very foundations of our republic,' he missed the mark. The real threat comes from the unlikeliest of suspects: educated liberal females, or 'ELFs' for short."

On September 9, 2023  a year to the day later  I was scheduled to give a free talk at the Darwin Barker Public Library in Fredonia, New York. This pleasant little town, located in New York's westernmost county, Chautauqua, is nearly as close to Chicago as it is to New York City. My wife and I have been spending the greater part of our summers in Fredonia for 35 years.

Two weeks ago, I thanked a female librarian for putting my novel, 2006: The Chautauqua Rising, on display, concluding, "Love the library. If there is anything I can do to help let me know."

She promptly emailed me: "Would you be willing to do an author talk/book signing at Barker Library in regards to your newest book, Untenable: The True Story of White Ethnic Flight from America's Cities?" I happily consented. I've been going to this library for years, and my wife donates. I helped the librarian put a notice together that went out about August 1.

The notice read in part, "Having watched his neighborhood collapse around him, Jack is in a unique position to write authoritatively about so-called 'white flight.' Unlike other authors on this subject, Cashill writes from the perspective of those forced to flee."

On August 8, I received an email from the library director, Graham Tedesco-Blair. The Orwellian money line reads as follows: "We believe that the diversity of perspectives is crucial in creating a rich and informative dialogue at our library events. Recent developments have led us to re-evaluate the suitability of your views and opinions for our diverse audience." In a word  his word  he felt obliged to "disinvite" me.

In an August 9 article  I write quickly  I opined, "By 'recent developments'  I'm guessing here  he means an ideological Karen or two called in to complain that the library was hosting someone with whom they were likely to disagree."

Upon learning of the cancelation, a female friend from the area who actually read the book sent a blistering email to Tedesco-Blair sharing her suspicions. They were the same as mine. "You have made me ashamed of being a resident of Chautauqua County. I have just become aware that you 'dis-invited' a nationally known author due to your concerns about 'diversity,'" my friend wrote.

"Do you know the meaning of that word? Obviously not. You only care about diversity when it lines up with your little causes. Such a small, small man you must be. You can't even stand up to a few Karens who couldn't bear the thought of letting someone with whom they disagree speak to people who wanted to hear him."

Through a back channel, I heard from a library board member who explained the rationale of the "stakeholders" in dropping me from the program. "So, very soon after our website posting which announced Jack's appearance at the Barker," he wrote, "we began to receive numerous correspondence ranging from general disbelief to adverse protestations from with in the local community."

He then added this gem: "Oddly, all of this response came from women." Oddly? No, not oddly. "Inevitably." In all fairness, he should have added the qualifier "educated liberal women." The dreaded ELFs. Conservative women may protest grown men flashing their who-knows-what at little children in public libraries, but they do not protest rational political discussions among adults.

As I was writing this post, I received a text from a friend who passed along a comment from a female friend of his. She wrote, "Please tell Jack Cashill I LOVED 'Untenable.' It is so personal and so evocative of the time; it explains how we got here unblinkingly and beautifully." I get a lot of these. I never tire of reading them.

Tedesco-Blair has less faith in women than I do. He fretted openly about "the potential impact [my opinions] might have on the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere we strive to foster within our library community." These are grown women he is writing about, not children. They live in a county that gave Trump a 20-point margin of victory. They should be toughened up by now.

Mature adult women can handle conflict, but maybe not ELFs. As I wrote a year ago, "ELFs don't want to know about the border crisis or the recession or Hunter's laptop, and their media oblige them. If their social media allow alternative voices to bleed through, the ELFs are the first to demand that those voices be silenced."

Ain't that the truth?

Jack Cashill's new book, Untenable: The True Story of White Ethnic Flight from America's Cities, is available in all formats.

Image: Pezibear via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
As a college student, I spent a wonderful year in Leeds, England, a rugged British town in Yorkshire. Unlike Englands south, which had an international feel, Leeds felt untouched by that trend. Now, though, Leeds has a distinctly Soviet or Maoist feel. Or, in homage to one of Englands greatest writers, an Orwellian feel. At least, thats the takeaway from a horrific video that shows a terrified autistic girl being arrested by seven officers. Her crime: Saying that a butch-looking female police officer reminded the girl of her lesbian grandmother.

Youll need a bit of historic and legal context to understand whats happening in the video: It was England that gave our Founders the idea that free speech is essential for a free nation. The English Bill of Rights, which Parliament enacted in 1689, held that it is the right of subjects to petition the King, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal. Theres the genesis for our First Amendment: Congress shall make no lawabridging the freedom of speech

Image: Leeds police officer. Twitter screen grab.

However, the same Revolution that gave Americans a much broader speech right than existed in Britain actually destroyed free speech in the mother country. Thats because, when the colonists began to speak freely against the draconian laws that Parliament imposed on them, Parliament announced that the Bill of Rights of 1689 did not apply to it; it applied only to the king. That meant that there were no limitations on Parliaments ability to attack speech.

Despite Parliaments 18th-century renunciation of free speech, the tradition nevertheless persisted in England for a long time, right until leftists really got their talons into the British government. Now, England has hate speech laws that make it a criminal offense to engage in speech that the government dislikes.

In 1986, England made it a felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison, to make negative remarks about race that were intended to or likely would stir up racial hatred.

In 2006, England made it a felony to do anything that could be perceived as stir[ring] up religious hatred. The law was a muddy mess that tried to allow members of one faith to attack another faiths doctrine and to say one disliked that faith, as well as to advocate for one's own faith. The real kicker to that law, though, came in 2008, when the act was amended to make it illegal to incite hatred on the ground of sexual orientation. In 2013, another act silenced any criticism of same-sex marriage.

Given that the Bible is opposed to homosexuality, these laws were used to silence Christians (although, weirdly, not Muslims, who are also opposed to homosexuality). If you follow events in England, you know that opposing homosexuality is now one of the most serious crimes there.

This little history gets us to the video you are about to see:

UK , this may be one of the most uncomfortable videos I've had to watch. This is what hate speech legislation that prioritises certain groups over others, looks like in action, poor child  @HMcEntee #binthebill pic.twitter.com/u7B54r7BJ0  KellyS (@SineadKelly113) August 9, 2023

The intro to the video states:

This is what police do when dealing with autistic children. my daughter told me the police officer looked like her nanna who is a lesbian. The officer obviously took it the wrong way and said it was a homophobic comment (it wasnt)the officer then entered my home and assault me. my daughter was having panic attacks from being touched by them and they still continued to manhandle her.

Lest you think this is a self-serving statement, you can hear one of the male officers saying that the reason for the arrest is that the girl made a homophobic statement to his colleague. And, indeed, the girl was charged with a homophobic public order offence.

The officers also physically abused the screaming teenager, pulling on her arms despite being advised that the girl had severe scoliosis.

According to the Daily Mail, an official for the West Yorkshire police has issued a statement saying the video doesnt show the whole story. Im sure thats true.

But its enough for outrage that a person was arrested for saying a police officer looks homosexual. That is, she apparently wasnt arrested for incitement (i.e., Lets kill all the homosexuals) but for pure speech. As a caveat, if it turns out that she was making manifestly criminal threats, then everything Ive written below becomes irrelevant.

What seems to have happened is that she offended a police officer and has been criminally charged for doing so. (And yes, I do see the irony in it being considered offensive to say someone looks lesbian. That police officer sounds like a homophobe.)

The nation that gave us the idea that you can freely state your opinions to the government now arrests and charges autistic teenagers for saying that a police officer looks homosexual.

And dont fool yourself: This is what Democrats want for America. They understand that the Constitution is just a piece of paper. Just as Parliament once disavowed the Bill of Rights of 1689, Democrats will toss the Constitution aside as the foul fruit of a racially poisonous tree. That the concept of free speech is a universal one that benefits every human being is irrelevant. They want it gone.

The British used to sing, Therell always be an England. Well, thats clearly not true and, at the rate England is going, there shouldnt always be an England. And at the rate America is going, the same is true here.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has set court dates for his various charges against President Trump  and what a coincidence  they all coincide with key dates during the U.S. election.

According to GatewayPundit:

Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a January 2 trial date for President Trump's charges related to the January 6 case in Washington DC. Last Tuesday Trump was hit with 4 counts in Jack Smith's January 6 case: 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. "The Government proposes that trial begin on January 2, 2024, and estimates that its case in chief will take no longer than four to six weeks," according to a court filing on Thursday. Jack Smith wants Trump convicted by Super Tuesday in March.

According to CNN:

Smith's push for a swift trial timetable was based on a set of legal criteria he laid out, but which CNN legal commentator Elie Honig called "extraordinarily aggressive." It would give Trump's team less than five months to get ready for trial, and to sift through potentially hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, based on a schedule for jury selection in December, before the holiday season. Tim Parlatore, a former Trump attorney, told CNN Thursday that the strongest defense argument would be that there was no way it could be ready in just a few months, noting that any sense that it was pushed to go to trial prematurely could factor into any post-trial appeals.

Ahhh. Fairness. But this is not about fairness to the defendant. This is about swinging the election.

He tried earlier to get this so-called "speedy trial" done through his presidential records charges, where he sought a December trial date, and was granted a May 20 one, well into the election season.

So now he's gotten even by moving his January 6 charges even more strategically through the court dockets, even though legal experts have noted that they are pretty flimsy, meaning he could theoretically present a stronger case if he made time to build it.

But that's not the idea here.

Smith's strategy is clear enough in a Democrat operative's statement to left-wing Salon:

"Jack Smith is a master chess player," Norm Eisen, who served as Democratic counsel during Trump's first impeachment, told CNN. "He's been doing this for a very long time. So now with the target letter in the 2020 election interference case, in case... that trial slips, what does Jack Smith do? He's going to file in D.C., a very favorable bench, great jury pool for him. Says, fine, Judge Cannon, you want to move that trial, we'll just slide in the 2020 election interference trial and we'll do that before the election."

In other words, his idea is to time each court date with a vital primary date in the election in order to reduce President Trump's chances of winning the GOP primary. If that doesn't work, then the plan is to get a trial and a swift conviction ahead of Election Day to ensure that Trump can't win the presidency.

Is this about justice? Or swinging the election? Even if he fails to win his case, he cynically knows he can swing the election just by the charges.

There's also the speedy calendar, which he has insisted is all about the constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial, which is even more laughable, given that these charges are being brought two and a half years after the alleged "crime" even though all the information was out there, and the fact that previous special counsels sent to Get Trump, such as Robert Mueller, took years and years and years to get finished, having strategically decided to drag the case out for almost the duration of Trump's presidency to drag it down, having found nothing.

This isn't the only evidence of a politicized prosecution here, either.

There is also the venue, Washington, D.C., which couldn't even secure a conviction for a Washington swamp lawyer who openly lied to the FBI about his involvement in Hillary Clinton's campaign. Lawyer Andrew Sussmann got off scot-free, courtesy of the jury, with one juror explaining to the Washington Post that "everyone pretty much saw it the same way." In ordinary circles, that's called groupthink. In a separate case, FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith got off with the lightest of wrist slaps after falsifying documents to secure illegal surveillance against President Trump  and then got his legal standing at the bar as an upright lawyer fully restored, once again by D.C. swampers. That tells us a lot about what the jury pools are like in Washington, D.C., which voted 92% against President Trump in the 2020 election, and why Smith is opposed to moving the venue from Washington. He's effectively captured the most anti-Trump potential jury in the country and one with a massive conflict of interest, given that Trump has vowed to shut down the swamp in his campaign, which of course is their rice bowl.

Anybody think he's going to get a fair trial in that city? Their livings are on the line. Seems Smith needs the case to happen in that city, though, because almost other venue in the country would laugh out of the courtroom his flimsy thrown spaghetti bowl of charges (to see if something sticks). There's zero doubt that a jury would do anything but vote their election choices in this trial, which is to say, convict Trump of whatever Smith can throw at him.

The judge, too, is flamingly biased  she made this whopper of a statement about Washington juries, with zero evidence to back it:

In one recent Jan. 6 case, a D.C. judge wrote that "Defendant's assumptions concerning party affiliation in the District are not an appropriate basis for changing venue. Jurors' political leanings are not, by themselves, evidence that those jurors cannot fairly and impartially consider the evidence presented and apply the law as instructed by the court." That judge was Chutkan, who will preside over Trump's case.

She's trying to tell us we are unfamiliar with Nevertrumps and Trump-deranged Democrats and their idea of "fairness" to Trump? Perhaps she could show us their social media accounts.

She, of course, is a massively biased jurist, a full-on Trump hating swamp leftist herself, who sentenced January 6 defendants to longer terms than even prosecutors requested, based on the Democrat talking point of the "threat to democracy."

She's just the judge Smith sought.

If this case is so strong, though, and could win anywhere, why is Smith clinging to such a stacked venue?

We have the strategic court dates, we have the rigged venue, we have the biased judge, and we have the oddly speedy trial schedule, and now we have a court calendar exquisitely timed to coincide with the primary and electoral calendar.

They see nothing amiss here, just the wheels of justice grinding on as if nobody wants to see a particular political outcome.

They aren't even trying to hide it. No restraint, no deference to appearances of conflict of interest, just the justification of "hain't I got the power?"

How stupid do they think the voters are?

Image: Screen shot from MSNBC video via YouTube.
Hawaii had the world's fanciest natural disaster warning system on the planet. It also had an ongoing firebug problem, and recent academic study warning that the place was very vulnerable to fire catastrophes.

Somehow, none of that figured in the government's fire plan. The firebug is still out there. The conditions created for big fires, such as the proliferation of non-native grasses, remain on Maui. And the fancy emergency warning system somehow didn't work.

Never mind any of that: Its governor says the problem is global warming.

We've never experienced a wildfire that affected a city like this before, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) told reporters Thursday, noting that global warming is exacerbating extreme weather around the world and will have to be considered as communities rebuild. Climate change is here."

Which seems a little distant from his immediate duties as governor.

Here's the opening scenario for the catastrophe on Maui that took out Hawaii's lovely heritage town of Lahaina, destroyed 1,000 buildings, and killed scores of people, from the Associated Press:

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP)  Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations  but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach. Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats. But many survivors said in interviews Thursday that they didnt hear any sirens or receive a warning that gave them enough time to prepare and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

No warning? That's a scandal. And it led to scenes like this:

Warning graphic video !! survivor escaping the Lahaina Maui Hawaii fire pray for the families of the survivors #lahainafire #Hawaiifire #Pray4hawaii pic.twitter.com/hbiLJfquOb  Charbel H.Najem (@ChNajem) August 10, 2023

UPDATE: At least 55 people confirmed dead in Maui wildfires; residents had little warning



Prayers for the people in Hawaii frens  pic.twitter.com/IjGbWi66nR  Anny (@anny25717503) August 11, 2023

Given the money spent on this elaborate warning system, one might have expected some kind of performance from it, some kind of warning, some kind of planning ahead for broken cell phone towers.

But who needs performance when there's global warming to pin the disaster on?

HMM: Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered.



Hawaii has the largest outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island to alert people to natural disasters and other  hiii (@chiIIum) August 11, 2023

Maui residents who made desperate escapes from flames asked why Hawaiis famous emergency warning system didnt alert them as fires raced toward their homes. At least 53 people were killed in the blazes. https://t.co/htYXbLuZvr  The Associated Press (@AP) August 11, 2023

Here's another problem that he couldn't have solved from last year ... and didn't:

Hawaii state officials suspected arsonists were at work in Maui previously.



Now it is more expedient to blame 'climate change.'



Scoundrels.https://t.co/WSrT9XMd2s  Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) August 10, 2023

HONOLULU (KHON2)  Officials said fires were located all over the island of Maui in different regions. Fire and police suspect someone is intentionally setting them, said Maui Mayor Michael Victorino. Check out more news from around Hawaii According to officials, the incident happened between the hours of 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 12. MFD said they responded to a total of seven brush fire calls in Central Maui. The fires prompted road closures, and two homes were evacuated off Kamaile Street.

So the place had a firebug running around since at least last year and there's been no news of his capture. Studies show that 80% of catastrophic wildfires -- in California, Greece and other places -- are human-caused. Maybe that should have been a gubernatorial priority back when he was signing global warming bills into law -- as he most recently did here.

Here's another one, from JustTheNews:

Dr. Clay Trauernicht, a Specialist in Wildland Fire Science and Management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, published research and analysis in 2014 with Pacific Fire Exchange that warned humans are largely responsible for much of the increase in wildfire threat by increasing the abundance of ignitions and introducing nonnative, fire-prone grasses and shrubs to the chain of islands. Trauernicht has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies, and his expertise covers fire ecology, ecosystems, tropical forest and savanna dynamics, and statistical modeling. These grasses and shrubs, Trauernicht wrote cover nearly one quarter of Hawaii's total land area. This, coupled with warming, drying climate and year round fire season, greatly increase the incidence of larger fires. Forbes quoted him as telling The New York Times that bad forestry practices and a failure to understand bio-diversity are far more culpable for making the islands incredibly vulnerable. A study published in 2020 found these unchecked and non-native overgrowth accounted for more than 85% of land razed by a trio of wildfires two years earlier n 2018.

Apparently it was a warning that just came and went. Global warming, see, was just better to blame -- as well as draw funds from. Maybe that was one the governor should have paid attention to, too.

Lastly, with all these ignored factors, it seems astonishing that the governor didn't have much of a plan at all for a disaster such as happened on his watch.

Hawaii Gov. @DrJoshGreen shifts blame from government to climate for Maui disaster.



The government knew catastrophic fire was possible, but had no emergency response plan and failed to warn there public.



Government's No. 1 job is public safety. Gov. Green failed Maui. pic.twitter.com/tukmRMrWzI  Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) August 11, 2023

It's just too easy to blame global warming. This is not about global warming. This is incompetence.

Image: Twitter screen shot
"Robert Kaplan's Two Cheers for Empire" By FRANCIS P. SEMPA

The Wilsonian strain of American foreign policy emphasizes the self-determination of peoples and the promotion of democracy as goals of U.S. foreign policy. It was evidenced in Franklin Roosevelt's Atlantic Charter, the Truman Doctrine, John F. Kennedy's pledge in his inaugural address to "pay any price" and "bear any burden" in the cause of liberty and freedom, and most recently in George W. Bush's efforts to spread democracy throughout the Middle East.

Writing in Foreign Affairs, Robert Kaplan surveys the history of imperialism in the Middle East and concludes that empires, for all of their faults, often imposed stability and order, which in most cases are preferable to chaos and anarchy.

Kaplan notes that empire has a bad reputation  much of it deserved. Western intellectuals sometimes blame Western colonialism for all of the problems in the Middle East and elsewhere. That is only a half-truth. It is true that after World War I, Britain and France drew artificial boundaries in the region that failed "to reflect the nature of well-functioning traditional societies that had long operated without hard territorial boundaries." Western colonial powers, Kaplan notes, "divided what should have been kept whole," resulting in post-imperial oppressive Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq in the latter half of the 20th century. The Ottoman Empire imposed a semblance of order on the region  order that was shattered by the First World War. "The tragedy of the Middle East since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire," Kaplan writes, "has as much to do with the West's dynamic interaction with the region as it does with the Middle East itself."

The effects of Western imperialism, Kaplan notes, included "Marxism, Nazism, and nationalism," which influenced Arab intellectuals in the Middle East. Those ideologies and practices spawned the brutal regimes of the Assads in Syria and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. But even Hussein brought order to Iraq, and his overthrow by American military forces only produced chaos and anarchy. The so-called Arab Spring  which the Obama administration placed such high hopes in  only added to the region's chaos and anarchy, as evidenced in Libya and to some extent in Egypt.

The most stable regimes in the Middle East (with the exception of Israel) have been monarchies like the Saudi regime and the sheiks of the Persian Gulf, but Wilsonian illusions die hard. Many American statesmen and intellectuals still seek democratic reform in the region. The world's other great powers who vie with the United States for influence in the Middle East  China and Russia  don't care how the countries of the region are governed. Self-determination and democracy are not in their power playbook.

Kaplan's article is adapted from his forthcoming book, The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China, but he already broached this subject in his most recent book, The Tragic Mind. "Empire," he concludes, "be it Ottoman or European, provided stability but little dignity; anarchy provides neither."

Often in international politics, the choice is not between good and evil, but between the lesser of two evils. Kaplan's tragic mind understands that better than most of today's commentators on global geopolitics.

Image: Don Hankins via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Issue 1 went down to defeat August 8 in Ohio, 57-43%, by about a 400,000-vote difference among three million cast. The proposition would have raised requirements to amend the state constitution by initiative and referendum. Ostensibly a technical "procedural" question, everybody knew what the immediate driver behind Issue 1 was: stopping a radical pro-abortion amendment on the November 7 ballot to ensconce abortion on demand through birth at taxpayer expense in Ohio, while stripping away parental consent and even knowledge of a minor's abortion.

The outcome was disappointing but not altogether surprising. Pro-lifers had their work cut out for them in a late summer referendum, and the technical focus of the amendment did not easily lend itself to sound bites for the "pro" side. They'll have to work that much harder to prevail November 7, or abortion may spread across the Midwest.

The results paradoxically proved a main argument of Issue 1 supporters: raising the requirements to gather signatures across Ohio (rather than in just 44 counties) ensured a broad-based consensus in urban, suburban, and rural areas about constitutional changes.

Issue 1 won in 66 out of 88 counties. The margin to defeat it was run up almost completely in northeast (around Cleveland) and northern Ohio, Columbus, Cleveland, and Athens County. So urban areas with blue political machines; the state capital; and college towns (Columbus is home to Ohio State, Athens to Ohio University). Indeed, the three counties that pushed in more than 70% "no" votes were Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Franklin (Columbus/OSU), and Athens (Ohio U).

Rhetoric about "diversity" and "inclusion" notwithstanding, the Ohio outcome is anything but. It augurs long-term consequences with potential for Ohio's significant political transformation and possible marginalization as a "bellwether" state.

The temptation of simple majority politics by recourse to referendum will create two Ohios, separate and unequal. It forebodes shifting power to urban and liberal centers while making the vast majority of Ohio "flyover country" even for state politicians. Why bother with the 11,000 mentally dim in Darke County who voted "yes" for Issue 1 when you have 253,000 enlightened in Cleveland who voted "no"? Whenever a conservative Legislature enacts a policy offensive to liberals, just organize a "get out the vote" referendum. (PS: Do it in an off-year election, when anybody but your side might not show up and lots of out-of-state money can target your cause.) Remember, too, the cardinal rule of politics: when conservatives win, it's live to fight another day. When liberals win, the issue is "closed." Move on!

Apart from its immediate consequences in the Buckeye State, however, the result on Issue 1 should worry conservatives in the long term. Even more important than the political outcome, what does it portend for our constitutional system?

Even on the narrow, technical argument of Issue 1, the idea that changing a constitution should not occur for light or transient causes based on momentary simple majorities made basic constitutional sense. Opponents flipped that argument, claiming that it undermined "democracy"  i.e., a majoritarian headcount.

The opposition argument and its traction among the young show the pernicious effects of the Supreme Court's revisionist history that pretends "one person, one vote" is the only really legitimate means of deciding things. The idea that consensus (especially on important issues like changing constitutions or picking presidents) should also entail taking into account other interests is rapidly growing incomprehensible to many people. That view  sheer numbers win  already fuels opposition to the Electoral College. But there are already sentiments that the U.S. Senate, too, is illegitimate: how dare a half-million Wyoming deplorables have the same voice as 39 million beautiful people in California? Doesn't that make the Connecticut Compromise, which gave us the Senate, America's second "original sin"?

Ohioans who voted to defeat Issue 1, content that the "no" votes in 22 counties could defeat the "yes" votes in 66, might find in the future that the political forces that delivered that result decide California and New York votes should cancel out Ohio's in presidential elections. Unbelievable as it might seem, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is probably not a stopover priority for flyover scheduling.

Ohio pro-lifers have a tougher road to hoe to keep the Buckeye State pro-life this November. But the August 8 outcome points to deeper trends all Americans need to concern themselves about.

John M. Grondelski is an independent scholar writing from Falls Church, Virginia. All views expressed are his own.

Image: BestBudBrian.
Who knew that the Bidens' family mission statement would be based on a Beatles song? Yes, get into "a Shindig mood" and sing along with the Bidens:

The best things in life are free

But you can keep them for the birds and bees

Now give me money, (That's what I want)

That's what I want

Based on more news reports, there is no question that the Bidens love money, and that's what they want. Check this out:

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., released a third memo Wednesday about the Biden family's foreign business dealings, producing bank records purporting to show that Hunter Biden and his business associates received millions in payments from Russian and Kazakhstani oligarchs when his father was vice president. The 19-page memo, which provides screenshots of redacted bank records, says millions in payments came from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, as well as Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina and Kazakhstani oligarch Kenes Rakishev, and that then-Vice President Biden attended dinners with Baturina, Rakishev and a representative from Burisma. "Then-Vice President Biden met  in person, for significant periods of time  with those individuals or their representatives," the memo states. "Then-Vice President Biden joined approximately 20 phone calls on speakerphone with Hunter Biden's foreign business associates and attended dinners with foreign oligarchs who paid huge sums of money to Hunter Biden. Joe Biden, 'the brand,' was the only product the Bidens sold."

Yes, that Biden brand sure got around. They will soon have MBA courses on brand management and have President Biden offer lectures subsidized by one of Hunter's business associates. After all, the man sure knows how to promote a brand!

When are the mainstream media going to catch up and start reporting this? I don't know for sure, but keep an eye on a couple of developments:

First, a lot of Democrats would love to see the president move permanently to Delaware and drive that Corvette. According to a poll, only 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term.

Second, the migrant crisis may be the straw that breaks the back of the Biden campaign. The "blue city migrant crisis" is creating a lot of discontent for the mayor of New York City, the governor of Massachusetts, and people in Chicago who are tired of their local resources going for the people arriving in buses.

President Biden will not be seeking re-election in 2024. He was the guy not named Trump in 2020, and nobody voted for him. They will vote even less for him in 2024.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Pexels, Jeff Stapleton.
(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Iran and the United States has agreed on a deal to swap prisoners and give Tehran access to a $6 billion fund amid American officials' efforts to bring home five detained individuals.

Iran has reached a deal with the United States to free five detained Americans in exchange for Washington releasing jailed Iranians and giving Tehran access to a $6 billion fund that has been blocked.

The agreement's first step comes after more than two years of silent negotiations and has Iran freeing five Iranian American dual citizens into house arrest. In a statement on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the development is just the beginning of a process that he hopes and expects will result in the men's return to American territory.

Iran, US Agree on Prisoner Swap

However, Blinken said that more work still needs to be done to bring the five Americans home. He added that he believes that this is the beginning of the end of the detained individuals' nightmare.

The five prisoners were identified as Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, and Morad Tahbaz, who were detained on unsubstantiated spying charges. They are joined by two others whose families withheld their names, as per the New York Times.

Two people briefed on the release arrangements said that one of the unnamed Americans is a scientist, and the other is a businessman. On the other hand, the three named prisoners and one other individual were all transferred from Evin Prison on Thursday to a hotel in Tehran. The prison is considered one of the most notorious detention centers in the country.

In a statement, Jared Genser, the lawyer for Namazi, said they would stay at the hotel for several weeks until they were given the freedom to board an airplane. Another prisoner, identified as an American woman, was released into house arrest earlier.

Genser also said that while he hopes the development will be the first step into the detainees' ultimate release, at best, this is just the beginning of the end. However, he argued that there are no guarantees about what would happen from here on out.

Read Also: Russia Using Arctic to Export Oil to China, Report Says

Giving Iran Access to a $6 Billion Fund

The roughly $6 billion fund that will be open to Iran is currently stored in a restricted bank account in South Korea. A CBS News source said that the agreement would be considered complete after the detained Americans are back on U.S. soil, which some officials expect could come as soon as September, according to CBS News.

Following the deal, the money will be transferred to a bank account in a third country in the next few weeks, and Iran is set to gain access to it. Officials from two Western-allied nations said that Qatar is the one that would hold the funds in restricted accounts.

The agreement comes after months of negotiations between Iran and the United States to release the detained Americans. It also marks a rare optimistic development in the two countries relationship, which has been marred by deep distrust and the recent failure to revive a nuclear deal that Biden committed to renewing during his campaign for U.S. president, said the Washington Post.

Related Article: Niger Junta Threatens to Kill Bazoum if ECOWAS Military Intervention Pushes Through

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Bull running as a sport is mostly associated with the city of Pamplona, in northern Spain. But until the 19th century, Britain had a similar thirst for blood sport.

The first documented bull running event in the British Isles took place in 1389 in the town of Stamford, in Lincolnshire. In a document recovered from the Gild of St. Martin, the event was describes as thus:

on the feast of St. Martin, this gild, by custom beyond reach of memory, has a bull; which bull is hunted [not baited] by dogs, and then sold; whereupon the bretheren and sisteren sit down to feast.

Stamford Bull-Running, artist unknown. Circa 1800.

Another detailed account comes from The Survey and Antiquitie of the Towne published in 1646:

The Butchers of the Town at their own charge ...provide the wildest Bull they can get, this Bull over night is had in to some Stable or Barne belonging to the Alderman, the next morning proclamation is made by the common Bell-man of the Town.. .that each one shut up their shops-doores and gates.. .That none have any Iron upon their Bull-clubs or other staffe which they pursue the Bull with. Which proclamation made and the Gates all shut up, the Bull is turned out of the Aldermans house, and then hivie, skivie, tag and rag, Men, Women and children of all sorts and sizes, with all the Dogs in the Town promiscuously running after him with their Bull-clubs spattering dirt in each others faces that one would think them to be so many Furies started out of Hell.

The running took place on the 13th of November. At around quarter to eleven, all shops were closed and boarded up to prevent damage. Streets were barricaded with carts and wagons. The bull was then released through the streets, baited by the cheering of the crowd, and chased by men through the main street and down to Bull-meadow or into the River Welland. The bull was tormented throughout the day before it was caught, killed and butchered. The meat was distributed to the poor.

A Bull-baiting Scene, Oil on Panel, by James Ward (1769-1859)

A similar sport was practiced Tutbury, Staffordshire, until 1778. The bull was provided to the Court of Minstrels, a ceremonial legal proceeding for travelling musicians, by the Tutbury Priory. The bull was then chased through the town by the minstrels, and if they could catch it, they could claim, kill it and feast upon it. The event developed into a competition between Staffordshire and Derbyshire residents who competed to catch the bull within their own counties. After the decline of the Court of Minstrels the bull run developed into a drunken revel. It was abolished in 1778 after a man was killed during a mass brawl.

Attempts to stop bull running in Stamford was also made but with less success. There was almost a riot when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals campaigned against it in 1833. Stamford residents defended their ancient custom as a traditional, manly, English sport; inspiring courage, agility and presence of mind under danger. They argued that it was less cruel and dangerous than fox hunting. The local newspaper joined in the protest asking Who or what is this London Society that, usurping the place of constituted authorities, presumes to interfere with our ancient amusement?

A bull running event during San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain. Photo: Migel/Shutterstock.com

The 1836 bull-run saw between five to six thousand participants. The crowd became rowdy and assaulted a police officer and attacked the house of a local opponent of the run. Indictment were charged for conspiring, combining, and confederating together to beat, bait, wound, and torment a bull, and thereby to disturb the peace of the town of Stamford, and cause a riot and tumult. A trial was held and several people were convicted.

The town responded by planning an even bigger event for the next year. The mayor tried in vain to stop the running, deploying two hundred special constables. The run happened anyway. Participants, including women and children, hurled stones and brickbats at the interfering police, and in the clash many townspeople were injured. The bull, however, was saved.

The last bull run in Stamford took place in 1839, in the face of an even larger force of soldiers and constables. The run was short, with the bull being captured by the peace-keeping forces quickly without serious incident. The mayor made the townsfolk pay for all the extra policing operations for the last four years, and this finally did it. The town agreed to stop the practice.

Bull running is still practiced in many Catalan villages and in France in the region around Sommieres, and in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is called Jallikattu.

References:

# Mabel Peacock, Notes on the Stamford Bull-Running, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0015587X.1904.9719402

# Pegge, The Bull-running, at Tutbury, in Staffordshire, considered. By the Reverend Mr. Pegge, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/archaeologia/article/xiii-the-bullrunning-at-tutbury-in-staffordshire-considered-by-the-reverend-mr-pegge/A92214F8252BCEC3615A5C1DF4AF49EB

# Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_bull_run
In the midst of the Second World War, the Nazis unveiled prototypes for an array of extraordinary weaponry, spanning colossal aircraft, advanced ships, rockets, railway and notably, tanks. Adolf Hitler championed the development of these so-called "war-winning" armaments and lent his backing to numerous initiatives that led to the creation of remarkable achievements, including the world's most massive railway gun and the formidable 188-ton Maus tank, among various others. However, Hitler remained unsatisfied, yearning for even greater innovations.

The Landkreuzer P. 1000 Rattea proposed 1,000 ton tank. For comparison, the heaviest tank ever manufactured weighs 188 tons.

In 1942, Edward Grote, an engineer working for the Ministry of Armament and Ammunition in the Third Reich, stepped up to the task and proposed to Hitler a 1,000-ton tank which he named Landkreuzer (or Land Cruiser). The vehicle was to be 35 meters long and 11 meters tall, running on no less than 6 sets of tracks, each more than one meter wide. The gun itself would have weighted 100 tons and the turret an additional 200 tons. He determined that the tank would need 16,000 hp to move provided by eight Daimler-Benz 20-cylinder marine diesel engines, or two MAN 24-cylinder marine diesel engines used in U-boats. To protect this immense economic investment, the hull of the vehicle was to carry armor up to 30 centimeters thick, and several anti-aircraft guns were to be installed on the vehicle's engine deck to fend off Allied ground-attack aircraft.

Grote had previously worked for the Soviet Union in the 1930s, where he had proposed various designs for tanks for use by the Red Army. The design of his TG-1 (the first of his Tank Grote series) was innovative but its weight, complexity, and costs ultimately led to the project's termination. Instead, the more budget-friendly and uncomplicated T-35A was favored.

Tank designers and engineers working for the Soviet Union. Edward Grote sits in the center on the front row.

Regardless, Grote persisted in pursuing the concept of a progressively larger tank, showing scant regard for the limitations imposed by road and rail weight and gauge restrictions. In 1933, he proposed his first 1,000-ton tank to the Soviet military. This tank, spanning more than 30 meters in length, necessitated twelve 16-cylinder diesel engines, each with 2,000 horsepower, resulting in a cumulative power of 24,000 hp, along with a unique hydraulic transmission system. The Soviet authorities understandably declined the proposal, prompting Grote's return to Germany.

Back in Germany, Grote found work with Krupp, a weapons manufacturer. But once war broke out, Grote managed to land a position with the Ministry of Armament and Ammunition in the Third Reich as a Special Representative for U-Boat construction. It was in this capacity that Grote got the chance to promote his Fortress tank idea to Adolf Hitler in person in June 1942. Hitler, who loved big projects became enamored with Grote's concept and ordered Krupp to begin development of it.

The proposed Festungs Panzer by Grote to the Soviet Union weighed 1,000 ton. It was never built.

As per the original design of the Landkreuzer, which had been nicknamed "Ratte" by then, the tank was to weight 800 tons, but as Grote began to add armaments 28 cm guns for the main turret, along with two secondary turrets, each with a pair of 12.8 cm guns, and a pair of turrets with two 10.5 cm guns, along with numerous machine gunsthe weight of the tank had increased substantially from 800 tons to in excess of 900 tons.

Writing about the impracticality of the arrangement of the various cannons, Andrew Hills writes on Tanks Encyclopedia:

The arrangement really looked almost childlike in the idea of cramming as many guns or turrets onto a hull as possible, seemingly with little thought as to how these might actually be used. The MG-151 turrets, 3 per side, one more on the roof of the front of the hull and another on the back of the roof of the primary turret, were small and inconsequential in the design, but the large naval-style corner turrets were not. Each turret mounted a pair of naval guns and they stuck up so far from the roof of the hull that they seriously interfered with the laying of the primary guns in the main turret. This main turret would therefore be limited to firing to the front, sides or rear, as any attempt to fire at 45 degrees would be prevented by the turrets unless the main guns were elevated over the top at the time.

Aside from the obvious production and utility problems of such a huge vehicle, the design had serious flaws. The tank's huge size and weight would have made it too heavy to safely go over bridges, and using it on roads would have quickly damaged the roads. Even though it was supposed to go as fast as 40 kilometers per hour, its large size and being easy to see would have made it an easy target for attacks from the air and from artillery. Also, because it was so big, it could only move around using its own engines, as there were no other ways to move it from one place to another. Trains and train tracks that existed couldn't hold its weight, and it was too wide for tunnels that were already built.

Eventually, the project was cancelled for being too impractical before any prototype could be manufactured.

Grote continued to work on the design even though he was aware that it would never come to fruition. He made the design simpler and more practical. However, many of the original design issues still persisted, especially the logistics of storing magazines and shell as well as handling machinery for the ammunition.
In this article, we delve into the intriguing connection between Bitcoin (BTC) adoption and extortion rates in El Salvador. Exploring the impact of the cryptocurrency on criminal activities, we seek to understand its role in shaping the nations security landscape. Immediate Growth contains a wealth of facts and information that you can utilize to enhance your knowledge and understanding.

The Impact on El Salvadors Economy and Society

From an economic standpoint, BTC adoption has shown promise in fostering financial inclusion and expanding access to digital payment methods. With a sizable portion of the population previously unbanked or underbanked, BTCs accessibility through smartphones provides a gateway to financial services that were once out of reach for many.

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However, with the volatility inherent in cryptocurrencies, there are concerns about potential risks to the stability of the national economy. The value of BTC can experience rapid fluctuations, which might lead to uncertainties in pricing and transactions. Businesses and individuals must navigate this volatility, especially in the absence of regulations specifically tailored to cryptocurrency transactions.

Beyond the economic sphere, the societal impact of BTC adoption in El Salvador is multifaceted. On one hand, the governments efforts to promote cryptocurrency usage have sparked interest and curiosity among the population, with a growing number of citizens exploring BTC and other digital assets. This technological exposure could pave the way for increased digital literacy and technological innovation, potentially positioning El Salvador as a tech-forward nation in the long run.

On the other hand, there are concerns related to security and criminal activities. As BTC transactions offer a certain degree of anonymity, there is potential for its misuse in illegal activities, including money laundering and extortion. The government and law enforcement agencies face the challenge of striking a balance between embracing technological advancements and mitigating the risks associated with criminal exploitation.

The impact of BTC adoption on El Salvadors economy and society is a complex subject that requires careful consideration and strategic planning. The nation stands at the forefront of this financial experiment, and while there are clear benefits in terms of financial inclusion and technological advancement, it is equally vital to address potential risks and challenges that come hand in hand with embracing a new financial paradigm.

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Mitigating Extortion Risks in a BTC Economy

Firstly, implementing robust regulatory measures is paramount. The government should collaborate with financial experts and cryptocurrency specialists to develop comprehensive laws and guidelines specific to BTC transactions. These regulations should focus on identifying and preventing extortion-related activities, ensuring transparency in financial transactions, and safeguarding users against fraudulent schemes.

Secondly, enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement agencies is vital. As cryptocurrencies provide a degree of anonymity, specialized training and resources are necessary to investigate and track criminal activities involving BTC. By equipping law enforcement with the right tools and knowledge, the chances of successfully combatting extortion and related crimes can significantly improve.

Furthermore, cooperation with international partners and organizations can strengthen El Salvadors efforts in combating cross-border extortion schemes involving cryptocurrencies. Information sharing and joint investigations with other countries experiencing similar challenges can provide valuable insights and lead to more effective global strategies against extortion networks.

Educating the public about the risks and best practices associated with BTC usage is equally important. The government, in collaboration with financial institutions, should launch awareness campaigns to inform citizens about potential scams, phishing attempts, and other threats prevalent in the cryptocurrency space.

Moreover, promoting the use of secure and reputable cryptocurrency platforms can bolster security measures in the BTC economy. Encouraging the adoption of trusted wallet services and exchange platforms that adhere to stringent security protocols can minimize the risk of users falling prey to malicious actors.

Lastly, fostering a culture of reporting and cooperation can go a long way in mitigating extortion risks. The government should create a supportive environment that encourages individuals and businesses to report suspicious activities related to BTC. Whistleblower protection and anonymity measures can incentivize people to come forward with valuable information, aiding law enforcement in their efforts to dismantle extortion networks.

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Mitigating extortion risks in a BTC economy demands a comprehensive strategy encompassing regulation, law enforcement capabilities, public education, international cooperation, and a culture of vigilance. As El Salvador takes bold steps in its cryptocurrency adoption, addressing these risks with a proactive and collaborative approach will pave the way for a more secure and prosperous BTC-based economy.

Conclusion

As El Salvador navigates its path as an early BTC adopter, it becomes crucial to address the potential risks associated with extortion and criminal activities. By implementing effective regulations and learning from others experiences, the nation can strive towards a safer and more prosperous BTC-based economy.
Disney Plus appears to be looking into cracking down on password sharing, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger (via The Verge.) Details of the potential change were announced briefly during Disneys most recent earnings call on August 9.

Iger says the plan is to start changing some of the policies later this year. But that doesnt mean subscribers will start seeing the changes take affect at that time. Disney does plan to update subscriber agreements with additional terms and changes to sharing policies in 2023. But It wont be looking to monetize those changes until sometime in 2024. We will look to roll out tactics to drive monetization in 2024 Iger says.

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What does this mean for subscribers? Well for the moment its tough to say. Disney is simply exploring the idea of cracking down on password sharing for Disney Plus right now. And for the time being it hasnt laid out any plans for how it would work or when it would be rolled out. But the changes do seem inevitable. Iger reported that the service did see a decrease in subscribers, although slightly. And he also mentioned that the number of accounts sharing passwords was significant. Which it sounds like may have negatively impacted Disneys bottom line for subscriber numbers.

Disney can already monitor password sharing

If youre asking yourself how Disney will know, Iger says the company already has the technical capabilities to monitor sign-ins. So its already equipped to tell who is sharing passwords and who isnt. All thats left for Disney to do is to start implementing the policy changes.

As mentioned though theres no way of knowing for now when exactly that happens. Or how the end results will look. When Netflix rolled out password sharing changes, it offered subscribers a way to add people onto the account for use outside the home network. Disney may or may not choose to do the same thing. Either way, Disneys intention here is likely to increase subscribers. And it already knows this can be an affective method thanks to Netflix. As the company reported that its password sharing crackdown worked.
A couple of days back, Samsung released the August security update for the Galaxy Note 20 series and Galaxy S20 FE 5G. However, the rollout was limited to select international markets, including Latin America and Europe. Thankfully, the company didnt take long to bring the update to the US. These phones are now receiving the latest security patch stateside as well.

As of this writing, Samsung is rolling out the August SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the factory-unlocked variants of the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in the US. The new firmware build number for the phones is N98*U1UES5HWG6. The last Note-branded Galaxy flagships are getting nothing more than this months security fixes, the official changelog provided by the company confirms.

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The August SMR itself is pretty big, though. Samsung revealed earlier this week that the latest security release contains more than 80 vulnerability patches. These include over 50 Android OS patches coming from Google and partner vendors. The remaining 30-odd patches concern Galaxy-specific security flaws (not present in Android products from other brands) and come directly from Samsung.

At least three vulnerabilities patched this month were critical issues (including at least one Galaxy-specific patch), Samsung has confirmed. Users with a Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in the US can install the latest update to stay safe from these vulnerabilities. The Korean firm has already pushed the August SMR to all of its recent foldable smartphones stateside (excluding the 2023 models releasing tomorrow).

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G is also getting the August update in the US

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G is another Samsung smartphone that is now getting the August update in the US. However, unlike the Galaxy Note 20 series or the foldable models, the rollout for this phone has begun with carrier-locked units. The original Fan Edition (FE) phone is receiving the August SMR with firmware version G781USQSCHWGA. As of this writing, the update is live on T-Mobile, Metro, and Sprint networks.

However, it shouldnt be long before Galaxy S20 FE 5G users on other networks get the latest security patch from Samsung. The rollout for unlocked units should also begin soon. Dont expect anything notable apart from the aforementioned security patches, though. The changelog doesnt mention anything else. As usual, you will get a notification once the OTA (over the air) release hits your phone. You can wait for the notification or manually check for updates from the Settings app.
Language is an integral part of culture, intrinsically linked to ones formative years, and often additional markers such as interpersonal relationships, views and beliefs. Given its ubiquitous uses, it becomes pretty simple to see where the language barrier can arise. This situation includes any miscommunication that intervenes when people speak different languages or even dialects. An individuals original language will also impact the use of any other languages acquired throughout their lifetime.

While the misunderstandings are generally mild and inconsequential, easy to brush off, or even joke about, there are also instances where the situation is more serious. The language barrier can sometimes cause frustration and even offense and hurt feelings. In extreme cases, conflict and even violence can arise. In the business environment, such situations might result in wasting time, money and effort to try and solve the issues. Thats why many companies are interested in discovering solutions to this problem, the best of which is to ensure quality translations.

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Translator earbuds are the best solution for business using

The best way to deliver translations within your business is through an easily accessible method that wont let anyone feel confused or out of depth. The WT2 Edge translator earbuds have a simple, minimalistic design, not unlike that of AirPods. Since it is an unassuming device, you can be sure that it wont be distracting during crucial business meetings when everyone has to focus on the task at hand.

By providing real-time translation, they are among the most convenient gadgets you can use. Not only are they accurate, but the speedy delivery also means that all members of your team can keep up, and nobody is left behind. Words are instantly delivered to the listeners ear in as little as 0.5 seconds. If you have been struggling with obsolete translation methods so far, its time to let them in the past and embrace the technological developments that allow you to ensure seamless communication.

Employees can use the earbuds while conversing among themselves, helping to make your team stronger and more engaged.

Simultaneous translation

Yet, you might consider these in-ear devices too much hassle just to offer translations. But what makes the WT2 Edge translators unique is their added functionality. The Integrated HybridComm technology enables simultaneous interpretation for efficient communication. That makes the earbuds ideal for long, complex and highly detailed conversations. These are the situations in which misinterpretations are most likely to occur. But since every word counts in a lengthy discussion, you want to ensure you get the best translation option. There is no need to pause following every single sentence, causing delays and affecting the quality of the discussion. The translator earbuds enable you to enjoy an experience that is as accurate as possible. The technology is also unmatched by any other solutions available at the moment.

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Translation Modes

Not all translations were created equal, and different situations require different types of translation. Luckily, Timekettle WT2 Edge offers four different translation modes that morph perfectly into different scenarios you might encounter. The Simul Mode permits seamless-real time conversations, just as if you were speaking the same language. All you need to do is share the earbuds and start talking. You dont have to worry about figuring out complex processes to make the translator device work or pausing the flow of conversation to leave time for the translation to be completed.

In Touch Mode, you tap the earbuds to begin communicating, instantly translating your words to the other persons device. It is suitable for friends talking and people that are close nearby since it requires usage by two people. Speaker Mode enables voice recognition, instantaneous interpretation, and then broadcasting through your phone speaker or sound system. It is ideal for short questions, such as the ones you might have when traveling and asking for directions or ordering food. And, of course, as part of the Listen Mode, you get swift renditions through your phones mic. The interpreted speech is then played back in the translator earbuds, allowing you to keep track of the conversation. This one is the best for international students attending lectures.

Continuous connectivity

The translation earbuds dont just help with one-on-one conversations but can also be used for multi-person meetings. Touch mode is ideal for these situations, enabling up to six people to have multilingual discussions. All earbud pairs can be connected to the same device through Bluetooth connectivity. You can choose between the bilingual options available, such as one to five, two to four or three to three. This allows all team members to continue the dialogue, eliminating the gap between the different languages and all the issues that can arise from inaccurate understanding.

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And, of course, theres also the option to use the earbuds when traveling. Many people have to go across borders for business purposes. Some areas have limited internet access, meaning that you might find yourself stranded somewhere you require language knowledge to get by. Even then, roaming charges can mount after a while, and you will likely want to avoid the extra fees. The offline translation packages include English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish and German translations, covering many areas where you can use the services.

Who needs it?

Which members of the general public are most likely to require the use of these earbuds? Since they are designed for both personal and business use, anyone could benefit from utilizing them. Company owners, entrepreneurs and corporate teams need accurate translations, especially as the business landscape is becoming more globalized. Expat individuals can use translation earbuds to make the employment process easier and enjoy easier, stress-free access to administrative, customer or health services.

Multicultural classrooms that rely on English proficiency and diverse families where the in-laws come from different cultural backgrounds can avoid many difficulties by using WT2 Edge. Since the continuous translation time is up to three hours long, and charging only takes a little over an hour, you can be confident that the product is highly reliable. The standby time is quite impressive, 720 hours, so you dont have to charge after every use.

Timekettle translator earbuds offer various possible uses, from daily work to classes, strengthening cross-language family bonds, interacting with peers and navigating the complexities of expat life. Since theyre integrated with the HybridComm technology, you can also ensure you get the best experience, regardless of language.

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Try it now

If you want to try a unique product that can improve the way your business works, dont hesitate to try it yourself. The price is 349 USD for offline and 299 for online packages. The offline package supports 13 pairs of languages which include the main language in the world. The language pairs that are supported for offline use at the moment include:

 English-Chinese, English-Japanese , English-Korean , English-French , English-Spanish , English-Russian, English-Germany

 Chinese-English, Chinese-Japanese, Chinese-Korean, Chinese-French, Chinese-Spanish , Chinese-Russian, Chinese-Germany

In the future, the brand is likely to update the list in order to make it more comprehensive and see that it includes even more languages.

If you want to use the online version, youll require Internet connection to use the translation feature that supports over 40 languages and 93 accents.

For the offline version, Internet connection is NOT required to use the translation feature. You can download our language pack in your smartphone, this way you can use the translation feature even without internet connection. However, you should know that support of languages is limited when using the Offline version. You can also join the affiliate program to enjoy additional benefits like monthly commission checks, newsletters, promotion updates, global support and a 10% commission on referred sales.

The WT2 Edge translator earbuds are one of the most important innovations in communication and translation that can help across several different areas, including business and education by facilitating easier conversations.
After a slight delay, Samsungs One UI 6.0 beta program is now open for the Galaxy S23 series in Germany, South Korea, and the US. Interested users can sign up through the Samsung Members app to get an early taste of the new One UI version, which brings Android 14 to the Galaxy family. Unsurprisingly, it contains tons of new features and changes. Heres everything the first One UI 6.0 beta update brings to your Galaxy S23.

One UI 6.0 visual changes

The latest version of Samsungs One UI software brings significant changes to the quick panel layout. The company has added dedicated buttons for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the top. Dark mode and Eye comfort shield find new spots under the brightness slider at the bottom. A customizable space in the middle houses other quick settings buttons.

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By default, swiping down from the top of the screen shows your recent notifications and a compact quick panel with just six buttons. But with One UI 6.0, you can change this behavior to instantly access the full quick panel by swiping down from the right end of the top of the screen. Swiping down from the other end shows your notifications.

The compact quick panel now shows the brightness slider, while notifications appear in individual cards. The new One UI version also lets you sort notifications by time. If youre listening to music or watching a video, album art (when available) will cover the entire media controller in the notification panel (via SamMobile).

This update also lets you move the clock on the lockscreen wherever you want. Samsung has removed Galaxy and Samsung prefixes from the names of some first-party apps to make app icon labels look simpler and cleaner on the home screen. The default system font, meanwhile, is now more stylish. Note that your Galaxy S23 will restart with the new font only if you have selected the default font in Settings. Otherwise, you will see your current font after updating to One UI 6.0 beta.

New camera features

One UI 6.0 brings plenty of changes and improvements to your Galaxy camera experience. You can now create custom camera widgets that open the camera in your selected shooting mode. When in Photo or Pro mode, you can quickly switch between the camera resolution using a dedicated resolution button at the top of the screen. A new level line now appears alongside grid lines to help you keep your pictures level. You get more location choices for the watermark as well.

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Picking the right video size is now easier than ever thanks to a new pop-up that gives you all the available options. Applying filters and face effects is also a lot more convenient with the new dial, which replaces the slider. It allows you to make more precise adjustments. Additionally, Samsung has added new auto FPS settings for videos, letting you record brighter videos in low-light conditions. You can choose to turn off auto FPS, use it for 30 fps videos only, or use it for both 30 fps and 60 fps videos.

This update gives you more control over the capture speed and photo quality as well. You can choose Maximum optimization to get the highest quality pictures. However, this means stronger post-processing, affecting the capture speed. If you want to capture photos in quick succession, you can choose Minimum optimization to lower the amount of post-processing. The Medium option gives you a balance of speed and post-processing while capturing photos.

One UI 6.0 separates the document scanning feature from the Scene optimizer. This allows you to scan documents even when the Scene optimizer is turned off. An Auto scan feature automatically scans the document whenever you take a picture of a document. You can quickly edit the scanned file to rotate or align it for the best result.

Gallery improvements

One UI 6.0 lets you save clipped images as stickers in the Gallery for later use. You can now add or remove pictures and videos from stories while viewing them. A new thumbnail view that appears when swiping up from the bottom of the screen lets you edit your stories. Moving photos and videos is now a breeze with drag-and-drop support. You can use one hand to touch and hold the file and the other to select the destination folder.

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Checking the details of photos and videos (swipe up from the bottom of the screen) suggests quick edits that you can apply immediately. Meanwhile, manual edits can be adjusted even after saving. You can make changes to drawings, stickers, and text. And if you mistakenly make an unwanted edit, you can quickly undo or redo the change.

Samsung has improved the photo editor layout to organize various tools. The changes make it easier to find and apply the most used tools. For example, Straighten and Perspective options have been combined in the Transform menu. You can also use drawing tools to create custom stickers that are more personal to you. One UI 6.0 gives you new backgrounds and styles when adding text to photos.

Improved multitasking, content sharing, and accessibility

One UI 6.0 keeps pop-up windows open when you go to the Recents screen and lets you get back to them after leaving the Recents screen. This ensures more efficient multitasking. When sharing a photo or video from your Galaxy device, a preview at the top of the Share panel lets you verify that you arent sharing the wrong file. Moreover, sharing content from some apps gives you additional options. For example, if you are sharing a websites link from Google Chrome, you can choose to share a screenshot of the website along with the link.

This update also improves accessibility features. You can now customize magnification windows to see full screen, partial screen, or between the two. You also have multiple thickness options for the cursor that appears while editing text. Additionally, Samsung has provided a link to the Samsung Accessibility web page in the Accessibility settings where you can learn more about its accessibility features and efforts.

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Improvements in system apps

The weather widget is now more dynamic with an illustrative display of the current weather condition, while the background changes colors depending on the time of the day. The weather app now shows more information too. You can use the interactive map view to check the local weather conditions of any place, even if you dont know the name of the place. Simply swipe around the map and tap on a location to check the current weather of that location.

A new schedule view in Calendar lets you see all of your upcoming events, tasks, and reminders in chronological order. If you want to add new re minders or view existing ones, you can do that directly from Calendar without opening the Reminder app. Speaking of the Reminder app, Samsung has redesigned the main list view to make it easier to manage and organize your reminders. It has also enhanced the layout for reminders containing images and web links. Additionally, reminders have new categories such as Place and No Alert. The former sends alerts when youre in a specific place, while the latter doesnt provide any alerts at all. Adding new reminders also gives you more options, including the ability to take pictures using the camera. Last but not least, One UI 6.0 lets you create all-day reminders with customizable alert times.

Samsung Keyboard sees emojis updated with fresh design, while Samsung Internet adds support for background video playback even if you close the tab or exit the app. On large-screen devices such as tablets, Samsungs browser app can now simultaneously show two tabs.

Other miscellaneous features and changes in One UI 6.0

Smart Select now shows a magnified view when selecting an area of the screen, letting you pick the perfect spot. It also lets you resize a pinned image or extract text from it. If you use Bixby Text Call, you can edit the greeting message played after answering an incoming call. You can also switch to Bixby Text Call in the middle of an ongoing call. With improved Modes and Routines, you can have your Galaxy S23 automatically customize lock screens with unique wallpapers and clock styles depending on your activity. You also have new routine conditions and actions to automate more tasks than ever. The Smart Suggestions widget gets a redesigned layout and more customization options, including enhanced transparency. Samsung has improved the app finder with new quick actions that can be applied directly from search results. New r ecommendation cards in My files help you delete unnecessary files to free up storage space. You get to see apps that are eating up more storage space and tips for setting up cloud storage.

One UI 6.0 remembers if you use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi while Airplane mode is on. Your phone will retain the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi setting the next time you enable Airplane mode. Accessing battery settings is also now easier with a new menu in the Settings app. Last but not least, Samsung now lets you automatically block unknown apps from being installed. The new Auto Blocker also checks for malware and blocks USB connections from sending malicious commands to your phone.
Samsung has just taken a big stride towards bringing Android 14 to the Galaxy family. It has released the first One UI 6.0 beta update for the Galaxy S23 series. As expected, the new One UI version brings tons of new features and changes. Among those are redesigned emojis. The Korean firm has refreshed its emoji set with a more modern and polished design.

One UI 6.0 brings a refreshed emoji design

If you are a Samsung user, you are probably already familiar with the companys emoji set. It has used the same design for the past several years. While it isnt a bad design, the emojis have started to feel a bit outdated lately. Even more so with other apps and OEMs improving their offerings in recent years.

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As pointed out by SamMobile, Samsungs emojis look childish in comparison to those from Microsoft and others. Thankfully, the One UI 6.0 update will change that. The updated design has a slight 3D effect that makes Samsungs emojis look more modern and comparable with offerings from other brands. It was a much-needed change and the Korean firm delivered. You can check them in the screenshots attached below.

Samsung might expand the beta program to more countries later

Of course, the emoji update is just the tip of the iceberg One UI 6.0 is. The big update brings many other visual and functional upgrades to the Galaxy family. From an updated quick settings panel and reorganized settings to enhanced lock screen customizations, new camera features, and additional privacy and security settings, theres plenty to talk about.

All of these changes are now available to interested Galaxy S23 users in Germany, South Korea, and the US with One UI 6.0 beta. Its unclear if Samsung plans to open the beta program in other markets, but we hope it does. In the past, it conducted beta tests of major One UI updates in China, India, Poland, and the UK as well. We will let you know when we have more information.

In the meantime, you can check for official announcements in the Samsung Members app. If the One UI 6.0 beta is available in your region, you should see a banner on the apps homepage. You can click on it and follow the on-screen instructions to enroll in the beta program. Once you have completed all steps, you will receive the big beta update like any other OTA (over-the-air) update.
The Netherlands seizes a record-breaking cocaine haul worth roughly 600 million Euros or more than $660 million.

In a statement on Thursday, August 10, the Dutch prosecutor's office says the record-breaking seizure of 8,064 or 17,600 pounds of cocaine is the largest ever in the country.

Netherlands Seizes Massive Cocaine Hidden in Banana Cargo

The Netherlands has once again proven its mettle on the global stage by smashing a record for the largest cocaine bust ever. This time, the Dutch authorities have seized a staggering 600 million euros worth of cocaine cunningly concealed within a shipment of innocent-looking bananas.

According to CBS News, Netherlands customs agents found 17,600 illicit drugs ingeniously stashed away amidst a banana cargo. The authorities scanned the container, which hid the record-breaking cocaine haul, last July 13. The authorities recall that the agents successfully got the cocaine by searching the pallets.

Although the discovery happened last July 13, the authorities only divulged information on the record-shattering seizure on Thursday, citing the ongoing investigation.

As per Bloomberg, The Rotterdam public prosecutor's office confirmed that the cocaine haul came from Ecuador, which was then shipped via Panama to the Netherlands.

The Associated Press News pointed out that the disclosure of the record-breaking drug seizure comes a day after Ecuador's presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, died. The former Assembly member, known for his strong stance against drug cartels and rampant corruption, was shot by gunmen to death at his campaign event.

In a recent statement, Netherlands Benefits and Customs State Secretary Aukje De Vries says, "The record seizures in the harbors of Rotterdam and Antwerp are illustrative of the size of the drug smuggling problem in both countries." With that in mind, De Vries divulges that the nations are already working hand in hand to "obtain and study radiographic images from Latin America."

Although the Dutch authorities have already destroyed the illegal drugs, they are still investigating the incident. They have yet to announce any arrests made.

Read Also: Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte Struggles To Unite Government Over Immigration Policy

Drug Trade in Europe

The monumental bust sheds light on the proliferation of the drug trade in the European region.

Bloomberg notes that the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports that European Union countries have seized roughly 303 tons of cocaine as early as 2021. And it turns out that most of these shipments arrive in Rotterdam and Antwerp, hiddenly stashed in fruit and vegetable cargos from Latin America.

Last year, or in 2022, to be precise, the Netherlands planned to kick off a staunch war against drug trafficking to the tune of $30 million. The multi-million funding covers the expansion of customs officers, which would work closely with customs officers in Latin America.

Related Article: White House Drug Scandal? Substance Found in Library Tests Positive for Cocaine

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(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 11 - Frontex said Friday that the number of illegal arrivals to the EU via the Central Mediterranean migrant route between between North Africa and Italy rose by 115% to 89,000 in the first seven months of 2023.

"This is the highest total on this route for this period since 2017," the EU border agency said, adding that "the Central Mediterranean remains the most active route into the EU".

It said there were 23,388 irregular border crossings on that route in the January-July period last year.

In addition to being the busiest route, the Central Mediterranean is also the most deadly.

According to International Organization for Migration (IOM) data, over 2,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far in 2023, over 1,800 on the Central Mediterranean route.

Earlier this week survivors reported that 41 people died in the latest in a long series of shipwrecks in the Strait of Sicily.

They said three children were among the victims of the disaster.

Around 30 people are missing feared dead after two shipwrecks at the weekend off Lampedusa, which is Italy's southernmost island and often the destination boats carrying migrants and refugees from North Africa head for. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 11 - Italy on Friday was mourning left-wing novelist, playwright and journalist Michela Murgia, who has died at the age of 51 after a battle against cancer.

The left-wing Sardinian writer frequently spoke out a many issues, including euthanasia and LGBTQ+ rights.

Murgia, the winner of the prestigious Premio Campiello literary prize in 2010, had announced that she had a fourth-stage kidney tumor in an interview with Corriere della Sera in May.

In the same interview she said her wish was to die when Premier Giorgia Meloni was no longer at the helm of the executive, saying she considered her government to be "fascist".

At the time of the interview Meloni replied that she too hoped Murgia would live long enough to see a different premier.

Born in the Sardinian town of Cabras in 1972, she made her literary debut in 2006 with the novel Il Mondo Seve Sapere (The World Must Know), a satire about exploitation in a telemarketing call centre that was made into a play of the same name and adapted for the 2008 film Tutta la Vita Davanti (Whole Life Ahead).

Her 2009 novel, Accabadora, won several awards including the Campiello and the Mondello International Literary Prize.

Last month she married the actor and director Lorenzo Terenzi.

(ANSA).


Asylum seekers are being removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge due to the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

The Home Office has said it is removing all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel, docked in Portland Port in Dorset, this week as a precautionary measure.

It said that no migrants have fallen sick or developed Legionnaires disease, which is a serious type of pneumonia, and that they are all being provided with appropriate advice and support.

The disembarkment comes only four days after the first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge.

Around 50 people had been expected to move on to the giant vessel but around 20 were granted a last-minute reprieve after a series of legal challenges.

Footage from Friday afternoon showed a number of people entering and leaving the barge following the removal of asylum seekers earlier in the day.

According to Sky News, immigration minister Robert Jenrick is understood to be chairing meetings about the situation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.

Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of Legionella bacteria which require further investigation.

Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long-established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Councils environmental health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.

No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.

The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel. Legionnaires disease does not spread from person to person.

(PA Graphics)

With a capacity of more than 500, the Government hopes that use of Bibby Stockholm, together with former military bases, will help reduce the 6 million a day it is spending on hotel bills for asylum seekers waiting for claims to be processed.

Steve Smith, chief executive of charity Care4Calais, said: We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point.

The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this Governments hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britains asylum system.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard the Dover Lifeboat following a small boat incident in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: Across the country, most people want strong border security and a properly managed and controlled asylum system so the UK does its bit alongside other countries to help those who have fled persecution and conflict, while those who have no right to be here are swiftly returned.

Under this Government, we have neither as gangs are undermining our border security and the asylum system is in chaos.

Kolbassia Haoussou, director of survivor empowerment at Freedom from Torture, also commented on the situation, saying: The presence of life-threatening bacteria onboard the Bibby Stockholm is just another shocking revelation that weve seen unfold over the past few weeks. This Governments punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system is not just cruel, its dangerous.

Meanwhile, the Fire Brigades Union assistant general secretary Ben Selby said their fire and safety and operational safety concerns onboard the vessel remain.

He said: We wrote to Suella Braverman more than a week ago to demand a meeting to discuss these issues. We have had no response to that letter, and our fire safety and operational safety concerns remain.

It remains our professional view that its a potential death trap and an accident waiting to happen.

It comes as 755 people were recorded crossing the English Channel in small boats on Thursday, the highest daily number so far this year, confirming the cumulative total since 2018 has passed 100,000.

Since current records began on January 1 2018, 100,715 migrants have arrived in the UK after making the journey, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency.

(PA Graphics)

The numbers were recorded as a major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water. The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.

Meanwhile, Border Force reportedly suffered a double blow as one of its cutters broke down in the early hours of the morning and a 400,000 drone used to monitor activity in the Channel crashed into the sea.
A collection of rarely seen drawings by David Hockney which encapsulate his love for life is to go on display.

The Wolfson Gallery at Charleston, Firle, East Sussex  the home of painter Vanessa Bell  is holding the exhibition of examples of Hockneys early works named Love Life.

The display is named after the 86-year-old artists act of painting the words Love Life on the wall at a retrospective exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2017.

He said at the time: I love my work. And I think the work has love, actually, I love life. I write it at the end of letters  Love life, David Hockney.

A Charleston spokeswoman said: The exhibition showcases a remarkable series of drawings that encapsulate David Hockneys love for life and his profound connection with the world around him.

During the formative stages of his career, Hockneys artistic brilliance manifested through his ability to capture the essence of his subjects with remarkable economy, using pencil, coloured crayon, and pen and ink.

Visitors to the exhibition will be enthralled by Hockneys depictions of everyday objects, still lifes and architectural works.

From a box of matches on a table to bunches of spring onions and leeks, Hockneys works exemplify his ability to find beauty in the more intimate and seemingly ordinary aspects of life.

Whether capturing the character of his subjects, or rendering furniture and empty spaces with sensitivity and wit, Hockneys drawings capture a depth of emotion that cannot be easily replicated in grand painted portraits.

Curator Chris Stephens said: I am so excited to present this wonderful show of master drawings, some well known and some rarely seen.

I have long believed David Hockney to be one of the greatest draughtsmen of all time and I consider his drawings of the later 60s and 70s to be among the greatest works by him and, for that matter, by anyone else.

Nathaniel Hepburn, director and chief executive at Charleston, said: Made over sixty years ago, Hockneys drawings of intimate moments still resonate with a freshness and joy.

Its wonderful to see these works at Charleston  a place where art and experimental thinking have always been placed at the centre of everyday life.

Hockneys work exemplifies these ideals, finding beauty in the ordinary moments and creating a connection to audiences and the queer experience across the generations.

The exhibition runs from September 23 to March 10.
Junior doctor strikes have cost the NHS about 1 billion, according to a senior health boss, as a fifth round of industrial action threatens further disruption to patient care.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said hospital trusts were having to pay premium rates to consultants to cover the roles of junior doctors while they were on picket lines.

The walkouts are expected to lead to one million procedures and appointments being cancelled and rearranged by the time the round of action is over in four days time, he said.

On picket lines across England, junior doctors are today standing up for fair pay and the future of our profession. #DoctorsStrike Watch @ERunswickBMA explain why  pic.twitter.com/7hBcdAM7Ke  Junior Doctors (@BMA_JuniorDocs) August 11, 2023

Starting on Friday, the latest round of strike action from British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors in England will end at 7am on Tuesday August 15 as the bitter pay dispute with the Government continues.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has claimed strike action by doctors serves only to harm patients and puts further pressure on their colleagues.

Mr Barclay, writing for the Daily Mail, said: I want to have a grown-up conversation about how to fix the legitimate frustrations these doctors face, and work together to improve their working lives.

Striking is not going to help anyone achieve that and ultimately it is patients that have to bear the brunt of walkouts.

His Conservative colleague, Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, said the rescheduling of thousands of operations was not good for patients as he defended the pay offer made to those striking.

We as a Government have to be responsible in the pay settlements that we give, and we listened to the Independent Pay Review body and that means giving junior doctors in their first year over 10% increase, he told Sky News.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said that the pay rise offered to junior doctors  a 6% bump along with an additional consolidated 1,250 increase, which the Government describes as an average increase of around 8.8%  was fair and reasonable and above what most in the public and private sectors are receiving.

Some junior doctors on strike on Friday started their first NHS jobs only days before walking out.

Foundation Year 1 doctors started their first roles after medical school on Wednesday August 2  just nine days ago.

NHS Providers Sir Julian told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Every strike costs a huge amount to the NHS.

So far, we estimate strikes have cost the NHS around a billion pounds and of course, that is the consequence of having to pay premium rates to consultants to cover junior doctors, the lost income from all of the activity that doesnt go ahead.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said doctor strikes were harming patients (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Concerns have also been mounting over the impact of the strike on staffing levels after a High Court ruling which means the NHS cannot seek support from agency staff, as was the case during previous strikes.

The ruling in July concluded that employers could not use agency workers to fill in for striking staff.

While the NHS can use its own bank staff, NHS England pointed to the additional challenge posed to the service during this round of strikes.

The BMA said talks on pay at a ministerial level could help to resolve the dispute, with calls for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get personally involved.

Mr Sunak has made cutting NHS waiting lists one of his top five pledges ahead of the next general election, pledging in January that lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly.

However, he has since said that strikes across the health service were making the task of achieving that goal more challenging.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has called on Rishi Sunak to personally intervene in the pay talks (Danny Lawson/PA)

Data published by NHS England on Thursday revealed waiting lists climbed to a record high of 7.6 million in June.

Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairman of the BMA, told Today: We would always like to talk and wed always like to avert strike action.

Indeed, you know, Mr Barclay could send us an email  or preferably Mr Sunak  and we could organise a negotiation right now and stop the next four days of strike action.

Speaking later on the picket line outside University College Hospital in London on Friday, Dr Laurenson said junior doctor pay had been cut by almost 32% in the past 15 years.

Were looking to restore that pay back to what it was like in 2008, he said.

At the moment, doctors are starting on 14-an-hour. Were asking for that to go up to 20-an-hour.

The Government dont want to negotiate, they dont want to talk.

But Mr Barclay, in comments to broadcasters, stated that the Governments latest pay offer was fair and final and urged the BMA to call off their strikes.

During the 96-hour strike period, the NHS has urged the public to continue to use 999 for life-threatening emergencies and 111 online for anything non-urgent.

It said GPs and pharmacies are also open and largely unaffected by strikes.

Meanwhile, patients should attend their appointment as usual unless they have been told that it is to be rescheduled, it added.
Some parents are opting to freeze the blood from their baby's umbilical cord. (Getty Images)

Who holds the baby first, who reveals the gender and who gets to cut the cord - there are many decisions new parents have to make after welcoming a new arrival into the world.

But, growing numbers of mums and dads are also considering whether they want to pay to freeze parts of their baby's umbilical cord in case of illness later in life.

Cord blood and tissue is rich in stem cells, which is increasingly being used to treat genetic diseases. This has lead to a number of parents paying thousands to store their babys umbilical cord blood with private companies.

Previous figures from the regulator, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that 27,028 blood and tissue units were banked privately in 2018 compared with 16,965 units in 2014.

More recently, private cord blood banks reported 437,111 cord blood units being stored as of 31 December 2021.

While there has been an increase in the number of parents banking their baby's cord blood, the overall figures remain fairly low, with figures from Cell Trials Data, a provider of data on clinical trials of advances cell therapy, showing that in the UK just 0.3% of births bank cord blood each year.

As part of a paid social media campaign, Chrissy Teigen recently shared that she's banked cord blood for all four of her children.

Writing on Instagram, she says the move is "a choice you can make as a parent to potentially protect your family."

Former Strictly star Ore Oduba and his wife Portia also decided to bank the cord blood of their second baby.

For us as a family it was the right decision," Portia explained on Instagram. "If the unthinkable was ever to happen and we could save or help our children and other family members with stem cells, why wouldnt we?"

What is cord blood banking?

According to the NHS, cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord following the birth of your baby.

"It is rich in blood stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow, and these can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders," the site explains.

The ACLT a blood cancer/disorder charity says blood-producing stem cells (called haematopoietic stem cells) are present in cord blood.

"These cells are what we call 'unspecialised', which means that they have the ability to develop into those parts of the blood that the patient's body requires; whether red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets," the charity explains on its website.

Following the birth of a baby, the placenta is usually thrown away along with the cord blood that is in it, but experts are discovering more diseases and conditions that could potentially be treated with stem cells found within cord blood.

While the fees set by private cord blood banks can vary, the HTA estimate it can cost in the region of 2,000 for 20 years of storage. It recommends asking for a breakdown of the charges to find out what is included.

What's the difference between private and public cord blood banking? [Photo: Getty]

How is the blood collected?

Collection of cord blood involves clamping and removing the cord and placenta as usual, then draining the blood from the umbilical cord and placenta.

The HTA says delayed umbilical cord clamping (not earlier than one minute after birth) is currently recommended by NICE and WHO to allow more blood to reach the baby and help prevent anaemia.

To ensure the best quality collection, those collecting cord blood must be properly trained. Anyone collecting cord blood must act under the authority of an HTA licence.

Whats the difference between private and public blood banking?

While private banks store blood units solely for use by the donor or their family, parents can also opt to donate cord blood to a public stem-cell bank, like the NHS Cord Blood Bank, which are then made available for public use.

There is a lot to consider when thinking about banking your baby's blood. (Getty Images)

But there is still some doubt over the need for private cord blood banking.

"There is still very little evidence to support the need for parents of healthy children to use expensive private cord blood banking, Dr Alasdair Rankin, director of research, policy and support at the blood cancer charity, Blood Cancer UK, (formerly known as Bloodwise) previously told Yahoo UK.

Childhood blood cancers are thankfully very rare and the vast majority of children will be successfully treated with chemotherapy.

Even if a stem cell transplant is required, one cord may not be enough and treatment is likely to be more successful using an unrelated donor.

"We would urge parents to donate cord blood to the NHS cord blood bank in those hospitals where this option is available."

NHS Cord Blood Bank collects, evaluates and stores cord blood units and makes them available for patients in the UK and across the world.

The NHS currently collect cord blood donations at five UK hospitals - University College London Hospital, St Georges Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he would be open to drone strikes against Mexican drug cartels if elected president of the United States (US).

The Republican presidential aspirant vows to do whatever it takes to take down the Mexico-based drug cartels.

Ron DeSantis Open to Use Drone Strikes Against Mexican Cartels

As per The Hill, DeSantis declares his bold openness to using drone strikes to dismantle Mexican drug cartels. The Republican leader divulged that if he were to win the US presidency, he would consider this aggressive tactic part of a comprehensive strategy to curb the influence and power of these criminal organizations.

The presidential candidate made such remarks during his Iowa campaign on Thursday, August 10. He admitted his openness to using drone strikes against Mexican cartels as a response to a question.

The Florida Gov. says, "We will lean in against the drug cartels. We will absolutely reserve the right if [they are] invading our country and killing our people." The Republican politician further emphasized that "we have the right to defend this country."

In his recent remarks, he declared, "If Mexico is not going to help us with that, well then [we are] going to have to do what we have to do." And as such, DeSantis boldly expressed his willingness to use aggressive tactics to curb the drug cartel issue. The Daily Beast says he vows to "use whatever force we need to defend the country."

Read Also: DeSantis' Affordable Housing Director Suspended Amid Inspector General Investigation

Ron DeSantis' Presidential Campaign and Immigration

According to NBC News, DeSantis' presidential campaign has been shedding light on his strong stance on immigration matters. Last June, the Republican politician also suggested employing "deadly force" against migrants suspected of drug trafficking.

On top of these aggressive tactics, the Florida Gov. also vows to the birthright citizenship policy in the US. The measure automatically turns a child born in the US into a citizen. It does not matter if their parents are non-American citizens.

The Hill notes that former US President Trump reportedly turned to a similarly aggressive stance against Mexico's drug cartels. The ex-POTUS reportedly discussed missile strikes use in Mexico with his defense secretary.

DeSantis's plan to use drone strikes against the Mexican cartels is controversial. Some people believe that it is a necessary step to take to stop the cartels from trafficking drugs into the US. Others believe it is a reckless and dangerous plan that could lead to unintended consequences.

Related Article: Ron DeSantis Replaces 2024 Campaign Manager in Major Organizational Shift

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A rail union is calling for safety recommendations made following a train derailment to be implemented in full.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) warned of an increasing risk of another tragedy on the eve of the third anniversary of the Carmont rail incident on Saturday.

The report into the fatal derailment of a passenger train at Carmont, near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire on August 12, 2020 by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) made 20 recommendations more than a year ago.

The union said most of the recommendations remain open.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the union would pause to remember the deaths of the three who were killed, including RMT conductor member, Donald Dinnie.

Our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones in the accident at Carmont and the six people on the train who were injured.

If the Government and Network Rail does not give immediate priority to acting on these safety concerns and recommendations there is an increased risk of more accidents like Carmont putting rail workers and rail passengers at risk of harm.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: There were fundamental lessons learnt by Network Rail and the wider industry in the wake of the Carmont accident.

As well as expressing our deep sorrow and regret at the loss of the lives of Christopher Stuchbury, Donald Dinnie and Brett McCullough, its important that we acknowledge it should not have taken this tragic accident to highlight those lessons.

We are committed to ensuring Britains railway retains its standing as the safest major railway in Europe and we know there is no room for complacency as we work with our regulator, and industry partners, to maintain that record.

Our plan is to double our investment in climate resilience over Control Period 7 (2024-2029) to over 1.6bn.
Strictly Come Dancing is to return for its 21st series this autumn.

Every year a host of celebrity contestants battle it out on the dance floor in a bid to take home the glitterball trophy.

The line-up for 2023 has been announced and comprises actor and entertainer Les Dennis, former tennis player and broadcaster Annabel Croft, ex-EastEnders star Nigel Harman, Paralympian Jody Cundy, Irish TV presenter Angela Scanlon and Bad Education star Layton Williams.

Also competing is EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, Coronation Street actor Ellie Leach, radio host Nikita Kanda, Emmerdale star Adam Thomas, TV journalist Angela Rippon, Channel 4 anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy, actress Amanda Abbington, comedian Eddie Kadi and Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Here is a list of winners from the past six years and where they are now.

 Hamza Yassin

Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal during the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour press launch at the Ultilita Arena, Birmingham (PA Archive/Jacob King)

Wildlife cameraman Yassin, 33, won the competition in 2022 with his partner Jowita Przystal.

Since winning, Yassin has gone on to write a childrens book called Be A Birder: The Joy Of Birdwatching And How To Get Started which will be published on September 14.

In April this year the BBC announced he would front Hamzas Birds Of Prey, a documentary exploring birds of prey, with the TV star saying: All my life I have had a passion for birds of prey, so this documentary film is a dream come true for me.

Its an opportunity to share more of the joy I experienced on Wild Isles whilst I film my top 10 of Britains birds of prey.

 Rose Ayling-Ellis

Rose Ayling Ellis was the first deaf person to win the show (PA Wire/Jordan Pettitt)

Rose Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf person to win Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.

In 2022, the actress, 28, took part in a photo shoot with Mattel who released a Barbie doll with a hearing aid.

This year she helped mentor Unify, an all-deaf sign performance group who use British Sign Language (BSL), who performed as part of the Kings coronation celebrations.

She will also appear in ITV drama Code Of Silence, playing a deaf catering worker who uses her lip-reading skills to help the police uncover the conversations of criminals.

This year the actress fronted the BBC One documentary Signs For Change, broadcast in June, which offered viewers a look into the experiences of deaf people.

 Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey was the oldest contestant to win Strictly (Ian West/PA Archive)

Comedian Bill Bailey became the oldest celebrity to win the glitterball trophy in 2020 at the age of 55.

Following the show, the 58-year-old has presented TV programmes that include BBC show Extraordinary Portraits and the Sky Arts series Bill Baileys Master Crafters: The Next Generation, which follows a group of young crafters who specialise in pursuits that include silver smithing and wood carving.

This November, the comedian is touring his show Thoughtifier around New Zealand.

 Kelvin Fletcher

Kelvin Fletcher and his wife Liz (PA Archive/Ian West)

Kelvin Fletcher, 39, is known for appearing in Emmerdale and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2019 with his partner Oti Mabuse.

Since the show, Fletcher and his family have been seen on screens in BBC programme Kelvins Big Farming Adventure, a six-part series which follows the family as they decamp to the countryside to build a new life on a farm.

A book about the family called Fletchers On The Farm: Mud, Mayhem And Marriage has been published by the couple.

 Stacey Dooley

TV presenter Stacey Dooley won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 with her partner Kevin Clifton.

After the couple danced their way to the final, the duo formed a romantic relationship.

In January this year, Dooley announced the birth of their first child Minnie in an Instagram post which said: Our Daughter is here. My little masterpiece! Im COMPLETELY OBSESSED. Love you Minnie, Love you Kev x

Dooley, 36, is famed for her hard-hitting investigative documentaries and, after Strictly, she went on to present an episode of Panorama, titled Stacey Meets The IS Brides, BBC programme Stacey Dooley: Locked Up With The Lifers, and a programme titled Stacey Dooley, Stalkers.

 Joe McFadden

Joe McFadden made a surprise return to Holby City (PA Archive/Ian West)

Scottish actor Joe McFadden, known for his role in Holby City, appeared on the BBC One show in 2017 and won with his partner Katya Jones.

After the show, McFadden made a surprise return to Holby City for a special episode, despite the fact his character Raf Di Lucca was shot and killed in 2017.

The actor has also been involved in pantomime shows and this year he joined the 50th anniversary tour of the hit musical The Rocky Horror Show.
Passengers waiting to board a flight

Scripps News spoke with about half a dozen people who have landed in Oakland, California, from Maui, and they say they're exhausted, they're relieved, and they're happy to be home safe.

The hum of baggage claim is now a song of safety for Gee Cavalcanti and Aspen Plummer. The couple had just arrived in Maui the day before for their honeymoon.

"When we woke up this morning, it was probably about 3 a.m. We got the pre-evacuation warning to get all of our stuff ready. And about 30 minutes later, the evacuation warning went out. We were about an hour, less than an hour north  20, 30 minutes north of where the fire was. And we could see the blaze," said Cavalcanti.

The couple is among the 11,000 Maui travelers officials evacuated as multiple wildfires destroy parts of the Hawaiian island.

"I felt fortunate to get on this flight. It cost a lot more money than I wanted to spend, but I'm very grateful to be here," said Pam Maycroft, a Hawaiian traveler.

"We really appreciate what the airlines have done. We look at the transpacific flights. Alaska, Delta, United and American have increased capacity by bringing in larger, larger planes to ensure we get more seats to get more people off the island," said Ed Sniffen, the deputy director for highways for the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

SEE MORE: Before and after images show true wildfire devastation on Maui

Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines have together added more than a dozen flights.

United tells Scripps News they've canceled inbound flights to the Kahului airport in Maui so that their planes can then fly empty to Maui and be used as passenger flights back to the mainland. Those lucky enough to leave are gracious, but somber. Many worry about those left on Maui.

"Evacuees everywhere, parking lots full of people who were camping overnight. Long cars queued up on the side of the road, people walking up the slopes of the volcano on that side of the island to try to find a cell signal," said Matt Sorgenfrie, who was traveling from Maui.

"It felt very surreal driving away from our hotel with all of our belongings and seeing the orange and the flames in, at like 3 in the morning. That felt really apocalyptic, essentially in like the lines of cars. So really glad to be home," said Plummer.

As for the newlyweds, they plan to take another "big" trip, but haven't decided if they'll return to Maui.

"It's definitely a bummer that the trip was cut short, but at the end of the day, you know, some folks lost their lives over there. So I think we're just glad to be back here," said Calvalcanti.

Meanwhile, Hawaiian authorities are urging travelers, if you do not have to come and visit the Hawaiian islands, please postpone your trip.

SEE MORE: Here's how you can help Maui residents amid deadly wildfires
By Patricia Zengerle and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve about $40 billion in additional spending on Thursday, including $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs, $4 billion related to border security and $12 billion for disaster relief.

A senior administration official said the needs were great, and the White House was hopeful an agreement could be reached with Congress on the request, which covers only the first quarter of the current 2024 fiscal year.

But the request could face opposition in Congress, where some far-right Republicans - especially those with close ties to former President Donald Trump - want to pare back the billions in assistance Washington has sent to Kyiv since Russian troops invaded in February 2022.

Trump, the front-runner in the race to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, has been sharply critical of U.S. support for Ukraine in the war. And 70 House members backed an unsuccessful proposal in July to cut funding for Ukraine.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there was strong bipartisan support in the Democratic-led Senate for doing more to back Ukraine, help Americans affected by natural disasters and "fight the scourge of fentanyl."

"The latest request from the Biden administration shows Americas continued commitment to helping Americans here at home and our friends abroad; and should send a clear signal to Vladimir Putin, the Chinese government, and others of Americas resolve when it comes to defending democracy around the world," Schumer said in a statement backing Biden's request.

The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, said in a statement he looked forward to reviewing the request "to make sure it is necessary and appropriate to keep America safe, secure our borders, support our allies, and help communities rebuild after disasters."

McConnell has strongly supported assistance to Ukraine, saying that much of the money is spent in the United States and citing the importance of the "democratic world" unifying against aggression, whether from Russia or China.

Asked about criticism from Republicans in the House of Representatives that the request violated a budget deal reached in June, the official said it was clear when that deal was signed that it did not preclude requests for emergency funding.

"There's work to do, but we are hopeful about our ability to come together," the official said.

FIRST UKRAINE REQUEST SINCE REPUBLICANS TOOK HOUSE

Republicans narrowly control the House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy signaled in June that any request for more assistance for Ukraine would face an uphill path through Congress.

A spokesperson for McCarthy said he would review Biden's proposal. "A Republican-led House will not rubber-stamp any blank-check funding requests; rather, the Administrations emergency funding requests must be reviewed and scrutinized on their merits consistent with the practice and principles of our majority, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The House and Senate last approved aid for the Kyiv government - $48 billion - in December, before Republicans took control of the House.

A second administration official said the United States was making good on its promise to stand by Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, and would not be bashful about asking for additional funds if needed.

The funding request also includes $3.3 billion to expand development and infrastructure lending by the World Bank to developing countries and provide a "credible alternative" to China's "coercive and unsustainable lending and infrastructure projects," Biden's budget director, Shalanda Young, said in a letter to Congress.

The request includes $13.1 billion for the Department of Defense, including $9.5 billion for equipment for Ukraine and replenishment of U.S. equipment stocks already sent to Kyiv. It also includes $3.6 billion for continued military, intelligence and other defense support.

It seeks $8.5 billion for the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, including $7.3 billion for economic, humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine and other affected countries and populations, $1 billion to strengthen strategic partnerships in developing countries and $200 million to strengthen African countries' resistance to Russia's Wagner Group, which Washington has designated a transnational criminal organization.

Wagner's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has welcomed a recent coup in Niger and said his forces were available to restore order.

Among other things, the package asks for $2.65 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, including $2.2 billion for border management operations, shelter and services for migrants released from DHS custody, and $416 million for counter-fentanyl activities.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Patricia Zengerle, David Shepardson and Doina Chiacu in WashingtonEditing by Doina Chiacu, Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis)
Swiatek will remain world number one when the new rankings are published, meaning she has spent 72 consecutive weeks at the top

World number one Iga Swiatek beat Czech player Karolina Muchova at the Canadian Open after lengthy rain delays left the players waiting more than nine hours to complete the match.

The Polish top seed won 6-1 4-6 6-4 in a repeat of the French Open final.

Meanwhile, world number seven Coco Gauff cruised past Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 6-0.

American Gauff will face compatriot and doubles partner Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals in Montreal.

Pegula swept past Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-0 to secure her place in the last eight.

The American got the job done before the rain arrived, which disrupted play for most of the day and causing several matches to be postponed.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka's match against Liudmila Samsonova was moved to Friday, as well as the tie between Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic.

"For sure, it was a pretty extraordinary day," said Swiatek, who beat Muchova at Roland Garros in June to land her third title this year.

"I don't think I've had such a situation in my career so there is the opportunity to learn something new and see what I'm capable of. Even though we played this match, like, three times.

"You have to find energy, even though we've been here since 9am."

Swiatek saved several break points to take the opening set before Muchova frustrated the four-time Grand Slam champion when she levelled just before the rain halted proceedings.

On their return, Swiatek secured an early break before the rain reappeared and forced them off again. The break was most of the day, but Swiatek kept her concentration to prevail.

She will face American qualifier Danielle Collins, who beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-3, in the next round.

World number three Elena Rybakina also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-3 victory over American Sloane Stephens and will now face Russian Daria Kasatkina, who beat the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-4.

Across the BBC banner
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's northern province of Hebei may spend two years carrying out post-flood reconstruction, state media China News Service reported on Friday.

Hebei experienced the worst floods in living memory earlier this month after Typhoon Doksuri battered northern China, causing at least 29 deaths and 95.8 billion yuan ($13.3 billion) of direct economic losses in the province alone.

Almost 5% of Hebei's 74.2 million residents were affected by the floods, with over 40,000 homes destroyed a further 155,500 houses seriously damaged, officials said.

About 2 million residents have been displaced by the disaster.

The province will make sure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before this winter, China News Service reported, citing a briefing by officials.

This year's floods were the most extensive in Hebei since 1963, with 51.5 percent of its landmass receiving over 100 millimetres of rainfall, provincial officials said told the briefing.

Some residents in the city of Zhuozhou, one of Hebei's worst-affected areas, have criticised the local government for not providing them with more help after excess floodwaters from provincial reservoirs were diverted to so-called flood storage areas in the region.

Beijing officials said on Thursday that post-disaster reconstruction in the capital could take up to a year, after the floods caused 33 deaths, mostly in the city's mountainous rural outskirts.

The central government has allocated a total of 7.74 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) to disaster relief funds for flood-stricken areas, including cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said on Friday.

($1 = 7.2305 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Miral Fahmy)
A fourth person has turned herself in for her alleged involvement in the now-viral Montgomery riverfront brawl.

The Montgomery Police Department announced that 21-year-old Mary Todd was charged with assault in the third degree. She is currently behind bars in the Municipal Jail, the police added.

She joins three other men who were arrested following the wild riverfront fight. Its unclear whether she and Allen Todd, a 23-year-old man who turned himself in on Wednesday, are related.

Zachary Shipman, 25, also turned himself in on Wednesday night after police asked him and Mr Todd to turn themselves in no later than Tuesday. Richard Roberts, 48, was also held in custody in Selma as of Tuesday.

Police have previously said that the three men who were arrested were members of the pontoon boat, which was blocking the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space. Its unclear if Ms Todd was also aboard the craft.

After waiting 45 minutes to dock the Harriott II, which was carrying 227 passengers, and many calls over the PA system asking for the pontoon boat owners to move their boat, a senior deckhand approached them and asked them to move their vessel, according to the police chief on Tuesday.

However, the pontoon boat owners did not take it well, as a fight broke out, with one of the members of the pontoon boat throwing fists at the deckhand. The brawl only grew from there, including one man hitting people over the head with a folding chair.

The captain of the Harriott II said he believes this interaction was racially motivated, but the massive brawl that transpired afterwards was not. Capt Jim Kitrell also noted earlier this week that he has had trouble with the pontoon boat owners in the past, and had considered pressing charges against them years ago, yet was talked out of it.
A doctor decapitated a woman's baby during a "nightmare" delivery in Georgia, a legal case has claimed.

Dr Tracey St Julian is being sued for gross negligence by Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor, whose son died at Southern Regional Hospital during a complicated birth.

Several nurses are also being sued for concealing the incident.

Their lawyers claimed Dr St Julian had been too forceful with the baby during the delivery.

Cory Lynch, one of their legal team, said the couple were "so excited about the birth of their first child".

"Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center," he said.

Warning - some readers may find details in this story distressing

The Medical Examiner's office and Clayton County Police are investigating the case, which they were made aware of on 13 July, though the death occurred on 9 July.

According to the attorney's statement, Dr St Julian attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods including "applying traction to the baby's head."

Lawyer Roderick Edmond, also representing the parents and who is also a doctor, alleged Dr St Julian had applied "ridiculously excessive force" to the baby.

"Dr St Julian came in, and she, in the process of trying to deliver the baby, pulled on the baby's head and neck so hard, and manipulated them so hard, that the bones of the baby's skull, face, and neck were broken."

He said: "When the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out, and there was no head," he said.

The baby was not able to be delivered vaginally due to shoulder dystocia, where the baby's shoulders become stuck in the birth canal.

Dr St Julian, a board-certified obstetrician and gynaecologist, did not proceed with a caesarean delivery at the appropriate time, as previously requested by the couple, the lawsuit says.

Ms Ross and Mr Taylor, both 21, attended a news conference on Wednesday in Atlanta where their lawyers announced the suit against Dr St Julian and Southern Regional Medical Centre, a hospital in Riverdale.

Mr Lynch alleged in graphic detail the measures staff had taken to cover up the horrific incident, including wrapping the baby's body in a blanket and propping his head up to make it look like it was still attached.

He claimed that medical staff had failed to report the incident.

The couple only found out what had happened to their son while making arrangements at the crematorium, four days after his death, according to the lawsuit.

In a statement, Prime Healthcare Services, who own the hospital, said its' "heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event".

"Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heart-breaking," the hospital said.

It added that Dr St. Julian was not an employee of the hospital, and it had "taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation".

The suit alleges gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks unspecified compensatory damages, in addition to covering the cost of the infant's $10,000 funeral.

The couple's lawyers have said the case highlights the higher rates of infant mortality for black women.

The BBC has contacted Dr St Julian's office for comment.

Dr St Julian has not yet filed her defence and has not issued a public comment on the case.
A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit after she says her baby was decapitated during childbirth.

A woman is suing a hospital in Georgia and health care providers after she says her baby was decapitated during delivery.

The story has left people across the country horrified and raised a lot of questions about how something like this could happen. Here's what you need to know.

What happened?

Jessica Ross, 20, says in the lawsuit, per CNN, that staff at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale attempted to hide the way in which her baby died. Ross alleges in the suit that she went into labor on July 9 but her baby, who she named Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., did not descend due to shoulder dystocia, a complication in which a baby's shoulders become stuck in the vaginal canal.

Ross claims in the lawsuit that the doctor "attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods, including applying traction to the baby's head." The suit charges that the doctor used "ridiculously excessive force" on the baby's head and neck to try to deliver him, the Associated Press reports.

Health care providers also "failed to practice according to medical standards" and "failed to do a Cesarean section in a timely and proper manner, resulting in Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr.'s decapitation and death," the lawsuit claims, per CNN.

Ross's attorney, Roderick Edmond, said in the lawsuit per the AP that the baby's body and legs were removed during a C-section procedure but the baby's head was delivered vaginally. The lawsuit also said that Ross and her boyfriend, Treveon Isaiah Taylor, requested a C-section earlier than it was performed.

A spokesperson for Ross and Taylor told CNN in a statement that the couple was not allowed by medical staff to hold their son  they could only view him.

"During this viewing, their baby was wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body in a manner such that those viewing him could not identify that he had been decapitated," the statement said.

In a statement from Southern Regional Medical Center, which "denies the allegations in the complaint referencing the hospital," hospital officials told CNN that the physician who delivered Ross was not an employee of the facility. "Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event," the statement said.

This is very rare, but it's happened before

The case is horrifying, but this isn't the first time a baby was decapitated during birth. In one 2014 case, Laura Gallazzi's baby Steven was decapitated as she attempted to deliver him in a hospital 25 weeks into her pregnancy. Gallazzi told the BBC that she "felt a pop" and was confused when she didn't hear her baby cry after he was delivered. She later needed a C-section to remove her son's head from her body. A medical tribunal later ruled that Gallazzi's doctor was wrong to attempt a vaginal delivery rather than a C-section, but cleared her of serious misconduct.

Are there any red flags that this could happen?

Shoulder dystocia is a condition that happens when one or both of the baby's shoulders get stuck during a vaginal delivery, Cleveland Clinic explains. But there are no signs and no way to prevent the condition from happening, the medical center says.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also called shoulder dystocia "unpredictable" and "unpreventable." While there is no way to predict if a baby will experience shoulder dystocia during delivery, Cleveland Clinic says there are several risk factors, including having a large baby, having gestational diabetes, having a short stature, having a small pelvis or having a baby that is in the wrong position.

"Shoulder dystocia happens after the head comes out," Dr. Angela Caswell, an ob-gyn and co-founder of Women's Wellness of Southern Delaware, tells Yahoo Life. "We in obstetrics have all managed them and they are scary."

Decapitation as a result of shoulder dystocia is not common, says women's health expert Dr. Jennifer Wider. "It's incredibly rare," she adds. More common complications include nerve damage to the baby, a compressed umbilical cord that can cut off oxygen and blood flow to the baby, heavy maternal bleeding after giving birth and separation of the mother's pubic bones, Cleveland Clinic says.

What to do if your baby has shoulder dystocia

"Shoulder dystocia is a medical emergency that can cause a variety of maternal and/or fetal complications," Wider says. Meaning, your doctor or care provider will need to act fast to try to help you and your baby.

If your baby experiences this, doctors will typically try several maneuvers to get the baby into a favorable position for delivery, Cleveland Clinic says. In severe cases, they may break the baby's clavicle to release their shoulders, push the baby's head back into the uterus and deliver the baby by C-section, or make a cut in the cartilage between the pubic bones to enlarge the pelvic opening, the medical center says.

Things can get hectic in the delivery room when addressing shoulder dystocia, but Wider says that "women and advocates should feel comfortable to address all concerns before and during the delivery."

"Certainly patients should speak up about their wishes," Caswell says. "It is OK to do a C-section upon maternal request alone, but this comes with risk too."

Should pregnant women worry?

Shoulder dystocia is a relatively uncommon complication, but the risk of it happening increases with larger babies. The complication happens in 0.6% to 1.4% of babies weighing between 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 8 pounds, 13 ounces at birth, Cleveland Clinic says, but the rate increases to 5% to 9% of babies born weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

But again, decapitation is incredibly rare. In fact, one scientific paper says that any "permanent effects or fatal outcomes occur infrequently," and that includes all severe consequences of shoulder dystocia  not just decapitation.

Wider stresses that expectant moms shouldn't worry about this happening to them. "Decapitation is incredibly rare and should not be at the top of an obstetrical concern list," she says. "It may be wise to have a discussion prior to delivery about what plan is in place in case of shoulder dystocia  this may allay any fears."

Caswell stresses that this is rare. "I have never heard of a case like this in a term delivery," she says.
(Photo : David Ramos/Getty Images)

A United States cybersecurity advisory panel will investigate Microsoft's alleged involvement in the recent data breach that targeted government officials' emails.

A United States cybersecurity advisory panel will investigate the risks brought about by cloud computing and Microsoft Corp.'s involvement in the recent data breach that targeted government officials' emails.

The attack is believed to have been conducted by alleged Chinese hackers, said two people familiar with the matter. The Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), created by United States President Joe Biden's administration to investigate major cybersecurity events, will broadly look at the risks to cloud computing.

US Cyber Inquiry To Investigation Microsoft

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said the probe would include identity and authentication management, and the board will examine all relevant cloud service providers. As per Bloomberg, the topic was brought into the spotlight after a breach of Microsoft's email systems.

The report comes after Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CSIA), and the Justice Department in July to "take action" against the tech company following the data breach.

The situation comes as Microsoft has been facing increasing scrutiny after it was discovered that hackers supposedly operating on Beijing's behalf could access one of its cryptographic keys. They then used a coding flaw to access the tech firm's cloud email platform.

The hackers then used their access to spy on the communications of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior State Department diplomats. According to Yahoo News, last week, the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee said it would open an investigation into China's alleged involvement in recent cyber attacks on Commerce and State Department email systems.

The situation comes as Bridgewater's top tech executive, Igor Tsyganskiy, left the world's largest hedge fund after seven years to work with Microsoft to bolster the company's cybersecurity. In an interview, he said this is one of the most crucial things in computer science and the world.

He Tsyganskiy added that the sophistication of cyberattacks and other hacking attempts had changed drastically in the last decade. He noted that recent attacks on critical infrastructure in the US, such as on power grids and oil pipelines, have significantly increased.

Read Also: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Likely to Get a GPU Upgrade: Still Stuck at 6GB RAM?

Microsoft's Cybersecurity Efforts

His transition to Microsoft aims to combat threats on a broader scale as he would become the company's chief strategy officer of security starting in September. Since the official became a part of Bridgewater in 2016, he has overhauled almost every system at the company.

This includes the firm's trading and back-office systems, and he was considered pivotal to the company's move to the cloud and was able to scale Bridgewater's investment-research platform.

Tsyganskiy said that due to the work he was involved with in Bridgewater, he was essentially at the core of efforts to strengthen cybersecurity for the company and the industry as a whole.

In announcing the transition, he thanked Bridgewater's co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen. Business Insider said that the latter was considered crucial to the company's AI efforts with his work as an exceptional partner.

Related Article: Disney+ Becomes Latest Streaming Service To Crack Down on Password Sharing

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Mo Chara, DJ Provai and Moglai Bap perform as Belfast hip-hop group Kneecap

"As far as hip-hop is concerned, you have to have some sort of controversy around you or you're not doing it right."

That's according to Mo Chara.

Materialising from west Belfast in 2017, Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai - also known as Kneecap - create music that is as controversial as it is creative.

The group are now set to headline Feile an Phobail in Falls Park, Belfast, on Friday night.

Their name is derived from so-called kneecapping - where young people are shot in the legs by paramilitaries in republican and loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, because of allegedly being involved in crime or anti-social activity.

The group are headlining this year's west Belfast festival

Rapping primarily in the Irish language, the three-piece have faced criticism and censorship for their politically charged lyrics but that hasn't stopped them gaining a following both in Ireland and overseas.

Their debut track, C.E.A.R.T.A., was recorded after Moglai Bap was detained by police for spray-painting the word rights - cearta - in Irish. He refused to speak English to police and was held as they waited for a translator.

The expletive lyrics and drug references led to Ireland's national broadcaster blacklisting the group from the offset. It probably didn't help that RTE had a direct mention in the track.

"It just turned into this music video, and we didn't really have any ideas for after," Mo Chara told BBC News NI. "It went down so well we thought we'd be mad not to do another song."

'Looking inwards'

The undercurrent of all their music is the growing Irish language community among young people in Belfast, Moglai Bap explained.

"I think in Ireland for a long time, hip-hop was looking outwards... they were performing with American accents, but there's a big change now with people using their own accents and trying to be authentic and looking inwards," he said.

"We had a big interest in hip-hop and that genre of music and there was really no representation of this growing [Irish speaking] community."

Mo Chara added: "A lot of it came from The Rubberbandits and people were able to be authentically Irish and do hip-hop without it being cringey and cheesy, talking about drive-bys. They [The Rubberbandits] could do a song about a horse without feeling like they had to emulate Americans."

Kneecap performing at Electric Picnic in 2022

Kneecap's lyrics do not shy away from the group's desire for a united Ireland but they're also filled with universal, working-class lived experiences and examine identity through a lens that can be interpreted as both comedic and polarising.

Their musical tastes range from Irish republican rebel tunes to rap, with American duo Dead Prez cited as a major influence.

"They intertwined realism with absurdism and satire, and they used that as a means of expressing what they wanted to say," continued Moglai Bap, while Mo Chara added they try to embody the same anti-authority attitude as NWA.

The performers are preparing to tour the United States and Canada

The group are shaking up this year's Feile an Phobail festival in west Belfast. They'll be headlining on Friday, while The Wolfe Tones play later in the weekend - a shift in sound, but Mo Chara said there are thematic similarities to be found in both groups' music.

"Rebel music in Ireland has all the same sort of ideas as hip-hop in America. A community that's oppressed, using songs to revolt in some way," he explained.

Much emphasis has been placed on Kneecap's lyrics, in that they flit between Irish and English in rapid succession, but the performers said this wasn't a conscious creative decision.

"We grew up speaking Irish as a first language... it wasn't necessarily that we chose the language because of its niche qualities," Moglai said. "It comes naturally."

"It's actually much easier because there's twice as many sounds," Mo Chara added, explaining it provides a denser vocabulary and is reflective of how the Irish language is spoken by youths today.

'We like people to get riled up'

While the music comes easy for Kneecap, how do they deal with the backlash?

"People have an emotional reaction when we're saying things like 'get your Brits out', but when you're reading into it we're actually talking about getting the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party] for a night out."

Some people might question that sentiment - but the rappers are unfazed by the criticism.

"That's something we play up to - we like people to get riled up before they even know what they're annoyed about," Mo Chara explained.

Criticism has come from the top, with politicians weighing in on the group's output.

A Kneecap mural unveiled during the 2022 Feile an Phobail caused upset

Last year, the Alliance Party's leader Naomi Long suggested a Kneecap mural, which depicted a burning police van, could groom young children into sectarian hatred.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the mural was "offensive to every serving police officer in Northern Ireland and to many in the wider community", while UUP leader Doug Beattie accused the group of "foster(ing) hatred" and "grooming a new generation of young people with insidious messaging".

But Moglai argues this outrage is misplaced.

"It's the same people who are coming out trying to be outraged constantly over paintings on walls when in reality there's a lot worse things happening in the north. There's a bigger crisis happening," says Moglai, adding that it was a different experience for young people on the streets.

He recalls an experience in the predominantly Protestant Sandy Row area of Belfast during the 12 July parades, when he overheard a group of young loyalists singing C.E.A.R.T.A.

"If they're going to jump me, they really wouldn't be singing the chorus to one of our songs, and they were sound, we had a chat... and that's the reality on the ground," he said.

"These people have respect for each other, and we drank some Buckfast. The reality with them is different.

"If [politicians] don't want to get it, we understand it - that's their own problem."

Political outrage has benefitted their careers, according to the group

Kneecap admit their controversies serve as great publicity as they sell out venues across Ireland, Europe and America.

The coming months will see them perform in Ireland, the US, Canada, France and Iceland.

"We don't have to rely on mainstream media to get fans. Thankfully with social media now we can build our own platforms," Moglai explained.

That self-created platform seems to be working for the group as they recently appeared on award-winning composer Lorne Balfe's companion album for a Dungeons and Dragons film, adding to rumblings that a major record deal is in the works.

They have also expanded into the world of film-making, with a self-titled Irish language-comedy starring Michael Fassbender showcased during this year's Cannes festival.

The group, and director Rich Peppiatt, are now hoping to bring the Kneecap film to the 2024 Sundance Film Festival before a UK and Ireland cinema release next summer.
As California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) consider an in-person face-off this fall, strategists across the political spectrum see a shared opportunity for the governors to position themselves as the future of their respective bases.

While Newsom has for months been seeking to debate DeSantis  and both governors are notorious for slamming each others policies  only in the past couple weeks did plans for a televised tete-a-tete become semi-official. Newsom sent Fox Newss Sean Hannity an offer delineating his terms of participation at the end of July, after which DeSantis followed up with his own counterproposal.

The proposed debate comes as DeSantis struggles to gain traction against former President Trump in the Republican presidential primary after he was touted as a viable alternative to replace Trump as the partys standard bearer.

Democrats say that Newsom, on the other hand, is increasingly being viewed as a leading candidate in the 2028 race or even as a possible alternative to President Biden if he quits the 2024 race.

There is no downside at all for Newsom, Daniel Schnur, a Republican-turned-Independent political strategist, told The Hill.

If Biden does run for reelection next year, this is excellent national exposure for the future. If Biden were to step aside, Newsom will have positioned himself as a plausible successor, said Schnur, who teaches political communications at several California universities.

Either way, this is an immense boost to Newsoms profile and will be of great benefit to him at some point, he added.

Republicans say the debate provides an opportunity for both candidates.

I think theres a lot of upside in it for Gov. DeSantis and quite frankly, theres upside in it for Gov. Newsom for the same reason, said Justin Sayfie, a Florida-based Republican strategist.

In the current political age were living in, voters want to see that the people theyre going to vote for can win the rhetorical battle against the other side, he continued. This gives both candidates an opportunity to showcase that.

The debate also gives DeSantis, 44, the opportunity to emerge in the public eye as the future of the Republican Party  and as a candidate with the strength to take on Newsom, who at 55 is seen as one of the Democratic partys younger stars.

That debate stage later this month will be crowded with a bunch of other Republicans on it, Sayfie said. This gives DeSantis an opportunity not to share the stage with any other Republicans.

Trump has dominated the Republican primary polls and news cycle, making it difficult for the Florida governor to break out of second place.

Hunter [Biden] and Joe [Biden] and Donald Trump are taking up all of the media oxygen. So this is a way the DeSantis team feels that they can get the spotlight on them, said Ford OConnell, a Florida-based Republican strategist.

its the inability to get the media to focus on what hes saying or on his campaign, OConnell said. That is really what I see that debate being about.

In a memo sent to donors and supporters last week, DeSantiss team emphasized that the debate was not about California vs. Florida.

Ron DeSantis is debating Gavin Newsom to highlight the choice facing American voters next year, the memo reads. The left wants America to follow the path of Californias decline  Ron DeSantis wants to reignite the American Dream, restore sanity and ensure our nations best days are ahead.

However, DeSantiss campaign did not hesitate to compare the two states in the memo, declaring that California embodies American decline, while Florida is the blueprint for the Great American Comeback.

I absolutely think the debate with Gov. Newsom is a good idea, said Dan Eberhart, a DeSantis donor. It gives Gov. DeSantis a platform to talk about what hes done effectively in Florida and a successful red states vision for the future of America.

The debate, which is likely to occur in November, was initially proposed by Newsoms team, who on July 28 sent Hannity an email suggesting a televised Red v. Blue Debate that would focus on the impact of representation at the state level.

Within the proposal were stipulations that the two governors be the only speakers at the 90-minute, in-studio debate, which would be solely moderated by Hannity and aired live on Fox News.

While the governors would not be able to bring notes on stage, they would have access to a pen and pad during their conversation, per the proposal. Hannity would ask all questions, ensure that equal time is maintained and that governors do not interrupt each other during their designated time to speak.

A coin toss would determine which governor speaks first, with each person receiving four minutes maximum for an opening address. The loser would make the first closing remarks, which would be up to two minutes each. During the debate, the participants would take turns responding to questions in 90 seconds, with the same amount of time allocated for a rebuttal.

Newsom and his team suggested Nevada, Georgia or North Carolina as potential locations for the debate, due to their positions as either battleground or purple states. They offered Nov. 8 or 10  immediately after the 2023 Election Day  as possible dates for the debate.

DeSantiss counteroffer suggested that the governors each record a video to make the case for their governing philosophy instead of offering opening statements, according to a memo first obtained by Politico. Additionally, the proposal called for the forum to be held in front of a live audience.

Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, characterized DeSantiss counterproposal as a joke, in a written statement shared with The Hill.

He described the offer as littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude, while accusing the Florida governor of 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 continued. Its no wonder Trump is kicking his ass.

Evaluating the potential pros and cons of holding such a debate, political scientist Eric Schickler deemed the proposed event as mostly reward for Newsom.

Its unlikely that Democratic voters would judge him as losing this debate, and so in that sense, it only raises his profile, Schickler, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told The Hill.

Newsom comes in with the advantage of not only being a pretty good debater, but also with the feelings of intense dislike for DeSantis among Democrats, according to Schickler.

You want to be a part of the conversation  seen as a Democrat who can really take on the Republicans, the professor said. Being one of the handful of Democrats who are seen as strong potential 2028 candidates is important.

He acknowledged, however, that the positive impact for Newsom could become less powerful if DeSantiss potential as a presidential candidate continues to weaken.

When [Newsom] issued the invitation initially, DeSantis seemed like the most likely alternative to Trump and potentially the person who beat Trump, Schickler said.

For Newsom to beat DeSantis or be seen as taking him on is a kind of feather in his cap  its maybe a little less so if DeSantis continues to fade, he added.

Schicker also referred to the likelihood that DeSantis would try to attack Newsom on certain local issues, including the Florida governors claims that Californians are flocking to his state.

The problems California is having  with housing, homelessness and so on  certainly is a big obstacle, probably the most significant obstacle facing Newsom, he said, stressing a need for demonstrable progress on these matters.

On the other hand, however, Newsom is also likely to call out DeSantis on many of Floridas contentious issues, including secondary and higher education and abortion, Schickler added.

Schnur, the Republican-turned-Independent strategist, echoed these sentiments, noting that in addition to gaining national media attention, Newsom could gain tremendous political benefit at home in California as well.

He is facing some very difficult fights on housing, health care, homelessness and environmental policy, all of which divide Democratic voters, Schnur said. The debate is an ideal way to remind his supporters here that he is on their side.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dangerous wildfires are spreading rapidly on Maui due to very dry conditions stemming from a drought combined with powerful winds across Hawaii.

At least 80 people have died from the wildfires on Maui, marking the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since it became a state.

Much of the historic town of Lahaina has been "destroyed," according to officials. A state of emergency has been declared for the whole island, while all nonessential travel to the popular vacation destination is being discouraged, officials said. The Big Island of Hawaii has also been affected by wildfires.

PHOTO: maui wildfires (ABC News, AP, NASA)





Latest Developments





Aug 12, 10:13 AM

2,207 structures damaged or destroyed in Lahaina fire, with 2,170 acres burned: Officials

According to the Pacific Disaster Center, an estimated total of 2,719 structures were exposed to the Lahaina fire; 2,207 structures were damaged or destroyed; and 2,170 acres burned.



Of the buildings exposed to the fire, 86% were classified as residential.



-ABC News' Flor Tolentino





Aug 12, 4:37 AM

Death toll climbs to 80 in Maui wildfires

At least 80 people have died in Maui as wildfires continue to flare up, officials said in an update.

Firefighters were working to contain three blazes in Lahaina, Upcountry Maui and near Pulehu and Kihei, official said at about 9 p.m. local time. A fire reported near Kaanapali was 100% contained.

PHOTO: In an aerial view, homes and businesses are seen that were destroyed by a wildfire on August 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Restrictions on vehicle traffic were in place throughout West Maui, but the road leading out of Lahaina was open, county officials said.

"The burned historic Lahaina town area remains barricaded, with people warned to stay out of the area due to hazards including toxic particles from smoldering areas," the update said said. "Wearing a mask and gloves is advised."

PHOTO: Volunteers help with community donations of drinking water at King's Cathedral church as residents come together to help people effected by the wildfires on Maui island, in Hawaii, U.S., August 11, 2023. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

About 1,400 people were at emergency evacuation shelters, county officials said.





Aug 12, 3:48 AM

Fire near Kaanapali 80% controlled, evacuations stopped

A fire near Mauis Kaanapali area is now 80% controlled and evacuations have been stopped, the Maui Police Department said in an update.



-ABC News Flor Tolentino





Aug 12, 2:44 AM

Evacuation underway in Kaanapali

Residents and tourists in Kaanapali were being evacuated Friday evening as fires continued in West Maui, law enforcement officials said.



"As of this posting, there is a fire in West Maui, residents in the Kaanapali are currently being evacuated," the Maui Police Department said in a statement posted to social media.



Kaanapali, another area popular with tourists, is on the coast a few miles north of Lahaina.



-ABC News' Amanda Morris





Aug 11, 11:40 PM

Many cultural landmarks cherished by the people of the island have been damaged

One region particularly ravaged by the wildfires is the historic town of Lahaina, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1962.



It was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845 before Honolulu became the capital and before the kingdom was overthrown and Hawaii was annexed by the United States, according to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.



This includes the historic Waiola Church, the first Christian church on Maui established in 1823, which can be seen in photos engulfed in the blaze.



Buried here are several Hawaiian monarchs, including "Queen Keopuolani, the highest royalty by virtue of bloodlines in all Hawaii," the last king of Kauai King Kaumuali'i, High Chief Ulumaheihei Hoapili and more.



A more than 60-foot-tall, 150-year-old Indian banyan tree that become a beloved landmark in the city of Lahaina was also damaged in the blaze, pictures show.



The historic tree covers one-quarter of a mile and shades nearly two-thirds of an acre of land.



Other historic homes, museums, and cultural centers were caught in the blaze. Learn more here.



-ABC News' Kiara Alfonseca





Aug 11, 7:28 PM

Death toll now 67, marking deadliest natural disaster since Hawaii's statehood

The death toll due to the Maui fires has increased to 67, officials said.



Twelve additional fatalities have been confirmed as of 1 p.m. local time Friday, officials said, bringing the death toll to 67.



That officially makes this the largest death toll from a natural disaster since Hawaii's statehood.



Previously, the deadliest natural disaster in the state occurred in 1960, when a tsunami killed 61 people.



The Lahaina fire is not yet contained, officials said.





Aug 11, 6:46 PM

Maui fires declared a public health emergency

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency for Hawaii due to the wildfires.



The declaration "gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries," the agency said.

PHOTO: A man walks through wildfire destruction, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

"We will do all we can to assist Hawaii officials with responding to the health impacts of the wildfires, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support."





Aug 11, 6:45 PM

Doctor in Maui describes treating patients injured by the fires

Dr. Art Chasen, trauma medical director at Maui Memorial Medical Center, described to ABC News what it's been like treating patients who have been injured by the devastating wildfires.



He said Tuesday night was the first night he experienced a mass casualty event in the 12 years since he has worked at the hospital. Staff saw about 40 patients throughout the night, eight with life-threatening severe burns and the rest with minor burns, smoke inhalation injuries and other fire-related injuries.



Chasen described one patient, a fireman, who got seriously injured while trying to save people from a burning structure.



"He just kept going back until he ran out of oxygen," Chasen said. "He ended up somehow taking off his mask and collapsing in the fire. His fellow firefighters went in and rescued him. He had severe burns on his legs at the scene."



"He coded, his heart hard stopped and so he received CPR for three to five minutes...and they brought him back and he was in our ICU overnight."

PHOTO: Dr. Art Chasen, the trauma medical director at Maui Memorial Medical Center, speaks with ABC News, Aug. 11, 2023, about seeing patients impacted by the wildfires. (ABC News)

The fireman was transferred to Queen's Medical Center in Oahu. In total, nine patients were transferred to Queen's and Straub Medical Center, also in Oahu.



Maui Memorial has seen about 60 patients total as of Friday morning, and Chasen expects a second wave of injured patients now that roads are reopening, but insisted that the hospital is not overwhelmed or struggling to accommodate patients.



"We were not overwhelmed. We've never turned anybody away," he said. "We have beds available. We have ICU space available. We've been seeing regular trauma patients throughout the time, like motorcycle accidents and things like that. So our hospital surged to meet the demand."



-ABC News' Mary Kekatos





Aug 11, 5:56 PM

How the wildfires are affecting people's physical and mental health

Impacts from the deadly Maui wildfires go beyond evacuations and damaged buildings. Experts say the fires are also affecting residents' and tourists' physical health and could have impacts on their mental health.

PHOTO: In an aerial view, smoke rises from businesses that were destroyed by a wildfire on Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases, pollutants and particles that people can inhale, penetrating the lungs and even entering the bloodstream.



Research has also shown wildfires and the subsequent smoke can lead to increased rates of anxiety and depression and become worse among people who already have these conditions.



Read more about the possible health impacts here.



-ABC News' Mary Kekatos





Aug 11, 5:28 PM

Jeff Bezos and fiancee pledge $100 million to Maui

Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, have pledged $100 million to Maui, Sanchez announced on Instagram.



"Jeff and I are heartbroken by what's happening in Maui," Sanchez said in the post, which Bezos also shared on his Instagram account. "We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated."



She said they are creating a Maui Fund and dedicating $100 million "to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves."

Click here to read the rest of the blog.
A suspected porch pirate hid from cops by crawling into a storm drain, but his escape didnt go as planned.

After more than 90 minutes underground, a 31-year-old suspect was plucked from the drain pipe in Fayette County, Georgia, wearing just his underwear, according to police body cam video obtained by WAGA.

The man was accused of swiping packages off residents porches before his car was involved in a crash, Sheriff Barry Babb told the station. Thats when he ran.

It all happened on July 26, per the suspects online arrest records.

McClatchy News reached out to the Fayette County Sheriffs Office and was awaiting a response.

At one point, the suspect ducked into the drain to get away. Video from the incident shows deputies spraying pepper spray down the manhole to coax him out.

When that didnt work, authorities sent a police K-9 named Axe into the sewer line  first on a leash, and then untethered, WSB-TV reported. The man then shimmied his way to the other end of the drain with the K-9 at his heels, according to the station.

Deputies were there waiting for him and helped pull him from underground, body cam video shows.

The accused thief was checked for dog bites and treated for pepper spray exposure before being booked into the Fayette County Jail, WSB-TV reported, citing deputies.

He remained in custody as of Aug. 11 on nearly a dozen charges including theft by receiving stolen property, obstruction of officer and drug possession, online records show.

Fayette County is about 30 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.

Postal worker stole packages with weed inside  then made a hefty profit, feds say

Man wearing womens underwear as a mask steals packages off porches, Oklahoma cops say

Snacks left for delivery drivers get wholesome reaction. Capri Suns are my favorite!
Fire crews have contained roughly 85% of a brush fire in an Austin, Texas, suburb that has been burning for two days and destroyed one apartment building, damaged others and prompted evacuation orders, officials said Thursday.

The blaze started Tuesday in Cedar Park, a city of about 77,000 people roughly 20 miles north of Austin.

The fire, which was named Parmer Lane for a nearby street, is down to 37 acres on Thursday from its initial 120 acres, the Texas A&M Forest Service said.

Fire crews continue to make significant strides towards containment, Cedar Park officials said in a Thursday news release. There continues to be no forward movement of the wildfire area and firefighting efforts will continue over the next several days to return to safe conditions.

The city also released an updated assessment of the damage to the Bexley at Silverado apartment complex from the fire. One building with 24 units was completely destroyed, while two others had partial fire damage in 14 total units.

Roughly 300 apartment units, 95 townhomes and nearby businesses were evacuated, city officials said Tuesday.

The fire was reported after 6 p.m. Tuesday, when crews found the apartment buildings burning, the city said in the news release.

More than 20 state and local agencies responded to the fire, the news release adds.

The Red Cross is continuing to provide support to those residents who have been displaced by the fire.

CNNs Joe Sutton and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Affirmative action supporters and and counterprotesters outside the Supreme Court on June 29. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The aftermath of the Supreme Courts June ruling against affirmative action has opened the floodgates of litigation against businesses that focus on diversity.

Fearless Fund, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm, was sued last week for discrimination for considering only businesses owned by Black women for a grant program. The lawsuit came from the American Alliance for Equal Rights, an organization backed by Edward Blum, the conservative legal activist who was behind the lawsuits that eventually led to the ban on race-conscious college admissions.

A supporter of affirmative action demonstrates in Washington, D.C., on June 29. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Alphonso David, an attorney representing the Fearless Fund, called the case a meritless lawsuit being pursued by right-wing extremists. Arian Simone, an entrepreneur who is one of the groups founders, said activism was part of her teams mission, adding, We are not scared.

Co-counsel Ben Crump said the group had been sued first because its opponents thought it would make an easy target. He added that the scope of the battle is larger than one lawsuit.

This is but another attempt to prevent the progress of women from having a seat at the table, Crump said. Its not just about the Fearless Fund, its about marginalized people throughout America having a seat at the table.

Blum has said more litigation targeting race-based policies and practices will come. The Supreme Courts 6-3 conservative majority has historically looked favorably on his causes.

The lawsuit against Fearless Fund

Fearless Fund was founded in 2019 by Simone, the actress Keshia Knight Pulliam and the executive Ayana Parsons, and has a slew of big-name backers, from Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase to General Mills and Coca-Cola.

Fearless Fund co-partners Arian Simone, left, and Ayana Parsons at a press conference in New York on Aug. 10. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Since its inception, the firm has supported dozens of businesses owned by women of color, but the lawsuit is focused on the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest. The grant, issued in conjunction with Mastercard, is open to Black women who own small businesses and hands out awards of $20,000, along with digital tools and mentorship.

The lawsuit against the firm alleges that it is in violation of a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which protects against racial bias in contracts. The American Alliance for Equal Rights alleges that 60 white and Asian American members of its group are harmed by the regulations of the grant contest.

In 2022, less than 1% of venture capital funding was granted to women of color, according to Q1 2022 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Female founders overall received 2% of those funds.

This lawsuit is simply misguided and wrong, attorney Mylan Denerstein said at the press conference. I think it's pretty simple. We look forward to demonstrating this simple fact, that it is not illegal to support economic opportunity for women of color.

The fund had stayed silent since the lawsuit was filed but began its response Thursday with the press conference, an interview on "CBS This Morning" and a letter soliciting donations and support.

Liliana Garces, a professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin, says that there are arguments that can prove the lawsuit is frivolous but that it will have to play out in court.

I think what this lawsuit represents is an ongoing effort by Edward Blum to challenge policies that are trying to provide an advanced equal opportunity. It's just that now, those challenges are happening in the corporate sector, Garces told Yahoo News.

Who is Edward Blum?

Blum is an investment broker who for years has sought out potential plaintiffs who match up with causes in order to pair them up with lawyers and funding for their cases. Before his successful case against affirmative action, he led the push to gut the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, a 2013 Supreme Court ruling decided along ideological lines that removed protections for race-based discrimination in voting.

You cannot remedy past discrimination with new discrimination, Blum told the New York Times in an interview last month after the affirmative action decision. You cannot remedy the preferences that whites had in our nations life with different preferences for different ethnic groups. That cannot be how a multiracial, multiethnic nation maintains its social fabric.

In that same interview, Blum said he didnt believe in the concept of systemic racism, and he laid out possibilities of future challenges, noting that internships, scholarships [and] certain research grants were potential litigation targets in addition to employment.

Whats to come

Garces said lawsuits that aim to undermine equal opportunity will have broad repercussions and consequences" but added that this was "just the beginning, saying, I think the corporate sector and all the DEI efforts within the business and corporate community are kind of the next level of attack that we're seeing.

As Blum prepares his next lawsuits, the Fearless Fund founders have emphasized that they will not be deterred, citing the millions theyve already distributed and noting a summit they are holding in Atlanta next weekend.

"We plan to continue to do the work we do for women of color, Simone told CBS News.
By Jason Xue and Tom Westbrook

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A growing number of healthcare companies in China are shelving their initial public offering (IPO) plans as its stock exchanges have stepped up scrutiny of the pharmaceutical industry's business practices amid an escalating anti-corruption drive.

Healthcare stocks have already slumped in China since the government in late July launched a year-long anti-graft campaign, targeting what it said was the rampant practice of bribing of doctors in drug and medical equipment sales.

Pharmaceuticals is the latest industry in the cross-hairs of Chinese regulators, and the tighter vetting of the sector's IPO candidates shows the sway regulators have over companies' fundraisings. That is even though China has revamped its IPO system to make it market-oriented, with listings no longer needing the securities watchdog's approval.

Vaccine maker Shanghai Rongsheng Biotech Co terminated its IPO plan this week, after the company's high proportion of sales expenses drew attention from regulators.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange asked Rongsheng - whose sales expenses over the past three years were equivalent to a third of revenue - if it had "undisclosed transfer of interests to customers", according to securities filings.

"Drugmakers' sales expense problems are in the limelight" due to the anti-corruption campaign, said a Shanghai-based IPO banker at a state-owned brokerage who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the topic.

"Vetting of drugmakers' IPO applications has become extremely strict recently."

Another drugmaker, Fujian Mindong Rejuenation Pharmaceutical Co, also withdrew its listing application, after the Shenzhen Stock Exchange sought details and the rationale of its sales promotion activities including academic seminars. The company's sales expenses over the past three years amounted to nearly half of its revenue.

Another banker said drugmakers are stepping on the brakes of their IPO plans due to the rising uncertainty. "Exchanges are asking granular questions about sales expenses," he said.

Rongsheng and Fujian Mindong did not immediately reply to Reuters' emails seeking comments, and calls to their numbers listed in their prospectuses were not answered.

In response to the stock exchanges' queries, Rongsheng and Fujian Mindong said their sales activities are reasonable and they do not have cases of transfer of interests.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

ACADEMIC CONFERENCES HIT

At least 12 healthcare companies have halted China IPO plans so far this year, data from exchanges showed, though it is not clear if the stepped up scrutiny played a part in that, other than for Rongsheng and Fujian Mindong.

Fourteen healthcare-related stocks have listed so far this year, compared with 27 in the same period a year earlier.

China has cracked down on other sectors in the past, including tutoring, fintech, and property, wiping out trillions of dollars in market value.

For drugmakers that are already listed, their share prices have been hit by the anti-corruption campaign, which will potentially hurt their sales.

Underscoring the toughness of the latest crackdown, at least 168 hospital chiefs have been investigated on suspicion of violating laws and regulations, double the number in 2022, healthcare information provider Saibailan reported.

In addition, at least 10 academic conferences on medicine were postponed in August. The National Health Commission of China has said it suspects some academic events are used as a channel to bribe doctors.

"This round of anti-graft is much stronger than before, and its impact is huge," said a manager at a medical equipment maker who declined to be named.

"Sales in many firms would be affected."

(Reporting by Jason Xue in Shanghai and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's first international cruise in three years set sail on Friday, heading from Shanghai to Japan in a boost for the country's beleaguered cruise industry following the pandemic, state media reported.

The Blue Dream Star sailed a day after China opened the way for more international travel by its citizens, lifting pandemic restrictions on group tours for more countries, including key markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea.

The vessel, operated by Shanghai Blue Dream International Cruise Line and carrying more than 1,000 passengers, will sail to Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

Thursday's lifting of more travel restrictions by the culture and tourism ministry is seen as a potential boon for international travel industries.

Prior to the pandemic, mainland Chinese tourists spent more than any other country's tourists when abroad, clocking up a combined $255 billion in 2019 - with group tours estimated to account for roughly 60% of that.

Their absence since the pandemic has led to financial troubles for many tourism-dependent businesses around the globe.

Just how much outbound Chinese tourism will bounce back for the latest group of countries remains to be seen. Expectations that demand would come roaring back after China's borders were re-opened have to date been largely unfulfilled.

As of July, the number of international flights in and out of China had recovered to only 53% of 2019's levels.

(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Frances Kerry)
A group of Democratic lawmakers in the House are calling for a hearing to investigate attacks on democracy, following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss (R) suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell (D) on Wednesday for alleged neglect of duty.

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) sent a letter Thursday to committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) asking for a full hearing on the shocking trends of anti-democratic abuses of powers in the state [Florida.]

The lawmakers claimed Floridas executive and legislative branches of government have engaged in a relentless assault on the fundamental rights and freedoms of Floridians.

The letter addresses the previous suspension by DeSantis of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren after he allegedly refused to enforce bans on abortion and transgender surgery. The lawmakers referenced testimony from Warren, Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) and two Florida residents about alleged anti-democratic abuses, happening in Florida.

The lawmakers said they are alarmed DeSantis has suspended a second prosecutor.

This removal flies in the face of the courts and the Constitution in what appears to be a scheme to undermine the will of the electorate where the courts cannot provide a legal remedy for the Constitutional violation, the letter said.

DeSantis, also a Republican presidential candidate, announced the suspension of Worrell on Wednesday and said her administration of the criminal justice in the 9th Circuit has been clearly and fundamentally derelict so as to constitute both neglect of duty and incompetence.

Worrell was elected to serve as the state attorney for Floridas 9th District in 2020 and was running for reelection in 2024.

Worrell called DeSantis a weak dictator following her suspension.

In Thursdays letter, the lawmakers said a full committee hearing is needed to understand the pattern of these abuses of power, and identify the steps needed to protect the rights and freedoms of Floridians and Americans.

DeSantiss move sparked criticism from multiple Democratic Florida state lawmakers, who pointed to the governors own dereliction of duty. A Florida-based voting rights group said it is planning to protest the governors decision outside of the Orlando City Hall on Thursday night.

The Hill has reached out to DeSantiss office and campaign for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photograph: Reuters

Five US dual citizens detained by Iran have left Tehrans Evin prison and are now under house arrest, in a move which could indicate the start of a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.

The Iranian Americans include the businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as the environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, said Jared Genser, a lawyer who represents Namazi. The identity of the other two US citizens has not been made public.

Related: Trump and his valet plead not guilty to new charges in Mar-a-Lago documents case  live

The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin prison to an expected house arrest is an important development, Genser said in a statement. While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more  There are simply no guarantees about what happens from here.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, confirmed that the five Americans had been moved to house arrest, and said negotiations for their release were continuing.

Watson described the transfer as an encouraging step  but adding that they should never have been detained in the first place.

We will not rest until they are all back home in the United States. Until that time, negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate. We will, therefore, have little in the way of details to provide about the state of their house arrest or about our efforts to secure their freedom, she said.

Freeing the five would remove a major irritant between the United States and Iran, though the nations remain at odds on issues from the Iranian nuclear program to Tehrans support for Shiite militias in nations such as Iraq and Lebanon.

Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related charges the United States has rejected as baseless, has been detained by Iran for more than seven years. His father, Baquer, was allowed to leave Iran in October for medical treatment after being detained on similar charges also rejected by Washington.

Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assembly and collusion against Irans national security and working for the United States as a spy. Shargi was convicted of espionage in 2020 and also sentenced to 10 years.

Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognized by Tehran, are often pawns between the two nations, which are at odds over issues including Irans expanding nuclear program.

In February, NBC News reported Washington and Tehran were holding indirect talks exploring a prisoner exchange and the transfer of billions of dollars of Iranian funds in South Korean banks currently blocked by US sanctions. If transferred, those funds could only be spent for humanitarian purposes.

Any transfer could draw Republican criticism that Joe Biden had effectively paid a ransom for the US citizens and that Iran using that money for humanitarian purposes could free up funds for its nuclear program or to support militias in nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

A spokesperson for the UKs Foreign Office said: We are pleased to see British national Morad Tahbaz has been released on furlough. This is a first step, and we remain focussed on his permanent release.
Google Pixel Fold's built-in speakers quietly support the highly sought-after Spatial Audio option.

It enables users to enjoy a more immersive audio experience beyond their wireless earbuds.

Google Pixel Fold's Built-In Speakers Has Spatial Audio

As per 9to5 Google, the recently launched Pixel Fold has been keeping a sonic secret, quietly ushering in a new era of auditory ecstasy. Google's foldable boasts an ingenious feature that has remained concealed - exceptional support for spatial audio for its built-in speakers.

A mobile phone's speaker is the last thing music lovers rely on to listen to their favorite songs. Most often, this built-in hardware sounds terrible, to say at least. However, if you are a Pixel Fold user, you get the immersive audio affair while merely playing tunes using its built-in speaker.

According to Android Police, an app researcher, Mishaal Rahman, recently discovered that Pixel Fold supports Spatial Audio on its speaker. A Google support page confirms that Pixel Fold's speakers supply Spatial audio. The tech giant notes that the built-in speaker support is exclusively available to its flagship foldable.

The support document says, "This feature makes your listening experience closer to the immersive engagement you get with headphones." Users may begin listening to them by heading to the Settings app. After which, select the "Sound & vibration" option and tap "Spatial audio." Then, toggle the "Phone speaker" option.

Read Also: Google Pixel Fold Users Report Broken Folding Displays: Is There a Durability Issue?

Spatial Audio on Mobile Phones

But what exactly is spatial audio, you ask? Well, imagine immersing yourself in a world where sound does not just come from one direction but envelops you from all sides. It is similar to listening to your favorite musical artist or group live, hearing the instruments and vocals in real life. It is an immersive experience, which some phone users need to catch up on.

The rave about Spatial Audio began when Apple dished out Spatial Audio on its iconic AirPods. The feature delivered a game-changing audio experience to its users, taking the capability of wireless earbuds to the next level.

Google quickly kept up with the iPhone maker. It rolled out a similar feature early this year, which goes by the exact name. A January 2023 patch delivered Spatial Audio to various Pixel devices, including the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro. It enabled users to listen to immersive audio using a pair of wireless earbuds or wired headphones. And for the Pixel Fold, it expands to its tiny built-in speakers.

Related Article: Google Confirms Second Pixel Fold Was in the Works: What Happened?

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Top House Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of attempting to stymie their investigation into Hunter Biden following the Department of Justices appointment of a special counsel.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised doubts about whether special counsel David Weiss could be trusted and pledged in a statement that House Republicans would continue their investigations into the presidents family.

This action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption, McCarthy said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) returns to his office following votes on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Russell Dye, a spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), also questioned whether they could trust Weiss and said the appointment of the special counsel is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familys corruption.

Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it. We will continue to pursue facts brought to light by brave whistleblowers as well as Weisss inconsistent statements to Congress, Dye continued.

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called the move part of the Justice Departments efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup.

Lets be clear what todays move is really about, Comer said in a statement. The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption.

Comer and Jordan have led the push to investigate President Bidens familys business dealings and have sharply criticized how the Justice Department handled its probe into Hunter Biden.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who has been leading the Hunter Biden investigation, as a special counsel Friday.

Top Stories from The Hill

Garland said the appointment comes after Weiss approached him and said he thinks a special counsel would be necessary to proceed in the case involving the presidents son.

On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed, Garland said in a statement Friday.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland added.

Democrats have called out the GOP reaction as hypocritical, pointing to a time when House Republicans asked for a special counsel to be named in the case.

Request granted! But now you dont support what you asked for, Rep. Jared Moskowitz wrote on X, responding to a post from the House Judiciary account from February.

Amnesia can be very serious, he wrote. If you need a doctor recommendation let me know. Happy to help.

Updated at 6:50 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Honduras for a 36-month credit facility for about $830 million to support the country's economic reform policies.

In a statement, the IMF said the economic program focuses on helping address urgent social spending and investment needs, while anchoring macroeconomic stability. A credit facility is an agreement between a borrower and a lender that is more flexible than a traditional loan.

The agreement follows an IMF team visit to Honduras between June 5 and 16 and virtual discussions in recent weeks, it added.

"The Honduran economy has remained remarkably resilient to several shocks, both domestic and external, including the pandemic, weather events (tropical storms and droughts), the impact of the war in Ukraine, and the global economic slowdown," the statement showed.

However, Honduras continues to face long-standing social and structural challenges, it said, and addressing these challenges will require "steadfast implementation (and) structural reforms that promote economic diversification and social inclusion."

Honduras Foreign Minister Enrique Reina welcomed the agreement on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying in a post the news demonstrated "the financial, monetary and economic soundness of the country."

The deal will fall under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and has yet to be approved by the executive board.

The Central American country's economy expanded by 4% last year, according to official data, and the government has forecast gross domestic product growth of between 3.5% and 4.0% this year.

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Editing by Isabel Woodford and David Gregorio)
The US Food and Drug Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials are investigating a multistate Listeria outbreak that may be connected with Soft Serve On The Go ice cream cups, the FDA said Thursday.

Two people have gotten sick, and both were hospitalized. Both said they had eaten Soft Serve On The Go vanilla chocolate ice cream cups, made by Brooklyn-based Real Kosher Ice Cream.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture was able to collect an unopened serving of the ice cream at the home of one of the patients, and it tested positive for the bacteria that causes a listeria infection. Investigators are running genetic tests to determine whether this is from the same strain of Listeria thats causing the illnesses.

The FDA says Real Kosher has recalled all its ice cream and sorbet flavors in the 8-ounce cups. Real Kosher has also temporarily shut down production of the product.

Consumers who have any of the products in their freezers should throw the products away or return them to the point of purchase for a full refund.

The ice cream is sold in 19 states  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia  and the District of Columbia. Its also distributed to the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Brazil and Belgium.

The products can be bought at grocery stores and convenience stores, but they are also sold to institutions like nursing homes, schools, camps and long-term care facilities, the CDC says.

People who get sick with a Listeria infection can develop a fever. They may get sick to their stomach and have muscle aches, a headache, stiff neck, loss of balance and confusion, and they could go into convulsions or die. People who are most at risk of a severe infection include those who are pregnant, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. For people who are pregnant, a Listeria infection can cause a pregnancy loss or premature birth.

The FDA asks consumers who want to report a complaint, an illness or a severe reaction to reach out to an FDA consumer complaint coordinator, fill out a MedWatch form online or mail in a MedWatch form. The company says customers can also call 845-668-4346 or email info@softserveonthego.com.

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A Waymo driverless taxi stops on a street in San Francisco for several minutes because the back door was not completely shut, while traffic backs up behind it on Feb. 15. (Terry Chea / Associated Press)

Get ready, San Francisco: The state government on Thursday approved a major expansion of driverless robotaxi service throughout the city.

And get ready, Los Angeles: The industry is planning to push for driverless rides here as soon as it gets permits to do so.

The states green light, on a 3-1 vote by the California Public Utilities Commission, signals a historic turning point for the robotaxi business as it evolves from fascinating experiment to commercial reality. It also marks the beginning of a grand experiment in public safety as thousands of multi-ton vehicles operated via artificial intelligence attempt to safely negotiate the hills and narrow streets of San Francisco.

It highlights California's messy multiagency regulation of new automobile technology: Two agencies are in charge of the robotaxi business, the CPUC and the California Department of Motor Vehicles. And it shines a spotlight to expose Silicon Valley's influence on California government.

Although the approval delights the industry and proponents of rapid technological innovation and economic growth, its provoked anxiety among automotive safety advocates and local public officials, who have little regulatory power over the vehicles.

San Franciscos robotaxis have become notorious for bricking or coming to a dead stop  in traffic, clogging lanes for emergency vehicles, blocking firetrucks from exiting stations, stopping on fire hoses and driving directly into emergency scenes where Police and Fire Department lights are flashing, rather than going another way.

Read more:Will self-driving cars solve our traffic and street safety problems? A tech historian says no

Theyre not ready for prime time, San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson told The Times recently.

The Fire Department made public reports of 55 such incidents over the last year and a half, most of them occurring just in the last several months.

The CPUC, which approved the measure, regulates rides for hire. The CPUC also regulates ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft. Both companies plan over time to replace their human drivers with robot cars.

The approval allows robotaxi companies Waymo and Cruise to charge fares and expand operations to all parts of the city, 24 hours a day. Each has deployed several hundred vehicles in the first phase of the commercial rollout. With the expansion, that will grow to thousands of vehicles, Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt recently said on an earnings call.

The sole no vote was cast by Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma, who said the commission shouldn't allow rapid expansion before Waymo and Cruise are required to explain why their vehicles keep interfering with emergency responders and what they're going to do about it. "The commission lacks at present sufficient information ... to evaluate the safety aspect of this," she said. "It is premature to approve these resolutions today."

Voting in favor were Commissioners John Reynolds and Darcie Houck, and commission Chair Alice Reynolds. Commissioner Karen Douglas was absent. All five commissioners were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

John Reynolds, who came to the CPUC after serving as top lawyer at Cruise, said safety is the DMV's concern. He called the dozens of Fire Department incidents "anecdotal data analysis lacking sufficient rigor." He added that earlier deployment rules passed by the CPUC are set in stone and can't be changed without a lengthy rulemaking process.

Although Reynolds recused himself from voting on those rules, he did help Cruise advise the CPUC in the early stage of the rules' creation. Reynolds said before his vote that his professional role has now switched to "consumer advocate."

Shiroma took issue with describing the emergency responder data as "anecdotal" and asked how those pushing for an immediate vote would feel if "a member of your family was trapped in a burning building."

She made clear she wasn't opposed to robotaxi deployment, but more time was needed for the industry to explain why its software gets confused in emergency scenes, and how it'll be fixed. "Given their financial backing" it's reasonable to ask Cruise and Waymo to take the time to get things right before a major expansion.

The driverless industry has a reputation as a bunch of scrappy startups, but the key companies are all owned by corporations with deep pockets. Cruise, by General Motors; Waymo, by Googles Alphabet; Motional, by Hyundai; and Zoox, by Amazon.

City officials fought hard to delay an expansion until the companies could figure out how to program their vehicles to prevent interference with first responders. They won a two-month delay, but on Thursday the CPUC made its decision. Opponents, meanwhile, won an acknowledgment that their concerns are real.

Read more:Waymo says it's bringing robotaxis to L.A.

In its lengthy resolution, the official document approving the expansion, the commission said it acknowledges continuing and emerging challenges related to passenger and public safety. It said we remain concerned about potential risks, known and unknown, to passenger and public safety as driverless [automated vehicles] scale up.

No concrete plans to address those issues were mentioned. The commission did say that it will engage with stakeholders and that we see the need for continued development in our approach to AV regulation and policy.

The resolution also addressed city officials' concerns about lack of local control over safety and traffic flow not only in San Francisco but also in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The commission noted that cities are allowed to issue traffic tickets.

The CPUC did signal an intention to review California governments spotty rules around safety data collection and address the driverless industrys propensity to keep stats out of public view sometimes with the help of the state's own regulators. In 2021, after the DMV received a public records request for Waymo crash data, the agency invited the company to seek a court injunction to prevent the DMV from releasing full crash reports.

Read more:Driverless trucks on California highways? Legislators don't trust the DMV to ensure safety

After the injunction was granted, the DMV and Waymo cut a deal to keep the basic crash information concealed on the grounds of protecting company trade secrets. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta helped the DMV and Waymo craft the deal, which was approved by a state court.

The robotaxi expansion was supported by state and local chambers of commerce, merchants associations, advocates for the disabled, and California Assemblyman Evan Low, who represents Silicon Valley. A large number of individuals spoke in favor or against the move before the CPUC vote. Several blind people testified in favor. Several others in wheelchairs were opposed, noting that current robotaxis cannot accommodate them, and that human taxi drivers are able to help them in and out of their vehicles.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexico announced Thursday that its army-run airline will start up in September  but the flight attendants wont be soldiers.

The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has also put trains, law enforcement, tourism and infrastructure projects under the armys command. That includes one tourist ferry line serving the Isla Marias islands that is manned by navy personnel.

But on the new Mexicana airline, you wont have to worry about being told to Fasten your seatbelt, and thats an order! The Defense Department said the airline will lease 10 Boeing 737-800 jets from the manufacturer, which will provide pilots and cabin crew.

Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval originally said the contract with Boeing would be for $4 billion, but later corrected himself to say he meant 4 billion pesos, or about $235 million.

He said the airline is looking at 20 potential routes between Mexico City and large and mid-size Mexican cities, some of which have limited service at present, as well as tourist resorts like Cancun.

Sandoval promised ticket prices would be 18% to 20% below private competitors, but was unsure if the airline would profitable. If not, it presumably would have to operate with government subsidies.

The airline has been named Mexicana after a partly state-owned carrier that went into bankruptcy in 2010 and closed.

The 8,500 laid-off former employees of Mexicana are longtime supporters of the president, and his administration agreed to pay them almost $50 million for the commercial rights to the old airline's brand name and some decrepit properties. Experts have said the amount far exceeded the market value.

The new airline combines Lopez Obradors love of state-owned companies  he has criticized decisions by previous administrations to sell off once-extensive government companies  and his near-total reliance on the armed forces, which he views as honest and a bulwark against corruption.

A military-led company operates the new Felipe Angeles airport that the president had built as a third airport serving Mexico City and is constructing a new airport at the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum.

Apart from boosting traffic at the underused Felipe Angeles airport, the army-run Mexicana apparently will provide flights to feed passengers into the president's Maya Train tourism project. The army is also building that train line, which will connect beach resorts and archaeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The army, which has no experience running commercial flights, has created a subsidiary ito be in charge of Mexicana.

Lopez Obrador has suggested the new airline might also serve one of the classic roles of state-owned carriers: providing service to provincial airports on routes considered unprofitable by commercial airlines. That idea could run afoul of regulations that now prohibit airlines from running Mexican airports, or vice versa.
Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara (right) and Ecowas head Omar Touray discussed possible military responses to the Niger coup

West African nations have approved armed intervention in Niger "as soon as possible", the Ivory Coast president says, following a meeting to discuss the coup.

At the meeting, leaders of the Ecowas regional bloc said they had agreed to deploy a "standby" military force.

However, they have not given any details of the size of the force.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu said the use of force would be a "last resort".

A military junta seized power in Niger on July 26.

After the Ecowas meeting in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara said Ecowas had intervened in African countries in order to restore constitutional order before.

"Today we have a similar situation in Niger, and I like to say that Ecowas cannot accept this," he said.

Mr Ouattara said the Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men, and said soldiers from Nigeria and Benin would also be deployed.

The overall size of the force and how many troops each country is expected to contribute not known now but a presidential source in Abuja told the BBC that Ecowas would want to engage in a "show of force" to convince the Niger coup leaders that it's ready to follow through its threat.

"The ultimate goal is to try to bring General Abdourahmane Tchiani to the dialogue table," he said.

Speaking to journalists at the end of Thursday's meeting, former Nigerian military leader General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who led a delegation to Niger over a week ago but did not get to see the coup leader, said: "Nobody wants to go to war. We want peace. All options are on the table."

Omar Touray, president of the Ecowas group, said members had decided "to order the deployment of the Ecowas standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger".

He did not set out further details of what the force it intends to assemble might look like or what action it might take.

Abdel Musah, the bloc's security commissioner, told the BBC that Ecowas would not allow the junta to stay in power during a transitional period like their counterparts in Burkina Faso and Mali.

However, he said the junta was not willing to have direct contact with Ecowas, making negotiations difficult.

The US and UN say they are concerned about the health and safety of deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, who has spent more than two weeks under house arrest.

Ahead of Thursday's meeting, Muslim clerics from northern Nigeria, which shares a long border with Niger, had urged Nigerian President Tinubu against using force to oust the coup leaders.

But speaking after the meeting, he said: "No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.

"If we don't do it, no one else will do it for us."

The coup leaders have warned they will defend themselves against any intervention.

Ecowas had issued a deadline of last Sunday to the Niger junta to restore the democratically-elected government, but it was ignored.

Instead, military leaders named a new ruling cabinet.

Both the US and France have military bases in Niger, which have been used as part of efforts to tackle jihadist groups in the wider Sahel region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the the BBC earlier this week that he believes Russia's Wagner mercenary group is "taking advantage" of the instability in Niger.
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea continued developing nuclear weapons and producing nuclear fissile material in 2023 and evading United Nations sanctions that aim to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to an unpublished United Nations report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

"After a record-breaking level of cyber thefts in 2022, estimated at $1.7 billion, DPRK (North Korean) hackers reportedly continued to successfully target cyber cryptocurrency and other financial exchanges globally," independent sanctions monitors wrote in the report to a U.N. Security Council committee.

The monitors, who report to the council twice a year, have previously accused North Korea of using cyber attacks to help fund its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks.

North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Earlier on Thursday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced the military's top general and called for more preparations for the possibility of war, a boost in weapons production, and expansion of military drills, state media KCNA reported.

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006. Those measures have unanimously been strengthened over the years, but the 15-member body is now deadlocked as China and Russia push for them to be eased to convince Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks.

The U.N. sanctions monitors said hackers working for North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), its primary foreign intelligence agency, "continued to use increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques to steal funds and information."

"Companies in the crypto-currency, defense, energy and health sectors were targeted in particular," they wrote in the executive summary of the report which is due to be published in coming weeks. "The DPRK continued to access the international financial system and also engaged in illicit financial operations."

The monitors reported continued illicit exports of coal and "a rich variety of sanctions evasion measures deployed by vessels delivering refined petroleum products to DPRK." North Korea also acquired 14 new vessels in violation of sanctions.

"Although the country's borders remain largely closed trade volumes increased, mainly because of resumption of rail traffic. A large variety of foreign goods has quickly reappeared," wrote the monitors, adding that they continued to investigate illicit imports of luxury goods.

The monitors said they are also investigating alleged North Korean exports of military communications equipment and ammunition and "possible cases of sales by DPRK of arms or other types of military support to member states."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Stephen Coates)
A Georgia couple have filed a lawsuit after they said their baby was decapitated during delivery, which the hospital and doctor then allegedly covered up.

Jessica Ross, 20, and her longtime boyfriend, Treveon Isaiah Taylor, were excited for the birth of their first child, a boy whom they were going to name Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., their attorney Cory Lynch said at a news conference on Wednesday.

According to Lynch, the two were regularly seeing Dr. Tracey L. St. Julian at Premier Woman OB-GYN, who then performed the delivery at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia, south of Atlanta. The lawsuit accuses St. Julian of failing to follow emergency obstetrical protocols when the babys shoulder became stuck during an attempted vaginal delivery; instead, she allegedly applied excessive force that killed the baby as his head was severed from his body.

The doctor, hospital and unnamed staff are accused of then attempting to hide what had happened by not immediately allowing the couple to see their childs body.

Unfortunately their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center, Lynch said.

Jessica Ross and her partner were excited about the pending birth of their son, their attorney said.

Jessica Ross and her partner were excited about the pending birth of their son, their attorney said.

According to the lawsuit, Ross was admitted into the emergency room on July 9 after her water broke about 10 a.m., and she was fully dilated by 8:40 p.m.

During labor, the baby became stuck in the vaginal canal, prompting Ross to push for three hours without delivery, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit accuses St. Julian of not taking proper actions to reposition the baby nor taking action as the babys oxygen levels and heart rate dipped. Eventually, the babys head was decapitated from his torso, and St. Julian only then made the decision to conduct a C-section, according to the lawsuit.

The babys legs and torso were delivered through the C-section; however, his head was delivered vaginally, according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys told reporters on Wednesday that hospital staff wrapped the childs body tightly in a blanket and only allowed the parents to see it behind glass.

In an attempt to basically misrepresent and miscommunicate to the family, when they wrapped this baby up tightly, they propped the babys head up on top of the blanket to make it appear it was attached when it wasnt, Dr. Roderick Edmond, who is also representing the family, said at the news conference.

In the following days, the medical care providers discouraged the couple from getting an autopsy and instead encouraged them to cremate their sons remains, the lawsuit said.

Lynch told reporters that the hospital and staff did not report the death to Clayton County police, though the funeral home did.

The couple were finally told about their sons decapitation on July 13 by St. Julian, after Ross was discharged from the hospital, according to the lawsuit.

They did everything in their power to not let the family know what actually happened on that day, and its unfortunate, Lynch said.

The Clayton County Police Department confirmed on social media that it has opened an investigation into the hospitals failure to report the infants death.

The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

[Ross] was awake and aware when it was clear that her childs life was in danger due to shoulder dystocia, the lawsuit said. She has been profoundly mentally and emotionally traumatized in knowing that her baby was battered during the attempted vaginal delivery and ultimately was decapitated.

Edmond added that the incident represents a larger issue affecting Black mothers in the U.S., citing 2021 Blue Cross Blue Shield data on racial disparities in maternal health.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has described an urgent maternal health crisis, with Black women younger than 24 more likely to experience severe childbirth complications than white women older than 35. Rosss doctor was also a Black woman.

HuffPost reached out to St. Julian requesting comment for this article but did not receive a reply as of late Thursday.

In a statement to HuffPost, a spokesperson for Southern Regional Medical Center said that St. Julian is not an employee of the hospital.

In general, physicians are not employed by hospitals, the spokesperson said. They receive privileges to provide services, perform procedures and visit their patients at hospitals where they are privileged.

Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event, the statement added. Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient.

The hospital declined to provide other information, citing privacy laws, but said it was cooperating with all investigations. The hospital voluntarily reported the death to the Clayton County Medical Examiners office and is cooperating with all investigations, the statement said. Since this matter is in litigation, we cannot provide additional statements.

Related...
Authorities believe there may be another barrel in the Missouri River with more evidence linked to the case of a white man accused of kidnapping, raping and holding a Black woman captive in the basement of his suburban Kansas City home last year, officials said Thursday.

The announcement comes after the remains of a Black woman authorities described as a potential witness in the alleged kidnapping were found in a blue barrel in the river.

We have asked the public to remain vigilant for any suspicious objects, such as blue barrels, particularly on or around the Missouri River, said Alexander Higginbotham, a spokesman for the Clay County Prosecuting Attorneys Office. We have reason to believe that additional evidence may be contained in another blue barrel that could be located on the Missouri River.

The home where neighbors raised the alarm in Excelsior Springs, Mo. (Sarah Plake / KSHB)

In an email, Higginbotham did not provide additional details about the evidence authorities are searching for, and did not respond to a question about whether race played a role in the alleged crimes.

After announcing the discovery of the second woman, Jaynie Crosdale, prosecutors on Monday said the previously set bond amount of $3 million for Timothy Haslett Jr. was insufficient to ensure the safety of the community and the victim.

Haslett was indicted in February on nine charges, including rape, sodomy and kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty.

A judge denied the bond request and prosecutors have not charged Haslett in connection with Crosdales death. Haslett's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement Monday, the prosecutors office said that Crosdale was inside Hasletts home before his Oct. 7 arrest. Efforts to reach Crosdales relatives have been unsuccessful.

Excelsior Springs police identified Crosdale as a possible witness in Hasletts case in January and asked for the publics help in finding her. Authorities said at the time that they believed Crosdale had information about the investigation.

Citing an ongoing investigation, Higginbotham declined to say if it was still accurate to describe Crosdale as a witness and if there were forthcoming charges in her death.

However, our office is working closely with law enforcement to gather all evidence and information that is needed to build the strongest case possible and deliver justice for Jaynie Crosdale, he said. We will continue to pursue evidence quickly and aggressively in this matter and hope to be able to provide the public with more information in the near future.

Higginbotham said the countys top prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, and a deputy prosecutor joined the Missouri Highway Patrol on Tuesday to familiarize" themselves with the area where Crosdale was found.

Her body was identified July 30 after kayakers spotted the blue barrel in Saline County, east of Haslett's home in Excelsior Springs. Higginbotham declined to provide additional details about the search.

In the previous case, a 22-year-old woman escaped from Haslett's home with a padlocked metal collar around her neck and duct tape on her mouth, authorities have said in a probable cause statement.

The woman told authorities that Haslett picked her up in Kansas City in early September and accused him of raping, whipping and restraining her with handcuffs for weeks, according to the statement.

She escaped when Haslett took his child to school, the document says, and pleaded for help from neighbors. One neighbor, Ciara Tharpe, recalled the woman saying that other friends who'd also been held captive "didn't make it."
South Africa: Digital literacy programme to provide training to Eastern Cape communities

Communities in the Eastern Cape are set to benefit from a digital literacy programme, which will provide digital skills training.

Launched by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele, this initiative is aimed at reducing the digital divide in communities.

The intention is to extend it to as many municipalities as possible. It also offers an entry point towards higher order skills that are so much needed for entrepreneurial or work opportunities.

In the absence of such understanding, it is difficult to devise relevant and appropriate digital skills interventions and support strategies for meaningful outcomes, the Minister said on Thursday in the Buffalo City Metro.

When he delivered his remarks, the Minister noted studies that indicate that more technology advances introduced into society, the more widespread and pervasive the digital divide.

According to a 2022 World Bank report, the digital divide is a stark reality in South Africa, affecting all generations.

"It is a striking symptom of socioeconomic challenges associated with being the most economically unequal country in the world. Therefore, the discourse on digital inclusion has broadened to consider additional critical factors for ensuring digital equality. Digital inclusion is as such more complex.

The digital inclusion requires access to learning with age-friendly design and relevant, ethical and safe for digital environments that are at play. What is also required is an informed understanding of skills needs towards the use of emerging technologies, the Minister said.

He said digital literacy should be delivered in a strategic manner to target the different age groups, genders, and people in different socio-economic positions.

It is therefore critical that our approach consider challenges such as language and cultural realities when the training is done for them. We should continue to ensure that digital inclusion is not inclusion without women.

We should also find ways to effectively and strategically use digital technologies to Gender Based Violence and Femicide ((GBVF) in South Africa and the world, the Minister said.

The Digital Ambassadors initiative provides digital skills training to members of the community, especially focusing on locally relevant digital content and services.

It will improve the skills, capacity, and employment prospects of beneficiaries.

It will further demonstrate the worth of utilizing modern technology to the broader communities. We therefore call on members of the society, in particular young people of Mdantsane, Duncan Village, King Williams Town and East London and the Eastern Cape to join this digital revolution and involve themselves in these initiatives by enrolling with National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) and take part.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Health and wellness industry conference to kick off in N China's Shanxi

People's Daily Online) 09:56, August 11, 2023

A photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a news briefing for the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference in Beijing. (Photo/Zheng Chunjie)

The 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference is set to take place from Aug. 25 to 27 in Jincheng city, north China's Shanxi Province, officials announced at a news briefing for the event in Beijing on Aug. 10.

Scheduled activities for the conference include an opening ceremony, eight key events  such as a summit forum and a health and wellness tourism carnival  and a selection of thematic activities. The main event will be hosted in the Baimasi Mountain High-End Health and Wellness Demonstration Zone.

Wu Jianpeng, a member of the Standing Committee and head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Jincheng Municipal Committee and deputy mayor of Jincheng city, delivers a speech at a news briefing for the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference, Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo/Zheng Chunjie)

Relevant Shanxi departments at all levels are working on integrating culture and tourism with health care, aiming to develop these sectors into strategic pillar industries.

Jincheng city boasts a forest coverage rate of 40.3 percent and an urban green coverage rate of 47.5 percent. It's the first World Health Care Demonstration City in China and the permanent site of the China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference.

"Jincheng has actively explored new avenues, methods, and models for the development of the health care industry in recent years," said Wu Jianpeng, a member of the Standing Committee and head of the publicity department of the CPC Jincheng Municipal Committee, during the news briefing.

Chen Shaoqing, a member of the leading Party members group and deputy director of the culture and tourism department of Shanxi, answers questions from the press at a news briefing for the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference, Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo/Zheng Chunjie)

The city has focused on transforming itself into a health and wellness tourism destination, enhancing its supply system for health and wellness products, and crafting eight business models based on the concept of "all-age health care," added Wu, who also serves as deputy mayor of Jincheng city.

By hosting the China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference for three consecutive years, Jincheng has effectively showcased its strengths and achievements in the health care industry, fostering exchange and cooperation in the sector across China.

At the news briefing, Chen Shaoqing, a member of the leading Party members group and deputy director of the culture and tourism department of Shanxi, emphasized the need for deepening supply-side structural reform in the culture, tourism, and health care sectors and advancing the high-quality development of these industries across the province.

Also in attendance at the news briefing were Pan Jian, vice president of People's Daily Online, and Li Mingde, a research fellow with the Tourism Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Science, among others.

A journalist asks a question at a news briefing for the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Health Care Industry Development Conference, Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo/Zheng Chunjie)

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Du Mingming)
China's civilian intelligence agency has exposed a Chinese national for allegedly giving secret military information to the CIA.

According to a statement released by China's Ministry of State Security on Friday, the suspect, who goes by the surname Zeng, had access to critical classified information while working for an unnamed Chinese military-industrial organization, reported by CNN.

According to the ministry, 52-year-old Zeng was sent to Italy by his company to further his education. A US embassy official apparently approached him while he was there, and over the course of their interactions-which included dinner parties, excursions, and opera viewings-they reportedly grew closer.

The ministry asserted that as their relationship progressed, the US diplomat exposed his identity as a CIA agent. Zeng was allegedly offered "a huge amount" of cash in addition to family immigration to the US in exchange for confidential information regarding the Chinese military.

An Espionage Deal With the US

Zeng signed an espionage deal with the US and got evaluation and training. After completing his studies, Zeng allegedly traveled back to China where he repeatedly met with CIA agents to offer "a large amount of core intelligence," according to the statement.

(Photo: by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

BEIJING - JANUARY 18: Chinese police patrol at the railway station on January 18, 2006, in Beijing, China. Migrant workers have begun to return home before the Spring Festival travel peak arrives. China's travelers will make about two billion trips during the 2006 Spring Festival holiday starting this week, the National Development and Reform Commission predicted.

After discovering proof of Zeng's espionage activities during a probe, the ministry said it had taken "compulsory measures" against him. The prosecution has been given the case to evaluate and indict, it continued.

A week after two US Navy sailors in California were detained for allegedly giving classified US military secrets to Chinese intelligence agents, China made its disclosure regarding the accused CIA spy.

A civilian organization in China, the Ministry of State Security is in charge of domestic and international intelligence and counterintelligence. Its mandate has prompted comparisons to a combined CIA and FBI, although it is much more clandestine about its activity, without even an open website outlining its operations.

Read also: China Spy Balloon Controversy Gets Shocking Update

The Fight Against Espionage

However, the ministry has become more well-known recently. It opened a public account on WeChat, China's leading social media platform, on August 1.

In it, it urged "all members of society" to join the fight against espionage and offered rewards and safety to those who provided information.

Although the two greatest economies in the world have always been rivals, the current worsening in relations has intensified this competition.

While Xi Jinping, China's most powerful and authoritarian leader in a generation, has made national security his top priority, China's Communist Party leadership has long promoted the idea that "foreign forces" are attempting to undermine the country's progress.

The scope of espionage was further broadened by China's amended counter-espionage law, which was unveiled last month.

According to The New York Times, CIA operations in China experienced a shocking setback starting in 2010 when the Chinese government assassinated or imprisoned more than a dozen sources over a two-year period.

Related article: Chinese Spy Balloon Equipped With US-Made Tech: Report

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  The new National Archives leader whose nomination was swept into the partisan furor over the criminal documents-hoarding case against ex-President Donald Trump says she is now preparing the agency that's responsible for preserving historical records for an expected flood of digital documents.

Colleen Shogan, a political scientist with deep Washington ties, says the spotlight on the Archives during the past year shows that Americans are invested in preserving historical materials. After events in Kansas on Wednesday, she reiterated that she had no role in decisions made when the Trump investigation began and said the Archives depends upon the White House to deliver documents when a president leaves office.

It provides an opportunity for us to discuss, quite frankly, why records are important, Shogan said. What were seeing is that Americans care about records. They want to have access to the records.

Shogan was in the Midwest this week for visits to two presidential libraries. She went Wednesday to Dwight Eisenhower's library in the small town of Abilene on the rolling Kansas prairie, and on Thursday to Harry Truman's library in Independence, Missouri, in the Kansas City area.

The Archives is the custodian of cherished documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, but also billions of pages of other records and millions of maps, charts, photographs and films. An order from President Joe Biden will require U.S. government agencies  but not the White House  to provide their records to the Archives in a digital format starting at the end of June 2024.

We are responsible for the preservation of those records and the storage of those records, but also sharing those records with the American people, Shogan said in an interview by Google Meet from the Eisenhower library. "Thats a large task, and it's not getting any smaller, obviously.

Biden nominated Shogan as archivist last year, but the U.S. Senate did not confirm her appointment until May. She was then an executive at the White House Historical Association, having served under both the Trump and Biden administrations. Before that, she worked at the Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan analysis for lawmakers and their staff.

While the Archives generally has been staid and low-key, Shogan's nomination was not the first to create a stir. In 1995, then-President Bill Clinton picked former two-term Kansas Gov. John Carlin, a fellow Democrat, and the leaders of three groups of historians opposed the appointment, questioning whether he was qualified. Carlin held the post for a decade, and an archivists' society honored him near the end of his tenure.

But Biden nominated Shogan amid an investigation of Trump's handling of sensitive documents after he left office, which led to dozens of federal felony charges against the former president in Florida, home to his Mar-a-Lago estate. On Thursday, his valet pleaded not guilty to new charges in that case.

The Archives set the investigation in motion with a referral to the FBI after Trump returned 15 boxes of documents that contained dozens of records with classified markings.

Senate Republicans sought to portray Shogan as an actor for the political left, and during her first confirmation hearing Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, of Missouri, declared that the Archives was part of a political weaponization of government. She told senators that she would be nonpartisan in the job.

Under a 1978 law, documents from the White House belong to the National Archives when a president leaves office.

But when a president is in office, until the term is is concluded, which is January 20th at noon, then those records are the property of the incumbent president, Shogan said.

She said that while the Archives works with an administration as the end of a president's time in office nears, We are relying once again upon the White House and those designated officials to be executing the transfer of those records.

Shogan agrees with experts that the National Archives and Records Administration does not have enough money and staff but after only a few months on the job, she hasn't yet set a figure for what would be necessary.

We want to make sure that NARA is able to continue its mission as it goes forward, as the large volume of records increases, both in the paper format and also in the digital explosion that we will be seeing in the near future, she said.

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By Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - China is likely to launch military drills next week near Taiwan, using Vice President William Lai's stopovers in the United States as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year and make them "fear war", Taiwanese officials said.

The U.S. transits by Lai, who is the front-runner for Taiwan's presidential vote in January, have already drawn Beijing's ire. The United States has described the stopovers as routine and no reason for China to take "provocative" action.

Beijing could conduct manoeuvres similar to ones it held in April to "militarily intimidate" Taiwan voters as well as countries in the region, according to officials briefed on the matter, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The April exercises included practice for blockades in an angry response to a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy during Tsai's stopover in Los Angeles.

"It is fairly likely that they could use it as a pretext and announce 'drills' around the Taiwan Strait," said one of the sources, a senior official familiar with Taiwan's security planning.

"They want to build up the fear of war and make Taiwanese vote in favour of their choice," the official said.

Lai will stop in New York on Saturday on his way to Paraguay and in San Francisco on Wednesday on his way back to Taiwan. He is going to Paraguay, which retains formal ties with Taiwan, for the inauguration of its new president.

Neither China's defence ministry nor its Taiwan Affairs Office responded to a request for comment, though the government has repeatedly condemned the visit. China's ambassador to the U.S. said last month it was his country's "priority" to stop the visit, though gave no details.

China has a particular dislike of Lai who has in the past described himself as a "practical worker for Taiwan independence". Lai has repeatedly said during the election campaign he does not seek to change the status quo.

The Taiwanese official said Beijing could "upgrade" the scale of its "combat readiness patrols" near Taiwan that the People's Liberation Army has staged frequently in recent months by sending warships and aircraft close to the island that China claims as its territory.

The drills could start shortly after Lai's stopover in San Francisco and could be part of upcoming annual exercises by China's Eastern Theatre Command, which is responsible for military activity in the area, the official said, citing an analysis of intelligence.

Neither Taiwan nor the United States have given details of Lai's schedule on his stopovers.

LOW PROFILE

Three U.S.-based sources told Reuters that the Biden administration was eager to keep Lai's visit low-profile so as not to stoke tension across the Taiwan Strait before its election, as well as to preserve the recent momentum in engagement with senior Chinese officials.

That includes the prospect of a visit to the United States by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, which could pave the way for a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Going by past transits, Lai is likely to meet the chair of the Virginia-based American Institute in Taiwan, a U.S. government-run non-profit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.

The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan believes the scale of the exercises could be smaller than those in April, the Taiwanese official said.

Chinese war planes or ships, however, could still cross the Taiwan Strait's median line and approach close to the island's contiguous zone that is 24 nautical miles, according to the official and another official briefed on the matter.

"We have made all the preparations," the first official said.

Chinese state television this month ran an eight-part series on the People's Liberation Army, some of which focused on Taiwan.

In one episode, an officer on a Chinese warship, apparently broadcasting a warning to a Taiwanese vessel, says: "Your so-called 24 nautical mile line does not exist".

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said China had "no reason" to raise tension over Lai's routine stopovers.

"If China uses this to take provocative actions, it will be China that damages regional peace and security, not Taiwan or the United States," ministry spokesman Jeff Liu told reporters.

Taipei-based diplomats were divided on China's likely reaction, according to eight diplomatic and foreign security sources.

One said Beijing and Washington's bid to improve relations could temper China's response.

But a senior foreign security source said Beijing would have to put on a show of force given its angry denouncements of the trip.

"They have pretty much backed themselves into a corner and will have to do something," the source told Reuters.

(Reporting By Yimou Lee; additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, Liz Lee in Beijing, and Michael Martina in Washington; editing by Robert Birsel)
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is trading barbs with former President Trump over the centerpiece of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign  his vow to build a wall on the southern border and have Mexico pay for it.

Christie, who is challenging Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is accusing Trump of failing to follow through on his promise.

Trump punched back on Thursday with a post on Truth Social criticizing sloppy Chris Christie.

Reported that Sloppy Chris Christie said I only built 50 Miles of Wall on the Southern Border, Trump wrote in his post.

Wrong! I built almost 500 Miles of Wall, including the fact that some very dilapidated areas had to be completely demolished with new Wall then built, Trump added. He knows this but keeps repeating the lies. That is why he left New Jersey with a 9% Approval Rating, the lowest on record, and is currently polling at around 2% in the Republican Primary  with nobody showing up at his events. Loser!

Christie appeared to respond Friday morning with a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

In the post, Christie said Trump only built 52 miles of the wall. The post also featured a clip of an interview he did Thursday on Newsmax in response to Trumps interview on the network Wednesday.

Trumps a big boy, Christie said in his post. Stop making excuses for him. He said he was going to build us a big beautiful wall. In four years he got us 52 miles and not a single peso from Mexico. Congratulations

Christie has made attacks on Trump, a one-time ally, the main focus of his new presidential campaign. Hes also criticized some other GOP rivals for the nomination for not making sharper attacks on Trump, the front-runner in the race.

The two have been battling for weeks over the construction of the wall and how much was built, using different numbers to make their points.

Christie so far is not making much of a dent in Trumps national polling lead. He is trying to make a run in New Hampshire and has seen his numbers rise in the Granite State, though he is far behind Trump.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Utah man who assaulted a man and his son at their family tire shop in 2018 shouting he hated Mexicans was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday.

Alan Dale Covington, 55, was convicted by a Salt Lake City jury in February 2020 of the hate crime of assaulting three men, members of the Lopez family who ran a local tire shop, because he believed they were Mexican, according to the Justice Department. His prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release.

Alan Dale Covington in a 2018 booking photo. (Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Covington entered the family-owned shop, Lopez Tires, on Nov. 27, 2018, armed with a metal pole and a hatchet. He shouted I hate Mexicans and Im here to kill a Mexican before swinging the pole and hitting Luis Lopez, the son of the shop owner, in the head.

I came out to ask if he needed anything and the first thing he said to me was, You guys killed my f------ daughter, Luis Lopez, 18, told NBC News in 2018.

I kept saying, Youre not going to kill us. You cant kill us, Lopez said in court, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Then he swung at me. Thats the last thing I remember.

Covington attacked Lopez's father, Jose, in the back and eventually turned to the teenager's uncle Angel, who was able to escape the shop without injury and alerted the police, according to the Justice Department news release.

Lopez was born in the United States but the family is from Mexico. The family has not responded to a request for comment about the sentencing.

Lopez sustained major injuries from the attack and spent a week in the hospital. During his testimony, prosecutors showed the jury photographs of him lying unconscious in the hospital with blood around his right eye where Covington had smashed a pole in his face, and with tubes down his throat, the Tribune reported in 2020.

Luis Lopez in the hospital following an attack on him and his father, Jose Lopez, in their family tire shop in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Courtesy of Luis Lopez)

After the attack, Lopez's sister Veronica raised funds to support his medical treatment. This man needs to help accountable for what he has done to my family, she said in 2018. If my dad would have not used his own body to shield my brother from the other blows, he would have killed him.

Lopez told the jury in 2020 that he had always wanted to inherit the family business and enjoyed spending time at the shop with his father. But the attack impacted him psychologically and left him anxious and afraid, he said. He dropped out of school and had trouble holding down jobs, according to the Tribune.

Covingtons defense had claimed that this was not a racially motivated attack because Covington was targeting the Mexican mafia  who he believed had killed his daughter  and not Mexicans in general.

The jury heard from Covingtons ex-wife, Mary Orozco, who identifies as Hispanic and had four children from previous relationships whose fathers were from Mexico. She said Covington doted on all of them, according to the Tribune.

But prosecutors maintained that Covingtons racial biases motivated the attack. They said he had been searching for Mexican men when he entered Lopez Tires, and he found them.

This was a horrific act of hate-motivated violence and there is no place for it in our state or country, said U.S Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. These victims are part of our community, and no one should ever have to fear for their safety because of their race or nationality.

As NBC News previously reported, Utah initially could not charge Covington with a hate crime as well as aggravated assault because the states law limited hate crimes to misdemeanor assaults. But the attack on the Lopez family was among the incidents that spurred a change in the states law.
US firms like Amazon's AWS are the biggest players in cloud computing

Mattias Astrom glances out of the office window in France. "Look at all the beautiful roads and bridges here," says the founder and chief executive of Evroc.

"You can see what we built hundreds of years ago. Now, we're letting foreign companies build our critical infrastructure."

He's talking about digital infrastructure: the hardware and software, data centres and communications networks that power modern business.

There's growing concern in Europe about digital sovereignty, the region's ability to control its own data and technology.

For example, Europe is heavily dependent on US firms for cloud services - the remote computing and data storage services dominated by US companies including Amazon and Microsoft.

It can cause problems when the data of European customers is stored in a US cloud service, as there can be a conflict between the laws that apply.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires organisations in the EU to protect personal data, and the UK has equivalent data protection laws.

At the same time, US laws give intelligence and law-enforcement services broad powers to access data.

That conflict was underlined In May, when Facebook was fined a record 1.2bn (1bn) for having inadequate safeguards for data sent from the EU to the US.

Mattias Astrom aims to build a hyperscale cloud provider for Europe

"The American authorities have the right to go in and see any data that is stored in an American cloud, even if the data centre is in Europe," Mr Astrom says.

"We don't want any foreign states to be able to access information stored by European customers or companies."

Mr Astrom is the founder and chief executive of Evroc, which is headquartered in Stockholm.

The firm believes there's an opportunity to create what it calls Europe's first "sovereign hyperscale cloud".

That means it's fully under the jurisdiction of European law, and it's big enough to rival the major US cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google. They have a 65% share of the world cloud market between them, according to Synergy Research Group.

Evroc has secured 15m in seed funding and plans to build eight data centres in Europe in the next five years. The first will be a large pilot data centre in Sweden next year.

Mr Astrom sees technological independence from the US as a critical aspect of digital sovereignty.

"We've seen the US restricting certain components from being exported to China," he says. "Let's say there is a conflict in China and Taiwan. What do you think will happen if computing is a scarce resource? Do you think the US will look after its own interests or help their European friends?"

US firms storing European data have to keep to strict European data protection laws

Cloud computing firm Ionos already positions itself as the European alternative to US tech giants, out of the reach of the US Cloud Act.

That's the law that gives US authorities access to servers owned by US cloud companies, even if they're outside the US.

Ionos develops all its software in Europe, and its European servers are isolated from the US.

"It's about trust," says Rainer Straeter, its head of cloud development and digital ecosystems. "Do we really think that the Cloud Act will [hit] a small business around the corner? We don't know. This 'don't know' makes us a bit nervous."

Responding to the issue of digital sovereignty, a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said that between 1 July and 31 December 2022 there were no data requests that resulted in disclosing data stored outside the US to the US government.

In addition the firm said: "AWS will challenge any law enforcement request for customer data from any governmental bodies where the request conflicts with EU law, is overbroad, or we otherwise have any appropriate grounds to do so."

Nevertheless, European firms continue their efforts to form rival cloud services.

Ionos is among 377 organisations participating in the Gaia-X project, which aims to join up cloud service providers in a federated system, so data can move between them while data owners remain in control.

"None of the European cloud providers can build everything on their own to compete with AWS," says Mr Straeter. "The resources available are not enough. We have to take the European way, be a bit cleverer than anybody else, and define standards. If all the [European] cloud providers were able to share an ecosystem, we would be much stronger than AWS, Google and Microsoft."

Mr Straeter believes it's important for Europe to have resilient infrastructure, following a run of crises that include the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, Covid-19, and the war in Ukraine.

"Federated networks are more resilient, more stable," Mr Straeter says. "We know this from the domain name system in the internet. It's rock solid because it's super distributed."

More technology of business:

Another part of digital sovereignty is how a country or region balances free speech with protecting its citizens. The Online Safety Bill, going though UK parliament now, will require social media platforms to remove illegal content quickly, enforce age checks and stop children seeing harmful content.

"Some of this is terrifying to US companies, who are used to operating in the shadow of the first amendment," says Mark Weston, partner and head of technology law at law firm Hill Dickinson.

"The first amendment says as long as you're not causing direct harm to somebody, you can say whatever you like, and set yourself up in whatever way you like. The UK is [asserting its] digital sovereignty and saying this is harming our citizens, and therefore we want social media companies, while they're in our jurisdiction, to operate in this way."

Data laws in the UK and EU apply to citizens, even if their data is processed overseas, he says.

"If you are holding personal data of residents from the UK and the EU on US servers, you're caught within the UK and the EU legislation," says Mr Weston.

People and firms who are concerned about digital sovereignty may also want to think about the number of companies involved in hosting their data, according to Simon Yeoman, chief executive of cloud company Fasthosts.

"The supply chain is where it starts to unravel," he says. "You might work with a managed service provider based in Birmingham [UK], and they might work with a UK data centre, but they might back up to Google. You have to ask those follow-up questions around the supply chain to really understand how sovereign you are," he says.

Barry Cashman has some reassuring words for people who are worried that US authorities can get easy access to corporate data.

He works for Veritas Technologies, a US firm, which manages data for thousands of companies all over the world.

"Concerns that EU companies and citizens have about their data being exported outside of the EU to countries with different privacy regimes are valid, but it's important to remember that the EU-US Data Framework that recently came into force does provide safeguards for the use of personal data by US national security agencies."
A portrait of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un is displayed at a national meeting to commemorate Kims 10-year anniversary as head of the countrys ruling Workers Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang (via REUTERS)

North Koreans have been asked to prioritise safeguarding the portraits of the Kim dynasty as the country prepares to face heavy downpours and high winds from tropical storm Khanun.

The storm weakened into a tropical depression before crossing into North Korea, where the military and ruling party officials were mobilised to minimise its impact on the country's fragile economy.

Before moving to the North, the storm lashed Japan and caused heavy downpours in South Korea.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Korean Workers party, said peoples foremost focus should be on ensuring the safety of propaganda portraits of its current leader, Kim Jong-un, along with his father, Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

The state-run newspaper also asked the Koreans to save statues, mosaics, murals and other monuments to the Kim dynasty.

Pyongyang is extremely sensitive about maintaining the image of the ruling Kim dynasty.

Portraits of Mr Kim and his forefathers are found in many homes and all offices in the country. Citizens face possible prosecution if failed to safeguard the portraits during a disaster, such as fire.

According to the newspaper, officials across the country were ordered to implement a round-the-clock disaster emergency response system and devise evacuation plans. Rodong Sinmun published on Friday photos of officials in raincoats inspecting ports and rivers and farmers preparing fields.

"We must make utmost efforts to protect farmlands and crops from the impact of typhoons," it said.

People struggle to hold on to their umbrellas in the rain and wind in Busan, South Korea (AP)

Meanwhile, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday that "all the sectors and units" in the country were "conducting a dynamic campaign to cope with [the] disastrous abnormal climate".

Strong wind, downpour, tidal wave and sea warnings were issued, it added.

Meanwhile, thousands of people were evacuated from the coastal regions of South Korea on Thursday as the storm pummeled the countrys southern regions.

In some parts of the South, cumulative rainfall has topped 400mm with maximum wind speeds of 126 km per hour, flooding villages, schools and roads.

Almost 16,000 people were evacuated, but about 60 per cent of them had returned home as of 6 am on Friday, and about 350 flights and 450 train routes were cancelled, according to the interior ministry.

One person was missing in the southeastern city of Daegu after falling into a river in a wheelchair, and another person was reported dead in the same city. However, official statements said neither case was directly linked to the storm.
Killing two major errands  groceries and coffee  with one stone is now possible, thanks to Target.

On Aug. 9, Target Corporation announced that customers nationwide will be able to add anything from the Starbucks menu to their Target order and have it delivered directly to their car at stores offering the companys Drive Up service. This service allows customers to order products, pay through the app and get their items delivered directly to their car.

This grand(e) addition to the Targets Drive Up service began its rollout this summer and will be available at all the 1,700-plus stores with both Starbucks Cafes and Drive Up service by October.

Our guests have long told us Drive Up is a game-changer, adding convenience to their daily life, especially when theyre short on time, said Mark Schindele, Targets chief stores officer, in a press release. Weve continued listening to our guests, whove told us overwhelmingly that Drive Up with Starbucks would bring even more ease and joy to every Target run.

Target says it made the decision to spread the Starbucks love into its own parking lots after mounting a successful pilot program, testing the process to make sure it was efficient and easy for team members, as well as for guests.

While Starbucks has its own mobile ordering system, other chains like Kroger, Safeway, Barnes & Noble and Meijer also offer Starbucks in stores. Target says, however, that its move makes it the first retailer to offer this particular service at this scale.

Heres how the new service works:

After a guest places a Drive Up order at a participating Target store and receives notification that its ready to pick up, theyll indicate they are on the way in the Target app.

The guest will then receive a prompt in the app to place a beverage or food order from the Starbucks menu. They make their Starbucks selection, click Add for Drive Up and pay for the order. This means you have to buy something else at Target in order for this service to be activated.

Finally, when a customer parks in the Drive Up parking area and taps Im here in the Target app, a Target team member then delivers the Starbucks order, along with whatever else they ordered via the Drive Up feature, to their car.

Starbucks has a long history of adapting and innovating how we serve our customers, meeting them where they are, said Mark Ring, senior vice president, U.S. Licensed Stores, Starbucks Canada and Siren Retail. Offering the Starbucks Experience to the Target Drive Up guest is a great example of two iconic brands creating a joyful moment in a way that Starbucks and Target are uniquely positioned to do together.

Target says that the ability to add a Starbucks menu item to a Drive Up order was Target guests most-requested feature. And, looking at social media, the new addition is already garnering applause.

I can add @Starbucks to my @Target drive-up order?! The future is now! tweeted one user, showing the feature in action.

Coming back from lunch after picking up my target drive up order and my 50% off iced coffee from Starbucks, tweeted another, referring to the coffee retailers recently ended deal.

Adding a Starbucks order to a drive up order at Target is revolutionary  Aly (@alyxanat) August 9, 2023

Adding a Starbucks order to a drive up order at Target is revolutionary, tweeted another person, to which someone else replied, WHAT!!!!

Along with the Starbucks-focused update to Target parking lots everywhere, another recent change to its Drive Up service must be noted: As of this summer, you can now make a product return free of charge at Target stores across the U.S. Check yet another errand off your list.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme suffered what he described as seizure-like symptoms during a recent trip to Africa, where he fainted during a lunch, he told the Miami Herald.

Oh my God, it was the scariest moment of my life, he told the Herald shortly after landing in Miami on Wednesday.

For the past few days, Desulme was being treated at Johns Hopkins at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Desulme said he was among 40 South Florida delegates on a two-week trip to Africa, visiting four countries including Sierra Leone, where he passed out during a lunch with Nigeria and Sierra Leone representatives. Desulme said the council members were invited on the trip by Miami-Dade County, but paid for their portion of the trip.

Desulme said the basic package for the trip was $4,500 to visit the four countries. The city has a $15,000 budget for Sister Cities-related activities, according to its fiscal year 2022-23 adopted budget. North Miami held a Sister Cities signing ceremony in Banjul, Gambia.

Desulme was joined on the trip by Vice Mayor Mary Estime-Irvin, council members Scott Galvin and Pierre Frantz Charles and two North Miami staffers. Officials from Miami-Dade, Miramar and North Lauderdale were also on the trip.

North Lauderdale City Manager Michael Sargis said Mayor Samson Borgelin, Vice Mayor Regina Martin and Commissioners Mario Bustemante and Darrell Dee Lewis-Ricketts also were on the trip, which cost between $10,000 and $15,000. The mayors wife, Dorothy Suzan, also attended, but she paid out of her own pocket, Sargis said.

Miramar city officials did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment about the trip, including who attended and the cost.

RELATED: North Miami mayor recovering after medical emergency during Africa visit

South Florida officials arrived in Banjul, Gambia  North Miamis sister city  on July 31 and spent two days there before arriving in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on August 3, according to a trip itinerary shared by the city of North Miami. Other stops included Dakar, Senegal, and Lagos, Nigeria. Officials are expected to return Friday.

Desulme said he hadnt been able to sleep the night before the lunch in Sierra Leone so he took a sleeping pill and Tylenol PM, but neither worked, he said. I wasnt feeling good because I have a case of insomnia, I dont sleep, and I didnt sleep at all the day before, he said.

By the time the morning came, Desulme had a full day scheduled, including a meeting with the Sierra Leone president after lunch. But the mayor said he never even got a chance to meet him. I just sat down, I asked one of the commissioners, Hows the food taste? I didnt eat a lot of food, and then thats all I remember, he said.

In a matter of minutes, Desulme said two people from North Lauderdale  Lewis-Ricketts and Suzan  rushed to his aid. At one point, he was turned on his side and blood came out of his mouth. As told to him by his colleagues, Desulme said the room went into a panic and some cried. They thought I was dead, Desulme said.

Desulme said he was rushed to the hospital by a police escort and he regained consciousness at the hospital. So, when I woke up. I saw all these people around me, and Im like, Why am I here? Whats happening?  he said.

He was later taken to a different hospital, where doctors ran blood tests and took X-rays and said everything came back OK. Desulme said while the doctor said he exhibited symptoms of a seizure, including convulsing at one point, she said she believed much of what he experienced was likely due to fatigue. He also said the blood was due to biting his tongue.

Desulme returned to the U.S. on a commercial flight after Sierra Leone doctors advised him to return home and seek medical attention. Doctors at Johns Hopkins at Sibley Memorial Hospital agreed that Desulme may not have had a seizure but believed sleep deprivation contributed to him fainting, Desulme said.

While he said hes taking it easy, Desulme said he plans to return to the office Monday, ahead of back-to-school activities the city has planned. But hes still being cautious about his health and plans to see a neurologist next week.

My doctor told me, just for my primary care sake, go because they will help me with the sleep, too, he said. So Im looking forward to that.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube on Friday became the second Republican to file articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden, accusing him of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

A Sarasota Republican, Steube's impeachment effort includes four articles touching on the business dealings of Hunter Biden, the president's son, and allegations of fraud, obstruction of justice and "financial involvement in drug (sic) and prostitution."

House Republicans are considering a formal impeachment inquiry against Biden based on allegations related to his son's business record. They have made unproven claims that Biden, through his son, profited off his position as vice president.

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's former business partner and a witness who was hyped by Republicans as key to proving their allegations, recently told congressional investigators that he is "not aware of any" wrongdoing by the president.

Steube's articles of impeachment appear to be an effort to speed up action on the Hunter Biden inquiry.

"It's long past time to impeach Joe Biden," Steube said in a statement announcing the impeachment effort.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, has filed articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert filed articles of impeachment against Biden in June related to U.S. border policy. That impeachment effort appeared to catch House leaders off guard. The House voted to send the resolution to committees to review.

Hard right House members have been clamoring to impeach Biden, but Speaker Kevin McCarthy hasn't committed to a formal impeachment inquiry yet. Some Republicans in swing districts are wary of moving forward with impeachment.

So the question to me right now is do the investigations  are they producing enough facts and evidence that warrant taking it to the next step? New York Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler told reporters this week. I dont think its there at the moment, but these committees are doing their job.

Democrats have accused House Republicans of using impeachment as a political tool.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, told NBC News that Hunter Biden's actions dont show anything about President Biden.

Through all the slander that the Republicans have hurled about President Biden, theres no evidence whatsoever that hes involved in any of this. Its unfortunate  and Im sure hes very unhappy that hes got such a troubled son with the drug addiction and criminal prosecutions, Nadler said. But any talk of impeaching or any other action against President Biden is really absurd  and, second of all, really designed to take peoples attention away from the real indictments of former President Trump.

Steube's office did not respond to questions from the Herald-Tribune Friday.

Steube is among the most conservative members of the Florida delegation and a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump. An attorney and U.S. Army veteran, he first was elected to Congress in 2018 after serving in the Florida House and Senate, where he was known as a gun rights advocate.

Steube's District 17 stretches from the City of Sarasota to eastern Lee County, covering a large swath of heavily conservative Southwest Florida. It includes all of Sarasota and Charlotte counties and a portion of Lee.

Trump carried all three counties by double digits in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Republican Greg Steube calls to impeach President Biden


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Asylum seekers were moved off the immigration barge Bibby Stockholm docked at Portland Harbor in Dorset after reports of Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires' disease, was found in the water used onboard Friday (August 11).

According to the Daily Mail, the incident was reported after 15 men stepped into the barge Monday (August 7). All of them would be evacuated to an alternative accommodation.

"The place is very empty but no one has said anything to us," a Syrian migrant onboard said. "We will have to wait and see, but it is worrying."

Read Also: UK's Electoral Commission Says They Were Hit With Cyber-Attack

What is Legionnaires' Disease?

The Mayo Clinic defined Legionnaires' disease as a severe form of pneumonia, or a lung inflammation usually caused by infection. The sickness was caused by a bacterium known as legionella.

Most people catch Legionnaires' disease by inhaling the bacteria from water or soil. Older adults, smokers, and people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to Legionnaires' disease.

The discovery of the bacteria would be a huge blow to the British government's plan to house up to 500 migrants on the barge, the Mail reported, as opponents of the measure claimed the barge was unsafe and called it a floating prison.

While 15 asylum seekers took up residence, a further 20 failed to show up after lawyers intervened and successfully argued to allow them to stay in hotels.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is understood to be holding meetings to discuss the barge health crisis.

A Home Office source also confirmed the outbreak but refused to comment further. A statement with more information is expected this afternoon, British time.

This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates.

Related Article: UK: Labour Party to House Asylum Seekers on Barges While Clearing Backlog

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government allocated on August 11 around $6,000,000 for organizing the upcoming concert of American rapper Snoop Dogg.

The 17-time Grammy nominated artist is set to perform in Yerevan on September 23 in what he described will be a legendary concert.

Up to 25,000 people are expected to attend the concert at the Hrazdan Stadium.

The government also expects the concert to enable Armenia to access the international show business market and facilitate more concerts featuring popular artists.

The $6,000,000 was allocated to Doping Space, the event manager in charge of organizing the concert.

Up to 6,000 tourists are expected to arrive to Armenia for the concert.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned on August 11 that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to deteriorate.

Commercial supplies into Nagorno-Karabakh have been blocked by Azerbaijan since December 2022 through its illegal blockade. Furthermore, since July 15 Azerbaijan has been blocking humanitarian supplies, including baby food and medication, including through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, PM Pashinyan said that the Armenian government on July 26 decided to send humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh, and the 19 trucks carrying food and medicine remain stranded in the village of Kornidzor near the entrance to the Lachin Corridor.

Id like to remind you that these 19 trucks carry 100 tons of flour, 80 tons of pasta, 60 tons of sugar, 40 tons of vegetable oil, 40 tons of powdered milk, 20 tons of salt, 12 tons of baby food and 9 tons of medicine. A total of 361 tons of humanitarian aid. The content of the cargo has been verified by foreign diplomats accredited in Armenia and can be verified again at any moment by inspecting the trucks which have been in Kornidzor for already 16 days. Then, two other trucks joined the humanitarian convoy, carrying 9 tons of confectionaries sent by a candy company and 1 truck carrying 25 tons of pasta sent on behalf of the Mayor of Paris and the heads of the French regions of Ile-de-France, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire, Pashinyan said.

The blocking of the humanitarian convoy further corroborates fears that Azerbaijan wants to commit genocide against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said.

And indeed, stronger opinions are voiced by international expert circles that Azerbaijans policy on causing a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor can be viewed from the perspective of the 9 December 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I think that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor has reached a level where greater efforts are required in the direction of giving an international legal assessment to the situation, especially when Azerbaijan is still not implementing the February 22 and July 6 binding rulings by the International Court of Justice on ensuring unimpeded movement of persons, goods and vehicles along the Lachin Corridor, Pashinyan said.

PM Pashinyan highlighted the fact that the highest instances have recently recorded that Azerbaijans comments on the ICJ rulings have nothing to do with reality and that Azerbaijan must ensure unimpeded functioning of the Lachin Corridor.

In these conditions I must note that the best solution in this situation would be the lifting of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and the start of the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue within the framework of an international mechanism. For its part, the Republic of Armenia continues to reiterate its commitment to the peace agenda and calls on official Baku to refrain from steps nullifying the historic chance for establishing peace, Pashinyan said.
A Suffolk County police brutality victim's family was awarded $35 million in damages. This decision was made by a federal jury on Thursday, Aug. 10.

Suffolk County Police Brutality Victim's Family Receive $35 Million

According to Fox News' latest report, Kenny Lazo, a resident of Long Island, New York, experienced police brutality in 2008.

He was beaten by Suffolk County police officers with their fists, as well as flashlights. This led to the death of Lazo.

Because of this, his family decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County, and five police officers.

The legal action was filed back in 2009.

"It was absolutely appalling how the Suffolk County police physically abused and humiliated Mr. Lazo, then tried to cover it up," said the Lazo family's attorney, Frederick K. Brewington.

"No family should have to go through what Mr. Lazo's family had to," he added.

After years of fighting for justice, the family of Kenny Lazo finally received the justice they have been searching for.

They received $13.5 million in compensatory damages, as well as $21.5 million in punitive damages.

Read Also: Virginia: 6-Year-Old Student Boasts About Shooting Teacher; Newly Released Documents Reveal Details

What Happened to the New York Man?

NBC New York reported that the incident happened when 24-year-old Kenny Lazo was pulled over by the police at the Southern State Parkway in Bay Shore. The police's attorney, Marc Lindemann, explained that Kenny was suspected of drug selling and committed various traffic violations.

He claimed that the man attacked an officer, striking him in the head with his elbow. The attorney added that Lazo tried to get the officer's gun.

Lindemman explained that this life-threatening event forced police authorities to take reasonable action, which is appropriate and justified.

However, Brewington denied this, saying that the story was fabricated just to beat and humiliate the man. The Lazo family's attorney added that Kenny was stripped of his clothes and shoes.

After that, he was beaten by the police. Despite his injuries, authorities took him to a nearby precinct instead of a hospital.

You can click this link to learn more about what happened to Kenny Lazo.

Related Article: Florida Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The new Speaker of Parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Davit Ishkhanyan has held a phone call with Armenian Apostolic Church Catholicos Karekin II, and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I.

During the call, Ishkhanyan expressed gratitude for the pontifical blessing and good wishes, the Nagorno-Karabakh parliaments press service said in a readout.

Karekin II and Aram I expressed their full support for the work in the direction of lifting the blockade of Artsakh and reiterating the right to self-determination of the people.

They also told the Speaker that the Armenian Apostolic Church will always stand by Artsakh and its people, and expressed readiness to closely cooperate.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Bulgarian 11th-grader Radostin Cholakov ranked top 5 in the two rankings of the 40th edition of the Research Science Institute at the Center for Excellence in Education, Bulgaria's Ministry of Education and Science reported on Wednesday. As a result, Cholakov will be among the 100 accomplished high school students, who will gather at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over the summer to participate in a summer science and engineering programme cost-free.

Cholakov is the first Bulgarian student to qualify for both the oral and written reports that will have the students present their findings at the end of the programme.

The student shared that during the programme I worked with Han Guo and Prof. Yoon Kim on a project on quantizing large language models. The goal is to make models such as the one implemented by ChatGPT smaller, so they can be used on more devices and by more people. Cholakov said that the project is ongoing, and he will continue his collaboration with Prof. Yoon to develop the project to a professional level.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prominent genocide scholars have submitted an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and Member States of the UN Security Council regarding the potential for genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Below is the full letter:

H.E. Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General,



Mr. Volker Turk

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,



Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu

Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide,



UN Security Council Member States



9 August 2023



We, the undersigned scholars and experts on genocide, are writing to you with an overwhelming sense of urgency and concern about the potential for genocide in the Republic of Artsakh (also known as the Nagorno Karabakh Republic). As scholars deeply engaged in the study of genocide, we bear witness to the horrors of history, rigorously analyze past and present atrocities, working to prevent new genocides from occurring. Presently, we find ourselves profoundly concerned by the emergence of unmistakable warning signs of genocide in Artsakh. The most significant risk factor is the unlawful blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which serves as the vital link connecting Artsakh to Armenia.



Since December 2022, the Lachin Corridor, the sole lifeline connecting the Artsakh population to the outside world, has been unlawfully blockaded by Azerbaijani authorities. This distressing situation reached a critical juncture on June 15, 2023, when Azerbaijan sealed off this vital road, subjecting the Republic of Artsakh and its 120,000 residents to a dire state of siege. For the past two months, Artsakh has been forcibly deprived of its ability to access essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other critical goods. Even humanitarian relief efforts conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been obstructed, exacerbating an already grave humanitarian crisis.



The escalating humanitarian crisis has prompted the ICRC, the sole international organization with a presence on the ground, to issue a grave alert. In a public statement released on July 25 (https://www.icrc.org/en/document/azerbaijan-armenia-sides-must-reach-humanitarian-consensus-to-ease-suffering), the ICRC unequivocally documented thatThe civilian population is now facing a lack of life-saving medication and essentials like hygiene products and baby formula. Fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly, while some other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are not available.



Furthermore, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect has issued an alarming atrocity alert for Nagorno Karabakh(https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-358/), highlighting the persistent risk of enduring mass atrocity crimes.



Considering the aforementioned circumstances and drawing upon additional pertinent information provided by various impartial organizations, human rights organisations, and other relevant stakeholders, we, as experts in the field of genocide studies, hold the view that compelling indicators exist that in the absence of prompt and resolute action, a genocide targeting the ethnic Armenian population of Artsakh is a looming possibility. The prevention of genocide and safeguarding vulnerable populations stand as fundamental obligations of the global community, as underscored by the United Nations Charter and the Genocide Convention of 1948, along with subsequent pledges undertaken by international actors. Guided by these principles, we strongly urge member states and UN bodies to promptly and resolutely step forward, exercising their responsibility to forestall any additional loss of innocent lives and preclude the occurrence of large-scale atrocities.



Specifically, we call upon the United Nations to activate its early warning mechanism, as stipulated within its mandates, to expeditiously address the tangible and imminent threat of genocide in Artsakh. We urge a concerted international effort to bring this grave situation to the attention of the UN Security Council. The Security Council should take decisive action to avert the progression of genocide by urgently removing the blockade on the Lachin Corridor, thereby reinstating unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along this life-supporting corridor in both directions. Security Council action should also support of the Provisional Measures order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 22 February 2023 (reaffirmed 6 July 2023), which ordered Azerbaijan to take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. A Provisional Measures order is binding, and Azerbaijan remains in breach of its international law obligations by not complying with the ICJs order. Furthermore, we urge that the UN establish and send a fact-finding mission to Artsakh for a thorough analysis of data, on-site reporting, and engagement with local communities and organizations to identify and eliminate the consequences of the ongoing crime.



The prevention of genocide requires a collective effort, a unified resolve, and unwavering commitment from the international community. We urge the United Nations and its bodies to prioritize the prevention of genocide in Artsakh and take decisive action to protect the lives and dignity of thousands of innocent people.



Time is of the essence. We urge you to act swiftly and decisively, guided by the principles of the United Nations and the mandate to protect humanity from the scourge of genocide.



Respectfully signed,



Melanie O'Brien, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Western Australia; and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars



Henry C. Theriault, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Worcester State University, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2017-2021)



Andrew Woolford, Professor, Head of Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Manitoba, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2015-2017)



Israel Charny, Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2005-2007)



Armen Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Connecticut State University, Past First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2019-23)



Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Chair of Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College, Past First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2015-17)



Herve Georgelin, Assistant Professor, Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, National and Capodistrian University of Athens



Dr. Vasileios Meichanetsidis, Greek Genocide scholar
The British Ministry of Defence announced on August 11, 2023, that British Commandos have concluded the training of approximately 1,000 Ukrainian Marines as part of a six-month program. This training initiative, which represents the first instance of such cooperation between the UK and Ukraine, aimed to enhance the amphibious capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces and involved collaboration with international partners.

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British Royal Marines during an amphibious exercise in June 2023 (Picture source UK MoD)

The training program, which was initiated after an announcement during President Zelenskyy's visit to the UK in February, focused on improving the proficiency of Ukrainian forces in small boat amphibious operations, particularly beach raids facilitated by inflatable boats. The Royal Marines and Army Commandos were responsible for conducting the training, enabling Ukrainian marines to plan and execute raids under various conditions, including both daylight and nighttime scenarios.

The training curriculum covered a diverse range of skills, with almost 900 Ukrainian marines successfully completing the course. Training modules included the use of advanced equipment such as Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons (NLAW) and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Participants were also trained in operational techniques related to mortars and reconnaissance drones, as well as tactics for dealing with obstacles like anti-vehicle fortifications.

The training program adopted an inclusive approach, accommodating civilian volunteers without prior military experience, as well as individuals transitioning from other sectors within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This approach aimed to broaden the expertise within Ukraine's military ranks.

Beyond individual skill development, the training also aimed to promote unit cohesion and effective planning within realistic operational scenarios. This comprehensive approach is expected to contribute not only to the development of Ukraine's autonomous marine force but also to the establishment of an international training framework for marines.

Instructors from units such as 42 Commando, 47 Commando Raiding Group, 24 Commando Engineers, and Royal Artillery Gunners from 29 Commando played a crucial role in delivering the training. Additionally, support from a coalition of countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden highlighted the collaborative nature of this effort.

Since the start of 2022, more than 20,000 recruits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine have undergone specialized training in the UK, covering key frontline competencies such as trench warfare, urban combat, leadership, and medical proficiency. The UK's commitment to this training endeavor remains strong, with plans to train an additional 20,000 Ukrainian recruits in 2023, making it one of the most extensive training programs of its kind.

In addition to combat-related skills, the UK has also extended supplementary training, including medical expertise, to provide holistic support encompassing psychological well-being, spiritual guidance, and moral assistance.

Underlining the UK's dedication, a designated budget of 2.3 billion has been allocated for military support throughout 2023. Further plans involve the provision of additional munitions and equipment in the coming months, aiming to contribute to the reinforcement of Ukraine's defense capabilities.
Iranian authorities began to arrest more than two months ago converts from Islam, but also some Iranian-Armenians. At least 10 are still in jail, while those released have had to pay hefty fines worth thousands of dollars or undergo Islamic re-education. The crackdown comes a few weeks before the first anniversary of the death in custody of the young Kurdish woman.

Tehran (AsiaNews)  Iran arrested scores of Christians, mostly converts from Islam but also some Assyrian-Chaldeans baptised as children, over a seven-week period in June and July in 11 different cities of the country, this according to Article18, a human rights organisation that advocates on behalf of Iranian Christians and religious freedom.

In an early report, the NGO had reported 50 arrests by mid-July in five cities, but its latest update indicates that at least 69 people were taken into custody, 10 of which  four men and six women  are still held by the authorities.

The arrests occurred between 1 June and 17 July in the following cities: Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, Orumiyeh, Aligoudarz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Semnan, Garmsar, Varamin, and Eslamshahr.

In the capital Tehran and the other cities, after their arrest, people were forced to sign statements pledging to refrain from Christian activities or undergo Islamic re-education in order to be released.

Some say that after their release they were summoned for further questioning, or were ordered to leave Iran. One said he lost his job at the request of intelligence agents. For those granted bail, families had to pay between US$ 8,000 and US$ 40,000.

The majority of those arrested are converts from Islam, but at least two are Iranian-Armenians, who were born into Christian families..

The wave of arrests among Christians also coincides with a new crackdown on Irans Baha'i community, which, along with Christian converts, is a minority religious group not recognised by the Islamic Republic.

In fact, "in recent months, scores [of Baha'is] have been arrested, tried and jailed on religiously grounded charges and targeted on the basis of their faith, says the US Commission on Religious Freedom in the World.

Commenting on Irans recent actions, Article18 director Mansour Borji said that a fresh crackdown on civil liberties" has included "traditionally vulnerable groups, such as Christians [who] are on the frontline of those targeted.

For the activist, the hard-line approach taken by the authorities, with the morality police back at work, is likely meant as a message, both nationally and internationally" sent just weeks before the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death.

[O]verall there seems to be a renewed or more aggressive crackdown on groups the regime feels threatened by, Borji explained.
by Melani Manel Perera

More than 150 prominent Sri Lankan Muslims have signed a letter against the "backward" views of Muslim MPs. In their view, Muslim women have already suffered for too long the effects of the law, which goes "against the principles of kindness, compassion and peace encapsulated in Shari'ah".

Colombo (Asia News)  Muslim Academics, professionals, community leaders, as well as leading figures from business and media from across Sri Lanka have rejected proposed changes to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) put forward by Muslim MPs.

In a signed letter, 158 prominent Sri Lankan Muslims reject the proposed legislative reforms calling them backward and a threat to the most vulnerable, most notably Muslim women and girls, who have long suffered legal injustices and discrimination.

We are appalled that Muslim Members of Parliament, having previously endorsed progressive decisions on MMDA reform, have by this document completely reversed their positions, reads the letter recently sent to the Justice minister.

The MPs conduct dismisses the plight of the victims who continue to share at great risk their pain and mistreatment under the law.

What is more, These proposals are a reflection of exclusively male-led community groups that have repeatedly undermined MMDA reform. They are a sign of political expediency and not long-term development of the Muslim society in Sri Lanka.

In particular, the letter notes that the MMDA, among other things, does not legally address the problem of child marriages, prevents women from making decisions on their own without the signature of a male guardian in case of marriage and divorce, does not address the harmful effects of polygamy, excludes women from officiating marriages, and entrenches existing divisions and hierarchies within the Muslim community.

We are extremely disappointed in the backward positions taken by the Muslim MP signatories in this document, who go against the principles of kindness, compassion and peace encapsulated in the Shariah, and against building a Sri Lankan Muslim identity that upholds the Sri Lankan Constitution and represents the enlightened thinking of Islam across the Muslim world.

Above all, the letter notes that, The lack of reform all these decades has affected generations of Muslim communities. For these reasons, the signatories call on the minister of Justice and the Sri Lanka government to reject the proposals made by Muslim MPs and instead proceed with constructive reforms of the law.
Today's news: Some 23 Rohingya died trying to reach Malaysia by sea. Philippine police have vowed to punish officers for abuse of power. It will likely take two years for Hebei province to recover from floods. After almost two weeks of total blockade of the Lachin corridor, some ambulances were allowed through.

PAKISTAN

Critics have slammed Pakistan's government for allegedly manipulating census data. The latter are crucial for redrawing the boundaries of constituencies and providing financial resources and employment opportunities within the federal public service. The need to redraw the countrys electoral map based on the new census data has led to the postponement of federal elections. Likewise, Balochistan now has seven million fewer residents and consequently fewer seats in Parliament.

MYANMAR

The bodies of 23 ethnic Rohingya who fled Myanmars Rakhine State have been recovered after their Malaysia-bound boat sank at sea. Another 30 are missing. Eight people survived, saying that they were abandoned by the crew after paying about US$ 4,000 to smugglers to leave their country where they are persecuted by its armed forces.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippine National Police have vowed to punish officers who abused their powers after six officers shot and killed a teenager in a mistaken identity case. Police in the city of Navotas shot 17-year-old Jerhode Baltazar after mistakenly identifying him as a murder suspect. They admitted their mistake and said they had no intention of killing the young man.

CHINA

It could take two years for Chinas northern province of Hebei to recover from recent floods, state-controlled China New Service reported. As a result of typhoon Doksuri, the province suffered 95.8 billion yuan (.3 billion) in direct economic losses and 29 deaths. At least 40,000 homes were destroyed and more than 155,000 were damaged.

SYRIA

The United Nations announced an agreement with Syrian authorities to reopen the only crossing for humanitarian aid in the northwest of the country still controlled by rebel groups. Aid agencies fear that the Syrian regime could control the distribution of food and medicine, on which more than four million people depend. After the February earthquake, the Bab al-Hawa crossing became the most important conduit to deliver aid.

RUSSIA  IRAN

Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate took part in the theological conference titled Religion and Traditional Values in Society organised in Moscow by Irans Al-Mustafa International University. Centred on comparing "the role of prophets in Abrahamic religions", it saw participants praised the closedness of spiritual values" of Islam and Orthodox Christianity.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH

After almost two weeks of total blockade of the Lachin corridor, some ambulances were allowed to cross from Nagorno Karabakh, bringing 11 seriously ill people to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, for urgent medical care, nine for haemodialysis, who will have to return the same day, and two cancer patients. The government of the Armenian enclave in Stepakert, the capital, renewed their appeals to the international community to "stop the genocide of Armenians in Artsakh. The latter is the Armenian name for Nagorno Karabakh.
Thursdays water releases from Ruedi Dam into the Fryingpan River are meant to help the endangered humpback chub population in the Colorado River, but theyre also not good for flyfishing, experts said.
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This rendering shows what the renovated Mountain Chalet would like from Dean Street. The hotels main entrance currently fronts Durant Avenue. The proposal calls for moving the main entrance to Dean Street, which is where the St. Regis Aspen Resort Hotel is located.
There is a reported rise in tensions between Niger's military junta and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which ordered the deployment of troops to restore democracy in Niamey.

It was earlier reported the West African bloc announced it had directed a "standby force" to restore constitutional order after the August 6 deadline to reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told the Associated Press, on the condition of anonymity, of the junta telling US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland of its threat to kill Bazoum if ECOWAS's military intervention pushed through.

It is unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would be deployed and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it, but defense and conflict experts say a majority of its strength would likely come from Nigeria, which they predicted would be able to field 5,000 troops in a matter of weeks, Time reported.

ECOWAS Nations Promise to Chip In Troops

While Nigeria would deploy the most military personnel, neighboring Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Benin.

"Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements..." Ouattara said on state television. "We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region."

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

After the Thursday summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported "all conclusions adopted."

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated "the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis," further stating the US would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the US supported the deployment of troops to resolve the crisis.

Read Also: Niger: Ex-Rebel Launches Anti-Coup Movement to Restore Bazoum

Concerns for Bazoum's Health, Life Mounting

As reports of threats for Bazoum's life were revealed, several groups and experts think any harm done to the ousted civilian leader and any action done to save or avenge him would usher in a time of hardship in the Sahel and West African region.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said Friday (August 11) it had spoken to Bazoum, revealing that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and had been refused access to a doctor. He also told the watchdog he did not have any electricity for nearly 10 days now and was not allowed to see his family or friends, nor was he allowed to receive supplies into the house.

University of Cincinnati assistant professor of political science Alexander Thurston said there have been unwritten rules on how overthrown presidents would be treated, and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past.

"The threat to kill Bazoum is grim," he added.

On the other hand, Africa Center for Strategic Studies associate processor Nate Allen added that Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS.

"An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger's size and population would be unprecedented," he said.

Helping Nigeriens Caught in the Potential Crossfire

Another factor to consider in intervening in Niger's political affairs was how to assist more than 4 million Nigeriens who rely on humanitarian assistance as the situation in the country becomes more dire day by day as land and air borders made it hard to bring aid into the country.

"The situation is alarming..." United Nations Resident Coordinator in Niger Louise Aubin said. "We'll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance."

Aside from the Nigerien junta's border closures, aid groups are also trying to work around ECOWAS sanctions as a result of the coup in Niamey.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there was irregular access to fuel, which disrupted aid operations, Aubin added.

The UN has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger's foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.

Related Article: Niger Junta Threatens to Kill Bazoum if ECOWAS Military Intervention Pushes Through

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to the "immediate activation" of their standby forces in Niger in order to reinstate constitutional order in the country following the coup d'etat more than a fortnight ago against elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

The African body took this decision at an extraordinary summit in Abuja after the ultimatum against the coup leaders expired on Sunday. ECOWAS, in addition to imposing sanctions against Niamey, threatened to use force if power was not returned to Bazoum, a request ignored by the new military junta, which has even announced a new cabinet.

However, despite the delicate situation, West African leaders have assured to "keep all options on the table for the peaceful resolution of the crisis", stressing that they prefer a diplomatic solution to sending troops to the Sahelian nation.

In this regard, the chairman of the commission, Omar Alieu Touray, warned of the consequences for "member states that by their direct or indirect action hinder the peaceful resolution of the crisis". Several countries, led by military coup leaders, such as Mali and Burkina Faso have expressed their support for the new Nigerian leadership, while condemning ECOWAS sanctions and threats. These two countries have even stressed that they will consider any action against Niger as a declaration of war. Guinea has also positioned itself against intervention, supporting Niger's coup plotters.

PHOTO/@PresidenceNiger - The President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum

On the other hand, other members of the organisation, such as Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, have taken a position in favour of intervention in order to restore order in the country and protect the stability of the region. The latter is, in fact, the argument on which ECOWAS bases its approval of an intervention in Niger. According to the organisation, an authoritarian drift in the Sahelian nation, as well as the expansion of the Russian Wagner group - present in several states in the region - would have negative repercussions throughout the region.

"We cannot allow this to continue, we have to act," said Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, as quoted by CNN. The US media also reports that Niger's authorities appear to be preparing for a possible military intervention, as a military source revealed that troops are being moved from other parts of the country to the capital.

REUTERS/SOULEYMANE AG ANARA - Nigerien security forces prepare to disperse pro-junta protesters gathered outside the French embassy

Niger's coup plotters threaten to assassinate Bazoum

Shortly before West African leaders met in the Nigerian capital, Niger's new military leaders defied the region and the international community by announcing a new cabinet, thus ignoring calls to return power to Bazoum, who was retained in the country after the uprising.

Following the summit and ECOWAS action, Nigeria's military junta has again defied its neighbours, threatening to assassinate President Bazoum should they attempt an armed intervention, a senior diplomat told AP.

ORTN - Tele Sahel / AFP - Abdourahamane Tchiani, Nigerien coup leader

This threat has been confirmed by at least three diplomatic sources, one of whom - a member of a Western military force - explained that the Nigerian coup plotters raised this scenario with US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who visited the country earlier this week with the aim of achieving a peaceful solution.

EU to support ECOWAS actions

The international community has been following developments in Niger closely because of its geostrategic importance and resources - the African country is one of the world's leading uranium producers - as well as the ECOWAS summits. After announcing the deployment of the reserve forces, the European Union assured that it will "firmly and decisively" support the measures decided by the African body, including the increase of sanctions against the country, which mainly affects the civilian population.

According to the United Nations, some neighbourhoods of Niamey currently have little access to electricity, as Niger, which exports 90% of its energy to Niger, has cut off part of the supply due to the sanctions imposed.
NHTSA Opens Special Probe into Fatal Tesla Model Y Crash in Virginia

Written by Dan Mihalascu, InsideEVs

Published Aug. 11, 2023

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening a special crash investigation into a deadly accident involving a Tesla Model Y that smashed into a heavy truck.

The auto safety regulator is probing the July 19 fatal crash in which the driver of the Tesla died after striking a tractor-trailer truck in Warrenton, VA. According to Reuters, NHTSA has reasons to suspect the Tesla was relying on Autopilot when it plowed into the truck.

The 57-year-old Tesla driver was killed after the tractor-trailer was attempting to turn onto a highway from a truck stop, the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office said. The Model Y struck the side and went underneath the trailer, resulting in the driver's death. The driver of the tractor trailer was issued a summons for reckless driving.

This is the latest in more than three dozen Tesla special crash investigations the NHTSA has opened since 2016 in cases where driver-assistance systems such as Autopilot were suspected of being used. To date, 23 deaths were reported in all these crashes.

NHTSA in July opened another special crash probe into a July 5 deadly crash in South Lake Tahoe, CA, involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The 17-year-old driver of a Subaru Impreza was killed after a head-on collision with the Tesla Model 3. A 3-month-old infant who was riding in the Tesla also died several days later from wounds caused by the accident.

The agency typically opens more than 100 special crash investigations annually into emerging technologies and other potential safety issues. These investigations previously helped to develop safety rules on airbags, for example. These investigations are distinct from defect investigations opened by NHTSA to determine if a safety recall is necessary.

In June, NHTSA upgraded to an engineering analysis its defect probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot and crashes with parked emergency vehicles, including fire trucks. The probe was first opened in August 2020.

Tesla's Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system that can steer, accelerate and brake cars automatically within their lane; there's also enhanced Autopilot that can assist in changing lanes on highways. Despite the system's potentially misleading name, Tesla maintains Autopilot requires active human supervision at all times.

We thank InsideEVs for reprint permission.
SUV

Going back chronologically, Hyundai finally presented the 2024 Santa Fe details for the North American market after, in July, it only featured a design preview. Two powertrains are available for the region, a 2.5-liter turbo with 277 hp and a smaller 1.6T with hybrid assistance and 178 hp  plus an adventurous XRT Concept to accompany the ritzier trims such as the Calligraphy grade.Cadillac took over Time Square in New York City instead of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to present the behemoth Escalade IQ, the first-ever all-electric model of the iconic full-sizeseries. It's rocking lots of Ultium technology, up to 750 hp, an estimated 450-mile range, and a potential asking price of no less than $130k. Cool, right?Anyway, many people still need help getting over the early August worldwide introduction by Toyota of its 2024 Land Cruiser (Prado or 250 across various regions). It's the light-duty series coming back to America, and it borrows the 326-hp hybrid i-Force Max inline-four turbo mill from the all-new N400 Tacoma, plus TNGA-F underpinnings to make it a sibling of the 2024 Lexus GX 550.Plus, the company envisioned two different personalities for America  the base mid-$50k Land Cruiser 1958 and Land Cruiser First Edition sport classic round LED headlights while the regular Land Cruiser is squared-off like a tribute to the big J80 Land Cruisers of the 1990s. So, no wonder that even the imaginative realm of digital car content creators cannot get over it too fast.And there's no need to take our word for granted as we have a few eloquent examples. For starters, the pixel master tucked behind the X-Tomi Design account on Facebook thought that the boxy 2024 Land Cruiser would look utterly fabulous as a shorter three-door model. Well, it would surely make both the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco tremble, right?Even Stellantis designers took note of that, and Mo Ismail , once a freelance CGI expert  now a creative designer for Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram Trucks  quickly imagined the classic, round-headlight look of the 2024 Land Cruiser would be perfect for a potential FJ Cruiser derivative. All in all, these are really not bad ideas, and with a slightly raised ride height  like in these CGIs  they would make perfect adventure trail companions!However, other virtual authors don't want us to neglect the 2024 Land Cruiser's value for hauling and towing stuff. As such, Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, has decided to have a CGI go at imagining an unlikely 2024 Land Cruiser pickup truck that could go toe-to-toe with the Jeep Gladiator, for example.We have seen other hypothetical depictions of the Toyota SUV rocking the two- or four-door pickup truck format  but this one feels a lot truer to no-frills Land Cruiser cab chassis origins with its simply-cut cabin design, ample use of black plastic protections, and the straightforward bed walls. Plus, it also looks ready for any off-road adventure, given the meaty wheel and tire package, right? So, which one is your favorite?
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.

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I have written more than once about how Tesla established the battery electric vehicle (BEV) model that all automakers follow nowadays and how that standard may be flawed. The company was the first one to use thousands of ternary cells to create a battery pack. Although they were the most energy-dense cells available at the time  and still are until we come up with something better  they are fragile and prone to thermal runaways, as Our Next Energy once warned. What if more reliable chemistry helped deliver BEVs? That's what BYD Auto may be willing to show after selling five million new energy vehicles (NEVs).

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The Chinese automaker was founded in 2003 but only produced its first new energy vehicle (NEV) in 2008. It was the F3DM, the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle (). BYD would only make a battery electric vehicle (BEV) in 2011, starting with the e6. Although both models already used LFP cells, it was only after developing its Blade Batteries that BYD decided to step on the accelerator pedal with manufacturing. And what a push it was!BYD took 13 years to reach its first million NEVs, a market category that includes BEVs and PHEVs. Add 13 to 2008, and you'll travel to 2021. During that time, it tried to compete with legacy carmakers in their territory. In other words, with internal combustion engine () vehicles. BYD eventually gave up on cars powered exclusively by fuel in March 2022, which does not mean it does not keep an eye on that tech. The company created the world's most efficient ICE for its plug-in hybrids until Geely beat it. The Xiaoyun could turn 43% of the chemical energy contained in gasoline into movement. The Geely DHE1.5 engine marginally beats that with 43.32% thermal efficiency. However, let's rewind a bit.The Chinese automaker announced Blade Batteries in March 2020. Like LFP cells, they are made from relatively abundant raw materials, are not as subject to thermal runaways, and can work as structural components in a cell-to-pack (CTP) or even cell-to-body (CTB) construction. That allows them to offer more energy density, which is one of the issues with LFP cells. BYD is particularly proud of nail penetration tests in which Blade Batteries did not catch fire or emitted smoke. Summing up, they could support the production of high-volume BEVs at more affordable prices than those vehicles with ternary cells can cost.The first car to use them was the Han, released in July 2020. It helped the company get to its first million NEVs sold by June 2021 and also speed up that market offensive: 18 months later, BYD reached 3 million NEVs . That happened in November 2022. It took BYD only nine more months to reach 5 million NEVs, which shows how fast the company is managing to sell new cars, both in China and abroad.The company's performance in its home market would already be enough for the incredible growth rate it presented. BYD was the first native carmaker to beat Volkswagen there in the first half of 2023 . Remember that China is the world's largest car market. If sales continue to increase, BYD will be the country's best seller in 2023. As symbolic as that is, the company does not want to rely solely on its own backyard to reach the end of the year with an even higher sales figure.BYD announced new factories in Brazil, Thailand and the intention to have them in Europe as well  more than one. It has five more in China dedicated to NEVs. BYD is already selling its vehicles in a multitude of new markets, even if sales are slowly increasing. In several markets, only reservations for its more affordable cars are open: deliveries will still take a while. The company now has a lineup composed of three series: the e Series, with five models; Dynasty Series, with ten options; and the Ocean Series, with nine models. The Dolphin and the Seagull are the cheapest offerings in the Ocean Series, even if the Dolphin disappointed those who expected the same affordability in Europe that it offers in China.The bottom line is that BYD waited years in stealth mode until it had a battery that could sustain its expansion ambitions. It built factories in China to produce its cars, buses, trucks, and cells, which turned it into one of the largest battery makers in the world. Tesla is buying BYD batteries to make its cars in Germany, which means that each German Model Y with an LFP battery pack also puts money in BYD's pockets. That's a level of planning and anticipation that no other new car company came even close to presenting  even legacy automakers are lacking it, to be honest.With these cheaper cells and a wide variety of products, BYD may beat something Axios pointed out as the next hurdle foradoption: the early adopters' era is over. In other words, those who had money to buy these cars and not depend on them should anything go wrong already have them. The next ones in line are those who make calculations to buy anything, particularly more expensive goods like automobiles, and those who can't afford to have three or more cars at home. Summing up, those who will not be so forgiving with poor build quality, with getting stranded anywhere due to insufficient range or lack of chargers.BYD sells PHEVs with a pretty reasonable electric range for daily needs, able to make road trips with fuel. It also has affordable new BEVs for sale that can be charged to 100% as often as their drivers want. Ternary cells have charging restrictions: you should never charge above 90% and should never allow it to drop below 20%. For people that just want to charge and drive, this is the sort of care that will deter purchase.As great as things look for BYD , it had some blaze episodes with its vehicles that it failed to explain. I covered three involving the Han EV and one with the Qin Pro. The first one happened after a crash test: the vehicle caught fire two days after the collision. BYD said it was caused by a conductive coolant that was not right for the car. The youtubers who performed the crash test stated they never messed with the coolant. I asked BYD if it could have used the wrong coolant in that car and have never heard back from the company. Could it be involved with the three other blazes? I'd love to get an explanation from the Chinese carmaker, but I suspect I never will.With five million NEVs on the streets and plans to increase that even more in the following months and years, anything wrong with these cars will emerge quickly, especially in countries without the same press restrictions that China's government imposes. We'll be watching closely, that's for sure.
A couple from Vancouver discovered the hard way that Apple's tracker is an incredible piece of technology, as it helped find their stolen Hyundai Accent. However, the story isn't that simple, as the couple eventually embarked on a crazy adventure to recover the car.Becca Hislop and her partner Dylan planted an AirTag in their 2013 Hyundai Accent just in case the worst happens. And it did, as someone stole the vehicle from a location close to Science World. It's unclear how they started the car, but considering it's a 2013 Accent, the thief most likely hot-wired the vehicle.The couple started the search for the Hyundai, using a carshare vehicle to reach the location provided by the AirTag. They found the stolen car in traffic near St. Paul's Hospital, and Dylan immediately confronted the thief. The man behind the wheel came face-to-face with him, and despite claiming they'd stop the car, they eventually drove away.The couple contacted law enforcement to report the theft and provided the officers with live location information shared by the AirTag. Together with their friends, they also started a chase of their own, trying to find the vehicle as it traveled to various locations, including at McDonald's and a winery.Police handled the case seriously, so they even did traffic stops and searched residences, according to a recent report . The vehicle was nowhere to be seen, so the search continued.The couple eventually found what they believed was the stolen car using AirTag information, but as it turned out, the thief was already a step ahead. The thief found the AIrTag in the car and planted it into a carshare vehicle. Police offers already contacted Evo to ask for personal information on customers who rented the vehicle.In the meantime, law enforcement found the vehicle in the 300 block of East Hasting Street, probably as the thief abandoned it when they noticed the police were on their tail. It's unclear if the vehicle suffered any damage, but the fuse panel was removed, possibly as the thief wanted to disable potential GPS trackers Hislop now says she plans to plant two AirTags in her car, just in case a thief finds one of them. AirTags generate warnings on nearby iPhones when they move with a smartphone, and this is probably how the thief became aware of the tracker's presence. This is an anti-stalking feature, as Apple wants to prevent malicious actors with bad intentions from using the AirTag to monitor their victims.Hislop has published a video of her partner's encounter with the thief, hoping someone recognizes the criminal and helps the police find them.
The BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe ravaged the Gulf Coast and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine species.

Nearly $3 billion in settlement funds from the disaster are currently supporting a significant ecosystem restoration in Plaquemines Parish in southeast Louisiana, as reported by The Associated Press.

The Mississippi River delta divides a flat, sparsely inhabited area that is marbled with bayous and bays. Along with industrial storage and oil rig supply ships, the area is home to farms, fishing camps, and shrimp boats.

And it's set to play host to a massive project designed to emulate Mother Nature: massive gates will soon be built into a levee for flood protection.

The Biggest Ecological Restoration Project in State History

In order to direct some of the river's sediment-filled water into the Barataria Basin southeast of New Orleans, a new channel is being created.

If it is successful, land that has been rapidly disappearing for decades will be gradually restored when the sediment settles out in the basin. Even though the receding coast is threatened by increasing sea levels brought on by climate change, state coastal officials see it as a groundbreaking initiative that they are confident will succeed.

It was the biggest ecological restoration project in state history, according to Governor John Bel Edwards. At the project's groundbreaking on Thursday, he stated, "Quite frankly, I'm not aware of one on this scale anywhere in the country, and there are few in the world that can match the size of this project."

(Photo: by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) An oil and gas plant is seen across the Bayou Contraband as the water starts to rise before the arrival of Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on August 26, 2020. - Hurricane Laura is a Category 4 as it heads for coastal Texas and Louisiana where residents have been told to evacuate or shelter.

In its approval of the project last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicted that by 2070, up to 21 square miles (54 square kilometers) will be created. Sea level rise and subsidence, or the natural sinking of land, will significantly reduce the returns, making a net loss of land still likely. However, that could be viewed as a component heightening the significance of the effort.

According to coastal experts, material deposited as the mighty river repeatedly changed its own twisted, meandering path over thousands of years formed south Louisiana.

This is one of the primary causes of Louisiana's marshy coastal wetlands giving way to expanding areas of open water, raising a host of environmental issues. Among those worries is the loss of the ground that protects New Orleans from hurricanes naturally.

The Mississippi River's water channeling into the basin has negative effects on the ecology and the economy. The Corps acknowledged the environmental costs of transferring non-salty river water into coastal regions where aquatic animals thrive in salty or brackish water even as it issued permits for the project.

Bottlenose dolphins are likely to perish as a result of the alterations, while fish and sea turtles may also suffer in other ways. Because of the project's anticipated consequences on shrimp and oysters as well, fishermen have long opposed it.

Read also: Louisiana Passes Law Prohibiting Sex-Change Surgery on Youths

Opposition to the Diversion

Among those opposed to the diversion who support other coast-building techniques is Kerri Callais, a board member for the Save Louisiana Coalition, which opposes the diversion. These techniques include restoring barrier islands and using pipelines to pump sediment to land-depleted areas.

Despite official vows to take steps to lessen harm, the opposition has persisted. In order to assist fishermen and oyster harvesters who would need to relocate their operations or otherwise modify their methods as a result of the project, coastal officials on Tuesday provided an overview of the $10 million in anticipated investment on a number of initiatives.

More money, including the elevation of roads, is planned to assist towns near the river that may experience heightened flood threats as a result of the project.

Some environmental organizations see the possible advantages. The project, according to Matt Rota, senior policy director for the charity Healthy Gulf, will need less energy than sediment pumping, and he acknowledged the need to take advantage of the river's inherent capacity to create new land.

Yet, according to Rota, Healthy Gulf wants to see more action taken to assist residents whose livelihoods depend on fishing and oyster production. He claimed that in order to reduce pollution that flows south from upriver, state and federal administrations must work much harder.

Related article: Former Louisiana Firefighter Arrested for Fourth Time for Sexual Assault Crimes Against Animal and Person with Disability

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ford is trying to keep up with Tesla in terms of sales in Europe, but for the moment, the mission seems impossible. Furthermore, FoMoCo has to push back the launch of the European Explorer EV. The workforce has already been informed.

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The American carmaker unveiled the three-row Ford Explorerfor the European market back in March. The model is the first of the two crossovers, which will be underpinned by Volkswagen Groups MEB (Modular Electric Drive) architecture. Several models popular across Europe are based on the exact same platform: the Audi Q4 e-tron crossover, Cupras first electric car, Born, as well as Skodas Enyaq iV, are three of the many.The new Ford Explorer EV was originally slated to enter production at the CologneCenter in Germany, which the carmaker opened back in June. The production center has undergone a billion-dollar revamp and will reportedly have a capacity of around 30,000 units next year.Ford, though, announced that the company has to push back plans to build 600,000 EVs in total next year. And the Ford Explorer EV is also affected by the move.Electrive reports that the production of the Ford Explorer EV will be delayed for around six months. The reason is the implementation of new sophisticated global safety regulations in connection with the powertrain of the model. There is no info on the exact type of regulations that the powertrain has to comply with in order to enter production, but it is clear that the company decided to launch cars in compliance with the upcoming standard. However, the regulations are not in force in the European Union.Ford did not mention any timeline regarding the launch of the Explorer EV. But it should reportedly arrive in the summer of 2024. The production of the crossover was slated to kick off this August, right after the summer break. But workers at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center were informed about the delay.The carmaker has not disclosed any information on the powertrain, so the output and range figures are still under wraps. But, considering that it is a Volkswagen Group-sourced platform that underpins the Ford EV, it should get the 82battery pack for models in this segment. The ID.4, for instance, comes with outputs of 150(201 horsepower / 204 PS), 195 kW (261 horsepower / 265 PS), and 220 kW (295 horsepower / 299 PS), respectively.FoMoCo reveled that the battery could be charged from 10 to 80% in just 25 minutes.What we do know is that customers will be able to order either the Explorer or the Explorer Premium trim. The entry-level version will start at around 45,000 euros ($49,474). Until this moment, only non-binding reservations were possible.
Fisker recently showed the world the production-ready version of the PEAR, whose name stands for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution. We wouldn't give a compact crossover such a majestic indication, but this one might actually deserve it. Here's why.

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The Fisker PEAR is a five-seater or six-seater all-electric compact crossover that should have a starting price of $29,900. It's unclear what this sum will get prospective buyers, but it will most likely not be the version with over 300 miles (483 kilometers) of promised range on a full charge. Still, the vehicle is supposed to become a city dweller's solution to emission-free mobility.The crossover is entering production in late 2024, with deliveries scheduled for the summer of 2025. The reservation process has been open for a week already. Fisker already confirmed that the model would qualify for thetax credit. While the Ocean is made in Austria, the PEAR will be manufactured in the US. It will most likely happen with Foxconn's help at the former Lordstown plant in Ohio.Henrik Fisker famously said in front of the media, employees, and customers that every car his brand will make must come with four unique features. The PEAR has them.It is a six-seater, thanks to the bench for those sitting in the front row. Don't worry - a five-seater version will be available too. The computer the vehicle will include, nicknamed the Blade, is plenty powerful and might be able to even process enough data to become autonomous. The liftgate is retractable like a BMW Z1's doors, and the front trunk is heated and cooled.One could also add the solar roof to the list of unique features, but other EVs have such an option.However, the coolest and, at the same time, intriguing PEAR feature must be the frunk (froot, if you're British or looking for clever puns). Instead of forcing owners to open the entire hood to store something in the place where an engine would have resided in a conventional car, the young automaker decided to make it a drawer.The official introduction of the production-ready PEAR didn't show us how the frunk works, but a recent video published by the brand gives us a sneak peek at how this feature will function.Although the PEAR boasts a retractable liftgate (dubbed the Houdini trunk) that hides in the rear bumper for easy access, the frunk glides forward, revealing a divided compartment. Three equally measuring sections seem to be covered in some type of carpet. The video below doesn't give us a good sense of the funky frunk's size, but it might be good enough for chargers and other accessories.If this is the final design for the frunk, it's unlikely the cooling function will come in handy for drinks. But it is a unique implementation, so we can't wait to test it.Lastly, the PEAR will most likely have the NACS connector, as Fisker signed the agreement with Tesla and is awaiting the "OK" from the Supercharger network owner.
Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Fisker are the EV makers that proved the direct sales model is what Americans want. These brands were able to eliminate the middleman and focus on dealing with the sales part themselves. Ford wants to be America's second-most popular all-electric car manufacturer, but will it succeed without revamping its way of doing business?

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Starting next year @Ford model e dealers will offer upfront transparent pricing on https://t.co/Hldfv84vI0. The Ford Store Morgan Hill is a great example of how dealerships are meeting the increased demand for more EVs. Since 2005, their one-price model has been a big hit with pic.twitter.com/aNUgFvafvT  Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 10, 2023

No matter how much some car buyers may dislike the middlemen, they are a vital part of a legacy automaker's way of selling wheels. Not only do they buy the models the manufacturer wants them to from time to time, but they also take care of everything sales-wise. Test drives, registration, taxes, leasing, financing, inventory handling, and, most importantly, servicing happen at a dealer.In most cases, this means customers work with a completely separate entity from the company that made the automobile. That's one of the reasons why dealers were able to add outrageous markups and keep this shady practice ongoing even though prospective buyers were complaining about it. Moreover, various sneaky add-ons were almost always pushed by salespeople.But when Tesla started to become famous and deal with sales itself, those interested in ditching gas-powered vehicles quickly learned that it's possible to get a car without negotiating with a dealership or looking to another state for the vehicle of choice.This model proved so popular that all newcomers to the electric automotive space adopted it. Go online, pick your car, configure it, place a deposit, figure out the details via email or phone with a customer representative, choose your preferred payment or financing method, and that's it.Ford understood that it was not Porsche. It couldn't continue letting its dealers set absurd prices. People would've immediately looked elsewhere. It got so bad at one point that Jim Farley was forced to send a public warning regarding the markups.Coincidently or not, that message came after the Dearborn-based automaker announced that it would split its business into two separate units  Ford Model e for electric vehicles and Ford Blue for fossil fuel-powered ones. The former isn't making any money for now. The division is hemorrhaging funds; a $3 billion loss is expected in 2023.But the Blue Oval believes in a zero-tailpipe emission future where models like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning top sales charts. That's why Ford CEO Jim Farley announced an important update to dealership pricing  transparent buying costs for EVs available right on the manufacturer's official website.To give other dealers watching the executive's moves an example, Farley used the Ford Store Morgan Hill to make a point. "Since 2005, their one-price model has been a big hit with customers. Less stress and more trust," said the executive, who is currently on an all-electric journey on the West Coast But this isn't looking like a rule that's going to apply to every Ford dealership in the US. Only those part of the Ford Model e division will take part in this new policy. Moreover, it's not even certain that all dealerships joining this division will adhere to this practice.But what's clear now is that Ford isn't ready to ditch its comprehensive dealer network, which leaves room for othermanufacturers to keep growing as the adoption of all-electric cars accelerates.However, it is a good step forward for putting more Americans behind the wheel of a Ford-made EV. Too bad that it's coming next year.
The most recent update released by Google for its Pixel lineup of phones might finally resolve the wireless errors, allowing Android Auto to detect the head unit and launch correctly.Android Auto connection problems have plagued Pixel phones for quite some time, but wireless glitches have become more common in Toyota cars. 2023 RAV4 owners complained on Google's forums that Bluetooth was working correctly but launching Android Auto failed unless the user rebooted the phone.Android Auto worked correctly on a cold start, but if the user disconnected the device from the head unit (when shutting down the engine), the application again failed to load.The same behavior repeated every time Android Auto tried to launch after a previous instance was terminated.Google never acknowledged the glitch, but I'm seeing reports from our readers that the August update for Pixel phones brings Android Auto wireless back to a working state. Someone on Google's forums also says that updating their Pixel phone to the latest version (by installing the August 2023 patch) restores the expected Android Auto behavior, with the wireless connection working correctly.In the meantime, Google is quietly working on Android Auto refinements that could soon become available for everybody.For example, the company has started testing a search option in audio apps running on Android Auto, including Spotify and YouTube Music. With this tool, users will be able to manually type a song's name, the artist, or the album to perform a search when the vehicle is parked. Once the car starts moving, Android Auto locks the typing support, accepting only voice-powered searches in audio apps.The feature was spotted in Android Auto 10.2 beta, but its rollout isn't linked with a specific app version. Google seems to control the availability with a server-side switch, but the rollout is currently in the early phases, with more users to receive it in the coming weeks. The company did not publicly announce the new feature, but more information should make its way to the web once it lands in the hands of more users.The stable channel's most recent Android Auto version is 10.1, while the latest beta build is version 10.2. The beta build allows users to test the newest improvements before the production rollout begins, but it's not recommended for daily usage due to the increased likelihood of bugs. Installing the latest Android Auto version doesn't resolve the wireless bug on Pixel phones, as the problem resides in the operating system. Once you install the latest patches released by Google, the error should be gone, with Android Auto wireless returning to a correct working state.
LNVG, the public transport company that introduced the world's first hydrogen-only railway line last year, will not use hydrogen trains anymore. Instead, they switched to battery-electric trains, which are cheaper to operate.

Many believe hydrogen is a better solution for clean transportation than battery-electric vehicles. Some even consider that hydrogen can be a drop-in replacement for fossil fuels, both in home heating and transportation. Toyota is adamant that burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine will become the norm and is investing heavily in hydrogen projects . Even though they know hydrogen is expensive to produce and complicated to store and transport, others consider it a solution for decarbonizing heavy-machinery sectors, such as mining, shipping, and even aviation.The truth is that reality poured cold water on these dreams, although many refuse to see it. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have been around for years, but their market share is now contracting instead of expanding. Data released by Korea's SNE Research shows that fewer than 8,300 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were sold worldwide in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%. Besides that, even the most fervent hydrogen proponents are starting to understand that hydrogen is already a part of the past.The German railway operator Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG), which started the world's first hydrogen-only service last year, abandoned plans to buy more hydrogen trains. The company, owned by the government of Lower Saxony, has invested more than 93 million ($85 million) in 14 hydrogen fuel-cell trains. The federal government also contributed a further 8.4 million, with 4.3 million spent on the world's first hydrogen train refueling station.Still, the project appears to have hit a dead end, as the Lower Saxony government announced it would buy 102 battery-electric trains to replace the remainder of its diesel fleet by 2037. LNVG will also add 27 non-battery electric trains for a route that will be completely electrified. Asked about the hydrogen trains , the state's Ministry for Economic Affairs, Transport, Building, and Digitization explained that they contemplated buying more. Still, market research showed that the battery trains were cheaper to operate, basically ruling out expanding the hydrogen project.The battery-electric trains offer the advantage that they can be charged from the overhead electricity lines (catenary systems) where available or charging islands on non-electrified routes. Hydrogen has proven expensive to produce, even though it is arguably the most abundant element on Earth. This makes it more of an energy storage than an energy source, with the caveat that most energy consumed to produce hydrogen is lost. Only a small portion can be converted back to electricity using fuel cells.Storing and transporting hydrogen is also problematic due to its high volatility. It can produce deadly blasts when it escapes from storage tanks, as it happened so many times. The latest accident occurred on August 9 in Austria, where a hydrogen tank exploded in an industrial park in Lebring. Because more than one hydrogen tank on-site could explode, the surrounding area was closed, and not even special forces were allowed to enter the site.Although the Lower Saxony government did its homework and discovered that operating hydrogen trains is not economically feasible, there are many hydrogen train projects around the world trying to make it work. The US (California), Japan, Italy, China, Namibia, and India are among the countries that invested in hydrogen trains for intercity travel. Chances are, all those projects will be abandoned or operated at massive losses.
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You can see why, don't you? Yep, it is because of the neck-snapping straight-line performance that allowed it to take a swing at the super crossover segment, where vehicles such as the Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Bentayga Speed, and more recently, the Ferrari Purosangue and Aston Martin DBX feel right at home.Jeep's Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was built to eat miles for breakfast, and it has the aforementioned Hellcat engine to thank for that. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 produces 707 horsepower without anyone messing around with its internals. This allows it to hit 60 mph (97 kph) quicker than some previous-generation supercars, in 3.4 seconds. It can also deal with the quarter mile faster than some very quick rides, all that without sacrificing the usual gear.Want to know how fast the pictured copy is? So do we, but Roadshow International, which dropped the images on its social media a few hours ago, hasn't released any details of it whatsoever. Still, we think it is probably a bit quicker than stock. And speaking of the power, it's not uncommon to see examples that can give the Bugatti Veyron a run for its money in a straight line. Last year, we covered one that was capable of dealing with the sprint in just 2.9 seconds, aided by the 1,150 hp available on tap.Between us, the beige hue combined with a few black accents and those blue wheels don't necessarily suit the styling of the super. This one has a few additional modifications, like that see-through hood that allows bystanders to take a look at the punchy engine. Opening the door will reveal the custom interior, which features a bit too much mustard-colored leather if you ask us. It can be seen on the lower sections of the dashboard, on the center console, steering wheel, gearshift lever, seats, and door cards, with the occasional diamond quilting here and there, joined by a few metal accents.Truth be told, we're certainly not fans of the way this Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk looks, and while the exterior can be easily fixed with a wrap, it's going to cost a lot of money to give the cockpit a more decent shade. Roadshow International says this ride is looking for a new home, and you will have to reach out to them to find out how much it costs. And if you plan to do that, drop a line below and let us know how many Benjamins you'll have to fork out for it.
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Full pricing details will be announced in due course, but Toyota's premium brand states that it can be ordered from 29,995 for the entry-level variant, which equals $38,157 at today's exchange rates. Interested parties can visit Lexus' UK official website to place a 500 ($636) deposit for the crossover, which is fully refundable.According to Lexus, the entry-level LBX Urban will be delivered starting from June 2024. This grade gets 17-inch alloys, LED headlights with automatic high beams, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, and E-latch electronic release. It also comes with a 9.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto smartphone connectivity, and dual-zone climate control.The Premium follows it, adding privacy rear windows, Tahara upholstery, heated front seats, and a wireless smartphone charger. An auto-dimming rearview mirror is also included, alongside the rain-sensing windshield wipers, single-color ambient lighting, and several driver assistance systems such as the safe exit assist, rear side monitor, pre-collision system with driver monitor, and blind spot monitor.Building on the Premium, the LBX Premium Plus adds bigger 18-inch wheels, a power tailgate, smart entry, an air purification system, a head-up display, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The Premium Plus Design brings a bi-tone paint finish, machined wheels, and perforated Tahara upholstery stitched together with red string. Getting the Takumi means enjoying more gizmos, including the Mark Levinson premium audio, multi-color ambient lighting, semi-aniline leather upholstery, a power driver's seat with memory, intelligent park assist, and others.Sitting at the top of the family is the LBX Original Edition. Only 250 copies of this grade will be available in the United Kingdom, and it will be offered at launch in a unique bi-tone exterior color called the Sonic Copper, with rear pillar decals and special badging, riding on 18-inch alloys with a matte black look.Powering the first-ever Lexus LBX is a hybrid assembly that mixes a 1.5-liter three-pot with two (front-wheel drive) or three (all-wheel drive) electric motors, a battery pack, and an electronic. The total system output is 134 hp (136 ps/100) and 136 lb-ft (185 Nm) of torque, up 20 hp (20 ps/15 kW) and 48 lb-ft (65 Nm) over the Toyota Yaris Cross. Lexus says it needs 9.2 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 kph) from zero, so it definitely won't break any speed records, but it should turn out to be an interesting proposal in the segment.
In the last few years, yachtsmen have shown an increased interest in expedition or explorer-style yachts, mainly due to their ability to embark on extensive long-range journeys to remote destinations and cruise in diverse weather conditions, all while still offering the luxuries of a superyacht despite their more rugged design.

Photo: Damen Yachting

A new ice-class explorer yacht able to travel from the frozen north to the frozen south has been delivered to its lucky owner and has just embarked on its maiden voyage to the Mediterranean. It's called Pink Shadow and was built by the Netherlands-based shipyard Damen Yachting.The ice-class yacht is the third hull in the yard's SeaXplorer range, joining sisterships Anawa and La Datcha , and the first to measure 190 feet (58 meters). It is also the first SeaXplorer unit that was built at Damen's facility in Antalya, Turkey, where it also successfully completed its sea trials in April.Pink Shadow is the result of a collaboration between naval architects at Azure Yacht Design, which created the exterior, EYOS Expedition's team of experts, and British studio Design Unlimited, which worked on the interior. Construction on the custom explorer started on speculation, but the vessel quickly found an owner who was very much involved in the design and construction process.With a name like 'Pink Shadow,' some might expect the yacht to have a pinkish hue (or at least some accents of this color) and a delicate appearance, but in reality, it features a verdant steel hull and an imposing silhouette that will surely turn some heads.Other noteworthy exterior features include a lightweight aluminum superstructure, extensive stretches of black glazing, and synthetic teak decking.Despite the somewhat rugged exterior, the yacht still offers all the luxuries of a superyacht, with an impressive interior design, beautiful lounging and dining areas, and a private crew ready to cater to the guests' needs.In terms of accommodation, Pink Shadow can sleep up to 12 guests across six lavish cabins, as well as fifteen crew members and two expedition staff.The watercraft's bridge deck houses a sky lounge, a dining area, and a Jacuzzi, while the SeaXplorer signature observation lounge is tucked into the bow.The lower deck is specifically designed for relaxation and socialization, boasting an expansive infinity pool, a cabana-style bar, and plenty of lounging space. For easy and convenient transportation, the aft deck is dedicated to a helipad.To keep everyone onboard entertained and allow them to play around in the water, Pink Shadow can carry an impressive arsenal of toys and tenders, including two multi-use tenders, motorcycles, vehicles for both on- and off-road use, and a custom 37-foot sailboat..The growing interest in explorer yachts is fueled by the owners' and guests' curiosity and desire to reach isolated destinations of our planet. Visiting the untouched islands of the Galapagos or whale watching in Antarctica are now on the bucket list of many yacht owners. We don't know where Pink Shadow's owner plans to go next, but the yard mentions they intend to use the cruiser for "globetrotting exploration."Thanks to the ice-class hull and the yacht's ability to remain at sea for 30 days at a time, the owner will surely enjoy unforgettable adventures. The fact that the Pink Shadow explorer promises to offer a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 11.5 knots (13 mph or 21 kph) also helps.
When it comes to decarbonizing maritime transportation, the public's interest is geared more toward spectacular yachts, ferries, and cruise ships with innovative zero-emission features. Tugboats seem less interesting by comparison. Still, the less-flashier tankers, containers, and tugboats will be the ones with a real impact on the industry. The trailblazing eWolf all-electric tugboat is getting ready to make San Diego its home.

HVAC

kW

Charging stations are gradually becoming a common sight in urban areas and are not limited to on-road vehicles. In the not-so-distant future, we'll be seeing them in airports, where they are used to power eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) and in ports for the efficient operations of battery-electric alternatives to classic types of vessels, from ferries to tugboats.One of these pioneering charging stations in America's maritime industry will soon make its debut in San Diego Bay. Port of San Diego and Crowley Maritime together broke ground for a microgrid charging facility. Its main job will be to supply clean energy to eWolf. This is the name of a tugboat running entirely on electricity and claiming to be the first of its kind in the US.The future charging station will feature two energy storage systems, an advanced battery monitoring system, plus, firefighting, and detection technology. Each storage container will boast battery modules with a capacity of nearly 1,5 MWh, resulting in a total storage capacity of almost 3,000As a shoreside charging station, this facility will help electric vessels operate as efficiently as possible by providing fast charging while also supporting sustainability by reducing the pressure on the local energy grid. It will operate on the community's energy grid only during off-peak hours so that it can effectively lower peak loads. A solar power array will help provide clean energy that's also sustainable.At the same time, the future charging station in the Port of San Diego won't be limited to e-tugs. It will also supply clean energy for electric equipment and vehicle operations in the port when needed.This is history in the making. We're talking about an industry-first achievement and a future vessel that will become the first all-electric tugboat in the US. Crowley i ntroduced the eWolf concept two years ago. It was presented as an 82-foot (25-meter) vessel with 70 tons of bollard pull. Instead of a conventional propulsion system, it would boast a fully-integrated ABB electrical system with two 2,100 kW motors, a thruster, and a 6.2 MWh main battery.The eWolf was designed to replace old-generation tugs that burn more than 30,000 gallons (113,560 liters) of diesel every year. It promises to reduce 3,100 metric tons of CO2, 178 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), and 2.5 tons of diesel particulate matter in ten years.The eWolf is still under construction, while Port of San Diego is getting ready to become its home and pave the way for clean tugboat operations.
California Public Utilities Commission voted on Thursday to allow Cruise and Waymo to expand their robotaxi services throughout San Francisco, a historic moment for autonomous driving companies. While they may be thrilled at the news, people and officials in San Francisco have opposed this, claiming robotaxis are a public menace.

AV

Weve been waiting for this moment and now we can share it with you: Today, we received our paid driverless permit from the CPUC! In the coming weeks, well begin charging fares for rider-only trips and welcoming new riders into Waymo One in San Francisco. https://t.co/xxNiKuLevG pic.twitter.com/KaBf2I9UwZ  Waymo (@Waymo) August 11, 2023

Thrilled to announce that the California Public Utilities Commission just approved @Cruise for fared operation 24/7 across all of San Francisco!



Its a huge milestone for the AV industry, but even more importantly a signal to the country that CA prioritizes progress over our  Kyle Vogt (@kvogt) August 11, 2023

Although for most people, driverless cars are still science fiction, for those living in San Francisco, they're part of their lives. While many have been excited to get a taste of the future, others have opposed the idea, considering the technology is still not mature enough. Several incidents and accidents involving Cruise and Waymo driverless cars added to the fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I'm sure our grand-grandfathers felt the same way seeing the first automobiles taking over their cities.Waymo and Cruise are the most advanced players in the robotaxi space, both operating in San Francisco for the past few years. Cruise is arguably more advanced, already being allowed to offer paid driverless services in some city regions, mainly at night. Waymo is not far behind, being permitted to do the same, but with a safety driver present in the car. Both companies sought to expand the operating hours and areas and, in the case of Waymo, get rid of the driver.Cruise and Waymo filed to expand their operations throughout San Francisco with California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The approval process was expected to conclude in July, but San Francisco authorities fought back, citing safety concerns. Almost a month later, following a heated, seven-hour debate, the commission finally decided on Thursday to accept the applications. The decision marks a watershed moment for autonomous driving companies, safety advocates, local authorities, and citizens.The decision will not only allow the two companies to grow but also other companies to set foot in the city and advance autonomous driving technology . There are more than 40 companies that are allowed to test their driverless cars in San Francisco, from small startups to technology giants. More than 1,000 autonomous vehicles are operating now in the city.For Waymo, this marks the true beginning of their commercial operations in San Francisco. On the other hand, Cruise thinks the permit will allow it to break even and generate $1 billion in revenue by 2025. Although the CPUC's decision will vastly accelerate AD development, both will have to demonstrate that their technology is safe to operate at scale among human-driven vehicles in crowded city traffic.So far, robotaxis have been met with mixed feelings ranging from excitement to outright hostility. Some consider robotaxis safer than human drivers, while others call Cruise and Waymo driverless cars "a public menace." San Francisco officials have tried to convince California state authorities thattechnology is not ready to scale , citing over 600 unexpected stops and about 50 written reports of interference with emergency services in the city.The public has also coalesced and started disabling Waymo and Cruise robotaxis by placing traffic cones on their hoods to disable the sensors. Despite these protests, autonomous driving technology is here to stay and will transform our lives in the coming years. Just like the automobile did a century ago.
RFK Jr. is now demanding Secret Service protection after a controversial incident with the FBI. The Democratic presidential candidate's campaign manager claims that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. meets all the criteria for the protection.

RFK Jr Demands Secret Service Protection After FBI Killed Utah Man

According to Fox News' latest report, RFK Jr.'s Secret Service protection request comes after the FBI shooting and the assassination of a presidential candidate in Ecuador, which happened on Wednesday, Aug. 9.

"The killing of Mr. [Fernando] Villavicencio proves how volatile the political climate has become," explained RFK Jr.'s campaign manager Dennis Kucinich.

He also mentioned the incident where the FBI confronted a man who was accused of threatening U.S. President Joe Biden.

The confrontation didn't end well because the Utah man was shot dead by the government agents.

Because of this killing incident, RFK Jr. wants his Secret Service protection. Kucinich argued that the presidential candidate has met all the criteria for the protection service.

"The only conceivable reason he is being denied is because of a conscious decision by the White House to deny him security and damn the consequences," explained the campaign manager.

Read Also: Sen. Joe Manchin 'Seriously' Considering Going Independent Following Disagreements with Democratic Party

FBI Shooting Incident in Utah

NBC News reported that the FBI fatally shot a Utah resident on Wednesday, Aug. 9. Agents said that the man was armed when he was confronted at his home.

They added that the man pointed his weapon at the FBI agents and failed to comply with their orders.

The incident began when the man (identified as Craig Deleeuw Robertson) was allegedly making threats against POTUS Joe Biden.

The Utah resident allegedly said that he will prepare his camouflage and sniper rifle once the American leader visits Utah.

Before this, the guy also openly plotted online the assassination of Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney.

Since the man was making serious threats against Biden, the Secret Service initially referred Mr. Robertson to the FBI.

Former POTUS Donald Trump's Truth Social also notified the FBI regarding the man's threats, which he posted on the social media platform.

Related Article: FBI Fatally Shoots Utah Man Who Allegedly Threatened Joe Biden

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SUV

Photo: Hyundai / autoevolution edit

EV

The Palisade remains the three-rowof choice for Hyundai customers who want minivan practicality paired with an improved ride height. But for those among us who love what Hyundai is doing but also want to adventure in a remote place occasionally, the rugged-y all-new Santa Fe is undoubtedly a great proposition.Even though it remains a tad bit smaller than the Palisade, the overhauled design breathes new life into the Santa Fe moniker and transforms it into a genuine rival for some posh SUVs with generous starting price points. If Hyundai manages to come up with a reasonable MSRP for this vehicle and suitable powertrains that won't be problematic, it might end up with a massive win on its hands.Fortunately, it still has time to work all the quirks out. The 2024 Santa Fe is coming to North America and Europe in, well, 2024. South Koreans will get to order the first batch starting in September this year. We'll keep an eye on the country and see what owners have to say after they take delivery and put some miles on the odometer.But until we learn about pricing and drivetrains available in North America, here's an interesting fact  the SUV will look different in Europe! It's going to miss one part.This vehicle's "H" design is refreshing and very well outlined by the front-side view. The headlights and the front bumper contain an "H" that's easy to spot, which gives the Santa Fe a unique road presence.But when it comes to illuminating the road and an instantly recognizable look, Hyundai decided to go for something bold. It united the two H-shaped daytime-running lights (DRLs) with a horizontal LED bar. That enhances the look and aligns the vehicle with current car design trends. It also tries to be a minimalistic reshuffle of what an off-road LED light bar should look like on an adventure-ready automobile.Sadly, Europeans won't get to enjoy the new front look of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. Company executives told journalists from the Old Continent that the light bar didn't perform well in the Euro NCAP safety tests. The automaker decided to drop it altogether rather than reengineering it.As such, Europeans (including the British) won't see the SUV with its complete, freshly modernized front look. But that doesn't take very much away from this vehicle's appeal. It will still have that masculine, rugged appearance, with all the interior practicality and the new features. Plus, the unique lighting signature with the lightbar has no practical role other than making the Santa Fe look better. The SUV will still look distinctive on European roads thanks to the H-shaped DRLs and its imposing body.The slim light bar has also become a simple, yet clever way for some legacy automakers to differentiate their all-electric vehicles from gas- or diesel-powered ones. Maybe the all-new Santa Fe will boast andrivetrain at some point too! For now, however, what's certain is that a plug-in hybrid version will become available in most markets and that Americans and Canadians will enjoy a slightly better-looking 2024 Santa Fe.Like the IIHS , Euro NCAP updated its testing procedure. Getting five stars out of five is more complicated in 2023. Automakers selling cars in Europe and looking for the highest safety rating possible must now install child presence detection systems, make sure that electronically-operated windows and doors open easily in case of submergence, and add advanced autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems for motorcyclists, pedestrians, cyclists. The AEB must also prevent head-on collisions.
Liberty Walk has been a bit quieter than usual these past few weeks, but that doesn't mean they're on vacation. Quite the opposite, in fact, as they have been working on all sorts of vehicles, adding others to their portfolio of tuned cars, too.

SUV

And it was the Ford Bronco that has recently paid a visit to the tuner based in the Land of the Rising Sun, emerging with some very eye-catching upgrades. Mind you, the work only revolves around the wheel arches for now, with a bolt-on design in this case, as that's the only thing on this project that bears Liberty Walk's signature.Made of FRP, this feature is offered as a bundle and will set you back a cool $3,080 for abroad markets. You should not be afraid of doing manual labor if you plan on ordering it. You'll also need a steady hand, some tools, and probably a paint finish, too, in order for the bolt-on fender flares to make their way to your new-gen Bronco, and for the rest of the features found on the pictured copy, you'll have to turn to a different company.What are those features, you ask? Well, the new front bumper, for one, which was made of steel and incorporates a bulbar-like piece. It has integrated parking sensors and room for a winch behind the license plate, and it's joined by a new rear bumper and fresh side steps that were also made of steel by the looks of it. The beadlock wheels are another novelty, and in this case, they were shod in ultra-fat mud-terrain tires to aid traction once the surface becomes slippery and/or sticky. To fit under those fat fender flares, the entire body was lifted significantly higher compared to stock, allowing the truck to drive over some bigger obstacles.We think this particular Ford Bronco would have been even more interesting with additional upgrades emphasizing its off-road-ready nature. A snorkel would have been a welcomed addition, alongside trail lights and a few other things. That shiny black paint finish will get all scratched up in no time during a quick drive through the woods, so there's another idea if you plan on driving your Blue Oval-madeon arduous tracks. As a final touch, Liberty Walk gave the off-roader some decals, which were applied to the windscreen and the rear quarter panels so that you do not forget where those fat fender attachments came from.Will they launch additional upgrades for the Ford Bronco in the future? Maybe, maybe not, as they haven't mentioned it at the time of writing. However, our money would be on the maybe part, though we wouldn't look forward to anything major, as the tuner is only known for its cosmetic work.
Recalls are an ordinary state of affairs in the automotive business, and even if most of the time they come as a hassle for owners, each of them is ultimately getting safer when a carmaker discovers a fault and is willing to fix it, free of charge.

The reasons for recalls are as diverse as they get, with some being more of an inconvenience than an actual danger (like say the reverse gear warning sound that plays in any gear on the Mazda CX-90), while others look and feel like one of those scary scenarios from Final Destination.Imagine this: you drive down the road and all of a sudden a fuel tube made of plastic you don't even know exists starts rubbing against one of your car's brake lines, to which you also give little consideration. In time, all that rubbing leads to a puncture in the brake line, and brake fluid starts leaking.Generally speaking, this stuff is flammable, so if it somehow ends up in contact with an ignition source, it could catch fire and set your car ablaze. It's not something that will happen for sure, but there's a chance it might.And that's exactly what Japanese carmaker Toyota said it could happen to the (still) brand-new Tundra pickups because of a fault it discovered. And by brand new I mean vehicles manufactured as 2022 and 2023 model years.The recall announced this week by Toyota on account of the potentially dangerous plastic fuel tube is not minor. Seeing how pickups are all the craze in the U.S., and the Tundra is a favorite go-to platform for customers, the carmaker will have to pull back no less than 168,000 vehicles. They are all of both the regular and hybrid Tundra varieties.The fix is, like in so many similar cases, quite simple, and it involves dealers replacing the fuel tube and securing it in place with additional clamps. We're not told exactly how the tube is different, only that it is "improved and its production has already begun.The problem is the new tubes will probably take a while to manufacture, so the carmaker's dealers will at first, as a temporary measure, "install protective materials and a clamp on the fuel tube."What it means is that yes, some of the owners of affected Tundras will probably have to take a trip to the car service twice to get the same problem fixed, first temporarily and then permanently.As usual, Toyota will soon begin notifying customers and expects them all to be in the loop by October 2023. Both the temporary and the permanent fixes will be conducted at no cost in money for the people affected by this issue.
One of the most incredible things about yachts is that they can live (almost) forever. A yacht that's been around for over a decade can still match, if not surpass, the abilities of younger models as long as it is properly used and cared for. Careful refits can always update the look and comfort level onboard older yachts. Paired with a proven track record and highly-coveted reliability, vessels such as this French explorer can prove to be much more attractive than current alternatives.

Espiritu Santo ("Holy Spirit") is also the name given to a group of North Vanuatu languages spoken on the island with the same name located in Northern Vanuatu. In the case of the French explorer bearing this name, it hints at its far-reaching capabilities and the exotic destinations it was meant to travel to.Just a little over 100 feet (31.7 meters), this compact yet mighty ocean-going vessel was delivered more than two decades ago in 2002. An experienced ship owner worked with naval architects Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt to create a powerful pleasure craft capable of withstanding long periods at sea and reaching remote destinations. This is how Espiritu Santo was born, paving the way for an entire line of French explorer yachts that are still popular today.The first Ocea Commuter was used privately throughout this entire time. It was never chartered , yet it stayed in excellent shape. It proved its worthiness since the first day when it left the Les Sables-d'Olonne shipyard to join the accompanying fleet for America's Cup in Auckland.Over the past 20 years, it completed a transoceanic crossing and multiple Alaska passages. Most recently, it stayed close to Australia, exploring its fascinating coasts. Last year, it completed its 20-year Class Survey. Before that, in 2015, it underwent an extensive refit at its original shipyard in France. At the time, it already had more than 15,000 engine hours recorded.Espiritu Santo was ready to change hands this year, and it did so remarkably fast. Unlike some yachts that can stay on the market for years, despite their tempting qualities, the old French explorer found a new owner in just five months. The affordable price probably had something to do with that as well. This powerful ocean-going vessel was a bargain at 4,6 million/$5.1 million (its last-known asking price).Powered by twin Baudouin engines, Espiritu Santo can hit 13 knots (14.9 mph/24 kph) and cover more than 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km) at lower speeds. During ocean crossings, with one generator running, the average fuel consumption is 75 liters per hour at 10.5 knots (12 mph/19.4 kph), according to the builder.In terms of accommodation, this beautifully-designed yacht can welcome up to eight guests and four crew members (including the captain). The stylish, comfortable interior is similar to what you'd find in contemporary explorer yachts, adding to this French model's unique value.
If Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had his way 100 percent of the time, his Air Force would be bursting at the seams with American A-10 Warthogs and F-16 Fighting Falcons as quickly as they could make their way through Poland. But the reality of the Russo-Ukrainian War is far different. Not every request for weapons from Ukraine is answered positively or in earnest. Just look how long it's taking for Ukraine to get its hands on F-16s.

As first reported by the Washington Post, the United States Air Force does not expect the first round of Ukrainian pilots sent for training on the F-16 platform to be complete before the end of next summer, let alone the current summer. As outdated Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29s and Su-25s slug it out against Russian jets with more modern upgrade packages, it's clear Ukraine is chomping at the bits to speed up the acquisition process. But for all the rifles and ammo, all the Bradley fighting vehicles, and HIMARS rocket launch platforms, it took months of back-and-forth negotiations between Kyiv and Washington D.C. for the administration of President Joe Biden to even consider sending NATO's most prolific single-engine jet fighter into combat against the Russians.It'd be 13 months after the start of the conflict that President Biden finally authorized the slow process of introducing small groups of Ukrainian pilots to the F-16 platform in May 2023. Even then, only six pilots with two backup reserves were selected to undergo this one-of-a-kind form of expedited training with a very open-ended expectation of a finishing date. To even begin the process of cross-training Ukrainian pilots familiar only with old Soviet hardware, they're required to undergo roughly four months of English lessons to understand the complex terminology associated with the F-16's subsystems that even native speakers would struggle to comprehend.When combined with at least six months of behind-the-stick combat training and another six to train another round of six pilots, the result is an orientation program that might not even be ready in time for the end of the war. Meanwhile, other NATO operators of the F-16, like Denmark, the Netherlands, and Romania , are working independently of the U.S. operation to set up training operations for Ukrainian pilots over European soil. Under the current scheme, Ukrainian pilots would cross their homeland's border into Romania, where Danish and Dutch personnel would facilitate their own F-16 training program using Romanian air bases.But even then, the relevant authorities involved in this operation remain especially tight-lipped about the particulars of Ukrainian F-16 training outside of U.S. airspace. But for the moment, there's reason to suspect the F-16 Fighting Falcon won't be involved in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict f or the foreseeable future.
The American military if presently racing on multiple fronts to modernize its arsenal and hardware inventory, chasing after anything from hypersonic vehicles to uncrewed surface vessels. And it's also betting heavily on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, as these machines may open up new opportunities and capabilities for military operations.

At the moment several branches of the American fighting force are looking at a number of such solutions, but none of them seems as promising and ready to enter service as that put forward by a company called Archer Aviation.The company's product is called Midnight , as we've discussed it before here on autoevolution. Officially meant to be used as an air taxi conducting city and inter-city flights, the eVTOL is taking to the sky thanks to a total of 12 electric motors, fed by six independent battery packs.The aircraft can reach a top speed of 150 mph (241 kph) and can stay airborne for as much as 100 miles (160 km).The numbers above may not seem all that extraordinary, but there is something about Archer and its product that has gathered a lot of attention. The company is backed by automotive giant Stellantis, but this week also managed to get investments from Boeing and United Airlines, to a total of $215 million.More important than that though is the fact the Department of Defense already committed $142 million, "the largest total contract value of any eVTOL company," to get its hands on the Midnight.When announcing the Boeing and United investment this week Archer also said it may very well become the first company in this business to deliver an eVTOL to a customer. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is that customer, and it's expected to get delivery of the first such machine at the end of this year, or at the beginning of the next one at the latest.On the civilian front, the Midnight was cleared by the FAA through the Special Airworthiness Certificate to begin test flight operations, and that is expected to take place over the next few weeks.The "for credit" testing of the machine, which will ultimately lead to a full FAA certification and the beginning of commercial operations in 2025, will commence early next year.For Archer, which was founded in 2018, things seem to be moving quite rapidly. Not only will this company become the first to deliver an eVTOL to a customer, but it will probably become the first one to operate an assembly facility for such vehicles. The site of the plant is Covington, Georgia, and it will be opened next year with help from Stellantis.With the piloted Midnight clearing hurdle after hurdle, Archer has now partnered with Boeing and Wisk to pursue autonomous capabilities.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Bands of heavy rain containing strong gusty winds at times. Potential for flooding rains. High 69F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 3 to 5 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Bands of heavy rain showers along with strong wind gusts at times, especially early. Potential for flooding rains. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Showery rains will be accompanied by heavy downpours and strong gusty winds at times, especially early. Low 61F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Localized flooding is expected..

Tonight

Showery rains will be accompanied by heavy downpours and strong gusty winds at times, especially early. Low 61F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Localized flooding is expected.
The paper said the arrangement that both the Azerbaijani and Karabakh sides had almost agreed to eventually did not go through, however.

According to the official familiar with the regional situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed opening the Agdam road first, through which Red Cross vehicles would deliver what was necessary to Nagorno-Karabakh, and a day later, according to Moscows proposal, the Lachin road would be opened.

Such an option was brought to a high level of preparation, said the unnamed official who spoke to Kommersant.

But, according to him, the Karabakh Armenians first set a condition that Lachin should be opened not one day later, but simultaneously and then demanded that Azerbaijani goods should not be delivered through Agdam. The paper writes that then a scandal related to Azerbaijans detention of a Karabakh resident at a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor on charges of war crimes allegedly committed during the early 1990s emerged and the compromise did not happen.

According to the official cited by Kommersant, Moscow assesses the situation as serious and believes that Baku is not inclined to make concessions.

All attempts to somehow calm the situation that are being made by us, Western and international organizations lead to nowhere. Baku is not backing down, the official said, adding that the Karabakh authorities are also persistent, in particular, in rejecting the option of using the Agdam road.

According to the Russian official, though, the Agdam road will be opened in any case.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a meeting with the head of the Red Cross office in Baku on July 14 that Azerbaijan does not rule out the possibility of providing assistance to meet the needs of Karabakh Armenians by using the Agdam-Stepanakert road.

One day later, on July 15, after a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that as well as urging Aliyev to reopen the Lachin corridor he noted Azerbaijans willingness to equally provide humanitarian supplies via Agdam.

I see both options as important and encouraged the humanitarian deliveries from both sides to ensure the needs of the population are met, he said.

Authorities in Stepanakert strongly rejected that option, insisting that the Agdam road cannot be an alternative to the Lachin corridor, which, they stressed should remain solely under the control of Russian peacekeepers in accordance with the terms of the 2020 Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Commenting on the publication in the Russian newspaper, Artur Harutiunian, a member of Nagorno-Karabakhs parliament, stressed that alternative options could become a subject of discussion only after the Lachin road gets to be operated without interruption.

We clearly say that we have a corridor under a signed document, the Lachin corridor, which should work without interruption. After it works without interruption, those alternative options are already issues to be discussed, the regions lawmaker told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.
11 August 2023 18:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

A few days ago, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis expressed his admiration towards Armenians with his supportive post on his Twitter. He allegedly expressed concern about the "grave humanitarian consequences" of "blocking" the Lachin road and as well as demanding unhindered movement in accordance with the order of the ICJ.

The question arises of what serious humanitarian consequences can be discussed if Armenia is engaged in contraband and illegal transportation of weapons through the Lachin State Border Checkpoint.

But this is not the point, but the fact that making such a statement, "Mister" Gabrielius Landsbergis forgot what was happening in Kaliningrad. Or rather, international pressure on Slavic residents living in the Baltic countries; non-systemic politics, as well as the sad situation in the humanitarian sphere for Slavic-speaking speakers abroad. The most horrifying moment is that parents cannot send their children to schools, and the population that does not speak Lithuanian is not provided with medical and social assistance. Also, compared to previous years, the number of Slavic inhabitants in the area has decreased significantly. In addition, residents are forbidden to speak Russian anywhere except in churches.

And the question is asked, Dear Landsbergis, do you understand what you are talking about? On what grounds can a Lithuanian official demand from another country actions to which his own country does not comply?

The AZERNEWS editorial turned to a Belarusian political analyst, an expert of the Belarusian pro-presidential public association "Belaya Rus", Petr Petrovsky, who could comment on this topic in more detail.

"I don't think Mr. Landsbergis is considering any evidence. I even have great doubts that he knows what Lachin Road is and where it is generally located. Because he does not conduct an independent foreign policy, he fully acts according to the instructions on which he is dictated from abroad."

According to the Belarusian expert, Lithuania is formally independent, but in fact a non-sovereign state dependent on external financial and military assistance from western countries. Therefore, it cannot be said that, with such statements, the FM somehow analyzed the situation or understood what was happening there. In general, we should question the extent to which Minister Landsbergis knows the geography of the countries of the world, where Garabagh and the Lachin road are located, and possibly even Azerbaijan and Armenia. Therefore, we must question the competence of those people who today work in the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania.

Further, Petr Petrovsky told us how every year the external political course and the level of diplomacy of Lithuania fundamentally degraded. It got to the point that the Republic of Lithuania recognized Taiwan de facto, and relations with the People's Republic of China deteriorated sharply. Cared for the rights of the Uighurs, Mongols, and other minorities in China. Although, for example, it undermined its economy by actually destroying the transit of Chinese products through its territory under the Belt and Road program.

"As for the issues of nationality within Lithuania, the expression of certain moments of criticism against other countries, including Azerbaijan, is not the first case. Lithuania itself has its own ethnic problems, for example, the infringement of the rights of the Slavic-speaking population; the issue is not only with the Russian-speaking community but also the Polish population. There is a struggle with signs in different languages. Let me remind you that in Lithuania itself there are areas where Lithuanians constitute an ethnic minority," Petr Petrovsky emphasized.

And in conclusion, the expert spoke about the requirements from Azerbaijan, which the Lithuania itself does not comply with in the Kaliningrad region.

"And as for the violation of the transit potential between the Kaliningrad region of Russia and Belarus, as well as attempts to block the borders between Lithuania & Belarus, and Lithuania & Russia, all this suggests that Lithuanian foreign policy is not independent and not sovereign, but is a conductor of the policy of their overseas masters, first of all, Great Britain and the US are fused to escalate conflicts, support conflicts, and not solve them. We see all this in foreign policy both in the region and in the world as a whole," Petr Petrovsky added.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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According to Chinese military experts, they have created a novel cooling mechanism that enables high-energy lasers to run "infinitely" without producing any waste heat.

South China Morning Post claims that researchers at the National University of Defence Technology in Changsha, Hunan province, claim that the novel cooling system fully avoids the dangerous heat produced by high-energy laser operation.

Laser Beams That Don't Deteriorate

With the use of modern technology, weapons can produce laser beams indefinitely and without deterioration.

The new cooling system uses innovative architecture and optimized gas flow to reduce turbulence and vibration, improve mirror cleaning, and remove heat from the laser weapon's interior.

By improving range and damage while lowering logistics and costs, it might significantly alter the nature of combat.

(Photo: by TRW/Getty Images) WHITE SANDS, NM - NOVEMBER 4: A beam director element of a Tactical High Energy Laser(THEL) is seen November 4, 2002, in White Sands, New Mexico. The Army and TRW announced that for the first time a high-energy laser weapon tracked, locked onto, and fired a burst of concentrated light energy photons that shot down an artillery shell in flight.

The Navy Advanced Chemical Laser (NACL), the Middle Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL), which uses advanced mid-infrared chemical lasers, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), the Space-Based Laser (SBL), and the Airborne Laser (ABL), which uses chemical oxygen iodine lasers, are just a few of the most well-known US projects that have utilized deuterium fluoride as a laser source over the years.

The public was informed that the cancellation of all the projects was due to the massive size and weight of the lasers.

Read also: China Develops Anti-Laser Technology To Nullify US DEW Weapons

China's Laser Weapon Technology

China has been investing heavily in laser weapon technology in recent years and has made significant progress. In 2017, the Chinese military claimed to have developed a laser weapon that could shoot down drones and other aircraft. In 2022, China announced that it had deployed a laser weapon system on a warship.

China's laser weapon technology is still in the early stages of development, but it is rapidly advancing.

If China is able to successfully deploy and field laser weapons on a large scale, it could have a significant impact on the future of warfare.

Laser weapons could be used to destroy enemy aircraft, missiles, and even ships. They could also be used to blind enemy sensors and disrupt communications.

The development of laser weapon technology by China is a cause for concern for the United States and its allies. Laser weapons could give China a significant advantage in future conflicts.

The United States is also developing laser weapon technology, but it is not clear if it is as advanced as China's technology.

The development of laser weapon technology is a major technological advancement that could have a profound impact on the future of warfare. It is important to monitor the development of this technology and to be prepared for the potential implications.

Related article: US Develops Laser Weapon To Counter Against Chinese Hypersonic Missile, Drone Attacks; Defensive Technology To Intercept Further Threats

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11 August 2023 15:43 (UTC+04:00)

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on possible areas of cooperation. A meeting with representatives of leading think tanks of Uzbekistan was held at the Economic Scientific Research Institute (ESRI), Azernews reports, citing the Ministry.

During the meeting, a presentation reflecting the similar and different indicators of the economies of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in several fields and investments between the two countries was delivered by the ESRI members, and the parties exchanged views on possible areas of cooperation between the two countries.

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11 August 2023 17:27 (UTC+04:00)

Armenian minority living in Garabagh has expressed intention to obtain Azerbaijani citizenship. According to Dilara Afandiyeva, head of the Centre "Women: Peace and Security" operating under the Dilara Aliyeva Azerbaijan Society for Protection of Women's Rights, Armenians communicate mainly via WhatsApp, Azernews reports, citing Khazar TV.

Dilara Afandiyeva said that the calls to the "Hotline" created for Armenian minority in Garabagh are mainly related to express their needs to become Azerbaijani citizen.

Some Armenians who contacted the "Hotline" said that Russian peacekeepers ask for a bribe to pass through the Lachin road. Also, as most Armenians living in Garabagh are elderly people, they apply for pensions," said Dilara Afandiyeva.

We present more detailed video material on the topic.

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11 August 2023 11:15 (UTC+04:00)

The Western Azerbaijani Community condemns the joining of vehicles filled with the aid collected from several cities and regions of France to a truck caravan that Armenia had aimed to send to Garabagh under the guise of humanitarian aid without the consent of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing a Facebook post of the Community.

The Western Azerbaijan Community has recently called on cities and regions of France to refrain from a policy of double standards, which they view as an insult to international law. This comes in response to a truck with "aid" collected from a number of French cities and regions joining a car convoy that Armenia wants to send to Karabakh without the sanction of Azerbaijan.

The Community's statement points out that France, where Islamophobia and Azerbaijanophobia are rampant, tries to gain its geopolitical interests, which had lost in Africa, in the South Caucasus.

France, where Islamophobia and Azerbaijanophobia are rampant, is attempting to heighten tension in the South Caucasus region and turn it into a scene of geopolitical competition. The West Azerbaijan Community calls on the French cities and regions to avoid such cheap and ridiculous practices, and the policy of double standards, which is an insult to international law, the statement reads.

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11 August 2023 11:52 (UTC+04:00)

At a meeting between KOBIA (SMBDA) and Pakistan's 9D Technologies, possible opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan's SMEs and the company were discussed, Azernews reports, citing KOBIA.

Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SBA), met with a delegation headed by Abdul Salam, CEO of Pakistan's 9D Technologies.

The meeting reviewed various support and services provided by KOBIA to startups, micro, and small entrepreneurs in order to support the development of innovative entrepreneurship in our country, increase the role of SMEs in the field of information and communication technologies, and opportunities for cooperation. discussed with the company.

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11 August 2023 12:35 (UTC+04:00)

In accordance with the training plan and program of the Military Institute named after Heydar Aliyev, practical classes are held with cadets participating in the camp sessions, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry.

During the classes, tasks on compass march, clearing territories of mines and unexploded ordnance, organizing a patrol service, conducting an ambush, and destroying an imaginary enemy in a wooded area were accomplished.

The cadets took an active part in classes on protection against weapons of mass destruction.

When performing training exercises, the main attention is paid to improving the cadets practical and combat skills.

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11 August 2023 15:21 (UTC+04:00)

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will attend the Inmerge Innovation Summit in Baku, Azernews reports.

At this summit, Wozniak will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony session. Along with him, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev, President of Trendyol Group of Companies Chaglayan Chetin, Chairman of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency of Azerbaijan Inara Veliyeva, and others will also speak at the opening ceremony.

It should be noted that the event Inmerge Innovation Summit Baku will be held on November 30 - December 1 at the Baku Congress Center. It will be attended by heads of international organizations, as well as speakers of large companies in Azerbaijan.

Stephen Gary Wozniak also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American technology entrepreneur, electronics engineer, computer scientist, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor.

In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his late business partner Steve Jobs, which later became the world's largest technology company by revenue and the largest company in the world by market capitalization. Through his work at Apple in the 1970s and 1980s, he is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution.

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11 August 2023 14:33 (UTC+04:00)

As part of his visit to Mongolia, Shahin Mustafayev, President of the International Turkic Academy, met with Chuluun Sampildondov, Director of the National Museum of Genghis Khan and Secretary General of the International Association of Mongol Studies, Azernews reports, citing Turkic Academy.

The meeting discussed ways to further develop cooperation between the institutions and plans to organize joint projects to promote the heritage of nomads.

At the meeting with the Director of the Research Institute of Turkology of the Mongolian National University and Head of the Department of Izmir University Katip Celebi Ankbayar Danuu, Shahin Mustafayev spoke about the research of Turkology in Mongolia.

Shahin Mustafayev also visited the memorial complex consisting of the stele of Tonyukuk the Wise, located 75 kilometers from the city of Ulaanbaatar, and familiarized himself with the construction of the museum.

The International Turkic Academy and the National Museum of Genghis Khan have been discussing research on Turkology in Mongolia. Turkology is the study of the Turkic peoples, their languages, culture, history, and literature. This research is important for understanding the history and culture of the Mongolian people, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region.

The International Turkic Academy is a research institution dedicated to the study of the Turkic peoples, their languages, culture, history, and literature. It was founded in 2006 and is based in Kazakhstan. The Academy has conducted research on the history and culture of the Turkic peoples, as well as their influence on the region.

The National Museum of Genghis Khan is a museum in Mongolia dedicated to the life and legacy of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. The museum was established in 2006 and is located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The museum has conducted research on the history and culture of the Mongol Empire, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region.

The International Turkic Academy and the National Museum of Genghis Khan have been collaborating on research on Turkology in Mongolia. This research is important for understanding the history and culture of the Mongolian people, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region.

The research has focused on the history and culture of the Mongol Empire, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region. The research has also looked at the archaeological evid the National Museum of genghis khan ence of the Mongol Empire, such as the burial sites of Genghis Khan and other Mongol rulers.

The research has also looked at the influence of the Turkic peoples on the Mongol Empire, such as the adoption of the Turkic language as the official language of the Mongol Empire. The research has also looked at the influence of the Turkic peoples on the culture of the Mongol Empire, such as the adoption of Turkic customs and traditions.

The research conducted by the International Turkic Academy and the National Museum of Genghis Khan is important for understanding the history and culture of the Mongolian people, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region. This research is helping to shed light on the history and culture of the Mongol Empire, as well as the influence of the Turkic peoples on the region.

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11 August 2023 17:10 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received the Ambassador of Lithuania to Azerbaijan Egidijus Navikas, Azernews reports, the tweet by the Lithuanian Ambassador.

The Ambassador noted that it is pleasure to meet Azerbaijans Top Diplomat for a farewell courtesy call. He underscored that despite fact that his activities in Azerbaijan fell on period of COVID-19 pandemic, during this period there was a positive trend in the development of relations between the two countries.

Pleasure to meet FM @Bayramov_Jeyhun for a farewell courtesy call. I am happy that despite fact that my activities in  fell on period of COVID-19 pandemic, during this period there was a positive trend in the development of relations between  &  pic.twitter.com/ITTvN0sO9q  Egidijus Navikas (@EgidijusNavikas) August 11, 2023

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11 August 2023 18:11 (UTC+04:00)

The community of Western Azerbaijan calls on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to refrain from false propaganda, slander, and manipulation against Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The community of Western Azerbaijan, in connection with the statements of Nikol Pashinyan on August 11, 2023, declares that Armenia, which has kept Azerbaijani territories under occupation for 30 years, carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide against Azerbaijanis, is an obstacle to peace in the region.

Unfortunately, the democrat Nikol Pashinyan continued this policy of his predecessors and completely destroyed the negotiation process with his statement Garabagh is Armenia and thats it, which he voiced in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. We also remind Nikol Pashinyan that the person he appointed as head of the National Security Service, who later went to fight against Azerbaijan during the 44-day war, and soon shamefully fled from Karabakh, made a statement We will not return an inch of land to Azerbaijan, and the former defense minister, who considered himself a "genius strategist", went even further and threatened Azerbaijan with a "new war for new territories." The fact that Armenia, which for 30 years has ignored UN Security Council resolutions and even prided itself on occupying foreign territories, now hopes for a piece of paper by a certain Luis Ocampo, a man with a dark past, is a clear example of the sad state of official Yerevan. We call on the Prime Minister of Armenia to refrain from false propaganda on the topic of "genocide", slander, and manipulations against Azerbaijan.

The community of Western Azerbaijan believes that if the Prime Minister of Armenia is really interested in peace, then first of all he must put an end to such utopian and provocative ideas as "the Baku-Khankendi dialogue within the framework of the international mechanism." We, as a Community, perceive this as a continuation of the territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan, but now in a different form, the statement says.

The community of Western Azerbaijan reminds the Prime Minister of Armenia that, on the one hand, the call for dialogue with the Armenian residents of Garabagh within the framework of the international approach "no population - no problem" are absolutely unacceptable and dangerous. The Community of Western Azerbaijan calls on Nikol Pashinyan not to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan, not to drag out the process of peace negotiations under various artificial pretexts, and to start a dialogue with the Community to discuss the issue of the return of Western Azerbaijanis."

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11 August 2023 20:05 (UTC+04:00)

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic invites entrepreneurs of the country to take part in a business tour to Italy, which is scheduled for the period from September 25 to 30, Azernews reports, citing Kabar.

As part of the tour, two groups will be formed from representatives of the textile industry and the agro-industrial sector. The tour program includes:

 visits to several cities;

 visiting factories and plants;

 B2B meetings;

 familiarization with new technologies, equipment and best practices in the production of textiles, food and other agricultural products.

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Authorities have revealed that six people detained in connection with the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are Colombian citizens and members of gangs. This revelation prompted a call for action from a former vice president concerned about the rising violence in the South American country.

The congressman and anti-corruption activist Villavicencio was shot and killed during a campaign event in the capital city of Quito on Wednesday, August 9. He had been a vocal critic of the violence fuelled by drug trafficking in the nation.

His murder occurred ten days before the primary election for president. As crime and corruption have reached epidemic proportions in recent years in Ecuador, Villavicencio's campaign had pledged to end the bloodshed.

Fernando Villavicencio Assassination

The alleged gunman died while in police custody Wednesday after a gunfight with security forces, according to the Office of the Attorney General of Ecuador.

In addition to the killer, six people were detained. On Thursday, August 10, Ecuador's Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, told reporters that early information suggests suspects are part of organized criminal gangs. He then told CNN that the accused were indeed Colombians. There is yet no information on the alleged gunman's nationality.

Zapata stated that during overnight searches, officials recovered two motorbikes, a stolen car, a rifle, a machine gun, four handguns, three grenades, two rifle magazines, four boxes of ammo, and a rifle.

President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador tweeted that he had asked the FBI for assistance after the assault and that a team from the United States would soon be traveling to Ecuador to investigate.

Lasso also called for three days of national mourning and declared a state of emergency that would last for 60 days. The military would be mobilized immediately throughout the country.

The United Nations' top human rights chief, the US, and the European Union were just some of the many international entities that voiced their disapproval of the killing.

According to a statement released by the Ecuadorian Prosecutor's Office on Friday, August 11, a court has ordered the preventive arrest of the six Colombian citizens apprehended on suspicion of murdering Villavicencio. The suspect inquiry, said the Prosecutor's Office, will take 30 days.

Also Read: Fernando Villavicencio Assassination: Ecuador's President Vows to Punish Slain Presidential Candidate's Killers

Extremely High Levels of Violence

Otto Sonnenholzner, a former vice president of Ecuador and a current presidential contender, told CNN in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the present level of violence in the country is something that has never been seen before.

"It's something new. It started maybe one and a half or two years ago. It's a spiral of violence that is completely out of control and demands concrete government action that we are not seeing."

Most of the recent bloodshed in Ecuador has occurred on the country's Pacific coast as criminal gangs fight for dominance in the distribution of illegal drugs like cocaine.

Also Read: Ecuador Jail Riots Leave Dozens Dead Amid Gang Warfare

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11 August 2023 22:15 (UTC+04:00)

In 2022 the commodity turnover between Kazakhstan and North Macedonia grew by 5.5 times, Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu said following the meeting with visiting OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, Azernews reports, citing Kazinform.

The minister stressed Kazakhstan may increase its export commodities and mutual sales by 350 million dollars.

Nurtleu said the sides agreed to actively use resources of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation for maintaining business ties development pace. They agreed to focus on promising sectors such as new technologies, energy, agriculture, mining, and tourism.

During the meeting, they also debated a visa-free regime between the two nations.

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Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Showery rains will be accompanied by very heavy downpours and strong gusty winds at times, especially this morning. Potential for flooding rains. High 76F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Showery rains will be accompanied by heavy downpours and strong gusty winds at times, especially early. Potential for flooding rains. Low 69F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming SE and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Rain showers containing gusty winds and heavy downpours at times this evening will taper to a few showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming ESE and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers containing gusty winds and heavy downpours at times this evening will taper to a few showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming ESE and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.
After providing the Tennessee attorney general with the medical data of transgender patients, Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now under federal civil rights investigation, according to hospital authorities.

Only a few weeks have passed since two patients filed a lawsuit against VUMC for disclosing their details to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti late last year, as reported by The Associated Press.

VUMC has come under fire for acting only after the existence of the requests surfaced as evidence in another court case.

The hospital waited months before informing patients in June that their medical information had been provided late last year. Many families in the deep-red state, where GOP politicians have attempted to restrict LGBTQ rights and outlaw care for transgender children, were alarmed by the news.

Because the hospital was aware of Tennessee authorities' hostility toward transgender people's rights, the patients who are suing over the release of their information claim VUMC should have redacted personally identifying information before passing over the records.

Many of the patients whose private medical records were given to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office are state employees, or their adult children or spouses; other patients are covered by TennCare, the state's Medicaid program; and some weren't even clients of the transgender clinic at VUMC.

Not Targeting Patients?

In the meantime, Skrmetti has insisted he is not targeting patients or their families and that his request for the VUMC patient records is simply part of a "run of the mill" probe into alleged medical billing fraud.

(Photo : by Julie Bennett/Getty Images)

MONTGOMERY, AL - MARCH 30: Trace Trice, the parent of a transgender child, speaks during a rally at the Alabama State House to draw attention to anti-transgender legislation introduced in Alabama on March 30, 2021 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Skrmetti, however, has been met with skepticism from Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates ever since he joined a group of Republican attorneys general in opposing a proposed federal rule that would restrict how law enforcement and state officials collect the medical records of people who leave their home state to receive abortion services or transgender health care.

A federal appeals court's decision to permit the legislation to temporarily take effect has been consistently praised by Skrmetti, who is also defending the state's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children.

Read also: Vanderbilt Pediatric Transgender Clinic Halts Operations Ahead of New Law

Gender-Affirming Care in the US

Gender-affirming care for transgender children is a relatively new field, and there is still much debate about the best way to provide it.

However, there is a growing consensus among medical experts that gender-affirming care can be safe and effective for transgender children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued guidelines stating that gender-affirming care is the standard of care for transgender children. The AAP guidelines recommend that transgender children be allowed to access gender-affirming care as early as possible, and that this care should be coordinated by a team of healthcare professionals with expertise in transgender health.

The benefits of gender-affirming care for transgender children are well-documented. Studies have shown that gender-affirming care can improve mental health, reduce suicidality, and improve overall quality of life for transgender children.

The risks of gender-affirming care for transgender children are minimal. The most common side effects of hormone therapy are hot flashes, mood swings, and acne. The risks of surgery are more serious, but they are still relatively low.

The decision of whether or not to pursue gender-affirming care is a personal one that should be made by the child and their family in consultation with a healthcare professional. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and the best approach will vary depending on the individual child's needs and circumstances.

Related article: Texas' Ban on Transgender Care for Minors Challenged in Court by Families and Doctors

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The Biden administration may have inadvertently signaled this week whom they fear the most of the Republican senators likely to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should the senator need to step down due to health issues.The remarks from the administration come after McConnell temporarily froze for about 20 seconds during a press conference on Wednesday and needed to take a brief break after feeling lightheaded. McConnell later returned to the press conference and appeared fine when talking to reporters.Politico reported that the White House has been worried about McConnell's health because they view him asThe report said that Biden officials are now accelerating talks about what the Senate GOP leadership could look like if McConnell needs to step aside.Biden's inner circle reportedly believes that the most likely candidates to replace McConnell are Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).The Biden officials who spoke to Politico had positive things to say about Cornyn and Thune but did not say positive things about Barrasso. In fact, they said nothing about Barrasso, possibly because attacking him to the media could strengthen his support within the Republican Party.the report said,A review of the three senators' Liberty Score from the Conservative Review shows that Barrasso ranks in between the likes of Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). The same review ranks Cornyn - who got the first piece of major gun control legislation passed in the Senate last year for the first time since 1994 - and Thune on the same level as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).McConnell's health has been in the news ever since he was hospitalized in early March after he fell during a private dinner at a hotel in Washington, D.C.Following the incident this week, news reports began surfacing that the 81-year-old polio survivor has fallen at least two other times this year, including at an airport earlier this month and during an overseas trip in February, according to the Courier Journal.
Here's what three orthopedic leaders have to say about the state of outpatient spine surgery:

Chester Donnally, MD. Texas Spine Consultants (Dallas): So many are already being done in an ASC that it really sets the bar high. I feel like on LinkedIn you will see a surgeon post how great they were to do a four-level lateral with perc screws and send the patient home that day from (their) ASC. The bar has been set very high for outpatient cases.

Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: Patient selection remains key in doing ASC cases. It is important if the patient falls into a higher risk echelon that they be recommended for surgery in the inpatient setting. Additional tips to get patients to the ASC is hiring and maintaining properly trained staff in the OR. Selecting for very experienced staff at all phases of care will pay off in great dividends.

Technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it makes some surgeries deceptively simple, but in the wrong hands, it can lull some of the untrained into a false sense of security. There are a plethora of technologies on the market that are not necessarily good for patients and are being used somewhat irresponsibly and in potentially inappropriate cases. I would caution ASC managers and administrators to look at these with a somewhat jaundiced eye and use caution when dealing with those who seem to be selling a bill of goods

Richard Kube II, MD. Prairie Spine & Pain Institute (Peoria, Ill.): I have been doing ambulatory spine surgery exclusively since the fall of 2014. For that vantage point, I feel I am already doing all that can be done. Deformity and other larger cases are the only cases we do not do in the ambulatory setting, and those decisions are based more upon medical risk factors, need for transfusions, etc. In those instances, I think it will be a long time before those types of cases can be considered for outpatient facilities. Some procedures in their current format require the added capabilities a hospital setting provides for medical comorbidities as well as transfusion capabilities and convalescent care.








Scott Cale, DDS, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for engaging in a Medicaid fraud scheme.

Dr. Cale, 68, was arrested in January 2020 along with Anthony DiStefano III, DDS, and Robin Cronin, a dental office manager.

MassHealth removed Dr. DiStefano from the MassHealth program in 2005. After being denied readmission, Dr. DiStefano added Dr. Cale to his practice. From 2014-18, dental services completed by Dr. DiStefano were billed to MassHealth using Dr. Cale's provider credentials. Dr. Cale then paid Dr. DiStefano a portion of the money he received from MassHealth. Ms. Cronin, the office manager, knew about the arrangement and billed MassHealth for services, according to the indictment. Multiple MassHealth patients were harmed and received poor care from Dr. DiStefano because of the scheme, according to an Aug. 10 news release.

The charges against Dr. DiStefano were dismissed. Ms. Cronin pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 15.

In addition to his prison sentence, Dr. Cale will undergo one year of supervised release and pay $1.1 million in restitution.
Guardian informed about 1,500 small businesses in Massachusetts that it will not sell policies to companies with fewer than 25 employees once the state's medical loss ratio is implemented in January, the Boston Globe reported Aug. 11.

Massachusetts established a first-of-its-kind law last year that requires dental insurers to spend at least 83 percent of premium dollars on dental services or refund the difference to patients, among other requirements.

The insurer stated in a memo that the medical loss ratio would make groups with fewer than 25 employees no longer profitable to serve. It will continue to sell other insurance products to small businesses.

The insurer currently provides dental insurance to 2,100 companies in the state.
Houston-based Nutex Health, a micro-hospital network, plans to open one to two more microhospitals this year and 14 more by the end of 2025.

Five things to know:

1. The physician-led system has 22 microhospitals in eight states and opened four so far this year. The four new facilities are in Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Texas.

2. Nutex launched three new independent practice associations this year in Houston, Phoenix and Florida. IPAs are physician networks comprised of primary care physicians and specialists.

3. Nutex's Florida IPA has signed contracts with 78 primary care physicians. The system's Houston IPA signed contracts with more than 70 primary care physicians and its Phoenix IPA signed up 12 primary care physicians. Nutex aims to launch two to three new IPAs a year in the vicinity of its microhospitals.

4. Nutex posted a $362,538 operating loss in the second quarter, down from a $1.4 million loss in the prior-year period. Second-quarter revenue increased 1.5 percent to $58.9 million while expenses decreased 4.2 percent to 49.3 million year over year.

5. Nutex CEO Tom Vo, MD, said the company's goal for 2023 is to increase patient volumes and add new service lines, such as its behavioral health program. "We are also excited to start enrolling patients in our new IPAs later this year, which we believe will bring even more volume to our facilities. In addition, we are getting a lot more adept with navigating through the [No Surprises Act] and the [independent resolution process] which will allow us to maximize collections from insurers."
America's top-earning physicians practice in some unexpected pockets of the country.

The Washington Post analyzed more than 10 million tax records from the Internal Revenue Service to find the average annual income in 2017 for physicians in the prime earning years of age 40 to 55.

Rural regions rule in the ranking. South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming and Nebraska are the top five states for physician pay, an outcome that Post staff writer Andrew Van Dam described as "confounding the intuition hammered into our souls by more than a decade of covering economics."

The newspaper's "department of data" interviewed economists who pointed to competition and Medicare's geographic practice cost indices as the driving factors of the geographic pay-gap anomaly.

CMS takes Bureau of Labor Statistics measurements of how much other local professionals earn and compares them with the national average for those professions, divides the difference by four and sets the physician-compensation component of the reimbursement formula at that number. CMS also abides by a "work GPCI floor," which raises the work GPCI value to the national average for any locality lower than it.

If the government's adjustments were more closely tied to local prices or median incomes, then geographic differences in physician incomes would look more like those of lawyers, the highest earners of which practice in high-cost, high-income areas such as New York and Washington, D.C.

Below are the top 10 states for physicians' average annual income in 2017 for professionals ages 40 to 55, according to the Post's analysis.
Older Americans are more concerned than their younger counterparts about artificial intelligence being used in their healthcare, business analytics firm Morning Consult reported.

Here is how concerned each generation is about healthcare AI, according to the survey of 2,202 U.S. adults published Aug. 7:

Baby boomers: 77 percent

Gen Xers: 70 percent

Millennials: 63 percent

Gen Zers: 63 percent
Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Maine, is combining the CFO and COO roles into one position.

Chelsea Reynolds Desrosiers will assume the new role Aug. 21, according to a hospital news release shared with Becker's. The promotion comes with the departure of COO Leslie Anderson. Ms. Desrosiers has served as CFO since 2018.

The release states that Kris Doody, RN, CEO of Cary Medical Center and Pines Health Services, said the hospital conducted a search for a new COO, but combining the roles "felt like the right decision."

"We have discussed this idea for a few weeks, and when we brought our chief medical officer and chief financial officer together, a clear vision developed that this was the way to move forward," Ms. Doody said in the release. "We are so fortunate to have such strengths on both the fiscal and clinical side of operations, that we believe this unique model will serve us very well into the future."

Ms. Desrosiers said in the release that she is grateful to be able to expand her leadership role, and that "the hybrid nature of the new position will improve the integration of business operations with a better understanding of clinical realities."

She added: "I will have a lot to learn on the clinical side but my experience in healthcare finance will benefit strategic planning, service growth and future development. I have a great, supportive team to work with, and I am excited to take on this new challenge."

With the combining of the two positions, a new position for chief of facilities and projects officer has opened at the hospital, according to the release.
With declining funding in the digital health and healthcare artificial intelligence sectors, hospitals are scrambling to make sure they have an adequate investment strategy.

To learn more about how hospitals are reacting to this funding environment, Becker's caught up with Rachel Feinman, Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital's vice president of innovation and managing director of TGH InnoVentures, the health system's venture capital arm.

Question: What is your investment strategy?

Rachel Feinman: When we started up InnoVentures, we were still deep in the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding market was actually still very high. You had a lot of hyperexuberance around telehealth, virtual health solutions due to COVID-19 and valuations were really high. The idea of a recession or an impact on the private markets was still not something anyone was talking about. That's when we started doing this. If anything, I feel like in the health tech space, there's been a bit of a reversion to the mean. So as the investor looking for deals it's a really good time, we can be pretty picky about what we want to invest in where we think there's alignment with Tampa General and with our strategic objectives.

There's plenty of really incredible companies out there, and there are better valuations than there were. From an investment perspective, and for a fund like ours, where we have such meaningful partnerships with health tech focused institutional investors, we think that we're really well positioned to make strong investments.

This year, we've already made a few and we want to continue to be really active in the market because there's just so many problems to solve in healthcare. We know that we're going to have to rely heavily on emerging technology and innovative entrepreneurs to partner with us to solve these problems.

Q: Does being attached to a health system give you an advantage when making investments?

RF: It's a very unique position to be a corporate venture fund that's captive to a health system. We're certainly not alone. We were pretty well organized, in terms of being able to rely on one another for deal flow for guidance and support as we're navigating this crazy world of healthcare. Similarly we're valuable to the institutional investors that even those who focus all of their investment strategy and thesis around healthcare, if they're thinking about investments that relate to,the operations or the care delivery within a provider system. They are still a step removed from where we are, so being able to leverage us and rely on us for that kind of expertise puts us in a really good position. We have got thousands of subject matter experts at our disposal as we are trying to do the due diligence and understand what kind of investments to make. That really plays to our advantage.

Q: Tampa General InnoVentures doesn't lead rounds. How does that change your strategy?

RF: That's why those relationships with those institutional lead investors are so important to us. We certainly do all of our diligence: We think we add to their diligence and certainly they add to ours, and in terms of helping drive the flow to us. We can be additive to the investment round as a strategic partner. Oftentimes, we are an investor, but we're also a customer or a strategic partner with a company that we invest in. That adds a lot of value to the company as well as to the investors.

Q: How do you evaluate the healthcare AI market?

RF: AI continues to evolve in terms of what we mean when we say AI. Of course, we've been working for a long time on algorithmic AI. Obviously, the buzz is all around AI and GPT and those kinds of technologies, which I think it's still a little bit early to understand. We're an Epic system. We're very closely watching the work that they're doing with Microsoft, and there's so much to see in that space. You just have to be cautious in investing and not be at the top of the hype cycle of any one technology.

We're certainly partnering and doing a lot there, and I would say our focus is on investing not just in a point AI solution, but something where the company is leveraging AI as part of its solution or platform that's solving a real significant problem in healthcare. The key is making sure that you're not investing in just the technology, but you're investing in the technology that's driving toward a meaningful solution.

Anytime the hype is really high over any one time, you can get into a situation where there's money chasing technology  that's not necessarily a meaningful solution. So that's something we're watching very closely. But there's no doubt that AI of all flavors and shapes and sizes is going to drastically change the way healthcare is delivered.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

RF: There are a lot of exciting things that we're working on around AI. We are definitely focused on areas of opportunity to explore, how AI can continue to help us automate things within the health system. We talk a lot about workforce challenges and shortages in healthcare. It's not about displacing people. It's really about dealing with not having people. That's a really strong focus for us in terms of how we're looking at and leveraging AI in the revenue cycle in the inpatient operations space.

We're also really focused on expanding our 'rooms of the future' on the inpatient side. I'm looking at ways where we can leverage virtual care in the inpatient setting.

I think one of the things that you saw a lot in COVID-19 started at the beginning of our conversation was this focus on telehealth or virtual care. Now you're starting to see that hybrid model. We all live in this hybrid world. How many meetings do we go to where some people are in person and some people are on Zoom or Teams? In the inpatient hospital setting, that's that you're starting to see that as well.
China said that Philippine officials should be calm after the controversial water cannon incident, which happened in Second Thomas Shoal (aka Ayunging Shoal); an atoll in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.

China-Philippine Water Cannon Dispute Update

According to CNN Philippines' latest report, the Chinese government is urging PH officials to stay calm. Beijing said that the Philippines should engage them in discussions to prevent a similar incident at Ayungin Shoal.

The call for peaceful engagement happened after some diplomatic sources from China said that Beijing took note of the strong statements of the Philippine officials after the dispute that happened on Aug. 5.

Chinese officials said that they submitted a concept paper indicating the internal understanding of the two nations when it comes to handling the water cannon issue in Ayungin Shoal.

"We hope both sides calm down and meet us halfway to prevent such incidents from happening again," said a diplomatic source in China.

"We urge the Philippines to stop unilateral actions pending any agreement," the official added.

The diplomatic source explained that the South China Sea doesn't define the relations between China and the Philippines, proposing that the disputes should be resolved through peaceful dialogues.

As of writing, the Philippine government hasn't made any comment regarding the statements shared by Beijing.

Read Also: Migrants Evacuated at UK's Bibby Stockholm Immigration Barge After Reports of Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak

SoKor Condemns China's Action

Rappler reported that the South Korean Embassy in Manila condemned the incident, saying that the action made by the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese militia vessels raise tensions in the South China Sea.

On Aug. 8, the ROK Embassy said that is concerned about the recent water cannon harassment against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels.

The South Korean embassy further reaffirmed its support for stability, rules-based order, and peace in the South China Sea.

Aside from this, ROK Embassy also reiterated its support for the freedom of navigation and overflight based on the principles of international law, such as UNCLOS.

If you want to learn more details about the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, you can click this link.

Related Article: China-Philippines Water Cannon Incident: Dispute Could Turn Into Superpower Conflict, Warn Experts

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
From 12 people sentenced for defrauding Blue Cross Blue Shield to a federally qualified health center settling improper billing allegations, here are 12 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's reported since July 27:

1. Bridgeport, Conn.-based federally qualified health center Optimus Health agreed to pay more than $470,000 to settle improper billing allegations.

2. A federal jury convicted a Maryland physician on five counts of healthcare fraud for submitting more than $15 million in false claims to Medicare and a commercial insurer.

3. A North Carolina lab owner will pay $1.9 million to settle allegations his company overcharged Medicaid for unnecessary drug tests.

4. The owner of a Whittier, Calif.-based medical clinic pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme that fraudulently billed Medi-Cal for $5 million in services that were never performed.

5. Twelve people were sentenced to prison time for participating in a $53 million scheme to defraud Blue Cross Blue Shield.

6. An ambulance company owner was sentenced to 16 years in prison and ordered to pay $388,648 in restitution for his role in a Medicaid fraud scheme.

7. MedStar Ambulance agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle allegations it submitted false claims to Massachusetts' Medicaid program, MassHealth.

8. A Texas medical equipment company owner was convicted of a $5.1 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme.

9. A Virginia pain clinic owner will pay $4 million in restitution for billing Medicare and Medicaid for non-medically necessary controlled substances.

10. Four medical staffing and services companies agreed to pay $475,000 to settle allegations they submitted false claims to Medicare.

11. A physician who owns multiple urgent care centers in the St. Louis area and one of his office managers are facing federal healthcare fraud charges.

12. Lansing, Mich.-based Sparrow Health System agreed to pay $671,310 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misuse of "incident-to" billing.
After sharing patients' medical information with the state attorney general amid a probe into transgender care practices, Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now facing a civil rights investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported Aug. 11.

HHS has launched an investigation into VUMC due to the incident, according to the publication.

"We have been contacted by and are working with the Office of Civil Rights," John Howser, spokesperson for VUMC, told the Los Angeles Times. "We have no further comment since this is an ongoing investigation."

The investigation comes shortly after two patients filed a class-action lawsuit against the health system allegedling that the organization violated patients' privacy by sharing medical information.

According to the suit, VUMC allegedly gave Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office a list of 106 patients who received gender-affirming care from the medical center.

Vanderbilt told Becker's July 25 that it was obligated to reply to the information requests and did so.

Tricia Herzfeld, who is representing the patients in the suit, told the publication that "the more we learn about the breadth of the deeply personal information that VUMC disclosed, the more horrified we are."

Vanderbilt paused gender-affirming surgeries on patients under age 18 in October 2022 after receiving a letter of concern from about 60 Republican Tennessee lawmakers. In June, the medical center closed its transgender clinic ahead of a state ban on gender-affirming healthcare for youth, which took effect July 1.
The following individuals are up-and-comers in the health IT and revenue cycle field, rising into leadership roles that impact their organizations' growth, financial operations and outcomes.

These rising stars are leading the charge at hospitals, health systems and healthcare companies across the nation. They bring a deep understanding of healthcare's changing landscape and help their organizations adjust accordingly.

Note: This list is not an endorsement of included leaders, organizations or associated healthcare providers. Leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Leaders are presented in alphabetical order.

Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.





Kumar Aditya. Executive Director of Information Technology at Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.). Mr. Aditya partners with clinical and revenue cycle leadership to support the growth of Atlantic Health System through technology and the application and expansion of cutting edge revenue cycle technologies. He also uncovers deficiencies in existing technology solutions and makes technological and security improvements. He leads automation initiatives for prior authorizations, computer coding and more. Under his leadership, Atlantic Health has successfully implemented initiatives including automation of 60 percent of payers and modalities in radiology, an enterprisewide patient communication system, an enterprisewide digital patient financial experience roadmap and an efficient mass COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Shakeeb Akhter. Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Mr. Akhter is a visionary and results-focused leader who believes in the power of using data and analytics for good. He uses technology-driven innovation to enable new care delivery models and digital transformation to drive improved business performance, patient and provider experience, and operational efficiency. His most notable accomplishments at CHOP include developing an enterprise IS and digital transformation strategy and creating one of the leading analytics programs in the country by modernizing the data and analytics team and instilling a data-driven culture.



Kristin Bates. Vice President of Revenue Cycle Operations at University Hospitals (Cleveland). Ms. Bates is responsible for strategic direction and executive leadership within the revenue cycle team at University Hospitals. She oversees and provides a best-practice vision for mid-cycle and backend RCM functions, including health information services and coding and billing. She also provides leadership and guidance for members of the revenue management team. She collaborates with internal and external customers to facilitate meetings and financial targets. She has been with UH for over 25 years and has been a senior revenue cycle leader for eight years. She has also helped the system organize and execute opportunities to leverage robotics, systems and other solutions that have resulted in efficiency and performance improvement.

Steven Beal. Senior Vice President and CIO for MemorialCare (Fountain Valley, Calif.). Mr. Beale has progressive experience managing complex initiatives, IS business functions and executive level support for MemorialCare which includes four hospitals, 225 care locations, a physician group medical foundation and 2,600 physicians. He serves on the MemorialCare Innovation Fund, one of the nation's pioneers in strategic investments. Mr. Beal provides strategic and tactical leadership for innovative, cost-effective technology and digital solutions for the best possible experience for internal customers and care of patients. Engaged at all levels of governance, he advises leadership in technology, staff development, business models and financial planning as well as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic partnerships.

David A. Beuther, MD, PhD. Chief Medical Information Officer for National Jewish Health (Denver). Dr. Beuther is a pulmonologist and recognized leader in medical informatics and clinical research for the leading specialty hospital focused on respiratory care and research including through national Respiratory Institute collaborations. His research focuses on integration of information systems to improve care delivery and enhance speed and efficiency of clinical trial recruitment. His clinical interests center on asthma, COPD and complex chronic airways disorders. He also leads research on epidemiology and mechanisms underlying the association between obesity and asthma. Together his body of work continues to have national impact.



Nicole Braxley, MD. Medical Director of Mercy San Juan Medical Center (Sacramento, Calif.) and Board Member with Vituity (Emeryville, Calif). Dr. Braxley is both a board member for Vituity and the medical director for Mercy San Juan Medical Center. As medical director, she is responsible for the oversight of an expansive, high-volume and high-acuity emergency department. Dr. Braxley has been with Vituity since 2012 and has practiced emergency medicine across five U.S. states and two African countries.

John Brownstein, PhD. Chief Innovation Officer for Boston Children's Hospital. Global leader in healthcare technology, particularly in emerging fields of informatics and big data analytics, he runs a 100-person multidisciplinary team. His team's multimillion dollar budget includes grants from NIH, USAID, DoD, CDC, Rockefeller, Google and Gates Foundation. His work pioneered 'digital epidemiology' utilizing diverse digital data sources to understand population health. He's published in over 300 peer-reviewed papers focused on digital health. Recipient of the White House Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, he leads in developing novel patient-facing public health systems, including HealthMap, Vaccine Finder and MedWatcher global public health tools used by millions and recognized by National Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. Successful entrepreneur having developed new technologies, started multiple companies, established industry/academic partnerships including with Amazon, Apple, Google, Twitter and Uber, he is an Emmy winning ABC News medical contributor.

Tim Calahan. Chief Technology Officer for Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor). Mr. Calahan delivers structure from chaos, innovation from stagnation, and new paths and strategies from ambiguity. He is focused on driving innovation and digital transformation. Although relatively new to the role, he has authored detailed technology plans and initiatives to drive change, challenge the status quo, and elevate technology delivery. His focus is on charting a path to weave public cloud products and solutions into the technology fabric at Michigan Medicine to drive business agility and process efficiency that leads to clinical and academic improvements. He is passionate about technology, injecting fun into the transformation process, and aligning people, processes and technology to drive organizational change.

Paul Capello. Revenue Cycle Project Manager of Shriner's Children's Hospital (Tampa, Fla.). Mr. Capello is the revenue cycle project manager for Shriner's Children's Hospital. He joined the hospital in 2021, bringing years of experience in innovation to his role. He is also an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida, where he prepares students to attain their Project Management Professional certifications.

Hugh Cassidy, PhD. Chief Data Scientist and Head of Artificial Intelligence at LeanTaaS (Santa Clara, Calif.). Dr. Cassidy serves as chief data scientist and head of artificial intelligence for LeanTaas. He is passionate about the use of AI in healthcare, particularly championing its use for staffing, scheduling, workflow, and utilization. Dr. Cassidy is skilled in the creation of mathematical enterprise solutions, and has crafted both a staffing tool for large health systems and a patented machine learning process for data deduplication.

Alyssa Collins. Associate Vice President of Risk Adjustment at Molina (Long Beach, Calif.). As associate vice president of risk adjustment, Ms. Collins is responsible for defining, developing and implementing a comprehensive risk adjustment strategy for all of Molina's Medicare and Medicaid services. Within the organization, she takes charge of both prospective and retrospective strategies, collaborating with the Molina provider network across 22 states. During her time with Molina, Ms. Collins has achieved a year over year increase of 71 percent on risk adjustment accuracy. Additionally, she has led successful efforts in data collection through EHR integration, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined ingestion of chart data. Ms. Collins has previous experience as a manager and data analyst at Change Healthcare in Nashville, Tenn.

Eve Cunningham, MD. Group Vice President and Chief of Virtual Care and Digital Health at Providence (Renton, Wash.). Dr. Cunningham serves as group vice president of Providence's virtual care and digital health division, which facilitates over 1.4 million annual ambulatory virtual visits and more than 100,000 inpatient visits across 92 hospitals in eight states. Dr. Cunningham provides crucial technology, program management support, and leadership for the telehealth program's nine virtual care inpatient enterprise service lines, a hospital at home program, remote patient monitoring for primary care, virtual nursing program and virtual behavioral health services. She was responsible for the development and launch of the MedPearl Clinical Knowledge Hub, combining her medical expertise with technological knowledge to design the digital assistant and clinical content management system. The tool offers providers with support and context-aware patient data through leverage of AI tools and the collective knowledge of a clinician content management team, and is actively used by over 2,700 Providence clinicians. Prior to assuming her current role, Dr. Cunningham served as chief medical officer for strategic partnerships at Providence. She also has experience practicing as an OB/GYN physician.

Shannon M. Dean, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital (Memphis, Tenn.). As a pediatrician, St. Jude faculty member and leader in health information technology, Dr. Dean was integral in launching the St. Jude's EHR, reimagining the clinical informatics team and increasing provider engagement. Her research and publications focus on applied clinical informatics, using technology to support patient/family engagement, health IT impact on provider wellbeing, EHR clinical documentation and user-centered technology design to support team-based care. As first or corresponding author, published research is found in JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Hospital Pediatrics, Applied Clinical Informatics, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety and Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Dalton Douglas. Vice President of Business Intelligence and Population Health at Lone Star Circle of Care (Georgetown, Texas). As vice president of business intelligence and population health at Lone Star Circle of Care, Mr. Douglas is responsible for enterprisewide analytics strategy. He also focuses on population health quality of care and growth. He is gifted at translating very technical processes into easily digestible concepts, which allows him to deftly guide leaders across the organization.

Roopa Foulger. Vice President of Digital Innovation Development for OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.). Ms. Foulger is an innovator in leading how new digital technologies can attract and guide patients through their healthcare journey. With 25 years of experience in data and enterprise information management, analytics and product development, she drives technology strategy for the health system's digital transformation. She is also the research lead of the OSF Innovation Data and Advanced Informatics Lab, building adjacent and breakthrough solutions in data science and artificial intelligence. Her work includes projects aimed at addressing cancer, promoting health equity, and finding solutions for chronic disease conditions.

Jennifer Goldman, DO. Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer for Memorial Healthcare System (Hollywood, Fla.). A family physician and former chief of primary care, in just six months as CMIO working with a multidisciplinary team Dr. Goldman counts many accomplishments. They include a re-imagined workflow for primary care providers to build more efficient and intuitive documentation tools ensuring patients receive all preventive recommendations; wellness informatics program enrolling all new physicians, advanced practice providers, residents and fellows in EHR training during onboarding; and improved medication reconciliation systemwide on target to exceed 95%. In addition, EHR tools that facilitate social determinants of health screening, consistent documentation and linkage to care for the most vulnerable have screened and connected over 300,000 patients to services.

William Hanson, III, MD. Chief Medical Information Officer for Penn Medicine - University of Pennsylvania Health System (Philadelphia). Professor of anesthesiology, critical care, surgery and internal medicine at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he practices as an internist, anesthesiologist and intensivist, Dr. Hanson has extensive experience in medical informatics. His research using "electronic nose" technology to detect diseases such as pneumonia and sinusitis by breath analysis is featured in Scientific American. He is a widely published expert in evolving roles of technology in healthcare delivery, including features in The Edge of Medicine: The Technology That Will Change Our Lives, Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care and Popular Science.

Nikki Harper. Vice President of Enterprise Patient Financial Services at Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.). In her role as vice president of enterprise patient financial services, Ms. Harper has strategic and operational oversight for all back-end revenue cycle functions for Trinity Health hospitals and medical groups. She oversees billing, follow-up, denials management, payment posting, credit balance resolution, customer service, and reconciliation. As a revenue cycle subject matter expert, she serves on the national board of directors for Healthcare Financial Management Association

Tammy Hawes. CEO and Founder of Virsys12 (Brentwood, Tenn.). Ms. Hawes founded Virsys12 in 2011 to help healthcare organizations create an optimized experience that produces better outcomes and lowers costs for members, patients, providers and partners. Virsys12's three applications deliver tangible benefits that translate into measurable results, like improved return on investment, increased scale and faster time to market. Under Ms. Hawes' leadership as CEO, the company doubled revenue in both 2021 and 2022, grew from 22 to 43 employees, and now serves clients in 40 states.

Chris Jayne. Vice President of Revenue Capture at Waystar (Louisville, Ky.). Since April 2022, Mr. Jayne has served as vice president of revenue capture for Waystar, a software development company that aims to simplify healthcare payments. Waystar processes 50 percent of the U.S. population's claims and has processed more than $6 billion in patient payments. Prior to assuming his current role, he was vice president of client success for the company. He has also served as vice president of customer success for Patientco in Atlanta, which is now part of Waystar.

Sarah Knodel. Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle for Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas). Ms. Knodel is recognized as an early pioneer in the use of automation and AI in the healthcare revenue cycle. A nationally respected authority on innovative approaches to support sustained revenue growth, she has responsibility for strategic management and direction of the enterprise contact center and revenue cycle. Through her leadership, she is transforming revenue cycle departments including access services, revenue integrity, utilization review, denial resource center, and the central business office. During her tenure, Baylor Scott & White has been recognized multiple times as a HFMA MAP Award winner for High Performance in Revenue Cycle. Among recent honors, Dallas Business Journal awarded her the Women in Business Award.

Steve Kos. Senior Director of Revenue Cycle Application Support at Baptist Health (Jacksonville, Fla.). Mr. Kos directs a team of managers, leaders and analysts who support patient flow, patient access, scheduling, health information, billing and more. He partners with the information services and revenue cycle operational leadership departments to plan, design and implement organization-wide system technologies and workflow solutions. He also coordinates project resourcing to support revenue cycle and finance initiatives across the system. Since joining Baptist in 2022, he has assisted in a systemwide implementation of a new EHR system, completed three EHR upgrades, led the opening of a new hospital, implemented prior authorization automation and completed nine project implementations across the revenue cycle service-scape.

Melissa Lawlor. Director of Cybersecurity Governance, Risk and Compliance at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Ms. Lawlor serves as director of cybersecurity governance, risk and compliance at Hackensack Meridian Health, where she designs, develops, and deploys proactive security initiatives that contribute to an improved security posture for the organization. Recently, she developed and executed a multi-year plan to remediate security assessment findings, led efforts to create and adapt security controls to support a cloud smart strategy, sponsored the first enterprisewide cybersecurity incident management plan to ensure stakeholders were trained to execute through tabletop testing, and more. Prior to joining Hackensack Meridian Health, Ms. Lawlor served as a director in KPMGs cyber practice.

James Lindgren. Executive Director of Revenue Cycle Optimization at the University of Miami Health System. Mr. Lindgren is responsible for evaluating, enhancing and automating business processes across the entire university health system. He focuses on scheduling, digital patient experience, medical billing and more. He specializes in the intersection of healthcare, information technology and business operations. He manages a team of system architects that are responsible for optimizing patient flow, coding, scheduling, finance and artificial intelligence. Mr. Lindgren oversaw the implementation of advanced artificial intelligence software and analytics tools, which led the university to improved revenue capture, accelerated claims processing, decreased denials and a decrease in the average lead time for new patients.

Payton McGowen, MD. Illinois Medical Director and Board Member of Vituity (Emeryville, Calif.). Dr. McGowen is the Illinois medical director for Vituity and a member of its board of directors. She first joined Vituity in 2014 and has since taken on numerous progressive responsibilities. Her integrated sites across Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System, which is partnered with Vituity, were awarded the Distinguished Practice Award and Integrated Practice of the Year Award in 2015, as well as the Culture of Caring Award in 2018 and 2019.

Sara Meinke. Senior Director Enterprise IT Ambulatory Network Innovation for Baptist Health System (Jacksonville, Fla.). Ms. Meinke is an unstoppable force whose process-oriented and analytical nature help drive teams to deliver several successful technology and systems-related programs during her 20 years at Baptist Health. Having previously directed clinical and physician informatics programs and clinical applications, she now oversees several enterprise systems. Her team is charged with building a platform to extend Baptist's tools and systems to other providers in the community to improve patient access and integration. She serves on the Women's Center of Jacksonville board as their technology advisor working with key stakeholders to develop technology roadmaps in automation, emerging technologies and risk.

Tony Morrison. Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.). As vice president of revenue cycle for Sanford Health, Mr. Morrison leads all revenue cycle operations for the health system's services and long term care divisions. These include patient access and scheduling, clinical and hospital coding, and patient financial services. He also works closely with operations and the strategic reimbursement team. Mr. Morrison was responsible for combining four disparate billing systems and staff across Sanford's vast rural footprint into one cohesive team. He has 35 years of experience working with Sanford Health, having begun in an entry level position at the organization.

Brian Murtha. Director of Digital Strategy for Risk Adjustment at Centene (St. Louis). Mr. Murtha leads technological integration within Centene through designing interoperability solutions leveraging the use of clinical data in his role as director of digital strategy. He orchestrated the creation of a prospective network and EHR connectivity platforms, amplifying the precision of risk adjustment scores and enabling more comprehensive data capture. His collaboration extends across Centene's Medicare, Medicaid and commercial markets, catering to a vast membership exceeding 22 million individuals. By innovating electronic chart chase procedures and consolidating processes, Mr. Murtha has driven Centene's digital transformation, creating a multi-vendor EHR network and a centralized data warehouse accessible organization-wide. Under his guidance, his team incorporated a prospective network solution that real-time evaluates claim data via Centene's EDI network, evaluating and communicating analysis with providers to highlight any missing data. Prior to working with Centene, Mr. Murtha was a senior technical business analyst at WellCare Health Plans in Tampa, Fla.

Ryan Neaves. Vice President of Product Development for Novant Health (Winston Salem, N.C.) Neaves is a visionary leader, constantly seeking innovative approaches to improve patient care. His team's recent accomplishments include developing a cutting-edge algorithmic scheduling system for infusion patients, reducing wait times and enabling the establishment of an advanced cancer care center without waiting rooms. He also implemented a state-of-the-art product that transcribes patient-provider conversations, allowing physicians to focus more on patients and less on computer screens during visits. During the pandemic, his team demonstrated resilience and adaptability, creating tools for efficient COVID testing and vaccine scheduling through smart devices, ensuring quality care under rapidly changing guidelines. These breakthroughs showcase his commitment to enhancing patient experiences and revolutionizing healthcare delivery.

Ellen Pollack. CIO of UCLA Health (Los Angeles). Ms. Pollack's vision for an exceptional patient and customer experience is firmly rooted from her nursing background. She transitioned to CIO after 25-plus years working in the health IT space. Prior to becoming CIO she served as CNIO for nine years. Her responsibilities include implementing and supporting the technology utilized in UCLA Healths hospitals, 260-plus clinics, research, education and the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry. Throughout the years, Ms. Pollack has remained focused on providing superior customer service, always striving to enhance performance and usability to staff, faculty and patients. She also focuses on developing her team, knowing it can only achieve excellence if it includes a highly skilled, collaborative, and engaged workforce.

Heidi Raines. Founder and CEO of Performance Health Partners (New Orleans). Ms. Raines is the founder and CEO of Performance Health Partners, where she leads the company in developing a high-security healthy safety technology. She is responsible for the oversight of continuous software evolution, and leads a team that incorporates user feedback and data analysis to drive improvement. Outside of internal operations, Ms. Raines actively engages and collaborates with industry influencers, policy makers, investors and regulatory bodies to form strategic partnerships with PHP. Under her leadership, the company has seen a 50 to 75 percent annual growth rate since its inception in 2015, as well as a 97 percent client retention rate over seven years. In addition to leading PHP, Ms. Raines is also a preceptor faculty member at Tulane University's Master of Health Administration Program. In 2023, she published her first book, "Shared Voices: A Framework for Patient and Employee Safety," which became a Forbes Books and Amazon Best Seller within its first week of release. Also in 2023, PHP was recognized as the No. 1 Best in KLAS for healthcare safety, risk and compliance solutions.

Shekar Ramanathan. Executive Director of Digital Transformation at Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.). Mr. Ramanathan leads digital transformation, digital consumer experience, revenue cycle management and strategic initiatives across the Atlantic Health System. Under his leadership, Atlantic Health has successfully implemented several initiatives for improving the patient experience, including establishing a digital experience platform, increasing patient portal activation rates by 40 percent, increasing the number of patient-submitted clinical updates, scaling patient text messaging to 2 million messages a month, closing over a million patient data gaps, increasing the utilization of telehealth services, establishing a process for COVID-19 testing and establishing a vaccination strategy.

Scott Raymond. Vice President and Chief Information and Innovation Officer for Nebraska Medicine (Omaha). With clinical background as a pediatric nurse, Mr. Raymond is very much grounded in providing high-quality patient care and continues to maintain his license. He is laser focused on the three Rs of IT: Reduce complication; increase Reliability; and enhance Resiliency. He has extensive experience in cloud computing and leveraging existing platforms to their maximum potential. In the year since he arrived, he has helped Nebraska Medicine be one of the first organizations to successfully implement an EHR hyperdrive to streamline workflows, better enable integrations and improve the overall user experience. Mr. Raymond champions AI uses and other innovations to better experiences.

Victoria Ringer. Director of Revenue Cycle Management at Hunter Health Clinic (Wichita, Kan.). Ms. Ringer joined Hunter Health from Prairie View a few months ago after Hunter decided it wanted a fresh outlook on its revenue process. She is in charge of ensuring timely and accurate billing of services provided for Hunter. She partners with finance and operations and provides recommendations for managing the business. Ms. Ringer has knowledge in end-to-end revenue cycle management, minimizing system threats and overcoming weaknesses.

Parag Shah. Head of Practice Management Solutions at Integra Connect (West Palm Beach, Fla.). As head of practice management solutions, Mr. Shah leads the end-to-end process of developing, executing and optimizing solutions catering to needs of speciality care at Integra Connect. In just five years, his leadership has achieved $4.5 billion in revenue for clients. He has played a pivotal role in establishing eight accountable care organizations, some in collaboration with CMS, aimed at enhancing healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness in the Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland regions. Mr. Shah previously served as the president of Health Prime International since its inception in 2004.

Jennifer Stemmler. CIO of Adventist Health (Roseville, Calif.). Ms. Stemmler is a transformational leader passionate about using innovative technologies to advance consumer digital experience. She leads the 25-hospital health system's digital and information technology strategy and developed a digital forward, consumer-centric roadmap that helps create exceptional experiences across the care continuum. Her recently led multiple advances include integrated experience for online scheduling; digital engagement experiences at discharge; new digital billing experience; consumer digital intake and self-check-in and enterprise consumer 360 integrated platform. She successfully led a multi-million dollar annual savings in IT spend, as well as transitioning clinical and revenue cycle application teams back to the organization.

William Thacker. Assistant Vice President of Revenue Cycle and HIM Solutions at Ochsner Health (New Orleans). Mr. Thacker leads a team of over 250 members in the performance of coding, billing and collections, payment posting, credits, customer service, analytics, consulting and product management for Ochsner Revenue Cycle Solutions clients in his role as assistant vice president of revenue cycle and HIM solutions. He works with his team to provide accounts receivable services for physicians and hospitals across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Mr. Thacker is also responsible for collaborating with hospital administrators, department managers and staff across clinical and financial areas for improved results. In 2022, Mr. Thacker evaluated the Oschner make versus buy strategy, reducing costs and establishing a more flexible and strategic business office. Mr. Thacker has also grown his group by more than 300 percent over the past four years. He has been with Ochsner for over 10 years and most previously served as a strategic business partner director and revenue cycle operations manager.

Shane Thielman. CIO of Scripps Health (San Diego). Mr. Thielman is a member of Scripps executive team, highly regarded for his expertise, collaborative style and strong partnerships he has built with clinical and business users throughout the organization. He directs a fully integrated network of computer services, comprising five hospital campuses, 30 ambulatory sites and more than a dozen administrative and specialty centers. He and his team led Scripps to national recognition for its systemwide EHR platform and to an exponential expansion of telemedicine and digital services. He is developing a centralized hub for digital-based care and collaborating with physicians to incorporate advanced AI programs for ambient documentation and predictive modeling to forecast patient outcomes and needed resources.

Adam Ting. Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Notable (San Mateo, Calif.). As the co-founder and chief product officer of Notable, Mr. Ting manages the teams that handle the product direction, strategy, design, and advancement of the company's intelligent automation platform. Notable aims to eradicate the burden of administrative work in healthcare and boasts health system clients including Intermountain Health, MUSC Health, CommonSpirit and Baylor Scott & White. Previously, Mr. Ting served as head of design at San Francisco-based Blend.

Paul Visco. Chief Technology Officer for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, N.Y.). Mr. Visco is a brilliant programmer and problem-solver who deftly makes use of rapidly changing technologies to enable optimal care and effective communication for cancer patients. He oversees clinical and enterprise applications at Roswell Park and directs development of all patient-facing technologies. His most impactful accomplishments include creating applications that streamline access and care for patients, like a custom customer relationship management system and MyRoswell patient portal. His unique talents were especially evident during the pandemic, when he navigated fluctuating regulatory requirements in swiftly developing tools allowing the cancer center to provide care while keeping patients and staff safe.

Andrew Walker. Vice President of Accounting and Financial Reporting at WellSpan Health (York, Pa.). As vice president of accounting and financial reporting, Mr. Walker oversees all WellSpan Health accounting, financial operations and reporting functions. He is also responsible for aspects such as budget planning, payroll, accounts payable, tax, debt compliance and other governmental finance reporting, and manages a team to support the functions of his position. Additionally, Mr. Walker serves as staff to the finance and investment committee as well as the audit committee of the board. Recently, he has played instrumental roles in numerous mergers and acquisitions, including the acquisition of a $320 million health system in the Republic of Ireland and the $1.6 billion acquisition of a health system in Charleston, S.C. Currently, Mr. Walker is leading collaboration to support expanding Oracle Cloud solutions, streamlining services, and revamping budget and capital processes at WellSpan.
Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, is using virtual reality to teach nursing students how to respond during mass-casualty situations, the Standard-Examiner reported Aug. 10.

The technology allows students to experience mass-casualty events in a realistic way. Students use VR goggles and handheld controllers to take people's vital signs, open airways, stop bleeding and tag patients with various colors based on their injuries.

"This is really teaching them all about triage," London Draper Lowe, PhD, RN, professor of the Weber State's Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing who teaches the course, told the Standard-Examiner. "During a disaster, you're first taught to try to do the most good for the greatest number of people. When you have the goggles on, your brain is processing this as a real situation."

Weber State was one of the first nursing schools in the nation to launch a disaster course after 9/11. The goal is to prepare nursing students to work alongside first responders during disasters, ensuring they are confident in their skills and capable of providing assistance in various emergency situations.

"So far, we've had 100% positive feedback from our students," Dr. Lowe said. "We want our communities to know we have a lot of nurses who have received this training and they are being prepared to be ready to respond. We hope something like this never happens, but if it does, we want our nurses to be confident in knowing their skills and knowing how to help."
An individual suffered a nonfatal self-inflicted firearm injury at Bridgeport (Conn.) Hospital on Aug. 10, according to local authorities.

Bridgeport Public Information Officer Terron Jones said officers responded to the facility shortly after 7 p.m. after someone reported hearing a gunshot in the hospital's lobby, the Connecticut Post reported. Hospital staff told authorities that "someone shot themselves in the leg," Mr. Jones said in an emailed statement to the publication.

Bridgeport police are investigating the incident, which did not affect hospital operations. Authorities did not say whether the situation has led to an arrest.

"The person was not a patient or employee, and no patients were hurt," Bridgeport Hospital President Anne Diamond told Becker's. "We continue to cooperate with the Bridgeport Police Department in their investigation."
Monitors beeping, equipment shuffling, and patients, nurses and physicians coordinating care can make hospitals uncomfortably loud places for individuals both with or without hearing disorders  heightening anxiety and causing headaches, irritability and more, according to an Aug. 10 viewpoint written by Zina Jawadi and Alexander Chern, MD, and published on the Association of American Medical Colleges website.

Ms. Jawadi is a medical student at the University of California's David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles and serves on the Hearing Loss Association of Americas board of directors and Dr. Chern is a fellow in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.

The authors cited a study from Johns Hopkins Hospital that found a daily average sound level of 50 to 60 decibels in hospitals, comparable to hearing a crying baby or vacuum cleaner, along with a trend of increasing noise levels over the past 45 years. This is significantly higher than the World Health Organization's proposed noise levels for hospitals, which range from a 35 to 45 A-weighted decibel [dB(A)] level during the day to a 20 to 35 dB(A) level at night.

"Studies have demonstrated that noise pollution may interfere with communication among medical team members and, consequently, adversely affect patient outcomes," the authors wrote. "Excess alarm notifications not only may exacerbate noise pollution but also are associated with increased alarm fatigue and medical errors."

To curb the negative effects of noise for patients and employees, the authors recommend taking five things into consideration:
What has seven letters, made dozens of Becker's headlines in a matter of months, and looms over everyone in healthcare  from the front desk to the top office? Layoffs.

We've rounded up some of the year's biggest job-cut stories, including 21 figures, to help explain the depth and breadth of healthcare's layoff problem: how it started, where it stands and where it's going.

Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers  including hospitals  announced 2,668 job cuts in July, second only to the tech industry.





job cuts in July, second only to the tech industry. That brings healthcare's grand layoff total to 40,947 in the first seven months of the year; a 101 percent increase from the same time period in 2022.





in the first seven months of the year; a percent increase from the same time period in 2022. Why? Salaries and wages tend to be a health systems' highest expense, and have grown at a median rate of 7.3 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Prices are rising at a particularly grim time for hospital finances  operating cash flows might never reach pre-pandemic margins, according to Moody's.





As such, labor costs are crippling, 47 hospital executives told Becker's. Health systems are working to bring costly contract labor down, which especially crimped budgets during COVID-19. Altru Health, based in Grand Forks, N.D., has brought contact costs down 57.6 percent in the past year. And Norton Healthcare out of Louisville, Ky., has lowered them 74 percent.





But cutting contract costs is not a workforce fix-all. Clinicians and employees are increasingly pushing for higher pay; Becker's has reported on 12 hospitals and health systems raising workers' wages since June 21, many the result of strikes and/or union negotiations.





hospitals and health systems raising workers' wages since June 21, many the result of strikes and/or union negotiations. The reality is, labor isn't cheap. And if hospitals and health systems can't find a way around it, they have to find a way through it. The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha is planning not only to reduce costs per labor unit, but to reduce labor units themselves, Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, MD, told Becker's. A health system redesign is looming  Chip and Joanna Gaines style  as organizations look to slim processes, including headcount.





Streamlining means different things to different organizations. For 17 health systems, leadership bore the restructuring brunt. Seattle Children's cut 135 leadership positions in June; Memorial Health in Springfield, Ill., has laid off 20 percent of its leaders.





health systems, leadership bore the restructuring brunt. Seattle Children's cut leadership positions in June; Memorial Health in Springfield, Ill., has laid off percent of its leaders. One C-suite role in particular has felt the burn: chief operating officers. Five systems have slashed the job this year, reallocating responsibilities to other executives.





systems have slashed the job this year, reallocating responsibilities to other executives. Yet, non-executive workers remain most vulnerable when it comes to job cuts. Becker's has reported on 78 hospitals and health systems that laid off workers this year, often from administrative departments. Notably, New Orleans-based Ochsner Health conducted its largest layoff to date in May, cutting 770 positions. And Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health reduced its workforce by about 400 jobs in July.





hospitals and health systems that laid off workers this year, often from administrative departments. Notably, New Orleans-based Ochsner Health conducted its largest layoff to date in May, cutting positions. And Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health reduced its workforce by about jobs in July. Despite the nursing shortage, clinicians aren't safe, either. This spring, McLaren St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee, Ohio, laid off 743 workers, including 239 RNs  and they weren't the first (or only) hospital to do so.





Hospitals and health systems aren't the only ones feeling the pinch. Five digital health companies recently laid off workers  including Amazon, which cut jobs across its online pharmacy, digital health and fitness tracker and virtual primary care units.




U.S. News & World Report has named its top 50 orthopedic hospitals in the U.S. for 2023 and 2024, including three hospitals in Michigan.

Here are some of the top leaders at the three best orthopedic hospitals in Michigan:

David Miller, MD, is president of the University of Michigan Health System, the 24th best hospital for orthopedics in the state. He has been president since the beginning of 2021 and is also the executive vice dean of clinical affairs for the UM Medical School. He is a trained surgeon and urologist.

Daniel Carey, MD, is the president of Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., the 41st best hospital for orthopedics in the state. He is responsible for strategy, development and operations at the 1,101-bed facility. Dr. Carey spent more than two decades as a practicing cardiologist and previously served as Centra's senior vice president and chief medical officer.

Thomas Lanni Jr. is the president of Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., which is tied for the 41st best hospital for orthopedics in the state. He originally joined the system in 2007, moving his way up the ranks, and is now responsible for strategy, development and financial operations at the 530-bed facility.
Chef Michael Deane has said hes shutting his south Belfast venue, despite it being full every night, after facing a two-thirds increase in his rent.

Deane & Decano, a casual bistro on Lisburn Road, is to close at the end of this month after around seven years in business.

Mr Deane, who owns four other restaurants in the city, said the prospect of a rise in rent, along with increasing staff and good costs, were behind the decision.

"When we took the wee place on, rent was going to be 42,000 and I think I got it for about 25,000.

At the first rent review, it went up to 30,000. and then the landlord wanted 50,000 for it, with a bit of negotiation up or down.

He the business has been in profit but there was a question mark over its future. Weve had a 6,000 rate increase on the Lisburn Road, its absolutely nuts.

"The new lease would have been five years, but given that my company is carrying an extra 50,000 a month energy costs, the minimum wage going up means were carrying 200,000 extra on the pay roll, then the price of staff, the lack of staff, I think the best decision was to consolidate it and the time had come to close the door.

But he said staff were not losing their jobs and would instead be relocated to his venues Deanes at Queens or Meat Locker, Eipic and Love Fish, which are all located in the same building in Howard Street.

And he said hed made the right decision, even though on the face of it, Deane & Decano was booming. 

Its had a very, very good summer, the best yet, and trading way above expectations,

"People are really loving the wee place but for me to make it work at that rent, I would have needed to expand it and put extra seats in it.

"Yes, the restaurant was more or less full every night but that doesnt mean the business model works.

But he said the closure was not a disaster. Its about remodelling the business and seeing what comes along. We know how tight it is for hospitality out there.

"Its absolutely shocking and there are places closing every day because of energy and because of the payroll costs. The business was a healthy business, yet but would it continue to be healthy in another couple of years? Im just not so sure.

We had a pandemic  nightmare, we have a Tory government, no government here, Vats not coming down, charges and cost of food, but whats coming at us next? I have to make it add up and the bank has to. Even though it was in profit I didn't know if it was going to be long-term sustainable. I just made a decision it was time to close.

But he said there could be a renaissance for Deane & Decano in the shorter-term.

It could come back, you never knew. You could get someone coming in saying, you can have two years rent-free, Ill put floors in, toilets in, I put pipes in, I just want you to have your business in my building  theres possibility that might happen. I have to be smart in my decisions, in Howard Street i have three restaurants in one building and a private dining room. Might have to remodel Howard Street to serve the public in the way they want and maybe open the Meat Locker on a Monday night.

We have to look at figures every day and its unfortunate that we have to keep looking at screens where the pennies are, payroll, H&R, safety, its a different business to what I started in. But the loves still there and well stay open.

Chef Michael Deane is shutting his Lisburn Road restaurant in south Belfast following an unsustainable rent hike, his company has announced.

Deanes said it was a strategic business move by the company after its lease had expired at the casual dining Deane and Decano premises.

The business said: The decision has enabled an overall review and an opportunity to reimagine and reshape the Deanes offering and includes plans to expand the current city centre business to reflect changing customer demands across the hospitality industry.

Read more Belfast chef Michael Deane wins Michelin Mentor of the Year award

Michael Deane said: Throughout our past 26 years in business in Belfast we have had to be agile in our response to the demands of our customers and to market influences. Thankfully this has underpinned the sustainability and success of our business throughout all that time.

Right now the circumstances require progressive thinking and decisiveness: and so, we have come to the conclusion that its in the best interests of the continued success of the business not to renew this lease on the Lisburn Road and focus our energies on further developing the dining experience at our Howard Street premises in the city centre as well as our restaurant and Bar, Deanes At Queens in the University Quarter.

The move will leave the company with Love Fish, Meat Locker and the Michelin-starred Eipic, all on Howard Street, and Deanes at Queens in south Belfast. Deanes Deli, on Bedford Street, did not reopen following the first lockdown in 2020.

The company added: The owners would like to take the opportunity to thank their loyal Deane and Decano customers for their support over the years and look forward to continuing to welcome them at Deanes at Queens and the three restaurants at Deanes Howard Street.

All existing staff from Deane and Decano have been offered alternative positions within the company.
Interview: Biden's new ban on China "aimed in wrong direction," says U.S. professor

Xinhua) 10:23, August 11, 2023

NEW YORK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's new executive order to limit U.S. investments in advanced technology industries in China is "aimed in the wrong direction," said an American professor on Wednesday.

The order restricting certain types of foreign investment and capital flows into China represents just "another punitive step in an effort to contain China," Denis Simon, a professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Xinhua.

Noting that it's aimed in the wrong direction, the professor said the move will very likely leave China "further bewildered about U.S. strategic goals and objectives."

"One must wonder what the end game here looks like and what might be the underlying strategy that informs such actions," he said, adding that the Biden administration has revealed "a penchant for speaking out of both sides of its mouth."

It sent senior level officials such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to Beijing "seemingly to mend fences and build positive momentum in bilateral relationship, and then in the very same breadth it adopts further restrictions and prohibitions that send an entirely different message," Simon said.

"How can we expect China's cooperation on key global issues when we continue to send such mixed signals?" he said.

"Our actions will likely have only very minimal impact at best," he said. "The political message to China, however, will be loud and clear: you remain a threat and our actions reflect that thinking."

The professor suggested it is time for the Biden Administration to "stop being the instrument for the anti-China coalition that exists in Congress and other parts of the Beltway."

The United States needs a "more coherent, comprehensive, well integrated China policy" that incentivizes bilateral cooperation in such areas as climate change and global epidemics.

"Ad hoc, piecemeal approaches do not add up to an effective China policy, even in the short term. U.S. policy ought to be aimed at rebuilding trust and revitalizing the relationship for the long term," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his intention to strengthen his fight against corruption Friday (August 11) after he dismissed all the heads of Ukraine's regional army recruitment centers as the war with Russia enters a critical stage.

He said a state investigation into centers across the country had exposed abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite a wartime ban on them leaving the country, Reuters reported.

In total, Zelensky detailed, 112 criminal cases had been opened in a wide-ranging probe launched after a graft scandal at a recruitment office in the Odesa region last month.

He used harsh rhetoric likely to be welcomed by Ukrainians appalled by cases of wartime corruption, saying he would replace the people he fired with recent veterans and soldiers wounded at the front.

"This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said.

Zelensky added top general Valery Zaluzhny would be responsible for implementing his decision and that new candidates for the posts would first have to be vetted by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

Read Also: Hammer Down, Trident Up: Ukraine Removes Soviet Symbols from Mother Ukraine Monument

Projecting Transparency

The move by Kyiv was part of its priority of internal cleansing as it fends off Russia's full-scale invasion and seeks membership in the European Union.

Furthermore, the decision was made as a result of Ukraine's less-than-ideal progress in its counter-offensive due to extensive Russian defenses across the southeast.

Zelensky, who has already fired or prosecuted a string of high-ranking officials implicated in sleaze in the past, demanded the sacked officers be reassigned to the front lines "if they want to keep their epaulets and prove their dignity."

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed or wounded in fighting since Russia invaded in February 2022, and the country has increasingly faced recruitment challenges due to the conflict becoming a war of attrition, as well as due to graft scandals of heavy-handed recruitment tactics.

Last month, the head of the Odesa region's recruitment center was ordered into pre-trial detention on suspicion of illegal enrichment after Ukrainian media reports found his family had acquired lavish property in Spain.

Meanwhile, videos purporting to depict army recruiters aggressively pursuing or becoming violent with would-be draftees have gone viral on social media in the country, which has been under martial law since the invasion.

Despite recent moves against graft, Ukraine still ranks 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

A Transparency-commissioned opinion poll in June found that 77% of Ukrainians believe corruption is among Ukraine's most serious problems.

Prior to the war, Zelensky was in the process of obliterating the practice of graft in the Ukrainian government and society when he was elected president in 2019.

Related Article: Ukraine Reportedly Foils Zelensky Assassination Attempt; Woman Connected to Plot Arrested

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Martin Scorsese attending the premiere for Killers of the Flower Moon during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Photo credit: Doug Peters/PA Wire

Christian Bale attends the European Premiere of 20th Century Studios and New Regency "Amsterdam" in Leicester Square, on Wednesday 21st 2022 in London, England. Picture credit: PA Photo/StillMoving.net for Disney. All Rights Reserved. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ Film Amsterdam.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Pictured: (L-R): Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Kathryn Newton as Cassandra Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp. Picture credit: PA Photo/Marvel/Jay Maidment.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Pictured: (L-R) Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax and Karen Gillan as Nebula. Picture credit: PA Photo/2023 Marvel Studios.

For more than a decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been dominating Hollywood like nothing else.

The franchise, which now spans more than 30 films and over a dozen TV series, has featured many of the biggest names in cinema, including Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson and Florence Pugh.

Among viewers and professionals, however, the franchise remains polarising. Many filmmakers and actors have condemned the MCU and its role in the recent superhero craze, which has restricted broader opportunities for original blockbusters.

Most famously, Wolf of Wall Street filmmaker Martin Scorsese compared the franchise to theme park attractions in 2019.

His comments were met with outrage from the Marvel fanbase. In recent years, however, the number of celebrities to have spoken out against Marvel movies has grown, with directors, actors and others complaining about the franchises dominance.

Sometimes, dissent even arises from Marvel stars themselves, including Anthony Hopkins and Christian Bale.

Here are 17 of the most prominent voices to have taken aim at the MCU.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Pictured: Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Picture credit: PA Photo/Ben Blackall/ Marvel Studios 2022.

Jennifer Aniston

Speaking to Variety in 2019, Aniston lamented the film industrys obsession with Marvel movies, explaining that it was behind her decision to sign onto the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. It wasnt until the last couple of years when these streaming services were just sort of exploding with this amount of quality that I actually started to think, Wow, thats better than what I just did, she said.

And then youre seeing whats available out there and its just diminishing and diminishing in terms of, its big Marvel movies. Or things that Im not just asked to do or really that interested in living in a green screen.

Jennifer Aniston. Picture credit: Ian West/PA Photos.

Christian Bale

The Thor: Love and Thunder star didnt write off the MCU itself, but spoke negatively of his experience starring in the film in an interview last year.

I mean, the definition of it is monotony, he said. Youve got good people. Youve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me.

Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldnt even differentiate one stage from the next.

Christian Bale attends the European Premiere of 20th Century Studios and New Regency "Amsterdam" in Leicester Square, on Wednesday 21st 2022 in London, England. Picture credit: PA Photo/StillMoving.net for Disney. All Rights Reserved. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ Film Amsterdam.

James Cameron

Avatar filmmaker James Cameron criticised the MCUs approach to character-building, telling The New York Times: When I look at these big, spectacular films  Im looking at you, Marvel and DC  it doesnt matter how old the characters are, they all act like theyre in college. They have relationships, but they really dont.

They never hang up their spurs because of their kids. The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters dont experience it, and I think thats not the way to make movies.

In January 2022, the True Lies director further averred that Marvel films dont feel epic.

Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather and Apocalypse Now filmmaker didnt mince his words when discussing Marvel films in 2019. Speaking at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon, he concurred with Scorseses criticism of the franchise, which was then in the news.

When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, hes right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration, he said. I dont know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again.

He continued: Martin was kind when he said its not cinema. He didnt say its despicable, which I just say it is.

Read more Barbie film highest grossing flick so far in UK and Ireland

Stephen Dorff

In a 2021 interview with The Independent, Blade star Stephen Dorff issued a damning indictment of Marvel movies, stating that he was embarrassed for Black Widow actor Scarlett Johansson.

I still hunt out the good s*** because I dont want to be in Black Widow, he said. It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. Im embarrassed for those people. Im embarrassed for Scarlett! Im sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but Im embarrassed for her.

I dont want to be in those movies. I really dont. Ill find that kid director thats gonna be the next Kubrick and Ill act for him instead.

He later doubled down on the criticism of superhero movies, telling The Daily Beast: I mean, God bless them, theyre making a bunch of money, but their movies suck [laughs]. And nobodys going to remember them.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Pictured: (L-R): Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Kathryn Newton as Cassandra Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp. Picture credit: PA Photo/Marvel/Jay Maidment.

Robert Downey Jr

As Iron Mans Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr can take a large part of the credit for the MCUs success; he would go on to portray the quippy hero in 10 films across the franchise, ending with Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

While he has spoken positively about the series on plenty of occasions, a recent interview with The New York Times saw him throw a bit of shade in the direction of the franchise. Speaking about playing a role in Oppenheimer after a decade in the MCU, Downey said: You start to wonder if a muscle you have hasnt atrophied.

Elsewhere in the interview, Downey was also presented with a list of movies, and was asked which of them he would describe as content. While he described his 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and 1986s Back to School as not content, he branded Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) content.

Roland Emmerich

Independence Days Roland Emmerich accused Marvel, DC and Star Wars films of ruining the film industry in a 2022 interview.

The director said: Naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over. Its ruining our industry a little bit, because nobody does anything original anymore.

Jodie Foster

Speaking to Radio Times in 2018, director and two-time Oscar-winning actor Jodie Foster likened superhero movies to fracking, and claimed that Marvel and DC movies were ruining the worlds viewing habits.

Theyre made as commodities like hamburgers

Ken Loach

Going to the movies has become like a theme park, she said. Studios making bad content in order to appeal to the masses and shareholders is like fracking  you get the best return right now but you wreck the earth.

Its ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world.

Anthony Hopkins

Hopkins appeared in several MCU films, having been cast as the Norse god Odin in 2011s Thor.

In interviews, the revered thespian has been dismissive of his role, telling The New York Times: They put me in armour; they shoved a beard on me. Sit on the throne; shout a bit. If youre sitting in front of a green screen, its pointless acting it.

Ken Loach

Acclaimed British filmmaker Ken Loach chipped in with criticism in 2019, comparing Marvel films to commodities like hamburgers.

Theyre made as commodities like hamburgers, he told Sky News, and its not about communicating and its not about sharing our imagination. Its about making a commodity which will make a profit for a big corporation - theyre a cynical exercise.

Theyre market exercise and it has nothing to do with the art of cinema. William Blake said when money is discussed  art is impossible.

Thor: Love And Thunder. Pictured: Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Picture credit: PA Photo/Marvel Studios/Jasin Boland.

Gaspar Noe

Controversial French filmmaker Gaspar Noe condemned Marvel films in strong terms in a 2022 interview with The Independent.

Noe said: Its like the question, did Hitler create Nazi Germany or did Nazi Germany create Hitler?

Do you think the Marvel movies are turning the Americans stupid or is the whole of America turning so stupid that they need such stupid movies to represent their minds?

Simon Pegg

In 2015, Mission: Impossible star Simon Pegg suggested that Marvel films were leading to the infantalisation of cinemagoing audiences.

Im very much a self-confessed fan of science-fiction and genre cinema, he said. But part of me looks at society as it is now and thinks weve been infantilised by our own taste. Were essentially all consuming very childish things  comic books, superheroes Adults are watching this stuff, and taking it seriously!

It is a kind of dumbing down because its taking our focus away from real-world issues. Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys. Now were really not thinking about anything, other than the fact that the Hulk just had a fight with a robot.

Sean Penn

Speaking to AP in 2021, Milk actor Sean Penn lamented that Marvel films have taken up the space and claimed so much time in the careers of so many talented people.

He then claimed to miss cinema that isnt just razzle-dazzle, Cirque de Soleil movies.

Mickey Rourke

The Wrestler star Mickey Rourke is no stranger to the MCU, having played a villain in the 2011 critical flop Iron Man 2. In 2021, while praising his co-stars on Law & Order: SVU, Rourke took a swipe at Marvel.

Respect to all of you, the work that you all do is real acting, not like that crap that all on Marvel s***, he wrote on Instagram.

He had previously criticised Iron Man2s creators for cutting several of his scenes. If they want to make mindless comic book movies, then I dont want to be a part of that, he said in the wake of the films release. You know, I didnt work for three months on the accent and all the adjustments and go to Russia just so I could end up on the floor.

Martin Scorsese

In 2019, the monolithic Raging Bull director touched a nerve with Marvel fans when he claimed that the franchise was not cinema and was akin to theme park rides.

I dont see them. I tried, you know? But thats not cinema, he said, in an interview with Empire. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks.

It isnt the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.

Martin Scorsese attending the premiere for Killers of the Flower Moon during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Photo credit: Doug Peters/PA Wire

Ridley Scott

Outspoken Gladiator filmmaker Ridley Scott let his opinion on the Marvel franchise be known in a 2021 interview, branding the superhero genre boring as s***.

The best films are driven by the characters, he said, and well come to superheroes after this if you want, because Ill crush it. Ill f***ing crush it. Theyre f***ing boring as s***.

Describing his biggest gripe about superhero movies, Scott continued: Their scripts are not any f***ing good. I think Ive done three great scripted superhero movies. One would be Alien with Sigourney Weaver. One would be f***ing Gladiator, and one would be [Blade Runner].

Theyre superhero movies. So, why dont the superhero movies have better stories? Sorry. I got off the rail, but I mean, cmon. Theyre mostly saved by special effects, and thats becoming boring for everyone who works with special effects, if youve got the money.

Quentin Tarantino

The Pulp Fiction provocateur appeared to criticise the Marvel-isation of Hollywood in a 2022 podcast interview.

Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, he said. But theyre not movie stars. Right?

Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, Im not the first person to say that.

In another interview later that year, Tarantino said that modern filmmakers cant wait for the day that superhero movies die out, condemning the genres chokehold on the industry.
Caoimhan Ferris looks at the musical impact of BTS and the growth of K-Pop worldwide

An image from BTSs Yet to Come in Cinemas concert shown in Cineworld

A seven-piece band that changed the global music industry have been making waves in Northern Ireland though many not have heard of them.

BTS or Bangtan Sonyeondan from South Korea are arguably the most famous boy group in the world, with approximately 200 million followers across its social media channels, over 20 billion views on YouTube and billions of streams worldwide on Spotify.

BTS fans, or the ARMY as theyre better known, are one of the most incredibly supportive fandoms that exist within modern music.

From hosting a special concert for millions around the world to its Yet to Come in Cinemas event  and a full concert viewing of their final live performance together before their enlistment into military service to offering their fans the chance to connect on a deeper level with each other through their dance challenges and special social events, BTSs worldwide impact can be felt here in Northern Ireland.

The K-Pop genre is a truly unique genre of music of which there is no other like it in the world. K-Pop uses a variety of genres such as traditional Pop, Rap, Hip-Hop, House etc.

Andrei Givero

This allows their groups to have a larger appeal worldwide and more interesting to a wider range of audiences. K-Pop dates as far back as the 1880s where Korean lyrics were used instead of English in western songs.

Queens University student Alex Valladolid describes BTS as a comforting hug and says its music has become a source of serotonin.

There are many things that BTS have gotten me through, she continues, both positive and negative.

The one thing I would say stuck out to me is overcoming loneliness and fear. To fans and people like me theyre much like a safe space, somewhere to escape reality.

K-Pop in general I feel can be hard to describe. Its an all aspect industry where idols are expected to be visually attractive, dance with no end, maintain stable vocals, connect with their fans daily whilst consistently release music and do music shows and tours. To me BTS and any K-Pop group are literal powerhouses.

She references BTSs song, Sea, as helping her during difficulties.

Its filled with emotion and depth that I hadnt heard in a while, especially [the lyric] where there is hope, there is always hardship.

The groups ability to convey raw emotion into beautifully crafted lyrics demonstrates why they are so popular, especially with those who struggle to find ways to convey their emotions effectively.

Its so different from our own western music, Alex says. Everything makes it so visually pleasing to the eye and its like watching a movie.

She explains that the relationship artists cultivate with their fans is one that makes the genre stand out. They go on Weverse lives [a livestreaming site widely used by K-Pop artists], their photo and video teasers, TikTok dance challenges and collabs they do with other idols  its like the fans are fully immersed into what the idols are doing, and it feels like a family.

In January 2019, an official K-Pop society was set up at Queens by Jasmine Lau, Nikola Fok and Cara Power, providing a platform for the growing interest in the K-Pop industry in Northern Ireland to thrive.

This year theyve given endless events such as K-pop club nights that are widely known throughout Queens University, to which they also brought the internationally famous K-Events club night to Belfast.

Alex Valladolid

It definitely gave me a sense of belonging and also a platform for me to showcase my dancing and a community of dancers to learn from, says society member Andrei Givero.

The events are very welcoming and friendly, allowing K-Pop fans to easily connect and make friends with others. I feel the impact is tremendously positive, the community is growing ever so fast and is flourishing through its numerous social events and dance opportunities.

The true significance of this level of community cannot be diminished with the society being recently invited to perform at BTSs Yet to Come in Cinemas concert showing in Belfast at Cineworld cinemas.

Read more K-pop star Suga becomes third BTS member to begin military service

Their performance showed the love and passion for dance and the music that the BTS ARMY around the world have towards their artist.

I feel BTS has helped me in the sense of gaining inspiration to become great myself, explains Andrei.

Language aside, the meaning of the lyrics when translated have deep meaning and convey a story of substance.

Which I feel in modern western music has lost its touch of substance within the lyrics.

An image from BTSs Yet to Come in Cinemas concert shown in Cineworld

He also expresses the message of BTS of inspiring people from all ages, genders and backgrounds that they can all be who they want to be and do it without apologising for who they truly are.

The groups 10th anniversary is one that thousands of people across Northern Ireland will not forget and if this is your first ever time reading about them, many people based here would easily recommend them.
Fast And Furious franchise star Tyrese Gibson is suing US hardware store The Home Depot for over a million dollars (790,000) after allegedly being racially profiled in one of its stores.

The US actor, 44, claimed he and two associates were subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment during the incident in February.

Gibson has starred as Roman Pearce in seven of the blockbuster films, alongside Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson.

A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday and obtained by the PA news agency detailed the incident that had occurred in The Home Depot store in West Hills, in Los Angeles County.

The Fast And Furious franchise star claims he was subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment at a hardware store in February (PA)

The suit stated that the store cashier had been very slow scanning items and the process took twenty minutes.

They had then refused to accept Gibsons credit card to complete the transaction.

When Gibson had asked to speak to the manager, he was refused, and was only able to complete his purchase after a heated discussion with the cashier.

Gibson, one of the most recognizable Black actors and musicians in the United States, and his associates, craftsmen Mora and Hernandez, experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand inside The Home Depot retail store, the lawsuit stated.

While Plaintiffs attempted to make an in-store purchase, store clerks purposely interfered with and refused to process the transaction based on their groundless suspicion of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez arising from their skin color.

It continued: Gibson is a long-time customer of The Home Depot and over time he has purchased no less than $1,000,000 (790,000) worth of materials from the company.

The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin. There is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of Plaintiffs.

The transaction was refused, despite Gibsons repeated authorizations, because of Plaintiffs skin color and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin.

This is a clear and deplorable instance of discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.

The treatment of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez by The Home Depot was humiliating and demeaning.

Gibson and his associates are seeking damages in an amount to be proven at trial but believed to be in excess of one million dollars (790,000), according to the lawsuit.
Catholic Police Guild says officers they represent are facing particular difficulties.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has met with the chair of the Catholic Guild following the organisations request for a meeting on Friday.

The group  which represents a number of Catholic police officers within the PSNI  had announced they were seeking an urgent meeting with Mr Byrne over the data breach crisis.

Data on more than 10,000 PSNI officers and civilian staff was mistakenly released to the public on Tuesday in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on numbers of officers at each rank within the organisation.

The breach has sparked major security concerns for officers and staff, with dissident republicans among those who claim to have seen the document.

The Catholic Police Guild referenced particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and said there were implications stemming from the breach for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed Mr Byrne had now met with the chair of the Catholic Guild, Superintendent Gerry Murray.

"The Chief Constable has held a number of meetings today, Friday August 11, with representatives from all staff associations, including the chair of the Catholic Guild, they said.

"During the meeting, the Chief Constable listened to any issues or concerns and reiterated his priority is the welfare and safety of all officers and staff.

"He also reassured the Guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected by the recent data breach

Mr Murray had earlier urged the PSNI to acknowledge the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members and win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff.

Mr Byrne cut short a family holiday to return to Belfast where he faced several hours of questioning by the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday.

He said he was deeply sorry following the industrial scale breach of data that has gone into the public domain, after some details of 10,000 officers and staff were published online for several hours on Tuesday.

Details of another breach following the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July emerged on Wednesday.

Superintendent Murray said: Our Guild was formed to provide a support service within the PSNI for Catholic members, and to raise issues which impact on their work within the PSNI.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week.

"Everyone understands the particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and indeed the implications of this for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

Our members have expressed genuinely held concerns over the release of this information, they are worried for themselves and in many cases for their family members.

"As Chairman of the Guild I am also concerned about the impact on future recruitment of young Catholics into the police service.

We are seeking an urgent meeting with the Chief Constable and senior colleagues and we want to be assured that the data breach will be fully and quickly investigated and procedures put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

Catholic officers and staff who feel vulnerable need to be supported in protecting themselves, their families and their homes.

"The Police Service must acknowledge and take account of the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members of the Force.

"The community background of police officers and staff has to be given the proportionate weight when considering the implications of this data breach on serving officers.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff. This applies particularly to colleagues from the Catholic community.
The family of Daithi Mac Gabhann shared the news the young boy has made it to Disneyland Paris, with users on social media not able to contain their joy for the six-year-old.

Sharing an image of Daithi at the iconic Disneyland castle, his family wrote DAITHI HAS MADE IT, also tagging it as a miracle.

Daithi, who has been on the waiting list for a heart transplant for five years, recently returned from Newcastle last month having undergone cardiac surgery which could allow him to get back on the waiting list.

His latest medical procedure comes a month after he was removed from the donor list due to issues that made an operation too high risk at that stage.

The young boys grandfather had been fundraising to give his family a summer to remember following the devastating news, with over 10,000 raised for the family by kind hearted members of the public in order to make his Disneyland dream a reality.

Many took to Twitter to share their joy at the picture of Daithi enjoying his holiday.

UUP MLA Alan Chambers wrote: Enjoy this adventure young man. Looks like you are! Safe home.

Shadow Secretary of State Peter Kyle added: So wonderful. Have a great time.

Daithi was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and is increasingly reliant on a wheelchair and oxygen as his long wait for a donor continues.

He has been on the heart transplant waiting list since 2018.

His story has touched people across Northern Ireland - and prompted a change in the law.

Daithi was granted the Freedom of Belfast during at ceremony at Belfast City Hall back in June.

In 2021 the Executive approved a soft opt-out legislation drawn up by Robin Swann when he was Health Minister.

Despite being allowed to proceed, Daithis Law was delayed after the collapse of the Executive, before being cleared in Westminster.

The legislation took effect earlier this summer.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne with Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd (left) before an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board (Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

There has been mass hysteria among civilian staff in the PSNI, with many trying desperately to remove traces of their personal data from the internet following Tuesdays catastrophic data breach, a current member of staff has said.

More than 10,000 officers and civilian staff have had their security compromised after work details, including surnames and area of operation, were mistakenly released in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said police were now investigating dissident republican claims that they were in possession of the data.

One civilian staff member, who did not wish to be named, said staff had been gripped by fear and paranoia since the breach and that a failure by the PSNI to inform staff promptly had made things worse.

We didnt get any communication from work at all; we were arriving in the next day, everyone having heard it on the news the night before, they told the Belfast Telegraph.

Some people are really terrified because they have very unique names. Other people are concerned because they come from an area where they would be more at risk from terrorists.

Read more Number of referrals to PSNI data breach support group rises to more than 600 amid dissident threat

One staff member said if they searched for themselves on 192.com, all their information is there: where they come from, postcodes, addresses and people linked to them.

There has been mass hysteria this week with people trying to get their information off these sites. If that was in the hands of the wrong person, they could find out where they live.

Police staff never ever would have thought in their entire careers that this would ever have been an issue, that their names would be out there.

We dont get the same money to cover risk that police do: they get 3,500 a year for security, but we get 500 a year.

I [would have gone] out in the morning and checked under my vehicle, but then I would have gone about my day  I wouldnt have been thinking about risk at all. Now people are thinking, Has someone followed me? and its leaving everyone in a state of paranoia.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne with Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd (left) before an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board (Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

The staff member said the breach would have long-term effects on the PSNI, with absence and mental health issues soaring.

Its your life, your family life, that is now affected. And its not just risky where you work any more, its risky where you live, where you eat, where you shop.

Youre going to be looking over your shoulder everywhere you go and its bound to cause real mental health issues for staff and police.

They also said that management had threatened to weed out staff who had shared the information that appeared online.

Its a horrible phrase, the employee said.

Now a questionnaire has come out asking if we were on the site, if we viewed it, if we shared it, and people are worried about being hauled over the coals of Professional Standards.

Everyone Ive spoken to has seen the document, but nobody wants to say that they have because they are terrified of the ramifications.

Senior officers are saying its just our names and initials, downplaying how people feel.

They are trying to make [staff] feel like they are over-reacting  and they really are not.

Terrorists are not stupid and it will not take them long to join the dots and to have more targets than they would have had before.
Ian Marshall, who resigned in February, hits out at mixed messages on big issues and criticises leader Doug Beattie

A former Irish senator who joined the Ulster Unionists two years ago has resigned from the party and expressed disappointment that it did not live up to the progressive politics he believed it stood for.
Northern Irelands Chief Constable Simon Byrne has sought to reassure staff and officer representative groups after a major data breach earlier this week.

The Police Service of Northern Irelands leadership was earlier pressed for a full response after details of more than 10,000 officers and staff were published online for a number of hours on Tuesday.

Mr Byrne cut short a family holiday to return to Belfast to answer questions about the data breach, and details of another incident emerged on Wednesday after the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July.

Scores of officers have expressed concern for their safety in Northern Ireland, where police are under threat from terrorists, with the current level of threat assessed as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne and Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd during a press conference on Thursday (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Byrne answered questions from politicians in a closed session of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday before making a brief statement to media.

He revealed that dissident republican terrorists had claimed to have some of the data, but that claim had not been verified.

A Threat Management Assessment Group has been set up by the PSNI for those concerned about risk. It had had 600 referrals by Thursday evening.

Mr Byrne met the Nipsa trade union, which represents staff support officers, on Friday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Nipsa official Tracy Godfrey said she was alarmed to hear the number of requests for support from the group had risen to 900 overnight.

I believe that number will climb, but they have got processes in place to deal with it. Its just an awful lot of people with a lot of concerns, she told the BBC.

In a statement on Friday evening, the PSNI said the Chief Constable had held a number of meetings with organisations that represent staff and officers.

These included a meeting with the head of the Catholic Police Guild, which represents a significant number of Catholic members of the service.

Superintendent Gerry Murray spoke of particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI, and expressed concern the data breaches could impact on future recruitment.

Catholics have historically been underrepresented in police numbers in Northern Ireland. When former police force the RUC transitioned to become the PSNI in 2001, a temporary recruitment measure was used to welcome even numbers of Catholic and Protestant officers, referred to as 50/50 recruitment.

Catholic officers are often targeted by dissidents who want to intimidate those from a similar background from joining the PSNI.

Our guild was formed to provide a support service within the PSNI for Catholic members, and to raise issues which impact on their work within the PSNI, Mr Murray said.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week.

Everyone understands the particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and indeed the implications of this for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

Mr Murray said guild members had expressed genuine concerns over the release of the information.

They are worried for themselves and in many cases for their family members, he said.

As chairman of the guild I am also concerned about the impact on future recruitment of young Catholics into the Police Service.

We want to be assured that the data breach will be fully and quickly investigated and procedures put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

Catholic officers and staff who feel vulnerable need to be supported in protecting themselves, their families and their homes.

The Police Service must acknowledge and take account of the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members of the force.

The community background of police officers and staff has to be given the proportionate weight when considering the implications of this data breach on serving officers.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff. This applies particularly to colleagues from the Catholic community.

A PSNI spokesperson said the Chief Constable listened to any issues or concerns and reiterated his priority is the welfare and safety of all officers and staff.

He also reassured the guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected by the recent data breach.
Millions have been displaced by the flooding across Chinas northern province of Hebei (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Severe floods in Chinas northern province of Hebei brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri this month killed at least 29 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, its provincial government said Friday.

Official news agency Xinhua reported that rescue crews were still searching for 16 missing people as of Thursday and the provinces reconstruction is expected to take two years to complete.

Initial estimates showed the provinces direct economic losses amounted to 95.8 billion yuan (10.4 billion), state media China News Service said.

Tens of millions of damage has been caused by the extreme weather (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Last week, Hebei was hit by serious flooding as the remnants of the typhoon battered the region and brought the heaviest rainfall in neighbouring Beijing in at least 140 years.

Official preliminary estimates announced Friday showed 3.9 million residents, or about 5% of the provinces population, were being affected by the floods and more than 40,000 houses were collapsed, China News Service said.

A further 155,500 houses and other facilities that provided electricity and communications were seriously damaged, it added.

More than 1.75 million residents have been relocated.

Repairs are underway across the region, with the government pledging that affected residents will be back in their homes, or in new homes, by winter (Zhu Xudong/Xinhua/AP)

Repairs to damaged power cables and other facilities were underway Friday.

According to Xinhua, the government has pledged to ensure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before winter.

Earlier this week, officials said the death toll from recent flooding in Beijing rose to 33 and it could take up to three years to restore services completely, given the level of damage.

The Chinese government on Friday has further allocated 1.46 billion yuan (158 million) of disaster relief funds to support flood-stricken regions, including Beijing and Tianjin, state media CCTV reported.

This brought the total amount of the relief funds to 7.74 billion yuan (841 million), it added.
The ousted leader of Niger and his family are now being detained by their military captors under terrible circumstances. The military kidnappers have shut off the power to the presidential house, which has caused the family to quickly lose weight as food rots in the refrigerator, according to the daughter.

Daughter Says Family Members Are Without Power and Food

Zazia Bazoum was on vacation in France when her father, Mohamed Bazoum, was arrested by members of his own presidential guard last month. She said she speaks with her parents and brother nearly every day and that they are going without clean water and eating rice and pasta because their gas oven is out of fuel.

"The situation of my family is very difficult currently. They are staying in the dark, and the weather in Niger is very difficult. So it's very sad that they are always in the dark and the house is very hot ... it's OK for them, they say they will keep fighting, but it's hard for [me and my two siblings abroad] to see our family in this situation and they can't go out," she told The Guardian.

Zazia claimed that the lack of electricity in her family's captivity was the work of their kidnappers, despite reports that power had been shut off to Niger by neighboring Nigeria to exert pressure on the country's military.

She added that the junta officials had forbidden her father's doctor access to the presidential palace in Niamey and that the doctor had been warned not to return.

Her parents had dropped approximately 5 kg each, and her 22-year-old brother Salem, who is being kept alongside his parents, had lost nearly 10 kilograms, she claimed.

She emphasized the gravity of the issue, saying, "This is very dangerous, [the coup leaders] are doing it to put pressure on them, but it's not fair to see them in this situation."

See Also: Niger: Ex-Rebel Launches Anti-Coup Movement to Restore Bazoum

New Military Commanders Refuse Diplomatic Negotiations

In spite of worldwide pressure, the junta has refused to free the democratically elected leader. Both the United States and the United Nations have expressed worry about his health.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself the new leader of Niger. He and his supporters have nominated ministers in a new cabinet this week, a move that signals their determination to stay in power.

As part of their efforts to pressure the junta to resign, leaders from the influential Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) activated the bloc's standby force on Thursday, August 10. A broader African Union group issued a similar plea for help on Friday, August 11, calling the world community to intervene on Bazoum's behalf.

New military leaders in Niger have rejected diplomatic attempts to negotiate. Some worry that increased aggression may spark widespread violence in the heart of the turbulent and strategically significant Sahel.

See Also: Niger Junta Threatens to Kill Bazoum if ECOWAS Military Intervention Pushes Through

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Wildfire wreckage is seen in Lahaina, Hawaii (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

Hawaii Governor Josh Green says 53 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise.

A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighbourhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition.

A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighbourhoods that had been a vibrant vision of colour and island life reduced to grey ash.

Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago.

Boats in the harbour were scorched, and smoke hovered over the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the islands west side.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Mr Green told The Associated Press.

More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that were still burning, he said.

The death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue, Mr Green added, and officials expect it will become the states deadliest natural disaster since a 1961 tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island.

We are heartsick, he said.

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island and then feasting on homes and anything else that lay in its path.

The official death toll of 53 as of Thursday makes this the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

The Hawaii toll could rise, though, as rescuers reach parts of the island that had been inaccessible due to the three ongoing fires, including the one in Lahaina that was 80% contained on Thursday, according to a Maui County news release.

Lahaina has been reduced to grey ash (Rick Bowmer/AP)

More than 270 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and dozens of people have been injured, including some critically.

We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern, said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Search and rescue teams still will not be able to access certain areas until the fire lines are secure and they are sure they will be able to get to those areas safely, Mr Weintraub added.

Communications have been spotty on the island, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times. Power was also out in parts of Maui.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday with at least 1,500 more expected to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in the thousands who have been displaced.

The fires were fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south.

It is the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. Traveling in Utah on Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone whos lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.

Mr Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.
As Taylor Swift announces the release of a re-recording of album 1989, fan Jessica Rice reveals what it means to her

Growing up I was terrified by the anti-pirated music ads at the start of every DVD I watched.

I knew I didnt have the confidence to break the law but I also knew I didnt have the money to download all the trending artists at the time.

So when I was given my first iTunes voucher for Christmas in 2014 I needed to pick one album to listen to on repeat, every day.

The lucky album I chose was Taylor Swifts 1989 and by the time my Christmas dinner was ready I was already a die-hard Swiftie.

I quickly memorised the lyrics of all the songs on the album, I pored over every metaphor, hoping to find the deeper meaning behind each song.

Being 12, I couldnt relate to many of the experiences Taylor discussed on her album, but that doesnt mean I didnt passionately sing along with my whole heart.

I thought I kept my obsession to a normal level but my little sister recently told me that she cant listen to any of the songs on 1989 without hearing my off-key singing in the back of her head, so maybe I didnt conceal it as well as Id hoped.

Despite not being able to master Taylors vocal range I still have so many fond memories connected to 1989.

I remember spending hours on Videostar, an app similar to TikTok, with my cousins and sisters, creating the perfect music video for my favourite song on the album; Welcome to New York.

A normal fan may have stopped their obsession there, but a true Swiftie of the time knew all the behind-the-scenes gossip.

Read more Taylor Swift closes out first US leg of The Eras Tour at sold-out SoFi Stadium

It wasnt enough to know Bad Blood was about Katy Perry, we needed to theorise on what Katy did to evoke such a strong revenge song and music video.

It wasnt enough to know Style was about Harry Styles, we had to recreate the red lip classic look.

If you didnt want a Blank Space cake for your birthday then you werent a true Swiftie (I didnt actually get the cake but I definitely wanted it).

As I got older, and earned some more iTunes money, I began to listen to Taylors other albums but 1989 was the one that made me fall in love with her.

Listening to Taylors re-releases of Red, Speak Now and Fearless has given me so much nostalgia, and now that I can relate to the love and heartbreak Taylor sings about the songs I can appreciate them so much more.

I cant wait to hear the songs that shaped so much of my pre-teen life as an adult.

The fact theres going to be five tracks on the album from the Vault is just amazing beyond belief.

I can only hope Taylor repeats what she did with her Speak Now re-release.

Swifites were excited to see Taylor Launther in the I Can See You music video but imagine how fast the internet would crash if Katy Perry or Harry Styles joined her in a music video of the 1989 re-release.
Members of the army look on as the USNS Mercy, a Navy hospital ship, departs from Naval Station San Diego and heads to the Port of Los Angeles to aid local medical facilities dealing with coronavirus disease patients, in San Diego, California, March 23, 2020.

The U.S. aid agency will open its expanded mission to Pacific island countries next week, aiming to show commitment to a region that now has the option of turning to China for infrastructure and development assistance.

The visit of the agencys top official, former diplomat and journalist Samantha Power, to Papua New Guinea and Fiji from Aug 13-16 coincides with the Chinese navys hospital ship, Peace Ark, visiting several Pacific island countries to provide medical care.

Powers trip would be an opportunity for the U.S. to listen to partners and to discover how we can more effectively deliver on the priorities set by Pacific islanders, said Michael Schiffer, assistant administrator for the Bureau of Asia at the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, at a briefing on Thursday.

The U.S. government outlined plans to boost its USAID presence during a summit with Pacific island leaders in September last year that was a response to Chinas inroads in the region.

U.S. participation in the vast ocean region dwindled after the early 1990s disintegration of its Cold War-era rival, the Soviet Union. Its diminished diplomatic presence was an opening for Chinas government to expand its influence by helping to meet the substantial development needs of economically-lagging Pacific island nations.

In Papua New Guinea, Power will mark the elevation of the USAID presence there to a country representative office overseeing USAID programs in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. In Fijis capital Suva, she will open what the agency says is a reestablished regional mission that will work with nine Pacific island countries.

In Fiji, she will also address an annual conference of defense chiefs, which is jointly hosted by Fijis military and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, on the subject of underpinning U.S. engagement in the region based on defense, diplomacy and development, according to Schiffer.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), speaks during a press conference in Sarajevo, Jan. 21, 2022. [Dado Ruvic/Reuters]

Pacific islands nations hope to benefit from the China-U.S. rivalry but are also critical of what some see as the gap between reality and the rhetoric of donors and multilateral financial institutions, particularly on insufficient financing for projects to withstand climate change and projections for sea-level rise this century.

They say they are with us on our regional threats but theres a disconnect between this and the resources they offer on the table, Fijis Finance Minister Biman Prasad said Thursday at a meeting of the regions economic ministers.

China, over several decades, has become a substantial source of trade, infrastructure and aid for developing Pacific island countries as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and build its own set of global institutions.

The Solomon Islands has been Chinas highest profile success in building influence among Pacific island countries in recent years. It switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in 2019 and last year signed a security pact with China, alarming the U.S. and allies such as Australia, who fear it could pave the way for a Chinese military presence.

Schiffer said the U.S. and Solomon Islands governments are continuing to discuss a greater contribution of U.S. aid and infrastructure for the country of 700,000 people, which grapples with lack of roads, spotty telecommunications and insufficient basic healthcare.

A USAID project in the most populous Solomon Islands province, Malaita  which in February ousted premier Daniel Suidani who blocked China-funded aid and projects  had disappointed locals by not providing immediate benefits.

The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark docks on a visit to Nuku'alofa, Tonga, July 28, 2023. [Tupou Vaipulu/AFP]

The Peace Ark hospital ship has recently visited Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu as part of its current mission in the Pacific, according to Chinese state media and Pacific island media reports.

Its stop in Tonga last month happened just a couple of days after a visit by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to underline the recent opening of a U.S. embassy in the Polynesian kingdom.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy hospital ship, Mercy, will be docked in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara in November to provide medical care when the city hosts the Pacific Games, according to the Solomon Islands government.

Eileen Natuzzi, a Pacific islands health expert and affiliate faculty at Georgetown Universitys Centre for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies, has said that the hulking white hulled hospital ships are only big public relations.

Regardless of which country provides them, military medical missions do not address the significant health system issues that people living in Pacific Island countries currently face, she said in a July commentary for the Lowy Institute, an Australian think-tank.

These problems require a much deeper long-term commitment than the Mercy or Peace Ark can achieve, she said.
Green groups in the Philippines are welcoming the governments decision this week to suspend nearly two dozen Chinese-backed reclamation projects in Manila Bay until it completes a review on the environmental impact.

The temporary halt will allow regulators to review each project approved under former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Marcos administration said after the American embassy had expressed concern last week over the role of a -blacklisted Chinese company in the projects and their potential environmental impact.

Maria Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga, the environment secretary, announced the projects suspension Thursday, saying that all are under review for a cumulative impact assessment on the environment. She did not give a specific timeline for the reviews, but said her office would determine compliance including whether the projects had environmental clearance certificates.

We welcome this [cumulative impact assessment], as it is a long-overdue step in the complete appraisal of the impacts of reclamation across the critical bay ecosystem, said the Peoples Network for the Integrity of Coastal Habitats and Ecosystems (Peoples NICHE), which along with another organization representing some 20 local environmental advocacy groups, applauded the action.

We also hope it serves as a precedent for similar approaches in other parts of the country where reclamation projects are also concentrated, such as in Metro Cebu, Peoples NICHE said in a letter to the environment department, referring to a highly urbanized city in the central Philippines.

The suspension comes amid increasing tensions between the Philippines and China over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, although the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tried to balance friendly ties with both China and Beijings geopolitical rival, the United States.

A China Coast Guard ship last weekend fired water cannon at a Philippine Coast Guard ship escorting a civilian convoy that was delivering supplies to a Filipino marine outpost in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal). Since then, the two sides have exchanged angry messages, and the Philippines said it was close to launching joint patrols with the U.S. in contested waters as well as deploying its own maritime militia there.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. Embassy had noted the reclamation projects link to the state-run China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), saying the U.S. Department of Commerce had added the firm to its Entity List for helping the Chinese military construct and militarize artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control had also included CCCC on its sanctions list.

A Filipina takes part in a protest outside the Chinese consulate in Metro Manila, Aug. 11, 2023. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews]

Peoples NICHE warned that some big-ticket projects could be cleared on technicalities during the review. It said one airport project that encroaches on Manila Bay farther north has been identified as a land development project.

We believe that all infrastructure projects in the Manila Bay area should be included in the impact assessment because doing otherwise will only give us an impoverished understanding of the scale and scope of their environmental impacts, it said.

The group also called on the government to include social scientists on its review team because of concerns that projects would displace large communities.

Yulo-Loyzaga said a scientific team would be organized within the month to carry out the study. While announcing that the 22 projects approved during the Duterte administration (2016-22) had been suspended, she did not provide a specific list.

We have to take our time, really, beginning with those that are ongoing, because they are, in fact, already impacting the areas. And then, we will graduate to those that are in fact, still not yet begun, the secretary said.

Endangered clams

On Friday, the Tanggol Kalikasan (Protect the Environment) group said it supported growing calls by legislators and other nationalist groups to ban CCCC from operating in the Philippines.

[C]hinese companies are involved in major projects in the Philippines such as the Manila Bay Reclamation Project that have adverse impacts on the environment and biodiversity, Tanggol Kalikasan said.

The presence of Chinese maritime militia boats in contested waters had led to the destruction of vital coral reefs, the group alleged.

Poaching of endangered giant clams has also become prevalent, the group said.

On Friday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, a Marcos ally, said taxpayers were unwittingly funding Chinas illegal activities in the South China Sea because of the continued patronage of Chinese contractors.

He called on the Marcos government to cut ties with the Chinese contractors.

The public works department has projects with companies that are state-owned by China, which has not stopped bullying our fishermen, Zubiri said in a local radio interview.

Then lets retaliate and blacklist these companies. Why should Filipino taxpayers pay these state-owned firms, whose income would go back to China, which will then use it to pay for their navy and coast guard who will harass us, he said. That is not right.

He said the government should look at awarding big-ticket projects to friendlier countries such as Japan or South Korea.

Lets just give them to our neighbors who love us, who are our friends, those who are helping us, he said, as he hit out at China for being two-faced by publicly declaring its friendship yet doing things to undermine the Philippines.

Basilio Sepe, Jojo Rinoza and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report.
At least 60 concertgoers at Travis Scott show in Rome on Monday night, August 7, required medical attention for minor eye and throat irritation caused by pepper spray.

Pepper Spray Incident

According to CBS News, a crowd of viewers can be seen rapidly dispersing and then seeking safety on a nearby hill in several videos shared online. Individuals were seen climbing over barriers, and others appeared to be in tears. The event went on without a hitch, as it seemed that the vast majority of attendees were oblivious to the disruption.

Approximately 60,000 people saw Scott perform for the first time in front of his chart-topping Utopia album. Controversial artist Kanye West, known as Ye, also appeared and joined him on stage.

It is fairly unusual for Italian audiences to resort to pepper spray, and in rare cases, this has led to many fatalities. In 2018, pepper spray caused a stampede at a rap concert in central Italy, leading to the deaths of six people and hundreds more injuries.

In a separate case, a 14-year-old who climbed a neighboring hill on Monday night to have a better view of the event ended up falling around 4 meters (about 13 feet) before he was rescued. Because of his wounds, he was brought to the hospital.

Scott's other shows have likewise resulted in disastrous outcomes. At the Astroworld Festival in Scott's hometown of Houston in 2021, ten people were killed and hundreds were wounded due to a crush.

Also Read: Jay-Z Cancels Made in America Festival Due to Uncontrolled Circumstances

Earthquake Fear During Concert

The event was hosted in the massive archeological site known as the Circus Maximus, where chariot races were previously conducted in ancient Rome. In response to the ground shaking caused by the enthusiastic concertgoers' jumping, Romans who live nearby took to social media to wonder whether an earthquake had broken out.

The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, which is responsible for measuring earthquake magnitude, said on its official site: "We have received many requests for information from Roman citizens who felt one or more earthquakes after 21:30."

A seismologist from the Institute Giovanni Diaferia said in a social media post on Wednesday, August 9, that the force exerted by concertgoers leaping at each jump was similar to a magnitude 1.3 earthquake, as The New York Times reported.

As the manager of the neighboring Archeological Park of the Coliseum, Alfonsina Russo voiced her disapproval of the event's location. "The Circus Maximus is not a field, it's a monument; it has subterranean galleries, archeological areas. You can't have tens of thousands of people jumping up and down for hours."

Historic landmarks, such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Baths of Caracalla, are conveniently located near the Circus Maximus and its neighboring Palatine Hill Roman remains.

According to Russo, she had expressed her worries to the mayor of Rome about the venue's potential misuse. She recommended that the venue host more tasteful musical performances such as opera and ballet. It was Russo's opinion that rock concerts be hosted in stadiums instead.

Also Read: Taylor Swift's LA Shows May Be Postponed as Politicians Urge Support for Striking Hotel Workers

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ON THE JOB

Ken Green knows the ins and outs of custom framing  he's been doing it for 30 years
Information from The New York Times and the Boston Globe was included in this report. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com.
This Story in History is selected from the archives by Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.
The Berkshire District Attorney's Office has received a $100,000 grant. It will invest it in youth programming and police overtime
Former Roman Catholic priest Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias entered a guilty plea Friday (August 11) on charges relating to transporting an 11-year-old boy with an intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to the US Attorney's Office of South Carolina, Gonzalez-Farias admitted he "transported a minor victim from South Carolina to Florida with the intent to commit lewd and lascivious exhibition and lewd and lascivious molestation," the Catholic News Agency reported.

The 68-year-old ex-priest was arrested last January in relation to the charges while visiting Charleston from Chile.

A federal indictment at the time accused him of "us[ing] a facility and means of interstate and foreign commerce" to "persuade, induce, entice, and coerce" an 11-year-old victim "to engage in sexual activity" in an incident back in November 2020.

Investigators also recovered text messages from WhatsApp from Gonzalez-Farias to the victim that were "consistent with the victim's disclosures."

Gonzalez-Farias also admitted to having "showered with the victim," "touched the minor victim's genitals," and showed the boy pornographic items. The Associated Press also said the ex-priest also lavished gifts and attention on the boy.

Read Also: US Catholics Slam Pope Francis's Pick to Lead Vatican Office Dealing with Sex Abuse Cases

Charleston Catholic District: We Were Informed After Ex-Priest Left for Chile

In its part, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston had previously listed the visiting priest as a clergyman with a credible allegation of child sex abuse. Church officials added they were made aware of Gonzalez-Farias's sexual misconduct allegations in December 2020, "after he had left the country for his home in Chile." The diocese also said they reported the matter to the Laurens County Sheriff's Office, which eventually informed the FBI of the crimes.

The boy's parents also contacted Catholic authorities about the inappropriate relationship, leading to the clergyman's suspension.

Gonzalez-Farias was thoroughly subjected to multiple background checks and found no indication of any criminal activity in his record prior to the allegations, the diocese added.

Church officials have yet to comment on the guilty plea as of this report.

Gonzalez-Farias, who was ordained back in 1990, will be sentenced at a later date per the recommendations of the US Probation Office. He would face up to life in prison for his crimes as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. He must also register as a sex offender.

The FBI said it was still seeking information about any other potential victims of Gonzalez-Farias.

Related Article: Catholic Couple Sues MA Government for Banning Them From Fostering Children

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GREAT BARRINGTON  Housatonic residents and town officials are gearing up for a hearing that will determine whether state regulators approve a rate increase requested by the waterworks to pay for upgrades the company says will solve a host of water woes.

Housatonic Water Works Co.'s public rate increase hearing will be held in late September, likely at the Monument Mountain Regional High School auditorium, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said Monday at the regular Select Board meeting.

Pruhenski did not specify an exact date.

The town, he said, has filed with the Department of Public Utilities for "intervenor" status as a third party, so that it can weigh in on the proceedings and act on behalf of residents.

The waterworks will hold an informational meeting on Zoom about this rate case at 6 p.m. Aug. 23, according to a notice on the company's website.

Meanwhile, town officials continue to hold closed-door strategy sessions about possible plans to somehow acquire the privately-owned waterworks in order to run it and give the system access to government money.

The rate hike the waterworks filed in May with the DPU would increase customers' bills by at least $900 a year, according to the company. While the company says this will improve service, it would hike minimum monthly charges more than $98, in addition to other fees.

The overall 112.7 percent revenue increase would generate $808,808, according to the company, to pay for the planned $4.5 million upgrade to the companys Long Pond treatment and distribution systems. The idea is to better filter water as well as provide better fire protection through its hydrants.

Historically, the DPU has approved only 20 percent of Housatonic's requested rate increases.

Housatonic Water Works Co.'s history of rate hike requests Since 1956, Housatonic Water Works, Co. has had nine rate cases with the Department of Public Utilities. In each, case, the DPU approved a rate increase

Since 2001, Housatonic Water Works, Co. has made three requests for rate increases

In 2001, the company requested an increase of $89,399. The DPU approved a rate increase of $65,390

In 2007, the company requested an increase of $153,289. The DPU approved a rate increase of $133,189

In 2015, the company requested an increase of $187,099. The DPU approved a rate increase of $169,899

The DPU approves rates based on a companys reasonable costs as well as allowing the company the opportunity to earn a fair return on its investments, including any upgrades, according to the agency

Residents have complained for more than a decade about discolored water, and more recently, about health concerns as the aging waterworks struggles to minimize disinfection byproducts that are linked to cancer. Those chemical levels have been steadily decreasing since an initial spike was believed to have been caused by heavy rains in during summer of 2021.

But the waterworks continues to find itself running afoul of state water safety regulations. This is because the quarterly test results are averaged and these averages are in violation of state Department of Environmental Protection standards, company Treasurer and co-owner James Mercer previously told The Eagle. Mercer could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

The DEP on Aug. 4 issued a letter of noncompliance over levels of these chemicals, called haloacetic acids. That same day, the waterworks announced in a notice to customers that the DEP had approved its plan to fix the problem by adjusting its chlorine treatment. The company also said its new "piping and monitoring equipment" will be ready for use by Oct. 1.
When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"

Mercy Crosby held her tiny daughter's hands as little Fanny's face contorted in a scream of agony.

"Doctor, are you sure you have to do this to her?" Mercy asked through her tears of anguish.

"Mrs. Crosby, I know it's hard to hear little Fanny scream like this, but we must draw out the infection. These hot mustard poultices are the best way to do it."

"But she's so small, only six weeks old. Maybe we should wait until our regular doctor returns to town." Mercy tried to shut out Fanny's screams, but it proved too difficult. If anything, her screams were increasing in volume.

The traveling doctor replied impatiently. "Mrs. Crosby, as I told you, waiting would only make the infection worse. I know the treatment hurts Fanny, but it's much better to treat the infection immediately. You never know what could happen if an eye infection is left untreated."*

Mercy reluctantly accepted the doctor's diagnosis. Although Fanny's screams eventually subsided to a pitiful whimper, they still lingered on in Mercy's memory. The infection in Fanny's eyes went away, but her corneas had been burnt in the process, and scars began to form over them. In the weeks that followed, long after the unknown doctor had left town, John and Mercy Crosby realized that Fanny was not reacting to visual stimuli. Soon enough, their worst fears were confirmed--young Frances Jane Crosby was blind.

In time, just as Johann Strauss was considered the "Waltz King" and John Philip Sousa the "March King," Fanny Crosby was known as America's "Hymn Queen." One of her most famous hymns was "Blessed Assurance."

The Blessing of Blindness

If anyone had a right to be angry with God because of her circumstances, it was young Fanny Crosby. Just a year after she was blinded by the incompetent doctor, her father caught a chill while working in the cold November rain and died soon after. Twenty-one-year-old Mercy Crosby was left to provide for herself and her daughter. This she did by seeking employment as a maid. Fanny's grandmother cared for her during the day, and the two became very close. Fanny would later write, "My grandmother was more to me than I can ever express by word or pen."

Eunice Crosby took the time to help her granddaughter "see" the world around her. They spent hours walking in the meadow, where Eunice would describe the sights around her in as vivid detail as possible. Many hours were also passed sitting in an old rocking chair where Eunice would describe to Fanny the intricate details of the flowers and birds around her, or the beauty of sunrise and sunset.

But although Fanny was blind, she did not consider herself handicapped. She did many of the things other children did, and accepted her blindness with a positive attitude that was evident in the short poem she wrote when she was just eight years old:

She maintained this positive outlook all her life and considered her blindness a blessing, not the curse many would be tempted to call it. As she once stated, "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

Eunice Crosby spent many hours reading the Bible to Fanny and teaching her the importance of prayer and a close relationship with God. She quickly discovered that Fanny had an amazing capacity for memorization and encouraged her to learn large passages of scripture by heart. Fanny memorized several chapters each week and could quote the Pentateuch, the Gospels, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and many of the Psalms, and in her own words "The Holy Book has nurtured my entire life." This nurturing started very early in her life due to the influence and teaching of her grandmother.

Leaving Behind the Familiar

Shortly before she turned fifteen, Fanny boarded a steamboat that took her to New York, where she began her studies at The New York Institute for the Blind. Lessons were taught by lecture, since the Braille system was not widely used at this time. Fanny's phenomenal memory helped her retain the information she heard, and she enjoyed her studies, with one notable exception. As Fanny succinctly stated:

In 1843, Fanny joined the Institute faculty, teaching history and rhetoric for the next fifteen years. During this time, she gained recognition as a poet and met such well-known people as President James K. Polk, Henry Clay and William Cullen Bryant. She also recited some of her poetry before Senators and Representatives in Congress Assembly Hall. The audience included Jefferson Davis and former president John Quincy Adams. When Fanny finished her recitation, the applause was so deafening it actually sounded like thunder and frightened Fanny. Her encore was so moving that it left many Congressmen in tears.

"Take Good Care of My Boy"

Fanny and others at the Institute often traveled, presenting concerts and programs to make people aware of the Institute and what it offered to the blind. On one of these trips, Fanny made an acquaintance that would be quite significant to her future. Mary Van Alstine was so impressed with the Institute's exhibition that she determined to send her blind twelve-year-old son Alexander to the Institute as soon as she could. She wanted Fanny to be his instructor and told the twenty-three-year-old teacher, "Take good care of my boy." As biographer Bernard Ruffin stated, Mary did not realize that "Fanny would take such good care of little Alexander that he would later marry her!"

"Van," as Fanny called Alexander, was the first of the Institute's students to attend "regular college." After obtaining his teaching certificate, he returned to the Institute as a music teacher, where he and Fanny soon connected over their mutual love of music and poetry. Despite their eleven year age difference, their friendship rapidly ripened into love, and on March 5, 1858, they were married.

America's Hymn Queen

Fanny Crosby is best remembered for the nearly 9,000 hymns she wrote, but amazingly enough, she did not begin her hymn writing until she was in her forties. Publisher and hymn writer William B. Bradbury was unhappy with the quality of many of the hymns that were submitted to him for publication. He heard of Fanny's talent, and after verifying her ability, promptly hired her to write hymns for his company, telling her, "While I have a publishing house, you will always have work!"

Fanny knew she needed God's help in this new endeavor, and once described her hymn writing process this way: "It may seem a little old-fashioned, always to begin one's work with prayer, but I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration." And God provided inspiration from all areas of Fanny's life. While passing by a prisoner, she heard the man cry, "O Lord, don't pass me by," which quickly became the hymn "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior." When her friend Howard Doan played a melody for her and said, "See if it says anything to you," her joyful reply was, "Why, that says, 'Safe in the arms of Jesus!'" Within a half an hour, she had finished the poem. Her most famous hymn, "Blessed Assurance," is a personal testimony of her salvation.

Rescue the Perishing

Although Fanny was only paid a dollar or two for each of her hymns, she and Van could have lived comfortably on this income. But Fanny had other priorities and gave away anything that was not necessary to their daily survival. Because of this, the Van Alstines lived in a small, cramped apartment in Manhattan's Lower East Side. This was near one of Manhattan's worst slums, just a few blocks from the notorious Bowery, a well-known "haunt for hopeless alcoholics and the main artery of a thriving red light district and pornographic center."

Because of her proximity to this needy area, Fanny became zealous in her efforts to help the people around her. She became a great fan of Jerry McAuley, a former convict who was converted after hearing the testimony of a friend. Jerry founded the Water Street Mission, America's first rescue mission, to minister to those enslaved to alcohol and violence as he once had been. She often mingled with McAuley's audiences, conversing and counseling with those she met. She did not believe in pointing out people's faults to them. "You can't save a man by telling him of his sins. He knows them already. Tell him there is pardon and love waiting for him. Win his confidence and make him understand that you believe in him, and never give him up!"

Fanny's ministry of hymn writing and mission work spanned many decades. While best remembered for her hymns, her generosity and care for the dregs of society still challenge us today. She refused to let her blindness be anything other than a blessing from God. And when she died a month before her ninety-fifth birthday, she finally saw the face of her Savior, and knew Him "by the prints of the nails in his hands."

Patriotic Ancestry

Fanny's family had strong Puritan roots in New England. Her great-grandfather Charles fought against the British in the Revolutionary War, and Fanny grew up hearing stories of the bravery of her ancestors. In Fanny's own words, "When General Warren was killed at Bunker Hill, it was a Crosby who caught up the flag as it fell from his hands." Another relative, Enoch Crosby, was so successful as an American spy that he was once captured and imprisoned with the unit of British soldiers he was spying upon. He was probably the inspiration for James Fennimore Cooper's novel The Spy.

Fanny was so patriotic that when the Civil War broke out, she often pinned the Union flag to her blouse. When a southern lady found this offensive and snapped, "Take that dirty rag away from here!" Fanny was incensed and told the woman to "Repeat that remark at your risk!" The restaurant manager arrived on the scene just in time to prevent the two women from coming to blows.

The Hymns of Fanny Crosby

Fanny's hymns have sometimes been criticized as "gushy and mawkishly sentimental" and critics have often attacked both her writing and her theology. The fact remains, however, that she has exerted an enormous influence on American hymnody, and some of her hymns are still cherished by believers today. Although thousands of her hymns have faded into obscurity over the years, they nevertheless were meaningful to her contemporaries, speaking to their lives and expressing their devotion to God. As fellow hymn writer George C. Stebbins stated, "There was probably no writer in her day who appealed more to the valid experience of the Christian life or who expressed more sympathetically the deep longings of the human heart than Fanny Crosby." And many of her hymns have stood the test of time, still resonating with believers today. Hymns such as "Blessed Assurance," "Saved by Grace," "Draw Me Nearer," "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," "To God Be the Glory," "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," and "I Am Thine, O Lord," not only expressed Fanny's deep devotion to her Savior, but were backed up by a life that demonstrated the sentiments that she wrote about in her hymns.

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Read more about "Blessed Assurance" including full lyrics and video at Godtube.com

All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Japan on Tuesday, 8 August, signed an agreement with Namibia to jointly explore for rare earth minerals as part of its broader plan to develop supply chains for cobalt and other minerals used in making electric vehicle batteries.

Source: Jose Luis Stephens  123RF.com

The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) will collaborate with Namibia's state-owned mining firm Epangelo, a Namibia mines and energy ministry official said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony in Windhoek.

Details of the agreement were not immediately available.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister for economy, trade and industry is visiting five countries with significant deposits of rare earths, including Namibia, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo to try to build an African supply chain of critical minerals.

Japan, like other advanced economies, is seeking to be less reliant on China, which has dominated supplies of battery minerals.

JOGMEC is already partnering with Namibia Critical Metals Inc. in developing the Lofdal deposit, rich in yttrium, in north-western Namibia, which is the country's most advanced rare earth project.

In addition to yttrium, used in alloys, the Lofdal deposit has the potential for significant production of dysprosium and terbium, two of the most valuable heavy rare earth elements, used in permanent magnets in the batteries of electric cars and in wind turbines.

In 2022, Namibia signed an agreement to supply rare earth minerals to the European Union.
Under this year's theme of "Accelerating socio-economic opportunities for empowerment of women", Women's Month could not have had a better start. On 1 August, Sharon Dikgale, the first of four Sorbet- Preneur winners, was handed the keys to her own Sorbet franchise, located at the L'Corro Shopping Centre in Northcliff, Johannesburg.

Sorbet partnered with Bidvest Bank for the Sorbet-Preneur initiative designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs  like Dikgale - an opportunity to own their own Sorbet Salon franchise. As a new franchise owner of a Sorbet Salon, Dikgale received 50% of the investment required to set up her business, in the form of a grant from Bidvest Bank. Sorbet waived the initial franchise fee, resulting in her injecting this portion of the funding to setting up and equipping the salon. Bidvest Bank also provided a business loan to cover the balance of the funding needed, which catered for initial operating costs.

Dikgales story of being a Sorbet franchise owner started off with her letting go of one dream, to pursue and have faith in another. After she matriculated, she aimed to go into a more traditional career like medicine or bio-medical technology.

It was by pure luck that I happened to be accompanying a friend of mine when she was also going to register at a tertiary institution in Florida. I noticed a beauty school very close and it piqued my interest. After consulting with my parents, I enrolled and subsequently graduated as a Somatologist, after three years of studying, she said.

That was a challenging time in her journey as there were very few black female somatologists in South Africa. In order to improve her craft, she provided complimentary beauty and grooming services such as waxing, facials, Indian head massages, pedicures and manicures to her friends and family, often receiving constructive criticism.

She used these formative years in order to hone her skills to such a point that she was employed as a therapist at the very same LCorro Sorbet Salon she now owns, 18 years later.

Having also worked at other Sorbet salons in Hyde Park and Bryanston, I learnt about the different clientele in various regions. But one of my biggest lessons is that I changed how I viewed the beauty industry. I learnt that the purpose of what I do is to serve and improve the lives of our guests, and that was a huge paradigm shift for me. That filled me with such satisfaction and inner drive which I have kept ever since, says Sharon, wife and mother of two.

As a franchise owner, one of Dikgales goals is to pass it forward by assisting as many young women as she can. She is also aiming to change the perception of Somatology as a career.

I want to elevate my chosen career and highlight just how specialised it really is. I had to study the very same anatomy that medical students undergo for their first three years. This is so that we know how to handle every part of our guests bodies without inflicting any pain or damage. For example, we have to understand the structure of the skin in order to know how certain ingredients will make it react, she says.

Linda Sinclair, CEO of the Sorbet Group says, Sorbet is a business that is deeply committed to socio-economic development, entrepreneurship and empowerment. Aligned to this commitment, it was with great pleasure that we handed over the keys to Sharon Dikgale, who is our very first Sorbet-Preneur winner. We are incredibly proud of what Sharon has achieved. Her passion, commitment, and leadership ability will serve her well in becoming a successful Sorbet franchise partner. She is an inspiration to all citizens. Her Sorbet family wishes her the best of luck on this amazing journey!

Hannah Sadiki, Bidvest Bank CEO, added: Entrepreneurial drive and ambition are essential to building a prosperous future in South Africa, and it is very important that finance providers are able to respond to this need. At Bidvest Bank, we know that access to finance is a key driver in the creation, survival and growth of innovative new ventures. We are very encouraged by the response and the quality of the finalists who took part in this initiative. Words cannot express how proud I was to stand next to Sharon Dikgale when she received the keys to her new salon, bringing her career full circle. We wish her the very best and hope she continues to flourish on her entrepreneurial journey.

With the personal services industry contributing more than R9,1bn to South Africas Gross Domestic Product on an annual basis, it is promising to know that women like Dikgale are being empowered to reap some of the benefits.

It feels amazing that out of the 85 Sorbet citizens who applied for the Sorbet-Preneur initiative that I was shortlisted as one of the final 14. Now, to know that I am one of four who own a Sorbet salon is very exciting  it is a dream come true! Thanks to the business acumen training, including lessons on franchising, accounting, human resources, marketing, leadership and a whole lot more, I have grown so much from first being a therapist to now being a franchise owner! she concluded.
On Thursday, 11 August, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) formally presented equipment valued at $750,000 (R14,083,950) to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) - marking the inaugural donation of its kind on the continent.

According to a joint statement, the tools will support Sahpra with its regulatory functions relating to vaccine manufacturing.

Africa CDC director-general, Jean Kaseya, and Sahpra chief executive officer, Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, attended the ceremony in Pretoria.

The African Union (AU) heads of state established the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), under the Africa CDC launched in 2021 and its Framework for Action in 2022.

The PAVM aims to steer a bold goal that will enable the African vaccine manufacturing industry to develop, produce and sustainably increase supply, currently sitting at less than 1%.

It is also looking to prop up the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to ensure safe and quality vaccines.

The Africa CDC is working with four other NRAs to boost their capacities to achieve the ambitious goal of manufacturing 60% of vaccine needs on the continent by 2040.

This donation is a proverbial breath of fresh air for Sahpra and more importantly, the African continent. This stellar initiative will provide much-needed impetus for Sahpra to take bold steps to capacitate the authority and the continent in paving the way for renewed vigour and innovation on the continent, said Semete-Makokotlela.

Meanwhile, Kaseya said Africa CDCs mission of safeguarding Africas health from disease threats such as pandemics would require viable and sustainable manufacturing of health products and technologies on the continent.

To achieve this noble mission, NRAs are our key partners. Todays ceremony marks an important step in our commitment to support African manufacturing to ensure safe and effective vaccines are produced on the continent, he said.

The Africa CDC worked with the African Union Development Agency (Auda-Nepad) to set priorities such as regulatory process harmonisation, engaging with and strengthening NRAs directly, supporting and strengthening the Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence (RCore) platform to facilitate vaccine regulatory oversight, as manufacturing of health products expands in Africa.

Africa CDC is a continental autonomous public health agency of the African Union.

It supports member states in their efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, prevention and control of diseases.
Tesla is now under US special crash investigation after a fatal accident in Virginia.

The driver was reportedly using a Tesla Model Y car and was suspected using the advanced driver assistance system of Tesla when it crash against a tractor-trailer truck on July 19. The fatal crash killed the Tesla driver on the scene.

Read Also: Tesla's Model 3, Model Y Could Become Expensive by 2024

Safety Issues with Tesla

According to Reuters, the US auto safety regulator has conducted around 36 special crash investigations against Tesla since 2016. All of these cases involved the autopilot system of the car. As of writing, there has been 23 crash deaths reported.

Tesla's autopilot feature is intended to help in steering, accelerating, and brake cars automatically. In addition, an enhanced autopilot puts it in charge of changing lanes on highways.

In June 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) upgraded its defect probe wherein it conducted an engineering analysis of 830,000 Tesla vehicles with autopilot and crashes with parked emergency vehicles.

Tesla's Other Issues

This is not the first time Tesla's vehicle credibility has been questioned. Last July, Tesla was reportedly overestimating the range of its electronic vehicles which goes against the advertised 353 miles on a fully charged battery.

On the other hand, a Diversion Team set in Las Vegas was created to force Tesla drivers to "cancel as many range-related appointments as possible." The team is proven to be effective as the company saves around $1,000 for every canceled appointment.

Tesla is yet to issue a response on the alegations against the company.

Related Article: Tesla Allegedly Overestimates EVs Range on Purpose
Students from Eduvoss Claremont, Midrand and Bedfordview campuses were selected to take part in this years Hackathon. All Eduvoss entrants are final-year students in the information technology faculty, one of the institutions four future-facing faculties.

The annual Hackathon takes place in August to celebrate Womens Month. It is the brainchild of GirlCode, a non-profit organisation that aims to empower women through technology and believes that more women should be involved in tech, design and development. This years event theme was AI4Women, fitting as AI has rapidly advanced in the last year, and took place on 5 and 6 August in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

Events like the Hackathon are important in closing the gender gap in the tech world and encourage more young women to get involved in tech and STEM-related fields. Women are less likely to enter tech-related fields and only 22% of AI workers are women.

The event sees computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, and project managers, come together and collaborate intensively on software projects. The hackathon is not a competition but a collaborative learning experience. The event is an open format, which means that participants can hack on web, mobile, desktop, or hardware applications in teams of two to four participants.

Being selected by Eduvos for the GirlCode Hackathon is a thrilling honour, says final year BSc information technology in software engineering student, Ogechi Geraldine Gerald. This event empowers women in tech and addresses the gender gap in the industry. Through my participation, I hope to inspire other women to pursue tech careers and contribute to a more inclusive future for the industry. This opportunity signifies a positive step towards breaking down societal stereotypes and promoting gender diversity in technology.

Eduvos is proud that its students participated in this event that empowers young women and works to make tech more inclusive. Eduvos is excited about this years theme which speaks to inclusivity in Artificial Intelligence. The institution aims to become the leading meta university in Africa by 2027. Through a partnership with U.S based tech company, EON Reality, Eduvos is moving to incorporate AI and Virtual Reality into its academic offerings and has also recently introduced the Microsoft Azure AI Engineering program to equip students with the knowledge to work in the AI-field.

Eduvos collaborated with partner Vela Trust, a non-profit trust that strives to expand access to high-quality higher education, to select six Eduvos students, also referred to as Vossies, to participate in the Hackathon. Big sponsors, including Takealot, Amazon and Vuma, support the Hackathon with the objective of finding fresh talent. The event, therefore, offers students exposure to possible employers and an opportunity to show employers what they can do.

The six Vossies who went to this years Hackathon were:

Jenna Jamie Romen

Jailynn Philander

Ogechi Geraldine Gerald

Siphokazi Mbatha

Puseletso Sefike

Danielle Jae Ormedrod

For media enquiries, contact Kara van der Berg at moc.sovude@grebdv.arak

Find Eduvos online

Website: eduvos.com

Twitter: @edu_vos

Instagram: @eduvoseducation

YouTube: youtube.com/@EduvosEducation
South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma appeared at the Estcourt correctional facility on Friday morning and was released under a remission process, a senior prisons official said.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma reacts as he addresses a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, 22 October 2022. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

The announcement comes after the constitutional court last month rejected an attempt to overturn a decision by a lower court that found Zuma's release on medical parole was unlawful and that he should return to prison to finish his sentence.

Zuma's initial arrest two years ago led to violent protests across South Africa that saw over 300 people killed.

Zuma, 81, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for defying a court order to participate in a corruption inquiry into high-level corruption during his nine-year tenure as president.

He handed himself over to authorities in July 2021 but was released on medical parole due to ill health two months later. He denies corruption allegations.
Update at 20:52 on Thursday 10 August: "Santaco has published a statement saying: "It is with profound relief that we announce the immediate cessation of the Stay Away. This comes after painstaking deliberations and immense pressure on all parties involved."

It further says that there is an agreement between the taxi association and government that the "next 14 days will be utilised to work towards the release of the vehicles that were wrongly impounded".

From left: MEC for Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Western Cape Premier Alan WInde and the Mayco Member for Mobility Roberto Quintas. They addressed the media after a long meeting with Santacos leadership on Thursday. Photo: Matthew Hirsch

Update at 22:33: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has explained the terms of the agreement:

- Impoundments under the National Land Transportation Act (NLTA) will continue for vehicles driving without an operating license, or on the incorrect route, or without a drivers license, or which are not roadworthy.

- We have agreed that the Taxi Task Team will further define a list, within 14 days, of additional major offences in terms of which vehicles will continue to be impounded in future. This will take the form of an Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to guide enforcement staff on the exercise of the discretionary power provided for in the NLTA.

- Our focus in the task team will be to ensure that all traffic offences which impact on commuter safety remain as major offences. Road safety for commuters and other road users is a non-negotiable, a position the City has not budged on.

- The Task Team will similarly compile an agreed-upon list of minor offences, which do not have commuter safety implications, and which will not be impoundable.

The City continues to believe it will be able to demonstrate to Santaco that we have already been following this distinction for some time.

Importantly, if Santaco believes that any of their taxis have been impounded for these minor offences, then they can produce the relevant impoundment notices and the City will then make representations to the Public Prosecutor to support the release of these vehicles.

We have also made two important improvements for the future.

- Santaco has agreed that never again will they call a strike during the middle of a working day, and that they will always give at least 36 hours notice ahead of planned strike action. We should never again see a repeat of thousands of people being forced to walk home.

- Secondly, before calling strike action, the Task Team will now have a dispute escalation and resolution clause, to escalate disputes directly to the Premier and Mayor before a strike action will be considered.



The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government have offered what they consider to be a reasonable proposal to end the taxi strike.

This announcement came after the City, province and South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) were locked in a closed meeting that lasted for about two hours on Thursday afternoon.

The taxi strike, which is now in its eighth day, has caused havoc for commuters and seen vehicles being stoned and burned. On Thursday, there was also a food shortage, with fresh bread being difficult to find.

There was confusion before the meeting, where it seemed as if Santaco had initially declined an invitation to meet, but ultimately several of their leaders attended.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, who addressed the media after the meeting, said they had put a very reasonable offer on the table. We are giving it to them and they are going back to their office and will look at it with their team. We cant really say too much more right now.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis had previously promised to head back to the negotiating table, if there was a sustained period of peace. We would have hoped to have a final agreement, but we dont have that yet. Weve made what we think is a very considerate proposal. It is now up to them. Hopefully, with any luck, we will have an agreement soon.

He said that the first consideration in making the proposals is and will always be the safety of commuters in the city and province.

With our minds on how we can keep commuters and people who use taxis safe and other road users safe, we really sincerely hope that SANTACO will be mature, accept our reasonable proposal, and end this strike with the interest in getting back to some normalcy in the city.

Initially, Santaco declined the invitation to return to negotiations. A statement by the organisation said that it was seeking an immediate solution to its vehicles being impounded. The organisation plans to go to court against the City on this matter.

After the meeting, the organisations leaders said they would go back to their base in Bellville to consult with their team and draft a media statement.

This article will be updated once Santaco has decided whether or not to accept the agreement.

Published originally on GroundUp.
Community living in recent years has undergone a transformative shift with the rise of co-living spaces, says Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty.

Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sothebys International Realty

These innovative residential arrangements are not only economical, but also offer a new way of living that fosters a sense of community, connection, and shared experiences.

Co-living spaces are communal living arrangements where residents share common areas, such as kitchens, living rooms, and sometimes even bathrooms, while having private bedrooms or smaller living spaces, explains Geffen.

She adds that these spaces often come fully furnished and include utilities, cleaning services, and various amenities like gyms, coworking spaces and social areas.

Millennials, the largest demographic cohort in many countries, have been at the forefront of driving the co-living trend. With rising living costs, many young people are seeking affordable housing options that provide flexibility and convenience.

The rise of remote work and the growth of the digital nomad community have also contributed significantly to the popularity of co-living spaces. Digital nomads, who often work while travelling, benefit from the flexibility and community-oriented environment offered by co-living spaces.

Shaping the future of housing options

Co-living spaces present an intriguing and evolving aspect of the real estate market and their increasing popularity suggests they will continue to shape the future of housing options for certain demographics.

Investors and real estate developers have taken notice of this trend and are capitalising on the growing demand, with both startups and established companies in the real estate sector expanding their portfolios to include co-living properties, and some are even developing dedicated co-living communities.

Geffen says that although the trend is only beginning to take off in South Africa, she believes its only a matter of time as two of the key benefits are affordability and security.

There are also numerous other compelling reasons for the growing popularity of this housing option:

Embracing shared spaces

Co-living spaces prioritise shared amenities and communal areas, challenging the traditional notion of private living. Residents have access to shared kitchens, living rooms, and dining areas, providing opportunities for socialising, collaboration and the cultivation of meaningful relationships.

These shared spaces encourage interaction, making it easier to connect with like-minded individuals and build a sense of community.

Promoting social engagement

Community living has been redefined by the emphasis on social engagement within co-living spaces. These environments often host regular social events, workshops and activities to encourage interaction among residents.

From game nights and yoga classes to educational seminars and community projects, co-living spaces provide a platform for residents to engage with one another and develop a sense of belonging.

Fostering diversity and inclusivity

Co-living spaces have opened doors to diverse communities. Residents come from various backgrounds, professions, and age groups, creating a rich tapestry of perspectives and experiences.

This diversity enhances the community atmosphere, encouraging cross-cultural interactions, and fostering a spirit of inclusivity. Co-living spaces provide a platform for residents to learn from one another, challenge preconceived notions, and celebrate the richness of diversity.

Simplifying living arrangements

One of the primary appeals of co-living spaces is the simplicity they offer. These spaces typically come fully furnished and equipped, relieving residents of the burdens associated with setting up and managing a traditional living space.

The all-inclusive nature of co-living spaces simplifies the logistics of living, allowing residents to focus on building connections and pursuing their passions.

Enhancing affordability and flexibility

Co-living spaces have emerged as a response to the rising cost of living in urban areas. By providing shared spaces and bedrooms, these arrangements offer a more affordable alternative to traditional renting or owning a home.

Additionally, co-living spaces often provide flexible lease terms, allowing residents to adapt their living arrangements to changing circumstances without being tied down by long-term commitments.

Incorporating technology and convenience

Co-living spaces leverage technology to enhance the resident experience. Many spaces provide online platforms or mobile apps that facilitate communication, event coordination, and community engagement.

These platforms streamline processes and enable residents to connect and collaborate effortlessly, strengthening the sense of community and convenience within the co-living environment.

Emphasising well-being and support

Co-living spaces recognise the importance of well-being and often provide support services for their residents. This may include access to wellness programmes, fitness facilities, mental health resources, and professional development opportunities.

The focus on holistic well-being within co-living spaces creates an environment that nurtures personal growth and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

Redefining community living

The rise of co-living spaces has been driven by a combination of factors, including the needs and preferences of millennials, digital nomads, expatriates, retirees and eco-conscious individuals, concludes Geffen.

And, as co-living spaces continue to evolve and grow, they are redefining community living by providing residents with a sense of belonging, affordability, flexibility, and the opportunity to create meaningful connections in an increasingly interconnected world.
The country's tech geniuses gathered at the annual GirlCode Hackathon to code for change last weekend. BET Software was a silver sponsor for the event, which happens every August in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, to celebrate Women's Month.

The GirlCode Hackathon was about harnessing skills that will contribute to an innovative and inclusive tech industry.

This years theme was AI4Women, which focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle real-world challenges. Participants formed teams of two to four individuals, working together to develop solutions that leverage AI to address pressing issues faced by women.

The event raised awareness on phenomenal women in the tech space and empowered female IT students by providing them with a platform to display their ingenuity and expertise. Participants had access to an abundance of resources, including mentors, workshops and tech talks that helped refine ideas and enhance project execution.

Participants were able to gain hands-on experience in a competitive yet friendly environment.

Michael Collins, general manager at BET Software, said that by partnering with GirlCode, the company is supporting GirlCodes mandate of creating a network of highly-skilled women in software development.

Advancing women in tech is part of a broader movement for gender equality and social progress. By supporting women in tech, we are contributing to a more equitable society and challenging stereotypes and biases, he explained.

GirlCode is a on a mission to empower 10 million women and girls by 2030.
South Africa's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and Huawei used the BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting as an opportunity to sign an agreement that will help the country reach its ICT development goals.

Huawei South Africa CEO Will Meng and Acting DG Ms Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani of the DCDT signing the partnership agreement. Source: Supplied

Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei will share global best practices of the planning of digital economy policies and technology rollout.

Huaweis wealth of technical expertise and global experience in digitisation and its application across the private and public sectors make the company well placed to take on an advisory as well as practical role in assisting South Africa reach its goals in respect of the BRICS ICT Development Agenda and Action Plan (DAAP), which forms the basis of the agreement, as well as the countrys own National Development Plan 2030.

Huawei will also support the DCDT in its broadband infrastructure development programme at the same time as giving practical assistance to SMEs in the country to build technical capacity especially on fibre broadband deployment.

On the skills development front, Huaweis existing programmes including Seeds for the Future, 4IR Talent Development and its ICT academies are already contributing to local talent development which is part of the partnership.

Skills development

Huawei is committed to the youth of South Africa and the development of specific skills training that complements academic learning. It is important to equip young people to join the digital economy and to be employment ready, and our courses and programmes provide them with that opportunity, said Huawei SA CEO Will Meng.

The collaboration between DCDT and Huawei on innovation  exploring new ICT technologies and how they can be applied to drive the digital economy forward  underpins the entire agreement.

South Africa has set itself a goal through its SA Connect programme which seeks to connect 80% of South Africans to the internet over the next 3 years.

SME development is central

Speaking at a BRICS B2B dinner after the signing of the partnership, DCDT deputy minister Philly Mapulane spoke of the groups objective to advance the B2B engagement agenda, particularly as it relates to placing SME development at the centre of ICT transformation in South Africa and within the BRICS in a growing digital economy.

He said the B2B engagement had been a beneficial experience sharing exercise, From Indias deployment of machine learning which reaches millions of Indians in different languages and dialects, to Huaweis experience in deploying infrastructure to connect the unconnected, to Serpros Brazilian experience in connecting their citizens, and Russias articulation of the concept of digital sovereignty.

We live in a digital and hyper-connected world where technology continues to improve peoples lives and makes work easier for many sectors of the economy, concluded Mapulane

Both Huawei and the DCDT are optimistic about the future of the countrys digital transformation process and the agreement will assist in ensuring that ICT technology drives the economy forward, taking every citizen with it.
In line with the upcoming release of the live-action adaptation of "One Piece", Netflix launched a series of events before the series lands on the platform on August 31.

Starting August 24, Straws Hats will be united as the celebration will kick off in Los Angeles. Fans are encouraged to participate on "Pirates on the Pier" which grants attendees private access to rides, games, photo ops, and giveaways.

Read Also: Netflix Drops Game Controller App for iPhone

Straw Hats Unite Across the Globe

During the event, fans will be given an opportunity to get an exclusive look at the first episode of "One Piece" season 1. The first screening will be held at Santa Monica Pier and will start at 8:00 p.m.

Fans are also encouraged to dress as their favorite Straw Hat crew member. The event will grant free admission but an RSVP is required as the event will be on first come, first serve basis.

The event will also be held across other 9 countries including France, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, and Thailand. Germany is included on the list, Netflix advised that the event will be held virtually.

'One Piece' is Coming Soon

"One Piece" is originally based on Eiichiro Oda's bestselling manga. The story follows the adventure of the pirate Monkey D.

Luffy as he battles to become the King of the Pirates. Luffy is often accompanied by Straw Hats such as Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and more.

Related Article: Crunchyroll To Host One Piece's English-Dubbed Version on July 5
L'Allemagne discute avec MBDA de la livraison de missiles Taurus a Kyiv - source

BERLIN (Reuters) - Le gouvernement allemand est en discussion avec le fabricant d'armes MBDA pour la livraison de missiles de croisiere Taurus a l'Ukraine, a dit vendredi une source a Reuters, confirmant une information de Der Spiegel.

Kyiv fait pression sur Berlin pour qu'il lui livre des missiles Taurus qui ont une portee de plus de 500 kilometres et sont tires par des avions de combat comme les Tornado, les F-15 et les F-18.

Alors que la Grande-Bretagne et la France ont fourni a l'Ukraine des missiles de croisiere Storm Shadow et Scalp, l'Allemagne hesite a leur emboiter le pas par crainte de leur utilisation potentielle contre des cibles en territoire russe.

Selon Der Spiegel, les discussions entre le gouvernement allemand et MBDA portent sur la possibilite de reduire la portee des missiles, ce qui est une operation assez simple d'apres les experts.

L'armee allemande dispose de quelque 600 missiles Taurus, dont 150 sont prets a etre utilises. L'Espagne et la Coree du Sud utilisent egalement le Taurus.

En juin, le Kremlin a averti la France et l'Allemagne que la livraison de missiles de croisiere a Kyiv entrainerait une nouvelle "spirale de tension" dans le conflit ukrainien.

Les Etats-Unis se sont jusqu'a present abstenus d'envoyer leurs ATACMS a l'Ukraine, malgre les demandes de Kyiv.

Les missiles de croisiere sont difficiles a detecter par les radars de defense aerienne car ils volent a basse altitude. Ils sont principalement utilises pour frapper des cibles derriere les lignes ennemies, comme des postes de commandement, des depots de munitions et de carburant, des aerodromes et des ponts.

La Russie utilise des missiles a longue portee pour detruire des cibles en Ukraine, y compris des infrastructures civiles.

(Redige par Sabine Siebold; version francaise Zhifan Liu et Corentin Chappron, edite par Jean-Stephane Brosse)
Ainsley Ramsey '24

Funded by a Bowdoin Summer Research Award, rising senior Ainsley Ramsey is delving into the cold calculus of international relations to explore how the war is affecting two African countries in particularMorocco and Angola. Her project is being supervised by Sarah and James Bowdoin Associate Professor of Government and Legal Studies Barbara Elias.

In the history of international relations, active conflict and postwar eras have led to major shifts in the balance of power, said Ramsey, a government and legal studies major and Middle East and North African studies minor. War gives states the opportunity to advance their own power, even states that are not directly related to the conflict. Conflict reverberates throughout the global economy, presenting new opportunities for certain countries. For instance, due to western sanctions on Russia, both Morocco and Angola have opportunities to become influential in the energy sector.

African states have also become increasingly important as members of the United Nations General Assembly, which earlier this year passed a resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine. Im working to show how both Western and pro-Russian countries are attempting to court Angola and Morocco, giving these countries a new strategic importance and allowing them to gain from the support of both sides, said Ramsey.

Angola has historic ties to Moscow from the Cold War era, with the Soviet Union supporting Angolas struggle to gain independence from Portugal in the 1970s.

The current president of Angola, Joao Lourenco, for example, received his military training and education in Russia, observed Ramsey. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fading of its monetary support, Angola has cozied up to the United States.

Ramsey examines how the position of neutrality combined with a careful diplomatic balancing act between the needs of the West and Russia could be beneficial for both Angola and Morocco. Neutrality in the Global South has been a prominent position since the Cold War, introduced as the Non-Alignment Movement. The purpose was to stay out of Cold War politics and prevent proxy wars in their nations, she added.

At the latest vote of the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Russias action in Ukraine and demand its immediate withdrawal, Angola was among the thirty-two nations who voted to abstain from the resolution, which was carried with the support of 141 nations in favor and seven against.

Significantly, explained Ramsey, Angola has been one of largest exporters of oil in Africa. There are some locations where it is untapped, but for the most part oil leads the economy. Currently, many countries are investing in Angolas infrastructure to further its oil and gas development, but more investment is needed for Angola to become a large enough producer to replace Russia.
NASA's spacecraft Juno sent new images of Jupiter's tortured moon, Io, from its latest flyby last July 30.

Read Also: Boeing's First Crewed Starliner Mission Takes Off in 2024

Juno's Closest Approach to Io

The latest flyby of Juno last July is now the closest approach made by the spacecraft on Io, closing within 13,700 miles of it. Prior to the flyby, NASA was already expecting to harvest new information about the "volcano-festooned moon."

Juno launched last 2011 marking its 12th year on the mission. The spacecraft arrived at Jupiter around 2016 with a goal to understand the history and evolution of the planet. Since then Juno has been providing NASA various information that helps in deepening the understanding to the planet.

All thanks to Juno, NASA was able to spot a volcanic plume which is suspected to be from a continually erupting volcano, Prometheus or the "Old Faithful of Io."

IO's Mystery

Io, along with other big moons, orbits Jupiter every 42 hours which results to tidal heating. Moreover, Io is suspected to be the home of ocean magma underneath its surface area.

As of now, NASA is not giving prioritization to launch an Io mission. This means that Juno's observation will be the only source of close views for the next decade.

According to NASA, Juno will be closest to Io on December 30, 2023 and February 3, 2024 with a distance of 900 miles of IO's surface.

Related Article: NASA's Artemis II Crew To Help Prep Orion Spacecraft for Future Missions
This March file photo, taken in the Chinese city of Dandong, shows two bridges connecting North Korea and China. Human rights groups on Friday called for the OHCHR to take action to protect North Korean refugees in China as North Korea is expected to lift COVID-19 border restrictions to resume Beijing's forcible repatriation of escapees. Korea Times photo by Cho Young-bin



OHCHR accused of keeping silent on repatriation issue for sake of Beijing



By Jung Min-ho



Human rights activists called for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take immediate action to protect North Korean refugees in China amid signs of the resumption of Beijing's forcible repatriation of escapees.



In a joint statement, Friday, Transitional Justice Working Group and 11 other groups said the lives of as many as 2,000 North Koreans are now at stake as Pyongyang is expected to lift its COVID-19 border restrictions soon ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which are scheduled to take place from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.



In a serious accusation, the groups also claimed that the OHCHR remains deliberately silent on the issue out of fear of irritating Beijing.



"It is important to hold China accountable for these grave human rights violations  This is particularly urgent as North Korea may lift the self-imposed COVID-19 border restrictions ahead of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games," the statement said.



"Given this background, the OHCHR's silence on China's grave human rights violations against North Korean refugees and the aiding and abetting of crimes against humanity in North Korea through arbitrary detention and forcible repatriation is difficult to understand or justify."



According to the groups, the OHCHR's Seoul office has yet to officially express its concerns about the looming resumption of deportations, and has not provided a reason for its refusal to send officials to events organized for the issue.



Speaking to The Korea Times, a rights advocate said that OHCHR Seoul officials' reluctance could be a direct result of the caution being taken toward China within its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where the U.N. body went through a tense period with Beijing after its 2022 report on rights issues in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.



The advocate said that the OHCHR's reports on the repatriation issue in recent years have shown a problematic pattern, in which it avoids mentioning China by name directly.



"The most recent 2023 report takes the OHCHR's reluctance to name China to a new level," the statement said. "According to the OHCHR, 'Interviewees who had been trafficked into neighboring countries reported living in fear that if their origins were discovered, they would be repatriated and imprisoned.' It is not difficult to see that 'the neighboring state' is the OHCHR's jargon for China."



The fate awaiting those deported by China is no secret: years of incarceration in political prison camps, torture or worse. Seoul has long asked Beijing to give them the option of returning to North Korea or allowing them to head to the South. Despite its diplomatic efforts, however, Beijing has maintained the policy of treating North Koreans crossing into China as illegal migrants rather than refugees.



In a message to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, the groups called on him to hold China accountable for its human rights violations as he promised to do during his speech marking the 30th anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights in June.



"You proclaimed that 'We have championed the rights of children, of indigenous peoples, of minorities, of older people, of people with disabilities as well as of migrants and refugees. All while holding the world's most powerful to account,'" the statement said.



"(The) OHCHR must end the blatant, casual politicization of the issue if it is to champion the rights of North Korean escapees facing arbitrary detention, human trafficking, deportation and other grave violations and abuses in China."




Authors appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival are demanding organisers end their links with fossil fuel companies  and are threatening a boycott of next years event if there is no action.

More than 50 of the authors and event chairs taking part in this years festival  which gets under way on Saturday  have said that if main sponsor Baillie Gifford does not divest billions of cash, organisers should find alternative sponsors.

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If this does not happen, all authors should commit to boycotting the festival in 2024, the group said.

Leading writers including Ali Smith, Zadie Smith and Gary Younge have signed the open letter to festival organisers, accusing investment management firm Baillie Gifford of making huge profits from global disaster.

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They added that the firm was seeking to hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

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Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said the festival would consider the authors concerns carefully and keep an open mind about how to proceed.

The letter comes in the wake of climate activist Greta Thunberg pulling out of an appearance at this years event, after accusing Baillie Gifford of greenwashing.

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The investment management firm rejected Ms Thunbergs claims that it invests heavily in fossil fuels, saying just two per cent of its clients money was invested in the sector.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg had been due to speak at this years Edinburgh International Book Festival but pulled out. Photo: Yui Mok/PA.

However in their open letter to festival organisers, the authors and event chairs said Baillie Gifford has up to 5 billion invested in fossil fuel corporations.

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They stated: These corporations fuel the climate crisis. Theyre making huge profits from global disaster, and hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

The group said they stand in solidarity with all people harmed by the climate crisis, including people in the global south who have lost their homes, their livelihoods and been forced to migrate.

They also expressed their solidarity with people in the UK, including those whose homes have been flooded, whose health has been damaged by air pollution, and those who continue to suffer the dire consequences of corporate greed and political negligence.

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@edbookfest returns this weekend to the beautiful and relaxing setting of @eca_edinburgh.



Come and join the conversation, search for your new favourite book, meet authors and writers and relax in the idyllic surroundings.



Explore the full programme now. https://t.co/5M9r4uEOfj pic.twitter.com/1bO7IKg7M6  Edinburgh Festivals (@edfests) August 9, 2023

Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of There Are More Things, said: This summer has been defined by global wildfires, flooding and extreme heat: the climate crisis is here.

In the midst of climate breakdown, Baillie Gifford is investing almost 5 billion into the cause of this crisis: companies that profit from the fossil fuel industry.

Edinburgh International Book Festival allowing them to sponsor cultural events gives them a social licence to continue funding the destruction of our only home.

Mikaela Loach, author of Its Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World stated: Edinburgh International Book Festival wouldnt burn books, so why are they OK with burning the planet?

Baillie Giffords whopping 5 billion in investments in corporations making money from the fossil fuel industry is unjustifiable in a climate crisis caused and exacerbated by these same companies who have invested more into climate denial and delay than they have into green energy.

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Edinburgh International Book Festival must stand by their Climate Positive commitment and drop Baillie Gifford as a sponsor.

Guy Gunaratne, the author of Mister, Mister, said: In recent years the Edinburgh International Book Festival has gone a long way in facilitating conversations about climate and environmental justice, featuring some of the most prominent authors currently writing on the issue.

For these conversations to go beyond words on the page, they must send a clear message to their sponsors.

We call on them to show us that they truly understand the urgency of the situation, and its impact on peoples lives worldwide.

Responding to the letter, Mr Barley said: We fully acknowledge your concerns about the devastating impact of fossil fuel exploitation on the climate  as individuals, and as a charity, we firmly agree.

For these reasons, we promise to think about your letter carefully. The last thing we want is to let anyone give the impression we are on opposite sides.

Just as we promise to listen carefully to you, we ask that you allow us some time to consider your comments. Wed also like to share with you the reasons why we have accepted this sponsorship agreement.

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Like all arts organisations in the UK, we wouldnt have enough funds to operate without private sponsorship. We looked very closely at the work of Baillie Gifford, and it seems to us that they are, in fact, investing in companies that are seeking to resolve the crisis.

Those companies include Orsted, the Danish windfarm specialist.

Orsted was mandated by the Danish government to keep two coal-fired power stations open until 2024 as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine  and that is the only reason why a small percentage of their income still comes from fossil fuels.

I hope you will talk with me and my colleagues, and discuss the complexities of this issue with us.
Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington have reunited for an appearance on the front cover of Vogue.

The supers, known for the modelling work they did in the 1980s and 1990s, last appeared on the cover of Vogue together in January 1990, as well as a special issue marking the magazines 100th anniversary in 1992.

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The 1990 issue also featured German model Tatjana Patitz, who died in January.

Talking about the bond they formed, Campbell, 53, told British Vogue: There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: when one is down you pick the other one up.

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She also revealed what it was like to face discrimination in the workplace and said: Why was it that I was doing the same job as my colleagues and had to take less money?

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Why was I booked for the shows but not the ads? I was not close-mouthed.

Speaking on diversity in the fashion industry, she added: Whats driving me now is seeing that opportunities are being given.

The models look back on their careers in a video in which they discuss the dawn of the supermodel era.

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Turlington, 54, says: There was something about our early years that really felt very joyful and very celebratory, even though life was certainly not perfect, the business was not perfect, the world was not perfect.

British Vogue September issue 2023 cover (Rafael Pavarotti/ British Vogue)

But when you look back there is this sense of joyfulness and playfulness.

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The lives of Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista and Turlington are the subject of an Apple TV+ documentary series called The Super Models, which explores how the foursome dominated the elite modelling world from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.

They are set to appear on the covers of both British and American Vogue, with unique cover images for each publication.

See the full feature in the September issue of British Vogue, available by digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday August 22.
Three minor siblings who were the subject of child abduction proceedings have been returned to England by their father, the High Court has heard.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons had on Thursday directed the Gardai to issue a Child Rescue Ireland or CRI alert in respect of the children.

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When the matter returned before the court on Friday the judge was told the children had been taken to Liverpool by their father Pedro Da Silva, after boarding a ferry from Belfast on Thursday morning.

The court heard that on their arrival to Liverpool the English authorities had stopped and interviewed Mr Da Silva but had not identified any child welfare concerns and no criminal charges have been brought against him.

Mr Da Silva, who gave the English authorities an address in Liverpool, was then released.

Orders struck out

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Any further steps in the matter, is an issue for the English authorities Mr Justice Simons was also told.

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As a result of their return the judge agreed that the orders made in respect of the children and their father could be struck out.

The children had been residing in Ireland after being taken from England by Mr Da Silva in December of last year.

The children's mother, Ms Alice Da Silva and who is separated from Mr Da Silva, claimed they had been brought here without her consent and in breach of joint custody orders issued by the English Courts.

She successfully obtained orders from the Irish Courts, under the Hague Convention, the international agreement which governs alleged 'child abduction', for their return to England, which is the country of their habitual residence.

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Matters then escalated when Mr Da Silva, who opposed the application for their return, failed to comply with a Court-set deadline to facilitate the children's return to England.

Failure to appear

Arising out of that failure, the High Court on Thursday directed the Garda to issue a CRI Alert in respect of the siblings due to concerns about their safety and welfare, and that Mr Da Silva be arrested and brought before the Court to answer his alleged contempt.

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On Friday Anthony McBride SC, appearing with Alex Finn Bl, instructed by solicitors for the Irish Legal Aid Board for Mrs Da Silva said as the children were back in England meant the purpose of the child abduction proceedings had been fulfilled.

The bulk of the orders made by the court could now be struck out, counsel said.

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Counsel said that An Garda Siochana deserved to be "commended for their diligence" in trying to locate the children.

After liaising with various different authorities in Ireland and the UK the Gardai discovered that on Thursday. August 10th Mr Da Silva had boarded the 10.30am Ferry from Belfast and had arrived in Liverpool around 6pm that evening.

However, in what was "a unique case" counsel said that Mr Da Silva had "misled the court."

He had sent emails on Thursday stating that he intended to "fly back with the children" to England that night, while at the same time he was travelling to Liverpool.

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Prior to his departure Mr Da Silva had acted in "complete contempt" of orders made by the court by not handing over the children to the authorities here, counsel said.

In light of those actions counsel said his client was seeking an order directing Mr Da Silva to pay its legal costs of the proceedings.

In addition, counsel asked the court to adjourn the proceedings generally, rather than dismiss them in their entirely, should Mr Da Silva ever return to this jurisdiction with the children.

Mr Justice Simons agreed with counsel and adjourned the child abduction proceedings generally and struck out the bulk of the subsequent orders made against Mr Da Silva.

The Judge said he was leaving in place his order allowing the media to identify the parties.

The anonymity of the parties had been lifted in order to allow the Gardai to put the names and images of the children in the public domain as part of their efforts to locate the siblings.

The court said that it would not be correct at this stage to reverse his earlier decision and direct the media to take down articles published about the case.

The issue of costs, the judge ruled is to be considered by his colleague, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty, who had determined and given judgement on the main child abduction proceedings.
The funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre Finn will take place in Dublin on Friday.

She was killed while off duty in a fire onboard a boat in Co Leitrim on Monday.

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Det Garda Finn, known to her friends as Dee, was sleeping in a boat docked at the marina in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, when it caught fire.

The alarm was raised on Monday morning and emergency services rushed to the scene.

Her colleagues said it had been her dream to own a boat and spend time on the Shannon.

She was based in Dun Laoghaire Garda Station in Co Dublin and had been active in the Garda Representative Association in that district.

Her funeral will take place at midday on Friday in St John the Evangelist Church in Ballinteer in Dublin.

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She will then be buried at Kilmashogue Cemetary in Rathfarnham.

Her colleagues have said she was a pleasure to work with, and she was known widely within An Garda Siochana.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has "expressed its continuing concern at the excessive number of children waiting for an appointment to be treated or assessed in public hospitals".

The warning from consultants comes as the latest National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) figures released today reveal that 895,700 people were on some form of hospital waiting list at the end of July, including almost 100,800 children and young people.

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While a recent report highlighted the extent of "extreme" capacity shortages in Irelands Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs), the IHCAs analysis shows that similar capacity deficits are resulting in lengthy waiting lists across a number of paediatric specialities.

These include ear, nose and throat (ENT), dermatology, orthopaedics and cardiology  with some being forced to wait months or years for assessment or treatment.

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The IHCA said that difficulty in filling permanent consultant posts and growing hospital and mental health capacity deficits against increases in demand are the root causes of the "unacceptably long" child waiting lists.

One in five (20,600) children are waiting longer than a year for treatment or assessment by a hospital consultant. Latest HSE data reveals the number of unfilled permanent consultant posts has risen to a record 933. This is the highest consultant vacancy rate ever.

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CTs, MRIs, ultrasounds

Hospital diagnostics are not included in NTPF data which accounts for an additional 8,916 children awaiting CTs, MRIs or ultrasounds at the three Dublin paediatric hospitals alone, bringing the total number awaiting care to almost 110,000  or one in 12 children in the country.

In addition, a near record 4,421 children were on separate Camhs waiting lists at the end of May 2023  128 (3 per cent) additional children added so far this year.

The Camhs waiting list has increased by almost a quarter (+865 or 24 per cent) since the start of 2022 and has almost doubled (+2,094 or +90 per cent) since the start of 2020.

Despite the Governments 443 million waiting list action plan, which set a target to reduce waiting lists by 10 per cent by the end of the year, "the number of children on NTPF waiting lists has actually increased by 3,800 (4 per cent) since the start of 2023, instead of reducing by an expected 5,600 by the end of July".

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The association warns that these lists are expected to increase further over the coming months due to a surge in autumn and winter respiratory illnesses and a potential new wave of Covid, leading to further cancellations of schedule care.

Commenting on todays waiting lists, IHCA President Professor Robert Landers, said:

The monthly NTPF figures have recorded over 100,000 children on waiting lists for hospital care for the fifth consecutive month, with one in five of these children waiting longer than a year to be treated or assessed in public hospitals. This is resulting in thousands of children not getting the care they need in a timely way, and the real possibility that they will suffer serious and lasting health and developmental issues that could have been reversed or mitigated against if only they were seen in time."

Prof Landers added: Every single number is an individual child or young person who could be experiencing pain, and a family that may be suffering psychological distress at not knowing when their child will be able to receive treatment. This is a wholly unacceptable situation. Young patients and their parents should not have to fight for care.

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As consultants, we need and want sustainable solutions to help alleviate this distress and provide the care these children so desperately need. However, we have unresolved hospital capacity deficits and consultant vacancies that is not being addressed urgently enough. These twin deficits must be addressed by the Government in Octobers Budget.
A Dublin mother accused of repeatedly kicking an unconscious US tourist in the face during a vicious robbery has been refused bail and sent forward for trial.

Sarah Dunne (31), who is of no fixed address, but previously had accommodation in Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, was charged with assault causing harm to the holiday-maker and robbing him on April 27th at Oliver Bond Street, Dublin 8.

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She appeared at Dublin District Court on Friday to be served with a book of evidence and faced objections to bail.

She denies the charges, Judge Ciaran Liddy heard.

Garda Eimear Redmond cited the seriousness of the incident and alleged the accused and two others viciously assaulted and took a number of personal items from the injured party, including his bank card, wallet, $100 and phone.

She said attackers could be seen on CCTV footage. Garda Redmond alleged the accused, who denies involvement, can be seen kicking the injured party, as he lay unconscious on the ground, numerous amounts of times.

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She added, And can be seen hitting him straight into the face leaving a large open laceration over his forehead.

Garda Redmond claimed the accused could also be seen going through his pockets.

Gardai arrested Ms Dunne 300 metres away while paramedics treated the tourist, who later went to a doctor.

He has since left Ireland.

The garda agreed with defence counsel Kevin McCrave that the accused mentioned that she had health difficulties.

The barrister told Judge Liddy his client had a child, came from a good and supportive family and would obey strict bail terms.

However, Judge Liddy declined the bail application.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had directed trial on indictment at a higher level with broader sentencing g powers.

Judge Liddy granted an order sending Ms Dunne forward for trial in custody to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case will be listed for mention on October 13th. Legal aid was granted.
A coroner has stressed the importance of people with food allergies always carrying an EpiPen after a young foreign tourist to Ireland suffered a fatal anaphylactic shock after forgetting to bring one with her when visiting a friends house for dinner.

Giulia De Simone (21), a student from London, died as a result of an extreme allergic reaction to a piece of meat with sauce containing peanuts in Dublin two years ago, an inquest has heard.

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Ms De Simone was pronounced dead at the Mater Hospital in Dublin on March 27th 2021 just hours after inadvertently consuming a small portion of food containing peanuts.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Friday heard Ms De Simone had a known allergy to peanuts from early childhood as well as being asthmatic and coeliac.

Allergy

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Ms De Simones boyfriend, Jackson Bannon, told the inquest that he and his girlfriend had been staying at the Zanzibar Locke Hotel on Ormond Quay in Dublin for a few days before they went to visit a friend in Mayor Square in the docklands area for dinner on the evening of March 26th 2021.

Mr Bannon said their friend gave them food that his mother had made which he believed was a Nigerian dish which was steak marinated in a sauce.

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He said Ms De Simone only asked what the food was after she had already taken a bite and was informed it contained peanuts.Mr Bannon said he freaked out at hearing this as he was aware of his girlfriends allergy.

Although they had only been in a relationship for a month, Mr Bannon said she had often spoken about how serious her allergy was and that she carried an EpiPen at all times.

However, the inquest heard that Ms De Simone had left her EpiPen at the bottom of her suitcase which was in their hotel room.

Mr Bannon said Ms De Simone rushed back to the hotel on a rental bike, while he and their friend took a Luas back there.

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He told the coroner, Clare Keane, that his girlfriend was struggling to breathe by the time she managed to administer the EpiPen.

Fighting back tears, Mr Bannon recalled how Ms De Simone fell out of a lift and collapsed before an ambulance arrived at the hotel, while he tried to administer CPR.

In reply to questions from Dr Keane, Mr Bannon said his girlfriend had been in perfect form before the incident.

EpiPen

He said Ms De Simone had not made any comment at any time while they were out about not having her EpiPen.

Mr Bannon said she had just tasted the piece of meat which was like a piece of beef and had taken a small bite off a spoon.

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You wouldnt think there was anything in it, he remarked. Mr Bannon said nobody had thought about calling an ambulance at that stage as Ms De Simone had shown no signs of any allergic reaction.

However, he said his girlfriend was not doing well by the time she got to administer her EpiPen in her thigh back at the hotel.

Mr Bannon said she was finding it difficult to speak, while her face had started to swell. He said the dosage from the EpiPin only seemed to make her condition worse.

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The inquest heard paramedics had given Ms De Simone six more doses of adrenaline before she had arrived at the Mater as she was in cardiac arrest when they arrived at the hotel.

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The coroner was also informed that no heartbeat could be detected from the deceased on admission at the hospital.

Garda Christopher Galvin gave evidence of being alerted to the sudden death of a young female who was brought to the Mater.

Garda Galvin said Ms De Simone had arrived at the hospital at 12.59am and was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

The students father, Mark De Simone, told the inquest that his daughter was very diligent about keeping all the medical devices and medication she needed to treat her various conditions.

She was very compliant with whatever she had to take, he recalled.

Mr De Simone said his daughter had suffered several allergic reactions to peanuts before including once in Israel when they were only in the air.

Her mother, Elena De Simone, said her daughter had to be hospitalised on a number of occasions with the previous serious allergic reaction occurring in May 2019.

She told the inquest that Giulia would even suffer a reaction if her skin was touched with a peanut.

Ms De Simone said her daughter had always carried her EpiPen with her but unfortunately when she needed it most, she didnt have it.

Dr Keane said post-mortem results confirmed that the cause of death was an anaphylactic shock from a peanut allergy.

Offering her condolences to Ms De Simones parents who attended the inquest by video link, the coroner said it was possible that their daughters decision to take a taste of the food off the spoon was impulsive given how careful she usually was about her allergy.

Dr Keane recorded a verdict of death by misadventure to reflect the fact that she had died as a result of an unintended outcome of taking a small bite of food.

The coroner said it could not be emphasised enough how important it was for people who suffer from allergies to always carry an EpiPen with them.

The early administration of an EpiPen matters and it is vital it is done in the first few minutes, said Dr Keane.
Russia is scheduled to launch its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years on Friday, racing to land on the lunar south pole before a spacecraft from India gets there.

The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon will be Russias first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union and will be conducted without assistance from the European Space Agency, which ended co-operation with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

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The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on August 23rd, around about the same day as an Indian craft that was launched on July 14th.

Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moons south pole.

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The Luna-25 mission is set to launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome (Roscosmos State Space Corporation/AP)

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Roscosmos, Russias space agency, said it wants to show Russia is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon, and ensure Russias guaranteed access to the moons surface.

Study of the moon is not the goal, Vitaliy Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst, said. The goal is political competition between two superpowers  China and the USA  and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.

Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space program. The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover, but that idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts say.

Foreign electronics are lighter, domestic electronics are heavier, Mr Egorov said. While scientists might have the task of studying lunar water, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon  to recover lost Soviet expertise and learn how to perform this task in a new era.

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The Luna-25 will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russias Far East. The spaceport is a pet project of Russian president Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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The mission hopes to be Russias first successful moon landing in nearly 50 years (Roscosmos State Space Corporation/AP)

It is unclear if Mr Putin will attend the launch of the lunar lander. In 2016, he was present at the failed launch of a Soyuz rocket, after which Russian media reported he seriously rebuked officials.

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A previous Indian attempt to land at the moons south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moons surface.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water.

The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.

The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face, said Dr Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britains Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory.

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The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moons environment ahead of building any base there, otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted, Dr Bloomer said.
"Qhapaq Nan: The Great Inca Road" exhibition is held at Gallery Banditrazos in northeastern Seoul's Seongbuk District until Aug. 19 to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Peru. Courtesy of Embassy of Peru in Korea



By Kwon Mee-yoo



The Inca Road, also known as Qhapaq Nan, represents the extensive communication, trade and defense network that once stretched over 30,000 kilometers connecting various parts of the Inca Empire.



The Embassy of Peru in Korea is holding a photo exhibition titled "Qhapaq Nan: The Great Inca Road," showcasing the majesty of the spine of the Inca Empire at Gallery Banditrazos in northeastern Seoul's Seongbuk District until Aug. 19, celebrating the cultural ties between Korea and Peru as the two countries commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations as well as the 202nd anniversary of Peru's independence.



Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Paul Duclos emphasized the importance of the Qhapaq Nan in understanding Peruvian history.



"To know this extensive network of communications, in the difficult Peruvian geography crossed by the Andes, is to understand much of the evolution of our history and especially the magnitude of our Andean heritage," Duclos said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, July 30.





Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Paul Duclos delivers a speech during the opening ceremony for "Qhapaq Nan: The Great Inca Road" exhibition at Gallery Banditrazos in northeastern Seoul's Seongbuk District, July 30. Courtesy of Embassy of Peru in Korea



This exhibition offers visitors a chance to walk through time and explore the beauty and complexity of this ancient trail system through carefully curated photographs.



The ambassador explained the complexity of the Inca Road that once intertwined the vast expanses of the Inca Empire.



"This road is a heritage built over many centuries of Andean civilization and was later articulated by the Incas as part of an integrating political project called Tawantinsuyu. Along its 5,000-kilometer stretch are amazing archaeological sites and incredible natural beauty surrounded by unique flora and fauna as you will see in these photos," he said.



Duclos also related the Andean road system to Koreans' love of mountain climbing.



"We believe that this exhibition will be of great interest in a country like Korea, where trekking or hiking is also a widespread practice. Similarly, we seek to disseminate to the Korean population the many opportunities for adventure trekking in our country to sites of such historical value as Machu Picchu or Choquequirao," he said.





"Qhapaq Nan: The Great Inca Road" exhibition at Gallery Banditrazo sheds light on the ancient Incan communication, trade and defense network. Courtesy of Gallery Banditrazos
A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighbourhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition as the death toll rose to at least 36, with an untold number missing.

A flyover of the historic town of Lahaina showed entire neighbourhoods that had once been a vibrant vision of colour and island life reduced to grey ash.

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Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street where tourists shopped and dined just days ago.

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Boats in the harbour were scorched and smoke hovered over the town, which dates back to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the islands west side.

Tiffany Kidder Winns gift store, Whalers Locker, which is one of the towns oldest shops, was among the many businesses destroyed.

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As she assessed the damage on Thursday, she came upon a line of burned-out vehicles, some with charred bodies inside them.

It looked like they were trying to get out, but were stuck in traffic and couldnt get off Front Street, she said. She later spotted a body leaning against a seawall.

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Ms Winn said the destruction was so widespread I couldnt even tell where I was because all the landmarks were gone.

The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui revealed a wasteland of burned homes and obliterated communities (Rick Bowmer/AP

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island and feasting on homes and anything else that lay in its path.

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The official death toll stood at 36 late on Wednesday, making it the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

The Hawaii toll could still rise, though, as rescuers reach parts of the island that had been inaccessible due to obstructions of the three ongoing fires, including the one in Lahaina that was 80 per cent contained on Thursday, according to Maui County news.

More than 270 structures have been damaged or destroyed and dozens of people have been injured, including some critically.

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Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said: We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern.

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He said search and rescue teams still will not be able to access certain areas until the fire lines are secure and they are sure they will be able to get to those areas safely.

The historic town of Lahaina and its famous Front Street had been bustling with tourists just days earlier (Bosco Jr Bae/AP)

The flames left some people with mere minutes to act and led some to flee into the ocean.

Bosco Bae, a Lahaina man, shared a video on Facebook from Tuesday evening that showed fire burning nearly every building on a street as sirens blared and wind-blown sparks raced by.

Mr Bae, who said he was one of the last people to leave the town, was evacuated to the islands main airport and was waiting to be allowed to return home.

Marlon Vasquez, a 31-year-old cook from Guatamala who came to the US in January of last year, said that when he heard the fire alarms, it was already too late to flee in his car.

I opened the door and the fire was almost on top of us, he told The Associated Press. We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didnt stop.

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Mr Vasquez and his brother Eduardo escaped via roads that were clogged with vehicles full of people. The smoke was so toxic that he vomited.

He said that he is not sure whether his roommates and neighbours made it to safety.

People fled from the smoke and flames by escaping into the ocean (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui/AP)

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described their harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies on Tuesday afternoon.

The couple and their six-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.

We barely made it out, Ms Kawaakoa (34) said, still unsure whether anything was left of their apartment.

The family fled and as they called 911, they saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility across the road erupt in flames.

Communications have been spotty on the island, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times.

Chelsey Vierras grandmother, Louise Abihai, was living at Hale Mahaolu and the family does not know if she was able to escape.

She doesnt have a phone. Shes 97 years old, Ms Vierra said. She can walk. She is strong.

Its tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii  a place thats so special to so many of us. Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down.



If youd like to help, you can do so here. Advertisement  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 10, 2023

Relatives are monitoring shelter lists and calling hospitals.

We have got to find our loved one, but theres no communication here, said Ms Vierra. We dont know who to ask about where she went.

As the fires raged, tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 people flew out of Maui on Wednesday, with at least another 1,500 expected to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Centre in Honolulu to take in the thousands who have been displaced.

In coastal town of Kihei, south-east of Lahaina, wide swathes of ground glowed red with embers as flames continued to chew through trees and buildings.

Gusty winds blew sparks over a black and orange patchwork of charred earth and still-crackling hot spots.

The fires were fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south.

Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

It is the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

Thomas Smith an associate professor in environmental geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science said wildfires arent unusual in Hawaii, but the weather of the past few weeks created the fuel for a devastating blaze and, once ignited, the high winds created the disaster.

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Mayor Mitch Roth said the Big Island is also currently seeing blazes, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there.

Power was out in parts of Maui, with cellular service unavailable also, making it difficult for many to check in with friends and family. Some were posting messages on social media.

Major General Kenneth Hara, of the Hawaii State Department of Defence, told reporters that officials were working to get communications restored, distribute water, and possibly add law enforcement personnel.

Satellite images show an overview of southern Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, left, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, August 9 (Maxar Technologies via AP)

He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons (568,000 litters) of water on the Maui fires.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who had jumped into the water to escape the flames and smoke.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr said that officials had not yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires.

Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds started blowing hard on Tuesday and then somehow a fire started up on a hillside.

It just ripped through everything with amazing speed, he said, adding it was like a blowtorch.

Mr Farinelli said the winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car inside.

A friend drove him, his wife, Judit, and their dog, Susi, to an evacuation shelter.

He has no idea what had happened to their home.

Were hoping for the best, he said, but were pretty sure its gone.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui.

While traveling in Utah on Thursday, Mr Biden pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone who has lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.

Mr Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.
US president Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden may be headed for trial on criminal charges after talks on a potential plea deal reached impasse, the newly named US special counsel in the case, David Weiss, said on Friday.

Moments earlier, US attorney general Merrick Garland elevated Mr Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has been handling the case, to special counsel status, which would give him additional authority to continue his investigation.

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Republicans in Congress have threatened an impeachment inquiry into unproven claims that Mr Biden benefited from his son's business ventures.

Tax and gun charges

Mr Weiss filed criminal tax and gun charges against Hunter Biden in June, but a federal judge rejected a proposed plea deal. Mr Weiss said in a court filing on Friday that the two sides are at an impasse and a trial is likely.

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Mr Weiss, originally appointed to his position as US attorney for Delaware by Republican president Donald Trump, began investigating Hunter Biden in 2019. He was allowed to stay on during the Biden administration. His appointment as special counsel gives him more independence than federal prosecutors usually enjoy.

It is not clear whether the appointment is in response to political pressure from Republicans, or whether it signals a broader investigation of Hunter Biden's business dealings that could lead to further criminal charges.

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Mr Weiss will produce a report when his work is done, Mr Garland said, and the Justice Department will make as much of it public as is possible.

"The appointment of Mr. Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland said at a news conference. He did not take questions.

Mr Garland said Mr Weiss had requested the appointment earlier in the week.

Republicans have accused the elder Biden of profiting from his son's business ventures in Ukraine and China, though they have yet to produce any evidence of wrongdoing. House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy said in July that the chamber might launch an impeachment inquiry in the autumn.

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'Insane conspiracy theories'

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The White House has dismissed those allegations as "insane conspiracy theories" and has said that Mr Biden did not participate in his son's business affairs. A years-long inquiry conducted by Mr Weiss has not turned up any evidence that Hunter used his father's political power for personal gain.

Hunter Biden, 53, has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, consultant and investment banker and has said he has struggled with alcoholism and crack cocaine use.

Mr Weiss charged Hunter Biden with failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and unlawfully owning a firearm while addicted to illegal drugs.

A federal judge in July rejected a deal that would have allowed Mr Biden to plead guilty to the tax charges and avoid the gun charge.

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Special counsel Jack Smith has filed two criminal cases against Mr Trump - one accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat to Mr Biden and a second that alleges he improperly took sensitive government documents with him when he left the White House and tried to prevent officials from recovering them.

Another special counsel, Robert Hur, is probing whether Mr Biden mishandled classified documents after he left office as vice president in 2017.

Hunter Biden has been a focus of several Republican congressional committees.

One former associate told the House Oversight Committee that Hunter gave an impression that he emphasised his family ties while he was doing business in Ukraine nearly a decade ago, while his father was vice president. That witness, Devon Archer, said Hunter spoke with his father daily but said the conversations did not involve business dealings.

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Mr Trump also has frequently mentioned the younger Biden in an attempt to tar his father as the two gear up for a possible rematch in the 2024 presidential election.

A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found half of Americans, including 75 per cent of Republicans and 33 per cent of Democrats, believed the younger Biden received preferential treatment from Mr Weiss. But most said that would not affect their vote next year.
A federal judge on Friday granted former US president Donald Trump leeway to publicly share some non-sensitive evidence that will be used in his trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, but she also warned him to tread carefully about making inflammatory public statements.

Even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel- if they can be reasonably be interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors - can threaten the process," US District Judge Tanya Chutkan said on Friday.

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I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.

Ms Chutkan's warning came at a federal court hearing on Friday where prosecutors and Mr Trump's lawyers hashed out disagreements over how much evidence in the case Mr Trump can share with the public.

Confidential evidence

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Ms Chutkan's decision to permit Mr Trump to share some non-sensitive material went against the objections of prosecutors, who pointed to threatening messages Mr Trump posted last week on social media as evidence that he might try to use details of the confidential evidence to intimidate witnesses.

The judge ruled that the government had not met its burden to show why all of the evidence should be subject to a "protective order," which safeguards evidence from being shared with the public in order to prevent witness intimidation or tainting a jury pool.

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However, she warned that Mr Trump is nevertheless subject to release conditions which ban him from intimidating witnesses and said she will be watching his statements and "scrutinising them very carefully".

The government will still be allowed to petition the court for certain pieces of evidence to be covered by the order, and Ms Chutkan also on Friday agreed with prosecutors and rejected an argument by Mr Trump's lawyers that the hundreds of transcripts of witness interviews, recordings and related exhibits are sensitive and cannot be publicly shared.

He is a criminal defendant. He is going to have restrictions like every single other defendant. This case is proceeding in the normal order, Ms Chutkan said.

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The fact the defendant is engaged in a political campaign is not going to allow him any greater or lesser latitude than any defendant in a criminal case."

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It is standard practice for federal prosecutors to request protective orders before sharing evidence with defence lawyers to protect confidential records and ensure the integrity of the trial.

Often, defence lawyers do not oppose them because doing so slows down the government's production of evidence, a process known as "discovery," to help them prepare.

But Mr Trump's attorneys argued that the scope of the protective order was too broad, and ran afoul of his free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

"This kind of blanket order is extraordinary," Mr Trump's lawyer John Lauro said on Friday. "We have to face the fact we are in uncharted waters."

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Federal prosecutors revealed on Friday that they intend to soon release to Trump's defence team 11.6 million pages and records of evidence, in addition to a hard drive containing images extracted from electronic devices.

The charges at issue in Friday's hearing are one of three prosecutions currently targeting Mr Trump, the clear front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

In Friday's case, he has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that he orchestrated a plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to keep himself in power.

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The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision, Ms Chutkan said on Friday.

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I'm coming after you.

The government's request for a protective order cited a threatening message Mr Trump posted last week on social media: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU."

"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," prosecutors wrote in their motion.

Since then, Mr Trump has also attacked Mr Smith's character as well as that of former vice president Mike Pence, a key witness in the case, calling his former No.2 "delusional".

As a condition of his release, Mr Trump agreed he would not try to intimidate or threaten any witnesses in the case.

Mr Trump is separately facing a second set of charges brought by Mr Smith's office in Florida for retaining highly classified records after leaving the White House and New York state charges over hush-money payments to a porn star.

He has pleaded not guilty in all three cases.
An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against US president Joe Biden has been described by family and neighbours as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as a corrupt and overreaching government.

The family insisted that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalised.

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Mr Robertson, who public records say was 74-years-old, was killed on Wednesday by agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home hours before the president landed in Utah to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, about 45 miles away.

Prosecutors had filed three felony charges against Mr Robertson under seal for alleged threats, including one this week that he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle in anticipation of Mr Bidens Utah visit.

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Mr Biden visited Salt Lake City in Utah on the day Mr Robertson was killed (AP)

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The self-employed woodworker was largely homebound and had limited mobility, his family said.

Mr Robertson referred to himself as a Maga Trumper, a reference to former US president Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan, and posted threats including against Mr Biden, the FBI and numerous law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump, according to an FBI affidavit.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech, Mr Robertsons family said in a statement posted to social media.

The statement added that he was a decent man who voiced his sometimes intemperate grievances in what has become the public square of our age  the internet.

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The family added that it had no animosity against law enforcement agents who took part in the events leading up to his death.

The salient point is that he was never actually going to hurt anyone, family member Julie Robertson said in a text message. He didnt even leave his house on the day of the presidential visit.

The FBI investigation began following a March tip about a threat Robertson made on Mr Trumps social media platform, Truth Social.

Mr Robertson also referenced a presidential assassination and posted threats against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, US attorney general Merrick Garland and New York attorney general Letitia James, authorities said.

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He called for assassinating the president and vice president, called an assault rifle a Democrat eradicator and regularly posted photos of firearms accompanied by threatening messages, they said.

The house where Mr Robertson was killed by FBI agents (AP)

In Provo, a growing area south of Salt Lake City known for outdoor recreation and Brigham Young University, several of Robertsons neighbours said they witnessed and filmed parts of the FBI raid.

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They echoed the familys account, questioning whether the elderly veteran they knew was a credible threat to the president in light of his social media posts.

Multiple neighbours said they could hear law enforcement agents identifying themselves as FBI broadcasting on a vehicle loudspeaker to demand Mr Robertson exit his home.

Roughly 20 law enforcement agents came to Mr Robertsons house, on a cul-de-sac, at about 6am local time on Wednesday, according to neighbour Jon Michael Ossola.

Mr Ossola said he heard them tell Mr Robertson to come outside and Mr Robertson yelling back, saying he had not committed any federal crimes.

The shouting escalated until a window was broken, Mr Ossola said, then he heard a cacophony of bangs and eventually saw agents bring Mr Robertsons body outside. It was clear he was gone, Mr Ossola said.

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I understand that, like, he had guns, and he had mentioned that he would use them, and so theres definitely a concern there, Mr Ossola said. But it still felt, like, a bit unsettling about how many people were there and just kind of how forceful it felt.

Mr Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources.

His body remained on the scene for several hours until forensic investigators while police began to remove what Mr Robertsons next door neighbour Katie Monson described as an arsenal of firearms from his home and the sheds behind it.

Ms Monson said Mr Robertson was a kind and played with kids in neighbours yards. She likened the contrast between his in-person demeanour and online persona to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

She said: After living next to this guy for six years, hes just like this super sweet grandpa for the most part.

Yes, he has rants and opinions. I cant speak to his online life, but he had a peaceful, religious, community-centred side to him. That was how he presented himself in everyday life.
Tensions are escalating between Nigers new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Nigers flailing democracy.

The Ecowas bloc said it has directed a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

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Hours earlier, two Western officials told AP that Nigers junta had informed a top US diplomat they would kill Mr Bazoum if neighbouring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It is unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it.



Stranded trucks with goods are seen at the border between Nigeria and Niger in Jibia (AP)

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Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

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After the Ecowas meeting, neighbouring Ivory Coasts president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements  We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Mr Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group thats ravaged the region.

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France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.



Analysts say the bloc known as Ecowas might be running out of options as support fades for a military intervention (AP)

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Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS is not in touch with the reality on the ground and should not intervene.

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Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident who says Mr Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, said: It is our business, not theirs. They dont even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger.

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey waving Russian flags and screaming down with France.

Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

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Also on Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS decision and called on the junta to urgently halt the escalation with the regional organisation.

It also called for the immediate release of Mr Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger expected on Saturday was postponed.

On Thursday night after the summit, Frances foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted.



Supporters of Nigers ruling junta marched towards the French military base shouting down with France, carrying signs and waving Russian flags (Sam Mednick/AP

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of Ecowas to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum.

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However, he did not specify whether the US supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers who ousted Mr Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president.

Representatives of the junta told US under secretary of state Victoria Nuland of the threat to Mr Bazoums life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said.



Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, addresses supporters of Nigers ruling junta in Niamey, Niger, last Sunday (AP)

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Mr Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said on Friday that it had spoken to Mr Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor.

The president said he has not had electricity for nearly 10 days and is not allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

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It is unclear if the threat on Mr Bazoums life would change Ecowass decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An Ecowas invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Nigers size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for Ecowas. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.
New York: A US judge on Saturday (AEST) revoked Sam Bankman-Frieds bail, after finding probable cause that the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange tampered with witnesses at least twice.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan announced the decision at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, less than two months before the scheduled October fraud trial.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrives at court. Credit: Reuters

He rejected a defence request to delay Bankman-Frieds detention pending appeal of the bail revocation.

The decision could complicate Bankman-Frieds efforts to prepare for trial, where the 31-year-old former billionaire faces charges of having stolen billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund.
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From Sydney it takes three flights and some 4000 kilometres of travel to reach Gulkula, the ceremonial site for the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land where the Garma festival is held annually.

As a Palawa man and an Indigenous photographer, covering Garma in 2023 takes me right back to February 13, 2008, listening to Kevin Rudds apology speech. Not only was it a significant day for reconciliation in Australia, but as a 19-year-old, I remember feeling for the first time a momentum that has only recently been realised.

The opening ceremony of Garma. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Fifteen years later, I am one of a large media contingent that has landed in this remote part of north-east Arnhem land. We are here to witness the gathering of key Indigenous leaders and figures from across Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese give a resolute speech. This is my first visit to Garma and the range of emotions is palpable. Excitement, stress, awe .... and a bit of hunger too.

The humidity and heat add to the adrenalin overdrive; unlike covering the halls of Parliament House in Canberra, where I usually work, there is something surreal about being part of this event in this significant time.

This years Garma festival comes at a time when conversations about the Voice are at an all-time high. I felt an unmissable buzz almost immediately walking into the bunggul (ceremony) grounds lugging about 20 kilograms of camera gear.
Its the ultimate moral quandary played out in real life: $10.5 million is accidentally deposited into your bank account  do you board a plane and live a life of luxury somewhere without an extradition treaty, or give the money back?

Adding to the predicament, the international cryptocurrency firm that put the money in the account didnt notice the sum missing for six months.

Thevamanogari Manivel outside the County Court on Friday. Credit: Justin McManus

Thevamanogari Manivel, a 41-year-old Malaysian national, had to confront that exact dilemma.

Manivel pleaded guilty on Friday to recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime after currency giant crypto.com mistakenly deposited $10.5 million into her Commonwealth Bank account, instead of a $100 refund.
A mother has been left with serious head injuries and a broken arm after she was allegedly attacked by a stranger with a hammer outside a service station in Perths south.

Fiona, who did not want to share her last name, was buying a bottle of water from a Rockingham station along Dixon Road in the early hours of Saturday morning when she was approached.

I turned around to him and he just looked, he just said to me: do you want to get hammered?, she told Nine News Perth.

I was on the ground. I just kept on pleading with him telling him I had kids and that ... I couldnt die.
A 42-year-old teacher has faced court accused of sexually abusing one of his female students at a private school in Perths north.

The man  who lives in Warwick and teaches design and technology  has been charged with two counts of indecently dealing with a child over 13 and under 16 over alleged incidents between May 31 and June 28.

The teacher is on bail over the alleged sexual abuse of one of his female students. Credit: iStock

This masthead has chosen not to name the man or the school to protect the identity of the alleged victim.

The man appeared in Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday morning, where his bail conditions were read out.
In this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry, Foreign Minister Park Jin, left, poses with his Zambian counterpart, Stanley Kasongo Kakubo, in Zambia, Aug. 10. Yonhap



The top diplomats of Korea and Zambia have held talks in the African nation to discuss Seoul's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, supply chain cooperation for key minerals and other issues, the foreign ministry here said Friday.



Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Zambian counterpart, Stanley Kasongo Kakubo, met Thursday (local time) as Park was in Zambia as part of his overseas trip that includes visits to Ethiopia, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates.



Park's multination trip comes as Seoul is ramping up diplomatic efforts to enlist international support for its bid to host the expo in its southeastern city of Busan. The host nation is slated to be selected in November.



Park stressed the need to step up "strategic cooperation" with Zambia, which he described as a country that acts as a regional hub, sharing borders with eight other countries in Africa, according to the ministry.



The two sides also discussed cooperation in the supply chain of key minerals. Zambia has rich reserves of critical minerals needed to produce batteries for electric vehicles.



Park then requested Zambia's support for Korea's push to host the World Expo, saying it will help enhance Seoul's "long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation" with developing countries.



Park is the first Korean foreign minister to visit Zambia since diplomatic ties between the two nations were established in 1990.



Separately, he also held talks with Zambia's Commerce Minister Chipoka Mulenga to discuss expanding economic ties, including in key minerals, energy and infrastructure. (Yonhap)


The mauling of two soldiers by a crocodile in Far North Queensland has left the Australian Defence Force facing court on charges of inadequate training and workplace safety failures.

The Department of Defence was charged on Friday with breaching federal work health and safety laws and could be slapped with a $1.5 million fine.

Two Defence personnel were attacked by a saltwater crocodile in Far North Queensland (file image).

The soldiers were attacked by a 2.5-metre crocodile while transporting a landing craft from Darwin to Townsville for maintenance in August 2021.

The Darwin-based Army personnel, a private in his 20s and a corporal in his early 30s, were given permission to go fishing at the Cape York Peninsula community of Portland Road in an inflatable defence Zodiac, the federal workers compensation body and safety regulator Comcare said on Friday.
The Coalition has upped the pressure on NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen over the appointment of former Labor staffer Josh Murray to a key bureaucratic role, saying it would call an inquiry into the matter unless the government explains itself better.

It also emerged that a highly regarded senior bureaucrat quit the public service after she unsuccessfully applied to become secretary of transport for NSW  a job Haylen gave to Murray, a chief of staff to former premier Morris Iemma.

A meeting between NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen and her new top bureaucrat has raised questions about his hiring. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

After two years as chief executive of the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE), Benedicte Colin said she left her position in July  but insisted her departure had nothing to do with the appointment of Murray.

In July 2023, I resigned from my role as CEO for TAHE. It is time for new leadership to take the incredible people in this organisation forward on the next steps of its journey, Collins told the Herald. My reasons for leaving TAHE are unrelated to the recruitment process or the appointment of the new Secretary.
Moscow: Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday in a bid to be the first nation to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted pockets of water ice.

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole.

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Friday. Credit: Roscosmos/AP

A Soyuz 2.1v rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, 5550 kilometres east of Moscow, at 2.11am Moscow time, with its upper stage boosting the lander out of Earths orbit towards the moon over an hour later, Russias space agency Roscosmos confirmed.

The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on August 21, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax. The space agency previously pegged August 23 as the landing date.
Lasso, who declared three days of mourning, said he had asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for help with the investigation and that a delegation would arrive in the country in the coming hours. The FBI confirmed it was assisting. Soldiers inspect cars at a road block in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Credit: AP Violence in Ecuador has surged in recent years, especially in cities along drug-trafficking routes like Guayaquil and Esmeraldas where citizens say they live in fear. There were 3500 violent deaths in Ecuador in the first half of the year, according to police figures, with nearly half occurring in the largest city, Guayaquil. Several Latin American countries suffer from similar issues. The armed forces were deployed all over the country and would remain until the end of the electoral process, Defence Minister Luis Lara told journalists. Citizens have the guarantee that the armed forces will provide the necessary security for the realisation of the vote. The vote of Ecuadoreans will be the best response to the mafias and their allies, he said.

Villavicencios party Movimiento Construye rejected what it said was political use of his death and called for a speedy investigation in a statement posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Fernando Villavicencio was one of the countrys most critical voices against corruption. Credit: Reuters The party condemned an unverified video circulating on social media purportedly from a gang called Los Lobos, or The Wolves, claiming responsibility for Villavicencios killing, alleging he had received millions of dollars from them for his campaign and threatening fellow candidate Jan Topic. Neither the police nor the Attorney-Generals Office responded to requests for comment about the authenticity or origin of the video, which features more than a dozen black-clad and masked men waving high-powered rifles. The party said: Those who sit to negotiate with mafiosos, those who give them microphones, those who generate fear campaigns with trick videos in the name of criminal organisations, and who take the name of Fernando Villavicencio in vain with lies, are responsible for the crime.

Los Lobos have thousands of members, according to some reports, and are active in the countrys violent prison system. Former president Rafael Correa, who was heavily criticised in office by Villavicencio, then a journalist, re-posted the video overnight, but said in a post on Thursday morning that it was fake, without providing more information. Villavicencio had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation over statements made against the former president, but he fled to Indigenous territory within Ecuador and later was given asylum in Peru, before returning after Correa left office. Candidate Luisa Gonzalez, who is running for Correas party and leading with 29.3 per cent support, expressed horror at the killing, but did not suspend her campaign. Indigenous candidate Yaku Perez and law-and-order hopeful Topic both suspended their campaigns, while businessman Otto Sonnenholzner begged the government to take action.

Perez said he hoped to hold a meeting with the other candidates and the Catholic Church to discuss a national security agreement, without providing further details. A soldier pats down a driver at a road block in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Credit: AP Villavicencios party said on Wednesday that discussions had been held about whether to suspend campaigning due to recent political violence, including the July murder of the mayor of Manta. Villavicencio opposed a suspension, it said, saying it would be an act of cowardice. The party can choose another candidate, the electoral court said, but ballots have already been printed and distributed, and Villavicencios name and photo appear on them.

The party said in a statement it would take time to mourn before making decisions about the vote and asked for international oversight of the investigation. Loading The only comfort left to us is to valiantly vote and see justice done at the ballot box, it said. Villavicencio, who police said had three rings of security on Wednesday, had on Tuesday made a report to the Attorney-Generals Office about an oil business, but no further details of his report were made public. Lasso, who called the elections early amid an impeachment bid against him, has been criticised for failing to tamp down violence, despite using emergency powers to authorise soldiers to patrol the streets and use their weapons against criminals.

His government blames the bloodshed on the streets and in prisons on criminal infighting to control drug trafficking routes used by Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and others. Beyond security, employment and migration are major issues in the presidential contest. Villavicencio, a married father, had 7.5 per cent support in polls, placing him fifth out of eight candidates. His body will be released to two people chosen by his wife, including his lawyer, the Attorney-Generals Office said on X. Countries lined up to condemn his assassination and call for a full investigation.
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Prospa recognised as a great place to work It also got its 2023 certification as a Great Place to Work in Australia and New Zealand

Major banks ANZ and Westpac have sounded the alarm against scammers and fraudsters who are taking advantage of Australians who are already struggling due to the increasing cost-of-living pressures, as they continue to implement new measures to better protect their consumers.

Those seeking additional income are being targeted  Westpac

Latest Westpac data revealed a 1,000% surge in job scams so far in 2023, from just a handful of cases in 2022, with Australians aged 31-40 (32% of reported cases), those aged 18-30 (30%), and women (58%) most likely to be affected by job scams.

Weve seen a significant spike in reported job scams since the start of the year, which occur when someone is tricked into making a payment or sharing personal information through a fake employment offer, said Ben Young (pictured above left), Westpac head of fraud.

Often, scammers will have fraudulently obtained some of your information like your phone number or address, which can make an offer sound legitimate. They also exploit the application process by tricking you into sharing more personal details like your drivers licence, passport, or tax file numbers.

Scammers also use fake job offers to trick you into sending money through some kind of upfront payment, such as training or other work-related equipment.

Westpac said in a statement said it is continuing to invest in new scam detection and prevention measures and is now stopping more than 60% of all cases.

ANZ to implement mule account detection capabilities

ANZ, too, has invested in a new security capability  one that is designed to detect mule accounts being used to receive funds from scam victims and other criminal activities.

The mule detection capability utilised AI and machine learning to recognise money mules and mule accounts. These are people or companies recruited by criminals to transfer illegally obtained money or goods on their behalf, typically by receiving funds into their bank account then moving the money to another financial institution, or via alternative payment methods, such as the purchase of cryptocurrency.

The mule detection technology, supported by a new and dedicated mule detection team, will be implemented across ANZs security systems by September, following a successful pilot in April, which spotted nearly 1,400 high-risk accounts.

Stopping mule accounts is a critical component of scam prevention and disrupting sophisticated criminal enterprises, said Shaq Johnson (pictured above right), ANZ head of customer protection.

In identifying and blocking mule accounts, we effectively starve criminals of the resources they need to carry out the activity. By disrupting the infrastructure that supports scams, it becomes more difficult for these online criminals to operate and impact innocent individuals.

Spotting mule accounts often results in the dismantling of additional scam networks and prevents future scams.

Mule accounts are often linked to larger criminal networks involved in organised crime, fraud, and scams, Johnson said. Our new mule detection technology and the mule detection team will better enable us to identify these accounts, stop the illegal activity and gather valuable information about individuals or groups behind sophisticated scams.

There is a whole-of-community response needed to scam prevention, and while banks play a critical role, customers can also protect themselves by remaining alert to unsolicited contact and requests to move funds.

ANZ said in a statement that it is continually reviewing and adjusting its capabilities as new scams emerge and as cyber criminals change how they operate. The bank said it has stopped more than $78 million from going to criminals in the last 12 months.

How are you helping your customers protect themselves against scams? Share them with us in the comments section below.
Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel-starrer Gadar 2 has been released today, August 11 and the movie is all set to entertain the audience again after 22 years of release of the superhit movie Gadar. The iconic characters of Tara Singh and Sakeena will once again come together, but this time their son Jeete (Utkarsh Sharma), is stuck in Pakistan, and Tara Singh crosses the border to rescue him. Gadar 2 generating buzz The Gadar 2 movie has been gaining massive buzz among fans. According to Bookmyshow, 280K+ viewers are showing interest in advance booking.

The set of Gadar 2 is set in Lahore in 1971 and next to Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma, the movie also has other stars such as Manish Wadhwa, Simrat Kaur and Gaurav Chopra in important roles.

Gadar 2: Advance Booking

Gadar 2 is already winning the battle at ticket counters. According to movie analyst Taran Adarsh, the movie so far has sold around 1,41,500 tickets for its opening day at three main multiplex chains  PVR, Inox, and Cinepolis. Other multiplexes also sold around 65,000 tickets on the opening day.

The advance booking accumulated approximately Rs 15 crore net and 18 crore gross for the weekend. According to the bollymoviereviewz report, the expectations are quite high with Gadar 2 and it is anticipated that around 200,000 tickets are expected to be sold for day 1.

What is the ticket price of Gadar 2?

The ticket price of the Gadar 2 movie is different in different multiplexes. However, in Bookmyshow, the movie price begins at Rs 200 and can go up to Rs 2200.

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What is the showtime of Gadar 2?

The Gadar 2 movie is available at different timings. You can select the time that best suits you.

When is the release date of Gadar 2?

Gadar 2 has already been released today, i,e., 11th August 2023.
A Chinese Navy warship capable of surveillance has docked at the Colombo port, nearly a year after another spy vessel berthed at a strategic port in the country and raised concerns in India.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy warship HAI YANG 24 HAO arrived at the port of Colombo on Thursday, the Sri Lankan Navy said. The vessel is to leave on Saturday.

The 129 metre-long ship which arrived in Colombo is manned by a crew of 138 and it is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. The ship is scheduled to depart the country tomorrow, the Navy statement said.

According to media reports on Friday, Sri Lanka delayed its arrival upon concerns raised by India.

"The Chinese authorities sought permission for it earlier, but Sri Lanka delayed permission because of resistance from India," the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Despite a briefing by Sri Lanka to Indian officials, the latter remained concerned about the research ship's visit to the island nation.

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In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship, Yuan Wang 5', which arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota elicited strong reactions from India.

There were apprehensions in New Delhi about the possibility of the vessel's tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian defence installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

However, after a considerable delay, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock at the strategic southern port of Hambantota, being built by a Chinese company.

Responding to a question on the docking of the Chinese warship at the Colombo Port, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Friday that India carefully monitors any development having a bearing on its security interests and takes all necessary measures.

"I have seen reports of a Chinese ship there. I am not sure whether it is a warship or not," Bagchi said in New Delhi during his weekly media briefing.

"Having seen these reports, I would emphasise that the government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on the country's security interests and takes all necessary measures to defend them," he said.

Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt.

The negotiations for Sri Lanka's external and domestic debt restructuring must be concluded by September, in time for the International Monetary Fund's review of its USD 2.9 billion bailout extended in March this year.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.
The Haryana government on Friday extended till Sunday the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh where conditions are "still critical and tense".

A total of 393 people have been arrested and 118 taken into preventive detention in connection with the communal clashes in Haryana earlier this month.

Besides, 160 FIRs have been registered in Nuh, Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Rewari, Panipat, Bhiwani and Hisar, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said in a statement on Friday.

Nuh Superintendent of Police Narender Bijarnia said that so far 59 FIRs have been registered in the district in connection with the Braj Mandal violence case and 218 people arrested.

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. Opposition parties in Haryana have alleged that the violence in Nuh was the result of the failure of the BJP-JJP dispensation in the state.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram administration allowed the opening of all schools and educational institutes in the district from Friday. It also decided to relax the curfew in the district for 11 hours on Saturday.

Also Read SC pulls up Manipur Police over Zero FIR: What is it and how does it work? Communal tension in Nuh, mobile internet services suspended for three days SC directs Centre, states to ensure peaceful rallies against Nuh violence Haryana violence: Govt relaxes mobile internet ban for three hours After communal tension, Section 144 imposed in Haryana's Nuh district Excise Commissioner empowered to declare dry days in Delhi, says official Skill ministry launches DBT in NAPS to strengthen apprenticeship ecosystem Nepal wants access to Indian market to export tomatoes on long-term basis 393 held, 160 FIRs registered; mobile internet suspension in Nuh extended Ideal time for Indian entities to invest in Sri Lanka: Minister Semasinghe

There will be relaxation on movement of people from 7 am to 6 pm as against 7 am to 3 pm now, an official said.

The Haryana government on Friday evening extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh district till 11.59 pm of August 13, to prevent disturbance of peace and public order.

The curbs were earlier extended in the district till 11.59 pm on Friday.

According to an order issued by Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) T V S N Prasad on Friday, "It has been brought to my notice by Deputy Commissioner, Nuh, that the law and order situation has been reviewed and the conditions are still critical and tense in the district".

However, it emphasised that the order is being issued after taking utmost care of public convenience by exempting individual SMS, mobile recharge, banking SMS, voice calls, and internet services provided by broadband and lease lines of corporate and domestic households, thus not affecting the commercial and financial interest of the state and basic domestic needs of individuals.
Gyan Path in front of the Red Fort in central Delhi will be decked up with flowers and G20 signage and more than 10,000 security personnel will be deployed for the Independence Day celebrations when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, officials said on Friday.

Around 1,000 cameras with facial recognition and video analytic systems will be installed in and around the Mughal-era fort and at other strategic locations to ensure foolproof security and monitor VVIP movements, police said.

Around 70 to 75 couples from every state are among the special invitees to the programme and they will attend it in their traditional dresses. Sarpanches of vibrant villages, nurses, fishermen and labourers engaged in the construction of Central Vista project are also among the special invitees.

"This year more than 20,000 officials and civilians will take part in the Independence Day celebrations. Gyan Path is being decorated with flowers and G20 signage for the national festival," a senior police officer said.

Security has been beefed up across the national capital in view of the 77th Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday with more than 10,000 security personnel to be deployed.

The areas surrounding the Red Fort will be demarcated as a "no kite flying zone" until the programme gets over. Several personnel will be deployed with necessary equipment on strategic locations to intercept kites, police said.

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During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address in 2017, a kite had landed just below the podium. The prime minister had, however, continued with his speech unfazed.

According to the police, anti-drone systems will be installed at the Red Fort as is convention. All anti-terror measures are being initiated, including installation of air defence guns. Snipers, elite SWAT commandos, kite catchers and sharpshooters will be positioned at strategic locations for the security of the prime minister and other VVIP guests.

"There were certain restrictions over the last couple of years due to COVID-19. However, Independence Day will be celebrated with full enthusiasm this year. Therefore, there will a robust and adequate deployment of police. Besides, we will also be coordinating and sharing real-time information with other agencies to provide security. The Delhi Police will also use technology for security purpose. We are on our toes and doing rehearsals," Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dependra Pathak said.

"The Delhi Police has also intensified patrolling and anti-sabotage checks. Hotels, guest houses, parking lots and restaurants are being checked and verification of tenants and servants is being carried out. Meetings are also being held with RWA (resident welfare associations) and MWA (market welfare associations) members," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.

Police on Thursday imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 in areas such as Rajghat, ITO and Red Fort ahead of Independence Day.

"In view of Independence Day celebrations, Section 144 of CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) has been invoked in areas nearby Rajghat, ITO, Red Fort etc. No gathering of any kind is permitted in these areas," police posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This year there will be no huge wall of shipping containers at the main gate of the fort. In 2021, Delhi Police had erected a huge wall of shipping containers decorated with graffiti at the main gate of Red Fort for security reasons.

The containers were placed in such a way that no one will be able to see inside the premises of the fort when the prime minister addressed the nation.

Flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang gliders, UAVs, micro light aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small size powered aircraft, quadcopters or para-jumping from aircraft etc. are prohibited over the jurisdiction of National Capital Territory of Delhi up to August 16.
Italy's Ambassador to India Vincenzo De Luca has said the two countries would soon sign a bilateral pact in the defence sector to ramp up their military ties and maintained that Rome was working hard to contribute to the 'Make in India' programme. In a move to enhance navy-to-navy cooperation between the two countries, Italian Navy's warship ITS Morosini is on a port visit to Mumbai from August 10 to 13. Italian Navy officials will also meet the top brass of the Mumbai-headquartered Western Naval Command during this period. "We are working very hard to contribute to the programme of self-reliance, Make in India," Luca said on Thursday at a press conference here.

He said that there are some specific technologies where Italy can add value to the Make in India programme, namely torpedo, helicopter, radar, electronic warfare and shipyard. Make in India is the Narendra Modi government's flagship programme that aspires to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure. "We will very soon sign a bilateral MoU in the defence sector," added the Italian envoy. He said an MoU (memorandum of understanding) in the defence sector already exists between the two sides, but it will be renewed which will further industrial collaboration after the two countries elevated their ties to strategic partnership earlier this year. ITS Morosini, which is in Mumbai, had earlier visited Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh. It will head to Oman after India. "In the framework of the current Italian Navy's five-month naval diplomacy campaign throughout the Indo-Pacific area, this visit aims at demonstrating Italy's commitment towards the region and at strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding between navies and showing the excellence of Italian naval and defence industry," the Italian embassy said in a statement. Commissioned in October 2022, ITS Morosini is one of the latest warships in the Italian Navy fleet and it can reach the speed of 32 knots and has a very powerful propulsion system. The ship, which can accommodate two helicopters, also has a naval cockpit which is one of its kind, said the statement.
China opposes U.S. deployment of cyber forces in neighboring countries: FM spokesperson

Xinhua) 10:59, August 11, 2023

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China opposes the U.S. deployment of cyber forces in China's neighboring countries and condemns the U.S. disinformation campaign, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday when asked to comment on U.S. cyber theft targeting Japan.

According to WikiLeaks, the United States carried out cyber theft against 35 Japanese targets, including some members of the Japanese cabinet.

The spokesperson said the U.S. government has not only carried out large-scale, systematic and indiscriminatory cyber theft against other countries in the world, but also attempted recently to deploy cyber forces to relevant countries in the name of capacity-building cooperation to infiltrate these countries' cyber system.

The U.S. has even resorted to media and other forms of disinformation of so-called "Chinese hackers" in order to induce or coerce relevant countries, particularly those around China, to receive U.S. cyber force deployment, which is akin to "inviting a wolf into their house," given the fact that the U.S. leads the world in hacking technology, the spokesperson said.

"This not only endangers their own cybersecurity, but also turn themselves into a bridgehead or springboard for U.S. government's cyber attacks against China without their knowledge," the spokesperson added.

Noting that cyber military forces are different from conventional military forces, the spokesperson said they are strategically important.

The nature of U.S. deployment of cyber forces is no different from deploying intermediate-range missiles and anti-missile systems next to China, the spokesperson said, adding that the move is essentially tying China's neighbors to the chariot of the U.S., which gravely harms China's strategic security interest and can easily cause major risks of miscalculation.

"We hope the international community, in particular China's neighbors, will judge for themselves what the true intentions of the U.S. are," the spokesperson said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This July 20, 2022 file photo shows a woman stepping through a door that is covered by a mural depicting American hostages and wrongful detainees who are being held abroad, in the Georgetown neighborhood, Washington. AP-Yonhap



Korea neither confirmed nor denied media reports Friday on the apparent transfer of Iranian funds frozen here under U.S. sanctions but expressed hopes for a "smooth" resolution of the issue, a major thorn in the country's relations with Tehran.



Earlier, media outlets reported the United States had reached a deal with Iran to release five of its detained citizens and unlock around $6 billion of Iranian assets frozen in Korea.



"We have nothing to confirm at this point," a foreign ministry official told reporters. "The government has engaged in close consultation with relevant countries, including the U.S. and Iran, to address the issue of the frozen funds, and we hope this matter can be resolved smoothly."






The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to pass any order granting urgent interim reliefs to Edelweiss company officials, accused of abetting the suicide of renowned film art director Nitin Desai, and said it would hear their pleas against the FIR on August 18. A division bench of Justices N W Sambre and R N Laddha also issued a notice to Desai's wife, who is the complainant in the case. Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for Edelweiss Financial Services Chairman Rashesh Shah, Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company's MD and CEO Raj Kumar Bansal and two other company officials urged the court to grant them interim protection from any coercive action and also sought quashing of the first information report (FIR) registered against them.

Public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai told the court that the FIR in the case was registered only last week and that the probe in the case was still on. The bench then said it would hear the petitions on August 18. "Wait for a week. We will hear the matter on August 18 and consider the interim orders sought," the court said. Apart from the Edelweiss officials, Jitender Kothari, who was appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as an interim resolution professional, had also moved the high court seeking for the FIR to be quashed. All the petitions sought interim protection from the HC. Desai, 57, who had worked for acclaimed Bollywood films such as "Lagaan" and "Jodhaa Akbar", was found hanging at his studio at Karjat in Maharashtra's Raigad district on August 2. On August 4, Desai's wife approached the Khalapur police station seeking registration of an FIR into his death. Following this, an abetment to suicide case was registered against Shah and Bansal. The FIR was also registered against Kothari and two others under Indian Penal Code sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (common intention). Desai's company ND's Art World Pvt Ltd had defaulted on a Rs 252 crore loan repayment to creditors and the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had initiated insolvency proceedings against it. Edelweiss ARC, in a statement, had denied that any undue pressure was put on Desai for loan recovery. The Raigad police, who are conducting an investigation into Desai's death, have found 11 audio clips in a voice recorder at the art director's office, an official said last week. In one of the voice notes found after his alleged suicide, Desai criticised a financial services firm to which his company owed money, the police said. Desai also purportedly said he had walked a long road, and could not go any further. In one of these clips or voice notes, he was heard saying his company could not come out of the financial crisis it was facing because of the procedure adopted by the financial services firm, the police said. Shah and Bansal in their pleas claimed they had merely followed the official procedure for recovery.
The US Supreme Courts majority ruling that schools in the US cannot make race-based admissions has been variously interpreted as a huge setback or an affirmation that race-based affirmative action in educational institutions as a bad idea. T T Mohan Ram explains the nuances of the Supreme Courts decision and explains why the Indian model of reservations in both jobs and education holds valuable lessons. Read it here
Pakistan's outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that his brother and former premier Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan next month to face his pending court cases and lead the party's campaign for the general election.

Nawaz Sharif, 73, has been living in self-imposed exile in the UK since November 2019. He was convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018.

He was serving a seven-year imprisonment at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Mills case before he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on "medical grounds".

In an interview with Geo News on Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, 71, said he would travel to London to meet his elder brother Nawaz Sharif as soon as the caretaker government took charge in the country.

Shehbaz Sharif reiterated that his elder brother would be Pakistan's prime minister for the fourth time if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won the next election to be held later this year.

His statement came as the process to appoint caretaker setup formally kicked off with the dissolution of the National Assembly on Wednesday, three days ahead of the mandated period.

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Nawaz Sharif will come back to Pakistan next month and will face the law and lead the election campaign, the incumbent prime minister said without giving the exact date of Nawaz Sharif's return.

In 2016, Nawaz Sharif stepped down as the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets.

His appeals against the conviction are currently pending in the relevant courts.
UBS said Friday it has shut down rescue packages agreed with Swiss authorities that made available up to 200 billion Swiss francs (about USD 230 billion) to help shepherd through its takeover of ailing rival Credit Suisse and avert an international banking crisis.

The Zurich-based banking giant, which completed the takeover on June 12, said it had moved to voluntarily terminate" rescue programmes that aimed to help mop up billions of losses and provide liquidity to the banks as they moved forward on the complex deal.

UBS said it had repaid 50 billion francs in loans from the Swiss National Bank and 100 billion francs in liquidity support from the Swiss government, while ending a 9 billion franc loss protection agreement with the government.

In total, UBS also paid some 730 million francs in commitment fees and risk premiums to Swiss authorities, comprised of 200 million to the government and 530 million to the national bank.

Swiss authorities and UBS announced the hastily arranged merger in March to prevent the collapse of Credit Suisse.

The turmoil at Credit Suisse, which counted among some 30 systemically important banks across the world, added to fears about global financial markets earlier this year in the wake of failures of mid-sized banks in the United States. The crisis also struck at the heart of Switzerland's identity as a top-drawer financial centre.

Also Read UBS Group completes takeover of Credit Suisse to create bank titan Credit Suisse's net asset outflows topped $68 billion in first quarter UBS to take in Credit Suisse CEO as banks' merger closes within 2 weeks Relief over Credit Suisse deal crumbles as focus shifts to bond risks Credit Suisse under pressure to merge with UBS, meets to weigh options Isro congratulates Russia on the launch of Luna-25 mission to Moon Chinese Naval warship docks in Colombo port, to depart on Saturday Nawaz Sharif will return to Pak next month to face court cases: PM Sharif UK announces 95,000-pound new funding to tackle pro-Khalistani extremism G20: FM calls for global efforts to restructure poor countries' debt

Swiss authorities came under pressure from some critics and sceptics who at the time disagreed with or questioned support from taxpayers to help smooth the way for a merger of Switzerland's best-known banks in the private sector.

The Swiss National Bank, in its own statement on Friday, said its total liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse reached 168 billion. UBS still has outstanding commitments to repay some loans.
Vodafone Ireland has announced a new 3 million investment to upgrade a number of its stores.

The new, three-year investment programme is designed to better equip and futureproof some stores nationwide.

'Future-Forward Digital Hubs'

Vodaphone said the programme of investment will see funding allocated to enhance stores across the country, transforming several locations into 'future-forward digital hubs.'

Almost a quarter of all stores have been retrofitted so far, with plans to refit Vodafones whole estate by 2025.

Hi Digital Drop-in Fridays

The Vodafone Ireland Foundation, in partnership with ALONE, is also launching Hi Digital Drop-in Fridays in 21 stores nationwide, which will give free dedicated digital support for those over the age of 65, as part of the ongoing Hi Digital programme.

However, if some Fridays are difficult, people are still encouraged to visit for support and guidance as normal throughout the week.

Digital Skills Training

Launched in 2021, Hi Digital is a first of its kind programme that provides digital skills training for people over 65, through online and in-person classes across the country.

Vodafone Ireland stores will dedicate 10am-1pm on Friday as a time when older persons can drop in for practical support using their phones, tablets and devices and other support, based on their needs e.g., using apps, paying bills etc.

A network of Vodafone employees have been trained as Hi Digital Ambassadors meaning they are well equipped to provide these customers with the practical support that they need.

'Digital Divide'

"Any questions or support required can be answered, be it, contacting a family member or loved one, paying a bill, or downloading an app, and it will further help us to combat the current digital divide across Ireland," said Jenny Hayes, Head of Consumer Sales.

"I encourage family members to spread the word to their parents, grandparents and beyond, about the service which we hope will directly impact communities across Ireland and help more people get connected.

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto, second from left, poses with Hyundai's IONIQ 5 Batik edition during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, Thursday. Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia in Korea



By Kwon Mee-yoo



Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto unveiled Hyundai's IONIQ 5 Batik edition electronic vehicle (EV), during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, Thursday, signaling a new chapter in the collaboration between Korea's automotive industry and Indonesia's creative economy.



The IONIQ 5 Batik Indonesia, conceived by Ambassador Sulistiyanto, serves as a symbolic bridge connecting Korea and Indonesia, while celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship.



"For Koreans, Hyundai represents a go-to brand when they look for not only safe and comfortable vehicles but also the ones that are environmentally friendly. In 2022, the IONIQ 5 electric car won the World Car Awards. The innovation and technology of electric vehicles will reaffirm our commitment to a sustainable future," Sulistiyanto said during the largest auto show in Indonesia, held at International Convention Exhibition/ICE in BSD City, Tangerang, Indonesia.





Hyundai's IONIQ 5 Batik edition is presented during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show at International Convention Exhibition/ICE in BSD City, Tangerang, Indonesia, Thursday. Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia in Korea



Ambassador Sulistiyanto emphasized the cultural importance of Indonesian "batik," or traditional textile, linking it to national history, civilization and the economy.



"Indonesian batik to us, Indonesians, is not only a piece of cloth. In 2009, Batik was inscribed on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Batik represents our history and civilization, the technique and motif of batik making is passed from generation to generation," he said.



"In batik-producing areas, such as Pekalongan, the city where I was born, batik as a modality of the creative economy has transformed into a source of livelihood for individuals who work in small and medium enterprises."



His practice of wearing batik as daily official attire since beginning his ambassadorship in Seoul in January 2022 further symbolizes his commitment to promoting this cultural heritage and his dedication to batik diplomacy.



Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto also attended the event to witness the elegant exterior and interior of the IONIQ 5 Batik edition.





Hyundai's IONIQ 5 Batik edition features the kawung motif, inspired by the kawung fruit. Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia in Korea
Police escort a man, center, who stabbed a high school teacher with a knife as he attends a detention hearing at the Daejeon District Court in the central city of Daejeon, Aug. 5. Yonhap



Police on Friday referred a man suspected of attacking a high school teacher with a knife to the prosecution for further investigation on charges of attempted murder and trespassing.



The 28-year-old man has been arrested after stabbing the 49-year-old victim in the face, chest and arms seven times on Aug. 4 at a high school in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul.



He fled the scene following the attack but was apprehended near his residence three hours later.



The Daedeok Police Station is considering the possibility that he might have been driven by delusions to commit the crime, given his diagnosis with a mental disorder in 2021.



He had received treatment for schizophrenia and depression until last year, according to the police. However, after being advised by a doctor to undergo hospitalization, he discontinued his treatment.



Initially, the suspect told the police that he committed the crime "due to negative memories from my school days." But the police found no substantial evidence to support the claim.



On Thursday, the police conducted psychological evaluations on him, including a psychopathy assessment, to uncover the motives behind the attack. The results are expected to be available in about a week. (Yonhap)


Col. Park Jung-hun, a former chief of the Marine Corps' investigation unit, speaks to the press in front of the military prosecution's office in Seoul, Aug. 11. Yonhap



A former chief of the Marine Corps' investigation unit refused Friday to undergo the military prosecution's questioning over his alleged insubordination related to an internal probe into last month's tragic death of a young soldier.



Col. Park Jung-hun's refusal added to a growing controversy surrounding his decision to hand over the probe findings to the civilian police despite Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup's order to hold off on the transfer for more legal deliberations.



Park has defended the decision as a "lawful" one, while the defense ministry viewed it as an act of insubordination, which saw him dismissed from the armed service's chief investigation post.



The military police is to transfer a case, involving a troop fatality, to the police if there are signs of any criminal activity in the case.



"A fair investigation cannot take place by an organization of the defense ministry," Park told reporters outside the prosecutors' office in Seoul, claiming that the ministry has made "unfair" orders to him.



Park spearheaded the preliminary probe into what contributed to the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who was swept away by a torrent at a stream in Yecheon County, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 19 while on a mission to search for victims of downpours.



The military has faced accusations that proper safety measures had not been taken for troops deployed in the search operations.





This file photo, taken July 22, shows a burial ceremony for Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who died during search and rescue operations for victims of heavy rain, taking place at the Daejeon National Cemetery in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul. Yonhap
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President Yoon Suk Yeol listens to Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho's explanation about the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or Danuri, before a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Jan. 3. Korea Times file



By Park Jae-hyuk



Korea's state-sponsored scientific research activities are expected to suffer a major setback, as insufficient tax revenue has led the government to seek a sharp reduction in its R&D budget for next year, according to sources familiar with this issue, Friday.



On Wednesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT sent emails to research institutes that are under the supervision of the National Research Council of Science & Technology, notifying them that the government's funding for their research projects will be smaller than initially planned.



The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) was informed of a 29 percent reduction in funding, while the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) was notified of a 23 percent cut.



The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) are each facing 28 percent reductions in their respective budgets for next year.



The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which led the successful launch of domestically developed space rockets, was informed of a 23 percent cut in government funding.



The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and three other institutes of science and technology in Gwangju, Daegu and Ulsan are also subject to around 10 percent reductions.



In addition, the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST) and other scientists' associations were informed that they may face up to 70 percent reductions in financial support from the government.



The notification was made after President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly ordered Science Minister Lee Jong-ho to reconsider state-run R&D projects from scratch, during a meeting on national financial strategies on June 28.



His order came as a surprise at that time because he had emphasized the importance of scientific research activities for Korea's future.



During the meeting, Yoon coined the term "R&D cartel," calling to root out groups that seek to protect their vested interests in the R&D sector. The president also abruptly ordered more collaboration with overseas science research institutes.



Following his orders, the science ministry rescinded its initial R&D budget for 2024, and asked state-run science research institutes to submit their plans for reduced budgets for next year.



In response, the institutes submitted their respective plans to reduce their spending by around 20 percent, despite protests from their employees.



"The government should stop persecuting diligent researchers in their fields and stigmatizing them as the main culprits of the 'R&D cartel,'" the Scientists and Engineers' Association of National Research Institutes said in a joint statement, July 21. "The institutes should also stop being hasty in following the president's abrupt order to increase collaborations with foreign researchers."



The unions of state-run science research institutes also issued a statement, July 17, expressing concerns that most institutes will even face difficulties in maintaining their equipment.



"Most research projects modified after the budget cuts are expected to be shoddy," Rep. Cho Seung-rae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said during a meeting with the unions, July 18.



Amid the growing concerns, the science ministry said the planned budget cuts had not been finalized, as it needs the Ministry of Economy and Finance's agreement and the National Assembly's approval.


Independence Day is a historic occasion for any country. It is the day on which the country celebrates its independence from foreign rule and thanks the freedom fighters who fought for it. It is an important topic that instils pride in students about their country's history and national leaders.

Lower primary students may find this topic difficult since it requires them to study and memorise facts before writing them down in their own terms. Here are the speeches on Independence Day that will be helpful for class 3.

Speeches regarding Independence Day for Class 3

1. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Priya studying in class 3. We celebrate Independence Day as the national festival of India. It is the most auspicious day for Indians because India gains independence after many trials and sacrifices. The 15th of August has since become a very important day in Indian history and in the hearts of all Indians. We celebrate this national holiday with zeal and patriotism. On this day, we remember the gallant warriors and freedom fighters who gave their lives to make India an independent nation. Thank You.

2. My name is Rahul. I am studying in class 3. Today is a very special day for all of us.In our country's history, the 15th of August 1947 is written in gold letters. After a long and hard struggle, their dream came true on this very day, when our country became independent On this Day, The National Flag is hoisted in schools, colleges, and government institutions. Independence Day motivates us to love our country. Independence Day is not just about enjoying a holiday; it's about celebrating our freedom, remembering our brave freedom fighters. Jai hind.

3. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Abinaya studying in class 3. Wishing you a very happy independence day everyone. we come together to celebrate our Independence Day. This is a day when we feel proud of our nation. We must remember this day with zeal. We should remember Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subash Chandra Bose, and other outstanding leaders. We only have a quiet existence today due to their sacrifices. Let us all strive together to show the world that our country is the greatest.

4. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Leya studying in class 3. First and foremost, I'd want to wish you a Happy 77th Independence Day. We will never forget August 15, 1947, when we gained independence from British domination. This is the day for all of us to rejoice and honour our country. On this day, we must remember the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters. They dedicated their entire lives to ensuring our country's liberty. Let us all pledge to do our best for the advancement of our country... Thank you very much.

Easy to Learn Independence Day speech for class 2 students in English

5. Good Morning to all. Respected Principal, Chief Guests, Teachers, Parents, and all My Dear Friends. I am Abinav studying in class 3. We've gathered to remember our country's Independence Day. Today we honour Mahatma Gandhi, Sucheta Kriplani, Tilka Manjhi, and other liberation warriors. They gave their entire life for our country's freedom. Dear friends, let us work together to make our country the best in the world. Thank you very much.

6. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Manu studying in class 3. Happy Independence day to everyone. On August 15, 1947, India was liberated from British dominion, and our independence fighters gave their lives for it. Independence Day is India's national holiday. This day is celebrated by all Indians by flying the tricolour and singing the national song. I am happy to be an Indian, and I love my country. Thank you.

Independence Day Speech for Class 1st Students in English, Easy to Learn

7. My name is Vishnu. I am studying in class 3. Today, we have all come together here to celebrate India's 77th Independence Day and give respect to our independence heroes who gave their lives for us. Let us make a promise to ourselves today, on this day of Independence Day, that we will always protect our country by helping everyone, and learning ourselves. Thank you very much.

8. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Manisha studying in class 3. Happy independence day. The entire country celebrates freedom from the British on this day of blessings. Also, remember all the freedom fighters who gave their lives for India's freedom. I am very happy to be an Indian. I love my homeland. Jai hind.

9. My name is Arun. I am studying in class 3. On August 15th, India celebrates Independence Day. It is a day that celebrates our freedom and national unity. On this day, our teachers hoist the national flag in our school. We sing "Jana Gana Mana," our national anthem. In our school, we sing and dance to various patriotic songs. We love our nation. Let us all work together to build a happy India. Thank you very much.

10. Good morning to my teachers and dear friends. I am Parvathy studying in class 3. We all know that today is August 15, 2023. Every year on August 15th, our school conducts Independence Day celebrations. On August 15, 1947, India gained freedom from British rule. On Independence Day, we pay respect to our freedom fighters of mother India who fought for our country's independence from the British, I am happy to be an Indian. Thank you.
Are you ready to test your knowledge of Indian polity, ministries, and the parliamentary system? In this comprehensive quiz, we've prepared 50 multiple-choice questions that will challenge your understanding of the intricacies of India's political structure.

Whether you're a curious citizen, a student of political science, or someone interested in the functioning of India's governance, this quiz will challenge your understanding and offer insights into the country's democratic framework.

The applicants studying for various competitive examinations would benefit greatly from these general knowledge (GK) questions and answers on the Indian Parliament and Ministry. Take a look below.

1. The Governor of a State is appointed by the President on the advice of the

(a) Prime Minister

(b) Vice- President

(c) Chief Minister

(d) Chief Justice

2. The President gives his resignation to the

(a) Chief Justice

(b) Parliament

(c) Vice President

(d) Prime Minister

3. For what period does the Vice President of India hold office?

(a) 5 years

(b) Till the age of 65 years

(c) 6 years

(d) 2 Years

4. Who among the following holds office during the pleasure of the President?

(a) Governor

(b) Election Commissioner

(c) Speaker of Lok Sabha

(d) Prime Minister

5. Which of the following is not true regarding the payment of the emoluments of the President?

(a) They can be reduced during a Financial Emergency.

(b) They are shown separately in the budget.

(c) They are charged on the Contingency Fund of India.

(d) They do not require any parliament sanction.

Answer of Questions 1 to 5: Ans 1- Prime Minister; 2- Vice President; 3- 5 years; 4- Governor; 5- They are charged with the Contingency Fund of India.

6. The total number of members nominated by the President to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is

(a) 16

(b) 8

(c) 14

(d) 2

7. Which one of the following does not constitute the electoral college for electing the President of India?

(a) Elected members of Lok Sabha

(b) Elected members of the Legislative Assembly of each state.

(c) Elected members of the Legislative Council

(d) Elected members of Rajya Sabha

8. The council of Ministers in a Parliamentary type of Government can remain in office till it enjoys the support of the

(a) Minority of members of the Upper House of Parliament

(b) Majority of the members of the Upper House of parliament

(c) Minority of members bf the Lower House

(d) Majority of the members of the Lower House of Parliament

9. Which of the following appointments is not made by the President of India?

(a) Chief of the Army

(b) Speaker of the Lok Sabha

(c) Chief Justice of India

(d) Chief of the Air Force

10. Who appoints the Prime Minister of India?

(a) Lok Sabha

(b) President

(c) Parliament

(d) Citizens of India

Answer of Questions 6 to 10: 6- 14; 7- Elected members of the Legislative Council; 8- Majority of the members of the Lower House of Parliament; 9- Speaker of the Lok Sabha; 10- President

11. The first woman Governor of a state in free India was

(a) Mrs. Indira Gandhi

(b) Mrs. Vijaya Laxmi Pandit

(c) Mrs. Sarojini Naidu

(d) Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani

12. Minimum age required to contest for Presidentship is

(a) 23 years

(b) 2l years

(c) 35 years

(d) 30 years

13. The charge of impeachment against the President of India for his removal can be prevented by

(a) Both Houses of Parliament

(b) Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha

(c) Rajya Sabha

(d) Lok Sabha

14. The Chief Minister of a Union Territory where such a set up exists, is appointed by the

(a) Lt, Governor

(b) Majority party in Legislature

(c) President

(d) Prime Minister

15. Who was the first Prime Minister of India?

(a) Jawaharlal Nehru

(b) Mrs. Indira Gandhi

(c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad

(d) Mahatma Gandhi

Answer of Questions 11 to 15: 11- Mrs. Sarojini Naidu; 12- 35 years; 13- Both Houses of Parliament 14- Lt. Governor 15- Jawaharlal Nehru.

16. In case a President dies while in office, the vice President can act as President for a maximum period of

(a) 1 year

(b) 3 months

(c) 6 months

(d) 2 years

17. The Union Council of Ministers consists of

(a) Cabinet Ministers, Minister of State and Deputy Ministers

(b) Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers of the States

(c) Prime Minister

(d) Cabinet Ministers

18. Who administers the oath of office to the President of India before he enters the office?

(a) Chief Justice

(b) Speaker

(c) Vice President

(d) Prime Minister

19. Who among the following enjoys the rank of Cabinet Minister of the Indian Union?

(a) None of the Above

(b) Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission

(c) Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha

(d) Secretary to the Government of India

20. A person who is not a member of Parliament can be appointed as a Minister by the President for a maximum period of

(a) 9 months

(b) 3 months

(c) 12 months

(d) 6 months

Answer of Questions 16 to 20: 16- 6 months; 17- Cabinet Ministers, Minister of State and Deputy Ministers; 18- Chief Justice; 19- Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; 20- 6 months.

21. When can a President use his discretion in appointing the Prime Minister?

(a) When no political party enjoys a clear majority in the Lok Sabha.

(b) Only when the Lok Sabha has been dissolved.

(c) In all circumstances

(d) In no circumstances

22. If in a country there happens to be the office of monarchy as well as a Parliamentary form of government this monarch will be called

(a) Head of the State

(b) Head of the Cabinet

(c) Head of the government

(d) Both the Head of the government and the State

23. One feature distinguishing the Rajya Sabha from the Vidhan Parishad is

(a) Power of impeachment

(b) Indirect election

(c) Nomination of members

(d) Tenure of membership

24. Chief Ministers of all the states are ex-office members of the

(a) Planning Commission

(b) National Development Council

(c) Inter-State Council

(d) Finance Commission

25. Who, among the following, has the final right to sanction the expenditure of public money in India?

(a) Speaker

(b) President

(c) Prime Minister

(d) Parliament

26. Which of the following is not an essential qualification for appointment as a Governor?

(a) He must not be a member of either House of Parliament.

(b) He should be a domicile of the state to which he is being appointed.

(c) He should be a citizen of India.

(d) He must have completed the age of 35 years

27. The President nominates 2 members of the Rajya Sabha according to

(a) Their performance as office bearers of cultural societies.

(b) The recommendations made by the Vice President.

(c) Their role played in the political setup of the country.

(d) Their distinction in the field of science, art, literature and social service.

28. Which Article of the Constitution empowers the President to appoint a Commission to investigate the condition of backward classes in general and suggest ameliorative measures?

h) Art 342

(b) Art 344

(c) Art 340

(d) Art 339

29. Who can initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of India?

(a) Either House of Parliament

(b) Any Vidhan Sabha

(c) Only Lok Sabha

(d) Rajya Sabha

30. Who was the member of the Rajya Sabha when first appointed as the Prime Minister of India?

(a) Lal Bahadur Shastri

(b) Charan Singh

(c) Morarji Desai

(d) Indira-Gandhi

Answer of Questions 21-30: 21- When no political party enjoys a clear majority in the Lok Sabha; 22- Head of the State; 23- Power of impeachment; 24- Inter State Council; 25- President; 26- He should be a domicile of the state to which he is being appointed; 27- Their distinction in the field of science, art, literature and social service.; 28-Art 340; 29- Either House of Parliament; 30-Indira Gandhi.

31. What is the minimum age for appointment as a Governor?

(a) 35 years

(b) 40 years

(c) 25 years

(d) 30 years

32. Chief Minister of a State is responsible to

(a) Prime Minister

(b) Rajya Sabha

(c) Legislative Assembly

(d) Governor

33. The administrative and operational control of the Armed Forces is exercised by the

(a) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs with Prime Minister as the Chairman

(b) ministry of defence

(c) Three Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force Staff

(d) President

34. What is the position of a Minister of State in the Central Government?

(a) He is a Minister of the Central Government but not a member of the Cabinet.

(b) He looks after the interests of the State Cabinet.

(c) He is the nominee of the State Governor.

(d) He is the nominee of the State Cabinet.

35. Who among the following is directly responsible to Parliament for all matters concerning the Defence Services of India ?

(a) President

(b) Prime Minister

(c) Defence Minister

(d) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs

36. How many times the President of lndia can seek re-election to his post?

(a) Once

(b) 3 times

(c) 2 times

(d) Any number of times

37. Who among the following has the power to front a new state within the Union of India?

(a) Speaker of Lok Sabha ?

(b) President

(c) Prime Minister

(d) Supreme Court

38. Is the Prime Minister bound to advise the President on matters on which his advice is sought

(a) If the Council of Ministers so desires.

(b) Yes

(c) No

(d) It is discretionary

39. When the Vice President officiates as President he draws the salary of

(a) Chairman of Rajya Sabha

(b) Both (A) and ( C )

(c) President

(d) Member of Parliament

40. Article 78 of the Constitution deals with-

(a) President's power to get information from the Council of Ministers.

(b) Prime Minister's duty regarding keeping the President informed about the government's decisions and policies.

(c) Emergency powers of the President

(d) President's power to send advisory messages to the Parliament.

Answer of Questions 31-40: 31- 35 years; 32- Legislative Assembly; 33- Ministry of Defence; 34- He is a Minister of the Central Government but not a member of the Cabinet.; 35-Defence Minister; 36-Any number of times; 37-President; 38-Yes; 39- President; 40- President's power to send advisory messages to the Parliament.

More MCQs on Indian Parliament in the form of quizzes:
BPSC Teacher Admit Card 2023: Bihar School Teacher Admit Card 2023 Released, Steps to Download

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has published the BPSC Teacher Recruitment Exam 2023 Admit Card available on its official website. Candidates can now get their hall ticket from bpsc.bih.nic.in following the release of their Admit Card.

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) released a recruitment notice for 170461 positions for TGTs in primary schools, middle schools, and higher education. Its application period was from June 15 through July 19, 2023.

When is the BPSC School Teacher Recruitment Exam 2023?:

On August 24, 25, and 26, the Bihar Public Service Commission will be conducting the examination in two shifts from 10 AM to 12 PM and 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Important Dates for the BPSC School Teacher Recruitment Exam in 2023:

Application Start: 15/06/2023

Last Date for Apply Online: 19/07/2023

Last Date for Payment of Exam Fee: 19/07/2023

Last Date with Late Fee: 22/07/2023

Exam Date: 24-27 August 2023

Admit Card Available: 10 August 2023

It should be noted that the commission has requested that before downloading the admission card, all eligible applicants log on to their dashboard and upload a passport-size photo no larger than 25 KB.

Additionally, on the admit card and through the BPSC website, candidates will receive complete information regarding the exam centers on August 21. The code and district name of the designated exam centers will also be listed on the admit card. Candidates must download their admission cards by August 20 as well.

Steps to Download the BPSC Admit Card 2023:

Follow the following steps to download the BPSC Teacher Admit Card 2023:

Step 1: Visit the official website of BPSC; bpsc.bih.nic.in.

Step 2: Click on the Bihar BPSC Teacher Admit Card link available on the home page.

Step 3: Enter login details and click on submit.

Step 4: Your Admit Card will be displayed on the screen.

Step 5: Check and download the Admit Card.

Step 6: Keep a hard copy of it with you for further need.
ATLANTA (Aug. 11, 2023)  The Carter Center announced today that Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, will lead the Centers international election observation mission in Zimbabwe.

The Carter Center launched its mission in late July following an invitation from the authorities of Zimbabwe and accreditation of its observers by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Its an honor to lead the Centers mission to observe Zimbabwes Aug. 23 harmonized elections, Jega said. I urge all Zimbabweans, including political party members, candidates and voters, to show their commitment to democracy and peaceful elections.

The core team of eight international experts and two national experts are based in Harare. Fifteen long-term observers arrived in Zimbabwe and deployed throughout the country the first week of August. Short-term observers will arrive on Aug. 18 and deploy around the country to observe polling, counting, and tabulation on election day. The international mission is diverse and has experts and experienced observers from nearly 30 countries, including several in the southern Africa region.

The mission will assess electoral preparations and the electoral environment, including election administration, campaigning, participation of women and ethnic minorities, social media, dispute resolution, and other aspects of the election process.

The Carter Center conducts its work in accordance with the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and will make assessments based on Zimbabwes national legal framework as well as regional and international obligations and standards for democratic elections, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe ratified in April 2022.

The Carter Center has been a pioneer of election observation, monitoring more than 110 elections in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the United States since 1989. It deployed an election expert mission to Zimbabwe in 2018.

Learn more about election observation missions from David Carroll, director of the Carter Centers Democracy Program.

###

Contact: In Atlanta, Maria Cartaya, maria.cartaya@cartercenter.org

The Carter Center

Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory in Xi'an, China / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Kim Hyun-bin



Samsung Electronics' Chinese operations and workforce are showing evidence of decline, reflecting a possible move to reduce reliance on China. Its legal battle against BOE, a leading Chinese display company, is likely to add haste to the China exit.



According to Samsung Electronics' sustainability report released Friday, the total number of non-executive employees in China decreased from 599 in 2020 to 527 in 2021 and further to 477 in 2022. This contrasts with the continuously increasing numbers in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Japan, which went from 3,590 in 2020 to 4,305 in 2021, and 4,583 in 2022.



The number of executives also decreased, going from 18,099 in 2020 to 17,891 in 2022. Its revenue in China also sharply declined to 35.6 trillion won ($26.9 billion) in 2022 from 45.6 trillion won in 2021.



Its business establishments in China are also decreasing. According to a corporate analysis by the Korea CXO Research Institute, Samsung Electronics reduced the number of subsidiaries in China to 65 this year from 87 in 2018, a reduction of 22 percent over five years.



Samsung Electronics is also engaged in a legal battle with BOE. It has halted all new development projects with BOE and is also trying to replace LCDs used as TV panels. Recently, Samsung Display filed a lawsuit against BOE in the Eastern District Court of Texas, claiming that BOE infringed on its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) patents for smartphones. The technology being contested encompasses four OLED display patents used in all iPhones after the iPhone 12.



"Amid intensifying competition recently, theft and infringement of intellectual property, which is the foundation of our competitiveness, have been increasing," Choi Kwon-young, executive vice president at Samsung Display, stated during the Q2 earnings conference call, "We have determined that this has reached an undeniable level, and as a result, we are pursuing various measures including legal actions."


Creating and Implementing a Community Engagement Strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan Through an AcademicState Public Health Department Partnership

Leslie R. Carnahan, PhD, MPH1,2; Colleen Hallock, MPH, BSN, RN, OCN2; Brenda Soto, MPH1,2; Linda Kasebier, MPH, MHS3; Elise Dracos, BA3; Erica Martinez, MBA, MPH1; Jennifer Newsome, MS4; Tigist Mersha, BS1,2; David Pluta, MPH5; Vida Henderson, PhD, PharmD, MPH, MFA6; Manorama Khare, PhD, MS5 (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Carnahan LR, Hallock C, Soto B, Kasebier L, Dracos E, Martinez E, et al. Creating and Implementing a Community Engagement Strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan Through an AcademicState Public Health Department Partnership. Prev Chronic Dis 2023;20:220422. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd20.220422.

PEER REVIEWED

Summary What is already known on this topic? Comprehensive cancer control plans are important tools for guiding community and state-level activities that focus on cancer prevention and control by identifying priorities and health equity strategies to address the burden of cancer. What is added by this report? The development and implementation of these plans should include community members and people from multiple sectors. What are the implications for public health practice? This report provides a model of community engagement that can serve as a blueprint for other statewide cancer coalitions working on their own plans.

Abstract

Introduction

Comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans are state-level blueprints that identify regional cancer priorities and health equity strategies. Coalitions are encouraged to engage with community members, advocacy groups, people representing multiple sectors, and working partners throughout the development process. We describe the community and legislative engagement strategy developed and implemented during 20202022 for the 20222027 Illinois CCC plan.

Methods

The engagement strategies were grounded in theory and evidence-based tools and resources. It was developed and implemented by coalition members representing the state health department and an academic partner, with feedback from the larger coalition. The strategy included a statewide town hall, 8 focus groups, and raising awareness of the plan among state policy makers.

Results

A total of 112 people participated in the town hall and focus groups, including 40 (36%) cancer survivors, 31 (28%) cancer caregivers, and 18 (16%) Latino and 26 (23%) African American residents. Fourteen of 53 (26%) focus group participants identified as rural. Participants identified drivers of cancer disparities (eg, lack of a comprehensive health insurance system, discrimination, transportation access) and funding and policy priorities. Illinois House Resolution 0675, the Illinois Cancer Control Plan, was passed in March 2022.

Conclusion

The expertise and voices of community members affected by cancer can be documented and reflected in CCC plans. CCC plans can be brought to the attention of policy makers. Other coalitions working on state plans may consider replicating our strategy. Ultimately, CCC plans should reflect health equity principles and prioritize eliminating cancer disparities.

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Introduction

Comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans are blueprints that identify region-specific cancer priorities and health equity strategies to address cancer prevention and control (13). The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, established in 1998, supports CCC development and provides funding, guidance, and technical assistance to US territories and freely associated states, the District of Columbia, and tribes and tribal organizations, to design and implement plans (4). Plans guide cancer prevention and control activities with the goal of reducing cancer incidence and death rates by addressing all parts of the cancer continuum (13,5). Although including goals, objectives, and strategies is standard across plans, each plan is unique to its region, and content varies in scope, priorities, and length.

Statewide coalitions are responsible for creating CCC plans, and these plans generally span a 5-year period (3). When working on the development of CCC plans, coalitions are encouraged to engage people with diverse perspectives, such as community members, advocacy groups, people representing multiple sectors, and working partners (1,2,57). Meaningful community engagement can advance cancer health equity by informing practice, research, and policy with input from people who are typically marginalized and by identifying community-aligned solutions (8).

The Illinois Department of Public Health received funding from CDC to administer the Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and develop the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan in collaboration with its statewide coalition, the Illinois Cancer Partnership (ICP). The plan identifies how the state will address cancer with a focus on reducing cancer incidence and death rates through prevention, screening, early detection, and diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, all with health equityfocused activities and strategies. A new addition to the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan is a robust, multipronged community engagement approach.

We describe the community engagement strategy developed and implemented for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. This model can serve as a blueprint for other statewide cancer coalitions working on their own CCC plans.

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Methods

The process to develop a community engagement strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan began with a meeting in October 2020 between the state health department partner and the academic partner (Figure 1). The goal of this meeting was to create a partnership that used a health equity lens to engage diverse community members and discuss the resources and assets that each partner was able to provide. Partners identified the following goals, which guided all subsequent activities:



Figure 1.

Timeline of activities for creating and implementing a community engagement strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. [A tabular version of this figure is available.]

Goal 1: Develop a strategy to engage diverse perspectives in the development process for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.

Develop a strategy to engage diverse perspectives in the development process for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. Goal 2: Elicit community feedback on the plans goals and objectives, focusing on addressing cancer inequities in Illinois.

Elicit community feedback on the plans goals and objectives, focusing on addressing cancer inequities in Illinois. Goal 3: Raise awareness of the development of the plan among Illinois legislative and community members, coalition members, and others with a vested interest in addressing cancer needs in Illinois.

The partners completed a partnership agreement template (Appendix) to establish ground rules for collaboration and determine desired level of collaboration, based on the Collaboration Spectrum Tool (9). The levels of partnership include cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, and integrate. The agreement summarized mutual benefits and described alignments with each partners strategic priorities, guidelines for authorship, and partners roles and scope of work (Figure 2) (9,10).



Figure 2.

Unique and shared roles and responsibilities of the state health department and academic partners for the community engagement strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. [A text version of this figure is available.]

Implementation of the community member engagement strategy

By consensus, partners determined that the community engagement strategy would include a virtual town hall meeting and a series of 8 virtual focus groups. The overall objectives of the town hall and focus groups were to identify 1) cancer-related problems, barriers, and gaps that people in Illinois experience; 2) solutions, facilitating factors, and strengths to address the problems; and 3) funding priorities. The town hall was hosted first, followed by the 8 focus groups that delved deeper into topics about health equity and cancer disparities.

The University of Illinois Institutional Review Board reviewed an application for the determination of human subjects research and granted this project (protocol no. 20201552) a formal Determination of Quality Improvement status.

Recruitment and eligibility

We recruited participants for both the town hall and the focus groups primarily through flyers sent via email to the academic and state health department partner networks throughout the state. In addition, flyers were distributed to the ICP listserv of approximately 600 people, including health practitioners and administrators from city, county, and state health departments, and hospitals and community health centers; representatives of cancer advocacy organizations; cancer survivors and caregivers of cancer patients; and researchers and clinicians, all of whom were encouraged to distribute the flyers through their own networks and social media.

The town hall was held during the day in January 2021 and was open to all interested adults residing in Illinois; online preregistration was required. People who completed the registration process received a follow-up email with a link to the meeting, followed by at least 2 reminder emails. We asked town hall participants to indicate their sex, race and ethnicity, whether they were a cancer survivor or caregiver for a cancer patient, and affiliation (eg, community member, hospital, government agency). We did not ask town hall participants to indicate age, health insurance coverage, preferred language, or residence (rural vs urban).

For the focus groups, held in March and April 2021, we used purposive sampling methods to select participants to ensure broad representation based on race and ethnicity, cancer survivors and caregivers, health insurance status, and residence (urban vs rural). Potential participants completed a registration form, which included questions on demographic characteristics (race and ethnicity, sex, age, preferred language, and rural vs urban residence). Rural or urban residency was based on the persons perception of place and not a specific classification system. People were not required to participate in the town hall to sign up for focus groups. Several focus groups were offered in the evening or during the weekend to promote participation among those who may not have availability during the week.

Town hall and focus group procedures

The town hall and focus groups procedures were organized and aligned with CDCs Community Health Assessment and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) Action Guide (11) and the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas Community Tool Box (12), both of which provide guidance and best practices for engaging with community members to understand and assess health disparities.

The academic partner developed semistructured moderator guides for the town hall and focus groups (Table 1). The moderator guides were based on a model for the analysis of population health and health disparities (13), which incorporates a multilevel lens to understand factors that contribute to health disparities: fundamental causes, the social and physical context, individual demographics and risk factors, and biologic responses and pathways.

The town hall, which included a breakout session, was hosted by the academic partner and lasted 90 minutes. It was used as an opportunity to raise awareness of the cancer control plan and recruit focus group participants. The town hall began with introductions from the state health department and academic partners. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 breakout rooms to delve into specific cancer-related topics, with a facilitator and notetaker from the academic partner in each room. After the breakout sessions, participants returned to the town hall and were invited to complete online registration for a focus group.

The academic partner hosted and facilitated the focus groups in March and April 2021. Of the 8 focus groups, 3 were for the general population and each of the other 5 was tailored for a specified group: rural residents, cancer survivors, young cancer survivors, cancer caregivers, and Spanish speakers. All focus groups were recorded and lasted from 75 to 98 minutes (mean, 83 min). On average, each group had 7 participants (range, 510). Participants received a $40-equivalent gift (gift card, electronic code, or digital payment) to acknowledge their time and effort and decrease barriers to participation. Before the town hall and focus groups, the academic partner held 3 one-hour training sessions for facilitators to review the basic principles of conducting qualitative data collection, building participant rapport, asking good questions and probes, and managing group conversations.

Analysis of data from town hall and focus groups

The town hall was not recorded because of technical problems in using breakout rooms in the Zoom platform, but a notetaker was assigned to the main town hall Zoom room in addition to the notetakers in the breakout rooms. Immediately after the town hall, the facilitators and notetakers reviewed and discussed notes, organized them topically, and listed key themes.

All focus groups were recorded via Zoom. Before analysis, all focus groups were transcribed, checked for accuracy, and de-identified. We used Dedoose version 9.0.18, a web-based qualitative data software application to conduct analysis. Members of the analytic team (L.C., C.H., B.S.) used content analysis procedures and developed a codebook to identify themes and subthemes. The final codebook consisted of 58 codes. Finally, themes were organized according to the model for analysis of population health and health disparities (13), and sample quotes were extracted to illustrate themes.

At the time of the focus group and town hall, the ICP had already drafted the goals, objectives, and strategies to be included in the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. The ICP reviewed the major themes identified by the analysis of data from the town hall and focus groups and revised the plan according to this analysis.

Implementation of the legislative body engagement strategy

The academic partner, in consultation with the ICP and the state health department partner, initiated engagement with the Illinois legislative body by drafting a resolution to raise awareness of a state cancer plan and the development of the 20222027 plan. A resolution is a statement of opinion that does not have the force of law. Because of rules and laws about lobbying, the state health department partner was not permitted to engage with the legislative body. The academic partner, in consultation with their institutions vice chancellor for health affairs office, whose function is health affairs advocacy and government relations, created the initial draft of the resolution. The draft was then shared with the ICP for input, which was incorporated into the final version. Next, the academic partner, in collaboration with the vice chancellor for health affairs office, contacted the American Cancer Societys director of government affairs for Illinois to leverage their expertise in advocacy and policy work. The academic partner facilitated a meeting between the vice chancellor for health affairs office and the American Cancer Society, wherein it was decided that the next step would be to engage the Illinois Joint Legislative Cancer Caucus to seek support for adoption of the resolution. Finally, a schedule to contact the chair of the Cancer Caucus was set to align with the states legislative session calendar.

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Results

Community member engagement

In total, 112 people participated in the community engagement strategies; 59 (53%) participated in the town hall only, 50 (45%) in the focus groups only, and 3 (3%) participated in both (Table 2). Overall, 102 (91%) participants self-reported their sex as female; 18 (16%) self-reported Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino origin; 26 (23%), Black or African American; 75 (67%), White; and 7 (6%), Asian. Focus groups participants on average were aged 52 (SD, 14; range, 2588) years. Of 53 focus group participants, 5 (9%) reported a preference for Spanish language, and 14 (26%) were rural residents. Of the 62 town hall participants, 22 (35%) reported an academic affiliation, 10 (16%) reported being from a community-based organization, and 8 (13%) reported being from a hospital or clinical setting.

Major themes from town hall and focus group analysis

Participants in the town hall and focus groups described factors that contribute to cancer disparities among people in Illinois.

The town hall participants discussed the importance of understanding and addressing health disparities broadly and specifically to cancer throughout the CCC plan. One town hall attendee stated, Cancer affects everyone but not everyone equally. Determinants of health, such as access to food, safe physical activity, transportation, health insurance coverage, access to health care providers (including specialists), treatment options (including second opinions and clinical trials), and knowledge about health, health care systems, and available resources were discussed extensively, especially as they pertained to racial and ethnic groups and immigrant status in Illinois. Participants also discussed how access to transportation and cancer care resources (ie, patient navigators, specialty care), the digital divide, and exposure to environmental hazards depend on where one lives in Illinois. They recommended that the plan include education and awareness of multiple cancer types; highlight the importance of early detection, patient navigation, and collaboration with health systems and organizations; and ensure that goals and objectives are realistic and attainable. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic was a major topic of discussion, especially concerns about exposure among cancer patients and survivors and disruption of the health care system and cancer care.

Key themes from the focus groups largely mirrored those from the town hall (Table 3). Overall, the lack of a comprehensive health insurance system in Illinois and discrimination based on race and ethnicity and immigration status were identified as being the primary policy and social conditions that contributed to cancer disparities across the cancer continuum. Concerning the institutional context, lack of access to quality systems and services was a recurring theme. Concerning the physical context, participants discussed the importance of where one lives and how place relates to community and individual health outcomes. Specifically, participants discussed environmental hazards, internet access and the digital divide, transportation, and food insecurity as subthemes. Access to health care and transportation challenges were noted among both rural and urban residents, although we found nuanced differences. For example, rural residents talked more about a lack of medical facilities overall, and urban residents talked more about access in terms of quality of care. Furthermore, urban residents noted access to supports and resources that are available to people living in an urban center, whereas rural residents often discussed a lack of resources to address needs across the cancer continuum (ie, education and prevention resources, care navigation services, innovative diagnostic and treatment care, and survivor peer and social support).

Focus group participants also discussed the importance of the social context and how factors such as community poverty, residential segregation, and inadequate social networks contribute to cancer disparities in the state. Rural residents noted their large aging populations and discussed age-related challenges. Participants discussed the effect of individual-level risk factors and health behaviors on cancer disparities, but when they mentioned these, they typically connected these factors with the social and physical community contexts that shape behavior, such as access to resources, safety, and engagement in physical activity.

Recommendations and funding priorities to improve health across the cancer continuum

Participants in the town hall and focus groups recommended policy and systems, clinical, community, and individual-level strategies and funding priorities to address cancer disparities in Illinois. The recommendations spanned the entire cancer care continuum, from prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment to survivorship and palliative care. The primary policy concern was ensuring that all who need cancer care are able to receive it, regardless of cost and ability to pay. Clinical-level recommendations to address cancer disparities included access to patient navigation, improved patientprovider communication, and training for health care providers. Community-level recommendations included increased access to community navigators, ensuring that transportation needs are met for both rural and urban communities, and addressing food insecurity by establishing food depositories throughout the state. Finally, individual-level recommendations included the need to increase awareness and education opportunities about cancer.

Town hall and focus group participants shared their ideas about how funds should be prioritized in Illinois to address cancer. First, they noted that community organizations, especially those addressing cancer disparities and working collaboratively, should be prioritized for funding. They also suggested prioritizing funding for cancer prevention and research; programs that provide social, emotional, and educational support; and patient navigation services. Finally, participants mentioned that funding needed to be spread out across different types of cancers.

The complete report on the results of the town hall and focus groups can be found in the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan (14). The report incorporated participant quotes to support specific goals, objectives, and strategies. In addition, 8 infographics were created to support dissemination (15).

Legislative members engagement strategy

The chair of the Illinois Joint Legislative Cancer Caucus agreed to be the primary sponsor of Illinois House Resolution 0675, the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan (16), and garnered cosponsorship from other legislators. The resolution, adopted on March 15, 2022, approximately 1 month after it was filed, urged all legislators to support and promote the plan to address 3 priority areas (prevention; early detection and screening; and diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship) by engaging, educating, and empowering constituents through community engagement. The resolution discusses social determinants of health and recognizes the need to address cancer health equity and eliminate health disparities by providing a framework for strategies and interventions that address structural and systemic barriers.

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Discussion

We implemented a robust community engagement strategy through a successful state health departmentacademic partnership. Our work informed the development of the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan and helped raise awareness of the plan among Illinois legislators. This model of community engagement can be replicated by other coalitions that are developing state cancer plans or other similar documents. Many states are already using similar approaches to prepare their plans. For example, Indiana (17), Nebraska (18), and Tennessee (19) used town halls and focus groups to understand community priorities What is unique about the community engagement approach is that it is explicitly centered in health equity theory, which promotes understanding cancer concerns at multiple levels. Relatedly, many states have described using collaborative approaches that involve multiple partners. However, many descriptions lack details about the various roles and responsibilities involved in planning. Our work described and delineated unique and shared roles and responsibilities of academic and state health department partners.

Using community engagement approaches ensured that the Illinois plan reflects the voices of people affected by cancer in Illinois and the diverse needs and assets in the state. Our approach was guided by public health models of engagement and theoretical models of social determinants of health (1113). This approach emphasized understanding and addressing not only the role of individual-level risk factors and behaviors in cancer health disparities but also the role of fundamental causes and physical and social contexts. This approach may also be considered for creating strategic plans to address other chronic conditions.

Limitations

Our community engagement strategy has several limitations. First, we did not have a transcription of the town hall meeting, so we were unable to review verbatim comments. However, the academic partner had notetakers for the town hall and for each breakout room. Second, recruitment focused on ensuring representation of participants by rural and urban residence, health insurance status, and race and ethnicity. Thus, the perspective of some populations (eg, men, people with gender identities other than male or female) may be limited. Coalitions could consider recruitment strategies that take this limitation into account. Third, we used self-reported information on rural residency, and a participants perception of rural residency may not match an objective measure. However, we wanted to acknowledge the validity of lived experiences. Finally, because of the timing of our work and the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to have in-person events. Although virtual focus groups have some advantages, such as mitigating travel challenges and reaching diverse populations, virtual modalities are less likely to reach people without access to or the capacity to use technology (20,21).

Conclusion

We recommend that the ICP and other coalitions working on cancer plans develop strategies to include community members in the development of plan goals, objectives, and strategies. Although the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan considered community feedback before these elements were finalized, soliciting this input at the onset would have increased community engagement and participation.

Our community engagement strategy reflects a process through which the expertise and voices of community members can be documented and reflected in state CCC plans. We highlighted a mechanism through which plans can be brought to the attention of legislators. Other coalitions working on their states plans could consider replicating some or all of our strategy. Ultimately, plans should reflect principles of health equity and prioritize the elimination of cancer disparities.

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Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to the community members in Illinois who shared their stories and contributed to this work. We also thank the following people for their efforts in planning and implementing the town hall and focus group: Sarah Christian, MPH; Yohana Ghdey, MPH; Jeanette Gonzalez, MS; LeChaun Kendall, MPH; Nasima Mannan, MPH; and Ana Williams, MPH, MHA, DDS. Finally, we thank members of the Illinois Cancer Partnership for supporting community engagement efforts for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.

The community engagement strategy activities (town hall and focus groups) were supported by the University of Illinois Cancer Center. Funding for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan was provided by CDC grant DP17-1701 through the Illinois Department of Public Health. The authors take full responsibility for this content and did not receive honoraria or disclose any relevant financial relationships. No copyrighted tools or other materials were used in this research or article.

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Author Information

Corresponding Author: Leslie Carnahan, PhD, MPH, University of Illinois Cancer Center, 818 S Wolcott Ave (MC709), Chicago, IL 60612 (lcarna2@uic.edu).

Author Affiliations: 1University of Illinois Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois. 2School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. 3Illinois Department of Public Health, Springfield, Illinois. 4Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, North Bethesda, Maryland. 5Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, Rockford, Illinois. 6Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.

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References

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Tables

Table 1. Sample Questions From the Moderator Guide for the Town Hall and Focus Groups, Community Engagement Strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plana Multilevel factor Description Sample questions Fundamental causes Includes social conditions and policies (eg, poverty, public policy, culture, norms, discrimination) and the institutional context (eg, health care system; economic, legal, political systems).  Now, I would like you to think about yourself, a loved one, or someone from your community who was diagnosed with cancer. How easy or hard would it be for this person to get the information to make decisions about their care?

 How easy or hard would it be for this person to get good, high-quality treatment?

 What would make it easier for this person to get the care they need? Physical and social context Includes physical context (eg, pollution, transit access, parks), social context (eg, collective efficacy, social capital, racial and ethnic integration), and social relationships (eg, social networks, social support, civic engagement).  Health disparities are differences that we see in health and health care between groups. These groups can be based on race, where you live, your income level, gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical abilities, among other things. For example, some groups have worse health outcomes related to cancer and less access to care than others. What do you think are some of the things in your community that contribute to cancer disparities?

 What are some of the best ways to improve cancer disparities? Individual demographic characteristics and risk factors Includes individual demographic characteristics (eg, age, socioeconomic status, health status) and individual risk behaviors (eg, tobacco use, engagement in health care system).  Would you tell me about a time when you knew you needed to get a recommended cancer screening, but decided not to do it, or put it off for a period of time?

 Now, think about a time when you knew you needed to get a cancer screening and you did. What helped you take that action? Biologic responses and pathways Includes biologic responses (eg, stress, hypertension, previous illness) and biologic and genetic pathways (eg, allostatic load, genetic ancestry).  How, if at all, is cancer talked about in your family?

 How has this influenced your use of getting screened for different cancers?

Table 2. Characteristics of Participants in Community Engagement Strategy (N = 112) for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan Characteristic No. (%) Participation Participated in town hall only 59 (53) Participated in focus group only 50 (45) Participated in both town hall and focus group 3 (3) Sex Female 102 (91) Male 9 (8) Sex not reported 1 (1) Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino origin 18 (16) Race American Indian or Alaska Native 1 (1) Asian 7 (6) Black or African American 26 (23) White 75 (67) Race not reported 3 (3) Cancer survivor 40 (36) Caregiver for a cancer patient (current or past) 31 (28) Affiliationa Community member 5 (8) Academic affiliate 22 (35) Community-based organization 10 (16) Hospital or clinical setting 8 (13) Government agency or health department 5 (8) Age, yb,c <40 12 (23) 4059 25 (47) >60 16 (30) Current health insurance coverageb,d Private 33 (62) Public 14 (26) Other source of coverage 3 (6) Uninsured, no coverage 3 (6) Preferred language for focus groupb English 48 (91) Spanish 5 (9) Current rural residenceb 14 (26)

Table 3. Sample Quotes From Focus Group Participants About Multilevel Factors That Contribute to Cancer Disparities Among People in Illinois, Community Engagement Strategy for the 20222027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan Multilevel factor Sample quote Fundamental causes of cancer disparities  Access to quality care, clinical trials, patient navigation services

 Social conditions and policies, including lack of comprehensive health insurance system

 Institutional context, including lack of access to quality systems and services

 Discrimination [Access to a research institution] is literally a lifeline. You have access to clinical trials . . . and the response time is phenomenal if youre in a location that has that kind of infrastructure. But most . . . in this country do not live near a major research hospital. And I do not expect that we can be successful at treating cancer early, or even getting people treatment that they need, without the access. Access is everything. [African American cancer survivor from Cook County, aged 60 years] My insurance is through the Affordable Care Act. When Illinois extended Medicaid to cover low-income individuals, I qualified. And I find having that as my insurance affects who I can see. . . . I feel that the quality of health care Im getting . . . because of my insurance is less. It isnt as good. [Non-Hispanic White cancer survivor from central Illinois, aged 57 years] And Ive heard from friends, in particular, friends who are not White, who do not feel like doctors trust or actually listen to them and validate what theyre experiencing. [Non-Hispanic White cancer survivor from Cook County, aged 34 years] Physical context  Location (rural vs urban)

 Environmental hazards

 Digital divide and telehealth

 Transportation

 Food insecurity So, if youre in a hard-to-reach region, why should you get third-tier treatment? Its an unequal distribution of medical care in the state and it has been for a very, very long time. [Non-Hispanic White cancer survivor from rural central Illinois, aged 55 years] I think if one lives in an urban area, your air quality probably isnt very good. So, that probably has a lot to do with cancer diagnoses. [Non-Hispanic White cancer survivor from Cook County, aged 58 years] I mean, not everyone has access to a vehicle. . . . Quite often, the medical profession doesnt consider that. . . . And in a way, its like blaming the victim because I dont have access to what I need to get there. . . . Access for me is difficult. And somehow, they never seem to ask those questions. You know, what can we do to help you get here? Do you need a ride? Something like that. None of that becomes a conversation. [African American cancer survivor and caregiver from central Illinois, aged 49 years] Social context  Fear of cancer in communities

 Community characteristics

 Residential segregation

 Social networks and norms

 Patientprovider relationships I think part of it is the fear of the expense of medical care, not understanding it  having insurance or not, understanding insurance, and that financial fear. [Asian cancer survivor and caregiver from Cook County, aged 63 years] Having a conversation with the doctor may not be as understandable, and people dont know how to continue to say, I dont understand or tell me in a different way. So, its also a point of literacy and understanding. So, the doctor went to medical school and he or she is an expert. But if they cant deliver that message and that information in a way thats understandable, then they havent done a good job. And so, I may sit in the office, I may get lots of information which is good pertinent information. But if I dont understand it, I dont have anything. [African American cancer survivor and caregiver from central Illinois, aged 49 years] Individual demographics, risk factors, and biologic responses and pathways  Insurance status

 Immigration status You know, Im blessed to have a husband, and Ive told him many times that were it not for our insurance coverage, I dont know where Id be. Ovarian cancer is a very expensive treatment. CT scans are 12,000 dollars sometimes. I just dont know how people could do it if they were not covered. I really dont. [Latina cancer survivor and caregiver from Cook County, aged 48 years] Theres a lot of people who have the thought that [name of public hospital] isnt good because thats where all of the immigrants go, but . . . people who dont have resources to go to another hospital go there, and thats why they take a long time. Personally, I can say that years ago it was like that. . . . They gave me an ultrasound [appointment] in 6 months. When I got to 6 months, I didnt have the pain anymore. [Latina community member from Cook County, aged 48 years] Once we found out there was a genetic mutation in the family  so now, one of my cousins whos younger than me, she actually got screened for it and so shes talking to a specialist to see what her options are so that she has more of a choice with it. [Non-Hispanic White cancer survivor from rural southern Illinois, aged 36 years]

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Appendix. Text of Community Engagement and Health Equity Office Community Partnership Agreement

This agreement is between The Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE) Office, as a part of the University of Illinois Cancer Center and [community organization], each wishing to establish a working relationship to support [Project Work].

[Community organization/partner] and CEHE wish to enable a [level of partnership] partnership and exchange in the Project Work by working together agreeing to the below:

1. Background. [Provide a brief background of the relationship between the partners.]

Include each organizations mission

List who the primary contacts are:

CEHE primary contact/principal investigator/lead staff

Community organization/partner

2. Goals of partnership. This agreement reflects the genuine intentions to form a working relationship. The purpose of this agreement is to advance the ideas and activities to meet the following goals:

Goal 1:

Goal 2:

Goal 3:

3. Summary of mutual benefit.

Based on Give/Get model

What contributions and benefits can the community organization and the community engagement cancer center team share to [work together on (ie, develop or create a plan)] to reach [goals (ie, increase cervical cancer awareness)]

What community can give? What community can get?

What CEHE can give? What CEHE can get?

What is the alignment with CEHEs strategic priorities?

What is the alignment with community organizations strategic priorities?

4. Authorship and acknowledgments.

List and order of authorship must be discussed before the development of any manuscripts as a result of the partnership.

Products as a result of this partnership should include an acknowledgment of the Community Engagement and Health Equity Office at the University of Illinois Cancer Center. Products and publications include research and technical papers, preprints, conference and academic presentations, theses and dissertations, journals and books, oral histories, video and audio recordings of speeches and events, photographs, and key project documents.

Both partners should be branded together with their respective logos on any promotion or dissemination.

Partners agree that ownership of intellectual property rights generated as a result of the activities under this agreement will follow inventorship rule and remain the property of the partner introducing and/or disclosing the same to the other partner.

5. Description of engagement deliverables and timeline (scope of work).

Include activities/deliverables, persons responsible for conducting each activity and timeline for completion

6. Mutual agreement time period.

This agreement will remain in effect for one (1) year from the date of the last signature. Either partner may terminate this agreement by informing the other partner with an electronic or written form of communication.

7. Evaluation.

The partners will convene twice a year to focus discuss partnership status, communication and outcomes

Signed for and on behalf of:

By: [Community organization/partner] [Title]

Date:

By: [CEHE] [CEHE authorized official] [Title]

Date:

AGREEMENT is effective for one year after last signature has been provided; date: ________________

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Indonesia remains gripped by cement overcapacity

11 August 2023

This week Indonesia's Ministry of Industry addressed the growing issue of overcapacity in the cement sector by implementing a new moratorium policy and new investment arrangements. At the same time, the industry is transitioning to more sustainable cement production as it targets a net zero future.



Ignatius Warsito, director general of the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Textile Industry (IKFT) of the Ministry of Industry, explained the condition of overcapacity of the cement industry is present in almost all regions, except for Bali-Nusa Tenggara and Maluku-Papua. The biggest percentage of overcapacity occurred in Java, which is more than 55.4 per cent, added Warsito.



Currently, the national cement industry consists of 15 integrated cement companies spread from Aceh to Papua, with a total installed capacity of 116Mta. Currently, our cement industry is still experiencing an overcapacity of 51.8Mt or 45 per cent, he explained.

According to Mr Warsito, new investments in cement factories should still be directed at the regions of Papua, West Papua, Maluku and North Maluku. "This arrangement will be reviewed if the national average utilisation has reached 85 per cent," he said.

Cement capacity and utilisation

The country's installed cement capacity was currently estimated at 116.8Mt at the end of 2022 by PT Indocement (Heidelberg Materials). It is forecast by the company to grow to 119.8Mt in 2025. Meanwhile, utilisation levels were recorded at 54 per cent in 2022 and are not expected to rise above 56.9 per cent by 2025, says PT Indocement. Cement demand in 2022 reached 63Mt, which was down 3.5 per cent from 65.2Mt in 2021.

The health of the industry has deteriorated substantially since 2012 when capacity and demand were more or less in step at 61Mta and 55Mta, respectively. The utilisation rate in 2012 was also at a record 92.9 per cent. The gap between cement capacity and demand has been widening ever since, while utilisation has almost halved. Cement demand totalled 5.291Mt in June 2023, down just 1.1 per cent on 5.35Mt recorded in 2022 but down 2.2 per cent from 5.463Mt recorded in 2021. The only regions seeing strong domestic growth in cement production in the 1H23 were Kalimantan, up 7.8 per cent, and Bali and Nusa Tenggara, which rose by 11.6 per cent.

The solution for domestic cement producers has been to turn to the export markets with overcapacity reaching as much as 51.8Mt or 45 per cent. "Total exports of cement and clinker in the 1Q23 increased by 11.57 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. This is in line with the increasing demand in foreign markets, commented Warsito.

Taking steps towards Net Zero

While balancing supply and demand has been challenging for the sector, it has also been looking to create a more sustainable production base. Indocement is working with Amita Holdings, a Japanese environmental consulting company, on a two-year feasibility study to investigate ways to make production carbon neutral. The study will commence with trials of wastes for alternative raw materials and municipal solid waste (MSW) used a s refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

Cement producers have increasingly had to consider alternative fuels (AF) as the price of coal has increased significantly since December 2020. This has increased production costs and caused supply shortages. "Coal for the cement industry is the main raw material and fuel which has a percentage of up to 40 per cent in the production and cost structure," commented Mr Warsito.

Pressure is also being put on governments of developing countries by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and Mission Possible Partnership to move away from bagged cement deliveries to bulk deliveries. Moreover, cement in Indonesia is often hand-mixed on site, which risks inefficient use of the product. This method, without formal recipes or quality control, can lead to overuse of cement. By introducing bulk cement and ready-mix concrete services, the carbon intensity of cement can be reduced in emerging countries such as Indonesia.

Running alongside this initiative will be The Zero Over Dimension Overload policy that targets logistic costs. Currently 80 per cent of cement is transported by trucks in Indonesia, and the size and volume of trucks can be adapted to better maximise load capacity. The cement industry has submitted three proposals prior to the implementation of this policy, namely adjusting the driver/kir system (vehicle inspection) to vehicle design and road class, implementing a multi-axle policy, and increasing the quality of road-carrying capacity. As of November 2019, the 73 offices for Vehicle Weighing or weighbridges managed by the Director General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation found 39 per cent or 809,496 vehicles out of 2,073,698 violated the regulation. The most common violations (84.43 per cent) were for overcapacity.

Summary

Indonesia is experiencing growing industry pain as it seeks to balance its installed cement capacity with export opportunities and more sustainable production. However, cement demand is not expected to sufficiently improve to alleviate low capacity utilisation levels in the medium term. Therefore, investment in new plants and further capacity will remain limited.

Published under
Tajikistan lifts ban on cement exports

11 August 2023

Tajikistan has reported cement production of 2.1Mt in the opening six months of 2023. Of this total, more than 538,000t were exported, down 138,000t compared to the same period a year earlier. The majority of these exports were sent to Uzbekistan (342,000t) and Afghanistan (194,000t), reports Asia Plus.

The government had introduced a ban on cement exports in July this year due to a shortage of cement for a number of key projects taking place in the country. However, the ban was lifted just five days later with exports resuming in August.

Current forecasts put cement production in Tajikistan at 4.5Mt in 2023 with exports over the same period exceeding 1.5Mt.

Published under
Hyundai Motor CEO Jang Jae-hoon, left, poses with members of the Netherlands and Finland's Scout contingents at the company's Mabuk Training Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. He inspected facilities, programs, accommodation and dining venues prepared for the contingent members. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Iran's and U.S.' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken Jan. 27, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



Iran has moved five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea, U.S. and Iranian officials said Thursday, as part of a tentative deal that follows months of heightened tensions between the two countries.



Iranian officials at the United Nations told the Associated Press that the prisoner transfer marked "a significant initial step" in the implementation of the agreement, which is still being negotiated and could eventually lead to the full release of the Americans.



Iran acknowledged that the deal involves $6 billion to $7 billion that were frozen as a result of sanctions. Iranian officials said the money would be transferred to Qatar before being sent on to Iran if the agreement goes through.



The final transfer of the money  and the release of the five detainees  is expected in the next month or so due to the complicated nature of the financial transactions, officials said.



"My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare and the nightmare that their families have experienced," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference in Washington, adding that more work would be necessary to free the five.



State Department officials spoke to the prisoners on Thursday, he said.



The deal unfolded amid a major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf, with the possibility of U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz , through which 20% of all oil shipments pass.



The agreement is bound to open U.S. President Joe Biden to fresh criticism from Republicans and others that his administration is helping to boost the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to U.S. troops and Mideast allies.



U.S.-based lawyer Jared Genser, who represents one of the prisoners, said the five will likely be held at a hotel under guard. There are "simply no guarantees about what happens from here," he said.



Neda Sharghi, whose brother, Emad Sharghi, is among the prisoners, said in a statement that her family "has faith in the work that President Biden and government officials have undertaken to bring our families home."





U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Barcena Ibarra at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Aug. 10. EPA-Yonhap



Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council, described the negotiations for the release as "ongoing" and delicate."



"While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens ... should have never been detained in the first place," she said in a statement.






The community is invited to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Friday from 5:30-7 p.m. for a free community event celebrating the history of Rosenwald Schools in Chattanooga. Tennessee State Rep. Greg Vital will share opening remarks for an evening dedicated to celebrating the history and impact of Chattanoogas Rosenwald Schools, including Bakewell, Booker T. Washington, Chickamauga, Georgetown, Hixson, Roland W. Hayes, Summit, and Washington School. Built between 1922 and 1929, these schools were in predominantly African American communities in both the city of Chattanooga School system and Hamilton County Schools.

Rosenwald Schools have been heralded as the most influential education movement is American history, and Chattanooga is a part of that story. As the nation rediscovers this story and revels in the friendship between Booker T. Washington and Jewish philanthropist and Sears-Roebuck magnate Julius Rosenwald.

Built during a time when segregation was the law and inequity the norm, former students of Chattanoogas Booker T. Washington School recalled that within those walls we were assured that we could do and be anything that we desired. We were inspired by teachers who cared about the students well-being as much as the teaching material. Rosenwald School alums became thought leaders, change-makers, and social justice icons. Zora Neale Hurston, Medgar Evers, Maya Angelou, Congressman John Lewis and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. are just a few who learned from the institutions supported by Sears magnate Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington.

Guests will enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres from Cafe Lemont, a short film presentation, and a panel discussion with Q&A. Sponsored by the National Park Partners, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, and the City of Chattanooga, this event is hosted by the Chattanooga Rosenwald School Alumni Steering Committee, is free, and open to the public.
In this image made from video released by Roscosmos State Space Corporation, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russia's Far East, Aug. 11. AP-Yonhap



Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday in a bid to be the first nation to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted pockets of water ice.



The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole.



A Soyuz 2.1 rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 kimeters) east of Moscow, at 2:11 a.m. on Friday Moscow time (1111 GMT on Thursday).



The lander was boosted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon over an hour later, at which point mission control took command of the craft, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said.



The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on Aug. 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov told state television, though the space agency previously pegged Aug. 23 as the landing date.



"Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will take place," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch. "We hope to be first."



Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the moon's south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of water ice in the region's shadowed craters.



There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission, as the Kremlin says the West's sanctions over the Ukraine war, many of which have targeted Moscow's aerospace sector, have failed to cripple the Russian economy.



The moonshot, which Russia has been planning for decades, will also test the nation's growing independence in space after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine severed nearly all of Moscow's space ties with the West, besides its integral role on the International Space Station.



The European Space Agency had planned to test its Pilot-D navigation camera by attaching it to Luna-25, but severed its ties to the project after Russia invaded Ukraine.



"Russia's aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it's an expression of national power on the global stage," Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.



U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong gained renown in 1969 for being the first person to walk on the moon, but the Soviet Union's Luna-2 mission was the first spacecraft to reach the moon's surface in 1959, and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first to make a soft landing there.



Moscow then focused on exploring Mars and since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has not sent scientific probes beyond earth orbit.





The Soyuz 2.1b rocket with a Fregat-M upper stage carrying the Luna-25 lander lifts off from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, Aug. 11. Tass-Yonhap
A woman on W. 37th Street told police she was sleeping on the couch when her sister walked up to her and started engaging in a verbal argument. She said they were arguing over the light bill, when her sister called her "bitches and hoes." She said they argue every time they speak. She also said both of them are on the lease. Officers spoke to the sister, who said her sister (the caller) is constantly high on ICE and talks to herself very loudly. She said this caused the verbal argument when she confronted her about this. She said to resolve the issue, she was going to put her son to bed, then leave the house for the night.



* * *

Police spoke with a man and woman who were seen panhandling at Brainerd Road/E. Brainerd Road. Neither of them had any active warrants, and have been added to the panhandling spreadsheet. Both were given a verbal warning.

* * *

A woman on McBrien Road told police she had found two shell casings on her balcony. Police were able to locate two .40 caliber casings on her balcony. The woman had no idea where they came from. The spent shall casings most likely came from holiday celebrating. The casings will be turned into Property.

* * *



A woman told police her daughter lost her phone at the Cromwell Hills Apartments on Jasmine Street at approximately 7 p.m. She said the phone was a black iPhone 11 with a clear case. She said she would call back in later with the serial number if she is able to locate it.

* * *

A man on W. 13th Street Court told police he and his girlfriend had a verbal disagreement about her cheating on him. Police found both of them were intoxicated. The man said he didn't want to put her out. To solve the problem for the night, both agreed to stay separate.

* * *

A woman at a residence on Shallowford Road told police she and her mom both live there and her mom discovered damage on her vehicle around 7:30 a.m. that morning. The woman last saw her vehicle the night before around 7:30 p.m., when she parked it there overnight. The front passenger side fender has a dent and the side mirror is broken off and gone. The passenger side headlight is also broken. There are no cameras there, so there is no proof of how the damage was done.

* * *



An employee at Enterprise, 1800 W Polymer Dr., told police a rental vehicle had not been returned and all options to recover the vehicle had been exhausted. The vehicle was added to NCIC as stolen. The company is working to collect footage of the renter to verify the information used was correct and to seek out warrants on the renter at a later date.

* * *

Employees of a business on Amnicola Highway told police they observed a verbal disorder in the parking lot between an employee and her boyfriend before they both entered her vehicle and drove away. They were concerned for the employee's safety. Using tag information, police identified the employee as the possible victim. A deputy with Hamilton County responded to her address on file in Hixson. He made contact with her parents at that address and was able to speak with her via phone call. She told him she was fine and the disorder was only verbal.

* * *

While handling another call at the Volcano Express, 7019 Shallowford Road, police located a Hilti nail gun lying amongst other trash and refuse left by homeless people. Nobody was on the scene to claim the item. Police transported the item to the Property Division for processing.

* * *

A man told police he was cussed and threatened by an employee at Patten Towers. Police spoke with the employee, who said that the previous night he had to trespass that man for being disorderly. They both agreed to stay away from each other.

* * *

A woman on Liberty Street told police that she had put a man on her power account so that he could put a credit towards it. She said now that the man is gone, he tried to have the power turned off at her residence. She said the power company came out to her residence, but she was able to talk to them and they are removing the man from the account.

* * *

A woman on Ocoee Street told police that she parked her 2001 Lexus SUV down the street from her apartment the night before, due to her neighbor having what she believed was a "gambling party." She said that she returned to her vehicle that morning to discover her vehicle's antenna was damaged. She has no suspect info or description, but suspects the large group of visitors at her neighbor's.

* * *

Police were called to the Raceway at 2528 Broad St. They observed a woman acting erratic inside the gas station. She was asked to leave the scene and she did so without further incident.

* * *

The property manager for Chestnut Properties, 2101 Rossville Ave., told police a homeless man has set up a large camp that is leaning on the fence of the Coker Tire warehouse. The fence is starting to bend due to the extensive amount of items that have been stacked against it. The manager of the warehouse is concerned if the homeless camp caught fire it would spread to the warehouse and ignite the thousands of tires that are inside. Police made contact with the man who is living in the homeless camp and made him aware of the situation.

* * *

A bus driver at McCallie Avenue/N. Holtzclaw Avenue told police that a man was causing a scene on the bus, cursing at other passengers. When he was asked to step off the bus, be became upset and refused to leave. Police spoke with the man, who was visibly upset and was shouting at the bus driver. The man did get off the bus and was given directions to his destination.
State Rep. Dan Howell today provided an update on efforts to expand broadband internet access in Bradley, Meigs and Polk counties.Construction is underway on a Volunteer Energy Cooperative project to expand broadband access to 3,327 households across parts of Bradley and Polk counties, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Charter Communications is also working to provide service to an additional 10,106 households across parts of Benton, Carroll, Loudon, McMinn, McNairy and Meigs counties.Having access to fast and reliable internet service is vital for the success of our communities, Rep.Howell said. These projects will benefit thousands of residents by greatly expanding broadband infrastructure across rural and underserved areas of Tennessee. I am grateful for the local and state partnerships that have made these efforts possible.Both companies were awarded a combined $35.8 million in grant funding for the projects last fall from TNECD. The work must be completed by 2025.According to the Federal Communications Commissions 2020 Broadband Deployment Report, one in six rural Tennesseans lacks access to broadband.Expanding broadband internet services to more families, schools and businesses is a priority, Rep. Howell said. I was proud to co-sponsor the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act in 2017, and I look forward to the positive impact these grants will have throughout our state.Starting in September, TNECD will offer up to an additional $185 million in grants to expand internet access statewide. The funding will be allocated through the Financial Stimulus Accountability Group to expand broadband access in underserved and unserved areas statewide through the Last Mile and Middle Mile grant programs.The Last Mile Grant Program will offer up to $60 million to internet service providers across unserved and underserved areas in Hardin, Wayne and Polk counties. These communities lack broadband at speeds of 100/20 Megabits per second (Mbps) and were selected due to their percentage of unserved and underserved residential locations compared to other counties in the state.The Middle Mile Grant Program will offer up to $125 million to internet service providers in all other counties in Tennessee that lack internet at speeds of 100/20 Mbps. Each of these grants must have a last mile component and provide new and/or improved service in unserved or underserved areas.Grant applications for both programs will open on Sept. 4 and close on Oct. 16. Award recipients are expected to be announced by early 2024.Since 2018, TNECD has awarded nearly $566.6 million in broadband grants through state and federal funding to serve more than 660,000 Tennesseans across 260,000 residential locations.To learn more about Tennessees broadband initiatives and review program guidelines, visit www.tn.gov/broadband.
The Chattanooga Police Department is adding eight new sworn officers to its ranks, bringing the total number of sworn officers to 441.Eight cadets from CPD 2023-2 graduated Thursday in a ceremony held at The Camp House, 806 E. 12th St. in Chattanooga, after 22 weeks of intense training that began March 10. Training included both classroom instruction and hands-on drills in firearms, emergency medical response, patrol procedures, defensive tactics, interpersonal communication, criminal and Constitutional law and professional and ethical conduct.Officers at the Chattanooga Police Academy undergo 840 hours of comprehensive training  more training hours than the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards & Training mandates, said Lieutenant David Young, the Chattanooga Police Departments director of training.They are well-equipped to respond to calls for service and provide professional services to citizens.The new CPD sworn officers now start phase two of their training, which involves 16 weeks of riding with an experienced field training officer to put what they learned in the Academy into practice and sharpen their skills.The next Academy begins Aug. 25, but the Department is now accepting applications for the March 2024 Academy. People who are interested in enrolling and following a career path as a sworn Chattanooga Police officer can apply here . The deadline to apply is Oct. 2.
photo by Chase Smartt, Curriculum Associates photo by Chase Smartt, Curriculum Associates photo by Chase Smartt, Curriculum Associates Previous Next

A school-wide celebration of teacher Amanda Price, including a resolution presented by State Senator Adam Lowe, was held Thursday at Taylor Elementary School in Cleveland to honor her for being named a 2023 Curriculum Associates Extraordinary Educator.Curriculum Associates named Ms. Price to its 2023 class of Extraordinary Educators, an annual program that celebrates and connects exemplar teachers in grades Keighth from around the country.Chosen from hundreds of nominations, Ms.Price is among 30 educators from 22 states selected for exhibiting best-in-class use of i-Ready, i-Ready Classroom Mathematics, and/or Ready, illustrating growth and achievement via formal assessments, demonstrating innovation and engagement practices for students, being evangelists for high expectations and student achievement, championing equity and having taught for at least two years.Teachers are true rockstars, said Emily McCann, vice president of educator community at Curriculum Associates. This years Extraordinary Educators are no exceptionthey were chosen from hundreds of nominations and represent the best of the best. We are happy to recognize and celebrate Amanda for her amazing work in the classroom and look forward to providing her with ongoing professional learning and networking opportunities to help her continue to grow her craft.Officials said, "With nearly 340 years of combined teaching experience, this years class of Extraordinary Educators includes classroom teachers, special education teachers and instructional specialists. All of the educators were ultimately selected by an advisory board featuring leaders from Curriculum Associates, previously inducted Extraordinary Educators, and a college student pursuing a degree in urban education."The Extraordinary Educators will have continued access to a network of peers from around the country to collaborate, connect and learn from throughout the year as well as access to professional development opportunities from Curriculum Associates. They will also be invited to participate and present at the Extraordinary Educators Leadership Summit and other professional learning events.Being a part of this amazing group of teachers is a humbling experience, said Ms. Price. I am most excited to collaborate with others and to broaden my platform on which to share my testimony. I am looking forward to the priceless learning opportunities I will have and the connections I will make that will further my career in education.This is the fourth year of the Extraordinary Educators program. This years class joins 110 additional educators from across the country in receiving this recognition.
Two policy votes at the next Hamilton County School Board meeting Aug. 17 will adjust how county residents are represented in the district.

In a state-mandated change, students themselves and school employees may request formal review of school instructional materials or textbooks, joining parents and guardians.

District 3 representative Joe Smith said the policy is still too narrow.

Im not sure I like that, said Mr. Smith. He said the policy effectively states, We want your money, but we dont want you to have a say.

The new policy as worded would exclude, for example, families with preschool children, graduates themselves or any new residents who may have a cautionary tale.

But Hamilton County Department of Education lawyer Scott Bennett said any Hamilton County resident may address the board at its public meetings. Mr. Bennett said, Theres no vehicle for people who do not live in Hamilton County to address the board or formally critique the curriculum.

The second change allows a school board member to attend 10 or more board meetings virtually during the school year. The expanded pandemic-era policy allows physical absence but virtual attendance for five reasons: sickness, bad weather, family emergency, travel for work and military service.

A board member may attend three meetings virtually per instance of sickness or bad weather, plus two meetings virtually for family emergency or travel for work. There are no limitations for absences for military service.

Mr. Bennett said a representative who abuses the policy may be accused by constituents of negligence of duties and eventually be ousted.

A quorum of members must be physically present to conduct any board meeting. The board member attending virtually must be visually identified by the chair.

OTHER NEWS

The board will vote to require dated, written consent by a parent or guardian for students under 18 to participate in extracurricular activities.

District 11 representative Jill Black asked the board to update policy verbiage from (s)he and his/her to their and they. Mr. Bennett said the choice is the boards but suggested the grammar be consistent with what is taught in Hamilton County Schools, or to rely on language used in the Tennessee School Boards Association manual, which, at Mr. Bennetts first look, uses his/her, etc.

Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson suggested the board vote to subscribe to a TSBA language editing service for about $25,000 a year to ensure consistency and currency in the Hamilton County policy manual.
Meghan Markle doesnt have any Bad Blood toward Taylor Swift. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly attended one of Swifts Los Angeles concerts in August 2023, suggesting that she and Swift are on good terms. People werent sure how the duchess felt about Swift after learning that Meghan supposedly penned a letter to the pop star asking her to be on Archetypes  and Swift declined.

Meghan was seen at the concert during the same week that her husband, Prince Harry, is out of the country on charitable business over in Asia.

Meghan Markle | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Meghan Markle just attended Taylor Swifts Eras Tour

While Harrys away, Meghan will play. The duchess was spotted enjoying herself while Harry is out of the country; she reportedly attended Taylor Swifts Eras Tour with a friend while Swift was visiting Los Angeles, and she even stood up to dance to You Belong With Me when Swift performed.

People werent sure how Meghan felt about the singer, given that rumors swirled that Swift had declined  through her representative, no less  to appear on Meghans podcast, Archetypes as a guest speaker. The news broke shortly after Spotify said Meghans podcast didnt meet the parameters it was expecting and cut ties with the former royal. Meghan had allegedly sent a handwritten letter to Swift asking her to be a part of the podcast, but Swift ultimately declined. A reason was never released as to why Swift did not want to partake, but it could have just been that the duos schedules didnt line up. Swift is currently on a lengthy tour. Regardless, it all seems like water under the bridge. Meghan decided to enjoy herself a little bit while Harry was out of town, and those who spotted her at the concert seemed to think she was having fun singing and dancing along.

Meghan Markle | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Related Prince Harry Is Reportedly Considering an Apartment in Kensington Palace as Rumors Swirl About Harry and Prince William Making Amends

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are on two separate continents this week

Harry and Meghan have largely spent all of their time together since relocating to the United States back in 2020. However, Harry has flown over to the United Kingdom without his wife on a handful of occasions, either on official royal business or to make a court appearance due to a number of lawsuits hes currently working through.

Harry and Meghan are doing their own things this week, as Harry is spending time in Japen and Singapore in collaboration with his African-based charity, Sentebale, which helps underprivileged children living in Lesotho, a country in Southern Africa. The trip includes a polo match, and Harry is traveling with his fellow polo buddy and close friend, Nacho Figueras. Harry and Nacho posed for a silly Instagram photo together, which Nacho posted; the two were wearing womens sunglasses, claiming they were shopping for their wives. Harry is set to attend the polo match on Saturday and return to the United States shortly after, where hell reconnect with Meghan and the couples two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Its unclear why Meghan didnt travel with him, but it could have been because of the kids.
Prince Harry is solo-tripping in Asia sans Meghan Markle to attend events on behalf of his charity, Sentebale. And after spending a couple days in a new city, Harry said he would 'happy live' there.

Is Prince Harry looking to move out of the country? Well, probably not. The prince and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to Montecito, California, back in 2020 after parting ways with the royal family. For the first nearly-two years of their marriage, Harry and Meghan lived on the grounds of Windsor Castle over in the United Kingdom but relocated to North America after tensions between their family and the British press kept rising.

Now, Harry seems to have somewhere else on his mind  the Duke of Sussex just started a speech in Japan noting that hed happily live in the country.

Prince Harry | John Lamparski/Getty Images

Prince Harry just said hed happily move to Tokyo

Is Harry preparing for a move across another pond? In his mind, possibly, but the odds are slim. However, Harry has been spending some time in Asia this week to do work alongside his Southern Africa-based charity, Sentebale, which helps underprivileged youth in Lesotho. Harry and his friend, Ignacio Nacho Figueras, embarked on the trip while Meghan remained home with the couples two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

During a speech in Tokyo, Japan, Harry expressed how much he loved the country and city. Well, firstly, hello everybody, Harry began the speech, according to Express. He continued, Your warmth, your compassion, your generosity, every single element of the Japanese culture is really unique and very, very special. And, finally, Harry mentioned that he wouldnt mind living in the city. I noticed it on my first visit four years ago when I came for the Rugby World Cup. And I would happily live here if youd have me.

The remark about living in the city feels a bit off; its one thing to love the place but another to tell a room full of people that youre interested in living there. Despite the comment, Harry seemed to clarify that he doesnt plan to move to Tokyo, simply saying that he is looking forward to his next visit to the Japanese city.

Prince Harry | Chris Jackson/Pool/Getty Images

Related Kate Middleton Just Received 3 New Royal Titles From King Charles

Prince Harry has been in Asia while Meghan Markle is home with the couples kids

Meghan didnt fly with Harry on his solo trip, and while the couples young children are likely the reason, the two didnt actually say why Meghan stayed behind. It could have been because she had Taylor Swift tickets that she didnt want to sell (cant say we blame her). While there, Harry and his friend Nacho paid homage to their wives, with Nacho posting a funny Instagram photo of the two men wearing womens sunglasses, captioning it, Shopping for our wives.

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Meghan attended Taylor Swifts Eras Tour alongside a friend, where she was spotted singing, dancing, and enjoying herself. Despite the constant rumors that seem to plague the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, everything appears to be going well between them. There were rumors of marriage troubles earlier in the summer, but Harrys photo with Nacho might have just cleared up that he and his wife are actually doing just fine.
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Pictured top row from left are Cherokee Nation Treasurer Janees Taylor; Shella Bowlin, nominated for Secretary of State; Chief of Staff Corey Bunch; Chad Harsha, nominated for Attorney General; second row from left, Secretary of Veterans Affairs S. Joe Crittenden; Delegate to Congress Kim Teehee; Christina Justice, nominated for Secretary of Natural Resources; and Marshal Shannon Buhl.
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An editorial by Hearst Connecticut Media:

The key is independence. The Connecticut state trooper ticketing scandal, which has attracted national attention, must be investigated thoroughly and independently. Anything less would leave too many questions.

Gov. Ned Lamont, who has consistently asked everyone to refrain from judgment until all the facts are in, announced a handpicked leader last week for the investigation into the apparent falsification of thousands of traffic tickets. The probe will be led by Deirdre Daly, the former federal prosecutor.

Its true that Daly is now in private practice, having been a U.S. attorney under former President Barack Obama. But considering that previous objections had been raised to the idea of the state police investigating themselves, or to current officials who work closely with state police running the investigation, its fair to have questions about a former public safety official doing the questioning.

It will be imperative that all parties cooperate and that the investigation uncover the truth about the ticketing scandal.

What we know already is troubling enough. An audit released last month found about 26,000 instances between 2014 and 2021 where state troopers reported issuing tickets without corresponding records in the Centralized Infractions Bureau. Those discrepancies may have distorted years of racial profiling analysis.

There are a few possible explanations, and none of them are good.

Reporting last year by Hearst Connecticut Media found that four state troopers had fabricated hundreds of traffic stop tickets, with an array of rewards including pay increases and promotions. That led to the wider audit released in June that found the problem was much larger than initially known.

It also brought the issue of racial profiling to the forefront, because the false tickets hopelessly skewed the numbers of who was being pulled over. It hasnt been proven that this was an intended result or simply happened because the default race for the false stops was chosen. This is why we need more information.

Dalys is not the only investigation. An ongoing criminal probe is underway of the four officers initially found to have falsified tickets, and the General Assembly is meeting to launch a probe of its own. There will be overlap, but with a scandal this large and multiple, overlapping angles, there is plenty of ground for everyone to cover.

State police officials have vowed their cooperation, saying they have already instituted some reforms in the wake of the initial findings. Thats small comfort. Whatever is uncovered, it took place under the oversight of current leadership, and accountability will be key.

What we already know is bad enough, and it has the potential to get much worse. Simply declaring the problem solved because it was uncovered is not going to be good enough.

All that is in the future. Lamont and state police leadership need to ensure that investigators are free to do their jobs. Transparency at the investigations conclusion is essential. The trust of Connecticut in its state police has been damaged, and it will be hard work to rebuild it.
Berner's Bay near Juneau is the site of some of the lands selected for potential conveyance by the Chilkoot Indian Association. Tribal Administrator Harriet Brouillette said that while the lands aren't part of the Chilkat's traditional territory, it was the closest available land to selected in the Tongass not already claimed by other interests. Lex Treinen photo.

Harriet Brouillette remembers sitting around the kitchen table as a child in the late 1960s and early 1970s trying to understand her parents' discussions about the complicated topic of land claims.

At the time, Natives around the state, including the Chilkoot Indians of Haines, were focused on how they would be compensated for land that white settlers or the U.S. government had taken from them.

Her parents hoped that a fledgling idea of organizing as for-profit Native corporations would at least give Native communities some minimal compensation for the hundreds of thousands of acres of historic hunting, fishing, and berry-picking lands that had been overtaken by white settlers since the gold rush.

But when the landmark Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was finally passed in 1971, Brouillette said her parents were devastated to find out that the people of Deishu had been left out, along with five other Southeast communities.

"There was never any sort of reason given," said Brouillette, who is now the tribal administrator of the Chilkoot Indian Association.

Her parents fought for the next decade to amend ANCSA to allow the Chilkoot tribe to organize as a corporation and receive lands like other similar communities had been given. They failed. At the time, Brouillette was fresh out of college with two small boys.

"My mother just said 'I give up, I can't do this any more, it's your turn,'" said Brouillette. "I really felt the weight that my ancestors have been carrying for generations trying to get some of our land back."

Decades later, the 59-year-old grandmother of five still hasn't succeeded, but she said the most recent effort to amend ANCSA has her more hopeful than ever.

"I think that this is the time," said Brouillette. "I think we're in a good place right now. We have support on both sides."

Over the past two months, Alaska's congressional delegation has reintroduced a bill that would give 23,000 acres of land to each of the five Southeast Alaska Native communities that were inexplicably left out of ANCSA.

Brouillette said she didn't want to be disappointed again, but there are signs that this time around could be different.

Decades of missed opportunities

It remains unclear why the five "landless" communities - Tenakee Springs, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Gustavus and Haines - were excluded in the first place. A 1993 report by the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Anchorage commissioned by Congress concluded there was no reason in the congressional record for why the communities were left out.

Some have speculated that the communities may have been excluded from ANCSA because of backroom deals by timber lobbyists worried Native groups would lock up the land.

"We can only guess," said Jaeleen Kookesh, policy and legal director for Sealaska who has been advocating for the amendment for 25 years.

About a quarter of Natives - more than 4,000 people - identified as residing in one of the five landless communities when ANCSA was passed. While they received benefits of Sealaska, they weren't able to join a local village corporation.

That meant residents of Haines, known by the Chilkoot Indians as Deishu, were denied opportunities that its neighbors 20 miles away in Klukwan have had for decades.

Like regional corporations, village corporations have used their corporate earnings from the lands they received for things like scholarships, and cultural activities. They also hire members for internships and jobs.

"Klukwan members were able to go to school on scholarship, get dividends...and we weren't," said Brouillette.

Haines not only didn't get a land conveyance, they were also denied land they had lent to missionaries for a school that was given without their consent to the U.S. military to build Fort Seward, Brouillette said. The episode remains controversial, and some tribal members are still working for resolution.

Brouillette and Kookesh said it's about more than just the earnings.

"Native people throughout Alaska - and Southeast is no exception - they very much value ownership and authority over their lands," Kookesh said. Land can be used for things like culture camps, or health treatment centers.

Brouillette said historic lands of the Chilkoots were already taken by the state, the Haines Borough, or by private landowners. That left them with some scattered plots in the Lower Lynn Canal, including along Berner's Bay, the Endicott River, and along Icy Strait near Excursion Inlet, among others.

The maps of plots selected by the Chilkats of Haines shown in red. Map from Sen. Murkowski.

"We tried to choose lands that were as close as possible to our homelands," said Brouillette, "Some were chosen for development, others were chosen to protect them."

She said while the community wasn't excluding the possibility of logging, the timber industry has been withering for decades. Industries like carbon credits are increasingly appealing.

"Being able to manage the way we want will have an economic benefit to our shareholders," said Brouillette. "But by no means are we going to get rich."

Efforts to amend

While ANCSA represented a landmark bill in how Alaska Natives were organized, it has changed over the years to address shortcomings of its original intent. It's been amended more than 100 times. In all, Alaska's congressional delegation has introduced seven bills that would allow the communities to organize and select land.

Shortly after it was passed, leaders from the five "landless" communities started lobbying for an amendment to the bill.

Early attempts at an amendment failed because of powerful timber lobbyists who had concessions to log parcels of the Tongass.

As the timber industry has declined in Southeast Alaska, a new opponent arose: conservation groups. They worried giving land to Native corporations could mean more logging in the Tongass, which is estimated to hold about 40% of all carbon in national forests. "It's funny how in the years since that, the story has changed to be 'we don't want you to have this because you'll just log it,'" said Brouillette.

But even opposition from conservation groups has taken a stark turn in recent years. The Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society - two national environmental groups with budgets in the tens of millions of dollars - dropped their opposition to the bill in 2022 as they reckoned with histories of disenfranchisement of Native people.

"Our defense of the Tongass continues, and at the same time, we must right the injustices that certain Native communities in Southeast Alaska have faced," the Wilderness Society 2022 statement reads.

Both groups say they are now neutral on the issue of land conveyances to the five landless communities.

"Some of the conservation interests have certainly come along to recognizing the inequities of how native people have been treated and even acknowledged their own mistreatment of native communities," said Jaeleen Kookesh, policy and legal director for Sealaska who has been advocating for the amendment for 25 years. "That certainly helps in our effort."

Brouillette said local environmental opposition has also softened. She pointed to the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council's about-face on the topic a few years ago. She called a statement last year from the group "the most moving testimony we've had in support of our legislation."

Meanwhile, the five landless communities have become more organized thanks to a $500,000 grant by Sealaska in 2019, the regional corporation for Southeast. The communities formed an advocacy group called Alaska Natives Without Land. Members have made repeated trips to Washington D.C. to meet with Alaska's congressional delegation and other members of congress.

Brouillette said recent meetings have shown positive signs. They said they've seen some people's positions soften - like Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona who has been worried about transferring public land to private hands. Brouillette said he was "very open" during a 30-minute meeting, though she wasn't sure he was convinced.

"He said he had a better understanding," she said. "He didn't like the idea of it being a corporation. But unfortunately the corporations were what was set up in the 70s and now we don't have a choice."

Unlike Lower 48 tribes, Alaska's corporate Native structure means they are the only real way for Native communities to own land, except in rare cases.

Kookesh she'd also sensed a sea change in how members of Congress were reacting. She said the "land back" movement, a loose campaign to return historically Native land to Natives groups, has had an effect on members of congress.

"We've had some good meetings with members that in the past have not wanted any land to come out of public ownership," said Kookesh.

Alaska's newest representative, Mary Peltola, has also put new energy into the bill, for which her predecessor Don Young had advocated for years. Peltola, a Democrat, struck up a friendship with Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican from Minnesota, and got him to cosponsor the bill, according to her spokesperson Sam Erickson.

Despite encouraging signs, the bill still faces challenges. Foremost might be the bureaucracy of a divided U.S. Congress. Erickson said getting the bill to the House floor for a vote will be a challenge.

"There's always stiff competition to making it to the floor. There's so many (bills) introduced and only so many can make it," he said.

Brouillette and Kookesh acknowledged they still hear opposition from people worried about what the land conveyance would mean for public access to Tongass. Sen. Lisa Murkowksi acknowledged the challenge in a 2022 interview with KSTK, the public radio station in Wrangell. Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan introduced a bill in the Senate in June.

"It's hard," Murkowski said, "because every acre in the Tongass is already committed or loved in some way."

Even some residents of Southeast are wary. The Petersburg Assembly narrowly voted to send a letter opposing the conveyance over worries about the effects on federally-sponsored infrastructure projects, among other things.

Still, proponents are more committed than ever though to push the bill through.

"I feel more confident than ever," said Kookesh.

For Brouillette, getting the bill through would be a final weight off her shoulders from generations who have worked on the issue.

"So many of our parents died not being able to get a land claims settlement," said Brouillette, "Some people say 'you lost the war'; that is absolutely not the truth."
Kids can be quite the comedians, and what makes them all the more comical is that they often dont even realize theyre being funny.

TikToker Davey (@daveybad) is a teacher, and hes sharing a hilarious incident in which a student was a little confused about the difference between countries and states.

One of his students usually arrives at school early, so they will chat together before the school day begins. And during this particular conversation, they explored the subject of geography.

The video starts off with Davey stating that his grandfather wasnt from America. The student claimed that their grandfather also wasnt from America.

Then, Davey asked where the students grandfather was from, to which they replied, Chicago. Davey let out an amused chuckle and explained that Chicago was still in the United States, so their grandfather was actually born in the U.S.; he was just from a different state.

The student proceeded to list several places they thought were located outside of the U.S. They inquired about Florida and Ohio, with Davey clarifying that those were part of the U.S.

Finally, the student asked about a place called Hamburger. Davey told them that wasnt a real place, but the kid insisted that they had heard about it from the cartoon Teen Titans Go!

The teacher shook his head, struggling to hold in his laughter. Toward the end of the video, the student seemed to be getting the hang of geography, citing Mexico to be outside of the country.

Davey expressed excitement about the student coming to a correct answer, but then the student chimed in with Nebraska, circling back to the U.S.

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S China's company applies lighting products to varoius areas

Xinhua) 11:11, August 11, 2023

This undated file photo shows a fishing boat equipped with light products of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd./Handout via Xinhua)

A staff member inspects a light module applied to new energy vehicles at a production base of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

A lighting product is used to promote growth of succulent plants at an exhibition hall of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 8, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This photo taken on Aug. 9, 2023 shows industry robots working at a production base of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

A staff member operates industry robots at a production base of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Lighting equipment of airport runway is displayed at an exhibition hall of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 8, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Members of a research and development team of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. discuss an innovation scheme about LED applied to the deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 8, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Staff members work at a production base of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (FSL) is one of the competitive lighting brands in China, providing full-range professional lighting solutions. The company has been actively engaging in the innovation of science and technology. Its lighting products have been applied to the deep-sea manned submersible, cultivation and aquaculture, and new energy vehicle manufacturing. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Vlad the Impaler is famous for being the inspiration behind Bram Stokers Dracula and being one of the cruelest rulers in the history of Romania. But the story of his interesting brother, Radu the Handsome, is lesser known.

Radu the Handsome was born in 1438 as Radu III of Wallachia. His father, Vlad II Dracul, ruled over the kingdom of Wallachia. When the two brothers were young boys, they were taken as hostages to the Ottoman Empire.

In 1442, their father had brought them to a meeting with Sultan Muhrad II, but a surprise attack led to their capture. Vlad II was able to escape after agreeing to leave his sons behind as hostages.

During their time there, the brothers were allowed to keep up with their schooling. After six years of living in the Ottoman Empire, their father was killed, and their older brothers were tortured to death.

Eventually, the sultan released the two brothers. Vlad III returned to Wallachia to replace his father on the throne. But while Vlad III sought revenge on his fathers behalf, Radu acclimated to life there, becoming a member of the Ottoman court and even striking up a relationship with Mehmed II, the sultans heir.

Mehmed II was one of the Ottoman Empires most influential figures and was known for inviting young boys to his bedchamber. Soon after taking the throne and becoming the sultan, he summoned Radu to his room, captivated by the boys exceptional beauty.

It was said that he attempted to sleep with Radu upon their first meeting; however, Radu was taken by surprise and fought off his advances, stabbing the sultan in the leg with a knife and running out of the room.

Although they had a messy start, a romance between them developed. In 1453, Mehmed II took the city of Constantinople with Radu the Handsome at his side.

Nearly a decade later, Vlad III retaliated against the sultan, attacking Ottoman land and slaughtering thousands of civilians. Mehmed II was enraged and sailed to Wallachia with Radu and an army of men.

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In the past year, two Anglican congregations in the US have left their more theologically conservative denomination for the mainline Episcopal Church.

Formed in 2009, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is known for taking in breakaway Episcopal congregations and clergy, though these two departing churchesResurrection South Austin in Texas and The Table in Indianapolisdidnt have previous ties to the Episcopal Church.

Both were church plants belonging to the Church for the Sake of Others (C4SO), an Anglican church-planting movement that predates ACNA and, for the past decade, has functioned as a diocese in the denomination. Its parishes span across California, Texas, the Midwest, and the South. Very few of its clergy or churches were Episcopalian before, and many of its members come from evangelical backgrounds.

Some Anglicans see C4SO as less conservative than others in the denomination due to its focus on justice and since its among the dioceses that ordain female priests.

Clergy at the departing churches attributed their decision to a range of issues where they felt out of alignment with the ACNA as a whole and for which they faced backlash from fellow Anglicans online.

They cited their convictions around the inclusion of women in leadership, hospitality toward sexual minorities, opposition to white supremacy, treatment of people of color, and response to abuse victims in the church (including a contentious investigation in the Upper Midwest Diocese).

Though LGBT inclusion was not named as the primary impetus for either churchs withdrawal, it became the impasse for the more theologically conservative minority who decided not to stay during the transition to local Episcopal dioceses.

Everyone in our church was in agreement about women and people of color, and even our concerns about the sexual abuse investigation. [The sticking point] was around sexuality, and their concern I think is legitimate, said Shawn McCain Tirres, rector of Resurrection South Austin, which voted in July to leave the ACNA.

We tried to create a lot of space for people to say, Im not there. I had to reiterate many times  we just want you to remain and receive the kind of hospitality that we have long extended to those who have been on the other side of this issue.

McCain Tirres spent months discussing concerns first with C4SO bishop Todd Hunter and then with his parish, which draws about 150 attendees each Sunday. Two weeks ago, with more than 80 percent of the congregation voting, the majority were in favor of seeking affiliation with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Hunter will visit Austin this weekend to meet with the dozens of Anglicans left behind by Resurrection Souths transition. During an initial gathering following the parishs vote, C4SO leaders hosted a time for lament, Eucharist, and healing prayer.

There are people who are brokenhearted. They lost their churchand not just the place where they meet every Sunday, but their community, Hunter said. They feel abandoned theologically because they thought they had joined something that was orthodox on human sexuality.

At a follow-up gathering on Sunday, he hopes to listen to congregants and discuss next steps, asking whether they want to join other local churches or start another community of their own. Texas is home to more ACNA congregationswell over 100than any other state.

Many of the leaders that first formed the ACNA went through challenging disputes over churches, property, and credentials as they left the Episcopal Church. Because of this, they have set up their denomination with an easier process for churches that opt to leave, though departures have been rare over the denominations 14-year history.

Congregations are accorded a healthy level of self-determination and respect, said Andrew Gross, the ACNAs canon for communications and media relations. They have the right to disaffiliate, with their property, after consulting with the bishop of their diocese.

Matt Tebbe, a co-rector at The Table in Indianapolis, said he spoke with friends at Resurrection South Austin about what he and his church went through when they disaffiliated nine months earlier. Though the transition came with a bit of culture shock (I dont speak mainline) and with the grief of leaving friends in C4SO, the fit has been so much better with the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.

He said he feels the support of fellow Episcopal clergy in the areawith the ACNA, he had to face the fallout when he would post on social media decrying white supremacy or love of mammon. According to Tebbe, The Table has never been in 100 percent agreement about the way the ACNA frames human sexuality and gay marriage, and since last October, its Episcopal affiliation has allowed the church to offer a broader welcome to the LGBT community.

A third congregation, St. Mary of Bethany in Nashville, had left C4SO in 2021, citing ACNAs posture of always moving forward and the place of LGBT Christians in church life, but did not join another denomination.

The Anglican Church in North America has just over 1,000 congregations, and therefore three congregations leaving because they changed their theological commitments is not exactly a trend, said Gross. However, because of the Anglican Church in North Americas history, one would expect or at least hope that number to be zero, so I understand why it has raised some eyebrows.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it might be that even denominations that have been very clear about their theological perspective over the last decade are not immune from the ramifications of the cultural shift that is continuing to play out across the West.

After three departures from his diocese in two years, the bishop of C4SO is reconsidering his role in helping these churches. For the congregations in Austin and Indianapolis, Hunter said his approach involved giving them a lot of space and being very patient with their exploration.

Heres what I regret and what Ive learned: that while Ive done a good job caring for the clergy, I dont think Ive done a good job caring for the people in the church who are not progressive, he said. By the time Ive stepped in, everythings too far gone.

Going forward, Hunter is working with C4SO leaders and their canon lawyer to develop a clearer process for how and when the bishop can have his voice in a church earlier, so that it doesnt get to a place where its very far off from not only just what I teach, but what the rest of the diocese expects.

Like other C4SO clergy, Hunter has been called out and labeled communist, Marxist, and woke for his concern for racial justice and for ordaining women. He says his willingness to engage in conversation attracts the sort of people who are asking questions and deconstructing faith.

Its fascinating in online and other spaces to be criticized for these things  I am thoroughly committed to orthodox Christianity, he told CT, but Im equally committed to figuring out how to live that out winsomely and truthfully, without engaging in culture wars constantly.

Jeff Walton, Anglican program director for the Institute for Religion and Democracy, said the departures from ACNAeach from church plants in urban centersmay reflect deeper divides in a denomination largely comprised of Christian transplants.

These departures are indicative of a disconnect between two groups within the ACNA: former mainline Protestants, including former Episcopalians, standing against revisionist theology, and post-evangelicals reacting against cultural hallmarks of their prior church homes, such as complementarianism or Christian nationalism, Walton said.

The Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others is among the largest and fastest growing dioceses in ACNA partly because it can speak to those originating from an evangelical, charismatic, or Pentecostal context. These three departing parishes were all within C4SO, but this isnt exclusively a C4SO problem. Its a post-evangelical problem.

Walton refers to the ACNA as a small but heavily transited parcel of ecclesial real estate. As of June, the denomination includes 1,003 congregations, according to Gross. Its last annual report indicated a membership of nearly 125,000.

As a historic mainline denomination, the Episcopal Church has a much longer scope. Its last report, from 2021, tallied around 6,300 congregations and over 1.6 million members. But its also experiencing ongoing declines that accelerated during the pandemic, with one in three Episcopal churches reporting a drop in attendance by at least 25 percent since 2019.

Editors note: This article has been corrected. A previous version said St. Marys in Nashville, which left ACNA in 2021, joined the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Though some clergy initially moved their orders to the communion, the church remains unaffiliated.
The military coup in Niger has now entered its third week. Four days after the July 26 putsch, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened military action if democratic rule was not restored within seven days.

That deadline has passed, and leaders are still mulling their options while imposing sanctions against the junta, the group of military officials that seized power. But worried by the seventh coup in the Sahel region since 2020, the remaining democratic nations in West Africa believe they must draw a line in the sand.

Neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso, both with military governments after their own recent coups, have warned that any foreign intervention in Niger will be considered an act of war against them as well.

Niger suffered its last coup attempt in 2021, right before the elected presidentnow deposedwas sworn in. The former French colony had been the last bastion of Western military cooperation against jihadist militants in the Sahel, amid the expanded regional influence of Russia through its Wagner mercenary unit.

Niger, meanwhile, is the worlds seventh-largest producer of uranium.

CT interviewed Illia Djadi, Open Doors senior analyst for freedom of religion and belief in sub-Saharan Africa. Though he resides in London, he is a citizen of Niger, a nation which ranks No. 28 on the World Watch List of the top 50 nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Djadi provided the regional context, described the difficult but improving situation of Christians, and issued a strong appeal against military intervention [interview also available in French]:

How serious is the situation in Niger right now?

I am very sad. As a Nigerien, I find the situation difficult to watch.

But as an analyst, I can say confidently that what happened two weeks ago plunged Niger into a new era of uncertainty. The country is facing a terrorist Islamist insurgency coming from Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso. And Niger is also one of the poorest nations in the world, with unemployment making it easy to radicalize our youth.

We are not in heaven.

But compared to our neighbors, we had been in a much better situation. For the first time in our history we had a president complete two terms in office before ceding power in democratic elections. And President Mohamed Bazoum did a lot to stabilize the country and improve security. I cant remember the last time we suffered a terrorist attack.

And despite its poverty, Niger is home to 300,000 refugees from other nationsbecause it has been safe. All this shows there was no justification for the coup, which is a major political setback. Active militants will take advantage of the resulting instability.

So why did the coup take place?

Personal ambition. The junta claims the coup was for security and because of economic deterioration. But some say the president was ready to appoint a new head of security. Having held his position for the last 12 years, the head of security needed to gobut he refused and deposed the president in order to keep his power.

Do you connect this coup to others in the Sahel region?

Only in two ways: There is an overall regional political fragility, and theres a copy-and-paste mentality. Because coups happened in Mali and Burkina Faso, people anticipated it could happen here also. West African youth widely hold an anti-French sentiment against the colonial past, and some have waved Russian flags during protests.

I dont know if Russia is behind the coup.

But the region is facing external influence exerted from France, the United States, Middle East nations, and more recently, Russia. Niger is the key Western ally in the region. And as a French-speaking country, we have many links. There is a new scramble for Africa underway, seeking its natural resources.

Within this contest, France is often made the scapegoat. Sometimes the scapegoating is valid, but France is not to blame for everything. And it is certainly not right to say, Lets replace France with Russia. That is what happened in Mali and Burkina Faso, and these nations are moving in the wrong direction.

How so?

Political instability. Since its coup in 2012, Mali never recovered, as one coup led to another. Each new leader promises solutions, but the country is losing the battle against terrorism.

Burkina Fasos social uprising in 2014 also led to a military coup that tried to fix the resulting problems but never did. Again, coup followed coup, and today the nation has lost control over half of its territory to militant insurgencies.

Do you think ECOWAS military intervention is necessary to stem the tide of military regimes and the resulting instability?

No, it would make the situation worse.

Military intervention would create chaos, providing safe haven for terrorists. We dont want another Libyawhich borders Niger and wound up exporting the crisis of instability to the whole Sahel region.

Whether Western or African, war would be a similar mistake.

Have Christians expressed an opinion about the coup?

No, as a religious community they dont have to do so. But they were included by the junta when summoning national stakeholders. The point was simply to convey explanations, and they did ask the church to pray for the nation.

The evangelical and Catholic churches have appealed for prayerfor a peaceful outcome to the crisis.

Nigerien Christians have no political opinion, but they do oppose the imposition of economic sanctions against their nation. These will affect everyone, as would war. But for the most part, Christians are concerned, afraid that if chaos continues, they will be among the first to pay the price.

Why so?

Back in 2015 at the time of the Charlie Hebdo protests in France, when the magazine published satirical cartoons of Muhammad, there were protests also in Niger. Muslims burned French flags, they burned a French cultural centerbut then they went on to attack Christian churches, homes, and schools.

Many people associate Christians with Westerners, and once again, we see the burning of French flags. So its raising alarm.

How do Christians fit into the social fabric of Niger?

They are a tiny minority: 1 percent of the population, against the 99. And though Niger is a secular country with freedom of religion protected by the constitution, Christians often face challenges. We have records of Nigeriens who have been denied scholarships to university because of their Christian names, for example.

Catholic Christianity came in the 19th century with French colonialism, but the Protestant church was planted largely by American missionaries. The largest denominationtodays Evangelical Church of Nigerstemmed from the work of SIM, coming up from Nigeria.

There is also a Baptist presence mainly in the western region. And in the 1980s, Pentecostal groups from various part of the worldFrance, the US, Nigeria, Burkina, and Ivory Coastcame to Niger, and created the Assemblies of God denomination, among others.

But by and large, Christians share the same poverty as everyone else.

What is your story of faith?

I was raised in the evangelical church. My parents went to a Christian school and eventually converted. My extended family includes Muslims and members of traditional religions, and we live in peace together.

In middle school, however, I became aware that I was different. Classmates asked, You are Nigerien, a Hausa, how can you be a Christian? I began to wonder if my faith was something wrong.

But by high school, I had developed strong convictions not only to defend my faith but to challenge others. My friends called me the pope, after John Paul II, because I was not afraid to face a crowd. One needs to be strong to be a Christian in Niger, and when I reflect upon my current position as an advocate, this is probably how it started.

What is next for Nigerien Christians?

We dont knowthe context is very fragile. But just as I said our nation is in better shape than our neighbors, so also the situation of Christians has been improving. After 2015, the government reacted against the riots to strengthen religious relations, and the church joined in the successful national campaign to promote social cohesion. Today, Christians are present in the public sphere, employed in the civil service. We have the freedom to preacheven to hold large open meetings.

When I last lived in Niger, I was the national leader of our youth fellowship, and we organized summer camps in churches and our Protestant schools. But today the camps take place in public settings with high officials in attendance, and are broadcast by public TV and radio services.

The military coup is a setback. But so far there are no indications of rhetoric against Christians. We fear instability and are praying for peace. God willing, this period of uncertainty will come to an end.

[ This article is also available in Francais. ]
Last June, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) received a peculiar invitation. On the sidelines of the 53rd meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, the government of Iran organized a forum entitled The Role of Religions in Promoting Human Rights.

The WEA was the only Christian group invited.

Upon its acceptance, the alliancerepresenting 600 million evangelicalsunder UN protocol became an official forum co-sponsor with the Islamic Republic, designated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984.

Ranked No. 8 on Open Doors World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 nations where Christians experience the most persecution, Iran also partnered on the event with Pakistan, ranked No. 7 (both are considered severe offenders). Another co-sponsor was the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; 35 of its 57 members rank on the 2023 watchlist.

The intersection of topics, however, secured the participation of the HRC itself, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Geneva School of Diplomacy. The official title of the WEA presentation was diplomatically bland: Harnessing the immense potential of religions in cultivating pluralistic societal cohesion and global peace.

But behind the scenes, Iran wanted something different.

They asked us to explain: What can evangelicals contribute to the good of society? said Thomas Schirrmacher, WEA secretary general. I would have a bad conscience if we did not use such opportunities to testify in the court of the world.

American critics of the UN, however, believe kangaroo is this courts most suitable adjective. One month after President Donald Trumps 2018 withdrawal from the Iran Deal, the US similarly withdrew from the HRCprotesting the hypocrisy of electing China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and other dictatorships among its 47 member nations. (Three years later, President Joe Biden reversed Trumps decision.)

The WEA presentation was delivered by Gaetan Roy, the WEAs permanent representative to the UN in Geneva. Citing the propriety of his role as a behind-the-scenes actor, Roy declined to be interviewed about his interactions with Iranian diplomats. But Schirrmacher summarized Roys remarks as giving specific examples of what evangelicals believe and how they defend the freedom of religion or belief for all.

It was amazing, a result of our diligent work over many years, he said. In many of these countries we are seen as troublemakers, if not terrorists.

But did the message translate? Iranian press summarized Roys remarks as emphasizing the importance of the role of dialogue. And some critics lambasted the WEA for legitimizing Iran in the public arena, seeming to support its propaganda as a purported defender of human rights.

The UN is where human rights concerns should be most addressed, and the WEA should be a prophetic voice there, said Johnnie Moore, who formerly served on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). But they are hobnobbing with diplomats and drinking tea, becoming part of the problem.

Moore co-authored a book about Islamic terrorism in Nigeria, called The Next Jihad, together with current USCIRF chair Abraham Cooper, a Jewish rabbi. Coopers associated Simon Wiesenthal Center stated it was difficult to put into words the damage done by the WEA.

Coming in the waning days of anti-hijab, women-led protests, the WEAs public co-sponsorship has emboldened a murderous Iranian regime, the center stated. And contrary to the title of the forum, it stated evangelical leaders demonstrated instead how religion can degrade human rights.

For Iran, it means business as usual, Cooper told CT. And for the beleaguered innocents, it means their martyrdom, suffering, and muffled pleas are forsakenby a group they were counting on for public support.

One such Iranian woman called the WEAs participation a comedic drama.

She requested anonymity as a formerly imprisoned convert from Islam. Though she is now in asylum in Europe, Iranian agents have continued to harass her.

Every day Christians are arrested, in every corner of Iran, she said. WEA participation was not wise, and does not help Christianity at all.

Also in opposition is Hormoz Shariat, president of the US-based Iran Alive ministry. If the WEA were to engage Iran in such a forum, he said, it should only be if Christian persecution is at the top of the agenda, with a pre-negotiated agreement on the principles of religious freedom.

But even then, it likely would not make a difference.

Iranians are the masters of deception and manipulation, Shariat said, himself a convert to Christianity. And evangelicals are naive when dealing with Muslims, thinking everyone behaves according to a similar moral code.

He cited the practice of taqiyya, which he said permits a Shiite Muslim to lie.

Yes, the theological concept exists in Shiite Islam, said Sasan Tavassoli, senior lecturer at the London-based Pars Theological Institute. But its application is disputed and Christians should not be overly concerned. He is a huge advocate for dialogue with Iran, and lauds the WEA for seeking to build a positive relationship.

We can hold Iranian Muslims accountable for their statements, just like everyone else, he said. Jesus commands us to love our enemies, and by showing respect in these gatherings, we are following him.

Having been involved in evangelical interfaith dialogue with Iran since 2004, Tavassoli said the WEA can help tone down the common accusations that converts from Islam are part of a deviant cult, an imperialist tool of Zionist Christianity. And for former Muslims imprisoned for this reason, such connections can help quietly advocate on their behalf.

Schirrmacher said the WEA has performed this role already, securing the release of several pastors and other believers in Iran.

Such success only follows when you have a personal connection, he said. Protesting itself does not change anything, because once you are heard, you need people who can negotiate a solution.

Moore agrees in principle. The ministry of advocacy, he said, involves many private meetings that are part and parcel of diplomatic tradecraft. But he says the WEA crossed the line by making its engagement public.

Moore has interacted with Middle East governments since 2005. Among the most controversial is the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he first visitedthen privatelyin 2013. His first public visit took place in 2017, when the kingdom lifted its ban on women drivers. But it was also the year the new crown prince purged political and business leadership to consolidate his hold on power.

Open Doors ranks the kingdom No. 13 on its watchlist, in the very high rather than severe category of persecution, reflecting a slight decrease in violence against Christians. The Pew Research Center also rates Iran somewhat worse than Saudi Arabia in terms of government restrictions against religion. But while Freedom House considers both countries not free, Iran rates poorer in terms of overall access to political rights and civil liberties.

The difference is a once in a century opening in Saudi Arabia, Moore said. While the Wahhabi kingdom sidelined its religious police in 2016, last month Iran announced a new campaign to enforce compulsory veiling. More than a million women have reportedly received SMS warnings since then that their cars will be confiscated if they are found driving with improper attire.

Far more than legitimization, this is collaboration with the worlds leading state-sponsor of terrorism, he said. This is what makes Iran different from other countries.

Like Moore, Schirrmacher also sees a Saudi opening. In 2022 he represented the WEA in Riyadh.

John Girgis, the WEA representative to the UN in New York, said it was vital for evangelicals to work together. But there are two different jobs to do, and the WEA has assigned roles for both.

Behind-the-scenes soft diplomacy only works when there is also a voice in the public arena that speaks clearly about issues, he said. In our polarized world, the enemy wants to divide us into silos.

Unlike the office in Geneva, Girgis task is to build long-term relationships with as many of the worlds 196 sovereign nations as possible. After three years of prioritizing countries where Christians are oppressedincluding Iranin November 2022 he was granted an hour-long sit-down with the newly-appointed Iranian ambassador.

We know that meeting with certain diplomatic missions can be used to harm us, Girgis said. But Jesus said to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, so we take care not to be used to further anyones agenda.

The critical voice often falls to Wissam al-Saliby. Director of the WEAs Geneva office, his relational work has also won him the position of vice president of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the UN. But while his colleague Roy joined the Iranians on the sidelines of the HRC meetings, at the same convocation Saliby hosted the fifth-annual joint report on rights violations against Christians in Iran.

Compiled by Open Doors, Middle East Concern, CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide), and Article18, their featured witness was Iranian pastor Victor Bet Tamraz. Hailing from Irans recognized Assyrian Christian minority, in 2014 he was nonetheless arrested for allowing Muslim-born, Persian-speaking Iranians to attend his Pentecostal church.

The joint report tallied 134 wrongly arrested Christians in 2022, including 61 detained, 49 subjected to psychological torture, and 30 given prison sentences. And apart from converts, members of Irans historic churches face unfair discrimination in public employment, treated as second-class citizens.

We advocate publicly for justice, and call on nations to right what is wrong, said Saliby. It yields results with some and fails with others.

Every nation also receives the voice of WEA national alliances before the entire UN body, at four-year intervals, in the Universal Periodic Review. But Saliby also nurtures relations with diplomats, and sometimes reports a breakthrough. One Iranian official complained against the WEA accusation that his government closed churches. Upon seeing Salibys evidence, he reviewed the accusation with his colleagues, who then collectively told him it should not have happened.

We ask prayer for discernment, Saliby said, to influence the hearts and minds of diplomats, and plant the seeds for systemic change.

Denise Godwin values the sentiment, but she doubts the Iranians sincerity.

Anyone can be touched by the gospel, but these people are trained with an agenda, said the president of the Spain-based International Media Ministries (IMM). Jesus was clear: Shake the dust off your feet if the message is rejected. And Iran gives no peace to anyone not aligned with the regime.

IMM first prepared Persian-language evangelistic material a few decades ago, and more recently began translating its eight 30-minute history videos on North African church history into Farsi. But its major project, due to release in 2025, is the creation of a miniseries on the life of Esther, connecting Iranian female protestors with their historicaland biblicalantecedent.

Empower Women Media (EWM) has a similar focus. Its multifaith team has organized a yearly short-film festival to promote womens rights and freedom of religion and belief since 2018, eight of which have been directed by members of the Iranian diaspora. The 2023 first runner-up, Unity, is a direct appeal to support the protestors seeking democratic change.

Shirin Taber, EWMs Iranian-American director, is a Christian. She commends the WEA engagement as bold and brilliant.

We must provide education about the benefits of interreligious harmony, Taber said. If Iranian leaders are smart, they will listen to their people and learn how to build a religiously free society.

She hailed nations like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for recent concessions and for reaching out to engage faith communities. Afghanistan and Iran show the opposite inclinationand as a result, she said, millions of Muslims are walking away from their faith.

In June, a senior Shiite cleric stated 50,000 of Irans 75,000 mosques have closed over declining attendance.

Two months earlier, Schirrmacher attended the Stephanus Foundations presentation of the St. Stephens Award for Persecuted Christians, given to Irans Mary Mohammadi. The 24-year-old convert was arrested five times and imprisoned twice, once at age 19 for attending house church, and again in 2020 for her participation in street protests. She endured inhumane conditions in prison, she said, and has since fled to the United States.

But she was unaware of the WEAs forum appearance, and reacted negatively when told by CT.

In my post-speech interview, I emphasized that the only way to change Iran is to make a complete revolution, Mohammadi said. I am seriously opposed to any kind of relationship with the regime.

Meanwhile, Mansour Borji seeks a middle road.

The advocacy director for the London-based Article18, dedicated to the promotion of religious freedom in Iran, understands why the WEA accepted the government invitation in hope that dialogue could improve the situation for local Christian converts. But overall, he was dismayed that Iran took center stage at a UN meeting to falsely present itself as a defender of human rights.

In principle, Borji supports a constructive engagement that can challenge a government on serious rights violations beyond diplomatic pleasantries. But he is highly skeptical of success with Iran.

Over the past 44 years, the regime has clearly illustrated that it is unwilling to reform, Borji said. We hope that our friends at the WEA will ensure that pressing issues are addressed during any future engagements.

But for Schirrmacher, engagement is the only way forward.

His visits with the pope do not legitimize papal infallibility, he told CT, nor do meetings with the German government reward its lack of concern for international religious freedom. And diplomats, he said, are rarely robots. Consider a 2021 Supreme Court of Iran decision, declaring house churches are not illegal, as evidence that a regime is never monolithic.

In fact, the evangelical ethos demands such engagement, he said. Personal relationship with God is witnessed through personal stories, within the personal approach believers should take with everyone. Paul likely appeared before Nero, the great Roman persecutor of Christians. And Jesus dined regularly with the Pharisees.

The tools of power are outside our reach, said Schirrmacher. Ours are the tools of the church: prayer, words, and friendship.

This includes the necessary rebuke, and the WEA has three red lines it will never cross: No whitewashing. No hobnobbing. And no initiative apart from the will of national alliances.

As for the Islamic Republic, the church there is growing, which will lead either to more problems or to an official acceptance of reality. In either case, the presence of the WEA will support the evangelical and convert churches.

So should the world. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which Iran is still an official signatory, states that all citizens have the right to change their religion and to manifest it publicly. From its history (see sidebar below), the WEA believes international diplomacy ensures the best chance of success.

But only God can judge sincerity.

There is no alternative for political engagement with governments worldwide, said Schirrmacher. But to know the future of Iran, you have to know the heart of the Ayatollah.
'The right to listen': Biden admin. shouldn't force social media to censor dissenting views, attorneys tell court

A former Missouri government official has argued that people have the right to listen to controversial social media accounts, even if the Biden administration believes that they should be censored.

Oral arguments were heard Thursday afternoon before Fifth Circuit Judges Edith Brown Clement, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Don R. Willett in the case of State of Missouri et al v. Joe Biden et al.

At issue was an injunction from a lower court that prohibited the Biden administration to communicate with social media companies on various issues, especially censorship of posts and accounts it disagrees with as well as news outlets that report negatively on the Biden family.

Former Missouri Solicitor General Dean John Sauer argued in favor of the injunction, comparing the federal government's collaboration with social media platforms to censor posts they consider false or disagree with to be comparable to book burning.

Sauer went on to argue that taking down social media posts of social commentators is harmful to those who follow their accounts, because the right to listen is just as fundamental as the right to speak.

When you take down Tucker Carlson, said Sauer, that injures Tucker Carlson and the people who follow him, the 3 million people who follow him, equally. They both have a First Amendment injury.

These plaintiffs assert the right to listen, they assert the right to listen to virtually every single one of these speakers that was silenced by the federal censorship in this case.

Sauer considered the violation of the right to listen to be so comprehensive that it just really neutralizes any of the arguments that the defendants have been making against the injunction.

Current Missouri Solicitor General Joshua Divine also argued in favor of the injunction, referencing the right to listen, to receive information in his remarks before the panel.

We're in a totally different area than we would have been 20 years ago, 30 years ago before social media, because social media has just broadened dramatically the kinds of audiences, said Divine.

Daniel Bentele Hahs Tenny, an attorney with the United States Department of Justice, argued that he believed the plaintiffs had failed to show irreparable injury from social media platforms censoring certain posts.

Tenny claimed that, under the plaintiffs reasoning, if a natural disaster occurred and people on social media were circulating false information about the event that were damaging to the public interest, the administration would be powerless, under the injunction, to discourage social media companies from further disseminating those incorrect statements.

If, in the course of a law enforcement investigation, a government official were to conclude that it was likely, although not certain that posts on social media were part of a criminal conspiracy, for example regarding human trafficking, that the government official would be powerless to bring those posts to the social media companys attention, Tenny continued.

Tenny claimed that the injunction was too vague and claimed that the district court failed to give specific things by the government that caused harm to the plaintiffs.

Last year, the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana sued the Biden administration, accusing it of unlawfully censoring people through collaboration with major social media platforms.

The litigation stemmed from allegations that the administration worked with Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, to censor posts promoting conservative viewpoints or news that portrayed the Biden family in a negative light.

Censored posts included dissenting views on how to treat COVID-19, a theory that COVID-19 was leaked from a lab in Communist China, and negative news about Joe Bidens son, Hunter.

"As a direct result of these actions, there has been an unprecedented rise of censorship and suppression of free speech  including core political speech  on social-media platforms," the lawsuit argued.

"Not just fringe views, but perfectly legitimate, responsible viewpoints and speakers have been unlawfully and unconstitutionally silenced in the modern public square. These actions gravely threaten the fundamental right of free speech and free discourse for virtually all citizens in Missouri, Louisiana, and America, both on social media and elsewhere."

Last month, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, blocked federal officials from "meeting with social-media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms."

The restrictions exempted things like "informing social-media companies of postings involving criminal activity or criminal conspiracies," "contacting and/or notifying social-media companies of national security threats, extortion, or other threats posted on its platform" and "informing social-media companies of threats that threaten the public safety or security of the United States."

However, soon after, the Fifth Circuit issued a brief order in response staying the Doughty preliminary injunction against the Biden administration "until further orders of the court."
Documents show FBI targeting of 'traditional Catholics' not an isolated incident

The head of Americas largest Catholic civil rights organization wants to know why federal investigators targeted traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists as newly revealed documents show that federal law enforcements assessment of the religious group extended beyond a single field office as previously assured.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, sent a public letter Thursday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, after the panel revealed Wednesday that the FBIs Richmond Field Office coordinated with multiple FBI field offices across the country to produce a Jan. 23 memo which identified radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology as a potential security threat.

According to the Judiciary Committee, the new finding contradicts [FBI Director Christopher] Wrays July 12, 2023, testimony before the Committee, when he stated the FBIs actions were limited to a single field office.

The committees letter stated that a lesser-redacted version of what it described as the anti-Catholic memo provides evidence that both FBI Portland and FBI Los Angeles field offices were involved in or contributed to the creation of FBIs assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists.

The letter cited information contained in a report from an FBI Portland contact with indirect access who informed on a deceased [Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent extremist (RMVE)] subject who had sought out a mainline Roman Catholic community and then gravitated to [Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX)].

It appears that both FBI Portland and FBI Los Angeles field offices were involved in or contributed to the creation of FBIs assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists, the letter stated.

In order to ensure the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion is protected from government overreach, the committee asked for all documents and communications between the FBIs Richmond and Portland field offices in regard to any information cited in the Jan. 23 memo.

The letter also asks for a list of FBI intelligence products such as reports and memos that reference the Jan. 23 memo, in addition to information on the placement of FBI Portlands liaison contact and an undercover employee at the Los Angeles office.

The Christian Post reached out Thursday to Rep. Jordans office for comment. This story will be updated in the event a response is received.

In response to the Judiciary Committees findings, Donohue said he was just as disturbed as you are to learn that the FBIs probe of Catholics was never confined to one field office in Richmond.

Donohue said the new documents provide evidence that Wrays comment on July 25 that the FBIs actions were limited to a single field office is not true.

This calls into question Wrays forthrightness, and it also begs the question: What else does the FBI know about this matter? he added. ... Given that the FBI has proven that it has not been transparent about this matter, Wray needs to explain why.

In the FBIs Jan. 23 Domain Perspective memo, a list of Catholic organizations attributed to Southern Poverty Law Center  which itself has a history of categorizing Christian organizations as hate groups  were described as RTC (Radical-traditionalist Catholic) Hate Groups like Catholic Family News/Catholic Family Ministries, Inc., Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, New Hampshire and International Fatima Rosary Crusade in Buffalo, New York.

The memo described what it called a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents as holding disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II, particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II and adhering to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-[LGBT], and white supremacist ideology.

In a statement released back in February, the FBI acknowledged the report from the Richmond office does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI and said steps were taken to remove the document for review.

Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document, the statement reads.

The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity.
Is Lady Justice still blind? (part 2)

Last week, I raised the question of whether our cherished American justice system was still intact. Or are we witnessing the emergence of a two-tiered administration of justice, one for the favored and another for the disfavored? My answer was, and still is, that our most valuable, and essential asset, our national treasure  our legal systems commitment to equal justice under the law  is in deep peril.

I fear that the concerns raised in my last column about how we, as citizens, are rending the social fabric of our common societal life are amply demonstrated in the wide range of comments generated by the column itself.

The accusation and the dismissal that I am a Trumpster, for instance, is ludicrous on its face. I am on record that former President Trump was my last choice in the 2016 primaries and in 2020, I was a part of the legion of reluctant Trumpers who had to choose between the undeniably pro-life President Trump and the radically pro-abortion Joe Biden in the general election. I have never cast my vote with less enthusiasm than in the last two presidential elections.

Concerning the 2024 election, President Trump is once again my last choice (with the exception of former Gov. Chris Christie). Frankly, at present my first choice is Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. In last weeks column, I deliberately quoted critics of the Justice Departments actions toward former President Trump who were clearly not Trump supporters (i.e., Alan Dershowitz, Jonathan Turley, Tulsi Gabbard). I fear that Trump Derangement Syndrome is indeed a diagnosable condition that probably should be included in the DSM-5-TR.

Lets keep our eye on the ball here. This is not about partisan politics, or at least it shouldnt be. This is about the fair, equal administration of justice and the behavior of the Biden Justice Department is extremely disturbing to many people who have never voted for Donald Trump and never will (Dershowitz, Turley, etc.). Even Megyn Kelly, someone who would never be accused of being a Trumpster, has expressed grave reservations about the latest indictment and the threat it poses to all attorneys that in the future they may be charged by the government for providing what the government considers to be bad legal advice.

The words of former Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson are extremely applicable to the current situation. Justice Jackson was an extremely prominent and esteemed American jurist who served on the Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. Jackson had earlier served as Solicitor General (1938-1949) and Attorney General (1940-1941) under Franklin Roosevelt. In addition, he was appointed in 1945 by President Truman as U.S. Chief Prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal (Nurenberg) and served there while on leave of absence from the Supreme Court.

Speaking as Attorney General in 1940, future Justice Jackson issued the following warning in speaking to the Justice Departments U.S. Attorneys:

Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than cases that need to be prosecuted.a prosecutor stands a fair chance of finding at least a technical violation of some act on the part of almost anyone. In such a case.it is a question of picking the man and thenputting the investigators to work, to pin some offense on him. It is in this realmin which the prosecutor picks some person whom he dislikes or desires to embarrass, or selects some group of unpopular persons and then looks for an offense, that the greatest danger of abuse of prosecuting power lies. It is here that law enforcement becomes personal, and the real crime becomes that of being unpopular with the predominant or governing group, being attached to the wrong political views, or being personally obnoxious to, or in the way of, the prosecutor himself.

Justice Jacksons warning should raise the hairs on the back of every fair-minded Americans neck. I know mine are raised.

When I see the way the Justice Department is treating former President Trump compared with the kid glove treatment they have afforded President Biden, his son Hunter, and the entire Biden family (lets be generous and call it a conglomerate), it is very disturbing. Personally, I believe former President Trumps greatest legal exposure is in the documents case. Yet, even there, President Biden had unauthorized possession of national security documents dating from the time he was just a senator and had no authority to have these documents, period, stored in far less secure conditions than Mar-a-Lago.

It's very interesting that just this week, The New York Times, no less, published an op-ed by Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, clearly in the anti-Trump camp, which shares several of the concerns expressed in last week's  as well as this week's  CP columns.

Goldsmith acknowledges "this deeply unfortunate timing looks political." He explains, "it is the Biden administrations responsibility, as its Justice Department reportedly delayed the investigation of Mr. Trump for a year and then rushed to indict him well into the G.O.P. primary season."

Goldsmith acknowledges the "perceived unfairness in the departments treatment of Mr. Bidens son Hunter" ... Goldsmith then addresses what appears to be grave concerns about the "criminalization of politics."

The indictment alleges that Mr. Trump lied and manipulated people and institutions in trying to shape law and politics in his favor. Exaggeration and truth shading in the facilitation of self-serving legal arguments or attacks on political opponents have always been commonplace in Washington. These practices will probably be disputed in the language of, and amid demands for, special counsels, indictments and grand juries.

Goldsmith's concerns both discourage and encourage me. I'm discouraged because his fears reinforce mine. I am encouraged because Goldsmith's concerns illustrate that even many influential people on the Left share my concerns about the threats to the rule of law in our country.

From the other side of the political aisle, Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel has also warned of the potentially devastating impact of special counsel Jack Smith's "novel" legal approach. Strassell concluded, "If lying politicians can be prosecuted for fraud, well need a lot of new prisons."

And frankly, on a more granular level, the prosecutor in this case, Jack Smith, does not inspire either confidence or reassurance.

I keep thinking about former Virginia Governor Bob McConnell, who served in that position from 2010 to 2014, having been elected by a 17-point margin. When he left office in January 2014, he had an approval rating of 55% approval vs. 32% disapproval.

One week after leaving office, former Gov. McConnell and his wife were indicted on federal corruption charges and were convicted the following September. He was free on bond pending appeal and on June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction unanimously 8-0 (Justice Scalia had died). Jack Smiths prosecution (or was it persecution) of Gov. McConnell was so overly zealous that it provided an extremely rare unanimous Supreme Court repudiation of it. Bob McConnells legal expenses amounted to a devastating $27 million.

Jack Smith has not earned my trust and I dont think the American people should trust him either. To me, Jack Smith and his superiors in the Justice Department give great evidence of behaving in exactly the way Justice Jackson warned us U.S. prosecutors must not act.

Personally, he reminds me more of Les Miserables Inspector Javert than a Justice Department attorney. I believe we must vigorously demand that our government behave itself and prosecute people fairly and equally.

I believe there are two things we should do that would help to guard against prosecutorial overreach. First, we should adopt Alan Dershowitzs proposal that we divide the Justice Department into a political division and a legal, prosecutorial, and criminal division which would be set apart from the partisan political process. This is what they do in the United Kingdom. This would guard against Attorney Generals like Eric Holden declaring himself President Obamas wing man.

Second, given the enormous, ruinous, financial burdens imposed by defending yourself against the enormous power of federal prosecution, I believe we should pass a law that states that if you are prosecuted by the federal government and you are acquitted, or your case is overturned on appeal, you are reimbursed by the federal government for your legitimate legal costs. This would help to redress the legal balance of power and would help keep federal prosecution from becoming a financial death sentence.
31% of Americans experience loneliness daily; 1 in 5 practicing Christians say the same: study

Loneliness is being experienced by 31% of U.S. adults daily and Christians arent doing much better, new research from the Barna Group suggests.

Data for the research done in partnership with behavioral scientist Susan Mettes and the evangelical polling firm Barna was collected through online surveys from 1,003 U.S. adults from Feb. 18 to March 2, 2020, and 1,000 U.S. adults from April 28 to May 5, 2020.

The data is highlighted in Mettes new book, The Loneliness Epidemic, and examines rates of loneliness, both across the nation and within the Church. Described by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact, loneliness is linked to poorer health outcomes.

In [this] academic research, loneliness is the distress someone feels when their social connections dont meet their need for emotional intimacy, Mettes explains. Its lack, its disappointment, its something we are conscious of, even when we dont call it loneliness. Loneliness is a thirst that drives us to seek companionship  or, perhaps better, fellowship. Without fellowship, we go on needing others and seeking relief for that need.

The study found that three in 10 U.S. adults experience loneliness at least once daily, and such a feeling usually comes with pain.

For U.S. adults who experienced loneliness at least once within the past week, more than 40% of that group said the feelings of loneliness ranged from intense to unbearable.

These numbers give us a snapshot of loneliness. What they dont reveal is for whom loneliness is a long-term, chronic condition. The chronic version of loneliness is more damaging, Mettes stated. Those whose loneliness is constant and chronic have likely experienced how loneliness can chip away at health and quality of life.

A 2020 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says seniors experiencing social isolation or loneliness may face a higher risk of mortality, heart disease and depression.

Loneliness and social isolation arent just social issues  they can also affect a persons physical and mental health, and the fabric of communities, Dan Blazer, a professor of community and family medicine at Duke University who chaired the commission that published the report, said in a statement.

Addressing social isolation and loneliness is often the entry point for meeting seniors other social needs  like food, housing, and transportation.

A survey conducted by researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education project Making Caring Common found that 36% of about 950 respondents in the national poll conducted in late October 2020 reported feeling lonely frequently or almost all the time or all the time in the prior four weeks.

Some 61% of respondents aged 18-25 reported substantial degrees of loneliness.

These levels of loneliness are heartbreaking. We have big holes in our social fabric, said the reports lead author and Making Caring Common faculty director Richard Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School.

We need to mobilize coherently and strategically to assure that far fewer Americans are stranded and disconnected.

Barna compared the rate of loneliness in the Church with the rate of loneliness in the general population and found little difference.

U.S. churchgoers reported similar levels of loneliness as their non-churchgoing peers, with both groups closely aligned with the average Barna found.

Looking at committed faith practice, practicing Christians  those who identify as Christian, agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives and have attended church within the past month  do show a slight decrease in how often they feel lonely, when compared to churched adults and the general population, Barna noted. However, a notable one in five (20%) still feels lonely at least once each day, with 10 percent being lonely all the time.

The Barna study suggests that churchgoers who experience loneliness are more likely than non-churchgoing adults to describe more severe feelings of loneliness, while practicing Christians reported less painful feelings of loneliness.

When it comes to painful feelings associated with loneliness, 48% of churchgoers who experienced loneliness at least once in the past week said they had more severe feelings of loneliness compared to 39% of non-churchgoing adults who said the same. Some 35% of practicing Christians had similar feelings.

Researchers also found that practicing Christians were more likely than other groups to stigmatize loneliness as always bad, indicating less willingness to discuss the issue in a church context.

There is a real danger of letting positive psychology hijack the Churchs real purpose, Mettes said. It is because of what the Christian faith teaches that Christians do so many things that are good for loneliness (i.e. group singing, community service, meeting in person). But confronting loneliness isnt an ultimate goal. In the taxonomy of church priorities, it is a subcategory of loving your neighbor.
Christian ministries serving as 'God's distribution system' amid Russia's war in Ukraine

A Christian ministry leader says Ukrainian churches and Christians worldwide are operating as Gods distribution system by helping those whose lives have been upended by Russia's attacks on their country.

International Cooperating Ministries, a nonprofit organization working to ensure a healthy church is within walking distance of everyone in the world, is one of several groups working to provide assistance to Ukrainians fleeing the eastern region of the country, which has come under attack by Russian troops since Feb. 24.

Keith Townsend, who serves as ICMs director for Russia and former Soviet Republics, elaborated on the humanitarian efforts already underway by the organizations partners on the ground in Eastern Europe in an interview with The Christian Post.

Townsend explained that ICM was founded to construct church buildings for different ministry organizations in different countries in addition to building Hope Centers and providing discipleship material to existing churches so that they could nurture their believers.

These churches and Hope Centers in western and southern Ukraine, in Romania and Moldova and other countries like that, are taking in the refugees, he said. Because we dont have employees overseas, we use substantial indigenous ministry partners that we work through.

Townsend explained that while the organization doesn't normally do humanitarian relief work, ICM received such an outpouring and a request from our partners that had the ability to take care of these refugees that we opened it up to our investors and donors to provide funds for relief through our partners. He told CP that were currently channeling relief through our partner Bible Mission Global out of Frankfurt, Germany.

While ICM is headquartered in Hampton, Virginia, and Townsend resides in Jacksonville, Florida, Bible Mission Global has offices in Kyiv and offices in Moscow and offices in Moldova  and they have warehouses and they are sending containers and trucks through this distribution system.

Townsend said Bible Mission Global has three warehouses in Ukraine and a warehouse in Moldova from which they ship food and other necessities. From there, the churches and the Hope Centers take the lead.

Theyre housing the people, feeding the people, making sure theyre taken care of with their medical issues and things like that, he added.

Townsend rejoiced that "the Church is doing what it was designed to do by acting as Gods distribution system through taking care of people and sharing Christ with them at the same time.

He added, ICM is serving as a conduit for our donors and trying to help with some of the logistical issues in terms of people that want to send relief from the states to these different places.

Its been a joy in the midst of all this tragedy to see how Gods people have responded, he said, adding, God will do what he wants with this conflict but Gods church is operating exactly like it was intended to, to minister to people and getting them hope and to share Christ with them.

Townsend cited basic medical services such as ongoing medicines for blood pressure and diabetes as the greatest health needs faced by the people pouring into the churches and Hope Centers. He noted that the churches and Hope Centers are full right now, and they could use 10 times the room if they had it so they literally are at capacity.

And what they tried to do is, they tried to actually get the church members to put the people in their homes also," he said. "So people are taking them in, its mostly women and children, theyre taking them in, putting them in their homes and then the churches themselves have taken out the chairs and the pews and all that stuff and the people are actually sleeping and living at the churches and they have kitchens set up to feed them.

Townsend praised the church members for doing a remarkable sacrificial job of caring for these people.

"Theyve opened up their homes, theyre working to take care of them, theyre making sure that theyre fed and clothed properly and have their medical needs taken care of," he said.

In some cases, the lack of space at churches and Hope Centers has forced officials there to move them on to another location where there might be space for them. Theyve got a good network of human connection going, they know where the Red Cross centers are.

The Ukrainians have contacts in Romania and Moldova and Poland where they can refer people to. So theyre doing the best they can [by] helping all the displaced people from the churches that had to evacuate and then trying to push people on to wherever they need to go.

Townsend suggested that the churches and Hope Centers became overwhelmed because nobody expected [a Russian invasion] to happen in this magnitude. He also painted a picture of an atmosphere of uncertainty stemming from the fact that nobody knows how long the conflict will continue.

In the course of a week, people have donated $500,000 to ICM to help them with their Ukraine ministry efforts. Townsend elaborated on the process that ICMs partners on the ground undertake to ensure that necessities reach as many people in need as possible.

Its about $30,000 to buy whats [in] the truck, all the food and supplies and then to pay for the transportation. Thats probably going to go up, he predicted. Thats been kind of an average so far of about $30,000 for a large container truck and then smaller trucks that can pull trailers, $6,000 or $7,000 for one of those.

Emphasizing that theres a lot of driving involved, Townsend detailed how trailers go to the warehouse and then smaller trucks and trailers load up and go all throughout the country to our different locations  dropping off supplies and going back.

He expressed a desire to ramp it up by providing a greater flow of goods from America, loading containers in the U.S. and sending them to Poland where they can then be distributed by ICMs partners on the ground.

The invasion, he added, has made eastern Ukraine very difficult to get to. At the same time, he attributed the fact that there are plenty of trucks and transportation available to the shut down of industries in Ukraine because of the war.

Normal truck traffic that would be carrying trade back and forth, thats pretty well stopped, so  theres a good supply of transportation resources to get supplies in," he said. "Thats not been a problem. Its been more of a problem trying to secure enough food supplies. A lot of the countries, Moldova, Romania and Germany, have restricted the amount you can buy at one time. Theyre worried about their food warehouses running out of supplies for their supermarkets so youre having to go further into Europe to try to find food.

In addition to concerns about running out of supplies and space, Townsend pointed to the winter weather in Eastern Europe as a source of strain on churches and Hope Centers seeking to minister to those fleeing the war-torn areas in Ukraine: Its just awfully cold right now.  Theres been a greater demand for clothing for  heavy coats and gloves and things like that.

Because of the cold temperatures, churches and Hope Centers housing Ukrainian refugees have an increased need for gas. Youve got to keep these buildings warm, not just for church services and special activities, he maintained. The heating demands have gone up for the churches and the Hope Centers, which has made the gas bills go up. Gas is another financial cost theyll have to deal with."

Townsend also expressed concern that many of the churches and Hope Centers will find themselves in danger as the Russians move west. He warned that theyll be in jeopardy for sure.

ICM has had to respond to crises in the past because, as Townsend put it, Were constantly dealing with partners, that their areas are either under attack by radicals in their country or the churches are being closed or burned.

In one case, ICM worked with partners on the ground to provide assistance to Nepal, which had just experienced natural disasters and earthquakes. He characterized the actions taken by ICM during the Russia-Ukraine crisis as different than how the group has responded to crises in the past.

We typically serve as a channel to our partners and people can donate directly to our partners, but this is a case where it was a big giant need where we had capable partners right away and we couldnt wait to try to just let our partners receive donations. So were just serving as a conduit right now and trying to make sure that we understand what their needs are and get them the funds that they need when [theyre] available.
Christian teacher in India arrested on false charges of trafficking, conversion of students

HYDERABAD, India  Police in central India on July 26 beat a Christian educator and filed baseless charges against him of human trafficking and fraudulent conversion of eight Christian students he was escorting to a Bible institute, sources said.

After arresting Liju Kuriakose off of a bus in Manikpur, Chhattisgarh state, police officers told the students, including five minors, to give false statements that they were being trafficked, said one of the youths, a 17-year-old identified only as Govardhan.

We all had vehemently refused and told the police that we have been Christians for a while and are not new converts, Govardhan told Morning Star News. We cannot tell lies about the brother who came all the way from Kerala to help us. When their attempts failed, police sent us to the Child Welfare Committees home.

Kuriakose had come from Kerala state to ensure the safe travel of the students, ages 15 to 22, and all from tribal Christian families. They had boarded the bus in Manikpur bound for a railway station in Bilaspur, where they were to take a train to the Bible institute in Kochi, Kerala state, Govardhan said.

All eight of us had secured admission in a Bible institute in Kochi, Kerala, and brother Liju came to take us for our own safety, Govardhan told Morning Star News. At around 10:30 a.m., after we boarded the bus, one man appearing to be a passenger caught hold of brother Liju and commanded the bus driver to stop the bus at Manikpur police station.

Kuriakose said police were very violent as they questioned him until late at night, leaving him tired, sweating and light-headed.

I told them that I was having memory loss and feeling difficulty to breathe, and that I needed to be allowed to sit for some time, Kuriakose told Morning Star News. But they made me sit on the floor and continued questioning as they beat me up in turns.

Officers denied him water, he said.

They treated me as though I am a human trafficker, Kuriakose said. They confiscated my mobile phone, my ID proofs and checked my bank transactions; they could find no evidence. But as they continued investigating, I was put through severe mental torture. I was not allowed to call my wife. Nobody knew that I was in police custody.

It was about 3 a.m. before parents of the students learned they had been sent to the Child Welfare Committee home and became aware of Kuriakoses arrest, he said. After spending the night at a friends house, interrogation continued the next day when officers summoned him to the police station at 11 a.m., where he remained in custody until 5 p.m.

The deputy superintendent of police and many higher police officers took turns to question me, he said. It was a traumatic experience.

Manikpur police were unavailable for comment.

Police filed a First Information Report charging him with human trafficking and luring children to convert by offering them money, Kuriakose said, adding that the students refused to make any statement against him, and he was released on bail.

Kuriakose is scheduled to appear before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class in Ambikapur on Aug. 18.

I have been receiving calls from the kids asking me to pardon them  they have been very disturbed by what happened, he said. I have told them that they are like my own kids. I am trying to make some arrangements such that they can study within Chhattisgarh state, and that they dont have to travel out of the state.

Pastor Chander Paul said three of the eight students traveling with Kuriakose belong to his church in Kanakpur, Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh state.

The parents consented to the admission of children in the Bible institute in Kochi, Pastor Paul told Morning Star News. The kids were very happy and were very much looking forward to the courses. They didnt understand what was happening. They have been very upset since then.

The parents had to submit affidavits to the Child Welfare Committee to get them released from the home, he said.

It took around five or six days for all the children to go to their homes with their parents, the pastor said.

The students education had stopped for various reasons, and the Bible institute offers bridge courses along with Bible studies to help them return to regular studies, he said.

They are taught English, morals and other subjects for one year, Pastor Paul said. The batch of children who joined the course last year went back and sat for their ninth-grade finals and 10th-grade boards.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position worsened after Modi came to power.
Fmr. Mexican congressman fined for calling trans-identified politician a man who describes himself as a woman

A Mexican civil society leader and former congressman faces a fine of more than $1,000 for referring to a trans-identified lawmaker as a man who describes himself as a woman as a court of last resort upholds his conviction for committing gender-based political violence.

The nonprofit legal organization ADF International announced in a statement Thursday that Rodrigo Ivan Cortes, the leader of the advocacy group Frente Nacional Por La Familia, will have to pay a fine of 19,244 Mexican pesos, equivalent to $1,134.58, after the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Power upheld a lower court ruling convicting him of gender-based political violence for calling trans-identified Mexican Congressional representative Salma Luevano a man who describes himself as a woman.

The Superior Chamber constitutes the court of last resort for Cortes, making him unable to appeal the decision. In addition to convicting him of gender-based political violence, the lower court convicted the former lawmaker of digital violence, symbolic violence, psychological violence and sexual violence for his social media expression.

The decision handed down by the Superior Chamber on Wednesday goes beyond upholding the lower court ruling and orders Cortes to publish the court ruling and an apology drafted by the court on Twitter and Facebook daily for 30 days. Additionally, Cortes has to take a course on gender-based political violence and register on the National Registry of Persons Sanctioned in Political Matters against Women, even though he did not commit any acts against a woman.

This judgment is gravely disappointingthe suppression of speech and expression points to the demolition of democracy in Mexico, Cortes lamented in a reaction to Wednesdays decision. I am committed to seeking justice and securing mine and every Mexican citizens right to freedom of speech. No laws should be used to silence or punish individuals for sharing their convictions, especially on issues of great importance. Peacefully expressing the truth of biological reality can never be a crime.

ADF International legal counsel Kristina Hjelkrem, whose organization represents Cortes, also condemned the Superior Chambers ruling: Disagreement is not discrimination, and peaceful dissent should never be penalized as violence. It is deeply disturbing that Cortes, who exercised his right to peaceably share his views on a matter of significant current debate, has been convicted as a violent offender when it is his opponents who are perpetuating unrest within Mexicos political institutions.

Free speech is greatly threatened in Mexico at this time, and it has hit a crisis point with courts imposing severe censorship sanctions for the peaceful expression of views as evidenced by this egregious case, she added. More and more, we are seeing the Mexican government violate its citizens fundamental and constitutional right to freedom of speech. Cortes spoke out, peacefully, in support of self-evident truth, and for that, he has been convicted as a violent offender and subjected to onerous punishments.

The lower court ruling, handed down in June, lays out the nine social media postings that led to Cortes conviction, including one where the leader of the pro-family organization characterizes Luevano as a man who describes himself as a woman and expresses concern about the lawmakers initiative to modify the General Law of Religious Associations to classify biblical teachings against the ideology of gender confusion as hate speech.

While Cortes has exhausted his options in Mexicos legal system, he plans to take his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with assistance from ADF International.

Cortes contends that the real purpose of this conviction is to silence me from saying what every concerned citizen needs to hearthat these actions and proposed laws are driving forward a radical agenda in Mexico, which poses a very serious threat to the wellbeing of our society, especially our children.

I remain committed to the peaceful expression of truth, the defense of our fundamental freedoms, and the protection of our children, he vowed. Further, I reject violence on all grounds. One need only watch the videos of unrest in our Congress to see clearly that it is not me and my organization that is bringing chaos and disorder into Mexicos political institutions.
Cremation On The Rise, 70% Of Churchgoers With 'Growing Fear' Of Future, Ohio Abortion Battle, Harry's Razor Ad Features Trans Girl

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Top headlines for Friday, August 11, 2023



In today's podcast episode, we discuss a recent report by Lifeway Research revealing a growing sense of fear among protestant pastors concerning the future. Then, we'll shed light on the controversy stirred by a razor company's ad featuring a trans-identified woman, which sparked calls for a boycott. We'll also delve into the escalating conflict over an Ohio ballot initiative that could enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution, following the defeat of a different referendum. Finally, we will look at the fallout of a court ruling against Southwest Airlines, in which their attorneys were mandated to undergo religious liberty training.

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Top headlines for Friday, August 11, 2023



In today's podcast episode, we discuss a recent report by Lifeway Research revealing a growing sense of fear among protestant pastors concerning the future. Then, we'll shed light on the controversy stirred by a razor company's ad featuring a trans-identified woman, which sparked calls for a boycott. We'll also delve into the escalating conflict over an Ohio ballot initiative that could enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution, following the defeat of a different referendum. Finally, we will look at the fallout of a court ruling against Southwest Airlines, in which their attorneys were mandated to undergo religious liberty training.
Supreme Court is not broken; unanimous decision increased

As part of the brazen Supreme Court Coup, radical groups and politicians claim the nations highest court is hyper-partisan and bitterly divided along ideological lines. They use this as an excuse to justify court-packing and other radical proposals. But according to the justices themselves, that is far from the truth.

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Justice Samuel Alito defended the Supreme Court from radical attacks. He responded to the attempt by one party in Congress that wants to impose a constitutionally-suspect code of conduct on the Court:

No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court  period  I marvel at all the nonsense that has been written about me in the last year. The traditional idea about how judges and justices should behave is they should be mute. But thats just not happening, and so at a certain point Ive said to myself, nobody else is going to do this, so I have to defend myself.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh also pushed back against the false claims that the U.S. Supreme Court has grown increasingly partisan. He said of the Court, Its an institution of law, not of politics, not of partisanship.

We have lived up, in my estimation, to deciding cases based on law and not based on partisan affiliation and partisanship, Kavanaugh said at a judicial conference in Minnesota. We dont caucus in separate rooms. We dont meet separately. Were not sitting on different sides of the aisle at an oral argument  We work as a group of nine.

He said he was surprised to learn how much time Justices spend with one another, including having lunch together about 65 times a year. He added theres a reservoir of good will among all the members, a congeniality that continues even when members adamantly disagree or have very contrasting judicial philosophies. Last year, Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke highly of fellow Justice Clarence Thomas, saying, He is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution.

I suspect I have probably disagreed with him more than with any other justice, that we have not joined each others opinions more than anybody else, she told the American Constitution Society last year. And yet, Justice Thomas is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employees name  every one of them.

Retired Justice Stephen Breyer, nominated by former President Bill Clinton, defended Justice Thomas as a man of integrity.

As far as Im concerned, I sat next to him on the bench for 28 years, Breyer said. I like him. Hes a friend of mine. Ive never seen him do anything underhanded or say anything underhanded.

Judging by the numbers: Supreme court is NOT bitterly partisan

Data disproves the caricature of the highest Court as broken and divided along partisan lines. In an op-ed for The Federalist Society, First Liberty attorney Mike Berry explains:

The far left insists the Court is sharply divided along political lines. If that is true, we should expect to see those fissures represented in the Courts decisions. Yet we find the opposite. This term, 48% of the Courts decisions were unanimous. That is a significant increase from the 29% of decisions that were unanimous during the 2021 term.

Dr. Adam Feldman  who runs the statistical blog Empirical SCOTUS  reported there were fewer cases during the most recent term decided on 6-3 ideological splits: five compared with 14 last term. The chart below shows the breakdown of voting coalitions for the Supreme Court since 2016. One pattern is clear: the Court decides cases unanimously far more often than closely divided decisions.

Consider also what happened in 2016, when the Court decided an unusually large number of politically charged cases. More than half were ultimately decided by unanimous votes. In those cases, there were no dissents. Everyone agreed.

In its 2020 term, the Court also heard an abnormally large number of controversial issues. It was also the first term after the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Opponents claimed the Court would degenerate into a partisan institution because it would have a solid conservative majority for the first time in nearly a century. But the rate of unanimous, or near unanimous, decisions actually went up.

Even still, radical activist organizations and politicians defy the facts. They claim the Court is bitterly divided, stolen or broken because of the appointment of the three most recent Justices: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett. They often use this falsehood to justify packing the Court with liberal justices.

Court packing  and other radical proposals such as judicial term limits and ethics codes  are not the solution because the Supreme Court is not broken. The Supreme Court has had the same number of seats since 1869. Its had nine members for more than 150 years. Packing the Court will not make it any less partisan or politicized. On the contrary, it will only make the Court more dependent on political or electoral results.

Conservative and liberal justices agree that court-packing is not a good idea. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said:

Nine seems to be a good number. Its been that way for a long time  I have heard that there are some people on the Democratic side who would like to increase the number of judges. I think that was a bad idea when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to pack the court.

Similarly, Justice Thomas said court-packing would destroy the institution:

You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court. You can cavalierly talk about doing this or doing that. At some point the institution is going to be compromised  By doing this, you continue to chip away at the respect of the institutions that the next generation is going to need if theyre going to have civil society.

Echoing Justice Thomas, retired Justice Stephen Breyer warned: Well, if one party could do it, I guess another party could do it  on the surface it seems to me you start changing all these things around, and people will lose trust in the court.

Attacks on justices and the Court are not about restoring balance or fixing the Court. This is the political Left trying to get around decisions it doesnt like. When a ruling doesnt go their wayor if they think the Court might rule against them  the Supreme Court Coup and court packing always make a comeback. Its clear what this is all about: liberal zealots changing the rules and undermining the Courts authority so they can grab more power.

Originally published at First Liberty.
Faith-based global security ministry helped free kidnapped American nurse, daughter in Haiti

(CP) Concilium Inc., a faith-based global security company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, worked with the U.S. State Department and other American law enforcement officials to secure the release of New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, both of whom were kidnapped from the campus of Christian education ministry, El Roi Haiti, on July 27 near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the ministry said.

"Throughout this ordeal, God demonstrated His loving kindness through both private and public sector partners and resources who helped us navigate this crisis. Concilium Inc., a faith-based global security ministry, provided crisis consultants whose critical guidance and support led us each step through the recovery process," El Roi Haiti said in a statement Thursday.

"God also sent us key U.S. law enforcement and State Department representatives who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in support of Alix and her family. Through these partners and resources, the Lord proved Himself to be holy, faithful, present, just, merciful, all-knowing, loving, good, and glorious."

The ministry said Alix Dorsainvil, who is married to El Roi Haiti founder and Liberty University graduate Sandro Dorsainvil, was released by Haitian gangsters on Tuesday "healthy and unharmed."

"We could not be more thankful for the safety of our dear sister, friend, and staff member. Alix is a remarkably resilient woman whose walk with God guides her deep love for her family and her passionate commitment to the Haitian people," El Roi Haiti said.

The ministry also noted that Haitians show how much they value the work of El Roi Haiti through their protest of the gang members prior to the Christian mother and daughter's release.

On the day she was abducted, witnesses told The Associated Press that Alix Dorsainvil was busy caring for patients in a small brick clinic when armed men ambushed the site where she was working and took her captive. Members of the community said the gunmen demanded a $1 million ransom. It was still unclear Thursday if any ransom was paid.

"Sandro's and Alix's impact in the community was reflected in the people's response to Alix's kidnapping as thousands of Haitians united their voices and risked their lives to march for the release of Alix and her child as well as other Haitian captives. To the many people and communities in Haiti that expressed support for Alix and her daughter during this time, we want to say thank you for the courage you've shown in the midst of your own challenges," the ministry said.

"Sandro and Alix believe that the hope of Haiti rests in Jesus' work in the rising generation. The El Roi Haiti ministry was born out of Sandro's desire to bring the transforming love of Jesus to his community by meeting spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of Haiti's youth," their statement added,

"The Bible tells us if we are to boast, we should boast in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:17). We at El Roi Haiti are delighted to boast of how good our God is as He clearly demonstrated His love, grace, and mercy through so many who stood faithful and firm, championing the plight of Alix and her child until the Lord delivered them both to freedom."

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An educational charity in Scotland that runs an independent cinema has agreed to formally recognise a union representing its hospitality staff.

Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) announced the agreement this week with Unite Hospitality, who will now represent its front of house and cleaning teams, formalising collective bargaining and negotiation on their pay and relevant workplace policies.

The charity said 23 members of staff would be covered by the deal, more than the 21 required to gain statutory recognition.

However, GFT signed a voluntary recognition agreement for its deal with Unite Hospitality.

GFT registered as a charity with OSCR in 1992 but opened 84 years ago as Scotlands first independent arthouse cinema under the sites previous name, the Cosmo.

It has now become the first cinema in Scotland to sign a voluntary recognition agreement with Unite Hospitality.

Staff: Recognition is crucial

Katie Mack, Unite representative at GFT, said: We believe that it is crucial to have official recognition of our right to collectively bargain as a workforce, and we are pleased that Glasgow Film Theatre has chosen to respect our decision to organise with Unite the Union.

This decision will help to ensure that we maintain a positive and respectful work environment moving forward.

Allison Gardner, GFT chief executive, said: We are delighted to have finalised this agreement with Unite on behalf of our staff.

The GFT recognise the benefits that an engaged staff, with collective voice, will bring to Glasgow Film as we continue to navigate challenging and uncertain times together as a team.

Union: Landmark agreement

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: Following months of positive negotiations between our Unite reps and GFT management, we are delighted to agree collective bargaining at one of the countrys leading cultural institutions.

This is a landmark agreement which is already producing positive impacts on the jobs, pay and conditions of our members.

The GFT is not only one of the best cinemas in the country to visit but also work for following this exciting development in the sector.

sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
Even the smartest institutions in the land can miss deadlines  and can lose $15 million in insurance coverage because of it, a federal appeals court decided Wednesday.

The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found that a Zurich American Insurance Co. subsidiary does not owe coverage to Harvard University in its long-running and high-profile affirmative action litigation. The reason? Harvard did not provide notice to its insurer within 90 days of the end of the policy period, as required by the policy.

Zurich had every right to deny coverage based on lack of timely notice, Circuit Judge Bruce Selya wrote for the panel of judges. Harvards arguments in its appeal lacked force and were little more than gaslighting, the opinion said.

Harvard in 2014 had purchased a one-year, $25 million liability policy from AIG unit National Union Fire Insurance, which covered litigation costs for claims brought against the university. The institution also obtained a $15 million excess policy from Zurich American, to cover legal costs after the AIG policy was exhausted.

Both policies were claims-based, not occurrence-based, and both required Harvard to report legal claims no later than 90 days after the end of the policy period. The policies covered Nov. 1, 2014 to Nov. 1, 2015.

The now-monumental lawsuit that successfully challenged Harvards admissions policy, which culminated with a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, was filed Nov. 17, 2014. Harvard notified AIG but failed to notify Zurich until May 2017, well after the 90 day notification window, the appeals court explained.

Zurich denied the coverage and Harvard sued. A federal district court in November 2022 decided against the school, and Harvard appealed.

The universitys attorneys argued that although Harvard did not provide formal notice of the suit, Zurich probably knew about it through news reports. The university asked for discovery to show what Zurich officials may have known about the case at the time. But the district court and the appellate judges ruled against that motion, noting that such information was irrelevant because the policy required written notice.

Harvard also argued that Massachusetts law gives insureds some leeway on late notices, as long as late notice does not prejudice the insurers claim investigation. But the appeals court said that deadlines are even more important in claims-based policies, so that insurers can accurately set premiums.

A claims-made policy covers claims made during the policy period, regardless of when the incident or act occurred, the court explained. The purpose is to minimize the time between the insured event and the payment. If a claim is made against an insured, but the insurer does not know about it until years later, the primary purpose of insuring claims rather than occurrences is frustrated, the court noted, citing a 1989 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision, Charles T. Main vs. Firemens Fund Insurance.

Not all liability insurance policies are on an equal footing, and the no harm, no foul principle does not apply to failures to give timely written notice under claims-made insurance policies, said the 1st Circuits opinion in the Harvard case. In Massachusetts, notice provisions of claims-made policies  which require that notice of a claim be given by the end of the policy period or a defined period ending shortly thereafter  are of the essence of those policies. Those provisions are intended not merely to facilitate an investigation into the facts underlying a claim but also  just as importantly  to promote fairness in rate setting.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, in June struck down the use of race as a factor in deciding which students are granted admission to college. The case, Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard, essentially ended the affirmative action program and already had a widespread impact on college admissions.

Harvard may have little trouble paying its legal costs, some have suggested. The universitys endowment from donors stood at $53 billion in 2021, the largest in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. Zurich American Insurance Group, on the other hand, also is well capitalized, with a $6.5 billion profit in 2022, the group has reported.
PARIS (AP)  Required safety standards weren`t met at a vacation home housing adults with disabilities at which a fire killed 11 people in eastern France, a deputy prosecutor said Thursday.

Nathalie Kielwasser, the deputy prosecutor of Colmar, said the first phase of the investigation showed that a mandatory safety inspection for such accommodations had not been done.

Speaking on French news broadcaster BFM TV, she said the fire started from the upper floor, but its cause has not been determined.

The large vacation house in the Alsacian town of Wintzenheim was equipped for 28 people, including 12 on the ground floor and 16 on the upper floor, with smoke detectors, she added.

The building was rented to groups of people by a private owner, who was not identified. It was not specifically dedicated to disabled people.

The disabled adults were on a vacation sponsored by two specialized associations. The ground floor of the building was made of stone and the upper part was constructed of wood with heavy timbers in the traditional style of the region  a factor that might partly explain why the fire spread so quickly.

The local administration of the Haut-Rhin region said the fire broke out at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Only five of those who were sleeping on the upper floor managed to escape, authorities said. All 12 people who were staying on the ground floor were able to evacuate.

No details about the victims were provided. Investigators were working on identifying the bodies with DNA testing, Kielwasser said.

Fadila Khattabi, minister for disabled people, went to the site on Thursday and met with families of victims who were in a state of shock, she said.

We must tell all the truth to the families, she said.

It was the deadliest fire in France since an August 2016 blaze that killed 14 people in a basement nightclub in the western city of Rouen.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rescue and clean-up crews are now pouring into the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, which has been leveled to ash and rubble in what the governor describes as the states largest-ever natural disaster.

Fast-moving wildfires killed at least 55, and the police chief said its likely 1,000 people remain unaccounted for. Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that the death toll is probably going to keep rising as search crews dig through the damage that he characterized as looking like a bomb scene. Accuweather Inc. put the preliminary estimate of damage from the fires at $8 billion to $10 billion.

The blaze was 80% contained as of Thursday, but aerial surveys found more than 270 buildings burned in the seaside resort, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Thousands of residents and tourists fled an area left without electricity, phone service or the internet.

Photos and videos posted to social media this week depicted apocalyptic scenes. The flames  fanned by strong winds from a hurricane far off the coast  barreled through the town so quickly that residents had little time to flee, and some even jumped into the ocean waters to escape. The Coast Guard said it rescued more than a dozen people from the waters off Lahaina on the West Maui coast.

The old Lahaina, including its Front Street tourist destination once packed with waterfront restaurants and shops, has been destroyed, Green said. Virtually every building in Lahaina, he said, would need to be replaced, taking many years and billions of dollars. Initial damage estimates in all likelihood will climb as the fullest extent of the wreckage becomes known.

The type of grass fire that hit Lahaina spreads extremely quickly, according to climate and wildfire expert Mojtaba Sadegh, an associate professor of civil engineering at Boise State University. The blaze was spread by winds from a high-pressure zone to the north that swept downwards toward Hurricane Dora, a low-pressure zone off to the south.

While such complexities make it harder for scientists to define the role global warming may have had in exacerbating the disaster, climate change is extending the length of fire season and increasing areas burned in many parts of the world. A recent study Sadegh co-authored found that between 2000 and 2019, the number of people in the US exposed to wildfire risk doubled.

Greens administration was reaching out to nearby hotels emptied of vacationers to secure 2,000 rooms for the displaced. But he also asked island residents whose homes remained intact to take in people needing shelter.

All of us have a loved one here on Maui that lost a home, that lost a friend, Green said.

The fire was one of several that erupted this week on Maui, the second-largest of the Hawaiian islands.

While it is unknown what sparked the flames, they drew their destructive power from some of the same conditions that have fueled devastating blazes this year from Canada to Greece: vegetation sucked dry by drought and strong winds. Some 36% of Maui County is in moderate to severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

This is not too surprising  its just surprising that it happened on Maui, said Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University in California. The speed of the Lahaina fire, which appears to have started on the eastern edge of town and was rapidly blown westward to the sea, likely led to the high death toll, he said.

Buses scooped up tourists Thursday from the resorts that line the shore north of Lahaina and ferried them directly to the islands Kahului Airport, where more than 1,400 people spent the night awaiting morning flights. Another 1,300 people slept in shelters, according to the county.

President Joe Biden on Thursday declared a major disaster in Hawaii, freeing up federal funds to aid recovery. Anyone who has lost a loved one or whose home has been damaged or destroyed is going to get help immediately, he said at an event in Salt Lake City.

Crews are working to clear roads and other areas of trees and debris. Emergency responders continued combing the wreckage for survivors or the deceased. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen warned evacuees not to try to return while that work continued, and said the county would do everything possible to identify those killed in the fire, to bring their families closure.

Wildfires used to be rare in Hawaii, but they started becoming more frequent in the 1990s as many of the old agricultural plantations and ranches closed, said Clay Trauernicht, a wildfire management specialist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Invasive, non-native grasses took over fallow land and have provided new fuel for blazes.

Some communities are trying to reforest these grass lands, using tree shade to control the grasses, or return them to agriculture, but not at the scale needed, he said.

Weve just primed ourselves for a disaster like this, Trauernicht said.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
SEVEN in 10 Irish parents have or will pass on their childs school uniform to a younger child, according to a new survey.

My NameTags.ie, a manufacturing company of personalised name labels, has revealed that 68% of parents are likely to pass on a uniform to their younger children.

The trend to reuse school uniform items is up, with 18% of parents also revealing that their childs school now sells second hand school uniforms, with some even donating the proceeds to local charities.

It is great to hear that so many Irish parents are now reusing their childs school uniform by handing it down to a younger sibling, said Lars B. Andersen, Founder and Managing Director of My Nametags.ie.

However we found it also quite surprising that over 20% of those surveyed still dont label all of their childrens belongings.

With all of us keen now more than ever to keep lost items to a minimum and reduce our waste it is very important to ensure that all items are easily identifiable at school by using personalised labels or stickers.

Despite not labelling school items, Irish parents do seem to be very organised, with just one in 10 of those surveyed stating that they wait until the last minute to purchase their childs school essentials.
BEREA, Ohio -- A Berea man, 31, was taken to The MetroHealth System in Cleveland at about 12:30 a.m. July 31 after he was found lying on the ground wounded outside the Cleveland Browns training facility, 76 Lou Groza Blvd.

Citizens called police after seeing the man, injured and not moving, lying face down on the sidewalk.

Police and paramedics, upon arrival, saw a large bruise on the back of the mans head. His eyes were swollen and he was bleeding from his mouth. One of his eyes was bruised.

Police rolled the man over and asked him questions, but he was unable to respond. Then they noticed that he had been talking to someone on his cell phone and the call was still active.

The man had been talking to his aunt. She arrived on the scene shortly after paramedics arrived. She told police that the man had called his brother and said he had been shot. However, his family didnt know where he was.

The aunt called the man and tried to learn his location, but she didnt understand what he was saying. She found out where he was when the citizens who found him arrived and told her over his phone.

Browns security video showed the man stumbling northbound on the Pearl Street sidewalk, on the west side of the road. He crossed to the east side of the road and continued walking north, then turned east onto Lou Groza and collapsed.

Police searched the area but found no clues.

They learned that the man was wanted in Berea for a traffic violation. He had been driving a car registered to a Berea woman. Police went to her home and questioned her.

Paramedics told police that the man may have suffered a gunshot wound to the head. MetroHealth doctors were unable to confirm that at the time of the report, but police later learned that the man had not been shot.

Read more from the News Sun.
BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Brook Park and Middleburg Heights have been awarded grants for $84,630 and $2.2 million, respectively, from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer Districts Member Community Infrastructure Program (MCIP).

Brook Park will use the money to commission design construction documents for a septic sewer system abatement project.

There are 14 or so homes located on the north side of Sheldon Road, between Eastland and Engle roads, and one near West 130th Street, that still use septic systems.

City Engineer Ed Piatak said he plans to apply for another MCIP grant that, if approved, would cover future construction costs to install a combination of gravity and force main sewers for those residential properties.

Back in 2004 the city began abating the majority of Brook Park homes with septic systems, he said, but a few outliers still remain.

The design work is scheduled to start early in 2024, Piatak said. We strategized this year to get the design done and then get some good cost estimates to get rid of the septic systems.

In Middleburg Heights, the Indian Creek Sanitary Relief Sewer project will get a $2.2 million boost to offset the estimated $8 million total project cost.

Efforts have been ongoing since 2021 to secure multiple funding sources to pay for flooding fixes that will benefit more than 400 households in the Indian Creek Subdivision.

A $1.8 million interest-free loan agreement executed at that time with the Ohio Public Works Commission indicated that a 96-inch pipe will be installed, among other infrastructure improvements, for in-line storage and detention in order to mitigate impacts on the downstream sanitary sewer along Baldwin Creek Drive.

Initially projected in 2021 to cost $3.7 million, Middleburg Heights Director of Public Service Jim Herron recently told cleveland.com that costs for the project went up exponentially during COVID.

The costs went up because (the sanitary sewer excavation site) is real deep, especially in the center section of Indian Creek, he explained on Aug. 10. You have to go down 20-plus feet.

We have all of the design work ready, Herron added. Were still waiting to see if were going to receive money from the federal government. Its in the (administrative) pipeline, meaning we might receive an additional $1.25 million for this project.

He said the citys internal budget allocation, combined with already secured funding, means the project can be completed from Gerald Drive all the way down Indian Creek Drive, with a tie-in at Baldwin Creek Drive.

Well be able to put in those underground storage tanks at the dead end by Baldwin Creek Preserve, which will slowly release the water into the sanitary system so it doesnt overwhelm it, Herron said.

Construction is anticipated to get under way in 2024.

Read more stories from the News Sun.
TORONTO, Ontario -- Canada Swifties, are you ready? Taylor Swift is coming to Toronto, Ontario for six shows in 2024.

Swift will perform these cant-miss shows -- from Nov. 14 to Nov. 23 -- at Rogers Centre. To every Swifties delight, she extended the Eras Tour and will now stop in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Toronto and perform 15 more concerts in the North America part of the tour.

The third-party ticket websites have seats for these concerts. Buy your tickets well in advance to secure your seat. Note that tickets on StubHub are going fast for these shows and some dates are completely sold out on Vivid Seats already.

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR THURSDAY, NOV. 14 TORONTO SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | TicketCity | MegaSeats

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR FRIDAY, NOV. 15 TORONTO SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | TicketCity | MegaSeats

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR SATURDAY, NOV. 16 TORONTO SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | TicketCity | MegaSeats

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR THURSDAY, NOV. 21 TORONTO SHOW: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | TicketCity | MegaSeats

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR FRIDAY, NOV. 22 TORONTO SHOW: StubHub | SeatGeek | MegaSeats

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR SATURDAY, NOV. 23 TORONTO SHOW: StubHub | SeatGeek | MegaSeats

After finishing the U.S. leg of The Eras Tour, Swift is now on a break. She will hit the ground running later this month with her international stretch of the tour. The first stop will be Latin America on Aug. 24. She will then visit other countries and cities across the world, like Australia, Singapore and Paris.

Tickets for her other North America 2024 tour stops -- Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis -- are also available.

Kaylee Remington is the commerce reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Follow her for deals, trends and breaking news in the shopping, sports and entertainment industries. Read her work here.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich.  A Michigan woman said she found a live frog in a package of spinach she purchased from a grocery store this week.

Amber Worrick of Southfield said she purchased the Earthbound Farm organic baby spinach from a Meijer store. Worrick said her daughter was startled when discovered the live frog after she returned home with the groceries.

It was alive and moving, Worrick told WJBK-TV in Detroit. Just thank God I didnt eat the frog.

Worrick said she also didnt notice anything odd or peculiar about the bagged spinach while she was shopping.

I didnt see anything, it didnt feel heavy or anything, she said. I didnt feel anything wiggling.

Nonetheless, Worrick immediately returned to the store and returned the spinach as well as the frog. She received a full refund.

I didnt want him to die, she said. But I didnt want him in my food.

The frog was identified as a Pacific Tree frog native to California, according to reports, and was released into the wild by store team members.

RELATED: Wild alligator spotted in river near Pittsburgh

However, the Michigan Department of Agricultural and Rural Development said that was not a recommended decision.

No one filed a complaint, not the person or the store, Jennifer Holton, director of communications for the agency, told the Detroit Free Press. The store should have contacted MDARD or the FDA and the frog shouldnt have been let go because we dont know what type of frog it was. Whether this particular frog is indeed a pacific tree frog and may not be something native to Michigans eco-system.

Taylor Farms, the parent company of Earthbound Farm, issued a statement regarding the live frog found in its packaged spinach.

Our organic farming practices help promote biodiversity and healthy ecosystems on and around our farms, the company said, per WJBK. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the freshest, finest quality veggies for consumers.
Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA Forward in Faith) founding leader and National Hero Archbishop Ezekiel Guti was yesterday buried at his old church started in 1960 under a eucalyptus tree on a mountain in Bindura.

At this place, Archbishop Guti began his spiritual journey, learnt to read the English Bible and performed miracles.

The mountain became a prayer sanctuary for many people across the world and was known as a mountain of miracles.

One of Zimbabwes most famous clergymen, Archbishop Guti died on July 5 in South Africa and the church proclaimed 30 days of mourning before President Mnangagwa declared him a national hero on July 26.

Deputy Secretary General Steve Simukai said it was befitting that Baba Guti was laid to rest at that place.

There is no man who has done more for this city than the man lying here. We are laying him to rest today but what he has done will move forward, he said. The foundation he laid and the work he has done is a revolution. The church is moving on.

His widow, Eunor thanked the nation for praying for her family in its most difficult moment and promised that the church was not going to die but instead, continue growing.

She said Baba Guti laid the foundation so that the congregants could build on it. We were given three apostles who will lead us. Let us pray for them and not divide them. Let us not tell lies or gossip to them so that they continue to lead with great love, she said

She said Baba Guti had little rest and spent most of his time praying because he was devoted to the call God placed upon him.

She gave a moving eulogy on the life of the Archbishop and how he had led many people who had come forward to repent and receive Christ.

The resident bishop, Overseer Christoper Kapandura, said Baba Guti was a humble servant of God who loved everyone. He discovered peoples talent. He did not take the glory of God to himself. ZAOGA Forward in Faith was blessed to have such a man, he said.

I call him a hero of the whole world. He groomed us, we came to this church poor. He gave us the vision of preaching the Kingdom of God.

It is our duty now to do and preach what we were taught by our father. Our future is brighter than before.

Overseer George Mutingura said the board of bishops and international headquarters had extended sincere condolences to the Guti family and the church.

He said it was a great priviledge and honour to serve as bishops under the Moses of our time, Baba Guti.

A man who no words can describe but can be best described as a father of many nations, a humble servant of God, a great leader and a man full of wisdom, he said.

We stand with pride for our father who took time out of his busy schedule putting solid structures for the new season ahead.

We are confident that we are ready to carry on the race, holding on to the teaching and putting everything in practice.

We are here for you, our mother. We pledge our full commitment to the work of God and we move forward together with the three appointed Apostles including our Father Dr Joseph Guti.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Senator Monica Mavhunga thanked President Mnangagwa for honouring Baba Guti with National Hero status.

She said his resting place had a special history for ZAOGA.

ZAOGA was born at this place and the Holy Spirit led Baba Guti here from Highfield. He went on to commit years of dedication and selflessness in preaching Gods word all over the world, she said.

He built a university a few kilometres from here. The university is contributing to education and innovation as the country heads towards Vision 2030.

Thousands of people and delegates from 168 countries gatheed at the cathedral to bid farewell to the late hero who was described by many as a spiritual giant.

His body was first taken to Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU) before it was taken to the church.

The university was established in 2012 and is the first Pentecostal university in Zimbabwe.

Acting vice chancellor Professor Innocent Chirisa said the university and many other schools that Baba Guti built were an extension of the gospel.

When the church began, he had the vision for the university. He had great value for education. His vision was to see a person being saved and delivered, he said.

The first dean of students, Jonathan Simango, said ZEGU was unique because it taught students entrepreneurial skills.

He said companies were requesting more students for attachment.

Our father was a wise man. He translated what was in him to the students. I used to take the students to Baba Guti and we started with nine students, he said.

The national hero was accorded a 21-gun salute by the military. Herald
Rotunda Rumblings

Blame game: Ohio Republicans are finding no shortage of potential scapegoats as they process their rare electoral loss earlier this week. As Andrew Tobias writes, Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, House Speaker Jason Stephens and Senate President Matt Huffman all have gotten blame over State Issue 1s failure. But many have pointed to the business community, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which was divided over Issue 1 due to its ties to the November vote on abortion rights. The circular finger-pointing if nothing else reveals some of the stress points and grievances within the Ohio Republican coalition.

Lake effect: Cuyahoga County voted harder against State Issue 1 than any of Ohios other 87 counties. Zachary Smith digs into how that came to pass, examining how Issue 1 fared in Cuyahoga Countys cities. He found that every city in the county voted against the measure, with the vote reaching more than 90% against the proposed amendment in eight of them.

Charity case: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes 2020 campaign manager, as well as two others who worked for other members of Congress, have agreed to pay more than $50,000, as well as other sanctions, for their roles in an East Palestine charity scam, Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the settlement comes after state investigators discovered the fake charity raised thousands of dollars more than previously thought and uncovered details about who was fundraising for it. An attorney for two of the men, who run a fundraising company, said they were the victim of the third.

Ill see you in court: The Ohio Supreme Court has set a court hearing for Sept. 27 to hear oral arguments in a case involving Ohios heartbeat law that bans abortion as early as six weeks in pregnancy. Per Tobias, the court set the hearing in a Thursday docket entry after first getting involved with the case last March. The court has agreed to hear Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yosts appeal of a lower courts refusal to hear Yosts appeal of a Hamilton County judges order putting the law on pause while the case plays out in Hamilton County. The Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 4-3 majority, also will consider Yosts contention that the abortion-rights advocates behind the lawsuit lack standing, or the legal ability to sue.

The $16 suit: Money began to flow this month from a $49 million class action lawsuit against FirstEnergy and its former subsidiary Energy Harbor, Jake Zuckerman reports. Most plaintiffs got between $10 and $20, though some received as little as $1. The lawyers took more than $13 million.

Coordinated response: Concerned after receiving similarly worded responses from 9 separate colleges and universities to his July inquiry about their affirmative action policies, U.S. Sen. JD Vance on Thursday asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine collusion between them, Sabrina Eaton reports. It is hard to believe that the schools responding to my letter could achieve such remarkable parallels in the absence of coordination or collusion, Vance wrote in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan. Noting that elite universities had previously openly coordinated their financial aid policies, he suggested FTC study collusive behavior by colleges and universities, particularly as it relates to new admissions policies after this years U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting affirmative action in college admissions.

Freeze, reprieve: For the third time now, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker asked state regulators on Thursday for a six-month pause on their multiple pending investigations into bribery schemes from FirstEnergy Corp. Prosecutors have secured four convictions in the case, including former House Speaker Larry Householder. However, no corporate officials have been criminally charged. Parkers letter describes the investigation as ongoing.

Try, try again: The Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity is trying once again to clear the first hurdle to getting their proposed constitutional amendment scaling back legal protections for police and other government officials on a future ballot. The group submitted paperwork summarizing their proposed amendment to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yosts office on Thursday. Yost has rejected five previous similar filings from the group, saying they failed to accurately summarize what their proposed amendment would do on language that eventually would appear on petitions the group must circulate to qualify for the ballot.

Buckeye Brain Tease

Question: What war did Ohio fight with a bordering state as part of a territorial dispute in 1835 and 1836?

Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter.

Thanks to everyone who responded to last weeks trivia question:

What is the largest natural lake in Ohio besides Lake Erie?

Answer: Aurora Pond in Portage County. Also known as Aurora Lake, it only covers 345 acres  about one-fortieth the size of the artificially created Grand Lake St. Marys.

Kyle Koehler, a former state representative from Springfield, was the first to provide the correct answer.

Birthdays

Friday, 8/11: Curt Steiner, Republican political consultant and ex-Gov. George Voinovichs chief of staff

Saturday 8/12: Ex-state Rep. Anne Gonzales; Kimberly Hartman, Ohio House chief administrative officer and director of human resources

Sunday, 8/13: Bahja Ali, legislative aide to state Rep. Munira Abdullahi; Kevin Servick, director of business government and senior adviser to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

Straight From The Source

Any leader needs to do what they think is the best thing under the circumstances that theyre given. I believe the vice-president believes he followed the Constitution. Im not in his shoes.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, during an interview Wednesday on NBC Newss Meet the Press Now, after he was asked if he agreed with former Vice President Mike Pences decision to certify the results of the 2020 election.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Shukria Sediqi knew her days in safety were numbered. As a journalist who advocated for womens rights, shed visited shelters and safe houses to talk to women who had fled abusive husbands. She went with them to court when they asked for a divorce.

According to the Taliban, who bar women from most public places, jobs and education, her work was immoral.

So when the Taliban swept into her hometown of Herat in western Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S. was pulling out of the country, she and her family fled.

First they tried to get on one of the last American flights out of Kabul. Then they tried to go to Tajikistan but had no visas. Finally in October 2021, after sleeping outside for two nights at the checkpoint into Pakistan among crowds of Afghans fleeing the Taliban, she and her family made it into the neighboring country.

The goal? Resettling in the U.S. via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media and aid agencies.

But two years after the U.S. left Afghanistan, Sediqi and tens of thousands of others are still waiting. While there has been some recent progress, processing U.S. visas for Afghans has moved painfully slowly. So far, only a small portion of Afghans have been resettled.

Many of the applicants who fled Afghanistan are running through savings, living in limbo in exile. They worry that the U.S., which had promised so much, has forgotten them.

What happens to my children? What happens to me? Sediqi asked. Nobody knows.



During two decades in Afghanistan after its 2001 invasion, the U.S. relied on Afghans helping the U.S. government and military. Afghan journalists went to work at a growing number of media outlets. Afghans, often women working in remote areas, were the backbone of aid programs providing everything from food to tutoring.

Since 2009, the U.S. has had a special immigrant visa program to help Afghans like interpreters who worked directly with the U.S. government and the military.

Then, in the waning days of the U.S. presence in the country, the Biden administration created two new programs for refugees, expanding the number of Afghans who could apply to resettle in the U.S.

The visas, known as P-1 and P-2, are for aid workers, journalists or others who didnt work directly for the U.S. government but who helped promote goals like democracy and an independent media that put them at risk under the Taliban.

The programs were intended to help people like Enayatullah Omid and his wife  Afghans who helped build the country after the 2001 Taliban ouster and were at risk due to their U.S. affiliation once the U.S. withdrew.

In 2011, Omid started a radio station in Baghlan province with the help of the U.S.-based media training nonprofit Internews and funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was the stations general manager but did everything from reporting on-air to sweeping the floors at night. His wife, Homaira Omid Amiri, also worked at the station and was an activist in the province.

When the Taliban entered Baghlan on Aug. 9, 2021, Omid said he did one last thing: He burned documents to keep the Taliban from identifying his staff. Then he and his wife fled.

They stayed at shelters arranged by a committee to protect Afghan journalists until the Taliban shut them down. Internews referred Omid to the U.S. refugee program in the spring of 2022. Told he had to leave Afghanistan for his case to proceed, Omid and his wife went to Pakistan in July 2022.

Even in Pakistan Omid doesnt feel safe. Worried about the Talibans reach, hes moved three times. There are police raids targeting Afghans whose visas have run out. As he spoke to The Associated Press, he was getting text messages about raids in another Islamabad neighborhood and wondered how much he should tell his already stressed wife.

He said America has a saying: Leave no one behind.

We want them to do it. It shouldnt be only a saying for them, he said.



The American airlift in August 2021 carried more than 70,000 Afghans to safety, along with tens of thousands of Americans and citizens of other countries  plane after plane loaded with the lucky ones who managed to make their way through the massive crowds encircling Kabul airport. Most gained entry to the U.S. under a provision known as humanitarian parole.

Many more are still waiting. There are about 150,000 applicants to the special immigrant visa programs  not including family members. A report by the Association of Wartime Allies said at the current rate it would take 31 years to process them all.

Separately, there are 27,400 Afghans who are in the pipeline for the two refugee programs created in the final days of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, according to the State Department. That doesnt include family members, which potentially adds tens of thousands more. But since the U.S. left Afghanistan its only admitted 6,862 of these Afghan refugees, mostly P-1 and P-2 visa applicants, according to State Department figures.

In June, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has relocated about 24,000 Afghans since September 2021, apparently referring to all the resettlement programs combined.

Among the refugee program applicants are about 200 AP employees and their families, as well as staff of other American news organizations still struggling to relocate to the U.S.

Krish OMara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said the U.S. refugee process in general can be agonizingly slow, and waits of as long as 10 years are common. Furthermore, former U.S. President Donald Trump gutted the refugee system, lowering the annual number of accepted refugees to its lowest ever.

Other challenges are unique to Afghan immigrants, said Vignarajah. Many Afghans destroyed documents during the Taliban takeover because they worried about reprisals. Now they need them to prove their case.

The grim reality is that theyll likely be waiting for years on end and often in extremely precarious situations, Vignarajah said.

In a recent report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a body created by Congress to oversee government spending in Afghanistan, faulted the various resettlement programs set up for Afghans.

Bureaucratic dysfunction and understaffing have undermined U.S. promises that these individuals would be protected in a timely manner, putting many thousands of Afghan allies at high risk, the report said.

It also criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the refugee programs, which it said has left Afghans considering whether to leave their country to await processing without critical information they need for such a crucial decision.

In a sign of the confusion surrounding the process, applicants like Omid and his wife were told they had to leave Afghanistan to apply, a costly endeavor involving selling their possessions, going to another country and waiting. They, like many others, ended up in Pakistan  one of the few countries that allows Afghans in  only to discover the U.S. was not processing refugee applications there.

That changed late last month when the State Department said it would begin processing applications in Pakistan.

However, Congress has so far failed to act on a bill that seeks to improve efforts to help Afghans still struggling to get to America.

The State Department declined an AP request for an interview but said in a statement it is committed to processing Afghan refugee visas. In June, Blinken applauded the efforts that have gone into helping Afghans resettle in America but emphasized the work continues.

At the same time, the Biden administration has made progress in recovering from the Trump-era curtailment of the refugee system. The administration raised the cap on refugees admitted to the U.S. to 125,000 a year, compared to Trumps 15,000 in his final year in office. Its unlikely the Biden administration will reach the cap this year, but the number of refugees and Afghans admitted is increasing.

Shawn VanDiver, who heads a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts called #AfghanEvac, said he doesnt agree with criticism that the refugee programs are a failure.

They have gotten off to a really slow start and there are vulnerable people that are waiting for this much needed relief, he said. But I also know that ... from my conversations with government, that there is movement happening to push on this.

__

Left with little information, Afghans in Pakistan compare what they hear from U.S. officials about their cases in Whats App chat groups that have organized social media protests demanding swifter U.S. action.

Avoid putting our lives in danger again, one post read.

Pakistan was already home to millions of Afghans who fled decades of conflict when the Taliban returned to power and an estimated 600,000 more surged into the country. While many had valid travel documents, renewing them is a lengthy and costly process. Raids looking for Afghans with expired visas have heightened tensions.

Abdul, who declined to give his surname for fear of arrest because his visa has expired, worked as head of security for an aid group in Afghanistan that specialized in economic help for women. The risks were enormous; three colleagues were killed while he worked there.

One of his last tasks was getting the groups foreign staff to the airport to escape. The organization stayed open into 2022, when the Taliban detained Abdul for two weeks. After his release, a Taliban member said he could protect his family  if Abdul gave him his daughter in marriage.

Abdul knew it was time to leave. He, his wife and children fled that night to Iran. Late last year, when they were told their referral to one of the refugee programs had been approved, they went to Pakistan. Since then, theres been no information.

Their visas now expired, the family is terrified to leave the house.

The future is completely dark, Abdul said. Im not afraid to die, Im just really worried about the future of my children.



Santana reported from Washington. AP reporters Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This fall, Clevelanders chance at a Peoples Budget will be on the ballot.

Freedom to engage our government, from access to the ballot through voting, to influencing how budgets use our shared money, are rights that underpin a democracy. No matter our race, party, or ZIP code, we all deserve an equal say in the decisions that shape our future.

That is why Cleveland VOTES and Young Latino Network stand together with advocates encouraging you to support a Peoples Budget, a charter amendment that will appear on the ballot Nov. 7.

We just witnessed out-of-state billionaires and well-connected politicians try to take away Ohioans freedom to decide for ourselves. Their push to rewrite the rules has been underway for quite some time.

Erika Anthony is the co-founder and executive director of Cleveland VOTES, a nonpartisan, democracy-building movement that works to reconstruct and strengthen power through active participation of our collective partners. (Brianna Schillero Photography LLC) Jose-Arnulfo Cabrera is co-executive director of the Young Latina Network and Avanzamos Unido, two organizations working to create a more equable Ohio for all Latines. (Mariana Edelman Photography and Design)

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States gutted the Voting Rights Act. The August special election was yet another challenge to make it harder for the average person to participate.

From purges of the voting rolls to onerous new voter ID laws, and a history of gerrymandered districts, there are people motivated to divide us by race and place to keep us from exercising our rights.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen OConnor may have said it best, When you keep changing the rules and moving the goalposts you are intentionally silencing the vote of the people.

These challenges are coming from a tired playbook and this year Clevelanders can respond by saying yes to more direct democracy in November.

Building an equitable democracy is a creative exercise that necessitates new pathways to civic participation. When we collaborate with leaders to activate voters across our communities, we dont put limits on their vision, we encourage them to dream of a brighter future that does better for all of us.

We discuss big transformational ideas with our neighbors because we know everyday people working together is how change happens. It takes courage to fight for an idea and to invest in a system that has made some of us feel shut out.

Nonetheless we imagine what more robust participation looks like, one that respects the power in all of us because we know we can do better than the status quo. A thriving democracy embraces civic innovation, offers multiple onramps to participate, different modes to interact with our government, and it invites us all to embody our role as a vital part of the civic process.

Over the course of six weeks, 180-plus volunteers collected 10,500 signatures in support of the Peoples Ballot issue and also registered 900 residents. Your vote is your power and now is the time to use it.

The charter amendment for the Peoples Budget would institutionalize participatory budgeting as a direct democracy tool, ensuring Cleveland residents have the power to make decisions about how to spend 2% of the city budget. To date, 510 participatory budgeting processes across the United States have enabled residents to determine how $359 million of public funding is spent.

Participatory budgeting increases resident trust in government and provides a new onramp to civic participation for residents, particularly high school students and Black and Brown communities impacted by systemic inequality. To view the charter language and learn more, check out the FAQs and the Peoples Budget website.

Lets remind people in power that this democracy is ours. It belongs to all of us. The Ohio state capital, Cleveland City Hall, the state constitution belongs to the people. Not any one person. Show your support for democracy with a yes vote for a Cleveland Peoples Budget this fall.

Erika Anthony is the co-founder and executive director of Cleveland VOTES, a nonpartisan, democracy-building movement that works to reconstruct and strengthen power through active participation of our collective partners. Jose-Arnulfo Cabrera is co-executive director of the Young Latina Network and Avanzamos Unido, two organizations working to create a more equable Ohio for all Latines.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial board roundtable to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Youve been told, Cleveland.

Two years from now, a wave of journalists will flood our city. Theyll fill the hotels downtown; theyll pack nightspots; and, if the Cleveland Guardians are home, theyll trek to Progressive Field to watch a ballgame.

Journalists will be here, in our hometown, not to pick a presidential candidate but to observe the 50th anniversary of the National Association of Black Journalists, a professional organization I joined in 1984.

NABJ, as everybody calls it, held its second-largest gathering ever last week. In Birmingham, Alabama, Im told over 3,500 people came, meaning more Black journalists attended this yearly convention in a Deep South city than ones in Las Vegas, New York City and Philadelphia.

And Birmingham charmed em.

Branding itself The Magic City, Birmingham sprinkled its magic over all aspects of the convention. It didnt skirt the racism of yesterday Birmingham, but it pointed its guests toward the Birmingham of today and tomorrow.

They had to like what they found.

Yet, as I looked at Birmingham and what it pulled off, I left the convention without any question we can top it. We have more things to wow visitors.

What jumps to mind are the cultural assets of downtown alone. Think about how magical it would be to host an event at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Id love to see a theater troupe put on Lorraine Hansberrys Raisin in the Sun or August Wilsons Fences.

A short walk from the convention center (or any of the downtown hotels) are a comedy club, a casino and the House of Blues. If good, well-priced eats are what our visitors are seeking, our downtown, Tremont and West 25th Street have restaurants aplenty for them.

And if you know Cleveland well, I dont need to tell you about the crown jewel here: The Cleveland Museum of Art.

We know what makes our city special; we know what makes it a place we choose to live. Our challenge is to share those things with visitors. They need to see our Cleveland, spit-polished and prepared to treat its guests like family.

Theyll come to our town flush with cash to spend (or credit cards to use); we ought to, for the right reasons, make sure theyll leave as much of it behind as possible.

Now is the time to marshal our efforts; now is the time to plan what we can do to highlight this region; now is the time for civic leaders and politicians to lend their help in making NABJ 2025 a convention to remember.

For if we do, visitors will go home and write glowingly about our city. Theyll tell friends about our city. Theyll revisit our city.

Ive had to remind myself how leery people were of Birmingham. After Vegas last year, many NABJ conventioneers vowed theyd never step foot in Birmingham.

Since Id been there before, I told them that was a mistake.

I guess the word spread. People came.

Members of our local NABJ chapter gush about Cleveland. Some of them were in Birmingham; many more will be in Chicago next year. Theyll talk up our city, just as Alabamans talked up Birmingham.

Doubtless, theirs was a magic city. But Im willing to bet Cleveland proves far more enchanting than Birmingham ever could.

Justice B. Hill grew up in Glenville and still lives there. He practiced journalism for over 25 years at several daily newspapers, wrote about baseball for eight seasons at MLB.com and taught journalism at Ohio University. Now retired, he devotes his time to travel and freelance writing.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As the Cleveland Metropolitan School District prepares for students first day of the next school year, the district has been spending federal dollars meant to help schools rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To get a more thorough look at how CMSD is spending its $295.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, cleveland.com obtained a full list of the districts 70,000 ARPA-funded expenses since late 2021. We sorted the data and are delivering it in a format we hope is easy to digest.

So far, CMSD has spent $158.5 million of its ARPA dollars on salaries/benefits, technology, summer school, improving facilities and more.

Federal guidelines allow for broad use of APRA funds, but require at least 20% to be spent on addressing pandemic-related learning losses in a way that is both evidence-based and beneficial to disproportionately affected students. Other allowable categories include: programs that support students with disabilities, cleaning/improving indoor air quality, providing technology for online learning, mental health services, summer school and hiring/funding staff, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The money listed in this story is part of CMSDs share of the third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding, which was a part of ARPA. (For simplicitys sake, well refer to this funding as ARPA.)

There are a variety of ways to look at the districts ARPA spending. So lets begin our analysis by breaking it down into the categories, known as cost centers, which is a broad distinction that lists which department, project or school (more on that later) received funds.

1.) Technology upgrades

One pattern that emerges, no matter how you sort the data, is a multimillion-dollar investment in new technology.

The $39 million spent on management information system software included the distircts largest ARPA-funded contract, $9.2 million to Bluum of Minnesota, LLC to implement Clever Touch boards. Other expenses in this category included contracts with Dell, Apple and Best Buy.

The second largest cost center was wraparond services for Say Yes Cleveland. Expenses in this cost center included mental health support such as after-school activities, counseling, music therapy, yoga, school supplies, instructional staff training and consultant fees, which we will further parse, later in this story.

As a disclaimer, expenses are all listed with a function, cost center, spend category, program, supplier name and more. As a result, any given expense will fit into many categories. This creates some gray area when using the data to create statistics.

For that reason, this graph likely understates the amount of summer school funding. For many summer school expenses, their cost centers were listed as either the school that primarily benefitted or other categories, such as nursing expenses. When sorted by program rather than cost center, summer school funding is listed at $15.4 million.

Sorting the expense data by function, spend category and program, we were able to determine that expenses listed under the cost center of chief operating officer were for building maintenance costs, and expenses associated with the chief financial officer cost center were for employee insurance benefits.

For the next graph, we isolated expenses for salaries and benefits and broke them down by how much money went to employees in each program.

2.) Salaries

CMSD spent $45.4 million of its ARPA money on salaries and benefits for employees across the board.

Regular non-certificated employees (which includes bus drivers and custodians) received the most salary and benefit support, $15.4 million, from ARPA funds, data show. For comparison, regular certificated employees (which includes teachers and principals) received $7.8 million.

Roughly $1.8 million was spent on overtime and $18.8 million was spent on insurance and retirement benefits.

3.) Top vendors

CMSDs ARPA spending tended to be spread out among contractors, with none receiving more than $12 million and only three receiving more than $5 million.

Of these 10 companies that received the largest ARPA-funded contracts from CMSD, six are computer or technology companies. The largest expense to a single company was $11.7 million to CDW Government Inc. for computer supplies and software.

Rush Truck Centers of Ohio Inc. received $7.8 million to bus children to and from school, data show.

Its unclear what the indirect costs entry listed in the above graph was for. Other information in the spreadsheet says only that most of it was used for accounting and the rest for grants management.

The relatively large amount for the Cleveland Playhouse was mostly for out-of-school activities. That brings us to our next graph.

4.) Out-of-school time

CMSD spent $9 million paying 26 groups for services listed as out-of-school time. Nearly all of this out-of-school time was also classified as part of Say Yes Clevelands wraparound services.

Say Yes Cleveland has been in the news in recent months because the groups family support services that help students and their families access existing benefits was threatened by a potential loss in funding. In May, Cuyahoga County temporarily closed that gap by setting aside $2.1 million for the effort. The City of Cleveland contributed $600,000 of its ARPA dollars to bolster the program.

CMSDs ARPA spreadsheet lists a $600,000 allocation on Feb. 22, 2023 to Say Yes for its family support specialists program.

Esperanza Inc., which received the most amount of money for out-of-school services, is a local nonprofit that primarily serves the areas Hispanic and Latino communities. Just over 17% of CMSD students are Hispanic, according to the districts website.

5.) School-by-school funding

CMSD lists each school as a cost center in its data, putting it in the same category as the first graph in this story.

Many of these school-specific expenses were salaries and benefits and capital project funding, but the expenses also included funding for library books, furniture and other items.

Naturally, many district ARPA expenses affect more than just one school, so its hard to put a specific dollar amount on how much each school received through ARPA.

Given the datas scale (70,000+ rows), no single graph or even set of graphs will capture all of CMSDs ARPA spending. However, the spending has, so far, been largely focused on salaries, technology, out-of-school time, summer school and busing.

For a copy of the full database we used for this story, email ldaprile@cleveland.com.
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) opposition party has said once voted into office, it will introduce laws to empower voters to recall non-performing elected public officials.

While officiating at the launch of CCCs manifesto in Bulawayo recently, party leader, Nelson Chamisa said the party would enact laws that allow people to recall poor performing officials.

We are going to introduce the right of recall, Chamisa said.

If you are a MP or councillor and dont perform, we will look at the number of people who voted for you. If two thirds write a petition either to the Speaker or to the relevant chamber to say our representative has gone AWOL or is a missing person, we will allow them to recall you and allow them to choose a new representative.

Chamisa further said the CCC would also implement a new public barometer system to rate the performance of all public officers.

If you are a minister or MP, there is going to be a public barometer to rate you. At the end of the year, you must be rated to see how you fared. You go to Parliament but dont even cough or sneeze but still want to remain in Parliament. MPs must debate national issues.

Currently the right of recall is limited to political parties, as stated in Section 129 (K) of Zimbabwes constitution.

Section 129 (K) reads: If a Member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it.

In 2020, the MDC-T, led by Douglas Mwonzora, recalled dozens of elected MPs and councillors, accusing them of supporting Chamisa, his political adversary.

This resulted in empty seats in various parliamentary and council seats around Zimbabwe, leaving the electorate disenfranchised and underrepresented.

By-elections had to be held on March 26, 2022, and later on in the year because citizens had no representatives in Parliament and council.

Chamisa added that Parliament must also reserve a seat for the leader of the official opposition party for oversight.

The official opposition leader has to be invited officially to all the national functions not this business of reducing national functions to a party affair, said the presidential challenger who said once in power CCC would separate the state from the political party.

One of the things that we promise you as a new government is to separate the State from the party, what political scientists call batocracy, which is the State and party conflation. The Government is the common denominator, and your political party is the enumerator, we are all one people.

He also said a new government will make sure people do not abuse their political party card to access government services.

You must access government services because you are a citizen and deserve the service either due to your age, disability or certain marginalisation that you have suffered in the past. We want to equalise this. This is our humble submission for a government we are proposing, said the CCC leader.

The CCC leader also mentioned that one in government the party will update and modernise telecommunications systems.

We are going to revolutionarise Parliament immediately when we become a government. Parliamentary debates will be shown on TV, and you will see what is debated in Parliament and see where laws are made, Chamisa claimed.

We will have a television channel set aside for parliamentary debates and televisions in communities for municipal debates in the chambers so that people are brought closer to lawmaking closer to decision making.

Last year a Harare resident petitioned Parliament to allow members of the public to recall failing elected politicians rather than political parties.

Claud Kaharo of Budiriro said that for democracy to succeed, non-performers must be shown the door, while elected politicians must perform to the expectations of those who voted for them, failing which they must be recalled.

As the voting public, we must have the right to vote for our representatives to council and parliament and also have the right to recall them if they are inept and not to wait for five years while they continue to do lots of damage, Kaharo wrote in his petition. CITE
THERE will be a double burial of national heroes, Brigadier-General (Retired) Milton Siziba and Ambassador Johannes Tomana, during the commemoration of Heroes Day at the National Heroes Acre on Monday.

Brig-Gen Siziba succumbed to shortness of breath at his house in Northvale, Bulawayo on August 1, while Ambassador Tomana died after complaining of stomach pains after visiting his rural home in Honde Valley last Sunday.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage confirmed the twin burials.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage wishes to advise the nation that there shall be a twin burial for the two late national heroes at the National Heroes Acre on Monday 14 August 2023.

His Excellency, the President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa will preside over the event, said the ministry.

Other senior Government and ruling party officials that include Vice-President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Constantino Chiwenga, Zanu-PF Vice-President and Second Secretary Cde Kembo Mohadi, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, ministers and members of the diplomatic community, are also expected to attend.

Mourners are expected to be seated by 7am.

The burials shall be preceded by the commemorations of Heroes Day at the same venue, said the ministry.

Brig-Gen Siziba joined the liberation war as a Zipra cadre and was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army where he rose through the ranks to become Brigadier General and later joined the then ZPS.

Ambassador Tomana was a lawyer by training and distinguished himself in private practice.

In 2005, Ambassador Tomana was appointed to be one of the commissioners of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, one of the independent constitutional bodies established to fight graft.

He was later appointed Attorney General in 2008, where he performed the dual role of leading the prosecution department and Government advisory role.

The two were later split under the new Constitution that came into effect in 2013, where Ambassador Tomana became the countrys first Prosecutor General.

He later joined the diplomatic service in 2020 and was posted to the DRC in the same year. Herald


 
After three years of haphazard plans for getting workers back at their desks, the return-to-office movement has entered a phase of remorse. A whopping 80% of bosses regret their initial return-to-office decisions and say they would have approached their plans differently if they had a better understanding of employees' office attendance, their usage of office amenities and other related factors, according to new research from Envoy. "Many companies are realizing they could have been a lot more measured in their approach, rather than making big, bold, very controversial decisions based on executives' opinions rather than employee data," Larry Gadea, Envoy's CEO and founder, tells CNBC Make It. Envoy interviewed more than 1,000 U.S. company executives and workplace managers who work in-person at least one day per week. Some leaders lamented the challenge of measuring the success of in-office policies, while others said it's been hard to make long-term real estate investments without knowing how employees might feel about being in the office weeks, or even months, from now. Kathy Kacher, a consultant who advises corporate executives on their return-to-office plans, is surprised the percentage isn't higher. "Many organizations that attempted to force a return to the office have had to retract or change their plans because of employee pushback, and now, they don't look strong," says Kacher, the president of Career/Life Alliance Services. "A lot of executives have egg on their faces and they're sad about that."

The 'great resignation' to the 'great regret'

As some business leaders accept hybrid work as a permanent reality, others are backtracking on earlier pledges to let employees work from home on a full or part-time basis. As of July, 59% of full-time employees are back to being 100% on-site, while 29% are in a hybrid arrangement and 12% are completely remote, according to new data from WFH Research. Offices are still only half full compared to their pre-pandemic occupancy. Across industries, major corporations including Disney, Starbucks and BlackRock are requiring employees to spend more time at the office, with executives often citing the need for more in-person collaboration. Zoom is the latest to reverse course, telling employees who live within a 50-mile radius of a Zoom office that they need to come in at least twice a week. It's an abrupt shift from the company's previous policy, which allowed employees to choose between hybrid, in-person or permanent remote work. "We believe that a structured hybrid approach  meaning employees that live near an office need to be onsite two days a week to interact with their teams  is most effective for Zoom," a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC Make It, adding that the company will "continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently" and "hire the best talent, regardless of location." The sunk cost of unused office space has been a major factor in companies' decisions to change their RTO approach, says Kacher. Even six months ago, companies were willing to eat these costs in a tight labor market to recruit and retain talent. But now, "Some companies are getting impatient, and want to recoup these large investments," Kacher explains. In New York City, office space costs, on average, about $16,000 a year per employee, the New York Times reports. Yet the constant risk of losing top talent has been enough to make companies reconsider their strict RTO mandates. Research has shown that companies that put pressure on employees to return to the office are more likely to experience turnover issues than those that don't. Companies that have mandated a strict return to the office three days a week without first seeking employee input are experiencing the most angst, Kacher adds. "They're the ones struggling with retention and recruitment," she says. "Some of the companies I work with have even scaled back the number of in-office days they're requiring in response to employee backlash."

Who's winning the return-to-office fight
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the news media before boarding Marine One for travel to Kentucky from the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, January 4, 2023.

WASHINGTON  Attorneys for President Joe Biden and the special counsel appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents have been negotiating for about a month over the terms under which he would be interviewed, two people familiar with the matter said.

Discussions between Biden's lawyers and special counsel Robert Hur's office are focused on how, when and where the interview might take place, as well as the scope of the questions, these people said. They stressed that the negotiations are ongoing and that no agreement has been reached.

The back-and-forth suggests that the probe  now in its eighth month  may not be wrapping up imminently. But an interview with the person at the center of an investigation typically takes place near the end of the process.

A spokesperson for Biden's personal attorney, Bob Bauer, declined to comment Thursday, as did a spokesperson for Hur.

The White House declined to comment and referred questions to the Justice Department, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

For months now, Biden's lawyers have been gaming out various scenarios for an interview, with the expectation that he would provide one once his legal team and the special counsel agreed on the specifics.

Negotiating those conditions includes, in part, settling on whether the interview would be in person and, if so, where it might happen  as well as the range of topics and questions that would be covered, said the people familiar with the negotiations.

Most of the classified documents discovered in November and this year were related to Biden's time as vice president, according to his attorneys, though some also pertained to his time as a U.S. senator. The documents were found in an office Biden used after he left the vice presidency and at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

The searches, however, also turned up a large number of notebooks Biden kept during his time in public office before he was elected president that could contain sensitive information.

It is unclear exactly how many documents were seized for review and whether that is still a major factor contributing to the length of the investigation.

The Biden team would like to know in advance, ideally, whether a sit-down with the special counsel would include questions about material beyond the vice presidency, and they would prefer to limit the scope, one of the people familiar with the negotiations said.

Biden has pledged to cooperate "fully and completely" with the Justice Department's investigation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur in January, two months after he named Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the investigation into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Major retailers and brands have driven $14 billion in revenue to Black-owned businesses since May 2020.

In the last three years, Nordstrom , Macy's , Sephora, Ulta Beauty and 25 others have partnered with nonprofit organization Fifteen Percent Pledge. The group asks companies to reflect the Black community that makes up 15% of the U.S. population by dedicating 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands.

Prior to taking the pledge, many of the group's current partners had less than 3% of their shelf space dedicated to Black-owned brands. Now all partners are committed to attaining their 15% pledge over a 10-year contract.

"Let's create an opportunity to chart a path forward that's more inclusive and gives Black entrepreneurs who have been historically and systemically excluded an opportunity to build generational wealth," said LaToya Williams Belfort, executive director of the Fifteen Percent Pledge.

Fifteen Percent Pledge has committed to generating $1.4 trillion in wealth for Black entrepreneurs by 2030.

Sephora was the first multibillion dollar retailer to commit to the pledge, just two days after founder and Brooklyn-based entrepreneur Aurora James posted her call to action in the days after George Floyd's murder.

"So many of your businesses are built on Black spending power," James said in her Instagram post. "So many of your stores are set up in Black communities. So many of your posts seen on Black feeds. This is the least you can do for us."

With that, the group launched in 2020 as a way for corporations to support Black business amid an outpouring of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion commitments to close the racial wealth gap that remains significant.

Calculations based on Federal Reserve data from March 2023 show that Black household wealth in the U.S. totals $6.25 trillion  or only 5% of white households' total wealth of $115.65 trillion. Meanwhile, only 4% of Americas largest companies had successfully closed the racial pay gap in 2022, according to CNBC partners at JUST Capital.

Committing to change, more than two-dozen companies have "taken the pledge," including 20 apparel and furniture retailers, three lifestyle publications  including Vogue & InStyle  and cannabis dispensary chain MedMen.
Chinese electric car brand Nio is in the middle of a big turnaround that can push the stock up as much as 28%, according to Deutsche Bank. Analyst Edison Yu was impressed by the jump in deliveries last month as well as its improved operations. Nio said its July deliveries totaled 20,462, up 103.6% year over year and nearly double the June figure of 10,707 cars. Nio's figures were helped by the release of the refreshed ES6 SUV, known as the All-New ES6, which was launched in May. "NIO's operational execution has improved significantly in the past quarter with new models ramping quickly and sales efficiency improving," Yu said in a note. "July saw record monthly deliveries and the order book should be healthy for the next few quarters driven mainly by ES6." Shares of the Chinese company have rebounded 35% this year after losing nearly 70% in 2022. Deutsche Bank expects the company can continue the rally amid the increase in unit sales as well as gross margin. The analyst reiterated his buy rating and raised his 12-month price target by $4 to $17, which is 28.3% higher than Thursday's close of $13.25. "We think the stock can finally recapture momentum after being a relative laggard all year and also see some small potential for strategic optionality," Yu said. In 2019, the startup had teetered on the brink of bankruptcy until it received a lifeline of about $1 billion from local investors , including state-backed entities. In late June, Nio announced a roughly $700 million injection from an Abu Dhabi investor. In June, Nio cut prices for its cars by the equivalent of $4,200.  CNBC's Michael Bloom and Evelyn Cheng contributed reporting.
People walk by the News Corporation headquarters, home to Fox News, on April 18, 2023 in New York City.

Fox Corp. Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet Dinh will step down from his post, months after the company agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems.

The departure comes after Dinh advised the company through the lawsuit with the voting machines company, which was halted just short of a trial with the April settlement. The company has continued to feel the fallout since.

Dominion hit Fox with a defamation lawsuit arguing its networks "intentionally and falsely" blamed the company for the 2020 election loss of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims that Dominion's machines rigged the election.

While Fox agreed to the settlement, its hosts weren't required to talk about the lawsuit or make any public apology for on-air statements.

Days after the settlement was reached, Fox ousted primetime host Tucker Carlson, who has since started his own show on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. Since then, Jesse Watters has become the replacement for the same primetime slot Carlson once held.

Carlson and Dinh were among the Fox anchors and executives who were questioned as part of the lawsuit. Depositions, emails, texts and other correspondence were part of the reams of evidence released before the settlement.

Leading up to the trial, Dominion had been urging the court to compel Fox's top brass, including Dinh, to appear for in-person testimony. The judge presiding over the case said in the weeks before the trial's start date that he could compel executives to testify.

Dinh joined the company in the top legal role in 2018 and since then has led all of its legal, compliance and regulatory matters, in addition to overseeing government affairs.

He will step down effective Dec. 31 and become a special advisor to the company.

"We appreciate Viet's many contributions and service to FOX as both a board member of 21st Century Fox and in his role over the last five years as a valued member of FOX's leadership team," said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch in a news release. "We are grateful that he will continue to serve FOX as Special Advisor where we will benefit from his counsel."
British digital bank Starling is planning its first expansion outside of Europe, targeting a move into Asia-Pacific, CNBC has learned.

The digital lender, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, is in talks with an Asian bank about taking its Engine banking-as-a-service platform into a country in Asia, Nick Drewett, chief commercial officer at Starling, told CNBC.

Starling declined to identify the country or Asian bank, given the confidentiality of the arrangement. However, Drewett said the bank Starling is partnering would use the company's software to launch small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) accounts, rather than to provide personal banking services.

"It's a different proof point for us: one in Europe, one in Asia-Pacific," Drewett told CNBC in an interview Thursday.

"We're quite happy with the pace that we can absorb the implementation  and that will accelerate with every implementation. (...) It will never completely be cut and paste, but it will be able to accelerate as we become more material."

Engine is a technology platform that Starling launched in March 2022 and licenses out to other financial technology firms and large banks. It is an all-in-one system that enables banks to develop their digital banking services  such as checking accounts, savings, loans, and mortgages  out of the box, rather than having to do all the digital legwork themselves.

Starling is using its Engine core banking platform as a launchpad for international expansion.

Rather than relying on a partner bank to debut its retail banking and lending services, Starling will license its technology out to lenders, enabling them to launch their own digital-only banking brands from scratch.

"We're positioning this as a partnership, not just a software-as-a-service transaction," Drewett said. "We recognize this is a material decision for a bank which needs regulatory approval. Our approach to it is [that] this is a long-term partnership. That resonates."

Starling had already telegraphed its plans to expand further into Europe with Engine. The firm had originally planned to do so by launching with a bank license from the Irish central bank. It dumped those plans to focus on international expansion through its software product instead.

Starling, one of the companies featured on CNBC and Statista's list of the top 200 fintech companies in 2023, has gone from a nimble challenger in the U.K. market to an established brand with more than 3.6 million customers, and with over 510,000 small and medium-sized enterprise customers.

Co-founded by Anne Boden in 2015, Starling was valued at 2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) in a funding round in April last year. The company has raised $1.1 billion from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Qatar Investment Partners, and Fidelity Management and Research Company.

Boden stepped down from the bank on June 30 to avoid a potential conflict of interest. She remains a significant shareholder with a 4% stake.

Watch: CNBC and Statista announce top 200 global fintech companies.
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the impact of "Bidenomics," at Sycamore and Oak retail village in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC, on August 4, 2023.

Be prepared to see a lot more of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The central role that Harris will play in President Joe Biden's reelection effort was laid out in a campaign memo Friday, that coincided with the three year anniversary of Biden's tapping Harris to be his running mate.

Harris "remains uniquely popular among several groups of voters that are key to our victory in 2024," wrote Biden reelection campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and senior adviser Becca Siegel.

Over the coming year, the vice president will be strategically deployed to shore up support for Biden among constituencies that make up the core of the Biden-Harris coalition, including young people, people of color and women.

Calling the vice president "a fearless voice on many of the issues that are most important to the core voters in the Biden-Harris coalition," Chavez Rodriguez wrote that she will be a voice on issues important to the Democratic base, like reproductive rights, voting rights, gun control and climate change.

On Friday, Harris traveled to Chicago to headline an event for Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre.

The role could provide Harris with an opportunity to redefine herself after a mixed tenure as vice president.

Harris was given a portfolio of notoriously difficult issues to address, like the surge in migration and threats to voting rights, where options are severely limited by a lack of momentum in Congress.

As of Friday, her overall polling numbers remained low: 52.1% disapprove of her, compared to 38.8% who approve, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average.

But it's not just Democrats who are eager to see Harris on the campaign trail. To Republicans, the California Democrat has proven to be a convenient foil in political attack ads ever since she first entered national politics.
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters before the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the U.S. Capitol on July 14, 2023 in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON  After more than two years of demanding that the Justice Department appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, Republicans in Congress finally got their wish on Friday. And they were furious.

Reactions from the GOP began pouring in within minutes of Attorney General Merrick Garland's announcement on Friday of a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

"If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn't get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted shortly after the announcement.

McCarthy said the decision to appoint David Weiss, a federal prosecutor in Delaware who was assigned by former President Donald Trump to lead the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, "cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption."

Special counsels occupy a unique position within the legal system. They traditionally operate outside of the Justice Department's chain of command and the congressional oversight that accompanies it. Special counsels are required to produce final reports on the results of their investigations for the attorney general, but they are not required to keep Congress or the Justice Department updated on the status of their work.

The appointment of the special counsel came as Republicans in Congress ramp up political attacks and investigations of the Biden family ahead of the 2024 election. Republicans argued that a special counsel probe would effectively draw a curtain around evidence they are seeking.

The plea agreement called for Biden to plead guilty to two counts of failing to pay his taxes in return for prosecutors recommending a sentence of probation and the dismissal of a separate gun charge in two years. The deal was scrapped earlier this month after a judge determined the agreements contained "some atypical provisions."

"The fix is in," said a PAC backing former President Donald Trump, Make America Great Again Inc.

"David Weiss cut Hunter Biden an unprecedented plea deal that attempted to give Joe Biden's corrupt son blanket immunity," MAGA Inc. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

"Now, Merrick Garland expects us to trust Weiss to be the Special Counsel that finally brings Hunter Biden to justice," said Leavitt.

A White House spokesperson referred CNBC to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee jointly looking into the federal probe of the younger Biden's taxes, also accused the DOJ of a "Biden family coverup."

"Let's be clear what today's move is really about," Comer said in a statement. "The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people."

A spokesman for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the House Judiciary Committee chairman who has taken the lead on investigating the federal probe of Hunter Biden, said Weiss "can't be trusted."

"This is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family's corruption," said Russell Dye, a spokesman for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the House Judiciary Committee chairman who has taken the lead on investigating the federal probe of Hunter Biden.

Dye said the committee still expects the Justice Department to fully cooperate with Republicans' investigation into Hunter Biden's plea deal, "including not interfering with the 11 transcribed interviews" that have been requested.

Moreover, Weiss' previous offer to appear before the committee this fall is still presumed to be valid, said Dye. As of Friday, the panel had not received anything from DOJ "indicating it is no longer willing to do so."
A New York judge will decide on Friday, during a hearing that starts at 2 p.m. ET, whether to send Sam Bankman-Fried to jail.

Federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to revoke the FTX founder's bail over alleged witness tampering. If Kaplan sides with the government, Bankman-Fried will be remanded to custody directly from a court hearing in Manhattan, where he would remain ahead of his criminal trial, due to begin on Oct. 2.

Since his arrest in December, Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bail package which requires him to remain at his parents' Palo Alto, California, house.

Bankman-Fried's court appearance on Friday is the latest in a series of pretrial hearings related to the ex-billionaire's continued dealings with the press  exchanges which the Justice Department characterizes as a "pattern of witness tampering and evading his bail conditions."

Kaplan previously issued a direct and stern warning to Bankman-Fried in July over his conversations with the media.

Members of the press, including counsel for The New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have filed letters objecting to Bankman-Fried's detention, citing free speech concerns. Defense attorneys have similarly argued that Bankman-Fried was asserting his First Amendment right and did not violate any terms of his bail conditions by speaking with journalists.

The discovery process is also helping Bankman-Fried's case.

Lawyers representing the former FTX chief have argued that if Bankman-Fried is jailed, he would not be able to properly prepare for his trial due to the mountainous amounts of discovery documents only accessible via a computer with internet access.

In the motion requesting Bankman-Fried's detention, the government said that, over the last several months, the defendant had sent more than 100 emails to the media and had made over 1,000 phone calls to members of the press. The final straw, according to prosecutors, was Bankman-Fried's decision to leak private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to The New York Times.

Ellison, who is also the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried's failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, has been cooperating with the government since December and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution. Ellison pleaded guilty to federal charges in December 2022.

"Faced with a series of conditions meant to limit the defendant's use of the internet and the phone, the defendant pivoted to in-person machinations," the prosecution said of Bankman-Fried, whose revised bail conditions include restricted internet access and a ban from smartphone use.

The government added that Bankman-Fried had more than 100 phone calls with one of the authors of the Times story before publication, many of which lasted for approximately 20 minutes.

The prosecution described the effort by Bankman-Fried  who faces several wire and securities fraud charges related to the alleged multibillion-dollar FTX fraud  as an attempt to discredit Ellison, characterizing it as a "means of indirect witness intimidation through the press."

Prosecutors have had to cull charges twice to comply with an extradition agreement signed with the Bahamas  where Bankman-Fried was previously held in custody. The government told the judge in a letter that next week it plans to file a new superseding indictment.
Foreign companies that have remained in Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine will be supported by authorities in the country, a top official said in an interview with state news agency RIA published Friday.

Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for economic cooperation, said: "Speculation is intensifying around the supposedly imminent nationalization of their assets, and companies that maintain their presence in Russia for political reasons are subjected to pressure and harsh criticism in these countries."

"I would like to emphasize that companies that are still interested in conscientiously continuing their work in our country and comply with Russian legislation are not in danger. Moreover, they can count on the support of the Russian authorities and the creation of favorable conditions for business development in our market," Birichevsky said. CNBC has used a Google translation of the interview.

Many companies pledged to exit Russia as war broke out in early 2022, but a report published at the start of 2023 found that hundreds of subsidiaries owned by EU and G7 companies remained active in the country.

Last month, consumer goods giant Unilever defended its decision to remain active in Russia as it reported higher turnover in the country and the payment of 3.8 billion rubles ($38.6 million) in taxes to the state in 2022. The company also confirmed it would comply with legislation that could see its employees in Russia conscripted into the war.

Groups including the B4Ukraine Coalition as well as Ukrainian authorities have heavily criticized companies that have chosen to remain in Russia.

 Jenni Reid
This is the final part of a three-part series on organized retail crime. The stories examine the claims retailers make about how theft is impacting their business and the actions companies and policymakers are taking in response to the issue. Read the first story here and the second here.

watch now

When Walmart's CEO, Doug McMillon, was asked what will happen if shoplifters aren't aggressively prosecuted, he warned it would have a massive impact on consumers. "If that's not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close," the top executive of the country's largest retailer said during a December interview with CNBC. The retail industry is the nation's largest private sector employer, and it contributes $3.9 trillion to the country's annual gross domestic product, according to the National Retail Federation. Shutting down a store as large as Walmart can deprive communities of both jobs and a place to buy everyday goods  and lawmakers are paying attention. Since 2022, at least nine states  six so far this year  have passed laws to impose harsher penalties for organized retail crime offenses. Similar bills are pending before legislatures across the country and in the U.S. Senate.

Behind the sweep of legislation are retailers and trade associations, which are using their collective power to get the bills written and past the finish line. They have also seized on a moment when lawmakers in many parts of the country, and from both sides of the aisle, see a political benefit from appearing tough on crime. The new and proposed laws aim to deter brazen retail crime and go after the so-called kingpins who lead organized theft groups. But critics say the measures may not actually reduce organized retail crime, and could disproportionately harm marginalized groups. "The organized interest groups, whether they're business or organized labor or the NGO sector, have an insane amount of influence on our politics, and much of the policy agenda of these organizations is not driven by careful consideration of policy outcomes and whether they're good for [the public]," said Adrian Hemond, CEO of political consulting firm Grassroots Midwest. "It's focused on what's good for the organization." The legislative efforts come as more retailers blame rising crime for higher inventory losses, also known as shrink. But they have not shared data that proves how much it is costing them, nor are they required to do so. Experts told CNBC some companies could be overstating theft's impact on their profits to deflect from internal flaws. More references to retail crime could soon come as a string of major retailers gear up to report second-quarter results starting next week.

Legislators jump on organized retail crime

Throughout 2021 and 2022, retailers and their trade associations were laser-focused on garnering support for the Inform Act. The law requires online marketplaces to disclose the identities of certain high-volume sellers to deter the sale of stolen goods, and proponents said it would fight organized retail crime by making it harder to anonymously resell stolen merchandise. The primary targets of the bill, which took effect in June, were Amazon and eBay . They are some of traditional retail's biggest competitors. While the digital behemoths eventually backed the legislation after certain concessions were added, they will now face steep fines if they're found in violation of the law. Now that the Inform Act has become law, retail has set its sights on a new target: the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), introduced in January by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. The NRF, the world's largest industry trade association, helped write the bill, the group told CNBC. The NRF is funded by retailers and its board is comprised of top retail executives from Walmart, Target and Macy's , among others, according to records and the association's website. CORCA proposes stiffer penalties for theft offenses and calls for a change in the threshold prosecutors must meet before bringing federal theft cases. Currently, people can be charged with federal theft crimes only if the stolen goods are worth $5,000 or more in a single instance. CORCA would allow federal prosecutors to bring cases if the aggregate value of the goods reaches $5,000 or more over a 12-month period. Cortez Masto told CNBC the bill aims to provide investigators with more tools to take down organized theft groups and give the current laws on the books "more teeth." It would also provide retailers with a formal venue to exchange information with each other and law enforcement through the proposed Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center, which would be required to track organized theft trends and release annual public reports to Congress. Both Cortez Masto and a spokesperson for Grassley said that could clear up some of the opacity surrounding organized retail crime and give the public a better understanding of the issue's size and scope.

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) speaks at a campaign rally for Nevada Democrats at Cheyenne High School on November 01, 2022 in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

The proposal has 60 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and five in the Senate, according to GovTrack. Meanwhile, at least nine states have passed similar laws with the help of local retail associations. Other proposals are pending before legislatures across the country. Similar to CORCA, some of the new state laws and bills allow prosecutors to aggregate the total value of stolen goods over a given time period so they can charge repeat offenders with stiffer felonies instead of simple misdemeanors. For example, Florida changed its law so people can be charged with felonies after they steal an aggregate amount of goods over 30 days. It also added a provision that says a person who takes 20 or more items during five or more instances within a 30-day period can be charged with a second-degree felony. That carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.

Will the new and proposed laws work?

Both CORCA and the state measures rely on a crime-fighting strategy long used to thwart drug trafficking rings: start with the little fish, the boosters who steal repeatedly from retailers, and then bring in the big fish, the kingpins controlling organized crime rings. "With the shoplifters and the boosters being the publicly visible criminals, you work through them in order to find out who [the larger players are]," said David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the NRF. "Let's relate it to drugs, right? Very similar. Who are the people on the street, to who are the people supplying the drugs, to who are the people getting the drugs into the country?" While the measures are a sure way to hold repeat boosters accountable, they may not actually reduce organized retail crime, said Jake Horowitz, a senior director with the nonpartisan, nonprofit The Pew Charitable Trust. "If the question for policymakers is, 'how do I reduce organized retail crime?' The answer is unlikely to be through the threat of stiff sanctions to boosters," said Horowitz, who oversees Pew's safety and justice portfolio. That's because the same strategy has had little impact on dismantling the illegal drug trade.

A group robs a jewelry store, in an incident law enforcement says is an example of organized retail theft police handout

The drug trade is a different market than retail theft. But it's well studied and offers lessons that can be applied to organized retail crime, which has been researched little, numerous policy experts and criminologists told CNBC. In the 1980s and 1990s, Congress enacted sentencing laws that created far stiffer penalties for drug trafficking. But decades later, it hasn't significantly reduced drug availability or use, research shows. "If we apply the same drug market lessons, [boosters are] unlikely to be deterred because the probability of being detected or arrested is very low for any given theft," said Horowitz. "And then when you apply it and sentence people to prison terms, it has almost no incapacitation effect because street-level dealers are instantly replaced. It's a market. It recruits replacements." Plus, dozens of states already have organized theft laws on the books and the crime is still increasing, according to trade associations. Many boosters who get caught stealing face misdemeanor charges. They carry less severe penalties and fewer long-term implications than felony charges, which can limit employment and housing opportunities for years after they serve their time. Retailers and lawmakers say the misdemeanor charges have emboldened theft groups and allowed organized retail crime to spread. They contend the threat of the harsher penalties with felony charges will better deter theft.

A security guard outside of a Gucci store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

While boosters are stealing for their own personal gain, they can come from marginalized groups and many face mental illness, poverty or drug addiction, law enforcement agents previously told CNBC. JC Hendrickson, the congressional affairs director for the Justice Action Network, said lawmakers need to consider those factors when proposing policy solutions for organized theft. "A police response is only going to get you so far, right? Even if you have the most responsive police department in the country," said Hendrickson, who advocates for bipartisan criminal justice reform. "When there's an underlying [drug] misuse problem, you're still going to have that out there and it's still going to be something you have to tackle. So in a case like that, a public health response is also really important." Grassley's office said it is confident CORCA will go a long way in reducing organized retail crime. While it's too early to tell how effective the measures will be, the decision to propose aggregating thefts versus lowering the felony theft threshold should help prosecutors weed out petty shoplifters from those involved in organized theft. "It seems more like changing laws with a scalpel than with a cleaver," said Horowitz. "And I think that's good. We should be more focused, different types of crime are very different, and we shouldn't use blanket approaches to very different types of crimes."

Retail's influence on policy

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the claims retailers make about organized theft, they have influenced public policy in large part because of the critical role the industry plays in the economy. When retailers that provide jobs and essential goods come under threat, public officials act quickly because store closures can lower employment, tax revenue and the general health of a community. "If the Walgreens shuts down and this grocery store shuts down, that's going to decrease property values in the neighborhood because you're going to have to drive further to go pick up your groceries or your sundries that you would normally get at the Walgreens," said Hemond from Grassroots Midwest. "So people are less likely to want to move into these neighborhoods, they are less likely to pay top dollar for the real estate, and other commercial businesses are less likely to move there because they're not getting the benefits of colocation with popular retail locations."

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is pictured during a press conference related to reducing shoplifting Wednesday, May, 17, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. Barry Williams | New York Daily News | Getty Images
A building on the campus at the world headquarters of Illumina is shown in San Diego, California, Sept. 1, 2021.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Illumina over its controversial $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer test developer Grail, the DNA sequencing company said in a securities filing late Thursday.

Last month, the SEC informed Illumina about the probe and requested documents and communications related to the deal. The agency also asked for statements and disclosures about the "conduct and compensation" of certain members of both Illumina and Grail's management, according to the filing.

Illumina, in the filing, said it is cooperating with the SEC. An agency spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the investigation.

Shares of Illumina fell about 4% Friday.

The SEC's probe only puts more pressure on Illumina, which has lost great sums of money since closing the deal in August 2021. The company's market value has fallen to roughly $28 billion from about $75 billion the month the deal closed.

Illumina's Grail deal has also faced heavy scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the U.S. and European Union.

The European Commission, the EU's executive body, fined Illumina a record $476 million last month for closing the acquisition without first securing regulatory approval.

The fine came after the commission blocked the deal in September over concerns it would stifle innovation and consumer choice in the emerging market for cancer detection tests.

Illumina has appealed the European Commission's decision, arguing that the body lacks jurisdiction to block the merger between the two U.S. companies.

Illumina expects a final decision on an appeal in late 2023 or early 2024. That's also when the company anticipates it will hear an outcome of its appeal of a similar order by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Illumina has said it will divest Grail if it loses either appeal.

Illumina's determination to keep Grail sparked a heated proxy showdown with activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 1.4% stake in the company. Much of Icahn's opposition stemmed from Illumina's decision to close the acquisition without gaining approval from antitrust regulators.

Illumina believes it can expand the availability, affordability and profitability of Grail's Galleri test, which can screen for more than 50 types of cancers through a single blood draw.
Back-to-school season is here  and with it come a host of stressors and anxieties for parents and children alike. Bedtimes become more strict. Separation anxiety looms. The academic pressure of a new school year might weigh on your mind, too. The good news: A little planning can enable a smooth transition for you and your kid, says Gayane Aramyan, a Sherman Oaks, California-based family therapist. "During the summertime, we parents tend to bend our own rules. I know my TV has been on way more than I anticipated it would be," Aramyan tells CNBC Make It. "But before school starts, preparation and routine is key." Here are Aramyan's top three tips to help set your kids up for back-to-school success:

Ease into your back-to-school morning routine a few weeks in advance

Abruptly making your child go to bed earlier or cutting down their TV time may only confuse them, and can feel like a punishment. "You have to really spell out [these changes] to your kid ahead of time," Aramyan says. Her recommendation: Start making those changes two to three weeks before school begins. Everyone's routine varies, but some general components are ideal for everyone, she says: Getting out of bed early

Doing tasks like picking out clothes and packing a lunch the night before

Having a morning checklist

Rewarding your child when all tasks are complete Aramyan also advises picking up a back-to-school children's book, detailing what your child can expect from their new routine in a fun and easily digestible way.

Curb your child's  and your own  separation anxiety

Nearly all children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years old have some level of separation anxiety, according to Stanford Medicine. Most kids grow out of it, but about 3% of children keep experiencing it through elementary school, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported in 2021. It's a "normal part of a child's development," Aramyan says, so when you drop your kid off at school, make a point of telling them: "Mommy or Daddy are going to pick you up. I'm coming back. I will see you later." Even if it seems obvious, it's "important to vocalize that every single day," she adds. Parents struggle with separation anxiety, too  especially parents of "pandemic babies," says Aramyan. If that's you, work to avoid projecting your anxiety onto your kids at school or daycare drop off. "If you're going to be crying, your child's probably going to be crying too," Aramyan says. "You want to show them that this is a part of life and it's our responsibility."

Instill confidence in them, even when they mess up
Looking to splurge on your next vacation? The travel website FloridaPanhandle.com analyzed costs in 100 popular vacation spots, looking into average prices for accommodations, transportation, food and attractions. Here are 10 destinations that certainly call for big budgets. According to the analysis, the most expensive vacation destinations, excluding flight costs, are: Gustavia, St. Barts Gstaad, Switzerland Aspen, Colorado Park City, Utah Maui, Hawaii London, England Cocoa Island, Maldives Maun, Botswana Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Monte Carlo, Monaco

The 10 most expensive vacation destinations around the globe. Source: CNBC

The list was dominated by islands and ritzy ski towns, though the draw of eco-tourism safaris in Botswana and Europe's financial capital, London, rounded out the ranking.

Where hotels average $1,000 per night

The Caribbean island of St. Barts is the most expensive vacation destination in the world, largely because of its high accommodation costs, which average $1,770 per night, according to the analysis. Average hotel rates in Switzerland's Gstaad (No. 2) are $1,360, according to the research. The town in the Swiss Alps also has the highest average food costs on the list, at $177 per day. Accommodations at the third priciest spot  Aspen, Colorado  average $1,385 for one person, but a family of four can expect to pay $2,274, according to the analysis.

A street in downtown Aspen, Colorado. Nik Wheeler | Corbis Historical | Getty Images

To find those prices, FloridaPanhandle.com researched average rates for four- and five-star hotels for stays during Christmas (Dec. 21-27) and the spring (May 19-25), but did not include taxes.

Attractions: from $0 to $333 per day

To estimate the price of activities, FloridaPanhandle.com calculated the average cost for each location's three most-reviewed attractions on TripAdvisor. The ski town of Park City, Utah, averaged $333 for daily attractions  the highest on the list. Attractions in Maun, Botswana, Africa's lone destination on the list, averaged more than $100 per day for activities like a one-day visit to the Okavango Delta. Despite having higher overall average costs, St. Barts and the Maldives' attractions were valued at $0. Vacationers may have to pay top dollar for hotels in those locations, but their beaches are free.

Monaco, Monte Carlo. Ostill | Istock | Getty Images
The excitement around new drugs that can help people shed weight quickly has created a banner week for certain health-care exchange-traded funds. The iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) rose 5.6% for the week. That marked its best stretch since the week ending June 24, 2022, when the fund gained 8.3%, according to FactSet. IHE 5D mountain The iShares fund focused on drugmakers is on track for its best week of the year. The strong performance has been driven by Eli Lilly , which now accounts for nearly 25% of the fund. The pharmaceutical giant has seen its stock rise more than 40% so far this year. That includes a jump of nearly 15% Tuesday after the company beat expectations for earnings and revenue for the second quarter and raised its full-year guidance. The company's results were powered by strong demand for Mounjaro, the diabetes drug that also appears to help people lose weight. A trial from Danish company Novo Nordisk that showed its competitor drug Wegovy reduced the chances of cardiovascular events may also have improved the outlook for Mounjaro in the eyes of investors. If both drugs reduce the odds of heart attack and stroke, they may be more likely to be covered by government and private health insurance plans . Wegovy is a sister drug to Ozempic. Zoetis , the third-largest holding in the iShares fund, rallied 6.8% this week after its second-quarter report. Meanwhile, the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) gained 4.6% for the week, which was also its best week since June 2022.
U.S. Attorney David Weiss holds a press conference Thursday, May 3, 2018, at his district office in Wilmington, Del.

WASHINGTON  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday that David Weiss, the federal prosecutor in Delaware who has led the criminal investigation of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, will be appointed special counsel in the case.

Garland said that Weiss, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump to become a U.S. Attorney in 2018, asked earlier this week to be named special counsel. Weiss began investigating Hunter Biden in 2019.

"Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said during a press conference at the Department of Justice.

At nearly the same time Garland was announcing the special counsel investigation of the president's son, federal prosecutors revealed in new court filings that they had reached an "impasse" in plea negotiations with Hunter Biden's lawyers.

"The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial," they wrote in a federal filing in Delaware.
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's election interference case hammered out the details of a protective order at the center of a dispute between the former president's attorneys and special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in a Friday morning hearing in Washington, D.C., sided with Trump's lawyers, who challenged the government's request for a broader ban on the disclosure of evidence and other materials it had gathered in the case.

But she gave the Department of Justice the opportunity to deem which materials are "sensitive" enough to be covered by the protective order.

The five-page protective order dictates that Trump and his team cannot disclose sensitive materials to anyone who is not involved in their legal defense or otherwise authorized by the court. Potential witnesses and their counsel can also be shown the sensitive materials.

The materials that can potentially be deemed "sensitive" by the DOJ include witness testimony, grand jury subpoena returns, records obtained through sealed search warrants and records with personally identifying information.

Those materials, and any copies, must be destroyed after the case concludes, the order states.

During the hearing, Chutkan brushed aside a defense attorney's concerns that the protective order could hamper Trump's political speech as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision," Chutkan said, NBC News reported.

The judge also told Trump and his team to avoid making any public statements that could have an impact on the integrity of the case. She warned that the more a party makes public statements that could influence potential jurors, the faster the case will head to trial.

"Even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel, if they could be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors, can threaten the process," she said.

The DOJ had previously flagged Trump's highly active and bombastic social media presence in its argument for the broader order. Trump has asserted at minimum the trial should be postponed until after the 2024 election.

Trump faces four counts related to his efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. He pleaded not guilty last week in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The logos of Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS on March 16, 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland.

UBS on Friday said that it has ended a 9 billion Swiss franc ($10.27 billion) loss protection agreement and a 100 billion Swiss franc public liquidity backstop that were put in place by the Swiss government when it took over rival Credit Suisse in March.

UBS said the decision followed a "comprehensive assessment" of Credit Suisse's non-core assets that were covered by the liquidity support measures.

"These measures, together with the intervention of UBS, contributed to the stabilization of Credit Suisse and financial stability in Switzerland and globally," UBS said in a statement.

Credit Suisse has also fully repaid an emergency liquidity assistance plus (ELA+) loan of 50 billion Swiss francs obtained from the Swiss National Bank in March, as the lender teetered on the brink after a collapse in shareholder and investor confidence, UBS confirmed.

"These measures, which were created under emergency law to preserve financial stability, will thus cease to exist, and the Confederation and taxpayers will no longer bear any risks arising from these guarantees," the Swiss government said in a statement Friday.

"Furthermore, the Confederation earned receipts of around CHF 200 million on the guarantees."

The Swiss Federal Council plans to submit a bill in parliament to introduce a public liquidity backstop (PLB) under ordinary law, while work continues on a "comprehensive review of the too-big-to-fail regulatory framework."
The White House has announced a ban on some U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies such as computer chips in the latest ratcheting up of Washington's disassociation from Beijing amid perceived national security risks. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON  U.S. moves to de-risk from China with a new investment ban suggest that Western allies may be learning from national security failings in Russia, according to analysts. The White House on Wednesday announced a ban on some U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies such as computer chips, in the latest ratcheting up of Washington's disassociation from Beijing amid perceived national security risks. Analysts said the U.S. was making such moves with an eye on rising tensions over Taiwan, given that the potential fallout from a conflict between China and Taiwan would be "unimaginable." U.S. President Joe Biden said the executive order, which will come into effect next year, aims to ensure that China's military does not benefit from American technology and funding, particularly in sectors that "counter United States and allied capabilities." Such moves have sometimes been referred to as a "decoupling" of the world's two largest economies, though the U.S. has preferred the term "de-risking." Beijing hit back at the announcement Thursday, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was "resolutely opposed" to what it dubbed the U.S.' "blatant economic coercion and technological bullying." China's ambassador to Washington has previously warned that Beijing would retaliate against such measures.

These preemptive ideas about decoupling ... that's all done with a view to potential conflicts. Olena Yurchenko advisor at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine

"These preemptive ideas about decoupling  taking the manufacturing and the manufacturing facilities from China to India etc.  that's all done with a view to potential conflicts, so that when it erupts, let's say in Taiwan, it's not so excruciating to impose some restrictions," said Olena Yurchenko, advisor at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine. Yurchenko, who spoke to CNBC ahead of the Wednesday announcement, dubbed the scale of the risks regarding Taiwan as "unimaginable." Taiwan has been governed independently of China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing views the island as part of its territory. The dispute over Taiwan is a global flashpoint, with most in the West considering it a self-governing nation. Beijing, meanwhile, has called for "reunification" with Taiwan, last year describing its status in a white paper as an "unalterable" part of China. Prominent China hawk Kyle Bass, who said he had consulted military experts, told CNBC Tuesday that he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping could launch an attack on Taiwan as early as next year. He cited Beijing's recent ratcheting up of its military drills around the Taiwan Strait. CNBC could not independently verify his assertions. The Chinese government did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Bass' assertions. However, it has previously said the issue with Taiwan is an internal affair and its military exercises are in response to repeated meetings between Taiwan's president and U.S. representatives  a red line for Beijing.

Learning lessons from Russia

The U.S. has been forthright in its aims to de-risk from China, with the Biden administration ramping up measures over the past several months amid growing global tensions following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Economic Security Council of Ukraine's Yurchenko, whose work closely follows geopolitics and international relations, said the timing of the two events was no coincidence. "This is kind of a long-term lesson the Western governments try to learn from what they've seen in Russia," she said. Western allies have slapped unprecedented sanctions on Russia in response to its ongoing war. Still, CNBC analysis shows that Moscow is able to circumvent sanctions by relying on intermediary countries to help it import Western goods, including advanced technologies for its military equipment.

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Elina Ribakova, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that China was watching the West's approach to Russia closely. China has been cited as the primary intermediary supplying Western tech to Russia's military. "If we're not effective with Russia, if China is the one playing the key role in helping Russia circumvent these export controls, then how can we possibly think that we'll be effective against China if something were to happen with Taiwan?" Ribakova said. The Chinese government did not respond to a request for comment on Ribakova's and Yurchenko's statements. Western sanctions against Moscow keep coming, almost 1 years after Russian forces crossed Ukraine's borders. The U.K. on Tuesday announced new sanctions on a range of foreign businesses accused of supplying Russian forces with weapons and components for use against Ukraine. This follows the European Union's introduction in June of a new package of sanctions, which includes an anti-circumvention tool to restrict the "sale, supply, transfer or export" of specified sanctioned goods and technology to certain third countries acting as intermediaries for Russia. Asked last month whether the sanctions might send a message of potential repercussions from any possible future conflicts, including between China and Taiwan, European Commission spokesperson Daniel Ferrie told CNBC he could not comment or speculate on the future.

Reducing ties with China

As the world's second-largest economy, China's contributions to  and its role within  international relations and global markets are widely recognized as far exceeding those of Russia, prompting heightened caution from the West. The European Union has thus far been more ambivalent than the U.S. in its approach to China. The British government, for its part, said Wednesday that it was considering whether to follow the U.S. as it continues to assess "potential national security risks attached to some investments."

We need to be more firm. I'm not saying immediately decouple and walk away, although I think that's what will happen. Kyle Bass founder and chief investment officer at Hayman Capital Management
The U.S. and Chinese flags hang outside the Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York on Dec. 16, 2008. Chris Hondros | Getty Images News | Getty Images

BEIJING  The Biden administration's long-awaited executive order on U.S. investments in Chinese companies leaves open plenty of questions on how it will be implemented. Its 45-day public comment period gives U.S. investors significant potential to influence any final regulation, analysts said. "The executive order obviously gives an outline of what the program's scope is going to be like," said Brian P. Curran, a partner, global regulatory at law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. "It's not even a proposed rule. It's not a final rule." U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at restricting U.S. investments into Chinese semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence companies over national security concerns. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is mostly responsible for determining the details. Her department has published a fact sheet and a lengthy "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" with specific questions it would like more information on.

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Businesses can share information confidentially as needed, according to the advanced notice, which is set to be formally published on Monday. The notice said it is only a means for sharing the Treasury's initial considerations, and will be followed by draft regulations. "The final scope of the restriction, to be defined by the Treasury Department after public consultations, including with U.S. investors in China, will be critical for the enforcement of the order," said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU Law and a former managing director of CIC.

So what's banned?

This week's announcements don't explicitly prohibit U.S. investments into Chinese businesses, but the documents indicate what policymakers are focused on. The U.S. transactions potentially covered include: Acquisition of equity interests such as via mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital;

Greenfield investment;

Joint ventures;

Certain debt financing transactions. The forthcoming regulations are not set to take effect retroactively, the Treasury said. But the Treasury said it may request information about transactions completed or agreed to since the issuance of the executive order. "We've been advising clients leading up to the issuance of the executive order, it does make sense to look at your exposure to the kinds of transactions that have the potential to be covered by the regime," Curran said. Any plans to invest in the sectors named in the public materials should come under additional consideration of the risks and how to manage them, he said.

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Here are the sectors of concern: Semiconductors  Treasury is considering a ban on tech that enables production or improvement of advanced integrated circuits; design, fabrication and packaging capabilities for advanced integrated circuits; and installation, or sale to third-party customers, of certain supercomputers. Treasury is also considering a notification requirement for transactions involving the design, fabrication and packaging of other integrated circuits. The U.S. government is concerned about tech that will "underpin military innovations," the advance notice said. Quantum computing  Treasury is considering a ban on transactions involving the production of quantum computers, sensors and systems. However, the Treasury said it is considering not to require investors to notify it of transactions in this sector. The U.S. government is concerned about quantum information technologies that could "compromise encryption and other cybersecurity controls and jeopardize military communications," the notice said. Artificial intelligence  Treasury is considering a ban on U.S. investments into the development of software using AI systems designed for exclusive military, government intelligence or mass-surveillance use. The Treasury said it may also require U.S. persons to notify it if undertaking transactions involved with AI systems for cybersecurity applications, digital forensics tools, control of robotic systems and facial recognition, among others. However, the Treasury said its intent is not to touch entities that develop AI systems only for consumer applications and other uses that don't have national security consequences.

What's allowed

The Treasury said it expects to exclude certain investments into publicly-traded securities or exchange-traded funds. The following transactions are not set to be included by forthcoming regulation: University-to-university research collaborations

Contracts to buy raw materials

Intellectual property licensing

Bank lending and payment processing

Underwriting

Debt rating

Prime brokerage

Global custody

Stock research

What's next

The Treasury is asking for written comments on its advanced notice by Sept. 28. The notice includes wide-ranging requests for data into investment trends. It also asked questions about effective threshold requirements and definitions, and details about the resulting burdens for U.S. investors: "If such limitations existed or were required, how might investment firms change how they raise capital from U.S. investors, if at all?" Among the many other questions, the Treasury is asking for areas within the three overarching categories where U.S. investments into Chinese entities would "provide a strategic benefit to the United States, such that continuing such investment would benefit, and not impair, U.S. national security." "There is a lot of opportunity for the public's comment for what should be covered what should not be covered," said Anne Salladin, a partner, global regulatory, at Hogan Lovells. "It strikes me as an extraordinarily good opportunity for clients to weigh in on that front." "This has been under consideration by the administration for a couple of years now," she said. "One of the things that's important is to take [the regulatory process] at a slow speed to understand what the ramifications are for U.S. businesses."

The kind of law that Biden's [planning], it's small but it's important because once the state starts to meddle with these things it creates more dramatic possibilities. Jonathan Levy Professor, University of Chicago

Given the lengthy process, forthcoming regulations aren't expected to take effect until next year. However, the niche industry of China-based venture capitalists  which raise funds from U.S. investors to invest in Chinese start-ups, many tech-focused  is already struggling. Fewer than 300 unique U.S.-based investors have participated in China-based VC deals since 2016 each year, with just 64 participants so far this year, according to Pitchbook. China VC deal activity in the second quarter continued a recent decline, to the lowest since the first quarter of 2017, according to Pitchbook. The data showed China VC deal activity with U.S.-only investor participation in artificial intelligence has fallen since the first quarter of 2022. Pitchbook recorded barely any such deals in quantum computing since 2021, while semiconductors saw moderate activity through the first half of this year.
In 2014, Astra Taylor co-founded the Debt Collective, the first union for debtors. Since then, one of her main goals has been to get student debt canceled.

The last year or so has been bittersweet: First, in what felt like a major victory, President Joe Biden announced that he'd cancel up to $20,000 in federal education debt for tens of millions of Americans. Then that plan was quickly halted by a barrage of legal challenges from the right.

The Supreme Court finally struck down Biden's relief program in June, ruling that the president didn't have the authority to forgive so much consumer debt without prior authorization from Congress.

But Taylor isn't discouraged. "The genie of debt cancellation is not going back in the bottle," she said.

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'Soft landing, no recession,' Bank of America predicts

I interviewed Taylor, who is also a documentary filmmaker and author, this week about her reaction to the Supreme Court's decision, and what is next for the battle to get student debt forgiven. Her latest book, "The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart," will be published in September.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Annie Nova: Did the Supreme Court's decision surprise you?

Astra Taylor: No. It is obvious that the court's majority is ultraconservative and highly partisan. The Biden administration should have canceled the debt automatically and immediately before lawsuits were filed.

AN: What do you expect the consequences of the ruling to be?

AT: I hope the ruling contributes further to the delegitimization of the court. Justice Elena Kagan charged that the decision violated the Constitution. In the long term, the cause of student debt abolition will prevail. Borrowers won't let six reactionary judges have the last word.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  On the sidelines of the 25th World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore, Unilever brands Dove, Vaseline, POND'S Skin Institute, and CLEAR assembled dermatologists with a respected social media presence across Southeast Asia at the House of Beauty & Wellbeing: Science Edition.

The agenda: to help remove the guesswork on skincare and haircare while combating misinformation and pseudo-science proliferating on the internet. According to Unilever's "The Simple Truth Report", 80 percent of consumers agree that misinformation is rife in the sector, while 73 percent feel as though social media can be a source of confusion. As a result, 87 percent of consumers are calling for change.

"The House of Beauty and Wellbeing: Science Edition was not only a showcase of the best of our brand innovations and the brilliant R&D teams behind them, but this was also an opportunity to launch 'The Beauty Board', our always-on, collective of expert voices that will help us shape the future of beauty," shared Anna Mangilin, Unilever Beauty and Wellbeing Chief Marketing Officer for Southeast Asia.

The House of Beauty & Wellbeing: Science Edition urged guests, medical experts who are also content creators, to help change the beauty industry's social media landscape for the better by sharing #DermFacts. With more and more people looking to social media for beauty tips and trends, medical experts have the opportunity to keep these platforms safe with skincare and haircare information backed by science.

Among the misconceptions the event corrected is that all bar soaps are harsh and strip the skin of essential nutrients. This has been debunked by Dove whose Beauty Bar has been cleansing and moisturizing the skin, leaving the face and body feeling soft, smooth, and more radiant than ordinary soap.

Photo from Unilever

While many consumers perceive anti-dandruff shampoos as harsh that may lead to dry and breakage-prone hair, Dove Dermacare Scalp provides holistic hair and scalp care range. It is infused with Dove's patented Scalp Care Actives and skincare ingredients that lead to scalp hydration and a stronger scalp.

There's also the belief that nothing beats Glutathione in effectively brightening the skin. However, Vaseline Gluta-Hya Serum Burst Lotions, with patented GlutaGlow technology, is superior to topical Glutathione application, because it supplies the skin with three micro-amino acids that the skin can use as precursors to create its own Glutathione from within, giving you clinically proven radiance. This has been proven to be 10x more powerful than Vitamin C.

Photo from Unilever

The POND'S Skin Institute also cleared up myths about skincare. Guests learned that you do not need to undergo laser therapy to remove stubborn dark spots. NIASORCINOL, a new patented brightening ingredient and a blend of Niacinamide and E-Resorcinol, can reduce visible blemishes and the severity of underlying spots. This innovation has 10x more brightening power than Niacinamide, giving ultimate skin clarity in just three days.

The POND'S Skin Institute also explained that Retinol is not the only effective cosmetic solution for anti-aging and fine lines. HEXYL-RETINOL  a new blend of Hexyl-Resorcinol, Retinol-C, and Niacinamide  promises ultimate youthful skin in just three days, according to Unilever. It is the next generation of ground-breaking ingredients, clinically proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles by 58 percent, improve elasticity by 30 percent and reduce the appearance of spots by 36 percent.

Photo from Unilever

Going back to haircare, CLEAR clarified that its anti-dandruff shampoo can also strengthen the scalp barrier with functional-level skincare ingredients, preventing dandruff from coming back.

CLEAR added that men have specific scalp needs as they have 1.5x more oily scalp, 1.5x more sweaty scalp, and have more protein loss leading to weaker scalp barrier. And these lead to men being more prone to dandruff thereby needing products specially made for them.

CLEAR Men Cool Sport Menthol, engineered especially for men, has Triple Anti-dandruff Technology* that effectively removes up to 100 percent of dandruff and provides 24-hour freshness with its intense cooling power. With regular product use, Clear removes dandruff and prevents it from coming back for unstoppable dandruff protection and all-day freshness.

Photo from Unilever

"I was really happy and honored to be one of the lucky few who was invited to attend Unilever's House of Beauty & Wellbeing," shared Dr. Bea Chan-Benavidez RPh, MD, DPDS from the Philippines. "The tour of the house simply gives you the experience of going through four different rooms  which have all been impeccably designed to fit each brand's aesthetic & core values," she added.

Dr. Jarische Lao-Ang, MD DPDS, meanwhile, expressed her excitement to be part of Unilever's Beauty Board dermatologists. "I had an amazing time & experience learning the science behind Unilever's beauty & health products during my visit to House of Beauty & Wellbeing. I am ecstatic to share what I've learned & looking forward to future innovations from the brand! Kudos to the whole Unilever team for this global initiative!" she shared.

For more information on Unilevers Beauty & Wellness brands, visit https://www.unilever.com/brands/beauty-wellbeing/.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 10)  A party-list lawmaker on Thursday questioned the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for failing to provide a list of projects under the Barangay Development Program (BDP)  the flagship program of the government's anti-insurgency task force.

According to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, the BDP aims to rehabilitate and develop  through farm-to-market roads, schools, health centers, and livelihood projects, among others  822 barangays formerly established as guerilla fronts of the communist group.

"What we have is the list of beneficiaries per region, province, city, municipality, and barangay. But we don't have the list of the specific projects on hand," Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told Kabataan Party-list Raoul Manuel during budget deliberations at the House of Representatives.

But aside from the list, Manuel also flagged the BDP's "lump sum" projects.

"Questionable na nga 'yong listahan ng barangay na beneficiaries, tapos wala ring ma-ipresent na breakdown kaya natin natatawag na generals' pork itong BDP kasi several years na na ganito 'yong nangyayari," Manuel said.

[Translation: The list of barangay beneficiaries itself is already questionable, then no breakdown has been presented that's why we call this BDP the generals' pork because this has been going on for several years now.]

Asked on the completion rate status of the BDP for 2022, Pangandaman said 69% of the projects were marked as complete. This is equivalent to 3.6 billion of the 5.6 billion appropriated funds of the DBP.

For 2023, the secretary said the 1,254 endorsed projects of the DBP, which is equivalent to an appropriation of 6.3 billion, are still in various stages of procurement.

"For the details of the status of the implementation, the Department of the Interior and Local Government may provide such information for they are the ones monitoring the projects," she added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Sen. Bato dela Rosa said he is okay with realigning some confidential and intelligence funds of government agencies to the country's defense, especially fortifying the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.

"Refurbish o ayusin o whatever, basta just to alleviate the living condition of the marines living inside that ship and to concretize our claim over that Ayungin Shoal, kailangan hindi basta-bastang hilahin lang 'yan ng China [it should not be easily hauled by China]," he told reporters on Friday.

Dela Rosa suggested "i-semento yung ilalim ng barko para ma-fix na 'yan siya doon, mas maganda [cement the bottom of the vessel to affix it there, it would be better]."

BRP Sierra Madre, a former US Navy ship used during World War II, has been stationed since 1999 on Ayungin Shoal, where it was intentionally grounded to serve as a military outpost in the contested waters.

RELATED: Malaya: No promise made to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal

When asked if he was okay to transfer some of the confidential funds, Dela Rosa said, "Yesin terms of prioritization, para sa akin [for me], there's no other priority na mas higher pa [which is higher] than defense. Kailangan talaga natin 'yan dahil number 1 sa akin, number 1 priority ang defense [For me, defense is the number 1 priority]."

The Marcos administration is looking to secure some 10.14 billion in confidential and intelligence funds for next year.

RELATED: Hontiveros wants OP, OVP, DepEd 2024 confidential, intel funds realigned

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the bulk or 4.5 billion of the proposed funds is to be allocated for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s office, while 1.7 billion will be set aside for the Department of National Defense.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Sen. Bato dela Rosa said the Philippines must train Filipinos to fight as he pushed to revive the mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, believing this would lessen China's bullying in the West Philippine Sea.

In an interview on Friday shared with reporters, Dela Rosa said the nation must always be ready, especially with the threat and bullying by China in the West Philippine Sea, "otherwise, we will not be respected" by the East Asian giant.

"Bababuyin lang tayo ng mga 'yan dahil alam nilang very weak 'yung ating defense, wala tayong very credible na ready reserve force that we can mobilize anytime pag magkakaroon ng gulo," he said.

[Translation: They will disrespect us because they know that we have a very weak defense, we don't have a very credible ready reserve force that we can mobilize anytime if conflict occurs.]

When asked if China will "go easy" with its incursions once it sees that Filipinos are "well-trained," with a mandatory ROTC program set, Dela Rosa answered, "Yes, maghihinay-hinay sila [they will go easy]we have to be credible to be respected."

The senator also said Vietnam, who is among those who have overlapping territorial claims in the contested waterway, is not easily bullied by China because Vietnamese people are "ready to die for their country."

"We have to be ready 'pag dumating 'yung panahon na kinakailangan talaga [if the time comes]," Dela Rosa said. "We have to sacrifice ourselves."

Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police chief, is the sponsor of the Senate bill that seeks to revive the compulsory ROTC program.

The proposed measure, which is among the priority measures listed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is still in the period of interpellation in the Senate.

The call comes after the China Coast Guard blocked and fired water cannons at PCG vessels during a resupply mission to military personnel in Ayungin Shoal on Aug. 5.

The Philippine government summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian and filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing on Aug. 7.

Mandatory ROTC was first abolished after former President Gloria Arroyo signed the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act in 2002 in response to public clamor to reform the program following the brutal killing of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Welson Chua.

RELATED: 42% of Filipinos think ROTC should be optional, survey says

Chua went missing and then found dead after he exposed to The Varsitarian, UST's campus paper, practices of corruption and extortion within UST's ROTC unit.
48 Kenyan students heading to China for further studies via scholarships

Xinhua) 11:18, August 11, 2023

Lucy Kiruthu, director of Europe and Commonwealth Affairs at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, speaks during a farewell reception-cum-award-ceremony for Kenyan students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Kenya on Thursday hosted a farewell reception-cum-award-ceremony for 48 local students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023.

A total of 48 Kenyan students are scheduled to leave for China early next week to pursue various studies at some of the leading universities. The students drawn from local tertiary institutions will pursue disciplines like public management, engineering, international relations and Chinese language at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Speaking at the ceremony in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Zhang Zhizhong, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said that China and Kenya share a long history of friendship since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Chinese government welcomes more Kenyan students to pursue further studies in China and promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Henry Rotich, chairman of the Kenya-China Alumni Association, said during the ceremony that studying in China offers an unparalleled educational experience, denoting that China's rapid growth and technological advancements have positioned it as a global leader in innovation and research.

"By immersing yourselves in this dynamic environment, you gain access to cutting-edge knowledge and the chance to collaborate with world-renowned scholars and experts," said Rotich, hoping all students to study hard and embrace a better future.

Jacob Oloo, a doctoral candidate admitted to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said that China plays an important role in today's world and it is a great opportunity for him to study and explore the country.

"I am very grateful to the Chinese government for providing us with scholarships to study in China. I will study hard and come back to build the country and contribute to Kenya-China cooperation," he said.

Oloo noted that the next four years of study and life in China will completely change his fate. "May our studies in China be transformative, and our experiences serve as a springboard for realizing the boundless potential that lies within us. Carry with us the spirit of collaboration, the thirst for knowledge, and commitment to leave a lasting impact," he said.

Since 1982, the Chinese government has provided scholarships for thousands of Kenyan students.

Lucy Kiruthu, director of Europe and Commonwealth Affairs at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, told students during the ceremony that she went to Beijing University 27 years ago and the experience has been fruitful and cultivated her international political literacy and vision.

She hoped that all students would cherish the opportunity to study in China and make contributions in their respective professional fields.

Kenyan students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023 pose for a group photo in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. issued a warning against groups within the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) if they still do not cooperate in eliminating contraband in the national penitentiary.

Either you surrender or I will go on galugad (search operations) 24 hours unannounced, he told CNN Philippines The Source on Friday.

In a hearing at the House of Representatives on Thursday, lawmakers grilled BuCor officials over corrupt activities in the NBP.

It includes allowing the entry of prohibited items like a billiard table, karaoke machines, and a mahjong table for inmates use.

Catapang said they were allowed only for recreation for purpose of doing something, but some inmates have used them for betting that led to conflicts.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla said NBP personnel should also be investigated as many of the prison staff have big businesses inside the correctional facility.

Marami kasing dating gawi na kinaugalian ng mga empleyado at alam naman natin na hindi naman santo ang mga naririto, Remulla said.

Marami talagang sanay talagang kumita na halang na halang ang bituka, kumita sa bawat paraan na meron, kaya ang pagkita ng pera sa loob ng Bilibid ay isang industriya na ng mga tao na marami sa kanila ay mga empleyado mismo ng Bilibid, he added.

[Translation: There are many old habits practiced by the employees and we know that people here are not saints. Many are really good at making money, making money in every possible way. So making money inside Bilibid is an industry of people and many of whom are employees of Bilibid themselves.]

The Justice secretary said erring personnel caught by the investigation would be transferred to distant places with less responsibility.

Remulla also said they might look into the Civil Service, pointing out that many of the staff may not be equipped with skills needed to stand guard for NBP.

Kasi marami talagang hindi talaga angkop ang kanilang kaalaman at kinasanayan, kinaugalian at kakayanan sa pagbabantay ng isang napaka sensitibnong pwesto kung saan nais nating patinuin ang lahat," he pointed out. "Ngunit lalong napapasama dahil sa mga naging ugali na noong araw pa."

[Translation: There are many of them whose knowledge and habits, customs and abilities are not suitable to guard a very sensitive place where we want to straighten everyone out. But it's getting worse because of the habits that have been built in the past.]

In a recent greyhound operation, authorities also confiscated cell phones and other contraband in the prison facility, the BuCor official said.

Inmates have also discovered their own way of producing alcoholic beverages using yeast, he noted.

If the inmates cooperate with authorities, Catapang said he will work on getting them out of jail as soon as they serve their minimum sentence.

Otherwise, cases may be filed against them if caught red-handed which will only prolong their prison time, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  China has responded to the statement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that there was no agreement between Manila and Beijing to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.

On Wednesday, the President even went as far saying that even if there was an agreement, he was rescinding it.

READ: Marcos: Rescind deal with China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal if it exists

CNN Philippines spoke to some diplomatic sources from China and asked if they are willing to sho

w proof of the said promise.

Whats the point [of us doing] that if any agreement will be rescinded, a diplomatic source said.

China maintained that the Philippine government committed to remove the World War II-era ship from Ayungin Shoal.

Over this matter, China had repeatedly made representations to the Philippines and renewed the same demand, according to a white position paper published by China in 2016 on settling issues in the South China Sea.

The documents were shared with CNN Philippines.

In November 1999, the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines met with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Domingo Siazon and Chief of the Presidential Management Staff Leonora de Jesus to make another round of representations. Many times, the Philippines promised to tow away the vessel, but it has taken no action, the document read.

China said they made another representation in 2003 with then former acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Franklin Ebdalin, who gave assurance that the Philippines will not construct facilities on Ayungin Shoal.

The years mentioned by China covered the terms of former presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Estradas son, Senator JV Ejercito, denied that his father entered into such an agreement.

I cannot recall of such a commitment from the Philippine Government to remove the Sierra Madre. That area was peaceful and supply of food and supplies to the Marines until recently was smooth. There is nothing to rescind because there is no agreement in the first place, Ejercito told reporters in a statement.

One Beijing diplomat added that some of the discussions on Ayungin Shoal were a gentlemens agreement and internal understanding.

Facts are proven that the gentlemen's agreement maintained stability in Ren ai Reef (Ayungin Shoal), the diplomat said.

China however laments that the Philippine side recently started to ignore these agreements.

This has raised concern for the Chinese people, the diplomat said.

Warning signals have been sent by the Chinese side, but the Philippines disregarded our warnings, the source added.

The dishonesty on the commitment precedes Chinas reactions, a Beijing diplomat added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed the strong protest of the Philippine government on the blocking and water cannon operations by the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels against Philippine supply boats last August 5.

The DFA reiterated to the Chinese side that Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation that is part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, and that it cannot be appropriated or subjected to sovereignty claims.

The department also asked China to direct its vessels to stop their illegal actions against Philippine vessels, interference in legitimate Philippine government activities, and to abide with the 2016 Arbitral Award and international law.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  The Chinese government is urging Philippine officials to remain calm and engage them in discussions to prevent another incident at Ayungin Shoal from happening again.

Diplomatic sources from China said Beijing has taken note of the strong statements of Philippine officials after the water cannon incident last Aug. 5.

Beijing officials also told CNN Philippines that they have submitted a "concept paper" which indicates the "internal understanding" of the two countries in handling the Ayungin issue.

RELATED:

Lawmakers, envoys unanimously condemn China's use of water cannon on PH vessels

PH summons Chinese ambassador, files diplomatic protest after incident near Ayungin Shoal

China 'unreachable' during water cannon incident in West Philippine Sea - DFA

China said its position on Ayungin Shoal, or Second Thomas Shoal, remains clear and consistent.

"We hope both sides to calm down and meet us halfway to prevent such incidents from happening again," a Chinese diplomatic source told CNN Philippines.

"We urge the Philippines to stop unilateral actions pending any agreement," the source added.

China said Manila and Beijing should continue holding dialogues to reduce misunderstandings, and to pursue a path of friendly consultations in managing disputes.

Chinese diplomats noted that properly managing disputes is in line with Philippine interests.

"South China Sea does not define our relations. When we say our position is clear and consistent, we mean it. We propose to resolve our disputes through dialogues," the diplomatic source added.

China: PH yet to respond on proposal to resolve Ayungin Shoal issues

Another Chinese diplomatic source said there has been no response to the concept paper submitted to the Philippine side.

No feedback yet from the Department of Foreign Affairs since June, the source added.

CNN Philippines also reached out to the DFA to get more details on the concept paper proposed by Beijing but it has yet to respond.

In a previous statement, the DFA said Manila demands that Beijing immediately stop its illegal activities in the Philippines' maritime zones.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs is one with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard in their pursuit of our shared mandate to protect and uphold our legal maritime entitlements. The DFA is making full use of our diplomatic processes and [is] exercising all possible actions available to us," the department added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Authorities have filed charges against 27 Chinese nationals who were caught following a raid earlier this month on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Pasay City.

"The Chinese nationals who were subjected to inquest were all charged with violation of the Securities Regulation Code," Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Nicholas Ty told reporters in a briefing Friday.

In a release, the department said it found that the actions of the Chinese nationals and their POGO firm Rivendell fall within the purview of recharging and tasking scams.

According to the DOJ, tasking scams target those seeking online job opportunities by offering payment for task completion, while recharging scams involve unauthorized mobile or online payments for services that are never delivered.

Authorities also found that Rivendell used its website and online platforms to operate its schemes, the DOJ said.

"The respondents portrayed themselves as investors or guide/helpers' to entice clients into making investments in stocks and cryptocurrency, promising lucrative returns. Additionally, they introduced investment opportunities in their gaming application, where deposited funds were claimed to yield specific returns based on the investment amount," it added.

The department also said the firm engaged in selling stocks and securities without proper registration.

Meanwhile, Ty said the Filipinos apprehended during the raid are still under investigation.

"The Filipinos who were initially charged with cybercrime, they were referred for further investigation, so they were able to go home to their families but pending continuation of the investigation," he explained.




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Legal and security experts urged the Philippine government to conduct joint patrols with allies coinciding with the next resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal to exercise "our own rights" in areas within the country's exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.

"We can have joint patrols with the US at the same time [as the next resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal]. We can calibrate it," former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said in a forum on Thursday.

Carpio said Malaysia and Indonesia have surveyed and drilled in the contested waterway despite warnings from the China Coast Guard that the area falls within Beijing's nine-dash line claim.

"They sent their Navy together with the survey ship and the drilling ship, and, at the same time, the US and Australia conducted naval drills in the same area, that's for Malaysia. For Indonesia, the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan happened to pass by," he explained.

On Aug. 5, the Chinese coast guard blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine vessels including a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship en route to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. It was not the first time that it happened.

The PCG said its vessels were escorting local boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to deliver food and supplies to military troops stationed in BRP Sierra Madre.

Carpio said Ayungin Shoal  where BRP Sierra Madre has been aground since 1999  is one of the "flashpoints" in the Philippines-China relationship.

Dindo Manhit, president of the think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, also said in the forum that the Philippines "should not be deterred" from sending supplies to troops at the BRP Sierra Madre and improving the vessel.

"What's happening now, they're [China] stopping us from moving forward. Our supply ships should really push through," Manhit said.

"This is where we can maximize joint patrols and be shepherded by allies and friends during the resupply. Not to cause war but simply to exercise our own rights based on international law. Our military facility is within our Exclusive Economic Zone," he added.

RELATED: PH-US finalizing joint patrols in WPS  NSC official

Raymond Powell, a security expert and former United States Air Force official, said the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal is the "most vulnerable outpost" in the entire South China Sea that needs reinforcement.

"It's vulnerable not just because of how few people are there and their inability to defend themselves but the fact that their outpost is deteriorating and will ultimately succumb to time and the weather and the elements," Powell said.

"That will happen unless the Philippines, with its US allies are able to come up with some other solution to repairing or replacing, somehow lifting, circumventing, and defeating the ongoing Chinese blockade," he added.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that the Philippines made a commitment to remove the vessel from Ayungin Shoal, but has yet to act on it.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was not aware of any agreement and added, "If there does exist such an agreement, I rescind that agreement now."

RELATED: Malaya: No promise made to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the planned Philippine-Vietnam maritime pact will be a very big step for the two countries amid woes in the South China Sea.

In a statement, Malacanang said outgoing Vietnam Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung paid a farewell call on Marcos on Thursday, during which they discussed the signing of the maritime agreement.

Now that we are going to start discussions on the agreement that we have between the Philippines and Vietnam, I think it is a very, very important  it will be a very, very important part of our relationship and it will bring an element of stability to the problems that we are seeing now in the South China Sea, the president said.

The realization of the deal, Marcos stressed, is going to be a very big step between the two nations.

In May, Marcos expressed hope that the discussion on this possible agreement with Vietnam would soon take off to avoid any conflict in the contested waterways.

Chung, meanwhile, told Marcos that Vietnam has respect for your thought that you are a friend to all, [enemy to none].

Marcos said the two countries share a solid agreement that would help them face common challenges when it comes to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

I really believe that we have to make these bilateral agreements," the president said. "I think you will not be surprised and I think Im not giving away any confidence that we will like to have these bilateral agreements as well with the other countries within ASEAN."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  No Filipinos have been affected by the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui in Hawaii, a foreign affairs official said on Friday.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said the Philippine government is monitoring the situation, but there are no reports so far of Filipinos hurt or killed.

"Remember, ang mga Pilipino nagtatrabaho sa main cities. Eh forest fire yun [Remember, Filipinos work in the main cities. What happened was a forest fire]," he noted.

At least 53 people have died in the wildfires that have been scorching Maui for three days, CNN reported. Authorities expect the death toll to rise as search and rescue operations continue.

The blaze  which also destroyed hundreds of buildings  is the second deadliest in the United States in a century, next to California's Camp Fire in 2018 which killed 85 people.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  State prosecutors said they have found sufficient evidence to file murder charges against Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. in connection with three killings in Negros Oriental in 2019.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters on Friday that the cases will be filed either on the same day (August 11) or on Monday (August 14) before a Manila court, after nearly four months of preliminary investigation.

This stemmed from a complaint lodged in April by the family of the three victims, who were killed on different occasions. They were Michael Dungog, a former board member of the Third District of Negros Oriental; Lester Bato, a bodyguard for a mayoralty candidate in the same province; and Pacito Libron, an alleged hitman linked to Teves.

After a comprehensive evaluation of the complaint and the presented evidence, the investigating panel of prosecutors determined that the evidence is sufficient to substantiate charges of three counts of murder, the DOJ said in a separate release.

Teves' camp said it was not surprised by the charges.

"From the inception of the criminal investigations against Rep. Arnolfo Teves, we have consistently stated that with the repeated pronouncements of the Justice Secretary as regards the guilt of our client even before the start of preliminary investigations, the proceedings in the DOJ have been reduced to nothing more than moro-moro, 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing', to quote Shakespeare," Teves' lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said in a statement.

Topacio added that they are bracing for more "harassment" from the DOJ, "whose leadership has been using the laws as a blunt instrument of persecution."

Besides Teves, six other individuals linked to him were named respondents in the complaint, including Gemuel Hobro whom the government said confessed to the crimes.

The DOJ said Hobros extrajudicial confession became the foundation of the complaint. He also reaffirmed his statements during the preliminary probe on May 4 and was "conditionally admitted" into the witness protection program due to concerns for his safety and that of his family, the department added.

Hobro's confession implicates him as part of a group hired by Congressman Teves to carry out the aforementioned murders, shedding light on the motives driving these actions. Hobro asserts his presence during all three incidents and identifies the individuals responsible, the DOJ wrote.

His connections to Congressman Teves and the co-respondents are firmly established through evidence, confirming the political and personal motivations behind the murders, it also said.

Meanwhile, Teves did not personally appear before the investigating panel of prosecutors or directly submitted any form of pleading. The DOJ said that instead, the lawmaker  whose whereabouts remain unknown  filed motions to dismiss, along with one other suspect, through their respective legal representatives.

However, considering that filing of counter-affidavits or motions to dismiss must be personally filed or verified by the respondent themselves, as expressly provided by law, their motions to dismiss were merely noted for the purpose of resolving the complaint, the DOJ said.

This latest development on Teves came over a week after the Anti-Terrorism Council designated him as a terrorist and leader of an alleged armed group.

The congressman has also been tagged as the mastermind in the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo in March this year.

Teves has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, claiming they were fabricated and a form of political persecution.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  Various media organizations condemned the arrest of a radio reporter for scanning a police blotter in Iriga City, Camarines Sur.

The city police chief had Jose Rizal "Jorez" Pajares of Radyo Natin arrested on Aug. 2 for violating the Data Privacy Act of 2012. He was released days later after posting a 10-thousand peso.

Malu Calibaquib, the Bicol Regional Police spokesperson, said Pajares accessed the police blotter without permission.

"While the police blotter is considered a public document, it is crucial to treat it as confidential in accordance with the rules of court, Data Privacy Act, and other relevant policies," Calibaquib explained.

"This confidentiality extends to information related to ongoing cases or details concerning the commission of a crime," she added.

The Bicol Press Club and Camarines Sur Press Club called on the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Presidential Task Force on Media Affairs, and other concerned agencies to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.

"This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of fostering a relationship of mutual respect and cooperation between the media and the Philippine National Police," they said.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also questioned the arrest, saying the Data Privacy Act "is not applicable to personal information processed for the purpose of journalism."

Bicol-based journalist Rosas Olarte contributed to this story.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s campaign promise of rice being sold at 20 per kilogram under his administration is unlikely to happen in the next two years, former Agriculture Secretary William Dar said Friday.

"With all of what is happening, that is not tenable presently...It will take some time," Dar told CNN Philippines' The Exchange.

He said the main problem was that rice landholdings were very small  with an average of one to 1.3 hectares per farmer.

"How can you do much with technology and mechanization when you have these small landholdings? Dati-dati [Before], land and labor would be the major sources of productivity, ngayon [now] the major sources of productivity levels and income increase is the use of new technologies and innovations," Dar explained.

He added that the government should pursue cluster farming, or the merger of smallholder farms.

Philippine Chamber of Agriculture & Food Inc. National Chairman Danilo Fausto agreed that the 20 per kilogram goal could not be attained anytime soon.

"We really need to increase productivity and decrease the cost of producing rice. Without that condition, then the government can bring down to 20 only if it heavily subsidizes the price and demand side," Fausto said.

Marcos, who's also Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary, earlier said the government wanted to fulfill the goal as soon as possible, but that this was hindered by bad weather.

READ: Marcos: 20/kilo rice price goal eyed 'ASAP,' but weather a factor

The DA also said the goal was achievable, but in the long run.
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Chris Long, a homeless resident of the encampment, sweeps up after a tent was removed during the first encampment sweep under the Johnston administration at an encampment at 22nd and Stout streets on Friday morning, Aug. 4, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette)
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When Zoom amended its terms of service earlier this month  a bid to make executives comfortable that it wouldnt use Zoom data to train generative AI models  it quickly stirred up a hornet's nest. So the company revised the terms of service, and left in place ways it can still get full access to user data.

Computerworld repeatedly reached out to Zoom without success to clarify what the changes really mean.

Editor's note: Shortly after this column was published, Zoom again changed its terms and conditions. Weve added an update to the end of the story covering the latest changes.

Before I delve into the legalese  and Zooms weasel words to falsely suggest it was not doing what it obviously was doing  let me raise a more critical question: Is there anyone in the video-call business not doing this? Microsoft? Google? Those are two firms that never met a dataset that they didnt love.

One of the big problems with generative AI training is that gen AI cannot be predicted. It's prone to "hallucinations" and despite the widely-held belief that it will get better and more accurate via various updates over time, the opposite has happened. OpenAI's ChatGPT accuracy has plummeted in the most recent release.

Once data goes in, theres no telling where it will come out. Amazon learned that lesson earlier this year when it noticed ChatGPT revealing sensitive internal Amazon data in answers. Amazon engineers were testing ChatGPT by feeding it internal data and asking it to analyze that data. It analyzed it all right, then learned from it  and then felt free to share what it learned with everyone everywhere.

With that scenario in mind, consider the typical Zoom call. Enterprises use it for internal meetings where the most sensitive plans and problems are discussed in detail. Physicians use it for patient discussions.

This is what Zoom says in its revised terms of service:

"Customer Content does not include any telemetry data, product usage data, diagnostic data, and similar content or data that Zoom collects or generates in connection with your or your End Users use of the Services or Software. As between you and Zoom, all right, title, and interest in and to Service Generated Data, and all Proprietary Rights therein, belong to and are retained solely by Zoom. You agree that Zoom compiles and may compile Service Generated Data based on Customer Content and use of the Services and Software. You consent to Zooms access, use, collection, creation, modification, distribution, processing, sharing, maintenance, and storage of Service Generated Data for any purpose, to the extent and in the manner permitted under applicable Law, including for the purpose of product and service development, marketing, analytics, quality assurance, machine learning or artificial intelligence (including for the purposes of training and tuning of algorithms and models), training, testing, improvement of the Services, Software, or Zooms other products, services, and software, or any combination thereof, and as otherwise provided in this Agreement.

Unless I missed it, the Zoom lawyers apparently forgot to include the full rights to your firstborn. (Theyll get to it.) They then added that:

Zoom may redistribute, publish, import, access, use, store, transmit, review, disclose, preserve, extract, modify, reproduce, share, use, display, copy, distribute, translate, transcribe, create derivative works, and process Customer Content: You agree to grant and hereby grant Zoom a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license and all other rights required or necessary to redistribute, publish, import, access, use, store, transmit, review, disclose, preserve, extract, modify, reproduce, share, use, display, copy, distribute, translate, transcribe, create derivative works, and process Customer Content and to perform all acts with respect to the Customer Content as may be necessary for Zoom to provide the Services to you, including to support the Services; (ii) for the purpose of product and service development, marketing, analytics, quality assurance, machine learning, artificial intelligence, training, testing, improvement of the Services, Software, or Zooms other products, services, and software, or any combination thereof; and (iii) for any other purpose relating to any use or other act permitted in accordance with Section 10.3.

OK. And then for laughs, they typed in: Notwithstanding the above, Zoom will not use audio, video or chat Customer Content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent. Really? Had they deleted the earlier words, then maybe this would be legitimate.

There are two loopholes here. Without your consent. Based on all of the above, such consent is granted by merely using the product. I repeatedly asked Zoom to point out where on the site (or in the app) users could go to withdraw consent for any AI training. No answer. They do offer such consent withdrawal for a few highly limited services, such as summarizing meeting notes. But overall? Not so much.

The consent mechanism of using the product is particularly troublesome for non-customers. Lets say an enterprise pays for and hosts a call and then invites customers, some contractors and other partners to participate in the meeting. Do those guests understand that anything they say might be fed to generative AI? Other than refusing to attend, how is a guest supposed to decline consent?

The other loophole involves the word content. As Zoom describes it, there is a lot of metadata and other information it gathers that it does not strictly consider content. Zoom discussed this in a blog post: There is certain information about how our customers in the aggregate use our product  telemetry, diagnostic data, etc. This is commonly known as service generated data. We wanted to be transparent that we consider this to be our data.

The pushback on this data-grab may be pointless. Zoom isnt backing off and until rivals take an explicit stance about this kind of generative AI training, this will happen again and again.

Kathleen Mullin, a veteran CISO (including Tampa International Airport and Cancer Treatment Centers of America) who now performs fractional CISO work, said she doubts Microsoft would do the same thing Zoom is trying.

Microsoft is the originator of a lot of LLM anyway, so I dont know that they need the data from Teams, Mullin said. Thats a fair point, but many enterprises have historically never let we dont need that data from stopping them from using some data.

Scott Castle, who served for four years as the chief strategy officer with AI firm Sisense before leaving that company in July, said he found the Zoom efforts discomforting. CIOs are not paying that much attention to how the data from partners can be used, he said. They are just trying to get a couple of years ahead of the market.

The problem here is that it is the user who created the underlying data and Zoom is saying, If you use (our service), we want a piece of that action. Its overreach in a way that tries to cut off the conversation [about] who the value creator is: You still own your content but we own everything about your content. I think it is trying to partition stuff into yours and mine in a way that is deeply ingenuous. You nominally own the valueless thing you created, but I own everything else, including the pixels and all of the intrinsic information in that image.

"And what if Zoom later goes out of business? Where does that data go?

Data analytics expert Pam Baker  author of Data Divination: Big Data Strategies  saw the Zoom move as potentially even more dangerous.

"Zoom's new AI scraping policy  with no way to opt out  is a symptom of a much larger problem," Baker said. "We are seeing the most expansive data harvesting effort ever, all in the name of training AI on every moment, every aspect, every thought and action, and every idea that people have  not to mention the harvesting of intellectual property, copyrighted works and proprietary information. This is what movements like Responsible AI are supposed to stop, but if laws aren't enacted fast to prevent the reaping, privacy will already be dead."

Its not great that it took them multiple attempts to get it right, but they ultimately seem to have done so. What is odd is that Zoom repeatedly reached out to media when it removed a tiny slice of data from its genAI effort. But when it actually did the right thing, it was quiet. No media outreach, no news release. When Computerworld asked for an interview to clarify all of this, Zoom did not opt to make anyone available.
With its August Patch Tuesday release, Microsoft pushed out 90 updates for the Windows and Office platforms. The latest fixes include another update for Microsoft Exchange (along with with a warning about failed updates to Exchange Server 2016 and 2019) and a "Patch Now" recommendation from us for Office.

The team at Application Readiness has crafted this useful infographic outlining the risks associated with each of the updates for this month.

Known issues

Each month, Microsoft includes a list of known issues affecting the latest update cycle. For August, they include:

After installing this update on guest virtual machines (VMs) running Windows Server 2022 on some versions of VMware ESXi, Windows Server 2022 might not start up. Microsoft and VMware are both investigating the issue.

Provisioning packages on Windows 11 version 22H2 (also called Windows 11 2022 Update) might not work as expected. Windows might only be partially configured, and the out-of-box experience might not finish or might restart unexpectedly. Provisioning the Windows device before upgrading to Windows 11 version 22H2 should prevent the issue.

Unfortunately for those still using Windows Server 2008 ESU, this month's update might fail completely with the message, "Failure to configure Windows updates. Reverting Changes. Do not turn off your computer." Microsoft offers some advice on ESU updates, but you might find you have to wait a little while before you're able to successfully update legacy Exchange servers. Sorry about that.

Major revisions

Microsoft has published these major revisions covering:

ADV190023 : Microsoft Guidance for Enabling LDAP Channel Binding and LDAP Signing. This latest update adds the capability to enable CBT events 3074 & 3075 with event source **Microsoft-Windows-ActiveDirectory_DomainService** in the Directory Service event log.

ADV230001 : Guidance on Microsoft Signed Drivers Being Used Maliciously. Microsoft has announced that the Aug. 8 Windows Security updates (see Security Updates table) add additional untrusted drivers and driver signing certificates to the Windows Driver.STL revocation list.

CVE-2023-29360 : Microsoft Streaming Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Microsoft has corrected CVE titles and updated one or more CVSS scores for the affected products.

CVE-2023-35389 : Microsoft Dynamics 365 On-Premises Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. In this latest update, Microsoft removed Microsoft Dynamics 365 (on-premises) version 9.1, as it is not affected by the vulnerability. This is an informational change only. No further action required.

Mitigations and workarounds

Microsoft published the following vulnerability-related mitigations for this release cycle:

CVE-2023-35385 : Microsoft Message Queuing Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. The Windows message queuing service, which is a Windows component, needs to be enabled for a system to be exploitable by this vulnerability. Check to see whether there is a service running named Message Queuing and TCP port 1801 is listening on the machine.

CVE-2023-36882 : Microsoft WDAC OLE DB provider for SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Microsoft offers the following mitigation advice for this serious vulnerability: "If your environment only connects to known, trusted servers and there is no ability to reconfigure existing connections to point to another location (for example you use TLS encryption with certificate validation), the vulnerability cannot be exploited."

Testing guidance

Each month, the Readiness team analyzes the latest Patch Tuesday updates and provides detailed, actionable testing guidance. This guidance is based on assessing a large application portfolio and a detailed analysis of the patches and their potential impact on the Windows platforms and app installations.

Given the significant number of changes included this month, I've broken down the testing scenarios into high-risk and standard-risk groups:

High risk

As all the high-risk changes affect the Microsoft Windows core kernel and internal messaging subsystem (though we have not seen any published functionality changes), we strongly recommend the following focused testing:

There have been a number of significant updates to the Microsoft Message Queue ( MSMQ ). This will affect servers that rely on triggers, routing services, and multicasting support. Our expectation is that internally developed line-of-business client/server applications are most likely to be affected and therefore need increased attention and testing this month.

Standard risk

Windows error reporting has been updated, so you will need to do a " CRUD " test on your Windows Common Log File System ( CLFS ) logs.

A group policy refresh should be included in this testing cycle due to changes in the NT user policy (both user and machine) files. Due to API changes in this feature, you might also want to check file paths for your resultant log files.

Microsoft's Crypto ( CNG ) APIs have been updated, so smart card installations will require testing.

ODBC applications will require testing again this month due to an update to the SQLOLEDB libraries.

And here's one for Windows focused IT administrators: Microsoft has updated the WinSAT API. This tool is described by Microsoft:

"The Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) exposes a number of classes that assess the performance characteristics and capabilities of a computer. Developers can use this API to develop software that can access the performance and capability information of a computer to determine the optimal application settings based on that computer's performance capabilities."

All these scenarios will require significant application-level testing before general deployment. In addition to these specific testing requirements, we suggest a general test of the following printing features:

Update all your print servers and validate that the printer management software behaves as expected while running print jobs.

Uninstall any print management software after an update to ensure that your server is still running as expected.

Test all printer manufacturer types, using both local and remote printer tests.

Automated testing will help with these scenarios (especially a testing platform that offers a "delta" or comparison between builds). However, for your line-of-business applications, getting the app owner (doing UAT) to test and approve the results is absolutely essential.

Each month, we break down the update cycle into product families (as defined by Microsoft) with the following basic groupings:

Browsers (Microsoft IE and Edge);

Microsoft Windows (both desktop and server);

Microsoft Office;

Microsoft Exchange Server;

Microsoft Development platforms ( ASP.NET Core, .NET Core and Chakra Core);

Adobe (still here, but with another A).

Browsers

Continuing a welcome trend, Microsoft released 11 updates to its Chromium browser projects (Edge) and no patches to its legacy browsers. You can read more about Microsoft Edge release notes here, noting that Chrome/Edge updates were released on Monday (Aug. 7) not the usual "Patch Tuesday."

Add these browser updates to your standard patch release schedule.

Windows

Microsoft released three critical updates, 32 rated as important and one rated as moderate. All (three) of the critical updates to the Windows platform relate to the Windows Message Queuing (MSMQ). Though these critical updates have a rating of 9.8 (that's pretty high), they have not been publicly disclosed or reported as exploited. Not every organization will make use of the MSMQ feature, so for most teams, the testing profile should be pretty light. Add these Windows updates to your standard release schedule.

Microsoft Office

Microsoft has released three critical updates to Microsoft Outlook (CVE-2023-36895, CVE-2023-29330 and CVE-2023-29328) that require immediate attention. In addition to these patches, Microsoft has released 11 updates rated as important and one rated as moderate. These 12 updates affect Microsoft Office in general and Visio. Add these Office updates to your "Patch Now" release schedule.

Microsoft Exchange Server

Before you do anything, don't update your non-English Microsoft Exchange Servers (2019 and 2016). This month's update will fail mid-way through and leave your server in an "undetermined state." Now that this has (not) been done, you can attend to the six Exchange updates (all rated as important) for this month. No critical updates showed up, so take your time. Note: all these August patches will require a server reboot. Add these updates to your standard release schedule.

Microsoft development platforms

Microsoft has released eight updates to the Microsoft .NET and ASP.NET platforms this month. These patches were rated as important and should be included in your standard developer release schedule.

Adobe Reader (still here, but with another A)

Adobe is back. And we have another "A" to worry about (kinda weird, huh?). APSB23-30 from Adobe patches a critical vulnerability in Adobe Reader  add it to your "Patch Now" schedule. And the other "A"? Following the recent trend of supporting third-party patches in the Microsoft update release cycle (remember the Autodesk update in June?), Microsoft has released CVE-2023-20569; it is related to an AMD memory-related vulnerability. You can read more about this on the AMD site here.

Patching? Sure.

Testing? Not sure.
US President Joe Biden has ratcheted up the technology trade war with China, issuing an executive order that will restrict investment in several sectors, including semiconductiors and AI. While the move  taken after a prior series of restrictions on US chip-related exports to China  threatens to further disrupt the global tech supply chain, major trade groups and US allies have reacted cautiously so far.

The executive order, issued Wednesday, gives the US Treasury the power to enact specific regulations after a 45-day consultation period in which interested parties may provide comments that will be taken into account for a draft of the new rules. The new regulations will impact three sectors  semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain AI systems.

This program will seek to prevent foreign countries of concern from exploiting US investment in this narrow set of technologies that are critical to support their development of military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber-enabled capabilities that risk US national security, Biden wrote in a letter to Congress.

Though no specifc country was mentioned in Biden's executive order, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), including the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and the Special Administrative Region of Macau, were noted as countries of concern in an annex.

US to restrict investment in China in these technologies

While the final details of the new US investment restrictions will be worked out in the next few months, a fact sheet issued by Department of Treasury lays out a few specific technologies that it is considering:

Semiconductors and microelectronics: Electronic design automation software; semiconductor manufacturing equipment; fabrication of advanced integrated circuits; and the installation or sale of supercomputers.

Quantum information technologies: The production of quantum computers and certain components including sensors; quantum networking; and quantum communication systems.

AI systems: Software that uses AI for military or intelligence operations.

The US-China tech trade war continues

President Bidens administration started to impose restrictions of exports of chips and chip-making technology to China last year, with the stated purpose of stopping China from having access to advanced technology for military modernization and human rights abuses.

In the wake of the export controls, the Biden administration has launched a number of initiatives to boost the domestic production of semiconductors. On Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the CHIPS Act being signed by President Biden, it was announced that more than 460 companies have expressed interested in winning government semiconductor subsidy funding.

However, restricting US companies' investments in China, with national security concerns as a front, is a clear act of overstretching the concept of security and politicizing business engagement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

This is blatant economic coercion and tech bullying, an act that seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, undermines the international economic and trading order, destabilizes global industrial and supply chains and hurts the interests of both China and the United States and the global business community," according to the statement.

Trade groups take subdued response

In the US, trade and commerce groups were cautious in their response to the news.

"The Chamber remains committed to working with policymakers to both safeguard our national security and values, and also preserve the area of commercial opportunity where we can and should engage productively, said the US Chamber of Commerce in a statement. The Semiconductor Industry Association echoed the sentiment, stating that it recognized the need to protect national security, adding that it would be assessing the excutive order, and welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback as part of the public comment period.

Technology analysts have said that the chip export restrictions implemented last year are bound to cause supply chain disruptions for a wide range of goods for global enterprises  not just for technology like network servers but goods such as cars that rely on advanced chips for guidance systems.

European Union to take a more cautious approach

With the US-China trade war already having seen a number of countries get caught in the crossfire, the European Commission said Thursday that it will analyze the new executive order before making any decisions about its own investment restrictions.

"We will be analysing the Executive Order closely. We are in close contact with the US administration and look forward to continued cooperation on this topic," a Commission spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the EU and its member states also have a common interest in fuelling technological advances that enhance military and intelligence capabilities of those undermine international peace and security.

In June the Commission presented its own economic security plan, which includesproposals to place more stringent controls on exports of technologies that could be used for military purposes in China. However, the plan received pushback from France and Germany, which have significant trade relations with China, with the French finance minister Bruno Le Maire stating that France was opposed to decoupling global supply chains which would have a major economic cost whilst on a trip to China last month.

Current geopolitical shifts and the rapid development of sensitive technologies mean we have to strike a balancing act: we must uphold our economic security, while ensuring we continue to benefit from an open economy, said Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president and commissioner for, trade at the time.
Northern College in Canada leaves 500 international students, including Indians, stranded

International students, including Indian students, who dreamed of studying in Canada got a very rude wake-up call when Northern College in Ontario revoked their admission offers a month before the start of school.

The 500 international students recently received an e-mail from Northern College, informing them that their admission offers for this coming school year had been revoked. Photo courtesy: Instagram/northerncollege

According to reports published yesterday in Canadian media, at least 500 students, including Indians, have been left high and dry. Some of the students were already in Canada when they were informed their offers had been withdrawn, CBC News reported.

These international students recently received an e-mail from Northern College, informing them that their admission offers for this coming school year had been revoked, the report said.

Among the students was Ashley, who had already paid her registration fees and booked her flight from Punjab to Toronto when she found out just over a week ago that she was no longer accepted to Northern College, Ontario.

It was very heartbreaking for me. It had a huge impact on my lifestyle, the report quoted Ashley as saying.

The student from India received her acceptance letter in February to study healthcare administration at Scarboroughs Pures College of Technology, which is an affiliate of Northern College. She had already applied for a student visa, quit her job in healthcare, and booked a one-way ticket to Toronto.

Now, instead of packing her bags, Ashley will remain in India while scrambling for a solution. It was not a normal process for us as international students who have used all the savings that we had, she said.

Also read: Indian students facing deportation from Canada launch protest; EAM takes up matter

Pures College said that it was ready, willing and able to accept all international students who received letters of admission, but that its affiliate, Northern College, decided against doing so.

As a private college in partnership with a public college, Pures said it did not have the authority to make final decisions on the admissions process.

Northern College said that the problem was caused by Canada approving more visas for international students than expected.

Students will be refunded or transferred to different schools, the college said. But some could still be on the hook for cancelled flights and accommodation.

This is not the first time that international students have been left in limbo by a Canadian school. In May, hundreds of students said that their enrolment was unilaterally suspended by Alpha College of Business and Technology, an affiliate of St. Lawrence College in Ontario.

Commenting on these events, Jaspreet Singh, president of the International Sikh Student Association and a member of the World Sikh Organisation, said that these situations were indicative of a bigger problem.

The system is exploiting students, he said. The same thing is happening every year...every semester, CBS News quoted Singh as saying.

An international student is granted permission to study in Canada based on their acceptance to a designated learning institution. International students must present their acceptance letter upon arrival to clear immigration and receive a permit to stay in the country to complete their education.
Rising in the comedy field can lead to jealousies, passive-aggressive comments, and comedians acting out who get too high on their own supply. Whatever the reason may be, comedians dont always play nice. Here are 13 times comedians turned on their own kind.

13 South Park and Family Guy Comedy Central South Park centered an entire episode around their distaste for the Family Guy writers. It appears South Parks main problem with Family Guy is that while South Park writes jokes that are woven into a thought-out story with emotional risks, they feel Family Guy randomly strings jokes together interchangeably no matter the plot. They even go as far as to imply the entire process could be done by a group of manatees pushing balls with words written on them into random sentences to create jokes. Trey Parker claimed that after the episode aired writers from The Simpsons and King of The Hill reached out to tell them Youre doing Gods work, because of their mutual hatred for Family Guy. Seth Macfarlane has said he doesnt think the Family Guy staff has enough spare time to make an entire episode devoted solely to lampooning South Park. Well played, Seth.

12 Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien NBC While this one was more a mistake on the part of NBC executives, Jay Leno and Conan OBriens beef started when Leno handed over The Tonight Show to Conan, to pursue a primetime time slot before The Tonight Show. When Lenos show premiered and his ratings quickly dipped, the executives reached a deal with Leno saying they would welcome Jay back to The Tonight Show and push Conan deep into the 12:05 am slot, which Conan refused. As a result, Conan hosted The Tonight Show for only 7 months. In their monologues, the two have hurled jokes at one another with Jay saying "Seven months! How did he get that deal? We only got four." and Conan saying: "I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too."

11 Norm Macdonald and Chris Kattan Broadway Video During a 1997 interview with Rolling Stone, Norm Macdonald brought up Chris Kattan, saying I never met a guy who seemed so gay who said he isnt gay. and I dont find him funny what can I say. Several outlets blew this story up to claim that a massive hatred was shared between the two comics. Chris Kattan revealed after Norm Macdonald passed that he and Norm never really had that serious of a feud and that the two had a deep mutual respect for one another and comedy.

10 Arsenio Hall and Roseanne Barr Netflix In 1990, Arsenio Hall made a few cheap fat jokes at photos of her and her then-husband Tom Arnold in bathing suits. Rosanne responded in her Las Vegas stand up act by saying Arsenio was Americas first black nerd a triangle-headed Eddie Murphy lookalike. The two squashed their beef within the same year when Arsenio invited her and Tom Arnold on the show, and he didnt even seem that bothered when her racist tweet got her fired from all her gigs. Advertisement Advertisement

9 Larry The Cable Guy and David Cross Netflix David Cross pulled no punches when he called out Larry The Cable guy at the height of his career in 2005 when Rolling Stone profiled the redneck comic. Cross claimed that what Larry does is the lowest form of comedy and rewards stupidity. Larry The Cable Guy responded in his eloquently named book, GIT-R-DONE, that Cross was a comic who took himself too seriously and overanalyzed comedy, and that the main goal is to get laughs. Cross THEN responded in An Open Letter To Larry The Cable Guy on his own website digging even deeper into the redneck comic saying his audience were, dumb redneck, easily entertained, ignorant motherf*ckers. He went on to add that Larrys comedy was often racist quoting the comic as calling Arabs, commie rag head carpet flying wicker basket on the head balancing scumbags. We think Cross won this round.

8 Mike Myers and Dana Carvey Paramount While it seems this beef has long been mended, the story of the rivalry between the two is still important to comedy history. When Carvey was originally added as Garth to Myers Waynes World sketch, the two had no idea they would essentially become comedy partners when the sketch turned into two movies. The two didnt have a perfect writing collaboration and by the time Wayne's World 2 was filmed, Meyers had had so many issues with the director of the first film that he severely tightened his creative control on the second film. The two drifted apart and things got worse when Carvey realized Dr. Evil was just a rip-off of his Lorne Michaels impression that he used to perform for the writers. The two have since mended and make awkward little Waynes World appearances every decade. Advertisement Advertisement

7 Adam McKay and Will Ferrell Gary Sanchez Productions In what has to be one of the saddest falling-outs in human history, it appears Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the geniuses behind Step Brothers, Elf, Talladega Nights, and Anchorman are no longer on speaking terms. According to McKay, the falling out occurred to the fact that he had been seeking out more solo projects without Ferrell in Gary Sanchez productions, their shared production company. Finally, McKay cast John C Reilly in a role for his new HBO unnamed show, secretly, without telling Ferrell, which was the last straw in Wills eyes. McKay says their final phone call was short and consisted of McKay saying, Well, I mean, were splitting up the company. And he basically was like, Yeah, we are, and basically was like, Have a good life. And Im like, F*ck, Ferrells never going to talk to me again. So it ended not well. McKay appears to take full responsibility for the breakup.

6 Andy Dick and John Lovitz Broadway Video In 1998, John Lovitz accused Andy Dick of aiding in the death of Phil Hartman by supplying his wife, who killed him, with cocaine after she had remained sober. Lovitz claimed he apologized for the slight and that the beef was squashed for years, but that changed when Dick visited Lovitz's restaurant in 2006. Dick told Lovitz, I put the Phil Hartman hex on you, you're the next one to die, (real classy, Dick). Lovitz tossed Andys entire table out. One year later they crossed paths at The Laugh Factory where Lovitz demanded an apology, and when he didnt get one, he promptly slammed Andy Dicks head into the bar five or six times. Advertisement Advertisement

5 Chelsea Handler and Joan Rivers The Howard Stern Show In 2012, Chelsea Handler told Howard Stern, "What the f**k do I care about Joan Rivers?" The following day, Rivers showed up to Stern and said, Number one, made it on her back, f***ing the president , we all know that. Number two, she's fine, she's ordinary. She's not a genius." Later Handler said Rivers was never a role model of hers, and Rivers then told HuffPost, She came out saying things like, 'I'm the first woman ever to do a late-night show,'" Rivers said, adding, "She did this one day, and I followed her on the dais and I said, 'I guess everyone's forgotten the Carson show.' She never spoke to me again." After Rivers passing Handler came out saying, Joan Rivers and I weren't friends, but she did definitely open so many doors for me."

4 Kathy Griffin and Ellen DeGeneres Comedy Central If you look up Kathy Griffin feud you get about 50 different results, so lets take this with a grain of salt. The feud stemmed from Kathy Griffin slamming Ellen DeGeneres for saying she thought Joan Rivers comedy was too crude and not funny. Griffin said that in her final meal with Rivers, Joan told her she felt shunned by Ellen. After she passed, Griffin called Ellen to insist she do a tribute for the late trailblazing comedienne on her show, but Ellen held firm saying she felt there was a difference between mean and funny. Griffin called DeGeneres an untalented hack. Eventually, Ellen posted a tweet saying Joan Rivers will always be a pioneer. She paved the way for a lot of comedians. Im very sad shes gone. Undoubtedly written by a chained-up intern. Advertisement Advertisement

3 Bobcat Goldthwait and Jerry Seinfeld NBC Jerry Seinfeld brought up his hatred of Bobcat Goldthwait on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, although he didnt mention him by name. Seinfeld said, He used to rail against me cause they werent as wild and dangerous as he was. Cause he sucked. He wasnt funny. And thats why he didnt get anywhere Cause in comedy, nobody gives a f- if youre cool, if youre lame. If youre funny, you win. If youre not funny, you dont. And hes not funny. Thats why he had to do that stupid f-ing voice. Cause you have no f-ing act. Thats why he didnt like me, cause I could actually do it. I can do it. I can do comedy. He cant. Stupid . Youre not scary or dangerous. Youre just youre just weak on stage. Youre a weak act. This seems to stem from a quote Goldthwaith gave the Spokesman review in 1995, Here is this creepy Scientologist guy (dating) teenage girls - which I dont care about one way or another. What I find creepy is that people are convinced he lives in that apartment, and those are his wacky friends. They dont like each other; theyre actors paid to pretend they like Jerry Seinfeld. Hes a weird guy. But everybody thinks hes normal and Im weird.

2 Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy Play Eddie Murphy did an entire set on his legendary special Raw about how Bill Cosby called him to complain about his vulgar language on stage. It appears that Murphy has had the last laugh on this feud adding the line to his Mark Twain humorist award acceptance speech, Did yall make Bill give his back? Advertisement Advertisement
Look, Im no billionaire tech mogul. Im just a lowly internet content creator. But, if I may, I have a piece of advice for any aspiring technocratic oligarchs out there: If at all possible, try not to compare the plight of millions of people in developing nations to a dead rodent. Read on to find out what Mark Zuckerberg said in 2010, when an X-class solar flare apparently fried his communication hardware.

12 Germanys 600-Year Concert At this very moment, a church in Germany is two decades deep in a multi-century performance of composer John Cages piece, Organ2/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible). In an unbeatable act of comedic timing, the piece starts with a 17-month rest. (Source)

11 Did Chris Christie Hire a Personal SEO Specialist? It sounds like a jumble of highly targeted hashtags on an Instagram post, but: Chris Christie gave President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a framed autograph from Jon Bon Jovi. Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have used Its My Life as something of a rally cry as they prepare for, or recover from, Russian attacks. To show his support and appreciation, Bon Jovi wrote out the lyrics by hand, and to show hes still running for president, Christie traveled to Ukraine and delivered the framed lyrics to Zelenskyy. (Source)

10 The Founder of Tinder Is an Avowed Sodomite Exactly one day before the company went public, a disastrous interview dropped wherein founder Sean Rad  thats his real name  struggled mightily, and ultimately failed, to come up with the word sapiosexual: Ive been attracted to women who are well, who my friends might think are ugly. Apparently theres a term for someone who gets turned on by intellectual stuff. You know, just talking. Whats the word? I want to say sodomy? (Source)

9 Robin Williams Death Inspired Wayne Bradys Coming Out Brady recently came out in a rainbow- and pun-packed TikTok. He says his season of deep introspection began after Robin Williams death caused him to feel depressed, frightened and weighed down. After years of therapy, hes come to realize that I want to be free to love whomever I want. This truth makes me Pan and part of the LGBTQ+ family. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

8 The 1970s Were Not Kind to Barbie Inventor Ruth Handler As acknowledged in the new movie, Handler ran afoul of the IRS, the SEC and Mattels shareholders. She was accused of conspiracy, mail fraud and trying to rig Mattels stock price, and ultimately pled no contest  though mainly because she was busy recovering from breast cancer, a mastectomy and getting her prosthetic breast company off the ground. She said the marketing guys who had done most of the dirty work got off easy, and the feds wanted to bring down a woman, a famous woman, an uppity woman who had the nerve to climb to the top. (Source)

7 Meta May Not Have the International Communitys Best Interests at Heart While his signature product has only recently helped foment coups and genocides, Mark Zuckerberg has been a cartoon supervillain since at least 2010, when he said: A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

6 50 Cent Has Been Made Aware of the Alternate Meaning of Wanksta, Thank You British journalist Jake Arnott ever-so-politely explained to 50 Cent how the Brits have traditionally used that terminology: That word sort of means something in England theres a hand signal that goes with that. 50 brushed him off as professionally as humanly possible: I was told. That blew me away! (Source)

5 Father Pellegrino Ernettis Chronovisor In 1992, an Italian monk claimed to have invented a time-traveling View-Master he called The Chronovisor. It supposedly captured real-time images of a long-lost play by tragic playwright Euripides, and a little historical snafu known today as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Intrepid journalists figured out that the crucifixion scene he presented as evidence was just the mirror-image of a postcard from a small town in Italy. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

4 Dean Corlls Two Competing Passions Dean Corll was a certified monster who racked up at least 28 victims between 1970 and 1973. As a kid, he had two hobbies worthy of the MacDonald Triad: He liked to make necklaces with the heads of flying squirrels, and he was obsessed with the trombone. (Source)

3 Gwyneth Paltrow Would Bomb on The Price Is Right Trying to adhere to the $29 per week allotted to SNAP recipients, Paltrow bought a delightful array of fresh vegetables and healthy ingredients  that lasted less than four days. To her credit, she highlighted how hard life is for the approximately 47 million Americans forced to stick to that price cap, and said, My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

2 Comic Book Guys Real Name (And His Real Real Name) Canonically, its been revealed that his name is Jeff Albertson. But Matt Groening says he was absent when the writers named him, and he had envisioned a more tragic design In my mind, Louis Lane was his name, and he was obsessed and tormented by Lois Lane. (Source)
In 2007, something happened that changed the course of culture in ways we are still experiencing today: Mad Men premiered on AMC. Yes, it put the network on the map, paving the way for hits like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Yes, the 116 Emmy nominations it earned over the eight years it ran resulted in 16 wins. Yes, it launched the careers of Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Rich Sommer and Jon Hamm, who played the tortured yet brilliant ad man Don Draper. Perhaps it was the emotional toll the role took that, apparently, has driven Hamm to pursue comedy whenever he had any down time, and there has been no part too small or weird to attract him  including playing himself.

Amid roles like the dangerously dumb pediatrician Drew Baird on 30 Rock and the talking toilet on Bobs Burgers, Hamm has readily sent up his own image for comedic purposes. There was the time Steven Toast (Matt Berry) developed an instant crush on him in Toast of London; the time he tried to research playing Larry (Larry David) in Curb Your Enthusiasm; or the time he asked Barry (Bill Hader) to take a shit in his house during a cookout on Barry, though admittedly that was only a fantasy Barry had of being successful and having fancy, famous friends.

Over the years, Hamm has shown he has no vanity or fear when it comes to comedy, and has been justly celebrated for it. What were not talking about enough is that his Mad Men colleague John Slattery is great at this, too.

Like Hamm, Slattery played a womanizing dreamboat who made his way through a bevy of women. Like Hamm, Slattery brought a wry wit to his character (Roger Sterling, in Slatterys case) that made everyone  business partners, romantic partners, exes, viewers  unable to resist forgiving even his worst offenses. Unlike Hamms Don, Slatterys Roger Sterling was a classic silver fox, so if thats your thing, well, get in line behind me, because its mine too. Don and Roger have a complicated friendship on Mad Men, but things seem to be much more straightforward for Hamm and Slattery: Slattery joined Hamm in last years feature film Confess, Fletch, and Hamm stars in this years Maggie Moore(s), Slatterys directorial debut.

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For proof of their versatility as comedy partners, look no further than this Junes Pump Rules Clubhouse Playhouse: Hamm and Slattery, visiting Watch What Happens Live in the wake of the Vanderpump Rules scandal we all know as Scandoval, and re-enacting an important moment of conflict.

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So while Slattery would probably never complain that his friends comedy cameos get so much more attention than his own, I dont think its right. Slatterys been goofing on his own image since late 2009. In a segment on The Colbert Report about Fox News touting the acquisition of gold in both commercials and in commentators shows, host Stephen Colbert (also as himself) closes with a throw to a gold promo from his friends at Prescott Financial; its a fictional concern related to Prescott Pharmaceuticals and Prescott Oil, as featured in other episodes of the Report. Yes, after our propped-up banks fail, says Slattery, gold will be the only law in the after-scape. So ask yourself: When the shit goes down, what do you want in the briefcase handcuffed to your arm?

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Gold can only take you so far, Slattery admits, advising viewers to diversify their portfolios with women: They have agile hands, a strong work ethic and can be traded for potable water, ammunition and gold. The third asset youll want in the post-apocalypse is sheep: You cant eat gold, and shouldnt eating women be a last resort?

More recently, theres Girls5Eva, the Peacock sitcom  which jumps to Netflix with its third season later this year  about an early 2000s girl group mounting a comeback now that its members are all middle-aged. In the first season, Dawn (Sara Bareilles) worries that her son Max (Julius Conceicao) is being denied a normal youth because Dawn and her husband Scott (Daniel Breaker) are raising him in New York City, where it can be too expensive to raise multiple children, and being surrounded by adults can make them adopt grown-up interests when theyre barely out of diapers. A song by The Milk Carton Kids dramatizes Dawns anxieties.

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Then, as Max is refusing Mr. Softee because they dont have his preferred flavor (Earl Grey) and yanking Dawn toward the Fedoras & Fountain Pens store, a reassuring voice tells her, Dont fight it. Its John Slattery, out for a stroll with his actual wife Talia Balsam, and their actual son Harry Slattery. Currently a twenty-something with an ironic mustache, Harry was, John tells Dawn, once a New York Lonely Boy just like Max. Slattery was one of five kids, too busy fighting for limited resources to develop any interests, whereas Harry knows Mandarin, loves museums and is great company at a dinner party. Every days like Fathers Day, Slattery enthuses. Now go get him a weird jazz hat and a $40 pen.

Whereas Dawns random encounter with Slattery on the streets of New York is a dream come true, not all sitcom characters are so lucky. In this weeks episode of What We Do in the Shadows, Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) has been afflicted by a black eye, due to a misadventure with a frozen block of toilet waste falling on the Ferrari he was driving. Its a great story, but thats bad: As an energy vampire, he feeds on the boredom of people he encounters, and the shiner has made him too interesting. Distracted and desperate, Colin is trying to drain some diners on a restaurant patio when a car runs straight into him  and its driven by the great character actor John Slattery!

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Having just played a doctor on The Good Fight (for real!), Slatterys especially determined to get Colin medical help; Nandor (Kayvan Novak) encourages Colin to take the ride, since hell be able to drain Slattery on the way. But Slattery ends up absolutely fascinated by Colin, trying to memorize his mannerisms and learn his accent and speaking style for use in a future performance. In the end, Colin is the one who gets drained by Slatterys actor bullshit; both vampires bail out of the moving car as Slattery prattles on, oblivious.

Jon Hamm is, no question, very good at what he does, and his willingness to send up his own image in the most potentially humiliating ways is a huge part of his charm as a celebrity. But John Slattery is also out here in these streets  literally, in these two most recent performances as himself  goofing on himself. Think of how many stars you can imagine using their distinguished silver locks to pretend to shill gold to scared retirees; and portray themselves as overly indulgent parents to adult children who may or may not be employed; and be so exhaustingly self-involved that they drain an energy vampire before the energy vampire can drain them.

John Slatterys comedy cameos are a joy. Someone tell Larry David before hes done planning the next season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Were pretty sure Arsenio Hall wasnt exactly an angel when he got his start performing in clubs like the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. But if he needed any help going down the road of decadence, the legendary Richard Pryor was happy to provide the map. While performing a recent set at the Store, Hall let everyone know how his hero introduced him to some of lifes illicit pleasures.

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While performing on Monday night, according to a Page Six report, Hall pointed to an intimate booth in a shadowy corner of the Comedy Store. The spot held a special place in Halls heart, he confided, because thats where Pryor introduced him to nose candy. Hall told the crowd that he was hanging out after hours with his friend and mentor when Pryor handed him a rock and a $100 bill.

The two comics snorted the coke while an oblivious Stevie Wonder played a nearby piano. Not a bad soundtrack for your first experience with blow? Hall told the crowd that, if anything, Wonder likely believed the two funny men were battling allergies.

Despite that back-of-the-club adventure, Hall doesnt appear to have gone down the same destructive path with cocaine that Pryor did. (To understand how bad things got, simply watch Pryors concert film, Live on the Sunset Strip.) After The Arsenio Hall Show ended in 1994, rumors swirled that Hall had entered rehab. I went on the internet, and read I was in detox at Betty Ford, Hall complained a few years later. I got online under a fake name and typed in, I know Arsenio better than anyone else, and hes not in detox, you idiots!'

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Hall told Howard Stern that he stayed connected to Pryor right up until the end. Richard Pryor was my hero and Richard and I were friends until his last day on this earth, he says. And at the end of his life, there weren't a lot of people hanging around kissing Richard's ass.

Because Pryors health had deteriorated so much, Hall says hed sneak his hero out of the house for a laugh break. Sometimes if the nurse was shopping, I'd jump over the fence and go to the back window to his room, Hall revealed. One time he wanted to go see one of Eddie (Murphy)s movies so he had this little cart. I put his cart in my Range Rover and took him to the Sherry Lansing Theater at Paramount and we watched one of Eddie's movies.

Even though Pryor was devastated by illness, Hall would arrange visits with old friends like Quincy Jones and Steve Harvey. Pryor couldnt talk much but he still found a way to make his visitors laugh. He was funny until the last day he was on this Earth.
Yesterday morning, it was reported that Johnny Hardwick, comedian, writer and actor most famous for playing Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, passed away in his Texas home at 64  or so they want you to think.

In all animated sitcom history, few characters are as synonymous with the bunker-building, tinfoil hat-wearing, pocket-sand throwing community of conspiracy theorists than Hank Hill's endlessly argumentative yet touchingly tender neighbor. Dale didnt trust any government or media entity further than he could throw sand into their eyes, but he trusted and loved his friends and family deeply  and no one loved Dale more than the real-life skeptical exterminators and libertarian bounty hunters who saw themselves reflected on the lenses of his aviators.

In a post mournfully titled, We Lost a Compatriot, Reddits /r/conspiracy community eulogized Hardwick and his most famous character. When the government finally releases images of those aliens we know theyre hiding from us, we hope they look a little bit like Joseph.

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Pouring out some pocket sand tonight because we lost a real one, the top commenter proclaimed to the Venn diagram intersection of conspiracy enthusiasts and King of the Hill fans, which looks suspiciously like a circle. RIP Mr. Shackleford, another soon added.

The original poster explained his grief in his submission statement, writing, Dale may have been a parody, but he was our representation in popular media. Lets take a moment and reflect on how Dale opened a younger generations eyes to conspiracy. However, someone who definitely isnt a CIA plant cracked, Unironically identifying with Dale Gribble is so f-ing funny man, lmao.

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Many users echoed OPs sentiment that the character was their entryway into the world of chemtrails and NASA cover-ups, with one noting, Ive had so many awesome memories of this show. Dale made me the conspiracy nut I am today.

Decent and well-crafted humor is indicative of truth, and its this strange relationship that we all instinctively understand.  Perhaps if this world wisens up, we could all laugh together just how ridiculous these globalists, cabalists, whatever title they are referred to, was all just a giant glaring joke of a stain on humanity, one particularly loquacious skeptic said of Dales (and Hardwicks) impact on the world. RIP, thank you for nurturing critical thinking people through humor, in a world desperate to oppress or ignore that very inquisitiveness.

One user was confused at the communitys conflation of Hardwick to the character he developed and played, asking, He was a voice actor. What do we know about his true opinions? To which another replied, Ya we get it. But hes the actor who gave us a voice.

Another succinctly summarized, Global warming is a hoax.
Ask anyone in Britain to name a famous shopping street and the chances are they will come up with this one. But for how much longer?

Oxford Street is to retail what Threadneedle Street is to banking, or Harley Street to Medicine. Yet it has seldom looked less alluring than it does now.

Last week, the Mail revealed how, by night, it has become a dormitory for rough sleepers with rows of mattresses and cardboard boxes now clustered in doorways each evening.

And on Wednesday this week, police wielding batons clashed with dozens of youths after chaos erupted when a social media-fuelled campaign to 'rob JD Sports' and shoplift went viral.

As for those heading here actually to buy something, your shopping options are not what they were.

You still have plenty of choice when it comes to shoe shops; I count 21 of those.

Robert Hardman outside House of Candy, one of a number of American sweet shops taking over Oxford Street

Shop units have become makeshift dormitories for the homeless at night, with shopping trolleys, cardboard boxes and umbrellas used to create sleeping quarters

A shop unit next to Bond Street station is in an unkempt state, boarded up and covered in sprawling graffiti

Mighty Selfridges is still there, if you want the big department store experience. Ditto John Lewis.

But a plaster for your sore, blistered feet? I count just four pharmacies along the entire 1.2-mile stretch.

As for a restorative pint, it can be a long search. Of the 237 retail units on Oxford Street, just one of them is still a pub.

Never mind. Because what people really want these days is none of the above.

What the world is crying out for, apparently, is a packet of overpriced American sweets, a flavoured vape, a wheelie suitcase and a Big Ben fridge magnet.

That, at any rate, is the impression you get if you take a stroll up Oxford Street today  at the height of the tourist season.

For the grand old West End boulevard has at least 26 shops known as 'candy stores' (it is hard to keep count as some of these shops pop up and then disappear faster than a shop assistant when I ask them to point me towards the manager).

Otherwise known as souvenir stores, these are all those shops selling tat and tooth rot. Customers will also struggle to find a price tag.

Oxford Street in 1940. Bombing raids in London did not deter shoppers from venturing out - and department store John Lewis reopened just three weeks after the German Air Force razed the greater part of the store to the ground

Marauding youths raided Oxford Street on Wednesday after a social media-fuelled campaign urging them to 'rob JD Sports' and shoplift went viral

Nine people were arrested following disorder on Oxford Street on Wednesday

'Candy' stores hope that the distracted tourist will simply wave a contactless card at the till before they notice that the pack of Starburst has just set them back 6.99.

At least these visitors will not be short of places to change money. Another curious Oxford Street development is the proliferation of money exchanges.

At a time when we are constantly told that cash is over, there are a baffling number of currency shops here. Every candy store seems to have one inside.

I count an additional 13 stand-alone operations, too. Assuming, of course, that no funny money is changing hands, what do they do all day?

Meanwhile, those retailers selling actual goods are also being deprived of very significant turnover thanks to the Government's pig-headed refusal to drop the 'tourist tax'.

As the Mail has long been arguing, the Treasury's decision to end VAT-free shopping for overseas tourists is costing the British economy billions.

In simple terms, a tourist thinking of buying a 10,000 watch like the one I am looking at in a shop window here in Oxford Street could hop on a train to Paris, buy it there and save thousands of pounds (including the train fare).

Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, which runs this area, despairs: 'Oxford Street and the West End are a major attraction for overseas visitors, and by not offering VAT-free shopping, we are effectively signposting them to go and spend their money in other parts of the world.'

Thanking the Mail for its 'welcome and powerful support' to ban the tourist tax, he is adamant that reintroducing tax-free shopping would add thousands of jobs and billions of pounds to the economy.

Here in the heart of what used to be the most prized postcode in the land  W1  it all leaves you with the impression of a tired old British institution finally expiring in a cloud of vape fumes.

For out of all the shops on Oxford Street, spanning four London Underground stations from Marble Arch to the west up to Tottenham Court Road to the east, what is the No 1 shop category?

It is shops selling nothing at all because they are empty  43 of them in total. Two of the biggest names of yesteryear, Debenhams and House of Fraser, are now building sites.

The situation has got so bad that top retailers have started to speak openly.

Topshop is another casualty of Oxford Street's continuing decline

Some shops on Oxford Street temporarily closed on August 9 as social media users threatened to raid stores as part of a 'flashmob'

'Oxford Street is a problem,' said Brian Duffy, chief executive of Watches of Switzerland, last month. 'I would almost describe it as a bit of a national embarrassment.'

Earlier this week, Sacha Berendji, operations director at Marks & Spencer bemoaned that while the area had once been 'the jewel in London's shopping crown' it now consisted of 'empty shops' and streets lined with rubbish.

This followed equally harsh words from the company's chief executive, Stuart Machin, who warned of 'a proliferation of tacky candy stores, antisocial behaviour and footfall in the doldrums'.

A classic example is Candy World, on the site of the old HMV megastore near Bond Street Tube station.

It is piled high with racks of sweets, including those American brands, plus the mandatory vape displays and phone cables.

I have to get an assistant to scan a KitKat before he can tell me that it costs 2.99. A tube of Pringles is 6.99. A small pack of M&M's is a fiver.

This seems extortionate. So I go in search of the boss. Nervous staff, some with sketchy English, either 'don't know' who their manager is or else point to the chap at the till.

'He not here,' says the cashier. When is he due? 'Tomorrow. Maybe.' What's his name? 'Er, George.'

They might as well rename this Loophole Street. For these 'candy stores'  only a couple use the British vernacular and talk about 'sweets'  continue to highlight the absurdities in the law.

Some of them refuse to pay business rates yet, when the council goes after them, the directors turn out to have vanished into the ether.

Oxford Street is packed with 'candy' stores that sell overpriced chocolate, sweets and crisps

Souvenir shops selling wheelie suitcases and fridge magnets are also dominant

American candy, souvenir and vape shops have proliferated in Oxford Street following the Covid pandemic as established brands collapse or move out

At the same time, trading standards officers from Westminster City Council continue to raid these places for counterfeit or dangerous goods.

One 'candy store' was recently caught with 22,000 of fake Wonka chocolate, while another was flogging vapes with excessive levels of nicotine.

The council sends me photographs of sackloads of confiscated junk. Fake designer sunglasses and untested phone chargers.

Even after a couple of recent raids, where the authorities took away 145,000 of stock, the same shops were back in action the next day under new but equally nebulous management.

'We badly need a reform of the law. How can it possibly be easier to register a new company at Companies House than it is to get one of our library cards?' asks Councillor Geoff Barraclough, the cabinet member for planning and environment on Westminster City Council.

It is currently owed at least 8 million in unpaid business rates. 'Time and again we find that the directors are fictitious and we can't trace the beneficial owner,' he explains.

We stop outside one jumbo candy store which illustrates the problem.

The freehold belongs to the City of London but the head lease is owned by a property company in Hong Kong registered in the name of a Hong Kong law firm which declines to return calls.

Rough sleepers are an increasingly common sight on what was once the most desirable shopping street in Britain

Cardboard mattresses and rumpled duvets dominate the street at night - highlighting the shocking homelessness crisis that has seen the number of newly homeless people in London rise by 12 per cent

The problem stems from the pandemic. While retailers and hospitality venues could claim relief from business rates, a landlord of an empty shop could not.

So when some fly-by-night candy store company run by a Mr Mickey M. Mouse of Kowloon turned up, offering no rent but agreeing to pay the business rates  which can be a six-figure sum  struggling landlords were delighted.

When these shops refuse to pay business rates, liability falls on the elusive tenant, not on the landlord.

However, the council is not sitting idly by. It has written to all the landlords of the errant candy stores asking them to engage.

In May of this year, those that did not reply were 'named and shamed'. Those that did respond have helped to kickstart a new scheme called 'Meanwhile On' aimed at bringing new blood to the street to replace the dross.

Over the next three years, up to 35 up-and-coming brands can have a shop for six months, rent-free, plus a 70 per cent reduction on their business rates.

Firms have until the end of this month to apply (candy stores, I can safely say, need not bother).

'We have tried to appeal to people's better nature and it is working,' says Mr Barraclough.

He points to Candy World. Later this year, it will be turfed out and the landlord will be restoring the former tenant, HMV.

Oxford Street has lost iconic shops that have given way to American candy stores, vape kiosks and more than 40 empty units

Robert Hardman outside House of Candy on Oxford Street. Soon, the American sweet shop will be turfed out - and replaced with former tenant HMV

The HMV store was once an Oxford Street landmark - but disappeared in 2019 when the firm sank into administration

Herein lies one of the ways in which Oxford Street sees its salvation. For it is not all doom and gloom round here.

London's West End shopping footfall is driven by three principal thoroughfares: Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street.

The other two are doing a roaring trade, although that was not always the case.

In years gone by, Regent Street was full of dusty airline offices. Bond Street felt neglected.

Both have since been spruced up with an emphasis on pedestrians rather than traffic. Big-name brands have come flocking and footfall has rocketed.

The New West End Company (NWEC), which represents traders on all three, is adamant that Oxford Street will do the same. It is just going to take time.

'Oxford Street is going through a reinvention. It really is on the cusp of a new dawn,' says NWEC's Sarah Jaconelli. 'In five years' time, it is going to look entirely different.'

She accepts the 'candy stores' are an eyesore. But, while they amount to more than ten per cent of the shops, she points out that they actually only account for one per cent of Oxford Street floor space.

The steel skeletons of what were once Debenhams and House of Fraser will soon be rebuilt, both as retail and office space. For, despite the working-from-home culture in many workplaces, the West End is seeing a counter-effect. Many big businesses are downsizing from large office blocks elsewhere and looking for smaller premises in areas where staff will feel more inclined to return to a desk.

Pharmaceutical giant GSK, for example, is about to switch from a big block out in suburban Brentford to a 'hybrid' (ie. smaller) HQ above Oxford Street.

On the corner of Oxford Circus stands the former flagship of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire. It used to be a giant TopShop. Now it is being hollowed out to become a new Ikea.

Just over the road is the revamped Microsoft showroom. This, we are told, is the shape of things to come, not more sweets.

Back on the beat with Councillor Barraclough, he explains that more and more buildings are starting to open roof terraces.

Not so long ago, every architect would stick a car park in the basement and all the plant and machinery on the roof.

Now that driving in Central London is so hellish and no one parks here any more, they stick the plant in the basement and a bar on the roof.

So Oxford Street is not dead yet. If all goes to plan, then, a few years from now, we could be looking at a slicker, rejuvenated retail hub pumping billions back into the economy.

Indeed, it could be billions more, if only the Government would listen to the Mail's Scrap The Tourist Tax campaign.

For now, though, Oxford Street looks shabby and underwhelming. It may have sweets galore but they leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
It's hard to know exactly what the late Queen Mother would have made of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

The Queen Mother certainly had sense of drama and occasion. The two women also, as it happens, shared a birthday, August 4, albeit 81 years apart.

Yet there the similarities seem to end.

The Queen Mother was rather a stickler for doing things by the rules, after all. And she had no wish to shake up the Monarchy. Quite the opposite.

Meanwhile, her view of an earlier American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, had been far from favourable...

When it comes to engagement rings, however, the Queen Mother and Meghan actually do have something very much in common: their original rings, presented by their future husbands, were 'improved' upon.

Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 with a ring made up of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds

The Duchess was spotted wearing a different band less than two years later in the summer of 2019

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married into the royal family in April 1923 at Westminster Abbey. Her engagement ring featured a large Kashmir sapphire

The Queen Mother decided to swapped her sapphire engagement ring for one featuring a single large pearl surrounded by a halo of diamonds

Prince Harry had proposed to Meghan in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds.

Harry told the BBC at the time, 'The ring is obviously yellow gold because that's Meghan's favourite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother's jewellery collection, to make sure that she's with us on this crazy journey together.'

But less than two years later, in the summer of 2019, royal watchers had noticed that the original ring had been modified.

According to the authors of Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Harry upgraded Meghan's engagement ring to match the eternity band he gave as a present for their first wedding anniversary.

Jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed the ring appeared to have been changed, and suggested it was more American in style compared to the version of the ring that Harry gave her.

How the ring came to be altered remains unclear, although the authors of Finding Freedom, a favourable biography of Harry and Meghan published in 2020, suggest that the ring was altered at Harry's behest.

Arabel, owner of ethical jewellery brand Arabel Lebrusan, said: 'She now has little diamonds set down the sides of her engagement ring and the band also seems thinner than before.

'Many celebrities do this, as the central stone looks bigger in comparison getting the wow factor.'

Prince Harry with Meghan Markle after announcing their engagement in Kensington Palace in November 2017

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (then Prince Albert, the Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth-Bowes Lyon) pictured together around the time of their engagement in January 1923

The Queen Mother was born on the same day as Meghan Markle 81 years earlier in 1900. This year would have marked her 123rd birthday

'The diamond setting on the band looks like micro-set, this means there is very little metal in between the stones maximising the sparkle of the tiny diamonds.'

'It does suit her style perfectly, and it fits her dainty fingers as well.'

Meghan turned 42 earlier this month.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex - who typically celebrate their birthdays out of the public eye - were seen in good spirits, smiling and laughing, as they were pictured leaving the trendy Italian restaurant Tre Lune.

Almost a century before that, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon accepted a proposal from Prince Albert, Duke of York, in 1923, having turned him down on two previous occasions.

The Queen Mother was presented with a Kashmir sapphire ring - featuring one of the rarest and most valuable sapphires due to its striking colour.

However, she did not wear this piece for long and she eventually swapped it for a singular large pearl surrounded by a halo of diamonds.

Joanna Wyganowska, Design Expert & Gemmologist at Queensmith, told The Express: 'The Queen Mother was first given a rare sapphire engagement ring with diamond detailing, but by the 1940s had chosen an alternative ring that was a little more "her".

'Originally refusing to marry Prince Albert in fear of losing her freedom, the switch from a typically very regal stone, a sapphire, to an unexpected pearl is very indicative of the Queen Mother and who she was.'

The Queen Mother passed away peacefully in her sleep at home at Royal Lodge in Windsor aged 101 in March 2002.
As global marketing campaigns go, getting Kim Kardashian to trigger a TikTok tidal wave of hype is probably about as good as it gets.

Australian teeth whitening brand HiSmile, dubbed 'purple shampoo for teeth', posted a video to its own TikTok page featuring the US reality star earlier this year.

The clip was seen by 21.6million people, with Kardashian telling followers she was 'obsessed' with the brand's V34 foam product, which HiSmile says 'neutralises yellow tones on the tooth surface'.

The star was reportedly paid up to 500,000 ($640,000) for a single sponsored Instagram post.

The teeth whitening company, based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, has since seen its products - including fruity pastes, powders, serums and strips - fly off the shelves in UK branches of Boots and Superdrug, as well as online via Amazon and its own website.

TikToker @newhorizontwins revealed he couldn't see any difference after trying the toothpaste. While HiSmile has invested heavily into marketing - securing a collaboration with Kim Kardashian - the company has faced criticism over the product's effectiveness, and hundreds of complaints about delivery delays

@newhorizontwins replicated the front tooth dab seen in the glossy ads for HiSmile, which have seen the toothpaste, powders and strips go viral, but didn't get the same results, he says

A 30ml pot of the V34 pot promoted by Kardashian will currently set you back 19 at Boots or 15.20 on the HiSmile website - plus 4.99 delivery.

How does it claim to work? The brand's signature V34 toothpaste contains the active ingredient, Phthalimido Peroxy Caproic Acid (PAP) which, when oxidised, helps to break down stains and lighten tooth appearance.

The peroxide works by releasing molecules, known as free radicals, converting the colour of stained dental enamel to clear.

There are thousands of positive reviews about the product - including on both the Boots website and review website Trustpilot - and celebrities including Rita Ora, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Millie Bobby Brown and Lily Allen have all sung its praises.

In a video promoted on HiSmile's own TikTok page, seen by 21.6million people, Kim Kardashian said she was 'obsessed' with the V34 foam product. Other celebrities who have been pictured with the product or have recommended it on social media also include Rita Ora, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Millie Bobby Brown and Lily Allen.

However, in recent months, there seems to be a growing band of negativity around HiSmile, focused on both the product's effectiveness and customers reporting delivery delays.

The social media platforms that originally made the product so popular are now off-setting at least some of that heavy marketing investment it seems - with TikTok dentists and product reviewers offering a less positive spin on the best-selling purple serum and HiSmile's other products.

One half of TikToker @newhorizontwins revealed he couldn't see any difference after trying the toothpaste. The social media star, who has 1.8 million followers on the account he shares with his twin brother, replicated the front tooth dab seen in the glossy ads for HiSmile but didn't get the same results, he says.

He told followers that while he would give the paste the benefit of the doubt, the glowing white tooth seen in the ads hadn't materialised for him.

The Australian teeth whitening brand, HiSmile, claims their V34 foam can 'colour correct' teeth in the same way purple shampoo helps tone down brassy hair tones. Now stocked in Boots, the product also 'neutralises yellow tones on the tooth surface', the company adds. But it also offers a separate range of flavoured toothpastes from 6 in watermelon, mango sorbet and peach iced tea flavours

The British Dental Association said effective teeth whitening is best sought out in a dental practice and not with over-the-counter products

HOW DOES HISMILE'S BEST-SELLING V34 PRODUCT WORK? The brand's signature V34 toothpaste contains the active ingredient, Phthalimido Peroxy Caproic Acid (PAP) which, when oxidised, helps to break down stains and lighten tooth appearance. The peroxide works by releasing molecules, known as free radicals, converting the colour of stained dental enamel to clear. Advertisement

One British user posting on TrustPilot last move offered just one-star, saying: 'Please please please dont waste your money on these products! I bought a whitening toothpaste done absolutely nothing.'

Another Brit posted on the review site, saying: 'I was taken in by all the great reviews paid my money when arrived couldnt wait to try it then absolutely no difference tried for two weeks to give it a good try but still no difference please do not waste your money.'

And another this week focused on an apparently shoddy delivery service, saying: 'Companies can face difficulties when scaling up. But this is just ridiculous. Don't expect any sort of support from their side concerning your order, or any other enquiries.'

MailOnline spoke to the British Dental Association about whitening products in general.

The BDA has long campaigned for tooth whitening to remain 'the practice of dentistry to ensure patients are protected'.

The organisation said: 'Dangerous levels of hydrogen peroxide are the equivalent of brushing with bleach and can put oral health at risk.

'Trading standards attempts to regulate the flow of these products onto our shelves, but it is a mammoth task and some online products being sold in the UK have been found to contain dangerous chemicals, which are toxic or banned, that can severely burn your gums and damage your teeth.'

British Dental Association chair Eddie Crouch told MailOnline: 'At best people will just waste money buying over the counter and online products to get whiter teeth.

'At worst you can end up on the receiving end of toxic or banned chemicals, that can damage your teeth and severely burn your gums. For safe and effective whitening visit your dentist.'

MailOnline has contacted HiSmile for comment.
Social media users shared photographs of disasters they have had at workplaces

Most people have experienced a bad day at work - but not all have looked quite as bad as those in the gallery below.

These incidents, posted on Reddit and compiled by DeMilked.com, include some very unfortunate accidents, such as a woman who got her hair caught in a shredder.

Another woman, from the US, ended up covered head to toe in yellow paint, while one retail worker ended up having to clean dozens of bottles of oil from the floor.

In another unfortunate accident, a construction worker ended up with a thick nail embedded in the middle of her neck.

Here, FEMAIL rounds up the best of the workplace fails...

One woman got her hair caught in a shredder while at work - and had an unexpected haircut

This lorry driver, from the UK, misjudged the size of his vehicle while attempting to drive under a low bridge

This woman, from the US, had a particularly bad day at work, and ended up covered head to toe in yellow paint

This retail worker was left with a huge puddle of oil to clean up after a disaster on an aisle

This user shared an image of firefighters she claimed were responding to her sister's attempt to make microwave popcorn at work

This person sat down at his desk one morning to find a bat was nesting in his headphone

This poor woman ended up with a screw embedded in her neck after a disaster at work

This person said their printer toner exploded while they were changing it - and you can see exactly where they had been stood

Another disaster on an alcohol aisle of a supermarket, with quite the clean-up to come

This person joined a Zoom call remotely - and opened the video function rather than audio

The caption of this photograph read: 'So I started working as a beekeeper last week'
Buckingham Palace should go further than taking away Prince Harry's HRH title and remove him from the line of succession altogether, an expert told Palace Confidential.

The Daily Mail's diary editor Richard Eden told this week's programme that Buckingham Palace's decision to quietly cut Prince Harry's HRH title from his website profile page last week as a 'petty' and 'trivial' move.

'They should be going much further,' he told the programme. 'What actually matters is that he's still in the line of succession. God forbid if something was to happen to the Royal Family, he would become our king.

'That should end, he should be removed from the line of succession and he is still one of those counsellors of state that can stand in for the king why not remove him?'

He added: 'It's ridiculous to be doing petty things to the website  deal with the big things and make the big changes that matter.'

Speaking on this week's Palace Confidential, the Daily Mail's diary editor Richard Eden (pictured) said Prince Harry should be removed from the line of succession

Richard Eden described changes to the royal website as 'petty', suggesting that The Firm should 'deal with the big things and make the big changes that matter' when it comes to Prince Harry (pictured in Tokyo this week)

Assistant editor of the Mail on Sunday, Kate Mansey, said the changes made on the Palace's website were a sign that 'slowly but surely, [Harry and Meghan] aren't going to be allowed back in'.

Discussing the potential reaction of the Sussexes across the pond in Montecito, Kate said the pair 'surely' could not be surprised by the changes, and that they are not supposed to use the HRH titles in any case.

She added: 'Harry has made quite a lot of reference to the fact that he still remains in line to the throne, so...some of that might upset him, being bumped down.'

News also broke this week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be producing a screen version of Carley Fortune's novel The Meet Me At The Lake as part of their 80m deal with Netflix. The streaming giant bought the rights to the book for 3million.

Kate Mansey sounded a warning that the Sussexes might not have many chances left to become the Hollywood players they'd hope to be.

'It does feel like last chance saloon for that Netflix deal,' she said.

'They've lost the Spotify deal and there are question marks over what their future is as media operators within Hollywood.

The royal experts tackled a number of topics during the latest episode of Palace Confidential (pictured L-R: Richard Eden, Kate Mansey, Jo Elvin)

During the episode, Richard Eden and the Mail on Sunday's assistant editor Kate Mansey (pictured, right) also discussed news that the Sussexes are set to produce a screen version of the novel Meet Me by the Lake by Carley Fortune'

'I think everyone will be watching this and there'll be a lot at stake with this project.'

Eden added that while initial reports had suggested that the couple themselves had bought the rights to the novel, but it has since emerged that Netflix was involved in the deal and gave the project to the Sussexes.

He added: 'So if things don't work out with Archewell, they can perfectly well take it back and give it to someone else, it's no skin off Netflix's nose.'

Continuing to speak about the Sussexes deal with the streaming giant, Richard said: 'We've already had one project that was announced with great fanfare - Meghan's animated series Pearl...but it never happened. It was quietly ditched.

'And I think Netflix had got this difficult game with Harry and Megan where, what they want is the personal stuff...where they're trashing the Royal Family...That's what Netflix really want.'
The whole world has gone wild for the Barbie movie.

And it seems the Spanish royal family is no exception.

Queen Letizia, 50, joined her husband King Felipe, 55, and daughters Leonor, 17, and Sofia, 16, to head to the Margot Robbie film while on holiday in Palma de Mallorca with mother-in-law Queen Sofia, 84.

Heir Leonor dressed very appropriately for the film, opting for a silk Barbie pink dress with espadrilles and a white bag.

Meanwhile, sister Sofia matched her sister in wedges and a floral dress, opting for a white patterned number.

Letizia, who is often named one of the most stylish royals in the world, proved she can rock casual cool as she stunned in blue silk trousers, a white silk shirt and sandal flats.

Queen Letizia, 50, joined her husband King Felipe, 55, and daughters Leonor, 17, and Sofia, 16, to head to the Margot Robbie film while on holiday in Palma de Mallorca with mother-in-law Queen Sofia, 84.

Heir Leonor (right) dressed very appropriately for the film, opting for a silk Barbie pink dress with espadrilles and a white bag

Letizia, who is often named one of the most stylish royals in the world, proved she can rock casual cool as she stunned in blue silk trousers, a white silk shirt and sandal flats

The mother-of-two kept her raven tresses down and showed off her summer glow, looking effortlessly glamorous.

Meanwhile, Felipe also strayed from his usual formal attire pairing a pair of jeans with black dad trainers and a blue shirt.

Joining them was Queen Sofia, Felipe's mother, who showed off the perfect summery look in a blue patterned dress and wicker bag.

The family are on a summer break in Mallorca, taking a break for royal duties for the summer.

Infanta Sofia and her older sister, Princess Leonor, have been stepping into the limelight in recent years as they prepare to enter adulthood on the world stage.

The mother-of-two kept her raven tresses down and showed off her summer glow, looking effortlessly glamorous

Meanwhile, Felipe also strayed from his usual formal attire pairing a pair of jeans with black dad trainers and a blue shirt

Meanwhile, sister Sofia matched her sister in wedges and a floral dress, opting for a white patterned number

Joining them was Queen Sofia, Felipe's mother, who showed off the perfect summery look in a blue patterned dress and wicker bag

The family are on a summer break in Mallorca, taking a break for royal duties for the summer

Infanta Sofia and her older sister, Princess Leonor, have been stepping into the limelight in recent years as they prepare to enter adulthood on the world stage

Leonor, who just graduated from UWC Atlantic College in Wales, known as 'Hippy Hogwarts', prepares to start her military training in August.

Whereas many of her peers will go off to university, the eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia will return to Spain to begin training.

Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles confirmed Princess Leonor of Asturias's next move earlier this year to society bible Tatler.

The training will include stints in the armed forces, the Spanish navy and the air force.

Speaking in March, Ms Robles confirmed: 'In due course, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces will be a woman, and in recent years we have been making a very important effort to incorporate women into the armed forces.'

Leonor, who just graduated from UWC Atlantic College in Wales, known as 'Hippy Hogwarts', prepares to start her military training in August

The Princess (right) will begin her training at Army Military Academy in Zaragoza before going to naval school, and will complete her three years at the General Air Academy

After graduating from high school at Lakefield College in Canada, Felipe returned to Spain and attended the General Military Academy of Zaragozo, and went on to study at the Naval Military School in Marin.

The Princess will begin her training at Army Military Academy in Zaragoza before going to naval school, and will complete her three years at the General Air Academy.

In September last year the Spanish palace announced that Princess Leonor will go to university to study law once her three years of military training have been completed.

While Leonor's choice of university is unknown, the Princess's academic background already bears a resemblance to that of her father King Felipe.

After graduating from high school at Lakefield College in Canada, Felipe returned to Spain and attended the General Military Academy of Zaragozo, and went on to study at the Naval Military School in Marin.

He ended his training with a stint at the General Air Academy in San Javier.

His also completed his military training with a stint on the shop Juan Sebastian Elcano aged 18 in 1987, and went on to study law at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
A US man boarded a flight with something that did not meet the dimension specifications for hand luggage - his giant Great Dane.

Gabriel Bogner, 27, left both passengers and crew speechless after filling out three seats with his colossal canine while taking a cross-country flight on from Los Angeles, California, to New York City.

Darwin the Great Dane required two entire seats to sprawl comfortably on while her owner took the third for himself.

Gabriel, a start-up founder, was moving from LAX to New York's La Guardia and said this was Darwin's first time flying.

He explained that his enormous pooch, who is five years old, is his support dog and needs to be with him at all times.

Darwin the Great Dane - who was flying for the first time - required two entire seats to sprawl comfortably on while her owner had one for himself (Photo: SWNS)

Gabriel suffers with Crohns disease, which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that leaves him in pain and uses up much of his time - which is where Darwin comes in to make life easier.

A Tiktok video uploaded by Gabriel of the pup's airborne adventure has blown up online - receiving over 17.9 million views, 2.9 million likes and over 12,000 comments.

The man - known as @gibbon1215 on the social site - had thousands of users gushing over his adorable pooch and many more leaving positive words of support and awe.

Footage shows Darwin boarding the flight, saying hello to people in the front rows - and even taking a look in the cockpit to greet the pilots.

The pooch then sits calmly in her seats, curiously looking around before settling down for a much-needed nap.

When Darwin wakes up, her owner films her sitting up peacefully as if the delightful dog had been flying for years, before exiting the plane in an orderly fashion like any other passenger with two legs.

Gabriel said: 'People were absolutely gob-smacked and shocked but everyone was so excited to see her. I've never seen so many smiling at an airport.'

Speaking of Darwin's first experience in an airport and onboard a plane, Gabriel explained: 'This was rare, [it was] her first time flying.

The pooch sat calmly in her seats, settling down for a much-needed nap before waking up to sit and relax for the rest of the journey - as if she had been flying for years (Photo: SWNS)

'There were no issues, she was great and the entire crew was amazing - they did joke that she got an upgrade and I didn't but it was a very smooth trip.'

When Gabriel inquired about transporting his precious Darwin in a crate under the plane, he was stunned to learn that she was too big for even the largest of crates.

He joked: 'It was definitely a shocker for people walking through the airport to see a literal horse coming towards them.'

Explaining his Crohn's and Darwin's support to people on TikTok, Gabriel said: 'Crohns disease involves a lot of time and a lot of pain and a lot of time in the bathroom, Bogner explained on TikTok.

'I took it upon myself to train her in some of these tasks like accompanying me to the bathroom, of which at one point in my life I was going 40 times a day.'

Gabriel could not believe the positive reception Darwin received while flying, saying: 'Everyone was so excited to see her. I've never seen so many smiling at an airport'

An overwhelming amount of supporters on Tiktok expressed playful envy under the video that their own plane journeys did not feature such an adorable dog

An overwhelming amount of supporters on Tiktok expressed playful envy that their own plane journeys did not feature such an adorable dog.

One person joked: 'Instantly demanding a refund for my recent flight, which unreasonably lacked a Great Dane.'

Another wrote: 'I don't understand how someone could hate a dog on a plane. I mean come on, ITS A DANE ON A PLANE.'

A third said: 'Why can't my seat ever be next to a Great Dane.'

People may have been shocked to see such a huge canine like Darwin on their flight, but some have been left baffled after reporting seeing some unlikely species accompanying their owners while on a plane.

A bizarre gallery uploaded to Bored Panda in 2019 has documented the strangest support animals that have been spotted taking to the skies across America - including pigs, miniature horses, peacocks, hens and even a kangaroo.
The Princess of Wales' new RAF role is a sweet nod to her late grandfather Peter Middleton - who once flew with Prince Philip.

Last night, King Charles, 74, announced that he had reshuffled some of the Royal Family's military appointments.

While Prince William is set to take over Prince Harry's old Army unit, the Princess of Wales has been granted three new roles.

The mother-of-three, 41, has been appointed the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Dragoon Guards and the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Coningsby.

This title was previously held by her husband, who had performed the role at the Lincolnshire base for 15 years from 2008.

The Princess of Wales (pictured at the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final) has been granted three new military roles by King Charles

The Princess' new titles will be extra poignant for the royal as she has family connections to the RAF beyond Prince William.

Kate's paternal grandfather Peter Middleton served as a fighter pilot during the Second World War.

In October 1966, the Princess' grandfather flew from South America to London Heathrow with Prince Philip on board.

After touching down at the airport, the late Duke of Edinburgh - who was 45 at the time - posed for a photo with Heathrow's manager Mr C. D. Waldron.

As the two men shook hands outside the plane, Peter Middleton - who was still dressed in his pilot uniform - is seen smiling at Prince Philip in the background.

What's more, it seems the two men, whose grandchildren married in 2011, were fairly well acquainted - as Peter Middleton even co-piloted a few of the Duke's flights during his South America tour.

In 1962, Prince Philip went on a two-month tour of South America, where he visited British factories, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca.

He insisted on flying himself to many of his locations, and undertook 49 of 62 flights himself, with Peter as co-pilot.

Pictured: Prince Philip shakes hands with Heathrow manager Mr. C.D. Waldron in October 1966 as Peter Middleton (seen in a pilot uniform) smiles in their direction

The Princess of Wales pictured with the late Prince Philip on the Buckingham Palace balcony in June 2017

Captain Peter Middleton died at the age of 90 just days before the Prince and Princess announced their engagement in 2010.

Peter received a letter of thanks from Prince Philip for his service on the tour, and a pair of gold cufflinks, according to his obituary.

Peter met his co-pilot's grandson, Prince William, on his 90th birthday - and William attended his funeral with Kate later that year.

Peter, whose son Michael is Kate's father, studied English at New College, Oxford before he served as a RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War.

He married Kate's grandmother, Valerie Glassborow in 1946. Valerie worked as a Government Code and Cypher School in Bletchley Park and died in 2006.

Kate Middleton's maternal grandparents Valerie Glassborow and Peter Middleton (centre) pictured on their wedding day in December 1946

Prince Philip - who passed away at the age of 99 in April 2021 - was always a keen flyer, but worked in the Navy for most of his military career.

Before he married the Queen, he quickly rose through the ranks of royal command and in 1942 he became one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be made First Lieutenant and second-in-command of a ship - HMS Wallace, aged just 21.

His active service stopped in 1951, but the following year he was appointed Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force.



Prince Andrew was stripped of the title of Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm in January 2022 - as he faced a civil sexual assault trial that he later paid millions to settle.

The reshuffle comes as the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death approaches, with King Charles expected to mark the occasion 'quietly and privately' at Balmoral, while William and Kate will reportedly lead the tributes to the late monarch.

Announcing the changes, the Ministry of Defence said William, who qualified as an RAF search and rescue pilot, was now Colonel-in-Chief of The Army Air Corps.

It means he will represent the Army's airborne wing, including his brother's former unit - 662 Squadron - with one royal commentator claiming Harry himself could have been in line for the role previously.
A millionaire restaurateur has revealed how poverty meant he once had to survive on just one bowl of soup a day - and his dreams of opening a restaurant were just that.

Huseyin Ozer, 74, now owns restaurants in swanky Mayfair and St Christopher's Place in Central London, and is gearing up to open his third - Sofra Balik and Sofra Steak - a fish and steakhouse in the capital.

The chef, who was born in a village in Tokat, northern Turkey, says he had a 'difficult childhood' and even lived through a poison attempt on his life by his step-mother, reports MyLondon.

In 1975 at the age 21, he embarked on a five-day bus journey to London to learn English in the hopes of fulfilling his dream of owning a restaurant back home.

During his time in the city, he slept rough in public toilets, eating 'one bowl of tripe soup and a small piece of bread every day' and worked long nights learning his craft.

Restauranteur Huseyin Ozer (pictured), 74, originally from Turkey, has opened up about his turbulent past of sleeping in public toilets and surviving on one bowl of soup a day, before finding success

He told the website: 'I had a difficult childhood, between being almost poisoned by my stepmother, sent by my mother to buy a gun to kill my father and then being completely disowned by my family, I knew this wasnt the life I wanted for myself'.

His parents separated when Huseyin was just a boy and he grew up feeling unwanted by his parents, and eventually was raised by his grandfather.

Unable to attend primary school in his early years, he taught himself to read and write, before shuttling to Istanbul in 1967 where he found work as a restaurant dishwasher.

Eight years later, he had saved up enough money to fund a bus ride to London, which would mark the start of new beginnings for the chef.

He scored a job working in a doner kebab shop in Mayfair, where he juggled night shifts with English classes during the day. His luck turned in 1981, when the budding chef secured a 7,500 loan from NatWest bank to purchase the doner shop from its original owners.

The executive chef is gearing up to open his third restaurant - Sofra Balik and Sofra Steak  a fish and steakhouse in central London (pictured: Sofra in Mayfair, London)

The fast-food joint earned a cult following, but over time customers grew tired of the menu and yearned for something new, he says.

Huseyin turned to the help of two nutritionists to revamp the menu to include grilled meats, fish and desserts inspired by Turkish cuisine.

Success quickly followed, prompting him to expand the chain to trendy St Christophers Place in the heart of the city's West End shopping district.

Huseyin says he had a 'difficult childhood' and even lived through a poison attack by his stepmother

He says he now recounts his past to inspire others, and adds that the drive behind his latest venture is simply to 'make people happy'.

The third addition to the chain, Sofra Balik and Sofra Steak, will be open to the public on 11-12 South Molton Street in a few weeks, following a green light by Westminster Council.

He added: 'I dont need money, I just want to make people happy. Given my past maybe I should want more for myself but I would rather give to others'.

And he intends on doing just that - by giving back to budding restaurateurs.

He says some proceeds from his new restaurant will go to various charities as well as to a culinary school he is building back in Turkey.
Love Island's Georgia Townend left Twitter users in hysterics this week with her 'legendary' dissertation acknowledgments.

The reality star - who appeared on the 2021 series of the hit ITV dating show - achieved a first-class BA in Food, Nutrition and Wellbeing from Harper Adams University in Newport in 2015.

Earlier this week, Georgia, 30, came across her 20,000 word dissertation on breastfeeding - and joked that she 'had to share' her humorous acknowledgements page.

Sharing it with her 130,000 Instagram followers, the star said: 'Going through all my uni bits and had to share.

'Three things in life are certain - death, taxes and nobody ever being able to write a better acknowledgements page than me.'

The reality star (pictured in October 2021) achieved a first-class BA in Food, Nutrition and Wellbeing from Harper Adams University in Newport in 2015

It read: 'If you thought the greatest debate of 2015 was whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold, you're wrong.

'The only thing that's golden is this exquisite piece of literature coined by the one and only Georgina Evangeline Yvonne Townend.

'19,915 words, 87 pages and 28,551 minutes of editing time later, this delightful piece of writing is Romeo done. Thankful for many reasons but mainly so I'll never have to answer "what is your dissertation about?"

'Yes, it is about breastfeeding and no sorry boys I don't have any pictures of t**s in my apprendices.'

'It's not easy crafting 20,000 of your finest words but can tell you what's worse? Looking down and realising you're 2,000 over the limit and that cutting out is actually more tedious than writing in the first place.'

Georgia joked: 'I would like to extend my greatest thanks to Group Study Room 3 for being my rent-free home for the past five months. Therasurus.com for making me sound 100 times more intelligent than I actually am, and my 367.9m fans on the Kim Kardashian Takes Hollywood Game, without whom none of this would have been possible.

'In true writers-block style, I Googled "dissertation quotes" to help me conclude this section and stumbled upon this gem: "the first draft of anything is s***."

'Thank you Ernest Hemingway, for filing me with great confidence in my writing abilities and given the file name of this doc is now "Dissy15_New_Final_2.7_FINAL_NEW_DONE_THEF***INGEND.docx", I think we're far enough away from version one of this to still be totally s***.'

Sharing it on Twitter and Instagram, Georgia wrote: 'Three things in life are certain - death, taxes and nobody ever being able to write a better acknowledgements page than me.'

Georgia's 'legendary' dissertation acknowledgements page left her 49,600 Twitter followers in hysterics

She then signed off by saying: 'P.S. If you find any errors in this dissy, as I am sure you probably will, please take it up with Annette Creedon my primary dissertation supervisor, as she really ought to have spotted them in one of the 9.876 drafts she read before I submitted. Much love x'

Last night, Georgia also shared her acknowledgements page with her 49,600 Twitter followers - leaving fans in hysterics.

One replied: 'I wouldn't have even read the dissertation - you get a first just for that.'

Another added: 'The most brilliant piece of writing Ive ever seen! Diss is haaaaaard man! Acknowledge the writer.'

Georgia pictured arriving at the villa in July 2021 with costars Tyler Cruickshank and Abigail Rawlings

The beauty only appeared on the ITV2 series for just two days. She was dumped from the villa after Hugo Hammond friend-zoned her

'Youre such a fantastic writer,' a third said. Meanwhile, a fourth said: 'Legendary this.'

Georgia was dumped from the villa in 2021 after after Hugo Hammond friend-zoned her after two days.

Her dumping was on the night Hugo shaded Toby Aromolaran for coupling up with Abbie Rawlings over Chloe Burrows, ending with the P.E. teacher airing his true feelings for Chloe.

Hugo was later dumped from the villa after a brief romance with Casa Amor bombshell Amy Day.
A man whose birth certificate illegally said his adoptive mother and father were actually his birth parents after he was left at a Catholic orphanage in Ireland has revealed how he finally found his real mother.

Retired telecoms worker Bernard McGrath, 70, was born in Ireland in 1953, to an unmarried woman. He had been taken by his adoptive parents as a baby from the nursery at Temple Hill.

His adoptive mother - who shockingly appears as Bernard's birth mother on his original birth certificate - had an aunt who was a nun and she arranged the adoption.

Appearing in a special episode of Long Lost Family on Monday night, Bernard recalls: She was brought into a room with three cots in it and she was saying which one would you like?'

It wasn't until the age of 40 that Bernard heard rumours that he was adopted and confronted his late mother, who finally told him the truth. But upon searching for his birth certificate through official channels in the hope of finding his birth parents, he tells FEMAIL he was shocked to discover it was 'fake'.

Retired telecoms worker Bernard McGrath (pictured with his birth mother), 70, was born in Ireland in 1953, to an unmarried woman. He had been taken by his adoptive parents as a baby from the nursery at Temple Hill

In the False Identities special episode of Long Lost Family, the team follows Bernard as he recalls his difficult search for his actual birth mother and father.

He was born in Ireland to an unmarried mother at a time when having children outside of marriage was seen as sinful, and the Catholic Church went to great lengths to cover it up.

In the last five years, 151 illegal registrations - where no formal adoption order ever took place and instead the adoptive parents were named falsely and illegally on the register of births as the birth parents of the child - have been proven  including Bernards.

According to the programme, these are thought to be just the tip of the iceberg. It had been a criminal offence to enter false information into the register of birth since 1874, and yet the practice was relatively widespread during the 1950, 60s and 70s in Ireland.

Speaking to FEMAIL about his illegal birth certificate and discovering he was adopted, Bernard says: 'I didnt know anything about it. Its the only registration that was done for me.

'Before I heard I was adopted, I hadnt a clue. I didnt know anything about it. Then I went down to my mother and said "Ive heard I was adopted". She said "whered you hear that". I said "it doesnt matter, is it true?" And she said "yes". So I went from there.'

'It turns your whole world upside down,' admits the retired 70-year-old. 'Youre wondering who am I and where did I come from?

'Why was I adopted, why was I not told? All those mixed emotions. It was very upsetting, because your whole life is changed.'

His adoptive mother (pictured with his adoptive father) - who shockingly appears as Bernard's birth mother on his original birth certificate - had an aunt who was a nun and she arranged the adoption

Appearing in a special episode of Long Lost Family on Monday night, Bernard (pictured with his paternal brothers in September 2022) recalls: She was brought into a room with three cots in it and she was saying which one would you like?'

Bernard, who now lives near Hereford in England with his supportive second wife, Sally, grew up in the suburbs of north Dublin as an only child with his parents Dan and Margaret McGrath. They were quite remote, and his mother a disciplinarian.

But aged 40, Bernard discovered he was adopted. His adoptive mother didnt have any information about his birth parents at all so Bernard ordered his birth certificate to find their names.

But shockingly, Bernard read his adoptive parents names on the registration as though they were his birth parents.

Bernard recalled: 'As soon as it was confirmed, I went to the registration office and asked for my birth certificate, and as soon as I got it, I said to the girl who gave it to me, I said "this is a false document.

'"I was adopted, Ive just found out. Can you go and get my proper birth certificate."' But a manager told Bernard that while he was adopted, that was the only certificate they had for him.

To learn his true identity, Bernard approached the Irish Adoption Authority, but was redirected to St Patricks Guild, the agency run by the Sisters of Charity  the order of nuns whod arranged his adoption.

Bernard knocked on the door and a nun came out. At first there was a refusal to give Bernard any information. But after he revealed that his aunt had been a mother superior, they relented and told him his birth mothers name: Theresa Scully.

They wouldn't give him her address but offered to pass on a letter to her. He received his first letter back from her in October 1994.

It wasn't until the age of 40 that Bernard heard rumours that he was adopted and confronted his mother, who finally told him the truth. But upon searching for his birth certificate through official channels in the hope of finding his birth parents, he tells FEMAIL he was shocked to discover it was 'fake'. Pictured, Bernard's late paternal father

It read: 'Dear Bernard, I am so very, very sorry for this long delay to your letter. You have no idea of what I felt when I looked at the pictures, especially of the ones of you as a little boy  my baby that I never seen grow up through the years

It concluded: God bless you. And remember, I think of you every day. All my love Teresa.'

Bernard and his birth mother - who had moved to Philadelphia - then started corresponding via letters and phone numbers. She never told her husband but her two daughters knew.

Eventually, Bernard travelled to America to meet with his birth mother in person, recalling: 'We met in a shopping mall. I got there first and I was just looking at everybody coming in you know. All the women of a certain age is that her? Is that her?

'And eventually she walked in, and I knew straight away and she looked at me and knew straight away, then we had a big hug.'

Bernards birth mother sadly died in 2017, 22 years after they met. But before her passing, she told Bernard the name of his birth father.

Bernards mother believed his father Patrick Bowden was living in England.

Feeling he didnt have the means to find him, Bernard put his search on hold until some years later DNA testing seemed a possible avenue. Even then, he wasnt able to find a close relative.

Bernards breakthrough came in 2022. Following years of activism by adopted people, they were finally granted full access to their adoption files (thanks to the new Birth Information and Tracing Act).

In the False Identities special episode of Long Lost Family, the team follows Bernard (pictured with his paternal sister Mandy) as he recalls his difficult search for his actual birth mother and father

There was also help for those whose births had been registered illegally. Bernard was put in touch with a genetic genealogist, who very quickly identified Bernards birth father, Patrick Bowden.

The expert was able to let Bernard know that Patrick, a lorry driver, had died in 1972, but before that had married and had three daughters and three sons.

Bernard sent his sister Mandy, who grew up in Bradford in the UK, an email asking what she could tell him about her father, Patrick. She asked him why he wanted to know, to which he replied: 'I think he might be my father too.'

A surprised Mandy asked him when he was born and for a photograph, before responding: 'Yep, you're my half-brother, no doubt about it, you look just like [Patrick],' recalls Bernard.

DNA testing confirmed they were related and what's more, when Mandy learned from Bernard that his birth mothers name was Teresa Scully, she realised that his birth mother was her fathers one-time ballroom dancing partner, Terry Scully.

Mandy doesnt believe her father could have known about Bernard, revealing that when her own mother gave birth to her outside of wedlock, her father insisted on marrying her mother as soon as he discovered he had a daughter.

Bernard explains: '[Mandy's mother] became pregnant, she went back home to her parents or grandparents house and had the baby and the baby was Mandy, but she had family support.

'[My birth father] had gone to England to work and he came back to Dublin for a holiday I suppose and he was out with one of his friends [who said] "remember that girlfriend of yours, she had a baby".

'He got on the next train for where she lived, went into her parents or grandparents and said: "I'm marrying her, she has my daughter, so Im marrying her straight away" and they got married.

'So thats the type of person he was. He didnt shy away from his responsibilities... [he was a] gentleman.'

Bernard (pictured in his 40s) was born in Ireland to an unmarried mother at a time when having children outside of marriage was seen as sinful, and the Catholic Church went to great lengths to cover it up

Bernard admits that his birth mother never told him why she didn't tell his birth father about him, adding: 'We reckon that if he had have known, he would've married her, because of the type of person he was. He never knew.'

Last September, Bernard met his some of his siblings, who have welcomed him into the family with open arms.

'Before that we had been exchanging messages... They said: "no youre not a half-brother youre our brother and thats it. No doubt about it, none of this half stuff", so they accepted me straight away,' explains Bernard.

He adds: 'We get on very well now [and are] constantly messaging.' He also admits: 'Its like a big weight off your shoulder, you know who you are, you know who you came from, you know the type of people who are your siblings and its great.'

Bernard and his paternal siblings are all meeting up with one another once again at the end of this month.

Elsewhere, during Monday's episode, co-presenter Nicky Campbell also meets with one of the leading experts in Irish adoption law, Professor Conor OMahony, at University College Cork.

Professor Conor explains that an illegal birth registration occurred when a child was placed with parents other than its own parents to be raised by them as adoptive parents, but no formal adoption order took place.

Instead, the adoptive parents were named falsely and illegally on the register of births as the birth parents of the child, as if the child had been born to them.

In 20th century Ireland, women who became pregnant out of wedlock were often forced to give birth in now infamous mother and baby and homes.

Its not known how many were pressured into giving up their babies up for adoption, but nearly 60,000 children were born in institutions like these. The practice of falsely recording the identity of illegitimate children was shrouded in secrecy.

Only now is the full scale of it coming to light. Despite the illegality of the practice, at the time the state did not act to prevent it. In Ireland, over 180 institutions dealt with placing children. Its not known exactly how many babies were illegally registered.


An American woman who lives in Paris has sparked a furious transatlantic food debate after saying it is weird that French people butter their sandwiches.

Amanda Rollins is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Europe in 2017.

She has become a social media sensation in recent months by showcasing what it is really like to live in the City of Lights.

Most recently, the 33-year-old has caused quite the stir after questioning the use of butter on sandwiches - but what do you think?

Amanda Rollins has sparked a furious transatlantic food debate after saying it is weird that French people butter their sandwiches

In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 170,000 times, Amanda can be seen talking to camera as she prepares for a picnic

In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 170,000 times, Amanda can be seen talking to camera as she prepares for a picnic.

She begins: 'I'm making sandwiches for my boyfriend and I because we are going on a hike tomorrow.

'And as I'm doing this it occurred to me that French people do something very weird with sandwiches that I think you guys would find strange, so I wanted to share it with you.'

Holding up a knife to camera, the social media star, who has more than 726,000 followers, continues: 'This is butter. Obviously, I have an entire half a baguette and what they do, it's like a classic sandwich of ham, cheese and butter.

'Literally just slob it on. No mayonnaise. No mustard. Just butter.'

'I know you might be thinking it sounds gross but it's actually so good. Is it healthy? No, of course not.'

She giggles, before concluding: 'So that's what we eat over here. Butter sandwiches with ham and cheese. When you think about it, it's kind of crazy.

'But don't knock it until you've tried it.'

She giggled, before concluding: 'So that's what we eat over here. Butter sandwiches with ham and cheese - when you think about it, it's kind of crazy'

And other social media users were quick to flood to the comments to share their disbelief at the supposed revelation

And other social media users were quick to flood to the comments to share their disbelief at the supposed revelation.

One wrote: 'We, the rest of the world, eat this every day.'

Another asked: 'How on earth is that strange?'

And a third said: 'Genuinely baffles me that anyone can eat a sandwich without butter.'

But, despite the widespread uproar from viewers, Amanda doubled down on her claims when talking to Insider.

She said: 'I know for a fact we do not add cold butter to bread on normal sandwiches in the Northeast, South, or West Coast.

'Maybe because our go-to bread is sliced white bread and not a baguette, which can actually support butter.'

Amanda added that the majority of people in the US do not view butter as a condiment - but rather as a cooking ingredient and 'sometimes a toast lubricator.'
Fans online were quick to criticize the creative direction chosen for the cover

Vogue magazine fans have been left unimpressed with the newest cover shoot starring the original supermodels Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington.

The Nineties greats came together for a joint September issue cover for Vogue and the British Vogue, which initially delighted fashion lovers upon announcement on Friday.

However, many began to criticize the creative direction chosen for the covers - which saw the famous stars wearing dark colors against a silvery gray background.

Despite boasting the tag, 'The greatest of all time', numerous fans took to social media to lament over their lack of excitement regarding the image.

Original supermodels Cindy Crawford, 57, Linda Evangelista, 58, Naomi Campbell, 53, and Christy Turlington, 54, grace the cover of Vogue's September issue

One Twitter user wrote: 'Creatively they could have done ANYTHING, and all black standing in a corner with s**t lighting is what they came up with. is this a f**kn funeral.'

Another wrote: 'This shouldve been incredible, this cover should have us all gagged but somehow its flat and thats a real shame.'

'This latest Vogue US cover isnt giving the greatest of all time Im afraid,' one fan simply stated.

Another tweeted: 'Not you out here making Thee Supermodels look like Housewives on a September issue The disrespect is too much.'

'Definitely couldve done better on this cover,' another commented. 'Four of the greatest supermodels the world has ever know and this was the cover choice? WASTEFUL.'

One fan commented: 'Fabulous models who know how to serve, so this cover is a choice.'

Another added: 'That September vogue issue looks catastrophic sorry.'

'All these icons & you couldnt have come up with something a shoot that was little more interesting????' one Twitter user lamented.

Despite boasting the tag, 'The greatest of all time', numerous fans took to social media to lament over their lack of excitement from the image

'Its almost disrespectful with the legends being so blah', one frustrated wrote.

Another fan wrote: 'This cover does a disservice to their legacy omg. Just LAZY.'

Elsewhere, fans commented on Instagram: 'NOW THIS IS A COVER, love all these supermodels !!! but yall did not pose them well lol!'

'The posing is weird. Its like they all did their shoots individually and then photoshopped them together,' one fans claimed.

Allegations of photoshop use was also a complaint as some felt Cindy Crawford's famous face looked significantly different in the image.

One fan wrote: 'I didnt recognize Cindy Crawford here given the severe expression and lifeless hair. I honestly thought she was Julia Roberts after a bad accident.'

Many were quick to criticize the creative direction chosen for the cover, claiming the final result failed to wow

Another added: 'Wait .... THAT'S Cindy Crawford??? What did she do to herself? If you hadn't named her, I would have ZERO idea that was her.'

'What the f**k did they do to Cindy Crawford's face?' another asked.

Elsewhere, others shared their delight at having such iconic models getting the limelight for the September issue as one person tweeted: 'Finally Vogue decided to return to the iconic covers and stop fawning over the Kardashians. These are covers.'

Another added: 'With the return of 90s supermodels in this year's September issue as well as Karen Elson's grand Vogue cover comeback later this year, it made me realize that no matter how the Insta-girls took over the modeling industry a few years ago, these legends are still unrivaled.'

'The original supermodels showing the girls how its done for their Vogue issue,' one pleased fan wrote.

The cover shoot, taken by shutterbug Rafael Pavarotti, was done to promote the model group's upcoming Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models which will premiere on September 20.

The iconic models were part of the 'it' model crowd of the 80s and 90s; seen with other supermodels on the cover of Vogue in 1992

The women will be seen sharing their story in the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Supermodels

The four-part show focuses on the top models of the 1990s.

The series is directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, while it was executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howards Imagine Documentaries.

The Supermodels will take fans back to the 1980s at the start of their modelling careers and document how the four women came together from across the globe and collectively achieved a notoriety that transcended throughout the industry.

The four-part series will also examine the ladies work today, in not only the fashion industry, but activism, philanthropy and business, and how the quartet have blazed a path for the next generation.
A prepper has revealed how she saves $12,000 a year through her self-sustainable off-grid lifestyle that sees her growing her own food and hoarding pantry supplies.

Sarah Thrush grew up raising animals and growing crops but took on the ultimate homesteading challenge when she moved to Escanaba, Michigan, in July 2021  a remote location which has a seven-month winter.

She and her family now run their homestead 'like a business' - raising chickens for eggs and meat, growing vegetables and herbs as well as hunting and fishing.

The 43-year-old has revealed that she has to go shopping just once a month and now has enough food stored to last two and a half years.

Sarah Thrush grew up raising animals and growing crops but took on the ultimate homesteading challenge when she moved to Escanaba, Michigan, in July 2021

Sarah lives with husband Clayton, 48, who works as a supervisor, and two of their five children - aged 17 and 19 - on 20 acres of land.

The food that the family cultivates is preserved and stored across two pantries which would last them years in an emergency.

The mom-of-five visits the supermarket just once a month for essentials and said being mainly self-sufficient she saves her family $8,000 to $12,000 every year.

Speaking of her lifestyle, Sarah said: 'I run our homestead like a business. I call myself a home economist. We hunt and fish.

'I try to provide for our family without using the grocery store. We live by the manta  we want to utilize what Mother Nature is giving us.'

Sarah has always been a homesteader but has had to adjust how she grows her produce for the different climate in Michigan after moving 300 miles from the middle of the state.

The family now endure long, hard winters and often have snow from October through to June.

Sarah said: 'I have been fishing since I could walk. But I have had to relearn homesteading in a different climate. The winters are incredibly brutal.'

Sarah now wants to help others learn about homesteading to help stop people from going hungry

The 43-year-old has revealed that she has to go shopping just once a month and now has enough food stored to last two and a half years

She and her family run their homestead 'like a business' - raising chickens for eggs and meat, growing vegetables and herbs as well as hunting and fishing

She grows all the crops she can and uses vegetables from other farmers in the area  such as potatoes and corn.

The keen prepper has also bought a herd of cows, which are looked after by another farmer, so her family can have fresh milk.

Sarah carefully plans how much of each vegetable she needs for her family and will barter and trade crops if they have surplus.

She also gives anything left over to her food bank to give back to her community.

Sarah has two pantries and always uses the oldest cans first  putting her freshest preserves to the back of the pantry.

Sarah has always been a homesteader but has had adjust how she grows her produce for the different climate where the family now endure long, hard winters and often have snow from October through to June

She said: 'I try to provide for our family without using the grocery store. We live by the manta  we want to utilize what Mother Nature is giving us'

In an emergency, Sarah believes she has enough food to feed four people for 18 months and says if it was rationed it could stretch to two-and-a-half years

She said: 'One pantry we call our "cantry" for longer term food. It is usually canned and freeze-dried foods.

'A can lasts one to three years and freeze-dried foods can be up to 25 years. We rotate this food into our daily pantry, so we are eating fresh food.'

In an emergency, Sarah believes she has enough food to feed four people for 18 months and says if it was rationed it could stretch to two-and-a-half years.

Sarah wants to help others learn about homesteading to help stop people from going hungry.

She said: 'My goal is to feed the world. I believe food is a basic human right.'
She shared all the terms that she discovered during her time with the teen

A millennial author left the internet in stitches after she revealed everything that she learned about Gen-Zers after she spent the summer working alongside a teenager.

Bailey Henry, a writer and former podcast host from Mississippi, who is in her 30s, explained in a recent TikTok video that she felt young - until she spent time with a 19-year-old and realized how out of touch she really was.

She shared a video detailing all of the terms, concepts, and trends that she had never heard of that were introduced to her by her young coworker - and many people on the web were thankful for the lesson.

'I'm a millennial, I'm in my 30s, but I still feel young-ish most days. I still feel 19,' explained Bailey in the now-viral video, which was viewed more than 1.2 million times.

A millennial author left the internet in stitches after she revealed everything that she learned about Gen-Zers after she spent the summer working alongside a teenager

Bailey Henry, from Mississippi, who is in her 30s, explained in a recent TikTok video that she felt young - until she spent time with a 19-year-old and realized how out of touch she really was

She shared a video detailing all of the terms, concepts, and trends that she had never heard of that were introduced to her by her coworker - and many people were thankful for the lesson

'But this summer, I worked with a precious 19-year-old who's a junior at the University of Mississippi and she taught me a thing or two.

'The youth are often in the know about a lot of things. I wanted to share some of the things she taught me to help other millennials.'

Bailey (seen with her husband and son) said she learned everything from which influencers are cool and what apps you should use to what you should and shouldn't wear to the club and how to flirt with guys

Bailey then whipped out a typed list that she made of everything that she learned - which included everything from which influencers are cool and what apps you should use to what you should and shouldn't wear to the club and how to flirt with guys.

The first thing she spoke about was the online wholesaler DHgate - a China-based company similar to eBay that has become well known for offering things at extremely low prices.

But the brand has been at the center of controversy numerous times over the years - since many customers have claimed that the products they received were bad quality. It's also been accused of selling fake designer goods and slammed for long shipping times.

Bailey joked in her video that while DHgate 'seems illegal,' she noticed that Gen-Zers 'don't care,' and she was mad that it had been 'gate-kept' from her for so long.

The second thing that she learned was that the younger generation has stopped wearing 'high heels' - something she wished happened years earlier.

'You don't wear heels anymore to the bar,' she said. '2008 me would have really appreciated that. You don't wear high heels going out, you wear sneakers instead.'

Bailey explained that the 19-year-old told her that Alix Earle and Sofia Richie are 'very important' and that 'Snapchat is everything'

As for new words that she learned, she listed things like 'sus,' which means suspicious, and 'mid,' which means below average

She explained that she was taught that there are two types of 'girlies' - those who wear Golden Goose sneakers and those who wear Air-Force ones.

The ULTIMATE guide to Gen Z: Everything Bailey learned from her 19-year-old coworker DHgate is a China-based company that sells items at extremely low prices

You don't wear heels to the bar anymore, you wear sneakers

There are two types of 'girlies' - those who wear Golden Goose sneakers and those who wear Air-Force ones

Gen-Zers hate to wear open-toed shoes

Alix Earle and Sofia Richie are 'very important'

You ask for someone's Snapchat instead of their phone number

Sus means suspicious and mid means below average

Eskimo sisters is a term used to describe 'two girl friends who hooked up with the same person' Advertisement

'You're in a camp, you're either in the Golden Goose camp or the Air-Force one camp and there's a big difference, you just are what you are,' she continued.

In addition, she said she discovered that Gen-Zers don't like to wear open-toed shoes because they 'think it's very vulnerable to show off your toes.'

Bailey explained that the 19-year-old told her that Alix Earle and Sofia Richie are 'very important' and that 'Snapchat is everything.'

'You don't ask for someone's phone number, if you do that at the bar they'll think you're crazy,' she dished. 'Now you say, "What's your snap?"'

As for new words that she learned, she listed things like 'sus,' which means suspicious, and 'mid,' which means below average.

She explained: 'They say like, "The vibe is so mid here." Which means it's mediocre, I don't know why they can't just say, "I'm not having a good time," but they just say, "Mid."'

She also said she found out about the term Eskimo sisters, which is used to describe 'two girl friends who hooked up with the same person.'

Other things she said she picked up from the time she spent with the teen was that most Gen-Zers are 'not super close to their parents' and don't like to plan ahead when it comes to finances.

'Gen-Zers haven't seen great economic examples in the duration of their short, youthful lives, so they're just going for it,' she revealed.

'They're just living. Credit card debt - what? Homeownership - who?! They don't care. They're just living. The economy is gonna implode at any moment so they don't care.'

Many people took to the comment section to share their thoughts on Bailey's revelations, and they admitted that they too were out of the loop when it came to Gen-Z trends

In the end, she said the experience taught her that she 'lives under a rock' but she added, 'I love my rock.'

'The generational divide is just fascinating,' she concluded. 'And I'm very thankful for the sweet 19-year-old who gave me all this insight into her world.'

Many people took to the comment section to share their thoughts on Bailey's revelations.

Some admitted that they too were out of the loop when it came to Gen-Z trends, and they were thankful that she shared her new-found knowledge.

'Not me pausing the TikTok to google everything mentioned,' wrote one person. Another added, 'Girl thank you for this. I've been so lost.'

'I've never related to anything more,' someone else said. A fourth comment read, 'The most millennial part of this was that you typed and printed the list instead of making a note in your phone.'

'I'm taking notes,' a different user admitted. Someone else commented, 'This is all new sot me. I'm learning so much.'
Australian foodies will be treated to an indulgent bacon and spice-laden menu when American burger joint Wendy's launches in 200 locations across the country.

The chain, which has more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide, is best known for its French fries and 'Frosty' frozen dairy desserts and Baconator burger - as well as its famous square beef patties.

The patties are square to highlight the fact 'Wendy's doesn't cut corners' in the kitchen.

The first Wendy's opened in 1969 in Ohio after founder Dave Thomas decided he wanted to create a 'better hamburger'.

'That idea of "not cutting corners" is not far from the actual truth,' Frank Vamos, Wendy's director of brand communications, told Thrillist.

It's believed the reason why Wendy's patties are square and not round is 'because Wendy's doesn't cut corners' in the kitchen (pictured is the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger)

'Another big reason is that Dave was always very confident in the quality of our meat. He wanted to make sure that the patty sticks out of the bun so that everyone can see it, see the juiciness. And the square patty does that.'

It's also practical for the patties to be square as more can fit onto a grill.

The menu also offers chicken sandwiches, nuggets, vegetarian options, breakfast sandwiches, salads, along with an interesting range of sides - including chilli con carne and stuffed potatoes.

Wendy's menu: What diners could be treated to when the franchise launches Down Under The Baconator: A half-pound of fresh British beef, American cheese, 6 pieces of crispy Applewood smoked bacon, Heinz ketchup, and Heinz mayo Cheese Baked Potato: Hot and fluffy potato topped with creamy cheese sauce, and shredded cheese. Because nothing goes with a potato like cheese Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sandwich: Wendy's iconic juicy spicy chicken fillet, cream cheese, six slices of jalapenos, three strips of Wendy's beloved Applewood smoked bacon, warm cheddar cheese with shredded Cheddar cheese, all placed between a warm, premium toasted bun Frosty: Wendy's Signature dessert - cool, creamy and refreshing - thick enough to use a spoon, smooth enough to use a straw Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger: Fresh British beef, Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, crisp lettuce, tomato, and Heinz mayo. Its a favourite of bacon lovers everywhere Baconator Fries: Natural-cut, skin-on, sea-salted fries topped with warm, creamy cheese sauce, shredded cheddar, and crispy Applewood smoked bacon Curry Bean Burger: The signature black bean patty that's mixed with chickpeas and vegetables, topped with Monterrey Jack Cheese, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and curry mayo Dave's Triple: Three quarters of a pound of fresh British beef, American cheese, crisp lettuce, tomato, pickle, Heinz ketchup, Heinz mayo, and onion on a toasted bun Avocado Chicken Club: A juicy, lightly breaded chicken breast topped with our applewood smoked bacon, avocado, tomatoes, crisp lettuce and Heinz mayo  all in a toasted premium bun Spicy Chicken: A juicy chicken breast marinated and breaded in our unique, fiery blend of peppers and spices to deliver more flavour inside and out, cooled down with crisp lettuce, tomato, and Heinz mayo Breakfast Baconator: Grilled sausage, American cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, a fresh-cracked free range egg, (deep breath) more cheese and more bacon all covered in our signature cheese sauce Advertisement

The first Wendy's opened in 1969 in Ohio after founder Dave Thomas wanted to create a better hamburger. Over the decades Wendy's has become a go-to fast food giant known for the square patties and Frosty drinks

Another little-known fact about the franchise is the hidden message many believe to be in the Wendy's logo.

The design depicts a red-haired girl with her hair in two side braids wearing a white shirt with a blue trim. The girl's collar appears to spell out the word 'mom', a possible hint at the brand's humble beginnings and the thought of a mother's home-cooked meals.

However, Wendy's has previously denied any claims of subliminal messaging in their branding.

Another little-known fact about the franchise is the hidden message many believe to be in the Wendy's logo - the word 'mom'

According to The Sun, a spokesperson for Wendy's said: 'We are aware of this and find it interesting that it appears our Wendy cameo has 'mom' on her ruffled collar. We can assure you it was unintentional.'

On Thursday, Wendy's announced it's officially coming Down Under with 200 restaurants set to open over the next decade.

The chain has signed a franchise agreement with Flynn Restaurant Group, with the first stores to open in 2025.

Wendy's International President and Chief Development Officer, Abigail Pringle, said the demand for the restaurants in Australia was clear following the success of a one-day Wendy's pop-up event in 2021 in Sydney.

It follows as Wendy's announced it's officially coming Down Under with the American fast food chain announcing 200 burger restaurants will open across Australia over the next decade

Wendy's, the third largest burger chain in the world behind McDonald's and Burger King, has planned for 200 stores to be open to Australian customers by 2034

'Australia is a strategic market for long-term growth for Wendy's. Flynn Restaurant Group has incredible experience in the restaurant space, and we are thrilled to expand our relationship with them,' she said.

'They have a strong leadership team, great culture, vast industry knowledge, success with our brand in the U.S., and we are confident that Flynn Restaurant Group is the right partner to unlock growth for Wendy's in Australia.'

Up to 10,000 staff will reportedly be needed for the expansion.

It differentiates itself from McDonald's and Hungry Jack's by having a strictly made-to-order policy and does not keep food warm using heat lamps.

Flynn's Restaurant Group owns other popular US fast-food chains such as Applebee's, Taco Bell, Panera, Arby's and Pizza Hut.

The group is the world's largest restaurant franchise operator, and took over Australian Pizza Hut franchises in June this year.

The chain, which has more than 7,000 locations worldwide, is best known for its square hamburgers, French fries and 'Frosty' frozen dairy desserts

Wendy's recently expanded to the UK and Ireland and can be found across Europe, Asia and throughout the United States.

It's not the first time Wendy's has launched in Australia with a store opening in Melbourne in 1982.

Eleven stores in total were opened but three years later, the business collapsed with $8million in debt.

Questions have also been raised about Wendy's operating in Australia with local business Wendy's Milk Bar.

'There can't be two Wendy's,' said Dean Tully, owner of the Aussie Wendy's store in Whyalla, South Australia, which specialises in ice-cream.

Ms Pringle said there were no concerns legally about both businesses operating, and they can 'both exist in the market'.

Read more: MasterChef star Mindy Woods spills her budget secrets, five kitchen rules and how to make a delicious (and healthy) burger your family will love

Inside the little-known Australian supermarket Ten Tops that sells nothing over $10
A mother appearing on Good Morning Britain has sparked a fierce debate after admitting she tracks her children using apps and Air Tags - as viewers say she's in the right.

People watching ITV's daytime television programme took to Twitter to voice their opinions after a debate saw two parents argue whether it's a betrayal of your child's trust to keep an eye on their whereabouts.

Journalist Rosie Millard - who has four kids - says she has never tracked any of hers because 'you've got to let them have their independence'.

However elsewhere, Carina White - who monitors her 13-year-old daughter's location on an app - says it works as 'a two-way thing'.

Speaking to presenters Ranvir Singh and Ben Shephard, Rosie said: 'You should know where your child is.'

Journalist Rosie Millard (left) - who has four kids - says she has never tracked any of hers because 'you've got to let them have their independence'. Elsewhere, Carina White (right) disagreed

She added: 'Also a child should know... should have those skills, that when the child is out... that, "OK it's time to go home now, I know where I am, I'm aware of the time, I understand responsibility and I'm trusted by my parent to get home OK".

'And if not, "ring my parent".'

However Carina fervently disagreed and said she tracks her daughter, but allows herself to be tracked as well so it's a balanced relationship.

'It's not like we're hacking into the camera and have a 360-view of where they are - it's simply a safety angle.'

She added that it's an emergency measure for when she's not able to reach her child, which started once the teen began walking home from school by herself.

'Over 70,000 children go missing in the UK every year,' Carina said.

'So anyone could try and kidnap her, someone could try and take her. If I'm trying to call her and I cannot get hold of her - I don't know where she is because actually she should've been home an hour ago.

'It's not taking away the trust, I do trust her, it's a two-way thing.'

Journalist Rosie, pictured today, was vehement that tracking 'would be like reading her child's diary'

However most people on X - formerly known as Twitter - appeared to be on Carina's side, claiming they have no issue with tracking

However Rosie was vehement that 'it would be like reading her child's diary'.

'Being a parent is about having your children growing up,' she added. 'Allowing them gradually to have their independence.'

She also stressed the importance of preparing your children to reach out for help when needed, recalling a time her daughter once called at 3am once because she'd been robbed in Valencia - as she had memorised Rosie's number.

However most people on X - formerly known as Twitter - appeared to be on Carina's side.

'Invasion of privacy at that age? S*d off,' one slammed. 'You can trust your daughter, it's the other evil f****rs out there I wouldn't trust.'

However, not everyone was in total agreement, as some pointed out that they would struggle to get their teens on board - especially older ones

'I've got an Apple Airtag in my three year old's coat pocket and I'm perfectly happy with that,' one commenter wrote.

'I track my 18 & 15 yr olds,' a parent agreed. 'They can also track me. I also track my husband, mum and sister as they do me. It's very useful.'

'Interesting discussion about tracking children but the blonde haired lady (?name) is talking about a time in life when the world was a much nicer and safer place,' another remarked.

'I feel she has rose tinted glasses on and I wouldn't have an issue tracking my children with their consent.'

However, not everyone was in total agreement, as some pointed out that they would struggle to get their teens on board - especially older ones.

'I've a 15 year old she wouldn't put up with being tracked or showing me her friends' chats,' one revealed.

'It's ok to track under 18 kids I'd say but after 18 is a bit ott,' a second suggested.
Bungling NHS staff have wrongly disclosed confidential data hundreds of times in the last two years.

Never-before-seen data, obtained by MailOnline, reveals 1,600 data breaches have been logged in the health service across the UK since 2021.

Breaches include staff faxing or emailing sensitive details to the wrong person and leaving documents lying around.

Cyber attacks and people getting unauthorised access to potentially sensitive data were also blamed.

The figures, which come from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, only look at breaches by incident, not by the number of people affected.

Seventy-five NHS bodies have been investigated by the ICO for data breaches since 2021. Such investigations do not necessarily mean personal data was exposed or that the NHS organisations was at fault, with many investigations concluding that 'no further action' was required or that only advice from ICO was provided. However, five NHS bodies were issued with formal reprimands as a result of investigations

MailOnline's probe  which goes up until January 2023  revealed the most common breach was for someone getting unauthorised access to people's personal data (335 incidents). More than 250 of the incidents recorded related to staff faxing or posting data to the incorrect recipient. Another 174 breaches related to documents being emailed to the wrong person

It means, in theory, thousands more patients may be impacted than the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) numbers suggests.

This website's expose comes just days after it was revealed that more than 40million voters may have had their data stolen in the biggest data breach in UK history.

The Electoral Commission revealed on Tuesday that 'hostile actors' had access to its systems for 14 months without being detected.

Police in Northern Ireland admitted, on the same day, they were also at the heart of a data breach of 'monumental proportions'.

Data on thousands of officers and civilian staff were mistakenly divulged in response to an FOI request.

READ MORE: Dissident republicans claim to be in possession of information about PSNI officers after huge data breach that revealed their surnames and work locations The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable Simon Byrne, addressing reporters on Thursday following a mass data breach. The names and locations of thousands of officers and staff were exposed in a freedom of information response Advertisement

Meanwhile, NHS Lanarkshire in Scotland was last week officially reprimanded by ICO chiefs after staff shared patient data in an unsecured WhatsApp chat.

Another NHS body was earlier this year slapped on the wrist for accidentally sharing patients' HIV status, while a London trust was fined nearly 80,000 for a huge email bungle.

MailOnline's probe  which goes up until January 2023  revealed the most common breach was for someone getting unauthorised access to people's personal data (335 incidents).

More than 250 of the incidents recorded related to staff faxing or posting data to the incorrect recipient. Another 174 breaches related to documents being emailed to the wrong person.

Five ransomware attacks and nine phishing scams were also uncovered.

Phil Booth, coordinator of medConfidential, which campaigns for patient confidentiality, said the figures show a 'shocking series of mistakes and avoidable harms'.

He said: 'We can't know that each patient affected was really told as the ICO doesn't make sure that happens in a meaningful way.'

The lack of data security within the NHS has resulted in steep penalties in the past, with Trusts fined for losing patient records, staff sharing patient information on WhatsApp and failing to ensure data is password protected.

The FOI data also shows that NHS staff either lost or had devices/paperwork stolen 224 times, with one incident in 2022 involving 'brute force'.

Workers also verbally disclosed private information  such as discussing a patient's private medical information on a public ward  101 times.

Alteration of personal data was one of the rarest incidents with only 11 cases in three years, though the ICO figures did not record if the changes made were accidental or intentional.

Thirty-six breaches centred around NHS staff failing to hide the individual emails of recipients.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust  famous for hosting the health service's Gender Identity Development Service, the only transgender service for kids in the UK  was fined 78,400 for such an incident in July last year.

The Trust sent an email to 5,000 patients about an art competition. While people had agreed to be emailed, staff failed to hide their information correctly, leading to about 1,780 people's email addresses being exposed to other recipients.

The Trust was among 75 NHS bodies investigated by the ICO for data breaches since 2021.

Such investigations do not necessarily mean personal data was exposed, or that the NHS organisation was at fault.

The lack of data security within the NHS has resulted in steep penalties in the past, with Trusts fined for losing patient records, staff sharing patient information on WhatsApp and failing to ensure data is password protected

Many investigations concluded that 'no further action' was required.

However, five NHS bodies were issued with formal reprimands as a result of the ICO investigations.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust was handed two.

One related to an incident during the pandemic, where a data entry error saw staff being incorrectly flagged as having the virus. As a result, NHS Test and Trace told them, as well as their close contacts, to self-isolate.

This led to the cancellation of multiple surgical operations and the closure of several schools and nurseries in the local area.

One of the most shocking reprimands was issued to NHS Highland in Scotland this year.

It concerned an incident in 2019 where the Trust mass emailed 37 people who had recently accessed its HIV services, but did not hide the email addresses correctly.

At least one patient managed to recognise four other people from their email addresses, one of which was a previous sexual partner.

Other NHS bodies issued reprimands in the past few years include Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in the northwest of England, Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Warrington and the national health serviced body NHS Blood and Transplant.

The trust with the single most ICO investigations was Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with seven total since 2021.

These were all cyber related incidents, with a trust spokesperson telling MailOnline they were all related to phishing by hackers.

However, a Trust spokesperson said they have now taken measures to enhance their data security.

'Earlier this year we increased our resilience to these incidents by implementing Multi Factor Authentication on all NHSmail accounts,' they said.

An NHS England spokesperson said: 'Organisations that have access to NHS patient data and systems are required to practise and provide evidence of good data security, so that personal information is handled correctly.

'It is vital that health and care organisations do everything they can to meet their legal responsibilities and data security standards, as well as reporting any breaches to ensure lessons can be learned and improvements made.'
A GP has been suspended after failing to arrange face-to-face appointments for a patient who was later hospitalised with a heart infection.

Dr Alyn Williams, who worked at Chapel Street Surgery in Billericay, Essex, was told he failed to provide 'appropriate clinical care'.

The medic, who has worked as a GP since the 1990s, carried out a series of telephone consultations with the unidentified male patient during 2020 and 2021.

But he repeatedly failed to report symptoms on medical records, arrange follow-up face-to-face consultations and check in with the patient on his symptoms.

Over the course of nine months, the patient's health 'significantly deteriorated' and he was admitted to hospital with a heart infection, which can be life-threatening.

Dr Alyn Williams, who worked at Chapel Street Surgery in Billericay, was told he failed to provide 'appropriate clinical care'

The proportion of GP appointments in England that were held face-to-face in May was 69.8 per cent. This is down from 70 per cent in April, which was the highest figure logged since the pandemic

A medical tribunal panel suspended Dr Williams for failing to deliver 'adequate care' and falling 'seriously below the standards expected'.

It was 'clear' the patient's illness 'may not have reached the gravity that it did, if Dr Williams had provided necessary and adequate care', they concluded.

Dr Williams said he chose not to conduct face-to-face consultations during Covid in 2020 and 2021 as he was obese and more vulnerable to the virus at the age of 66.

The male garage worker, known only as Patient A by the panel, had been registered with the surgery for 20 years.

He initially developed a persistent chesty cough and nasal drip  an accumulation of mucus in the back of the throat  in May 2020, during the height of Covid.

WHAT IS ENDOCARDITIS? Endocarditis is an infection of the heart's inner lining and valves. If untreated, it can lead to life-threatening heart failure. Endocarditis affects around one in every 30,000 people every year in the UK and four in 100,000 in the US. Symptoms often develop slowly over several weeks and can include: Flu-like symptoms - tiredness, headache, chills, cough, sore throat

Unexplained weight loss

Pale skin

Aching muscles and joints Endocarditis is usually caused by bacteria, which may enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart. It is more common in people who have had heart-valve surgery, suffer from heart disease, are an IV drug user or have poor dental hygiene. Treatment starts with IV antibiotics. Surgery may be required to repair heart damage. Source: British Heart Foundation Advertisement

At the time, Dr Williams prescribed him a nasal spray in a telephone consultation.

When the symptoms continued, he was referred for a whole body CT scan after another telephone consultation and course of antibiotics.

Dr Williams gave the patient the all-clear within a fortnight. However his symptoms persisted.

Blood tests which came back in December also revealed high levels of CRP  117 milligrams per litre (mg/l)  indicating inflammation of the blood vessels.

Generally, a CRP level between one and five milligrams per litre (mg/l) is considered normal.

The patient then had a telephone consultation with Dr Williams on December 14, after complaining he still felt run down and had continued to lose weight.

But he was again prescribed a course of antibiotics.

He told the panel he 'did not recall' Dr Williams asking about his breathing or whether he had a temperature.

During a further telephone consultation on January 4, the patient complained he had become bed-bound for much of the day due to lack of energy.

Medical records of the appointment, made by Dr Williams, noted: 'Still feeling rubbish, beginning to go off food and drink, always feel cold now, has not done a Covid test, should try and book one as appears to have a viral infection.'

In a final phone consultation on January 7, Dr Williams arranged a community referral for the patient's bloods to be re-checked.

No mention of a hospital referral or a face-to-face follow-up was made in the medical records.

But his condition deteriorated further and just two days later on January 9, he was admitted to hospital where it was discovered he had lost 3.5 stone (22kg) in just four months.

Medics diagnosed endocarditis, an infection of the heart's inner lining and valves, which required an operation and in-patient stay.

It is usually diagnosed by checking for symptoms such as fever or nodules  small lumps  on your fingers and toes, and a stethoscope check of the heart, which detects unusual sound caused by a disturbed blood flow through the heart.

Chapel Street Surgery in Billericay, Essex, where Dr Williams worked

If untreated, endocarditis can lead to life-threatening heart failure. Surgery may be required to repair heart damage.

In oral evidence given at the tribunal, Dr C, a GP and medical expert working on behalf of the General Medical Council, said: 'Had Patient A been assessed face to face [on December 14] then there might have been other symptoms such as a high temperature.'

They added: 'On January 4, 2021, when his symptoms included loss of appetite and he was significantly worse than before Christmas, he needed to be seen.

'A doctor would need to know the patients temperature and whether their oxygen stats were low.

'Patient A had underlying symptoms unresolved. Antibiotics had been tried, his symptoms were getting worse and he had new symptoms and was deteriorating.'

Read more: NHS doctor who grabbed female nurse by the throat and demanded her phone number gets suspended after claiming it was just 'banter' Advertisement

In his defence, Dr Williams said he was aware some GP surgeries did see patients in-person in 2020 and early 2021 but his did not, partly due to building work which limited the available rooms, and the need to keep patients isolated.

The rate of face-to-face GP appointments in England dropped as low as 10 per cent in the first wave of the pandemic, as Britons were told to stay at home to limit the spread of the virus.

Ordinarily, he would have sent Patient A to a 'medical assessment unit' but this was shut in 2020 due to Covid, Dr Williams also claimed.

However, there was a 'Respiratory Red Hub' he could have referred the patient to, which treats respiratory infections.

Dr Williams also argued that Patient A was 'adamant that he did not want to go to hospital' as he was concerned about the care of his wife who was terrified of Covid.

But in their ruling, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service concluded that Dr Williams should be suspended.

He repeatedly failed to arrange an in-person appointment with the patient A and refer him to hospital, it found.

The ruling states 'it was more likely than not that Patient A would have gone to hospital if so advised'.

The patient had attended the surgery for his Covid vaccine in September 2020, the hospital for a CT scan in November and again in December for blood tests and his flu jab, they added.

They also slammed Dr William's conduct and 'contradictory' evidence.

They wrote: 'Whereas he took responsibility for very poor record keeping, he was adamant that nothing more could have been done for Patient A because he had full capacity yet refused to go to hospital.

'He wrongly recorded December 13 as the date of the telephone consultation where going to hospital was first discussed in the undated document.

'He made no record in the GP notes of either recommending Patient A went to hospital nor of Patient As refusal at any of the consultations.'

The panel also found Dr Williams repeatedly failed to record reported symptoms of weight loss.

During the week-long hearing, he acknowledged his notes logging the patient's symptoms 'were appalling'.

But the tribunal noted he did attend a record-keeping course, which had been recommended as a result of the local investigation in May 2021.

He had also practised in the UK as a GP since 1993 and no other complaints or referrals have been made against him or his practice.

The tribunal concluded there was a low risk of repetition of the misconduct.

However they determined his actions 'failed to adequately protect Patient A' and 'public confidence in the profession was undermined by this failure'.

The tribunal said the suspension would send a message to the profession and the wider public.
Childhood vaping has become so prevalent schools across America are beginning to install vapor detectors in bathrooms.

An estimated 2.6 million high schoolers vape and teachers say that in the past few years, students have taken to sneaking devices in their sleeves to vape discreetly in class, creating a distraction and second-hand effects on children nearby.

And teaches increasingly say their students have become so hooked they feel the need to ditch class to get their nicotine fix in bathrooms.

The Lewiston school system in Maine - one of the largest in the state with more than 5,100 students - is the latest to reveal plans to have the detectors installed in restrooms.

The detectors have been used in several other districts across a range of states including New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois with great success.

Vape detectors in schools would pick up traces of vapor in bathrooms and ping alerts to school administrators with time stamps so that they can intervene when the studen leaves the bathroom. They have been used successfully in several states including New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois

More than 2.5 million US children use e-cigarettes - rising a half-million from last year and reversing downward trends in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) reports that 2.55 million Americans in middle or high school admit using the device in the past 30 days. It is a jump of 500,000, or of 24 per cent, from 2021. It is the first increase since the CDC started gathering annual data in 2019

Lewiston officials are looking at a bill likely exceeding $100,000, a sum that is not in their budget and will have to come largely from grants.

Roughly 2.5 million middle and high school students were hooked on e-cigarettes as of late 2022, marking a jump of 500,000, or of 24 percent, from 2021. It is the first increase since 2019.

The vast majority of children (85 percent) use flavored e-cigarettes that federal regulators have cracked down on in recent years amid concerns they are purposefully marketing themselves to children.

Still, teens are often able to get their hands on flavored vapes, most often disposal devices packed with high concentrations of highly addictive nicotine thanks to lenient enforcement at retail shops.

The vape detectors are not a done deal yet, as officials for Lewiston schools still need to come up with a considerable amount of money to buy and install them in bathrooms, which have become backed up and overcrowded due to the steady stream of children puffing on vapes in stalls.

The school superintendent is eyeing a type of device that would connect to the current high school security system.

If vaping is detected, an alarm will go off and nearby video cameras will timestamp their recordings, enabling administrators to identify students who were in the bathroom during that time.

One Lewiston district principal Jonathan Radtke said: We will continue to monitor bathrooms as we can with human resources, but we cant station someone at every bathroom every period.

Long waits for the bathroom is just one reason for school administrators to install vape detectors. James Stemple, Executive Director of Constituent Services at Stafford County Public Schools in Texas and a former principal told an NBC affiliate station that student vaping in schools is one of the biggest problems he has seen in over two decades in education.

Mr Stemple said: Its an addictive problem. Kids need to leave class to hit their vape or weve had kids in class and trying to vape in class.

The CDC report found that a vast majority, nearly 85 per cent of teen e-cigarette users, report using flavored nicotine products. The FDA is cracking down on flavored tobacco products in an effort to reduce teen smoking rates in the US

The CDC found that more than one-in-four of the teen users reported using their e-cigarette each day, and another 40 per cent used it in at least 20 of the last 30 days

In New Jersey, 10 school districts have installed detectors, many of which also pick up vapor produced with devices containing THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. And several school systems in the Chicago suburbs, such as Hinsdale South High Schools and Evanston Township High School have installed such devices.

In Ohio, Revere Local School District has installed 16 vape detectors at Revere High School and Revere Middle School since 2019. Assistant Principal Doug Faris said earlier this year that the devices have helped deter vaping in bathrooms, though theyre not fool-proof.

Mr Faris said: You can see the vape detector might go off twenty times a day. Thats not to say there are twenty kids vaping. The vape detector picks up changes in air quality inside the bathroom, so if you go out and take out a body spray and spray it, its going to go off. Its hard for us to exactly say, but it does help.

Sometimes its frustrating because youll be down in the cafeteria and itll go off in the A-wing and youre like, by the time I walk down there, theyre going to be gone. Its tricky, but it does help.

Ive gotten two so far today, and I actually happened to be standing right by this bathroom and with a few seconds, I was able to go in the bathroom.

According to a 2022 CDC survey, 14 percent of high schoolers and three percent of middle schoolers were estimated to be using the devices regularly.

The report also found that 85 percent of those who reported regular use of the devices were using flavored e-cigarette flavors.

Among users, 28 percent said that they puffed on their e-cigarettes each day. Just over 40 percent reported using it at least 20 or more of the last 30 days.
Up to eight in 10 hospitals and pharmacists are rationing drugs or delaying appointments as they battle a crippling medicine shortage, a report suggests.

A national survey published Thursday showed there were 309 ongoing drug shortages, the highest number in nearly 10 years. And just a few less than the all-time high of 320.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a group that tracks US drug availability, surveyed more than 1,000 pharmacists and 99 percent said they were struggling to stock enough of the drugs they needed.

The group attributes the issue to limited investment in manufacturing capacity, subpar manufacturing quality and a breakdown in the supply chain, as well as extreme price competition among generic drug makers.

The critical shortage is causing 85 percent of pharmacists to ration medications and 42 percent to delay or cancel treatments and procedures, potentially risking the lives of severely ill patients who will now miss out on the care they need.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists surveyed more than 1,000 pharmacists and 99 percent said they were struggling to stock enough of the drugs they needed

The healthcare professionals surveyed stressed the shortages were impacting patient care, with one-third of pharmacists saying the shortages were critically impactful, and more than half, 57 percent, saying they were facing critical shortages of chemotherapy drugs specifically.

In addition to chemotherapy drugs, other drugs facing limited supplies are hormonal drugs, drugs used in intensive care units and in operating rooms, and oral liquids, which include the pain reliever ibuprofen and the antibiotic amoxicillin.

Others include those used to manage attention deficit or hyperactivity and injectable opioids.

Following chemotherapy medications, the shortage most pharmacists say causing a critical impact are corticosteroid and hormonal drugs.

Corticosteroids, often known as steroids, are types of anti-inflammatory drugs. Suddenly stopping medications like these can cause a person to enter withdrawal, leading to dizziness, weakness, headaches, mood swings, and pain.

In addition to putting patients lives in danger, the lack of drugs is also costing the healthcare system money.

Managing drug shortages, purchasing alternative doses, and obtaining drugs through alternative sources all cost healthcare facilities more money than if the usual drugs were available.

Pharmacists reported the shortages were adding between 5 percent and 20 percent to budgets.

Due to the shortages, healthcare providers are forced to make difficult choices, including delaying a patients treatment or changing the dose or type of medication the patient receives.

To deal with the shortages, most pharmacists, 97 percent, reported they had changed the medication a patient receives to another similar medication.

One-third of pharmacists said the shortages were critically impactful, and more than half, 57 percent, said they were facing critical shortages of chemotherapy drugs specifically

Due to the shortages, healthcare providers are forced to make difficult choices, including delaying a patients treatment

Eighty-five percent began rationing drugs and 42 percent said they were forced to cancel or delay treatments and procedures because they did not have access to the necessary drugs.

Pharmacists have been managing drug shortages routinely for decades, but were now seeing longer, more persistent shortages. Were facing shortages for more than 300 drugs, and that trajectory is growing. This reality is unsustainable for hospitals and patients alike, said ASHP Chief Executive Officer Paul Abramowitz.

Pharmacists in hospitals and health systems are working diligently with other clinicians to provide safe and effective care, despite ongoing drug shortages, by finding needed medications, identifying substitutes, and managing changes to treatment plans when required.

In some cases, there are no alternatives to the affected drugs, which puts patients at risk. This issue requires quick action from Congress to address the underlying causes of shortages and ensure patients have the medications they need'.

ASHP has called on Congress to better enforce existing laws and implement solutions to reduce disruptions in the drug supply chain, especially for lower-cost generic drugs.

The organization has sent several recommendations to Congress to rectify the situation, including calling on them to enforce existing shortage prevention requirements and levy penalties on manufacturers that do not develop risk management plans.

It also wants Congress to improve transparency into manufacturing quality and encourage the establishment of new manufacturers and manufacturing sites.
Artificial intelligence could detect a major complication of diabetes by scanning a patient's eyes.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University are tweaking equipment currently used by high street optometrists to detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

It will work by scanning nerves at the front of the eye rather than the back, with the AI element of the device able to predict future damage.

Dr Uazman Alam, from the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, said: 'What we know from a body of work which I've been very heavily involved in over the past 15 to 20 years, is that the nerves at the front of the eye actually reflect nerve damage elsewhere in the body.'

DPN is a major complication of diabetes and the number one cause of limb amputation in diabetic patients.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University are tweaking equipment currently used by high street optometrists to detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy ((file image of a doctor examining a patient's eye)

It is caused when high blood sugar levels damage the nerves that send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.

The team has been given 1.4million to develop the new machine, which is essentially a redesigned optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, a tool used by optometrists to scan the back of the eye.

The test currently used to detect sensory loss in the limbs of diabetic people is called the 10 gram monofilament.

But the researchers say the 'crude' screening, which measures the nerves in a person's foot, currently misses a lot of people with the condition.

Dr Alam said: 'At the moment, [patients] are screened, but the tests we use aren't sensitive. This we're hoping will be a lot more sensitive.

'Rather than having to take measurements of the nerves, we can use the entire image to detect the nerve damage and actually predict those who will develop it.'

In June, a study suggested more than one billion people globally could be living with diabetes in the coming decades.

The paper, published by The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, said that by 2050, some 1.3billion people will have diabetes - more than double the 529million cases in 2021.

DPN is a major complication of diabetes and the number one cause of limb amputation in diabetic patients (file image of a doctor examining a patient's eye)

It is hoped the study will conclude in 2027 and will ultimately result in a pilot clinical validation trial in healthy and diabetic volunteers at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool.

Dr Alam predicts that AI will 'be an important facet of all healthcare systems at some point' but 'will need developing further' before it is adopted widely.

'I think we have to remember that AI is not just the images that we're talking about, but it can also be data as well,' he said.

'It's here to stay. We need to develop it in a way that is ethical.

'I think it's important and I think it probably actually needs to be taught in medical schools as well. It's going to be entrenched within the healthcare system.'
AI will be used in NHS hospitals for the first time after the health regulator approved its deployment in radiology departments.

Nine artificial intelligence platforms have been given the green light in draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

The AI software can relieve 'severe pressure' on radiographers by creating outlines of cancer patients' healthy organs in lung, prostate or colorectal cancers.

At the moment, radiographers outline healthy organs on a CT or MRI scan by hand.

Nice found AI platforms 'generally produce similar quality contours' as those carried out manually, with most only needing 'minor edits'.

Using the technology could be quicker, giving clinicians more time to spend with patients or focus on more complex cases.

It is the first piece of Nice guidance to recommend the use of AI to aid clinicians in their role.

The AI software can relieve 'severe pressure' on radiographers by creating outlines of cancer patients' healthy organs in lung, prostate or colorectal cancers. At the moment, radiographers outline healthy organs on a CT or MRI scan by hand (Stock Image)

Sarah Byron, programme director for health technologies at the public body, said: 'NHS colleagues working on the front line in radiotherapy departments are under severe pressure with thousands of people waiting for scans.

'The role imaging plays in radiotherapy treatment planning is quite pivotal, so recommending the use of AI technologies to help support treatment planning alongside clinical oversight by a trained healthcare professional could save both time and money.'

Evidence suggests between three and 80 minutes per treatment plan could be saved by using AI, depending on the amount of editing needed.

Nice said the lowest potential time saving of three minutes could save doctors 3,750 hours per 75,000 treatment plans.

On the higher end of the scale - 80 minutes - 100,000 hours would be saved.

The cost of using the technologies ranged from 4 to 50 per plan.

However, Nice said all contours produced using AI must still be reviewed by a trained healthcare professional and edited as needed before being used to plan treatment.

Nice is currently carrying out a consultation on its draft guidance, which will run until August 25.
Dr Howard Tucker has been a practicing neurologist for over seven decades and, at age 101 and still treating patients, has issued his own prescription for staying sharp.

The Cleveland, Ohio-born doctor has not slowed down in his old age and still maintains his professional life simply by stalling retirement.

He even added another professional touchstone to his resume when, at age 60, decided to attend law school only to pass the Ohio Bar exam seven years later.

His job entails problem solving and making difficult decisions with regard to patient care, often drawing on the latest advances in neurology that he researches constantly to keep his brain busy.

And he has a healthy social life, which helps maintain memory and cognitive function. He said he and his wife Sara, a practicing psychiatrist at 89, frequently goes out to dinner with neighbors and friends.

Dr Tucker's exceptionally long life is thanks in part to winning the genetic lottery, but also to maintaining a lifestyle that longevity experts who study centenarians agree is crucial.

At 101 years old, the spry Dr Tucker has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the oldest practicing doctor

Dr Tucker won a Guinness World Record last year for being the oldest practicing doctor

Many people find purpose and meaning through their jobs and retirement can jeopardize that. This is why Dr Tucker still sees patients at his practice everyday from 9 to 6pm.

He has even been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the oldest working physician.

Dr Tucker told CNBC: 'My job requires me to review a number of medical subjects and think through problems. Staying up to date with the latest advancements in neurology keeps my brain busy.'

Forestalling a life of leisure in retirement, treating patients day in and day out, lends a great sense of purpose to Dr Tucker's life. This sense of purpose is uniformly felt in so-called Blue Zones, five areas of the world where people regularly live to a spry age 100.

In a 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers followed about 7,000 adults over the age of 50 and interviewed them using a questionnaire to rank their life purpose. The researchers assigned life-purpose scores based on the participants responses and followed up with them five years later.

They concluded that participants who had the lowest lifes purpose scores were twice as likely to have died than those with the highest scores.

Dr Dilip Jeste, an aging expert at the University of California San Diego College of Medicine told DailyMail.com recently: Retirement is actually a big factor for many people, especially men. Because the job defines the purpose in life and when you retire, or when you are forced to retire, the purpose is gone just like that.

And even when the Covid pandemic put the globe into a stranglehoold, Dr Tucker did not rest. Despite being part of the population cohort at the greatest risk of the worst possible outcomes from Covid infection, Dr Tucker still saw his patients during the crisis.

He told Guinness: 'I truly love what I do so going into the hospital to treat my patients was a no-brainer.

'As a physician, it is my responsibility to care for my patients. I obviously took the necessary precautions to stay safe and protect myself, but I still went to work like any other day.'

Dr Tucker has been a practicing neurologist for over 70 years. He also has a law degree and has passed the Ohio state Bar Exam

Dr Tucker and his wife Sara, who at 89 is still a practicing psychiatrist, maintain a healthy social circle and enjoy going out to try new restaurants with friends and relatives. The couple is shown here on their wedding day in 1957

Being social is also crucial to maintaining a healthy life and growing old. People with strong social connections tend to live longer, healthier lives. They also have a 50 percent increased likelihood of survival than those with weaker social relationships.

Dr Tucker said: 'Unfortunately, at my age, many of my closest friends, family members and colleagues have passed away. But I am fortunate that my job has allowed me to build relationships with younger colleagues.

'At least twice a week, we eat with my daughter and her husband and my son and his wife. We enjoy trying new restaurants with friends and colleagues, too.'

The benefits of maintaining a social life come from the fact that humans are inherently dependent on relationships with other people. A sense of community, especially in a person's old age, is paramount.

According to Dr Carolyn Aldwin, the director of the Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University: 'If you go to any metropolitan area or a small town, you could find, like, a donut shop where older adults congregate every day.

'Being enmeshed in the community in a good way is really important.'

Dr Tucker is also an avid reader and does not just stick to academic papers and clinical studies touting the latest advances in neurology. He also gobbles up mystery novels and biographies.

'Immersing yourself in a good book, fiction or non-fiction, requires your brain to process a bulk of new information. I believe this is key to keeping your mind sharp,' he said.

Dr Tucker apparently has no plans to retire any time soon. When Guinness asked him about this last year, the doctor adamantly said, 'Gosh no!'

He added: 'I believe retirement is the enemy of longevity. Even in my younger years, I never once contemplated retirement.'
Deliveroo shareholders could receive their first ever dividend this year as the takeaway business continues to shrink its losses.

The food delivery giant has said it will dish out as much as 250million to shareholders as it rewards their loyalty  despite its beleaguered stock price.

Deliveroo was founded in London in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski and went public in 2021 at 390p a share.

The stock has struggled to perform ever since their anticlimactic flotation when major investors, including Aviva, BMO and Legal & General, said they would not be participating, citing concerns over the companys gig economy-style employment practices.

Divileroo: Deliveroo said it will dish out as much as 250m to shareholders as it rewards their loyalty  despite its beleaguered stock price

But the British tech firm said the shareholder payout would be in the form of either a special dividend, a tender offer or a share buyback, taking the total sum of returns to 300million for this year alone.

Deliveroo shares were up 3.50 per cent to 127.80p on the news.

The update came as Deliveroo revealed it made a loss of 83million in the first half of the year, down from 153.8million in 2022, while revenues surpassed the 1billion mark thanks to higher advertising income.

Deliveroo now expects pre-tax profits of 60million-80million for the full year, up from a previous forecast of 20million to 50million.

Analysts at Bernstein said Deliveroos improved forecast was a big positive for the stock and the sector.

Deliveroo has set its sights on profitability  cutting its workforce by 9pc earlier this year and scaling back operations in some markets, including exiting Australia.

The UK and Ireland were a success for Deliveroo in the half year, where sales grew by 11pc to 601.9million, thanks to soaring food prices and people spending more on their orders when they treat themselves.

I am very pleased with our progress so far this year. We have delivered a strong financial performance despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, said Will Shu.

Adam Vettese, an analyst at investment platform eToro, said: There had been a lot of scepticism about Deliveroo and its business model, and those investors who backed it when it went public have taken a bath on their investments.

But this is a promising set of results. For now, the firm is dealing with choppy economic waters fairly well.
Disney has revamped the pricing of its video streaming service after the company shed 11.7m customers in three months.

The media giant said that, while standard subscriptions will remain 7.99 a month for viewers in the UK, there will now be a more expensive premium version, priced at 10.99 a month.

The premium version will offer higher image quality and the ability for four different people to watch at once.

New prices: Disney's premium version will offer higher image quality and the ability for four different people to watch at once

A budget offering, costing 4.99 for Disney Plus, will require users to watch adverts alongside their favourite films.

Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger said the company continues to face a challenging environment but was focused on trimming costs.

He also vowed to crack down on password sharing  following in the footsteps of its rival Netflix.

For the three months to July, group revenue increased 4 per cent to 17.5billion, just short of Wall Street estimates of 17.6billion.

But it was lifted by the recovery of its theme parks, especially parks outside of the US.
Asset managers have been told to justify the fees charged on their funds.

The Financial Conduct Authority said a review of fund managers showed that profitability concerns are influencing how much to charge clients.

The rise of passive investing in recent years has spurred competition within the industry, forcing some funds to reduce their fees.

The Financial Conduct Authority said a review of fund managers showed that profitability concerns are influencing how much to charge clients

But despite the reduction the regulator wants to reform the way fees are calculated, arguing that some asset managers are not giving good value.

Camille Blackburn, director of wholesale buy-side at the FCA, said: It is vital that firms make sure they are not solely focused on a funds profitability over value for money for investors.

The FCA warned companies it would take action where necessary. She also said value assessments must be carried out properly and issues resolved swiftly.
Almost 250,000 passengers travelled through London Heathrow each day last month as Britons sought to escape the rain for sunnier climates.

Over 7.6 million people used Britain's biggest airport in July, which is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels but a 21.4 per cent rise on the previous year and approximately 620,000 more than in June.

Last year's figures were significantly affected by the travel hub imposing a departing passenger cap of 100,000 per day in response to staff struggling to cope with an unprecedented recovery in demand.

Passengers: Over 7.6 million people used Heathrow airport in July, not much below pre-pandemic levels but still a 21.4 per cent increase on the previous year

Last month, departures to Gibraltar, Portugal and Italy came close to record volumes while over 73,000 people travelled to Turkey, an increasingly common destination among consumers wanting affordable holidays.

The number of travellers going to and from European airports exceeded 3 million, many of them booking last-minute flights to avoid Britain's unusually wet July weather.

New York was the most popular destination for Heathrow travellers, supported by the 31 daily flights between the two locations.

There was also a surge in tourists to Asia after a loosening of Covid-related curbs in the region, which has enabled International Airlines Group's cargo arm and airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to restart flights to cities like Shanghai and Beijing.

Heathrow's outgoing chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: 'It's great to see so many passengers getting away to grab some summer sun.'

Holland-Kaye intends to step down in October after nine years in charge. He will be replaced by Thomas Woldbye, the CEO of Copenhagen Airport.

During his tenure, Heathrow has contended with a long-running battle to build a third runway and racked up billions in losses from the Covid-19 pandemic bringing flights to a virtual standstill in 2020.

THIS IS MONEY PODCAST Mortgage mayhem has stalled but what happens next - and how far will rates fall?

The airport has still not returned to profitability despite the significant rebound in overseas journeys, having recently reported a 139million adjusted pre-tax loss for the first six months of 2023.

It blamed the result on a ruling by the Civil Aviation Authority limiting the amount it can charge air carriers for every passenger they carry.

The regulator currently allows the airport to charge airlines an average maximum of 31.57 per customer, but this is set to fall to 25.43 in 2024 and 'remain broadly flat' in the following two years.

The CAA argues that the cap reflects the resurgence in travel and would lead to lower passenger costs.

But Heathrow is appealing to the Competition and Market Authority to overturn the decision, which it has said would undermine investment in the airport.
Winners will be mentored by Timothy Armoo, Mike Turner and Emma Jones

Small business platform Enterprise Nation has launched a new fund in partnership with TikTok, offering grants and mentoring from the country's top entrepreneurs.

The platform, which supports 800,000 businesses every year, will offer a 5,000 grants to three small businesses every year which focus on community, trust and entrepreneurship.

Winners of the competition, which closes on 14 September, will also receive 12 months of one-to-one mentoring with some of the country's most successful entrepreneurs, as well as a meeting with a TikTok ads specialist to help build an online presence.

Winners of the Enterprise Nation competition will meet with TikTok to help build an online presence for their small business

The winner of the entrepreneurial category will be mentored by Timothy Armoo, co-founder of social and influencer agency Fanbytes, who sold his business in an eight-figure deal at the age of just 27.

Mike Turner will mentor the fund's 'Trusted' category, having himself been a member of Enterprise Nation when he launched his own business, independent tea company Bird & Blend.

And Enterprise Nation's founder Emma Jones CBE will mentor businesses centred around community, having taken the platform to more than 8million revenue in 2023.

She said: 'We truly believe in the power of entrepreneurial spirit, trust and community, these are the qualities that best reflect our values and we want to celebrate and reward businesses that share that vision.

'By launching our own fund with TikTok, we hope to create a legacy that will help the next generation of businesses to collaborate and support each other in innovative ways.'

How can TikTok help your business?

While plenty of businesses use Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to reach a larger audience, TikTok has blown up in recent years. It now boasts 1billion active users and launched in the UK in 2018.

Unlike other social media apps which prioritise connections, TikTok's 'For You Page' presents users with videos related to their their interests through its unique algorithm.

It now also has its own shopping feature, where creators and businesses can sell their products, from which TikTok takes a small commission.

A recent study by Oxford Economics revealed that SME activity on TikTok contributed 1.63billion to UK GDP in 2022.

The report also found that 47 per cent of TikTok users have bought a product or service on the platform and 45 per cent have visited a restaurant or tourist attraction as a result of seeing it on TikTok.

Lisa Freidrich, TikTok SMB leader in EMEA said: 'At TikTok we are incredibly humbled by the inspiring small businesses that come to our platform every day to promote and sell their products.

'TikTok has become a key part in their marketing strategy, as an affordable and engaging way drive sales and we're very proud of the role we're able to play in breaking down the barriers to starting a growing a business. '

Entries for Enterprise Nation's competition opened on 10 August and close on September 14, 2023.

A shortlist of 30 successful entrepreneurs - 10 in each category - will then go to the public vote with finalists going forward to judging. The winner will be announced in October.
His agonising pain was a tell-tale symptom, but he was accused of

Doctors told a 12-year-old boy he was 'exaggerating' his symptoms and discharged him from hospital - only for him to be paralysed by a rare disease moments later.

His shattered mother is now urging hospitals to do better and run tests for rare conditions when symptoms arise, instead of just brushing them off as too unlikely.

Melbourne boy Maysen, 12, has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) - a rapidly progressive disease caused by inflammation of the nerves that affects just one or two in every 100,000 people every year.

The condition causes muscle weakness which can lead to complete paralysis and, in some cases, death.

GBS causes excruciating pain through the entire body. Recovery takes at least six to 12 months, with some patients reporting long-term problems.

Maysen's mum Jessica Bye told Daily Mail Australia she desperately urged doctors to check Maysen for GBS, but was told her son was 'exaggerating' his symptoms.

Doctors told 12-year-old Maysen, from Melbourne, he was 'exaggerating' his symptoms and discharged him from hospital - only for him to be paralysed by a rare disease moments later

Maysen has been left paralysed from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare and rapidly progressive disease caused by inflammation of the nerves

'Imagine being paralysed but feeling every single ounce of pain throughout your body and then being told that you're exaggerating,' Ms Bye said.

The young mother-of-three and stepmum to another three children said she noticed something was not right with her 'happy-go-lucky' Maysen when he complained about pain in his body on Monday, July 24.

However, she initially thought her son was experiencing growing pains or muscle aches from a three-kilometre run.

Maysen was given Panadol and had a couple of Epsom Salt baths, but after two days the young boy could not chew his food because of the intense pain in his jaw.

Ms Bye said Maysen's pain became so excruciating that her 'really tough kid' who never complained was in 'absolute hysterics' and sobbing while he slept.

A doctor assessed Maysen at their home in Melton, 47km west of Melbourne's CBD, on Friday, July 28, and suggested he could be dehydrated. They told Ms Bye to take him to the hospital if he did not improve.

The next day, Maysen's symptoms worsened and he was barely able to stand up or walk.

His mum rushed him to the urgent care department in Melton and was told his symptoms pointed to growing pains and that a blood test would be done to test for anything serious.

'I did say to them that my son has had growing pains before and this is a lot more excessive than that,' Ms Bye said.

'He's a really tough kid and he's one of those kids that won't even take Panadol if he's got pain. He would prefer to deal with it and it go away and not complain.

'They said, 'We'll do a blood test and see what the blood test shows and then we'll go from there.' So they sent us home.'

Maysen collapsed the next day, so his mum rushed him to Bacchus Marsh Hospital, after which he was transferred to Sunshine Hospital in St Albans.

Maysen's mum Jessica Bye (pictured) suggested doctors check for GBS but was told her son was not in enough pain for it to be the syndrome

Doctors at Sunshine Hospital, in Melbourne's west, believed Maysen was 'exaggerating' his symptoms and discharged him, suggesting the young boy was likely to be suffering from viral myositis, an infection caused after a flu

Ms Bye rushed her son back to the hospital moments after they were discharged, after the entire left side of his body was paralysed

Ms Bye said she was left with a 'bad taste' in her mouth after the receptionist at Sunshine Hospital told her to sit in the waiting room until her son was given a bed.

'The lady at the desk said, 'Yeah, he's arrived by ambulance but we'll take you to him when he's going to a bed. You just have to sit in the waiting room',' Ms Bye claimed.

'I thought that seems a bit weird. He's a 12-year-old-child who's already scared and, you know, stressed about even going in an ambulance. He can barely even walk and you're not letting his mum go in.

WHAT IS GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME? Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) occurs when the body's immune system attacks its nervous system. It is a rare and rapidly progressive disease that affects one to two in 100,000 people each year. Symptoms usually start with a tingling sensation in the leg, which may spread to the arms and upper body. In severe cases, the person can become paralysed. The condition can be life-threatening if it affects a person's breathing, blood pressure or heart rate. GBS' cause is unknown, but it usually occurs after a viral infection. There is no cure, with recovery taking at least six to 12months. Treatment focuses on restoring the nervous system. Advertisement

'I called Mason's phone and spoke to the paramedics and they sent one of the nurses to get me.'

Ms Bye said the pair waited 45 minutes before Maysen was given a bed and he was not given IV fluids until 11pm that night, despite informing the doctor her son had not eaten or had anything to drink for a few days.

The doctor told Ms Bye her son's blood work and urine test were normal and that his pain may be caused by viral myositis, an infection caused after a flu.

Ms Bye questioned the doctor, claiming her son had not been sick, and urged them run an MRI scan to test for GBS.

'I said, 'What if it's Guillain-Barre Syndrome or something? Shouldn't you do an MRI scan just to rule it out?'' Ms Bye said.

'The doctor said no because my son would be in much more pain if it was that. That's really hard for the doctor to say. There's a kid screaming in pain.

'The doctor had not given him any pain relief and they didn't even attempt to understand what level of pain he was in.'

Ms Bye explained her son was experiencing excruciating pain and had to move his legs off the bed, pull him up and help him shuffle to the toilet like a '100-year-old man with a hip replacement'.

Doctors believed Maysen was exaggerating his symptoms so he could skip school or spend time with his mum.

Ms Bye said Maysen would not be exaggerating his symptoms because he had just started dating his primary school crush and was annoyed the hospital stay was causing him to miss school and time with his girlfriend.

She was advised to return to the hospital on Wednesday, August 2, if his symptoms worsened.

'I repeatedly said that I completely understand there are some people who go over the top with exaggeration in the medical field,' Ms Bye said.

'But I told them that I know my child. I know this is not normal and I told them in the nicest way possible that I don't think what you are saying is right.

'I feel like it was a cop-out and they didn't have the time to do what they needed to do. So they thought they could take the next best way.'

As the pair were discharged, with Ms Bye pushing her son in a wheelchair, the mum noticed her son's face had drooped and informed the nurse.

Ms Bye believed the nurse was informing the doctor of the new symptom but on her return confirmed her son was still being discharged.

Ms Bye said she was five kilometres down the road from the hospital when Maysen started to slur his speech.

Her 'heart dropped' when she turned to check on him and saw the entire left side of his body was paralysed.

'I didn't know if my son was going to be alive the next day,' Ms Bye said.

'I didn't know if it was a brain tumour or had suffered a major stroke and needed emergency surgery. My heart dropped it was just extremely gut wrenching.'

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise funds for Maysen's recovery. He is expected to spend weeks in the hospital before he is transferred to rehabilitation where he will learn how to walk, talk and function again

Returning to the hospital immediately, Ms Bye, who works in Western Health, contacted the head of triage and the head of pediatrics.

'When we went back they were absolutely the most attentive hospital. The nurses were just in horror that he'd been sent home in the state,' Ms Bye said.

'One nurse sat next to him just patting him on the face and begging him to accept her apology for the fact he was sent home.

'If we had gone home and waited 36 hours, Maysen's lungs would have shut down and he would have likely ended up in ICU on a ventilator, if not dead.'

An MRI scan on Tuesday confirmed Maysen had GBS and he was transferred to Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, where he is now receiving treatment.

'He is currently, for all purposes, paralysed, but can feel the pain throughout his whole body,' Ms Bye said.

'He can barely eat. They're actually considering giving him a feeding tube because he just can't eat any food. He's lost eight kilos in two weeks.'

Maysen has a long-road to recovery and will be transferred to rehabilitation once the pain has subsided and will be given extensive rehab to regain the ability to perform basic tasks.

Maysen's aunt Kaitlin Bye has started a GoFundMe page to help her sister with hospital and rehabilitation costs.

'He will have a long stay in hospital and extensive rehabilitation to be able to learn how to walk, talk and function again,' she wrote.

'We are very lucky most people fully recover from this, but it is a very long and slow process.

'My sister will miss out on a lot of work and the costs of travel and parking alone is crazy. Please help my sister out with anything you can to just lower the burden of all the extra costs.'

The mother-of-three (pictured) and stepmum to another three children said she will be lodging a formal complaint with the hospital and hopes Maysen's story raises awareness of the illness and pushes doctors to think twice when treating a patient

Ms Bye said she will be filing a formal complaint with the hospital, even if it has ramifications for her job at Western Health.

'If my formal complaint does affect my job then that's just wrong,' Ms Bye said.

'You can't really make implications on a person's job because they make a complaint that their kid could have died if they weren't looked after properly.

'I will be fighting tooth and nail to help our health system. It's a massive fight, but our community deserves better than what it currently receives and unfortunately this issue goes much higher than our hospitals.

'I want to walk back in and find the doctor tell them, 'Guess what? Mason is at the children's hospital for the next few months with GBS and you didn't listen to me.''

She hopes Maysen's story will raise awareness of GBS, help parents be more aware, push for better care, and urge doctors to think twice before discharging a patient.

'GBS is an hour-by-hour basis at that point. Like, it goes downhill very, very quickly. And the consequences can be dire,' Ms Bye said.

'We should be able to trust doctors, and 99 per cent of the time, you can trust a doctor, but they're under so much pressure from the system that they work in.

'If I make big enough noise about it then they [doctors and nurses] might think differently the next time a patient presents with symptoms like those Maysen had.'

Sunshine Hospital is a public hospital on Furlong Road in St Albans and is one of three major hospitals in the western suburbs of Melbourne operated by Western Health.

A Western Health spokesperson told Daily Mail that the hospital is aware of the situation and has contacted the family.

'We acknowledge that this is a difficult time for the patient and his family,' Western Health said.

'We are in contact with the family and are committed to thoroughly reviewing this incident to identify any opportunities to improve our care.'
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A brand new luxury five-star hotel and conference centre is set to revitalise the western Sydney suburb of Penrith when it opens its gleaming glass doors.

The Pullman Sydney Penrith and the adjoining Western Sydney Conference Centre - built for $110million - will welcome guests from Friday.

General manager Glen Erickson told Daily Mail Australia that visiting guests along with Penrith locals popping into its swanky bars and restaurants can expect a world-class experience.

'That old-school romantic idea of five-star experience where the concierge waits on you, where's there's a big focus on attention to detail; we want to give people that,' Mr Erickson said.

'If you go for a run someone can be waiting for you in the lobby with a towel and a bottle of water or porters will open doors for you, that kind of thing.'

The $110million Pullman Sydney Penrith Hotel will celebrate its grand opening this Friday

Guests can lounge in the lobby bar (pictured) which offers a cafe style experience in the day and a lounge bar style venue at night with the Blue Mountains as a backdrop

'We are in the business of giving people a comfortable night's sleep so we're introducing a sleep menu where you can order different pillows, essential oil diffusers, background noise machines and lighting.'

The chain, known for it's hotels in Paris and London, will offer 153 rooms in the Penrith location along with 'unparalleled service, design and innovative technology' that promises an experience like nothing else within 50km.

Western Sydney Airport is expected to welcome passengers from 2026 and Mr Erickson said the buzz around the area is growing, providing a boost to the economy and jobs for locals.

'About 75 per cent of our employees are from the Penrith area and this development and the level of service being provided is something they can be truly proud of.'

The restaurants on offer will be Marcel Bar and Bistro along with lobby bar, Tori.

Marcel, a modern European restaurant offers a 'refined but welcoming atmosphere with elegant dishes which celebrate the area's abundant produce.'

Tori, on the ground floor, is a contemporary take on a traditional lobby bar, offering all-day light bites, brews from local coffee bean roasters and pastries for breakfast, before morphing to a live music and evening drinks spot with a spectacular Blue Mountains backdrop.

There will also be an elite fitness and wellness centre, developed in association with the 'high-performance team' from the Penrith Panthers.

The state-of-the-art Western Sydney Conference Centre adjoining the hotel offers cutting edge technology and culinary options from executive chef Colin Chun, available for conferences, events, formal dinners and wedding celebrations.

The Western Sydney Conference Centre is adjoining the hotel and already has an event booked in for each week until December

There are a range of choice in the hotel's 153 rooms with superior, deluxe and junior suites

Construction broke ground in 2018 and paused due to the Covid pandemic but resumed with a fresh focus, according to Mr Erickson, with the construction finishing ahead of schedule.

Architecture and design studio Turner used the Nepean as inspiration for the curved building design which resembles three winding bends of the river.

The design both inside and out is also a nod to the local indigenous community who have lived and fished along the river through history, Mr Erickson said.

'We've got our 120 people strong team ready over last two weeks finalising training and doing dress rehearsals.'

'We've got 150 wines and 300 beverages on the menu for example so there's a lot to get familiar with.'

'The influx of reservations and demand has been strong and there's conference or event booked every week until December but there's still plenty of availability.'

'The hotel will offer a range of room types from superior and deluxe rooms to junior suites,' he added.

Rooms rates start from $300 per night though Mr Erickson said they will be running a number of opening specials to attract Penrith locals and visitors alike.
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper has been found not guilty of two counts of domestic violence towards his estranged wife Sarah Marsh.

Magistrate Emma Manea found Cooper not guilty in a hearing at Waverley Local Court, in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Friday.

The magistrate said she doubted Marsh's reliability and version of events when the one-time model claimed he allegedly assaulted her twice in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

At a hearing, Ms Marsh, Cooper's wife of 14 years, told the court she was doing the laundry when Cooper allegedly tossed the clothes into the pool, grabbed her by both arms and shoved her against a glass door at their Tamarama home in December 2015.

'I was fearful of what was going to happen next,' she said.

Fashion designer Wayne Cooper (above) is accused of assaulting his ex-wife and former model Sarah Marsh. Above, he appears at Waverley Local Court in Sydney's east on Friday

Ms Marsh (above) alleged in court Cooper grabbed her by both arms and shoved her against a glass door in 2015

Testifying in court via video link from a witness room, Ms Marsh claimed she developed bruises and scratches from the alleged laundry incident.

Less than a year later, Cooper was accused of allegedly assaulting Ms Marsh during an argument where he threw a toy bear at her in the former couple's bedroom.

Ms Marsh said she started recording a video to try and deter Cooper. That recording - presented in court - featured a bitter, expletive-ridden row between the pair.

You're constantly calling me a c***, constantly calling me names - Im sick of it Cooper is heard telling his wife.

Cooper's barrister, Hugh White, claimed the designer was required to take 'reasonable force' to stop the phone from coming into contact with him.

Ms Marsh claimed her husband had moved out his belongings from the room and she eventually installed a lock on the door.

'I had a lock on the room so I was able to lock myself in,' she told the court. 'That was my safe place.'

Cooper and Ms Marsh were married for 14 years (pictured, Wayne Cooper with his estranged wife Sarah Marsh in 2011)

Taking to the witness box, Cooper denied ever getting physical with his wife, telling Magistrate Manea he had been provoked.

That never happened, I never struck my wife. he said.

The charges came some 18 months after Cooper furiously denied he and Marsh had ended their 25-year relationship.

Cooper rose to notoriety in the 90s with fashion labels Brave, Wayne Cooper and Wayne.

His clothes were once sold at two boutiques in Melbourne and are now available at Myer department stores.

Cooper's Australian Fashion Week shows have featured models including Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova and Sarah O'Hare (now Murdoch) and he was a regular guest on the reality TV series Australia's Next Top Model.

Cooper and Marsh's relationship has come before a court before.

Cooper was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond in December 2008 after pleading guilty to assaulting Marsh just days after she had cancer surgery.
Former President Donald Trump now faces 78 felony charges across three criminal cases. A fourth indictment could come any day.

They bring a very real possibility of prison time and the prospect of the Republican nominee for president campaigning from a cell.

But that does not diminish the appeal of Trump to his base.

A new poll for DailyMail.com found that almost half of Republicans in Iowa  the first state to pick its preferred candidate next year  say the former president should continue in the race even if he is imprisoned for federal crimes.

Some 48 percent said he should press on compared with 39 percent who said he should drop out, according to a survey of 600 Republicans carried out by J.L. Partners.

The idea of a presidential candidate in prison does not deter almost half of Iowa Republicans. They say Trump should press on with his campaign even if he is imprisoned

Trump and his allies have kept up attacks on Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is behind two of the cases, accusing him of running a witch hunt to keep the former president out of power

He is due to appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, as candidates try to woo the grassroots.

On Thursday, the idea that he might go to prison seemed a distant prospect for some attendees.

Jake Hansell, 78, said: 'He's not going to get put behind bars. He's too smart for that.'

But if Trump loses his legal battles? 'Sure, sure,' said the real estate agent from Des Moines. 'He should keep campaigning.'

With Trump facing multiple criminal trials it raises the extraordinary prospect of a candidate for the White House being imprisoned during the campaign.

In all he could face hundreds of years in prison if found guilty on all counts, although his previously clean record makes it likely he would be spared the heaviest sentences.

James Johnson, founder of J.L. Partners, the Republican polling firm that carried out the survey, said the results should be reviewed in reverse.

'It tempers the idea that the Republican electorate will slavishly follow Trump,' he said.

'Actually when you look across the results as whole, there is a significant chunk four in 10, according to this poll  who will actually say that Trump should drop out of the presidential race entirely if he ends up in prison.

'For this chunk of Iowa voters it turns out there is a bridge too far.'

But there are signs of weakness in Trump support when it comes to the 2024 general election matchup. Almost one in five Republicans in Iowa say they would not vote for him

Jake Hansell, 78, at the Iowa State Fair said: 'He's not going to get put behind bars. He's too smart for that.' But if he does? 'He should keep campaigning,' he said

Trump appeared in Washington, D.C., federal court last week to plead not guilty to charges related to his attempt to hold on to power after the 2020 election

The fieldwork for the poll was carried out from August 1 to 7, in the immediate aftermath of Trump's third indictment since March.

The results showed the former president retains his strong grip on the race in Iowa, a crucial early state.

He has the support of 43 percent of likely caucus-goers, according to the survey of 600 people, giving him a 26-point lead over Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis.

If anything the indictments have helped him, provided a fundraising boost and knocking rival candidates out of the news cycle.

But any advantage may be lost when it comes to next year and a possible match-up with President Joe Biden.

The poll found that almost one in five Iowa Republicans will not vote for Trump if he is the nominee. Six percent said they planned to vote for Biden, 10 percent said they would vote for another candidate, and two percent said they would not vote at all.

'He may be able the get Iowa votes for the nomination but if he loses even a fraction of that support in a general election  people who should be some of the most diehard supporters of any Republican candidate  then he will be in real trouble,' said the pollster Johnson.

The campaign focus switches to Iowa this week where presidential hopefuls will be shaking hands and kissing babies in a busy round of 'retail politics'

J.L. Partners surveyed 600 likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa from August 1 to 7. The results carry a margin of error of +/- four percent

Meanwhile Trump's legal woes are mounting.

He appeared in court last week to deny charges related to his efforts to hold on to power after the 2020 election.

The latest federal case accuses Trump of three conspiracies: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, two charges of obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy against peoples rights.

They carry maximum prison sentences of five years, 20 years and 10 years respectively.

Earlier this year he pleaded not guilty in New York court to charges related to a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He is due to go on trial next year on 34 charges of falsifying business records, which carry a potential jail term of four years each.

And in June Trump was charged in federal court with illegally possessing classified documents after leaving the White House and concealing them from the government.

Police closed roads and patrolled with dogs around the Atlanta courthouse on Monday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is believed to be in the final stages of her probe into Trump

Food carts stayed away and the usually bustling district was empty on Monday

Each of the 32 charges of 'willful retention of national secrets' carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison

The six charges of obstruction of justice can be punished with sentences of 20 years. And two charges of making false statements each carry a five-year maximum.

There could be more charges to come. This week police in Atlanta, Georgia, sealed off its downtown courthouse ahead of an expected 2020 election-related indictment.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump's efforts to reverse his defeat in the key swing state.
A Nigerian bank director managed to outsmart a major local bank out of a whopping 200 million - just by telling the bank he needed the millions to build an airport.

Emmanuel Nwude is actually the former director of the Union Bank of Nigeria - but he channelled his expertise in a less than ethical way, when he called up a Brazilian bank director on behalf of another huge banking figure.

Nwude called Nelson Sakaguchi, of Brazil's Banco Noroeste - and pretended to be the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Paul Ogwuma when asking for a huge sum to build an airport.

Shockingly, MailOnline learns that this individual phone call was enough to fulfil Mr Nwude's requests, and Sakaguchi put full faith in the Nigerian bank director.

Without completing any background checks, Sakaguchi approved Nwude's demand - but only if he'd get a huge 8m in commission from the new airport - that was never due to be built anyway.

The evil fraudster took full advantage of a Brazilian banker's niceness - without completing any background checks, Sakaguchi approved Nwude's demand - but only if he'd get a huge 8m in commission from the new airport - that was never due to be built anyway

Over a three year period - 1995-1998 - the Brazilian banker paid innocently paid Nwude and his associates a huge sum of approximately 190m - all for the airport that nobody had bothered to check existed.

But one day, in 1997, the Brazilian bank was examining its expenses ahead of being bought by the multinational financial company Santander and noticed that almost half of their money was marinating in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven.

Alarm bells finally started to ring, and Banco Noroeste was let wondering how this all went under the radar.

This instigated legal proceedings which showed that Nwude had in fact defrauded the Brazilian bank of the generous 190m, over the three year period.

Unfortunately, Banco Noroeste was so good-natured that its bank owners ended up paying the costs out of their own pocket, just so Nwude's sale would be successful - before its 2001 collapse.

The airport that was never built... Nwude called Nelson Sakaguchi, of Brazil's Banco Noroeste - and pretended to be the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Paul Ogwuma when asking for a huge sum to build an airport

Nwude and his associates were taken to court years later, in 2004 and they were chucked out and rearrested, before facing charges in another court.

The fraudsters decided to plead not guilty to over a hundred counts of fraud.

Things got even worse when Nwude tried to get himself out of trouble by bribery, paying 60k when one of his accomplices admitting their wrongdoing.

Despite being another large sum, his bribe was refused - and the trial even got Sakaguchi in as a witness for this, scaring the fraudster into confessing to his crimes.

He ended up pleading guilty in a bid to bag a lighter sentence.

Emmanuel Nwude was sentenced to 25 years for fraud - but was released from prison in 2006.

Now this type of scam is affectionately referred to as a 419 scam, and Nwude contributed to one of the biggest financial frauds in history.
A 999 operator listened on the phone as a gang who had broken into a cannabis factory run by rivals in a fortified semi-detached house stabbed an Albanian man to death, a jury has heard.

Five men from Essex are on trial at Lewes Crown Court, sitting in Brighton, after Xhovan Pepaj, 25, who was stabbed 16 times in an upstairs bedroom at the house in Caley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in the early hours of 4 December 2021.

Danny Moore, prosecuting, told the jury on Wednesday three men have already been found guilty of murder - Kelvin Amoako, 19, Ciaran Stewart, 19, and Bartosz Malawski, 28 - and Nathan Rainforth, 22, Donte Simpson-Palmer, 19, and Ray Renda, 22, had been convicted of manslaughter at a separate trial in Loughborough earlier this year.

All six, along with Charles Reilly - who never left Essex because he was on a court-imposed curfew at the time  were convicted of conspiracy to rob.

Mr Moore said Stewart used Pepaj's phone to ring the police and stayed on the phone for 14 minutes and 50 seconds and narrated the violence to the operator.

The prosecutor said: 'The relevance of its content extends beyond what the caller and the operator say to each other. One can also hear things being said in the background by others, and other sounds. When you hear it, you may conclude that violence is being used upon Xhovan Pepaj during that time. He is fatally attacked during that call and Ciaran Stewart is in effect overheard talking about it.'

Five men from Essex are on trial after Xhovan Pepaj, 25, (pictured) was stabbed 16 times in an upstairs bedroom at the house in Caley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in the early hours of 4 December 2021

Xhovan Pepaj (pictured), was found fatally injured inside the property

Zach Cutting, 24, Nathan Turner, 29, Glenn Hough, Jonathan Hedges, 25, and Fabian Szymula, 21, deny murdering Mr Pepaj and conspiring to rob.

Szymula alone denies perverting the course of justice, a charge relating to a note, written in Polish, which was passed by Amoako to Malawski just before he was about to give evidence at the first trial.

The prosecutor said the gang arrived at the house in a convoy of cars in the middle of the night, determined to snatch a valuable crop of cannabis plants.

Mr Moore said: 'This was a small obscure house in a town in Kent, and yet it was correctly targeted for what it was and attacked by a large group of men from many miles away in another county.'

As they broke in at 3.24am Mr Pepaj made a brief call to his associates, who turned up in the house 10 minutes later in two cars.

The prosecutor said: 'The ingredients now existed for a seriously violent confrontation between members of two groups of organised criminals: the cannabis growers from Kent, who arrived in their two vehicles and those raiders from Essex who were still in the house.'

He said the Albanians were unable to get past a locked gate which had been installed at the top of the stairs to protect the cannabis grow.

Mr Pepaj was trapped behind it with Amoako, Stewart and Malawski.

The five men from Essex are on trial at Lewes Crown Court, sitting in Brighton (pictured

After stabbing Mr Pepaj, Amoako, Stewart and Malawski jumped out of an upstairs windows and made their escape from the Albanians and the police.

Mr Moore said a few minutes later Amoako sent a Snapchat message to a friend in which he said: 'I've just basically killed someone.'

Amoako then made a 999 call to the police and told them: 'I fell asleep in a fella's car and Albanians pulled us out and I run for my life, I don't know where I am.'

Mr Moore said the jury would have to decide if the five men on trial had been part of a conspiracy to rob which involved the use of, or threat, of violence and if they were guilty of murder or manslaughter.

The trial is set to last for several weeks.
Was the Pentagon's research agency involved in pushing false claims Russians working for Donald Trump hacked the Democratic National Committee email server in 2016?

It's the question two Republican Senators are demanding answers to after unearthing a new email showing links between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and computer scientists investigating who was behind the cyber attack that shook the presidential campaign.

The latest call for an investigation comes months after Special Counsel John Durham concluded there was no evidence Trump conspired with Moscow to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in a damning report.

Since then, the hunt for those responsible for pushing fabricated stories of Trump's link to the Kremlin to politicians and the press have intensified.

The hack led to a leak of emails that were damning for Clinton and the DNC, and some say it contributed to her loss to Trump.

Hackers tied to Moscow were initially deemed the perpetrators, but Durham's report sparked allegations DARPA were behind the false narrative.

Two Republican Senators are demanding answers from the Pentagon's research arm over their work investigating the hack of the Democratic National Committee email server in 2016

The claims stemmed from DARPA's highly-contested work with research partner Georgia Institute of Technology and one of their computer scientists Dr. Manos Antonakakis.

An email obtained by Durham revealed Antonakakis, who was investigating the DNC and Republican National Committee (RNC) databases, said 'the only thing that drives us is that we just dont like [Trump],'

DARPA have continuously denied they were behind the allegations Russia was involved in the hack.

But Republicans say a new email raises fresh questions about their claim and the origins of the now-debunked allegations.

Senators Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa said the new evidence proves DARPA signed off on a project related to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC).

DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained a letter they wrote this week to Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, Director of DARPA, demanding answers about the agency's work with the Georgia Institute of Technology on the Enhanced Attribution (EA) program related to the 2016 hack of DNC communications.

The EA program probes malicious cyber attacks.

The email from Antonakakis reads: 'Folks, last night as I was thinking what we can study, I also realized that we do not know much about the RNC and DNC networks out there. Wrote a job that run [sic] over night and I know [sic] have 292 *hand verified* at this point networks that are linked with RNC, DNC, and all local/state committee networks around the US.

'An adversary would find those networks interesting for a number of reasons.

'So, I think we should run a reverse Pythia and see what we can see. If you approve this, [DARPA employee], I would like from you to think how we will break any bad news to these people? If you cannot think of a clear and clean way to inform them (is this DHS's role or FBI's or USCC's?), perhaps we should let them remain infected.

If you approve this, [DARPA employee], I would like from you to think how we will break any bad news to these people? If you cannot think of a clear and clean way to inform them (is this DHS's role or FBI's or USCC's?), perhaps we should let them remain infected. Thanks, Manos

DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained a letter they wrote this week to Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, Director of DARPA, demanding answers about the agency's work with the Georgia Institute of Technology on the Enhanced Attribution (EA) program related to the 2016 hack of DNC communications

The response from DARPA read: 'Sensitive stuff but yes, I know who to talk to if we find anything. Worth doing.'

Antonakis wrote back: 'OK, then. I will work with these networks and see what I can come up with.'\

Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussman was indicted last year for allegedly concealing his clients, including 2015 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, when he pushed since-debunked claims of a connection between the Trump Organization and Russia's Alfa Bank to the FBI.

In April 2018 the DNC filed a lawsuit accusing the Russian government, the Trump campaign and Wikileaks alleging they colluded to influence the 2016 election with the hack.

It's not yet clear what the source of the claims is for the allegation the Trump team and Russia coordinated the DNC hack.

The latest development comes months after Special Counsel John Durham concluded there was no evidence Trump conspired with Moscow to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in a damning report

The senators requested information on whether Antonakis conducted any work related to the DNC and RNC networks on behalf of DARPA and if so, whether they had informed the committees that they were poking around their networks.

They also requested all records all the work DARPA and Georgia Tech officials conducted related to the RNC or DNC.

In May of this year, Durham referred two matters to the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Defense Intelligence Agency, including '[o]ne matter involv[ing] the execution of a contract between DARPA and the Georgia Institute of Technology' and a 'separate matter involv[ing] the irregular conduct in 2016 of two former employees of the Department of Defense.'

DARPA has denied any role in attributing the 2016 DNC hack to Russia after an email showed special counsel John Durham's team asked Antonakis whether DARPA had had a role in the attribution of the hack.

Antonakis expressed dismay that the Durham team questioned whether DARPA should be poking around the origins of a hacker of a political entity.

The emails first published by The Federalist read: 'During one of my interviews with the Special Counsel prosecutor, I was asked point blank by Mr. DeFilippis, 'Do you believe that DARPA should be instructing you to investigate the origins of a hacker (Guccifer 2.0) that hacked a political entity (DNC)?' Let that sync [sic] for a moment, folks,' Antonakakis wrote last summer. 'Someone hacked a political party (DNC, in this case), in the middle of an election year (2016), and the lead investigator of DOJ's special council [sic] would question whether U.S. researchers working for DARPA should conduct investigations in this matter is 'acceptable'!'

Antonakakis added: 'While I was tempted to say back to him, 'What if this hacker hacked GOP? Would you want me to investigate him then?', I kept my cool and told him this is a question for DARPA's director, and not for me to answer.'

That email was sent to fellow Georgia Tech officials.

A DARPA spokesman told the Washington Examiner last year 'to the best our knowledge, no DARPA-funded researchers investigated' the DNC 2016 hack, and the agency did not assist the FBI's or Robert Mueller's investigations.

In 2016 the DNC's computer network was hacked - work that was attributed to Russians by U.S. intelligence officials. In December 2016 the CIA concluded the hack had been perpetrated to gather data on Democrats and assist the campaign of Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin denied his nation was behind the attack.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russian operatives with links to the government provided stolen emails to Wikileaks.

Antonakis has denied any wrongdoing and has not been accused of any crimes.
Americans by wide margins say President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, violated a law against peddling foreign influence, a DailyMail.com poll shows, amid swirling allegations about the first family's business dealings.

Fully 63 percent of voters say the president breached the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which obliges people to declare foreign interests, when he served as vice president and his son worked with the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.

Another 29 percent said they did not believe Biden, a Democrat, had broken the rules, and 8 percent were not sure. Republican voters overwhelmingly said Biden had committed wrongdoing, as did 38 percent of Democrats.

The results follow the claims from Hunter's former friend business partner, Devon Archer, about how the first son raked in huge sums by selling his ties to father Joe, in a bombshell congressional testimony and interviews earlier this month.

Those who followed Devon Archer's bombshell testimony found fault with the Bidens

The First Family are under mounting pressure over Joe Biden's support to his son Hunter's foreign business dealings

Biden, who was then vice president in the Obama administration, was present in-person during dinner meetings and sat in on at least 20 phone calls with foreign associates, Archer told the House Oversight Committee.

After the testimony, committee chairman James Comer, a Republican, said Archer's revelations marked a 'huge step toward implicating Joe Biden' in violating FARA by assisting Hunter's dealings with Burisma, where he served on the board.

Biden this week insisted he 'never talked business' with Hunter or his associates.

Our DailyMail.com/TIPP poll survey of 542 US adults earlier this month focussed only on people who followed Archer's testimony.

Those respondents were even more persuaded of wrongdoing by the president's son.

Fully 69 percent said Hunter had broken FARA rules by representing a Chinese energy company without registering as a foreign agent.

Another 18 percent said the younger Biden had not violated FARA, and 13 percent were not sure.

Republicans overwhelmingly found fault with Hunter, as did nearly half of Democrats.

Comer on Thursday raised the stakes on the Bidens again, saying his committee will subpoena members of the family to testify about their business dealings.

'This was always gonna end with the Bidens coming in front of the committee. We are going to subpoena the family,' Comer told Fox Business.

'We know that this is going to end up in court when we subpoena the Bidens.'

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has floated the idea of launching an impeachment inquiry to give greater weight to congressional subpoena power of the Biden investigations.

In his testimony and interviews, Archer did not claim to have ever heard Joe Biden discussing business but said Hunter would use his father as a flex.

Hunter Biden's former friend and business partner Devon Archer blew the whistle on how Joe helped his son

Those who kept tabs on Archer's testimony were even more convinced that Hunter fell afoul of 'foreign agent' rules

Even 38 percent of supporters of President Biden's own Democratic Party saw wrongdoing

Hearing the voice of the vice president on speed dial was enough to sell the 'brand' to foreign executives, he said.

'I can definitively say at particular dinners or meetings, he knew there were business associates,' Archer told Fox News' Tucker Carlson last week in an interview following his testimony.

'I don't know if it was an orchestrated call-in or not. It certainly was powerful, though, because, you know, if you're sitting with a foreign businessperson, and you hear the vice president's voice, that's prize enough,' Archer went on.

'Sometimes it was the call was coming in and the speaker would go on,' Archer said, detailing the conversations.

'You understand DC, right? So the power to have that access in that conversation - it's not in a scheduled conference call and that's a part of your family. That's like the pinnacle of power in DC.'

Comer claims to have found records detailing over $20 million in payments to the Biden family and their partners from foreign business leaders around the time Joe was vice president.

Weeks ago Hunter Biden's plea deal for tax and gun crimes blew up when a judge informed him he would not be shielded from future charges, specifically mentioning a violation of FARA, or failing to register as a foreign agent.

FARA was enacted in 1938 to counter Nazi propaganda.

It requires foreign lobbyists to register with the Justice Department. Prosecutors brought a handful of FARA cases in the postwar era, but stepped up cases in 2019 to counter rising Russian interference.
The mother of Rachel Morin, the 37-year-old woman found dead on a Maryland hiking trail over the weekend, is asking for 'time and space' to grieve in the wake of her gruesome murder.

Morin, a mother-of-five, appeared to have been beaten to death and left naked by her killer, DailyMail.com learned earlier Thursday.

Her lifeless body was discovered in a drain inside a tunnel on the scenic Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland after being reported missing on Saturday evening.

In an open letter shared by her daughter Rebekah on Facebook, Patricia Morin spoke out about how her family is attempting to cope with her daughter's tragic death.

'We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community,' she wrote.

The mother of Rachel Morin, the 37-year-old woman found dead on a Maryland hiking trail over the weekend, is asking for 'time and space' to grieve in the wake of her gruesome murder

'We just need time ... I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this. '

Morin began the letter by thanking people for the 'outpouring of love and support' and 'the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter.'

She also noted that the family is planning a 'celebration of life' service and a 5k walk/run in her honor, as Rachel was an 'avid runner.'

The grieving mother ended the letter with a simple note of thanks and signed it 'Rachel's mom.'

Mom-of-five Morin disappeared on Saturday August 5 at around 6pm leaving her house to take a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.

It's unclear who she was hiking with, but her new boyfriend Richard Tobin, 27, reported her missing.

The pair only made their relationship official on social media four days earlier.

The medical examiner has not yet revealed how Morin died, but a homicide investigation has been launched. Her family say she did not 'go willingly' and that her death was 'not accidental'.

Mom-of-five Morin (pictured here with brother Josiah) disappeared on Saturday August 5 at around 6pm leaving her house to take a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland

Local man Michael Gabriszeski had joined the search for the missing mom along with his stepdaughter Cecilia - who was friends with Morin - and her friend Evan, when he claims he came across her remains on Sunday.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Gabriszeski, a Native American tracker, said the pair had decided to check two drainage tunnels on the trail in Hartford County after noticing 'disturbances' on the ground close to the track where the fitness buff had taken a walk that night.

'Cecilia was the first person to see the body,' he claimed. 'She was hyperventilating really, really bad. And then the police told her to sit down.

'When she sat down, she realized she was sitting in a big pool of blood.'

'She was laying on her back, fully naked, and she had brutal head trauma...it looked like her head had been smashed in with a rock.

'There was a 15 to 20-foot blood trail. So, it looked like she had been beaten and dragged into that position.'

'It looked like (the killer) was trying to erase her identity,' the 48-year-old added.

'The right side of her face was gone.'

The medical examiner has not yet revealed how Morin died, but a homicide investigation has been launched. Her family say she did not 'go willingly' and that her death was 'not accidental'

Michael Gabriszeski, along with his stepdaughter and her friend, had joined the search for missing mom Rachel Morin, 37, on the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air, Maryland when the trio came across her remains on Sunday, he claims

Grabiszeski said he felt compelled to check out the drainage tunnels on the trail after noticing 'disturbances' on the ground near the track where Morin had gone on a walk

Morin was last seen on Saturday at around 6pm leaving her house to take a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail

The witness described seeing 'a 15 to 20-foot blood trail' near Morin's body and said it seemed like her 'head had been smashed in with a rock'

No suspects have been arrested in Morin's murder as of yet but a homicide investigation is ongoing

Locals were seen participating in a community walk along the Ma and Pa Trail, Bel Air, on Tuesday amid the investigation

A separate source close the family had earlier told DailyMail.com that the young mother had suffered serious head trauma.

'The injuries were so horrific that there won't be an open casket (at her funeral),' the source said.

A spokeswoman for Harford County's Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the nature of how Morin was killed.

Meanwhile, police have reached out to obtain any footage from people who were on the trail over the weekend.

Harford County Sheriff's Office wrote in a statement yesterday: 'Detectives are asking your your help.

'If you were on the Ma & Pa Trail on Saturday, or near the trail or trail heads and took photos or video, we are asking if you would please share them with investigators.

'There could be something helpful in one of your photos that might bring us one one more piece of the puzzle.

'As of this morning, we have already received nearly 90 tips from concerned community members in reference to the murder of Rachel Morin.

'Thank you for all the support you have given.'

It was formally confirmed on Monday that the body found was Rachel.

Officials at Harford County's Sheriff's Office in Bel Air, some 45 miles north of Baltimore, said they are still without any leads on possible suspects.

Morin's new boyfriend who has a criminal past took to social media on Sunday to insist he had nothing to do with her killing

Rachel Morin and Richard Tobin started dating a 'few weeks ago'. She was found murdered on a hiking trail on Sunday. The pair are shown during a previous hike together

Local police declined to comment on how Morin died or the type of injuries she sustained.

Her family say she did not 'go willingly' and that her death was 'not accidental'.

It comes after her new boyfriend took to social media on Sunday to insist he had nothing to do with her killing despite his criminal past.

The pair had only made their relationship official on social media four days earlier.

He said: 'I love Rachel. I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve. Yes, I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.'

Tobin has been arrested 14 times since 2014 on a variety of charges including drug dealing, assault, disorderly conduct and refusing arrest.

His lengthy rap sheet includes two arrests for criminal second degree assault, violating restraining orders, drug possession, and malicious destruction of property.

Tobin also has a number of traffic offenses, a fugitive from justice offense, resisting arrest, and disorderly intoxication and conduct marks on his record, documents show.
Former Vice President Mike Pence's debut at the Iowa State Fair Thursday turned dramatic when an audience member asked him why he was a traitor for not helping former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election.

Pence appeared on day No. 1 of the 10-day event in Des Moines with wife Karen at his side, taking the stage of Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox late Thursday afternoon.

He attracted two prominent hecklers - one MAGA fan who yelled, 'You made a big mistake Mike!' and a Jewish liberal who briefly held up a sign behind the ex vice president that read: 'Make Abortion Kosher Again.'

But it was an audience member's question that turned heads: 'Why did you commit treason on January 6 and not stand by President Trump?' the man asked.

That prompted anger from another member of the crowd who yelled, 'I'm a veteran buddy, shut your mouth.'

Former Vice President Mike Pence's debut at the Iowa State Fair Thursday took a dramatic turn when he was asked why he was a 'traitor' for not helping former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election

The crowd gathered at the Iowa State Fair late Thursday afternoon for former Vice President Mike Pence's appearance

Pence took the question in stride.

'That's a fair question. Look, come on people, that's why I came,' Pence said.

He pointed to the oath he took to the Constitution the day he and Trump were inaugurated on January 20, 2017.

'Now I know you might have a different impression about what my duties and responsibilities were on January 6 and I'm happy to talk to you about them,' he said, encouraging the man to read the founding document.

It reads that the vice president, on the sixth of January, 'shall' count the Electoral College votes.

'It doesn't say may, it doesn't say you can send them back to the states, it doesn't say you can reject votes, even though my former running mate and many of his outside lawyers told me that that authority was there, I knew there never was,' he said.

'I mean look there's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could pick the American president,' Pence argued.

Former Vice President Mike Pence (right) brought wife Karen (left) onstage with him during his turn at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox event Thursday afternoon

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence take a selfie with attendees at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday ahead of his speech

He expanded upon that when talking to reporters after his Soapbox appearance.

'I understand the disappointment with the election in 2020, remember I was on the ballot,' he pointed out. 'But our country is more important than any one man, our Constitution is more important than one man's career - including mine - so I'm going to continue to tell the truth about what I did that day and why I did it.'

'But I will tell you, stepping off, I have to tell you, I occassionally hear people ask questions like that, I'm always more than happy to answer, but the vast majority of people who speak to me about that painful day thank me,' he noted.

One attendee walked by Pence during his tour of the fairgrounds Thursday and uttered, 'I'm glad they didn't hang you,' video from Iowa Starting Line showed.

Looking ahead to the first Republican debate, which will be held August 23 in Milwaukee, Pence encouraged his former boss to join the lineup.

'I think everybody should be there,' he answered.

He also suggested he would be unfazed going toe-to-toe with Trump.

'People ask me sometimes what I think about maybe debating Donald Trump, I tell people I've debated Donald Trump a thousand times, just not with the cameras on,' he noted.

Pence also said he planned to showcase the successes of the Trump-Pence administration while onstage in Milwaukee.

'You know I was always loyal to President Donald Trump. He was my president, he was my friend. And that loyalty never wavered until the day came that my oath to the Constitution required me to do otherwise,' Pence said. 'But I'm proud of that record.'
The referendum will likely be on October 14

Tony Abbott invoked the words of Bob Hawke and Martin Luther King as he delivered an impassioned speech against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

The former Prime Minister addressed an Institute of Public Affairs event in Perth on Wednesday night where he outlined the reasons he would be voting 'No'.

During the speech, which received a standing ovation, Mr Abbott declared he'd had enough of the victimhood he says has become entrenched in Australia.

'The past isn't perfect, but our responsibility is to make the present and the future as good as we humanly can,' he told the audience.

Mr Abbott also echoed the words of Liberal legend John Howard, saying that although Australia was colonised, it could have been worse.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott gave a scathing speech against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament at an Institute of Public Affairs event in Perth on Wednesday night

Mr Abbott said that by voting Yes, Australians would be enshrining a sense of victimhood in the Constitution forever

'Citing  the wonderful words of Bob Hawke back on Australia Day in 1988, 'We are a country with no hierarchy of descent. We are a country with no privilege of origin',' Mr Abbott said as he opened his speech.

'Citing the immortal words of Martin Luther King from an earlier generation, 'I want to live in a country where my four children are judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character'.

'My absolute desire is that we can go forward as one equal people and that's why I'll be voting No. Because I absolutely reject any suggestion that there is something fundamentally wrong with this great country, Australia.'

Mr Abbott said if the Yes campaign for the Voice was successful, it would 'entrench victimhood in our Constitution forever'.

'The past isn't perfect, but our responsibility is to make the present and the future as good as we humanly can,' he said.

'This generation of migrants and the descendants of migrants are not oppressors. This generation of Indigenous people are not victims.'

Despite these imperfections and prior failed attempts at reconciliation that 'didn't always work out', the former prime minister said Australia still fared better than other colonised nations.

Mr Abbott highlighted Argentina, Brazil and the Congo, which were invaded by the Spanish, Portuguese and Belgians respectively, as such nations.

Voting No was also a chance to buck 'some of the crazy things that have been happening in our country', Mr Abbott continued.

'I'll be voting no to a few things,' he said.

'I'll be voting no to the voice, sure, but I'll be voting no to the climate cult, I'll be voting out the virus hysteria, I'll be voting no to the gender fluidity crisis, I'll be voting no to the 'Magic Pudding' economics.'

The reference to 'Magic Pudding' economics is in reference to the 1918 Australian children's book of the same name, where a pudding magically replenishes after it's eaten.

Mr Abbott used the words of Martin Luther King (above): 'I want to live in a country where my four children are judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character'

He also used Labour legend Bob Hawke's (pictured) words to justify his cause: 'We are a country with no hierarchy of descent. We are a country with no privilege of origin'

Mr Abbot closed his speech by saying: 'And I'll be voting no to this crazy cultural self-loathing that afflicts this country along with so many other countries of the English speaking world, which should know better.'

This speech in Perth came days after West Australian premier Roger Cook announced the state would scrap its Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act.

The Act had been in place for just over a month before the furore it caused among farmers led to its demise.

Land owners were incensed at the added layers of bureaucracy it had created, which required getting permits from local Indigenous mobs for any farming near culturally significant sites.

Mr Cook apologised for the stress and confusion it had caused the state when he announced that they would be abandoning the law.

'It has been made based upon the best legal advice and after detailed discussion and analysis of many options,' he said.

'Put simply, the laws went too far. They were too prescriptive, too complicated and placed unnecessary burdens of everyday Western Australian property owners.'

Mr Abbott lamented that the Voice would be like the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 'on steroids' during his speech.

'If you actually read the lengthy documents that stand as part of and behind the one-page Uluru statement, they are permeated by a sense of anger, grievance, entitlement and sovereignty,' he said.

'The essential thesis of the people who put together the Uluru statement and are pushing so hard for this voice, is that what happened in 1788 and subsequently was essentially illegal, unfair, unjust, and as far as is humanly possible needs to be atoned for and reversed.'
Ukraine has ordered the mandatory evacuation of nearly 12,000 people from 37 towns and villages amid threats of a concerted effort by Russian forces to punch through the front line.

Thousands of people living in the Kupiansk district of the eastern region of Kharkiv have been told by the authorities that to stay they must sign forms saying they know the risks, as 'high intensity' combat and enemy shelling takes place in the area.

The city of Kupiansk and the territories around it were under Russian occupation until September 2022, when Ukrainian forces conducted a rapid offensive operation that dislodged the Kremlin's forces from nearly the entire Kharkiv region.

It comes after two young women and a man were killed, and nine other people wounded, in a Russian missile attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday night.

The bombardment damaged 15 high-rise buildings in the city, as well as a church, city council officials claimed on Thursday morning, with photos showing emergency workers sifting through debris.

An aerial view of a church destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine on Wednesday night, which killed three people

Damage caused by a Russian missile strike on a civil building in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday

While the aerial bombardment continues, the city of Kupiansk - which is an important rail junction - faces the threat of being re-taken by Russian forces after being liberated from Vladimir Putin's troops last September.

The retaking of the area strengthened Ukraine's arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia with additional armament deliveries, which its Western allies duly provided. But as Ukraine has pursued a slow-moving counteroffensive in recent weeks, Russian forces have struck back in some areas.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia 'has formed an offensive group and is attempting to move forward' in the area in an effort to advance on the Ukrainian-held city.

Russia has concentrated assault troops supported by tank units, aviation and artillery in the Kupiansk area, Ukraine National Guard spokesman Ruslan Muzychuk said on national television.

The Russians have formed eight so-called 'Storm-Z' detachments - made up of convicts released from prison acting under military commanders - for the push, and fighting in the area was 'intense,' according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, the ground forces commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

'Some positions are passed from hand to hand constantly,' he said.

It was not possible to independently verify either side's battlefield claims.

Ukrainian authorities have periodically ordered evacuations, especially of children, from areas where the fighting has heated up. Officials have previously said the evacuations are necessary to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army to better defend towns from the Russian advance.

A vehicle burns after being hit by a Russian missile in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday as attacks by the Kremlin continue

Emergency workers try to clear debris from a destroyed church in Zaporizhzhia on Thursday

A man attempts to remove rubble from buildings destroyed by Russian missile strikes in Zaporizhzhia

Millions of Ukrainian refugees left the country after Russia's invasion started in February 2022, and millions more left their homes but stayed in Ukraine.

Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

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'Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby - this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,' a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said.

'The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.'

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelenskiy showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged. The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damages.

In Russia, two people died in Ukrainian shelling of the village of Chausi, 5km (3 miles) from the border, said Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian air defence systems shot down two drones heading toward Moscow for a second straight day, officials said. The reported attack disrupted flights at two international airports as Ukraine appeared to step up its assault on Russian soil.

One drone was downed in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defence Ministry, which blamed the attack on Ukraine.

No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Father Vasil holds a saved icon from the Orthodox church that was destroyed by a Russian missile strike

The destroyed remains of two vehicles badly damaged in Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday

Domodedovo airport, south of the city, halted flights for more than two hours and Vnukovo airport, southwest of the city, stopped flights for more than two and a half hours, according to Russian news agencies. Ten flights were diverted, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport said.

Firing drones at Moscow after more than 17 months of war has little apparent military value for Ukraine, but the strategy has served to unsettle Russians and bring home to them the conflict's consequences.

READ MORE HERE: Huge explosion tears through Russian defence plant near Moscow as drone attack targets the capital Advertisement

Kyiv officials, as usual, neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine's possible involvement in the drone strikes, though Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat remarked: 'This cannot but please us because people in Moscow thought they were safe. Now, the war affects each and every Russian.'

'We now see that 'something' happens in Moscow on a regular basis,' he added.

Russia's Defence Ministry also said it had stopped Ukrainian drone attacks in Moscow-annexed Crimea. It said it shot down two drones near the port city of Sevastopol and electronically jammed nine that crashed into the Black Sea.

Ukraine's presidential office said at least six civilians were killed and 27 were injured between Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Meanwhile, 12 people remained missing after an explosion Wednesday at a factory that makes optical equipment for Russian security forces, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency officials.

Russia's Emergency Ministry said 71 people required medical assistance after the explosion.

Russian officials did not offer a suspected cause of the explosion at the Zagorsk plant in the region around Moscow, which added to jitters about potential Ukrainian drone strikes.

The fallout from Russia's war against Ukraine has brought concerns to neighbouring countries, including the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus this summer after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.

Poland's defence minister said Thursday that the country intends to put 10,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus amid fears of a spike in illegal immigration.

Polish officials have accused Belarusian authorities of organizing illegal border crossings to disrupt and pressure Warsaw, which along with other NATO countries has provided support for Kyiv's war effort.
Graduates opt to work in home regions

11:20, August 11, 2023 By ZOU SHUO ( China Daily

Job seekers look for employment at a career fair for graduates unable to land a job in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday. A total of 4,100 positions from 156 enterprises were on offer. ZHANG CHaNG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Growing number of degree holders choosing jobs away from first-tier cities

More college graduates are choosing to return to their home provinces to work rather than stay in first-tier cities, according to a new report.

The report, released by education consultancy MyCOS, said that 47 percent of respondents who studied outside provincial-level regions returned to their home provinces to work last year, up 4 percentage points from 2018.

Female college graduates were more willing to go home than their male counterparts, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying they had returned home compared with only 40 percent of male students.

The report also found that students from more developed regions were more likely to return to their home provinces.

Fifty-nine percent of students from the more-developed eastern regions said they returned to their home provinces, followed by 44 percent from western regions, 37 percent from central regions and 24 percent from northeastern regions.

Moreover, students who returned to their home provinces last year preferred to work at government institutions (25 percent) and State-owned enterprises (24 percent).

Even though many of the students didn't find high-paying jobs in their home provinces, with monthly average salaries lower than the national average, the job satisfaction rate for these students was higher than the national average, the report added.

Many local authorities have issued favorable policies to attract college graduates back home.

In July, Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region hosted its 11th annual event to attract Guangxi students studying in other provincial regions to return home.

Henan province has also encouraged college graduates, businesspeople and retired soldiers to return and start businesses, and is offering loans of up to 3 million yuan ($416,200) for eligible applicants.

Liu Wenqi, who graduated from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing in 2021, has chosen to become a middle school teacher in her hometown of Zibo, Shandong province, although she was offered work at a primary school in Beijing.

She said she doesn't regret her decision and is very happy working in her hometown and being close to her family and friends, adding that renting a small apartment near her school, costing only 500 yuan per month is better than paying thousands a month in Beijing.

She said as she is not from Beijing, it would be difficult for her to buy an apartment in the capital and settle down, while doing the same in Zibo is much easier.

"Compared with one of my roommates who now works at a primary school in Beijing's Haidian district, we both think I am living the happier life, as she faces much more pressure at her school and living in the capital," she said.

Gao Jie, 23, graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in June and returned to her hometown in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, to teach English at a middle school.

Although she has just started working at the school, she said her colleagues are very friendly and the work environment is good.

"In the first year of college I had already decided to return to Shaoxing to work because I didn't like the intense competition in Beijing. Life in Shaoxing is much slower and more relaxed," she said.

She said she could not get used to Beijing's food and its dry climate. During winter and summer breaks her skin always would improve when she returned home, so she never considered working in the capital.

"I enjoy my life now," she said. "The school is near my home and I have a pet rabbit, so life is good."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
A local council has stepped in to help the owner of a car who was shocked to find her car swallowed up by a sinkhole on the Gold Coast.

Riina Haapala was reduced to tears when she woke up on Thursday morning to find her newly purchased Peugeot waterlogged and half buried in the road on Short Street in Southport.

Riina Haapala was left shattered after she found her car swallowed up by a sinkhole on a street on the Gold Coast after she wen to visit her partner at an apartment nearby on Short Street the night before the shocking incident

The 21-year-old woman has now received a helping hand from Gold Coast City Council, who said they will replace her car.

'The City is actively working with the customer to determine the appropriate level of compensation,' a spokesperson said.

The massive sink hole that opened up Short Street was blamed on a broken water main which burst open, causing the sinkhole

'Reviewing the matter, council will help the student to purchase a car of similar value,' they said.

The student from Finland said she was left gobsmacked after being confronted by the scene in the early hours of Thursday morning.

'At first I couldn't really believe what happened but after about five minutes I just started crying,' she told 7 News.

Ms Haapala had parked her two-door Peugeot on the street before she visited her partner's apartment the night before.

The sink hole opened at 4am on Thursday after a broken water main underneath the street, burst open the night before.

The ruptured water main flooded the street with water before it chipped away at the clay and asphalt underneath, which caused the sinkhole open up.

Ms Haapala' s two-door Peugeot was towed by council workers after emergency crews arrived at the scene late on Thursday morning to remove the car and begin repairing the damaged street

By time Ms. Haapala got to the car at 4.30am to drive to the gym, the car had nose-dived into the hole.

'I'm just hoping I can claim something back from the council,' she said.

Emergency crews towed the car out of the area after 10am on Thursday morning.

Gold Coast City Council told Daily Mail Australia the area was repaired by council workers a few of days later.
Britain could follow the US by tightening rules on investment in China's high-tech sector.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order earlier this week authorising the US treasury secretary to ban or restrict American investments in Chinese companies.

The order covers those firms specialising in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems.

Rishi Sunak is now looking at restricting British investment in China and is discussing the matter with businesses, his spokesman said.

A UK government spokesman said last night: 'The Prime Minister and President Biden have rightly put our economic security at the forefront of UK-US co-operation, as seen at the signing of the Atlantic Declaration.

President Joe Biden (pictured) signed an executive order earlier this week authorising the US treasury secretary to ban or restrict American investments in Chinese companies

'This executive order on outward investment gives important clarity on the US approach. The UK will consider these new measures closely as we continue to assess potential national security risks attached to some investments.'

The announcement could further inflame tensions between London and Beijing.

China's ministry of commerce said yesterday that it had 'serious concerns' about the order and 'reserves the right to take measures'.

In a letter to Congress, Mr Biden said he was declaring a national emergency to deal with the threat of advancement by certain adversaries like China 'in sensitive technologies and products critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance or cyber-enabled capabilities'.

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said: 'For too long, American money has helped to fuel the Chinese military's rise. The US is taking a strategic first step to ensure American investment does not go to fund Chinese military advancement.'

MPs from all parties have accused the UK Government of being too soft on China.

Rishi Sunak (pictured) is now looking at restricting British investment in China and is discussing the matter with businesses, his spokesman said

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has sought a policy of 'robust engagement', which critics suggest has only served to allow China free rein. China is the UK's fourth largest trading partner, according to the latest figures, with 10.7 billion invested in 2021.

Last month it emerged that ministers used national security powers to intervene in eight transactions involving Chinese-linked investment in British companies in the year to March 31. Some 866 deals were referred to the Government under the National Security and Investment Act, Cabinet Office data showed. Most were cleared but 15 were the subject of a final order under which the Government intervenes.

More than half of firms are taking a 'wait-and-see approach' to making new investments in China, a report from the British Chambers of Commerce in China found.

The European Commission has also said that it will closely scrutinise the US decision. In recent years, semiconductor technology has become the battleground of tensions between China and the West.

Last year, the Government blocked the acquisition of microchip company Newport Wafer Fab in Wales by Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of the partially state-owned Chinese firm Wingtech, after a lengthy review.

Tech company leaders have warned that the UK's semiconductor strategy is 'disappointing' when compared to that of other nations.
Ron DeSantis on Wednesday shrugged off attacks he's receiving from Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, saying it just means they see him as a 'threat.'

'I think it just shows I'm the guy that I get attacked by the left, the Democrats, Biden, Harris, the media, Trump, so I must be somebody they consider to be a threat,' he told NewsNation as he and his family barnstormed through Iowa.

The Florida governor is going all-in on the Hawkeye State, vowing to visit all of its 99 counties ahead of its January caucuses in the hopes a victory there can give his presidential campaign a massive boost.

But so far he's not seen any traction in the polls. In fact he is down nine points in a poll of Republicans in Iowa conducted by GOP polling firm J.L. Partners for DailyMail.com.

Ron DeSantis, wife Casey, and their kids Madison, Mamie, and Mason are on the first day of a two-day bus trip across Iowa

And Trump leads by 27 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average of Iowa voters.

DeSantis says the support will come.

'Win a majority of the delegates is what we're going to do. I think we're ahead of where we thought we would be thus far in terms of what we've been able to accomplish in Iowa,' DeSantis told reporters traveling with him on his campaign bus through Eastern Iowa on Thursday.

He, Casey, and their kids Madison, Mamie, and Mason are on the first day of a two-day bus trip across the state that will end with a visit to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday - a mandatory stop for any presidential contender.

Trump will also be in the state on Saturday, holding his own separate event when DeSantis and other contenders for the GOP presidential nomination are speaking at the fair's soapbox and attending a fireside chat with Iowa's Republican Governor Kim Reynolds.

It had been unclear if Trump would attend the annual event, which runs August 10 through August 20.

The state fair is an important venue for political candidates as they court voters ahead of January's caucuses.

The former president plans to bring with him a posse of Florida lawmakers who have endorsed his presidential bid over DeSantis. Also attacking DeSantis has been Vice President Harris, who has repeatedly slammed Florida's new education policy that allows students to be taught that slavery gave black people 'skills' which could be 'used for their personal benefit.'

In an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, Trump called DeSantis a 'failed candidate.'

'He has got no personality and nothing going,' Trump noted.

'He's dropped like a rock. I don't even think he's going to be No. 2 for long,' he added.

'I must be somebody they consider to be a threat,' Ron DeSantis said told NewsNation of attacks on him by Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Ron DeSantis campaigned in Iowa City, Iowa, on Thursday

DeSantis argued that 'When they're attacking you, that means you're over the target. We're happy to field that and we'll hold our own.

'Because at the end of the day, I'm running to actually win the presidency and do all these great things. I don't have any other motivation. I don't want to get a cable news deal. I'm not trying to sell anything. I don't want a cabinet post,' he told NewsNation.

He also said Trump shouldn't skip the traditional Iowa events and the sitdown with Reynolds.

'I'm going to be there with Gov. Kim Reynolds. Donald Trump has attacked Gov. Kim Reynolds. She's done a great job here,' he said.

'I don't believe it's good for the party to be attacking people like Kim Reynolds so we're going to do the fair-side chat with her. Trump is not doing that chat with Kim Reynolds even though he has the chance to do so.'

The latest DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners survey shows that 43% of likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa will support Donald Trump, compared to the just 17% who are backing Ron DeSantis

Reynolds has not endorsed in the presidential race but has repeatedly praised DeSantis - a move that has infuriated Trump.

On Wednesday she praised the Florida governor for visiting all the counties in the state - a move she called the 'full Grassley.' Longtime Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is known for visit all 99 counties in his state every year.

'He's showing up in rural Iowa. He's talking to voters. He's listening to voters. He's talking about his vision and that's a really good thing to do,' Reynolds told Fox News of DeSantis.

DeSantis has visited about 30 of the 99 counties with five months to go until the caucuses.
Residents have accused the owners of 'Britain's wonkiest pub' of tearing down 20ft tall trees and destroying wildlife as part of plans to develop two former quarries.

Adam Taylor and his wife Carly owned the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire when a major blaze broke out over the weekend - just days after the 18th-century inn was sold to them.

The couple have previously caused anger among locals after it emerged that they had bought and allegedly gutted another traditional pub in the Warwickshire village of Willey.

Now they have been subject to a slew of allegations from residents near their home in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, for destroying wildlife and ripping out mature trees and hedges in two rural areas before submitting any planning applications.

One resident from Dunton Bassett said the former quarry land near their village had been like 'a mini personal New Forest', with 20ft trees and wild orchids, which was later destroyed after the Taylors bought the land and destroyed the landscape.

Adam Taylor and his wife Carly owned the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire when a major blaze broke out over the weekend (the couple are pictured together)

Adam Taylor, 44, plant hire boss and a shareholder and former director at Himley Environmental, also owns the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn,

Locals lodged complaints against plans to build a 35-acre solar farm, along with 33 holiday lodges, at the Slip Inn quarry, Dunton Bassett.

One resident who wrote to Harborough district council objecting to the plans for the solar farm said the 'attitude to managing the countryside is wilfully dangerous and chaotic'.

They added that 'the village was lucky to survive his [Mr Taylor's] carelessness'.

Plans for the solar farm were submitted through letting and real estate firm ATE Farms Ltd, which is controlled by former nail technician Mrs Taylor, 34, from Lutterworth, Leicestershire. The proposals are still being considered by the council.

Meanwhile, plans to develop a second site into equestrian, angling and leisure facilities, which have now been approved, came under fire from locals for causing the 'unnecessary' destruction of woodland.

One wrote in public documents on the council website: 'They went in with heavy machinery and destroyed the whole woodland,' while another added: 'I see he says 'sorry' in his new application. Words are easy, the damage is for ever. How can you trust this applicant and what he puts forward?'

According to the Times, the Taylors also offered to buy a farm neighbouring one of the former quarries for 1million, adding that no borrowing would be required.

ATE Farms bought the pub from brewery Marston's and is registered to the same address as Himley Environmental, which runs a 37-acre quarry and landfill site next to the Crooked House pub, which burnt down on Saturday August 5.

Mrs Taylor's 44-year-old husband, a plant hire boss and a shareholder and former director at Himley Environmental, also owns the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn, a pub in the Warwickshire village of Willey around five miles away from their home.

Mr Taylor bought the pub in 2020 and is said to have ripped out the interior, before council planners issued a 'stop notice' to prevent any further works. It is now closed.

 Slide me  Adam Taylor, 44, is a plant hire boss who also owns the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn, a pub in the Warwickshire village of Willey. It is pictured now (left) and before its closure (right)

The interior of the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey, Warwickshire, pictured yesterday

The Sarah Mansfield Country Inn pub has been undergoing a conversion led by Adam Taylor

Adam Taylor bought the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey, Warwickshire, in 2020

A side view of the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey which is currently closed

The disused car park of the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey, pictured yesterday

A sign warning of CCTV camera surveillance at the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn in Willey

He subsequently submitted a planning application to convert the first floor of the pub to six letting bedrooms, while restoring the ground floor to a pub and building two houses in the rear car park.

Britain's 'wonkiest pub' where coins rolled UP the bar before being destroyed by fire: How Staffordshire venue The Crooked House sunk 4ft into ground due to mine subsidence A wonky historic 18th-century pub that burned down last week was famed the world over for its baffling appearance and optical illusions that saw coins and marbles appear to roll up the bar. The Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire, attracted tourists from across the world and was a popular wedding venue. Prior to its destruction, the venue was often described as Britain's wonkiest pub, sitting 4ft lower on one side than the other. The Crooked House pub, pictured in 1907 It was first built as a farmhouse in 1765, but gradually sank into the ground on one side due to subsidence from mining works carried out in the 1800s. It was converted into a pub in around 1830 and was first known as The Siden House  'siden' being Black Country dialect for 'crooked'. It was later renamed the Glynne Arms after Sir Stephen Glynne, a brother-in-law of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who owned the land on which the tavern stood. While the Glynne Arms name remained above the door into the 1970s, the pub had acquired a more affectionate nickname among locals by then - the 'Crooked House', which was later adopted as the formal moniker. Inside, drinkers might have been convinced they had one too many before they had even sipped their first pint  because while the floors and fixtures such as the bars and seats were level, the ceilings, walls and windows were not. A picture postcard from the early 1900s shows marbles appearing to roll up the bar A mind-boggling optical illusion known as a 'gravity hill' meant that coins and marbles appear to roll uphill when placed on slightly downhill surfaces that were sitting at a less jaunty angle than the rest of the pub. Picture postcards of the era  a popular way for visitors to show families back home where they were visiting in the years before photography was commonplace  made much of the pub's quirks. Many are captioned 'The Crooked House', while one even features a table of well-dressed country gentlemen marvelling at a marble appearing to roll up their table. The pub had been threatened with closure in the 1940s after it was deemed unsafe. By this time, one side of the building had sunk a full 4ft into the ground, despite the owners installing buttresses to stop it from slipping any further. Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries then purchased the building, reinforcing the supports with girders, and it remained open until earlier this year when the same brewer  now known as Marston's  announced that it was closing it as part of a cost-cutting regime. The brewing giant said it was selling off 61 locations to 'maximise returns from our core estate'. The Crooked House went on the market in January with a guide price of 675,000 and was sold last month to ATE Farms Limited, a company controlled by Carly Taylor, 34. Advertisement

Rugby Borough Council had approved a request by villagers to protect the Sarah Mansfield as 'an asset of community value' in March 2021, but an appeal then overturned the decision.

One local resident told MailOnline that the 'ruthless' businessman bought the Sarah Mansfield with 'the intention of gutting in and turning it into rental accommodation'.

The woman, who declined to be named for fear of recrimination, said: 'The new owner did just that, he bought it and in two to three days he got his team of workers in, the skips were in place, and they gutted it.

'They ripped out everything to the outrage and upset from local people - the plaster, the plumbing, the electrics, it is a shell.

'He sought planning permission to create rental rooms and claimed he would keep part of the premises as a pub but we don't think that was ever his intention.

'He wanted to cash in with rentals, and build two new houses in the car park.

'All the villagers objected, there are only around 20 of us, but the pub was the heart of our village, it was thriving and attracted outside visitors too, and he ripped that out.'

A fellow villager added: 'We know Mr Taylor by reputation and when we heard it was his new Crooked House pub bulldozed, it was a weird feeling of deja vu.

'He comes into communities and wrecks them, with no regard to local people, and for his own profit and gain.

'The guy is absolutely minted from all his business deals, he has a crew of people running around for him 24/7 who no doubt he rewards well, but how much more money does he really need to make?

'We heard he struck lucky by selling off landfill sites he owned in the West Midlands for the HS2 scheme, and he got a small fortune from the Government venture.

'He has become a force to be reckoned with, people are scared of him and the authorities seem to bow to him. It is outrageous that one man and his wife can yield so much power.

'What he is doing to local communities, ripping down well-known pubs for development and his greed, is outrageous and the authorities should put a stop to it.

'He does whatever he wants to do and seems to get away with it. We've heard he's worth a shed load of money. He drives around in a Bentley with personalised plates.'

Drinkers at The Barn pub - two miles away from the Sarah Mansfield - where Mr Taylor was a regular until he was barred, told MailOnline the 'super rich' self-styled entrepreneur charmed everyone he met, with one adding: 'He was always as nice as pie if you treated him properly.

'Even if he doesn't know you, if you give him the time of day, he'll buy you a drink or two and seems a really nice guy. He's been lucky in a lot of places with business.

'He'd often drink in his local pub. His wife would drive him here in the Bentley, leave him for a while, and then pick him up. She would never come in with him.'

They added that he would never leave a tab and 'paid everything upfront in cash'.

A regular at the pub said: 'He has been barred from this place.

'He would always turn up with an entourage of people, with an 'I'm better than you' attitude.

'He once told the boss that he needed to have 'Belvoir Vodka or I won't come back'. He was that arrogant. The boss informed him: 'We don't stock that so don't come back. You're barred!''

The Times reported today that Harborough District Council in Leicestershire last month approved the Taylors' application to build 21 holiday homes at their farm despite objections over local traffic concerns.

The Taylors have not yet commented on any matters since the fire broke out at the weekend.

The intercom went unanswered at the couple's gated home yesterday.

But a Staffordshire Police spokesman said officers had 'spoken to, and continue to engage with' the owners of the Crooked House.

He added that the force's joint investigation with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service had so far been unable to determine the cause of the blaze.

Former nail technician Carly Taylor, 34, of Lutterworth, Leicestershire, controls letting and real estate firm ATE Farms Ltd, which bought the Crooked House pub from brewery Marston's

Pictures have emerged of Carly Taylor, who was behind the purchase of the Crooked House

Locals inspect the rubble of the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, on Tuesday

The Crooked House, which was dubbed 'Britain's wonkiest pub', is pictured before the fire

Tom Catton, who ran the 18th-century Crooked House with his wife Laura between 2006 and 2008, drinks a can of beer amid the rubble as a final farewell to the building on Tuesday

A police spokesman said: 'Speculation is extremely unhelpful and could hinder our investigation.'

A source told the Mail that the purchase of the Crooked House was 'all about access' and followed disagreements between Himley Environmental and Marston's over an access road which they shared.

Himley Environmental's director Richard Longley could not be reached for comment last night.

Pictures on social media show Mrs Taylor driving a Bentley, flying first class and posing outside the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

A relative said she used to run her own beauty business in Lutterworth, but had since become used to 'living the high life'.

The family member added: 'She seems to go here there and everywhere, judging by Facebook.'

The relative had no idea Mrs Taylor was now connected to the Crooked House, adding: 'I've driven past the pub before but I've never been inside.'

A second person who knows Mrs Taylor said she 'loved shopping for designer handbags' and had 'dozens of them'.

Situated in a former mining area, the 260-year-old pub was surrounded by quarries which caused subsistence in the 1800s  resulting in the pub becoming lopsided.

The business had closed last month to repair damage after a break-in.

Villagers climb in the ruins of the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, on Tuesday

People inspect the rubble of the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, on Tuesday

Police say the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined but is being treated as arson

The Crooked House pub yesterday after its demolition on Monday

Staffordshire Police are reviewing 'all of the available evidence' into the cause of the fire

A spokesman for Marston's, which put the pub up for sale in January, said the sale was completed on July 27.

Mr Taylor's son from his first marriage, Ethan, said he was unable to contact Mrs Taylor but stressed that her firm had purchased the pub, rather than her buying it in a personal capacity.

The Crooked House was reduced to rubble on Monday despite South Staffordshire Council stating that it had permitted only the top floor to be demolished for safety reasons.

The council said on Tuesday that it was exploring whether the total demolition constituted a breach of the law and stated that it had not agreed to 'the demolition of the whole structure', nor deemed it necessary.

The incident has sparked anger in the community with West Midlands mayor Andy Street saying 'questions need answering'.

In a letter to South Staffordshire council leader Roger Lees, Mr Street demanded the pub is 'rebuilt brick by brick'.

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi yesterday questioned why police did not intervene in the demolition, given that the investigation into the blaze at the site is ongoing.

In a letter to Chief Constable Chris Noble of Staffordshire Police, Mr Longhi questioned whether police were notified of the demolition, which took place on Monday.

Mr Longhi said: 'If the police are investigating the fire incident, then why would the site be demolished whilst the police are conducting their enquiries, which may possibly require a forensic examination to gather evidence?'

The pub started life as a farmhouse in 1765 before becoming a public house in about 1830.

The Crooked House was demolished on Monday just hours after it was devastated by a fire

The remains of The Crooked House pub are pictured on Tuesday after the demolition

Staffordshire Police said on Monday that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing

Aerial shots after the fire showed just how badly the 18th-century pub in Himley was damaged

Locals had started a petition calling for the pub to be saved after a sale was announced

It was formerly known as The Siden House - meaning crooked in the Black Country dialect - and was reputedly haunted by a 'serving wench' named Polly, according to a local pub guide.

Some 30 firefighters were needed to tackle the blaze at the pub on Saturday evening and it was demolished two days later.

Police said last night: 'This fire has shocked and upset so many given the, albeit not listed, cultural importance and heritage of the building.

'This is not lost on us and a robust investigation using all available information and forensic opportunities is being carried out.'

A joint investigation is being carried out by the police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A blaze at Black Country pub the Crooked House engulfed the building over the weekend

Police arrived at the scene of the pub at 10.45pm on Saturday after the blaze

Police are liaising with fire investigators, who have confirmed the cause of the fire cannot currently be determined, but the force said they are following up on a number of lines of inquiry.

A specialist fire investigator has examined the scene to try and determine the cause of the fire.

The fire service also revisited the grounds yesterday with a specialist accelerant detection dog to investigate further.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Chisholm, head of specialist crime at Staffordshire Police, said: 'We understand the significance of this much-loved building, and the upset and anger felt by many, so want to reassure you we're doing all we can to understand more about what happened and who was responsible.

The crooked nature of the pub attracted punters from around the world for decades

Inside, its windows and walls all appeared crooked due to a bizarre effect through subsidence

'There is lots of misinformation circulating within communities and online, and this is unhelpful.

'We're trying to provide accurate and timely updates, but as I am sure you can appreciate there is a lot of work and liaison with a number of partners which needs to be completed, and this takes time.

'There are also certain things that police and fire do not have the powers to deal with, the decision around partial demolition of the building, for example, when the scene was handed back to the owner.

'We are working hard with our fire colleagues to understand the cause of the fire and are in contact with the landowner, we will keep you updated with any further significant developments.'

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Staffordshire Police via 101 quoting incident 761 of August 5. People can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use the Live Chat on the Staffordshire Police website
A man who flushed his girlfriend's pet rabbit down the toilet has been sentenced to eight years in jail - but the convict remains on the run.

Nicholas Cash, 23, from Bournemouth, Dorset, controlled and coerced Olivia Croft, 21, during their nine-month relationship.

Cash claimed he was too ill to attend his trial in October but then fled to Thailand with a new partner.

During the relationship with Miss Croft, he slashed her face with a piece of broken glass, locked her in their home and repeatedly shot her with a BB gun.

He also goaded her into taking an overdose before forcing a large number of pills down her throat.

Fugitive Nicholas Cash, 23, (pictured) from Bournemouth, Dorset, controlled and coerced Olivia Croft, 21, during their nine-month relationship

When Miss Croft started to gag, Cash phoned an ambulance, telling the operator she had attempted to take her own life.

He threatened to hurt Miss Croft and her family if she revealed the truth because she 'wasn't worth going to jail for.'

Cash gaslit Miss Croft, turning her into a vulnerable and isolated young woman.

He stopped her wearing makeup, monitored her mobile phone and social media use and showed up at her work to humiliate her in front of colleagues, causing her to lose two jobs.

He used other people to spy on her and even locked her in their home and removed door handles as well as installed CCTV to watch her.

Miss Croft said when she finally left him, Cash drowned one of her rabbits by flushing it down the loo.

When he was arrested Cash tried to paint himself as the victim but police refused to believe his story and charged him with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.

Cash claimed he was too ill to attend his trial in October last year and had a doctor's note.

Yet he showed 'absolute cowardice' by jetting off to Thailand with a new partner.

Cash was convicted and sentenced in his absence at Bournemouth Crown Court.

After the case, Miss Croft, who has a new job as a carer, said: 'The things he did to me were sickening but I was too scared to leave because I didn't want him to hurt anyone else.

Miss Croft said when she finally left him, Cash drowned one of her rabbits by flushing it down the loo (File image)

'He relentlessly abused me, emotionally and physically.

'I had to be strong in the end as I knew it would just get worse and worse.

'When I did finally leave he flushed one of my pet rabbits down the toilet, killing it.

'That was the last straw for me to go to the police.

'It feels like a weight off my shoulders now it's done but I don't think it would have mattered how long he got.

'It was really hard going through the trial, being questioned by his lawyer while he was living it up in Thailand.

'I'm still unable to sleep. I have horrific nightmares about him coming to snatch me back. I feel emotionally blunted and numb most of the time.

'I have very serious trust issues and I'm very uncomfortable in social settings.

'Before I was a social and outgoing person. I felt a part of the world I lived in and was comfortable in my own skin. He took all that away from me.'

The court heard the pair began a relationship in February 2020, when Miss Croft was just 17. Within just three weeks Cash had become controlling over her.

Althea Brooks, prosecuting, said: 'His controlling behaviour caused her to change in a number of ways. It caused her to be isolated in her own home, she was discouraged from wearing makeup and fake tan, embarrassed in front of her work colleagues, isolated from family.

'He monitored her phone use and social media activity, monitored her whereabouts and made it clear he was doing so and used other people to spy on her for him.

'He repeatedly broke her mobile phone, was conducting relationships with other women, abandoned her in public without transport, locked her inside her own home, removing handles from doors and installed CCTV to intimidate her.

'When she ended the relationship he made nasty, violent threats towards her and her family. He was regularly violent with her, he strangled her, dragged her by the hair, punched, pushed and slapped her and caused visible injuries.'

Miss Croft said: 'It was really hard going through the trial, being questioned by his lawyer while he was living it up in Thailand.' Pictured: Thailand (File image)

The court heard that whenever they argued he would drag Miss Croft her by her hair and 'throw her around like an object'.

During another argument Cash shot his victim about 20 times with his gas-powered BB gun, some at point blank range, hitting her leg, breast, behind her ear and her bottom.

He warned her that if she showed anyone the marks he would tell them she was using heroin and that was responsible for the marks.

On another occasion when Miss Croft wanted to leave their home to go jogging Cash pulled her by her hair, shot her with the BB gun again and picked up a piece of glass from a broken picture frame which he used to cut her cheek.

In passing sentence, Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said: 'The motive behind it was mean, callous and designed to humiliate [her] to the maximum.'

He said Cash showed 'absolute cowardice' by failing to face the complainant at trial.

Judge Fuller added: 'He sought to cast himself as the victim, not the perpetrator. Nothing could be further from the truth.'

He jailed Cash for eight years for engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, two offences of occasioning actual bodily harm, one of administering a poison or noxious substance and a charge of criminal damage.

In 2021, Cash was also given a 19-month sentence suspended for two years for offences against another victim.

Judge Fuller said Cash would be sentenced separately for breaching that suspended sentence and failing to attend his trial when he returns or is extradited to the UK.
A weekend bender in Las Vegas went horribly wrong for an Australian billionaire when he was busted with drugs after his luxury private jet landed in Melbourne.

Laurence Escalante - who has an estimated worth of about $3.4billion - pleaded guilty to possessing small amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and LSD in May last year when he faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The 41-year-old Perth entrepreneur landed at a VIP terminal at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport ahead of his court appearance on the same $70million private plane, a Bombardier Global 7500, he returned to Australia on last year.

Mr Escalante made his riches after creating Virtual Gaming Worlds, an online gaming empire that prides itself on 'innovative social games', many of which involve gambling.

Although worth billions now, his first job was flipping burgers at Hungry Jacks for just $5.65 per hour as a teenager.

Entrepreneur Laurence Escalante (pictured) - worth an estimated $3.4billion - donned a designer suit and tie as he plead guilty to drug possession on Thursday

Mr Escalate, fond of showing off his wealth, posted several photos and videos of himself travelling from Perth to Melbourne for his court appearance.

The father-of-four then made more posts to his Instagram account the following night showing his children and family on his private jet, dubbed the Ferrari of teh Skies, as they flew to Sydney.

He had previously posted an image of himself at the Magistrate's Court dressed in a designer suit and tie while sporting a luxury watch.

The court heard that Mr Escalante told customs officials upon arrival in Melbourne he had packed his own bags and was 'fully aware' of anything he was bringing into the country, the Herald Sun reported.

He had even exchanged messages with one of the flight attendants that he had 'double checked' his luggage before taking to the sky.

Soon after arrival however, Mr Escalante was escorted to a private examination room by customs officials to search his bags.

They found a zip-lock bag containing one gram of cocaine, a single blue pill of ecstasy in a pocket of a pair of jeans and a small vial containing 0.03mg of LSD in his luggage.

He told the customs officials that he 'didn't even know' the LSD was in his bags or that he had it.

'The rest of the stuff is residue and remnants from my jeans,' he said.

'I did not dispose of (the drugs) appropriately ... it's my mistake.'

Customs officials found small amounts of cocaine, LSD and ecstasy on his person after he arrived in Melbourne on his private jet (pictured) following a trip to Las Vegas

Mr Escalante's lawyer, David Hallowes, SC, told the court his client was 'ashamed' of the charges.

He argued Mr Escalate should be granted a non-conviction and given a good behaviour bond instead.

Family and friends of Mr Escalante provided Magistrate Donna Bakos with character references describing him as a caring family man and a hard worker.

He will face sentencing on Tuesday, with charges carrying a maximum 12-month sentence and/or a maximum fine of $13,000.
Flashing offences have doubled in a decade  but barely one in ten leads to a charge, official figures show.

More than 1,000 instances of indecent exposure are being reported to police every month.

Yet of the 12,933 cases in 2022-23, only eight per cent led to a charge, analysis by the Labour Party shows. In the previous 12 months the rate was 10.5 per cent.

Police received 6,411 complaints of flashing back in 2013-14 and the number has been rising almost every year since then.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned perpetrators were repeatedly getting away with it, even though it could lead to even more serious offences.

Earlier this year, Wayne Couzens admitted three counts of indecent exposure that took place before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021.

The Met officer pleasured himself in front of a female cyclist in Deal, Kent, in 2020, approaching her on a path while completely naked. He also admitted two counts of exposure at a McDonald's drive-thru that took place just days before he killed Sarah.

More than 1,000 instances of indecent exposure are being reported to police every month (Stock Image)

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned perpetrators were repeatedly getting away with it, even though it could lead to even more serious offences

In another case, the mother of Libby Squire - a Hull student raped and murdered after a night out in February 2019 - believes the man who killed her exposed himself to her just weeks before.

Pawel Relowicz, who dumped the 21-year-old's body in the River Hull after the attack, had a history of non-contact sex crimes including voyeurism.

Lisa Squire launched a campaign last year to encourage women and girls to report non-contact sexual offences.

Labour has pledged to put rape and specialist serious offence units in every police force and make halving violence against women and girls within a decade a 'key mission' in government.

The party is also calling for indecent exposure to be taken more seriously by the criminal justice system.

Ms Cooper said: 'Indecent exposure and voyeurism are disturbing crimes which just aren't being taken seriously enough by the police and criminal justice system or the Government.

'Perpetrators of these threatening and abusive sexual crimes are repeatedly getting away with it even though the impact on victims can be devastating and there are well-documented cases of it leading to even more serious crimes.

'Under the Conservatives the proportion of crimes solved and prosecuted has plummeted. We need urgent action to intervene early and prosecute more offenders.

'Labour has pledged to put rape and serious sexual offence units in every police force to ensure victims receive specialist support from the get go.'

A Government spokesman said: 'Indecent exposure is a serious crime, with offenders facing up to two years in jail.

'We are going further than ever before to tackle violence against women and girls, including for the first time requiring police forces in England and Wales to treat it as a national threat.

'We've also strengthened the management of sex offenders through our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.'
A construction company who infamously left customers' houses half-finished has gone into administration after weeks of mounting pressure.

Adelaide's 7 Star Constructions alerted unhappy homeowners via email on Thursday, who say they are 'relieved' the debacle is over.

'Consumer and Business Services has recently been in contact with you about issues relating to your builder,' senior regulatory officer Graham Close wrote.

'I can now advise that 7 Star Constructions Pty Ltd is in administration today.'

7 Star Construction owner Qamil Veseli had his licence suspended last week after dozens of complaints from customers following half-completed homes (pictured)

'This means that claims can be made under your policies of building indemnity insurance,' the email said.

'This provides cover of up to $150,000 per property for the additional costs of rectifying defects and completing construction of your homes.'

The news comes as dozens of complaints by disgruntled customers saw 7 Star Constructions owner Qamil Veseli have his licence suspended last week.

Lengthy delays in builds at Modbury and Plympton left the properties sitting unfinished and exposed to weather damage for three consecutive winters.

Veseli previously told 7News he 'felt bad' for his customers.

'Everything has gone out of control, at the moment we're under big pressure,' his statement read.

One customer, Christine Jefferey, waited for more than two years for her Reservoir Road home in Modbury to be completed.

The Adelaide company (pictured) has now gone into administration with customers being alerted via email on Thursday by Consumer and Business Services

'[I have] mixed emotions,' Jefferey told The Advertiser.

'I'm feeling relieved. The whole experience has been a nightmare really.

'Everyone's been in limbo and not knowing where we stand, there was no communication with the builder about difficulties in completing (the homes) or anything like that,' she added.

'It's been us pressuring him the whole time to get answers.'

The whole situation is disheartening, Jefferey said, as she's been pushing to have her home finished.

'They took his licence away and now he's gone under.'

Jefferey added she was planning to lodge an insurance claim in hopes of finding an alternative builder to complete her home - although is concerned the process may end up being 'dragged out'.

Six other 7 Star customers were not insured, she said.

'What does that mean for everyone else?'

'It's been emotionally draining and tonight's been a relief.'
Oxford Street is one of the busiest shopping areas in Europe. Until recently, it was also among the most renowned.

Situated between swanky Mayfair and bustling Soho, this famous throughfare was once the vibrant, beating heart of London's retail sector. How times change.

Traditional shops are closing from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus, to be replaced by pop-up candy stores, vape shops and vendors of souvenir tat. Rough sleepers use the doorways as a dormitory.

To compound the sense of decline, a TikTok-inspired mob, some in their 'uniform' of balaclavas and gloves, descended on Oxford Street on Wednesday intent on mass thievery.

To be fair, the police seem to have been reasonably well-prepared, intercepting the ringleaders and averting what could have been a much more serious rampage.

The police and courts must come down hard on the would-be looters, discouraging others from running riot in future (Pictured: A man is detained on Oxford Street on Wednesday)

A TikTok-inspired mob, some in their 'uniform' of balaclavas and gloves, descended on Oxford Street on Wednesday intent on mass thievery

But there could be more such organised raids, inflicting yet more reputational damage. The lack of choice, general shabbiness ending VAT-free shopping for tourists have already put off foreign visitors, while London mayor Sadiq Khan's war on motorists has deterred casual trade.

Why, for example, must they pay congestion charge at weekends, when there is little or no congestion. It is little more than a racket.

Many retailers have been pushed out by punishingly high rent and rates, and the shift towards online shopping has dented in the profits for all.

There are signs of a fight-back, with a branch of Ikea, the headquarters of a major pharmaceutical company and several luxury hotels in the offing and a fresh determination to crack down on the pop-up stores, which tend to disappear before paying their rates.

But central and local government must also do their share. Waiving the weekend congestion charge, easing the rates burden, and scrapping the self-defeating 'tourist tax' would be a good start.

Meanwhile, the police and courts must come down hard on the would-be looters, discouraging others from running riot in future. If security can't be guaranteed, shoppers will simply go elsewhere.

Without urgent help and support, the commercial epicentre of London's West End will continue to decay. And a global tourist attraction will be lost.

Put patients first

Despite the Government injecting extra billions into the NHS specifically to reduce the massive backlog of patients awaiting hospital treatment, it is still increasing.

Last December there were 7.2million on the waiting list. Today it's 7.6million  a rise of 400,000 in less than eight months. A large part of the reason is the series of spiteful strikes by junior doctors and consultants.

In pursuit of utterly unaffordable pay rises, their action has caused 800,000 appointments or procedures to be postponed. It is simply inexcusable.

In the Mail today, Health Secretary Steve Barclay urges them to think again. The British Medical Association claims they are striking to 'save the NHS'. This is poppycock. They are striking for hard cash, and their patients are suffering as a result.

(File Photo) Despite the Government injecting extra billions into the NHS specifically to reduce the massive backlog of patients awaiting hospital treatment, it is still increasing

Junior doctors have been offered up to 10.3 per cent, taking their average pay while in training to 47,600. For consultants the increase is six per cent, bringing average earnings up to 134,000.

Given their lavish pension payments and ability to boost their income with private work, most would see the offer as more than fair. And as Mr Barclay writes, it is final.

Nurses, midwives and other hospital staff have accepted 5 per cent plus a cash top-up and returned to work. By holding out for more and making patients bear the brunt, the BMA looks not just greedy but also callous. Neither is a good look for members of a caring profession.
Police in Alabama said Thursday that a fourth person has been arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with the Alabama riverboat brawl, seen around the world in viral cell phone footage.

Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in, according to Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department.

She is the fourth person charged with assaulting a black riverboat crew co-captain in a riverside brawl in Alabamas capital city.

She joins Richard William Roberts, 48, Allen Todd, 23, and Zachery Chase Shipman, 25, as those taken by police in state capital Montgomery. It is not clear if Allen Todd and Mary Todd are related.

Black co-captain Damien Pickett, 31, was seen on video asking white boaters to move their pontoon vessel a few feet in order to let the Harriott II river cruise vessel dock in its usual slot on the Alabama River.

Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in, according to Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department

But viral clips recorded by some of the 227 passengers on the riverboat then showed Pickett being attacked by one of the shirtless boaters  and the scene escalate into violent mayhem that led to 13 people being detained.

Todd and Shipman are charged with assault along with 48-year-old Richard Roberts - who is accused of punching 16-year-old Daniel Warren by the boy's mother - in the incident, with cops saying the investigation is still ongoing.

Pickett had told police that Mary Todd pushed him in their throat while holding a beer in her hand and 'would not let [him] pass', according to AL.com.

It comes after the boy's mother, Crystal Warren, says she heard one of the attackers say 'f**k that n*****' before launching into a brawl with the black deckhand at the center of the shocking incident.

She told police that she saw the entire interaction and has revealed she heard one of the white aggressors threatening to go and get a gun, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.

Warren, a riverboat employee, said the racial slur and threat were both yelled by one man who saw deckhand Damien Pickett moving the boats blocking the dock.

The woman also said she noticed Pickett ask the men to move their boat which prompted middle finger and cursing responses from the white men.

Additionally, Warren said her son Daniel was featured in one of the videos as he tried to pull off the attackers and suffered bruised ribs after being punched in the chest.

DailyMail.com can reveal the mugshots of Allen Todd, 23, and Zachery Chase Shipman, 25, two men accused in the Alabama riverboat brawl seen around the world in viral cell phone footage handed themselves in to cops Wednesday night

Todd and Shipman are charged with assault along with 48-year-old Richard Roberts (pictured) - who is accused of punching 16-year-old Daniel Warren by the boy's mother - in the incident, with cops saying the investigation is still ongoing

A woman at the Alabama riverfront brawl says she heard a white attacker say 'F**k that n*****' to the black deckhand at the center of the shocking incident

In the documents, Warren allegedly told officers that the unidentified culprit who used the racial slur dropped the n-word after the deckhand moved smaller boats.

Pickett was forced to move several of the water vehicles that were parked at the marina in a space designated for the docking of the riverboat.

In total, Warren said she was forced to wait 17 minutes on the riverboat until another commercial watercraft came and retrieved them from the boat.

They were eventually dropped off at the dock which is where the brawl took place.

At one point, Warren said one of the white men involved in the fight threatened to run and retrieve a gun as the incident was progressing.

Video of the incident shows one man punching Daniel in the chest as he attempted to break up the pack of men attacking Pickett while others watched on.

Daniel was ultimately taken to the hospital for his injuries.

At this time, its unclear who allegedly used the n-word and threatened to get a gun.

The shocking brawl was caught on video from several angles and posted across social media

Police chief Darryl Albert said on Tuesday that 13 people were detained at the scene

The fight started after Damien Pickett, the black deckhand, moved boats parked in the spot on the dock reserved specifically for the river cruise

In an interview with The Daily Beast, river cruise captain Jim Kittrell said the white men must have attacked Pickett because of his race.

'The white guys that attacked my deckhandand he was a senior deckhand first mateI can't think of any other reason they attacked him other than it being racially motivated,' Kittrell said.

'All he did was move their boat up three feet. It makes no sense to have six people try to beat the snot out of you just because you moved their boat up a few feet,' he said.

'In my opinion, the attack on Damien was racially motivated,' Kittrell explained, before adding that the rest of the fight 'was not black and white.'

The captain added that his crew would have stood up for Pickett, who is reportedly over 40 and a diabetic with hypertension, against anyone.

Kittrell - and police - say it all started when a private boat owner and his family took the designated docking space for the Harriott, a tourist vessel that takes passengers up and down the Alabama river.

Police chief Darryl Albert said on Tuesday that 13 people were detained at the scene.

Jim Kittrell, the captain of the Harriott II, has claimed the attack on Montgomery's Riverfront Park was racially motivated

Three suspects - all white men - have been charged for assault: Richard Roberts, 48, Alan Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25 (far left)

Police have also asked to speak with Reggie Gray, the black man who was seen throwing a folding chair. He has not been charged.

The brawl has gone viral, with social media sharing images from different angles of the violent altercation on Saturday.

The incident also sparked memes and hilarious videos that set social media alight over the weekend with recreations and other jokes.

A witness claimed the fight started with an argument over a pontoon boat that was blocking the dock where a riverboat was trying to moor.

Video shared on social media shows horrifying scenes of violence spill over, with sides seemingly divided over racial lines - although it is not yet clear whether the melee was racially aggravated.

Men are seen gouging eyes and hurling punches to each others heads, while one woman lies stricken on the floor as a man smashes a chair across her head in a vicious assault.

One man is even seen swimming across from the other side of the river to join the fracas.

Wild footage shed light on the mass brawl, with a man heard on loudspeaker saying 'don't f**k with the riverboat crew.'

A woman on the riverboat narrates what has happened prior to the camera rolling.

'The man in white is crew from our cruise who got off our ship to go over there to move that black pontoon boat because those guys who parked there were told not to leave it there,' she says.

'He's just pushing it off, that is funny. Taking matters into his own hands.'

In the background, those onboard the riverboat can be heard encouraging the worker and after the pontoon boat owner arrives starting shouting for him to 'kick his a**'.

Another POV of the brawl that took place at Riverfront Park in Montgomery, Alabama. pic.twitter.com/ekclNaSRoo  BoreCure (@CureBore) August 6, 2023

The hat-flinging invites a punch to the head from the shirtless man, sparking ugly scenes

A man in red shorts charges into the action and tackles the black man to the floor as others join

The altercation is under investigation by local police as they comb through multiple videos provided by the public

One man can be seen smashing another man over the head with a chair as he tries to escape

The same man is later seen smashing a woman the head with a chair as she sits on the floor

On the dock, a group of men are seen crowding round the black dock worker who is being cheered on by those aboard the riverboat.

Those onboard the riverboat then hilariously break out into the Ludacris song 'Move B**ch', singing 'move b**ch, get out the way' on repeat.

The worker and the pontoon owner continue to go back and forth before the worker is pushed by one man.

In a flamboyant gesture, the black man flings off his cap into a watching crowd above.

Scenes quickly turn sour as the pair exchange blows before another white man in red shorts tackles the black man to the floor, before several others join the fray.

Some appear to be trying to break up the fight, while others also throw punches.

Those onboard the riverboat scream in horror as the man is frequently punched before others step in to help.

One man is even seen swimming across from the other side of the river to join the fracas.

In separate footage, a group of men and workers from the riverboat then reach the dock and a full scale brawl breaks out.

At one point, a white woman is thrown into the water with her assailant egged on by those filming the fight.

Another woman is also hit over the head with a chair while two men exchange punches to the head, before one gouges the others eye.

The worker who had first been assaulted by the group of men is seen here being led away by several woman, who appear to have also been working on the boat having

The worker had been onboard the Harriot II Riverboat in Montgomery, Alabama, when he decided to untie a boat blocking them from docking

Pictures shared on social media from after the fight show a woman with her hands behind her back being led away from the Alabama riverfront by a cop

A baying crowd expresses a mixture of horror and delight at the disturbing scenes unfolding in front of them.

In another angle of the brawl, the announcer onboard the riverboat can be heard saying: 'Please check the guys in the water, two guys are in the water behind the dock. Make sure nobody drowns.

He then hilariously quips: 'FYI, in the future don't f**k with the riverboat crew.'

Photos shared on social media appear to show a group of white men sitting on the boardwalk in handcuffs after the riot, with others being led away from the scene by officers.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said: 'The Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job.

'Warrants are being signed and justice will be served. This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred.

'As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community.

'Those who choose violent actions will be held accountable by our criminal justice system.'
Windfall will go towards debts, mortgages and holidays

A syndicate of Aussie unsung heroes have pocketed $80,000 each after their life-changing Lotto windfall.

Fifty staff from Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth are celebrating almost a week after their Saturday Lotto Superdraw win.

The syndicate of supplies and logistics staff, cleaners, orderlies and nurses were among five division one winners in last Saturday's $20million Superdraw.

It was the group's third Lotto win within five weeks.

The lucky winners are still in shock as they recalled the moment they realised the group had won $4m.

They included clinical nurse Genevieve Stacey, who tragically lost her husband unexpectedly seven months ago.

Fiona Stanley Hospital workers who are part of a Lotto syndicate are still celebrating after their $4m win, which will be shared between 50 staff

One of Ms Stacey's son has just lost his job, while another has been in and out of hospital in recent months.

She will use her $80,000 share to clear her debts and get ahead.

'This will change my family's life, we have had a rough trot in the last couple of months,' Ms Stacey told Sunrise on Friday.

'Sometimes you feel like in life you just go backwards and then around and around, but things will finally be able to take off and just gives us the security that we haven't had for a long time.

'Jo (the syndicate orgainser) and I have a special connection and that is why I got to join in with all the porters and internal logistics team and be lucky enough to be a winner.'

Syndicate organiser, Josephine George bought the winning ticket from Eden Hill Newsagency in Bassendean, which her mum runs.

'I screamed. I checked my app, and then I screamed, and then I was in shock, and I started to pace. I was pacing before I took off,' Ms George said.

'I had to keep counting the numbers, then check the draw and check the date. It was disbelief.'

The windfall is lifechanging for Josephine George, Genevieve Stacey and Beau Hagger (front)

Beau Hagger recalled being in high spirits after a few beers at West Coast Eagles' AFL clash against Essendon earlier in the day.

'I was actually watching the footy earlier and I got a message on Messenger to say that we had won,' he recalled.

'I struggled a little bit to understand and had to confirm a couple of times with a few people.'

'It was an amazing feeling. I couldn't believe it.'

He will put his $80,000 towards the mortgage while his two-year-old daughter wants a scooter.

Another syndicate member plans to start IVF treatment while others plan to put their share towards mortgages and family holidays.

One of the five major winners from last Saturday's $20m Lotto Superdraw was a syndicate from Fiona Stanly Hospital in Perth

It's not the first big win for the syndicate established by Ms George a year ago.

Their lucky streak began with a division three win on July 1.

This was followed up a division two prize two weeks later and then a lifechanging windfall last week.

Hospital officials said the windfall couldn't have gone to a better group of people.

'These staff are often behind the scenes but play a critical role in the day-to-day running of our hospital and caring for our patients,' executive director Neil Doverty said.

'They are truly unsung heroes and are incredibly deserving of this win.'

This week's Saturday Lotto Superdraw is worth $20million.
Ministers are continuing to back 'green' energy companies such as Drax - despite accusations that it 'gamed' subsidy rules to avoid repaying hundreds of millions of pounds to British customers.

Biomass power stations - which create electricity by burning resources such as wood - have long drawn criticism from campaigners, who say their claims of producing 'renewable' energy from imported pellets are exaggerated.

But in defiance of these complaints, the Government yesterday confirmed its support for the so-called 'sustainable' industry in a review of the sector.

Graham Stuart, the minister for energy security and net zero, said biomass technology - which supplied 11 per cent of UK power last year - has an 'extraordinary' potential for transport, heat and electricity.

A Government report said: 'We will continue to monitor the levels of biomass supply to ensure the UK can secure the necessary supply for increasing biomass use across the economy and we will consider interventions to remove barriers to increasing biomass supply if necessary.'

Biomass giant Drax, which runs a power plant near Selby, North Yorkshire, continued to reel from claims it manipulated the green subsidies regime during the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine

But it came as biomass giant Drax, which runs a power plant near Selby, North Yorkshire, continued to reel from claims it manipulated the green subsidies regime during the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This was despite a requirement in its contract with the Government that said any extra cash that the company makes must be returned to bill payers, meaning households could have lost out on as much as 639million since April last year, according to analysis by Bloomberg.

Although Drax has strongly denied the claims, the chairman of Parliament's energy committee has already said he wants to investigate them.

The Government's new biomass strategy did suggest that ministers would look at the subsidies scheme in the autumn and examine whether it was appropriate to support the industry in the long term.

But Will Gardiner, Drax's chief executive, welcomed what he saw as 'clear support for sustainably sourced biomass'.

Lydia Collas of environmental think-tank Green Alliance said the report failed to address the lack of land and resources available to facilitate the biomass process.

Drax often touts its eco-credentials but analysis by think-tank Ember found its biomass station is 'by far' the largest single emitter in the UK energy industry 'despite generating only a small share of power'.
Retailers last night renewed their plea to the Government to bring back tax-free shopping after China lifted a ban on group tours to countries including the UK.

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists spent more than any other country when abroad  clocking up around 200 billion in 2019, around 60 per cent of which came from groups.

In the UK, Chinese tourists spent around 1.71 billion that year, according to VisitBritain data, the second largest market by value.

Beijing announced yesterday that Covid-era restrictions on group travel to key markets including the US, Japan, Australia and the UK would be lifted.

Steven Medway of the King's Road and Knightsbridge Partnerships, said: 'This is welcome news and certainly the lack of group tourism from China to Knightsbridge has been a missing factor since 2019.

Retailers last night renewed their pleas to the Government to bring back tax-free shopping

The renewed calls come after Beijing lifted its Covid-era restrictions on group tours of Britain

'Tourism is a global and competitive market. Shops, hotels and restaurants will be rolling out the red carpet, but our government is sending a different message with its policy on tax-free shopping.'

Paul Barnes, of the Association of International Retail, said for the Chinese, Britain ranked with France as their most popular European destination in 2019 but was becoming their least favourite.

Last month research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that bringing back tax-free shopping for overseas tourists would have a net positive effect on tax revenues.

The economy would be more than 10 billion a year better off from reinstating VAT refunds  and government coffers would benefit to the tune of 2 billion a year.

The Daily Mail launched its Scrap the Tourist Tax campaign in April.
A young mother allegedly murdered by her husband alongside their newborn baby had previously spoken out about 'creeps' and 'weirdos' before they were married.

The body of Tayla Cox, 30, and her newborn daughter Murphy Margaret, 11 weeks, were discovered by police in their Rockhampton home in central Queensland on Thursday morning.

Her husband, 31-year-old Matthew Cox, is accused of their murder. He did not appear in court on Friday when his case was briefly mentioned.

He had flown out of Rockhampton on Tuesday evening before handing himself into Brisbane's Fortitude Valley police station about 11am on Thursday, prompting police to arrange a welfare check for his wife and daughter.

Tayla Cox (right), 30, and her baby girl Murphy (centre) were found dead in their Rockhampton home on Thursday. Her husband Matthew Cox (left) has been charged with their murders

Proud grandmother Linda (right) recently shared a photo posing with her son Matthew (left) and his baby girl Murphy

Police discovered the two bodies in the Rockhampton home while conducting a welfare check

Police believe they died on Tuesday.

Ms Cox, whose maiden name was Black, grew up in Rockhampton and worked as a repair co-ordinator at Campbell Construction Co, according to her LinkedIn.

More than a decade ago, she appeared in her local newspaper bemoaning the lack of eligible men in her local area.

Ms Cox, who was then studying forensics at CQUniversity, complained about 'creeps' and 'weirdos' who would come to Rockhampton from out of town to pick up girls.

'They are not attractive at all and are weirdos. A lot of men get really drunk and try to pick up chicks all the time,' she told the Morning Bulletin.

Three years later, Ms Cox and her future husband announced their relationship to friends and family on Facebook. It is unclear how they first met.

'Finally you two!' commented one friend, to which Ms Cox replied: 'Better late than never.'

Mr and Ms Cox announced their relationship on Facebook in December 2015

The pair lived for a while in Victoria, where Mr Cox grew up, but they moved back to Rockhampton in November 2022 when he landed a job as a TV account manager at media firm Southern Cross Austereo.

At the time, Ms Cox announced on Facebook her joy at buying a home together.

'New chapter, can't wait to make so many amazing memories with our beautiful little family,' Tayla wrote.

In February, she shared a happy snap of her husband cradling her baby bump while enjoying a break on Great Keppel Island.

'We can't wait to meet you,' she wrote.

In a statement, the parents of Mr Cox told the Courier Mail they were in a 'state of shock' at the devastating news.

Matthew and Tayla Cox (pictured during her pregnancy) were living in Victoria before they moved back to Rockhampton after buying a home in November 2022

Matthew Cox (left) did not appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court when his case was briefly mentioned on Friday. It has been adjourned to August 21

'We have lost a beautiful daughter-in-law Tayla but also our much loved granddaughter Murphy,' Denis Cox and Linda Lind said.

'At this stage we have very few other details and are in an absolute state of shock.

'We ask that the media respect our privacy while we grieve and try and process what has occurred.'

A crime scene remains set up at the Park Avenue home where the bodies of Ms Cox and her baby girl were found.

'A second crime scene was also established at an apartment complex on Constance Street, Fortitude Valley, where the man is understood to have been staying,' a Queensland Police statement read.

'A vehicle has also been seized at the Rockhampton airport and taken away for forensic examination.'

Mr Cox's case has been adjourned to August 21.

If you or someone you know needs support, call 1800 Respect (1800 737 732) or Lifeline on 131 114.
Now the council is apologising for the confusion

Brisbanites were told their homes may be acquired

Hundreds of homeowners were thrown into a state of panic after a letter from their city council let them know that their homes could be acquired for new parklands.

Brisbane City Council has issued an apology after more than 800 residents across dozens of suburbs were delivered the alarming letter.

Stress and confusion quickly set in for homeowners who received the correspondence as they were left wondering where they stand.

The council has since clarified the 'ambiguous' letter it sent out on August 3 was not meant to alarm anyone.

Affected homes have simply been placed on a list of properties the city wishes to purchase should they ever go on sale, according to the ABC.

A letter sent out to hundreds of residents across dozens of Brisbane suburbs caused alarm after it appeared to inform them their homes may be subject to acquisition

In the letter, the council said that extra parklands would make Brisbane a 'great place to live'.

'Proposed changes to Brisbane city plan 2014 local government infrastructure plan (LGIP) ... regarding your property,' the letter began.

The proposed changes were specific to 'LGIP ID: Park acquisition and embellishment - specific location'.

'The final location and design of the future infrastructure item(s) in the proposed LGIP amendment, including any impact to your property, is subject to detailed design and further communication by Council.'

Catherine Lindsay, from Kedron in North Brisbane, was left 'gobsmacked and confused' after opening the letter on Tuesday morning.

'It's blindsided us  you get a letter in the mail, not even telling you what they're doing, you have to go digging for it yourself,' Mrs Lindsay told the ABC.

'There was nothing in the letter to explain what it meant, so we could only go on the information we had, which was very limited.'

Don Lindsay, also from Kedron, said that he wouldn't be able to afford another property in the area due to the skyrocketing price of houses.

He currently lives in the neighbourhood with his wife, two children, and their dog.

'We wouldn't be able to stay in Kedron should that happen, we would have to move elsewhere,' Mr Lindsay told the Courier Mail.

'Council are saying it is draft and the submission can change and that they're looking at 2031 to 2036 but you always have that cloud over your head if you do want to do something with your property and sell it, is that impact going to transfer onto you?'

Mr Lindsay's neighbouring property, which hasn't even been built yet, also received the letter.

The final touches are being made to the home whose owners are set to move into the property in September.

Brisbane City Council had selected the homes for future consideration as new parklands, but is now assuring residents that they have nothing to worry about and that it is not compulsory

Brisbane is struggling to keep up with its growing population, and clusters of dense urban areas do not have enough outdoor recreational areas to accommodate for it

In response to the mass hysteria, a council spokesperson said the letter was intended as an application of interest, should the owner wish to sell their property in the future.

They clarified that it was not a compulsory acquisition.

'Regrettably, the letter to residents was ambiguous and council officers will be writing to reassure them there are no plans to resume their home for new parks,' the spokesperson told the ABC.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Brisbane City Council for comment.

In the draft plan, which residents had to search for online, the city notes that there is currently not enough parklands to cater for its rapidly growing population.

'Large gaps' had been identified between outdoor recreational sites in suburbs such as Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Sunnybank, Kenmore, and Fig Tree Pocket.

'Projected population growth has increased significantly since the last major LGIP amendment and parks infrastructure provision is not meeting existing desired standards in some areas,' the report said.

The plan proposes new 'urban neighbourhood parks' which are smaller than existing parks, but would include more facilities in the spaces they occupy.

Any home acquisitions to accommodate these parks would not begin during a housing crisis, another spokesperson told the Courier Mail.

'Council officers will be writing to reassure them there are no plans to resume their home for new parks,' the spokesperson said.

'When purchasing land for parks, council's normal process is to acquire properties with the agreement of owners, however this won't occur during a housing crisis.'
The mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel who was shot dead by Thomas Cashman has accused the Government of 'dragging their heels' on laws forcing killers to appear for their sentencing.

Cashman, 34, was meant to kill drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, but ended up shooting Olivia through her 46-year-old mother Cheryl's hand on August 22 last year, at their home in Dovecot, Liverpool.

He then refused to appear in court to be given his 42-year jail term in April - after complaining the case was being turned 'into a circus' by lawyers.

Olivia's mother Cheryl, now 48, created a petition calling for a law to make criminals show up at sentence hearings, which has reached more than 30,000 signatures.

Cheryl has now urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act after he refused to commit to changing the law before next year's general election, according to The Mirror.

Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, (pictured) was shot in the chest by Thomas Cashman in her home on August 22 last year

Olivia's mother Cheryl Korbel, 48, (pictured) created a petition calling for a law to make criminals show up at sentence hearings, after her daughter's killer didn't turn up for his 42-year jail term in April

Thomas Cashman, 34, (pictured) was meant to kill drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, but ended up shooting Olivia through her 46-year-old mother Cheryl's hand on August 22 last year

'There are laws that have been changed around much less important things - but when it comes to something as important as this they are dragging their heels on it,' said Cheryl.

'I feel more determined than ever to carry on and fight for this because my baby hasn't got a voice.'

Defence barrister John Cooper KC told the court that Cashman would not attend his sentencing because Crown Prosecution Service officials sung 'We Are The Champions' following the verdict in his trial.

Mr Cooper said: 'He has been spoken to and been given certain advice but he is concerned that the matter is turning into a circus.'

But when Cashman refused to show, Cheryl said it felt like a 'slap in the face' because he never had to hear the statements they wrote about the devastating loss of their little girl.

Cheryl read a statement outside Manchester Crown Court following the sentencing of Thomas Cashman in Manchester in April

When killer Cashman never showed up for his sentencing, Cheryl said it felt like a 'slap in the face' that he never had to hear the statements they wrote about the devastating loss of their little girl

Cashman had tried to carry out his hit job on Nee while he was walking home from a friend's house, but his gun jammed and Cashman's target fled, barging into Olivia's home in a bid to save himself.

Although he claimed in court he was only a cannabis dealer, he was allegedly known as a hitman who 'thought nothing of putting a bullet in someone'.

Cashman, a father-of-two, insisted that around the time of the shooting he had been at a friend's house where he counted 10,000 in cash and smoked a spliff.

During his evidence, he told the court: 'I'm not a killer, I'm a dad.'
The UK has trained nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines to conduct daring amphibious assaults on Russian-occupied territory.

The troops will be flown back to Ukraine in the coming days after being taught by Britain's elite Royal Marines and Army Commandos.

They have learned how to conduct beach raids using inflatable boats  a skill which could help the Ukrainians recapture the Crimean peninsula.

They were based in the UK for six months while they were trained by 42 Commando, 47 Commando Raiding Group, 24 Commando Royal Engineers and 29 Commando, Royal Artillery.

Their return to the warzone comes as Ukraine increases its attacks on Russian facilities on Crimea.

The UK has trained nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines to conduct daring amphibious assaults on Russian-occupied territory

They have learned how to conduct beach raids using inflatable boats  a skill which could help the Ukrainians recapture the Crimean peninsula

Just days ago, Ukrainian special forces conducted a daring river crossing which caught Russian troops by surprise.

Some 50 crack troops used small boats to cross the half-mile-wide Dnipro River.

Around 25 Russian troops were either killed or captured. They were not expecting to be attacked from the river having destroyed all the bridges nearby.

The impressive operation was revealed by pro-Russian military bloggers on the Telegram messaging platform.

One of the Ukrainians trained by the Royal Marines described the exercises they conducted as 'far more intense' than he had expected.

He added: 'I have learned so much, it will make such a difference when we are back on the frontline.

The same weapons systems used by the Ukrainians in the warzone were used on the training programmes in Britain, such as NLAW and Stinger anti-tank weapons.

Photos released by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) show Ukrainian marines being trained in the UK

They were based in the UK for six months while they were trained by 42 Commando, 47 Commando Raiding Group, 24 Commando Royal Engineers and 29 Commando, Royal Artillery

The Ukrainians have also practised landings using kayaks fitted with grenade launchers.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'The UK has led the way in training the armed forces of Ukraine, providing combat skills to more than 20,000 recruits.

'This programme will support Ukraine to build its own distinct marine force and expand its capability to operate in a maritime environment.'
The shocking attempted robbery was caught on video and blew up on social media with many praising the employees for their 'courageous' acts

Lincoln shared his comments on social media, clarifying that the employees 'are not and never have been suspects' in the case

Stockton's Republican Mayor Kevin Lincoln has said that the two Sikh employees who were filmed stopping an attempted robbery will not be charged with assault

The two Sikh 7-Eleven employees who were seen on video preventing an attempted robbery by smacking the suspect with a stick inside their California store will not face charges, the city's mayor says.

On Tuesday, Republican Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln shared on social media that the employees 'are not and never have been suspects' in the July 29 incident.

During the shocking attempted robbery, a suspected homeless man jumped behind the convenience store's counter and tried to empty shelves into a trash can.

One employee saw the man and took him down to the ground while another began beating the attempted robber with a stick, a witness has detailed.

Following the takedown, police released a statement saying they were investigating the employees, who Lincoln now says are no longer in question.

'Any investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened and attempted to rob the store clerks,' a Twitter post read Tuesday.

The two Sikh 7-Eleven employees who were seen on video beating an attempted robber inside their California store will not face charges, the city's mayor says

On Tuesday, Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln (pictured) shared on social media that the employees 'are not and never have been suspects' in the July 29 incident

Lincoln said that while the events are still under investigation by Stockton Police, the District Attorney's office has assured him the clerks are not the focus.

He said that his information on the case came from a conversation with San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas which happened on Tuesday.

Furthermore, the Republican mayor went on to criticize the controversial California law Proposition 47, which decreased many previous felonies to misdemeanors.

Lincoln wrote that the law impacts businesses experiencing an uptick in shoplifting and decreases 'law enforcement's ability to hold accountable' the crooks.

The video of the attempted robbery and beatdown by the store workers blew up on social media with many applauding the employees for standing up to the thief.

The thief in question was allegedly trying to steal tobacco products behind the counter and it was reportedly the third time in two days he had targeted the store.

Despite the widespread praise for the employees, Stockton Police released a statement saying the workers were being probed for assault.

'It has been brought to our attention that a video of two 7-Eleven employees assaulting a robbery suspect has been circulating. We are aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing,' a statement read.

'Any investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened and attempted to rob the store clerks,' Lincoln wrote on Twitter Tuesday

The witness who recorded the video praised the 'courageous' workers. Police said the incident followed several thefts at the store by the same suspect.

On July 28 at 3.41am, staff at the 7-Eleven reported a man entered the store, 'went behind the counter, and threatened to shoot the victim if he intervened,' police said.

'The suspect then took several packs of cigarettes and other items and placed them in a large garbage bag before fleeing.'

The following day, at 12.27am, the same man returned and 'demanded money while simulating having a handgun'.

'The employee did not comply; therefore, the suspect grabbed several food items and placed them in a garbage bag before fleeing,' police said.

The thief then returned several hours later with the trashcan and tried to fill it with cigarettes, before the staff were filmed beating him up.

He left the shop and later sought medical help for his injuries.

'On July 29, 2023, at 3:05 a.m, officers responded to the area of Center St/Market St, to meet with Stockton Fire Dept who was with a male [the suspect] requesting medical aid and complained of pain to his leg and shoulder,' police said.

'The male did not know if he had been assaulted. The male was then transported to an area hospital to be treated for a complaint of pain.'

The suspect had targeted the store several times in the days before the dramatic incident

The second 7-Eleven staff member arrived and hit the thief with a large wooden stick

Witness Louis Benton (pictured) who filmed the viral footage, told abc10 : 'I was shocked, so that's why I really didn't say anything in the video

The alleged robber, Tyrone Frazier (pictured), is facing charges including robbery, attempted robbery, criminal threats, commercial burglary, and vandalism

On Wednesday, the attempted robber, Tyrone Frazier, appeared in court and did not enter a plea for six charges.

Frazier is facing two counts of robbery, attempted robbery, criminal threats, commercial burglary and vandalism.

One of the charges is in connection with the attempted robbery caught on video.

Witness Louis Benton, who filmed the viral footage, told abc10: 'I was shocked, so that's why I really didn't say anything in the video.

'I really just posted it on my (Instagram) stories and then from there someone took it off my stories and it just went viral,' he said, in part.

'Those two workers who protected their store, they did a courageous act. I believe that if I wasn't there that guy would probably be more hurt than he was.

'The police station is right across the street. Why is there no presence over there?

'The community needs to take care of each other and we need to make sure that we are morally doing the right things. We've got to change.'
The estranged husband of mushroom chef Erin Patterson has been spotted for the first time since her beef Wellington pie apparently killed his parents and aunt.

Simon Patterson has kept mum since his ex-wife was named as a person of interest in the fatal mushroom poisoning lunch held on July 29 in Leongatha, in Victoria's Gippsland region.

But the father-of-two broke cover on Thursday as he was seen stepping out of his Korumburra home, getting into a car, then driving away from the property.

He refused to comment when asked by a TV reporter about whether he would be standing by his ex-partner in the wake of the tragedy.

The sighting comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed on Thursday that Erin Patterson arranged the lunch in a bid to reconcile with her ex-husband.

Simon Patterson (pictured) was seen leaving his Korumburra home on Thursday

Simon, his parents Don and Gail, both 70, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her pastor husband Ian, 68, were on the invite list.

However, Simon pulled out at the last minute.

Don, Gail and Heather later died while Ian is fighting for life in a critical condition at Melbourne's Austin Hospital.

The Patterson and Wilkinson families have reportedly hired a media advisor and have kept mum about the incident.

Earlier this week, it was revealed Mr Patterson suffered from a mystery stomach illness last year that almost claimed his life.

Sources said the cause of the illness was unclear and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Erin Patterson was responsible.

Erin Patterson is pictured outside her Leongatha house earlier this week

Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms. Erin was previously married to their son, Simon

Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became severely ill after they ate wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died on Friday while her husband remains in a critical condition in hospital

Detectives questioned Erin Patterson at her Leongatha home on Saturday and seized several items as part of their investigation - including a vegetable dehydrator found dumped at a nearby tip.

The kitchen aid is undergoing forensic testing to determine whether it was involved in the preparation of the meal - which police believe contained death cap mushrooms, toxic fungi that grows around Victoria in autumn.

Erin was released without charge as the investigation into the deaths continues and denied any wrong doing while speaking to reporters outside her home earlier this week.

She said she 'loved' her four guests who had always treated her with kindness and that she was devastated by what had happened.

While speaking to police, she reportedly said she purchased the lethal ingredient at a local supermarket, before giving a no-comment interview when called back for a second-round of questioning.

On Thursday, it was revealed Erin's lawyers had been forced to camp outside her home to hand deliver her legal instructions after she went missing.

Erin told a waiting media pack just before 10am that she was en route to visit her lawyers in Melbourne.

The deadly family gathering took place at Erin Patterson's home (pictured) in Leongatha, in Victoria's Gippsland region, on July 29

Police are testing a vegetable dehydrator found at a nearby tip (pictured)

But a representative of that law firm was seen waiting outside her Leongatha home about 5pm to hand deliver a letter from the firm.

The man told Daily Mail Australia it was the only way Ms Patterson could be contacted after homicide squad detectives confiscated her phone and computer devices.

Police were later seen doing a drive-by of Ms Patterson's home just before sunset.

It is understood lawyers acting for Ms Patterson are concerned for her wellbeing amid the media firestorm outside her rural property.

The legal representative would not answer questions about the contents of the letter or whether charges against Ms Patterson were imminent.

But he did concede it was unusual to have to hand deliver instructions to a client in this manner.

Ms Patterson had still not returned to her home just before dark on Thursday, forcing the representative to leave without delivering his letter.
Russia has launched its first probe to the Moon in almost 50 years after it blasted off from Moscow yesterday.

The launch of the Luna-25 probe is Moscow's first lunar mission since 1976, when the USSR was a pioneer in the conquest of space.

The rocket with the Luna-25 probe lifted off at 2:10am Moscow time (11:10pm GMT Thursday) from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, according to live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The mission designed to give fresh impetus to its space sector, which has been struggling for years and become isolated by the conflict in Ukraine.

The spacecraft is due to reach lunar orbit in five days where it will then spend between three and seven days choosing the right spot before landing in the lunar south pole area for the first time in history.

Russia has launched its first probe to the Moon in almost 50 years

The launch of the Luna-25 probe is Moscow's first lunar mission since 1976, when the USSR was a pioneer in the conquest of space

The rocket with the Luna-25 probe lifted off at 2:10am Moscow time from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, according to live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos

'For the first time in history, the lunar landing will take place on the lunar south pole. Until now, everyone has been landing in the equatorial zone,' senior Roscosmos official Alexander Blokhin said in a recent interview.

Roscosmos expects the probe to land on the Moon around August 21, a source in the agency told AFP.

The spacecraft, which will remain on the Moon for a year, will be tasked with 'taking (samples) and analysing the soil' as well as 'conducting long-term scientific research', the Russian space agency said.

The launch is the first mission in Russia's new lunar programme, which gets underway at a time when Roscosmos is being deprived of its partnerships with the West amid the conflict with Ukraine.

According to Russian space expert Vitali Iegorov, the mission is the first time that post-Soviet Russia has attempted to place a device on a celestial body.

'The biggest question will be: can it land?' he told AFP, stressing that this mission is 'of great importance' for Russia.

President Vladimir Putin has pledged to continue Russia's space programme despite sanctions, pointing to the USSR's sending of the first man into space in 1961, at a time of escalating East-West tensions.

'We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward, despite difficulties and external attempts to prevent us from doing so,' Putin said at the Vostochny Cosmodrome last year.

The mission is important for the Russian space sector, which is suffering from funding problems, corruption scandals and increasing competition from the United States and China, as well as from private initiatives such as billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.bur-mca/cwl
Her ill-timed vacation comes as her city has decayed into lawlessness

San Francisco Mayor London Breed was among thousands of tourists to be evacuated from the Hawaiian island of Maui as wildfires ripped through the holiday hotspot.

Breed, 49, was taking a break from running her crime-ridden city this week when the wildfires struck, leading her to flee to Honolulu, Politico reports.

The mayor has not spoken publicly about the wildfires, and her office did not immediately respond to questions about her whereabouts when contacted by DailyMail.com.

Her ill-timed vacation comes as she is in the midst of a bitter re-election fight, and some constituents may question her absence at a time when San Francisco has become overran with homelessness, crime and open-air drug taking.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed was among thousands to be evacuated from the Hawaii wildfires. She is pictured speaking in San Francisco, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Holiday goers were left stranded when the wildfires erupted on Tuesday

Officials said at least 56 people have died in the inferno, and warned that the number could 'rise significantly' in the coming days

After the wildfires were sparked Tuesday, some 4,000 tourists - reportedly including Breed - were left stranded on Maui as

The wildfires erupted after drought-like conditions combined with high temperatures turned Hawaii into a tinderbox, with high-winds from Hurricane Dora fanning the flames.

On Wednesday, officials tentatively said at least 36 people died in the blaze. This figure was updated Thursday to 53 by Hawaii Governor Josh Green, who warned that the number could still 'significantly rise' in the coming days.

Stunning footage from a helicopter pilot revealed the extent of the destruction over the town of Lahiana, which has bore the brunt of the wildfires since they were sparked on Tuesday.

Officials said around 80 percent of the town's fires were contained by Thursday evening, however many residents have been left without power or running water.

As the fires raged on Wednesday, locals in Lahiana had also created a spreadsheet to monitor the high number of missing people, after the blazes also knocked cell service in the area.

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Tourists raced to escape the blazes as they are set to become one of the deadliest US wildfires in recent years

Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook helicopters perform aerial water bucket drops on the island of Maui to assist with fight of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, August 9, 2023

Lahaina has nearly been wiped off the map after 271 buildings were burned to the ground during intense wildfires

After hearing reports her home was destroyed along with her pets, Steff Baku-Kirkman reacts after wildfires driven by high winds were believed to have destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina

The crisis has also raised concerns over Hawaii's tourism-reliant economy, which had been showing signs of life this year following the pandemic.

Over 1.5 million tourists have flocked to Maui so far in 2023, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority - representing a six percent rise compared to the same period last year.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the number of tourists on the island plummeted to just 793,000.

In 2021, around 2.3 million tourists flocked to the island, and the number almost returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 as 2.9 million people made their way to the state.

But just as the state was turning its fortunes around, it has been devastated by the wildfires that Green said he fears could lead to upwards of a billion dollars in structural damage.

President Biden addressed Hawaii's battle to stop the wildfires on Thursday, saying he would 'get aid in the hands of the people desperately needing help now'

President Biden addressed Hawaii's ongoing battle to stop the fires in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.

'We have just approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii, which will get aid in the hands of the people desperately needing help now,' he said.

'I've directed that we as surge support to these brave firefighters and first responders and emergency personnel working around the clock there risking their lives.

'I just got off the phone before I got here for a long conversation with Governor Josh Green this morning, (I) let him know I'm going to make sure the state has everything it needs from the federal government to recover.

'FEMA is surging disaster assistance personnel on the island, and they're going t help survivors get access to federal assistance.

'We're working as quickly as possible to fight these fires and evacuate residents and tourists. In the meantime, our prayers are with the people of Hawaii, but not just our prayers.

'Every asset we have will be available to them. They've seen their homes, their businesses destroyed, and some have lost loved ones. And it's not over yet.'
A Melbourne man on Jobseeker who clashed with Ben Fordham after the 2GB host famously told him to 'get a job', failed to contact an employer who offered him employment.

'Jobseeker' Jez Heywood, 48, appeared on Fordham's 2GB show in May.

Mr Fordham offered to find him work in his field of graphic design after being consistently unemployed since 2017. Daily Mail Australia also tracked him down to his parent's home and asked him questions about the 'union of the unemployed' he controls which at the time had $114,000 in it's accounts.

'He was only willing to work about eight hours a week,' Fordham said on Friday.

'One of our listeners Ben had some work for him straight away. It was the perfect role for Jez; graphic design, working from home, and choose your own hours.'

'So Ben got in touch with Jez and the initial conversation was positive. That was three months ago and a few people have been asking us 'What was the deal with Jez? What happened with Jez?' so we reached out to Ben for an update.'

Jez Heywood previously declined to answer questions about his 'Unemployed Workers' Union' in Melbourne (above)

According to Fordham the generous boss said he's had 'absolutely no contact with Jez' after offering him the job.

It seems Mr Heywood, who is president of the ironically named Unemployed Workers Union, turned down the role by not bothering to follow up the job offer.

'I had to engage someone else,' Ben told the radio show.

READ MORE: 'JOBSEEKER JEZ'S' UNEMPLOYED WORKERS UNION AUWU president Jez Heywood, 48, lives with his elderly parents in a granny flat behind their detached three-bedroom bungalow. He says he's been trying to find a job 'for more than a decade' and has applied for 'thousands of jobs, usually competing with a few hundred others'. He admitted the best thing that had ever happened to him was when the JobSeeker rate was doubled during Covid. Advertisement

'My honest assessment is he's not interested in anything other than pursuing his Unemployed Workers Union and in general he has a 'poor me' agenda,' he said.

'He asks for tolerance and understanding but if you read some of his social media activity he doesn't offer much of that himself.'

Fordham said Ben had moved on and the job was no longer available.

'Ben was a really decent bloke because he said to us 'look I don't want to make life harder for him, I want to make life easier for him, he said he wants a job I've got a job for him',' Fordham said.

'But Jez didn't want the job, what a shame. Seems like Jez doesn't want to work. Let's face it, he's happy to be on welfare indefinitely.'

Jobseeker will increase by $56-a-fortnight on September 20 when a $40 increase announced in the Budget is in effect plus a 2.2 per cent cost of living indexation rise.

Mr Heywood previously told Fordham: 'The best thing that happened in the last three years was when the Morrison government doubled job seeker and removed all mutual obligations.'

The Australian Unemployed Workers' Union - which says it aims to to 'alleviate poverty' - is led by president Jeremy 'Jobseeker Jez' Heywood, 48, who says he's been branded a 'dole bludger'

Fordham said on Friday Centrelink had no sting when following up on the mutual obligation requirements of those on welfare.

READ MORE: THE PRIVATE SCHOOL PAST AND COMFORTABLE LIVES OF JOBSEEKER JEZ AND HIS MATES The 'comrades' behind the so-called union fighting for higher dole payments for the unemployed include ex-private schoolboys from some of the nation's most elite schools. 'The champions of struggle street - who insist JobSeeker has left the unemployed living below the poverty line - come from privileged well-to-do backgrounds. Advertisement

'One of the Centrelink requirements is that people must accept any offer of suitable paid work if you don't meet the requirement demerits and penalties may apply'

'Centrelink is a toothless tiger... I don't think anyone will be following up on Jez he doesn't want to work and nobody is going to force him even if they should.'

According to the Services Australia website failing to meet requirement such as applying for jobs, attending interviews or turning up to a job will earn demerit points.

Three demerits in six months will result in an interview to discuss your situation and five demerit points will result in a capability interview.

'People like Jez have figured out the system, there are 881,000 people on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance, 150,000 have been on the program for at least 5 years, 156,000 have been unemployed for more than a decade.'

'Not all of them have the same attitude as Jez but he's become a poster boy for a big problem; it's not mandatory to work for the dole and if you don't do the obligations the consequences are pathetic.'
Allegedly threatened to 'end' male colleague if he didn't have sex

Plead not guilty to seven counts and alternatives on Thurs

A female private has been accused of indecently assaulting and blackmailing a male colleague for sex.

Private Maya Rose Miller pleaded not guilty to seven charges and their alternatives to a military court tribunal in Canberra on Thursday.

The 21-year-old allegedly grabbed the throat of the complainant, put her hand over his mouth and said words to the effect of 'if you don't f*** me I'm going to the corporals' whilst at a NSW army base.

She is also accused of touching the male co-worker's crotch area and threatening to 'end' him if he didn't want to have sex.

Private Maya Rose Miller, 21, been accused of indecently assaulting and blackmailing a male colleague for sex (stock image)

Alongside the corporal comment, it is also alleged Mitchell made another threat where the female private is heard saying words to the effect of: 'don't you f***ing swear at me or I'll end you, you c***, you know that' as heard in a recording by the complainant.

Three days worth of submissions, evidence and exhibits were presented to the panel in a summation by Major General Michael Cowen, the Daily Telegraph reported.

This included messages related to the alleged incident which indicated the complainant's intentions with Mitchell was to 'turn' her to like men and that he was 'turned on' at the start of the alleged encounter.

The female Private plead not guilty to seven charges and their alternatives to a military court tribunal in Canberra on Thursday (pictured, stock image)

Mitchell's defence team argued he did want to have sex with her, referencing a variety of text messages including multiple sent by the complainant to a friend asking about putting in a good word for him romantically.

Further evidence was provided by the complainants friend, Mitchells friend and a corporal working at the base at the time of the alleged encounter.

The tribunal, consisting of five defence force members, has now retired to consider their verdict.

Major General Michael Cowen directed the panel on Thursday with regards to laws of consent, saying it applies 'irrespective of gender'.

It is to be alleged there was no consent given by the complainant at any time.
One of Australia's richest men has slammed one of the nation's major energy providers in which he owns a 10 per cent stake as being environmentally 'toxic'.

Speaking at the Climate Governance Forum on Friday, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes took aim at AGL for its nation-sized carbon emissions.

The tech mogul claimed the company 'has more emissions than the entire country of Portugal or the entire country of New Zealand'.

He would also describe the company as 'one of the most toxic companies on the planet'.

Cannon-Brookes spent about $700million of his estimated $19billion net worth in purchasing a 10 per cent stake in AGL late last year before attempting to reform the company.

The energy provider recorded a downturn of $1.26billion over the past financial year as it transitions towards energy production with fewer emissions.

Co-Founder and CEO of Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured), said AGL energy 'has more emissions than the entire country of Portugal or the entire country of New Zealand'

Mr Cannon-Brookes told the forum, organised by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the energy provider was a 'rudderless thing' when he bought in.

He became concerned about the company's direction after environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores were reported to be 'high'.

After joining the board, Mr Cannon-Brookes claims he was almost laughed out for his beliefs the company needed a transition, before being taken seriously.

'We were pretty unashamed about forcing that transition,' he said, according to The Australian.

Cannon-Brookes said nominating five of the nine directors since joining the company was necessary so that AGL could 'embrace the new opportunities' of moving to a lower carbon future as part of its corporate transformation.

He continued by saying the company has since been presented with 'fantastic opportunities to lean in and benefit'.

AGL's annual report for the 2022-23 financial year outlined the company's plans to transition to renewable energy.

'We are committed to transitioning our portfolio to support a lower carbon world, and will seek to supply our customers' energy demand,' the report says.

After purchasing a 10 per cent stake in the company, Cannon-Brookes pushed for the company to transition towards renewables (stock image)

'We also recognise that the flexibility, availability and reliability of our current generation fleet will be crucial as we look to leverage strong operating cash flows from our low-cost generation position, to help fund the transition of our business.

'As we transition our energy portfolio, AGL plans to seek the most efficient way of sourcing the required energy and firming to supply our customer energy demand.'

The company closed the Liddell Power Station, near Muswellbrook in NSW, in April and plans to close the state's Bayswater Power Station and Victoria's Loy Yang Power Station by the mid 2030s.

It also committed to large batteries to store energy, and both onshore and offshore wind and solar power projects across the nation's east coast.
A pop artist has sued his friend and an art dealer for $55 million for copying and selling hundreds of pieces he used as collateral for a loan during an expensive 2016 divorce.

Todd Goldman, 55, has accused Eli Weisman and Roy Revivo of stealing and reproducing his works - and claims that they did so at a time when he was financially vulnerable.

Goldman allegedly confided in his friend Weisman about his expensive divorce in 2016, and turned to him for help paying his legal bills. Weisman agreed - and gave his friend two loans in 2016 and 2017 - using 2,500 pieces of artworks as collateral.

This loan deal, however, had 'sinister and egregious intentions,' the suit, seen by the New York Post, claims.

Artist Todd Goldman and actress Emma Stone. Goldman, 55, has accused Eli Weisman and Roy Revivo of stealing and reproducing his works - and claims that they did so at a time when he was financially vulnerable

Eli Weisman and Roy Revivo are accused of stealing and reproducing the artist's works

According to the suit, once the first loan of $40,000 was due to be repaid, Goldman still couldn't afford it and instead let his friend keep the collateral artwork.

The 2,500 lithographs Weisman got to keep made Revivo made almost $100,000, it's claimed.

Weisman runs gallery and auction house Q-Art - and Revivo is a Californian businessman.

Artist Goldman has an A-list clientele - and has sold pieces to Rihanna and Leonardo DiCaprio in the past.

When Goldman ran into money trouble again, he struck another deal with the duo - he got a $100,000 loan, which was backed by $3.5million worth of his paintings.

Revivo wanted to inspect the 800 paintings himself, so asked to ship them across the country from Florida to California in a truck in 'extreme heat,' which started ruining the artwork, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit claims he then held the artwork 'hostage,' and Goldman asked to give back $10,000 that Revivo gave 'in good will' in a bid to retrieve his artworks.

The lawsuit claims: 'Roy and Defendants had no intention of returning the pieces of art to Todd, it/they/he/she intended on taking advantage of Todd's being distracted and financially strapped due to his divorce, to execute the perfect con job against Plaintiff.

'Meanwhile time was passing and Todd was losing millions of business opportunities with his art.

Examples of Goldman's work

Examples of Goldman's work

'Defendants in this action knew full well the popularity of Todd's work, and like a Trojan Horse, offered Todd help when he was down and needed it the most, but with sinister and egregious intentions.'

Instead of giving back the hundreds of artworks, Revivo allegedly changed the terms of the loan, and increased the repayment amount to $25,000, and then to $50,000.

Not only did Goldman not possess his works, but he was missing out on big business deals, costing him millions of dollars, it's claimed.

He was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2018.

It was at this point that Revivo and Weisman started making prints of the artist's works and selling them online for cheap, the lawsuit claims.

In turn, this 'watered down' Goldman's brand and also saturated the market where collectors wouldn't want to invest in his work because copies were readily available elsewhere, the suit says.

Actress Selena Gomez and artist Todd Goldman

Goldman's lawyer Victor Feraru told The Post: 'This is one of the most egregious cases of exploiting an artist's work that I have ever seen.

'The Defendants in this case single-handedly diluted the market with unauthorized reproductions of my client's work and committed unthinkable fraud in the most vindictive and morally corrupt ways possible.

'We look forward to this case making its way to a jury.'

Weisman's team said: 'Qart.com has never reproduced Todd Goldman's paintings nor have we reproduced his signature. Even a shallow dive would clear it up.'

Revivo and Weisman were both contacted for comment.
The group of hikers who found the body of beloved British actor Julian Sands on Mt. Baldy in Los Angeles in June are speaking out for the first time since the discovery.

The hikers were climbing the steep mountain on June 24, six months after Sands went missing, when they found shoes, bones, and the actor's driver's license.

'It was surreal,' said hiker Bill Dwyer talking with the Los Angeles Times. Dwyer and his crew hiked more than 10 miles on the day they found Sands' remains.

In a June Strava post - captioned 'Discovery and recovery of Julian Sands' - Dwyer said he had jokingly told his daughter that they were looking 'for Julian Sands.'

Sands, best known for his roles in Oscar-nominated films including 1985's 'A Room With A View,' was reported missing by his family on January 13.

Hikers had been warned in the weeks leading up to the discovery that there could be remains on the trails and helicopters and search teams had been out looking.

Bill Dwyer, one of the hikers who discovered Julian Sands' remains in June, described finding the actor's items as 'surreal' in an interview with the Los Angeles Times

Sands, best known for his roles in Oscar-nominated films including 1985's 'A Room With A View,' was reported missing by his family on January 13

Mt. Baldy is located in the Angeles National Forest and is approximately 10,064 feet high

One of the hikers who spoke chose to remain anonymous and said they were worried as the ice and snow was melting that they might find remains.

'I hope we don't find a dead body today,' she said of her thoughts before the hike.

The group knew that Sands' phone had last pinged from a ridge beneath the mountain's summit and that he could have slid down the canyon they were hiking.

Three hours into their nearly eight hour hike, the group found a boot and then another boot a few yards up the hill.

They later found trekking poles, bones and then dark winter clothes. Inside the pocket of the pants was a driver's license with Sands' name and picture.

Dwyer and other group members avoided talking with the media and only spoke with the outlet in an effort to warn others about the dangers of winter hiking.

They say that it's important to always have a full safety kit and to not become too relaxed when hiking, even on familiar paths.

Upon discovering the remains, the group found one of Sands' boots had microspikes, which are metal cleats that can be attached to shoes for hiking.

The spikes are not meant for hikes where snow is heavy and the terrain is slippery and steep.

'I was a little shocked to see the microspikes,' Dwyer told the outlet. 'They were just the wrong tools for the job at hand.'

Sands was an avid hiker and sent photos of himself on trails to his loved ones

In a June Strava post - captioned 'Discovery and recovery of Julian Sands' - Dwyer said he had jokingly told his daughter that they were looking 'for Julian Sands'

Not found along with Sands's remains were a helmet or ice ax, which Dwyer said he should have had for the hike he was on. He also was wearing dark clothing.

The 'Naked Launch' actor did have his phone on him but much of the mountain range does not have cell service.

Dwyer - upon finding Sands' items - used a Garmin satellite messaging device to reach out to rescue teams in June. They were able to respond in eight minutes.

After Sands went missing, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spent more than $100,000 and 500 hours searching for the actor.

The inclement weather made search and rescue missions difficult as storms and snow mad the terrain rugged for even the most skilled hikers.

Since 2020, seven people have been confirmed dead and there have been more than 100 searches at Mt. Baldy for missing hikers.

The Southern California range is one of the deadliest in the United States.

At the time that his remains were discovered, Sands appeared to have been wearing dark-colored hiking clothes. Pictured: Sands in a photo from a previous summit

Rescuers with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department during a search for Sands

After Sands went missing, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spent more than $100,000 and 500 hours searching for the actor. Pictured: Rescuers during one search

When Sands went missing, he was last known to be in the Baldy Bowl Trail area. If he fell from the trail, he could have either ended up in Baldy Bowl or Goode Canyon.

Goode Canyon, where he was ultimately found, is a more treacherous terrain where no one would likely be able to spot him.

Donna Newlin, a member of the San Bernardino County's search and rescue team said the falling snow and ice can turn the canyon into a 'shooting gallery.'

Numerous efforts were made to find the actor after much of the snow had melted, including one just days before Dwyer's team and hundreds of feet away.

'It was just one of those things,' Newlin said. 'If they had gone another 600 feet farther down, they might have found him.'

It remains unclear how exactly Sands died and when.

In late July, Sands' cause of death was ruled 'undetermined' due to the condition of his remains.

The 'undetermined' manner of death is common when dealing with cases of this type, a spokesperson with the sheriffs department told PEOPLE.
At least 56 people died in the wildfires, while 14,500 have been evacuated and over 2,000 are forced to sleep rough

A Hawaii resident in the middle of the state's apocalyptic wildfires has revealed the charred remains of numerous victims have been washing up amid the crisis.

Kekoa Lansford said his town of Lahaina, the epicenter of the blazes on the island of Maui, is going to take 'years to fix' after the dust settles on the natural disaster.

'This is not even the worst of it,' he told the BBC as he pointed to the leveled town. '(We) still get dead bodies in the water floating, and on the seawall.'

Speaking before President Biden promised unending federal aid on Thursday, Lansford slammed the response from officials as he said: 'I feel like we're not getting the help we need.'

His remarks came a day before Hawaii Governor Josh Green announced the death toll had risen to 53, a number which was expected to rise 'significantly' in the coming days.

Officials on Thursday were able to evacuate 14,500 people from the island, however at least 2,000 are set to sleep rough as authorities scramble to help residents and tourists flee the fires.

Kekoa Lansford said his town of Lahaina, the epicenter of the blazes on the island of Maui , is going to take 'years to fix'

Numerous bodies are still being recovered in Lahaina after the wildfires killed at least 53 people, with some residents saying charred remains floated up to the sea wall

When the blazes began on Tuesday, drought-like conditions after a summer of high temperatures and little rain - combined with winds from Hurricane Dora - caused the flames to spread rapidly.

With many residents and tourists caught off-guard, some resorted to flinging themselves into the ocean in a bid to escape the blistering streets.

US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames.

Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of the dense smoke pouring from the huge fire, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water.

'It was a really rapidly developing scene and pretty harrowing for the victims that had to jump into the water,' she added.

After officials were able to contain much of the fires in Lahaina, Green said over 80 percent of the community had been razed to the ground. Lansford's fears that the town could take years to rebuild were echoed by the governor at a press conference Thursday.

'When you see the full extent of the destruction of Lahaina, it will shock you,' he said, noting the renovation could cost well into the 'billions of dollars.'

'All of those buildings virtually are going to have to be rebuilt. It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds, in its own image, with its own values,' he added.

People were ordered by officials to leave the island of Maui as the wildfires cause untold damage

Maui County officials organized buses for stranded tourists to shuttle them to airports

Officials ordered people to flee Maui 'as soon as possible'

Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island. Pictured: People gather while waiting for flights at the Kahului Airport Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023

Stranded tourists at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023

Smoke billows near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina

Residents and holidaymakers alike were sent scrambling for safety when the wildfires began, with more than 14,000 people moved off the island of Maui on Wednesday.

A further 14,500 people were expected to join them off the burnt island by the end of Thursday, according to a news release from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Many of those attempting to find safety ended up in shelters, with BBC journalist Max Matza reporting from one of the facilities that more people encountered bodies floating in the water.

'I found two bodies floating against my sea wall,' said one resident, who said he didn't listen to Governor Green's press conference because he didn't want to be reminded of the disaster.

The unnamed man added that he was still waiting to hear from 'a few people', who may be among the countless people still missing. At his news conference, Green admitted that upwards of 1,000 people may still be unaccounted for.

As the death toll rose by 17 on Thursday, the wildfires became one of the deadliest disasters to strike the islands of Hawaii since it became a US state in 1959.

'In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island,' Green said, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state.

'This time, it's very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that,' he added.

The governor said the devastated town now looks 'as though a bomb hit' it, adding: 'It looks like total devastation; buildings that we've all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed.'

Among those buildings was the hall of the historic Wailoa Church in Lahaina, which was photographed engulfed in flames as the high winds rocked trees around it.

Officials said they expect the rebuild to cost well into the billions of dollars

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street, August 8, 2023

After hearing reports her home was destroyed along with her pets, Steff Baku-Kirkman reacts after wildfires driven by high winds were believed to have destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina

Aerial photographs of Lahaina, which served as the Hawaiian kingdom's capital in the early 19th century, showed entire blocks reduced to cinders.

Green said around 1,700 buildings were now believed to have been affected by the blaze.

'With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time,' Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said.

'In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a... community,' he added, 'as we rebuild with resilience and aloha.'

While President Biden has pledged unending resources to Hawaii officials to help them bring the crisis to a close, authorities in Maui County asked visitors to leave 'as soon as possible,' and organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport.
Detectives investigating a fire that claimed the lives of a father and his five sons have not identified any suspicious circumstances despite so far failing to discover the cause of the blaze.

Wayne Godinet, 34, died along with his four-year-old twins Kyza and Koa, his three-year-old son Nicky, and his stepsons Zack, 11, and Harry, 10 in an inferno at their home on Russell Island on Sunday morning.

He returned to the burning building in a bid to rescue the children but perished inside when the second storey collapsed. The blaze was so intense it destroyed three properties.

The boys' mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28, and her step-sister Connie Campbell, 20, fled to safety and survived.

On Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Queensland Police said they are 'continuing to investigate the circumstances' surrounding the devastating fire but said nothing suspicious had been found - despite extensive trawls of the ruins.

Father Wayne Godinet, 34, and his five sons (pictured) perished after they were trapped in a deadly fire on Queensland's Russell Island

The blaze was so intense firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house in the late afternoon on Sunday after battling it from 6:18am

'Extensive investigations to date have failed to identify the cause of the fire,' the spokesperson added.

'Despite this, no suspicious circumstances have been identified.

'An extensive report will be prepared for the coroner now that the post-mortem examinations have been completed.'

Police appealed to the public for any information that may assist with their investigation.

While the cause remains a mystery, Daily Mail Australia witnessed police removing two charred gas cylinders from the rubble on Thursday afternoon.

The major update comes a day after around 100 of Mr Godinet's relatives from across Australia and New Zealand paid tribute to him and his sons with a powerful Haka.

Their chants and cries filled the air of the sleepy cul-de-sac fringed with trees where just a week ago such a tragedy would have been unimaginable.

Dozens of relatives of a father who perished in a house fire with his five sons on Russell Island have paid tribute to them in a special ceremony on Thursday afternoon (pictured)

Relatives performed a Haka ceremony at the site of the fire to honour the victims' memory

Roses and gerberas were left against a charred piece of masonry at the site of the tragedy

They gathered at the end of the quiet gravel track cul-de-sac shortly after 2pm, with many touching foreheads in a traditional Maori greeting.

Parents held their children close, while others linked arms.

Then the afternoon silence on the sleepy island was suddenly filled with the lamenting cries from a woman believed to be Mr Godinet's mother.

Dressed in all in black and wearing dark shades, she led the mourners down under the police tape.

There they were faced with a scene of utter destruction.

A burnt-out jeep sat next to the gnarled and twisted corrugated iron roof of the Queenslander property which had been razed to the ground.

A woman, believed to be Mr Godinet's mother, sprinkles water on the site while his father Jacob Cope watches on in tears

Staff at the island's rural fire crew stood behind the group as some family members then performed the powerful Haka to honour Mr Godinet and his sons' memories.

One relative placed a comforting arm over the shoulder of Mr Godinet's father, Jacob Cope, who was dressed in a Dayboro Cowboys rugby league jersey.

The grandfather wept as a woman believed to be Mr Godinet's mother sprinkled water around the site.

Samantha Stephenson, who lost all her children in the fire, was not in attendance.

Neighbours recalled seeing Ms Stephenson running outside screaming 'my children, my children' as her partner raced back into the inferno to rescue the five boys sleeping upstairs.

A heartbroken Ms Stephenson previously urged every parent to 'check your smoke alarms and hold your babies'.

One of her sisters later attended the site to lay three roses and three gerberas against a charred piece of masonry in memory of the victims.

Moments before the grief-stricken relatives arrived, officers packed away two charred gas cylinders that had been involved in the fire in the back of a police car.

Mourners touched foreheads in a traditional Maori greeting (pictured)

Earlier in the day, detectives from Bayside CIB on the mainland combed through the ash and gathered various items which they took away in an evidence box.

One detective picked up what appeared to be a smashed plate and the fragment of a glass candle holder or vase.

The tragedy has rocked the small island community of around 3,500 people.

David Woodley, 62, who moved to Russell Island to retire 18 months ago said the last week had been 'absolutely devastating'.

'You can see the sad faces and sense the angst and anxiety and depression,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mourners hugged one another after the ceremony

Police officers packed away two charred gas cylinders that had been involved in the fire on Thursday afternoon

'Everyone is in total shock.'

Mr Woodley dropped a bouquet of flowers off at the local police station to thank them for their work.

On Monday, police said they would not rule out foul play.

The fire was so fierce it affected three properties: razing one to the ground, gutting another and damaging a third.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to one neighbour who lives behind the property who had provided footage of the fire to police.

The children's mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28 (right with Mr Godinet), and her half-sister, were released from hospital after they escaped the blaze

Their investigations at the scene are now over and the police tape has been removed.

But police say it could still be weeks before they can establish the cause of the fire - if at all.

It comes as police revealed autopsies have been carried out on the six victims of the tragedy.
Comes during tight rental market around the nation

A jaw dropping question in an online rental application has caused a controversy after it was spotted by a prospective tenant.

The woman from Victoria was applying for a new home when the subject of pets came up in the online form.

Despite it not being a compulsory question, she was left reconsidering her options when she saw: 'Would you consider rehoming your pet?'

Laws have recently been amended in some states across Australia so that renters can move with their four-legged friends in peace, but they aren't universal yet.

The frustrated woman ventured online where she discussed the problem with others in a rental group.

A woman who was applying for rentals was shocked when the application she was filling out asked if she would be open to rehoming her pets

Although it was an optional question, the woman was left feeling shocked at the audacity of the question

Although her answer to the question might not have necessarily affected the outcome, she was still left in complete shock.

'Applying for properties and I'm in actual shock that this is a question,' she wrote.

'Unsure why they couldn't accommodate a pet.'

Data shows that Australians are some of the biggest pet-lovers in the world, with approximately 69 per cent of homes with at least one animal as a family member.

Dogs are a favourite, with 48 per cent of pet owners opting for man's best friend, and the second place went to cats which make up 33 per cent.

The rental crisis is reducing these numbers however, with data from the RSPCA showing that one-in-five pets are rehomed because landlords don't want them or can't have them where they live.

Even though there was no indication that owning a pet would've hurt her chances at getting the property, others in the group suggested it potentially could have.

'That's so f***** up. Landlords gain nothing by prohibiting people from living normal lives,' one person responded.

'At best, it encourages tenants to lie on the application,' a second added.

'Encouraging tenants to rehome their pet (or alluding they have a better chance without the pet) simply invites dishonesty and for good reason.

'Everyone should have the right to enjoy a pet. I also strongly believe that children cause more damage (I have both).'

'Whoever designed their application form is bordering on psychotic,' a third said.

Landlords in every state but NSW need a valid reason to refuse their tenants from having a pet, and 86 per cent of people in a NSW survey want the state to follow suit

Australia is one of the biggest pet-loving countries in the world, with 69 per cent of people owning a pet

In all states and territories, renters can have access to an assistance animal, but only in some are there laws that cater to having a pet for pet's sake.

Residential tenancy laws in Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory and ACT were recently amended to make owning a pet in a rental easier.

Tenants still have to declare that they have a pet, but landlords require a justifiable reason for refusing them.

These reasons could include a property lacking suitable space or fencing or the animal being a risk to the public.

South Australia was the latest state to grant this right to renters in June, with 68 per cent of people owning a pet in the state but only 20 per cent of rentals allowing them.

New South Wales hasn't provided any protection to renters however, and landlords are still able to simply refuse residency to any pet owners.

The NSW Tenants' Union is campaigning for change, considering pet bans 'a breach of [a renter's] reasonable peace, comfort and privacy,' according to their website.

A recent poll on the NSW government website showed that 87 per cent of respondents thought it should be easier for renters to keep pets in their homes.
A top Republican has torn into a 'damning' photo of Biden with a Hunter-linked aide on Air Force Two while they were flying to Ukraine to demand prosecutors drop the Burisma Holdings investigation.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik slammed the image of the then-Vice President with Amos Hochstein, Bidens current special presidential coordinator, which was taken on December 6, 2015.

Hochstein was allegedly in communication with Hunters associates at Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings when the first son was serving on the firms board.

Biden was threatening to withhold $1billion in US aid if they did not fire their top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. He was sacked three months after the December 2015 trip to Ukraine.

Hochstein still works in the Biden administration. A damning Republican Senate report in 2020 said he repeatedly warned that Hunter's position on the Burisma board would spark conflict of interest allegations.

A top Republican has tore into this 'damning' photo of Biden with a Hunter-linked aide Amos Hochstein on Air Force Two while they were flying to Ukraine to demand prosecutors drop the Burisma Holdings investigation in December 2015

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik slammed the image of the then-Vice President with Amos Hochstein, Bidens current special presidential coordinator, which was taken on December 6, 2015

Emails that surfaced in 2020 also suggested Burisma board advisor Vadym Pozharskyi was in contact with Hochstein.

Pozharskyi flagged to Hochstein's office how tax legislation in Ukraine would impact the energy sector, in which they were a major player.

In the image, Hochstein is seen briefing Biden. According to Stefanik, this shows the 'Biden Administration not only knew of Hunter Biden's corrupt foreign business dealings, but also that Joe Biden was intimately involved.'

Stefanik told Fox News Digital in a statement: 'This damning picture of then Vice President Joe Biden on Air Force Two en route to Ukraine talking with Amos Hochstein is just further evidence that Biden and senior officials in the Biden Administration not only knew of Hunter Biden's corrupt foreign business dealings, but also that Joe Biden was intimately involved while Vice President.

'At the time of this photo, Hochstein was in communication with Hunter Biden and Burisma where Hunter served on the board.

'We also know that this photo was taken on Air Force Two ahead of Joe Biden's now infamous meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, where Biden threatened to have aid withheld if a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma was not fired.

'All evidence points directly to Joe Biden being deeply compromised.

'House Republicans will leave no stone unturned in our investigations into Biden's involvement in his family's influence peddling scheme.'

When Hochstein met Hunter for a coffee of November 6, 2015, he 'did not go so far as to recommend that Hunter leave the board,' the report claims

According to a Senate Republican report released in 2020, in October 2015 Hochstein raised concerns with Biden and Hunter that Hunter's position on Burismas board enabled Russian disinformation efforts.

He said that Biden's involvement risked undermining US policy in Ukraine.

This wasn't the only time Hochstein allegedly warned Biden about Hunter's position.

According to Victoria Nuland, who was serving as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs in 2015, it was mentioned in the conversation pictured on the aircraft heading to Ukraine.

Hochstein also told Congress in the 2020 report: 'We were starting to think about a trip to Ukraine, and I wanted to make sure that he was aware that there was an increase in chatter on media outlets close to Russians and corrupt oligarchs-owned media outlets about undermining his message  to try to undermine his [Vice President Bidens] message and including Hunter Biden being part of the board of Burisma.'

When Hochstein met Hunter for a coffee of November 6, 2015, he 'did not go so far as to recommend that Hunter leave the board,' the report claims.

When Shokin was fired, and Biden bragged about his apt diplomacy on camera in 2018.

This comes after a highly-anticipated internal FBI document - obtained by DailyMail.com - included bombshell claims that Joe Biden and his son Hunter forced a Ukrainian oil executive to pay them $10 million in exchange for the then-Vice President's influence in getting a senior prosecutor fired.

According to the blockbuster FD-1023 form - some of which is redacted - the Confidential Human Source (CHS) met with the high-ranking Burisma executives between 2015 and 2016

According to the conversation between a confidential source and Burisma CFO Vadim Pojarski in 2015, Hunter Biden was hired onto the company's board to 'protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.'

Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky told the source: 'It costs 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden.'

Zlochevsky added that, although Hunter 'was stupid,' and his (Zlochevsky's) dog was smarter, he was needed on the board 'so everything will be okay.'

According to the blockbuster FD-1023 form - some of which is redacted - the Confidential Human Source (CHS) met with the high-ranking Burisma executives between 2015 and 2016.

Burisma was looking to spend up to $30 million on a U.S.-based oil and gas company. However, at the time, it was also the subject of a criminal investigation by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, which the company knew 'would have a substantial negative impact on Burisma's prospective IPO in the United States.'

When asked about the investigation, the form states that Zlochevsky replied: 'Don't worry Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad.'

Later, then-Vice President Joe Biden made a public statement that Shokin was 'corrupt, and that he should be fired/removed from office.'

DailyMail.com previously reported that the 17 audio recordings of phone calls - two of Joe Biden and 15 of Hunter Biden - were kept as an 'insurance policy.'

The FBI FD-1023 form was created on June 30, 2020 based on information from a highly-paid informant and brought to the attention of Republicans by a whistleblower.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, obtained and published the document after a months-long back-and-forth between the top

and the FBI through 'legally protected disclosures' by Department of Justice (DOJ) whistleblowers.

The document contains a limited number of redactions to protect the confidential human source, the handling agents, DOJ whistleblower names and references to connect ongoing investigations, according to a Senate aide.

The Republicans expressed their continued commitment to uncovering the truth regarding the Biden family business scheme.

White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams fired back after the FD-1023's publish, accusing Republicans of going after 'debunked' claims.

General Prosecutor of Ukraine Viktor Shokin

'Its clear that congressional Republicans are dead-set on playing shameless, dishonest politics and refuse to let truth get in the way,' he said in a statement.

The FBI said in a statement to DailyMail.com that through the agency's 'engagement' with Congress, they have worked to protect the safety of their confidential sources, which the Republicans violated by making the document public.

'Todays release of the 1023 - at a minimum - unnecessarily risks the safety of a confidential source,' said an FBI spokesperson.

As well as this, Joe Biden was referred to as the 'Big Guy' by the Burisma executive who allegedly paid him a $5 million bribe and who has kept 17 audio recordings of phone calls as an 'insurance policy,' DailyMail.com learned.

According to a 'highly credible' whistleblower, an internal FD-1023 memo created in 2020 based off information from a highly-paid FBI informant apparently details a $5 million 'arrangement' for an exchange of money for policy decisions between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.

A source familiar confirmed to DailyMail.com that the foreign national - an executive from Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings Limited - referred to Joe Biden as the 'Big Guy' according to the 1023 form.
Boris Epshteyn, a longtime aide to former President Donald Trump, was arrested in 2021 after he was accused of inappropriately touching two women in an Arizona nightclub, according to police records.

Epshteyn pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges in Scottsdale city court after prosecutors dropped charges of attempted sexual abuse, assault-touching and 'harass-repeated acts.'

He paid a fine and served probation, and his conviction was set aside earlier this year.

The arrest, which occurred outside of the Bottled Blonde nightclub in the early hours of October 11, was first reported Thursday by The Arizona Republic. Epshteyn is considered a top advisor in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. On Twitter, he calls himself a 'senior advisor' and 'special assistant' to Trump.

A club security guard flagged down police early in the morning of Oct. 10, 2021, and told officers that women had complained Epshteyn touched them inappropriately, according to a police report and body-worn camera footage released under Arizona's public records law. One of the women was crying, video shows.

One woman told officers Epshteyn was especially aggressive toward her 23-year-old sister.

Boris Epshteyn, a longtime aide to former President Donald Trump, was arrested in 2021 after he was accused of inappropriately touching two women in an Arizona nightclub, according to police records

The woman, who has not been identified, accused Epshteyn of cornering her and her 23-year-old sister in a bar

'All night he's been like touching me and my sister, especially my sister,' she said over loud music during an interview captured on the officer's body camera.

'He kind of cornered her and grabbed her and like (was) just making her super uncomfortable. Touching her after we repeatedly told him to stop touching her.'

She said club security told her they couldn't kick out Epshteyn because he was a big spender, though security guards eventually led him out of the bar to police.

'We have a high tolerance of people being weird, but that was above and beyond,' the older sister told one officer. 'That guy was molesting women in the bar and the bar told us to go drink with him,' the woman alleges.

She described Epshteyn as being 'fat, ugly, like drooping face. White Ralph Lauren Polo. Like fatter Tony Soprano.'

'Touching her chest, touching her hips, touching her crotch,' the woman can also be heard saying to the officer. She said she was willing to press charges while her sister said that she just wanted to go home.

Epshteyn denied wrongdoing but said little else about the incident to police as he sat on a curb outside the bar.

'I have no idea what's going on. I have no idea who these women are,' Epshteyn told officers.

Epshteyn was also charged in 2014 with assault-touching following a fight at another Scottsdale bar, court records show.

He reached a plea deal with prosecutors and the conviction was later set aside. The deal included community service, which he performed in his home state of New Jersey.

The Arizona Republic repots that the 2014 arrest took place close to this most recent incident, in Scottsdale's U district at Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row. He was accused of punching a man who he was 'significantly larger' than in the nose, causing a contusion.

A longtime Trump adviser, Epshteyn was a principal surrogate in the 2016 presidential campaign, making frequent television appearances

A longtime Trump adviser, Epshteyn was a principal surrogate in the 2016 presidential campaign, making frequent television appearances and briefly serving as a senior White House adviser before becoming an analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group.

He's also been a main figure in Trump's ongoing legal battles, both as an adviser and a participant.

After Trump's loss in 2020, Epshteyn worked with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani  another of Trump's lawyers  on efforts to overturn the election results by organizing fake electors.

Last year, he was subpoenaed by the House panel probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and testified before a Georgia special grand jury probing Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state.

It's anticipated that a possible indictment in that case could come against the former president next week.

He also accompanied Trump to Washington last week for his first appearance in federal court on charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Earlier this year, Epshteyn appeared alongside the former president as Trump was arraigned in New York on 34 felony counts as part of a hush money case  the first time in U.S. history a former president had faced a criminal indictment.

When Timothy Parlatore quit the Trump legal team in May, he singled out strategy differences with Epshteyn as among his reasons, accusing him of 'doing everything he could to try to block us to prevent us from doing what we could to defend the president' as it relates to the case in which Trump is charged with improperly taking classified documents from the White House.
A member of an outlaw motorcycle club accused of killing an associate member and leaving his body in a crypt at a Philadelphia cemetery has been convicted of murder and other charges.

Michael DiMauro, 51, who represented himself at trial, will be sentenced to life without possibility of parole later this month, District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.

DiMauro shot David Rossillo Jr., 33, four times in Mount Moriah Cemetery in December 2017, prosecutors said, then tied a rope around his neck, dragged him across the property with a car, and left him in an underground crypt.

Rossillo Jr. was missing for nearly three years before his body was found in April 2020, as authorities searched for Keith Palumbo, another Warlocks motorcycle associate who had disappeared.

Two cooperating witnesses implicated DiMauro in the murder.

Michael DiMauro, 51, who represented himself at trial, will be sentenced to life without possibility of parole later this month for shooting David Rossillo Jr. (pictured), 33, four times in Mount Moriah Cemetery in December 2017

The body of Rossillo Jr. was also found in the crypt, authorities said, and it's still not clear why either man was killed.

'We are committed to bringing justice in cold cases like this,' said Krasner in a statement.

The jury returned their verdict after within hours of beginning deliberation.

'I believe that these convictions should send a message to any persons who think they can murder others and hide the evidence of their heinous crimes: We will solve these cases and we will bring you to justice,' Krasner added.

On April 3, 2020, Rossillo Jr.'s remains were found alongside Palumbo, a musician.

DNA taken from their remains led to their identification by investigators in August of that same year. DiMauro was arrested just a month later.

Michael DeLuca, 38, an alleged member of Warlocks MC, was arrested in 2021 and pleaded guilty to third degree murder in Palumbos killing.

Three other co-conspirators - Donna Morelli, 51, Buck Evans, 49, and Billy Gibson, 50, - previously pleaded guilty to their roles in helping dispose of the bodies.

DiMauro shot David Rossillo Jr., 33, four times in Mount Moriah Cemetery in December 2017, prosecutors said, then tied a rope around his neck, dragged him across the property with a car, and left him in an underground crypt

The body of Rossillo Jr. was also found in the crypt, authorities said, and it's still not clear why either man was killed

Rossillo was missing for nearly three years before his body was found in April 2020, as authorities searched for Keith Palumbo (pictured)

Michael DeLuca, 38, an alleged member of Warlocks MC, was arrested in 2021 and pleaded guilty to third degree murder in Palumbos killing

Evans, who has a lengthy criminal history, was suspected of helping cover up the murder of Palumbo.

Gibson and Morelli were convicted on charges of abusing of corpse for allegedly helping dispose of Palumbo's body.

According to police, Palumbo was fatally shot in the face inside a Philadelphia building owned by the notorious Warlocks Motorcycle Club back in February, as Philadelphia Inquirer first reported.

His body was discovered two months later inside a crypt at the shuttered Mount Moriah Cemetery, along with that of an unidentified man.

Following his arrest, Evans was questioned by police and allegedly told them that DeLuca had shot Palumbo in the face in his presence.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Evans said he was standing so close to Palumbo that he was splattered with his blood.

The document makes no mention of a possible motive behind the killing.

DeLuca then allegedly went to Morelli's home, told her he had killed Palumbo and asked for her help getting rid of his body.

Three other co-conspirators  Donna Morelli, 51, of Philadelphia, and Buck Evans (pictured), 49, and Billy Gibson, 50, both of Upper Darby  previously pleaded guilty to their roles in helping dispose of the bodies

'We are committed to bringing justice in cold cases like this,' said District Attorney Larry Krasner in a statement

On April 3, 2020, Rossillo remains were found alongside Palumbo, a musician

DNA taken from their remains led to Palumbo and Rossillo Jr.'s identification by investigators in August of that same year

Morelli allegedly told police she and the other suspects threw the victim's body into the crypt, and then she burned Evans' bloodstained clothes.

When Palumbo's body was discovered on April 3, a second corpse was found in the same crypt, later revealed to be Rossillo Jr's.

According to an obituary, Rossillo Jr. 'had dreams and aspirations to become a personal trainer. He enjoyed healthy eating and taking care of his body,' as well as enjoying time with family and friends.
Junior doctors will launch a four day strikes this morning set to cause disruption to thousands of patients as Health Secretary Steve Barclay blasts the latest round of walkouts as 'unnecessary and reckless'.

The NHS will be plunged into further misery today, as British Medical Association holds its fifth round of junior doctor strikes as its bitter row with the Government over pay continues.

The latest round of strike action will start today at 7am, ending at 7am on Tuesday August 15.

Amongst those walking out are Foundation Year 1 doctors, who landed their first role in medical just nine days ago on August 2.

Mr Barclay defended the Government's pay offer, telling the Mail: 'The BMA continues to act recklessly by going ahead with further unnecessary strike action this week, which serves only to harm patients and put further pressure on their own colleagues.

Junior doctors will walkout once again this morning as part of a four day strike lasting from today until Tuesday 7am. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in London in July

The walkout comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) continues its dispute with the Government over pay. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in London in July

Health Secretary Steve Barclay (pictured) has slammed the most recent walkout as 'reckless and unnecessary'

'We've seen again and again that no one benefits from this disruption and nearly 800,000 appointments or procedures have been postponed as a result of industrial action.

'It's extremely concerning, especially as the NHS works hard to recover from the pandemic and tackle a record backlog.'

The latest round of disruption comes after data published by NHS England on Thursday revealed waiting lists climbed to a record high of 7.6 million in June.

And so far, almost 835,000 appointments across NHS England have been postponed as a result of industrial action since December.

But NHS Confederation said the true level of disruption is being 'masked' and, in a worst-case scenario, the number of cancellations could be double this number.

Many hospitals have stopped booking in routine activity on potential strike days to prevent causing more disruption to patients on waiting lists, it said.

Mr Barclay added: 'As has always been the case, I want to hear about how we can improve the working lives of doctors and NHS staff and will always be keen to talk about this.

'Last month I invited a group of doctors in training to sit down with me and talk about their experience of training. They shared with me some of the measures and support that they would like to see in their workplace, such as improved technology to reduce unnecessary admin demands.

'I want to have a grown-up conversation about how to fix the legitimate frustrations these doctors face, and work together to improve their working lives.

So far, almost 835,000 appointments across NHS England have been postponed as a result of industrial action since December. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in London in July

The latest round of strike action will start today at 7am, ending at 7am on Tuesday August 15. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in Leeds

'Striking is not going to help anyone achieve that and ultimately it is patients that have to bear the brunt of walkouts.'

Concerns have also been mounting over the impact of the strike after a High Court ruling which means the NHS cannot seek support from agency staff, as was the case during previous strikes.

The ruling in July concluded that employers could not use agency workers to fill in for striking staff.

While the NHS can use its own bank staff, NHS England pointed to the 'additional challenge' posed to the service during this round of strikes.

Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the British Medical Association's junior doctors committee, said: 'We are now at the stage where a whole new cohort of junior doctors is entering the profession, only to be immediately given no choice by the Government but to go on strike for their future.

'The Government should be ashamed that this is the state of the profession they are presenting to our newest doctors.

'If they want a health service that retains this talent for decades to come, they need to come to the table - not in weeks, not in months, but today. This dispute should never have gone on so long.'

The pair added that the BMA's 'door remains open for talks at any time' with the Government.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, warned the figure could close in on one million following strikes by junior doctors and consultants in August, as well as a potential further two-day strike by consultants in September.

Amongst those walking out are Foundation Year 1 doctors, who landed their first role in medical just nine days ago on August 2. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in Newcastle in July

The strike comes after data published by NHS England on Thursday revealed waiting lists climbed to a record high of 7.6 million in June. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in Leeds in July

'There will be a long-lasting effect on patients who have had treatment delayed and on already low staff morale,' he added.

And making room for rescheduled appointments means those further down the waiting list also face delays.

After speaking to hospital operations managers and other NHS staff, the NHS Confederation also said the action is heaping increased pressure on the service, hampering efforts to reduce the record backlog of care and leading to a hefty financial cost to the NHS.

It called the Government's 'business as usual' approach to strike action 'dangerous' as it urged ministers to reopen negotiations with doctors.

But the Government has insisted that no more talks will take place.

Sir Julian warned trusts 'could be close to a tipping point'.

He added: 'Trusts and staff are pulling out all the stops to reduce waiting times for patients but with no end to strikes in sight, the sheer volume of planned treatment being put back due to industrial action will make it almost impossible for trusts to cut waiting lists as much as the Government wants.'

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the pay rise given to junior doctors - a 6 per cent rise along with an additional consolidated 1,250 increase, which the Government describes as an 'average increase of around 8.8 per cent' - was 'fair and reasonable' and 'above what most in the public and private sectors are receiving'.

However, Dr Naru Narayanan, president of hospital doctors' union the HCSA, said the Government had adopted 'a very misleading line on pay'.

'These strikes have never been just about the 2022-3 pay award. They're about tackling the 13 years of pay erosion which are affecting staffing and patient care.

'I'm afraid the Government seems lost in a fantasy land where it is fooling itself that refusing to talk will somehow end the dispute. It's an absolute tragedy for our patients and our NHS.'

The BMA's junior doctors committee has previously urged ministers to 'act like a responsible government, come to the table to negotiate with us in good faith, and with a credible offer' to avoid further strike action.

The NHS has urged the public to continue to use 999 for life-threatening emergencies and 111 online for anything non-urgent.

It said GPs and pharmacies are also open and largely unaffected by strikes.

Meanwhile, patients should attend their appointment as usual unless they have been told that it is to be rescheduled, it added.
The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the state's ban on the sale or possession of semiautomatic weapons, a rule that was introduced after the Highland Park mass shooting.

The decision was handed down as part of a lawsuit brought by a local Republican and business owner, who sued claiming the ban infringed on the state's Constitution.

The lawsuit was filed by Republican Rep. Dan Caulkins, of Decatur, and like-minded gun-owners.

The ban was implemented after the July 4 Highland Park shooting in 2022, where gunman Bobby Crimo murdered seven people by shooting from the roof of a building.

In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act does not violate the federal Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the law nor the state constitution's bar on special legislation.

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team Unit investigate in downtown Highland Park, Ill., on July 5, 2022, the day after a deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July Parade

With Washington state adopting a similar law in April, there are now 10 states plus the District of Columbia that have prohibitions on semiautomatic firearms.

The law bans dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and handguns, .50-caliber guns, attachments and rapid-firing devices. No rifle is allowed to accommodate more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns. The most popular gun targeted is the AR-15 rifle, which can be found in at least 25 million American households, according to 2021 research by Georgetown University.

But it carves out exceptions. Those who possessed semiautomatic guns before it became effective on Jan. 10 are allowed to keep them but must register them with the state police by Jan. 1, 2024.

And seven categories of 'trained professionals,' such as police officers, active-duty military, corrections officials and qualified security guards, may carry them.

Bolstered by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case that determined Americans have a right to carry weapons in public for self-defense, Caulkins argued that the plaintiffs and those granted exemptions to the ban are 'similarly situated' in that they all hold required Firearm Owners Identification Cards and are protected by the Second Amendment, but were not given equal protection of the laws when the ban was applied to them.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford, writing for the majority, countered that in the case of grandfathered gun owners, there's no dissimilar treatment.

And just having a FOID card doesn't mean a gun owner has arrest powers or other duties assigned to the trained professionals, nor the training and experience with the firearms they carry.

Assault weapons and hand guns are seen for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. The state's Supreme Court today upheld a ban on the sales

'The equal protection clause guarantees that similarly situated individuals will be treated in a similar manner, unless the government can demonstrate an appropriate reason to treat those individuals differently,' Rochford wrote.

'The equal protection clause does not forbid the Legislature from drawing distinctions in legislation among different categories of people as long as the Legislature does not draw those distinctions based on criteria wholly unrelated to the legislations purpose.'

Caulkins' attorney, Jerrold Stocks, said additional legal action was likely, including a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Protect Our Communities Act hours after lawmakers sent it to him in a lame-duck session in January, months after a shooter using a high-powered rifle killed seven and injured dozens on Independence Day 2022 in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The new law set off a firestorm of criticism from gun-rights advocates, including county sheriffs who were nearly unanimous in signing a statement that they would not zealously enforce the law.

'This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship,' Pritzker said in a statement. 'Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state - whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work - and thats precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes.'

The court's fifth Democrat, Justice Mary K. O'Brien, dissented, deciding the law is illegal special legislation that gives some of the excepted classes - retired police officers, for example - rights to the weapons, without rationale, that the plaintiffs don't have.

The court's two Republicans, Justices Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet, filed a separate dissent. They found that lawmakers so blatantly violated the constitutional procedures for approving legislation as to make the law unconstitutional, 'thereby obviating the need to address the firearm restrictions at issue in this appeal.'

'Important as this case is, constitutionally embedded process matters,' Holder White wrote. 'Where the Legislature fails to honor our constitutionally mandated process, this court is duty bound to adhere to our constitution and require the Legislature to do the same.'
A British man has allegedly been beaten to death by bouncers in Cyprus, according to local reports.

Huseyin Mavideniz, 29, died after being attacked early morning on Thursday outside a club in Iskele, northern Cyprus, local media said, citing the police.

He was allegedly punched in the head several times by the club's security before being rushed to Famagusta State Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Shortly after Mavideniz arrived at the medical centre, a group of men turned up and proceeded to wreak havoc - smashing windows in the hospital's A&E department with a sledgehammer - local reports said.

It was not immediately clear who the group was or why they attacked the hospital.

Huseyin Mavideniz, 29, died after being attacked early on Thursday morning outside a club in Iskele, northern Cyprus, local media said, citing the police

The Cyprus Mail reported that Mavideniz 'engaged in an altercation' with a 26-year-old man outside the 'Breeze' bar in a town called Trikomo at around 3.30am.

The 26-year-old man, who has not been named, has been arrested by police. Another man is understood to be wanted in connection with the incident.

Deputy Chief Physician of Famagusta State Hospital, Dr. Eyup Goksu, told Yeniduzen: 'He died when he came to the hospital. The cops are investigating right now. We will receive detailed information from our doctors on duty.'

Another local news site, Kibris Gazetesi, said a further ten people had been arrested for 'serious assault and grave damage' - likely in connection to the events at the hospital.

Pictures from the medical centre posted to Facebook showed smashed glass covering the floor, chairs and desks of a reception room.

The windows seem to have been smashed from the outside-in.

According to Cyprus news site Yeniduzen, a group of people prevented the outlet's reporter from taking photographs and forced them to delete others from their phone while accompanied by the police.

Yeniduzen did not detail who forced the deletion of the pictures.

Mavideniz is understood to have travelled to Cyprus with his father for him to have medical treatment, The Sun reported.

MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.

News of the British man's death comes just two months after a 38-year-old British woman was found dead in Cyprus in the home she shared with her partner.

The woman, who has not been named, is understood to have been found 'with bruises all over her body,' local media said at the time.

The Cyprus Mail reported that the woman's partner informed local authorities of the death, and that an autopsy had been ordered.
Budget airline, Jetstar, have announced a temporary suspension of flights between an Australian capital city and a top holiday destination.

Jetstar confirmed flights between Darwin International Airport and Bali would be cancelled between October 9 and October 28 due to construction works on the northern capital airport's runways.

The airline confirmed they had stopped taking bookings for flights between the two airports as they awaited 'confirmation that the planned works would proceed'.

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Jetstar acknowledged the cancellation would be 'disappointing and frustrating ... and we thank them for this understanding'.

Jetstar has announced they will suspend all flights from Darwin to Bali between October 9-28 due to construction works on the airport's runway (stock image)

The statement from Jetstar revealed the order to cancel the flights was due to plans from the Department of Defence.

'Darwin Airport runway works are going ahead in October that will impact our flights between Darwin and Bali,' the statement reads.

'As a result, we can confirm Jetstar will temporarily stop operating flights between Darwin and Denpasar from Monday 9 October to Saturday 28 October 2023.'

The airline is actively contacting customers with flights booked during the three-week time period to 'discuss their options' for compensation.

Compensation plans include indirect flights through another port, travel credit or a complete refund of the customers 'original form of payment'.

'We look forward to resuming our flights from Darwin to Denpasar from Sunday 29 October 2023'.

Flights to Bali from other airports will still run as planned as Darwin is the only airport affected.
Bruce Lehrmann will be quizzed over a possible lawsuit against Brittany Higgins during an explosive tell-all interview on 7News Spotlight.

Mr Lehrmann is set to appear on the Channel Seven program on Sunday night following the release of former Judge Walter Sofronoff's 839-page report on the handling of Ms Higgins' rape trial.

The month-long inquiry into the Higgins v Lehrmann trial resulted in a scathing review of the conduct of ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.

Ms Higgins claims Mr Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House following a work party in 2019 - an allegation he strongly denies.

The first trial in October 2022 was called off after a juror brought outside sources into the jury room. The charge against Mr Lehrmann was then dropped all together due to concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health.

On Monday, chief minister of the ACT Andrew Barr slammed Mr Sofronoff for 'breaching his good faith' by releasing the Board of Inquiry report early and sharing it with journalists before it could be released by the government.

Mr Barr said the former judge had explained to him that he had provided a copy of the report to a broadcast journalist and a newspaper columnist, a move the chief minister has described as a 'lapse in judgement'.

Ahead of the bombshell interview, Mr Lehrmann told Daily Mail Australia his side of the story will soon be revealed.

'I have plenty to say after today's mess of a press conference but I'll wait until I sit down with Liam Bartlett again this Sunday on 7News Spotlight,' he said.

Bruce Lehrmann (above) will be quizzed over a possible lawsuit against Brittany Higgins on 7News Spotlight on Sunday

The bulk of the interview will focus on Mr Lehrmann's upcoming legal action against the ACT over the bungled trial.

However, Seven hinted in a new promo clip on Friday he could also be planning a lawsuit against Ms Higgins.

The clip shows Mr Lehrmann looking troubled after being asked if he will 'sue her [Ms Higgins] for defamation?'.

Mr Lehrmann will also divulge his reaction to the 'damning' inquiry findings against the man who tried and failed to prosecute him, Mr Drumgold.

In advertisement for the program Mr Lehrmann said to camera, 'We knew we were being played, just not how badly'.

Former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, the liberal senator whose office Ms Higgins alleges she was raped in, will also be featured in the episode.

Seven hinted in a new promo clip for an upcoming episode of 7News Spotlight that Mr Lehrmann (pictured) could be planning a lawsuit against Brittany Higgins

Ms Higgins (above) claims Mr Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House following a work party in 2019 - an allegation he strongly denies

Meanwhile, Minister Barr revealed Mr Sofronoff could soon be facing legal action of his own after admitting to releasing his report to two journalists at The Australian and the ABC - before it was released by the territory's government.

The media outlets have declined to comment or reveal their sources.

'He breached his good faith to me by releasing that report ahead of getting it to who he was meant to under the legislation,' Mr Barr told a press conference on Monday.

When asked if he would like to see Mr Sofronoff charged, Mr Barr said: 'We are considering our options, as I've outlined'.

Mr Barr said he had not received an apology from the retired judge.

'He has sought to provide an explanation,' he added.

The ACT government has agreed to eight of 10 of the Board of Inquiry's recommendations and agreed in principle to two further matters.

The majority of the interview will be spent discussing Judge Walter Sofronoff's scathing report on the handling of Ms Higgins' rape trial - including the conduct of ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold (pictured above)

It found it was appropriate to prosecute the case, on the information available to ACT Policing and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Drumgold.

However, the report was scathing about Mr Drumgold's behaviour during the trial.

He has since stepped down.
Crime rates on Oxford Street are surging as London's famous shopping district falls into disrepair, a Marks & Spencer executive has warned.

Sacha Berendji, the chain's operations director, said the area had once been 'the jewel in London's shopping crown' but was now little more than 'empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors'.

He said shocking scenes of social media-fuelled carnage this week as thugs attempted to loot stores were 'another reminder of how bad things are'.

Mr Berendji told the Telegraph: 'The street was practically locked down by police to prevent major unrest planned on social media. Londoners know that something must be done to save Oxford Street.'

The chaos in central London echoes robberies and flashmob looting across the US in recent years, which has been organised through TikTok - while major cities such as San Francisco and New York are becoming crime-ravaged and drug-infested.

It comes amid a battle to save Oxford Street, which is one of the biggest victims of the slow death of the High Street across Britain. It has been overrun in recent years by tacky sweet shops that have replaced household names.

Mr Berendji's comments come three weeks after M&S was refused permission to knock down and redevelop its Oxford Street store after opposition from Michael Gove.

Crowds gathered in Oxford Street on Wednesday after posts circulated on TikTok and Snapchat urging users to rob JD Sports. Nine people were arrested and Scotland Yard issued 34 dispersal orders, banning offenders from the area for 48 hours.

Fears of violence then spread to Southend after troublemakers urged copycats to 'get lit' on the beach. Among those given a dispersal order by Essex Police officers yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro.

Among those given a dispersal order by Essex Police officers on Southend seafront yesterday was notorious 18-year-old TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro

Mizzy was given a dispersal order by an Essex Police officer on Southend seafront yesterday

Essex Police said it used the dispersal order for the first time at about 2pm yesterday at Southend Central station, stopping a group wearing balaclavas from entering the city

A dispersal order has been imposed by Essex Police for central parts of Southend-on-Sea

The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people's homes, posted a video on social media of him being spoken to by a police officer in the sunshine outside the seafront's theme park Adventure Island.

The troublemakers cowering behind a cloak of anonymity By George Odling and Jacob Dirnhube Often hiding behind anonymous avatars and rarely publishing their real names, social media troublemakers can be fiendishly difficult to find. The phenomenon of advertising a store looting online appears to have originated in the US, where there was a spate of rapidly organised robberies that began in 2021. In California that November, thieves used social media to organise two raids, including the luxury department store Nordstrom. Kevin Wilk, the mayor of Walnut Creek near San Francisco, said at the time: 'This was not a random gathering of dozens of people, but a planned, organised attack  organised retail robbery.' The same month, three separate Best Buy stores in Minneapolis were targeted  also by a mob of strangers thought to have been brought together by social media. Closer to home, a schoolboy from Basildon in Essex was instrumental in drumming up support for the Oxford Street attack  and subsequent chaos in Southend yesterday. The 15-year-old boasted on his TikTok profile that he travelled for two hours on Wednesday to take part in the central London protest and ignored orders from a police officer to leave the area. He previously helped to organise a similar event in Southend on August 1 which saw police dispersing a group of young people, including a teenage girl who was arrested. The teenage boy shared multiple posts about the planned action in Southend yesterday. Among those spotted on Oxford Street on Wednesday and Southend yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro. The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people's homes, was filmed being spoken to by police officers and given dispersal orders on both occasions. But he has insisted he was not involved in the violence or organising any chaos. Mizzy told MailOnline today: 'Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming 'Mizzy'. 'As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave. They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can't come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested. 'I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who where causing antisocial behaviour.' Speaking publicly for the first time in June, Mizzy's mother told the Mail that he needed to stop playing pranks and find a job. 'I've had enough. Even if he goes to the shop, he does his stupid little pranks,' she said. 'I don't like what he's doing  I'm not supporting him. He needs to find a job and sort himself out. That's what he needs to do. He's a very clued up kid  he's very clued up. Bacari was very good at school. He has an education.' Advertisement

It came after a social media post urged people to travel to Southend's beaches and 'get lit', which is slang for partying and getting intoxicated with alcohol, drugs or both.

But Mizzy told MailOnline today that he had just been in the city to enjoy a trip to the beach  and was only spoken to because of a previous similar disturbance in the city on August 1, which saw a teenage girl arrested.

Mizzy said: 'Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming "Mizzy".

'As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave.

'They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can't come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested.

'I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who were causing antisocial behaviour.'

The dispersal orders allow officers in the city to ask anyone they suspect is acting anti-socially to leave the area or arrest them.

MailOnline has contacted Essex Police to ask how many dispersal orders were handed out in Southend yesterday and whether there were any arrests.

The force has already confirmed that it used the dispersal order for the first time at about 2pm yesterday, when it was alerted to a group of young people travelling to Southend Central station wearing balaclavas. Officers stopped the group from entering the city and said they were sent back home.

Mizzy was also given a dispersal order by the Metropolitan Police on Oxford Street on Wednesday.

But he told the Daily Star he was not involved in any criminal activity and was simply going to the cinema with his friends. He also denied being involved in organising any chaos on TikTok.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said thugs who looted stores in Oxford Street must be 'hunted down and locked up', and that the UK must not be allowed to plunge into 'lawlessness'.

Sharing a video of the Oxford Street arrests on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Braverman wrote: 'We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK.

'The police have my full backing to do whatever is necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up.'

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said it was closely monitoring the situation amid fears copycats will target high streets across the country.

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said he was 'appalled' by the scenes in Oxford Street and warned that copycats could become a 'real issue' in other parts of the country.

He added: 'Theft from shops is a big enough problem already without this type of activity being promoted on social media. Large retail chains often employ security guards, but that option is not open to the smaller retailers.

'The police were proactive in Oxford Street. But they have the resources in London. If these criminal activities were to move to smaller towns, we would see a real issue for the retail businesses in those places.'

Shops had to close as yobs, who were told to dress in gloves and balaclavas, tried to barge their way in.

In a viral post on social media inviting followers to loot stores, users were warned not to bring any weapons and were told: 'Don't come if you can't run.'

Police were seen wrestling young men to the ground in the Oxford Street area on Wednesday

The chaos in Oxford Street on Wednesday was triggered by an online push to 'rob JD Sports'

Groups of young people were seen running away from police on Oxford Street on Wednesday

A police officer wrestles with a young man on Oxford Street in London on Wednesday

Police detain a male outside a McDonald's in Oxford Street on Wednesday

Muntazir Dipoti, president of the Federation of Independent Retailers, also condemned the scenes in Oxford Street and warned that it was not the first time mass looting had been planned on social media.

Mr Dipoti, who was appointed this summer, said the cost of living crisis had already meant shoplifting was at record levels, with staff often subjected to verbal and physical violence.

'Incidents like the disorder in Oxford Street are of huge concern,' he said. 'Many Federation members fail to report crime incidents because they are disillusioned with police responses.

'We want assurances from the police that they will help to keep smaller shop owners, their staff and customers protected. The police need to take this seriously and clamp down now.'

Richard Inglis, who runs a chain of Co-op supermarkets in Hampshire, also warned retailers had been put on high alert following the chaos in London.

'The problem is I'm not really sure what shops themselves can do, short of closing the doors before the mob arrives, because once they are in your store that's it  you're overwhelmed and helpless,' he said.

'There seems to be a sense of entitlement now with shoplifters feeling like they can do what they want. Until the police and the courts ensure there are proper punishments handed out to put people off, this will only get worse.

'There has been a real rise in people trying to cause chaos in stores hoping to get a rise out of staff for social media views and likes. And the people doing this are often minors, so they can get away without harsh punishments.'

Anti-crime campaigner Norman Brennan said he 'guaranteed' the country would see further violence similar to that in Oxford Street.

Prankster Mizzy was also given a dispersal order on Oxford Street in London on Wednesday

Mizzy is spoken to by police on Oxford Street in London amid the chaos on Wednesday

Mizzy posted a picture of the order given to him by the Metropolitan Police on Oxford Street

'With social media it has become easy for young yobs to create a tsunami of criminality very quickly, mobilising hundreds of strangers to target anything they like  and there is very little notice for overstretched police forces to react,' he said.

'Police forces will have to be incredibly vigilant to stop this, constantly monitoring social media as well as the streets to stamp it out. They can't cope  it is fire brigade policing.'

On Wednesday, shocking footage showed Metropolitan Police officers wielding batons and chasing after people on Oxford Street, with photographs earlier in the day appearing to show one officer being punched in the face by a young man.

Some youths were even seen being wrestled away by officers in handcuffs, while others were detained on suspicion of going equipped to steal and breaching dispersal orders.

Two suspected ringleaders have since been arrested.

Essex Police Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan revealed the force was made aware of a planned event in Southend just hours after the chaos in Oxford Street and warned there would be an increased police presence.

He said yesterday: 'I want to be really clear that we  and of course the city's attractions and businesses  want people to come to Southend, we want them to use all the facilities here  but we won't tolerate crime and antisocial behaviour.

'We have a significant policing presence in the city today. That includes the city centre, across the seafront and close to the train stations.

Sacha Berendji, Marks & Spencer's operations director, warned that crime rates on Oxford Street have surged as the area falls into disrepair

Souvenir and sweet shops are a common sight along Oxford Street, pictured last month

Rough sleepers in makeshift beds outside closed shops on Oxford Street last week

One of the boarded-up shopfronts that can be seen along Oxford Street

Umbrellas rest on a rough sleeper's cardboard boxes outside on Oxford Street last week

'The dispersal order is by no means a blanket ban on people coming to Southend and enjoying all it has to offer, but if people come here and behave antisocially or commit crime, the reality is we're going to take a robust approach to that and people acting that way could ultimately end up in a police cell.

'Throughout today, and indeed as we enter this weekend, there will be an obvious police presence in city.

'We're there to help people and make sure people can enjoy the city safely. But equally, the officers will respond appropriately and robustly if they have to.'
The young father accused of killing his wife and newborn baby is the son of a high-flying executive once described as the 'King of Beef' in Australia's cattle capital - as new details about his mental health treatment emerge.

Matthew Cox, 31, was charged with the murder of his wife Tayla, 30, and their 11-week-old daughter Murphy on Thursday afternoon.

Police will allege he killed the mother and daughter at their home in Rockhampton, central Queensland, on Tuesday.

He then flew to Brisbane where he later handed himself in to into the city's Fortitude Valley police station about 11am on Thursday.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Matthew Cox is the son of Denis Cox, the former chief executive of 'Beef Australia', based in Rockhampton, the 'beef capital of Australia'.

Matthew Cox (left), 31, was charged with the murder of his wife Tayla (right), 30, and their 11-week-old daughter Murphy on Thursday afternoon

Matthew Cox is the son of Denis Cox (pictured), who has been dubbed Australia's 'King of Beef'

A crime scene remains set up at the Park Avenue home where the bodies of Ms Cox and her daughter were found

Denis Cox senior began his career as a lowly desk clerk before working his way up to becoming CEO of various racecourses.

In 2013, he became CEO of Australia's largest Beef Expo, Beef Australia and was dubbed the 'King of Beef'.

Five years later in 2018, Denis Cox left Beef Australia to be part-owner and general manager of Rockhampton's Great Western Hotel.

He is now employed as the sales and marketing manager at Great Keppel Island Hideaway in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Last month, he posted a picture of his granddaughter on his LinkedIn account, which has since been deleted.

'My beautiful one month old granddaughter Murphy is definitely dreaming of Keppel!', he wrote, alongside a picture of her being cradled.

The revelations come as new details emerge about Matthew Cox's previous treatment for mental health issues.

Denis Cox posted about his granddaughter Murphy in a now deleted social media post

Ms Coxs' former high school, St Ursula's College Yeppoon, described the former student as a 'beacon of hope, joy and love' in an online tribute on Friday

On Friday, Queensland Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services, Shannon Fentiman, confirmed that Matthew Cox had previously sought mental health treatment at Rockhampton hospital.

'I understand about a year ago he did seek treatment from the Rockhampton hospital,' she told reporters on Friday.

Ms Fentiman said the incident was 'incredibly distressing and saddening'.

'This is an incredibly distressing case and my thoughts and sympathies are with the family of Tayla and Murphy,' she said.

Ms Cox, whose maiden name was Black, grew up in Rockhampton and worked as a repair co-ordinator at Campbell Construction Co, according to her LinkedIn.

She attended St Ursula's College in Yeppoon, a private Catholic girls school about a 35 minute drive away from Rockhampton. The college posted a tribute to Ms Cox on Friday.

'The College Community is incredibly saddened to learn of the death of past student, Tayla Cox (nee Black), and her infant daughter, Murphy. Tayla was a member of our graduating class of 2010,' the Facebook post read.

'Tayla is fondly remembered for her vivacious spirit and positive attitude. During her time at the College, Tayla was a beacon of hope, joy, and love, and had such a positive impact on others in the broader community.

'Tayla was a competent, capable young woman who embraced opportunities with joy and enthusiasm. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Tayla and Murphy's family and friends.'

Proud grandmother Linda (right) recently shared a photo posing with her son Matthew (left) and his baby girl Murphy

Police attend the crime scene at the Rockhampton home of the family

More than a decade ago, the St Ursula's alumni appeared in her local newspaper bemoaning the lack of eligible men in her local area.

Ms Cox, who was then studying forensics at CQUniversity, complained about 'creeps' and 'weirdos' who would come to Rockhampton from out of town to pick up girls.

'They are not attractive at all and are weirdos. A lot of men get really drunk and try to pick up chicks all the time,' she told the Morning Bulletin.

Three years later, Ms Cox and her future husband announced their relationship to friends and family on Facebook. It is unclear how they first met.

'Finally you two!' commented one friend, to which Ms Cox replied: 'Better late than never.'

The pair lived for a while in Victoria, where Mr Cox grew up, but they moved back to Rockhampton in November 2022 when he landed a job as a TV account manager at media firm Southern Cross Austereo.

At the time, Ms Cox announced on Facebook her joy at buying a home together.

'New chapter, can't wait to make so many amazing memories with our beautiful little family,' Tayla wrote.

In February, she shared a happy snap of her husband cradling her baby bump while enjoying a break on Great Keppel Island.

'We can't wait to meet you,' she wrote.

In a statement, the parents of Mr Cox told the Courier Mail they were in a 'state of shock' at the devastating news.

'We have lost a beautiful daughter-in-law Tayla but also our much loved granddaughter Murphy,' Denis Cox and Linda Lind said.

'At this stage we have very few other details and are in an absolute state of shock.

'We ask that the media respect our privacy while we grieve and try and process what has occurred.'

Matthew and Tayla Cox pictured together

A crime scene remains set up at the Park Avenue home where the bodies of Ms Cox and her baby girl were found.

'A second crime scene was also established at an apartment complex on Constance Street, Fortitude Valley, where the man is understood to have been staying,' a Queensland Police statement read.

'A vehicle has also been seized at the Rockhampton airport and taken away for forensic examination.'

Mr Cox's case has been adjourned to August 21.
A push to ban 'Hard Solo' has backfired for the Teal MPs - with the pre-mixed drink selling out at most bottle shops across Australia.

Botte shop owners reported sales, which were already strong on the back of good reviews for the product and nostalgia for the famous advertisements, surged when Teal MP Kylea Tink started a push for it to be banned.

The Teals met with alcohol industry figures on Thursday after telling the media they would be pushing limits on advertising and even bans of the product.

Part of the reason she wanted it banned was because it 'tastes just like the soft drink' and 'not like alcohol'.

Hard Solo has a black can to separate it from the 'normal' soft drink (above)

'This is a product that has the name of a soft drink and is in a can that looks like a soft drink and tastes like a soft drink and yet it has alcohol in it,' Ms Tink said on the ABC.

'Australians are buying [premixed drinks] ... because the can is cool or the name is cool; frequently they are drinking before they go out because they cannot afford to buy drinks when they get out.'

Solo, a lemon-flavoured soft drink now manufactured and owned by Carlton United Breweries, comes in trademark yellow can. 'Hard Solo' comes in a black can with yellow writing and a prominent 18+ warning and sign showing it's got 4.5% alcohol per 375ml.

However, the controversy surrounding the drink has only fueled its popularity, which was already high because of the nostalgia factor.

Popularity has been helped by nostalgia for the 1980s and 90s advertising campaign (above)

READ MORE: How an Aussie soft drink tough man is due to make a stunning come back - but he's now boozy A new alcoholic version of the classic Australian soft drink Solo has renewed hopes of a return to screens of the legendary Solo Man. Solo was launched by Taraxin in 1968, with Sydney PE teacher Michael Ace portraying the very first Solo Man in the 1970s and '80s. Advertisement

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) previously told Daily Mail Australia it was introducing 'Hard Solo' because adults had long craved an alcoholic version of the drink.

A spokesman said CUB strongly refutes any claims that hard Solo could be confused with regular Solo.

'85% of Solo consumers are adults and Hard Solo is only marketed to adults,' the spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

'We strongly refute any claims that Hard Solo can be confused with regular Solo - to ensure they cannot be confused, Hard Solo is sold in distinct black cans with prominent alcohol markings on the front of the can.

'Additionally, Hard Solo can only be sold to adults at licensed premises.'

Reviews of the drink on Dan Murphy's website are also favourable, with many commenting the drink tastes just like the soft drink.

One reviewer said Hard Solo tastes almost identical to a normal Solo but with 'a very slight aftertaste of alcohol'.

'Growing up on solo I was keen to try this one, it tastes like solo only with the extra buzz you get from it being alcoholic, unreal.'

Several bottle shops confirmed 'Hard Solo' had sold out this week on the back of publicity.

'There would be the odd four pack around, but it's completely sold out for us,' one said. 'I had one bloke buy a case after hearing talk on the radio they wanted to ban it.'

The drink is also not available for delivery from Dan Murphy's.
Police have busted an air hostess sex ring that had up to 30 cabin crew moonlighting as escorts - charging wealthy clients up to 2,360 a night in Vietnam.

Officers raided a luxury hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday evening, where they allegedly found three active flight attendants in bed with different men.

A fourth woman, who is a model, was also arrested while romping with a customer.

The group was frogmarched out of the building on Le Thi Rieng Street in an upmarket area of the city.

Police also arrested the alleged ringleader Vo Thi My Hanh, 26, and took her into custody. She allegedly sent men pictures of her girls in their airline uniforms to lure customers.

Vo Thi My Hanh posing by the water. Police arrested the alleged ringleader and took her into custody

Video shows the alleged group being frogmarched out of the building on Le Thi Rieng Street in an upmarket area of the city. It also shows Vo Thi My Hanh in custody

Officers said that Vo Thi My Hanh was an air hostess with flag carrier Vietnam Airlines before she left several months ago to focus on being a full-time madam, while also seeing customers herself.

She has been pictured alongside planes in uniform.

Cops said Vo Thi My Hanh is now being held in custody on suspicion of prostitution and brokering sex services.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department said in a statement on Thursday: 'On August 9, 2023, the Criminal Police Department presided over and coordinated with the District 1 Police to deploy the plan to dismantle the sex ring.

'An inspection was conducted of the hotel on Le Thi Rieng Street of Ben Thanh ward, District 1, where officers found that in four rooms, there were four subjects engaging in prostitution. Three were flight attendants and one was a model all in their twenties.

'The suspect Vo Thi My Hanh was detained for the act of brokering sex.

'At the police station, the four women claimed to have been employed by the suspect who sold them for sex at the hotel for $1,000 (787) to $3,000 (2,360). They admitted to committing the offence.

'Vo Thi My Hanh admitted to contacting many flight attendants, "hot girls" and photo models, then sent pictures of prostitutes in flight attendant uniforms to get customers to hire them for sex.'

Vo Thi My Hanh on the beach. Officers said that she was an air hostess with flag carrier Vietnam Airlines before she left several months ago to focus on being a full-time madam, while also seeing customers herself

Vo Thi My Hanh posing for the camera. Officers said buyers would transfer the money to Vo Thi My Hanh who would then arrange the meeting between the men and the cabin crew - many of whom were her former colleagues and girls from other airlines

Vo Thi My Hanh in a dinner outfit. Cops said she is now being held in custody on suspicion of prostitution and brokering sex services.

Vo Thi My Hanh posing for the camera. Police said: 'Vo Thi My Hanh admitted to contacting many flight attendants, "hot girls" and photo models, then sent pictures of prostitutes in flight attendant uniforms to get customers to hire them for sex'

Vo Thi My Hanh in uniform. Astonishingly, some men would hire two flight attendants at a time for threesomes all night

Vo Thi My Hanh in custody. She allegedly sent men pictures of her girls in their airline uniforms to lure in customers

Officers said buyers would transfer the money to Vo Thi My Hanh who would then arrange the meeting between the men and the cabin crew - many of whom were her former colleagues and girls from other airlines.

Astonishingly, some men would even hire two flight attendants at a time for threesomes all night.

The statement added: 'The suspect Vo Thi My Hanh also directly participated in selling sex herself buyers in the city of Hanoi, Ba Ria, Vung Tau.

'Currently, the Investigative Police Department, City Public Security and Criminal Police Department continue to consolidate documents and evidence while investigating the case and strictly handling it in accordance with the law.

'The Investigation Police Agency calls on the accomplices of the suspect to come to the headquarters of the Criminal Police Department in Ho Chi Minh City to surrender and be granted leniency.'

Alleged high-class prostitute Vo Thi My Hanh allegedly targeted her former colleagues with offers of extra income while they were on layovers in Vietnam. She also recruited models in the city.

Vo Thi My Hanh in a bar. The statement said: 'The suspect Vo Thi My Hanh also directly participated in selling sex herself buyers in the city of Hanoi, Ba Ria, Vung Tau'

Vo Thi My Hanh posing for a selfie. Vo Thi My Hanh allegedly targeted her former colleagues with offers of extra income while they were on layovers in Vietnam

Vo Thi My Hanh in custody. Police said that the madam had made more than one billion VND (33,000) for herself in just a few months

Police claim there were at least 30 women on her books who were mostly air hostesses.

Vo Thi My Hanh would allegedly collect seven million VND (231) as her fee for each booking.

She charged men 787 for a 90-minute session with the girls or 2,360 for an overnight stay.

Police said that the madam had made more than one billion VND (33,000) for herself in just a few months.

Her social media profiles show her working as a cabin crew with Vietnam Airlines, welcoming customers and VIP guests.

She also posted pictures of herself on yachts and staying at luxury destinations around the world.

Officers claim it was part of a ruse to draw other women into her lifestyle.

Cops are now trying to trace others involved in the prostitution ring and have appealed for other people involved to come forward with more information.
Angry survivors of the deadly Maui wildfire are asking why Hawaii's famous emergency warning system didn't alert them as flames raced toward their homes.

Residents were forced to escape the inferno on foot, with some saying it took as little as five to ten minutes for the situation to get desperate for them.

Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain.

But Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 53 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed Thursday.

Many of Lahaina's survivors said they didn't hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

Angry survivors of the deadly Maui wildfire are asking why Hawaii's famous emergency warning system didn't alert them as flames raced toward their homes. Pictured: Maui residents are seen carrying their belongings down a road after wildfires swept through Lahaina

Residents were forced to escape the inferno on foot, with some saying it took as little as five minutes for the situation to get desperate for them. Pictured: The burnt wrecks of abandoned cars are seen lining this road, running adjacent to destroyed houses, August 10

Vixay Phonxaylinkham, holds his child Lana, 4, as she overheats while they await their flight to California at Kahului Airport, Hawaii, August 10. Many of Lahaina's survivors said they didn't hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames

People arrive on school buses to evacuate from the Maui airport on Thursday, August 10

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, August 9

Hawaii's 'unprecedented' wildfires razed a historic town and killed dozens of people after a hurricane hundreds of miles from the islands combined with dry conditions

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didn't know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and cell phone service had both gone out earlier that day, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger.

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a sea wall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.

Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

May Wedelin-Lee, a 20-year resident of Maui, told CNN that she was at home about a block away from the heart of Lahaina, as she watched the flames get closer.

'It didn't take long: From when the wind shifted until when we were like, 'We need to go,' it was maybe five, 10 minutes,' she told the network on Thursday.

She jumped in her truck and left, surrounded by complete chaos.

'It was just panic. People were crying on the side of the road and begging,' she said. 'People jumped in each other's (cars), people had bicycles, people ran, people had skateboards, people had cats under their arms  just sprinting down the street.'

'The apocalypse was happening. It was the worst nightmare. Imagine the worst you can picture, and it was 1,000 times worse than that.'

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub said the department's records don't show that Maui's warning sirens were triggered on Tuesday. Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Weintraub told the Associated Press.

It's not clear if those alerts were sent before widespread power and cellular outages cut off most communication to Lahaina.

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path.

Lahaina's wildfire risk was well known. Maui County's hazard mitigation plan, last updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfire ignitions and a large number of buildings at risk of wildfire damage.

West Maui was also identified as having the island's highest population of people living in multi-unit housing, the second-highest rate of households without a vehicle, and the highest rate of non-English speakers.

'This may limit the population's ability to receive, understand and take expedient action during hazard events,' the plan noted.

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

Cars flanked by scorched earth drive away from Lahaina after wildfires driven by high winds burned across most of the town several days ago, in Lahaina, Maui, August 10

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

An aerial photo shows a burning building from the Maui wildfire, August 10

Flames sweep across an open field on the island of Maui, August 9

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed cars in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

A handout photo made available by the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol shows an aerial view of damage caused by the Maui brush fires, in Maui County, Hawaii, August 9

Maui's firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands - Maui, Molokai and Lanai - he said.

Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but they are all designed for on-road use. The department does not have any off-road vehicles, which would allow crews to attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas, he said.

That forces fire crews to wait for brush fires to reach an area where they can attack it with fire engines and other equipment, Lee said. The high winds caused by Hurricane Dora made that extremely difficult, he said.

'You're basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch,' Lee said. 'You've got to be careful - you don't want to get caught downwind from that, because you're going to get run over in a wind-driven fire of that magnitude.'

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhood that it was impossible to get communications to emergency management agencies responsible for getting warnings out.

Mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Lahaina residents, Bissen noted, while tourists in hotels were told to shelter in place so that emergency vehicles could get into the area.

The mayor said that downed power poles added to the chaos as people attempted to flee Lahaina by cutting off two important roads of town.

Speaking at a Thursday afternoon press conference, he said that 29 poles fell with live wires still attached, cutting off the roads to Wailuku and the airport and leaving only the narrow highway toward Kahakuloa.

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, August 10, in Lahaina, Hawaii

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

An aerial view shows destroyed homes and buildings that burned to the ground around the harbor and Front Street in the historic Lahaina Town in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 10

The burnt wildfire wreckage of a boat is seen Thursday, August 10, in Lahaina, Hawaii

Marlon Vasquez, a 31-year-old cook from Guatemala who came to the U.S. in January 2022, said that when he heard fire alarms, it was already too late to flee in his car.

'I opened the door, and the fire was almost on top of us,' he said from an evacuation center at a gymnasium. 'We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didn't stop.'

Vasquez and his brother Eduardo escaped via roads that were clogged with vehicles full of people. The smoke was so toxic that he vomited. He said he's not sure his roommates and neighbors made it to safety.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso said they only had time to grab a change of clothes and run with their 6-year-old son as the bushes around them caught fire.

'We barely made it out,' Kawaakoa, 34, said at an evacuation shelter, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.

As the family fled, they called 911 when they saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility across the road erupt in flames.

Chelsey Vierra's great-grandmother, Louise Abihai, was living at Hale Mahaolu, and the family doesn't know if she got out. 'She doesn't have a phone. She's 97 years old,' Vierra said Thursday. 'She can walk. She is strong.'

Relatives are monitoring shelter lists and calling the hospital. 'We got to find our loved one, but there's no communication here,' said Vierra, who fled the flames. 'We don't know who to ask about where she went.'

Communications have been spotty on the island, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times. Power was also out in parts of Maui.

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, August 10, in Lahaina, Hawaii

The wildfire is already the state's deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island.

During a Thursday press conference, Gov. Josh Green said the death toll will likely rise further as search and rescue operations continue.

'Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,' Green said after walking the ruins of the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. 'Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.'

The fire is also the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

The toll is expected to rise, with Green saying 1,000 people remain missing.

The governor emphasized that he was not saying 1,000 people were dead, but that they were out of contact.

Asked on Thursday evening for the number of dead, Green said: 'Honestly, we don't know.

'And here's the challenge: there's no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we're speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone.

'There's around 1,000 missing. It doesn't mean that many have passed - I'm not saying that at all - but because we can't contact them we can't know.'

Green said that cadaver dogs were being brought in from California and Washington to assist the search.

'We have a family assistance center set up, so anyone missing anyone at all, people can go there and give their details,' he said.

'If we can reunify people we will, and give notifications if we need to.'

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, August 8

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday with at least 1,500 more expected to leave Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Officials turned the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu into an assistance center for tourists and locals, stocking it with water, food, and volunteers who help visitors arrange travel home.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. Traveling in Utah on Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that 'anyone who's lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.'

Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was 'surging emergency personnel' on the island.
A British tourist will receive more than 200,000 in compensation from a Mallorca nightclub after he was hit in the face with a 'paint bag' and blinded in both eyes.

Dillon Connery, then 18, had his eyes 'split like nutshells' during a UV paint night at the Carwash Club in July 2018, while holidaying in Magaluf.

His mother said at the time that his eyes had been 'obliterated and destroyed' with multiple surgeries unable to save his sight.

Now, a Mallorca court has ruled that appropriate measures were not taken to safeguard guests, ordering the club to pay 150,000 (130,000) in compensation.

It is understood the damages are only half of the victim's entitlement, the other share already paid out by the club's insurance company.

Connery, from Paisley in Scotland, had initially asked for 1,000,000 in damages (864,000), but was unable to provide evidence of how the injury had impacted his life, Bild reported.

Dillon Connery was blinded with his eyes by a paint gun at a nightclub in Magaluf

The teenager required multiple surgeries, but doctors were unable to save his sight

Connery was injured after liquid from a 'stage-mounted' paint gun fired into his face on July 11, 2018, reports say.

His mother, Ashleigh Connery, said: 'His friends went to the bar and Dylan was by himself for five minutes.

'His eyes have been shattered.'

When his friends returned, they thought he had been attacked given how much pain he was in.

The cybersecurity company trainee was taken to Son Espases University Hospital in Palma, where his mother flew out to meet him.

The family then travelled back to Scotland with Connery receiving treatment at the Gartnavel Royal Hospital.

The surgeon could not believe how powerfully he had been hit, his mother said.

'The surgeon was very upset and had never seen anything like this before. The translator had said his eyes had been obliterated and destroyed.'

Police opened an investigation into the incident soon after.

But it has taken five years for the club to pay out damages to the victim.

At first, Connery was awarded just 2,600 (2,246) as judges were unable to prove that he was really blind.

A district court found contradictory evidence from the hospital in Palma, concluding 'sufficient evidence' he had been blinded by the paint gun.

People enjoy a Holi festival in Barcelona - a 'paint party' borrowed from Indian tradition

Connery is understood to now be on his second year of a business degree, The Sun reported.

He told The Sun this year: 'There will be people out there that have questions that maybe I can answer having had so many surgeries on my eyes.

'If I can help some of those people as well that would be even better.'
A mother whose autistic child was dragged from her home by seven cops and arrested for saying a female officer 'was a lesbian like her nana' has insisted her daughter is not homophobic and blasted police for overreacting.

The 16-year-old girl, who also suffers from spinal disability scoliosis, had been driven to her home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, by officers after attending the city's Gay Pride celebrations with her sister when she allegedly made the comment.

She was later dragged away 'screaming' in the early hours of Monday morning having been arrested on suspicion of 'homophobic public order offence'.

Footage of the incident, filmed by the girl's mother went viral on TikTok prompting a furious backlash online, with West Yorkshire Police being accused of being heavy-handedness.

This evening the force has confirmed it will take no further action against the teenager and released her from her bail, although a review of the arrest by West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate is ongoing.

The teenage girl called this police officer a 'lesbian like nana' which prompted the intoxicated 16-year-old to be arrested

The girl cowered in a corner of the hallway as her mother said she was autistic and had not meant to offend the officer

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the girl's 39-year-old mother defended her daughter and insisted the child is not homophobic.

The mother-of-six said: 'My girl did not mean anything by the remark. Some of her best friends are gay... She did nothing wrong. She was saying to the police officer she was sorry. The police woman said 'I don't care. You are getting arrested'.

'I don't see how they can take offence from a comment like that. How is that a hate speech? She did not mean anything by it.

'If my girl had done wrong I would have said 'take her' But what that officer did was wrong. She went about it the wrong away.'

West Yorkshire Police said it was fully investigating the circumstance of the incident, with Assistant Chief Constable Oz Khan insisting the 'nature of the comments made was fully captured on body-worn video'.

In an update released on Friday night, the force said was releasing the girl from her bail as the criminal investigation concluded with no further action taken - however the investigation by its standards directorate is continuing.

Assistant Chief Constable Oz Khan said tonight: 'We recognise the significant level of public concern that this incident has generated, and we have moved swiftly to fully review the evidence in the criminal investigation which has led to the decision to take no further action.

'Without pre-empting the outcome of the ongoing review of the circumstances by our Professional Standards Directorate, we would like to reassure people that we will take on board any lessons to be learned from this incident.

'We do appreciate the understandable sensitivities around incidents involving young people and neurodiversity and we are genuinely committed to developing how we respond to these often very challenging situations.'

According to the girl's mother, her 16-year-old daughter had been at a friend's home when she 'sneaked out' to find her older sister who had celebrating her 18th birthday at Leeds' Gay Pride event on Sunday.

The mother, who is a cancer survivor, added her daughter had been drinking while out and was 'running in the road and being unsafe' when she was found by her older sister.

Concerned, the 18-year-old called police 'for help' after being unable to get in touch with her mother, who had gone to sleep.

'She explained her sister is autistic,' the mother, who is a cancer survivor, told MailOnline. 'She was scared to go in the police car to go home so my eldest offered to go with the police with her and got in the car with her sister.

The drunken teenager, who had been giggling in the police car, according to her mother, was then driven back to her home address by police where the drama continued.

'When I opened the door the police woman was holding my daughter's arm,' the mother said.

'I took her gently off the police officer who stood at the door and did not come in. As I was guiding my daughter upstairs she said 'She is a lesbian like Nana'.

'The next thing the police officer tried to grab my daughter who hid under the stairs because she was a really scared.

'I put my leg on the wall in front of the officer and said 'You are not going near her'. That's when I started recording.

The girl was dragged screaming from her home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, by a group of officers after a 'homophobic public order offence'

The female officer (pictured) insisted the girl would be arrested after she 'said she was a lesbian like nana'

'She was clenching her fists and looking at her really angry. My daughter was under the stairs and was punching the wall and punching herself in frustration.

'The police woman called for back up and seven officers ended up arresting her.'

The teenager, who is not being named, was held in custody for 20 hours after the incident about 1am on Monday and then released.

The mother continued: 'Why was there that many police officers anyway. She was having a panic attack under the stairs and the officers said she was 'putting it on'.

'She was hyperventilating on the path and gagging. They were holding onto an arm like a rag doll and she was screaming.

'When my daughter has had meltdowns in the past I have called the police for help. But they don't help they just look for an excuse to arrest her.

'My girl did not mean anything by the remark. Some of her best friends are gay. I told police my daughter had scoliosis and they were hurting her spine by yanking her arm.

'She did not do nowt wrong. She was saying to the police officer she was sorry. The police woman said 'I don't care. You are getting arrested'.

The male officer said a homophobic comment had been made to his colleague

The female officer at the centre of the row is pictured after the incident. Police say the girl who compared her to her 'lesbian nana' has been released on bail

'So I put in an official complaint straight away. They did not have a warrant to enter my address when she came running into the house.

'If my daughter did make a homophobic remark she should have spoken to her partner first before deciding what to do.

'The police get away with stuff like this over and over again, not just my daughter, because they don't understand autistic kids.

'I don't see how they can take offence from a comment like that. How is that a hate speech? She did not mean anything by it.

'If my girl had done wrong I would have said 'take her' But what that officer did was wrong. She went about it the wrong away.

'They could have arranged for her to be taken down for a voluntary interview rather than surround her with half the police force.'

Footage of the incident prompted outrage online, with one social media user writing: 'I cannot believe my own eyes. Someone in the police force needs to be sacked for this egregious, disgraceful situation.'

Another posted: 'This is disgusting behaviour by [West] Yorkshire police. And how many officers needed to attend? No small wonder that girl was terrified.'

Andrew Piper added: '@West Yorks Police completely unacceptable from the officers in this video. When the officer was informed that the daughter had autism, the comment [from the officer] 'I don't care' is completely inappropriate.'

The girl, who also has scoliosis, tumbled down as she was dragged by officers outside into a police car

A woman claiming to be the teenager's aunt also lashed out at the police force, saying: 'West Yorkshire Police have always been this way - bullies. That is what they are.'

In the video, the girl's mother can he heard saying: 'She's made a comment in her own house, she hasn't said anything to you.'

The mother repeats 'she's autistic', to which the officer responds: 'I don't care.'

What is autism? Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate with the world. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. Autistic people often have difficulties with interpreting language, gestures or tone of voice. Some autistic people are unable to speak or have limited speech while others struggle with nuance and tend to interpret words very literally. Some often have difficulty recognising or understanding others' feelings and intentions - as well as expressing their own emotions Others with the condition may experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures or pain. They may find certain background sounds like music in a restaurant, which other people ignore or block out, unbearably loud or distracting. This can cause anxiety or even physical pain. SOURCE: National Autistic Society Advertisement

The girl then makes some noises, which her mother explains was her punching herself in distress.

The officers remain in the hallway as the mother shouts out: 'You're going to remove her for what, she said the word lesbian? Her nana is a lesbian, she's married to a woman. She's not homophobic.'

A male officer intervenes, saying a homophobic comment had been made to his colleague, a female officer with cropped blond hair.

Eventually more officers arrive and the girl screams and wails as she is detained.

West Yorkshire Police said a relative of the girl had earlier called to say she was intoxicated in Leeds city centre, after which they took her home.

MailOnline approached the force for comment about the mother's claims.

Speaking previously, West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Oz Khan said: 'We are aware of a video circulating on social media which, as is often the case, only provides a very limited snapshot of the circumstances of this incident.

'Officers had their body-worn video cameras activated during their wider involvement with this young girl which provides additional context to their actions.

'We have received a complaint in relation to this incident which is currently being assessed by West Yorkshire Professional Standards Directorate.

'While that ongoing process and the active criminal investigation limit our ability to fully discuss the incident in detail, we feel it is important for people to have some context about the circumstances.

'From 12.12am on Monday, August 7, police received calls from a family member of a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly intoxicated and putting herself at risk in Leeds city centre.

'Officers attended at about 1am and drove the teenager to her home so she could be appropriately looked after.

'Upon returning her to the address, comments were made which resulted in the girl being arrested on suspicion of a homophobic public order offence. The nature of the comments made was fully captured on body-worn video.

'When the girl was eventually fit to be interviewed, that interview took place with an appropriate adult.

'She was later released on bail pending further enquiries and advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

'West Yorkshire Police takes its responsibilities around the welfare of young people taken into custody and around neurodiversity very seriously.

'We also maintain that our officers and staff should not have to face abuse while working to keep our communities safe.

'We are fully reviewing the circumstances of this incident and ask that people avoid reaching any conclusions about it solely on the basis of the social media video.'
She has admitted killing the girls but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity

auren Anne Dickason, 42, is charged with murdering all three of her children

A mother who smothered her three daughters to death should be found not guilty of murder on grounds of insanity, her lawyers said, as prosecutors declared she 'knew what she was doing' and murdered her children in anger.

Lauren Anne Dickason, 42, is charged with murdering her two-year-old twins Maya and Karla and their six-year-old sister Liane in September 2021 at their house in Timaru on New Zealand's South Island.

She has admitted killing the girls but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has been standing trial in Christchurch's High Court since July 17.

In closing statements last night, Ms Dickason's defence lawyer made an impassioned plea to the jury, telling them that the defendant's mental health problems meant she felt killing her children was the best course of action.

'The deaths don't have anything to with anger or resentment - and have everything to do with what was a severe mental illness,' Kerryn Beaton KC said.

'She desperately wanted these children and we know that she was a great mum, a loving and protective mother who was highly organised and prepared for every eventuality... she protected them right up until the day they died.'

'This awful event would never have happened if Lauren Dickason was not depressed - and if she had been treated for her depression things might have been very different.

'In her mind, it was the morally right thing to do.'

Lauren Dickason (pictured centre) and her husband Graham hold two-year-old twins Maya and Karla as they pose with their other their six-year-old daughter Liane

Lauren Anne Dickason (pictured left) is on trial for murder after smothering the couple's three young girls

But prosecutor Andrew McRae painted a very different picture, disputing that Ms Dickason was ill enough to plead insanity and declared 'she ought to still be held fully responsible for what she's done'.

'Her actions are explained by two primary drivers - her anger at her children's behaviour and her need for control,' he insisted.

'Once she started doing what she was doing to the girls there was no turning back. She did not contemplate stopping.

'Her accounts did not indicate that this was done out of love or that she did this because it was in their best interest. Her action was very much done in a moment of anger... there was no true altruistic motive.

'She knew she was killing the girls and she proceeded regardless.

'She must have known what she was doing was morally wrong if she was worried about the possibility of discovery... she made efforts to clean up the scene.'

The court will now adjourn until Monday, at which point Justice Cameron Mander will sum up the weeks-long trial before sending the jury to deliberate.

Earlier on Thursday, clinical psychologist Dr Ghazi Metoui, who conducted extended interviews with Ms Dickason, told the court on Thursday that her depression had compounded over a number of years.

'Everything (for Ms Dickason) was black and awful... game over,' Dr Metoui testified under cross examination from the Crown prosecutor Andrew McRae, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The Dickason family, which also included father Graham, had only just migrated from South Africa to New Zealand.

While that caused Ms Dickason a great deal of stress her struggle to have children through IVF was a deeper underlying issue, Dr Metoui told the court.

'My opinion is that her problems with depression in the 11-year period leading up to her alleged offending were very much embroiled in her fertility problems,' he said.

'Losing her first child at 18 weeks gestation, antenatal anxiety and then postnatal depression that remained chronic - clinically referred to as the intermittent symptom pattern.

'She always had vulnerabilities in her earlier life since adolescence in her early 20s, and these in themselves are risk factors for developing postpartum depression.

'The fact is that declines in her mental health all occurred after 2010 from the time of trying to conceive to eventually having children.'

Ms Dickason's mental health never fully recovered from the devastation of her first failed IVF pregnancy and she also suffered post-natal depression after having her daughters, the court heard.

Dickason with husband Graham and their children Liane, 6, and two-year-old twins Maya and Karla

Lauren Anne Dickason (pictured with husband Graham) has admitted killing her three girls but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has been standing trial in Christchurch's High Court since July 17

'Her major depressive disorder - severe type - at the time of the alleged offending was an extension and part of her chronic postnatal depression since 2015 after having Liane and re-emerging in 2019 after having Karla and Maya and episodically thereafter,' Dr Metoui said.

'I consider that the balance of Mrs Dickason's mind at the time was disturbed by this specific disorder consequent upon childbirth... she meets the medical and legal threshold for infanticide.'

Dr Metoui did not agree with the Crown's assertion that Karla's temper tantrum just moments before the girls were smothered to death had caused Ms Dickason to act out of anger.

'That is a step too far... she was not angry at Karla per se,' Dr Metoui said.

'I think she was perhaps angry but really upset at her crumbling family, posed as an explanation.

'I think Karla behaving in that way was proof to her that her family was suffering, that her family was miserable.'

While the killings were 'brutal, callous, determined and deliberate', Dr Metoui told the court that, in his opinion, Ms Dickason cannot be held criminally responsible.

'I do not consider that Ms Dickason's mental state at the time of the alleged offending precluded her from understanding the nature and quality of the acts,' he said.

During the trial five experts have appeared with two supporting the Crown's case for murder and three saying Ms Dickason was driven to her actions by insanity

Dickason has admitted to killing her children but denies it was murder, with her defence claiming she is not guilty by reason of insanity

'To the contrary, I consider that she was purposeful and deliberate throughout her offending and acted with full conscious awareness of her actions and with great determination to pursue her aims, the killing of her three young children.

'However, such was the severity of her depressive illness and associated distorted thinking at that time ... that ultimately, she thought she and her three children were better off dead.

'It is my opinion that she did not know that the alleged acts were morally wrong to the commonly accepted standard of right and wrong ... she has a defence of insanity.'

Mr McRae suggested Ms Dickason's story had changed over time and adopted 'altruistic motives' suggested by clinicians treating her, but Dr Metoui rejected that.

'Never did I find did she backpedal, start ducking and diving, become clustered, inconsistent - she was just very straight up about it,' Dr Metoui said.

Mr McRae said Dr Metoui 'needed to be careful with the information' Ms Dickason gave him.

'This is where you and I are not seeing eye-to-eye at the moment,' the psychologist replied.

'We know that memories are not complete... She was cooperating, she was doing her best - but even then, there were omissions in what she told me.'

Dr Metoui continued to rebut Mr McRae's suggestions Ms Dickason killed her children out of malice.

'She was a really unwell woman,' he said.

'When she's psychiatrically unwell, it's crushing to her mental health... I would say she wasn't functioning, she was not caring for herself... she was clinically anorexic, she was socially withdrawing from just about everybody.'

The Crown has alleged Ms Dickason murdered the children in a 'calculated' way because she was frustrated, angry and resentful of them.

After the Dickason children were fatally smothered they were placed in their beds and 'tucked in'

Previously Mr McRae alleged Ms Dickason was 'resentful of how the children stood in the way of her relationship with her husband' and killed them 'methodically and purposefully, perhaps even clinically'.

Ms Dickason smothered the girls while Graham was out at a work dinner.

He returned to find the dead girls tucked into their beds with faces covered while his wife was unconscious after she had tried to take her own life.

Graham gave evidence during the trial from his home in Pretoria, where he has returned with the remains of the girls.

Out of the five experts who have testified, two supported the Crown's case of murder while three have stated Ms Dickason was driven to her actions by being mentally unwell.
The release of new Netflix drama Painkiller - which follows the life of the American billionaire and businessman Richard Sackler - has reignited public interest around him.

The show tells the harrowing story of how the opioid crisis became rampant across the US.

But how was Richard Sackler involved in the crisis and where is he now? Read on below for everything you need to know about Richard Sackler.

Richard Sackler was co-president of Purdue Pharm from 1999 to 2003, the company that became known as the developer of the drug OxyContin, which has been linked with the US opioid epidemic

Who is Richard Sackler?

Richard Sackler followed in his father's footsteps, getting his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine.

He became president of Purdue Pharma in 1991, pioneering marketing campaigns that enticed droves of medical professionals to buy Purdue's opioid.

The company was best known as the developer of the drug OxyContin, but was hit with several lawsuits and fines after it was linked with the opioid epidemic in the United States.

Richard became co-chairman in 2003, by which point $1.6 billion in OxyContin had been sold.

His marketing schemes sparked suspicion, and in 2015, Richard was deposed before his company paid out a $24 million settlement.

The company appealed in 2017, but the case has not moved forward.

Sackler, who was born in New York on March 10 1945, was previously married to Beth Sackler. The pair had three children - Rebecca, Marianna, and David - but are now divorced.

In 2008, Sackler made Purdue Pharma measure its 'performance' in proportion to not only the number but also the strength of the doses it sold.

He did so despite allegedly knowing that sustained high doses of OxyContin came with serious side effects, including addiction.

In 2019, an email disclosed in a Massachusetts court case showed Sackler allegedly attempting to shift blame for the crisis onto the individual users themselves, rather than his company.

It stated: 'We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem. They are the reckless criminals.'

Painkiller, which premiered on Thursday August 10 2023, sees Richard Sackler played by Matthew Broderick.

Where is Richard Sackler now?

In February 2023, Sackler put his Beverly Hills mansion on the market for just shy of $20million.

The Angelo View Drive home is a three-story four-bed, six-bath home with incredible views of the hills.

On December 3 2021, people from across the United States, who lost loved ones due to the opioid epidemic, rallied at the Department of Justice in Washington DC

The sale of the Florida home came shortly after Purdue Pharma reached a $6billion settlement with several US states about the opioid crisis after more than 1million Americans died from overdoses since 1999.

At the time of the settlement, the high-powered family said they 'sincerely regret' that their painkiller OxyContin 'unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis.'

Richard currently lives in another Boca Raton home, which he purchased for $1.71million in June 2021.

In a blow to the Sackler family, many of the arts institutions which carried the Sackler name  including the Serpentine Gallery, the V&A museum, the British Museum and the National Gallery  have done away with the name following the events of Painkiller.
An eight-year-old schoolgirl has been rescued after she was abducted and stuffed in a suitcase by her family's apartment caretaker in the Philippines.

Jin Nichole You, who has dual Filipino and Korean nationality, was on her way home when she was bundled into the case in the district of Bakilid in Mandaue City, Cebu province before noon yesterday.

Her family became worried when they realised she had not returned.

Mum Tyree Rendal frantically checked the apartment's security cameras and was horrified to see an unidentified person in a hoodie inside the property's gates.

The suspect was seen dragging along a large black suitcase believed to have concealed the girl.

Jin Nichole You, who has dual Filipino and Korean nationality, was returning home when she was bundled into the case in the district of Bakilid in Mandaue City, Cebu province before noon yesterday

The suspect was seen dragging along a large black suitcase believed to have concealed the girl

The suitcase that was allegedly used for the abduction. Officers tracked down the suspect's location to an apartment in the same district later that evening

Mandaue City police received a report at around 5pm and launched a search for the missing child.

Officers tracked down the suspect's location to an apartment in the same district later that evening.

They arrested Godiflor Rama, 32, the caretaker of the apartment where the victim and her parents were staying.

Jin was found dishevelled but alive. She was taken to the Women Children's Protection Desk of the Subangdaku Police Station where she explained what had happened.

Speaking to local media, Godiflor said: 'I hope the family can forgive me for what I did. I only did that because they were accusing me of stealing their belongings, like their bags and hangers.

'I admit that the girl is attractive, but that doesn't mean that I like her. I did not rape her. I did not sexually assault her.'

Police said Godiflor had used his familiarity with the girl and her family to enact his plan.

Officers arrested Godiflor Rama, 32, the caretaker of the apartment where the victim and her parents were staying

Mandaue City police received a report at around 5pm yesterday and launched a search for missing Jin Nichole You

Video footage shows the suitcase being wheeled along the road in Mandaue City

Those involved in the search watching CCTV footage of the man dragging the suitcase through the street in Mandaue City

Jin Nichole You was found dishevelled but alive. She was taken to the Women Children's Protection Desk of the Subangdaku Police Station where she explained what had happened

Suspect Godiflor Rama being arrested. Police said Godiflor had used his familiarity with the girl and her family to enact his plan

Godiflor Rama in prison. Speaking to local media, Godiflor said: 'I hope the family can forgive me for what I did. I only did that because they were accusing me of stealing their belongings, like their bags and hangers'

In a statement, the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO7) said: 'The police team immediately utilized modern technology, in-depth investigation and comprehensive intelligence resulting in the successful tracking of the suspect and the victim.

'Three hours after the incident came to the knowledge of the operatives, an intricate rescue police operation was immediately conducted paving the way to the successful rescue of the victim and the arrest of the suspect.'

Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, PRO7 Regional Director, said: 'I would like to recognize the very swift action of the able, active and allied police operatives of PRO 7 who participated in the rescue operation of the minor kidnap victim and the arrest of the kidnapper.'

Jin has been safely reunited with her mother and is recovering from the ordeal.

Grateful mum Tyree said: 'I would like to thank the police and investigators from the bottom of my heart. They acted swiftly just to save my daughter.

'I couldn't imagine that this kind of thing would happen to us. We love Jin so much, everyone knows what a good girl she is.

'Everyone's effort will not be wasted. We will proceed with the legal case to obtain justice for my daughter.'
B&Q has apologised after a suspected mock-up book called White Supremacy was bizarrely placed on top of a radiator in a product picture on its website.

The two books were stacked alongside flowers and a picture frame in the background of the Aica Radiator Cover product.

The controversial image sparked a backlash on social media, with B&Q forced to suspend the third-party seller it said was responsible for the blunder.

White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to other races and therefore should have control over them. The far-right belief is associated with Nazi Germany, Britain's National Front and the infamous US Ku Klux Klan.

One person who spotted the ad wrote on Twitter: 'Uhhh B&Q can you explain why you have a product picture featuring two books that say 'white supremacy'?'

A B&Q spokesperson told MailOnline today that it was 'actively reviewing' its screening process after it failed to pick up the picture of the books.

B&Q has 'deeply apologised' after a book called White Supremacy was bizarrely placed on top of a radiator in a product picture on its website

B&Q has been forced to suspend the third-party seller it said was responsible for the blunder

The controversial image sparked a backlash on social media and B&Q before it was taken down

One customer who was browsing for radiator cover's on the company's diy.com website said he 'couldn't believe' what he was seeing.

'There, right in the middle of the B&Q website were these books with 'white supremacy' written down the side,' he told the Doncaster Free Press.

'I'm sure lots of people would be massively offended seeing something like that. I can't believe how it managed to get on there.'

The black and white books appear to be display copies with 'white supremacy' written down the spine of the book and on the cover.

The customer said he wasn't sure if it was Photoshop and 'someone has put it in as a joke'. The product has since been taken down from the website by B&Q.

It comes after Porsche issued an apology last week after it sparked fury by airbrushing out a famous Portuguese landmark in a video celebrating 60 years of its iconic 911 model.

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.

Social media users questioned why there was a product picture featuring two white supremacy books

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 later apologised calling it a 'mistake', and has reuploaded a version of the video to YouTube that includes the full statue.

A B&Q spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We deeply apologise for the offence this may have caused from a product that was offered for sale by a third-party seller.

'B&Q is committed to creating an inclusive place for our colleagues to work and our customers to shop, and in this instance, this product was not picked up by our screening process.

'We can confirm we suspended the seller and removed the product, and all images associated with it, from diy.com as soon as we became aware of the content.

'We are actively reviewing our screening process to prevent this happening again, as we are committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive online environment.'
The British doctor shot dead during violent protests in South Africa last week was a highly-decorated surgeon and recipient of multiple international awards, it has been revealed.

Kar Hao Teoh, 40, was reportedly killed in front of his wife and two-year-old son after taking a wrong turn from the airport while holidaying in Cape Town on August 3.

Paying tribute to Mr Teoh, colleagues at the British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle society described him as a 'kind, gentle person' and a 'dedicated and talented surgeon' who was a 'rising star of the foot and ankle world'.

They said the leading trauma and orthopaedics specialist had 'already made a big impact', awarded several international fellowships for his work, and described him as a 'loving family man' whose 'sudden and tragic death ... shocked us all'.

Mr Teoh also won the Presidential Prize at the European Foot and Ankle Society conference in Lyon for his research into the treatment of ankle fractures in 2021.

Mr Teoh, who was born in Singapore but had British nationality, was one of five who have died in violence during the strike which has been going on for a week.

Violent strikes have broken out across the city of Nyanga since police officers introduced new measures to crack down on illegal vehicles last week.

The surgeon was a leading specialist, shot dead after taking a wrong turn in South Africa

The death comes amid violence across Cape Town in response to police impounding illegal vehicles. Pictured: Residents of Masiphumelele gather near burning tyres amid protests

A resident of Masiphumelele uses a board as a shield during clashes with law enforcement amidst an ongoing strike by taxi operators against traffic authorities in Cape Town, August 8

Members of the South African police stand near a burnt-out vehicle in Nyanga during the ongoing strike by taxi operators in Cape Town, South Africa, August 7, 2023

Mr Teoh was on holiday in Cape Town when he was killed on August 3.

A police spokesperson said: 'From the airport he apparently took a wrong turn off and headed towards Nyanga.

'In Ntlangano Crescent a number of suspects approached his vehicle, shot and killed him.'

The surgeon leaves behind his wife and a two-year-old son, who were holidaying with him at the time.

Mr Teoh studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and the University of Dundee, before going on to complete higher surgical training in the Wales Deanery.

He won numerous research awards and was later elected a member of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh in recognition of his teaching work.

A spokesperson for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he worked, said: 'Sadly, we can confirm that Mr Kar Hao Teoh, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, has died.

'He was a well-respected member of the team, valued colleague and friend to many across the hospital as well as in regional, national and international trauma and orthopaedic networks.'

Mr Teoh also worked privately for MSK Doctors, and close friend Professor Paul Lee paid tribute to him with a moving tribute online.

Professor Lee said: 'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our esteemed colleague and dear friend, Mr Kar Teoh, a respected Trauma and Orthopaedic consultant who left us too soon on August 3, 2023.

'Mr Teoh was more than a triple board certified specialist in Trauma and Foot & Ankle surgery.

'He was a guiding light in our professional community, a devoted friend, and a cornerstone of many significant projects,' he said.

'Kar's commitment to medical excellence was recognised in several prestigious international travelling Fellowships (BOA, BOFAS, AO, SICOT, EFORT, IBRA), and he was an ardent proponent of research, and undergraduate and postgraduate education.

'Yet, his professional accolades only paint part of the picture. For those of us privileged to call him a friend and colleague, Kar was a trustworthy and steadfast presence.'

He added: 'The loss of Mr. Kar Teoh leaves a void in our hearts and our community.'

Lee said he was instrumental in the establishment and success of WelshBone in 2007, MSK Doctors in 2017, and the MSK Regen conference in 2023.

'In each of these initiatives, Kar offered his unwavering support and played a critical role in their success.

His cousin Sancy Low, wrote on Facebook: 'He had a great sense of humour and would have wanted things to be light and fuss-free.'

A JustGiving page has also been set up in memory of Mr Teoh, inviting those close to Mr Teoh to share fond memories to be compiled for his young son.

The page reads: 'The sudden and tragic loss of Mr. Kar H Teoh has left a void in our hearts.

'Kar was not just a respected Trauma and Orthopaedic Consultant but also a dear friend, a dedicated colleague, and a loving family man.

'His contributions to the medical field, showcased his unwavering dedication to advancing healthcare.

'Beyond these professional achievements, Kar was known for his kindness, warmth, and steadfast support for those around him.'

Mr Kar Teoh, 40, was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire

A law enforcement officer fires rubber bullets during their clashes with protesters in Masiphumelele amidst an ongoing strike by taxi operators

A protester blocks the streets with stones and rubble during an ongoing strike by taxi operators against traffic authorities, in Msiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa, August 8

Law enforcement officers detain a protestor amidst an ongoing strike by taxi operators against traffic authorities in Msiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa, August 8

Since last week, furious campaigners connected to the influential private taxi industry have launched stones at cars and buses and and set some alight.

It came after a new municipal law gave local authorities power to impound vehicles for driving without a licence or registration plates, and not wearing a seatbelt.

The taxis' national union has said its members aren't instigating the violence and others are using the strike as an excuse to launch their own protests.

But millions of workers and schoolchildren have been forced to stay at home and deliveries of food have been interrupted amid the protests.

Geordin Hill-Lewis, Cape Town's mayor, said he would stand firm against the sector.

'In Cape Town, violence will never be tolerated as a negotiating tactic. We reiterate our call on SANTACO [the taxi union] to return peacefully to the negotiation table,' he said.
A career criminal has become the first woman in Britain to be jailed under tough new 'three strikes and out' laws which target prolific drug dealers.

Angela McDougall, 44, who has 115 previous offences on her record, was locked up for almost six years after being convicted of trafficking Class A narcotics three times in 23 years.

She was arrested again last year in a police drugs bust after officers discovered she was running a heroin and crack cocaine racket from her home in Winsford, Cheshire.

Inquiries revealed the jobless McDougall, who pocketed 1,000 a month from state handouts, had more than 95,000 deposited into her bank account in just nine months through 20-50 drug deals.

The dirty money would be quickly transferred to an unknown accomplice and by the time she was detained she only had 413 left.

McDougall, with over 100 previous offences on her record, was locked up for almost six years

McDougall fell foul of a clause under The Sentencing Act 2020 which warns drug dealers face a minimum seven years in prison if caught peddling Class A narcotics three times throughout their adult life.

Several men have been locked up under the legislation which came into force in December 2021 but it is thought no woman had previously been jailed under the latest 'three strikes' rule.

In 2000 McDougall was 22 when she was jailed for two years for supplying heroin and in 2003 was given another three-and-a-half years after being caught smuggling crack cocaine and heroin into Altcourse jail in Liverpool.

She also has eight past convictions for possessing class A drugs, some as recently as 2020 and 2021, plus offences of burglary and theft and had also repeatedly flouted a series of non-custodial court orders aimed at helping her get clean.

Lawyers said she had been hooked on heroin and crack since she was teenager and had started dealing again as her partner, who is also a drug addict, had been diagnosed with cancer.

She was jailed for two years in 2000 for supplying heroin at just 22 years old

At Chester Crown Court McDougall, who admitted being involved in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possession of cannabis and crack cocaine, begged for leniency but Judge Michael Leeming jailed her for five years and eight months.

He told her he was able to reduce the minimum seven year jail term to account for her guilty plea but added: 'You have a history of failing to act on the opportunities presented to you by the court over the years which were designed to assist you and break your cycle of offending.

'You've also been on notice of the seven-year sentence which would follow if you continued with this offending but you were not deterred. Your last custodial sentence was as recently as 2018. No sentence has put paid to your offending.'

He added: 'This was not a one-off incident as 95,000 was in and out of your accounts which demonstrates that you were close to a major dealer if not a dealer yourself. It is important that the courts do not undermine the intention of Parliament by too readily accepting exceptional circumstances.

'You have not made determined efforts to address your drug use and there is nothing to suggest that you have turned your life around since 2003. You have not worked since 2013 which was during a period of sobriety and you have a partner who is also a dependent drug user. You played an important role in this offending and you knew what you were doing.

'You know better than anybody the dependency that class A drugs can cause.'

She received over 95,000 from drug deals in a nine-month period whilst earning 1,000 a month from state handouts

The court heard that police raided McDougall's home on July 25 last year after a tip off. Prosecutor Jayne Morris said: 'Her partner was present at the scene and during the search of the property small amounts of cannabis were found along with a small wrap of crack cocaine, 205 in cash, two white iPhones and a Samsung mobile phone.

'The mobile phones were seized and analysed and a report showed that there were numerous messages related to supply of Class A drugs, both crack cocaine and diamorphine. The messages are very frequent. It's very clear that this defendant was heavily involved in supplying Class A drugs over that period of time, approximately a nine-month period.

'An analysis of her bank transactions showed payments from various different people going into her bank account, amounts of 25, 50 and 100. Sometimes an individual would transfer three different sums of money in one day. The exact sum of 95,845.86 was deposited and 95,469.72 was withdrawn. There was 413 left in her account.

'She said in interview she was receiving 1,000 a month in benefits and Universal Credit. In addition to that was sums of money related to the supply of drugs. She said she was using class A drugs, heroin and crack cocaine and was spending about 30 to 40 a day to facilitate her habit.

'She said the phones were hers. She said she used them to play games on and that there would be nothing on them related to the supply of drugs. That is clearly not the case.'

She begged for leniency but was ultimately jailed for five years and eight months

Inquiries were made into McDougall's financial assets but the court heard investigators would not be pursuing any proceeds of crime application.

In mitigation, defence barrister Mr Robin Howat said: 'There are factors in the childhood of this defendant that led her to being involved in drink and drugs as a way of self-medicating for those traumas.

'Between the last two qualifying offences there is a considerable period of time, the gap of almost 20 years. The first occurred due to a abusive relationship she was in, the second was not street supplying. Those drugs were being taken into a prison.

'There can be very few cases if any where there is a gap of 20 years between the offending. She suffers from DVT (deep vein thrombosis), through the abuse of drugs. and also has severe asthma. She has nothing in the world apart from the bags that she brought to court.

'This is not a case that she is said to have the trappings of crime. Regarding the money that went through her account, she was being used and the dealer was getting her to work off her debt by channelling the money, holding the phone and dealing with the drugs on their behalf.

'It's clear that when one sees her physical state and one tries to interact with her, she's still someone in the depths of addiction. She was given drugs to do this operation and fell back into it because of her partner who is also severely addicted.

'She has cancer and a severe heart problem. She was unable to manage her own habit. Therefore, rightly or wrongly, Miss McDougall took on that role to support the both of them because of the debts accrued in the drug market.

'She has fallen prey to other people in her life who have exploited her situation. She is not someone who is benefiting a great degree other than subsistence drug use.'
Furious Tory backbenchers have demanded ministers resurrect plans to deploy UK border guards on jet skis on the English Channel to physically stop migrant boats.

As the number of people crossing from the Continent passes 100,000 in the past five years they want an idea first floated by Priti Patel when she was home secretary revisited.

They want Border Force to mimic tactics used by the Greek Navy, which has physically pushed boats trying to cross the Aegean back into Turkish waters.

It has vowed to continue despite 600 migrants drowning when their boat capsized in June.

The UK plan mooted in 2020 and 2021 saw officials learning how to redirect migrants back to French waters using high-powered armoured 'personal water craft'.

But the pushback plan was cancelled last year days before a High Court legal challenge. The PCS union, which represents Border Force staff, also threatened to strike.

Tom Hunt, the Ipswich MP, told the Times: 'The fact that the Greek authorities appear to be achieving success with pushbacks means it should be something we should study closely.

They want Border Force to mimic tactics used by the Greek Navy (pictured), which has physically pushed boats trying to cross the Aegean back into Turkish waters.

As the number of people crossing from the Continent passes 100,000 in the past five years they want an idea first floated by Priti Patel when she was home secretary revisited.

'The reality is we may well need a plan B deterrent and this could well be it. I hope the government is urgently looking at Greece to draw lessons and see what might be possible here because more likely than not, we're likely to need other plans with or without Rwanda.'

Several migrants were rescued from the English Channel yesterday as the number of people crossing on small boats in the last five-and-a-half years appeared to reach 100,000.

The Home Office confirmed 17 individuals were rescued from the water who had gone overboard and said they were all recovered safely and have been taken ashore for routine health and safety checks.

PA news agency analysis of Government figures since current records began on January 1 2018 showed that, as of Tuesday, 99,960 people had arrived in the UK after making the journey.

RNLI lifeboats were spotted bringing dozens to shore on Thursday, meaning it is likely the milestone has been reached.

A witness said there appeared to be more than 40 people brought ashore on board two lifeboats, which had attended a dinghy out in the Channel.

They included women and children, with one woman carrying a small child in her arms.

A Treasury minister said he did not want to 'speculate about alternatives' to the Government's immigration policy.

Asked about 'small boats week' on Times Radio, John Glen said: 'I think it's important to recognise that there are many dimensions to the Government's policy.

'We have diplomatic arrangements with Turkey, in France, Albania. Indeed from France, we've seen 33,000 fewer arrivals because of that arrangement.'

He added: 'But we've got to understand is this phenomena of illegal migration of criminal gangs taking people across Europe and across the Channel, we have seen a 30% increase in Europe as well over recent months.'

Mr Glen went on: 'We've obviously passed legislation in the House of Commons. There is a legal challenge to that, but we are confident, and the Government has been made clear by the legal system that they support the principle of offshoring our illegal immigrants to Rwanda, and we haven't finished the conclusion of that legal process yet, but we are confident that that will work.'

Asked about a 'plan B', he said: 'Well, we believe that the actions that we've taken - and I've just taken you through a number of them - and including the legislation which hasn't yet been fully enacted, because of the legal challenge outstanding in the autumn, will work and we stand by that.

'I don't want to speculate about alternatives until we've exhausted the process that we think will work.'
Junior doctors will embark to the picket lines for 96 hours in their fifth round of strikes from August 11 until August 15.

With junior doctor strike action also costing a predicted 1 billion, NHS Providers have stated services were edging towards a 'tipping point'.

So far, nearly 778,000 hospital appointments and 458,000 staff have been impacted by industrial action, NHS England reports.

Almost 835,000 appointments across NHS England have been postponed since December.

Thousands more procedures and appointments are set to be disrupted this week again as a result of strikes.

So why are hospital appointments being cancelled and what should you do if this happens to you?

Junior doctors are set to strike between 7am August 11 and 7am August 15. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in London in July

778,000 hospital appointments and 458,000 staff shifts in the entire NHS have been impacted by industrial action. Thousands more are set to be disrupted this week. Pictured: Junior doctor on the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London on July 13, 2023

Why are hospital appointments in the UK being cancelled?

Hospital appointments in the UK alongside other services are being impacted by junior doctor strikes which are set to take place between 7am August 11 and 7am August 15.

The last time junior doctors ditched the scrubs and headed to the picket lines was between July 12 and July 18.

Junior doctors have been on strike five times. This mean NHS services has experienced 450 hours were there was only a third of medical workforce.

The NHS can no longer hire agency staff to fill in the gaps either, because of a ruling made by the High Court.

As such, disruption to appointments is expected as this impedes the NHS' ability to cover some services during industrial action, including hospital appointments.

However, before strikes take place agreements are made with unions so that staff will work to uphold safe levels of care.

If these agreements, also known as 'derogations', are not been met, staff are sometimes shuffled to varying departments to make sure emergency care continues.

According to the British Medical Association (BMA), junior doctors have have a experienced a 26 per cent real-terms cut to their in the last 15 years.

The union are asking for a 35% pay increase to address the issue.

The government previously offered junior doctors a 6% pay increase, and a consolidated payment of 1,250.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dubbed it as the 'final offer', saying there would be 'no more talks' on salaries.

He continued: 'We will not negotiate again on this years settlements. And no amount of strikes will change our decision.'

The government have yet to change their decision on this stance.

Tell us what YOU think by voting in our poll

The BMA have rejected the government's pay increase offer of 6% and a a consolidated payment of 1,250. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in Newcastle in July

NHS England have reported that almost 778,000 hospital appointments and 458,000 staff have been impacted by industrial action. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in London in July

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dubbed the 6% pay hike as a 'final offer', saying there would be 'no more talks' on pay

What to do if my hospital appointment has been cancelled?

Services that will be prioritised by the NHS during these strikes are critical care, neonatal care, maternity and trauma, and emergency treatment.

Also those who have waited the lengthiest amount of time for cancer surgery or elective care will be prioritised according to the NHS.

You should not cancel your appointment under the assumption it may not go ahead because of the industrial action.

It is advised that you go to your appointment as originally scheduled, unless you have been contacted to be told otherwise.

The junior doctor strike action could potentially affect services beyond the hospital, such as GPS.

Most dentists situated outside of hospitals will not be affected according to The British Dental Association.

But, some staff who work in hospitals as consultants or on trainee contracts may head to the picket lines.

However you should still follow the aforementioned advice and go to your dental and GP appointments unless advised to do differently.

If your appointment or procedure has been cancelled you do not need to do anything. Your local NHS provider will be in contact to inform you.

They will then reschedule the appointment, and it will be organised as a priority, the NHS says.

Do not cancel your hospital appointments. Your NHS provider will contact you if there are any issues. Pictured: Junior doctors striking in Leeds in July

(File Photo of ambulances) the NHS say postponed appointments will be a priority when scheduling

Where to get medical help if your appointment is cancelled?

The publicly funded healthcare system is asking patients to be mindful of the services they use during the junior doctor strikes, so those who need it most can still access the care they need.

Unions with information on affected areas and trusts Unite

Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA)

British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors

BMA consultants

British Dental Association (BDA) junior doctors

BDA consultants

Society of Radiographers Advertisement

Certain ambulances and hospitals may not be impacted by the junior doctor strikes, to find it your local services you can check the trade union websites.

If you are unsure and in need of medical assistance you should call 111 to get advice, alternatively you can check your symptoms on 111 online.

The NHS advises that you only use 999 if you are in a life threatening situation.

In the unfortunate circumstance you do need to go to A&E you can arrange an arrival time via NHS 111.

NHS guidelines setting out when you should go to A&E can be found on their website.

You can attend a urgent treatment centre, also known as minor injury units or walk-in centres, if your situation is not life-threatening.

These types of centres are available if you are dealing with issues that are slightly less rare, such as cuts and bruises, coughs and cold, skin infections, suspected broken bones and more.

They usually run 12 hours a day, typically from 8am until 8pm, and are managed by doctors, GPs and nurses.

Similarly, to attending A&E, ringing 111 and giving them your details so the walk-in centre knows you are attending beforehand makes the process smoother.

If you are an inpatient at a hospital, you will be told by your ward and by those caring for you how you will be affected.
Three are dead and one remains in critical condition

The woman at the centre of a poisonous mushroom lunch that left three people dead and one in need of a liver transplant took herself to hospital despite not being extremely sick like her dinner guests.

Erin Patterson, 48, has been named a person of interest by police after cooking a deadly beef wellington on July 29 which killed her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Heather's pastor husband Ian Wilkinson, 68, also attended the lunch and is still fighting for life at Melbourne's Austin Hospital.

All four guests went to Leongatha Hospital after experiencing 'gastro-like symptoms' the day after the lunch before they were transferred to hospitals in Melbourne after their conditions drastically worsened.

In the days following, Gail, Heather and Don would all die in hospital.

Neither Erin nor the two children she shares with her ex-husband Simon became ill, however a 'fifth adult' reportedly went to Leongatha Hospital.

It's unclear whether Erin ate the beef wellington, however she evidently was not as unwell as her in-laws, if at all, despite the food reportedly containing lethal death cap mushrooms. The children did not eat the food.

Erin Patterson, 48, has been named a person of interest after cooking lunch for her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66 on July 29

All four guests presented to Leongatha Hospital (pictured) after experiencing 'gastro-like symptoms' the day after the lunch before they were transferred to hospitals in Melbourne

The above family tree shows the connections between the Pattersons and Wilkinsons embroiled in the unusual poisoning tragedy in Leongatha

A press release from the hospital: 'A fifth person was discharged, after a short presentation at the Leongatha Hospital.'

Leongatha Hospital declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

Erin has maintained her innocence, telling a media pack outside her home earlier this week that she 'loved' her in-laws who had only ever showed her kindness.

On Friday, Erin was been pictured withdrawing cash from an ATM on William Street in the heart of Melbourne.

She was spotted inside a National Australia Bank branch just after 2pm wearing the same red shirt and white pants she was pictured in on Tuesday.

The sighting comes as a close friend of Erin's ex-husband Simon - who was invited to the lunch but pulled out at the last minute - told Daily Mail Australia that he had been left questioning a mystery stomach illness last year that almost claimed his life.

Daily Mail Australia doesn't suggest Erin tried to poison Simon, only that he has made the allegation.

Simon's mystery illness led to him spending 21 days in an intensive care unit and he was forced to undergo months of rehabilitation.

Several of his friends told Daily Mail Australia he had not suspected the mystery illness to be linked to foul play at the time.

One friend, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia if Simon knew what had caused the illness he hadn't told any friends or family.

'He worked really hard to be rehabilitated. He went and stayed with is parents and at the time there was no talk of anything untoward,' the friend said.

The couple had already been separated when Simon became sick.

Simon Patterson was supposed to join his parents for the lunch that killed them

Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms prepared by their former daughter in law on July 29. Erin was previously married to their son, Simon

Throughout Mr Patterson's time in hospital, his ex-wife continued to keep his worried friends updated about his condition on social media.

'As far as we all knew, they were quite friendly. He's never said a bad word about her. He wouldn't. They've got kids together and he's that type of person,' a friend said.

Daily Mail Australia revealed on Thursday the poisonous lunch held by Erin had been arranged to try and negotiate a reconciliation with her former husband.

The revelation that Erin wanted to get back together with her estranged husband, who pulled out of the lunch at the last minute, came amid reports the deadly dish she served up was a beef wellington.

A source close to Simon Patterson told Daily Mail Australia his mate had no interest in getting back together with the mother of his two children.

'They went to her house for a mediation to talk to the family. Simon was supposed to go there for lunch but he pulled out in the last minute otherwise he would be in that death bed too,' the friend said on Thursday.

'The people who died, Gail, Don and the Wilkinsons, were talking to them because they're heavily ingrained with the church and they wanted to make sure she was right to resume a relationship with Simon... she was basically petitioning to get back with him and the family didn't think that was a good move.'

The friend claimed Erin was desperate to get back together with her estranged husband.

'She wanted to get back with Simon and the family didn't want Simon to get back with her,' he said.

'They basically didn't think she was good enough for him in their eyes.

'This wasn't just a lunch, it was an intervention with the pastor as mediator. That's why this lunch happened.'

Erin has denied any wrongdoing and no charges are expected to be laid at this stage of the investigation.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Erin was responsible for Simon's illness or the three deaths.
An award-winning granny flat builder has gone bust leaving more than 50 customers with unfinished projects and owing more than $3.9million.

Rescon Builders Pty Ltd, also known as Rescon Granny Flats, is now under the control of Christopher Darin from insolvency firm Worrells.

In a statement on Friday, Worrells said dozens of customers have been left out of pocket following the sudden closure of the business.

'Worrells advises that more than 50 customers have been severely impacted by the Rescon's liquidation and have contacted Worrells to lodge a claim and seek documentation relating to their project,' the statement read.

'At present claims against the Rescon total in excess of $3.9 million with realisable assets of less than $100,000.'

Rescon Builders Pty Ltd, also known as Rescon Granny Flats, went into liquidation last Friday

Several customers alleged their granny flats were left unfinished and posted one-star reviews (pictured, alleged dodgy work done by Rescon)

Worrells has urged Rescon employees who are owed money to lodge a complaint.

Their missing funds may not be recoverable from the sale of Rescon assets but they could receive some money from the government's Fair Entitlement Guarantee.

It's understood customers with allegedly unfinished granny flats have been unable to contact Rescon for several months.

One woman claimed she was owed $16,000 and has lodged a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.

'Very slow, took me one year and still not finished yet,' she wrote in a review from eight months ago, warning other customers not to 'trust' the business.

'Staff are very rude and no-one is answering phone and emails. Landscaping not done, left the bin everywhere.'

Another Sydney customer detailed their bad experience with the company.

'Very poorly managed with terrible customer service and communication. Signed our contract in Dec 2021 and six months later, we still haven't started!' they wrote.

'They only contact you when something needs signing or paying, after that you will get excuse after excuse about why they are behind schedule.'

Another customer also claimed they had to take the matter to Fair Trading, alleging they felt threatened and intimidated by staff.

'I was screamed at over the phone several times, hung up on, they kept saying they were too busy, and to stop contacting the business,' their review read.

'What an absolute nightmare - the most unprofessional and intimidating experience of my entire life.'

Rescon was a renowned builder for granny flats around Sydney, the Illawarra, Central Coast and Newcastle areas since it opened in 2012

Another client said they gave the company one star 'because we can't give you zero'.

'How long does it take to build a granny flat? With this company you're looking at two years or thereabouts,' they said.

Mr Darin said his teams at Worrells is working to recover whatever funds they can to begin repaying Rescon's massive debt.

'My team and I will be reporting to creditors in due course as to any actions available to the liquidator that may yield a return to creditors,' he said.

Rescon was a renowned builder for granny flats around Sydney, the Illawarra, Central Coast and Newcastle areas since it opened in 2012.

In 2017, the company won a Master Builders Association Excellence in Housing Award, with director Timothy Cocaro saying at the time he 'couldn't be more proud'.

'Australian families will have no greater investment or asset than their home and that is why we treat every project as if it was our home,' Mr Cocaro said.

Several reviewers said they had a positive experience with the company and would've use the builder again.

Several reviewers warned potential customers to avoid Rescon, citing alleged unfinished work (above)

'Our luxury Granny Flat from Rescon has just been completed and I have to say we are extremely happy with the end result,' one customer said.

'We had a couple of issues and when I notified head office it was dealt with within 24 hours. No problem was too big or too small, this cannot be underestimated as this is a huge thing when building.'

Another said their granny flat 'was beautiful, exactly what we wanted'.

An automatic email directing clients to the liquidators was sent by Rescon Builders when contacted.
Police are hunting a taxi driver said to have sexually assaulted a British teenager in the party resort of Magaluf.

The 17-year-old went to a police station with his mum to make a statement after the alleged early-hours incident in the back of the cab.

Respected island paper Ultima Hora said the youngster had told cops the cabbie began touching him up as they headed from party strip Punta Ballena to the tourist's hotel before demanding he perform a sex act on him.

The incident led to a tussle inside the taxi which ended with the taxi driver physically assaulting the teenager who hurt his head on the cab door as he fled the vehicle, according to local reports.

Civil Guard officers are trying to identify the alleged aggressor.

Magaluf Beach (Stock Image). Respected island paper Ultima Hora said the youngster had told cops the cabbie began touching him up as they headed from party strip Punta Ballena to the tourist's hotel before demanding he perform a sex act on him

A spokesman for the force confirmed this morning: 'An allegation has been made and we are investigating.'

Earlier this week it emerged a British man had been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting another UK tourist at a hotel in Magaluf.

The 48-year-old man is said to have approached the female holidaymaker from behind and put his hands down the 20-year-old woman's trousers before touching her private parts.

The alleged victim, who was stayed at the same unnamed hotel as the male holidaymaker, told cops he was a stranger she had never met before.

A hotel receptionist alerted police who arrested the suspect shortly after arriving at the hotel.

Last month two male Irish holidaymakers were arrested on suspicion of raping a British woman in a hotel in Magaluf.

The pair were held at Palma Airport on July 19 as they were preparing to board a flight to Dublin.

They were remanded in prison pending an ongoing investigation.
Violent doormen are abusing their power and targeting Britons on holiday, tourists have suggested, after a British man was allegedly beaten to death by bouncers in Cyprus.

Huseyin Mavideniz, 29, was attacked in the early hours of Thursday outside a club in Iskele, northern Cyprus.

He was allegedly punched in the head by the club's security with one of the doormen said to have stamped on his head as he lay unconscious on the pavement, according to North Cyprus News.

The British tourist was rushed to Famagusta State Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

The tragedy is the latest in a slew of violent beatings and unjustified attacks on UK holidaymakers in popular summer destinations.

Huseyin Mavideniz, 29, died after being attacked earlyThursday morning outside a club in Iskele, northern Cyprus

An 18-year-old Brit was cornered and beaten by bouncers in Zakynthos last month

Last month, James Taylor, 18, was held in a headlock by four bouncers at the CherryBay nightclub in Laganas, on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Shocking footage showed how they took it in turns to punch, kick and elbow him in the face and body, before kneeing him in the face.

James, from Middlesbrough, told MailOnline he suffered two black eyes, a swollen jaw, bumps on his head, a bust lip and a cut on his knee.

The teenager revealed that the attack happened because he had stood on a chair to take a selfie with his friends before dancing there for ten seconds. A bouncer had tried to grab James's arm to pull him down from the chair, but when James pulled back, the club employee disappeared.

'The bouncer came back ten seconds later with the rest of the bouncers who were in the video and they took me outside and started beating me up,' James said. 'That's all it took, something as little as standing on a chair.'

His 'devastated' mother Michelle Taylor, 55, warned other parents that what happened to James could happen to their children.

'I want to get this message out there that this is unacceptable and this is happening to our children,' Michelle told MailOnline. 'I'm a mother and every mother will feel this if this happens to their son when they go on holiday.

'You shouldn't have to worry about whether they could get beaten up by bouncers.'

Distressing footage shows three bouncers holding James Taylor, 18, in a headlock while a fourth pummels him with a series of devastating punches

James, from Middlesbrough, told MailOnline he suffered two black eyes, a swollen jaw, bumps on his head, a bust lip and a cut on his knee after being attacked by four bouncers in Zakynthos

Pictured: Map showing Laganas on the Greek island of Zakynthos

The island of Zakynthos, also known as Zante, is known as a hotspot for bouncer violence.

Shortly MailOnline revealed what happened to James, a mother said her 19-year-old son saw bouncers in knuckle duster gloves beating up British teenagers 'all day, every day' in Zante.

Emma, not her real name, told MailOnline: 'I wouldn't go there. There's too much crime and, the problem is, the crime isn't exposed or prosecuted. I didn't realise how bad it was over there. My son had a horrific holiday.'

Her son said he witnessed bouncers targeting British teenagers in Laganas and 'beating the s*** out of them'.

Charlie, not his real name, said he was on a week-long holiday to Zante in July and saw bouncers beat up five teenagers along the strip in Laganas.

'It's not just one punch,' Charlie told MailOnline. 'They're beating the s*** out of them. The bouncers are wearing knuckle duster gloves, they're punching, kneeing and kicking them.

'And even if they are on the floor, they're still going to kick them. It's really bad, it makes me scared of them.'

Charlie said his instinct told him he needed to jump and help the teenager, but he makes the point that it's not just one bouncer attacking them.

'When one bouncer starts punching one of these kids, another four would come out of nowhere and begin kicking and kneeing them. This isn't just a few punches, this is a beating. And if you get involved, you will get beaten the s*** out of as well.'

A group of British women were violently turfed out of a Marbella nightclub and thrown to the ground by violent bouncers

In one part of the clip, a bouncer walks up behind a girl and launches a violent, swinging slap at the side of her head

And the violence isn't just restricted to men.

Shocking footage from the popular Spanish resort of Marbella last year showed a group of British women being slapped and thrown to the ground by aggressive doormen.

The revellers were standing outside Lemmon nightclub before the ugly scenes broke out in front of a crowd of onlookers.

One bouncer is seen pushing the women and carrying them off, forcing them to hastily rearrange their clothing to avoid.

The same doorman then walks back and throws a woman in a pink dress to the ground before lifting up her friend and carrying her further away from the bar.

One of the group is heard shouting at the bouncers: 'What the f*** are you doing?'

Moments later, the protester is angrily slapped in the face by another member of the bar staff, before the first bouncer throws the woman in the pink dress to the ground for a second time.

Then one of the doormen whips off his belt in anger and furiously smacks it down on a metal pole.

He holds it above his head threatening to strike the women until one of his colleagues intervenes.

Further afield, a British father and son were brutally beaten by bouncers outside a bar in Thailand's 'Sin City' of Pattaya just last week.

Holidaymaker Ian Thomas, 60, and his son Gregory, 37, had entered the Matador Bar in the city's Soi Buakhao red light street but were allegedly asked to leave by the bar owner at around 1.35am on August 5.

This is the shocking a British tourist and his son were attacked by bouncers outside a bar in Thailand's 'Sin City' Pattaya

Ian Thomas is seen lying on the ground outside the bar after being attacked by the bouncers

The pair were ushered outside by bouncers when their heated argument descended into a physical brawl, with Gregory first being beaten up. CCTV footage shows how he was hit and pulled to the ground where he was then kicked repeatedly.

Footage then shows how the older Brit Ian, in a black shirt, then slapped a guard across the face, sparking more chaos as the staff pushed him to the ground while repeatedly kicking him in the head.

Gregory, in a checkered polo, was seen trying to help his father but was again attacked and beaten, with his father left in a heap in the road.

Later footage from the scene showed Gregory recounting the events.

The 37-year-old said: 'The bouncer became aggressive with me and I said 'do you want to fight me?'. He started fighting me. I came outside and he pushed me to the ground and my shoe came off.

'I stood up and my shoe came off. I stood up and said 'sorry, sorry' and I gave him 2,000 Baht. Everything was OK.'
The SNP is embroiled in a major internal row over Scottish independence today after a senior MP was expelled for criticising Humza Yousaf's leadership - and immediately vowed to run against it at the next election.

Angus MacNeil revealed he had been booted out in a 'Summer of Member Expulsion' after questioning the nationalists' desire to quit the UK.

Mr MacNeil was suspended from the party's Westminster group last month after reportedly clashing with chief whip Brendan O'Hara.

But he then refused to rejoin until it was 'clear that the SNP are pursuing independence' with a blast at a lack of urgency under Mr Yousaf.

The MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) revealed on Twitter that he had been kicked out, and later told the BBC he would run as an independent at the next election.

He held the seat in 2019 with a majority of 2,438, and any split in the nationalist vote could open the door to Labour winning for the first time since 2001.

Mr MacNeil tweeted: 'I didn't leave the SNP - the SNP have left me. I wish they were as bothered about independence as they are about me!'

Angus MacNeil revealed he had been booted out in a 'Summer of Member Expulsion' after questioning the nationalists' desire to quit the UK.

Mr MacNeil was suspended from the party's Westminster group last month after reportedly clashing with chief whip Brendan O'Hara. But he then refused to rejoin until it was 'clear that the SNP are pursuing independence' with a blast at a lack of urgency under Mr Yousaf.

Mr MacNeil tweeted: 'I didn't leave the SNP - the SNP have left me. I wish they were as bothered about independence as they are about me!'

The party's conduct committee met on Thursday to discuss his case after he refused to immediately rejoin the group at the end of his suspension.

Mr MacNeil, 53, has represented his seat in the far west of Scotland since 2005. His tweet about his expulsion used a kangaroo emoji to refer to the member conduct committee.

Thursday's decision by the conduct committee means he cannot sit as an SNP MP any longer and appears to rule out any reconciliation with the party.

On Wednesday, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was asked about Mr MacNeil as he spoke to journalists on the by-election campaign trail in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

He said the party's MPs should not 'pick and choose' when they hold the party whip.

However he said he would not give a 'running commentary' on the conduct process and he 'gets on well with Angus'.

Mr Flynn said he and his colleagues wanted a 'positive outcome' but added this was not always possible in politics.
The bereaved uncle of a man, 21, who was murdered by a TikTok influencer after being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' has said he was only driving the car that fateful night as he 'wanted to be there for his friend because he was going through a hard time.'

Muhammed Hashim was killed in a 100mph fireball crash alongside his friend Saqib Hussain, 21, after their Skoda was deliberately rammed off the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester by balaclava-wearing assailants in two pursuing cars on February 11 last year.

Their deaths were the murderous actions of YouTube and TikTok content creator Mahek Bukhari, 24, and her mother Ansreen, 46, who had hatched a plot to silence Mr Hussain after he threatened to expose his affair with the latter by leaking their sex tape.

Prosecutors said Mr Hussain had been 'lured' into meeting in Leicester with the Bukharis on the pretence of giving him back the 3,000 he said he had spent on taking his lover out during their tryst.

In an ensuing car chase, Mohammed's Skoda Fabia was rammed off the road and 'split in two' after hitting a tree at the Six Hills junction in the early hours of February 11 last year.

Mohammed Hashim (pictured), 21, was in 'the wrong place at the wrong time'

Saqib Hussain (pictured), 21, was also killed in the shocking incident last year

Ansreen Bukhari, 46, and her influencer daughter Mahek Bukhari, 24, have both been convicted of murder

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain today, Ansar Hussain explained his nephew had been in the car as a favour to his friend

Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning, Muhammed Hashim's grieving uncle Ansar Hussain explained that in the year that has passed since his death, Muhammed's family have tried to piece together the circumstances of his death.

He explained: 'We didnt know a lot when the tragic news came to us but after we sat through two trials we got to know a lot about what happened that night.

'One of my sons told me a few days ago that they asked him why he had become so close to this friend in the last few months and he said: "Hes sad, hes going through some difficulties, I want to be there for him."

'Hashim never used to enjoy driving himself, even that night, what he was doing just hanging about he told his friend, can you give Saqib a lift?

'When he couldnt get his friend a lift, thats when he went home to pick up his dads car and gave him a lift.'

Reflecting on his nephew's life, Mr Hussain said he was an 'active soul' who wanted to spread joy.

He said: 'Muhammed Hashim, his personality was very different in our times. He was someone who lived 60 or 70 years of life in 21 years.

'He was a very active soul. One of his philosophies was if I can make them laugh or smile, thats my job done for the day.

'He was compassionate about healing people. His type of healing was making people laugh.

'What keeps us busy, especially the ones who have been hurt far more than even myself like his mother, is that even after 18 months were still discovering Hashim.'

Mahek Bukhari (left) and her mother Ansreen Bukhari (right) were found guilty of the murders of Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin in a high-speed car chase in February 2022

Mahek Bukhari, 24, was said to have taken part in the 'ambush' after Mr Hussain threatened to use sexually explicit material to expose a long-running affair he had with her 46-year-old mother Ansreen.

The 24-year-old was said to have 'tolerated' her mother's affair with Hussain, but took action when he threatened to expose it

The scene of the wreckage of Mr Ijazuddin's car on the A46 in February last year

Bukhari had boasted of more than 126,000 followers on TikTok and a further 43,000 on Instagram before her arrest.

She had regularly shared snippets of her life, including her outfits, make-up and handbags, and has also appeared in videos alongside her mother.

Jurors deliberated for more than 28 hours before returning a verdict finding Bukhari and her mother guilty of two counts of murder earlier this month.

They will be sentenced on September 1. Remanding them in custody, Judge Timothy Spencer warned them: You know the sentence will be very serious.

Bukhari dropped out of Manchester Metropolitan University to focus on making videos for TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, in which her mother regularly featured. In one, she admitted she was motivated by money and said her goal was to pay off her whole familys mortgages.

Prosecutor Collingwood Thompson said the revelation of Ansreens affair could have ended her marriage or damaged her reputation in the community. He said the young woman was also afraid it could damage her social media career.

Their trial heard Bukhari was aware of her mothers affair and was happy to tolerate it, if not approve of it. But when it ended in January 2022 Mr Hussain became increasingly obsessive, proffering his love for her and begging her to continue the relationship, jurors were told. On January 12, he threatened to send a nude of Ansreen to her husband and demanded she repay money spent during the affair.

Bukharis idea was to lure Mr Hussain into a meeting where he would be forced to hand his phone over so images of Ansreen could be deleted. But the jury heard that when the two men arrived and saw both Maheks Audi TT and a Seat waiting, the pair quickly drove away.

Jurors were played a shocking 999 call Mr Hussain made from the passenger seat of a Skoda Fabia as they were chased up a 70mph dual carriageway  which ended with him screaming and the sound of a collision.

Baker Mr Hussain could be heard telling how the car was being rammed by a vehicle whose occupants wore balaclavas. He told the handler: They are trying to ram me off the road They are trying to kill me.

Detective Inspector Mark Parish said the masterminds behind the callous and cold-blooded attack continually told lies to cover their tracks, adding: Their only concern during the whole incident and investigation has been for themselves.

Mr Hussains family said they were grateful the courts saw through all the lies attributed to my son, while Mr Ijazuddins family said their world came crashing down when he died.
There are also 50,000 trips where climbers have hot showers, heating and WiFi

Although Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, K2 is widely regarded as the most dangerous to climb and it has even earned the nickname 'Killer Mountain'.

Shocking figures from 2021 show that almost one in six ascents tragically end in death - but that does not appear to be putting off rich Westerners who are turning to K2 amid a post-pandemic surge of thrill-seeking.

Permits to climb K2 cost around 9,500 in addition to travel costs and hiring guides and Sherpas.

But some K2 trips for the ultra-rich are available for 54,700 - where climbers have access to WiFi, hot showers and heating at base camp, while they are fed Western food because 'the food available in Pakistan is not the best for foreigners'.

The cost does not seem to be putting Westerners off though, as a record-breaking 207 permits to climb K2 were bought last year. Last August, video taken by a Sherpa showed major overcrowding in a narrow passage of ice as eager mountaineers formed a perilous traffic jam on their bid to reach the top.

British climber Adriana Brownlee, 21, who reached the summit a few days after the video emerged, told MailOnline that K2 has become the 'new mission impossible', adding: 'Everest has always been the highest mountain in the world but K2 is a lot more dangerous which attracts a lot of people.'

Ms Brownlee previously said that they were playing 'Russian roulette' with falling rocks on their ascent and warned that K2 'shouldn't be seen as a tourist attraction'.

Whether it's flying to space, attempting to reach the Titanic wreckage 12,500ft below sea level or climbing to the summits of the world's most challenging peaks, wealthy daredevils are going above and beyond to get their adrenaline rush.

K2, which is also known as 'Savage Mountain', made headlines again this week after mountaineers were blasted for allegedly stepping over a dying helper while attempting to complete a world record.

K2 made headlines again this week after mountaineers were blasted for allegedly stepping over a dying helper while attempting to complete a world record

Some K2 trips for the ultra rich are available for 54,700 - where climbers have access to WiFi, hot showers and heating at base camp. They are led by US mountaineer Garrett Madison. Here, a group are pictured at base camp in June last year

This image, used extensively in Pakistan media news reports, is believed to show Mohammed Hassan

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (pictured) said that she and her team did everything they could to help Hassan but the conditions on K2 were too dangerous to move him

As Mohammad Hassan lay seriously injured, 1,300ft from the summit of K2, dozens of fellow climbers carefully edged towards him, risking their lives as they clung to the side of the narrow ledge.

They then clambered around the stricken 27-year-old who had slipped off a narrow ledge and got tangled in ropes as they left him to die while continuing their own personal bid for glory.

Renowned Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila, 37, was also accused of holding a party shortly after clinching the record that saw her climb 14 of the world's highest peaks in just over three months. She has denied her team stepped over Hassan.

US mountain guide Garrett Madison, who recently achieved the rare Everest region triple crown' by climbing Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse in one season, leads the 54,700 expeditions and is preparing to launch another in 2024.

On his website, a description of the trip - where climbers must put a 20,000 deposit down - says: 'Unfortunately, the food available in Pakistan is not the best for foreigners, so we have developed a meal plan that encompasses the entire trek and climb.

'Most of this food is brought from the USA, and we have a Nepalese cook who we have worked with for many years who (with his staff) meticulously prepares each meal for our team.'

It adds: 'It is very important to differentiate ourselves from other operators in that we have a very nice base camp, with large common tents with heating for dining and communications, and comfortable personal tents for each member.

K2 has claimed the lives of many, including Scottish climber Rick Allen who died in 2021

Tom Ballard (right as a child), 30, the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves (C) who died on K2 in 1995, and Italian Daniele Nardi went missing in 2019 and their bodies were found a couple of weeks later

Norwegian mountaineer Rolf Bae (pictured) was among 11 climbers who were killed on K2 in 2008

'Being here for almost 2 months, it is important for our team to have a comfortable camp, as well as to have access to the internet via a satellite modem (this cost is free to all members).

'We have regular access to hot showers, sinks for washing multiple times daily, one sanitary toilet tent for men and one for women, as well as ample space for storing your personal equipment securely.'

Standing tall at 28,251ft, the treacherous K2 mountain - which is prone to avalanches and rock falls - has claimed several lives over the years, including Brits.

Just two years ago, a Scottish climber died in an avalanche on K2 as he attempted to take a new route to the summit.

Rick Allen, from Aberdeen, had been attempting to climb the mountain to raise money for the Partners Relief And Development charity.

Mr Allen was understood to have been caught up in the avalanche on the mountain's south-east face. It was reported at the time of his death, in July 2021, that he would be buried at the foot of the mountain.

Partners Relief and Development said at the time that 'Rick died doing what he loved the most and lived his life with the courage of his convictions'.

On 'Savage Mountain', winds gust at hurricane speed and the temperature can fall to -65c.

The name stuck after US mountaineer George Bell said of his own attempt in 1953: 'It is a savage mountain that tries to kill you.'

No one had ever summited K2 in winter until a group of ten Nepali climbers reached the peak in January 2021. To attempt to do so had been described as 'the last great mountaineering challenge'.

Later that year, a British climber whose mother died on notorious K2 also fell victim to 'killer mountain'.

K2 - pictured from overlooking town Askole in the GilgitBaltistan region of Pakistan - gained notoriety as the 'Savage Mountain' after American mountaineer George Bell descended from the peak in 1953

Overcrowding at K2: Climbers say that K2 has become the 'new mission impossible' with thrill-seekers choosing it over Everest

Permits to climb K2 cost around 9,500 in addition to all the costs of travelling to Nepal and hiring guides and Sherpas

Tom Ballard, 30, the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves who died on K2 in 1995, and Italian Daniele Nardi went missing in 2019 and their bodies were found a couple of weeks later.

Just last year, an Australian and a Canadian climber were found dead on K2. Matthew Eakin and Richard Cartier had gone missing as they made their descent from Camp 2 to Camp 1. Their bodies were later found.

In 2008, an Italian climber was miraculously seen stumbling down K2 just days after 11 fellow climbers were killed.

A frostbitten Marco Confortola was seen slowly climbing down to a height where he could be reached by a rescue helicopter.

Catastrophe struck on August 1, when a chunk of falling ice tore fixed lines from a perilous steep gully known as the Bottleneck high on the peak, stranding climbers in the 'Death Zone', where bodies begin degenerating because of lack of oxygen.

The dead included three Koreans; two Nepalis; two Pakistani high altitude porters; French, Serbian, and Norwegian climbers; and an Irishman Gerard McDonnell.

After Mohammad Hassan became the latest person to die on K2, fellow mountaineers reignited fury about how Sherpas are treated as 'second-class human beings' and said a Western climber would not have been left to die in the same instance.

Norwegian climber Harila, who last month scaled her 14th highest peak in just over three months, has insisted that she and her team did everything they could to help Hassan but the conditions on K2 were too dangerous to move him.

But mountaineer Philip Flamig, an Austrian who was climbing with Wilhelm Steindl, said footage the two recorded using a drone shows a trail of climbers walking over the stricken body instead of helping Hassan.

'He is being treated by one person while everyone else is pushing towards the summit,' he told Austria's Standard newspaper, referencing the drone footage.

'The fact is that there was no organised rescue operation although there were Sherpas and mountain guides on site who could have taken action.' Harila and her team members were among those climbers, The Telegraph reported.

He called the death a 'disgrace' and said 'such a thing would be unthinkable in the Alps' - referencing the ongoing debate about how Sherpas are used in the Himalayas.

'If he had been a Westerner, he would have been rescued immediately. No one felt responsible for him,' he told the Austrian publication.

'A living human was left lying so that records could be set.'

Harila defended her actions and choices on K2 last month to The Telegraph, saying 'we did all we could for him'.
Worried shoppers have revealed how TikTok-inspired looting has left them nervous on Oxford Street - as experts blame rising crime, Covid and online shopping for the shocking demise of London's famous shopping district.

Once dubbed 'the jewel in London's shopping crown', experts say that Oxford Street has fallen behind Regent Street and Carnaby Street and without police intervention, it will be reduced to empty shop fronts - something already being seen.

Retail experts told MailOnline that a rise in anti-social behaviour has no doubt had a devastating impact on businesses day and night.

The chaos in central London this week echoes robberies and flashmob looting across the US in recent years, which has been organised through TikTok - while major cities such as San Francisco and New York are becoming crime-ravaged and drug-infested.

And only last week harrowing images showed the extent of the homelessness crisis surrounding the popular shopping destination, with large numbers of people lying on makeshift mattresses.

It comes amid a battle to save Oxford Street, which is one of the biggest victims of the slow death of the High Street across Britain. It has been overrun in recent years by tacky sweet shops that have replaced household names.

Aurora Wei, a 24-year-old post-graduate from Southampton visiting London for the first time, told MailOnline on Oxford Street today: 'To be honest I don't feel safe here which is why I gather my bags close to me. I heard that there's a lot of thieves these days.

A combination of rising lawlessness, the pandemic and online shoppers are to blame for the shocking demise of Oxford Street, experts have claimed

The chaos in Oxford Street on Wednesday was triggered by an online push to 'rob JD Sports'

Aurora Wei (left), a post-graduate from Southampton visiting London for the first time, said that she does not feel safe on Oxford Street and holds her bags close to her

Nicole Pivec, 54, said that Oxford Street was 'definitely lacking a distinct character', while Karl Kelly (right), 43, said he thought it was 'dirty'

'I saw all the chaos here the other day and of course [it affected me when thinking about coming down here]. I was quite worried [after seeing the video] which is why when I bought something I put it in my bag and not here [in my shopping bag].

'I also heard from my friends that they have had very bad experiences here, saying it is quite dangerous. I know some people also drive their vehicles too fast too which is why I try to the side.'

Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industry Association, told MailOnline: 'Since the return from lockdowns and the pandemic we have seen considerable changes in consumer behaviour, without doubt anti social behaviour has had an impact on businesses across sectors operating both day and night.'

'As we have seen in Oxford Street over the last few weeks, unlike night time economy businesses, retail environments do not have the required security infrastructure to deal with these issues.'

'Ultimately the lawlessness experienced in the area will have an impact on customer footfall, and without a robust intervention from the Police, will see one of the world renowned retail areas reduced to empty shop fronts.'

Mr Kill added that the police must have a long term strategic objective to stop these crimes as many businesses can't afford to 'cover the cost of policing the capital's busiest retail street'.

Robert Carruthers, director of independent consumer research company ConsumerCast, added: 'Clearly it's the victim of multiple different overlapping factors ranging from the effects of the Pandemic on central London visitor numbers to the decline of department stores due to online shopping.'

Mr Carruthers said that Oxford Street will require 'significant investment' to recover. adding: 'This latest incident won't help make the case for putting money into the area.'

The retail expert was referring to the crowds which gathered in Oxford Street on Wednesday after posts circulated on TikTok and Snapchat urging users to rob JD Sports. Nine people were arrested and Scotland Yard issued 34 dispersal orders, banning offenders from the area for 48 hours.

Fears of violence then spread to Southend after troublemakers urged copycats to 'get lit' on the beach. Among those given a dispersal order by Essex Police officers yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro.

When MailOnline went to Oxford Street today, shoppers described how the tourist hotspot is constantly busy, smells all the time and there is rubbish everywhere.

Police were seen wrestling young men to the ground in the Oxford Street area on Wednesday

Groups of young people were seen running away from police on Oxford Street on Wednesday

A police officer wrestles with a young man on Oxford Street in London on Wednesday

Police detain a male outside a McDonald's in Oxford Street on Wednesday

Emily, 24, who works on Oxford Street, said: 'I don't really like it here, it's really busy, it smells all the time, there's rubbish everywhere, it's constantly busy, constant foot traffic.

'I live in London now but I come here every day for work.'

Joey, also a 24-year-old Oxford Street worker, added: 'Personally I would not shop at Oxford Street. It is too busy and you can get the same shops five minutes around the road and I'd much rather online shop than come here.

'My main thing I'd say about Oxford Street is that it is for the tourists not the locals and I don't know anyone who would shop on Oxford Street that lives in London but tourists will come to Oxford Street. It's a tourist place and if we just accept that that's fine.

'I haven't seen any sort of negative decrease [since the TikTok loot] I thought there would be but either people were not aware of it because algorithms are so specific now they weren't even aware of them.'

Umbrellas rest on a rough sleeper's cardboard boxes outside on Oxford Street last week

One of the boarded-up shopfronts that can be seen along Oxford Street

Rough sleepers in makeshift beds outside closed shops on Oxford Street last week

Karl Kelly, from Ireland, was visiting for the first time with his family. The 43-year-old, who works in a power plant, told MailOnline: 'It is my first time here and I thought it was dirty. I did expect some higher market shopping and I haven't seen many of them yet.

'It is a bit like New York in a way but it is smaller - but New Yorks even dirtier. I would come back here though. Some of the architecture does not really blend in with the old architecture and it doesn't seem to match.

'There seems to be a McDonald's on every corner and it's really busy. I think for the shopping it's good but it's not something you can't get anywhere else...Most people shop online anyway so it's more for a day out or to see things.'

Nicole Pivec, from Minesota in the US, said that she was looking for some gifts for herself and her children but it was all the same stuff she could get in America, with nothing original for sale.

The 54-year-old, who works in HR, told MailOnline: 'Oxford Street is what I expected because this is what I expected on a High Street with the types of stores, with a lot of generic shopping, lots of food and souvenirs. I am not sure what I was expecting.'

She said that she didn't feel unsafe but that 'it's not as pretty as some of the other streets'.

Souvenir and sweet shops are a common sight along Oxford Street, pictured last month

A shop unit next to Bond Street station is in an unkempt state, boarded up and covered in sprawling graffiti

Oxford Street in 1940. Bombing raids in London did not deter shoppers from venturing out - and department store John Lewis reopened just three weeks after the German Air Force razed the greater part of the store to the ground

'There seems like there are other places in London that are very similar. I haven't found other places specifically unique to Oxford Street that would make me want to visit it specifically. It's definitely lacking in distinct character,' Ms Pivec added.

Other retail experts told this newspaper that Oxford Street is 'still considered one of the premier shopping areas of the world' and is on a par with Paris and Tokyo but it has lost its identity.

Jonathan De Mello founder and CEO of JDM Retail Ltd, added that it 'should not be let to fall into disrepair the way it has'.

Mr De Mello added: 'Regent Street is still a strong area for shoppers and it should not be tarnished with the same brush. It's become the place where people now go.

'In many ways, Oxford Street's decline has been Regent Street's gain, while areas like Carnaby Street have become the home for cooler, younger fashion brands.

'The problem with Oxford Street is that no one knows what it stands for anymore. Is it for flagship stores? No, because they have gone more to Regent Street. Is it for cooler, younger brands? No because they have gone to Soho.

'It needs to figure out what it means for shoppers and until it repositions itself it will be hard to see real ownership.

Topshop is another casualty of Oxford Street's continuing decline

Some shops on Oxford Street temporarily closed on August 9 as social media users threatened to raid stores as part of a 'flashmob'

Rough sleepers are an increasingly common sight on what was once the most desirable shopping street in Britain

Cardboard mattresses and rumpled duvets dominate the street at night - highlighting the shocking homelessness crisis that has seen the number of newly homeless people in London rise by 12 per cent

The HMV store was once an Oxford Street landmark - but disappeared in 2019 when the firm sank into administration

'On Oxford Street you have hundreds of properties on one street and if you want quality for shoppers you need to have some cohesion. You can't have a burger joint next to a fashion house.'

Mr De Mello also said that the recent TikTok chaos will 'discourage people from going to Oxford Street if they feel that they are not safe'.

He added: 'With the amount of people there, the mob could have potentially stolen from not only JD but other businesses or simply people minding their own businesses. It will have created negative connotations towards the street when it is already struggling.'

Dr Amna Khan, senior lecturer in consumer behaviour and retailing at Manchester Metropolitan University, said that the amount of store vacancies is having a devastating impact.

Dr Khan said that the street is not attracting the right types of vendors because it 'has lost some of its prestige'.

She told MailOnline: 'Traditionally it has been one of the best shopping streets in the UK but it does not hold that position anymore because it now has different types of shops that attract a different type of audience.

'Key brands like Marks & Spencer's are even considering their position on the street and so you have almost got a perfect storm - lots of vacant stores and lots of different types of stores that all end up affecting the customer experience.

'There is no real sense of community and identity on Oxford Street and it needs that for its regeneration.

'It has really suffered over the years and the number of vacant stores of the ten year period has just been increasing year on year and that will not attract the right type of customer, resulting in a decline.'

As Oxford Street battles to survive, the Marks & Spencer chief executive said that the area had once been 'the jewel in London's shopping crown' but was now little more than 'empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors'.

He said shocking scenes of social media-fuelled carnage this week as thugs attempted to loot stores were 'another reminder of how bad things are'.

Mr Berendji told the Telegraph: 'The street was practically locked down by police to prevent major unrest planned on social media. Londoners know that something must be done to save Oxford Street.'

His comments come three weeks after M&S was refused permission to knock down and redevelop its Oxford Street store after opposition from Michael Gove.

The New West End Company revealed statistics that show footfall from January-June year on year is up 30 per cent in Oxford Street East and up by 7 per cent on Oxford Street West despite the shopping district seemingly falling apart.

Dee Corsi, CEO of New West End Company, said: 'The disruption on Oxford Street on Wednesday was successfully mitigated by proactive planning and information sharing between the New West End Company, the Metropolitan Police and member businesses.

'As a result of this forward planning, the day passed with limited impact on businesses and members of the public. We continue to welcome visitors to experience all that Oxford Street has to offer across the summer months and beyond.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said thugs who looted stores in Oxford Street must be 'hunted down and locked up', and that the UK must not be allowed to plunge into 'lawlessness'.

Sharing a video of the Oxford Street arrests on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Braverman wrote: 'We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK.

'The police have my full backing to do whatever is necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up.'

MailOnline has contacted the Met Police.
More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in the last five years as of Thursday, after a record day of crossings this year.

Some 755 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on August 10, the highest daily number so far in 2023, according to official statistics.

The cumulative total number of people who have crossed the Channel since 2018 has passed 100,000, the Home Office said.

Since current records began on January 1 2018, 100,715 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency.

The milestone was reached after 755 people crossed the Channel on Thursday in 14 boats. This is the highest daily number so far this year.

A search and rescue operation was launched on Thursday after 17 migrants went overboard and had to be pulled from the water. They were picked up by an RNLI lifeboat in Dover

Figures show that 15,826 migrants have made crossings on small boats in 2023  fewer than the same point last year but more than in 2019, 2020 or in 2021

The government is using the Bibby Stockholm barge, based in Dorset, to house migrants

An inflatable dinghy crossing the Channel on Thursday August 10. Official Home Office statistics show 755 people made the crossing that day  the highest daily number of 2023

The previous high for this year was 686 people on July 7. The cumulative number of arrivals by small boats in 2023 now stands at a provisional total of 15,826  around 15 per cent lower than the equivalent number at the same point in 2022.

Total arrivals last year were 45,755. The latest figures mean there have been 100,715 arrivals detected since January 2018, when data was first reported.

There were 14 boats detected crossing the Channel on Thursday, which suggests an average of around 54 people per boat.

The numbers were recorded as a major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water. The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.

Meanwhile, Border Force reportedly suffered a double blow as one of its cutters broke down in the early hours of the morning and a 400,000 drone used to monitor activity in the Channel crashed into the sea.

The crossings come just weeks after sweeping asylum reforms became law and while the Government fends off legal challenges in the courts over its Rwanda deal and decisions to house migrants on former military sites in Essex and Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, asylum seekers were finally moved onto the Bibby Stockholm barge on the Dorset coast after the plans were beset by delays.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' a pivotal part of his government's domestic policy

The government is fending off legal challenges to its deal with Rwanda that would see asylum seekers deported to the African nation (pictured: Foreign Secretary Suella Braverman, centre, visiting Kigali, Rwanda in March this year)

Treasury minister John Glen said on Friday he did not want to speculate about alternatives to the Government's immigration policy should a legal challenge against the plan to deport migrants to Rwanda succeed

The much-criticised Illegal Migration Act, central to the Prime Minister's pledge to 'stop the boats' crossing the Channel, will prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.

Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force, and it is anticipated elements of the new laws may be implemented in stages over the coming months.

Tory Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson said he was 'very angry' about the arrivals figure, telling GB News the Government may have to take 'drastic measures' and leave the ECHR.

Splits at the top of the Conservative Party over whether to remain in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have come to the fore in recent days, with growing clamour among right-wing MPs to leave the international accord as part of efforts to tackle the migrant crisis.

It comes after immigration minister Robert Jenrick, a close ally of Rishi Sunak, hinted earlier this week that the Government could pull out of the agreement.

A Treasury minister said he did not want to 'speculate about alternatives' to the Government's immigration policy when quizzed about it on Friday.

Asked about 'small boats week' on Times Radio, John Glen said: 'I think it's important to recognise that there are many dimensions to the Government's policy.

'We have diplomatic arrangements with Turkey, in France, Albania. Indeed from France, we've seen 33,000 fewer arrivals because of that arrangement.'

He added: 'But we've got to understand is this phenomena of illegal migration of criminal gangs taking people across Europe and across the Channel, we have seen a 30% increase in Europe as well over recent months.'

Mr Glen went on: 'We've obviously passed legislation in the House of Commons.

'There is a legal challenge to that, but we are confident, and the Government has been made clear by the legal system that they support the principle of offshoring our illegal immigrants to Rwanda, and we haven't finished the conclusion of that legal process yet, but we are confident that that will work.'

Asked about a 'plan B', he said: 'Well, we believe that the actions that we've taken - and I've just taken you through a number of them - and including the legislation which hasn't yet been fully enacted, because of the legal challenge outstanding in the autumn, will work and we stand by that.

'I don't want to speculate about alternatives until we've exhausted the process that we think will work.'

The number of migrants crossing the Channel has steadily increased since 299 people were detected in 2018.

In December that year then-home secretary Sajid Javid cut short a Christmas break to return to the UK and take charge of the unfolding crisis.

He declared a 'major incident' in the wake of 40 migrants making the journey on Christmas Day and 12 more arriving days later.

There were 1,843 crossings recorded in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020, according to the Home Office.

August last year was the highest month on record for crossings when 8,631 people arrived in the UK after making the journey.

August 22 also saw a record 1,295 migrants crossing in a single day on 27 boats. This is still the highest daily figure recorded since 2018.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for tougher border controls, said: '100,000 is a landmark. Criminals are making fools of us.

'Billions are being spent on accommodation and our asylum system is overwhelmed.

'It is time to change our laws so the British Government has the final word on who can enter and who can stay in the UK.'

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said only Labour has a 'serious plan to crack down on criminal smuggler gangs', adding: 'The criminal gangs who profit from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk have continued to run rings around this Government, with their profits soaring from 1 million a few years ago to over 200 million today, while convictions have collapsed.'
New Netflix drama Painkiller, which takes a deep-dive into the United States opioid epidemic, premiered on Thursday August 10.

Painkiller stars Matthew Broderick as Purdue Pharma boss Richard Sackler, while West Duchovny portrays Shannon Shaeffer - one of his 'Oxycontin Kittens' who goes out to sell the dangerously addictive painkillers to doctors.

So, what is the true story behind the new series? What caused the opioid epidemic featured in the series? Who are Purdue Pharma?

Read on below for all the key info you need to know about the new Netflix series Painkiller.

Painkiller stars Matthew Broderick as Purdue Pharma boss Richard Sackler. Pictured: Broderick appearing in the trailer for the new series

Is Painkiller based on a true story?

The new Netflix drama explores the true story of the opioid epidemic in the United States, which Purdue Pharma was found partly responsible for, as the company misled the public about how addictive the drug OxyContin was.

The show itself focuses on the beginnings of the opioid crisis by taking a look at Purdue Pharma and OxyContin.

Painkiller drew inspiration from two pieces of writing for its plot, the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier, as well as an article featured in the New Yorker by Patrick Radden Keefe entitled The Family That Built an Empire of Pain, which was published in October 2017.

As a result, Meier is credited as a consulting producer, while Keefe is listed as an executive producer.

'The crisis wasn't something that just happened, like a hurricane or a flood,' Gibey says in the show's press notes.

'It was something that was manufactured; manufactured by companies looking to make an egregious profit. I realized that this opioid crisis I've been hearing so much about was not just a crisis, it was really a crime', producer Alex Gibey stated in the show's press notes.

What caused opioid epidemic in Painkiller?

The epidemic began in the United States in the late 1990s - according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management, resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years.

The epidemic began with the over-prescription and abuse of prescription drugs.

However, as prescription drugs began to become less accessible in 2016 in response to CDC opioid prescribing guidelines, there was an increase in accessibility to cheaper, illicit alternatives to opioids such as heroin and fentanyl.

There were 107,622 deaths from drug overdoses in the US in 2021, an increase of nearly 15 per cent from the year prior.

Indeed, one notorious family have been heavily linked with the opioid epidemic in the US: the Sacklers.

Richard Sackler - played by Matthew Broderick - became president of Purdue Pharma in 1991

Who are the real people behind fictional characters in Painkiller?

Richard Sackler - played by Matthew Broderick - became president of Purdue Pharma in 1991, pioneering marketing campaigns that enticed droves of medical professionals to buy Purdue's opioid.

Sackler, who was born in New York on March 10 1945, was previously married to Beth Sackler.

The pair had three children - Rebecca, Marianna, and David - but are now divorced.

Uzo Aduba also stars in the new series as Edie Flowers, the lawyer going up against Purdue Pharma.

The series goes on a journey with Edie as she seeks to take on the Sackler family in the 1990s and early 2000s, before the show moves forward in time to see her giving advice to other lawyers forming their own lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.

Who are Purdue Pharma and what crimes were they convicted of?

Purdue Pharma was a pharmaceutical company founded by John Purdue Gray in New York in 1892.

The company was principally owned by members of the Sackler family, who were descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler.

Richard Sackler became president of Purdue Pharma in 1991, pioneering marketing campaigns that enticed droves of medical professionals to buy Purdue's opioid.

The company was best known as the developer of the drug OxyContin, but was hit with several lawsuits and fines after it was linked with the opioid epidemic in the United States.

Richard became co-chairman in 2003, by which point $1.6 billion in OxyContin had been sold.

His marketing schemes sparked suspicion, and in 2015, Richard was deposed before his company paid out a $24 million settlement to the state of Kentucky.

In July 2023, it was revealed that Purdue Pharma may proceed with a bankruptcy settlement that protects its Sackler family owners from lawsuits, despite a potential U.S. Supreme Court appeal in the case, following a U.S. court ruling.

Uzo Aduba also stars in the new series as Edie Flowers, the lawyer going up against Purdue Pharma

The 2nd U.S. Circuit court of appeals approved Purdue's bankruptcy plan in May 2023, ruling that the company can shield its owners from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to the company's broader bankruptcy settlement.

Following the ruling, the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) bankruptcy watchdog asked the court to pause its approval of the bankruptcy plan to allow time for a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The DOJ argued that Purdue should not be allowed to move forward with its restructuring before the Supreme Court had a chance to weigh in on legal protections for non-bankrupt entities, an issue that has divided bankruptcy courts across the U.S.

The DOJ said it intended to file a Supreme Court petition by Monday August 28 2023.
Rishi Sunak has used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights once every eight days since entering No10, it has been revealed.

According to new data, the Prime Minister has boarded RAF aircraft for journeys within the UK more frequently than his three immediate predecessors.

Since he took office on 25 October and up to April this year, Mr Sunak has taken 23 domestic flights on official planes and helicopters over 187 days.

This is an average of one flight every eight days, which puts the PM ahead of Liz Truss (one flight every 12 days on average), Boris Johnson (one flight every 20 days) and Theresa May (one flight every 13 days).

As well as his use of RAF aircraft, Mr Sunak has also seperately declared more than 70,000 worth of air travel provided by private donors for political events since becoming PM.

He also has access to an RAF Voyager plane for overseas trips, as well as an Airbus A-321 operated by the charter carrier Titan Airways on behalf of the UK Government.

Rishi Sunak has used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights once every eight days since entering No10, it has been revealed

According to new data, the Prime Minister has boarded RAF aircraft for journeys within the UK more frequently than his three immediate predecessors

Mr Sunak recently defended his use of air travel for domestic journeys as 'the most efficient use of my time'

The domestic flying habits of recent PMs Theresa May 83 domestic flights on RAF aircraft in 1,106 days in office - an average of one flight every 13 days. Boris Johnson 57 domestic flights on RAF aircraft in 1,139 days in office - an average of one flight every 20 days. Liz Truss 4 domestic flights on RAF aircraft in 49 days in office - an average of one flight every 12 days. Rishi Sunak 23 domestic flights on RAF aircraft in 187 days in office - an average of one flight every 8 days. *Source = Ministry of Defence data obtained by the BBC Advertisement

Ministry of Defence data, which showed the total number of domestic flights on Command Support Air Transport aircraft between July 2016 and April this year, was obtained by the BBC through Freedom of Information requests.

The RAF division - known as 32 Squadron - operates two Dassault Falcon 900LX jets and a helicopter to transport the PM and other ministers domestically.

Mr Sunak recently defended his use of air travel for domestic journeys as 'the most efficient use of my time'.

It came after he was quizzed about his choice of transport for a journey to Scotland, where he announced new licences for North Sea oil and gas drilling.

'I'll be flying as I normally would and that's the most efficient use of my time,' the PM said in a radio interview.

'Every prime minister before me has also used planes to travel around the United Kingdom because it's an efficient use of time for the person running the country so we can keep focusing on delivery for people.'

Mr Sunak also argued against 'getting people to ban everything' in a bid to reach the Government's target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which he recently recommitted to.

He added: 'Actually that question brings to light a great debate here, if you or others think that the answer to climate change is getting people to ban everything that they are doing, to stop people going on holiday, I mean, I think that's the absolutely the wrong approach.'

The PM has previously been criticised for using a helicopter to travel to Southampton from London, which is a 70-mile journey that takes less than 90 minutes by train.

He was also accused of behaving like an 'A-list celebrity' after using an RAF jet to fly 250 miles to northern England to promote 'levelling up' funding in January.

As he embarked on a tour to promote Government help for deprived areas in January, Mr Sunak flew from RAF Northolt, north west London, to Blackpool on a 41-minute flight.

That was the third time he had used an RAF aircraft in ten days for trips within Britain, while it was noted a train from London Euston could have got the PM to his Lancashire destination in less than two hours.

In March, it was revealed Mr Sunak had spent more than 500,000 of taxpayers' cash on private jets to take him on foreign trips totalling eight days.

These included the PM's journey to the Cop-27 climate change summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and his trip to the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November.

In comparison to Mr Sunak's use of RAF aircraft for domestic flights as PM, Ms Truss took four domestic flights during her 49 days in office, Mr Johnson took 57 flights in 1,139 days during a spell in office dominated by Covid travel restrictions, and Mrs May took 83 flights in 1,106 days, the MoD data showed.

Labour accused Mr Sunak of 'developing an expensive habit of swanning around on private jets courtesy of the taxpayer'.

The party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, suggested the PM had breached the ministerial code, which states he is supposed to use scheduled flights, unless 'it is essential to travel by air'.

A Downing Street spokesperson told the BBC that ministers 'sometimes require the use of non-commercial air travel'.

'This is a standard practice for governments around the world and this has consistently been the case under successive UK administrations of all political colours,' the spokesperson said.

'Value for money, security, and time efficiency is taken into account in all travel decisions and all flights are carbon offset.'
Russian missiles struck a hotel in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday evening, leaving one dead and 16 injured, four of which were children, Ukrainian officials said.

Shocking footage showed the moment terrified children screamed as the rockets - identified by national police as Russian Iskander missiles - soared overhead and slammed into the Reikartz Hotel in the city centre just a few hundred yards away.

The hotel is seen erupting in a bright yellow fireball as the second missile hit in the heart-pounding clip, while pictures shared by officials in the aftermath of the strike showed a big crater and wrecked cars around the badly damaged building.

Reikartz was a popular spot for journalists and aid workers, and was used by United Nations staff on humanitarian missions, according to coordinator Denise Brown.

'I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia shortly ago,' she said. 'I have stayed in this hotel every single time I visited Zaporizhzhia.'

It was the second strike on Zaporizhzhia in as many days - two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded by Moscow's missiles on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Russia said today it had foiled another Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow. Earlier this month, Ukrainian long-range drones damaged government offices in the Russian capital's commercial district.

Shocking footage showed the moment terrified children screamed as the rockets - identified by national police as a Russian Iskander missiles - soared overhead and slammed into the Reikartz Hotel in the city centre

Reikartz was a popular spot for journalists and aid workers, and was used by United Nations staff on humanitarian missions, according to coordinator Denise Brown

Children were heard screaming after the Russian missile slammed into the hotel, exploding in a huge ball of flame

Women and children begin running from the scene of the missile strike

The hotel is seen in the aftermath of the strike surrounded by craters and the twisted wreckage of cars

'An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow was thwarted,' the Russian defence ministry said, adding there was no damage or casualties as a result of the incident.

Largely spared in the early part of the conflict, the capital has seen a surge in attacks in recent months.

'Drones are flying yet again above Moscow,' said Artemy Dusilov, a 21-year-old tech student who biked with a friend to see where the drone had fallen.

'They keep us in fear a bit.'

AFP journalists saw police had cordoned off parts of a park in the Karamyshevskaya embankment in the west of Moscow, where debris landed.

The international airport of Vnukovo temporarily introduced restrictions, which were lifted within an hour, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Friday's attack was the latest in a series of Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow in the past week.

On Thursday, Russia said it downed two drones headed for Moscow, a day after two others were destroyed on approach.

At the start of this month, an office block in the capital's main business district, Moscow City, was struck twice within days by debris from a downed drone strike.

Alexei Benedesyuk, a 54-year-old driver, was standing next to the cordoned-off area, a few hundred metres away from his house.

'It's already happened: Moscow City, and the Kremlin... It will still happen and I think more than once,' he said.

The hotel is seen smoking after the first impact

A child cowers from the shockwave of the missile explosion

A Russian missile screams overhead moments before blowing up the hotel

Russia said today it had foiled another Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow. The drone is blown up in this image

Back in Ukraine, a Thursday statement from the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky shed more light on the Russian rocket attack which impacted Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday.

'Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby - this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,' the statement read.

'The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.'

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelensky showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged.

The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damages.
Maui's wildfires have killed two more people, bringing the death toll to at least 55 people - a figure that is expected to rise, Hawaiian officials said on Thursday August 10.

Governor Josh Green said the inferno that reduced much of Lahaina to smoldering ruins was the worst natural disaster in the state's history, making thousands of people homeless and leveling as many as 1,000 buildings.

But is it safe to travel to Maui with wildfires still raging? What can you do if your flight gets cancelled?

Read on below for everything you need to know about the latest Maui travel advice.

The acting governor of Hawaii, Sylvia Luke, issued an emergency proclamation advising against non-essential travel to Maui

Is it safe to travel to Maui?

The acting governor of Hawaii, Sylvia Luke, issued an emergency proclamation advising against non-essential travel to Maui for the foreseeable future.

The Hawaiian Tourism Authority said: 'Visitors who are on non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui, and non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time.

'Visitors who have travel plans to West Maui in the coming weeks are encouraged to consider rescheduling their travel plans for a later time.

'Visitors with travel plans to stay in other parts of Maui and the Mauna Kea Resort area of Hawaii Island in the coming weeks are encouraged to contact their hotels for updated information and how their travel plans may be affected. Travel to Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and other parts of Hawaii Island are not affected at this time.'

What should I do if my flight to Maui has been cancelled?

If your flight is cancelled, you have a number of different options.

You are legally entitled to a full refund, which includes other flights from the airline that you won't use in the same booking, such as onward or return flights.

You are also entitled to a replacement flight to get you to your destination.

If your cancelled flight delays you by two hours or more, you have the legal right to be helped with costs.

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late on Wednesday August 9 2023. The Hawaiian Tourism Authority said: 'Visitors who are on non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui, and non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time.'

If the replacement flight offered to you has delayed you by two hours or more, and you were given less than two weeks' notice, you are legally entitled to compensation.

Can I get a refund for my cancelled Maui holiday?

If your Hawaiian holiday is on an island, that is unaffected by the blazes, you can still travel there safely.

However, if you decide to cancel your trip anyway, it will count as a disinclination to travel and you will not be entitled to a refund.

If you are jetting off to Maui or Big Island, check with your tour operator or travel company, as the local government has advised against non-essential travel to Maui and several flights have been cancelled.

Your operator should be in touch to talk about your options, which might include a cancellation with a full refund, or a change to your itinerary such as new travel date or a different destination.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames on Tuesday August 8 2023

Will I be charged to reschedule my flight to Maui?

Whether on not you will be charged to reschedule your flight to Maui depends on the policy of the airline you are flying with.

On Thursday August 10, Hawaiian Airlines released a statement which read: 'If you are traveling on Hawaiian Airlines to/ from Kahului, Maui (OGG) between August 9 - 31, 2023 HST, you can reschedule your flight to new dates, no change fees will be charged, and well waive any applicable fare difference and other fees related to changes or guest servicing on the same city pair for travel and same cabin of service.'

If you choose to rebook a new flight after cancelling your original one, no change fees will be charged, but a fare difference may apply.
Locals have been left traumatised after the body of a 10-year-old girl was discovered in a Surrey home.

Police launched a murder investigation on Thursday after discovering the child at an address in the quiet village of Horsell near Woking.

There was a heavy police presence at the semi-detached property on Hammond Road on Friday as people laid flowers on the pavement. N

Neighbours said that a Pakistani family with six 'very young' children moved into the house in April.

One mother, who wished not to be named, said she was 'traumatised' by the news, adding that her children were 'terrified'.

Police officers stand outside a property on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, after a 10-year-old girl was found dead

Locals have described their trauma and paid their respects after the tragic death of the young girl

A person leaves flowers outside a property on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey

A detective wearing blue gloves and face mask carries items in a plastic bag down the road

She said: 'It's just a shock. My 16-year-old daughter was very upset thinking about that little girl.'

Several local people said that they were in a state of shock after hearing the news. In a statement on Thursday evening, Surrey Police said officers were called to the address at around 2.50am that morning following 'concern' for the girl's safety.

The investigation is being led by Surrey Police and Sussex Police's major crime team.

The child's loved ones have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers, Surrey Police said.

Families continue to lay flowers outside a Surrey home where a 10-year-old girl was discovered dead on Thursday.

Another person gave 'all their love' to the family, writing that they were 'devastated' for them.

Neighbours said it is not the sort of place you'd expect to see such a devastating situation.

One unnamed resident said: 'We don't know anything about it. I learnt yesterday morning.

'We are okay, it doesn't fit into the picture of the area we had when we moved in four years ago.'

Another neighbour said the family hadn't lived in the house long and were not well known.

They said: 'It was a shock I learnt about 9 in the morning on the day when I heard there was an incident.

'The police asked if we had any information. We don't know the family they moved into the house in April and were having work done.

'The house used to belong to Mind charity as a care home.'

The area is quiet aside from police and press.

Neighbours curtains are lowered and there is a sense of solumn shock all along the road.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'We came back from being out of town and there were police here. It's shocking.'

Neighbour Amjad Ali, 47, told MailOnline he 'couldn't believe' that 'something like this happened outside my house.'

He added that the family moved in about five months ago and that everyone in the area is 'shocked' by the girl's death.

Mr Ali said: 'The first I knew of anything was around 3.30 this morning.

'My son looked out the window as I had taken my wife on holiday and were still up and he said the road was full of police.

'Then an officer knocked on the door and asked if we knew anything about the family, but we don't really know them.

'They are a Pakistani family that moved in about five months ago. I don't know where from, but the husband works as a taxi driver, and they have three or four kids.

'I only know them to say 'Hello' and that's about it. The kids sometimes play together but we don't really mix that much.

'This is a very nice area and everyone is shocked. I didn't know a little girl was involved until I saw it on the news.

'I called my wife and told her and she couldn't believe it. This is such a nice area with friendly people and two good schools nearby.

'I just can't believe something like this happened outside my house.'

A detective carries a water bottle and items inside a plastic bag outside of the house where the body of a 10-year-old girl was found

A cordon was set up by officers as police began a murder investigation into the circumstances of the girl's death

Tonight three police officers stood outside the three bedroom 550,000 house which is set in a leafy part of Woking.

Surrey Police says it has informed the child's family and specially trained officers are supporting them.

An investigation has now been launched by Surrey Police and Sussex Police's Major Crime Team as they probe the circumstances of her death.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Debbie White, said: 'This is a devastating incident, and our officers are working hard to build a picture of what happened.

'We have identified a number of individuals we would like to speak to as part of our enquiries and at this stage, we are not looking to identify anyone else in connection with our investigation.

'We have no reason to believe there is any risk to the public.

'There is a significant police presence in Hammond Road and this will remain over the coming days.

'We appreciate that the police presence will be causing concern and we would like to thank local residents for their cooperation as we conduct our investigation.

'We will provide further updates as soon as we are in a position to.'

Anyone with information that could help police is asked to contact them on 101 or online as soon as possible quoting PR/45230089209.
The Turkish teenager who allegedly lured British man Murat Arpapay to his death in a 'honey trap' plot in Istanbul wore a blue wig to avoid being recognised, police say.

Muhterem Percikli, 19, was seen on CCTV arriving at an apartment building with Arpapay, 57, after getting to know him in a cafe owned by his friend in the city.

There, three accomplices followed and allegedly killed him by injecting chemical liquid into his body, leaving the body in a ventilation shaft of his rented flat.

Ersen Basak, the owner of the cafe, then entered the house, stole his money and fled to Georgia, while Dogan Saryldz and Fatih Erginoglu, accomplices, went to Cyprus, according to Turkish police.

Percikli was ultimately taken into custody with third accomplice Serpil Demir, where police determined the former had worn a blue wig - and other suspects hats - to avoid being identified.

Murat Arpapay, 57, worked as a translator, moved abroad and made apparent new friends who he met online from Sirinevler in Istanbul

Local media reports Mr Arpapay had made friends in the Sirinevler area of the city online, before meeting them face-to-face and falling for one of them, a teen named as Muhterem Percikli.

CCTV footage has been released showing Mr Arpapay, whose Facebook page suggests studied at Newcastle College, arriving at an apartment building with the woman he believed to be his new lover.

Police say after Mr Arpapay and Percikli entered the rental flat, three other people went in - Serpil Demir, Dogan Saryldz and Fatih Erginoglu.

A fifth suspect was later identified as Ersen Basak.

According to local media, the suspects told officers that Mr Arpapay had lived in England for many years, and had been funded by family.

It is thought Mr Arpapay had been in touch with Basak on social media before they met face-to-face ahead of his move to Turkey.

It is alleged that Basak then devised a plan to steal money from the victim's home, and sought the help of Percikli and her friend Demir.

The pair visited a cafe owned by Basak to meet Mr Arpapay, which then led to an alleged relationship between Percikli and Mr Arpapay.

As reported in Turkish media, Percikli said: 'Ersen Basak introduced me to Murat as a rich person.

'When he entered the apartment, they beat him and knocked him unconscious.'

On the day of his murder, July 26, Mr Arpapay and Percikli went to his rental flat in Sirinevler where he was beaten and knocked unconscious after being handcuffed by the group, according to CCN Turk.

The publication claims he was then killed by having a chemical substance injected into his body, before the gang threw his body down a ventilation shaft, where it was discovered the next morning.

Following the autopsy report, police launched an investigation and discovered CCTV footage showing Mr Arpapay had arrived at the apartment building with his alleged partner Percikli

It is believed that Murat Arpapay was tied to a chair and killed with a lethal injection having met the teen, named as Muhterem Percikli after he moved to Turkey from England

In the meantime, it's believed the group went to Mr Arpapay's house in the Bahcelievler area of Istanbul and stole money he had inside.

Local media reports police launched a murder investigation after an autopsy found he had been tied up at the wrists and injected with something in the neck.

Percikli and Demir were arrested by police after they were identified on the CCTV footage, with Basak fleeing to Georgia, and Sariyildiz and Fatih Erginoglu travelling to Cyprus.

Percikli and Demir remain in custody, while police are preparing to file a 'Red Bulletin' application asking for the arrests of Basak, Sariyildiz and Erginoglu, reports CCN Turk.
Locals are furious after a council painted part of a seaside resort's famous 'Golden Mile' bright blue.

Residents of Paignton in Devon say the colour of the road measure resembles a 'swimming pool' or a 'dance floor'.

Torbay Council says the new colour scheme is intended to make the Garfield Road and Queens Road area safer for motorists and pedestrians.

Locals however have quickly taken to social media to ridicule the new colour scheme.

Residents writing on the town's local Facebook group labelled the work a 'waste of money' that demanded explanation.

Residents in Paignton were furious after their council painted part of the seaside resort's famous 'golden mile' bright blue.

Locals branded the scheme a 'waste of money' and joked that the repaint looked like a swimming pool or ludo board

Torbay council said the change would provide 'greater clarity for road users'

One person wrote: 'How lovely, can't wait to get the chalk out and do some hopscotch.'

One local mother added: 'Me and my daughter looked at this afternoon she said, "are they putting in a playground mum?" I was puzzled.'

Another added: 'Are they turning it into a water feature? Fountain in the middle?'

One said: 'Big swimming pool. Draw some circles and we have our very own Ludo board!'

A spokesperson for Torbay Council said: 'With increased traffic at this junction, the surface contrast provides greater clarity for road users and pedestrians, ensuring all road users can use the space safely.

'The red is to remind motorists as they approach the junction to slow down and think 'should I be driving through here' before proceeding to turn slowly at the junction.

'The blue is to better define the carriage for pedestrians and to reflect some of the placemaking ambitions for a permanent scheme.

MailOnline has contacted Torbay Council for further comment.
Three hog hunters have died in an underground tank filled with sewer gas after one of them tried to rescue their dog after it fell into the cistern.

The bodies of Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45, as well as a dog were pulled from the tank in a field on the outskirts of Austin, Texas.

Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said the hole had an opening roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide and containing 8 feet (2.4 meters) of water, as well as hydrogen sulfide gas.

Sheriff Cook said that in the early hours of Wednesday one of the men went into the cistern to rescue the dog, which was described as a bloodhound.

Clothing and boots belonging to the two other hunters were found near the hole, suggesting they removed them before also jumping in, Cook said.

The bodies of Noel Vigil-Benitez, pictured left, and Delvys Garcia, pictured right, were recovered by rescue teams on Wednesday

A GoFundMe has been organized to help the family of Denise Martinez, pictured here, and has already raised $20,000

Authorities believe the hunters, all of whom are from Florida, were overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas in the hole and sank to the bottom.

First responders on the scene found the underground cistern and said there were strong fumes, similar to those of a septic tank coming from inside.

In a statement Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said that the stagnant water and the instability of the cistern hampered recovery efforts.

Cook told a press conference that the cistern had a 'high level' of hydrogen sulfide, with stagnant water and decaying animals that had created deadly levels of the gas.

The hunting party included a fourth person, from Texas, who did not go into the hole.

Cook said that hunter told authorities the dog escaped from their truck and that they tracked it using a device on the dog's collar.

He told a press conference: 'Can you imagine? You have loved ones and they come to Texas to hunt and then it ends like this, which was a sad tragedy that just happened.'

A decision was made by rescue teams to ventilate the cistern by removing the gas and then taking out the water.

Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook, pictured here, said that in the early hours of Wednesday one of the men went into the cistern to rescue the dog, which was described as a bloodhound

First responders on the scene found the underground cistern and said there were strong fumes, similar to those of a septic tank coming from inside

A decision was made by rescue teams to ventilate the cistern by removing the gas and then taking out the water

Efforts were made to dig beside the structure to allow access from the side at a level near where the 3 bodies had been located.

These efforts were soon abandoned since breaching the side would weaken the walls and make entry unsafe.

After the fumes and water were removed from the cistern, and the air was stabilized, a small drone was deployed inside the cistern to check the integrity of the walls.

Rescuers decided to lower someone into the cistern to make the recovery.

Investigator D. Newman made the descent into the cistern and managed to recover all three victims and the dog.

Following her death, a GoFundMe has been organized to help the family of Martinez, which has already raised $20,000.
Lawyers for the company founded by mining pioneer Lang Hancock have told a court he left it in such a precarious position when he died, that he almost sent it bankrupt.

Sydney Barrister Noel Hutley SC detailed the 'errors' Mr Hancock made in his later life - all in a bid to placate his second wife Rose Porteous - in the West Australian Supreme Court on Friday.

Some of those errors were laid bare in increasingly pointed letters exchanged between the late magnate and his daughter Gina Rinehart, who now controls the family business.

As Mr Hutley attempted to fend off claims to an ownership and royalty stake in the Hope Downs mining fortune, he painted a clear picture of what he said was Mr Hancock's self interest and misguided belief that Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL) was purely under his control despite only being a one-third shareholder.

Correspondence between Mr Hancock and his daughter, mining magnate in her own right Gina Rinehart, brought to light just how bad tensions were between the pair following his second marriage and in the lead up to his death.

'As you are currently spending all three thirds of the company income, do you believe that all income is attached only to your one third, and that nothing is attached to the other two thirds,' Mrs Rinehart wrote to her father sometime after he married Mrs Porteous in 1985.

'As Governing Director, what are you going to do to safeguard our company from any further spending from (Rose).'

Letters between Lang Hancock and his daughter Gina Rinehart (pictured) brought to light just how bad tensions were between the pair following his second marriage to Rose Porteous

West Australian mining magnate Lang Hancock married his former housemaid Rose Porteous at a private ceremony in his property in Sydney (the pair are pictured on their wedding day)

So concerned about Mr Hancock's 'unauthorised' and 'unlawful' spending of company funds, Mrs Rinehart continued to ask questions throughout 1985 and as her concerns became more pointed, so too did her father's replies.

Mr Hancock - who Mr Hutley said acted without seeking the proper permission of shareholders before wheeling and dealing company assets between a raft of family companies to bankroll mansions, luxury cars, jewellery and a private jet - responded by removing Mrs Rinehart from all positions of prominence.

'Please remember it is my company, and I will say how its money is spent,' Mr Hancock wrote to his daughter.

Statements, Mr Hutley argued, were that of a 'deluded governing director', who took part in a 'classic textbook case' breaching his fiduciary duties.

The court heard Mr Hancock only came to realise his errors as he attempted to make a quick sale of the McCamey's mining asset to BHP in a bid to continue funding the lavish lifestyle he and his wife had come to afford.

BHP was very interested in acquiring McCameys, Mr Hutley told the court, especially as they had valued the asset at $150 million.

'(It) gives a sense of the desperate financial position of the company under Lang's control ... hearing he was willing to sell for $31.3 million to get a sale through as quickly as possible,' Mr Hutley said.

A final change in Mr Hancock's will one month before his death reduced the inheritance of Mrs Porteous - who was his housemaid at the time the pair fell in love - to the entitlement of his housemaid only and not his widow (pictured, Mr Hancock during a 1984 TV interview)

Gina Rinehart and her father Lang Hancock attend a press conference in Sydney in 1982

The court heard BHP's due diligence led to them rightfully demanding proof that the McCamey's asset was in fact property of the company Lang was attempting to sell it from - Hancock Mining Limited.

Unable to prove that because of the tangled web he created for himself in a bid to get around company law and keep his own daughter out of the loop about his spending, Mr Hancock - who had been transferring tenements he had the rights to outside of his joint venture between a number of his companies - offered up a statutory declaration trying to explain the company's position.

It was a move that Mr Hutley said BHP saw straight through.

'About this time Lang finally had an epiphany and came to realise his wrongdoing and came to steps to address it,' Mr Hutley told the court.

Proceedings at many times painted a less than favourable picture of the life of Mr Hancock, particularly following the death of his first wife, Mrs Rinehart's mother, Hope.

While the court heard he didn't mind spending company coin on lavish things, he loathed giving it to the Commonwealth.

The court also heard how ruthless Mr Hancock could be.

West Australian housemaid-turned-socialite Rose Hancock Porteous is pictured in 1996. She was married to Lang Hancock from 1985 to 1992.

A final change in Mr Hancock's will one month before his death reduced the inheritance of Mrs Porteous - who was his housemaid at the time the pair fell in love - to the entitlement of his housemaid only and not his widow.

A decision his lawyer warned him would 'effectively disinherit Rose from any tangible benefit above and beyond the money you have set aside for one year's housekeeping'.

Friday marked the end of a week of complex opening submissions by Hancock's legal team against each of the claims to the Hope Downs fortune by parties Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd, DFD Rhodes and two of Mrs Rinehart's children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart.

Next week it is anticipated lawyers for Mr Hancock's grandchildren will sift through many documents, laying bare the internal Hancock family communications, in a bid to sure up their own claim to further family assets.

The trial is due to return to Perth's David Malcolm Justice Centre on Monday.
Lacks family has never been compensated as corporations profit, lawsuit says

The family of Henrietta Lacks have filed a new lawsuit against a California-based pharma company that made billions off her cells.

Just a week ago, her descendants settled a lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific after accusing the biotech company of unjustly profiting off her cells for generations.

Now Lacks' family attorneys have filed another claim against a different corporation - California-based biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx.

The complaint says a fortune was made by using HeLa cells to develop gene therapy products.

The family of Henrietta Lacks (pictured with attorney Ben Crump) settled a lawsuit against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific

Now Lacks' family lawyers have filed another claim, this time against biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx

The terms of the first settlement will not be made public, according to Crump (center)

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took cervical tissue from Henrietta Lacks (pictured) in the 1950s without her consent. Now more than 70 years later her descendants are being compensated for the immense impact her cells made on modern medicine

'Medical research has a long, troubled racial history," attorneys for the family wrote.

'The exploitation of Henrietta Lacks represents the unfortunately common struggle experienced by Black people throughout American history.

'Indeed, Black suffering has fueled innumerable medical progress and profit, without just compensation or recognition.'

The mother-of-five, from southern Virginia, was living with her family outside Baltimore when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital saved a sample of her cancer cells collected during a biopsy - without her knowledge or consent.

She died at age 31, but her genetic material lived on, the first human cells to continuously grow and reproduce in lab dishes.

HeLa cells have since become a cornerstone of modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 shots.

Her cells have had a massive impact on modern medicine because unlike most, they survived and thrived in laboratories, allowing researchers anywhere to reproduce studies using identical genetic material.

The remarkable science involved - and the impact on the Lacks family, some of whom had chronic illnesses and no health insurance - were documented in a bestselling book by Rebecca Skloot, 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,' which was published in 2010. Oprah Winfrey portrayed her daughter in an HBO movie about the story.

Her family's lawyers plan to bring a series of lawsuits against various entities that continue to reap rewards from the medical system that took advantage of Lacks.

A spokesperson for Ultragenyx didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday evening.

Lawrence Lacks, and Ron Lacks, the son and grandson of Henrietta Lacks in 2017

'The parties are pleased that they were able to find a way to resolve this matter outside of Court and will have no further comment about the settlement,' Crump (pictured on July 28 2023) said in a statement

Lacks grew up poor and was raising five children when doctors discovered a tumor in her cervix and saved a sample of her cancer cells collected during a biopsy

Oprah Winfrey portrayed Lacks' daughter in an HBO movie about the story

Thermo Fisher Scientific settle

More than 70 years after doctors took Lacks' cervical cells without her knowledge, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump announced last week they reached a confidential settlement with the biotech company, which is the largest maker of scientific tools.

The terms of the settlement will not be made public, according to Crump, who held a news conference with Lacks' descendants outside of US District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday morning.

'The parties are pleased that they were able to find a way to resolve this matter outside of Court and will have no further comment about the settlement,' he said in a statement.

The tissue taken from the woman's tumor before she died of cervical cancer became the first human cells to be successfully cloned.

Ever since, HeLa cells have been reproduced infinitely - becoming a cornerstone of modern medicine and enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines.

The tale of Lacks' ordeal and impact was made into a best-selling book and HBO film

A statue of Henrietta Lacks is unveiled on the 70th anniversary of her death at Royal Fort House in Bristol

Ron Lacks (left) stands with his father Lawrence Lacks (right) in the living room of Lawrence's Baltimore home

An operation permit from John Hopkins University, signed by Henrietta Lacks

'Unjust enrichment'

More than 100 corporations have profited from using the HeLa cells, according to the lawsuit, but the Lacks family has never been compensated.

At the time doctors harvested cells from Lacks cervical tumor, it was not illegal to do so without a patients permission.

But lawyers for her family accuse Ultragenyx of continuing to commercialize the results long after the origins of the HeLa cell line became well known - an "unjust enrichment" claim that largely mirrors the lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

The agreement came after several hours of closed-door negotiations earlier this month.

Some of Lacks grandchildren were among the family members who attended the talks in Baltimores federal courthouse.

They held a news conference the following morning on what would have been Lacks' 103rd birthday, saying justice had finally been won

Johns Hopkins said it never sold or profited from the cell lines, but many companies have patented ways of using them.

The lawsuit filed Thursday claims Ultragenyx leadership failed to seek permission from Lacks descendants after realizing where HeLa cells came from.

'Ultragenyx's choice to continue utilizing HeLa cells despite the cell lines origin and the concrete harm it inflicts on the Lacks family can only be understood as a choice to embrace a legacy of racial injustice embedded in the U.S. research and medical systems,' Crump said in a statement.

'Like anyone else, Black people have the right to control their bodies.'

Crump has become well known for representing victims of police violence and calling for racial justice, especially in the aftermath of George Floyds murder.

After the recent settlement, Crump said the family was planning to file more lawsuits.
Elon Musk is auctioning off Twitter memorabilia from the company's headquarters just weeks after the social media firm's rebranding as X.

There are 584 lots listed including old signs from around its California offices, a wooden Twitter bird coffee table and outsized bird cages.

Its old bird logo, which is still fixed on the company's headquarters in San Francisco, is also on offer.

The auction has been called 'Twitter Rebranding: Online Auction Featuring Memorabilia, Art, Office Assets & More!' and will take place at Heritage Global Partners from September 12.

Billionaire Musk, 52, announced a rebrand of the popular social media website on July 24 with a new X logo to replace its famous bird symbol.

Elon Musk is auctioning off Twitter memorabilia from the company's headquarters just weeks after the social media firm's rebranding as X

Its old bird logo, which is still fixed on the company's headquarters in San Francisco, is also on offer

Billionaire Musk, 52, announced a rebrand of the popular social media website on July 24 with a new X logo to replace its famous bird symbol

An attempt to remove the Twitter sign last month was temporarily halted by authorities and the buyer of the bird logo will have to seek the appropriate permit to bring it down.

'Bird is still mounted on side of the building. Buyer is responsible for hiring an SF Licensed Company with appropriate Permits,' the listing states.

Oil paintings of photographs that went viral on the platform are up for auction.

The first one is of Ellen DeGeneres' star-studded selfie which was taken at the 2014 Oscars and included stars Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

While the second is of an image Barack Obama tweeted when he was re-elected as president in November 2012 and it was the platform's most-liked tweet at the time.

Neon hashtags, @ signs and a range of musical equipment such as guitars, Yamaha keyboards and even a DJ booth have also been up for sale.

The company appears to be having a massive clear out with chairs, sofas and tables from the headquarters listed.

A range of kitchen equipment including a La Marzocco espresso machine - worth $9,610- a series of fridges and a beer tap dispenser are up for grabs.

Although there are a number of pricey items in the collection, bidding starts at just $25. The auction is set to end after two days.

The auction has been called 'Twitter Rebranding: Online Auction Featuring Memorabilia, Art, Office Assets & More!' and will take place at Heritage Global Partners from September 12

There are 584 lots listed including old signs from around its California offices, a wooden Twitter bird coffee table and outsized bird cages

Oil paintings of photographs that went viral on the platform are up for auction

Earlier this year, Twitter held an auction of hundreds of items from its San Francisco HQ. A statue of its famous bird logo sold for $100,000.

The auction follows Musk's $44 billion takeover of the company last October and half of its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering were laid off.

The cutbacks affected roughly 3,700 employees, who learned their fate by email last year.

Its massive job cuts continued in February with another 200 jobs culled, taking its staff count to under 2,000.

Musk revealed a dramatic rebranding of Twitter with its famous blue bird logo replaced by an X in July and the X.com domain now directs users to the Twitter website.

The new logo for the platform is a stylized black-and-white version of the letter X.

Feedback on the switch was met with mixed reviews, with many taking the opportunity to mock the new logo and removal of the famous blue bird.

But Musk's X decided to install a massive, pulsating neon sign on top of the company's headquarters in San Francisco which angered local residents.

Neon hashtags, @ signs and a range of musical equipment such as guitars, Yamaha keyboards and even a DJ booth have also been up for sale

A range of kitchen equipment including a La Marzocco espresso machine - worth $9,610

A series of fridges and a beer tap dispenser are also up for grabs

A local journalist named Christopher Beale, posted video of the new sign with a realization of what this means for locals.

He was responding to a user who had seen the sign and said 'Imagine this f***ing X sign right across from your bedroom.'

'Imagine no more. This is my life now,' Beale posted to the social media giant on Saturday, with a full clip of the undulating X logo.

The city of San Francisco then opened a complaint and launched an investigation into the giant 'X' sign.

City officials said replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.
The fatal stabbing of New York City dancer O'Shea Sibley last week will be prosecuted as a hate crime and the teenaged suspect will be charged as an adult.

Dmitriy Popov pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder as a hate crime for allegedly stabbing the professional dancer who was 'voguing' to a Beyonce song in Coney Island at the time of his death.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced a grand jury on Thursday afternoon who voted to indict the 17-year-old 'good, Christian' teenager.

Popov, a fourth-year student at The Professional Pathways Sheepshead High School, had no prior run-ins with the law.

The 17-year-old is set to be arraigned on Friday. He is facing a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a maximum of 25 years to life.

The fatal stabbing of New York City dancer O'Shea Sibley last week will be prosecuted as a hate crime and the teenaged suspect will be charged as an adult. The suspect was identified as the teenager shown wearing red shorts and a black t-shirt on the left

The 28-year-old's death is now being investigated as a hate crime. Dmitriy Popov was indicted Thursday for second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing the professional dancer who was voguing to a Beyonce song in Coney Island at the time of his death

The Brooklyn prosecutor reassured the public that the case would be taken 'very seriously' against Popov, whose name has not yet been officially released because he is a minor.

'They were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyonce music at a Brooklyn gas station,' Gonzalez said on Thursday.

'We promise the family that we would have a vigorous, thorough prosecution.'

'Defending yourself from being an anti-gay or an anti-Black comment and arguing back is not a cause for someone to take a weapon and do what was done in this case,' Gonzalez added.

Gonzalez said the whole community has been impacted by the tragic incident.

'Hate crimes impacts a victim, but it also impacts a community,' he continued. 'It robs not just the family, but an entire community of the sense of safety and security.'

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced a grand jury on Thursday afternoon, who voted to indict the 17-year-old 'good, Christian' teenager

The argument carried on to the side of the parking lot where O'Shae is shown, left

O'Shae was a talented dancer and choreographer from Philadelphia

Sibley's father raised his arm to the sky remembering his son during the celebration of life ceremony as he was surrounded by family and friends

Popov's lawyer refuted the claims that his client was Muslim, which what was initially reported by witnesses.

He claimed that the teenager is a 'good Christian boy,' whose parents immigrated to Brooklyn from Russia.

Popov's defense attorney Mark Pollard also said that police do not have the weapon that was used to kill the victim.

He told PIX 11 that police have not collected the knife that Popov allegedly used to kill Sibley.

A vigil was held on Friday as many performed their own repertoire to pay tribute to the beloved talented dancer who was killed in a hate crime

Sibley's parents stand over their son's casket as he says his final goodbyes during the viewing at The Met Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday

A friend of Sibley places a bouquet of flowers during the vigil to memorialize the young dancer

Hundreds of mourners gathered on Tuesday to pay tribute to Sibley.

The 28-year-old Sibley was 'vogueing' and dancing shirtless to a Beyonce song as he was filling his car at a gas station in Midwood, Brooklyn before he was killed.

Surveillance footage captured a group of teens reportedly yelling homophobic slurs and anti-black statements to Sibley and his friends, according to surveillance footage ABC News Chicago reported.

Security camera video showed the argument had broken up and both groups had walked away when Sibley and his friends abruptly returned and crossed a parking lot to confront the white 17-year-old, who was recording with his phone, the Associated Press reported.

In the video, Sibley could be seen following the teen and then lunging at him. The stabbing happened out of a clear view of the cameras.

Officials said after words were exchanged the teen took out a knife and stabbed Sibley to death.

The suspect, whose identity was not disclosed because he is a minor, turned himself into police. Brooklyn prosecutors charged him with murder, hate crime murder, and criminal possession of a weapon.

More than 200 people attended Sibley's funeral on Tuesday in his hometown of Philadelphia at the historic opera house.

Sibley's somber parents, Jake Kelly and mother Onetha Sibley, walk down the aisle during their son, O'Shea Sibley's celebration of life ceremony held at The Met in Philadelphia on Tuesday

Onederful Ancrum, a dancer with Philadanco performs during the celebration of life ceremony to honor her friend's shock death

Heartbroken family members hold blue and white floral reefs as they mourn the loss of their loved on during Tuesday's celebration of life ceremony

Friends of Sibley gather alongside his casket to share their final farewell

Moving: Beyonce has now honoured Sibley with a tribute on her website, with a simple black and white message reading: 'REST IN POWER O'SHAE SIBLEY'

Sibley had moved to New York to pursue his career as a dancer. He performed with the dance company Philadanco and danced to celebrate his LGBTQ+ identity.

A celebration of life service followed at the Met in Philadelphia. Sibley's father, Jake Kelly, was captured resting his eyes on his son in his casket as he says his final goodbyes.

Sidley was laid to rest at Fernwood Cemetary in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Sibley's grief-stricken mother, Onetha Sibley is seen placing her hand on her son's royal blue casket, surrounded by loved ones.

After his senseless death tributes poured in far and wide including from filmmaker Spike Lee and musical artist, Beyonce. Spike Lee posted the Instagram message, 'Rest in Power.'

The Queen Bee posted the same message on her website after she learned that Sibley and his friends were listening to her music before the deadly attack.
Pilot error sent a United Airlines flight plunging to within 800ft of the Pacific Ocean, an official investigation has found.

Confusion over the wing panels prompted the captain to order an emergency descent of the Boeing 777 just seconds after take-off from Kahului Airport in Hawaii on December 18.

The dive was only halted when it triggered an emergency alarm from the ground proximity warning system and the first officer yelled pull up, pull up, with the plane just seconds from impact.

The near-catastrophe that left terrified passengers screaming has been laid bare in a report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which blames miscommunication between the pair who are both still flying for the airline.

Our pilots voluntarily reported this event and United fully cooperated with the independent investigation so that insights could be used to enhance the safety of the entire industry, an airline spokesman said.

The terrifying 'roller coaster' take-off of the United Airlines Boeing as it left Kahului Airport in Hawaii

Flight UA1722 had 271 passengers on board as it set off towards San Francisco in heavy rain at 2.29pm.

Passenger Rod Williams II said that after a normal take-off the plane began climbing at a concerning rate.

It felt like you were climbing to the top of a roller coaster, he told CNN.

The wing flaps on the plane should have been retracted immediately after takeoff, but the first officer told investigators the captain asked him to keep them extended.

With the plane just 2,200 feet over the sea, the captain ordered an emergency descent fearing the air pressure could destroy the exposed flaps.

When the plane started to nosedive, multiple screams are being let out, at that point, Williams said.

Everybody knew that something was out of the ordinary, or at least that this was not normal.

The NTSB blamed the flight crews failure to manage the airplanes vertical flightpath.

The flight reached 2,200 feet before suddenly diving at nearly 8,600 feet per minute

When the airplane reached the acceleration altitude, the captain reduced the pitch attitude slightly and called for the flap setting to be reduced to flaps 5, it reported.

According to the first officer, he thought that he heard the captain announce flaps 15.

Both pilots recalled hearing the initial warnings from the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), and the first officer recalled announcing pull up pull up along with those initial GPWS warnings.

The plane dropped to just 775 feet before it pulled out of the dive and headed back up, 71 seconds after take-off.

The plane managed to make it to its destination without further incident but the report comes after a series of near disasters that have left some industry experts fearing a tragedy is inevitable.

A Delta Boeing with 145 passengers on board nearly collided nose-first into the side of an American Airlines plane at 115 mph at New York's JFK Airport in January.

Passengers were thrust forwards in their seats as the Delta pilot slammed into reverse when he saw the American steer on to the runway ahead of him as he accelerated for take-off.

The following month a Boeing 767 FedEx cargo plane landing at Austin-Bergstrom International came within 100ft of a Southwest Airlines 737 aircraft that was taking off from the same runway.

And days later a JetBlue flight landing at Logan International Airport in Boston nearly smashed into a private jet which took off without permission.

'These sort of incidents are increasing at an alarming rate,' aviation expert and pilot Juan Browne told DailyMail.com.

'There's a huge turnover in the industry, not only among pilots but amongst air traffic controllers, mechanics, mainters (maintenance workers).

'And with the state of hiring practices and training today and the relentless effort to do things faster, cheaper and more efficiently we're just one radio call away from having the biggest aviation disaster in history.'

The incident, on February 27, was captured in a chilling photograph from the JetBlue flight's cockpit which shows the LearJet aircraft obstructing the runway as it came into land

Only the quick-thinking of the JetBlue Flight 206 pilot prevented a collision, investigators said. The pilot performed a 'climb-out maneuver' to narrowly avoid the other aircraft (circled)

The near miss incident at JFK on Jan 13 occurred when a Delta aircraft which was about to take off had to perform an emergency stop after an American Airlines plane crossed the runway

There were 1,732 near misses, or 'incursions' in 2022 in around 17 million flights handled by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

But of those, only a handful were 'Category A', defined as 'a serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided'. Most recorded cases cover incidents with 'no immediate safety consequences'.

Both pilots involved in December's incidents have been sent for additional training the airline said, insisting it is drawing on the lessons learned from this flight to inform the training of all United pilots.

Our pilots voluntarily reported this event and United fully cooperated with the independent investigation so that insights could be used to enhance the safety of the entire industry.
A surfer driving a distinctive car may hold the key to solving the murder of Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso in Tasmania nearly 30 years ago.

The 20-year-old's body, with multiple stab wounds, was found on the beach at Freshwater Creek, Beaumaris, on October 11, 1995.

Witnesses have told police they saw a man driving a light coloured Subaru station wagon in the area at the time of the murder.

The man was described as being in his 20s, with blonde hair, about six feet tall, slim build, but very fit, with suntanned legs and arms and the appearance of a surfer.

A person matching that description was also seen running onto the beach where Ms Cafasso's body was found.

Police have renewed calls for information into the October 11, 1995 murder of Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso at Beaumaris Beach on Tasmania's East Coast

Despite a $500,000 reward, the case still remains unsolved.

But detectives investigating the case have now released reconstructed images of a vehicle spotted at various locations in the Beaumaris area including at Freshwater Creek at the time of Ms Cafasso's murder.

The distinctive light coloured Subaru station wagon was a vehicle of interest in the early stages of the investigation, and police are now following a specific line of inquiry in relation to that vehicle.

Police are interested to hear from anyone who may have knowledge of the car and any person linked to a car of that description in October 1995.

Police have renewed calls for information into the October 11, 1995 murder of Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso at Beaumaris Beach on Tasmania's East Coast

The $500,000 reward to solve Ms Cafasso's death remains in place

Detective Acting Inspector Andrew Hanson said as with any unsolved matter, the investigation into Ms Cafasso's murder remains open, and police continually reviewed information relating to the case.

'Serious crime cases stay open until answers are found, and a person or people responsible are arrested, and charged,' Detective Acting Inspector Hanson said.

'Victoria's family deserve closure, and our detectives continue to work to try and provide that closure. This continues to be an active investigation, and we will continue to follow all lines of inquiry.'

The $500,000 reward remains available for information relating to a conviction in the case.

Anyone with information relating to the murder of Victoria Cafasso should contact police on 131 444, or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au
Volodymyr Zelensky today fired the heads of military conscription in every region of Ukraine following corruption allegations that may have seen men dodge the draft.

Kyiv has been conscripting Ukrainians for assault battalions as its counter-offensive continues against Russian forces.

Following a meeting with military leaders, President Zelensky posted on social media: 'We are dismissing all regional military commissars.

'This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason.'

The move reflects Ukraine's efforts to clamp down on corruption as part of sweeping reforms requested by the European Union, which Ukraine hopes to join.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: 'This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason'

An aerial view of officials cleaning debris from a destroyed church after Russian strikes in Zaporizhzia yesterday

'During the inspection of the territorial recruitment centres, law enforcement agencies exposed cases of corruption,' the presidency said in a separate statement.

It said Ukraine's mobilisation was a key area in which inspectors had uncovered instances of foul play.

These 'pose a threat to Ukraine's national security and undermine confidence in state institutions,' the statement said.

It added that Ukraine's security council recommended that the head of the army select replacements with battlefield experience who have been vetted by intelligence services.

A soldier walks past burned-out cars and bombed buildings in Zaporizhzhia, south-east Ukraine

A car destroyed in a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, south-east Ukraine

Today Russia claimed it had improved its fighting positions around the north-eastern town of Kupiansk, as Kyiv's troops struggle ahead with their counter-offensive in other areas.

Moscow also launched a volley of hypersonic missiles at western Ukraine in an attack that killed an eight-year-old boy.

Kyiv said the strikes hit a house where a family with three children lived near the town of Kolomiya.

Kupiansk and the surrounding areas of the north-east Kharkiv region were recaptured by Kyiv's forces in September, but Moscow has since pushed back into the region, forcing Ukraine to order civilian evacuations.

The aftermath of shelling by shock drones on an oil depot in the Rivne region, western Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers shoot from a SPG-9 grenade launcher in the Serebryansky forest in the east of the country

Russian units had 'continued offensive operations on a wide front and improved the tactical situation' to the east of Kupiansk, according to Moscow's defence ministry.

Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine's eastern forces, said the situation around Kupiansk was 'difficult given the power of the enemy group' but was under control.

Yesterday officials in the city urged residents to evacuate the area.

READ MORE: Terrified kids cower and scream as Russian missiles destroy UN hotel just a few hundred yards away in second strike on Zaporizhzhia in just 24 hours - as the Kremlin claims it shot down Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow Shocking footage showed the moment terrified children screamed as the rockets soared overhead and slammed into the Reikartz Hotel in the city centre Advertisement

They said they were told they could evacuate to Kharkiv, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) west, where they would have the option to move to safer regions.

Russia's drive in Kupiansk has sought to draw Ukrainian forces away from Kyiv's own counter-offensive.

Ukraine launched its highly anticipated push in June after stockpiling Western weapons, but it has struggled to make headway in the face of stiff Russian resistance.

Today Russia launched four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles at targets in western Ukraine, Kyiv's air force said.

'One Kh-47 missile was destroyed within Kyiv region,' the air force said, while the rest were hit near the Kolomyia airfield in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

'Civilian facilities and infrastructure were hit, and one of the missiles hit a residential area,' it said.

Yesterday a Russian strike in the city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least one and wounded 14, according to Ukrainian officials.

The United Nations said its staff and other organisations had frequently used the hotel hit by the strike.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement she was 'appalled' by the incident and described attacks on civilian targets like the hotel as 'inadmissable'.

The Russian defence ministry however said it had hit a temporary base for foreign mercenaries in the city.

'In the area of the city of Zaporizhzhia, the point of temporary deployment of foreign mercenaries was hit,' the defence ministry said in a statement.

It comes after two Russian missiles hit a civilian building housing a pizzeria popular with aid workers and journalists in the eastern town of Pokrovsk earlier this week.

Russia indicated the target of the strike was in fact a command post of the Ukrainian army in the east of the country.

A Ukrainian grad truck fires missiles against the Russian positions in the direction of Bakhmut

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the front line in Donetsk

In Moscow, officials said they had destroyed a drone aimed at the capital - the latest in a string of attacks on the city in recent days.

The Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the western outskirts of the city, the defence ministry said.

'An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow was thwarted,' the defence ministry said. It added that there was no damage or casualties as a result of the incident.

The capital was largely spared in the early part of the conflict, but it has seen a surge in attacks in recent months.

On Thursday, Russia said it downed two drones headed for Moscow, a day after two others were destroyed on approach.

At the start of this month, an office block in the capital's main business district of Moscow City was struck twice within days by debris from a downed drone strike.
The number of chronically absent schoolkids jumped by 6.5 million from before the pandemic to the 2021-22 year, says a study on how COVID lockdowns hurt classroom attendance.

More than a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent, Stanford University research shows. Before the pandemic, only 15 percent of students missed that much school.

In the worst-affected states of Alaska and New Mexico, nearly half of students are missing a tenth of their classes, according to an eight-page study that shows poor and minority kids are the worst affected.

Education professor Thomas Dee's research further fuels fears of a national education crisis. Shuttered classrooms during the pandemic have already seen literacy and numeracy rates collapse.

'The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating,' said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit focussed on absenteeism.

Juan Ballina, right, missed 94 days of school in 2022 because he didn't have a nurse to attend class with him. He stands with his mother, Carmen Ballina, near their home in San Diego

In the worst-hit states of Alaska and New Mexico, nearly half of students are chronically absent

'And the pandemic has absolutely made things worse and for more students.'

The data from 40 states and Washington DC in Dee's study provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide.

Absent students miss out not only on classes but also on all the other things schools provide  meals, counseling, socialization.

Students who are chronically absent  missing 18 or more days a year, in most places  are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out.

Absences worsened in every state with available data.

In seven states, the rate of chronically absent kids doubled for the 2021-22 school year, compared to pre-pandemic 2018-19.

Kids stay home for many reasons  money, housing instability, illness, transport issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying and generally feeling unwelcome at school.

And the effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance.

Elmer Roldan, of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, which helps schools follow up with absent students, said pandemic-era lockdowns changed habits.

'For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day,' Roldan said.

'Families got used to that.'

Plenty of empty chairs in this classroom at this New York City

Alaska, Washington DC and New Mexico have among the worst rates in the nation

HOSTILE MOOD When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negron and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: their Massachusetts school seemed less welcoming. Rousmery Negron and her 11-year-old Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negron's son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name Her son didnt want to go to school anymore. And she didnt feel he was safe there. He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade. 'He needs to learn,' said Negron, a single mom who works as a cook at another school. 'Hes very intelligent. But Im not going to waste my time, my money on uniforms, for him to go to a school where hes just going to fail.' In Massachusetts, where Negrn lives, the rate of chronically absent kids has more than doubled since before the pandemic. In Negrons hometown of Springfield, 39 percent of students were chronically absent last school year, an improvement from 50 percent the year before. Rates are higher for students with disabilities. While Negron's son was out of school, she said, she tried to stay on top of his learning. She picked up a weekly folder of worksheets and homework; he couldnt finish because he didnt know the material. 'He was struggling so much, and the situation was putting him in a down mood," Negron said. Last year, she filed a complaint asking officials to give her son compensatory services and pay for him to attend a private special education school. The judge sided with the district. Now, shes eyeing the new year with dread. Her son doesnt want to return. Negron said she'll consider it only if the district grants her request for him to study in a mainstream classroom with a personal aide. The district said it can't comment on individual student cases due to privacy considerations. Negron wishes she could homeschool her sons, but she has to work and fears they'd suffer from isolation. 'If I had another option, I wouldnt send them to school,' she said. Advertisement

For experts on chronic absenteeism, the post-COVID era feels different.

Some of the things that prevent students from getting to school are consistent  illness, economic distress  but 'something has changed,' said Todd Langager, who helps San Diego County schools address absenteeism.

He sees students who already felt unseen, or without a caring adult at school, feel further disconnected.

Alaska led in absenteeism, with 48.6 percent of students missing significant amounts of school. Alaska Native students' rate was higher, 56.5 percent.

Those students face poverty and a lack of mental health services, as well as a school calendar that isn't aligned to traditional hunting and fishing activities, said Heather Powell, a teacher and Alaska Native.

Many students are raised by grandparents who remember the government forcing Native children into boarding schools.

'Our families aren't valuing education because it isn't something that's ever valued us,' Powell said.

In New York, Marisa Kosek said son James lost the relationships fostered at his school  and with them, his desire to attend class altogether.

James, 12, has autism and struggled first with online learning and then with a hybrid model. During absences, he'd see his teachers in the neighborhood.

They encouraged him to return, and he did.

But when he moved to middle school in another neighborhood, he didn't know anyone.

He lost interest and missed more than 100 days of sixth grade. The next year, his mom pushed for him to repeat the grade  and he missed all but five days.

His mother, a high school teacher, enlisted help: relatives, therapists, New York's crisis unit.

But James just wanted to stay home. He's anxious because he knows he's behind, and he's lost his stamina.

'Being around people all day in school and trying to act 'normal' is tiring,' said Kosek.

She's more hopeful now that James has been accepted to a private residential school that specializes in students with autism.

Some students had chronic absences because of medical and staffing issues.

Juan Ballina, 17, has epilepsy; a trained staff member must be nearby to administer medication in case of a seizure.

But post-COVID-19, many school nurses retired or sought better pay in hospitals, exacerbating a nationwide shortage.

Last year, Juan's nurse was on medical leave. His school couldn't find a substitute. He missed more than 90 days at his Chula Vista, California, high school.

'I was lonely,' Ballina said. 'I missed my friends.'

Last month, school started again. So far, Juan's been there, with his nurse. But his mom, Carmen Ballina, said the effects of his absence persist:

'He used to read a lot more. I don't think he's motivated anymore.'

Another lasting effect from the pandemic: Educators and experts say some parents and students have been conditioned to stay home at the slightest sign of sickness.

More than a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent

Renee Slater's daughter rarely missed school before the pandemic.

But last school year, the straight-A middle schooler insisted on staying home 20 days, saying she just didn't feel well.

'As they get older, you can't physically pick them up into the car  you can only take away privileges, and that doesn't always work,' said Slater, who teaches in the rural California district her daughter attends. 'She doesn't dislike school, it's just a change in mindset.'

Most states have yet to release attendance data from 2022-23, the most recent school year.

Based on the few that have shared figures, it seems the chronic-absence trend may have long legs.

In Connecticut and Massachusetts, chronic absenteeism remained double its pre-pandemic rate.
Rishi Sunak had attempted to use this week to display his Government's efforts in cracking down on the Channel migrant crisis with a series of 'Stop the Boats' announcements.

But the Prime Minister, who is currently in California on a family holiday, has seen the carefully-orchestrated plan fall apart amid a series of setbacks, a fresh bout of Tory infighting and a record number of migrant crossings.

The latest blow to hit Downing Street and the Home Office has been today's forced disembarkation of asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.

This was due to the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the vessel's water system, which has seen the 39 migrants who only boarded the barge on Monday now removed.

The Prime Minister, who is currently out the country on a family holiday, has seen his carefully-orchestrated 'Stop the Boats' week fall apart amid a series of setbacks

The latest blow to hit Downing Street has been today's forced disembarkation of asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge due to the discovery of Legionella bacteria

Here's the full story of how Number 10's 'Stop the Boats' week fell apart:

Monday - 20 migrants refuse to board asylum barge

'Stop the Boats' week began with the news that the first group of migrants had arrived on board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland Port, Dorset.

It came after a series of delays to the use of the vessel as asylum accommodation amid serious safety concerns, which included fears it could become a 'floating Grenfell'.

Later on Monday, it emerged that a group of 20 migrants did not board the vessel due to last-minute legal challenges.

The Care4Calais charity, which supported the group, revealed their transfer onto the barge had been 'cancelled' as it claimed some had a 'severe fear of water' after being 'traumatised by seeing their friends drown at sea'.

Meanwhile, Home Office minister Sarah Dines confirmed a scheme to send asylum seekers to Ascension Island could be reconsidered as part of Mr Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats'.

But No10 dismissed suggestions the plans were being 'actively' discussed with the British Overseas Territory in the south Atlantic.

And ex-Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg revealed the proposals were previously dismissed when he was in Government because it was estimated to cost 1million per person sent there.

Downing Street also suggested Ms Dines had misspoken when she said it was hoped the Bibby Stockholm barge could be up to its full 500 capacity by the end of the week.

The use of the barge is part of Government efforts to cut down on the 6million-a-day bill to taxpayers for housing asylum seekers in hotels.

The latest Home Office figures published on Monday showed 50,546 migrants were being housed in hotels as of June this year.

Home Office minister Sarah Dines on Monday confirmed a scheme to send asylum seekers to Ascension Island could be reconsidered as part of Mr Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats'

But No10 dismissed suggestions the plans were being 'actively' discussed with the British Overseas Territory in the south Atlantic

Tuesday - Government has 'failed' on illegal immigration, admits Tory deputy chair

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson sparked a row after he told asylum seekers refusing to board the Bibby Stockholm barge they should 'f*** off back to France '.

But, despite outrage at the comments, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk supported Mr Anderson's 'salty' indignation as 'well placed'.

And No10 refused to back away from Mr Chalk's defence of his Conservative colleague to offer its own support for Mr Anderson.

But Downing Street was unlikely to have been best pleased when Mr Anderson later admitted the Tory Government had 'failed' on illegal immigration.

Appearing on ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage's show on GB News, he said: 'This is out of control, we are in power at the moment, I am the deputy chair of the Conservative Party, we are in government and we have failed on this.

'There is no doubt about it. We have said we are going to fix it, it is a failure.'

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson this week admitted the Government had 'failed' on illegal immigration

Wednesday - Fresh Tory infighting over ECHR

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick hinted the Government could pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as it attempts to tackle the small boats crisis.

He said ministers will do 'whatever is required' even if that means pulling out of the international agreement.

But Mr Jenrick's comments sparked a fresh bout of Tory infighting, with reports that senior ministers are split over whether Britain should ditchs its committment to the ECHR.

Calls to quit the ECHR were opposed by senior Tory backbenchers Simon Hoare and David Davis.

And Treasury minister John Glen, who has been tipped to replace Ben Wallace as Defence Secretary, said he did not want to leave the convention as he believed 'in the plan that we've got in place'.

Thursday - Record number of Channel migrant crossings

Some 755 people crossed the Channel in 14 boats on Thursday, which was the highest daily number so far this year and suggested an average of around 54 people per boat.

The previous high for 2023 was 686 people on July 7.

It also confirmed that more than 100,000 people have now crossed the Channel in the past five years.

Since current records began on January 1 2018, 100,715 migrants have arrived in Britain after making the journey, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency.

Some 755 people crossed the Channel in 14 boats on Thursday, which was the highest daily number so far this year. Pictured: An RNLI lifeboat bringing a group of people into Dover Port

Figures show that 15,826 migrants have made crossings on small boats in 2023 so far  fewer than at the same point last year but more than in 2019, 2020 or in 2021

Friday - All asylum seekers removed from Bibby Stockholm

All asylum seekers are being removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge due to the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

The Home Office said it was removing all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel at the start of the week as a 'precautionary measure'.

It said that no migrants had fallen sick or developed Legionnaires' disease, which is a serious type of pneumonia, and that they were all being provided with 'appropriate advice and support'.

The disembarkment came only four days after the first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge.
The Norwegian mountaineer accused of stepping over a porter who lay dying on K2 has rubbished the claims, saying she is a victim of 'misinformation'.

Kristin Harila, 37, became the fastest climber to scale the world's 14 tallest mountains, finishing with the summit in Pakistan on July 27 after just 92 days.

But Harila and her team were accused of clambering over 27-year-old Muhammad Hassan as he lay dying because they were more concerned about breaking records.

Hassan, part of the team ahead of them, was unable to talk or hear after falling from a narrow ledge on a bottleneck part of the mountain and died two hours later.

Video has since emerged of Harila's team appearing to step over the father of three, with fellow mountaineers accusing them of being more focused on the record than saving his life.

Harila says that she has been the victim of 'hatred' and death threats for celebrating her feat, and wrote on Instagram: 'This was no one's fault, you cannot comment when you do not understand the situation and sending death threats is never okay.'

She said that her team stayed behind for 90 minutes trying to pull the Sherpa up before an avalanche forced them to move on.

Critics accused Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (pictured celebrating her K2 climb) and her team of being 'more interested in setting records' than helping a dying Sherpa

Video showed Harila's team approaching the bottleneck where Muhammad Hassan was trapped

Harila wrote that the incident 'happened at the most dangerous part of the deadliest mountain in the world', urging critics to 'remember that at 8000+ metres, your survival instincts impact the decision you make'.

She added: 'I did not see exactly what took place, but suddenly Hassan had fallen and was hanging on the rope between two ice anchors.

'At first, nobody moved, probably out of shock and fear, then we realised he was hanging upside down and was not able to climb up by himself.

'We decided to continue forward, as too many people in the bottleneck would make it more dangerous for a rescue.'

She said: 'The bottleneck is a dangerous place to be, there is snow and ice hanging over you, and you are walking on an extremely narrow path, on snow that can collapse below you at any time.'

'Every minute you stay there increases the risk of accidents, not only for yourself, but for everyone above and below you.'

Even after the group moved on, she said two mountaineers stayed behind trying to help Hassan.

She added: 'Considering the amount of people that stayed behind and that had turned around, I believed Hassan would be getting all the help he could, and that he would be able to get down.

'We did not fully understand the gravity of everything that happened until later.'

Harila described Hassan as 'a person who was important to so many people and he should not just be remembered as a person who passed on K2'.

Harila also shared a link to a GoFundMe page raising money for Hassan's family, set up by climber Wilhelm Steindl.

Steindl, who took part in the climb but had returned to the base camp earlier due to dangerous conditions, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he was sickened by the inaction of the fellow climbers.

'It was a very heated, competitive race to the top. What happened there is scandalous.

'A living person is left behind so records can be set. It only took three or four people to save him.

'Had I seen it, I would have climbed up to help the poor man.'

But Harila defended her actions to The Daily Telegraph, saying 'we did all we could for him'.

She added: 'It is simply not true to say that we did nothing to help him.

'We tried to lift him back up for an hour and a half and my cameraman stayed on for another hour to look after him. At no point was he left alone.'

She said that given the conditions it was unlikely he could have been saved as he had fallen on to what was 'probably the most dangerous part of the mountain where the chances of carrying someone off were limited by the narrow trail and poor snow conditions'.

Harila is also accused of holding a party shortly after clinching the record - despite Hassan's death.

On Instagram at the time, she posted a final summit reel celebrating their success.

The post received backlash from users, one of whom accused her of 'crossing him twice without helping'.

Anwar Syed, of Lela Peak Expedition which employed Hassan, told MailOnline that two climbers 'tried their hardest to bring him down but they couldn't do it and [Hassan] passed away after two hours'.

The expedition group claims it offered payment to other porters to retrieve the body but 'everyone said that it's impossible to bring him down'.

Syed said that Hassan was much higher up than three climbers whose bodies were previously deemed unrecoverable from the mountain in Pakistan.

Muhammad Hassan lay dying after he slipped at a dangerous point on the mountain

Harila also said that she had found out Hassan had died only as she climbed back down the mountain.

She said her team was unable to recover the body as it was 'impossible to safely carry him down'.

She added: 'Back in base camp, we heard that people thought no one had helped him but we had. We had done our best, especially Gabriel [the cameraman].

'It is truly tragic what happened, and I feel very strongly for the family.

'Please, please, please. Be kind. Not just to those who went up to K2 that day and who have all lived through something very difficult.

'But most importantly, to Hassans memory and those close to him. Be respectful.'
BBC News has accidentally aired video of a presenter swearing as she recorded a report on the Northern Ireland data breach.

Correspondent Charlotte Gallagher made the X-rated comment in what appears to have been a pre-recorded clip that was broadcast by mistake by TV controllers.

Gallagher was delivering the latest on the Police Service of Northern Ireland's mass data breach, which has seen 10,000 officers' details published by mistake.

And as she tripped over her words while recording the clip, the frustrated presenter said: 'I can't get my words out...f***.'

Social media users reacted with a mixture of horror and humour, with one branding it 'every live broadcaster's worst nightmare'.

BBC correspondent Charlotte Gallagher was delivering a report on the Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach in what appears to have been a pre-recorded segment

It soon became clear the clip was an outtake that was not meant to be broadcast as Gallagher muddled her words, grew frustrated, and swore

The clip was cued up after newsreader Matthew Amroliwala cut away from another news item that couldn't be broadcast.

He said: 'Well, apologies we can't bring you that clip, but our correspondent Charlotte Gallagher has this report.'

In the clip, Gallagher begins speaking but starts her sentence over, seemingly unfazed - suggesting the clip is a pre-recorded video that was aired by mistake.

She said: 'As the public face of the PSNI, Chief Constable Simon Byrne...as the public face of the PSNI, Chief Constable Simon Byrne has been under an incredible amount of pressure over this data breach.

'Today he said he was "deeply sorry", describing the breach as, of...I can't get my words out...f***.'

She could be seen pursing her lips and rolling her tongue over her teeth in frustration.

The sound then cut out and the channel cut back to the studio, where Amroliwala said: 'Well, apologies there for that confusion.

'That was our correspondent Charlotte Gallagher, she's monitoring what's been happening there at that news conference.

'We will get more on that here in the next little while.'

Newsreader Matthew Amroliwala introduced the clip before initially apologising for 'confusion'. He followed up with a further apology for the 'bad language' shortly after

Social media users were sympathetic to Gallagher after the pre-recorded clip was aired by mistake  with more than one believing she would be 'mortified' by her bosses' error

Around 20 minutes later, the anchor issued an on-air apology for the mistake.

He said: 'Now, before we move on, I want to apologise for the bad language a little earlier you may have heard in a clip.

'We were playing you the outcome of the press conference [where] we heard from the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland's police force, that data breach, and we went to our correspondent.

'We played a clip and there was bad language in that, so apologies for that in terms of what you just heard.'

The blunder was immediately picked up on X - formerly Twitter - with one user writing: 'Charlotte Gallagher must be mortified and fuming. I know I would be!'

Another said: 'Ouch! Every live broadcaster and their managers worst nightmare.'

A third shared: 'I feel like I've just got a glimpse into your own personal hell.'

While another user pondered: 'What on earth is going on, on the BBC News Channel? It's embarrassing.'

But another praised both journalists, writing: 'Bless her - bet she was mortified when she realised that had gone out! @amroliwalabbc cool under pressure as ever!'

The blunder came after the BBC merged parts of its TV news operations earlier this year.

The BBC World News and BBC News 24 channels were merged in April in a move that saw scores of jobs lost.
An eight-year-old girl died in Colombia after she had a tooth pulled during a visit to the dentist's office.

Azucena Triana told a local news outlet that her twin child, Salome Bohorquez, had been complaining of pain and was treated by Dr. Jose Herrera at his office in Honda, Tolima, on August 4.

The distraught mother said the orthodontist requested x-rays at a nearby lab and the images showed that Bohorquez's molar was chipped.

She informed Dr. Herrera of the result, who said a procedure was going to be scheduled for the same day because the tooth was 'harming her.'

Salome Bohorquez died August 4 after undergoing an emergency procedure to have a tooth extracted at a dentist office in Tolima, Colombia. The eight-year-old girl's mother said the child was bleeding a lot following the molar removal and was taken to a local medical facility where she died hours later. The grieving mother said Bohorquez choked on her own blood

Salome Bohorquez (right) was complaining of a tooth ache and visited a local dentist in Tolima, Colombia, on August 4 and had one of her molars removed before she suffered a hemorrhage and had to be taken to a hospital, where she died

Triana said that her daughter was bleeding profusely after the tooth was removed and that Dr. Herrera volunteered to transport them to San Juan de Dios Hospital.

'The girl was still alive. She entered the hospital alive,' she said. 'They couldn't do anything for her... she choked on her own blood.'

Triana revealed that Bohorquez has been previously diagnosed with anemia and had recovered following a series of treatments administered by her pediatrician.

The family said that the child's passing has been difficult on her twin brother, Nicholas.

Azucena Triana, pictured with her daughter Maria Bohorquez and her husband Romulo Bohorquez, said that the family was not blaming the dentist for the death of her eight-year-old daughter following the extraction of a tooth August 4

They described the third grader as a child who loved to sing and create TikTok content.

'She gifted us with eight years of happiness. She was the life of the party in our home,' her older sister Maria Bohorquez, said.

Triana stopped short of holding Dr. Herrera for their daughter's unexpected death.

'We are not going to cast blame on the doctor. First (let's wait) what the autopsy shows,' she said.
A young Australian family living in Hawaii have no idea if their brand-new condo has survived after being forced to evacuate their home during the Maui wildfire disaster.

Nathalie Smith, her husband Matt and their two children, Jacksen, 11, and Kai, six, have lived on Maui, the second-largest island in Hawaii, for six years.

Nathalie's sister, Cassandra Smith, said the catastrophic fire that ripped through the Maui hub of Lahaina has left the family with nothing.

The mother-of-two decided it was time for her family to evacuate after flames came within just 200m of their new home on Tuesday.

Nathalie and her sons are still waiting to reunited with Matt and have only had limited contact with their family in Australia and the outside world.

Nathalie Smith, her husband Matt and their two children, Jacksen, 11, and Kai, six, (pictured together above) may have lost their home in the Maui hotspot of Lahaina

Nathalie and the two children fled from their condo after flames came within 200m of the home (pictured, aftermath of the fire at Lahaina)

'She saw a fire just like, go up, and she also saw because the wind was so strong, they were knocking down power lines,' Cassandra told 7NEWS on Friday.

'She said both sides of the road were on fire, and she was driving with her sons on an empty tank thinking, "That might be it".

'She honestly thought that [was] going to be it for her.'

At least three major fires started in Maui on Tuesday night - one in Lahaina on the island's west coast and two in the island's centre.

The damage has seen the western side of Maui cut-off from the rest of civilisation.

Cassandra has only spoken to her sister a few times since her family fled their home without Matt, who was on a different part of the island when disaster struck.

'It was so sudden... no one knew it was coming that quickly,' she said.

'I know she left with what's on her back and they don't have anything else as far as we know.'

Father Matt hasn't been able to reach his family in Lahaina as he was on a different part of Maui when the fires hit (pictured, police blocking entrance to Lahaina)

The young Australian family of four (pictured together above) have lived on Maui for six years

The lack of communication means Nathalie is also unaware of the extent of devastation the fires have caused to her home of six years.

The death toll for the fires rose to 55 overnight on Thursday (Hawaii local time) and at least 271 structures have been destroyed.

The fires are the worst disaster to hit the island since a horrific tsunami in 1960 that killed 61 people.

US National Weather Service said the fires were fuelled by winds from Hurricane Dora, as well as low humidity and dry vegetation.

Cassandra has created a GoFundMe for her sister's family and other friends on Maui.

At least three major fires started in Maui on Tuesday night - one in Lahaina on the island's west coast and two in the island's centre (pictured, aftermath of the fire in Lahaina)

Nathalie's sister Cassandra said the Smiths know 'multiple families that have lost everything' (pictured, aftermath of the fire in Lahaina)

'We know multiple families that have lost everything,' she said.

More than $3,500 has been donated so far.

US President Joe Biden has approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii which will allow affected people and businesses to apply for federal housing and economic recovery grants.
An Indiana woman has shot and killed a man who was holding a gun to her husband's head, cops have said.

According to Indiana State police officers, the incident unfolded at a rural home nine miles south of Salem, Washington County on Monday evening at around 6.40pm.

Cops arrived at the address on Organ Springs Road to find that 45-year-old Michael Chastain has been shot on the front yard of the property.

It is understood that Chastain had driven through the front yard before getting out of his car, grabbing the homeowner and forcing him to the ground.

He then pulled out a weapon and pointed it at the man's head.

Cops arrived at the address on Organ Springs Road to find a that 45-year-old Michael Chastain (pictured) has been shot on the front yard of the property

Indiana State police said that while this was happening, the homeowner's wife noticed the attack unfolding from inside the property.

This prompted her to grab a handgun and shoot Chastain, investigators said.

The 45-year-old was taken to Saint Vincent Hospital in Salem where he was later pronounced dead.

Police said that Chastain had a prior relationship with the daughter of the homeowner, but that the daughter no longer lives at the address.

It is not yet clear why Chastain targeted her father, officers added. Indiana State Police investigators said he was known in the area and had a criminal background.

The homeowners have not yet been named publicly by the police, and the wife was not charged at the scene. It was not clear if she would be charged in the future.

Eventually, the case will be handed to Washington County Prosecutor's Office.

Under Indiana's 'Stand Your Ground' law, residents are allowed to use force to defend themselves and others from what they 'reasonably believe is the imminent threat of unlawful force, serious bodily injury, unlawful trespassing on property or the commission of a felony,' according to Indy Justice.

Speaking in April, Sergeant Matt Ames of Indiana State Police said: 'A law has been put in place you can use force against another individual.

'If they believe the force is imminent or it can cause serious bodily harm to themselves or another individual,' he told local news outlet WTHI.

However, Sargeant Ames warned that the law only protects people who act in self-defence, and not those who are the aggressors in a situation.

'People need to realize that if someone knocks at your door,' Ames said.

'You're maybe scared a little bit, but there's no threat to you, you have no authorization to be using the use of force by getting that gun out and doing something that could result in bodily injury or death.'

According to Indiana State police officers, the incident unfolded at a home in Salem, Washington County on Monday evening at around 6.40pm (pictured, general view of area)

Indiana's Stand Your Ground law gained a lot of media attention in July 2022 following a mass shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana.

Three people were killed by 20-year-old shooter Jonathan Sapirman before he himself was fatally shot by 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, a legally armed civilian bystander.

From a distance of 40 yards, Dicken fired ten rounds from a handgun at Sapirman - who was armed with an AR-15-style rifle - hitting him eight times.

Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said at the time: 'Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen that took action very quickly within the first two minutes of the shooting.'
A man in Bosnia live-streamed the murder of his ex-wife on Instagram today before going on a shooting rampage, killing two others and then himself.

The man, identified by Bosnian media as Nermin Sulejmanovic from the northeastern Bosnian town of Gradacac, first posted an extremely disturbing video on Instagram on Friday morning, telling viewers that they would see a murder live.

The video then shows him taking a gun and firing a bullet into the forehead of a woman. The distressed cries of the couple's baby daughter can also be heard in the video.

Sulejmanovic, 35, confirmed he had left the infant alive.

The alleged killer later said: 'I warned everyone that it would come to this. She has been hiding my child for eight days.

'I'm waiting to load my weapon and move on.'

Nermin Sulejmanovic poses in undated photo. He killed his wife in Gradacac, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nermin Sulejmanovic poses with wife and child in undated photo

According to local media, Sulejmanovic worked as a fitness coach but was also a gang member and had several convictions for acts of violence, fights, and his involvement in drug trafficking.

As police began searching for him in the wake of the broadcasted murder, the suspect later published another video on Instagram, claiming to have shot at least two other people while on the run.

A police statement in the northeastern Bosnian town of Tuzla said that apart from the three killed, three other people were wounded before the killer 'committed suicide after being located and before being apprehended'.

Police did not immediately offer any more details, but added that people who wrote supportive messages while clicking on the man's Instagram posts Friday will be questioned and could possibly face legal repercussions.

'I have no words to describe what happened today in Gradacac,' said Nermin Niksic, the Prime Minister of the Bosnian Federation.

'The murderer took his own life in the end, but no one can bring back the lives of the victims.'

Authorities did not immediately offer any more details or possible motives for the shootings.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds shrugged off former President Donald Trump's snub of her Iowa State Fair speakers series, which he did after railing against her for staying neutral in the 2024 race, and getting cozy with chief rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

For this year's state fair, Reynolds introduced the Fair-Side Chats, giving Republicans the chance to be interviewed by her instead of or in addition to appearing at the Political Soapbox, put on by the mainstream media outlet, the Des Moines Register.

DeSantis decided to only attend Reynolds' event, while Trump is skipping it and the Soapbox, doing his own thing while appearing at the fair grounds Saturday.

'I mean that's his decision, I invited him, we would love to do it, so the candidates are going to make their own decisions and it is what it is,' she told DailyMail.com Friday morning, after her event with GOP hopeful and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Asked if she would stop by Trump's event or flip pork chops with the former president, one of the activities most of the GOP candidates are participating in, she was noncommittal.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds shrugged off former President Donald Trump's snub of her Iowa State Fair speakers series, which he did after railing against her for staying neutral in the 2024 race, and getting cozy with chief rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump will come to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, but he's skipping Reynolds' Fair-Side Chats event

'Well, we'll be on the fairgrounds all day. We'll be traversing all over the fairgrounds,' Reynolds said.

'We're going to be doing whatever we can,' she added.

Trump's annoyance with Reynolds boiled over into public view in mid-July.

In the days before, Reynolds had tagged along with DeSantis' wife Casey as she launched her 'Mamas for DeSantis' event.

'I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,' Trump posted to Truth Social on July 10. 'Now, she wants to remain "NEUTRAL."'

While Reynolds was serving as lieutenant governor, Trump tapped Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad in 2017 to serve as his ambassador to China, which elevated her to the governor's post.

She then ran for a full term in 2018.

Trump has railed against Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds getting too close with who he considers his chief primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

The ex-president went on a rant against Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in July, suggesting that she owed her governorship to him after he nominated Gov. Terry Branstad in 2017 to serve as his ambassador to China, which elevated her to the governor's post.

'I don't invite her to events!' Trump also offered, adding 'DeSanctus down 45 points!'

That's an abbreviation for the nickname the ex-president has given to the Florida governor, who he considers his chief primary rival.

In June, Trump had also hinted that he was becoming irritated with Reynolds.

'I hate to say it, without me, you know, she was not going to win, you know that right?' Trump said then.

The remark did not earn applause from the audience.

Reynolds easily won reelection last year, winning 95 of Iowa's 99 counties.

Trump invited Reynolds to his first event in Iowa of the 2024 cycle, having her introduce him when he spoke to supporters in a historic theater in Davenport in mid-March.

But Reynolds also cleared her calendar to tour with DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott and former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, among others, around the state.

Iowa governors typically remain neutral through the Iowa caucuses, which are historically the first presidential contest every election year.

The Iowa caucuses of this campaign cycle are set to take place on January 15.

The New York Times reported in July that Reynolds had privately assured Trump she wouldn't make an endorsement.

But inside Trumpworld, the newspaper reported, 'alarms were blaring' after her appearance at the 'Mamas for DeSantis' opener.

Reynolds' coziness with Ron and Casey DeSantis has been the subject of internal Trump campaign discussions, including that one of her senior political advisers, Ryan Koopmans, is also advising a DeSantis super PAC.

Those familiar with the Iowa governor's thinking told The Times that she's tired of Trump - and was miffed that he believed that she owed him credit for her winning the governorship.
This is the shocking moment a shoplifter was filmed brazenly filling a huge bag full of stolen booze before sneering at staff: 'I'll be back tomorrow, same time.'

In yet another damning view of Lawless London, a thief was caught helping himself to more than a dozen bottles of wine from Co-Op in Lavender Hill, Wandsworth.

The 64-second clip has since gone viral and shows the man, dressed in a white hoody, swiping booze and stuffing it into a large black duffel bag as a Co-Op worker watches on. powerless to stop the raid.

'He doesn't know what to do man, he don't know what to do,' said the man filming the incident, which took place on at 9.50pm on July 29 but appeared on social media on Friday.

The powerless Co-Op worker is then seen kicking the man's bag as the crook makes his getaway, before the thief then snidely tells him: 'Bless you. Have a nice day, yeah, I'll be back tomorrow - same time.'

Shocking video footage captured the moment a shoplifter was caught dumping more than a dozen wine bottles into a bag before making his escape

The brazen thief appeared to struggle to get out the Co-op in Lavender Hill, Wandsworth, with his heavy ruck sack, weighed down by stolen booze

The Co-Op worker is seen watching on helplessly before the thief snidely tells him: 'Bless you. Have a nice day, yeah, I'll be back tomorrow - same time.'

Footage of the thief emerged as Co-op revealed crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour had ballooned by 35 per cent, with more than 175,000 incidents recorded in the first six months of this year - almost 1,000 incidents every day.

Bosses at the retailer have since lashed out at the authorities for allowing criminal gangs to act with impunity 'with a freedom to loot'.

One of the retailer's London stores was 'looted' three times in a single day, Co-op said, with the chain now warning the level of crime it was experiencing was 'out of control'.

The firm is now urging police forces and crime chiefs to target prolific offenders and gangs amid fears further crime could force stores to close.

Matt Hood, Co-op Food managing director, said: 'We know retail crime is driven by repeat and prolific offenders and, organised criminal gangs. It is an ongoing challenge for all retailers, and in the worst instances can even be described as "looting".

'I have seen some horrific incidents of brazen and violent theft in our stores, where my store colleagues feel scared and threatened. I see first-hand how this criminal behaviour also erodes the very fabric of our communities - it's hard to over-emphasise how important urgent change is.

'Co-op has invested significantly in keeping colleagues and stores safe, but we need the police to play their part. Too often, forces fail to respond to desperate calls by our store teams, and criminals are operating in communities without any fear of consequences.'

Research by Co-op also revealed front-line staff had seen physical assaults increase year-on-year by almost a third and, anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse rising by a fifth.

The thief (pictured in the white hoody, right) was caught on camera appearing to lash out at the Co-op worker as he fled from the store in Wandsworth with a bag full of wine

James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores which represents shop workers, said repeat offenders were a nightmare for retailers.

'Our members are at the sharp end, seeing crime in their communities get steadily worse,' he added.

'This organised criminal activity exploits vulnerable people by getting them to steal to order in exchange for their next fix, funds the illegal drug trade, and harms businesses that provide essential services to communities.

'The police have to face up to theft, violence and anti-social behaviour in and around local shops.'

The Metropolitan Police said it was alerted to the theft in Wandsworth shortly after 10pm on July 29.

A spokesman for the force added: 'The burglary is being investigated. There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue.'

The news comes just days after a Co-op boss blasted cops for failing to clampdown on lawless thugs stealing from his stores.

Richard Inglis, who runs a chain of Co-op stores in Hampshire, accused the police of effectively decriminalising shoplifting by failing to take it seriously.

He claimed he was told by police that reports of shoplifting need to meet a certain criteria before a policeman will respond.

The revelation comes after a shop worker showed the extent of her injuries after being botted by a shoplifter.

Charlene Corbin, 28, has since shared pictures of her gruesome head wound to highlight the danger retailers face from increasingly brazen and violent thieves.

Charlene Corbin, 28, was bottled by a shoplifter at the Co-Op where she works

Pictured is CCTV footage of shop workers confronting a thief at Richard Inglis's Co-Op store

Mr Inglis has claimed that the police do not look into thefts if they do not fulfil a set of criteria

Mr Inglis said: 'It used to be a police officer would have come down, taken a statement and CCTV. But as they have cut back on resources we have to do our own statements now and upload the CCTV to a system and those cases are then reviewed.

'The burden of proof we have to provide now is so extreme.

'I have been told by the police that the value of the stock has to be over 200 and if I don't know their name and don't have a clear shot of their face on CCTV then it won't get to court.

'They've decriminalised these things and that has caused it to increase, there's no deterrent.'.

Miss Corbin, who works in a Co-op in neighbouring Dorset, was attacked when she went to stop a thief she saw steal a hot pastry and two bottles of alcohol.

She said: 'I grabbed my head and went back inside the store. I started to feel slightly faint and then I fell to my knees.

Pictured is Ms Corbin's head wound that she sustained after being bottled by a thief at the store

'I took my hand off my head and realised I was bleeding. I felt it trickling all down my neck and chest - my work shirt was red with blood.

'In the two years I've worked there, we've had staff pushed and spat at, smacked. It shouldn't be happening.

'Since this incident I completely stay out of the way of shoplifters now and I worry about colleagues putting themselves in danger. We don't feel safe.'
Another British police force has admitted a data breach after the names and salaries of all its staff were accidentally published online.

Cumbria Police said that on March 6 it found out information about pay and allowances had been uploaded on its website following a 'human error'.

The force's admission comes after an 'industrial scale breach of data' in Northern Ireland this week which saw some details of around 10,000 officers and staff published online for a number of hours.

Details of another breach with the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July also emerged on Wednesday.

Cumbria Police said the impact of the breach was 'low', but the force had to contact every person affected.

Cumbria Police said that on March 6 it found out information about pay and allowances had been accidentally uploaded

It said: 'Cumbria Constabulary became aware of a data breach on Monday March 6 2023 where information about the pay and allowances of every police officer and police staff roles as at March 31 2022 was uploaded to the Constabulary's website, which was a human error.

'The pay and allowance data also included names and position, however, it did not contain information about where the posts were deployed from or personal details such as date of birth and address.

'This information was removed immediately after the breach was identified.

'Cumbria Constabulary immediately contacted every affected person about the data breach, explaining that the impact of this breach was low and the measures the constabulary had put in place to manage the breach and to prevent it happening again.'

The breach was referred to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which said no further action was necessary.

Data breaches can have very real consequences for police forces as seen in Northern Ireland.

Dissident republican activists in the country have claimed to have information about the identity of police officers revealed in a data breach.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) chief constable Simon Byrne said he was 'deeply sorry' over what he described as an 'industrial scale breach of data' in which the surnames, initials and locations of 10,000 officers and staff were released to the public on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference after a Northern Ireland Policing Board meeting that overran by more than two hours, Mr Byrne said he was not considering his position  the second time he has ruled out quitting in the last 24 hours.

Mr Byrne said an 'early worst-case scenario that we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data'. Dissident republican groups claimed to have access to the data after it was circulated on messaging platform WhatsApp.

Officers are working 'flat out' to get answers to the 'questions that are on everybody's lips', Mr Byrne said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable Simon Byrne, addressing reporters on Thursday following a mass data breach. The names and locations of thousands of officers and staff were exposed in a freedom of information response

Mr Byrne - pictured here on a walkabout last month - says he is 'deeply sorry' over the mass data breach. He has admitted that the details may be circulating online

Mr Byrne said the priority 'has to be remaining alert to the safety and welfare of both officers and staff as we deal with this unprecedented incident'.

He added: 'I am deeply sorry about what has happened when we have seen an industrial scale breach of data that has gone into the public domain.

'We quickly established a critical incident command structure...so that we can work flat out to get answers to the questions that are on everybody's lips both within the organisations and beyond that.

'An early worst case scenario that we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data to intimidate, corrupt or indeed cause harm to our officers and staff.

'We are now aware that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of some of this information circulating on WhatsApp, and as we speak we are advising officers and staff about how to deal with that and any further risk that they face.'

No police officers have been moved from their homes for safety following the mass breach, Mr Byrne added.
New dramatic bodycam footage shows officers rushing to save the life of a six-year-old boy who fell 20 feet from a rollercoaster at a Florida theme park last week.

The boy, described by witnesses as 'tiny' was said to have slipped out of his seat of the Galaxy Spin roller coaster at Fun Spot America Amusement Park in Kissimmee.

EMT's can be seen arriving at the chaotic scene and speaking to witnesses after the boy was loaded into the ambulance.

Florida officials said the kid was hospitalized after suffering 'traumatic injuries' from the 20 feet fall last Thursday. He was transported to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Another passenger on the ride before him told police there was a small opening in the ride in the video obtained by ABC.

A six-year-old boy suffered 'traumatic' injuries after he was thrown from a rollercoaster in Florida on Thursday

Florida police released dramatic bodycam footage Friday morning showing officers rushing to save the life of a six-year-old boy who fell 20 feet from a rollercoaster at a Florida theme park last week

The boy, described by witnesses as 'tiny' was said to have slipped out of his seat of the Galaxy Spin roller coaster at Fun Spot America Amusement Park in Kissimmee

'It was a complete accident, he double checked,' she said. 'The seat is tiny, there's a little gap and he is a tiny boy.'

Speaking about the rollercoaster, she said: 'That thing is very jerky. it's a really jerky ride.'

Multiple 911 calls reported the boy's fall at the time of the incident.

'You need to come to Fun Spot Orlando. This poor child fell off the f****** rollercoaster,' an employee said on the call.

'The child fell off the ride. Right now, we have him on the floor. They're screaming. We're trying our best not to move him,' the employee added. 'The child is awake.'

'Do not move him unless he is in danger,' the dispatcher advised the employee.

'Units arrived to find a 6-year-old with traumatic injuries under the rollercoaster track which was approximately 20 feet above,' Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS Office said in a statement.

There has been no official update on the boy's condition, however, a Louisiana woman who identifies as the boy's grandmother told NBC affiliate WVLA-TV that the 6-year-old is recovering at home.

EMT's can be seen arriving at the chaotic scene and speaking to witnesses after the boy was loaded into the ambulance

Some witnesses said they saw a gap in the ride seat

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will be investigating the incident, according to department spokesperson Aaron Keller.

Fun Spot released a statement claiming a preliminary inspection of Galaxy Spin by state officials 'found it to be in normal operating condition with no mechanical issues.'

The ride is currently closed and will not be reopened until after the investigation, if leadership declare it safe.

In the statement the park was defiant in vowing to reopen the attraction as soon as possible.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the child and their family, and we pray for a speedy recovery,' the park said. 'The safety of our guests is our number one priority.'

The ride moves around 29 miles per hour and features 'spinning cars' that spin as the ride navigates through tight corners, according to the Roller Coaster Database.

The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital for undisclosed injuries after he fell 20 feet from the ride at Fun Spot America

The ride can subject riders to a force 2.5 times that of gravity.

The website says that riders must be at least four feet tall or three and a half feet if accompanied by an adult.

One witness to the tragedy wrote in a Facebook post that he saw the child being encouraged to stand up on the ride by the adult he was with who was recording him on her phone.

Osceola County firefighters responded to the park around 3:30 pm on Thursday. The child was found 20 feet beneath the rollercoaster track.

In its statement, the park maintained that the ride was up to code and recently underwent a safety inspection.

The incident is being investigated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The park said that the ride will remain shuttered until the investigation is completed.

In its statement, the park maintained that the ride was up to code and recently underwent a safety inspection

Speaking to Click Orlando, one visitor on Thursday said: 'It's these third-party parks that you see all the accidents happening. I'm hesitant anyway to go on third-party parks.'

'I think it's pretty sad. You go up it and it spins around as it's going through,' witness John Capps said when describing the ride to WESH.

'I have my grand kids right here and if something happened to them, that would be horrible. I would be devastated, especially because a lot of people are here on vacation, so if he's here on vacation and he gets hurt on vacation, that's just horrible,' another witness, Crystal Morse, told the station.

A 2021 survey compiled on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found '0.9 injuries per million rides' across all rollercoasters, said Caitlin Dineen, the group's spokesperson.

That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that take place each year across 400 locations in North America.

Osceola County firefighters responded to the park around 3:30 pm on Thursday. The child was found 20 feet beneath the rollercoaster track

'Safety is the top priority for the global attractions industry,' Dineen said. 'An excellent safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and leaders within it are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.'

In 2022, Orlandos International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson  a Missouri teen who fell to his death while on the ride the year prior.

Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died.

An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly secured.

Thursday's incident came just days after a mechanical error on board a ride at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, forced riders to walk down the track to safety after the rollercoaster stalled close to the top.
An international manhunt was launched today for three people wanted over the murder of a ten-year-old girl.

Surrey Police began a murder investigation yesterday after discovering the child at the 550,000 home in the quiet village of Horsell, near Woking.

Today, detectives revealed that three people they wanted to speak to over the murder had left the UK on Wednesday - hours before the girl's body was found.

Detective Chief Inspector Debbie White said: 'Our investigation into this tragic incident has continued at pace today with a number of enquiries underway.

'We have identified three people we would like to speak to in connection with our investigation and from our enquiries, we believe that they left the country on Wednesday, 9 August. We are working with our partners, including international authorities, to locate them.

'Officers have been in the local area today carrying out house to house enquiries and we expect a police presence to remain around the scene over the coming week.'

Police officers in the village of Horsell where the ten-year-old girl's body was found

An international manhunt has been launched for three people who left the UK on Wednesday

Locals have been paying their respects to the ten-year-old girl following the tragedy

A person leaves flowers outside a property in Woking, Surrey

Inspector Sandra Carlier, Borough Commander for Woking, said: 'I know that the community are shocked and saddened by [the] events, and we stand with them in their grief. Officers will remain in the area carrying out patrols and enquiries as part of the investigation over the weekend.

'I would like to reiterate that we do not believe there to be any risk to the wider public at this time. We will continue to provide updates as and when we are able to.'

There was a heavy police presence at the semi-detached property on Hammond Road on Friday as people laid flowers on the pavement.

Neighbours said that a Pakistani family with six 'very young' children moved into the house in April.

One mother, who wished not to be named, said she was 'traumatised' by the news, adding that her children were 'terrified'.

She said: 'It's just a shock. My 16-year-old daughter was very upset thinking about that little girl.'

Several neighbours said that they were in a state of shock after hearing the news. In a statement on Thursday evening, Surrey Police said officers were called to the address at around 2.50am that morning following 'concern' for the girl's safety.

A detective wearing blue gloves and a face mask carries items in a plastic bag down the road

The investigation is being led by Surrey Police and Sussex Police's major crime team.

The child's loved ones have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers, Surrey Police said.

Neighbour Amjad Ali, 47, told MailOnline he 'couldn't believe' that 'something like this happened outside my house.'

He added that the family moved in about five months ago and that everyone in the area is 'shocked' by the girl's death.

Mr Ali said: 'The first I knew of anything was around 3.30 this morning.

'My son looked out the window as I had taken my wife on holiday and were still up and he said the road was full of police.

A detective carries a water bottle and other items in a plastic bag outside the house where the body of a ten-year-old girl was found

'Then an officer knocked on the door and asked if we knew anything about the family, but we don't really know them.

'They are a Pakistani family that moved in about five months ago. I don't know where from, but the husband works as a taxi driver, and they have three or four kids.

'I only know them to say "Hello" and that's about it. The kids sometimes play together but we don't really mix that much.

'This is a very nice area and everyone is shocked. I didn't know a little girl was involved until I saw it on the news.'
Boris Johnson today declares the real victor of the cage fight between tech tycoons Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg: The American economy.

The former prime minister, writing exclusively for the Daily Mail, looks ahead to the planned bout between Musk, the owner of X - formerly known as Twitter, and Zuckerberg, the boss of social media giant Meta.

And Mr Johnson offers his view on how the battle between the multi-billionaires could make Brexit Britain richer.

He today tells Mail readers: 'Who is going to win in the cage fight between tech tycoons Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg?

'I'll tell you who's going to win, whatever happens, the American economy is going to win.

'Find out why and what it means, above all, for Brexit Britain in my column for the Daily Mail.'

Watch out for Boris Johnson's column on Mail Online from 5pm and in Saturday's Daily Mail.
Maui wildfire survivors have described their near-death experiences after fleeing the flame-ravaged island - as the list of missing people grows to almost 1,500.

A California father fought back tears as he recounted the moments his five kids were nearly swept away at sea as they sheltered from the flames, while another tourist described braving 'firestorm' scenes to help others escape.

This comes as almost 3,500 names have been added to an open spreadsheet aiming to help worried relatives track down their loved ones who are still missing.

Around 2,000 people on the 'lost list' have since made contact with their relatives and are now categorized as 'found' - but more than 1,500 are still unaccounted for.

California father-of-five Vixay Phonxaylinkham said his family was forced to abandon their car and flee on foot before jumping into the sea to escape the blaze in Lahaina, west Maui.

California father-of-five Vixay Phonxaylinkham said his family was forced to abandon their car and flee on foot before jumping into the sea to escape the blaze in Lahaina, west Maui

California tourist, Dustin Johnson, said he braved 'firestorm' scenes for hours to help others escape before taking a flight out of Kahului on Maui's north coast. He was reunited with his relieved mom Karol Delong and sister Courtney Johnson Thursday at Sacramento Airport

Wildfires have been raging across Maui island since Tuesday. Many people have jumped into the ocean in a desperate attempt to escape encroaching flames

He became tearful as he described fighting for their lives amid strong currents whipped up by 60mph winds for three hours until they were rescued at dusk.

'We had to think fast, we had to get out,' Phonxaylinkham, from Fresno, told The Guardian.

'We left our vehicle, and myself and my wife and our five kids we all got into the ocean. We found a floating board that we hung on to.

'We were out there floating - this is so surreal - everything is burning around us, explosions, cars blowing up, embers flying, we couldn't breathe.

'After three hours we clung on to the sea wall as best as we could until we found a little cove area where we were for about an hour with two of the locals who were with us.

'There was still fire all around us, embers were flying everywhere. I was trying to cover them and myself as best I could.

'At about 9.30pm the fire crew came and rescued us and we walked through the town. Everything was burned, everything was destroyed. We were exhausted.'

Eyes full of tears, he added: 'The ocean almost swept my kids away a few times.

'But we stuck together, we held on, and we're here - we're alive.'

'The ocean almost swept my kids away a few times,' the California father said. 'But we stuck together, we held on, and we're here - we're alive'

Phonxaylinkham became tearful as he described fighting for their lives amid strong currents whipped up by 60mph winds for three hours until they were rescued at dusk.

Another California tourist, Dustin Johnson, said he braved 'firestorm' scenes for hours to help others escape before taking a flight out of Kahului on Maui's north coast.

He was shown embracing his relieved mom Karol Delong and sister Courtney Johnson on Thursday morning moments after touching down at Sacramento Airport.

Johnson described the apocalyptic environment he left behind.

'So 3am, wind's coming in, the towers are going down, the streets look like spaghetti with all the power lines down,' he told WISN.

'The entire harbor was getting knocked over like bumper cars. There are multiple levels of a perfect storm for hell to break out.'

Despite these horrors, Johnson said he resolved to go back to help others before leaving himself. He used his sunglasses to screen smoke out of his eyes.

'I had the choice - do I get on the boat or do I go back and help those people?' he said.

Johnson's eyes filled with tears as he explained that he had made it back just in time for his mom's birthday.

'It's going to sound silly but I promised my mom I'd be home for her birthday, which is today.'

Johnson described the apocalyptic environment he left behind. 'So 3am, wind's coming in, the towers are going down, the streets look like spaghetti with all the power lines down,' he said

Johnson's eyes filled with tears as he explained that he had made it back just in time for his mom's birthday. Pictured: Johnson embracing his mother at Sacramento Airport

'Words just can't describe how we felt,' Delong said after her son returned safely

His relieved mom Delong added: 'Words just can't describe how we felt.'

Meanwhile, Maui local Jonathan Melikidse said he feared his wife and teenage children had died after their connection cut during what he feared was a frantic final phone call.

When the wildfires erupted, Melikidse was working on the south side of the island when the wildfires erupted, but his wife Christy and their children Grace, 17, and Gavin, 16, were at their family home in the flame-ravaged town of Lahaina.

'The last call I had with my wife was, she was leaving our house on foot,' Melikidse told KTLA.

He said he could hear his children on the line, adding: 'They were really, really close and they were screaming her name.

'But the sounds and commotion were so crazy and the smoke was so thick, she couldn't see them.

'The last call I got from her was that she had lost sight of the kids because the smoke was so thick.

'She was frantic and scared and I couldn't do anything and then her phone cut out.'

A group of desperate Lahaina residents cling to a piece of plywood in the ocean on Tuesday after jumping into the water to escape the hellish flames that have so far killed 55 people

Residents of Lahaina survey the damage on Friday, August 11, three days after a catastrophic wildfire ripped through the town

Melikidse spent the night without any communication from his family, while knowing his neighborhood was burning and people were dying.

He could not reach them because roads to Lahaina were closed and even aid teams said they were cut off from Lahaina.

'I had heard stories of a coast guard boat picking up 12 people from the water and I called the coast guard at probably midnight and they were not on the list of people that were picked up,' Melikidse said.

Sixteen hours later, he received a text from a friend which finally gave the news he'd been hoping for.

'It said, "I have your wife and kids," Melikidse said tearfully. 'It was the best thing I heard.'

However, although his family have survived, they were separated amid the chaos and they are now stranded on opposite sides of the island.

'There's just so much commotion right now,' Melikidse said. 'The people on the other side don't even know when food is being brought or where they can get clean drinking water.

'There are still bodies in the street, bodies still being washed up on shore. I think this is going to be far, far worse.'

The fire began on Tuesday, spreading quickly and ferociously. While the exact cause of it remains unclear, high winds, dry conditions and low humidity exacerbated the flames fatally.

Fifty-five people have been confirmed dead already and 1,000 remain missing three days on from the blaze, which incinerated the entire town of Lahaina.
Police in London are braced for further TikTok-inspired flashmob looting this weekend days after chaotic scenes saw police and youths clash in Oxford Street.

A warning has been issued for Bexleyheath in south-east London, with one shopping centre in the area saying there was a threat of it being 'targeted by gangs of youths'.

The Metropolitan Police has vowed to increase its presence in the area after 'social media speculation' and has put a dispersal order in place giving officers increased powers to deal with anti-social behaviour over the weekend.

It comes as cops in Southend-on-Sea clamped down on an apparent copycat invasion that had been planned for the seaside resort, with fears of a repeat of a mass gathering that led to a mass brawl on a beach last week.

Officers from Essex Police took no chances though, as they turned away scores of balaclava-clad youths after they arrived on Thursday afternoon at Southend Central station on a train from London.

There are fears of a repeat of scenes which saw chaos on Oxford Street earlier this week as youths clashed with police. Pictured: Police officers try to stop youths as they run out of a McDonald's in Oxford Street

Police in Southend have clamped down on a similar event by turning away youths at the train station. Pictured: Two Essex Police officers walk down the seafront in Southend on Friday

This week's dramatic scenes on Oxford Street have sparked fears that US-style flashmob looting could become more commonplace in Britain and organised on social media apps.

Crowds gathered in Europe's busiest shopping street on Wednesday after posts circulated on TikTok and Snapchat urging users to rob JD Sports. Nine people were arrested and Scotland Yard issued 34 dispersal orders, banning offenders from the area for 48 hours.

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In dramatic scenes cops wielding batons were seen chasing after youths and handcuffing suspected troublemakers in front of shocked shoppers, while some stores were forced to close their doors amid the mayhem.

It is believed there could be repeat scenes in another part of London this weekend, amid rumours on social media of another event in Bexleyheath.

One shopping centre, Bexleyheath Broadway, said it intended to put additional security staff on patrol this weekend to deal with any unruliness.

In a statement reported by News Shopper, it said: 'Many of you will have seen on social media the potential threat of stores being targeted by gangs of youths who intend to steal stock.

'They are targeting specific towns and Bexleyheath has been listed for this coming Saturday 12th August.

'Whilst this may come to nothing, we have chosen to take the treat seriously in order that we cover every eventually.

'We will be increasing the number of guards within the shopping centre, ensuring that one is positioned at each main entrance.

'If we see that there is any trouble outside we will shut all entrances until everything calms down.

'For those who trade front facing on the Square, please be assured that extra police will be patrolling throughout the day and the BID is ordering extra private security personnel who will work alongside the police to keep everyone safe.

'If you see any activity outside that concerns you then we would encourage you to close your doors until trouble subsides.'

The Metropolitan Police has issued a dispersal order for Welling and Bexleyheath Broadway this weekend amid threats of further anti-social behaviour

The chaos in Oxford Street on Wednesday was triggered by an online push to 'rob JD Sports'

Police were seen wrestling young men to the ground in the Oxford Street area on Wednesday

Police in Southend issued a 48-hour dispersal order for parts of the city centre and seafront

Meanwhile, the Met has put a dispersal order in place for Welling and Bexleyheath Broadway which went into effect at 4pm on Friday, August 11, and is set to last until 4pm on Sunday, August 13.

This gives means officers can order people suspected of causing trouble or intending to commit anti-social behaviour to leave the area, and allows them to arrest people if they don't comply.

There were fears the violence seen in London on Wednesday could spread to Southend after troublemakers urged copycats to 'get lit' on the beach.

Essex Police yesterday set up a dispersal zone for 48 hours, giving officers the power to turn people away and stop them gathering in an area around the city centre and seafront.

The troublemakers cowering behind a cloak of anonymity By George Odling and Jacob Dirnhube Often hiding behind anonymous avatars and rarely publishing their real names, social media troublemakers can be fiendishly difficult to find. The phenomenon of advertising a store looting online appears to have originated in the US, where there was a spate of rapidly organised robberies that began in 2021. In California that November, thieves used social media to organise two raids, including the luxury department store Nordstrom. Kevin Wilk, the mayor of Walnut Creek near San Francisco, said at the time: 'This was not a random gathering of dozens of people, but a planned, organised attack  organised retail robbery.' The same month, three separate Best Buy stores in Minneapolis were targeted  also by a mob of strangers thought to have been brought together by social media. Closer to home, a schoolboy from Basildon in Essex was instrumental in drumming up support for the Oxford Street attack  and subsequent chaos in Southend yesterday. The 15-year-old boasted on his TikTok profile that he travelled for two hours on Wednesday to take part in the central London protest and ignored orders from a police officer to leave the area. He previously helped to organise a similar event in Southend on August 1 which saw police dispersing a group of young people, including a teenage girl who was arrested. The teenage boy shared multiple posts about the planned action in Southend yesterday. Among those spotted on Oxford Street on Wednesday and Southend yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro. The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people's homes, was filmed being spoken to by police officers and given dispersal orders on both occasions. But he has insisted he was not involved in the violence or organising any chaos. Mizzy told MailOnline today: 'Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming 'Mizzy'. 'As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave. They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can't come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested. 'I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who where causing antisocial behaviour.' Speaking publicly for the first time in June, Mizzy's mother told the Mail that he needed to stop playing pranks and find a job. 'I've had enough. Even if he goes to the shop, he does his stupid little pranks,' she said. 'I don't like what he's doing  I'm not supporting him. He needs to find a job and sort himself out. That's what he needs to do. He's a very clued up kid  he's very clued up. Bacari was very good at school. He has an education.' Advertisement

It followed a viral social media post which urged followers to head to Southend's beaches and 'get lit' which is slang for partying and getting intoxicated with alcohol or drugs or both.

Rumours were rife that some gang members had last week armed themselves with water pistols containing acid to spray rivals at the event, dubbed the Southend Motive on social media.

The planned 'beach motive' for Thursday was advertised on a flyer circulating on social media as 'Southend Mo Pt.2' with a cation saying 'get lit', although it added, 'No violence, good vibes'.

Among those given a dispersal order by Essex Police officers yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro.

The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people's homes, posted a video on social media of him being spoken to by a police officer in the sunshine outside the seafront's theme park Adventure Island.

Mizzy told MailOnline today that he had just been in the city to enjoy a trip to the beach  and was only spoken to because of a previous similar disturbance in the city on August 1, which saw a teenage girl arrested.

Mizzy said: 'Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming 'Mizzy'.

'As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave.

'They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can't come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested.

'I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who were causing antisocial behaviour.'

The TikTokker, who last week failed to appear before magistrates accused of breaching a court order, was also given a dispersal order by police at Oxford Street on Wednesday. He later released a video insisting he had not been involved in the chaotic scenes that day.

Officers were keeping a low profile this morning, with only a single police van visible on the seafront next to an unmanned portable police mobile building.

Local residents believe that publicity about the extra police powers encouraged troublemakers to stay away from the resort.

Gary Mansfield, 49, who rents out deckchairs on the beach for 5 a day, said: 'The police have been taking things very seriously, and it is a good job.

'There were loads of officers here yesterday in case anything kicked off and they set up a cordon to stop kids coming through.

'But luckily nothing happened, and it all passed peacefully. It was just a normal busy day. We want crowds of people, but we don't want crowds of troublemakers.

'It is quiet again today, but I am not taking any chances. Normally, I would put out loads of deckchairs to encourage people to hire them, but I am only putting out a few today.

'I want to be able to put away all my chairs in a hurry if trouble starts. The last thing you wants is people hurling around chairs and battering each other with them.

'We could do without all this fuss because we have just had our worst July ever with the terrible weather. We only worked seven days in the whole of July.'

A shopkeeper on the seafront who asked not to be named said: 'It was chaos here last Tuesday (August 1). There were hundreds of kids running around.

'They were threatening each other and fights were starting. We heard them saying that some had acid in their water pistols.

'Another lad was saying, 'We are going to shoot our enemies, and if we can't shoot enemies, we will shoot at random'.

'One girl landed up in an ambulance, and the cops were trying desperately to keep things under control. The next door shop closed at 4.30pm and we stuck it out until 6.30pm.

'It's just not fair. It is giving Southend a bad name. Thank goodness, the police are taking it seriously.'

Paul Thompson, 49, the owner of Pebbles cafe on the seafront, said: 'The problems on Tuesday last week involved large groups of kids aged 14 to 16 who had largely come up on trains from London.

'People started arriving at 3pm and by 4pm there was a police dispersal order in place, but the police were caught out because there was not enough officers to enforce it.

'There were hundreds of kids milling around and there were flashpoints, but there was no stabbings or serious violence.

Police officers talk to each other as they patrol the seafront at Southend-on-Sea on Friday

A police car is parked on the Southend's seafront today as officers clamp down on threats of anti-social behaviour

Gary Mansfield, deckchair manager at Jubilee Beach in Southend, said the threats of anti-social behaviour had put him on edge

Paul Thompson, who owns Pebbles restaurant on Southend's seafront, was grateful there was no repeat of disorder from last week in the city

'There had been talk on social media about people bringing along acid in water pistols, but there is no evidence that happened. It was a more a matter of it being intimidating or families trying to enjoy themselves.

'At one point the police made an arrest and were trying to get the person into a van when they were surrounded by kids trying to stop it and an officer had to use their spray.

'It looked like the same event was going to be staged here again yesterday, but this time the police brought in extra resources.

'They got a dispersal order in place in advance and were waiting at the stations to turn away youths who had mostly jumped the barriers and did not have tickets. I heard that around 200 people were turned away and sent back to London.

'A few groups got down to the beach and were walking around in puffer jackets, balaclavas and face masks, but the police were on top of them straight away, and made them leave.

'It was a far more robust approach. Anyone who looked like a troublemaker was confronted and searched.

'I think it was partly as a result of what happened in Oxford Street this week, and the comments made by the Home Secretary about how tough action should be taken against the organisers.

'There were no social media pictures or videos of anything happening yesterday which proves that the police approach worked. Hopefully, it will be a blueprint for things going forward.'

READ MORE HERE: Marks & Spencer executive warns demise of Oxford Street is fuelling crime including US-style flashmob looting Advertisement

Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan, the South local policing area commander for Essex Police, said: 'I want to be really clear that we  and of course the city's attractions and businesses  want people to come to Southend, we want them to use all the facilities here  but we won't tolerate crime and antisocial behaviour.

'We have a significant policing presence in the city today. That includes the city centre, across the seafront and close to the train stations.

'The dispersal order is by no means a blanket ban on people coming to Southend and enjoying all it has to offer, but if people come here and behave antisocially or commit crime, the reality is we're going to take a robust approach to that and people acting that way could ultimately end up in a police cell.

'Throughout today, and indeed as we enter this weekend, there will be an obvious police presence in city.

'We're there to help people and make sure people can enjoy the city safely. But equally, the officers will respond appropriately and robustly if they have to.'

It meant there were no scenes similar to those on display in Oxford Street on Wednesday, which sparked outrage with a Marks & Spencer executive to warning that 'the jewel in London's shopping crown' but was now little more than 'empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors'.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said thugs who looted stores in Oxford Street must be 'hunted down and locked up', and that the UK must not be allowed to plunge into 'lawlessness'.

Sharing a video of the Oxford Street arrests on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Braverman wrote: 'We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK.

'The police have my full backing to do whatever is necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up.'

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said it was closely monitoring the situation amid fears copycats will target high streets across the country.

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said he was 'appalled' by the scenes in Oxford Street and warned that copycats could become a 'real issue' in other parts of the country.

He added: 'Theft from shops is a big enough problem already without this type of activity being promoted on social media. Large retail chains often employ security guards, but that option is not open to the smaller retailers.

'The police were proactive in Oxford Street. But they have the resources in London. If these criminal activities were to move to smaller towns, we would see a real issue for the retail businesses in those places.'
An Ecuadorian congressional candidate survived an assassination after a gunman shot at her just one day after a presidential candidate was murdered following a campaign event.

Estefany Puente revealed that she was driving a vehicle with her father and a campaign staffer when two men aboard a motorcycle opened fire on Thursday in Queveo, a city in the province of Los Rios.

Shots fired by one of the suspects grazed Puente's left arm and also shattered the car's front shield window. Her father and a campaign staffer were in the car as well and were not injured.

'Today I have been the victim of an attack against my integrity,' Puente wrote on her Facebook.

Estefany Puente, who is running for a seat in Ecuador's National Assembly, was grazed by a bullet on the left arm after two suspects approached her car on a motorcycle and opened fire Thursday. The incident took place one day after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassination outside a school where he had held a campaign event

The car belonging to Ecuadorian National Assembly candidate Estefany Puente was shot at multiple times Thursday in Quevedo, a city in the province of Los Rios

As of Friday, authorities in Ecuador had not made arrests following an assassination attempt against National Assembly candidate Estefany Puente

The politician, who is running for a National Assembly seat, said the attack was the latest example of what residents in Quevedo, Los Rios and in all of Ecuador are experiencing because they 'have been forgotten by an inoperative government, wrapped in corruption, mafias, the result of previous governments (of the fugitives) and the current one, of those who negotiate with criminal groups and are protected by such.'

DailyMail.com reached out to Puente for comment.

Authorities were reviewing surveillance cameras in the area in hopes of identifying the suspects, who were still on the run as of Friday afternoon.

Puente, who previously sought office in the Quevedo city council, is running under the Popular Unity Movement, said she remained determined to continue to work with the party's presidential candidate Yaku Perez to root out corruption from public institutions and jailed 'white collar' criminals.

The attack comes as Ecuador was still reeling from the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old, who was running under the Build Ecuador Movement, was being escorted out of a school gym in Quito when he was shot moments after he stepped inside a vehicle.

Ecuadorian Presidential Fernando Villavicencio was murdered Wednesday outside a school gym where he had held a campaign event. He said August 1 that he and his team had been threatened by a drug trafficking gang. He is pictured at the rally on Wednesday

Ecuadorian authorities have six suspects from Colombia in custody linked to Wednesday's assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. A seventh suspect , also from Colombia, was wounded in a shootout with police and died while he was in an ambulance rushing him to a hospital

President Guillermo Lasso said the suspects threw a grenade into the street while escaping. but it did not explode. Police later destroyed the grenade with a controlled explosion.

One Colombian suspect died following a shootout with the police and six others were arrested. A judge ordered them held in preventive custody for 30 days.

Court records showed that the six suspects were charged with illicit trafficking of substances. Two of the defendants were charged July 5 with reception of stolen goods.

All the men had previous criminal records in Ecuador and Colombia, an Ecuadorean police spokesperson said.

A search of the public records database run by the Colombian police listed three of the men as having no criminal record, while the remaining three were listed as 'currently not required by any judicial authority.'

Ecuadorian congressional candidate Estefany Puente survived an assassination attempt on Thursday. She was grazed by a bullet on the left arm

Estefany Puente, a candidate for Ecuador's National Assembly, talks with witnesses near her vehicle after gunmen opened fire

A week before his murder, Villavicencio participated in a virtual interview with Colombian television news network NTN24 and revealed that he had been threatened by the Sinaloa Cartel, the notorious Mexican criminal organization founded by the jailed drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, and one of its main associates in Ecuador, Jose 'Fito' Macias, the jailed boss of Los Choneros gang.

Villavicencio, a married father of five, said the menaces were the byproduct of a campaign pledge to tear down criminal organizations who were linked to political figures.

'What these threats that come from the Sinaloa Cartel do is demonstrate is that our government program is a program that precisely aims to break and dismantle these criminal drug trafficking structures in collusion with political actors, and this is perhaps the most important thing,' he said.

Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata said the killing was a 'political crime of a terrorist nature' seeking to disrupt the August 20 elections.

Lasso declared three days of national mourning and a state of emergency that involves deploying additional military personnel throughout the country.

In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would fight corruption, including among police forces, and imprison more criminals.

'Here I am showing my face. Im not scared of them,' Villavicencio said in a statement before his death, naming Macias by his alias, 'Fito.'
Britain is set to bask in five days of sunshine and hot weather later this month, with temperatures expected to hit 25C in some places.

Those opting for a staycation during what is left of the summer holidays will be able to pull out the sun loungers for a week from August 19 to August 22, according to the BBC's long range weather forecast.

The broadcaster predicts that temperatures will hit up to 25C in London during the period, with long spells of sunny weather expected in Nottingham, Southend, Margate and Lincoln.

The mercury is predicted to hit 26C in Cambridge on August 20.

According to the Met Office, conditions across the UK will be fairly dry with plenty of sunshine, with the risk of isolated showers in some places between August 16 and August 25.

'Temperatures likely warm initially, perhaps gradually increasing through the week, with southeastern parts becoming potentially hot', the forecast reads.

The broadcaster predicts that temperatures will hit up to 25C in London during the period, with long spells of sunny weather expected in Nottingham, Southend, Margate and Lincoln (Pictured - Cullercoast Bay in North Tyneside)

The warm weather will see people flocking to the UK coast to enjoy the sunshine (Pictured Bournemouth in Dorset this week)

Those opting for a staycation during what is left of the summer holidays will be able to pull out the sun loungers for a week from August 19 to August 22 (Pictured - People enjoying the sun at Herne Bay Beach in Kent this week)

According to the Met Office, conditions across the UK will be fairly dry with plenty of sunshine (Pictured - Holidaymakers enjoy a trip to Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside)

People enjoy the sun at Herne Bay Beach in Kent earlier this week

The weather has been slightly warmer in parts of the UK this week (Pictured - Met Office Map for Friday 11 August)

However, the week is set to end with wet and stormy weather, with chances of heavy rain and thundery showers expected in western and southwestern parts of the UK

However, the week is set to end with wet and stormy weather, with chances of heavy rain and thundery showers expected in western and southwestern parts of the UK. Temperatures will remain high during this period, especially in eastern England.

Towards the end of the month, the weather is expected to turn wet once again, particularly in the north and northwest, while the south is predicted to have thunderstorms interspersed with periods of warmer temperatures.

This period of unsettled weather is expected to last until September 9.

The five-day sunny spell comes after an unseasonably wet summer period, with lower than average temperatures across the majority of Britain.

Last month was the sixth wettest July in Britain on record and the wettest since 2009, with 140.1mm (5.5in) of rain falling  170 per cent of the average amount.

Heavy rain it thought to have been one contributing factor to a downturn in footfall across UK retail destinations.

Rail strikes and the cost-of-living crisis are also said to have contributed to the number of people going out to the shops dropping for the first time in 14 years, with footfall down 0.3 per cent between June and July this year - compared to a rise of 3.7 per cent between May and June.

But the warm weather in June encourage Britons to eat out and drink more, boosting GDP and encouraging the UK economy to grow by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year, with a 0.5 per cent increase in June alone.

This year saw the hottest June on record, with the Met Office recording an average temperature of 15.8C (60.4F).

The previous high of 14.9C (58.8F) was recorded in 1940 and 1976.
Two women have been arrested over the murder of a man who died after suffering a head injury at a house in Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Police launched a murder investigation after the 60-year-old was found seriously injured at a property on Fraser Drive in Woodseats shortly before 11:30pm on Wednesday.

He was taken to hospital, but sadly died in the early hours of this morning.

The force said it has now arrested two women, aged 44 and 35, on suspicion of murder and they remain in police custody.

It added that the local community will see an increased police presence and urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Two women have been arrested over the murder of a man who died after suffering a head injury at a house on Fraser Drive (pictured) in Sheffield

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Thomas Woodward, said: 'We have now declared our investigations into this man's death a murder investigation and therefore the local community will see an increased police presence on Fraser Drive as we continue our enquiries.

'We know incidents like this can be really worrying for local communities, and therefore I would like to reassure the public that we have detectives from across the force working hard to piece together the circumstances surrounding what happened on Wednesday evening.

'We would encourage the public not to speculate, and to respect the privacy of those affected at this difficult time.

'If you have concerns, then please do go and speak to our officers in the area - they will listen and support you.

'We are keen to hear from anyone who lives on Fraser Drive and may have seen or heard anything untoward on the evening of Wednesday, or in the early hours of Thursday morning.

'If you were in the area at the time, or if you think you may have CCTV or dashcam footage which could assist our enquiries, please call 101 quoting incident number 1225 of 9 August.

'Any information, however small, may assist us in bringing those responsible to justice.'

Anyone with information who may wish to stay anonymous can also contact Crimestoppers via their website Crimestoppers-uk.org or call their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.
Campaigners have demanded legal changes to protect pubs after the 18th-Century 'wonky pub' The Crooked House was demolished.

The Campaign for Pubs said the 'appalling' case of the old building was evidence of 'predatory purchasing and asset-stripping of historic pubs' which should be banned.

The Crooked House, in Himley, West Midlands, burned down on Saturday and was totally demolished without permission just days later - with police confirming the cause to have been arson.

The site, known as Britain's wonkiest pub, was sold by pub company Marston's to a private buyer two weeks prior to the fire after being on the open market since January this year.

The Campaign for Pubs has now written to Rishi Sunak urging a change to planning law which would prevent pubs aged 50 years or older from being sold for alternative use, converted or demolished until they had been marketed as a pub for at least a year.

 Slide me  Campaigners have demanded legal changes to protect pubs after the 18th-Century 'wonky pub' The Crooked House (pictured before and after) was demolished

People inspect the rubble remains of The Crooked House pub, which was demolished two days after it was gutted by fire

The remains of The Crooked House pub from an aerial view of the site after the fire

The Campaign for Pubs has written to Rishi Sunak urging a change to planning law which would prevent pubs aged 50 years or older from being sold for alternative use, converted or demolished until they had been marketed as a pub for at least a year

Footage of Britain's Wonkiest Pub being razed to the ground at speed has sparked fury among locals

Greg Mulholland, campaign director of the Campaign for Pubs, said: 'What has happened to the historic and unique Crooked House pub is a national scandal, as well as a loss to the local community and its history and heritage.

'As well as a full investigation and appropriate action, this sad and unnecessary destruction of a world-famous pub must be the catalyst for change, to stop cynical and unscrupulous owners buying up pubs to convert and develop them and to stop the endemic asset-stripping of our historic pubs.

'We need a simple change to planning law so that no historic pub can be sold for alternative use, converted or demolished until it has been properly marketed for at least a year at the independently valued price as a pub.'

He added: 'This would stop the cynical destruction of pubs and allow licensees, local breweries, entrepreneurs and communities to buy our historic pubs and make a success of them.'

Planning laws were changed in 2017 which meant pubs in England could not be converted or demolished without permission.

But Nik Antona, chair of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said around 700 pubs around the country were currently closed and according to its figures, around 30 had been demolished or had its use changed this year without planning permission.

Adam Taylor and his wife Carly (both pictured) owned the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire when the major blaze broke out at the weekend

The Crooked Pub house pictured after the fire before it was demolished without permission

The fire left the historic old pub in ruins and without windows and a roof

South Staffordshire Council said on Tuesday that it had given permission to the Crooked House's owners to demolish the first floor of the building on safety grounds but had not agreed to, nor deemed necessary, the site's total demolition.

In a four-page letter to Mr Sunak, the Campaign for Pubs said the government was overseeing a 'laissez-faire attitude' to protecting historic pubs, which saw pubs marketed at 'hugely inflated freehold values' which priced out potential tenants in favour of property developers.

It said: 'A historic pub should only ever be converted if there is no one who wants to buy it as a pub, at the independently marketed value as a pub.

'This is precisely what our 'Give Pubs Protection' policy calls for.

'When anyone - individual or company - buys a historic pub they buy the building as a pub and can, therefore, expect to realise the value as a pub when they sell it.

'They cannot and should not seek to profit from selling the pub for development and this must be stopped where there is a buyer as a pub.'

It added: 'In the light of the case of the Crooked House, but also the many hundreds of cases up and down the country where communities are losing viable pubs, we urge you to now implement this and make this simple change to planning law, to stop the cynical predatory purchasing and asset-stripping of our nation's pubs.'

Visiting the remains of the Crooked House on Thursday, Mr Antona called for landowners to be prosecuted for flouting planning rules.

He said: 'Until local authorities, who are strapped for cash at the moment as we know, take the bull by the horn and start enforcing these regulations we're not going to be happy that pubs are safe and protected under the current legislation.'
Police are questioning four people on suspicion of conspiracy to murder after a young father was gunned down in a spa town.

Ben Daly, 30, was found seriously injured on a residential street in the Regency town of Leamington Spa early on Thursday.

Two men and two women were arrested in the Leamington and Warwick areas on Thursday evening.

This afternoon the family of Mr Daly, said he was a much-loved father, son, grandson, brother, uncle, and friend and our one and only.

In a statement released through police they paid tribute to Mr Daly, saying: You brought so much love and laughter to us all.

Ben Daly, 30, who died after a shooting in Leamington Spa yesterday, was described as a much-loved father, son, grandson, brother, uncle, and friend

A murder investigation was launched by Warwickshire Police following Mr Daly's death yesterday

Your pranks kept so many people on their toes.

We love you so very much and well hold you in our hearts forever.

Mr Daly was a talented amateur boxer in his youth, winning 11 out of 12 bouts he fought under the tutelage of Clearys boxing gym in Leamington Spa.

Edwin Cleary, owner of the gym, was too upset to comment yesterday.

A source in Coventry boxing circles said: Ben was a lovely kid  cheeky but with a great sense of humour.

He fought at lightweight and was really talented. He was one of the kids that got away really.

The source said Mr Daly drifted in to gym work and began concentrating on lifting weights and eventually gave up boxing.

Another source said: Ben was a very popular fighter and he was very good. He built up quite a following in his time on the local scene.

Mr Daly was a talented amateur boxer in his youth, winning 11 out of 12 bouts he fought

A source said Mr Daly drifted in to gym work and began concentrating on lifting weights and eventually gave up boxing

Another source said: Ben was a very popular fighter and he was very good. He built up quite a following in his time on the local scene.

Friend Derek Fitzpatrick said he had played darts against Mr Daly in a pub league match just last week.

He added: Ben was an absolutely fantastic young man and a devoted dad.

He was on good form at the darts. He was just the sort of person who would light up a room. Everybody is just in shock at what has happened.

Mr Daly, one of three siblings, went on to work for a local removals firm.

His father, Patrick, died four years ago.

Mr Daly, who lived in Leamington Spa, was found collapsed on Clemens Street and was taken to hospital, where he passed away.

Detectives believe he was shot a short time earlier in nearby Frances Havergal Close, where floral tributes were building yesterday.

One bouquet had the message 'you will never be forgotten, Theresa, Mike and Paddy' while another photo collage card read simply 'Ben, we love you so very much.'

Residents in Clemens Street said they were shocked to learn that a murder had taken place in what is normally a quiet residential area.

Residents pulled back the curtains on Thursday morning to find police vehicles parked at the entrance to the Close.

One resident living next door to Mr Dalys former family home in Leamington Spa said she couldn't believe he had died.

Floral tributes have been left at the scene, close to the spot where the 30-year-old lost his life

Warwickshire Police stated investigators believe Mr Daly was shot a short time earlier in nearby Frances Havergal Close before he was found collapsed at the corner of Clemens Street

Police cordoned off the scene of Mr Daly's death, in the town of Leamington Spa

Chief Inspector Faz Chishty said: 'We recognise the concern this incident, which is believed to be isolated, may have caused the local community and want to reassure them that a full investigation is underway'

'It's absolutely tragic, she added. A friend of his came into the shop where I work yesterday and confirmed it was Ben.

A post-mortem is due to take place and the man's next of kin has been informed while his family is supported by specially trained liaison officers.

Chief Inspector Faz Chishty added that the victim was seen in Kelsey's, a bar near the towns railway station, on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

He said: We know the victim was in Kelsey's with four other people.

We're keen to speak to anyone who was in the bar during this time.

We recognise the concern this incident, which is believed to be isolated, may have caused the local community and want to reassure them that a full investigation is underway.

If anyone was in the area shortly before 3am this morning and may have seen or heard anything suspicious, or who may have any dashcam or doorbell footage, please get in contact.

Staff and customers at Kelsey's bar, near Leamington station around half a mile from the murder scene, declined to comment yesterday.
An Orange County California judge was released on $1 million bail after allegedly shooting his wife dead in their Anaheim Hills mansion.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested last week after police received reports of a shooting at their $1.4 million mansion in the ritzy California locale.

Ferguson, 72, was charged Friday with murder in the shooting of his wife Sheryl after being released August 4 on a $1 million bail.

Prosecutors want additional bail conditions because authorities recovered 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of his home.

In a statement from the district attorney's office, a rifle registered in his name has not been accounted for.

Ferguson, 72, was charged Friday with murder in the shooting of his wife Sheryl after being released August 4 on a $1 million bail

Ferguson, left, has been charged with the murder of his wife Sheryl last Thursday in their home

The district attorney's office also want Ferguson to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor as part of the new conditions.

Ferguson's attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement saying: 'This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more.'

Police arrived at his home last Thursday to find his wife Sheryl Ferguson shot and she was declared dead at the scene,

The couple's adult son, Phillip Ferguson, had called the police about the incident last Thursday to report the shooting.

The district attorney's office said in a press release that they want Ferguson to avoid contact with his son, except under certain circumstances.

In announcing the charges, the DA's office confirmed that he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.

Ferguson served as a judge handling criminal cases in a courthouse in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He previously worked in the Orange County District Attorney's office, and prosecuted drug cases, according to the North Orange County Bar Association.

Investigators remove firearms from the Ferguson household in Anaheim, California last Friday

Prosecutors say they recovered 47 weapons from the home and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition

The couples son Phillip, who is pictured here with his mom Sheryl called the cops after the incident last week

The family had lived together in the Anaheim Hills area of the city, inside this $1.4 million home

During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an 'attorney of the year' by the association. He served as its president from 2012 to 2014.

'This is a very tragic situation for all involved,' Lorrie A. Walton, a current member of the association's board, said in an email last week.

Ferguson took a seat on the bench in 2015. Two years later, he was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate.

He was also Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency's findings.

During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an 'attorney of the year' by the North Orange County Bar Association

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child.

He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

He was previously married to another woman and they had a son. He and Sheryl Ferguson have another son together, said Juli Mitchell, the sister of his ex-wife.
The wife of the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann risks losing her health insurance as she battles breast and skin cancer, and the family now plan to sue over the search that destroyed their home.

Lawyers for Asa Ellerup, 59, also released new images of inside her family home after the police spent more than a week scouring for evidence.

In a press conference on Friday, Ellerup's lawyer, Robert Macedonio, said the family would file a notice of claim over the search because their civil rights have been violated. They also released new images of the damage in the home which shows their belongings trashed.

Ellerup has also been battling skin and breast cancer for years and now risks losing her health insurance, Macedonio said on Friday.

'She is battling breast and skin cancer, her medical insurance is up in 90 days because she was on her husband's and that ends because she filed for divorce,' he said. 'Cancer drugs are expensive, how is she going to pay for treatment?'

Heurmann is accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, who disappeared in 2009 and 2010. He is also the prime suspect in a fourth murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, according to prosecutors.

Asa Ellerup, the wife of Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann, has been battling breast and skin cancer for years

Disgraced architect Heurmann is accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, who disappeared in 2009 and 2010

One of the new photos provided by Ellerup's lawyers shows the 'normal' family home at Christmas in 2009/2010 when cops say the murders took place

Lawyers also released new images of inside her family home after the police spent more than a week scouring for evidence

Lawyers for Ellerup explained she was currently undergoing cancer treatment that is expected to continue for the next 12 to 18 months.

'The source of her health insurance was from her husband's employment. So that will no longer be available to her to treat the cancer over the next 18 months,' Macedonio added.

He had previously said the family found their Massapequa Park home in total disarray and belongings left scattered on the floor after investigators scoured for evidence.

On Friday Macedonio released a photo of the 'normal' family home looking festive during the 2009-2010 holiday season, which is when cops believe the murders took place.

Lawyers also released a series of other pictures to show how the property had been ransacked and damaged by investigators.

When asked if he felt the families civil rights had been breached by the state the home was left in, Macedonio said: I wouldnt be filing the notice of claim if we didnt.

'They spend their time outside on the porch, because they cant go inside,' he added. It is also understood the family do not even have mattresses in the home.

Heuermann and Ellerup have two children - a daughter Victoria Heuermann, 26, who worked at her father's Manhattan architecture firm, and a son Christopher Sheridan, 33, who has special needs.

He also said that Heuermann had called Ellerup from jail but did not say what the conversation was about - only that she has been warned not to discuss the case.

In a separate press conference on Friday, John Ray, attorney for several of the Gilgo Beach victims, claimed that Ellerup should be treated as a suspect.

He confirmed he had not taken his concerns to the District Attorney, claiming that the taskforce still had further lines of inquiry to probe.

Police have clarified previously that Ellerup is not a suspect in this case and was out of the state was they believe the murders occurred.

On Friday the family's lawyers also stressed in their press conference that Ellerup and her two children are not suspects in the case.

Lawyers for the family previously said they found their Massapequa Park home in total disarray and belongings scattered on the floor after investigators scoured for evidence

Macedonio said: 'They spend their time outside on the porch, because they cant go inside.' It is also understood the family do not even have mattresses in the home

In a press conference on Friday, Ellerup's lawyer, Robert Macedonio, said the family would file a notice of claim over the search because their civil rights have been violated

In one of the photos belongings can be seen stacked up in a room at the property, with boxes crumpled and items scattered

Another photo reveals damage to what looks like a doorbell system on the front door of the family home

A 'major excavation' took place at Heuermann's Massapequa Park home. Pictured are State Police investigators gathering evidence at the scene

Ellerup previously told DailyMail.com that she doesn't 'want to walk down the street' and hears what those who live nearby say about their home.

The neighbors want the house gone,' she said. 'They want it bulldozed.

Ellerup filed for divorce to 'protect herself' from any future lawsuits and has spoken with her husband in jail, her attorney revealed Monday.

She said that some neighbors had been charitable, as a Gofundme started by Melissa Moore, the daughter of the Happy Face Serial Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, which has raised over $20,000.

Ellerup has been largely quiet since her husband was taken into custody on July 18, 10 years after the bodies of his alleged victims were found on Gilgo Beach.

She has not been charged and is not believed to have been involved in any way in her husband's alleged crimes.

Prosecutors say Ellerup, who is Icelandic, was out of town every time her husband killed. After he was charged, she was seen filing divorce papers at a Long Island courthouse.

The couple have two adult children - a daughter Victoria Heuermann, 26, who worked at her father's Manhattan architecture firm, and a son Christopher Sheridan, 33, who has special needs.

The new pictures and images come after attorney John Ray called a surprise press conference, in which he is expected to call Ellerup a 'suspect' and not a victim in the Gilgo Beach murders.

It is currently unclear why Ray is taking this stance, but he previously claimed that he thought a 'female accomplice' was involved in the killings.

Vergata's legs were found in a plastic bag at Davis Park on Fire Islands Blue Point Beach nearly two decades prior on April 20, 1996. Her skull was then found off Ocean Parkway in 2011

The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was discovered by Suffolk County Police on December 11, 2010. The body of Megan Waterman, 22, was found two days later

Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 years old when she went missing (left). Amber Lynn Costello was 27 years old. Their bodies were found near Barthelemy's the same day

Brainard-Barnes body was bound by a belt that was stamped with the initials 'WH' or 'HM' - which police said could match relatives of Heuermann

Investigators have identified a seventh victim in the Gilgo Beach murders - known as 'Jane Doe 7' or 'Fire Island Jane Doe' - as Karen Vergata, 34. She is pictured in a school photo

Heuermann is the main suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in 2007.

Brainard-Barnes body was bound by a belt that was stamped with the initials 'WH' or 'HM' - which police said could match relatives of Heuermann.

Heuermann last appeared in court on August 1, and appeared dishevelled as the prosecution handed his lawyer Michael Brown four hard drives worth of evidence.

The judge banned the release of four, two terabyte hard-drives of evidence which have been handed to attorneys and investigators, but which will not become public.

Heuermann will return to court in September. Speaking after the hearing, Brown sparred with the media and insisted on his innocence.

'He told me he didn't do this,' he said, before bemoaning the size of the evidence file and how long it will take to go through it.

'The DA has a whole office... I'm just one guy. Just to pore through the discovery is an enormous task but we're going to do it, we're prepared to do it.

'Whether it's one year or a year and a half, whenever that day comes we're looking forward to defending this case,' he said, adding that he would try to have the trial moved out of Suffolk County.

'This case is one we are going to try in the courtroom.'

Heuermann was arrested in connection to the murders of three women whose bodies were found dumped in burlap sacks on Gilgo Beach

Ellerup's attorney says they tore through every inch of the home during their investigation and left it a mess

It comes after investigators identified a seventh victim in the Gilgo Beach murders - known as 'Jane Doe 7' or 'Fire Island Jane Doe' - as Karen Vergata, 34, who went missing in 1996.

They said Vergata lived in Manhattan, worked as an escort. and was never reported missing.

District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney declined to comment on whether Heuermann is connected to Vergata's murder but emphasized he has not been charged.

The newly identified victim's legs were found in a plastic bag at Davis Park on Fire Islands Blue Point Beach nearly two decades prior on April 20, 1996.

Her skull was then found off Ocean Parkway, near Tobay Beach in Nassau County; her torso and hands were never recovered.

Police said they developed a DNA profile from Vergata's remains in August 2022 after the Gilgo task force was created. That October the FBI was able to identify the remains with genetic genealogy using a swab from one of her relatives.

It comes after case investigators added the profile of teen girl from the Bronx, Judith Ramona Veloz, who vanished in 1993 to the national missing persons database last October - months before they arrested Heuermann.

Heuermann was linked to one of the killings through mitochondrial DNA profile from a pizza crust and a used napkin that he discarded from his Midtown Manhattan office

District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney declined to comment on whether Heuermann is connected to Vergata's murder but emphasized he has not been charged. Heuermann seen in sketch from his August 1 hearing

Victoria Heuermann, 26, and step-brother, Christopher Sheridan, 33, said they are 'not foreclosing on' seeing their father in his Suffolk County incarceration, but will also not rush into making a decision

Veloz was 19 when she went missing from Manhattan nearly 20 years before the Gilgo Beach Four and other remains in the area were discovered.

The suspected serial killer is being looked at for crimes across the US, with Suffolk County and the FBI leading the investigation.

Cops are probing whether he operated in the Atlantic City area, and have been interviewing jailed sex workers who interacted with him.

The investigation now covers four states - Heuermann owns a time-share in Las Vegas and a property in South Carolina - and police are investigating if he could be connected to any unsolved killings there.

Officers executed search warrants at his home in Chester, South Carolina, and recovered a green Chevrolet Avalanche truck they believe is connected to the suspect and one of the murders and transported it back to New York.
Germany is heading towards its own 'Rotherham-style sex abuse scandal' due to 'irreparable damage of uncontrolled migration', a leader in the country's far-right AfD party has claimed.

Maximilian Krah, 46, claimed Germany's 'immigration-drunk establishment politicians' were leading the country towards another Rotherham-like scandal in the UK that saw some 1,400 children sexually exploited by predominantly British-Pakistani men.

Krah, who is leading the Alternative for Germany (AfD) partys European election campaign, also said the number of non-European immigrants admitted into the country could never compensate for a shortfall in the birthrate of 'indigenous' Germans.

Although a spate of sexual assaults against women in Cologne on New Year's Eve in 2015 was blamed on migrants, there has been no evidence of any systemic abuse of children by any migrants in Germany.

Despite this, Krah said that a Rotherham-like situation 'cannot ever be allowed to happen in Germany, but it will happen without the AfD'.

Maximilian Krah speaks during the European Election Assembly at the AfD's federal party congress at the trade fair in Magdeburg, eastern Germany on July 29

Speaking in an interview with The Times, Krah said: 'We must take note that immigration, especially from outside Europe, will never replace our shortfall of indigenous children.

'Nations are different and so uncontrolled immigration is not possible without inflicting lasting and irreparable damage.'

He also said that immigrants had to 'assimilate' into German culture and 'become German' to prevent territories from forming on German soil that did not represent the country.

Krah has previously accused former Chancellor Angela Merkel of population replacement. He specifically used the term 'Umvolkung', a term historically associated with Nazi propaganda.

In terms of its foreign policy, the AfD has a somewhat friendly approach to Putin and the war in Ukraine. It has called for peace in the war-torn country at any cost.

AfD's rise in popularity has been seen at the behest of centreground parties and their failure to deal with issues for many of Germany's most crucial problems like the cost-of-living.

Krah joined the AfD amid Europe's migrant crisis in 2016 - defecting from the CDU.

He has practiced as a criminal lawyer and taken on clients including Holocaust-denying former Catholic bishop Richard Williamson and a man who tied an Iraqi refugee to a tree outside a supermarket.

Krah has also been identified as a right-wing extremist by Germany's BfV security service who have pointed towards what they say are ethno-nationalist, anti-democratic, and Islamophobic remarks previously made by him.

Maximilian Krah attends the European Election Assembly of German far-right party Alternative for Germany in Magdeburg, eastern Germany on August 5

According to polls, AfD is now the second-most popular party in Germany and is only around five points behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) alliance. In recent months they have also surpassed Chancellor Olaf Scholtz's Social Democratic Party (SDP) - the largest in the Bundestag.

Ahead of European parliamentary elections in June next year, some polls have suggested that the far-right party could be as close as three points behind the CDU/CSU alliance.

In three east German states set to hold elections in September next year - including Krahs native Saxony as well as Thuringia and Brandenburg - the AfD is polling ahead of the other parties.

So far, centerground parties have successfully maintained a so-called 'firewall' to keep the AfD away form any potential coalition government. But Krah told The Times: 'Firewalls never hold for long.'

The MEP said establishment politicians relish opportunism, and that he expected to see a shift in Germany's politics next year ahead of the European and state elections.
Iran says frozen assets in ROK, jailed citizens in U.S. to be released soon

Xinhua) 13:26, August 11, 2023

TEHRAN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that banks of the Republic of Korea (ROK) are unfreezing Iran's assets, and a number of "illegally" jailed Iranians in the United States will be soon released.

The ministry said in a statement that the country's funds "had been illegally frozen in the ROK's banks for a few years by the United States," adding that "Iran has obtained the necessary guarantees from the U.S. for its continued commitment to obligations in this regard."

It is estimated that Iran has funds worth over 7 billion U.S. dollars in ROK's two banks, which refuse to process them for fear of possible U.S. penalties.

In addition to the efforts to release the country's "illegally" frozen assets, the ministry said it also works to realize "the freedom of a number of innocent Iranians, who have been illicitly arrested and imprisoned in the U.S. on the baseless accusation of bypassing the U.S. sanctions."

Several of the Iranians jailed in the U.S. would soon be released, it said, adding that Iran still holds several American prisoners whose release is being pursued by the U.S. government.

Over the past months, Iran has repeatedly expressed its readiness to swap prisoners with the U.S. as a humanitarian issue under the precondition that the latter acts "realistically."

In an interview with Al-Monitor published on June 14, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad al-Busaidi, whose country has been playing a mediatory role in the negotiations between Tehran and Washington, said he believed the two countries were nearing an agreement on exchanging prisoners.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Two Alabama men armed with a T-shirt cannon were arrested this week after they planned to shoot contraband with the device into a prison yard.

The two men identified were Alvin Andrews and Ladarius McDade. Both men were at the Limestone Correction Facility Wednesday night attempting to launch the contraband over the prison's fence, the Messenger reported.

The Alabama Department of Corrections said a vehicle that was reported near David Road fled the scene. Officers pursued their car and the chase ended in a cul-de-sac in a nearby residential neighborhood.

Authorities found a T-shirt cannon and a blue duffle bag filled with several cylinder-shaped canisters wrapped in black tape and a night-vision monocular and an additional CO2 cartridge. Though the objects were not immediately identified, as per the news outlet.

The duo was charged with promoting prison contraband, trespassing about prisons, and attempting to evade authority.

Pictured: Ladarius McDade and Andrews were charged with promoting prison contraband, trespassing about prisons, and attempting to evade authority. His bail is set at $158,000

Pictured: Alvin Andrews is being held at the Limestone County Detention Center. His bail is set at $78,500

Authorities found a duffle bag filled with cylinder-shaped packages wrapped in black tape and a night-vision monocular

McDade was released from Bullock Correctional Facility in Union Springs in February, though his crime is unknown.

On Wednesday night, officials were alerted to a suspicious vehicle that had been stationed at the correctional facility located in Limestone County, Alabama.

Alabama Department of Correction officials told WHNT 19 News that their Law Enforcement Services Division and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency State Bureau of Investigations worked together to arrest both men.

The duo is being held at the Limestone County Detention Center. Andrew's bail was set at $78,500 and McDade's at $158,000, a report said.
A doctor from Massachusetts has been charged with exposing himself and masturbating in the seat next to a 14-year-old girl on a 10-hour flight from Honolulu to Boston.

Dr Sudipta Mohanty, 33, who works at Bostons Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center appeared at the citys federal court on Thursday charged with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts.

The court heard that most passengers were asleep when the girl noticed Mohantys leg bouncing up and down under a blanket next to her around half-way through the Hawaiian Airlines flight in May last year.

The girl was travelling with her grandparents who were also asleep across the aisle from her as Mohanty pulled the blanket away, exposing himself and ejaculating.

She felt disgusted and very uncomfortable, the court heard and moved away to another seat when Mohanty got up to clean himself off in the restroom, but only told her family after the plane landed in Boston.

Dr Sudipta Mohanty, 33, works at Bostons Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

The Hawaiian Airlines flight takes around 10 hours to reach Boston from Honoulu

Mohanty who is a primary care physician at the Boston hospital appeared visibly nervous when questioned by two FBI agents at his home in Cambridge.

His hands and voice trembled, the officials reported.

Mohanty denied the allegation, telling the agents, I have no recollection of that.

Court documents claim that Mohanty was travelling with a young woman who earlier in the flight had been holding hands and cuddling with each other.

They were asking each other basic level questions such as, What is your favorite color? which (the girl) found strange, the affidavit states.

Mohanty was released on his bail and ordered to stay away from people under 18 and any places where they might gather.

He faces up to 90 days in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 if convicted.

First Assistant US Attorney Joshua Levy (right) is leading the case against Mohanty (left) and has promised to hold child abusers to account

A spokesman for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said Mohanty is 'on leave'

A spokesperson for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center told Boston.com that the hospital is aware of the allegations.

This individual is on leave and not currently practicing at BIDMC. We are unable to comment further on personnel matters, the hospital said in a statement.

Acting US Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement: Everyone, especially children, has the absolute right to not be exposed to lewd conduct when they are traveling.

If you engage in the type of illicit behavior alleged here, you will be caught and held accountable wherever it happens, he added.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a federal civil rights investigation after it handed over the medical records of its transgender patients to the Tennessee attorney general last year.

VUMC released the records to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in December last year over concerns as part of a medical billing fraud probe.

Now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is looking at potential civil rights violations at the organization.

'We have been contacted by and are working with the Office of Civil Rights,' spokesperson John Howser said in a statement on Thursday.

'We have no further comment since this is an ongoing investigation.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a federal civil rights investigation after it handed over the medical records of its transgender patients to the Tennessee attorney general

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti claims he is conducting a 'run of the mill' medical billing fraud investigation that is not specifically targeting trans patients

After news of the record disclosures was revealed to patients in June a spokesperson for the center said 'the Tennessee Attorney General has legal authority in an investigation to require that VUMC provide complete copies of patient medical records that are relevant to its investigation.

'VUMC was obligated to comply and did so,' Howser said in a statement.'

The act, in a state that has banned certain gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, prompted outrage from patients, two of whom have sued the hospital.

The patients taking legal action argue that VUMC should have removed personally identifying information before turning over the records because the hospital was aware of Tennessee authorities attitude towards trans people.

'The more we learn about the breadth of the deeply personal information that VUMC disclosed, the more horrified we are,' said attorney Tricia Herzfeld, who is representing the patients.

'Our clients are encouraged that the federal government is looking into what happened here.'

Skrmetti has maintained that his office is only conducting a 'run of the mill' investigation into billing fraud, and that it is not specifically targeting trans patients.

His office told the Seattle Times he had 'not heard anything' about the civil rights investigation.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced it is suspending all transgender surgeries pending a review of its program

Dr. Shayne Taylor, a physician at the VUMC Clinic for Transgender Health, was recorded talking about the lucrative finances of transgender surgeries

'Turning a disagreement about the law into a federal investigation would be plainly retaliatory and would reflect a dangerous politicization of federal law enforcement,' spokesperson Amy Wilhite told the publication.

VUMC suspended its gender surgeries last October after a video showing a hospital worker boasting that the procedures are financially lucrative sparked outrage.

The center came under fire after conservative activist Matt Walsh released a 2018 video showing Dr Shayne Taylor - an LGBTQ specialist at the hospital - touting transgender surgeries as 'huge money makers' for the hospital.

VUMC announced it would be halting its transgender services, but that it was doing so only pending review of 'new recommendations' from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health [WPATH].

'On September 6, 2022, WPATH [World Professional Association for Transgender Health] published a new version of its recommendations to health care professionals for treatment of transgender persons, known as SOC-8,' the hospital wrote in a statement to lawmakers.

'In light of these new recommendations, and as part of completing our internal clinical review of SOC-8 guidance in patients under 18, we will be seeking advice from local and national clinical experts.

'We are pausing gender affirmation surgeries on patients under age 18 while we complete this review, which may take several months.'

The Department for Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
A New York City school librarian was arrested after he left his one-year-old daughter alone in a parked car for nearly six hours before his co-worker broke a window to rescue her.

Michael Dodes, 41, left the child in his Subaru Forester on Thursday while he was working at Walter J. Damrosch School on Jennings Street in the Bronx.

Another employee saw the baby in the car and smashed the rear passenger window to get her out, according to police.

She was taken to the Bronx Lebanon Hospital to be assessed and was found to have non-life-threatening injuries.

Dodes was arrested at around 2:45pm that day and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

A New York City school librarian was arrested after he left his one-year-old daughter alone in a parked car for nearly six hours before his co-worker broke a window to rescue her

Michael Dodes, 41, left the child in his Subaru Forester on Thursday while he was working at Walter J. Damrosch School on Jennings Street in the Bronx

'On Thursday, August 10, 2023, at 14:48 hours, the following on-duty New York City employee was arrested and charged within the confines of the 42 Precinct,' a New York Police Department spokesman said.

Dodes, who is married with two children, is said to have been working as a newly-hired librarian at Walter J. Damrosch School but officials claimed he was set to begin next month.

'We commend the heroism of the school staff member who took action to remove this child from danger,' a city schools spokesman said.

'Upon learning of this incident, the school immediately contacted NYPD and EMS who responded to the scene. This employee is being reassigned away from students.'

Dodes is a current employee of the New York City Department of Education. His LinkedIn page revealed he worked as the library coordinator for the Queens Office of School Library Service from 2017.

Before that, he worked as a library coordinator for North Brooklyn.

Dodes was arrested at around 2:45pm that day and charged with endangering the welfare of a child

He served as a library media specialist, working with special need students in the Bronx and Harlem for more than nine years until 2016.

A profile for Dodes on the New York City School Tech Summit in 2021 read: 'Michael has expertise in coding, instructional technology, copyright laws & licensing, and accessibility, all of which he runs extensive professional development on.

'Michael served as a School Librarian in the Bronx and Harlem for 10 years before joining the Library Services team. He has expertise in Copyright Law, Privacy, Digital and Physical Accessibility, Coding, Website/Graphic Design, and Gaming.'

Dailymail.com has contacted Walter J. Damrosch School for comment.
But among the pleas, there are also stories of hope from owners whose animals have been found

Dogs, cats, horses and even birds have been lost since the fires broke out

Facebook groups are flooded with heartbreaking posts from people desperate to find pets which went missing during the wildfires

Pet owners in Maui are frantically searching for beloved animals which have gone missing in the wildfires.

Facebook groups are flooded with heartbreaking posts from owners about their dogs, cats, horses and even birds.

Some people said they were forced to flee without their pets as the deadly fires, that have killed at least 55 people, closed in. Others said they weren't at home when the flames began to spread and are now desperate to find out if their pets survived.

Among the pleas, there were also tales of hope from those who have been reunited with their animals.

An animal welfare organization in Hawaii has also said it is seeking donations to help care for hundreds of dogs, cats and other animals that have been injured or separated from their human families.

Sahar Elharar said four of her cats were missing in Lahaina, the historic town which has been wrecked by the fires, and pleaded with help to find them. 'I can't lose hope just yet,' she wrote alongside pictures of the cats

Kerry Morris said his silver lab was missing. 'Im hoping for a miracle,' he wrote

Isabelle Alexander said two of her birds were missing. She attached a picture of the colorful birds with the post: 'We lost them as we were evacuating our home in Lahaina. We are devastated'

The Maui Humane Society says many animals are also in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation and it expects an inundation of lost pets. A Facebook fundraiser set up by the society had raised $234,000 of its $300,000 goal by 5pm on Friday

The Maui Humane Society says many animals are also in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation and it expects an inundation of lost pets.

The Facebook group Missing Pets of Maui has become a key resource since the fires broke out and has been inundated with posts.

Sahar Elharar said four of her cats were missing in Lahaina, the historic town that has been wrecked by the fires, and pleaded with help to find them. 'I can't lose hope just yet,' she wrote alongside pictures of the cats.

Elharara, whose home was also destroyed in the fires, said: 'Im homeless and heartbroken, yet am considering myself incredibly lucky. Im going soon to try and find them, my hope is that they ran towards the highway or ocean.'

Kerry Morris said his silver lab was missing. 'Im hoping for a miracle,' he wrote.

In another post, Isabelle Alexander said two of her birds were missing. She attached a picture of the colorful birds with the post: 'Please help us find our 2 babies, we lost them as we were evacuating our home in Lahaina. We are devastated.'

She said she was forced to flee her home after it caught fire and the birds' cage fell open due to strong wind.

Another poster said her herd of horses had been found after they had to be let free in an area in upper Launiupoko.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023

An aerial view of destroyed buildings as the wildfire burns in the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii

Among the pleas, there were also tales of hope from those who have been reunited with their animals. Two dogs, Roman and Raina, were found hours after a post in the Facebook group pleading for help

Another poster said her herd of horses had been found after they had to be let free in an area in upper Launiupoko during the fires

Another missing dog, named Kingston, was also found after his owner, Kim Rivera, posted in the group searching for him

Two dogs, Roman and Raina, were found hours after a post in the Facebook group pleading for help. Nicole Comey said the 'friendly and very scared' pooches had been with a pet sitter on the east cost of Maui.

Another missing dog, named Kingston, was also found after his owner, Kim Rivera, posted in the group searching for him.

The Maui Humane Society said: 'Maui Humane Society is expecting an inundation of hundreds of animals who have been burned, lost during the evacuation process and those in need of critical care due to smoke inhalation.

'Maui Humane Society is asking for help as the island grapples with the unprecedented and catastrophic impact of the ongoing Maui fires.

'The fires have left thousands of both humans and animals displaced, causing immense distress and creating an urgent need for solidarity within the community.'

A Facebook fundraiser set up by the society had raised $234,000 of its $300,000 goal by 5pm on Friday.

People can donate here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/327209503004154/
A woman who abandoned a seven-week-old French bulldog in a short-term parking lot at Pittsburgh Airport will be charged once cops track her down.

The French bulldog was found 'unattended in a stroller' last Friday around 5:30am near short-term parking at Pittsburgh International Airport.

The seven-year-old canine was found to be in good health after the ordeal and was taken to a local animal shelter, where it is now hoping for a new, kinder home.

But cops are eager to help bring the woman to justice - so long as they can make contact with her.

The French bulldog was found unattended in a stroller last Friday morning

Police are eager to charge the woman who ditched her dog in a parking lot

The dog's owner reportedly made the shameful decision to leave the dog at Pittsburgh Airport

'We are pursuing charges,' a spokesperson for the Allegheny County Police Department told the New York Post Friday.

'Were working in coordination with the state dog ward and humane officers, along with the Allegheny County District Attorneys office.

'Initially, [we] were considering animal abandonment chargesbut [were] keeping our options open.'

If the state dog warden to file charges of animal abandonment, she could face a maximum fine of up to $1000.

'It's an active investigation,' the police official said.

The woman reportedly made the shameful decision to leave the dog at the airport after she failed to convince airline staff it was an emotional support animal, Sgt. Jason Donaldson of Allagheny County Police Department told WTAE-TV.

He added that the woman then continued with her vacation and flew to a resort without the canine, although he did not reveal her destination.

'We were able to determine that the dog's owner had attempted to fly with the dog and was denied boarding due to having an improper cargo container,' he added.

The pup was taken to local shelter Animal Friends which has been inundated with offers to adopt the dog.

'We are grateful for the interest and compassion, but for now we are focused on moving this case forward and ensuring the dog receives the justice he deserves,' a representative said.

'The outcome of the case will determine his next steps and his final home.'

It comes months after a New Jersey man was charged with several offenses, including neglect and animal abandonment, after he left his dog tied up outside an Iowa airport so he could catch a flight home.

Bigsen Charles, 24, claims that he didn't know he needed a kennel to transport his puppy on the plane, and made the same decision as the woman in Pittsburgh last week as he too left the pup outside the airport and make his journey alone instead.

When airport officials saw the abandoned dog they immediately contacted Animal Rescue League of Iowa, leading to adorable footage of the dog beaming as it played with staff in the shelter.

Charles admitted to DailyMail.com at the time that he 'knows he made the wrong decision.
Five police officers are suing Tesla after being injured by a self driving Model X car that hit them during a traffic stop.

According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal the Model X had struck a police vehicle while travelling at 54 mph in Texas on February 27 2021.

It is alleged that the impaired driver of the car over-relied on the Model X's autopilot system, which is said to have given off 150 warnings to take control of the vehicle over 34 minutes.

Footage obtained by the WSJ shows the dramatic footage of the car driving right into the rear of a police vehicle.

All five officers who had been on the scene are now suing the car company after being injured as a result of the collision.

The group of officers are suing the car company after being hit by a driver who was said to be relying on autopilot, the Tesla is pictured here in blue after the incident

They claim that the autopilot feature was directly responsible for the collision, but Tesla has said that the driver was at fault and denies the autopilot is to blame.

The autopilot system in the car is programmed to take over driving tasks but the driver is still expected to stay alert and keep their hands on the steering wheel.

Lawyer Tony Buzbee is representing the officers and originally filed the suit in September of 2021.

He previously told KHOU: 'These officers, these deputy constables, were very brave to bring this case and we are going to make Tesla accountable.'

Reports at the time indicated that injuries ranged from scrapes to back injuries, one of them may have suffered a possible broken arm.

The system inside the car checks that the driver's hands are indeed on the wheel, and police say that he was able to apply enough torque for autopilot to continue.

By the time the Autopilot system sees the directly in front of the Tesla there's only 2.5 seconds and 37 yards to react.

According to the WSJ, autopilot first tries to stop the Model X. It then disengages with the expectation an alert driver will take over.

Reports at the time indicated that injuries ranged from scrapes to back injuries, one of them may have suffered a possible broken arm

Lawyer Tony Buzbee, pictured here, is representing the officers and originally filed the suit in September of 2021

This incident is one of 16 similar crashes currently being probed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Out of eight incident reports obtained by the WSJ, six took place as emergency vehicles' lights were flashing.

Tesla has since updated its Autopilot software, but one of the investigations pertains to a crash that took place after the update.

New Tesla cars have also now been fitted with internal cameras to keep an eye on driver alertness.

In March of this year, it was ruled that a Tesla that crashed into a firetruck killing the driver was on autopilot at the time.

Emergency responders had to cut open the Tesla to remove the passenger following the fatal incident which left four Contra Costa County firefighters with minor injuries.

The car plowed into the fire truck which had been parked on a Northern California freeway to shield a crew clearing another accident on the interstate

The Tesla Model S vehicle was completely destroyed in the crash

The truck had its lights on and was parked diagonally on northbound lanes of the freeway to protect responders to an earlier accident that did not result in injuries.

Elon Musk said in 2016 that the vehicle's 'Autopilot' system was 'probably better' than a human driver, despite recent tests indicating cars failed to detect mannequin children multiple times.

A probe into more than 830,000 of the company's vehicles and its advertising claims left investigators wondering whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators over the feature.

Just before the February crash, Tesla announced that it would recall 363,000 of its vehicles, including the Model S, due to potential issues with their self-driving capabilities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the Full Self-Driving Beta software allows the vehicle to 'exceed speed limits.'
A popular Tampa radio personality is facing assault charges for punching a woman in the face, grabbing her phone and yelling out obscenities during an autograph signing event.

Mike Calta, host of the Mike Calta Show on 102.5 FM, is seen on video shoving the brunette during the violent exchange that took place at a Florida gun store.

The exchange started when the unidentified woman, who is holding some papers, begins recording Calta on her cell phone. Calta asks, 'How pathetic is your life that you are fighting the fight.'

She then asks as the camera is rolling, 'How pathetic is your life?'

A seated Calta responds: 'Honestly ...how pathetic...my life is not pathetic look around and see how many people are here ...turn around ...turn your camera around,' he demands.

Seconds later he grabs the phone from the woman's hand and holds it up over his head. 'These people are here to see me,' he quipped.

Mike Calta, host of the Mike Calta Show on 102.5 FM, is seen on the video shoving the brunette during the violent exchange that took place at a Florida gun store this week

Video shows Calta grabbing the cell phone from the unidentified brunette woman

The woman is telling Calta, 'You don't have permission to take that from me,' as she attempts to get her cell phone back

The woman quips, 'That's my property,' as Calta is seen holding up the phone taunting her

The woman continues to demand that her phone be returned as a hostile Calta says, 'I don't give a s**t ...you don't have permission throwing me under the bus ...alright ...stop this!'

Calta is then seen shoving the woman and punching her as the woman tries to fight back

The physical altercation went viral with many calling Calta out for his harassing behavior

Calta is host of the Mike Calta show that airs on 102.5 FM

The woman responds, 'You don't have permission to take that from me. That is my property.'

An irate Calta said, 'I don't give a s**t ...you don't have permission throwing me under the bus ...alright ...stop this!'

In the clip, the woman is seen trying to reach for her phone that Calta is holding in the air.

The scene then escalates.

Calta is heard telling the woman, 'back away from me otherwise I am going to kick the s**t out of you!'

The bodyguards who are nearby are seen trying to keep the woman away from Calta, who repeated three times, 'back away from me...back away from me ... back away from me.'

He then told the woman, 'b****h if you don't back away from me these guys are gonna throw you the f**k out.'

As she attempts to get her phone back, Calta dismisses her and says, 'Go out they will give it to you outside.' She is then heard calling him by another last name, 'Mike Oliveria I want my phone back,' she repeats.

As she tries to grab the phone from Calta's hand an irate Calta stands up and violently pushes the woman shouting, 'get the f*** off of me!'

The distressed woman is heard yelling as the bodyguards are nearby saying, 'he committed a felony... he committed a felony.'

After the woman was no longer in the video, a hostile Calta is back seated looking down at his phone and saying, 'get the f**k off of me ...you dirty c**t,' which he repeated.

Many Redditt users, who witnessed the event, called out Calta for his harassing and hostile behavior towards the female fan.

One person wrote: 'Help this victim get the justice she deserves': Mike Calta gets severe online backlash for his recent interaction with a female fan,' Sportkeeda reported.

The Staten Island native who moved to Tampa in 1992 has been linked to shock jock Howard Stern. His career took off when he landed an exclusive radio show in 2006 titled, Cowhead, as per the news outlet.
A funeral service was held for Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Friday afternoon in Quito.

The viewing for Villavicencio was limited to close friends and family members as supporters gathered behind the entrance gate.

The 59-year-old former anti-corruption journalist was shot and killed after he left a campaign event at a school gym in Quito on Wednesday.

A burial service is scheduled to be held on Saturday on the same grounds where the funeral took place.

'My dad put all the corruption of a country on him and that's what happens when you're alone in the fight. But I see that you are not alone. That there are many beautiful people here accompanying him,' his daughter Tamia Villavicencio told reporters on Friday.

She added that despite her father's death, he remains in spirit and that his legacy would live on for ever.

'My daddy is up there, but we are going to do a beautiful ceremony of peace and love among all here,' Tamia Villavicencio said. 'I hope that in a few years they will see what we are going to do, his children, and all those who love him.'

Fernando Villavicencio, a father of five, was known as a thorn for corrupt companies and politicians in Ecuador. The 59-year-old presidential candidate was assassinated Wednesday moments after leaving a campaign event in Quito

Supporters of slain Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio place flowers on top of a coffin at a memorial event in Quito on Friday

Tensions flared at the funeral home after some family members, including Fernando Villavicencio's sister, were initially not allowed by security to pay their respects because their names were not on the guest list.

The confusion was cleared up, according to Tamia Villavicencio, who explained that some of her father's loved ones could not enter because of viewing hours and security issues.

The family also held a mass at a chapel at the Monte Olivo cemetery under the heavy security of police.

'My son left a legacy of struggle, of transparency, of sacrifice,' Fernando Villavicencio's mother, Gloria Valencia, told attendees. 'All this struggle and all that he did - I hope it will not be merchandise used by others.'

The coffin was loaded into a hearse to chants of 'Fernando lives forever!'

A memorial service was also held Friday at a Quito convention center.

'Fernando is irreplaceable. He put his face, his chest and his life for this country,' said Andrea Gonzalez, the late politician's running mate.

Gloria Valencia, mother of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio arrives for his funeral in Quito on Friday

Police guard the coffin of Fernando Villavicencio as relatives pay their respects at a private funeral service Friday

People sit on the ground next to the coffin of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito on Friday. The 59-year-old will be buried Saturday

Presidential candidates Yaku Perez, who is running under the Popular Unity Movement party ticket, and Bolivar Armijos, who is running under the AMIGO Movement, and Xavier Hervas, who is running under the RETO Movement, paid their respects despite the objection of Fernando Villavicencio's supporters.

Armijos left flowers and rushed out of the building as boos reigned down. Perez and Hervas kept a low profile and left without addressing reporters.

Fernando Villavicencio, who was running under the Better Ecuador Movement, was one of eight candidates vying for the presidency although he was polling at just 7.5 percent.

His campaign advisor Patricio Zuquilanda said that authorities had received reports of three recent death threats.

Ecuadorian authorities have six suspects in custody linked to Wednesday's assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. A seventh suspect was wounded in a shootout with police and died while he was in an ambulance rushing him to a hospital

Police officers carry the coffin of slain Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio during his funeral in Quito on Friday

A week before his murder, Fernando Villavicencio participated in a virtual interview with Colombian television news network NTN24 and revealed that he had been threatened by the Sinaloa Cartel, the notorious Mexican criminal organization founded by the jailed drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, and one of its main associates in Ecuador, Jose 'Fito' Macias, the jailed boss of Los Choneros gang.

'What these threats that come from the Sinaloa Cartel do is demonstrate is that our government program is a program that precisely aims to break and dismantle these criminal drug trafficking structures in collusion with political actors, and this is perhaps the most important thing,' the candidate said.

Six Colombian suspects - Andres Mosquera; Camilo Reyes; Jose Lopez; Adey Garcia; Jules Castano; and Jhon Rodriguez - have been charged with murder. A seventh, also from Colombia, was wounded in a shootout with police and died while he was being rushed to an area hospital.

The six defendants were placed in preventive custody for 30 days as part of the investigation.

Two of the suspects were charged July 5 with reception of stolen goods, according to court documents.

All the men had previous criminal records in Ecuador and Colombia, an Ecuadorian police spokesperson said.

The elections still remain on schedule for August 20.

Perez and law-and-order candidate Jan Topic - have suspended their campaigns.

Luisa Gonzalez, who is backed by former President Rafael Correa, a long-time rival of Villavicencio, and is leading the race with just below 30% voter support, has not. Neither has Otto Sonnenholzner, though neither he nor Gonzalez had public events scheduled for Friday.
Maui's richest part-time resident Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez have said they will donate $100 million to help victims of the Maui wildfires.

In a statement issued by Sanchez, she said: 'Jeff and I are heartbroken by what's happening in Maui. We are thinking of all the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated.

'The immediate needs are important, and so is the longer term rebuilding that will have to happen, even after much of the attention has subsided.

'Jeff are I are creating a Maui fund and are dedicating $100 million to help Maui get back on its feet now and over the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.'

Bezos has property on the islands alongside stars including Oprah, Larry Ellison, Clint Eastwood and Steven Tyler.

In a statement, the billionaire couple announced they would be starting a fund to get the island back on its feet following the disaster, and pledged $100 million

The billionaire couple, pictured here, announced they would be starting a fund to get the island back on its feet following the disaster, and pledged $100 million

Bezos on this piece of property on the south shore of the island known as La Perous Bay, which spans to 4,450 feet

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street

Bezos' fiancee Lauren Sanchez posted on Instagram that the fires were 'breaking her heart' prior to their announcement.

The Amazon CEO, 59, owns three-building estate on La Perouse Bay on Valley Isle in Maui worth an estimated $78million.

With a net worth of $162billion, he is the third richest man in the world.

Oprah, worth $2.5billion, owns nearly 2,000 acres of land on Maui and has been living there part-time for 15 years. It's unclear if any of her land was damaged.

She bought up the most recent parcel - 860 acres - in March this year for $6.6million. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler also has a home on the island, as does Owen Wilson and Clint Eastwood.

The fire in Maui is the worst natural disaster to have hit Hawaii since a tsunami killed 61 people in 1960. If the death toll continues to rise, as it is expected, it will surpass that grim record to become the deadliest.

It is also on pace to become the deadliest wildfire in recent US history. Over the last 100 years, only the Camp fire in California claimed more lives than have been counted so far, with 68 victims in total.

One thousand people remain unaccounted for in Maui after Tuesday's catastrophic fire that has so far claimed 55. The death toll is expected to rise as search teams go through homes, or what is left of them, looking for victims.

When the fire torched Lahaina, a town on the island,cell phone towers were incinerated along with every other structure.

It means that the town remains without phone service, and there is no internet, water, or power either and, crucially, that rescue teams cannot get in to help.

'We as a local nonprofit are not able to even access anything west of Maalaea. West Maui is completely cut off from communication and power. That's very fluid, but that's sort of what we're seeing at a hyperlocal level,' Lauren Henrie for Maui Rescue Mission told CNN.

Bezos' fiancee Lauren Sanchez posted on Instagram that the fires were 'breaking her heart' prior to their announcement, pictured here their property on Maui

An aerial image taken on August 10, shows destroyed cars in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii

In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, Honolulu Fire Department vehicles and personnel are secured onto a C-17 Globemaster III on August 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii

Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town

Maui's part-time residents include Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Steven Tyler, Owen Wilson and more. Larry Ellison owns almost the entire island of Lanai, which sits near to the town of Lahaina

An aerial view shows destroyed homes and buildings that burned to the ground around the harbor and Front Street in the historic Lahaina Town

It was announced today that residents of West Maui that are able to show proof of residency will have access to Lahaina later today.

Measures have been put in place to secure the heavily impacted area of the historic town.

These measures include no unauthorized public access beyond barricaded areas and a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily in historic Lahaina town and affected areas.

The curfew is intended to protect residences and property

Michael Havoc Thomas, a military veteran who owns and operates HAVOC, a private rescue and training company in Hawaii, gave a harrowing description of the reality of the devastation.

'The news will not be able to show you the real survivors or the real victims. Its very WW2 flamethrowers and Vietnam napalm like. That is not an exaggeration.'

Lahaina has nearly been 'wiped off the map' after 271 buildings were burned to the ground during intense wildfires

A wildfire burns in Kihei, south Maui, late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes as blazes swept across the island in one of the deadliest US wildfires in recent years

Barack Obama, who grew up in Honolulu and has a home on the Big Island, also released a statement last night with a link to the a local community fundraising effort.

'Its tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii  a place thats so special to so many of us.

'Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down. If youd like to help, you can do so here,' he said.

Jason Momoa, who is from Honolulu, also appealed for help for the island's residents.

'We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and 'ohana on Maui who been impacted by the recent wildfires.'

Momoa has repeatedly shared links to the fundraising efforts.

Bette Midler, who also has a home in Hawaii, tweeted about the ongoing disaster effort.

And Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye Brosnan, who have a home on Kauai, have called for support.

'My sincere and heartfelt prayers for Maui, the Hawaiian community, residents, families and animals affected by these unprecedented wildfires,' Keely posted on Instagram.

'If you are able, please consider making a donation to the Hawaii/Maui Community Foundation to help those in need.'
As anyone who has watched the classic Westminster sitcom Yes, Prime Minister knows, the person with their feet under the desk at No. 10 is subject to the tyranny of the Red Box.

After a long day of Cabinet meetings, jousting with the Opposition and pressing the flesh, instead of switching off with a G&T, they must open the case embossed in gold with the King's cypher and wade through reams of policy papers, briefing documents and speeches.

Any sane person would look forward to the day when  out of public office  they could reclaim their evenings and weekends. Not Tony Blair.

Every Friday evening, no matter where he is in the world, the man who ran the country for ten long years receives a box of urgent papers  just as he did was when he was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

However, these days it comes not in the form of a battered red attache case made of ram's leather, but as an electronic file that Blair accesses via his laptop.

Tony Blair (left) is preparing to become the ultimate back-seat driver to Sir Keir Starmer (right), Andrew Pierce reports

Blair was initially a Starmer sceptic. But with the implosion of Boris Johnson's government over 'Partygate', Starmer suddenly had to be taken seriously

Papers from his staff have to be submitted before the box is closed for the weekend  only his very closest aides are permitted to send documents to him directly  and by Monday morning the 70-year-old workaholic will have read and annotated all of them.

The fact Blair still insists on maintaining a routine he started in 1997 when he first entered Downing Street on a tidal wave of popular support is a highly revealing insight into his psyche.

It may be more than 15 years since his bitter exit from No. 10, orchestrated by supporters of his arch rival, Gordon Brown, but the recently knighted Sir Tony is loath to surrender the levers of power.

Deep down, he knows his role in leading us into the war in Iraq  a conflict that cost the lives of 179 British servicemen  on the basis of the now notorious 'dodgy dossier' means a return to Downing Street is unthinkable.

So he created a vast empire whose tentacles are felt all over the world: the Tony Blair Institute For Global Change.

What started as a boutique political consultancy is now a multinational enterprise with offices in five countries  the UK, the U,S,, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Ghana  employing more than 800 staff and with revenues of $81million (64 million) in 2021.

The formidable contacts book Blair built up while at the centre of international affairs means he can pick up the phone to virtually any world leader. Elder statesmen, such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton, are believed to be regular visitors to his office in the City of London.

While Blair does not take a salary, some of his employees are paid as much as $504,000 (396,000) a year, according to an investigation by the news website UnHerd.

His formal title is 'executive chairman', but this multi- millionaire globetrotting troubleshooter has a lifestyle more reminiscent of an old-style potentate.

No less than 70 per cent of his time is spent abroad and Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is too grand to travel commercial; it's private jets all the way. And, once he lands, Blair is escorted by the bodyguards to which all former prime ministers are entitled.

If he's visiting an unstable part of the world  which he so often is  this security detail may be supplemented by a convoy of gun-toting heavies in armour-plated cars provided by his hosts. It all amounts to quite a comeback for the man who spent many of his early years after leaving Downing Street devoted to a doomed quest to bring peace to the Middle East.

There were high hopes for Blair when he took on the 400,000-a-year role as Special Envoy to the Quartet on the Middle East, a body that was made up of the EU, the U.S., the UN and Russia.

By the time he stood down in 2015, the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine was as remote as ever.

A year later came the publication of the Chilcot Report into the Iraq War.

Blair and Starmer discuss politics during the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's Future of Britain Conference in July

Set up by his successor Gordon Brown, its damning conclusions about Blair's role in promoting the myth that Saddam Hussein had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction dealt a devastating blow to his reputation.

By now, however, Blair was reportedly being paid a retainer of 2 million a year by U.S. bank J.P. Morgan, and had also found time to set up a network of consulting companies and foundations under the umbrella of an organisation called Tony Blair Associates.

Its contracts included a 35 million, five-year deal to provide strategic advice to the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, and another lucrative contract with the government of Kazakhstan's autocratic president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Such relationships created the impression that Blair was nothing more than a money-grabbing cynic, all too willing to trade his principles for cash.

It was at this point that the man dubbed 'The Master' by former Tory Chancellor George Osborne for his political acumen laid the foundations of his modern-day empire, sanctified by an air of do-goodery.

In 2016, Tony Blair Associates was rebranded as the not-for-profit Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a vehicle that would enable him to pursue his goal of re-invigorating what he calls the 'progressive centre': to find policies and arguments that would persuade the governments and peoples of Europe and the U.S. of the benefits of globalisation and the rapid march of technology.

Blair, who, as PM, met many African leaders through gatherings of the Commonwealth, has ruthlessly targeted that continent.

UnHerd's investigation into the body universally known as the 'TBI' reveals that it operates in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo.

If Starmer wins the next General Election, Blair will be the ultimate back-seat driver. This prospect makes many Labour MPs uneasy, as they regard Blair as toxic

But nowhere is Blair more popular than in Sierra Leone, thanks to an intervention he made in 2000 while he was in his first term as Prime Minister.

With the country in the grip of a savage civil war, Blair sent in British troops and, within 18 months, the rebels had been defeated. Such was the nation's gratitude that Blair's name was chanted jubilantly on the streets.

So it's no surprise to find the TBI is working for the Sierra Leone government.

Across the globe, from Eastern Europe to Israel, TBI 'country directors' are required to lead teams 'embedded in the highest levels of government' and to build relationships of trust 'typically [at] President or Prime Minister level'. Their task is to convince these leaders 'on key development priorities' that the TBI could be supporting.

When I told one of Blair's former ministers about this approach, he was astonished. He said: 'It's inconceivable that Blair would have even contemplated the idea of a similar arrangement being foisted on his government.'

It's also not all gone down well everywhere in Africa.

In June, Nigeria's Guardian newspaper published an excoriating article deriding Blair as a 'self-serving lobbyist' and warning the country must not become 'a cheap financial rehabilitation home for retired British prime ministers'.

Nation-building is by no means Blair's sole preoccupation, however. He has long been a Messianic advocate of the technological revolution.

As such, he has been at the forefront of the TBI's efforts to forge partnerships with billionaire tech tycoons: especially Larry Ellison, 78, and his company, Oracle.

Ellison, who is worth $140 billion (108 bn), has proved a very useful friend. In 2018 the Larry Ellison Foundation committed $5 million (3.9 m) to the TBI to 'support effective governance work in Africa'. By 2021, its contribution had risen to $83.2 million (65.3 m).

Blair even has a placeman on the board of Oracle: Awo Ablo, who is the executive vice- president of TBI.

The relationship between Ellison  a friend of the world's richest man, Elon Musk  and Blair dates back to his days in Downing Street when, in 2003, Oracle became a significant supplier of technology to the government.

Indeed, it provides computing services to the Cabinet Office to this day.

But Blair's collaboration with his friend, Larry, has recently attracted controversy. Last year, Ellison bought electronic health record company Cerner for 23.5 billion.

With the backing of the TBI, he is creating a centralised system of healthcare records  starting with vaccinations  which is being rolled out in Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal.

Always ambitious, Ellison wants to take it worldwide. Yet the move to create a single source of medical records within America's fragmented healthcare service has already run into trouble. A legal case is ongoing in the U.S. over claims Oracle has unlawfully collected private health information on five billion people. Will Blair's endorsement enable Ellison to extend his vision to the 30 countries where TBI operates?

Vain and narcissistic, Blair will be indifferent to criticism because he relishes being back at the centre of the Labour narrative, writes Andrew Pierce (pictured)

But Blair also has a pressing mission closer to home.

During the pandemic, instead of jetting around the world to swoon over his billionaire clients, he had to spend most of his time in his 10 million mansion in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

This gave him the time to study domestic politics, and he made a number of astute interventions in the debate over how to handle the Covid pandemic. He came to the conclusion it was, once again, time for him to become more involved in the affairs of his homeland.

Ostracised by successive Labour leaders, he found the door ajar with the election of Sir Keir Starmer in 2020.

Blair was initially a Starmer sceptic, convinced Labour had elected another dud. But with the implosion of Boris Johnson's government over 'Partygate', Starmer suddenly had to be taken seriously.

'Blair saw that Starmer could win and saw an opportunity,' says a senior Labour source.

So did Starmer. He told the Shadow Cabinet they must accept offers from the TBI to write policy and strategy papers, and there is already evidence of Blair's influence.

Starmer's plan for a closer relationship with the EU, an upheaval of the planning system and reforms to the NHS are textbook TBI policies. More recently there have been signs that Starmer is mellowing on his support of measures designed to speed up the mad dash to Net Zero in the wake of Blair's contention that it's futile to make big sacrifices to drive down the UK's CO2 emissions when they are dwarfed by those from countries such as China.

What's more, many Blair cheerleaders now work for Starmer, including Matthew Doyle, who was with Blair in Opposition and at Downing Street, and is now Starmer's head of communications.

Peter Hyman, a strategist for Blair from 1994-2003, is now a 'senior adviser' on Starmer's team. He's the author of Starmer's utterly forgettable five mission statements published this year, which even Labour MPs struggle to recall.

Deborah Mattison, Blair's pollster, and Marianna McFadden, who was with the TBI for six years, also now work for Starmer.

Be under no illusion. If Starmer wins the next General Election, Blair will be the ultimate back-seat driver. This prospect makes many Labour MPs uneasy, as they regard Blair as toxic.

'It's not just his unwillingness to admit the Iraq war was a disaster,' one shadow minister told me this week. 'It's the fact he's so rich and bestrides the globe like he's a new colossus. When did you last hear Blair talk about bread-and-butter issues like the living wage or the chronic lack of social housing?'

He has a point. When Blair was knighted by the late Queen last year, his fortune was estimated to be 50.3 million. His property portfolio alone is estimated to be worth 35 million.

It includes more than 20 flats in Manchester and an 8 million home in a central London square, which looks uncannily like 10 Downing Street, complete with armed policemen posted outside. Then there's the Buckinghamshire mansion, which is very close to Chequers, the official country residence of the prime minister.

As recently as 2021 Blair was claiming the full 115,000 Public Duty Cost Allowance, funded from the public purse, for former prime ministers, and has claimed well over 1 million since he left office in 2007. The allowance is supposed to help former PMs with the costs of 'necessary office . . . arising from fulfilling public duties'.

Vain and narcissistic, Blair will be indifferent to criticism because he relishes being back at the centre of the Labour narrative. He believes he's served his time in the wilderness and is now rehabilitated.

Many Labour MPs fear Starmer will invite Blair to join his General Election crusade, but he won't hit the campaign trail  his security staff won't even let him leave his London office to visit a nearby coffee shop across the road, such is the visceral hatred of him engendered by the Iraq misadventure.

But broadcast interviews? Rallies? 'It would be a disaster,' said another Labour MP. 'Blair is vain enough to do it. But is Starmer stupid enough to let him?'

What is clear is that retirement is out of the question.

A friend, who worked with Blair in government, says: 'He's 70, but he's fighting fit and fizzing with ideas about how to change things for the better. He's also desperate to help Starmer, who is no Blair. Give him a break.'

There's another explanation. Does Blair suffer from the weakness U.S. author J. D. Salinger once described as 'not having the courage to be an absolute nobody'?

Blair was a somebody once  and that's a status he is clearly finding very difficult to give up.
Russia is locked into a space race with India as both countries' crafts rocket towards the South Pole of the Moon - due to reach the lunar surface on the same day.

No one has successfully reached the Moon's South Pole before but both countries are competing to be the first. The two missions will search for water ice and any other matter found on the Moon's surface.

Russia's unmanned Luna-25, carrying a lunar landing craft, blasted off Friday, becoming the country's first moon mission in nearly 50 years. The launch from Russia's Vostochny spaceport in the Far East is Russia's first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.

Only three governments have previously managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

Moscow is now capitalising on its expertise to reach Earth's satellite before India's Chandrayaan-3 - as the two countries also vie with the US and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole.

A Soyuz 2.1b rocket with the Luna-25 lander blasts off from the launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome on Friday

The Chandrayaan-3 lifts off from the Launch Vehicle Mark-III Mission 4 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, state of Andhra Pradesh, India, 14 July

The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on August 23, the same day as an Indian craft which was launched earlier on July 14.

The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon's vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) before heading for the surface.

Chandrayaan-3, meanwhile, is due to run experiments for two weeks. India's spacecraft was built on a budget of just under $75 million and is considered to signal that the nation is open for business in the accelerating private sector space race.

Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it wants to show Russia 'is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon,' and 'ensure Russia's guaranteed access to the moon's surface.'

'Study of the moon is not the goal,' said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst.

'The goal is political competition between two superpowers - China and the USA - and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.'

Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space program. The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover but that idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts say.

'Foreign electronics are lighter, domestic electronics are heavier,' Egorov said. 'While scientists might have the task of studying lunar water, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon - to recover lost Soviet expertise and learn how to perform this task in a new era.'

A view of the moon as viewed by the Chandrayaan-3 lander during Lunar Orbit Insertion on August 5

The Chandrayaan-3 is pictured lifting off last month. The space craft was built on a budget of just under $75 million

The Chandrayaan-3 blazed its way toward the far side of the moon on July 14 in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago

People wave Indian flags as an Indian Space Research Organisation rocket carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Spectators arrive to watch the launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s Chandrayaan-3 take off in July

The Luna-25 launched flawlessly from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, according to video feed from Roscosmos.

The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

A previous Indian attempt to land at the moon's south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moon's surface.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.

'The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face,' said Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britain's Royal Observatory, Greenwich. 'It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory.'

The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moon's environment ahead of building any base there, 'otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted,' Bloomer said.

For centuries, astronomers have wondered about water on the moon, which is 100 times drier than the Sahara. NASA maps in 2018 showed water ice in shadowed parts of the moon, and in 2020 NASA confirmed water also existed in sunlit areas.

Major powers such as the United States, China, India, Japan and the European Union have all been probing the moon in recent years. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019.

A Soyuz 2.1b rocket with the Luna-25 lander blasts off from the launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome, Friday

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russia's Far East on Friday

he launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon will be Russia's first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union

A Soyuz 2.1b rocket with the Luna-25 lander blasts off from the launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome

No country has made a soft landing on the south pole. An Indian mission, Chandrayaan-2, failed in 2019.

Rough terrain makes a landing there difficult, but the prize of discovering water ice could be historic. It could be used for fuel and oxygen, as well as for drinking water.

Borisov said at least three other lunar missions were planned over the next seven years, and that after that Russia and China would work on a possible crewed lunar mission.

"My colleagues and I from China will move on to the next phase - the possibility of a manned mission to the Moon and the construction of a lunar base," he said.

Maxim Litvak, head of the planning group for the Luna-25 scientific equipment, said the most important task was to land where no one else had landed - and to find water.

"There are signs of ice in the soil of the Luna-25 landing area," he said, adding that Luna-25 would work on the moon for at least an earth year, taking samples.
Greenpeace bosses have refused to apologise for draping the Prime Minister's family home in black fabric  describing criticism of the stunt as 'faux moral outrage' and vowing to carry on using Just Stop Oil-style tactics.

Joint directors Areeba Hamid and Will McCallum lashed out at critics for 'likening it to attacks of all kinds' despite their core principle of non-violence.

'What we did was drape a curtain over an empty house at the time of a climate crisis and send a message,' they told The Guardian.

'We've been to politician's houses before and not met with this kind of response. We need some really serious people in this Cabinet at the moment and it doesn't feel like we've got them.

'The worst thing we can do in an onslaught against direct action and legitimate civil disobedience would be to stop doing it; you've got to carry on.'

Four Greenpeace activists climbed on the roof of Rishi Sunak's home in North Yorkshire today

Greenpeace activists on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's house in Richmond

The Greenpeace activists walk to climb onto the roof of Rishi Sunak's home

Earlier this week Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said the pressure group should not be given a 'seat at the table' in Whitehall discussions following the stunt

However, they acknowledged that the strength of the backlash meant it would be counterproductive to target other MPs in the near future.

The group's stunt, which targeted Mr Sunak's North Yorkshire home while he was on holiday, was branded unacceptable by Tory MPs.

Alicia Kearns, who chairs the foreign affairs select committee, said: 'Politicians live in the public eye and rightly receive intense scrutiny, but their family homes should not be under assault. Before long police will need to be stationed outside the home of every MP.'

And ex-minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said: 'MPs and their families have enough to worry about with their security without extremist groups and their spoilt activists pulling stunts like this at their homes to promote their unrealistic, extravagant demands and student union-level politics.'

Earlier this week the Prime Minister's official spokesman said the pressure group should not be given a 'seat at the table' in Whitehall discussions following the stunt. He said: 'Given their actions and the arrests last week, we don't think it's appropriate to engage with them.'

But in a further letter to Mr Sunak, the Greenpeace leaders appealed to the Prime Minister to resume engagement with them.

They wrote: 'While we appreciate you might not be pleased with us covering your Yorkshire house in 200 square metres of oil-black fabric to protest against the Government's policy to expand oil and gas extraction, your response to stonewall further communication sends a worrying signal about the Government's commitment to climate action, as well as the future of our democracy.

'We remain keen to meet with you to discuss solutions for reducing the UK's dependence on fossil fuels while tackling the cost of living crisis that so many people across the country are facing.

'Whether you continue to engage with Greenpeace or not, burying your head in the sand will not make the climate crisis go away.'
The son of a former Israeli cabinet official appeared in court following his controversial release on a $25,000 bond while on attempted murder charges.

Jounathan Maimon, 24, appeared stone-faced during a court hearing Friday, days after his alleged victim, Maor Vanunu, 42, slammed his release from custody as 'a joke'.

Vanunu, a Manhattan restaurant owner, was left with a brain bleed and lacerations when he was randomly attacked in February. Prosecutors claim Maimom repeatedly hit him over the head with a 1.75 liter glass jug.

Maimon says he was drugged and does not remember the alleged assault, but Vanunu noted his father's 'well-connected' status as he feels the judge who recently freed the 24-year-old has 'helped (the suspect) out a lot.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, he said a phone conversation he had with the Manhattan District Attorney's office two weeks ago left him feeling 'like he is getting ready for a deal.'

Jounathan Maimon appeared emotionless as he was back in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, August 11, 2023

Maor Vanunu, 42, and his family have claimed Maimon has gotten preferential treatment due to his family's connections

The 24-year-old allegedly attacked a Manhattan restaurant owner with a glass jug

Maimon was controversially released on a $25,000 bail bond, which his alleged victim slammed as 'a joke'

The attack on February 26 was seen in shocking surveillance footage, beginning with Vanunu standing at an intersection waiting for a traffic light in the Soho district of New York City.

Maimon had reportedly spent the evening at Gospel nightclub, but was kicked out when he got into an argument with a woman. Vanunu claims Maimon then returned with the jug, and he said the Israeli was 'trying to get back to the woman' when he and his friends left the club after 3am.

While waiting by an intersection, Vanunu was struck in the back of the head with a vicious, random blow, which sent him sprawling to the floor.

The attacker continued the brutal assault as he hit Vanunu twice more over the head and four more times between the shoulders as the restauranteur lay motionless.

Vanunu was able to flee the scene, but only when the relentless beating stopped after the glass jug shattered.

A shirtless Maimon was also seen in footage released by police strolling down the street on the night of the incident swinging a large glass bottle. He is also accused of using the same jug to smash the window of a passing Uber moments before Vanunu was struck.

Vanunu says the attack has left him with ongoing memory and hearing loss months later.

Maimon is pictured on February 26 outside the Gospel nightclub with a glass jug, which police say he used to attack Vanunu

Video from the scene shows a man, who police say is Maimon, approaching Vanunu and battering him while the 42-year-old waited for a traffic light

Despite the brutal nature of the crime he is accused of, the judge in his case sparked fury after setting bail at just $25,000.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com Tuesday, Vanunu claimed the New York City judge overseeing the criminal case 'helped [the suspect] out a lot.'

Maimon's father is Israel Maimon, Israel's former cabinet secretary and the former head of Israel Bonds

He noted Maimon's father, Israel Maimon, Israel's former cabinet secretary and the former head of Israel Bonds, is 'well-connected' and Maimon was able to hire 'really high-quality lawyers.'

Vanunu said he is convinced officials have lost interest in pursuing his case, and says a call with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office two weeks ago 'felt like he's getting ready for a deal.'

He suggested woke District Attorney Alvin Bragg wants to 'close the case as soon as possible; he doesn't care about the case anymore.'

However, Maimon's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told DailyMail.com that his client has never received any preferential treatment and said his high-up family are irrelevant to the case.

'It's ludicrous to suggest that his family has had any involvement in this,' Lichtman said. 'It is offensive to the family and it is offensive to the defense.'

Lichtman also previously stated that he is working to have Maimon's attempted murder charges downgraded to aggravated assault, telling the New York Post: 'There was never any attempt to murder anyone here.'

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said: 'We treat all acts of violence incredibly seriously and are continuing to conduct a rigorous and thorough investigation into this matter.'

Israel Maimon is pictured with actor Jason Alexander in 2017. He asked Israel's former Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, to write a character witness for his son in a civil case

Alongside the criminal charges being brought against him, Maimon is also being sued by Vanunu in a civil case, in which Israel's former Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, wrote a character witness for Maimon, according to Y-Net News.

Zamir did not serve as Maimon's supervisor in the consulate where he worked, and acted against Foreign Ministry guidelines, which stipulate that an Israeli representative must not interfere in a foreign country's legal process.

But Zamir and Maimon's father have a close working relationship, and he reportedly responded to Israel's request to submit the letter to the court.

Upon learning of the letter, Vanunu said: 'When a serving consul supports a person who tried to murder, it's a badge of shame on the State of Israel and a disgrace for us all.'

Maimon has been placed on leave from his position at the consulate 'until the legal situation is clarified.'
A California judge accused of shooting and killing his wife during a drunken argument inside their $1.4 home admitted to the crime in a text message, shocking new documents allege.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, sent a text to his court clerk telling them that he had shot his wife and would be in custody, authorities say.

'I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry,' a text message from Ferguson read, according to court filings.

Ferguson was charged Friday with murder in the shooting of his wife Sheryl, 65, after being released August 4 on a $1 million bail.

Court documents allege cops found 47 weapons inside the couple's Anaheim Hills home and that Ferguson used a Glock .40 in the shooting.

He had also threatened Sheryl earlier in the evening 'by making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun at her,' prosecutors claim.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson (left) is accused of shooting and killing his wife Sheryl Ferguson (right) on August 3 inside their Orange County home

Court documents allege cops found 47 weapons inside the couple's $1.4 million Anaheim Hills home and that Ferguson used a Glock .40 in the shooting

Ferguson allegedly sent a text to his court clerk and his bailiff telling them that he had shot his wife and would be in custody the next day. Text message recreated by DailyMail.com

In court filings, lawyers say Ferguson admitted to the shooting while texting his court clerk and his bailiff.

The shooting was reported around 8pm on August 3 at their home in the 8500 block of E. Canyon Vista Drive, located southeast of Los Angeles.

According to prosecutors, it was the couple's son, Phillip Ferguson, who called the police to report the shooting. He told police his father had been drinking.

Ferguson also called 911 to report the shooting but said he didn't want to talk about whether or not he shot his wife and just said that she needed paramedics.

Upon arrival, Ferguson smelled of alcohol and told cops, 'Oh man I can't believe I did this,' according to the court document.

Inside the home, officers found Sheryl suffering from at least one gunshot wound, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The judge's lawyers have not tried to deny that Ferguson shot his wife, but rather that the incident was an accident.

'This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more,' Ferguson's attorneys Paul Meyer and Josh Barnett said in a statement.

In a press release, the district attorney's office said that they want Ferguson to avoid contact with his son, except under certain circumstances.

Ferguson was taken into custody and charged with one county of felony murder. He was booked on $1 million bail before being released.

The district attorney's office have stated they want Ferguson to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor as part of his release.

Ferguson, 72, was charged Friday with murder in the shooting of his wife Sheryl after being released August 4 on a $1 million bail

In announcing the charges, the DA's office confirmed that he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.

Ferguson served as a judge handling criminal cases in a courthouse in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He previously worked in the Orange County District Attorney's office, and prosecuted drug cases, according to the North Orange County Bar Association.

Prosecutors want additional bail conditions because authorities recovered 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of his home.

In a statement from the district attorney's office, a rifle registered in his name has not been accounted for.

The district attorney's office also want Ferguson to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor as part of the new conditions.

Ferguson's attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement saying: 'This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more.'

Investigators remove firearms from the Ferguson household in Anaheim, California last Friday

Prosecutors say they recovered 47 weapons from the home and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition

The couples son Phillip, who is pictured here with his mom Sheryl called the cops after the incident last week

During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an 'attorney of the year' by the association. He served as its president from 2012 to 2014.

'This is a very tragic situation for all involved,' Lorrie A. Walton, a current member of the association's board, said in an email last week.

Ferguson took a seat on the bench in 2015. Two years later, he was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate.

He was also Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency's findings.

During his time as a prosecutor, Ferguson was honored as an 'attorney of the year' by the North Orange County Bar Association

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child.

He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

He was previously married to another woman and they had a son. He and Sheryl Ferguson have another son together, said Juli Mitchell, the sister of his ex-wife.
The Fox Corporation's Chief Legal Officer Viet Dinh is stepping down, a high-profile exit following its $787.5 million settlement in April of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election coverage.

Dinh, 55, who will exit the role at the end of 2023, joined Fox in 2018 and headed its legal and compliance divisions during the months-long legal battle sparked by the network's coverage of false claims that Dominion rigged the election.

As part of a separation agreement, Dinh will get a lump-sum cash payment of $23 million, Fox said.

He will become a special adviser to the company after leaving the role of legal head.

The move marks another major departure at the network since the settlement. Top-rated host Tucker Carlson agreed to part ways with Fox in April, just days after the legal resolution.

Fox's Chief Legal Officer Viet Dinh is stepping down, a high-profile exit following its $787.5 million settlement in April of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election coverage

In June, the company also settled a lawsuit by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed gender discrimination and accused the network's lawyers of pressuring her to make misleading statements in the Dominion Voting Systems case.

It comes as Fox is in the midst of a stunning financial resurgence following a rough start to 2023 - after the network's firing of longtime fixture Tucker Carlson and a $788million suit settled days earlier.

On April 17, the day before it reached its landmark settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Corp's stock was trading at $33.99 - a sum that by mid-May had sunk to $30.53.

Carlson - whose career at the station spanned a sterling 14 years - left his show on April 23, with little reason given at the time as to why the company let their most-watched anchor go.

Some pundits predicted the demise of the network cutting one of its biggest stars, but it appears at least Wall Street is back to believing in Fox.

The stock, once believed to be of the blue-chip variety, has since rebounded dramatically, and as of Wednesday afternoon stands at $34.38 - up roughly 1 percent from its price before the monetary woes began.

Former Fox New exec Ken LaCorte, who left the network in 2016 after longtime ally Robert Ailes's own ouster over sexual harassment allegations, was one of many to comment Thursday on the comeback from the stations' stock.

Like Carlson, LaCorte served the network for 20 twenty years, holding several senior management positions in the process.

Dinh, who will exit the role at the end of 2023, joined Fox in 2018 and headed its legal and compliance divisions during the months-long legal battle sparked by the network's coverage of false claims that Dominion rigged the election

As part of a separation agreement, Dinh will get a lump-sum cash payment of $23 million, Fox said

Now the owner of several competing websites including Conservative Edition News, Liberal Edition News and LaCorte News, he used the opportunity to slam Carlson's firing this past spring as a 'debacle.'

'Less than 4 months after the debacle of firing Tucker Carlson and the Dominion $788m settlement, Fox stock is now trading higher than it was beforehand,' the 58-year-old wrote - sharing a graph showing the stock's recent volatility and recovery.

Many assumed the 54-year-old's ouster dealt with claims he and other network hosts spread lies about Dominion machines during the 2020 election - claims Rupert Murdoch's news station had vowed to fight before ultimately throwing in the towel.

Its parent company has since struggled to fill the financial hole the preeminent host left, reporting a $50 million loss last quarter and seeing a stark drop in share price throughout the remainder of April and all of May.

Carlson - whose career at the station spanned a sterling 14 years - left his show on April 23, with little reason given at the time as to why the company let their most-watched anchor go

Former Fox New exec Ken LaCorte, who left the network in 2016 after longtime ally Robert Ailes's own ouster over sexual harassment allegations, was one of many to comment Thursday on the stock's comeback

In 2021 Dominion sued Fox claiming the anchor and other network hosts knowingly spread lies about its machines during the 2020 election, in an alleged bid to help Trump get reelected.

The lawsuit came at the height of Carlson's success - and specifically singled out statements made on air by the TV talker and other such as Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, and Maria Bartiromo.

During discovery for the case, multiple text messages sent by Carlson to colleagues over the course of the 2020 election were made public, embarrassing the network to no end.

Sent to colleagues such as Laura Ingraham, they revealed how Carlson secretly despised Trump behind the scenes - despite his repeated praising the then-president, whose win helped further propel his success, in public.

One sent on November 5 of that year - days after Joe Biden was declared victorious - seemed to show Carlson realizing a Trump loss could spell trouble for the network, given how heavily he had leaned on the politician over the past several years.

'He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong,' Carlson wrote about Trump in one of many startling text messages obtained by the voting firm - which claimed in court that the correspondence served as proof he knowingly spreading false information.

On November 17, Carlson griped about attorney and frequent Fox guest Sidney Powell for pushing the voter fraud conspiracy - despite seemingly agreeing with the theory himself several times on the air.

Many assumed the 54-year-old's ouster dealt with claims he and other network hosts spread lies about Dominion machines during the 2020 election - claims brass Rupert Murdoch's news station had vowed to fight before ultimately throwing in the towel

'Sidney Powell is lying. F***ing bitch,' he wrote.

A day later, in a message to Ingraham, Carlson elaborated, 'Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It's insane.'

Then, after the insurrection on January 6, Carlson took aim at the ex-president himself, saying he could not wait for him to be out of office - and more importantly, out of news headlines

'We are very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,' Carlson wrote in one message. 'I truly can't wait.'

He added: 'I hate him passionately.'

The messages, attorneys hired by the Toronto based voting firm said, served as proof that Carlson and others knowingly spread false information that their machines played a part in Biden's win.

After a jury was selected, and after Fox had promised a high-powered, bitter court battle, the network inexplicably backed down, agreeing to fork over the largest civil settlement in history.

The move puzzled many who thought Fox would never have backed down from a fight when it came to their lucrative golden boy.

That said, Carlson - who is technically still under contract at Fox despite his firing - is looking to set up his own media company potentially using the site formerly known as Twitter as its platform.

Following the launch of the weekly web show on the website, Fox threatened to sue Carlson for violating terms in his $20million-a-year contract that prevented him from taking work at competing networks.

In a statement to Axios at the time, Carlson's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, accused brass at his client's ex-employer of engaging in hypocrisy by silencing Carlson, citing how the company claims to 'defend its very existence on freedom of speech grounds.'

Despite the legal threat, Carlson is reportedly planning a more formal weekly web venture with Neil Patel, a former policy adviser to Dick Cheney, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal last month.

The pair, who met as roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, want to adopt longer versions of the free videos the social media platform offers - after Carlson's first episode on Elon Musk's X received more than 81million views within 24 hours.

Carlson's team met with Twitter representatives in recent weeks to discuss their plans and the demand for more content from the conservative, the Journal reported, as other commentators, including other former Fox News hosts Megyn Kelly and Bill O'Reilly, have increasingly sought a subscriber-funded long-form business model.

Carlson, meanwhile, has continued to post videos to the platform almost religiously since his departure in April, but remains under a multi-year contract.

His contract runs until January 2025 - after the election - and Fox wants to keep paying him, which would prevent him from starting a competing show.

Dinh was a former U.S. attorney general under President George W Bush and an architect of the Patriot Act, the U.S. national security law enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

He founded Bancroft PLLC, a small Washington, D.C.-based litigation firm known for advocating conservative causes that was acquired by Kirkland & Ellis in 2016. Dinh's clients as a defense lawyer included billionaire real estate developer Ng Lap Seng, who was convicted of bribery in 2017.
A 'kind and gentle' pensioner who drove special needs children to school for the council was stabbed to death while walking his dog.

Roger Leadbeater, 74, was fatally knifed while out with springer spaniel Max in an area of parkland off Shortbrook Close in Westfield, Sheffield, on Wednesday night, South Yorkshire Police said.

A 32-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.

In a joint statement, his family said: 'Roger was a 74-year-old man out walking his beloved dog, Max, when his life was taken in the most brutal and cruel way.

'Even as Roger lay fatally injured, Max never left his side. Roger doted on his family and was a good, hard working and decent man.

Roger Leadbeater, 74, was fatally knifed while out with springer spaniel Max in an area of parkland off Shortbrook Close in Westfield, Sheffield, on Wednesday night, South Yorkshire Police said

'Even at 74, he still worked for Sheffield City Council, driving children to school with special needs.

'As a family, we can barely believe such a kind, gentle soul could be taken in such a way.'

Officers were called just before 11pm on Wednesday to reports a man had been stabbed in the chest.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene where Mr Leadbeater was declared dead.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell, leading the investigation, said: 'I know incidents like this can have a devastating impact on the wider community and I want to reassure you we are working around the clock to piece together the circumstances of what happened on Wednesday evening that led to Roger's tragic death.

'The community who live in the area will continue to see an increased police presence in Westfield as the murder investigation continues at pace.

'If you see our officers, please don't hesitate to stop and speak to them - they are there to support the community at these most difficult of times.'

A post-mortem examination on Friday confirmed that Mr Leadbeater died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

Ms Bowell added: 'I would encourage the public to avoid speculation into what happened as our inquiries continue, and would also ask that the family's privacy is respected. They are heartbroken and grieving.

'I continue to urge anyone who has any information that could help the investigation to contact us.

'We are really keen to speak with anyone who may have seen anything out of the ordinary in the area in the hours leading up to 11pm, or in the early hours of Thursday morning, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage from the area surrounding Shortbrook Close.

'If you are uncomfortable speaking to the police directly you can call Crimestoppers completely anonymously.'

Anyone with information which could assist officers is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 1192 of August 9.
Artificial intelligence poses a growing threat to Britain as it could be used by 'malign actors' for hacking operations, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden warned last night.

Mr Dowden, who has cross-government responsibility for protecting the UK from emerging threats, said: 'The ability to do destructive things  you can use AI to help you do those.

'Disaffected people exist already. Tie them in with AI, and that enhances, that proliferates, the kind of things that they can do.'

AI could allow terrorists to access tools to conduct extensive hacking operations or create hazardous materials.

Mr Dowden said: 'We need to be careful not to overstate these things and do it on an evidential basis, but there is the risk there that has to be addressed.

'As you'd expect, we are taking this very seriously in enhancing our capabilities.' He also warned about the rise of 'deepfakes'  digitally-manipulated photographs  and the risk they pose to the democratic process.

Mr Dowden, who has cross-government responsibility for protecting the UK from emerging threats, said: 'The ability to do destructive things  you can use AI to help you do those'

AI could allow terrorists to access tools to conduct extensive hacking operations or create hazardous materials (Stock Image)

He said: 'In the electoral environment, we've had challenges for the past five or six years in terms of misinformation, disinformation. Again, that is going to accentuate and proliferate that risk, because it's much easier to create deepfakes with AI.'

But there are some positives to AI and Mr Dowden told The Times: 'We have a very tight labour market and the job of government is to make sure that people can transition.

'Ultimately, AI should have the capability to do the boring bits of jobs, so that humans can concentrate on the more interesting bits.'
The death toll from the Maui wildfires rose to 80 on Friday, Hawaii's governor said, with 1,500 still unaccounted for - as questions mount about whether the islands underestimated the risk.

Maui County government confirmed that 80 people were now known to have perished in the worst natural disaster to hit Hawaii since it became a state.

The death toll is expected to rise significantly in the coming days, as the mayor of Maui, Richard Bissen Jr., said they have not yet begun searching inside buildings.

It has now emerged that a report last year on emergency preparations placed the risk of wildfires as low - well below that of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and hurricanes.

Prior to the wildfires, the most devastating natural disaster in the state's history was a 1960 tsunami that struck Hilo Bay killing 67 people. The wave was created following a 9.5 earthquake in Chile.

Josh Green, the governor of Hawaii, is seen in Lahaina on Friday surveying the damage

Two people stand near a destroyed structure in Lahania town on Thursday

Rescue workers search the charred ruins of Lahaina, in western Maui

Members of the Hawaiian National Guard are seen on Friday combing the devastated town

Asked by Wolf Blitzer whether they were complacent, Josh Green, Hawaii's governor, insisted that the fire was unprecedented and impossible to predict.

'We do have wildfires every year. But we've always been able to contain them,' he said.

'Whether the factors were different this year?

'I've been in Hawaii 24 years and never seen the convergence of a hurricane and a wildfire anywhere near our towns. These things do occur, but that was in a rural area with grass.'

Green defended the efforts of his team.

'We do what we can with the resources we have, far from the mainland,' he added.

'This is the first time we've ever seen anything like this.'

The February 2022 report, entitled 'State of Hawaii Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan - Base Plan', detailed potential threats to those living on the island.

The plan 'describes and establishes the organizational framework the state will use to document and socialize the many strategic, operational, and tactical emergency management plans, policies, and procedures that make up the State Comprehensive Emergency Management Program.'

The authors claim: 'Through the execution of this document, state emergency management activities will increase in effectivity, to the benefit of all public and private entities as well as state residents and visitors.'

The document said tsunamis posed the greatest threat, with a high risk to people, property, the environment and emergency management program operations.

Hurricanes were next on the list.

Floods were a significant concern, and cyber threats were also troubling to the authorities.

But wildfires were considered of low risk to people living on the islands.

There was a greater threat from landslides, terrorism, infrastructure failure and drought, the officials concluded.

Yet other documents, first cited by CNN, showed that the officials were aware of a growing threat from wildfires.

In 2018, tailwinds from Hurricane Lane whipped a wildfire on Maui, burning 2,000 acres.

'The approaching storm stretched public safety resources and complicated the suppression response, with strong winds grounding air support and the fire forcing evacuation of a storm shelter within hours of predicted hurricane landfall,' according to a 2021 report from Maui County.

The fires burned 21 residential structures, 27 vehicles, and an about 150 acres of active farmland, making them among the most destructive in state history, according to the report.

Hawaii's 'unprecedented' wildfires razed a historic town and killed dozens of people after a hurricane hundreds of miles from the islands combined with dry conditions

A member of the Hawaii National Guard marks a burnt-out truck on Thursday in Lahaina

An aerial view of the destruction of Lahaina, showing burnt-out cars amid the ruins of homes

The scorched town is pictured from the air. People jumped into the sea to escape the flames

A charred bicycle is seen amid the wreckage of a home in Lahaina

The center of Lahaina, a historic town with buildings from the 1800s, has been destroyed

Fleetwood's restaurant was ruined by the wildfires which blazed overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday

Rolando Bumanglag, 65, is seen trying to sort through the charred ruins of his home in Lahaina, looking for his passport and other papers

Smoke still rises from Lahaina on Friday

The charred ruins of an apartment building in Lahaina are seen on Friday

In the 2021 report, officials concluded that funds to prevent wildfires were 'inadequate.'

The report also said the county fire department's strategic plan included 'nothing about what can and should be done to prevent fires'  an omission which the authors called a 'significant oversight.'

The report recommended a thorough risk assessment of fire hazards, but it's not clear whether officials heeded the recommendation.

Green, the governor, on Thursday night said that Lahaina would be rebuilt with attention paid to reducing the threat from future fires.
Britain has still not made the most of Brexit  and should now cut corporation tax to make the country more competitive, Boris Johnson says today.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, the former prime minister complains that the UK is still in the gravitational pull of the EU, seven years on from the referendum he helped to win.

And he warns that his successor Rishi Sunaks new agreement with Brussels on trade in Northern Ireland, known as the Windsor Framework, has made it even harder to escape the blocs clutches.

Under the deal, agreed in March, border checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea will be reduced  but critics fear EU law will still remain supreme in the province.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, Boris Johnson (pictured) complains that the UK is still in the gravitational pull of the EU

In his column, Mr Johnson compares economic performance, regulation and the tech industry in Europe unfavourably with that of the US.

BORIS JOHNSON: What the madcap cage fight between Musk and Zuckerberg tells us about how to make Brexit Britain richer... READ MORE Advertisement

He writes: One of the main reasons I backed Brexit so hard was precisely because I believe that Britain must escape this tired and failing European economic model, with its ill-thought-out regulation and vast non-wage costs.

Well, folks, six years on and  partly thanks to Covid  we have still not achieved escape velocity; we are still being held in the gravitational pull of the EU  and (I might as well say it) agreements like the Windsor Framework dont help, because they make it more difficult for the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland, to be different from the EUs regimes. The former PM admits the UK has made a start by diverging on biosciences and financial services, but adds: We have the potential to go much further and faster.

We need to show that Brexit Britain is radically different now, a place where you can invest and grow faster than anywhere else in Europe.

As I have suggested before, we shouldnt be raising corporation tax, we should be undercutting the Irish, making this place  lets be clear  more American in our attitude to personal and business tax, and to wealth creation.
Scores of people smuggling gangs are still openly advertising on social media despite the Government and big tech firms promising a crackdown.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week trumpeted a voluntary agreement with social media companies meant to ensure the brazen promotions that 'lure' migrants on to small boats 'never see the light of day'.

TikTok, Twitter and Meta  which owns Facebook and Instagram  all signed up to the initiative announced on Sunday, in which they pledged to increase co-operation with the National Crime Agency to find and remove the criminal content.

But a Daily Mail investigation after the announcement found dozens of people smuggler gangs continuing to advertise a range of illegal routes to Britain by dinghy, lorry and plane, with one promising, 'we will send you to the King'.

Some used footage of migrants launching small boats for the perilous cross-Channel journey urging new customers to get in touch for a similar 3,000 'secret' trip on their 'latest route'.

People smugglers have been using social media apps such as TikTok (pictured) to advertise their services

One advert previously found by the Mail claimed a '100% security and guarantee' to get people into Britain from Belgium

And when an undercover reporter posing as an illegal migrant contacted the gangs, they gave details of places to meet and advice on the best routes.

In a sign of a scale of the people smuggling industry, we also found social media sites offering black market documents to help illegal migration including UK driving licences, and work and resident permits.

READ MORE HERE: The Albanian people smuggling gangs providing RETURN journeys to help criminals escape from Britain in brazen TikTok adverts Advertisement

Tonight Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Mail's damning revelations showed 'dangerous criminal smuggler gangs' were still 'making a mockery' of border security and the criminal justice system.

An undercover reporter who approached a people smuggler's Instagram page called 'Boat and aeroplane to the UK' was told it was 3,500 for a place on a cross Channel dinghy.

The gang member added: 'We have Channel crossings every day from Dunkirk.'

Another Instagram page called Journey to England promised one departure a week in the cab of a lorry.

A spokesman for Meta said: 'People smuggling is illegal and where we find content co-ordinating this activity we remove it from our platforms.'

TikTok said it had banned all the sites that were highlighted by the Mail.
The new findings replicate earlier results from 2021 but with four times the data

Modern understanding of physics may be missing an 'unknown particle or force'

Scientists are closing in on identifying a new force of nature after observing the peculiar 'wobble' of a subatomic particle.

The experts whizzed tiny muons, which are similar to electrons, through a 50-foot-diameter ring at the US Energy Department's Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois.

Measurements of the muon's magnetic 'wobble' can't be explained by the Standard Model of particle physics  potentially hinting at some unknown fifth force.

Because muons form naturally when cosmic rays strike Earth's atmosphere, these results could change how we believe the universe works.

The findings support earlier findings from 2021 but include more than quadruple the amount of data analysed, strengthening the claim for 'new physics'.

The Muon g-2 ring sits in its detector hall at US Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois

What are muons? Muons are negatively charged fundamental subatomic particles, similar to electrons but about 200 times as massive. Importantly, muons are also magnetic, and wobble as they spin in the presence of a powerful magnetic field. Their magnetic moment describes how strong their inherent magnets are, and how much a surrounding magnetic field causes the particles to wobble, or 'precess'. Advertisement

Scientists from Fermilab have detailed their work in a research paper submitted on Thursday to the journal Physical Review Letters.

'We are looking for an indication that the muon is interacting with something that we do not know about,' said study author Brendan Casey, senior scientist at Fermilab.

'It could be anything  new particles, new forces, new dimensions, new features of space-time, anything.'

Casey theorisies that the results hint at a 'new property of space-time' or a violation of the Lorentz invariance, a principle stating that the laws of physics are the same everywhere.

'That would be insane and revolutionary,' he said.

For centuries, scientists have tried to work out what occurs at the 'subatomic' level, involving particles that are smaller than atoms.

Atoms, the basic units of matter that we can see and touch, combine to form molecules (which in turn form solids, gases, and liquids).

Physicists describe how the universe works at this fundamental subatomic level with a theory known as the Standard Model, developed in the early 1970s.

It suggests that everything in the universe is made from a few basic building blocks called fundamental particles, governed by four forces  the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force.

The muons, which are similar to electrons, circulate thousands of times at nearly the speed of light in an attempt to measure how they 'wobble' over time

Called the Muon g-2 experiment, as the particles travelled along the 50-foot long magnetic track, they wobbled 0.1 per cent off the Standard Model that has been used for 50 years

READ MORE 'Strong' evidence found for a FIFTH force of nature Researchers aimed to measure how magnetic muons are by watching them wobble as they travelled around the massive magnet Advertisement

Over the 20th century, it became established as a well-tested physics theory and has precisely predicted a wide variety of phenomena.

However, the model cannot explain some of the deepest mysteries in modern physics, including what dark matter is made of and the imbalance of matter and antimatter in the universe.

To help solve some of these mysteries, researchers have been searching for particles behaving in different ways than would be expected in the Standard Model.

The recent experiments at Fermilab, referred to as Muon g-2, studied the wobble of muons as they traveled through a magnetic field.

The muon (pronounced mew-on) is a magnetic and negatively charged particle similar to its cousin the electron but 200 times more massive.

They form naturally when cosmic rays strike Earth's atmosphere.

Importantly, muons are also magnetic, and wobble as they spin in the presence of a powerful magnetic field.

The muon, like the electron, has a tiny internal magnet that causes it to wobble  or, technically speaking, 'precess'  like the axis of a spinning top.

It measures 'magnetic moment' - the measure of the object's tendency to align with a magnetic field

READ MORE One of the universe's fundamental particles is HEAVIER than we thought The W boson is is responsible for the nuclear processes that make the sun shine and particles decay Advertisement

The Fermilab experiment  conducted at unthinkably cold temperatures of -268C (-450F) shot beams of muons into the donut-shaped superconducting magnetic storage ring measuring 50 feet (15 metres) in diameter.

The muons circulate thousands of times in the ring at nearly the speed of light in an attempt to measure how they 'wobble' over time.

As the muons zip around, they interact with other subatomic particles that, like tiny 'dance partners', alter their wobble.

Detectors lining the ring allowed scientists to determine how rapidly the muons were 'precessing'.

Similar to results in 2021, the wobble's speed, as measured in the experiment, varied considerably from what was predicted based on the Standard Model.

The muon's 'magnetic moment'  the measure of the object's tendency to align with a magnetic field  as a function of the particle's spin is represented by the letter g, and according to theory should be a little larger than 2.

However, the newly announced measurements found the magnetic moment is stronger by about 0.2 parts per million, a small but significant amount.

The new effort replicates and improves upon a previous experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, whose 2006 results were the first to suggest the muon's behaviour differed from the Standard Model.

The subsequent measurements at Fermilab reinforced this result with more certainty, but none more so than the new results.

Results in 2021 similarly showed an anomalous wobble, but the new results were based on quadruple the amount of data, bolstering confidence in the findings.

The new effort replicates and improves upon a previous experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York

The team is still working to integrate three more years of data together for a conclusive measurement of the muon's so-called 'magnetic moment'.

Ultimately, the findings continue to hint at some mysterious factor at play  potentially 'unknown particles or forces' that could rival the importance of the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012.

'With all this new knowledge, the result still agrees with the previous results and this is hugely exciting,' said study co-author Dr Rebecca Chislett at University College London.

Results further reinforce our team's previous precise measurements of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment, reaching unprecedented accuracy in testing the Standard Model and probing deeper into the subatomic world.'
In a big boost for personal safety, Android phones now tell users if they're being tracked by one of Apple's AirTag devices.

Google has rolled out an update so that Android devices automatically send alerts if they detect 'an unknown tracker travelling with you'.

AirTags pair with a smartphone app so that users can see the device's location on a map  which is handy if attached to a set of keys or in stolen luggage.

But since AirTags were released two years ago, nefarious figures have been caught slipping them into people's pockets or bags to follow their location on the app.

It follows the story of an Irish woman being tracked without her knowledge for two hours around Disneyland California.

A partnership between Google (which runs Android) and Apple (which makes AirTags) means Android users just have to go to their settings

How to activate alerts for Android - Go to Settings - Scroll to 'Safety and Emergency' (or 'Personal Safety') - Go to 'Unknown tracker alerts' - Toggle on and off the option to get the alerts Advertisement

Apple designed its coin-sized device so users could attach it to important items such as keys, wallets and luggage.

Through the accompanying app, called 'Find My', users are always able to know where the tag is (as well as the object it's attached to).

Holiday-makers have been putting an AirTag in their checked-in baggage so they can find it if the airline loses it.

But since the release of AirTags in 2021, Apple was alerted to concerning instances of the technology being misused, risking people's personal safety and privacy.

By slipping their AirTag into someone's bag or pocket without them knowing, a criminal can potentially track their victim's location all the way back to their house.

AirTags were built so that a notification from Apple's Find My app will pop up on a person's iPhone if an unknown AirTag is found 'travelling' with them, even if they do not have the Find My app installed.

However, Find My is for iOS, so Apple also created an app for Android devices called Tracker Detect so they devices would detect AirTags as well as iPhones.

But Android users were still vulnerable to AirTag stalking if they didn't have Tracker Detect downloaded to their device.

If you are being tracked, the alert on your Android will read: 'Unknown tracker detected. The owner of the tracker can see its location'

Tapping on 'more info' will give you the option to make the AirTag emit a sound, letting you know exactly where it's been hidden. There's also the all-important option to disable the tracker, stopping the owner of the AirTag from seeing your location

READ MORE Woman is secretly tracked by Apple's AirTag The woman was at an evening event when the AirTag was put on her Advertisement

Now, Google has stepped up efforts to protect potential Android stalking victims by building alerts directly into Android security settings.

If you are being tracked, the alert on your Android will read: 'Unknown tracker detected. The owner of the tracker can see its location.'

Tapping on 'more info' will give you the option to make the AirTag emit a sound, letting you know exactly where it's been hidden.

There's also the all-important option to disable the tracker, stopping the owner of the AirTag from seeing your location.

Alerts are on by default, but if for some reason you don't want to receive them you can turn the option off.

Simply go to device settings and tap on 'Safety and Emergency' (or, if using an older version of Android, 'Personal Safety').

An option called 'Unknown tracker alerts' will let you toggle off and on permission to get sent alerts.

A big green tick should also tell you that there are 'no trackers detected' on its last scan, although you can perform a manual scan for the devices at any time.

Google warns that 'only compatible trackers can be detected', because at present the alert only works if it's an AirTag.

Other tracking devices including Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, Eufy Security and Pebblebee are to get support at a later date.

AirTag is a small, circular device with an Apple logo at the centre, and is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity to pair with an iPhone or iPad. Using the 'Find My' app, the system provides step-by-step directions to locate the tag and the missing object

Ultimately, the update should offer peace of mind to Android users, such as women returning home from a night out.

A number of reports in the US have claimed people are being unknowingly tracked with AirTags, potentially by stalkers, thieves and sexual predators.

According to an investigation by Vice earlier this year, 150 police reports from dozens of US police departments had involved AirTags over an eight-month period.

Of the 150 reports, 50 cases involved women who had called the police because they started getting notifications that their whereabouts were being tracked by an AirTag they didnt own.

In one case, a woman called the police to report that her ex had slashed her tires and left an AirTag in the car to watch her.
Martian hunters are getting excited by cracked mud on the Red Planet.

A new paper suggests the same conditions that created the cracks could have been favorable to microbial life.

Scientists aren't certain how life began on Earth, but one prevailing theory says persistent cycles of wet and dry conditions on land helped assemble the complex chemical building blocks necessary to start life.

It may not look like much, but these NASA images of cracked mud have alien hunters excited

Found by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is exciting to the mission's team, they suggest that Mars endured cycles of wet and dry conditions - which is thought to be favorable to life

This is why a patchwork of well-preserved ancient mud cracks found by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is exciting to the mission's team.

The paper in Nature details how the distinctive hexagonal pattern of these mud cracks offers the first evidence of wet-dry cycles occurring on early Mars.

'These particular mud cracks form when wet-dry conditions occur repeatedly  perhaps seasonally,' said the paper's lead author, William Rapin of France's Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie.

Curiosity is gradually ascending the sedimentary layers of Mount Sharp, which stands 3 miles (5 kilometres) high in Gale Crater.

The rover spotted the mud cracks in 2021 after drilling a sample from a rock target nicknamed 'Pontours,' found within a transitional zone between a clay-rich layer and one higher up that is enriched with salty minerals called sulfates.

While clay minerals usually form in water, sulfates tend to form as water dries up.

Scientists now say they've found 'ample evidence' that ancient Mars could have supported microbial life

The minerals prevalent in each area reflect different eras in Gale Crater's history. The transitional zone between them offers a record of a period when long dry spells became prevalent and the lakes and rivers that once filled the crater began to recede.

As mud dries out, it shrinks and fractures into T-shaped junctions  which are what Curiosity discovered previously at 'Old Soaker,' a collection of mud cracks lower down on Mount Sharp.

Those junctions are evidence that Old Soaker's mud formed and dried out once, while the recurring exposures to water that created the Pontours mud caused the T-shaped junctions to soften and become Y-shaped, eventually forming a hexagonal pattern.

The hexagonal cracks in the transitional zone kept forming even as new sediment was deposited, indicating that the wet-dry conditions continued over long periods of time. ChemCam, Curiosity's precision laser instrument, confirmed a hardy crust of sulfates along the cracks' edges, which isn't too surprising given the proximity of the sulfate region. The salty crust is what made the mud cracks resistant to erosion, preserving them for billions of years.

'This is the first tangible evidence we've seen that the ancient climate of Mars had such regular, Earth-like wet-dry cycles,' Rapin said. 'But even more important is that wet-dry cycles are helpful  maybe even required  for the molecular evolution that could lead to life.'

Although water is essential to life, a careful balance is needed  not too much water, not too little. The kinds of conditions that sustain microbial life  those that allow a long-lasting lake, for example  aren't the same as the conditions scientists think are required to promote chemical reactions that might lead to life.

A key product of those chemical reactions are long chains of carbon-based molecules called polymers  including nucleic acids, molecules considered to be chemical buildings blocks of life as we know it.

Wet-dry cycles control the concentration of chemicals that feed the fundamental reactions leading to the formation of polymers.

'This paper expands the kind of discoveries Curiosity has made,' said the mission's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

'Over 11 years, we've found ample evidence that ancient Mars could have supported microbial life. Now, the mission has found evidence of conditions that may have promoted the origin of life, too.'

The discovery of the Pontours mud cracks may in fact have provided scientists their first opportunity to study the remains of life's cauldron. Earth's tectonic plates constantly recycle its surface, burying examples of its prebiotic history. Mars doesn't have tectonic plates, so much older periods of the planet's history have been preserved.

'It's pretty lucky of us to have a planet like Mars nearby that still holds a memory of the natural processes which may have led to life,' Rapin said.

Curiosity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Scientists trawling on board a research vessel off the coast of Antarctica have caught a new undersea creature  one with 20 arms and a distinctive body, shaped a little bit like a strawberry.

The purpose of the researchers' expeditions, conducted between 2008 and 2017, had been the hunt for 'cryptic' sea animals: a group known as Promachocrinus, or Antarctic feather stars.

Although similar to other invertebrate ocean animals, like starfish and sea cucumbers, feather stars are distinct both in their 'large' size and 'otherworldly appearance' when swimming, the researchers said.

The eldritch-looking horrors can live anywhere from 65 feet to about 6,500 feet beneath the ocean's surface, where they found eight unique species on their mission, including four never before named by scientists.

Scientists trawling from a research vessel off the coast of Antarctica have caught a new undersea creature  one with 20 arms which they have named the Antarctic strawberry feather star or Promachocrinus fragarius

The entire group known as Promachocrinus, or Antarctic feather stars, can live anywhere from 65 feet to about 6,500 feet beneath the ocean's surface, where the researchers with Scripps found eight unique species on their mission, including four never before named by scientists.

The specimens unearthed during preceding expeditions had long been presumed, though without verification, to exemplify this species.

Until this point, only a singular species had unequivocally been recognized as a constituent of this genus, designated as Promachocrinus kerguelensis.

The scholars noted that their capacity to aptly classify numerous additional distinct members within the genus had only now become possible thanks an examination of both DNA and physical morphology, or shape, of these organisms.

The Antarctic strawberry feather star, the team said, can range in color from 'purplish' to 'dark reddish.'

The new study was published this July in the peer-reviewed journal Invertebrate Systematics.

Even as these researchers may have unraveled one enigma of the sea, an abundance of undiscovered species remains in the uncharted realm.

Comprehensive exploration will be indispensable to gaining even a basic understanding of the profusion of life within the Antarctic waters, they said.
Planning on a road trip from the UK to France but in need of a steer for the best-value ways of crossing the Channel?

No need to feel lost at sea regarding prices because researchers at Which? have been hard at work analysing the cost differences between taking the ferry and rolling onto a LeShuttle Channel Tunnel train service.

The insights below - which include prices for overnight ferry services - will help you work out whether it's worth sacrificing sea views for speed. All the costs are average prices for a standard car with two adults, two children, travelling in August.

Which is cheaper - the ferry or Channel Tunnel (LeShuttle)?

If price is your only concern, the ferry beats LeShuttle hands down, Which? says.

Which? investigated the average prices for peak season crossings between the UK and France. The Dover (above) to Calais route with providers such as P&O Ferries costs 106 on average, it reveals

It notes that, on average, LeShuttle (formerly known as Eurotunnel Le Shuttle) is 60 more expensive each way for a car with four passengers than the ferry service from Dover to Calais.

According to the watchdog, even if you hunt for late-night Channel Tunnel bargains, youre unlikely to beat the ferry price. When Which? scoured the latter half of August for cheap crossings, the best one-way journey it could find was 120 on LeShuttle. In contrast, the cheapest one-way ferry crossing was just 54.

That said, LeShuttle is undoubtedly the fastest way to get from the UK to France, Which? says.

THE CHEAPEST ROUTES FROM ENGLAND TO FRANCE BY CAR, ACCORDING TO WHICH? DOVER TO CALAIS Average single price - 106 Average return price - 220 Crossing time - 1hr 30min Operators - P&O Ferries, DFDS, Irish Ferries DOVER TO DUNKIRK Average single price - 107 Average return price - 225 Crossing time - 2hrs Operators - DFDS FOLKESTONE TO CALAIS - CHANNEL TUNNEL Average single price - 166 Average return price - 346 Crossing time - 35 minutes Operators - LeShuttle NEWHAVEN TO DIEPPE Average single price - 234 Average return price - 429 Crossing time - 4hrs Operators - DFDS Overnight crossing is available POOLE TO CHERBOURG Average single price - 293 Average return price - 585 Crossing time - 4hrs 30min Operators - Brittany Ferries, Condor PORTSMOUTH TO LE HAVRE Average single price - 295 Average return price - 576 Crossing time - 7hrs 59min Operators - Brittany Ferries Overnight crossing is available POOLE TO ST MALO Average single price - 296 Average return price - 570 Crossing time - 6hrs 15min Operators - Condor PORTSMOUTH TO CHERBOURG Average single price - 345 Average return price - 619 Crossing time - 3hrs Operators - Brittany Ferries Overnight crossing is available PORTSMOUTH TO CAEN Average single price - 365 Average return price - 699 Crossing time - 5hrs45 Operators - Brittany Ferries Overnight crossing is available PORTSMOUTH TO ST MALO Average single price - 498 Average return price - 827 Crossing time - 11hrs Operators - Brittany Ferries Overnight crossing is available PLYMOUTH TO ROSCOFF Average single price - 443 Average return price - 825 Crossing time - 5hrs30 Operators - Brittany Ferries Overnight crossing is available All average prices for a standard car with two adults, two children, travelling in August. Based on booking in June. Provided by Direct Ferries. Source: Which? Advertisement

If price is your only concern, the ferry beats LeShuttle (above) hands down, Which? says

When travelling on LeShuttle, you are advised to arrive one hour before departure and, once youve boarded, the journey to France takes just 35 minutes on average.

The consumer champion adds that many people who travel with pets also favour LeShuttle as you can keep your dog or cat with you in the car - a familiar environment - for the whole journey.

Dover to Calais crossing - which ferry company is cheapest?

The popular Dover to Calais crossing is served by three ferry companies: DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries, Which? notes.

Overall, Irish Ferries had the cheapest fare for every single date that Which? compared in its study of crossings. Its lowest price for a last-minute booking was just 54.

P&O Ferries also had some very low last-minute fares - within a few pounds of Irish Ferries - but these were limited and often only on the very unsociable 3.10am crossing, Which? reveals.

The watchdog notes that when comparing prices, its always worth checking the Dover to Dunkirk route to see if prices are better at the time you wish to travel. Dunkirk is only 24 miles (39km) east of Calais, and more convenient for those travelling on to Belgium.

Whats the cheapest day and time for cross-channel ferries and LeShuttle?

As a general rule, Sunday to Thursday departures offer the best rates, Which? reveals, adding that as you would expect, Friday and Saturday departures are pricey.

The Dover to Dunkirk (pictured) ferry route with DFDS costs 107 on average, Which? reveals

The watchdogs comparison of August dates found that you could pay up to 201, one way on LeShuttle on a Friday or Saturday, but the most expensive fare on a Tuesday was 158.

Its research found that the cheapest time to travel from Dover to Calais by ferry was always between 10pm and 6.30am. The 10.15pm crossing had the cheapest fares on 14 of the 18 days Which? checked. The 2.55am and 6.15am crossings also regularly had the cheapest fares.

For the best LeShuttle fares, avoid crossing in the morning, Which? recommends. The 8am to 2pm trains had the highest prices, it found, and the cheapest crossings were always after 8pm. In particular, the 10pm to 11pm crossings were cheapest on 13 out of the 18 days Which? checked.

Can it work out cheaper to take an overnight ferry?

Which? says that ferries from Newhaven, Portsmouth and Plymouth all offer overnight sailings. These typically take longer, so that you can, in theory, get a good nights sleep and drive off the boat refreshed in the morning. But longer crossings are generally much more expensive.

The watchdog notes that these sailings are particularly convenient if you live in the southwest of England, or are bound for western France, and could result in much shorter driving distances.

To take an extreme example, a family driving from Swindon to La Rochelle would drive 250 miles (402km) fewer by taking the Portsmouth-Caen route, rather than the Dover-Calais route. However, it would only save them around 50 in petrol and tolls, which doesnt make up for the additional ferry fare for the longer sailing (259 more on average), Which? reveals.

It costs an average price of 166 to travel from Newhaven to Dieppe (pictured) with DFDS

The consumer champion notes that overnight sailings do save you money on accommodation - youll have one less night in a hotel - but if you really want a good nights sleep youll have to add on the price of a cabin on the ferry. A family cabin on the Portsmouth-Caen route cost 83 when Which? looked.

Can I get cheap ferry tickets to France with Tesco Clubcard vouchers or Nectar points?

Which? explains that you can use Tesco Clubcard points to book Dover to Calais crossings with Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries. You can also book LeShuttle crossings using Clubcard reward vouchers.

Every 5 of vouchers can be turned into 10 to spend on a ferry ticket, the watchdog says, though it notes that terms and conditions apply to these bookings.

Unfortunately, its not possible to spend Nectar points on ferry tickets.

Commenting on the findings, Jo Rhodes, Deputy Which? Travel Editor, said: Thousands of holidaymakers will be planning a trip to France this summer, but the impact of strike action, bad weather and lengthy immigration processes all contributed to delays at Dover earlier this year - so it's unsurprising that many travellers might be worried about how long it will take them to get to their destination.

If speed is your priority then LeShuttle is the best option. However, if you're looking to save money on driving to France, the ferry is definitely the cheaper option - and you can save even further by travelling at non-peak times and comparing prices between ferry companies.
Hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey ended years ago but on-screen couple Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb havent gone their separate ways.

After reuniting last year for an episode of ITVs DNA Journey, the actors who played Pam and Mick Shipman  Gavins bickering parents  get together again this week for a Gavin & Stacey-themed travelogue.

Alison and Larry, who first acted together in the 1997 TV drama The Missing Postman, had never spent much time alone until recently.

Gavin & Stacey was a very intense working process where we were all part of a big gang, says Larry, 75. Then when we did DNA Journey, it was very clear Alison and I got on. It was a nice, easy relationship.

The ratings-busting series about young lovers Gavin and Stacey (Mathew Horne and Joanna Page) and their families still exerts a hold over the nations psyche, with its catchphrases such as crackin and lush living on.

Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb (pictured) have reunited again to retrace the show's epic drive from Billericay to Barry Island

The show ran for three series from 2007-2010 until its creators and co-stars Ruth Jones (Nessa) and James Corden (Smithy) wrote a surprise Christmas special in 2019 that was watched by an incredible 17 million viewers.

Now theres a chance to wallow in nostalgia with Golds Alison & Larry: Billericay To Barry. It takes the pair on a 210-mile road trip from the Shipmans Essex turf to Staceys manor in Wales.

Ironically, since Alison and Larry filmed all their Essex scenes in South Wales, this will be the first time the couple have made the trip, with the pair enjoying detours to a falconry centre, a swimming lake, a gin distillery and reunions with former castmates including Russell Tovey, who played Budgie, and Melanie Walters (Staceys mum, Gwen).

They rustle up Welsh cakes with Melanie, who confesses shes no cook  unlike her character Gwen, who was constantly in the kitchen making omelettes for everyone.

People think I cook because of the omelette thing, says Melanie. They get very disappointed when I say, I never cooked one. It was the art department!

Larry explains that the trip will introduce us to the real Alison, with whom fans arent familiar. She has this very effervescent image that everyones taken from those characters, says Larry.

But thats not Alison. Shes very deep, very private. Im a bit like that too. People think of me as ebullient, but in fact Im like her. Were both all about family.

Twice-divorced Larry is a father of four; his partner is French artist Marie Victorine. Alison, who has two sons with her ex, film-maker Mike Leigh, lives with her partner, fellow actor Michael Elwyn.

Bryn West (played by Rob Brydon), Gwen West (Melanie Walters), Mick Shipman (Larry Lamb) and Pam Shipman (Alison Steadman) in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special

Coming together is a treat. Theres a lot to talk about, says Larry. The pair share some intimacies on their trip, including why Larry gave up booze 13 years ago.

As I got into my 60s, the hangovers became so unbearable, because obviously I was allergic to the bloody stuff, he says.

Now, if somebodys serving a lovely wine, I can get a little teardrop in the bottom of the glass and smell it and appreciate it and not think I have to drink three bottles of it, which was the problem before.

During the long car journey  including driving past the house used as the Shipmans Essex residence, which is actually in Dinas Powys, Wales  the pair reminisce about Gavin & Stacey.

Alison explains how she found the character of lovable Pam. Somehow I could hear her voice. She was bubbly and a bit sharp.

Larry says the show catapulted his profile to new heights. Id never have thought that, of all the things Id done, Id end up in an iconic comedy series, says the ex-EastEnder.

I was always playing baddies and dodgy businessmen, and then in Gavin & Stacey Im the guy everyone wants to be their dad. It was brilliant, especially as Mick is actually pretty much like me, though a lot more easy-going.

Alison found herself recognised everywhere. I stopped at traffic lights once and this car pulled up alongside, she recalls. Four young guys were inside and they rolled down the window, shouted out, Pamellarrrr! and waved at me. It was so nice.

Alison says the whole gang got on well. Every time they said Cut!, Rob Brydon would be making us laugh, telling jokes. I miss everyone from the show, she adds wistfully. I hope we do another Christmas special. How lush would that be?!
The Reunion

Fridays, 9pm, ITV1 and ITVX

Rating:

I came to ITV1s six-parter The Reunion (which has already streamed on ITVX) without having read the bestseller by Guillaume Musso on which its based.

Despite being a Franglais co-production with a smattering of big British names its arguably the most stylistically/culturally French slice of telly since Emily In Paris.

Joke! Obviously, Emily in Paris is about as culturally French as McDonalds, but The Reunion is Le Real Deal. And though the first episodes plotting was challenging, the logical inconsistencies were easier to ignore with a glass of rose.

I sipped it while squinting at the gorgeous sun-drenched Cote dAzur locations, and despite the English rain hammering at the window I could almost pretend I was on a Provencal holiday. Though perhaps, given the body count, not my ideal holiday.

This week UK critic Kathryn Flett reviews The Reunion (pictured) on ITV, which is set in France. She ranks it three stars

Anyway, the plot: our anti-hero, Thomas (Ioan Gruffudd playing French, with an English accent), is a middle-aged novelist plagued by memories of his late-1990s final year at school.

His romantic crush  beautiful, vivacious Vinca (beautiful, vivacious Ukrainian-American Ivanna Sakhno)  disappeared on a dark and snowy night a night in which Thomas and his friend Maxime (Gregory Fitoussi from Spiral)  now a politician  also committed a crime which is, quite literally, about to be uncovered.

Though engagingly clever and stylish, The Reunion had numerous silly moments, prompting me to shout Cest ridicule! at the telly before, inevitably, spilling my wine. Chief among these was 49-year-old Ioan Gruffudds parents being played by Rupert Graves, 60, and Dervla Kirwan, 51.

This trio can, and did, act their socks off. But giving Dervla a grey bob and Rupert a pair of dad jeans couldnt disguise the fact that they looked more like Gruffudds siblings.

Which, in turn, struck me as a peculiarly unnecessary bit of French glamour-casting.

Had it been an English production the roles wouldve been played by, say, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton and it would have been just as good  arguably even better  and I wouldnt have sacrificed a lovely glass of rose.

Thomas (pictured) (Ioan Gruffudd), is a middle-aged novelist plagued by memories of his late-1990s final year at school

Then there was the equally distracting fact that the parents  retired schoolteachers  lived in a glorious three-storey seafront villa in Cap dAntibes which (Google revealed) is probably worth at least five million euros.

If French teaching salaries and pensions are that good, then its no wonder weve been having so many strikes this side of La Manche.

However, if viewers can get past all this  and a script low on laughs and big on portentous, po-faced lines such as She was snuffed out by the patriarchy. Her spirit will never die and (one of Gruffudds voiceovers) I came home to make truth show its face. And now I can hardly bear to look at it  The Reunion is a clever, pacy thriller with an outcome thats entirely impossible to predict. Especially if you havent read the book.

On day one, poor Mike got the axe  literally

Alone

Sundays, 9pm, Channel 4

Rating:

Were only one episode (and one man down, sadly) into Channel 4s out-there new reality show Alone, and despite the 100,000 up for grabs for the winner, the ten remaining intrepid souls are already wondering whether being dumped solo in a Canadian wilderness four times the size of the United Kingdom, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, and outnumbered by 3,000 bears, herds of moose and packs of cougars and wolves is such a fun idea after all.

UK critic Kathryn Flett says: 'I really felt for poor Mike, after an altercation with an axe led to the 49-year-old joiner being airlifted out on day one'

And if youre thinking Alone has anything in common with the most recent series of BBC hit Race Across The World apart from being set in Canada (good PR!), youre welcome to another think.

Compared to sleeping badly in a makeshift tent with just a night- vision camera for company while a bear sniffs your socks, my own youthful whitewater-rafting/horseback safari-ing looks like a fairground waltzer ride.

So I really felt for poor Mike, after an altercation with an axe led to the 49-year-old joiner being airlifted out on day one; his tears clearly stemmed more from the shame than the pain.

While its still too early to guess who has the smarts to go the distance, Id bet bubbly blonde fashionista Naomi  so obviously set up as a grizzlys potential canape (I get lost round Tesco!)  will get much further than were meant to expect.

Im sold on crazy agents

The backstories of agents revealed surprisingly likeable youngsters whose motivations are far from predictable

In Crazy Rich Agents (Sundays, BBC2), a global property company recruits wannabe British agents  working for commission only  whose naked ambition makes Apprentice contestants look bashful.

Hopefuls compete for a placement in NYC  and potential earnings of 1m+. In episode one, the backstories of (ex-care-worker) Georgie, (Milton Keynes agent) Krish, above, and (super-hustler) Aly revealed surprisingly likeable youngsters whose motivations are far from predictable. Im in.
Recent photos of Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori have sparked concern about the nature of their relationship.

The Australian architect, 28, wed the American rapper, 46, in a non-legally binding ceremony in January, and has since undergone a bizarre makeover.

Her new style has made headlines in recent weeks, after she was spotted looking downcast while walking around barefoot in a variety of see-through outfits in Italy - leaving locals furious.

Critics have since branded the images 'disturbing' and have speculated the Yeezy designer has taken charge of Bianca's appearance.

Carly Dober, director of the Australian Association of Psychologists, believes this may be evidence Kanye is trying to dictate what his new wife wears.

Recent photos of Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori have sparked concern about the nature of their relationship. (The couple is pictured in Los Angeles on May 13)

Dober pointed to a controversial scene that aired on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, in which Kanye decided to 'restyle' his then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

'There are multiple scenes with him throwing out all of the clothes that she said she loved, with her crying saying this was very difficult,' Dober said.

'While it is not clear how much of this was dramatised for the cameras and viewers, the fact remains that Kanye and Kim both publicly stated he had very clear ideas of how Kim should be dressing and her style did change throughout the relationship.'

The Australian architect, 28, wed the American rapper, 46, in a non-legally binding ceremony in January, and has progressively undergone a bizarre makeover

Photos surfaced of Bianca barefoot and wearing see-through clothing in Italy last week, prompting one social media user to comment: 'I would bet the farm she has absolutely no say in what she wears, or anything else for that matter, as long as she is with him'

While Kanye's current relationship hasn't been as publicly documented as his marriage to Kim, it's clear Bianca's style has changed dramatically since finding love with the rapper.

'It is unclear how much of [Bianca's changing style] is due to celebrity, an increase in access to resources that might be helping her achieve her own personal style, and whatever discussions have occurred between them both,' Dober said.

Fans have also weighed in on Kanye and Bianca's relationship after seeing photos of the couple in Italy.

One social media user commented: 'I would bet the farm she has absolutely no say in what she wears, or anything else for that matter, as long as she is with him.'

Bianca underwent a major makeover and has been seen wearing a series of bizarre outfits since the couple started dating. (Pictured left before her transformation, and right afterwards)

'I'm wondering if she is being mind-controlled?' one user wrote, as another added: 'Dressing her like a clown and probably controlling every aspect of her life. She looks miserable. She won't last long. Kayne will find a new doll to dress up.'

Someone else wrote: 'He's destroyed a beautiful women and making a fool out of her with the ridiculous clothes and homeless look!'

Others encouraged Bianca to follow Kim's lead and cut Kanye out of her life.

'Poor girl... please get out of that toxic relationship!' one wrote.

While she was always busty, Bianca sported a very different style aesthetic before she dated Kanye, and also had long dark hair

Kanye has never been afraid to express himself by dressing the women in his life - most notably his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. (The former couple is pictured in 2016)

'LADIES - let NO man bring you to this place. she will look back and absolutely regret this phase of her life. She will be on some talk show talking about how she lost herself. All publicity is not good publicity,' someone else added.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kanye West for comment.

Kanye has never been afraid to express himself by dressing the women in his life - most notably his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

Shortly after he started dating Kim in 2012, Kanye took the liberty of gifting her with an entirely new wardrobe before convincing her to throw out all her old clothes.

After they divorced in 2021, the SKIMS founder admitted Kanye was so controlling over her wardrobe that she struggled to dress herself and would have 'panic attacks' over what to wear. (The former couple is pictured in 2020)

A clip from her reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians featured Kanye going through her closet and forcing her to get rid of all the things he didn't approve of.

And after they divorced in 2021, the SKIMS founder admitted Kanye was so controlling over her wardrobe that she struggled to dress herself and would have 'panic attacks' over what to wear.

'I got to a point where I would ask him for advice for everything - down to what I wear,' she explained.

'Now I'm having panic attacks like, "What do I wear?"

'I definitely see what I like but I've never really been the visionary. Kanye would come in and be like, "You should do your hair like this. You should do your makeup like this." That's his love language, it's clothes. And so I always just trusted in him.'

A clip from KUWTK also showed the the Praise God rapper chastising Kim for agreeing to wear a revealing corset-style dress to the Met Gala in 2019.

He explained that he once wanted his 'girl' to show off her body, but becoming a father changed his outlook.

'Corsets [are] like a form of underwear, it's hot. It's like, it's hot for who though?' Kanye asked.

Kanye, who founded his own church months earlier, then told her that her dressing 'sexy' affects him as her husband, to which Kim replied: 'You built me up to be this sexy person and [have] confidence and all this stuff, and just because you're on a journey and you're on your transformation, doesn't mean I'm in the same spot with you.'

Later that year, Kim was photographed wearing a demure black gown with a high neck and long sleeves while out in New York with Kanye, her mother Kris, and Kris' partner Corey Gamble.

At the time, fans speculated Kim had changed her look to please Kanye.

A clip from her reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians featured Kanye going through Kim's closet and forcing her to get rid of all the things he didn't approve of

The clip showed the musician going through all of Kim's clothes, shoes and handbags

Kim's former nanny Pam Behan also previously accused Kanye of being 'controlling' in an interview with In Touch in 2021.

'Well, I don't think it's a secret that Kris [Jenner] was controlling over her kids and Kanye was controlling. I hope that [Kim] can recognise that and the next man isn't like that,' Behan said amid reports Kim and Kanye's marriage was on the rocks.

Kanye's ex Julia Fox has also spoken about how she allowed Kanye to take control of her fashion sense during their brief romance in 2022.

A clip from KUWTK in showed Kanye chastising Kim for agreeing to wear a revealing corset-style dress to the Met Gala in 2019. (Pictured on the red carpet at the event)

Later, Kim was photographed wearing a demure black gown with a high neck and long sleeves while out in New York with Kanye, her mother Kris, and Kris' partner Corey Gamble

The Uncut Gems actress went from wearing modest and reserved jumpsuits to revealing leather looks just weeks after embarking on a romance with the Flashing Lights hit-maker.

For their first date, Kanye even bought Julia an entire hotel suite's worth of clothing - a gesture that Julia described as 'every girl's dream come true'.

Bianca too has experienced a dramatic transformation in the short time she has been married to Kanye.

Older Instagram snaps of the Melbourne-born designer show her with long black hair, darker brows, and dressed in less edgy trends.

Just weeks after 'marrying' Kanye, Bianca shaved off her hair and has since been experimenting with dark and bleach-blonde hues.

Soon after Kim and Kanye tied the knot in 2014, she started wearing much more revealing and sensual looks. (She is pictured left in 2011 and right in 2015)

Since their romance formally began in January, Bianca and Kanye have been photographed wearing a series of very odd outfits.

In May, the Stronger artist raised eyebrows when he was seen alongside Bianca in a pair of 'sock shoes'. When they headed to dinner a few days later, she turned heads when she wore a white scarf wrapped around her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

She also modelled for Kanye's Yeezy line last month wearing only a black square of fabric over her chest and a tiny piece of cloth over her crotch and backside, which she teamed with a pair of thigh-high black boots.

Kanye's ex Julia Fox has also spoken about how she allowed Kanye to take control of her fashion sense during their brief romance in 2022. (The exes are pictured in January 2022)

In recent days, she has been working a series of jaw-dropping looks in Italy.

Bianca, who hails from Australia, joined the Yeezy team in November 2020 and is listed as the Head of Architecture for the brand on her LinkedIn page.

In January this year, the twosome tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, but it was not a legally binding marriage.
The much anticipated re-boot of 80s favourite Mother and Son is set to drop on ABC and ABC iview from Wednesday August 23 at 8.30pm.

Comedians Denise Scott and Matt Okine star in the roles made famous by Ruth Cracknell and Gary McDonald.

The launch comes as Scott, 68, made headlines this week when she revealed she's battling a 'particularly aggressive' form of breast cancer.

The media personality and former star of The Project, 68, spoke about her shock health diagnosis to the Australian Women's Weekly.

Scott was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago while working on the reboot but bravely carried on shooting the project.

The re-boot of 80s favourite Mother and Son is set to drop on ABC and ABC Iview from August 23 at 8.30pm. The launch comes as star Denise Scott (pictured ) made headlines this week when she revealed she's battling a 'particularly aggressive' form of breast cancer

Scott was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago while working on the reboot but bravely carried on shooting the project. The media personality and former star of The Project, 68, spoke about her shock health diagnosis to the Australian Women's Weekly

Denise has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a bid to beat the horrible disease and has nine months of treatment left.

'I do console myself that at least I've lived a full life that I'm happy with,' Denise told the publication.

She added: 'But I don't want to go yet. There are things I want to do.'

Considered one of the greatest of all home made classics, Mother & Son debuted on the ABC in 1984.

The iconic sitcom starred McDonald as a bewildered adult son trying to cope with his ageing mother, played by the late Cracknell.

In the re-boot, Okine plays Arthur, who moves in to look after the recently widowed Maggie (Scott), who may or may not have burnt down the kitchen in the family home.

As in the original, the re-boot sees Maggie run rings around her well-meaning family.

Also featured in the cast of the re-boot are Angela Nica Sullen who plays Arthur's older sister Robbie and Fat Pizza's Jean Kittson.

Comedians Denise Scott and Matt Okine (bothe pictured) star in the reboot in the roles made famous by Ruth Cracknell and Gary McDonald

Tiriel Mora from the 90s classic comedy Frontline also stars along with Virginia Gay from Winner and Losers and Catherine Van-Davies (The Twelve).

The original show won over audiences for its funny and poignant depiction of the challenges adult children often face when dealing with an ageing parent who suffers from 'memory loss'.

Maggie (Cracknell) became a fan favourite as she seemed to spend most of her waking hours 'out smarting' everyone, especially Arthur (McDonald), who was left to wonder just how 'out of it' she really might be.

The original half-hour series, which is now streaming on Stan, was a major ratings success for the ABC and ran to six seasons, finally ending in 1994.
Only once have I sat through the entire Academy Awards ceremony from start to finish.

It was 1995 and I was at a showbiz party in New York at which we were all invited to throw in $50 and make our predictions for every category, with the winner taking the pot.

My fellow guests watching the live TV broadcast included Christopher Reeve and the great director Sidney Lumet.

It was perhaps the last truly vintage Oscars year, with Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Four Weddings And A Funeral and Quiz Show competing for Best Picture.

(Alas I plumped for Shawshank ahead of Gump and finished dead last.)

Sky has decided to ditch its Oscars ceremony broadcast after taking over the rights in 2004

Today, the 'watchability' of the Oscars is reliant on something dramatic happening, as in 2017 when the Best Picture was mistakenly given to La La Land instead of Moonlight, or when Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith's wife.

Otherwise, the ceremony has become unendurable, as self-regarding actors, directors, writers and producers use their moment in the spotlight to preach about whatever might be the latest fashionable woke message.

Little wonder that, after 20 years, Sky has decided to ditch its Oscars broadcast  and I feel entirely unmoved.

Actors have always liked to grandstand.

It's half a century since Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather (pictured) to decline his Best Actor award for The Godfather, as a protest against Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans

It's half a century since Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to decline his Best Actor award for The Godfather, as a protest against Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans.

But behaviour like that was the exception in those days. Now it's the norm.

Nothing devalues the crazy hoopla like puffed-up stars, led to believe their own publicity by simpering reporters, subjecting us to their pomposity.

It's possible another broadcaster will take over. But if they expect people to sit up half the night, like they used to when the Oscars meant something, they haven't been watching either.
In the dynamic world of luxury and fine jewellery, one name stands out: Vikar Ahmed, The German Jeweler.

With an unyielding commitment to innovation and a passion for exquisite craftsmanship, Vikar Ahmed has made a name for himself, captivating jewelry enthusiasts worldwide.

His unique fusion of traditional artistry and modern aesthetics has redefined elegance, making him a sought-after figure among connoisseurs of fine jewelry.

Nestled in the heart of Idar-Oberstein, Germany, a land renowned for precision and craftsmanship, Vikar has taken the art of fine jewelry to new heights.

'When people wear my jewellery, they should experience true luxury': German designer Vikar Ahmed reveals how he has perfected his craft

His impeccable designs and unparalleled attention to detail have caught the attention of connoisseurs and style aficionados globally.

Combining a rich heritage with an unwavering passion for creating masterpieces, Vikar The Jeweler has become a prominent figure in the industry, seamlessly blending traditional techniques with contemporary aesthetics.

With a deep appreciation for beauty and craftsmanship, Vikar drew inspiration from the rich history of German jewelry-making, setting out on a quest to create pieces that resonate with modern sensibilities while honoring the country's esteemed legacy.

Each of Vikar's designs is a testament to his unwavering commitment to excellence, meticulously crafted with a keen eye for detail and a profound understanding of materials.

Today, Vikar serves as the personal jeweler for an impressive roster of international celebrities, delivering custom pieces that mirror their unique style, persona, and status. Recognizing that luxury and celebrity jewelry go hand in hand, Vikar ensures that unwavering quality is the foundation of his work.

Vikar's signature pieces are envisioned by a top designer from Rome, Italy, and brought to life in his workshop in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.

Here they are: Vikar Ahmed With Richard Muljadi

Master goldsmiths and gem setters employ their exceptional skills to guarantee each piece achieves unparalleled exclusivity, catering to the distinct tastes of every client.

As Vikar himself puts it: 'The idea is to sell a feeling, not just a piece of jewelry. When people wear my jewelry, they should experience true luxury, unlike any regular piece of jewelry.'

His reach extends far and wide, as Vikar travels around the globe, personally delivering his bespoke jewels to celebrities, athletes, musicians, and high-profile clients.

From Cannes to Monaco, London to New York, Indonesia to Hong Kong, Vikar Ahmed's creations adorn clients worldwide.

Behind the scenes glimpses of his creations, along with clients showcasing his jewels, can be found on his Instagram page, giving enthusiasts a glimpse into the artistry of Vikar Ahmed, The German Jeweler. (@VikarAhmedTheJeweler)
Tyrese Gibson claims he was the victim of racial discrimination and profiling during a February 11 visit to West Hills, California Home Depot location in a $1 million lawsuit.

The Fast & Furious actor, 44, filed legal documents in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday claiming that he and two construction workers he had working for him had their civil rights violated in an incident at the store.

The two workers Gibson had working for him, Eric Mora and Manual Hernandez, are also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Fox11 reported, citing court docs.

The Watts, Los Angeles native also claims the company violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act; and had been negligent in its hiring, supervision and retention of employees in the lawsuit, in which he's also seeking punitive damages.

Gibson in the legal filing that the $1 million was for compensatory damages, based on how much he estimates he has spent at the home improvement store over the years.

The latest: Tyrese Gibson, 44, claims he was the victim of racial discrimination and profiling during a February visit to West Hills, California Home Depot location in a $1 million lawsuit. Pictured in Las Vegas in April

Gibson's lawyers said the entertainer 'experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand inside the Home Depot retail store in West Hills.'

It continued: 'The company needs to understand that there are consequences for discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.'

Gibson's legal team said he and the plaintiffs remain 'committed to doing their part to advance civil rights and put an end to the despicable practice of discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling at the Home Depot, and, by extension, all retail stores.'

In the suit Gibson said that he did not want to attract attention and went to his vehicle, having his two workers pay with his credit card for the purchase.

He said that the cashier refused to put through the transaction and 'gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating store policy and [demanding] to see a form of identification.'

Gibson said that the transaction was finally put through following an argument with the cashier, and that the manager would not speak with him.

He said in court docs that 'there is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of plaintiffs' besides racial discrimination.

In the suit, Gibson's lawyers said that the employees involved in the incident 'purposely interfered with and refused to process the transaction based on their groundless suspicion of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez arising from their skin color, and in the case of Mora and Hernandez, their national origin.'

A video of the altercation was posted to YouTube in which Gibson was seen in a tense discussion with staffers at the home improvement retailer

The Fast & Furious actor was visibly rankled amid the February 11 incident at the retailer

Gibson also claims the company violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act; and had been negligent in its hiring, supervision and retention of employees in the lawsuit

Gibson told a woman in the clip, 'You're being a racist - and that's the truth'



A video of the altercation was posted to YouTube in which Gibson was seen in a tense discussion with staffers at the home improvement retailer.

'You're being a racist - and that's the truth,' Gibson told a woman in the clip. 'And you've got that racist energy all over you because you're not even willing to apologize, fix it and point out the inconsistencies of ... what the policies are.'

In the clip, Gibson pointed to his long patronage of the store, spanning a decade.

Gibson's team said in legal docs reviewed by People that Home Depot had 'refused to take any responsibility' over the incident, and instead they had 'doubled down, lawyered-up, and treated Gibson, Mora and Hernandez and what happened to them as not worthy of any due consideration - instead inferring that they are the problem.'

A rep for Home Depot told People in a statement, 'Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form.

'We value Mr. Gibson as a customer, and in the months since this happened, we've reached out to him and his attorneys several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so.'
Sally Phillips revealed she has found love again with a new boyfriend following her heartbreak after her husband ran off with another woman.

The Miranda star, 53, who was married to director Andrew Bermejo for 14 years, has now found love with her new flame Ian via a friend.

At Edinburgh Festival, Sally discussed her new romance and said she felt 'very lucky to have had a second chance'.

She told broadcaster at How To Be 60 Live! 'My husband left me for a member of the Russian Yoga Federation, though I'm not legally allowed to say that anymore, but he won't listen to this.

'Fortunately, my friend introduced me to Ian, and I've been with Ian for four years now. And he's to die for.

Love: Sally Phillips revealed she has found love again with a new boyfriend following her heartbreak (pictured Chelsea Flower Show in 2021)

Happy: The Miranda star, 53, who was married to director Andrew Bermejo for 14 years, has now found love with her new flame Ian via a friend

'And actually, to be honest, when he kissed me, this is true. I'm going to overshare because comedians do that.

'But when he kissed me, I did think of that line, you need to be kissed a lot by someone who knows how. So I've met someone who knows how to kiss.'

Sally, who shares three sons with her ex-husband, met her new partner Ian two years after her marriage to Andrew ended in 2017.

It comes after Sally candidly opened up about her eldest son Olly's Down Syndrome diagnosis as she praised his 'amazing' emotional abilities.

The Miranda star is an advocate for the Down's Syndrome community, working with several charities and with the BBC for a documentary in 2016.

In a 2020 interview with Giovanna Fletcher on her Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Sally said she wanted Olly to have two siblings because she 'didn't want to leave one sibling as a carer'.

Speaking about the moment she was told Olly had Down's syndrome, she said: ' We got called back into A&E and the doctor said "Im just going to run some tests for Down's syndrome". I said "what?" and he said "Im sorry" and I just went into shock.

'The shock I went into was shaking and the actress part of me was like this is so interesting. I am flapping like Im trying to do an impression of a goose trying to take off a lake, thats so strange. Then they had to take blood from my baby.

Family: Sally is pictured with her sons Olly, Luke and Tom (now 18, 16 and 11) in 2018

All over: The Miranda star, 53, was married to director Andrew Bermejo for 14 years

Sally said although she was initially 'devastated', her and her family's lives are more 'meaningful' for having Olly, and offered advice to parents of children with Down's syndrome.

She said: 'The way it tends to go is, that it is a tremendous shock, and you do feel devastated for a bit but everybody not only adjusts but quite often their lives are more meaningful and happier for having the person with Down's syndrome in it.

'Within a certain period, within a year. I think presenting it as a big tragedy stops parents bonding.

'I think its just really important that its presented to parents as "listen you are going to feel really bad and really frightened for a bit but its vanishingly rare for people to not to be delighted with their new family member".'
Heather Dubrow turned heads in a figure-hugging silver minidress while arriving to tape an episode of the morning show, Good Day New York, on Wednesday.

While discussing the upcoming 17th season of Real Housewives of Orange County, the reality star, 54, opened up about feeling like she was 'apologizing and constantly playing catchup' with her costars.

'Pay special close attention to the details of what everyone says to each other,' she warned.

Additionally, the mother-of-three explained why she didn't invite Taylor Armstrong to her 54th birthday in January 2023.

When asked if she was planning to dip her foot back into acting, the TV personality teased 'it's coming.'

'I love the fact, at any age, we can do something new or go back to things we use to do, before we had our children,' she marveled.

Stunning: Heather Dubrow turned heads in a figure-hugging silver minidress while arriving to tape an episode of the morning show, Good Day New York, on Wednesday

Dubrow went on to praise Bethenny Frankels fight to unionize reality show contestants.

Still, she stated that she supports the SAG-AFTRA strike and had plans to join a picket line.

On Wednesday's episode of Watch What Happens Live After Show, her husband, Terry, recounted his recent health scare while Heather was a guest on the Bravo talk show.

Terry tearfully said he wouldn't be alive if Heather hadn't insisted that he go to the emergency room.

'I can tell you that I had symptoms of a stroke due to an anatomical defect in my heart and I'm going to try to say this without crying, but the only reason I'm standing here today and not six feet under is because of my best friend and my beloved wife's insistence that I go to the emergency room and get checked out,' Terry said.

Terry then put his hands over his face as he started to cry.

'She saved my life so that's just the way it goes,' Terry said. 'What can I say, I love my wife.'

Heather also was about to start crying.

Turning heads: While discussing the upcoming 17th season of Real Housewives of Orange County, the reality star, 54, opened up about feeling like she was 'apologizing and constantly playing catchup' with her costars

'Pay special close attention to the details of what everyone says to each other,' she warned

What's next? When asked if she was planning to dip her foot back into acting, the TV personality teased 'it's coming'

'Do not do this to me right now,' Heather said.

Andy, 55, said that the interesting thing about the story was that Terry was out to dinner with Heather when he started having stroke symptoms.

'He had a bad episode,' Heather said.

'And you were a doctor, you're very confident, you understand things that a lot of us don't know about the human body, but you really fought back for an hour and refused to go to the hospital and kept saying to her ''I'm fine, I'm fine'',' Andy said. 'So tell me the lesson here because you did wind up going.'

'So I did go and I did have a hole in my heart the same way a lot of those young celebrities had like Emilia Clarke and Hailey Bieber. And the lesson here is if you or someone is having trouble speaking, is having a bad headache, has partial paralysis, even if it lasts only a minute like it did with me, you until you rule out otherwise are having a stroke and you only have a few hours to get to the hospital and dissolve that clot. Otherwise you can can have a major stroke and sixty percent of people die,' Terry said.

'So that woman in that chair despite me telling her to stop embarrassing me in front of the TMZ bus that's driving by, persisted followed me in an Uber and called my best friends, who are doctors, and they convinced me to go to the hospital,' Terry said. 'And she literally saved my life. And by the way had she not listened to me I would have gone on a plane to come out to see you Andy and I would have had more blood clots from that plane flight and I definitely would have not survived.'

Supportive: Dubrow went on to praise Bethenny Frankels fight to unionize reality show contestants

'That's amazing,' Andy said. 'I'm so glad you went to the hospital.'

Andy then told Terry and Heather that their love for each other was inspiring and also plugged Terry's show Botched.

'The moment I knew he was okay was when we were in the ER and it was the premiere of Botched and he made them put it on. Oh the narcissism is back we're good,' Heather quipped.

Heather also shared details from The Real Housewives of Orange County about whether she thought the other women were using her as the scapegoat regarding talking about Shannon Beador's relationship with John Janssen.

'Some people talk about things off camera and some people talk about things on camera and bring them on the show to create a storyline that the whole world is talking about, which is worse,' Heather said.

One fan asked Heather after previously being in trouble for discussing Shannon's past relationship, why did she talk about John. Heather said she actually tried to avoid talking about Shannon's ex David, but it backfired.

Andy asked Heather about her reconciling with designer Jeff Lewis, 53. Heather said she recently ran into him and appreciated many things that he said to her.

'I liked speaking with him and I'll leave it there,' Heather said.

During a fun game, Heather admitted it was true that she was once confronted by Disney management who said that her performance when she played the character Miss Lily was too sexy.

Emotional: On Wednesday's episode of Watch What Happens Live After Show, her husband Terry recounted his recent health scare while Heather was a guest on the Bravo talk show

Health scare: Terry tearfully said he wouldn't be alive if Heather hadn't insisted that he go to the emergency room

'I can tell you that I had symptoms of a stroke due to an anatomical defect in my heart and I'm going to try to say this without crying, but the only reason I'm standing here today and not six feet under is because of my best friend and my beloved wife's insistence that I go to the emergency room and get checked out,' Terry said

Heather and Terry dated for two years before saying 'I do' in 1999. The couple welcomed twins Maximillia and Nicholas, who have entered college. They also share Katarina, 15, and Collete, 11.

Their daughter, Max, came out as bisexual, and last year during an episode of Real Housewives, Katarina came out as a lesbian.

Heather joined the cast of The Real Housewives Of Orange County starting in season seven in 2012 and stayed on the show until 2016.

After a five-year hiatus, the star returned to the series in 2021 for season 16 and came back for its 17th season.
She is part of one of the most famous and photographed families in the world.

But Bindi Irwin shared a rare photo of her American in-laws on Friday.

The Wildlife Warrior posted a tribute to husband Chandler Powell's parents, Chris and Shannan, to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

The mother-of-one posted a throwback photo of the couple posing with her in-laws at the Steve Irwin gala dinner earlier this year.

'Happy Anniversary to my wonderful mum-in-law and dad-in-law. Love you both dearly,' she wrote alongside the photo.

Bindi Irwin shared a rare photo of her American in-laws on Friday. The Wildlife Warrior posted a tribute to husband Chandler Powell's parents, Chris and Shannan, to celebrate their wedding anniversary

Bindi, Chandler and their daughter Grace Warrior often travel to Florida to spend time with Chris and Shannan, and also had an emotional reunion with them Down Under in March 2022 after being separated during the Covid pandemic.

Chris and Shannan flew from Florida to Australia last year to meet the couple's daughter, Grace Warrior, for the first time.

The meeting coincided with Grace's first birthday on March 25.

Bindi, Chandler and their daughter Grace Warrior often travel to Florida to spend time with Chris and Shannan and also had an emotional reunion with them Down Under in March 2022 after being separated during the Covid pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic and border closures meant the Powells couldn't meet Grace in person the year before.

At the time, Bindi threw a party forShannan at Australia Zoo.

In a gushing Instagram post, the young conservationist said she was 'thankful for [her] friendship' with her in-laws and 'in awe' of Shannan.

'Grace is leading the way to birthday celebrations for her gorgeous grandma,' her post began.

At the time, Bindi threw a party for her mother-in-law, Shannan, at Australia Zoo

'Join me in wishing my mother-in-law a very happy Australian birthday. Thankful for our friendship and forever in awe of the way you love your family.'

Chandler added on his own Instagram: 'Happy Birthday, mom! Loved having you and dad here these last few weeks.

'Grace had so much fun celebrating her first birthday with her grandma and grandpa. And don't worry - Grace will always be there with her crocodile when we need it.'

Shannan and Chris live in Tampa, Florida, and also have another son, Cameron, who is married to wife Kristin.

Shannan and Chris live in Tampa, Florida, and also have another son, Cameron, who is married to wife Kristin

Chris said of his trip to Australia to meet Grace: 'Love you three so much. The last three weeks have been such a blessing spending time with you.'

Bindi and Chandler wed in a secret ceremony at Australia Zoo on March 25, 2020.

They made the 'difficult decision' to host their wedding without any guests due to Covid restrictions, meaning Chandler's parents did not attend.

Bindi and Chandler wed in a secret ceremony at Australia Zoo on March 25, 2020. They made the 'difficult decision' to host their wedding without any guests due to Covid restrictions, meaning Chandler's parents did not attend

However, Chandler's parents 'fully supported' their decision to 'just get married'.

Bindi and Chandler, a former professional wakeboarder, live on Queensland's Sunshine Coast and work at her family's Australia Zoo.

They have previously celebrated Thanksgiving in the U.S. with Chandler's family.
Yara Shahidi led the arrivals at TIME's 'Impact Family Dinner' honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.

The actress-turned-activist, 23, looked radiant as she hit the red carpet in a stylish beige coord that hugged her slender frame.

It consisted of a fitted beige top with frayed seams and a floor-length skirt with a modest train.

She looked radiant as she beamed for shutterbugs before heading inside the event, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yara rocked a slender black belt with a large gold buckle that cinched in her already tiny waist.

Arrival: Yara Shahidi led the arrivals at TIME's 'Impact Family Dinner' honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington

The natural beauty opted for minimal makeup and a dewy complexion.

The Black-ish star's coiled raven hair was styled in a messy updo with pieces left out to frame her face.

Her nails were painted a pale nude shade and she accessorized with a pair of shiny hoops earrings.

The March on Washington was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement and took place on August 28, 1963 in the nation's capitol.

It's where the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his impactful 'I Have a Dream' speech.

The historic demonstration advocated for the civil and economic rights of African Americans in the United States.

The following year the Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It abolished segregation in public and private facilities and extended civil, political, and legal rights and protections to African Americans.

Thursday's celebration  called the 'Impact Family Dinner'  was hosted by TIME in partnership with American Family Insurance.

It honored Atlanta's National Center for Civil and Human Rights and those 'who are continuing to push Dr. King's dream forward,' as per TIME.

Along with being a Hollywood starlet, Yara is a vocal activist and recently received the Cameron Boyce Foundation's Youth Empowerment Award.

She accepted the honor at the Cam for a Cause Gala in Los Angeles this past June.

Yara was recognized by the foundation  which is in honor of the late actor Cameron Boyce  for her 'activism surrounding STEM awareness, women's rights and civil rights,' as per THR.

In a statement, Yara recalled meeting Boyce and how the award 'means so much' to her.

'I met Cameron when we were 5 years old, and even then, his talent, his fearlessness and his belief in the power of his peers was evident,' the star began.

It means so much to be recognized for my advocacy, and the work I continue to do to effect change.

I'm grateful to my friends and family at The Cameron Boyce Foundation for thinking of me, as I will always be inspired and activated by their incredible work in the fight to end epilepsy,' she concluded.

The actress, 23, looked radiant as she hit the red carpet in a stylish beige coord that hugged her slender frame

Activism: Along with being a Hollywood starlet, Yara is a vocal activist

The Minneapolis-born star was only 6 years old when she started her acting career, appearing in a variety of print and television ads.

She racked up important roles in films like Salt, Butter and Alex Cross before landing her breakthrough role in ABC's Black-ish, which was spun off into her Freeform series Grown-ish.

Yara recently opened up about taking on fantasy role like playing Tinker Bell in the Disney Plus movie Peter Pan & Wendy in an interview with Net-A-Porter.

'I've always wanted to get into the world of fantasy,' she explained. 'As an actor, it is a fun challenge to find a way to make something still feel real when nothing around you is real.'

The actress added that she took inspiration from Josephine Baker's 'really exaggerated' but 'effortless' movements to make this version of Tinker Bell her own.

'I mean, who knows when people see it whether they're gonna [notice] all these small references,' she admitted.

'But for me, as an actor, it was helpful and exciting to be able to build all these references [for] Tinker Bell.'
Paris Hilton shared an adorable clip with her infant son, Phoenix, on Thursday.

The 42-year-old socialite took to her Instagram Story to post a short but sweet video of her six-month-old son in a car seat as they prepared to get on a car to go board a plane.

In the clip, the entrepreneur  who recently revealed her 'superpower' in a wide-ranging Us Weekly cover interview  could be seen sporting a gray graphic T-shirt.

She also wore a colorful, beaded pendant necklace as well as a black newsboy cap over her platinum blonde tresses that were pulled back into an updo.

For their busy day, the social media personality appeared to be rocking a makeup-free look that showcased her radiant skin and natural beauty.

Adorable video: Paris Hilton shared an adorable clip with her infant son, Phoenix, on Thursday. The 42-year-old socialite took to her Instagram Story to post a short but sweet video of her six-month-old son in a car seat as they prepared to get on a car to go board a plane

Mother-son duo: She also wore a colorful, beaded pendant necklace as well as a black newsboy cap over her platinum blonde tresses that were pulled back into an updo. The model and DJ had also put a bib around his neck as well as an adorable, pink necklace that matched her own

At one point, the reality TV star took baby Phoenix  whom she shares with her husband, Carter Reum  out of the car seat to cradle in her arms.

Phoenix, their first child together, was dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of brown overalls.

The model and DJ had also put a bib around his neck as well as an adorable, pink necklace that matched her own.

In the clip, Phoenix looked curiously at the camera as the memoirist zoomed in on his face.

Earlier this year, Hilton made a surprise announcement that her and her husband had welcomed their first child together via surrogate.

A month later in February, she revealed the mythological moniker they had named their son on her podcast, This Is Paris.

In the episode, she read an excerpt from her book, Paris: The Memoir, as she shared the news and revealed her desire to name her future children after cities like herself.

'If all goes well, by the time you read this, Carter and I will have a baby boy,' she read. 'We plan to name him Phoenix, a name I that decided on years ago when I was searching cities, countries and states on a map, looking for something to go with Paris and London.'

Dressed up: Phoenix, their first child together, was dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of brown overalls

Cute clip: In the clip, Phoenix looked curiously at the camera as the memoirist zoomed in on his face

Her baby boy: Earlier this year, Hilton made a surprise announcement that her and her husband had welcomed their first child together via surrogate. Just a few months prior in November, she had married the venture capitalist, 43, during a lavish ceremony at a private estate in Bel-Air

Just a few months prior in November, she had married the venture capitalist, 43, during a lavish ceremony at a private estate in Bel-Air.

Last month, Hilton celebrated being a new mother by marking the day her son turned six-months-old.

She shared an adorable snap of baby Phoenix and had written in her caption: 'He is my world and makes my life feel so complete'.

'This Barbie is a Mom,' she also wrote. 'My baby boy Phoenix is 6 months old today'.

According to an earlier snap also reposted by Hilton from her sister, the mother-son duo were also traveling with Nicky Hilton Rothschild.

In the bathroom mirror selfie, Hilton sported a velour hoodie and threw on a pair of dark Prada sunglasses.

At her side, Rothschild donned a plain black top and a colorful, striped cardigan to go with the bright design and charms adorning her phone.

She also rocked a silver pendant necklace and a pair of cat-eye shades with a brown, clear frame.

Family trip: According to an earlier snap also shared by Hilton, the mother-son duo were also traveling with her sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild

Just chilling: Rothschild had also previously shared a photo before jetting off with her sister and nephew of herself in a dazzling ensemble to promote her shoe collection in collaboration with footwear designer French Sole. On Wednesday, she posted a snap to her Instagram Story of herself sitting on the front stoop of a residence

Summer outfit: The day before last, she continued to keep her 1.5 million fans on Instagram updated as she showed off her outfit in a bathroom mirror selfie

Rothschild had also previously shared a photo before jetting off with her sister and nephew of herself in a dazzling ensemble to promote her shoe collection in collaboration with footwear designer French Sole.

On Wednesday, she posted a snap to her Instagram Story of herself sitting on the front stoop of a residence.

In the picture, she modeled a magenta pink and bright purple tie-dye dress with a plunging keyhole neckline as well as a pair of vibrant ballet flats.

The day before last, she continued to keep her 1.5 million fans on Instagram updated as she showed off her outfit in a bathroom mirror selfie.

While standing in a lavish powder room, she donned a blue and white pinstriped button-down top.

To showcase her legs, she sported a denim maxi skirt with an open front slit and brown espadrille heels.
Jennifer Lopez gave her social media followers an eyeful on Thursday as she appeared in stringy white bikini and promoted her beverage line Delola.

The 54-year-old bombshell  who's currently relaxing on the Amalfi Coast  lounged on a plush chair, showing off her stellar figure in the revealing swimsuit.

The Bronx native heavily accessorized with gold jewelry including small hoop earrings and a long necklace that fell down her toned torso.

Additionally, the pop star donned a wide-brimmed brown hat adorned with a gold-toned scarf wrapped around it. She had earlier worn a patterned headscarf but later pulled the fedora on top.

The mother-of-two, who shares 15-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex-husband Marc Anthony, also wore lightly tinted hexagonal sunglasses.

New post: Jennifer Lopez gave her social media followers an eyeful on Thursday as she appeared in stringy white bikini and promoted her beverage line Delola

Vacation: The 54-year-old bombshell  who's currently relaxing on the Amalfi Coast  lounged on a plush chair, showing off her stellar figure in the revealing swimsuit

She looked typically stunning in a full face of glowy makeup that gave her a bronze finish.

Lopez, who is married to Oscar winner Ben Affleck, wrote in the caption of her post, 'Back in my element.'

She also moved to the app's Stories feature to share a throwback advert featuring her in a yellow skort and tied up button-up white shirt.

Her shoulder-length honey-blonde hair was styled half-up/half-down with a light flip at the ends.

JLo first announced she was launching the new business venture in April, gushing about the endeavor online.

She wrote with the Instagram post at the time, 'The secret is out!!! I'm proud to share with you @DELOLA  my new collection of unique, mixology-level ready to enjoy spritzes.

'More is #OnTheJLo. Let's live the #DelolaLife together @gregswalesart.'

The promotional clip showed her enjoying a celebration on the coast of Italy at an outdoor bar with pals.

Hot stuff: Jennifer flaunted her figure as she posed up a storm during a beach photo shoot amid her summer getaway on the Amalfi Coast on Thursday

Peachy: The songstress looked nothing short of sensational as she slipped into a skimpy white bikini as she topped up her tan

Bottoms up: Jennifer founded Delola Spritz and announced in on Instagram in April

Flirty and fun: She also moved to the app's Stories feature to share a throwback advert featuring her in a yellow mini skort and tied up button-up white shirt

Name origin: Lola is a longtime nickname of Jennifer's that reflects her 'more playful, carefree side,' a press release revealed

Lola is a longtime nickname of Jennifer's that reflects her 'more playful, carefree side,' a press release revealed.

In a press release shared it was announced Lopez created The House Of Delola LLC.

It's a company she founded 'to launch unique, mixology-level ready-to-enjoy cocktails designed for elegant, effortless entertaining as part of a thoughtful lifestyle.'

Lopez stated, 'I love entertaining and to relax and unwind with friends, but never found a drink that was right for me.

'I was in search of something that I could enjoy that fit the thoughtful way that I live my life. When I didn't find it, I decided to create Delola.'

Lopez added that her goals were 'better ingredients, better taste, fewer calories than traditional cocktails,' in just one simple pour.

Skimpy: JLo's stylish two piece featured a triangular top and tiny thong bottoms
Robert Irwin broke a few hearts on Wednesday when he went Instagram official with his new girlfriend, Rorie Buckey.

The hunky Wildlife Warrior, 19, shared a post about 'recent moments' and uploaded a picture of a gelato date he shared with Heath Ledger's niece.

Despite keeping Rorie out of the frame, his eagle-eyed fans and followers were quick to spot the blonde's manicured hands in the post.

'The girlfriend ''soft launch'': A classy way to let the rest of us down gently,' one follower commented underneath the post.

'The softest launch that was ever launched,' another said.

Robert Irwin broke a few hearts on Wednesday when he went Instagram official with his new girlfriend, Rorie Buckey. Pictured at the Mission Impossible premiere in Sydney last month

One added: 'I see a female hand!'

While another remarked: 'Soft launch soft launch soft launch.'

Robert is rumoured to be so in love with his new girlfriend Rorie that he is considering moving across the country to be closer to her.

The hunky Wildlife Warrior, 19, shared a post about 'recent moments' and uploaded a picture of a gelato date he shared with Heath Ledger's niece

Despite keeping Rorie out of the frame, his eagle-eyed fans and followers were quick to spot the blonde's manicured hands in the post

Earlier this week, the conservationist dropped a big hint he could soon be packing his bags and leaving his home at Australia Zoo, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Just a day after reports surfaced that Robert wants to relocate to Perth, where Rorie lives, he took to Instagram to share a gallery of photos he'd taken recently.

The pictures were all of signs, labels or book titles featuring his first name - a hobby the amateur photographer likes to call collecting 'Roberts of the world'.

One of the photos was of a road sign that read 'Roberts Rd', which some Irwin super-fans interpreted as Robert taking his life in a new direction.

Earlier this week, the conservationist dropped a big hint he could soon be packing his bags and leaving his home at Australia Zoo, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

The social media clue follows an unconfirmed report in Woman's Day magazine that Robert is planning to leave his family's zoo and move across the country to Perth.

Rorie is studying at a university in the Western Australia capital.

The young couple are said to be finding their long-distance relationship tough, with a source claiming the travel between WA and Queensland is 'hellish' for them.

'It's a real pain,' an insider was quoted as saying.

'Right when they really want to explore their relationship, they have this hellish distance between them,' they added.

A day after reports surfaced about Robert wanting to relocate to Perth, he took to Instagram to share a gallery of photos he'd recently taken. One of the photos was of a road sign that read 'Roberts Rd', which some Irwin fans interpreted as Robert taking his life in a new direction

'Rorie is stuck in Perth with her studies so the logical solution is for Robert to move there - at least for a while - and her folks are adamant he stays with them.'

Rorie's family has been more than welcoming of Robert, and her parents say they are the 'perfect match'.

'They're a very close-knit crew, and if Robert is willing to make the sacrifice to move to the big city for their daughter, they're going to do what they can to make it work,' the source added.

While Robert's mother Terri is apparently concerned the pair are moving 'too fast', she is reportedly open to the idea of her son moving interstate temporarily.

According to the magazine, Terri knows Robert is in 'good hands' and is interested in getting to know Rorie's parents if her son chooses to move to Western Australia.

The family matriarch has even invited the Buckeys to Australia Zoo for Christmas.

Robert and Rorie made their red carpet debut in Sydney last month for the premiere of the new Mission: Impossible movie.
She's known as one of Australia's top female wrestlers after competing in the US World of Women Tournament.

But Simone Williams is jumping out of the ring to join the cast of The Traitors Season 2, which premieres on Channel 10 over the weekend.

Williams, 33, who is known to fans by her professional name 'Princess Aussie', will be 'playing herself' in the real-life mystery show.

Based on the successful Dutch format, the Aussie version of The Traitors, hosted by Roger Corser, debuted to disastrous ratings last year.

For 2023, the format has been tweaked and will feature a mix of 20 civilian and celebrity contestants, including Below Deck Mediterraneans Hannah Ferrier and former My Kitchen Rules star, Ash Pollard.

Australia's top female wrestler Simone Williams aka 'Princess Aussie' is making her debut on reality show The Traitors

Williams, 33, who is known to fans by her professional name Princess Aussie, will be 'playing herself' in the real-life mystery show

All will be competing for a cash prize of up to $250,000.

Williams has lived in the US for the last few years and said she was excited to be back home to film the reality series.

'I can tell you right now I am the most adaptable person on the show,' Williams she said in an interview with Confidential.

'I am not familiar with a lot of things in Australia any more but that is what made it so fun as well.

'It was really nice to be back in Australia.'

Other featured cast members featured in this season include Australian Survivor's Luke Toki and House Husbands actor Gyton Grantley.

Motivational speaker Paul de Gelder and TikTok star Ian Zaro also co-star.

Channel 10 is remaining optimistic about the future of The Traitors despite the show's appalling performance last year.

Paramount ANZ's Daniel Monaghan told TV Tonight in January they were keen to stand by the competition series due to its critical acclaim and global success.

Pictured: Host Roger Corser with a cast of the new semi-celebrity cast of The Traitors

Former Below Deck Mediterranean star Hannah Ferrier (pictured) is featured this season

'The Traitors didn't set our world on fire last year, but it was such a well-made showI think it deserves more attention,' he said.

Monaghan said The Traitors 'deserved more audience' and praised the production company for how it put the series together.

'I think when you put up something like The Traitors and it doesn't do as strong numbers as you think it deserves, you'd look at the quality of the show and think, "Can you grow it?"

'Thats what we will be evaluating. particularly with the performance [of the UK series]. It deserves more.'
Erika Jayne showed off her recent weight loss in a crop top on Thursday while attending a fashion event in Beverly Hills, California.

The 52-year-old reality star wore a white short-sleeved MCM top that displayed her flat stomach along with matching pants emblazoned with the logo of the luxury fashion brand.

Erika, who recently credited menopause for her weight loss, completed her outfit with white and silver heels.

She also carried a small purple MCM purse for the event held at the MCM flagship store.

Erika had her blonde hair up in a pair of buns with black ribbons falling below her shoulders.

Fashion event: Erika Jayne showed off her recent weight loss in a crop top on Thursday while attending a fashion event in Beverly Hills, California

She wore full makeup and accessorized with earrings, necklace and rings.

The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star last week appeared slimmed down while appearing on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live wearing a black tank top, matching pants and tall boots.

'Looking like a whisper of herself,' host Andy Cohen, 55, said while introducing the RHOBH cast member.

Andy later told Erika that she looked great and asked about her weight loss.

'Yeah, I lost weight,' Erika said.

'Here's what. Let me just start off by saying, you know, I want to make sure that I don't trigger anybody because we have this conversation in Beverly Hills and we have a cast member with an eating disorder,' Erika said referencing Crystal Kung Minkoff, 40, who has openly shared her struggles with bulimia nervosa and body dysmorphia.

'But, yes, I did come down in weight and I did it hormonally,' Erika said.

'Not Ozempic-ally?,' Andy asked referencing the drug Ozempic that is being used for weight loss.

Luxury brand: The 52-year-old reality star wore a white short-sleeved MCM top that displayed her flat stomach along with matching pants emblazoned with the logo of the luxury fashion brand

Bravo star: The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star last week appeared slimmed down while appearing on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live

'I was going through menopause,' Erika said. 'So, I took it all down.'

'Who loses weight in menopause?,' cracked fellow guest comedian Jackie Hoffman, 62.

'Me, I went to the doctor and I said get it off. Me,' Erika said.

The US National Institute on Aging in its explanation of menopause notes that it affects each woman uniquely.

'The body begins to use energy differently, fat cells change, and women may gain weight more easily,' the NIA said on its website.

Erika was on the Bravo talk show promoting her upcoming Las Vegas residency 'Bet It All On Blonde' that begins on August 25 at the House Of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The 90-minute weekend shows will include old tracks, new music, and 'clever' covers, Erika said.

Good question: 'Who loses weight in menopause?,' cracked fellow guest comedian Jackie Hoffman, 62

Bravo stars: Erika, Dorit Kemsley, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke, Crystal Kung Minkoff and Kyle Richards of RHOBH are shown in March in Los Angeles

Erika revealed that she was adding additional shows for BravoCon weekend in Las Vegas in early November.

Ozempic has been a hot topic in Hollywood with stars either admitting using the diabetes drug for weight loss or staunchly denying it.

Semaglutide, is sold under the brand names Ozempic and Rybelsus as an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and under the brand name Wegovy as an anti-obesity medication for long-term weight management.

The drugs act like a hormone in the brain that causes people to feel less hungry and slow the clearing of food from the stomach, which spurs weight loss.

Erika's castmate on RHOBH Kyle Richards, 54, back in February slammed online speculation that she was secretly using Ozempic to lose weight.
DJ Matt James, who is responsible for the popular COVID dance track Get On The Beers, has been diagnosed with cancer.

The Mashd N Kutcher star, 33, shared a picture of himself on a hospital bed and revealed his plans to undergo chemotherapy.

Matt, who said he was shocked as he was 'otherwise healthy' was diagnosed with multiple myeloma - a form of bone marrow cancer which makes bones weaker and more likely to break.

'Some unfortunate news, I have been diagnosed with cancer,' he wrote in a lengthy message.

'Specifically Multiple Myeloma, which forms in blood cells inside the bone marrow.'

DJ Matt James (pictured), who is responsible for the popular COVID dance track Get On The Beers , was diagnosed with multiple myeloma

He continued: 'This was unexpected as I was otherwise healthy. However, it has spread throughout my body causing multiple breaks in my arms, ribs and more.

'Over the immediate months we will hit this from every angle with chemotherapy and extensive treatment ahead.'

Matt, who founded Mashd N Kutcher in 2012, went on to say he 'will be absent from social media and touring' but plans to continued working behind-the-scenes.

The Mashd N Kutcher star, 33, said the diagnosis was shocking as he was 'otherwise healthy', but the disease has rapidly spread causing several bone breaks

'Some unfortunate news, I have been diagnosed with cancer ,' he wrote in a lengthy message

The Brisbane entertainer said he'll focus on writing and producing records as well as 'curating and programming the music and visuals for the live shows'.

'Music wise I'm returning to the roots of the project [MNK]. If you enjoyed Sunshine or On My Mind you'll love the next releases,' he wrote.

'In summary, the road ahead is challenging but I'm very fortunate to have an amazing support network of family, close friends and colleagues.'

Matt finished his tragic announcement with a message of hope, saying he felt 'mentally strong' and planned to battle cancer with 'everything I've got'.

Mashd N Kutcher made their debut as a dance act and electronic band in 2014 with their first single Do It Now which peaked at number 33 on the ARIA charts.

However, they are most well known for their 2020 release Get On The Beers which remixed a press conference held by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews during COVID.

Mashd N Kutcher are most well known for their 2020 release Get On The Beers which remixed a press conference held by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) during COVID
Claudia Fogarty looked incredible as she enjoyed a night out at 20 Stories in Manchester on Thursday while Leah Taylor also headed out for some drinks.

The Love Island star, who is celebrating her 29th birthday, slipped into a khaki halterneck dress that skimmed her toned figure.

Claudia elevated her height with a pair of strappy heels and styled her bright blonde hair with a hint of a wave for the outing.

Elsewhere, Leah, 27, was also seen departing the cocktail bar wearing a strapless cargo top and matching trousers.

She completed her look with a white fluffy handbag and a pair of green stiletto heels.

Stunning: Claudia Fogarty, 29, looked incredible as she enjoyed a night out at 20 Stories in Manchester on Thursday

Pretty: Leah Taylor, 27, also headed out for some drinks at the bar and restaurant

Claudia starred on the winter series of Love Island earlier this year while Leah, who runs her own social media marketing business, featured on this summer's show.

It comes after Casey O'Gorman confessed that he and Claudia engaged in a 'friends with benefits' relationship after their time on the show.

The recruitment consultant, 26, and the daughter of Superbike champion Carl Fogarty fell for each other during the 2023 winter series.

However, Casey soon had his head turned by bombshell Rosie Seabrook, leaving Claudia devastated.

But things quickly ended there too, with Casey ghosting Rosie only two weeks after coming out of the South African villa.

Soon after the show ended, Casey and Claudia sparked rumours they had rekindled their romance after a series of flirty exchanges back in May.

Claudia was first to make the move on social media, commenting a heart emoji underneath a shirtless photo of him.

Casey quickly reciprocated the compliment with a fire emoji under another one of her snaps.

Chic: Claudia elevated her height with a pair of strappy heels and styled her bright blonde hair with a hint of a wave for the outing

Stylish: Elsewhere, Leah was also seen departing the cocktail bar wearing a strapless cargo top and matching trousers

Girl's night: She completed her look with a white fluffy handbag and a pair of green stiletto heels as she headed out with some friends

On another occasion Claudia posed up a storm in a racy black ensemble and captioned it 'date night'.

It immediately caught the attention of her former flame Casey, who replied: 'Am I meeting you there?'

Love Island co-star and Casey's best friend Tom Clare then added fuel to the fire in April during his appearance on Chloe Burrow's Chloe vs The World podcast.

Chloe asked him: 'Are Claudia and Casey together?' - to which Tom responded no before she then asked - 'Are they going to get together? Have they had sex?'

It was at this point that Tom gave way to a small grin and chose to have a shot rather than answer Chloe's question.

Then, last month they shared a cosy photo to their Instagrams of them together in Ibiza, with Casey planting a kiss on Claudia's cheek.

Casey has now finally set the record straight on their relationship, declaring they are just friends but admitting to have 'overstepped the friendship boundary'.

Speaking on the Goss Island podcast, Casey confessed: 'We might have overstepped the friendship boundary maybe once or twice on a night out, but it is very much just friends.'

He continued: 'And since that happened, weve basically said we cant be doing that. Were just going to stay being friends.'

When asked if it was a 'friends with benefits' situation that fizzled out, Casey confirmed: 'Yeah'.

Confession: It comes after Casey O'Gorman confessed that he and Claudia engaged in a 'friends with benefits' relationship after their time on the show

He added: 'I genuinely feel like if I wouldve stayed with Claudia til the end of the show, we probably wouldnt be friends right now. It probably wouldve ended a lot worse and a lot more emotions wouldve got involved.

'So, as much as  in a way I wish I stayed with Claudia, I think its turned out for the best now, because we are such good mates.'

Casey also said: 'If people do fake [their feelings on Love Island], I dont know how they do it.

'I could never do it and actually fake emotions being in there, because in there, its just so intense and fair play to anyone that does, but I dont know how they could do it.'
Amber Turner went braless in a blue maxi dress as she joined her co-stars Chloe Meadows and Ella Wise to film scenes for TOWIE on Thursday.

Arriving at the Top Oak Restaurant & Pub in Romford, the reality TV star, 30, dazzled in the metallic number that clung to her toned frame.

She boosted her height with some clear perspex heels and styled her hair into glamorous curls.

Chloe, 31, opted for a denim cropped top with a pair of matching straight leg trousers.

Elsewhere, Ella, 23, caught the eye in a denim jumpsuit with flared bottoms that she teamed with matching tie-dye stilettos.

Stunning: Amber Turner (L) went braless in a blue maxi dress as she joined her co-star Chloe Meadows (R) to film scenes for TOWIE on Thursday

Eye-catching: They were joined on set by Ella Wise, 23, as they arrived at the Top Oak Restaurant & Pub in Romford

Joining them for the meal was Courtney Green, Elma Pazar, Saffron Lempriere and Jordan Brook.

Meanwhile, Danni Imbert was joined by Junaid Ahmed as they fed each other fries in a nearby takeaway while Harry Derbidge stepped out with his new boyfriend Joe.

It comes after Amber risked running into ex Dan Edgar as they both arrived for filming at St Audreys House in Somerset on Tuesday, following their split in April.

Amber and Dan previously dodged a run-in while filming scenes at a restaurant in June, recording their chats with the cast just metres apart.

The ITVBe crew have reportedly been desperately trying to keep the cast members separated so the drama could unfold in front of the cameras catching all the gossip.

TOWIE season 32 is set to air on ITVBe later on this year with 'juicy gossip, major LOL's and serious drama' being teased.

Amber took to Instagram in May and claimed that she felt forced to release a statement after split rumours swirled when Dan unfollowed her on social media.

And now it's been claimed that the reason Amber ended their relationship is because she was tired of waiting for her long-term boyfriend to propose.

Western: Ella caught the eye in a denim jumpsuit with flared bottoms that she teamed with matching tie-dye stilettos

Pretty: Courtney Green wore a beige blazer dress with silver cowboy boots

Slick: Junaid Ahmed wore a white polo top and draped a black bomber jacket over his shoulders

Chic: Elma Pazar looked sensational in a blue satin shirt with matching leggy shorts

Elegant: Dani Imbert wowed in a chocolate ruched dress

Sleek: Saffron Lempriere looked as stylish as ever in black split front trousers

Pals: Dani later joined Junaid for a photo

Dapper: Jordan Brook looked smart in white trousers and a navy T-shirt

Smooch: Harry Derbidge packed on the PDA with his new boyfriend Joe

Bright: Harry wore a bold shirt with ripped shorts

Couple: Joe wore a green polo top with distressed skinny jeans

It is said that Amber had been desperate to settle down with the hunk and 'lost her patience' after being left disappointed that he didn't pop the question after they purchased their dream home together last year.

Amber told her followers of their split: 'I wasn't going to post anything but due to speculation and questions I feel like I need to. Yes me and Dan have split'.

She continued: 'I honestly wish him the best for the future. Please respect our privacy at this time. Thank you'.

Following the announcement, Amber was pictured driving away from the 'dream' Essex mansion they had recently purchased together just before Christmas.

Funny: Junaid and Danni fooled around in a nearby takeaway

Yum: The cast got some food afterwards

Later the same day, Dan was pictured arriving at the house. However it was previously understood that he has moved out of their home.

Despite being an item since 2017, it's certainly not the first time cracks have shown in Dan and Amber's relationship.

Last year, Ella Rae Wise slammed the former electrician for acting 'inappropriately' in a nightclub and claimed Amber shouldn't trust him.

TOWIE star Ella, then 22, told MailOnline Dan 'needs to keep his hands to himself' and she was shocked he behaved in such a way given he's in a long-term relationship.
Summer and Jackson Warne got in some quality brother-sister bonding time in Marbella, Spain on Sunday as the two went on a lavish European holiday.

Shane Warne's youngest children donned their best summer gear and had the time of their lives with extravagant milkshakes in hand.

The 21-year-old blonde bombshell put on a busty display for her trip, as she shared a series of photos from her holiday to Instagram.

She cooled off in the scorching heat by pouring her figure into a form-fitting cotton dress with a plunging neckline as she posed up a storm with friend Anthony Trinh.

Summer then shared the luxury view from her hotel window which looked out over the bay where the Marbella Yacht Charters keep their boats.

Summer, 21, (pictured) and Jackson Warne, 24, got in some quality brother-sister bonding time in Marbella, Spain on Sunday as the two went on a lavish European holiday

Later in the reel, she could be seen heading out shopping with her friend as she stopped at Hermes and caught up with her brother, 24, at a restaurant.

Jackson appeared content as he sat down for dinner, cradling a complex looking chocolate milkshake which was poured into a long glass with a strawberry to top it.

Just weeks before, Summer shared another holiday reel where she flaunted her fun-filled trip to Las Vegas.

Shane Warne's youngest children donned their best summer gear and had the time of their lives with extravagant milkshakes in hand

The blonde bombshell put on a busty display for her trip, as she shared a series of photos from her holiday to Instagram

Leaving little to the imagination, she slipped into a hot pink bikini which barely covered her busty assets as she lounged by the pool of her resort.

For a touch of modesty, and to protect her skin from the sun, the blonde beauty pulled a long-sleeved white button-up on over her barely-there bathing suit.

She was seen wearing the button-up again when she slipped into a white bikini next, this time covering her bikini bottoms with a pair of shorts.

It's not the first time the blonde beauty has flaunted her curvaceous figure during a getaway, as she also recently enjoyed a trip to the Greek Islands.
King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick's death remains a mystery following his sudden passing aged 59.

The talented voice actor - who played Hank Hill's conspiracy theorist next door neighbor Dale Gribble on the iconic animated series in 258 episodes from 1997-2010 - was found dead at his home in Texas on Tuesday after police were called for a welfare check and found his body.

It was reported that Johnny was pronounced dead at the scene with no foul play suspected - with the cause of death at the time unknown, reported TMZ.

And three days following his passing, the cause of his death remains undisclosed, however, police are said to have confirmed the death is 'not being investigated as homicide', reports Metro.

It's said that the cause of death will ultimately be determined by the Medical Examiners Office.

RIP: King of the Hill star Johnny Hardwick's death remains a mystery following his sudden passing aged 59

Iconic: The talented voice actor played conspiracy theorist and Hank Hill's next door neighbor Dale Gribble (left) on the iconic animated series in 258 episodes from 1997-2010

Hardwick served as a staff writer, story editor, and producer for King of the Hill, scoring four Prime Time Emmy nominations.

In 1999 he won an Emmy Award for his work as a producer on King of the Hill.

Hardwick was a native of Austin, Texas and attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, graduating with a BS degree in journalism.

He then worked as a bartender for a decade in blues bars in Dallas and Austin, before beginning his stand-up comedy career in 1990.

He became the first stand-up comedian to appear on the Jon Stewart Show.

In 1995, an appearance at the Montreal Comedy Festival led to a chance meeting with NBC president Brandon Tartikoff who offered him a sitcom. However NBC was uninterested in Hardwick's pitch for a Green Acres and Get A Life-inspired show.

Hardwick signed with the Strauss-McGarr agency and began a successful stand-up career performing all over the USA.

After a gig at the Laugh Factory in LA, in which he performed a skit about his father, he was approached by television writer and producer Greg Daniels and Beavis and Butt-Head's Mike Judge who were creating King of the Hill.

Cast: Hardwick (back row right) is seen with the show cast in 2005 as they marked the show' 200th episode

YouTube: In recent years the star created a YouTube channel which saw him perform song parodies and monologues in the style of Gribble, while wearing his famous shades and orange cap

Intrigued by Hardwick's Texan humor, they offered him a writing job on the series, which saw Hardwick move to Silver Lake from Austin.

Hardwick ended up with the role of Gribble after Daniel Stern turned down the opportunity.

In recent years the star created a YouTube channel which saw him perform song parodies and monologues in the style of Gribble, while wearing his famous shades and orange cap.
Jessica Alves risked a wardrobe malfunction as she slipped into a daringly plunging latex mini-dress for a swanky dinner with pals in London on Thursday.

The 39-year-old Brazilian-British model sent temperatures soaring in the saucy pink frock which boasted sheer panels and hugged every inch of her curvy figure.

Jessica carried the colour story into her accessories as she strutted her stuff in designer heels and toted a 5,000 Chanel bag.

The stunner sported a glamorous make-up with her plumped pout accentuated with lip gloss and her glossy blonde tresses styled poker straight.

Jessica headed for a meal at luxurious restaurant Amazonica in Berkley Square known for their lavish Latin American cuisine.

Busty: Jessica Alves , 39, risked a wardrobe malfunction as she slipped into a daringly plunging PVC mini-dress for a swanky dinner in London on Thursday

Last month The model caught up with her plastic surgeons at the same restaurant before heading to the theatre.

Couple Dr. Gunel Mammadli and Dr Mubariz Mammadli, both from Baku Azerbaijan, are among those who helped Jessica achieve her shapely figure.

The H-cup TV personality previously told of how Bangkok-based Dr Kamol was able to break her jawbone and bring her chin forwards to sculpt her face.

Other enhancements she's had include numerous rhinoplasties and the removal of four ribs to create the impression of an ultra-slimline waist.

Admitting that she gets 'bored' of having the same face for longer than two or three years, she has previously spent at least 800,000 on 78 cosmetic surgeries.

After enjoying Moulin Rouge! the trio then continued the party at Novikov in Mayfair, an Asian restaurant and bar in which they enjoyed further drinks.

Jessica swayed on the dance floor, her outfit glittering under the nightclub lights, while her pals soaked up the vibes in their seats beside her.

The plunging neckline on the dress showed off her sizeable implants, which have recently increased from 1500cc to 2220cc after an operation in Brussels, Belgiu.

Sizzle: Jessica carried the colour story into her accessories as she strutted her stuff in designer heels and toted a 5,000 Chanel bag

Pucker up: Jessica headed for a meal at luxurious restaurant Amazonica in Berkley Square known for their lavish Latin American cuisine

Pose: The beauty later took to her social media to share a slew of eye-popping snaps

Glamour girl: She gazed into the camera and no doubt sent her followers wild

Cheers! She also shared clips from inside the swanky venue where she enjoyed a cocktail

The TV personality, who has also recently had Brazilian bum lift surgery, has no shortage of stunning outfits.

Meanwhile, she was delighted to embrace the Barbie doll look as the much-discussed movie, starring Margot Robbie, debuted earlier this month.

Jessica wrapped her famously voluptuous figure in a neon pink corseted dress, with an equally colourful cropped jacket to match.

She shared the look on Instagram, alongside quotes like: "The real world is not perfect, but you inspire me."

Meanwhile, other stars to embody the look as the film premiered included TOWIE star Gemma Collins, 42, who showed off a playful bow outfit, and Vanessa Feltz, 61.
After Les Dennis was announced as one of the future stars of Strictly Come Dancing, fans could not help but reflect on his explosive personal life.

Rewind 30 years, in 1993 the Family Fortunes host, then 40, met and fell in love with none other than Amanda Holden, who was 22 and establishing her own stage career, when they were both starring in a production of The Sound Of Music.

After treading the boards together in Bournemouth, they married two years later in 1995 in a lavish ceremony with a magazine spread and luxury trimmings to boot.

Five years later though, things came to a crashing close when it was revealed that Amanda had an affair with her Happy Birthday Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey - something she later insisted was 'just about sex'.

After a brief split in 2000, they reunited yet called it quits for good in 2002.

Inside Les Dennis and Amanda Holden's doomed marriage: How the Strictly star's shock 18-year age gap romance turned to heartbreak over her sex-crazed Neil Morrissey affair

Back then: After Les Dennis was announced as one of the future stars of Strictly Come Dancing, fans could not help but reflect on his explosive personal life (Amanda Holden and Dennis seen in 2000 - the year her affair came to light)

Sexy stuff: Five years later though, things came to a crashing close when it was revealed that Amanda had an affair with her Happy Birthday Shakespeare co-star Neil Morrissey - something she later insisted was 'just about sex' (Neil and Amanda seen in 2003)

Ouch: In 1993 the Family Fortunes host, then 40, met and fell in love with none other than Amanda Holden, who was 22 and establishing her own stage career, when they were both starring in a production of The Sound Of Music

Speaking about the split afterwards, Amanda said: 'I brought it on myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be as bad again. It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt I could hardly breathe'.

She later said: 'In some ways, I've always admired him for the way he doesn't try to hide his real emotions. He's honest about how he feels...

'My trouble is that I'm a people pleaser. I might feel down in the dumps but I'll always put on a bright face for the rest of the world...

'And I'm ruled by my heart, not my head. I always have been and it gets me into trouble. I'm not an enigma. I've wished all my life that I could be mysterious...

'But I ain't. I don't know what it is about me but people have always picked up on the slightest comment or some insignificant thing I've done, and suddenly I'm all over the papers again.'

Tell us who YOU are most looking forward to watching on Strictly 2023

In 2014 Neil finally said sorry to game show host Les for the affair he had with his then-wife Amanda. The star, who has previously said he had not apologised to Les, made the admission on Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

He said: 'I feel sorry for how the situation was dealt with and I feel sorry for how emotional Les seemed to become. It was very difficult for him and for that I'm sorry.'

His comment came after he was asked by Piers if he had ever apologised to Les, to which he replied: 'No, I didn't. I'm not positive over what there is apologise about. I don't know what the whole situation was, to be perfectly fair to everybody.'

Earlier this year, Les tickled fans when he appeared to take a swipe at his ex wife after she posted a slew of saucy snaps from Paris to her Instagram.

Pain: Speaking about the split afterwards, Amanda said: 'I brought it on myself, I appreciate that, but nothing will ever be as bad again. It was a very dark time. It got to the point where I felt I could hardly breathe' (the couple seen in 2000)

Love: In 2014 Neil finally said sorry to game show host Les for the affair he had with his then-wife Amanda (the couple in 2000)

Strong: She later said: 'In some ways, I've always admired him for the way he doesn't try to hide his real emotions. He's honest about how he feels'

Les sent tongues wagging after he seemingly took a jab at his former partner's post.

Amanda shared an array of snaps of herself out for an evening in the French capital.

Les then cheekily posted a snap from his less than luxurious dressing room - as he tours the country with musical 42nd Street - writing: 'Not in Paris. In Leicester'.

He recently hit headlines again when he spoke about Amanda and his feelings towards his ex - saying that he is 'happy that she's happy'.

Speaking to The Times, he said: 'Amanda was in the papers recently, saying some nice things about me. That was very kind of her. Maybe with time she has been able to look back and see things differently.

'Were not in touch but I am happy that shes happy. I can watch Britains Got Talent without getting angry. To be honest its like watching a different person, someone Ive never met.'

Les concluded: 'All the hurt that has happened has been healed.'

His love: Les is now returning to the spotlight, as he has been announced for Strictly. He has been married to Claire Nicholson since 2009 after meeting in 2005. They have a daughter Grace, 15, and son Thomas, 12 (Les and Claire in 2019)

Happy couple: Amanda wed her music producer husband in 2008 (pictured together in 2014)

Shock: In a strange twist of fate Les was managed by Chris' dad Mike Hughes at the beginning of career and first met the record producer when he was a small child (Amanda and Les pictured at their 1995 wedding)

Les is now returning to the spotlight, as he has been announced for Strictly. He has been married to Claire Nicholson since 2009 after meeting in 2005. They have a daughter Grace, 15, and son Thomas, 12.

Prior to his marriage to Amanda Les was married to Lynn Webster, with whom he shares son Phillip, from 1974 to 1990.

Amanda meanwhile has been married to Chris Hughes since 2009 and they share two daughters.In July, Les recalled the surprising first time he laid eyes on Chris.

In a strange twist of fate Les was managed by Chris' dad Mike Hughes at the beginning of career and first met the record producer when he was a small child.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time with Kate Thornton he said: 'I tell this story in my book that when Mike became my manager in 1973 and Lynne and I were about to get married  my first wife, Lynne  we were excited that Mike had become my manager'.

'She said, 'let's drive past his house' because he lived on Queens Drive in Liverpool, we passed, and the curtains were open, and I went, "look, there he is", and we saw Mike Hughes picking up a little child and swinging the child around'.

French chic: Earlier this year, Les tickled fans when he appeared to take a swipe at his ex wife after she posted a slew of saucy snaps from Paris to her Instagram
Netflix's newest drama Painkiller, about the emergence of OxyContin in the US in the 1990s, premiered on August 10.

The series is a fictional retelling of how Richard Sackler's Purdue Pharma business skyrocketed during the country's opioid crisis - which continues to this day.

Purdue Pharma's connection to the epidemic was the subject of multiple lawsuits and fines, including paying $600 million in 2007 having pled guilty to misleading the public about OxyContin's risk of addiction.

So, who play the moguls, victims, and truth-seekers in Netflix's new six-part drama?

Find out below...

Based on a true story: Painkiller is a fictional retelling of how Richard Sackler (pictured) pushed his company Purdue Pharma to boom as the US opioid crisis soared in the 1990s

Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler

Hollywood royalty: Sackler is played by Matthew Broderick (pictured) - star of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Lion King, and No Hard Feelings

Matthew Broderick plays Richard Sackler - the chairman and president of OxyContin producers Purdue Pharma.

After climbing the ranks of the business, Richard pushes the promotion of the opioid painkiller that goes on to become the subject of citizens' addictions.

If you think you recognise Broderick, 61, but cannot quite place it, that might be because you have not seen him since he was some 37 years younger as the title character in the classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

Similarly, you may recognise his voice but not his face, which could be put down to his voice-acting performances as Simba in The Lion King (1994) and Adam Flayman in the Bee Movie (2007).

However, Broderick has had evergreen success, including a role in June's No Hard Feelings.

Uzo Aduba as Edie Flowers

Netflix star: Uzo Aduba (above) also featured in Orange Is The New Black before playing Painkiller's investigative anchor

Uzo Aduba plays Edie Flowers - a lawyer who takes no rubbish in pursuing the truth about OxyContin, and the series' anchor.

After investigating the opioid the new drug, she attempts to bring a case against Sackler's company.

This is not Aduba's first appearance in a big Netflix series, after playing Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren in Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019).

She has also starred in hit shows In Treatment (2021) and Mrs. America (2020).

Taylor Kitsch as Glen Kryger

Safe pair of hands: Painkiller's director Peter Berg previously worked with Taylor Kitsch (pictured) on Friday Night Lights. Kitsch plays the new series' most closely followed victim of OxyContin

The most closely followed victim in the series is Glen Kryger, played by Taylor Kitsch.

Before his addiction, Glen is a hardworking family man running a small business.

But his life is ruined after he suffers a debilitating back injury at work, and his doctor prescribes him OxyContin.

Painkiller's director Peter Berg has previous with Kitsch, having worked together on Friday Night Lights, and he said: 'Taylor is like my little brother.'

Besides that, Kitsch has also appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), John Carter (2012), and The Terminal List (2022).

West Duchovny as Shannon Schaeffer

Rising Star: At 24, West Duchovny is the show's youngest main cast member, playing a newly recruited saleswoman at Purdue

Another key character in the Painkiller plot is the bombshell saleswoman Shannon Schaeffer, played by West Duchovny, 24.

Shannon is a former college athlete who is desperate to leave her parents Ohio home.

She finds a job which promises to fulfill that, as a new recruit to the Purdue sales team - which brings her conscience into question the more lucrative it all becomes.

Duchovny - a relative newcomer - has also featured in Saint X, which is another series which debuted in 2023.

Dina Shihabi as Britt Hufford

Career move: Dina Shihabi moved from Saudi Arabia to pursue her acting career

Shannon's mentor is Dina Shihabi's character Britt Hufford.

Britt is a veteran sales representative of Purdue Pharma, who demonstrates an unwavering devotion to her employer.

The Saudi Arabia-born actress, 33, has a long CV of television appearances after moving to the US to pursue acting.

They include Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018), Daredevil (2018), and Archive 81 (2021).

Tyler Ritter as US Attorney John Brownlee

Stubborn: Tyler Ritter (pictured with his uncle Tom) plays the clean-cut, hard to convince US Attorney John Brownlee

Tyler Ritter plays the skeptical, clean-cut, attorney, who has to be persuaded of the need to move against Purdue.

US Attorney John Brownlee eventually succumbs to Flowers' case in the pursuit of justice.

The 38-year-old actor has also appeared in The McCarthys (2014-2015), Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2015), and Merry Happy Whatever (2019).

Carolina Bartczak as Lily Kryger

Victim: Indirectly impacted by the crisis is Glen's wife Lily Kryger - played by Carolina Bartczak

Another victim, indirectly, of the opioid crisis is Glen's wife Lily.

Played by Carolina Bartczak, Lily works alongside him in their garage.

She tries to support her husband as his addiction and condition worsens, but eventually cannot cope.

Bartczak, 37, has also featured in Moonfall (2022), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Hall (2020).

Clark Gregg as Arthur Sackler

Marvel: Clark Gregg has starred in a number of MCU works including Iron Man and Thor, and most prominently the TV spin-off Agents of Shield

While Broderick's Sackler is the president of Purdue Pharma, Arthur Sackler is its founder.

Arthur died in 1987, but visions of the patriarch - portrayed by Clark Gregg - follow Richard as he builds the company.

Gregg is perhaps best known for portraying Agent Phil Coulson in a range of Marvel films and series including Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), and Avengers Assemble (2012).

He has also starred in The West Wing (2001-2004), Will & Grace (2003), How I Met Your Father (2023), and many more.
Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is hoping her relocation to her new home will alleviate tensions between the couple and put an end to the actor's 'silent treatment', sources reveal.

Earlier this week, DailyMail.com published photos of the Santa Barbara rental home Baumgartner, 49, is moving into after she was ordered to vacate the $145million Carpinteria, California compound she had shared with the 68-year-old Yellowstone star in their divorce.

Now, a close friend of the designer has said that the move has come as a relief for Baumgartner whose initially amicable split from her estranged husband turned sour and left her in an uncomfortable living situation.

'Christine said she feels like the weight of the world has finally been lifted now that's she's moved out,' the insider told DailyMail.com.

Christine Baumgartner was seen this week for the first time since she moved into her new $35,000 a month rental in Santa Barbara, California after splitting from husband Kevin Costner

Sources tell DailyMail.com Baumgartner is hoping the move will relieve tensions between the couple and end the 'silent treatment' from Costner

Baumgartner, 49, found a new home in Santa Barbara, California after she was ordered to move out of their marital home

'She said she wouldn't be surprised if Kevin had the staff keeping tabs on her while she was packing up.

'She still doesn't understand why Kevin had to drag her name through the mud and make what could have been rather easy, painfully difficult.'

The source revealed that Costner and Baumgartner have had no verbal contact 'in months' and have only been communicating through their lawyers - much to her dismay.

'Christine hopes that will one day end so they can establish some sort of amicable relationship for the sake of the kids,' the insider added.

'She said the silent treatment is ineffective and childish and that Kevin needs to lighten up, especially now that he has the house.'

Following her July 28 move from the main home, an insider revealed to People that the mother-of-three had been staying 'at a smaller house' on the property that had been used for staffers.

The insider said that Baumgartner had been 'staying in the area to not disrupt' her her and Costner's three children - Cayden 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13 - who 'will be back at school in the fall with their friends' in the coming months.

The mom displayed her tanned and toned midriff in a colorful, silky crop top Wednesday and was seen without her wedding ring

The drama goes back weeks when Costner asked her to exit the home, then the focus had been on what she planned to take with her when she left

Last month, Baumgartner was court-ordered to vacate the former couple's $145M lavish California mansion

Baumgartner, a handbag designer, has been 'trying to keep everything as normal as possible' amid the tumultuous time for the family, the source told the outlet.

Baumgartner, who filed for divorce from the Yellowstone star in May, has complained of struggling to find an appropriate rental abode in the area.

Since proceedings began, the divorce has been far from amicable, from Costner claiming that his ex refused to leave the mansion despite giving her $1.45 million for a new residence; to Christine alleging the actor was trying to make her and their children 'homeless.'

Baumgartner had insisted in court docs that she had no plans to 'strip' their mansion in Santa Barbara of items before leaving the grounds.

Costner - who was spotted with the pair's three kids July 28 in Aspen, Colorado - and Baumgartner have been locked in a very contentious split over the past few months.

The drama goes back weeks when Costner asked her to exit the home, then the focus had been on what she planned to take with her when she left.

Last month, sources told DailyMail.com that Baumgartner fears the performer is 'out for revenge' against her after she filed for divorce, and will have police escort her out of their Santa Barbara home.

Parents of four: The former couple share three children: sons Cayden, 16; and Hayes, 14; along with their younger daughter Grace, 13

'He wants to humiliate her,' a close friend of Christine said. 'This isn't about the house, it's about making Christine's life a living hell for actually going through with the divorce.

'Christine said she wouldn't be surprised if Kevin had her escorted off the property by police,' the friend says. 'It was Christine who wanted to make this transition as peaceful as possible for the sake of the children.

'Kevin has done the complete opposite. He's not thinking about the kids, about how traumatizing this is.'

Last month, a judge also ruled she must confer with Kevin before taking any property from the estate. She has been barred from taking art, furniture, furnishings or appliances with her, without his explicit consent.

The former couple initially tied the knot in 2004, with Christine filing for divorce on May 1 after 18 years of marriage.
Tammin Sursok has been lauded after she shared her tip for stopping her daughter having a tantrum.

In a post to Instagram on Thursday, the actress sat with her daughter, four-year-old Lennon, as she tried to settle the tot down.

The 39-year-old worked through a series of breathing exercises with the tot, settling her down slowly.

The Pretty Little Liars star explained in her caption: 'Breaking cycles in each breath' adding the hashtag #meditation.

Her fans were quick to praise her, with one writing in the comments: 'This made me so emotional... this just reminded me how beautiful it is to be the one on their team helping them learn these skills.'

Tammin Sursok (pictured) has been lauded after she shared her tip for stopping her daughter having a tantrum

In a post to Instagram on Thursday, the actress sat with her daughter, four-year-old Lennon, as she tried to settle the tot down

The 39-year-old worked through a series of breathing exercises with the tot, settling her down slowly. The Pretty Little Liars star explained in her caption: 'Breaking cycles in each breath'

Another said: 'Beautiful! In my experience with my sons is this is not only gentler and giving them the tools to self regulate but as a parent it's dissolves the situation so much quicker too. Win for everyone!'

One more chimed in: 'You're such a great mom. Love to see how you make them strong humans, respect their feelings, deal with this kind of things. Love it! Great respect for you'.

'I love that you are sharing this gentle parenting technique with others - what a beautiful example you are to all mama' someone else wrote.

'It brought me tears to the eyes! What a gift to receive this support from her mom!' yet another commented.

Tammin lives in Nashville with husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters, nine-year-old Phoenix and four-year-old Lennon.

Her fans were quick to praise her, with one writing in the comments: 'This made me so emotional...'

The former Home and Away actress tied the knot with Sean, 48, in 2011 in Florence, Italy.

The South African-born Australian is turning 40 in a matter of days and has some trepidations about the milestone birthday.

She told Stellar Magazine that she's worried about how ageing will affect her career.

'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'.
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The original supermodels are back on the cover of both US and British Vogue with the line, 'the greatest of all time.'

The Nineties greats Cindy Crawford, 57, Linda Evangelista, 58, Naomi Campbell, 53, and Christy Turlington, 54, all posed side by side for the September issue.

The cover girls all wore dark colors as they posed for shutterbug Rafael Pavarotti. The issue hits newsstands August 22.

The ladies are plugging the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Supermodels which will premiere on September 20.

The four-part show focuses on the top models of the 1990s.

The series is directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, while it was executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Documentaries.

Back at it: The original supermodels are back on the cover of Vogue. The Nineties greats Cindy Crawford , 57, Linda Evangelista , 58, Naomi Campbell, 53, and Christy Turlington , 54, all posed side by side for the September issue; here is the US version

There was also a UK version: In this British Vogue cover, Crawford is seen sitting in front

They were part of the 'it' model crowd: The four women seen with other supermodels on the cover of Vogue in 1992

'There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: When one is down you pick the other one up,' Campbell shared with Vogue.

The ladies also said they were able to avoid the abuses that were in the fashion industry in the 90s.

'It's just luck and grace, honestly. I felt like my career took off pretty quickly, so maybe there were more eyes on me and they couldn't get away with stuff,' said Turlington. 'But I don't even think it was that: Predatory people are predatory people.'

'You'd get invited to a party on someone's yacht and I'd think, What do you even wear on a yacht? What fork do you use? So I would just not go,' added Cindy. 'Yes, I probably missed out on some fabulous opportunities but probably avoided some less than fabulous opportunities as well.'

Naomi said she was tough in her youth: 'I come from a strong line of Black women, Jamaican women. If something felt wrong, I told it. I spoke up.'

Evangelista talked losing the perks that come with fame.

'Out of sight, out of mind. Now we buy our tickets and we sit with the fans in nosebleedwe're fine with that. I wanted to have a very normal upbringing for my child,' she said of attending games with her son Augie, who she shares with ex Francois-Henri Pinault, Salma Hayek's current husband.

'We went to Chanel a couple of weeks ago to get a present and we waited half an hour to get in,' she added. '[Augie] said, 'Isn't there someone you could call?' I do not want an entitled child.'

Evangelista also discussed Salma Hayek who is married to and has a 15-year-old daughter Valentina with Francois-Henri Pinault.

Linda has a son with Pinault, 16-year-old Augustin.

Turns out Linda and Salma get along well.

Pink feels right for fall after Barbiemania: Cindy had on a pink floral print dress while Linda went with a sequined coat

Time for some denim: All four beauties rocked a denim look with black shoes

'Salma got on the plane with her daughter, came here, and made Thanksgiving dinner. She asked what I wanted -- it was a very eclectic wish list. I wanted her Mexican chicken with truffled potatoes.

'And she spent the day in the kitchen and cooked it herself. No help,' said Linda. 'The kids helped her at the end. She made a feast -- a beautiful, beautiful meal. I had told her that I wasn't going to have Thanksgiving; I wasn't feeling well. And she said, 'Oh yes you are: I am coming.' And poof, she was here.'

Linda - who appeared much slimmer in her shoot after battling weight gain from a fat-freezing process - also talked aging.

She uses Botox on her forehead. 'So I am a hypocrite,' she admitted, 'but I want to grow old. I want to watch my son grow into a fine young man. I just want to stick around.'

The teaser for their new docuseries was shared in July.

The logline for the series reads, 'The Supermodels travels back to the 1980s, when four women from different corners of the world united in New York.

Still close friends: There was a group hug for this snapshot as all the models wore autumn fashion like sweaters and coats

Her take: 'There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: When one is down you pick the other one up,' Campbell - seen here with Cindy - shared with Vogue

'Already forces in their own right, the gravitas they achieved by coming together transcended the industry itself.

'Their prestige was so extraordinary that it enabled the four to supersede the brands they showcased, making the names Naomi, Cindy, Linda and Christy as prominent as the designers who styled them.

'Today, the four supermodels remain on the frontlines of culture through activism, philanthropy and business prowess.

'As the fashion industry continues to redefine itself  and women's roles within it  this is the ultimate story of power and how four women came together to claim it, paving the way for those to follow.'

In 2020 the ladies opened up about the show.

Speaking about her new venture, Naomi told MailOnline: 'My sisters Christy, Linda, Cindy and I are extremely thrilled to share our story with the world and there could be no better partners than Brian Grazer and Ron Howard which is a dream come true to bring it to life, as we knew they would respect and honor our story.

'We hope our journey seen in the docuseries will encourage, motivate and inspire young people around the world.

'We look forward to this great adventure ahead with director Barbara Kopple.'

Cindy wrote on her Instagram page: 'I'm excited to reunite with my friends to both celebrate and examine the way supermodels transcended the traditional perceptions and limits of modeling in the fashion industry through time.

Wow women: The trailer for the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Supermodels was released on Tuesday. The four-part show focuses on the top models of the 1990s. They were Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington

In all black clothing: Cindy was seen looking amazing in the teaser for the docu

Doing her best: Linda posed in black as well after a tough year

Blue mood: Christy had on a blue top and blue denim jeans while in a white chair

Plaid to see you: Naomi wore brown, black and white plaid

'With the support of Imagine Documentaries and Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple, we plan to explore the dynamic personalities, and shifts in media and culture that helped shape and define this iconic era.'

The Supermodels will take fans back to the 1980s at the start of their modelling careers and document how the four women came together from across the globe and collectively achieved a notoriety that transcended throughout the industry.

The four-part series will also examine the ladies work today, in not only the fashion industry, but activism, philanthropy and business, and how the quartet have blazed a path for the next generation.

The staple: Naomi in 1991, left, in the Alaia show in Paris and on the town in 2019, right, in Marc Jacobs

Her very early years: As a young model on the cover of Vogue Italy

Linda said of the series: 'To finally have the opportunity to tell our story in collaboration with the brilliant team at Imagine, and under the direction of Barbara Kopple, is as exciting for us as we hope it will be for viewers.

'I would love for people to see this as a celebration of not only our individual stories, but also to the power of friendship, dreams and perseverance.'

While Christy added: ' I am looking forward to looking back on this unprecedented time in fashion with these incredible women whom I have grown up with.'

Originally from south London, Naomi established herself among the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s.

She has not aged! Cindy seen left on the catwalk at a presentation of Dolce And Gabbana's spring-summer collection in Milan in 1991. On the right, the star is seen in 2017 at the Daily Front Row's 3rd Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards

An instant classic: The Illinois native landed on the cover of Vogue dozens of times

Just before she turned 16, she was on the cover of British Elle and in 1987, she became British Vogue's first black cover girl since 1966.

Meanwhile Cindy is said to have featured on around 500 magazine covers and walked for shows including Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, DKNY, and previously, Valentino.

The ladies, alongside fellow super models Claudia Schiffer, Helen Christensen and Carla Bruni reunited on the catwalk in 2017 for the Versace SS18 show at Milan Fashion Week.

A dynamo always: Christy is seen on the runway in 1991, left, and at FGI Night Of Stars Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC in 2019, right

A favorite for healthy products: The San Francisco native landed on many magazine covers

Showing the young guns how it was done, fashion's golden girls brought the show to a stunning climax, after it was opened by Kendall Jenner and model sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid.

The Nineties supermodels walked designer Donatella Versace down the runway to rapturous applause as they paid tribute to her late designer brother Gianni Versace, who was killed in 1997.

On the 20th anniversary of his death, it was a fitting tribute to a man with whom each of the women worked personally during their modelling days.

The women were all dressed in glittering gowns, proving that their supermodel figures were all looking impeccable into their late forties - and early fifties, for some at the time.

Together again: Naomi and Cindy, alongside fellow super models Claudia Schiffer, Helen Christensen and Carla Bruni reunited on the catwalk in 2017 for the Versace SS18 show at Milan Fashion Week
Below Deck's Captain Lee Rosbach has shared his perspective on the 'despicable' conduct on recently fired Below Deck Down Under stars Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne.

Rosbach, who led the original Below Deck reality series before being let go ahead of the show's eleventh season, admitted he was 'mortified' after watching the episode in question while speaking with Us Weekly.

'Their behavior was despicable,' the 73-year-old captain said, after Below Deck Mediterranean's Captain Sandy Yawn spoke approvingly of the conflict's resolution. 'Both of them. And Im sure theyll be paying the price for it for a long time to come. As they should.'

On Monday, back-to-back episodes of the reality series, which follows the crew and guests aboard a superyacht sailing around Australia, featured disturbing scenes in which Luke, the bosun, got naked and climbed into the bed of 3rd stewardess Margot Sisson while intoxicated after the boat's power went out.

The reality show's producers then stepped in, and he was subsequently fired, while Laura was also given the boot after she defended him.

Horrifying: Former Below Deck star, Captain Lee Rosbach, told Us Weekly he was 'mortified' by Luke Jones and Laura Bileskane's sexual misconduct on Below Deck Down Under; pictured in 2018

Shocking: The latest episodes featured disturbing scenes in which Luke, the bosun, got naked and climbed into the bed of sleeping 3rd stewardess Margot Sisson while intoxicated after the boat's power went out

Her defense led Chief Stewardess Aesha Scott to claim that Laura had made unwanted advances toward Adam Kodra, and after Captain Jason Chambers questioned him, he confirmed that Laura had made him uncomfortable.

Chambers went on to fire Laura as well, who subsequently shared apologies to both Adam and Margot.

After watching the dramatic episodes, Captain Lee said he was 'impressed' with Captain Jason and Aesha's conduct, as well as the way the show's producers stepped in after the sexual misconduct was observed.

He praised the two leaders for 'not getting rattled' and 'calmly' defusing the situation and meting out punishment.

As far as Captain Lee was concerned, Captain Jason 'absolutely' made the right decision, though he wondered if he could have kept such a cool head if he had been in the same situation.

'I dont know if I would have had the wherewithal to remain as calm as Captain Jason did, but he certainly stepped up to the plate and did it right,' he said approvingly.

Captain Lee also claimed to have never experienced his crew members engaging in non-consensual sexual behavior, which he said he was 'grateful for.'

'Its a tough spot to be in,' he continued. 'When theres the captain youre responsible for everything and anything that does happen. Jason handled it superbly.'

Called ou: 'Their behavior was despicable,' the 73-year-old captain said. 'Both of them. And Im sure theyll be paying the price for it for a long time to come. As they should'

She's out: Laura was later fired after she defended Luke, only for Chief Stew Aesha Scott to claim she had pushed Adam Kodra's boundaries with a nonconsensual massage. He agreed, and she was fired

Captain Lee was in full agreement with fans who praised by Aesha and Captain Jason, saying the reaction was 'justified.'

'They all stepped up to the plate and did the right thing at the appropriate time and didnt let anything get carried away,' he said. 'Didnt put it on the back burner, didnt cover it up. They just dealt with it appropriately.'

He also shared his 'best wishes' with Margot and Adam after they were put in difficult positions.

'I have nothing but respect for [them] and I certainly feel sorry for both of them because neither one of them deserved to be put in that position.'

Monday's shocking episode featured a naked Luke climbing on top of Margot  without her permission  as she slept in bed.

'Luke, we gotta get you down,' implored a member of the production crew as they interrupted him. 'I gotta get you out of here because she wants to go to bed.'

The drunken Luke then became furious, shouting, 'Can you f*** off for a second?'

Once he realized that the camera crew wasn't going to back down, he marched over to his own room and locked himself in.

Aesha moved into action and checked in with Margot before updating the captain.

After Captain Jason was apprised of the situation, he unlocked Luke's cabin and kicked him off the boat to go stay in a hotel for the night before firing him the following morning.

Laura didn't do herself any favors when she spoke with Margot later that morning and tried to defend Luke.

Thumbs up: Captain Lee was in full agreement with fans who praised by Aesha and Captain Jason (pictured), saying the reaction was 'justified.' 'They all stepped up to the plate and did the right thing at the appropriate time and didnt let anything get carried away,' he said

Out of here: After producers confronted a drunken Luke, he was kicked off the yacht and sent to a hotel before being fired the next morning. Laura was fired later that day

At one particularly tasteless moment, she even joked that she wished he had showed up naked in her bed like that, though she didn't seem to take Margot's lack of consent into consideration.

When news of the interaction made its way to Captain Jason, he also fired her, as she had also tried to give Adam a massage despite him asking her not to.

Although Laura publicly apologized to both Margot and Adam, Luke was far more defiant in a since-deleted post on social media.

He wrote that he did not 'care' what viewers thought of him and the situation, as he suggested that what aired on TV was the result of manipulative editing and 'not the truth.'
Jamie Dornan is back on our screens starring in Netflix's film Heart Of Stone.

The movie focuses on intelligence operative Rachel Stone, who is aiming to protect MI6 from losing its most valuable but dangerous asset.

Dornan plays Parker, a skilled agent who leads Stone's MI6 team, but he has to learn to trust his new colleague.

Jamie's appearance in the new movie has sparked questions about the identity of his wife, who he married in 2013.

So, who is Amelia Warner? Find out here...

New release: Jamie Dornan is back on our screens as Parker in Heart Of Stone on Netflix, but his new role has sparked speculation about the identity of his wife

Married: Jamie wed Amelia Warner in 2013, a former actress turned musician

Who is Amelia Warner?

Amelia is a former actress-turned musician, born on June 4, 1982 in Merseyside as the only child of acting duo Annette Ekblom and Alun Lewis.

Following in her parents' footsteps at first, she started an acting career as a member of the Royal Court's youth theatre group, and in 2000 she featured in a BBC adaptation of Lorna Doone.

However, she moved into music and hit the UK charts in 2011 with a cover of The Smiths' Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want - reaching number 31.

By 2015, Amelia was self-releasing original music with her first EP called Arms.

Her two worlds collided in the next years when she started producing music for films.

In 2018, Amelia won Breakthrough Composer of the Year at the International Film Music Critics Association Awards for for her debut mainstream score, on the film Mary Shelley.

When did Jamie Dornan and Amelia Warner meet?

Not quite: Amelia previously 'married' Colin Farrell in 2003, but the ceremony was not legal and they split months later

Jamie and Amelia met in 2010, and Jamie told the Belfast Telegraph in 2015: 'I was smitten with her from the start, I really was.

'I'm more in love with her today than I was at the start.'

They married in 2013, after getting engaged the previous year.

Bizarrely, Amelia had previously 'married' another actor in Tahiti back in 2003 - Colin Farrell.

However it was not a legal ceremony, which proved convenient as they ended the relationship four months later.

Does Jamie Dornan have children?

Happy family: Jamie and Amelia share three daughters - Dulcie, Elva and Alberta

The couple have three daughters together - Dulcie, Elva and Alberta - but are very private about their family life.

Jamie told the Sunday Times Magazine: 'Being a dad is the best. I feel a healthy and lovely duty to provide for my kids, and I really like it.

'It suits me. Making my kids happy is a good thing for my wife and me to be driven by.'
She was left heartbroken when her husband dumped her for a Russian yoga teacher. But Sally Phillips has found love again with a former soldier who she has gone into business with, MailOnline can reveal.

The Miranda actress gushed about her beau - who she only referred to as Ian - during an interview at the Edinburgh Festival.

She said he was 'to die for' and revealed they met in 2019 through a mutual friend.

Now MailOnline can reveal that the man who helped mend Sally's broken heart is former Army Captain Ian Pilcher.

The 53-year-old served with the King's Regiment for nine years after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

New relationship: The boyfriend helping to mend Sally Phillips' broken heart after her husband ran off with a yoga instructor is a former soldier, MailOnline can reveal

He left the Army in 1998 to work for a private law enforcement firm and now runs his own performance management company.

The couple live together in west London and own a catering business.

In a series of heartwarming pictures on Sally's social media, Ian gazes at her adoringly across the dinner table, while in another the loved-up pair share a champagne lunch in a park.

In an interview with How To Be 60 Live, Sally discussed her long-term romance and said she felt 'very lucky to have had a second chance'.

She said: 'My husband left me for a member of the Russian Yoga Federation, though I'm not legally allowed to say that any more, but he won't listen to this.

'Fortunately, my friend introduced me to Ian, and I've been with Ian for four years now. He's to die for.

'And actually, to be honest, when he kissed me - I'm going to overshare because comedians do that - when he kissed me, I did think of that line, "you need to be kissed a lot by someone who knows how". So I've met someone who knows how to kiss.'

Loved-up: The Miranda star recently gushed about her beau - who she only referred to as Ian - during an interview on stage at the Edinburgh Festival

Sally, who has three sons with her ex-husband, met her new partner Ian two years after her marriage to Andrew Bermejo ended in 2017.

She has previously spoken of how a divide opened up following the birth of their eldest son, Olly, 17, who has Down's syndrome. They also have sons Luke, 13, and Tom, ten.

Speaking on TBN's chat show Soul Tears in 2018, Sally revealed how the pain of two miscarriages also took its toll on her marriage to her now ex-husband.

Sally said: 'I eventually gave birth in a hospital toilet onto one of those cardboard trays and what came out looked like a baby. I helplessly handed the baby to a nurse, she said they would run tests.

'I said that I wanted my baby back but they had incinerated him or her, because they said it didn't not qualify, as it was only ''Products of Conception'', which is obviously not at all how you feel about it.'

All over: Sally, who has three sons with her ex-husband, met her new partner two years after her marriage to Andrew Bermejo ended in 2017 after 14 years

Family: She has previously spoken of how a divide opened up following the birth of their eldest son, Olly, 17, who has Down's syndrome. They also have sons Luke, 13, and Tom, ten

Sally said that losing their first baby caused a rift in her marriage, saying he didn't take the miscarriage as badly as Sally did as she was only 14 weeks along.

She continued: 'Having had a baby, the first six months is getting your head around what on earth this means and once you've had a child you bond very early don't you? That was grim and very hard to deal with as a couple.

'We'd had a divide that started after Olly in that my husband and I dealt with the diagnosis in very different ways and then this division over babies got wider, because he hadn't really taken onboard that I was pregnant.

'Fourteen weeks isn't that long but in your body you're feeling the sickness, the excitement and all these things.'
Watch out for newcomer West Duchovny - the 24-year-old daughter of actors David Duchovny and Tea Leoni - who is one of the innocents destroyed by opioids in new TV drama Painkiller.

Matthew Broderick plays Purdue Pharma boss Richard Sackler; and Duchovny is dumb and dangerous as Shannon Schaeffer, one of his 'OxyContin Kittens' whose job is to sell the dangerously addictive painkillers to doctors.

'You are a drug dealer with a ponytail!' she is told at one point.

Producer Eric Newman describes Duchovny as 'amazing', adding: 'She blew us away in her audition and is a bright light in our show.

'Shannon is representative of the many adjacent victims of OxyContin who never even took it, and I think that's an important story to tell.

Newcomer: West Duchovny, the 24-year-old daughter of actors David Duchovny and Tea Leoni, is one of the innocents destroyed by opioids in new TV drama Painkiller

Father and daughter: West Duchovny pictured with her father David Duchovny

'To get a true sense of the destructive power of opioid, you have to go beyond just the number of deaths.

'You must imagine not only all the people whose lives have been touched by those deaths, but also the many unwitting players who took part in the opioid machine and must live with that.'

Painkiller is a fictionalised retelling of the invention of OxyContin, and is now streaming on Netflix.

Set in the midst of the opioid crisis, the drama tells the story of the origins and impacts of the epidemic that has ruined hundreds of thousands of lives across America.

It also reimagines how Richard Sackler's Purdue Pharma business skyrocketed during the country's opioid crisis - which continues to this day.

Purdue Pharma's connection to the epidemic was the subject of multiple lawsuits and fines, including paying $600 million in 2007 having pled guilty to misleading the public about OxyContin's risk of addiction.

Painkiller drew inspiration from two pieces of writing for its plot, the book Pain Killer by Barry Meier, as well as an article featured in the New Yorker by Patrick Radden Keefe entitled The Family That Built an Empire of Pain, which was published in October 2017.

As a result, Meier is credited as a consulting producer, while Keefe is listed as an executive producer.

Rising Star: At 24, West Duchovny is the show's youngest main cast member, playing newly recruited saleswoman at Purdue, Shannon Schaeffer

Praise: Producer Eric Newman describes Duchovny as 'amazing', adding: 'She blew us away in her audition and is a bright light in our show

Actress: Duchovny has also featured in Saint X - another series which debuted in 2023

'The crisis wasn't something that just happened, like a hurricane or a flood,' Gibey says in the show's press notes.

'It was something that was manufactured; manufactured by companies looking to make an egregious profit.

'I realized that this opioid crisis I've been hearing so much about was not just a crisis, it was really a crime', producer Alex Gibey stated in the show's press notes.
She is currently soaking up the sun in the French Riviera.

And Emma Weymouth, 37, exhibited her envy-inducing frame as she enjoyed a yacht cruise with pals in St Tropez on Friday afternoon.

The Marchioness of Bath, set pulses racing as she slipped her slender frame into a skimpy black two-piece.

The raven-haired beauty flaunted her perky assets and pert derriere in the plunging black bikini top with gold detailing and matching briefs.

Emma accessorised her look with oversized sunglasses, beaded bracelets and a silver ring.

Sizzling: Emma Weymouth, 37, showcased her washboard abs and toned legs as she enjoyed a yacht cruise with pals whilst on holiday in St Tropez on Friday afternoon

Stunner: She looked fantastic in a black two piece with gold detailing which she wore with a straw trilby hat and minimal makeup whilst sporting sea soaked hair

She wore her dark tresses down under a chic straw hat, which featured a black rim around the centre.

The socialite beauty appeared to have topped up on her tan as she boasted a radiant complexion during her relaxing day out.

Ensuring all eyes remained on her killer physique, the raven-haired bombshell opted for minimal make-up and sported drenched hair.

Emma has continued to showcase her striking figure during her downtime with her family.

Just two days ago she sported another stunning bikini as she arrived at Club 55 on Wednesday during her trip.

The former Strictly star looked fantastic in the two piece which she wore with a black shirt and cap and matching sarong.

Last month she displayed her jaw dropping figure again in a pink bikini top and matching shirt, as she stepped out for a walk along the beach in St Tropez.

Emma is currently on holiday with her husband Ceawlin Thynn - the 8th Marquess of Bath - and their two sons John, nine and Henry, seven.

Family trip: Emma is on holiday with her husband and their two kids were joined by an extended group of friends for the day trip on the yacht as they basked in the sun

Totally in love: Emma wed Ceawlin Thynn - the 8th Marquess of Bath - at their stunning home Longleat in June 2013 and the pair share two sons John, nine and Henry, seven

The couple, married at their stunning home Longleat in June 2013 and welcomed their first child John, in October 2014.

Following a pregnancy struggle, the couple welcomed their second child, a son Henry, via a surrogate in Los Angeles in December 2016.

At the time, Emma told the Daily Mail: 'We are simply ecstatic. His arrival has completed our little family and brought us so much happiness.'

Ceawlin added: 'Never did I imagine that in West Hollywood I'd become father to John's little miracle baby brother.

'It's a wonder of modern science that the Longleat Bath family has been completed (for now at least) by Emma and I having a much-loved son, helped so crucially by a tremendous surrogate in California, to extend our family.'
She is beloved by 007 fans for her memorable appearance opposite Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.

And Bond girl Susie Vanner continued to dazzle as she flashed her bronzed legs while leaving Club 55 during a sun-soaked break in St Tropez this week.

The actress, 72, looked amazing in a thigh-skimming lace beach dress as she strolled along the jetty towards a waiting speedboat.

Susie teamed her dress with a straw hat and a matching handbag, while shielding her eyes with dark sunglasses.

The film star opted to go barefoot and was seen holding her gold flip-flops in her hand.

Looking good: Bond girl Susie Vanner continued to dazzle as she flashed her bronzed legs while leaving Club 55 during a sun-soaked break in St Tropez this week

Stunner: The actress, 72, looked amazing in a thigh-skimming lace beach dress as she strolled along the jetty towards a waiting speedboat

Susie looked in good spirits as she was helped into the boat and joined some male companions for the role.

It comes after Susie filed for divorce, after husband of 32-years, property tycoon Warren Todd, left her for a younger woman in 2019.

The actress rose to fame in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me alongside Sir Roger Moore, where she and secret agent James Bond memorably made love under a pile of fur coats.

Despite declaring herself a 'fighter' she told Daily Mail's Richard Eden in April that she had found the breakdown of her marriage really hard.

She has since hired Payne Hicks Beach, the legal firm of which Baroness Shackleton is a partner, who has represented both King Charles and Paul McCartney in their high profile divorces.

Todd, who is the step son of reality star Lisa Vanderpump, 62, left his wife, with whom he shares a son, to begin a relationship with his pregnant girlfriend during what friends of the actress described as a 'serious midlife crisis'.

He moved out of the family's 10M mansion near Victoria and David Beckham's Holland Park home and he has since welcomed two children with his new partner 'Anya'.

A friend of the the Bond Girl told Richard Eden back in 2019: 'Sue is devastated, After 32 years of happy marriage, Warrens made decisions, during a very serious mid-life crisis, which have broken up their family.

Holiday style: Susie teamed her dress with a straw hat and a matching handbag, while shielding her eyes with dark sunglasses

This way please: Susie looked in good spirits as she was helped into the boat and joined some male companions for the role

Soaking up the sun: Susie looked radiant in her white mini dress as she left Club 55 during her day out

Appearing on ITV's Lorraine in 2019, Sue told how she has found solace in music after her bitter split.

Lorraine said: 'It's a sad reason for you to go back into the music business... 32 years and he's gone off with someone else, and that's really hard.'

Susie replied: 'It's really hard, but I'm a fighter so I decided to go back into my music.'

Lorraine continued: 'So instead of sitting in the corner crying because your husband has run off with somebody who's younger, and they've now got a baby I believe'

Bond girl: It comes after Susie filed for divorce, after husband of 32-years, property tycoon Warren Todd, l eft her for a younger woman in 2019 (pictured 2012)

Movie magic: The actress rose to fame in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me alongside Sir Roger Moore (pictured)

They are different, there's more special effects, they're less tongue in cheek,' she said. 'But I think they're fantastic. It's moving with the times.

Adding salt to the wound, Lorraine continued: 'So instead of sitting in the corner crying because your husband because your husband has run off with somebody whose younger, and they've now got a baby I believe'

To which a hurt Susie quipped back: 'Not that much younger actually but never mind.'

Lorraine scoffed: 'That's almost worse. I know we're laughing about it but its really hard.'
Jamie Foxx was seen for the first time on Thursday since apologizing for a controversial post branded anti-Semitic by fans - as the star ran errands months on from his mystery health crisis.

The actor, 55, who is recovering after taking months out of the spotlight due to his health scare, looked healthy as he stepped out with his ex Kristin Grannis, who is the mother of his daughter Annalise, 15.

The star wore a black graphic print sweater teamed with matching joggers and white sneakers as he strolled.

He completed his ensemble with a pair of stylish black shades as he chatted with Kristin, 53,

Kristin, who was seen visiting Foxx at a medical facility during his recovery, wore an orange tracksuit for the day.

Sighting: Jamie Foxx was seen for the first time on Thursday since apologizing for a controversial post branded anti-Semitic by fans - as the star ran errands months on from his mystery health crisis

Friendly exes: The actor, 55, who is recovering after taking months out of the spotlight due to his health scare, looked healthy as he stepped out with his ex Kristin Grannis, who is the mother of his daughter Annalise, 15

The controversy began when Foxx 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 anti-Semitic.

Someone named Jennifer Aniston appeared to 'like' the remarks - Aniston quickly created a post of her own to distance herself from the perceived contention and denied any connection to it in her Instagram Stories.

'This really makes me sick, 'she wrote.

'I did not "like" this post on purpose or by accident,' The Morning Show star maintained.

There are dozens of fan accounts on social media under the name Jennifer Aniston.

'And more importantly, 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. And I truly don't tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.'

Foxx followed with a statement clarifying that he did not have the Jewish community in mind when he uploaded the note.

Recovery: The star wore a black graphic print sweater teamed with matching joggers and white sneakers as he strolled

Outing: He completed his ensemble with a pair of stylish black shades

Chat: The star was stepping out days after apologizing for his post

Casual: The star looked somber as he stepped out to run errands

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.

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.

Foxx has been making his return to public life since his mystery health scare.

Sighting: The actor looked casual as he stepped out in LA

Chat: The star carried some grocery bags as he chatted with his ex

Pensive: The actor wore a casual ensemble for his day out in LA

Ex: Kristin, who was seen visiting Foxx at a medical facility during his recovery, wore an orange tracksuit for the day

Controversy: The controversy began when the Jewish group A Wider Frame labeled Jamie's now-deleted post antisemitic and someone named Jennifer Aniston 'liked' it. The Morning Show actress denied any connection and denounced antisemitism

In a clip shared to Instagram earlier this month he opened up in the clip about why he kept a low-profile amid his recovery.

He informed fans that he is not 'blind' or 'paralyzed' in an emotional three-minute recording.

'I went through something I never thought I would go through. I know a lot of people [were] waiting or wanting to hear an update, but to be honest with you, I didn't want you to see me like that man,' he admitted, with tears in his eyes.

The actor, who returned to work earlier this month to film a commercial in Las Vegas, continued: 'I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, [or] a 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.'

The father-of-one added that he went through 'hell and back' to survive and has experienced some 'potholes' on his 'road to recovery.'

The Beat Shazam host also praised his sister, Deondra Dixon, and daughter, Corinne, 29, for 'saving' his life and keeping the details around his hospitalization private.

'To them, to God, to a lot of great medical people, I'm able to leave you this video,' Foxx added. 'I cannot tell you how great it feels to have your family kick in in such a way, and y'all know they kept it airtight, they didn't let nothing out, they protected me, and that's what I hope that everyone could have in moments like these.'

He proceeded to show how his 'eyes are working just fine' by moving them from side to side, before making it clear that he is 'not paralyzed.'

Apology: Jamie apologized for his choice of words and clarified the meaning of the previous post, explaining he was calling out a 'fake friend' and not the Jewish community

Recovering: Jamie recently shared an emotional video about his health as he informed fans that he is not 'blind' or 'paralyzed'

Speaking to fans directly, he said: 'I just want to say I love everybody and I love all the love that I got.'

The Academy Award winner got choked up as he warned: 'If you see me out from now on and every once in a while I just burst into tears, its just because its been tough, man. I was sick, man. But now I got my legs under me, so youre gonna see me out.'

'Man, I know they talk about people crying on videos... but I'm not going to do a take two, it is what is is,' he mused. 'Like I said, I want you to remember me for the jokes that I crack and the movies that I make  some of them good, some of them ain't (I think I've got a good one out), and songs that I sing.'

'I'm here on earth because of some great people. I'm here on Earth because of God, man,' the performer concluded. 'I'm on way back.'

Foxx captioned the video: 'Thank u a billion to everybody been a long road but all the prayers great people and God got me through.'

In the wake of the April incident, his daughter Corinne said on Instagram that the A-lister had been taken to a hospital after dealing with a 'medical complication.'

Corinne said in a statement: 'We wanted to share that my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday.'

At the time he was hospitalized, he had been working on a Netflix film titled Back in Action opposite Cameron Diaz.

A message was posted to Foxx's Instagram May 3 that read, 'Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed.'

On May 12, Corinne said via Instagram Stories, 'My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating.

'In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support! We have an exciting work announcement coming next week too!'
Naomi Campbell revealed her daughter is well-versed when it comes to travelling around the world with her.

The supermodel, 53, who also welcomed her baby boy in June via surrogate, has already got a mini-me travel buddy with a well stamped passport.

In Vogue's September 2023 edition, Naomi, Cindy Crawford, 57, Linda Evangelista, 58 and Christy Turlington, 54 all posed together for the historic cover.

And speaking to the publication, Naomi revealed her daughter 'rolls with her', on her trips out of the country.

She said: 'She rolls with me, a global citizen, constantly on the plane. She's been to Africa and the Middle East.

Opening up: Naomi Campbell has revealed her rarely-seen daughter is well-versed when it comes to travelling around the world with her

Doting mother: The supermodel, 53, who also welcomed her baby boy in June, has revealed her two-year-old daughter has joined her on trips to Africa and the Middle East

'It is not easy and requires more organisation, more planning; and it will change when she goes to school.'

The original supermodels have returned to the covers of both US and British Vogue with the tagline 'the greatest of all time.'

Nineties icons are promoting the upcoming Apple TV+ docuseries The Supermodels, which is set to premiere on September 20.

The four-part series delves into the world of the top models of the 1990s.

The series is directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, while it was executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Documentaries.

'There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: When one is down you pick the other one up,' Campbell shared with Vogue.

The ladies also said they were able to avoid the abuses that were in the fashion industry in the 90s.

It comes after Naomi made the most of motherhood as she treated her daughter, two, with a trip to Disneyland in California last month.

Announcement:In June Naomi announced that she welcomed a baby boy, posting a photograph of her son in her arms and her two-year-old daughter holding both their hands

Sweet: In one snap Naomi introduced the tot, whose face was not visible, to Mickey Mouse, before she herself posed with the beloved children's character

Wow! In Vogue's September 2023 cover , Naomi, Cindy Crawford, 57, Linda Evangelista, 58 and Christy Turlington, 54 all posed together for the latest issue

The catwalk queen, who is yet to make her children's names public, cut a chic figure as they enjoyed a fun-filled day at the famous theme park.

In one snap Naomi introduced the tot, whose face was not visible, to Mickey Mouse, before she herself posed with the beloved children's character.

The stunner looked sensational in a black polkadot mini-dress which she teamed with matching tights and a pair of neon trainers.

Naomi captioned the post: 'It's never too late to meet Mickey Mouse. Thank you to my daughter for bringing me for the first time ever to Disney Land #MomOnDuty'.

Later taking to her Instagram Stories a pal videoed as she and her daughter flew through the air on the Dumbo ride.

Naomi's announcement left many fans shocked after she was spotted without a pregnant bump at Paris Fashion Week days earlier.

But a source close to the star revealed to MailOnline: 'Naomi has welcomed her newborn son via surrogate, who gave birth on Saturday in Los Angeles.

'It came as a surprise to her wider circle after she told only a handful of people that she was becoming a mum for the second time.

'Suddenly she postponed a work commitment because she needed to be at her surrogate's side and the next moment, she had a beautiful baby boy.
Gigi Hadid teased a glimpse of her toned abs in an oversize blouse during a New York City stroll on Friday.

The 28-year-old supermodel kept her long blonde locks tied back in a loose knot as she rocked the shirt with black slacks.

She completed her ensemble with delicate black ballet flats.

The Guest In Residence founder kept her accessories simple, wearing small gold earrings and square-shaped black sunglasses.

Completing Gigi's casual streetwear look were several gold necklaces that peeked out from under the model's tailored collar.

Toned: Gigi Hadid teased a glimpse of her toned abs in an oversize blouse during a New York City stroll on Friday

Chic: The skilled runway model kept her shirt loosely buttoned and her sleeves rolled up to her elbows

It's been a busy month for the Never Have I Ever star in terms of supporting family, given that her older sister Alana Hadid made her runway debut this week, and her younger sister Bella Hadid returned to work after a five-month medical hiatus.

Modeling wise, the blonde stunner recently posed for Self Portrait's Autumn/Winter 2023 campaign.

The Los Angeles born beauty also faced legal woes during a recent vacation to the Cayman Islands.

Gigi was arrested for marijuana possession during her trip to the Caribbean getaway, with her lawyer arguing that the marijuana was approved in New York City for medical use.

The runway model pleaded guilty in order to avoid having the conviction appear on her record, walking away by paying a $1,000 fine.

In spite of her recent legal woes, the former Victoria's Secret angel has kept her head held high on social media, jokingly captioning a post after the Cayman Islands incident with, 'All's well the ends well.'

The Next In Fashion co-host recently also posed in a new campaign for Miu Miu.

Strike a pose: The Ocean's 8 star looked like she was ready to hit the runway in her masculine ensemble she wore today

Life's a runway: The blonde beauty's perfectly tailored look made for an effortless appearance as she strolled the streets of NoHo

Stylish: The mother of one slipped into a pair of black loafers to stay comfortable during her relaxing stroll

Deep in thought: The top model checked her phone periodically, appearing to be deep in thought

Making a statement: Hadid carried a small cream-colored purse in her hand to hold a few items she needed during her outing

Paying a fine: The runway model pleaded guilty in order to avoid having the conviction appear on her record, walking away by paying a $1,000 fine

The leggy model did have to clarify a caption she made on an Instagram story featuring Bella, where Gigi wrote, 'Can't wait 4 the comebaccckkkkkk.'

She added a note to her followers saying that her original caption didn't mean that Bella would be walking the runway this year.

'Bella just finished a long and intense treatment for Lyme disease,' the Pirelli Calendar star wrote for her fans.

She added, '[I] Didnt want some to take my post as a promise shell be back for shows this next season.'

Gigi also stays busy being a mother of one to her beloved daughter Khai.
Christina Hall revealed her parents are currently in Maui, the epicenter of the devastating wildfires in Hawaii.

The HGTV star, 40, shared her parent's Facebook update post, adding her own words to it to share her relief they were safe.

'My parents are currently in Maui, I'm grateful they are ok. Maui is my favorite place on the planet,' she wrote on her Friday Instagram stories.

'I've been going to Lahaina every year since I was a child. What's happened there is beyond devastating. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by these horrific fires,' Christina added.

As of Friday afternoon, the death toll caused by the wildfires ripping through Maui is 55, with it expected to rise.

The latest: Christina Hall revealed her parents are currently in Maui, the epicenter of the devastating wildfires in Hawaii

Speaking from the heart: The HGTV star, 40, shared her parent's Facebook update post, adding her own words to it to share her relief they were safe; seen July 9, 2023 in LA

Christina has not previously shared much information on her parents.

The TV star lives in Newport Beach, California with her husband Josh Hall; she is mom to three kids - daughter Taylor, 12, and Brayden, seven, with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, and son Hudson, three, with ex-husband Ant Anstead.

The Facebook pictures her parents shared show the aftermath of the wildfires.

Christina's parents - she did not specify if it was her mom or her dad's Facebook post - wrote: 'We have relocated to Kihei. We are safe, have electricity and a place to stay. While in Lahaina area, we didn't have electricity, internet, tv and only limited cell service.'

'Didn't realize the extent of the devastation until this morning when I could see a bit of internet.'

'The whole area of Lahaina town is gone. People from hotel areas are lined up by the hundreds to get on the buses that are transporting them to the airport. There is no electricity in the Lahaina area, stores and restaurants are closed.'

'So many people have lost their homes. It took us a couple tries to get road access out. We made it. It is such a tragedy,' they wrote.

As of Friday afternoon, the Lahaina fire is only 80% contained, according to NBC News.

There are six different fires burning through Maui and the Big Island - including the Lahaina fire - already burning 2,000 acres.

Outlets reported that 80% of Lahaina, a historic resort city that dates back to the 1700s, has been destroyed.

The fires in Hawaii were fueled by a number of atmospheric elements - dry conditions, low humidity and the 60 mph gusts of winds caused by Hurricane Dora - a category 4 hurricane.

The winds were so strong it knocked out power lines and damaged homes, CBS News reported.

The outlet reported that the US Coast Guard rescued 17 people who jumped into the harbor in Lahaina as the fires overtook the town.

'There were no fire trucks at that point, I think the fire department was overwhelmed,' a business owner in Lahaina told CBS News.

Absolutely devastating: As of Friday afternoon, the death toll caused by the wildfires ripping through Maui is 55, with it expected to rise; a view of the town Lahaina, Maui on August 9

So sad: As of Friday afternoon, the Lahaina fire is only 80% contained, according to NBC News; the aftermath of the fire in one area in Lahaina on August 10

Devasation: There are six different fires burning through Maui and the Big Island - including the Lahaina fire - already burning 2,000 acres; an aerial view of Lahaina, Maui on August 11

The fire spread within a matter of 30 seconds block by block, an ER doctor - who called it as a 'war zone' - told NBC News, leading people to jump into the water to escape the flames in Lahaina.

'That whole front street and that whole area just burned down and people ran into the water, they were jumping into the ocean, they were paddling out to the sea,' they told NBC News.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said it appears like a 'bomb' went off, adding that fires are most likely going to be the largest natural disaster in the history of Hawaii.
The IRS has lost track of millions of sensitive tax information records, according to a new watchdog report, putting taxpayers at risk of tax refund identity theft.

As part of a review, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found 'significant deficiencies' in safeguarding and accounting for millions of individual and business tax records containing sensitive information.

The watchdog said it found seven empty boxes at an IRS facility in Ogden, Utah, which should have contained as many as 168 microfilm cartridges, holding up to 2,000 photographic images of records. The IRS uses microfilm cartridges to store backup records of business and individual tax information, which it is required to do under law.

TIGTA also found that 8,000 microfilm cartridges, which were supposed to be transferred to an IRS processing center in Kansas City from California in 2021, were unaccounted for.

'The personal taxpayer and tax information included on these backup cartridges is key information that can be used to commit tax refund fraud identity theft,' the TIGTA report said.

The watchdog found empty boxes at an IRS facility in Ogden, Utah, which should have contained as many as 168 microfilm cartridges

The IRS has been criticized in the past for improper handling of taxpayer information. Last year, TIGTA accused the agency of destroying data for an estimated 30 million filers at the height of the pandemic in March 2021.

This caused an outcry from the tax community - with experts expressing concern over how missing information can delay and complicate taxpayer refunds.

The latest report found that required annual inventories at three tax processing centers in Austin, Kansas City and Ogden were not carrying out required annual inventories.

'In fact, management could not provide a time frame of when the last required annual inventory was conducted,' the report read.

The watchdog also expressed concerns over how microfilm cartridges containing sensitive information were being stored at the Ogden facility.

Information was being stored, according to the report, in the middle of a large warehouse on open shelving.

In response, IRS Wage and Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin said in a letter that the findings highlighted a reduction in experienced staff at the agency.

He said that persistent underfunding had meant that the IRS was forced to redirect experienced employees to higher priorities, affecting its ability to keep up with the 'timely updating of inventory records.'

IRS Wage and Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin said in a letter that the findings highlighted a reduction in experienced staff at the agency

He added that the agency is still working through shipments of tax records to processing centers across the country and that officials are 'confident that as the backlog of non-tax documents is processed, the remaining cartridges will be incorporated.'

It comes weeks after three of America's largest tax preparation companies were accused of sharing tens of millions of taxpayers' sensitive financial data with tech giants Google and Meta without their consent.

A seven-month congressional probe released last month and led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, alleged H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer used visitor tracking technology embedded in websites to share the information.

While customers did not appear to be at risk of identity fraud, in a potential violation of federal law, the investigation found data was in some cases misused by Facebook parent company Meta for targeted advertising.

Three of America's largest tax preparation companies were accused of sharing tens of millions of taxpayers' sensitive financial data with tech giants Google and Meta

The seven-month congressional probe was led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren

According to the report, alongside sharing data such as addresses and phone numbers, companies also shared details about taxpayers' filing status, income, approximate refund amount, and names of dependents.

They even allegedly shared information about which buttons and text fields customers clicked on when filling out a tax form - which could reveal which tax breaks they may have claimed or if they are using any government programs.

Tax preparation companies help people file their federal and state taxes online through their websites.

'On a scale from one to 10, this is a 15,' David Vladeck, former consumer protection chief at the Federal Trade Commission, told CNN of the alleged data breach.

'This is a five-alarm fire, if what we know about this so far is true,' Vladeck, who is now a law professor at Georgetown University, added.
1ST Source Bank boosted its position in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:EEM  Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,856 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 30,004 shares during the period. 1ST Source Banks holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $7,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Regimen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the companys stock.

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iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:EEM traded up $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $40.17. The company had a trading volume of 26,306,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,920,789. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $40.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.67. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a 1 year low of $33.49 and a 1 year high of $42.53.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities in global emerging markets, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index).

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1ST Source Bank trimmed its stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT  Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,923 shares of the aerospace companys stock after selling 88 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Banks holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $2,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 815 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Partners LLC now owns 476 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 8,113 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $3,948,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 75.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, Director John Donovan purchased 548 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $457.07 per share, for a total transaction of $250,474.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,378 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,543,982.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LMT. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $532.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Lockheed Martin from $579.00 to $555.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $499.43.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

NYSE:LMT traded down $2.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $450.05. The companys stock had a trading volume of 659,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $113.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.65. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 52-week low of $381.55 and a 52-week high of $508.10. The businesss 50-day moving average is $456.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.21.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The aerospace company reported $6.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.28. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 71.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.32 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Lockheed Martins dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.88%.

About Lockheed Martin

(Free Report)

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.

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Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, September 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%.

Assurant has raised its dividend by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 18 years. Assurant has a payout ratio of 20.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Assurant to earn $14.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.6%.

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Assurant Stock Up 0.2 %

AIZ stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $141.09. 239,011 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,107. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Assurant has a 52-week low of $104.49 and a 52-week high of $172.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.55.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

In related news, CFO Richard S. Dziadzio sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total transaction of $524,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,893 shares in the company, valued at $7,325,895.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 800 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.00, for a total transaction of $99,200.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,984. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website . Also, CFO Richard S. Dziadzio sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total transaction of $524,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,325,895.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,585,833. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the companys stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in shares of Assurant by 0.3% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 20,947 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,985,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 353.8% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 177 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3.8% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 4,165 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 11.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Assurant by 453.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 260 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 92.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AIZ. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. TheStreet raised shares of Assurant from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on Assurant from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Assurant from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $141.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AIZ

Assurant Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service products and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, leased and financed solutions, and other related services.

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Bellevue Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS  Free Report) by 39.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,443 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 925 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLCs holdings in Masco were worth $72,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 176,209 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $8,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 69,144 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,438,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,700 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,810 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,141 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the companys stock.

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Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.81. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,931,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,698. Masco Co. has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 420.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.22. The stocks 50-day moving average is $57.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.56.

Masco Dividend Announcement

Masco ( NYSE:MAS Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Masco had a negative return on equity of 403.37% and a net margin of 9.73%. Mascos revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Mascos payout ratio is presently 32.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 188,040 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.77, for a total transaction of $11,239,150.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,305 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,972,229.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Renee Straber sold 41,200 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total value of $2,518,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 31,995 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,955,854.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 188,040 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.77, for a total value of $11,239,150.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,305 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,972,229.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 239,240 shares of company stock valued at $14,307,207. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MAS shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Masco from $57.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Argus boosted their price target on Masco from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Masco from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Masco from $60.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $62.58.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MAS

About Masco

(Free Report)

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.

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TELUS (NYSE:TU  Free Report) (TSE:T) had its target price lowered by BMO Capital Markets from C$29.00 to C$27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

TU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on TELUS from C$32.00 to C$31.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of TELUS from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of TELUS from C$33.00 to C$31.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of TELUS in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a sell rating for the company. Finally, CIBC cut their price target on shares of TELUS from C$31.00 to C$29.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on TELUS

TELUS Stock Up 1.1 %

TELUS Increases Dividend

TU stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,537,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,585,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.68. TELUS has a 52 week low of $16.68 and a 52 week high of $23.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.85. The company has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.73.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.274 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. This is an increase from TELUSs previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. TELUSs payout ratio is currently 175.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TELUS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of TELUS by 6.8% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 64,912,751 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $1,263,077,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127,554 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in TELUS by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 37,812,604 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $729,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,507 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of TELUS by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 29,500,105 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $585,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,610 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in TELUS by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,200,999 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $460,137,000 after buying an additional 274,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in TELUS by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,661,166 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $418,025,000 after purchasing an additional 168,406 shares during the last quarter. 45.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TELUS

(Get Free Report)

TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services.

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BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA  Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts companys stock. Morgan Stanleys target price indicates a potential upside of 13.33% from the stocks current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BWA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of BorgWarner from $58.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BorgWarner from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on BorgWarner from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on BorgWarner from $43.98 to $50.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on BorgWarner from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Two 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 a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $53.00.

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BorgWarner Stock Performance

Insider Transactions at BorgWarner

Shares of NYSE:BWA traded down $0.86 on Tuesday, reaching $41.47. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,856,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,312,155. BorgWarner has a 52-week low of $31.14 and a 52-week high of $51.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stocks 50-day moving average is $45.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.94.

In related news, Director Alexis P. Michas sold 7,173 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.45, for a total transaction of $318,839.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 76,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,802.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other BorgWarner news, Director Alexis P. Michas sold 7,173 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.45, for a total value of $318,839.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,802.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stefan Demmerle sold 5,000 shares of BorgWarner stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $238,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 177,614 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,456,202.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,383 shares of company stock valued at $566,697. Company insiders own 0.45% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BorgWarner

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWA. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in BorgWarner by 100,784.0% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 260,453,189 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $12,738,765,000 after purchasing an additional 260,195,018 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,131,243 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $1,016,505,000 after purchasing an additional 570,039 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in BorgWarner by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,092,045 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $495,620,000 after purchasing an additional 276,554 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in BorgWarner by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,142,969 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $349,358,000 after acquiring an additional 51,385 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 10.0% during the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 5,322,946 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $261,410,000 after purchasing an additional 484,794 shares in the last quarter. 91.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BorgWarner

(Get Free Report)

BorgWarner Inc provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. It offers turbochargers, eBoosters, eTurbos, timing systems, emissions systems, thermal systems, gasoline ignition technology, smart remote actuators, powertrain sensors, canisters, cabin heaters, battery modules and systems, battery packs, battery heaters, and battery charging.

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Cactus (NYSE:WHD  Get Free Report)s stock had its buy rating restated by Benchmark in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmarks target price points to a potential upside of 14.55% from the companys current price.

WHD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cactus from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Cactus from $64.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $57.00.

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Cactus Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WHD traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.38. 461,547 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Cactus has a 52-week low of $31.36 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $44.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.52. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 2.04.

Cactus (NYSE:WHD  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.15. Cactus had a return on equity of 23.53% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $305.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 79.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cactus will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cactus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WHD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cactus by 70.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the companys stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Cactus by 55.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,390 shares of the companys stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 10,813 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Cactus by 2.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,987,233 shares of the companys stock worth $226,236,000 after buying an additional 94,603 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Cactus during the first quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Cactus by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 950,570 shares of the companys stock worth $53,933,000 after buying an additional 10,327 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cactus

(Get Free Report)

Cactus, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells a range of wellheads and pressure control equipment in the United States, Australia, China, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company's principal products include Cactus SafeDrill wellhead systems, Cactus SafeLink monobore, SafeClamp, and SafeInject systems, as well as frac stacks, zipper manifolds, and production trees.

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California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,448,173 shares of the credit services providers stock after selling 19,064 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of California State Teachers Retirement Systems holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.15% of Mastercard worth $526,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $18,897,320,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.33% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.85, for a total transaction of $48,042,839.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,808,197 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $38,111,760,024.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.85, for a total transaction of $48,042,839.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,808,197 shares of the companys stock, valued at $38,111,760,024.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,164 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.24, for a total transaction of $1,927,411.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,166,851.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,967 shares of company stock valued at $104,732,510. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $442.00 to $452.00 in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $472.00 to $476.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. 888 reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $436.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MA

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $3.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $397.14. 2,094,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,577. The businesss fifty day moving average is $387.68 and its 200 day moving average is $374.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $276.87 and a fifty-two week high of $405.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.37% and a return on equity of 178.10%. The company had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The firms revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.37%.

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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California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR  Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,152,187 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 9,490 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Danaher worth $290,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,903 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Danaher by 62.2% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,093 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Danaher by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,045 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caliber Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Danaher by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,664 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.68% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DHR. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Danaher from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on Danaher from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Danaher from $310.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com lowered Danaher from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Danaher from $325.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $293.13.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of DHR traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $257.38. 1,698,965 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,986,836. The stock has a market cap of $190.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $243.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.86. Danaher Co. has a 12 month low of $221.22 and a 12 month high of $303.82.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.04. Danaher had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Danaher Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Danaher

In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $918,917.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,494 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,606,170.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Linda Filler sold 10,190 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.25, for a total value of $2,651,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,152 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,929,058. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $918,917.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,494 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,606,170.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,179 shares of company stock worth $16,939,454 over the last ninety days. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Danaher

(Free Report)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.

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Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $52.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.34% from the stocks previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Campbell Soup from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $50.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Campbell Soup from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $49.83.

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Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Campbell Soup stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.01. 2,298,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,439,093. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Campbell Soup has a 1-year low of $43.24 and a 1-year high of $57.78.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.03. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 26.31% and a net margin of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 149.8% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 597 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 77.7% during the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 519 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 183.0% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 900 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. 50.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Campbell Soup

(Get Free Report)

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.

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Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP  Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 393,704 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after buying an additional 7,481 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLCs holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $14,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 328,890 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $14,071,000 after buying an additional 7,160 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,667 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter valued at about $353,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,629 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $272,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They set an equal weight rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, VNET Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.09.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,378,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,454. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $37.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.41 and a 12 month high of $54.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.71.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Helmerich & Paynes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Helmerich & Payne Profile

(Free Report)

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.

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Channing Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,025 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 3,885 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $8,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GS. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 37,848 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $12,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 12,957 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $4,238,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,529 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $5,676,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 85,716 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 25,038 shares during the last quarter. 76.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.28, for a total transaction of $1,496,376.00. Following the completion of 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 this link. In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 9,000,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $105,570,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,676,439 shares in the company, valued at $606,164,629.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on 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 owns 124,782 shares in the company, valued at $44,457,330.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,159,686 shares of company stock worth $123,960,027. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Atlantic Securities raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $351.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $433.00 to $483.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $407.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $396.93.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE GS traded down $2.29 on Thursday, reaching $340.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,278,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,574,111. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $287.75 and a 1 year high of $389.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $334.66 and a 200-day moving average of $337.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.61 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firms revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is 46.93%.

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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Channing Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW  Free Report) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,149 shares of the specialty retailers stock after selling 35,036 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 0.08% of Lamb Weston worth $11,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LW. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the first quarter valued at $214,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 100.7% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,126 shares of the specialty retailers stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 7,087 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 214,594 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $23,989,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 10,917 shares of the specialty retailers stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. 86.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of LW stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.99. 2,185,075 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,948. The stocks 50 day moving average is $110.82 and its 200-day moving average is $106.74. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.91 and a fifty-two week high of $117.38.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

Lamb Weston ( NYSE:LW Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.17. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 84.65% and a net margin of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 3rd. Lamb Westons payout ratio is 16.18%.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, SVP Sharon L. Miller sold 4,350 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $500,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,859 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,733,785. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Eryk J. Spytek sold 6,319 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.23, for a total transaction of $652,310.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,052 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $108,597.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sharon L. Miller sold 4,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $500,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,859 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,785. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Lamb Weston from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $119.40.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LW

Lamb Weston Company Profile

(Free Report)

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets value-added frozen potato products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. The company offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.

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Channing Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,676 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Roundview Capital LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.5% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Bank of America by 150.3% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 4.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $534,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.34% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at $5,836,455.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total transaction of $2,449,332.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares in the company, valued at $11,143,007.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.94. 25,813,374 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 51,091,285. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $26.32 and a one year high of $38.60. The company has a market cap of $245.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.98 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Americas previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Bank of Americas payout ratio is presently 25.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank of America from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.26.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Bank of America

Bank of America Company Profile

(Free Report)

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.

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WPP (NYSE:WPP  Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of WPP from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $964.00.

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WPP Stock Performance

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WPP

Shares of WPP stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.81. The stock had a trading volume of 80,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,544. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. WPP has a fifty-two week low of $39.67 and a fifty-two week high of $64.07. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $53.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.35.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in WPP by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,006 shares of the business services providers stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in WPP by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in shares of WPP by 2.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of WPP by 3.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,453 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WPP by 34.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 977 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WPP Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates through three segments: Global Integrated Agencies, Public Relations, and Specialist Agencies.

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EnerSys (NYSE:ENS  Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $908.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $968.70 million. EnerSys had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 4.74%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. EnerSys updated its Q2 guidance to $1.77-1.87 EPS.

EnerSys Stock Performance

ENS traded down $11.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.94. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,222,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.64. The companys 50-day moving average is $106.35 and its 200-day moving average is $92.75. EnerSys has a 52 week low of $56.72 and a 52 week high of $113.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.34.

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EnerSys Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 15th. EnerSyss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on EnerSys from $110.00 to $119.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. CL King initiated coverage on EnerSys in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research boosted their target price on EnerSys from $100.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on EnerSys in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company.

View Our Latest Analysis on EnerSys

Insider Buying and Selling at EnerSys

In other news, insider Andrew M. Zogby sold 10,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total transaction of $1,098,060.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,495 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,135,783.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of EnerSys

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of EnerSys during the first quarter worth about $60,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of EnerSys by 58.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 930 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of EnerSys during the first quarter worth about $87,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in EnerSys by 23.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,546 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in EnerSys by 959.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,775 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EnerSys

(Get Free Report)

EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries.

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Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.18-$1.25 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.19. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.09 billion-$5.14 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.11 billion. Flowers Foods also updated its FY23 guidance to $1.18-1.25 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd.

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Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:FLO traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,588,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,985,489. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $23.87 and a one year high of $30.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.71 and a 200 day moving average of $26.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 19th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 4.35%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Flowers Foodss revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 7th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foodss previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Flowers Foodss dividend payout ratio is currently 92.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, insider H Mark Courtney sold 14,272 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.39, for a total transaction of $348,094.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,011,892.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 88,218 shares of the companys stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 31,967 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 206.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,286,504 shares of the companys stock worth $473,823,000 after acquiring an additional 11,637,370 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 182.8% during the 1st quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 156,127 shares of the companys stock worth $4,279,000 after acquiring an additional 100,913 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,475.9% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,050 shares of the companys stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,516,045 shares of the companys stock worth $96,375,000 after acquiring an additional 679,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.27% of the companys stock.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs. Freshley's, and Tastykake brand names.

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Goldstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLCs holdings in TJX Companies were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1ST Source Bank boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 60,340 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $4,728,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 3.4% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 285,701 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $22,388,000 after buying an additional 9,433 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 3.5% in the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 311,276 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $24,392,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 5.3% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 7,838 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Institutional investors own 92.26% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TJX. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on TJX Companies from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on TJX Companies from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on TJX Companies from $90.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.65.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE TJX traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $86.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,797,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,854,865. The firm has a market cap of $99.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.92. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.78 and a fifty-two week high of $87.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 17th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.82 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 62.78% and a net margin of 7.56%. TJX Companiess quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. TJX Companiess payout ratio is currently 40.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Goldenberg sold 26,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.91, for a total transaction of $2,073,044.61. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,580 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,727,287.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

About TJX Companies

(Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, kids, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL  Free Report) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,244 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,395,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of QUAL. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 160,049 shares of the companys stock valued at $19,857,000 after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the first quarter valued at $577,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 733.0% in the first quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 18,834 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 16,573 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 64.6% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,080 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,987,000.

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iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Stock Performance

QUAL stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $136.72. The company had a trading volume of 832,550 shares. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF has a twelve month low of $71.96 and a twelve month high of $88.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.98. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 1.03.

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap stocks, selected and weighted by high ROE, stable earnings growth and low debt\u002Fequity, relative to peers in each sector.

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Channing Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB  Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,628 shares of the banks stock after selling 14,480 shares during the period. HDFC Bank makes up 5.8% of Channing Global Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Channing Global Advisors LLCs holdings in HDFC Bank were worth $5,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the banks stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in HDFC Bank by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,838,182 shares of the banks stock valued at $296,725,000 after buying an additional 1,757,638 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in HDFC Bank by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,350 shares of the banks stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in HDFC Bank by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,819 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 2,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in HDFC Bank by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,877 shares of the banks stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.71% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HDB. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of HDFC Bank in a report on Monday, July 17th. They set a buy rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of HDFC Bank in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of HDFC Bank in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

HDFC Bank Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HDFC Bank stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $66.57. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,128,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.33. The company has a market capitalization of $123.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.76. HDFC Bank Limited has a 52 week low of $55.22 and a 52 week high of $71.76.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 22.03% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Equities research analysts predict that HDFC Bank Limited will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

HDFC Bank Company Profile

(Free Report)

HDFC Bank Limited provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in India, Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. It accepts savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, and demat accounts; fixed and recurring deposits; and safe deposit lockers, as well as offshore accounts and deposits, and overdrafts against fixed deposits.

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Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Integer Holdings Co. (NYSE:ITGR  Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 905,628 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Integer comprises 2.3% of Channing Capital Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.72% of Integer worth $70,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITGR. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Integer by 420.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 328 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Integer in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Integer in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Integer in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Integer by 129.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 840 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Integer Stock Performance

Integer stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $89.90. 156,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 294,475. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.08. Integer Holdings Co. has a 52-week low of $50.05 and a 52-week high of $96.17. The firms 50 day moving average is $86.42 and its 200 day moving average is $80.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Integer ( NYSE:ITGR Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $400.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.05 million. Integer had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 9.67%. Analysts predict that Integer Holdings Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ITGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Integer from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Integer from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Integer from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Integer in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. They set a neutral rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Integer from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $93.83.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Integer

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jean M. Hobby sold 3,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $765,215.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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US Bancorp DE lowered its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE  Free Report) by 0.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,509,113 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 5,176 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DEs holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $193,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 13,360 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Virginia VA increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Virginia VA now owns 8,776 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,511 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 36,563 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 30,032 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.70% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, CEO John W. Ketchum bought 13,600 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.26 per share, with a total value of $1,009,936.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 184,485 shares of the companys stock, valued at $13,699,856.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John W. Ketchum acquired 13,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,009,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 184,485 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $13,699,856.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $299,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,292 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $845,770.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $91.36.

View Our Latest Analysis on NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.29. 7,943,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,149,105. The company has a market cap of $138.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.91 and a twelve month high of $91.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.89.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.4675 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 29th. NextEra Energys dividend payout ratio is 46.29%.

About NextEra Energy

(Free Report)

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, coal, and natural gas facilities. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.

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PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC  Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Raymond James from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has an outperform rating on the stock. Raymond James price target suggests a potential upside of 22.73% from the companys previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on PowerSchool from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on PowerSchool from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on PowerSchool from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded PowerSchool from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $26.91.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PWSC

PowerSchool Stock Performance

Insider Buying and Selling at PowerSchool

PowerSchool stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.37. 529,669 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,638. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $20.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of -155.42 and a beta of 0.93. PowerSchool has a one year low of $15.60 and a one year high of $26.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

In related news, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 4,542 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $82,301.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 129,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,905.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Devendra Singh sold 2,326 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.82, for a total transaction of $43,775.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 71,857 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,348.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 4,542 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total value of $82,301.04. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 a total of 74,287 shares of company stock worth $1,399,870 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PowerSchool

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,540,357 shares of the companys stock worth $89,990,000 after purchasing an additional 711,695 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,629,874 shares of the companys stock worth $59,929,000 after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,619,128 shares of the companys stock worth $71,731,000 after purchasing an additional 607,248 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,360 shares of the companys stock worth $59,963,000 after purchasing an additional 314,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,981,738 shares of the companys stock worth $59,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,052 shares in the last quarter. 62.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PowerSchool

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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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River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG  Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,767 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 13,670 shares during the period. Harley-Davidson accounts for about 1.2% of River & Mercantile Asset Management LLPs holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP owned 0.10% of Harley-Davidson worth $5,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,654 shares of the companys stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 39,183 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter valued at $446,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 65,908 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,742,000 after buying an additional 8,263 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,049 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 7,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Harley-Davidson from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 13th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Harley-Davidson in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a sector weight rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut Harley-Davidson from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rafeh Masood acquired 1,302 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.40 per share, for a total transaction of $49,996.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,260.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the companys stock.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

NYSE:HOG traded up $0.14 on Thursday, reaching $35.49. 1,383,134 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,759,934. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.38. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.85 and a 12 month high of $51.77.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 26.10%. Harley-Davidsons revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Harley-Davidsons payout ratio is 12.41%.

Harley-Davidson Profile

(Free Report)

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, and dual models, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.

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River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP reduced its holdings in Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER  Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,218 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock after selling 2,990 shares during the period. River & Mercantile Asset Management LLPs holdings in Uber Technologies were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UBER. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Uber Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $580,568,000. Altimeter Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Uber Technologies by 167.5% in the 1st quarter. Altimeter Capital Management LP now owns 30,760,000 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock valued at $1,193,422,000 after purchasing an additional 19,260,000 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Uber Technologies by 6,754.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,808,165 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock valued at $242,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,955,565 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Uber Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $178,126,000. Finally, Scge Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Uber Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $155,008,000. 73.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

UBER has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Uber Technologies from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Uber Technologies from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Uber Technologies from a d rating to a c- rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $55.03.

Insider Transactions at Uber Technologies

In other news, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sold 30,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,351,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,485,167 shares of the companys stock, valued at $66,832,515. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 644 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total value of $26,404.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 128,916 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,285,556. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sold 30,025 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,351,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,485,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,832,515. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,642 shares of company stock valued at $10,325,237. 3.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Uber Technologies Trading Up 1.1 %

UBER stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.60. 16,903,869 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,200,137. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.18, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.29. Uber Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.94 and a 12-month high of $49.49.

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The ride-sharing company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.34 billion. Uber Technologies had a negative net margin of 1.07% and a negative return on equity of 4.57%. Uber Technologiess revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.33) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Uber Technologies, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Uber Technologies Profile

(Free Report)

Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services.

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Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO  Get Free Report) (TSE:ELD)s stock had its sector perform rating reissued by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $9.50 target price on the basic materials companys stock. Royal Bank of Canadas target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.63% from the companys previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EGO. National Bank Financial raised Eldorado Gold from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Eldorado Gold in a research note on Friday, June 9th. They set an outperform rating and a C$17.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on Eldorado Gold from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $12.99.

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Eldorado Gold Trading Down 0.1 %

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eldorado Gold

Shares of NYSE:EGO traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.08. The company had a trading volume of 917,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,860. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.21. Eldorado Gold has a one year low of $5.06 and a one year high of $12.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 2.67.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EGO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eldorado Gold by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 141,562 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of Eldorado Gold by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 18,544 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eldorado Gold in the 1st quarter worth $1,128,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Eldorado Gold by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,921 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Eldorado Gold by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,321,583 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $115,706,000 after acquiring an additional 141,298 shares in the last quarter. 59.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eldorado Gold Company Profile

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Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

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Enbridge (TSE:ENB  Free Report) (NYSE:ENB) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from C$65.00 to C$60.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ENB. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Enbridge from C$60.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Enbridge from C$53.00 to C$58.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Enbridge from C$64.00 to C$63.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$57.43.

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Enbridge Price Performance

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

TSE ENB opened at C$48.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.11, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firms 50 day moving average price is C$48.97 and its 200-day moving average price is C$51.13. Enbridge has a 52-week low of C$47.63 and a 52-week high of C$57.59. The company has a market cap of C$98.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.90.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a $0.8875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.25%. Enbridges dividend payout ratio is currently 300.85%.

About Enbridge

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Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.

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Shell (LON:SHEL  Free Report) had its price target raised by HSBC from GBX 2,570 ($32.84) to GBX 2,670 ($34.12) in a report released on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on SHEL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Shell from GBX 2,800 ($35.78) to GBX 2,700 ($34.50) in a report on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Shell from GBX 2,950 ($37.70) to GBX 2,750 ($35.14) in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 3,000 ($38.34) price target on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Shell from GBX 2,750 ($35.14) to GBX 2,800 ($35.78) in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 2,850 ($36.42) price objective on shares of Shell in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shell has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 2,958.45 ($37.81).

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Shell Stock Performance

Shell Increases Dividend

LON:SHEL traded up GBX 37.10 ($0.47) during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting GBX 2,432.50 ($31.09). 20,154,066 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,749,591. The stocks fifty day moving average price is GBX 2,336.57 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,387.09. Shell has a one year low of GBX 2,140.50 ($27.35) and a one year high of GBX 2,613.50 ($33.40). The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.54. The firm has a market cap of 163.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 509.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.67.

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Shells previous dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. Shells payout ratio is presently 2,159.33%.

About Shell

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Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Separately, Benchmark assumed coverage on Turning Point Brands in a research note on Monday, June 5th. They issued a buy rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock.

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Turning Point Brands Price Performance

Turning Point Brands Dividend Announcement

Shares of Turning Point Brands stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.71. 127,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,516. Turning Point Brands has a fifty-two week low of $18.81 and a fifty-two week high of $26.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 6.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.50 million, a PE ratio of 41.92 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.81 and a 200 day moving average of $22.71.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Turning Point Brandss payout ratio is 42.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Turning Point Brands

In related news, Chairman David Edward Glazek bought 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.92 per share, for a total transaction of $104,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 68,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,442,915.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 6.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 33,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Turning Point Brands by 88.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 69,405 shares of the companys stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 32,550 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Turning Point Brands by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 71,594 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Turning Point Brands by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,903 shares of the companys stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Turning Point Brands by 3.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,808 shares of the companys stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.11% of the companys stock.

About Turning Point Brands

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Turning Point Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes adult consumer products. It operates through Zig-Zag Products, Stoker's Products, and NewGen Products segments. Zig-Zag Products segment markets and distributes rolling papers, tubes, finished cigars, make-your-own cigar wraps, and related products, as well as lighters and other accessories under the Zig-Zag brand.

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US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,642,693 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 1,074,915 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF comprises 0.8% of US Bancorp DEs portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 2.89% of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF worth $467,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenview Trust co purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 858.5% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 65,685 shares of the companys stock worth $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 58,832 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 9,054 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 222.4% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 235,264 shares of the companys stock worth $11,417,000 after buying an additional 162,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 22,472 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Performance

Shares of BATS:EFV traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,705,699 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.84. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 1-year low of $49.15 and a 1-year high of $59.57. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $49.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.10.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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Ceera Investments LLC increased its position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP  Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,547 shares of the local business review companys stock after acquiring an additional 13,281 shares during the period. Yelp makes up 2.3% of Ceera Investments LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Yelp worth $3,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of YELP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Yelp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 335,598 shares of the local business review companys stock worth $10,201,000 after buying an additional 3,308 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Yelp by 40.5% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 143,602 shares of the local business review companys stock worth $4,409,000 after purchasing an additional 41,363 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Yelp in the first quarter worth about $434,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Yelp by 42.4% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 49,310 shares of the local business review companys stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Yelp during the first quarter worth approximately $1,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.46% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,181 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $328,948.11. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 216,165 shares in the company, valued at $6,984,291.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,181 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $328,948.11. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 216,165 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,984,291.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Carmen Orr sold 8,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $258,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 101,006 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,263,503.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,517 shares of company stock worth $4,155,198 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the companys stock.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of Yelp stock remained flat at $42.79 on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 578,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,919. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.32 and a beta of 1.49. The firms 50 day moving average is $38.73 and its 200-day moving average is $33.40. Yelp Inc. has a one year low of $25.30 and a one year high of $47.59.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The local business review company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $337.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.96 million. Yelp had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 6.46%. Analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on YELP. TheStreet raised Yelp from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Yelp from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Yelp from $43.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yelp from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $39.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $39.33.

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Yelp Profile

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Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various local business categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.

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Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 55,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,024,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 39,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,482,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 74.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $72.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. SVB Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, July 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Atlantic Securities cut their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued an outperform rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.14.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total value of $44,754.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,545.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BMY stock opened at $61.28 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $63.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $128.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.42. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $59.71 and a twelve month high of $81.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.81 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 50.51%. The companys revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.64%.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO  Get Free Report) announced a dividend on Thursday, August 10th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share by the mining company on Friday, September 29th. This represents a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. The official announcement can be accessed at this link.

Antofagasta Price Performance

ANTO stock opened at GBX 1,546.50 ($19.76) on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of 15.25 billion, a PE ratio of 1,309.50, a P/E/G ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 1.11. The stocks 50 day moving average is GBX 1,518.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 1,544.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.14. Antofagasta has a 52-week low of GBX 1,025.50 ($13.11) and a 52-week high of GBX 1,837.50 ($23.48).

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ANTO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Antofagasta from GBX 1,340 ($17.12) to GBX 1,490 ($19.04) and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Antofagasta in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. They set a buy rating and a GBX 1,900 ($24.28) price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Antofagasta in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a buy rating and set a GBX 1,900 ($24.28) price objective on shares of Antofagasta in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Antofagasta from GBX 1,350 ($17.25) to GBX 1,270 ($16.23) and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of GBX 1,507.78 ($19.27).

About Antofagasta

(Get Free Report)

Antofagasta plc operates as a mining company. It operates through Los Pelambres, Centinela, Antucoya, Zaldivar, Exploration and Evaluation, and Transport Division segments. The company holds a 60% interest in the Los Pelambres mine, a 70% interest in the Centinela mine, a 70% interest in the Antucoya mine, and a 50% interest in the Zaldivar mine located in Chile.

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Avista (NYSE:AVA  Free Report) had its price target decreased by Mizuho from $38.00 to $36.00 in a report published on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Avista from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Avista from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th.

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View Our Latest Stock Report on Avista

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.32. The stock had a trading volume of 15,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,405. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $39.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.13. Avista has a 52 week low of $35.72 and a 52 week high of $45.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49.

Avista (NYSE:AVA  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $379.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $398.20 million. Avista had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 6.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. Avistas dividend payout ratio is currently 95.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,050 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total transaction of $38,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,727 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $211,326.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Scott J. Kinney acquired 1,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.08 per share, for a total transaction of $50,380.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,257 shares in the company, valued at $50,380.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,050 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total transaction of $38,745.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,727 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $211,326.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,856 shares of company stock valued at $2,101,588. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avista by 146.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 632 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Avista by 156.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 950 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Group LLC CA bought a new position in Avista in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Avista in the 1st quarter valued at $1,463,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avista

(Get Free Report)

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.

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Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD  Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, August 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.0039 per share by the bank on Tuesday, October 10th. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 1st.

Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

Shares of BBD opened at $3.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.41 and a 200-day moving average of $2.99. Banco Bradesco has a 1 year low of $2.34 and a 1 year high of $4.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.70.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,564,945 shares of the banks stock valued at $5,402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 210,636 shares of the banks stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 22,249 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 389.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,626,134 shares of the banks stock valued at $4,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,870 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 1,942.0% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 725,146 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 689,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Banco Bradesco by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 254,943 shares of the banks stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 86,535 shares during the last quarter. 1.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Bradesco Company Profile

Banco Bradesco SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; auto, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; real estate and vehicle auctions; cash management, and foreign trade and exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services.

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Hudbay Minerals (TSE:HBM  Free Report) (NYSE:HBM) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from C$7.25 to C$8.25 in a report released on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the mining companys stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Hudbay Minerals from C$10.50 to C$10.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Hudbay Minerals from C$8.00 to C$9.25 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Hudbay Minerals from C$11.00 to C$10.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Hudbay Minerals from C$10.00 to C$9.50 in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Hudbay Minerals from an equal weight rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hudbay Minerals currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$9.56.

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Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hudbay Minerals

Hudbay Minerals Trading Down 1.7 %

Hudbay Minerals Dividend Announcement

HBM stock opened at C$7.11 on Wednesday. Hudbay Minerals has a fifty-two week low of C$5.00 and a fifty-two week high of C$8.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 81.40, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$6.78 and a 200 day moving average price of C$6.80. The firm has a market cap of C$2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 103.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 2.06.

The business also recently disclosed a 1 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 22nd. Hudbay Mineralss dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Hudbay Minerals Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hudbay Minerals Inc, a diversified mining company, together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of properties in North and South America. It produces copper concentrates containing copper, gold, and silver; zinc concentrates; zinc metal; and gold and silver dore and molybdenum concentrates.

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Traditional Chinese medicine assistance team provides free services in Cambodia

People's Daily Online) 13:36, August 11, 2023

Employees of Cambodian PPSHV Expressway Co., Ltd., operator of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville (PPSHV) Expressway in Cambodia, consult a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor during a free clinic activity held by a TCM assistance team China sent to Cambodia. (Photo courtesy of the TCM assistance team)

"I've suffered from stiffness and pain in the neck for several years, and the doctor said it will take a while to cure me. But I already feel a lot better now. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is really amazing," Chun Huy, a 28-year-old Cambodian woman said happily after receiving acupuncture treatment at a free clinic activity of a Chinese medical assistance team recently.

"I will receive TCM treatment again when there's another chance," said Chun Huy, who works at the monitoring center of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville (PPSHV) Expressway, which connects Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh and the country's largest deep sea port, the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.

The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway is Cambodia's first expressway. It is one of the Chinese-invested mega-projects implemented in Cambodia under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The expressway is operated by Cambodian PPSHV Expressway Co., Ltd.

Eighty-eight percent of the staff members of the company are Cambodian. They have faced a high incidence of neck, shoulder, waist, and leg pain, and gastrointestinal diseases due to high temperatures and humidity in their working environment.

In an effort to help alleviate the situation, an eight-member TCM assistance team China sent to Cambodia paid a visit to the company to offer free medical services. A total of 158 employees received TCM diagnosis and treatment services from TCM experts.

Consisting of eight outstanding clinicians from the Guang'anmen Hospital under the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the TCM assistance team is the second medical expert team China has sent to Cambodia since the two countries signed an agreement on China sending TCM teams to Cambodia to support the latter's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team arrived in Phnom Penh on July 4. It will work in Cambodia for a year.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
Christian Dior SE (OTCMKTS:CHDRY  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a drop of 50.0% from the July 15th total of 200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Christian Dior Trading Up 2.9 %

OTCMKTS:CHDRY opened at $216.00 on Friday. Christian Dior has a 52-week low of $136.76 and a 52-week high of $243.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.98.

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About Christian Dior

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Christian Dior SE, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and retail of fashion and leather goods, wines and spirits, perfumes and cosmetics, and watches and jewelry worldwide. The company offers its fashion and leather goods under the Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Celine, Loewe, Givenchy, Kenzo, Berluti, Pucci, Loro Piana, Rimowa, and Off-White brand names; and wines and spirits under the Hennessy, Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Chateau d'Yquem, Belvedere, Glenmorangie, Newton Vineyards, Bodega Numanthia, Chateau d'Esclans, Armand de Brignac, and Joseph Phelps brands.

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Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,000 shares, a growth of 900.0% from the July 15th total of 100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Community Bancorp Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of OTCMKTS CMTV opened at $18.50 on Friday. Community Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.04 and a 52-week high of $22.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.16 and a 200-day moving average of $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Community Bancorp had a net margin of 31.66% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The company had revenue of $10.28 million during the quarter.

Community Bancorp Increases Dividend

Community Bancorp Company Profile

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Community Bancorps previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%.

(Get Free Report)

Community Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for Community National Bank that provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities in northern and central Vermont. It offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as standby letters of credit; and business checking and other deposit accounts, cash management services, repurchase agreements, ACH and wire transfer services, card processing, and remote deposit capture.

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Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW  Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

Several research firms recently commented on GLW. UBS Group cut Corning from a buy rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the company from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Corning from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, June 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Corning from $38.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th.

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Corning Stock Up 0.3 %

Corning stock opened at $32.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. Corning has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $37.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.05.

Corning (NYSE:GLW  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The electronics maker reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.48 billion. Corning had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 13.22%. Cornings quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Corning will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Cornings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 153.42%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, CEO Wendell P. Weeks sold 100,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.78, for a total transaction of $3,378,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 847,474 shares of the companys stock, valued at $28,627,671.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Corning news, CEO Wendell P. Weeks sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.78, for a total transaction of $3,378,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 847,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,627,671.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 11,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $362,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,313 shares of the companys stock, valued at $604,145.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,755 shares of company stock valued at $5,539,783 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Corning by 563.6% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 730 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 70.5% during the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 747 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Corning in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Corning in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.38% of the companys stock.

Corning Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses worldwide. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.

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Corteva (NYSE:CTVA  Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Mizuho from $74.00 to $72.00 in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CTVA. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Corteva from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Corteva from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $71.13.

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Corteva Stock Down 2.2 %

Corteva stock opened at $52.21 on Monday. Corteva has a twelve month low of $52.09 and a twelve month high of $68.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.33 and a 200-day moving average of $58.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 41.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Corteva had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 7.78%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Corteva will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from Cortevas previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Cortevas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corteva

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CTVA. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Corteva by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,834,356 shares of the companys stock valued at $107,823,000 after buying an additional 365,211 shares during the last quarter. ARGI Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. ARGI Investment Services LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the companys stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Corteva by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 69,243 shares of the companys stock worth $4,065,000 after purchasing an additional 20,796 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 49,086 shares of the companys stock worth $2,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis raised its holdings in Corteva by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 924,496 shares of the companys stock worth $54,342,000 after purchasing an additional 151,094 shares during the last quarter. 80.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corteva Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Corteva, Inc operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics.

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Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW  Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $229.00 price objective on the aerospace companys stock, up from their prior price objective of $188.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Curtiss-Wright from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. William Blair began coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Friday, May 19th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $200.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $208.40.

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Curtiss-Wright Stock Performance

Shares of Curtiss-Wright stock opened at $204.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $183.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.65. Curtiss-Wright has a 52 week low of $136.21 and a 52 week high of $209.00.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The aerospace company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.18. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $704.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $648.77 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Curtiss-Wright will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Curtiss-Wright

In other news, Director David Charles Adams sold 4,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $885,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,559 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,896,210. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Charles Adams sold 4,660 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $885,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,559 shares in the company, valued at $7,896,210. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John C. Watts sold 224 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.63, for a total transaction of $46,509.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $731,480.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 219 shares of company stock valued at $34,039 and have sold 6,948 shares valued at $1,324,069. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Curtiss-Wright

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 0.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,880 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 1.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,592 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 1.2% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,136 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 2.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 26.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 303 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 81.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Curtiss-Wright Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services to the aerospace, defense, general industrial, and power generation markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.

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Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes (OTCMKTS:CYRBY  Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,500 shares, a growth of 816.7% from the July 15th total of 600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes Stock Up 0.3 %

OTCMKTS CYRBY opened at $4.95 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average is $4.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.46. Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes has a 12 month low of $2.21 and a 12 month high of $5.30.

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Cyrela Brazil Realty SA Empreendimentos e Participacoes develops, constructs, and sells residential properties in Brazil. The company also provides consultancy services related to real estate. It offers properties under the Cyrela, Living, Vivaz, and Cyrela Urbanismo brand names. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,088 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 193.3% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 88 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 87.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $615.00 in a report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $517.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total value of $107,057,169.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.46, for a total transaction of $2,576,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,941 shares in the company, valued at $15,864,681.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares in the company, valued at $52,805,462,249.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 752,017 shares of company stock worth $356,230,646 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $523.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.48 billion, a PE ratio of 72.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $296.32 and a 52-week high of $538.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $456.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $397.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is currently 62.87%.

Eli Lilly and 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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Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 9th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, September 27th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 12th.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has a payout ratio of 26.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

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Greenhill & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

GHL stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.73. 5,606 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.61. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $5.64 and a one year high of $14.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29 and a beta of 1.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GHL. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 334.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 452,252 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 348,214 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $1,954,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 494.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 179,939 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 149,656 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 17.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 719,587 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,275,000 after acquiring an additional 107,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 406.9% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 120,876 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 97,028 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.50% of the companys stock.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, August 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.83.

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About Greenhill & Co., Inc.

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Greenhill & Co, Inc, an independent investment bank, provides financial and strategic advisory services to corporations, partnerships, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. The company offers advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, private capital raising, and other similar transactions.

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Janus International Group (NYSE:JBI  Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. KeyCorps price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.32% from the companys current price.

Separately, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Janus International Group in a research note on Monday, July 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company.

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Janus International Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JBI opened at $11.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Janus International Group has a twelve month low of $7.97 and a twelve month high of $12.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.08.

Janus International Group (NYSE:JBI  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.18. Janus International Group had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The company had revenue of $251.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.58 million. As a group, analysts expect that Janus International Group will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. sold 7,711,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.09, for a total transaction of $70,098,634.89. Following the transaction, the director now owns 348,946 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,171,919.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBI. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Janus International Group by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 357,854 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 72,059 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Janus International Group by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,683 shares of the companys stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Janus International Group by 1,938.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 26,007 shares of the companys stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 24,731 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Janus International Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in Janus International Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.11% of the companys stock.

About Janus International Group

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Janus International Group, Inc manufacturers, supplies, and provides turn-key self-storage, and commercial and industrial building solutions in North America and internationally. The company offers roll up and swing doors, hallway systems, relocatable storage moveable additional storage structures units, and other solutions.

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LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Free Report) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $92.00 to $99.00 in a report released on Monday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on LYB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. 888 restated a maintains rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, SpectralCast restated a maintains rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $98.88.

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LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $100.70 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $71.46 and a 1-year high of $101.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.22.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $10.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.79 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 26th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. This is a positive change from LyondellBasell Industriess previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio is currently 77.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Steward Financial Group LLC lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.58% of the companys stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

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*I received the following opinion directly from Norman Fernandez**. It is a quick read with my comments at the end of it. **As I said before I believe in...

12 hours ago
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,600 shares, a decline of 44.4% from the July 15th total of 130,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 117,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Mitsubishi Estate Stock Performance

MITEY opened at $12.07 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $12.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.12. Mitsubishi Estate has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $14.76. The stock has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter. Mitsubishi Estate had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mitsubishi Estate will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Mitsubishi Estate Company Profile

Mitsubishi Estate Co, Ltd. engages in the real estate activities in Japan and internationally. The company is involved in the development, leasing, property management, and sale of office buildings; planning, development, and tenant leasing of retail facilities; investment, development, operational management, and asset management of logistics facilities; operation of 18 hotels under the Royal Park Hotels brand in Japan and the Marunouchi Hotel in the Marunouchi area; and operation of Takamatsu Airport, Miyako Shimojishima Airport Terminal, Mt.

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Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at DNB Markets from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NVO. HSBC began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They set a buy rating for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $383.33.

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Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $182.09 on Friday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $95.02 and a 52 week high of $192.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,426,816 shares of the companys stock worth $193,105,000 after acquiring an additional 443,609 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,714 shares of the companys stock worth $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,791 shares of the companys stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 156,528 shares of the companys stock worth $24,910,000 after purchasing an additional 36,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 155.8% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,289 shares of the companys stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.30% of the companys stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

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Novo Nordisk A/S, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity care, and Rare Disease. The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products in the areas of insulins, GLP-1 and related delivery systems, oral antidiabetic products, obesity, glucagon, needles, and other chronic diseases.

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QANTM Intellectual Property Limited (ASX:QIP  Get Free Report) insider Craig Dower acquired 147,525 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of A$0.86 ($0.57) per share, with a total value of A$126,871.50 ($83,468.09).

QANTM Intellectual Property Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.21, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.72.

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QANTM Intellectual Property Company Profile

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QANTM Intellectual Property Limited provides intellectual property services for start-up technology businesses, multinationals, public research institutions, and universities in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hongkong. The company offers services related to patents, designs, and trademarks.

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Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) and CellaVision AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:CLVSF  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Edwards Lifesciences and CellaVision AB (publ), as provided by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Edwards Lifesciences 1 9 8 0 2.39 CellaVision AB (publ) 0 1 0 0 2.00

Edwards Lifesciences currently has a consensus price target of $92.68, indicating a potential upside of 18.40%. Given Edwards Lifesciences stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Edwards Lifesciences is more favorable than CellaVision AB (publ).

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Edwards Lifesciences 24.56% 25.43% 18.04% CellaVision AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

This table compares Edwards Lifesciences and CellaVision AB (publ)s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

79.8% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of CellaVision AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Edwards Lifesciences and CellaVision AB (publ)s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Edwards Lifesciences $5.38 billion 8.84 $1.52 billion $2.26 34.64 CellaVision AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Edwards Lifesciences has higher revenue and earnings than CellaVision AB (publ).

Summary

Edwards Lifesciences beats CellaVision AB (publ) on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Edwards Lifesciences

(Get Free Report)

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases. The company also provides the PASCAL and Cardioband transcatheter valve repair systems for minimally-invasive therapy. In addition, it offers surgical structural heart solutions, such as aortic surgical valve under the INSPIRIS name; KONECT RESILIA, a pre-assembled aortic tissue valved conduit for patients who require replacement of the valve, root, and ascending aorta; and HARPOON Beating Heart Mitral Valve Repair System for patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation. Further, the company provides critical care solutions, including advanced hemodynamic monitoring systems to measure a patient's heart function and fluid status in surgical and intensive care settings; and Acumen Hypotension Prediction Index software that alerts clinicians in advance of a patient developing dangerously low blood pressure. The company distributes its products through a direct sales force and independent distributors. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About CellaVision AB (publ)

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CellaVision AB (publ) develops and sells digital solutions for blood and body fluids analysis in Sweden and internationally. The company provides CellaVision DM1200 and CellaVision DM9600, which automatically capture digital images of cells from blood smears and body fluid preparations; CellaVision DC-1, an analyzer to enable low-volume hematology labs to implement CellaVisions digital methodology for performing blood cell; and DIFF-Line that automates and digitizes the process of analyzing peripheral blood smears. It also offers CellaVision Peripheral Blood Application that enables laboratories to automate, standardize, and simplify morphological examination of peripheral blood smears; CellaVision Advanced RBC Application, which enables to perform comprehensive examination of red blood cell morphology; CellaVision Body Fluid Application that enables laboratories to automate, standardize, and simplify morphological examination of body fluid preparations; and CellaVision Remote Review Software, which removes restrictive geographical constraints from the smear review process. In addition, the company provides CellaVision Server Software that creates a single streamlined workflow within one or multiple testing sites; CellaVision Proficiency Software, a cloud-based software designed to help laboratory managers assess, monitor, and promote staff competency in cell morphology; CellaVision CellAtlas, which combines a series of mini lectures with an extensive cell image library; and CellaVision VET that offers digital solutions for medical microscopy in the field of hematology. Further, it offers reagents to identify cell and tissue morphology, parasites, and bacteria in diagnosing various diseases; and instruments, including RAL SmearBox, RAL Stainbox, and RAL Stainer. The company sells its products to hospital and commercial laboratories. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Lund, Sweden.

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Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Get Free Report) CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 1,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.31, for a total transaction of $65,310.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 962,409 shares of the companys stock, valued at $62,854,931.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Service Co. International Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE SCI opened at $63.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.32 and a 200 day moving average of $67.32. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $56.85 and a 1 year high of $74.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

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Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

Institutional Trading of Service Co. International

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Service Co. Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Service Co. Internationals payout ratio is currently 34.40%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,544 shares of the companys stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,840 shares of the companys stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,269 shares of the companys stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,245 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 8,901 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 17,700 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.75% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Service Co. International in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company.

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About Service Co. International

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Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Funeral and Cemetery segments. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses.

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China Life Insurance Company Limited (OTCMKTS:CILJF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 761,200 shares, a decline of 53.7% from the July 15th total of 1,644,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 86,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.8 days.

China Life Insurance Price Performance

OTCMKTS:CILJF opened at $1.70 on Friday. China Life Insurance has a 1-year low of $1.06 and a 1-year high of $1.99. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $1.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.72.

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About China Life Insurance

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China Life Insurance Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a life insurance company in the People's Republic of China. The company operates in four segments: Life Insurance Business, Health Insurance Business, Accident Insurance Business, and Other Businesses. It offers critical illness protection, annuity, children/female/pension, security, life, medical, and accident protection insurance products.

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Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN  Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $7.50 to $8.00 in a research note issued on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Stifel Nicolaus price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.84% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SWN. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Southwestern Energy from $7.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwestern Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Southwestern Energy from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.10.

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Southwestern Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SWN opened at $6.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38. Southwestern Energy has a 1-year low of $4.57 and a 1-year high of $8.39.

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The energy company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwestern Energy had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 48.82%. The businesss revenue was down 69.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwestern Energy will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Southwestern Energy by 4,550.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,735,368 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $108,678,000 after purchasing an additional 21,268,002 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 105.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,832,745 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $125,201,000 after acquiring an additional 10,686,088 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 269.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,958,070 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $100,079,000 after acquiring an additional 10,175,992 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 21.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,933,972 shares of the energy companys stock worth $401,047,000 after acquiring an additional 9,882,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 61.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,513,925 shares of the energy companys stock worth $127,570,000 after acquiring an additional 9,729,900 shares in the last quarter. 82.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwestern Energy Company Profile

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Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Marketing. The company focuses on the development of unconventional natural gas and oil reservoirs located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana.

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Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM  Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The investment management company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03, reports. The business had revenue of $26.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.71 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 17.40%.

Stellus Capital Investment Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE:SCM opened at $14.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $301.97 million, a PE ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.47. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12-month low of $11.74 and a 12-month high of $16.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

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Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.04%. Stellus Capital Investments dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 197.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley assumed coverage on Stellus Capital Investment in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. They set a neutral rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Stellus Capital Investment from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, May 20th.

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Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCM. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 1st quarter worth about $163,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,279 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 8,784 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 261.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,948 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 184.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 32,573 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 21,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $787,000. 11.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stellus Capital Investment

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Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in private middle-market companies. It invests through first lien, second lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt financing, often with a corresponding equity investment. The fund prefers to invest in US and Canada.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Free Report) (TSE:MG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MGA. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Magna International from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Magna International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Magna International from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Magna International from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Magna International from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.14.

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Magna International Stock Down 0.7 %

MGA opened at $58.92 on Tuesday. Magna International has a fifty-two week low of $45.58 and a fifty-two week high of $68.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firms fifty day moving average price is $57.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.83. The company has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Get Free Report) (TSE:MG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. Magna International had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Magna International will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Magna International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Magna Internationals dividend payout ratio is currently 56.79%.

Institutional Trading of Magna International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Magna International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Magna International by 664.3% in the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Magna International by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 706 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Magna International in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Magna International in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 60.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Magna International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.

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Telecom Italia S.p.A. (OTCMKTS:TIIAY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,500 shares, a decline of 45.2% from the July 15th total of 22,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Telecom Italia Price Performance

OTCMKTS TIIAY opened at $2.99 on Friday. Telecom Italia has a twelve month low of $1.65 and a twelve month high of $3.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.99.

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Telecom Italia S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Italy and internationally. The company operates through Domestic, Brazil, and Other Operations segments. It offers fixed and mobile voice and Internet, and public telephony services, as well as products managed and developed for individuals and families; and voice, data, and Internet services and products, and information and communications technology solutions for small and medium-size enterprises, small offices/home offices, the public sector, large accounts, and enterprises in the fixed and mobile telecommunications markets.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to burn Manipur and he is not trying to douse the fire. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to burn Manipur and he is not trying to douse the fire.



He also said that the Indian Army can stop the violence in the northeastern state in two days.



His remarks came a day after the Prime Minister spoke on the no-confidence option in Lok Sabha and also spoke on Manipur.



Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Yesterday PM in Parliament spoke for over 2 hours and 13 minutes and in last, for 2 minutes, he spoke on Manipur."



Slamming the Prime Minister, the Congress leader said, "Manipur is burning for months, people are being killed and women raped and children are getting killed."



Targeting the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi, who is a Lok Sanha MP from Kerala's Wayanad said: "Prime Minister Modi was speaking in Lok Sabha while laughing. It does not suit him. The Prime Minister of India should not have made the joke. I was not the subject, not the Congress but was Manipur. And what is happening in Manopuur and why it is not being stopped was the subject."



Rahul Gandhi said that he has been in politics for last 19 years and visited all states whether during floods, tsunami, or violence.



"What I have seen in Manipur, have not seen such thing in last 19 years," the Congress leader said.



Referring to his statement in Lok Sabha on no-confidence when he said that Bharat Mata has been murdered in Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said, "I said that Prime Minister Modi killed India in Manipur and these are not hollow words."



He also said that when he reached Manipur and had to visit the people was asked to remove the Kuki or Meitei people from my security detail.



He said, "Today a state has been murdered. The state has been divided. Thus I said BJP has murdered India in Manipur."



"When Modiji was laughing I thought how a Prime Minister can say like this. He cannot go there. He cannot go, but he should speak on Manipur. Indian Army can stop the violence in Manipur in 2 days."



Rahul Gandhi alleged, "The Prime Minister wants to burn Manipur and does not want to douse the fire."



On Thursday, Modi in his over two hours long speech he gave an assurance that peace will prevail in Manipur and that it will march forward on the path of development.



The BJP-ruled state government in Manipur has been trying to resolve the situation prevailing there for the past six years and the efforts will continue in the future too, Modi said.



"The entire country and the House is with Manipur. We will together ensure peace there," Modi said.



However he said that all efforts to ensure peace in the state should be free of politics.






Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 9th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share on Friday, September 29th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th.

Travel + Leisure Trading Up 0.5 %

TNL stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.30. 22,766 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 742,512. Travel + Leisure has a 52-week low of $33.57 and a 52-week high of $48.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.67. The stocks 50-day moving average is $40.79 and its 200 day moving average is $39.83.

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Travel + Leisure (NYSE:TNL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $949.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $952.77 million. Travel + Leisure had a net margin of 9.93% and a negative return on equity of 40.25%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Travel + Leisure will post 5.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Travel + Leisure

Institutional Trading of Travel + Leisure

In related news, CAO Thomas Michael Duncan sold 3,000 shares of Travel + Leisure stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,729.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Insiders own 2.07% of the companys stock.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Travel + Leisure by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,976 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new position in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Travel + Leisure in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. 87.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Travel + Leisure from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Travel + Leisure from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Travel + Leisure in a research report on Monday, April 17th. They set an underperform rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Travel + Leisure from $67.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Travel + Leisure from $69.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.67.

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Travel + Leisure Company Profile

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Travel + Leisure Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides hospitality services and products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Vacation Ownership; and Travel and Membership. The Vacation Ownership segment develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership interests (VOIs) to individual consumers, as well as provides consumer financing in connection with the sale of VOIs; and property management services at resorts.

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Vodacom Group Limited (OTCMKTS:VDMCY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, a decrease of 97.4% from the July 15th total of 923,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 71,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Vodacom Group Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS VDMCY opened at $6.18 on Friday. Vodacom Group has a 1-year low of $5.44 and a 1-year high of $8.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.62.

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Vodacom Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.1173 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 22nd. Vodacom Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.59%.

About Vodacom Group

Vodacom Group Limited operates as a connectivity, digital, and financial services company in South Africa and internationally. It offers range of communication services, including data, mobile and fixed voice, messaging, financial services, enterprise IT, and converged services. The company also provides mobile and fixed line connectivity solutions, as well as internet and virtual private network services to its customers over various wireless, fixed-line, satellite, mobile, and converged technologies; and cloud hosting and security services comprising infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, software as a service, security services, hosted applications, and primary and direct connectivity to all hyperscalers.

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A scene from a song in Bholaa Shankar featuring Chiranjeevi and Keerthy Suresh

Cast: Chiranjeevi, Tamannaah, Keerthy Suresh, Murali Sharma and others

Director: Meher Ramesh

After tasting big success with Waltair Veerayya, Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi returns with Bholaa Shankar, a remake of the Tamil hit Vedalam, starring Ajit. However, Chiru leaves his fans and audience in despair with Bholaa Shankar. Barring a few graceful dances and action episodes, Chiranjeevi couldnt salvage an insipid plot with dreary narration loaded with senseless comedy. Vennela Kishores bland comedy track is nothing but crap. After playing a Good Samaritan in many movies, Chiru has showcased grey shades in this film, but it doesnt offer any excitement since the role of a hooligan is predictable and outdated.

Less said the better about Tamannaahs ill-defined role which is half-baked. Director Meher Ramesh who delivered flops like Shakti and Shadow is making a comeback with this much-hyped movie. He hasnt learnt the art of filmmaking yet and still believes that he can pull off a winner with a wafer-thin plot loaded with songs, fights and comedy. He is bound to be disappointed in the days to come.

Chiranjeevi's character in the backdrop of Kolkata, reminds us of his blockbuster Chudalani Undi. But this outlandish film is no match to it since the former had a strong emotional connection between father and son. If Meher thought, the brother-sister in this film, could help him out, he got it all wrong since this bonding lacks depth or emotional connect.

The film is about the story of Bholaa, who arrives in Kolkata, to get his sister (Keerthy Suresh), enrolled in a college and settles down in a small house. He takes up a job as a taxi driver and finds Susanth following his sister. He gets to know that the boy is in love with her and fixes their engagement. Meanwhile, he stumbles upon gang members involved in kidnapping young girls and sets out to track them down. Will he be able to bust the gang and save girls? Watch the movie in theatres to find out.

Chiranjeevi's signature dance moves and swag in action episodes deserves some appreciation, but his role of hooligan-turned-doting brother isnt impressive enough to keep the audience hooked. Tamannaah plays a failed lawyer and she is just there to entertain Chiranjeevi whenever possible because their earlier tiffs look forced than realistic. Keerthy Suresh's role provides ample scope for performance and she delivers effortlessly. Vennela Kishore disappoints with his life-less comedy, while Murali Sharma and Tulasi are just ok as parents of Keerthy Suresh.

Music composer Mahati Swara Sagar fails to render any exciting chartbusters, while dialogues of Mamidala Tirupathi are also not up to the mark.

Chiranjeevi should avoid doing remakes and simply choose to do straight Telugu stories like Waltair Veerayya. With young heroes ruling the roost in TFI, Chiru has to be doubly careful and should focus on quality over quantity, if he has to sustain his image earned with his efforts over the four decades. Unfortunately, his scathing comments against YCP leaders in real-life could enthuse his fans over his dialogues in this movie.
Naor Gilon, the Ambassador of Israel to India. (Image: DC)

On his maiden visit to Hyderabad, Naor Gilon, the Ambassador of Israel to India, said that while the relationship between the two countries is civilisational and ancient, the ties are stronger than ever before. They will define the future, with great scope of strengthening people contact, business linkages, greater cultural exchange, and building on the already strategic friendship in areas like defence.

Technology and youth will redefine the future of India-Israel relationships, Ambassador Gilon said in an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle on Friday, after a hectic two days in the city, which included a visit to the Indian School of Business and T-Hub, several meetings with policy makers, entrepreneurs and officials.

Excerpts:

How do you characterise the relationships between India and Israel?

Our two countries are connected across our civilisation history as friends. The first batch of Jews came to India, in Kerala, over two thousand years ago. Though the Jewish community in India has been small, they have found acceptance and a social embrace, which is unique to us globally. We were treated as another member of the family. Jews were never, ever, prosecuted or oppressed in India. In more recent times, nearly a century ago, Indian forces, after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, as part of the British Army, fought in and freed the areas that now form the geographic area of Israel. We share history  two ancient people, ruled by the British in your case and created as a country by them; or like in our case, formed as a mandate.

Besides such connections, there are huge similarities, and differences, between the two nations. We are a small country, with a population of 10 million, which might be equal to that of Hyderabad. We are both warm weather nations, and culturally share several similarities, from food to strong family bonds, and are warm people.

Our first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, was a big admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. Of course, our own creation as a modern nation, a few months after India became independent, did not have a non-violent path like yours. But Ben-Gurion had a portrait of Gandhi in his house and office.

And finally, India did not immediately recognise Israel but when you did accept it, Israel felt it had found entire global acceptance  because after the United States of America and Soviet Union, we also had India.

In a more contemporary context, how deep and strong is this relationship?

We had a consulate in the-then Bombay for a long time but India took a while to reciprocate, and opened it in 1992. Of course, we have been strategic partners, especially in defence, for a long time. The two Prime Ministerial visits, of PM Narendra Modi to Israel (in July 2017) and of our PM Benjamin Netanyahu to India (in January 2018), which have created this very strong new foundation for our relationships.

We have been contributing to India in crucial areas, like water management. Since a large part of Israel is either a desert, or arid, we realised the value of water before any other nation. We treat, manage and recycle over 90 per cent of water into agriculture, more than any other country.

We have established 30 centres of excellence across India in integrated planning in agriculture. We are helping study areas, figure out the soil, markets, climate, water and best suitable crops. We have helped in drip irrigation and other allied agri activities. We are helping India achieve Modis objective to multiply the farmers income. For example, it is only in horticulture that we have been able to cut costs for farmers and help them increase their income in several states, sometimes as high as four times.

How has the trip to Hyderabad been?

I am two years now in India and feel I have taken too much time to come here. The energy, the dynamic enterprising spirit and the youthful zeal, especially in technology and start-ups, is amazing. We went to T-Hub where I could get to know a lot more about the Israel-India JVs in tech and start-ups.

Israel has a huge lead in technology and this collaboration is the key to our combined future. We have started work on collaborations between these tech and start-up incubators and also between universities and other bodies. Youth exchange programmes, connecting opportunities and problems to entrepreneurs and markets will make a huge difference.

(Left to right) Dr Narayanan, director IIIT, Hyderabad, Srini Raju, chairman Ilabs, Ken Sagar, president Israel Chambers, H.E Naor Gilon, Ambassador of Israel, Anjani Kumar DGP, Navin Mittal, CCLA, RPO Balaiah, Dr Radhakishore, HC Robotics and Sunil Kumar, president Ilabs, in Hyderabad on Friday. (Image: DC)

You are, for a diplomatic, rather intrepid. For example, your reaction to a movie titled Bawaal. Some time back, a hero like Chiranjeevi could make movies titled Hitler or Stalin and yet there would be no controversy. Of course, you are the son of a holocaust survivor, so I understand...

A pop-movie that says every marriage has its Auschwitz moment is doing a yeoman disservice. This kind of drawing parallels without proper understanding of history, to reduce for a dialogue the magnitude of its tragedy, is most unfair, and unacceptable. Over 95 per cent of my entire family, spread across Germany, Poland and other countries, was killed.

Think for a moment  a third of the global population of 18 million Jews was killed, massacred, starved, gassed, burnt, shot and murdered, systemically, within three odd years, in camps set up for the purpose. Is this something anyone can trivialise?

My father is still alive, a survivor. I can imagine his hurt when he sees something like this. I understand the pain of people who cant accept it. I spoke like a human, a second-generation of the Holocaust, not a diplomat.

Nothing in human history matches this experience. It has no parallels.

I know your pain. But I would like to move to something light to end this discussion. How has Indian food been like to you?

I love food (sighs). I also always loved spicy food.

For someone who has served in Europe for so long?

Yes, Hungary has very spicy food. I can also cook. Though I came to India for the first time only two years ago, I have had Indian food. Reena Pushkarna is a Jewish Indian star-chef, who returned to Israel and set up Indian restaurants that are amazing. I loved the food they arranged for me here in Hyderabad.
AGF Management Limited (OTCMKTS:AGFMF  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a decline of 90.0% from the July 15th total of 1,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGFMF. CIBC cut their target price on AGF Management from C$9.00 to C$8.50 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AGF Management from C$9.25 to C$8.75 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price target on AGF Management from C$9.75 to C$10.00 in a report on Thursday, June 22nd.

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AGF Management Price Performance

AGF Management Company Profile

AGFMF stock opened at $5.76 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.93. AGF Management has a fifty-two week low of $4.23 and a fifty-two week high of $6.97.

(Get Free Report)

AGF Management Limited is one of Canada's premier investment management companies with offices across Canada and subsidiaries around the world. 2007 marks AGF's 50th anniversary ofproviding Canadians with innovative investment solutions across the wealth continuum. AGF's products and services include a diversified family of more than 50 mutual funds, the evolutionary AGF Elements portfolios, the Harmony asset management program, AGF Private Investment Management, Institutional Account Services and AGF Trust GICs, loans and mortgages.

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Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited (OTCMKTS:AHCHY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,700 shares, a decrease of 85.5% from the July 15th total of 73,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 57,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Anhui Conch Cement Trading Down 0.4 %

AHCHY opened at $13.99 on Friday. Anhui Conch Cement has a 12-month low of $12.35 and a 12-month high of $20.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.85.

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Anhui Conch Cement Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd were paid a $0.918 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 1st.

Anhui Conch Cement Company Profile

Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, sells, and trades in clinker and cement products. The company conducts its operations through five segments, which include Eastern China, Central China, Southern China, Western China, and Overseas. It provides construction and installation services for industrial purposes; logistic services; and mining and related services.

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Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG  Free Report) (TSE:BTO) by 1,210.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,739 shares of the basic materials companys stock after buying an additional 175,259 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corps holdings in B2Gold were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BTG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in B2Gold by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,343,623 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $10,757,000 after buying an additional 103,507 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in B2Gold by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 199,062 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 24,045 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in B2Gold by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 577,840 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,652,000 after buying an additional 30,187 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in B2Gold by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,711 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 9,229 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in B2Gold by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.97% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet lowered B2Gold from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on B2Gold in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. They set an outperform rating on the stock. National Bank Financial increased their target price on B2Gold from C$7.25 to C$7.75 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on B2Gold from C$8.00 to C$7.75 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded B2Gold from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $6.42.

B2Gold Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSEAMERICAN BTG opened at $3.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.94. B2Gold Corp. has a 52 week low of $2.81 and a 52 week high of $4.40. The businesss fifty day moving average is $3.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.79.

B2Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG  Get Free Report) (TSE:BTO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.07. The firm had revenue of $470.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.73 million. B2Gold had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 10.31%. B2Golds revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that B2Gold Corp. will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

B2Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th were issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. B2Golds dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.26%.

B2Gold Profile

(Free Report)

B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer with three operating mines in Mali, the Philippines, and Namibia. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 25% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BTG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for B2Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:BTG  Free Report) (TSE:BTO).

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Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO  Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,660 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 14,903 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.17% of Perrigo worth $8,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the first quarter worth $1,893,000. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 8.6% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 27,712 shares of the companys stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 0.7% in the first quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 58,710 shares of the companys stock worth $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 100.0% in the first quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the companys stock worth $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 5.6% in the first quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,965 shares of the companys stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.06% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perrigo from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Perrigo from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Perrigo has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In related news, EVP Svend Andersen acquired 2,900 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.41 per share, with a total value of $96,889.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,296,636.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Perrigo news, EVP Svend Andersen purchased 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.41 per share, for a total transaction of $96,889.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,741 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,296,636.81. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.06 per share, for a total transaction of $330,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,879 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $855,559.74. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the companys stock.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.1 %

PRGO stock opened at $38.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firms fifty day moving average is $34.42 and its 200 day moving average is $35.30. Perrigo Company plc has a one year low of $30.78 and a one year high of $42.21.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 1.22% and a positive return on equity of 6.79%. The companys revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.273 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Perrigos payout ratio is -259.52%.

Perrigo Company Profile

(Free Report)

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in Ireland, the United States, France, Belgium, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Australia, Greece, and Spain. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments.

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Agricultural Bank of China Limited (OTCMKTS:ACGBY  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a decrease of 87.5% from the July 15th total of 800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.0 days.

Agricultural Bank of China Trading Down 0.3 %

OTCMKTS ACGBY opened at $8.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.26. Agricultural Bank of China has a 52-week low of $7.04 and a 52-week high of $10.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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Agricultural Bank of China Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6772 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. Agricultural Bank of Chinas dividend payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Agricultural Bank of China Company Profile

Agricultural Bank of China Limited provides banking products and services. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. It offers demand, personal call, foreign currency call, time or demand optional, foreign exchange call, foreign exchange time, savings, agreed term, and negotiated deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and loans, including housing, consumer, business, fixed asset, working capital, real estate, and entrusted syndicated loans, as well as trade finances, guarantees and commitments, and loans with custody of export rebates accounts.

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Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 104.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,628 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corps holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beacon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 704.2% in the 1st quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.77% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,748,538 shares in the company, valued at $3,982,837,543.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 77,640 shares of the firms stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 59,771,278 shares in the company, valued at $3,093,761,349.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 72,047 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.66, for a total value of $4,802,653.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,748,538 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,982,837,543.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 225,447 shares of company stock worth $13,866,915 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised Charles Schwab from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $63.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Argus upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com cut Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $46.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $72.09.

Get Our Latest Analysis on SCHW

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $64.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.91. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $45.00 and a one year high of $86.63.

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, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 27.54% and a net margin of 33.15%. Charles Schwabs revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Charles Schwabs payout ratio is 29.15%.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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The decision to confer the freedom of the city and district on Derry victims campaigner Jon McCourt could be overturned by the Unionist bloc on Derry City and Strabane District Council.

The proposal to award Mr McCourt the Council's highest honour was brought before full council in July by Cllr Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit).

Mr McCourt is a well known advocate for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse.

The proposal was passed, by the majority of councillors, in spite of the fact all of the Unionist councillors abstained when the vote was taken.

On Thursday afternoon, Derry City and Strabane District councillors received an email from councils legal department stating a call-in of the decision to award Mr McCourt the freedom of the city and district had been received and would be considered at the September Council meeting.

The call-in stated: We the undersigned have committed to submitting this call-in under section 41(1) (a) of the 2014 Act on the basis (that the decision was not arrived at after a proper consideration of the relevant facts and issues).

Councillor Harkin did not allow for full discussion on the matter of requesting the Freedom of the City be bestowed on the said candidate.

We believe that in submitting a Notice of Motion rather than referring his honest intentions to the appropriate working group, to encourage effective cross-party discussion, he has undermined the relevance of not only the working group but the meaningful discussion that would have ensued on helping reach a formal agreement on the candidate proposed to receive the Freedom of the City.

The call-in was signed by DUP councillors, Chelsea Cooke, Allan Bresland, Julie Middleton and Niree McMorris and UUP councillors, Ryan McCready, Darren Guy and Derek Hussey.

Cllr Harkin said he disagreed with the councillors accusation that not enough time had gone into the discussion of his proposal regarding the freedom of the city and district for Jon McCourt.

Speaking to Derry News, Cllr Harkin said Unionist councillors were attempting to veto an agreed proposal using procedural means.

He said: There was a full discussion about the proposal at the July Council meeting and the DUP and the UUP could have raised anything that they wanted.

I think this is petty and very disappointing from the DUP and the UUP.

They did raise some issues but they did not vote against this proposal, they simply abstained. They were making more of an issue about the process whereby councillors make these proposals.

The way that I proposed the motion is the way it has been done and that is why it was allowed to go forward.

The legal advice from the Council was that this was fine, so thats why we had the discussion in July and there was no problem with that.

There is no justification for doing this. I think they have made their points and people have heard them. As a result, there is a discussion underway about changing the way proposals are being brought forward.

For me, councillors picking this issue now to make a big scene about does not make any sense. It is very, very disappointing.

Cllr Harkin reiterated that Unionist councillors had made all of their points at the July Council meeting when his motion was being discussed.

This [call-in] is a surprise and it also strikes me as very petty, he said. The DUP has a cheek talking about procedure given it has stopped the procedure of a government for nearly two years. Also, if there had been problems with procedure, the motion would not have gone forward. Council got legal advice. The proposal was discussed a number of times.

Unionist councillors did raise all of these issues and a majority of councillors voted to award Jon the freedom of the city and district, said Cllr Harkin.

In a statement, the UUP said: The party believes the process of civic awards by the Council needs to be developed further. We undertake to work with others to make this happen.

A DUP media statement said: Councillors have said the work and perseverance Mr McCourt and others undertaken in the historical abuse issue is to be highly commended.

The issue must not become personalised. The problem is that this proceeds it will put future potential honours candidates in an invidious position over what they do when they are told confidentially they may be put forward for the Honours List given the Mr McCourt declined his offer.

We will work to ensure there is a sustainable process for such proposals which can secure widespread support.

This is a reference to the fact Jon McCourt recently declined an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) citing Bloody Sunday and what he described as children ripped from their homeland, most never to return, under the Child Migrant Act as part of the propagation of Empire.
Northern Irelands Chief Constable Simon Byrne has sought to reassure staff and officer representative groups after a major data breach earlier this week.

The Police Service of Northern Irelands leadership was earlier pressed for a full response after details of more than 10,000 officers and staff were published online for a number of hours on Tuesday.

Mr Byrne cut short a family holiday to return to Belfast to answer questions about the data breach, and details of another incident emerged on Wednesday after the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July.

Scores of officers have expressed concern for their safety in Northern Ireland, where police are under threat from terrorists, with the current level of threat assessed as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Mr Byrne answered questions from politicians in a closed session of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday before making a brief statement to media.

He revealed that dissident republican terrorists had claimed to have some of the data, but that claim had not been verified.

A Threat Management Assessment Group has been set up by the PSNI for those concerned about risk. It had had 600 referrals by Thursday evening.

Mr Byrne met the Nipsa trade union, which represents staff support officers, on Friday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Nipsa official Tracy Godfrey said she was alarmed to hear the number of requests for support from the group had risen to 900 overnight.

I believe that number will climb, but they have got processes in place to deal with it. Its just an awful lot of people with a lot of concerns, she told the BBC.

In a statement on Friday evening, the PSNI said the Chief Constable had held a number of meetings with organisations that represent staff and officers.

These included a meeting with the head of the Catholic Police Guild, which represents a significant number of Catholic members of the service.

Superintendent Gerry Murray spoke of particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI, and expressed concern the data breaches could impact on future recruitment.

Catholics have historically been underrepresented in police numbers in Northern Ireland. When former police force the RUC transitioned to become the PSNI in 2001, a temporary recruitment measure was used to welcome even numbers of Catholic and Protestant officers, referred to as 50/50 recruitment.

Catholic officers are often targeted by dissidents who want to intimidate those from a similar background from joining the PSNI.

Our guild was formed to provide a support service within the PSNI for Catholic members, and to raise issues which impact on their work within the PSNI, Mr Murray said.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week.

Everyone understands the particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and indeed the implications of this for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

Mr Murray said guild members had expressed genuine concerns over the release of the information.

They are worried for themselves and in many cases for their family members, he said.

As chairman of the guild I am also concerned about the impact on future recruitment of young Catholics into the Police Service.

We want to be assured that the data breach will be fully and quickly investigated and procedures put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

Catholic officers and staff who feel vulnerable need to be supported in protecting themselves, their families and their homes.

The Police Service must acknowledge and take account of the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members of the force.

The community background of police officers and staff has to be given the proportionate weight when considering the implications of this data breach on serving officers.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff. This applies particularly to colleagues from the Catholic community.

A PSNI spokesperson said the Chief Constable listened to any issues or concerns and reiterated his priority is the welfare and safety of all officers and staff.

He also reassured the guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected by the recent data breach.
Langen/Germany and Yokohama/Japan, 11. August, 2023 --- Socionext, a global leader in the design and development of innovative System-on-Chip products, will open its new branch office in Bangalore, India, to bolster its engineering resources to support the companys global business expansion. The office is located at No:652 Khata NO 4312/652, 22nd Cross, 23rd Main, HSR Layout, Sector-2, Bangalore-560102, India. Socionext America, the US subsidiary of Socionext, Inc., will head operations of the new India branch office, which is scheduled to open on August 16, 2023.

Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, is a major hub for advanced technology and software companies. The city is home to numerous research and development centers, IT start-ups, gaming companies, and hundreds of engineering colleges offering companies access to a vast talent pool.

The growth of major Indian tech companies over the next decade will increase significantly, according to TechNavio.

Bangalore is strategically chosen for scaling up our operations, said Hisato Yoshida, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Global Business Development at Socionext. Due to Socionexts remarkable growth over the last several years, we are seeking to expand our R&D resources in order to better serve our customers needs.

Having a new office abroad helps us to better understand and operate in scale, said Rajinder Cheema, Sr. Vice President of Engineering at Socionext America. Socionexts expansion into India opens new opportunities for the companys growth and diversification and access to local markets, workforce talents, and investment opportunities.

About Socionext Europe GmbH

Socionext Europe (SNEU) plays a major role in the worldwide activities of Socionext Inc., one of the worlds leading fabless SoC suppliers. Its Headquarters is in Frankfurt, Germany with offices in Munich, Germany and Maidenhead, UK. The Munich Design and Support Center, a leader in embedded graphic solutions, specializes in hardware and software product development for the automotive sector. Maidenhead supports Socionexts IP Development & Engineering Center with a focus on ultra-high speed data conversion IP. Socionext Europe offers customers a range of innovative Custom SoC solutions for todays state-of-the-art applications with total support from start to finish. For more information please visit our website.






Its that time of the year again when the most celebrated foldable smartphones next iterations hit the global market! The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 recently launched in Seoul, South Korea to much fanfare, and I was there to witness the unveiling. While the Z Flip5 definitely got the most love in terms of new aesthetics and features, the Z Fold5 also saw some incremental improvements. Upgrades include a smaller and lighter chassis that folds flat due to a redesigned hinge, the latest processor, a brighter display, and a couple of other refinements. The foldable smartphone market, however, is not as barren as it used to be. Competition from the likes of OPPO, Huawei, Tecno, Honor, and even Google means that Samsung can no longer be complacent if theyre to win the foldable race. So, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 still the foldable to beat in 2023 and is Samsung playing it too safe? Does it justify its 1,54,999 and $1800 price tag in India and globally, respectively? I spent just over a week testing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and heres what I found out.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Build and Design

At first glance, the Galaxy Z Fold5 is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor. It is only when you hold these devices side by side, you will notice a couple of meaningful changes. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is thinner and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (review). The thickness is down to 13.4 mm (folded) as compared to 15.8 mm on the Z Fold4 and the weight is down to 253 g  thats 10 g lighter than its predecessor. While these may seem like small numbers, they do add up, especially when you daily drive the device since youre able to comfortably wield the phone for much longer.

Dimensions and weight aside, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 also packs a re-engineered hinge design, dubbed Flex Hinge, that allows the foldable to finally fold completely flat. The two halves of the foldable display sit flush against each other, so theres no gap down the middle of the phone that gathers dust. This definitely feels like the most polished iteration of Samsungs prized foldable because of how refined the design feels. Its also much easier to carry around and more pocketable than ever before. The crease is still visible though, no tangible improvements there. Theres also a lot of wobble when the phone is kept flat on a surface because of the camera module that juts out considerably.

New 'Flex Hinge' technology in action on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The hinge is smooth, silent and opens at various angles. Theres no creaking at all, which gives it a very premium feel. The chassis of the phone uses Samsungs Armor Aluminium thats not as scratch and dent-resistant as stainless steel, but it does the job. The cover screen still has a really tall aspect ratio that doesnt lend itself well to typing  especially if you have stubby fingers  so I really hope Samsung makes a significant change in the aspect ratio of the cover display next generation since cheaper phones such as the Tecno Phantom V Fold (review) have a more palatable cover screen aspect ratio.

The phone is available in several colourways  Cream, Phantom Black, and Icy Blue are generally available while the Blue and Gray models are available on Samsungs website. I got the Icy Blue variant for review and this pastel blue shade is by far my favourite out of the lot. The phones cover display and rear panel are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The phone is also IPX8 water-resistant. Samsungs high-quality engineering and build quality shine through with this one  my only gripe is the cover display that honestly should have gotten at least slightly wider by the 5th iteration of this foldable.

Slim S Pen Case on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5  comes with an S Pen stylus

Oh, and another tiny gripe  theres still no S Pen included. The Z Fold5 does support the S Pen but it does not come in the retail box or inside the foldables body. There is an S Pen cover on the Samsung website for the Z Fold5 but it will cost you around 8K.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Display

The displays on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 have the same size and aspect ratio as their predecessor  youve got a 6.2-inch cover display with a 23.1:9 aspect ratio and an inner 7.6-inch folding display with a 21.6:18 aspect ratio. Both displays are Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels with 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification. The inner display has a 1812 x 2176 pixels resolution while the cover screen has a 904 x 2316 pixels resolution.

The clarity and colour reproduction of both displays is top-notch. The visuals look absolutely stunning, HDR content looks punchy and vibrant, and the inner display is an absolute unit with great immersive qualities. The bezel size is the same as last year; no improvements here, and of course, the cover displays aspect ratio is too narrow still.

One significant improvement this time around is that the main display is now brighter at 1,750 nits of rated peak brightness. Using a lux meter, I measured a maximum brightness of 1,512 nits on Auto-Brightness Mode under direct sunlight. So, you neednt worry about whether the display will be readable in bright daylight. The outer display has fantastic viewing angles, but the inner ones viewing angles are mediocre due to the plastic non-removable screen protection film.

Head on, the display looks great. This is one of the best content consumption experiences you can get on a smartphone. Gaming is also a great experience, especially if you are a claw player in FPS games such as BGMI or Call of Duty: Mobile. The crease is still visible but when youre watching content head-on, you will not notice it too much unless you really look for it. Overall, the Fold5 has some of the most gorgeous displays on foldables devices in the market; this time brighter than ever before.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset; the very same one found in the Galaxy S23 series. Youve got 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1 TB UFS 4.0 storage. I got the base 256 GB version for review. The SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset is created using TSMCs 4 nm fabrication process and to put it simply, it is an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The primary core comes with an increased clock speed of 3.36 GHz and the GPU sees an increase of 680 MHz to 719 MHz. This is a substantial enough uptick from last years Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC that was used in the Z Fold4.

Benchmarks confirm this as well. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 got a whopping 1.5+ million score on AnTuTu which obliterates the Z Fold4s 937,628 score. In fact, this is the highest AnTuTu score weve ever gotten on a phone weve tested in the Digit Test Labs! The Galaxy Z Fold5 beats out all competitors including the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra (review), Vivo X90 Pro (review), Xiaomi 13 Pro (review), iQOO 11 (review), iPhone 14 Pro Max (review), and even its own S23 series brethren.

The story repeats itself in GeekBench and PCMark Work demonstrating the sheer power of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. The iPhone 14 Pro Max only surpassed it by a tiny margin in the GeekBench Multi-Core test. I then turned towards benchmarking this capable foldables GPU and the results impressed me, yet again. In 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme, the Z Fold5 got the best score out of all phones weve tested. GFXBench also saw the Z Fold5 output some of the highest scores to date!

Benchmarks dont always tell the full story, but in this case, they do. This is one of the smoothest experiences Ive had on a foldable. The Fold 5 breezes through daily tasks, intensive games, and multitasking without breaking a sweat. The experience is lag-free and seamless; animations are silky smooth across the board  its just a wonderfully powerful experience. The only place where I saw it heat a bit was clicking photos and shooting 4K/8K video  but it never got too hot to the touch. So, if youre a power user with demands for an abundance of speed, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is not just the fastest foldable, but one of the fastest phones altogether!

Gaming is a great experience as well; especially on the massive 7.6-inch display. I played games such as Call of Duty: Mobile, Asphalt 9 Legends, and Genshin Impact; all of which ran buttery smooth at maximum or close to maximum graphics. There were no instances of lag or frame drops in COD: Mobile and Asphalt 9, and I only felt a small lag spike in Genshin Impact after 30 minutes of continuous gaming. Fantastic stuff!

I even ran the CPU Throttling Test on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 to see its performance under sustained workloads and it did pretty well. The phone throttled to 77 per cent of its peak performance after 30 minutes, which meets expectations. Overall, if performance is your concern, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 will not disappoint.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Software and UI

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with the latest One UI 5.1.1 which runs on top of Android 13. Samsung also promises 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates, beating Google at its own game since the latest Pixel phones get only 3 years of OS updates. One UI 5.1.1 brings some small improvements to multitasking such as quick switching pop-up screens to split screen view, an improved taskbar with 4 recently used apps, Flex Mode panel support in more apps, and others.

It isnt these new features that alone make the Samsung foldable UI the best in the business. Rather it is the culmination of all of the features present  old and new  that have been perfected over the years. Things just work here. Multiple apps utilise the folding mechanism with Flex Mode, and it just makes sense. For instance, when slightly folded, the camera app goes from a full-screen viewfinder to a half-and-half screen where one side has the viewfinder, and the other shows your recently snapped pictures.

The transition from the cover screen to the full screen is also perfect, with apps picking right up from where you left them on the cover screen. Folding it close will lock the phone and close the app which annoys some, but I think it is the right implementation since you would flip the phone close generally when youre done using it.

You also get new multitasking gestures where using two fingers to swipe an app from any side will open up split-screen view and dragging the app from any corner will convert it into a pop-up window of a size of your choosing. Simple, sweet, and convenient. Do remember that these gestures are turned off by default and you would have to go into Advanced Features in Settings to turn them on.

Also, if youre deep in the Samsung ecosystem, Multi Control allows you to use a keyboard and mouse across your connected devices. So, you can easily use the mouse to pick up an image from your phone and drop it onto your tablet! And of course, youve got Samsungs handy Dex mode around as well!

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 packs the same camera hardware as its predecessor, which came as a disappointment to many. While the Z Fold 4 packed huge camera upgrades over its predecessor, the lack of any improvements in terms of optics is almost unacceptable at this price point in 2023. Dont get me wrong, the cameras are well-tuned and refined over the years, but an upgrade or two in a phone with 5 cameras isnt asking for too much from a 1,54,999 phone. It does come with an upgraded processor and ISP (Image Signal Processor) though, so lets see how much of a difference it makes.

Lets talk about the cameras. Youve got a 50 MP primary shooter with Optical Image Stabilisation and Dual Pixel PDAF, theres a 12 MP ultrawide camera, and a 10 MP telephoto shooter with OIS and 3x optical zoom support. The inner display has an under-display 4 MP selfie camera  and because it lies under a bunch of pixels, the results look like theyve come straight out of a 2016-2018 selfie camera. Just avoid using it altogether for selfies. Instead, use the 10 MP selfie shooter on the cover screen, or better yet, the primary camera with the cover screen as a viewfinder.

Using the primary camera for selfies, youre going to get some of the most crisp shots  with excellent detail retention, fantastic low-light performance, and good colour.

Now, lets speak about the primary camera in general. Photos taken from this camera look great in daylight  impressive dynamic range, vibrant and saturated colours (typical of Samsung devices), and great detail retention. Portraits have fantastic edge detection and good clarity as well. The 12 MP ultrawide camera loses out on some dynamic range but has minimal barrel distortion. Here are some image samples; note that they've been compressed for the web:

Shots from the telephoto lens also look amazing, and the colour profile mimics the primary shooter which is always a great thing to see. The pictures look very similar to the ones taken from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, with a bit of extra sharpness in low-light shots.

Speaking of low-light optics, its a bit of a hit or miss. Detail and sharpness are good, colours look natural, but theres quite a lot of haloing around objects and general lens flare in low light. Its not just a one-off, I experienced this in almost every picture I took in low light. Additionally, the lens tends to capture soft shots of moving subjects in low light.

Lens flare issue from the primary camera of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in low-light

Overall, these are some of the best cameras on a foldable today, but theyre not perfect. And if the Google Pixel Fold shows up in India, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 could lag behind considerably in terms of optics.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Battery Life

The battery capacity of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 remains unchanged. You get a 4,400 mAh battery but the uptick we saw in battery life was quite substantial. This must be due to improved efficiency because of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 easily lasts for a day without needing a top-up. In fact, after a day consisting of benchmarking, clicking photos, editing pictures, watching videos, and browsing social media, the phone still had a good 22 per cent battery left by 10 PM.

In our 4K video loop test, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 lasted a whopping 19 hours and 6 minutes. Thats almost 3 hours more than the Galaxy Z Fold4 lasted in the same test. So, expect superb battery life that should keep you coasting for long enough without picking up the charger.

A charger youd have to likely spend extra for because you dont get one in the retail box *sigh*. The Z Fold 5 supports 25 W wired charging, which is laboriously slow in 2023. The phone took 1 hour and 18 minutes to charge from empty to full, which doesnt compete with flagship phones from Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Vivo. You do get 15 W wireless charging support as well, which is a good thing. Also, theres 4.5 W reverse wireless charging which is handy to top off TWS earbuds with wireless charging support.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the best foldable of its type out there  yes, despite the minuscule incremental improvements. The foldable formula Samsung has carried through the years is getting refined and polished with every iteration, so much so that this is the absolute best and most versatile folding software experience you can get your hands on. Add to that, blazing-fast performance, impressive battery life, and good cameras  youve got yourselves the best foldable in 2023. However, Samsung cannot keep teetering the edge with incremental upgrades since there are too many OEMs out there that are improving by leaps and bounds every year  coming very close to snatching that Best Foldable crown. They cannot get away with slow charging, the hard-to-use cover screen aspect ratio, and inconsistent low-light camera performance for too long, so I do hope the next Z Fold out of the South Korean giant is something truly revolutionary.
China's SiC semiconductor development grows into polarization

As the Chinese government becomes cautious about how it subsidizes the country's SiC semiconductor development, the gap between leading SiC companies and those falling behind has widened. Sources said the former will likely receive the government's support more quickly, while the latter is expected to struggle.

Semiconductor suppliers said SiC companies that hold production capability and have been recognized by customers have obtained various business opportunities. For example, Shandong-based SICC has partnered with automotive tier-1 Bosch. SICC and Beijing-based TankeBlue signed a contract with Infineon. Sanan Optoelectronics also will build a SiC wafer fab with STM.

Although some Chinese SiC suppliers have yet to receive certifications from leading international players, they are backed by end customers on their home turf. Some other companies cannot build partnerships with global companies because their affiliates are connected to the blacklist of the US. Moreover, the Chinese government is said to prevent foreign companies from investing in SiC suppliers that have great potential. The act is to ensure China's SiC technology will become competitive in the future.

Sources said only five China-based companies can boast SiC crystal growth expertise, less than one might expect. However, these companies will thrive and expand as the China government tends to support industry leaders. Those lagging will unlikely be optimistic about their future.

China has been fostering local SiC semiconductor production for about 10 years, according to suppliers. The field was too crowded as many companies joined the race to receive subsidies.

The Chinese government has implemented several rules to reorganize the SiC segment. For example, companies are not allowed to include the sales of moissanite, a SiC by-product, in the accessory market in the sales of its main business. New entrants also have to obtain more approval from the central and local governments.

As China sees an economic downturn, those in the SiC segment who have not proved themselves will face more challenges in winning government support and recruiting talent.

Sources said not many talents have experience in SiC crystal growth worldwide. In the past, those who do not have solid knowledge in the field can still thrive in China. Companies may receive government subsidies even if they do not enter production. It is said that the Chinese government made a list a few years ago to track some industry professionals likely to disrupt the market.
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Optiemus Electronics, Wistron's India partner, plans to double output near-term

Optiemus Electronics, an Indian electronics manufacturer partnered with Wistron Corporation's Indian subsidiary, Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India), is poised to ramp up its production in response to escalating demand. In a recent conversation with Digtimes Asia, A Gururaj, Optiemus' MD, emphasized the firm's intensified commitment to areas like IT Hardware and telecom equipment while hinting at a potential venture into the emerging EV sector.

"We plan to increase our monthly capacity for true wireless stereo (TWS) audio products from 0.5 million units to 1 million units," said Gururaj. "Additionally, we aim to raise our smartwatch capacity from 1.2 million units to 1.5 million units per month. With two manufacturing facilities, we currently have a combined capacity of 3.2 million units per month and plan to increase it by two folds."

In partnership with Wistron, Optiemus is jointly developing products, engineering solutions, and software to foster job creation and strengthen the Indian electronics manufacturing services sector. Beyond this, Optiemus is dedicated to designing and producing tablets, laptops, glass-based products, telecom equipment, and IoT devices, all while actively contributing to the growth of India's design ecosystem.

From IT, telecom, and lifestyle to SMT

Over the past six years, Optiemus Electronics provided electronics manufacturing services for multiple categories, such as IT hardware, telecom equipment, and lifestyle. The company has partnered with leading telecom companies while growing its customer base.

"Recognizing the immense potential in the Indian electronics manufacturing market, we have recently expanded our infrastructure to meet client services," Gururaj said. "We introduced high-quality surface-mount technology (SMT) for component level and printed circuit board manufacturing while keeping the quality of all the products at the forefront."

The company is setting up multiple SMT and MI production lines for leading brands and catering to the growing demand in the IT hardware category. The strategic move extends beyond serving existing customers and seeks to collaborate with new customers who are currently seeking such services. This step further reinforces our commitment to enhancing the electronics manufacturing landscape in India and capitalizing on the abundant opportunities in the market.

Commenting on this further, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairman of Optiemus Infracom, the parent company of Optiemus Electronics, added that with nearly three decades of association with the Indian telecom and electronics sector, the firm has observed the significant growth of the industry over the past decade. The surge has been so pronounced that even international brands are looking towards India for their manufacturing requirements. With their progress in India's electronics manufacturing ecosystem, Optiemus is rapidly emerging as one of the key players with a global perspective.

Expansion to new segments, including EV

Gururaj explained that the company is constantly looking at ways to increase the localization of the components and processes in manufacturing electronics products in India. Tapping into the SMT services and manufacturing India-made printed circuit boards aligned with this. Optiemus has more plans in the pipeline.

"Besides manufacturing of telecom equipment, IT hardware, etc., we are constantly on the lookout for expansion into new growing markets like EV in the future," Gururaj added. "Looking at the expertise of the Taiwanese companies in electronics manufacturing, we are also open to joint ventures with them in suitable areas.

Currently, the hardware's bill of material has been localized to 20 percent. The company aims to elevate this to 45 percent within the next six months, a move poised to cut costs, streamline the supply chain, and bolster quality control.

Market outlook backed by government schemes

India's electronics sector has grown significantly in the last ten years and the government holds ambitious plans for the future. India is now the world's second-largest smartphone market and is projected to have 1 billion smartphones by 2026, up from today's 659 million, as per PwC. India's annual laptop and PC market is worth about US$8 billion. Additionally, local electronic goods production jumped to INR 8.25 lakh crore (8.25 trillion) (US$100 billion) in 2022-23 from INR 3.88 lakh crore (2.88 trillion) in 2017-18.

"With a clear goal in mind, the government aims to quadruple electronics manufacturing in India, and the ongoing remarkable progress can be largely attributed to the transformative Make-in-India vision by the government of India," Gururaj said. "This visionary initiative has proven to be a game-changer, propelling the electronics industry towards growth and establishing India as a significant player in the global market."

The Indian government's PLI scheme promotes increased sales of locally-made products, aiming to boost manufacturing and cut imports. Combined with the Phased Manufacturing Programme, it bolsters domestic electronics production. These initiatives support the 'Make in India' target of US$300 billion in electronics manufacturing and have fostered a collaborative ecosystem among industry stakeholders, the government, and global brands.
"AH SURE lookit, wasn't that it?!"

In a bittersweet moment that marked the end of an era, Dermot Whelan, one of Ireland's most beloved radio hosts, hosted his final show on TodayFM this Friday. With a mix of heartfelt goodbyes, laughter, and nostalgia, Dermot bid adieu to his loyal listeners who have tuned in to his show for countless mornings.

For 21 years, Dermot's charismatic voice, alongside his co-host Dave Moore, has graced the airwaves, bringing a blend of humor, wit, and a keen sense of connection to the Irish public. His unique ability to engage and uplift his audience during the early hours of the day has made him a household name, and his departure from the station marks the end of an era in Irish radio.

Colleagues and friends from the industry either called to the studio, or took to social media to express their gratitude and bid Dermot a heartfelt farewell. Messages poured in from celebrities, fellow radio hosts, and longtime listeners, all expressing their appreciation for Dermot's unique ability to brighten up their mornings and make them feel like a part of a larger, welcoming community.

Among those sharing their well-wishes online were funnyman Fred Cooke, sharing a selfie with the duo, as he expressed his sentiments: "Thank you Dermot and Dave for making my mornings so much easier!!!"

Mr Tayto, mascot of the beloved Irish crisp brand, joined in the chorus with a playful nod to shared memories: "Ill never forget the craic we had at the Euros in Paris 2016!"

Happy last show @DermotTodayFM Ill never forget the craic we had at the Euros in Paris 2016! Keep it crispy, Mr.Tayto @DaveTodayFM @TodayFM pic.twitter.com/eanfKEI4HJ  Mr.Tayto Ireland (@MrTaytoIreland) August 11, 2023

Irish band, Chasing Abbey, added their wishes for Dermot's future endeavors: "Best of luck with everything in the future lads and thanks for all throughout the years, Dermot."

Best of luck with everything in the future lads and thanks for all throughout the years  @DermotTodayFM Im sure youll miss it dearly  all the love!! @DaveTodayFM @TodayFM pic.twitter.com/tmqWmNTKEo

 CHASING ABBEY (@ChasingAbbeyHQ) August 11, 2023

Comedian Kevin McGahern bid farewell to the "effortlessly funny human" on Twitter with a heartfelt message: "[He] has brought so much joy and laughter to our kitchens and cars every morning."

Farewell to @DermotTodayFM on his last ever show on @TodayFM

An effortlessly funny human who has brought so much joy and laughter to our kitchens and cars every morning. Best of luck on your new chapter Dermo x  Kevin McGahern (@kevinmcgahern) August 11, 2023

Radio broadcaster Fergal d'Arcy shared a treasured snippet from his time alongside Dermot and Dave, acknowledging their influential role: "You inspired a generation of radio presenters."

Sat beside them for 6 years! Never a dull moment - thanks for the memories, inspiration and friendship ! You inspired a generation of radio presenters to try harder  #dermotanddave #todayfm pic.twitter.com/pmKEFqD1h1  Fergal D'Arcy (@FERGDARCY) August 11, 2023

From Noni to Cheese and Crackers, it became clear that Dermot's ability to create lasting memories was a testament to his genuine rapport with his listeners, making his farewell all the more bittersweet.

With charm and humor, he now eagerly awaits new avenues to engage and delight audiences with his mindful career. As for Dave, from August 28, he will present an all new show, Dave Moore on TodayFM.
by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor

In an extraordinary session convened in Abuja, Nigeria, the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met under the chairmanship of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority, to address the ongoing crisis in the Republic of Niger. The session was called in response to the illegal detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by members of the Presidential Guard on July 26, 2023.





The Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened an Extraordinary Session in Abuja, Nigeria on 10th August 2023

The summit was attended by key ECOWAS leaders and representatives, including President Patrice Talon of Benin, President Alassane Ouattara of Cote dIvoire, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of Togo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Amb. Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr. of Liberia, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassoumi Massaoudou of Niger, representing President Mohamed Bazoum, among others.





After a comprehensive discussion and review of the situation, the Authority made the following decisions:

Strongly condemned the attempted coup detat and the continued illegal detention of President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and members of his government.

Further condemned the conditions of President Bazoums detention and held the CNSP (National Committee for the Salvation of the People) fully responsible for their safety and security.

Upheld all measures and principles agreed upon during the previous extraordinary summit held on July 30, 2023.

Reiterated the determination to pursue peaceful means for the resolution of the crisis.

Enforced measures including border closure, strict travel bans, and asset freezes on individuals or groups hindering peaceful efforts toward the restoration of constitutional order.

Warned member states against actions that hinder the peaceful resolution of the crisis, highlighting potential consequences within the community.

Called on the African Union to endorse ECOWAS decisions on the situation in Niger.

Urged partner countries and institutions, including the United Nations, to support ECOWAS efforts to restore constitutional order.

Directed the President of the ECOWAS Commission to monitor the implementation of sanctions.

Activated the ECOWAS Standby Force and ordered its deployment to restore constitutional order in Niger.

Expressed continued commitment to the peaceful restoration of constitutional order.

The Authority expressed gratitude to General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar GCFR, His Eminence Muhammadu Saad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe for their special envoy missions to Niger, Libya, and Algeria on behalf of the ECOWAS Chair of Authority.





President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority was commended for convening the extraordinary session and for his effective leadership in handling the affairs of the ECOWAS community.





As ECOWAS takes bold steps to restore constitutional order in Niger, the region remains committed to upholding peace, stability, and democratic governance.
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Local Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan has urged families to register for free GP visit cards for children aged six and seven.

From today, Friday 11 August, 2023, the under 6s GP Visit Card scheme has been expanded to provide free GP care to all children under the age of eight in Ireland.

More than 78,000 children are set to benefit from the change.

The move represents the first stage in the biggest expansion in eligibility for free GP care covering up to half a million people.

The expansion of the scheme is supported by the landmark agreement between the Department of Health, the HSE, and the Irish Medical Organisation signed last month which put in place a series of financial supports for GPs.

Senator McGreehan said: Im delighted that my party colleague Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has expanded free GP care to under eights.

"Families can now register their children aged six and seven for their free GP visit card.

Fianna Fail in Government is committed to making healthcare more affordable for families.

"This is one of a number of measures that our party while in Government has introduced to make sure that that cost is not a barrier to children accessing healthcare. This move will undoubtedly be of huge benefit to children and their families.

The expansion of free GP care to children aged six and seven is the first stage of the expansion in eligibility for GP care without charges under the GP Agreement 2023.

It will be followed by the expansion of free GP care to people earning up to the median income in September and November this year.

In total, about 500,000 additional individuals are estimated to become eligible under this expansion, some 78,000 children aged 6 and 7 and 430,000 individuals earning up to the median income.
The THRIVE programme which is based in DkITs Regional Development Centre (RDC) has been awarded the National Winner for Promoting Entrepreneurial Spirit for the European Enterprise Promotion Awards which will take place in Bilboa, Spain this November.

Lavina McGahon, THRIVE Manager Said:

We are honoured to have won the national level of these awards and to be representing Ireland on the European stage. This programme which has already had such a phenomenal impact on the careers and lives of former participants, has been a privilege to work on.

"Its been an amazing experience watching each one of these talented women grow in confidence, capabilities, and connections as theyve progressed through the programme.

The THRIVE Programme from the RDC at DkIT is in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, AIB, Local Enterprise Offices in Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Spxfix. The Initiative has been introduced to support women launch their Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) based careers and businesses, which is currently one of the fastest growing sectors in Ireland and Europe.

Whilst this programme has been designed to facilitate women who are bringing new products and services to market in the STEM sector, it also supports women in management in other sectors, or work returners, to pivot their existing skills and experience to progress to enter management and leadership positions.

This award-winning programme is based around 3 key pillars of capability, connection and confidence and the initiative inherently nurtures these three core attributes in all its participants.

Kate Kinch, Technical Specialist, WuXi said:

I went into the THRIVE programme as just a graduate and finished with a new confidence, new abilities, and a new set of skills. It was a really good foundation for starting my career after graduation.

Aoife McKeown decided to participate in the programme because she wished to change career and explore the idea of becoming a graphic designer, said:

This course helped me discover I was far more capable than I gave myself credit for, and that I had a lot more skills in my tool belt than I thought I did, it gave me the confidence I needed for a career change.

Denise OConnor, Director, Enerview Solutions had worked for 15 years in a non-STEM related Industry said:

Participation in this programme enabled me to bring my previous business skillsets into a very technical industry with capability and confidence.

Pauline Clarke, Owner, Kookee, said:

THRIVE for women is a bridging gap for women to support their move into the technology sector on a level playing field with all their male counterparts.

To learn more about this programme which will run again this October 2023 or to apply to become one of the next cohort of participants click here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScuvu929FpPRTPqvzZNAcqP6PgZDmMRQm7DV-rYhcOET0bq0w/viewform
by Rahul K Bhonsl

In what surprised many observers and gladdened the hearts of the hawks in Delhi who have been indicating that India should abandon the policy of ambiguity with reference to Taiwan, three retired service chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, are visiting Taiwan to attend Tack 2 events in the country.





Former army chief General Manoj Naravane, navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and air chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria are in Taiwan to attend the Ketagalan Forum hosted by Taiwans foreign ministry.





Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during the Ketagalan forum in Taipei, Taiwan August 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins





Taro Aso, former Prime Minister of Japan and current member of the House of Representatives and Vice President of the LDP, and Andrus Ansip, former Prime Minister of Estonia, will deliver keynote speeches. The roster of other guests comprises 14 parliamentarians, political figures, scholars, and experts from 12 countries, including Admiral Karambir Singh, Chairman of Indias National Maritime Foundation, reads a press release from Taiwans foreign ministry.





While retired chiefs like other armed forces officers may be seen as public figures, the presence of the three at one time in Taipei would have been approved if not stage managed by Indias foreign policy and security establishment.





So what is the signal that the India seeks to send to Beijing?





What is the Ketagalan Forum?





The Ketagalan Forum is hosted by the Prospect Foundation Taiwan supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country. This year subjects for discussion included, situation across the Taiwan Strait and the global security order; the challenges of information warfare, cognitive warfare, and other gray-zone tactics and their impact on democracy; and the restructuring of international supply chains, including Taiwans role in this process.





Of the keynote speakers, Taro Aso former Prime Minister is known to be hawkish on China and has indicated as per the Reuters in the past that he called invasion of Taiwan by China a threat to Japans survival and said Japan and the U.S. would defend Taiwan together should such an incident happen.





China responded by saying that the remarks harmed the political foundation of China-Japan relations.





At the forum this year he called for a strong resolve for Taiwans defence if attacked. I believe that now is the time for Japan, Taiwan, the United States and other like-minded countries to be prepared to put into action very strong deterrence, he said in remarks streamed online. Its the resolve to fight, and showing the will to do so as a form of deterrence.





Indian Navy Chiefs Comments





Indias former Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singhs comments on the You Tube video of the Forum indicates a very balanced approach to the developments globally and regionally clearly indicating that India does not want Chinas aggressiveness in the South China Sea replicated elsewhere -implying the Line of Actual Control and the Indian Ocean.





The three year standoff on the LAC has increased Indias awareness of the direct challenge posed by China and is to be ready to face the same indicated Singh in telling remarks.





Admiral Singh while highlighting the present geopolitical divide indicated that any conflict over Taiwan will have impact across the globe economic as well as political which could be best avoided and has adopted a multi alignment policy to stay above the power divide.





Whats the Signaling?





While India has a vibrant trade relationship with Taiwan, the official government policy promotes the same devoid of any official diplomatic contacts given the One China policy.





Expanding this to the quasi military sphere is indeed a new development, and how China reacts to the same remains to be seen.





While Admiral Singh did not allude to any Indian direct involvement in the conflict in the Taiwan Straits his mention of the LAC standoff and Indias clear stance on meeting Chinas aggressiveness should leave no doubts in Beijing that there will be no quarters given in the field of defence and security.





By making such comments in Taipei in the presence of his colleagues from the Army and the Air Force, Singh denoted that India was willing to take the battle, far and afar.





At the recent meeting, between Mr Wang Yi, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and now also the Foreign Minister with Indian National Security Adviser Mr Ajit Doval in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers meet on 24 July, Mr Doval highlighted the strategic distrust between leaders of the two Asian mega powers.





The presence of the three chiefs will only add to the mistrust and the possibility of a bilateral as envisaged between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa appears unlikely for now and may be even during the G 20 summit in September.





Nevertheless, Indias willingness to expand the diplo-political envelope to Taipei is expected to have a sharp reaction from Beijing, so be it.





Brigadier (Retired) Rahul K Bhonsle, MSc, MPhil, MBA is an Indian army military veteran with 30 years active field experience in counter militancy and terrorism operations. He is presently Director of Sasia Security-Risks.com, a South Asian security risk and knowledge management consultancy which specializes in future scenarios, military capacity building and conflict trends in South Asia.
by Stephen Bryen

It is still to early to say whether the direction of the Ukraine war has changed, but there is increasing evidence that Ukraines inability to penetrate Russian defenses along the southern line, and challenges in the directions of Kupyansk, Lyman and Bakhmut suggests the entire war could be reaching a decisive conclusion.





It is, for that reason, that the Biden administration is asking Congress for $20 billion for Ukraine. The idea seems to be to provide psychological support to both Zelensky and the Ukrainian army. This time, however, Congress may not rubber stamp this outlandish money request. It is not clear why $20 billion is needed, and sentiment in the US and Europe is starting to shift toward finding a solution to this costly and difficult war. Concerns range from depleting US strategic reserves to prolonging a conflict that increasingly looks like it will end up badly in a Ukrainian defeat. While opposition is well short of a majority, further battlefield setbacks could lead Congress to change its mind on financial requests that break the bank. One thing is certain: it is unlikely that any Washington politician can mobilize public support for the war.





US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (l) with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov (Source: US Embassy, Kiev)





Information about Russian operations, particularly in the Kupyansk direction, is hard to come by. The Russians are not calling their operations an offensive, although unconfirmed reports say that Russia has mustered 100,000 or more troops for their operation in this area, and have moved in a lot of heavy equipment. Most revealing was a convoy of BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, seen heading to the area. There also have been reports of Ukrainian units refusing to fight, and while information on such mutinies has been suppressed, it seems to have happened in the past days.





Zelensky is hoping to retake Bakhmut, his key objective before he lost the city to Wagner forces. At the moment Bakhmut city is not threatened. Instead, the Ukrainians have been trying to take back settlements to the north and south of the city. The latest information is that early Ukrainian advances in both directions have been repulsed, and that any hope Zelensky may have of creating a victory on the ashes of Bakhmut seems to have failed to materialize.









The Bakhmut venture, once it sorts itself out finally, could create a huge internal problem for Zelensky. He is about to fire his Defense Minister, the guy who fronted for him in getting arms from Europe and the United States, and anticipated replacement candidates are, for the most part, inexperienced and unconnected to the war. Oleksiy Reznikov, the sitting Defense Minister, may be tipped to be sent to the UK as the Ukrainian ambassador. No one can say for sure whether Ukraines military still supports Zelensky, but as more and more cracks appear in Kiev it is a good bet that they may take matters into their own hands. Should that happen, Zelensky will likely be deposed.





Ukraine has brought up reserve units, many NATO trained, to try and head off any big Russian advance. But committing these reserves leaves Ukraine with less trained brigades for the future, since Russias primary strategy has been to let them come in fairly close and then pound them with artillery, air strikes, and aerial mines. It is now reported that Ukraine has ordered a mass evacuation, while at the same time mining bridges and roads to slow a Russian advance.





The Russians have been fairly clever in managing their war front. Few attacks have been made on Kiev, excepting one more than a month ago on Ukraines intelligence center in the city. Little is said in the Russian press about the top Ukrainian commanders, Valerii Zaluzhny and Oleksandr Syrskyi, other than to note that the Ukrainian army operates in a professional manner. This may suggest the Russian door is open to dialog with Ukraines military.





Meanwhile it is reported that the Wagner troops in Belarus are starting to return to Russia. The immediate cause is that Belarus has refused to pay them, leaving them without salaries for their troops or money to purchase equipment. It is possible that some of them will be shipped off to Africa. While Russia has not supported the coup in Niger, that disclaimer does not necessarily apply to Wagner. The recent decision of ECOWAS to agree to putting together a military operation to restore democracy in Niger, offers Russia and Wagner a significant opportunity. ECOWAS troops are nearly as bad as Nigers. They lack transport, communications and supplies. Any war there, without an outside stabilizing force, is likely to become a war of atrocities. No one knows whether Putin will tip his hat to Prigozhin and fly them into Niamey.





Niger, of course, is a sideshow and Ukraine is the main event, with significant geopolitical implications. The Russians have been holding out instead of starting a big push to finish the war, trying to wear down the Ukrainians and split support for the war in Kiev. But war planners in Moscow know how to count, and it could be they now see opportunities for a big offensive. If it materializes, keep an eye on Kupyansk.





Stephen Bryen is a former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and is a leading expert in security strategy and technology. Bryen writes for Asia Times, American Thinker, Epoch Times, Newsweek, Washington Times, the Jewish Policy Center and others.
A NEWLY-published book, 'Making Space for Autism: Strategies for Assessing and Modifying Environments to Meet the Needs of Autistic People', focuses on how best to support an autistic person by changing their environment to ensure that it accommodates the persons needs.

One of the authors, Sharon McCarthy, has been working in the autism field for over 20 years, currently lecturing at UCD and the Cork College of Further Education and Training.

She was herself diagnosed three years ago as autistic. Of her six children, five are neuro-divergent.

The other authors of the book are Sharons son, Caolan McCarthy, an autistic speech and language therapist and psychologist, Dr Micaela Connolly, who Sharon describes as an ally to autistic people.

In the book, were looking at breaking down the environment into different component parts and looking at the accessibility of each component part, offering suggestions and a guideline on how to create accessibility for an autistic person, within different spaces, says Sharon.

The components include the sensory aspect of the environment, the physical and emotional aspects. Communication is also looked at.

If youre an autistic person, dependent on the use of concrete language, its about people saying what they mean and meaning what they say. For example, rather than saying Would you mind going over to close the door?, an autistic person would benefit instead from you saying, Please close the door.

An autistic person might be unable to access a space because its too loud and too busy. Or someone might touch an autistic person, unexpectedly.

"Touch and the potential for 'unexpected' touch can be so overwhelming from both a sensory and an anxiety standpoint that it can prevent a person accessing spaces where they can engage with friends."

Sharon says that the book isnt about autistic people having to conform and be like everybody else. Its about being inclusive.

When you think of a person with a physical disability who is a wheelchair user, they can become very disabled and can find themselves completely isolated if there isnt a ramp to access a space, or a doorway isnt wide enough for their wheelchair.

So, were looking at accessibility for the person who is autistic and potentially has difficulty in different areas. It can extend to strategies at work, public spaces, schools and health care settings to ensure the autistic person can access all of these spaces.

Theres a huge autistic voice running throughout the book, adds Sharon. We were lucky to get a contribution from Dr Stuart Neilson (who is also autistic). He was one of my lecturers at UCC. He writes about how he experiences physical spaces and his hyper-vigilance, worrying about what might happen within a space.

The book is aimed at a broad readership, including people working with autistic individuals or families that have an autistic child. As well as employees, it addresses employers.

Its for everybody really who might have the opportunity to ensure an autistic person can access your space without feeling distressed. It feels like empowerment, fitting the environment around the person.

"It's moving away from the medical model of disability where responsibility for a person's difficulties is considered theirs to the social model where responsibility for a person's difficulties is situated within the environment they are in."

By following the guidelines laid out in the book, autistic people will be able to use different spaces without worrying that something is going to go wrong.

Sharon is critical of this countrys failure to facilitate autistic people.

There is a lot of stuff coming to the fore, particularly post-pandemic. Our kids and young people are under savage pressure to reintegrate, to go back into society and the workforce.

But there isnt a sufficient level of scaffolding or access to psychological support. There isnt sufficient access to speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.

Those with means can afford private services. Those without means are left sitting there.

There are huge waiting lists for assessments for autistic young people and adults, adds Sharon.

This is regardless of the fact that we have a disability act where its the right of the autistic child under 18 to be assessed within six months and not two or three years. In the context of adults, its way worse.

If you are a person who identifies late as autistic, there are no services.

Sharon points out that we have an ageing society that requires action.

With one in five people in Ireland saying they have a disability, according to the Census, if the government doesnt create a provision of care and support for autistic people, both young and adult, its going to become a far greater problem.

In a chapter in the book on The Social Environment in Making Space For Autism, the school space is looked at.

And when one considers the plethora of demands an autistic youngster faces each day, this thought process (of the expectation to be neurotypical) can be applied to practically every moment of th school day, says Sharon, whether a person is trying to move past another students chair on the way to the bathroom, is getting asked by the person next to them for a pencil, or is reading aloud in front of the class, organising and attending play dates, standing in line on the way in and out of the room...

Each of these moments is its own microcosm, with its own list of queries and clarifications.

In socialising, as in so many other things, autistic people are at their most comfortable when they have clarity - when there are clear, explicit guidelines, fixed outcomes, structure and predictability. And from a social standpoint, things are rarely, if ever, that simple.

Making Space For Autism is available in most bookshops, and through pavilionpublishing.com and amazon.co.uk and Outside the Box Learning Resources at otb.ie
Ballymaloe Grainstore is hosting a theatrical evening later this month that pays homage to a fearless Irish adventurer.

Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer will once again be performed by the talented Aidan Dooley on his 20th year touring the play.

The multi-award-winning show has achieved critical acclaim with sold-out performances across Ireland, the USA, Australia, Europe, and the UK.

"We are delighted to host Aidan Dooley's remarkable performance commemorating the life of Tom Crean," Ballymaloe Grainstore operator, Bree Allen, said.

"His portrayal of Crean's heroic journey captures the essence of determination, courage, and resilience, leaving audiences inspired and deeply moved."

Ballymaloe Grainstore has extended an invitation to the crew from the Ballycotton RNLI Lifeboat Station, who will be doing bucket collections on the night to fundraise for their vital life-saving service.

The play gets underway at Ballymaloe Grainstore at 8pm on August 31.

Visit www.ballymaloe.ie for more information.
A Cork senator opened up about concerns relating to so-called serial objectors ahead of a review examining current planning laws.

Senator Tim Lombard stressed that the proposed Planning and Development Bill 2022 must include strict criteria on parties that appeal projects granted by local authorities.

Concerns raised included fears that the current system may lead to substantial delays in the delivery of essential infrastructure.

Mr Lombard, Fine Gaels Seanad spokesperson on agriculture, food, forestry and marine, described serial objecting as an abuse of the current planning and development code.

These serial objectors often live hundreds of miles away, outside the county and even outside the province from where the original planning decision has been granted.

I have seen this in my own constituency where many essential agricultural development projects have been delayed due to parties appealing a local authority decision to An Bord Pleanala, he added.

He described the legal process that can follow:

Progress is further hampered when these objectors seek a judicial review of a board decision, with both state projects and private commercial developments becoming bogged down in a cumbersome and multi-faceted legal process which also puts significant strain on our court services.

Mr Lombard said a balance needs to be struck between peoples rights to object to planning that will have an impact on them or their community versus these serial objectors who have their own agenda.

The Cork South West senator spoke of the knock-on impact of what he described as spurious objections.

People with no association or affiliation with an area are hampering development and livelihoods throughout the country with spurious objections to anything and everything from large infrastructural projects to one-off rural housing and even small-scale agricultural extensions.

It makes no sense that, for example, someone living in Dublin would object to planning for an extension to a milking parlour in County Cork, which has occurred.

We need robust legislation from the Housing Minister to ensure the planning authority can view and act on these spurious objections so that unnecessary delays are removed from the process.

Recommendations the committee [Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage] made are currently being considered by the minister and his department, and may feed into the final bill which will then proceed through the Oireachtas.
PLANS are underway for the escalation of industrial action involving retained firefighters in Cork, which will see a blackout of internal communications.

It comes as the government come under mounting pressure for what is being described as the the exploitation of a vocation.

Firefighters have advised of plans to introduce a complete black out of internal communications, with the exception of life saving information, from 8am tomorrow (Saturday), amid ongoing concerns in relation to pay and conditions in the sector.

The decision follows a meeting of the Retained Fire Fighter Committee yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. SIPTU members working as retained firefighters previously rejected a recommendation by the Labour Court which proposed that the retainer be increased by 24% and 32.7%. This contributed to their decision to continue strike action for the foreseeable future.

SIPTU organiser, Con Casey described the situation as dire and said he feels retained firefighters are being exploited.

There seems to be a lack of appreciation or recognition of retained firefighters he said.

The vocational element attached to firefighting has been exploited.

"In a lot of cases communities are rallying behind their retained firefighters. That fact that it has come to this extreme point and is playing out on an escalating basis is really disappointing. When you consider that this is being done in keeping with the nature of the national service it is a fairly dire situation."

He described the mood among retained firefighters in Cork.

This is not where they want to be. Everybody has a tendency to take something for granted until there's an absence of that. The same can be said for the services and positivity in the community provided by retained firefighters. I think the realisation is only now dropping with people who understand that retained firefighters are being exploited."

Mr Casey said he feels retained firefighters are being unfairly treated.

You have those who are on call during Christmas dinner or a family occasion with their children.

"This is hugely disruptive and will only aggravate recruitment issues. Even when there is recruitment, people cant be retained because the work is just too onerous. He acknowledged the service retained firefighters provide to their communities.

The type of service firefighters give to their communities cant be measured. It includes 168 hours per week and everything that goes with that including disruption to normal family life".
Registration for the expansion of free GP care to children aged six and seven has opened, with parents and guardians now able to sign their child up for a GP visit card.

The addition of six and seven-year-olds to the scheme was announced as part of Budget 2023, but drew concern from GPs who said it would put further strain on General Practices which are already at or beyond capacity in much of the country.

However, as part of an agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation, the HSE said a series of supports have been put in place to aid GPs in meeting the likely increase in demand for services.

Children of an eligible age can be registered on the HSE website, with the card allowing the child to see their GP free of charge. The cost of medicines and other services are not covered by the visit card.

The HSE added that the eligibility for income-based GP visit cards will be widened in two phases, on September 11th and November 13th.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, today announced the opening of registrations for GP visit cards for children aged six and seven. From today, Friday 11 August 2023, the Under 6s GP Visit Card scheme has been expanded to become the Under 8s GP Visit Card scheme now providing free GP care for all children aged under eight in Ireland. The move represents the first stage in the biggest expansion in eligibility for free GP care in the history of the state covering up to 500,000 people.

Announcing the opening of registrations Minister Donnelly said: I am delighted to announce that registrations for children aged six and seven for the expanded Under 8s GP Visit Card scheme will open today, while current GP visit cards will be automatically extended until a childs 8th birthday. This expansion will provide free GP care to approximately 78,000 children aged six and seven across Ireland who currently access GP care on a private basis. This will ensure that cost is not a barrier to accessing healthcare and provides vital support to families dealing with cost of living challenges.

"The move is an important step towards universal healthcare.

From today, parents can register children aged 6 and 7 for a GP visit card at hse.ie. For many children there will be no need to register as children who turned six after 1 July, 2023 will have their cards extended automatically by the HSE.

'Affordable Healthcare'

Minister Donnelly continued: We are committed to making healthcare affordable for families. We have abolished inpatient charges, first for children and then for all  saving families up to 800 per year.

"We have brought the maximum amount payable by households under the Drug Payment Scheme down to 80 per month. We have also continued to build on our collaboration with General Practice and secured an agreement with the Irish Medical Organsiation (IMO) which supports GPs to recruit and retain more staff to better meet demand.

"We are investing in a significant increase in GP training places, with a recent announcement outlining how training places would increase by a third by 2024, and have partnered with the Irish College of General Practitioners on its very successful non-EU GP Training Scheme which is delivering immediate increased capacity.

This expansion of the GP Visit Card scheme marks a significant milestone as we provide families with access to free GP care for children up to seven years old, extending care for an extra two years of a childs life.

"I am committed to ensuring that cost will not be a barrier for childrens healthcare.

"Ensuring that children in Ireland can visit their GP for free gives them access to healthcare at the right time to help ensure their long-term health and wellbeing.
For Travellers, family is meant to be the most important thing in your life, but he destroyed everything in my family, Ellen ODriscoll said.

The 31-year-old spoke with The Echo in her new home, a long way from the Cork city residence she had once shared with her family, but Ellen ODriscoll has had little or no contact with her family since she testified against her father in the Central Criminal Court in November 2016.

She has never met her youngest sister, who was born after Ms ODriscoll was ostracised from her family.

Ms ODriscoll asked that no identifying details about her life as it is now be published, but she is happy and loved.

Patrick ODriscoll, who was then 42, of Codrum, Macroom, was found guilty of 61 counts of raping his eldest daughter on a weekly basis when she was aged between 16 and 17. He had denied the charges.

In January 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with the final year suspended.

Passing sentence in the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul Butler said ODriscolls abuse of his daughter tore the family apart.

Patrick ODriscoll was found guilty of 61 counts of raping his eldest daughter on a weekly basis when she was aged between 16 and 17. He had denied the charges. With remission, he was released from prison last week. Picture: Collins Courts.

Her mother, sisters, grandparents, uncles, and aunts all took her fathers side, the judge said.

I hope it is of some small consolation to Ms ODriscoll that in the teeth of her fathers denial... a jury of 12 citizens have found by unanimous verdict that he was guilty of 61 counts of rape.

After the trial, and her father was sentenced, Ms ODriscoll told The Echo, Mr Justice Butler was very kind to her.

From a Traveller family, Ms ODriscoll grew up in Wales. Her family moved to Ireland, and to Cork, when she was 16.

Ms ODriscoll was forbidden from going to school and was instead trained to be a housewife, cleaning their home and minding her siblings.

I was never allowed a best friend, just in case something came out, she said.

I had one friend years ago, and I classed her as a best friend, but when we started getting too close, I wasnt allowed near her no more.

She said her father invented stories blackening her friends name (He knew exactly what he was doing) and that was the end of their friendship.

It was put down then  like, in the Traveller world, youre not allowed be with a boy before youre married  and she was supposed to be with this fella and that fella, but no such thing, she was my best friend and I knew she wasnt with anybody.

I knew it was all lies, but I was told, Youre not allowed be with her no more.

Ms ODriscoll described her father as an evil, twisted man who knows how to get into peoples heads, and she said she always knew that the abuse he was inflicting upon her was wrong.

He would say, Oh, if you tell your mam or tell anyone, I will kill you or kill myself and youll never see your sisters and brothers again.

Which is what did happen. I never see my sisters and brothers, like, that did happen, she said.

I was really close to my sisters and brothers, but, look, they were really young when I went to the gardai, and I knew they were all young, and I knew he was going to have them well brainwashed.

For all of that, though, she said she still misses her brothers and sisters.

For Travellers, family is meant to be the most important thing in your life, but he destroyed everything in my family, and now its like I have no mam, and no brothers or sisters, she said.

She recalled the night in 2010 when she rang 999 and reported her fathers abuse.

She waited until gardai from Gurranabraher could come and collect her, as she hid behind cars on Blarney Street while her family searched for her.

The garda who met her that night, Garda Michael Dolan, is still her victim liaison officer.

He put together the case, with another, senior officer, but it was mainly him. He was there throughout the court case.

He has always been so supportive and kind.

The legal process was long and daunting, and it took six years before her father was brought to trial.

Ms ODriscoll found the trial terrifying, but she persisted with her testimony.

I just kept saying to myself, Im not in the wrong here, Im just going to answer truthfully, and thats it, and thats what I did.

In the end, there was no more that the defence could actually say to me.

Ms ODriscoll asked that The Echo specify that although her father was described in court reports as being from Codrum, Macroom, her father is not from the Macroom ODriscoll family, but is rather from the Winner ODriscoll family.

For Travellers, Ms ODriscoll said, getting such a distinction correct was as important as an address would be to settled people.

My great-great-grandfather was the Bill the Winner Driscoll. He got his name because he would go around to all the circuses and hed take part in the fights and he couldnt be beat.

Thats how he became Bill the Winner.

Patrick ODriscoll was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with the final year suspended.

With remission, he came out last week.

His daughter said she feels that although her life now is happy and fulfilled, she is still serving a life sentence because of her fathers crimes, cut off from the family and unable to ever again revisit the places she knew in her younger days.

Ms ODriscoll worries that while her father, a convicted rapist, can now re-enter his life, she will always have to live with the pain and trauma of what he did to her.

Now that he is free, Ms ODriscoll told The Echo that her worst fear is that her father will offend again.
The family of Cork woman Nora Sheehan, who was murdered in 1981, have said the conviction of 74-year-old Noel Long for her murder last week has given Ms Sheehan and her family peace.

The guilty verdict in Longs trial was delivered in the Central Criminal Court last week, concluding a 42-year search for justice and in the process making Irish legal history for the longest timespan between a murder being committed and conviction achieved in the history of the State.

Noel Long, who was 32 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.

In the days following the conclusion of the three-week trial, two of Ms Sheehans sons, her sister, and her granddaughter, gave a moving and often emotional interview to RTEs Prime Time.

Ms Sheehans husband James died within four years of her murder. It killed him. Until then he was bouncing, said Ms Sheehans son, Jerry.

Speaking about the verdict, he added: it gave her peace, it gave my father peace, it gave the family peace.

Katie Sheehan grand-daughter of Nora Sheehan with with James Sheehan and other members of the victims family pictured leaving the sentencing of Noel Long at the The Criminal Courts of Justice last week.

Ms Sheehans sister Sadie moved to the UK prior to the murder, and she learned from a news report that her sister had been killed.

I always listened to Radio Eireann, and youd get the news, she said.

I heard this terrible news, and then I phoned home and I could not believe it.

"Thats when the shock set in, that it was actually her... somebody who was so gentle.

I just hope he rots in hell for what he did, she said.

This family has spent 42 years hoping that that day would come, said Noras granddaughter Katie.

'Nora was Nora'

Nora Sheehan was raised in Crookstown and moved into the Cork suburb of Ballyphehane when she was married.

Nora worked caring for patients in a psychiatric hospital but she suffered a fall eight years prior to her death, and following that she developed several eccentricities, including a habit of waving at passing cars.

It gave her peace, it gave my father peace, it gave the family peace. - Nora Sheehan's son Jerry, speaking about the life sentence imposed on 74-year-old Noel Long for murdering Ms Sheehan, 42 years ago.

Nora was Nora, she had her own individuality, her son James told RTE Prime Time.

She was fierce kind. Even back then if a neighbour died or anything like that, she'd always go to the homes and lay them out. She brought that with her from the country.

Ms Sheehans body was found in Shippool Woods, more than 25km from where she was last seen alive.

Noel Long was a suspect in the early stages of the investigation into her death, and had multiple previous convictions, including for attacking women.

An attempt to prosecute him for murder was shelved in late 1981, following the sudden death of the pathologist who had conducted the post-mortem on Ms Sheehan.

A cold case investigation, and advances in DNA science, led to the trial and conviction last Friday.

While the trail was on-going, a man who had given a statement in 1981 saying he had been with Noel Long for several hours after Nora Sheehan was last seen alive also changed his story.

Noel Long lived in Cork in the intervening decades, most recently in Passage West.

Noras family also live in Cork and knew for 42 years that the prime suspect in the case lived in the same county.

We had to live with it. said Jerry.

I suppose the only thing we had was - we have good neighbours. We all grew up together and everyone was there for everyone else.

"Only for that we wouldn't be surviving at all.

Several gardai who investigated the case in the 1980s, now aged in their 80s and 90s, gave evidence in the trial in recent weeks.

The family members thanked them, and other investigators and prosecution teams, who worked on the case through the decades.

The family said they were thinking of other families of murder victims.

Every single piece of information helps, said Katie, Ms Sheehans granddaughter. It's never too late to get justice for your loved ones.

The interview with the family of Nora Sheehan is available in a special Prime Time report by Barry Cummins and Bridog Ni Bhuachalla on the RTE Player.
A family event in the Long Room at the Crawford Art Gallery involving a lively session of fiddle-playing in front of the painting The Fiddler drew a crowd of curious tourists on Wednesday.

The fiddle player was 97-year-old Denis OCallaghan, brother of the late artist, Diarmuid O Ceallachain, described by Adams Art Dealers in Dublin as "Corks finest 20th century painter".

Denis, a retired civil servant who was Charles Haugheys private secretary in the mid-1960s when he was agriculture minister, travelled from Dublin for the event, along with family members.

Denis was the model for his brothers painting of a red-haired boy playing the fiddle on Lavitts Quay with St Patricks Bridge beyond it.

Denis never had red hair but Diarmuid used artistic licence to portray this young fellow who looks like a bit of a scamp.

The painting is part of an exhibition, Site of Change, which draws together images from across the centuries recalling and celebrating the Crawford Art Gallery from 1724 to the present.

Denis OCallaghan. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

Proud to celebrate Diarmuids appealing painting, Denis never painted himself.

His mother, whenever she had a few shillings to spare, sent him to violin classes from the age of seven.

He has been playing on and off since.

But he didnt embark on an artistic career, unlike Diarmuid (who also taught painting at the Crawford School of Art).

It seems Denis was the sensible one, joining the civil service in Dublin at the age of 17, climbing the ladder until retirement.

Denis is the youngest and only surviving member of the five OCallaghan brothers.

A widower, Denis lives in a nursing home in Dublin.

He is very proud of Diarmuid, who was born near Drimoleague in 1915.

Diarmuid went to the North Monastery secondary school with Jack Lynch," he said.

He became a drapers assistant in John Buckleys on Washington Street.

The writer Daniel Corkery latched onto Diarmuid and thought he had great talent.

He talked my mother into getting him away from the job and going full-time as an artist.

It was a good move. Diarmuid, having attended evening classes at the Crawford, enrolled as a day student in 1937.

A year later, he won the prestigious Taylor Scholarship at the Royal Dublin Society, encouraged to apply for it by his art teacher, Mary ONeill (whose self portrait hangs below The Fiddler in the exhibition).

Diarmuid was then in a position to study at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin where his teachers were leading artists Sean Keating and Maurice MacGonigal. Diarmuid went on to win the Taylor Prize in 1939.
SKIBBEREEN has been identified as a pathfinder town and funding has been granted to Cork County Council for the development of a regeneration plan as part of the national Town Centre First Policy initiative.

The policy represents a joint strategy by the Department of Rural and Community Development, in collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to tackle vacancy and dereliction, drive development, and breathe new life into town centres.

Cork County Council will develop the regeneration plan for Skibbereen in consultation with the residents and business owners in the town and the wider community who visit the town regularly.

This process will be facilitated by a newly appointed town regeneration officer for Cork county, and a survey of the Skibbereen community will help to identify initiatives that will support the development and regeneration of the town.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O Flynn encouraged people to participate in the survey and said a collaborative approach to bringing about solutions to support town regeneration is key.

I look forward to this initiative being expanded to other towns across the County, he said.

Chief Executive Tim Lucey noted that Cork County Council is actively progressing with a range of regeneration measures across other towns across in Cork County.

The survey, which will remain open until Friday, September 8, can be accessed online at www.corkcoco.ie under the News section, by emailing townregeneration@corkcoco.ie or by phoning 021 4285161 to request a hard copy.
A well-known Ballincollig man has opened up about losing his home in Hawaiis wildfires which have seen multiple neighbourhoods burnt to the ground.

Former Virgin Media Xpose presenter Peter ORiordan, who also starred in one of Americas most the popular soap opera All My Children, and his family are among survivors of the tragedy which has seen at least 53 people lose their lives.

Thousands were forced to evacuate the area as fires ripped through Lahaina and its harbour in addition to surrounding areas.

Strong winds from a distant hurricane fanning the flames only intensified the devastating wildfires.

It comes around seven years after Peter quit Xpose, moving from Dublin to Maui with his wife, Stephanie Evans.

While at least 16 roads were closed off to the public, Maui Airport remains open with waivers available to help people flee the island.

Mr ORiordan, who previously worked for US celebrity gossip outlet TMZ, described the situation there as a living nightmare. He even reached out to Oprah Winfrey on social media in search of help for his community.

He urged people to pray for his family and others in an emotional tweet.

Peter ORiordan.

House gone, car gone, kids house gone, grandmas house gone, everyone out safe...this is a living nightmare, he tweeted. Pray for us here in Maui.

Mr ORiordan expressed uncertainty about the future adding:

Im literally just in pure devastation, I dont know how we will proceed as a community. We have all lost everything.

He posted an image of two bags to sum up the level of devastation.

This is now everything I own-my passport and green card were torched along with everything else, Mr ORiordan told his Twitter followers.

The Cork man is urging people not to forget their community and added:

People use your resources to help heal the people and this place we all love.
29 killed, 16 missing in rainfall-triggered disasters in China's Hebei

Xinhua) 13:52, August 11, 2023

SHIJIAZHUANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As of Thursday, 29 people had been killed in disasters triggered by the recent round of heavy rain in north China's Hebei Province, while 16 people remained missing, local authorities said on Friday.

According to a press conference held on Friday morning, torrential downpours and severe flooding have wreaked havoc across 110 counties, cities and districts in the province.

Infrastructure including transportation, power, communication and water facilities in the disaster-stricken areas suffered damage. The province had incurred a direct economic loss of 95.81 billion yuan (about 13.38 billion U.S. dollars), and the overall extent of the disaster was still being assessed and verified.

As of Thursday, the flooding had affected an estimated 3.89 million people. A total of 319,700 hectares of crops had been affected, with 131,500 hectares demolished.

Residential areas also suffered losses, with 40,900 houses having collapsed, while 155,500 houses were severely damaged. A total of 1,150 primary and secondary schools, along with kindergartens, suffered damage.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
For over a year, Ukrainian urban areas or military facilities have been under attack by Russian UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) used as cruise missiles. The concept was demonstrated by Russian ally Iran using the Iranian Shahed-136. Russia was impressed and since early 2022 used hundreds of Shahed-136s to attack Ukraine. Russia was so impressed that they built a factory to build Shahed-136s in Russia under license. Iran assisted in setting up the factory, which began operations in early 2023. Shahed-136 is relatively crude but effective and inexpensive. If a target had any air defenses Shahed-136s tend to be detected and shot down. Russia still used them because Shahed-136 is cheap and often effective.

Shahed-136 is a delta wing airborne cruise missile that weighs 200 kg (440 pounds) and armed with a warhead weighing 30 to 50 kg, most of which is explosives. Thats not a lot because most cruise missiles carry warheads weighing half a ton or more. The Shahed-136 warhead will damage, not destroy, most structures it hits.

Shahed-136 is launched using a rocket motor that gets it into the air and then detaches and falls away. To be effective Shahed-136 is launched in swarms, which was the case with most attacks. Shahed-136 is propeller driven using a noisy gasoline engine. Aptly described as low (altitude), slow and loud, Shahed-136 is easy to detect and shoot down.

Even before building their Shahed-136 factory Russia obtained over two thousand Shahed-136s from Iran and launched 400 of them against Ukrainian targets. Most were detected and shot down, even if launched at night or just before dawn. The noisy Shahed-136 engine serves as a useful wakeup call. For example, the Ukrainian capital is only 380 kilometers from the Russian border. The Russian capital Moscow is 840 kilometers. While Kyiv is regularly attacked by Russian missiles, including Shahed-136s, Ukraine has only recently launched UAV attacks against Moscow. Russia didnt believe this was practical or possible until Ukrainian UAVs began hitting targets in Moscow. Now Russia has to create and maintain air defense systems capable of detecting these UAVs and intercepting them. That is still a work in progress but so are Ukrainian efforts to develop, build and launch new attack UAVs for targets deep inside Russia. And not only Moscow, but the many military targets, including military bases and weapons storage or manufacturing facilities. By developing quiet attack UAVs that can travel long distances at low altitudes to avoid radar detection, the Ukrainians having an impact on Russian morale and popular support for their war in Ukraine.

Ukrainians learned from the Russian experience using Shahed-136. Despite their poor performance in combat against Ukrainian targets, the Shahed-136 is an impressive system. It uses a GPS navigation system to find targets a thousand or more kilometers away. Shahed-136s rarely go that far because their max speed is 185 kilometers an hour and can be programmed to fly at altitudes from 60 to 4.000 meters (200 to 12.000 feet). At higher altitudes the noise is less noticeable but the Shahed-136 is more likely to be spotted by radar. The Shahed-136s tend to fly lower to the ground. A Shahed-136 can also be equipped with a video camera and a communications link to transmit the video images back to the Russians in real time. One of these surveillance models can be included in a swarm of attack models. This is apparently useful to the Russians the few times the surveillance Shahed-136s have been used.

Several Ukrainian entrepreneurs worked to develop a more effective but still inexpensive UAV that could be used as a long-range and somewhat stealthy cruise missile. Ukraine needs such a weapon to hit important targets deep inside Russia. Ukraine does not publicize efforts in this area but revelations are made when attacks succeed and that is happening more often.
A preliminary trial hearing for the man charged with the murder of a Cork bishop in the US will continue next Wednesday.

Carlos Medina, 61, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Brooklodge native Bishop David OConnell at his home in Hacienda Heights in Los Angeles in February. Medina was also charged with a special allegation that he personally used a firearm during the commission of an offence.

He had been arrested after barricading himself into his home following the discovery of the bishops body. The preliminary hearing got underway in Los Angeles on Thursday. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorneys office said: The preliminary hearing setting was continued to August 16.

Bishop OConnell, 69, was found in his home on Hacienda Drive on February 18 after being shot multiple times. A church deacon made the discovery at around 1pm local time after Bishop OConnell failed to turn up for a meeting.

There was no sign of a forced entry into the house, according to the district attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascon. Medinas wife worked as a housekeeper for the bishop, while Medina himself also carried out some work for him on a number of occasions.

If convicted, Medina could face up to 35 years to life in prison.

Bishop OConnell was laid to rest in a crypt in Los Angeles Cathedral in March. His brother, Kieran, and other members of Bishop OConnells family, travelled to the US for the funeral.

He was consecrated a bishop in Los Angeles in 2015, having been ordained for the US diocese in June 1979.

Following his death, numerous tributes were paid to Bishop OConnell for his work with the poor and underprivileged in the Los Angeles diocese.

In recent days, Archbishop Jose H Gomez announced that Bishop-elect Brian Nunes will take on the role of Episcopal Vicar for the San Gabriel pastoral region in Los Angeles, to fill the vacancy left by the late Bishop OConnells death.
Urgent calls have been made to tackle the driving test backlog after it was revealed more than 6,300 learner drivers are waiting to sit their test in Cork.

Road Safety Authority figures also show the average wait for a driving test in Sarsfield Road, Wilton is 38 weeks, while it is around 12 weeks in Ballincollig.

There are more than 2,000 confirmed bookings for Cork theory test centres until the end of September.

Sinn Fein's Donnchadh O Laoghaire called on the Minister for Transport to tackle the backlog, and said public transport is not always an option for people waiting to sit their test.

"This isn't a trivial thing for people," he told Newstalk radio. "[The driving test] facilitates people's independence and facilitates people getting out to work. And for some people, particularly in rural areas, public transport is unfortunately not an option.

"So people need their car and people need access to a driving test and to be able to pass it within a reasonable timeframe  the backlog is simply not acceptable."

The backlog means learner drivers are being left in limbo until 2024 before they can receive an invitation to book their test.

The delay is being blamed on the time it takes for the Road Safety Authority to hire new driving testers after it requested the Department of Transport to sanction further recruitment in March.

'Unprecedented demand'

Last month the Minister of State for Transport, Jack Chambers, confirmed that it would be autumn before progress is made on reducing the driving tests backlog.

In response to a Dail question, Mr Chambers said his officials are working closely with the Road Safety Authority on fixing the issues which are of great concern across the State.

The service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which is up 28 per cent on 2021 figures, he said. After an RSA request in March, the department gave approval for the recruitment of 75 additional testers.

This is in addition to the 30 testers who were previously sanctioned in July 2022 and which have been fully deployed since the end of March 2023, he said. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to just over 200.

However, it will take some time for these additional driving testers to be recruited, trained and deployed. The backlog for driver testing services will start to reduce from October 2023 and agreed service levels should resume by early to mid-2024, he said.
By Rebecca Black, PA

Northern Irelands Chief Constable Simon Byrne has sought to reassure staff and officer representative groups after a major data breach earlier this week.

The Police Service of Northern Irelands leadership was earlier pressed for a full response after details of more than 10,000 officers and staff were published online for a number of hours on Tuesday.

Mr Byrne cut short a family holiday to return to Belfast to answer questions about the data breach, and details of another incident emerged on Wednesday after the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July.

Scores of officers have expressed concern for their safety in Northern Ireland, where police are under threat from terrorists, with the current level of threat assessed as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne and Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd during a press conference on Thursday (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Byrne answered questions from politicians in a closed session of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday before making a brief statement to media.

He revealed that dissident republican terrorists had claimed to have some of the data, but that claim had not been verified.

A Threat Management Assessment Group has been set up by the PSNI for those concerned about risk. It had had 600 referrals by Thursday evening.

Mr Byrne met the Nipsa trade union, which represents staff support officers, on Friday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Nipsa official Tracy Godfrey said she was alarmed to hear the number of requests for support from the group had risen to 900 overnight.

I believe that number will climb, but they have got processes in place to deal with it. Its just an awful lot of people with a lot of concerns, she told the BBC.

In a statement on Friday evening, the PSNI said the Chief Constable had held a number of meetings with organisations that represent staff and officers.

These included a meeting with the head of the Catholic Police Guild, which represents a significant number of Catholic members of the service.

Superintendent Gerry Murray spoke of particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI, and expressed concern the data breaches could impact on future recruitment.

Catholics have historically been underrepresented in police numbers in Northern Ireland. When former police force the RUC transitioned to become the PSNI in 2001, a temporary recruitment measure was used to welcome even numbers of Catholic and Protestant officers, referred to as 50/50 recruitment.

Catholic officers are often targeted by dissidents who want to intimidate those from a similar background from joining the PSNI.

Our guild was formed to provide a support service within the PSNI for Catholic members, and to raise issues which impact on their work within the PSNI, Mr Murray said.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week.

Everyone understands the particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and indeed the implications of this for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

Mr Murray said guild members had expressed genuine concerns over the release of the information.

They are worried for themselves and in many cases for their family members, he said.

As chairman of the guild I am also concerned about the impact on future recruitment of young Catholics into the Police Service.

We want to be assured that the data breach will be fully and quickly investigated and procedures put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

Catholic officers and staff who feel vulnerable need to be supported in protecting themselves, their families and their homes.

The Police Service must acknowledge and take account of the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members of the force.

The community background of police officers and staff has to be given the proportionate weight when considering the implications of this data breach on serving officers.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff. This applies particularly to colleagues from the Catholic community.

A PSNI spokesperson said the Chief Constable listened to any issues or concerns and reiterated his priority is the welfare and safety of all officers and staff.

He also reassured the guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected by the recent data breach.
Forgot about that container of yogurt in the back of the fridge? A bag of granola lost in the pantry? A glance at the expiration date might tell you that its time to toss it, but in fact, expired food might still be perfectly safe and enjoyable to eat.

Heeding expiration dates often causes us to throw away food thats still completely edible, contributing to our massive food waste problem in the U.S. With grocery prices soaring  rising nearly 8% between April 2022 and April 2023  these wasted products are just money down the drain. Stamps of sell by, enjoy by, best by, best if used by, use by, and best before dont all necessarily mean the same thing, and dont communicate anything about the actual safety of the food after the printed date. In the absence of a national standard for food dating, these phrases have long confused and misguided our sense of when a product is edible.

How Did Expiration Dates Come to Be?

Sell-by dates on food products were first introduced by the store Marks & Spencers in the 1950s, but they didnt really gain much public attention until the 1970s. By then, most Americans were shopping at grocery stores for the majority of their food  rather than growing it themselves or purchasing it directly from farms  as well as consuming more processed and packaged products, ultimately leading to greater concern about the freshness of ingredients.

At that time, sell-by information was printed on products as a code that retailers could then decipher using a key, but it wasnt made readily available to consumers. When customers began demanding more transparency about their purchases (some activists even began decoding the labels and passing out booklets explaining how to read the codes), manufacturers responded by dating their products more clearly with sell-by dates. While the vast majority of surveyed shoppers reported their approval of such dating, the then-Congressional Office of Technology Assessment stated that there was little or no benefit derived from open dating in terms of improved microbiological safety. Yet, a very similar system of dating food products is still widespread in the United States today.

A consume before expiration date on a can of tuna. Nancybelle Gonzaga Villarroya / Moment / Getty Images

What Does an Expiration Date Actually Mean?

There is no universal, federal standard for what these dates mean, leaving it up to states to make their own rules and regulations based on a hodge-podge of information, recommendations, and industry discretion. Some states dont require labeling at all, and standards vary widely. In Montana, for example, milk can be sold for only 12 days after its pasteurized, but cross the border into Idaho, and it can be sold for more than 20 days. While companies arent required to put dates on products (except for baby formula), they cannot print false or misleading information  but they also dont need FDA approval for any dates they do print.

Ultimately, expiration dates have much more to do with quality than safety. However, a 2019 study found that 84% Americans throw out food at least occasionally because its nearing/past the date on the package. Andy Harig of FMI (a food industry association) told CNN in an interview that the printed date is mostly about protecting the brand, an estimate of when the food will taste best so that customers will enjoy it and continue to purchase it. The date is not an exact science, but a prediction of when an item will be of highest quality in terms of taste, appearance, and texture. While it might provide consumers comfort as a point of reference, it isnt really telling us what we need to know. Not only could the food still be safe, but if not stored properly it might be bad far before the date. Use by dates will often be a conservative estimate, too, since producers anticipate that consumers likely wont store the product perfectly.

The Problem of Food Waste

According to the USDA, 30-40% of the United States food supply is wasted every year, and the average household spends a whopping $1,866 a year on food that ends up being thrown away. Food waste is not only an issue of wasted money, but of growing greenhouse gas emissions, landfill space, and widespread food insecurity.

Of all food thats wasted in the home, The FDA estimates that about 20% stems from uncertainty about the meanings of labels on packaged foods. In other words,one-fifth of a households food is usually thrown out due to expiration dates, even when some of that food might still be perfectly safe to eat.

Luckily, there has been some legislative momentum to create better standards for these expiration dates. The Food Date Labeling Act of 2021 aims to require food manufacturers to label products with use by and best by alongside dates to specifically communicate safety and quality, respectively. But even if this act is signed into law, the government would also need to make a more concerted effort to communicate what these labels mean to consumers.

How Can You Tell Whether Something Thats Past Its Expiration Date Is Safe to Eat?

On the FoodKeeper app developed by the USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service, users can look up how long certain foods last by different storage methods. Our bodies are also pretty good at detecting decay. If youre not sure whether a food item is safe to eat, rely on your senses. Most products will have a clear change in smell, appearance, and taste if theyve turned. Pay special attention to any changes in color, texture, or consistency.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

There are a few general rules of thumb for how long certain items last, regardless of what the package says:

Some things basically never go bad, including sugary products like corn syrup, molasses, honey, and plain sugar; vanilla and other extracts; salt; and vinegar.

Grains vary in terms of their shelf life. Generally, white grains last longer than unrefined brown ones, which have a higher fat content. White flour lasts basically forever, but whole grain will go bad after a few months. White and brown rice act similarly.

vary in terms of their shelf life. Generally, white grains last longer than unrefined brown ones, which have a higher fat content. White flour lasts basically forever, but whole grain will go bad after a few months. White and brown rice act similarly. Dried beans last for several years, but will become harder and thus more difficult to soften through cooking over time (although theyre still perfectly safe to eat).

last for several years, but will become harder and thus more difficult to soften through cooking over time (although theyre still perfectly safe to eat). Oils last a long time too if they are kept in sealed containers, but do a sniff test first. If its turned, itll smell metallic or fishy, and will feel more glue-like. Similarly, dressings made of vinegar or oil (unless they include dairy or other additives) last for up to a year when refrigerated.

last a long time too if they are kept in sealed containers, but do a sniff test first. If its turned, itll smell metallic or fishy, and will feel more glue-like. Similarly, dressings made of vinegar or oil (unless they include dairy or other additives) last for up to a year when refrigerated. Canned and jarred foods last for years  even decades, in some cases. Plastic, however, is often gas-permeable and wont last as long. When opened up, there should be no rotten smell, cloudiness, or mold. On jars, the little button on the top should be rigid when pressed. If its popped, bacteria has likely grown inside the jar.

last for years  even decades, in some cases. Plastic, however, is often gas-permeable and wont last as long. When opened up, there should be no rotten smell, cloudiness, or mold. On jars, the little button on the top should be rigid when pressed. If its popped, bacteria has likely grown inside the jar. Milk is one of the most wasted foods in the world, but because so many germs are killed during the pasteurization process, its often completely safe to drink after the expiration date  just do a quick inspection of its odor and appearance before tasting.

is one of the most wasted foods in the world, but because so many germs are killed during the pasteurization process, its often completely safe to drink after the expiration date  just do a quick inspection of its odor and appearance before tasting. Eggs typically last three to five weeks or longer. A typical egg test (other than smelling something rotten when you crack it open) can be performed by carefully placing it in a bowl of water. If the egg floats to the surface rather than falling to the bottom, its likely gone bad.

Infant formula products are the exception to this haphazard expiration-dating, and are regulated by the FDA. To determine the use-by date, manufacturers determine when the product will no longer have the minimum amount of each indicated nutrient. Labels on products that are considered foods that pregnant women should avoid should also be heeded. These include things like raw fish, deli meats, unpasteurized dairy products, and sprouted vegetables because of their ability to carry listeria, an invisible and dangerous bacteria. These products are often served cold, so they dont go through the heating process (the kill step) that kills bacteria before being consumed.

Its important to remember that food will already have been contaminated with germs like E. coli or salmonella before its brought home, but proper storage can inhibit the growth of these pathogens and generally keep food fresher for longer. Keeping the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler can inhibit the growth of E. coli, or heating the food to 140 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process where shale and other types of impermeable rock are blasted open with water, fracking fluid and sand in order to access and extract oil and natural gas.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, fracking fluid contains chemical additives, the identities of which have often been shielded from disclosure on the basis that they are confidential business information or trade secrets. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified 1,084 different reported chemicals used in fracking from 2005 to 2013. Some of the common ingredients found in fracking fluid were ethylene glycol, propargyl alcohol and methanol, all of which are considered hazardous to human health.

Oil and gas operations like fracking also release toxic air contaminants such as benzene, fine particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide and silica dust.

All of these hazardous chemicals can make their way from the fracking site into our drinking water, soil and the air we breathe.

In addition to the chemical cocktails polluting our air and water from fracking, this destructive method of searching for the fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis has also been shown to cause earthquakes.

New research from scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) confirms that fracking leads to small, slow earthquakes or tremors, the origin of which had previously been unknown.

The study, Tremor signals during fluid injection are generated by fault slip, was published in the journal Science.

In the study, the research team looked at data from fracking performed using liquid carbon dioxide, rather than the usual wastewater, reported UC Riverside News. Abhijit Ghosh, associate professor of geophysics at UC Riverside and co-author of the study, pointed out that, since the carbon dioxide is a liquid, the studys result would almost definitely apply to water-based fracking.

Seismographs record large earthquakes with high amplitude pulses due to their sharp jolts, while tremors appear as slow, gentle rises with less amplitude that gradually decrease.

We are pleased that we are now able to use these tremors to track the movement of fluids from fracking and monitor the movement of faults resulting from the fluid injections, Ghosh said, as reported by UC Riverside News.

Earlier debates between seismologists regarding the origin of the tremor signals included theories that they were caused by large earthquakes that occurred far away, while others surmised they were caused by noise from human activity, such as industrial machinery or passing trains.

Seismometers are not smart. You could drive a truck nearby, or kick one with your foot, and it would record that vibration, Ghosh said. Thats why for some time we didnt know for sure if the signals were related to the fluid injections.

To try and find the cause of the tremors, the researchers used seismometers around a Wellington, Kansas, fracking site, recording data during the six month fracking injection period, as well as one month before and after.

We studied seismic tremor signals in Wellington Field, Kansas, using a seismic array during a carbon dioxide injection program. We show that these signals are generated below the surface during the time of carbon dioxide injection, the authors of the study wrote.

The research team found that the signals leftover, after background noise was discarded, came from underground and only appeared during fluid injections.

We did not detect the tremors before or after the injections, which suggests the tremors are related to them, Ghosh explained, as UC Riverside News reported.

Stopping the toxic and dangerous practice would be one way to prevent faults from slipping and producing tremors and the larger earthquakes that fracking has been known to cause. Ghosh said that, since that is unlikely to happen, monitoring the activities in order to understand how they are deforming rocks, as well as tracking fluid movement after fracking injections, is important.

Companies perform model experiments to determine what the limits for fluid injection pressures should be, according to UC Riverside News. Adhering to the established limits helps keep fluids from migrating in the direction of large underground faults that could trigger seismic activity.

We can only model this type of experiment when we know there is an existing fault. It is possible there are faults we do not know of, and in those cases, we cannot forecast what will happen, Ghosh said, as reported by UC Riverside News.




China now biggest export market for Norwegian chilled salmon in Asia

China has surpassed Japan and South Korea for the first time to become the largest export market for Norwegian fresh chilled salmon in Asia, said an official at the 2023 Salmon Production and Sales Fair held in Xining on August 10, citing the export data from January to July this year.

In the first half of 2023, Norwegian seafood exports to the Chinese market amounted to nearly 70,000 tonnes, with an export value of kr4.3 billion (US$417 million). In terms of export volume, China ranks fourth among all Norwegian seafood export markets.

China is an important market for Norwegian seafood exports, said Tong Anrui, director of the Norwegian Seafood Council in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

"The gradual recovery of the Chinese market, along with more sales channels for salmon, provides opportunities for Norwegian salmon sales in China," Tong said. "Varieties such as Norwegian salmon, Norwegian mackerel, Norwegian Arctic cod, Norwegian shrimp, crab and shellfish are highly favored by Chinese consumers."

From January to July 2023, the total export volume of Norwegian salmon to China reached around 24,000 tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 65%, with an export value of kr3.4 billion (US$330 million), marking a 94% increase compared to the same period last year.



- ECNS




Not much impact on northern Missouri, US hog production expected as sow farms close, industry official says

The closure of 35 sow farms in northern Missouri, the United States, is not expected to have much impact on Missouri's hog production, said the executive director of the Missouri Pork Association, Don Nikodim.

In a notice from the State of Missouri, Smithfield said it will close the facilities and lay off 92 employees in Mercer and Putnam Counties.

Nikodim said Smithfield Foods is expected to use newer facilities in southern Missouri to farrow pigs as the older facilities are less competitive in today's marketplace.

"They were built roughly in 1990. They're smaller, the technology is different and the wear and tear on a facility that old is significant," he added.

He told Brownfield the closures could result in fewer weaned pigs transported to Iowa.

"Instead of the Smithfield pigs traveling to Iowa, it would appear they will stay in Missouri. That's speculation, we haven't confirmed this," said Nikodim. "At this point, the finishers in northern Missouri will likely continue to operate."

He added that it's unclear if Smithfield Foods is making production changes to comply with California's Proposition 12 law, but there are a lot of companies making efforts to comply.



- Brownfield Ag News




Cebu, Philippines, stops entry of hogs, pork from Bohol following ASF outbreak

A 60-day ban on the entry of hogs, pork and its by-products from Bohol, the Philippines, is being implemented in Cebu province after African swine fever (ASF) was detected in Pilar town.

On August 8, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued an executive order (EO) imposing the ban, citing the need to protect Cebu's hog industry.

"Livestock transport trucks and reefer vans from the province of Bohol, which were issued Cebu provincial livestock transport passes, in order to carry live hogs and pork products, are banned from entering Cebu," Garcia's EO No. 21 read.

The governor called on the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Cebu Port Authority and mayors in the province to monitor their area of jurisdiction and implement the ban.

In March, Bohol imposed a ban on live hogs and pork products from Cebu after ASF was detected in Carcar City.



 The Freeman
So far, Ukraine has received 95 Western tanks, most of them German Leopard 2s and some British Challenger 2s. A few American M1s have arrived, mainly for use in training Ukrainian maintenance and repair personnel. By the end of the year Ukraine will have at least 30 M1s and over a hundred Leopard 2s and Challenger 2s. By early 2024 240 Leopard 1, Leopard 2, M1 and Challenger 2 tanks will be in Ukraine So far only one of the 69-ton Leopard 2s have been a total loss due to battle damage.

Rheinmetall, the German manufacturer of Leopards, has already helped Polish firm PGZ establish a Leopard tank repair facility in Poland and Rheinmetall plans to set up two more tank repair centers. One will be in Romania and, eventually, another in Ukraine. The United States meanwhile plans to establish a repair facility in Poland for the thirty-one 61-ton M1s that should start arriving in Ukraine in September. British firm Babcock is handling 64-t0n Challenger 2 repairs.

Ukraine wanted the Western tanks because they are more durable and rarely destroyed in combat. What often happens is that Western tanks suffer mobility kills, where the tank is largely intact but can no longer move because its engine or tracks are damaged. The most vulnerable item on these tanks is the track-laying mobility system.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces since June has been successful, but slow. Russia knew it was eventually coming and built extensive fortifications, including obstacles to vehicle movement, but mostly by planting millions of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. The anti-tank mines are frequently used because they are so effective. The mines themselves do not destroy tanks and other vehicles but inflict mobility kills by rendering the mine-damaged vehicles unable to move because of damaged tracks and/or tires/track wheels and suspension system. If this happens during combat, the vehicles and their crews are in big trouble. That often means the crew abandons the vehicle and seeks shelter elsewhere. Historically, most tank and armored fighting vehicle (AFV) losses come from mobility kills. The Ukraine War was unique because top attack ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) were able to destroy Russian-designed tanks and AFVs by causing the turret to explode and kill the entire crew. Now the Ukrainians are on the offensive and have to devote a lot of men and resources to removing anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. At the same time the Ukrainians use anti-tank mines to protect quiet sectors of the front line from surprise armored attacks.

The tracks on tanks are also vulnerable to accidental damage if the driver tries to cross an obstacle that can damage the tracks, often by just causing tracks to be separated from their supporting road wheels. When this happens, the crew has to get out and go through a time-consuming and strenuous effort to get the tracks back on. Track systems suffering battle damage can sometimes be repaired in the field if there is no damage to the wheels the tracks run on. Tank drivers are important members of the crew because they have to be alert and know what they are doing whenever the tank is moving. When not in combat, the tank commander will often stick his head and shoulders out of the turret and use his better view of the way ahead to warn the driver when an avoidable obstacle is spotted.

A lot of different anti-tank weapons have been developed over the last century but none have been so successful as anti-tank mines. Anti-tank guns and missiles can be defeated with better armor or the more recent APS (Active Protection System). For example, in 2021 Germany successfully completed acceptance tests of the Israeli Trophy APS they wanted to purchase for their Leopard 2 tanks. The acceptance tests consisted of firing ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles), RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and shells from tank guns or artillery that often fire such shells equipped with shaped charge warheads at tanks, at a Trophy-equipped Leopard 2.

This was not the first Leopard 2 to use an APS. Turkish Leopard 2 and M60 tanks were equipped with the Ukrainian Zaslon APS in 2018 and were successful enough for Turkey to obtain a manufacturing license to build Zaslon. Several other countries have ordered Zaslon because it is one of the few APS systems that proved itself in combat. Zaslon is more flexible to install as it uses individual modules and can be used on tanks equipped with ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor). On the downside, Zaslon will injure nearby infantry, which is a major problem for many nations. Zaslon has been in service for as long as Trophy and worked against Russian weapons in 2015, but saw little exposure to combat after that until the Turks noticed it.

Commercial tracked vehicles have been around since the 19th century and were the basis of the first tanks, which used commercial tracklaying systems for movement across World War I battlefields torn up by shell craters and man-made fortifications. This commercial tech was quite mature and reliable when World War I broke out in 1914 and was often used near the front lines to clear roads and repair damage caused by all the artillery shells. It didnt take long for someone, in this case the British, to put armor and weapons on a large tractor and create the first tanks. These were first used in combat during 1916 and were a success. By 1917 hundreds of tanks of all sizes were used in successful allied offensives.

Between the World Wars there were major improvements in automotive technology, tank design and armored warfare tactics. Only the Russians, now ruled by a communist dictatorship, produced a lot of new tank designs. The World War I peace treaty limited the size of the German military and banned Germany from having tanks. That did not stop the Germans from developing new armored warfare tactics. For a while the Russians allowed the Germans to observe Russian tank developments. The Germans noted that the Russians were developing all sorts of tank designs, often using new American automotive and tracked vehicle tech. The Americans continued using World War I tanks into the 1930 because military budgets were small, especially during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

When World War II broke out in 1939 America quickly mobilized and eventually produced more tanks and warplanes than anyone else. By 1939 the Russians finally ended seven years of border battles with the Japanese in Mongolia by defeating the Japanese with mechanized units featuring lots of light tanks. Because of this impressive Russian performance, Japan decided to stay out of any further fighting with the Russians. That lasted until Germany was defeated by the Western allies and Russia in 1945. Japanese armored vehicle design and tank warfare tactics had not developed much before or during World War II.

Between 1939 and 1943 the Germans conquered most of European Russia using increasingly inferior, compared to the new Russian tanks, mobile forces. From 1943 to 1945 the Germans were on the defensive. Germany developed superior tanks like the Panther and Tiger, but not enough to offset the larger allied and Russian tank forces.

At the end of World War II Russia was using a lot more T-34/85 tanks which were good enough to overwhelm the smaller number of superior German tanks. Britain and the United States never developed any outstanding tank designs during the war but, because the American out-produced everyone else, the allies always had more tanks in action, supported by more artillery, warplanes and much else. Both Russia and the Western allies used huge numbers of adequate tanks to defeat the smaller number of more effective German tanks.

During the subsequent Cold War (1947 to 1991) the Russians and Western allies never fought each other directly. By 1991 the Soviet Union had dissolved and a much smaller Russia ended up with most of the 50,000 tanks the Soviet army had. By then the Western allies, including West Germany, later reunited Germany, had developed superior tank technology and, for the first time in 2023, those Western tanks saw their first action against Russian forces in Ukraine. The Western M1, Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 tanks were operated by Ukrainians, who had earlier wiped out most of Russias modern tanks using modern anti-tank weapons. Ukraine had more than a thousand Russian-designed tanks but it was Ukrainian infantry armed with new anti-tank weapons, most of them from NATO countries, who really destroyed the larger and theoretically superior Russian tank force. After sixteen months of that the Ukrainians went on the offensive but not with a lot of Western tanks. There was a lot of Western artillery and other new weapons. The Russians were forced to fall back on older and still reliable defensive tactics using anti-tank mines, tank obstacles and a sense of desperation.

Modern Western tanks were a factor in the victory, but more as a threat than actual use in battle. That was because the Western tanks had already proved themselves in battle, but not a major war.

The M1 entered service in 1980 and 10,300 were built. The Leopard 2 followed in 1983 and 3,600 were built. Production of both these tanks sharply declined after the Cold War ended in 1991. At that point a lot of existing Leopard 2s were no longer needed and became a hot item in the second-hand market. By 2010 secondhand Leopard 2s were hard to come by because so many had already been sold or scrapped.

Germany sold off or retired so many of its Leopard 2s that by 2017, when they sought to rebuild their tank force to face the new Russian threat, it found Turkey, Chile, Greece, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Poland each had more operational Leopard 2 tanks than Germany. This odd situation was revealed in late 2017 when it was discovered that 53 of Germanys Leopard 2s were unavailable because they were undergoing upgrades and 86 were inoperable because of spare parts shortages. That meant Germany only had 95 Leopard 2 tanks that were combat ready. Thats 39 percent of the 244 Leopard 2s then operated by the German army.

This was all attributed to a 2015 program to expand and upgrade the German tank force. That involved taking 104 retired (in the 1990s) Leopard 2A4 tanks and putting them back into service after refurbishing the older tanks and upgrading them to the A7V standard. The 104 reactivated Leopard 2A7Vs did not begin arriving until 2019 and it will take until 2023 to complete the process. There may be further additions to the active tank force depending on how much of a threat Russia continues to pose.

Most Germans believed peace would last after the communist governments Russia had imposed on most East European nations after 1945 suddenly collapsed in 1989 followed by the Soviet Union dissolving in 1991. That marked the end of the Cold War. On top of that Germany was reunited in 1990 and the Russian-equipped East German military was largely scrapped. At that point the German Leopard 2 fleet shrank over 85 percent (from 2,000 to 225). Germany also retired over 2,200 Leopard 1s. Most of the retired Leopards were sold off or scrapped. But nearly a thousand Leopard 2s were put in storage just in case. Until 2014, Germany believed that those retired Leopard 2s would eventually be sold off or used for spare parts. A minority of Germans thought there was still a risk of a renewed Russian threat, so plans were made to keep upgrading Leopard 2s for foreign customers who were now operating most of the remaining Leopard 2s. Only 225 German Army Leopard 2s nominally remain in service.

Currently the American M1A2SEP and the Leopard 2A7V are the two most effective and numerous modern tanks. There are also the lighter 57-ton French LeClerc 2 and the 63-ton British Challenger 2. Both of these tanks were built in small numbers (about 400 each). German firm Rheinmetall won the billion-dollar contract to produce the Challenger 3, which is a major upgrade of Challenger 2, including a new turret and much improved 120mm gun. Sometimes superior tank designs can help win a war without ever fighting. There were also new developments in anti-tank weapons, including anti-tank mines. A new American anti-tank mine design not only damages the tracks but also sends a metal projective through the thinner bottom armored of tanks. As in the past, these mines remain the major threat to tanks and any advance involving tanks needed armored mine-clearing vehicles to clear as much of the combat zone of anti-tank mines and obstacles. Naturally these new mine clearance vehicles were not built in anywhere near the numbers required. Combat engineer battalions have some of these armored mine-clearing vehicles but, as the Ukraine situation demonstrated, not enough of them.

After two months of use, the Ukrainians had two Leopard 2s destroyed and five damaged. The German manufacturer of the Leopard 2 had made arrangements with PGZ, a Polish firm, to repair Leopard 2 battle damage and return these tanks to use. Ukraine had already developed a tank recovery system for the heavier (than Russian tanks) Leopards, Challengers and M1s.
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was sent to jail Friday after the judge overseeing his case revoked his bail. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan found probable cause that the disgraced former CEO repeatedly tampered with witnesses. In addition, Kaplan rejected Bankman-Frieds attorneys request to delay his detention pending appeal.

Prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried tried to harass a crucial witness last month when he showed a New York Times reporter the personal writings of his former partner Caroline Ellison, a cooperating witness who pleaded guilty in December to criminal charges related to defrauding FTX investors. The prosecution said SBFs actions were an attempt to damage her reputation and influence prospective jurors. Meanwhile, SBFs defense team accused prosecutors of using evidence laden with innuendo, speculation, and scant facts. Judge Kaplan sided with prosecutors, saying Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice.

Reuters reports that the 31-year-old former FTX boss was ushered out of the court by US Marshals after removing his shoelaces, jacket and tie and emptying his pockets. The former CEO had been under house arrest in California (at his parents home in Palo Alto) since he was extradited in December following his arrest in the Bahamas last December. His $250 million bail package tightly controlled his internet usage.
As we begin to witness changes taking place in the problematic Ministry of Health, where Principal Secretary (PS) Dr Simon Zwane has been transferred and an award-winning Director of NERCHA, Khanya Mabuza, has been brought in to replace him, one is reminded of the proverb, success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan.

Dr Zwane may feel like the scapegoat, but he understands deep down that things cant stay the same in the face of massive public discontent about healthcare service delivery. Something has to give, and accountability begins at the top, and we appreciate His Majesty for making the call for the much needed reforms in this ministry. It could easily have been the Health minister who was reshuffled, but Cabinet is all but gone with the dissolution of Parliament on July 11, 2023.

In other countries, one fatality caused by negligence or inefficiency is enough to cost leaders their jobs. Take nothing away from Zwane and the minister, they have played their part but its the results that speak on their behalf. The reforms come as we begin to see some relief for approximately 400 orthopaedic patients who are finally having their day on the operating table, thanks to Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Dlaminis intervention, who established a Cabinet task team to address the health crisis. We wonder why the public has had to wait so long for this and other similar difficulties that have caused immense agony.

Mabuza will find a heap of tasks placed in his in-tray, top of which is the drugs shortage coupled with the need to provide relief for dozens of cancer patients said to be idling in South Africa (SA) needing treatment, which wont come unless government settles long-standing bills that run into the multi-millions of Emalangeni. He has numerous relationships to rebuild and new ones to foster, not least with institutions, like The Luke Commission, that have taken up the responsibility of providing a high standard of public health services that many emaSwati (including the Health Ministry when desperate) are running to for lifes sake.

We believe his leadership played a large part in coordinating a national campaign towards achieving good results and we can count on his understanding of health systems to get our sector more efficient. Can he transfer this charm to achieving buy-in from members of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), who do not hesitate to protest at any given opportunity? This is not unfamiliar territory for him, as these are the same foot soldiers he has used to turn the HIV/AIDS tide in our favour. He was at the helm of the National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA) as Eswatini turned from being one of the countries with the highest HIV infection rates in the world to becoming one of the top five countries, globally, to have achieved the 95-95-95 targets of curbing the disease as a public health threat, well ahead of the set 2025 deadline.



The 95-95-95 are part of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) targets for testing and treatment to have 95 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 95 per cent of people who know their status being put on treatment and 95 per cent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads. This has earned Eswatini accolades for this achievement, and His Majesty the King recently received two of the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) awards for coming close to reaching the set targets.

Mabuza has been to NERCHA what the late Simon Kunene was to malaria, which earned him the nickname Mbuzulwane. The country earned global recognition in the fight against malaria, back in 2017, when it received the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) Awards for Excellence at the 28th African Union Summit for its impact on malaria incidence and mortality. Eswatini was the first country in Africa to produce a malaria elimination scorecard to enhance tracking and accountability under Kunenes watch.

These are important developments as they demonstrate the capabilities that the country has to become the best in the world in healthcare service delivery. We have got the brains and the know-how, but somehow we choose to play ignorant and make life difficult for ourselves, albeit at the expense of other peoples lives. However, we are well aware that Mabuza now takes on a much broader mandate, and a lot of what he can achieve will depend on the Health minister he gets in the next Cabinet as well as the level of political will to address the ongoing challenges. His comments in reaction to his appointment are encouraging about his approach to the job.

He stated that pointing fingers would be futile while people were dying on the other side. All he wants, he said, is to ensure that all problems identified, whether by the forensic audit or otherwise, are addressed since he believed that if the problems were created by humans, they could also be remedied by humans. A good starting point, for he knows well that while his success at NERCHA has earned him a thousand fathers and placed him in the vanguard of a health service transformation, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from his predecessors, which, if not cautious about, can easily render him an orphan when things fall apart. Best of luck Mshengu!
This is a book that very much needed to be written. Many books and articles have been published on different aspects of the momentous changes that Nepal has been through in the last 70 years or so. Having first visited Nepal in 1975, I can personally attest both to the huge transformations and to the significant quantity of publications, many of high quality, on different aspects of Nepals history, economy, and society. And yet, as Jeevan R Sharma rightly says, we lack a single integrated framework that encompasses different dimensions of these transformations (p 17). That is what Sharma sets out to provide.

Not since the synthesis by Piers Blaikie, John Cameron, and David Seddon, Nepal in Crisis: Growth and Stagnation at the Periphery (1980), has there been such an ambitious attempt to pull it all togetherunless one counts Baburam Bhattarais classic Marxist account in The Nature of Underdevelopment and Regional Structure of Nepal: A Marxist Analysis (2003). But this came out a full 17 years after the PhD on which it was based. In other words, Bhattarais work, despite the date of publication (which had more to do with the progress of the Maoists Peoples War and boosting the authors profile within the movement), is in fact almost as old as Nepal in Crisis. Unlike these two Marx-inspired forebears, Sharma cleaves rather to a different KarlKarl Polanyiand to his masterwork, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, originally published in 1944.
Amid the heightened preparations for the upcoming general elections and the recently concluded Karnataka assembly elections, the issue of non-participation of internal migrants as voters in India has also gained attention. The Election Commission has proposed the launch of remote voting machines (RVMs) to address the challenges faced by internal migrants in exercising their voting rights. This crucial reform aims to retrieve unpolled votes and usher in a momentous change towards greater democracy. The political inclusion of a significant portion of the migrant population is undermined by their lack of access to exercise their voting rights, emphasising the importance of assessing the potential impact of implementing RVMs in bolstering their political inclusivity.

Internal migrants in India encounter significant hurdles in exercising their right to vote due to their mobility. These obstacles are more prevalent for migrants with a lower socio-economic status, especially those engaged in the informal sector. Limited resources, lack of proper documentation, and spatial challenges contribute to their exclusion from the democratic process. A significant majority of these migrants resides in urban areas across India, often far away from their rural place of origin. Recent trends show a decline in urban voter turnout while rural voter turnout has increased. In 2020, a case study in Delhi highlighted the challenges faced by migrants in participating in the voting process. In 2011, an empirical study by Aajeevika Bureau discovered that seasonal migrants had limited political participation in both their home and host locations. This research indicates that a considerable number of eligible Indian voters who do not participate in the electoral process are those who temporarily reside outside their respective constituencies during the election period. The 2019 general elections in India saw approximately 900 million voters registered, with a 67% turnout, meaning that around 600 million people voted while 300 million did not.
Sevilla

Condenado por amenazar a otro con darle "dos hostias" en una reunion de la comunidad de vecinos en Villamanrique
(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

Kamux Corporation, Half Year Financial Report, 11.8.2023 at 9:00

HAMEENLINNA, Finland, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kamux Corporation's Half Year Financial Report for January 1June 30, 2023: Revenue increased and adjusted operating profit at previous year's level

This is a summary of Kamux Corporation's Half Year Financial Report for January 1June 30, 2023. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at the company website at kamux.com.

The figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period in the previous year, unless stated otherwise.

AprilJune in brief

Revenue increased by 3.3%, totaling EUR 255.0 million (246.8)

(246.8) Gross profit increased by 7.5% to EUR 26.3 million (24.5), or 10.3% (9.9) of revenue

(24.5), or 10.3% (9.9) of revenue Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) was at previous year's level and was EUR 4.5 million (4.5), or 1.8% (1.8) of revenue

(4.5), or 1.8% (1.8) of revenue Operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -14.3% to EUR 3.9 million (4.5), or 1.5% (1.8) of revenue

(4.5), or 1.5% (1.8) of revenue The number of cars sold increased by 9.7% to 17,215 cars (15,688)

Like-for-like showroom revenue growth was 2.9% (5.5)

Basic and diluted earnings per share were EUR 0.06 (0.07)

(0.07) As announced earlier, Tapio Pajuharju assumed his role as CEO of Kamux on June 1, 2023 . Kamux's founder and previous CEO Juha Kalliokoski continues as a member of the Company's Board of Directors.

JanuaryJune in brief

Revenue decreased by -1.2%, totaling EUR 478.1 million (484.1)

(484.1) Gross profit decreased by -3.4% to EUR 47.0 million (48.7), or 9.8% (10.1) of revenue

(48.7), or 9.8% (10.1) of revenue Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -47.2% to EUR 5.4 million (10.2), or 1.1% (2.1) of revenue

(10.2), or 1.1% (2.1) of revenue Operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -56.0% to EUR 4.5 million (10.2), or 0.9% (2.1) of revenue

(10.2), or 0.9% (2.1) of revenue The number of cars sold increased by 4.0% to 32,539 cars (31,289)

Like-for-like showroom revenue decreased -2.4% (7.0)

Basic and diluted earnings per share were EUR 0.06 (0.18)

Key Figures

CEO Tapio Pajuharju:

"The used car market developed favorably in the second quarter of 2023 in all of Kamux's operating countries, although the volumes were still significantly lower than in 2021, which was a good year. In Germany, there were large regional differences in market development, and in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany, which is important to Kamux, development was unfavorable. In line with the positive momentum in the market, the number of cars sold by Kamux increased by almost 10 percent in the second quarter, although in Sweden we fell short of the previous year's figures mainly due to challenges in availability of cars, caused by the weak Swedish krona. With the increase in the number of cars sold, the Group's revenue grew by 3.3 percent to EUR 255.0 million, although the fees and commissions received from financing partners were lower than in the previous year.

Gross margin developed favorably in Finland and Sweden. I'm very pleased to note that the measures taken to improve profitability in Sweden have started to bring some initial results. In Germany, the gross margin weakened due to measures taken to clean up the inventory. Q2 adjusted operating profit was at the previous year's level at EUR 4.5 million, but the reported operating profit decreased due to one-off items at the Group level. The operating profit was also challenged by costs related to the opening of the Duren showroom and marketing activities taken to build awareness of Kamux in Germany. In addition, operating profit was negatively affected by increased costs resulting from the capacity increase in Sweden in 2022 and costs increasing faster than revenue in Finland.

With the exception of Sweden, the used car purchasing market normalized during the reporting period. In Sweden, the purchasing market was difficult, as a large part of the used cars released on the market were sold outside of Sweden as a result of the weak Swedish krona.

The electrification of the car fleet continues, and although the vast majority of used cars sold are still combustion engine-powered, an increasing number of used cars sold in Finland and Sweden are EVs or plug-in hybrids. The number of plug-in hybrids and EVs sold by Kamux increased by 62% compared to the second quarter of 2022.

I have now been hands on at Kamux's steering wheel approximately two months, and I would like to warmly thank the whole Kamux team for their solid contribution to the company as well as all of our customers and especially for the warm welcome I have experienced. I will continue to onboard the company and the business. During the rest of the year, we will also focus on the Company's strategy. At this point, it has become rather clear that, as in a good preowned car that has already some mileage on it, it is also time to perform maintenance as well as upgrades at Kamux, e.g. to further enhance customer attention and service across all channels as well as to further increase productivity. These measures will improve Kamux's competitiveness and enhance profitability."

Outlook for the year 2023 (unchanged)

In 2023, Kamux expects its adjusted operating profit to grow from the year 2022, when the adjusted operating profit was EUR 17.5 million.

Financial targets for 20212023

The Company's medium-term financial targets are to increase revenue by over 20% annually, to increase adjusted operating profit annually, and to reach an adjusted operating profit margin of over 3.5% and a return on equity (ROE) of over 25%. Additionally, the Company's target is to distribute dividends of at least 25% of net profits. The Board of Directors of the Company estimates annually the balance between dividends to be distributed and funds to be used for Kamux's growth, and based on this assessment, makes a proposal on the amount of dividend to be distributed, which may for any single year differ significantly from the target level set in the dividend policy.

Kamux will update its strategy and financial targets at the beginning of 2024.

Significant events after the reporting period

On August 2, 2023, Kamux announced that Kerim Nielsen, Country Director for Sweden and member of the Group Management Team, has decided to pursue a career opportunity outside of Kamux Corporation in early 2024. He will continue in his current position at least until December 31, 2023.

Publication schedule for financial reporting in 2023

Publication schedule for Kamux Corporation's financial reporting in 2023 is as follows:

Interim Report for JanuarySeptember 2023 November 10, 2023

News conference

News conference for investors, analysts and media will be held today on Friday, August 11, 2023, at Sanomatalo, Flik Studio Eliel, 1st floor, Toolonlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki at 11:00 EET in English. CEO Tapio Pajuharju and CFO Marko Lehtonen will present the Half Year Report.

The conference can be followed as a live webcast at https://kamux.videosync.fi/2023-q2-results

Participation by conference call:

You can access the teleconference by registering on the link below. After the registration you will be provided phone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference. http://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?i...

The conference in English will start at 11.00 EET. If you wish to ask a question, please dial *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the queue.

For further information, please contact:CEO Tapio Pajuharju, tel. +358 50 577 4200CFO Marko Lehtonen, tel. +358 50 575 2006Head of Communications & IR Katariina Hietaranta, tel. +358 50 557 6765Kamux CorporationCommunications

Kamux is a retail chain specializing in the sale of used cars and related integrated services that has grown rapidly. Kamux combines online shopping with an extensive showroom network to provide its customers with a great service experience anytime, anywhere. In addition to digital channels, the company has a total of 77 car showrooms in Finland, Sweden and Germany. Since its founding, the company has sold over 450,000 used cars, 62,922 of which were sold in 2022. Kamux's revenue in 2022 was EUR 968.7 million and its average number of employees was 883 in terms of full-time equivalent employees. Kamux Corporation is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. For more information, please visit www.kamux.com

The following files are available for download:

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kamux-corporations-half-year-financial-report-for-january-1june-30-2023-revenue-increased-and-adjusted-operating-profit-at-previous-years-level-301898571.html
Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed during a campaign event in northern Quito and a suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out, authorities said.
For the second summer in a row, drought and extreme heat are stressing the health of cattle in Texas, the top beef-producing state in the US, leading some ranchers to think about thinning their herds.
LUDZIDZINI - Its time for Imbali to dust their sneakers and prepare for this years Umhlanga Reed Dance Ceremony as the King has spoken.

His Majesty King Mswati III has summoned Imbali from the four regions of the country to Ludzidzini Royal Residence for the annual cultural event.

Through Inkhosatana yeMbali Princess Sakhizwe, the King said Imbali would be expected at the royal residence on August 29, 2023 for registration. Princess Sakhizwe said the maidens would proceed to Ngabezweni Royal Residence, where they would be commissioned to fetch the reed in places that are yet to be announced by the King on August 30, 2023. She said on August 31, 2023, Imbali would proceed to the swamps to fetch the reed. On September 1, 2023, she said the maidens would bring the reed from their various places to Ludzidzini Royal Residence.

Maidens

She said on September 2, 2023, the maidens would take a rest at Ludzidizni Royal Residence in readiness to deliver the reed on September 3, 2023.

September 4, 2023, has been scheduled for the main dance. The princess stated that Imbali would remain for the upcoming Kings birthday Independence Day celebrations. Umhlanga is one of Eswatinis cultures aimed at encouraging the girl child to preserve her virginity until marriage. The event affords the maidens an opportunity to showcase their chastity before Their Majesties and the entire world.

Chiefs were also warned against releasing very young children due to scarcity of the reed at the nearby places. This, the princess said, was because the very young children would not be able to travel to the far places. The chiefs were warned to ensure that their subjects did not harm the regiment in any way. Chiefs will be held liable for any subject who might harm the regiment. Men are aware that they will sleep separately from the maidens, she said.



Sequence of this years Umhlanga Reed Dance Ceremony:

l August 29, 2023: Registration

l August 30, 2023: Commissioning

l September 1, 2023: Fetching of the reed

l September 2, 2023: Reed brought back to Ludzidzini Royal Residence

l September 3, 2023: Delivery of the reed at Ludzidzini Royal Residence

l September 4, 2023: Umhlanga holiday
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Montana Assistant Attorney General Thane Johnson asks questions of state expert witness Terry Anderson on June 19, 2023, during the Held v. Montana trial. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

The state of Montana was billed nearly $95,000 in total by the three expert witnesses the Attorney Generals Office utilized in the Held v. Montana climate change trial, two of whom the state never called to testify, according records the Daily Montana requested for paid invoices in the case.

The three expert witnesses were Terry Anderson, a self-identified climate economist and Hoover Institution fellow; neuropsychologist Debra Sheppard; and climatologist Judith Curry.

Anderson charged the state $27,125, according to invoices he billed the state of Montana. He testified at the trial, though some of the data he provided was deemed to be incorrect by attorneys for the plaintiffs.

But Sheppard, who billed the state $4,150 for work through Jan. 6, and Curry, who billed the state a total of $63,999 for her work, that of a research associate, and airline tickets, were never called to testify at the trial.

A spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office told the Associated Press in the final days of the trial Curry was not put on the stand because of strategy changes.

While hiring expert witnesses for court cases and trials at the rates the three were paid is common practice, the costs of the state of Montana defending its laws  several of which have been temporarily or permanently enjoined  since the 2021 legislative session continue to mount and have been scrutinized by lawmakers and the public alike.

The legislature approved more than $2 million in the biennium for the Attorney Generals Offices litigation costs to defend the state in cases and for outside lawsuits.

In the Held case, the state paid witnesses to support its argument that Montana laws ignoring greenhouse gas emissions from energy and mining projects do not violate rights to a clean and healthful environment as the youth plaintiffs allege.

How much each expert witness billed Montana

Curry billed the state through three separate invoices. She charged $400 an hour for 103 total hours of work for a total of $41,200. She also billed the state for 102 hours of work done by a research associate at $200 an hour for a total of $20,400.

Curry additionally billed the state $2,099 for four plane tickets to travel from Reno to Helena and back for both weeks of the trial. It is unclear if the airline ticket invoices were paid by the state, as Curry said in a blog post she wrote the day after the trial ended that she did not end up taking the flights. She declined to provide further information or comment for this story when reached by email.

Anderson, reached by email to ask whether the $27,125 in invoices made to the state were paid in full, said the inquiry was totally irrelevant and that the figure provided to him was too high. In subsequent emails, he failed to offer any alternative figure.

Anderson said on the stand during the trial he was being paid $500 an hour by the state and that he assumed he had already billed 25 hours, which would amount to $12,500.

The Daily Montanan requested public records related to amounts the state of Montana paid expert witnesses in the case, and the Attorney Generals Office provided 12 pages of invoices in response.

The records show Anderson sent the state four separate invoices for 54  total hours of billable work at $500/hour done between June 2022 and the end of the trial. The details of each hourly entry are redacted in the documents. One page shows a discrepancy in the number of hours listed and the total sum of hours on the invoice.

A $4,150 invoice dated Jan. 17 was the only one linked to Sheppard that was contained in the records. She did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Spokespeople for the Attorney Generals Office did not respond to questions this week including an ask that they confirm whether the state paid invoices in full, address what money was used to pay the witnesses, and explain the reason for not calling Curry and Sheppard to the stand.

One expert witness critical of state attorneys

The 16 youth plaintiffs and their attorneys say that the states law that says it cannot consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate effects when performing environmental reviews on energy and mining projects violates their constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment and stable climate system.

When the state decided not to call Curry or Sheppard to the stand  their only climate and mental health expert witnesses  Anderson, the director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and one of its division directors ended up being the lone people to take the stand to support the states arguments.

Curry, the president of the Climate Forecast Applications Network and former chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was the lone climate expert the Attorney Generals Office hired to support its side of the case and to rebut the testimony from the plaintiffs experts.

She said in testimony filed before the trial that plaintiffs concerns about climate change were exaggerated and reported her belief that Montanas fossil fuel emissions only provided a tiny slice of global emissions and thus could not directly influence the states weather and climate. That claim was used throughout the trial by the states attorneys when cross-examining the plaintiffs and their expert witnesses.

In a blog post, Curry said she received a call from Montanas legal team the Thursday night of the first week of the trial that the state was letting [her] off the hook.

In the post published the following Wednesday, June 21 and the day after each side delivered closing arguments in the trial, Curry said she was relieved not to have participated in the trial because of how the states attorneys handled Andersons testimony.

I was deeply critical of how the cross-examination of the Plaintiffs climate witnesses was going, and very concerned about how my own direct testimony would be handled. I communicated my concerns to the lead MT lawyer numerous times over the first several days of the trial, Curry wrote.

She called the states lawyers totally unprepared to cross examine the plaintiffs expert witnesses, adding that those expert witnesses misrepresented her written testimony, though that would be stricken from the record.

Plaintiffs expert witnesses largely worked pro bono

Mat dos Santos, the managing attorney for plaintiffs Our Childrens Trust, said its team worked thousands of hours on the case pro bono, meaning they were not paid by the plaintiffs. They said the expert witnesses also wrote reports and testified without being paid, though Our Childrens Trust did cover their out-of-pocket expenses, dos Santos said in an interview this week.

Should the plaintiffs prevail in the case, dos Santos said Our Childrens Trust will seek court fees and costs for the work they did and other expenditures.

Because these cases are so incredibly expensive  they can easily run up the chain of a million dollars, or hundreds of thousands of dollars  we will for sure ask for that relief from the court if we win, they said.

Judge Kathy Seeleys decision in the case is expected to be handed down in the coming weeks. No matter the order, attorneys on both sides of the case have indicated it will likely be appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.

The post Montanas expert witnesses in climate change trial billed state $95K appeared first on Daily Montanan.
UPDATE, AUG. 20:

Those traveling on Highway 38, Skalkaho Road, are urged to drive with caution as firefighters will be along the roadway through the day for fire operations on the Bowles Creek Fire.

Fire crews continue to construct fuel breaks along several roads and other values at risk Sunday, an update from the Great Basin Team 3 said.

Remnants of Hurricane Hilary are expected to shift northward and into the region and precipitation will keep fire activity minimal over the next several days.

UPDATE, AUG. 19:

Great Basin Team 3 is taking over management of the Bowles Creek Fire on Sunday.

Fire activity was limited by rain in the area, but is expected to increase in the coming days.

Lower temperatures and higher humidities are expected through the weekend and into Monday, fire crews continue to construct fuel breaks along several roads and other values at risk, the Minnesota Incident Command System reported.

Fire officials continue to monitor fire spread and fire behavior as weather conditions change.

Firefighters are utilizing firing operations to strengthen containment lines. Fire crews increased road patrols to better monitor spotting and spreading.

UPDATE, AUG. 18:

Over the last two days, the Bowles Creek Fire has grown to 6,847 acres and containment is now at 20%.

The fire is very active on the northeast perimeter and is approaching areas that may affect Highway 38, Skalkaho Rd.Travelers wishing to travel Highway 38 are urged to check for updates to ensure the road remains open.

Active fire behavior may continue Friday and a red flag warning is in effect.

The Minnesota Incident Command System reported the following planned actions for Friday:

Fire crews continue to construct fuel breaks along several roads and other values at risk. Fire officials continue to monitor fire spread and fire behavior.

Firefighters are utilizing firing operations to strengthen containment lines.

Fire crews also continue installation of sprinklers to protect values at risk and have also increased road patrols to better monitor spotting and spreading.

UPDATE, AUG. 17:

Fire activity is picking up on the Bowles Creek Fire, with the fire growing to 4,481 acres. Containment on the fire has also grown to 15%.

The Minnesota Incident Command Team says the flanking, group tree torching, and spotting is being observed. Fire crews continue to construct fuel breaks along several roads.

Aircraft is checking fire spread and fire officials continue to monitor fire behavior.

Firefighters are utilizing firing operations to strengthen containment lines.

Fire crews also continue to implement chipping and mastication operations, as well as installation of sprinklers,to reduce available fuels near values at risk.

UPDATE, AUG. 16:

The Bowles Creek Fire is burning 4,033 acres and is 10% contained as of Wednesday morning.

UPDATE, AUG. 14:

The Bowles Creek fire is now burning 3,980 acres with containment still at 5% Friday.

The Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) said in a release reminding people to slow down on Highway 28, Skalkaho Road, due to fire apparatus, school busses and dusty conditions.

Crews will keep building a fuel break in the fire area on the east side.

Chipping operations are ongoing along FS Road 5070 south towards Basin Creek.

Snag operations are persisting in the Crystal Creek area.

Crews are still securing the line, fortifying the fire line and hose laying on the west side down to Railroad Creek.

Crews are still evaluating the values in danger and will mitigate as needed, MNCIS said in the release.

Warmer and drier weather conditions are forecasted to persist through the week--smoke levels may rise and reduce visibility.

UPDATE, AUG. 13:

The potential for moderate fire activity over the Bowles Creek Fire area may increase Sunday as warmer and dryer weather reduces the relative humidity levels.

Crews on the east side continue to construct a fuel break in the fire area, according to an update from the Minnesota Incident Command System.

Chipping operations continue along FS Road 5070 south towards Sand Basin Creek. Snag removal operations continue in the Crystal Creek area.

The crews on the west side continue to secure the line down to Railroad Creek, fortify the fire line and install hose lays.

UPDATE, AUG. 12:

Fire activity in the area of the Bowles Creek Fire may increase as warmer and drier weather moves in.

The Bowles Creek Fire is now 3,738 acres large and is 5% contained.

The following are Saturdays planned actions from the Minnesota Incident Command System:

Crews on the east side continue to construct a fuel break within the fire area and are starting to chip and create a shaded fuel break along FS Road 5070 south towards Sand Basin Creek.

Personnel continue to remove snags in the Crystal Creek area.

The crews on the west side are making progress connecting fireline into Railroad Creek.

UPDATE, AUG. 11:

People traveling in or through the Bowles Creek Fire area are being encouraged to drive cautiously, yield to increased fire traffic and to expect limited visibility in areas of increased smoke.

An update from the Minnesota Incident Command System says crews have completed shaded fuel break on the eastern portion of the fire on the FS Road 5071.

They continue to scout for more areas to treat and establish more containment opportunities, especially in the south and west sections of the area.

A warming and drying trend is expected to extend through the weekend.

UPDATE, AUG. 10:

Excess fuel has been removed from the western and eastern sides as masticating and chipping actions in target areas have been completed.

The Bowles Creek Fire is 3,589 acres large and 5% contained Thursday.

In anticipation of hotter, drier weather, personnel are scouting for more areas to treat and establish more containment opportunities, especially in the south and west sections of the area, according to the Minnesota Incident Command Team.

UPDATE, AUG. 9:

Fire activity on the Bowles Creek Fire is expected to increase Wednesday, with winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour and temperatures reaching the mid-60 to lower 70 degrees.

The Minnesota Incident Command System reports the fire is 3,559 acres large and is 5% contained.

Crews Along the western edge of the fire area continue to fortify and extend hand lines along FS Road 711 and towards Railroad Creek. They continue strengthening fuel breaks into existing fuel treatment areas.

Crews along the eastern edge continue to utilize hand crews to construct a fuel break along FS road 5071 north towards highway 38.

They are continuing to masticate and remove fuel along FS road 5035 and fuels in the Crystal Creek area.

Crews on both sides will continue scouting for more areas to treat and establish more containment opportunities, especially in the south and west sections of the area.

UPDATE, AUG. 8:

The Bowles Creek Fire is now 5% contained and is 3,559 acres in size.

Western Edge crews today are continuing to extend handlines and fuel breaks into the existing fuel treatment areas while crews along the eastern edge have laid almost 10,000 feet of hose and continue to construct fire lines.

Today, crews are working to remove understory fuels in the Crystal Creek area and will continue scouting for more areas to treat and establish more containment opportunities, especially in the west and south portions of the area.

Wednesdays weather is predicted to reach mid-60's with increased wind, which will significantly reduce moisture content in fuels.

The Skalkaho Pass Road remains open today, but a reminder to those who are recreating or traveling in the fire area, you are encouraged to be aware of the situation and pay attention to increased fire traffic.

A temporary flight restriction is in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources.

UPDATE, AUG. 7:

The Bowles Creek Fire is 3% contained as of 9:35am on August 7.

Crews with the Minnesota Incident Command System Team are working to continue to extend fire lines and chip and masticate trees and brush, in turn reducing available fuel for the fire.

Right now their current plan of action is crews on the west side will continue fire line construction and chipping along Forest Road 711 to serve as an indirect continue line for containment.

As for the east side of the fire, crews continue construction fire lines.

Both crews will continue scouting for areas to treat and establish more containment opportunities.

With the weather, cool and unsettled conditions continue to dominate fire behavior.

Holdover fire is creeping and smoldering in timber drainages with a heavy dead, down, and standing component due to beetle kill.

In areas where the fire is burning into previous fire footprints, the fire activity will be holding over in heavy fuels and dry duff pockets.

Dead fuel moisture levels are increasing with cloudy, cooler, humid temperatures, but will reverse and become drier as forecasted hotter and drier temperatures return later in the week.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails (Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire

UPDATE, AUG. 6:

The Minnesota Incident Command System Team (MNICS) has assumed responsibilities of the Bowles Creek Fire with Jeb Backe the new Incident Commander Sunday.

MNICS reports the fire is now 3,559 acres large and 3% contained.

Crews on the west side of the fire will continue fireline construction and improvement work along Forest Road 711 to serve as an indirect control line for containment.

On the east side,crews continue constructing a fireline. They anticipate completion in the next few days.Crews on both sides will continue scouting for more areas to treat and establish more effective containment opportunities.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails(Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023

UPDATE, AUG 5:

Cooler temperatures and higher humidity, with precipitation moving in over the weekend are forecasted for the Bowles Creek Fire area.

An update from the Northern Rockies Team 8 says heavy equipment and masticators continue improving and constructing indirect fuel break (by clearing dead and down vegetation) along Forest Roads 711A and 75 towards Railroad Creek.

Masticators started line construction on Forest Road 5035 towards Forest Road 5071, and crews continue indirect fuel breaks from Forest Road 5071 towards Forest Road 5070.

Fire personnel will continue scouting for containment opportunities to the North and South, including the use of previous firelines from the 2022 Hog Trough Fire.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails (Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire.

UPDATE, AUG. 4:

The Bowels Creek Fire is burning an estimated 3,267 acres and is 3% contained Friday morning.

Heavy equipment will be removing dead and down vegetation along Forest Road 711A towards Railroad Creek, and on Forest Road 5071 towards Forest Road 5070, an update from Northern Rockies Team 8 said.

Crews were able to improve and hold the control line as easterly winds redirected the fire towards the line.

Fire personnel will keep looking for containment opportunities to the north and south, including lines from the Hog Trough Fire in 2022.

Hand crews are still using hose lay and sprinklers to help suppression efforts on the west side of the fire.

Crews built a corduroy bridge near Crystal Creek Campground to allow equipment to cross and prevent steambed impacts, Northern Rockies Team 8's update said.

Personnel are confronting various spot fires towards the south.

Helicopters are supporting both sides of the fire area.

Decreased temperatures, higher humidity with precipitation and possibility of thunderstorm development are forecasted.

Smoke may be seen in the region.

Northern Rockies Team 8 said the following in the release in regard to closures:

"The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails (Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire. See the following link for a complete listing of the roads and trails listed in the closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bdnf/alerts-notices/?aid=81818. Closure information and maps are posted on the Forests website and the fires Inciweb page as they are in place.

The Skalkaho Pass Road remains open. Those recreating or traveling in the fire area are encouraged to be aware of the situation and reduce speed due to increased fire traffic.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources."

UPDATE, AUG. 3:

Fire crews are continuing to scout for containment opportunities to the north and south of the Bowles Creek Fire.

An update from the Northern Rockies Team 8 says heavy equipment and masticators continue improving and constructing indirect fuel break (by clearing dead and down vegetation) along Forest Road 711A towards Railroad Creek, and on Forest Road 5071 towards Forest Road 5070.

On the west side of the fire, hose lay and sprinklers are still being used by hand crews to support suppression efforts.

Fire personnel are addressing various spot fires towards the south. Fire personnel are utilizing helicopters to support operations on both ends of the fire area.

Forecasts are calling for warm and dry weather with the potential for moderate wind for the next couple of days over the fire area. The weather is expected to moderate on the weekend with the potential for moisture.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails(Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire.

You can check out a complete list of roads and trails listed in the closure from the USDA.

UPDATE, AUG. 2:

As of Tuesday evening, the Bowles Creek Fire has grown by 337 acres, for a total of 3,213 acres. The fire is 3% contained.

Increased fire activity caused heavy equipment on the east flank of the fire to be pulled back, and crews will resume work Wednesday.

The Northern Rockies Team 8 update from Wednesday morning says hose lay and sprinklers are being utilized by hand crews on the west side of the fire to support suppression efforts.

Heavy equipment and masticators continue improving and constructing indirect fuel break along Forest Road 711A towards Railroad Creek. Fire personnel are monitoring various spot fires towards the south and improving handline.

Cooler, more humid weather is expected to move in over the fire area.

For the more updated information on wildfires in Montana, visit mtfireinfo.org.

UPDATE: Aug. 1, at 10:25 a.m.

The Bowles Creek Fire grew an additional 1,162 acres Monday night, bringing the total size up to 2,876 acres with 3% containment.

The release from Northern Rockies Team 8 said Crews will be using hose lay and sprinklers in the northwest edge of the fire to support suppression efforts.

Heavy equipment and masticators finished indirect fuel break along Forest Road 711A on the west edge of the fire for containment goals.

Northern Rockies Team 8 said in the release there was little fire growth on the southwest edge.

Heavy equipment is still working on fuel breaks and building an indirect fire line along Forest Road 5071 towards 5070 on the east side of the fire--crews will improve the fire line behind equipment for possible containment.

Fire crews will look for possible containment in the north and south.

There was increased fire activity in the east and south edge due to high winds and lower relative humidity.

Fire growth reached farther northeast across Bowles Creek and crossed Forest Trail 313 southeast.

Northern Rockies Team 8 said the following in the release in regard to closures:

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails (Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire. See the following link for a complete listing of the roads and trails listed in the closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bdnf/alerts-notices/?aid=81818. Closure information and maps are posted on the Forests website and the fires Inciweb page as they are in place.

The Skalkaho Pass Road remains open. Those recreating or traveling in the fire area are encouraged to be aware of the situation and reduce speed due to increased fire traffic.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources.

UPDATE, JULY 30:

The Bowles Creek Fire has grown to 1,714 acres and is 0% contained as of Sunday morning.

An update from the Northern Rockies Team 8 says fire activity is expected to increase Sunday as warm dry air and breezy conditions return to the fire area.

An emergency closure of roads and trails remains in effect on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest.

The following are Sundays situation and planned actions from the update:

On the west side of the fire, hand crews completed line construction, from the northwest corner to Forest Road 711A for containment.

Hand crews will continue to install hose lay and sprinklers along the northwest edge of the fireline to support suppression efforts.

Heavy equipment and masticators continue work to remove ladder fuels on FSR 711A as an indirect fireline. Ladder fuels are vegetation that provide continuous fuel from the ground into the tree crowns.

On the east of the fire, hand crews completed fireline along Forest Trail 313 to Forest Road 5071, and installation of hoselay was completed to secure the fireline. Heavy equipment continues work on fuel breaks towards an old harvest unit by reducing vegetation along Forest Roads 5070 and 5071.

Fire personnel are utilizing helicopters as needed to support operations on both ends of the fire area

UPDATE, JULY 27

Fire danger is very high in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest as well as the Bitterroot National Forest as the Bowles Creek Fire continues to burn.

The fire is currently at 1,698 acres and is 0% contained.

An update from the Northern Rockies Team 8 says hotshot crew is continuing fireline construction on the Bitterroot National Forest side of the fire.

On the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest side, crews continue building and improving fireline along Forest Trail 313 to minimize spread and give time to implement suppression objectives.

Temperatures in the area of the fire are anticipated to be in the low to mid-70s with a 30% chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon.

UPDATE: Wednesday, July 26 at noon

The Bowles Creek Fire has grown to 1,633 acres and remains zero-percent contained Wednesday.

A release from Northern Rockies Team 8 said fire personnel resumed building fire lines and improvement work on the west side of the fire along Forest Road 711 to use as an indirect control line as a barrier to remove fire fuels.

Large equipment will work to clear up forest roads and work on building fire lines in areas with a high likelihood of containing the fire.

On the east side, crews are still building a fire line along Forest Trail 313 to decrease spread and establish suppression objectives.

Large equipment is still working to develope fuel breaks on Forest Roads 5070 and 5071.

On the north side, personnel are using helicopters to slow down fire growth.

Northern Rockies Team 8's release said the following in regard to closures:

"The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest issued an emergency closure of roads and trails (Closure #02-08-23-19) effective July 25, 2023. This Order is for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts of the Bowles Creek Fire. See the following link for a complete listing of the roads and trails listed in the closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bdnf/alerts-notices/?aid=81818. Closure information and maps are posted on the Forests website and the fires Inciweb page as they are in place.

The Skalkaho Pass Road remains open. Those recreating or traveling in the fire area are encouraged to be aware of the situation and to pay attention to increased fire traffic.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources."

UPDATE: Tuesday, July 25 at 10:43 a.m.

The Bowles Creek Fire grew an additional 297 acres Tuesday, and is now sized at a 1,555 acres with zero-percent containment.

The Northern Rockies Team 8 said in a release the weather led to a growth in fire activity within the fire perimeter; however, Type 2 helicopters dropped buckets over the fire, which slowed down the growth.

Existing fire lines from the 2022 Hog Trough fire helped with successful planning objectives.

Tuesday's weather is forecasted to be 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit with southwesterly winds ranging from 5 to 10 miles-per-hour, with wind gusts possibly reaching 25 to 35 miles-per-hour mid-day.

Wednesday's forecast is expected to be similar to Tuesday's.

The southwesterly winds may cause fire activity to grow.

"Timbered drainages with heavy dead and down trees will expect active fire with potential for torching. Grass and brush are still green, however they will still support fire spread," the Northern Rockies Team 8 said in a release.

Smoke is visible in multiple locations including Skalkaho Highway and in the Bitterroot Valley and Philipsburg.

Northern Rockies Team 8 said the following in the release in regard to road closures:

"Road and trail closures in the fire area are being considered to provide for public and firefighter safety. Specific closure information and maps will be posted on the Forests website and the fires Inciweb page as they are in place.

The Skalkaho Pass Road remains open. Those recreating or traveling in the fire area are encouraged to be aware of the situation and to pay attention to increased fire traffic.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources."

UPDATE, JULY 23:

Incident Commander Brad Bergman and his Northern Rockies Team #8 assumed command of the Bowles Creek Fire Sunday morning.

According to an update from the Northern Rockies Team #8, the Bowles Fire is now 1,300 acres large and 0% contained.

Active burning conditions are predicted to last through the weekend, and Mondays forecast is similar with high temperatures, slight chances of thunderstorms and winds increasing, the update said.

Indirect firelines are still being established around the fire.

Road and trail closures around the fire are being considered for public and firefighter safety.

As of Sunday at 11:30 am, the Skalkaho Pass Road is open.

Anyone recreating or traveling in the fire area are encouraged to be aware of the situation and to pay attention to increased fire traffic.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is also in effect over the fire area for the safety of the aviation resources

The following are the planned actions for Sunday from the Rockies Team #8:

On the west side, resources will be prepping the Daly Creek Road (711Rd), constructing a fuel break adjacent to the road. On the east side, crews will be hiking into the fire area along a trail and fireline used in the 2022 Hog Trough fire, working to the south from the Bowles Creek Road (5071Rd) to the 313 Trail. Other resources will be working on establishing a landing zone for use by aviation resources. Additional resources are on order, including engines and heavy equipment.

HAMILTON, Mont. - The lighting-caused Bowles Creek Fire southwest of Skalkaho Pass has quickly grown to 831 acres.

A helicopter flight on July 21 estimated the fire to be about 50 acres, with the nearby Daly Creek Fire being estimated at 1-2 acres before the two merged.

Critical fire weather is forecasted in the area, and active burning conditions are predicted through the weekend.

According to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the fire is just north of the 2022 Hog Trough Fire. Two 20-year-old fire footprints from previous fires are also adjacent to the Bowles Creek Fire.

Fuels in the area consist of thick timber and heavy, dead and downed fuel component.

No structures are currently threatened.

Crews are working to establish freilines away from the active fire edge using natural barriers and the existing road and trail systems.

On the west side, resources will be prepping the Daly Creek Road (711Rd), constructing a fuel break adjacent to the road.

On the east side, crews will be hiking into the fire area along a trail and fireline used in the 2022 Hog Trough fire, working to the south from the Bowles Creek Road (5071Rd) to the 313 Trail.

Other resources will be working on establishing a landing zone for use by aviation resources.

A Type 3 Incident Management Team, Northern Rockies Team 8, will be briefed Saturday afternoon and a Transfer of Command for the fire is scheduled for Sunday morning.
An agricultural accountancy firm is urging arable farmers to prepare for reduced yields and profits this harvest, as they predict a difficult season ahead.

There are several aspects which have negatively impacted the arable income this year in comparison to 2022.

This includes volatility in commodity markets due to the Ukraine war, weather instability and a significant lack of sunshine.

Mark Chatterton, head of agriculture at Duncan & Toplis, which supports 800 farming businesses, has expressed his concern for this years harvest.

He said the quality of wheat crops in the field was 'suffering significantly', and yields would not be as good as 2022 due to a severe lack of sunshine in July.

Arable farmers had a glorious summer in 2022, both with higher crop yields and higher prices. This year however, the weather means that harvest is very stop and start.

"Clients are reporting that wheat yields are likely to average closer to eight tonnes per hectare, whereas in 2022, they were nearer to 10 tonnes per hectare."

Prices have also fallen, with feed wheat currently trading at 180 per tonne, down from a peak of 350 per tonne in July 2022 or 240 per tonne this time last year - a sizable decrease.

Mr Chatterton said there had been so much volatility in the commodity markets since February 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"Input costs have also risen, especially fertiliser, with the price peaking at 800/tonne in summer 2022," he explained, adding that fuel and electricity prices had also increased during the 2022/23 crop year.

As well as dealing with the weather and market volatility, farmers had the added pressure of managing input purchases and crop selling.

"In addition, the higher profits from harvest 2022 will give higher tax bills," he said, "Many of these will be due for payment in January 2024, when bank balances are likely to be dwindling.

It has never been more important to plan ahead and work with your accountant to ensure that your business is prepared for what is to come.
The former chair of the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), Jeremy Walker, has passed away following an accident on his Somerset farm.

The industry body said it was 'extremely sad' at the news, adding "we are all shocked at the manner of his passing".

Mr Walker, 78, was killed following an agricultural incident on his farm near Bridgwater.

His period as TFA national chair was between 2011 and 2014 having previously served as the associations treasurer.

He was also a long-standing member of the TFAs Wessex Regional Committee, which he also served as chair.

A first-generation farmer, the TFA said Mr Walker was proud of the fact that he was given the opportunity in 1979 to take on the tenancy of Haddon Farm from the Crown Estate.

He farmed in partnership with his wife Helen and son Simon with enterprises including arable, beef, sheep, free range poultry. He also contract farmed for neighbouring farmers.

Recently, he took the opportunity offered by the Crown Estate to buy the farm although he still maintained land on Farm Business Tenancies.

Last year, as he took a step back from active farming, he entered into an FBT on the poultry business with a young couple of new entrant farmers.

TFA chief executive, George Dunn said Mr Walker was "a huge figure within the TFA over many years".

"He brought rigour to our internal processes and was immensely proud of all the TFA stood for and achieved on behalf of its members," he said.

"He was always willing to support, share and help where he could. During his time as chair I greatly valued both his challenge and support in my role as chief executive.

"We are all shocked at the manner of his passing and I know he will be deeply mourned both within the TFA and beyond.

"Our immediate thoughts and prayers are with his wife Helen, son Simon and the wider family.
Farmers affected by plans for new energy infrastructure must be fully consulted given the impact on their businesses and food production, the NFU said today.

The union is also calling on government to move the network offshore as much as possible in order to avoid disruption to food producers.

The government is looking at the rollout of new infrastructure as part of proposals to connect electricity being produced from offshore wind projects and solar farms.

This means either upgrading existing infrastructure or building a new national transmission network.

The plans as announced could result in miles of pylons and overhead cables being installed across thousands of acres of land, impacting food production and the landscape.

NFU vice president David Exwood said: British farm businesses have a big part to play in helping to deliver renewable electricity, something which is a key pillar of our net zero ambition.

However, as we know all too well, national infrastructure projects can cause huge disruption to day-to-day farming operations and last for many years.

"For example, pylons and overhead cables can be very dangerous in the vicinity of working agricultural machinery due to concerns over height."

The NFU believes government should have a properly coordinated offshore network; this is where the energy is created, and only when needed would the electric come on to land with overhead lines or underground cables.

Mr Exwood said this would minimise any damage to the countryside and be less impactful on farmers' ability to produce food.

He said: If infrastructure is to be delivered quickly onshore, its vital that Transmission Owners, especially the National Grid, fully consult with those farmers affected and work closely with them to determine locations for pylons and the undergrounding of cables.

We also need to know whether farmers will be fairly compensated and, as the recent Winser Report suggests, receive lump sum payments like individual households for hosting new infrastructure on their land.
Researchers have received funding to investigate whether artificial intelligence could be used to detect disease in dairy cows earlier.

The University of Bristol project is one of 14 projects to receive a share of 9m funding from Defra as part of a major initiative to combat endemic livestock disease.

Researchers plan to use AI in order to monitor social interactions of cattle which could indicate developing mastitis or lameness  two of the most significant diseases affecting the UK dairy industry.

Diseases in dairy cows compromise health and welfare, and lead to financial losses for the farmer and the industry.

Ill cows have also been found to contribute a higher proportion of methane emissions, impacting the environmental sustainability of the sector.

While technologies do exist which automate the detection of disease in dairy cows, these tend to focus on observable symptoms which are associated with later stages of disease.

However, researchers want to see if they can identify diseases at an early stage by monitoring social interactions using AI.

Professor Andrew Dowsey from Bristol Veterinary School said: A cows response to infection or trauma is to reduce behaviours which are not immediately essential to survival, such as social interactions.

"In a recent study we found that social exploration, the grooming of others, and receiving headbutts were all lower in cows with early-stage mastitis, so we think social behaviour changes could be early predictors of disease.

Detecting social behaviour changes is difficult for a busy farmer, but is possible when monitoring them at key points such as queuing for milking or feeding time.

Professor Dowsey and his team have developed an AI that can track the motion of cows, recognising each cow by its distinctive coat pattern.

He said: From collecting two years of video from 64 cameras covering our main barn at the John Oldacre Centre dairy farm, we will train a model that learns what types of behaviours change over time that are indicative of early-stage mastitis and lameness."

The system will be then be deployed at a network of recruited farms for testing.

Professor Dowsey added: "Detecting subtle changes in social behaviour could hold the key to the early diagnosis of disease in dairy cattle.
Some of the countrys most talented and dynamic farmers are battling it out across the 15 categories up for grabs at this years British Farming Awards.

Alongside farmings core sectors including dairy, beef, sheep and arable there is also a celebration of new entrants coming into the industry.

There is also a wealth of diversification businesses, families across multiple generations and social media influencers.

The awards also highlight some of the most sophisticated technology leading some of the industrys most exciting initiatives in food production and management.

Organised by Agriconnect, parent company of Farmers Guardian, Arable Farming and Dairy Farmer, the British Farming Awards is supported by Morrisons.

Now entering its 11th year, the British Farming Awards has become a nationally recognised event showcasing hundreds of British food and drink producers undertaking fantastic work across the sector.

Last year, the event welcomed more than 820 farmers and industry professionals to the Vox in Birmingham, which will once again play host to this years event taking place on 19 October.

A further two special recognition awards  Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture and Farmers Guardian Farming Hero  will be announced during the awards evening.

Farmers Guardian Editor, Olivia Midgley, said: "The awards recognise individuals who are driving their businesses forward with integrity and acumen, against an ever-changing political and economic landscape.

"Our finalists demonstrate resilience and tenacity to exemplary standards."

Sophie Throup, technical and sustainability director manufacturing, at Morrisons said: "As long-term supporters of British Farming, we want to thank farmers across the country for the work they continue to do in these challenging times.

"We are pleased to once again be supporting the British Farming Awards, recognising the effort, care, innovation and skills which British farmers put into making and providing the food we are all proud of. "

For more information on the awards and information on the finalists, visit www.britishfarmingawards.co.uk

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MBABANE  It has been confirmed; votes will now be counted at polling stations, following that the much anticipated Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Voters Registration Bill 2023 have officially been enacted into law.

The two pieces of legislation were tabled, debated in the 11th Parliament and got first to third reading from the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Pholile Shakantu. Their enacting into law was communicated through different gazettes, dated August 8, 2023, assented to by His Majesty King Mswati III. The Elections Act 2023 is an Act to amend the Elections Act No. 6 of 2013, as to provide for the promotion of transparency, equity and credibility in the elections process and extension of special voting to other classes. The Voters Registration Act, 2023 is an Act to amend the Voters Registration Act No. 4 of 2013, to provide for continuous registration, revision of voters register, burden of proof in case of objections and incidental matters.

Nominated

Enacting the Elections Bill into law means it is now official that bucopho nominated persons will know their fate in the secondary elections, rather than the primary elections, as the case was before. Section 7 of the principal Act was amended by inserting a new section immediately after Section 7, as follows; following acceptance of nomination, a candidate for bucopho shall proceed to be elected at the secondary level. Another outstanding amendment was in Section 64 of the principal Act, which was amended by replacing Subsection (1) with a new Subsection (1), as follows; the presiding officer after examining the election material shall make arrangements for counting of votes in consultation with returning officer, ensure that the ballot papers are unfolded with their backs facing upwards and shall proceed with counting of the votes at the polling station.

This means that the votes will not be taken to one centre for counting but the counting shall proceed at the polling station. Highlights of the amendments in the Voters Registration Bill include that there will be no role for competent witnesses (imisumpe) in the next election year, that is 2028.

This is in respect to Section 13 of the principal Act, which was amended by deleting Subsections (2) and (3) and replacing them with a new subsection, as follows; where registration takes place at umphakatsi, urban or industrial areas, a person applying for registration as a voter shall produce either (a) documentary proof of Eswatini citizenship and residence in Eswatini or (b) in the case of a foreign national, documentary proof of permanent residence issued under the immigration laws and document and proof of ordinary residence issued by a chiefdom or polling division under the inkhundla of residence. The enacting of the Bills into law, particularly the Elections Act, 2023, will give much wanted clarity to some of the electorate, who were wondering what law was being used in the ongoing national general elections, because the Bill had not yet got assent.
Donald Trump has complained about the nastiness of the political world as the criminal cases against him proceed.

Donald Trump considers politics to be a 'nasty' business

The former US president gave a doom-laden take on the state of American politics as he was answering a question about his Republican rival Ron DeSantis' hopes of winning the party's 2028 nomination

In an interview with Newsmax, Trump said: "You don't walk into anything. This is a tough world in politics. This is a nasty, nasty world, as we found out. Probably it's never been nastier than it is right now. Because we have sick people. We have sick people in office, and again, they are a bigger problem than the outside world."

Trump is facing charges in three separate criminal cases but once again turned his fire at the "radical fascists" in the current US government.

The billionaire said: "These people we have, these radical fascists and Marxists that we have in our government - you can't talk to them. They're nuts. They're crazy."

Trump also mocked DeSantis, who had been considered his main rival for the nomination but has seen his support tail off in recent months, for his lack of "personality".

The divisive politician said: "DeSantis is a failed candidate. If I didn't endorse DeSantis (as Governor of Florida) he wouldn't ever have won.

"And you know what? He's a failed candidate again. He's got no personality, and he's dropped like a rock."
Billy Porter says his marriage breakdown has left him feeling bittersweet.

Billy Porter says his marriage breakdown has left him feeling bitterswee

The Pose actor, 53, last month revealed he had filed for divorce in July from his husband Adam Smith after six years of marriage, and has now admitted being on his own has been rough.

He told the Evening Standard newspaper: The whole world knows Im getting a divorce. 

Billy also joked: Yall want to talk about my divorce and Ricky Martins at the same time?

He added about his own split: We made it as far as we could but we learn, we grow and we live.

Billy said at the time of the interview he was in London for a respite from some other s***, and said the trip was bittersweet as it was where he proposed to Adam.

He added: Im looking forward to the next adventure. Shes back on the market, looking for an English huzzzband.

And you have to spell it just like that: Huzzzband.'

The actor, who recently revealed that he has to sell his house as a result of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and writers; strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill, stressed he will always love his ex-husband.

The former couple met at a dinner party in 2009 and dated for about a year before going their separate ways.

Billy told People in 2017 they were enamoured with each other but admitted their romance rapidly imploded as they started to get more serious.

The pair they rekindled five years later and married in January 2017, two weeks after Billy popped the question.

After the wedding, the star said marriage was important to them as they grew up in households where who we are is labelled an abomination.

Billy also told how queerness was perceived as a liability early on in his career.

He said: I won an Emmy. Im a fashion icon. Now they need me. Winners write their history, because Im not supposed to be here looking like this.
Sally Phillips has found love again after her husband left her for a yoga teacher.

'My husband left me for a member of the Russian Yoga Federation': Sally Phillips opens up on finding love again

The 53-year-old actress was previously married to shipping director Andrew Bermejo for 14 years but revealed she felt "very lucky to have had a second chance" after meeting current love Ian through a friend.

According to The Mirror, Sally told broadcaster Kaye Adams at 'How To Be 60 Live!' at the Edinburgh Festival: "My husband left me for a member of the Russian Yoga Federation, though I'm not legally allowed to say that anymore, but he won't listen to this.

"Fortunately, my friend introduced me to Ian, and I've been with Ian for four years now. And he's to die for.

"And actually, to be honest, when he kissed me, this is true. I'm going to overshare because comedians do that.

But when he kissed me, I did think of that line, you need to be kissed a lot by someone who knows how. So I've met someone who knows how to kiss.

Bridget Jones Diary actress Sally has three sons with her ex-husband, who she split from in 2017 and revealed she would have stayed in the marriage for the sake of their kids.

She said: "I am very, very happy with [Ian]. And I feel very lucky to have had a second chance.

"But there's always that pain, isnt there for the kids? Because my kids were quite young when it happened. And I guess I would never have left. But now he's taken all the guilt from me and done it for me. I'm quite pleased."

Sally also revealed she feels she looks "ridiculously old" on screen because she has never had Botox or fillers.

She said: "I do feel my age actually. I may as well be honest. Not doing any Botox or having my face stung off by jellyfish and inserted with plastics.

"So you feel very aware every time you're on telly, every time you see yourself. I feel pretty happy in real life, but within the world of the screen, I look ridiculously old.

"My face has got my life etched into it. Its too late for me now to go down the whole Botox. I think that ship sailed.

"It just makes me a bit confused. You think, how am I going to act this? Because I look this way.

"In Sweden I play slightly younger than I am here. I play about my own age. And in America I play ten years older.
Kevin Spacey is "likely" moving to Paris.

Kevin Spacey is considering moving to Paris

The 'House of Cards' actor - who was cleared of seven charges of sexual assault, one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity by a court in London last month - is retaining his apartment in England but is ready to move overseas for a fresh start and thinks the French capital will offer the environment he needs to recover from the scandal.

A source told the Daily Mail newspaper columnist Alison Boshoff: "Kevin was cleared, but he isn't going back to the lifestyle and contacts he once had.

"He has been talking for at least a year about moving out of the UK, most likely to Paris.

"They have a history of not caring too much about people's private lives in France, but they do have a strong cinema culture. It would be a good place for him to start again - and he has plenty of friends in Paris."

The 64-year-old star's friend, director Dominik Sedlar - whose father Jajov directed Spacey in 'Once Upon a Time In Croatia' - previously suggested the 'American Beauty' actor wouldn't return to Hollywood.

He said: "It's more likely for Europe to be receptive."

Following the string of allegations made against him, Spacey lost his job on 'House of Cards' and was dropped from various other projects.

And director Gene Fallaize, who made the "risky move" to cast the award-winning star in his film 'Control' in November, recently revealed the award-winning actor was accepting of his career decline.

Gene, who never spoke directly to Kevin about the legal case against him, told Sky News: There were indirect things as we were talking about how his life had changed.

"We talked about 'House of Cards', which I didnt know whether to bring up because he was let go from the show, but he spoke quite freely and openly about those things and was obviously very proud of 'House of Cards'.

"I think he was very proud of his acting past, but totally accepted the situation  his words at one point were that he was a jobbing actor.
Prince William has replaced Prince Harry as Colonel-in-Chief of The Army Air Corps.

Prince William replaces Prince Harry in royal role

King Charles, 74, has announced new military appointments for nine members of the royal family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and 41-year-old William's new roles are Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley.

His estranged brother Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, 38, previously held the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Army Air Corps, in which he served as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.

Buckingham Palace said in an announcement: "Following His Majestys Accession, The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working Members of the Royal Family. The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majestys reign.

William's wife Duchess Catherine, 41, was also awarded new appointments in the royal reshuffle, including Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Coningsby.

According to HELLO!, Catherine's role with the RAF is particularly meaningful as one of her grandfathers Captain Peter Middleton flew as a co-pilot with Prince Philip during an aerial tour of South America in 1962.

Her husband Prince William also flew as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot based at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales, from 2010 to 2013.

She replaces King Charles' brother Prince Andrew as Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, after the title was stripped from him and returned to the Queen Elizabeth when he faced a sex assault civil trial, which he paid millions to settle out of court.

The King has added to his own appointments with new roles as Sponsor of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Tank Regiment, Captain General of the Royal Artillery, Captain General of the Honourable Artillery Company, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Marham and Air Commodore-in-Chief of RAF Regiment.

His wife, Queen Camilla, 76, becomes patron of The Royal Army Chaplains Department, along with her previously announced roles of Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers, Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles and Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester have also received new military appointments.
'Rust' armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchens.

Halyna Hutchens was killed on the set of Rust

The weapons expert denied charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence during a hearing on Wednesday (09.08.23) after Hutchins, 42, was fatally shot during rehearsals on the New Mexico set of the Western in October 2021 when a gun held by star Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged.

Her attorney Jason Bowles told PEOPLE: "Ms. Gutierrez has pled not guilty to all charges and is preparing for her day in court. She looks forward to her day in court, and to having the conduct of everyone on set fully examined."

Gutierrez-Reed's lawyers previously asked for the charges to be dismissed but during a hearing last week, a judge concluded prosecutors had provided sufficient evidence to move forward with their case.

Back in June, New Mexico special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis insisted the armourer has not been singled out after others linked to the case had charges dropped. They said: "Ms. Gutierrez is not being selectively prosecuted. She is being appropriately prosecuted because her primary function as an armorer on the 'Rust' movie set was to ensure gun safety. Her reckless failure resulted in the senseless death of another human being. All Defendant Gutierrez needed to do was shake every bullet and make sure it rattled before putting it in the gun - she failed and killed someone.

The trial is set to start on December 6 and Gutierrez-Reed remains free on conditional bail.

Baldwin was previously charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the shooting, but the charges were dropped in April.

First assistant director Dave Halls entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence with unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, 24 hours of community service and a firearms safety class.
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New Delhi, Aug 11 (UNI) Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Friday with frequent disruptions, slogans and walk-outs marring the Monsoon session of the Parliament that began on July 20.

During the Monsoon session, Lok Sabha passed as many as 20 bills including the controversial National Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023 even as productivity of the Lower House remained low.

A No-confidence motion brought against the government in Lok Sabha was defeated.

In the current session, Rajya Sabha passed 25 bills including the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023.

Addressing a press conference today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that 23 bills were passed by both the Houses during their sittings.

As many as 20 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha while five were introduced in Rajya Sabha.

In Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah today introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 which will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.

With the opposition bloc under newly-minted alliance name I.N.D.I.A insisting for a comprehensive state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing violence in Manipur before holding a discussion on the issue, proceedings in both the Houses were disrupted leading to reduced number of sitting hours and lower productivity.

During the Monsoon session, Aam Aadmi Party's two MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha while Lok Sabha suspended Congress Party's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for misconduct.

On almost all days of the Monsoon session, opposition parties raised the issue of Manipur violence and insisted for discussion on the law and order situation in the state by suspending the House business under Rule 267.

In Rajya Sabha, the government agreed for short-duration discussion on Manipur under Rule 176 but opposition parties dug their heels for discussion under Rule 267.

In his valedictory remarks, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his anguish over lost sitting hours due to continued disruptions and adjournments in the House.

"Once again, we yielded to the allure of narrow interests and allowed disorder to be the 'new normal' in the proceedings of the House. It appears that my appeals have not resonated well with our Members. The frequent unwholesome spectacle of disruptions only indicates that my message has not found the attentive audience it deserves," he said.

As per official Rajya Sabha statistics, a total of 50 hours and 21 minutes during the 17 sittings of the House were lost due to avoidable disruptions, adversely impinging on the overall productivity of this session.

Most bills saw almost no participation in debate from the opposition.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Opposition agreed to participate in discussion on Delhi services bill only to display their show of strength as they had no interest in other legislative business.

Unfortunately, despite our repeated requests and endeavours the Opposition did not take part in the discussion due to political reasons," he said.

Joshi said that the government never wanted a bill to be passed without discussion and noted that discussions happened almost on all the Bills in Rajya Sabha.

UNI NK GNK
Manufacturing output in France dropped in June by 1 per cent after rising by 1.2 per cent in May. Over a year, manufacturing output was up by 1.5 per cent during the month.

Overall industry output fell as well by 0.9 per cent in the month after a 1.1 per cent rise in May. Output decreased in most industries over a month.

Manufacturing output in the textiles, apparel, leather and related products sector fell by 1.3 per cent month on month and increased by 7 per cent year on year in June.

Manufacturing output in France dropped in June by 1 per cent after rising by 1.2 per cent in May. Over a year, manufacturing output was up by 1.5 per cent during the month. Manufacturing output in the textiles, apparel, leather and related products sector fell by 1.3 per cent month on month and increased by 7 per cent year on year during the month.

Output of 2023 second quarter was higher than that of the same quarter a year ago in the manufacturing industry (1.5 per cent), as well as in the whole industry (1.1 per cent), an official release said.

Over a year, output declined sharply in some energy-intensive industries.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
New Zealand and Australia have signed a Sustainable and Inclusive Trade Declaration as they mark 40 years of Closer Economic Relations (CER). The Declaration includes a commitment to continue to monitor progress on sustainable and inclusive trade objectives, and to engage regularly on trans-Tasman priorities in this space.

The joint Declaration was signed in Adelaide today as part of the annual CER Ministerial Meeting, the New Zealand government said in a press release.

Damien OConnor, New Zealands trade and export growth minister, said, When the CER was signed in 1983, it was hailed as a world-leading agreement, and 40 years on, that has not changed. The enduring nature of CERs success lies in its ability to move with the times and respond to a changing trade environment.

New Zealand and Australia have signed a Sustainable and Inclusive Trade Declaration, marking 40 years of Closer Economic Relations (CER). It reinforces commitment to a rules-based trading system, net-zero transition, and sustainable development. New Zealand has also updated trade frameworks to align with issues like climate crisis and modern slavery.

Today, alongside my counterpart Senator Hon Don Farrell, I have concluded and signed a Declaration that builds on the success of CER and amplifies our commitment to a rules-based international trading system, the advancement of a net-zero transition, and the delivery of sustainable development for our communities.

Australia was referred to as the most important trading partner, representing 15 per cent of the total exports and $29 billion in two-way trade the previous year. OConnor stated that the joint Declaration outlined how both countries were working to build modern, resilient, and inclusive economies on either side of the Tasman. He added that this included making sure the rights and economic interests of Indigenous Peoples were reinforced and not undermined by international trade and investment policy and activities.

It was stated that the Declaration showed a commitment to work together on issues such as modern slavery, biodiversity loss, plastics pollution, and climate change. OConnor expressed that, as close partners with shared values, both Australia and New Zealand believed in using trade as a force for good in their region and in upholding an international rules-based trading system that ensured everyone received a fair opportunity.

Moreover, the New Zealand government has updated its Trade, Environment, and Climate Change Framework and Trade and Labour Framework, reaffirming commitment to sustainable and inclusive trade. OConnor stated that the revised frameworks align with current global issues like climate crisis and modern slavery and aim to enhance living standards, protect rights, and promote sustainability. They have been informed by public consultation and continue to guide trade negotiations.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)
Sri Lankas intention to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is poised to materialise following the conclusion of credit optimisation initiatives, President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said.

He also announced plans to initiate negotiations to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) with corresponding Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) members.

Sri Lanka's intention to join the RCEP trade bloc is poised to materialise following the conclusion of credit optimisation initiatives, President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently told an event in Colombo to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the ASEAN. He also announced plans to initiate talks to conclude free trade agreements with corresponding ASEAN members.

He affirmed his alignment with the future vision of ASEAN for the Indo-Pacific area, pledging full support for the advancement of this strategic perspective.

The president made these remarks while addressing the 56th anniversary of the ASEAN recently at the Indonesian embassy in Colombo, an official release said.

He admitted that turning down the opportunity to join ASEAN earlier led to a period of socialist economic policies and limited capital formations, hindering the countrys growth potential.

Sri Lanka has already forged a crucial trade agreement with Singapore and is actively negotiating with Thailand, he informed.

The countrys economic focus should now turn towards the east, given the rapid development in that region, he added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saira Banu Khan (@sairabanu)

Concluding the post, she wrote, "Sahib was abroad to attend a felicitation by the president when Raj Ji suddenly had a cardiac stroke and was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi. The very day Dilip Sahib returned to India, took a flight to Delhi, and was rushed to the hospital. He said to Raj Ji "I have just come back from Peshawar and brought back the Khushboo of Chapli Kebabs to tempt you. We will go together and walk through the bazaar as we used to and enjoy the Kebabs and Rotis. Raj wake up and stop acting. I know you are a great actor, but you have to take me with you to the courtyard of the house in Peshawar. Dilip Sahibs voice was now choking, and tears were streaming down as he spoke to his dearest friend, lying unconscious on the bed."

The friendship between the late legendary actor Dilip Kumar and The Greatest Showman Raj Kapoor, which began in their childhood, is considered one of the most genuine relationships ever seen in Bollywood. Dilip's spouse, the veteran actress Saira Banu, recently wrote a lengthy tribute to honour their bond.In her most recent social media post, Saira Banu wrote at length about the companionship between her deceased spouse Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, who was also a prominent figure during their era.She wrote, "Dilip Sahib and Raj Kapoor were childhood friends. They were both born in Peshawar, their native city and as they grew up, they studied at Khalsa College, in Bombay. Later on, they spent days in their formative years at Bombay Talkies where they worked under the scrutinizing care and guidance of stalwarts like Devika Rani, the owner, Mr.Shashadhar Mukherji, producer and the elite company of superstar Ashok Kumar."She added, "Raj Kapoor and Dilip Sahib loved each other in the same measure as they loved their own siblings, but they both shared thoughts, emotions and secret aspirations more with each other than perhaps anyone in their own respective families.If Raj ji were in London and Sahib phoned that he was needed here in town for some important function, Raj ji would think nothing of just flying back immediately, this was the love and respect they had for each other. At our marriage, Raj ji and Shashi danced all the way from Sahibs house to my house.""Of course, they had their professional rivalry, and it would have been abnormal if they did not compete as professionals, but the beauty of it was that they hated to see each other fail or fall from their respective positions as Superstars. They were immensely proud of each other in a loving way. For instance, on the release of SHAKTI Raj Ji sent a huge bouquet of roses to Sahib with a special note that said Long Live The King'," she continued.Raj Kapoor passed away in June 1988. Even today, he is celebrated as "the greatest showman of Indian cinema."
Sidharth Malhotra is set to make his first OTT appearance in Rohit Shetty's upcoming web series Indian Police Force. Fans are ecstatic to see Sidharth in the role of a cop. Sidharth and director Rohit Shetty flew to Jaipur earlier to begin filming for the highly anticipated Indian Police Force. The eight-part series will be available on OTT.

Sidharth Malhotra will be seen as a Delhi Police Officer in the Indian Police Force. This is his first time wearing the uniform of a police officer. Sidharth was spotted filming in Jaipur by fans.

Watch the video below:

Sidharth announced his collaboration with Rohit Shetty with an exciting video in April of last year. He had captioned it, "When @itsrohitshetty sir says Action, you know he literally means it! Super stoked to enter the cop universe with the action king himself! @rohitshettypicturez @primevideoin.

Sidharth has been updating his fans with photos and videos from the set ever since. Sidharth shared a photo with Rohit Shetty and his team in January of this year, announcing the completion of the Indian Police Force's schedule. A portion of his caption stated,He has an incredibly hard working, honest, and a warm team. Can say it was one of my best experiences being on the sets of #IndianPoliceForce. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for this wonderful journey.

In addition to Sidharth, Vivek Oberoi and Shilpa Shetty will appear in the upcoming series. Indian Police Force, directed by Rohit Shetty, is expected to be released during Diwali 2023. The release date has yet to be officially announced by the creators.


Check out the teaser here:





The teaser begins with Jun Hee longing for her deceased boyfriend Yeon Jun who died in an unexpected incident. Upon listening to a cryptic cassette tape that arrived at her doorstep, Jun Hee is transported back in time to the year 1998. In this new time period, she wakes up as Min Ju, a high school student residing in a different time zone. It is here that she encounters Si Heon, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her late lover Yeon Jun.



For a while now, Jun Hee has been yearning to catch a glimpse of Yeon Jun again, but the individual standing in front of her is not Yeon Jun, rather a high schooler by the name of Si Heon. To make matters more complicated, Si Heon's closest friend, Kang Hoon (In Gyu), has feelings for Min Ju. As a bittersweet love triangle starts to form among the three, an enigmatic event that endangers Min Ju takes place simultaneously.







A Time Called You stars Vincenzo fame Jeon Yeo-been and Business Proposal's Ahn Hyo Seo and will premiere on OTT on September 8.



See Also: Top 10 K-Dramas Based On Webtoons To Watch Online The teaser begins with Jun Hee longing for her deceased boyfriend Yeon Jun who died in an unexpected incident. Upon listening to a cryptic cassette tape that arrived at her doorstep, Jun Hee is transported back in time to the year 1998. In this new time period, she wakes up as Min Ju, a high school student residing in a different time zone. It is here that she encounters Si Heon, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her late lover Yeon Jun.For a while now, Jun Hee has been yearning to catch a glimpse of Yeon Jun again, but the individual standing in front of her is not Yeon Jun, rather a high schooler by the name of Si Heon. To make matters more complicated, Si Heon's closest friend, Kang Hoon (In Gyu), has feelings for Min Ju. As a bittersweet love triangle starts to form among the three, an enigmatic event that endangers Min Ju takes place simultaneously.A Time Called You stars Vincenzo fame Jeon Yeo-been and Business Proposal's Ahn Hyo Seo and will premiere on OTT on September 8.

The first look poster and the teaser of the highly anticipated series A Time Called You is finally released.Touted as a time-travel mystery romance, A Time Called You is based on the Taiwanese drama Someday or One Day. The romance drama on Jun Hee (Jeon Yeo Been), who is grieving the loss of her boyfriend from a year ago. By some miracle, she is transported back to 1998 and encounters Si Heon (Ahn Hyo Seop), who bears a striking resemblance to her deceased lover.In the recently unveiled poster, a couple is depicted in a lovely moment, however, the viewer's attention is drawn to a crack that runs between them and the slightly misaligned background. Additionally, the text above their heads, which reads "I can tell as soon as I see you" and "I will go see you," creates a sense of intrigue about whether they are in the same location or searching for each other across different time zones.
The highly-awaited action-packed movie Heart of Stone has been released on OTT today with much fervour and excitement. The film stars Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot in the lead role along with Alia Bhatt, Jamie Dornan, Matthias Schweighofer, Sophie Okonedo, Jing Lusi, Paul Ready, Archie Madekwe and Jon Kortajarena. The film marks Alia Bhatts Hollywood debut.

Plot details

The project has been described as an original international spy thriller that aims to put a female spin on action franchises such as Mission: Impossible and James Bond. The official plot synopsis for the film reads, Gal Gadot is Agent Rachel Stone, the only intelligence operative who stands between her global, peace-keeping organization and the loss of its most valuable  and dangerous  asset, codenamed: The Heart.







Alia Bhatts role

Contrary to popular belief, Alia Bhatt plays the anti-hero in the film. Here character Key Dhawan is the one who steals The Heart and challenges Agent Rachel. The actress is seen in a new avatar and truly impressed fans with her brief appearance in the trailer.

Production and release date

Tom Harper, a British film and television director best known for directing episodes of Peaky Blinders, War and Peace, and The Aeronauts, is directing the film. The script was co-written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Allison Schroeder and comic-book writer Greg Rucka, who previously wrote the adaptation of his own comic series for The Old Guard. Tom Harper will reunite with his trusted cinematographer George Steel and film editor Mark Eckersley, with whom he previously worked on The Aeronauts.





The film has been billed as a global thriller, and production on the first round began in March 2022 in London. The production moved to Reykjavik, Iceland the following month to take advantage of the country's spectacular landscapes, before returning to the UK in May of this year. Heart of Stone wrapped production on July 28, 2022, with the final days of filming taking place in Lisbon, Portugal.





Heart Of Stone releases on OTT today, August 11th.
Made In Heaven 2: It's difficult to keep calm as the second season of one of the best desi web series in India has premiered on Amazon Prime Video. There's no prize for guessing that we are talking about Made In Heaven. I have to admit one thing- MIH was the first original Indian web series that I watched. And I have to say- I waited with bated breath for the second installment.

There's no way one cannot fall in love with Karan Mehra's character in Made In Heaven 2. For the first time ever, we have a homosexual character where the makers craft fully designed him without making it seem like a caricature. Our Bollywood films and TV serials are notorious for stereotyping things but Zoya Akhtar and her team didn't do so, earning brownie points from all corners.

Made In Heaven 2 Review: Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala's Series Is Endearing, Makes 4-year Wait Worth It

While the writers did a wonderful, it was Arjun Mathur, who breathed life into the character. Unlike many celebrities, he didn't shy away from playing a homosexual character for the third time in his career. His intimate scene with Vikrant Massey became the talk of the town as the director aesthetically shot it.

It was a double bonanza for me as I interviewed Arjun Mathur while enjoying the picturesuqe beaches of Goa. And yes, the talented artist did tell me about his sweet abode in Siolim, Goa.

WAS THERE ANY PRESSURE? NAAA..

Arjun beamed with joy as he spoke about his experience working in the second season, Mona Singh, International Emmy Award nomination and a lot more. Did he feel the pressure before the launch of second season?

"There's no pressure. Humne jo karna tha, kaam kar liya. I am excited because we wanted to bring the show since a long time. We were supposed to shoot in April or May 2020 but COVID-19 knocked our doors. After that, there were two lockdowns, which also caused delays in shoot. We finished shooting last year and now we are here. Sorry for the delay," Arjun quipped.

Just like the first season, the second part showcased India's obsession with fair skin, domestic violence and patriarchy. Talking about it, Mr Mathur said, "The societal issues were dealt with sensitivity, without being preachy. And that's the beauty of the show. There was a destination wedding in the series and several exciting elements that turn out to be the highlight."

ON FOUR-YEAR GAP BETWEEN TWO SEASONS

Wondering why it took four years to launch the series? Arjun has a clear answer. "It could happen to any show but one has to understand that Made In Heaven is made on a grand scale. Each episode was shot like a film. For each episode, we had a new cast. COVID-19 impacted us but the morale never went low," pat came the reply.

ARJUN MATHUR ON WORKING WITH MONA SINGH

While we loved Karan and Tara, Bulbul Jauhari made us cheer for her. Even before the show premiered on OTT, Arjun said that Mona Singh would emerge as the show stealer. Arjun is always generous and showered his co-star with praise and admiration.

"Mona Singh is one of the most beautiful humans I have ever met. Her energy on set is so positive, happy and you want to be around her. I took a long flight with her and bonded so well. I am so glad she came on board and played Bulbul with ease and perfection," the Gone Game actor said.

ON EMMY NOMINATION

Every artist wishes to see his work being recognized across the world. Arjun Mathur, who is known for his acting prowess, added another feather to his cap as he earned a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor category in International Emmy Awards. Receiving a nomination is like validation for one's work.

When we extended our personal congratulations to Arjun, he said, "It was a defining moment of my life because I have doing this for long. Yahi toh hai bhagwan ka khel hai. We have been talking about different validation but such things stay with you forever. During your lowest phase, you remember such things and it boosts your morale. It's a big moment for me as only a few Indians have received Emmy nominations. It made me realise- 'Tum jo bhi kar rahe ho, uss sab me fal hain'."

Have you binge-watched Made In Heaven season 2? Do share your reviews about Arjun Mathur's performance with us @Filmibeat.

And yes, Arjun has promised us another interview soon.
Heart Of Stone Leaked: In an unexpected turn of events, the highly anticipated American spy action thriller film Heart of Stone has been leaked online for free download. The film was leaked and made available for free watch and download even before its release in India.

Directed by Tom Harper, Heart of Stone was released today on the popular streaming platform Netflix, featuring a star-studded cast including Alia Bhatt, Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Sophie Okonedo, and Matthias Schweighofer.

ALIA BHATT-GAL GADOT STARRER HEART OF STONE LEAKED ONLINE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

The American thriller film which is being touted as a gripping tale of espionage and intrigue marks Alia Bhatt's Hollywood debut and it revolves around her enigmatic character, Keya Dhawan. It has been leaked online for free download on various piracy websites including Tamilrockers, Telegram, and Movierulz among others in HD formats.

The availability of the movie in high-definition quality on piracy websites threatens legitimate viewership on legal platforms, so we at Filmibeat request you refrain from viewing or downloading leaked copies of the much-awaited film.

This incident marks yet another instance where piracy has dealt a severe blow to a major film's commercial prospects.

MOVIES THAT WERE LEAKED AHEAD OF ITS RELEASE

Earlier too several films have fallen victim to piracy on the day of their release, which includes titles like OMG 2, Jailer, Gadar 2, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Oppenheimer, Barbie, Carry on Jatta 3, Lust Stories 2, Satyaprem Ki Katha, Never Have I Ever, The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Ponniyin Selvan-2, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and Pathaan among several others.

Meanwhile, Heart Of Stone has received mixedo reviews from crticis and viewers alike. Check out the film's trailer here.

DISCLAIMER: The particular article is a compilation of thoughts shared by social media users on the subject. Ideas expressed do not reflect the view of Filmibeat.
Bigg Boss Pavani Reddy's Confusing Reply: While Bigg Boss Amir and serial actress Pavani were said to be in love, a news is spreading on social media that they both broke up and separated.

Bigg Bogg Tamil Turns Romantic In Every Season

There are many couples who fell in love through Bigg Boss show. Especially in the Tamil Bigg Boss show, there is a romantic couple emerging every season. Accordingly, in the first season, actress Oviya was in love with Aarav. Then in the second season, actress Yashika Anand is said to rumored to be in love with Magath. The highlight of the third season was Kavin-Losliya's romance.

Later in the fourth season Shivani and Balaji Murugadoss were rumored to be dating. After coming out, both of them said that they are friends. Subsequently, choreographer Aamir, who entered the Bigg Boss house as a wild card entry in the fifth season, chased and fell in love with serial actress Pavani. But Pavani doesn't accept Amir's love while in the Bigg Boss house.

After coming out, it has been reported that Pavani also said yes to Aamir, and both of them were rumored as living together without getting married. Both of them even acted as a pair in Ajith's film Thunivu. 'When will they get married?' was the question that fans kept asking. But both remained silent without answering.

Pavani Reddy's Reply About Her Marriage

Meanwhile, it was announced that both of them are going to act as a couple in a movie and Amir is going to direct the movie. In such a situation, a new information is spreading on Kollywood circle, that Amir and Pavani Reddy got separated. The reason for this sudden confusion is Pavani's Instagram post.

Pavani recently interacted with fans through Instagram. Then a fan asked 'Are you Single?'. Bhavani replied 'Mmmm'. After seeing this, the fans are questioning whether Aamir's love has broken up. But Pavani did not give any explanation about this. Anothe fan asked her, 'When Is Your Marriage?', for which Pavi tagged Amir and said, "Tomorrow only.. do you wanna come Amir?"

Fans did not leave her there. One of them also asked, "You and Amir are in love with each other?" Pavani Reddy again tagged Amir and asked "Is it so Amir?" For Which Amir replied, "I think so.."
Bomman & Bellie Accuses The Elephant Whisperers Director Kartiki Gonsalves: Bomman Belli's allegation against the director of the Oscar-winning documentary is currently causing a stir on social media.

Two baby elephants, Bommi and Raghu, are being cared for at the Theppakadu breeding elephant camp in Mudhumalai. The two elephants were brought to Theppakadu Elephant Camp when they were only a few months old.

Bomman and his wife Belli raised these baby elephants. The Elephant Whisperers is a documentary about 'How do they take care of these baby elephants? How do you love an elephant?' The film was released on Netflix in 2022. This film was directed by Karthiki Gonsalves and it was well received by the fans.

Did Kartiki Gonsalves Cheated Bomman & Bellie's Money?

This film The Elephant Whisperers has the honor of being India's first Oscar winning film. Many celebrities and fans congratulated the director of the film. Both Bomman and Belli were interviewed in many leading media portals this regard. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Stalin also called the couple and honored them by giving a check of 1 lakh.

Later, another event was held in Mumbai to appreciate them. Even recently, the President met them in person and praised them. In this situation, the complaint filed by Bomman-Belli against the director of this film is currently creating a sensation in the social media.

That is, director Karthiki Gonsalves, has taken money from the Bomman-Belli couple for the wedding scenes in the documentry. But she did not give it back to them and also did not give a proper answer when the couple contacted Karthiki on her mobile phone in this regard.

So both Bomman and Belli made accusations against Karthiki Gonsalves. A notice has also been sent to her. But it has been said in the court that Karthiki Gonsalves is threatening them.

Everything Is Lie

"They were friendly while making the documentary and now they cheated us. Karthik's claims in interviews that she has made arrangements to buy a house, car and deposit cash in our bank account are not true. Everything is lie. And while filming a scene in The Elephant Whisperers that featured a wedding ceremony, she was not paid by the production side.

She immediately asked us for help. We had some money in the post office for my granddaughter's education. We took it and helped Karthiki Gonsalves to take the shot. We have not received the money till date.

She took us to Bombay with the Oscars and made us participate in a function. No one took care of us after taking photos at the event. Then we came to Tamil Nadu with the help of someone else. So far Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is the only one who has paid one lakh rupees. No one else does anything. Karthiki said that she will send my granddaughter to a good school. But it will not be done." says Bomman and Bellie to a leading media portal.

Netizens are requsting the government to help the couple, who were celebrated when they won the Oscars, and now left in dire straits.
Bhola Shankar OTT Release Date Photo Credit: Gallery

Megastar Chiranjeevi's comedy-action drama Bhola Shankar hit the big screens worldwide on August 11. The movie is directed by Meher Ramesh, after making adequate changes to the story of the original film Vedalam.

Bhola Shankar was billed as a wholesum entertainer for the fans and film buffs. The movie's buzz and vibe has been just decent and the general euphoria around Chiranjeevi's film was missing for Bhola Shankar, before its release.

Keerthy Suresh and Tamannaah are paired with Chiranjeevi in the movie. Keerthy Suresh played the role of Mahalakshmi, Chiranjeevi's adopted sister, whose parents are killed.

The makers of the film carried out low-key promotional activities. Now that the movie is getting mixed reactions from the fans and critics alike, public began to wonder if the makers already knew of its result.

Post its release, Bhola Shankar is reviewed as a routine drama with age-old comedy and a story that is outdated. Many fans are disappointed in the film as the director wasted a good opportunity to score a hit with a veteran actor like Chiranjeevi.

On the other hand, Chiranjeevi was showcased brilliantly in the movie. His comedy timing and performance is getting appreciation.

Bhola Shankar OTT Release Date & Time

The digital streaming rights of Bhola Shankar are bought by OTT giant Netflix for a good amount. The movie will usually make its OTT debut five weeks after its theatrical release. In that case, Bhola Shankar will only become available on Netflix from last week of September.

Bhola Shankar Crew

The movie is directed by Meher Ramesh, who also wrote the screenplay. Mamidala Thirupathi wrote the dialogues for Bhola Shankar. Dudley cranked the camera and Marthand K Venkatesh worked as the film's editor. Mahathi Swara Sagar composed the film's background score and music.

Ramabrahman Sunkara and KS Rama Rao bankrolled the movie under the AK Entertainments and Creative Commercials banner. Zee Studios is distributing the movie.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2023 / July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate and honor the diversity within the disability community, reflect on challenges that people with disabilities are facing, and inspire action to make the world more inclusive and accessible.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2022, around 21 percent of people with a disability in the U.S. were employed, which rose a bit from 2021, when it was about 19 percent. At the same time, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is still twice as high as for those without a disability.

The Proximity Initiative is a Cisco-original program that I lead that serves our purpose to power an inclusive future for all. A Proximity Meeting is a one-on-one authentic, and transparent conversation with someone different than you with the intent to understand their lived experience, challenges, and successes based on their identity.

Chris Riling, a pre-sales systems architect and I "got proximate", as I was curious to understand his experience with cerebral palsy and learn how I can support my son Bryce who is also living with cerebral palsy. In this blog we'll give you insight into our proximity meeting conversation.

Alex: Hello Chris! I'm a Black man. I grew up in America, 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia, my father was a chemist, and my mom was a school nurse. I have two siblings, one brother and one sister, and I am the youngest. Related to my race in America, it was always something I was aware of growing up. I finally realized some of the confusion I had as a child, early in my career, and so forth. And since I've been able to be authentic around my identity, I've been able to be more conscious related to my interactions now, and I've been able to elevate my career; it's impacted everything. And a lot of that is because I had this realization through my son, who has cerebral palsy, around how he navigates the world and how he's so authentic and honest with his expressions and his feelings, which has impacted me to be my authentic self. That's who I am, and that's what I wanted to share at the beginning so that you can understand my lens and perspective

Alex: Can you tell me more about yourself?

Chris: I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo is a small, midwestern city, but I live about 45 minutes south of Detroit. I was born with cerebral palsy. When I was younger, I thought I was invincible. You're oblivious to everything and the impact of things, and you're just trying to make your way through the world. I never put much thought into the disability aspect. I just had my mind set on taking my situation and doing the best I could with it. I never really put much thought into it until I started getting into the workforce, and I realized more people were questioning my ability because of the physical things they saw. So, I'm like, well, how do I counter that? So, you know, I went out and got all these certifications; I got three college degrees. I became a CCIE, and I did all this stuff. At least academically on paper, no one's ever going to be able to dispute my ability to do this job technically, right?

I landed here at Cisco, which is a great place to be, but my limitations started to become more real to me. So, I realized it's better to be more authentic and allow people to meet me where I am. It makes everybody on my team more comfortable because they can come to me and have an open conversation.

Alex: How did you realize that being more open about your disability made sense as a way of being?

Chris: I can't say there was just one 'Aha' moment. I wanted people to know I was here because of my technical ability and not for any other reason. I was trying to work hard to be the best engineer on my team. And at Cisco, I was doing a lot of traveling for work (and still do), and as you travel, you come across these situations where, you know, maybe we have to walk from the hotel to the office and from the customer site to a restaurant. I started to have these experiences, and people could see that I was struggling with it more than most. Many people just coming from a good place would say things like, 'Hey, is there anything I can do to help?' And I realized I might as well be honest and stop trying to put on the tough facade and accept help when needed. I think it was a gradual process.

Alex: And in those interactions, you've found that most people are willing to help and be curious.

Chris: They don't always know what to do or how to approach it, but it usually comes from a good place.

Alex: I also relate to you over-qualifying yourself regarding your academic degrees, certifications, and experience. There's an interesting moment where you're like, okay, now I have all these degrees and certificates, what do I do now?

Alex: Was finding employment challenging?

Chris: It was a little bit when breaking into the field, but I don't know if it was more challenging than anybody else when you're trying to get an entry-level job. Maybe a little bit. I did a couple of interviews before Cisco early in my career, where people would ask questions like, 'How would you navigate this? Or how would you deal with going to customers' offices? How would you navigate doing this, or would you be able to do these things?' Anecdotally I heard after one interview that they were afraid about the perception of me going in front of their customers and what the customers might think.

So, that's how I ended up getting a CCIE and a master's degree because, at that point, they can't deny your abilities; you're going to be too attractive to turn down. I kept upgrading my skills, getting more certifications, returning to school, and doing more stuff. I went through the Cisco Networking Academy program in high school and got my CCNA when I was a senior in high school. And so eventually, I reached a point in my career where I'm like, 'Hey, I'm studying for a CCIE. I can probably work at Cisco'. I interviewed about 30 times for different roles at Cisco until I found the right spot. But once I found the right position and got my foot in the door, it was a great place to be, and I haven't looked back. It's been almost 15 years.

Alex: How was it going through the Cisco Networking Academy?

Chris: It was awesome. I wish I had known, at the time, the impact it would have on my career and life. I was into computers because when I was a kid, that was one of the only things I could do. Other people were outside playing with their friends, and I was inside playing on a computer. Since I had that experience at a very young age, when I got to high school, I saw that they had a Networking Academy at the time. It was a junior and senior class for CCNA, and they allowed me to enroll as a sophomore. So, I did it during my sophomore, junior, and senior year. I had no idea that I would be into networking, and it set me down this path that I ended up being on. But I look back on it now, and I'm like, that was a serendipitous experience to have gone through that early in my life and career. If I had known it would have that impact, I probably would have gotten better grades and paid more attention. [laughs]

Alex: How has your experience been working with our customers?

Chris: Overarchingly pretty good. Early in my career, customers were more skeptical. But I don't know if that was disability-related or age-related because I started here young. It was probably more age-related than anything else, but I would say most customers are pretty understanding and accepting, especially when you're coming from a place like Cisco; it comes with a certain amount of credibility out of the gate. And when you hand them a business card with the CCIE logo, there's an added layer of 'I need to give this guy some time and attention.'

Like any other sales role, if you come in trying to help solve their problem, you know, most customers are willing to listen if you're coming from a place where you're going to make their life easier.

Alex: I shared earlier about my son, who has cerebral palsy. He is a high school junior, and for the next 2.5 years, he'll take a bus to a voluntary job. So, he'll get some job experience with the help of an aide with the idea that he can have a role after high school.

Alex: Do you have any thoughts or career advice for people with a disability or for those with a loved one with a disability?

Chris: I was very fortunate to have parents willing to go the extra mile for me. I remember them fighting the school systems to install ramps, make accommodations, all the support going through orthopedic surgeries, and seeking the right doctors. We were fortunate to have access to those resources when I was younger.

When it came to my mom (who is now a nurse), she took no pity for anything. She was like, 'Don't sit around and pity yourself, you're going to go out there, and you're going to do something, and you're going to make yourself useful.'

That instilled a value in me from a very young age to not put self-imposed boundaries on myself. I realized that the biggest limitations were beyond the mental barriers you put up when you say, 'I don't think I can do this, or I don't think I can be successful.' Encourage your kids to say, 'Yeah, sure, I have some physical limitations, but there's no predetermined rule in life that says I can't do X or Y or Z. Strive for whatever you can reach, and I guarantee you, you'll get further than you thought you would.

Everyone's lived experience, even if you have the same disability, can be very different. Much like my experience is different than Alex's son at the moment. None of us are disability 'experts' - we all just do our best to navigate life based on our experiences and the experiences of others.

Alex: My son has had seven orthopedic surgeries. We do physical and occupational therapy, and he gets speech therapy in school. We're trying to help him reach his potential. It's the unknown things of what potential you could reach, and that's what we're navigating right now.

Chris: I appreciate that everything is always unknown, right? I wonder how mobile I will be when I get older, what I will be able to do, and what I will not be able to do. I don't know if anybody knows the answer to that. The only thing you can do is keep moving, stay active, and keep pushing, and you'll end up in a good place.

Alex: Thank you, Chris for this inspiring meeting and sharing a glimpse of your lived experience. We all navigate the world through our identities and unique experiences. To power an inclusive future for all, and in honor of Disability Pride Month, take the inclusive action to have a conversation with someone who is different than you to seek to understand their lived experience.

View original content here.

Chris Riling is a pre-sales systems architect at Cisco.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

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SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

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MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: TLX, Telix, the Company) today announces that a first patient has been dosed in China in the pivotal Phase III registration study of TLX591-CDx (Illuccix, Kit for the preparation of 68Ga-PSMA-11),[1] for the imaging of prostate cancer using positron emission tomography (PET).

The Phase III Illuccix China study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05847348) is a prospective, open-label, single-arm, multicenter study in Chinese patients with biochemically recurrent (BCR) prostate cancer that is intended to bridge to the marketing authorisation granted to Illuccix by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study - a collaboration with Telix's strategic partner for the Greater China region, Grand Pharmaceutical Group Limited (Grand Pharma) - is required to establish that the diagnostic utility of TLX591-CDx is equivalent in Chinese and Western populations. This study will enrol up to 110 patients with BCR prostate cancer, and data will support a future marketing authorisation application for TLX591-CDx in China.

Dr Shams UL Arifeen, Regional Medical Director, Telix Asia Pacific said, "We are pleased to have commenced this study, which brings advanced PSMA-PET imaging[2] one step closer for Chinese men with prostate cancer. With our strategic collaborator in the region, Grand Pharma, we would like to express our gratitude to Dr Yong He, principal investigator at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University as well as his clinical research team, and the patients who will contribute to this important study."

About Prostate Cancer in China

The Asia Pacific region comprises approximately one third of the world's male population and includes many nations whose populations are ageing or increasingly adopting a more affluent, "Western-style" lifestyle, the two main demographic trends driving increasing cancer incidence rates. Consequently, the incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in many parts of the region.

In China, 115,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, increasing by approximately 6% each year.[3] In line with government policy supporting wider geographic access to nuclear medicine, the number of PET/CT cameras installed in China is forecast to reach 1,240 by the end of 2023, compared with 133 in 2010.[4]

About Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited

Telix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. Telix is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with international operations in the United States, Europe (Belgium and Switzerland), and Japan. Telix is developing a portfolio of clinical-stage products that aims to address significant unmet medical need in oncology and rare diseases. Telix is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: TLX).

Visit www.telixpharma.com for further information about Telix, including details of the latest share price, announcements made to the ASX, investor and analyst presentations, news releases, event details and other publications that may be of interest. You can also follow Telix on Twitter (@TelixPharma) and LinkedIn.

Telix's lead product, Illuccix (TLX591-CDx), has been approved by the U.S. FDA,[5] by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration,[6] and by Health Canada.[7] Telix is also progressing marketing authorisation applications for this investigational candidate in the United Kingdom and the European Union.[8]

About Grand Pharmaceutical Group Limited

Grand Pharma is an international pharmaceutical company of technological innovation. Its core businesses cover three major areas, namely pharmaceutical technology, nuclear medicine anti-tumour diagnosis and treatment and cerebro-cardiovascular precision interventional diagnosis and treatment technology and biotechnology. Based on the pharmaceutical and biological industries, Grand Pharma focuses on the needs of patients, and take technological innovation as the driving force. In response to the unmet clinical needs, Grand Pharma will increase its investment in global innovative products and advanced technologies, enrich and improve its product pipelines, consolidate and strengthen its industrial chain layout, and fully leverage Grand Pharma's industrial strengths and R&D capabilities to provide more advanced and diverse treatment solutions to patients worldwide.

Telix Investor Relations

Ms. Kyahn Williamson

Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited

SVP Corporate Communications and Investor Relations

Email: kyahn.williamson@telixpharma.com

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited Disclosure Committee on behalf of the Board.

Legal Notices

This announcement is not intended as promotion or advertising directed to any healthcare professional or other audience in any country worldwide (including Australia, United States and the United Kingdom). This announcement may include forward-looking statements that relate to anticipated future events, financial performance, plans, strategies or business developments. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "outlook", "forecast" and "guidance", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's good-faith assumptions as to the financial, market, regulatory and other risks and considerations that exist and affect the Company's business and operations in the future and there can be no assurance that any of the assumptions will prove to be correct. In the context of Telix's business, forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about: the initiation, timing, progress and results of Telix's preclinical and clinical studies, and Telix's research and development programs; Telix's ability to advance product candidates into, enrol and successfully complete, clinical studies, including multi-national clinical trials; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, manufacturing activities and product marketing activities; the commercialisation of Telix's product candidates, if or when they have been approved; estimates of Telix's expenses, future revenues and capital requirements; Telix's financial performance; developments relating to Telix's competitors and industry; and the pricing and reimbursement of Telix's product candidates, if and after they have been approved. Telix's actual results, performance or achievements may be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and the differences may be adverse. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Except as required by applicable laws or regulations, Telix does not undertake to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. Readers should read this announcement together with our material risks, as disclosed in our most recently filed reports with the ASX and on our website.

2023 Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited. The Telix Pharmaceuticals and Illuccix name and logo are trademarks of Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited and its affiliates (all rights reserved).

[1] For regulatory reasons, Telix refers to its 68Ga-PSMA-11 kit as Illuccix in markets where it has received regulatory approval, and TLX591-CDx when referring to its use in both approved and unapproved markets. Registrations vary country to country. Always refer to local labelling. [2] Imaging of prostate-specific membrane antigen with positron emission tomography. [3] Ye Dingwei et al. Lancet Oncology, 2022. [4] Goetz Partners research 2020. [5] Telix ASX disclosure 20 December 2021. [6] Telix ASX disclosure 2 November 2021. [7] Telix ASX disclosure 14 October 2022. [8] Telix ASX disclosure 3 April 2023.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/first-patient-dosed-in-pivotal-phase-iii-study-of-tlx591-cdx-illuccix-for-prostate-cancer-imaging-in-chinese-patients-301898412.html
Flytxt received the award in the category 'AI for Telecom Customer Experience'

This is the second time Flytxt's competence in AI solutions for telco has been recognised by Frost & Sullivan, having previously won the 2021 Global Company of the Year Award for AI in Marketing

DUBAI, UAE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flytxt, a leading provider of AI-driven Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) Maximization SaaS, announced today that it has received the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2023 Competitive Strategy Leadership Award in the domain 'AI for Telecom CX'.

Telecommunication companies in the expanding Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) markets are broadening their service offerings to be the preferred digital lifestyle partner for customers. They are increasingly focusing on providing superior digital experiences that create sustained customer value. The award recognizes the market relevance and unique value proposition of Flytxt's AI-powered solutions enabling Telco to effortlessly measure, monitor, and maximise CLTV across their business functions.

"Flytxt has proven that embedding actionable real-time intelligence within CX workflows optimises business decisions and outcomes. With its focus on developing ready-to-use SaaS solutions that can be plugged into any CRM or CX systems with ease, Flytxt is truly democratising the generation and consumption of customer intelligence for creating profitable customer experiences in the digital era," said Natalia Casanovas, Best Practices Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

The large number of consumption data points across different products and dynamically changing customer behaviour make CLTV calculation a complex problem for Telco despite having access to modern CX and data management tools. Flytxt leverages its well-trained, privacy-preserving AI to solve this challenge. It analyses complex subscription data patterns, derives deeper insights, and offers recommended actions via APIs to existing CX workflows to optimise business outcomes. The company recently launched a Generative AI tool, which enables rapid design iterations of high performing digital products that meet business objectives.

"We are honored to receive recognition from Frost & Sullivan for a second time for our unique technology. We foresee broader applicability of our well-trained AI across enterprise functions like Product Management, Customer Care, Marketing, and Digital. It influences decisions and actions across various CX workflows and allows telco and their digital partners to share customer insights while safeguarding data privacy," said Dr. Vinod Vasudevan, CEO of Flytxt.

Flytxt works with industry leaders in the MEASA region such as Indosat, MTN, Orange, Ooredoo, and Zain directly or through partners for driving their CX transformation programs.

About Flytxt

Flytxt empowers the world's biggest brands to solve one of the fundamental challenges of subscription and usage-based businesses- how to maximize customer lifetime value (CLTV). Its AI-powered SaaS solutions enable enterprises to maximize CLTV through gaining a deeper understanding of their customers and products and empowering them to deliver profitable digital experiences with agility and precision, at scale. Flytxt is the trusted technology partner of 70+ enterprises across more than 50 countries, as well as of top CX platform vendors for CLTV maximization. Its award-winning, proprietary CLTV AI has been designed and trained using real-world insights and patterns from more than a billion consumers and trillions of data points. The firm has a corporate office in Dubai, global development centers in India, and presence in Mexico, the Netherlands, Colombia, Malaysia, Czech Republic, Spain, and Kenya.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183332/Flytxt.jpg

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/flytxt-wins-frost--sullivan-measa-competitive-strategy-leadership-award-301898241.html
Etehad Law has announced contingency-based legal representation for injury and accident victims in Beverly Hills seeking compensation.

Beverly Hills, California--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - The move comes as Etehad Law looks to provide injured parties in and around Beverly Hills with personal injury law guidance in line with the latest regulatory developments. The firm is led by Attorney Simon Etehad, a personal injury lawyer practicing in California for over 25 years.

More information is available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/etehad-law-empowering-clients-across-los-angeles-with/id1562180400?i=1000621808783





Etehad Law Announces Injury & Accident Victim Representation In Beverly Hills



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Etehad Law's legal services are now offered to assist with an array of injury cases, spanning auto or vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, slip and fall situations, and more. The firm aims to recover compensatory amounts that reflect harm sustained and losses incurred.

"Our mission at Etehad Law is to provide exceptional legal representation and support to accident and injury victims in Beverly Hills and Hollywood," said Simon Etehad. "We firmly believe that every client deserves justice and fair compensation for their losses, and we are committed to fighting tirelessly on their behalf."

Etehad Law points to the severe injuries that can transpire as a result of car crashes, in particular - ranging from head trauma to spinal damage. It explained that such consequences can leave victims facing ongoing costs due to immediate medical treatment and surgeries, as well as physical rehabilitation or therapy.

According to the firm, possible losses after accidents may also extend to lost income from employment, as injured parties are unable to work going forward. For this reason, Etehad Law takes into account the full impact that incidents have had on the lives of victims and their families when filing claims.

The service it offers covers each stage of the injury claim process. As noted by Etehad Law, this may involve settlement negotiations with insurance companies, lawsuit preparation against liable parties, and courtroom representation.

Etehad Law is also positioned to aid victims in need of immediate replacements for damaged vehicles, either by facilitating car repairs or helping with rental setups.

Additional information is available at https://www.theattorneypost.com/legal-excellence-in-los-angeles-etehad-laws-stellar-services-for-personal-injury-business-real-estate-and-more/.

Etehad Law's updated services follow a contingency-based model, with legal fees payable after settlements have been agreed or awarded in court.

Interested parties in Beverly Hills and Hollywood can find additional details about Etehad Law and its legal services at https://www.audible.com/pd/ITEM_NAME-Podcast/B0CC5P31SB?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp.

Contact Info:

Name: Simon Etehad

Email: simon@etehadlaw.com

Phone: 310-550-1220

Organization: Etehad Law

Address: 150 South Rodeo Drive Suite 350, Beverly Hills, California 90212, United States

Website: https://www.etehadlaw.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176880
ScottHall.co has released a new guide describing 14 types of Emails small business owners can use to improve customer engagement.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - The new Email marketing guide released by ScottHall.co was written by Scott Hall, a marketing expert and the founder of the company. The piece explains why Email marketing is an essential tool for building authentic relationships with customers and offers practical advice on structuring the messages for maximum impact.

More information is available at https://scotthall.co/14-types-of-emails-every-small-business-owner-should-send/.

Email Communication for Customer Engagement: New Guide Launched by ScottHall.co

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Scott Hall's new release suggests that small business owners should create a collection of templates for the Email types they frequently use, and offers guidance on both their format and content.

One of the Email types discussed in the latest report is the newsletter Email. Its main purpose is to keep the audience engaged by regularly sending them news and useful information. It can also be used to inform subscribers about new products and services, which is especially efficient if they are personalized based on the subscribers' individual preferences.

For those businesses that would like to engage inactive subscribers, Scott Hall suggests re-engagement Emails. Similar to newsletters, these Emails can become a valuable marketing tool when the target audience is segmented and messages are tailored to the interests of the subscribers.

Brand story Emails, another Email type described in the new guide, can foster brand loyalty and help the company establish a meaningful connection with customers. Scott Hall encourages small businesses to use this Email as an opportunity to share their brand values and explain what sets their company apart from competitors.

"To get started, create an Email template that is easy to navigate and visually appealing," Scott Hall writes. "Make sure that it reflects the tone of voice used in previous communications with customers so that they feel comfortable and familiar when reading it. Whether it's sending weekly newsletters or personalized milestone Emails, every Email you send can help you build trust and loyalty with your audience."

Other Email types described in the new report include announcement Emails, subscriber-only deals, surveys, milestone Emails, lead nurturing Emails, transactional Emails, and more.

Interested parties can read the full guide at https://scotthall.co/14-types-of-emails-every-small-business-owner-should-send/.

Contact Info:

Name: Scott Hall

Email: scott@scotthall.co

Organization: ScottHall.co

Address: 60 West 23rd St. Suite 638, New York, NY 10010, United States

Website: https://scotthall.co

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176590
Voluntary termination of CHF 9 billion Loss Protection Agreement and CHF 100 billion Public Liquidity Backstop with immediate effect

All extraordinary liquidity measures based on emergency law put in place on 19 March 2023 paid back

Regulatory News:

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Article 53 of the SIX Exchange Regulation Listing Rules

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) (SWX:UBSN) announced the decision to voluntarily terminate the CHF 9 billion Loss Protection Agreement (LPA) with the Swiss government following a comprehensive assessment of the designated portfolio of Credit Suisse non-core assets, including severe stress loss scenarios. In addition, after due consideration of the funding situation of Credit Suisse entities and UBS Group overall, UBS has also decided to voluntarily terminate the Public Liquidity Backstop (PLB) with the Swiss National Bank (SNB) of up to CHF 100 billion, guaranteed by the Swiss government. Further, Credit Suisse has fully repaid the Emergency Liquidity Assistance Plus (ELA+) loan. These measures, together with the intervention of UBS, contributed to the stabilization of Credit Suisse and financial stability in Switzerland and globally.

As part of the Credit Suisse rescue transaction by UBS, the Swiss government entered into an LPA with UBS, which became effective at closing on 12 June 2023. The LPA was meant to cover losses of up to CHF 9 billion (only to be drawn after UBS had taken on the first CHF 5 billion of losses). The LPA would have covered a designated portfolio of Credit Suisse non-core assets. At the time, this was deemed necessary to protect UBS against potential tail risks as there had been very limited time to review respective assets over the rescue weekend. After reviewing all assets covered by the LPA since the closing in June and taking the appropriate fair value adjustments, UBS has concluded that the LPA is no longer required. Therefore, UBS has given notice of voluntary termination effective 11 August 2023. UBS pays a total of CHF 40 million to compensate the Swiss Confederation for the establishment of the LPA.

Also, as part of the rescue transaction, the PLB was set up on 19 March 2023 by the Swiss government in the amount of up to CHF 100 billion. It allowed the SNB to provide sufficient liquidity support to Credit Suisse, backed by a federal default guarantee. All loans under the PLB were fully repaid by Credit Suisse as of the end of May 2023. Following a comprehensive review of the funding situation, UBS has decided to voluntarily terminate the PLB agreement with the SNB as of 11 August 2023. Through 31 July 2023, Credit Suisse expensed a commitment fee and a risk premium totaling CHF 214 million, including approximately CHF 61 million to the SNB and CHF 153 million to the Swiss Confederation.

Credit Suisse AG has also paid back the ELA+ loan of CHF 50 billion to SNB as of 10 August 2023. Credit Suisse paid a risk premium totaling CHF 476 million to the SNB.

UBS continues to focus on the successful execution of the integration of Credit Suisse.

Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are provided solely for information purposes, and are not to be construed as a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments in Switzerland, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No investment decision relating to securities of or relating to UBS Group AG, UBS AG or their affiliates should be made on the basis of this document. UBS undertakes no obligation to update the information contained herein.

This document contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." While these forward-looking statements represent UBS's judgments and expectations concerning the matters described, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from UBS's expectations. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may affect UBS's future results please refer to the "Risk Factors" and other sections of UBS's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, UBS Group AG's registration statement on Form F-4, quarterly reports and other information furnished to or filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K. UBS's Annual Report on Form 20-F, quarterly reports and other information furnished to or filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K are also available at the SEC's website: www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810941131/en/

Contacts:

UBS Group AG

Investor Relations:

Switzerland: +41-44-234 41 00

Media Relations:

Switzerland: +41-44-234 85 00

UK: +44-207-567 47 14

Americas: +1-212-882 58 58

APAC: +852-297-1 82 00

www.ubs.com/media


BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Swiss bank major UBS Group AG (UBS) announced on Friday that it has decided to voluntarily terminate the 9 billion Swiss franc Loss Protection Agreement or LPA with the Swiss government, saying it is no longer required.



As part of the Credit Suisse rescue by UBS, the Swiss government had entered into an LPA with UBS with effect from June 12 to cover losses of 9 billion Swiss francs only to be drawn after UBS absorbed the losses of the first 5 billion francs. This was aimed at protecting UBS against potential tail risks. After reviewing all assets covered by the LPA and taking the appropriate fair value adjustments UBS finds that the LPA is no longer necessary.



It has given a notice of voluntary termination effective August 11.



It will also terminate the Public Liquidity Backstop or PLB of up to 100 billion francs with the Swiss National Bank or SNB.



This decision comes following a comprehensive assessment of the designated portfolio of Credit Suisse non-core assets, including severe stress loss scenarios.



Additionally, Credit Suisse has fully repaid the Emergency Liquidity Assistance Plus loan of 50 billion francs to SNB as of August 10. It also paid a risk premium totaling 476 million francs to the SNB.



UBS in turn will pay a total of 40 million francs to compensate the Swiss Confederation for the establishment of the LPA.



Further to the rescue transaction, the Swiss government set up a PLB of up to 100 billion francs allowing the SNB to provide sufficient liquidity support to Credit Suisse, backed by a federal default guarantee.



All loans under the PLB were repaid in full by Credit Suisse as of the end of May 2023. After a comprehensive review UBS has decided to voluntarily terminate the PLB agreement with the SNB as of August 11.



On Thursday, shares of UBS closed at 19.41 francs up 0.44% on the Swiss Stock Exchange.



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Regulatory News:

Teleperformance (Paris:TEP):

This is a press release issued by Teleperformance SE ("Teleperformance") pursuant to the provisions of Section 10, Paragraph 3 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft, the "Decree") in connection with the public offer (the "Offer") by Teleperformance for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. ("Majorel") (the "Shares", and each holder of such Shares, a "Shareholder"). This press release does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in Teleperformance or Majorel. Any offer will be made only by means of an offer memorandum (the "Offer Memorandum") approved by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiele Markten, the "AFM"), the Amendment to the Universal Registration Document (as defined below) and the Exemption Document (as defined below), which are available as of today, and subject to the restrictions set forth therein. This press release is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, in any jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful.

Transaction highlights

Voluntary public cash and exchange offer by Teleperformance for all issued and outstanding shares in Majorel at an offer price in cash of EUR 30.00 per Share (ex the 2022 Dividend Distribution and cum any Additional Distribution (each as defined below)) (the " Cash Consideration "). Shareholders can alternatively elect to receive for each Share shares in Teleperformance (the " TP Shares ") at an exchange ratio of 30/217 (ex the 2022 Dividend Distribution and cum any Additional Distribution) (the " Share Consideration ", and together with the Cash Consideration, the " Offer Consideration "). A maximum of 4,608,295 TP Shares is available for issue under the Share Consideration (the " Maximum Consideration Shares "). To the extent that the Share Consideration is oversubscribed by Shareholders, the TP Shares will be allocated among the Shareholders that elected the Share Consideration on a pro rata basis according to the number of Shares tendered by such Shareholders in respect of which a valid election to receive the Share Consideration has been made. In respect of the Shares that cannot be exchanged for TP Shares, such Shareholders will receive the corresponding Cash Consideration

"). Shareholders can alternatively elect to receive for each Share shares in Teleperformance (the " ") at an exchange ratio of 30/217 (ex the 2022 Dividend Distribution and cum any Additional Distribution) (the " ", and together with the Cash Consideration, the " "). A maximum of 4,608,295 TP Shares is available for issue under the Share Consideration (the " "). To the extent that the Share Consideration is oversubscribed by Shareholders, the TP Shares will be allocated among the Shareholders that elected the Share Consideration on a pro rata basis according to the number of Shares tendered by such Shareholders in respect of which a valid election to receive the Share Consideration has been made. In respect of the Shares that cannot be exchanged for TP Shares, such Shareholders will receive the corresponding Cash Consideration The Cash Consideration represents a premium of approximately 43.2% to the Majorel closing share price on 25 April 2023, a premium of approximately 50.0% to the one-month volume-weighted average closing price and a premium of approximately 45.6% to the three-month volume-weighted average closing price. The Share Consideration implies a premium of approximately 34.4% to the Majorel closing share price on 25 April 2023, a premium of approximately 48.2% to the one-month volume-weighted average closing price and a premium of approximately 57.1% to the three-month volume-weighted average closing price

Initial offer period runs from 14 August 2023 at 09:00 hours CET to 20 October 2023 at 17:40 hours CET (the " Offer Period "), and may be extended in accordance with the Decree. Teleperformance will announce a post-acceptance period of two weeks if the Offer is declared unconditional (the " Post-Acceptance Period "). Completion of the Offer is expected in Q4 2023, subject to Antitrust Clearances (as defined below)

"), and may be extended in accordance with the Decree. Teleperformance will announce a post-acceptance period of two weeks if the Offer is declared unconditional (the " "). Completion of the Offer is expected in Q4 2023, subject to Antitrust Clearances (as defined below) The Offer is subject to obtaining the required clearances (the " Clearances ") from the relevant antitrust authorities (the " Antitrust Authorities "), which process is ongoing. The Offer is not conditional on a minimum acceptance threshold

") from the relevant antitrust authorities (the " "), which process is ongoing. The Offer is not conditional on a minimum acceptance threshold Bertelsmann Luxembourg S.a r.l. (" Bertelsmann "), Saham Customer Relationship Investments Limited and Saham Outsourcing Luxembourg S.a r.l. (together, " Saham "), together representing 78.98% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Majorel, have agreed to irrevocable undertakings with Teleperformance to tender all their Shares to the Offer and to elect, for all such Shares, to receive the Share Consideration

"), Saham Customer Relationship Investments Limited and Saham Outsourcing Luxembourg S.a r.l. (together, " "), together representing 78.98% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Majorel, have agreed to irrevocable undertakings with Teleperformance to tender all their Shares to the Offer and to elect, for all such Shares, to receive the Share Consideration In the event that Teleperformance declares the Offer unconditional, Shareholders who have validly tendered their Shares will receive on the First Settlement Date (as defined below) the Cash Consideration in respect of each Tendered Share tendered against the Cash Consideration. Shareholders who have elected to receive the Share Consideration for all or part of their Shares either during the initial offer period or during the Post-Acceptance Period, will receive the Share Consideration for such Shares (and the corresponding Cash Consideration for the Shares that cannot be exchanged for TP Shares due to oversubscription on the Share Consideration due to the Maximum Consideration Shares) on the Second Settlement Date (as defined below). Shareholders who tender their Shares during the Post-Acceptance Period against the Cash Consideration will also receive the Cash Consideration in respect of such Shares on the Second Settlement Date

It is the intention of Teleperformance to ultimately acquire 100% of the Shares or assets and operations of Majorel. If Teleperformance holds at least 95% of the capital and voting rights in Majorel following the Second Settlement Date, it may implement a squeeze-out for the remaining Shares. If Teleperformance does not reach this 95% threshold, Teleperformance may implement post-settlement restructuring measures (the " Post-Settlement Restructuring "). Furthermore, Teleperformance may seek to procure the delisting of the Shares from Euronext Amsterdam

"). Furthermore, Teleperformance may seek to procure the delisting of the Shares from Euronext Amsterdam The Majorel management board (the "Management Board") and the Majorel supervisory board (the "Supervisory Board", and together with the Management Board, the "Company Boards") have welcomed the Offer and will publish a position statement setting out their recommendation of the Offer on the same day as this press release (the "Position Statement

With reference to the publication of the Offer Memorandum today, Teleperformance announces that it is making a voluntary public cash and exchange offer for all issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Majorel at an offer price of EUR 30.00 per Share (ex the 2022 Dividend Distribution and cum any Additional Distribution), and that Shareholders can alternatively elect to receive TP Shares at an exchange ratio of 30/217 for each Majorel share (ex the 2022 Dividend Distribution and cum any Additional Distribution) (the "Exchange Ratio"), up to the Maximum Consideration Shares. The initial offer period runs from 14 August 2023 until and including 20 October 2023 and may be extended in accordance with the Decree. Completion of the Offer is expected for Q4 2023, subject to Antitrust Clearances. Terms not defined in this press release will have the meaning as set forth in the Offer Memorandum.

The Offer

The Offer is made on the terms and subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth in the Offer Memorandum. Shareholders who have validly tendered (or defectively tendered, provided that such defect has been waived by Teleperformance), have not validly withdrawn their Shares, and have transferred their Shares to Teleperformance prior to or on the Closing Date (as defined below) (each of these Shares, a "Tendered Share") will receive the Cash Consideration in consideration of each Tendered Share. Alternatively, a Shareholder may elect to receive the Share Consideration in respect of each Share as set out in Section 5.2 (Offer Consideration) of the Offer Memorandum.

The Offer Consideration is 'ex dividend' for the dividend declared for the financial year 2022 in the amount of EUR 68 million (the "2022 Dividend Distribution") and 'cum dividend' for any other distribution on the Shares on or after the date of the Offer Memorandum (an "Additional Distribution"). In the event Majorel declares any Additional Distribution whereby the record date for entitlement to such distribution is on or prior to the Second Settlement Date, then (i) the Cash Consideration will be decreased by the full pre-tax amount of any such Additional Distribution made by Majorel in respect of each Share, and (ii) the Share Consideration shall be adjusted by amending the Exchange Ratio to: (30 minus the Additional Distribution Amount) 217.

In the event that any distribution is declared by Teleperformance on its shares on or after the date of the Offer Memorandum, whereby the record date for entitlement to such distribution is on or prior to the Second Settlement Date, the Exchange Ratio shall be adjusted to: 30 (217 minus the amount of such distribution before any applicable withholding tax). At the date of this press release, no distributions are envisaged by Majorel or Teleperformance.

The Offer values 100% of the Shares at EUR 3 billion. In its initial announcement on the Offer dated 26 April 2023, Teleperformance confirmed that sufficient financing is in place to complete the Offer. Teleperformance will fund the Cash Consideration of the Offer through a bridge loan initially underwritten by BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank SA and Societe Generale SA for a total amount of EUR 2.05 billion under a facilities agreement dated 17 May 2023. The bridge loan has been partially refinanced through a term loan of EUR 600 million from a consortium of reputable banks, led by BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank SA and Societe Generale SA. Teleperformance plans to refinance the EUR 1.45 billion remaining bridge loan by bonds issues. The bridge loan and the term loan are not subject to any guarantee or financial covenant and are subject to limited terms and conditions customary for loans provided on a certain funds basis.

Rationale

The combination between Teleperformance and Majorel will create a EUR 10.2 billion revenue (based on the year 2022) digital business services organisation with a strong presence in all major economies of the world. The combination will benefit from the complementary capabilities in a number of geographies, enhancing Teleperformance's strength in servicing the Americas, while being complemented by Majorel's strength in Europe, and a scaled up presence in Asia-Pacific and Africa. Furthermore, material synergies are expected in the range of EUR 100-150 million per year, through higher efficiencies, increased scale, enhanced potential for new product development, and sharing of best practices.

The intent of Teleperformance is to continue the business expansion by cross-fertilization of existing clients of Teleperformance and Majorel either on products or on geographies. In addition, the intent of Teleperformance is to continue developing new products for Majorel's client portfolio, in particular in artificial intelligence and digital. Further information can be found in Section 6.2 (Rationale for the Transaction) of the Offer Memorandum.

Position Statement and Fairness Opinion

The Company Boards have welcomed the Offer at the time of the initial announcement and will publish its Position Statement setting out a recommendation of the Offer, subject to the fiduciary duties of the Company Boards. Such recommendation is based on a fairness opinion (the "Fairness Opinion") rendered by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler Co. KG. The Management Board Members intend to tender the Shares they hold in the Offer and to receive the Cash Consideration.

Irrevocable undertakings of Bertelsmann and Saham

Bertelsmann holds 39,490,644 Shares, representing 39.49% of Majorel's issued and outstanding share capital. Saham holds 37,790,644 Shares and controls 1,700,000 Shares, representing 39.49% of Majorel's issued and outstanding share capital. Bertelsmann and Saham have each entered into an irrevocable undertaking with Teleperformance to (i) tender all their Shares under the Offer, (ii) elect the Share Consideration for all such Shares, and (iii) support the Offer in accordance with the terms of the irrevocable undertaking. Since Bertelsmann and Saham irrevocably undertook to elect the Share Consideration for all their Shares, the Share Consideration is expected to be oversubscribed due to the absolute number of Maximum Consideration Shares so that all Shareholders that elect the Share Consideration (including Bertelsmann and Saham) will receive both TP Shares and cash. Bertelsmann and Saham have also agreed to a staggered lock-up period for the TP Shares that they will receive.

Bertelsmann and Saham will tender their Shares under the same terms and conditions as the other Shareholders. Bertelsmann and Saham did not receive any information that is relevant for Shareholders when assessing the Offer that is not included in the Offer Memorandum. Further details of the agreement between Teleperformance with Bertelsmann and Saham are included in Section 6.10 (Irrevocable undertakings of Bertelsmann and Saham) of the Offer Memorandum.

Governance of Majorel post-settlement

Majorel will maintain a two-tier governance structure following the Second Settlement Date consisting of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board until the relevant provisions of Majorel's articles of association are amended. The five Bertelsmann nominees on the Supervisory Board have indicated that they will resign from their offices as of the Second Settlement Date. The two Saham nominees on the Supervisory Board will remain on the Supervisory Board for the time being, but may resign upon request of Teleperformance. Teleperformance will propose five, or if the two Saham nominees have resigned, seven candidates for appointment to the Supervisory Board.

Governance of Teleperformance post-settlement

There are no amendments envisaged to Teleperformance's articles of association or its board composition following completion of the Offer.

Employee consultation

Majorel has consulted its employees with regard to the Position Statement in accordance with Articles 6(2) and 10(5) of the Luxembourg Law of 19 May 2006 on public takeover offers in advance of the publication of the Offer Memorandum in order for the Position Statement to be published shortly after the publication of the Offer Memorandum.

At the date of this press release, Teleperformance intends to retain all of Majorel's employees and it does not envisage any material changes to the employment contracts of these employees. It is not expected that the Offer would have any direct adverse financial or legal consequences on the workforce, employees, working conditions or employment terms and conditions of Majorel.

Clearances

Teleperformance is responsible for notifying the relevant Antitrust Authorities of the transaction and is responsible for obtaining the Antitrust Clearances in the following jurisdictions: Brazil, China, Colombia, the European Union, Morocco, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Teleperformance already obtained Clearances in Brazil, China and Colombia and is working on obtaining Clearances from the Antitrust Authorities of the other jurisdictions where Clearances are required. Although the timing is contingent on various factors, the current best estimate for obtaining the required Antitrust Clearances or for the applicable waiting periods or other periods (including extensions thereof) under applicable laws having expired, lapsed or terminated, is Q4 2023. The Antitrust Clearances may however be obtained later. Further information on the Antitrust Clearances can be found in Section 6.8 (Antitrust Clearances condition) of the Offer Memorandum.

Indicative timetable

Expected date and time (All times are CET) Event 11 August 2023 Publication of the Position Statement by Majorel 14 August 2023, 09:00 hours Commencement of the Offer Period 20 October 2023, 17:40 hours "Closing Date" and "Closing Time": deadline for tendering Shares, unless the Offer is extended in accordance with Article 15 of the Decree No later than three (3) Business Days after the Closing Date "Unconditional Date": the date on which Teleperformance will publicly announce whether the Offer is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan) in accordance with Article 16 of the Decree No later than five (5) Business Days after the Closing Date "First Settlement Date": the date on which, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offer, Teleperformance will pay the Cash Consideration for each Tendered Share tendered during the Offer Period against the Cash Consideration No later than three (3) Business Days after the Unconditional Date "Post-Acceptance Period": If the Offer is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan), Teleperformance will publicly announce a Post-Acceptance Period of two (2) weeks, in accordance with Article 17 of the Decree. The Post-Acceptance Period will commence on the first Business Day following the announcement of the Post-Acceptance Period. No later than five (5) Business Days after the last day of the Post-Acceptance Period "Second Settlement Date": the date on which, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offer, Teleperformance will pay (i) the Cash Consideration for each Tendered Share tendered during the Post-Acceptance Period against the Cash Consideration and (ii) the Share Consideration together with the corresponding Cash Consideration for the Shares that cannot be exchanged for TP Shares due to oversubscription for the Share Consideration, for each Tendered Share tendered during the Offer Period or the Post-Acceptance Period against the Share Consideration.

Acceptance by the Shareholders

Shareholders are requested to make their acceptance of the Offer, including their election of the Share Consideration (to the extent applicable), known through their custodian, bank or stockbroker no later than by the Closing Time, being 17:40 hours CET on the Closing Date. The relevant custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by holders of such Shares in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate acceptances to ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (the "Settlement Agent") in a timely manner. Accordingly, a Shareholder should contact its financial intermediary to obtain information about the deadline by which such Shareholder must send instructions to the financial intermediary to accept the Offer and should comply with the dates set by such financial intermediary, as such dates may differ from the dates and times noted in the Offer Memorandum.

The institutions admitted to Euronext Amsterdam (aangesloten instelling) (an "Admitted Institution") can tender Shares, and elect the Share Consideration in respect of such Shares (if applicable), only to the Settlement Agent and only in writing in accordance with the Offer Memorandum.

Subject to the withdrawal rights set out in the Offer Memorandum, the tendering of Shares in acceptance of the Offer will constitute irrevocable instructions by the relevant Shareholder to the relevant Admitted Institution to (i) block any attempt to transfer such Shares, so that on or before the First Settlement Date or Second Settlement Date, as applicable, no transfer of such Shares can be effected (other than any action required to effect the transfer to Teleperformance), (ii) debit the securities account in which such Shares are held on the First Settlement Date or Second Settlement Date, as applicable, in respect of all such Shares, against payment of the Offer Consideration for such Shares by the Settlement Agent on Teleperformance's behalf, and (iii) effect the transfer of such Shares to Teleperformance. Further information on the acceptance of the Offer is included in Section 5.3 (Acceptance by Shareholders) of the Offer Memorandum.

Offer Period

The Offer Period will commence on 14 August 2023 at 09:00 hours CET and will expire on 20 October 2023 at 17:40 hours CET (the "Initial Closing Date"), unless the Offer Period is extended in accordance with Article 15 of the Decree and Section 5.6 (Extension of the Offer Period) of the Offer Memorandum.

If the Offer is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan) by Teleperformance, Teleperformance will accept all Tendered Shares not previously validly withdrawn in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 5.3.5 (Withdrawal Rights) of the Offer Memorandum.

Declaring the Offer unconditional

The obligation of Teleperformance to declare the Offer unconditional (gestand doen) is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the offer conditions set out in Section 6.7 (Offer Conditions, satisfaction and waiver) of the Offer Memorandum (the "Offer Conditions"). The Offer Conditions may be waived by Teleperformance, to the extent permitted by law and the agreement between Teleperformance, Bertelsmann and Saham, as set out in Section 6.7.2 (Waiver of the Offer Conditions) of the Offer Memorandum. If any Offer Condition is waived, Teleperformance will inform the Shareholders as required by law.

On or before the Unconditional Date, Teleperformance will determine whether or not the Offer Conditions have been satisfied or waived and announce whether the Offer (i) is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan), (ii) will be extended in accordance with Section 5.6 (Extension of the Offer Period) of the Offer Memorandum, or (iii) is terminated as a result of the Offer Conditions not having been satisfied or waived, all in accordance with Article 16 of the Decree.

In the event Teleperformance declares the Offer unconditional (gestand doen), Teleperformance will accept the transfer of all Tendered Shares on the terms of the Offer.

Extension of the Offer Period

If the Offer Condition set out in Section 6.7.1(a) (Clearances) of the Offer Memorandum is not satisfied or waived on the then scheduled Closing Date, Teleperformance will, in accordance with Article 15 of the Decree, extend the Offer Period, provided that (i) the first extension of the Offer Period shall be no less than two (2) weeks and no more than ten (10) weeks, calculated from the Initial Closing Date, and (ii) any subsequent extension shall be subject to receipt of an exemption granted by the AFM and until such time as Teleperformance reasonably believes is necessary to cause the Offer Condition to be satisfied or waived.

If the Offer Period is extended, so that the obligation pursuant to Article 16, Paragraph 1 of the Decree to announce whether the Offer is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan) is postponed, a public announcement to that effect will be made ultimately on the third (3rd) Business Day following the Initial Closing Date in accordance with the provisions of Article 15, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Decree. During an extension of the Offer Period, any Shares previously tendered and not validly withdrawn will remain tendered under the Offer, subject to the right of each Shareholder to withdraw the Shares already tendered in accordance with Section 5.3.5 (Withdrawal Rights) of the Offer Memorandum.

First Settlement

In the event that Teleperformance declares the Offer unconditional (gestand doet), Shareholders who have (i) validly tendered (or defectively tendered provided that such defect has been waived by Teleperformance) their Shares, and (ii) not validly withdrawn and have transferred their Shares for acceptance pursuant to the Offer on or prior to the Closing Date, will receive on the First Settlement Date the Cash Consideration in respect of each Tendered Share tendered against the Cash Consideration.

Shareholders who have elected to receive the Share Consideration for all or part of their Shares will receive the Share Consideration for such Shares for which they elected the Share Consideration, and the corresponding Cash Consideration for the Shares that cannot be exchanged for TP Shares due to oversubscription on the Share Consideration, on the Second Settlement Date. Further information on the First Settlement is included in Section 5.7 (First Settlement) of the Offer Memorandum.

Post-Acceptance Period

If Teleperformance declares the Offer unconditional (gestand doen), Teleperformance will, within three (3) Business Days after the Unconditional Date, publicly announce the Post-Acceptance Period of two (2) weeks. During the Post-Acceptance Period, Shareholders that did not tender their Shares during the Offer Period may tender their Shares on the same terms and subject to the same conditions and restrictions as the Offer, including the possibility to elect to receive the Share Consideration for each Tendered Share instead of the Cash Consideration.

Teleperformance will publicly announce the results of the Post-Acceptance Period, and the total number and total percentage of Shares held by it in accordance with Article 17, Paragraph 4 of the Decree no later than on the third (3rd) Business Day following the last day of the Post-Acceptance Period.

During the Post-Acceptance Period and until the Second Settlement Date, Shareholders have no right to withdraw Shares from the Offer or change their election between the Cash Consideration and the Share Consideration, regardless of whether the Shares have been tendered either during the Offer Period or during the Post-Acceptance Period.

Second Settlement

The Second Settlement will take place with respect to Shares tendered against the Cash Consideration for Shareholders who have (i) validly tendered such Shares during the Post-Acceptance Period (or defectively tendered their Shares provided that such defect has been waived by Teleperformance), and (ii) not validly withdrawn and have transferred such Shares for acceptance pursuant to the Offer on or prior to the end of the Post-Acceptance Period. With respect to Shares tendered against the Share Consideration, the Second Secondment will take place for Shareholders who have (i) validly tendered such Shares during the Offer Period or the Post-Acceptance Period (or defectively tendered their Shares provided that such defect has been waived by Teleperformance), and (ii) not validly withdrawn and have transferred such Shares for acceptance pursuant to the Offer on or prior to the end of the Offer Period or Post-Acceptance Period.

Teleperformance will determine the number of TP Shares to be issued for the payment of the Share Consideration in respect of the Tendered Shares in accordance with Sections 5.2 (Offer Consideration) and 5.9 (Second Settlement) of the Offer Memorandum.

Acquisition of 100%

It is likely that the Offer, if and when it is declared unconditional (gestand wordt gedaan), has implications for the Shareholders who did not tender their Shares. Therefore, Shareholders considering not to tender their Shares under the Offer should carefully review the Sections of the Offer Memorandum that explain the intentions of Teleperformance and/or certain actual or potential implications to which such non-tendering Shareholders will be subject if the First Settlement and Second Settlement occur, such as (but not limited to) Section Erreur Source du renvoi introuvable.6.13 (Consequences of the Offer for non-tendering Shareholders) of the Offer Memorandum.

It is the intention of Teleperformance to ultimately acquire 100% of the Shares and Teleperformance's willingness to pay the Offer Consideration is predicated on the acquisition of 100% of the Shares or the entirety of Majorel's assets and operations (including Majorel's entire business). In light thereof, following the Second Settlement, Teleperformance may choose to implement (or cause to be implemented) certain Post-Settlement Restructurings (as described in more detail in Section Erreur Source du renvoi introuvable.6.13 (Consequences of the Offer for non-tendering Shareholders) of the Offer Memorandum). Teleperformance reserves the right to use any legally permitted method to acquire all of the Shares or full ownership of the Majorel's business.

If Teleperformance holds at least 95% of the capital and voting rights in Majorel following the Second Settlement, it may implement squeeze-out proceedings to acquire the remaining Shares. If Teleperformance does not reach this 95% threshold immediately after the Second Settlement, Teleperformance will explore any possibility (i) to reach such threshold in the future in order to implement the takeover squeeze-out proceedings or corporate squeeze-out proceedings (as further detailed in Section 6.13.4 (Squeeze-Out) of the Offer Memorandum), or alternatively (ii) to implement any Post-Settlement Restructuring (as further detailed in Section Erreur Source du renvoi introuvable.6.13.6 (Post-Settlement Restructurings) of the Offer Memorandum). With all these measures Teleperformance does not intend to propose a consideration to be paid to, or received by, the Shareholders at financial terms higher than the Offer Consideration, it being specified that such terms could be lower than the Offer Consideration.

When deliberating and resolving on any squeeze-out proceedings or Post-Settlement Restructuring, due consideration will be given to the requirements of law, including, to the extent applicable, the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht), the Decree and the duties of the Company Boards to promote the corporate interest of Majorel, and the interests of all shareholders (including minority shareholders) and other relevant stakeholders, and relevant employee representative bodies' information and/or consultation requirements.

Liquidity and delisting

The purchase of Shares by Teleperformance pursuant to the Offer will reduce the number of Shareholders and the number of Shares that might otherwise trade publicly. As a result, the size of the free float in Shares may be substantially reduced following the First Settlement and Second Settlement and trading volumes, liquidity and market value of Shares may be adversely affected. Teleperformance does not intend to compensate the Shareholders for such adverse effect by, for example, setting up a liquidity mechanism for the Shares that are not tendered in the Offer.

Furthermore, Teleperformance may initiate any of the procedures set out in Section 6.13 (Consequences of the Offer for non-tendering Shareholders) of the Offer Memorandum following completion of the Offer, which may further adversely affect liquidity and market value of any Shares not tendered.

Teleperformance may, as soon as reasonably practicable after the Second Settlement, seek to procure the delisting of the Shares from Euronext Amsterdam (including the Shares not tendered under the Offer) and the termination of the listing agreement between Majorel and Euronext Amsterdam in relation to the listing of the Shares.

Delisting may be achieved in accordance with applicable (policy) rules of Euronext Amsterdam, but the listing of the Shares on Euronext Amsterdam can also be terminated on the basis of a Post-Settlement Restructuring. In the event that Majorel will no longer be listed and the Shares will no longer be publicly traded, the provisions applicable to the governance of listed companies will no longer apply and the rights of remaining minority Shareholders may be limited to the statutory minimum.

Announcements

Any announcement contemplated by the Offer Memorandum will be issued by means of a press release. Any press release issued by Teleperformance will be made available on the website of Teleperformance (https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/investors/publications-and-events/acquisition-of-majorel/) Any press release issued by Majorel will be made available on the website of Majorel (https://www.majorel.com/explore-majorel/press-releases/).

Offer Memorandum and further information

Digital copies of the Offer Memorandum are available on the website of Teleperformance https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/investors/publications-and-events/acquisition-of-majorel/). Copies of the Offer Memorandum are also available free of charge at the office of the Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Gustav Mahlerlaan 10, 1082 PP, Amsterdam).

Today, Teleperformance also published the first amendment to its Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) on 27 February 2023 (the "Amendment to the Universal Registration Document") and the exemption document pursuant to article 1 sub 4(f) and 5(e) of the EU Prospectus Regulation (the "Exemption Document"). These documents are published in relation to the TP Shares to be issued and admitted to trading on Euronext Paris as part of the Share Consideration. These documents are available on Teleperformance's website (https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/investors/publications-and-events/financial-publications/. These documents have not been approved by the AFM prior to publication.

Subject to any applicable requirements by law and without limiting the manner in which Teleperformance may choose to make any public announcement, Teleperformance will have no obligation to make any public announcement other than as described above and in the Offer Memorandum.

Teleperformance:

Teleperformance SE

21/25 rue Balzac

75008 Paris

France

The Settlement Agent:

ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

Corporate Broking and Issuer Services HQ7212

Gustav Mahlerlaan 10

1082 PP, Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Advisors:

BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank SA and Societe Generale SA are acting as financial advisors to Teleperformance.

White Case LLP, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. and Elvinger Hoss Prussen SA are acting as legal advisors to Teleperformance.

Sullivan Cromwell LLP, Stibbe N.V. and Arendt Medernach SA are acting as legal advisors to Majorel. Joh. Berenberg, Gossler Co. KG is acting as financial advisor in connection with the Fairness Opinion.

Disclaimer

This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

Certain information included in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions, including, without limitation, assumptions as to the potential combination of Teleperformance with Majorel, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results or other events, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Teleperformance expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Such forward-looking statements are for illustrative purposes only. Forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Teleperformance. The forward-looking statements included in this press release do not include any assumption for a further significant deterioration in market conditions or the current geopolitical situation. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified under Section 2.1 of the Universal Registration Document of Teleperformance, filed with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) on 27 February 2023, as amended by the Amendment to the Universal Registration Document, and available on the Teleperformance website (www.teleperformance.com) and the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).

This press release is for information purposes only and does not, and shall not, constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities of Teleperformance or Majorel nor a solicitation to offer to purchase or to subscribe for securities of Teleperformance or Majorel in any jurisdiction, including in France and the Netherlands. Any offer will be made only by means of the Offer Memorandum.

The distribution of this press release may, in some countries, be restricted by law or regulation. Accordingly, persons who come into possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe these restrictions. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Teleperformance disclaims any responsibility or liability for the violation of any such restrictions by any person. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of that jurisdiction. Neither Teleperformance nor any of its advisors assumes any responsibility for any violation of any of these restrictions. Any Majorel shareholder who is in any doubt as to his or her position should consult an appropriate professional advisor without delay.

Notice to US Shareholders

The Offer is being made by Teleperformance, a French company whose shares are listed on Euronext Paris, for the Shares in Majorel, a Luxembourg company whose shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam, and is subject to Dutch, Luxembourg and French disclosure and procedural requirements, which differ from those of the United States. It is important that U.S. shareholders understand that the Offer and any related offer documents are subject to disclosure and takeover laws and regulations in the Netherlands, France and/or Luxembourg that may be different from those in the United States. The financial information included or referred to herein has been prepared in accordance with non-U.S. accounting standards and, accordingly, may not be comparable to the financial information of U.S. companies or companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. U.S. shareholders are referred to Section 3.2 (Information for U.S. shareholders) of the Offer Memorandum.

The Offer is being made in the United States in compliance with, and in reliance on, the exemption provided by Rule 14d-1(c), known as the "Tier I" exemption, under the U.S. Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "U.S. Exchange Act

Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or pursuant to an exemption from such registration. The TP Shares to be issued in connection with the settlement of the Offer are not, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or under the securities laws of any jurisdiction of the United States and will be issued to Shareholders in the United States in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 802 under the Securities Act and in reliance on available exemptions from any state law registration requirements.

It may be difficult for U.S. shareholders to enforce their rights and claims arising out of the U.S. federal securities laws, since Teleperformance and Majorel are located in a country other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of a country other than the United States. U.S. shareholders may not be able to sue a non-U.S. company or its officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel a non-U.S. company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any U.S. state securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the Offer or the TP Shares to be issued in connection with the settlement of the Offer, passed upon the fairness or merits of the Offer or provided an opinion as to the accuracy or completeness of this Offer Memorandum or any other documents regarding the Offer. Any declaration to the contrary constitutes a criminal offence in the United States.

In accordance with standard Dutch practice and pursuant to Rule 14e-5(b) of the U.S. Exchange Act, Teleperformance or its nominees, or its brokers (acting as agents), or affiliates of Teleperformance's financial advisors, may from time to time make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, Shares outside of the United States, other than pursuant to the Offer, before or during the period in which the Offer remains open for acceptance. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Information about such purchases, if any, will be announced by press release in accordance with Article 13 of the Decree and posted on the website of Teleperformance.

ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP

Teleperformance (TEP ISIN: FR0000051807 Reuters: TEPRF.PA Bloomberg: TEP FP), a global leader in digital business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world's largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model including end-to-end digital solutions, which guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high touch, high tech approach. More than 410,000 employees, based in 91 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 300 languages and 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the "Simpler, Faster, Safer" process.This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry's highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2022, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 8,154 million (US$8.6 billion, based on 1 US$1.05) and net profit of 645 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350, MSCI Global Standard and Euronext Tech Leaders. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the CAC 40 ESG since September 2022, the Euronext Vigeo Euro 120 index since 2015, the EURO STOXX 50 ESG index since 2020, the MSCI Europe ESG Leaders index since 2019, the FTSE4Good index since 2018 and the S&P Global 1200 ESG index since 2017.

For more information: www.teleperformance.com follow us on Twitter: @teleperformance

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810662900/en/

Contacts:

FINANCIAL ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS

Investor relations and financial communication department

TELEPERFORMANCE

Tel: +33 1 53 83 59 15

investor@teleperformance.com

PRESS RELATIONS

Europe

Karine Allouis Laurent Poinsot

IMAGE7

Tel: +33 1 53 70 74 70

teleperformance@image7.fr

PRESS RELATIONS

Americas and Asia-Pacific

Nicole Miller

TELEPERFORMANCE

Tel: 1 629-899-0675

nicole.miller@teleperformance.com
OSLO, Norway, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Navamedic ASA (OSE: NAVA), a Nordic pharma company and reliable provider of high-quality products to hospitals and pharmacies, today announces its results for the second quarter and first half of 2023. Having experienced strong growth across the business, Navamedic grew its revenues for the first half of 2023 by 41.7 per cent, amounting to NOK 245.7 million.

For the first half of 2023, the gross margin was 40.9 per cent, down from 42.9 per cent last year. Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA less acquisition cost) was NOK 26.3 million, up from NOK 23.3 million in the corresponding period last year, while the operating result (EBIT) for the first half of 2023 was NOK 9.9 million, compared to NOK 19.6 million in the same period last year. The result is mainly explained by significant investments in marketing activities, higher personnel expenses due to the Impolin acquisition, and M&A-related expenses in the second quarter of 2023.

Revenues for the second quarter of 2023 was NOK 124 million, gross margin was 40.4 per cent, and adjusted EBITDA for the quarter amounted to NOK 10.5 million compared to NOK 23.7 million in 2022. The operating result (EBIT) for the second quarter was negative NOK 4.0 million, compared to NOK 21.9 million last year.

"Since kicking off Navamedic's growth strategy in 2019, we have steadily been delivering on our goals. The first half of 2023 has been no exception. It has also been a period where we experienced a lot of market activity in some of our core treatment areas, ultimately yielding positive outcomes for Navamedic.

"We can look back at a successful first half of the year, having delivered on our M&A strategy in parallel with product launches and marketing campaigns. As we look forward, Navamedic is in an excellent position to achieve its ambitious growth targets and to continue delivering high-quality products to hospitals and pharmacies," commented Kathrine Gamborg Andreassen, CEO of Navamedic.

In the period, Navamedic launched an offer for all shares and completed the acquisition of Sensidose AB, a Sweden-based pharmaceutical company that sell drugs (Flexilev) in combination with an innovative device for individual dosing for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The addition of Sensidose broadens Navamedic's RX portfolio and opens up for Navamedic to take up market share in the European neurology treatment area.

Navamedic will now ramp up commercial efforts by adding Flexilev to its marketing and distribution channels, starting with the Nordics and a product launch in Finland. Navamedic will also explore additional European markets and consider opportunities outside of Europe.

On Friday, 11 August 2023, Navamedic will host a presentation starting at 08.30 CEST. The presentation will take place at Haakon VIIs gate 2 in Oslo, and will be available to follow via webcast at the following link: https://navamedic.com/investors/financial-results/

Representatives from Navamedic's management team, CEO Kathrine Gamborg Andreassen and CFO Lars Hjarrand will host the presentation.

EBITDA and other alternative performance measures (APMs) are defined and reconciled to the IFRS financial statements as a part of the APM section of the attached second-quarter presentation on slide 24.

For further information, please contact:

Kathrine Gamborg Andreassen, CEO, Navamedic

Mobile: +47 951 78 680

E-mail: kathrine@navamedic.com

Lars Hjarrand, CFO, Navamedic

Mobile: +47 917 62 842

E-mail: lars.hjarrand@navamedic.com

About Navamedic

Navamedic ASA is a full-service provider of high-quality healthcare products to hospitals and pharmacies. Navamedic meets the specific medical needs of patients and consumers by leveraging its highly scalable market access platform, leading category competence and local knowledge. Navamedic is present in all the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Benelux, with sales representation in the UK and Greece. Navamedic is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: NAVA). For more information, please visit Navamedic.com.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/17619/3816213/2224094.pdf Navamedic Q2 H1 2023 report https://mb.cision.com/Public/17619/3816213/a9c86d7a0eb8f00f.pdf Navamedic Q2 2023 Presentation

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/navamedic-asa-significant-growth-across-the-business-301898574.html
The Bell Tower on 34th, a historic events venue in North Houston, Texas, has a new ballroom that now comes fully equipped for private and corporate events.

Houston, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - The Bell Tower on 34th has a new ballroom within their extensive grounds now available to private and corporate guests alike. Called the Chandelier Ballroom, The Bell Tower on 34th's new event space is set beneath an antique wrought iron chandelier and is now ready for immediate booking.

For more details, visit https://thebelltoweron34th.com





The Bell Tower On 34th Opens New Fully Equipped Ballroom In Houston Heights

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/176883_b0ae64ca143bb9b0_001full.jpg





The Chandelier Ballroom joins The Bell Tower on 34th's popular selection of historic high-ceilinged and elegantly appointed ballrooms, including their Grand Contessa Ballroom, their Carillon Ballroom and their Candela Ballroom.

The Bell Tower on 34th believes that the new Chandelier Ballroom, which is smaller than some of their larger ballrooms, will bring their guests a more intimate yet still spacious experience and will be suitable for smaller private or corporate groups who are looking to host an elevated social gathering or another type of party or event.

In addition to the large chandelier that frames the space, their new ballroom also features a focal fireplace, a spiral staircase entry, and a large skylight that they believe makes the ballroom particularly special for daytime events. Guests will also notice the room's historic original stone flooring.

The event planning team at The Bell Tower on 34th has also developed new booking packages designed specifically for the Chandelier Ballroom, and the ballroom comes completely furnished for a sit-down dining experience as standard. Event organizers who opt to take advantage of the Chandelier Ballroom's new inclusive package will also have all AV, lights and decorations taken care of, and can use the venue's in-house executive chef and catering team.

As the new Chandelier Ballroom is just one of many event spaces inside the expansive Mediterranean-style historic complex, event organizers will also enjoy the venue's standard inclusions like private security and valet parking for all guests.

Leslie Gonsalves, one of the event producers at The Bell Tower on 34th, said, "Whether celebrating an intimate gathering or a grand event, the Chandelier Ballroom will deliver an opulent setting that will leave guests in awe. Offering timeless elegance and charm, this luxurious ballroom is sure to turn any special occasion into an unforgettable experience."

They recommend that any interested event hosts in Houston Heights contact them to set up a venue visit, or discover more at https://thebelltoweron34th.com/corporate-events

Contact Info:

Name: Roger Igo

Email: roger@bell34.com

Phone: 713-868-2355

Organization: The Bell Tower on 34th

Address: 901 West 34th Street, Houston, TX 77018, United States

Website: https://thebelltoweron34th.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176883
EQS Post-admission Duties announcement: Adtran Holdings, Inc. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] Adtran Holdings, Inc.: Release according to Article 50 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] with the objective of Europe-wide distribution 11.08.2023 / 09:00 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canacol Energy Ltd. ("Canacol" or the "Corporation") (TSX:CNE; OTCQX:CNNEF; BVC:CNEC) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. Dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars, with the exception of Canadian dollar unit prices ("C$") where indicated and otherwise noted.



Highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023

Adjusted EBITDAX increased 10% and 16% to $60.7 million and $121.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to $55.2 million and $104.8 million for the same periods in 2022, respectively.

The Corporation's natural gas and LNG operating netback increased 8% and 9% to $3.94 per Mcf and $3.97 per Mcf, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to $3.66 per Mcf and $3.63 per Mcf for the same periods in 2022, respectively. The increase is mainly due to an increase in average sales prices, net of royalties and transportation expenses.

Total revenues, net of royalties and transportation expenses increased 6% and 9% to $74.6 million and $148.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to $70.3 million and $136.1 million for the same periods in 2022, respectively, mainly due to higher average sales price, net of transportation expenses.

Realized contractual natural gas sales volume decreased 2% to 184.8 MMcfpd for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 188.0 MMcfpd for the same period in 2022. The decrease is mainly due to a decrease in spot sales, offset by gas sales to Tesorito. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, realized contractual natural gas sales volume increased slightly to 185.2 MMcfpd, compared to 184.9 MMcfpd for the same period in 2022.

Adjusted funds from operations decreased 14% and 9% to $33.7 million and $66.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to $39.1 million and $72.9 million for the same periods in 2022, respectively, mainly due to an increase in current tax expense, offset by an increase in total revenue, net of royalties and transportation expenses.

The Corporation realized a net income of $40 million and $56.9 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to a net loss of $6.4 million and a net income of $18 million for the same periods in 2022, respectively.

Net cash capital expenditures for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 was $52 million and $99.1 million, respectively.

As at June 30, 2023, the Corporation had $38.9 million in cash and cash equivalents and $8.7 million in working capital surplus.

Outlook

For the remainder of 2023, the Corporation is focused on the following objectives: 1) the drilling of up to 10 exploration and appraisal wells in a continuous program targeting a 2P reserves replacement ratio of more than 200%; 2) the acquisition of 282 square kilometers of 3D seismic on the VIM-5 block to expand the Corporation's exploration prospect inventory; 3) progressing the new gas pipeline project from Jobo to Medellin which will add 100 MMcfpd of new gas sales to the interior, allowing Canacol to increase gas sales to over 300 MMcfpd; 4) continuing to return capital to shareholders; and 5) continuing with our commitment of strengthening our environmental, social and governance strategy.

FINANCIAL & OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

(in United States dollars (tabular amounts in thousands) except as otherwise noted)

Financial



Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change Total revenues, net of royalties and transportation expense 74,605 70,256 6 % 148,518 136,139 9 % Adjusted EBITDAX(1) 60,654 55,208 10 % 121,582 104,832 16 % Adjusted funds from operations(1) 33,686 39,086 (14 %) 66,379 72,902 (9 %) Per share - basic ($)(1)(2) 0.99 1.15 (14 %) 1.95 2.12 (8 %) Per share - diluted ($)(1)(2) 0.99 1.15 (14 %) 1.95 2.12 (8 %) Cash flow provided (used) by operating activities (24,413 ) 35,338 n/a 6,556 73,401 (91 %) Per share - basic ($)(2) (0.72 ) 1.04 n/a 0.19 2.14 (91 %) Per share - diluted ($)(2) (0.72 ) 1.04 n/a 0.19 2.14 (91 %) Net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) 39,990 (6,404 ) n/a 56,864 18,011 216 % Per share - basic ($)(2) 1.17 (0.19 ) n/a 1.67 0.52 221 % Per share - diluted ($)(2) 1.17 (0.19 ) n/a 1.67 0.52 221 % Weighted average shares outstanding - basic(2) 34,111 34,118 - % 34,111 34,330 (1 %) Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted(2) 34,111 34,118 - % 34,111 34,330 (1 %) Net cash capital expenditures(1) 51,985 42,686 22 % 99,108 70,164 41 % Jun 30, 2023 Dec 31, 2022 Change Cash and cash equivalents 38,936 58,518 (33 %) Working capital surplus (deficit) 8,721 (22,603 ) n/a Total debt 659,319 550,752 20 % Total assets 1,130,408 1,014,848 11 % Common shares, end of period (000's)(2) 34,111 34,111 - % Operating



Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change Production(1) Natural gas and LNG (Mcfpd) 187,687 190,559 (2 %) 188,033 186,865 1 % Colombia oil (bopd) 527 571 (8 %) 546 500 9 % Total (boepd) 33,455 34,002 (2 %) 33,534 33,283 1 % Realized contractual sales(1) Natural gas and LNG (Mcfpd) 184,752 187,963 (2 %) 185,185 184,905 - % Colombia oil (bopd) 523 565 (7 %) 555 489 13 % Total (boepd) 32,936 33,541 (2 %) 33,044 32,929 - % Operating netbacks(1) Natural gas and LNG ($/Mcf) 3.94 3.66 8 % 3.97 3.63 9 % Colombia oil ($/bbl) 18.57 27.49 (32 %) 22.39 21.92 2 % Corporate ($/boe) 22.36 21.02 6 % 22.61 20.69 9 %

(1) Non-IFRS measures - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within the MD&A.

(2) Restated to reflect the 5:1 share consolidation on January 17, 2023 - see "Share Consolidation" section within the MD&A.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"). The Corporation has filed its interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related MD&A as at and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. These filings are available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Canacol is a natural gas exploration and production company with operations focused in Colombia. The Corporation's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CNE, the OTCQX in the United States of America under the symbol CNNEF, the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia under the symbol CNEC.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "target", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, including without limitation statements relating to estimated production rates from the Corporation's properties and intended work programs and associated timelines. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Corporation assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Information and guidance provided herein supersedes and replaces any forward looking information provided in prior disclosures. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration for and development of crude oil and natural gas properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological and geophysical data, fluctuating energy prices, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs or delays and other uncertainties associated with the oil and gas industry. Other risk factors could include risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Other risks are more fully described in the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Annual Information Form, which are incorporated herein by reference and are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Average production figures for a given period are derived using arithmetic averaging of fluctuating historical production data for the entire period indicated and, accordingly, do not represent a constant rate of production for such period and are not an indicator of future production performance. Detailed information in respect of monthly production in the fields operated by the Corporation in Colombia is provided by the Corporation to the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia and is published by the Ministry on its website; a direct link to this information is provided on the Corporation's website. References to "net" production refer to the Corporation's working-interest production before royalties.



Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures - Such supplemental measures should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the measures as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance, and such measures may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. This press release also provides information on adjusted funds from operations. Adjusted funds from operations is a measure not defined in IFRS. It represents cash provided (used) by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and the settlement of decommissioning obligation, adjusted for non-recurring charges. The Corporation considers adjusted funds from operations a key measure as it demonstrates the ability of the business to generate the cash flow necessary to fund future growth through capital investment and to repay debt. Adjusted funds from operations should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance. The Corporation's determination of adjusted funds from operations may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. For more details on how the Corporation reconciles its cash provided by operating activities to adjusted funds from operations, please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of the Corporation's MD&A. Additionally, this press release references Adjusted EBITDAX and operating netback measures. Adjusted EBITDAX is defined as consolidated net income adjusted for interest, income taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization, exploration expenses and other similar non-recurring or non-cash charges. Operating netback is a benchmark common in the oil and gas industry and is calculated as total natural gas, LNG and petroleum sales, net transportation expenses, less royalties and operating expenses, calculated on a per barrel of oil equivalent basis of sales volumes using a conversion. Operating netback is an important measure in evaluating operational performance as it demonstrates field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. Adjusted EBITDAX and operating netback as presented do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities.



Operating netback is defined as revenues, net transportation expenses less royalties and operating expenses.



Realized contractual sales is defined as natural gas and LNG produced and sold plus income received from nominated take-or-pay contracts without the actual delivery of natural gas or LNG and the expiry of the customers' rights to take the deliveries.



The Corporation's LNG sales account for less than one percent of the Corporation's total realized contractual natural gas and LNG sales.
The global railway maintenance machinery market is driven by an increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects, surge in the number of railway electrification projects, and benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery.

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Railway Maintenance Machinery Market by Product Type (Tamping Machine, Stabilizing Machinery, Rail Handling Machinery, Ballast Cleaning Machine, Catenary Maintenance Machine, and Others), By Application (Ballast track and Non-ballast Track), and Sales Type (New Sales and Aftermarket Sales): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the global railway maintenance machinery market was valued at $4 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $7.2 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.5% from 2023 to 2032.

Download PDF Sample @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/8504

Railway maintenance machinery refers to a number of specialized tools and automobiles used in the construction, repair, and restoration of railway infrastructure. A range of technologies and equipment are used to ensure the safe and effective operation of overhead lines, signaling systems, train tracks, and other components related to railway networks. Switches, tunnels, catenary systems, bridges, railway tracks, etc. are all examined, maintained, and fixed using railway maintenance equipment. International connectivity and trade are often dependent on effective train infrastructure. As a result, regions with high levels of trade invested in maintaining and developing their railway networks.

Prime determinants of growth

An Increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects and a surge in the number of railway electrification projects, and benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery drive the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market. However, the Dearth of skilled staff and lack of reimbursement in developing countries restricts market growth. Moreover, technological integration in railway maintenance machinery is anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities in the coming years.

Report coverage & details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $4 billion Market Size in 2032 $7.2 billion CAGR 5.5 % No. of Pages in Report 230 Segments covered Product Type, Application, Sales Type, and Regions Drivers Increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects. The surge in the number of railway electrification projects. Benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery. Opportunities Technological innovation Restraints The dearth of skilled staff and lack of reimbursement in developing countries. High cost of the machines.

Covid-19 Scenario

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global lockdowns, the railway maintenance machinery market faced a downturn.

However, as the global situation started improving, the demand for railway maintenance machinery was restored back. This, in turn, presented various growth opportunities for companies operating in the railway maintenance machinery market.

Buy This Research Report (230 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/1027a669b89a84ae1bda7afbd3b420de The tamping machine segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on product type, the tamping machine segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for nearly half of the railway maintenance machinery market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, this machine is cost-effective with higher working speed, saving time, reducing track maintenance cost, and maximizing the speed of track. However, the others segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 6.8% from 2023 to 2032, owing to benefits associated with railway m aintenance machinery such as enhanced safety, time-saving feature for goods trains carrying highly inflammable material, and maximized speed of railway track.

The ballast track segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on application, the ballast track segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, owing to its wide usage to clean the surface on the railway track. These tracks are laid under railway sleepers to reduce the stress on the ground. However, the non-ballast track segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 5.8% from 2023 to 2032, it offers features such as releasing dust from ballast and has high train speed.

The aftermarket sales segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on sales type, the aftermarket sales segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for more than half of the global railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 5.9% from 2023 to 2032, owing to the existing railway system's age, the need for regular maintenance and replacement of components increases. This creates opportunities for aftermarket sales of spare parts and maintenance services.

Europe to maintain its dominance by 2032.

Based on region, Europe held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the global railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. Europe has been at the forefront of developing high-speed rail systems, connecting major cities and countries across the continent. High-speed rail requires advanced maintenance machinery and sophisticated maintenance practices to ensure safety and efficiency and hence it promoted the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market in Europe. However, the LAMEA region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 7.3 % from 2023 to 2032. Rapid urbanization and a growing population in certain parts of the LAMEA region have led to increased demands for reliable transportation systems and is expected to drive the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market.

Inquire Before Buying @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/8504

Leading Market Players: -

System7 Rail Holding GmbH

MER MEC S.p.A

Fluor Corporation

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.

Harsco Corporation

Geatech Group s.r.l.

Plasser & Theurer

Sinara Transport Machines Holding

CRRC Corporation Limited

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the railway maintenance machinery market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, business expansion, acquisition, collaboration, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

Trending Reports in Railway Machinery Industry (Book Now with 15% Discount):

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About Allied Market Research:



Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (the "Company" or "SANUWAVE") (OTCQB: SNWV), a leading provider of next-generation FDA-approved wound care products, today announced its 2nd quarter 2023 results.



For the three months ended June 30, 2023:

Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2023 totaled $4.7 million, an increase of 20%, as compared to $3.9 million for the same period of 2022. This growth falls within the previously provided guidance range of 15-25% for Q2 2023. Revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2023 totaled $8.5 million, an increase of 19%, as compared to $7.1 million for the same period of 2022.

49 UltraMist systems were sold in Q2 2023, up from 28 in Q1 of this year.

UltraMist consumables revenue increased 25% to $2.8 million, versus $2.2 million for the same quarter last year on a 14% increase in treatments. Revenue growth outpaced treatments due to higher average sale prices.

UltraMist consumables revenue was 59% of overall revenue for Q2, up from 56% in the prior year period. This was primarily driven by a larger installed base, improved pricing, and higher usage rates.

Gross margin as a percentage of revenue increased to 74% for the three months ended June 30, 2023, vs 72% for the same period last year, primarily driven by stronger pricing initiatives.

For the three months ended June 30, 2023, operating income totaled $0.9 million, which is an improvement of $4.0 million compared to the same period in 2022. This number benefited from a $1.25 million one-time reversal of accrued expenses and was partially offset by a $224 thousand non-cash stock compensation issuance.

Net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was $7.3 million, compared to a net income of $1.6 million for the same period in 2022. The increase in net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to continued non-cash losses on the fair value of derivative liabilities.

The Company anticipates third quarter 2023 revenue growth will fall within a range of 15-25% as compared to the third quarter of 2022.

Recent Highlights from Q2 2023:

Appointment of Morgan Frank as Chief Executive Officer in May.

Appointment of Andrew Walko as President and to head manufacturing in July.

Signing of Distribution Agreement with Pacific Medical, Inc. bringing its sales force of over 215 representatives covering 7 western states to the UltraMist line of directed energy wound care products.

In July 2023, the Company issued Asset-Backed Secured Promissory Notes for which it received total proceeds of approximately $3.0 million.

SANUWAVE showcased its innovative non-invasive, regenerative medicine solutions for the treatment of chronic wounds at the Leaders in Wound Healing Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Spring in National Harbor, Maryland, and the EWMA 2023 Symposium in Milan, Italy.

Leading plastic surgeon, Dr. Johnson presented on UltraMist at the Serena Foundation Leadership in Wound Conference.

"We are pleased to have generated significant revenue growth in Q2 despite ongoing capacity constraints," said CEO Morgan Frank. "It has been a challenging time at SANUWAVE, but as these results are beginning to show, our drive toward cost cutting, process optimization, and margin expansion is beginning to gain traction as we move toward our near-term goals of growth acceleration and operating profitability. In the coming quarters, we aim to continue and build upon this trend as we break the production and supply chain logjams that have prevented us from realizing the potential of the UltraMist system."

Guidance

The Company continued to have constrained inventory supply during Q2 2023 and anticipates this will improve in Q3, but remain a significant factor. The Company anticipates Q3 2023 revenue growth of approximately 15% to 25% year over year. SANUWAVE its constrained inventory supply will improve materially and enable an acceleration of revenue growth in Q4 2023.

As previously announced, a business update will occur via conference call on August 11, 2023. Materials for the conference call at 8:30 a.m. EDT are included on the Company's website, www.sanuwave.com/investors .

Telephone access is available by dialing the following numbers:

Conference ID: 13740603

Telephone access to the call will be available by dialing the following numbers:

Participant Listening: 1-877-407-0784 or 1-201-689-8560

OR click the Call me link for instant telephone access to the event.

https://callme.viavid.com/viavid/?callme=true&passcode=13732361&h=true&info=company&r=true&B=6

A replay will be made available through August 25, 2023:

Replay Dial-In: 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671

Access ID: 13740603

About SANUWAVE

SANUWAVE Health is focused on the research, development, and commercialization of its patented, non-invasive and biological response-activating medical systems for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue, and vascular structures.

SANUWAVE's end-to-end wound care portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates help restore the body's normal healing processes. SANUWAVE applies and researches its patented energy transfer technologies in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, aesthetic/cosmetic, and cardiac/endovascular conditions.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to future financial results, production expectations and constraints, and plans for future business development activities and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Company's product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Company's ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

CONTACT:

Investors@Sanuwave.com

PART I -- FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SANUWAVE HEALTH, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except share data) June 30, 2023 December 31, 2022 ASSETS Current Assets: Cash $ 332 $ 1,153 Restricted Cash 850 - Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $1,214 and $1,037, respectively 2,818 4,029 Inventory 900 868 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,201 570 Total Current Assets 6,101 6,620 Property, equipment and other, net 1,050 856 Intangible assets, net 4,786 5,137 Goodwill 7,260 7,260 Total Non-current Assets 13,096 13,253 Total Assets $ 19,197 $ 19,873 LIABILITIES Current Liabilities: Senior secured debt, in default $ 16,123 $ 14,416 Convertible promissory notes payable 17,712 16,713 Convertible promissory notes payable, related parties 8,346 7,409 Bridge notes advance 1,476 - Accounts payable 4,859 4,400 Accrued expenses 6,351 8,512 Factoring liabilities 1,213 2,130 Warrant liability 14,410 1,416 Accrued interest 6,174 4,052 Accrued interest, related parties 1,438 788 Current portion of contract liabilities 67 60 Other 1,108 291 Total Current Liabilities 79,277 60,187 Non-current Liabilities Lease liabilities 515 438 Contract liabilities 215 230 Deferred tax liability 28 28 Total Non-currrent Liabilities 758 696 Total Liabilities $ 80,035 $ 60,883 Commitments and Contingencies (Footnote 13) STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT Preferred Stock, par value $0.001, 5,000,000 shares authorized; 6,175 shares Series A, 293 shares Series B, 90 shares Series C and 8 shares Series D $ - $ - no shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 Common Stock, par value $0.001, 2,500,000,000 shares authorized; 561,637,651 and 548,737,651 issued and outstanding at June 30, 2023 December 31, 2022, respectively 562 549 Additional paid-in capital 153,264 152,750 Accumulated deficit (214,584 ) (194,242 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (80 ) (67 ) Total Stockholders' Deficit (60,838 ) (41,010 ) Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Deficit $ 19,197 $ 19,873 The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statement are an integral part of these financial statements.

SANUWAVE HEALTH, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except share data) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 Revenue $ 4,675 $ 3,882 $ 8,450 $ 7,077 Cost of Revenues 1,202 1,096 2,464 1,986 Gross Margin 3,473 2,786 5,986 5,091 Operating Expenses: General and administrative 1,238 3,781 3,997 5,986 Selling and marketing 978 1,672 2,390 3,387 Research and development 139 171 270 337 Depreciation and amortization 187 210 376 386 Total Operating Expenses 2,542 5,834 7,033 10,096 Operating Income/(Loss) 931 (3,048 ) (1,047 ) (5,005 ) Other Income (Expense): Interest expense (3,706 ) (2,903 ) (7,218 ) (6,040 ) Interest expense, related party (675 ) (56 ) (1,441 ) (112 ) Change in fair value of derivative liabilities (3,821 ) 7,861 (10,618 ) 11,343 Loss on issuance of debt - - - (3,434 ) Loss on extinguishment of debt - (211 ) - (211 ) Other (expense) income 9 1 (18 ) 2 Total Other (Expense)/Inocme (8,193 ) 4,692 (19,295 ) 1,548 Net (Loss)/Income before Income Taxes (7,262 ) 1,644 (20,342 ) (3,457 ) Provision for Income Taxes - - - - Net (Loss)/Income (7,262 ) 1,644 (20,342 ) (3,457 ) Other Comprehensive Loss Foreign currency translation adjustments (9 ) - (13 ) - Total Comprehensive (Loss)/Income $ (7,271 ) $ 1,644 $ (20,355 ) $ (3,457 ) (Loss) income per Share: Basic $ (0.01 ) $ - $ (0.04 ) $ (0.01 ) Diluted $ (0.01 ) $ - $ (0.04 ) $ (0.01 ) Weighted average shares outstanding Basic 582,328,811 538,560,051 579,178,811 532,589,825 Diluted 582,328,811 871,984,091 579,178,811 532,589,825 The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of these financial statements.

SANUWAVE HEALTH, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except share data) Three Months Ended June 30, 2023 Common Stock Number of Accumulated Shares Other Issued and Additional Paid- Accumulated Comprehensive Outstanding Par Value in Capital Deficit Loss Total Balances as of March 31, 2023 555,637,651 $ 556 $ 153,046 $ (207,322 ) $ (71 ) $ (53,791 ) Shares issued for services 6,000,000 6 218 - 224 Net loss - - - - (7,262 ) - - (7,262 ) Foreign currency translation adjustment - - - - (9 ) (9 ) Balances as of June 30, 2023 561,637,651 $ 562 $ 153,264 $ (214,584 ) $ (80 ) $ (60,838 ) Three Months Ended June 30, 2022 Common Stock Number of Accumulated Shares Other Issued and Additional Paid- Accumulated Comprehensive Outstanding Par Value in Capital Deficit Loss Total Balances as of March 31, 2022 517,195,705 $ 517 $ 150,533 $ (189,050 ) $ (67 ) $ (38,067 ) Shares issued for services 12,097,500 12 876 - - 888 Net Income - - - - 1,644 - - 1,644 Foreign currency translation adjustment - - - - - Balances as of June 30, 2022 529,293,205 $ 529 $ 151,409 $ (187,406 ) $ (67 ) $ (35,535 ) The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of these financial statements.

SANUWAVE HEALTH, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except share data) Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 Common Stock Number of Accumulated Shares Other Issued and Additional Paid- Accumulated Comprehensive Outstanding Par Value in Capital Deficit Loss Total Balances as of December 31, 2022 548,737,651 $ 549 $ 152,750 $ (194,242 ) $ (67 ) $ (41,010 ) Shares issued for services 12,900,000 13 514 - - 527 Net loss - - - (20,342 ) - (20,342 ) Foreign currency translation adjustment - - - - (13 ) (13 ) Balances as of June 30, 2023 561,637,651 $ 562 $ 153,264 $ (214,584 ) $ (80 ) $ (60,838 ) Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 Common Stock Number of Accumulated Shares Other Issued and Additional Paid- Accumulated Comprehensive Outstanding Par Value in Capital Deficit Loss Total Balances as of December 31, 2021 481,619,621 $ 482 $ 144,582 $ (183,949 ) $ (73 ) $ (38,958 ) Cashless warrant exercise 14,000,000 14 2,152 - - 2,166 Warrant exercise 909,091 1 99 - - 100 Shares issued in conjunction with Note Payable 20,666,993 20 3,700 - - 3,720 Shsares issued for services 12,097,500 12 876 - - 888 Net loss - - - (3,457 ) - (3,457 ) Foreign currency translation adjustment - - - - 6 6 Balances as of June 30, 2022 529,293,205 $ 529 $ 151,409 $ (187,406 ) $ (67 ) $ (35,535 ) The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of these financial statements.


Team Mitsubishi Ralliart

TOKYO, Aug 11, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) announces that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, for which it provides technical support, will be taking on the Asia Cross Country Rally 2023 (hereafter, AXCR) in Thailand and Laos. In this competition, scheduled for August 13 to 19, the team will be driving three new Triton rally cars (T1 cross-country prototypes).The ceremonial start of the event will be held on August 13, the first day of the event, in Pattaya, a resort in southern Thailand. The following day, August 14, the team will drive east along the border between southeast Thailand and Cambodia, racing towards its goal near Prasat Wat Phu, one of Laos's World Heritage sites, on the 19.In preparation for the start of the rally, on Thursday, August 10, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart conducted a shakedown test of the new Triton rally cars that will actually be driven in the AXCR using the test course of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Co., Ltd. (MMTh) in the Si Racha district of Thailand's Chonburi province. Unlike last year, this year's AXCR will be held in August, during the rainy season, so the course is expected to be the type of difficult course typical for AXCR, with muddy roads and river crossings. To step up to this challenge, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has verified the reliability and durability of the new Triton through two durability tests, covering a total of roughly 2,000 km, conducted in Japan and overseas. The team made final adjustments to the engine and chassis to produce powerful driving and sporty handling. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart confirmed during the shakedown that the Triton rally cars will provide the performance expected of them.On August 13, a ceremonial start will be held on Pattaya's Walking Street for the 63 teams that will be competing in AXCR (21 moto, 1 sidecar, and 41 auto category competitors). The following day, August 14, the rally will start in earnest, with Leg 1. Until reaching Ubon Ratchathani, the goal of Leg 3 of the rally, on August 16, competitors will be driving tough roads, including muddy courses and roads piled with rock debris. During Leg 4, on August 17, competitors will cross the border between Thailand and Laos, and then from Leg 5, starting August 18, the rally will all take place in Laos. The course in Laos is expected to pass through tree-filled highlands and rice paddy areas. These legs are located in the south of Laos, which experiences heavy rains, so course conditions are expected to further decline due to squalls. Leg 6, on August 19, will end with the final goal near the World Heritage site of Prasat Wat Phu."To lead the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart to victory as team director, I've been leveraging the expertise I've built up through my past rally experience, shaping up the team and putting the finishing touches on the rally cars. The base car of the new Triton rally car has been improved, and on top of that we've used the results from last year's rally to make them even faster, stronger, and more durable. We've confirmed that it's met our higher expectations through the shakedown test," said Hiroshi Masuoka, team director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. "We've created a solid service system to support the team, and we're providing emotional support as well so that the drivers and co-drivers can give 100%. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is more than ready to take on this tough challenge. We'll do our best to claim a second consecutive win."[Daily reports streamed on the special AXCR site]From the first day of the race, Sunday, August 13, to the final leg of the race on Saturday, August 19, Mitsubishi Motors will post up-to-date daily reports on the company's AXCR special website.www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/innovation/motorsports/axcr2023/About Mitsubishi MotorsMitsubishi Motors Corporation (TSE:7211) -- a member of the Alliance with Renault and Nissan--, is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has about 30,000 employees and a global footprint with production facilities around the world. Mitsubishi Motors has a competitive edge in SUVs, pickup trucks and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and appeals to ambitious drivers willing to challenge convention and embrace innovation. Since the production of our first vehicle more than a century ago, Mitsubishi Motors has been a leader in electrification --launched the i-MiEV - the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle in 2009, followed by the Outlander PHEV - the world's first plug-in hybrid electric SUV in 2013.For more information on Mitsubishi Motors, please visit the company's website atwww.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/Source: Mitsubishi MotorsCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Volatus Aerospace Corp. (TSXV:VOL)(OTCQB:VLTTF) ("Volatus" or "the Company") announces that on July 25th, 2023 the Company has signed a reseller agreement with Inspired Flight, a US-based National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliant drone manufacturer, to meet client demands for reliable off-the-shelf blue sUAS qualified equipment in the mid-sized class. Typically, this regulatory requirement applies to infrastructure inspection of government funded or owned properties for example power distribution, natural resources, and facilities.

"Volatus is thrilled to join forces with a key, reliable, US partner in the mid-sized UAS class," said Sean Falconer Managing Director of Equipment Sales for Volatus Drones. "Inspired Flight meets the key criteria we look for in a partner, with a focus on established reputation, ability to manufacture at scale, and mature reliability."

"We are dedicated to finding the best solutions for our clients, many of whom are facing restrictions on what drones they can purchase," explained Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus Aerospace. "Inspired Flight provides them with the capabilities they need to conduct mission-critical missions, while keeping them compliant with rules and regulations."

This agreement is in line with other reseller contracts held by Volatus.

Corporate Update: Volatus has granted an aggregate of 3,057,500 stock options to a total of fifty-one managers and employees of the Company. Each stock option entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company for an exercise price of $0.23 at any time until August 11, 2028. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the stock options shall vest on the first anniversary of the date of grant and in equal quarterly installments over the following three years such that the entire options shall have vested and become exercisable on the fourth anniversary of the date of grant.

The granting of these options is subject to the terms of the Company's stock option plan and its standard form of the stock option agreement, in addition to any required approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Volatus Aerospace:

Volatus Aerospace Corp. is a leading provider of integrated drone solutions throughout North America and growing into Latin America and globally. Volatus serves civil, public safety, and defense markets with imaging and inspection, security and surveillance, equipment sales and support, training, as well as R&D, design, and manufacturing. Through our subsidiary, Volatus Aviation, we are introducing green and innovative drone solutions to supplement and replace traditional aircraft and helicopters for long-linear inspections such as pipeline, energy, rail, and cargo services. Volatus is committed to carbon neutrality; the fostering of a safe, equitable and inclusive workplace; and responsible governance.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" (or other variations of the foregoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information includes information regarding: (i) the anticipated benefits of, and estimated revenue to be generated by, the master service agreement; (ii) the business plans and expectations of the Company; and (iii) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial, and economic data and operating plans, strategies, or beliefs of management as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Company, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information and forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to it and on assumptions it believes to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. In some instances, material factors or assumptions are discussed in this news release in connection with statements containing forward-looking information. Such material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to: the anticipated benefits and revenues of the master service agreement to the Company; the commercialization of drone flights beyond visual line of sight and potential benefits to the Company; meeting the continued listing requirements of the TSXV; and including, but not limited to, those factors set forth in the Company's Annual Information Form under the section "Risk Factors". Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and, other than as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

TSXV: VOL

Contact Details

Luc Masse

EVP, Volatus Aerospace

+1 833-865-2887, ext 92002

luc.masse@volatusaerospace.com

SOURCE: Volatus Aerospace Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773674/Volatus-Aerospace-Corp-Announces-Distributorship-Agreement-with-US-Drone-Manufacturer-Inspired-Flight
- Invited experts from around the world to gather at AlUla, KSA from September 13-15

- Multi-sector reflection on how archaeology and cultural heritage can contribute to wider transformational changes in society

- 'Where the world came to meet, and where we will meet again'

ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is gathering international leaders from the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage, media, innovation, entrepreneurship and more for the first-of-its-kind AlUla World Archaeology Summit.

From 13 - 15 September at Maraya in AlUla, this invite-only event will feature panels and informal discussions centred on advancing the field of archaeology at a global scale, contributing to further discovery and innovation worldwide.

Beyond scholarly discourse, the Summit will provide a global platform for collaboration with wider audiences. More than 60 speakers from diverse professional backgrounds will broaden the impact of archaeological relevance to global issues, co-creating visionary, heritage-based solutions to contemporary issues across sectors and vice versa.

Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, Executive Director of Archaeology, Conservation and Collections at RCU, said: "The AlUla World Archaeology Summit will foster an environment of cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange. Inspired by humanity's shared past, we will focus on innovative solutions that can have long-lasting impact on the world. We're excited to host the inaugural Summit in AlUla, where the world came to meet, and where we will meet again."

The AlUla World Archaeology Summit serves the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 with its focus on positively impacting humanity through insights gained from both cultural heritage and advancements in science. The event in AlUla runs during the same period that, for the first time, Saudi Arabia is hosting the 45th UNESCO World Heritage Committee 10-25 September in Riyadh.

The main programme will focus on four key themes - Identity, Resilience, Ruinscapes, and Accessibility. Both Saudi and international archaeology students and young professionals will be selected to join the parallel "Future Forum" providing a platform to engage and contribute to important conversations in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage. There will be field excursions across AlUla, which in recent years has become a hub of archaeological fieldwork and conservation.

Key learnings from the Summit will be shared publicly after the event, along with selected video highlights. Visit www.worldarchaeologysummit.com to learn more.

Noted for editors:

It is always AlUla, not Al-Ula.

About the Royal Commission for AlUla

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal decree in July 2017 to preserve and develop AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in north-west Saudi Arabia. RCU's long-term plan outlines a responsible, sustainable, and sensitive approach to urban and economic development that preserves the area's natural and historic heritage while establishing AlUla as a desirable location to live, work, and visit. This encompasses a broad range of initiatives across archaeology, tourism, culture, education, and the arts, reflecting a commitment to meeting the economic diversification, local community empowerment, and heritage preservation priorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 programme.

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2184093/Royal_Commission_AlUla.mp4

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2184088/Royal_Commission_AlUla.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/inaugural-alula-world-archaeology-summit-to-take-place-at-ancient-crossroads-of-civilisations-in-north-west-arabia-301898727.html
The formation and launch of LakeHouse Senior Living supports Discovery's ongoing strategic shift to a diverse and localized management structure of national and regional brands of senior living communities.

BONITA SPRINGS, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Discovery Senior Living ("Discovery") is excited to introduce its latest regional management company, LakeHouse Senior Living ("LakeHouse"). The creation of the company further diversifies Discovery's growing, multi-brand portfolio and establishes a stronghold in the Midwest surrounding the Great Lakes. It also marks another milestone in Discovery's growing regional management company structure, aimed at providing exceptional senior living experiences to a local audience. LakeHouse Senior Living will focus on operating communities in northern Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, catering to the unique preferences and needs of seniors in this region.





LakeHouse Senior Living

Established to operate a curated portfolio of senior living communities in the Midwest, LakeHouse Senior Living represents the latest regional management company and brand for Discovery Senior Living.





Discovery executed the launch of LakeHouse Senior Living with the commencement of management of numerous new communities, as well as the assimilation of an existing portfolio of communities currently being operated by Discovery in the region.

As one of the operating company subsidiaries of Discovery Senior Living, LakeHouse will operate as a local management company with a full management team and will benefit from the robust support services provided by the Discovery Operational Support Center located at the company's Florida headquarters.

Further bolstering its executive leadership team, Brad Poterack has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the new LakeHouse management company. Poterack brings to the Discovery enterprise more than 25 years of experience as a solution-minded leader with proven success across two dynamic industries. He previously worked in a senior management role at Macy's and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Operations for Enlivant, assisted living communities, a post he occupied since 2019.

"We are excited to introduce LakeHouse Senior Living as our newest regional management company and brand," said Richard J. Hutchinson, CEO of Discovery Senior Living. "This addition represents the continuation in our multi-year strategic efforts to marry the best of customized local community management with the support of a robust and sophisticated business process curated at the parent company level. We are also very excited to have Brad join our executive team and look forward to working with him to learn from his experience, both within and outside of the seniors housing industry, to create tailored senior living solutions for our valued customers."

About Discovery Senior Living

Discovery Senior Living is a family of companies that includes Discovery Management Group, Morada Senior Living, TerraBella Senior Living, LakeHouse Senior Living, Integral Senior Living, Discovery Development Group, Discovery Design Concepts, Discovery Marketing Group, and Discovery At Home. With three decades of experience, the award-winning management team has been developing, building, marketing, and managing diverse senior-living communities across the United States. By leveraging its innovative "Experiential Living" philosophy across a growing portfolio of nearly 300 communities and approximately 30,000 homes in nearly 40 states, Discovery Senior Living is a recognized industry leader for innovation and lifestyle customization and, today, ranks among the five largest U.S. senior living operators.

Contact Information

Heidi LaVanway

Vice President of Marketing

hlavanway@discoverymgt.com

239.301.5330

SOURCE: Discovery Senior Living

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773744/Discovery-Senior-Living-Launches-LakeHouse-Senior-Living-Expanding-Regional-Footprint-With-Communities-Surrounding-the-Great-Lakes
Announces change to its Board of Directors

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - KORE Mining Ltd. (TSXV: KORE) (OTCQB: KOREF) ("KORE" or the "Company") is pleased to welcome the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians ("TMDCI") as a strategic community and business partner to Project ACES ("A Clean Environment for the Salton Sea") and the Imperial Gold Project in Southern California. In addition, KORE also announces a change to its Board of Directors.

Under the terms of the non-binding letter of intent, KORE and TMDCI will collaborate on sustainable economic and business development ventures where there is an alignment of interests. These ventures will include, but not be limited to, advancing Project ACES and the Imperial Gold Project, exploring joint venture opportunities in natural resource development in Imperial County and surrounding areas, including the "lithium valley" and the greater Salton Sea region, collaboration on management and leadership training within the community, and fostering economic diversification, stability, and growth. These ventures will assist the TDMI on strategic capacity building and lead to the co-ownership or co-management of businesses or projects. The letter of intent is non-binding and subject to entering into a definitive agreement within the next 90 days.

TMDCI commented, "The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians are a phoenix rising. The Tribe's sustainable community and economic development imperatives, along with high value, high impact strategic partnership, such as the one with KORE Mining, are in place to aid and accelerate the transition, and the eventual transformation, of TMDCI into an exemplary, sustainable and generational regional engine of economic development for the Tribe and its neighbors."

KORE's Chairman and CEO James Hynes commented, "I look forward to working with Chairman Tortez, Jr., the TMDCI Tribal Council, and the Torres Martinez community as we strengthen our partnership and advance initiatives that benefit the community, the environment, and local stakeholders. KORE continues to see vocal and written support by local stakeholders behind the Imperial Gold Project and Project ACES. Our ground-breaking environmental standards and our ACES initiative support our mission for a net positive environmental and social impact." Mr. Hynes continues, "Imperial County and the Salton Sea region in particular, is seeing a surge in geothermal energy and lithium extraction with companies like Berkshire Hathaway, Controlled Thermal Resources, and Energy Source all advancing large scale projects. It is anticipated that Project ACES and the partnership with the TMDCI can contribute significantly to economic growth, environmental quality, and community development."

Imperial ACES Initiative

Imperial Gold's mission is to generate a net positive environmental impact. Project ACES proposes to supply materials to remediate the Salton Sea, a major local health problem:

Saving lives of local stakeholders through reduced respiratory illness from dust pollution;

Preserving wetlands to benefit migratory birds suffering from increased Salton Sea salinity;

Restoring local community waterfronts to enhance quality of life; and

Rehabilitating playas to restore hundreds of thousands of acres of desert habitat.

Click HERE to watch a 3 minute ACES video and learn more about the Salton Sea and KORE's proposed solution.

Imperial Gold's mission to generate a net positive environmental has attracted strong support from a broad base of stakeholders whose families and communities are impacted and from those who want to set a new standard for mining in the region.

Imperial's ground-breaking environmental standard targets 100% restoration of Federal US land:

Mine backfilled and recontoured to original topography after providing materials to ACES - no hole-in-the-ground or legacy visual impacts

Returns land to multi-use purpose with original topography - no legacy land use

Site vegetation rehabilitated to preserve long-term wildlife habitats

Imperial is anticipated to create hundreds of skilled jobs and bring more than $1B in investment into Imperial County.

KORE continues to work with the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") to advance permitting of technical programs and mine development activities at Imperial. Please send your feedback and messages of support to info@imperialgold.org.

Imperial ACES Initiative Details

The Salton Sea, located in Imperial and Riverside Counties in Southern California, was created by an accidental inflow of water from the Colorado River in 1905. Since that time, it has been contaminated with industrial and agricultural pollution. The Salton Sea is now evaporating, leaving contaminated beaches and diminished wildlife habitat in its wake. Dry desert winds blow these contaminated beach materials into surrounding communities, creating poor air quality resulting in respiratory disease and other health issues that Imperial Valley communities have been struggling with for decades.

In addition to gold, Imperial will produce an estimated 90 million tons of clean surplus material that was placed in the Imperial Valley by the Colorado River over the past 10 million years. ACES has the potential to remediate a significant portion of the southern Salton Sea over the next 20 years by using the clean material as a cover for toxic beaches, and thereby improving air. The materials could also support other projects to restore wildlife habitat for migratory birds and recreational areas for local communities, amongst others.

KORE is working closely with local communities and agencies to determine the best and most efficient path forward for the ACES initiative and will continue to provide updates as the project advances.

Positive Social Impact to Imperial County

In addition to ACES, the development of the Imperial is anticipated to have numerous other benefits for Imperial County, which has high unemployment rates and is the lowest income county in California. The Company anticipates the following benefits of developing the Imperial Project:

Over $1.1B investment benefitting Imperial County and the State of California

Over 500 construction and 220 direct permanent jobs created

Over $240M in government payments to support community services

Hundreds of indirect jobs and tens of millions of local services

Training and experience to build local, transferrable skills

Stringent Environmental Controls Leaves No Change to Long-Term View-scape

California has some of the most stringent environmental laws in North America. KORE will be complying with these laws and will aim to exceed the legal requirements in our efforts both during mining operations and as part of the reclamation process. KORE's anticipated plan will include the following:

Zero water discharge and no arsenic or mercury used

No potential for acid rock drainage

Water sourced from a robust aquifer that is not used by local farmers or communities

Backfilling and restoring local topography eliminate "hole in ground" and "large piles of rock" left behind by historic mining operations; any excess clean materials used for ACES

Re-establish biology and desert washes returning site to near greenfield state

Return site to multi-use purpose of Federal land and no change to Imperial County vistas

Board Change

KORE announces that Scott Trebilcock has resigned from the Board, effective immediately. Mr. Trebilcock is stepping down due to time conflicts with his consulting business. The Board thanks Mr. Trebilcock for his service.

About the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians

The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians ("TMDCI") is a Federally recognized tribe and sovereign nation whose people have inhabited California's desert regions since time immemorial. TMDCI's vision is to create opportunities in education, economic development, social services and other aspects of life for its tribal members and employees to become productive citizens and neighbors, thus creating a more harmonious community. For more information, please visit: http://torresmartinez.org/

The genesis of Desert Cahuilla Indians dates back to at least 1,500 B.C. where they lived in the northern portion of the Salton Basin. During the centuries, the Tribe, or family-based clans, excelled in protecting and advancing their heritage, values and traditions while practicing environmental adaptation, building and growing community as well as land based and art/crafts enterprises while preserving their natural and cultural resources.

The Administration Offices are located in Thermal, an unincorporated community in Riverside County and approximately 30 miles northwest from the recently emerging lithium valley ecosystem. The Reservation encompasses 24,800 acres of which 11,600 are under the Salton Sea.

About the Imperial Gold Project

KORE owns 100% of the Mesquite-Imperial-Picacho District which captures the entire 28-kilometer trend from the operating Mesquite mine (Equinox Gold) to the closed Picacho mine and including KORE's Imperial project. In the District, gold is hosted in local fault structures related to a series of regional faults connecting the known District deposits. Those three District deposits (Mesquite, Imperial and Picacho) were discovered in exposed outcrops and from placer workings. The rest of the District is covered by alluvium and has never been systematically explored.

The Mesquite-Imperial-Picacho District centers on KORE's Imperial project. Imperial is a structurally controlled intermediate sulfidation epithermal gold deposit. The 100% oxide gold deposit is currently defined at 2.44 kilometer long and up to 0.75 kilometer wide and is open both along strike and downdip. It is hosted in a shallowly southwest dipping, amphibolite grade metamorphic rock suite along a west-northwest trending low-angle regional thrust fault system which controls the regional geometry of mineralization. East-west striking, post-mineralization normal faults control the property scale geometry of mineralization. Geophysical characterization of the deposit and regional controlling structures is an essential component of exploration for additional resources.

Imperial has a mineral resource estimate and a positive preliminary economic assessment effective April 6, 2020 with the following highlights:

Robust economics: US$ 343 million NPV5% post-tax with 44% IRR at US$ 1,450 per ounce gold

Significant leverage to gold: US$ 590 million NPV5% at US$ 1,800 per ounce gold;

Low capital intensity project with only US$ 143 million pre-production capital cost

Average 146,000 ounces gold per year over 8 years for 1.2 million ounces total production

Technically simple project: shallow open pit, run-of-mine heap leach with existing infrastructure

Value enhancement through Mesquite-Imperial-Picacho District exploration and resource expansion

The Company's NI 43-101 compliant resource and preliminary economic assessment is titled "Preliminary Economic Assessment - Technical Report Imperial Gold Project" effective as of April 6, 2020 and revised and amended on June 10, 2021, prepared by Terre Lane and Todd Harvey of Global Resource Engineering and Glen Cole of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company's website.

About KORE's Long Valley Gold Deposit

The Long Valley deposit is an intact low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposit with a large 2.5 km by 2 km oxide footprint, hosted within a melange of fine to coarse volcanogenic sedimentary lithologies. Mineralization at Long Valley has developed due to a combination of deep-rooted fault structures and a resurgence of rhyolite within an active caldera. The Hilton Creek Fault structure transects and served as a fluid conduit for interaction with the underlying hydrothermal system, while the rhyolite resurgence caused brittle fracturing of sediments and created voids or traps for mineralization and gold deposition. The combination of these factors yields strongly altered kaolin and quartz-hematite zones that are the primary host for gold mineralization.

The Hilton Creek Fault remains underexplored on-strike north and south and several parallel structures have been defined using geophysics, the eastern one hosting some of the current mineral resource and the western one being unexplored. Long Valley is therefore open to potential new oxide discoveries in all directions. More details on the deposit geology and exploration potential can be found in KORE's January 30, 2020 and March 24, 2020 news releases.

About Kore's Long Valley Gold Project

Long Valley is 100% owned epithermal gold and silver project located in Mono County, California. The large land package is district in scale and covers all deep-rooted fault structures of similar genesis to the Hilton Creek fault, the primary 'conduit' for the current Long Valley deposit.

A total of 896 holes have been drilled on the Project, the majority being completed by reverse circulation with lesser core, rotary and air track. The current mineral resource estimate is 1,217,000 ounces of Indicated gold and 456,000 ounces of Inferred gold from 63.7 million tonnes of 0.58 grams per tonne and 22.0 million tonnes of 0.65 grams per tonne, respectively. The mineral resource consists of oxide, transition and sulphides. The estimate was prepared Neil Prenn, P.E. of Mine Development Associates with an effective date of September 15, 2020.

A Preliminary Economic Assessment for a shallow, low-strip heap leach Au-Ag project was filed October 27, 2020 with the following highlights:

US $273 million NPV5% post-tax with IRR of 48% at US$ 1,600 per ounce gold ;'

Significant leverage to gold: US$ 395 million NPV5% at spot US$ 1,900 per ounce gold;

102,000 ounces gold per year over 7 years mine life;

Technically simple: shallow open pit, heap leach with nearby infrastructure;

Unmodelled silver potential from metallurgical test-work; and

Shallow oxide and sulphide feeder exploration potential to further enhance project.

More information is available in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on KORE's website at www.koremining.com.

Technical information with respect to the Imperial Gold Project and Long Valley Gold Project has been reviewed and approved by Terre Lane, MMSA, registered member SME, and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical matters of this news release.

About KORE Mining

KORE Mining is focused on responsibly creating value from its portfolio of gold assets in California, USA. The Company is advancing the Imperial project towards development while continuing to explore across both district-scale gold assets.

Further information on Imperial and KORE can be found on the Company's website at www.koremining.com or by contacting us as info@koremining.com or by telephone at (888) 407-5450.

On behalf of KORE Mining Ltd.

"James Hynes"

Executive Chairman and CEO

(888) 407-5450

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects", "intends", "indicates" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: entering into a definitive agreement with TMDCI, , the timing and implementation of the economic and business development ventures, the outcome and benefits and advantages of the collaboration, the competitive advantages, timing and implementation the ACES initiative, the actual results advantages, the ability to build social license and stakeholder support and impact of the ACES initiative; the ability to advance exploration activities at the Imperial gold deposit; potential actions, behavior or position of the BLM; and the underexplored and prospective nature of the Imperial Regional Exploration Drilling area. Such forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this presentation, the Company has made numerous assumptions, including, among others: there being no significant change to current geotechnical, metallurgical, hydrological and other physical conditions at the Imperial Project; exploration, permitting, and development of the Imperial Project being consistent with current expectations and planning; the geological, permitting and economic advice that the Company has received is reliable and is based upon practices and methodologies which are consistent with industry standards; and other planning assumptions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Known risk factors include, among others: the outcome of BLM's review processes for permitting, including the final outcome(s) of BLM's mineral claim validity examination(s) and administrative review process(es) with respect to the Imperial Zone, including a change to the findings from the mineral claim validity examination conducted in 2002 for the mill sites at the Imperial Zone, resulting in the Company having to move its future Imperial Zone project support facilities to areas that are not within the Indian Pass mineral withdrawal area; the possibility that BLM may require and/or conduct further mineral claim validity examinations with respect to the Imperial project, and the outcome and final determination of such examination could, among other things, invalidate one or more mining claims; the possibility that BLM or other governmental authority review of the Regional Exploration Drilling program, delays or changes the Company's plan for Regional Exploration Drilling permitting, which could result, among other things, in delays, additional project requirements, additional costs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; the exploration drill program may not be completed as planned; the need to obtain additional financing; uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other government approvals.

In addition to the above summary, additional risks and uncertainties are described in the "Risks" sections of the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 prepared as of April 19, 2023 available under the Company's issuer profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

GalaxyThere is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserve. It is uncertain if further exploration will allow improving the classification of the Indicated or Inferred mineral resource. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176886
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - Eastern Platinum Limited (TSX: ELR) (JSE: EPS) ("Eastplats" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has filed its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and the corresponding management's discussion and analysis. Below is a summary of the Company's financial results for the second quarter of 2023 ("Q2 2023") and for the six months ended June 30, 2023 ("YTD 2023") (all amounts in USD unless specified) in comparison to the same respective period in 2022 ("Q2 2022" and "YTD 2022"):

Revenue for Q2 2023 increased to $36.6 million (Q2 2022 - $20.5 million), representing a 78.5% increase. Revenue for YTD 2023 increased to $58.7 million (YTD 2022 - $37.9 million), representing a 54.9% increase.

Mine operating income increased by $9.1 million (or 216.7%) to $13.3 million in Q2 2023 (Q2 2022 - $4.2 million), resulting in an improved gross margin of 36.2% in Q2 2023 from 20.3% in Q2 2022. Mine operating income in YTD 2023 increased by $10.9 million (or 143.4%) to $18.5 million (YTD 2022 - $7.6 million), resulting in an improved gross margin of 31.5% in YTD 2023 from 19.9% in YTD 2022.

Operating income was $10.4 million in Q2 2023 compared to $0.9 million in Q2 2022. Operating income improved by $12.9 million to $13.9 million in YTD 2023 from an operating income of $1.0 million in YTD 2022.

Net income attributable to equity shareholders was $7.7 million ($0.04 earnings per share) in Q2 2023 versus net income attributable to equity shareholders of $1.2 million ($0.01 earnings per share) in Q2 2022. The increase in Q2 2023 net income was largely attributable to the significant increase in third party chrome sales as well as lower overall operating costs in the quarter.

Net income attributable to equity shareholders increased to $9.0 million ($0.06 earnings per share) in YTD 2023 compared to net income attributable to equity shareholders of $4.2 million ($0.03 earnings per share) in YTD 2022. The improvement during YTD 2023 is mainly attributable to the increased revenue and positive gross margins generated by the significant increase in third party chrome sales at the Crocodile River Mine ("CRM") as mentioned above.

The Company had a working capital deficit (current assets less current liabilities) of $16.1 million as at June 30, 2023 (December 31, 2022 - working capital deficit of $39.5 million) and short-term cash resources of $11.9 million (consisting of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments) (December 31, 2022 - $2.4 million).

Wanjin Yang, Chief Executive Officer and President commented, "We are pleased to show strong financial and operating performance during the second quarter, which has been supported by chrome market prices. We continue to move towards a soft restart of the Zandfontein underground section of the Crocodile River Mine and expect the initial processing of UG2 chromitite ore to begin later this year."

Operations

The Company continues to produce chrome concentrate from its Retreatment Project at Barplats Mines (Pty) Limited's tailings facility (the "Retreatment Project") located at the CRM in South Africa.

The majority of the Company's revenue (approximately 94% for Q2 2023) is generated from chrome concentrate sales. Until July 2022, this revenue was based on the Union Goal Offshore Solutions Limited ("Union Goal") offtake agreement entered into between the Company's subsidiary Barplats Mines (Pty) Limited and Union Goal. Previously, and until the end of the second quarter of 2022, the Retreatment Project produced revenue based on tons of material made available for processing by remining and processing the tailings, recovery of certain operational costs and allocation of the upfront cash payment for the offtake of chrome concentrate to Union Goal. Although the Union Goal Offtake Agreement remains in place, Union Goal stopped taking shipments of chrome concentrate in June 2022. Chrome revenue after this point has been generated only through third-party sales of chrome concentrate.

The Company also derives revenue from platinum group metals ("PGM") concentrate sales under a PGM offtake agreement with Impala Platinum Limited ("Impala"). The Company produces PGMs from further processing tailings material following the production of chrome concentrates.

Summary of chrome production for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Q2 2023 Q2 2022 YTD 2023 YTD 2022 Total Tailings Feed (Tons) 615,060 664,721 1,247,014 1,238,973 Average grade Cr concentrate 39.0% 38.7% 38.8% 38.8% Tons of Cr concentrate 127,122 169,839 274,221 290,961

While PGM prices have decreased, chrome prices have increased, which has driven revenue growth and gross margin improvement for the Company. However, chrome sales are expected to wind down for the remainder of 2023 and into early 2024 as the Retreatment Project approaches its completion date. When that occurs, the PGM Circuit D and PGM Main Circuit B (collectively, the "PGM Circuits") will become the main source of revenue as the Company executes its soft restart of the Zandfontein underground section of the CRM by ramping up production as capital availability permits.

Summary of PGM production for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Q2 2023 Q2 2022 YTD 2023 YTD 2022 Tons of PGM concentrate 959 1,868 2,115 2,747 PGM ounces produced (6E)* 1,965 2,650 4,099 4,013

*PGM 6E ounces are estimates until final exchanges and umpire results have been concluded, which can take up to three months.

Outlook

The Company's targets for 2023 remain as follows:

Operate and optimize the PGM Circuits (ongoing);

Raise additional capital to support the full re-opening of Zandfontein underground operations at the CRM (ongoing);

Operate and optimize the Retreatment Project (ongoing);

Complete the optimization of the chrome recovery plant for the Retreatment Project (ongoing);

Assess the value for continued use of the chrome recovery plant after optimization (initiated);

Complete the second phase of the tailings storage facility ("TSF") capital works program (ongoing);

Advance the Mareesburg project (located on the eastern limb) environmental work to complete the legal analysis on the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") and other environmental studies and amendments (ongoing);

Continue prospecting and assessment work in relation to Zandfontein, Crocette and Spitzkop ore bodies (ongoing);

Commission main plant circuit A for underground operations; and

Update other capital assessments upon completion of additional capital fundraising.

Care and maintenance with respect to the underground portion of the CRM will continue while the Company continues to raise additional funds to support the full re-opening of underground operations. Eastplats completed a life-of-mine study and underground mine design for Zandfontein (see news release of May 20, 2022) and the Board of Directors supported carrying out the Zandfontein underground restart business plan, subject to final evaluation and funding arrangements. Care and maintenance will also continue for the Company's Kennedy's Vale, Spitzkop, and Mareesburg (the "Eastern Limb") projects for 2023. The Company is actively looking at opportunities for its other assets including continuing to explore options to utilize or monetize these assets.

Whistleblower Special Committee Update

The Board has formed a special committee (the "Committee") comprised of two independent directors to conduct an investigation, review and analysis of unproven whistleblower allegations, including allegations of undisclosed related party transactions pertaining to the sale of chrome concentrate at discounted prices (the "Allegations") as previously announced (see news release of April 24, 2023). Further to the news releases dated May 12, 2023 and June 20, 2023, the Company reports that the Committee's investigation is ongoing. The Committee's work in retrieving and reviewing relevant documents, with the assistance of independent counsel and a third party e-discovery specialist, continues. The Committee anticipates conducting further interviews with material persons, consistent with the Committee's mandate. A report of the Committee's findings will be provided to the Board.

The Company has a primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited.

The Company has filed the following documents, under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca:

Condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023; and

Management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023.

The condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 are available for download at https://www.eastplats.com/investors/quarterly-reports/F2023/ and are also available on the JSE's website at: https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2023/JSE/ISSE/EPS/Q223.pdf.

About Eastern Platinum Limited

Eastplats owns directly and indirectly a number of PGM and chrome assets in the Republic of South Africa. All of the Company's properties are situated on the western limb (Crocodile River Mine) and eastern limb (Kennedy's Vale, Spitzkop, Mareesburg) of the Bushveld Complex, the geological environment that hosts approximately 80% of the world's PGM-bearing ore.

Operations at the Crocodile River Mine currently include re-mining and processing its tailings resource to produce PGM and chrome concentrates from the Barplats Zandfontein tailings dam.

For further information, please contact:

EASTERN PLATINUM LIMITED

Wylie Hui, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary

whui@eastplats.com (email)

(604) 800-8200 (phone)

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "will," "plan," "intends," "may," "could," "expects," "anticipates" and similar expressions. Further disclosure of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and other forward-looking statements are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form available under the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

In particular, this news release contains, without limitation, forward-looking statements pertaining to: the Company's targets for 2023 including operating and optimizing the PGM circuits, raising additional capital to support the full re-opening of Zandfontein underground operations at the CRM, the ability of the Company to raise such funds, operating and optimizing the Retreatment Project, completing the optimization of the chrome recovery plant for the Retreatment Project, assessing the value of the chrome recovery plant after optimization, completing the second phase of the TSF capital works program, advancing the Mareesburg project environmental work to complete the legal analysis on the EIA and other environmental studies and amendments, prospecting and assessment work in relation to Zandfontein, Crocette and Spitzkop ore bodies, commissioning main plant circuit A for underground operations and updating other capital assessments upon completion of additional capital fundraising, the ability of the Company to implement the Zandfontein underground restart business plan, continuing care and maintenance of the Company's Eastern Limb projects for 2023, finding and completing opportunities for its other assets including continuing to explore options to utilize or monetize these assets, successful execution of the Zandfontein underground restart plan and initial processing of UG2 chromitite ore to begin later in 2023, the wind down of the Retreatment Project and expected chrome sales for the remainder of 2023 and into early 2024, the PGM Circuits becoming the Company's main source of revenue, and any outcome of the investigation, review and analysis of unproven whistleblower allegations or timing of the same. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems that may arise in the Company's production processes, commodity prices, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, need for additional funding and availability of such additional funding on acceptable terms, economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and regulations, legal proceedings and risks related to operations in foreign countries.

All forward-looking statements in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, the "Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information" section contained in the Company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis available under the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date they are given and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation, and does not undertake, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176887
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.



This blog is part of our People Behind Purpose at Cisco series that focuses on employees driving Cisco's purpose to Power an Inclusive Future for All. Each blog highlights a different Cisco employee whose work positively impacts people, communities, or the planet. The series was formerly known as people behind Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Cisco.

July 30 is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Globally, an estimated 24.9 million people are subjected to human trafficking, which generates an estimated $150 billion annually in illicit profits, per the 2021 National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking White House report. According to UNICEF, more than 1.2 million children are trafficked across international borders each year. More than 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year. Many are children. These are very sobering statistics that only continue to grow each year.

The Foundation for a Slavery Free World (SFW) is one organization that has partnered with Cisco through Cisco's Community Impact to end human trafficking by public outreach via education and events, supporting law enforcement's efforts to rescue victims, and collaborating with the IT industry to develop new technologies. Cisconian Scarlet Estrada, CX enablement program manager, shares about her involvement with SFW and how all Cisconians can be an advocate for this important topic.

Tell us a little about yourself and what brought you to Cisco?

Scarlet: I was born in Venezuela and began my career with Chevron, working several different analyst positions in both Venezuela and California for a little over ten years.

I then moved to Canada to start a new life with my young family, starting with Boston Pizza as a community relations coordinator, which allowed me to start a new professional network and afforded me the flexibility to raise my young children at the time.

I also held positions as a quality engineering assistant, communications coordinator, and client services account coordinator for different companies.

Through the years, I kept in touch with many colleagues in the corporate world. A friend who was at Cisco reached out to me in 2018 to let me know about a renewals manager position within Cisco's Customer Experience (CX) organization, stating that my background in account coordination, customer experience and marketing would be beneficial to the team. I interviewed, got the job, and began my Cisco career in November 2018.

What is your current role at Cisco, and how do you incorporate Purpose into your everyday work?

Scarlet: I am part of CX IB Methodology core program team responsible for consultants' enablement as well as program development. We partner with renewals teams to make recommendations for services and software renewals, simplifying the renewals landscape and aligning on sales motions to help Cisco optimize customer solutions. My passion is to translate complexity into a simple customer's lens. I have always sought out roles where my primary purpose is to serve and I am always looking for a better, simpler way to do things. People often come to me when they want someone to explain why things are playing out a certain way and to pick up on the hidden complexities of a situation. Every day I strive to make a difference and drive impactful results for our CX organization and Cisco. Working at Cisco offers great flexibility, interacting with people worldwide daily. For me, on top of this, I love to use my Time 2 Give hours (T2G) to help with the migrant community and their issues.

How did you first become involved in the Foundation for a Slavery Free World?

Scarlet: I first learned about the Foundation for a Slavery Free World through my daughter in late 2021. She is an actor and had a role on a movie with fellow actor Marisol Nichols, who is the founder and executive director of the foundation.

In between movie takes, I had the opportunity to learn about Marisol's work as an undercover agent to take down traffickers and she shared about an operation where several women from Venezuela were rescued in the Caribbean. Learning about this, and how it affects people from my home country, motivated me to help find a way to get involved with Slavery Free World.

Marisol has been a part of numerous undercover stings leading to the successful arrest of dozens of traffickers and child predators, as well as liberating numerous women and children. And her passion, education, and advocacy for this important and global crisis moved me to help secure a grant through Bright Funds to support SFW's work.

Why is volunteering with Slavery Free World important to you?

Scarlet: As a mom, you are concerned for your children's wellbeing, especially in this digital age where it is very easy for online predators and bad actors to get to vulnerable children. They're a lot more exposed to the world out there than any previous generations.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) data shows a 35% increase year over year in online child sexual exploitation reports. Sadly, it happens in Canada as predators can reach children online anywhere in the world. I have had to protect my children personally from suspicious people and groomers trying to connect with them online.

Also, the connection to my birthplace Venezuela and the exposure risks and vulnerabilities of women and children as they try to migrate to other countries for better opportunities is especially close to me. Any opportunity I have to help make a positive difference to prevent trafficking from occurring is important to me.

What inroads has Slavery Free World made to combat trafficking?

Scarlet: Slavery Free World (SFW) has reached millions through the website, Marisol's podcast, and on its social media platforms.

It has multiplied its podcast subscribers and reached 10's of millions from its education campaigns. Marisol has also been invited to speak at the prestigious Yahoo Makers conference on her work in anti-trafficking, appeared on numerous talk shows, including Access Hollywood, KTLA, and Today Extra.

As well as speaking at numerous government events such as the AG's Alliance, meeting with law enforcement, and continuing legal education events on human trafficking to discuss how to prevent it, SFW and Marisol are also passionate about educating parents and children on dangers of child traffickers online.

SFW is also meeting with social media platforms about the ways technology can be part of the solution to save women and children from this increasing crime, and in educating and spreading awareness about this most serious issue.

Marisol herself through her undercover work with her foundation has personally assisted in the rescue of numerous women and children and brought dozens of pedophiles and traffickers to justice.

The Marisol Nichols podcast is a true crime show where she talks about her undercover work to bring child predators and traffickers to justice in partnership with key organizations. The second season of her podcast, which will be released soon, includes an episode with Meta on the technology side of this issue.

What are some ways people can get involved in helping with Slavery Free World?

Scarlet: There are several ways anyone can get involved with helping Slavery Free World spread awareness and advocacy.

Check out the SFW website and educate yourself. Sign up for and share Marisol's podcast with your social networks. Donate to https://cisco.benevity.org/en-ca/campaigns/609 Invite Marisol to come speak at an upcoming organization event. Educate your children and community on the dangers and warning signs of trafficking through SFW's numerous resources. If you notice something dangerous online or in your community that could be related to trafficking, contact your local law enforcement right away. In the United States, you can also reach out to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children - 24-Hour Hotline - 1-800-843-5678 and the National Human Trafficking Hotline - Call 1-888-373-7888 ( TTY: 711) | *Text 233733.

"This is a dark subject and good people don't usually know about it. But for anything to be done to fix this, we need good people be aware of it. So that real change can occur, and children can be free."??? ????????? - Marisol Nichols

Please also check out this podcast episode on the rescuing of Venezuelan women and children.

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773775/People-Behind-Purpose-at-Cisco-During-World-Day-Against-Trafficking-in-Persons-Everyone-Can-Be-an-Advocate
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - Enerev5 Metals Inc. (TSXV: ENEV) (OTCQB: ENEVF) ("Enerev5" or the "Company") updates its plan to raise $300,000 of flow through dollars to fund the planned phase one geophysical survey and $250,000 of hard dollars for working capital and administrative expenses the details of which are below.

Further to its press release of June 8, 2023, the Company plans to issue up to 5,000,000 hard dollar units ("Hard Dollar Units") at a price of $0.05 per unit ($250,000) and has revised the terms of the flow through offering to up to 3,333,333 flow-through units ("Flow-Through Units") at a price of $0.09 per unit ($300,000). Each Hard Dollar Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.05 for a period of five years from the date of issue. Each Flow-Through Unit consists of one flow-through common share and one Warrant. The Hard Dollar Units and Flow-Through Units are being offered on a brokered basis through IBK Capital Corp.(the "Agent").

The Company will pay the Agent a cash fee of 9% of the funds raised, and issue to the Agent warrants equal to 10% of all Hard Dollar Units and Flow-Through Units issued in the form of non-transferable broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants"). Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one unit ("Broker Units") at a price of $0.05 for a period of five (5) years. Each Broker Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (a "Broker Unit Warrant"). Each Broker Unit Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.05 for a period of five years from the date of issuance of the Broker Warrant. IBK Capital Corp. is a "connected issuer" and "related issuer" of the Company, as defined in Canadian securities legislation, by virtue of the ownership of securities of the Company by its directors and officers.

All securities issued in these offerings are subject to a 4-month hold period from the date of closing.

The Company also announces it has entered into a twelve-month marketing and consulting contract with Stockhouse Publishing Ltd ("Stockhouse"), a division of The Market Herald, a leading source of investment news, to assist and raise greater awareness of the Company and its flagship Barbara Bay nickel project. Pursuant to the contract, Stockhouse will be paid an aggregate cash amount of $60,000 for its services and the Company will choose from a menu of standard and custom advertising and marketing campaigns to reach targeted investor audiences. The Company has had no prior relationship with Stockhouse. To the Company's knowledge, Stockhouse does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any securities of the Company. As part of the arrangement, Stockhouse has agreed to subscribe for $30,000 of the Company's Hard Dollar Units.

The marketing kickoff started with the release of a 5 minute video interview with the Company's President and CEO, John O'Donnell, and Special Geophysical Advisor, Steve Balsh, discussing the Barbara Bay Project. A link to the interview can be found here:

https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2023/03/02/enerev5-metals-announces-new-brokered-private-placements-and-update-on-its

About Enerev5 Metals Inc.

Enerev5 Metals Inc. (TSXV: ENEV) (OTCQB: ENEVF) is a Canadian resource company which has been focusing on exploration and development potential, related to energy metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and other strategic battery minerals, as well as other net zero carbon related assets.

For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

For additional information, please contact:

John F. O'Donnell

CEO and Chairman of the Board

Enerev5 Metals Inc.

Telephone: +1-647-966-3100

Website: www.enerev5.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. .Such statements include those regarding the planned exploration program and the proposed financing including the success and timing thereof. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the statements. There are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. These include market prices, exploitation, and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, including the continuing effects of the COVID pandemic and the situation in Ukraine. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review registered filings at www.sedar.com or on its website at www.enerev5.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR

DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176896
BALTIMORE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Goldman Small Cap Research, a stock market research firm specializing in the small cap and microcap sectors, announced today that it has published a new research report on NeurAxis, Inc. (NYSE American:NRXS). NeurAxis, Inc. is a medical technology company focused on neuromodulation therapies to address chronic and debilitating conditions in children and adults. The Goldman report carries a price target. To view the new research report, along with disclosures and disclaimers, or to download the report in its entirety, please visit: https://bit.ly/3s8V3vH.

NeurAxis is dedicated to advancing science and leveraging evidence-based medicine to drive adoption of its IB-Stim therapy, which is its proprietary Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation (PENFS) technology, by the medical, scientific, and patient communities. IB-Stim is FDA cleared for functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adolescents 11-18 years old. Additional clinical trials of PENFS in multiple pediatric and adult conditions with large unmet healthcare needs are underway.

In the Opportunity Research report, analyst Rob Goldman reviews NRXS's first mover advantage, its innovative technology platform and approach, enviable gross margin, and exponential growth opportunities.

Series of Competitive Advantages to Drive Exponential Growth

Goldman commented, "This newly trading IPO is too compelling to ignore. We believe NRXS is poised to revolutionize treatment strategies for children and adults who suffer from chronic and debilitating conditions. The Company boasts a first-mover advantage, strong IP, a total addressable market of $30B, and an FDA-cleared product that serves a major need in a badly underserved market. Plus, future, exponential top-line growth appears to be driven by a series of new insurance companies payer coverages, which exponentially increases the market opportunity with each new insurer."

First FDA Cleared Product, Favorable Studies to Drive Adoption

"The Company's flagship product, is the first FDA cleared therapy for functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adolescents 11-18 years old," noted Goldman. "Leveraging its innovative proprietary platform and highly efficacious evidence-based results in studies featuring hundreds of patients, broad adoption appears set to occur."

High Sales Growth, Enviable Gross Margin, to Drive Valuation

Goldman states, "We currently forecast that NRXS revenue could jump from $5M in 2023 to $22M in 2025. With an enviable 88% gross margin, meaningful operating margin and positive EPS should be recorded beginning in 2024. Our 6-12-month price target represents more than double the IPO price and is based on a reasonable price/sales multiple on our 2024 sales forecast."

About Goldman Small Cap Research: Founded in 2009 by former Piper Jaffray analyst and mutual fund manager Rob Goldman, Goldman Small Cap Research produces sponsored and non-sponsored small cap and microcap stock research reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters.

Goldman Small Cap Research is not in any way affiliated with Goldman Sachs & Co.

This press release contains excerpts of our most recently published company report on NeurAxis, Inc. ("The Company"). The information used and statements of fact made have been obtained from sources considered reliable but we neither guarantee nor represent the completeness or accuracy. Goldman Small Cap Research relied solely upon information derived from NeurAxis, Inc. The information includes authorized press releases or legal disclosures made in their filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov.

Separate from the factual content of our update about the Company, we may from time to time include our own opinions about the Company, its business, markets, and opportunities. Any opinions we may offer about the Company are solely our own, and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice. Statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties affecting results.

A Goldman Small Cap Research report, update, newsletter, article, trading alert, corporate profile, sector or industry snapshot, podcast interview, or press release is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated full disclosures, disclaimers, and analyst background on our website before investing. Neither Goldman Small Cap Research nor its parent is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with FINRA or any other regulatory agency. A Speculative Buy rating for our covered companies is defined as a company that we believe exhibits the potential to generate outsized returns despite inherent, above-average business, market, or financial risk. To download this research report, or any of our research, view our disclosures and disclaimers, or for more information, visit www.goldmanresearch.com. Goldman Small Cap Research (GSCR) was compensated $4000 by a third party for the production and distribution of this report.

Contact:

Goldman Small Cap Research

Rob Goldman, Analyst

410-609-7100

rob@goldmanresearch.com

SOURCE: Goldman Small Cap Research

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773766/Goldman-Small-Cap-Research-Publishes-New-Research-Report-on-NeurAxis-Inc
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - Free Battery Metal Limited (CSE: FREE) (formerly, Titus Energy Corp.) (the "Company"), announces that the Company has accepted the voluntary resignation of Mr. Bennett Kurtz as the Company's Chief Executive Officer. The Company thanks Mr. Kurtz for all his work on the Company's behalf. Effective immediately, the Company appoints Ms. Pam Sangster as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Ms. Sangster has over 35 years' experience in the mineral resource sector. Much of her career to date has been as a geoscientist with the Ontario Geological Survey Resident Geologist Program, first as District Geologist in the Timmins District and subsequently as Regional Resident Geologist for Southern Ontario. As a Resident Geologist and a Professional Geoscientist, part of Ms. Sangster's job was to provide expert geological consultation and advisory services to a diverse client group and to monitor, document and stimulate mineral exploration activities. Before joining the Ontario Public Service, Ms. Sangster worked for industry on various mineral exploration and development projects across Canada. Areas of expertise include industrial and critical minerals as well as mineral potential assessment.

About Free Battery Metal Limited

Free Battery Metal Limited is a publicly traded company exploring for Lithium. The Company is committed to responsible mining practices and is actively exploring the Mound Lake Property in northwestern Ontario. The property comprises 243 single-cell unpatented mining claims, totaling approximately 4,860 hectares. The Company sees lithium as a critical commodity in supporting the global move towards green technologies and the shift towards electric vehicles.

For more information, please contact:

Pam Sangster, Chief Executive Officer

Email: sangsterpam52@gmail.com

Phone: 519-495-5823

Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's trading on the CSE and the ability of the Company to develop the Mound Lake Property.

Forward-looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the continued commercial viability and growth in popularity of the Target's material properties; the Company's ability to develop the Mound Lake Property; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; and the ability of the Company to maintain the minimum listing requirements of the CSE.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the risks associated with the mining industry in general; the potential future unviability of the Company's material property; risks associated with potential governmental and/or regulatory action with respect to the Company's activities; risks associated with the Company's ability to generate a profit; and risks associated with the Company's ability to meet continue to meet CSE listing guidelines.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176897
CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) and Truist Foundation announced $17 million in commitments to support affordable housing in Charlotte and career development and economic mobility programs across North Carolina.

The Truist commitment consists of three initiatives:

$15 million equity investment from Truist Community Capital in the Housing Impact Fund II to combat displacement, secure affordable housing and facilitate critical services for low-to-moderate income families across Mecklenburg County. It is the second such fund formed by Erskine Bowles, former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and Nelson Schwab, a founding partner of Carousel Capital.

to combat displacement, secure affordable housing and facilitate critical services for low-to-moderate income families across Mecklenburg County. It is the second such fund formed by Erskine Bowles, former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and Nelson Schwab, a founding partner of Carousel Capital. $1 million Truist Foundation grant to Per Scholas North Carolina to expand technology skills training in rural North Carolina.

to expand technology skills training in rural North Carolina. $1 million Truist Foundation grant to NPower to provide technology skills and employment opportunities for military-connected individuals and underserved young adults in the Raleigh community.

"Safe, affordable housing and career pathways are key to North Carolina's vibrancy and economic growth. Truist's purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities, and our commitment today addresses these critical needs," said Truist Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers. "We are honored to be the anchor investor in the Housing Impact Fund II, which has a proven and innovative approach to preserving affordable housing near jobs, transit and quality education in Charlotte. Our grant to NPower makes its free information technology training available for the first time in the state to help many North Carolinians attain quality jobs. The grant to Per Scholas also supports upward mobility with the expansion of its remote information technology training program in rural areas of North Carolina. These organizations are truly making a difference to strengthen our communities."

Truist Community Capital continues to lead in affordable housing investment fund

Truist renews its role as the anchor investor in the Housing Impact Fund II (HIF II), which has raised $66.8 million with a goal to preserve 1,200 units of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) in Mecklenburg County over the next two years. HIF II follows the success of HIF I, a $58 million fund formed in 2020 that has facilitated the acquisition and rehabilitation of 805 units in five Mecklenburg County communities. In total, HIF I and II will invest nearly $125 million in affordable housing and services in the community.

The housing created by HIF I is more than 97% occupied, serves more than 2,000 residents and has 20-year affordability covenants that ensure their continued availability to those earning less than 80% of the area median income. HIF II will focus its investments on apartment communities that are vulnerable to gentrification. Like HIF I, HIF II will spend more than 90% of its renovation dollars with minority-led businesses.

"Protecting NOAH properties is an important and lower-cost way for growing cities to provide affordable housing to residents," said Mark Ethridge, principal at Ascent Housing, which oversees property acquisition, rehabilitation and operation for HIF I and II. "Without protection, NOAH apartments will not stay affordable, and we risk losing these units to redevelopment and pricing thousands of people out of the housing market. Truist and our fund investors are helping ensure safe, affordable housing options are available in these communities."

HIF II received support from a diverse group of investors with deep ties to Charlotte, including Truist, PNC Bank, Atrium Health, Honeywell, the Leon Levine Foundation and numerous other companies, foundations and individuals. Ascent Housing, under Ethridge's direction, will serve as operating partner for HIF II. Managing members of HIF II will be Schwab and Bowles, co-founders of Charlotte-based private equity firm Carousel Capital. Additional information about HIF I and II is available.

Truist Foundation grants build skills, help propel economic mobility across state

In an era where technology and digital prowess have become essential for many job opportunities, Truist Foundation announced two grants with a singular focus: forging pathways to economic mobility through technology-oriented training initiatives.

NPower, a nationwide tech training program spanning seven states, is venturing into North Carolina, marking its debut in Raleigh-a vibrant city within the Research Triangle community. This ambitious expansion seeks to attract, educate and empower at least 150 new learners over the course of the grant, and aims to hone their skills to master the art of information technology (IT) with the expectation of acquiring expertise equivalent to professionals with one to two years of experience. One of the goals of this initiative is for the impact to extend beyond the boundaries of learning, enabling these graduates to confidently embrace the digital economy and its myriad possibilities.

"Real innovation begins when the problem statement is clear and there is a sincere commitment to address it. That's why we're thrilled to be partnering with Truist Foundation for our expansion into North Carolina," said Bertina Ceccarelli, CEO of NPower. "Empowering underserved communities through innovation in tech and embracing diversity isn't just a vision; it's the driving force behind NPower's mission, where every challenge becomes an opportunity to pave the way for a brighter, more inclusive tomorrow."

Per Scholas, an organization that has been advancing equity and increasing opportunity across America for more than 25 years, aims to double the size of its technology skills training offering in the Tarheel state. Through dynamic partnerships, Per Scholas North Carolina will offer remote training programs to more than 250 learners in rural areas of the state in an effort to increase access and opportunity for high-growth careers in technology. With a robust roster of employer partners, from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, some previous graduates of the program were able to earn nearly twice their pretraining wages, which can result in sustainable economic mobility.

"Per Scholas is grateful for this tremendous investment into Per Scholas North Carolina from Charlotte-based Truist Foundation, helping to increase pathways to economic mobility for North Carolinians. We know the transformative impact a career in technology can have on individuals, and increasing access and opportunity is key. Per Scholas North Carolina has seen the impact of our rural training model already, injecting more than $1.9 million back into local communities. We're very humbled by Truist Foundation's grant, which will help us unlock potential for even more aspiring rural technologists, in turn building stronger communities, companies and economies," said Caitlyn Brazill, chief development officer of Per Scholas.

About Housing Impact Fund II

Housing Impact Fund II is a $66.8 million social impact equity fund raised to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing in Mecklenburg County. HIF II acquires, renovates and sets long-term affordability covenants on large-scale apartment communities vulnerable to gentrification. The fund will set aside 30% of its portfolio for households earning less than 30% of area median income (AMI), 50% of units to households earning less than 60% AMI and 20% of units to households earning less than 80% AMI. HIF II follows the success of the initial Housing Impact Fund which preserved over 800 apartments in opportunity-rich areas of Charlotte housing more than 2,000 residents. HIF II is managed by Erskine Bowles and Nelson Schwab and operated in partnership with Ascent Housing. More information is available at www.ascenthousing.com and www.ascenthousing.com/housing-impact-fund.

About NPower

NPower is a national nonprofit on a mission to move people from poverty to the middle class by training youth from underserved communities and military-connected individuals in a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities, but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today's limited pool of IT talent. To learn more about NPower, visit www.npower.org.

About Per Scholas

For more than 25 years, Per Scholas has been advancing equity and increasing opportunity across America. Per Scholas unlocks potential for individuals, communities, and employers through rigorous training for careers in tech. Partnering with dynamic employer partners, from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we are building sustainable and diverse talent pipelines, together changing the face of tech. With national remote training and campuses in 20 cities and growing, Per Scholas offers tuition-free training in the most in-demand tech skills, including Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, IT Support, Software Engineering, and more. To date, more than 20,000 individuals have gained the skills to launch high-growth tech careers, earning three times their pre-training wage. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is our DNA, with 85 percent of learners are people of color, two in five are women, and more than half have a high school diploma as their highest education credential. Learn more by visiting PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. For local updates, follow Per Scholas North Carolina on LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Truist Foundation

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE:TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.

About Truist

Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country and offers a wide range of products and services through our retail and small business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth management and specialized lending businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $555 billion as of June 30, 2023. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Brian Boudreaux, Truist, media@truist.com

Mark Ethridge, Ascent Housing, 704-651-2742, mark@ascent.re

Kristen Fraser, Truist Foundation, media@truist.com

Yasmine Sabry, NPower, 201-888-5097, Yasmine.Sabry@npower.org

Sara Luciano, Per Scholas, 332-895-0051, sLuciano@perscholas.org

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Truist on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Truist

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/truist

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Truist

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773778/Truist-Invests-17-Million-in-the-Future-of-Charlotte-and-Communities-Across-North-Carolina
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - Global Recognition Awards is pleased to announce that Talismanico Limited has been selected as a distinguished recipient of the 2023 Global Recognition Award. This prestigious accolade is a testament to the company's unparalleled performance in the luxury property and hotel market. With a remarkable 203% revenue growth, Talismanico Limited has ascended to the top echelons of the industry. Their incredible success is attributed to unique business strategies that have provided clients with profitable and secure investments, distinctly setting them apart from competitors.

Image caption: The Global Recognition Award Honors Talismanico Limited

Under the leadership of Managing Director Charlotte Richards, the company has flourished. Richards' unmatched business acumen, fluency in Spanish, and extensive connections have provided a unique edge. Known for her expertise in property investment and finance, she has left a significant mark in hot property regions such as Marbella and Alicante. Her entrepreneurial spirit and superior relationship-building skills have been instrumental in running three concurrent businesses in Spain and the UK. These commendable achievements have significantly contributed to Talismanico Limited securing the 2023 Global Recognition Award.

Despite facing intense competition, Talismanico Limited has impressively secured 60 high-valued clients since its inception. The company's groundbreaking strategy, centered on profits from secure investments, represents an innovative approach within the market. Such accomplishments underline the company's commitment to innovation and further solidify their claim to the 2023 Global Recognition Award.

Talismanico Limited's reputation extends across international borders. Recognized by industry leaders, credit underwriters, bank managers, investment specialists, hotel investors, and renowned entities like Sotheby's International and Beverly Hills entrepreneurs, their accomplishments clearly indicate the substantial impact they have had in the finance and investment sector. This international recognition further underscores why Talismanico Limited is a deserving recipient of the 2023 Global Recognition Award.

In conclusion, Talismanico Limited stands as an exemplary choice for the 2023 Global Recognition Award. Their dedication to exceptional services, their prosperity in the face of fierce competition, and their continuous pursuit of innovative solutions mark them as a deserving recipient of this global accolade. Their achievement is a vivid testament to their hard work, professionalism, and inventive business acumen, setting a high standard for others in the industry.

About Global Recognition AwardsTM:

Global Recognition AwardsTM is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry. Their awards are highly regarded and sought after by businesses across the globe.

Contact Details:

James Sinclair

Global Recognition Awards

Email: contact@globalrecognitionawards.org/

Website: https://globalrecognitionawards.org/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176766
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Slovenia's peak tourist season is in full swing despite the floods last weekend, which hit certain destinations and impacted travel. Nevertheless, most of Slovenia remains fully functional, assuring a pleasant getaway. Destinations and tourism providers are doing their best to offer guests a safe and comfortable stay, and the best travel experience, which Slovenia is known for.

While the severe floods over the last weekend did lead to localized disruptions, it is important to note that most of Slovenia remains fully operational, eager to welcome guests and ensure unforgettable holiday experiences. The STB is in constant contact with the tourist destinations and does our best to ensure our guests have up-to-date information about the current situation in specific destinations , as well as numerous practical tips and useful links, to make your stay in Slovenia as carefree as possible.

If you are thinking about exciting travel stories to write about, Slovenia stands ready. The summer season is ideal for exploring cultural treasures, embarking Slovenian Coast, indulging in wellness retreats, or savoring exquisite culinary delights. Slovenia's diverse attractions and warm hospitality will leave lasting memories and a desire to return.

Do not miss Slovenia's picturesque coastline , adorned with sun-soaked coastal towns also known for producing wine, olive oil, and salt, or wander amongst the orchards, vineyards, and romantic villages in Brda . Ensure you include a visit to the renowned Lipica Stud Farm , the historic birthplace of the world-famous Lipizzaner horses, listed on UNESCO's Representative List of the World's Intangible Heritage .

The captivating Karst region is another must-see. With around 13,000 caves, including the breathtaking Postojna Cave , Europe's largest cave system, and the UNESCO-listed Skocjan Caves , Slovenia is a paradise for cave enthusiasts.

Explore the charming cities as well: the capital Ljubljana invites you to wander its scenic streets, while Maribor , the second-largest city, boasts the world's oldest vine, symbolizing the city's rich viticultural heritage. If your heart beats for more into nature, the Pohorje Hills will captivate you with extensive forests, peat bogs, and lakes.

For those seeking spa experiences , numerous natural spa resorts like Rogaska Slatina , known for its revered mineral-rich springs, Dobrna Spa with its blend of modern treatments and historic charm, and Terme Olimia Spa with luxurious pools, offer holistic wellness rejuvenating escape.

In the eastern part of Slovenia, the Pomurje region offers a serene haven with rolling hills, vineyards, and quaint villages. Visit Expano , an interactive pavilion, to explore the region's wonders through cutting-edge technology, interactive exhibits, and captivating events. Further south, you can visit Dolenjska and enjoy idyllic moments among vineyards or make unforgettable romantic memories at the charming Otocec Castle .

Lastly, do not overlook Slovenia's breathtaking outdoors. Dive into the Soca Valley for exhilarating adventures and soak in the natural beauty of Slovenia's haven for nature lovers. Additionally, the valley has become a gastronomic hub under the renowned chef Ana Ros , world's best female chef in 2017. She has masterfully merged the valley's natural splendours with exceptional gastronomy, earning Hisa Franko two Michelin stars. Or immerse yourself in the wonders of Slovenia's famous Alpine areas- Bled , Bohinj , which promise to create enduring memories. The current situation in camps across Slovenia can be found here.

As a travel tip, we recommend that travelers headed to certain areas-parts of Upper Savinja Valley, Koroska, Kamnik, and Skofja Loka-stay updated on the latest conditions by checking local sources and accommodations before embarking on their adventures. Some areas might still be in recovery, and it is important to be well-informed to ensure safe and smooth experiences.

For essential tips and advice, the Slovenian Tourist Board has compiled information available HERE .

For inspiration, latest summer stories, and events, visit www.slovenia.info .

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2184181/Piran_Slovenia.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/slovenia-is-safe-and-open-for-tourists-301898837.html
The new True Care Asian Programs office is located at 6020 Fort Hamilton Pkwy (between 60th and 61st Streets), Brooklyn, NY 11219, and is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

BROOKLYN, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / True Care, a licensed home care agency that has been serving the Asian community and beyond since 2009, officially opened its newest location in Sunset Park on Fort Hamilton Parkway earlier this week. The celebrations took place on August 8 in honor of the luckiest number in Chinese culture. Lion dancers entertained guests and ate cabbage to represent prosperity and good luck at the grand opening. Local community members, leaders, and partners were welcomed, and red envelopes were in abundance to celebrate the expansion of the Asian Program in Sunset Park that will further support the programs in Flushing and Staten Island.

Glimpse of the grand opening ribbon cutting and the celebration moments

The New True Care Asian Programs office is now officially open; located at 6020 Fort Hamilton Pkwy (between 60th and 61st Streets), Brooklyn, NY 11219

Serving the Chinese-American community, True Care's new location will advance its mission of bringing high-quality, culturally-specific care to the Chinese and Chinese-speaking communities of New York City. True Care has an expert Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking team on standby for those who primarily speak those languages and want to connect themselves with care or employment opportunities in the home care space.

Andy Lin, VP of Asian Programs, spoke at the opening and welcomed the Sunset Park community to the new location. Other speakers included Jane Duong, Chief of Staff for State Senator Iwen Chu; Angel Fung, the Community Liaison for Council Member Ari Kagan; and Wai Yee Chan of Homecrest Community Services. Speakers recognized True Care's legacy of providing ongoing support and individualized care to the Chinese and Chinese-American communities and responding to their unique needs.

The new True Care Asian Programs office is located at 6020 Fort Hamilton Pkwy (between 60th and 61st Streets), Brooklyn, NY 11219, and is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The office welcomes walk-ins inquiring about accessing care or seeking employment and will serve as a hub for local Home Health Aides and their clients.

Contact Information

Angela Monteagle

AVP Brand Marketing

amonteagle@truecareny.com

347-841-8775

SOURCE: True Care Home Care

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773726/True-Care-Home-Care-Officially-Opened-Its-Newest-Location-in-Sunset-Park-Brooklyn-NY
Enterprise plan subscribers can access SmartUI's PDF Comparison feature, which offers a valuable solution for businesses across sectors. With this feature, users are able to perform Visual Regression Testing on PDF files, which is designed to ensure precision and consistency when testing various scenarios involving PDF files. This is especially useful for businesses that need to track changes to a PDF file or be able to detect any mistakes in formatting. The PDF Comparison feature gives enterprise subscribers the ability to perform this type of testing quickly and efficiently. "This enhancement underlines LambdaTest's ongoing efforts to offer practical solutions that streamline workflows and enhance quality," said Mayank Bhola, Co-Founder and Head of Product at LambdaTest. "The SmartUI PDF Comparison feature has the potential to significantly impact sectors such as software development, legal practices, design validation, and more." To use this feature, users should be familiar with the product requirements and have an enterprise plan subscription to SmartUI. SmartUI's PDF comparison is a versatile tool that can streamline workflows, improve accuracy, and enhance productivity in many sectors and use cases. PDF comparison tools use optical character recognition to identify the differences between two documents. These tools can be used to compare two versions of a document or to compare two completely different documents. They can also detect discrepancies between two sets of data, making them an invaluable tool for streamlining workflows and improving accuracy.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Gildan is pleased to share that it has signed an agreement with World Vision to roll-out a joint women's empowerment program at its facilities in Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. As part of this program, Gildan has committed to donating over U.S. $460,000 to support its female employees and support them in reaching their full potential.

The program will be a 24-month long training program, helping more than 4,000 women build competencies in topics such as finance, gender, and entrepreneurship, empowering them to grow both personally and professionally with Gildan.

Gildan has been partnering with World Vision Honduras for over a decade, running an education program for children in the community and preparing them to be well-rounded citizens of tomorrow. Last year, the Company also extended its partnership with World Vision Bangladesh to increase financial literacy for women in the region. With this latest agreement, Gildan's contribution to World Vision totals approximately U.S. $1M to date.

"We are proud of our work with World Vision so far, which has allowed us to create meaningful, long-term value for our communities," says Claudia Sandoval, Vice-President, Global Social Compliance and Environmental Affairs. "We hope the next phase of this partnership will positively impact a large portion of our female workforce and support their growth and development."

Respect for communities has been a longstanding priority for the Company, and Gildan's Next Generation ESG strategy further strengthened this as a key area of focus. The Company is committed to driving positive economic development through meaningful investments and volunteerism in the regions where it operates, and this latest agreement is a significant addition to Gildan's efforts to foster healthy and resilient communities.

Gildan Extends Partnership with World Vision with a Donation of $460,000 Towards Women Empowerment

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Gildan Activewear on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Gildan Activewear

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/gildan-activewear

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Gildan Activewear

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773822/Gildan-Extends-Partnership-With-World-Vision-With-a-Donation-of-460000-Towards-Women-Empowerment
The Dropshipping Platform Achieves an Impressive 1,387% Growth and a Coveted Spot on the Renowned Inc. 5000 List

CLEARWATER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Why Unified, the dropshipping platform that empowers entrepreneurs to launch their online stores on leading marketplaces, proudly announces its nomination as one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. This recognition is awarded by Inc. Magazine's esteemed Inc. 5000 list, a prestigious ranking that honors the nation's most progressive private companies.

Why Unified

Why Unified

Positioning itself firmly at #418, Why Unified has displayed an astronomical growth of 1,387% - a testament to its platform that has helped thousands of its subscribers and its consistent commitment to serving the needs of the dropshipping community. The nomination isn't just an acknowledgment of the company's rapid expansion but a nod to the impactful changes it has brought to the e-commerce industry, particularly the realm of dropshipping.

Robert Nikic, the CEO of Why Unified, expressed his excitement and pride in this achievement. He said, "Being recognized and landing in the top 500 of the Inc. 5000 list is an honor and a validation of our team's hard work and dedication. Why Unified stands out as one of the only dropshipping platforms to achieve such a feat, which speaks volumes about our unique value proposition and unwavering commitment to our subscribers."

Why Unified is more than just a platform; it's an enabler. By providing entrepreneurs with a seamless avenue to sell household products on prominent platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, the company facilitates a smoother journey for those diving into online ventures. This innovation-driven approach has not only won them a spot on the Inc. 5000 list but has also garnered the trust and loyalty of entrepreneurs across the country.

The recognition by Inc. Magazine is complemented by other prestigious accolades Why Unified has recently garnered. The Washington Times acknowledged Why Unifed as the "#1 Dropshipping Platform," while NBC News lauded their accomplishment for "Reinventing the Dropshipping Industry." Collectively, these honors not only enrich Why Unified's impressive roster of acknowledgments but firmly establish its maintained position as an industry leader.

Contact Information

Lindsay Kubb

Director of Operations

press@whyunified.com

(302) 803-5892

SOURCE: Why Unified

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/773820/Why-Unified-Ranks-418-on-Inc-5000-List-of-Americas-Fastest-Growing-Companies
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - Centurion Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: CTN) ("Centurion", or the "Company") wishes to report that its private placement financing is being extended by up to 30 days.

As previously announced, the Company is arranging a non-brokered private placement financing for up to $750,000 priced at $0.02. Up to $600,000 will consist of a Unit offering comprising one common share and one-half share purchase warrant. Each full warrant shall have a term of 24 months commencing on the Closing Date and shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $0.05 during the first year and $0.10 during the second year. Up to $150,000 will consist of a Flow-through share only.

A minimum of 25% of the proceeds from the financing shall be used for property payments and furthering exploration activities on the Project, up to 15% for non-arm's length payments and 10% for corporate communications. The balance shall be used for working capital and general corporate activities. Centurion has received commitments for approximately 50% of the total financing to date. Closing will be subject to TSX-V approval, and any shares issued will be subject to a four-month hold period.

Casa Berardi West Gold Project:

Centurion executed a previously announced Option Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Casa Berardi West Gold Project (the "Project"). The Project consists of 3 claim groups comprising a total of 4,700 hectares, strategically located northeast of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada in the mineral endowed central north Abitibi greenstone belt.

Highlights:

Historical exploration includes more than 70 RC drill holes returning encouraging results that include 18 samples greater than 1,000 ppb (1 g/t) gold and the highest returning 38,000 ppb (38g/t) gold; Situated along structural corridors hosting world-class discoveries, operating mines, and significant past-producing operations; Located near historical production from Normetal Mines as well as currently active, Amex Exploration Inc. which is undertaking one of the largest drilling programs in Canada on its Perron project. (Amex Exploration Highlights Accomplishments From 2022 And Reviews Exploration Plans for 2023); Excellent access and infrastructure.

An NI 43-101 Technical Report outlining the Project's historical activities has been completed and can be found on the Company's website. Project overview link (Casa Berardi West - Centurion Minerals Ltd)

Centurion has received conditional approval from the TSXV for this property transaction and subject final approval, immediate exploration efforts will be focused on: (i) compilation of all historical data; (ii) ground geophysics over priority targets; and (iii) an initial drill program covering identified targets.

Qualified Person

Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company.

About Centurion Minerals Ltd.

Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with a focus on mineral asset exploration and development in the Americas. Centurion has executed an Option Agreement enabling it to earn a 100% interest in the Casa Berardi West Gold Project which is located in the prolific gold-producing, greenstone belt of the central Abitibi Subprovince of north-eastern Ontario. The Agreement has received conditional Exchange approval.

"David G. Tafel"

President and CEO

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel

604-484-2161

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the timing of final approval of the Project; the timing, terms and completion of any proposed private placement; the expected use of proceeds from the financing; the Company's undertaking of initial exploration on the Project; and the Company's intention to exercise its option to purchase a 100% interest in the Project.

These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that the Company will not receive final approval on the Property acquisition; that the Company will not obtain the requisite approvals, to complete the proposed private placement; the inability of the Company to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all; unanticipated costs; adverse changes in legislation; that the Company will not undertake initial exploration on the Project within the timeframe anticipated or at all; market uncertainty; that the Company's operations, business, personnel or financial condition is adversely impacted by COVID-19 or the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe; and the risk that Company is not able to exercise its option to purchase a 100% interest in the Project.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation; that the Company will receive all requisite approvals on the Property acquisition, and the proposed private placement; that the Company will be able to raise capital on acceptable terms; that the Company will undertake exploration on the Project, as anticipated; that the Company will retain the key personnel required to complete its business objectives; that there will be no adverse changes in legislation; and that the Company will have the resources required to exercise its option to acquire the Project.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement or forward-looking information disclosed herein, except in accordance with applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176997
EIC Rose Rock, an early-stage VC fund focused on energy technologies, made a direct investment into Captura, a Pasadena, California-based carbon removal company.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

EIC Rose Rock joined the Series A funding announced earlier this year and led by Equinor Ventures, with participation from Aramco Ventures, the California Institute of Technology, Future Planet Capital, Hitachi Ventures, mTerra Ventures.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Led by Steve Oldham, CEO, Captura combines innovative technology with the natural carbon removal powers of the ocean to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere at large scale and at an affordable cost, providing a critical capability in the fight against climate change. Its solution has been validated and supported by the Musk Foundations Carbon Removal XPRIZE, the Department of Energys ARPA-E, and Frontier Climate.

Plants can be situated either onshore or offshore. For early commercial facilities, the company expects to co-locate facilities with existing ocean-based infrastructure, such as desalination plants or decommissioned offshore wells.

Captura began ocean trials of its first pilot system in 2022 in Newport Beach, California. That system is capable of capturing one ton of CO 2 from the ocean annually. Its next-generation pilot system will soon begin ocean operations at the Port of Los Angeles.

FinSMEs

11/08/2023
Princeton Equity Group, LLC, a Princeton, NJ- and Dallas, TX-based private equity firm focused on control investments in franchisor and multi-unit companies, closed its Princeton Equity Partners II, L.P. at $575m.

Raised over a period of approximately five months, the fund was oversubscribed with commitments from U.S. and non-U.S. investors, including endowments, foundations, fund of funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, insurance companies, and asset managers. Princetons first fund has $352m in total commitments and held its final close in June of 2021.

Led by Co-founders and Managing Partners, Jim Waskovich and Doug Kennealey, Princeton seeks partnerships with founders and management teams of leading franchisor and multi-unit companies across a variety of end markets.

FinSMEs

11/08/2023
WebMD Health Services, a Portland, Ore.-based leader in holistic well-being solutions, completed its acquisition of Limeade, an employee well-being company.

Combining Limeades well-being and listening solutions with WebMD Health Services well-being solutions and services will drive more personalized experiences for global employers, health plans and health systems. The combined team is committed to helping navigate employees and members to tailored well-being programs that improve engagement, provide actionable insight, lower health risks, and reduce health care costs.

Together, the combined organization becomes one of the largest well-being providers in the market with more than 700 global employees supporting thousands of organizations with the most expansive set of holistic well-being solutions and services.

WebMD Health Services is part of Internet Brands WebMD Health Corp., the leader in health information services for consumers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.

Internet Brands, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif, is a fully integrated online media and software services company focused on four high-value vertical categories: Health, Automotive, Legal, and Home/Travel. The companys properties and platforms include the WebMD, Medscape, and Henry Schein ONE networks, which are the global leaders in their markets; Nolo, Avvo, and Martindale, which form the largest consumer information provider in the legal market; and CarsDirect, Fodors Travel, and many others which are leaders in their key verticals such as auto, travel, and home.

FinSMEs

11/08/2023
Actor Imran Khan who gained fame for his roles in Bollywood movies like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Delhi Belly and Luck among others announced his comeback after missing action for years. The 40-year-old took to Metas Threads to respond to an enticing fans appeal. The course of the conversation took shape after a fan requested him, We want luck-2. To which, the actor responded with, To whom it may concern; I hear you. And Im working on it. Thank you for being so patient with me.

Check out the post:

Uploaded a few hours ago, the post amassed over 30,000 likes.

Check out some of the comments on the post

One user said, Jaane Tu-2, I hate luv stories  2, Break Ke Baad- 2 please.

Another remarked, Laut aao Imraan please. Only your comeback can fix me now.

Is this just me or everyone cant stop smiling after seeing this post? exclaimed another user.

Come back is it? asked a curious user.

Five long years, another said while pondering Why Imran?.

With this, the actor who made his acting debut with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na has finally confirmed his comeback plans in Bollywood. His update comes days after he left his comeback decision to the internet on Zeenat Amans Instagram post.

The conversation was initiated after veteran star Zeenat Aman, who has marked her presence on social media with her unique style, shared a paid partnership with CRED, a fintech brand, on her Instagram account. On the post, a comment included, Zeenat Ji ne bhi comeback kar lia, pata nahi mera Imran Khan kab karega. This translates to Even Zeenat Aman has made a comeback, I wonder when my Imran Khan will do it. The user, Aditi, tagged actor Imran Khan in the post.

Check out the post:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

In what would be a dream come true for a fan, Imran Khan replied to the users comment. He said, Chalo Aditi, lets leave this one to the internet..1M likes, and Ill make it happen.

Not only this, Imran Khan also shared the advertisement post by Zeenat Aman on his Instagram Stories and wrote, Taking notes on how to make a comeback from Zeenat ji.

On the acting front, the actor was last seen in Katti Batti in 2015 alongside Kangana Ranaut. After that, he embarked on a long acting break and has announced his comeback now. Recently, he also announced his donning of a directors hat for a mainstream cinematic endeavour in a short film titled Mission Mars: Keep Walking India.

Take a look:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Imran Khan (@imrankhan)

Imran Khan is the nephew of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and grandson of director-producer Nasir Hussain.
Union home minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in Lok Sabha today (11 August) that intend to reform Indias criminal justice system. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), framed by the British in 1860.

The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will give way to Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, while the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, noted Bar and Bench.

Addressing the Lower House of Parliament, Shah said the aim of these bills is not to punish but provide justice. The laws that will be repealed the focus of those laws was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen, the Home Minister said, as per the news agency PTI.

The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime, he added.

#WATCH | Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023; The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 and The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill in Lok Sabha. He says, From 1860 to 2023, the countrys criminal justice system functioned as per the laws made pic.twitter.com/TIcoeaXvjG  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

These three Bills will be sent for further scrutiny to a parliamentary panel, Shah said, as per the news agency.

Lets take a closer look at some of the big overhauls of the criminal laws proposed by the Centre.

Sedition to be repealed

Union minister Shah told Parliament that the sedition law will be completely repealed in the new legislation. Section 124A of the IPC which criminalises sedition will be replaced by Section 150 which includes acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill also has provisions for offences against the state.

As per NDTV, Section 150 states: Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Its explanation reads: Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures, or administrative or other action of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means without exciting or attempting to excite the activities referred to in this section.

Meanwhile, Section 124A of the IPC says: Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

Death penalty in mob lynching cases

The Centre plans to bring the provision of capital punishment in mob lynching cases.

When a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other ground each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, and shall also be liable to fine, India Today cited the new provision as saying.

Other changes

Shah said introducing the Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 that as many as 313 alterations are being brought in Indias criminal justice system, reported Indian Express.

The Centre has proposed a punishment of 20 years or life imprisonment in gang rape cases and the death penalty for the rape of minors, as per NDTV.

Recording statements on video of victims of sexual crimes will be made compulsory, as per LiveLaw.

The term life imprisonment has been described as imprisonment for natural life. According to India Today, the new laws also want to grant punishment for revealing the identity of rape survivors.

As per LiveLaw, offences against children will now attract 10 years in jail from the previous seven years.

Shah told Parliament that these new Bills ensure the police cannot exploit their powers. The police would not be able to delay investigations and will have to file charge sheets within 90 days of the filing of FIR, the Union minister said. The investigation will have to be completed within 180 days in all cases. The judge will have to give verdicts within 30 days of framing of charges, according to Hindustan Times (HT).

Deemed Sanction to prosecute civil servants, police officer accused of criminal offences in case of authoritys failure to respond within 120 days of application, according to LiveLaw.

Under the new laws, trials can be conducted even if the accused is absconding.

The Union home minister said the Centre plans to increase conviction rate above 90 per cent. Under Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, we have set the goal that the conviction ratio has to be taken above 90 per cent. That is why, we have brought an important provision that the Sections which provide for seven years or a greater jail term, under all those cases forensic teams visit to the crime scene will be made compulsory Indian Express quoted Shah as saying.

Organised crimes can lead to harsher punishments, while a separate provision for chain/mobile snatching and similar offences is also proposed under the new laws, as per LiveLaw.

With inputs from agencies
AAP MP Raghav Chadha was on Friday suspended from the Rajya Sabha in a row over forged signatures.

Chadhas suspension for gross violation of rule, misconduct, defiant attitude and contemptuous conduct pending a report by the Privileges Committee came after a motion from the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal.

The development comes just a day after the Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was suspended from the Lok Sabha for allegedly insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The motion for Chowdhurys suspension was moved by Pralhad Joshi. The Privileges Committee has been notified of Chowdhurys suspension.

But when are MPs suspended from Parliament? And what happens after?

Lets take a closer look:

When are MPs suspended from Parliament?

MPs can be suspended from Parliament for unruly behaviour including causing a ruckus, obstructing business and gross misconduct.

According to DrishtiIas.com, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are tasked with keeping the Houses functioning smoothly.

According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct, the Lok Sabha Speaker can immediately order a member to leave the House for disorderly conduct under Rule 373.

Such an individual must leave the House immediately and remain so for the rest of the day.

The Speaker can also under Rule 374 name a member for persistently and wilfully obstructing business. A member thus named shall leave the House immediately and remain suspended from the House for the rest of the session.

The Speaker can, under Rule 374A, suspend a member for gross violation from the House for five straight sittings or the rest of the session  whichever is less.

As per Indian Express, the Rajya Sabha Chairman can ask a member to immediately leave the House for gross and disorderly conduct under Rule 255.

Any Member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the days meeting, the rule states.

However, the Chairman does not directly have the power to unilaterally suspend a member, as per Deccan Chronicle.

Instead, the Chairman can name a member name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing the House.

Now, the House must adopt a motion to suspend the member for not more than the remainder of the session.

However, it is important to note that the House can withdraw such a suspension via another motion.

What happens next?

Chadha and Chowdhury have both been charged with breach of privilege.

The notifications of their suspensions have been sent to the respective Privileges Committee in the Houses.

But before we examine the committee, lets briefly look at parliamentary privilege.

As per Indian Express, parliamentary privilege is a concept that states that Members of Parliament have certain rights with which to conduct the business of the House.

These include freedom of speech  under which they will be exempt from court proceedings.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Privileges Committee is appointed Chairman. It comprises ten members nominated by the Chairman. It has its own chairman  also appointed by the Rajya Sabha chairman.

The Privileges Committee in the Lok Sabha works in a similar manner  except it has 15 members nominated by the Speaker.

The Privileges Committee in both Houses will now examine the cases of Chadha and Chowdhury. The committees can summon people to testify and even have the power to procure relevant documents.

They will then prepare reports and issue recommendations on how to further proceed.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Chairman, or any member of his committee in his absence, will then present the report to the House.

The House must then pass a motion to consider the report.

In the Lok Sabha, the Privileges Committee report is then presented to the Speaker  who himself will pass an order or direct it to be tabled.

The Houses can then impose the following penalties of an MP found guilty of breach of privilege:

An MP can be admonished or reprimanded

An MP can be suspended from the House of Parliament

An MP can be expelled from the House of Parliament.

However, as per Indian Express, such an outcome is exceedingly rare.

Thus most MPs charged with breach of privilege get away without any punitive action against them.

Even worse, while these proceedings are ongoing, the suspended Member or Members of Parliament continue to receive their paycheque.

Though the no work, no pay policy has been under consideration for decades by successive governments at the Centre, it has not been introduced yet.

Chadha on Thursday hit out at the BJP for accusing him of forging signatures of five MPs in a motion related to the Delhi services bill and said it was trying to suppress his voice.

In his first reaction after Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar referred complaints of four MPs, who accused Chadha of proposing their name for constitution of a select committee without their consent in violation of rules, to the privileges committee to examine and investigate the matter, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said he will approach the panel and court on the matter.

He also told a press conference that false propaganda was being spread that signatures and written consent are needed for nomination of Select Committee members in Rajya Sabha.

I will approach the Committee of Privileges and court of law against the BJP Lok Sabha members who levelled the false allegation of forgery against me, Chadha said.

With inputs from agencies
'Decoupling' more detrimental to US tech

13:54, August 11, 2023 By Zhang Xin ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Li Min / China Daily

On Wednesday US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to restrict high-tech US-based investments going toward China, which covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence.

This executive order is just another "decoupling" move, which targeted China but will eventually be more detrimental to US industries and enterprises.

Collaboration in technology should have been the most mutually beneficial part of overall cooperation between China and the US. Scientists and technologists from the two countries have been forging connections in different fields since 1978.

However, since former president Donald Trump took office in 2017, Sino-US tech collaboration has become a casualty of bilateral political and trade disputes, leading to a noticeable decline in global technological progress and the international community's ability to address global challenges.

Instead of correcting the Trump administration's policies, the Joe Biden administration has intensified them under the guise of "strategic competition" to the detriment of both sides and further harmed global tech cooperation. Sino-US tech collaboration and overall bilateral relations have reached one of the lowest points since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Regrettably, the downward trend shows no signs of abating, leaving tech experts on both sides disheartened. The US has been abusing its tech and financial hegemony, with various kinds of sanctions imposed on more than 1,000 Chinese entities.

Sino-US tech "decoupling" may lead to the gradual fading of the friendship and goodwill built by countless Chinese and US scholars and students over the past more than four decades. Hostility and the "chilling effects" of "decoupling", or later in the name of "de-risking", will diminish the atmosphere of cooperation between the two countries, and coerce multi-national enterprises to take sides.

The US administration has called for cooperation on common challenges such as climate change, but its actions such as decoupling in eco-friendly green industry prove to be opposite to the goals. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence could have significant ethical and existential impacts on society, necessitating global coordination and regulations to safeguard humanity's safety and common interests. However, since the US seems hell-bent on decoupling its AI industry from China's, collaborating in the sector appears almost impossible.

Also, the deepening partisan divide in the US political circle prevents stable policies from being implemented in critical areas of global public interest. For instance, the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, relaxation of regulations on the fossil fuel industry, and quitting international organizations such as UNESCO have caused irreparable damage to global common interests. While the Biden administration has rejoined the international treaties and organizations, the losses cannot be recovered nor can the consistency of policy be guaranteed in case of a government change in the next US presidential election.

More important, Washington's "decoupling" policy may hasten the end of the US' global leadership in high-tech, which is a core pillar of US hegemony. As a matter of fact, China's rising competitive potential is partly a result of the US' push for tech "decoupling" from China.

Due to China's advantage of scale and market vitality, "decoupling" from China will cause huge losses of US enterprises, and accelerate the end of the US' global tech leadership, and the Sino-US divide could slow down global tech progress.

Because tech "decoupling" will significantly impact the US' tech development. China and the US are each other's top partners in many fields of technology, with China's talent and funding providing strong support for the US' tech advancement. And finding other partners to compensate for reduced cooperation with China will be very challenging for the US.

Moreover, tech "decoupling" will prompt China to intensify research and development in order to become self-reliant in technology. China's deep integration into the global tech innovation system, since the launch of reform and opening-up has helped consolidate the US' global tech leadership. But the US' push to "decouple" will prompt China to develop independent tech capabilities. This will cause the US' influence on the new global tech innovation system centered on China to diminish, offering China opportunities to catch up or even overtake the US in many fields, such as space exploitation.

The US' "decoupling" policy will also blunt American tech companies' competitive edge in China and foster strong global competitors. Chinese companies have long believed the US will uphold the principle of fair competition and not abuse its advantages in the global supply chains to suppress competing countries. This belief is what helped Chinese tech companies to establish close cooperation with their US counterparts in the global supply chains.

But Washington's "chokehold" on tech has made US tech companies unreliable suppliers, shaking Chinese companies' confidence in cooperation with their US counterparts and prompted them to pursue local options.

China has grown within the US-dominated global tech innovation system and has been both a beneficiary and contributor to the system. China does not seek to replace the US' position; rather it aims to share its global responsibilities according to its capability. However, confrontation between China and the US may lead to the upheaval of the existing global tech innovation system.

"Decoupling" will deal a blow to Chinese tech sectors, but it will only be more detrimental to its tech hegemony in the long term.

The author is an associate research fellow on innovation studies at Development Research Center of the State Council. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Ashley had already paid her registration costs and scheduled her ticket from Punjab to Toronto when she learned, just over a week ago, that she was no longer admitted to Ontarios Northern College.

It was very heartbreaking for me. It was a huge impact on my lifestyle, Ashley, who doesnt have a last name, told CBC Toronto.

She received her acceptance letter in February to study healthcare administration at Scarboroughs Pures College of Technology, which is an affiliate of Northern College. She had already applied for a student visa, quit her job in healthcare and booked a one-way ticket to Toronto.

Now, instead of packing her bags, Ashley will remain in India while scrambling for a solution.

However, she is not the only one.

According to a media report on Thursday, at least 500 students, including Indians, have been left in limbo after a college in Canadas Ontario province revoked their admission offers a month before the start of school.

It was not a normal process for us as international students who have used all the savings that we have had, she said.

Some of the students were already in Canada when they were informed their offers had been withdrawn, CBC News reported.

Some 500 international students recently received an email from Northern College in Ontario informing them that their admission offers for this coming school year had been revoked, the report said.

What the college is saying

Pures College said it was ready, willing and able to accept all international students who received letters of admission, but that its affiliate, Northern College, decided against doing so.

Pures statement reads: Our public college partner has decided to withdraw these admissions, Pures had scheduled all the Fall semester students for study before the revocation was made by our partner, reports CBC.

As a private college in partnership with a public college, Pures said it doesnt have the authority to make final decisions on the admissions process.

Northern College says the problem was caused by Canada approving more visas for international students than expected.

According to David Francis, Northern Colleges director of strategic initiatives, it is Northern Colleges duty to foresee how many visas would be issued ahead of each semester. That means the school sends out more acceptance letters than it can handle, assuming that some of the applicants visas would be refused.

As we look at program capacities, they are moving targets, Francis told CBC.

Furthermore, he added that many students apply to many institutions. Northern College expects some of the students it accepts to transfer to other colleges as part of its forecasting for each semester. Pures said it would continue to collaborate with its counterpart and students to address the problem.

Students will be refunded or transferred to different schools, the college said. But some could still be on the hook for cancelled flights and accommodation.

The system is exploiting students

This isnt the first-time international students have been left in limbo by a Toronto school. Last May, hundreds of students said their enrolment was unilaterally suspended by Alpha College of Business and Technology, an affiliate of St. Lawrence College in Ontario.

Meanwhile, Jaspreet Singh, president of the International Sikh Student Association and a member of the World Sikh Organisation, says these situations are indicative of a bigger problem.

The system is exploiting students, he said, adding that situations like these arent uncommon in Canada.

The same thing is happening every yearevery semester, CBS News quoted Singh as saying.

An international student is granted permission to study in Canada based on their acceptance to a designated learning institution. International students must present their acceptance letter upon arrival to clear immigration and receive a permit to stay in the country to complete their education.

The last-minute change has put students like Ashley in peril of losing their study licences.

With inputs from PTI
Indias long fight for freedom culminated in Independence on 15 August, 1947.

The hard-won fruits of the labours of countless freedom fighters were obtained after decades of struggle against the British.

This year, India is celebrating its 77th Independence Day.

But did you know that Indias fight for independence influenced political movements across the world?

Lets take a closer look:

Civil Rights Movement in America

The Civil Rights Movement in America was massively influenced by the Indian Independence Movement led by Mohandas Gandhi.

Gandhis influence on Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the civil rights movement for African-Americans until his death in 1968, cannot be overstated.

According to the Stanford university website, the charismatic and loquacious Baptist minister first gained knowledge of Gandhis teachings during his seminary training.

King argued that Gandhis philosophy of non-violence was the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.

He even said he thought Gandhi was the greatest Christian of the modern world, as per the website.

According to Biography.com, King first put the principle of non-violence to work during the Montgomery bus boycott triggered by Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger

The mass protest by African-Americans to desegregate the bus system in Alabama lasted 13 months. It ended with the US Supreme Court in 1956 striking down segregation on the bus system as unconstitutional.

Luther told a crowd in New York City in the aftermath of the ruling:

Christ showed us the way and Gandhi in India showed it could work,

King, in his book Stride Toward Freedom, echoed many of Gandhis teachings of non-violence.

The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent, King wrote. He also refuses to hate him.

King in 1959 on a five-week trip to India with his wife Coretta Scott King and others met the Gandhi family, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other high-profile Indian activists.

According to Biography.com, the sojourn only reinforced Kings already strong belief in non-violence as a tool to obtain freedom.

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals, King is said to have remarked.

King wasnt the only high-profile civil rights leader influenced by Gandhi.

Congressman John Lewis in the 1950s attended non-violence workshops where he learned about Gandhi and his ideas of non-violence.

Anti-apartheid movement in South Africa

The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa also drew strength and inspiration from Indias freedom movement.

The leading light of the struggle, Nelson Mandela, described Gandhi  whose experiences in South Africa triggered his awakening as a freedom fighter  as his role model.

Mandela in his biography wrote, Nonviolent passive resistance is effective as long as your opposition adheres to the same rules as you do.

But if peaceful protest is met with violence, its efficacy is at an end. For me. nonviolence was not a moral principle but a strategy.

Violence and nonviolence are not mutually exclusive; it is the predominance of the one or the other that labels a struggle, Mandela added.

Despite this, there is little doubt that Mandela viewed non-violence as an integral part of the anti-apartheid movement.

Mandelas favourable view of non-violence as a tool against oppression would only be further strengthened by the nearly three decades he spent in prison  during which he avidly read books by Gandhi.

On his release from prison, Mandela became the first President of apartheid-free South Africa and brought the country together through his Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

While Nelson Mandela is the father of South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi is our grandfather, Harris Majeke, ex-South Africa ambassador to India, was quoted as saying by Progressive Magazine.

Mandela was inspired by the Satyagraha campaign led by Gandhi. It was a compelling act of passive protest against oppression. This would later inspire the formation of the African National Congress and strengthen Mandelas belief in our shared humanity.

Inspired Suu Kyi in Myanmar

Before she fell from grace, Myanmars Aung San Suu Kyi was seen as an international symbol of peaceful protest against the brutal generals that had ruled Myanmar for decades.

Al Jazeera in 2012 quoted Suu Kyi as saying about Myanmars political struggle, We could draw inspiration from the triumphs of our forebears but we could not confine ourselves to our own history in the quest for ideas and tactics that could aid our own struggle. We had to go beyond our own colonial experience.

Like King, and Mandela before her, Suu Kyi also took inspiration from the Indian Independence Movement and the non-violent principles espoused by Gandhi.

The Hindu quoted Suu Kyi on a 2012 visit to India as saying that Indias freedom struggle and its leaders including Gandhi and Jawaharlal had inspired her in her quest for a democratic Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, speaking about the many years shed spent under house arrest, added, I felt closer to those who I could identify with politically, intellectually, spiritually through their thoughts, even if they were complete strangers or figures of the past, than to those whom I know personally, she said.

However, Suu Kyi herself in a speech admitted that there were some differences between her belief in non-violence compared to the other leaders.

I was attracted to the way of non-violence, but not on moral grounds, as some believe. Only on practical, political grounds, she explained, as per Al Jazeera.

It is not quite the same as the ambiguous or pragmatic or mixed approaches to non-violence that have been attributed to Gandhis satyagraha or Martin Luther Kings civil rights. It is simply based on my conviction that we need to put an end to the tradition of regime change through violence, a tradition which has become the running sore of Burmese politics, she added.

Heavily influenced Sri Lankas quest for freedom

Sri Lankas freedom movement, which got its own independence in 1948, was also inspired by Gandhi.

According to Deccan Chronicle, Gandhi even visited Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1927  his only such trip to the country  after being invited by Sri Lankan freedom fighter Charles Edgar Corea.

Gandhi made several speeches and left a lasting influence and legacy in Sri Lanka.

A piece in Ceylon Today noted how Gandhis policy of non-violence heavily influenced the Sri Lankan quest for freedom and Indias freedom struggle stirred several notable leaders including Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala.

Inspired by the actions of the leaders of Indian National Congress, he launched it as a mixture of nationalism combined with a temperance movement, the piece noted.

The piece added how Dharmapala took to Gandhis boycott of foreign-made clothes and his embrace of locally-produced fabric.

The piece further noted how Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), which came from the Youth Leagues in 1935, was the first party to demand independence  exactly how the Indian National Congress demanded complete freedom from the British.

Thus, by adopting Gandhis concept of non-violent satyagraha, Sri Lanka too gained its independence, the piece concluded.

Inspires freedom struggle, Swadeshi push in South Korea

While some contend Indias freedom struggle was inspired by March First Movement  Koreas struggle to get independence from Japan  others say it is in truth the exact opposite

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Santosh Kumar Ranjan told Indian Express he discovered over 50 editorials between 1920 and 1930 in Korean newspapers highlighting the Indian subcontinents fight against the British.

There were almost daily reports on Indias Non-Cooperation movement of 1920-22 and the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1931-34, Ranjan added.

Ranjan said Gandhis stature had grown so much by 1922 that the newspapers began referring to him as Mahatma.

We respect Gandhi neither because of his status and position nor for his leadership qualities or political abilities. In fact, his commitment to truth and violence and his sacrifice of luxury and family pieties to come up with different hope of actions is respected by us, one newspaper wrote in its editorial following his imprisonment by the British.

Ranjan also said that texts show that Cho Man-sik, a high-profile Korean nationalist leader, was influenced by Gandhis Swadeshi push for goods.

Cho in July 1920 founded the Society for the Promotion of Native Production.

Ranjan told the newspaper that Cho first became aware of Gandhis ideals while in college in Japan.

He added that other leaders such as Yom Tae-jin and Yi Kwang-su, mimicking Gandhis Swadeshi movement, founded the Self Production Association in Seoul.

In Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria

According to the book The Commanding Heights by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, while Indias independence provided a template for decolonisation and independence across the world, the change was most fiercely felt in Africa.

In Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, the son of a goldsmith, would be at the forefront of the freedom struggle.

Nkrumah, who would rise to become the first African-born prime minister of Ghana, was influenced by Gandhis life and teachings.

As per The Wire, Nkrumah and JB Danquah, both tall figures in Ghanas independence movement, admitted to being inspired by Gandhi.

However, Nkrumah initially had his doubts about some of Gandhis ideals.

At first I could not understand how Gandhis philosophy of non-violence could possibly effective. It seemed to be utterly feeble and without hope of success. The solution to the colonial problem, as I saw it at that time lay in armed rebellion After months of studying Gandhis policy, and watching the effect it had, I began to see that, when backed by a strong political organisation it could be the solution to the colonial problem, Nkrumah wrote.

In 1945, Nkrumah organized the Fifth Pan-Africanist Congress in Manchester.

During this conference, Gandhis non-violent ideals were brought up and endorsed as the only effective means of making alien rulers respect the wishes of an unarmed subject people.

Nkrumah would take to Gandhis non-violence ideals as positive action and would declare 8 January, 1950, as Positive Action day.

As per The Wire, after Gandhi was killed on 30 January, 1948, Nkrumah wrote, We too mourned his death.

For he had inspired us deeply with his political thought, notably with his adherence to non-violent resistance.

Nkrumah would in 1957, less than a decade later, lead his country to independence.

As per Hindustan Times, Kenneth Kaunda, known as Africas Gandhi, would emulate the Mahatma by espousing civil disobedience, strikes, and boycotts to obtain Zambias freedom from the British.

KK, as he was also known, mirroring Gandhis actions in South Africa, burned his colonial identity card.

Influenced by Gandhis asceticism, the first president of Zambia was a non-drinker and a non-smoker.

As per The New York Times, Kaunda said Gandhis writings went straight to my heart.

In 2012, KK was bestowed the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation.

In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere was influenced by the Mahatma in that countrys struggle for independence.

Nyerere, incidentally, was the recipient of the inaugural Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995.

In Nigeria, Chief Soyemi Coker, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Obafemi Awolowo were huge admirers of Gandhi and his non-violent methods.

Incidentally, all three were at the Fifth Pan-Africanist Congress in Manchester in 1945 organised by Nkrumah.

To sum up, the echoes of Indias fight for independence have been felt across the world.

With inputs from agencies
American celebrity Kim Kardashian is facing flak for promoting a costly full-body scan on her Instagram handle. Health experts have warned against undertaking such scans, which the billionaire described as lifesaving.

On Tuesday (8 August), Kardashian posted a series of pictures of herself standing next to a Prenuvo machine. I recently did this @prenuvo scan and had to tell you all about this life saving machine, the 42-year-old wrote, adding this was not a paid advertisement.

The Prenuvo full-body scan has the ability to detect cancer and diseases such as aneurysms in its earliest stages, before symptoms arise. It was like getting a MRI for an hour with no radiation. It has really saved some of my friends lives and I just wanted to share #NotAnAd.

It must be noted that even in regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans there is no risk of radiation exposure.

Soon, her post was filled with critical comments, with some people calling her tone-deaf.

What does the Prenuvo scan entail? Why are health experts against such full-body scans? Lets take a closer look.

$2,500 for body scan

The full-body scan that the reality star underwent cost $2,500 (around Rs 2,00,000), as per People magazine. This scan looks for disc herniation, musculoskeletal conditions, fatty liver disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), as per Prenuvos website.

The comprehensive scan can also assesses your anatomy, including major organs and spines, and is capable of detecting solid tumours 1.5cm or larger, malignant cancer compared to benign conditions such as cysts, hematoma, hemangiomas and absecesses, and potentially treatable brain aneurysms, claims Prenuvos website, noted The Independent.

According to Forbes, the company, founded by entrepreneur Andrew Lacy and MRI physicist and radiologist Rajpaul Attariwala in 2018, also offers a head and torso scan that is priced at $1,799 (about Rs 1,49,000). A torso scan at Prenuvo costs $999 (over Rs 80,000).

Fans slam Kim Kardashian

The Kardashians star, who has 363 million Instagram followers, faced backlash for her post. Several of her fans pointed out that the scan is unaffordable for most of the general population of the United States.

Kim, this is for wealthy people. People cant afford food right now, one person responded to her post.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

Another commented, The fact majority of society cant even afford insurance for a simple wellness checkup.

This is SO tone-deaf. The majority of people in America could not afford to use this machine. The fact that shes promoting medical devices that cost thousands is so ridiculous, wrote another.

According to The Messenger, Prenuvo does not accept insurance for such scans. One critic of Kardashians post said that such preventative care would not be covered by most health insurance companies.

Health experts warn

The American College of Radiology (ACR), an organisation representing over 40,000 radiologists in the US, have said they do not recommend whole-body scanning for asymptomatic people, citing a lack of scientific evidence.

To date, there is no documented evidence that total body screening is cost-efficient or effective in prolonging life. In addition, the ACR is concerned that such procedures will lead to the identification of numerous non-specific findings that will not ultimately improve patients health but will result in unnecessary follow-up testing and procedures, as well as significant expense, the ACR said in a statement in April this year.

Matthew Davenport, vice chair of the ACRs Quality and Safety Commission, told Insider last December that these scans are a terrible idea.

ALSO READ: Drinking borax for joint pain? Heres why the latest TikTok trend is dangerous

Davenport said such imaging, which is not recommended by medical professionals, can cause harm to people as they undergo unnecessary testing.

As per the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such celebrity-endorsed scans are not backed by scientific evidence demonstrating that whole-body scanning of individuals without symptoms provides more benefit than harm to people being screened, reported The Messenger.

Dr Stuart Fischer, internal medicine physician in New York, told Daily Mail, This is not an appropriate screening tool for a multiplicity of human illnesses and potentially emergent conditions.

Instead, Dr Fischer suggested taking medical advice from doctors for any health concerns. There is no one screening test for human health. If there was, wed all be very healthy indeed.

The appropriate screening tool to prevent illness is a good relationship with a medical care practitioner, he added.

With inputs from agencies
The votes are in and unsurprisingly Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed the no-confidence motion against him in the Lok Sabha. While the results come as no surprise  the numbers had revealed that Modi had the support  his reply to the no-confidence motion moved against his government was the biggest news grabber on Thursday evening, with television channels and social media abuzz with it.

Wrapping up the three-day discussion, which saw several leaders such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Rahul Gandhi speak, Modi stood up in Lok Sabha on Thursday evening and delivered a strong rebuttal, hitting out at the Opposition INDIA alliance, the Congress and the Gandhi family in particular, saying people of the country have no confidence in them.

And Modi didnt hold back. His rebuttal was one of his longest speeches, lasting for more than 130 minutes (thats two hours and 10 minutes). Interestingly, its also one of the longest speeches ever made in Parliament; his minister, Amit Shah, during the no-confidence motion spoke for two hours and 13 minutes, breaking a 58-year-old record for being the longest speech ever made in Parliament.

We take a closer look at PM Modis lengthy speeches, and how he is able to keep his listeners captivated.

Modis reply to no-confidence motion (2 hours and 13 minutes)

At two hours and 13 minutes, on Thursday, Modi, perhaps, delivered his longest speech as prime minister. The speech saw high drama as members of the Opposition even staged a walkout through it. However that didnt deter the prime minister and he not only attacked the Opposition but also set the tone for the ruling BJPs campaign for the 2024 general election.

Speaking on the Manipur issue, Modi said: Many families (in Manipur) are facing difficulties. Many have lost their kin, and heinous crimes have been committed against women. The Centre and state are together trying to address the situation. I want to assure the people of the country that the state will see a new dawn.

I want to tell the people of Manipur, its women and daughters, that the country is with you, this House is with you. We will face this together and peace will again be restored there. I want to assure the people of Manipur that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that Manipur is on the path of development again.

He added that while the High Courts verdict granting Meiteis Scheduled Tribes status was the immediate trigger, it was the politics of the Congress that is the root cause of the problems plaguing Manipur and the entire north eastern region, which he described as his jigar ka tukda.

Modi also took the opportunity to take swipes at the Opposition alliance, terming them as a collection of arrogant dynasties who will take India back by two centuries. Taking on their allegation of spreading hate, the PM said: The opposition is all about loot ki dukan and nafrat ka bazar.

Also read: No confidence motion: Oppositions botched strategy allows PM Modi to set the grand narrative for 2024

He further questioned the credibility of the Opposition and said: To survive they had to take the support of the NDA. The Is in their name stand for the arrogance of the 26 parties and the parivar (dynasty). They stole the NDA. They broke up India with dots  I.N.D.I.A.

Modis speech also enabled the PM to exude confidence on his return to power in 2024. I thank the Opposition for bringing the motion, which appears to be ordained by God. Back in 2018, when a similar motion was brought, I had said that these no-confidence motions do not subject us, but them to floor tests. The latest motion is in a way auspicious for us and a clear indication that we will return to power in 2024 breaking all past records, he said.

He sneered at the Opposition, saying that when you bring another no-confidence motion in 2028, adding that in my third term, India will emerge as the worlds third-largest economy.

They (Opposition) is a guarantee of taking India back by two centuries, while Modi guarantees that in my third term I will ensure Indias entry into the bracket of top three countries, he said, reeling off his governments achievements in poverty alleviation, sanitation, water supply, defence production among others.

July 2018 no-confidence motion (91 minutes)

In the past, Modi has spoken for long periods in the Parliament, most notably during the no-confidence motion brought against him in 2018. The PM had then spoken passionately for over an hour, during which he accused the Congress of spreading negativity and being deeply opposed to development.

He had said: What we saw among members of the opposition was sheer arrogance. The only thing they have to say  remove Modi. We are here because we have the blessings of 125 crore Indians. We are not here for selfish interests. We have served the nation with the mantra of Sabka saath, sabka vikas.

This moment has been forever etched in the minds of the people as it was the time that Congress Rahul Gandhi had, uncharacteristically, walked over to the Treasury benches and hugged PM Modi after he was done with his speech.

PMs thanks to the Presidents address in February 2017 (90 minutes)

A year prior to the no-confidence motion, PM Modi had put his oratory skills on display when he spoke for one-and-a-half-hour while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the Presidents address.

The PM used the opportunity to defend his move to scrap old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, saying that the decision was taken at the right time as the economy was doing well. When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at the right time, he said. He equated the demonetisation to Swachh Bharat, a movement to clean India. Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money), he said.

He also targeted the Congress, questioning them over their failure to notify benami property in the last 26 years. In 1988 when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister, he had more majority in both Houses than Pandit Nehru. The Congress was everywhere from panchayat to Parliament. A bill was made to tackle benami property but it was never notified. Why, all these 26 years, the bill was never notified? he said.

The prime minister also spoke about the surgical strikes applauding the armed forces for the decisive move.

I-Day speech in 2016 (94 minutes)

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was his eloquent best when he stood at the ramparts of the Red Fort and delivered his Independence Day speech for a whopping 94 minutes. This, in fact, is the longest I-Day speech ever made by a prime minister; in 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had delivered a speech that lasted for 72 minutes, which was the longest ever speech from the Red Fort until 2015.

He listed the achievements of his government, blasted Pakistan for glorifying terrorists, spoke at length about eliminating social discrimination, and also took a dig at the United Progressive Alliance government for delay in decision-making.

In a significant shift in policy, he had also made a reference to the Baloch freedom struggle in his Independence Day speech, saying the people in the conflicted Pakistani state of Balochistan, as also in Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, had reached out to him.

Diplomats later had said the PMs decision to raise Balochistan in his speech was unprecedented as India has rarely referred to the freedom movement in the state, and had consistently denied any assistance to Baloch nationalists group as alleged by Pakistan.

It was in this very speech that Modi had also announced an increase in the pension of family members of freedom fighters by 20 per cent.

Other lengthy speeches

While PM Modi does hold the record for the longest Independence Day speech as PM in India, he doesnt hold the record for the longest political speech across the world. That honour is held by former Finance Minister VK Krishna Menon, who spoke for over seven hours explaining Indias position on Kashmir at the United Nations. This is now listed as the longest by the Guinness World Records.

The second longest speech at an international forum was delivered by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 at the UN. It lasted four hours and 29 minutes.

With inputs from agencies
Another incident of horrific murder has come to fore in Delhi where body of an 11-year-old boy was found in a bed box at his house in West Delhi Inderpuri.

The incident took place on Thursday evening. As per reports, security camera footage showed a woman leaving the house around the time when the boy, Divyansh, died. She has been accused of strangling the minor to death and hiding his body in the bed box.

The boy lived with his mother at a rented house in E block of Inderpuri.

Talking to media, Divyanshs mother Neelu said, When I was returning from office, around 6:45, I received a call from his dance teacher who said he did not attend the class. When I went home, I saw the house locked from inside. I used my keys to unlock the door and inside, it was a bit messed up.

I thought Divyansh messed up the house. I even noticed microwave and stool were kept on the bed, but he was not there inside the house, she said.

Neelu said she then went to look for him in park, places where he usually plays, and also visited his friends house to find Divyansh, but he was nowhere found.

#WATCH | After a minor boy was found dead inside the bed box in Delhis Inder Puri area, the mother of the deceased says, I was returning from my office when I got a call from his (deceased) dance teacherWhen I reached home, I realised that things were messed upWe took him pic.twitter.com/xNYoybPuUw  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

"I came back home and called up my husband to inform him about our son missing," she said, adding that she even informed a few other family members and friends who stay nearby and they all started looking for Divyansh.

"My husband Jitendar then got a call from a woman who said what if she elimated the person from his life whom both of us love the most? She had been threatening us for over four years now," alleged Neelu.

"We then called her up again and spoke with her. She sounded all calm and through her conversation, we could sense that she has done something. We kept asking her if she has done anything to Divyansh," she said.

Neelu said, she was all panicked and started looking for his footwear. She then noticed that the bed was positioned in an uneven manner. "I opened the bed box and its front side, I saw some clothes were kept in an unorganised way. I started cleaning the place, when I saw his body kept there," she added.

"His body was in a very bad state. We took him to the emergency department of the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival," Neelu added.

As per reports, the hospital informed the police about the boy's death. The cops said, preliminary medical examination suggested that Divyansh died due to strangling. They suspect the woman seen in security camera of committing the crime.

With inputs from agencies
In a bid to curb crimes in the country and instill fears among perpetrators, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government on Friday proposed death penalty for the rape of a minor.

The new Bill to overhaul the countrys criminal laws was brought in the Parliament by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, the last day of Monsoon Session 2023.

Shah moved the Bill to repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act.

Punishment proposed for crimes by Amit Shah

Shah said the Bill has a provision to completely repeal the controversial sedition law. The Bill aims to replace the IPC and include following provisions:

 Capital punishment in mob lynching cases, depending on the gravity of the crime

 One year imprisonment for bribing voters during elections

 20 years jail to life imprisonment for gang rape

 Death penalty for rape of a minor.

The new bill prioritises laws for crimes against women and children, murders and offences against the state.

Shah said the 1860 Indian Penal Code will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Earlier there were 511 sections but now it will now have 356 sections. 175 sections have been amended, the minister said in the Lok Sabha.

The Code of Criminal Procedure will be replaced by Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, while the Indian Evidence Act will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya.

It seeks to revamp British-era laws, Amit Shah told parliament.

VIDEO | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 will be established in place the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha, 2023 will replace the Criminal Procedure Act, 1898; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The laws that will be pic.twitter.com/1wT1bgUyV3  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 11, 2023

"The laws that will be repealed... the focus of those law was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," Shah said.

The changes have been referred to a Standing Committee for review, the minister added.

Also, for the first time, community service will be one of the punishments for petty offences.

VIDEO | "I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. I am about to send these bills to the standing committee. Crime against women and children was given 302nd position (in prevalent laws) despite that no other crime can be more heinous. We pic.twitter.com/8JPLp2KtpX  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 11, 2023

Also, offences have been made gender neutral. To deal effectively with the problem of organised crimes and terrorist activities, new offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added with deterrent punishments.

The fines and punishment for various offences have also been increased.

"The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime," Shah said.

With inputs from agencies
The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to news portal NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha on Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea seeking direction to vacate its interim order asking the agency to not take any coercive action against them.

The ED in its fresh application stated that this is a case of grave criminal conspiracy for paid news. Noting the submission, the bench of Justice Saurabh Benrajee sought a response from the news portal and its director Purkayastha and listed the matter for hearing in September.

The move came after Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a plea in the Delhi High Court on Thursday over the investigation related to news portal NewsClick.

The ED sought to vacate a 2021 Delhi HC order that said no coercive action is to be taken against the news portal. The probe agency also claimed in its application that they had come across fresh evidence of money laundering in the NewsClick probe. Court further noted that Prima facie, the EDs Counsel Zoheb Hossains contention has merit and requires deliberation. The Delhi High Court on June 21, 2021, had directed the ED not to take coercive action against the news portal and on July 29, 2021, directed the ED not to take any coercive action against Newsclick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha in connection with a money laundering case subject to his joining the investigation.

The ED plea stated that in light of further investigation in the matter, additional material has been revealed which discloses the commission of the offence of money laundering as, well as a commission of a scheduled offence which has been intimated to the predicate agency as well, by way of an appropriate communication u/s 66(2) of the PMLA as well.

The relevant facts will be produced in a sealed cover before this Honble Court during the course of the hearing as it is a subject matter of ongoing investigation, stated the ED in its plea.

Recently during the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged Chinese funding to the party and Indian news portal NewsClick and demanded his apology.

The Union Minister said that the Congress leader should apologise to the country in Parliament that China funds NewsClick and explain why his party supported it.

All I would like to say Congress ka haath NewsClick ke saath, NewsClick ke upar China ka haath. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation and say how did Rajiv Gandhi Foundation take money from China and where did it use this, Thakur told reporters before heading to the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting this morning.

He should tell the country who are the people who provided the funding and what was the compulsion that Congress was seen standing with NewsClick, Thakur said.
At least 10 persons, including three children, were killed, while four others were injured when a mini-truck, in which they were travelling, rammed into a stationary truck in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat on Friday, police said.

The incident took place near Bagodara village on Rajkot-Ahmedabad Highway when a group of people was returning to Ahmedabad from Chotila in neighbouring Surendranagar district, they said.

Five women, three children and two men were killed in the accident that took place in the morning, Ahmedabad District Superintendent of Police Amit Vasava said.
On 15 August 2023, India will commemorate its 77th Independence Day, marking the countrys 76 years of independence from the British Raj. The feat, however, didnt come easy as several roadblocks hindered the subcontinents growth. Lets look at the turn of events that have shaped Indias independence.

While India was blessed with its first woman and Dalit Chief Minister in Mayawati, the country also achieved progressive heights by gifting the internet to its citizens to connect with the world at large. In terms of artistic ventures, the country witnessed the release of Aditya Chopras romantic hit Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge setting the tone for a generation of romance for decades to come.

On the other hand, writer Arundhati Roy bagged the Man Booker Prize for her novel God of Small Things (1997). Other achievements include economist Amartya Sen receiving a Nobel Prize in 1998.

Amidst the celebrations, India suffered through a war with neighbouring Pakistan at Kargil and had to face the IC814 plane hijack.

Mayawati became Indias first Dalit CM (1995)

On 3 June 1995, Mayawati became the first Dalit and woman chief minister to take oath in Indias largest province, Uttar Pradesh. This marked another milestone in the Dalit political revolution, which was started by BR Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram. It gained momentum with Kanshi Rams Bahujan Samaj Party. During her tenure, Mayawati gave the minorities a counter-narrative of hope, helping them shine as the foremost representative of the oppressed community.

Internet on Independence Day (1995)

The months of July and August in the mid-1990s were crucial for India for varied reasons. First, Union communications minister Sukh Rams call to West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu marked the first mobile phone call in the country. Following that, on 15 August 1995, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) launched the nations first publicly available internet service. Over the decades, India has taken a huge leap from the unconnected to the wireless.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995)

Aditya Chopras romantic hit DDLJ set the precedent for being a one-of-its-kind film even in its time. Released in 1995, it was also the time when Indias younger generation was experiencing economic liberalisation. With Raj and Simran, the iconic duo played by actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, Indian cinema got the finest romantic onscreen couple for decades to come.

Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize (1997)

Arundhati Roys God of Small Things broke barriers of language, form, and content with its release. The book touched upon the harsh post-colonial realities of India, addressed caste, and initiated a conversation on topics revolving around forbidden relations and fluctuating human emotions. After winning a Booker Prize for her novel, Roy didnt publish another novel for 2 decades. However, that could not take away her stature as the greatest writer of her time.

Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize (1998)

Economist Amartya Sen received the Nobel Prize in 1998 for his transformative ideas surrounding welfare economies and the reasons behind famines. He also discussed what governments could do to prevent them. As the father of modern social choice theory, Sens contributions led to the creation of the human development index and great interventions in the sphere of gender and social life.

The Kargil War (1999)

In 1999, Pakistani army-backed forces led an extensive invasion across the Line of Control (LoC). This forced the two nuclear nations, India and Pakistan, into a fierce battle. In the end, India emerged as the winner. The military battle was extensively covered by the media, with updates from the war-zone broadcasted live on television.

IC 814 hijack (1999)

On Christmas Eve 1999, Indian Airlines flight 814 with 180 people on board took off from Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport. Shortly after take-off, it was hijacked by militants. It took the Indian government several rounds of negotiations, including freeing three terrorists, to rescue the passengers from their clutches. The infamous hijack brought home the horrors of modern-day terrorism.

Tata buys Tetley (2000)

In a pioneering move by an Indian conglomerate, Tata Tea acquired the iconic British tea brand, Tetley, for 271 million pounds in 2000. It signalled that Indian companies were not afraid to shake up global markets. This also helped Tata emerge as a global business player. Following this, Tata also acquired the iconic car brand Jaguar in 2008.

Clintons arrival in India (2000)

The then-United States President Bill Clinton visited India in 2000. From standing ovations in the Indian Parliament to warm receptions in major cities, Clinton fever ruled the subcontinent. The Presidents presence reshaped Indo-US ties by reversing years of American hostility, beginning an exciting chapter in the bilateral relationship.
As India celebrates its 77th Independence Day on 15 August, the citizens plan to commemorate the occasion in various ways. While some will be sitting in front of their television watching the parade, others might binge-watch patriotic movies. However, one should use this opportunity to learn some more about our brave freedom fighters who played an imperative role in our freedom struggle. Today, we will be taking a look at revolutionaries such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, and Subhash Chandra Bose, who are still fondly remembered for their contributions to our country.

KM Munshi (1887-1971)

KM Manushi was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, and writer. A member of the Congress before the independence of India, he joined the Swatantra Party post-independence.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1888-1964)

One of the most influential leaders of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s, Jawaharlal Nehru served as the countrys first prime minister for 16 years after Independence.

Khan Adbul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988)

Khan Adbul Ghaffar Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar, an anti-colonial nonviolent resistance movement back in 1929. He is also known to have strongly opposed the partition.

Bhagwati Charan Vohra (1903-1930)

A close friend of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra was an expert in making bombs and made several attempts on the lives of senior British officials.

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966)

Lal Bahadur Shastri served as the second prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. During his tenure he initiated the White Revolution in the country, promoting an increase in the production of milk.

Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1995(1982)

Acharya Vinoba Bhave is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He took the non-violent struggle to new heights by embracing a spiritual route.

Subhash Chandra Bose (1897-1945)

Subhash Chandra Bose is known as one of the most impactful leaders of the Indian freedom movement. Disliked by the British, he was jailed in inhuman conditions. However, he managed to escape in 1941 and later established the Indian National Army.

Padmanabhan Palpu (1863-1950)

Padmanabhan Palpu was a physician who led a movement for social equality. He also founded the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, whose first president was Narayana Guru.
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Raghav Chadha, an AAP MP, has been suspended till the report of the privileges committee probing the complaint against him is submitted.

The hearing in the Nuh violence case was adjourned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday. According to authorities, the matter was adjourned and the next hearing would be before the Chief Justice, as only the Chief Justice hears Suo Motu and PIL matters.

I am in politics for about 19 years and I have visited almost all states, but what I saw and heard in Manipur is unprecedented, says Rahul Gandhi in the press conference.

#WATCH | On Manipur violence, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "Indian Army can stop this nonsense in 2 days but PM wants to burn Manipur and does not want to extinguish the fire." pic.twitter.com/YXCQLxCamV

On Manipur violence, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that the Indian Army can stop the violence in two days but PM Modi wants to burn Manipur and does not want to extinguish the fire.

PM at least could go to Manipur, talk to communities and say I am your PM, let's start talking but I don't see any intention...The question is not whether PM Modi will become PM in 2024, the question is Manipur where children, people are being killed, says Congress MP Rahul pic.twitter.com/0CDHnkiOSj

PM at least could go to Manipur, talk to communities and say I am your PM, let's start talking but I don't see any intention...The question is not whether PM Modi will become PM in 2024, the question is Manipur where children, people are being killed, says Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

The words 'Bharat Mata' have been removed from Parliament records for the first time, which the Congress leader described as an insult.

Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, stated that 'Bharat Mata has been slain in Manipur' since Manipur, as he knew it, no longer exists.

#WATCH | When asked about his call for deploying the Army to control violence in Manipur and BJP's criticism for it, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "I have never heard/seen anywhere in India, never been told that if you take this person as a security officer with you, we will put pic.twitter.com/rd1do1EVOk

#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "Yesterday the PM spoke in Parliament for about 2 hours 13 minutes. In the end, he spoke on Manipur for 2 minutes. Manipur has been burning for months, people are being killed, rapes are happening but the PM was laughing, cracking jokes. It pic.twitter.com/WEPYNoGe2X

S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modis reaction to the Oppositions no-confidence vote against his administration on Thursday. He remarked that Prime Minister Modis speech demonstrates his unflinching dedication to Indias prosperity.

Jaishankar claimed on his official Twitter account that PM Modi mentioned how the world now perceives India differently. He congratulated Prime Minister Modi for his address, which he claimed inspired the whole nation.

PM @narendramodis response to the Motion of No Confidence reflected his unflinching dedication to Indias progress. He spoke of how differently the world sees India today. This is due to the transformation that he has personally envisioned and implemented. Thank the Prime  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 10, 2023

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the state and national governments are striving to restore peace in Manipur and 'guaranteed' the perpetrators of crimes against women of the harshest penalty.

PM Modi urged all Opposition parties to work together to win the trust of the people of Manipur and urged them not to use the crisis in the northeastern state for political benefit. He also urged the opposition to 'work together' to restore peace and normality in Manipur.
A day after he introduced the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday said that there was nothing wrong with the proposed legislation as it has been brought as per the directive of the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court had given a decision in this regardSo we brought the law according to the decision of the Supreme Court, he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal says, Supreme Court had given a decision in this regardSo we brought the law according to the decision of the Supreme CourtIn the new Bill, we are forming a Search Committee which will be led by the https://t.co/v7b8MkbiES pic.twitter.com/IkNyvw43Oq  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

He said the new Bill stipulates the formation of a Search Committee which will be led by the Cabinet Secretary

After that, there will be a Selection Committee which will be led by the Prime Minister. What is wrong with that?, asked the law minister.

The Centre on Thursday tabled a contentious Bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the panel for selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.

The Bill comes months after the Supreme Court in March ruled that a three-member panel, headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, will select the CEC and ECs till a law is framed by Parliament on the appointment of these commissioners.

According to the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, tabled by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Upper House, a three-member Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, who will be the chairperson, the LoP and a Union Cabinet minister, who would be nominated by the Prime Minister, shall select the CEC and ECs.

The Bill was introduced amid an uproar by the Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool, AAP and Left parties, that accused the government of diluting and overturning a Supreme Court Constitution bench order.

The BJP, however, said the government is well within its right to bring the Bill.

Read the Supreme Court judgment. It had suggested a transient method for appointment of the CEC in absence of a statutory mechanism. The government is well within its right to bring in a bill for the same, BJPs IT department head Amit Malviya posted on X, formerly Twitter.

A vacancy will arise in the Election Commission (EC) early next year when Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey demits office on 14 February on attaining the age of 65 years.

His retirement will come just days before the likely announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls schedule by the EC.

On the past two occasions, the commission had announced parliamentary elections in March.

The apex court in its March verdict had aimed at insulating the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners from the Executives interference.

It had ruled that their appointments would be made by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime minister, LoP in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, in a unanimous verdict, held that this norm will continue to hold good till a law on the issue is made by Parliament.

Before the Supreme Court ruling, the chief election commissioner and election commissioners were appointed by the President on the recommendation of the government.

With inputs from agencies
Karnataka Police on Friday detained BJP workers for pasting posters of PayCS with a QR Code in the district headquarters town of Mandya targeting state Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy on Thursday over alleged corruption.

The police also removed the posters which were pasted at different locations in the town.

#WATCH | Police took preventive custody of BJP workers who were pasting PayCS, Pay Cheluvarayaswamy (a campaign against Karnataka agriculture minister Cheluvarayaswamy) posters at Sanjay Circle and near a bus stop in Karnatakas Mandya. (10.08) pic.twitter.com/HwGJYAkGOo  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

The opposition BJP as well as the JD(S) have distanced themselves from the poster campaign claiming that it is a peoples movement and they have nothing to do with it.

According to police sources, several posters with a QR code with an image of Chaluvarayaswamy surfaced at public places on Thursday.

A copycat of the UPI app PayTMs style, which the Congress party had spoofed in its PayCM campaign targeting then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai before the Assembly elections, the PayCS poster similarly accuses Chaluvarayaswamy, who is the Mandya district in-charge minister, of collecting bribes.

PayCS, Six to eight lakh rupees accepted here. Scan this QR Code to make Chaluvaraya Swamy pay for Karnataka Congress. For any transfer deal, PAYCS KARO! read the posters.

Mandya BJP district president CP Umesh said, Its not a BJP campaign. I came to know that some youth said to be BJP workers have been detained. I am yet to get details of the arrest but we are not involved. The people of Mandya have stood up against the Minister.

A JD(S) leader said his party has no role in the campaign.

There are many problems within the Mandya Congress unit. It could be the handiwork of such people only, he said.

Recently, seven assistant directors of the agriculture department in Mandya allegedly wrote to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accusing Minister Chaluvaraya Swamy of demanding Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh through the joint director.

The Governor forwarded it to Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, asking her to take appropriate action.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Chaluvarayaswamy and the Agriculture Joint Director of Mandya district called the letter sent to the Governor fake.

Siddaramaiah later ordered a CID inquiry into the purported letter.

The chief minister called it a fake letter and blamed the BJP and their brother, an apparent reference to the JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, for creating it.

Chaluvarayaswamy also called on the Governor and told him that the letter was fake.

He also requested him to enquire about such letters in future before sending them to the government.

With inputs from agencies
Gujarat High Court on Friday refused to grant interim stay on the defamation proceedings initiated against Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and his partys MP Sanjay Singh in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Gujarat University in PM Narendra Modis degree case.

Gujarat High Court refuses to grant interim stay on the defamation proceedings initiated against Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and his partys MP Sanjay Singh for their defamatory statements against Gujarat University. (File photo) pic.twitter.com/erv1u3nUae  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

According to Live Law, a bench of Justice Samir J Dave passed the order after hearing the arguments of Arvind Kejriwals counsel Mitesh Amin.

A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad had earlier summoned the duo on 11 August in the case filed by the Gujarat University over their alleged derogatory statements made in connection with the controversy regarding Prime Modis academic degree.

On 5 August, the City Civil and Sessions Court Ahmedabad had rejected their plea to stay the proceedings in the trial pending the disposal of their revision plea.

With inputs from agencies
After remaining shut since 31 July when communal violence erupted in Haryanas Nuh, schools and other educational institutions reopened in the district on Friday.

#WATCH | After being shut since July 31 due to violence, schools reopened in Haryanas Nuh district today. pic.twitter.com/X7tRrTHpyc  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

Principal of Model Sanskriti Senior Sec. School Ravinder Jain said that reopening of the schools is a good move by the administration.

Some students of the primary section have come. However, the higher grade students are not coming. Students who are participating in the 15 August programme have also come. This is a good move by the administration, said Jain.

#WATCH | Principal, Model Sanskriti Sr. Sec. School, Ravinder Jain says, Some students of the primary section have come however the higher grade students are not coming. Students who are participating in the 15th August program have also come. This is a good move by the pic.twitter.com/QsjdysgPHL  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

In view of the normal situation in the area, it has been decided to open all educational institutions from 11 August . Similarly, bus services of Haryana State Transport are also being fully restored from August 11, said Nuh District Magistrate Dhirender Khadgata in an order issued on Thursday.

Curfew will be relaxed on Friday. ATMs in the municipal corporation area of Nuh, Tawdu, Punhana, Ferozepur Jhirka and Pingawa and Nagina blocks will remain open during the relaxation period, it stated.

The authorities have urged Muslim clerics to offer Friday prayers at their homes and encourage people to follow suit.

In adjoining Gurugram district, Jamiat Ulama president Mufti Saleem Qasmi also appealed to people to not offer the Friday namaz at any open place and asked them to pray in mosques or at their homes.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Muslim-dominated Nuh when a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession or the Braj Mandal Yatra was attacked by mobs on 31 July.

Gurugram also witnessed stray incidents of violence.

Appealing for peace, Jamiat Ulama president Qasmi on Thursday said, I hope that this Friday, like last week, people will desist from offering namaz in open spaces. They are welcome to say their prayers in mosques which are open.

With inputs from agencies
With placards of her daughters photo and message reading, Allow Ariha to attend Independence day celebrations with the Indian community in Germany and Let me celebrate Independence day with Indians in Berlin, Ariha Shahs mother Dhara Shah carried out demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Baby Ariha, an Indian girl, who is now 2 years old has been under foster care in Berlin for more than 20 months.

#WATCH | Delhi: Demonstration by the mother of Ariha Shah (Indian baby in German foster care) at Jantar Mantar to allow the child to celebrate Independence Day with the Indian Community in Germany. pic.twitter.com/DIAg6arGls  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

"In June the court took away the total custody of her (Ariha) and gave it to German Child Services. This was the court's one-sided decision. We were not given a chance to put out our point...They are not even allowing Ariha to use the Indian items," Dhara said.

'Concerned about Ariha's safety'

"We have no clue about her situation now. We are very concerned about her safety...Ariha's cultural rights need to be preserved. We want Ariha to celebrate 15th August," Dhara added.

#WATCH | Delhi: Ariha Shah's mother Dhara Shah says, "...In June the court took away the total custody of her (Ariha Shah) and gave it to German Child Services. This was the court's one-sided decision. We were not given a chance to put out our point...They are not even allowing pic.twitter.com/xY9LTaIuZc  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

In September 2021, when she was just seven-month-old, Ariha was placed in the custody of Germany's Jugendamt or Youth Welfare office after an injury was brought to the attention of authorities by hospital. Authorities in German had placed the child under foster care, alleging harassment by her Indian parents.

The Indian baby girl is still in the custody of German authorities despite the fact that no official charges were ever brought against her parents and the court-appointed psychologist recommended some kind of parental supervision.

German authorities have said that Ariha was placed in foster care after her Indian parents allegedly harassed her.

India has been persistently highlighting the need for Ariha's swift repatriation, based on her being in the same linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment.

Dhara was in the Indian parliament earlier this month to gather support among MPs to push for the release of her daughter from the foster care in Germany,

On June 13, a district court in Germany had denied custody to Dhara and Bhavesh Shah based on two injuries Ariha had suffered in 2021  one on her head and one in her genital area. Though a case of assault was filed against her parents, it was later changed to negligence, and finally dropped altogether.

The case again Arihas parents was closed in February 2022. However, her parents were not granted custody, and the courts have also made the German welfare system, rather than the Indian one, her guardian.

In December 2022, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar raised the issue with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and conveyed Indias concerns over the baby.

With inputs from agencies
In a horrifying incident of honour killing that unfolded in the Muchhal village of Tangra in Amritsar, Punjab, a father turned himself into the police after brutally killing his 16-year-old daughter, dragging his body tied to his motorcycle in the entire village and dumping it on railway tracks.

As per the accused, he killed his daughter to preserve what he perceived as his familys reputation. After committing the heinous crime, he callously tied his daughters lifeless body to his motorcycle and paraded it throughout the village.

The macabre procession concluded with the father discarding the body onto nearby railway tracks.

It came to light after a CCTV video showing him parading the dead body sufaced on internet.

Brutal honor killing incident in Muchhal village of #Amritsar, where a girl left home a day before without informing her parents & the next day when she returned home, her father tied her to his motorcycle & dragged to the railway line, where the girl's dead body was later found. pic.twitter.com/dIZkKEyac2  Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) August 10, 2023

In a statement to police following his surrender, the accused explained that his daughters conduct had raised suspicions.

She had spent a night at someone elses residence, a situation that, in his eyes, tarnished the familys standing.

He justified his extreme actions by asserting that the younger generation, including his daughter, should heed the lessons of tradition and decorum.

Eyewitnesses from the village reported the grim episode, recounting how the father had confronted the daughter upon her return home on Thursday at 2 pm.

Without uttering a word, he resorted to a sharp weapon to end her life.

The girls mother disclosed that her daughter had been missing for two days prior to her tragic return. Upon the girls arrival, the father, driven by an apparent fury, seized her by the hair and forcibly expelled her from the house.

The mother further shared that the entire family had been threatened with harm should anyone intervene. Consequently, they remained paralyzed by fear, unable to prevent the unfolding tragedy.

In a disturbing turn of events, the father proceeded to attach his daughters lifeless body to the rear of his motorcycle.

His sinister plan involved placing the body on the railway tracks, aiming to conceal the crime as an accidental fatality.

However, swift police intervention thwarted this effort, as they arrived at the scene before any train could pass and took possession of the body.

The police are set to secure a remand for the accused father, in order to procure the weapon used in the murder.
Editors note: This piece is part one of a two-part series on the Niger crisis.

*********

On 26 July, a military coup ousted Mohamed Bazoum, the pro-West president of the west African country of Niger. The West reacted swiftly. The European Union, led by France, suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger. The US announced unflagging support for Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest.

Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, veteran plotter of several US-backed coups across the worldincluding the 2014 one in Ukraineflew to Niger but admitted that she had made little headway in her conversations with the new military regime.

In a sort of rerun of the first days of the war in Ukraine, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a political and economic union of 15 countries that has the Wests support, placed sanctions on Niger, suspending all commercial and financial transactions between Niger and ECOWAS countries and freezing Nigers assets deposited in the central and commercial banks of ECOWAS.

The group has warned of military action unless Bazoum is restored to power and has asked its armies to stand by. The Niger junta has responded that in case ECOWAS carried out its threat, it will kill Bazoum.

Two of Nigers neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, which have Russia-backed military regimes, have supported the coup and said that any military attack on Niger would be seen as an attack on them. A complex war could break outa war that would be, just like in Ukraine, a proxy one between the West and Russia, while China, which has huge economic and geopolitical interest in the continent, watches closely and plots its own moves.

The New Great Game

Africa is the theatre where the 21st century version of the Great Game is being played. The Niger coup has only brought it out in the open. The players are the West, Russia and China. At stake are the continents agricultural wealth and massive natural resources.

It holds 65 per cent of the worlds arable land. Some 30 per cent of the worlds mineral reserves, 8 per cent of the worlds natural gas and 12 per cent of oil reserves lie in Africa. The continent has 40 per cent of the worlds gold and up to 90 per cent of its chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world are in Africa. Add to all this the geostrategic significance it has by just being where it is on the globe.

Yet, Africa remains the poorest continent on the planet and the mostly ruthlessly exploited one by the West even today. Niger, for example, is one of the worlds leading exporters of uranium, but ranks 189th out of 191 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index.

The French Connection

To understand the reasons behind the continents plight, one needs to realise that the colonial West never really left Africa.

Like France, which granted independence to most of its African colonieslike Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ivory Coastin the early 1960s, but has continued to wield power over them. And the US, which never had a colony in Africa, but has been extremely active for the last 50 years on the continent, including straightforward military engagement with regimes it did not approve of.

Frances principal instrument of ongoing imperialism, little known outside France and Africa, has been monetarythe currency called CFA franc. No one really knows anymore what CFA stands for, because France has kept changing the term that the abbreviation representsfrom a French phrase meaning French colonies of Africa to French community of Africa to African financial community to Financial cooperation in central Africa.

When France granted independence to its colonies, it managed to convince most of them to stick with the colonial currency. The printing of the CFA francand how much of it should be printedis controlled by France. This is an immensely powerful lever to guard and expand its economic and political interests in the continent.

Obviously this undermines the sovereignty of these African nations but French governments have used every method imaginablefinancial sanctions, military action, coups and even perhaps assassinationsto make sure that no one can step away from the CFA franc. Fourteen countries continue to use the CFA franc.

ECOWAS, which is threatening military action against the new Niger regime, issues the CFA franc.

Niger is a perfect example of French neo-colonialism. France relies on nuclear energy for 70 per cent of its power. Twenty per cent of the uranium it uses to generate this power comes from Niger. The majority (67 per cent) stakeholder in the company that operates the uranium mines is a French corporation.

Nearly 43 per cent of Nigeriens live in extreme poverty and only one in seven has access to electricity. In fact, of the 10 countries with the worlds lowest Human Development Index, five are part of the CFA franc zone, including Burkina Faso (184th out of 191) and Mali (186th), who are standing by Nigers new regime.

Last Sunday, 95 French senators cutting across party lines wrote an angry letter to President Emmanuel Macron saying that under his leadership, France has lost its sphere of influence in Africa and been replaced by Russia and China.

The American Way

The US has been intervening in Africa for decades. The Cold War was fought as hard in the continent between the erstwhile Soviet Union and the US as it was anywhere else. The Soviets had supported liberation movements against colonial and white supremacist rule across Africa with advice, cash, arms and pressure on the international community. Current leaders of many African countries retain those memories and also of the brutal days of the Western empire.

A recent study by the University of Cambridges Bennett Institute for Public Policy found that people in much of Africa view Russia much more positively than they do the US. In fact, Russias popularity has grown since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Leaders of several African nations have publicly blamed the US-led eastward push of NATO to the borders of Russia for the war, not Vladimir Putin.

This is not for lack of trying from the US side. It has financed politicians, covertly and overtly backed coup attemptssome of which succeededand tried to intimidate governments with direct military threats. By the late 1990s, it had discovered that its messages of bringing democracy to the continent did not cut much ice with Africans, given the Wests colonial history in Africa.

In 2008, it created a single command for the continent, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). Since then, the number of American troops, military bases and drone strikes in Africa has gone up considerably. Between 2008 and 2019, the number of US soldiers stationed there soared 170 per cent, from 2,600 to 7,000. The number of military operations, programmes and exercises jumped more than 20 times, from 172 to 3,500.

AFRICOMs stated mission is to disrupt and neutralize transnational threats to promote regional security, stability and prosperity. But even the Pentagons own data indicates that security and stability have fallen sharply since AFRICOM was set up. In a July 2019 report, the Pentagon admitted that militant Islamist group activity in Africa has doubled (between 2012 and 2018). Over the past 10 years, there has been a ten-fold increase in violent events (from 288 in 2009 to 3,050 in 2018).

In fact, the new regime in Niger has said that it carried out the coup because the Wests efforts to curb jihadi terrorism in the region had been a dismal failure.

In 2011, in a campaign to get rid of Libyas Muammar Qaddafi, the US and NATO bombed the country for six months. Qaddafi was finally ousted and slaughtered by a mob in a public square in Tripoli, but since then the country has been reduced to a state of anarchy and is currently the worlds leader in international slave trade.

By the end of 2017, US special forces had planned and coordinated commando raids in at least eight countriesLibya, Somalia, Kenya, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, where four American soldiers were killed in a failed operation in October 2017. Officially, the US only has one permanent base in AfricaCamp Lemonnier in Djibouti in east Africa, but media reports based on leaked Pentagon documents have shown that it has at least 29 bases in 15 different countries.

The Biden administration seems to have woken up to the fact that its military-centric strategy has not been working too well. Over the last one year, high-ranking people like Vice-President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have visited the continent in what has been termed a charm offensive by American media. Joe Biden has not been there yet, but in February, his wife Jill visited several countries.

This is the result of a sudden concern over long-term trends in the continent in the light of the war in Ukraine. Not a single African nation has joined Western sanctions against Russia, choosing to either remain neutral or openly siding with Russia. This has dismayed the West. In fact, it is clear that Russias influence in Africa has actually grown since the war began.

It is also why Russia has actually strengthened its military, security and economies ties in the region since the outbreak of the war. In March, delegations from 40 African countries and 14 leaders assembled in Moscow for an international parliamentary conference Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World, where, in his keynote speech, Vladimir Putin assured the guests that Russia has always and will always consider cooperation with African states a priority. Since the war began, Russia has been supplying free food grains.

The Niger coup is proof that the Ukraine conflict has speeded up history in Africa. Putin would certainly want to open up new fronts against the West and Moscow already has considerable clout in Africa. A new front may not lead to widespread physical combat, but Russia already has thousands of troops on the ground in Africa, in the form of its mercenary army The Wagner Group.

In its official statements, Russia has called for a return to constitutional order in Niger, but Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has offered support to the military junta in case of war. Wagner has strong bases in both Burkina Faso and Mali. Even if Moscow has not been directly involved in the coup, it will certainly use the situation to its benefit. News reports and videos suggest that there is strong support for Russia in the crowds that came out onto the streets of Niger to support the coup.

As Russia and the West face off in Africa and several countries brace for war, China will be busy making its own calculations. It has much to lose if matters get out of hand.

The second part will follow.

The writer is a former editor of Financial Express, and founder-editor of Open and Swarajya magazines. 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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In todays rapidly evolving world, information has emerged as a potent weapon, leading nations to grapple with the intricacies of modern conflict. China, in its quest for global influence, has harnessed the power of information warfare and propaganda to create instability within India, while simultaneously shaping a favorable image of itself in both the Indian subcontinent and the Western world. Recent revelations have laid bare an intricate network of coordinated efforts that intertwine activism, financial support, and media manipulation to advance Chinas interests. Central to this narrative is the involvement of Neville Roy Singham and his news agency, Newsclick, which underscores the need for heightened vigilance against both internal and external threats.

Over two years ago, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated an investigation that unearthed a substantial financial connection between NewsClick and Neville Roy Singham, a tech mogul and a millionaire. The trail of funds, amounting to approximately Rs 38 crore, raised suspicions of a deeper affiliation with the propaganda apparatus of the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, recent findings from a comprehensive investigation by The New York Times have illuminated an even more intricate web of connections, revealing the existence of activist groups, nonprofit organisations, and shell companies operating in tandem with Chinas propaganda machinery. Neville Roy Singham emerges as a key figure in orchestrating these efforts, serving as a linchpin in shaping narratives that align with Chinas objectives.

This campaign extends beyond the confines of NewsClick, encompassing two other media outlets collaborating closely with a Chinese university. Together, these outlets serve as conduits for projecting Chinas narrative onto the global stage. Their concerted efforts are evident in the creation of YouTube videos that propagate pro-Chinese messages, resulting in millions of views and an extensive reach that transcends digital boundaries.

The campaigns sophistication is further underscored by its ability to mask propaganda as independent content. A report by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) in 2021 uncovered a web of fake social media profiles dedicated to disseminating pro-China narratives while discrediting voices critical of the Chinese government. This strategy of camouflaging propaganda as genuine discourse blurs the lines between authentic information and orchestrated manipulation. Chinas determination to shape public opinion in its favour while maintaining the veneer of objectivity poses a formidable challenge to information integrity and societal stability.

Neville Roy Singhams involvement in these efforts extends beyond the realm of the internet and propaganda. His ideological alignment with Communist principles is evident in his admiration for Maoism and his vocal support for countries such as Venezuela and China. These sentiments converge to form a broader strategy that extends into the realm of global politics. An email task assignment, dating back to March 2020 when the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, exemplifies the orchestrated nature of this endeavor. Singhams associates were instructed to disseminate propaganda highlighting Chinas efficient response to the virus, a move aimed at projecting China as a model for crisis management.

The revelations surrounding Chinas utilisation of information warfare and propaganda tactics, facilitated through entities like Newsclick, offer a sobering lesson in the complexities of the modern conflict.

In an age where narratives hold immense power and information is a prized commodity, recognising and countering the insidious influence of information warfare becomes an integral component of national security and resilience. The case of Chinas endeavours serves as a stark reminder that the battle for hearts and minds is no less significant than physical confrontations. As nations endeavor to safeguard their sovereignty and the integrity of their information ecosystems, the importance of remaining steadfast, informed, and united cannot be overstated.

The landscape of information warfare has undergone a significant transformation with the advent of the Internet. In this new paradigm, information is not merely a target but also a tool for both overt and covert operations. To counter Chinas information warfare tactics, India responded by banning 54 Chinese apps in June 2020, followed by additional bans in August 2020 and February 2022. These actions highlight Indias recognition of the threat posed by Chinas expansionist ambitions in the region.

Notably, China has established an extensive global digital infrastructure that grants it control and monitoring capabilities over various social platforms. With over 300 Chinese diplomats spread across 120 countries, maintaining more than 500 official accounts, China maintains a strong presence on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, China has entered into agreements with social media influencers worldwide, including those in India, to advance its narrative on critical issues.

China is adopting tactics reminiscent of the Kremlins playbook, aiming to exploit the ongoing culture wars and identity politics that are affecting Indian and Western societies. This strategy, as observed by experts in disinformation analysis, closely resembles the methods employed by the Russian government.

Similar to the Kremlin and state-controlled Russian media, Chinese propagandists are directing attention towards issues of racial inequality and wealth disparity in the United States as well as communal rifts in India. This approach serves to divert focus away from Beijings own human rights violations, notably the internment of over a million ethnic Muslim Uyghurs.

A recent study by the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in the United States, indicates that the civil unrest stemming from instances of police violence against African Americans in the US has been exploited by China to counter criticism of its own suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.

Dexter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils Asia Security Initiative and the author of the report titled Chinas Disinformation Strategy, notes the increasing sophistication of Chinas disinformation endeavours. He highlights the growing intricacy and impact of these efforts, with clearer connections between official and fake accounts making it harder for the Chinese government to maintain plausible deniability.

Sarah Cook, research director for China and Hong Kong at Freedom House, an institute focused on democracy and human rights, concurs with this assessment. In the latest China Media Bulletin, she points out that recent studies collectively reveal a significant allocation of human and financial resources to the disinformation campaign. This campaign has become more sophisticated in its execution, and the interlinkages between official and fake accounts have become more apparent, making it challenging for the Chinese government to distance itself convincingly.

This intensified and assertive disinformation strategy reflects Chinas broader approach in the realm of information warfare. It aligns with what has been termed Wolf Warrior diplomacy, a concept that gained prominence in 2020 when Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi instructed diplomats to adopt a more assertive stance in promoting Beijings interests abroad and vigorously defending the Chinese Communist government against criticism.

The disinformation machinery of China might be impeccably efficient but it would not be able to create discord within the Indian society if the subversive actors on the Indian soil are not functioning as its arms. It is essential to identify and expose both the paid and unpaid agents of Chinese propaganda within the nations boundaries, only then would it be possible to muster a powerful front against the external enemy.

The writer takes special interest in history, culture and geopolitics. 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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In 2016, Union minister Kiren Rijiju had told Indias Parliament that there were about 2 crore (20 million) illegal Bangladeshis living in the country, according to the data available with him. Many say that figure is extremely conservative, and the real numbers could be more than 3 crore.

Now, let us put this figure in perspective.

Indias capital New Delhi has 1.47 crore voters. So, illegal Bangladeshis nationwide make up for one-and-a-half to two times of Delhis voting population. Add to it illegally crossed over Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

The United Nations conservatively estimates that nearly 40,000 Rohingyas had entered India. Reported growth rates of this group are alarming in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar  site of the biggest Rohingya displacement camp in the world. The annual population growth rate of Rohingyas is reportedly 5 per cent as compared with Bangladeshs national growth rate of 1.1 per cent and Indias .8 per cent.

The overwhelming majority of the illegal immigrant population in India is Muslim. This skews with great portent the demography of a nation from which two Islamic countries had been carved out during Partition.

One recent tragic event, however, presents the Narendra Modi government with a serendipitous opportunity to reverse the trend: the Nuh-Mewat communal riots. The sacrifice of six lives in the conflict could be used to save many more lives in the future.

When the Haryana Police started investigating and raiding places from where the violence emanated, they reportedly found entire shantytowns packed with illegal immigrants, including many Rohingyas.

Many of these encroachments were cleared, more than 50 houses of Rohingya families razed, according to the Gurugram Police. Sabber Kyaw Min, founder and director of the NGO Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, even accepted that most of the Rohingyas in these camps work as rickshaw pullers, ragpickers, and vegetable sellers.

The police say that the illegal inhabitants of these shanties were actively involved in the violence that took away six lives and destroyed vehicles and property worth crores of rupees.

This, however, presents a much larger opportunity for the ruling BJP both at the state and the Centre. It can begin walking the talk on reversing illegal immigration and a demographic takeover.

Here is how.

The BJP could use the findings from the Nuh riots and the Delhi riots of 2020 to start a detection, detention and deportation drive of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the National Capital Region (NCR) which comprises Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. It extends up to Nuh, Panipat and Rohtak in Haryana, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar in UP, and Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. According to the local BJPs estimates, there are more than half a million illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas settled only in Delhi.

The party has the advantage of having the police in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi reporting to its governments and the Centre. That makes coordination far easier. It steers clear of political interference and complexities of Muslim vote bank politics. It makes overt and covert action easier. And state and central intelligence agencies can work in tandem.

Bangladesh goes to elections later this year. If the Indian establishment throws its weight behind Sheikh Hasina and she returns to power, it will have enough leverage to make her take back a large section of those who have illegally crossed over from Bangladesh.

If done well, the BJP will go into the 2024 elections with a massive goodwill of not just Hindus but also minorities whose jobs and livelihood the illegal immigrants usurp. Already, lakhs of them have procured Aadhaar and other documents through well-oiled syndicates and by bribing Indian officials. They have infiltrated small jobs meant for Indias neo-middle class like delivery, repairing etc.

If the Narendra Modi government can display organised and determined action against the illegals, it could be a big election plank for 2024. It would also set the field for a nationwide NRC if Narendra Modi comes back to power.

It would be a bonanza for national security. Indias own poor will have more state benefits on their plates and fewer foreign entities robbing what is rightfully theirs. Lastly, it will create enough fear and disincentive for parasites of the nations largesse to stay on and bring in more.

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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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge objected to the suspension of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury over misconduct, saying that he was suspended on flimsy ground.

He has been suspended on a flimsy ground. He just said Nirav Modi. Nirav means calm, silent. You suspend him over that? he asked.

#WATCH | LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raises the issue of the suspension of Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury; says, He has been suspended on a flimsy ground. He just said Nirav Modi. Nirav means calm, silent. You suspend him over that? pic.twitter.com/La3xjqHpcD  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

On Thursday, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was expelled from the Lok Sabha for deliberate and repeated misconduct while the Privileges Committee has been notified of the situation.

This House having taken serious note of the gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in utter disregard to the House and authority of Chair resolves that the matter of his misconduct be referred to Committee of Privileges of the House for the further investigation and report to the House and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury be suspended from the service of the House till the Committee submits its report, he said.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhurys comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi were expunged from the proceedings.
A prototype AI chip from IBM may finally be the solution to the resource-hungry gigantic data centres that power current-gen AI models and algorithms. IBM has developed an AI chip that functions like the human brain and is very energy efficient.

At present, there are several concerns centred around the emissions of data centres that power AI systems. IBMs prototype chip has the potential to create AI chips that are more power-efficient and less battery-draining, which will be particularly useful for smartphones.

The chips efficiency is attributed to its components, which operate similarly to connections in the human brain. According to scientist Thanos Vasilopoulos at IBMs Zurich research lab, the human brain achieves a very impressive performance level while consuming minimal power.

This increased energy efficiency could enable more complex tasks to be executed in low-power environments like cars, mobile phones, and cameras. Additionally, cloud service providers could leverage these chips to reduce both energy costs and their carbon footprint.

Unlike conventional digital chips that store information as binary 0s and 1s, this new chip employs memristors (memory resistors) that are analogue and can store a range of values. This analogue behaviour resembles the way synapses work in the human brain. As Prof Ferrante Neri from the University of Surrey explains, memristors fall within the realm of nature-inspired computing, emulating brain function.

Memristors can remember their electric history, akin to biological synapses. When interconnected, these memristors can form networks resembling biological brains. The potential for chips using this technology is promising, as they could usher in brain-like chips in the near future. However, challenges lie ahead, such as material costs and manufacturing complexities.

The new chip incorporates both analogue and digital elements, making it compatible with existing AI systems. Many modern phones include AI chips for tasks like photo processing. IBM envisions the new chip enhancing the efficiency of devices like phones and cars, leading to extended battery life and new applications. In the long run, these chips could save substantial energy by replacing the chips in data centres that power AI systems and even reduce the water needed for cooling these power-intensive facilities.

James Davenport, Professor of IT at the University of Bath, recognizes the potential of IBMs findings but cautions that the chip is not a straightforward solution. Instead, it represents a possible initial step toward addressing these challenges.
A US cybersecurity advisory panel, known as the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), is set to conduct an investigation into the security risks associated with cloud computing.

This inquiry will encompass Microsoft Corps involvement in the recent breach of government department email systems, which is believed to be orchestrated by Chinese hackers.

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that the CSRBs focus will encompass various aspects of cloud computing infrastructure, including the management of identity and authentication.

The investigation is expected to cover all relevant cloud service providers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

This development follows a request made by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden in July, urging the Federal Trade Commission, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Justice Department to take action against Microsoft in the wake of the hack.

Microsoft has come under increased scrutiny after reports emerged suggesting that hackers with alleged ties to Beijing gained access to one of its cryptographic keys and exploited a coding vulnerability to gain extensive access to the companys cloud email platform.

This unauthorized access was subsequently used for spying on the communications of high-profile individuals, including US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior diplomats from the State Department.

In addition to the CSRBs investigation, the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee has recently announced its own inquiry into suspicions of Chinas involvement in the recent breaches of email systems within the Commerce and State departments.
Samsung India has announced that it has achieved remarkable pre-order numbers for its recently launched fifth-generation foldable devices. The company reported that over 100,000 customers pre-booked the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 within the initial 28 hours.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 became available in India on July 27. These phones are set to go on sale starting from August 18, 2023. In a comparison with the fourth-generation foldables, namely the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4, Samsung observed a 1.7x increase in pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 during the initial 28-hour period.

The pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 commences at 99,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant, while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at 1,54,999 for the 12GB + 256GB variant. Customers who pre-book the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will receive benefits valued at 20,000, while those pre-booking the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will enjoy benefits worth 23,000.

Enthusiasts can secure pre-orders for the new foldable devices through leading online and offline retail outlets, as well as on Samsung Live.

JB Park, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, expressed his pleasure, stating, We are thrilled by the tremendous response to our recently launched Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones in India. These new devices underscore our dedication to fulfilling customer needs through innovative technology. The success of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 underscores the Indian consumers receptiveness to new advancements. I am confident that our latest devices will contribute to making foldables more mainstream and further solidify our leadership position in India.

Noteworthy features of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 include a significantly larger outer screen that enhances usability. Both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 are equipped with an IPX8 rating along with durable Armor Aluminum frames and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for added protection on both the Flex Window and back cover. Additionally, the devices boast a new integrated hinge module with a dual rail structure designed to mitigate external impacts.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has undeniably streamlined payment procedures, yet the pursuit of refining processes continues. Presently, the method entails scanning QR codes and entering a PIN for each transaction. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is embracing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to further enhance the convenience of payments through conversational UPI.

During a recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), RBIs Governor Shaktikanta Das unveiled significant announcements concerning UPI. The central bank convened its third bi-monthly monetary policy meeting for FY24, revealing the committees decisions.

A noteworthy revelation is that UPI is poised for a transformation through the integration of artificial intelligence. The RBIs objective is to infuse greater engagement into UPI transactions by introducing conversational payments. This innovative approach will empower users to interact with AI-powered systems to seamlessly conduct payments.

Incorporating conversational payments into UPI will empower users to interact with AI systems for executing payments, RBI Governor explained during the meeting.

The driving force behind this initiative is to harness emerging technologies in order to elevate the digital payment experience for users.

This functionality is designed to operate on both smartphones and feature phones, thereby contributing to the expansion of digital adoption throughout the nation, as highlighted by Das. In its initial phase, it will be accessible in Hindi and English, followed by the inclusion of additional Indian languages. The NPCI is set to receive directives from the RBI in the near future.

While exact details on how conversational payments will work were not shared, its likely that NPCI will likely push for the inclusion of an AI chatbot like ChatGPT to help users with payments.

In addition to these developments, Das also unveiled plans for offline UPI payments through the utilization of near-field communication (NFC) technology via UPI Lite. This innovation is set to simplify payments, as users will merely need to tap their smartphones onto point-of-sale (PoS) machines.

To encourage the adoption of UPI-Lite, we are proposing to enable offline transactions using NFC technology. This feature will not only facilitate retail digital payments in scenarios where internet or telecom connectivity is poor or unavailable, but it will also ensure swiftness, minimizing transaction rejections, stated the MPC communication.
It has been almost a year since China appointed an Ambassador to India after former envoy Sun Weidong stepped down from the position in October 2022.

The delay in the appointment of a new Chinese envoy to India has become more pressing ahead of the key G20 Summit that is slated to be held in September in India. Many observers have described the 10-month-long delay as unusual.

Although India has an incumbent Chinese envoy, Ma Jia, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been postponing the appointment of an ambassador for India despite making a number of such appointments for other countries.

This is the first time the post of Ambassador to India has sat vacant for so long. The former envoy Weidong has now been appointed as the Foreign Vice-Minister.

Meanwhile, China has not shown any urgency to appoint an envoy or suggest any names for the post.

It is important to note that the appointment becomes more necessary than ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24.

Has China shortlisted a diplomat?

Although a delay in appointing a Chinese envoy to India has not been explained yet, Beijing might be weighing its options to find the right appointment.

Among those who have been shortlisted for the post include Huang Xilian who is the current Ambassador to the Philippines and has held the post since 2019 and is now nearing an end to his term.

Another candidate is the Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that the foreign ministry of China currently witnessed turmoil after it sacked Qin Gang as the foreign minister.
US President Joe Biden said Thursday that Chinas mounting economic problems make the country a ticking time bomb.

China is a ticking time bomb in many cases, Biden said at a private fundraising event in the western state of Utah.

The Democrat pointed to the countrys high unemployment and aging workforce, saying China is in trouble.

When bad folks have problems, they do bad things, he said.

Biden offended Beijing in June by describing his counterpart Xi Jinping as a dictator, in a comment slammed as a provocation by Chinas foreign ministry.

Biden insisted Thursday that he was seeking a rational relationship with China.

I dont want to hurt China, but Im watching, he said.

The United States recently relaunched its dialogue with China, with a succession of visits to Beijing by senior American officials, including chief diplomat Antony Blinken.

The aim of Blinkens trip was to turn the page on recent tensions surrounding a Chinese balloon described as a spy operation that was shot down by the United States in February.
At least 78 have been killed from record-breaking rains across northern China with authorities have warned of more flooding and another storm approaching the country.

According to the report of state media on Friday the deaths from flooding in Hebei province rose to 29 after Storm Doksuri, which hit mainland China as a typhoon two weeks ago, brought on the most severe rainfall since records began 140 years ago.

Rescuers have continued to search for people swept away by the floods, as another storm, Khanun, approaches over the weekend.

The deluge followed weeks of historic heat, with scientists saying such extreme weather events are being exacerbated by climate change.

Scores of roads were damaged, along with more than 100 bridges, Xia Linmao, a Beijing vice mayor, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The casualty and damage numbers were current as of Tuesday, Xia said, adding that rescue efforts remained underway. Given the level of damage, it could take up to three years to restore full functions, Xia said.

The area, which includes the districts of Mentougou and Fanshan, are kilometers (miles) away from the city center, where the nations leaders live and many of its top administrative and business centers are located.Chinas state media has hailed the governments efforts to mitigate damage from the inundations, with coverage focused on tales of mutual aid and selfless officials working tirelessly on rescue efforts.

But a week after the waters first swelled, some villagers in Hebei told AFP they did not receive adequate warning from the authorities about when the floods would come.

The Chinese government on Wednesday said it would allocate one billion yuan ($139 million) to compensate residents in areas that had been inundated to control flood levels in downstream areas.

The fund would pay for damage to crops, animal and poultry farms, commercial forests, houses and agricultural machinery, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Chinas deadliest and most destructive floods in recent history were in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most of them along the Yangtze River.

In 2021, more than 300 people died in the central province of Henan. Record rainfall inundated the provincial capital of Zhengzhou on July 20 that year, turning streets into rushing rivers and flooding at least part of a subway line.

With inputs from agencies.
A Chinese military vessel equipped for surveillance purposes has docked at Colombo port, nearly a year after another spy vessel berthed at a strategic port in the country and raised concerns in India.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy warship, identified as HAI YANG 24 HAO, made its entry into the port of Colombo on Thursday. The vessel is to leave on Saturday.

The 129-metre-long ship which arrived in Colombo is manned by a crew of 138 and it is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. The ship is scheduled to depart the country tomorrow, the Navy statement said.

According to media reports on Friday, Sri Lanka delayed its arrival upon concerns raised by India.

The Chinese authorities sought permission for it earlier, but Sri Lanka delayed permission because of resistance from India, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Despite a briefing by Sri Lanka to Indian officials, the latter remained concerned about the research ships visit to the island nation.

In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship, Yuan Wang 5, which arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota elicited strong reactions from India.

India had opposed the docking of the Yuan Wang 5, which analysts describe as a high-tech ship for tracking objects in space, as it fears China could use the port, near the main Asia-Europe shipping route, as a military base.

Sri Lanka, which needs the support of both India and China as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades, initially granted the ship permission for a five-day replenishment stay in Hambantota, from Aug. 11.

It later asked China to delay the vessels arrival, citing the need for more consultations.

There were apprehensions in New Delhi about the possibility of the vessels tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian defence installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

However, after a considerable delay, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock at the strategic southern port of Hambantota, being built by a Chinese company.

Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt.

The negotiations for Sri Lankas external and domestic debt restructuring must be concluded by September, in time for the International Monetary Funds review of its USD 2.9 billion bailout extended in March this year.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.
West African leaders have approved the deployment of a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coasts President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday.

The ECOWAS regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago, deposing Mohamed Bazoum as president.

But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Ouattara said: The Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalize things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible.

Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said.

We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions.

Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the blocs force.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced support for ECOWAS, without explicitly backing its call for military intervention.

The bloc was playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS leadership and work on this, he said.

Former colonial power France gave its full support to all the conclusions ECOWAS reached, the foreign ministry said.

But even as the summit took place, Nigers new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.

A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries.

The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum  detained since 26 July  or face military possible intervention.

In Abuja, Nigerias President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: All is not lost yet for a peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability.

But he added: No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.

Before the closed-door talks, Tinubu had insisted that we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach.

We must engage

The 15-nation bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgences.

Before the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged that the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome.

An attempt this week to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Nigers capital Niamey was rejected by the coup leaders.

We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum, Tinubu said.

The possibility of military intervention in Niger, a fragile nation that ranks among the worlds poorest, has sparked debate within ECOWAS and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as Russia.

Nigers neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, both ruled by military governments that seized power in coups, also warned an intervention would be a declaration of war on their countries.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, also hit by a recent coup, have been suspended from ECOWAS and like Niger were not represented at the Abuja summit.

Current ECOWAS chair Nigeria had taken a hard line against last months coup, the fifth in Niger since independence from France in 1960.

Speaking before flying to Abuja on Wednesday, Guinea-Bissaus President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said the future of ECOWAS was at stake following the recent coups among its members.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres joined a chorus of concern about 63-year-old Bazoum, saying that he and his family were reportedly enduring deplorable living conditions.

CNN reported Wednesday that Bazoum was being kept in isolation and given meals of only plain rice and pasta.

Unstable Sahel

Countries in the Sahel are battling a jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012, spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015, and is now causing jitters in states on the Gulf of Guinea.

The bloody campaign has been devastating for those three countries, which have turbulent histories and rank among the poorest nations in the world.

Niger has the misfortune of facing a double jihadist insurgency, both in its southwest and also from militants crossing into the southeast.

Bazoums election in 2021 had helped Niger cement close ties with France and the United States, which have major bases and troop deployments in the country.

France last year withdrew its forces from Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with their military leaders, refocussing its anti-jihadist strategy on Niger.
The death toll from a terrifying wildfire that razed a historic Hawaiian town hit 53 Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters to strike the islands since they became a US state.

Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaiis Maui island  fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane  broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina.

The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape.

In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island, Governor Josh Green said, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state.

This time, its very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that.

Officials in Maui County said Thursday the confirmed number of dead now stood at 53, and firefighters were still battling the blaze.

Lahaina on Thursday lay in charred, smoking ruins, with Green saying 80 percent of the town was gone.

There is no doubt everyone would describe this as though a bomb hit Lahaina, he said. It looks like total devastation; buildings that weve all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed.

President Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a major disaster and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, as residents said they needed more help in a recovery that could take years.

Bodies

US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina.

Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of the dense smoke pouring from the huge fire, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water.

It was a really rapidly developing scene and pretty harrowing for the victims that had to jump into the water, she added.

For resident Kekoa Lansford, the horror was far from over.

We still get dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall, Lansford told CBS.

We have been pulling people out Were trying to save peoples lives, and I feel like we are not getting the help we need.

Aerial photographs of Lahaina, which served as the Hawaiian kingdoms capital in the early 19th century, showed entire blocks reduced to cinders.

Green said around 1,700 buildings were now believed to have been affected by the blaze.

With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said.

In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a community, he added, as we rebuild with resilience and aloha.

Evacuations

Thousands of people have already been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 people waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out.

Maui County has asked visitors to leave as soon as possible, and has organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport.

The island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy.

Fires have also broken out on Hawaiis Big Island, but officials said they were under control on Thursday.

The states tourism chief Jimmy Tokioka acknowledged the tragedy but reiterated that the rest of Hawaii is open.

With a hurricane passing to the south of Hawaii, high winds fueled flames that consumed dry vegetation.

Thomas Smith, a professor with the London School of Economics, said that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, the blazes this year are burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behavior is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames.

The Hawaii fires follow other extreme weather events this summer in North America, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.

Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc.

As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for bush or forest fires.
An Indian-American doctor residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts has been arrested for allegedly masturbating in front of a 14-year-old girl seated next to him onboard a flight from Hawaii to Boston in May last year.

In a release, the United States Attorneys Office said, Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, 33, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.

Mohanty was arrested Thursday and was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.

If proven guilty, Mohanty will be sentenced to up to 90 days in prison followed by up to a year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000.

In a tweet, FBI Boston said, Todays arrest should make it crystal clear that the FBI takes crimes aboard aircraft seriously, everything from sexual misconduct as alleged in the case, to assault, interfering with the flight crew.

#BREAKING: Today, #FBI Boston special agents arrested Dr. Sudipta Mohanty for allegedly committing lewd acts within the view of a 14-year-old female seated next to him onboard a flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022. https://t.co/Rl3dV7ORM2 pic.twitter.com/gLTOFhXR52  FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) August 10, 2023

As per the charging documents, Mohanty is internal medicine and primary care doctor practicing in Boston.

It is alleged that Mohanty, on May 27, 2022, was a passenger aboard a Hawaiian Airlines Flight en route from Honolulu to Boston with a female companion. He was allegedly seated next to a 14-year-old minor travelling with her grandparents, who were seated nearby.

The teenager alleged that about halfway through the flight, she noticed Mohanty's leg, which was covered with a blanket after which he pulled it up to his neck, was bouncing up and down.

She further said that within a few seconds, the blanket slipped on the floor, revealing that his pants were unzipped, exposing his genitals and he was "masturbating". The girl said she felt "disgusted and very uncomfortable" and moved herself to an empty seat in a different row for the remainder of the flight.

During the incident, Mohanty was seated next to a female companion who slept with her head resting on his shoulder. After the flight reached Boston, the girl informed her family about the incident, leading to the involvement of law enforcement.

When Mohanty was questioned, he responded, "I have no recollection of that."

Everyone, especially children, has the absolute right to not be exposed to lewd conduct when they are traveling, Acting US Attorney Joshua S Levy said.

If you engage in the type of illicit behavior alleged here, you will be caught and held accountable wherever it happens," Levy said

Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division said: "What Dr. Mohanty is accused of doing in front of a fourteen-year-old girl is reprehensible.
Iran may free five detained US citizens as part of a deal under which $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, and top US diplomat Antony Blinken described a process that he expects will lead to their return to the United States.

As a first step in what may be a complex set of maneuvers, Iran allowed four detained US citizens to move into house arrest from Tehrans Evin prison, a lawyer for one said. A fifth was already under home confinement.

The United States would release some Iranians from US prisons as part of the deal, Irans mission to the United Nations said.

The Iranian Americans allowed to leave the prison include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, said Jared Genser, a lawyer who represents Namazi.

The identity of the fourth US citizen who was allowed out of prison has not been made public, nor has that of the fifth who was already under house arrest.

My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said at a press conference in Washington, but cautioned that it was just the first step in a process. Theres more work to be done to actually bring them home.

Allowing the five to leave Iran, which could take weeks, would remove a major irritant between Washington and Tehran, which remain at odds on issues from the Iranian nuclear program to Tehrans support for regional Shiite militias.

The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison  is an important development, Genser said in a statement. While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson confirmed that the five were all out of prison and under house arrest, saying they should never have been detained and the White House would have little more to add because talks for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate.

Blinken said the US State Department on Thursday spoke to the five Americans. Theyre, needless to say, very happy to be out of prison.

Irans mission to the United Nations said in a statement: As part of a humanitarian cooperation agreement mediated by a third-party government, Iran and the US have agreed to reciprocally release and pardon five prisoners. The transfer of these prisoners to out of prison marks a significant initial step in the implementation of this agreement.

Departure from Iran could take weeks

Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognised by Tehran, are often pawns between the two nations.

The five Americans will be allowed to leave Iran after $6 billion of Iranian funds in South Korea are unfrozen, a source told Reuters.

A second source familiar with the talks said it could be weeks before the US citizens leave Iran, saying September was a possible time frame. He confirmed unfreezing the funds may be part of the deal.

However, he said the funds, if transferred from the South Korean banks to another financial institution, would go from one restricted account to another and could only be used for humanitarian purposes such as buying food or medicine.

Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency said the funds were first to be converted from the South Korean currency into Euros and then sent to an account in Qatar that Iran could access.

The potential transfer drew immediate Republican criticism that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had effectively paid a ransom for the US citizens and that Iran using the money for humanitarian goods could free up funds for its nuclear program or to back militias in nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

Blinken said the deal does not mean that Iran would be getting any sanctions relief.

We will continue to enforce all of our sanctions. We will continue to push back resolutely against Irans destabilizing activities in the region and beyond  None of these efforts take away from that.

Henry Rome, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the deal could help reduce tensions that have boiled since then US President Donald Trump, a Republican, withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal designed to curb Irans atomic program.

Rome described the potential release of the five as a step forward in the broader U.S. efforts to de-escalate tensions in the absence of a nuclear agreement adding that the White House wouldnt have gone through with the deal if it wasnt confident it could withstand whatever political blowback is forthcoming.

Karim Sadjadpour, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyst, said Iranian Americans should still avoid travel to Iran.

This deal will reinforce the view of (Irans) Revolutionary Guards that hostage taking is a lucrative practice with minimal costs, he said.

Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related charges the United States has rejected as baseless, has been detained by Iran for more than seven years.

Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assembly and collusion against Irans national security and working for the United States as a spy. Shargi was convicted of espionage in 2020 and also sentenced to 10 years.
At least 23 soldiers have been killed in Syrias war-torn east, a monitor said on Friday, the deadliest in a new wave of attacks blamed on Islamic State group jihadists.

Despite losing their last piece of territory in Syria in 2019, IS has maintained hideouts in the vast Syrian desert from which it has carried out ambushes and hit-and-run attacks.

IS members targeted a military bus in Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as remnants of the jihadist group escalate their attacks.

The latest attack killed 23 soldiers and wounded more than 10 others, some of whom in critical condition, said the Britain-based group which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.

The Observatory said dozens of (other) soldiers were missing after the attack in which the jihadists surrounded the bus and opened fire.

Syrian state media has yet to report on the attack.

The Observatorys Rami Abdel Rahman said IS has recently been escalating its deadly military attacks aiming to cause as many deaths as possible.

By doing so, the jihadists are trying to send a message aimed at showing the group is still active and powerful despite the targeting of its leaders, he told AFP.

Last week, IS announced the death of its leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, who it said was killed in clashes in northwestern Syria.

A spokesman for the group announced a new leader, known as Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, in a recorded message on its channels on the Telegram messaging app.

Spate of IS attacks

In March 2019, IS lost the last territory it held in Syria to a Kurdish-led counteroffensive backed by a US-led coalition, but jihadist remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks.

Targets have included civilians and Kurdish-led fighters as well as government troops and allied pro-Iranian fighters.

IS members in recent weeks have increased their attacks in Syrias north and northeast.

Thursdays attack was the third carried out by the jihadists this month alone.

Earlier this week, 10 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an IS attack in the former jihadist stronghold of Raqa province, the Observatory said.

Last week, the jihadists attacked a convoy of oil tankers guarded by the army in the Syrian desert, killing seven people including two civilians.

And last month, IS claimed responsibility for a rare bombing in Damascus that killed at least six people near the capitals Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum, Syrias most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.

The Sunni Muslim extremist groups brutal rule was marked by beheadings and mass shootings.

IS has had five leaders since it lost the last remnant of the once sprawling caliphate it proclaimed across large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

Four of them were killed, including the groups first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died in a US raid in October 2019.

Civil war first broke out in Syria after President Bashar al-Assads government crushed peaceful protests in 2011. It has since drawn in foreign powers and global jihadists.

The conflict has killed nearly half a million people and driven half of the countrys pre-war population from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring Turkey.
Britain is taking a group of asylum seekers off a barge just days after moving them onto the vessel because Legionella bacteria was found in the water supply, an embarrassment for the British government as it tries to showcase a tough new immigration policy.

The government began moving the asylum seekers onto the Bibby Stockholm, a barge anchored off Dorset on the south coast, earlier this week as part of its high-profile strategy to deter people from arriving in the country on small boats.

The policy was controversial even before it was implemented. Ministers said they wanted to reduce the cost of accommodating asylum seekers in hotels, while human rights campaigners compared the barge to a prison ship and said its use was inhumane.

Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm (the barge) have shown levels of Legionella bacteria which require further investigation, a spokesperson at the Home Office said.

As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.

The hulking three-story barge can house around 500 people in over 200 bedrooms, and more people had been expected to be moved in over the coming weeks.

The bacteria discovered in the water supply can cause Legionnaires disease, a lung infection that the British health service describes as uncommon but very serious.

The government said nobody on board had shown symptoms of the disease, and that it was working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and following its advice.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks government has spent the week making announcements about its efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers, hoping to win support from voters as the ruling Conservative Party trails in opinion polls.

Sunak has made cracking down on illegal immigration one of his five main priorities and hopes a fall in arrivals might help his party pull off an unexpected win at the next national election.

The opposition Labour Party said on Friday: The Conservatives have slogans and gimmicks, but no real solutions.
The Indian Embassy in Washington has taken up the issue of a Sikh New York State Trooper being barred from growing a beard with senior levels of the administration, as lawmakers voiced concern over the incident and termed it religious discrimination.

New York State trooper Charanjot Tiwana sought permission to grow a beard for his wedding in March last year. However, his request was denied on the grounds that keeping a beard would pose a safety risk if required to wear a gas mask.

Indian officials took up the issue with the office of the New York State Governor, and Indias Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has taken up the matter with senior levels of the Biden administration. The New York State Police and the Governors office are also working on it, officials said.

Assemblyman David Weprin, representing Queens in the New York State Assembly, termed the denial of Tiwanas request to grow his beard a concerning incident of religious discrimination in the New York State Police.

In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Weprin said that he had sponsored the Religious Garb Law, signed into law in 2019, so no one will have to choose between practising their religion and doing their job.

Calling for immediate action by the New York State Police to accommodate Tiwana in accordance with state law, Weprin said, Quite frankly, I am appalled by these discriminatory practices and clear violation of state law.

New York State is the most diverse in the country, and if we dont let those officers serve with their religion and their faith, we wont have enough police officers, a report in CBS

News quoted Sgt. Gurvinder Singh, President of the Sikh Officers Association, as saying.

The report quoted a New York State Police spokesperson saying, We have recently updated our guidelines with respect to facial hair The New York State Police Uniform and Equipment Committee is currently working on a policy for the design and issuance of turbans.

The President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the apex Sikh religious body, Harjinder Singh Dhami, had written to Sandhu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to raise a strong objection to discriminatory policy of the NY State Police of forcing Sikh troopers to cut hair & protect the rights of Sikh community.

In 2016, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the countrys largest police force, announced it would allow Sikh officers to wear beards and turbans while in uniform.
An independent investigation into the experience of women and girls who are taken into police custody in Greater Manchester has been commissioned following a Sky News investigation. The probe will focus on police personnel using strip searches and intimate searches and removal and replacement of clothing.

The investigation launched recently will also assess the care given to female detainees as well as how effectively complaints are handled after their release and if there is any inequality between the treatment of men and women.

The probe was announced after a Sky News investigation revealed details from a woman who alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted while being held in custody by Greater Manchester Police.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and deputy mayor Kate Green have commissioned the inquiry.

The mayor and I were both concerned when we saw recent reports in the media. When issues like these present themselves, we will face them head on and leave no stone unturned to establish what happened and what must be learnt, Deputy Mayor Kate Green said in a statement.

The investigation will be led by Dame Vera Baird KC  a barrister and former Labour MP who served as victims commissioner for England and Wales from 2019 to 2022.

The safety of women and girls is a huge priority for the mayor and me. We have made no secret of that before and it remains as important as ever, Green added.

That is why we have acted quickly so we can be sure that women and girls have confidence that they will be treated with dignity by Greater Manchester Police if they report a crime, or are taken into custody, and that actions of staff are appropriate. Ultimately, women and girls must have confidence in their police force, particularly when reporting crime, and we want the Baird Inquiry to help enhance this, she elaborated.

Dame Vera Baird KC  the barrister leading the investigation echoed similar thoughts. I will look not only at the events in the media but collect experiences and information widely in order to answer whether womens rights, their safety and their dignity are being appropriately honoured and protected by this force, she said.

After the investigation is completed, recommendations will be made by Dame Baird within the report to help guide the future practice of GMP around the rights, safety, care and dignity of women and girls reporting crime, on arrest and in their custody.

Dame Baird will report directly to the deputy mayor in relation to progress and outcomes.

A report of the findings of the probe is expected to be produced in Autumn 2023 and will be published in full.
Moscow closed the airspace over Vnukovo airport temporarily on Friday, with all arrivals and departures suspended amid a surge in Ukrainian drone attacks. Russias RIA news agency said the move was due to a suspected drone flight in the area.

For reasons beyond the control of the airport, temporary restrictions on the landing and take-offs of aircraft were introduced in Vnukovo, the airport said. For safety reasons, some of the flights were redirected to other airports of the Moscow aviation hub, it said.

Over the last few days, there have been a number of drone attacks in the Moscow area that Russia has blamed on Ukraine.

Earlier on Friday, Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian drone as it flew towards an unspecified target in Moscow, the defence ministry said, the latest in a flurry of drone attacks on the Russian capital.

Moscows Vnukovo airport and Kaluga airport, some 150 km (95 miles) southwest of the capital, were temporarily shut due to a suspected drone flight. They are in the process of being reopened.

 an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a facility in Moscow was thwarted, the ministry said in a statement, adding the drone was jammed and crashed in a forest west of Moscow.

There are no casualties and no damage, it said.

Drone air strikes deep inside Russia have increased since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Civilian areas of the capital were hit later in May and a Moscow business district was targeted twice in three days earlier this month.

Russia said on Thursday that it had downed 13 Ukrainian drones seeking to attack Moscow and also the largest city in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukraine does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
Britain has announced a new funding of 95,000 (nearly Rs 1 crore) to enhance the countrys capability to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism, said United Kingdom Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.

The new fundings announcement comes amid growing concerns in India over increasing activities of pro-Khalistani elements in the UK.

The British High Commission said this in a readout on Tugendhats three-day visit to India that began on Thursday.

The high commission said during a meeting with Indias External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Thursday, Tugendhat announced the new funding.

It said the 95,000-pound investment will enhance the governments understanding of the threat posed by pro-Khalistan extremism, complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the joint-extremism task force.

UK Security Minister India visit

Tugendhat is in India to bolster bilateral cooperation on security initiatives and attend the G-20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting.

The living bridge between India and the UK reflects our deep and enduring friendship. As the worlds oldest and largest democracies, we have many shared opportunities to make the world a safer and more prosperous place, Tugendhat said.

A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. Im committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism whatever form it takes, the UK minister said.

The minister said he is delighted to be attending the G-20 meeting.

Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G-20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence, he said.

Ahead of travelling to Kolkata for the G-20 meeting scheduled on Saturday, Tugendhat is scheduled to visit the headquarters of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by child sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud. He will also meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the high commission said.

With inputs from PTI
The UK military is mulling expanding its scope of recruitment by hiring more neurodiverse people including those suffering from autism as well as raising the age cap to broader the range of skills within forces.

Andrew Murrison, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People, in an interview with Financial Times, said that the British army, navy and air force need to adopt a more flexible attitude to bridge the gaps in hiring engineers, chefs and psychiatrists.

Im not happy with recruitment and Im not happy with retention, he said while assuring that the situation is not disastrous.

The full-time strength of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force is well below target.

Murrison recommends allowing older staff to continue serving in the army. He said, As the workforce ages, as we compete for available talent, I think we have to look at hard cut-offs for service personnel.

However, keeping in mind the standard of the armed forces, any personnel will need to undergo a detailed assessment to prove their fitness. There is no philosophical barrier as to why we couldnt look at extending the age of retirement, he said.

Meanwhile, the British armed forces already have some neurodivergent individuals including those with dyslexia and dyspraxia. Murrison said that he wants to expand the recruitment to individuals with autism Aspergers and ADHD, who may have skills and attributes which other people do not have.
TECNO Mobile at the first edition of an annual event, World of TECNOlogy, that happens from 11th to 13th August 2023 at DLF Avenue, New Delhi, unveiled the POVA 5 series and also showcased MEGABOOK laptop on its inaugural day.

The first-ever technology event by TECNO in India will present its diverse range of futuristic products across all product lines and related AIoT categories. The company said that it will take forward this concept to all tier 1 & 2 cities across major states during the upcoming festive season.

The World of TECNOlogy show serves as a unique platform to build connections with digital natives and tech enthusiasts while also augmenting its TECNO community.

In its endeavour to build a strong community of followers among zillennials, TECNO said that it is leading the charge in introducing premium technologies at the best value points, there by democratizing the premium category of smart devices.

The company plans to utilize this platform for major launches every year, making it an annual technology extravaganza. It will showcase PHANTOM and CAMON series, as well as the highly-anticipated POVA 5 Series and the MEGABOOK laptop.

Customers will also have a direct opportunity to use some of the technologies and products, otherwise available at select retail stores. With innovative showcase zones, the World of TECNOlogy promises to immerse customers in the technical prowess and functionality of its products.

The POVA 5 Pro which will officially launch next week boasts of Arc Interface with a 3D-textured design, supporting RGB light gamut at the back for notifications, calls and music. It has a 68W Ultra-Fast Charging feature, MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor, 8GB RAM with 8GB of additional RAM, and up to 256GB ROM.

The MEGABOOK laptop was also showcased at World of TECNOlogy. MEGABOOK T1 has an ultra-sleek 14.8mm design with robust performance with the Intel 11th Gen Processor (up to core i7), up to 16GB RAM, 1TB superfast SSD storage and a durable 70Wh battery.

The POVA 5 Series is set to make its debut on August 14, 2023, and will soon be available to customers through Amazon.in.

Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TECNO Mobile India, said:

Over the past six years, TECNO has made its presence felt across India. Exemplifying excellent quality, exquisite appearance and powerful performance, our product portfolio has been acclaimed by more than 20 million consumers. We place great importance on local manufacturing, R&D and talent acquisition for delivering best-in-class indigenous solutions such as the first Made-in-India foldable smartphone. The focus for 2023 is to fortify our product portfolio and make inroads into the premium and ultra-premium segments, led by the acclaimed Phantom and CAMON Series, which have garnered significant appreciation. Through this grand platform, we are now unveiling the much-awaited POVA 5 series and MEGABOOK, launching our festive offerings with a range of products to follow.

Commenting on the launch, Ranjit Babu, Director, Wireless & TV, Amazon India, said:

With the onset of the festive season, we are taking our engagement with TECNO one step ahead and are pleased to announce the debut of the POVA 5 series in India that caters to the evolving needs of our customers. The smartphone boasts of a premium 3D-textured design with an LED Arc Interface that makes it a design marvel, like no other. Todays launch reiterates our commitment to provide our customers with the widest smartphone selection across price points.
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Wearable eyeglasses



While wearable eyeglasses were only devised in the thirteenth century, members of some earlier civilizations had used hand-held lenses made of jewels or other materials to aid eyesight. For instance, in the eighth century BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia, polished quartz crystals had been used to look through and in the first century AD the Roman Emperor Nero was reported to have used an emerald as a lens.



In the eleventh century the Persian Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham suggested that a glass sphere might be used to magnify objects. Coincidentally or not, a variation of this idea was later used in Italy when what seems agreed to have been the first practical, wearable eyeglasses containing two glass lenses were invented.



Although accounts can vary slightly, Salvino D'Armate is recorded as producing the first, or one of the first, pairs of these eyeglasses in 1284. Glass lenses, ground to different strengths according to someone's vision needs, were set into frames which were riveted together. The frames could be attached to a handle and held up before the face or worn balanced on the nose.



Use of these eyeglasses quickly spread across Europe and later ribbons or strings were attached to them and tied round the ears. In 1730 a London optician called Edward Scarlett devised hinged rigid temples (short stiff side pieces) for the eyeglasses which went around the ears more firmly and this is still the basic design used today.

2. Mechanised, moveable type printing press



Printing on paper began in China in about 800 AD when a method used for adding designs to textiles was adapted to print words onto paper. Called woodblock printing, this method involved a block of characters being carved from wood, inked then pressed by hand onto paper so that the block's image was transferred onto the paper. A page could then be replicated any number of times, whereas before each copy of a page had to be individually written out by hand.



In the eleventh century, in China, Bi Sheng invented moveable type, which involved individual characters being carved from clay (and later from wood and metal). The characters could be assembled to form a page of script, which was printed onto paper in the same manual way as before. After the printing of a page, the same characters could then be re-assembled or moved to form a new page.



A major innovation in printing took place in Germany in the fifteenth century when Johannes Gutenberg invented a mechanical printing press. This machine still employed inked movable pieces of type but transferred ink from a block of this type onto paper mechanically. To do this, Gutenberg adapted a screw-threaded spiral mechanism from other equipment to use in his printing press. Turning a handle on the machine caused the paper to be pressed down onto a block of movable type mounted on a platen. In 1450 the first book Gutenberg printed on his press was what became known as the Gutenberg Bible.



Other European printers adopted his invention with, for example, William Caxton establishing the first printing press in England in 1476. As previous innovations had, Gutenberg's printing press speeded up the process of creating books and other printed matter. Because it so greatly increased the number of books available to the public, the mechanised, moveable type printing press has been credited with facilitating the spread of new ideas during the Renaissance period in Europe.

3. Graphite pencil



The word 'pencil' is derived from 'pencillus', the Latin word for a fine-tipped brush used for writing in ancient Rome. Over the ages, other methods of writing included using a stylus or a thin metal or lead rod and, by the Middle Ages, pieces of lead were also used in Europe for drawing.



Graphite began to replace lead in the sixteenth century after the discovery by shepherds of large amounts of pure graphite near Keswick in the English Lake District in 1564/5. They used the graphite to mark sheep but the substance was quickly adopted for writing on paper, with rods of it wrapped in bound paper or twigs being used, for instance by people in London, by the end of the century. Among its advantages over lead, graphite was erasable, produced darker marks and needed less pressure to produce the marks.



In Europe this crude pencil was gradually developed into one more like that currently in use. The graphite rods began being encased in either one piece, or two glued-together pieces, of hollowed-out wood, possibly first in Italy. In 1662 such pencils began being mass-produced in Nuremberg in Germany, in which country the use of powdered graphite mixed with sulphur and antimony was also experimented with.



In the 1790s two people separately began the manufacture of pencils by creating rods from a heated mixture of powdered graphite, clay and water then encasing the rods in wood. The Austrian Joseph Hardtmuth began producing these pencils in 1792 and, apparently coincidentally, the Frenchman Nicolas-Jacques Conte began production in about 1795. It was found that varying the ratio of the mixture enabled the hardness of the rod to be adjusted and this technique formed the basis of our current pencils, although the term 'lead pencils' continues to be used for them. The word 'pencil' is derived from 'pencillus', the Latin word for a fine-tipped brush used for writing in ancient Rome. Over the ages, other methods of writing included using a stylus or a thin metal or lead rod and, by the Middle Ages, pieces of lead were also used in Europe for drawing.Graphite began to replace lead in the sixteenth century after the discovery by shepherds of large amounts of pure graphite near Keswick in the English Lake District in 1564/5. They used the graphite to mark sheep but the substance was quickly adopted for writing on paper, with rods of it wrapped in bound paper or twigs being used, for instance by people in London, by the end of the century. Among its advantages over lead, graphite was erasable, produced darker marks and needed less pressure to produce the marks.In Europe this crude pencil was gradually developed into one more like that currently in use. The graphite rods began being encased in either one piece, or two glued-together pieces, of hollowed-out wood, possibly first in Italy. In 1662 such pencils began being mass-produced in Nuremberg in Germany, in which country the use of powdered graphite mixed with sulphur and antimony was also experimented with.In the 1790s two people separately began the manufacture of pencils by creating rods from a heated mixture of powdered graphite, clay and water then encasing the rods in wood. The Austrian Joseph Hardtmuth began producing these pencils in 1792 and, apparently coincidentally, the Frenchman Nicolas-Jacques Conte began production in about 1795. It was found that varying the ratio of the mixture enabled the hardness of the rod to be adjusted and this technique formed the basis of our current pencils, although the term 'lead pencils' continues to be used for them.

4. Submarine



The Greek polymath Aristotle recorded that some troops of the Macedonian leader Alexander the Great used submersibles - possibly small diving bells - against a Persian enemy in 332 BC. However, it was only in the early sixteenth century that a larger boat which could move independently underwater was designed by Leonardo DaVinci. His proposed boat was not constructed though and some decades later, in 1578, William Bourne, an English mathematician, proposed an enclosed boat called a 'submarine' that could be rowed underwater. This would consist of a wooden framework covered with waterproof greased leather and would submerge when its sides were contracted to reduce its volume.



Bourne did not build this boat but his idea was taken up and extended by a Dutch inventor called Cornelis Drebbel who was living in England. The boat Drebbel invented was reinforced with iron and propelled by 12 oarsmen using oars that emerged through flexible leather seals in the boat's frame. The rowers breathed through air tubes reaching up above the water's surface so the submarine could stay underwater for some hours. The boat submerged when large pigskin bladders connected by pipes to the outside were allowed to fill with water and it rose again when the bladders were forced to empty.



Drebbel's submarine was able to descend to fifteen feet under the surface and was first demonstrated on the River Thames in England in 1620. Drebbel constructed a second submarine and two successful demonstrations of this were given on the River Thames with the second one taking place in 1624 in front of the then king, James I, and thousands of people. Despite these successful tests, the navy, for whom Drebbel was apparently constructing it, did not commission the submarine.



It was not until early the next century that other fully working submarines were built. One of these was what has been generally described as the first military submarine, which was built by Yefim Nikonov in 1720 for the Tsar Peter the Great in Russia. Since then newer and ever more sophisticated submarines have continued to be produced.

5. Pressure cooker



The pressure cooker, which he named a 'steam digester', was invented in 1679 by Denis Papin, a physicist who was born in France but moved to England. Ingredients were placed in a lidded vessel with water, which was boiled until a high pressure built up and very hot steam was produced. In turn this increased the boiling point of the water up to 266 degrees Fahrenheit/130 degrees Centigrade. Papin included a safety valve intended to prevent explosions which would raise the lid if the pressure grew too high.



The digester could thus be used, for instance, to soften animal bones to make stews and was intended to help poor people by producing meals from otherwise inedible meat and vegetables. It could, and can, produce such things as meat and chicken stock and stews several times faster than ordinary cookware. Members of the Royal Society were enthusiastic about the device after Papin gave them a demonstration. However it was expensive and could still be somewhat dangerous so was little used in households at the time but it did evolve into the modern domestic pressure cooker.



Especially from the nineteenth century onwards other people built on Papin's invention. For instance, Georg Gutbrod was producing different-sized machines in Stuttgart, Germany in the late nineteenth century and in 1919 Jose Alix Martinez was granted the first express cooking pot patent in Spain.



The term 'pressure cooker' became generally used in the earlier twentieth century when the invention's popularity grew in Europe and North America. By the 1970s additional innovations such as backup vents or gasket release systems and pressure-locked inner lids had been invented, which increased both the pressure cooker's safety and its popularity.

6. Multi-spindle spinning machine (spinning jenny)



Spinning is the process of twisting drawn-out fibres together into a strong single strand called yarn. For centuries, this had been done using a spinning wheel and then the yarn was woven into cloth on a loom. Both spinning and weaving had been carried on in people's homes but by the early 18th century output was not able to satisfy the growing demand in Britain for cloth and especially cotton cloth. In about 1733 John Kay invented the flying shuttle which doubled the amount of cloth that a weaver could produce and this increased the weavers' demand for yarn.



The first invention that improved spinning was James Hargreaves' 1764/1765 spinning jenny, a machine which consisted of a metal frame containing multiple bobbins/spools for spinning wool or cotton. Bars of wood were drawn along the frame to draw out the threads waiting to be spun while a wheel was turned which revolved the bobbins so that the thread was wound onto them.



Although still a hand-powered device, the spinning jenny was a great improvement over a single spindle, even though the thread spun by Hargreaves' invention was not of the best quality. Another invention, that improved the thread's quality and strength, was the water frame devised by Richard Arkwright soon afterwards in 1765. This machine also enabled even greater quantities of yarn to be spun more quickly.



In 1779 Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule which incorporated the spinning jenny and the water frame. This machine produced thread that was even stronger and finer than that produced by previous machinery, while up to 120 spools of thread could be wound at the same time. Some inventors and their associates opened, sometimes large, factories to house their machines, so contributing to the industrialisation of the textile industry and thus to the wider Industrial Revolution in Britain.

7. Periodic table of elements



Early attempts at putting chemical elements into some order included a table containing relatively few elements devised by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier in 1789. During the earlier nineteenth century scientists discovered more about chemical elements, so enabling more detailed tables to be drawn up. For example, in 1862 French geologist Alexandre-Emile Beguyer de Chancourtois arranged elements by their atomic weights in a three-dimensional spiral so that similar elements appeared in a straight line.



From 1862 onwards German chemist Julius Lothar Meyer created several tables of elements. One he devised in 1868 and published in 1870 contained 55 elements listed in order of atomic weight and arranged so that elements with the same valency (how many other atoms they can combine with) appeared in vertical lines.



Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev had published his 'Periodic System' in 1869 and this invention became the first version of our current periodic table. He arranged all the then known 63 elements by increasing atomic weight, resulting in certain types of elements occurring regularly. In 1870 he published an amended table consisting of eight columns or groups and seven rows or periods of elements. This was also arranged by increasing atomic weight which resulted in elements with similar chemical properties appearing together in blocks (also called groups). Although not every element fitted into this table perfectly, it had become generally accepted by the 1890s. Mendeleev had left gaps in the table for additional elements so it grew over time as new elements were discovered.



In 1913 English physicist Henry Moseley realised that, while arranging the table by an element's atomic mass almost always resulted in the same table order as arranging it by its atomic number (equal to its number of protons), there were exceptions. He accordingly rearranged the table by increasing atomic number and this produced a periodic table without anomalies. This amended table was adopted and continued growing to become the modern eighteen-column periodic table.

8. Powered air conditioning unit



Before the twentieth century, various inventions to cool things had been devised. For instance, in 1620, Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel gave a demonstration of 'Turning Summer into Winter' for King James I of England. By using a system of troughs and vats holding nitre or salt added to snow or ice, Drebbel was able to chill part of the Great Hall of Westminster Abbey in London. In 1820 English scientist Michael Faraday discovered that compressing and liquefying ammonia then allowing it to evaporate cooled the surrounding air.



However, it was not until the early twentieth century that a powered air conditioning unit was invented. Willis Haviland Carrier was an employed American engineer who, in 1902, invented and built an air conditioning unit powered by electricity for a publishing company. This unit improved the manufacturing process at the company's printing plant as it controlled the temperature and humidity, which helped maintain consistent paper size and ink alignment.



In 1906 American engineer Stuart W Cramer was working on a system to control the temperature in textile factories when he invented the term 'air conditioning', and this term was quickly adopted by others. For instance, in 1908 Carrier's employers appointed him vice-president of a subsidiary company named the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America. In 1915 Carrier co-founded a successful independent business and, in 1998, 'Time' magazine named him one of the '100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century'.



HIs invention was very successful as the powered air conditioning unit was quickly adopted by many other industries and then began to be used in such places as shopping malls and homes, among numerous others. The unit, whose main components were a compressor, a condenser coil and an evaporator coil, also continued to be improved. For example, Carrier had first used cold water for cooling the coils but from 1903 used ammonia as a refrigerant while later other refrigerants, such as methyl chloride, were also used. In 1928 American engineer Thomas Midgley Jr and co-workers first used safer non-flammable, non-toxic chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) coolants. However, in the 1970s these were found to damage the ozone layer and more eco-friendly refrigerants were, and continue to be, developed. Before the twentieth century, various inventions to cool things had been devised. For instance, in 1620, Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel gave a demonstration of 'Turning Summer into Winter' for King James I of England. By using a system of troughs and vats holding nitre or salt added to snow or ice, Drebbel was able to chill part of the Great Hall of Westminster Abbey in London. In 1820 English scientist Michael Faraday discovered that compressing and liquefying ammonia then allowing it to evaporate cooled the surrounding air.However, it was not until the early twentieth century that a powered air conditioning unit was invented. Willis Haviland Carrier was an employed American engineer who, in 1902, invented and built an air conditioning unit powered by electricity for a publishing company. This unit improved the manufacturing process at the company's printing plant as it controlled the temperature and humidity, which helped maintain consistent paper size and ink alignment.In 1906 American engineer Stuart W Cramer was working on a system to control the temperature in textile factories when he invented the term 'air conditioning', and this term was quickly adopted by others. For instance, in 1908 Carrier's employers appointed him vice-president of a subsidiary company named the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America. In 1915 Carrier co-founded a successful independent business and, in 1998, 'Time' magazine named him one of the '100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century'.HIs invention was very successful as the powered air conditioning unit was quickly adopted by many other industries and then began to be used in such places as shopping malls and homes, among numerous others. The unit, whose main components were a compressor, a condenser coil and an evaporator coil, also continued to be improved. For example, Carrier had first used cold water for cooling the coils but from 1903 used ammonia as a refrigerant while later other refrigerants, such as methyl chloride, were also used. In 1928 American engineer Thomas Midgley Jr and co-workers first used safer non-flammable, non-toxic chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) coolants. However, in the 1970s these were found to damage the ozone layer and more eco-friendly refrigerants were, and continue to be, developed.

9. Laser



In 1917 the then German scientist Albert Einstein proposed what became the theoretical foundation for the laser and its predecessor the maser. He suggested the idea of stimulated emissions - that under certain circumstances electrons could be stimulated to emit a particular wavelength of focusable light. In 1951 American physicist Joseph Weber made public his idea for producing these stimulated emissions and using them in a microwave amplifier.



American physicists Charles H Townes, Herbert J Zeiger and James P Gordon created, and in 1953/1954 demonstrated, such a device. This stimulated or excited ammonia molecules and focused them into a resonant microwave cavity, from which electromagnetic waves were emitted. Townes named this device a 'maser', an acronym for "microwave amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation".



From 1957 American physicists (among others) tried to invent a device that produced similar emissions in the wavelengths of visible or infrared light. Townes and Arthur L Schawlow worked on this idea together, while Richard Gordon Gould worked on his own and both Townes and Schawlow and Gould concentrated on inventing a device which emitted visible light. Gould first had the idea of using an open resonator and in 1957 was the first to use the term 'laser', an acronym for 'light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation'.



The first fully functioning laser was actually built by another American physicist, Theodore H Maiman, in 1960. This sent pulses from a photographer's flash lamp to stimulate/excite, and so increase the energy of, chromium atoms in a crystal of synthetic ruby and then made them release the extra energy to produce guided, focusable pulses of light.



Other scientists followed this lead and developed different types of laser which generated light of different wavelengths by using different elements, such as helium-neon. Since the early 1960s more powerful and more sophisticated lasers have been created and have become very widely used. For instance, they can be used for precise work such as surgery as well as in such things as barcode scanners and lighting displays.

10. Capsule endoscope



By the later twentieth century doctors were able to gain very accurate pictures of the insides of the upper and lower parts of the digestive tract by using endoscopes - miniature cameras on tubes inserted into patients via mouth or rectum. However, the small intestine in the middle gastrointestinal tract was too narrow and convoluted for its interior to be examined in this way.



After he and Israeli gastroenterologist Eitan Scapa had tried another, not really successful, way of overcoming this problem, in 1993 Gavriel Iddan, an Israeli engineer, proposed creating a device in separate parts. One part would be a capsule containing a miniature transmitter cum wireless camera which would be swallowed by the conscious patient, move naturally through their body for several hours and then be excreted. It would send data to sensors and a data recorder attached to the patient's body. Once processed by software, this data would produce an accurate picture of the small intestine (and the other parts of the gastrointestinal tract).



From 1994 Iddan, Israeli researcher Gavriel Meron and a team of physicists and engineers worked to turn Iddan's idea for this capsule endoscope into reality. Paul Swain, a British researcher, was carrying out a similar type of work and from 1997 also worked with Iddan's team. In 1998 a company, Given Imaging, was formed to help development continue and the fully functioning invention was released through this company in 2001.



In 1997 Japanese medical scientist Hironori Yamamoto thought of a different solution to the problem and worked with others to develop the double-balloon endoscope (or enteroscope), which was released through the Fujifilm company in 2003. Yamamoto's invention consists of an endoscope inside another tube which is inserted into the anaesthetised patient and moved to their small intestine. Once there, balloons on the outer tube and on the tip of the endoscope inflate and move the intestine wall outwards so the camera can record what is inside. Like the capsule endoscope, this invention enables medical professionals to more accurately diagnose, and thus better treat, diseases of the small intestine.

Source: Author misstified This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
They sent a few bags over to the George office for us to try. The pizza flavour does pack a bit of a spice punch so they werent lying about the Fire and Fury. The burger flavour - which was the consensus best flavour of the two - tasted almost off-puttingly similar to a cheeseburger, almost, it still slapped.
South Africa: Minister welcomes end of Cape Town taxi strike

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has expressed her sincere appreciation for the resolution of the recent taxi strike in Cape Town.

In a statement on Friday, the Minister congratulated all parties involved for reconvening and reaching an amicable solution that allows for the resumption of normal taxi operations within the city.

As the Minister responsible for transport, it is her duty to uphold the law and ensure the smooth functioning of public transportation systems.

She has commended the commitment shown by all stakeholders in working towards a resolution that aligns with the legal framework governing the industry.

While the strike has ended, the Minister emphasised that the talks that led to the resolution have set a 14-day turnaround time for further discussions.

The Minister will closely monitor these talks to ensure that the agreed upon solutions are implemented effectively and in a timely manner.

The Minister and government deeply regret the adverse effects the strike has had on learners, workers and all those affected in Cape Town and its surrounding areas. The disruption caused by the impasse has had a negative impact on the local economy, and the Minister acknowledges the challenges faced by individuals who rely on public transportation for their daily activities.

Tragically, the strike has also resulted in the loss of life. Minister Chikunga urges law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice. She extends her heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives during this period of unrest.

The Minister's primary concern is the safe transportation of commuters and visitors in and around Cape Town, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

She called for a cessation of hostilities among the various stakeholders involved and urged them to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve any outstanding issues.

In the coming days, Minister Chikunga will convene a media briefing to provide further updates on the situation and measures being taken to prevent future disruptions. The date and time of the briefing will be communicated shortly to ensure that the public and media are adequately informed.

The Minister remains committed to ensuring a safe and efficient public transportation system for all, and she encourages all parties to work together to achieve this goal, the Ministry of Transport said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
We Are China

Explaining Shanghai: Nightlife

(People's Daily App) 15:09, August 11, 2023

Shanghai has offered a varied range of nightlife experiences, from tempting street food to lively bars, from engaging museums to thrilling sports.

(Video source: SHINE, powered by Shanghai Daily)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Samsung Unveils One UI 6 Beta Program for Galaxy S23 Series: Check Eligibility, Features News oi -Kabir Jain

Samsung has finally launched the highly awaited One UI 6 beta program for users of the Galaxy S23. This exciting release is available for all three smartphones in the flagship Galaxy S23 series. Built on the upcoming Android 14 iteration, the new beta version introduces a host of visual enhancements and new features. Here's everything you need to know about this exciting development.

One UI 6 Beta Availability

Samsung has officially confirmed the launch of the One UI 6 beta initiative for owners of the Galaxy S23 series. The latest beta build is available for download on the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, as of now, only users located in the United States, Germany, and South Korea can access and install the beta update. The availability timeline for Indian users is yet to be determined.

Accessing the Beta Update

Galaxy users who are eligible can get the One UI 6 beta update through the Samsung Members app. If you own one of the aforementioned phones and are in a qualifying region, you will see a new banner in the app inviting you to participate in the beta test.

A beta tester from Germany has shared a screenshot of the update on X. Here's how it looks:

What's New in One UI 6 Beta

Currently undergoing rigorous beta testing on Pixel and compatible devices, Google's Android 14 serves as the canvas upon which Samsung paints its One UI 6. From subtle refinements to significant improvements, One UI 6 promises a fresh take on Android that is both exciting and enticing.

Samsung's official statement highlights the refinement of various elements to achieve a modern and up-to-date visual appeal. This includes adopting a new default font and introducing a fresh set of emojis available through the Samsung Keyboard. Additionally, the Quick Panel's appearance has been revamped, making it simpler to access commonly used features for a smoother user experience.

The upcoming One UI 6 will offer a fascinating feature in terms of personalization. Users will be able to choose unique lock screens tailored to specific Modes and Routines, which is similar to the iPhone's lock screen.

Lastly, there's a new camera app widget that allows users to pick a camera mode beforehand and select where their media files will be stored.

With the launch of the One UI 6 beta program, Samsung continues to evolve its user experience, enhancing both aesthetics and functionality. As users eagerly explore the new features and improvements, the journey to the stable release promises a more refined and polished version of the popular skin. Stay tuned for updates on the beta's expansion to other regions and the eventual stable release.

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Dublin, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Bioinformatics Services Global Market Report 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This comprehensive report provides valuable insights into the global bioinformatics services market, including market size, growth trends, regional analysis, and key developments.

Market Overview:

The global bioinformatics services market is expected to grow from $3.19 billion in 2022 to $3.68 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.19%. The market is projected to reach $6.67 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 16.05%. Bioinformatics services involve a wide range of computational tools, resources, and analyses used in bioinformatics. The main types of bioinformatics services include sequencing services, data analysis, drug discovery services, differential gene expression analysis, database and management services, and other bioinformatics services.

Key Drivers and Trends:

The market growth is driven by the rising threats of diseases like dengue, malaria, chikungunya, Zika virus, and yellow fever, along with government initiatives to control their spread. Companies in the bioinformatics services market are also adopting technological advancements to sustain their position in the market. Technological innovations in this space include unique bioinformatics and 3D structural modeling technologies used for enzyme discovery services. Additionally, the increasing use of information technology in healthcare is expected to boost the growth of the bioinformatics services market in the future.

Regional Analysis: North America was the largest region in the bioinformatics services market in 2022, while Europe is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The report covers key regions such as Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa.

Key Players:

Major players in the bioinformatics services market include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., QIAGEN Digital Insights, Illumina Inc., DNAnexus Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., Biomax Informatics AG, Life Technologies Corporation, BGI Group, Eurofins Scientific SE, NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc., CD Genomics, MedGenome Labs, Fios Genomics, Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA, GVK Biosciences, and Accelerys Inc.

Reasons to Purchase:

Gain a truly global perspective with comprehensive market data covering 12+ geographies.

Understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on the market.

Identify growth segments and investment opportunities.

Stay ahead of the competition with forecast data and analysis.

Benchmark performance against key competitors.



Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 275 Forecast Period 2023 - 2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $3.68 billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $6.67 billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 16.0% Regions Covered Global



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1ugs7y

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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VANCOUVER, Wash., Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slumberkins , the leading brand for early emotional learning, announces a new single release from Emmy-nominated, platinum-selling Indie-pop artist Ingrid Michaelson titled Feelings. The new song is the third single released from Slumberkins upcoming music album Together We Shine, Vol. 1, inspired by the Slumberkins books and characters and executive produced by Michaelson.



Each song on the album represents a Slumberkins creature. And I immediately knew I wanted to write Ibexs song because in the world of Slumberkins, Ibex helps kids to really embrace deep feelings and to know that those feelings and sensitivities are a great gift to have, said Ingrid Michaelson, the albums executive producer. I was a very sensitive child and continue to be a very sensitive adult and writing about allowing yourself to really feel what you feel resonated with me in a really special way.

Michaelson first began collaborating with the Slumberkins co-founders in 2018 as they began work on the score for the Slumberkins television series in partnership with The Jim Henson company and now streaming on Apple TV+. When Slumberkins co-founders Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen first thought about the artist and music that embodied the sound and feel of Slumberkins, Michaelson was the immediate answer, as her songwriting hits a deep emotional chord. Michaelson had been looking for a childrens project and resonated with the mission of Slumberkins. During production of the television series, talk began about creating a full sonic world for Slumberkins, to share the true therapeutic value of the social emotional learning tools and create more opportunities for connection through music. Michaelson and the Slumberkins co-founders collaborated to bring in renowned artists, including many Michaelson had previously worked with and knew would resonate with the purpose of the music and the project.

Ingrid has been pivotal in bringing the sound of Slumberkins to life, first in the TV series and now with a full music album, said Kelly Oriard, Co-Founder of Slumberkins and Chief Therapeutic Officer. Her voice, songwriting and talent so perfectly fit Slumberkins and we could not be more excited for her to bring the song Feelings to the world. This song really gets to the heart of everything Slumberkins teaches, that all feelings are welcome and the more we feel, the more we grow. Understanding our emotions is so powerful and we know how passionate Ingrid is about helping the next generation grow up emotionally healthy.

Feelings, written and sung by Michaelson, brings Ibexs message of emotional courage to life, encouraging children to embrace their deep feelings and see their sensitivity as a powerful gift to guide and uplift others. Ibex and his story were created to change the narrative around emotional sensitivity and help reframe this gift as a superpower. The story was developed with highly sensitive people in mind, and Michaelson is a true representative of Ibex and using your emotional courage to make the world a better place.

Emmy-nominated, Indie-pop artist Ingrid Michaelson is the lead writer and Executive Music Producer for Together We Shine. Known for her platinum hits The Way I Am, Girls Chase Boys and You And I, Ingrid has recently composed music for the musical adaptation of The Notebook and various film/TV projects including the Slumberkins Apple TV+ Series, which she enjoys watching with her nieces and nephew.

Together We Shine, Vol. 1 will feature seven songs for children and families that help promote social-emotional growth by talented music artists A Great Big World, Michaelson, Rachel Platten, Trevor Hall, Britnee Kellogg, AHI and MOsley WOtta. The first single release titled  Heart Family  debuted on June 30 by A Great Big World , the Grammy award-winning duo of Ian Axel and Chad King, and reached No. 2 on the iTunes Childrens Music Chart. The second single,  Take a Deep Breath  by Trevor Hall launched on July 28, has already received nearly 100,000 streams and reached No. 3 on the iTunes Childrens Music Chart. The full album is scheduled for release on August 25, 2023.

Listen to  Feelings  now on your favorite streaming service including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora and Youtube. The lyric video for Feelings is available to view and enjoy now on Youtube and fans can pre-order the full album to automatically save to their preferred streaming service as soon as it is available. For more information about Slumberkins and the new music album release, visit www.slumberkins.com .

Media Inquiries

Jenn McFerron Sloan

jenn@commodditiesinc.com

About Slumberkins

Slumberkins is the leading early emotional wellness brand promoting healthy emotional development through stories and characters in the form of consumer products, books, content, music, school-based curriculum and more. Slumberkins uses original storytelling through its 50+ books in print and popular cuddly creatures to help children connect with a wide range of emotions and empower them to grow into caring, confident and resilient people.

Slumberkins was founded in 2015 by Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen, both moms with backgrounds in child development and family therapy. Fueled by an appearance on Shark Tank and a growing community of more than 1 million, Slumberkins is continuing to expand its wildly successful consumer products and publishing business across multiple touch points including a new affirmation app and mixed media puppet / 2D animation TV program produced by The Jim Henson Company, based on its plush toys, now streaming worldwide on AppleTV+. Slumberkins has sold more than 1 million books to date while also actively selling curriculum into schools nationwide. To learn more visit Slumberkins.com and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/515d2638-0961-4ade-9f42-cf365f6309b3

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6aa31f56-f16d-4809-b153-4407f1191588
Dublin, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Nitrile Gloves Market Factbook (2023 Edition): Analysis By Type (Powdered, Powder-Free), Texture (Smooth, Micro-Roughened, Aggressively Textured), By End Use Industry, By Region, By Country: Drivers, Trends and Forecast to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Nitrile Gloves Market is set to witness substantial growth, projected to reach USD 14.36 billion by the end of 2029, soaring from USD 5.89 billion in 2022. Over the forecast period from 2024 to 2029, the market is anticipated to expand at a remarkable CAGR of 13.3%.

The Global Nitrile Gloves Market Factbook offers comprehensive data for the historical period of 2019-2022, estimates for 2023, and insights into the forecast period of 2024-2029. This research report provides a detailed analysis of various regions and 15 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

The increasing demand for nitrile gloves in the healthcare sector, driven by growing awareness of self-care and hygiene, the COVID-19 outbreak, and stringent regulations, is contributing to the market's favorable growth. Additionally, the shift from latex to nitrile, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and technological advancements in manufacturing processes have further improved the quality and efficiency of nitrile glove production.

Furthermore, the high demand for nitrile gloves in medical examinations, surgeries, and other healthcare procedures has surged due to increasing focus on hygiene and safety in healthcare facilities. The market's growth is also supported by the development of specialized textures, such as micro-roughened gloves, which offer enhanced grip and improved slip resistance, catering to industries like construction, automotive, and manufacturing, where safety and grip are of utmost importance, especially in wet or oily conditions.

The Asia Pacific region, particularly Malaysia and Thailand, is a major production hub for Nitrile Gloves. Malaysia is the world leader in the manufacturing of nitrile gloves, catering to more than 60% of the total global demand. Nitrile gloves export shipments from Malaysia in the year 2022 stood at 86.1K, exported by 1,318 Malaysia exporters to 2,715 buyers.



Technological advancements have allowed manufacturers to produce thinner Nitrile Gloves without compromising their protective properties. These gloves offer improved tactile sensitivity, allowing wearers to perform tasks that require fine motor skills and precision. Kimberly Clark introduced and developed two gloves for higher-risk lab environments in the biotech, non-sterile pharmaceutical and university research fields, where science and safety must work hand-in-hand.



Conventional nitrile gloves, when disposed of in landfills, can take up to 100-200 years to biodegrade. This contributes to the problem of non-biodegradable waste accumulation, posing a severe threat to the environment and wildlife. As a result, there is a growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly disposable products in the forecast period.

With growing environmental awareness, manufacturers could invest in research and development to produce biodegradable nitrile gloves and meet the increasing demand, thereby protecting the environment.



Scope of the Report

The report analyses the Nitrile Gloves Market by Value (USD Billion)

The report presents the analysis of Nitrile Gloves Market for the historical period of 2019-2022, the estimated year 2023 and the forecast period of 2024-2029.

The report analyses the Nitrile Gloves Market by Type (Powdered, Powder -free)

The report analyses the Nitrile Gloves Market by Texture (Smooth, Micro-Roughened, Aggressively Textured)

The report analyses the Nitrile Gloves Market by By End Use Industry (Medical and Healthcare, Food and Beverage, Chemical, Automotive, Oil and Gas, Others)

The key insights of the report have been presented through the frameworks of SWOT and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Also, the attractiveness of the market has been presented by region, by services, by mode of operation & by end users.

Also, the major opportunities, trends, drivers and challenges of the industry has been analysed in the report.

The report tracks competitive developments, strategies, mergers and acquisitions and new product development.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 300 Forecast Period 2023 - 2029 Estimated Market Value in 2023 5.89 Billion Forecasted Market Value by 2029 14.36 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 13.2% Regions Covered Global

Competitive Landscape

Market Position Matrix

Company Profiling

Hartalega Holdings Berhad

Top Glove Corporation BHD

Ansell Ltd.

Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.

Cardinal Health, Inc.

Ammex Corporation

Unigloves

Superior Glove

MCR Safety

Dynarex Corporation

Market Background

Scope and Product Outlook

Executive Summary

Research Methodology

Strategic Recommendations

Focus on Sustainability

Expansion of Distribution Network

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2m9abm

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland and Labrador, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Salt (the Company or Atlas - TSXV: SALT; OTCQB: REMRF; FSE: 9D00), owner of North Americas premier undeveloped salt project on the west coast of Newfoundland, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Rick LaBelle as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company.



Mr. LaBelle brings a stellar track record of operational expertise and private equity success to the CEO position for Atlas Salt at a transformational moment in the Companys history.

Rick LaBelle Highlights:

40 years experience in the mining sector (private equity and public markets), including 27 at the executive leadership level;

Has delivered over $5 billion (CDN) in mining consumables and services sales coupled with value creation through a series of game changing M&A transactions by effectively executing key strategic initiatives;

Has partnered with the worlds leading private equity firms and originated, negotiated and transformed some of the largest M&A deals in mine services, drilling services, commercial explosives, mining consumables and ground control/support;

Most recently was President and CEO of Dumas Mining from 2017 until his retirement in 2022. Mr. LaBelle was the leader who created the platform and the step change for Dumas turnaround and subsequent sale to private equity. It is currently one of the largest and most respected underground mine builders in the world;

CEO of Norcast Wear Solutions (2009-2012) which was the worlds leading mill line producer, taken private for $87 million (U.S.) and sold within a 3-year period under Mr. LaBelles leadership for $190 million (U.S.);

Significant owner of Boart Longyear and Group General Manager of Drilling Services for Canadian and International business units (held by Anglo American until 2005) where he was responsible for the management of operations, including the acquisition and integration of several companies in Canada, Brazil, Central America, Russia and Africa.

Mr. LaBelle commented: Im delighted to join Atlas Salt. Its a privilege and a rare opportunity in the mining sector to be involved with such a top tier asset as Great Atlantic with the potential to produce profitability for generations, creating a legacy of accomplishment. Im quickly going to assemble a world class team to advance this tier 1 asset, which will very soon be anchored by an independent Feasibility Study. I have a record of unlocking shareholder value, a key part of my strategy with Atlas Salt.

Mr. Rowland Howe, Atlas President, stated: In my three decades in the salt sector, Ive never seen an opportunity as exciting as this. Rick is the perfect fit and Im thrilled to be able to work alongside him and the team hes going to build. Hes a fourth-generation underground miner who has been involved in one way or another with just about every underground mine in Canada. The skills he learned in private equity, and the network he built, can be leveraged very effectively in the salt sector which has so much private equity involvement. Hes a gifted strategist and deal maker.

Mr. Howe added: I congratulate Patrick Laracy, our founding CEO, on his vision to identify the potential of this project and his successful efforts at getting it to its current position, a great set-up for the next stage of corporate development. Great Atlantic will become a pillar of the Newfoundland resource sector.

In addition to his significant leadership experience, Mr. LaBelle attended Cambrian Colleges Mining Engineering and Technology Technician program and received a Masters in business administration from Queens University. He also has an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto. He has held roles on several corporate boards over the years including Boart Longyear (Canada), the Ontario Mining Association and Foraco International.

Mr. LaBelle is 58 years old and was born in Hamilton, Ontario.

Chairman Comment

Mr. Patrick Laracy, Chairman of the Board, commented: I believe Ricks timing is perfect to exercise his leadership and execution skills on a unique asset with significant logistical advantages. He has an impressive track record of success and we expect Great Atlantic will provide him with yet another opportunity to make a very positive impact in the mining industry. Atlas is at a turning point in its evolution from an evaluation-validation stage to project execution.

Mr. Laracy added: I will exercise certain executive functions to facilitate a seamless transition for Rick and his team. He has already hit the ground running and I look forward to his many accomplishments. His contract with Atlas is built around multiple milestones, so he is very strongly incentivized to deliver results and value for shareholders.

PRmediaNow Interview With New Atlas Salt CEO Rick LaBelle

This a transformational project, I am absolutely convinced of it. New Atlas CEO discusses his appointment with PRmediaNows Cyndi Edwards - click on the link below to view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxG8qlY3qqQ

SALT Corporate Presentation

To view the latest Atlas Salt Corporate Presentation, visit the Companys website or click on the following URL:

https://atlassalt.com/AtlasSalt_August11_2023.pdf



SALT Great Atlantic Project Map





About Atlas Salt

Bringing the Power of SALT to Investors: Atlas Salt owns 100% of the Great Atlantic salt deposit strategically located in western Newfoundland in the middle of the robust eastern North America road salt market. The project features a large homogeneous high-grade resource located immediately next to a deep-water port. Atlas is also the largest shareholder in Triple Point Resources as it pursues development of the Fischells Brook Salt Dome approximately 15 kilometers south of Great Atlantic in the heart of an emerging Clean Energy Hub.

We seek Safe Harbor.

For information, please contact: Patrick J. Laracy, Chairman

(709) 754-3186

info@atlassalt.com MarketSmart Communications Inc.

Adrian Sydenham

Toll-free: 1-877-261-4466

Email: info@marketsmart.com

Cautionary Statement



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider, (as the term is defined in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion, delivery and timing of the referenced assessments and analysis. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, technical, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the timing, completion and delivery of the referenced assessments and analysis. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e39e36a-31a3-4b2d-848b-0d0dfdcad933
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NXT Energy Solutions Inc. ("NXT" or the "Company") (TSX: SFD; OTCQB: NSFDF) today announced the Company's financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. All dollar amounts herein are in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise identified.



Financial and Operating Highlights

Key financial and operational highlights are summarized below:

On May 24 the Company entered into a ten year strategic alliance in Africa with Synergy E&P Technologies Limited (Synergy) which grants Synergy an exclusive license to use, distribute, sub-license, market and sell NXTs SFD solutions in Africa;

At the same time the Company entered into a US$2.3 million convertible debenture financing with Ataraxia Capital, an affiliate of Synergy. On May 31, 2023 the Company received its first tranche of US$1,200,000 from Ataraxia. The Company received an additional US$200,000 tranche on July 10, 2023 for a total of US$1,400,000 million to date. The remaining commitment of US$900,000 is expected to be received during the third quarter of 2023;

in June, Mr. Bruce G. Wilcox was appointed the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company;

cash at June 30, 2023 was $1.05 million;

net working capital was ($2.35) million at June 30, 2023;

the Company recorded SFD-related revenues of $nil;

a net loss of $1.71 million was recorded for Q2-23, including stock-based compensation expense ("SBCE") and amortization expense of $0.51 million;

a net loss of $3.32 million was recorded for YTD 2023, including SBCE and amortization expense of $1.02 million;

net loss per common share for Q2-23 was $0.02 basic and diluted, and for YTD 2023 was $0.04 basic and diluted;

cash flow used in operating activities was $1.01 million during Q2-23 and $2.41 million YTD 2023; and

general and administrative ("G&A") expenses decreased by $0.10 million (10%) in Q2-23 as compared to Q2-22 and G&A expenses decreased by $0.16 million (8%) in YTD 2023 as compared to YTD 2022.



Summary highlights of NXT's 2023 second quarter financial statements (with comparative figures to 2022) are noted below. All selected and referenced financial information noted below should be read in conjunction with the Company's second quarter 2023 unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements, the related Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A").

(All in Canadian $)

Q2-23 Q2-22 2023 YTD 2022 YTD Operating results: SFD-related revenues $ - $ - $ - $ - SFD-related costs, net 318,396 306,492 620,030 743,774 General & administrative expenses 941,707 1,046,677 1,803,061 1,959,227 Amortization and other expenses 446,706 421,502 898,365 912,538 Net loss (1,706,809 ) (1,774,671 ) (3,321,456 ) (3,615,539 ) Loss per common share, basic and diluted: $ (0.02 ) $ (0.03 ) $ (0.04 ) $ (0.06 ) Common shares outstanding as at end of the period 77,678,277 65,341,775 77,678,277 65,341,775 Weighted average of common shares, basic and diluted: 77,648,279 65,330,821 77,053,575 65,307,012 Cash provided by (used in): Operating activities $ (1,010,292 ) $ (782,888 ) $ (2,410,311 ) $ (1,696,029 ) Financing activities 1,612,644 12,965 3,216,777 1,121 Investing activities - 200,272 - 50,000 Effect of foreign rate changes on cash (19,467 ) 17,772 (19,479 ) 3,895 Net cash inflow (outflow) 582,885 (551,879 ) 786,987 (1,641,013 ) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period 467,539 1,168,721 263,467 2,257,855 Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period 1,050,424 616,842 1,050,424 616,842 Short-term investments - 500,000 - 500,000 Total cash and short-term investments, end of the period 1,050,424 1,116,842 1,050,424 1,116,842 Net working capital balance (2,349,194 ) 49,230 (2,349,194 ) 49,230

NXT's 2023 second quarter financial and operating results have been filed in Canada on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca, and will soon be available in the USA on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar, as well as on NXT's website at www.nxtenergy.com.

About NXT Energy Solutions Inc.

NXT Energy Solutions Inc. is a Calgary-based technology company whose proprietary SFD survey system utilizes quantum-scale sensors to detect gravity field perturbations in an airborne survey method which can be used both onshore and offshore to remotely identify traps and reservoirs with hydrocarbon and geothermal exploration potential. The SFD survey system enables our clients to focus their exploration decisions concerning land commitments, data acquisition expenditures and prospect prioritization on areas with the greatest potential. SFD is environmentally friendly and unaffected by ground security issues or difficult terrain and is the registered trademark of NXT Energy Solutions Inc. NXT Energy Solutions Inc. provides its clients with an effective and reliable method to reduce time, costs, and risks related to exploration.

Contact Information

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Eugene Woychyshyn Michael Baker Vice President of Finance & CFO Investor Relations 302, 3320  17th AVE SW 302, 3320  17th AVE SW Calgary, AB, T3E 0B4 Calgary, AB, T3E 0B4 +1 403 206 0805 +1 403 264 7020 nxt_info@nxtenergy.com nxt_info@nxtenergy.com www.nxtenergy.com www.nxtenergy.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information provided in this press release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "will", "expect", "plan", "schedule", "intend", "propose" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or an outlook. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, information regarding: Business negotiations, opportunities and discussions, including the timing thereof, business strategies and timing of the receipt of the final tranche of the convertible debenture. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Additional risk factors facing the Company are described in its most recent Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022 and MD&A for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2023, which have been filed electronically by means of the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) located at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Measures

This news release contains disclosure respecting non-GAAP performance measures including net working capital which does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by US GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. This measure is included to enhance the overall understanding of NXTs ability to assess liquidity at a point in time. Readers are urged to review the section entitled "Non-GAAP Measures in NXTs MD&A for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2023 which is available under NXT's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca, for a further discussion of such non-GAAP measures. The financial information accompanying this news release was prepared in accordance with US GAAP unless otherwise noted. Management's discussion and analysis of financial results and the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and notes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, are available through the Internet in the Investor Relations section of www.nxtenergy.com or under NXT's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca.
CRANBURY, N.J., Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), the leading multimedia peer-reviewed journal dedicated to issues in managed care, today announced that it will host the 12th annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care (PCOC) conference from Nov. 7-8, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Music City Center. The conference, which encapsulates the theme Navigating the Cancer Journey, will be an in-person event.



We are thrilled to announce this years Patient-Centered Oncology Care conference, said Gil Hernandez, vice president of AJMC. With our esteemed panel of expert faculty and a diverse range of agenda topics, we are confident that this event will provide an invaluable platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration. Our goal is to empower health care professionals, patient advocates and researchers to implement transformative strategies that will ultimately improve patient outcomes and transform the cancer care landscape.

The conference agenda will encompass a range of key topics pertinent to oncology care and beyond. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in patient care delivery, with a particular emphasis on improving outcomes. PCOC has created an atmosphere where leading providers, payers, advocates, technology developers and voices from the pharmaceutical industry can come together to advance cancer care delivery.

In addition to the core focus on patient care, this years conference will highlight the importance of equity in health care. Attendees will learn how a focus on equity can significantly enhance care delivery and will bring together a community of oncology professionals, patient advocates, and researchers to help bridge gaps in cancer treatment.

To register and learn more about the meeting, visit the conference website.

About The American Journal of Managed Care

The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), is a multimedia, peer-reviewed, MEDLINE-indexed journal that keeps industry leaders on the forefront of health policy by sharing digital research relevant to industry decision makers. Other brands in the AJMC family include The American Journal of Accountable Care and Evidence-Based Oncology. These comprehensive, multimedia brands bring together views from payers, provider, policymakers and other industry leaders in managed care. AJMC is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels.

Media Contact:

Lauren Garafola

MJH Life Sciences

lgarafola@mjhlifesciences.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5bea006a-b7a8-4743-bc58-701cd039fce1
WILMINGTON, Mass., Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heilind Electronics, a leading global distributor of interconnect, electromechanical, and sensor products, features Amphenol RFs catalog of RF connectivity solutions for autonomous warehouse operations.

In an era where RF and video signal chains are empowering industrial robots to be more effective than ever, it is critical that reliable components keep operations running smoothly. Amphenol RF product series including the AUTOMATE Mini-FAKRA, FAKRA, BNC, TNC, HD-BNC, MCX, SMA and SMB.

These products enable modern warehouse operations and industry 4.0 logistics supply chains, including last-mile delivery by supporting autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). These applications rely on high-reliability RF interconnects for their sensor suites, location tracking, and vision systems.

Improve warehouse automation and logistics with the help of proven Amphenol RF solutions by visiting Heilind.com.

About Heilind Electronics

Heilind Electronics, Inc. (www.heilind.com) is one of the worlds leading distributors of connectors, relays, sensors, switches, thermal management, and circuit protection products, terminal blocks, wire and cable, wiring accessories and insulation and identification products. Founded in 1974, Heilind has locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China.

About Amphenol RF

Amphenol RF is the worlds largest manufacturer of coaxial connectors for use in radio frequency, microwave, and data transmission system applications. The companys RF and microwave solutions are used in many industries, including automotive, broadband, broadcast, industrial, instrumentation, medical, military, and wireless.

Attachment
Spaceport America, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an awe-inspiring display of human achievement, Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers of Antigua and Barbuda have etched their names in the celestial chronicles as they became the Caribbeans pioneers in space exploration. Their extraordinary journey commenced on August 10, 2023, as the Virgin Galactic 02 Spacecraft roared to life at the Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

The anticipation was palpable, and the world held its collective breath as Keisha, Ana, and their fellow crewmate, former 1972 Olympian Jon Goodwin, embarked on a voyage that symbolized the epitome of courage, determination, and the relentless pursuit of the stars. The launch not only marked several historic milestones in the realm of space travel but also stood as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the human race, and Virgin Galactics mission of broadening access to space.

At eighteen years of age, Ana is the youngest person (by two weeks) ever to go to space. Keisha and Ana are also the first mother and daughter and the first people from the Caribbean to make the journey into the cosmos, and only the 6th and 7th Black women to travel to space.

The entire nation of Antigua and Barbuda united in a jubilant display of national pride, a resounding chorus of celebration echoing from the sun-soaked beaches to the heart of every village and town. The Virgin Galactic Global Livestream of the spaceflight was broadcast on massive screens at a public Watch Party in Antigua, with images of the local Antigua festivities in turn beamed out to the global audience. Astronaut Christopher Huie provided live commentary and also interviewed Antiguas Prime Minister on what this unique occasion meant to the twin island nation. The resonance of this monumental feat reverberated globally, serving as a beacon of inspiration and a source of unity that transcended borders.

In tandem with the launch festivities, a separate yet poignant event unfolded in Antigua and Barbuda as Sir Richard Branson, the visionary architect of Virgin Galactic, was honored by the Prime Minister with an exquisite wood carving of a sailboata token of gratitude that encapsulates the nations deep-seated maritime heritage. In reciprocation, Sir Richard Branson presented the Prime Minister with a meticulously crafted, to-scale replica of the Virgin Galactic 02 Spacecraft, a symbol of the shared journey towards limitless horizons.

Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Gaston Browne remarked, Today, as we commemorate Keisha and Anas extraordinary odyssey, we are reminded that our roots in Antigua and Barbuda run as deep as the endless expanse of space. Their achievement embodies the essence of our nationunyielding determination, boundless aspiration, and a commitment to forging new frontiers.

The Minister of Tourism of Antigua and Barbuda, the Hon. Charles Max Fernandez, also shared in the excitement, stating, Keisha and Anas historic journey beckons the world to experience the wonders of Antigua and Barbuda, where boundless horizons meet pristine landscapes. Their voyage embodies the spirit of adventure that defines our nation.

As for Keisha, upon her safe return to Earth, she had this to say, that was the most amazing thing Ive ever done, andAntigua went to space! A childhood dream has come true. Ive been to space and back with my daughtereveryone delivered exactly what they said it would be, and if anyone was wondering  Earth is round.

In an era distinguished by the relentless pursuit of progress, Keisha and Ana have etched their legacy among the stars. Their voyage radiates as a testament to the fortitude of the human spirit, igniting hope and inspiring generations to explore uncharted territories.

View the spaceflight on: www.virgingalactic.com

###

ABOUT ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) and Barbuda (Bar-byewda) is located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea. The twin-island paradise offers visitors two uniquely distinct experiences, ideal temperatures year-round, a rich history, vibrant culture, exhilarating excursions, award-winning resorts, mouth-watering cuisine and 365 stunning pink and white-sand beaches - one for every day of the year. The largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands, Antigua comprises 108-square miles with rich history and spectacular topography that provides a variety of popular sightseeing opportunities. Nelsons Dockyard, the only remaining example of a Georgian fort a listed UNESCO World Heritage site, is perhaps the most renowned landmark. Antiguas tourism events calendar includes the Antigua and Barbuda Wellness Month, Run in Paradise, prestigious Antigua Sailing Week, Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, and the annual Antigua Carnival; known as the Caribbeans Greatest Summer Festival. Barbuda, Antiguas smaller sister island, is the ultimate celebrity hideaway. The island lies 27 miles north-east of Antigua and is just a 15-minute plane ride away. Barbuda is known for its untouched 11-mile stretch of pink sand beach and as the home of the largest Frigate Bird Sanctuary in the Western Hemisphere. Find information on Antigua & Barbuda at: www.visitantiguabarbuda.com or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/antiguabarbuda Facebook: www.facebook.com/antiguabarbuda; Instagram: www.instagram.com/AntiguaandBarbuda

FOR ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:

Maria Blackman

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Attachment
New York, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Pipeline Report Including Stages of Development, Segments, Region and Countries, Regulatory Path and Key Companies, 2023 Update" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06320288/?utm_source=GNW





Therapeutic drug monitoring tests include reagents and test kits intended to measure different types of therapeutic drugs from samples ranging from serum/blood, urine, hair and sweat.



Note: Certain sections in the report may be removed or altered based on the availability and relevance of data in relation to the equipment type.



Scope

- Extensive coverage of the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring under development

- The report reviews details of major pipeline products which includes, product description, licensing and collaboration details and other developmental activities

- The report reviews the major players involved in the development of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and list all their pipeline projects

- The coverage of pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from Early Development to Approved / Issued stage

- The report provides key clinical trial data of ongoing trials specific to pipeline products

- Recent developments in the segment / industry



Reasons to Buy

The report enables you to -

- Formulate significant competitor information, analysis, and insights to improve R&D strategies

- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage

- Identify and understand important and diverse types of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring under development

- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies

- Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying major players with the most promising pipeline

- In-depth analysis of the products current stage of development, territory and estimated launch date

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06320288/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH; OTCQB: LTHCF; FSE: H3N) (Lithium Ionic or the Company) reports that it has filed a technical report, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), with respect to an NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate (the MRE) for the 100%-owned Itinga Lithium Project (Bandeira and Outro Lado deposits), located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, titled Mineral Resource Estimate for Lithium Ionic, Itinga Project, near Aracuai Village, Minas Gerais State, Brazil (the "Technical Report") and dated August 10, 2023 (with an effective date of June 24, 2023).



On June 27, 2023, the Company announced a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate on its Itinga Lithium Project (the Project) in Minas Gerais, Brazil, of 7.57 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1.40% lithium oxide (Li2O) of Measured and Indicated (M&I) and 11.86Mt grading 1.44% Li2O of Inferred resources. Please refer to the Companys press release dated June 27, 2023 and the Technical Report for additional information regarding the MRE and the Project.

The Technical Report was prepared for Lithium Ionic by SGS Geological Services (SGS). The Qualified Persons responsible for preparing the MRE and the Technical Report are Maxime Dupere, P. Geo, and Faisal Sayeed, P. Geo.

The Technical Report can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Lithium Ionics issuer profile and on the Company's website at www.lithiumionic.com.

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a Canadian mining company exploring and developing its lithium properties in Brazil. Its flagship Itinga and Salinas projects cover 14,182 hectares in the northeastern part of Minas Gerais state, a mining-friendly jurisdiction that is quickly emerging as a world-class hard-rock lithium district. The Itinga Project is situated in the same region as CBLs Cachoeira lithium mine, which has produced lithium for +30 years, as well as Sigma Lithium Corp.s Grota do Cirilo project, which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Americas.

Qualified Persons

Each of Maxime Dupere, P. Geo, and Faisal Sayeed, P.Geo, of SGS is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data regarding the MRE included in this news release. Each of Mr. Dupere and Mr. Sayeed is independent of Lithium Ionic. All other scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by Carlos Costa, Vice President Exploration of Lithium Ionic and Blake Hylands, CEO and director of Lithium Ionic, and both are Qualified Persons.

Investor and Media Inquiries:

Blake Hylands

+1 647.316.2500

info@lithiumionic.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-statements. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the prospectivity of the Companys mineral properties, the MRE, the Technical Report and the Companys future plans. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Information and links in this press release relating to other mineral resource companies are from their sources believed to be reliable, but that have not been independently verified by the Company.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
New York, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Mineral Wool Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484164/?utm_source=GNW



The COVID-19 pandemic hindered the market because lockdowns, social distances, and trade sanctions caused significant disruptions to global supply chain networks. The construction industry has witnessed a decline due to the halt in activities. However, the condition recovered in 2021, which was expected to benefit the market during the forecast period.



Key Highlights

The major factors driving the market are the growing building and construction industry and regulatory support to increase energy efficiency.

Health hazards related to mineral wool and the availability of cheap insulating materials are the factors that may slow down the market.

The increasing number of power plants in Asia-Pacific and the recyclability of glass mineral wool are the major opportunities to drive the market in the future.

Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global market due to government investments in construction activities, leading to a huge demand for mineral wool from countries such as China, Japan, and India.



Mineral Wool Market Trends



Growth from the Building and Construction Industry



Mineral wool is a material that has grown in popularity over the last few decades. Mineral wool is a mixture of stone, molten gas, or industrial waste. It is a flexible and one-of-a-kind product that is often used as insulation.

Mineral wool insulation is non-combustible, does not conduct heat, and can resist temperatures above 1,000C, making it an ideal fire-retardant product. Therefore, the material can be used as a covering for ceilings as well as in fire-resistant doors and partition walls.

The building and construction industry has been growing for the past few years, owing to factors such as increasing population, development of new cities, growing migration in urban areas, renewal of old infrastructure in established cities, and others, and it is expected to reach a revenue of USD 4.4 trillion by 2030. There are 14,200 road and highway construction businesses in the United States as of 2023, an increase of 0.7% from 2022.

According to the Institution of Civil Engineers, China, India, and the United States are expected to account for almost 60% of all global growth in the construction sector by 2025, thus increasing the market growth of mineral wool in the industry.

The United States was among the top construction markets globally, and per the United States Census Bureau, in 2021, construction in the United States was valued at USD 1.58 trillion, accounting for around 4.3% of the total GDP of the country.

In 2021, according to the reports by Rockwool International, the sales of the insulation business increased by 20% year over year to USD 2.44 billion, up from USD 2.03 billion the previous year. The residential sectors increased construction and renovation activity was what drove the sales.

According to the US Census Bureau, the total privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in December 2021 were 1,873,000, 9.1% more than the revised rate of 1,717,000 in November. Building permits authorized an estimated 1,724,700 housing units in 2021, which was 17.2% more than the 1,471,100 in the previous year.

Therefore, the growing building and construction industry is expected to fuel the demand for mineral wool globally through the years to come.



Asia-Pacific Region to Dominate the Market



The Asia-Pacific region held the largest market share in the overall mineral wool market worldwide. The ongoing changes in the construction sector are primarily what drive the market for mineral wool in the area.

China has the worlds largest construction industry. Moreover, with several major construction projects in progress, China is likely to maintain its stature as the worlds largest construction industry over the foreseeable future.

As per the U.S. International Trade Administration, Chinas construction market is forecasted to grow at an average annual rate of 8.6% until 2030. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China is investing USD 1.43 trillion in major construction projects over the next five years, until 2025. The Shanghai plan includes an investment of USD 38.7 billion in the next three years, whereas Guangzhou signed 16 new infrastructure projects with an investment of USD 8.09 billion.

In India, the construction development sector and construction activities stood at USD 26.08 billion and USD 24.72 billion, respectively, in March 2021. In 2022, India contributed about USD 640 billion to the construction industry due to government initiatives in infrastructure development and affordable housing, such as housing for all, smart city plans, and others. The growing construction activities in the country are driving the demand for insulation materials in the country, which, in turn, may drive the mineral wool market over the forecast period.

The Japanese construction industry is expected to be blooming, owing to the events to be hosted in the country. In 2021, Tokyo hosted the Olympics, and the World Expo is to be held in Osaka in 2025, due to which it is expected that there will be an immense growth in the infrastructure development in the country.

According to the Ministry of Finance of Japan, the construction industry in Japan generated sales of approximately USD 1.22 trillion in the fiscal year 2021, registering an increase of 2.1% as compared to the same period last year.

Asia is the largest automotive manufacturing hub in the world. The development of electric vehicles is expected to continue to gain momentum in the future, especially in China, where many government programs are promoting the move away from fossil fuels owing to various environmental concerns.

The Chinese government is planning to have a minimum of 5,000 fuel cell electric vehicles by 2025 and 1 million by 2030. The governments promotion of the use of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles is expected to drive the market studied during the forecast period.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), automotive sales in China fell by 8.4% year over year to 2.56 million units in December 2022, whereas they grew to 26.86 million units for the full year 2022.

Hence, all such factors from various end-user sectors are expected to impact the demand for mineral wool in the region over the forecast period. ?



Mineral Wool Industry Overview



The mineral wool market is partially consolidated in nature in terms of revenue. Some of the major players in the market include (not in any particular order) Rockwool International AS, Saint Gobain, Knauf Insulation, Owens Corning, and Johns Manville, among others.



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484164/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
Listing: TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)



Symbol: XFS, XFS.U, XFI, XFC, XFF, XFA, XCLR, XULR, XDLR

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock Canada), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (BlackRock) (NYSE:BLK) announced plans today to terminate the following funds (collectively, the Terminating Funds), based on an ongoing process to review its product lineup and meet the evolving needs of Canadian investors. Each Terminating Fund will terminate on or about the applicable termination date set out below (with respect to a Terminating Fund, its Termination Date).



Terminating Fund Name Ticker Termination Date iShares MSCI Multifactor USA Index ETF XFS/

XFS.U October 24, 2023 iShares MSCI Multifactor EAFE Index ETF XFI October 24, 2023 iShares MSCI Multifactor Canada Index ETF XFC October 24, 2023 iShares MSCI Multifactor EAFE Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) XFF October 30, 2023 iShares MSCI Multifactor USA Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) XFA October 30, 2023 iShares ESG MSCI Canada Leaders Index ETF XCLR October 24, 2023 iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders Index ETF XULR October 24, 2023 iShares ESG MSCI EAFE Leaders Index ETF XDLR October 24, 2023

BlackRock Canada expects that the units of each of the Terminating Funds will cease trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX) and be delisted from the TSX on or about October 17, 2023. The distribution reinvestment plan for each Terminating Fund will be terminated on or about September 15, 2023.

In connection with the termination, the assets of each Terminating Fund will be liquidated. As a Terminating Funds portfolio assets may be sold for cash prior to the applicable Termination Date, such Terminating Fund may accordingly deviate from its investment objectives and strategies. As soon as practicable following the applicable Termination Date for a Terminating Fund, the liquidation proceeds will be distributed, after paying or providing for all liabilities and obligations of such Terminating Fund, pro rata among unitholders of record of such Terminating Fund on the applicable Termination Date for such Terminating Fund. Following the termination and distributions described above with respect to a Terminating Fund, such Terminating Fund will be dissolved. BlackRock Canada will issue an additional press release on or about each Termination Date confirming final details of the terminations.

About BlackRock

BlackRocks purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate.

About iShares

iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 1300+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$3.21 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock.

iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.

Contact for Media:

Reem Jazar

Email: reem.jazar@blackrock.com




TSX: MPVD

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2023 - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX: MPVD) today announces financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 ("the Quarter" or "Q2 2023") from the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine ("GK Mine"). All figures are expressed in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise noted.

Second Quarter 2023 Key Takeaways

360,308 carats were sold for total proceeds of $59.9 million (US$44.6 million) at an average price of $166 per carat (US$124).

Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $30.7 million.

of $30.7 million. Earnings from mine operations of $26.9 million.

Net income of $17.3 million or $0.08 basic and diluted earnings per share.

Capital expenditures in H1 2023 were $44.7 million, $41.3 million of which were deferred stripping costs, with the remaining $3.4 million sustaining capital expenditures related to mine operations 1 .

. Repurchase for cancellation of approximately US$12 million aggregate principal amount of the 9.000% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes during the fiscal quarter

1Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See "Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures" at the end of the news release for explanation and reconciliation.



Mark Wall, the Company's President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Second quarter production numbers saw quarter-on-quarter improvements relative to Q1 2023 with the exception of ore tonnes mined. The revenue reduction from Q1 2023 is due to the additional sale held during the first quarter delivering record revenue results. Our H1 sales results in Canadian Dollars are slightly up year on year when compared to H1 2022.

On ore tonnes mined there was a refocus towards Tuzo waste stripping to ensure that the 5034 orebody can be mined safely given that it will be mined concurrently with the Tuzo pit, which is directly above it. During the period there was also temporarily blocked ramp access due to geotechnical considerations in the 5034 pit.

This movement of the sequence of ore release is temporary with mining in the 5034 pit returning to planned rates in H2 2023. Given the large stockpile of ore, there is no expected carat production interruption.

On costs, the mine entered a period of heavy capitalized waste stripping during the quarter, which coupled with some one-off maintenance related costs, resulted in a high unit cost per carat recovered and tonne processed. An increase in mine waste stripping is helpful to the overall plan, we expect these costs to reduce as we phase out of the heavy waste stripping and return to planned areas of mining in the pit. Excluding capitalised waste stripping costs, cash cost of production on a per tonne treated and per carat basis in the first half of 2023, are approximately 10% below the same period in 2022.

A key operational initiative in Q2 was the 5-day plant maintenance shutdown. There were several areas of the processing plant that were identified as being the primary drivers of plant instability. There remains one further task to be completed on the primary crusher in September for the major refresh of the processing plant to be completed. We have seen a step change in processing plant performance since these works were completed.

Considering the points above our 2023 guidance remains unchanged, with production trending to the mid/lower end and production costs trending to the mid/upper end of the range.

We remain focused on paying down debt, with US$12.0 million repaid during the quarter. Subsequent to the quarter end, we repaid a further US$6 million of debt. The Company continues to focus on achieving our long-run debt to EBITDA ratio target. Our earnings per share (EPS) at 8 cents for Q2 brings us to 22 cents for H1 2023, which is consistent with H1 2022.

On growth, drilling results to date near Tuzo, the Hearne Deep and the Northwest Extension are returning positive intercepts. We look forward to continuing our work with our joint venture partner De Beers to explore and evaluate mine life extension possibilities for the project, such as deeper drilling at Gahcho Kue, as well as reviewing potential opportunities to incorporate kimberlites from our nearby Kennady North Project. We intend to report on the next phase of this project in early Q4, 2023"

Financial Highlights for Second Quarter 2023 ("Q2 2023")

Revenue from 360,000 carats sold at $59.9 million (US$44.6 million) at an average realised value of $166 per carat (US$124) compared to $97.8 million from 587,000 carats sold in Q2 2022 (US$76.0 million) at an average realized value of $167 per carat (US$130).

Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $30.7 million compared to $55.1 million in Q2 2022.

of $30.7 million compared to $55.1 million in Q2 2022. Earnings from mine operations $26.9 million compared to $51.4 million in Q2 2022.

Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs 1 of $156 per tonne treated (2022: $126 per tonne) and $87 per carat recovered (2022: $75 per carat).

of $156 per tonne treated (2022: $126 per tonne) and $87 per carat recovered (2022: $75 per carat). Net income of $17.3 million or $0.08 earnings per share (2022: $22.6 million or $0.11 earnings per share). Included in the determination of the net income are foreign exchange gains of $5.5 million, the majority of which is an unrealized gain arising on the translation of the Company's US Dollar denominated long term debt, as a result of the strengthening of the Canadian Dollar versus US Dollar.

1Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's June 30, 2023 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation.





Operational Highlights for Second Quarter 2023

(all figures reported on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated)

750,241 ore tonnes treated, largely unchanged relative to Q2 2022 (749,821 tonnes treated;)

1,339,196 carats recovered, 6% higher than the comparable quarter (Q2 2022: 1,260,899 carats)

Average grade of 1.79 carats per tonne, a 6% increase relative to Q2 2022 (1.68 carats per tonne)

595,990 ore tonnes mined, a 43% decrease relative to Q2 2022 (1,043,348 ore tonnes mined)

Financial Highlights for H1 2023

Total sales revenue of $188.6 million (US$139.6 million) at an average realised value of $143 per carat (US$106) compared to $182.4 million in 2022 (US$142.7 million) at an average realized value of $167 per carat (US$130).

Half year Adjusted EBITDA 2 of $98.2 million compared to $99.7 million in H1 2022.

of $98.2 million compared to $99.7 million in H1 2022. Earnings from mine operations of $74.1 million (2022: $94.2 million).

Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs 2 , of $155 per tonne treated (2022: $136 per tonne) and $89 per carat recovered (2022: $81 per carat).

, of $155 per tonne treated (2022: $136 per tonne) and $89 per carat recovered (2022: $81 per carat). Net income for half year 2023 at June 30, 2023 was $45.5 million or $0.22 basic earnings per share and $0.21 diluted earnings per share (2022: net income $47 million or $0.22 earnings per share). Included in the determination of the net income for the half year at June 30, 2023 are foreign exchange gains of $5.6 million, the majority of which is an unrealized gain on the translation of the Company's US Dollar denominated long term debt arising as a result of the strengthening of the Canadian Dollar versus US Dollar.

Capital expenditures in H1 2023 were $44.7 million, $41.3 million of which were deferred stripping costs, with the remaining $3.4 million for sustaining capital expenditures related to mine operations.

2Cash costs of production, including capitalized stripping costs, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures with no standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. See the Non-IFRS Measures section of the Company's June 30, 2023 MD&A for explanation and reconciliation.



Operational Highlights for H1 2023

18.2 million total tonnes mined in H1 2023, a 13% increase from the 16.0 million total tonnes mined in H1 2022.

1,517,000 tonnes of ore treated in H1 2023; a 4% increase compared to the 1,457,000 tonnes treated in H1 2022.

2,659,000 carats recovered at an average grade of 1.75 carats per tonne, a 9% increase compared to the 2,446,000 carats, (1.68 carats per tonne) recovered in H1 2022.

Sales Highlights for Second Quarter 2023

As previously released, during the second quarter, 360,308 carats were sold for total proceeds of $59.9 million (US$44.6 million), resulting in an average price of $166 per carat (US$124 per carat). These results compare to Q2 2022 where 586,567 carats were sold for total proceeds of $97.0 million (US$74.5 million) at an average price per carat of $165 per carat (US$129 per carat).

The reduction in volume sold in Q2 2023 relative to Q2 2022 was due to the acceleration of sales into Q1 2023, where three sales were held versus the historical norm of two. Relative to Q2 2022, average price per carat in Q2 2023 benefitted from a coarser than average mix of goods sold, offsetting a softening in the market. We expect a finer mix of goods sold in Q3 2023.

Growth

Recent results from the Company's 2023 drill program revealed a new kimberlite discovery located 40 metres northeast of the known Tuzo kimberlite. Following the discovery and delineation of the Hearne Northwest Extension, a program to look for a similar extension was started at Tuzo; a single drillhole was collared east of Tuzo to test for a northeast extension, returning approximately 40 metres of kimberlite. Despite exploration northeast of Tuzo being in the early stage, the Company is encouraged by the width of the kimberlite intersection and its similarities to Tuzo based on initial logging.

In addition, during the quarter, the Company announced positive drilling results at Hearne Deep and the Northwest Extension, which returned multiple intercepts with the longest returning 287 meters of kimberlite. During the 2023 program, 11 drillholes were drilled (seven drillholes were collared outside of the pit and four were collared on the kimberlite within the pit) to test the width and depth of the extension. Combined with past results, Mountain Province has 21 drillholes that define the extension below the final pit and to the northwest, which will be evaluated with our operating partner De Beers to examine ways to recover this deeper kimberlite.

Gahcho Kue Mine Operations

The following table summarizes key operating statistics for the Gahcho Kue Mine in the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

















Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended



June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022











GK operating data









Mining









*Ore tonnes mined kilo tonnes 596 1,043 1,024 2,062 *Waste tonnes mined kilo tonnes 8,639 6,838 17,146 13,987 *Total tonnes mined kilo tonnes 9,235 7,881 18,170 16,049 *Ore in stockpile kilo tonnes 1,266 1,353 1,266 1,353











Processing









*Ore tonnes processed kilo tonnes 750 749 1,517 1,457 *Average plant throughput tonnes per day 8,333 8,231 8,290 8,050 *Average diamond recovery carats per tonne 1.79 1.68 1.75 1.68 *Diamonds recovered 000's carats 1,339 1,261 2,659 2,446 Approximate diamonds recovered - Mountain Province 000's carats 656 618 1,303 1,199 Cash costs of production per tonne of ore, net of capitalized stripping ** $ 100 103 100 110 Cash costs of production per tonne of ore, including capitalized stripping** $ 156 126 155 136 Cash costs of production per carat recovered, net of capitalized stripping** $ 56 61 57 65 Cash costs of production per carat recovered, including capitalized stripping** $ 87 75 89 81











Sales









Approximate diamonds sold - Mountain Province*** 000's carats 360 587 1,321 1,094 Average diamond sales price per carat US $ 124 $ 130 $ 106 $ 130











* at 100% interest in the GK Mine









**See Non-IFRS Measures section









***Includes the sales directly to De Beers for fancies and specials acquired by De Beers through the production split bidding process









Financial Performance

















Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended (in thousands of Canadian dollars, except where otherwise noted)

June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022











Sales $ 59,918 97,761 188,575 182,414 Carats sold 000's carats 360 587 1,321 1,094 Average price per carat sold $/carat 166 167 143 167 Cost of sales per carat* $/carat 92 79 87 81 Earnings from mine operations per carat $ 74 88 56 86 Earnings from mine operations % 45 % 53 % 39 % 51 % Selling, general and administrative expenses $ 3,223 3,803 7,230 7,797 Operating income $ 20,351 43,047 61,442 78,065 Net income for the period $ 17,318 22,634 45,542 46,961 Basic earnings per share $ 0.08 0.11 0.22 0.22 Diluted earnings per share $ 0.08 0.11 0.21 0.22





* This cost of sales per carat includes the cost of acquiring 51% of the fancies and specials which have been sold, after having been won in a tendering process with De Beers Canada.





Conference Call

The Company will host its quarterly conference call on Friday, August 11th, 2023 at 11:00AM Eastern Time.

Title: Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call

Conference ID: 76959572

Date of call: 08/11/2023

Time of call: 11:00AM Eastern Time

Expected Duration: 60 minutes

Webcast Link:

https://app.webinar.net/9x2L4L5jok8

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (+1) 888-390-0546

Participant International Dial-In Number: (+1) 416-764-8688

A replay of the webcast and audio call will be available on the Company's website following the call.

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS measures

This news release refers to the terms "Cash costs of production per tonne of ore processed" and "Cash costs of production per carat recovered", both including and net of capitalized stripping costs and "Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA)" and "Adjusted EBITDA Margin". Each of these is a non-IFRS performance measure and is referenced in order to provide investors with information about the measures used by management to monitor performance. These measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. They do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Cash costs of production per tonne of ore processed and cash costs of production per carat recovered are used by management to analyze the actual cash costs associated with processing the ore, and for each recovered carat. Differences from production costs reported within cost of sales are attributed to the amount of production cost included in ore stockpile and rough diamond inventories.

Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to analyze the operational cash flows of the Company, as compared to the net income for accounting purposes. It is also a measure which is defined in the Notes documents. Adjusted EBITDA margin is used by management to analyze the operational margin % on cash flows of the Company.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin with the net income on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income:

















Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended



June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022











Net income for the period

$ 17,318 $ 22,634 $ 45,542 $ 46,961 Add/deduct:









Non-cash depreciation and depletion

10,640 12,378 35,958 21,326 Share-based payment expense

366 480 706 924 Fair value (gain) loss of warrants

(563) (7,322) (709) (5,797) Net finance expenses

8,780 9,054 18,302 18,206 Derivative (gains) losses

(1,936) 1,361 (871) 1,438 Deferred income taxes

2,080 5,650 3,900 9,920 Current income taxes

150 - 900 - Unrealized foreign exchange losses (gains)

(6,154) 10,892 (5,509) 6,746 Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and depletion (Adjusted EBITDA)

$ 30,681 $ 55,127 $ 98,219 $ 99,724 Sales

59,918 97,761 188,575 182,414 Adjusted EBITDA margin

51 % 56 % 52 % 55 %



The following table provides a reconciliation of the cash costs of production per tonne of ore processed and per carat recovered and the production costs reported within cost of sales on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income:









Three months ended Three months ended

Six months ended Six months ended

(in thousands of Canadian dollars, except where otherwise noted)

June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022











Cost of sales production costs $ 18,619 26,660 67,735 53,780 Timing differences due to inventory and other non-cash adjustments $ 18,284 11,209 6,449 24,715 Cash cost of production of ore processed, net of capitalized stripping $ 36,903 37,869 74,184 78,495 Cash costs of production of ore processed, including capitalized stripping $ 57,223 46,396 115,464 96,906











Tonnes processed kilo tonnes 367 367 743 714 Carats recovered 000's carats 656 618 1,303 1,199











Cash costs of production per tonne of ore, net of capitalized stripping $ 100 103 100 110 Cash costs of production per tonne of ore, including capitalized stripping $ 156 126 155 136 Cash costs of production per carat recovered, net of capitalized stripping $ 56 61 57 65 Cash costs of production per carat recovered, including capitalized stripping $ 87 75 89 81

About Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories. The Gahcho Kue Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls more than 113,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases surrounding the Gahcho Kue Mine that include an Indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and Inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites. Kelvin is estimated to contain 13.62 million carats (Mct) in 8.50 million tonnes (Mt) at a grade of 1.60 carats/tonne and value of US$63/carat, at February 2019. Faraday 2 is estimated to contain 5.45Mct in 2.07Mt at a grade of 2.63 carats/tonne and value of US$140/ct, at February 2019. Faraday 1-3 is estimated to contain 1.90Mct in 1.87Mt at a grade of 1.04 carats/tonne and value of US$75/carat, at February 2019. All resource estimations are based on a 1mm diamond size bottom cut-off.

Qualified Person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Matthew MacPhail, P.Eng., MBA, and Tom E. McCandless, Ph.D., P.Geo., both employees of Mountain Province Diamonds and Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and United States securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to operational hazards, including possible disruption due to pandemic such as COVID-19, its impact on travel, self-isolation protocols and business and operations, estimated production and mine life of the project of Mountain Province; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; the future price of diamonds; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the ability to manage debt; capital expenditures; the ability to obtain permits for operations; liquidity; tax rates; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Mountain Province, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be", "potential" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Mountain Province and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the development of operation hazards which could arise in relation to COVID-19, including, but not limited to protocols which may be adopted to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and any impact of such protocols on Mountain Province's business and operations, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in project parameters, mine sequencing; production rates; cash flow; risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; supply of, and demand for, diamonds; fluctuating commodity prices and currency exchange rates, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated.

These factors are discussed in greater detail in Mountain Province's most recent Annual Information Form and in the most recent MD&A filed on SEDAR, which also provide additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Mountain Province cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Mountain Province believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

Although Mountain Province has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mountain Province undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as the property is developed.

Further, Mountain Province may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. The principal assets of Mountain Province are administered pursuant to a joint venture under which Mountain Province is not the operator. Mountain Province is exposed to actions taken or omissions made by the operator within its prerogative and/or determinations made by the joint venture under its terms. Such actions or omissions may impact the future performance of Mountain Province. Under its current note and revolving credit facilities Mountain Province is subject to certain limitations on its ability to pay dividends on common stock. The declaration of dividends is at the discretion of Mountain Province's Board of Directors, subject to the limitations under the Company's debt facilities, and will depend on Mountain Province's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mountain-province-diamonds-announces-second-quarter-financial-results-for-2023-301898377.html

SOURCE Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.
August 11 - Rockport, Canada - New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSXV:NAM); (OTC:NMTLF); (FSE:P7J) ("NAM" or the "Company" is pleased to announce the filing of a new, positive National Instrument 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") Technical Report ("the Report") on SEDAR for its 100%-owned River Valley Palladium Project, 60 km east-northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The results of the PEA were previously announced in a Company press release dated June 29, 2023. This is NAM's second PEA completed on River Valley (see Company press release dated June 27, 2019). The effective date of this new Report is June 29, 2023.

New PEA Highlights

Pre-Tax NPV(5%): $296M; After-Tax: $140M

Pre-Tax IRR: 16%; After-tax IRR: 11%

Annual Production: 2.5 Mt of potential process plant feed at an average grade of 1.19 g/t PdEq and process recovery of 71.5%, resulting in an average annual payable Pd production of 47,400 oz.

Total Tonnes Processed over Life of Mine: 38.6 Mt/16 years

Pre-production Capital Requirement: $269M

Average Unit Operating Cost: $30.98/t

Assumed US$ Metal Prices: $2,150/oz Pd, $1,050/oz Pt, $1,830/oz Au, $4.00/lb Cu

River Valley Process Plant Feed: Treated in an on-site conventional sulphide flotation plant to produce a saleable PGM-enriched Cu concentrate for transport off-site for smelting and refining

Project Enhancement Opportunities: Increased metal recoveries and expanded Mineral Resources



Harry Barr, NAM Chairman & CEO, stated: "We are pleased to file the Report for the River Valley 2023 PEA, which shows positive results with an after-tax NPV(5%) of $140 M CAD and IRR of 11% and 16 years of palladium, platinum and copper production. Compared to the 2019 PEA, this new PEA is based on a much smaller, higher-grade operation with markedly lower CAPEX, expanded underground mining and reduced open pit mining, and significantly smaller environmental impact. These encouraging results are based on the 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate, produced in accordance with current CIM standards and guidelines, to provide feed to an on-site 2.5 Mtpa process plant. The next steps in Project development include testing of promising new technologies for improved platinum metal recoveries and targeting areas for drilling to convert Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources, expanding current Mineral Resources, and the discovery and delineation of new mineralized zones, all for incorporation into future, more advanced economic studies."

PEA Summary*

The site plan layout for the new River Valley PEA is shown in Figure 1.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1. New PEA site layout plan for the River Valley Palladium Project.



Five open pits and two underground portals that have been used in the engineering design of the Project, the proposed process plant site, low-grade stockpile, waste rock storage facilities, tailings storage facility, and site infrastructure are shown in Figure 1. The Project as represented in Figure 1 has an area of approximately 40 km2, which reflects a major reduction and increased focus from the 130 km2 site plan area in the 2019 PEA.

The parameters of the PEA are summarized in Table 1. PEA operating costs and capital costs are presented in Tables 2 and 3.

Table 1. PEA Summary Parameters

Assumptions Palladium Price (Base case) US$/oz 2,150 Exchange Rate US$:CDN$ 1.35 Production Profile Total Tonnes Processed (M) 38.6 Process Plant Head Grade PdEq g/t 1.19 Mine Life (years) 16 Daily process plant throughput (tpd) 6,850 Palladium Process Plant Recovery (%) 71.5 Total Payable Palladium Equivalent Ounces (k) 735 Average annual Palladium Production Ounces (k) 47.4 Operating Costs ($ per tonne processed) Unit Average LOM Operating Costs 30.98 Open Pit Mining Costs 12.63 Underground Mining Costs 60.61 Processing Costs 12.69 G&A 2.01 LOM Average Cash Cost US$/oz Pd 1,241 Capital Requirements Pre-Production Capital Cost ($ M) 268.7 Sustaining Capital Cost (Life of Mine) ($ M) 163.0 Project Economics Royalties (%) 3 Royalty Payable After $2M Buy Down to 1% ($ M) 25 Taxes (M $) 258 Pre-Tax Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flow ($ M) 609 NPV (5% Discount Rate) ($ M) 296 IRR (%) 16.1 Payback (years) 6.1 After-Tax Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flow ($ M) 352 NPV (5% Discount Rate) ($ M) 140 IRR (%) 11.3 Payback (years) 6.9

Table 2. Operating Cost Summary

Operating Cost Unit LoM Open Pit Mining Cost $/t mined 2.95 Open Pit Mining Cost $/t processed 12.63 Underground Mining Cost $/t processed 60.61 Process Cost $/t processed 12.69 G&A $/t processed 2.01 Unit LoM Average Operating $/t processed 30.98

Table 3. Capital Cost Summary

Development Capital Initial (Y-2, Y-1) ($ M) Sustaining ($ M) Total LOM ($ M) Open Pit Development and Equipment 37.0 59.4 96.4 Process Plant 119.2 119.2 On-Site Infrastructure 17.4 17.4 Electrical Powerline 30.0 30.0 Tailings Management Facility 17.0 27.0 44.0 Owner's Costs 10.0 10.0 Underground Mine Development 37.1 37.1 Reclamation Bond and Closure 16.3 16.3 Contingency 29.9 18.1 48.0 Total Capital 268.7 163 431.7

*This PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-01") Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects. It was prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. with D.E.N.M. Engineering Ltd., Knight Piesold Ltd. and Story Environmental. Readers are cautioned that the PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic variability.

Next Steps

At least two major opportunities to increase the value of the River Valley Palladium Project are:

1) improved metal recoveries; and

2) increased Mineral Resources.

1)Improved Metal Recoveries

Hydrometallurgical Options. The main focus of this PEA from a processing standpoint is conventional milling and flotation with upgrading of the resultant copper concentrate to a marketable product. The final concentrate (copper and PGMs) would be shipped to specific smelters to treat the River Valley product as a part of the revenue stream.

As an alternative to shipping to smelters, pressure leaching and metal precipitation options to recover platinum group metals ("PGMs"), gold and base metals will be investigated. Several PGM deposits worldwide are currently being subject to hydrometallurgical testing, as a potentially economic alternative to base metal smelters.

Alternative Flotation Applications. Conventional flotation of the River Valley material has thus far been unable to produce a high-grade marketable smelter concentrate for maximum net smelter returns.

The expected concentrate grades based on the recent testing at SGS Lakefield were detailed in New Age Metals press release dated August 9, 2022.



Preliminary scoping work has been completed on the River Valley material utilizing two flotation alternatives to produce a higher-grade rougher concentrate and also possible increases in PGM recoveries. The two technologies being investigated are the Woodgrove flotation and the Glencore (Jameson) cell techniques.

Rhodium Recovery & Marketability. Additional work in this area would be beneficial for the Project,

due to the relatively high metal price of rhodium. The testwork recently completed showed the ability to recover rhodium in the final concentrate, albeit not at a saleable threshold grade for the smelters. Review of the rhodium mineralogy and process alternatives is recommended.

An initial proof-of-concept PLATSOLTM test program is under development with SGS Canada Inc. for completion in Q4 of 2023.

2) Increased Mineral Resources

The distribution of the current Mineral Resources at River Valley is shown in Figure 2.

Major infill, expansion and exploration drill programs are planned at River Valley to: 1) convert Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources at the Lismer and Varley Zones; 2) expand current Mineral Resources at depth and along strike at the Dana South, Banshee, Lismer Ridge, Varley and Azen Zones; and 3) test targets and delineate mineralized zones that show potential for inclusion in future Mineral Resource modelling, particularly in the footwall to the River Valley Intrusion, as guided by the results of surface and downhole geophysical surveys and 3-D geological modelling.

The drilling programs are slated to commence in H2 2023, subject to financing.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2. Distribution of pit constrained Mineral Resources at $15/t NSR cut-off. The priority mineralized zones for infill, expansion and exploration drilling are labelled red, which are open to expansion by drilling at depth and, in places, along strike. Note that the Pine Zone is not exposed at surface. M&I = Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, Ind = Indicated Mineral Resources, and Inf = Inferred Mineral Resources.



About the River Valley Project

The River Valley Palladium Project is located 100 road-km east-northeast from the City of Sudbury.

The Project area is linked to Sudbury by a network of all-weather highways, roads and rail beds and is accessible year-round with hydro grid and natural gas power nearby. River Valley enjoys the strong support of local communities, like the Village of River Valley, 20 km to the south. Fully executed Memorandum of Understandings are in place with the Temagami First Nation and the Nipissing First Nation groups, since 2014 and 2022, respectively. Environmental baseline studies re-commenced in 2020 are planned to continue through 2023.

About NAM

New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration and development of green metal projects in North America. The Company has two divisions; a Platinum Group Element division and a Lithium/Rare Element division.

The PGE Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project, one of North America's largest undeveloped Platinum Group Element Projects, situated 100 km by road east-northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner to advance its River Valley Palladium Project.

In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska, and plans to complete a surface mapping and sampling program in 2022. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

The Company's Lithium Division is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Company is exploring for hard rock lithium and various rare elements, such as tantalum, rubidium, and cesium. The Company has announced its preliminary $2 million 2023-2024 exploration budget that will cover the first 4 months of the program. A larger budget has been submitted to our partner Mineral Resources Ltd. and we expect it to be approved this summer. Further Exploration plans for 2023 include geophysical surveying, summer field work (which will include mapping, lithogeochemistry, MMI soil geochemistry, biogeochemistry, channel sampling), and permits/ archaeological surveys. The Company has a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL, ASX: MIN), a top global lithium producer to explore and develop the Company's lithium project portfolio in Southern Manitoba. Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective of optioning our projects with major and junior mining companies through to production. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for our newly acquired Northman, McLaughlin Lake, and South Bay Lithium Projects in northern Manitoba, and its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

Investors are invited to visit the New Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can review the company and its corporate activities. Any questions or comments can be directed to info@newagemetals.com or Harry Barr at Hbarr@newagemetals.com or Faraz Rasheed at Frasheed@newagemetals.com or call 613 659 2773.

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If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign-up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.

Qualified Persons



This PEA was prepared under the supervision of Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. The metallurgical testwork, process plant design and cost estimates were prepared by David Salari, P.Eng. of D.E.N.M Engineering Ltd. The tailings facility and water management were prepared by Jessica Breault, P.Eng., the rock mechanics design input was prepared by were prepared by Ben Peacock, P.Eng. of Knight Piesold Ltd. The Environmental, Community and ESG write-up was prepared by Maria Story, P.Eng., of Story Environmental Inc. Mr. Puritch reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. William Stone, P.Geo., Lead Geoscience Consultant for New Age Metals, is the Company Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Harry Barr"

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will", "estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic" or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
I love architecture, and thus historic preservation. The designs that span different eras in U.S. history are one of the main qualities differentiating our cities from each other.So I understand why cities would want to maintain their distinctive architectural characters. Doing so enhances a city's identity  think Brooklyn's brownstones or Boston's three-deckers  and in smaller towns and cities it can be the main economic driver. Had Savannah, Ga., not preserved its historic core, for example, it likely would be just another stagnant Southern city. Across rural America, towns are often made or broken on their ability to re-adapt their old main street buildings.But historic preservation, if mandated to excess, can hinder good urbanism. I'll explain some of preservation's negative impacts and how they can be reduced through sensible reforms.One of the problems with historic preservation stems, ironically, from one of its benefits: It improves the quality of a neighborhood by increasing its home values. A Realtor.com study of 2,885 historic homes found that they were 5.6 percent more expensive than similar-sized homes in the same ZIP code. And even if homes aren't historic, they enjoy a 1.4 percent faster increase in property values just from being inside a historic district. But in escalating home prices, preservation works against the more important goal of housing affordability. This may not be a huge problem in smaller cities like Savannah, but it is in bigger cities that have diverse economic functions.Take Manhattan, for example. According to 2014 data from New York University's Furman Center, it has placed 27 percent of its land plots inside historic districts (compared to under 1 percent in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island). It's more difficult to make repairs to buildings when they're in these districts, much less demolish them for new structures. That caused these districts to produce far less housing through the 1980s and '90s than non-historic ones did, according to a 2010 study by economist Ed Glaeser. And some districts even lost housing in those decades due to unit consolidation.Historic preservation also holds back economic development. While a tasteful, well-preserved neighborhood increases home values for individual owners, it may suppressvalues by limiting parcels from their optimum use. That reduces a city's potential tax base and stifles creative new projects that might've gone where an out-of-date building now sits.Manhattan's beautiful First Church of Christ Scientist, for example, has been empty since 2004 because the Landmarks Preservation Commission would not allow its conversion . This forced the church to sell the building, and the purchaser lobbied for 16 years to make it a children's museum. Although the LPC finally approved those plans in June, the prolonged underuse has caused the church to fall into disrepair. Were it active this whole time for a commercial, residential or civic use, it would almost certainly have been better maintained.But perhaps the main argument against historic districts is aesthetic. Rather than letting neighborhoods develop a nice blend of old and new buildings, it keeps them stuck in time. This may be desirable to those who view cities as museums, but it amounts to a lame bit of romanticism for those who think cities should be dynamic, evolving places. "As if it weren't enough that large historic districts are associated with a reduction in housing supply, higher prices, and increasingly elite residents," Glaeser wrote, "there's also an aesthetic reason to be skeptical about them: they protect an abundance of uninteresting buildings that are less attractive and exciting than new structures that could replace them."Glaeser's quote speaks to what should be a rule of thumb for preservation policy: Apply it to specific buildings, not whole districts. There are policies that let cities do this in market-driven ways, incentivizing rather than mandating developers to preserve buildings.Cities, for instance, can grant property tax relief to owners who restore historic properties, as California municipalities do under the state's Mills Act . Cities can authorize transfers of development rights, as Seattle does , allowing owners to build elsewhere (or sell the rights to build elsewhere to developers) in exchange for maintaining their historic properties. And federal and state historic-tax-credit programs help developers fund repairs and conversions. Cities should make liberal use of these policies, especially if they have an interesting architectural history and lots of developers who specialize in preservation work.The flipside, though, is to let buildings that surround these historic ones, and that aren't distinctive, be redeveloped for modern uses. That not only advances the goals of housing affordability, economic development and aesthetic diversity but also helps the historic properties themselves by increasing commercial foot traffic.Atlanta is one city that did this well: It used the Krog Street Market and the Ponce City Market , two old brick warehouses that were converted into mixed-use shopping centers, to anchor new surrounding mid-rise development. This, along with the city's popular 22-mile BeltLine rail-trail , has helped foster a contiguous urban area along the city's eastside.By contrast, the idea of putting historic status around whole districts, regardless of the merits of individual buildings, is straight out of the top-down-planning playbook. It leads to neighborhoods that are exclusive, static and not even that interesting.GoverningGoverning
Marko slams Perez pay-cut rumours

Dr Helmut Marko has rubbished wild reports that Sergio Perez is facing a pay-cut for 2024.

Sergio Perez, Belgian GP 2023

 Red Bull

With Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda waiting in the wings, it is rumoured that Perez's big points gap to Max Verstappen may trigger a clause that sees the Mexican make much less money next season.

I don't know where that's coming from, Red Bull's Marko told Sport1. "It's completely out of thin air.

The contracts are strictly regulated. There will be no pay cuts, the 80-year-old Austrian added.

But even if pay-cut clauses did exist, Marko says he's happy with Perez's recent recovery after a slump.

Perez was in a bit of a crisis, but he got the curve back in the last two races, he said. "Verstappen is just unbeatable at the moment.
Daily Graphic Editorials

Support GRA to save textile industry

Daily Graphic Editorials Aug - 11 - 2023 , 08:37

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced that effective October this year, no textile can enter the countrys markets without an excise tax stamp embossed on it.

The authority said the tax stamp policy would cover African prints such as wax prints, fancy prints (plain dyed) and any type of materials composed of natural or artificial fibres either imported with design or woven designs.

In the view of the authority, the decision to affix tax stamps to all imported or locally produced textiles would protect the ailing textile industry from imminent collapse.

This can be achieved by first ensuring that only textiles with the tax stamps are allowed on the market.

Anything short of this renders such textiles illegal to be sold on the local market.

With this, red tax stamps are zero-rated, meaning they are exempted from paying for the tax stamps.

They will be affixed only to textiles and wax prints produced in the country.

The green tax stamps will be affixed to imported textile products, which will pay the value for the excise tax stamps, while the blue tax stamps are for goods in transit and textiles in stock before the implementation started.

The GRA and its stakeholders, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, believe the measure would give a new lease on life to the local textile industry and help to create more jobs.

As a measure to ensure compliance with the policy, the GRA said enforcement at the points of sale would begin on January 2, next year.

The decision to implement the tax stamp policy comes almost five years after the government first took the decision to implement the intervention to curb smuggling, piracy and dumping of fake products on the local market.

On September 9, 2019, the government and stakeholders in the textile industry agreed on a roadmap for the implementation of the policy within two weeks.

The roadmap was arrived at when the Minister of Trade and Industry at the time, Alan Kyerematen, held a meeting with the stakeholders in the sector in Accra on Friday, September 6, 2019.

However, the roadmap for implementation has not been followed through, despite calls by the Textiles, Garment and Leather Workers Union (TGLEU) for its implementation.

The Daily Graphic is happy that after over five years of being put on ice, the GRA has taken a bold step to implement the tax stamp policy.

We are, however, concerned about the policy because the once vibrant textile industry is suffocating from the influx of pirated fabrics on the local market, a situation that has been aggravated by high cost of production and weak enforcement of the anti-piracy measures.

The country once had a vibrant textile industry with 16 large companies that employed some 25,000 people and accounted for 27 per cent of total manufacturing employment in 1977.

However, the industry deteriorated such that by 2005, many of the textile companies had folded up, with only four currently existing.

The Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), Text Styles Ghana Limited, formerly known as GTP, Volta Star Textile Limited and Printext have less than 3,000 workers in all.

It is within this context that the Daily Graphic supports the move by the GRA to enforce the tax stamp policy to help revive the textile industry.

We call on the GRA to go all out to implement this intervention and ensure that it does not become another lip service.

The Daily Graphic is aware that the task force set up in 2010 to crack down on pirated textiles products in the local markets, included personnel from the security agencies, the GRA and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

The task force was set up in compliance with the World Trade Organisations Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, which mandates governments not to allow goods that have been infringed to enter the channel of commerce and also not to allow the re-exportation of such goods.

It is worrying that after almost 13 years, the anti-textile piracy task force has been in coma, in spite of calls by industry players for it to be active.

It is the belief of the Daily Graphic that the time is now ripe to reconstitute the task force to police the implementation to ensure its utmost success.

As has always been our contribution, the Daily Graphic will support the drive with educational information, follow-ups and pointers that will help the GRA and its partners to execute this all-important policy to perfection.

This is grounded on the fact that the textile industry and local companies will return to winning ways and create more jobs when given the needed attention.
Theres no reason paying secular artistes higher than gospel musicians Patience Nyarko tells event organisers

Kofi Duah Showbiz News Aug - 11 - 2023 , 08:56

GOSPEL musician Patience Nyarko believes it is about time the narrative changed since no matter how big a Gospel artiste is, their charging fees cannot be compared to that of a secular act. The former is always paid better.

And although she wouldnt back her claims with figures, she throws a challenge to any Gospel artiste who doubts or thinks she doesnt know what she is talking about to come forward to refute what she is saying.

In an interview with the Graphic Showbiz, the Obi Nyani Me hitmaker said she was very sure of what she was saying.

Look, let me tell you, event organisers always pay us less than our colleagues on the other side. No matter how big a Gospel musician is, they are always paid less than even a young secular artiste who has a little fame. There is no way any A-list Gospel musician in Ghanas earnings is same as an A-list secular musician. .

Event organisers and the churches who invite us feel we do this for Christ so why should we charge big money. Meanwhile, Gospel musicians are better performers. Our stagecraft for instance is better than some of these secular musicians yet they take home much more than us, she said.

To Patience Nyarko, it was about time Gospel musicians were paid well just as their secular contemporaries because they put in a lot in their craft.

Most times, Gospel artistes record albums and not singles. And just like secular musicians, we also spend a lot of money to shoot music videos. If for anything at all, we should be paid more but as we speak, that is not the situation, she stated.

Moving away from charging fees, Patience Nyarko disclosed she was ready with her new single, Tears of Joy, which drops tomorrow August 11, 2023.

Recorded by Joe Amoah, Tears of Joy resonates deeply with moments of happiness and celebration, as it beautifully summarises the emotions that overflow when joy fills the heart.

Patience Nyarko has performed alongside some of the renowned musicians in Ghana and beyond. Her previous releases, including Wafom Kwan, Wasore, Eboboba, Menwu, have solidified her reputation as one of Ghana's leading voices in Gospel music.
US and UN concerned for ousted Niger president Mohamed Bazoum's health

International News Aug - 11 - 2023 , 05:22

The US and UN are concerned about the health and safety of Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has spent more than two weeks under house arrest.

"We are greatly worried about his health and his personal safety and the personal safety of his family," a US state department spokesman said.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) had given Niger's coup leaders until Sunday to stand down.

Ecowas said on Thursday it was still considering all options.

"No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort," Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who chaired a meeting of Ecowas leaders, said.

"We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting Niger in the journey towards peaceful democratic stability," he added.

Ahead of the meeting, Muslim clerics from northern Nigeria, which shares a long border with Niger, had urged President Tinubu against using force to oust the coup leaders.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was concerned about the reportedly "deplorable living conditions" Mr Bazoum and his family were in.

Earlier, his party said they were being detained under "cruel" and "inhumane" conditions, Reuters news agency reported.

Mr Bazoum was deposed on 26 July.

Since then, a military junta has ruled Niger while Mr Bazoum has been kept in the presidential palace. Members of the junta have made no comment about the ousted leader's condition.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Mr Bazoum and assured him of the US's ongoing support, Washington said.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller added: "As time goes on, as he's held in isolation, it's a situation that is of growing concern to us."

Mr Bazoum's political party, PNDS-Tarayya, claimed in a statement that Mr Bazoum and his family had no access to running water, electricity, fresh goods or doctors.

The statement echoed previous comments made by Niger's elected prime minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, who has said Mr Bazoum was being held with his wife and son without electricity or water.

The head of the presidential guard, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, claims he now runs Niger, while the junta appointed ex-finance minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, as the new prime minister following the coup.

A new cabinet has now been announced by the junta, despite leaders across West Africa demanding that they end the military takeover.

The new regime has also closed Niger's airspace until further notice, citing the "threat of military intervention" from Ecowas.

On Wednesday, Gen Tchiani met influential Nigerian Muslim cleric, former Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in a bid to mediate the crisis.

It was one of the first meetings the coup leader has held, having previously shunned several envoys including Nigeria's most senior religious leader, as well as delegates from the US, UN and African Union.

Also on Wednesday, France denied accusations from Niger's military junta that it was trying to destabilise the country. Niger is a former colony of France, having received independence in 1960.

Coup leaders claimed French aircraft had breached the country's airspace and French soldiers had freed captured jihadists in order to attack military positions.

"France firmly denies the new unfounded accusations by the putschists in Niger," the French defence and foreign ministries said in a joint statement quoted by AFP news agency.

They added that the flight had been authorised by Niger's military.

Both the US and France operate military bases in Niger as part of operations to disrupt jihadist groups operating in the wider region.

Niger became the main base for French troops after they were told to leave Mali following a coup there.

As part of diplomatic efforts, two envoys of President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria have met the junta in the capital Niamey.
GASLIDD marks 2023 World Hepatitis Day with urgent call for early screening

Mirror Reporter Life Aug - 10 - 2023 , 21:41

The Ghana Association for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases (GASLIDD) marked the 2023 World Hepatitis Day by emphasising the importance of early screening and treatment.

During a free Hepatitis B & C screening and vaccination event at the Tudu community in Accra on Thursday, a Gastroenterologist at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the Deputy Treasurer of GASLIDD, Dr Sally Afua Bampoh, stated that timely screening and treatment for hepatitis B and C played a vital role in preventing chronic diseases such as liver cancer.

Dr Bampoh highlighted that a substantial 80 per cent of liver cancer cases were attributed to hepatitis B, making it a major contributor to this form of cancer.

She said constant health screening was essential to reduce the prevalence of hepatitis B, ultimately leading to a decrease in liver cancer cases.

Dr Bampoh noted that although it might take a while to notice, the prevalence of hepatitis in Ghana was alarmingly high, surpassing eight per cent and classifying the country as hyperendemic.

She pointed out that one in every eight Ghanaians was affected by hepatitis B, while one in every 30 Ghanaians had hepatitis C, equating to prevalence rates of 12.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.

To combat the prevalence of the virus, Dr Bampoh added that GASLIDD had initiated an initiative to screen, vaccinate and educate residents within the Tudu community and its surroundings about the risks, transmission and treatment of the virus.

On the theme "One Life, One Liver", the screening event, held to commemorate World Hepatitis Day, aimed to screen 1,000 members of the public and provide vaccinations for approximately 600 individuals.

Dr Bampoh expressed her appreciation for the cooperation of programme beneficiaries and extended gratitude to the Member of Parliament (MP) of the area, Dr Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings, the Assemblyman for the Tudu electoral area and the Municipal Assembly for their support of the programme.



She indicated that GASLIDD would persist in public education efforts regarding the virus and encouraged everyone to undergo screening and vaccination.


Drive national digitisation agenda to spur growth - ECG boss urges graduands

Nana Konadu Agyeman Education Aug - 11 - 2023 , 07:34

The Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) has conferred degrees and diplomas on a total of 1,147 graduands at the 31st congregation of the university.

The awardees, who pursued various undergraduate and post-graduate programmes, included seven doctoral degrees, 103 masters degrees and 1,037 undergraduate degrees and diplomas.

Besides, 668 graduands, comprising 110 post-graduate students and 558 undergraduate students from affiliate universities, also graduated.

The affiliate universities are the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and CASS Europe.

National digitalisation agenda

Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel D. Mahama, urged the graduands to use the knowledge they had acquired to support the governments digitisation agenda to spur economic growth.

He said Ghana was on a vigorous digitisation adventure, a reason students pursuing studies at the GCTU must consider themselves privileged to assist the national agenda.

Mr Mahama told the congregation that using ICT alone could close certain gaps such as discovering new customers to a companys advantage.

For instance, he cited how ICT had allowed the ECG to tap into about 100,000 new customers, which is showing that in losses alone, 100,000 is equating to GH60 million.

In driving growth and sustainability in the country, you can never do without ICT, because currently, it is the bedrock of every nation.

With the click of a button, it provides you with the easiest way to compare and contrast what you have been doing over the years with what you have been doing now, he said.

Mr Mahama reminded the graduands that they had a single tool in hand that could change everything that the government was trying to do in just a twinkle of an eye.

You are graduating into a world that is yearning for the kind of change you can provide; the saddest thing is to be graduating thinking that you are looking for employment, he said.

The ECG managing director also advised the graduands, saying that, time would either be their worst enemy or best friend, depending on how they applied themselves as graduates.

New height of excellence

The Vice-Chancellor of the GCTU, Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, said the GCTU had played a significant role in shaping the landscape of education in Ghana.

Silicon Valley agenda

Prof. Afoakwa indicated that central to the universitys vision was the creation of a technology hub within GCTU, akin to the prestigious Silicon Valley in America.

We envision a place where innovation and development thrive, and we are witnessing this vision come to life before our very eyes, he added.

With the GCTU as a pioneer in transnational education in Ghana, he said the university was fostering partnerships with world-class universities such as Coventry University in the UK, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, CASS Europe and Ramaiah University in India, among others.
GEA woos youth into entrepreneurship

Benjamin Xornam Glover Education Aug - 11 - 2023 , 07:41

The Greater Accra Regional Manager of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Anthea Ohene Mayne, has advised young people to take entrepreneurship seriously since it is a viable source for earning an income to live a meaningful and decent life.

Speaking at the 21st graduation ceremony of the POKS Vocational Training Institute at Ashaiman, Mrs Mayne stressed that Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) had the potential to unlock the unemployment challenges facing the country if the youth embraced it to acquire practical skills and training to become economically self-reliant.

That, she explained, would reduce dependence on the government for employment.

Twenty-three young ladies graduated from the institute after a two-year course in fashion design and were presented with certificates.

The graduates made a bold fashion statement on the runway and wowed the audience with bold fashion statements and designs appropriate for various occasions including weddings, church activities and conferences, among other events.

Opportunity

Mrs Mayne urged the students to go out there in confidence and make the best of the opportunity given and continue to be ambassadors of the school.

She also encouraged them to take advantage of initiatives such as the intervention offered by the GEA for small and medium-sized businesses to build and scale their businesses.

These interventions, she stressed, will enable these businesses to become more competitive and also build and scale their businesses and create new job opportunities.

She encouraged the students to approach the GEA through its Business Advisory Centres located across the country to benefit from the numerous opportunities available at the moment to own their future.

Speaking on the theme Advancing fashion skills for decent jobs and sustainable livelihood, the CEO of POKS Vocational Training Institute, Rawlene Abena Pokua Guh, emphasised that the productive capabilities of the youth in skills acquisition and competencies were key to transforming from stagnation to growth and from low-income status to high-income status.

She said the institute, since its establishment in 2016, had trained more than 500 young women who had been equipped with skills such as pattern drafting, garment construction, fashion illustration, English and Business Management, adding that most of those graduates had gone ahead to established their own decent jobs and found sustainable incomes to support themselves and their immediate families.
Chinese Embassy in Ghana launches visa application centre in Accra

Graphic Online Aug - 11 - 2023 , 05:13

In a bid to streamline travel arrangements for Ghanaian visitors to China, the Chinese Embassy in Ghana inaugurated a China visa application centre in Accra on Thursday.

The centre, established in collaboration with the China Tourism Group Corporation Limited, is set to provide efficient and high-quality services for Ghanaian visa applicants. This move is anticipated to simplify the process and expedite the timely processing of visa applications for individuals travelling from Ghana to China.

His Excellency Lu Kun, the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, emphasized the centre's significance as a response to the expected increase in Ghanaians expressing interest in visiting China. Mr. Lu noted that the establishment of the centre in Accra follows international practices and aims to offer more convenient, top-notch services to visa applicants.

Lu underscored the potential impact of the centre on bilateral relations between China and Ghana, envisioning it as a catalyst for fostering people-to-people exchanges and further enriching the connections between the two nations. He also highlighted the flourishing economic and trade exchanges, with China maintaining its status as Ghana's principal trading partner.

Mavis Nkansah Boadu, Ghana's deputy minister for foreign affairs and regional integration, expressed her warm welcome to the visa application centre. Boadu recognized the event as a significant milestone, reflecting the commitment of both nations to strengthen their bilateral ties.

Boadu emphasized that Ghana values the enhancement of its relations with China and is dedicated to promoting increased people-to-people interactions.

She acknowledged that the establishment of the centre would not only facilitate tourism but also bolster business collaborations, academic partnerships, and cultural exchanges between China and Ghana.

Furthermore, Boadu unveiled Ghana's reciprocal efforts to acknowledge the Chinese government's commendable initiatives in implementing advanced visa application systems with enhanced security features. She revealed that Ghana is implementing a machine-readable visa hardware system to reinforce the security of its visa application process.
COVID-19 frontline workers honoured

Joshua Bediako Koomson Aug - 11 - 2023 , 08:17

Five thousand, nine hundred and four frontline healthcare workers have been honoured by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GA/RCC) for their contributions to the regions fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The awardees are contact tracers, drivers, researchers, disease control and surveillance teams, laboratory technicians, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, buriers, among others, from various health and other institutions which were mandated to lead the fight.

Commendation

At a presentation ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, commended the workers for their dedication and commitment which ensured the success of measures that had been put in place to curtail the spread of the disease.

He said the awards were aimed at recognising and honouring the workers for their efforts during the pandemic to serve as motivation to other healthcare workers and those in different sectors that their hard work was appreciated.

Though the COVID-19 period was overwhelming and burdensome, the Greater Accra Regional Minister said the frontline workers demonstrated selflessness and love for humanity by availing themselves to work in difficult circumstances.

Selflessness

Recounting the regions COVID-19 experience, Mr Quartey noted that it became the epicentre of the pandemic in the country after recording more than 50 per cent of all recorded cases.

He said that resulted in undue pressure on health facilities and personnel, leading to some officers working overtime and beyond their limits to ensure the fight against the pandemic was brought under control.

The Regional Minister thus lauded health workers and other Ghanaians for their ingenuity, creativity and entrepreneurial capacity which supported the governments interventions to prevent the spread of the disease.

The period saw the invention and reinvention of tools, materials and processes to support the fight.

It also showed how together, we are able to achieve plenty.

Our facilities were tested, our personnel were tested and our nation was tested, but we showed tenacity and resilience.

At our worst, when some of the suburbs of Accra were locked down, notwithstanding the usual Ghanaian nature of flouting every rule, we survived the heat and men and women of the health profession were all out ensuring we overcame the pandemic, Mr Quartey said.

He expressed gratitude to health professionals who contracted the virus and those who lost their lives in the line of duty and service to the nation, saying that they would be remembered forever.

Through your hard work and dedication, and the commitment of the government, Ghana was among the first nations that received lots of commendation for the measures put in place to contain the virus and was thus part of the first countries to be declared best fighters against COVID-19.

We are here today because of you.

The nation honours you today as a recognition of your unwavering fight to the pandemic, Mr Quartey stated.

Strategies

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said the service was working with other agencies to put in place strategies to prepare the country for such outbreaks in future.

Among the strategies, he said, were the strengthening of infection prevention and control measures, ensuring requisite medications were available, improving early warning systems and enhancing public health responses.

Insurance policy

The Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Directors of Health, Rev. Dr Ebenezer Asiamah, expressed gratitude to the government for the recognition and acknowledgement.

He, however, decried the absence of an insurance policy for health workers, saying the situation was a disincentive to health workers who were exposed to various risks while providing services.

He, therefore, called on the government to consider health workers in the development of national policies and create the environment for health workers to voluntarily move to rural areas to offer their service.

We sacrifice daily and the publics concern is our concern.

We plead that you put in the plans that will care for our health as well, Dr Asiamah added.
DVLA interdicts 13, sacks 3 others

Biiya Mukusah Ali Aug - 11 - 2023 , 07:03

Thirteen staff of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) have been interdicted and three others have had their appointments terminated due to staff indiscipline, the Board Chairman of the authority, Frank Davies, has disclosed.

He said the board would not shield anyone who breached the authority's disciplinary code, and urged staff to live above reproach and put up behaviour worthy of emulation.

He said while the DVLA had made commendable advancements in streamlining services and reducing processing times, there were still challenges such as delays in printing driving licences, attitudinal issues on the part of some staff, increasing cases of indiscipline and bad behaviour.

Mr Davies was addressing the launch of the 25th anniversary celebration and opening of the 2023 mid-year review conference in Sunyani in the Bono Region last Wednesday.

It was organised on the theme: Delivering quality service through optimisation: A panacea to consolidate our gains.

Innovative solutions

Mr Davies called on the staff to seek innovative solutions to improve their processes and service delivery.

He said such innovative solutions to benefit clients remained at the forefront of technological advancements, and that it was worth exploring emerging trends in line with international best practices in order to promote road safety and environmental sustainability.

Mr Davies challenged the staff to embrace change, and to see challenges as opportunities for growth.

He gave the assurance that the DVLA was committed to building a customer-focused organisation that would be at the forefront of technological advancement.

The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, commended the DVLA for working hard to introduce sanity into its processes, such as cutting down delays and extortion.

Ms Owusu-Banahene urged the DVLA to digitalise the renewal of driving licence and vehicle registrations, saying, "patrons are looking forward to a day when they can sit in the comfort of their homes and through technology renew their drivers license and vehicle registrations.

She said a section of the public had also questioned the roadworthiness of some vehicles which plied the roads, especially some fairly over-aged heavy duty trucks which broke down to cause unnecessary traffic jams.

Ms Owusu-Banahene urged the DVLA to work with the values of integrity, excellence, professionalism and reliability.

Electric vehicles

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the DVLA, Kwasi Agyeman Busia, said advocating the adoption of electric vehicles would herald a new dawn of clean and green transportation in the country.

He explained that the promotion of the use of energy- efficient vehicles would mitigate the impact of fossil fuels on human health and environment.

He explained that evaluation, assessment and redefinition to correct role overlaps and redundancy were ongoing to ensure credible salary restructuring, as the current salary grading had been in place since 2016.

He said the DVLA had partnered tertiary institutions such as the University of Ghana (UG), University of Development Studies (UDS) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to train and issue driving licence to students while on campus or after graduation.

Significant

The Bono Regional Manager of the DVLA, George Okyere, said the DVLA had seen a significant shift in its operations in the last decade with substantial successes.

He said staff of the organisation were not content as emerging challenges, customer dynamics and technological advancement continued to create both opportunities and threats.

Mr Okyere said the review would afford DVLA a chance to take stock of its reforms and strategise to improve its operations.
Kasoa: Police grab 4 criminals for blocking road to attack residents [VIDEO]

Emmanuel Bonney Aug - 11 - 2023 , 11:53

The police on Friday arrested four suspected criminals who had mounted a road block ostensibly to slow down the movement of vehicles to attack unsuspecting residents, drivers and passengers in the Kasoa area of the Central Region.

The four, who were wielding items including a machete and two knives, had mounted the road block at Queen City near Ofaakor, off the Bawjiase Road leading to the New Kasoa Market.

The incident happened at about 1:30 a.m. on Friday, which is one of two market days in the area.

The other is on Tuesdays.
Make reading regular habit - Prof. Sutherland-Addy charges students

Emmanuel Bonney & Linda Sah Aug - 11 - 2023 , 06:50

The Board Chairperson of Afram Publications, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, has charged students across the country to make reading a habit in order to develop themselves for the future.

I encourage you all to read not because there are textbooks, but to read for fun and understanding.

Work your way out to be able to read and have fun and enjoy reading, she said.

However, the academic, author, educationist and human rights activist stated that youngsters of today had interest in images more than texts, adding that this is something you need to work your way out of so that you will be able to read and at the same time enjoy reading.

Afram Publications

Prof. Sutherland-Addy said this yesterday at the unveiling of the 50th anniversary logo of Afram Publications in Accra.

The golden jubilee is on the theme: 50 Years of Indigenous Publishing.

The launch was held alongside the Afram Publications third inter-schools debate for four senior high schools in Accra.

They are the Accra Girls SHS, Accra Wesley Girls SHS, the Presbyterian SHS, Osu, and the St Johns Grammar School.

Dubbed, GPA-Afram Inter-school Debate, the event was held under the auspices of the ongoing Ghana International Book Fair.

Stories

We must publish our own books, we must tell our own stories out there so that the world will get to respect us and get to know us and we will get to know ourselves, Prof. Sutherland-Addy stressed.

She stated that the Co-founder of Afram Publications, Efua Sutherland, worked with others, including the late Prof. Kwabena Nketia and American Professor, Willis Bell, to birth Afram Publications.

She called on all young people to be focused, passionate and determined in setting their goals.

If you really believe in something, you can do it and you must be determined and passionate about what you do, Prof. Sutherland-Addy added.

She further encouraged them to be passionate about writing and publishing so that they can make a career from that.

Change

Your story is important and we want to see you out there being a part of the global world which is changing rapidly, she stated.

The Vice-President of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), Edward Yaw Udzu, said the association was the only collective voice of book publishers in the country which served as a rallying point for all book publishers.

He said it provided them a forum where publishers came together to deliberate on various issues affecting the industry.

Mr Udzu told the students, especially the contestants, that one did not win a debate by suppressing a discussion but with a better argument.

Do what you can with what you have, where you are, for everybody is a genius, he said.

He urged the students to always remember that a life spent making mistakes was more honourable and useful than a life spent doing nothing.
New garment, textile manufacturing policy in the offing  Trade Minister

Emmanuel Bruce Aug - 11 - 2023 , 05:44

The government is to introduce a new garment and textile manufacturing policy and incentive framework to position the country to take advantage of global opportunities in the industry.

The policy, which was formulated after extensive consultation with stakeholders, seeks to attract and facilitate targeted investments in the industry.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, announced this in Accra yesterday at the US-Ghana Business Expo organised by the US Embassy in Ghana, in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Ghana.

It was on the theme: "Leveraging US-Ghana trade relation for growth and prosperity.

The minister said there had been a shift in global sourcing in the textiles industry which the country could take advantage of.

He said that increased manufacturing costs in leading garment manufacturing hubs had left buyers searching for long term cost-competitive sourcing destinations.

Ghana US relations

The minister said the theme resonated with the shared commitment to foster strong bilateral ties between Ghana and the US.

Obviously, we would like to see more export of our products to the US market, the most lucrative consumer market globally, he said.

Hammond said this could be achieved through increased investment from the US, especially the largely untapped opportunities the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the Prosper Africa initiative of the US government.

This morning, I had the opportunity to engage in fruitful bilateral talks with the Under Secretary of the US Department of Commerce, Marisa Lago.

We reviewed our bilateral relations, reiterated the need to renew AGOA post-2025, shared views on the business climate, as well as the automotive industry.

We also agreed to build commercial linkages between US-owned businesses and the African market with Ghana as the manufacturing hub, he said.

Initiatives

Ms Lago said the US appreciated the tremendous effort being made by Ghana to welcome many black Americans and US businesses through campaigns such as the Year of Return, and the Diaspora business roadshows.

She said Africa has had strong diaspora ties with the US and was also one of the worlds fastest growing populations with the potential to become the largest burgeoning free trade area.

To give you a sense of the strength of US business interest in Ghana, we initially started recruiting and inviting applications back in December last year.

It did not take long at all until we had a pool of almost 200 companies vying for the opportunity to be here with us today, Ms Lago said.

The President of AMCHAM Ghana, Ayesha Bedwei, also said that the programme marked a significant milestone in strengthening trade ties between Ghana and the US.

She said over 40 exhibitors had showcased their products and services, depicting the entrepreneurial spirit of the two countries.

This expo exemplifies the mutual desire for meaningful partnerships and new avenues for growth and investments.

It also serves as a platform to leverage our strength and foster robust economic partnerships.

Let us forge partnerships that promote trade, investments, technology transfer and skills development for our mutual growth, Ms Bedwei said.

Significance

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, also said the business expo was a demonstration of the strong commitment by the two countries to build stronger economies and create prosperity and jobs.

She said US companies had been at the forefront of development in many key sectors in the country such as telecommunication, mining, industry and food processing and packaging.

Ms Palmer said that most of the American companies coming to Ghana were diasporians and people who knew and understood Ghana or were interested in tracing their roots in the country.
Nobel International graduates first cohort in CIP

Yaa Kuffour Senyah Aug - 11 - 2023 , 07:09

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, has entreated graduates of Nobel International Business School (NIBS) to make practical use of innovation since it is a necessary tool to drive transformative change in society.

He said it was important for them to work with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to make a meaningful impact.

Dr Afriyie, who made the call in his keynote address at the graduation of NIBSs first cohort in the Certified Innovation Professional (CIP) programme in Accra last Wednesday, said in doing that the graduates should consistently innovate with purpose and a deep sense of social responsibility.

Innovation is responsible for considering your innovations' ethical and societal implications.

So, as you create and implement new ideas, always keep in mind the broader impact on communities, the environment and the well-being of individuals, he added.

The ceremony saw 16 professionals being awarded certificates in the CIP programme.

They consisted of two females and 14 males who had undergone varied modules in the space of six months to build their capacity-generating skills and accelerate profitable growth through innovation.

The professionals in the best practices are expected to generate and implement new ideas, advancing collaboration on critical projects and capturing the value of innovation in their various fields of work.

Fast track development

The Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, expressed excitement at the passing out of the new graduates as he explained that it was to create an innovative platform to solve the challenges in society.

He explained that in a world that had moved beyond product and process innovation to a world where real innovation tended to drive the prosperity that we sought, about 20 per cent of well-established organisations and emerging markets within the continent lacked innovative innovation practitioners in their businesses.

Hence, until we are able to overturn the complex challenges that we have in all sectors of the country with innovation, we will not be able to catch up with the kind of pace at which the developed countries are running.

Innovation is the only way we can fast track our development and put ourselves on a pedestal to competently compete with any country so we are not left behind, he explained.

Commendation

The Founder of NIBS, Prof. Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, commended the graduates for their strides in engaging their innovative skills to make their lives and environment better through innovation.

He stated that NIBS nurtured executives through its high-quality research approaches to become more skilled and confident executives ready to face the challenges of their organisations.

The institution also inaugurated a Certified Innovation Professionals Association (CIPA) headed by five executives who will steer the affairs of the association going forward.
Search reveals more cash in Cecilia Dapaahs house

Justice Agbenorsi Aug - 11 - 2023 , 04:00

An investigation conducted at the residence of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, by officers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has led to the retrieval of an additional $590,000 and GH2.73 million from the house at Abelemkpe in Accra.

The cash has since been seized by the OSP on the grounds that it was suspected to be tainted property.

The OSP has subsequently directed the freezing of the bank accounts of Ms Dapaah at Prudential Bank and Societe Generale.

Application

In an application filed yesterday praying the Economic Division of the High Court in Accra to confirm the freezing order, the OSP stated that the move had become necessary to facilitate investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences against the minister.

The application, filed under section 38 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), is expected to be moved on Thursday, August 17, this year.

On July 5, this year, police prosecutors arraigned two househelps working for Ms Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, at an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing money and items worth millions of Ghana cedis from the couple's residence at Abelemkpe.

According to the charge sheet, the accused persons allegedly stole valuable items from the residence of Mrs Dapaah, including $1,000,000 and 300,000 belonging to the couple.

The OSP arrested the minister and commenced investigations into the matter.

In the application filed at the High Court, the OSP noted that Ms Dapaah stated in her initial complaint to the police that $800,000 of the amount reportedly stolen from her residence belonged to her deceased brother and GH300,000 was contribution towards her mother's funeral which was contained in a box.

The OSP added that Ms Dapaah, who later resigned, did not indicate who owned the remaining $200,000.

After several media publications, Ms Dapaah issued a public statement claiming that there were noticeable inconsistencies between the amounts of money being discussed in the public domain and the thrust of the original complaint in the matter.

On July 22, this year, Ms Dapaah resigned from her position as Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, which was subsequently accepted by the President.

On July 24, this year, the OSP arrested her on charges of corruption and corruption-related offences and subsequently conducted searches in three residential properties of Ms Dapaah at Cantonments, Abelemkpe and Tesano in Accra, leading to the new cash discoveries.

According to court documents, the OSP seized the discovered cash sums on the grounds that they were suspected to be tainted property in accordance with section 32(1) of Act 959, hence the need to exercise the power of seizure to prevent concealment of the cash sums.

Circuit Court

Meanwhile, the father of one of the lead suspects has been freed.

Kwaku Botwe became a free man after police prosecutors filed a fresh charge sheet at the Circuit Court which excluded his name.

Botwe is the father of Patience Botwe, a former househelp of Ms Dapaah.

In the new charge sheet, Sarah Agyei and Patience Botwe have been charged with six counts of stealing, while Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have been charged with dishonestly receiving stolen money.

Agyei and Achab, both lactating mothers, have been admitted to bail in the sum of GH1 million each, with three sureties to be justified by the court presided over by Afia Owusuaa Appiah.

Per the bail conditions, the sureties are to deposit their passports and Ghana Cards at the court registry.

The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye, told the court that investigations were ongoing.

Meanwhile, another suspect, Franklin Sarakpo, is currently on the run.

Hearing at the Circuit Court has been adjourned to Tuesday, August 22, this year.
SEND Ghana launches 25th anniversary celebrations

Daily Graphic Aug - 11 - 2023 , 07:24

A non-profit organisation (NGO), SEND Ghana, has launched activities to mark its 25th anniversary celebrations.

Activities include donations to some selected institutions in Accra, Salaga and Tamale, to be climaxed with a public lecture on the theme: "25 years of championing transformative social accountability and livelihood security for the poor and vulnerable," on Thursday, August, 31, 2023.

In commemorating its silver jubilee, the organisation has reaffirmed its commitment to empower the poor and advocate transformative policies in the society.

Commitment

In a statement to officially announce the celebration, the Chief Executive Officer of Send, West Africa, Siapha Kamara, said that with a goal to drive positive change and foster lasting impact in the lives of its beneficiaries in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the organisation since 1998 had created an equal and empowered society where rights and well-being were guaranteed for everyone regardless of age, status, tribe or gender.

Thus marking such a milestone, we are more determined than ever to continue empowering the poor and vulnerable and advocating transformative policies that engender gender equality, social protection, improved healthcare, quality basic education for all and climate-smart agriculture, he assured.

Mr Kamara, therefore, called for total support to help build a world where social accountability was the norm and livelihoods were secured for all.

Impact

Mr Kamara stated that for a quarter of a century, they had fostered open dialogues on issues confronting communities, ensuring that the poor and weak had a voice in critical decision-making processes that had led to tangible and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by our communities.

To this end, our budget advocacy work at the district and national levels has contributed to bringing governance closer to citizens at the grassroots, he said.

He further said that SEND had successfully established family-based farmer cooperatives to support smallholder farmers which had improved their access to resources and opportunities within the agricultural value chain.

Legacy

SEND West Africas CEO also indicated that it had also significantly contributed to changing gender narratives through various approaches such as the Gender Model Family concept, Rural Commercial Women Association and microfinance with credit union orientation.

These approaches, Mr Kamara said, had resulted in empowering women, fostering leadership, assertiveness and decision-making while also promoting financial inclusion and economic empowerment for women.

So, as we commemorate this significant milestone, we express our heartfelt gratitude to all our partners, donors, volunteers, project principals and other stakeholders who have been pivotal to our success.

Together, we have transformed challenges into opportunities, creating a legacy of positive change in the communities we serve, he stated.
Shama: Untapped industrial pot

Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu Aug - 11 - 2023 , 12:00

The Shama Constituency in the Western Region, a fishing community endowed with natural resources, has become one of the biggest energy hubs supporting the countrys efforts towards industrialisation.

The constituency boasts power plants such as the Volta River Authority (VRA) Thermal Plant 1, Thermal Plant 2 and Thermal Plant 3, the Takoradi International Company (TICO), now TAQA, Amandi, among others.

It also hosts the metering station of the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas), the termination and export point of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAPCo) which transports gas from Itoki in Nigeria to Takoradi, and the reverse flow facility transmitting gas from the Western Region to the Tema enclave in the Greater Accra Region.

Shama is one of the 16 constituencies in the Western Region, dominated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Currently, the parliamentary seat is occupied by the NPPs Samuel Erickson Abakah, who beat the then incumbent NPP MP in the internal contest before going on to win the seat in the 2020 general election.

Samuel Erickson Abakah, MP for Shama

Even though the constituency plays host to a lot of companies in the energy and ceramic industries, the people complain that development in general is yet to meet their expectations, citing infrastructure in education, roads and health as prominent areas of their immediate needs.

The constituencys roads stretch up to 93.6 kilometres, out of which 82.8km are engineered, with 65.20km gravelled or unpaved, 24.70km with bitumen or paved surfaces, 5.8km partially engineered, with a five-kilometre stretch with clay surface not engineered.

These roads are, however, not in their best conditions.

A deplorable road

The constituents say the road sector remains a major challenge, citing the link between Shama Apo and Aboadze along the coast and the road linking Shama to the main junction.

In the first week of July, the acting Paramount Queenmother of the Shama Traditional Area, Nana Akosua Gyamfiaba II, dressed in red asafo regalia, led the people of Shama to demonstrate for hours over the deplorable roads and abandoned projects.

The demonstrators blocked the main entrances of roads to settlements and companies at Nyankrom, Aboadze and Shama, causing traffic congestion and inconvenience to workers and commuters.

The demonstrators asked why the communities that were hosts of important national installations such as the thermal power units and ceramic companies which received hundreds of heavy-duty trucks on a regular basis had their roads unattended to.

The acting queenmother said the condition of the roads made it difficult for the sick, pregnant women and the aged to access health care.

The fact is that due to the nature of the roads, commercial vehicles will not even ply them, and those who want to risk it will charge exorbitant fares, she said.

Drivers said although there was a contractor supposedly working on some roads, they could not tell exactly what was happening, and that they felt neglected.

Roads through Abuesi, Nyankrom, Shama Apo, Bentre and Aboadze, and then from the popular Shama Junction towards Konfoeku are in a deplorable state, which some residents said would not attract investors to the community even though they were located along the beautiful coast in the constituency.

Health

In the area of health infrastructure, the constituency has about 22 Community-based Health Planning Services compounds located within all the 17 electoral areas.

The district assembly said 18 of the 22 were fully functional, with one of them upgraded to the status of a health centre, while four were not under proper structures.

However, the construction of a district hospital, for which a sod-cutting event was held in 2020, is yet to take off.

The site has been abandoned ever since it was cleared for the ceremony.



DCEs response

The Chief Executive of the Shama District Assembly, Ebenezer Dadzie, told the Daily Graphic that the government was doing everything possible to upscale the development of the area.

Ebenezer Dadzie  DCE for Shama

The road infrastructure, he acknowledged, had some deficit that the government was working on, and that the pace might be slow but the government was doing everything possible to fix it.

Industrial Shama

The Shama Constituency also hosts the various switchyards and the 250-megawatt (MW) Africa and Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI) Thermal Power Plant and a well-structured VRA community at Aboadze.

With the emergence of the upstream oil and gas companies, the constituency also hosts a wholly owned Ghanaian oil and gas waste management companies, namely the Zeal Environmental Technologies Limited and Zoil Ghana, the Twyford Ceramics Factory and warehouses.

Ghana Gas Metering station in the Shama District

The constituency has an appreciable land bank for investors under the countrys Free Zones Enclave.

The host Shama District, one of the 14 districts in the Western Region, was carved out of the former Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly, with Shama as its administrative capital.

Apart from the industrial interest, agriculture plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of the Shama District as more than 35 per cent of the districts population are engaged in agriculture, with the economically active population aged between 15 and 64 years.

The agronomy sector which comprises crops, livestock, fisheries, agroforestry and non-traditional commodities and crop farming and fishing accounts for about 92.7 per cent of the districts businesses.

The 2021 population and housing census conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service estimated the population of the Shama District as 112,875, with a growth rate of 3.2 per cent.

Natural resources

The Shama Constituency is blessed with natural resources, water bodies, a long stretch of coastline with dotted islands in the shallow waters, quarries and large deposits of high-grade clay for ceramics, which in recent times have attracted investors in the ceramic industry.

The emergence of ceramic factories in the area to absorb the rich clay deposits came as good news to constituents who might have seen the potential of it to create jobs and wealth for the people.

However, that dream is threatened by the unstructured and unregulated clay and sand-winning activities that affect the environmental safety, roads and the health of the people.

West African Gas Pipeline Company regulation and metering station in the Shama District

The unguarded exploitation without permit has left the communities in the district with many abandoned pits, streets inundated with sediments of clay droppings from trucks.

The constituency is also endowed with various mineral deposits, including gold, salt, kaolin-clay and granite, which currently remain the most exploited.

Pra River

The residents along the coast of Shama tell lovely tales about the Pra River that flows through the community but claim that due to greed, the river body has become a curse.

The illegal mining activities, commonly called galamsey, have heavily polluted the river, threatening its aquatic life.

Debris from the heavily polluted Pra River, as a result of illegal mining activities, has changed the colour of the river, while the shore is left unattractive to tourists and even members of the communities.

Shama, which is endowed with a beautiful coastline, an estuary and a long Ramsar site towards the estuary, creates a perfect ambiance for all manner of birds and serves as a breeding ground for fish species, but is now muddy and unkempt.

Until now, Shama was known more for quarry and agriculture (farming and fishing) than illegal mining, but now its coast is suffering the effect of galamsey at the estuary.

Residents say the situation is denying them the needed investment, as investors who have bought land in the area to develop into beach resorts appear to be shying away.

They blame the situation largely on the inability of the duty bearers to clamp down on illegal mining to free the coast of the destructive activities.

Places to remember

The constituency has interesting names such as Antsembua, literally translated as If I did not hear, I dont respond; Obinimokyina, meaning nobody knows tomorrow; Asem Asa, which translates as end of story; Aboadze, Abuesi, Inchaban, Shama, Shama Junction, Assorkor-Essaman and Supomu-Dunkwa, and Ohiamadwen.

It also has the Anlo Village, a unique settlement of people from Anlo in the Volta Region.

Situated towards Komenda in the Central Region, the community appears to have, however, lost the beauty of the natural deep blue sea due to sea erosion.

The incessant illegal mining activities in the Pra River, which joins the sea at Anlo Village, has polluted the entire coastline, affecting aquatic life in the waters.

Some residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic during a tour said water from the Pra River was once fresh and clean and served as a source of drinking water for the riverine communities.

The Pra River, the residents complained, is now muddy due to illegal mining activities.

The situation has left a lot of tourism potential in the area yet to be harnessed to create wealth and jobs.

Even though the coast along the area is relatively serene, it has limited hospitality facilities to attract visitors.
Towards energy sufficiency: Nuclear power inches home - Installation site identified, vendor selection ongoing

Juliet Akyaa Safo Aug - 11 - 2023 , 12:02

The countrys quest to produce power from nuclear energy, one of the most reliable sources of power generation, has been given a further boost with the identification of a preferred site for the plant.

Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), which is executing the project, has identified a preferred site and a backup site for the installation of the countrys first nuclear power plant.

It has also initiated the process of selecting the technology vendor to mount the nuclear power plant.

At a press conference in Accra last Wednesday, the Executive Director of NPG, Dr Stephen Yamoah, said the selection of the site, which was part of phase two of the countrys Nuclear Power Programme, was done after technical studies of the area were completed.

Phase two of the project entails identifying a preferred site, conducting detailed site investigations and assessment of various technologies, selecting a strategic partner and conducting community engagement and stakeholder management.

The current process includes detailed site investigations to assess the sites readiness to accept nuclear technology.

Already, Dr Yamoah said, some vendors had been invited to the site to appreciate the terrain.

Hopefully by the end of the year, in dialogue with the Ministry of Energy and the government, we will have a direction as to the vendor and technology to select to pave the way for contract negotiations and discussions, he said.

NRA conference

The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) organised the press conference in collaboration with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, with sponsorship from the European Union through a consulting firm, ENCO.

The conference provided a platform for stakeholders to learn and discuss the status of Ghana's Nuclear Power Programme, as well as the role of the NRA in the programme.

On the theme, The Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority in Ghana's Nuclear Power Programme", the event was attended by government officials, representatives from industries, students and the media.

Funding

On the issue of funding, Dr Yamoah said some mechanisms and structures would be put in place to ensure that the project was sustained.

He indicated that the financing of the project was one of the key topics discussed with the vendors.

The Executive Director of NPG said steps were also underway to ensure that the project remained on schedule after its commencement to avoid cost overruns.

He added that the NPG would collaborate with advanced countries to build its capacity, adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency had been the backbone of training and exposing experts to various approaches.

The Executive Director gave an assurance that when completed, tariffs for nuclear energy would be in the single digit.

Nuclear power

In view of the countrys dwindling energy sources, he said the country needed to add nuclear power to its energy mix.

He said it was important to scale up the countrys current power generation, which was around 5,000MW, serving the over 30 million population.

He stressed that a reliable baseload power to support the countrys industrialisation transformation agenda was necessary.

Nuclear desirability comes in terms of reliability, affordability, security of supply and the fact that it galvanises industrial growth and that is what we need, he said.

Strategic partner

The Deputy Director of the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), Dr Archibold Buah-Kwofie, disclosed that requests for further information from vendors had been made and the responses received were being evaluated.

We will come up with a report that will advise the government on the potential strategic partner, vendor or technology to go with.

At the end of phase two, we would have identified a strategic partner, come out with a feasibility report that will entail all investigation, including the environmental impact assessment conducted as part of the site characterisation, he added.

The Director-General of the NRA, Dr Nii Kwashie Allottey, said every stage of the nuclear power programme would go through a regulatory process to ensure that activities undertaken met the NRAs standards and requirements.

He reiterated that the NRA had intensified public education and engagement, expressing its commitment to regulate the civilian use of nuclear and other radioactive materials in medicine, industry, agriculture, education and research.
UPSA initiates construction of police station

Daily Graphic Aug - 11 - 2023 , 05:50

The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has initiated moves for the construction of a Police station for the university community.

The construction of the one-storey model police station signals a significant step towards ensuring a safer community for students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities.

The project is scheduled to be completed within nine months.

The Vice-Chancellor of UPSA, Prof. Abednego F. O. Amartey, said the commencement of the project marked a pivotal moment in the universitys history, adding that it underscores their dedication to ensure a secure and thriving environment for community members.

With the ever-increasing number of students and expanding community around the university, the need for enhanced security measures has become evident, Prof. Amartey said.

Ensuring safety

The Director-General, Services, of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Enoch Adutwum Bediako, who handed the land documents to the university management, said the construction of the station signified the universitys determination to address safety concerns in the community.

This police station will enable us to better serve the needs of the university and its community by enhancing police visibility to deter criminal activities, he added.

Appreciation

The Chairman of the UPSA Governing Council, Dr Kofi Ohene-Konadu, expressed appreciation for the project, saying the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and neighbouring communities are of utmost importance to us.

He thanked the police administration, the Lands Commission, and the President of the UPSA Global Alumni Association, Francis Dadzie, for their respective roles in securing the parcel of land for the project.

Dr Ohene-Konadu, however, urged the alumni and the general public to contribute towards the construction of the project.
US Ambassador cautions Ghana on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation's potential impact on US investment

GraphicOnline Aug - 11 - 2023 , 12:33

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has issued a cautionary message regarding the potential consequences of enacting the Anti-LGBTQ+ law, highlighting potential implications for trade and investment in the country.

Ambassador Palmer expressed that the passage of the legislation could potentially affect Ghana's attractiveness to foreign investors.

She emphasized that numerous American companies are considering investment opportunities in Ghana, but the implementation of discriminatory laws might tarnish the nation's reputation and reduce its appeal to investors.

Addressing journalists in Accra, Ambassador Palmer stated: "Lots of ethnic communities make Ghana strong, stable, and attractive for investments. I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQ community.

"They should be managed to be made the colour of the money green or red if its Ghanaian, but if there is discrimination, then that will send a signal not to [only] LGBTQ investors and exporters but to other American companies that Ghana is less welcoming than I am telling people that it is now".

The Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, which is presently under review by the Parliament, seeks to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, prohibit the promotion and advocacy of LGBTQ+ content, and provide safeguards and support for minors and individuals involved in LGBTQ+ matters.

In July 2023, the Ghanaian Supreme Court dismissed a legal application seeking an injunction against the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, concerning the bill's ongoing consideration. The applicant, Dr. Amanda Odoi, a researcher, contended that the bill's deliberation is in breach of Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution.

Article 108 stipulates that Parliament cannot consider bills or motions that impose taxation or charges on the consolidated fund or other public funds unless introduced by the president. Dr. Odoi argued that the bill if passed, would impose a charge on the consolidated fund and infringe upon the Constitution, as it is categorized as a private members bill.

The ongoing legal action contributes to the ongoing debate and controversy surrounding the anti-LGBTQ+ bill. The proposed legislation has evoked diverse viewpoints among stakeholders, sparking discussions on its potential implications for Ghanaian society and international relations.
2 MPs support BECE candidates

Nana Konadu Agyeman Politics Aug - 11 - 2023 , 06:34

Two Members of Parliament (MPs) have donated 2,381 sets of mathematical instruments to the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates from public and private basic schools in their constituencies.

The MPs are the New Patriotic Party MP for Nsuta/Kwaman Beposo, Adelaide Ntim, and the National Democratic Congress MP for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.

Ms Ntim provided students with 1,250 mathematical sets, while Mr Dafeamekpor gave out 1,131 sets of instruments to the students.

Best of luck

Handing over the instruments to the candidates at Nsuta Kwamang Beposo before the examination which is expected to end today, Ms Ntim said the donation of the instruments was done annually as part of her support to BECE candidates.

Some of the BECE candidates displaying the mathematical sets.

As a mother for all these children going to write the examination, this is one of the support I extend to them so they have a sense of feeling that they have a mother who cares about them too, she said.

She encouraged the beneficiaries and wished them well in the examination, saying their success would give them a place at the senior high school (SHS) level to continue with their education which has been made free by the NPP government.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, since coming to office, has put in place the free senior high school education to make education more accessible and I hope parents will embrace this and stop their children from becoming pregnant, she advised.

Give your best

In the South Dayi Constituency, Mr Dafeamekpor presented the instruments to candidates at four examination centres at the Kpeve Senior High Technical School, Peki SHS and Tongor Senior High Technical School.

Adelaide Ntim, NPP MP for Nsuta/Kwaman Beposo (left) handing over the mathematical sets

The MP told the Daily Graphic the donation was the eighth in a series he had extended to candidates since 2016.

I hope these mathematical sets will aid all our candidates to give their best so you come out with good results, he said.
NDC clarifies disputed suspension of 'women's organizer' who backed Alan in Kumawu

Kweku Zurek Politics Aug - 10 - 2023 , 19:13

Amid circulating claims of suspending its women's organizer for the Kumawu Constituency, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has refuted these assertions. Multiple reports had suggested that Madam Akua Afriyie had been suspended for publicly endorsing Mr Alan Kyerematen, the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) presidential hopeful.

However, in a statement dated August 9, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NDC, Dr. Frank Amoakohene asserted that the party's leadership had not authorized any such disciplinary action.

The NDC clarified that Akua Afriyie's name does not appear in any of its records as a women's organizer or party executive, be it at the branch, constituency, or regional level.

Dr. Amoakohene's statement addressed a publication in the Chronicle newspaper, which had been subsequently republished by other media outlets.

The publication had claimed that the NDC suspended its women's organizer for the Kumawu Constituency due to her purported support for one of the NPP's Presidential Aspirants, Alan Kyerematen.

The NDC statement read, "I wish to by this statement debunk the publication and put on record that, no such declaration has been made by any of our women's organizers, and no such purported suspension has been occasioned by any structure of the party."

The party's reaction comes after a widely circulated video depicted Madam Akua Afriyie expressing admiration for Alan Kyerematen. In the video, she indicated that, despite her NDC affiliation, she would cast her vote for Mr. Kyerematen if he were to be the NPP's flagbearer in the 2024 elections.

Dr. Amoakohene concluded the statement by reiterating the NDC's primary focus: the 2024 elections, aiming to secure victory for the party's flagbearer John Dramani Mahama and the NDC.
Speaker commends Bunkpurugu students for mock parliamentary debate

Daily Graphic Politics Aug - 11 - 2023 , 06:43

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has lauded students from the Bunkpurugu Constituency in the North East Region for their impressive display in a mock parliamentary debate that won the hearts and admiration of many Ghanaians.

Mr Bagbin made the commendation at an educational forum organised by the Department of Public Engagement in Parliament at the Justice D.F. Annan auditorium for some students from the Bunkpurugu constituency, a day after the House adjourned sine die last week Thursday.

The forum, organised in conjunction with the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bunkpurugu, Abed-nego Azumah Bandim, and coordinated by a National Executive Committee (NEC) member of the NDC, Cecilia Asaga, sought to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the students in parliamentary proceedings and democratic governance in the country, gave the students a visitor experience of Parliament, and fostered meaningful interaction among Members of Parliament (MPs).

The visit by the students followed a video of some students of the Kings Star Academy in Bunkpurugu, whose mock parliamentary proceedings went viral on social media.

MPs

MPs who were present to interact with the students were MP for Nadowli Kaleo, Anthony Mwinkaara Sumah; MP for Salaga South, Zuwera Ibrahimah; MP for Yunyoo, Oscar Liwaal and MP for Timpani, Lamisi Lydia

Steadfast

The Speaker, while applauding the students for their articulate demonstration of mock parliamentary business, urged them to remain steadfast in all their endeavours and encouraged them to not allow present conditions to hinder them from achieving their dreams.

He recounted his humble beginnings in worse circumstances, challenging him to defy all odds to rise to the highest office in Parliament as the first Northerner to achieve that feat.

Mr Bagbin described the students as a shining example and advised them to be focused, explore their unique potentials and identities and embrace determination, emphasising that determination determines a destiny.

The speaker pledged his support to an appeal for a motorable road network, which is presently affecting education.

He assured the students of advocating for the construction of better roads in their constituency.

Civic engagement

The MP for Bunkpurugu, Mr Bandim, praised the Speaker for the audience, saying the interaction would broaden their mind, promote civic engagement and develop the next generation of leaders who are informed, and dedicated to having a positive impact on society.

I am convinced that this first-hand experience with the legislature would position them to critically evaluate the actions and policies of elected officials, and hold elected representatives to a higher standard, Mr Bindam espoused.

He applauded the teachers for their exceptional guidance and tutoring, contributing to the students' impressive performance in the viral video.



Constituents

Erica Yandam, the student who played the role of a Speaker in the viral video, could not express her joy meeting the Speaker of Parliament on her first trip to Accra, saying her dream has always been to become Ghanas Speaker one day and the educational trip has inspired that dream.
Volta Region: 3 NPP constituency chairmen rally support for Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto

GraphicOnline Politics Aug - 11 - 2023 , 05:44

In a bid to galvanize momentum for the upcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) internal elections, three Constituency Chairmen from the Volta Region have fervently urged delegates to throw their support behind Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto as the flagbearer for the 2024 elections.

In the constituencies of Keta, Anlo, and Afadzato, these Chairmen passionately advocated for Dr. Afriyie Akoto, citing his transformative agricultural vision for Ghana as the most promising pathway for the country's future prosperity.

Endorsing his reputation as a dedicated and capable public servant, these Chairmen contend that Dr. Afriyie Akoto's substantial accomplishments in his role as the former Minister for Food and Agriculture position him as an exceptional candidate to guide the NPP to success in the upcoming polls.

Their collective rallying call took place as Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto embarked on a campaign tour of the Volta Region. The goal of this tour was to communicate his vision for both the NPP and Ghana as a whole, should he be chosen as the Flagbearer and subsequently elected as President.

Mr. Gershon Zuttah, the Chairman of the Afadzato Constituency, lauded Dr. Afriyie Akoto's message and the ethical campaign he has undertaken. Zuttah emphasized the importance of Dr. Afriyie Akoto's vision centered around agricultural development to propel Ghana to new heights. Zuttah urged delegates not to overlook this visionary leader, urging them to vote for Dr. Afriyie Akoto to harness his expertise for the country's betterment.

Mr. Joseph Adranyi, Chairman of the Anlo Constituency, underscored the indisputable record of excellence that Dr. Afriyie Akoto built during his tenure as the head of the Agriculture sector. Adranyi maintained that Dr. Afriyie Akoto's stellar track record is a testament to his suitability to lead the NPP to victory in the 2024 election. Adranyi encouraged delegates to rally behind Dr. Afriyie Akoto's candidacy in the Flagbearer race.

Similarly, Dr. Benjamin Dzameshie, Chairman for the Keta Constituency, emphasized Dr. Afriyie Akoto's potential to break the cycle of eight-year governance. Dr. Dzameshie commended Dr. Afriyie Akoto's vision of establishing businesses to cater to party needs and members' welfare, likening it to successful party models in countries like South Africa and Mexico.

The NPP's internal race features ten aspirants, including Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, and others. A Special Delegates Congress scheduled for August 26, 2023, will select five aspirants who will compete for the flagbearer position on November 4, 2023, ultimately shaping the party's leadership for the 2024 general elections.
ZeroAvia has developed a high-performance compressor for fuel cell-based aviation propulsion systems, including the companys first ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain. (Earlier post.)

Hydrogen fuel cells may offer the ability to deliver true zero-emission flight by delivering electrification, but one key challenge is delivering the high flow of oxygen for the chemical reaction in the stacks to provide sufficient quantities of electricity to power the aircraft. At higher altitudes, air compressors need to be powerful and efficient, while not adding undue weight to the propulsion system and thus impacting payload and range.





The ZeroAvia compressor is designed and tested specifically to comply with all requirements pertaining to hydrogen fuel cell-powered aviation propulsion systems. ZeroAvia will incorporate the technology as a core part of its first two hydrogen-electric engines: the ZA600 for 9-19 seat aircraft targeting entry-in-service by 2025, and the ZA2000 for 40-80 seat aircraft with EIS targeted for 2027.

Initial testing of the ZeroAvia compressor indicates that it offers highly stable performance across a large range of power and operating environment requirements. Supporting up to 900kW fuel cell systems, the compressor is many times more powerful than any existing fuel cell compressors and offers superior power density, ZeroAv ia says.

The ZeroAvia compressor has also been designed to operate with zero latency via an innovative flow management approach. The compressor runs on the power provided by the core electric propulsion system, eliminating the additional inverter and electric motor normally required in fuel cell systems. The resulting reduction in complexity will aid certification of ZeroAvias powertrains, and fewer components means further reduced weight and greater reliability.

This weight efficient system coupled with stable performance across a wide range of parameters makes ZeroAvias compressor technology an attractive solution for high-power and high-altitude transport applications. The compressor has been designed to meet all environmental conditions and aerospace standards, and the company plans certification testing to begin over the course of the next year.

The performance to date is validation that ZeroAvias overarching powertrain will be capable of delivering large commercial, as well as environmental, benefits to airline operators. The company will also leverage the technology to enable enhanced testing of its HTPEM fuel cell stacks for ZA2000 and larger fixed wing and rotorcraft applications.

ZeroAvias hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircrafts propellers, with only water vapor emissions. The company has already signed pre-order agreements for nearly 2,000 engines with airlines including American, United and Alaska.
The Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees approved additional funding for a second phase of a project that will add a safety coating to windows at district schools during Tuesday nights meeting.

The 3M Window Coating Project is an ongoing project that involves putting a safety coating on glass windows in the front entryways of all district school buildings. The board previously approved $37,000 for the project. At the meeting they approved the request for an additional $29,000.

Doug Hamel, the Maintenance and Facilities Supervisor for the district, made the request to the board and explained that the funding had to be approved in phases because the total funds would have been over the limit set for Superintendent Craig Barringer to approve.

The project also changed and expanded after a demonstration with the Green River Police Department. Hamel explained the original plan was just to coat the outside of the windows, but after the demonstration the decision was made to do an additional coating on the inside of the windows for increased safety.

Chairman Steve Core noted that he attended the demonstration with the police department. He explained a police officer shot the glass with the coating on it. While the coating doesnt stop a bullet from going all the way through, it does make the glass sturdier after its been shot. Core explained the officer wasnt able to kick in the glass or even break it by hitting it with a lead pipe.

What it does is allows us time, Core said, explaining the safety measures would give those inside time to respond before the situation escalates further. I was very, very impressed with it, and Im glad youre going to do both sides.

Hamel also clarified that the doors that were donated for the demonstration had one piece of glass, not insulated glass, and the demonstration tested glass with both one layer of the safety coating and two layers. He also noted the change of doing the second layer will be a change in the contract with DJs Glass, who the funds are going to, and verified that DJs Glass received special training to install the safety coating, and the next-closest 3M dealer is in Salt Lake City.

The additional funds were approved unanimously.

This board is committed to the safety of our students and I think this will help us, Core said.

Summer projects update

While the 3M Window Coating Project is ongoing, other projects across the district have seen significant progress during the summer.

Hamel presented an update on summer projects to the school board during the meeting.

Projects that have been completed include putting security doors at Lincoln Middle School and new turf on the stadium fields.

The largest ongoing project is the Central Kitchen, which is an over $3 million project. Hamel estimated the first phase is almost 90% done, and added that more work will be done with the contractor in September.

Two projects involving boilers and burners are waiting on burners being shipped that Hamel hopes will arrive next week.

A project to update the Green River High School roof will most likely be worked on in October.

The board also asked for an update on the Harrison Elementary playground and was told demolition had started and the hope is to have things done by August 15.
The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office and Sweetwater County Attorney's Office have announced the identity of the suspect charged with the murder of 30-year-old Colter Watsabaugh last month in Reliance.

William Thomas Brewer, 32, of Rock Springs, was initially arrested during the early morning hours of Monday, July 17 on an outstanding bench warrant, less than 24 hours after county deputies and detectives discovered Watsabaugh's body, according to the press release.

Watsabaugh's death was ruled a homicide, and Brewer has remained in police custody at the county jail on unrelated charges since his arrest.

County authorities are not releasing further details about Watsabaugh's death, citing the integrity of active and ongoing investigation.

"Brewer now faces official charges of first degree murder and concealing a dead body," the press release states. "Given his criminal history, he also faces a sentencing enhancement for habitual offenders. If convicted, Brewer could serve life in prison, life in prison without parole or death."

Watsabaugh, of Teton County, was found by passersby near a dirt side-road in Reliance the afternoon of July 16. He had been living and working in Rock Springs prior to his death, according to a previous sheriff's office press release.

Other agencies assisting with the homicide investigation include the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, pled guilty to arson of a building used in interstate commerce, specifically the Wellspring Health Access Clinic located in Casper, Wyoming. Green entered her guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on July 20. She was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following the hearing.

At the hearing, Green admitted that she set fire to the clinic on May 25, 2022, which was under construction at the time and planned to offer OB/GYN services, gender-affirming care, and abortion procedures. Green was arrested on March 21, 2023, and then indicted by the federal grand jury in May.

Green is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Johnson on October 6, 2023. Green faces a minimum of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release following her incarceration, a $100 special assessment, and restitution. Judge Johnson will determine Greens sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This crime was investigated by the Casper Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Other recent sentencings from the Wyoming Attorneys Office

Leonard Dale Van Dam, age 73, of Green River was sentenced on July 12 to 30 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release and a $200 special assessment for escape from custody and for possession with intent to distribute heroin. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence. This crime was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Z. Seth Griswold.

Kyle Smith, age 33, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was sentenced on July 31 to 420 months imprisonment for sexual exploitation of children and attempted sexual exploitation of a child. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence which included fifteen years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment and $3,206.67 in restitution.

Co-conspirators George Daniel Nitchman, age 50, of Worland; Jeffrey Johnson, age 33; Michael Shae Kelli, age 23, both of Sheridan; and Joseph Raymond Stone, age 44 of Porterville, California, were recently sentenced for their roles in a drug trafficking ring. A fifth co-conspirator, Anthony Rodriguez, age 51, of Porterville, California, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1.

Cole Douglas Herrick, age 40, of Casper and Colorado residents Scott Alan Buchanan, age 44, and Chad Alexander Buchanan, age 48, were recently sentenced for their involvement in a drug trafficking ring that was responsible for bringing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl into the Casper area.
Hoyt Jasson, 9, Bronson Jasson, 7, and Bridger Jasson, 4, with their mother, Amy Jasson, show off the clay pots they created at the recent event hosted by the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River.

Children who attended a recent clay pottery class at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum were able to pick up their creations last week.

Photo courtesy of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum A group of young potters, instructed by museum staff, built their own clay pots using ancient coil and scrape techniques.

"Pottery is an ancient craft, going back at least 30,000 years in cultures worldwide, including those of prehistoric indigenous peoples in the American West," a museum press release explained.

Instructed by Dave Mead and Aidan Brady of the museum's staff, kids, parents, and caregivers created their own small clay pots, using ageless coil and scrape techniques.

The finished pots were not kiln-fired, but set aside to air dry, to be picked up later by the young potters.

Educators, parents, and parent-teacher groups who are interested in learning more about museum programs for students Grades K - 12 are encouraged to contact Brady at (307) 872-6435 or via email at programs@sweetwatercountywy.gov.

The museum is located at 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way in Green River. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there is no charge for admission.
According to an Android expert, Google is readying a new feature related to connectivity across Android devices connected to a single account. Something like Apple's existing Continuity feature, which allows users to take calls from their iPhone on their Macs and iPads as long as they are on the same network.

Having all your Android devices connected on one Google account will allow features like Call Switching and Internet Sharing. The first one is pretty self-explanatory while the latter is an easy way to share your main device's network connection with your other Android devices. Just like a mobile hotspot would.

Interestingly enough, the screenshot provided suggests that the Call Switching feature will work across different Android phones, while Apple's solution doesn't allow you to take calls from another iPhone. It's limited to iPads, Macs and MacBooks.

Although Google hasn't announced any plans for such feature, Mishaal Rahman suggests the "Link Your Device" feature will appear in the Settings > Google > Devices & Sharing sub-menu.

Source
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Norman Analista, is the founder of Analista & Co., a Guam-based fashion brand specializing in bespoke apparel. He has designed clothing for dozens of celebrities and social media influencers in the US, Asia, and Europe. For unpublished content related to this column, follow @tastemaker671 on Instagram. For story suggestions email nanalista@yahoo.com
Twelve environmental warriors celebrated their graduation from Season Three of the Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps on Friday morning.

Gathered at the Central Community Art Center in Sinajana, graduates and dignitaries were able to participate in a graduation ceremony despite schedule adjustments halfway through the five-month program due to Typhoon Mawar.

Jace Blas, who balanced his participation in the program along with being a restaurant manager, shared his appreciation for being given the opportunity to step up.

A lot of us are trying to find where we belong, and all of you are helping us do that. Ive worked with strong people, but you all showed me up, stated Blas. Ill work eight days a week for you if I could. As CHamoru people, we are very enduring. Even if youre not CHamoru, now you are. We are very strong.

Blas further noted the imminent expansion of Guam.

Guam is growing in every way possible. With leaders like you and people like us coming together, we can all sleep good if we can properly guide this growth, added Blas. The world is just going to be a better place at the end of the day. On behalf of our cohort, thank you.

Really grateful

Maria Balbin noted that the program allowed her to experience the wonders of Guam firsthand after being raised off-island in the past and coming back to Guam four years ago.

I never knew what it meant to be from Guam or be CHamoru. I could never answer anyones questions, said Balbin. I got to expand my mind, so Im really grateful for that.

Balbin added how despite each member being different from one another, they managed to still work together and work against the issues at hand.

We made sure to accommodate everyones style because we want a better future. Were going to do whatever it takes, put our differences aside and practice tolerance. From tolerance is pretty much love, added Balbin. Practice love daily. Its us versus the problem. Its not us versus one another. We need that better future now.

Along Blas and Balbin, Michael Jude Hernandez, Ciara Taijeron, Elisa Rose Padilla, Michael Torres III, Connor Law, Laura Zayan, Zeriah Blas, Michael Ray Herbert, Javier Mercado and Cassie Bordallo were fellow Crew Leaders as part of the graduating third G3 Conservation Corps cohort.

Glimpse into reality

Dr. Austin Shelton, director of the Center for Island Sustainability, shared that cohorts shift in the program was glimpse into the reality of climate change.

Were seeing it through the intensity of storms, rising sea levels and increasing temperatures of our seawater. All of these came together in real time during your cohort, said Shelton as he referred to Mawars impact in May. We had to get you on the ground doing real activities that would help our island and see what its like to recover in these times. These lessons would stay with you for the rest of your lives.

Shelton further added how the G3 Conservation Corps operates as a workforce development program.

It prepares the community for the emerging green economy. They get training in agriculture, aquaculture, invasive species removal, renewable energy, ocean conservation and more, added Shelton. This is going to live in our island and build up our capacity for that sustainable future were creating together.

Phillip Cruz, one of the cohorts program coordinators, emphasized the work ethic of the cohort to adapt during the five months.

This is something that they can bring into their future careers. With the typhoon, we had to pause on the programming that we had scheduled so we can work on typhoon recovery for a little over a month, said Cruz. They really got to experience hands-on projects in sustainability. It was a great experience working with them, and Im very excited to see what they have planned for the future.

Cruz added that the point of this program is to help those that may not have backgrounds or prior experiences, but now have the aspirations to be eligible applicants in conservation or sustainability.

Throughout the five months, we partner with different GovGuam agencies and nonprofit organizations, added Cruz. We try to recruit those who will benefit from this program and help them get into a field that they want.

Tasks completed

This years season three cohort has a lot to celebrate with all the following tasks completed between Mar. 7 and Aug. 4:
A lawsuit has been filed against Dr. Erik Swanson, superintendent of the Guam Department of Education, and the eight members of the GDOE board.

Two GDOE public school students, represented by their parents and their counsel, Daniel Somerfleck of the Guam Legal Services Corporation-Disability Law Center, brought the action to allege that Swanson and the GDOE board have systematically failed in their official capacity as a matter of policy and practice to provide the necessary and statutorily guaranteed adequate educational services.

Documents from the Office of the Attorney General of Guam included an affidavit from each of the two parents on claims of possible irreparable harm from GDOE.

The first parent stated that their son attended Oceanview Middle School and may experience respiratory issues, including shortness of breath, tiredness and progressive weight loss if exposed to mold.

During the school tear 2022-2023, my sons first year at Oceanview Middle School, he started having a rash with discharge on his lower right eye. In December 2022, a doctor prescribed a steroid medication, said the parent. During the Christmas break, the rash completely healed. Upon returning to school, the rash below his right eye started again. During the summer break, the rash appeared to have completely healed.

The first affidavit was supported by the Department of Public Health and Social Services inspection of OMS that found multiple violations of the school sanitary requirements including the presence of mold.

Because of his asthma and other respiratory conditions when exposed to mold has caused him irreparable injury and continued exposure is probable to cause him irreparable injury, concluded the parent.

The second parents affidavit indicated that their daughter who attended Agueda I. Johnston Middle School did not receive her education from a certified teacher for the daughters Individualized Education Plan on or about 64 occasions.

Of particular concern is that from Feb. 5 to Mar. 7, the certified teacher of her resource room reading class was not present, nor was instruction conducted by a certified teacher, stated the parent in their affidavit. From April 21 through May 19, the certified teacher of her resource room language arts class was not present, nor was her instruction conducted by a certified teacher in violation of her right adequate public education and causing her irreparable harm.

The affidavit concluded to state that the daughter will continue to suffer irreparable injury as a result of the defendants failure to provide an adequate public education system if the superintendent and the board are not required to provide a certified teacher for every class she attends.

Somerfleck is seeking a declaratory and injunctive relief to require Swanson and the board to implement a corrective action plan to provide an adequate public education, according to a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief document from the Office of the Attorney General of Guam.

The document also shows that the plaintiffs are requesting the court to deem it unlawful that Swanson and the boards failed to implement the Every Child is Entitled to an Adequate Public Education Act as unlawful. Additionally, they are requesting for the same action from the court in regards to Swanson and the boards failure to develop a system in which students of the GDOE are provided with an appropriate adequate public education.

The document then requests that the plaintiffs are provided with an appropriate and adequate education with an approval plan for the implementation of corrective actions within GDOE.




Haiti - FLASH USA : The DHS modernizes the conditional stay process for the family reunification of Haitians





The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today published Federal Register notices that will update and modernize the Cuban and Haitian family reunification parole (FRP) processes, reflecting extensive feedback from stakeholders on these important programs. With the modernization of these processes, petitioners will be able to complete most of the FRP process on a secure online platform, eliminating the burden of travel, time, and paperwork and increasing access to participation. The process is still available on an invitation-only basis.



The Cuban family reunification parole (CFRP) and Haitian family reunification parole (HFRP) processes promote family unity, and updates were first previewed as part of the comprehensive measures announced in April by DHS and the Department of State, consistent with our commitment under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.



Lawful pathways, combined with strong enforcement, are effective at reducing irregular migration to the United States and preventing migrants from putting their lives in the hands of smugglers, said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. This modernization of the family reunification parole processes improves our ability to maintain the integrity of our vetting and screening standards, responds to important feedback from stakeholders in both the Cuban and Haitian communities, and ensures meaningful access  consistent with our values  for potential beneficiaries.



Effective August 11, 2023, most steps of the updated processes will be completed online, with the exception of the completion of a panel physician exam overseas and the in-person parole determination made upon arrival by air at an interior U.S. Port of Entry. Eligible beneficiaries must be outside the United States and are no longer required to be physically present in Cuba or Haiti.



DHS made these updates by leveraging technological advancements developed since CFRPs inception in 2007 and HFRPs inception in 2014. These advancements will improve process efficiencies. DHS will continue to verify an individuals identity and eligibility on a case-by-case basis and to conduct robust and multilayered security vetting.



Both processes begin with the Department of States National Visa Center issuing an invitation to the petitioning U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member whose Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed on behalf of a Cuban or Haitian beneficiary, has been approved. The petitioner can then initiate the FRP process by filing Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, on behalf of the principal beneficiary and any derivative beneficiary spouse and children to be considered for advance travel authorization and parole.



USCIS will send a letter to CFRP petitioners who have a pending Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, filed for a principal beneficiary who is waiting for an interview in Havana. Additionally, DHS is making the HFRP process more accessible by opening the process to all Haitian approved principal beneficiaries, regardless of when USCIS approved the Form I-130 (previously, eligibility was limited to those approvals issued on or before December 18, 2014).



DHS is committed to ensuring that the CFRP and HFRP processes reunite families and provide a safe and orderly process that enables certain Cuban and Haitian nationals and their derivative spouse and children to enter the United States without making the dangerous journey to the Southwest Border or through maritime routes. These efforts are consistent with the U.S. national interest and its foreign policy priorities, including initiatives intended to expand access to and streamline lawful pathways to discourage irregular migration.



The Federal Register notices for Cuba and Haiti provide detailed information on the application process and eligibility criteria.



Conditional stay program, conditions and steps to follow :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38566-haiti-flash-new-us-entry-program-for-haitian-migrants-conditions-and-steps-to-follow.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39990-haiti-flash-conditional-stay-promise-of-the-united-states.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39707-haiti-flash-the-threat-to-biden-s-conditional-stay-program-pushed-back.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39606-haiti-flash-conditional-stay-program-more-than-580-000-haitian-files-pending.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39437-haiti-flash-new-radical-us-measures-to-reduce-illegal-migration-at-the-border.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38913-haiti-flash-biden-proposes-very-harsh-legislation-for-asylum-seekers-at-the-border.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38700-haiti-new-migration-program-20-us-states-take-legal-action-against-the-dhs.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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New land-sea trade corridor boosts connectivity between China, Southeast Asia

People's Daily Online) 15:49, August 11, 2023

A Lancang-Mekong-Sichuan Express train departs from Chengdu, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, July 7, 2023. (Photo/Bai Guibin)

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), a vital trade and logistics channel connecting regions across China and beyond, saw the transportation of 424,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods in the first half of 2023, marking a 10.5-percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Serving as a vital connection between the Silk Road Economic Belt, the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the ILSTC has provided a powerful boost to high-quality cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The corridor plays a significant role in furthering economic and social development and enhancing international engagement.

The ILSTC's development has gained momentum since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect for all its 15 members on June 2.

The X9590 freight train runs on a railway along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, July 21, 2023. (Photo/Dai Peiyun)

Originating from the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, which was launched in November 2015, the ILSTC has undergone significant milestones. In September 2017, the first train of a regular sea-rail transit route linking China and Singapore, the precursor to the ILSTC, departed from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. By August 2019, this land-sea corridor had been elevated to national strategic status.

Since then, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) has steadily advanced the construction of railway infrastructure for the ILSTC.

To date, the new land-sea corridor has facilitated access to 120 railway stations across 61 cities within 18 provincial-level regions in China. It has expanded its connections to over 300 ports in more than 100 countries and regions.

The range of goods transported via the new land-sea corridor has grown substantially, expanding to over 940 types in 2022, up from over 50 in 2017. The total volume of container cargo on the corridor has surged 223 times during that same period, according to Liu Wei, director of the ILSTC's Coordination Center for Logistics and Operation.

A railway container station in Qinzhou city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Chen Lei)

"In the future, the ILSTC will continue to maintain a sound growth momentum and inject strong impetus into deepening cooperation in the joint construction of the BRI and building harmonious regional economic and trade relations," Liu added.

In line with a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission in August 2021, China is focusing on the high-quality development of the ILSTC during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). The country's aim is to ensure the ILSTC is economical, efficient, convenient, green and safe by 2025.

Among the ongoing projects, a railway between the cities of Fangchenggang and Dongxing in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is currently under construction. This railway forms part of the ILSTC and is positioned at the westernmost end of the country's coastal railway network.

"The railway is expected to be operational by the end of the year. It will reduce travel time from the two places from 60 minutes to 20 minutes. It will also play a positive role in promoting trade and economic exchanges between China and Vietnam," said Liao Gang with China Railway Nanning Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

A cross-sea railway bridge connects the cities of Fangchenggang and Dongxing in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Chen Lei)

The ILSTC's transportation network has expanded consistently. For example, Qinzhou Port in Qinzhou city of Guangxi, an important transit point along the ILSTC, now provides over 30 shipping routes to ports in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states. Additionally, the ILSTC now encompasses 18 railway container center stations across China.

This growth is exemplified by the Qinzhou Railway Container Center Station, a key hub of the new land-sea corridor, which handled 255,000 TEUs of containers as of June 30 this year, reflecting a 44 percent increase year on year.

The acceleration of the ILSTC's construction has led to steady increases in rail-sea intermodal freight trains' trips within the corridor, and the result has been a significant decrease in logistics costs. This reduction has been a major driving force in opening up southwest China to higher levels of international trade.

Goods from Chongqing and Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, used to take about 23 days to reach Singapore via the Yangtze River and sea route. The new land-sea corridor has slashed travel time by around 16 days.

A photo shows Tuanjiecun Station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo/Zhou Shifan)

On June 11, Chongqing welcomed the first direct cold-chain train of Thai durians via the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The entire journey was completed in just four days, a significant reduction from about 10 days via traditional means of transportation.

The corridor is now facilitating the trade of more and more agricultural products from ASEAN members, such as Cambodian rice, Thai coconuts and mangosteens, and Vietnamese passion fruit, all reaching the Chinese market via the ILSTC. Concurrently, goods from China, including new energy products, new materials, and mechanical and electrical products, are being exported via the new land-sea corridor.

Companies are already reaping the benefits. Chongqing Wankai New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., for example, sells its products to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa through the ILSTC. The new corridor has helped the company substantially reduce logistics costs and handling times for international orders, giving it a competitive edge in the global market, according to Lin Zheng, the company's logistics manager.

The ILSTC has tackled the challenges of international logistics in western China, helping the country accelerate the establishment of a new development pattern. Moreover, the new land-sea corridor has ushered in fresh opportunities for the development of countries and regions along its path, contributing to the stability and resilience of global supply chains.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
(CNBC) The Biden administrations executive order restricting U.S. private equity and venture capital investments in Chinese technology finally landed on Wednesday. For U.S. tech investors whod already grown wary of the budding cross-Pacific rivalry, the ruling is the clearest signal yet that the worlds second-biggest economy is off limits.

To read this article:
Stenman on Tuesday offered her analysis of the current situation to the government task force that is drafting a statement for promoting equality and non-discrimination in response to revelations about racist statements and writings by senior members of the Finns Party.

NON-DISCRIMINATION Ombudsman Kristina Stenman is concerned about the risk of normalisation of hate speech and racism in Finnish politics.

The habit of communicating about immigrants in a poignant and generalised way stirs up concerns and even fears especially in this segment of the Finnish population. It may constitute the kind of discrimination that is prohibited under the equality act or a situation that meets the essential elements of the offence of discrimination, she assessed in her statement to the task force.

Now we need strong leadership from government ministers, representatives and all party organisations to make sure we can engage also in critical discussion about, for example, measures that promote integration without talking about people or groups of people in an offensive or derogatory way.

The task force held its first meeting on Tuesday, lending an ear to Stenman, Ombudsman for Equality Rainer Hiltunen, Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen and Ombudsman for the Elderly Paivi Topo.

Altogether the task force is scheduled to hear roughly 100 stakeholders.

Stenman also implored the task force to recognise in its statement that discrimination in many ways limits the possibilities of, for example, ethnic minorities and disabled people to educate themselves, find employment and consequently participate fully in building society.

Many women and members of gender or religious minorities also face open harassment and threats that even question their existence, she highlighted.

The Finnish government simply must take action to prevent racism and promote non-discrimination, according to Stenman.

The government programme, she pointed out, makes no reference to racism or anti-racism measures but lays out proposals to, among other things, introduce changes to integration programmes and limit the access of undocumented immigrants to essential health care. Such revisions threaten to exacerbate the situation of people who are already in very vulnerable positions and expose them to an elevated risk of exploitation and violence.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
The domestic sales of beer and other beverages continue to exhibit trends of change as the Finnish Brewers' Association releases its quarterly report. Member companies of the association saw a modest growth of 7.2 million liters, equivalent to 3.0%, in the sales of various beverages including beer, cider, long drinks, mineral waters, and soft drinks during the second quarter of 2023.

In more detail, the report reveals that a total of 248.4 million liters of beverages were sold from April to June. Beer, a quintessential Finnish favorite, saw sales of 93.1 million liters, but experienced a decrease of 2.0% or 1.9 million liters compared to the same period last year. Similarly, cider sales amounted to 6.1 million liters, indicating an 8.3% decline of 0.6 million liters.

However, not all categories showed a decrease. Long drink sales surged impressively by 18.7%, amounting to 19.6 million liters. Furthermore, sales of soft drinks also experienced growth, totaling 90.7 million liters and showing a 4.4% increase of 3.8 million liters. Mineral water, another staple, achieved a 7.8% growth rate, with sales reaching 38.9 million liters.

A broader look at the trends within the industry reveals that while alcoholic beverage sales rose by 0.5%, sales of non-alcoholic beverages experienced a more significant increase of 5.4%.

Of note, the report underscores a continuing decline in beer and cider sales. The Finnish beer market has experienced a decline of more than 15% over the past ten years, whereas cider sales have witnessed a more significant drop of over 40% in the same period. Although the market for long drinks and other mild alcoholic beverage mixtures has expanded, the growth hasn't been as substantial as the decline in cider sales.

The Finnish Brewers' Association welcomes the planned reduction in beer taxes as a positive move. However, the association emphasizes the importance of avoiding tax increases on other beverages. If alcohol taxes must be raised, they advocate for consideration of supporting domestic production and employment in Finland. Additionally, there is concern that excessive taxation on other beverages might lead to consumers seeking alternatives from Estonia and aboard, potentially impacting both domestic beer and other beverage sales.

"Although the promise of lower beer taxes is encouraging, it's crucial to avoid raising taxes on other beverages. If such increases are unavoidable, they should take into account the domestic production and employment support in Finland. The risk of people seeking alternatives from Estonia and bringing back not only cider but also beer cannot be underestimated, especially given the higher taxation of beer in Finland compared to Estonia," emphasized Tuula Loikkanen, the CEO of the Finnish Brewers' Association.

The quarterly sales data presented in the report sheds light on the ongoing shifts in consumer preferences, which industry players will keenly monitor as they anticipate potential changes in taxation and market dynamics.

HT
Early birds line up for Dunkin' Donuts' free-coffee promotion

Store manager Mary Grace, with scissors, Mayor Barbara Volk and Interfaith Assistance Ministry executive director Elizabeth Willson Moss cheer the ribbon cutting for the new Dunkin' Donuts on Spartanburg Highway.

Hendersonvilles newest Dunkin Donuts shop attracted a crowd of 150 people before sunup Friday hoping to get a years worth of free coffee in the stores grand opening promotion. The first 50 received the coupon books for the free cups of joe.

The grand opening ceremony at 8 a.m. featured a ribbon cutting, remarks by Mayor Barbara Volk and a thank you from Elizabeth Willson Moss, executive director of Interfaith Assistance Ministry. The food pantry and crisis intervention agency received a $3,000 donation from the franchise as a good will agency on opening day.

The shop is operated by 22-year-old manager Mary Grace, who was working at Walmart before she made the move to coffee and donuts.

Its a great company, she said. They decided to give somebody like me, whos very, very young, an opportunity to run this.

Already, cars were lined up at the drive-thru and customers were trickling in. Grace said the product sells itself. Why?

We have fantastic coffee, she said. We have all varieties. We have hot, cold, cold brew, espresso. We have an amazing variety of donuts as well and the food is great too. In addition to donuts and coffee and other beverages, the shop has breakfast sandwiches on a bagel, croissant or English muffin, Wakeup Wraps, hashbrowns and Snackin Bacon.

Sarah Shute, a trainer for the 14 Dunkin shops in Western North Carolina, described the company as family friendly.

Any of our workers that are in school get a $100 gift card and their families, she said. Any families that have kids that are in school get $100 gift cards. I think thus far weve given out 23 gift cards, and we do that at every one of our stores.

Franchisee Scott Shealy was eager to open a southside Dunkin Donuts when the company acquired old Enmark gas station space . How good a market is Hendersonville?

Upward Road is our No. 1 store, Shute said. That little store.
HHS disaster response personnel deployed to Hawaii to support response

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) for the state of Hawaii to address the health impacts of the wildfires. The declaration follows President Bidens major disaster declaration and gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

We will do all we can to assist Hawaii officials with responding to the health impacts of the wildfires, said Secretary Becerra. We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.

HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has deployed disaster response personnel from the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to Hawaii to address the health impacts of the wildfires.

HHS ASPR deployed an initial team of 13 responders to support emergency response efforts in Hawaii. Responders include an assessment team from the NDMS Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and other public health response personnel. The experienced mortuary specialists on the team, along with regional response staff, are providing support across the state. ASPR stands ready to deploy additional personnel as needed.

The deadly wildfires that have impacted Maui this week have brought untold destruction and loss to the island, said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn OConnell. ASPR has deployed highly trained response personnel to Hawaii as part of the combined federal and state response to these fires. We are committed to supporting the people of Hawaii during this difficult time.

DMORT personnel are working with FEMA, ASPR Regional Emergency Coordinators, state health authorities, and emergency response officials to determine if any additional federal public health and medical resources may be needed to aid in responding to wildfires.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sharing post-wildfire and power outage safety information and is standing by to provide additional public health support if needed.

HHS Disaster Distress Helpline, sponsored by HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1-800-985-5990, can provide immediate counseling to anyone affected by the wildfires. Counselors are trained to offer support to people who may be experiencing a range of symptoms. Callers can connect with counselors in over 100 languages; a videophone option is available to support the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

In declaring the public health emergency and authorizing flexibilities for CMS beneficiaries, Secretary Becerra acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to August 8, 2023.

Additional information about HHS response to the wildfires can be found at https://aspr.hhs.gov.
It was in 2004 that the then Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani as his boss noticed the words "liberated areas in Manipur in a correspondence of the North-East division of the Ministry. Home Minister Amit Shah meeting tribal community in Manipur.

Agitated by the words, he dashed off a letter to then Union Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad with a copy marked to then Army Chief Gen N C Vij seeking clarification on the description of Churachandpur and Chandel districts in the state as liberated zones.

When told that the words were used to describe areas from where there was no army and para-military forces presence in the past, Baijal threatened to take the matter to Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) if forces were not sent to these so-called liberated areas. Two army brigades were immediately moved to both Chandel and later Churachandpur to restore law and order in the strife torn state.

While answering to the no confidence motion moved by Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday rightly called the May 4 rape-murder incident reprehensible and promised strictest punishment to the accused, fact is that the state of Manipur was definitely below the radar and on low priority for past Union governments before 2014.

Even before he was sworn in as PM for the first time, Narendra Modi had decided to improve road-rail-power infrastructure in the dark North-East as the region was Indias link to south-east Asia and a sure way to add to Indias GDP. This is also the reason that India has continued to engage the military leadership of Myanmar despite the west declaring it a pariah state today sitting in the lap of China and Thailand.

Wracked by insurgency supported by communist guerillas across the border with Myanmar and in Yunan province of China, Manipur has deep tribal fault-lines across the state with Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis dividing the state. Kuki refugees from across the border exacerbate the situation in the state as well as neighbouring Mizoram .

Add to this potentially explosive situation is the lethal synthetic YABA tablet, heroin trade and arms trade from Myanmar, with whom India has had a free movement regime up to 16 kilometers on both sides since 1968. Fact is despite controlling Naypyidaw, the Myanmarese junta has a very weak control over Sagaing region neighboring Manipur and Nagaland as a result there is free for all as far as law and order is concerned.

The state has a history of tribal clashes since the Meitei-Pangal clash in May 1993 and the Kuki-Tamil clash in Moreh in 1995 that brought down the Tamil speaking population from 14000 to 3000. This was also the period when the State governor, a retired distinguished general, complained to the Union Government about the sitting Congress chief minister siding with the armed insurgents in an official letter.

The state was in a mess and state PSUssugar mills, bicycle factory and TV tube making factory-- output was astoundingly dismal while the employees were paid full salaries, perks and paid leaves. Such was the state of affairs that hardly anyone with a designated Manipur-Tripura cadre wanted to be posted into the state. This resulted in the majority of MT cadre IAS officers preferring to serve at Centre and IPS officers joining intelligence organizations for permanent hardcore postings.

If the 1990s was about armed insurgencies and pathetic governance, the militant and tribal enforced blockades became the order of the day till 2013 with petrol selling at 240 a litre and LPG at 1900 a litre in black market.

It was the era of extortion and plunder by armed insurgents with Assam Rifles and security forces confined to their camps. Night movement was not possible in Manipur due to threat from improvised explosives devices and security trucks had armed escorts with a standard operating procedure.

Even though the current situation is precarious with 36,000 strong security forces separating the agitating Kukis and the vengeful Meiteis, the only way out is for Home Minister Amit Shah to continue engaging both sides and cool down tribal tempers. He has expert advisors with Tapan Deka, Director, Intelligence Bureau, a known North-East expert, and Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla from Assam cadre with knowledge of the seven sisters.

While the Opposition made Manipur situation as the principal reason for having no confidence in the Modi government, the Home Ministry cannot be held responsible for the recent tribal flare-up, which has roots in a controversial High Court judgment. Congress with its grim past in Manipur cannot show the mirror to PM Modi.

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The 72-day (16 June to 28 August 2017) Doklam crisis was a turning point in the matter of the disputed border called the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China as it facilitated the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) passage from border management to war preparation. PREMIUM The border between India and China in Ladakh (RUCHUDA BOONPLIEN /Shutterstock)

312pp, 599; Harper Collins

Following structural reforms announced in 2015, under which the PLA created the Western Theatre Command (WTC) against India, its dilemma was how to induct thousands of soldiers in the WTC without being labelled as an aggressor. Such a label would affect its claim of a peaceful rise. Thus, Chinas challenge was to provoke India into undoing the bilateral 1993 and 1996 agreements, which stipulated that neither side would bring large forces to the LAC without mutual consent. If the PLA could get India to undertake accretion of forces, it too could do the same in the WTC on the pretext of self-defence. Once its forces were in the theatre, the PLA could get down to the business of war: Prepare WTC as its permanent habitat, training ground, and operational base to launch a war without preparatory time.

Not only did China succeed in this, but it also managed to shake Bhutan loose from the close embrace of India, something that had been determined more by geography than anything else writes Manoj Joshi in Understanding the India China Border: The Enduring Threat of War in the High Himalayas. Despite this realisation about Bhutan, however, Joshi misses the larger picture -- that China had managed to achieve three things. Of these, inducting forces in the WTC was the biggest win. Chinas third gain, also missed by Joshi, was to get the Indian Army to vacate the Doklam plateau where the claims of India and China remained unresolved. While China claimed Doklam as its territory, India insisted that it belonged to Bhutan. By compelling India to vacate its forces from Doklam to end the crisis after 13 rounds of bilateral talks, all held in Beijing (signifying that India rather than China was keen to end the crisis at the earliest), China effectively ended Indias narrative of the plateau belonging to Bhutan. READ MORE  Excerpt: Understanding the India China Border by Manoj Joshi Who won at Doklam was answered by American analyst, M Taylor Fravel. According to him, Indias had withdrawn first, and the Chinese would continue to be in Doklam, so the claims of victory (by India) were premature. Fravel was right. Sadly, Indias claimed pyrrhic victory would come to haunt it in May 2020 when the PLA did deep multi-pronged incursions in east Ladakh and occupied, as per the media reports, some 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory. Already in the WTC, the PLA with little effort converted its routine exercise into an operation to conduct deep incursions into areas of east Ladakh which China claims were within its 1959 claim line. This added a new dimension of there being two LACs: The 1959 line claimed by China and the 1993 military line created under the 1993 bilateral agreement and held by the Indian Army. All of this finds no mention in the book. While Joshi has written a chapter on Doklam, he has stuck to the official arguments. For example, according to him, an important marker of Indian behaviour was the Doklam episode of 2017 when China was outplayed because its forces found themselves in a militarily disadvantageous position. The reality was that the PLA deliberately chose this place to draw out the Indian army to achieve its military objectives. Notwithstanding these omissions, the books strength is in its painstaking research and the interactions Joshi has had with people associated with the border dispute. The book starts with the 2020 Ladakh crisis, then takes the reader back briefly to the genesis of the current border crisis including the 1993 agreement and a few other events which have shaped the border dispute. Interestingly, the same period has been covered by Indias former national security advisor, Shivshankar Menon too in his book Choices.

The Galwan clash in June 2020. (ANI)

While Joshi has quoted Menon in his book, he has held back from framing bold and challenging arguments in his concluding chapter: The Future. With relations between India and China at its lowest since the 1962 war, a discerning reader would have wanted the writer to go beyond the official script. Especially after the 15 June 2020 Galwan killings mentioned in the book, which was, after Doklam, the second turning point in India-China relations. For instance, while Joshi quotes external affairs minister, S Jaishankar as saying that he has been seeking an explanation for Chinas changed stance in Ladakh, he does not help the reader resolve Jaishankars quandary.

It started with Indias revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and creation of new maps showing Kashmir and Ladakh as two union territories. China said that Ladakh as Union Territory (UT) with defined borders was unacceptable to it for two reasons: portions of Aksai Chin under Chinese occupation had been shown as part of Ladakh UT, and India has drawn a cartographic border when no defined border had ever existed between Ladakh and Chinas Xinjiang province. Since India did not make amends, China responded to Indias cartographic aggression with May 2020s physical aggression in east Ladakh. Jaishankar knew this as he had travelled to China in August 2020 to explain that Indias new maps will not affect the position on the ground. China rejected his verbal retraction in the absence of the physical one, which entailed undoing the deed of 5 August 2019.

Author Manoj Joshi (Tribhuvan Tiwari)

So, what next? Joshi quotes former Chinese special representative for border resolution talks, Dai Bingguo as urging India to stick to the diplomatic cornerstone of strategic autonomy. With India signing the US militarys foundational Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in October 2020 as mentioned by Joshi, it was not difficult to foresee that Indias strategic autonomy would get impacted over time. The writer could have analysed this issue which is at the core of Indias relations with China.

Joshi, however, chooses to go with the government narrative. He writes that if push comes to shove, both have powerful armies and a major war between them would be devastating and would set them (India and Chinas) back by decades. With the US seeking Indias military help in the Indian Ocean region to take on the Chinese military, Joshi may want to update his understanding of military power dynamics between India and China. The writer is author of The Last War: How AI Will Shape Indias Final Countdown With China.

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In a dynamic and vr-volving digital landscap, Digital Vidya has mrgd as th vanguard of profssional digital markting training, bridging th gap btwn traditional education and contemporary skill requirements.

Sinc its incption in 2009, Digital Vidya has bn at th forfront of imparting nw-ag skills to ovr 95,000 profssionals from 55+ countris and 16,000+ rnownd brands, solidifying its position as Asia's lading profssional training company.

Championing New-Age Skills

With an unwavering commitmnt to xcllnc, Digital Vidya has succssfully transformd th skill sts of profssionals across various industris through its digital marketing course in India and abroad. As th training partnr of Googl and Facebook in India, th institution has bn a driving forc in nurturing talnt.

Th company's partnrships with global giants such as Facbook, LinkdIn, NASSCOM, and Vskills furthr undrscor its rputation as a trailblazr in th fild of ducation.

Corporate Engagements

Digital Vidya's unparalleled Corporate Training programs have been known to drive exceptional results since 2009. Digital Vidya has successfully trained professionals ranging from executives to CXOs of over 470+ brands such as Nokia, Toyota, Intel, Reliance, Discovery, ITC and many more.

The work Digital Vidya does is very important to help traditional companies and marketers reinvent themselves to become digital. shared Virginia Sharma (EX - Director, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions)

A Legacy of Innovation

Digital Vidya's journy bgan with pionring Social Mdia training workshops in India back in 2009. The overwhelming succss of ths workshops proplld th company to introduce a comprehensive crtifid digital markting cours in 2013, which rcivd widsprad acclaim and stablishd th ducational entity as an industry ladr in onlin training across Asia.

Leadership and Vision

Pradp Chopra, a stalwart in th digital marketing landscape and an Intrnt industry veteran sinc 2000, spearheaded th ris of Digital Vidya. As a graduat of IIT Dlhi and a recipient of th prstigious Adob Contnt100 award, Chopra's vision and leadership hav bn instrumntal in shaping th company's succss.

H remains an internationally sought-after speaker in th realms of Digital Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Kapil Nakra, th CEO of Digital Vidya, has playd a pivotal rol in crafting th company's product and dlivry mchanisms. A graduate of IIT Dlhi and a srial ntrprnur, Nakra's simplistic and inquisitiv ladrship styl has pavd th way for innovativ thinking and out-of-th-box solutions.

His passion for entrepreneurship and onlin markting is vidnt through his regular engagements as a speaker at various Onlin Markting confrncs and events.

Digital Vidya is focused on creating and delivering an excellent training environment, making it perfect for students to upskill and get their dream jobs. Kapil Nakra (CEO, Digital Vidya)

Digital Marketing Institute in Delhi Unleashes Its Cutting-Edge Curriculum

Th institut has unvild its digital marketing course in Delhi, aimed at equipping individuals with the skills and expertise needed to excel in th dynamic fild of digital markting. Th curriculum strikes a balanc btwn theoretical knowledge and ral-world xcution.

Each modul, with an average compltion tim of on wk, imparts foundational thortical knowldg, whil assignments and tasks nsur that larnrs translat their larning into practical xcution.

This unique approach not only quips studnts with theoretical insights but also nabls thm to confidently apply thir knowledge to ral-world scnarios. Each batch is led by 15+ digital marketing trainers, with each module led by an expert in the specific module.

Digital Vidya has a dedicated placement cell offering several rewarding opportunities to students who successfully complete the course.

Empowering the Future

Th ducational instituts remarkable journy from pionring Social Media workshops to bcoming th picntr of nw-ag profssional training stands as a tstamnt to its commitmnt to xcllnc, innovation, and transformativ ducation.

As the world continues to volv, Digital Vidya rmains stadfast in its mission to mpowr individuals and organizations with its best digital markting cours in India.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
Petrol and diesel prices in major cities remained unchanged on August 11. According to fuel prices announced by major oil marketing companies, petrol and diesel was being sold in Delhi at 96.72 per litre and 89.62 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol stands at  106.31 per litre, while diesel is retailing at  94.27 per litre. (File)

In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices stood at 106.31 per litre and 94.27 per litre respectively. Here are the fuel prices for other major cities on August 11, 2023.

CITY PETROL PRICES (Rs/LITRE) DIESEL PRICES (Rs/LITRE) KOLKATA 106.03 92,76 CHENNAI 102.74 94.33 AHMEDABAD 96.89 92.17 LUCKNOW 96.57 89.76 BENGALURU 101.94 87.89

In India, petrol and diesel prices are revised daily at 6 am by the oil marketing companies. The oil companies decide the prices which are monitored by the petroleum and natural gas ministry's petroleum and planning analysis cell.



The petrol and diesel prices used to be revised every fortnight. In 2014, the Centre de-regulated the fuel prices. Since 2017, the fuel rates are revised daily at 6 am.



The fuel prices in India are not under goods and service tax. While the Centre collects excise duty, the state governments collect VAT. Since VAT is different for each state, hence the pricing.



Last year, the Centre had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel prices, resulting in prices to drop by 9.5 per litre and 7 per litre. We are reducing the Central excise duty on Petrol by  8 per litre and on Diesel by  6 per litre. This will reduce the price of petrol by  9.5 per litre and of Diesel by  7 per litre. It will have revenue implication of around  1 lakh crore/year for the government, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had posted on X (formerly Twitter).



I wish to exhort all state governments, especially the states where the reduction wasnt done during the last round (November 2021), to also implement a similar cut and give relief to the common man," she had added.

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Which brand is the number one smartphone maker in India at present? The answer is quite simply too close to call. For a significant period of time, contests between Xiaomi and Samsung headlined this space. Now, the battle is between Samsung and Vivo, with the latter being on a sustained upward trajectory. For representational purposes only. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As focus remains on market share, two very distinct trends are emerging: first, Indias smartphone market is on a decline, and whether that is temporary remains to be seen. Secondly, Indians are now more inclined towards premium phones.

According to IDC, or International Data Corporation, 64 million smartphones were shipped in India in the first half of 2023, a decline of 10% compared with H1 2022. Specifically, in Q2 2023, the 34 million smartphones shipped represent a 10% increase over Q1 2023, but that is still decline of 3% compared with Q2 2022.

CyberMedia Research (CMR) found Indias Q2 shipments declined 6% compared with the year-ago quarter.

More expensive phones, and 5G in vogue

The data by these analysts also shows that Indians are spending more on smartphones, a trend reflected in Android phone makers such as Samsung, OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo and Nothing focusing on premium price points.

Consumers are opting for premium offerings, driven by easy and affordable financing options. IDC expects this growth momentum to continue in the upcoming months in 2023, said Upasana Joshi, research manager, Client Devices at IDC India. The average selling price of a smartphone in India is now $241 (around 19,930), a 13% increase year-on-year.

Phone makers are in themselves embracing financing options to upsell, such as Samsungs Samsung Finance+ that disburses easy loans for new phones. Among the two companies that clocked the largest jumps in sales are Apple and OnePlus.

Apple clocked a 61.1% growth year-on-year (to reach a 5.5% share). The tech giant officially sells five iPhone lines in India, including the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 12, with the iPhone SE ( 49,900 onwards) sporting the lowest price tag.

OnePlus also recorded a 61.1% annual growth rate, garnering 7.2% share. It recently strengthened its flagship offering, headlined by the OnePlus 11.

Phone makers also often tie-up with banks for cashback and up-front discounts on instruments such as credit cards and EMI, or equated monthly instalment, transactions.

Another sub-category logging growth is of 5G phone. Despite an overall decline in smartphone shipments, the 5G smartphone segment showed promising performance capturing 47% market share; up from 31% in Q2 2022, says Shipra Sinha, analyst for Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research.

Research firm Counterpoint says that in Q2 2023, 5G smartphone shipments in India crossed the 100-million cumulative mark as 5G upgrades have picked up pace.

Who really ships the most phones?

There is split opinion. Research firms IDC and TechInsights Inc in their reports peg Vivo as having done enough to usurp Samsungs lead in Q2 2023. In IDCs Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker estimates, Vivo had (16% share) ahead of Samsung (15.7%). TechInsights data has Vivo (17.5% share), Xiaomi (16%) and Samsung (15.5%) making up the lead troika.

Estimates by CMR and Counterpoint, however, suggest Samsung has held on to its lead, though it has narrowed. CMRs India Mobile Handset Market Review Report suggested Samsung (18%) leads Vivo (15%). These numbers remain similar to Q2 2022. According to Counterpoint, Samsung (18%) and Vivo (17%) were locked in close contest in that quarter.

Samsung remained at the top position for the third consecutive quarter with an 18% market share. Aggressive offers on the Z Flip3 and S21 FE, and high demand for the latest premium A-series and F-series devices drove this growth, said Shubham Singh, research analyst at Counterpoint.

Xiaomis long road to recovery

The magnitude of task at hand for Xiaomi, cannot be missed. The smartphone maker, which has traded market share lead with Samsung quarter after quarter since 2018, is in the midst of a rebuild after struggles in 2022 saw its numbers slip.

Xiaomis lead was such that it still held second position through last year, despite slowing down. According to CMR, Xiaomis 15% market share now represents a 5% reduction year-on-year. Counterpoint said the company has now had to relinquish second position to Vivo. IDC even pegged Xiaomi in fifth position, behind Oppo and Realme.

We knew very clearly walking into Q4 2022 that we will lose the number one position. It was a conscious call. We have prioritised sustainability and profitability, Muralikrishnan B, president of Xiaomi India, told HT earlier.

The Redmi 12 5G, which has now gone on sale with prices starting 10,999 is crucial to this recovery process  one of the most affordable 5G phones in India, at this time. This is in stark contrast to the fortunes of Xiaomis sub-brand Poco. IDC analysis suggested they recorded a 76.5% growth year-on-year.

Pocos relentless pursuit of innovation, coupled with a customer-centric approach, has resulted in a diverse portfolio of feature-rich smartphones that cater to a broad spectrum of users, said Himanshu Tandon, country head for Poco India. Their latest phone, M6 Pro, will start a sibling rivalry with the Redmi 12 5G. On the agenda are similar specs with 5G, while sporting similar price tags.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vishal Mathur Vishal Mathur is Technology Editor for Hindustan Times. When not making sense of technology, he often searches for an elusive analog space in a digital world. ...view detail
Senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Thursday wondered whether the Congress government in Karnataka was allegedly engaged in fund collection as part of preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. Former Karnataka Minister R Ashoka.(PTI)

Speaking to reporters here, the former Deputy Chief Minister said the "prediction" made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the campaigning for the May Assembly elections that the Congress will use Karnataka like its ATM has come true.

READ | Karnataka HC stays order imposing 50 lakh cost on X Corp for non-compliance with IT Ministry orders

The BJP MLA said in the run-up to the May polls, the Congress in Karnataka ran 'PayCM' campaign targeting the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai making baseless allegations of collecting 40 per cent commission on award of government contracts.

Now, the contractors are alleging that 15 per cent commission is being collected. What is your answer to this? Are you laying the foundation for the Lok Sabha election through collection? Ashoka asked.

READ | Karnataka cabinet drops cases against CM, Dy CM for Covid rule breach

As the Karnataka has ordered investigations into the public works executed by the Bengaluru civic agency from 2019 to 2023 and formed four committees headed by the IAS officers, Ashoka challenged the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, to order probe into the works that taken place from 2013 (Congress was in power from 2013 to 2018).

He also alleged that the government has stopped all public works in the city and payments to the contractors.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said his government has ordered an investigation into the alleged scams that have taken place during the previous BJP government and it is not proper to release payments of the civil contractors pending bills till the probe is completed. Karnataka Chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Also Read - Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar says he will retire from politics if it is proved he took commission

The chief minister noted that the state government has ordered a judicial inquiry led by retired high court judge Justice B Veerappa. "Before the Assembly elections we had promised to investigate the corruption scandals of the BJP government if the Congress party came to power," Siddaramaiah said in a series of posts on "X" (formerly Twitter). He added that the voters of the state believed in the Congress party and voted against BJP's "corruption, commission abuse, tax looting" and helped his party win 135 out of 224 seats in the assembly and allowed it to form a "safe and stable" government. Now it is the duty of the government to keep the promise made to the people, Siddaramaiah said, adding, We have ordered a judicial investigation led by retired judge Justice B Veerappa into the 40 per cent commission scam of the BJP government. The chief minister alleged that during the BJP government, the bills of civil contracts were paid for the old works without carrying out the work itself and in some other places half the work was done.

The judicial committee headed by retired Justice B Veerappa is investigating all these scams and it is not reasonable to release the outstanding bill money before the investigation report is complete. Our government will not allow injustice to any contractor who has done the work fairly. Contractors need not fear this. But shouldn't those who did corruption pay for it? he said. He also took a swipe at former minister R Ashoka who on Thursday alleged that the Congress government was collecting 15 per cent commission for releasing payments to contractors The charge of 15 per cent commission leveled by former minister R Ashok against our government is far from the truth but it is good that he has reduced the commission rate from 40 per cent to 15 per cent. This statement of Ashoka shows that in his mind the Congress government is better than the BJP government, the chief minister said. Accepting the allegations against us as a challenge, we will win this ordeal and prove to the people of the state that we are not only good, but also the best, transparent and pro-people government, Siddaramaiah added. Regarding the allegations of the contractors that release of payments to their bills were held back allegedly due to non-payment of 15 per cent commission on public works, Siddaramaiah said that already the Karnataka State Small and Medium Contractors and BBMP Contractors Association has discussed the issue of pending bills with him.

He said instructions have been given to release the Programme Of Works (POW) related bill. This money will be released as soon as certain normal processes related to release of works bills are completed. In the meantime, the Karnataka State Small and Medium Contractors and BBMP Contractors Association has clarified to the media that only a few contractors are accusing the state government for their "selfish and malicious" purposes, Siddaramaiah claimed.

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A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday stayed a single judge bench order that had imposed a cost of 50 lakh on X Corp (formerly Twitter) for not complying with IT Ministry orders -- subject to the company depositing 50 per cent of the amount ( 25 lakh) within one week. The deposit is for X Corp to show its bonafides, the court said. The deposit is for X Corp to show its bonafides.

The order of the single judge who had directed X Corp to deposit 50 lakh by August 14 will be stayed till the next date of hearing. As such, on deposit of 25 lakh, the order of the single judge bench is stayed until the next hearing date, the HC said.

READ | Musk's X (Twitter) challenges Karnataka HC ruling on content blocking, cites censorship risk

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice MGS Kamal was hearing a petition by the micro-blogging site against the order of Justice Krishna S Dixit which had dismissed its petition challenging the take-down orders on tweets (posts), URLs and hashtags. The single judge bench had also imposed a cost on the company in its judgment on June 30.

On Thursday, the division bench in its interim order said, We direct the appellant to deposit 25 lakh within one week in this court. The court however said that deposing the money may not be treated as acceptance by this court that equity lies in favour of the appellant.

READ | Wife calling husband dark-skinned amounts to cruelty, says Karnataka HC granting divorce to couple

The single judge had held that the company did not comply with the orders of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) for more than a year and then approached the HC against those orders. MeiTY had under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act between February 2, 2021 and February 28, 2022 issued 10 Government orders directing it to block 1,474 accounts, 175 Tweets, 256 URLs and one hashtag.

X Corp (then Twitter) challenged the orders related to 39 of these URLs. On Thursday, X Corp was represented by advocate Manu Kulkarni while the Central Government Counsel Kumar M N argued on behalf of MeiTY. The Government counsel argued that the case itself was not maintainable. However, the division bench pointed out that the single judge bench had upheld the locus standi of X Corp to file the petition challenging the blocking of tweets and handles of its users.

Comparing X Corp to a shop selling various products, the HC observed that it was akin to taking action against the shopkeeper if there were substandard products on sale. After granting the temporary relief in the interim order, the division bench adjourned the hearing of the appeal by two weeks.
Amid the corruption allegations on the ruling state government, Karnataka State Contractors Association president Kempenna clarified that they have not received any complaints from the contractors. He also said that the only request of the contractors is to clear the bills which were pending for roughly two years. No such complaints received from contractors, KSCA head on corruption charges

Also Read - Karnataka: BBMP contractors seek governors intervention to clear bills

Speaking to the reporters on Friday. Kempenna said, We did not receive any corruption related complaints from any contractors. Our only issue is with uncleared bills by the government. Lot of contractors are suffering and facing financial issues because of the bills clearance issue.

Kempenna also said that the members of the association are going to meet CM Siddaramaiah soon and explain their grievances to them.

Earlier, Former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy accused the Congress-led government of corruption and forcing contractors to pay commissions for every contract.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kumaraswamy said, I received a tip-off during my tour in Europe that contractors are being asked to shell out commissions for ministers in Bengaluru. The ministers and their associates are demanding these commissions from contractors,

Sharpening his allegation further, the JD(S) leader also said that the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) received directions from the government to collect 250 crores. Officers of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) have been told to collect 250 crore. They have also been told how to send the money to New Delhi as well. The officers in BDA have shared this information with me, he added.

The contractors also wrote to the Karnataka Governor, requesting him to intervene in the matter of clearing bills. Responding to this, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, There is nothing wrong in the contractors writing to the governor. Let them write a letter to the governor or seek the help of the Opposition party or the ruling party. They are hurt. There is nothing wrong in asking. We dont want to trouble anyone. Our aim is to pay those contractors who have done the job properly.

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Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Madhu Bangarappa on Friday said that there are over 1,695 illegal schools in Bengaluru and the state government would undertake closure of these schools in a phased manner. The unauthorised schools will be closed in a phased manner, says Bangarappa. (ANI)

There are 1,695 illegal schools in the state. They cannot be shut down immediately as thousands of children are studying in these schools...All the illegal schools will be shut down in a phased manner, Bangarappa said.

The decision comes after the education minister held a meeting with the Karnataka Private Managements Association in Bengaluru on Friday, where they discussed their grievances about the rise in the number of schools operating illegally. We discussed the solutions and we will start implementing them soon, Bangarappa added.

On Thursday, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) issued a notice for the closure of unauthorised and unaided private schools in the state by August 14.

According to the order issued by Commissioner for Public Instruction, BB Cauvery, there are 63 unauthorised schools running without any affiliation in the state.

The department had earlier identified 1,316 unauthorised schools in the state. Of these, it had listed 63 schools running without state or central board affiliation and around 620 schools as having additional sections without permission.

The department had given a deadline of 45 days to the to comply with the rules and rectify their mistakes by April 2023, but these schools have failed to rectify their mistakes, the officials said.

The department will issue a separate order regarding the action to be taken against the 620 schools having additional sections without permission.

The department found that 74 schools have upgraded classes without any affiliation. It was also found that 95 schools were deceiving parents and children by providing education of other boards even though permission was given for state board, the officials added.

Around 294 schools have been given permission to teach in Kannada medium, but they are illegally offering education in English medium, and 141 schools were identified for shifting the schools without getting permission from the department concerned, the officials said.

The order also stated that officials at the local level should issue public notice after closure of such schools and keep the parents in the loop.

The commissioner has also expressed her displeasure as only DDPIs in 16 of 35 educational districts have submitted the report regarding unauthorised schools, that too with incomplete details. The DDPIs should take necessary action about unauthorised schools and submit the report before August 16. Otherwise, disciplinary action will be taken, she warned in the order.

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Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Karnataka were taken into preventive custody on Friday after posters targeting the state's agriculture minister N Cheluvarayaswamy surfaced in public places in Mandya district headquarters. Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai with BJP MLAs. (Image for representation purposes only)

Workers from the opposition party allegedly started a PayCS campaign (Pay Cheluvarayaswamy) against the Karnataka minister for agriculture and accused him of corruption. This comes in the backdrop of a letter written by seven officers of the agriculture department in Mandya district, accusing Cheluvarayaswamy of demanding bribes from officials. The officials also warned that they will end their lives by consuming poison if necessary action is not taken.

ALSO READ | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah orders police probe over corruption charges against agriculture minister

BJP workers had in this light put up posters near the Sanjay Circle and at a bus stop in Mandya on Thursday and raised slogans against the minister. Shortly afterwards, cops arrived at the scene and removed the said posters, thereby detaining the BJP workers and taking them to the local police station.

The controversy is stoking a slugfest between the ruling Congress government in the southern state and the saffron party. It was earlier also addressed by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who directed the state police to investigate the letter. Cheluvarayaswamy has denied the allegations and called the letter fake.

ALSO READ | After PayCM, PayCS posters surface in Karnataka aiming at the agriculture minister

CM Siddaramaiah also questioned whether the BJP or its "brother" - referring to regional party, the Janata Dal (Secular) or JDS - was behind the fake letter.

The Karnataka unit of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) has also sought strict action against Cheluvarayaswamy in a letter written to CM Siddaramaiah by the state party president Mukhyamantri Chandru. The letter stated that the people of Karnataka expect a corrupt free and pro-people administration from the Siddaramaiah-led government.

(With inputs from ANI)
BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Friday approved the seventh pay commission for panchayat secretaries and increased the amount under the Kisan Samman Nidhi from 4000 to 6000 annually. MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Twitter/@ChouhanShivraj)

The cabinet meeting, chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, also approved a new district, Mauganj in Rewa, besides a new tehsil and a municipal council.

Ahead of the meeting, Chouhan announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Sant Ravidas Ji temple at Badtuma in Sagar on August 12.

After the meeting, home minister Narottam Mishra said, There will be a big programme related to the Ladli Behna (a government scheme for women) on August 27 across the state and CM will address the beneficiaries of the scheme virtually.

Mishra listed the decisions taken at the cabinet meeting.

In the Chief Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, farmers will get 12,000 including 6,000 from the central government and 6,000 from the Madhya Pradesh government. The state government has increased (the amount) by 2000 per year. Similarly, panchayat secretaries will get the salary as per the seventh pay commission, said Mishra.

The cabinet announced new initiatives for the school education department. Self-help groups will be given the work of stitching uniforms for girl students from class 1 to 8. The DPR (detailed project report) of 1362 crore for the construction of 37 CM Rise Schools ( an initiative to impart high quality education in schools) has been approved by the cabinet. (Also) 100 crore has been sanctioned for the Sainik School, Bhind, said the home minister.

Also Read: MP government raises honorarium of ASHA and USHA workers

New administrative divisions were also announced: Satai of Chhatarpur district has been approved as a new tehsil while Paraswara will be a new revenue subdivision in Balaghat district.

The formation of Mauganj district -- by merging three tehsils of Rewa district, Mauganj, Hanumana and Naigarhi -- was formalised; the Batiyagarh gram panchayat of Damoh district will be a new municipal council, it was announced.

The cabinet also approved Shakti Sadan Scheme to help destitute women, making a provision of 22 crore for the scheme.

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A local court has sent constable Varinder Singh, one of the accused in the 1-crore extortion case, to judicial custody. Whereas, the remand of another accused, Barjinder Singh Gill, has been extended by one day. As per the victim, Sanjay Goyal, he was called to Chandigarh by the accused, offering to exchange  2,000 currency notes at a profit of 5%. When he brought  1.01 crore to Chandigarh on insistence of his friend, Sarvesh, who runs a money exchange business in Bathinda, the accused extorted the amount by faking a raid. (Getty image)

On Wednesday, police had nabbed constable Shiv Kumar, the third arrest in the case, wherein sub-inspector Naveen Phogat, along with six others, extorted 1.01 crore from a Bathinda-based businessman in Sector 40 on August 4.

Police had sought extension of Gills remand on the grounds that they were yet to recover the remaining cash and know the details of other persons involved in the case.

As per the victim, Sanjay Goyal, he was called to Chandigarh by the accused, offering to exchange 2,000 currency notes at a profit of 5%. When he brought 1.01 crore to Chandigarh on insistence of his friend, Sarvesh, who runs a money exchange business in Bathinda, the accused extorted the amount by faking a raid.

They threatened to kill him and implicate him in false arms and drugs cases, following which he lodged a complaint at the Sector 39 police station, where SI Phogat was posted.

He had run into Phogat, who had returned 75 lakh to him in exchange for maintaining silence, before escaping from the station. The 75-lakh money was later recovered by police.

All accused are facing a case of extortion, kidnapping, cheating, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.

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While the monsoon system has hit a lull in most parts of the country, it continues to remain active in Chandigarh and chances of heavy rain on Sunday have also been forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Children headed to school amid the rain in Chandigarh on Friday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

The city woke up to a rainy morning on Friday, with 4.8 mm rain recorded at the IMD Sector 39 observatory, 46.2 mm rain at the airport and 15.5 mm rain at Panchkula.

Another 0.4 mm rain was logged during the day in Sector 39 and 1 mm in Panchkula, while the reading from the airport was not available.

As per IMD, parts of the monsoon trough passes directly through Chandigarh, so a good amount of rain is expected here on Sunday. A Western Disturbance (WD) is also present in the region.

Because of the rain, the maximum temperature went down from 33.4C on Thursday to 32.6C on Friday. The minimum temperature also dipped from 27C to 25.7C.

Over the next three days, the day temperature will remain between 32C and 34C, and the night temperature between 26C and 27C.

Sukhna floodgate opened as water reaches near danger mark

The UT administration on Friday opened a floodgate of Sukhna Lake after its water level rose to 1162.90 feet, almost hitting the danger mark of 1163 feet.

UT chief engineer CB Ojha said following the morning rain, the water level reached near the danger mark and the floodgate was opened around 11 am. The floodgate was last opened on July 26, when the water level had touched 1162.52 feet.

Earlier on July 9, due to the heavy rain in the region, the engineering department had to open two of the lakes three floodgates after the water level crossed the danger mark, causing the lake to overflow for the first time in the citys history.

The department has deployed personnel at the regulator end on a 24x7 basis to monitor the water level of the lake.

A control room has been established to monitor discharge from the lake and coordinate with the deputy commissioners of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula for proper communication during the opening of floodgates, as Sukhna Choe carries excess water of the lake to Ghaggar river. Last year, floodgates were opened six times until September 26, 2022.
An intruder from Pakistan was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel as he tried to sneak into the Indian territory near Thehkalan village of Tarn Taran district on Friday morning. The vigilant troops foiled attempts of anti-national elements to enter into Indian territory and gunned down an intruder from Pakistan in the early hours of Friday. (PTI File/Picture for representational purposes only)

A BSF spokesperson said, During the morning hours, troops observed suspicious movement along the border fencing, in the area falling near bordering Thekalan village, and challenged the miscreant/intruder, but he did not stop and continued moving ahead. Sensing imminent threat and to stop further misadventure, the BSF troops fired at the miscreant in self-defence, killing him on the spot.

The vigilant troops, once again foiled the nefarious attempts of anti-national elements to enter into Indian territory, he added.

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An intruder from Pakistan was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel as he tried to sneak into the Indian territory near Thehkalan village of Tarn Taran district on Friday morning. An intruder from Pakistan was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel as he tried to sneak into the Indian territory near Thehkalan village of Tarn Taran district on Friday morning. (File photo)

A BSF spokesperson said, During the morning hours, troops observed suspicious movement along the border fencing, in the area falling near bordering Thekalan village, and challenged the miscreant/intruder, but he did not stop and continued moving ahead. Sensing imminent threat and to stop further misadventure, the BSF troops fired at the miscreant in self-defence, killing him on the spot.

The vigilant troops, once again foiled the nefarious attempts of anti-national elements to enter into Indian territory, he added.

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The UT education department has dismissed the services of a school teacher who is accused of murdering his wife, also a school teacher, at their government house in Sector 23 in 2020. The accused, Mandeep Singh, has been absconding since September 2020. (HT)

The accused, Mandeep Singh, a trained graduate teacher (TGT), taught at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 47-D, while his wife, Jyoti Rani, was a social science teacher at the government school in Karsan, Ram Darbar.

In 2020, 40-year-old Jyotis decomposing body was found at their house, following which Mandeep was booked under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code on September 16, 2020.

As per police, Singh had also tried to kill their 13-year-old son by trying to push him into a canal in Ludhiana district. Jyotis murder had came to light after Ludhiana police rescued the boy from Neelon Canal and brought him back to their house in Sector 23.

Jyoti Rani, the victim. (HT)

As per an order issued by the UT director school education on Friday, the accused has been absent from duty since September 9, 2020. He remains on the run and police have also issued a lookout notice against him.

Singh was placed under suspension on June 8, 2022, as per the Central Civil Services Rules for his absence from duty.

The case charge sheet was sent to his house in Sector 23 on July 19, 2022, but it was received back with the comments that the accused had left the house.

Additional district and sessions judge (retd) BR Bansal was appointed as the inquiry officer in the case and the letter with this information and a further notice sent to him, but was not delivered.

In the inquiry report submitted by Bansal, the allegations levelled against Singh were proved. The education department also issued a notice against him on March 20, 2023, to appear before the competent authority within 15 days or it will be presumed that he has nothing to say and action will be taken against him as per rules. But he never turned up.

Based on this, as per Central Civil Services Rules, Singh was dismissed from service and has also been disqualified for future employment under the government.
The Congress on Friday demanded a fair and impartial investigation by a judicial commission of inquiry into the illegal reversion of 92 acres of panchayat land in Pathankot to private individuals. Leader of opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa

In a letter to governor Banwarilal Purohit, leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that 92 acres of land in Pathankot district was illegally transferred to petitioners in a pending land case. This transfer was facilitated with suspicious haste by Kuldeep Singh, who was given the additional charge of additional deputy commissioner (development) just three days after his promotion as district development and panchayat officer (DDPO), he wrote.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Thursday booked former DDPO Kuldeep Singh and seven others in connection with the land transfer. The retired officer was booked for allegedly committing irregularities by transferring 92 acres of panchayat land to private individuals on February 27, a day before his retirement. On August 4, chief secretary Anurag Verma had issued the directions for registering an FIR against Kuldeep Singh and other beneficiaries.

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The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed an airline to pay 4,000 with 9% annual interest to a Sector-35 resident whose luggage was lost at the airport while travelling to Bangkok in December 2019. Holding GoAir guilty of unfair trade practice and deficient service for not settling the passengers lost baggage claim, the commission has also directed the airline to pay  10,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment, and  7,000 as cost of litigation. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Holding GoAir guilty of unfair trade practice and deficient service for not settling the passengers lost baggage claim, the commission has also directed the airline to pay 10,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment, and 7,000 as cost of litigation.

Rajeev Sharma, 53, had filed a complaint against Go Airlines India Ltd, Mumbai, and MakeMyTrip.

Sharma had submitted that he booked a trip to Bangkok from December 12 to 30, 2019, via MakeMyTrip by paying 22,276 for the air ticket.

But he discovered that his luggage was lost on landing in Bangkok. He registered a complaint and was assured by the airport authorities that the bag will be located, but it was not returned. Sharma contended that his luggage contained $500 in cash apart from clothes and other belongings.

Before the commission, the airlines representative contested that its liability was limited to compensation offered as per the policy terms and conditions.

It added: The complainant was well aware of these terms and conditions at the time of booking, and accepted the same without any dispute. The company is not at all responsible for the alleged inconvenience or loss as claimed to be suffered by them.

The company alleged that the list of articles attached with the complaint was an afterthought to extract money from the company. It also submitted that it was possible that the luggage was misplaced due to manual intervention of staff of various airlines or some other passenger wrongly took it away.

MakeMyTrip contested that after issuance of confirmed tickets, it is discharged from its duties and obligations qua the complainant. It submitted that it was the airlines duty to compensate the complainant for loss of baggage during the travel as per provisions of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972, and Citizen Charter.

After hearing both sides, the commission, while reproducing the relevant terms and conditions in case of baggage loss, said, GoAirs liability for loss of baggage is limited to 200 per kg up to a maximum of 4,000, whichever is lower.

However, the commission observed, the airline had not adduced any evidence on record regarding payment of 4,000 to the complainant. As such, it had indulged in unfair trade practice and was deficient in providing service to the complainant, it said, while imposing penalty on the airline.

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Five armed men, who were fleeing in a car after making a failed carjacking attempt, snatched a self-loading rifle (SLR) from a Punjab home guard, deployed at the Bathinda Cantt police station, in the wee hours of Friday. The men, five in number, had tried to snatch a car from a doctor at gunpoint, before snatching the home guards rifle. (HT File)

As per information, the city police had set-up a checkpoint near the Cantt police station after an alert about the snatching bid. On spotting a black Skoda car, the police party signalled them to spot. But instead of pulling up, the Skoda driver tried to run over the home guard, leaving him injured.

Following this, a scuffle ensued and the accused fled after snatching a home guards rifle.

The injured home guard has been admitted to the hospital.

As per police sources, the car used by the miscreants was bearing a Faridabad number.

They had attempted to snatch a car from a doctor near Bhucho Khurd at gunpoint but failed.

Bathinda senior superintendent of police Gulneet Khurrana said the miscreants had fired shots in a failed carjacking attempt. The victims had filed a complaint following which police were looking for them. When a car was spotted heading towards Bathinda, the Cantt police station home guard, along with other police personnel, tried to stop the car. They attacked the police party and snatched the rifle from the home guard. We are trying to identify the accused and police teams have been dispatched to trace them, he added.
A special court in Panchkula sent former special CBI judge Sudhir Parmar to six days custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED), while three of his relatives were named by the ED in a chargesheet filed in a money laundering case. HT Image

Parmar, who was arrested on Thursday, was produced before the court of additional district and sessions judge, Sunil Kumar, amidst tight security.

Booked on April 17 by Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB), he has been accused of alleged favouritism in his treatment of real estate developers Roop Bansal and his brother Basant Bansal of M3M and Lalit Goyal of IREO Group, according to the ACBs FIR.

The ED case is linked to the corruption case registered by ACB on April 17 against Parmar, an additional sessions judge-rank judicial officer who was also holding the charge of PMLA court before he was suspended. ED had started PMLA investigations on June 13, based on the April FIR of ACB.

Based on WhatsApp chats, the FIR of the ACB claimed the Parmar demanded demand 5 crore to 7 crore for helping the M3M owners in ED cases. FIR had claimed that 5 crore was given to Sudhir Parmar by the accused of IREO case.

ED represented by advocate JS Lalli, deputy solicitor general of India and advocate Lokesh Narang special public prosecutor ED, had sought 14 days remand accusing him of favoritism and further alleging that Parmar was paid more than 5 crore. ED told court that during his questioning, Parmar had admitted to have met real estate developer, Roop Bansal when he had come to pay condolences on the death of Ajay Parmars father. ED also claimed that Sudhir Parmar had used his influence due to which Rohit Singh Tomar, a transporter gave 10 lakhs to Parmars family without any agreement.

Parmars counsel, Umrish Gandhi, on the other hand said that there is not even iota of evidence against him. Parmar was not posted in Panchkula or holding the charge of special court when his nephew got an appointment in M3M company.

The court while granting custodial interrogation of accused Sudhir Parmar observed, there has been an unusual hike in the salary of the nephew of accused Ajay Parmar during the period when Parmar was posted as special judge ED cases, Panchkula and ED was investigating the IREO and M3M transaction for filing supplementary prosecution complaint. No exemplary performance of Ajay Parmar for M3M group is shown which may lead to such a hike in his salary. The said fact shows that his salary was hiked not on basis of merit but due to some extraneous reasons.

ED had alleged that Ajays salary was hiked to 18 to 20 lakh.

The court also observed that an amount of 1.33 crore has been received in the accounts of Puspa Devi and Ajay Parmar and Paramvir Parmar from transport company owned by Rohit Tomar without any written document or security for return.

The 1.33 cr did not need to be routed through multiple transactions if the same had been friendly loan because the said amount could have been deposited in one go in a single account. Hence it is also possible that the transactions are layered in order to avoid detection of some foul play, read the order.

The fact that whether plot in Vatika Signature Avenue sector 82, Gurugram has any relation to alleged bribe money is also to be unfolded by means of custodial interrogations, said the order.

ED files chargesheet against 7 persons

The ED on Friday also filed chargesheet against 7 persons, including Sudhir Parmars sister-in- law and 2 more relatives. The chargesheet is filed against two directors of real estate company M3M India Pankaj Bansal and his son Basant Bansal, Ajay Parmar nephew of Sudhir Parmar, MD of IREO Group , Lalit Goyal who all have been arrested are presently lodged in jail. The chargesheet also names Rohit Singh Tomar who owns a transportation company and is relative of Parmars, Sudhirs nephew -- Paramvir Parmar and Paramvirs, mother Pushpa Devi. These three have already been questioned by the ED.

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Former president Ram Nath Kovind said that after completion of their education, students must give back to the society and help weaker sections of the society. Students must give back to society; help weaker sections: Ex-prez Kovind (ANI)

Educational institutes of a nation are the builders of its future and the students who are receiving their degrees must give back to society and help the weaker sections so that they can improve their lives, he said, addressing a gathering on the 33rd convocation of Kurukshetra University on Friday.

The president lauded the research of the Kurukshetra University scholars for giving 5 padmshrees, 16 Arjuna, 6 Dronacharya and 1 major Dhyan awardees besides number of scientists, thinkers, artists and political leaders to the nation.

He presented nine gold medals to faculty toppers, 63 toppers of different departments and 88 Ph.D. students. As many as 1,660 students received degrees. He said that the Kurukshetra University is Haryanas first A+ category university located on this holy land of Gita. The University has created a distinct identity for itself not only in Haryana but also in the entire country, including sports, research and cultural activities.

8 girls receive gold medal

Speaking on the occasion, Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya hailed the contribution of girl students for academic excellence.

He said that the out of the 9 faculty toppers, 8 are girls and out of 55 total department gold medalists, 39 are girls and 16 boys.

The gold medalist girls are Jhanvi from Social Sciences; Hemlata from Life Sciences, Nisha from Pharmaceutical Sciences; Bhavya from Sciences; Aruna Kumar from Education; Kriti Sharma from Indic Studies; Tulsi from Laws; Kamalpreet Kaur from Commerce and Management. Chirag Sharma got gold medal in faculty of Arts and Languages.

These figures are enough to prove the change in the society where women are leading the nation in every field, the governor said.

D. Litt to Gujarat Gov

Swami Gyananand Maharaj and Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat have been bestowed with honorary degrees of Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) by the Kurukshetra University for their exemplary contribution to the society in various fields.

Governor Devvrat and Swami Gyanand expressed thanks to the chancellor of KU and VC for conferring degrees of D.Litt. on them.

Khattar gets Japanese language certificate

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was conferred with Basic Certificate in Japanese language and culture by the former president as the chief minister along with five other government officials completed the first batch of the three-month certificate course offered by Kurukshetra University.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that learning different languages makes you create cultural bridges of love and brotherhood. He also called upon the graduates to work hard for the nation which will be the true test of their education.

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The Haryana government on Friday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that the question of ethnic cleansing in the demolition exercise carried out in Nuh and Gurugram does not arise and the same has been undertaken as per the law. The owner of a demolished construction in Nuh after the communal violence last week. (HT File)

As the hearing began before the bench of justice Arun Palli and justice Jagmohan Bansal, on Friday morning, the states additional advocate general, Deepak Sabherwal verbally told the court that it was not a case of ethnic cleansing at all and due procedure has been followed for demolition in both Nuh and Gurugram.

Sabherwal, however, sought more time to file a written statement stating that the data is being compiled.

Case referred back to chief justice

Amid this, the bench, however, said that it was referring the matter back to the chief justice. It was a public interest litigation (PIL) matter and as per high court rules.., should have been listed for hearing before the first division bench.., the bench orally said, before posting the matter for hearing next week.

The PIL cases were assigned for hearing before this bench on Friday. The first division bench is presided over by chief justice RS Jha himself. But he is on leave. Detailed order on Fridays proceedings is awaited.

On August 7, a division bench comprising justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan had taken suo motu cognisance of the demolitions and observed that the law-and-order situation was being used as a ruse to pull buildings without due process. The bench asked if the action was an exercise of ethnic cleansing by the state. It had then sought a report on the demolitions and asked the government to clarify whether advance notices were given to the occupants of the buildings brought down during the drive.

After the clashes, around 1,200 properties were targeted by the authorities, on the grounds that they were encroachments.

The demolition exercise began in Nuh on August 3, four days after communal violence erupted in the district on July 30 during a Hindu religious procession, injuring several and killing at least five. The violence eventually spiralled and spread to neighbouring districts, including Gurugram, where mobs set afire a mosque and pillaged several shops and restaurants. The demolitions continued till the morning of August 7, when the high court intervened and questioned the government over the manner it was being carried out.
Acting swiftly, police on Wednesday arrested two men who had snatched a mobile phone and 1,000 in cash from a bus passenger near the Sector-43 ISBT within six hours of the crime. The accused in Chandigarh Police custody. (HT Photo)

The accused, Suraj, 22, and Amit Kumar, 32, are both residents of Sector 52.

The victim, Arjun Singh, 26, had reached the ISBT from Uttar Pradesh. When he walked out of the bus stand, three motorcycle-borne men snatched his phone and cash.

The victim, according to inspector Om Parkash, station house officer, Sector 36, had to travel further to Himachal Pradesh.

Singh informed the police control room, following which police swung into action and traced two out of the three snatchers.

A police team from Sector 61 police post traced the accused and recovered the mobile phone from them. The duo was produced before a local court and sent to judicial custody, the SHO said.

They were booked under Sections 379-A (snatching) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 36 police station.

3 held for assaulting, robbing two youths in Morni

Panchkula Police have arrested the three men who assaulted two youths and robbed one of them of 20,000 as well as a mobile phone in Morni on August 8.

The accused have been identified as Rahul and Gaurav of Ambala, and Harsh Mehta of Nayagaon, Mohali.

The robbery victim, Kamal, is pursuing a computer course in Sector 10, Panchkula, and works at a flour mill near the Mandhana bus stand. He was on his way on Tuesday afternoon, when he saw three men assaulting a youth near the turn to Shilyon village. When he tried to save the youth, the accused turned on him. One of them punched him in the face, breaking his tooth and causing him to faint. The accused had snatched his 20,000 and mobile phone, before driving away on their motorcycle.

Both Kamal and the assault victim, Rameshwar Dutt, a resident of Shilyon village, were treated at the civil hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, before being discharged.

The accused are facing a case under Section 379-B (snatching after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of snatching) of the Indian Penal Code. They were produced before court and sent to one-day police remand.

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A retired BSF man and his wife were found murdered on the first floor of their house, in Mike village in Batala on late Thursday night. The deceased Lashkar Singh, 55, and Amreek Kaur, 50, of Batalas Mike village. (HT Photo)

The deceased have been identified as Lashkar Singh, 55, and Amreek Kaur, 50.

The incident had come the fore after their son, Manpreet Singh, who lives in Dubai, alerted the neighbours and relatives after multiple failed attempts to reach them over phone.

Manpreet said that he had been trying to contact his parents since Thursday morning, but they werent picking up his call. After he sounded the relatives and neighbours, they went to the house to check up on the couple. On finding the gates of the house locked from outside, they sensed something amiss and informed the sarpanch and the police.

Around 11pm, the locks were broken open in the presence of the police.

While police found nothing suspicious on the ground floor, they discovered the bodies of the couple on the first floor. The couples nephew said it appeared that the woman had been strangled to death while man seemed to have been killed with an iron rod.

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In a series of Facebook posts and two videos, prematurely retired IPS officer Basant Rath on Friday urged Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha to restore his security, citing fear to his life from Pakistan and police. He added that he wasnt returning to Orissa, his home state, and would head to Kashmir next week to work. (HT File Photo)

In a five-minute long video, while drawing the attention of the LG, he said, My name is Basant and I have been forcibly terminated from IPS because I was not deserving and thats a right decision. Within 24 hours of my termination, my security and vehicle have been withdrawn by the police department.

All retired IPS officers here in JK have security and vehicles. But they withdrew my security and vehicle, he said.

He added that he wasnt returning to Orissa, his home state, and would head to Kashmir next week to work.

At least return my security... I dont need any vehicle, he said.

Please take care of me. I am going to Kashmir and will remain there for the next 25 years. I will work for the people and nation while being in the BJP. Give me an opportunity but if they keep behaving like this then Pakistan will shoot me and probably police will also shoot me, Rath went on to add.

The ministry of home affairs had handed a premature retirement to the 2000-batch IPS officer in public interest.

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Two days after one of the two Royal Bengal tiger cubs born at the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, better known as the Chhatbir zoo, died on Monday, the zoo authorities on Thursday confirmed the second cub had also passed away. In spite of constant close monitoring of physiological parameters, the cub breathed her last around 10 pm. The demise of the two cubs has left the whole Chhatbir zoo administration heartbroken. (HT File)

Zoo field director Kalpana K said as per CCTV surveillance, eight-year-old white tigress Gauri and her female cub were displaying normal behaviour till 10 am on Wednesday, and the cub was observed to be actively suckling.

But with time, the cubs activity lowered. Despite repeated efforts of the mother to soothe her cub, she was unable to suckle. In the evening, the cub was shifted to the neonatal care unit set up by the veterinary wing as per prescribed protocol, said Kalpna K.

In spite of constant close monitoring of physiological parameters, the cub breathed her last around 10 pm. The demise of the two cubs has left the whole zoo administration heartbroken.

Gauri had delivered two healthy and four stillborn cubs on August 3, marking the first instance of the zoo welcoming Royal Bengal tiger cubs since May 2021, when white tigress Diya had given birth to two cubs. The efforts to pair Gauri with three-year-old Arjun had begun in April, with the tigress giving birth to the cubs nearly 100 days later.

Gauri had arrived at Chhatbir from Rajkot zoo in 2019 as a four-year old. Arjun, meanwhile, was born at Chhatbir in 2019.

The field director said they had sent the cubs carcasses and viscera sample to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, for post-mortem and further histopathological examination.
In response to Chinas escalating infrastructure development along the border, the Union defense ministry has constituted a three-member expert team to investigate the feasibility of constructing an airport in Rangrik, a village located in the remote Spiti valley of Lahual and Spiti district. The state government has been advocating for the airport for years (HT File)

Although the team was scheduled to visit Rangrik, inclement weather, including heavy rains and floods, has forced them to reschedule their trip. They are now expected to visit the site later this month, confirmed chief secretary Prabodh Saxena.

The move comes as the state shares a 240 km porous border with China, with key stretches spanning 80 km between Chumar in Lahaul-Spiti and 160 km from Daroti to Mumri Dogri in the Kinnaur district.

Highlighting the strategic importance of an airstrip at Rangrik, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu recently met with Union defence minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. He urged for the construction of an airstrip at this location, a mere 50 km aerial distance from the China-occupied Tibet international border.

Emphasising its potential to bolster tourism in border areas, Sukhu deemed the proposed airstrip as a vital asset for the region. He said that as the Spiti valley is reliant on the National Highway 505 as its sole access route, the need for alternative connectivity is paramount.

The state government has been advocating for this for years. The army conducted surveys in villages of Tashi Gang, Gyete and Faldar at altitudes between 4,200 and 4,400 meters above sea level.

Currently, the highest airport in India is the Kashok Bakula Rimpoche Airport in Leh, situated at 3245 meters above sea level. Primarily serving military and civilian flights, the army has been interested in establishing an airfield in Himachal in close proximity to the Chinese border to facilitate its operations.

Despite various surveys and feasibility studies, progress on the Rangrik airstrip plan has been sluggish. Indian Air Force and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) conducted surveys for this project.

The border between China and India features nine passes, with Baryog La and Lapcha La Pass located in the Lahaul and Spiti districts. The remaining seven, Shipki La, Rani Tso La, Keo Barang La, Khimkula, Yamrang La, and Ghungrangla Pass, straddle the Kinnaur district, Uttarakhand and the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Chinas construction of a one-kilometre road up to Yamgrangla opposite the Ghungrangla Pass has raised concerns.

After the Galwan Valley clash, director general of police Sanjay Kundu assembled a panel of five Indian police service officers. Covering 36 villages near the border in Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti, the panel presented 12 key recommendations to improve infrastructure.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gaurav Bisht Gaurav Bisht heads Hindustan Times Himachal bureau. He covers politics in the hill state and other issues concerning the masses. ...view detail
Better coordination is needed between the first responders and meteorologists in situations. This was one of the conclusions drawn at an interactive session organised by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) regarding the flash flood guidance system installed in 2020. Apart from Met officials, others in attendance included officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Central Water Commission (CWC), national and state disaster management authorities, and officials and engineers from various departments. (Sant Arora /HT)

Apart from Met officials, others in attendance included officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Central Water Commission (CWC), national and state disaster management authorities, and officials and engineers from various departments, including Bhakra Beas Management Board and Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Punjab.

The need for better coordination was raised by Santosh Kumar, NDRF commandant, Bathinda, who spoke about the forces efforts during the intense rain spells in July.

Officials from WMO said they came to know about flash flood activities from the community or the press and not from the responders itself. On this, Kumar suggested that a WhatsApp group could be formed for all stakeholders to share inputs, while IMD already has a crowd sourcing programme for the average citizen to submit any weather observations.

WMO certified meteorologist and IMD scientist Asok Raja explained that radars, satellite and hydrological models were among the tools used to predict flash floods.

He added that currently, warnings could be sent six hours prior to such an event. IMD offers forecasts by interpolating values for up to 72 hours. By taking water level values from the CWC, detailed alerts can be prepared for flooding by IMD.

While officials from Punjab questioned why the exact location of floods cant be shared, the Met officials explained that the forecasts were issued for units called watersheds that measure around 4 km by 4 km area.

Chandigarh has 16 such units and the warnings were issued by comparing these with a district-level map. IMD Chandigarh issues tehsil-level nowcast for the region and in the future aims to issue forecasts up to village level.

Rahul Saxena, a scientist at IMD New Delhi, further explained the rain phenomena that was observed in July. He said though the rain was above normal, it was a cyclical process and did not mean that the values will stay high in future as well. He further added that people should be careful while talking about rain phenomena and how the word cloudburst was thrown around during such occasions, but its rarely the case.
Uttarakhand will introduce MBBS courses in Hindi in the state's medical colleges this month, Minister of Health and Education Dhan Singh Rawat said here on Friday. Uttarakhand minister said, It will be a big gift for the students who have had Hindi as their medium of education. A file pic of students during MBBS councelling. (Keshav Singh/HT)

He said Uttarakhand will be the second state in the country after Madhya Pradesh to bring such an initiative.

Rawat said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has agreed to formally launch the MBBS courses in Hindi in Uttarakhand's medical colleges before the end of August.

He added that the syllabus for the courses in Hindi was prepared by a state government-appointed committee of expert doctors, who studied the Madhya Pradesh model before finalising it for medical colleges of Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand minister said the syllabus was submitted by an expert panel to the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna University of Medical Education, which has also completed all formalities for its introduction.

It will be a big gift for the students who have had Hindi as their medium of education, he added.

Rawat had gone to Delhi to invite the Union health minister to formally launch the MBBS courses in Hindi in Uttarakhand and attend the groundbreaking ceremony of a satellite centre of AIIMS, Rishikesh, in Udham Singh Nagar.

He said Mandaviya gave his consent to attend both programmes.

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At least 28 students of a West Delhi school fell ill on Friday ostensibly after a gas leakage was reported from nearby railway tracks, police and civic body officials said. The gas leakage had taken place at nearby railway tracks. (Representative file image)

The students of classes 4 and 5 were hospitalised and their condition is stable, officials said.

The incident took place at a Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run school in Naraina, a little after noon, when students resumed classes after their midday meals. An unfortunate instance of hospitalisation of school students from MCD school in Naraina has been reported. The gas leakage had taken place at nearby railway tracks... students have been taken to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and Acharya Bhikshuk Hospital. A team of doctors from the health department of MCD along with officials of the education department are also present at the hospital to monitor the situation, an MCD official said.

Also Read: Dengue cases in Delhi spike amid rain, floods, MCD strike

However, parents of some of the affected children blamed food poisoning. Police have sent the food samples for testing.

Vichitra Veer, deputy commissioner of police (west), said a PCR call was received about children vomiting at the school. Police reached the spot, and found several children unwell. They were immediately shifted to the hospital, he said.

According to latest updates from the hospitals, all children are now doing fine and will be discharged soon, the officer added.

Initial inquiry revealed that a strong stench, likely that of diesel fumes from a passing trains engine, had filled two of the classrooms, officials said.

It appears that the fumes caused the students to feel uneasy and some of them puked. Students in the other classrooms did not report any discomfort, Veer said. We have also collected food samples from the school and sent them for testing, said Veer.

No case in the matter has been lodged so far.
Police used details of a Metro travel token, an online payment method used to purchase a ticket, and CCTV footage to arrest a 23-year-old man who behaved obscenely with and sexually harassed a woman at the Mandi House Metro station in central Delhi on Monday, officers aware of the matter said on Thursday. Police said that the suspect was standing on the platform opposite to the complainant and made obscene gestures at her. (HT Archive)

The complaint was filed after the woman, who was waiting at the opposite platform, alerted authorities about a man making obscene gestures and masturbating at the Metro station.

Deputy commissioner of police (Delhi Metro) Ram Gopal Naik said that the suspect, Shivam Sharma, works in the marketing department of a pharmaceutical company in Delhi. He has confessed to the crime, the officer added.

The incident took place at around 7am on Monday. A woman in her 20s, who was travelling from her Tughlaqabad residence, alighted from a train at Mandi House Metro station. She was waiting on platform 1 for a friend.

As she stood there, Sharma, who was on platform 2, began making obscene gestures at her, said Naik.

The woman rushed to a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer posted at the station.

By the time the CISF officer reached the spot, the suspect had left on a train, said police.

The complainant then took to social media website X, formerly Twitter, to share details of the incident. Thereafter, the Metro police reached out to her and registered a case of obscene gesture and committing an act to outrage the modesty of a woman at the Pragati Maidan Metro police station.

We scanned CCTV footage of the station and spotted the suspect. The survivor confirmed that it was the same person, said the DCP.

Police said that Sharma had arrived at Tilak Bridge railway station by train from Aligarh. He then went to the Mandi House Metro station to catch a train to Uttam Nagar. On realising that he was being reported, he fled by getting on the first train that arrived, said DCP Naik.

Police said that Sharma got off at the Nangloi Metro station and was trying to exit when Metro officials told him that his travel fare was 10 more than what he paid.

Sharma made the additional payment through his Unified Payments Interface (UPI) account, Naik said.

He was captured on CCTV footage making the payment and was subsequently tracked down after police linked the payment to his mobile phone number.

Sharma was arrested from his home in outer Delhis Begampur on Thursday morning.

He did not expect to get arrested. He thought he had escaped, said the officer, adding that Sharma told police that he took advantage of the thin early morning crowd at the Metro station.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said that all necessary assistance was extended to police in its probe.

DMRC views such issues with great seriousness...After receiving the complaint on social media, we immediately contacted the complainant and collected all necessary details. Through CCTV footage, the location of the person and his entry to the station was established...All details were shared with the police, who took prompt action and arrested the individual. DMRC premises are under CCTV surveillance and passengers are requested to conduct themselves responsibly while travelling. said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC.
A former driver of a south Delhi businessman was arrested on Thursday for trying to extort money from the latter allegedly with the help of a Pakistani man, police said on Friday. The callers allegedly demanded  15 lakh as protection money on behalf of Bawana gang. (Representational image)

Mukesh Tiwari, 42, a resident of Madanpur Khadar, allegedly posed as a member of the notorious Neeraj Bawana gang and used a Pakistan-based virtual phone number to make the extortion calls, said Chandan Chowdhary, deputy commissioner of police (south).

Virtual phone numbers are numbers generated using an online link, making them difficult to trace. It becomes even tougher for enforcement agencies to operate when such numbers are generated abroad.

Also Read: Pune beautician loses 30,000 to sextortion

Police said that the businessman and his wife received multiple extortion calls between July 31 and August 4, with the callers allegedly demanding 15 lakh as protection money on behalf of Bawana gang, and hurled abuses at the victims.

A case of extortion was registered in the matter, said the DCP. We tried to trace the location of the number from which the extortion demands were made. WhatsApp details of the virtual numbers were collected from WhatsApp and login IPs were also analysed. However, the mobile number was found to be active only on WhatsApp, said the DCP.

While it was a Pakistan-based virtual phone number, the police found some connections between that number and another phone number active in south Delhis Jaitpur area.

Also Read: 1-crore extortion case: Now, another Chandigarh cop sacked

Police subsequently zeroed down on the second number to a neighbourhood in Rohini and on Thursday arrested Tiwari.

Tiwari used to work at the businessmans house around 12 years ago, said the DCP. During Covid-19 pandemic, he lost most of his money, prompting him to hatch the conspiracy, said the DCP.

Tiwari allegedly began by first befriending a Pakistani man, known so far by a single name, Khan. Tiwari then allegedly lured him into the plan to help arrange a Pakistan-based virtual phone number, police said.

While police are yet to gather complete details of the Pakistani angle, Tiwari allegedly told police that he promised Khan a share in the extortion amount if the crime was successfully executed, officers said.
A government schoolteacher was on Friday arrested for allegedly abducting, raping, and murdering a 16-year-old student at Bowli in Rajasthans Sawai Madhopur. The girl was last seen speaking with the accused Ram Ratan Meena. (HT PHOTO)

Police said the girl went missing from her home on Tuesday when her parents were at a temple. Her father lodged a case on Wednesday naming the teacher Ram Ratan Meena, 37.

The body of the girl, who was last seen speaking with Meena, was recovered on Thursday from a well, around two kilometres from her village. The girls father alleged Meena raped and murdered his daughter.

Police superintendent Harsh Vardhan Agarwala said Meena was arrested after the primary investigation under the Indian Penal Codes Sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder), 366 (abduction), and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The allegations will be ascertained only when we will get both the forensic and autopsy reports.

The girls family staged a sit-in until late Thursday night demanding one crore compensation, a government job, CCTV cameras at the school, and a death sentence for the accused. They accepted the body for the last rites on Friday after the district collector assured them that their demands will be considered.

A police officer said the girls body was cremated after an autopsy and collection of samples.
A 56-year-old man allegedly beat his wife to death on Friday at Viyyur near here after suspecting her of infidelity, police said. Police said he doubted his wife's activities and assaulted her after accusing her of cheating. (Representational Image)

The accused, Unnikrishnan, had been working abroad for some time. He allegedly committed the crime three days after returning to the country, they said.

After killing his 46-year-old wife, the man reached Viyyur police station in the early hours of Friday and surrendered, they said.

"He was abroad and reached Kerala on August 8," a police officer told PTI, adding that the accused has confessed to the crime.

Police said he doubted his wife's activities and assaulted her after accusing her of cheating.

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Kolkatas Jadavpur University (JU) authorities have asked freshers to move to a separate hostel while ensuring no ex-students and outsiders are allowed to stay at its main hostel after an 18-year-old first-year student fell to death from its second-floor balcony on Wednesday. The students parents and a section of professors and students alleged he was ragged. JU was rated Bengals best university in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2023 (HT PHOTO)

All undergraduate first-year students have been instructed to temporarily shift to the New Boys Hostel. No ex-students as well as outsiders would be allowed to stay in the hostel. Hostel superintendents have been asked to send names of ex-students and outsiders who do not comply, said a JU official, requesting anonymity.

Allegations about former students and outsiders regularly staying at the main hostel and harassing freshers surfaced following the students death. The main hostel is outside the university campus.

Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) on Thursday called for separate hostel facilities for freshers as per University Grants Commission guidelines. Ex-students, who are staying in the hostel illegally, should be ousted and actions be initiated against them, JUTA said in a statement.

Police were probing the death even as an officer said they were yet to receive a formal complaint. Investigation is on. After we receive a formal complaint from the family, we can register a First Information Report, said the officer.

The students parents told journalists that he was afraid. He was found undressed and his body bore injury marks. My son called last night and spoke to his mother. He was very afraid and was under tremendous pressure. He begged me and his mother to come. It was clear that he was being tortured, the students father told journalists.

A seven-member JU committee and governor CV Ananda Bose, who is the chancellor of the state university, separately visited the hostel. Bose met student representatives and faculty members.

JU joint registrar Sanjay Gopal Sarkar promised to do everything possible. The process may take some time. Police have started their probe. An internal probe committee has been set up to find out what happened. He informed his parents but never informed us. Had the information reached us we could have acted.

JU was rated Bengals best university in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2023. It bagged the fourth position nationally among universities for the second year after the Indian Institute of Science (Bengaluru), Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Jamia Millia Islamia.

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A day after a first-year student of Jadavpur University fell to his death from a hostel balcony, triggering allegations of ragging by some seniors and ex-students, police registered a murder case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victims father on Friday. A section of students organised a protest gathering against ragging in the university on Friday. (Twitter photo)

We have registered a FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) based on a complaint lodged by the victims father. Investigation is going on. Some present and past-students are being questioned. The family has named one former student who was staying in the hostel, said a police officer.

Late on Wednesday a 18-year-old student from the university fell from the second-floor balcony of the main hostel building. The students naked body was found lying in a pool of blood in front of the hostel building. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed a few hours later.

Also Read: Freshers to move to separate hostel at JU after students fall to death

At 10:05 pm on Wednesday, I received a call from a student. He said that another student was facing politicising. I couldnt understand and asked him to explain. He said that a student was being asked not to stay in the hostel because if one has to stay in the hostel, he needs to jump from the balcony. I asked him to inform the hostel-superintendent, Rajat Roy, dean of students of JU, told the media.

At 10:08 pm I asked the superintendent to check. The next phone call I got (was a) little after midnight in which the superintendent informed me that a student has fallen from the balcony and I rushed to the hospital, Roy added.

The victims parents, a section of students and professors alleged that he was ragged.

Allegations have surfaced that the main hostel, located outside the university campus, is frequented by ex-students who often stay illegally. Seniors and ex-students regularly harass freshers, alleged students.

My son called and spoke to his mother on Wednesday night. He was very afraid and was under tremendous pressure. He begged me and his mother to come. It was clear that he was being tortured, the students father told journalists on Thursday.

University authorities have asked freshers to move to a separate hostel while ensuring that ex-students and outsiders are not allowed to stay at the main hostel. The university has also set up a committee to probe into the incident.

A team of faculty members met West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan on Friday. Bose is the chancellor of the state university and had visited the hostel on Thursday evening.

Also Read: Jadavpur varsity student dies in fall, kin say was facing ragging

All undergraduate first-year students have been instructed to temporarily shift to the New Boys Hostel. No ex-students as well as outsiders would be allowed to stay in the hostel. Hostel superintendents have been asked to send names of ex-students and outsiders who do not comply, said a JU official,asking not to be named.

The state human rights commission on Friday sought a report on the incident from Kolkata Police and JU authorities by August 24.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee called up the victims parents on Friday, assuring them of all help.

The incident, meanwhile, has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its arch rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Without administrative support students unions wont be able to continue with the ragging in universities. The student had to pay with his life. I assure the family of all legal assistance. I stand beside them in this hour of grief, tweeted Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP president.

The TMC was quick to hit back saying that the BJP was out to blame the state government at the drop of a hat.

The BJP state president, in his hurry to blame us, has forgotten that JU is under the direct control of the Governor. So, it is his failure and in turn the failure of his political masters to control this deplorable incident, tweeted Bratya Basu, state education minister.

JU was adjudged West Bengals best university in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2023 rankings.

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A debate on drought and flood-like situation in different districts of UP appeared as a contest for Lok Sabha elections, with chief minister Yogi Adityanath targeting INDIAs main alliance partner, the Samajwadi Party, saying the defeat of the no-confidence motion against the Modi government spoke on the peoples verdict for 2024. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed the assemblys Monsoon session at Vidhan Bhawan in Lucknow on Friday. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

This trend in the BJPs favour was going to continue even in 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, said Yogi while replying to issues that members of the opposition raised in the House during the three-day debate on impact of delayed monsoon.

We will be back even in 2027. You (Samajwadi Party) will get clean bowled in 2027 assembly elections. People have given the verdict for 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, he said.

Also Read: India has belief in NDA, no confidence in Oppn: Modi

After conducting the business listed for the day, Speaker Satish Mahana adjourned the state legislative assembly sine die.

Taking pot shots at leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath said that those born with a silver spoon in their mouths would never understand the problems of farmers, Dalits, backward classes and the poor.

He quoted noted Hindi poet Dushyant Kumar to make his point that the SP leader had lost his ground. Adityanath said: Tumhare paaon ke neeche koi zameen nahin, kamaal yeh hai ki phir bhi tumhe yakeen nahin. (There is no ground under your feet, but still you do not realise this.)

The CM used the occasion to declare that power supply for tubewells of farmers would be made free soon and said the leader of opposition and the Samajwadi Party had no agenda for the states development.

Also Read: Not Modi vs Rahul; new star speaker in Congress: 5 takeaways from no-confidence debate

No efforts were made to make UP a trillion-dollar economy from 1947 to 2017, when the BJP came to power for full term. This is why people are giving them (opposition) an apt reply again. He said UPs economy had grown two-fold in the past five years of his governments rule in the state.

Yadav, in his nearly an hour-long speech, said the BJP, which was earlier known for chhal, charitra and chehra was now identified for spreading hatred, corruption, unemployment and rising corruption. He targeted the chief minister using the phrase charity begins at home to make his point that Yogi had not been able to bring about development even in his home district Gorakhpur, which was facing problem of water logging following rains there.

Speaking after Yadav on the concluding day of the monsoon session, the CM said that the SP president only mentioned the problem of water logging in Gorakhpur in his one-hour-long speech while deviating from the main subject. He said the leader of oppositions statement in the House justified the peoples verdict in 2014 (Lok Sabha), 2017 (assembly polls), 2019 (LS elections) and 2022 (assembly polls) against the SP and favouring the BJP in the state.

Yadav took a dig at the BJPs move to re-induct Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and his party into the NDA fold and said Rajbhar had been singing the famous Hindi song from the film Sanyasi - chal sanyasi mandir mein, to make his point (that Yogi Adityanath should go back to Gorakhnath temple).

Adityanath targeted other partners of the INDIA, reading out rates of petrol and diesel in West Bengal and Rajasthan etc to make his point that the BJP government in UP was selling petroleum products at a lower price.

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A woman government officer was seen slapping a young girl amid a dispute over illegal land occupation in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district. A video capturing the incident went viral on social media, which sparked criticism and discussions online about how government officers handle local issues. Deputy tahsildar Prachi Keswani had arrived at the scene to take possession of disputed land following a High Court order. (via Live Hindustan)

Also Read | Passenger slaps Akasa Airlines staff at Lucknow airport, case registered

In the viral video, which Hindustan Time could not independently verify, an argument unfolded between the villagers and the officer when a teenager spoke. The officer responded by slapping the girl, provoking furious reactions from the villagers who started shouting at her. Police officers were present and intervened to control the situation, attempting to mediate between both sides.

As per a report by Live Hindustan, a sister publication of HT, the incident occurred in Bishampur village, Varanasi. Deputy tahsildar Prachi Keswani arrived at the scene to take possession of the disputed land following a High Court order. A confrontation between her and the locals started, resulting in the slapping incident.

Also Read | YS Sharmila slaps cop who stopped her from going on Hyderabad protest, arrested

What happened there?

The Live Hindustan report said that the deputy Tahsildar, who had gone to the site to take possession of the land, was asked to show the High Court's order. She told the villagers that the order would be in English, which they wouldn't be able to read.

An intermediate student stepped forward and spoke to the officer in English, requesting the High Court order. As the young girl persisted in demanding the order, the officer ended up slapping her. The police, who were present at the scene, intervened and removed the officer from the area due to the anger expressed by the villagers over slapping a minor girl.

The officer alleged that dozens of people had occupied the land near the Kapsethi police station in the village. She said that the high court had issued an order regarding the encroachment. Following the altercation, the woman officer left the scene without successfully completing the process of taking possession of the disputed land.

Officer denies slapping

Deputy tahsildar Keswani denied slapping the girl and claimed that the video does not show the full situation that occurred there. She sai that she did not slap anyone and that someone had accidentally bumped into her from behind, making it look as if she slapped.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lingamgunta Nirmitha Rao Trainee Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital Stream. India's regional languages attract me. ...view detail
Four people were arrested on Thursday night on charges of attempting to abduct a man and his two children from Greater Noidas Surajpur area on Thursday afternoon, police said Friday, adding that a probe has revealed that the suspects were allegedly planning to assault the man over a previous enmity. Police indentified the arrested suspects by their first names as Rohit, a resident of Sutiyana village, Abhishek, Mayank alias Kaalu and Ranvijay, all residents of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. (Representative Image)

Police indentified the arrested suspects by their first names as Rohit, a resident of Sutiyana village, Abhishek, Mayank alias Kaalu and Ranvijay, all residents of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

On Thursday afternoon, Surajpur resident Subhash Kashyap was driving his black Scorpio SUV back home after collecting his children, aged 7 and 11 years, from a private school around 2pm when a white Brezza blocked his way on the Dadri main road.

There were four men inside the vehicle and three of them got down and forcibly got into my SUV. They took control of my vehicle, and beat me up and also threatened to beat my children. Just then, the Scorpio got stuck in traffic, following which I raised the alarm to get the attention of the passersby. Fearing that they would be arrested, the suspects got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, said Kashyap (35).

Based on Kashyaps complaint, police registered a case against the four suspects, who were caught by CCTV cameras exiting the vehicle that was stuck in a jam.

Police teams were deployed immediately to nab the culprits. Around 7pm, the four suspects were arrested from Ecotech-3 area of Greater Noida. The prime suspect is Rohit while the other three were acting on his directions, said Sumit Shukla, assistant commissioner of police-1, Central Noida.

The four suspects were booked under Indian Penal Code sections of wrongful restraint (341), assault (323) and section 364 (kidnap).

During investigation, it was found that the two parties had an old enmity. Rohit and Kashyap were friends earlier as they belong to the same village, Sutiyana. On July 14, the two were drinking together when a fight broke out between them, Shukla said.

An officer, who is part of the investigation, said Kashyap has allegedly called up his brothers to thrash Rohit following the fight. In retaliation , Rohit called up his friends and planned to assault the complainant. They followed Kashyap on Thursday and barged into his vehicle. As per their statements, they were not aware that Kashyaps two children were in the vehicle as well, he said.

The officer added that the suspects planned to leave Kashyap in an isolated place after thrashing him.

However, the suspects panicked after the car got stuck in traffic and the public started noticing them. So, they left the car and fled the spot, said the officer.

The suspects were remanded in judicial custody on Friday.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ashni Dhaor Ashni Dhaor is a correspondent with Hindustan Times. She covers crime, education, health, politics, civic issues and environment in Ghaziabad city. She graduated from Delhi University in 2015 and has since been working with Hindustan Times since. ...view detail
Police arrested a man and his friend on Friday for allegedly stealing 2.33 lakh in cash from a fuel station in Crossings Republik on Monday, where he was working as a supervisor, police said on Friday, adding that one of the suspects, was traced after he made an online payment while purchasing a cigarette. The theft occurred when the accountant and other staff members were absent, attending to a task at a nearby bank. (Representative Image)

The two suspects, both residents of Garhmukteshwar in Hapur were identified as Vishal Sharma, 30, and his friend Mohammad Zaid, 28, police said.

According to police, the owner of the fuel station, Prateek Garg filed a complaint at the Crossings Republik police station, saying that an unidentified man wearing a face mask went straight to the office where he pulled out 2.33 lakhs from the safe and fled the spot. The theft occurred when the accountant and other staff members were absent, attending to a task at a nearby bank.

Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR under Section 380 (theft) under the Indian Penal Code.

Saloni Agarwal, ACP (Wave City), said,  During the investigation, our teams scanned the CCTV footage from the fuel station and the nearby areas and spotted an unidentified man wearing a face mask and leaving the station after the theft. Our investigation led us to the cigarette shop, where we were able to ascertain the identity of the suspect, Zaid. His mobiles location history indicated recent activity in the area, including a prior visit for reconnaissance.

The police said that Sharma was in the know of the regular incoming of cash at the fuel station and allegedly planned theft with Zaid about a week ago.

His identity was established through an online wallet. He was traced and picked up for questioning. He revealed that the plan for theft was hatched by Sharma who has been working as a supervisor at the fuel station for the past two months. Sharma, as part of the plan, had left the keys to the office in the door lock, which gave Zaid a free pass to enter the office without any difficulty. Both have been arrested, ACP added.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peeyush Khandelwal Peeyush Khandelwal writes on a range of issues in western Uttar Pradesh  from crime, to development authorities and from infrastructure to transport. Based in Ghaziabad, he has been a journalist for almost a decade. ...view detail
Alleged conman Kiran Patel, who was arrested from a luxury hotel in Srinagar on March 2 for impersonating an official at Prime Ministers Office (PMO), has been handed over to Ahmedabad crime branch and arrested in the seventh case he faces. Kiran Patel was arrested for cheating, forgery and impersonation in March. (PTI)

The case was filed in May and relates to duping a businessman. Patel allegedly claimed to be a government officer and defrauded Morbi-based businessman Bharat Patel of 42.86 lakh in 2017, the crime branch said in a statement.

Kiran Patel was booked under the Indian Penal Codes sections 420 (cheating), 406 (breach of trust), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 170 (impersonation) in May for allegedly promising to get a permit from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board for Bharat Patels chemical factory.

Bharat Patel filed the case against Kiran Patel, who faces similar cases in Gujarats Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Bayad, following his arrest in Srinagar. Kiran Patels wife, Malini, has been named as co-accused in some of the cases.
Amid continued unrest in Manipur, the Centre is slated to hold its second round of talks with two umbrella groups of Kuki militant outfits under the ongoing Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement on their demand for the creation of a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people in the troubled state. Protest in Manipurs Churachandpur over crimes against women (Photo credit: PTI)

According to sources privy to the developments, the second round of talks between the Centre and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples Front (UPF) would be held in New Delhi on August 17. The first round of discussions on the same issue was held on July 26.

There was no word or confirmation from the central government on the August 17 talks.

We have a scheduled a bipartite meeting with union home ministry (MHA) officials on August 17. It will be continuation of political dialogue regarding our issues, said a senior KNO office bearer who asked not to be named. The MHA team is expected to be headed by special advisor to MHA, AK Mishra.

Kuki militant groups had signed a SoO agreement with the Centre and the Manipur government in August 2008. The agreement was signed by 25 Kuki militant groups-(17 of them under KNO and the remaining under the UPF.)

In the first round of talks held last month in New Delhi, KNO and UPF representatives had urged the Centre to withdraw the clause on safeguarding the territorial integrity of Manipur, which was part of the SoO agreement.

They had also sought creation of an union territory with legislative powers and land and forest rights.

Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between Meitei and the tribal Kuki communities since May 3 , which has claimed around 160 lives and displaced over 50,000 people.

While KNO, UPF and other Kuki groups have demanded a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people of Manipur, Meitei groups have accused the groups under SoO of being involved in the present spate of violence and urged the Centre to withdraw the 15-year agreement with them.

Also Read: Manipur violence: CBI to probe all 12 cases of crime against women, says govt

Meanwhile, all 10 Kuki-Zo legislators from Manipur including seven from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two from Kuki Peoples Alliance and an Independent MLA on Friday criticised union home minister Amit Shah for stating in Parliament on Wednesday that the present spate of violence in the state was started by Kuki infiltrators from Myanmar.

It is disheartening that the union home minister should state in parliament that the ethnic cleansing on Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people is a disturbance caused by infiltration from Myanmar for the 2021 Junta takeover (in the neighbouring country), a press release issued by the 10 MLAs stated.

The legislators urged the home ministry to furnish details of illegal infiltrators from Myanmar and their participation in the village defence efforts of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar villages.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utpal Parashar Utpal is a Senior Assistant Editor based in Guwahati. He covers seven states of North-East India and heads the editorial team for the region. He was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times. ...view detail
A public hearing for environmental clearance of an iron ore mining block in Goa is expected to take off on a stormy note on Friday as the state seeks to restart its mining industry which has been shut for more than a decade. An iron ore mine in Goa. (Reuters File Photo)

The Goa State Pollution Control Board will conduct the public hearing, the first of presumably many, for the Bicholim mineral block (Block I) with an area of 478.5206 hectare located in north Goa and covering the villages of Bicholim, Bordem, Lamgao, Mulgao, Mayem, and Sirigao.

The rights to the mining block were won by Vedanta Ltd in the auctions held in December last year and if restarted, will mark the resumption of operations at the site of the existing mine.

However, voices of dissent have been getting louder in the run up to the public hearing.

This is a mine covering six villages, yet the state government hasnt taken the trouble to explain the technical language in the environmental impact assessment report. They want to force this through without the villagers understanding the impacts of the mining, Swapnesh Sherlekar, a Bicholim resident and an activist, said.

Mining has ruined our once fertile fields, destroyed the springs that provided us with water, and all this has happened in just the last 50 years. This existing mine is now being given a fresh lease of another 50 years, so imagine the kind of destruction that will take place in the next 50 years, Sakharam Pednekar of the villagers union said.

The Goa Foundation has termed the public hearing as illegal, claiming misrepresentations in the environment impact assessment report.

Our main objection is that the mining block has been shown as a fresh lease, just commencing production, when the mining lease has been under continuous operation since 1941. A brownfield site has been declared as a greenfield project. This has been done to ensure that the environmental problems caused by these leases during several decades of poor-quality mining practices are simply not brought up for discussion. Neither is there any proposal for rehabilitation of the mine sites and damage done, Goa Foundations Claude Alvares said.

The village panchayat of Mulgao has called for a cancellation of the public hearing, saying that the villagers were not given enough time to understand the report and create awareness about it.

North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan said the police have made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the hearing in coordination with district administration officials.

The Bicholim mining block consists of five erstwhile leases that have been amalgamated into a single block. The leases have been in operation since 1941 and have been operated by several companies including Dempo Mining Corporation (since taken over by Vedanta) and Sesa Mining Corporation Ltd, which later became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd.

Vedanta bagged the block by promising to share 63.55% of the average sale price with the state government. The block has a stated capacity of 3.0 MPTA (million tons per annum) of iron ore.

The mining industry in Goa is estimated to have contributed roughly around 6,500 crore or 16.94% to the state GDP and employed 19,000 employees directly out of the total labour force of 582,000 prior to its stoppage by the state government in the wake of the Shah Commission report on illegal mining tabled in Parliament in 2012.

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A special CBI court in Patna on Friday sent Rajni Priya, a key accused in the Srijan scam arrested from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, to Beur jail here in judicial custody till August 21. Srijan scam accused Rajnii Priya being produced at a Patna court on Friday. (Sanstosh Kumar/HT)

Rajni Priya is the daughter-in-law of (late) Manorama Devi, the founder of Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti in Bhagalpur, an NGO accused of illegally siphoning off at least 1,000 crore of government money into its accounts in various banks. Priya, who was the NGOs secretary, has been at large since 2017 when the scam came to light.

Priyas husband Amit Kumar is also an accused in the case.

The couple were named as accused in the 22 of the 24 cases lodged by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), which had taken over the probe at the request of the Bihar government. The agency had earlier issued lookout notices against the couple.

The special CBI court in Patna had also issued non-bailable warrant against Priya.

On June 18, 2023, another accused in the scam, Arun Kumar, who was lodged in Beur Central Jail, died during treatment at a hospital in Patna. Arun, who was posted as district welfare officer in Bhagalpur, and his wife Indu Devi were accused in the case. Arun was arrested by the CBI on August 12, 2017, in Bhagalpur. He was transferred to Beur jail from Bhagalpur in 2018. Indu Devi had got bail in this case.

The scam

The CBI has filed a number of charge sheets in the case in which several persons, including a former district magistrate of Bhagalpur, have been named as accused. It is alleged that the NGO, which was working towards imparting training to women, had pilfered government funds in connivance with the bank officials and state government officials between 2003 and 2014.

There was illegal transfer and misuse of funds from government accounts in Bhagalpur district to accounts of the Samiti through a conspiracy hatched between government officials and office bearers of the NGO, the CBI has alleged.

An initial probe by local police had revealed that the Samiti, based at Sabour in Bhagalpur district, allegedly procured chequebooks from banks and forged the signature of the district magistrate to transfer government funds to its account.

The probe had also pointed to the involvement of nationalised banks and government officials in the fraudulent withdrawal of funds in three districts of Bhagalpur, Banka and Saharsa.
CII, PMC launch Cleaner Air Better Life initiative Software engineering services provider Ascendion announced acquisition of Nitor Infotech, a software product engineering company based in Pune, that leverages disruptive technologies like Generative AI to build new products for clients. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched the Cleaner Air Better Life (CABL) Pune initiative in collaboration with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The programme will leverage evidence-based and multi-stakeholder collaborative approaches to support National Clean Air Programme implementation. As part of the event, a Clean Air: Mission Pune Ideathon was conducted for the students from the Cummins College of Engineering for Women (CCEW) to inspire ideas on the themes of Clean Transportation, Clean Industry and Construction, Clean City, and Clean Policies.

Pune-based Nitor Infotech acquired by Ascendion

Software engineering services provider Ascendion announced acquisition of Nitor Infotech, a software product engineering company based in Pune, that leverages disruptive technologies like Generative AI to build new products for clients. Nitor Infotech brings more than 700 employees to Ascendion, and its expertise in Generative AI will help Ascendion deliver even more innovative and cutting-edge solutions to its clients. The acquisition also strengthens Ascendions focus in healthtech, retailtech, and supply chain-tech industries through Nitors domain strengths and client relationships.

Route to 47 campaign launched

As India celebrates its Independence Day, redBus has unveiled its Route to 47 campaign. The initiative aims to bring pan India attention to regional and lesser-known freedom fighters by highlighting pivotal places associated with significant events in Indias freedom struggle. Using Google Maps and My Maps to pin 47 locations on the India map, redBus has added visuals and narratives on the historic value and role these locations played in the freedom movement. redBus has identified Kesari Wada, Aga Khan Palace, Chapekar Museum these places in Pune on Google maps and MyMaps which Punekars can travel to during upcoming long weekend.

Niblerzz launches clean confectionary products

Clean confectionary brand Niblerzz has launched Paw Patrol Lollipops in association with Viacom18 Consumer Products. Sandhya Seshadri and Aashnee Gajaria, co-founders of Niblerzz said that they have had parents asking for a clean lollipop format. Today parents are looking for better for you no refined sugar and 100 per cent natural alternatives for their kids as they all know sugar leads to hyperactivity, problems with sleep and learning and poor emotional health alongside diabetes. Kids are also allergic to artificial flavours and colours. The Paw patrol team has signed up with us because we are 100 per cent clean candy and confectionery brand in India with a clean lollipop format, solving a consumer need. Toys are also an important category driver, said co-founders of Niblerzz.

Brillio expands Digital Shaala initiative to 50 municipal schools

Digital transformation services and solutions provider Brillio has expanded its Digital Shaala initiative to 50 Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools in Pune, impacting over 18,500 students. Being run in partnership with PMC and implementation partner, Muskaan Dreams, a non-profit organisation, the initiative involves setting up Digital Learning Centres to make learning more interactive, engaging and fun for children, while empowering teachers with advanced teaching tools.

Arya.ag collaborates with Soyabean Processors Association

Agritech platform Arya.ag announced a strategic partnership with The Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) to enhance and streamline crop monitoring for Soybean across 51 districts. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), SOPA will receive dynamic information, rich datasets, maps, and data-enriched secure APIs for their subscribed districts, spanning Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. The integration of Arya.ags state-of-the-art technology will enable SOPA to remotely scout its districts, detect anomalies, and track farm growth seamlessly through a user-friendly web/mobile application provided by Arya.

Wilo Group opens new main production site in Kesurdi

Wilo Group has opened a new plant in Kesurdi near Pune. A sustainable and ultra-modern high-tech production complex built on a 94000 square metre site, the technology group manufacturer will manufacture premium pump systems for water management in India, the Middle East, Africa, and South-east Asia.

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The wall near the main entrance of Rohideshwar Fort, 12 km south of Bhor city, collapsed late Thursday night. With the fortifications of some bastions on the fort having also developed cracks at many places, authorities have banned tourists on weekends. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The villagers, who got to know about the incident on Friday morning, said that no one was injured due to the collapse of the embankment and the footpath leading to the fort has been closed.

With the fortifications of some bastions on the fort having also developed cracks at many places, authorities have banned tourists on weekends.

As per the information given by the Pune district administration, occasional light rains and strong winds in Bhor taluka have caused the collapse of the stone-soil and limestone rampart built on the way to the fort. The Bazarwadi Gram Panchayat at the base of the fort has appealed to visitors to exercise caution during their trip to the ancient structure.

Rohideshwar Fort, also known as Rohida Fort, is built 3,625 feet above sea level. From Bazarwadi village the fort can be reached in an hour via the climbing trek route. The north-facing main entrance has a strong Ganesha Door adorned with artwork. Due to the collapse of the bastion-like fortifications near the same entrance, the historical importance of the fort is likely to diminish, said a forest officer on condition of anonymity.

Expressing disappointment that the state governments conservation plan for historic places is only on paper, the fort lovers hope that the ancient structure be conserved by the archaeology department.

The government should provide funds for the conservation of popular Rohideshwar Fort. Gram Panchayat needs financial assistance to provide services to visitors, said Sitabai Gurav, sarpanch, Bazarwadi village.

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Pune: After a week-long interval, there are chances of rainfall activity between August 18 to 24 in parts of Maharashtra. However, the precipitation intensity is likely to be light to moderate. There is uncertainty about the monsoon revival in the State and some areas might be impacted adversely due to reduced rainfall in coming days, weather experts said. Models suggest weak monsoon may continue for another 8-10 days or so, and El Nino is impacting the conditions. (HT PHOTO)

The southwest monsoon entered the break phase at the beginning of August, following a period of intense activity in July. However, much to the worry of farmers, meteorological experts are sceptical about the resumption of rains in Maharashtra in the second half of August.

Models suggest weak monsoon may continue for another 8-10 days or so, and El Nino is impacting the conditions. Subsequently, a revival is expected but with uncertainty, according to weather expert Madhavan Rajeevan.

Vineet Kumar, a former researcher at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) said, August rain is likely to be below normal and Pune, Nashik district is likely to see a significant shortfall this month.

Vidarbha and adjoining areas may experience some rainfall activities between 18 to 24 August but the intensity will be low, said an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Worrisome conditions in Marathwada

Decreased rainfall activities in the state have adversely affected the Marathawada region as many districts in the region are experiencing a large deficit in August.

The Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada sub-divisions are expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall for the remainder of the month. There is very little chance of good rainfall in the second half of August, said K A Hosalikar, head of IMD Pune.

As per the data, the Marathwada meteorological sub-division is experiencing the highest rainfall deficit (89% between August 1 to 11). If this situation continues in the upcoming days, it will be difficult conditions for farmers.

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Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured in an encounter with the banned CPI (Maoists) in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, police said on Friday. The injured CRPF jawans have been identified and are undergoing treatment. (Representative file image)

Two CRPF jawans have sustained bullet injuries during encounter with the Maoist naxalites in the jungle under Tonto PS area. Both have been shifted to Ranchi for treatment. The encounter is still going on, Ashutosh Shekhar, West Singhbhum superintendent of police (SP), told HT.

According to officials, the encounter broke out when police and CRPF were carrying out a joint search operation for the Maoist squad led by Maoist commander and central committee member Misir Besra, carrying a reward of 1 crore.

Also Read: Bihar: Kaimur police bust arms factory used to aid Maoist activities, 3 arrested

The injured CRPF jawans have been identified as havildar Munna and constable Sushant.

Munna has been hit on the chest by Maoist fire while Sushant has been hit on the leg. The condition of Munna is serious and both of them have been shifted to Ranchi where they are under treatment in Media hospital, police officials aware of the developments said.

A joint team of district police, CRPF, Cobra battalions and Jharkhand Jaguar have been carrying out search operations in the Tonto jungles.

As the security forces closed in on the Maoist hideouts in Tonto jungles, the Maoists started firing on advancing forces in which two jawans sustained bullet injuries, officials said.

This was the closest the police have come to nabbing Besra in the past four years.

A bunker was destroyed while mortars, explosives, materials of daily use, communication equipment and Naxal literature were recovered from it.

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The Employees Provident Fund Organisation India (EPFO) has released the exam city intimation slip for the Stage- I exam for Social Security Assistant Recruitment in EPFO. Candidates can download the exam city intimation slip from the official website at recruitment.nta.nic.in. EPFO SSA 2023 exam city intimation slip out at recruitment.nta.nic.in, get link (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Candidates can download the EPFO SSA exam city intimation slip using their application number and date of birth. The examination for the post of Social Security Assistant will be conducted on August 18, August 21, August 22, and August 23.

The Examination City Slip for the aforesaid post is now available on the website, https://recruitment.nta.nic.in/. The candidates are required to check/download their Examination City Intimation slip using their (Application No. and Date of Birth) and go through the instructions contained therein, reads the official notification.

EPFO SSA 2023 exam city intimation slip: Know how to download

Visit the official website at recruitment.nta.nic.in

On the homepage, click on the Recruitment Examinations of Employees Provident Fund Organization

A new page will be displayed on the screen

Next, click on the city intimation link

Key in your login details

Your EPFO SSA 2023 exam city intimation slip will be displayed on the screen

Download and take print for future reference.

Candidates may contact the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)-2023 by phone at 011-40759000 or by email at epfore@nta.ac.in if they have any problems downloading or checking the Examination City Intimation slip.

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Actor Jacqueline Fernandez celebrates her 38th birthday on August 11. In a 2011 interview with Rediff, Jacqueline, who made her acting debut with Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin (2009), was asked about the comparisons between her and Mallika Sherawat, and if they bother her. After Murder 2, Jacqueline Fernandez's breakthrough role in the 2011 psychological thriller was compared to Mallika Sherawat, who made headlines for starring with Emraan Hashmi in Murder (2004). Also read: When Priyanka Chopra said she was extremely offended' by Mallika Sherawats comment Jacqueline Fernandez, who celebrates 38th birthday on Friday, reflected on comparisons to Mallika Sherawat in an interview.

Jacqueline on Mallika Sherawat

Jacqueline had told Rediff, "It bothers me when my role (in Murder 2) is getting compared to her (Mallika Sherawat). The stories are not the same and it doesn't make any sense to make any comparisons. On a personal level I don't have any complaints when people compare me to her. For me, Mallika Sherawat is someone who is so real and is unafraid to be herself. She speaks her mind and in an industry which is quite fake, she is someone who is completely different. She needs to be applauded for where she is today."

Jacqueline on not trying to become a sex bomb

In the same interview, Jacqueline was asked if she was 'trying to replace' Mallika Sherawat and become the 'next sex bomb of the industry'. To which, Jacqueline had replied, "I don't want to replace her. I am not trying to be a sex bomb or the next sexy actress on the block. I am trying to be versatile and it will reflect in the movies I'm doing or will do in future."

When asked if she had any inhibitions before portraying 'such a bold character' in Murder 2, Jacqueline had said 'actresses cannot have any inhibitions while portraying bold characters'. She had also said that 'a sensuous or a steamy scene can be done very aesthetically or in a way that titillates the audience'.

Jacqueline's projects

The actor has worked in films such as Housefull 2 (2012), Race 2 (2013), Vikrant Rona (2022), Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Earlier this year, Jacqueline had attended a dinner party with her Tell It Like a Woman team, ahead of the 95th Academy Awards.

Tell It Like a Woman is an anthology directed by Leena Yadav, Maria Sole Tognazzi, Lucia Puenzo, Silvia Carobbio, Taraji P Henson, Mipo Oh, and Catherine Hardwicke. It is an Italian-American production. It officially marked Jacqueline's Hollywood debut. She was last seen in Ranveer Singh-starrer Cirkus (2022).

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Veteran actor and politician Jaya Prada has been found guilty by a court in Chennai on Friday. She has been sentence to imprisonment for six months. Reportedly, a fine of 5000 has also been imposed on her in connection to the case in which she was accused of not paying the ESI money to workers of her theatre. Reportedly, her business partners Ram Kumar and Raja Babu were also found guilty. Also read: Jaya Prada shares throwback pic from her first film: 'Facing my first shot in my movie' Jaya Prada was been sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment for non payment of dues.

Jaya Prada case

Jaya Prada owned a theatre in Chennai, which got shut down. Later, the theatre workers complained against Jaya for not paying the ESI money for the workers which was deducted from their salaries. They alleged that the ESI money was not paid to the Government Insurance Corporation.

Reportedly, The Labour Government Insurance Corporation filed a case against Jaya Prada and her associates at the Egmore Magistrate Court in Chennai. It also suggested that the veteran also admitted to the charges and promised to clear the long dues while also seeking dismissal of the case. However, the court refused her appeal and imposed a fine and imprisonment.

Jaya Prada films

Jaya Prada remains one of the most popular and influential actors in the Hindi and Telugu film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. After gaining popularity in South films at a young age, Jaya came to Bollywood with Sargam in 1979 and rose to fame. She has worked in films like Kaamchor (1982), Tohfa (1984), Sharaabi (1984), Maqsad (1984), Sanjog (1985), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Aaj Ka Arjun (1990), Thanedaar (1990), Maa (1991) and many Telugu films.

Jaya left the film industry at the peak of her career and joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994 and forayed into politics. She became a Rajya Sabha MP and then a Lok Sabha MP. She joined Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT Entertainment Desk Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail
Rani Mukerji spoke about the personal tragedy she suffered before filming her last movie Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, which was released in March 2023. The Business Today reported that the actor revealed at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne how she lost her baby five months into her second pregnancy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rani also said that sharing her story before the release or during promotions for Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway would have been seen as a promotional tactic. Also read: Rani Mukerji to conduct masterclass at 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Rani Mukerji in a still from Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway.

Rani reveals she had a miscarriage

Rani Mukerji recently said at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Maybe this is the first time I am making this revelation because in todays world every aspect of your life is discussed publicly, and becomes an agenda for talking about your film to get more eyeballs. Obviously, I didnt speak about this when I was promoting the film because it would have come across as me trying to speak about a personal experience that would propel the film so, it was around the year when Covid-19 struck. It was 2020. I got pregnant with my second baby at the end of 2020 and I unfortunately lost my baby five months into my pregnancy."

Rani further said that Nikhil Advani, one of the producers of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, called her in 2020 within 10 days of her miscarriage. She said, After I lost my baby, Nikhil (Advani) would have called me probably like 10 days later. He told me about the story and I kind of immediately not that I had to have the loss of a child to feel the emotion but sometimes there is a film in the right time of what you are going through personally to be able for you to connect with it instantly. When I heard the story, I was in disbelief. I never thought in a country like Norway an Indian family would have had to go through, she said.

Rani's first child Adira was born 2 months premature

Rani married producer-director Aditya Chopra in 2014 and they welcomed their daughter Adira a year later. The couple is private about the family and both Rani and Aditya are not on social media.

Earlier this year, Rani had also spoken about how her daughter Adira was born two months premature and had to be kept in the NICU as she was 'really tiny'. The actor was talking to Kareena Kapoor on her chat show What Women Want.

About Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway

Rani Mukerji essayed the role of a mother battling the state for her kids. The film was based on Sagarika Chakaraborty's book The Journey of a Mother. Helmed by Ashima Chibber, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway also featured Neena Gupta, Jim Sarbh and Anirban Bhattacharya, among others.

The film, which hit the theatres on March 17, made headlines soon after its release due to Norwegian ambassador to India Hans Jacob Frydenlund's less-than-favourable review of the film, following which the makers and team had also reacted. Producer Nikkhil Advani had taken to Twitter to share what actually happened at the screening, where Jacob Frydenlund was invited. He said that the ambassador admonished two women after the show.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT Entertainment Desk Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail
Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua are working together once more to make another movie about Robert McCall and the "Equalizer" series. This new movie, "The Equalizer 3," will be the last one in the series. The first two movies came out in 2014 and 2018. "The Equalizer 3" (Sept. 1, theaters): The action-thriller threequel finds former government assassin Robert McCall (Denzel Washington, with Dakota Fanning) in Southern Italy and protecting new friends from the Mafia.

"Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things hes done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed," The official tagline of the movie reads.

Finding himself surprisingly at home in southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends protector by taking on the mafia.

David Bloomfield, Tarak Ben Ammar, and Andy Mitchell are the executive producers of the movie, and it was written by Richard Wenk.

The Equalizer 3 release date

The movie is set to hit theaters on Friday, September 1, 2023.

What is the age rating for The Equalizer 3?

The first two Equalizer movies were given an 18 rating in the UK (similar to an R rating in the US) because they have mature content. They show a lot of strong violence, use strong language, and have some scenes with drugs.

The third Equalizer movie, Equalizer 3, hasn't been officially rated yet, but it's expected to get an 18 rating as well. The trailer released in May had a lot of strong violence, and usually, action series become more violent with each new movie.

The Equalizer 3 cast

Denzel Washington teams up with Dakota Fanning, David Denman, and Sonia Anmar for the exciting last part of the trilogy.

Where to stream The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2?

The Equalizer is available to stream on Netflix, Sky Store, and Now TV, and to rent on Amazon, Apple TV+, and YouTube in the UK.

For The Equalizer 2, it's available for streaming on Sky Store and Now TV. If you want to own it, you can buy it from Amazon, Apple TV+, YouTube, and other places.

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It was only last month that we saw Tom Cruise battle an artificial intelligence villain called The Entity in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. And it hasn't been a few months since we saw Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden operate in Citadel, a spy agency that transcends geopolitical borders. Alia Bhatt plays the antagonist in Heart of Stone.

On the surface, Heart of Stone may seem like an illegitimate child of the two spy thrillers. But if one digs deeper, it shows that the playbook of the saturated genre isn't set in Stone and that it could also have a beating Heart at its centre.

(Also Read: Gal Gadot interview: Alia Bhatt is super ready to break into Hollywood)

I spy, you spy

There's an all-encompassing AI force called the Heart. Unlike The Entity, it does have a shape and form. It's being protected by the Charter, a global spy agency that exists outside the ambit of any country or intergovernmental organisation, just like Citadel.

Now, who's in the Charter, who's in MI6 (UK's spy agency), who operates independently would be leading to sharing who betrays whom, who works for whom and who may get killed. Sure, you'd have seen betrayals and deaths coming from a mile if we're talking spy thrillers here.

None of that may take you by surprise. Because one has evolved into a spy thriller connoisseur, given the healthy dose one has been getting from the bloated genre lately. The pace is brisk, the action is pulsating, and the twists are galore. But what sets Tom Harper's Heart of Stone apart is the second half.

Sisterhood of spies

The women characters are the beating heart of Heart of Stone. Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone is in her usual Wonder Woman avatar when she performs action. Even the way she advances at an opponent is reminiscent of her popular character. But she manages to make Rachel Stone her own woman. She lends her grit, but also cartloads of empathy. She determinedly uses that empathy as a weapon of choice, even though it ends up as her Kryptonite a couple of times. There's a telling scene where she tells her spy boss, tearing up So I shouldn't have listened to the Heart.

Here, she's referring to the Heart, the AI device that guides the spy network. But she's also referring to her own heart, the Heart of (Rachel) Stone. The idea of listening to one's instinct as opposed to a technologically advanced tool lies at the heart of the story. The struggle of distinguishing between instinct and impulse makes for Rachel Stone's central conundrum.

Alia Bhatt plays Keya Dhawan, a 22-year-old hacker with a resolute motive. Early on, there's a shot of her raising a toast to Rachel across the bar. Then there's also a shot of her pointing a gun at her later. But the shot from the trailer that perfectly encapsulates her character is the one where she gingerly extracts the Heart and looks at it as if it's a forbidden fruit. Alia channels her instinctive brilliance as an actor in many such moments, especially in the second half, where she hits the sweet spot between being heavy-handed with her villainy and being sceptical of her nobility.

(Also Read: Alia Bhatt interview on Heart of Stone: Theres a lot of purpose and dedication in playing the bad guy')

There's thus a strong sense of sisterhood that connects the likes of Rachel and Keya, despite them being from different nationalities and age, and having equally strong but often conflicting motives. This sisterhood spans across an Indian, an Israeli, a Black woman (Rachel's boss), an Asian (Rachel's fellow MI6 spy), and in a cameo, a 76-year-old Glenn Close.

Towards the end, Rachel tells a man who thinks he has the edge over her, You men just know how to destroy each other. You'll never have what I do: someone watching your back. This is followed by two women giving their all to take that man down. And that's essentially what Heart of Stone stands for, under its larger-than-life exterior: taking down patriarchy, two women at a time.

Heart of Stone premieres on Netflix on August 11.
ARMYs have been buzzing with excitement ever since V unveiled details about his upcoming solo album, Layover. But it's not just V who's stealing the spotlight; his adorable dog, Yeontan, seems to be making quite the splash too. V's solo album "Layover" sparks ARMY excitement, with his dog Yeontan making waves. From concept photos to a cameo in "Rainy Days" MV, Yeontan steals hearts.

From the album's cover art to the release date, Yeontan's pawprints are all over Layover. ARMYs couldn't help but notice the prominence of V's furry friend, leading to playful speculations that Yeontan might be making his own debut alongside his famous owner.

The canine cutie took center stage in the first set of concept photos for Layover, further fueling fans' delight. And the surprises didn't stop thereYeontan even made a cameo appearance in V's new music video for "Rainy Days."

In the music video, V's thoughtful incorporation of Yeontan's perspective is evident. Filmed primarily from a dog's point of view, the color palette focuses on shades of blue and yellowcolors that dogs can detect. This creative choice had fans convinced that the video was a heartwarming glimpse into Yeontan's world.

One touching scene showed V placing a plate of food on the table, framed as if seen through Yeontan's eyes, tugging at the heartstrings of viewers and reinforcing the beloved pup's role in the visual narrative.

The MV's emotional depth doesn't end with its unique perspective. V skillfully conveys the feeling of longing and vulnerability on a rainy day, all while maintaining a sense of nostalgia and comfort. Yeontan, of course, shares these moments with his owner, appearing in close-up shots that highlight his attentive gaze.

As ARMYs celebrated Yeontan's virtual "debut" and his heartwarming connection with V, a surprising twist emerged. During a live broadcast via Weverse, V revealed that the "Rainy Days" MV was actually filmed in Madrid, Spain, while Yeontan remained at home. The Yeontan seen in the video was, in fact, a lookalikea revelation that added a charming layer of humor to the entire situation.

Fans' affection for Yeontan and V's artistic choices were palpable across social media platforms. The heartwarming concept and the dog's presence left many fans teary-eyed with appreciation.

While Yeontan's journey to Madrid might have been confined to the realm of imagination, his significance in V's creative expression is undeniable. As anticipation builds for V's solo album Layover, scheduled for release on September 8, 2023, it's clear that the bond between V and Yeontan will continue to capture hearts, both onscreen and off.
Big Brother's 25th season got embroiled in serious discussions after the ouster of contestant Luke Valentine. Valentine was kicked out of the reality show after he blurted the n-word against a white contestant. Valentine had used the racial slur during a discussion with two white houseguests, Cory Wurtenberger and Hisam Goueli, and one black guest, Jared Fields. After his ouster, contestants on the show had a hard time to deal with what had transpired. Luke Valentine(Twitter)

In the latest installment of the show, Wurtenberger claimed the racial word was directed at him in a casual way. Goueli said he didn't hear Valentine say the word. Fields opined that it was not appropriate to "have this as a family convo." He later wished all the best to Valentine, inside the confessional.

According to TMZ, CBS told there's "zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur." Notably, Valentine violated the show's code of conduct which prohibits the use of such words.

ALSO READ| Leonardo DiCaprio spotted cruising with Love Island star Arabella Chi and Tobey Maguire in Spain

After Valentine's ouster from the show, his father spoke on the matter. As per TMZ, Valentine's father claims that his son has many family members who are Black, including a stepmom and step-siblings, as well as biracial cousins. Valentine's father says that his son is not racist.

According to the father, Valentine's stepmother was surprised to hear him use the n-word on the reality show. The father hopes that Valentine would get a chance to explain himself.

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Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, who delivered a 350-crore blockbuster in The Kashmir Files last year, is now back with a web series, The Kashmir Files Unreported. The trailer hints that the show will have real Kashmiri Pandits sharing their heartbreaking experience from the violence they witnessed in Kashmir, the time they left their home behind, and all they lost in between. Vivek says it was a major challenge to make them open up since they trust no one. Also read: The Kashmir Files Unreported trailer: Vivek Agnihotri says new web series will be more heart-wrenching than film Vivek Agnihotri talks about The Kashmir Files Unreported in Delhi.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Vivek talked about the purpose of the series which was actually shot before the The Kashmir Files and was the reason why the film was conceived in the first place. Excerpts:

Is the web series made from the uncensored content of The Kashmir Files or what could not be included due to the film length, or it only comprises of the real accounts of real people?

All three, I would say. This is definitely the uncensored, unreported, more than uncensored and whatever media failed to report in last 32 years. Second thing is that, this is all the raw honest as is data, research and testimonials of the victims of Kashmiri Hindu genocide which we have put in docu series format and it's going to be for the world to see and judge for themselves. The third thing is, I have been challenging everybody since The Kashmir Files that show me one dialogue, one scene, one shot or one sentence in the film which is not true. This is going to shut everybodys mouth because this is the only truth.

Watch: Vivek Agnihotri On The Kashmir Files Unreported And Controversies Surrounding Him

So what should the audience brace themselves for?

First, very raw and honest truth. Second thing is that you will cry. Of course, you can't see so much pain. But at the same time, you will also know how cruel are those people who have hidden such truth from us. How cruel and vicious and sinister these people are who support terrorism in Kashmir.

Will The Kashmir Files Unreported have that gory violence we saw in the film?

No, because there (in the film) we could create something. We were not present when the violence was taking place, so obviously we do not have (visible violence in the show), but you will feel the presence of that violence. You will understand that violence by looking at the eyes of the victims.

So what challenges did you face while making this show?

It was not easy because to make the victims open up their heart in front of you is very difficult thing to do, especially when they were cheated by the society, by the government, by the media and the intellectuals. They couldn't trust anyone. The biggest problem with Kashmiri Pandit community was the victims had trust deficit. So break open, take them into confidence, make them trust you so that they tell you honestlyit was a very big challenge.

Money was a very big challenge. We had no money behind us, God knows how we made it happen. I don't even want to go back to those nightmares or bankruptcy.

Then the biggest one was the physical challenge, which is the fatwas, death threats and security issues. In a democratic country like India, to make a film on your own people's victimization and their genocide or making a film against terrorism, you have to walk with security. But if I make a film supporting terrorists, then I can move around freely and attend Jaipur Literature Festival.

The Kashmir Files did exceptionally well commercially. Was it made before the film?

First series was made. We interviewed and researched and we made it in this format thinking that we will make a docu series out of it or a documentary out of it. And then we said, Oh my God, this is such an important story. Why not put it like a feature film so that it reaches masses and everybody can watch it.

It's good that we made the feature film first. People are going to watch this internationally now. When it comes on ZEE5 on August 11, everybody is going to watch because of The Kashmir Files. But if it was the other way round then perhaps people wouldn't have watched it as much.

What would be your response to the people who may call it fake?

Do you really care about everybody on the street? Who are those people? Do they matter? You show me one person who says terrorism is bad in Kashmir, Hindu genocide happened and still The Kashmir Files is not a good film. You bring me one person like that, I will sit on his feet and listen to whatever he says. But anybody who says Kashmir should be free, who says that abrogation of Article 370 is wrong, and anybody who says that terrorist was a poor teacher's son and still criticizes my film, I just give a damn to such people. They are the enemies of this nation. They are intellectual enemies of humanity. They don't have guns and AK47, but they are very bad, vicious and sinister people.

Did you face any struggle when you were taking this to an OTT platform?

Let us not get into that area, I would not talk about negative people. But ZEE5 gave me total freedom, confidence and I am very happy that they are also promoting it on front foot without any fear. Had it been with any multinational OTT, they would have killed the product.
The Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) are likely to hold on August 14 the 19th round of military talks to ease tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) where the two sides have been locked in a border row for more than three years, people familiar with the development said on Friday. The 19th round of military talks will take place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the BRICS Summit in South Africas Johannesburg on August 22-24 (PTI)

The latest round of Corps Commander level talks will take place almost four months after the last military dialogue was held on April 23. Despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

The Indian and Chinese armies have held multiple rounds of talks on the border issue, but problems at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.

The 19th round of military talks will take place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the BRICS Summit in South Africas Johannesburg on August 22-24. The possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit has not been ruled out, people aware of the matter said. Also, the Chinese leader is expected to be in New Delhi for the G20 summit in September.

In July, India said Modi and Xi discussed the need to stabilise bilateral ties at a brief encounter on the margins of last years G20 Summit in Indonesia, a shift from an earlier characterisation of the interaction as merely an exchange of courtesies. India and China have been locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since April-May 2020. Bilateral ties plummeted to a six-decade low after a brutal skirmish in Galwan Valley killed 20 Indian soldiers. According to Indias assessment, PLAs casualties were twice as many as the Indian Armys though Beijing officially claimed that only four Chinese soldiers were killed.

India has consistently said India-China relations cannot be normalised without restoring peace and tranquillity on the border. The governments focus on border infrastructure and connectivity over the past nine years has significantly improved Indias ability to respond to Chinas actions along the LAC, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on August 7.

In a statement issued after the 18th round of talks in April, the ministry of external affairs said the two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
There are double standards for justice in this country and I will not accept it, 93-year-old Ayinoor Vasu, popularly known as Grow Vasu, told a clutch of reporters outside a Kerala court on Friday before being whisked away by police into judicial remand. Ayinoor Vasu, also as Grow Vasu is a human rights activist (HT Photo)

The Kunnamangalam Judicial First Class Magistrate court in Kozhikode on Friday extended the judicial remand of Vasu, a human rights activist and former Maoist leader, who perplexed the authorities by refusing to pay a nominal fine or sign a self-bond for bail in a case dating back to 2016.

The nonagenarian was arrested by the Kozhikode Medical College police on July 29 this year, following a long-pending warrant in connection with a protest he organised along with a few others in front of the Kozhikode Medical College hospitals mortuary in November 2016, where the bodies of two Maoist leaders, killed in alleged fake encounters by the police, were kept.

Vasu had protested against the killings of Maoist leaders Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha, for which he was booked by the police for the charges of unlawful assembly and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty.

The case was filed against him and a few others in 2016 under sections 143, 147 and 283 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code [IPC]. The others [arrested along with Vasu] paid fines and posted bail, whereas he was not ready to do any of that, an officer from Medical College police station said.

After his arrest, Vasu was produced before a magistrate, but he refused to apply for bail and was sent to judicial custody the same day. On Friday (August 11), his remand was extended till August 25.

The activist told reporters, I had conducted a protest [in 2016] which was against the acts of the police... I accept the offence and the punishment. Two people were killed - Ajitha and Kuppu Devaraj. Moreover, eight others were killed in the Western Ghats and they were innocent. For such illegal acts, no case was registered or any investigation announced. There are different laws for different people and I told the court that I will not accept this. I have my own principles, as part of which, I lead my life, he added.

When asked about having to spend time in jail for adopting such principles, he replied, I have spent more time in jail than my own home. I will protest as long as I am alive.

The aged trade unionist also criticised chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for trying hard to become the biggest corporate leader in the state, even though he is the biggest communist leader currently.

The public is in deep slumber right now and they are being made slaves by the administration. I dont think people will ever realise this and I dont think I will live long enough before they understand it, he quipped.

Even as Vasu spent time behind bars for the last fortnight, there have been demands by his friends and activists that the state should withdraw the charges against him, considering his advanced age.

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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
New Delhi Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks during the discussion on the Motion of No-Confidence in the Lok Sabha. (PTI)

Congress lawmaker Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was suspended from the Lok Sabha on Thursday and a privilege motion initiated against him for his gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct, hours after he tried to compare Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Dhritarashtra and suggest that PM is Nirav (Bengali for silent) on Manipur.

Parliamentary historian Ravindra Garimela told HT: This is the first time in the history of Parliament that the floor leader of the largest Opposition party has been suspended from the House.

After the lengthy debate on the no-confidence motion ended on Thursday, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution that said, This House, having taken note of the gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in utter disregard of the House and authority of the chair, resolves that the matter of misconduct be further referred to the Committee of Privileges for further investigation and Chowdhury be suspended from service of the House till the committee submits its report.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also took note of the days developments and observed that Chowdhurys behaviour during the debate was not appropriate.

Joshi added: It has become habitual for him. Despite repeated warnings from the Chair he has not improved himself. Always in his debate he makes these baseless charges and tries to lower the dignity of the House. There are no facts in his arguments and he never apologises.

Reacting to his suspension, Chowdhury told the media, I have not insulted PM Modi. Modi ji speaks on everything but on Manipur issue, he is sitting Nirav, which means sitting silent. Nirav means to be silent. My intention was not to insult PM Modi. PM Modi did not feel that he was insulted, his courtiers (darbari) felt so and brought this proposal against me. I came to know that (the matter) has been referred to the privilege committee and I have been suspended.

Chowdhurys speech, incidentally, was not originally scheduled on Thursday. During his speech in the no-confidence debate, Union home minister Amit Shah said that Chowdhury was not given time and requested the Speaker to allot the Congress lawmaker some time from the NDAs quota.

During his speech, Chowdhury tried to compare Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhritarashtra and suggest that the PM is Nirav (silent in Bengali) on Manipur. His remarks triggered angry responses from the treasury benches with Union home minister Amit Shah emphasising that no one could speak in such a way about the Prime Minister. His comment was also seen as a reference to Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant, who fled India after defrauding a state-owned bank.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expunged the inappropriate comments.

While replying to the no-confidence motion, Modi wondered if Chowdhury was not originally listed as a participant in the debate due to pressure from the Trinamool Congress. Dont know why Adhir Chowdhury has been sidelined. Perhaps a phone call came from Kolkata!

Modi reminded the House that Union home minister Shah was kind enough to spare time from the governments quota and the Lok Sabha Speaker graciously agreed to allow the floor leader of the biggest Opposition party to have his say.

A day after Rahul Gandhi referred to the Ramayana during his speech, Chowdhury invoked the Mahabharata to try to suggest that if a king is blind, women will suffer, whether in Hastinapur or Manipur.

Chowdhurys attempt to describe the PM as silent led to another round of protests. The Parliamentary affairs minister cited rules to say that Chowdhury could not make allegations against the PM. He must apologize. The home minister said that his own party didnt give him time. He took time from us and is making baseless charges.

Chowdhury argued that from Chandrayaan to Cheetah, the PM speaks on every issue but is silent on Manipur.

BJP leader Virendra Singh was also mentioned by the Speaker for misconduct but he apologized to the House. Chowdhury, who had walked out in protest, didnt get that chance.

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday tabled bills to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act and to provide for capital punishment for mob lynching, sexual assaults on minors, 20-year imprisonment for gang rape besides repeal of sedition offence. Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at Parliament House complex during Monsoon session in New Delhi (PTI)

Shah said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill will be sent to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny.

Section 150 of the Bharatiya Sanhita Suraksha Bill apparently takes into account the Law Commission of Indias recommendation in June to enhance alternative punishment for sedition to seven years from three.

The commission recommended that the 153-year-old colonial law on sedition be retained. It insisted that repealing the legal provision can have serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country.

The commission favoured amending IPC Section 124A (sedition law) so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision.

The commission said the sedition law, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or a punishment of three years, should be amended to enhance the alternative punishment to seven years. It called for giving the courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act.

In an interim order, the Supreme Court in May 2022 put on hold the operation of Section 124A, a non-bailable offence, citing its colonial origin out of tune with the social milieu. Activists and jurists have alleged it is often misused to muzzle dissent.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bills Section 44 allows the right to private defence against deadly assault for instance in the cases of mob attack. Section 31 of the bill says if a communication made in good faith leads to any harm to the person, it is not an offence.

Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita has a provision for bail if an accused has spent in jail half of the maximum period of punishment under the crime committed during the trial. Various offences have sought to be made gender-neutral. Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, new offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added.

Shah said the laws that will be repealed were made to protect and strengthen the British administration. The idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen, he said.

Shah said the aim will not be to punish but to provide justice. He underlined the bills will deal with matters of terrorism, issues of mob-lynching and crimes against women with an iron fist. From 1860 to 2023, the countrys criminal justice system functioned as per the laws made by the British. The three laws will be replaced and there will be a major change in the criminal justice system in the country... Shah said in the Lok Sabha.

Criminal laws should be by Indians, for Indians. Today we have brought three bills which end three colonial laws and all these bills are going to fulfil one of Prime Minister Narendra Modis five vows on 15 August at the Red Fort last year.

Shah said they want to increase the conviction rate above 90%. For crimes which have imprisonments above seven years, forensic teams should be there at the scene which will decrease the chance of criminals getting acquitted. He said they want to computerise all courts by 2027. Shah added in rape cases, video recording of statements has been made compulsory.

Shah said police would not be able to delay investigations anymore. He added charge sheets will have to be filed within 90 days of the lodging of the complaints. The investigation will have to be completed within 180 days in all cases. The judge will have to give verdicts within 30 days of framing of charges.

He said judges cannot delay hearings and orders, which should be out and made online within seven days.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA will discuss the seat sharing for next years Lok Sabha elections during their upcoming meeting in Mumbai at the end of the month. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the formation of INDIA has rattled the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

The chief minister also claimed that many parties remained aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of fear and would jump ship at the time of elections.

Kumar was attending an event to mark Shaheed Smarak, to pay tributes to the seven martyrs during the Quit India movement in 1942, when he made the remarks.

Already, there have been a few rounds of meetings. We are united and various issues, including seat sharing, would be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai, he said.

The 26-party Opposition alliance, which has been formed to jointly take on the ruling BJP at the Centre in next years elections, have already met twice in less than one month  first in Patna on June 23 and then in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The bloc is set to hold their third meeting in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1 for further talks.

Kumar, a Janata Dal (United) leader who had initiated the first round of talks by hosting the June meeting of 15 opposition parties, said the formation of INDIA has already rattled the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

They (NDA) will face a rout in the next elections. This is why they are scared now. There is a perception among people that the BJP-led government at the Centre is not doing any development works and indulging only in publicity, he said.

Asked about Prime Minister Modis ghamandia jibe at the Opposition alliance, Kumar said: All of us have joined hands for the betterment of the country. They (the BJP) are not aware that many parties, which I shall not name right now, are with them out of fear. They will come over to this side when the elections are announced.

In August last year, it was for the second time that the JD(U) broke ties with the BJP and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led opposition; the first was in 2013 when the party exited after 17 years in the NDA.

Kumar slammed the Centre for attacking the Opposition during the three-day debate on the no-confidence motion in Parliament. The Opposition has the right to raise issues. They did their job, he said.

Incidents are happening everywhere but they (Centre) are mum. They speak on issues as per their own choice and suitability. The House is in session but they make no statement, he said, referring to the Oppositions demand for a statement from the Prime Minister in Parliament on the ongoing Manipur violence.

Kumar continued: Earlier it was not the case. During former prime minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayees tenure, issues were discussed in the House and the government responded.

The chief minister hit out at the BJP for mocking the JD(U) as being number three in terms of numerical strength in the assembly. In the 2010 assembly elections, we won 118 seats while the BJP got less. In the 2009 Parliamentary polls, we won 20 seats whereas the BJP won 12 seats. They seem to have forgotten all this, he said.

They should admit the conspiracy they had hatched with the help of their agent, Kumar said, obliquely referring to Chirag Paswan, who was then heading the Lok Janshakti Party during the 2020 assembly polls.

Paswan had fielded candidates, many of them BJP rebels, in all seats which were being contested by the JD(U), causing the tally of the chief ministers party to fall drastically.

Kumar said Bihar could have seen more development works had the Centre accorded the state special status.

It was we who took piped water to every household and electricity to every village. But they wanted to project these as their own achievements, he said.

Hitting back, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said: The chief minister should not harbour any illusions. In 2024, the BJP will win all 40 seats from Bihar and return to power at the Centre.

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The Bihar government on Friday refused to share official records pertaining to a controversial decision granting remission to former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, who was serving a life term in connection with the murder of former Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah, with the latters wife. The Bihar government said the details cannot be shared with the deceaseds family as the file contained names of 97 convicts who were considered for the relief (HT Archives)

Opposing a request by Krishnaiahs wife, Umadevi, in the Supreme Court, the government said the details cannot be shared with the deceaseds family as the file contained names of 97 convicts who were considered for the relief.

Opposing a request, by Umadevi, in the Supreme Court, state counsel and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar said: I wont share the details till the court examines it (files) first.

He added that the state is willing to show the records only to the judges.

Mohan was awarded life imprisonment in connection with the murder of Krishnaiah, a young Dalit officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), in 1994.

The Bihar government, on April 24, notified his release by amending the states prison manual, sparking a political row in the state. The government amended the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, on April 12 by removing the murder of a public servant on duty clause from the list of cases for which remission of jail term cannot be considered. The amendment helped Mohan, a Rajput leader with considerable influence on his caste voters, secure the premature release.

Umadevi later moved the top court against the decision.

Appearing for Umadevi, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra said: This is no state secret. Let us have the benefit of seeing the remission records. We can file our response after going through the files.

Luthra wondered what was so confidential in the file and said, This shows the belligerence of the state.

Kumar pointed out that the records contained details of 97 convicts who were being considered for an early release, along with Mohan, and said the petitioner can know if it is confidential or not if he applies for the same by filing a plea under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Are you suggesting that all 97 cases of premature release were for murder of a public servant on duty?, a bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Dutta asked the state government.

To this, Kumar said he did not have any exact figure.

Posting the matter to September 26, the bench told Luthra: In the meantime, you can approach the state government with this request. Let us see what the state says.
The Congress on Friday reiterated its opposition to a proposed law for the Chief Justice of India (CJI)s exclusion from the panel to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs), citing veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advanis 2012 letter to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for appointments to Constitutional bodies on a bipartisan basis. L K Advani wrote to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2012 seeking appointments to Constitutional bodies on bipartisan basis. (HT PHOTO)

In a tweet, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited Advanis reference to a rapidly growing opinion that appointments to Constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission of India (ECI) should be done on a bipartisan basis to remove any impression of bias or lack of transparency and fairness.

Ramesh wrote these were not the comments of a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but an excerpt from the second paragraph of Advanis letter to Singh available on the BJPs website.

Advani proposed a committee comprising the CJI and leaders of the Opposition from both Houses of Parliament to select the CEC and the ECs.

The government on Thursday tabled in the Rajya Sabha the proposed law months after the Supreme Court in March sought to divest the executive of the absolute power to appoint the CEC and ECs by including CJI as a member of the selection panel.

Ramesh said the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill is not only against what Advani proposed but also overturns a five-judge constitution bench judgment in March.

He cited the courts order for insulating the offices of CEC and ECs from executive interference to allow independence in the functioning of the ECI as a Constitutional body. Ramesh added the bill in its current form will ensure executive interference with its 2:1 dominance of the committee. This coming from the Modi government in an election year further cements the view that Mr. Modi wants to ensure control over the Election Commission.

In his letter to Singh, Advani called appointments to Constitutional bodies an important subject agitating the minds of all those in India who wish to see progressive reforms in our electoral and governance. He referred to the impending vacancy in the ECI with CEC S Y Qureshis retirement that month and said how it will be filled has generated both interest and concern in equal measure.

The people of India wish to see that only persons with competence, integrity, and an impeccable record of service get appointed to these crucial bodies, whose functioning greatly determines the quality of governance. Advani said the system of the President appointing members to the ECI solely on the Prime Ministers advice does not evoke confidence among the people.

Keeping these important decisions as the exclusive preserve of the ruling party renders the selection process vulnerable to manipulation and partisanship. Advani added the credibility of the system was severely dented when a dubious appointment to the crucial office of CEC was made a few years ago. The time has, therefore, come to reform the selection process for the EC and other Constitutional bodies...

Advani wrote the change with respect to the Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Information Commission came because of the intervention of the Supreme Court. Let the wholesome change come this time as a result of an initiative taken by the Executive.

Advani said even the Manmohan Singh government-appointed Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended in its 2009 report that the CEC and ECs be appointed by a collegium. Significantly, this recommendation appeared in ARCs report on Ethics in Governance, wrote Advani. He urged Singh in this context that the new member of the ECI be appointed by a broad-based collegium. Towards this end, Article 324 of the Constitution which deals with the Election Commission of India should be suitably amended. The phrasing of Article 324 (2) shows that this would not need any Constitutional Amendment and can be done by an ordinary enactment.

In March this year, the Supreme Court revamped the selection mechanism for appointments of CEC and ECs. The court ruled a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the CJI, shall appoint CEC and ECs until Parliament brings a law. It underlined the independence of the ECI requires a collegium. The court said that the purity of the election process must be maintained to preserve democracy or else it would lead to disastrous consequences.

The constitution bench said the CJIs presence can usher in impartiality to a selection process when all governments want yes men in the poll panel. The government called it a fallacious and constitutionally impermissible suggestion that the executive cannot make an honest selection without the help of the judiciary.

The court lamented that successive governments have completely destroyed the independence of ECI by ensuring no CEC gets the full six-year term since 1996.

The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill says the panel for appointments of CEC and ECs shall comprise the Prime Minister, LoP in the Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet minister.

The ECI is a three-member body with a CEC and two ECs. Under Constitution Article 324(2), the President is empowered to appoint the CEC and ECs. This provision stipulates the President, who acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the council of ministers, will make the appointments subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf by Parliament.

With no such law having been framed, the PM and the council of ministers appointed CEC and ECs under the Presidents seal.

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A court here on Friday remanded Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh in 14-day judicial custody for allegedly shooting dead his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra recently. Singh was produced before a magistrate court in suburban Borivali on Friday at the end of his previous remand. Jaipur-Mumbai SF Express firing accused Chetan Singh(ANI)

The court remanded him judicial custody as no further remand was sought by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which is probing the case. In a related development, the court denied permission to the probe agency to perform brain mapping, polygraph and narco analysis tests on Singh.

The GRP had sought consent for the tests, saying the matter was very serious and a thorough investigation was needed. The incident took place on July 31 on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.

Singh (34) allegedly shot dead his senior - RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena - and three passengers on board the train, officials said. He was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network).
The Delhi high court on Friday sought the response of Newsclick on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking to vacate its 2021 order which granted interim protection from any coercive action against the news portal in connection to an alleged money laundering case. (Representative Photo)

The ED had moved the Delhi high court on Thursday seeking to vacate its order.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee issued notice to Newsclick and its founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha on EDs fresh application saying prima facie there is merit in the submissions made by the probe agency.

The Delhi high court had on June 21, 2021, directed the probe agency not to take coercive action against the news portal and on July 29, 2021, it had directed not to take any coercive action against its founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

Also Read: NewsClick-China links: In Parl, BJP continues attack on Opposition

The fresh application by ED was filed in a pending plea by Newsclick and Purkayastha in 2021 seeking a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the probe agency in September 2020.

ED has sought vacation of two orders passed by a co-ordinate bench on June 21, 2021, and July 20, 2021, respectively.

In its application, ED has contended that additional material has been revealed disclosing the commission of the offence of money laundering as, well as the commission of a scheduled offence which has been intimated to the predicate agency as well, by way of an appropriate communication u/s 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as well.

The bench said that the matter required deliberation and gave six weeks to Newsclick to reply and posted the matter for the next hearing on September 6.

During the hearing, advocate Zoheb Hossain for the ED, told the court that the case deals with a criminal conspiracy of fake news wherein Rs.38 crore have been received in violation of laws.

The court recorded his submissions that ED has unearthed additional material which reveals the commission of money laundering offences and other scheduled offences by NewsClick.

The counsel appearing for the news portal told the court that there is no urgency in the matter as it has been pending for two years and that till now the ED had been seeking adjournments in the case.

Also Read: NewsClick expose tip of iceberg; Jairam Ramesh, Rahul Gandhi...: Jethmalani

The money laundering case arises out of a first information report filed by the Delhi police alleging that PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs.9.59 crore from Worldwide Media Holdings LLC USA during the financial year 2018-19.

This week, a New York Times report claimed that the news portal was part of a global network that received funding from American billionaire Neville Roy Singham, who allegedly works closely with the Chinese government media machine.

NewsClick issued a statement on Monday saying the allegations made against it by certain political actors and sections of the media are unfounded and without basis in fact or law.

Ed has in September 2021 raided the premises of NewsClick and Purkayastha. Last year, the agency attached a flat, worth Rs.4.52 crore, located in south Delhis Saket area linked to Purkayastha apart from fixed deposits worth Rs.41 lakh as part of this investigation.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Richa Banka Reports from the Delhi High Court and stories on legal developments in the city. Avid mountain lover, cooking and playing with birds  when not at work ...view detail
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday published the final order for the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Assam, retaining the number of assembly seats at 126 and Lok Sabha at 14, while changing the name of one parliamentary and 19 assembly segments. The reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been done on the basis of the provisions laid down in Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution (HT Archive)

The poll panel has stuck to the delimitation draft, which proposed major changes to 30 of the states 126 assembly constituencies. It was not immediately clear what these changes were.

According to the official notification, nine seats in the legislative assembly are allocated for Scheduled Castes (up from eight earlier), while one seat is allocated for Scheduled Castes in the Lok Sabha (there were none earlier). A total of 19 assembly constituencies and two Parliament constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (up from 16 and one respectively) .

The reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been done on the basis of the provisions laid down in Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India, the order said, adding the delimitation has been done on basis of the 2001 Census.

The census figures of 2001, as published by the Census Commissioner have thus alone been considered for this purpose. The number of seats in the Legislative Assembly in the State of Assam has been kept at 126 and the number of seats allocated in the House of People for the State of Assam is 14. Articles 170 and 82 laid down that the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States shall not be altered until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, the commission said in a statement.

The final proposal was prepared by the commission after an extensive consultative exercise with diverse stakeholders, which included three days of public hearings in Guwahati on the draft proposal in July 2023 and a pre-meeting before the drafting of the report in March 2023, the commission added.

Apart from the changes, one Parliamentary constituency, Darrang-Udalgiri, and some assembly constituencies, Hajo- Sualkuchi, Boko-Chaygaon, Nagaon-Batadraba, Bhowanipur-Sorbhog, Algapur-Katlichera, have been given paired names .

The delimitation of the assembly and Parliamentary seats in the Assam was last carried out in 1976 based on the 1971 Census.

The exercise could not be carried out in 2002, along with the rest of India, because of the law-and-order situation in the region.

Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was yet to study the final report. We had given several suggestions to the EC, some of which have been accepted. A formal reaction on the order will be given on Sunday, he said. The Congress said none of its suggestions were taken into account. This delimitation process will surely benefit the ruling BJP, said leader of opposition in state assembly Debabrata Saikia.

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said the reorganisation of seats has reduced the number of seats in which Muslim voters can play a decisive role. Due to the delimitation exercise, the number of seats in which Muslims can play a decisive role has decreased by nine, said AIUDF MLA Md. Aminul Islam.

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Mysuru: Residents of two villages in Chikkamagaluru district, continue to wait for the aid and compensation promised to them by officials after devastating landslides struck the district four years ago. Severe landslides triggered by torresntial rains hit Karnataka in 2019. (HT Photo)

In August 2019, torrential rains triggered massive landslides in the state, engulfing villages and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Malemane and Madugundi villages in Mudigere taluk , continue to grapple with the aftermath of those devastating landslides. Despite promises of assistance from officials, including former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, former ministers CT Ravi, R. Ashok, and Madhuswamy, the victims find themselves still awaiting relief.

The calamity resulted in the loss of six houses, two temples, and approximately 40 acres of land in Malemane village. The collapse of hills, unleashed by the unrelenting rain, forced families from their homes and left them landless. The government pledged aid to the affected families, advising them to seek shelter in rented accommodations. Assurances were made to cover the rent and provide new housing and land within a year. However, to date, no rent payments have been disbursed, leaving the victims in a state of hardship and uncertainty.

Its been four years since we lost our homes due to the heavy rains in 2019. The government promised us rent for a rented house, but we havent received any money. Our lives have been incredibly difficult, Sankita, a landslide victim told reporters, adding that the pledge of additional land also remains unfulfilled.

Five families in Malemane were rendered homeless by the landslides. Despite promises from various officials, we are yet to be properly resettled, Rajanna, a villager, told reporters. We were placed in a temporary camp and then asked to move into rented houses. It has been four years of waiting for rehabilitation that has not materialized. We implore the government to step in and expedite our rehabilitation, he added.

The government decided to provide land and houses to the victims. The revenue department has already identified land to distribute the victims, Mudigere tahsildar Shiva Shankarappa told HT. He said the list of beneficiaries has also been finalised and the survey conducted showed the lands the victims lost. We will distribute soon.

The victims pleas for assistance have fallen on deaf ears, with appeals to both the government and district administration yielding no relief. Frustrations have boiled over, leading the displaced residents to stage protests outside the taluk office and, in one instance, even resorting to a suicide attempt.

A potential relocation site for the displaced Malemane villagers has been identified in Bairapura village by the district administration. However, concerns about the regions high annual rainfall of 250-300 inches and the looming threat of wild animals have left the victims apprehensive about making the move.

As the four-year mark since the devastating landslides passes, the residents of Malemane and Madugundi villages demand for comprehensive and swift government intervention.
The central government, for the first time in the country, has proposed to introduce community service as one of the punishments for petty offences, including for criminal defamation that cost Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at least 130 days of his membership of Parliament before the guilty verdict against him was stayed by the Supreme Court on August 4. New Delhi, Aug 11 (ANI): Proceedings of the Lok Sabha are underway on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo/SansadTV) (ANI)

The statement of object and reasons of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, tabled by Union home minister Amit Shah, maintained that it is proposed to provide (for the) first time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences.

The most striking provision under which community service has been conceived as an alternative punishment pertains to criminal defamation where the maximum punishment continues to be two years in jail, but a convict can be let off only with an order to provide community service in the wisdom of a court. The governments move puts the defamation under the category of a pretty offence.

Section 354(2) of the 2023 Bill states: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both or with community service.

Some of the other penal provisions where community service has been mulled as one of the punishments relate to public servants unlawfully engaging in trade; non-appearance in response to a proclamation notice; for a theft of properties valued at less than 5,000 which has been made good for by the convict; and trespass in an intoxicated state.

While community service has so far not been part of the criminal justice system of India, the alternative sentencing model is popular in some western countries, including the UK, US and Australia.

In the UK, community service is referred to as payback to the community and is implemented by the Ministry of Justice. Community sentence in the UK is awarded by the court if someone is convicted of a crime but not sent to prison. As described by the ministry of justice, the convict needs to do unpaid work in the local community, like removal of graffiti, and is known as community payback. According to the information available on the website of the UKs ministry of justice, in 2019 alone there were 80,039 orders passed in the country that related to this.

In the US, community service as a form of punishment began in California in the 1960s as judges started imposing work assignments as an alternative to jail terms. The practice was soon replicated by courts in other states and the offenders in petty criminal cases were ordered to provide free labour for public works and public agencies that involved cleaning litter from parks and playgrounds, sweeping in public places, serving at hospitals and social service centres, among others.

Each state in Australia has its own criminal justice administration system and their own community service schemes and programmes, popularly known as Community Based Corrections. According to data available on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were at least 70,000 people serving community-based correction orders every year between 2018 and 2022.

In India, the Juvenile Justice Act is the only statute that prescribes community service as a form of punishment. Section 18(1)(c) of this Act provides that a delinquent in conflict with the law can be awarded community service if the Juvenile Justice Board deems it proper.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utkarsh Anand Utkarsh Anand is Legal Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on law, judiciary and governance. ...view detail
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Friday declined to order an interim stay on criminal defamation proceedings against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh till the disposal of their pending appeal in a sessions court. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Sanjay Singh (PTI/)

The two AAP leaders face proceedings in connection with a defamation case filed by Gujarat University, accusing them of making sarcastic and derogatory comments over Prime Minister Narendra Modis graduation degree. Kejriwal and his AAP have been locked in a running battle with the Centre and PM Modi over various issues and accused the PM of fabricating his education qualifications.

A bench of justice Samir J Dave declined any immediate relief at Fridays proceedings after hearing the arguments of lawyers representing the AAP leader and public prosecutor Mitesh Amin.

A metropolitan court summoned the two leaders in June on a defamation complaint by Gujarat Univerity registrar Piyush Patel for their comments made in March after the high court set aside the Central Information Commissions order on PM Modis degree and imposed a fine on Kejriwal. The court observed that there was a prima facie case against them under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The two politicians challenged the metropolitan courts summons and asked the sessions court to stay the proceedings in the subordinate court till the pendency of their main application. This request was rejected by the court last Saturday, after which they approached the Gujarat high court.
The Haryana government on Friday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that question of ethnic cleansing in the demolition exercise carried out in Nuh and Gurugram does not arise and that the demolition was undertaken as per the law. Nuh: Security personnel deployed after incidents of violence in Nuh district, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.(PTI)

As the hearing began before the bench of justice Arun Palli and justice Jagmohan Bansal, on Friday morning, states additional advocate general, Deepak Sabherwal, verbally told the court that it was not a case of ethnic cleansing at all and due procedure has been followed for demolition in both the places Nuh and Gurugram.

Sabherwal sought more time to file a written statement, stating that the data is being compiled. HT reported on Wednesday, citing government officials, that around 1,200 properties, almost all belonging to Muslims were demolished.

Also Read| Haryana violence: State govt clears way for RAF camp in Nuh

But the court proceedings took an interesting turn when the bench said it was referring the matter back to the chief justices bench. It was a public interest litigation matter and as per high court rules..., should have been listed for hearing before the first division bench..., the bench said, before posting the matter for hearing on August 18. The bench referred to Chapter 2 Rule 9 in Volume 5 of the Punjab and Haryana high court rules, which stipulates that all suo motu public interest litigations (PIL) initiated by the high court shall be put up before the chief justice for listing before an appropriate bench as per roster within three days.

The PIL was assigned for hearing before the bench of justice Palli and justice Bansal on Friday. The first division bench, which usually hears PILs, is presided over by the chief justice RS Jha himself. But he is on leave.

In the detailed order released later, the bench said, In the wake of the detailed note recorded by the office. Let this petition, along with miscellaneous applications, be placed before the 1st division bench on 18.08.2023. Contents of the note was not reflected in the order.

Meanwhile in the brief hearing, a lawyer appearing for affected locals in Nuh also tried to point out that demolitions were carried out without any prior notice and private properties were targeted. However, the advocate general, BR Mahajan submitted that action was as per law.

On August 7, a division bench comprising justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan took suo motu on the demolitions and observed that the law-and-order situation seemed or be a ruse to demolish buildings without due process. The bench further asked if the action was an exercise of ethnic cleansing by the state.

On Thursday evening, the case was assigned to a new bench, without any reason for the change being mentioned. And on Friday, perhaps closing the loop, the new bench has referred the case back to the chief justice.

The demolition exercise began in Nuh on August 3, four days after communal violence erupted in the district on July 30 during a Hindu religious procession. The violence eventually spiralled and spread to neighbouring districts, including Gurugram, where mobs set afire a mosque and pillaged several shops and restaurants. The demolitions continued till the morning of August 7, when the high court intervened and questioned the government over the manner it was being carried out.

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Commentary: Hype of China's "economic coercion" yet another testament to U.S. coercive diplomacy

Xinhua) 15:54, August 11, 2023

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The accusation of "economic coercion" leveled against China by the United States is actually another testament to U.S. coercive diplomacy. Behind the word game is the U.S. evil intention and perpetual practice of stigmatizing others before inflicting economic and technological suppression on them, so as to maintain its hegemonic interests.

At a hearing of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in July, Under Secretary of State Jose Fernandez alleged that China is currently the biggest economic competitor of the United States and a prolific user of "economic coercion."

The accusation is simply false. Believing that peace, development and win-win cooperation are the unstoppable trends of the times, China has never used, and will never use, so-called "economic coercion" in pursuing its own development.

Rather, China has made great efforts over the years to promote common development through bilateral or multilateral mechanisms.

Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations over the past decade, based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. The BRI has contributed to economic development, job creation and improvement of people's livelihood in these countries.

Over the past decade, China has established 21 free trade zones across the country, an important means to facilitate trade and carry out high-level opening up. The full implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega free trade agreement signed by 15 members including China, is of great significance in facilitating regional economic and trade development.

In its international economic cooperation efforts and initiatives, China has never attached any political condition or sought any political self-interest, nor has China imposed economic sanctions or pursued suppression of others.

Obsessed with hegemony, unilateralism and protectionism, the United States, however, does not conceal its selfish concept of "America First."

In terms of coercive diplomacy, the United States is not only the instigator, but also a veritable abuser and undoubtedly the only superpower of sanctions. With a very disgraceful "dark history" in coercive diplomacy, the United States has made this practice a standard instrument in its foreign policy toolbox.

Figures show a more than nine-fold increase in sanctions imposed by the United States from 2000 to 2021. To date, the United States has imposed economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, which have affected almost half of the global population and caused severe humanitarian disasters.

The United States has imposed a tech blockade against China in the semiconductor sector, and used state power to suppress China's high-tech enterprises.

Economic coercion by the United States has not only undermined global supply chains and industrial chains, but also raised regional and even global production costs and hindered the process of regional economic integration. This is a blatant violation of the principle of free and fair trade.

Despite this suppression by the United States, China's efforts to expand its circle of friends will never stop.

The country will remain committed to its fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world, uphold a mutually beneficial strategy in this course, and continue to create new opportunities for the world through its own development.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
IDSG Government College in Chikkamagaluru on Friday issued a circular mandating uniforms for college students. The decision comes in response to videos surfacing on the internet depicting students wearing hijabs within the college premises. The circular, issued by the college principal, stated: BA, BSc, BCom, BBA, BCA, and PG students must wear the college uniform and carry their ID cards while coming today (Friday). HT Image

In February 2022, the administration led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state imposed a ban on students at the school and pre-university levels from wearing hijabs within educational institutions. However, the authority to enforce this rule in private degree colleges was left to the college management.

Several videos surfaced on the internet on Thursday, which showed students and faculty members of IDSG Government College donning hijabs within the campus.

Following this, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) visited the college after certain organizations raised concerns over the photos. The circular is believed to be a consequence of this police action.

During its election campaign, the Congress party pledged to eliminate restrictions on wearing hijabs if elected to power. Madhu Bangarappa, the Karnataka school education minister, recently addressed the hijab matter, stating that changing the governments policy regarding hijab usage would require a significant amount of time.

On March 15, 2022, a three-judge bench comprising chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, justice Krishna S Dixit, and justice JM Khazi delivered a 129-page verdict, ruling that the hijab was not an essential religious practice. This paved the way for the ban on hijabs in pre-university colleges in the state. The verdict was prompted by eight Muslim students who were prevented from entering class while wearing hijabs and subsequently approached the court.

On January 1, 2022, the college development council (CDC) issued an order banning the hijab inside campuses, leading to students protesting by sitting outside the college building but within the campus. College authorities consistently maintained that hijabs were never allowed inside classrooms. By February of the same year, as the controversy spread across the state, counter-protests emerged, with some students wearing saffron shawls.

On February 3, a video surfaced depicting the government PU college principal closing the gates on at least 25 hijab-wearing students in Udupis Kundapura, which amplified the issue into a broader movement.

Since then, the controversy has taken an unfortunate turn in Karnataka, where right-wing groups have extended their demands to include banning halal meat, restricting azaan prayers on loudspeakers, limiting Muslim participation in temple fairs, and urging the Hindu community to discontinue business interactions with Muslims.

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NEW DELHI: Amid an international backlash against a Chinese coast guard vessel firing a water cannon at a Philippine boat in the South China Sea, India on Friday called for a peaceful settlement of disputes and adherence to international law in the region. In this handout photo, a Chinese coast guard ship uses water canons on a Philippine Coast Guard ship near the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, South China Sea as they blocked its path during a re-supply mission on Aug 5 (AP)

The Chinese coast guard ship fired the water cannon at a smaller Philippine boat carrying supplies to Filipino marines on Second Thomas Shoal, located within the Philippines exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, on August 5. The Chinese vessel also moved dangerously close to Philippine coast guard ships escorting resupply boats.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reiterated Indias long-standing position on the need to adhere to international law in the context of issues related to the South China Sea and for a rules-based order.

Also Read: Eye on China, India signals a larger role for itself in Indo-Pacific

We have also underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes, and I think thats what we would reiterate, he said while responding to a question on the incident involving the Philippine boat.

We have always felt that the issues and disputes need to be resolved peacefully, he added.

The incident also drew a strong response from the US, a key military ally of the Philippines. US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said an armed attack on Philippine public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments under the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.

While India earlier only acknowledged the Permanent Court of Arbitrations ruling of 2016 in favour of the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea, it recently revised its position. A joint statement issued on June 29 emphasised the need to adhere to the 2016 arbitral award.

In response to another question on China reportedly opposing the inclusion of the term Vasudeva Kutumbhakam in G20 documents, Bagchi declined to comment on such reports but said the civilisational ethos reflected by the Sanskrit phrase finds mention in other ways.

Noting that the working language of G20 meetings is English, Bagchi said: As you are aware, the theme of our G20 presidency in English is one earth, one family, one future.

This is based on our civilisational ethos of Vasudeva Kutumbhakam, which has received widespread support and permeates many of the initiatives that India has brought onto the G20 agenda. This also finds reflection in the G20 logo, which has the words in Sanskrit as well as in English.

Responding to yet another question on whether Beijing has recently given visas to Indian journalists, Bagchi said India hopes that China will allow Indian reporters to stay and work in that country.

I wont get into individual cases of visas. We would hope that China ensures circumstances that allow our journalists to stay there and report, he said. We have been in contact with the Chinese side on this issue.

Earlier this year, China informed several Indian journalists in Beijing their visas had either been frozen or wouldnt be renewed. The visa of the last Indian reporter in Beijing was recently renewed for a year.

The Chinese side had contended its actions were counter-measures in response to Indias unfair treatment of Chinese journalists. There are currently no Chinese journalists posted in New Delhi. All Chinese journalists posted to India in the past worked for state-run media.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail
NEW DELHI: A day after a Chinese naval vessel docked at Colombo port in Sri Lanka, India on Friday said it carefully monitors any development that has a bearing on the countrys security interests and takes measures to defend them. (Photo: news.navy.lk)

The Peoples Liberation Army Navy vessel Hai Yang 24 Hao, known to have surveillance capabilities, arrived at Colombo port on Thursday for a formal visit, the Sri Lankan Navy said. The vessel is due to leave on Saturday.

I have seen reports of a Chinese ship there. I am not sure whether it is a warship or not, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in response to a question on the issue during a weekly media briefing.

Also Read: Government asks Indians to leave chaos-hit Niger as soon as possible

Having seen these reports, I would emphasise that the government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on the countrys security interests and takes all necessary measures to defend them, he said.

The visit by the Chinese vessel to Sri Lanka comes a year after the docking of the Yuan Wang 5, a vessel used by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to track satellites and ballistic missiles, at the Chinese-controlled Hambantota port triggered a diplomatic row between India and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka had allowed the Yuan Wang 5s visit in 2022 despite protests from India and the US. The Indian side was particularly irked as the visit occurred after New Delhi extended considerable financial assistance to Colombo to tide over an unprecedented economic crisis.

The Sri Lankan Navy said the 129-metre-long Hai Yang 24 Hao has a crew of 138 and is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. People familiar with the matter said New Delhi has apprehensions about the vessels ability to conduct surveillance on naval facilities and ships in southern India.

The Indian side has also been bolstering arrangements with partners in the Indian Ocean to counter Chinas growing forays into regional waters, including visits by vessels such as Yuan Wang 5 and Hai Yang 24 Hao, the people said.

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NEW DELHI: India on Friday advised its nationals in Niger to leave the west African country as soon as possible in view of escalating tensions following the overthrow of the democratically elected president by a military junta. Nigerien security forces prepare to disperse pro-junta demonstrators gathered outside the French embassy, in Niamey, the capital city of Niger on July 30 (REUTERS FILE)

An estimated 250 Indian nationals are in Niger, most of them based in the capital Niamey. Tensions have mounted after the self-proclaimed new head of state, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, dismissed pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West to free deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

Also Read: Why the nightmare in Niger is the worlds problem

In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a regular media briefing.

Those who may be planning travel to Niger in the coming days are also similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalises, he said, reading from an advisory.

Most Indian nationals living in Niamey are engaged in the trading, hospitality and services sectors. Among the Indian firms with investments in Niger are Airtel Cellular Services. Bagchi said the Indian embassy in Niamey is in close contact with members of the Indian community, who are safe.

The Indian government is closely monitoring developments in Niger, and Indians should keep in mind that the airspace is currently closed, the advisory said. When departing through a land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security, it added.

The advisory further said Indian nationals who had not yet registered with the Indian embassy should do so expeditiously. Bagchi said the embassy is providing all possible assistance to facilitate the departure and exit of Indian nationals.

Indian nationals can contact the embassy in Niamey at the phone number + 227 9975 9975 for assistance.

Niger has witnessed widespread protests and unrest following the July 26 coup and Bazoum remains under house arrest in difficult conditions. The military junta declared a new government on August 10. Several European countries have evacuated their citizens from Niger.

Tchiani has rebuffed a one-week ultimatum from ECOWAS to restore the previous leadership or face a military intervention, saying he will not give in to any threats, wherever they come from.

Niger saw its first peaceful transition of power when Bazoum won the 2021 election, after four coup attempts since independence from France in 1960.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail
NEW DELHI: The Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) are likely to hold on August 14 the 19th round of military talks to ease tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) where the two sides have been locked in a border row for more than three years, people familiar with the development said on Friday. An army truck moves towards LAC amid India-China border dispute in eastern Ladakh. (PTI FILE PHOTO)

The latest round of Corps Commander level talks will take place almost four months after the last military dialogue was held on April 23.

Despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

Also Read| Monitoring all developments: India on Chinese naval vessels visit to Colombo

The Indian and Chinese armies have held multiple rounds of talks on the border issue, but problems at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.

The 19th round of military talks will take place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the BRICS Summit in South Africas Johannesburg on August 22-24. The possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit has not been ruled out, people aware of the matter said. Also, the Chinese leader is expected to be in New Delhi for the G20 summit in September.

In July, India said Modi and Xi discussed the need to stabilise bilateral ties at a brief encounter on the margins of last years G20 Summit in Indonesia, a shift from an earlier characterisation of the interaction as merely an exchange of courtesies.

India and China have been locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since April-May 2020. Bilateral ties plummeted to a six-decade low after a brutal skirmish in Galwan Valley killed 20 Indian soldiers. According to Indias assessment, PLAs casualties were twice as many as the Indian Armys though Beijing officially claimed that only four Chinese soldiers were killed.

India has consistently said India-China relations cannot be normalised without restoring peace and tranquillity on the border.

The governments focus on border infrastructure and connectivity over the past nine years has significantly improved Indias ability to respond to Chinas actions along the LAC, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on August 7.

In a statement issued after the 18th round of talks in April, the ministry of external affairs said the two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
As PM Modi mentioned the Mizoram bombing of 1966 in Parliament in his reply to the no-confidence emotion as he was speaking on the Manipur situation, Congress gave its reply to PM Modi's mention of Indira Gandhi and said any one who takes the prime ministerial role with full responsibility would never have said this. Questioning the decision of bombing the innocent people of Mizoram in 1966, PM Modi said the Congress should answer whether it was the Air Force of any other country. Jairam Ramesh said the 1966 decision regarding Mizoram was extraordinarily tough.

"were the people of Mizoram not the citizens of my country? Was their security not the responsibility of the government of India? Till today, Mizoram mourns the 5th of March. Their wounds never healed because they (Congress) never made any attempt to heal those wounds. And the Congress put a lid to this truth. Whose government was in power? India Gandhi," PM Modi said.

A day later, Jairam Ramesh tweeted that PM Modi's criticism of the 'extraordinarily tough decision' of March 1966 was pathetic. "His criticism of Indira Gandhi's extraordinarily tough decision of March 1966 in Mizoram to deal with secessionist forces that drew support from Pakistan and China was particularly pathetic," Jairam Ramesh wrote.

"She saved Mizoram, started negotiations with those fighting the Indian state and finally a Peace Accord was signed on June 30, 1986. The manner in which the Accord came about is a remarkable story that reinforces the idea of India in Mizoram today," the Congress leader wrote.

"Anyone who takes their role as Prime Minister with full responsibility of the incredibly tough decisions one needs to make in that chair would never have said this," Jairam Ramesh added.

Congress's Abhishek Singhvi tweeted, If Indira Gandhi did not deal with Mizoram in 1966 we would have seen a further vivisection of Bharat funded by Pak & China. How can bjp & its ministers incl non1 and 2 be so casual & irresponsible on a matter of territorial integrity?

'Indian Air Force did the same thing in Aizawl': Himanta Biswa Sarma

The Mizoram bombing was mentioned by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as well on Friday as he found fault with Rahul Gandhi's suggestion that Army can control the Manipur situation. "Indian Air Force did the same thing in Aizawl. Violence was coming down after the bombing. Today Rahul Gandhi said Indian Army should stop the violence in Manipur. That means what? They should open fire on civilians?" Himanta said.

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The Haryana government has extended the suspension of mobile internet along with SMS and other dongle services in Nuh till August 13 considering the prevailing critical and tense conditions in the district. According to a statement by the states department of home affairs, there is a clear potential of public law and order situation in the district due to the misuse of internet services. Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployed earlier(HT)

After the assessment of the current prevailing law and order situation as well as recommendation of the deputy commissioner, Nuh, I am of the considered 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 or circulated to the public through social media or messaging services, SMS services or other dongle services, TVSN Prasad, additional secretary, state home department, said in the statement.

Earlier, the state government extended the internet ban till August 11 owning to the lack of assessment by administration which could not assess this entire episode properly. Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala had claimed that the organisers of the religious procession, which was attacked in the district by a mob, didn't give proper estimation of the expected turnout to the local administration which eventually may have led to the violence.

Six people, including two home guard officials and a cleric, died as a result of the communal violence after the processions, taken out by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, was attacked.

A total of 393 people have been arrested and 118 taken into preventive detention along with 160 FIRs being lodged in connection with the communal violence.

The Gurugram administration has allowed all schools and educational institutes to reopen from today. It has also announced to relax the curfew in the district for 11 hours on Saturday.

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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said Rahul Gandhi's prescription for Manipur peace is wrong as Gandhi is suggesting Army intervention in the strife-torn northeastern state. The solution to the Manipur situation should come from the hearts and not from the bullets, Himanta said. "Indian Air Force did the same thing in Aizawl. Violence was coming down after the bombing. Today Rahul Gandhi said Indian Army should stop the violence in Manipur. That means what? They should open fire on civilians?" Himanta said. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a solution has to come from the hearts.

"Is this his prescription? How can he say that? Army will not be able to solve anything. They will only be able to quieten for the time being, and bring temporary peace," Himanta said.

"They demanded that PM Modi should speak on Manipur. But when PM Modi started speaking, they walked out. They exposed their design and that their intention had nothing to do with Manipur. They just wanted to disrupt Parliament. PM Modi has spoken from his heart. He spoke about Manipur, about the northeast. We are immensely happy," Assam CM said.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Indian Army can stop the 'nonsense' in Manipur in two days but they are not being deployed. Explaining that he is not seeking the army's intervention, Rahul Gandhi said all that he is saying is that PM Modi and the Central government have multiple tools to contain the situation in Manipur, but they are not being utilised as PM Modi does not want Manipur situation to be better for many reasons.

'Manipur is now two states, never saw something like this'

Rahul Gandhi said Manipur has been divided between the Meiteis and Kukis to such an extent that in Meitei areas no Kuki is allowed even in the security team. "When we went to a Meitei area, we were categorically told that if there is any Kuki member in our security team, they will be shot. And the situation in the Kuki area is the same. I have never seen such a situation anywhere in the country in my 19 years of political career," Rahul Gandhi said.

'Army won't take three days...'

"PM Modi has not gone to Manipur and there are reasons which I can't tell. If Indian Army is asked to take control of the situation, they can do it in two days. I have full faith in the Indian Army. They won't even take three days. But PM Modi wants Manipur to burn. This is the truth of Manipur," Rahul Gandhi said.

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Amid corruption allegations against the Congress government by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) contractors, Karnataka state contractors association president D Kempanna on Friday refuted the commission charges and said their demand is immediate clearance of pending bills. A delegation of contractors will soon meet chief minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the pending bills issue. (ANI)

We request the government to release our pending bills. So far, none of the contractors have approached me complaining of corruption. No minister has demanded any commission. The group which is making the allegations is not linked to us, Kempanna said, adding if any charges had been made, there should be a fair probe.

Kempanna said that due to the model code of conduct, the bills were not cleared a month before the elections. The elections are over and the Siddaramaiah-led government will complete three months on August 20. No step has been taken in this period to clear bills of contractors, he alleged.

The memorandums have also been submitted to RDPR, IT and BT minister Priyank Kharge and minister for PWD Satish Jarkiholi. All sought time and then forgot about it. The government had released a circular on June 28 and July 30 in connection with releasing of pending bills but the circular has not been honoured, he said.

Kempanna said the delegation of contractors will soon meet chief minister Siddaramaiah and seek his intervention in releasing the funds. The association has also asked the state government to clear the pending bills by August 31.

The association has also opposed the four separate committees set up by the urban development department to probe works done under the BBMP. They are probing works done four years back. It would have made sense if it was done within a year, Kempanna added.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah on Friday said his government has ordered an investigation into the alleged scams that had taken place during the previous BJP regime and the pending bills would be cleared once the probe is completed. The chief minister noted that the state government had ordered a judicial inquiry led by retired high court judge Justice B Veerappa.

Siddaramaiah said the voters believed in the Congress party and voted against BJPs corruption, commission abuse, tax looting and helped his party win 135 out of 224 seats in the assembly. Now, it is the duty of the government to keep the promise made to the people.

The judicial committee headed by retired Justice B Veerappa is investigating all these scams and it is not reasonable to release the outstanding bill money before the investigation report is complete. Our government will not allow injustice to any contractor who has done the work fairly. Contractors need not fear this. But shouldnt those who did corruption pay for it? he said.

Regarding the allegations that the release of payments was held back allegedly due to non-payment of 15% commission, Siddaramaiah said that the Karnataka state small and medium contractors and BBMP contractors association had discussed the issue with him. He said instructions have been given to release the Programme Of Works (POW) related bill. This money will be released as soon as certain normal processes related to the release of works bills are completed.

The BBMP contractors who have stopped all ongoing works alleging pending bills for over 26 months, sought the intervention of Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, on Tuesday. The contractors alleged that the bills amounting to 2,700 crore have been pending. A section of contractors has also accused deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar of demanding 10-15% commission to clear bills.

Respondingto the allegations, Shivakumar on Friday asked the BJP leaders why they had not cleared the bills during its regime in the state. Why didnt former CM Basavaraj Bommai and former minister R Ashoka not clear the bills when they were in power? Who prevented them from making payments? Didnt they have funds? Or was the work substandard? Let them answer these questions and we will answer contractors.

Shivakumar said after the Congress government came to power, the chief minister had asked to ascertain the work done following the allegations by Kempanna. The BJP leaders also had urged for an investigation. Following this, we formed an investigation committee. They have been asked to look into whether the work has been done or not, he said, adding why those waited for three to four years, are not willing to wait until the investigation is completed.

Talking about 15% commission allegations against him, the deputy chief minister said he would retire if the charges are proven against him. If Im found not guilty of charges, will BJP leaders, Bommai and Ashoka, take political retirement? Shivakumar asked.

Meanwhile, the BJP leaders continued their attack on the state government on Friday. Bommai said it is evident that this is an ATM government. Is it enough if Kempanna gives a clean chit to the Congress? Will the bills be released? Bommai asked. BJP leader K Gopalaiah urged the governor to intervene and provide justice to the contractors.
The British government has allocated new funding worth about Rs.1 crore to enhance the countrys capability to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism, an issue that has emerged as an irritant in India-UK ties in recent months. External affairs minister S Jaishankar with UK security minister Tom Tugendhat in New Delhi on Thursday. (Twitter Photo)

UK security minister Tom Tugendhat told external affairs minister S Jaishankar at a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday that the outlay of 95,000 will enhance the British governments understanding of the threat posed by pro-Khalistan extremism and complement work being done by the India-UK joint extremism task force.

The funding will also improve the UKs ability to identify and disrupt extremist narratives and activity, said a statement from the UK high commission.

Tugendhat, in India on a three-day visit to attend the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting, also met National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Friday. The activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK figured in this meeting too.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reiterated Indias call for Britain to act against Khalistani elements and said the security of Indian missions and diplomats in the UK is part of an ongoing conversation between the two sides. The Indian side also seeks additional security for its missions for Independence Day on August 15, he told a regular media briefing.

I dont want to discuss security measures in public. We have been emphasising the need for the UK side to take action against extremists and radicals, particularly those who are inciting violence and posing a security threat, he said.

Violent protests by Khalistani elements outside the Indian high commission in London, including one in March when protestors pulled down the national flag, and a recent poster campaign targeting senior Indian diplomats have angered the Indian government. The Indian side lodged a strong protest against these activities, prompting the British leadership to offer assurances about the safety of Indian missions.

Tugendhat, whose visit is also aimed at bolstering bilateral cooperation on security initiatives, said: A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. Im committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism  whatever form it takes.

The British high commissions statement said the UK government is committed to working with its Indian counterpart following the unacceptable attack against the Indian mission in London in March 2023. The security of the Indian mission and its staff are of the utmost importance to the UK, which takes the protective security of the Indian high commission extremely seriously.

British high commissioner Alex Ellis added: The unique connection between our people brings both huge opportunities and security challenges. Through mechanisms like the joint extremism task force, we are acting jointly on countering threats, including pro-Khalistan extremism, as well as on migration, to keep our people safe.

Before travelling to Kolkata for the G20 ministerial meeting on August 12, Tugendhat visited the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by fraud and child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security, he said, adding that the G20 ministerial meeting is an opportunity to strengthen global resilience and crack down on corruption.

The UK government recently launched a fraud strategy, which includes a new National Fraud Squad that will work with international partners, including CBI, and the British intelligence community to shut down fraud cells.

UK-India home affairs cooperation covers extremism and counter-terrorism, corruption, fraud, cyber security, public safety and migration. The joint extremism task force focuses on enhancing bilateral cooperation to tackle extremism and ensures action against groups and individuals seeking to incite violent extremism, or those involved in financing such activities.

India and the UK are currently negotiating a free trade agreement and total two-way trade in goods and services was worth 36.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of the first quarter of 2023. Investments by the two sides support more than hhalf a million jobs across both economies.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail
Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting today of the party's Lok Sabha members to discuss the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the lower house for repeated misconduct. The meeting has been called at the CPP office at the Parliament at 10.30am. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks during the discussion on the Motion of No-Confidence in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.(PTI)

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday moved a resolution for Chowdhury's suspension after certain remarks by the Congress leader on the prime minister during the no-confidence motion debate triggered an outrage from the treasury benches. The resolution was passed by a voice vote.

Chowdhury later defended his remarks saying he had not insulted PM Modi.

"Modi ji is sitting 'nirav' on Manipur issue, which means sitting silent. 'Nirav' means to be silent. My intention was not to insult PM Modi," the Congress leader in Lok Sabha said.

"PM Modi did not feel that he was insulted, his darbaris (courtiers) felt so and brought this proposal against me. I came to know that (the matter) has been referred to the privileges committee and I have been suspended till then," he said.

Congress MP Manish Tewari called the suspension unfortunate and an utter violation of Article 105 (1) of the Constitution of India.

It has profound implications for democracy & freedom speech in Parliament & the legislatures, he wrote on X.

It is in utter violation of Article 105 (1) of the Constitution of India that states Subject to the provisions of this constitution and the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, there shall be freedom of speech in Parliament.

Tewari added, This is a fit case for to challenge the suspension in an appropriate Court of Law.

Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said, "First time for speaking against Modi, largest opposition (party) leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suspended. Unbelievable. Undemocratic. Condemn the autocracy."

Speaking in the House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi said, It has become habitual for him (Adhir) and it has become most unfortunate. He is the leader of the Congress party, which is the largest party in the opposition in this House. Despite repeated warnings he has not improved himself.

"Always in his debate he makes these baseless charges, he tries to lower the dignity of the government. There are no facts in his arguments and he never apologises. Today also, we demanded that he apologise. He did the same thing when the home minister was speaking," Joshi said.

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Infosys co-founder and chairman emeritus Narayana Murthy on Thursday said a democracy works best and prosper in an environment of pluralism where every citizen has the freedom to practise his/her own beliefs and faith without imposing it on others. Founder chairman of Infosys N R Narayana Murthy (Photo by Samir Jana/ Hindustan Times)

President Franklin D Roosevelt defined a true democracy as having four freedoms  freedom of expression; freedom of faith; freedom from fear; and freedom from want, he said.

Murthy, who was addressing the convocation of Techno India University in Kolkata, pointed out that if a mindset of highlighting commonalities of various beliefs can be created, democracy in India will prosper.

Democracy in India will prosper only if we create a mindset that highlights the commonality of our beliefs rather than our differences. Making India the best country in the world requires the best from every one of you, he said.

He said in a democracy, one has the freedom to express opinions responsibly, courteously and fearlessly, and where one also has the freedom to seek a better quality of life.

"This translates to the responsibility to create a just society, which embraces the fundamental principle to provide the strongest set of civil liberties and personal rights to everyone, and to tolerate new economic inequalities only if such inequalities ameliorate the conditions of the poor citizens, he added.

While highlighting some of the problems prevailing in the country, Murthy said that India, despite the laudable economic progress, has unresolved problems in poverty, population, potable water and clean air.

"India has not put population control on the front burner. The most urgent need at the moment is to reduce our population growth rate. While certain parts of India have made decent progress in reducing it, certain other parts have not paid sufficient attention to this important issue," he added.

Exhorting the graduating students, Murthy concluded that a professional is one who lives by the rules of the profession and its ethics.

Murthy was felicitated by Techno India University Chancellor Prof Dr Goutam Roychowdhury and Co-Chancellor Prof Manoshi Roychowdhury. The university also conferred the Doctor of Letters degree on industrialist Ratan Tata in absentia.

(With inputs from PTI)
Former Maharashtra minister, NCP leader Nawab Malik has been granted an interim bail for two months by the Supreme Court on health grounds. The interim bail comes following 1.5 years of custody after he was arrested in connection with a money laundering case on February 23, 2022. Nawab Malik was arrested in connection with a money laundering case linked to Dawood.

A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi clarified that the interim bail is not on merit but on medical grounds. "He is in hospital for kidney disease and ailments. Let counter affidavit be filed to the main petition within 5 weeks and rejoinder and thereafter in 3 weeks. List List after 10 weeks. Bail granted. We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered merits," the order said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.

Nawab Malik's Dawood link: What is the money laundering case?

Nawab Malik was arrested under the PMLA in a case first registered by the NIA against gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his close associates including Shakeel Shaikh Babu Moiuddin aka Chhota Shakeel, Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon aka Tigar Memon.

The ED said Nawab Malik dealt with Dawood's sister late Hassena Parkar and conspired with her to usurp the Goawala Compound in Kurla, using a fabricated power of attorney, in September 2005. The proceeds of crime generated through rent and other income from the land, which amounted to 15.99 crore, were used for terror funding in active collaboration with terror organisations, the ED chargesheet said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
There was nothing unexpected when the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the NDA government was defeated in Lok Sabha, but the tactic used by the Congress-led grouping INDIA to force a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur issue resulted in a spirited debate over three days, a rarity this Monsoon session of Parliament. 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION.

Sunetra Choudhury, National Political Editor, Hindustan Times, looked at some key takeaways from the no-confidence motion:

It was about Manipur. But wasn't

While Prime Minister Modi had condemned the sexual assault of Kuki women by a mob of dominant Meiteis after a video of the same went viral, he held back from addressing the overall conflict. The no-confidence motion against the government was a political ploy to get the prime minister to come to Parliament and speak about the tragedy unfolding in the northeastern state which has seen over 150 deaths, cases of sexual assaults, and has left thousands of people homeless. With the exception of a handful, a majority of the speeches were focused on why the government shouldn't face a trust vote. The government projected the entire move as a vindictive futile ploy one year away from elections similar to 2018.

Win for Modi, but consolidation for Opposition

While replying to the motion in the House, Prime Minister Modi said the no-confidence motion was for the opposition and not for the government. But it wasn't all bad for the Opposition as the Congress-led grouping, INDIA, came across as well-coordinated for the first time. One after the other, they stood up for INDIA and backed up each other points. They also came out to defend Rahul Gandhi when BJP women MPs attacked the Congress leader for blowing a kiss towards his detractors.

Not Modi vs Rahul

While some party colleagues wanted Rahul Gandhi to open the debate, he refused to take that starring role. He didn't even was the final speaker from the Congress party. His speech came obscurely on day 2 of the debate in an apparent attempt to show a united fight without letting egos get in the way.

Chorus as a new style

BJP evolving a new way for their rhetoric grabbed the attention. There were times when the ministers, including finance minister Nirmala Sitharama and home minister Amit Shah, would ask a rhetorical question and the BJP MPs would respond in unison.

New stars

It is no secret that Prime Minister Modi, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi are some of the brilliant speakers in Lok Sabha. But this time some other lawmakers, including Congress's Gaurav Gogoi, drew attention with their eloquent speech. Gaurav Gogoi gave a memorable speech largely focussing on Manipur and may have been the best speech of the entire debate.

Initiating the debate on the motion in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi posed a series of three questions focused on Manipur -- why the prime minister had not visited Manipur, why it took 80 days to break the silence on the state and why he had not sacked the chief minister. Gogoi also put forward three demands, saying the opposition wanted Modi to visit Manipur, lead an all-party delegation to the north-eastern state and make sincere efforts to restore peace by meeting various organisations there.

Going on to list his reasons for Modi's silence, he alleged, "It was because the state government failed to deal with the ethnic violence in Manipur and the Home Department and the National Security Advisor failed to handle the situation.

"The third reason for the prime minister's silence is that he does not like to accept his mistakes. He will never accept publicly that his state government has failed. He prefers to remain silent than accept mistakes."

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav spoke evocatively about women's plight in Manipur. Because she doesn't usually speak in Parliament, it was a rare moment and a welcome one. Dimple Yadav, wife of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, alleged the sexual assault of Kuki women in Manipur that triggered widespread outrage was a state-sponsored ethnic violence. She lamented the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House and said the opposition parties wanted to keep their viewpoints in front of him.

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Anuj Chaudhary, a 30-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, was shot dead outside his residence in Moradabad Thursday evening. BJP leader Anuj Chaudhary shot dead during evening walk in UP's Moradabad

Chaudhary was allegedly attacked by unknown assailants on motorcycles while he was taking a walk outside his apartment in Moradabad. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but passed away during treatment, the police said.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Moradabad Hemraj Meena said, The family members of the victim have filed a complaint and a case has been registered against two men, Amit Chaudhary and Aniket.

Chaudhary contested the block chief elections from Sambhal's Asmoli block but was unsuccessful. Chaudhary's family has blamed political rivals for the killing.

Police have registered a case against four people and are trying to track down the accused.

"There was personal rivalry between the two parties. A case has been registered against four people. Five teams have been formed to arrest the accused. Strict legal action will be taken after arresting the wanted accused soon," the Moradabad Police said in a statement.

Further investigation is underway, the police added.

Earlier, an advocate was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Uttar Pradeshs Sultanpur district, the police said on Monday.

According to officials, the incident took place at Nekrahi village under Kotwali Dehat police station area of Sultanpur district on Sunday evening. Advocate Azad was at a tea stall with his brother, identified as Munavvar, at 7pm, when a group of unidentified people came in an SUV and started firing at them.

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New Delhi: Buoyed by their unity during the Monsoon session of Parliament, the Oppositions Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA is set to focus on preparations for their upcoming meeting in Mumbai to strategise their next course of action against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre. On the last day of the Monsoon session on Friday, according to senior leaders, the opposition parties decided to step up their attack on the government in the Winter session. (ANI)

The 26-party Opposition alliance, which has been formed to jointly take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year, is scheduled to meet in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1. The bloc has already met twice in less than one month  first in Patna on June 23 and then in Bengaluru on July 17-18.

According to senior Opposition leaders, discussions will soon begin among INDIA constituents on the formation of four to five panels, including an all-important coordination panel, which will be announced in the Mumbai meeting.

On the last day of the Monsoon session on Friday, according to the senior leaders cited above, the opposition parties decided to step up their attack on the government in the Winter session. The leaders said that a draft resolution on the manner in which the Rajya Sabha is being run is almost prepared and would be brought in the next session.

During a meeting in the morning, it was decided that we will not compromise with the BJP and we will continue the fight. In the Winter session, the aggression will be 10 times more than what it was during the Monsoon session. We also discussed that this (Monsoon session) was like an opposition summit in Parliament in terms of coordination among the parties. Talks between the parties will continue in an informal way till October 31, an opposition leader said, seeking anonymity.

What happened in Parliament? Mockery of Parliament. A bill was introduced, discussed considered as passed. A resolution was passed and suspension of AAP leader Sanjay Singh extended indefinitely, Trinamool Congresss Rajya Sabha MP Derek OBrien said.

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Parliament Monsoon Session Highlights: The Monsoon Session of parliament ends today with the violence in Manipur remaining central to the Opposition's protest that led to multiple disruptions followed by an unsuccessful no-trust vote. Members sit in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led a tirade against the Opposition in his reply on the no-confidence motion brought by the Congress in Lok Sabha. Speaking on Manipur, PM Modi said, I want to assure the people of Manipur that the country is with them and peace shall return soon.

The Opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha after about one-and-a-half hour of the PMs speech.

Rahul Gandhi gave his first speech for the motion after his MP status was reinstated. On Manipur issue, he accused the Centre of killing Mother India in Manipur.

Responding from the government's side, home minster Amit Shah hit out at the Opposition for doing politics over the violence in the northeastern state.

The Parliament has witnessed a fierce debate in the last two days with the Opposition accusing the government of creating a great divide in Manipur. The government has defended its actions, focusing primarily on its welfare work.
PM Modi does not want the douse the fire in Maipur and this is the truth of Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said on Friday in a media interaction in New Delhi, a day after PM Modi's reply to the no-confidence motion in Parliament which the NDA won. "I heard PM Modi speaking in Parliament. He was cracking jokes, laughing with NDA MPs sloganeering. It does not behove a prime minister," Rahul Gandhi said. PM Modi cracked jokes in Parliament, Manipur serious matter: Rahul Gandhi

"I have been in politics for the last 19 years. I have been to all states. But have not seen what we witnessed in Manipur. Perhaps, I should say it now. When I went to the Meitei area, we were told not to bring any Kuki as part of our security. We were told that Kukis would be killed if there is any Kuki in the Meitei area. And similar was the situation in the Kuki area. So, Manipur has been divided into Kuki and Meitei. Manipur does not exist as a state. This is what I said in Parliament," Rahul Gandhi said.

'PM Modi laughing in Lok Sabha as Bharat Mata butchered in Manipur'

Rahul Gandhi said PM Modi has multiple instruments in his hand to control the situation in Manipur but he is not doing it. Instead, he is laughing in Parliament; he could have gone to Manipur, talk to the communities, Rahul Gandhi said.

"When a person becomes PM, he should not speak like a petty politician. It's tragic to watch PM Modi speak for 2 hours on the Congress, opposition. It doesn't do justice to his position...The only conclusion I want to draw is that the PM has tools in hand but for some reasons, he refuses to use them..There are clear reasons why PM is not going to Manipur," Rahul Gandhi said.

"I am not seeking Army's intervention. All I am saying is that Army can stop this nonsense in two days. It is not my position to say which tool PM Modi will use" Rahul Gandhi said

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Opposition in general and the Congress in particular, terming the no-confidence motion brought against the government Gods blessing; declaring that citizens had faith in the government and none in the Opposition; mocking the Congresss recent electoral performance, its obsession with one family, and its poor track record with predictions; accusing his opponents of celebrating and amplifying every negative characterisation of India and effectively telling them to prepare for another stint in opposition. HT Image

Modi also promised to make India the worlds third largest economy in his third term, spoke of how decisions taken now will lay the foundations for India for the next 1,000 years, highlighted the spirit of confidence that has engulfed young Indians today, and claimed that the world had confidence in Indias ability to contribute to global good.

He also spoke on the violence in Manipur  one of the demands of the Opposition  and said all efforts were being made to restore peace in the ethnic violence-hit state.

Modi highlighted the contradictions in the newly constituted INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) group and termed it a ghamandiya (arrogant) bloc of parties that will be routed in the next elections. Modi confidently declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will return to power in 2024, slammed those who brought the motion for failing to do their homework, and egged the Opposition on to bring a similar motion in 2028, at the end of his third term, just as they had done in 2018 and now in 2023, both times ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

In 2018, it was Gods will that the opposition brought a no-confidence motion. I had said then too that this is not a test of the government but is their own floor test. When the vote happened, the opposition couldnt even get all the votes it had. And when we went to the electorate, people expressed their no confidence in the opposition. The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and BJP got even more seats. The oppositions no confidence motion is auspicious for us. I can see you have decided that NDA and BJP will break all records in 2024 and come back with peoples blessings, Modi said at the outset of his 2 hours and 13 minute speech (a record for a no-confidence speech by a Prime Minister, beating the previous mark of Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1965), laying the tone for a speech marked by both confidence and belligerence against the Opposition.

Modi was speaking in the Lok Sabha at the end of the debate triggered by a motion brought by Congress parliamentarian Gaurav Gogoi against the government over its failure to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur.

The Prime Minister hit out at the Opposition on several counts.

First, he accused them of not paying serious attention to the lawmaking in Parliament and highlighted the significance of legislations passed in this session to which the Opposition could have constructively contributed. You arent concerned about the hunger of poor, but just your own hunger for power. You arent concerned about the future of youth, but just your political future.

Two, Modi accused the Opposition of failing to do their homework for the no-confidence motion. Your darbaris are also unhappy on social media. The Opposition organised the fielding but we hit the fours and sixes. You are just playing no-balls, while we are scoring centuries. Why dont you prepare and come? I gave you five years to prepare.

He pointed out that the leader of the Congress in the houses Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wasnt on the list of speakers to speak on the motion. Why? Maybe because you got a call from Kolkata! Modi said, in a seeming reference to the difficult ties between the Congress leader from Bengal and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Three, he hit out at the contradictions that existed within the INDIA bloc, particularly the clashes between the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), in Kerala and the TMC and the communists in Bengal, and alleged that everyone in the alliance wanted to become the PM. Suggesting that the opposition leaders had cremated the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Bengaluru, when they formed INDIA, Modi said that he had been delayed in expressing his condolences. And in an effort to further sow a divide between the Congresss first family and the rest of the alliance, Modi said that those that the Opposition was following didnt know the difference between red and green chills and lacked an Indian sensibility. He alleged that the Congress had never respected leaders from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, citing the examples of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Sardar Patel and the instability caused by the Congress as it topped governments led by Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar and HD Deve Gowda.

Four, he attacked the Congress for having more faith in Pakistans claims about terror than the Indian Armys claims about surgical or air strikes, or groups such as Hurriyat in Kashmir rather than the young of Kashmir. If someone says anything negative about India, they immediately pick it up. There is some magnetic power. They legitimise these things and amplify it. They dont have faith in Indian capabilities and citizens. But I want to tell the house that people have no confidence in the Congress.

Five, he attacked the Congress for being out of touch with reality and gave specific examples from Tamil Nadu (where the party last won elections in 1962), West Bengal (last Congress win was in 1972), UP, Bihar and Gujarat (where it last won in 1985), Tripura (last win - 1988), and other states to show the partys weak electoral record and popular support. He mocked the fact that a leader, in a reference to Rahul Gandhi, had been launched over a dozen times in politics, yet the product kept failing, which is why the party had now begun blaming the voters.

Six, Modi also said that the Opposition had a secret blessing  whoever they wished ill did well  pointing to himself as an example. The PM offered three specific policy examples where, according to him, the Opposition had been wrong. It had predicted the failure of the banking sector and left it with non-performing assets; today, public sector banks were in good health. It had discredited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL); today, it had its highest ever revenues. And it had predicted that those who invested in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) were about to lose hard-earned earnings; today, LIC was doing well.

Seven, Modi attacked the Congress for its economic record, and claimed that it did not have faith in the countrys capabilities. I had said sometime ago that in our next term, India will become the third largest economy in the world. A responsible opposition should ask questions about how will we do it, give suggestions, or campaign in elections that it will make India number one. Instead, Modi said, the Congress suggested that the growth to the third largest economy would happen naturally and inevitably. Rubbishing the suggestion, Modi alleged, The Congress doesnt have the vision, intent, policies, understanding of global economy or Indian economic capabilities. He also warned that the oppositions economic policies would bankrupt India, and the country would suffer the same consequences that others in the neighbourhood had.

And finally, a key thrust of the PMs speech was not just contrasting the governance and political record of the Congress with that of the BJP. In a response to Gandhis expunged allegation that Bharat Mata was being killed in Manipur, Modi alleged that the Congress was responsible for Indias Partition and a series of decisions that fragmented and weakened Indian unity. This is loot ki dukan, loot ka bazaar (a shop of corrupt, a market of the corrupt). It has hate, scams, appeasement, black minds, nepotism, playing on Gandhis slogan of a shop of love in a market of hatred to turn it back against the Congress.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of using the debate as an election rally, adding that had he shed his arrogance by speaking on Manipur earlier, valuable parliamentary time could have been saved.

Thank you Prime Minister, At last you spoke in the House on the Manipur violence...Had you given up your stubbornness and arrogance earlier, the valuable time of the Parliament could have been saved. Important bills would have been passed with good discussion, the Congress chief said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

We are pained that on an unprecedented issue like the Manipur violence, the opposition had to use a parliamentary weapon like a no-confidence motion. But you also used the House as an election rally, he also said.

Nearly an hour and a half into his speech, the Modi did not mention Manipur, prompting many opposition lawmakers to stand up and chant Manipur! Manipur! before walking out in protest.

The central and the state governments are working towards peace. I assure people of Manipur that peace will be restored soon, Modi said. The country is with you. We will sit together and find a solution to the current challenge to restore peace and put Manipur on the path of development.
New Delhi The act of sedition continues to be a crime under a proposed Indian law introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday, albeit under a different name, with the punishment for it actually being increased. PREMIUM Union home minister Amit Shah speaks in the Lok Sabha on the introduction of the three bills for revamping criminal laws, replace IPC, CrPC, and Indian Evidence Act on Friday. (ANI)

Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said in the Lok Sabha that one of the proposed legislations aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system will completely repeal the offence of sedition, as prescribed under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), adding that the bill will be sent to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny.

An analysis of the Bharativa Nyaya Sanita Bill, 2023, however, suggests that the offence of sedition has been retained under the proposed law with a new nomenclature and a more expansive definition of what will constitute acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, even as it removes the words disaffection towards the Government established by law in India from the old Section 124A of IPC.

While the new provision, inducted as Section 150 of the bill, is more specific than the old one and directly targets secessionism, separatism, and a call for armed rebellion -- without using the words contempt or hatred against the Government of India (as is under Section 124A), it leaves ample room for interpretation by neither incorporating the test of incitement to violence in the proposed provision nor connecting the act to public order.

The proposed Section 150 continues to criminalise any act that excites or attempts to excite secessionist activities or encourages feelings of separatist activities instead of making incitement to violence or disruption to public order a condition precedent to invoke the charges.

Additionally, Section 150 in the 2023 bill penalises a person who indulges in or commits any such act, vesting with law enforcement agencies a greater discretion to decide what can be brought within the fold of an act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India for the purposes of slapping the charges.

Significantly, Article 19(2) provides that state can frame any law to impose reasonable restrictions on free speech in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, implying the proposed law seeks to derive its authority and justification from this constitutional provision.

Section 150 reads as: Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 124A of IPC currently reads as: Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

A comparative evaluation between the old and the new would show that Section 150 has included electronic communication and use of financial means as tools of perpetuating an act endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India.

Experts, however, say that the by making any act endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India an offence, Section 150 seeks to take within its sweep almost everything, including a speech, a book or an article, a drama or an act  everything that Section 124A of IPC currently penalises as sedition.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra said that though there has been a tweaking of the provision of the erstwhile 124A, the question arises whether there is a need of a sedition-like law when you already have other provisions that address the issue.

Also, the government has now also introduced terrorism offences, organised crimes and criminal activities in this. In a country like India where there is no sovereign and being a democracy where people are sovereign, the logic and rationale behind retention of the sedition provision in any form, is questionable, he said.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said that the Centre is bluffing through the statement that sedition has been repealed.

The government is fooling the people. Exactly the same section (sedition) in slightly different words has been introduced. Sedition, under the Indian law and as per Supreme Court judgments, required very harsh words and some action showing uprising against the country. What the government has now done is that words by themselves will attract anti-national activities. So, it is even worse than the old provision, he said.

Another key change in the proposed draft Section 150 of the bill is to remove an old provision which allowed a person convicted of sedition to get away only with a fine. Section 150 of the bill prescribes imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years, in addition to fine, as punishment.

The proposed amendment indicates that the move by the government is in line with a recommendation made by the Law Commission of India in June, with the alternative punishment for the offence being sought to be enhanced to seven years in jail from the present three under the IPC; the 2023 bill also continues to have life imprisonment as the maximum punishment.

The bill has been tabled by the Centre at a time when the Supreme Court is seized of a bunch of petitions, challenging the validity of Section 124A in the IPC. The operation of Section 124A  a non-bailable offence punishable with jail term ranging up to life, and one that activists and jurists have alleged is often misused to muzzle dissent, is currently on hold due to a continuing interim order of the top court passed on May 11, 2022.

In its June report, the Law Commission recommended that the 153-year-old colonial law on sedition be retained, insisting that repealing the legal provision can have serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country. It favoured amending Section 124A so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision.

The commission said the sedition law, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or a punishment of three years, should be amended to enhance the alternative punishment to seven years, calling for giving the courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act.

On May 11, 2022, the Supreme Court in a historic judgment effectively put on hold the colonial-era penal provision, and asked the Centre and states to desist from arresting people or prosecuting them under the contentious provision until the Union government reviews it.

Asserting that the sedition law in India is not in tune with the current social milieu, the court had in May last year emphasised that it will be appropriate not to continue the usage of the provision of law by the governments when the Centre itself has conveyed a desire to reconsider and re-examine the contours and validity of Section 124A.

Two days before the top court had suspended the operation of the sedition law, the Union government had filed an affidavit stating that it was willing to review the sedition law but urged the court to pause the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the penal provision.

On May 1, attorney general (AG) R Venkataramani informed a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, that the legislative process of reviewing the law on sedition is in the final stages, adding the government is keen on pushing reforms. The top law officer at the time submitted that the government has set up a committee to review Section 124A in the IPC and that the deliberation with the stakeholders was on.

Recording AGs statement, the bench then posted the matter for a hearing in the second week of August, when, it said, the court may also consider a larger bench for determination of the validity of the sedition law since a five-judge bench had in 1962 upheld the legality of Section 124A.
New Delhi: Those involved in mob lynching may be awarded imprisonment for a minimum of seven years or maximum punishment of death penalty, according to provisions of a new proposed law introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Monsoon session of Parliament (PTI)

Introducing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023 that seeks to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Union home minister Amit Shah said: There has been a lot of talk about mob lynching. We have carefully ensured that the punishment for mob lynching is seven years, imprisonment for life, or even death. All three provisions are there in cases of mob lynching.

Since IPC does not provide a separate provision for murder by a mob, the accused in such cases are tried and punished under section 302 (murder) of the law. Also, there is no government data on mob lynchings.

According to clause 101(2) of the BNS bill, when a group of five or more person acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other ground, each member of such a group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Clause 101(1) deals with punishment for murder, which is death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

In July, the Supreme Court issued directions to the Union and state governments regarding measures that need to be taken up to prevent mob lynching, according to Live Law. It directed states to file a status report before the home ministry and submit year-wise data in which complaints were made and first information reports (FIRs) registered.

Experts have often called for specific provisions in the law to deal with cases of mob lynching.

Vikram Singh, who served as director general of Uttar Pradesh Police between 2007 and 2009, said identifying mob lynching as a crime would help police and researchers in multiple ways.

For analysis, you will now have a separate crime head and data. The government will be able to analyse the cases and take suitable action. I would have been happier if the minimum punishment was enhanced. Though the maximum punishment is death, seven years is too less for a heinous crime such as mob lynching, he said.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, on Friday defended party colleague Lok Sabha whip Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was suspended from the Lower House of Parliament on Thursday, claiming that he only said Nirav Modi and Nirav means shaant (quiet in Hindi)". Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the House during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. (ANI)

He only said Nirav Modi. Nirav means shaant (quiet), silent and for that he was suspended? Kharge told Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

...He has been suspended on a flimsy ground I am pleading with the vice president and the Chairman of the House that you have to protect the democracy as he (Adhir) is in the public accounts committee, business advisory committee too and the CBC selection. He has been deprived of all these institutions and if he is suspended, it's not good, Kharge said.

Chowdhury was suspended from the House pending examination of his conduct by the privileges committee.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had moved the resolution for Chowdhury's suspension on Thursday evening after the Congress leader repeatedly disrupted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was responding to the debate on the no-confidence motion.

On Friday, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon amid opposition protests over the suspension of Chowdhury.

As soon as the House met, Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi raised the issue of Chowdhury's suspension from the House on Thursday evening for "repeated misconduct".

A few Congress members were also on their feet and heard telling Speaker Om Birla that Chowdhury had always cooperated with the Chair.

The Speaker called for the Question Hour but adjourned the proceedings within a minute of the House convening for the day. The Monsoon session of Parliament, which began on July 20, concludes on Friday.

Before the Parliament proceedings, Opposition leaders of the INDIA alliance met at 10am to discuss the suspension of the Congress leader and discussed the way ahead, sources said.

They also decided on a strategy for the way forward in the Rajya Sabha, where their demand for a discussion on Manipur has not been accepted.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over weaponising privilege motions in the Parliament to throttle every voice of dissent. His remark came after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha was suspended from the Upper House for allegedly adding names of members to a select committee, without their consent, to assess the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023. TMC MP Derek O'Brien(PTI)

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the TMC MP, who was also on the verge of being suspended from the House over unruly behaviour, referred to PM Modi and said these assaults on democracy will not deter INDIA (bloc).

Moving the motion of suspension, Union minister and Leader of the House Piyush Goyal quoted one of the members who raised an issue where his name was fraudulently added to the list despite not giving his consent. The views expressed by the members on the floor of the House, left no doubt that there was an outrage of privilege of these members by hon'ble member Raghav Chadha by including their names in the motion without securing their willingness. This is contrary to the provision of Rule 72, he said.

Five Rajya Sabha MPs  S Phangnon Konyak, Narhari Amin and Sudhanshu Trivedi of BJP, M Thambidurai of AIADMK and Sasmit Patra of BJD  said that their name was included without their consent in a select committee moved by Raghav Chadha in the House.

The AAP MP has refuted the allegations claiming that an MP can propose names in a suggested committee and neither their written consent nor their signatures are required.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government wants Manipur to continue to burn because it is not using instruments at its disposal to bring normalcy back in the violence-torn border state. HT Image

Addressing a press conference a day after the Prime Minister replied to the debate on no-confidence motion  which was defeated in the Lok Sabha  Gandhi said, It will take the Indian Army two days to put an end to the nonsense that is going on in Manipur. The Prime Minister refuses to stop the fight. He wants Manipur to burn, he allows Manipur to burn because if he did want it to stop, there are tools in the hands of the Indian government that can stop it, immediately, I know. I have full faith in our army, I know and every Indian citizen knows, that if the Indian Army is told, please put an end to this, it will stop (violence) immediately.

The Congress, and other opposition parties that are part of the INDIA grouping, walked out 97 minutes into the PMs 133 minute speech, just before he started speaking on Manipur. The alliance has said it brought about the no-confidence motion to force the Prime Minister to speak on the issue.

Gandhi claimed that the government has options but it is not using them to stop the ethnic violence in Manipur that has already claimed 152 lives.

I am not asking for anything, please dont misunderstand. It is not my place to decide which tool the Prime Minister can use, which instrument he should use. I am pointing out that there are multiple instruments that the Prime Minister has at his disposal and he is not using a single one, he said.

In his intervention in the no-confidence debate, Gandhi had asked why the government is reluctant to deploy the army in Manipur.

During the debate, Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday gave an elaborate reply on Manipur and cited data to show how the violence is declining. 152 people have died so far. In May alone, 107 deaths occurred that included 68 deaths in the first three days. In June 30 people died, In July 15 and in August, 4 people have died, Shah told the Lok Sabha.

Speaking on the Prime Ministers speech, Gandhi said: The PM was cracking jokes and smiling even as Manipur is on fire for months.PM cant go to Manipur, at least he should have spoken about Manipur at length.

Army presence in North-East states has often been a hotly debated issue. Shah has spoken in Parliament on how the area where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa) is applicable has been reduced in the Northeast. Gandhi, however argued that the current situation in Manipur is unparalleled.

Recalling his own visit to the state, Gandhi said, I have been to all the states. We go when there are floods, droughts or even tsunami. But I have never seen anything like this before.

When I was going to a Meitei area, they said, you are most welcome. We love you but dont bring any Kuki as a part of your security otherwise we will kill them. Similarly, the Kuki warned us against bringing Meitei security guards.

He also defended his comments in the Lok Sabha. Manipur has been decimated. Manipur doesnt exist as a state. A state requires control and authority, which have disappeared in Manipur. When I went there, central security forces told me they have not seen anything like this before. Thats why I said Manipur has been murdered by the BJP, Gandhi added.

He also criticised the Prime Minister for not focusing adequately on Manipur in his speech. Watching the Prime Minister spend two hours talking about the Congress, talking about the Opposition, making ridiculous remarks about the name, this really does not do justice to an Indian Prime Minister. I have seen Prime Ministers from the Congress Party, I have seen Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I have seen Mr. Deve Gowda, none of them had ever done this, there is complete misunderstanding in the mind of Narendra Modi ji on what the Prime Minister of India is?

Gandhi, who was at the helm of the Congress party between 2017 and 2019, maintained that Modi should have used his speech to send a message to the people of Manipur. When [someone] becomes Prime Minister, he ceases to be a politician; he becomes the representative of the voice of this country. He is our representative, he is my representative, he is all our representative.

While Modi also used his speech to set the tone for the 2024 elections  he claimed he would return for a third term  Gandhi insisted that the issue was not about who would be PM in 2024. It was about Manipur. He also rejected Shahs defence of the Manipur CM Biren Singh and pointed out that arms were looted under latters rule.

A part of Gandhis speech was expunged and a number of Opposition leaders, including Congresss Lok Sabha floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were suspended. Gandhi claimed that it doesnt matter if leaders come or go. For the first time Bharat Mata has been expunged. So, no one can utter the word Bharat Mata in Parliament. 

The home minister in his reply said the Centre did 16 video conferences, sent 36,000 security forces, changed the chief secretary, DGP and the security adviser by May 4 evening.  In 28 days, the railways reached with supplies. We brought trucks from Assam in this difficult situation and there was no price rise, said Shah.

Union minister Anurag Thakur hit back at Gandhis comments on Friday.

When he could not make his point in the House, he tried to hurl the same abuses from the streets. The use of indecent language and lies has become a sort of habit for Congress leaders... How can any son of Bharat Mata talk of her being murdered... He does not care about Manipur or women. Rahul Gandhis only concern is how he can remain in the headlines, Thakur told reporters.

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After Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it does not fit a prime minister to laugh and crack jokes in Parliament when Manipur has been burning for the last four months, BJP's Amit Malviya tore into Rahul Gandhi and said India deserves a more responsible opposition -- not someone who blows flying kisses like a 'lukkha' in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he was amazed seeing the PM laughing and cracking jokes in Parliament. (Raj K Raj)

Commenting on PM Modi's reply to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi said he was amazed seeing PM Modi laughing, cracking jokes and talking in length on Congress and Rahul Gandhi. PM Modi has multiple tools to contain the situation in Manipur but he is not deploying them as he does not want to douse the fire in Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said.

Replying to Rahul Gandhi's criticism, Amit Malviya said Rahul Gandhi has the audacity to come out and 'blabber like a dement' after walking out when PM Modi was speaking. "Rahul Gandhi, who didnt have the decency to sit through the entire No Confidence Motion, moved by the Opposition, skipped Home Ministers speech and walked out when Prime Minister spoke, worse, like a  was blowing flying kisses in the Parliament, when it was, ironically, among other things, discussing women security and safety, has the audacity to come out and blabber like a dement. India deserves a more responsible Opposition," Amit Malviya wrote.

Rahul Gandhi's alleged flying kiss in Parliament has created a controversy with the women BJP MPs complaining to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Rahul Gandhi's gesture after Smriti Irani objected to it. Women MPs of opposition parties including Shiv Sena's (UBT) Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool's Mahua Moitra spoke in favour of Rahul Gandhi and questioned Smriti Irani instead.

As PM Modi spoke in Parliament on Thursday, the opposition walked out alleging that PM Modi did not speak on Manipur for the first two hours. On Friday, Rahul Gandhi said the situation in Manipur is unforeseen as Manipur has been divided between Kuki and Meitei. "A state requires control, authority. Manipur does not exist as a state. When we went to the Meitei area, we were categorically told that if there is any Kuki in my security team, they will be shot. The same happened in the Kuki area," Rahul Gandhi said explaining why he said Manipur has been 'murdered' by the BJP. "I was not speaking metaphorically, I was speaking literally," Rahul Gandhi said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
In yet another crime against girls in Rajasthan, the body of a Class 12 student was found in a well in the Sawai Madhopur district on Thursday, with locals alleging that she was raped and later murdered by her school teacher, news agency PTI reported citing police. The accused teacher Ramratan Meena has been detained and is being interrogated, (PTI Photo/Representative use)

A case of rape and murder has been registered against the accused at the Bonli police station. The girl, 16, a student at a government school, had gone missing on August 8. Her father lodged a complaint against her school teacher Ramratan Meena for abducting her, PTI reported quoting Bonli circle officer Bonli Meena said.

Anguished over the incident, the relatives of the girl and local villagers staged a protest on Thursday placing the body in the school playground  demanding compensation, removal of the entire school staff, investigation by senior police officers and immediate arrest of the accused, the police said.

The post-mortem of the body could not be conducted due to the protest. The accused teacher Ramratan Meena has been detained and is being interrogated, the circle officer said, adding that he has been suspended by the school.

All the male staff of the school have also been removed, the CO said. Attacking the government over the incident, Rajendra Rathore, Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, said the crime against women has increased in the state under Congress rule.

The safety of women has become the biggest question today under Congress rule. Another girl was raped and murdered in Sawai Madhopur. This incident of throwing the dead body into the well is shameful to humanity. This incident is also a question mark on the law and order of the state, he said.

Slamming the government's launch of the 'Indira Gandhi Smartphone' scheme for women on Thursday, Rathore said girls and women in the state need justice instead of smartphones.

The Ashok Gehlot government is already facing the Opposition heat over the past week after the alleged gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district on August 2. Police have arrested four people, including the main accused, and detained a minor in connection with the case.

In another recent incident, an eight-year-old girl was raped by a 25-year-old man in Pali district when she went to her neighbours house to get buttermilk on Tuesday evening, police said on Wednesday. Police said the accused is still on the run. The incident took place under Khinwara police station area on Tuesday evening but the case was lodged on Wednesday. The girls family members informed police that they could not approach them on Tuesday night as there was no mode of communication from their village.

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said in the Lok Sabha that one of the proposed legislations aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system will completely repeal the offence of sedition, as prescribed under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), adding the bill will be sent to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny. Union home minister Amit Shah in Parliament. (Fil e photo)

An analysis of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, however, suggests that the offence of sedition has been retained under the proposed law with new nomenclature and a more expansive definition of what will constitute Acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India.

A review of the text of the 2023 bill by HT indicates that the move by the government is in line with a recommendation made by the Law Commission of India in June, with the alternative punishment for the offence being sought to be enhanced to seven years in jail from the present three under the IPC; the 2023 bill also continues to have life imprisonment as the maximum punishment.

The bill has been tabled by the Centre at a time when the Supreme Court is seized of a bunch of petitions, challenging the validity of Section 124A in the IPC.

The operation of Section 124A a non-bailable offence punishable with jail term ranging up to life, and one that activists and jurists have alleged is often misused to muzzle dissent -- is currently on hold due to a continuing interim order of the top court passed on May 11, 2022.

A key change in the proposed draft Section 150 of the BNS bill is the removal of a provision, which allowed a person convicted of sedition to get away only with a fine: Section 150 of the bill prescribes imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years, in addition to fine, as punishment.

Section 150 reads as: Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Heres comparison with Section 124A of IPC , which reads: Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

A comparative evaluation between the old and the new shows that Section 150 has included electronic communication and use of financial means as tools of perpetuating an act endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India.

The new provision also lays down that the category of offence under Section 150 will not be against the Government established by law in India, as was mentioned under Section 124A of IPC.

But the offence under Section 150 is committed when acts spark secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.

Notably, the draft provision adds indulges in or commits any such act, leaving a greater discretion with law enforcement agencies to decide what can be brought within the fold of an act endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India for the purposes of slapping the charges.

Section 150, in its Explanation, keeps the old clarification, stating that comments, expressing disapprobation of the measures, or administrative or other action of the Government, with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means without exciting or attempting to excite the activities referred to in this section, will not constitute an offence under this provision.

Also Read: Situation from Kashmir to Kerala makes it must to retain colonial-era sedition law: Law panel chief

In its June report, the Law Commission recommended that the 153-year-old colonial law on sedition be retained, insisting that repealing the legal provision can have serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country. It favoured amending Section 124A so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision.

The commission said the sedition law, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or a punishment of three years, should be amended to enhance the alternative punishment to seven years, calling for giving courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act.

On May 11, 2022, the Supreme Court in a historic judgment effectively put on hold the colonial-era penal provision, and asked the Centre and states to desist from arresting people or prosecuting them under the contentious provision until the Union government reviews it.

Asserting that the sedition law in India is not in tune with the current social milieu, the court had in May last year emphasised that it will be appropriate not to continue the usage of the provision of law by the governments when the Centre itself has conveyed a desire to reconsider and re-examine the contours and validity of Section 124A.

Two days before the top court had suspended the operation of the sedition law, the Union government had filed an affidavit stating that it was willing to review the sedition law but urged the court to pause the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the penal provision.

On May 1, attorney general R Venkataramani had informed a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, that the legislative process of reviewing the law on sedition is in the final stages, adding the government is keen on pushing reforms. The top law officer at the time submitted that the government has set up a committee to review Section 124A in the IPC and that the deliberation with the stakeholders was on.

Recording A-Gs statement, the bench had then posted the matter for a hearing in the second week of August, when, it said, the court may also consider a larger bench to determine the validity of the sedition law since a five-judge bench had in 1962 upheld the legality of Section 124A.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utkarsh Anand Utkarsh Anand is Legal Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on law, judiciary and governance. ...view detail
Agra: The Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust, which manages the overall affairs of the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex in Mathura, on Friday challenged a compromise between the Shahi Masjid Eidgah and a temple body that existed in the 1960s, as it sought to strengthen its claim over a disputed tract of 13.37 acre land. The Trust sought a cancellation of an agreement under which the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Seva Sangh, a body of the temple that was dissolved later, conceded the contentious portion of land to the Eidgah in 1968. (File photo)

The Trust sought a cancellation of an agreement under which the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Seva Sangh, a body of the temple that was dissolved later, conceded the contentious portion of land to the Eidgah in 1968.

The deal, which was finalised before the civil judge (senior division), Mathura in 1973-74, is not binding on the temple as the Seva Sangh had no authority to decide on the matter, the Trust said in a petition in the same court.

The Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi is located adjacent to the Shahi Eidgah mosque. The temple complex comprises the Keshav Dev temple, the Garbha Griha temple and the Bhagavat Bhavan.

Multiple suits have been filed in different courts of Mathura, with a common claim that the Eidgah complex was constructed on a part of 13.37-acre land belonging to the Trust.

The suits have demanded that the mosque, which abuts the temple, be removed and the land returned to the Trust.

We have filed a case in the court of the civil judge (senior division), Mathura, seeking a decree by the court declaring the judgment and decree dated 20.07.1973 and the judgment and decree dated 07.11.1974 passed in the civil suit No. 43 of 1967 by the same court as null and void, not binding on Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust by cancellation of said judgment and decree, Gopeshwar Chaturvedi, a member of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Seva Sansthan, which was formed after the Seva Sangh was dissolved in 1976 and is linked to the Trust, said.

The other relief (sought) includes declaration that the entire plot of land, measuring 13.37 acres within Khata No. 225 (old khata no. 291) of Katra Keshav Dev, vests in the Trust and is dedicated to Bhagwan Bal Krishna Keshav Dev Virajman Garbh Griha. The suit also seeks removal of unauthorised and illegal construction (the mosque) raised by way of encroachment and vacant possession handed over to Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi Trust, he added.

The Seva Sangh had no right, interest or authority to enter into a compromise dated 12.10.1968 with the mosque representatives and thus, the decree obtained by fraud in suit number 43 of 1967 on the basis of the said compromise is null and void, the petition said. The plea also sought an injunction, restraining the entry of defendants (the mosque committee) in the mosque premises.

On Thursday, an Agra-based lawyer and two others had submitted an application in the court, seeking ban on entry of Muslims in the mosque.

We have filed the suit with relevant facts and the court has admitted it... Asthan Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi at Mathura, besides Mahabir Sharma and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, are the plaintiffs and the suit is against Anjuman Islamia, the committee that manages the Shahi Eidgah and others, lawyer Surendra Kumar Guptam said.

Following an order of the Allahabad high court on May 26, records and files of all 16 suits in connection with the dispute were transferred to the high court in June.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hemendra Chaturvedi Hemendra Chaturvedi is based in Agra serving as a Principal Correspondent, covering districts of Agra and Aligarh division of western Uttar Pradesh. He has been with HT since 1992 and has completed 25 year of association with HT. ...view detail
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the union government why it hadnt filed its response to a public interest litigation on womens reservation, saying it was too important an issue for the government to shy away from. The Supreme Court first asked the Centre to respond to the petition in November last year (Sanchit Khanna/HT File Photo)

The petition filed by the National Federation of Indian Women two years ago wanted the court to order the government to revive the 33% women reservation bill that lapsed in 2014.

Why is the government shying away from filing a response? We are surprised that you have not taken a stand. It is too important an issue that concerns us all, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioner, told the court that the petition also made major political parties such as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress as respondents but the Communist Party of India was the only party to file its affidavit.

The bench remarked, Obviously there are certain restrictions on us which we cannot exceed. But a reply should be filed by the union government. I was also interested to see what political parties had to say on this issue. But none of them, except one, has come forward.

Bhushan said these political parties have supported the cause of the petitioner in their manifestos but have chosen to remain silent in these proceedings.

Additional solicitor general KM Nataraj agreed to file a response as the bench posted the matter for hearing in October. We thought the restriction (that applies to court) applies to us too, he said.

A bench headed by justice Khanna issued notice on the PIL in November last year and gave the government six weeks to file a response. The matter was scheduled to be taken up in March when the Centre again sought time and was given six weeks.

The petition said that the patriarchal mindset of our society has led to the oppression of women denying them their rightful status as equals. This can only be changed if women are placed in positions of authority to effectively bring about such alterations.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008, known as Womens Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010. The same lapsed in 2014 after the 15th Lok Sabha got dissolved.

The non-introduction of the Bill is arbitrary, illegal and is leading to discrimination, the plea said.

The plea added, Although equality of the sexes is enshrined in the Constitution, it has not become a reality even in the 75th year of Indian independence. Women represent almost 50% of the population of India but their representation in the Parliament is only about 14%.
New Delhi: The tumultuous monsoon session of Parliament that ended Friday suffered prolonged disruptions,witnessed only two full-fledged debates in the Lok Sabha, and saw privilege motions against five Opposition lawmakers, three of whom were also suspended. Monsoon session was adjourned sine die (PTI)

The situation in the border state of Manipur, which has seen ethnic violence for the past three months, remained the predominant issue during the session, and resulted in a no-confidence motion, which was easily defeated.

The Lok Sabha worked for just 44.15 hours and the Rajya Sabha utilized 50 hours and 21 minutes of a possible 102 hours in each House, spread across 17 days. The Delhi Services Bill remained the only piece of legislation that was passed after a proper discussion in both Houses. The debate on the no-confidence motion was joined by 60 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was reinstated in the Lok Sabha on August 7, after 137 days, following the Supreme Courts stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case. But five Opposition lawmakers including Congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, faced privilege charges and three of themAAPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha and Chowdhurywere suspended. Trinamool Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek OBrien and Congress chief whip in the Upper House Jairam Ramesh are the other two who will face a privilege motion. OBrien said: They are suspending MPs and weaponizing privilege motions to throttle any voice of dissent.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said, The opposition did not want to participate in the discussion (of bills) for political reasons. They participated only in the Delhi Services Bill. Our government never wanted a bill to be passed without discussion.

Also Read: When you bring no-confidence motion in 2028: PM Modi in Lok Sabha | Top quotes

Hitting out at the Opposition, Joshi added, Congress and other Opposition parties never thought that we would agree for a discussion on Manipur. PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said we should be sensitive about the issue. Today we have seen what all Rahul Gandhi has said. I think Rahul Gandhi lost his mental balance..He has not heard the reply. He did not come to the House...It is very unfortunate that the so-called grand old party is behaving so irresponsibly.

In his valedictory speech, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, Once again, we yielded to the allure of narrow interests and allowed disorder to be the new normal in the proceedings of the House. It appears that my appeals have not resonated well our Members. The frequent unwholesome spectacle of disruptions only indicates that my message has not found the attentive audience it deserves.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said, 44.15 minutes of work done during 17 sittings during monsoon session. 20 bills were introduced and 22 bills were passed in the session. All 20 Starred Questions to be answered orally on 9 August 2023. The work productivity of the monsoon session was 45%.

While 20 bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, the government brought five bills in the Rajya Sabha including the contentious The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 that bypasses an order by a Supreme Court division bench on the appointment of election commissioners.

The session saw 23 pieces of legislation being cleared by both Houses of Parliament, including the high-profile bills such as the Data Protection Bill, which was pending for over five years, the politically sensitive bill offsetting the May, 2023 Supreme Court order on jurisdiction of services in the national Capital, and the Jan Vishwas bill that the government said was key to ease of doing business.

But the Opposition participated in a discussion only on the Delhi bill.

While the government easily defeated the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and managed to pass the Delhi Services Bill, which replaced an ordinance, in both Houses, the leaders of the Oppositions India alliance claimed they have emerged stronger in the session. To be sure, this session saw the first concerted action by a large chunk of the Opposition.

On the last day of the session, on Friday, members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance launched a protest against Chowdhurys suspension. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said, The government wants to suppress democracy and doesnt want to function as per the Constitution of the country. This is the reason why we are protesting here. . We will continue to fight against them to keep the democracy alive. We will fight them both outside and inside Parliament.

The winter session, the last full session before the 2024 election, is likely to be held in December.

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in Parliament that seek to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act, an overhaul that he said would transform our criminal justice system. HT Image

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023  introduced in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the monsoon session  include key changes to deal with offences of terrorism, crimes against women, corruption in election processes and acts that are against the State.

From 1860 to 2023, the countrys criminal justice system functioned as per the laws made by the British. I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime, Shah said, while noting that the laws made by the British were full of signs of slavery and clearly aimed at punishing those opposed to their rule.

The colonial-era sedition law, 124A of IPC, has been repealed, Shah said, but a reading of the proposed new code showed the replacement  section 150 in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)  seeks to prosecute acts of secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities.

By replacing them (IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act), the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen to centrestage, he added.

Shah said the bills will be referred to the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.

The Union home minister has said on various occasions earlier that radical changes are being made in IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act.

A panel of experts, also known as Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws, appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), worked on the changes in the criminal laws starting 2020 and gave detailed recommendations to the government. MHA had also consulted states and other experts regarding the changes.

IPC, which deals with a majority of criminal offences, was brought by the British in 1860. It was adopted by the Indian government after Independence and has been amended around 77 times, but there were calls for revamping the entire criminal justice system as it was considered obsolete.

The government of India considered it expedient and necessary to review the existing criminal laws with an aim to strengthen law and order and also focus on simplifying legal procedure so that ease of living is ensured to the common man. The government also considered to make existing laws relevant to the contemporary situation and provide speedy justice to common man. Accordingly, various stakeholders were consulted keeping in mind contemporary needs and aspirations of the people and with a view to create a legal structure which is citizen centric and to secure life and liberty of the citizens, the statement of object and reasons for Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which seeks to replace IPC, stated.

A key change in BNS provides for community service as one of the punishments for petty crimes. To be sure, courts have often exercised their discretion to order community service, but this was not laid down in code.

While BNS does not mention sedition, section 150 has been brought in to deal effectively with what it identifies as secession, armed rebellion subversive activities, endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. These crimes will be punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment to seven years with a fine.

The minister said it takes into account the Law Commission of Indias recommendation in June to enhance alternative punishment for sedition to seven years from three.

BNS bill also introduces provisions related to organised crimes under section 109, which, in a case a person dies as a result of organised crime activities, will attract death as punishment or imprisonment for life.

Section 44 in BNS bill allows the right to private defence against deadly assault, for instance in the cases of mob attack, while section 31 of the bill says if a communication made in good faith leads to any harm to the person, it is not an offence.

The statement of objects and reasons for BNS stated that the offences against women and children, murder and offences against the State have been given precedence.

The various offences have been made gender neutral, it said.

The home minister said that in the new BNS bill, provisions have been included for capital punishment for mob lynching as well as for rape of minors.

The new law also lays down that permission for trial against a civil servant or police officer must be granted within 120 days, otherwise it will be treated as deemed permission and the trial will begin.

There is also a new provision to try a criminal in absentia, which will help trials in cases similar to those of fugitives like Dawood Ibrahim, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.

For the first time, snatching has also been introduced in the law.

Shah said the aim is to increase conviction rate to above 90%.

For crimes which have imprisonments above seven years, forensic teams should be there at the scene which will decrease the chance of criminals getting acquitted. The government will aim to computerise all courts by 2027, he added.

Shah said police would not be able to delay investigations anymore, adding that charge sheets will have to be filed within 90 days of lodging complaints. The investigation will have to be completed within 180 days in all cases. The judge will have to give verdicts within 30 days of framing of charges.

Judges, the home minister said in Lok Sabha, cannot delay hearings and orders, which should be out and made online within seven days.

Shah added that in rape cases, video recording of statements has been made compulsory.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, or BNSS, which seeks to repeal CrPC, 1973, and deals with legal procedures in criminal cases and makes it mandatory for police officers to make audio and video recordings of search and seizure mandatory, as well as video recording statements of an accused persons.

The statement of object and reasons for BNSS said specific time-lines have been prescribed for time bound investigation, trial and pronouncement of judgements in the new law.

In cases where the punishment is seven years or more, the victim shall be given an opportunity of being heard before withdrawal of the case by the government, it said.

Besides, BNSS has made summary trial mandatory for petty and less serious offences like in the cases where value of property does not exceed 20,000.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, or BSB, which replaces Indian Evidence Act, 1872, lays down how evidence is treated. The proposed provisions will allow witnesses, accused, experts and victims to appear through electronic means.

It also allows electronic evidence to have the same legal value as documents and seeks to expand the scope of secondary evidence to include copies made from the original by mechanical processes as proof of evidence.

The existing law (CrPC) does not address the technological advancement undergone in the country during the last few decades, the statement of object and reasons for BSB states.

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu strongly opposed the naming of the bills, calling it Hindi imposition and an audacious attempt to tamper with Indias diversity. DMK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have no moral right to even utter the word Tamil hereafter.

Recolonisation in the name of Decolonisation! The audacious attempt by the Union BJP government to tamper with the essence of Indias diversity through a sweeping overhaul  Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill  reeks of linguistic imperialism. This is an affront to the very foundation of #INDIAs unity. BJP and Prime Minister Modi have no moral right to even utter the word #Tamil hereafter, he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Legal experts welcome the three new bills. Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa said, The three criminal major acts were implemented more than hundred years ago and were in dire need of modifications. As a criminal lawyer, I have always felt that the procedure of trials, the definitions of the penal offences and the law of evidence are archaic, need radical changes and have to be in sync with modern India. Any law formulated on these lines would be propitious for the criminal justice system of our country. I welcome the initiative of the government to introduce these bills in the Parliament. If the bills satisfy the test of our emergent judicial needs, they shall bring cardinal advancement in the way trials are conducted in the country.

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New Delhi Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav spoke to HT about the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 -- which was cleared by Parliament in the monsoon session -- on the eve of World Elephant Day, which falls on August 12. PREMIUM Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav says strategic and security-related projects and their information is sensitive in nature and generally not accessible to the public (HT)

Edited excerpts:

At a time when human-elephant conflicts are rising, the question of elephants is linked directly to our forests. Why has the government exempted unrecorded deemed forests from the ambit of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill?The applicability of the Forest Conservation Act in various types of land has been dynamic -- that is, initially provisions of the Act were being applied to the notified forest land only. Subsequently, after an SC judgement of December 1996, the Act was made applicable to revenue forest land or in lands which were recorded as forest in government records and to areas which look like forest in their dictionary meaning.

Also Read: Why Naga Peoples Front has opposed the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act 2023

Most such land was already put to non-forestry use such as habitations, institutions, roads, etc. with the required approval of the competent authority. This situation resulted in different interpretations of the provisions of the Act with respect to their applicability especially in recorded forest lands, private forest lands, plantations, etc.

The government record for the purpose of the FC Act has been defined in the bill clarifying that all forests, including unclassed forests, recorded in the record of government, forest department local bodies, or authority will also attract the provisions of the Act.

What is strategic infrastructure of national importance that will be exempted in a 100km area from borders? What projects will be allowed in these areas?Strategic infrastructure, primarily linear projects such as roads and railways and establishment of security camps, is very critical for national security and to protect the sovereignty of the country. Such projects located within 100km from the international borders, LAC and LoC will be exempted from the purview of the Act.

Our country has very sensitive and remote border areas with negligible or poor road connectivity. It is very difficult to defend our international borders without adequate infrastructure facilities and connectivity. Therefore, it is very important to provide adequate connectivity and infrastructure to defend our international borders. Better road network in the border areas will minimise the time to reach the sensitive border areas while better infrastructure facilities will ensure protection of border areas throughout the year. Moreover, such facilities will improve the accessibility to the almost inaccessible remote areas.

Besides catering to the strategic needs of the country, these provisions of the bill will also improve the social and economic status of forward areas. Local population from these remote areas is migrating to urban areas for want of basic facilities. Provisions of the bill coupled with our Vibrant Village Programme will bring new avenues of economic as well as social development in these areas. However, these exemptions are under terms and conditions including the compensating of loss of the affected trees for which suitable provisions in the Bill have been brought in.

Will information on these strategic infrastructure projects be made public? How can people access information on these?Strategic and security-related projects and their information is sensitive in nature and generally not accessible to the public. The state governments or Union territories concerned will develop their system of considering approval of such projects as per the guidelines to be issued by the central government. However, in exceptional cases, the information on the use of forest land for such strategic and security related projects will be made available by the central government.

How will the new amendment bill reduce time taken in granting forest clearance? And by how many days?Elimination of ambiguities in the applicability will enable the authorities to take prompt decisions on the proposals involving non-forestry use of forest land. There will be no requirement of prior approval of the central government under the Act for the projects located within 100km from the international borders, LAC, forest land of 0.10 hectares providing connectivity to habitations and roadside establishments, 10 hectares of land for security related infrastructure, and 5 hectares for public utility projects in LWE areas. In such cases, the state government or Union territory will grant approval and thereby shorten the process of approval. The ministry has streamlined the process of approval by notifying the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 on June 28, 2023, wherein the entire process has been made end-to-end online. All these initiatives together will substantially reduce the time taken in the process of approval envisaged in the Act.

What is your vision for improving agroforestry in India? How will that impact wild species like elephants? Which tree species will be encouraged?Agroforestry close to wildlife habitats can provide significant habitat for elephants and other wildlife species if well-planned. Raising plantations outside forests can also provide economic benefits to local people. Similarly, afforesting areas lost to mines and major infrastructure projects can also help in creating habitats for wildlife. Further, in corridor areas where elephants are expected to move without causing conflict, tree species not preferred by elephants in agroforestry can create a win-win situation.

There were apprehensions that plantations on the lands of individuals and organisations can attract FCA. Therefore, clarity has been provided in the bill that provisions of the FC Act will not be applicable in the private lands which will encourage plantation in private lands thereby helping the country to increase the area under green cover, enhancing the carbon sink and reducing the biotic pressure on forests. In addition to these, it will also help in making our country Atmanirbhar by generating additional income to our farmers while simultaneously reducing the wood import Bills of the country.

Why did you decide on exempting Ayush companies and practitioners from access and benefit sharing? How will this benefit industries?The biological diversity amendment bill provides exemption from access and benefit sharing to users of Codified Traditional Knowledge, cultivated medicinal plants as well as Ayush practitioners.

The exemption to the users of the Codified Traditional Knowledge which may include industries will help in the expansion and reach of Ayurveda/Indian system of medicine.

The exemption to cultivated medicinal plants from access and benefit sharing will help encourage locals to take up the cultivation of medicinal plants which then may be accessed in hassle-free manner by industries in making products, thereby improving the income of both individual cultivation as well as companies or industries while expanding the reach of Indian system of medicine. This will in turn encourage more investments in Ayurveda/Indian system of medicine.

Some states are facing a massive problem of human-elephant conflict. How do you plan to address this?The human-elephant conflict has been an issue facing mankind since historic times. India houses about 60% of all Asian elephants. Over the last nine years, the number of elephant reserves has risen. The successes in elephant conservation must be viewed in context of the larger efforts underway in India to minimise human-animal conflict, and integrating local communities and their traditional wisdom in furthering environmental consciousness. The government believes general public awareness is a key to minimise conflict.

Elephant is a long-ranging landscape animal that moves across habitats and occasionally enters human habitation causing considerable loss to farmers and local communities. To compensate their loss, financial assistance is being provided to local communities for loss of their property and life caused by elephants. Elephant corridors are being revalidated with an aim of removing hindrances. Elephant habitats are being consolidated and declared as Elephant Reserves. In the last three years, three Elephant Reserves have been declared and the areas increased from 74,512 sq.km to 80,778 sq.km.

How will you address elephant deaths due to linear infrastructure like railways?We are constantly working with the ministry of railways and state forest departments to minimise the impact of existing railway lines on elephant and other wildlife.

Recently, 110 critical points on an 1,800km stretch on existing railway network across the country have been identified. These have been submitted to the railway ministry for undertaking mitigation strategies like underpasses, overpasses, imposing speed restrictions, creating level crossings and ramps to facilitate elephant movement and developing technological interventions to better detect elephants along the railway tracks.

Technological intervention such as Intrusion Detection System using optical fibre cable technology, detecting animal movement using the seismic sensors and infrared thermal cameras are being piloted in West Bengal and Uttarakhand.

Why do you plan to merge Project Elephant with Project Tiger? How will it help these programmes?Project Tiger (PT) and Project Elephant (PE) are the major flagship species conservation programmes of the Government of India. Let me clarify that the projects are not being merged, only the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have been merged.

Project Elephant and Project Tiger were sub schemes under Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats. During the Expenditure Finance Committee meeting which was further approved by the Cabinet, it was decided that the sub scheme of CSS- PE should be merged with CSS PT. The merger of the schemes facilitates better allocation of resources, synergy in activities and also allows the managers to adopt a focused approach in conserving both the species.
Dhara Shah, mother of Indian baby in German foster home Ariha Shah, on Friday held a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar urging the German authorities to let Ariha celebrate India's Independence Day, on August 15, with the Indian community in Germany to protect her cultural rights. Dhara Shah, mother of Ariha Shah who is in German foster care, stage a demonstration at Jantar Mantar to allow the child to celebrate Independence Day with the Indian Community in Germany, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo)

"We will go to the German embassy. We will request the German ambassador that 15th August is coming and every Indian has the right to celebrate it. We will ask him to let Ariha celebrate the Indian independence day. She should not be deprived of her cultural identity," Dhara Shah said while speaking to news agency ANI.

"Our main motive to gather here is that Ariha has cultural rights and they should be preserved," she added.

Dhara said that in June this year, Ariha's rights were given to German child services. They told us yesterday that all visitation is closed because they have no one to pick and drop Ariha. They also returned the gifts we gave her during the previous visitation. We don't know where she is and in which condition. We are worried about her safety.

Who is Ariha Shah?

Ariha Shah was born in Germany's capital Berlin in 2021. Ariha's father Bhavesh Shah, a software engineer from Gujarat, moved to Berlin in 2018 with Dhara.

Ariha was seven months old when she was taken to a foster care by German authorities on September 23, 2021. German authorities had then alleged that her parents  Dhara and Bhavesh  had abused her.

Shah was then placed in the custody of Germanys Jugendamt or Youth Welfare Office after she sustained an accidental injury. Her continued presence in foster care has become an irritant in bilateral relations.

What happened?

Dhara earlier told media that after Ariha was born, her grandmother visited the family in Berlin. However, she accidentally hurt the child, which caused an injury to the outer genital area.

As per her family, when Ariha was taken to the hospital, German authorities were alerted as it was suspected to be a case of sexual assault.

After Ariha was taken into foster care, her parents were only allowed to visit once every fortnight. German authorities also filed a case of child sexual abuse against her parents.

While the German authorities dropped the assault charges, they still held her parents accountable for negligence. The cases against the parents were dropped in February 2022 and no formal charges were filed.

Ariha was still not returned to her parents and a civil custody case was filed by Jugendamt to terminate parental rights as it sought Ariha's custody. Since then the couple has been fighting a legal battle.

India has pressed Germany on the early return of the baby, saying it is important for the child to be in her linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment. German authorities have said the child was placed in foster care after her Indian parents allegedly harassed her.

The Jugendamt had earlier moved Ariha to a facility in Berlin for children with special needs, and she remains there today.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanskriti Falor Sanskriti Falor is a Senior Content Producer at the News Desk of HT Digital. Having worked in Digital Media for the past two years, she is interested in covering civic issues and global affairs. ...view detail
At a time when the Communist Party of Chinas leaders are gathered for an annual conference at the seaside resort of Beidaihe to discuss the downturn in the Chinese economy and Taiwan, QUAD navies have begun exercising off the coast of Sydney to foil any security challenge in the Indo-Pacific. Vice admiral Dinesh Tripathi, commanding in chief of India's Western Naval Command, Vice admiral Saito Akira, commander in chief of Japan Self Defense Fleet, Rear admiral Christopher Smith, commander Australian Fleet and vice admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US 7th Fleet attend to media as India, Japan, US, Australia will hold first Malabar naval exercise off Australia,

Led by US Virginia class nuclear attack submarine North Carolina and Arliegh-Burke class guided missile destroyer Rafael Peralta, the QUAD navies under Malabar rubric have assembled in Sydney harbor with Japanese Navys destroyer Shiranui, Indian Navys destroyer Kolkata, and Australian Navys destroyer Brisbane among other potent warships with shore-based Australian F-35 fighters, P8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft and integral helicopters. The Malabar exercises this time are tasked to counter the naval challenge in the Far-Pacific and increase the level of interoperability among QUAD forces. The exercises involving harbor and sea phase end on August 22.

While the participating US Seventh Fleet commander said that the exercises were not pointed at any country, the fact is that expanding the PLA Navy poses a serious threat not only to Taiwan but also to countries bordering the South China Sea including Japan and the Philippines. Last Saturdays incident of a Chinese Coast Guard vessel using water cannons to block a Filipino supply boat delivering food and supplies to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the South China Sea shows that China will continue to bully ASEAN nations in the region with whom it has long seething territorial conflicts. These territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the busiest shipping lanes with trillion-dollar trade, are the Asian flashpoints and a fault line in the super power rivalry between US and China in the region.

The Philippine episode also reveals that China is getting more antsy with the country going into deflation, slow pace of economic growth and US companies shifting its global supply chains to other countries. While Western allies of the US are still debating on whether to follow Joe Bidens route of not investing in Chinas artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips and quantum computing sectors, there is clearly increased hostility between US and China around PLA belligerence over Taiwan and in the Indo-Pacific.

Even though the CPC led by paramount leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss Chinas next moves on Taiwan at Beidaihe, the long dragging Ukraine war will definitely sober PLA ambitions as conquering Taiwan wont be a cakewalk for Beijing militarily and disaster diplomatically. Violating the sovereignty of Taiwan under the garb of the so-called One China policy will not only harden the position of the US-led west but also put QUAD powers and ASEAN on high alert and ready for any military emergency.

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Jack Sparrow and Abduwali Muse are essentially pirate fiction vs pirate fact. PREMIUM Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean films is a cheeky, treasure-seeking scamp. The Somali pirates in Captain Phillips are closer to the real thing: scrawny, grimy and impoverished.

This year marks two decades since Disney released its hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp. There have been four more films in the franchise so far. Sparrow is dastardly, superstitious, snarky. He often falters but always prevails; he is not to be trusted, but only in the most endearing way. His life is a rather enviable mix of drinking and carousing, swordfights and ready banter.

The real life of the pirate has generally been closer to that of Muse aka Skinny (played by Somali actor Barkhad Abdi), the chief antagonist in Captain Phillips (2013). This film, starring Tom Hanks, is based on the true story of the 2009 hijacking of an American cargo ship.

Skinny has sunken eyes and speaks haltingly. He and his crew are scrawny, grimy and impoverished. Theyre former fishermen now part of a larger criminal organisation. Using what were once their fishing boats, they surround larger vessels and, through violence or the threat of it, loot goods or hold crews for ransom.

Was there ever a Jack Sparrow version of this life? How close was reality to either extreme? How did it all begin?

Mercenaries on the high seas

What historians call the Golden Age of Piracy (the mid-17th to early-18th centuries) was marked by brisk marine trade in luxury goods. Ships carrying silk, spices and slaves were often targeted.

Where did the pirates come from? Many had been soldiers-for-hire (which, incidentally, is where we get the term freelancer), acting as supplementary naval forces for empires seeking to establish a maritime presence. Some had operated during the War of the Spanish Succession (17011714), which began as a conflict over the successor to the Spanish throne but blew up into a larger battle for power in Europe.

Originally commissioned to raid enemy ships during this unrest, they found themselves unemployed when it ended, and began to conduct raids of their own. They focused on regions with the most marine traffic: the Caribbean and West African coasts, and the Indian Ocean. Major trading powers such as England enacted new laws to crack down on this activity, and carried out public trials and executions.

Some of the legends are true

As countries began to crack down on piracy, a new brand of mercenaries took to the seas, sent on royal commissions to apprehend these criminals. Some of those turned pirates too.

Captain Kidd (William Kidd), for instance, was a Scottish privateer commissioned in 1695 to apprehend brigands in the Indian Ocean. By 1697, he had begun attacking ships himself. He was arrested in 1699, tried, and hanged in public in 1701.

Pirate crews did tend to be a closely bonded ragtag bunch of people from across seas. When slave ships were raided, the raiding crew typically gave the fittest among them a chance to join the new dispensation. Marcus Rediker, historian and author of The Slave Ship: A Human History (2007), drawn from years of research into maritime archives, court records, diaries and first-hand accounts, found that almost a third of the crew across 15 vessels he researched were black, he told NPR in an interview.

There are a few women pirates in the historical record too. Anne Bonny was believed to be the companion of Jack Rackham aka Calico Jack; they sailed and looted together in the early 1700s. Mary Read is said to have disguised herself as a man to find work as a sailor and eventually joined the vessel captained by Calico Jack.

In the South China Sea, there are records of a woman captaining a pirate ship. Ching Shih sailed the seas during the Qing Dynasty, taking the wheel after the death of her husband Zheng Yi, in 1807.

They rarely sailed in galleons

Pirates preferred small, agile ships over large ones. They typically used Spanish sloops or schooners, which were faster and easier to manoeuvre in both deep and shallow waters. They intimidated and overthrew the crew of larger ships using brute force: pirate-ship crews were typically massive and well-armed. The main vessels were typically ringed with cannons; smaller boats would be used to surround a target vessel.

The flags are real

Pirate ships did fly the Jolly Roger. The black standard with the skull and crossbones in white became a symbol of terror. Other common flags included an all-black standard and an all-red one.

They didnt chase gold or treasure

Ships carrying spices, textiles and timber were preferred, because these goods could be sold easily and at high prices. Pirates would not have had the time or resources to chase after storied treasure. When they did launch targeted expeditions, these were generally aimed at medicines, and equipment for repairs.

Records show, for instance, that in 1718, Blackbeards ship, the Queen Annes Revenge, and three small sloops, blockaded the port of Charleston in South Carolina for a week, looted ships and took crew members hostage. In ransom, he is said have demanded a chest of medical supplies.

Essential commodities have been a primary aim since the earliest recorded instances of piracy. These, incidentally, involved a rather amphibian model in which migrant tribes on the move by sea  such as the Vikings  halted at villages. Through violence or the threat of it, they then restocked their vessels with food and other essentials. Accounts of such attacks date to as recently as the Middle Ages (the period from the 8th to 11th centuries).

They did hold to a code of their own making

Captains were elected (with no institutional hierarchy in place, this lowered the risk of mutiny or unrest) and could be voted out on grounds such as cowardice or poor judgement.

A quartermaster, also elected, oversaw rations, distributed loot (generally equally between crew members) and addressed conflict, says Peter Leeson, an economist at George Mason University, in a 2007 paper titled An-arrgh-chy: The Law and Economics of Pirate Organization, published in the Journal of Political Economy.

Codes also specified how an injured crew member would be compensated, or what punishments would be meted out to crew members for crimes such as theft, desertion or smaller infractions such as violence against a shipmate.

Walking the plank is a literary myth

The reality of how pirates meted out punishment is, in fact, rather more gruesome. Sentences involved flogging with knotted whips, marooning, mutilation and keel-hauling (where a person was tied to a rope and thrown overboard, to be dragged to death or drowned).

The stories of prisoners being made to walk a narrow plank extending outwards from the ship, until they had fallen into the sea, can be traced to ones of the earliest novels about pirates written in English: Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island. The 1881 work became the template from which later works would draw their depictions. Long John Silver may seem familiar: he was opportunistic and greedy, handsome and charming, well-clad, well-fed, well-educated and rather witty.
BLACKPINK member Lisa is enjoying the summer sun, clear blue skies and crystal clear ocean during her extended holiday. She is seemingly visiting Europe, and many on the internet believe she is on a trip with her rumoured boyfriend, Frederic Arnault and his family members. Today, the rapper shared pictures of herself embracing summer holiday fashion aesthetics in a steal-worthy crochet mini dress and printed bikinis. Check out her latest post below. BLACKPINK member Lisa shares pictures in printed bikinis and crochet mini dress from her holiday. (Instagram)

BLACKPINK'S Lisa's summer holiday pics

On Friday, BLACKPINK's Lisa posted new pictures from her European summer holiday with a white heart as the caption. The post showed her basking in the balmy summer day and posing for the camera dressed in a cream-coloured crochet mini dress. She wore it over a quirky black and white printed bikini set, which she later showed off in adorable mirror selfies. She also posted pictures of herself dressed in a monochrome bikini set and taking a dip in the swimming pool. Scroll through to see all photos.

Lisa's summer holiday fashion decoded

BLACKPINK's Lisa wears a crochet mini dress over a printed bikini set. (Instagram)

The sleeveless cream-coloured crocheted dress features eyelets, a see-through knit design, a figure-hugging silhouette, and a mini hem length. Lisa wore it as a cover-up over a bikini set featuring quirky patterns in a black and red hue, noodle straps, a gathered design, and a sweetheart neckline. Matching bikini bottoms with similar prints, a mid-rise waistline, and high-leg cut-outs completed the look.

Lisa accessorised the ensemble with a sleek necklace, dainty earrings, tinted retro-style sunnies, a jute shoulder bag from Celine, and a luxury watch. Lastly, she chose centre-parted open locks, rouged glowing skin, feathered brows, and glossy nude pink-tinted lips for the glam picks.

BLACKPINK's Lisa chills in the swimming pool dressed in a bikini. (Instagram)

The last holiday look featured Lisa in a black bikini decked in a white polka dot pattern. She wore a bikini top with noodle straps, a short hem length, a fitted silhouette, and a plunging neckline. Lastly, matching bikini bottoms with high-leg cut-outs rounded it off.
Independence Day falls on August 15 annually. The day is marked with much pomp across the country as the Prime Minister hoists the flag at Delhi's Red Fort and addresses the nation. The whole country gets submerged in patriotic feelings and enthusiasm as people celebrate Independence Day by organising events, flying kites, wearing tricolour clothes, and more. Schools and colleges also celebrate the day by holding events where students give speeches, prepare dance performances, participate in fancy dress competitions inspired by freedom fighters and more. Check out speech ideas and tips to help you make an impact during the Independence Day function at school. (HT Photo)

Giving speeches is one of the most popular activities organised by schools. It generally centres around the country, the struggle for Independence, the achievements of our nation, freedom fighters, and more. If you need inspiration for your speech on Independence Day 2023, we are here to help. Check out our list of speech ideas that will help you frame n informative speech.

Independence Day 2023: Speech Ideas for Students

1) Ladies and gentlemen, students and friends,

I would like to start by wishing you all a very Happy Independence Day! Today, we are celebrating the day when our country got its Independence from the British Raj. This day holds great significance as we honour the sacrifices of our forefathers who fought for our freedom. Freedom brings responsibility. As young citizens, we need to uphold unity and work towards progress. Let's use education as a tool to shape a brighter future. On this occasion, let's pledge to contribute positively to our country's growth. Happy 77th Independence Day! Jai Hind!

2) Respected principal, dear teachers, honourable judges, and friends,

We are here to celebrate India's 77th Independence Day. Today we remember how our beloved country got its Independence from the British Raj. We honour the freedom fighters who fought bravely to make our country Independent. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Subhas Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu, and more led the fight for freedom with determination, giving us the wonderful gift of democracy.

3) Good Morning to everyone present here today,

We have gathered to celebrate India's 77th Independence Day. Today, we are reminded of the bravery and sacrifices made by our forefathers. On this historic occasion, let's remember that freedom is a precious gift that comes with responsibilities. We must uphold the values of unity, diversity, and progress that our nation stands for.

4) Respected dignitaries, esteemed teachers, dear fellow students, and fellow citizens,

Today, as we gather here to commemorate Indian Independence Day, our hearts swell with pride and gratitude for the countless brave souls who fought relentlessly to liberate our beloved motherland. Independence Day stands for the triumph of bravery, teamwork, and the tenacious spirit of the Indian people. Our fight for Independence was more than just a political movement; it was a battle for our right to self-determination, fairness, and human decency.

Independence Day Speech: Tips To Follow:

Here are some tips to follow while preparing your speech for Independence Day and delivering it at your school or college.

1) Know your audience and formulate the speech accordingly to help you deliver your words in a better way.

2) Practice the speech multiple times until you are comfortable and confident with the content and delivery.

3) Include facts to make the speech informative.

4) Make sure you have done thorough research on the topic assigned or chosen by you. It will ensure that the points you are making are accurate and relevant.

5) Talk about the freedom fighters and how they fought for our Independence.

6) Avoid making your speech lengthy as that might bore your audience.
Yoga comes with multiple health benefits. It helps in strengthening the muscles and the joints and improving blood circulation throughout the body. It also helps in boosting digestion, metabolism and the overall immunity of the body. When practised regularly, yoga helps in relaxing the body and improving balance, posture and flexibility as well. Yoga is a routine for calming the mind as well. Besides being of immense help to physical health, yoga helps in strengthening the mind and coping with daily life issues as well. It helps in creating more self-awareness and relaxation. Yoga is recommended by health and fitness experts for the vast number of benefits that it brings to physical, mental and emotional health. Alia Bhatt's trainer demonstrates Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana, lists benefits(Instagram/@anshukayoga)

ALSO READ: Want to kickstart your Yoga journey but don't know how? Check out 5 easy poses

Anshuka Parwani is known for sharing yoga and fitness-related insights on her Instagram profile on a regular basis. The yoga expert is trainer to several Bollywood celebrities including Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor. Anshuka took to her Instagram profile a day back and shared a yoga routine and spoke of the benefits of the asana as well. Anshuka, for midweek, demonstrated Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana. "Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana is a balancing pose which is a combination of half lotus pose and standing forward bend pose," read an excerpt of Anshuka's post. Take a look:

Anshuka also noted down the benefits of performing this asana - "It is a moderately intense asana that helps to open up the chest and shoulder muscles, strengthen the muscles of the lower back, hamstrings, hips and neck, stimulate the abdomen muscles and improve digestion, improve flexibility and enhance joint mobility, improve respiratory function. The key to practicing this asana is to maintain balance and focus." Performing this asana also helps in relieving stiffness in hip and knee joints, strengthening the leg muscles, improving balance and posture. Anshuka further added that people with knee, ankle and hip injuries should refrain from performing this asana.

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Caring for our elders is a societal duty that extends beyond individual efforts and as a community, it is our responsibility to recognise and solve the escalating difficulties and isolation they experience in the contemporary society. We may work to build a society that values the knowledge, experiences and contributions of the elderly by practising constant contemplation and introspection, honour the solid foundation they have built for us and guarantee a better future for future generations by fostering an inclusive atmosphere that respects their beliefs and gives them the assistance they need. Strategies to combat the impact of loneliness on the mental health of elderly (Photo by Vlad Sargu on Unsplash)

The Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI, 2020) suggests that more than one in ten elderly aged 60 and above have a probable major depression and in the states/UTs of Madhya Pradesh (17%), Uttar Pradesh (14%), Delhi (11%), Bihar (10%) and Goa (10%) while one in five elderly persons in India has mental health issues. By the year 2050, 19.5% of the Indian population will be comprised of senior citizens and there is going to be a major rise in the prevalence of mental health issues in senior citizens.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Satjyot Gill, Mental Health Expert and Founder of Wellbeing Action and Research Initiative (WARI), said, Current times have seen a rise in nuclear families. Due to this many senior citizens feel a lack of care and no one to talk to. In addition, with diseases like diabetes, arthritis, heart problems, blood pressure, pains and aches, they feel more dependent and less active and therefore longing for concern all the more. Also, in many families, the young family members are either working or college-going so the desire to be with someone is all the more in the senior citizens.

He explained, Loneliness, isolation and neglect due to the death of a spouse are major factors leading to mental health issues in senior citizens. LASI report, 2020 suggests that among the elderly with a spouse, 82% share most of their personal matters with their spouse, followed by their children or grandchildren (32%). Additionally, a nuclear family scenario with a lack of people from the same age group also contributes to mental health issues. In urban areas, senior citizens remain mostly indoors and have less socialisation and interactions, which further aggravates the problem. Moreover, awareness of mental health problems is also on the lower side and has a stigma attached to it. Availability of mental health services, accessibility and utilisation combined is also poor across the socio-economic spectrum.

He elaborated, Most of the time, family members of old people struggle with their constant complaints and lose their calm with them. Remember that mostly they are not looking for a solution to their problems and at the same time it is difficult for them to accept or cope with the ageing body. Just listening to them with patience and care makes a great deal of difference. At times conversations about certain requests or wants come as complaints, so its important to have conversations about what they actually want is necessary instead of reacting to the complaints or arguing with them. In old age, other disorders like Dementia, Parkinson and Alzheimer's may also arise which can be very dangerous for the old people but also more taxing for the care providers.

Satjyot Gill advised, As caregivers, you should try your best to keep them engaged with cognitive activities. It is also very crucial for old people to follow a schedule, this is often ignored as they retire. Having a schedule gives them direction and something to look forward to. We should also look after them to be occupationally engaged which is not just beneficial for the old people but also for the community. Often we have seen old people leading social causes which brought about social transformation. Every life to have a purpose and mission is always flourishing and thrives and so is for old people too.

He recommended, The systemic need of the hour is to have social security for elderly members of the family, especially the ones whose spouse is no more, or those who have moved from their original places of residence and lack a social circle. Self-help groups and Social Purpose organisations need to focus on creating community-level interventions for senior citizens. Moreover, the government needs to work towards the social and financial security of the senior citizens and formulate policies to tackle the problem. We also need to encourage the elderly to reach out to mental health professionals as and when required and bring awareness about mental health in regular conversations so as to remove the stigma attached to accessing mental health services for their overall well-being.

Dr Geetanjali Chopra, Founder and President at Wishes and Blessings, a Delhi based NGO, echoed that loneliness can have a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of older adults, necessitating a comprehensive approach to address this pressing issue. Encouraging to explore the detrimental effects of loneliness on the elderly population from the perspective of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), she proposed the following strategies for support to promote their mental well-being:

1. Awareness and education:

NGOs play a vital role in raising awareness about the impact of loneliness on elderly mental health. By conducting outreach programs, workshops and community events, NGOs can educate the public, healthcare providers and policymakers about the significance of this issue. Empowering individuals with knowledge and understanding helps combat the stigma associated with loneliness and promotes a culture of empathy and support.

2. Social connection initiatives:

NGOs can spearhead initiatives that foster social connection among older adults. This can include organising regular social gatherings, community events and intergenerational activities that bring together different age groups. By creating opportunities for meaningful social interactions, NGOs can mitigate loneliness and create a sense of belonging for the elderly.

3. Volunteer and companion programs:

Establishing volunteer programs where compassionate individuals can offer companionship and emotional support to lonely older adults is crucial. NGOs can recruit and train volunteers to engage in regular visits or phone calls, providing a valuable source of companionship and reducing feelings of isolation.

4. Collaborations with technology:

Embracing technology can be an effective strategy to combat loneliness among the elderly. NGOs can collaborate with tech companies to develop user-friendly applications and platforms specifically designed for older adults. These tools can facilitate virtual social connections, enable access to online communities, and provide resources for mental health support.

5. Integrated mental health services:

NGOs can advocate for the integration of mental health services within healthcare systems to address the psychological well-being of older adults. By working alongside healthcare professionals, NGOs can ensure that mental health support is easily accessible and tailored to the unique needs of the elderly population.
China lifted a ban on group tours to a slew of countries including the US, UK, Australia, South Korea and Japan, in a major test of demand for overseas travel from what was once the worlds biggest source of tourists. Travellers walk past an installation in the shape of five stars, at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China. China allows group tours to US, UK, Australia, South Korea, Japan in test for travel demand (REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo)

Group tours will start immediately on Thursday and the easing applies to all travel agencies and online platforms across the country, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement. The move sparked a rush to buy Japanese and Korean tourism stocks, with package tour operator Lotte Tour Development Co. jumping 29% in Seoul and Japan Airport Terminal Co. up as much as 12%.

The relaxation may set the stage for an acceleration in the global tourism industrys rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, which has been sluggish amid a slow rebound in flight capacity to and from China. But a full return to the pre-pandemic heyday is likely to take time  if it can be achieved at all  amid a weakening economy, a strong desire from Chinese holidaymakers to travel domestically and the enduring damage of geopolitical tensions.

There will be someone going, youll probably still have someone, but the size of overseas travel wont be as large as you saw before pre-Covid or the pre-economic slowdown, said Dongshu Liu, an assistant professor specializing in Chinese politics at the City University of Hong Kong. A lot of Chinese people will be hesitant to go to Western countries, worried that theyll face discrimination. They may also simply not have the funds.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo welcomed the decision in a statement on Thursday, calling it an important step forward to promote the type of people-to-people exchange that is crucial for our bilateral relationship.

Covid Changes

Chinas pandemic-era shift inward effectively turned off the flow of outbound travel for three years, leaving many tourism-dependent countries struggling to find alternative sources of visitors. Chinese travelers spent $277 billion overseas in 2018 and another $255 billion in 2019, accounting for almost 20% of all international tourism spending, data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization show.

Even months after the countrys dismantling of virus curbs, outbound tourism is muted. In the first half of this year, Chinese tourists made about 40.4 million trips overseas  mostly to Asia  representing 26% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the China Tourism Academy. Domestic flight capacity has reached 17% above pre-pandemic level in July, but international capacity is still about half of 2019 level, data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows.

Those constraints are likely to linger. Koji Shibata, chief executive officer of Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. said that while the easing of the group ban will give momentum to travelers visiting Japan and the carrier plans to increase the number of flights, it faces challenges due to lack of staff. As of July, it operated 62 weekly round trips to and from China, 35% of pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019, Chinese tourists accounted for about one third of Japans international visitors, spending more than $12 billion in the country  the highest among all overseas markets, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization. In the first half of this year, the number of Chinese travelers in Japan only returned to 13% of the pre-pandemic levels.

Challenges Ahead

In a further sign of the difficulty ahead, Southeast Asian countries that were already accepting group tours havent seen a rush of visitors. The number of Chinese arrivals in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines varied between 14% and 39% in May compared to the 2019 numbers, and summer tour bookings have also disappointed.

Some of the worlds top consumer brands are already ramping up their presence in China on bets the shift to spending more money at home will last. Luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is still seeing about 70% of its sales from Chinese customers happening within the country and few group tours have been seen in Europe, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said last month.

Chinas economy is also a major headwind to overseas travel. Consumer spending growth remains subdued, a prolonged property slump has dented confidence and the country slid into deflation in July, ramping up pressure on officials to stimulate domestic growth this year.

Tensions Linger

Since Chinas reopening, the country has resumed group tours to dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. But bans on places like the US, UK, Australia, South Korea and Japan have been maintained until now amid geopolitical tensions.

Still, its unclear how far the easing on group tours goes in thawing those relations. In addition to sluggish demand for Chinese to travel abroad, China is seeing a dearth of inbound travelers.

After welcoming a stream of high-profile foreign visitors in recent months, some overseas investors and business people traveling to the nation for the first time since the lifting of pandemic restrictions said the environment has grown more hostile to foreigners, Bloomberg News has previously reported.

Thats given rise to concerns among some Chinese about how theyll be treated abroad. A recent poll by Pew Research Center recorded negative views of China reaching record highs in 10 of the 24 nations where it conducted its survey.

It might be well the case that Chinese policymakers realized how detrimental isolation might be in terms of relations with the rest of the world and Chinas soft power, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis. It is surprising since this is happening at a time when exports are plummeting, so opening up to group tourism will also worsen the trade balance and reduce the contribution of external demand to Chinas growth.
In March 2017, a nine-year-old from Uttarakhand moved the court arguing that she, along with future generations, had the right to a healthy environment under the principle of intergenerational equity. PREMIUM The merits and demerits of climate cases warrant further analysis.(Representational Photo)

Her petition, filed in the National Green Tribunal of India, said that the Public Trust Doctrine, Indias commitments under the Paris Agreement, and the country's existing environmental laws and climate-related policies oblige greater action to mitigate climate change.

It argued that Ridhima Pandey "is part of a class that amongst all Indians is most vulnerable to changes in climate in India yet are not part of the decision-making process".

The government, it said, "has failed to take any effective science-based measure", and pointed to a "huge gap in implementation of environmental legislations".

While NGT dismissed the petition, saying that there is "no reason to presume that Paris Agreement and other international protocols are not reflected in the policies of the government of India or are not taken into consideration in granting environmental clearances", the Ridhima Pandey vs Union of India case set a precedent for climate litigation in the country.

According to a database of climate litigation maintained by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, 10 other such cases have reached Indian courts (three in the Supreme Court and seven in NGT) till December 2022.

The merits and demerits of these cases warrant further analysis.

But what stands out at the moment is climate litigation.

"Litigation is becoming a powerful tool for driving climate action and justice," the United Nations Environment Programme said in a tweet on July 27, along with the release of its Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review.

The number of climate change court cases globally has more than doubled since 2017, the report said.

In 2017, we reported 884 cases in 24 jurisdictions, and today in our report we say that there are over 2,180 cases in 65 jurisdictions, Andrew Raine, head of the Frontiers in Environmental Law Unit of UNEP, told UN News. There is seemingly a new case every week, he said.

The report is based on cases collected up to December 31, 2022, and identifies six categories most climate change cases fall under:

>Cases relying on human rights enshrined in international law and national constitutions;

>Challenges to domestic non-enforcement of climate-related laws and policies;

>Litigants seeking to keep fossil fuels in the ground;

>Advocates for greater climate disclosures and an end to greenwashing;

>Claims addressing corporate liability and responsibility for climate harms; and

>Claims addressing failures to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

While most cases were brought in the US, climate litigation has picked up worldwide, the report said. 17% of the cases were filed in developing countries.

These legal actions were brought in 65 bodies worldwide: In international, regional, and national courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial bodies, and other adjudicatory bodies, including special procedures of the UN and arbitration tribunals.

"There is a distressingly growing gap between the level of greenhouse gas reductions the world needs to achieve in order to meet its temperature targets, and the actions that governments are actually taking to lower emissions. This inevitably will lead more people to resort to the courts. This report will be an invaluable resource for everyone who wants to achieve the best possible outcome in judicial forums, and to understand what is and is not possible there, Michael Gerrard, Sabin Centers Faculty Director, said in a statement.

The cases range from accusations against fossil fuel companies exacerbating climate crisis by misrepresenting dangers (much like the tobacco companies in the 1990s), some that argue that government inaction in limiting global warming risks their basic human rights, and even local governments seeking damages for billions they paid in mitigation and adaptation.

The database showed that the most vulnerable  children, youth, women, senior citizens, and indigenous people  were using litigation to ensure their needs were considered as governments plan climate action.

Thirty-four cases were filed by or on behalf of children and youth, including girls as young as seven and nine years of age in Pakistan and India, respectively.

NGT's intervention in 2020 and "complete ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region" amid worsening Air Quality Index (AQI), observing that "nobody has a right to carry on business at the cost of the health of others".

A separate report by the Asian Development Bank in 2020, Climate Change, Coming Soon To a Court Near You, credited decisions from Indian courts for other Asian countries expanding constitutional rights  especially the right to life  to include a right to a clean and functioning environment.

These decisions recognised that environmental damage deprives citizens of their capacity to live fully, with a right to life, health, food and safe drinking water. And environmental harm interferes with the enjoyment of these rights, a concept known as environmental constitutionalism which emerged in the legal lexicon at the 1972 Stockholm Convention on Human Environment.

Among key cases across the world, the Sabin Center review highlighted one in Switzerland, where plaintiffs made their case based on the disproportionate impact of climate change on senior women.

Thousands of elderly Swiss women claimed that their government's "woefully inadequate" efforts in the face of rising temperatures put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. A study found that last year, heatwaves killed more than 61,000 people across Europe, most of them women over 80.

The heatwave in Europe this summer highlighted these concerns, after Switzerland's hottest year on record last year.

Other key cases included the UN Human Rights Committee concluding that the Australian government violated its human rights obligations to Torres Strait Islanders (the petitioners accused the government of failing to ensure long-term habitability of the islands); Brazil's Supreme Court holding that the Paris Agreement is a human rights treaty (meaning the government is constitutionally obliged to combat climate change); a Dutch court ordering oil and gas company Shell to comply with the Paris Agreement and reduce its carbon emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2030; and a UK court finding that the government failed to comply with its legal duties under its Climate Change Act 2008 when approving its net-zero strategy.

The crux of the cases remains the same: shed light on the worst perpetrators, give those vulnerable a window to voice concerns, and force governments and private companies to act on their commitments.

In the UNEP report, authors anticipated a rise in cases of migrants, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers forced to relocate, partly due to the impacts of the climate crisis.

Several crises in the first half of the year have forced millions out of their homes, with a wildfire forcing thousands out of their homes in Hawaii as recently as this week.

In subsidence-hit Joshimath, while experts continue to debate over the causes of the crisis, hundreds of houses were left inhabitable in January.

Meanwhile, experts fear backlash.

By this, we mean cases brought against climate activists, or cases against those who are seeking to take climate actions, said Raine.
Encounters between wild animals are often fascinatingly scary to watch and this video shared online is one such example. The clip shows a lone crocodile fighting with over 30 angry hippos and finally, escaping. The image captures a moment from a fight between a crocodile and a group of hippos. (YouTube/@Latest Sightings)

The video was originally posted on the YouTube channel of Latest Sightings a few years ago with a title that reads, 30+ hippos attack one crocodile. The channel also shared a caption where Harish Kumar, the person who captured the scene, explained the incident in his own words.

We were all just strolling around everywhere when suddenly my wife called me to tell me that something was going on there in the pool. I ran to get there and started filming immediately  there wasnt even time to get the tripod set up. Luck was absolutely on my side as I was able to stand with my camera in the right place to film, Kumar told Latest Sightings. He also added that this was an unbelievable sighting, and they couldn't believe that the reptile finally managed to escape after being thrown around and bitten by the hippos.

Also Read: Buffalo outsmarts lions in a fierce battle of life and death

Hippo attack on crocodile, reads the caption posted along with the video on Instagram. The clip shows a crocodile stuck between a group of hippos trying to catch the reptile invading their territory.

Take a look at this video of a crocodile stuck in between hippos here:

The video has accumulated more than 2.7 lakh views and counting. Additionally, it has gathered close to 7,300 likes. People posted varied comments while reacting to the video.

Here's what people are saying about this viral video of crocodile:

Wrong place at the wrong time, wrote an Instagram user. Theres always somebody out there bigger and badder than you, posted another. Hippos are mean, joined a third. What are your thoughts on this video of a crocodile fighting a group of hippos?

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A Brazilian wandering spider created such a widespread panic among shoppers and staff at an Austrian supermarket that the place had to temporarily be closed. As per reports, the tiny creature is not just highly venomous but its bite can cause erection that can last for up to four hours. The image shows a rescuer searching for a Brazilian wandering spider in a banana box. (feuerwehr-krems)

How was the spider discovered in the supermarket?

The branch manager of the supermarket first discovered the spider while opening banana boxes to put the fruits in the shelves, reports a blog published by the fire department that was called to handle the situation. The blog also explains how the manager described the crawly creature - about ten centimeters tall and black and red. Initially, the rescuers thought that they were going to catch a banana spider but it later turned out to be a Brazilian wandering spider.

The image shows a rescuercalled to catch a Brazilian wandering spider sealing a banana box. (feuerwehr-krems)

The fire department was unable to find the spider on the spot, so they sealed and collected all the boxes with the bananas. They also closed the establishment so that the management could implement "comprehensive cleaning and disinfection measures".

The supermarket was temporarily closed after a erection causing spider was spotted inside. (feuerwehr-krems)

How deadly is the spider?

The Brazilian wandering spider's bite can cause convulsions, hypothermia, and even blurred visions besides erections, reports The Sun. In fact, studies are being conducted on this creatures venom in relation to erectile dysfunction treatments.

Here's how netizens reacted

Soon the news made its way onto social media and prompted netizens to share varied reactions. New fear unlocked, wrote a Twitter user. So there is a spider in Brazil which can cause long and painful erection once it bites you, added another. Oh my!! Thats new, posted a third.

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A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russias first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earths satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft. In this photo released by Roscosmos State Space Corporation, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.(AP)

The launch from Russias Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russias first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.

The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14. The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon's vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) before heading for the surface.

Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moons south pole.

Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it wants to show Russia is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon, and ensure Russias guaranteed access to the moons surface.

Study of the moon is not the goal, said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. The goal is political competition between two superpowers  China and the USA  and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower.

Sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine make it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space program. The Luna-25 was initially meant to carry a small moon rover but that idea was abandoned to reduce the weight of the craft for improved reliability, analysts say.

Foreign electronics are lighter, domestic electronics are heavier, Egorov said. While scientists might have the task of studying lunar water, for Roscosmos the main task is simply to land on the moon  to recover lost Soviet expertise and learn how to perform this task in a new era.

The Luna-25 launched flawlessly from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, according to video feed from Roscosmos.

The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

A previous Indian attempt to land at the moons south pole in 2019 ended when the lander crashed into the moons surface.

The lunar south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe the permanently shadowed polar craters may contain water. The frozen water in the rocks could be transformed by future explorers into air and rocket fuel.

The moon is largely untouched and the whole history of the moon is written on its face, said Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Britain's Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is pristine and like nothing you get on Earth. It is its own laboratory.

The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moons environment ahead of building any base there, otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted, Bloomer said.

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US President Joe Biden on Thursday declared Hawaii wildfires a "major disaster" and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the wildfires since August 8. Biden's action makes federal funding available to impacted people in Maui County. The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

A White House statement said, "Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaii and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires beginning on August 8, 2023, and continuing."

At least 36 people have been killed in Maui County as wildfires have spread across parts of the island, officials said on Wednesday, CNN reported. The assistance announced by Biden includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to the White House statement.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private non-profit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Maui County and assistance for emergency protective measures for Hawaii County. Maona N Ngwira of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas, according to the White House statement.

The US Coast Guard said it rescued 17 survivors and assisted in recovering 40 others off the shore of Lahaina as wildfires have swept across Maui since Tuesday, CNN reported.

Captain Aja Kirksey, commander of the Honolulu sector of the US Coast Guard, said, "On Tuesday night, as the Lahaina brush fire really rapidly spread west and engulfed the downtown Lahaina area, the Coast Guard began receiving reports of people who had to flee the flames and the smoke all the way down to shore line and ultimately into the water off of Lahaina," as per the CNN report.

She further said, "Initial reports of people in the water were around a hundred." The people who have been rescued by the guard have been taken to Coast Guard Station Maui. Captain Aja Kirksey said 40 others were taken to a nearby area for further action, according to CNN report.

Captain Aja Kirksey said that helicopters were not able to make water approaches due to the extremely low visibility that they were facing. She added that boats were able to reach uninjured survivors. She further said The Coast Guard also received "some support from several good Samaritans in that area." Kirksey stated that the search-and-rescue response remains the top priority for the Coast Guard. (ANI)
A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China's state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention, including being allowed to stand in sunlight for just 10 hours each year. The Chinese-Australian journalist, Cheng Lei, who worked for China's state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention. (File)(AP)

Cheng Lei has been held for three years, and although found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, has yet to be sentenced.

Also Read | BBC journalist George Alagiah passes away at 67 due to cancer

She hasn't seen a tree since she was detained and deeply misses her daughter and son, now entering high school, Cheng said in a statement conveyed to an Australian diplomat and released to local media.

I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush, Cheng said in the statement read by her partner Nick Coyle on the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

I secretly mouth the names of places I've visited and driven through, Cheng said. It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all, I miss my children.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it would continue to support Cheng and her family and advocate for her interests and well-being.

Ms. Cheng's message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country, Wong said in a statement. All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.

Wong said Australia had consistently advocated for Cheng and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms Cheng, in accordance with international norms.

Coyle said Cheng had been allowed to write to him since last September. He said the most difficult thing for her was the toll that the long-term separation from her children was taking. He said she hoped to send a message to Australians in her statement.

It's trying to communicate with the Australian people who she is, and what she loves about her country, Coyle told the ABC. It's a country that she feels very lucky to have come to at a very young age and had the benefit of our warmth and multicultural nature, and education, and way of life. So she misses it."

Cheng, 48, moved with her family to Australia at age 10. She returned to China to work for the international department of state broadcaster CCTV. The details behind her detention and trial remain sealed. Chinese prosecutors have broad powers to level charges of spying or leaking state secrets with little or no evidence, and Cheng could face years of prison.

Chinese authorities have also been accused of holding foreign nationals, particularly those born in the country, to obtain diplomatic gains or the return of Chinese citizens abroad wanted on a variety of charges. China's relations with Australia have recently improved after China put them on freeze over Canberra's accusations of Chinese political interference and intimidation of the local Chinese community.Al

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Buckingham Palace and King Charles III announced new military appointments for nine members of the royal family including Kate and Prince William on Friday. Prince William has received the honour of being appointed as Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley  where he previously flew as a pilot. By being Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, Prince William is now a leader of his brother Prince Harry's former unit. Kate Middleton and Prince William(AP Photo)

Meanwhile, Kate Middleton has become the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Coningsby.

Following His Majestys Accession, The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working Members of the Royal Family. The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majestys reign,said Buckingham Palace.

The King, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Richard and Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester have also been bestowed with new royal roles.

Interestingly, one of Kate's grandfathers served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). So the new military appointment has an emotional meaning for her. According to Hello!, Captain Peter Middleton flew as a co-pilot with Prince Philip during an aerial tour of South America in 1962.

ALSO READ| Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: All about Italy's Colosseum where the tech icons may face off

After the latest announcement, William's father King Charles III is now Sponsor of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Tank Regiment, Captain General of the Royal Artillery, Captain General of the Honourable Artillery Company, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Marham and Air Commodore-in-Chief of RAF Regiment.

Notably, Prince William's brother, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have shunned royal duties and relocated to California in the United States.
Elon Musk has shared new details about fight against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Taking to social media platform X on Friday, Musk announced that match will be held in Italy. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk(AP)

The fight will be managed by my and Zucks foundations (not UFC).Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all, said Musk.

I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location added Musk.

However, Musk hasn't revealed the exact location of the fight which is set to take place in Italy.

With the new announcement, Musk has declined the possibility of the fight being managed by UFC. Notably, earlier, UFC President Dana White had expressed his interest in facilitating the fight between the two tech billionaires.

In an earlier tweet, Musk had revealed that all the proceeds of the fight would be donated to charity for veterans.

In recent times, Musk has been very active in sharing fresh details about the fight. His regular tweets on the matter has hyped up massive interest among netizens and fans.

ALSO READ| Prince Harry reveals country where he would happily live, it's not the United States

Also, both Musk and Zuckerberg have been preparing themselves for the fight. Some weeks ago, in an Instagram post, Zuckerberg was seen posing at a training session with two world-class UFC fighters namely Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski.

On the other hand, photos of Musk while training with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt Lex Fridman had emerged a few weeks ago. In an interaction with podcaster Joe Rogan, Musk had revealed that he had trained in taekwondo, judo, and karate when he was a kid and in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as an adult.

In the professional world of technology, Zuckerberg's newly launched social media platform "Threads" is competing against Musk's X.
Indian American doctor living has been arrested over allegations of masturbating in front of a 14-year-old girl on a flight from Hawaii to Boston last year. Dr Sudipto Mohanty, an Indian American doctor accused of masturbating on a plane to Boston

In a tweet, Official FBI Boston account tweeted about the arrest, stating he was allegedly committing lewd acts in front of a 14-year-old girl on a flight from Hawaii last year. He has been released following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.

If proven guilty he will be sentenced to 90 days in prison followed by a year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000.

An affidavit filed in the case in a Boston federal court on Thursday states, Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, aged 33 and residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, engaged in inappropriate behaviour aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight on May 27, 2022. The incident reportedly occurred during a flight from Honolulu to Boston when he allegedly exposed himself and engaged in inappropriate conduct in the presence of a young girl.

Charges against Sudipta Mohanty

The teenager alleges that approximately 5 hours into the flight, Mohanty covered himself with a blanket, pulling it up to his neck. At this point, she observed his leg bouncing up and down. Soon after, the blanket slipped, revealing that Mohanty's pants were unzipped, exposing his genitals. The girl felt "disgusted and very uncomfortable" and promptly moved to a different seat.

During the incident, Mohanty was seated next to a female companion who slept with her head resting on his shoulder. After the flight arrived in Boston, the minor informed her family about the unsettling incident, leading to the involvement of law enforcement.

When questioned, Mohanty responded with, I have no recollection of that, according to authorities' reports.

Everyone, especially children, has the absolute right to not be exposed to lewd conduct when they are traveling, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy stated in a statement following the initial court appearance.

Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dizenna of the FBI's Boston Division issued a stern statement, branding the act as "reprehensible." She emphasized that the arrest sends a clear message that the FBI takes crimes committed on aircraft seriously, encompassing a range of offences from alleged sexual misconduct in this instance to assault, interference with flight crew, and theft.

Who is Sudipta Mohanty

According to the charging documents, Mohanty is an internal medicine and primary care doctor with a practice in Boston. It is alleged that, on May 27, 2022, Mohanty was a passenger aboard a Hawaiian Airlines Flight enroute from Honolulu to Boston with a female companion. Mohanty was allegedly seated next to a 14-year-old minor travelling with her grandparents, who were seated nearby.

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Tiffany Gomas, the marketing executive responsible for the viral "that motherfr back there is not real" outburst on an American Airlines flight, has spoken out about how her life has drastically changed since the incident. Gomas, 38, who resides in a $1.6 million Dallas home, revealed, "My life has been blown up. Its frightening. Things go viral and everything changes." She emphasizes the importance of not jumping to conclusions, saying, "No one knows anyone elses story, and no one should judge." Marketing exec Tiffany Gomas, known for her viral airplane outburst, speaks on life change, seeks legal counsel.

Consulting legal help

In the midst of the media frenzy, Gomas is seeking legal counsel as she navigates the aftermath of her actions. She urges people to consider the bigger picture before making judgments about her behavior.

The infamous rant

The incident occurred on an American Airlines flight departing from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on July 2. Gomas made a scene, declaring she was leaving the plane because of the person "back there" who she claimed wasn't real. The incident caused significant delays and garnered widespread attention.

Gomas revealed that the bizarre episode stemmed from a dispute with her relatives, alleging that they had stolen her Airpods. She maintained that much of the story being reported is inaccurate but chose not to provide further details.

According to police records, Gomas made repeated attempts to reboard the plane, even after interventions by the airport's Department of Safety. While she was issued a warrant for criminal trespass, she was not formally charged or arrested.

Gomas has worked with Uppercut Marketing, LLC since 2016, and her LinkedIn profile indicates her involvement in marketing roles. In 2017, she was recognized as a "rising star" in a marketing trade publication and held the position of vice president at Elevate Brand Marketing.

Tiffany Gomas's viral outburst serves as a reminder of how quickly life can change in the age of social media. Her story underscores the importance of understanding the full context before passing judgment on others.

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Maui, the paradise island in Hawaii, has been ravaged by fast-moving wildfires that have claimed the lives of 36 people, injured several, and destroyed hundreds of buildings, some of which are cultural and historic. An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes, officials said August 9, 2023 as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport. The fires began burning early August 8, scorching thousands of acres and putting homes, businesses and 35,000 lives at risk on Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)(AFP)

One of the casualties of the inferno is Fleetwoods on Front Street, a restaurant owned by British rock legend Mick Fleetwood.

The 76-year-old co-founder of Fleetwood Mac expressed his sorrow and solidarity with the Maui community on Facebook late Wednesday.

This is a devastating moment for Maui, and many are suffering unimaginable loss, he wrote.

Fleetwoods on Front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken, our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members.

The restaurant was located in Lahaina, a historic town with a population of about 12,000 that has borne the brunt of the fire damage.

Lahaina has been Fleetwoods home for decades.

ALSO READ| Wildfire ravages Lahaina, Maui: before and after photos show the devastation

Some residents of the town have resorted to jumping into the water to escape the flames, while others have described the scene as an apocalypse.

Maui has long attracted rock stars, Hollywood stars, and business moguls with its stunning scenery and laid-back lifestyle. Among them are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actor Clint Eastwood, rocker Steven Tyler, and former President Barack Obama.

Bezos, 59, bought a 14-acre estate near Le Perouse Bay for $78 million in 2021. The estate is surrounded by thousands of acres of dormant lava fields in the southwest of the island, which seems to be less affected by the fires than other areas. Three fires were still burning as of Thursday.

Winfrey, 69, has been living part-time in Maui for more than 15 years. She owns various properties on the island, including 870 acres of land in Kula that she purchased for $6.6 million in February.

Kula is an area in central Maui, between the South Maui and Upcountry wildfires.

Fire officials told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that at least two homes had been destroyed in Kula and some 80 people had been evacuated from 40 homes.

Winfrey also owns 1,200 acres elsewhere on the island, including in Hana and near Mount Haleakala. Both areas are relatively far from the fires. Winfreys farmhouse getaway on the slopes of Mount Haleakala, a 10,000-foot volcanic peak, features a wraparound porch that reminds her of her rural upbringing.

I love, love, love my house, Winfrey told Oprah.com in 2006.

Its a gem, so sweet and exquisite. Such a real, normal house. It feels like a nice blanket  A lovely and soft cashmere one.

Eastwood, 93, is another longtime Maui resident. He has reportedly lived on the island part-time since the late 1970s in Kapalua, a stretch along the northwest coast less than 10 miles from Lahaina.

Tyler, 75, is said to have a waterfront mansion on a nature preserve in Wailea that he bought for $4.8 million in 2012. Wailea is partly close to the South Maui fire, but some resorts in the southwest Maui hotspot  including the Four Seasons Wailea, where The White Lotus was filmed  are still open for business.

Other famous Maui residents reportedly include actors Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson.

Van Halens Sammy Hagar also has a bar and restaurant in Kahului, near Mauis main airport, which remains operational as tourists and residents flee the island.

ALSO READ| Apocalyptic images and video of Hawaii's Lahaina town destroyed by fire, go viral

Obama, who was born in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, said he was saddened by the widespread devastation in Maui.

Its tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii  a place thats so special to so many of us, Obama wrote on social media Wednesday. Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one or whose life has been turned upside down.
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden may be headed for a criminal trial, U.S. Special Counsel David Weiss said shortly after promotion into that role on Friday, in a sign that courtroom drama could play an outsized role in the 2024 presidential election. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance.(AP file)

A potential trial raises the possibility of an unprecedented spectacle in U.S. history: The son of a sitting president facing criminal charges while his father campaigns for re-election, likely against Republican Donald Trump, who faces at least three upcoming criminal trials of his own.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are also threatening an impeachment inquiry into unproven claims that President Biden benefited from his 54-year-old son's business ventures.

Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019, filed misdemeanor criminal tax and gun charges in June, but a federal judge refused to accept a proposed plea deal.

Weiss said in a court filing on Friday that talks between the two sides have since broken down. "The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial," he wrote.

The filing came moments after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel status, giving him additional authority and independence to pursue the investigation.

Hunter Biden in July pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to pay taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018 despite owing more than $100,000. He did not enter a plea in a separate case where he is charged with unlawfully owning a firearm while using illegal drugs, which is a felony.

TRUMP APPOINTEE

Weiss was originally appointed to his position as U.S. Attorney for Delaware by Trump and was allowed to stay on during the Biden administration.

As a special counsel, Weiss will be free from day-to-day supervision from the Justice Department and file charges anywhere in the United States. Garland can overrule his proposed actions but must notify Congress if he does so.

Weiss said he might bring different charges against Hunter Biden in Washington or California, where the alleged criminal conduct took place.

A lawyer for Hunter Biden said he expected Weiss not to bend to political pressures.

"Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and well do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that, lawyer Chris Clark said in a statement.

Weiss will produce a report when his work is done, Garland said, and the Justice Department will make as much of it public as is possible.

"The appointment of Mr. Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland told a press conference.

Republicans have accused the elder Biden of profiting from his son's business ventures in Ukraine and China, though they have yet to produce any evidence of wrongdoing. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in July that the chamber might launch an impeachment inquiry in the autumn.

The White House declined to comment. Biden officials have previously dismissed Republican allegations as "insane conspiracy theories" and has said that Biden did not participate in his son's business affairs.

Hunter Biden has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, consultant and investment banker and has said he has struggled with alcoholism and crack cocaine use.

Republicans said Weiss lacked credibility to continue the investigation. "If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" McCarthy said.

Weiss is the third special counsel appointed by Garland to investigate politically sensitive matters.

One of those, Jack Smith, has filed criminal charges against Trump in two separate cases, while another, Robert Hur, is probing whether Biden mishandled classified documents after he left office as vice president.

In previous administrations, special counsels have investigated the outing of a CIA agent and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Hunter Biden has been a focus of several Republican congressional committees.

One former associate told the House Oversight Committee that Hunter gave an impression that he emphasized his family ties while he was doing business in Ukraine nearly a decade ago, while his father was vice president. That witness, Devon Archer, said Hunter spoke with his father daily but said the conversations did not involve business dealings.

Trump also has frequently mentioned the younger Biden in an attempt to tar his father as the two gear up for a possible rematch in the 2024 presidential election. His spokesperson Stephen Cheung said Weiss should "quickly conclude" that Biden and his son "should face the required consequences."

A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found half of Americans, including 75% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats, believed the younger Biden received preferential treatment from Weiss. But most said that would not affect their vote next year.
Former President Donald Trump's potential bid for the 2024 presidency faces a new hurdle as legal scholars William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen argue his eligibility could be limited by the Constitution. Baude and Paulsen, from the University of Chicago and the University of St. Thomas respectively, contend that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election could classify as "insurrection," rendering him ineligible under the 14th Amendment unless granted approval by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets the crowd during a campaign rally in Windham, New Hampshire, U.S., August 8, 2023.(REUTERS)

Insurrection claim challenges Trump's candidacy

In their extensive 126-page report, Baude and Paulsen assert that the 14th Amendment "disqualified former President Donald Trump, and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election." This Amendment, ratified shortly after the Civil War, prohibits individuals who have previously sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution from holding office if they engage in "insurrection or rebellion."

Trump's controversial stance and legal battles

Former President Trump, who claims the 2020 election was rigged against him, remains a prominent figure in American politics despite numerous legal dismissals of his allegations. While he currently leads the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, his potential candidacy might be subject to judicial scrutiny.

The path forward: Legal battle looms

Baude and Paulsen contend that Trump's eligibility might become a matter for the courts, stating that if state officials exclude him from the ballot, he could challenge their decision in court. Alternatively, voters could potentially challenge his eligibility in some states. Given the weight of the issue, they suggest that the case could swiftly reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Unprecedented implications of the 14th Amendment

The scholars assert that Section Three of the 14th Amendment carries significant legal implications often overlooked. They argue that it is "self-executing," meaning that officials at both the state and federal levels have the authority to enforce its provisions independently.

Conservative scholars weigh in

Both Baude and Paulsen are members of the conservative-leaning Federalist Society, known for advocating individual liberty, traditional values, and adherence to the rule of law within the legal system. As Trump's potential campaign gains momentum, the constitutional debate surrounding his eligibility promises to add a new layer of complexity to an already intense political landscape.
Maui, a paradise known for its stunning landscapes, has been plunged into turmoil as deadly wildfires engulfed the city of Lahaina, leaving behind a trail of destruction, displacement, and heartache. Among those voicing their anguish and heartbreak is the native Hawai'ian and Hollywood star, Jason Momoa. A view of flames as wildfires engulfed the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023. Erin Hawk/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.(via REUTERS)

Jason Momoa advocates for aid

Jason Momoa, a native of Hawai'i, has taken to social media to share his sorrow and rally support. He shared links for those eager to extend a helping hand and provides real-time updates on the unfolding tragedy. Momoa emphasizes, "We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and 'ohana on Maui who have been impacted by the recent wildfires." His call is to stand united in the face of adversity.

The fires, a consequence of drought conditions and hurricane weather, have wreaked havoc across Maui since August 8, 2023. The devastation is huge, with at least 55 lives lost, over 1,300 people displaced, and nearly 11,000 without power. More than a thousand structures have been reduced to ashes. President Biden's declaration of the area as a major disaster zone brings federal funding into play.

Unprecedented speed and devastation

The speed of the fires left authorities with no time to activate emergency sirens, plunging residents into chaos as they grappled with a rapidly advancing wildfire. The crisis has now surpassed the state's deadliest disaster since a 1960 tsunami. Governor Josh Green solemnly admits that the death toll may rise as search and rescue operations persist.

Hollywood joins the cause

As the island copes with tragedy, Hollywood's stars are using their influence to drive relief efforts. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Hu, and "Weird Al" Yankovic are lending their voices to support Maui's residents. Oprah's on-ground presence and promises of aid showcase the depth of compassion during this crisis.

Rallying behind the community

The community's spirit remains unwavering, with Maui residents joining forces to aid those in dire need. Mick Fleetwood, who saw his own establishment, Fleetwood's on Front St., razed to the ground, emphasizes the unity in Lahaina. "While we are heartbroken, our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members," he says, illustrating the unwavering resilience of Maui's residents.

Facing the aftermath

As Maui battles to rebuild and heal, the outpouring of support from within and beyond its shores is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Through celebrities' advocacy and communities coming together, hope shines amid the ashes.
As wildfires rage across Maui, the island's celebrity homeowners are feeling the heat, both literally and figuratively. From media moguls to tech titans, here's a glimpse into the high-profile residents who call this paradise home. TOPSHOT - An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes, officials said August 9, 2023 as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport. The fires began burning early August 8, scorching thousands of acres and putting homes, businesses and 35,000 lives at risk on Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. (AFP)

1. Oprah Winfrey: A haven in Kula

Oprah Winfrey, a part-time Maui resident for over 15 years, owns extensive properties on the island. Her 1,000-acre portfolio includes a farmhouse in Kula, southeast of Lahaina. While wildfires threaten the area, she also possesses acreage near Mount Haleakala and Hana, which are relatively far from the fires' reach.

2. Peter Thiel's Makena mansion

In 2011, PayPal's founder Peter Thiel splurged $27 million on a lavish home in Makena, southwest Maui. While the fires approach South Maui, Makena is roughly 10 miles away, raising concerns about the safety of his luxurious abode.

3. Jeff Bezos: La Perouse Bay estate

Amazon's magnate Jeff Bezos secured a 14-acre estate in La Perouse Bay last year for a whopping $78 million. Despite the fires burning less than 20 miles away in South Maui, Bezos's partner, Lauren Sanchez, expressed their heartbreak over the crisis and announced their intent to donate to relief efforts.

4. Mick Fleetwood's loss

Legendary Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, a long-time Lahaina resident, faced the destruction of his restaurant in the beloved historic hamlet. The drummer's restaurant, "Fleetwoods on Front Street," fell victim to the flames.

5. Clint Eastwood's Kapalua getaway

Veteran actor Clint Eastwood has been enjoying his part-time residence in Kapalua, northwest Maui, since the late 1970s. The stunning ocean views and sunshine-rich environment provide a serene escape, although fires remain a cause of concern.

6. Steven Tyler's waterfront mansion

A nature preserve in Wailea houses a 3,000-square-foot mansion owned by rockstar Steven Tyler, which he purchased for $4.8 million in 2012. While Wailea has a degree of proximity to the South Maui fires, some of the region's resorts remain operational.

7. Tech titans and celebrities unite

Maui's allure extends to tech executives and Hollywood A-listers. Celebrities like Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson have all found solace on the island. Additionally, Larry Ellison, Oracle's executive, acquired 98 percent of Lanai, an island within Maui County.

Former President Barack Obama, born in Honolulu, expressed his empathy for the widespread devastation. He conveyed his thoughts for those affected and touched by the crisis and shared his sadness over the distressing images coming from the island.

As the wildfires continue to wreak havoc on Maui, the lives and properties of these high-profile residents have been thrust into the spotlight. While their luxurious homes and picturesque views are the epitome of the American dream, the fire crisis reminds us that nature's fury can touch anyone.

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A Nepali lawmaker was arrested on Thursday on charges of forging educational certificates. Nepali Congress MP Sunil Kumar Sharma allegedly bought a higher secondary academic degree from Bihar and used it to pursue higher studies in China. Nepali Congress lawmaker arrested on charges of forging educational certificates.

A team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested Sunil Sharma, a member of the House of Representatives from Nepals ruling party, from Kathmandu, reported PTI quoting police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat.

Sharma, elected to the House of Representatives from Morang-3, is considered close to the Shekhar Koirala camp in the Nepali Congress and his arrest has created ripples in the ruling coalition.

The arrest of Sharma, who owns a few medical colleges and private colleges, comes days after he demanded the resignation of home minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and finance minister Prakash Sharan Mahat over the alleged smuggling of 100 kg of gold, which was seized in a raid last month.

Eighteen people, including an Indian and a Chinese national, were arrested in relation to the smuggling of nearly 100 kg of gold that passed out of Tribhuvan International Airport's customs without being detected on the night of July 18.

Laying out a series of examples of immediate resignation from posts surrounding the controversy and scandals from Nepal and the world context, Sharma suggested that both ministers resign.

Current finance minister and the home minister in this investigation should have been able to confirm that weve caught the main culprit behind the smuggle or give a deadline to find them. Otherwise, in order to further facilitate the investigation should step down from their post until and unless the main person behind the smuggling is caught, Sharma said.

Mahat rejected the demand saying Sharma was angry with the government for turning down the insurance cover request to patients getting treatment in his private hospital, reported Indian Express.

(With inputs from agencies)

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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
The online community is feeling relieved after learning that 14-year-old influencer Lil Tay is not dead, as an Instagram post claimed on Wednesday. Lil Tay(Twitter)

Many social media users are also furious over what they suspect is a publicity stunt by the teen and her family.

Ay f**k Lil TayWTF, tweeted a X user, partly, on Thursday.

The tweet came shortly after Tay, from Vancouver, Canada, quoted to TMZ that she and her brother are safe and alive.

The Gen Zer said that her verified Instagram account was hacked by a 3rd party, who falsely announced the death of her and her brother.

Several outlets contacted the man who said he was her father, as well as the authorities in Vancouver. None of them could confirm or deny Tays death on Wednesday.

ALSO READ| Is Lil Tay alive or dead? Father and manager decline to confirm her death

Vic Sapphire, a lawyer representing Tay, also did not comment on her death on Thursday.

In her statement to TMZ, she wrote, I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but Im completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. Its been a very traumatizing 24 hours.

While some of her online fans are happy that Tay is alive, tweeting thank goodness and happy shes OK online skeptics are doubting the girl, accusing her of using her death announcement as a desperate attempt to get attention.

Lil Tays family claiming her and her brother had died and then blaming it on their Instagram being hacked. Got publicity stunt written all over it, wrote a cynical X user.

Anytime it takes over 15 minutes to identify youve been hacked its a stunt, another added.

Lil Tay faking her death for clout is such a Lil Tay thing, tweeted another one.

The way that statement was worded and then the way it took a whole 24 hours to denounce is still very weird, said another critic.

The online influencer, known for her bold videos about wealth, and her family received a similarly cold response on Instagram where her followers increased from 3.3 million to 3.5 million overnight.

Tays death announcement has been removed from her page.

ALSO READ| Big Update: Lil Tay is alive, report quotes her as saying My Instagram account was compromised

I think everyone should start unfollowing this page. Its not hackedher family is running it, an Instagramer commented on Tays latest verified post, a 2018 screenshot of her FaceTime call with the late rapper XXXTentacion.

Trifling family, another angry follower said.

As of Thursday, Tay has not made any appearance in public since denying her death to TMZ.

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While separatist elements have blamed New Delhi for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in Canadas Surrey city in British Columbia, a close confidant of the Khalistani figure has said that Canadian law enforcement agencies did not mention India while briefing him on the potential threat to his life. Self-styled Khalistan ideologue Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in Canadas Surrey. (File photo)

India was not named as the source of the threat during agencies interaction with Nijjar, a proponent of Khalistan, who was very close to Nijjar, told the Hindustan Times, but asked not to be named.

Nijjar was briefed by both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP on multiple occasions this year, the source said, during the course of a telephone conversation and follow-up email exchange.

Nijjar had been advised to relocate and to change his routine so that he could not be easily targeted. Nijjar had communicated these details to the source.

However, Nijjar himself and pro-Khalistan groups surmised the threat was from India. Nijjar, the secessionist outfit Sikhs for Justices chief in British Columbia, was alleged to be the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force by Indian law enforcement and faced several terror-related charges.

Indias National Investigation Agency or NIA had announced an award of 10 lakh in July last year for information leading to his capture. However, none of the charges against him were tested in Canadian courts and SFJ has maintained it does not use violence.

Responding to queries over the new information that India was not identified as the source the threat to Nijjar, SFJs general counsel Gurpatwant Pannun said he was not privy to the conversations between Nijjar and the Canadian agencies or if they mentioned Indias role in death threats to Nijjar.

However, he stood by the assertion that India was responsible for Nijjars assassination.

The evidence leads to (an) Indian agency hiring a hitman to assassinate Nijjar including but not limited to NIA declaring reward to know the location and whereabouts of Nijjar and Indian TV Channels, without any convictions, calling Nijjar the most wanted terrorist, he added.

In fact, since Nijjars murder, pro-Khalistan groups have been running a poster campaign targeting Indias senior-most diplomats in Canada, including its High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma.

That started with the Kill India posters that first appeared in July, to their latest version with the word Wanted under the photographs of the High Commissioner and Consul Generals in Toronto and Vancouver. In fact, during a religious parade organised by the gurdwara Nijjar headed, Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, on Sunday, several participants were seen carrying the Wanted posters as slogans accusing India of killing Nijjar were raised. A music video tribute to Nijjar as also released on that day. It uses archival footage of Nijjar speaking, including him saying, If they raze one of our pillars, we will raze four of theirs. The appearance of the posters at the parade has already been flagged by India to Ottawa.

SFJ has maintained the posters do not signify a violent threat, but that the diplomats represent India in Canada and are the faces of those behind Nijjars murder.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or Investigation Team or IHIT, which is probing Nijjars killing, has not ascribed any motive while it seeks the murderers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anirudh Bhattacharyya Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb. ...view detail
A video capturing the arrest of a Black teenager while he was taking out the trash has ignited a wave of criticism against law enforcement on social media platforms. The incident, posted on TikTok by user @careyann327, has garnered thousands of views and comments, shedding light on the ongoing demand for higher police standards. WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: A man holds up a sign of Black Lives Matter Plaza during a Juneteenth celebration event at Black Lives Matter Plaza on June 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. Washingtonians celebrate the newest federal holiday that marks the day on June 19, 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud by Army General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas to formally notify previously enslaved people of their freedom. (Getty Images via AFP)

Wrongful arrest caught on camera

The viral video, lasting around four and a half minutes, unfolds with two narrators expressing their disbelief. The footage shows the teenager being apprehended by a Lansing, Michigan police officer right in front of his home while carrying out a mundane task. As tension escalates, the teen's father engages in a heated argument with the officers. More police personnel arrive at the scene, eventually leading the teenager away in handcuffs to a police vehicle. The situation is tense, with the police suggesting that the teen "fit the description."

Rekindling calls for police reform

This incident adds to the mounting criticism of policing in America, especially concerning interactions with Black individuals. The tragic deaths of Black people in police custody, such as George Floyd in 2020, have ignited nationwide protests and a push for substantial reform. The fallout from such events led Congress to explore potential changes to policing practices, while several major cities contemplated redirecting funds from police departments to other community services.

Father's heartfelt plea and social media outcry

The video captures the teenager's father passionately advocating for his son's innocence, referring to him as the "perfect kid." He confronts the officers, challenging their actions and claiming that they often use vague justifications. As the video progresses, the teenager's handcuffs are removed, and he is seen in tears as he reunites with his father.

Social media users expressed outrage and empathy, urging the family to pursue legal action against the police department. Many commented on the excessive number of officers involved in the incident, questioning the need for such a response.

Also Read | US man held for shooting, injuring Black teen for ringing wrong doorbell

The incident has sparked discussions about the potentially traumatic consequences for the teenager and his perception of the world around him. Users echoed calls for justice, suggesting that a lawsuit could hold the police accountable for their actions.

As the video continues to circulate and attract attention, it underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to reform policing practices, enhance accountability, and ensure that incidents like this do not go unnoticed.
Rescue and clean-up crews are now pouring into the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, which has been leveled to ash and rubble in what the governor describes as the states largest-ever natural disaster. Wildfire wreckage is shown Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)(AP)

Fast-moving wildfires killed at least 55, and the police chief said its likely 1,000 people remain unaccounted for. Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that the death toll is probably going to keep rising as search crews dig through the damage that he characterized as looking like a bomb scene. Accuweather Inc. put the preliminary estimate of damage from the fires at $8 billion to $10 billion.

The blaze was 80% contained as of Thursday, but aerial surveys found more than 270 buildings burned in the seaside resort, once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Thousands of residents and tourists fled an area left without electricity, phone service or the internet.

Photos and videos posted to social media this week depicted apocalyptic scenes. The flames  fanned by strong winds from a hurricane far off the coast  barreled through the town so quickly that residents had little time to flee, and some even jumped into the ocean waters to escape. The Coast Guard said it rescued more than a dozen people from the waters off Lahaina on the West Maui coast.

The old Lahaina, including its Front Street tourist destination once packed with waterfront restaurants and shops, has been destroyed, Green said. Virtually every building in Lahaina, he said, would need to be replaced, taking many years and billions of dollars. Initial damage estimates in all likelihood will climb as the fullest extent of the wreckage becomes known.

Also Read: Role of language in turning down the temperature of heated climate change discourse

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is assisting with search and rescue efforts in Lahaina, Anne Bink, associate administrator of response and recovery, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

The agency has a stockpile of water and ready-to-eat meals on hand, and will arrange short-term shelter for people whose homes have been lost or damaged, in addition to assisting with the eventual rebuilding process, Bink said.

The type of grass fire that hit Lahaina spreads extremely quickly, according to climate and wildfire expert Mojtaba Sadegh, an associate professor of civil engineering at Boise State University. The blaze was spread by winds from a high-pressure zone to the north that swept downwards toward Hurricane Dora, a low-pressure zone off to the south.

While such complexities make it harder for scientists to define the role global warming may have had in exacerbating the disaster, climate change is extending the length of fire season and increasing areas burned in many parts of the world. A recent study Sadegh co-authored found that between 2000 and 2019, the number of people in the US exposed to wildfire risk doubled.

Greens administration was reaching out to nearby hotels emptied of vacationers to secure 2,000 rooms for the displaced. But he also asked island residents whose homes remained intact to take in people needing shelter.

All of us have a loved one here on Maui that lost a home, that lost a friend, Green said.

The fire was one of several that erupted this week on Maui, the second-largest of the Hawaiian islands.

While it is unknown what sparked the flames, they drew their destructive power from some of the same conditions that have fueled devastating blazes this year from Canada to Greece: vegetation sucked dry by drought and strong winds. Some 36% of Maui County is in moderate to severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

This is not too surprising  its just surprising that it happened on Maui, said Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University in California. The speed of the Lahaina fire, which appears to have started on the eastern edge of town and was rapidly blown westward to the sea, likely led to the high death toll, he said.

Buses scooped up tourists Thursday from the resorts that line the shore north of Lahaina and ferried them directly to the islands Kahului Airport, where more than 1,400 people spent the night awaiting morning flights. Another 1,300 people slept in shelters, according to the county.

Biden announces aid

President Joe Biden on Thursday declared a major disaster in Hawaii, freeing up federal funds to aid recovery. Anyone who has lost a loved one or whose home has been damaged or destroyed is going to get help immediately, he said at an event in Salt Lake City.

Crews are working to clear roads and other areas of trees and debris. Emergency responders continued combing the wreckage for survivors or the deceased. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen warned evacuees not to try to return while that work continued, and said the county would do everything possible to identify those killed in the fire, to bring their families closure.

Wildfires used to be rare in Hawaii, but they started becoming more frequent in the 1990s as many of the old agricultural plantations and ranches closed, said Clay Trauernicht, a wildfire management specialist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Invasive, non-native grasses took over fallow land and have provided new fuel for blazes.

Some communities are trying to reforest these grass lands, using tree shade to control the grasses, or return them to agriculture, but not at the scale needed, he said.

Weve just primed ourselves for a disaster like this, Trauernicht said.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified the EG.5 coronavirus strain circulating in the United States and China as a "variant of interest" but said it did not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other variants. WHO issued a set of standing recommendations for COVID.(Representative image)

Also Read: New Covid variant Eris detected in Maharashtra; should India be worried? What experts say

The fast-spreading variant, the most prevalent in the United States with an estimated more than 17% of cases, has been behind upticks in the virus across the country and also has been detected in China, South Korea, Japan and Canada, among other countries.

"Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation.

A more comprehensive evaluation of the risk posed by EG.5 was needed, it added.

COVID-19 has killed more than 6.9 million people globally, with more than 768 million confirmed cases since the virus emerged. WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic in March 2020 and ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 in May this year.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said EG.5 had an increased transmissibility but was not more severe than other Omicron variants.

"We don't detect a change in severity of EG.5 compared to other sublineages of Omicron that have been in circulation since late 2021," she said.

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus deplored that many countries were not reporting COVID-19 data to WHO.

He said that only 11% had reported hospitalizations and ICU admissions related to the virus.

In response, WHO issued a set of standing recommendations for COVID, in which it urged countries to continue reporting COVID data, particularly mortality data, morbidity data, and to continue to offer vaccination.

Also Read: Omicron variant Eris sparks concerns, puts UK on Covid alert

Van Kerkhove said that the absence of data from many countries was hindering efforts to fight the virus.

"About a year ago, we were in a much better situation to either anticipate or act or be more agile," she said. And now the delay in our ability to do that is growing. And our ability to do this is declining.

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Andaz Turks & Caicos closed the final phase of financing and will immediately begin construction, marking an important milestone for the highly-anticipated resort and residential property that is poised to bring a fresh, modern luxury offering to the island and famed Grace Bay Beach.

Lead lender Alpha Technologies Inc. marks the final phase of financing on the project led by Vista Development Inc. This milestone shifts the initiative to "shovel-ready", with construction and deployment of the general contractor, BYD TCI Construction, slated to start immediately. "We are truly excited to have our contractor mobilized and to now see Andaz Turks & Caicos coming out of the ground", said Vista Development Construction Manager, Steve McConaghy.

An investor group, led by John Zammit, also joins the project. Mr. Zammit, a longtime Turks & Caicos resident and experienced real estate developer, also joins the board of directors, and rounds out the management team with developers Matt McDonald and Jon Siegel.

Andaz Turks & Caicos will debut as the island's second luxury branded resort, and the first for the Hyatt Hotels portfolio. The project continues to see strong interest since launching sales, surpassing $22 million to-date, and will begin welcoming owners and guests in late 2025.

Stretching more than 5.5 acres, Andaz Turks & Caicos is situated on the celebrated western end of Grace Bay Beach. Real estate here is limited and highly prized, and the development's notable presence next to Smith's Reef brings an authentic, intimate feeling of being quite unlike anywhere else in the world.

A popular destination for travelers and attractive investment opportunity for vacation homeowners, Turks & Caicos is serviced by 20 domestic and international flights, making the remote island paradise easily accessible.

Hotel website
S Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Singha Estate Public Company Limited, is a new era Thai-inspired personalized hospitality brand that caters to upscale travelers with an independent spirit. The group offers guests a portfolio of 39 properties in 5 countries with a total of 4,647 keys and provides guests with the opportunity to experience the best destinations from a unique perspective while enjoying world class facilities and tailored services. S Hotels & Resorts properties are located in attractive, unspoiled locales to provide an exclusive playground built around nature, culture, wellness and adventure, with a generous helping of creature comforts and fine cuisine. Each property boasts its own distinctive, destination sensitive designs and unique signatures while also providing consistency thanks to a well-defined brand philosophy and a service culture that focuses on exceptional guest experiences backed up by Thai-inspired hospitality and global quality standards.
Guestroom at the Conrad Riyadh Laysen Valley Hotel

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has announced the signing of an agreement with Mashareq Investment to open Conrad Riyadh Laysen Valley at the beginning of 2025. The Conrad Hotels & Resorts property will be the second for the brand in Saudi Arabia, joining Conrad Makkah.

Conrad Riyadh Laysen Valley will mark the brands entry into the heart of Riyadh, bringing bold design and world-class guest experiences to the Saudi capital. The 170-key hotel will feature an indoor pool, fitness centre, boutique spa, seven meeting rooms spanning over 500 square metres, and multiple dining outlets, providing guests with ample opportunity to explore its recreational and culinary facilities.

Conrad Riyadh Laysen Valley will be located in one of Riyadhs most prominent high-end, mixed-use real estate projects, Laysen Valley. Located opposite to the citys Diplomatic Quarter (DQ) and near the Kingdoms royal court and corporate business hubs, the hotel will serve as a convenient meeting point for both residents and international business travellers.

Spanning five continents with more than 40 properties, Conrad Hotels & Resorts creates a seamless connection between bold design, impactful experiences and curated contemporary art to inspire the conscientious luxury traveller. True to its founding vision, each Conrad hotel is renowned for its purposeful service, as well as a distinctive ability to authentically connect globally-minded travellers with local cultures.

Commenting on the signing, Carlos Khneisser, vice president, development, Middle East & Africa, Hilton, said, Laysen Valley is undeniably one of the most well-conceived mixed-use luxury developments in Saudi Arabia, making it perfectly aligned to the Conrad brand. At Hilton we are extremely excited at the prospect of operating this world-class luxury hotel at the heart of the citys government and ministerial hub and within exceptional surroundings.

Commenting on the announcement, Eng. Abdulaziz AlZamil, chief executive officer, Mashareq Investment, said, Originally announced as part of Hiltons Curio Collection, this hotel will open under the Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand, aligning with a new vision for Laysen Valley. We are delighted to be partnering with Hilton to bring Conrad Riyadh Laysen Valley to the heart of Riyadh and look forward to creating a luxury hub to cater for the growing number of travellers to the Saudi capital.

With plans to more than quadruple its presence in Saudi Arabia over the next few years, Hilton is leveraging key real estate developments, including business and leisure travel destinations, to underpin the expansion of its domestic portfolio.

Hilton currently operates 16 hotels in Saudi Arabia with plans to open over 50 new hotels across 10 of its brands, making the country the companys largest pipeline market in the EMEA region. Projects include the introduction of new brands such as LXR Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, and Hampton by Hilton. The company plans to grow its portfolio to more than 75 properties in Saudi Arabia over the coming years.
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Clarksburg Officials Still Hope for Emergency Funds for Road Repairs

Congressman Richie Neal toured the damage on West Road last month. Officials are pegging the repairs at nearly $900,000.

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  Town officials don't know how they will address the $1.9 million in damaged roads caused by the July 10 rainstorm.

The flooding at Town Hall has been estimated at $51,000 but Town Administrator Carl McKinney told the Select Board on Wednesday that this will be covered by insurance.

A new wood-look vinyl floor has been ordered to replace the carpeting that had been on the ground floor, he said, with input from staff and work on installing new wallboard will start the week after next.

"We're anticipating that within a month we'll be made whole again," McKinney said. "Thanks to the residents and users for their patience ... we've had to move everybody but [Town Clerk] Marilyn [Gomeau] upstairs and the response has been good."

He told the board that "we're going to do our best to armor the Town Hall against water penetration."

The town has not received any response from the state or federal emergency management agencies regarding road damage. McKinney noted the state had set up a $20 million fund for affected farmers but no disaster declarations have yet been made for communities.

"So we could be next?" asked Select Board member Jeffrey Levanos. "You are the optimist," responded McKinney.

"It causes me great concern ... just understanding the finances of the town, I think we have a $1,000 in stabilization," he said. The estimated damage is as much as the town's annual operations budget.

McKinney said there are only two options -- aid from the government or borrowing their way out. Town is already at its levy limit so it would need a debt exclusion or override.

The town administrator said he'd made out an emergency deficit spending request but had hesitated to submit because he wasn't sure of the number. The Department of Revenue had recommended he put the full amount of $1.9 million, which the town isn't obligated to spend.

"We have to wait and they may not come through with anything," he said.

A major concern is the landslide on West Road and whether a plow will be able to make it through there this winter -- especially if it continues to deteriorate. Chair Robert Norcross noted it's a single-point access road for some town residents as well as for a section of Stamford, Vt.

The estimate to repair the landslide is $840,000, but that number may not hold based on bids to replace a culvert near 822 Middle Road that came in nearly double the estimate of $87,960.

The town opened six bids on Wednesday with the highest at $296,845 from Northern Construction Service and the lowest from Virgilio Construction at $128,550. The other bids were Western Earthworks LLC at $173,525, J.H. Maxymillian at $163,385, Rifenburg Construction at $143,240 and Clayton Davenport Trucking at $137,800.

The bids will be reviewed by the town's engineer, Foresight Services, before the contract is awarded.

In other business:

 The board appointed John Fosser to the Briggsville Water District Board of Commissioners on the recommendation of the commissioners. McKinney, a member of the Briggsville board, said the district at its annual meeting had voted to have the Select Board make appointments because of the difficulty in running elections. Fosser replaces a member who moved out of the area.

 The board hired a new assessor, Emily Schilling, who will start next week. The town has been without an assessor for some time and McKinney said he was "beyond delighted" since he would have had to step into the role as the town begins its revaluation process.

Schilling is an assistant assessor for the city of Pittsfield and was recommended by DOR.

 An engineering grant application has been submitted for Americans With Disabilities Act improvements to the town field; work on the lift at Clarksburg School is awaiting approval from the Architectural Access Board and is not likely to be completed before the school year begins; bids for the Middle Road MassWorks project are expected to go out the end of August.
Overseas teenagers delve into history at China National Archives of Publications and Culture

Ecns.cn) 16:25, August 11, 2023

A staff member introduces national archives exhibited at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Over 100 teenagers of Chinese descent from more than 20 countries and regions visited the China National Archives of Publications and Culture to delve into more than 5,000 years of history and culture in Beijing on Thursday. Headquartered in Beijing, it has three branches in Xi'an, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

A staff member introduces national archives exhibited at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Overseas teenagers view national archives at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Overseas teenagers view national archives at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Overseas teenagers view national archives at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Overseas teenagers view national archives at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

A staff member introduces national archives exhibited at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

Overseas teenagers view national archives at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture headquartered in Beijing, Aug. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Network/Li Taiyuan)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Forthill Farms Receives $90K Grant

BOSTON  The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced awards of $710,140 in APR Improvement Program (AIP) funding to nine farms across Massachusetts including $90,000 for Forthill Farms in Pittsfield.

Forthill Farm will expand their existing farmstand building, increasing their operational efficiency by creating additional space for retail sales, washing and packaging produce, and storage.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) grants provide business planning, technical assistance, and funds to commercial farms with land that has already been protected through MDARs Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program to help sustain active commercial farming on the land.

"The assistance provided through AIP will help fund critical infrastructure investments on protected farms," said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "Massachusetts is committed to supporting our farms through this important farm viability program. This will ensure the continued economic vitality of our agricultural sector."

Grant recipients will use these funds to improve or construct new agricultural buildings, such as barns, livestock housing, farmstands or processing facilities. They will also use these funds towards resource improvements, such as wells, establishing perennial crops or fencing. The AIP program also provides additional technical assistance in identified areas of need such as family succession, marketing, or financial tracking to help increase farm sustainability.

"The valuable business and technical assistance provided through AIP will help these farms stay in business for many more generations," said MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle. "We thank these farm families for their commitment to preserving our workable farmland in the Commonwealth and keeping it sustainable for years to come."
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Wonder Woman 3 is no more. Call it what you will  DOA, kaput, trapped in the Phantom Zone perhaps  but Gal Gadots superhero franchise wont be coming back for a third outing. At least, thats what the latest report in Variety suggests, contradicting Gadots own claims that DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran were keen to offer her Amazonian crime-fighter another go around. Gadot has fronted two Wonder Woman films already  the warmly received Wonder Woman (2017) and its fudged 2020 follow-up Wonder Woman 1984  and has appeared in multiple other DC films as the character. So what is it, exactly, that we have lost out on here?

The incident has rehashed old grievances for DC fans  specifically, the jettisoning of Henry Cavill in the role of Superman. When Gunn and Safran took over as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios last year, the expectation was that they would impose some sense of authorship and direction over the franchise, as producer Kevin Feige did with Disneys Marvel universe. Many fans hoped that this could mean Cavill would finally get the quality vehicle he deserved. But while Gunn and Safran have opted to carry over a few vestiges of the old regime  Margot Robbies flamboyant antihero Harley Quinn, for one  they have drawn a line under most of it, including, somewhat divisively, Cavills Superman. For the forthcoming Superman: Legacy, directed by Gunn, the character will be played by House of Cards David Corenswet. The announcement drew the ire of many comic book boffs, who had defended Cavills performance through thick and thin (lets be honest, mostly thin  from Justice League to Batman v Superman, Cavill has been lumped with some truly dreadful material to work with). Cavill, they say, had earned a shot at a good Superman movie. But heres the thing. No one owes him, or Gadot, anything.

Increasingly, now, there is an entitlement among fans when it comes to franchise filmmaking  the idea that an actor who puts in the hours, dutifully slogs their way through some turgid movie series, should be rewarded, with a showpiece project of their own. Sometimes, of course, this is exactly how it works. Black Widow (2021) was seen as something of an inevitability after Scarlett Johanssons decade of servitude as a Marvel supporting player. Margot Robbie was the sole bright spark in 2016s execrable Suicide Squad, so she got her own vehicle in the form of the bang-average Birds of Prey. Spider-Man: No Way Home was framed as a chance to give Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield the closure that their Spider-Man arcs never received. But the work is the work: these roles are jobs, not handouts. Movie studios are not charities. If Andrew Garfields Amazing Spider-Man films are sub-par  and God knows they were  that doesnt mean hes entitled to a do-over. If anything, its the opposite. Cinemagoers are being served plate after plate of cold gruel, and yet they keep ordering more, hoping vainly next time, next time it might taste like lobster.

This entitlement complex reached a peak in 2021, with the release of the so-called Snyder cut of Justice League. A lavish black-and-white re-edit of DC Studios 2017 dud, ZackSnyders Justice League was produced at great expense following a long and bullish fan campaign (#ReleaseTheSnyderCut). It was an act of appeasement for Snyder, who had been unable to follow through with his original vision in 2017, and for his devoted fanbase. Two years on, though, and the Snyder cut survives as little more than a curiosity  an indulgent four-hour-long testament to what, exactly? The power of a petition. It may indeed be better than the insipid original, but it was not embraced by either the critical establishment or a mainstream audience.

The reported abandonment of Wonder Woman 3 is a shame, maybe, for Patty Jenkins, the director whose work on Wonder Woman established her as one of Hollywoods highest profile female blockbuster filmmakers. But she will be fine. If anything, the prospect of her being freed up to pursue some non-franchise endeavour could be a fruitful development. A third Wonder Woman wasnt some righteous passion project that was snuffed out as an embryo: were talking about a cynical commercial product. They  Gadot, Cavill, the lot of them  arent entitled to anything more than a paycheque.
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Ray Liotta has recalled his emotional response to being cast in Something Wild, in a new interview conducted before his death.

The Goodfellas star died on 26 May 2022, at the age of 67.

In the interview with Deadline published this week, Liotta reflected on his life and career, including his start in the film industry.

While Liotta had enjoyed a small role in the critically lambasted 1983 drama The Lonely Lady, his breakthrough role came in 1986s Something Wild, directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs).

In the film, Liotta was cast as the criminal ex-husband of Melanie Griffiths character, and said that he got the role thanks to Griffith, a friend of his since college.

I called Melanie up and said, Do you think you can get me an audition for Something Wild? She said, Yeah, sure, Ray. I didnt know then but the year before, the actor who played her husband in a movie was, like, an asshole, so she wanted to have approval to the guy who was going to play her husband, he recalled.

So, she called up Jonathan Demme, and he said, Melanie, Ive got it down to three people. Ive been doing this for a long time. Its been really hard to cast this. She said, Jonathan, you said I could [have a say] So, I went in.

According to Liotta, he then went through several rounds of auditions, before being made to wait for days for a phonecall telling him whether he had got the job.

(Getty Images)

He recalled: Monday. Nothing. Tuesday, nothing, Wednesday, nothing. Oh, f***. Then Thursday I get a call. These directors, their assistants call to say, Will you be home at three oclock because Jonathan wants to talk to you at three? Well, yeah. Ive been sitting on the phone waiting for three days here. Of course.

He said, Ray, I would like you to play Ray Sinclair. That was the name of the character. I said, Oh, wow. Thank you so much. I hung up the phone and just cried. After years of trying.

Liotta ended up drawing rave reviews for his performance in the film, and Something Wild proved to be his breakthrough in the industry.

Liotta died in 2022, with the cause of death later reported to be heart and respiratory issues.
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BTS fans are criticising South Korean politicians for trying to recall BTS members serving in the military to perform at the World Scout Jamborees K-pop Super Live concert in Seoul on 11 August.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to complete 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige.

K-pop stars and other entertainers, though, arent subject to such privileges.

In 2022, BTSs label announced that the band is taking a long break to give a chance to all members to follow their solo careers and serve their compulsory military service.

In April this year, BTSs J-Hope entered a South Korean boot camp to start his 18-month compulsory military service. Before him, Jin, 30 and the oldest member of BTS, became the bands first member to enter the army after revoking his request to delay his conscription.

This week, Suga also joined went on his compulsory military service.

On Wednesday (9 August), Sung Il-jong of the ruling People Power Party requested that the Ministry of National Defence send all BTS members serving in the military to the World Scout Jamborees concert.

The World Scout Jamboree held in Saemangeum, North Jeolla province, was an event that damaged our national prestige due to its lack of preparation and poor management, Sung in a Facebook post. I urge the Ministry of National Defence to allow all members of BTS serving in the military to perform at the jamborees K-pop concert on the 11th to restore our countrys dignity.

However, it has now been confirmed that BTS wont perform at the World Scout Jamboree Korea concert.

Ever since the news broke out, BTS fans had criticised the lawmakers for trying to pull BTS members from their military service.

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They didnt adequately prepare for Jamboree. Its absurd authorities putting the responsibility on BTS to clean up their mess, one person wrote.

Another person added: For Gods sake, BTS is not a cultural weapon to be deployed at wherever South Korea needs it.

One person wrote: The more I read about this topic the angrier I get. Do these people involved in this think that BTS is some sort of secret weapon you can pull when you f***ed up??

Additional reporting from agencies
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A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for Chinas state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about her detention conditions, including being able to stand in sunlight for just 10 hours a year.

In a letter to the Australian public, on the three-year anniversary of her detention, journalist Cheng Lei voices her love for her adopted country.

After being found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, Cheng has yet to be sentenced.

I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush, Cheng said, in the letter shared by her partner, Nick Coyle.

She hasnt seen a tree since she was detained, she wrote, and she misses the sun.

In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year.

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said the nation would continue to support Cheng and her family and advocate for her interests and well-being.

Ms. Chengs message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country, Wong said in a statement.

All Australians want to see her reunited with her children.

Wong said Australia had consistently advocated for Cheng and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms. Cheng, in accordance with international norms.

Coyle said Cheng had been allowed to write to him since last September in an interview with the national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Each month, Cheng is allowed a 30-minute visit by an Australian consular official who can bring her letters.

Cheng is being kept in a detention facility under the Ministry of State Security, Coyle said.

He said the most difficult thing for her was the toll that the long-term separation from her children was taking.

In the three years since Cheng has been taken, her daughter entered high school, while her son is about to, he said.

It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all, I miss my children, Cheng wrote.

Cheng, 48, moved with her family to Australia at age 10.

She returned to China to work for the international department of state broadcaster CCTV.

The details behind her detention and trial remain sealed. Chinese prosecutors have broad powers to level charges of spying or leaking state secrets with little or no evidence, and Cheng could face years of prison.

Chinese authorities have also been accused of holding foreign nationals, particularly those born in the country, to obtain diplomatic gains or the return of Chinese citizens abroad wanted on a variety of charges.

Chinas relations with Australia have been on the mend with Australias new administration, after China put them on freeze over Canberras accusations of Chinese political interference and intimidation of the local Chinese community, as well as an investigation into the origins of Covid.

Coyle said though he hopes the case is divorced from politics its resolution could help the relationship between the countries.

I think resolving it would improve the atmospherics around the bilateral relationship and enable a focus on the positive aspects that a relationship would bring, we all want to see that.
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North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un has fired his top military general and replaced him with his former defence minister, an official who was once believed to have been executed.

The countrys top general, chief of the general staff Pak Su Il, was dismissed after serving in his role for about seven months, state media KCNA reported, without elaborating the reason for the military shake-up.

He was replaced by former defence minister General Ri Yong Gil in the North Korean military on 31 December.

Mr Kim made the announcement at the Central Military Commission meeting in which other leading commanding officers were dismissed, transferred or appointed. He also ordered the army to gird for a war as the US and South Korea prepare for a large-scale military exercise.

Mr Ri, who previously served as the army chief of staff, was replaced in 2016 and was rumoured to be executed after his absence from official events.

Ri Yong Gil is a longstanding member of North Koreas military elite, who before making it to the top, experienced ups and downs during his career. Seven years ago, he was even rumoured to have been executed after a personnel reshuffle, said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

He said Mr Kim does not want anyone to become too powerful to challenge him, taking lessons from Russias invasion of Ukraine, amid which the Wagner Group founder led a brief rebellion against Vladimir Putin.

The reorganisation of the military leadership was briefly mentioned towards the conclusion of the report by the state-run mouthpiece KCNA. The report primarily focused on the significant matter of enhancing the armys preparedness for war, citing political and military circumstances in the Korean peninsula.

Without mentioning the US and South Korea directly, Mr Kim said the meeting analysed the military moves of the chief culprits of deteriorated situation on the peninsula and condemned the Western allies of expanding drills as invasion rehearsals.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged meeting of the 8th Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (via REUTERS)

He said the preparations included the testing-firings of more than 100 missiles since the start of 2022, driving tensions on the Korean peninsula to their highest point in years.

Making full war preparations was the topmost agenda on the list of the meeting, the KCNA report said.

The present situation, in which the hostile forces are getting ever more undisguised in their reckless military confrontation with the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] requires the latters army to have more positive, proactive and overwhelming will and thoroughgoing and perfect military readiness for a war, it said.

After the meeting on Wednesday, Mr Kim signed an order to implement unspecified important military measures, the KCNA report said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (centre) attending the 7th enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, 09 August 2023 (EPA)

Pictures of the meeting published by state media showed Mr Kim directing the generals attention to points on a blurred map of the Korean peninsula.

The areas appeared to be the metropolitan region surrounding South Korean capital Seoul, where half of the countrys 51 million people live, and an area around the central city of Daejeon, the location of South Koreas army headquarters.

It comes after Mr Kim last week went on a three-day tour of the countrys key weapons factories, including a facility that produces launcher trucks for his intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland, and called for significant improvements to the countrys arms and war readiness.

Amid soaring tensions in the region, North Korea will draw attention to its militia parade on 9 September to mark the 75th anniversary of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.

It will be followed by the US and South Korea joint military drills between 21 August and 24 August.
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Indias prime minister Narendra Modi briefly broke his silence in parliament on the raging ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur amid a no-confidence vote issued by the countrys opposition parties.

The prime minister, who has avoided speaking on the larger conflict in the state, promised the sun of peace will rise again in the region  but only after opposition members staged a walkout.

Replying to the no-confidence motion against his government in the Indian parliament on Thursday, Mr Modi dedicated the majority of his two-hour speech to lashing out at the opposition Congress party.

Mr Modi spoke about Manipur, the state which has been on the cusp of a civil war for months, for barely 10 minutes, and not before disgruntled opposition members began leaving the House.

The members said their walkout was a protest because the prime minister had not mentioned the issue of Manipur even after 90 minutes into his speech. The MPs were seen chanting Manipur, Manipur during the prime ministers reply, demanding he speak out on the violence that has left dozens killed and thousand displaced.

As the Opposition members left, Mr Modi, while holding the Congress responsible for being the origin of all problems in the northeast, assured the people of Manipur that the country was with them and the sun of peace would rise again in the state.

The Centre is working hard to give the harshest punishment to those involved in crimes in Manipur... people of Manipur  mothers, sisters, daughters  the country is with you, Mr Modi said during his rare address.

Together, we will face this difficulty and ensure peace returns. I promise the people of Manipur that the state will once again undertake the development journey.

File photo: Opposition lawmakers demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in Manipur state carry placards outside the Parliament building in New Delhi on 24 July (AP)

Mr Modi, however, accused the opposition of playing politics over the situation, branded the no-confidence motion an attempt to defame India and held them responsible for being the origin of all problems in the northeast.

Whose government was there in Manipur when Mahatma Gandhis picture was not allowed in government offices? Whose government was there in Manipur when the decision to not allow the national anthem in schools was taken? Their (Opposition) pain is selective. They cannot think beyond politics, he said.

Mr Modi and his party won the no-confidence vote, as was expected, but the opposition claims the move was necessary to get him to speak on the ethnic clashes in Manipur.

The clashes that broke out in the state in May between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority has rarely found space in Mr Modis speeches.

Mr Modi publicly addressed the violence once before, after a video that showed two women being paraded naked by a mob sparked global outrage.
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Indias outdated British-era sedition law will be entirely abolished, the government has announced.

The government has called the decision a comprehensive reform of the criminal justice system, but experts have criticised it saying it could introduce intricacies and have ramifications for thousands of ongoing trials.

Addressing the Lok Sabha or the lower house of the Indian parliament on Friday, the countrys federal home minister Amit Shah announced the complete repeal of the sedition offence from one of the three forthcoming bills set to replace the current criminal code, known as the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Crafted by the British in 1860, the IPC has served as the foundation of the nations criminal justice system for over 160 years.

Yet, legal experts have pointed out that the government is proposing a new bill that criminalises any acts that threaten the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.

Under the new proposed bill, anybody who excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India, or indulges in or commits any such act could face either life imprisonment or imprisonment for up to seven years.

The dated sedition law has been abused by governments till date for decades to shut down any kind of dissent in the country.

Chitranshul Sinha, a legal expert, said the governments new provision doesnt get rid of the British-era [sedition] law. They (the government) have rearranged the provision.

Its just a change of name. Essentially, nothing has changed, he told the Associated Press.

The three bills Mr Shah introduced are called the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanita Bill, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshva Bill, 2023.

They are aimed at replacing the existing framework, namely the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.

A standing committee has been asked to review all three proposed bills.

Legal analysts voiced concerns that if sanctioned by the legislature, the bills could trigger disruptions and introduce intricacies into the legal system. Experts also pointed out that courts would grapple with several procedural ramifications on the thousands of ongoing trials.

Mr Shah called the outdated 19th-century criminal laws in India as emblems of gulami [subjugation], drawing a parallel to Indias history under British colonial rule.

Additionally, the home minister also disclosed the federal governments intention to introduce capital punishment in cases of mob lynching.

While introducing one of the three bills to replace the old laws, Mr Shah underscored 313 changes being implemented within Indias criminal justice system.

The laws that will be repealed... the focus of those law was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. The new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen.

Gang-rape can lead to imprisonment ranging from 20 years to a life term, while the new bills uphold the option of the death penalty.

The opposition and critics of the government have, however, lashed out at the Narendra Modi government, terming the new bills vague and for unveiling them without any discussion or consultation with the public.

One critic pointed out on X, formerly Twitter, that the government has just repackaged and rebranded the sedition law in the new proposed bill with a pinch of nationalism in free India.

Wow! Three hugely important laws which will affect all of us, are introduced at the end of this session, without any disclosure or discussion. The colonial wolf of sedition brought back in sheeps clothing, Prashant Bhushan, a renowned lawyer and activist, wrote on X.

This is New Democracy in Modis New India!

Last year, Kapil Sibal, a prominent Indian lawyer and politician, informed the Supreme Court that approximately 13,000 individuals were facing charges under Indias current sedition law.

According to Indias National Crime Records Bureau, out of the 548 individuals charged with sedition from 2015 to 2020, merely a dozen faced convictions.

Under Indias outdated sedition law, numerous scholars, writers and activists have been detained for expressing any kind of dissent.

The countrys Supreme Court in May last year asked the government to reconsider and reexamine the provisions of the law and urged the state to refrain from registering any First Information Reports  the first step to a police complaint  under the said provision of the law.

The court should respect government, legislature, so as government should also respect the court. We have clear demarcation of boundary, Kiren Rijiju, Mr Modis law minister, said at the time.

The Law Commission of India, in June this year, advocated for the retention of the sedition law, citing concerns over potential severe repercussions for national security and unity if the provision is revoked.

The commission had suggested that the provision  under section 124A that describes the sedition law  be amended instead, so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision.
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A mountaineer has denied claims that her team stepped over a dying porter to conclude a record-breaking ascent of K2, saying that the dangers posed by the mountain had ultimately forced them to split up but they had made sure he was not left without help.

Kristin Harila, a Norwegian mountaineer, along with her guide Tenjin Sherpa, became the fastest climber to scale the worlds 14 mountains exceeding 8,000 metres  in just 92 days  with the final climb being up K2 at the end of last month.

Muhammad Hassan was part of a separate team climbing K2 ahead of Ms Harilas group on 27 July. He slipped on a narrow ledge, falling several metres before becoming tangled in ropes and eventually dying on the mountain.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Harila  a former professional skier  said she was just behind Mr Hassan as he fell and was left hanging upside down, and detailed her and her teams successful bid to turn him around, and provide him with oxygen and water, in potentially life-threatening conditions.

But having received radio messages that their rope-fixing team were having problems up ahead following an avalanche, they decided it would be safer to split up and for Ms Harila to continue the ascent, rather than potentially block the narrow passage and impede any rescue attempts. Following the radio messages, Ms Harila said, We had to make a decision to split up.

She added that the accident had occurred on a very, very narrow trail and said it was impossible for 10 people to help because [there] is only room for one behind and one in front.

Ms Harila said that her camera operator, Gabriel, had stayed at the dangerous bottleneck with Mr Hassan for around two and a half hours while other climbers in various groups attempting to summit the mountain had filed past. Ms Harila said the heroic cameraman gave Mr Hassan warm water and shared his oxygen by giving him his own mask.

This is probably the most dangerous part of K2, and K2 is probably the most dangerous mountain of all the [8,000-metre peaks]. We know its very risky to stay there, but we had to try to save him, Ms Harila said.

Kristin Harila described the attempt by her cameraman to help Muhammad Hassan as heroic and kind (Sky News screengrab)

Ms Harila had previously condemned the spread of hatred and misinformation following claims from Austrian climbers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flamig, who were present that day on K2, that the 27-year-old porter had been treated like a second-class human being.

Mr Flamig told Austrias Standard newspaper that Hassan was treated by one person while everyone else was pushing towards the summit, adding: The fact is that there was no organised rescue operation although there were Sherpas and mountain guides on site who could have taken action.

I dont think people understood the gravity of what was happening with Hassan as they were climbing, and that is why we see they are stepping over him to reach safety on the other side, Ms Harila said in a statement on Instagram before she spoke to Sky News.

Gabriel stayed with them as long as he could before he had to leave to get more oxygen for his own safety, she added, on snow that can collapse below you at any time.

This was very, very traumatic for everyone involved and I can only imagine the physical and mental strength it took for Gabriel to do something so heroic and kind.

Kristin Harila (left) and Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa at Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world (Courtesy of Field Productions/AF)

Further up the peak, she said, we heard that Hassan was getting all the help he could. Very soon after we reached the summit, Gabriel joined us. I asked him if they got Hassan up and he had said yes. I asked if he was alive, and Gabriel said that he was, but that he was in a very difficult situation.

We understood that he might not make it down. It was heartbreaking.

She added: It was only when we came back down that we saw Hassan had passed and we were ourselves in no shape to carry his body down. We had done our best, especially Gabriel. It is truly tragic what happened, and I feel very strongly for [Hassans] family.

Located in the Karakoram range in Pakistans Gilgit-Baltistan, K2 is also known as Savage Mountain and is said to be the deadliest of all the major peaks, having first been summited in 1954.

Nearly one in six attempts to summit K2 are fatal, compared with one in 34 for Everest, The New York Times reported in 2021.
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A top Norwegian mountaineer has denied claims that her team climbed over a dying porter to reach the top of K2 in their efforts to secure a new world record.

Kristin Harila and her team have been criticised for allegedly climbing past an injured Pakistani porter, Mohammed Hassan, who fell off a sheer edge at a height of about 8,200 metres.

Ms Harila scaled the world's second-highest peak on 27 July along with her Nepali porter, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, to become the world's fastest climber to summit all peaks above 8,000 metres.

Seated in the Karakoram range in Pakistans Gilgit-Baltistan, K2 is also known as Savage Mountain and is said to be the deadliest of all the major summits.

Drone footage purports to show climbers walking past Hassan on a ridge at the top of the area known as the bottleneck, during Ms Harila's ascent.

Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flamig, an Austrian climbing duo who were also on K2 that day, said footage they recorded using a drone showed climbers walking over Hassan's body instead of helping him.

Ms Harila has denied the allegations, insisting that her team did everything they could to save the man.

Mr Flamig told Austrias Standard newspaper that he was "treated by one person while everyone else was pushing towards the summit". "The fact is that there was no organised rescue operation although there were Sherpas and mountain guides on site who could have taken action," he added.

Mr Steindl said that the man was treated like "a second-class human being" and "such a thing would be unthinkable in the Alps".

If he had been a Westerner, he would have been rescued immediately, he added. No one felt responsible for him. What happened there is a disgrace. A living human was left lying so that records could be set.

K2 Basecamp (AFP via Getty Images)

Refuting the allegations, Ms Harila told The Telegraph that the team tried to lift him back up for an hour and a half and my cameraman stayed on for another hour to look after him.

At no point was he left alone.

Given the conditions, it is hard to see how he could have been saved. He fell on what is probably the most dangerous part of the mountain where the chances of carrying someone off were limited by the narrow trail and poor snow conditions.

She added that Hassan was not wearing either gloves or a down jacket and did not appear to have been given oxygen.

The Independent approached Ms Harila for comment.

Following the incident, Mr Steindl visited the porters family after descending the mountain. According to him, Hassan took the perilous job of rope fixer in order to pay for his diabetic mothers medical bills.

His family cannot afford medicine or food. Ms Harila and many of the climbers flew over us and the family in helicopters. What a symbolic image. The helicopter to fly out costs up to $12,000 per person, he said.

K2 is considered more dangerous than Mount Everest, where the ratio of deaths to ascents is one in 34.
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Wildfires raging out of control in Hawaii have claimed at least 93 lives, displaced thousands of families, knocked out 911 and cell services, forced residents to escape into the ocean, and almost wiped out an entire town, officials say.

Several large fires on Maui and the Big Island, partly fuelled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, have destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and completely cut off affected areas.

Maui County officials confirmed the dramatic rise in the death toll to 93. The death toll is expected to rise when specialist search and rescue teams begin the grim task of going door-to-door in burned out areas. A thousand people remain missing.

Aerial images of the historic western Maui town of Lahaina showed it had been almost completely destroyed.

Lieutenant governor Sylvia Luke said the devastation was a tragic moment for the entire state and recovery would take years.

Governor Josh Green, who returned to Hawaii on Wednesday night, said in a video statement the state had suffered a terrible disaster.

Search and rescue efforts continue across Maui, Big Island and Oahu as several wildfires are still actively burning.

What we know about the Maui fires

On Maui, the worst affected area is the historic western town of Lahaina, where a dozen residents were rescued by the US Coast Guard at around 10.50pm Tuesday local time after jumping into the ocean to escape the flames and smoke.

They were transported to safe areas by a US Coast Goard (USCG) 45-foot rapid response vessel.

Most of Lahainas waterfront Front St business district was feared destroyed, according to Hawaii News Now.

Dramatic videos posted to social media showed apocalyptic fires sweeping through the town, a tourist and commercial hub that was Hawaiis first capital and is the ancestral home of the Hawaiis indigenous Kanaka Maoli.

This photo provided by County of Maui shows fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

The wind gusts had downed power lines and cut out electricity to the area.

Traffic in and out of the town was very heavy as residents tried to evacuate on Tuesday, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin told the Associated Press.

Maui County closed all roads around Lahaina on Wednesday, and people who werent in an evacuation area were urged to shelter in place.

Lahaina Tiare Lawrence told Hawai News Now that people had been forced to run for their lives.

Its just so hard. Im currently Upcountry and just knowing I cant get a hold of any of my family members. I still dont know where my little brother is. I dont know where my stepdad is, she told the news site.

Hawaii wildfires: Maui and Big Island evacuated as Hurricane Dora winds fuel blazes

Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have burned down.

Lahaina resident Alan Dickar posted footage showing fires sweeping through the business district on Tuesday night.

Today was a devastating day in Lahaina, he wrote on Facebook. A lot of homes nearby burned as well. Tomorrow, the sun will rise, and, through the smoke, we will all find our way.

A separate fire is threatening the southern coastal town of Kihei.

Clint Hansen, of Maui Luxury Real Estate, shared drone footage of the Kihei blaze to show the extent of the destruction.

He encouraged others to share pictures to show just how extreme the wildfires had become.

Old footage, pictures, anything that explains the severity because people are not understanding how bad this is, Mr Hansen wrote on Facebook.

Kihei appears to be doing OK for now but Lahaina is apocalyptic.

A third fire raging in the inland mountainous region of Kula is yet to be contained.

Dozens of residents were evacuated overnight from the area after brush fires were reported in the Olinda Rd, Aulii Drive and Hanamu Rd areas.

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2023 (Alan Dickar via AP)

The American Red Cross has set up emergency shelters at Kihei, Lahaina and Pukalani.

More than 4,000 people were being housed across four emergency shelters on Wednesday evening, state officials said.

Some shelters have been  overrun , acting governor Sylvia Luke told reporters.

The County of Maui said at least 100 firefighters were tackling the separate blazes.

More then 20 people have been injured, including a firefighter who was hosptalised for smoke inhalation while battling fires in West Maui fire.

Wildfires are raging in three areas on the Hawaiian island of Maui (Google Maps)

At Mauis Kahului Airport, 1,800 passengers were trapped overnight after dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed, according to the Hawaiian Department of Transportation.

Thousands of Maui residents remain without power on Wednesday, and 911 services are out indefinitely in the west of the island.

Hawaiis National Guard has been activated and is assisting local emergency services, Hawaiis adjutant general Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara posted on Facebook.

Erratic wind, challenging terrain, steep slopes and dropping humidity, are making it difficult to predict path and speed of a wildfire, Maui Fire Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea said in a statement.

On Big Island, a wildfire has destroyed 1800 acres and is threatening 200 homes around the rural community of Kohala Ranch.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved a disaster declaration to provide assistance, according to a release from the Hawaiian Governors office.

What are officials saying?

Mr Bissen Jr, the Maui County mayor, said that six fatalities had been confirmed moments before a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Im sad to report that just before coming on this, it was confirmed weve had six fatalities. We are still in search and rescue mode, he said.

The initial death toll rose dramatically late on Wednesday night to 36. Many still remain unaccounted for.

Earlier, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, who is cutting a vacation short to return to the fire-stricken state, said in a statement: Heroic efforts by first responders have prevented many casualties from occurring, but some loss of life is expected.

We have suffered a terrible disaster in the form of a wildfire that has spread widely as a result of hurricane-force winds in the region and underlying drought conditions. Maui and the Big Island both experienced significant fires. Much of Lahaina on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced.

He is expecting to make a formal request for federal assistance in the next few days.

Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, who is acting governor in Josh Greens absence, told CNN that the state was facing an unprecedented natural disaster and called on the White House to declare a federal emergency to provide immediate support.

Maui hospitals have been overwhelmed with people suffering from burns and smoke inhalation, Ms Luke told CNN.

We are already in communication with other hospital systems about relieving the burden  the reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment, she told the network.

In addition to dealing with disaster, were dealing with major transportation issues as well.

Satellite phones were the only way to contact the stricken town, she said.

Its impeding communication. Its impeding efforts to evacuate residents and we are very concerned about that, Ms Luke told CNN.

On Wednesday, the White House said it was directing all available assets from the US Coast Guard, Navy, and Marines to assist in the rescue effort.

Were working as quickly as possible to fight those fires and evacuate residents and tourists. In the meantime, our prayers are with the people of Hawaii, but not just our prayers: every asset that we have will be available to them, President Biden said in remarks at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hawaiian indigenous leader Kaniela Ing told The Independent in a statement that his heart is breaking at the utter devastation that the wildfires were causing friends and family.

The extreme wildfires in Lahania, in this summer of climate disasters, are yet more proof that we are in a climate emergency and this crisis is killing us, Mr Ing, the National Director of the Green New Deal Network, added.

Former president Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, wrote: Its tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii  a place thats so special to so many of us. Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down.

He encouraged people to donate to the Hawaii Community Foundations Maui Strong Fund.

What is causing the fires?

The wildfires were whipped up by Hurricane Dora, a category 4 storm passing about 500 miles (804 kms) south of the Pacific Ocean archipelago, and a strong high pressure system to the north, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

"These strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions that will last through Wednesday afternoon," the NWS said.

Between Monday and Wednesday, wind gusts as high as 67mph were recorded in Maui, according to the NWS .

West and southern areas of Maui were already in severe drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor.

The climate crisis has created warmer, dryer conditions that are increasing the risk and extent of wildfires across the western United States, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Conditions.

Wildfires have wrought havoc for years across the North American continent, especially in the US Southwest and Canada. But blazes of this magnitude have rarely, if ever, been seen in Hawaii.

Josh Marcus contributed reporting to this story.
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The blazes that have devastated Maui and the Big Island in Hawaii already constitute the states worst natural disaster since 1960  as at least 111 people are confirmed dead, thousands of residents and tourists have been forced to evacuate and the picturesque and historic beach resort of Lahaina has been destroyed.

Whats more, the tragedy also already represents Americas second-deadliest wildfire outbreak of the last 100 years, with only the Camp Fire that struck California in 2018 surpassing the current Hawaiian death toll, which is still rising and could yet surpass it.

That brush fire five years ago killed 88 people and did $20.2bn-worth of damage.

This time round, it is too early to begin to calculate the cost of the destruction wrought across the Pacific island chain, as firefighters are still battling to bring the conflagration under control in areas like Wahiawa, but the latest crisis could ultimately beat that unwanted record too.

What makes the horror currently unfolding all the more disturbing is that wildfires were regarded as uncommon in Hawaii until relatively recently, with those that did break out usually attributed to eruptions from one of the archipelagos six active volcanoes or to lightning strikes.

On the other islands with less volcanic activity, fires did occur, but very, very rarely, Professor David Beilman of the University of Hawaii told USA Today this week.

This Maui situation is an Anthropocene phenomenon, he said, referring to the epoch defined by humanitys influence over the planet.

The tropical paradise, situated 2,000 miles west of the US mainland, has only really begun to experience the consequences of that influence in recent decades.

The last time Hawaii suffered a major burst of wildfires was in August 2018, when 70mph gusts of wind driven by Hurricane Lane shepherded flames towards Lahaina, the same town ravaged this month.

In that incident, 2,000 acres of land, 30 vehicles and 21 structures were ruined, according to local newspaper The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, with the fire racing across fields once dedicated to growing sugar cane but unharvested since 1999.

An aerial view of the destruction wrought in Maui (EPA)

One local man told the paper at the time that he had seen tornadoes of fire whirling up to the sky.

Ive never seen something so devastating, he added, aghast at the recollection.

Another resident recounted his own terror: There was smoke everywhere and the fire was all around. We just literally got in the car and got out as quickly as we could.

Before the 2018 wildfires, Hawaii was more commonly impacted by tsunamis hitting the islands.

In fact, the worst natural disaster in its history was the tsunami that struck on 1 April 1946.

Caused by an 8.4-magnitude earthquake off Alaska, the tsunami killed 165 people, wiping out the Hilo Bay waterfront on the Big Island and prompting the establishment of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in the state soon after.

More tsunamis followed in November 1952, August 1960 and March 1964.

The 35-foot wave of 1960 was particularly rough, crashing down again on Hilo Bay, killing 61, damaging more than 500 homes and businesses and doing $75m of damage.

Burned out cars in Lahaina (AP)

Now, fires are becoming both more frequent and more extreme.

The Hawaii Wildfire Management Organisation (HWMO) now estimates that 0.5 per cent (or 20,000 acres) of the states land mass burns every year, which is at least equal to or greater than the proportion of every other state in the union

The HWMO reports that 98 per cent of those fires are instigated by humans, which compares unfavourably with the US Forest Services 85 per cent estimate for the nation as a whole.

While the carelessness of man is one factor behind the exacerbation, global warming is the other.

Climate change has increasingly been blamed for the erratic weather patterns the world has seen in recent years and this summer has provided further alarming illustrations of its adverse impact: western Canada and southern Europe have been devastated by spontaneous fires this year while the UK, by contrast, has been subjected to an uncannily rainy July and August.

In the case of the current Hawaii fires, 60mph winds from Hurricane Dora, lying hundreds of miles southwest of Honolulu, and a low pressure system sitting off western Japan are thought to have conspired to fan the flames and send them raging across Maui.

Another important factor in the states growing vulnerability of late has been its abundance of unmanaged dry vegetation providing the ideal fuel, much of which is accounted for by invasive species like Guinea grass that are non-native to Hawaii but have colonised areas of former farmland and forest.

Brush fire rages in Kihei (AP)

These savannas now cover about a million acres across the main Hawaiian Islands, mostly the legacy of land clearing for plantation agriculture and ranching in the late 1800s/early 1900s, Professor Clay Trauernicht, also of the University of Hawaii, explained on X, formerly Twitter.

The transformation to savanna makes the landscape way more sensitive to bad fire weather  hot, dry, windy conditions. It also means we get huge buildups of fuels during rainy periods.

Agriculture declines also mean less help for firefighters  less maintenance of roads, irrigation and water storage and even fewer people with knowledge of the land.

Professor Trauernicht warned that this benign neglect has placed too great a burden on emergency responders to tackle the inevitable consequences, emphasising that prudent investment in fuel reduction projects, agricultural land use, restoration and reforestation could do a great deal to avert further tragedy.
 Close Wildfire roars through Hawaiis historic Lahaina

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At least 114 people have lost their lives in the devastating Maui wildfires as first responders continue searching for 1,000 missing in the fire-ravaged town.

The search to find and identify victims remains painstakingly slow  only 10 victims so far killed in the fires have been identified. Hawaii governor Josh Green estimates that 3,000 buildings and homes burned to the ground or were damaged and that losses are nearly $6bn.

The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned on Thursday after officials came under increased scrutiny over the response to the devastating wildfires.

Herman Andaya submitted his resignation just one day after he defended his decision of not using outdoor alert sirens before the fires overwhelmed the historic community of Lahaina. Mr Andaya cited unspecified health reasons.

Residents are also reporting that investors and realtors are trying to capitalise on the wildfires to purchase land from locals.

Were not going to allow it, Mr Green said.
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At least 67 people have died so far in a series of wildfires that devastated Maui this week, according to officials.

One can safely say we do have wildfires every year but weve always been able to contain them, Hawaii Governor Josh Green told CNN on Friday. Whether the variables are different this time or not, Ive been in Hawaii for 23 years, but I have never seen the convergence of a fire, a hurricane, and gale force winds at the same time near one of our towns.

An estimated 1,000 people may be missing, according to the Hawaiian Department of Defense, though they cautioned yesterday that that figure is unconfirmed.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina along the Pacific Ocean in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii (AFP via Getty Images)

Over 11,000 people have been evacuated as a result of the fires.

On Thursday, the Biden administration declared the wildfires, which burned areas across Maui, Hawaii, and Oahu, a major federal disaster, freeing up additional relief resources.

More than 1,000 structures have been burned in the fires, according to officials.

The fires have caused particular damage on Maui, where much of the historic town of Lahiana was burnt to the ground.

The disaster is among the worst in state history, with the death toll now greater than the 61 people who died in a 1961 tsunami.

The fire began on Tuesday, fuelled by strong winds and a climate-driven, unusually dry summer conditions on Maui that left many residents and visitors in Lahaina with little time to take precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones and neighbours safe. Some people fled the town with few possessions, while others dived into water.

At least a dozen people were pulled out of the water by the US Coast Guard.

During emergencies, the best way the public can help is to provide monetary donations which allows the delivery of the exact relief supplies a community needs, Victor Leonardi, divisional director of emergency services and safety for The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division, said in a news release. Plus, The Salvation Army uses one hundred per cent of all donations designated disaster relief in support of disaster operations.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who lives in Hawaii part-time, has also pledged $100m to the rebuilding effort.
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Aerial photos and videos of the devastating wildfires raging in Hawaii this week have revealed the destruction that has followed in their wake.

The massive wildfires have led to the deaths of at least 55 people and 1,000 missing on Hawaii island apart from devastating the historic town of Lahaina.

The photos and videos of the devastation in Maui island have shown Lahaina left in rubble as authorities fear this could be one of the worst disasters experienced by the island community in decades.

The once-vibrant heart of the oceanside community now lies destroyed  over 1,000 buildings have been reduced to ashes with no escape for those of Lahainas permanent residents who escaped raging fires but have witnessed their properties go up in flames.

A dozen residents were pulled from the water off the coast of Lahaina, on Maui, after entering the ocean due to smoke and fire conditions, according to a Maui County emergency alert.

Many more people suffered burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries.

Its going to take many years to rebuild Lahaina, governor Josh Green said told a news conference, as officials began to map out a plan to shelter the newly homeless in hotels and tourist rental properties.

Experts said the fires are likely to transform the landscape in unwanted ways, including hastening erosion, sending sediment into waterways and degrading coral that is critically important to the islands, marine life and the humans who live nearby.

Aerial images showed large swathes of land and buildings  that once stood tall  charred by the fires and turning the historic town into a ghost city.

An aerial image taken on 10 August 2023 shows destroyed buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawai (AFP via Getty Images)

Satellite images taken by Maxar showed thick smoke covering the town where once green lush trees and houses stood.

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on 25 June 2023 (left) and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, 9 August, following the wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Another image showed aerial photos before and after the destruction  with the entire seaside area reduced to rubble.

Before and after image shows houses turned to rubble (Maxar via AP)

The fast-moving inferno, which started on Tuesday, spread from the brush outside of town and ravaged Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

It was one of three major wildfires on Maui, all of them still burning, that were fuelled by dry conditions, a buildup of fuel and 60 mph (100 km/h) gusts of wind.

Many houses were destroyed entirely while others stood half burnt.

Homes and buildings on the waterfront in Lahaina burned to the ground (AFP via Getty Images)

Another image shows dozens of burnt vehicles lined up in a parking lot as the town remains empty.

Destroyed cars in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii (AFP via Getty Images)

For generations, a banyan tree that stood along Lahaina towns historic Front Street served as a gathering place.

Residents said the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community  towering more than 60ft and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

But like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its branches scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

Historic banyan tree scorched and surrounded by burned cars in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)

Theres just so much meaning attached to it and theres so many experiences that everyone has. Its in the heart of a historic town, a resident, John Sandbach, who has lived on Maui for nearly two decades, told the Associated Press.

The town could have survived the banyan tree burning down, he said, but nothing can survive with the whole town burning down.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street (AP)

Scenes of fiery devastation have become a familiar site in the world this summer with wildfires continuing to rage in Portugal after they started in Greece, Spain and other parts of Europe, driven by record-shattering global temperatures as a result of man-made climate crisis.

The entire northern hemisphere, from Japan to North America has experienced heating-fuelled disasters.

Canada saw its worst wildfires season this year, in which plumes of thick smog were sent up across the eastern US and even as far as Europe, ocean temperatures have left scientists shocked and Antarctica has lost record level of ice, as scientists warn situation will continue to worsen if pollution from burning fossils is not contained anytime soon.
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Survivors of Mauis deadly wildfires say they received no warning of the impending danger, despite the state boasting a state-of-the-art siren alert system.

Hawaii emergency management records show no record that the states 400 warning sirens were triggered before Tuesdays wildfires, according to the Associated Press.

Residents in the town of Lahaina were burned to death as they tried to flee in cars, others were trapped in their homes, and dozens more had to leap into the ocean as wildfires fuelled by Hurricane Dora and severe drought conditions tore through parts of Maui and Big Island.

A spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency told the AP that alerts were sent to mobile phones, television and radio stations, but downed power and cell phone coverage may have limited their reach.

The wildfires had moved from brush to inhabited areas so quickly that it was impossible to get word to the emergency management agencies responsible for alerts, Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura told the Associated Press.

As the death toll rose to 67 on Friday, with many more deaths expected, survivors on Maui questioned why the alert system appeared to have failed.

JD Hessemer, a business owner in Lahaina, told CBS News he decided to evacuate early on Tuesday morning just before fire swept through the town.

I received nothing at no point in time. I got nothing on my phone, he told the network.

We kind of just figured it out on our own, another Lahaina resident, Tiare Abraham, told CBS News. I realised when it was time to go when the smoke was so dark, we could not see anything outside.

Hawaii officials describe the sirens as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, which acts as a first line of defence against natural and human-caused events.

The system consists of 400 sirens spread throughout the island chain and is used to warn residents about everything from tsunamis and volcanic eruptions to terrorist threats.

Lahaina and other parts of West Maui had been identified as being at risk of wildfires in Maui Countys hazard mitigation plan.

The hall of historic Waiola Church and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission in Lahaina, Maui, ablaze on Tuesday (AP)

Low staffing levels at local fire departments and a lack of off-road vehicles, combined with strong wind gusts of up to 80 mph (128kms) made fighting brush fires especially difficult, officials said.

A specialist Federal Emergency Management Agency search and rescue team with cadaver dogs arrived on Thursday night. The teams will go door-to-door searching for survivors and assessing casualties.

In 2018, a false emergency alert stating that Hawaii was under a ballistic missile attack caused mass panic on the island.

The message sent to mobile phones and aired on television stations stated that missiles were inbound and to seek immediate shelter. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, the all-caps alert said.

The false alert was attributed to human error and inadequate safeguards, and two officials later resigned.
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Emmy-winner Billy Porter has said he is back on the market after recently filing for divorce from his husband Adam Smith.

The decision to end their six-year marriage was reportedly amicable and mutual. In a statement to People, Porters representation said: They continue to love and support each other as they embark on this next chapter."

Of his relationship with Smith, the Pose star told the Evening Standard: Relationships are hard. I will always love him. We made it as far as we could. But we learn, we grow and we live. And Im looking forward to the next ... adventure.

Porter went on to announce that he was back on the market and joked that while he was working in London, he had his eyes on an English husband. The actor also somberly noted that his work trip to London was bittersweet because it was where he and his estranged husband had gotten engaged.

The couple first met at a dinner party in 2009, but after only a year of dating, they broke up. Five years later, Porter rekindled his relationship with the Native Ken owner. Back in December 2016, the actor proposed to Smith during a romantic dinner in London, and two weeks later, the couple had an impromptu wedding on 14 January 2017, symbolically before Donald Trumps inauguration.

We were discussing, and Billy had actually brought up to me that its important for us to get married while [Barack] Obama is still president and before 20 January, Smith told People. So we sat down and figured out when we could make it work before the 20th.

At the time, the Tony winner believed that it was important to show the world what our love looks like, especially since both he and Smith grew up in households where being gay was considered an abomination. Growing up, Porter said that the idea of marriage for someone like him wasnt even in the realm of possibility: It was unspoken and very clear that the sanctity of marriage was not for us.

Recently, Porter has opened up about his hardship in light of the ongoing SAG and WGA strike. Porter revealed that he has to sell his house amid projects being halted due to studios strategising to starve out strikers.

According to Deadline, film executives are intent on allowing things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.

Around the country, thousands of actors and writers have been striking in solidarity for pay raises and residuals in the streaming era. The newly-single Porter didnt hold back when he broke down the reality many actors in Hollywood face: The life of an artist, until you make f**k-you money, which I havent made yet, is still check-to-check.

Porter slammed Disney CEO Bob Igers dismissive comments To hear Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic? While he makes $78,000 a day?

The Broadway stars comments come after Iger dubbed strikers requests as unrealistic.
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A Burger King worker has received over $400,000 worth of donations, a year after he went viral when he revealed that he hadnt missed work in 27 years.

Kevin Ford - a cook and cashier at the Burger King in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport - has been given $407,000 from donors so far, according to his GoFundMe Page. While the page was first launched by his daughter, Seryna, last year, theres been a spike in donations throughout the last two days, with contributions ranging from $10 to $1,000. The fundraiser now has a new goal of $450,000, as of 9 August.

According to the description, Ford is a single father of two, who began working at Burger King 27 years ago, and has never missed a day on the job. Seryna, who wrote the description, also explained what motivates her father to keep working: Being able to provide for his family.

As our family grew and he remarried, he continued to work there because of the amazing health insurance that was provided through this employer because it was unionized, she wrote. This got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage.

Seryna also noted that Kevin would use donations for his retirement fund, and to visit his grandchildren.

My dad continues to work there, because though he does look young, he is coming up on retirement age and leaving would cost him his retirement, she added. In no way are we asking for money or is he expecting any money but if anyone feels like blessing him he would love to visit his grandchildren.

In some of the recent donations made to the fundraiser, people have expressed how theyve been inspired by Kevin and his work ethic, one year after he first made headlines.

My wife and I recently had our third child, and its been rough getting accustomed to having three kids, one wrote. Your story makes me feel like Im not alone. Like there is at least 1 other person who has done what Im doing and succeeded. Thank you, Seryna for sharing, and thank you Kevin for being a great human. Keep on keepin on.

In a video posted to his TikTok in June 2022, Kevin went on to open a bag of gifts that he received from HMSHost - Burger Kings partner company - after nearly three decades working for the fast food chain. Some of the goodies included a Starbucks cup, a single movie ticket, and a bag of Reeses Pieces. While many people went on to show their support for Kevin and praised his positivity in the video, they also criticised HMSHost. They claimed that the companys gift was too trivial, since the Burger King employee had been working at the company for so long.

Its sad they did him like this but look at his positivity. This is someone that finds the good in everything. I know he will be blessed with more, one TikTok user wrote in the comments at the time.

27 years of commitment and without even skipping a day - this guy deserves to be given his own franchise, to have his own BK @Burger King, another added.

When Kevins GoFundMe Page also launched that month, it quickly went viral, with comedian David Spade making a donation of $5,000 to it. In June 2022, the Saturday Night Live star also reached out to Kevin on social media to celebrate him.

Keep up the good work. 27 years, Spade wrote in his message, which was obtained by TMZ. Kevin then responded: HOLY S*** Dude!!! Cannot Believe This!!!

In April of this year, Kevin shared an update to the GoFundMe page to reveal that he received enough money to visit his grandchild in Texas.

It was about a year ago when this unthinkable power of God all changed my life forever!!! he wrote. The miracle of generosity of so many people all around the world has allowed me to save for retirement and my childrens and grandchildrens futures and even to someday soon own my own home dreams really can come true.

The Independent has contacted Seryna and a representative for Burger King for comment.
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Thousands of Hawaii citizens have been displaced following wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.

Multiple neighbourhoods were burned as the fires were fueled by heavy winds blowing from Hurricane Dora, resulting in many being told to evacuate, with some Hawaii residents taking refuge in the ocean to avoid the flames. Many have lost their lives and thousands have been evacuated as a result of the wildfires.

Hawaiis governor Josh Green has estimated that billions of dollars will be needed to fully recover, as the US Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department reported that approximately 271 structures were damaged or destroyed by the fires.

Here is a list of resources to help those impacted by the natural disaster.

The Hawaii Salvation Army began providing meals for the approximately 50 individuals who had taken shelter in Maui Countys/American Red Cross Pukalani shelter, an effort that is now spreading across the entire island. They are asking for monetary donations and meal donations from either restaurants or certified kitchens to continue giving out food and shelter.

During emergencies, the best way the public can help is to provide monetary donations which allows the delivery of the exact relief supplies a community needs, Victor Leonardi, divisional director of emergency services and safety for The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division, said in a news release. Plus, The Salvation Army uses one hundred per cent of all donations designated disaster relief in support of disaster operations. Donations can be made on the Hawaii Salvation Armys website.

There are also multiple fundraisers taking place across the state, including the Aina Momona fundraiser through the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Kakoo Maui fund through The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Alakaina Foundation Family, and Kakoo Haleakala, and the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund.

The grocery store Foodland is also accepting monetary donations at checkout to support The American Red Crosss efforts. Other places accepting monetary donations include Aloha United Way, Maui Food Bank, and Maui Mutual Aid, which is focusing on supporting Maui families, elderly, people with disabilities and those without insurance.

If you are a Hawaii resident, the Hawaii Restaurant Association is putting together donations and gathering volunteers to help evacuees on Oahu. The Maui Police Department is also asking for specific donations of non-perishable food, bottled water, hygiene items, and blankets to be collected at Mauis War Memorial Complex.

Ice cream shop Cream B and Hoomana Barbell are asking for donations of food, drinks, snacks, bedding, pillows, and personal hygiene products that can be picked up at 1826 Kaohu St.

The Maui Humane Society has said its animals are safe, however, the organisation has said it needs to allocate more space to displaced pets and is asking for more people to sign up to be fosters in the meantime.

In addition, the organisation is asking for donations of pet supplies to give to families who are keeping their animals. Monetary donations will also be accepted to help the shelter deal with the increase in care they need to provide. There is also a page on their website to report any lost or found pets.

To find all of the latest updates about the Hawaii wildfires, follow our liveblog here.
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The Princess of Wales has been appointed three new military roles by King Charles III, including one that has a link to her grandfather.

The monarchs reshuffling of military appointments for working members of the royal family comes ahead of the anniversary of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth IIs death next month.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement this week: Following his Majestys Accession, the King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the royal family.

The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the royal family in His Majestys reign.

Kate Middleton has been named the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards, and the Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Air Force Coningsby.

The last appointment, which was previously held by her husband, the Prince of Wales, holds a special link to the princesss family, as her grandfather Captain Peter Middleton served in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

According to reports, he also worked with the late Prince Philip and flew as a co-pilot with him during an aerial tour of South America in 1962.

Meanwhile, her appointment as Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm comes after the role was stripped from the Duke of York while he faced a civil sexual assault trial last year.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge sit for a photo with military personnel from Britain and Belize during a visit to the British Army Training Support Unit (BATSUB) jungle training facility on the third day of a Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour to the Caribbean on March 21, 2022 (Getty Images)

Prince Andrew, who had links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was accused of sexual assault after alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against him.

The duke has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and has said he does not remember ever meeting Giuffre. He later paid a multi-million-pound settlement out of court in February 2022.

His other military role, Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Irish Regiment has now been appointed to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

With the new Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards appointment, Kate has also taken over a role held by her father-in-law King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales.

Meanwhile, Prince William has also been given three new appointments in the reshuffle. These include Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley.

No positions were handed to Charles youngest son, the Duke of Sussex, because he is not a working member of the royal family. Prince Harry previously held several military roles, but gave them up after stepping down from his duties in 2020.

The King previously announced a wave of military appointments in December, three months after Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September.

The late monarch held more than 50 ranks and appointments in the UK and Commonwealth Armed Services, including Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Colonel-in-Chief of the Adjutant Generals Corps.
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The King has reshuffled military appointments for working members of the royal family as the anniversary of the late Queens death approaches, with three extra roles each for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

King Charles III has taken over eight of his mothers former honorary posts himself, including sponsor of the Royal Navys warship HMS Queen Elizabeth, and has shared some of his own affiliations, now that he is King.

His post-accession housekeeping also includes handing over two of the disgraced Duke of Yorks previous roles to Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Kate becomes Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, while Sophie is now Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Irish Regiment  roles held by Andrew before he returned them to the late Queen while he faced a civil sexual assault trial, which he later paid millions to settle.

The princess also takes over from her husband Prince William as Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby, an appointment held since 2008.

And Kate is the new Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards, known as the Welsh Cavalry, a duty which was carried out by her father-in-law Charles when he was the Prince of Wales.

The Buckingham Palace said: Following His Majestys accession, the King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the royal family.

The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the armed forces and the royal family in His Majestys reign.

The roles highlight the key members of the working royal family who are supporting the King in his duties.

William has added Colonel-in-Chief of The Mercian Regiment, Colonel-in-Chief of The Army Air Corps and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Valley to his growing list of military commitments.

Prince William, Prince of Wales (L) and Catherine, Princess of Wales enjoy a drink of Guinness with members of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, following their St Patrick's Day Parade at Mons Barracks in Aldershot, south west of London, on March 17, 2023 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

He spent three years at RAF Valley in Anglesey, north Wales, as an RAF search and rescue pilot.

The Queen also has a new appointment, with Camilla becoming patron of The Royal Army Chaplains Department, a position held by the late Queen.

Taking on his mothers duties, Charles, who is head of the armed forces as well as head of state, is now Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, The Royal Tank Regiment and The Royal Regiment of Scotland; Captain General of both The Royal Artillery and The Honourable Artillery Company; Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Marham and Air Commodore-in-Chief of RAF Regiment.

The Duke of Edinburgh has followed in his father Prince Philips footsteps to become Colonel-in-Chief of The Queens Royal Hussars, which was left vacant when the Duke died in 2021.

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, attend a service on the Armed Forces Memorial during Armistice Day commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum on November 11, 2020 (Getty Images)

Prince Edward is also succeeding his brother Charles as Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Dragoon Guards.

His wife Sophie has taken on the Kings post of Royal Colonel of The Queens Own Yeomanry.

The Princess Royal has been appointed Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland by the King in recognition of her strong links to the country.

The late Queens cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, becomes Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and the Duchess of Gloucester is Colonel-in-Chief of the Adjutant Generals Corps, which were both held by Elizabeth II.

The late Queen, who died a year ago next month, held more than 50 ranks and appointments in the UK and Commonwealth Armed Service.

There are no positions for the Kings second son, the Duke of Sussex, but this is not unexpected.

Prince Harry, a former solider who served in Afghanistan, is not a working member of the royal family. He lost his military roles after stepping down as a senior working royal in 2020.

A previous wave of military appointments was announced in December.
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The woman who exited an American Airlines flight after a tirade about a passenger who she claimed was not real has spoken about the viral incident for the first time.

In the viral video, which circulated after the 2 July incident, the woman could be seen screaming at fellow passengers about her reasons for exiting the plane while standing in the aisle of the aircraft.

Im telling you, Im getting the f*** off, and theres a reason why Im getting the f*** off, she could be heard yelling as she walked up the plane aisle. And everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it. I dont give two f***s.

But I am telling you right now, that motherf***er back there is not real.

On Tuesday 7 August, the woman was identified as Tiffany Gomas, a 38-year-old marketing executive who lives in Dallas, Texas, by The New York Post, which reviewed police documents of the incident.

According to the outlet, the incident, which took place aboard a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, and which forced the plane to return to the gate, was reportedly sparked over Gomas missing AirPods.

Gomas has now broken her silence over the tirade, with the 38-year-old speaking to the Daily Mail from her $1.6m home in the Lakewood neighbourhood of Dallas.

According to Gomas, who Insider reports was listed as the owner of Uppercut Marketing, LLC, an advertising firm, on a since-deleted LinkedIn, her life has been blown up since videos of her profanity-filled plane rant went viral last month.

My life has been blown up. Its frightening. Things go viral and everything changes, Gomas told the outlet, adding: No one knows anyone elses story, and no one should judge. No one knows what its like.

Gomas also alleged that she has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the incident, with the 38-year-old claiming: Theyre staking out my house. Theyre staking out my neighbours. Theyre going through my mail. She did not specify who she meant.

The marketing executive also claimed that so much of whats out there is inaccurate, but declined to elaborate further, according to the Daily Mail.

As she was exiting the plane, Gomas told passengers: And you can sit on this plane and you can f***ing die with them or not. Im not going to.

The comments prompted concern from flight attendants, who felt the aircraft needed to be rescreened, according to police documents reviewed by The New York Post.

The female then started claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination, the 2 July complaint states.

The other passengers aboard the flight were then forced to exit the plane so they could be screened through security again, The New York Post reported, adding: TSA personnel arrived at the scene to conduct a full rescreening of the aircraft after Gomas comments.

The complaint also reportedly states that Gomas was distraught by the time officers arrived at the gate and was attempting to board the plane again. She then reportedly refused to speak to Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety police.

Gomas was allegedly given a verbal criminal trespass notice by the airline manager and told that she was denied boarding and needed to depart the secure area, according to the documents reviewed by the outlet.

(TikTok / @knuckelslawncare)

However, Gomas continued to try to come back through TSA screening and into the boarding area multiple times, the documents state, noting that she was eventually found sitting on the curb outside the terminal, where she was waiting for an Uber.

According to The New York Post, she was given a ticket for criminal trespass notice, which she allegedly refused to sign, and did not show police her ID. The complaint also states that Gomas was never formally arrested or taken into custody.

In a statement to The Independent at the time, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed the incident had taken place aboard a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, and that the incident involving the disruptive customer had forced the plane to return to the gate.

The flight was met at the gate by local law enforcement and the customer was removed from the flight. Safety and security are our top priorities, and we thank our customers for their understanding and our team members for their professionalism in managing a difficult situation, the airline said.

Following the viral tirade, which has been widely circulated on social media, Gomas Instagram was made private and her LinkedIn profile was taken down.

The Independent has contacted Gomas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety office for comment.
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When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negron and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming.

Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negron's son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name.

Her son didnt want to go to school anymore. And she didnt feel he was safe there.

He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade.

Across the country, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened during the pandemic. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent, according to the most recent data available. Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school.

All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students became chronically absent, according to the data, which was compiled by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. Taken together, the data from 40 states and Washington, D.C., provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide. Absences were more prevalent among Latino, Black and low-income students, according to Dees analysis.

The absences come on top of time students missed during school closures and pandemic disruptions. They cost crucial classroom time as schools work to recover from massive learning setbacks.

Absent students miss out not only on instruction but also on all the other things schools provide  meals, counseling, socialization. In the end, students who are chronically absent  missing 18 or more days a year, in most places  are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out.

The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating. And the pandemic has absolutely made things worse and for more students, said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit addressing chronic absenteeism.

In seven states, the rate of chronically absent kids doubled for the 2021-22 school year, from 2018-19, before the pandemic. Absences worsened in every state with available data  notably, the analysis found growth in chronic absenteeism did not correlate strongly with state COVID rates.

Kids are staying home for myriad reasons  finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying and generally feeling unwelcome at school.

And the effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance.

For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day. Families got used to that, said Elmer Roldan, of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, which helps schools follow up with absent students.

When classrooms closed in March 2020, Negron in some ways felt relieved her two sons were home in Springfield. Since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Negron, who grew up in Puerto Rico, had become convinced mainland American schools were dangerous.

A year after in-person instruction resumed, she said, staff placed her son in a class for students with disabilities, citing hyperactive and distracted behavior. He felt unwelcome and unsafe. Now, it seemed to Negron, there was danger inside school, too.

He needs to learn, said Negron, a single mom who works as a cook at another school. Hes very intelligent. But Im not going to waste my time, my money on uniforms, for him to go to a school where hes just going to fail.

For people who've long studied chronic absenteeism, the post-COVID era feels different. Some of the things that prevent students from getting to school are consistent  illness, economic distress  but something has changed, said Todd Langager, who helps San Diego County schools address absenteeism. He sees students who already felt unseen, or without a caring adult at school, feel further disconnected.

Alaska led in absenteeism, with 48.6% of students missing significant amounts of school. Alaska Native students rate was higher, 56.5%.

Those students face poverty and a lack of mental health services, as well as a school calendar that isnt aligned to traditional hunting and fishing activities, said Heather Powell, a teacher and Alaska Native. Many students are raised by grandparents who remember the government forcing Native children into boarding schools.

Our families arent valuing education because it isnt something thats ever valued us, Powell said.

In New York, Marisa Kosek said son James lost the relationships fostered at his school  and with them, his desire to attend class altogether. James, 12, has autism and struggled first with online learning and then with a hybrid model. During absences, he'd see his teachers in the neighborhood. They encouraged him to return, and he did.

But when he moved to middle school in another neighborhood, he didnt know anyone. He lost interest and missed more than 100 days of sixth grade. The next year, his mom pushed for him to repeat the grade  and he missed all but five days.

His mother, a high school teacher, enlisted help: relatives, therapists, New Yorks crisis unit. But James just wanted to stay home. He's anxious because he knows he's behind, and he's lost his stamina.

Being around people all day in school and trying to act normal is tiring, said Kosek. She's more hopeful now that James has been accepted to a private residential school that specializes in students with autism.

Some students had chronic absences because of medical and staffing issues. Juan Ballina, 17, has epilepsy; a trained staff member must be nearby to administer medication in case of a seizure. But post-COVID-19, many school nurses retired or sought better pay in hospitals, exacerbating a nationwide shortage.

Last year, Juan's nurse was on medical leave. His school couldnt find a substitute. He missed more than 90 days at his Chula Vista, California, high school.

I was lonely, Ballina said. I missed my friends.

Last month, school started again. So far, Juan's been there, with his nurse. But his mom, Carmen Ballina, said the effects of his absence persist: He used to read a lot more. I dont think hes motivated anymore.

Another lasting effect from the pandemic: Educators and experts say some parents and students have been conditioned to stay home at the slightest sign of sickness.

Renee Slater's daughter rarely missed school before the pandemic. But last school year, the straight-A middle schooler insisted on staying home 20 days, saying she just didn't feel well.

As they get older, you cant physically pick them up into the car  you can only take away privileges, and that doesnt always work, said Slater, who teaches in the rural California district her daughter attends. She doesnt dislike school, its just a change in mindset."

Most states have yet to release attendance data from 2022-23, the most recent school year. Based on the few that have shared figures, it seems the chronic-absence trend may have long legs. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, chronic absenteeism remained double its pre-pandemic rate.

In Negrons hometown of Springfield, 39% of students were chronically absent last school year, an improvement from 50% the year before. Rates are higher for students with disabilities.

While Negron's son was out of school, she said, she tried to stay on top of his learning. She picked up a weekly folder of worksheets and homework; he couldnt finish because he didnt know the material.

He was struggling so much, and the situation was putting him in a down mood," Negron said.

Last year, she filed a complaint asking officials to give her son compensatory services and pay for him to attend a private special education school. The judge sided with the district.

Now, shes eyeing the new year with dread. Her son doesnt want to return. Negron said she'll consider it only if the district grants her request for him to study in a mainstream classroom with a personal aide. The district told AP it can't comment on individual student cases due to privacy considerations.

Negron wishes she could homeschool her sons, but she has to work and fears they'd suffer from isolation.

If I had another option, I wouldnt send them to school, she said.

____

AP education writer Sharon Lurye contributed from New Orleans; AP reporter Becky Bohrer contributed from Juneau. This story was reported and published in partnership with EdSource, a nonprofit newsroom that covers education in California. EdSource reporter Betty Marquez Rosales contributed reporting from Bakersfield.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar have killed five people and displaced about 60,000 since mid-July, an official said Friday.

The director of the ministry of social welfare, relief and resettlement, Lay Shwe Zin Oo, said four children are among the dead. Some parts of southern states of Kayin and Mon remain in critical condition due to heavy rains and rising river water levels, Lay said.

The low-lying areas in some townships in the southern Bago and the central Magway regions, as well as the western state of Rakhine, have been inundated by water since Sunday.

Initially, some 60,000 people were displaced but 20,000 have since returned to their home areas. About 40,000 are still sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, she said.

She said included three children in the state of Mon and a mother and child in Rakhine drowned.

The flooding is getting worse this week. But, it is difficult to say whether the current flood situation is the worst for this year because the rainy season has not yet ended, she said over the phone.

The state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said Friday that schools were closed in the flooded areas and some sections of the highway in Bago were under water. In relief camps in Bago, Kayin and Rakhine, authorities were providing food, drinking water, medicines and other essential assistance, the paper said.

On Monday, a landslide caused by heavy rain swept away about 61 meters (200 feet) -long section of the major mountain highway linking the Kawkareik and Myawaddy townships in eastern Kayin state, cutting off the busy trading route. There were no report of casualties.

Myawaddy is a key trading center on the border with Thailand and state-run media reported it would take a month before traffic could resume.

Myanmar experiences extreme weather virtually every year during the monsoon season. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people.

A report published Friday in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said there would be thundershowers for the next week across the country.
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Potential missed opportunities to prevent the murder of a police sergeant in a custody cell have not been examined, a coroner reopening an inquest into his death has said.

Matt Ratana, 54, was shot dead with a legally bought revolver in Croydon, south London, on September 25 2020.

Jurors later found gun fanatic Louis de Zoysa, 26, guilty of his murder before he was handed a whole-life order by a judge last month.

South London Coroners Court heard on Friday the full inquest into Mr Ratanas death will begin at the end of October but no final decision was made on whether there will be a jury.

A decision to hold the inquest under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which would mean examining whether the state breached its duty to protect the New Zealand-born officers right to life, was also postponed.

Senior coroner Sarah Ormond-Walshe said there had not yet been a substantive hearing about the actions of police officers who had contact with Sgt Ratana in the hours preceding his death and whether there were any missed opportunities to prevent it.

Sgt Ratanas partner Su Bushby watched via video link as lawyers representing the Metropolitan Police were told to provide full disclosure and evidence, including unedited body-worn and CCTV footage, to all interested parties by next month.

Imran Khan KC, who represented De Zoysa during his trial, was also present during the short hearing.

A further pre-inquest review will take place at Croydon Town Hall on September 22, ahead of a three-week full inquest into his death at the same venue from October 30.

The inquest had opened in October 2020 but was adjourned during criminal proceedings.
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A fugitive who was extradited from Brazil has been jailed for more than nine years after admitting involvement in serious organised crime.

James White, 46, was sentenced at the High Court in Stirling on Friday after previously admitting a charge of directing serious organised crime, the Crown Office said.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for White in 2019 as part of Operation Escalade, a Police Scotland investigation into the countrys most prolific serious organised crime groups which operate on an international scale.

In June 2020, White, from Glasgow, was arrested in Fortaleza, Brazil, and extradited back to Scotland in August 2022.

As part of one of Scotlands most prolific organised crime groups, White thought he was above the law and even fled the country to evade justice Detective Chief Superintendent Vicky Watson

His extradition was the result of extensive collaborative work between Crown Office prosecutors, Police Scotland, and the Brazilian federal police.

Katie Stewart, who leads on international co-operation for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: James Whites return was secured after consideration of the severity of his offences and the impact of offending on his victims.

Seeking extradition requires the deployment of considerable resources on the part of COPFS and our partners.

COPFS is committed to collaborating with international justice partners. The extradition of White shows that such close working relationships between foreign authorities ensures that justice can be served.

White pleaded guilty to the charge at the High Court in Glasgow last month.

He was jailed for nine years and 10 months when he was sentenced in Stirling.

Detective Chief Superintendent Vicky Watson, Police Scotlands Head of Organised Crime, said: As part of one of Scotlands most prolific organised crime groups, White thought he was above the law and even fled the country to evade justice.

The unwavering hard work of our officers, working with partners in this country and abroad, meant that he was tracked down to Brazil and extradited back to this country to face the consequences of his criminal actions.

Police Scotland is committed to disrupting the activities of organised crime groups and will continue to work in partnership, including with the members of the countrys Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, to keep our communities safe.

White was arrested by officers working as part of Operation Escalade, which has been ongoing for almost a decade, and has now seen almost 50 people convicted and jailed for being involved in serious organised crime in Scotland.
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For nearly two centuries, The Crooked House pub has delighted tourists and locals alike with its slanted walls and optical illusions, entertaining visitors as marbles and pennies rolled up its walls.

It now lies in rubble and ruin following a devastating fire that tore through the property on Saturday evening. Two days later, its new owners brought in diggers to demolish the entirety of the charred remains of the historic pub, without permission from the local council.

Staffordshire Police have now confirmed that they are treating the fire as arson and would be speaking to the owners in a joint investigation with the fire service and South Staffordshire district council.

The Crooked House pub near Dudley was demolished on Monday (Matthew Cooper/PA) (PA Wire)

Carly Taylor, 34, and her husband Adam had only purchased Britains wonkiest pub from Marstons Brewery nine days before the blaze for an alternative use.

Have you been affected by this story? If so email holly.evans@independent.co.uk

The businesswomans company, ATE Farms Ltd, had acquired the property shortly before locals submitted an application to Historic England for the 19th century public house to be given protected listed status. This would have ensured that any physical changes to the building would have required consent from the local council.

Ms Taylors husband is a shareholder and former director of Himley Environmental Ltd, which runs a landfill site in the area next to the pub. Information available on Companies House shows that Mr Taylor was a previous director at ATE Farms, while his wife is registered as a person with significant control of the business, holding at least 75 per cent of the shares.

Marstons Pubs confirmed to The Independent that they had sold the pub to ATE Farms Ltd, after the pub closed last month. A Facebook post on July 28 from their social media account said the pub was unlikely to open its doors again, despite thousands of locals signing a petition to keep its doors open.

In 2020, the couples company purchased another pub, despite a campaign by villagers who wanted to preserve it. Documents show that in March 2021, Rugby Borough Council approved a request to have the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn, in the village of Willey, protected as an asset of community value which was later overturned following an appeal.

The burnt out remains of The Crooked House pub before it was demolished (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

The couple have recently succeeded in another application, after Harborough District Council approved their plan to build 21 holiday homes at their farm in Lutterworth despite traffic concerns. The Independent has made attempts to contact the couple and their respective companies.

Emergency services were alerted at 10pm on 5 August that a blaze had broken out inside The Crooked House, with 30 firefighters tackling the smoke and flames. Efforts were hampered however by mounds of mud and dirt in the roads, preventing easy access to the fire.

The building was levelled on Monday shortly after investigating fire crews and police officers left the scene after the property was deemed unstable. Footage showed a digger tearing down the remaining walls and reducing the historic landmark to a large pile of rubble.

A local mayor has called for the pub to be rebuilt brick by brick' (Jacob King/PA Wire)

Roger Lees, leader of South Staffordshire Council, said that planning officers had visited the burnt-out pub on Monday but had not agreed to the demolition.

The agreed course of action included the removal of three elements of the first-floor front elevation only, Lees said. This was only to avoid the weak parts of the structure from falling. At no point did the council agree the demolition of the whole structure nor was this deemed necessary.

This council finds the manner in which the situation was managed following the fire completely unacceptable and contrary to instructions provided by our officers.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street called for the pub to be rebuilt brick by brick in a letter to the council, and stressed that major questions needed answering.

South Staffordshire council described the demolition as completely unacceptable (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

Staffordshire Police said in a statement: Our investigation into a fire at The Crooked House on Himley Road last Saturday, 5 August, continues as we try to understand the circumstances, which we are now treating as arson.

Were conducting a joint investigation with colleagues at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and are liaising closely with their fire investigators, who have confirmed that the cause of the fire cannot currently be determined. However, police are following up on a number of lines of enquiry.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Chisholm added: We understand the signficance of this much-loved building and the upset and anger felt by many, so we want to reassure you were doing all we can to understand more about what happened, and who was responsible.

The historic landmark was built in 1765 and had been a popular tourist attraction due to its slanting walls (Nick Maslen/Alamy/PA Wire)

The Crooked House was originally built as a farmhouse in 1765 but one side gradually sank 4ft into the ground due to subsidence from mining works carried out in the 1800s. It was converted into a public house named The Siden House in 1830, siden being the Black Country dialect for crooked.

It was renamed The Glynne Arms after the local landowner before coming to be known as The Crooked House in later years. The pub had first been threatened with closure during the 1940s, but was bought by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, who reinforced the walls with girders and buttresses.

It had since become a popular tourist attraction as well as a wedding venue, with thousands of locals mourning its tragic loss and signing petitions to have it rebuilt to its former glory.
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Two Metropolitan Police officers could face criminal charges over claims they failed to provide enough first aid to a stab victim, who later died.

Usmaan Mahmood, 20, was fatally injured after being knifed in Thornton Heath, south London, on 13 June. Two officers were flagged down by a passer-by at 4.16pm after he was found collapsed on Sandfield Road.

They called an ambulance and first aid, including CPR, was immediately performed before Mr Mahmood was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

But the following day, a member of the public complained to the Met Police that the two officers had not done enough to save his life.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct are investigating both officers (Sean Dempsey/PA) (PA Wire)

The incident was reviewed by the Mets Department of Professional Standards and a mandatory referral was made to the police watchdog the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

The watchdog said it was looking into the contact the two officers had with Mr Mahmood before his death, and whether the first aid provided was appropriate and timely.

The investigation will look at video from body-worn cameras, witness statements, CCTV footage and recordings from police radio systems.

The officers could face criminal charges as they are being investigated for alleged misconduct in public office, along with potential breaches of professional standards, which could amount to gross misconduct.

IOPC Director Mel Palmer said: Our thoughts are with the family of Usmaan Mahmood and everyone affected by his death.

A member of the public raised concerns about the actions of the officers. Its important that we progress our independent investigation to establish the full circumstances, including the decision-making of the officers involved.

We have been in regular contact with Mr Mahmoods family to update them on the investigation.

Once its completed, we will decide whether to make a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision, and also decide whether any of the officers involved should face disciplinary proceedings.

All police officers are provided with a basic level of emergency first aid training, with advanced training given to officers in high-risk positions.

Joshua Munoz, 19, has been charged with Mr Mahmoods murder and has been remanded into custody.
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A seaside town descended into chaos after a group of youths reportedly plotted on social media to get lit on the beach.

Police became aware of a plan to cause trouble in Southend, Essex, just a day after a social media craze led hundreds of teenagers to gather on Oxford Street with the intention of looting clothing stores.

A dispersal order giving police the power to move anyone behaving antisocially from the area or to have them arrested is now in place from the seafront to Southend Central station.

A large group of youths had carried out a similar disturbance on the beach on 1 August (TikTok)

It came after a similar disturbance on August 1, with TikTok users naming the carnage Southend Motive in footage that was viewed by thousands of users.

Video clips show teenagers running away from police, while officers try to break up groups who had gathered on the beach to cause trouble. One user later posted on TikTok that Part 2 would take place on Thursday.

Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan, South local policing area commander, said: I want to be really clear that we  and of course the citys attractions and businesses  want people to come to Southend, we want them to use all the facilities here  but we wont tolerate crime and antisocial behaviour.

We have a significant policing presence in the city today. That includes the city centre, across the seafront and close to the train stations.

The dispersal order is by no means a blanket ban on people coming to Southend and enjoying all it has to offer, but if people come here and behave antisocially or commit crime, the reality is were going to take a robust approach to that and people acting that way could ultimately end up in a police cell.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested nine people in connection with the planned disorder (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

Throughout today, and indeed as we enter this weekend, there will be an obvious police presence in the city. Were there to help people and make sure people can enjoy the city safely. But, equally, the officers will respond appropriately and robustly if they have to.

The Southend dispersal order is in place for 48 hours and includes Southend High Street, Marine Parade, Pier Hill, Western Esplanade and Southend Central train station.

It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman ordered police to hunt down and lock up the ringleaders behind a suspected TikTok-organised raid on Oxford Street shops.

A mob descended on Europes busiest shopping street at around 3pm on Wednesday, after rumours spread on social media that gangs were planning to rob JD sports.

A social media post had called for followers to rob JD Sports (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

Shoppers were left stuck inside stores and warned to leave the area as hundreds of teenagers, many wearing balaclavas, caused mayhem for police officers. Footage showed officers giving chase and wielding batons, while wrestling several youths into handcuffs.

A Met Police spokesperson said: "Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order. One person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal.

"One person was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and one person was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence."

Two suspected ringleaders were also arrested in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.

Shoppers were barricaded in stores while police officers attempted to disperse the crowds (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

A total of 34 dispersal orders were handed out and a dispersal order was put in place for 48 hours, with additional officers deployed to the area.

Speaking on Wednesday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan pleaded with people not to take part in the event, which he branded social media nonsense.

I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street," he said.

The police understand why some people may be tempted to go to that part of London because of TikTok. Id encourage anybody whos seen it not to go to Oxford Street. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high-crime area.

In a letter to The Telegraph, Sacha Berendji, a Marks and Spencer executive, said that Oxford Street had previously been the jewel in Londons shopping crown but had now fallen into disrepair due to surging crime rates.

Berendji said the incident on Wednesday served as another reminder of how bad things are for the future of the shopping district.
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The UKs health spending lags behind other countries in northwest Europe, research commissioned by the SNP has found.

Per capita, health spending is around a third less than Germany and Norway  at 5,884 compared to 9,104 and 8,817 respectively.

The House of Commons Library analysis is based on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Last year, UK Government health spending was also below the per capita levels of France, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland and Sweden.

The SNP also highlighted a recent report from The Kings Fund which said the UKs health service is under performing in tackling treatable conditions.

SNP health spokesman Martyn Day said: Having failed the NHS so badly, its incumbent on Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to ditch their plans for more NHS privatisation and cuts and instead move quickly to boost NHS spending and mitigate the damage of Brexit.

Despite plastering lies on the side of a Brexit bus, the Tories have chronically underfunded the NHS, and the UK lags behind our European neighbours on health funding and outcomes.

Worse still, this Westminster-made health crisis isnt new. The UK Government spent significantly less than average on health, under the Tories and Labour Party, in every year of the 21st century.

This under-funding has negatively impacted all four health services in the UK.

The SNP is calling for the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party to raise UK Government health spending to the much higher levels seen among our neighbours in north Europe.

Even raising spending to just the average level across north Europe would deliver billions of pounds extra for the Scottish Government to spend on boosting Scotlands NHS.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: The Government has and will continue to prioritise investment into the NHS.

The NHS has been provided with resource funding of 168.4 billion for 2023-24 Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson

The NHS has been provided with resource funding of 168.4 billion for 2023-24.

This includes more than 6 billion additional funding to support the NHS in managing the ongoing impact of the pandemic and cut waiting lists  a key priority for this Government.

Our forthcoming Major Conditions Strategy will also outline how best to prevent, diagnose and manage six key conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, that drive ill health and early death in England.
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All asylum seekers and staff are being moved off the Bibby Stockholm barge after the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease was discovered in its water supply.

The Independent understands the 39 migrants are being moved together to a hotel, further hampering the prime ministers pledge to reduce hotel costs in favour of alternative accommodation on vessels and military bases.

The Home Office said the evacuation was a precautionary measure and that it hoped to put people back on board as soon as possible, but did not put a timescale on the checks at Portland Port in Dorset.

The bacteria was discovered in a water sample taken on 25 July, but the test results were not sent to private contractors until 7 August - the day asylum seekers were moved on board.

The government was not informed until Wednesday, and on Thursday evening, official advice was received from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to take some migrants off the Bibby Stockholm. The Home Office decided to empty it while further tests are carried out.

The move was announced to the press on Friday before asylum seekers on the barge were told about the discovery of legionella or moved, The Independent understands.

Charity workers said people they contacted following news reports of the contamination had not been issued with any safety precautions over using water on the barge.

The Home Office had previously tried to put disabled people, those with chronic illnesses and torture victims on the barge, in violation of its own guidance.

Official letters issued to residents later on Friday afternoon read: We are writing to inform you that it is necessary to temporarily relocate you from the Bibby Stockholm as a precautionary health and safety measure.

Corporate Travel Management (CTM), who operate the Bibby Stockholm, have sourced alternative accommodation and will provide transport to take you to that accommodation. They will also arrange for you to have a health check prior to disembarkation with the medical staff onboard. There will be additional healthcare provision at the hotel, should you require it.

Only 39 people had boarded the barge in four days of operation (AFP via Getty Images)

The letter listed the symptoms of Legionnaires' disease, calling it a rare but potentially serious illness that spreads through droplets of water when inhaled in aerosol form.

The Home Office is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and other national and local partners in public health protection to prevent ongoing exposure to legionella on the vessel and ensuring any necessary action is taken, it added.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock branded the situation a complete and utter shambles, a catalogue of catastrophe.

He said ministers should hang their heads in shame as the barge was becoming a public-relations disaster for them, just four days after the first migrants moved on.

The government hopes to house up to 500 men on the controversial accommodation, which had already been hit by a succession of delays and safety concerns.

Only 15 people out of the 50 originally planned were moved on Monday, following a wave of legal letters challenging transfer notices over mental and physical health issues.

(Getty Images)

The Home Office dropped attempts to move more than 20 people, but threatened other asylum seekers with the withdrawal of housing and financial support.

Most of those selected for the barge are not small boat migrants, and claimed asylum after flying to the UK legally, The Independent revealed.

Charity Care4Calais, which supports migrants, said ministers should now realise that keeping refugees on barges was untenable.

Chief executive Steve Smith added: We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point.

The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this governments hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britains asylum system.

The government should now realise warehousing refugees in this manner is completely untenable, and should focus on the real job at hand - processing the asylum claims swiftly, so refugees may become contributing members of our communities as they so strongly wish.

A view of the en-suite bathroom in one of the Bibby Stockholms 222 cabins (AP)

The government claimed the Bibby Stockholm would be cheaper than hotels, and deter Channel crossings, but 755 people arrived on Thursday in a new high for 2023.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.

Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria, which require further investigation.

Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA [the UK Health Security Agency] and following its advice in line with long-established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Councils environmental health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum-seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.
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Rishi Sunaks small boats week has ended in humiliation for the government as it was forced to evacuate the Bibby Stockholm migrant barge following the discovery of dangerous Legionella bacteria.

The 39 asylum seekers who had been placed on the vessel in Portland, Dorset, were removed from it after the bacteria  which can cause a serious type of pneumonia  were found in the water supply, just days after the first migrants had arrived on board.

One former Tory minister called for home secretary Suella Braverman to be sacked for losing control of the Channel crisis, while another joked: Is the government cursed?

Letters handed to asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm said the contaminated water sample had been taken on 25 July, but The Independent understands that test results were not sent to private contractors until Monday, and were communicated to the Home Office on Wednesday.

The UK Health Security Agency did not advise an evacuation until Thursday night, and officials said they had gone beyond recommendations by taking everyone off the barge rather than a small group.

As tests continued on Friday, all those on board were moved to government hotels, increasing the cost of the already extortionate barge project that the prime minister claimed would reduce hotel use.

The evacuation started hours after Home Office figures revealed that more than 100,000 people had arrived in the UK on small boats since 2018, after 755 arrived on Thursday  the highest daily total for 2023.

The milestone was hit during small boats week, in which the government sought to make a series of positive announcements regarding efforts to combat crossings  but was instead hit by a barrage of damaging revelations.

In the days before the disembarkment, ministers made media appearances over several days in an effort to defend the barge against safety concerns, with immigration minister Robert Jenrick insisting it was perfectly decent and Home Office minister Sarah Dines claiming: Its a safe place for people to live and stay.

Tuberculosis and scabies cases have previously been found at the Wethersfield military base  another of the governments new alternative asylum accommodation sites.

What an end to small boats week, one former Conservative minister said. Its obvious to all that the home secretary has lost all control and authority on the issue of illegal migration.

All 39 asylum seekers who had been put on the Bibby Stockholm since Monday were being evacuated on Friday (AFP via Getty)

She is responsible for this crisis and should be held to account for her irresponsible actions that have brought disease to these sites and now threaten the public health of the local community.

She should be sacked. She has turned the migrant crisis into a Carry On show.

Conservative MP Scott Benton called the situation a complete and utter farce, writing on Twitter: As if having porous borders isnt bad enough, we cant even move 39 illegal immigrants onto a barge properly.

The assistant general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Ben Selby, said wider safety concerns over the vessel remained, with more than a week having passed since the union asked for a meeting with Ms Braverman.

We have had no response to that letter, he added. It remains our professional view that its a potential death trap and an accident waiting to happen.

Inside the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge

The Home Office said no asylum seekers had presented with symptoms of the dangerous legionnaires disease, and that the evacuation was a precautionary measure while further tests are carried out.

A spokesperson insisted there was no risk to the wider community of Portland from the barge, which is being run by private firms under a wider 1.6bn contract.

Louie OLeary, a Tory councillor on Dorset Council who opposed the barge plan, said the problem should have been sorted out during safety checks. I hope its not too late for a rethink, he told The Independent.

You cant polish a turd. Most of us said this was not a sensible thing to do, and thats proving to be the case. Its costly and complex, and its not better than housing people in hotels.

Asylum seekers were still on board the barge when the Home Office announced the evacuation on Friday afternoon, with charity workers telling The Independent they had not been told anything about the Legionella bacteria or given any safety precautions relating to water.

Protesters delivered welcome packs as the first 15 migrants arrived at the barge on Monday  just four days before being evacuated (Getty)

The former Tory minister said that even before the barge evacuation, the governments week of gimmicks had been a transparent attempt to distract from operational failures to stop the boats.

All theyre doing is reinforcing the fact that the government has failed and the public has seen that, they added.

Stephen Kinnock, Labours shadow immigration minister, said: The Tories asylum chaos is going from bad to worse.

They cannot even get the most basic things right. Reports of dangerous Legionella bacteria on board come on top of fire safety delays and the revelation that it wont stop costs and hotel use going up even further because the backlog is so high.

It followed revelations that the Home Office had tried to put disabled asylum seekers and torture victims on the barge on Monday, in violation of its own guidance, and then threatened people who refused to board with homelessness.

On Tuesday, the government announced a crackdown on immigration lawyers it claims are helping migrants exploit the system, but it faced an immediate backlash from legal groups, who accused ministers of scapegoating the profession for upholding the governments own laws.

Thursday was the busiest day for Channel crossings so far in 2023, as figures revealed more than 100,000 people had arrived in the UK on small boats since 2018 (PA Wire)

The following day saw the unveiling of a new partnership with Turkey to disrupt the supply of dinghies used for Channel crossings, although ministers would not say how much money was being given to Ankara.

The week has also seen a raft of potential policies floated, including withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights if the Supreme Court stops the Rwanda plan  a suggestion that sparked fresh infighting among the Tories  and sending asylum seekers to Ascension Island instead.

The ex-minister dismissed this as the never-ending fantasy policy of ministers on a sinking ship who are trying to push the blame elsewhere.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making dangerous Channel crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

We are bringing forward alternative accommodation options to help reduce the use of expensive hotels and move to a more orderly, sustainable system which is more manageable for local communities.

Afghans now represent the most common nationality among those arriving on small boats, following the collapse in the number of refugees resettled directly from the country.

Last month, the government passed a series of punitive asylum laws aiming to see small-boat migrants detained and deported without their claims being considered.

But the Illegal Migration Act cannot be implemented because there are no operational deportation agreements in place, with the 140m Rwanda scheme having been ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal.

Even if the government wins the final stage of the legal battle at the Supreme Court later this year, the lord chief justice said the physical capacity for housing asylum seekers in Rwanda was limited to 100.
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Most of the asylum seekers so far housed on the governments controversial barge are not small boat migrants and arrived in the UK legally, The Independent can reveal.

Ministers have claimed the Bibby Stockholm and use of military bases as accommodation would deter English Channel crossings, but the majority of those so far selected for the vessel arrived by plane.

After speaking to charities and legal firms working with more than 30 asylum seekers ordered to move onto the barge by the Home Office, The Independent has been told of only two who arrived by small boat.

All others used regular passenger planes to reach the UK, with some claiming asylum at the airport shortly after landing - meaning they did not enter the country illegally.

A former Conservative minister called the situation extraordinary, adding: The policy of reducing hotels is not working because theyve got more people coming and theyre still using them.

Even though theyve got the barge and have been talking about tents and military bases and the rest of it nothing has changed. People are still coming so theres no deterrent factor.

The vast majority of people who have boarded the Bibby Stockholm, and those who successfully challenged their transfer notices through lawyers, are understood to have flown into the UK legally.

Many of us entered Britain nine to 11 months ago, by airplane, an Afghan asylum seeker told the BBC. Some of us applied for asylum at the airport. We did not come by boat.

An Iranian man now living on the barge toldThe Sun he had flown into Britain six months ago, and that others on board were mainly from his country and Afghanistan. Both nationalities have very high asylum grant rates.

Home Office guidance states that people can be accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm for a maximum of nine months, meaning that anyone whose claim is not granted in that time will have to be sent back to hotels or other government accommodation.

Inside the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge

Labour said the barge had become a symbol of Tory incompetence, while other opposition MPs accused the government of using sound bites that do not match reality.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: This latest revelation that the majority of people staying on board the Bibby Stockholm arrived in the UK on a flight just proves it was never going to be the answer to the asylum backlog chaos, and the fact that government ministers have been touting it as such is frankly laughable.

Mr Kinnock said the asylum system was going from bad to worse, as more boats arriving on Thursday pushed the number of crossings since 2018 past 100,000.

Alison Thewliss, the SNPs home affairs spokesperson, said the government should be working to properly process the asylum backlog rather than pursuing accommodation with major safety issues.

The number of people on the Bibby Stockholm who arrived by plane shows that for the UK government, Stop the Boats is more of a soundbite than a solution, she told The Independent.

(AFP via Getty Images)

It is high time that this government dropped the rhetoric and focused on protecting the vulnerable people we have a duty to protect.

The Liberal Democrats accused the government of headline-chasing to distract from figures showing rising Channel crossings and asylum claims, as it remains unable to deport anyone to Rwanda.

The partys home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: Once again, the reality of the situation is simply not reflected in the Home Office's sound bite policies.

In April, shortly after the Bibby Stockholms use as asylum accommodation was announced, immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed it would deter small boat crossings.

We must suffuse the entire system with deterrents, and that includes our national approach to how we accommodate illegal migrants, he told parliament.

In the short term, that means switching to cheaper and more appropriate forms of accommodation, such as disused military sites and vessels.

(AFP via Getty Images)

In recent weeks, several ministers refuting concerns about the safety and suitability of the Bibby Stockholm have said illegal migrants should not be given a choice of accommodation.

After being forced to reverse transfer notices for at least 20 asylum seekers, which had been issued in violation of official guidance, the Home Office issued threatening letters telling selected people to move onto the barge or face having government housing withdrawn.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed on Wednesday that a significant number of asylum seekers who initially objected had since changed their minds and moved on board, but the Home Office has refused to give numbers.

Senior Tories have defended Conservative Party deputy chair Lee Andersons statement that asylum seekers who resist moving onto the barge should f*** off back to France, although many did not travel fromt here.

They're illegal migrants - they're not genuine asylum seekers, he claimed on Thursday.

Official figures show that 92 per cent of small boat migrants arriving since 2018 have claimed asylum, and most of the cases decided were granted.

The Home Office said it does not differentiate between methods of entry when allocating asylum accommodation, and that the primary aim of the Bibby Stockholm was to reduce spending on hotels.

A spokesperson added: The first asylum seekers are now being housed on the vessel in Portland after it successfully completed all health, fire and safety checks. The number of people on board will increase gradually with more arrivals later this week and in the coming months, as part of a carefully structured phased approach.
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A devastating fire at Britains wonkiest pub is being treated as arson, as a local mayor called for it to be rebuilt brick by brick after it was gutted and demolished.

The Crooked House in Himley in the West Midlands was destroyed by the blaze which broke out at around 10pm on Saturday.

It was confirmed last month that the owners, Marstons, had sold the renowned 18th-Century building to a private buyer for alternative use less than two weeks before the blaze.

A local mayor has said there are major questions to be answered over the blaze (Jacob King/PA Wire)

Flowers and a card left on the sign outside the remains of The Crooked House pub (Matthew Cooper/PA Wire)

Carly Taylor and her husband Aadam had purchased the property shortly before locals submitted an application to Historic England for the pub to be given protected listed status.

A popular landmark in the Black Country, its leaning walls created a number of optical illusions such as pennies and marbles appearing to move uphill along the bar.

Have you been affected by this story? If so email holly.evans@independent.co.uk

Fire crews were alerted to reports of smoke coming from the empty building, with firefighters battling for an hour to bring the flames under control.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said no one was believed to be inside the property and no injuries have been reported. Pictures from the scene reveal the extent of the damage, with footage emerging of the ruins being demolished.

Below we look at the history of the premises as investigations into what happened continued.

The historic landmark was built in 1765 and is a popular tourist attraction (Nick Maslen/Alamy/PA Wire)

History of The Crooked House

Originally built as a farmhouse in 1765, one side of the building began to tilt due to mining in the area during the 18th century.

It became a public house in the 1830s and was initially called The Siden House, before being renamed the Glynne Arms after the local landowner, Sir Stephen Glynne.

The pub was condemned as unsafe during the 1940s and was scheduled for demolition until Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries stepped in to purchase the building. Using buttresses and girders, they were able to secure the structure while also retaining its lopsided appearance.

It became known as The Crooked House and became a tourist attraction as well as a popular wedding venue site.

Pub sold and unlikely to open its doors again

A fire has completely gutted the building (Jacob King/PA Wire)

The pub was closed earlier this year and sold by Marstons to ATE Farms Ltd, which lists Carly Taylor as its director, with a guide price of 675,000. She and her husband are the current or former directors of 18 companies, including Himley Environmental, which operates a landfill site next to the pub.

Thousands of locals signed a petition to keep the pub as a public house, but a statement from their Facebook page confirmed it had been sold for an alternative use and was unlikely to open its doors again.

Historic England received a request for the pub to be given listed status protection just a week before it burnt down.

This level of protection would require property owners to seek permission from the local council to change the physical features of historical buildings and landmarks.

The organisation The Georgian Group was also examining the historic pub for listed status prior to the fire.

Major questions over blaze

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has called for the building to be rebuilt brick by brick' (Jacob King/PA Wire)

Staffordshire Police have confirmed they treating the blaze as arson in a joint investigation with fire services and the council.

The force said officers were reviewing all of the available evidence into the blaze, which was tackled by 30 firefighters, and stressed that speculation was extremely unhelpful.

A cordon was in place while inquiries were ongoing but due to the unsafe structure of the building, officers were pulled back on Monday. The burnt remains were then demolished by the owners, without permission from the council.

Roger Lees, leader of Staffordshire Council, said planning officers had visited the site but had not agreed to the demolition, and stated it was completely unacceptable and contrary to instructions provided by our officers.

Multiple reports on social media stated that mounds of dirt were blocking access roads to the pub, with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and night-time economy adviser Alex Claridge saying there were major questions over the cause of the fire.

In letters to South Staffordshire Council and the emergency services, the two men said they make it clear we are not inferring that The Crooked House was deliberately set alight, and said they were intrigued by the fact officers faced blocked access while trying to get to the scene.

An application had recently been made for the pub to receive listed status (Jacob King/PA Wire)

The two men wrote: Whilst we do not yet know the cause of the fire or the outcome of any investigation being conducted by Staffordshire Police or Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, it is clear that we should not allow such a tragic act to be the end of The Crooked House.

We, therefore, ask that you consider ensuring the property is rebuilt brick by brick (using as much original material as possible) before any further discussions about the future of the site take place.

A petition has received over 13,000 signatures with the aim of restoring this piece of history and restoring the pub to its former glory.

People inspect the rubble and remains of the former pub (PA)

Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Chisholm, Head of Specialist Crime, said: We understand the significance of this much-loved building and the upset and anger felt by many so want to reassure you were doing all we can to understand more about what happened, and who was responsible.

There is lots of misinformation circulating within communities and online and this is unhelpful. Were trying to provide accurate and timely updates, but as I am sure you can appreciate, there is a lot of work and liaison with a number of partners which needs to be completed and this takes time.

There are also certain things that police and fire do not have the powers to deal with, the decision around partial demolition of the building for example, when the scene was handed back to the owner.

We are working hard with our fire colleagues to understand the cause of the fire and are in contact with the landowner, we will keep you updated with any further significant developments.
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A seasoned mountain guide and two clients in their 60s were roped together when they died while traversing a treacherous ridge in the Scottish Highlands over the weekend, British media reported Thursday.

Police reported the deaths early in the week, but have not identified the victims.

The Scottish Sun said Thursday that Dave Fowler, 39, head of West Coast Mountain Guides, was leading the man and woman on the notoriously difficult scramble along Aonach Eagach, which is one of the narrowest ridge crests in Britain.

The group failed to return Saturday night and searchers found the bodies early Sunday. No details have been released on where along the ridge they were found or what might have happened.

One client was identified by British media as Graham Cox, 60. The name of the 64-year-old woman had not yet been released by authorities.

Fowler had been climbing since he was a child in Wales, according to his company's website. It said he climbed around the world, including summiting two different routes on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and had been guiding in the mountains of Scotland for over a decade.

Dave remains passionate about climbing and his infectious thirst for adventure will not be lost on any of our customers who spend time with him in the mountains, the website said.

Aonach Eagach is an extremely narrow crest that runs for six miles (10 kilometers) at an altitude of 3,600 feet (1,100 meters). A series of steep rocky pitches and intimidating pinnacles with precipitous drops have to be negotiated up and down with care.

The traverse includes some tricky, exposed scrambling, but is accessible to anyone with a head for heights however new to scrambling they are, Fowler's guiding site said.

Seven people have now died on the ridge in the past decade, though three deaths at one time is unusual.

The route does not require ropes, but photos on guiding sites show clients in helmets wearing climbing harnesses tethered to ropes.

In a November posting on his company website, Fowler noted the rock was slippery but said he another man had just completed the journey in 4 1/2 hours  half the time it often takes  because they were keen to get down before the weather changed.

The forecast on Saturday had called for light rain in the Glen Coe area.
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Labour has accused the Conservatives of leaving the UK the most exposed major economy to rising energy prices.

The party said that data compiled by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero shows why the UK has been hit hardest by soaring energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) data shows that in 2021 the UK had the highest average domestic electricity price of the countries assessed by the global body.

Labour said that it showed how vulnerable the UK was to energy shocks, even before Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to invade Ukraine.

Shadow climate change and net zero minister Alan Whitehead said: Every family in the country is paying the price in higher energy bills because 13 years of failed Conservative energy policy have left us vulnerable.

They failed to prepare and to protect Britain  and it is families and businesses that have paid the price.

Even before Putins invasion, over a decade of Tory decisions  from banning onshore wind, to cutting insulation and solar, and stalling nuclear  meant UK households were facing the highest bills of any major economy.

He said that the country cannot afford another Tory government.

Labour also pointed to Government failures on insulation and energy efficiency, as well as on solar and nuclear power.

Mr Whitehead said: Only Labour has a plan to cut energy bills once and for all, with our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030, and our Warm Homes plan, which taken together will cut energy bills permanently by up to 1,400 for every family  creating jobs, strengthening our energy security, and tackling the climate crisis along the way.

Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps hit back at Labour.

Labours Energy Surrender Plan, written by Just Stop Oil, will sacrifice 213,000 British jobs, cost 87 billion, and increase our dependency on dictators like Putin, he said.

Instead of cosying up to foreign energy dictators like Labour did when they were last in office, were powering more of Britain from Britain.

The amount of electricity from renewables is up from less than 7% in 2010 to over 41% now and were delivering four new state-of-the-art nuclear reactors.

Greenpeace warned that energy security will come only from a switch to renewables.

The groups head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, said: Contrary to the guff that the Conservative government continually spouts about needing more oil and gas for energy security and to reduce our dependency on dictators, drilling for more fossil fuels will do anything but this.

Since fossil fuels arent nationalised in this country, any oil and gas extracted from the North Sea belongs to the company that extracted it, not the UK. They can then sell that oil and gas on the international market at international rates.

This will not increase energy security nor will it mean we import less.

She said a switch away from climate-wrecking fossil fuel will give the UK the energy security it so desperately needs while also helping to tackle the climate crisis and lowering bills.
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No 10 was forced to correct a tweet suggesting that the UK was still inside the EU.

Downing Street made the mistake in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, boasting about Britains prowess in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The official account used a graphic saying the UK is home to twice as many AI companies as any other EU country.

After users pointed out that Britain was no longer part of the bloc after Brexit, No 10 then changed to say any EU country instead.

The post was aimed at highlighting the Rishi Sunak governments investment in AI, including 13m invested in tech for the NHS.

As well as hoping to make London the home of a new global regulator, Sunak is keen for the UK to host an international AI summit this autumn.

But experts in the field have questioned Britains capability, with concerns that the country is lagging behind much of Europe and the US.

It comes as AI has been recommended for use to aid NHS clinicians for the first time, in a move that could help boost cancer patients by saving radiographers hundreds of thousands of hours.

Rishi Sunak is hoping to boost Britains AI capabilities to help the NHS (PA Wire)

Nine platforms have been given the green light in draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which said they could relieve severe pressure on radiology departments and save money.

AI is used by radiographers to create contours, an outline of cancer patients healthy organs.

The process is carried out in cases such as lung, prostate or colorectal cancers and ensures beam radiotherapy does not damage healthy cells. At the moment, radiographers outline healthy organs on a CT or MRI scan by hand.

Nice said evidence reviewed by its independent medical technologies advisory committee found that AI platforms generally produce similar quality contours as those carried out manually, with most only needing minor edits.

Using the technology could be quicker, giving clinicians more time to spend with patients or focus on more complex cases. It is the first piece of Nice guidance to recommend the use of AI to aid clinicians in their role.

Sarah Byron, programme director for health technologies at the public body, said the use of AI could help support treatment planning alongside clinical oversight by a trained healthcare professional could save both time and money.

Clinical experts advising Nice estimated that they saved between 10 and 30 minutes per treatment plan by using AI depending on the amount of editing needed. Further evidence suggested time saved could range between three and 80 minutes per plan.

Nice said the lowest potential time saving of three minutes could save doctors 3,750 hours per 75,000 treatment plans. On the higher end of the scale  80 minutes  100,000 hours would be saved.
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Rishi Sunak has taken a taxpayer-funded private flights for travel in the UK once every eight days since he has been at No 10, new figures show.

The data revealed that Mr Sunak has already used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic journeys more frequently than any recent PM  after just seven months in office.

It comes as Greenpeace claimed Mr Sunak will go down in history as failing on climate change, amid fresh concern about the Tory leaders frequent use of high-polluting travel and approach to net zero.

Mr Sunak boarded 23 domestic flights on RAF jets and helicopters aircraft across 187 days, almost one flight a week on average.

The frequency of the PMs taxpayer-funded flights around Britain outstrips his immediate predecessors, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May.

Recommended Grant Shapps sparks fresh Tory row over net zero

Details of the RAFs Command Support Air Transport domestic flights were revealed in a Ministry of Defence freedom of information release to the BBC.

Ms Truss enjoyed only four domestic flights in her 49 days in charge  once every 12 days. Mr Johnson took such trips every 20 days, while Ms May made these journeys once every 13 days.

Mr Sunak has defended his repeated use of private air travel to get around the UK, calling it the most effective use of my time, despite calls for him to use the train when equivalent journey times are possible.

Labour has also suggested that the PMs RAF flight to Scotland to announce new oil and gas licenses may have broken the ministerial code, which states that private planes should only be used when there is no viable scheduled flight.

Rishi Sunak boards a plane at Stansted airport in Essex (PA)

A No 10 spokesperson said the PM and his ministers sometimes require the use of non-commercial air travel, calling it standard practice for governments around the world.

They added: Value for money, security, and time efficiency is taken into account in all travel decisions and all flights are carbon offset.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace has attacked the unprecedented move to block civil servants from having any contact with the groups policy experts after an anti-oil protest at the PMs Yorkshire home.

The campaign groups directors told The Guardian that the briefings against them in the wake of the stunt  which saw activists drape a large oil-black fabric over his mansion  was really dark stuff.

Greenpeace activists on the roof of Rishi Sunaks house (PA Wire)

An open letter from the organisation says government ministers and officials met BP 12 and Shell 11 times in only six months while ignoring green groups and climate experts.

The latest row comes as Mr Sunak comes under pressure from both environmentalists and net zero sceptics in his own party  with the Tory right pushing him to ditch policies which cost voters too much money.

Net zero sceptics want the PM to build on the success of the anti-Ulez by-election result in Uxbridge by scrapping Mr Johnsons policy to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030.

He also faces a rebellion on the de facto ban on oil boilers from 2026, which mostly affects those living in off-grid homes in the countryside. Former environment secretary George Eustice described the policy as Ulez for rural communities.

But former energy minister Chris Skidmore, who led the governments net zero review, said the decision to grant 100 new fossil fuel licences was the wrong decision at the wrong time and warned the PM that he risked being on the wrong side of history.

And Tory peer Zac Goldsmith told the BBC this week that he was very tempted to back Labour at the next general election because of the governments failure to push on with its net zero commitments.
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Campaigners have called for legal changes to protect pubs after the destruction and demolition of the Crooked House, which they called a national scandal.

The Campaign for Pubs said the appalling case of the 18th-century site was evidence of predatory purchasing and asset-stripping of historic pubs which should be banned.

The Crooked House, in Himley, West Midlands, burned down on Saturday and was totally demolished without permission on Monday, with police later confirming the cause to have been arson.

The site, known as Britains wonkiest pub, was sold by pub company Marstons to a private buyer two weeks prior to the fire after being on the open market since January this year.

What has happened to the historic and unique Crooked House pub is a national scandal, as well as a loss to the local community and its history and heritage Greg Mulholland

The Campaign for Pubs has now written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging a change to planning law which would prevent pubs aged 50 years or older from being sold for alternative use, converted or demolished until they had been marketed as a pub for at least a year.

Greg Mulholland, campaign director of the Campaign for Pubs, said: What has happened to the historic and unique Crooked House pub is a national scandal, as well as a loss to the local community and its history and heritage.

As well as a full investigation and appropriate action, this sad and unnecessary destruction of a world-famous pub must be the catalyst for change, to stop cynical and unscrupulous owners buying up pubs to convert and develop them and to stop the endemic asset-stripping of our historic pubs.

We need a simple change to planning law so that no historic pub can be sold for alternative use, converted or demolished until it has been properly marketed for at least a year at the independently valued price as a pub.

This would stop the cynical destruction of pubs and allow licensees, local breweries, entrepreneurs and communities to buy our historic pubs and make a success of them.

Planning laws were changed in 2017 which meant pubs in England could not be converted or demolished without permission.

But Nik Antona, chair of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said around 700 pubs around the country were currently closed and according to its figures, around 30 had been demolished or had its use changed this year without planning permission.

South Staffordshire Council said on Tuesday that it had given permission to the Crooked Houses owners to demolish the first floor of the building on safety grounds but had not agreed to, nor deemed necessary, the sites total demolition.

In a four-page letter to Mr Sunak, the Campaign for Pubs said that the government was overseeing a laissez-faire attitude to protecting historic pubs, which saw pubs marketed at hugely inflated freehold values which priced out potential tenants in favour of property developers.

It said: A historic pub should only ever be converted if there is no one who wants to buy it as a pub, at the independently marketed value as a pub.

This is precisely what our Give Pubs Protection policy calls for.

In the light of the case of the Crooked House, but also the many hundreds of cases up and down the country where communities are losing viable pubs, we urge you to now implement this and make this simple change to planning law, to stop the cynical predatory purchasing and asset-stripping of our nations pubs Campaign for Pubs

When anyone  individual or company  buys a historic pub they buy the building as a pub and can, therefore, expect to realise the value as a pub when they sell it.

They cannot and should not seek to profit from selling the pub for development and this must be stopped where there is a buyer as a pub.

It added: In the light of the case of the Crooked House, but also the many hundreds of cases up and down the country where communities are losing viable pubs, we urge you to now implement this and make this simple change to planning law, to stop the cynical predatory purchasing and asset-stripping of our nations pubs.

Visiting the remains of the Crooked House on Thursday, Mr Antona called for landowners to be prosecuted for flouting planning rules.

He said: Until local authorities, who are strapped for cash at the moment as we know, take the bull by the horn and start enforcing these regulations were not going to be happy that pubs are safe and protected under the current legislation.
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Scientists are developing a test that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect a major complication of diabetes in the hope it could become a standard screening tool for those living with the condition.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University are tweaking equipment currently used by high street optometrists to detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

It will work by scanning nerves at the front of the eye rather than the back, with the AI element of the device able to predict future damage.

Dr Uazman Alam from the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences at the University of Liverpool told the PA news agency: What we know from a body of work which Ive been very heavily involved in over the past 15 to 20 years, is that the nerves at the front of the eye actually reflect nerve damage elsewhere in the body.

DPN is a major complication of diabetes and the number one cause of limb amputation in diabetic patients.

It is caused when high blood sugar levels damage the nerves that send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.

The team has been given 1.4 million to develop the new machine, which is essentially a redesigned optical coherence tomography (OCT) device, a tool used by optometrists to scan the back of the eye.

Our device will scan the front of the eyes, Dr Alam said. The nerves are very small and therefore it needs a higher resolution.

It will also have AI embedded in it he added, and could save clinicians time and save the NHS money.

The test currently used to detect sensory loss in the limbs of diabetic people is called the 10 gram monofilament, but Dr Alam described it as quite crude.

In nearly all countries, diabetes is going to increase. For us to have somebody individually to undertake the test and detect nerve damage is quite time consuming and would be a major economic burden to healthcare services Dr Uazman Alam

He said it could miss a lot of people who have DPN, adding: The whole point of this project is really to try to develop it as a screening tool.

At the moment, [patients] are screened, but the tests we use arent sensitive. This were hoping will be a lot more sensitive.

Rather than having to take measurements of the nerves, we can use the entire image to detect the nerve damage and actually predict those who will develop it.

He added: In nearly all countries, diabetes is going to increase. For us to have somebody individually undertake the [10 gram monofilament] test and detect nerve damage is quite time consuming and would be a major economic burden to healthcare services.

In June, a study suggested more than one billion people globally could be living with diabetes in the coming decades.

The paper, published by The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, said that by 2050, some 1.3 billion people will have diabetes  more than double the 529 million cases in 2021.

I think (AI is) important and I think it probably actually needs to be taught in medical schools as well. It's going to be entrenched within the healthcare system Dr Uazman Alam

Dr Alam also said AI prediction is an important part of the teams work.

He added: I think the importance of it is that OCT is a technology thats out there and is currently being used in a clinical environment in the high street.

So it wouldnt be that far-fetched that this would potentially be used.

Dr Alam will be working on the project alongside University of Liverpool colleagues Prof Yaochun Shen of the electrical engineering department, and Yalin Zheng, a professor of AI in healthcare in the department of eye and vision sciences, as well as Liangxiu Han, professor of computational science at Manchester Metropolitan University.

It is hoped the study will conclude in 2027 and will ultimately result in a pilot clinical validation trial in healthy and diabetic volunteers at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool.

Dr Alam predicts that AI it will be an important facet of all healthcare systems at some point but will need developing further before it is adopted widely.

I think we have to remember that AI is not just the images that were talking about, but it can also be data as well, he said. Its here to stay. We need to develop it in a way that is ethical.

I think its important and I think it probably actually needs to be taught in medical schools as well. Its going to be entrenched within the healthcare system.
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Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines will soon return home, after a six-month training period with British forces.

Plans to train the marines were announced in February during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys surprise visit to London.

Since then around 900 Ukrainian marines have completed the course, which has seen British commandos training and instructing on amphibious training and inflatable boat beach raids.

This programme of training, delivered by elite British commandos, will support Ukraine to build its own distinct marine force and expand its capability to operate in a maritime environment Defence Secretary Ben Wallace

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: The UK has led the way in training the armed force of Ukraine, providing world-leading training in frontline combat skills to more than 20,000 of Ukraines army recruits through Operation Interflex.

This programme of training, delivered by elite British commandos, will support Ukraine to build its own distinct marine force and expand its capability to operate in a maritime environment.

The marines received training across a range of areas, including in the use of anti-tank weapons, ant-aircraft missiles and the use of mortars and drones.

The Ministry of Defence said many of the Ukrainian trainees were civilian volunteers who had no previous military experience.

Others were transferred from sections of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Over 20,000 Ukrainian recruits have already received training in the UK since the start of the war.
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The backbone of an 88ft-long replica of the Sutton Hoo longship has been completed, after a nine-month delay when one of the first wooden pieces split.

The full-size reconstruction of the Saxon ship that was excavated in 1939 is being built by a team of around 120 volunteers in a shed beside the River Deben in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Independent charity the Sutton Hoo Ships Company, which is building the ship, has been funded by donations.

The projects master shipwright, Tim Kirk, said most of the volunteers are retired  including retired engineers, social workers and an eye surgeon.

This week they were joined by three National Trust apprentice joiners, and Mr Kirk said they have also been helped by the Royal Engineers from the nearby Rock Barracks.

Dating from the early 7th century, the original Sutton Hoo longship has been described as a ghost ship, as its timber had rotted away in the acidic soil, leaving only an imprint in the sand.

Around a third of the planks of the replica ship  36 pieces  have now been fastened on, with the remaining 60 to 70 planks expected to be in place by the end of the year.

Mr Kirk said each plank takes around 40 hours to work down from a wedge of timber cleaved out of a log, with each section up to 5.5 metres (18ft) long and weighing 300 to 400lbs.

It then takes a further 20 hours to make the plank the right shape and fasten it to the ship.

The ribs of the ship, made of oak and secured with iron rivets, will start to be added further into work on the planking.

Mr Kirk said the backbone of the ship was completed in November of last year, a year after the first two finished pieces were joined together.

But the project was delayed by some nine months when one of these first pieces split.

The first piece that we secured, unfortunately it split, which is one of the hazards of using green timber  freshly sawn, unseasoned timber, said Mr Kirk.

That set us back as we had to go and source another tree that was exactly the same shape as the one we had before.

He said it took around six months to find a suitable tree, after a period of consultation on what to do about the split piece, then some 450 man hours to craft the new piece from the tree.

Mr Kirk said it had been really difficult to get the size of timber that we need and is seeking at least three logs that are six metres (20ft) long and 1.2 metres (4ft) in diameter.

Were looking for really big special trees and there are not as many about in Britain today and even fewer in East Anglia, he said.

It looks like well have to go outside of the region and look nationally, and Im hoping we dont have to go and look internationally but it may be that we have to do that which would, of course, add significant cost to the project.

He hopes the ship will be completed and be ready to be tested on the water by spring of 2025.

One of the National Trust apprentice joiners, Josh Bobbett, who usually works on windows, doors and gates at stately homes, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing to work on the longship.

Mr Bobbett, 32, from Shrewsbury, said: Its like nothing Ive ever done before.

Youve only got to look at it, really.

Almost 90ft of oak timber, all hand planed with axes, its a bit unusual.

He added: The biggest thing Ive learned really is a bit more about woodgrain, imperfections and how they can completely ruin your day if they arent going your way.

Ive got a new appreciation for that.

It is hoped that, following the 1 million project, the longship will become a tourist attraction.
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As wildfires tore through the Hawaiian Island of Maui this week, not even the famed banyan tree could be spared from the raging flames.

The beloved tree, which has stood at the centre of the historic town of Lahaina for more than 150 years, was left scorched and charred beyond recognition, images showing its blackened branches and trunks among the embers.

But, despite the damage, for now, the tree is still standing.

For many years, the iconic tree along the Lahaina towns Front Street served as a gathering place.

With more than two million people visiting the town each year, the tree became the heart of the oceanside community, towering more than 60 feet (18 meters) high and anchored by multiple trunks that span almost an acre.

The Banyan Tree embodies the deep and resilient spirit of Lahaina, made for renewal. Thats our ethos in Maui, one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

So what is the significance of the Banyan Tree and will it survive Hawaiis worst natural disaster in more than 50 years?

Follow live updates of the wildfires in Maui here

Heres what we know about the banyan tree and its history

The historic town of Lahaina

Lahaina dates back to the 1700s and was once the royal residence of King Kamehameha, who is said to have unified Hawaii under a single kingdom by defeating the other islands chiefs, according to the National Park Service.

The Lahaina Historic District is now home to more than 60 historic sites, according to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Hawaii Fires Banyan Tree (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A National Historic Landmark since 1962, it encompasses more than 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) and covers ocean waters stretching a mile (1.6 kilometres) offshore from the storied buildings.

For many Hawaiians, the town is a connection to their ancestors.

Now, the historic town is almost totally burnt to the ground, with the blaze leaving behind smoking piles of rubble.

The wildfire has so far consumed much of Lahainas Front Street, home to restaurants, bars, stores and the banyan tree  a fig tree with aerial roots that grow out of branches and eventually reach the soil and become new trunks.

What is the Lahaina banyan tree?

An anchor of Banyan Tree Park, the banyan tree is soon as an iconic figure in nature.

According to the Hawaii Ocean Project, the tree was originally gifted from India and is the biggest tree on both the island and across the US.

It was first planted in 1873 by the then-Sheriff of Lahaina William Owen Smith to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission on Maui.

It was planted a quarter century before the Hawaiian Islands became a US territory and seven decades after King Kamehameha declared Lahaina the capital of his kingdom.

The scorched banyan tree (AFP via Getty Images)

The tree was only eight feet tall with a single trunk when it was planted and it now stands over 60 feet tall with a canopy spread of 2/3rds of an acre (about a quarter mile).

The Hawaii Ocean Project said it is a common misconception, due to the number of trunks, that the banyan tree is composed of several trees that have fused together. Instead, it is actually a single trunk that has rooted into 16 major trunks.

Unlike most trees, banyan trees actually sprout aerial roots that hang down from its branches. When these roots become long enough to touch ground, they root themselves in place, the Hawaii Ocean Project added.

The Maui County Arborist committee has been tasked with keeping the tree alive as well as maintaining the shape of the tree as it is the centrepiece of the park.

The Banyan Tree Park sits on the grounds of the old Lahaina Fort which was demolished in 1854 and later became the site of a courthouse.

Prior to being renamed Banyan Tree Park, the park went by the moniker Lahaina Courthouse Square. Long time locals often refer to the park by that name, the Hawaii Ocean Project said on its website.

Will the banyan tree survive?

As the wildfires continue to burn in Maui  and the damage to the island is yet to be realised  locals have spoken of their concerns for this crucial piece of history.

Although still standing, the banyan tree does face some damage to its trunk and limbs.

There is nothing that has made me cry more today than the thought of the Banyan Tree in my hometown of Lahaina, wrote one user identifying herself as HawaiiDelilah on X.

We will rebuild. And the natural beauty of Maui will be forever, her post said.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Kidder Winn, who analysed the damage in Lahaina on Wednesday, walked by the tree and saw hope in its charred branches.

Hawaii Fires Banyan Tree (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Its burned, but I looked at the trunk and the roots and I think its going to make it, she said.

It was kind of this diamond in the rough of hope.

The tree has somewhat become a symbol of the damage, loss and hope, John Sandbach, who has lived on Maui for nearly two decades said.

Theres just so much meaning attached to it and theres so many experiences that everyone has. Its in the heart of a historic town, he said.

The town could have survived the banyan tree burning down," he said, but nothing can survive with the whole town burning down.

Additional reporting from agencies
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Covid-19 cases are on the rise in California and nationally, but the true impact of the surge might be unclear given the ending of the public health emergency.

Data from pharmacy chain Walgreens shows a rise in positive test results at its outlets in California, up to 48.3 per cent last month compared to 27 per cent in June. The national average is currently 44.7 per cent across Walgreens 5,000 pharmacies.

Hospitalizations are also on the rise in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health. In the week ending 15 August, the average for hospitalised patients over a two-week period was 1,055, whereas the average in the week ending 6 July was 754.

The numbers arent as bad as last year  last years statewide average of hospitalized patients during the summer was 4,700.

Nationally, too, the US has seen an increase in hospital admissions with coronavirus for the first time since December 2022, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting a 12.5 per cent rise in the week ending 29 July.

However, the true extent of this Covid-19 surge is unclear for a number of reasons: the Biden administration, which ended the public health emergency in April, stopped mailing at home Covid tests and insurers are no longer covering coronavirus tests. While the Walgreens data shows an uptick, it does not take into account people who test at home rather than head to a clinic.

A new variant, known as EG5 and nicknamed Eris, could be the cause of this mini surge.

Dubbed a variant of interest by the World Health Organization, EG5 has accounted for 17.3 per cent of American cases as of 5 August, up from 7.5 per cent in the first week of July and surpassing a number of Omicron descendants like XBB.1.16 (15.6 per cent of cases), XBB.2.23 (11.2 per cent) and XBB.1.5 (10.3 per cent).

While the emergency of COVID has been lifted and were no longer in a crisis phase, the threat of COVID is not gone. So, keeping up with surveillance and sequencing remains absolutely critical, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organizations technical lead for COVID-19, said on July 26.

Symptoms for Eris are similar to other coronavirus variants: runny or stuffy nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, sore throat, coughing and changes to smell.

According to a report by Fox 11 Los Angeles, scientists believe this new variant is more resistant to antibodies built up from previous strains.

And Dr Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Childrens Hospital, told TODAY.com, that this new strain is also more transmissible.

If it was equally transmissible, then we wouldnt see it gaining strength number-wise compared to some of the other variants,Dr Nachman said, adding that EG5 is pushing out other Omicron variants.

However, vaccines and herd immunity are still believed to be offering some protection from this new variant.

Right now, what were seeing with the changes in the viruses, theyre still susceptible to our vaccine, theyre still susceptible to our medicines, theyre still picked up by the tests, CDC Director Dr Mandy Cohen said in an interview with the In the Bubble podcast. Were seeing small changes that are what I would call subtypes of what weve seen before.

Updated vaccines should become available by September, she said.

We anticipate that they are going to be available for most folks by the third or fourth week of September, Dr Cohen said.

And, she added, that the CDC is likely to recommend an annual Covid shot just like the flu shot.

Were just on the precipice of that, so I dont want to get ahead of where our scientists are here and doing that evaluation work, but yes we anticipate that COVID will become similar to flu shots, where it is going to be you get your annual flu shot and you get your annual COVID shot, Dr Cohen told Spectrum News in July.

If you do get Covid, the CDCs recommendations havent changed. Stay at home, isolate, wear a mask if you are around people, follow doctors orders, practise hygiene when handling shared goods and get rest.
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was heading to jail on Friday after a federal judge revoked his bail for attempting to tamper with witnesses in his upcoming fraud trial.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Mr Bankman-Fried be detained after finding probable cause that he had harassed his former girlfriend and FTX executive Carline Ellison when he shared her private journals with the New York Times.

The 31-year-old former cryptocurrency billionaires lawyers immediately filed an appeal against the incarceration order, according to the Associated Press.

If the appeals fail, he will remain locked up until his trial begins in Manhattan on 2 October.

Mr Bankman-Fried had been under house arrest on $250m bail at his parents home in Palo Alto since he was extradited from the Bahamas last December on charges of defrauding investors of billions of dollars in his failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Despite court orders restricting his internet and phone use, Mr Bankman-Fried was continuing to speak to journalists and contacted a general counsel for FTX with an encrypted communication, prosecutors claimed.

Mr Bankman-Fried could be sent to Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while he awaits trial.

Federal prosecutors have charged the FTX founder with stealing billions of dollars from the crypto exchange to pay debts for his hedge fund Alameda Research, purchase lavish real estate in the Bahamas, and donate millions to political campaigns.

They say he illegally diverted millions of dollars from customers cryptocurrency accounts using his FTX exchange. Mr Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The hearing in Manhattan on Friday was the latest in a series of pre-trial hearings related to Mr Bankman-Frieds interactions with the press, in what prosecutors described as a pattern of witness tampering and evading his bail conditions.

Prosecutors accused Mr Bankman-Fried of sending hundreds of emails and making more than 1,000 calls to journalists over the past few months.

Bankman-Fried is accused of flouting the terms of his bail (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

They said that leaking Ms Ellisons diaries to the New York Times was an attempt to discredit Ms Ellison, and a means of indirect witness intimidation through the press.

Lawyers for the New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had filed letters objecting to the detention order.

His defence attorneys claimed the prosecutors arguments were based on innuendo, speculation, and scant facts.

The Justice Department argued that Mr Bankman-Fried should be held in a jail in New Yorks Putnam County Correctional Facility where he will have limited access to the internet to prepare his trial defence.

Ms Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to federal charges in December and is cooperating with prosecutors.
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A woman from Michigan was arrested this week after her ex-boyfriend caught her performing a sex act on their pet dog, according to authorities.

Brittany McClure, 30, was arrested for sodomy and animal abuse for the alleged assault of the former couples dog Max, reported Fox 2 Detroit.

Ms McClures ex-boyfriend was reviewing footage on a surveillance camera which he had set up in the living room of their home in Taylor, Michigan, when he caught her performing sex acts on the dog.

According to police, he then turned over the footage to investigators.

On Wednesday, Detective Philip Collop described the six-minute video in court.

He said it showed the defendant lying on the living room floor before she called Max the dog over to her.

In that video, it shows defendant Brittany McClure lying on the living room floor on a mattress with a blanket. She opens the blanket and calls the dog over. She is heard saying good boy, he said.

Fellow officer Lt Frank Canning said that, after two decades on the job, he had never seen anything like it before.

(It was) plain as day: his ex-girlfriend performing fellatio on their dog named Max and her attempts to get Max to reciprocate, Lt Canning said.

Brittany McClure was arrested after comitting sex acts on her dog (Taylor Police Department)

Kind of an interest in fetish stuff that was seen on the internet. I dont know that any justification could justify these acts.

He added that Ms McClure had owned up to performing sex acts on Max but insisted that this was the only time she had done so.

Thankfully the video was captured, he said. I would hate for this to become a regular thing for Max.

Authorities said that the dog wasnt hurt in the incident and that he is now in the care of the ex-boyfriend.

Ms McClure was ordered not to have any contact with animals as her bond was set at $100,000 by the judge.
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The defence team for Bryan Kohberger provided testimony this week from a genealogist scrutinising the reliability of genetic genealogy that prosecutors say tied the Idaho murders suspect to the knife sheath found at the scene.

Investigators used genetic genealogy to build a case against Mr Kohberger, 28, who is accused of fatally stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle at their off-campus home in November.

Prosecutors argue that the killer broke into the off-campus student home in Moscow in the early hours of 13 November, carried out the brutal murders, leaving behind a military knife sheath, which was found next to Mogens slain body in her bed.

DNA found on the sheath was later matched to Mr Kohberger after the FBI checked the sample against genetic genealogy databases and tipped off local authorities.

After collecting trash from the suspects parents home in the Pocono Mountains, a familial match  from Mr Kohbergers father  was made to the knife sheath, according to the criminal affidavit.

Following Mr Kohbergers arrest on 30 December, DNA samples were taken directly from the suspect and came back as a statistical match, say prosecutors.

But Mr Kohbergers defence team has continued to push back, and on Wednesday submitted an affidavit by DNA expert Dr Leah Larkin, who echoed the teams concerns that the science behind genetic genealogy is not perfect.

She explained that at-home genealogy tests like AncestryDNA, 23andM or MyHeritage are not as reliable as tests conducted by specialized laboratories.

A poor quality kit might have too few matches or it just might have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship, the document reads.

Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his hearing in June 2023 (Getty)

In this cropped screen grab from a bodycam video provided by the Hancock County Sheriffs Office, Bryan Kohberger with his father (Hancock County Sheriffs Office)

More and more cases are being solved as law enforcement increasingly utilise the technique to locate and track suspects relatives on these ancestry websites - which offer a broader array of relatives.

But it was also noted in the affadavit that shes been aware of where genetic genealogy has been wrong and cases where databases were used improperly by authorities.

In the absence of effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists are on an honor system to obey the Terms of Services and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic genetic genealogy, the affidavit states.

In Mr Kohbergers case, he had no prior criminal record which means his DNA was not in any law enforcement database.

Mr Kohberger, who is being held at Latah County Jail in Moscow, Idaho, ia scheduled to stand trial on 2 October for the murders of Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Chapin, 20, after he was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary charge.

Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, y Kaylee Goncalves, 21, fueron asesinados el domingo. (Instagram)

In the court last month, the accused killers legal team accused prosecutors of hiding its entire case from the defendant by trying to keep its method of genetic genealogy investigation secret.

There is no connection between Mr. Kohberger and the victims, states the filing titled Objection to States Motion for Protective Order.

There is no explanation for the total lack of DNA evidence from the victims in Mr Kohbergers apartment, office, home, or vehicle.

The filing came in response to the states motion for a protective order around the methods it used to match his DNA to the crime scene.

The defence is arguing that the prosecution should hand over all this information to Mr Kohberger and that he has a right to know what led investigators to suspect him in the first place.

Bryan Kohberger faces four counts of murder after students were stabbed to death inside this house (Getty Images)

Two other female roommates lived with the three women at the property and were home at the time of the massacre but survived.

One of the survivors  Dylan Mortensen  came face to face with the masked killer, dressed in head-to-toe black and with bushy eyebrows, as he left the home in the aftermath of the murders, according to the criminal affidavit.

For more than six weeks, the college town of Moscow was plunged into fear as the accused killer remained at large with no arrests made and no suspects named.

Then, on 30 December, law enforcement suddenly swooped on Mr Kohbergers family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania and arrested him for the quadruple murders.

The motive remains unknown and it is still unclear what connection the WSU PhD student had to the University of Idaho students  if any  prior to the murders. The murder weapon  a fixed-blade knife  has still never been found.
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The Maryland man who claimed he saw the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin was not even within eyesight of the crime scene when she was found, the Harford County Sheriffs Office told The Independent.

Michael Gabriszeski, 49, claimed to multiple news outlets that he and his stepdaughter came across Morins body on Sunday when they joined the search for the missing mother-of-five, who had vanished on Saturday after going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.

Mr Gabriszeski said that his stepdaughter, who he said was a friend of Morins, was the first to discover the body in a tunnel near the trail before they alerted police. He gave his first public comments to WMAR on Monday.

On Thursday, multiple media outlets published interviews in which Mr Gabriszeski described seeing Morins remains in a horrifying state.

Mr Gabriszeski gave graphic accounts of what he claimed he saw to both the Daily Mail and WBFF, telling the latter that he saw a terrible mess.

But a spokesperson for the Harford County's Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Independent on Thursday that Mr Gabriszeski did not find Rachels body and that he did not view her body.

He has no first-hand knowledge of the crime scene, the sheriffs office added.

Mr Gabriszeski was in the area to help search for the missing woman, the sheriffs office explained, but said that he was not within eyesight of the crime scene.

The spokesperson would not confirm whether or not the stepdaughter was the one to locate the body.

Rachel Morin was last seen alive heading off on the Ma and Pa Trail (Harford County Sheriffs Office)

Investigators have also not confirmed any details about Morins injuries or the state of her remains.

Morin initially left her home around 6pm on Saturday to go for a jog. When she failed to return five hours later, her boyfriend called the police to report her missing. Her body was found on Sunday afternoon.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler announced that evening that the case was now a murder investigation.

Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends, Mr Gahler said in another briefing on Wednesday.

He added that a team of detectives have been working around the clock to piece together a timeline of the case and that some of the more than 100 tips that have been submitted by the public have been promising.

Investigators in the Harford County Sheriffs Office do not have an official suspect yet in the case.

We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event, Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler urged the public to be vigilant when walking along the Ma and Pa Trail and said there will be increased patrols along the trail.

This article was amended on 10 August 2023. It previously stated that Michael Gabriszeski had discovered Rachel Morins body, based on his own accounts.
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The 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing OShae Sibley to death at a gas station in Brooklyn has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Dmitriy Popov was previously indicted by a grand jury on murder in the second degree as a hate crime, among other charges.

He appeared in court on Friday for his arraignment where he entered a not guilty plea on all charges.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez underscored the importance of prosecuting this incident as a hate crime when the indictment was handed down on Thursday.

Many powerful people across this country have talked about this case and have been concerned that justice prevails, said Mr Gonzalez, ABC 7 reported.

Im assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously, that were going to make sure that justice prevails.

The 17-year-old is accused of killing Sibley, a gay 28-year-old professional dancer, at at a Mobil gas station in Brooklyn back on 29 July.

Sibley as at the gas station with a friend just after 11pm that night and was reportedly dancing to a Beyonce song.

Thats when a separate group of young men allegedly began hurling homophobic insults at him, saying that they didnt like gay dancing in their neighbourhood, according to eyewitnesses.

Sibley suffered a stab wound to the torso. EMS responded and removed the victim to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased, a spokesperson for NYPD said.

Mr Popovs lawyer Mark Pollard previously told The Independent that his client was a good Christian boy who regularly attended church.

People gather at a gas station during a vigil to memorialise OShae Sibley (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.=copy23==copy23=)

I have no idea where that came from. I just know hes not Muslim. Its very strange, Mr Pollard told The Independent.

The teenage suspect turned himself in after authorities spent a week trying to find him  although he was easily identified through video footage.

Sibleys killing has been widely condemned, with New York Mayor Eric Adams saying at a press conference last week: This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence.

Mr Popovs next court date has been set for October.

The teen faces a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of 25 years to life.
 Close Woman's body found off of popular trail believed to be missing Maryland woman

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More than a week after mother-of-five Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular trail in Maryland, authorities have yet to make any arrests in the investigation into her death.

Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm on 5 August. Her boyfriend reported her missing that night after she failed to return home and her body was found the following day.

On Thursday, Harford County Sheriffs Office said investigators had been made aware of potential witnesses who may have seen Morin on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air on Saturday. The witnesses  either three men, two women and two dogs or two men, three women and two dogs  were urged to come forward.

Officials said that these individuals had been identified and were contacted by investigators.

A spokesperson for the sheriffs office told The Independent on Tuesday that the department had increased patrol on the Ma & Pa Trail area to reassure the community in the aftermath of Morins tragic death, but noted that there is no perceived threat at this time.
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Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann continued to show disturbing behaviour right up until his arrest for the murders of three women, according to the top investigator on the case.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison also wouldnt rule out the possibility that Mr Heuermann may have been preparing to kill again at the time of the arrest.

Mr Harrison told Newsday that law enforcement saw some concerning actions from the married father-of-two while he was under surveillance before his arrest last month.

I cant talk about if he was preparing to kill again, he said.

Hes somebody that was still engaging in activity that was disturbing, be it his internet searches, be it engaging in other activities that he shouldnt be engaging in.

Commissioner Harrison added that he was very, very passionate about keeping eyes on Mr Heuermann up until his arrest because we need to see what his lifestyle is.

The accused killer had been on the radar of Long Island police for months  not long after the newly-appointed commissioner launched a new taskforce to crack the unsolved Gilgo Beach serial killer case back in January 2022.

After surveilling him for months, officers swooped on the architect as he left his office in Manhattan on 13 July.

Mr Heuermann was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello and is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

All four women, known as the Gilgo Four, worked as sex workers and disappeared between 2007 and 2010 after going to meet a client.

They were all found in December 2010 within one-quarter mile of each other, bound by belts or tape and some wrapped in burlap  their bodies dumped along Gilgo Beach.

They are among 11 victims whose remains were found along the shores of Long Island in 2010 and 2011, sparking fears that one or more serial killers was at large.

Last week, investigators announced that one of the victims had finally been identified.

Karen Vergata, 34, was last seen alive on Valentines Day 1996.

Rex Heuermann, the architect accused of murdering at least three women near Long Islands Gilgo Beach, appears in court (jtc)

At the time, she was living on West 45th St in Manhattan and is believed to have been working as an escort.

In April 1996, her legs were found wrapped in plastic at Davis Park on Fire Islands Blue Point Beach.

Almost exactly 15 years later on 11 April 2011, her skull was then found off Ocean Parkway during the search for Gilgo Beach victims. The two sets of remains in Fire Island and Ocean Parkway were later found to belong to the same person but her identity remained unknown until now.

In a press conference announcing Vergatas identity last week, Suffolk County officials refused to confirm whether or not her murder may be linked to Mr Heuermann.

So far, the accused serial killer has only been charged with three of the 11 murders and is expected to be charged with a fourth.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered that he hand over a cheek swab DNA sample as part of the ongoing investigation.

While the investigation continues and no arrests have been made in connection to the deaths of the other seven victims, Commissioner Harrison said that he cannot rule out the possibility that there is still another serial killer out there.

We were able to bring comfort to three families, were very close to a fourth one, but we still have more work to do to identify the subject or subjects that were involved with the other bodies that were discovered, he told Newsday.

I cant tell you at this time, he said, when pressed about whether or not residents should fear another predator.

Is Rex Heuermann going to be held accountable for the other bodies on Ocean Parkway? Time will tell.

However, the police commissioner did double down on the stance that investigators are not treating Shanann Gilberts death as a murder  but as a horrible accident.

Myself and the investigators assigned to the homicide squad still believe it was just an incident where she ran into the marsh and unfortunately drowned on that horrible day, he said.

Search of the home of Rex Heuermann (AP)

The disappearance of Gilbert led to the discovery of the string of bodies along Gilgo Beach.

It was May 2010 and she vanished after leaving a clients house on foot near Gilgo Beach, making a final chilling 911 call saying she feared for her life.

During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered human remains.

By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Gilberts body was then found in December 2011.

Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities long claiming that it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the clients home.

However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered.

Court records show that Mr Heuermann was linked to the Gilgo Four murders through a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, sadistic online searches, phone calls taunting victims families, his wifes hair found on the victims bodies  and a pizza crust.

The first piece of the puzzle came when a witness in the Amber Costello case revealed details about a vehicle that a client was driving when she was last seen alive.

Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Megan Waterman (clockwise from top left) (AP)

Costello, who worked as a sex worker, was seen alive on the evening of 2 September 2010 when she left her home in West Babylon. A witness said she had gone to meet a client who was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

Last year, a registration search showed that local man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation model of the truck at the time of Costellos disappearance. He also matched the witness description of the man believed to be the killer: a large, white ogre-like male in his mid-40s, around 64 to 66 tall, with dark bushy hair, and big oval style 1970s type eyeglasses.

The discovery of the car led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann including executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain evidence to determine his potential involvement in the killings.

Among this was Mr Heuermanns alleged use of burner phones, with prosecutors saying that he used burner phones to contact the three women and arrange to meet them at the time when they went missing.

He also allegedly took two of the victims cellphones  and used one to make taunting phone calls to one of their families where he boasted about her murder, court documents state.

Mr Heuermanns DNA was found on one of the victims, while his wifes hair was found on three of the four women he is connected to.
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Truth Social tipped off authorities to the concerning online posts of one of Donald Trumps followers months before he was shot dead by the FBI during a raid prompted by his threats to kill President Joe Biden, it has been revealed.

A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that the former presidents social media company alerted the FBI back in March about a particular post left by Craig Deleeuw Robertson on the platform.

In the post, Robertson  a 74-year-old Air Force veteran who described himself as a MAGA Trumper  had threatened to kill Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr under his account @winston4eagles.

At the time, Mr Bragg was preparing to bring charges against Mr Trump in connection to hush money payments made adult film star Stormy Daniels and others to cover up his alleged affairs ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

In early April, the former president was hit with 34 charges of falsifying business records over the alleged catch-and-kill scheme.

According to the federal criminal complaint against Robertson, an unnamed social media company  identified as Mr Trumps Truth Social  sent a tip about the threat to kill Mr Trumps rival to the FBI National Threat Operations Center.

An FBI agent then received the tip on 19 March from the FBI National Threat Operations Center.

Following the tip, two FBI agents had gone to Roberstons home in Provo, Utah and confronted him about the online threat.

Robertson allegedly dismissed the threat telling the agents: I said it was a dream Were done here! Dont return without a warrant.

Over the next five months, the FBI uncovered multiple threats made by Robertson against Mr Trump rivals including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Vice President Kamala Harris and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The complaint in United States District Court against Craig Deleeuw Robertson, featuring threatening online postings (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Then, on Sunday, Robertson  who owned multiple firearms  had taken to social media to make a chilling threat against Mr Biden.

I heard Biden is coming to Utah, he wrote, just hours before the presidents visit to the state.

Robertson added that he was cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.

Following the disturbing post, FBI agents tried to execute a search warrant at Robertsons home on Wednesday and arrest him on federal charges for making death threats against Mr Biden, Mr Bragg and FBI agents.

During the encounter, Robertson allegedly refused to comply with commands and pointed a firearm at the agents.

He was fatally shot by the FBI agents.

Robertsons family have since spoken out to insist that he would never have acted on his words.

Craig Robertson stands in camouflage holding a rifle in an undated social media photo (US District Court)

Though his statements were intemperate at times, he has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement, the family said in a statement.

Robertson was understandably frustrated and distraught by erosions to our constitutionally protected freedoms and the rights of free citizens wrought by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government, they said.

There was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and voice his protest in what has become the public square of our age  the internet and social media.

His death is now under investigation by the FBIs Inspection Division.
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The family of a Korean War veteran is desperately searching for him after they lost contact with him amid the devastating wildfires in Hawaii.

Authorities in fire-scorched Maui County have confirmed at least 67 fatalities, as the largest blaze, still raging in Lahaina, is now 80 per cent contained. More than 1,000 people are still unaccounted for in what is believed to be the deadliest disaster in the states history, Governor Josh Green said during a press conference on Thursday night, warning that the death toll is expected to climb.

State and federal agencies are scrambling to assist endangered residents and hundreds of families across the country have been unable to locate their loved ones due to cell phone service being down.

Kim Berly told The Independent that she is worried her 79-year-old father Maurice Buen, who lives on Wainee St in Lahaina, was caught in the fire. Ms Berly said she last spoke with Mr Buen on Sunday and is now clinging to hope that he made it out of the blaze.

I didnt know about the fire until Wednesday morning when all my news alerts started going off, Ms Berly said. I tried calling and again straight to [voicemail]. So I texted him and still no reply.

Ms Berly said his father, who was a trained sniper during the Korean War and will turn 80 next month, is known to locals as Shadow. She said she had been in contact with acquaintances looking for him but her communication with them was hindered by restricted travel and limited cell service.

Brittany Talley told CNN that her 66-year-old veteran grandfather Timm TK Williams Sr was also among the more than 1,000 missing as of Thursday.

Just moments before losing contact with his family, Mr Williams Sr, who uses a wheelchair and crutches, sent a picture of the flames closing in on him as he attempted to evacuate.

The family of Maurice Buen, 79, say that they have been unable to locate him (Kim Berly )

He was attempting to make it to a shelter, but all of the roads were blocked, Ms Talley said. He would not be able to run or move quickly if needed to.

Mr Williams daughter Nikki White wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was last seen in a white SUV as he drove away from the Kaanapali area while seeking shelter.

Timm Williams Sr is also missing after sending his family a picture of the flames closing in on him as he attempted to evacuate (Timm Williams Sr)

Struggling to fall asleep. Not wanting to miss an alert, text or call that could lead to finding my dad. God please please keep him safe, Ms White tweeted.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Maui County had launched a family assistance centre in Kahului to assist families searching for relatives who may have been impacted by the fire. People can report their loved ones missing at the centre located at 275 Uhu St, or online.

Gov Greene acknowledged the widespread communication issues, noting that there was hope for families that their relatives are alive but currently unable to let them know theyre safe.

Heres the challenge: theres no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when were speaking to our officers, we need them to get a phone, he said on Thursday.

The fires have devastated the historic town of Lahaina and left more than 1,000 structures burned. Numerous people have lost their homes, while the towns normally bustling tourist district is believed to have been destroyed.

Meanwhile, Maui County and state officials are continuing to launch efforts in the midst of what Gov Josh Green told the Associated Press is expected to be the worst natural disaster since 61 people died in a tsunami on the Big Island in 1961.
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An Indiana mother of two died in July after drinking too much water too quickly, according to her family.

Ashley Summers was enjoying a visit to Indianas Lake Freeman over the Fourth of July weekend when she told those around her she was feeling dehydrated, light-headed, and felt she couldnt drink enough water. After consuming multiple bottles of water in a short span, she went home, where she passed out in her garage.

Her family rushed her to the IU Health Arnett Hospital, but she never regained consciousness, succumbing to water toxicity.

"It was a shock to all of us. When they first started talking about water toxicity. It was like this is a thing?" Devon Miller, Ashleys brother, told WRTV.

"Someone said she drank four bottles of water in 20 minutes. I mean, an average water bottle is like 16 ounces, so that was 64 ounces that she drank in a span of 20 minutes. Thats half a gallon. Thats what youre supposed to drink in a whole day," he added.

"Its relatively rare," Dr Alok Harwani, a physician at the hospital, told WLFI. "Now, what we are concerned about is just drinking too much water in a short period of time. Your kidneys can really only clear about a liter of water per hour."

The doctor said its a good idea when spending a lot of time outside in hot weather to continue to eat or drink things with electrolytes, like fruit or Gatorade, in addition to plain water, helping maintain the balance of water and sodium in the blood.

Ashley Summers, an Indiana woman who died of water toxicity in July (WLFI)

"Things to look out for are if you just start feeling really out of it, very tired, very fatigued," he added. "Sometimes patients feel like theyre starting to have a mild headache, or are just feeling overall unwell. Those could be early signs of water intoxication ... So, if youre really concerned that you or a family member is not acting right and youre worried about water toxicity, dont hesitate to call 911, dont hesitate to go to the [emergency room]."

Deaths from water toxicity have happened before in a variety of contexts.

According to Scientific American, people have died from the condition in everything from a radio stations on-air water drinking contest, to a fraternity hazing ritual in which a California university student was forced to drink copious amounts of water in between rounds of push-ups.

Clubbers, particularly those on drugs like MDMA, can be susceptible to the condition as they sweat profusely and rehydrate with water over hours of dancing.
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Survivors of the wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii were allowed to return home Friday, 11 August.

Police are allowing people with valid residence documents as well as those who were evacuated from hotels to pick up belongings.

Lahaina, a town of 12,000 on the island of Maui, was decimated by a wildfire late 8 August, prompting mass evacuations and power outages.

Nearly every building on its historic Front Street is gone. At least 55 people have been reported dead.

The fires were a result of dry conditions and strong winds fueled by Hurricane Dora. The blaze is the deadliest U.S. wildfire since Paradise, California, where 85 people were killed by The Camp Fire.
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At least 67 people in Hawaii died as a result of the fast-moving and devastating wildfires that occurred this past week  but that number, as of Friday afternoon, is only based on people found outside of buildings.

Richard Bissen, the mayor of Maui, told TODAY that the death toll in Hawaii is based only on the number of people found outside.

Officials are awaiting rescue, search and recovery teams from FEMA to search the inside of buildings as they have better equipment.

I think that number could go up, according to those who have been doing our recovery  our police department, our coast guard, our national guard the different groups that are helping us here on island  that was the number that they found people who were outside of the buildings, Mr Bissen said.

We have not yet searched in the interior of buildings. Were waiting for FEMA to help with that search as they are equipped to handle the hazmat condition of the buildings that have been burned.

State and federal assets, including search teams and cadaver dogs, arrived in Hawaii Thursday evening and Friday morning to help in recovery efforts.

Mr Bissen said at the moment they are focused on finding survivors as an estimated 1,000 people are unaccounted for.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green told reporters on Thursday that those unaccounted for are not presumed dead but have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.

Residents and visitors of Maui had little time to prepare for evacuation when fast-moving wildfires hit the island on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Strong winds, partially brought on by a hurricane, caused the fires to move extremely quickly.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, left, and Mayor Richard Bissen walk past the burned remains along Front Street in Lahaina (AP)

Locals described a chaotic and terrifying scene trying to escape the blaze with some people even jumping into the ocean to prevent being burned.

The fires, while somewhat less intense, have not been contained as of Friday morning. Firefighters from Honolulu and Maui are working to try and put out flare-ups are Lahaina  a historic town that was hit extremely hard.

Photos from Lahaina and Maui depict a devastating scene as ash and soot blanket much of the land and buildings. Several hundred structures have been completely burned down.

Mr Bissen said once the fires are contained they intend to rebuild.
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A New York federal prosecutor has come under attack by activists for seeking to close two of the citys sanctioned supervised drug consumption sites.

Damian Williams says that the methods used by the two OnPoint NYC sites in Harlem and Washington Heights are illegal and his office is looking to crack down or close the facilities.

I have repeatedly said that the opioid epidemic is a law enforcement crisis and a public health crisis, Mr Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement to The New York Times. But I am an enforcer, not a policymaker.

Until New York policymakers sanction the sites, he said, the organisation is operating in violation of federal, state and local law.

That is unacceptable, Mr Williams said. My office is prepared to exercise all options  including enforcement  if this situation does not change in short order.

OnPoint NYCs strategy is straightforward: Have people consume drugs under the watchful eye of their trained staff, who can intervene in the case of an overdose.

The way people have seen drug users is disposable: get rid of them, put them in prison. I think a lot of that is a fear of the unknown, Sam Rivera, the executive director of OnPoint NYC told The Independent last year.

Theres been a relay race for many, many years to get to this point. Many colleagues Ive lost and I love, friends and family Ive lost and I love, who have been fighting for this kind of intervention because they know it works. They know well keep them alive.

It sounds so radical, but radical is what works, right? he said.

OnPoint NYC told The New York Times that its facilities have reversed 1000 overdoses since they opened their doors a year and a half ago.

And activists and non-profit groups across the boroughs have taken to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to condemn Mr Williamss comments.

The Legal Action Center tweeted that New York Gov Kathy Hochul must authorise the overdose prevention centres or they will remain vulnerable to stigma, NIMBYism, and interference that impedes their crucial work.

The group, which provides free legal services in New York City, pointed out in a statement that there have been zero deaths among those who use OnPoints services.

Inaction by Governor Hochul leaves the future of these lifesaving programs in jeopardy as stigma and misconceptions about people who use drugs and people who have substance use disorders cloud public perception and sway policy under the guise of public safety, the statement read.

Dr Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a neuroscientist who sits on the faculty at The City College of New York, called the work of OnPoint the most humane access to care for people that misuse drugs.

She added that the work done at overdose prevention centres is evidence-driven and will result in lives saved as well as doors open for those in need.

Former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio authorised the sites in one of his final acts as mayor calling the centres a safe and effective way to address the opioid crisis.
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Police are investigating after three people and a dog were found dead in a hole containing highly toxic gas in a private cornfield north of Elgin, Texas, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook named the victims as Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45, and explained that they were all from Florida and visiting a friend living in Red Rock for a hunting expedition.

Sheriff Cook said the quartet had set out hog hunting by truck late on Tuesday night when one of their dogs seemingly leaped out of the vehicle, raced off and subsequently plummeted into an open cistern in the middle of the field, located near County Road 461.

One of the visiting Floridians climbed into the cistern  essentially a buried tank intended to catch rainwater  to retrieve the animal, got into difficulties and was followed by their two companions, who unsuccessfully attempted a rescue effort.

Police were called to the scene at around 1.02am by the fourth member of the party and found the three individuals and the dog dead in the water at the base of the tank and realised that it contained hydrogen sulphide gas, which inhibits respiration and is instantly fatal to humans if inhaled in any quantity.

The gas is produced naturally from the microbial breakdown of organic matter when oxygen is absent and is often found in swamps, sewers and wells.

There were strong fumes, similar to those of a septic tank, coming from the cistern, the Bastrop County Sheriffs Office (BSCO) wrote in a report of the situation posted on Facebook.

The fumes, the stagnant water and the instability of the cistern hampered recovery efforts and prevented first responders from initially climbing into the man-made structure.

Denise Martinez (GoFundMe)

Concerned about the fragility of the tank, the responders initially planned to dig down alongside it and breach its side to retrieve the bodies before deciding against the plan to avoid weakening its walls and making entry unsafe, electing to drain it instead.

After the fumes and water were removed from the cistern, and the air was stabilised, a small drone was deployed inside the cistern to check the integrity of the walls, the BSCO continued.

Noel Vigil-Benitez (Bastrop County Sheriffs Office)

An officer named in the post as Investigator D Newman, volunteered to climb into the tank wearing protective clothing to retrieve the bodies with help from the Elgin Fire Department after six local diving firms refused to assist because of the presence of the gas, according to My San Antonio.

Mr Newman completed his recovery mission around 7.30pm on Wednesday, after which the bodies were taken to the Travis County medical examiners office for autopsies.

Its a hunting accident that went bad, Sheriff Cook said on Thursday.

Its sad that these young people lost their lives Our heart goes out to the families. Can you imagine if you have loved ones that come here to hunt in Texas and it ends like that?

Police said the owner of the property recently passed away so they are seeking to track down their successor and to verify the hunting story.

The fourth member of the party, who lived locally and did not enter the cistern, has not been named.

Delvys Garcia (GoFundMe)

In the wake of the tragedy, Amanda Cabrera, the wife of Delvys Garcia, has started a GoFundMe page for her late husband, writing: He leaves behind two children and me. I am a single mother and widow now and need assistance with his funeral expenses. Anything helps please and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

An appeal has also been launched in the name of Denise Martinez.

As of Friday afternoon, the former had raised over $17,000 and the latter more than $20,000.
 Close Related video: Trump polls far ahead of Republican rivals, despite legal troubles

Donald Trump is cementing his lead in the Republican presidential primary. His closest rival, Ron DeSantis, is slipping behind  according to a new CBS poll out Sunday  while other GOP rivals are gaining on the Florida governor.

Meanwhile, in the Democratic primary, support is dropping for the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr. A poll by Quinnipiac University released on Wednesday revealed that Mr Kennedy is supported by 13 per cent of Democrats, a drop of 3.5 per cent compared to June.

The recent poll was conducted between 10 and 14 August and included 1,632 likely voters. It showed a slight increase in support for Marianne Williamson, the self-help author who also ran for president in 2020.

Her support increased from eight per cent in June to nine per cent in August.

Support for President Joe Biden increased from 70 to 72 per cent.
Boris Epshteyn, a longtime aide to former President Donald Trump, was arrested in 2021 after he was accused of repeatedly groping two women in an Arizona nightclub, according to police records.

Epshteyn pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges in Scottsdale city court after prosecutors dropped charges of attempted sexual abuse, assault-touching and harass-repeated acts. He paid a fine and served probation, and his conviction was set aside earlier this year.

The arrest was first reported Thursday by The Arizona Republic. Epshteyn, who is advising Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

A club security guard flagged down police early in the morning of Oct. 10, 2021, and told officers that women had complained Epshteyn touched them inappropriately, according to a police report and body-worn camera footage released under Arizona's public records law.

One woman told officers Epshteyn was especially aggressive toward her 23-year-old sister.

All night he's been like touching me and my sister, especially my sister, she said over loud music during an interview captured on the officer's body camera. He kind of cornered her and grabbed her and like (was) just making her super uncomfortable. Touching her after we repeatedly told him to stop touching her.

She said club security told her they couldn't kick out Epshteyn because he was a big spender, though security guards eventually led him out of the bar to police.

We have a high tolerance of people being weird, but that was above and beyond, the older sister told one officer.

Epshteyn denied wrongdoing but said little else about the incident to police as he sat on a curb outside the bar.

"I have no idea whats going on. I have no idea who these women are," Epshteyn told officers.

Epshteyn was also charged in 2014 with assault-touching following a fight at another Scottsdale bar, court records show. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

A longtime Trump adviser, Epshteyn was a principal surrogate in the 2016 presidential campaign, making frequent television appearances and briefly serving as a senior White House adviser before becoming an analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Hes also been a main figure in Trumps ongoing legal battles, both as an adviser and a participant.

After Trumps loss in 2020, Epshteyn worked with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani  another of Trumps lawyers  on efforts to overturn the election results by organizing fake electors. Last year, he was subpoenaed by the House panel probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and testified before a Georgia special grand jury probing Trumps efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state.

Its anticipated that a possible indictment in that case could come against the former president next week.

He also accompanied Trump to Washington last week for his first appearance in federal court on charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Earlier this year, Epshteyn appeared alongside the former president as Trump was arraigned in New York on 34 felony counts as part of a hush money case  the first time in U.S. history a former president had faced a criminal indictment.

When Timothy Parlatore quit the Trump legal team in May, he singled out strategy differences with Epshteyn as among his reasons, accusing him of doing everything he could to try to block us to prevent us from doing what we could to defend the president as it relates to the case in which Trump is charged with improperly taking classified documents from the White House.
Democratic members of Congress have revived their demands for the resignation of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas following the largest accounting yet of the gifts, luxury vacations and private travel he received from a group of wealthy benefactors in his years on the nations highest court.

Hes corrupt as hell and should resign today, US Rep Bill Pascrell of New Jersey wrote on 10 August following ProPublicas latest investigation.

The outlets months-long probe has uncovered previously undisclosed travel, hospitality and gifts from influential billionaires with connections to right-wing interest groups with business before the court  from private flights and yacht cruises to resort accommodations and VIP tickets to sporting events that legal experts argue are likely to violate disclosure requirements.

US Rep Gerry Connolly said that no Justice should accept these types of gifts.

Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest Court, he wrote. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform.

Would billionaires have given Justice Clarence Thomas massive gifts if he was just a law clerk? NO. Thats what makes this corrupt, said US Rep Ted Lieu. They were seeking to curry favor with Justice Thomas, either directly or indirectly. And Justice Thomas violated the law in accepting the gifts.

The Independent has requested comment from a spokesperson for the Supreme Court.

Several proposals in Congress  including legislation introduced by Independent Senator Angus King and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski  would force the nations high court to create a binding code of conduct, appoint an ethics officer to oversee compliance, or establish an ethics policy as strict as one for members of Congress. The Supreme Court is the only arm of the federal judiciary that is not bound by a code of ethics.

Republican lawmakers  who have supported a years-long effort with right-wing legal groups to radically reshape the federal judiciary by seating dozens of ideologically like-minded judges  accused congressional Democrats of using ethics reform to undermine the Supreme Courts conservative supermajority, a long-held goal of GOP-aligned special interest groups.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito  whose private jet travel and fishing trips are also the subject of close scrutiny  has publicly rejected congressional attempts to regulate the Supreme Court, comments that Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin has called unwise and unwelcome.

Mr Durbin said the latest reporting makes it clear: these are not merely ethical lapses. This is a shameless lifestyle underwritten for years by a gaggle of fawning billionaires.

Justices Thomas and Alito have made it clear that theyre oblivious to the embarrassment theyve visited on the highest court in the land, he added. Now its up to Chief Justice Roberts and the other Justices to act on ethics reform to save their own reputations and the Courts integrity. ... If the Court will not act, then Congress must continue to.

Congress did not create the Supreme Court, Mr Alito told The Wall Street Journal last month. I know this is a controversial view, but Im willing to say it  No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court  period.

He added: I dont know that any of my colleagues have spoken about it publicly, so I dont think I should say. But I think it is something we have all thought about.

The second-ranking Democratic senator responded to his remarks stating that Justice Alito is not the 101st member of the Senate.

The ethical conduct of Supreme Court Justices is a serious matter within this Committees jurisdiction. Ensuring ethical conduct by the justices is critical to the Courts legitimacy, Mr Durbin said in a statement earlier this month. The next time Justice Alito thinks about taking a private plane to a billionaire-funded fishing trip, he should have to ask more than Can I take this empty seat? He should have to ask if doing so is consistent with his legally-mandated ethical obligations.
The district attorney of Fulton County issued a memorandum to her office staff denouncing a new lie being told about her by Donald Trump and his allies while instructing them to not comment publicly on the matter.

Fani Willis issued the memo after the Trump campaign began running an ad spot in the state suggesting falsely that she had been engaged in an extramarital affair with a rapper who was the target of a racketeering probe launched by Ms Williss office, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported on Wednesday.

Theres zero evidence for such an affair occurring, and neither of the parties alleged to have been involved have claimed as much. But that hasnt stopped the former president and his team from making the outright dishonest assertion at least once during public campaign rallies with his followers in recent weeks, or from running ads claiming that Ms Willis got caught hiding a relationship with a gang member she was prosecuting.

I guess they say that she was after a certain gang and she ended up having an affair with the head of the gang or a gang member, Mr Trump said of Ms Willis at a rally in New Hampshire.

In her response, Ms Willis instructed her staff: You may not comment in any way on the ad or any of the negativity that may be expressed against me, your colleagues, this office in the coming days, weeks or months. She also described the ads and statements of Mr Trump as derogatory and false.

The source of the Trump campaigns newest lie appears, according to the AJC, to be an article in Rolling Stone which examined Ms Williss handling of the YSL Mondo case. The article itself does not make any reference to an affair, however, and theres no other apparent reason (other than sexism and desperation) for the Trump campaign to suggest that she had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Mondo either during that investigation or previously when she served as a defence attorney and briefly represented him on an unrelated case.

In general, the situation is a perfect representation of the Trump camps continued addiction to fact-free conspiracies that rile up their most hardcore loyalist supporters but fail to hold any water when brought before actual authorities. Much like the Trump campaigns failed efforts to prove claims of election fraud in court after their 2020 loss to Joe Biden, the Trump legal team has thus far been unsuccessful in their attempts to discredit Ms Willis or her team before any authority in the state of Georgia that actually matters.

A judge tossed out a lawsuit by Mr Trump seeking to disqualify Ms Willis from participating in investigations against him and scrap the evidence her office has gathered in late July; as a result, her office is expected to issue an indictment or indictments related to his scheme to overturn the election results within days.
The harassment received by two Black women, a mother and her adult daughter, in Georgia after they were targeted by 2020 election conspiracies may become a central part of Fulton Countys case against Donald Trump and members of his 2020 team.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Wednesday that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss have testified at length about the death threats and racist harassment they experienced in the wake of their participation as poll workers in the 2020 election to a grand jury empanelled by District Attorney Fani Willis to hear her agencys evidence against the Trump campaign and the former president himself.

Rudy Giuliani, the former presidents attorney, at one point directly accused the two of being involved in stealing ballots during a hearing called by a Georgia Senate subcommittee  part of his failed efforts to prove fraud had occurred in the election.

Look at them scurrying around with the ballots. Nobody in the room. Hiding around. They look like theyre passing out dope, not just ballots. It is quite clear theyre stealing votes, he said.

A number of individuals who were accused of participating in the harassment are expected to be charged along with any indictments handed down to Mr Trump or his legal team, according to the newspaper.

Wandrea Shaye Moss is comforted by her mother Ruby Freeman, right, at a hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan 6 attack, in June 2022 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

We hope to see accountability for those who led and profited from the smear campaign against Ruby and Shaye, an attorney representing the two women said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution.

Some of that accountability has admittedly already been doled out. One America News settled with the two women after being hit with a Dominion Voting Systems-esque lawsuit, and two other suits against Mr Giuliani and the right-wing gossip blog Gateway Pundit are pending.

Jurors who spoke with the newspaper did not say specifically which figures connected to the investigation would actually end up being recommended for charges. But one person who seems to at least have caught intense scrutiny from the grand jury was Trevian Kutti, a publicist and self-described capitalist media manipulator who previously worked for Kanye West and R Kelly.

According to the grand jurys summons, Ms Kutti was involved in an effort to pressure Ms Freeman to say that she was involved in election fraud during a three-person phone call that included Ms Kutti, Ms Freeman, and Harrison Floyd, the head of Black Voices for Trump and a former state lawmaker. Ms Floyd was also summoned by the grand jury, according to the AJC, but like Ms Kutti did not offer testimony.

'I've lost my name, I've lost my reputation': Voting official givers testimony at Jan 6 hearings

Indictments in the case are expected within the next week or two. The former president is already facing skyrocketing legal costs as he battles 78 separate criminal charges across two jurisdictions and three criminal cases, a staggering burden for a politician who is currently leading his partys presidential primary contest.

Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing in any of the legal investigations against him.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he granted the US attorney investigating Hunter Biden special counsel status.

Mr Garland announced that David Weiss, who has served as the US Attorney for Delaware since 2018, would serve as special counsel and he had informed relevant members of Congress about the nomination.

The move is a shift from July when Mr Weiss informed Congress that he had not requested special counsel designation for his investigation into the presidents son. But on Tuesday, Mr Weiss requested such status.

I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Mr Garland said on Friday. This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he request.

Mr Weiss had previously been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019. Mr Garland and the Department of Justice allowed Mr Weiss to stay on board as US attorney when Joe Biden took office in 2021 to continue his investigation of Hunter Biden.

In July, Hunter Biden looked set to enter into a plea deal for unpaid taxes and lying on a federal application for a firearm. Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, had decried the agreement as a sweetheart deal. Many Republicans argued that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment because he is the presidents son despite the fact that Mr Trump nominated Mr Weiss and Republicans in the Senate voted to confirm him in 2018.

Then in late July, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to two of the charges after the presiding judge questioned whether the deal would prohibit the federal government from prosecuting him for other crimes he might have committed in the future.

The White House referred to remarks from Mr Garland and the Justice Department when asked by The Independent.

Mr Garland said that Mr Weisss office would not be subjected to day-to-day supervision but would have to comply with regulations, procedures and policies of the Justice Department. Mr Weiss would also be mandated to write a report of his investigation once it concludes.

 As with each special counsel who has served since I have taken office, I am committed to making as much of his report public as possible, consistent with legal requirements and department policy, he said. Today's announcement affords the prosecutors agents and analysts working on this matter, the ability to proceed with our work expeditiously and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.

Mr Garlands announcement comes the same day that former president Donald Trumps legal team appeared in court in Washington, DC and earned a win as US District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that a protective order against Mr Trump would only apply to sensitive material such as jury transcripts, witness interview records and other documents.

Mr Trump faces charges for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after a federal grand jury indicted him in response to a presentation from Special Counsel Jack Smiths office.

Make America Great Again PAC decried appointment of special counsel.

David Weiss cut Hunter Biden an unprecedented plea deal that attempted to give Joe Biden's corrupt son blanket immunity, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. Now, Merrick Garland expects us to trust Weiss to be the Special Counsel that finally brings Hunter Biden to justice. Biden's Justice Department will do whatever it takes to cover up the Biden Crime Family's misdeeds.

Mr Garland nominated Mr Smith to investigate Mr Smith to investigate Mr Trump. In addition, the attorney nominated Robert Hur to investigate classified documents found in locations associated with President Biden earlier this year.

But House Oversight & Accountability Committee blasted the move by Mr Garland.

Lets be clear what todays move is really about, the statement said. The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption. Our Committee will continue to follow the Biden familys money trail and interview witnesses to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised and corrupt, and our national security is threatened.
Former prosecutor Renato Mariotti has claimed Jack Smith is using insights he gained from his role at the Hague to bring Donald Trump to justice for his role in the 2020 efforts to overturn the election.

Mr Mariotti cited Mr Smiths stint in the Hague, where he played a role in prosecuting authoritarian leaders prior to becoming the special counsel in the cases against Mr Trump.

I think he understands the way an authoritarian can use these soft methods of increasing their power and staying in power, Mr Mariotti said on Thursday on MSNBC to anchor Ari Melber.

I think his experience prosecuting a sitting head of state, as you highlighted a moment ago, really prepared him for a moment like this. It shows when someone is desperate to stay in power, its important, ultimately, to find the way to bring him to account quickly, and I think thats what hes trying to do here.

Autocrats use propaganda, Melber earlier said.

Thats been true even as the nature of distribution has changed in many different eras. And propaganda is dangerous, precisely because you dont have to physically oppress people. You dont need weaponry if you trick enough of them into this or that position, whether thats hating authoritarianism or groups.

I want to play that other piece of footage where he [Jack Smith] makes a point  again, who could see how things echo.

People have a choice of what they want to repost on Facebook or whatever platform they use. And I thought this was so striking that in a related context of both authoritarianism and ethnic hate, he talked about the ethical people who chose not to perpetuate things. Take a listen, he said.

Melber then played the video clip.

The accused, in committing their crimes, tried to amplify the damage they caused by exhorting the media in Kosovo to publish. The ethical journalists refused to publish the documents they provided them, Mr Smith be heard saying in the clip.

This question is as much societal as it is legal. Im not talking about a repost or publishers liability. Im asking you the deeper question about why youre a prosecutor, why you care about justice, which is, what do you think of his appeal of how we all exercise our choices in the face of propaganda matters and how that relates at home right now? Melber continued.

Its pretty profound, Mr Mariotti replied.

I have to say, Im struck by the way in which he has an understanding of some of the softer ways in which people can exercise power.

Its such an interesting, different approach to Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller was very old school. He saw things, I think, in the way that  in a very black-and-white way that the Justice Department traditionally has.

Jack Smith... hes from a different generation. I think he understands the way an authoritarian can use these soft methods of increasing their power and staying in power.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has called out Donald Trumps defence team for appearing to forget how long ago the January 6 Capitol riots took place.

In a new legal filing, the prosecutor criticised the former presidents attorneys for writing that Mr Smiths team has been investigating this matter for three and a half years, while the defense is starting with a blank slate.

Not only is this claim impossible, as January 6, 2021, was two and a half years ago, but it is disingenuous, the Special Counsels office wrote.

The defence claim also attracted the attention of social media users, with Scott MacFarlane of CBS tweeting: Ive seen many math mistakes in assorted Jan 6 defense court filings over the years. But this one is a whopper.

This came as the prosecution and Mr Trump came to blows over their proposed dates for Mr Trump to be tried on charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

On Thursday, Mr Smith proposed a trial date of 2 January 2024, less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

In the filing, he said its case in chief will take no longer than four to six weeks.

Mr Trump lashed out at the suggested scheduling, writing on Truth Social that Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses.

Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA! he added. Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Senior Assistant Special Counsels Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom wrote in an eight-page filing that the timeline for a 2 January trial would provide the defence with ample time to prepare their case and review the evidence. The government has said theyre ready to hand over evidence during the discovery process.

They said the 2 January date would most importantly ... vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trial, adding that this was of particular significance as the ex-president has been charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens legitimate votes.

Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington Airport after his arraignment (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A January 2, 2024, trial date represents an appropriately speedy trial in the public interest and in the interests of justice, while affording the defendant time to prepare his defense and raise pre-trial legal issues with the Court, they wrote.

The Special Counsels office has also called out Mr Trumps defence team for attempting to litigate the case via the media.

John Lauro, Mr Trumps lead attorney in the case, has made a number of media appearances following the former presidents indictment in the case related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Some of the statements he made were then quoted in a filing by the Special Counsel.

It appears that [the] defense counsel is already planning which motions the defendant will file, the prosecution wrote, citing Mr Lauros 6 August appearance on CBS News when he said: [W]ere going to be identifying and litigating a number of motions that were going to file on First Amendment grounds, or the fact that President Trump is immune as president from being prosecuted in this way.

It was in this same filing that the Special Counsel called out the defence teams disingenuous and inaccurate claim that the prosecution has worked on this case for three-and-a-half years despite the insurrection being less than three years ago.
Ron DeSantis largely dismissed his own decision to replace his campaign leadership team as he returned to Iowa on Thursday in the midst of a weeks-long reset. The Republican presidential hopeful also made no mention of the two rounds of campaign layoffs he made recently in response to unexpected fundraising troubles.

Instead, the Florida governor leaned into his central message  a self-described war on woke  and flashed a big smile as he courted an audience of roughly 200 cheering Republicans gathered at a family restaurant for the first of four scheduled stops on his latest bus tour through the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

Were clicking. Were doing well, DeSantis told reporters after a fiery speech, dismissing questions about the turmoil that has plagued his White House bid in recent weeks. He said the average voter is far more focused on his plans for the country than his campaign leadership. This process stuff, I think, is way overblown.

Whether DeSantis acknowledges his challenges or not, they have not gone away.

Less than five months before the first votes are cast in Iowa's opening presidential contest, a growing chorus of would-be supporters within his own party is questioning DeSantis' core message and political instincts amid a prolonged effort to stabilize his campaign that has involved three significant personnel decisions so far  the two rounds of cuts and replacement of the campaign manager. At the same time, new signs of tension have emerged between DeSantis' formal campaign and an allied super PAC that's now planning to dramatically increase spending on paid advertising to help make up for DeSantis' financial challenges.

It remains to be seen whether or not he can save his campaign. Hes not run a particularly effective one to date, obviously, said Eric Levine, a New York-based Republican donor who has been calling for the GOP to unify behind an alternative to former President Donald Trump. He needs to be able to speak to a broader range of issues than the culture wars. To me, that is fundamentally at the core of his problem.

That message still resonates with many Iowa Republicans, who frequently mention DeSantis as one of their top two or three picks heading into the caucus. But most successful campaigns require steady leadership and donors who are willing to stick out the tough moments  and that's where DeSantis appears vulnerable.

After cutting one-third of his staff last month, DeSantis this week replaced campaign manager Generra Peck with James Uthmeier, his chief of staff in the Florida governor's office. Uthmeier, who has never managed a campaign, was a central figure in some of DeSantis' most controversial moves as governor, including the decision to fly migrants from Texas to an island off the Massachusetts coast last year.

As part of the leadership overhaul, DeSantis tapped veteran political operative David Polyansky, a senior adviser to his allied Never Back Down super PAC, to serve as deputy campaign manager. Some close to DeSantis operation believe that while Uthmeier has the campaign manager title and DeSantis trust, Polyansky will be effectively running the campaign given his extensive experience in presidential politics, especially in Iowa.

While DeSantis shrugs off his challenges, his allies are aware that multiple rounds of staffing cuts and stagnant polling numbers are undermining the campaign's central message that DeSantis is better positioned than Trump to defeat President Joe Biden next fall.

Still, the DeSantis campaign tried to project optimism in a memo shared with campaign supporters and donors earlier in the week, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

During the last few weeks, we have seen great success as a result of the changes we have made to run an insurgent campaign focused on the early nominating states, the memo says, highlighting an increased reliance on interviews with mainstream media to spread his message and a new focus on smaller, more intimate events organized by the super PAC at no cost to the campaign.

In adopting the new strategy, DeSantis is testing the limits of federal laws that prohibit direct coordination between campaigns and super PACs by leaning more heavily on the Never Back Down super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money  unlike the campaign, which is bound by strict fundraising limits.

Never Back Down has effectively adopted the role of candidate travel organizer, having chauffeured him, his wife and children by bus to roughly 20 Iowa events over the past month, including this weekend's three-day trip. Technically, DeSantis is only a guest of the super PAC, which is paying for the transportation and setup costs.

In another shift, the super PAC is increasing its Iowa advertising investment, which was never the super PAC's primary function, in direct response to the campaign's cash crunch. Reports of ad purchases in Iowa for the coming weeks show the super PAC tripling its spending in the state.

DeSantis' increasing reliance on the super PAC comes as Never Back Down faces the prospect of financial trouble of its own. The organization's biggest individual donor, hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, told Reuters last week that he would not donate any more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach.

Extremism isnt going to get you elected," Bigelow said.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who told Politico last year that he was ready to back DeSantis if he ran for president, has not met with DeSantis or donated to his campaign since its May launch, according to a person familiar with his thinking who requested anonymity to disclose private deliberations.

Griffin has been unsettled by DeSantis policies about teaching gender and sexuality in Florida schools and his ongoing fight with Disney, according to the person. The Republican mega-donor is also concerned that DeSantis has been pursuing policies that undermined individual rights and liberties.

Griffin declined to comment on any particular campaign, but said in a statement that he was assessing how the policies of each candidate will strengthen our democracy.

Meanwhile, DeSantis is showing no interest in backing off his focus on culture wars, which are popular with the GOP's most passionate voters and remained a central focus of his stump speech this week in Iowa.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said he gets a lot of questions about culture and made a direct connection between cultural issues and the economy. Specifically, he pointed to his opposition to ESG  or environmental, social and governance investments that are guided by corporations' policies.

That is taking an ideological agenda and using the economy to try to advance it, DeSantis said. Thats bad because those policies are things that most Iowans dont support and that I dont support.

DeSantis allies are also divided about his primary strategy.

The super PAC continues to stress its commitment to winning or finishing a close second in the first three states  Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina  while they spend big to build out a pro-DeSantis political organization in several of the so-called Super Tuesday states that vote on March 5. Yet DeSantis' campaign has shifted sharply toward Iowa in recent weeks.

By the end of Friday, DeSantis will have appeared at more than two dozen separate events in Iowa since mid-July. Thats compared to just two events in New Hampshire and South Carolina over the same period.

On Thursday, DeSantis noted that he was touching down in his 31st Iowa county and promised to campaign in all 99 on Iowas sprawling checkerboard before the state's Jan. 15 presidential caucuses. But when asked, he avoided predicting a clear victory over Trump, who is the early heavy favorite.

What you have to do is you have to win a majority of the delegates, you know, DeSantis told reporters after a brief stop in Cedar County's Tipton Family Restaurant. In Iowa, he added, I think were ahead of where we thought we would be, thus far.
The special counsel appointed to investigate President Joe Bidens handling of classified documents has been negotiating with the presidents lawyers over the terms under which he would be interviewed, according to a report.

Attorneys for Mr Biden and special counsel Robert Hurs office are focused on the logistics of the interview and the scope of the questions, sources told NBC News.

The negotiations are ongoing, the outlet reported. The investigation into the presidents handling of classified documents found on his Delaware property has been going on since they were discovered last November.

The presidents legal team, NBC News reported, is hoping to know whether the interview would include questions about material beyond the vice presidency, and are hoping to limit the scope of the questions.

It has yet to be determined where or when the interview would take place or even if it would happen in-person, according to the outlet.

A spokesperson for the White House Counsels Office said in February that the White House has been fully transparent from the beginning about the search for classified documents.

At the time, the spokesperson did not commit to the president sitting down for an interview. But he underscored that the president has been fully cooperative.

The White House declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department, which also declined to comment. The Independent has also reached out to President Bidens personal attorney Bob Bauer.

The news of the negotiations comes a week after Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down a superseding indictment against former President Donald Trump regarding his handling of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

Although the two cases have often been compared and cited as examples of a double standard by conservatives, the instances are not that similar. Unlike Mr Biden, whose administration called the National Archives after discovering classified papers at the Penn Biden Center, Mr Trump was not forthcoming with the National Archives, and even refused to hand over his stash of documents.

According to the superseding indictment, the former president endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents.
 Close Donald Trump indictment - latest news

Donald Trump should be prevented from running for federal office again under the 14th amendments provision barring those who support insurrections against the government from service, a new group of experts is arguing.

Harvard professor Lawrence Luttig pushed that idea on Sunday, speaking on CNNs State of the Union.

All officials, federal and state, who have a responsibility to put on the ballot candidates for the presidency of the United States are obligated under the Constitution to determine whether Donald Trump qualifies to be put on the ballot, he said.

Mr Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted last week for allegedly running a criminal enterprise to try to thwart the 2020 presidential election. He cancelled his proposed press conference at which he claimed he was going to unveil a report that would exonerate him in the criminal case. As of now, theres no concerted effort to file legal challenges against his ability to appear on the ballot, though that will likely change as the nation inches closer to primary season.

The former president is also the defendant in four ongoing criminal proceedings, including his most recent charging on criminal counts related to what Georgia prosecutors argue was a criminal scheme to solicit state official to support changing the states 2020 election results at the presidential level.
The federal Washington, DC judge in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump rejected the notion put forward by lead defence lawyer John Lauro that a protective order barring Mr Trump from speaking about the evidence in the case would be an enormous advantage to President Joe Biden.

Judge Tanya Chutkan told Mr Lauro during the protective order hearing on Friday that Mr Trumps campaigning has to yield to the orderly administration of justice.

Thats how its going to have to be, she added.

Mr Lauro retorted that Mr Trump has the right to respond to political opponents, like former Vice President Mike Pence.

The defendants desire to ... respond to political opponents has to yield, the judge said, according to ABC News.

Mr Lauro said hes concerned that the judge may be setting a contempt trap for the ex-president, to which the judge said nobody was speaking about possible contempt.

We are in the middle of a campaign, Mr Lauro said, adding that a protective order limiting what Mr Trump can and cannot say would provide an enormous advantage to President Biden.

Katie Buehler of Law360 wrote on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that every time Lauro mentions his claim that this case is politically motivated by President Joe Bidens Department of Justice, she scrunches her face. The first time he did this, she opened her mouth slightly as if to say something, but allowed him to continue.

Mr Lauro noted the risk is that someone can say something in a heated campaign which may prompt prosecutors to throw a flag that he said something revealed somewhere in the bowels of the discovery process.

We will obey your honours direction  100 per cent, Mr Lauro added, to which the judge replied, Im happy to hear that.

But there has to be fair play here, he continued.

I intend to keep politics out of this, the judge pushed back.

Assistant Special Counsel Thomas Windom argued that Mr Lauro has made a bunch of comments that are obviously political in nature. He added that it was emblematic of Mr Trump who has made no secret about what his intention is.

Judge Chutkan told the prosecution that she wont allow the 2024 campaign to impact her ruling but that Mr Trump, in his capacity as a political candidate, does have a need to speak openly.

The judge indicated that her protective order would only apply to information deemed sensitive in the case.

Mr Windom noted that the amount of evidence to be shared in discovery not considered sensitive was relatively small but he worried that Mr Trump could use that information for witness intimidation as well as to taint the jury pool.

Judge Chutkan was in the end not convinced that there was good cause to bar Mr Trump from discussing non-sensitive discovery material. The protective order will only cover grand jury testimony the prosecution considers to be sensitive.

But the judge also issued a warning to Mr Trump, saying that if he makes any statements that veers into witness intimidation, shell be scrutinizing them very carefully.

To the extent your client wants to make statements on the internet, they have to yield to witness safety and witness security, the judge told Mr Lauro, according to ABC.

He is a criminal defendant. He is going to have restrictions, Judge Chutkan said, adding that this case is proceeding in the normal order.

The judge agreed with the prosecution to expand whats considered sensitive materials to include all recordings, transcripts, and reports of witness testimony.

During a discussion of how Mr Trump will be allowed to review sensitive materials, Mr Windom appeared to reference the other Special Counsel probe against the ex-president concerning his mishandling of classified documents.

He has shown a tendency to hold onto material which he shouldnt have, Mr Windom noted.

The judge ruled that Mr Trump doesnt have to have a lawyer present when reviewing the materials but that he cant take notes, photos, or copies of the material.

Judge Chutkan emphasised at the end of the hearing that she would take measures to ensure that there isnt a carnival atmosphere surrounding the trial.

Quoting an old precedent, she said: Legal trials are not like elections to be won through the use of the meeting hall, the radio, and the newspaper.

The more a party makes inflammatory statements ... the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly ... to ensure an impartial jury, she added in a warning to Mr Trump.

Telling his attorneys to take special care that Mr Trump heeds her words on this issue, she added that she will enact whatever measures are necessary to make sure that theres orderly administration of justice.
Michael Cohen, former President Donald Trumps former attorney, is reportedly weighing a run for Congress.

I am interested and theres a multitude of folks encouraging me to run, the former presidents former fixer told Semafor.

Mr Cohen told the outlet that he would run as a Democrat. Im still contemplating the run, Mr Cohen confirmed to The Independent, but said he wouldnt be divulging any further details, like a timeline or what would sway his decision one way or another, at this time.

Mr Cohen told The Independent that he has been living in Manhattan since 1991. He lives on the East side of Manhattan, according to Semafor, meaning he would run against Rep Jerry Nadler in the 12th congressional district. Mr Nadler is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and has served in Congress since 1992.

A potential congressional run for Mr Cohen would be particularly interesting during the next election cycle, as he is likely to be a key player in the Manhattan trial against Mr Trump involving hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Mr Cohen admitted to paying Ms Daniels hush money payments during Mr Trumps 2016 campaign  after being directed by Mr Trump to do so. The former president was indicted in March by a grand jury and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges for falsification of business records.

Mr Cohen has been an outspoken critic of Mr Trump in recent years, and the pair have been engaged in ongoing legal battles. Earlier this month, Mr Trump was called to sit for a September deposition as part of his $500m lawsuit against his former attorney, claiming that he has suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of Defendants breaches.

Last month, Mr Trump reached a settlement with Mr Cohen over $1.3m in unpaid legal bills.
Donald Trump said he would refuse to sign a Republican National Committee loyalty pledge required by any candidate wishing to participate in the party's first primary debate.

He made the comments to Eric Bolling during an appearance on the Maga-friendly television network Newsmax, which had to end the interview with an awkward disclaimer reminding viewers that it accepts the results of the 2020 election.

I wouldnt sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldnt have. I wouldnt have certain people as somebody that I would endorse, Mr Trump said, refusing to specify which of the candidates he would not endorse.

The pledge requires signatories to agree to support whichever candidate becomes the Republican party nominee in 2024, according to The Hill.

Mr Trump has said on several occasions that he may skip the first debate, which is scheduled for 23 August in Milwaukee. He has questioned why he should bother with the debate since he is the clear frontrunner, suggesting it would simply open opportunities for the other candidates to attack him an an attempt to boost their own polling.

He told Newsmax that he would announce next week if he will participate.

"I've already decided, and I'll be announcing something next week," Mr Trump said. "I haven't totally ruled it out."

Mr Trump similarly refused to commit to backing the eventual Republican candidate during his campaign in 2015. During a primary debate that year, the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would back the nominee. Mr Trump was the only candidate to not raise his hand.

Trump taking part in a Pro-Am tournament at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday (EPA)

The former president eventually relented and signed a loyalty pledge later that year.

Mr Trump is not the first one to balk at the requirement; his opponent, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, told CNN last month that he would take the pledge "just as seriously as Donald Trump took it in 2016."

At the end of the segment Newsmax was forced to issue a disclaimer reminding viewers that they were not contesting the results of the 2020 elections.

"Alright folks," Mr Bolling said. "Now, just as a note: Newsmax has accepted the election results as legal and final."

Newsmax began shying away from commenters who pushed 2020 election conspiracy theories after the company was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation. The network ultimately settled the lawsuit and began pulling the plug on interviews with election deniers like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Mr Trump still insists, without evidence, that the election was stolen.
Donald Trump reacted furiously on Thursday to a proposed trial date of 2 January in special counsel Jack Smiths case against the former president for allegedly trying to overthrow the 2020 election result.

Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA! Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Earlier in the day, Jack Smiths office asked the District of Columbia judge to schedule the twice-impeached, thrice-indicted ex-presidents trial for a four to six week period beginning on 2 January next year.

In an eight-page filing authored by Senior Assistant Special Counsels Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom, the special counsels office said their proposed schedule would give Mr Trump and his defence team sufficient time to prepare a case and review the evidence which the government is prepared to turn over as part of the discovery process, as well as litigate any pre-trial matters such as the request for a change of venue Mr Trump has said he will call for.

The prosecutors also said that a 2 January 2024 trial date would most importantly ... vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trial, which they described as being of particular significance because Mr Trump is charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens legitimate votes.

A January 2, 2024, trial date represents an appropriately speedy trial in the public interest and in the interests of justice, while affording the defendant time to prepare his defense and raise pre-trial legal issues with the Court, they said.

At his arraignment one week ago, Mr Trumps attorneys indicated that they would request significant delays and ask Judge Tanya Chutkan to stop the clock set under the Speedy Trial Act which sets out a 70-day period in which trials in criminal cases are required to begin.

The ex-presidents legal strategy in both civil and criminal matters, dating back decades, is to cause as many delays as possible through any means possible. The three criminal cases against him have not proved an exception to this pattern, as Mr Trump is understood to believe his best chance at avoiding any negative consequences from the cases is to win next years presidential election.

But the magistrate judge who presided over the arraignment, Moxila Upadhyaya, told Mr Trumps counsel that Judge Chutkan intends to set a trial date after a status conference on 28 August, and gave the government a full week to propose a trial schedule.

Mr Trumps team will now have a week to respond to the departments proposed schedule, though its unlikely that the ex-presidents counsel will agree with the governments timeline.

At the arraignment last week, Trump attorney John Lauro suggested that he and his co-counsel could not begin to consider any possible trial date until theyd received the evidence which the government must turn over as part of the pre-trial discovery process.

We need all that information, I think, in order to address the issue of when we would be ready, and also the extent to which we would have an idea of how long the trial would be, he said.

Mr Trumps legal team has already prevented the discovery process from kicking off by objecting to the governments proposed protective order on the grounds that it would violate the ex-presidents right to free speech by barring him from publicly revealing evidence while on the campaign trail.

The prosecutors noted the disconnect between the arguments made at arraignment and the Trump defence teams refusal to agree to a protective order that would allow them to begin reviewing discovery, calling the contradiction perplexing.

They also slammed Mr Lauros claim that the defence is starting with a blank slate as impossible and disingenuous, citing Mr Trumps awareness of and response to much of the evidence which was previously made public during the House January 6 select committees hearings last year and the panels final report.

Continuing, prosecutors also pointed out that one of Mr Trumps lawyers, Evan Corcoran, has long represented the ex-president in matters relating to his efforts to overturn his election loss.

The defendant has a greater and more detailed understanding of the evidence supporting the charges against him at the outset of this criminal case than most defendants, and is ably advised by multiple attorneys, including some who have represented him in this matter for the last year, they said.

The Governments proposed schedule and January 2 trial date afford the defendant many months to review the discovery in this matter, raise pre-trial legal issues, and prepare his defense. No additional time is necessary or warranted under the Speedy Trial Act and in light of the publics strong interest in a prompt trial.

The special counsels office also responded to a separate motion Mr Trumps attorneys made to exclude a 25-day period between his arraignment and the scheduled 28 August hearing from Speedy Trial Act calculations.

Prosecutors said they opposed the motion as unnecessary because the time Mr Trumps team seeks to exclude has already been and continues to be excluded under the Act.

They added that Mr Trumps legal team appeared not to understand that both the Speedy Trial Act and the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution (which guarantees speedy trials in criminal cases) protects not just a defendants rights, but the publics strong interest in the efficient administration of justice.

None of the defendants perfunctory and undeveloped arguments justify the Courts exclusion of time at this juncture of the case. The defendant cites his need to review discovery ... but the defense has steadfastly refused to accept the discovery that the Government has prepared and organized to facilitate the defenses review, they said.

Josh Marcus contributed to this story.
U.S. leads world in economic coercion

People's Daily Online) 16:42, August 11, 2023

Cartoon by Ma Hongliang.

The U.S. has initiated yet another baseless smear campaign against China, rallying several countries to accuse China of "economic coercion." This has been used as an excuse to take measures targeting China.

However, no country is more deserving of accusations of economic coercion than the U.S. The U.S. government has a well-established track record of engaging in economic coercion and abuse of long-arm jurisdiction.

Under the guise of strengthening national security, the U.S. passed the CHIPS and Science Act, prohibiting subsidized chipmakers from expanding chip production capacity in China for 10 years. Meanwhile, it has pressured its allies to restrict semiconductor exports to China, abused national power to unreasonably suppress Chinese companies like Huawei (thereby disrupting the free market), and leveraged its financial hegemony to arbitrarily impose sanctions against governments, companies, and individuals of other countries.

The U.S. is the No. 1 player in imposing economic coercion worldwide. It needs to address its actions that conflict with market economy principles and fair competition, actions that also damage the international economic and trade system, and threaten the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Hongyu)
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It is a question that has puzzled philosophers, sociologists and night-shift grill masters for years, probably. What is it about Waffle House, the charming and iconic American diner chain, that invites so many fights on its premises?

For anyone unfamiliar with this obscure Americana lore, the mostly southern chain  with 1,900 locations in 25 states  has something of a reputation. A cursory internet search will provide a wealth of videos showing customers and employees throwing down in the brightly-lit dining room, usually after sundown.

The phenomenon has its own online subculture. Hundreds of memes play on the idea that Waffle House staff know how  and need little encouragement  to fight. A fully staffed Waffle House could take out ISIS, reads one. If this is your first fight at Waffle House, you have to fight, reads another, accompanied by a photograph of Brad Pitts character in Fight Club wearing a hat belonging to the chain. In the last few months, both Saturday Night Live andThe Daily Show have run skits on Waffle House violence. You can even buy an I Stand With Waffle House Employees T-shirt, a heartfelt show of solidarity with the servers who stand in the line of fire every evening.

But why Waffle House? What is it about this charming diner chain that makes people want to poke each others eyes out?

Is Waffle House America's late night fight club? On The Ground

Halie Booth knows more than most about the perils of working there. Shes a former employee who was turned into a meme herself when she was involved in one of the most infamous Waffle House brawls ever caught on camera.

Ive probably cleaned blood off of every surface of a Waffle house, she tells The Independent matter-of-factly when we meet in Austin, just a short drive from the site of her infamous battle. But really, that was a pretty mild night. It wasnt as bad as it can get at a Waffle House.

On a night shift in September 2021, Halie found herself in an unfortunately familiar situation as she passed the halfway mark of her time on the clock. It was in the early hours, and a group of customers was refusing to move from a closed part of the restaurant. When she asked them to leave, things quickly descended into a brawl.

A video taken by a customer shows a battle raging, sugar pots being thrown, punches landing. It shows Booth emerging from the ground during a brief lull in combat and finding her feet. Then, from screen left, a white chair sails through the air directly towards Booths head. With the reflexes of a cat she suddenly, impossibly, catches it with one hand, and throws it down to the ground. She then taunts the assailant, making a come at me motion with her hands.

It was poetry in motion. That moment  that swift ninja-like movement  seemed to confirm everything people thought they knew about Waffle House workers.

Theres certainly the possibility that people understand Waffle House as a place where certain norms are suspended, where you can push the envelope a little bit. Michael Sierra-Arevalo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin

You dont tug on Supermans cape. You dont spit into the wind. You dont pull the mask off that old lone ranger. And you dont mess around with the night waitress at the Waffle House, wrote one tweeter in response to the clip.

The clip bounced around online for a year before it truly went viral. Then it changed her life completely.

The internet reacted with joy, praise and wonder at Booths fighting skills. Artists immortalised her signature move. She made several national media and podcast appearances and started collecting nicknames: she was called the Waffle House Avenger, Waffle House Wendy, and her favourite of the bunch, Waffle House Warrior. Her face now adorns t-shirts and mugs. No one was more surprised than Booth.

I thought it was just over and done with. I was like, whatever cool. And then this happens and now people are like, Oh, youre a folk hero, youre an avenger. And Im like, I cant walk in a straight line without tripping over my own feet.

The video not only made an internet star out of Booth, but also renewed the debate about Waffle House violence. That nagging question came up again: Why Waffle House?

For Booth, who worked the night shift for most of the four years she was at Waffle House, there was a simple answer to the question. It comes down to a toxic combination of 24/7 opening hours and alcohol.

People get impulsive at night. Thats when you party, thats when you drink, she says. Its so late, and theres no security at these late-night places, and when people get intoxicated, or you know, in any form of [inebriation], they turn into toddlers and they need somebody to watch them and babysit them.

Could the simplest answer be the right one? Is the issue just that Waffle House is open when the bars kick people out, and that brings a wave of alcohol-fuelled humans from all walks of life into a small, brightly-lit environment?

If that was the case, surely the same thing would be happening at other all-night diners.

Across town from the Waffle House where Booth became a meme, Stars Cafe has been serving the inebriated in Austin for more than 40 years. Every night, all through the night, it plays host to travelling musicians, students and bartenders getting off work. Jetara Robinson has worked the night shift on and off for years as a manager. When she saw the video of Booth catching the chair, she saw a kindred spirit.

It was a badass move, she says. Not many people can just catch a chair in the air and throw it back to them.

She says working the night shift at any all-night diner requires that kind of toughness: When were looking for service for overnight, I kind of need somebody who has a little bit more of a roughness and who can really handle that type of situation because, to keep the business going, if that happens, that server needs to keep serving.

Although Stars Diner doesnt see the same kind of violence, she says abrasive customers are a feature of late-night diners.

A lot of people go to these places to sober up before they actually hit the road and go home, she says. Theyre impatient, they want their food, they are drunk. And then if it took more than an hour wait, thats when you start getting people going crazy.

A SNL skit pokes fun at Waffle Houses reputation

A combination of alcohol, bright lights, impatient customers can add up to trouble  it all makes sense. Theres one problem with this Unifying Theory of Waffle House Violence, however: these outbreaks of violence are not just taking place in Waffle Houses and other all-night diners, they are happening in retail stores, in airports, fast food restaurants, and anywhere a customer meets an employee in public. Waffle House may feature prominently in these videos online, but there are also hundreds of other incidents at other businesses. Its almost as if there is a pandemic of violence in customer service-orientated businesses, a silent war between customer and server.

The research on this kind of violence is thin, to say the least  but there are some clues. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, described retail work as one of the highest risk jobs for workplace violence, and singles out convenience stores, gas stations, and businesses that sell alcoholic beverages as particularly at risk.

A New York Times analysis of FBI crime figures found that between 2018 and 2020, assaults increased by 63 per cent in grocery stores and 75 per cent in convenience stores. It found further that around 4 per cent of assaults nationwide, more than 82,000, were taking place at shopping malls, convenience stores or similar outlets.

One study published in December 2021 that focused on fast food stores in California between 2017 and 2020 found restaurants plagued with criminal activity, where workers are regularly assaulted, robbed, spit on, yelled at, sworn at and told to go back to their country.

The Fight for $15 and a Union collected 911 call records involving fast-food locations in nine of the largest cities in California, with a focus on four well-known brands: McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Carls Jr and Burger King. Across 643 locations, they identified 77,200 violent or threatening incidents that resulted in a call to 911 for police assistance between 2017 and 2020. Many of these locations generated hundreds of calls within the four-year span  as many as seven per week.

During the pandemic, incidents of violence in retail settings became so common that the CDC conducted a study into its prevalence and impact. It found high incidents of customer violence towards staff due to arguments over masks and social distancing guidelines.

So, whats really happening here? Is this customer-centred violence a uniquely American phenomenon? Is this the inevitable outcome of a customer-is-always-right culture combined with a heavily armed and divided society?

Michael Sierra-Arevalo, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, whose research touches on violence prevention, was kind enough to humour The Independent when we asked for his view.

He said that beyond the obvious reasons why an all-night diner would face trouble, its reputation may actually be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Waffle House is very much a meme at this point, he said. Theres certainly the possibility that people understand Waffle House as a place where certain norms are suspended, where you can push the envelope a little bit. Thats an empirical question, we dont know that for sure, but the fact that everyone understands that Waffle House is a place where things might happen suggests that people might behave as such.

But there is perhaps a deeper reason why customer service workers in America are the subject of so much abuse  something that is unique to American culture.

I cant paint with too broad a brush, but it is certainly the case that the occupation of working as a server, or working as someone in customer service, generally a retail worker, there is a class element to this. These individuals are assumed to not have the same sort of mental acumen, the same sort of skill set as doctors, lawyers, etc, Sierra-Arevalo says.

In the United States, with an economic system built on the false idea that anyone can make money if they work hard enough, this kind of class tension is magnified, he explains.

By extension, there are probably some assumptions that are made about how much deference should be given to these individuals who work in the service industry. Are they here because, in the parlance of American exceptionalism and bootstrapped-picking-yourself-up-ism, they were either too lazy or too dumb to do something else, and thus they are less deserving of my respect or my deference?

In other words, the high level of inequality in the US and poor wages in the service industry all play a role in how those workers are treated. Coupled with a customer-is-always-right culture in the industry, this creates a tension between the customer and a server when things dont go the customers way, for whatever reason.

Travel across the pond to Paris, where waiters are paid a living wage, and the relationship is much more balanced. French waiters do not expect to have to fight every time they don their bowties, as Booth does when she puts on a Waffle House hat.

As someone who has worked in similar customer service jobs, Booth has experienced this kind of treatment first-hand for years.

I think its a problem for anybody that works in customer service, she says. People have that mentality that the customers always right.

Customer service workers, or anybody in that field, are looked at as nothing more than the help. It feels demeaning. Youll be trying to manage something and all of a sudden, youll hear Hey can I get No, maam. Were not dogs. Were people, were just here to try and to make a living. This is our nine-to-five, were not doing this because were having fun. Were doing this because we got bills to pay.

How would Sierra-Arevalo, who studies violence prevention and societal problems for a living, solve the problem of Waffle House violence, and abuse against servers and retail workers more generally?

Its not just sticking a big red sticker on the door that says dont do that, he says. There is a much broader and deeper set of conditions, inequalities, economic systems, that recreate this very ossified class hierarchy where, at scale, certain occupations  servers, retail workers, flight attendants  are more likely than other occupations and other people to be perceived as less deserving of respect less deserving of deference. And the flipside of that is, more deserving of my physical violence.

To fix that you would have to reform a society at scale economically, socially, and culturally  such that there wasnt this hierarchy of occupations, he adds.

Put simply, solving the problem of Waffle House violence would require dramatic restructuring of society and eradication of inequality. And so no one should expect the chairs to stop flying anytime soon.
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A well-respected pastor and three beloved teachers were among those who sat down together for a home-cooked family lunch apparently involving wild mushrooms in rural Australia at the end of last month.

Within days, the teachers were dead and the pastor left fighting for life.

The tight-knit community in Leongatha, in Victoria state, has been shaken to its core, with the mystery also gripping the attention of people around the world as police opened a homicide investigation and searched the home of the host, 46-year-old Erin Patterson.

With Victoria Police describing the incident as a suspected mushroom poisoning, detective inspector Dean Thomas said it was not clear what type of mushrooms the guests had eaten on 29 July, but their symptoms were consistent with those from a death cap, a particularly deadly variety.

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said it was not clear what type of mushrooms the guests had eaten on 29 July, but their symptoms were consistent with those from a death cap (Getty Images)

Police took several items from Ms Pattersons home on Saturday, before questioning her the following day. She was released without charge but police said she remains a suspect.

However, Ms Patterson, who did not get ill herself, told media outside her home that she did not know what had happened, declining to answer questions about what meals were served to which guests or the origin of the mushrooms. "I didn't do anything," she told Network Nine on Monday. "I loved them and I'm devastated they're gone."

The 46-year-old had been hosting her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, and Gails sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, with her husband Ian, 68.

The four who ate the dish - a beef Wellington pie, according to the Guardian - all fell mysteriously ill over the following days. Shortly after, Gail and Heather passed away in hospital on 4 August, while Don died on 5 August. Ian, a pastor from the local Baptist church in Korumburra, remains in critical condition.

Ms Pattersons ex-husband Simon Patterson, with whom police said she has an amicable relationship, was supposed to be at the lunch but could not make it at the last minute, according to Daily Mail Australia. Ms Pattersons son and daughter were also at home, but the pair ate a different meal than the rest.

The Mail quoted a close family source as saying Ms Patterson and her ex-husband had separated years ago but wanted to keep the relationship amicable for their childrens sake. I think he was really trying to facilitate a healthy co-parenting arrangement, they said. Basically all of his choices and everything he was doing was to keep things stable for the kids.

Heather Wilkinson, 66, with her husband Ian Wilkinson, 68, a pastor from the local Baptist church in Korumburra (The Salvation Army Australia Museum/Facebook)

Interest in the case soared on Wednesday after police searched a local refuse centre for a dehydrator believed to have been used in the preparation of the lunch, which they later conducted forensic tests on, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Speaking to The Independent, local mayor Nathan Hersey told of the utter shock, disbelief and grief reverberating throughout their close community and more widely in the wake of the tragedy.

Im hearing from people regularly about their shock and disbelief and how theyre coming to terms with such loss, he said. People so well connected, loved and respected in the local community have been struck down and died so suddenly.

Mushroom foraging is popular in the area even though theres risk involved, said Mr Hersey, adding that a lot of people would know what theyre looking for.

He said he had personally met the Wilkinsons, describing them as lovely and caring people with integrity. He said a close friend of the couple had told him, Weve lost a real level of kindness in our community this week because of these deaths. But he added: The community is rallying around and supporting one another.

Ms Patterson, who did not get ill herself, told media outside her home that she did not know what had happened (News International)

The Patterson and Wilkinson families said in a statement in a local newspaper on Sunday they were grateful to our wider communities for their outpouring of love, support, and prayers, adding: This support extends not only to those we have tragically lost but also to our family member who continues to bravely fight for his life in the hospital.

Deaths from consuming mushrooms are relatively rare in Australia, which has several species including the "death cap" mushroom that can be deadly if ingested. The deaths have led to warnings from health experts across the country not to forage for wild mushrooms and to buy from reputable sellers.

DI Thomas said on Monday it would take some time to determine what happened and police are keeping an open mind. "We presume at this stage it was mushrooms but it's a complex investigation that I think will take some time," he said, adding: It could be very innocent but, again, we just dont know.
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Ukrainian forces broke through Russias defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.

The 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.

Russian military bloggers said that 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. 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.

Monitors of Russia's invasion said there were clear signs of a major battle. The Russian-imposed head of the occupied part of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, claimed the Ukrainian raid had been repelled. But the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW)  which tracks movements on the battlefield  said the limited raid appeared partially successful. And that while Russian forces appeared to have partly pushed back Ukrainian troops, the ISW said Saldo was likely purposefully trying to refute claims of Ukrainian presence in this area to avoid creating panic.

The ISW said of the raid: The majority of prominent Russian [military bloggers] claimed that Ukrainian forces managed to utilise tactical surprise and land on the east bank before engaging Russian forces in small arms exchanges.

Data from the past 24 hours in this area appear to confirm that there was significant combat, likely preceded or accompanied by artillery fire, the ISW added.

The raid is said to have happened during a rotation of Russian troops, as more experienced fighters were redeployed towards Zaporizhzhia in the south and the Donbas region in the east. Both front lines that have been the scene of heavy fighting.

Ukrainian forces have tried a number of times to cross the Dnipro, as gaining a foothold on the Russian-occupied bank would enable them to push further into Moscow-held territory. This latest raid appears to be the most significant since the launch of a similar operation by Ukraines 73rd marine special operations unit.

Meanwhile, in Russia, one person was killed and more than 50 injured in a blast at the site of a factory that makes optical equipment for Putins security forces in the town of Sergiev Posad, 30 miles (50km) northeast of Moscow, local authorities said.

Emergency services said the explosion occurred in a warehouse containing pyrotechnic equipment, state news agency Tass reported. Tass also quoted emergency services who dismissed early reports that the blast was caused by a drone attack, many of which have peppered Moscow and the surrounding area in recent weeks. Russia's Investigative Committee, Russia's top law enforcement agency, also denied the blast was from drones.

Russia often blames Ukraine for such attacks  and while Kyiv rarely claims responsibility for them, officials are happy to play up the disruption and suggest that the war is coming home to Russia.

Before the factory explosion, Russian officials said air defences had shot down two drones aimed at the capital overnight, accusing Ukraine.

One of the drones came down in the Domodedovo district south of Moscow, and the other fell near the Minsk highway west of the city, according to the mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. Moscow Domodedovo airport is one of the capital's busiest hubs.

It wasn't clear where the drones were launched, and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment. Mr Sobyanin said there were no casualties.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
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Police are hunting for a taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting a British teenager in the party town of Magaluf, in Spain.

On Friday, it was reported that the 17-year-old was accompanied by his mother to a police station in the Mallorca town where he claimed he was assaulted in the back of a taxi.

He told officers he was on his way back to his hotel from party strip Punta Ballena when the cab driver allegedly began touching him, local newspaper Ultima Hora reported.

The driver then allegedly demanded the teenager perform a sex act on him, leading to a row.

The boy also accused the driver of physically assaulting him, claiming he hurt his head on the door of the car while trying to escape.

A Police spokesperson confirmed an allegation has been made, and that the claims were being investigated. Officers of the Civil Guard are said to be working to identify the alleged perpetrator.

The Independent has contacted the Civil Guard for comment.

Earlier this week, a British man was arrested for allegedly groping a 20-year-old British woman at an unnamed hotel in Magaluf, police said.

The 48-year-old man allegedly approached the woman from behind and put his hands down her pants, before touching her private parts.

She told the police she didnt know the man and that theyd never met before the alleged incident. A suspect was arrested shortly after the hotels receptionist contacted the police.

Last month, two Irish tourists were arrested after a British woman claimed she was raped at a hotel in Calvia, Magaluf.

They were held at Palma airport on 19 July as they were preparing to board a flight to Dublin, the Civil Guard said in a statement at the time.

Police said the pair had been detained in jail, pending an investigation.

Additional reporting by agencies.
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A supermarket in Austria was evacuated after a spider, whose bite is capable of causing painful erections and even death, was spotted.

A PENNY shop in Krems an der Donau, a town located around 45 miles from Vienna, has remained closed since Tuesday, after the four-inch spider was said to have been seen when staffed opened a box of bananas.

Descriptions of the spiders colouring and size led people to believe they were dealing with a Brazilian wandering spider, also known as a banana spider.

These highly venomous arachnids tend to hide in banana plants, and are sometimes found in shipments of the fruit, earning them the nickname.

Their bites can cause extraordinary pain, hypothermia, increased pulse, penile erection that can last for hours, and death in some cases.

By the time the fire brigade arrived at the store, the spider was nowhere to be seen, local media reported.

In a statement, the Rewe retail group, which operates the PENNY stores, said comprehensive cleaning and disinfection measures were underway, before the outlet reopens next week.

All measures are for safety and are carried out meticulously so that the branch can be reopened, the retailer added.

In a 2007 interview, a researcher, Romulo Leite told Live Scienc that the erection is a side effect that everybody who gets stung by this spider will experience along with the pain and discomfort, adding: Were hoping eventually this will end up in the development of real drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

In 2019, scientists at the Federal University of Minas Gerais said the chemicals in its bite could lead to a treatment more effective than Viagra, after they included them in a gel which led to prolonged erections in a study of mice and rats.

They found the gel led to a swelling of the penis lasting about 60 minutes when applied topically to the genitals.
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Thousands of people were forced to evacuate from a town in Poland after the discovery of a massive unexploded bomb believed to date back to the Second World War.

Some 14,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the eastern town of Lublin on Friday after the bomb was uncovered by a construction worker.

City authorities said later on Friday that the bomb had been successfully removed and residents could return home. Military engineers then took the bomb away for neutralisation, according to town hall spokesperson Katarzyna Duma.

Roads in the area had been closed and residents were taken to safety in schools and other large buildings, Ms Duma said earlier in the day. The police, Territorial Defence troops and city transport had helped with the evacuation.

Residents were urged to turn off gas, water and electricity in their homes, close the windows and doors and take their IDs and necessary medication with them.

Builders uncovered the bomb, weighing a quarter of a ton, buried in the ground during works on a new residential area on Thursday.

There was a Polish airplane factory and an airport there before the Second World War that could have been the target of wartime bombings.

It was also the site of a prison and labour camp under Nazi German occupation.

Such bombs are still regularly found during earthworks in Poland, which was the site of heavy fighting.

Affected parts of the city were closed to traffic from 11.30am local time (9.30am GMT) and public transport was rerouted, the office said. It began to return to normal on Friday afternoon

This article was amended on 14 August 2023 as it originally featured a photograph of German, not Polish, police.
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Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russias invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale  especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putins spurious war to de-Nazify Russias neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers  putting the official number at around 6,000  and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

Ukraine, meanwhile, posts a daily report on its Ministry of Defence website listing a cumulative total of the number of enemy personnel liquidated, alongside other combat losses, which stood at the much higher total of 249,110 on 5 August.

Most tolls typically refer to casualties as the preferred military euphemism, under which combatants killed and injured can be grouped together, whereas liquidated seems to imply killed only.

Overseas observers offer a more dispassionate (if still not entirely impartial) assessment of the situation on the ground, which might equally be flawed by their far remove from the realities of life on the frontline.

Local independent media group Mediazone, branded a foreign agent by the Kremlin, nevertheless work hard, operating within a tightly-controlled environment, to offer its own running total of Russian casualties in Ukraine based on what its journalists can corroborate from publicly available information, which currently puts the total at just 28, 652 as of its latest update of 28 July.

It works with the BBC but explains: These numbers do not represent the actual death toll since we can only review publicly available reports including social media posts by relatives, reports in local media, and statements by the local authorities.

The real death toll is much higher. Besides, the number of soldiers missing in action or captured is not known.

Another Mediazone partnership with fellow Russian independent outlet Meduza (now forced to operate from Lativa) and Germanys Tubingen University used Russian government data to cast a different light on the question and put the total number of Russian deaths twice as high, at nearly 50,000.

For this count, they relied on a statistical concept popularised during the Covid-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on 11m inheritance records from the National Probate Registry and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men aged under 50 had died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal.

According to their analysis, 25,000 more inheritance cases were opened in 2022 for males aged 15 to 49 than expected. By 27 May 2023, the number of excess cases had shot up to 47,000.

Discussing the two approaches, Mediazone editor Dmitry Treshchanin told the Associated Press the first represents only soldiers who we know by name, and their deaths in each case are verified by multiple sources.

As for the second: The estimate we did with Meduza allows us to see the hidden deaths, deaths the Russian government is so obsessively and unsuccessfully trying to hide.

Russians who are missing but not officially recognised as dead, as well as citizens of Ukraine fighting in units of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, are not included in these counts.

One of the most significant insights to be volunteered so far from Ukraines allies, watching on, came from John Kirby, the White Houses National Security Council spokesperson, who said on 1 May  citing newly declassified information  that the US believed Russia had suffered 100,000 casualties between December 2022 and April 2023, amounting to 20,000 deaths and 80,000 injuries, after becoming caught up in a grinding war of attrition around Bakhmut during the freezing winter months.

Its really stunning, these numbers, Mr Kirby said. Its three times the number of killed in action that the United States faced on the Guadalcanal campaign in the Second World War.

That followed an estimate given by Mark Milley, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, the previous November, when he told an audience in New York that the number of Russian casualties in the first eight months of the war stood at well over 100,000.

If that figure is accurate and is added to Mr Kirbys update, that would put the total well north of 200,000 by this point, roughly in agreement with Ukrainian accounting, although the Kremlin has inevitably disputed Americas calculations and dismissed them as anti-Russian propaganda.

Russian soldiers march towards Red Square as part of a Victory Day military parade in Moscow on 9 May 2023 (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The US has declined to estimate the number of Ukrainian casualties publicly, arguing that doing so would betray sensitive military information and risk undermining an ally.

However, the top secret Pentagon documents leaked on social media in April  if accurate  suggested that the US Defence Intelligence Agency believed that Ukraine had suffered between 15,500 and 17,500 fatalities at that stage and seen between 109,000 and 113,500 of its soldiers injured.

Those documents, incidentally, put the agencys assessment of Russian casualties at between 189,500 and 223,000, including between 35,500 and 43,000 soldiers killed in action and between 154,000 and 180,000 wounded. That likewise tallies with the other estimates seen so far.

Elsewhere, Norways defence chief, Eirik Kristoffersen, offered a similar ballpark figure when he told his countrys TV2 on 22 January that he believed Russia had suffered around 180,000 deaths and injuries while Ukraines total casualties was significantly lower, closer to 100,000.

In February, the UKs Ministry of Defense said it believed approximately 40,000 to 60,000 Russians had been killed in the war.

As for civilian casualties, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) publishes regular updates of its tallies based on the latest intelligence from the conflict zone.

The most recent such report from the OHCHR was published on 18 June 2023, recording that 9,803 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began 16 months ago and another 15,779 people have been injured.

Of these numbers, 7,072 deaths and 13,001 injuries occurred in territory controlled by Ukraine. In Russian-occupied territory, 2,011 people have been killed and 2,778 injured since the attempted conquest began last year.

These latest figures, recorded between 1 June and 18 June, added 557 civilian casualties in Ukraine to the running total, of which 112 were killed and 445 injured.

However, even here, the OHCHR notes that the actual figures are likely to be considerably higher than those it can substantiate on account of the inevitable delay in receiving information from the most fiercely contested areas, underlining the complexity of saying anything definite about the state of play in Ukraine.
 Close Ukraine war: Footage appears to show moment drone attack hits building in central Moscow

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President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed revenge for the attack which left seven dead and 144 injured in Chernihiv.

I am sure our soldiers will give a response to Russia for this terrorist attack, Zelensky said in his nightly video address, delivered early on Sunday at the end of a visit to Sweden. A notable response.

He said that of the 144 people injured, 15 were children, and named the girl killed as Sofia. Fifteen others were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. Klymenko said most of the victims were in vehicles, crossing the road, or returning from church.

Regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said 41 people were in hospital on Saturday.

Zelensky said the strike on Chernihiv, a city of leafy boulevards and centuries-old churches about 145 km (90 miles) north of Kyiv, coincided with the Orthodox holiday of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

It comes as a Ukrainian drone crashed into the rooftop of a railway station in the Russian city of Kursk, injuring five people and setting off a fire, the TASS news agency said on Sunday, citing regional governor Roman Starovoit.
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Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russias president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow.

The army within an army who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war - this time, against the Kremlin.

But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin  brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus  although he has been pictured in Russia since  with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to entered the country since.

Nato-member Poland is sending thousands of troops to its border with Belarus, with Warsaw worried increasingly about the potential threat from Wagner fighters, who have been training Belarusian troops at a military range a few miles from the border in recent weeks.

Belarus also started military exercises near the border this week, and Lukashenko has said several times that he is restraining Wagner fighters who want to attack Poland.

Leader of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led an armed rebellion against Kremlin in June that was swiftly called off (AP)

What is the Wagner Group?

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea  illegally annexed by Russia  and Ukraines eastern Donbas region in 2014.

The rebel group has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian civil war.

Prigozhin  a 62-year-old ex-convict sometimes known as Putins chef because his catering business has hosted dinners for the Russian president  had denied all links with the group until September last year when he announced he was proud to be its founder.

When did they join the Ukraine war?

The UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD) first reported that Wagner had been deployed in Ukraine on 28 March 2022, little over a month into Moscows invasion  after Russian losses had already begun to hamper the pace of the initial assault.

Military consultant Nicholas Drummond told The Independent: Wagner was involved from the start but the group started to become a key player when the initial assault ran into difficulty.

By the end of March, it was very evident that the invasion had gone wrong. Putin used Prigozhin as a troubleshooter and Wagner was there to fill the gaps.

Belarusian soldiers of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) and mercenary fighters from Wagner private military company attend maneuvers at a firing range near the border city of Brest (Belarus' Defense Ministry)

Former Nato commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon emphasised Wagners crucial role in strengthening Russias offensive in the war.

Speaking to The Independent, the former commander of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment of the British army, said: In the early stages of war when Wagner wasnt heavily committed, the Russian army pretty much nearly collapsed.

Wagner fights with no boundaries. Criminals fill the ranks of the army. When all of this is over, Im sure there are going to be horrific things conducted in Wagners name.

Below we track Wagners involvement in the invasion of Ukraine and their infamous- but failed- march to Moscow:

View more

Crimea:

In February 2014, were used to help Russia illegally annex Ukraines Crimean peninsula.

Crimea sits at the top of the Black Sea. The annexation condemned by countries in the West, including the UK.

The mercenary group was also involved in Russias invasion of eastern Ukraine throughout 2015, where they allegedly carried out assassinations of local rebel leaders.

Kyiv:

In March 2022, weeks after Putin launched his invasion, reports suggested a special group had been sent into Kyiv to take out Zelensky.

This resulted in a strict 36-hour curfew in Kyiv as Ukrainian soldiers reinforced the capital to protect Zelensky and his government.

Since then, reports of Wagners activities have mainly focused on the eastern regions of Ukraine, though Kyiv remains a target of ceaseless strikes and artillery from the Russian army.

The Wagner group is largely made up of recruits from prisons (Reuters)

Bucha:

In the first week of April 2022, sickening images of a massacre in Bucha began to emerge following weeks of Russian occupation.

Just days after Russian troops withdrew from the city, hundreds of bodies were discovered in the city approximately 16 miles northwest of Kyiv, some in mass graves.

While Kremlin has always denied causing civilian deaths  although their credibility over such matters is thin at best. Interceptions by the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germanys foreign intelligence service, found evidence to suggest Wagner may be linked to the massacre, Der Spiegel reported.

Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen on the street on April 4, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine (Getty Images)

Bakhmut:

In May 2022, Wagner began an offensive towards the town of Soledar and the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Ukranian province of Donetsk. It is an area that Putin seeks to control.

The battle for Bakhmut has seen some of the most fierce fighting in the war. Located around 34 miles north of Donetsk, the region was an important industrial centre before being ravaged by war.

In July, Prigozhin was given the green light to beef up his troops and began recruiting prisoners on a large scale, unconcerned about the type of crime they had committed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group military company speaks holding a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers in Bakhmut (PRIGOZHIN PRESS SERVICE)

By the end of October 2022, the group gained at least 20,000 conscripts, which then more than doubled to 50,000 by the end of January 2023.

Between November 2022 to January 2023, Wagner captured the salt-mining town of Soledar and strengthened its position in the south and north of Bakhmut.

Fast-forward to May 2023, after months of merciless fighting, Prigozhin claimed to have captured Bakhmut and began withdrawing his troops from the city.

Prigozhin claimed to have captured Bakhut in May 2023 (PRIGOZHIN PRESS SERVICE)

The march to Moscow:

Towards the end of June 2023, Prigozhin claimed Wagner fighters were deliberately shelled by Kremlins soldiers while leaving Bakhmut.

This seemed to be the last straw for Prigozhin who had been complaining publicly for weeks about the slaughter of Wagner soldiers due to a lack of ammunition from Moscow.

A power struggle was very publicly playing out between the Russian defence ministry and Prigozhin.

On Friday 23 June, Prigozhin accused Russias defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, of destroying his fighters and concocting lies to justify the invasion of Ukraine. Months of videos rants had been directed by Prigozhin towards Shoigu, with the Wagner leader getting increasingly riled about the actions of the Defence Ministry and the Russian military top brass as the invasion dragged on.

A call to action was made by the mercenary group leader, inciting an armed rebellion heading to Kremlin in Moscow.

Wagner soldiers in Rostov-on-Don on their march to Moscow (AP)

Leaving their stations in the east, Wagner soldiers began their march to the capital and within hours had successfully occupied military headquarters in Rostov and Voronezh on the morning of Saturday 24 June. The group shot down Russian helicopters and and took out Russian artillery as they made their way up the main road to Moscow.

The rebel group was seen as far north as Yelets in the evening, just 125 miles from Moscow, before the coup was suddenly called off at the 11th hour by Prigozhin, following the deal with the Kremlin.

View more

Belarus and beyond?

Following the attempted rebellion in June, thousands of Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus.

A deal was struck under which the mercenaries would move to Belarus in return for charges against them relating to the uprising being dropped. Putin said the fighters could either leave for Belarus, come under the command of the defence ministry or go back to their families.

Before moving to Belarus, Wagner handed over its weapons to the Russian military, part of efforts by Russian authorities to defuse the threat posed by the mercenaries.

A fighter from Russian Wagner mercenary group and a Belarusian service member take part in a joint training outside Brest (Belarusian Defence Ministry via Reuters)

Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town about 140 miles (230km) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country.

Satellite images show that about 700 vehicles, along with construction equipment, have also arrived in Wagner convoys to Belarus, Belaruski Hajun said.

They have also helped train Belarusian troops at a military range near the city of Brest.

Prigozhin also registered a real estate management company in Belarus last week under the name Concord Management and Consulting in Belarus. Documents analysed by independent Belarusian media outlets showed that the companys registered address is in the same village as the Wagner mercenary camp.

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaving the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don (REUTERS)

Asked about what Prigozhins next move could be, Mr de Bretton-Gordon said: People like Prigozhin are wardogs, they are out to make money out of conflict.

He is now lining his pockets with as much as gold as he can. I think he will stay in Belarus as long as the money stays floating.

Mr Drummond questioned Prigozhins motives in Belarus, noting there are several factors at play.

Is he acting as a reserve force in case Putin wants to open a fresh front against Kyiv, or has he genuinely been banished and is considered too powerful to do anything?

But like Mr de Bretton-Gordon, Mr Drummond does not think the Russian president has alienated Prigozhin, but more likely placed him in a state of suspended animation.

Prigozhin has suddenly realised he could go straight into Moscow, and then he stopped and turned around. I think he freaked Putin out.
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A scientist claims to have discovered a gravitational anomaly that calls into question our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Astronomer Kyu-Hyun Chae from the university of Sejong University in South Korea made the discovery while studying binary star systems, which refer to two stars that orbit each other.

His observations appear to go against the standard gravitational models established by Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, and instead offer evidence that an alternative theory first proposed in the 1980s may explain the anomaly.

Analysis of data collected by the European Space Agencys Gaia space telescope revealed accelerations of stars in binaries that did not fit the standard gravitational models.

At accelerations of lower than 0.1 nanometres per second squared, the orbit of the two stars deviated from Newtons universal law of gravitation and Einsteins general relativity.

Instead, Professor Chae theorised that a model known as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) could explain why these previous theoretical frameworks were unable to explain the stars movements.

The deviation represents a direct evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity at weak acceleration, Professor Chae wrote in a paper, titled Breakdown of the Newton-Einstein standard gravity at low acceleration in internal dynamics of wide binary stars, that was published in The Astrophysics Journal..

His research calls into question the existence of dark matter and other peculiar space phenomena that are typically used to justify irregularities with Newton-Einstein standards.

The data reveal an unambiguous and extremely strong signature of the breakdown of the standard Newton-Einstein gravity at weak acceleration, the study concluded.

What is even more surprising is that the trend and magnitude of the gravitational anomaly agree with what the AQUAL [MOND] theory predicts.

Professor Chae predicts that his results will be confirmed and refined with larger data sets in the future, which could lead to a new revolution in physics.

Chaes finding is a result of a very involved analysis of cutting-edge data, which, as far as I can judge, he has performed very meticulously and carefully, said theoretical physicist Mordehai Milgrom at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, who first proposed the MOND model 40 years ago.

But for such a far-reaching finding  and it is indeed very far-reaching  we require confirmation by independent analyses, preferably with better future data.

If this anomaly is confirmed as a breakdown of Newtonian dynamics, and especially if it indeed agrees with the most straightforward predictions of MOND, it will have enormous implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and for fundamental physics at large.

Pavel Kroupa, professor at Charles University in Prague, added: The implications for all of astrophysics are immense.
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Next time you order a toasted sandwich in Italy, be wary of asking it to be cut in half. A British tourist at a bar on Lake Como in northern Italy was charged 2 extra for a diviso da meta (or cutting in half charge) for his toasted sandwich.

The proprietor of the Bar Pace in Gera Lario, at the northern end of the beautiful Italian water, told an Italian newspaper the fee was to cover the extra cost of washing an additional plate and the extra place mat.

How common is this  and what other pitfalls await the unwary diner in Italy and elsewhere?

The Independents Travel Correspondent has fallen foul of many of them.

Is this cutting-in-half charge unusual?

I would be surprised to find an extra fee for a trivial service like this. But businesses around Lake Como are, like many parts of Europe, heavily dependent on tourism. With a limited season in which to prosper, some businesses may see visitors who are clearly only passing through as people they dont mind cheesing off.

It is fairly standard to charge slightly more than half the price for a half-sized portion. In the US this is formalised in a number of restaurants as a split plate charge of $5 (4) or so. But conversely if you order a dessert to share, you would probably expect an extra spoon to be offered without any additional charge.

Is Italy particularly imaginative when it comes to hidden extras?

A per-person charge known as a coperto is common practice at restaurants in Italy and elsewhere. It is usually a couple of euros, and notionally covers olives and bread. That is the case at my local Italian restaurant in south London, where the 2.50 per person charge is clearly marked on the menu.

In Venice, though, you may need superhuman sight to spot the extras. A coffee in St Marks Square costs anything from 12 to 18 (10-15), with an extra 6 (5) to pay if the band happens to strike up while you are sitting there.

The price list is usually at the back of the cafe to avoid the risk of potential clients seeing it before ordering, reports travel writer and guide Neil Taylor.

The highly experienced Italian travel guide, James Hill, warns of other soaring charges that tourists should know about.

Prices, especially at the beaches, have gone nuclear, he says. You may have heard about 500 (433) being charged for a day on a Puglian beach with an umbrella and four loungers.

Taxi drivers may add a 25 per cent surcharge after 10pm, which may not always concur with the official tariff.

Having said all of that, most enterprises in Italy are entirely scrupulous with great service at reasonable prices.

Where else should travellers be careful about hidden extras?

Italians  as well as many other nationalities  are shocked by the UKs charges of up to 7 that motorists must pay for dropping off passengers outside airport terminals.

Drinking can prove unexpectedly expensive. Some tourist bars in Prague have a disagreeable policy where people who are having a couple of beers might be billed for salt, pepper and ketchup.

In Vienna, one reader reports a 3 per person charge for background music.

What about hotels?

Italys imposta di soggiorno, or accommodation tax, is common and expensive. In Venice it is designed to finance tourism, the maintenance of cultural heritage sites and the environment as well as public services.

The tax is generally about 1 per star per person per night. So for a week in a five-star hotel a couple would typically pay an extra 70 (60) or so. Rome, Milan and Florence have similar scales. The imposta may be lower in low season but that may only be the month of January.

Amsterdam has a similar fee which typically adds 10 per night to a room.

This year Manchester became the first UK city to introduce a charge for an overnight stay  though only 1 per room per night.

Nothing, though, compares with the resort fees at some US hotels, which can add $50 (40) to the nightly room charge. President Biden has vowed to outlaw fees that confuse or deceive consumers.

When have you been fleeced at a restaurant?

Several times for wandering off menu or for ordering something for which you cant see a price quoted. Usually its the fish of the day  I have paid an astronomical amount for a tiny fillet on the Greek island of Santorini, and in the Portuguese city of Porto.

If youre enjoying the sunset and a glass of wine, you can overlook the wisdom of asking, before you order a freshly caught fish, How much will that cost me?

When the waiter says, That all depends on how much it weighs, press the point to check how much your particular seafood dish will set you back.

The gelato four  holidaymakers from Birmingham in Rome  ordered an ice cream each in a cafe beside the Trevi fountain and were astonished to face a bill of around 50. The mayor of the Italian capital later invited them back for a free holiday (and ice cream).

If in doubt, always ask the price before you order.

Then theres the thorny question of tipping?

Yes, in tourist areas of Italy and elsewhere, if there is a service charge, that must be mentioned  but may not be obvious.

Such charges are thankfully rare and I tip anything between zero and perhaps 5  though that would be for a fabulous meal and a bill of perhaps 100.

Never a fixed percentage, and that applies throughout Continental Europe. Service compris, as they say in France  and if you want to leave without tipping, thats just fine. In many parts of the world, including much of Asia and Australia, theres no tradition of tipping.

What about in North America?

If it moves, it probably expects a tip. Taxi (and Uber) drivers, of course. Bellhops who take your bags to the room. Guides and bus drivers on excursions. And, when eating and drinking, waiting staff (a minimum of 18 per cent) and bartenders ($1 per drink).

This also extends to dining cars on trains, and drinks at airport lounges, though there is no expectation (yet) of tipping airline staff for a safe and punctual flight.
Fans captured Adam Sandler waving at members of the audience at a Taylor Swift concert in Los Angeles.

The Uncut Gems actor was attending a show on the US leg of Taylor Swifts worldwide Eras tour.

In the footage he can be seen on his phone in an enclosure at LAs SoFi stadium. Despite being in conversation, he waves and points at fans.

The show was one of six LA dates on the tour. After a break, the tour resumes in Miami in October.
Residents of a Devon town have slammed the local councils decision to paint a tourist road.

Paigntons Torbay Road - known to some as the golden mile because of the money made by its traders during the summer - is now blue and red.

Torbay Council said it painted the junction to increase safety for pedestrians, but residents took to social media to complain about the new colours. Some compared the new paint job to Legoland, or a swimming pool.
Emergency services in Moscow are at the scene of a drone crash in the capital.

Russias Ministry of Defence said the air force downed a Ukrainian drone as it flew towards an unspecified target in Moscow on Friday.

The ministry said the drone was jammed and crashed in a forest west of Moscow, calling it an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a facility in Moscow.

Police and firefighters can be seen in the blocked park area.
My mother used to comment on how much I eat, and now it has switched to the grandkids. How do I put an end to it?
There has been a jump of in 20c in the cost of diesel at the pumps since May.

Petrol prices are up too, but have not gone up as much as diesel.

The latest fuel survey information from AA Ireland shows that petrol and diesel prices are on the rise. This is in contrast to last month, when prices held steady.

Petrol prices rose by 3pc between last month and early this month, with the average cost per litre up from 1.65 to 1.70. But diesel increased by a greater amount. It has risen by almost 6pc, or 9c per litre, from the previous months average.

The fuel prices survey is due to be released later this month, but the motoring organisation released indicative figures after a request from the Irish Independent.

AA Irelands head of communications Blake Boland pointed to the rise in the price of Brent crude oil. Crude has risen to around $86 per barrel, the highest figure this year. Brent crude prices are expected to approach $90 per barrel by the end of the year.

Mr Boland said: We have seen a jump in the raw materials increase steadily over the past few months and they are now at the highest they have been so far in 2023. This is hopefully close to where oil prices will top out this year. But there are still some of the signalled duty increases to follow.

Further increases in fuel excise duty are due to be implemented at the start of next month. That will add 7c to a litre of petrol and 5c to a litre of diesel.

On October 31, the phased restoration of the full rate of excise duty will increase the price of a litre of petrol by 8c, and by 6c per litre of diesel.

AA Ireland calculated that, at todays prices, the full restoration of excise duty would leave petrol at 1.85 per litre and diesel at 1.75 per litre on average by November.

Fuels for Ireland, whose members include oil importers and fuel retailers, said the price of crude oil had increased over the last few months.

On This Day In History - August 11th

Chief executive Kevin McPartlan said it was important to note that this was only one of the elements that dictates the prices paid for petrol, diesel and home heating oil.

The other significant factor in the last month is the markets response to signals from Opec that supplies of fuels will be restricted in the coming month  signals which lead traders to price in additional risk into wholesale prices.

Add these factors to the same rising costs of doing business that every sector in Ireland is facing, and you can understand why pump prices are higher than in recent months, he said.

Mr McPartlan said Vat was added to the final price paid when Irish consumers filled their tanks, which meant that as the cost of fuels increased, so too did the Governments tax-take.

This was why Fuels for Ireland was encouraging the Finance Minister to create an expert group to comprehensively review fiscal policy relating to energy for transport and heating, he said.
Movies

I am not happy to have Aids. But if that is helping others, at least my misfortune has some worth: Rock Hudsons life-and-death struggles
It was heart-warming to see the tributes to Sinead OConnor at her funeral procession in Bray, Co Wicklow, from the many people who had gathered to pay their respects.
Cork gearing up to welcome convoy of sumptuous supercars as Cannonball rolls back around

Almost 200 of the worlds most exotic cars set to take part in the spectacular road trip.

Cannonball founder Alan Bannon posing with some of the supercars that will once again roll into Cork next month for pit-stops in Fermoy and at the Fota Island Resort. Photo: Andres Poveda.

Bill Browne Corkman Fri 11 Aug 2023 at 13:30






Parents of xix and seven year olds are being encouraged to sign up for free GP visit cards.

Parents of six or seven year-old children have been encouraged to register them for free GP visit cards following the official extension of the scheme becoming effective on Friday by Cork North West TD, Aindrias Moynihan.
Sister of murdered Cork woman Nora Sheehan says she hopes killer Noel Long rots in hell

Family says conviction after more than four decades shows its never too late to get justice for your loved ones.

The late Nora Sheehan.

Corkman Fri 11 Aug 2023 at 14:30






The corncrake is making a tentative comeback thanks to farmer efforts under National Parks and Wildlife Service-managed programme.

KERRY farmers were among the landowners of four key counties praised for their efforts in helping to turn the tide on the fortunes of the corncrake.
Heritage Minister pays tribute to Castlegregory community for efforts to help protect unique natterjack toad population

Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan, releasing natterjack toadlets back to the Kingdom with Dr Ferdia Marnell, NPWS. Photo by Valerie O'Sullivan

FARMER-led efforts to conserve one of the countys most precious and fragile species is paying dividends in West Kerry with a further 1,600 natterjack toadlets released into special ponds created by landowners last week.
A King on his Throne King Puck 2023 looks down on the crowds gathered in the square to witness his crowning on the gathering day.

The Party for Animal Welfare is set to hold a protest on the final day of Puck, this Saturday, as they urge organisers to stop the overhead display of a live goat during Puck Fair festivities.
The Indo Daily: The Gangland Trial of the Century (Part 1)  Unveiling the life and crimes of Gerry The Monk Hutch
News

A special celebration marking 30 years of the MS North West Therapy Centre in Sligo

Sligo based MS North West Therapy Centre celebrated its 30th anniversary on Thursday, as an appeal was made to the community to continue to support it through fundraising
The chair and board of the Hawks Well Theatre, Sligo have announced the appointment of Kieran Griffiths as Director. Derry native Kieran Griffiths, former producer and director at The Playhouse Derry- Londonderry, has succeeded Marie OByrne, who has moved to glor in Ennis.
The man accused of throwing the punch which left Wexford-native Frank Staples in critical condition in an Australian hospital has been bailed in Perth Magistrates Court. Angus William Jones (22), who works as a furniture remover, was charged with grievous bodily harm over the incident which took place outside a McDonalds restaurant in Northbridge, Perth on Monday, July 24.
Wicklow & District

Popular kids sea safaris to hit Wicklow beaches next week

DONT give up on summer just yet! Wicklow County Councils popular sea safari workshop for children is hitting several local beaches next week.
MINISTER Simon Harris has emphasised the growing importance of credit unions now that Ulster Bank and KBC have withdrawn from the Irish market.
TWO Wicklow community organisations will receive funding under Measure 2 of the Governments CLAR Programme to purchase essential vehicles for those with mobility issues and cancer care patients
I lost everything. Complete financial ruin  Designer Helen Cody opens up about divorce, the death of her son and how she had to start all over again after the crash
The operation resulted in the arrest of three individuals and the seizure of a significant amount of heroin.

The arrested individuals are Bhindar Singh (alias Bhinda), Dilbag Singh (alias Manu), and Manipal Singh (alias Mani), all hailing from different villages in Amritsar.

The operation was carried out jointly by the Border Security Force and the Punjab Police. Acting on intelligence information, the police had reason to believe that drug smugglers were receiving heroin consignments dropped by drones from across the border. The suspects were then transporting the drugs within the state.

The police managed to intercept the suspects vehicle during a special checkpoint near Beharwal village. When the driver attempted to evade the police, law enforcement officers were able to apprehend the individuals inside the car. During a subsequent search, authorities discovered a total of 12 kg of heroin concealed in three separate packs, each weighing 2 kg and tied around the suspects waists. An additional 6 kg of the drug was found hidden elsewhere in the car.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the arrested individuals had connections with drug smugglers based in Pakistan.

They were reportedly involved in distributing the heroin within the state after receiving shipments from across the border.

The authorities are now working to identify both the Pakistan-based smugglers and any accomplices within India who were intended to receive the drug consignment.

The successful bust underscores the ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to curb drug trafficking and cross-border criminal activities. It also highlights the importance of intelligence-sharing and cooperation between various agencies in tackling such illegal operations.

(Image and text credit: Khalsavox.com)
New York/IBNS: The Indian Embassy has come out with a response after a Sikh New York State Trooper was barred from growing a beard, media reports said.

New York State Trooper Charanjot Tiwana was barred after he sought permission to grow a beard for his wedding in March last year.

Tiwana's request was turned down citing beard would pose a safety risk if he is required to wear a safety mask.

India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has taken up the matter with the senior level of the Joe Biden administration.

David Weprin, who represents Queens in the New York State Assembly, has reacted to the incident saying as quoted by various media, "Quite frankly, I am appalled by these discriminatory practices and clear violation of state law."

New York State Police administration has said as quoted by various media, "We have recently updated our guidelines with respect to facial hair... The New York State Police Uniform and Equipment Committee is currently working on a policy for the design and issuance of turbans."
Photo courtesy: khalsavox.com

In an unforeseen turn of events, Canadas Northern College, Scarborough campus, has dealt a severe blow to the aspirations of a multitude of Indian students, particularly from Punjab, causing a wave of disappointment and uncertainty.

Merely a month before the eagerly awaited September term was set to commence, the college unexpectedly rescinded admission offers, plunging students into a state of disarray.

These young individuals had meticulously planned and prepared for their Canadian journey, having secured accommodations, booked airfare, and readied themselves for a new chapter in their lives. The official explanation for this disruptive move was the overwhelming surge in applications received by the institution.

Sunil, a specialist in Canada student visa cases at Pyramid e-Services, an immigration agency located in Jalandhar, revealed that the college was inundated with an unprecedented flood of responses.

"The college extended more offer letters than available positions, assuming that not all students would successfully obtain embassy clearance and visas.

"However, the rejection rate proved to be unexpectedly low on this occasion, forcing the colleges hand in retracting admissions," he explained.

In an attempt to ameliorate the situation, the college pledged to fully reimburse students fees. Furthermore, they extended the option to students to secure offer letters from alternative educational institutions, with the potential to transfer the corresponding fees to their chosen alternative.

Harmanjot Singh, a hopeful student from Kapurthala who had applied for a two-year business diploma at Northern College, expressed his dismay.

Having already invested substantial resources, including the purchase of a non-refundable ticket valued at Rs 1.12 lakh for an August 29 departure, he and his peers were left astounded by the colleges 11th-hour verdict. The communication came in the form of an email, revealing the unfortunate lack of available seats at the college.

Beyond its immediate impact on students, the abrupt withdrawal of admissions has sparked widespread concern within Canadas Sikh community. Various advocacy groups, including the World Sikh Organisation of Canada, have united their voices in protest against the colleges actions, urging a reconsideration of the decision.

Parents of the affected students have also voiced their grievances, highlighting the logistical and financial predicaments precipitated by this sudden change of plans.

With a mere month before the anticipated September term, the colleges last-minute admission cancellation has left students in a state of limbo. These young minds had already committed significant funds toward accommodations and airfare, poised for their upcoming Canadian voyage.

(Report by khalsavox.com)
The National Assembly building in Niamey, Niger. Photo Courtesy: UN News/Daniel Dickinson

The Centre on Friday issued an advisory and asked Indian nationals to leave conflict-hit Niger 'as soon as possible'.

"The Government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

"They may bear in mind that air space is currently closed. When departing through a land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security," read the statement.

The government also asked Indians not to travel Niger in the upcoming days.

The government also asked them to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalizes.

"All those Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian Embassy in Niamey are strongly advised to do so expeditiously," read the statement.

How to contact Indian Embassy:

Indian nationals can reach emergency contact in the Embassy of India, Niamey (+ 227 9975 9975) for any assistance.

Situation in Niger:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern about the reported deplorable living conditions of the President of Niger in arbitrary detention, his spokesperson said in a note to journalists published on Wednesday evening.

President Mohamed Bazoum and his family are believed to be living without electricity, water, food or medicine, according to media reports.

The democratically elected leader has been detained since soldiers seized power on 26 July.

"The Secretary-General reiterates his concern for the health and safety of the President and his family and once again calls for his immediate and unconditional release and reinstatement as head of state," the note said.

Guterres was also alarmed over continuing reports about the arrest of several members of the Government and urgently called for their unconditional release.

The UN fears the crisis in Niger could impact the wider West African region and continues to underscore the need to ensure ongoing humanitarian support to some 4.3 million people in the country.

This week, the World Food Programme (WFP) assisted more than 12,000 people in the Maradi region in south-central Niger, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
Kolkata: The Kolkata Police have registered an FIR against 'unknown' persons on the basis of a complaint filed by the father of Jadavpur University student Swapnadip Kundu, who reportedly died after falling from the university's main hostel's balcony on Thursday.

The Bengali Honours student had taken admission to the university recently.

Mystery surrounded his death after his family members alleged that he was being ragged.

Police have registered the FIR under section 302 of the IPC.

A senior city police official told IBNS, "An investigation has been initiated into the incident. 10-15 resident students of the hostel, from where the student reportedly fell and died, have been questioned."

"Everyone is cooperating with the probe. None has been either detained or arrested yet," the official said.

Kundu died in KPC Medical College on Thursday where he was taken after some students found he was lying in a pool of blood below the hostel building.

Police said no suicide note was found in the room of the student.

A resident of Nadia district, which is about 120 km from Kolkata, the student had told his parents about facing problems in the hostel, reports Hindustan Times.

Kundu's mother said her son was 'excited' after getting a chance to study in Jadavpur University.

He was so excited when his name appeared on the merit list of Jadavpur University. He immediately decided to quit the college in Bogula, where he had started attending classes. For him, the name of the institution mattered most. It was like dream come true, Swapnadeep Kundus mother Swapna told The Telegraph.

Around two hours before that, Swapnadeep had called his mother and said he was very scared and requested her to take her back home, the newspaper reported.
Photo Courtesy: UNI

New Delhi: Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Friday with frequent disruptions, slogans and walk-outs marring the Monsoon session of the Parliament that began on July 20.

During the Monsoon session, Lok Sabha passed as many as 20 bills, including the controversial National Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023, even as productivity of the Lower House remained low.

A no-confidence motion brought against the government in Lok Sabha was defeated.

In the current session, Rajya Sabha passed 25 bills including the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023.

Addressing a press conference today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that 23 bills were passed by both the Houses during their sittings.

As many as 20 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha while five were introduced in Rajya Sabha.

In Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah today introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 which will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.

With the opposition bloc under newly-minted alliance name I.N.D.I.A insisting for a comprehensive state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing violence in Manipur before holding a discussion on the issue, proceedings in both the Houses were disrupted leading to reduced number of sitting hours and lower productivity.

During the Monsoon session, Aam Aadmi Party's two MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha while Lok Sabha suspended Congress Party's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for misconduct.

On almost all days of the Monsoon session, opposition parties raised the issue of Manipur violence and insisted for discussion on the law and order situation in the state by suspending the House business under Rule 267.

In Rajya Sabha, the government agreed for short-duration discussion on Manipur under Rule 176 but opposition parties dug their heels for discussion under Rule 267.

In his valedictory remarks, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his anguish over lost sitting hours due to continued disruptions and adjournments in the House.

"Once again, we yielded to the allure of narrow interests and allowed disorder to be the 'new normal' in the proceedings of the House. It appears that my appeals have not resonated well with our Members. The frequent unwholesome spectacle of disruptions only indicates that my message has not found the attentive audience it deserves," he said.

As per official Rajya Sabha statistics, a total of 50 hours and 21 minutes during the 17 sittings of the House were lost due to avoidable disruptions, adversely impinging on the overall productivity of this session.

Most bills saw almost no participation in debate from the opposition.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Opposition agreed to participate in discussion on Delhi services bill only to display their show of strength as they had no interest in other legislative business.

Unfortunately, despite our repeated requests and endeavours the Opposition did not take part in the discussion due to political reasons," he said.

Joshi said that the government never wanted a bill to be passed without discussion and noted that discussions happened almost on all the Bills in Rajya Sabha.
Photo courtesy: Facebook/RahulGandhi

New Delhi/IBNS: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of Manipur violence, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday alleged that the former does not want to douse the fire in Manipur despite the fact that 'he has many tools at his disposal'.

"The PM could at least go to Manipur, talk to the communities, and say 'I am your Prime Minister, let's start talking'; it will be taken seriously. I don't see any intention," Gandhi said addressing the media at Congress headquarters.

Responding to the Prime Minister's reply to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, the Wayanad MP said, "The Prime Minister yesterday gave a speech of 2 hours and 13 minutes. Out of this, he talked about Manipur for two minutes only."

"Manipur has been on fire for months, people are being raped and killed, children are being killed and the Prime Minister was laughing and joking while speaking in the lower house. This does not suit the Prime Minister of India," he said.

"When a person becomes PM, he should not speak like a petty politician. It's tragic to watch PM Modi speak for two hours on Congress and Opposition. It doesn't do justice to his position.

"The Indian Army can stop this violence in 2 days but the PM wants to burn Manipur and does not want to extinguish the fire," he said.

"I am not seeking the Army's intervention. All I am saying is that the Army can stop this violence in two days. It is not my position to say which tool PM Modi will use. I am saying PM Modi has all the tools in his hand but for some reason, he is refusing to use them," the Congress MP said.

"Manipur has been decimated. For the first time Bharat Mata has been expunged in Parliament," he alleged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday slammed the Opposition, alleging that it only wanted to "play politics" on Manipur violence despite Home Minister Amit Shah's detailed explanation of the state of affairs in the northeastern state.

I want to assure the mothers and sisters of Manipur that the country and the parliament are with you. Once again, Manipur will move on the path of development, PM Modi said as he accused the Opposition bloc INDIA of not intending to debate the Manipur issue.

The Centre and the state government are working together to punish the perpetrators of heinous crimes against women in Manipur, the PM had said.

Modi alleged that it was the Congress that did the groundwork that led to the current tumultuous situation in Manipur.
Photo courtesy: UNI

Varanasi/IBNS/UNI: An application was moved in the Varanasi district court on Friday praying to preserve the Hindu signs and symbols in the Gyanvapi complex by sealing the entire premises without affecting the survey being done by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The application was moved by Rakhi Singh three days after the Allahabad High Court dismissed her Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as withdrawn on August 8 in which it was prayed for a ban on entry of non-Hindus inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex and also to direct the Uttar Pradesh government to seal the entire premises without affecting the ASI survey.

The Allahabad High Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn when the petitioner's counsel made a prayer to approach the appropriate forum as per law.

In her application filed through counsels Man Bahadur Singh, Saurabh Tiwari, and Anupam Dwivedi, the plaintiff has stated that during the Advocate Commissioner survey held last year, important evidence was found inside the mosque premises and the Muslim side was trying to damage them inside the mosque.

Anupam Dwivedi, Counsel for the petitioner said that in the application they have prayed for preserving the Hindu signs and symbols during the ongoing ASI survey.

He said that the plaintiff has also sought proper security arrangements inside the premises so that the evidence must not be harmed or damaged by the Muslim side without affecting the ongoing ASI survey.

The next hearing in the case has been fixed for August 17.
British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat with EAM S Jaishankar (Image Courtesy: twitter.com/UKinIndia)

New Delhi: The British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has announced new funding amounting to 95,000 pounds (approximately Rs 1 crore) to bolster Britain's capacity in addressing "pro-Khalistan extremism".

The British high commission shared this information in a statement detailing Tugendhat's three-day visit to India, which commenced on Thursday.

This funding announcement coincides with mounting concerns within India regarding the surge in the activities of pro-Khalistani groups in the UK.

 Security Minister @TomTugendhat is in  to:



 Announce 95,000 investment to tackle pro-Khalistan Extremism

 Review Joint Extremism Taskforce outcomes & determine next steps

 Support India's #G20 Presidency & commitment to work with partners on transnational corruption pic.twitter.com/9flDc5fYy0  UK in India (@UKinIndia) August 11, 2023

These concerns have been further exacerbated following the attacks on the Indian High Commission in London in March.

According to the announcement, the 95,000 pound investment will help the government understand the "pro-Khalistan extremism" threats and supplement the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the joint-extremism task force.

"The living bridge between India and the UK reflects our deep and enduring friendship. As the world's oldest and largest democracies, we have many shared opportunities to make the world a safer and more prosperous place," Tugendhat said.

"A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. I'm committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism --whatever form it takes," he said.

"Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence," he said.
Image: Unsplash/Barbara Zandoval

New York: The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, voiced concern on Tuesday over the situation in Mexico, where refugees and migrants aspiring to get to the United States find themselves in cramped shelters, exposed to multiple risks.

At a press conference in Geneva, agency spokesman William Spindler pointed out that "the capacity to receive and provide assistance to refugees and migrants has been exceeded for months" in that border area.

The humanitarian situation on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border continues to be serious, he stressed, explaining that families with young children arrive there distraught and disoriented. Since shelters are almost always overcrowded, many people stay in tents in improvised camps that they set up next to the official shelters.

Assistance needed

Many of those arriving in the border area do not have access to the information that could help them make the right decisions about their options. There is a strong need for information services and legal support, the UNHCR official underscored. He added that medical attention, food assistance, shelter capacity, equipment at shelters, mental health and psychological support, as well as security, are of utmost importance there.

According to the Mexican government, in the last month there has been an increase in the flow of migrants in the country who are often transported in unsafe vehicles prone to accidents. Moreover, they sometimes travel along irregular and dangerous routes.

Asylum as a human right

Referring to the United States, the UNHCR spokesman recalled that access to safe territory for asylum seekers is a cornerstone of the 1951 Refugee Convention and refugee law, adding that governments must respect this international instrument to protect the rights and lives of refugees.

Seeking for asylum is a human right, Mr. Spindler emphasized. He added that effective reception and processing systems at borders, including the southern border of the United States, are feasible and necessary to restore order, humanity and fairness.

The UNHCR, according to its spokesperson, is willing to work with the US authorities, as well as those of other countries, to continue seeking safe paths that asylum seekers can follow and to ensure that border and asylum measures and policies are in accordance with international refugee and human rights law.
Image: UNICEF/PAC

New York: A deal has been reached with the Government of Syria to reopen the main border crossing from Turkiye to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

For the next six months, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing will be accessible and allow much-needed assistance to reach millions of people in northwest Syria.

Bab al-Hawa has been used since 2014, when the UN Security Council authorized cross-border relief deliveries across conflict lines. Around 85 per cent of aid deliveries have passed through Bab al-Hawa from Turkiye since then.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision, following talks between UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and Syrian government officials, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

The agreement also involved authorization for the UN to use the Bab al-Salam and Al-Raee border crossings for an additional three months, which originally opened earlier this year as part of the emergency response to the earthquake disaster that hit Syria and Turkiye in February.

Humanitarian Assistance in North Syria

This news comes as humanitarian needs are at an all-time high after more than 12 years of war and in the wake of the devastating double earthquakes that struck the region in February.

Almost 12 million people  more than half the population of Syria  do not have enough to eat and a further 2.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger, according to the UN.

In June, Mr. Griffiths warned that twelve years of conflict, economic collapse, and other factors have pushed 90 per cent of the population below the poverty line."

UN humanitarians warned UN Security Council members earlier this summer that Syrians are facing an ever worsening humanitarian crisis.

Multilateral efforts

The northwest region is the last opposition stronghold in Syria, and aid has been delivered there from Turkiye through a cross-border mechanism first authorized by the UN Security Council in 2014.

In July 2023, an initial attempt to renew the agreement at the UN Security Council failed, due to a veto from Russia.

The first draft resolution, tabled by Brazil and Switzerland, called for a nine-month extension and included a paragraph on the expansion of crossline operations, increased funding, enhanced early recovery activities and humanitarian mine action.

Although 13 of the 15 countries in the Council voted in favour of the resolution, it was struck down by a no vote from Russia, one of the five permanent members. China, another permanent member, abstained.

The latest agreement will see the delivery of life-saving supplies to populations in the northwest - despite the worrying funding shortfalls that still hinder humanitarian response.

Ramesh Rajasingham of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said In July that despite these severe vulnerabilities, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only 12.4 per cent funded. He warned that in the absence of urgent funding, humanitarians will have to make difficult choices again this year.

The unprecedented funding crisis in Syria has also forced agencies like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to announce vast cuts to aid provisions, including reductions to monthly food rations.
Image: UN News/Pengfei Mi

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for countries to recommit to eliminating nuclear weapons in his message to mark the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki, observed on Wednesday.

We mourn those killed, whose memory will never fade. We remember the terrible destruction wrought upon this city and Hiroshima. We honour the unrelenting strength and resilience of the people of Nagasaki to rebuild, he said.

New arms race

Yet despite the terrible lessons of 1945, humanity is now facing a new arms race as nuclear weapons are being used as tools of coercion, he noted.

He said weapons systems are being upgraded, and placed at the centre of national security strategies, making these devices of death faster, more accurate, and stealthier at a time of division and mistrust among countries and regions.

The risk of nuclear catastrophe is now at its highest level since the Cold War, he warned.

In the face of these threats, the global community must speak as one. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We will not sit idly by as nuclear-armed States race to create even more dangerous weapons.

Strengthening disarmament efforts

Mr. Guterres stressed that disarmament is at the heart of his Policy Brief on a New Agenda for Peace, launched last month. It 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.

Pending their total elimination, States possessing nuclear weapons must commit to never use them. The only way to eliminate the nuclear risk is to eliminate nuclear weapons, he said.

The Secretary-General added that the UN will continue working with world leaders to strengthen the global efforts towards disarmament and non-proliferation, including through the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

NPT talks have been taking place at the UN in Vienna this month and will conclude on Friday. The treaty entered into force in 1970 and aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and further the goal of nuclear disarmament.

Tribute to survivors

Mr. Guterres also paid tribute to the survivors of the atomic bombings, known as hibakusha. He said their powerful and harrowing testimonies will forever serve as a reminder of the need to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

I have pledged to do everything in my power to ensure that the voices and testimonies of the hibakusha continue to be heard, he said.

He called on young people - the world's future leaders and decision makers - to carry their torch forward, saying we can never forget what happened here. We must lift the shadow of nuclear annihilation, once and for all.
Image: UNRWA

A UN health centre providing medical care to Palestine refugees at a camp in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday, as a ceasefire between opposing armed groups holds.

Services at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)s Health Centre II were suspended last week following clashes between Palestinian armed groups at the Ein El Hilweh camp, the largest Palestine refugee camp in Lebanon.

At least 13 people were killed, more than 60 injured, and thousands displaced in four days of deadly violence, which broke out on 30 July. The camp also housed about 360 UNRWA staff, some of whom were trapped and one injured by the fighting.

Hope for continued calm

Dorothee Klaus, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, visited the camp on Wednesday, and expressed hope that the situation remains calm.

I heard today of families unable to leave houses for days under fire and injured upon escape, children crying of fear and womens hair turning white, she said, adding that UNRWA will consecutively support clearance of rubble and reinstatement of damaged water networks and electricity lines.

A secure environment is necessary for UNRWA to operate. We are collaborating with partners to prepare clearance of affected camp sites once possible, to ensure the safety of the community and UNRWA staff from remnants of the war, she said.

Health centres at the Ein El Hilweh camp

Ein El Hilweh camp, one of 12 refugee camps in Lebanon, was established in 1948. It is located south of Saida in southern Lebanon.

The camp hosts two health centres providing services to an average of 575 patients daily.

Its services include primary healthcare, general curative care, specialized consultations, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pharmacy, dental, and laboratory testing.

It also provides refugees with mental health support, and runs maternal, child and school health programmes.
Image: IOM/Hussein Ben Mosa

Three UN agencies on Thursday appealed for greater access to safe and regular pathways for migration and asylum in the European Union after another deadly shipwreck claimed dozens of lives in the Mediterranean.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM); the UN refugee agency, UNCHR; and the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) also called for coordinated search and rescue mechanisms.

The tragedy occurred between Thursday 3 August and Friday 4 August, and to date, only four survivors have been rescued  all by a merchant vessel.

The survivors, brought to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard, reported that they were among a group of 45 people, of whom 41 remain missing, including three children.

IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF are present in Lampedusa to support the authorities in both the disembarkation and initial reception phases to ensure that people seeking international protection can apply for it and that those with special needs are promptly identified.

Growing death toll

The numbers add to the growing death toll of shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean.

According to IOMs Missing Migrants Project, more than 1,800 people have been reported dead or missing along the Central Mediterranean route so far in 2023. This route accounts for more than 75 per cent of the victims in the entire Mediterranean over the past 10 years.

Total disregard for lives

The ill-fated vessel  an iron barge  had embarked from Sfax, Tunisia, but its journey was cut short by the unforgiving waves.

Dangerous weather conditions make crossings in iron vessels particularly perilous, the UN agencies said.

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Such tragedies also highlight smugglers total disregard for the lives of migrants and refugees making these journeys, the UN agencies added, noting that only a few days ago, a pregnant mother and a child lost their lives off Lampedusa.

Address root causes

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called for better management of migration and refugee flows.

In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he urged action to address the root causes, responses in transit countries, trafficking and safe routes, for those on the move.

But tragedies like the Mediterranean shipwreck will happen again unless states invest more in organized, coordinated rescue at sea, he said.
A file photo of the assassinated politician | Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Eucodorean authorities have said six people arrested in connection to the assassination of the country's presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are Colombian nationals and gang members.

Ecuadors Interior Minister Juan Zapata said in a news conference on Thursday as quoted by CNN that the suspects are members of organized criminal groups, citing preliminary evidence.

He later confirmed to the American news channel that the suspects are Colombian nationals.

However, the nationality of the suspected gunman is not clear.

Ecuador's upcoming presidential election was bloodied by the assassination of the presidential candidate at a campaign rally in the capital city on Wednesday amid an escalation in drug cartel fuelled violence in the South American nation.

Fernando Villavicencio, who was campaigning against gangs, corruption and drug dealers, was shot dead in the capital Quito.

A suspect was also killed in the shootout, said Ecuador's president Guillermo Lasso, assuring that the guilty would be punished.

"Organised crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law will fall on them, Lasso said as he declared a state of emergency for 60 days.
Photo Courtesy: UNI

Imphal: Women of Manipur staged sit-in protests on Friday against the alleged gangrape of a woman at Churachandpur during "Tribal Solidarity March" on May 3 last.

They were protesting against the alleged gangrape of a 37 - year old woman in Churachandpur.

This was followed by a back lash by another ethnic group, the next day.

The Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba, Manipur and All Manipur Women Voluntary Association and other women bodies have demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

The protesting women shouted slogans denouncing the rape.

Protestors also voiced their concern over revealing the ethnic group of some victims while hiding the name of the ethnic group when the victim belonged to a particular community by the media.

All Manipur Women Voluntary Association president Y Kunjarani , Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba, Manipur president Longjam Memchoubi said women were subjected to various forms of crimes by people from another ethnic group.

An 80-year old woman was burnt alive and many were still missing, yet the Prime Minister spoke only on a viral video , the protestors said.

Many women were hiding the crimes committed against them due to fear of society, they added.

There were attempts to kidnap three children, including a girl, all between 8 to 13 years on Thursday at Samurou, Imphal West, protestors at Samurou alleged.

The women demanded that the attacks on common people, killing of innocents, harassment of women should immediately be stopped. Markets were closed following the protest.

(With UNI Inputs)
Image:  WFP/Claire Nevill

An international human rights body focused on Ethiopia has voiced deep concerns over the worsening security situation in the northwest of the country, particularly in the Amhara region.

On 4 August, the Ethiopian Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency in the region after, according to media reports, the regional leader said he was no longer able to contain a surge of violence between a local militia and the army over a disputed plan to absorb the regional security forces into the national army.

The International Commission of Human Rights Experts took note of the declaration of the state of emergency, adding that it required approval by the House of Peoples Representatives, as per the Ethiopian Constitution.

Previous states of emergency have been accompanied by violations of human rights, the Commission said in a statement on Thursday.

[We] therefore urge the Government to strictly adhere to the principles of necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination in accordance with its international legal obligations under Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Commission also called on all sides to respect human rights and take steps to deescalate the situation and prioritize efforts towards a peaceful resolution of differences.

Amhara cannot bear another conflict

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, raised an alarm over the humanitarian situation in Amhara.

The people of Amhara cannot bear another conflict. WHO calls on all parties to the conflict to cease hostilities and return to talks, he said at a regular press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to WHO, almost two million people are in need of health assistance, and the situation is made more complex by the influx of refugees from the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

The International Commission

The International Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2021 to conduct an impartial investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law in Ethiopia committed since 3 November 2020, which marked the start of the conflict in Tigray.

The Commissions mandate was most recently extended for a period of one year, until December 2023.

The body comprises three human rights experts appointed by the President of the HRC. The current members of the body are Mohamed Chande Othman (Tanzania, Chair); Steven Ratner (United States of America); and Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka).
Image: Unsplash/David Golding

New York: The United Nations has strongly condemned the assassination of a presidential candidate in Ecuador, urging authorities to investigate the crime.

Fernando Villavicencio, 59, was shot dead after leaving a campaign rally at a school in the capital, Quito, on Wednesday evening, according to news reports.

Nine other people were injured, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers.

The attack occurred just two weeks before the election on 20 August and amid an escalation of violence and crime.

'Shocking criminal act'

The UN system in Ecuador called for an investigation so that there is no sense of impunity, and to redouble efforts to stop this wave of violence that is sadly affecting all the countrys population, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, speaking in New York on Thursday.

From Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned what he called "this shocking criminal act".

He stressed the importance of promptly carrying out a transparent, thorough, and independent investigation to hold those responsible to account.

Strengthen protection measures

"Violence against political candidates is a serious threat to the electoral process and the peoples ability to express their democratic will," he said.

Mr. Turk recalled that in July he had expressed deep concern over the recent spike in violence in Ecuador, including attacks and threats against political candidates, other public figures, and journalists.

He said the incident underscored the challenges the country and people are facing amid the escalation.

I urge the authorities to increase their efforts to strengthen protection measures for political candidates, public officers and journalists, and to protect peoples lives and personal integrity in line with international human rights standards to avoid the repetition of such a tragic crime, he added.

'Grave threat to democracy': Guterres

In a statement issued on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the assassination of Mr. Villavicencio.

Attacks of this nature represent a grave threat to democracy, and those responsible must be brought to justice, it said.

Mr. Guterres expressed solidarity with the Government and people of Ecuador, especially the late politicians family.

The Secretary-General also recalled his meeting with President Guillermo Lasso on 21 July, where they discussed the deterioration of security in Ecuador, the impact of organized crime, and the need to enhance national and international efforts to fight it.

The United Nations stands ready to continue to support the Ecuadorian authorities with a view to addressing the violence in keeping with international human rights norms and standards, the statement concluded.
A file image of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Photo Courtesy: UNHCR/Christophe Archambault

Rescuers have found the bodies of 23 Rohingyas who were fleeing Myanmars Rakhine State, media reports said on Friday.

According to reports, they died after their boat sank.

Thirty people are still missing while eight have reportedly survived the tragedy.

The survivors said they were trying to reach Malaysia when their boat carrying more than 50 passengers foundered and was abandoned by its crew on Sunday, BBC reported.

Rohingyas try to escape to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia every year by braving rough seas.

They are escaping persecution in Myanmar and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Those who died this week include 13 women 10 men, all Rohingya Muslims, a rescue team told BBC.

Rohingyas are people who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar.
Image:  Unsplash/Aden Lao

UN-appointed independent rights experts have called on the Chinese Government to provide information about nine Tibetan human rights defenders serving prisoner sentences of up to 11 years.

The experts sounded the alarm on the lack of information provided by Chinese authorities - deeming it a deliberate attempt to make the world forget about the individuals who are spending year after year in isolation.

Between 2010 and 2019, nine environmental human rights defenders were arrested and imprisoned after they protested against allegedly illegal mining activities and hunting of endangered species in Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province and the Tibetan Autonomous Province.

Lack of clarity

There is very little information available about the circumstances of their detention, trial and sentencing, but with cases where we do have sufficient information, we know these activists were sentenced to between seven and 11 years in prison, they said.

According to the UN experts, the families of the defenders - Anya Sengdra,Dorjee Daktal, Kelsang Choklang, Dhongye, Rinchen Namdol, Tsultrim Gonpo, Jangchup Ngodup, Sogru Abhu and Namesy- have been kept in the dark about their fate.

They went on to highlight the lack of clarity around whether the individuals had received access to legal counsel, medical care or where they were being held.

The panel of experts consists of Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and David Boyd, Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

They urged the Chinese government to provide details on why and where the activists are held, their health conditions and to ensure they have adequate medical care. They also asked the government to permit the families of the detained visitation access.

Sophie Helle, Human Rights Officer for Ms. Lawlor, told UN News that at the end of July, several mandate holders sent an allegation letter to the Government of China to raise concerns about Tibetan human rights defenders being detained.

Although the communication is private, she confirmed that the Chinese Permanent Mission in Geneva has also been notified of the allegations.

Since the human rights defenders were sentenced, the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment was recognised at the international level by the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.

If China is committed to tackle the impacts of climate change, it should refrain from persecuting environmental human rights defenders and release all nine immediately, the experts said.

About Special Rapporteurs

The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis, are independent of any government or organisation, and serve in their individual capacity.

They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
Pixabay

Beijing: China is not interested in a space race and urges the US to stop baseless speculation around this topic, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Friday.

Earlier this week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that Russia cannot land astronauts on the Moon in the time frame that the United States and China are capable of, which means that only Washington and Beijing are participating in a new space race.

"China is not interested in participating in a space race with any country, and strongly opposes the weaponization of space and turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race in space," the ministry said, adding that "China urges the US to stop baseless speculation and irresponsible behavior."

The US says that it seeks to protect interests of the whole world, but, in fact, Washington seizes space resources for its personal gain, the ministry added.
Adipurush was released in theaters on June 16 and starred Prabhas as Raghava, also known as Lord Rama, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, also known as Sita, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh, also known as Ravana. Based on the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and directed by Om Raut, the movie received harsh criticism for its dreadful special effects, weak character development, and weird dialogues.

Adipurush had its OTT release on Friday, August 11, around two months after its theatrical debut.

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Adipurush's Netflix description read, "While serving a long exile, a righteous warrior prince sets out on an epic journey across land and sea to rescue his wife from a demon king."



There were no noteworthy announcements made by the production team. Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada are the four South Indian languages in which Prime Video is streaming the movie. Netflix is also offering the Hindi version of the movie for streaming.

The mythological drama was first produced in Telugu and Hindi, while the other three languages were added as dubbing.

Poster

Reacting to the OTT release, one wrote, guys lets keep one comment empty for hanuman ji.

A second added, Itne bure din aagai netflix ke???.

A third wrote, Remove this nonsense of a movie. This is disrespectful to a Divine tale.

A fourth wrote, I don't want to feel my Netflix subscription worthless by watching the worthless things.

Check out some more reactions here

netflix

Adipurush, which cost Rs 700 crores to produce, is the most costly movie ever made in India. For its inaccurate portrayal of the Ramayana, purported factual misinterpretations, Hanuman dialogues, and other issues, the movie has drawn controversy. Manoj Muntashir, who wrote the dialogue for the film, received a lot of criticism for creating dialogue that was regarded inappropriate for a film based on India's famous epic.

Adipurush is an adaptation of the Indian epic Ramayana.

Sunny Singh plays Sesh (Lakshmana), Devdatta Nage plays Bajrang (Lord Hanuman), Vatsal Sheth plays Indrajit (Meghnada), Sonal Chauhan plays Mandodari, Siddhant Karnick plays Vibhishana, Krishna Kotian plays Dashratha, and Trupti Todarmal plays Sarama, among others, in the mythical action movie Adipurush. Bhushan Kumar, Om Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair are the financiers of the movie through their companies T-Series and Retrophiles.
The defence personnel and the police personnel of the nation are continuously working hard to maintain security and decorum in and around the country. They are liable to make sure that violence and disturbances do not arise. If it so happens that a case like that arises, then they are the ones standing front and centre to simmer down the situation.



But dealing with constant chaos like this and being at the forefront of this matter can not only affect someone physically but can also cause a mental disturbance. There is a lot of pressure that they have to deal with and sometimes it can take a toll on them mentally.

Impact of mental health problems on these defence and police personnel

In the face of challenges, these personnel have made sure to safeguard us from danger. However, underneath all the courage and valour, there is a lot of underlying trauma that is caused by various factors. So, on this Independence Day, we asked Hemangi Mhaprolkar, a senior psychologist with Mpower, to explain some of the primary issues causing these officials' poor mental health so that we may raise awareness and do something in return for what they do for us and our country:

Due to a work environment with high stress

In India, defence and police officials often navigate a high-stress work environment characterised by regular exposure to violence, crime scenes, and accidents. They frequently confront emotionally charged and dangerous situations while facing constant pressure to uphold law and order. This unrelenting stress underscores the crucial requirement for robust mental health support to help officers cope with these challenges and maintain their well-being.

Cumulative trauma led by a lack of support and resources

These personnel often contend with a lack of resources and support, exacerbating the impact of trauma. Inadequate training to cope with traumatic experiences leaves them ill-equipped to manage the emotional toll. Furthermore, limited access to essential mental health resources and counselling services hinders their ability to seek assistance. The demanding nature of their profession, characterised by long working hours and irregular schedules, further strains their work-life balance. Addressing these gaps is vital to ensuring officers have the necessary tools to navigate the challenges they face.

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Organisational, cultural, and social stigma



Organisational culture prioritises emotional toughness and discourages seeking assistance. This culture fosters a fear of displaying vulnerability or weakness in the presence of peers and superiors. Moreover, there exists a stigma surrounding mental health issues, further deterring officers from reaching out for support. Addressing these cultural barriers is essential to creating an environment where seeking help is normalised and officers can prioritise their mental well-being without fear of being judged.

There is job dissatisfaction and burnout

Police officers in India face a combination of challenges that can impact their mental well-being, leading to burnout. These challenges include the lack of proper debriefing protocols after traumatic incidents, which prevents them from discussing and processing their emotions effectively. Moreover, continuous exposure to trauma without sufficient support can lead to burnout, compounded by high levels of job dissatisfaction.

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Health-related problems caused by these factors



The above-mentioned factors are more than responsible for causing several other physical and mental problems. Some of these issues are:

Backpain

Stress can be responsible for back pain. Since the muscles in the body tend to cramp up, which can lead to stiffness and pain, stress can also lead to sensitivity to pain.

Anxiety and depression

Stress and isolation can lead a person to have anxiety and even depression. This can increase after a person is not able to talk about the challenges they are facing and has to deal with high-pressure matters all by themselves. A lot of times, stressful matters are also confidential, which can lead them to do everything by themselves.

Suicidal tendencies

Pressure to always work in the way the organisation expects you to can cause a lot of pressure. This can also lead to one not having an outlet to take a breather or talk about how things are taking a toll on one's mental health. This is when they think about extreme measures, such as suicide. While the cases may be rare, there are a few with such tendencies.

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Strategies to help these personnel cope with mental health issues

While things may get tough in these job roles, there are many ways in which these personnel can get help. There are a lot of mental support options that can help these law enforcement officers. Such as:

Counselling and therapy

Counselling and therapy provide individuals with a supportive and professional space to explore their thoughts, emotions, and challenges, leading to increased self-awareness, improved coping skills, and the development of strategies to manage difficulties and enhance overall well-being.



Crisis intervention

Crisis intervention offers immediate and focused support to individuals facing acute distress or emergencies, helping them regain stability, manage overwhelming emotions, and develop coping strategies to navigate the crisis and prevent further escalation.

Trauma-informed care

Trauma-informed care involves recognising the widespread impact of trauma and providing a compassionate and understanding approach that prioritises safety, empowerment, and sensitivity to the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma.



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Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a goal-oriented psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and modifying negative thought patterns and behaviours to promote healthier emotional responses and improved mental well-being.

Resilience training

Resilience training equips individuals with psychological tools and coping strategies to effectively navigate and bounce back from adversity, fostering emotional strength, adaptability, and a positive outlook on challenges. It helps people build a stronger capacity to manage stress, setbacks, and uncertainties in their lives.

Wellness check-ins

Wellness check-ins provide individuals with regular opportunities to assess their mental, emotional, and physical well-being, fostering self-awareness and early recognition of potential issues. These check-ins encourage proactive self-care and help people seek support when needed, promoting overall health and preventing the escalation of difficulties.

Stress reduction workshops

Stress reduction workshops offer individuals practical techniques and strategies to manage stress, including mindfulness, relaxation exercises, and time management skills. By learning these tools, people can effectively reduce stress levels, enhance their overall resilience, and improve their ability to handle the demands of daily life.

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Hemangi Mhaprolkar says, "Support for mental health is of the utmost importance in Indian law enforcement agencies. Having tools that encourage interventions accessible to law enforcement officers not only improves their own well-being but also helps to enhance the effectiveness and ethics of policing. Addressing mental health issues strengthens resilience, decreases burnout, and encourages healthier interactions between officers and the public, resulting in a safer and more balanced work environment for everybody involved."



In conclusion, the admirable courage displayed by individuals in law enforcement should not overshadow the significance of prioritizing their mental health. Recognising the demanding nature of their profession, it becomes crucial to provide avenues for mental well-being support, ensuring that those who serve and protect also have the resources to safeguard their own emotional resilience and overall quality of life.


A bank that is by women and for women, this Mahila bank in Jorhat of Assam is the first women's bank in the state.

Not surprisingly, it is a woman who is the trailblazer here - Lakhimi Baruah set up the bank in 1998 to ensure women were financially empowered.

Lakhimi Baruah/ The Better India

In 2021 she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, for her contributions and efforts to empower women of Assam financially.



To encourage banking habit among women

The Konoklata Mahila Urban co-operative Bank (KMUCB) was established in 1998. The banks lending facility is meant exclusively for women though men are allowed to deposit as per the instructions of RBI.

The bank meets the credit needs of women for their consumption and production purposes through various attractive schemes of loans as approved by the RBI.

Assam's first All-Women's bank/ Village Square

The main objective behind setting up the bank was to encourage thrifting and banking habit among women.



This bank in Assam gets over 250 customers a day, 75% of whom are illiterate women from low-income backgrounds, according to media reports.

Lack of financial security among poor & illiterate women

Before starting KMUCB, Lakhimi worked in a bank, which made her aware of how economically backward and illiterate women cannot enjoy the benefits of banking services.

Lakhimi Baruah when working as a banker in 1995/ Outlook Business

Having also started a Mahila Samiti in 1983 in the Dakshin Sarbaibandha area of Jorhat district, Lakhimi became acutely aware of women's financial illiteracy and financial insecurity.



Baruah realized that many rural womenfolk are either unaware of the saving mechanism or financial institutions are not reaching out to them.

She thus set up KMUCB in 1998 with an initial capital of 8.46 lakh. In 2000, the bank received its licence from the Reserve Bank of India, and Lakhimi quit her job and dedicated her life to KMUCB.

Motive to help women irrespective of caste & background

The bank only has women employees.

The Better India reports that about 75% of the beneficiaries are illiterate and belong to the labour class. Also, about 65% of the customers belong to SC, ST and OBC classes.

Speaking to the portal, Lakhimi says: "The idea is to engage and help women from all sections of the community, irrespective of their caste and background. The gates of the bank are open for all those women who genuinely need help."

Lakhimi Baruah, Founder of Assam's first all-women bank/ Outlook Business

KMUCB allows women to open bank accounts with a balance as low as Rs. 100. It also offers the option to open a zero balance account, the Konoklota Daily Deposit (KDD).



Additionally, it provides soft loans to women, which they can use for daily needs like repairing the house, paying school fees for their children or arranging for safe drinking water.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


In what could prove to be a boost for trade and tourism, India might soon be connected to Bhutan by rail.

Representative picture, The Telegraph

India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, disclosed that there were ongoing discussions between India and Bhutan concerning the potential establishment of a railway connection between Assam's Kokrajhar and Bhutan's Gelephu.



Historical milestone

Jaishankar underscored the importance of enhancing trade and tourism opportunities with Bhutan through the potential Gelephu-Kokrajhar railway link on the Assam border.

S Jaishankar/ AFP

This is proposed to be a 57.5-km railway link and is expected to be completed by 2026.



Addressing the media on Monday, Jaishankar said, "Bhutan is very keen to open more points for tourists, and it is very good for Assam."

Apart from enhancing trade and commerce, the Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link is also hoped to improve people-to-people relationships between the two countries, which will be a historical milestone for Bhutan-India relations.

Sole dependence on road link results in economic inefficiency

Located in the Himalayas, Bhutan shares borders with four states in India - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim.

Being landlocked, the only transportation link between Bhutan and India for export and import is through road networks.

This sole dependency on roads creates a great deal of economic inefficiencies and results in high transportation and logistical costs.

Landmark accord signed earlier in 2005

On 25th January 2005, India and Bhutan signed a landmark deal for establishing rail links between bordering towns.

Under the memorandum of understanding, inked in the presence of the former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and His Majesty of Bhutan, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, the two sides agreed to conduct feasibility studies for the extension of the Indian Railways network from West Bengal and Assam to the nearest border towns of Bhutan.

The first public acknowledgement of talks came much later, in December of 2022, when Bhutan's Foreign Minister, Dr Tandi Dorji, said that his country is discussing railway connectivity with India, something that will "integrate trade and commerce".

Tandi Dorji

According to Dorji, the Bhutan government will first work on this project and then look at connecting other regions like Samtse, Phuentsholing, Nganglam, and Samdrupjongkhar, as stated in media reports.



For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


Amazon.com's founder, Jeff Bezos, is adding another property to his collection  a spacious waterfront house in Florida. Bezos, ranked as the third richest person globally, is making this new purchase for $68 million on the island of Indian Creek, close to Miami.

This house, situated on 2.8 acres of land, equivalent to the size of a large park, boasts three bedrooms and dates back to 1965.

Before, a company called MTM Star International related to Panama owned it. In June, they sold it, but we don't know who bought it.

Before that, in 1982, someone bought it for $1.4 million.

A person who speaks for Bezos didn't say anything when asked for a comment. This person, who doesn't want their name known, said that Bezos, who is 59 years old, is considering buying more things there. Indian Creek is a unique area where rich people live.

Agencies

They call it "Billionaire Bunker." Some famous people like Carl Icahn, Tom Brady, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump have lived there.



In the last few years, Bezos has gotten many homes. He has one in Washington, D.C. He also has a massive house on nine acres in Beverly Hills. He got that one for $165 million in 2020. He also has a place in Maui.

He has homes in Manhattan and Seattle too. Bezos also owns a massive piece of land in Texas, about 300,000 acres. That's where the Blue Origin rocket called New Shepard takes off from.

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After Bezos left his job as Amazon's CEO in 2021 and broke up with his wife, MacKenzie Scott, he started buying more expensive things. He has a super fancy yacht called the Koru.

It's one of the most expensive yachts in the world. It was made this year and probably cost around $500 million.



The place he bought on Indian Creek is around 9,300 square feet big and has a pool.

He would be the wealthiest person on the island, with about 40 houses, a country club, and even its police department. Bezos has a lot of money, around $163 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The house he got on Indian Creek is about 9,300 square feet and has a pool. He would be the wealthiest person on the island, with around 40 houses, a country club, and its police.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos has a ton of money, about $163 billion.

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Exhibitions and events attempting to bridge the gap between the east and the west are not uncommon, at least in a city like ours which is cosmopolitan in the truest sense. But what about the bridges between our neighbours that have been burnt by the curse of ignorance oblivion? Such a neighbour of our country, Singapore, also celebrates its Independence the same month as ours. To celebrate the cultural relationship between these two countries, art exhibition The Power Binary is set to unveil this weekend. Featuring a collection of more that 200 artworks by over 150 artists from India and Singapore, the exhibition aims to challenge the aesthetic sensibilities of the generic perception of modern and contemporary art. Curated by Vidhya Gouresan Nair and headed by Singapore-based artist P Gnana, the exhibition also commemorates the 20th anniversary of Gnani Arts, an art collective based out of Singapore. We speak to P Gnana and four participating artists to give you a sneak peek ahead of the show. Excerpts from the interviews:

P Gnana

It took Gnani Arts two months to put together the exhibition, says P Gnana, head of the project and one of Singapore s leading artists of recent times. Both being South Asian countries, there are more similarities than differences between India and Singapore. However, the P Gnana thinks that the artists of India are more influenced by nature and practices like live sculpture while the artists of Singapore have more western influence. His sculptures and paintings are also going to grace the exhibition, most of which are going to revolve around the theme of relationships.

Basuki Dasgupta

Feminine power or shakti is the extreme strength of our existence. Divine and powerful, she is the symbol of spirituality and the stories of daily life. To me, Maa Durga, symbolises my mother who is my inspiration and strength. That is why I feel this work is the true signature of my philosophy, says artist Basuki Dasgupta, talking about his abstract art titled Durga. There are some artists whose works reveal their influences and then there are some whose works give away no clue. When we asked him about his favourite artists of recent times, Basuki tells us, A Viswam and Alakananda Sengupta are two of them. Ma Xiaowei, Pim Palasgraaf and Pierre-Luc Granjon are also some artists whose works I am fond of.

Gurudas Shenoy

The work of the painter that is going to be displayed at the exhibition is an oil on canvas piece titled Spiritual Odyssey. Speaking of the series, which is, very dear to his heart, Gurudas explained how most of his works are a reflection of his travels. Travelling through multitudinous terrains, watching the shifts of light at different times of the day, the hills, valleys, the sky and the clouds it s larger than life; I see God in this, he says, adding, It is a space I see within my mind, free from the confines of realism.

G Subramanian

The celebrated artist s work draws inspiration from Indian mythology. Having seen his father perform the roles of female mythological characters like Sita in Ramayana and Radha in Sri Krishna Vilasam made the artist fall in love with such stories. And this is what finds expression in his works, such as the bronze sculptures Krishna and Radha that he is going to display at this exhibition. I started my bronze work in 2019 when I went to Swamimalai in Tamil Nadu, a place where traditional artisans live, work and worship gods and goddesses from the Chola period, he says, on being asked about his work in sculpture.

SG Vasudev

Collages and drawings have let me explore possibilities of recreating stories by using the imagery that I have done in my earlier paintings, says artist SG Vasudev, whose artwork Rhapsody (medium: collage and drawing) is going to be featured at the exhibition. For the unversed, he is also the founder president of Drushya Kala Sahitya Parishad, an organisation aimed to encourage the culture of art writing in Karnataka.

Free entry. 11 am to 7 pm. August 9 to 13. At Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumarakrupa Road.

Email: prattusa@newindianexpress.com

Twitter: @MallikPrattusa
After several years of virtually nonexistent relations, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis spoke on the telephone Wednesday with his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush, signalling that contacts between Athens and Tripoli are at a turning point in the effort to build functional channels of communication.
Question Everything! Click Here To Support Information Clearing House For Biden, Thwarting China's Development Is Job One By Mike Whitney Tweet August 10, 2023: Information Clearing House -- " UNZ " - The Biden administration has imposed a blockade on advanced computer chips headed for China. The action is expected to slow Chinas technological development while inflicting serious damage on the broader economy. The strategy has been widely praised by the media and foreign policy experts, but a growing number of analysts wonder if the plan could backfire? Dan Wang is skeptical that Bidens blockade will succeed in the way the authors had intended. Wang is a technology analyst who presented his views in an editorial at the New York Times. Heres what he said: The White House is intent on outcompeting China on technology. The ground on which this competition is taking place is chip making. But the Biden administration shouldnt sit back and savor this accomplishment for one reason: What if its core belief  that advanced semiconductors are one of the critical fronts in the contest  is wrong? Americas actions are driven by the assumption, articulated by the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, that computing chips are a force multiplier technology, staking it as critical to continued U.S. leadership. But what if the U.S. government is too focused on the most novel technologies rather than the most important ones? I believe America is in a great power contest with China, one that will be multidimensional and protracted, making it unlikely that success hinges solely on who can stay ahead in a few advanced technologies. An excessive focus by the United States on A.I.  and on the advanced chip-making capabilities it requires  may represent a failure to appreciate Chinas broad technology strength s. While China has suffered serious setbacks in chip production, its companies are vaulting ahead in other sectors. Last year China overtook Germany in automobile exports, and it is on track to overtake Japan as the global leader this year. While most of these exports consist of foreign brands produced in China, the numbers reflect the deep expertise that Chinese companies have built in the next era of automotive technologies, particularly in car batteries. We have been breaking people out of the Matrix for more than 23 Years! Click Here To Get Our FREE Newsletter Its not just cars. Industry estimates put Chinese companies at owning around 80 percent of the supply chain for solar manufacturing. Chinese electronics makers have produced a rising share of the components in Apples iPhone. And increasingly in less glamorous products  such as industrial machinery and basic household equipment With one hand, the U.S. government is blocking Chinas progress on A.I. and supercomputing, but with the other, it is ushering Chinese companies toward concentrating their efforts on chips for products of daily use. And a world in which Chinese companies dominate the production of mature chips  driven directly by American policy  hardly looks like a victorious outcome for the United States. We need to spend less time making ever more marginal refinements to restricting an emerging technology. Rather, we should take a more holistic view of a long-term contest with a peer competitor. That means broadening the strategic focus to a wider range of sectors and following through on plans to build unglamorous technologies, too. Biden Is Beating China on Chips. It May Not Be Enough, New York Times Wangs op-ed helps to point out the shortcomings of Bidens blockade. Whatever technological gains the US may achieve in the near-term, they will pale in comparison to Chinas forward progress in other, more mundane sectors of the economy. What the blockade illustrates is the administrations obsessive search for a silver bullet, that is, a magical weapon that will help them to achieve their broader strategic objectives. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet that will make a waning empire with dilapidated infrastructure, an aging workforce, a failing educational system, and a hollowed out industrial core, more competitive. The United States will have to spend less money on its wasteful and over-bloated military and more on the development of its productive assets and industries if it wants to compete head-to-head with a manufacturing powerhouse like China. Its also worth noting, that the blockade has dramatically impacted the bottom line of the major chip producers. Headlines like these can now be found in all the major mainstream media: Samsung to extend production cuts after $7 billion chip loss in first half, Reuters SK Hynix, one of the biggest memory chipmakers, reports record quarterly loss as prices slump, CNBC Intel, Samsung, Micron and others are being hit by one of the worst chip routs ever in a swift decent from the pandemic sales surge, Bloomberg Semiconductor giants are losing money on every chip as historic glut threatens to wipe out earnings, South China Morning Post An industry that still is undergoing post-Covid distress syndrome, has now been whipsawed by precipitous policies aimed at containing a rising China. Heres more on the topic from an article at the Global Times: During a recent White House meeting with the chief executive officers of American semiconductor giants, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm criticized the Biden administrations relentless approach to curb exports of advanced chips to Chinese customers, saying the restrictions will surely backfire on them, depleting them of a big revenue source and endangering their ability to lead the sector in the future. The blunt warning is an attestation that the US governments so-called small yard and high fence strategy to scupper Chinas technology sector progress is ill-willed in the first place and to no avail in the end. For an example, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told senior US officials that limiting sales of American chips in China had just made alternatives more popular. The undertone is if the American chip companies lose the market share in the worlds largest semiconductor market, they will lose them permanently. All the more, the availability and quality of the software that Chinese companies are using more than compensates for any hardware restrictions by Washington, the CEOs said. US-led semiconductor technology blockade to backfire on itself, allies, Global Times Still, the Biden administration is charging ahead blindly despite the protests of industry honchos or skeptical allies. Theyre not concerned about the loss of revenues for chip manufacturers or the impact their blockade could have on the industry as a whole. They are convinced that their onerous export controls will succeed and that, eventually, Beijing will submit to Washingtons diktat. Most analysts, however, believe it is only a matter of time before China catches up and is able to produce its own advanced semiconductors. After all, China spends $400 billion in annual chip imports which will now be diverted to domestic production. Given Chinas strides in other areas of technological development, we expect that they will bridge the gap within the decade. Consider, for example, what happened to Huawei. This is from an article at the New York Times: Huawei may prove instructive once again. Battered by American sanctions and Chinas strict pandemic controls, the companys 2022 profits fell by a staggering 70 percent compared with the previous year. But there are signs of life: Despite the plunge in profits, revenues rose slightly, and the companys operating system, HarmonyOS  which it developed after being cut off from using Android  has been installed on more than 330 million devices, mostly in China.  Bereft of American chips and technology, Huawei has been forced to redesign and remanufacture all of its legacy products to ensure they contain no American components. The company is dragging along an entire domestic supply chain in its wake, sending its own engineers to help train and upscale Chinese suppliers it once shunned in favor of foreign alternatives. Recently, Huawei claimed that it had made significant breakthroughs in the electronic design software used to produce advanced semiconductors at a size that, though still a few generations behind the U.S., would put it further along than any other Chinese company. If Huawei manages to succeed, it could emerge from American sanctions stronger and more resilient than ever. An Act of War: Inside Americas Silicon Blockade Against China, New York Times So, yes, Trumps sanctions put Huawei into a steep tailspin, but now the tech-giant is back on its feet and gaining momentum. Can we expect the same from Chinas budding chips industry? Yes, we can. Chinas development may be delayed but it wont be stopped. And when China finally catches up, they will remember the countries that violated WTO rules and abandoned their free market principles in order to inflict as much pain on China as possible. This is from a post at Econofact: The rules of the WTO prohibit countries from acting unilaterally in response to what they perceive as violations by other countries . WTO members are instead required to use the WTO dispute settlement system for their complaints. This is intended to eliminate the possibility of a retaliatory spiral of protectionist measures. Recent moves by the United States to impose tariffs, justified as important to national security, are widely regarded by other countries as unilateral action that is illegal under WTO law.. Unilateral action violating WTO rules risks destroying a system that the United States has led for decades, and that has benefited this country. U.S. Trade Policy: Going it Alone vs. Abiding by the World Trade Organization, Econofact Simply put, Bidens advanced semiconductor blockade is cheating. It is a clear violation of the rules the US agreed to uphold. As we noted earlier, the vast majority of western journalists not only support the blockade but, also, take great delight in the fact that China is being unfairly targeted. Michael Schuman at The Atlantic, for example, is thrilled that Biden has taken such aggressive action which he thinks is entirely justified. Heres what he said: President Joe Biden showed Xi whos boss. Two days earlier, on October 21, Biden had dropped the hammer on Chinas semiconductor industry by fully implementing a slew of tough controls on the export of American chip technology to China. This is a painful blow to Xis ambitions to rival the U.S Bidens new policy reveals that the standard narrative of Chinas unstoppable ascent and Americas inexorable decline is based on flawed assumptions. The U.S. continues to hold tremendous economic and technological advantages over China, which, as Biden just signaled, Washington is becoming more willing to use against its Communist competitor. Above all, Bidens export-control measures are a ruthless expression of American cloutand an intentional reminder that, in many respects, America has it and China does not. ... These controls mark a distinct shift in Washingtons approach to China. On top of trying to outcompete China, which is the intent of the CHIPS Act recently passed to support the U.S. semiconductor sector, Washington is now purposely and openly working to hold back Chinese economic progress. Allen called the controls a genuine landmark in U.S.-China relations that heralds a new U.S. policy of actively strangling large segments of the Chinese technology industrystrangling with an intent to kill. Why Bidens Block on Chips to China Is a Big Deal, The Atlantic Not surprisingly, Schumans views are shared by a vast number of his colleagues in the media. They all seem to believe that China must be punished for succeeding in a system the US helped to create. Whats striking about Schumans piece, however, is the diabolical glee with which he promotes the new U.S. policy of actively strangling large segments of the Chinese technology industry with an intent to kill. That might sound a bit extreme for an opinion piece, but it does accurately reflect the aims of the Biden team who seem fully-committed to thwarting Chinese capabilities on a broad and fundamental level. In short, sabotaging Chinas technological rise looks to be Washingtons top priority. Mike lives in Washington state. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. 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Lawmaker representing Edo North Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has told the States Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, that the APC has no Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp to rehabilitate distressed politicians.

The former Governor of Edo State, made the submission on Thursday while commenting on the allegation made by incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, that Shaibus court case against him was a prelude to his defection to the APC.

Oshiomhole however urged Shaibu to respect and be loyal to his boss, insisting that his wish is for Edo to be governed in peace and harmony.

But let me say this, to say that somebody wants to run to the APC, I want to say that the APC is not a rehabilitation centre. I can tell you that for free.

READ ALSO: Fuel Never Dey You Wan Go Fight War  Burna Boy Mocks President Tinubu (Video)

We in APC are satisfied the way we are; we are happy in opposition and we are not about to receive people who are coming because they have lost out. I want to say that there is no IDP camp in APC.

So my advice is that those who are having challenges should learn how to respect their bosses. I have always advised people that whoever you work with, be loyal, Oshiomhole said.

Recall that Shaibu had approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking protection from possible impeachment and removal from office by his principal, Obaseki.

He requested an interlocutory injunction to stop harassment, intimidation, or embarrassment, and to allow him to carry out his duties as Deputy Governor,

It is being alleged that the relationship between Shaibu and his principal, Obaseki, has been tense in recent months.
Apex Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described as unfair and unjust the decision of President Bola Tinubu to choose only five ministerial nominees from the South-East.

The group lamented that fact that the Southeast has only five states in the geo-political zones as created by the past military regimes has shortchanged the people of the region in the scheme of things pertaining to the country.

The group expressed their displeasure in a statement signed by its President General, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, on Thursday.

READ MORE: Ohanaeze Petitions Tinubu Over Alleged Attempt To Sell Enugu Museum Land

The statement read, The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is disturbed over the current appointment of ministers in Nigeria by His Excellency Mr. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. In the appointment, the South East has only five ministers while some other zones have nine (9) and even ten (10) ministers.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo feels that it is unfair and unjust. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo believes in one united Nigeria and this can only be achieved in an atmosphere of fairness, justice, and equity. We therefore demand justice, fairness, and equity for every ethnic group in Nigeria including the Igbo.

Recall that the states and geopolitical zones were created by the military administrations. All honest Nigerians know that the Igbo did not play much part during this exercise. As a result, the South East was shortchanged with five (5) states while other zones have a minimum of six (6) states.

This situation has placed the South East in a very difficult position, politically, economically, and socially. Our political power has been reduced as we have a few senators and also in the House of Representatives; governors, House of Assembly, and local governments. In federal revenue allocation, the South East is denied the revenue that comes on the basis of states. In federal board appointments and other resource distributions, we are strategically shortchanged.

We wish to observe that this situation was not caused by the current administration but we however appeal to His Excellency, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to help us remedy the situation and restore justice, equity, and fairness in Nigeria.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has begged President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of All Progressives Congress to consider more ministerial slots for South-East for the sake of equity and federal character.

Kalu made the appeal when he paid a visit to the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, at the party secretariat on Thursday.

Recall that out of the 48 ministers appointed, the South-East received only 5 slots, despite other regions receiving a higher count.

Kalu said: the South-East region deserved more, urging for fairness in line with the federal character principle.

He said, We are raising the lobbying for more for South East.You know, we are like the Oliver Twist.

While thanking Mr. President for remembering us despite all odds and despite our contributions to the last election, he remembered us by ensuring that I also emerged as the deputy speaker of the house, for which the region is very grateful to Mr president.

READ MORE: Appointing Only Five Ministers From South-East Unfair, Unjust  Ohanaeze

But we are also asking him, because he is a man that we know is magnanimous, to look into increasing the members of ministerial positions for the region.

In addition, we also came to discuss other pertinent issues that will affect the growth of the party, the nation and as well as my region and we had a good time discussing those issues.

The issue of national balancing, loyalty and cohesion in the country in the spirit of the Constitution with regards to federal character, the way and manner appointments and projects are done. We also deliberated on that to see that the balancing will increase national cohesion.

I took the time to thank him and Mr President for finding a lot of young people worthy to be in government now as ministers and also women inclusion that has been preached over and over again and was part of the constitutional review that went to the former president that was not assented to.

We are hoping that his Presidency will be looking into that as I lead the parliament in the House of Representatives on constitutional review, it will be one of the issues we will be re-presenting to the president on the need to include more women in what we are doing.

I want to thank him for my sister who was found worthy to be on board, Honorable Nkiru Onyejeocha, other members of the Parliament like Tunji Ojo, Dr Sununu, and all the members of the parliament that have been considered worthy, to help in piloting the affairs of the country.
A Chief Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory has ruled that Abuja-based House on the Rock pastor, Uche Aigbe, who stormed a church service on Sunday, February 12, 2023, carrying an AK-47 rifle has a criminal case to answer over the prohibited firearm found in his possession.

Recall that the pastor caused a stir on social media after bringing a gun to the church, which later attracted the attention of security agency in the Country.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the incident took place during the second service, which frequently has a high turnout of the congregation who comes from different parts of the Federal Capital Territory.

However, Chief Magistrate Abubakar Ismail dismissed the no-case submission made by the Pastor on the ground that the objection to trial lacked merit and substance.

READ MORE: Police Probe Abuja Pastor Who Mounted Pulpit With AK-47

In a brief ruling on Thursday at Zuba, Magistrate Ismail held that from the totality of the evidence so far adduced, the defendant has been effectively linked with the charges preferred against him by the Police.

The police had charged Uche Aigbe, Promise Ukachukwu, and Olakunle Ogunleye with criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of prohibited firearms, inciting disturbance, and criminal intimidation, which they pleaded not guilty to.

The prosecution counsel, Assistant Police Commissioner, James Idachaba, had informed the court that the defendants got the firearm from Inspector Musa Audu, attached to Wuye Division, posted on guard duty at the said Church.

The offence, he said, is punishable under Section III of the Firearms Act CAP F28, LFN 2004, and contravened Sections 97, 114, and 397 of the Penal Code.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has alleged that his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, is plotting to oust him from office.

Addressing stakeholders on Friday, Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Shaibu has become so desperate to succeed him, ahead of the Edo governorship election in 2024.

He (Shaibu) went to Abuja and was boasting that he has connections in Abuja, that he has people in the national assembly, that they are all with the president now, that they will take care of him.

That if he cannot get the ticket in PDP, he knows what to do.

I kept quiet and said I thought we were together. But what struck me, and I have never said this to anybody, is that after I proclaimed the house of assembly, we were now going to elect officers.

He was in Abuja, he came back that day. I am the chief security officer of this state. I get any information I need. But I have that responsibility to keep quiet and use the information properly.

READ ALSO: Niger Coup Is A Pointer To Leadership Issues In Africa  Sam Adeyemi

My deputy called the leader in All Progressives Congress (APC), telling that leader that during the elections on the next day, particularly speaker of the house of assembly, that he has five members who are loyal to him and that he would like the seven members of APC to work with his five members of PDP to produce the next speaker.

As far as I am concerned, that was not working in our common interest.

Why would the deputy governor seek to have another speakership candidate outside of what the governor wants? Are we working together?

That was when I knew we had a problem. That the deputy governor has become so desperate to take over that he would do anything, including carrying out a coup, against his governor.

How can you say you are loyal and you will do such a thing? Obaseki queried.

According to Obaseki, he has told Shaibu to keep his governorship ambition in check because there is still a lot of work to be done before next years transition.
Nigerias President and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says the Community is committed to ensuring democracy returns to Niger Republic.

Tinubu stated this while delivering his closing remarks at the second ECOWAS extraordinary summit held in Abuja on Thursday.

Information Nigeria reports that top on the agenda was the political impasse in the land-locked country, after the military junta defied the ECOWAS deadline to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum.

After the deliberations, the bloc resolved to deploy standby military troops to restore constitutional order in Niger.

We have exhibited great membership, dedication and patriotism and have recognised the danger facing our dear neighbour, Niger.

READ ALSO: ECOWAS Orders Standby Force To Restore Constitutional Order In Niger

All is not lost yet. The outcome of this summit is a testament to the power of collaboration and unity. We have reaffirmed our commitment to the people of Niger and the progress of the entire ECOWAS community.

We will continue with that. And you know Ill see from the communique of this extraordinary summit that no option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.

If we dont do it, no one else will do it for us. We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting Niger in the journey towards peaceful democratic stability in the country, the ECOWAS Chair said.

According to him, the move will undoubtedly have challenges, however, he expressed hope that the unity of the bloc will help to navigate these obstacles and chart a path towards lasting peace and prosperity for Nigerians and ECOWAS.
Former Director Civil Society of the defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Najaatu Bala Muhammad, says the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) quest to declare war on Niger Republic is a ploy to divert Nigerians attention from the proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

Najaatu in a statement issued on Thursday, however urged Nigerians to unite in calling the ECOWAS leaders to order by condemning violence and addressing the devastating effects of war on human lives and societies.

Such despicable action in the name of democracy is not only condemnable, but also unacceptable. Today in Nigeria, we have Tinubu being supported by France after the most controversial election declaration in the history of our country.

READ ALSO: APC Not IDP Camp, Rehabilitation Centre; Be Loyal To Your Boss  Oshiomhole To Deputy Gov., Shaibu

If Nigeria is at war, Tinubu can declare a state of emergency or a martial law that will allow him to remain in power indefinitely, putting aside any tribunal or judicial process challenging his eligibility to even contest the election.

With the backing of France and other colonial powers, he will deploy security forces to quail any form of protest to his undemocratic and unconstitutional machinations.

Tinubu is aware that he is not eligible to contest. The Tribunal judges know this, APC as a political party also knows this. So, why is Tinubu so eager to go to war on behalf of France and with the backing of France in the name of democracy?
The Nigerian Army has clarified that it does not have any pact with Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, the former Niger Delta militant leader, or his security group.

Asari-Dokubo had on Channels Television asserted that the government contracted his security company to support the military in certain states of the federation.

Asari-Dokubo had said, I dont have an army but I have a private military company that was engaged by the Nigerian government and I have been doing the work for the Nigerian state. Private military companies exist all over the world; we have Black Waters, we have Wagner; we have so many private military companies.

So, I have a private military company that is engaged by the government and we are fighting side by side with the Nigerian military in many places. Like Niger, Plateau, Abia, Imo, and parts of Rivers State. We were in Anambra too. We are doing a good job and we are being commended by the host communities.

READ ALSO: Niger Coup: Nigeria Cant Afford Price Of War  Afenifere Cautions ECOWAS On Military Intervention

However, when contacted, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations, said the Army had never conducted an operation in any part of the country in collaboration with Asari-Dokubos men.

Going by that interview, Dokubo claims he owns a private military company that was engaged by the government of Nigeria. The veracity of his claim can only be ascertained by the relevant agency, statutorily mandated to license such outfits.

However, it must be clarified that the Nigerian Army is not in any form of partnership or collaborative pact with the ex-militant or whatever private security outfit he claims to own.

It is also expedient to place on record that contrary to his claims, the Nigerian Army has never conducted any operation jointly or side by side with Asari or the organisation he represents, in any of those areas he mentioned or in any theatre of operations, he said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Thursday, hailed President Bola Tinubus diplomatic approach in resolving the crisis currently facing Niger Republic.

CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in a statement, also commended the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for their unwavering commitment to discouraging coups detat and the forceful takeover of power.

The Christian body, warned against military intervention in Niger, saying that such move will create enmity between Nigeria and its neighbours.

As an organization deeply committed to promoting justice, peace, and harmony, CAN urges His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to remain on the path of dialogue and avoid any form of military intervention or measures that would create enmity between the good people of Nigeria and Niger.

READ MORE: ECOWAS Orders Standby Force To Restore Constitutional Order In Niger

We firmly believe that the path to lasting peace lies in upholding democratic processes, respecting the sovereignty of nations, and engaging in peaceful dialogue to address grievances and resolve conflicts, the statement added.

CAN also urged all stakeholders involved in the matter to embrace peaceful negotiations, exercise restraint, and tirelessly work towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis in Niger.

Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had earlier reported that the leaders from the West African bloc met on Thursday for an emergency summit on the coup in Niger, after the countrys military chiefs defied an ultimatum to restore the elected president.

Barely two weeks after the military Junta, ECOWAS said it is seeking a diplomatic solution but has not ruled out using force to resolve the crisis.
Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda has disclosed that security forces in the state will start attacking terrorists in their hideouts very soon.

According to Radda, his administration will not negotiate with terrorists but will open its doors to rehabilitate repentant terrorists.

Radda made this known while speaking at a special prayer session organized by the state government over the restoration of peace in both Katsina and the neighboring Niger Republic.

We dont have plans to give amnesty to terrorists, but we are ready to accept them if they are ready to embrace peace and lay down their arms, he said.

READ MORE: Coup Leaders Threaten To Kill Bazoum If ECOWAS Invades Niger

This event is not all about prayers, but also for the clerics to step down our message to their various communities to see to the end of the lingering security issues in our dear state and by extension, the country in general.

We need the cooperation of each and every member of the public to ensure that information is provided to us so that we can fish out the terrorists and criminals terrorising the residents.

What we intend to start doing henceforth is to attack these hoodlums in their hideouts same way they use to attack us in our homes. Gods willing very soon we will begin to go to the forest and look for them, Radda said.

We must support our security agencies with information on the movements of the terrorists and their collaborators, Radda maintained.
Professor Stephen Oross III had a heart transplant in 2021, and his doctors advised at that time that he should not teach in person, given surging COVID-19 cases. Kutztown University required him to do so anyway, but a U.S. District judge just ruled that he shouldn't have had to. Read more

A Kutztown University professor who had a recent heart transplant and was denied his request to teach online during the pandemic has won a victory in court.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled last month that Stephen Oross III, 63, an associate professor of psychology at the Berks County state university, should have been allowed to continue to teach online even after the school moved instruction back to in-person.

Instead of showing compassion to a valued tenured professor, who, despite having recently underwent a heart transplant and was trying with all his might to return to campus for the Fall 2021 Semester, the university showed callous indifference by refusing to consider Professor Orosss individual circumstances as the law required, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.

 READ MORE: A professor got a heart transplant, so he wanted to teach online. His university said no.

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Instead, the university summarily denied his request for a remote accommodation based on a recently devised, inflexible and unsubstantiated policy that any request to change the course modality from in-person to remote would be considered a substantial alteration to the course offerings and would represent an undue hardship to the university and its students, Schmehl found.

But the judge did not grant summary judgment on damages, and Oross and his West Chester-based lawyer, Lorrie McKinley, said they are asking the court for reconsideration. At this point though, he is entitled to back pay, his lawyer said.

McKinley said the issue of being able to work remotely is really important to those with disabilities, far beyond the pandemic implications.

There are some people foreclosed from having a job just because they cant access the workplace, she said. But they are qualified to do the work. We have to start understanding remote work accommodations as something like a virtual ramp.

Kutztown University spokesperson Matthew Santos said the universitys lawyers, along with lawyers for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, of which Kutztown is a part, are reviewing the judges decision.

 READ MORE: Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated roommates: As college students move in, some parents and students have concerns

Oross had a heart transplant in February 2021, amid the pandemic. With cases of COVID-19 still surging, he didnt feel safe returning to in-person teaching, and his doctors warned against it. Kutztown at the time required masks but didnt mandate the vaccine, so he faced the possibility of being in classrooms with unvaccinated students and little room for social distancing.

After the university denied his request to teach remotely, he took an unpaid leave of absence for the semester.

Oross request was one of four that Kutztown received, and all were denied.

The decisions were based on the requester providing the appropriate medical documentation, the impact of the disability, and whether or not the requested accommodation met the ADA definition of reasonable, Santos said at that time. Accommodations are considered reasonable if they do not create an undue hardship, do not cause a direct threat to health or safety of others, or would not constitute a fundamental alteration.

 READ MORE: Attention Pa. state students: Your tuition costs will remain the same for another year

The four were approved for family medical leave, Santos said at that time, which would have allowed them to draw on benefits offered by Kutztown and the state system, including the use of up to 90 accrued paid sick leave days per calendar year.

Oross case came as universities around the country were attempting to return to as normal of a year as possible with in-person classes, following the release of COVID-19 vaccines. Some professors, like Oross, were seeking exemptions for a number of reasons. Absent universal guidelines, colleges set differing bars, some saying they were guided by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which allows for reasonable accommodations. Some took a hard line, leaving nearly no room for exception.

The judge found that allowing Oross to teach and conduct office hours online would not have fundamentally altered the universitys pedagogical model. The university, the judge said, did not show any effort, let alone a good-faith effort to accommodate him, upholding Oross discrimination claim.

Oross said he hopes the judges ruling translates into assistance for other faculty members who have been denied accommodations, some of whom have also sued.

Oross, of Fleetwood, continues to teach remotely under an agreement his lawyer negotiated through the court while the litigation continues. He said hell be teaching four courses in the fall.

He also said he is talking with faculty elsewhere in Pennsylvania who are suffering from long COVID-19 and seeking accommodations, as well as people in other states.

Im hoping this helps those individuals who have medical reasons for working remotely, he said, and as long as the job can be done remotely, [it] gives them that option.
A banner hangs from the rafters as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play at the Wells Fargo Center on March 16, 2023. Read more

POSTPONED: Hours ahead of his first of two shows at Citizens Bank Park, Bruce Springsteen announced his two Philadelphia shows are postponed citing personal illness. Read more here.

He strode the Streets of Philadelphia in a hoodie and leather jacket. He got into a rumble on the promenade in Atlantic City. And he spent his mid-1970s salad days playing dozens of times at a coffeehouse on the Main Line.

These Philly-area places  along with several in New Jersey  map out Bruce Springsteens history in the region, whether they be referenced in song lyrics or key places he played on his way to becoming the Boss.

The Main Point, 880 Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr

No venue outside Asbury Park is more important to Springsteens rise than the Main Point, the coffeehouse where he played 45 shows (in 24 nights) between January 1973 and February 1975.

That month, he played a concert broadcast on WMMR-FM (93.3) hosted by early supporter Ed Sciaky and widely bootlegged as You Can Trust Your Car to the Man Who Wears the Star. That set the stage for his breakout Born to Run later that year.

The cover photo of the 1998 rarities album Tracks of a pensive Springsteen stretched on a couch was taken by Phil Ceccola upstairs at the club. The pack of cigarettes on a table beside the Boss in the original photo was photoshopped out for the cover.  DD

North Hancock Street, Philadelphia

Streets of Philadelphia, Springsteens powerful single written for Jonathan Demmes 1993 movie Philadelphia remains his final top 10 hit. The music video filmed for the song, which shows a scruffy and battered Bruce walking through more than a half-dozen equally scruffy and battered Philly streetscapes, is just as iconic.

Springsteen covers a lot of ground in the video  recently mapped out by Peaches Goodrich, a Philly-based illustrator and filmmaker  including walking past Vare-Washington Elementary School and Jefferson Square in South Philly, a corner mural in Fairmount, and even the Delaware River waterfront in Camden.

The video, which also includes shots of Rittenhouse Square and the Liberty Bell, opens with Springsteen on North Hancock Street, strolling past a rubble-strewn, vacant lot near what is now the Piazza in Northern Liberties. MN

The Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St.

Springsteens Philadelphia story is entwined with the South Philly showplace that was the longtime home to the Sixers and Flyers. Now, its a parking lot adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center.

In June of 1973, he played his first show within the Philly city limits there, opening for Chicago, where he reportedly was relentlessly booed. The show was cut short. Three years later he was back, this time on top of the bill, in his first time anywhere as an arena headliner.

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It was there in December 1980 during The River tour that Springsteen and the E Street Band played on the night of Dec. 8, when John Lennon was killed in New York. The next night the legendary show closed with Twist and Shout.

In total, Springsteen performed at the intimate-by-arena-standards venue 42 times, including four nights in the run-up to the building closing in 2009.  DD

Colonial Avenue, Haddonfield

The Boss drove his newly purchased 1960 Corvette convertible to photographer Frank Stefankos house in Camden County for a shoot. What resulted were the photos that captured the brooding intensity of 1978s Darkness on the Edge of Town. The leather jacket and V-neck undershirt images were captured beside the flowery wallpaper in Stefankos bedroom. Another shot, taken outside the house and called Corvette, Winter, was used for the cover of Springsteens 2016 Born to Run memoir. In the book, Springsteen wrote that Stefankos photos captured the people I was writing about in my songs and showed me the part of me that was still one of them.  DD

2117 W. Porter St., Philadelphia

Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night/And they blew up his house, too

Springsteen opens his haunting, spare song about life and death and mob violence in Atlantic City with a Philly murder. Mafia boss Phil The Chicken Man Testa was blown up on the steps of his Girard Estates home in March 1981, when a bomb exploded underneath his porch.

The killing of Testa, whose poetic moniker stemmed from his time working at a poultry shop, sparked a Philly mob war, just as the gangsters were consolidating control of the lucrative crime rackets connected to Atlantic Citys recently legalized gambling industry. These songs were the opposite of the rock music I had been writing, Springsteen wrote of the Nebraska album in Born to Run. They were restrained, still on the surface, with a world of moral ambiguity and unease below.  MN

Atlantic City

As a boy, Springsteen traveled down Highway 9 to the beach resort 60 miles south of Asbury accompanying his mother to see Chubby Checker at the Steel Pier. In Born to Run, he said that, as an adult, when he went off his depression medication, I nose-dived like the diving horse at the old Atlantic City steel pier into a sloshing tub of grief and tears.

And Atlantic City is a centerpiece of his stark 1982 masterpiece Nebraska. The songs protagonist catches a Coast City bus to the place where theres a rumble out on the promenade and in his desperation, he imagines the sands turning to gold.

The black-and-white video  in which Springsteen doesnt appear  is a forlorn snapshot of the early 80s Jersey Shore, with casino facades, saltwater taffy shops, and the implosion of the Marlborough-Blenheim hotel. Take a stroll down the boards in Atlantic City today and youre hear the Meet me tonight in Atlantic City refrain played on speakers on an endless loop.  DD

My City of Ruins, Asbury Park, N.J.

The boardwalk town of Springsteens 1973 Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is a carny town full of hope, possibility, youthful hijinks, and heartache.

Later on, Springsteens writing about the city that gave him his start took a darker turn as Asbury suffered from urban blight and failed revitalization efforts, and became an all-but-abandoned Shore town despite its proximity to Philadelphia and New York.

My City of Ruins dates from 2000, just before Asburys current revival got going. But its gospel-fired call to Cmon rise up! took on new resonance after the Sept 11 terror attacks and the songs inclusion on Springsteens 2002 album The Rising. For a song rooted in a specific place, its inspirational quality has traveled well: it also became an unofficial anthem in Christchurch, New Zealand, after the 2011 earthquake there.  DD

1150 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, N.J.

On the verge of stardom, Springsteen wrote this goodbye to his adopted hometown while living in a garage apartment with a girlfriend in nearby Bradley Beach. The song [4th of July, Asbury Park] Sandy was a composite of some of the girls Id known along the Shore, Springsteen wrote in his autobiography.

I used the boardwalk and the closing down of the town as a metaphor for the end of a summer romance and the changes I was experiencing in my own life. The song made an icon out of Marie Castello, a boardwalk fortune teller, also known as Madame Marie, who Springsteen sang was busted by the cops for telling fortunes better than they do. Castello was never actually busted, and her family runs the shop now.

Springsteen posted a tribute to Madam Marie on his website when she died at 93 in 2008. Id sit across from her on the metal guard rail bordering the beach, and watched as she led the day-trippers into the small back room where she would unlock a few of the mysteries of their future, he wrote. She always told me mine looked pretty good  she was right. MN

Hollinger Field House, West Chester

Springsteens first Philadelphia-area gig  and first ever in Pennsylvania  was as West Chester University in Chester County on Oct. 28, 1972.

Its historic in other ways as well, as the debut of the core of what would later be named the E Street Band, with sax player Clarence Clemons, bassist Garry Tallent, keyboard player Danny Federici, and drummer Vini Mad Dog Lopez.

The band was the third act on a bill topped by stoner comedy duo Cheech & Chong that also included The Persuasions, the a cappella group Springsteen frequently toured with. Legend has it that there was a backstage dispute with Cheech & Chongs management, who were unaware an unknown act from Jersey had been added to the bill, and Springsteens set was cut short. DD
Richard Baron, CEO of American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), in the lobby of the his office on Walnut Street. Read more

Thousands of physicians are petitioning the Philadelphia-based American Board of Internal Medicine to loosen ongoing certification requirements they say are excessive.

The nonprofit ABIM sets training and assessment requirements  and fees  that doctors in a range of internal medicine fields, including subspecialties such as cardiology and oncology, must meet to be considered board-certified. About a quarter of doctors in the United States are certified by ABIM, a requirement for employment at many hospitals.

In 1990, ABIM began requiring doctors to renew their certification every 10 years  previously they were certified once, for life. Since then, the organization has continued to add requirements in between their 10-year recertification. The most recent addition in 2022, the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment, allows doctors to take 30-question quizzes every quarter instead of a much longer once-a-decade test.

This program costs physicians $220 a year.

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Frustration among physicians who feel they are being asked to do increasingly more to prove their competency has been building for years and in recent weeks, boiled over for many. At least 12,000 people have signed a Change.org petition, which is open to anyone. Many added their name after the petitions organizer resurfaced a July tweet in which ABIM suggested their ongoing certification was so easy, doctors could do it while on vacation.

Its just one more piece of control that we have lost, said Aaron Goodman, a hematologic oncologist at the University of California-San Diego who started the petition. Its just one more added stress.

Faced with unprecedented rates of burnout and health-care workforce shortages (not to mention huge school loans), Goodman and other doctors say ABIMs process does little to improve safety or care for patients, while adding to their stress and workload.

When asked about the petition, ABIM defended its maintenance of the certification program as an essential way to ensure doctors skills remain up-to-date.

Its important for doctors to maintain standards that protect patients, and to use the institutions we created for this very reason, said Richard Baron, ABIM president and CEO.

 READ MORE: An uproar over how to certify doctors (Published in 2015)

ABIM tweet fuels the fire

Goodman thinks ABIM certification is redundant because he is already required to meet continuing medical education requirements by both his state board of medicine for his license and by his hospital for his credentials to practice.

Yet hospitals require ABIM certification, he said. Losing it could mean hes out of a job.

Doing any of it is not making me a better doctor, Goodman said. We do it because we dont want to lose our livelihoods.

Frustrated, he took to X, formerly known on Twitter, on July 21 and shared an online petition that called on ABIM to suspend their maintenance of certification program. The response was overwhelming, as thousands signed on and many tweeted in support of his effort.

ABIM fueled the fire when it tweeted a photo of a physician answering her required quarterly questions at a folding table outside the RV shes driving through the 48 lower states on an adventure of a lifetime. The tweet initially got little attention, but it struck a chord with doctors when Goodman resurfaced it as part of his campaign. Doctors responded with sarcastic rebuttals of where else they could complete their quarterly questionnaire, such as during childbirth or a wedding.

On Aug. 2, ABIM deleted the tweet and apologized for sending an unintended message regarding work life balance.

Debate over usefulness of certification

Despite mounting criticism from doctors, ABIM stands behind its maintenance of certification program.

On a recent episode of the popular medical podcast Healthcare Unfiltered, Baron, ABIMs CEO, joined Goodman to debate the programs benefit. He said its important for doctors to routinely refresh their training because research suggests people are bad at self-assessing their skills.

In an interview with The Inquirer, Baron pointed to ABIM studies that suggest that physicians who do well in maintenance of certification are more likely to be familiar with most recent guidelines, such as prescribing fewer opioids for back pain as the overdose crisis escalated.

But doctors are skeptical about the quality of the evidence.

Whats being said here is mostly peoples opinions, said Jay Giri, an interventional cardiologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

To make that point, Giri researched the link between ABIMs maintenance of certification and mortality after heart catheterization. Using similar methods to the studies that ABIM conducted, he found that outcomes werent better when comparing providers with similar caseloads who did and did not participate in maintenance of certification.

The study isnt proof that ABIMs program doesnt work, he said, but it raises questions about its benefits.

Jennifer Johnson, a hematological oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, is also frustrated with the lack of evidence to support all that ABIM is asking her to do. She continues to learn medicine and stay up to date because she wants to give the best care possible for her patients. But the ABIM quizzes and requirements feel redundant to other mandatory continuing medical education.

But she, like many other physicians, feels stuck. She assumes most patients would prefer a board-certified physician over one who is not. But she wonders if people actually know what goes into obtaining that distinction and whether it should carry so much significance.

I think all of us are starting to question what it means, too, she said.
Flavored vaping liquids can appear to be a tasty treat for children. But with nicotine exposures in children on the rise, experts are warning parents to avoid purchasing flavored vaping liquids or to keep them out of reach of children. Read more

Nicotine exposures among children  especially in children under 5 years old  have doubled in New Jersey in recent years and are rising rapidly in eastern Pennsylvania.

There have been 89 cases of exposure to vaping liquids or e-cigarettes among children in eastern Pennsylvania in 2023 as of July 31, compared to 58 the same time last year, according to the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, which manages the regional poison control center. A total of 131 exposures were reported in 2022, up from 103 in 2021.

Between 2021 and 2023, 75% of reported vape liquid or e-cigarette exposures in eastern Pennsylvania were among children under 5 years old. Just 15% occurred among children between 6 and 19, and 10% were among people age 19 or older.

Nicotine exposures among New Jersey residents under 20 doubled between 2021 and 2022, from 42 to 86 cases. So far this year, New Jersey has logged 83 cases. All but six of those reported exposures in 2023 were in children under 5.

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New Jerseys data dont distinguish between children who ingested nicotine through a traditional tobacco cigarette and those who smoked an e-cigarette or consumed vaping liquid. But as e-cigarettes and vapes have shot up in popularity over the past decade, poison control experts worry that the rise in poisonings is a sign that liquid nicotine products are too accessible to children, said Diane Calello, a physician who serves as the executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System.

Vapes and e-cigs raise risk of nicotine exposure for kids

National nicotine exposures are rising as well. Reported cases of nicotine exposure related to vaping hit an all-time high in 2022, KFF Health News reported last week. (The term exposure refers to an incident where someone has ingested or is suspected to have ingested a substance. Poisoning refers to adverse health consequences as a result of ingesting a substance.)

Part of experts worry comes from the potency of vaping products available on the market. Disposable e-cigarettes, now the most popular type of vape on the market, can contain as much nicotine as multiple packs of cigarettes, KFF Health News reported, and arent required to have child-resistant packaging.

Children can also ingest nicotine by drinking the nicotine liquid intended for a refillable vape. A 2016 law does require child-resistant packaging on vape liquid, KFF Health News reported.

Another danger, experts say, is the flavors that some vape liquids and e-cigarettes come in  sweet, candy-like flavors that can appeal to young kids. Six states, including New Jersey, have banned flavored e-cigarettes. Philadelphia bans flavored vaping pods and vapes with high levels of nicotine at stores that children can enter.

A federal law bans flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes, where the nicotine liquid is sealed in a removable cartridge. (Doctors warn that even those sealed cartridges can be pried apart, KFF Health News reported.)

We hear a lot about the flavoring, and also the colorful packaging, across all our calls, said Anthony Jaworski, a doctor of pharmacy and the clinical program manager at CHOPs poison control center. And, even though certain states have banned flavored nicotine products, adults can cross state lines or order flavored products online, he said.

Of course, people are purchasing products for themselves as adults, without realizing that the little kids can also be attracted to the way that these are packaged, Jaworski said.

Exposures also arent limited to children drinking vape liquid, experts say. About half of the reported exposures in eastern Pennsylvania in the last two years involved ingestion of nicotine, and half involved inhaling nicotine.

Drinking the liquid is certainly the most dangerous because it could deliver the highest dose, Calello said.

But the poison control center has also seen cases of children as young as two years old inhaling vapes that belong to their parents. They do what they see, she said. The childproof packaging doesnt help when its loaded into a vape pen. They just have to take a puff.

How to protect kids from nicotine exposure

Calello and Jaworski arent surprised by the rise in reported nicotine exposures to children. The proliferation of vaping products on the market will naturally result in more exposures, they say.

It comes down to the fact that these are more common in the household, Jaworski said.

Still, he said, parents can take steps to mitigate risks related to nicotine exposure. Those who use e-cigarettes should consider avoiding flavored products to make them less appealing to children, and avoid vaping in front of kids to reduce the chance that theyll puff on an e-cigarette, trying to imitate their parents.

Vaping products should be stored high up and locked away from children  in a similar manner to medications or dangerous chemicals, Jaworski said.

And parents can watch for signs of a nicotine exposure in their children. Vomiting, paleness, and sweating usually happen within 15 to 20 minutes after ingesting nicotine, he said. Parents should consider visiting a doctor if a child shows unusual tiredness or confusion.

More serious symptoms include dizziness, weakness, muscle twitching, seizures, and loss of consciousness. That progression of symptoms  into neurologic findings  is when nicotine poisoning can become fatal, Calello said. Its rare, but it does happen.

Jaworski said his center has fielded no reports of fatalities, and most nicotine exposures in children in the area have resulted in mild symptoms, he said. Still, he said, the rise in cases is alarming, especially among young children.

In particular, he said, poison experts are concerned about vaping liquids, which can be heavily concentrated.

The national poison control hotline can be reached at 1-800-222-1222 and is staffed 24/7. Jaworksi said parents concerned about exposure to any substance shouldnt hesitate to call. We have nurses and pharmacists who are judgment-free, its all anonymous, and parents and caregivers wont have to search through Google to find an answer, he said.

KFF Health News contributed to this report.
A sign for the Texas state flag minus the flag on a utility pole along South Broad Street in Philadelphia. Read more

Flags of the 50 states and five U.S. territories twice lined Broad Street from Washington to Oregon Avenues. Underneath each flag hung a small gray plaque noting which state it belonged to, but today, only the plaques remain.

One reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirers forum for questions about the city and region, what ever happened to the flags.

To make a long story short, it all came down to funding, or lack thereof, and there are no plans for replacing them. But the story of how the flags got there in the first place is a tale of a city on the rise aiming to look nice for thousands of Republicans.

 ASK US: Have something youre wondering about the Philly region? Submit your Curious Philly question here.

Picture this: Its the new millennium, the world survived Y2K, and everythings coming up Philly. The city would be hosting the 2000 Republican National Convention at the then-First Union Center in South Philadelphia the first week of August.

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City leaders hoped hosting such a significant event would put Philadelphia on the national stage and give tourism a boost, while businesses in South Philly and Center City expected an immediate boon in business.

To be camera-ready for television reporters and look good for the thousands of GOP visitors, the city embarked on major face-lifts and less-invasive cosmetic tweaks ahead of the convention. For South Broad Street, that involved installing new light posts. Philadelphia 2000, the host committee for the convention, added a personal touch by hanging state buntings through Oregon Avenue for a so-called Avenue of the States.

When it came time to host the Democratic National Convention in 2016, fresh state flags went up again, as did fresh coats of paint for bus shelters.

 READ MORE: Company's coming: City spruces up ahead of convention

And even after Hillary Clinton walked away the Democratic Partys nominee and delegates returned to their respective homes, the flags honoring their states (with the exception of Mississippis because it then included the Confederate battle banner) stayed up on Broad Street.

Then came the wear and tear.

By the end of 2017, a Philly Mag reporter noted North Dakota, California, and Illinois flags were on their final threads, while Pennsylvanias was missing. Georgias bunting, meanwhile, had been replaced by a Jefferson Health banner.

A city spokesperson at the time noted Broad Streets flags were part of a different and not-as-well-funded program than the one paying for the upkeep of the various country flags lining the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

At the time, a lack of funding blamed for the condition of the ragged flags and a city spokesperson announced plans to take them down.

Fast forward to today, and Broad Street light fixtures bear only the names of various states but no bunting.

Streets Department spokesperson Keisha McCarty-Skelton said there is still no maintenance funding for the Broad Street flags and future funding would involve a coordinated effort among multiple city departments.
The 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing Philadelphia native and former Philadanco student OShae Sibley at a New York gas station late last month has been indicted on the charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced Thursday.

The killing drew national attention because Sibley was gay, and the men who approached him allegedly had used gay slurs during the altercation.

Sibley, 28, was stabbed the night of July 29 while at a Mobil station in Brooklyns Midwood neighborhood not far from where he lived. Sibley and his friends were playing music from a car and began voguing, a dance created and primarily performed by Black and Latinx LGBTQ people that imitates fashion models.

Sibley and his friends were allegedly targeted because they were dancing, they were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyonce music at a Brooklyn gas station, harming no one, and refusing to stop even when confronted with anti-Black and homophobic slurs demanding that they stop dancing, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a news briefing Thursday.

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Hate crimes impact a victim, but [they] also impact a community. It robs not just the family, but an entire community of the sense of safety and security, Gonzalez said.

The teen, who turned himself in on Aug. 4, was indicted by a Brooklyn grand jury on Thursday and was expected to be arraigned in youth court on Friday. If convicted, the teen, whose identity has not been disclosed because hes a juvenile, faces a minimum of 20 years in prison up to a maximum of life, Gonzalez said.

A North Philadelphia native, Sibley moved to New York before the coronavirus pandemic, hoping to find better dance opportunities in the city. As a young man, Sibley studied dance at famed Philadelphia Dance Company, or Philadanco, until just before his move to New York, founder Joan Myers Brown previously told The Inquirer.

Sibleys funeral was held Tuesday at the historic Met Philadelphia theater.

OShae came to New York to follow his dreams, like many New Yorkers.  He was here to shine a light on himself and really shine a light on this community in New York City, Gonzalez said.

This intolerance that we have in our country, and in our city, of people who are different than ourselves is something that we have to make sure can never stand in this city, Gonzalez said.
Bruce Springsteen (left) and photographer Phil Ceccola (right) back in the early days. Read more

Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Happy Friday. It should be mostly sunny with a high of 85.

Five months ago, Bruce Springsteen was here for this sold-out show at the Wells Fargo Center.

Hes back, as part of a second round of North American tour dates at Citizens Bank Park. Ahead of his return to Philly next week, we have a package of our tour coverage all in one spot.

But first, refresh your knowledge of The Boss. Our lead story maps out Springsteens history in the region.

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 Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Springsteen will mark his return to Philly Aug. 16 and 18.

For the occasion, we pieced together Springsteens history in the region. All of these places were either referenced in song lyrics or were key locations he played on his way to becoming The Boss.

The Main Point, 880 Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr: This is the coffeehouse where he played 45 shows in 24 nights between January 1973 and February 1975. Theres no other venue outside of Asbury Park that was more important to his rise.

North Hancock Street: Springsteen wrote his Streets of Philadelphia single for Jonathan Demmes 1993 movie Philadelphia. It remains his final top 10 hit.

The Spectrum: 3601 S. Broad St. used to be the longtime home of the Sixers and the Flyers, but now its a parking lot. Springsteen played his first Philly show here in 1973 as an opener, and then returned as a headliner three years later. In total, he performed here 42 times, including four nights in the run to the buildings closing in 2009.

Read more for additional locations.

If either show next week will be your first one, we have a guide for you.

SEPTA announced Thursday that it will begin safety reinforcement training for all employees on Monday.

Be aware: Riders can expect delays. About 10% of SEPTAs bus and trolley operators will be pulled from duty each day to attend trainings. The main service disruptions will be within the first two to three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Federal Transportation Administration said it will step in with a formal review of SEPTAs maintenance and safety protocols after a string of bus and trolley crashes that killed one person and injured at least 40 others.

Theres been eight major collisions involving SEPTA vehicles in the past 20 days.

FTA disclosed their plans in a letter obtained by The Inquirer and addressed to SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie D. Richards and state Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll.

Click here to see the contents of the letter.

What you should know today

 Trivia time 

Dorney Park is set to get the regions first dive roller coaster in 2024. That means the ride will have an almost completely vertical drop.

Itll drop riders from 152 feet at a 95-degree angle.

How fast can it go?

A) 64 mph

B) 60 mph

C) 72 mph

D) 75 mph

Think you know? Check your answer.

What were...

 Watching: Former President Donald Trumps valet pleaded not guilty on Thursday in the classified documents case.

 Reading: Columnist Stephanie Farr reviewed Wawas new all-digital test store ... and wasnt impressed.

 Unscramble the anagram 

Hint: Connie Mack Stadium

BAKER HIPS

Well select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Stacy Stone, who correctly guessed Thursdays answer: Pilgrim Roasters. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the day

I hope you end your week with a smile as big as Lorenzens. Paola has you covered on Sunday, and Ill see you Monday. 
A woman holds her head in her hands hours after a 2-year-old was shot and killed on the 1600 block of North 29th Street in Brewerytown on July 27. Read more

Last week, a group of city officials gave out 100 free gun locks near a Brewerytown home where a 2-year-old girl was fatally shot on July 27 by her 14-year-old cousin.

The gun used in the shooting was unsecured.

I commend their efforts. But its not enough.

Thats not a dig. They know that  which is why in addition to handing out the locks, they spoke of the immediate need for commonsense gun reform, including safe storage requirements and a revised lost and stolen reporting bill.

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Yes  of course, yes  to all of the long-overdue measures to help save lives that are stuck in governmental gridlock thanks to Republicans who pledge more allegiance to the National Rifle Association than to American lives.

But in a nation with more firearms than people, where guns are the No. 1 killer of children, we cant hold our breath for a legislative solution, especially when every day, an average of eight children are injured or killed by an unlocked or unsupervised gun in the home. The 2-year-old was the youngest victim to die of a gunshot in Philadelphia this year; at least seven other children have been shot unintentionally by an unsecured gun.

What we need  right now  is a citywide gun lock campaign, an all-hands, all-platform awareness and education effort to get out the lifesaving message about the importance of securing guns.

We need to see this message on highway billboards, on subways and trains, in every doctors office and municipal building  heres a gun lock with your marriage license, you happy couple! Congrats, its a boy  heres a gun lock! Even in this newspaper. In 1998, the Daily News launched a campaign to give away free gun locks. The paper expected to get 1,000 requests. It gave away 5,000.

It wont be a cure-all. We dont have the luxury of waiting for one of those, but its a small step that could mean the difference between life and death.

Scott Charles, Temple University Hospitals trauma outreach coordinator, has a front-row seat to the carnage that guns wreak in this city. He has been offering gun locks on Twitter, no questions asked, for years. Hes also been slaying the trolls who come after him for his tweets about guns and gun violence.

Because heres the thing: Charles isnt just another gun safety advocate. Hes also a gun owner, a responsible gun owner who keeps his weapon safely stored away because he knows that despite arguments that an intruder wont wait for a gun owner to unlock his weapon, the chances of a child accessing an unsecured gun in a home are high.

Between gun locks hes given out personally, those distributed through the hospitals Safe Bet website, and others he provides to various organizations across the city, Charles estimates hes given out 10,000 gun locks.

If youre wondering if thats a good number, as I did, Charles wants you to think about this another way.

The truth is that those gun locks cost me less than $2 each, said Charles, who is working on expanding the hospitals program. When Im giving them out, Im having a conversation with people about the importance of gun safety. So I dont know if its a good number  but I think it speaks to the opportunities Ive had to talk about gun safety with individuals who take gun locks from me.

Those opportunities are key: People who are buying guns through legitimate means are getting gun locks with those guns, said Charles. The problem is, we know that hundreds of thousands of guns are stolen each year. Those guns are on the black market. A lot of people who are prohibited from owning guns legally get their guns through those illegitimate means. And while we might think that, Well, thats on them, no child should pay the ultimate price for the mistakes that their parents are making.

Philadelphia police said the gun that killed the toddler had been reported stolen in South Carolina. The grandmother of the 2-year-old is now facing charges.

The 14-year-old who fired the gun is diagnosed with severe Down syndrome.

Thats just one of the many heart-wrenching details of this calamity, where the girls mother ran into the street, her bleeding child in her arms, screaming for help. Where neighbors and police and doctors tried in vain to save her, and where one child is now dead and another is left to live with a loss that could have been easily preventable.

My fault. My fault, witnesses recalled the 14-year-old saying.

Of course it wasnt his fault. A child is never at fault for the poor choices made by the adults around them. But until we do everything we can  small and large  to keep children safe, the fault will continue to land squarely on every one of us.
Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein appears with former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey to announce that the Forward Party will fund an independent expenditure PAC to help him in a challenge from the Working Families Party. Read more

Two things loomed large Thursday as the Forward Party endorsed Republican incumbent Seth Bluestein in Novembers election for Philadelphia city commissioner.

First was 2020, when Bluestein and other officials who oversaw the presidential election faced a torrent of abuse from people beguiled into believing then-President Donald Trumps lies about voter fraud.

Then came 2024, and the expectation that Philadelphia will again be the target of conspiracy theories.

The Forward Party is a centrist group founded by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. He cochairs it with former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

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Whitman on Thursday, with Independence Hall as a backdrop, said the nations founding fathers warned in Philadelphia about political parties becoming instruments of power.

Bluestein protected democracy against that, she said, as a deputy city commissioner in 2020 while enduring horrific attacks.

 READ MORE: Working Families Party candidate drops out of race for Philadelphia city commissioner

It wasnt a huge news conference. And it came the day before the only candidate posing a challenge to Bluestein in November, Jarrett Smith of the progressive Working Families Party, dropped out of the race just hours before a hearing Friday on a challenge to Smiths candidacy.

Still, the effort captured the bipartisan concern about the need for a credible and experienced Republican managing the election tally next year in a city where the GOP is outnumbered by Democrats 7-to-1.

The commissioners administer elections in Philadelphia, and Bluestein and Smith are competing for a seat on the three-member board reserved for a member of the nonmajority party.

Trump, despite serious and impending criminal trials, appears likely to be his partys nominee and has continued to spread lies about election fraud. The former reality television showmans 2024 season script reads for now like a rerun of his 2020 season.

Bluestein touted his record while acknowledging the antisemitic harassments and violent threats against me and my family in 2020.

Election administration should not be a partisan activity, he said. There is no Democratic or Republican way to run elections.

Unlike upstart political groups such as the Working Families Party and No Labels, the Forward Party is not recruiting candidates. Instead, it supports candidates who pledge to work in an open and bipartisan fashion.

Craig Snyder, a Republican political consultant working with the Forward Party in Pennsylvania, said the group would help recruit volunteers and raise funds for a super PAC to back Bluestein.

He too cited Bluesteins 2020 work with then-City Commissioner Al Schmidt, now Pennsylvanias secretary of state.

They were standing in the breach against all the false claims about fraud and the election in Philadelphia being stolen, Snyder said. I do not think the Working Families Party candidate, if he were to replace Seth, could stand in that same role and have that same national respect.

Some good news for Donald Trump

Trump faces state criminal charges in New York and federal indictments in Florida and Washington. Another state indictment looms, likely next week in Georgia.

But the guy who cant stop lying about how he lost the 2020 election got a little good news in a legal case in Philadelphia.

Yes, from the city about which he infamously and baselessly intoned: Bad things happen in Philadelphia.

Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Erdos ruled last week that Trump can invoke presidential immunity in a defamation case filed in 2021 by James Savage, a Delaware County voting machine supervisor who accuses the former president of pushing unsubstantiated claims that he tampered with the 2020 election results.

Trump, who was still president, made those claims in phone-in testimony during a state Senate committee hearing in Gettysburg three weeks after the 2020 election and a tweet two days later.

Erdos wrote that its not his job to determine Trumps mindset when he made those comments. But he also noted that no court has found any widescale fraud or significant vote tally inaccuracies and that Trumps motivation could have been to overturn the election results even if he actually believed that he had fairly lost.

Erdos ruled last month that Trumps immunity does not extend to an October 2022 letter Trump sent to the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was no longer president when he sent that letter, which included his Delco allegations.

Savage can take that to trial, since Erdos also rejected Trumps request to dismiss the case.

Larry Krasner and the Working Families Party

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner likes the Working Families Party so much that he signed the progressive groups nomination petitions twice  on March 25 and June 15 for a slate of candidates for City Council and city commissioner.

Several Clout sources closely parsing the petitions took notice.

One problem: Thats not allowed under the states election code.

Maybe he didnt know?

Clout certainly had a difficult path to finding the answer. The Pennsylvania Department of State initially referred our question on double-signing to Philadelphias Law Department, which refused to answer in case this became the subject of litigation.

Back to the Department of State, where we got confirmation that the double-signing was not allowed.

Adam Bonin, a lawyer for Krasners political operation, offered this legal summation: Meh.

Its not like theres any consequences for signing more than one, said Bonin, one of the citys top election lawyers. I dont encourage people to sign multiples. But, its also not a problem.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.
Jarrett Smith, a former candidate with Working Families Party for city commissioner, arrives for a hearing on Friday. He was removed from the ballot following a legal challenge over his candidacy paperwork. Read more

A third-party candidate running to administer Philadelphias elections was removed from the ballot Friday in a blow to the progressive Working Families Party thats trying to oust Republicans from city government.

Jarrett Smith, a former labor lobbyist, faced a legal challenge to his candidacy after he failed to file his financial disclosure paperwork with the correct office. In a statement, he said running for office is difficult by design in Philadelphia.

The development all but ensures incumbent Republican Seth Bluestein will return to the elections board. But two other members of the Working Families Party who are running for seats on City Council won separate challenges to their candidacies, setting up for a heated November general election between progressives and the GOP.

Theyre battling for two seats on City Council that are reserved for members of the nondominant party. Republicans traditionally held the seats, until 2019, when Working Families Party member Kendra Brooks won a seat on Council.

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 READ MORE: Centrists back Seth Bluestein for Philly city commissioner, with an eye to 2024

Brooks is up for reelection this year. She and her running mate, Nicolas ORourke, faced separate challenges to their candidacies that were filed by Republican ward leaders who cited a paperwork error.

Shohin Vance, who represented Republicans, said Brooks and ORourke signed their financial disclosures electronically. He argued that state law requires they fill out the form with a pen or pencil, citing a 2020 case when Pennsylvania Democrats successfully petitioned to have the Green Partys presidential candidate tossed for electronically signing paperwork.

But Charles M. Gibbs, an attorney for Brooks and ORourke, said they used the electronic records portal that the citys Department of Records set up. He pointed out that other elected officials  including the judge, Common Pleas Court Judge Joshua Roberts  electronically signed annual disclosure statements.

Roberts said he was not sure how he could push aside the permissions established by the city for candidates to file electronically. He ruled that the 2020 case didnt apply and said Brooks and ORourke could amend their statements.

The Working Families Party said in a statement that the challenges were frivolous and that theyre well positioned for victory this fall.

Philadelphias progressive movement and the multiracial working class is united in defeating the Republican slate, the party said.

Still, the legal battle may not be over. Vince Fenerty, chairman of the Republican City Committee, said he is leaning towards appealing the decision.

If you are not competent enough to follow directions and do the basic things required of all candidates, why should people trust you to be competent enough to represent their interests in City Council? he said.

GOPs Bluestein likely to return to City Commissioners

Smiths withdrawal from the City Commissioners race means the three seats will likely be filled by incumbents ahead of the 2024 presidential election, when Pennsylvania will be a critical battleground. Republican Seth Bluestein, as well as Democrats Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir, are now the only candidates on the November general election ballot.

 READ MORE: Phillys incumbent elections officials won their uncontested primary elections. Now the real fight begins.

Had Smith remained, the race would have pitted a progressive former lobbyist without experience administering elections against Bluestein, who worked for a decade in the city commissioners office.

He was a top aide to Al Schmidt, the former Republican city commissioner who vocally rejected former President Donald Trumps lies about election fraud in Philadelphia. Schmidt is now the top election official in Pennsylvania, a post he was appointed to by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Like Schmidt, Bluestein has support from Republicans and some Democrats. Theyve argued that having a member of the GOP on Philadelphias board of elections lends credibility should national Republicans question the administration of next years election.

But the Working Families Party and Smith said no one associated with the GOP should oversee elections in Philadelphia.

We are talking about a time in which we live in where our democracy is under attack, Smith said last month.

West Philly incumbent will have a third-party challenger

West Philadelphia incumbent Councilmember Jamie Gauthier will be challenged in November by Jabari Jones, a moderate Democrat running as a third-party candidate and a member of the West is best party.

On Friday, Gauthiers supporters dropped a legal challenge they filed against Jones earlier this week that argued he hadnt obtained enough legitimate petition signatures to make the ballot.

Matthew Wolfe, an attorney representing Jones, said the challengers served a copy of their petition to the citys Board of Elections after the deadline to do so had already passed.

Gauthiers campaign said in a statement Friday that its unfortunate that a technicality may now allow a candidate to run who, on multiple occasions, has failed to earn enough support from real West and Southwest Philadelphians to legitimately qualify for the ballot.

Jones, executive director of the West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, dropped out of the Democratic primary in the spring after a similar challenge to his nomination petitions. He said Friday that his candidacy will give the voters of the district the primary that they wanted.

Andre Kersey, a Libertarian who also filed to run in the 3rd District, was booted from the race Friday after a legal challenge revealed he was not registered to vote.

Gauthier, a progressive running for a second term on Council, is favored to win over Jones given the districts heavily Democratic makeup. She is one of the only incumbent district Council members facing a challenge.

The most competitive district race is in Northeast Philadelphias 10th District, where Republican Councilmember Brian J. ONeill is defending his seat from Democratic challenger Gary Masino.
China, Singapore pledge to expand cooperation to advance relations

Xinhua) 16:58, August 11, 2023

SINGAPORE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed during a meeting here on Friday to tap new areas of cooperation to chart a new course for bilateral relations.

Noting that China-Singapore relations maintain stability and continuity, show vitality and play a demonstrative role, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that the bilateral cooperation conforms to the current situation and helps each other boost development.

China and Singapore elevated bilateral ties to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership this year, fully demonstrating the high level of mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said.

"Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of our two countries, we will work with the Singaporean side to inherit the fine traditions, expand new areas of cooperation, and chart a new course for bilateral relations," Wang said.

Wang also called on Lawrence Wong, the leader of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership team, to make new contributions to bilateral relations.

Noting that the current world is full of chaos, Wang stressed the only right way to jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.

"Major countries should take a lead in the course," Wang said.

"China-Singapore relations are conducive for regional peace, stability and development. We are willing to strengthen coordination in multilateral affairs with the Singaporean side under the newly-elevated bilateral relations," Wang said.

China is committed to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by comprehensively promoting Chinese-style modernization, which will bring new opportunities to countries within the region including Singapore, Wang stressed.

China will work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members to advance the five proposals on building a shared home together and push forward ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with continuous and steady efforts, Wang noted, saying he hopes that Singapore will contribute more to building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

For his part, Wong noted that the upgrading of Singapore-China relations has bumped new energy into bilateral cooperation, and the two countries have achieved fruitful results in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Singapore will actively participate in China's modernization, and he is looking forward to visiting China and jointly chairing the meeting of the bilateral cooperation mechanism, said Wong.

Singapore appreciates China's important role in promoting regional sustainable development and maintaining stability, he said, adding that Singapore welcomes and supports China's efforts to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Singapore opposes jungle rules and power politics. It will jointly maintain regional peace and stability, uphold the World Trade Organization rules, and maintain a fair, open, and inclusive cooperation framework, Wong stressed.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Reuters reports that a similar situation with Taiwan will make it more difficult and expensive to do business there. Taiwan is the worlds largest advanced semiconductor chip maker, and therefore plays a crucial role in the global economy. The US director of National Intelligence said that a halt in chip production stemming from a Chinese invasion could lead to $1 trillion per year in global economic losses.
After the success of IT liability and management liability on bindIT, we are delighted to expand our platform with public and products liability insurance, said BIA CEO Tony Wheatley. Our mission is to continuously enhance our services and provide brokers with the tools they need to cater to a diverse range of industries and occupations. With this expansion, we further strengthen our commitment to transforming our offerings and delivering on our service promise.
Luke brings critical experience in energy and renewables, where we see significant opportunity ahead to support both global and Australian companies as they work towards net zero. The investment required by government and companies in renewable energy infrastructure over the next decade and beyond is immense. Luke is a true expert and trusted adviser to clients in this sector, said Amber Matthews, Australia managing partner at DLA Piper.
From my initial role as chief technology officer to this new role leading the company's growth efforts in critical global insurance markets, I have always known that Xceedance occupies a unique space in our industry. I can now share that story directly with insurance professionals in Australia, the United Kingdom, and across Europe to see the impact of the work we do firsthand, Tiwari said.
The six-year Long-Term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Grants aim to help Australian farmers prepare for drought by providing them with the data and confidence to invest in technologies and practices that have been proven to assist in becoming more resilient to drought across different landscapes and production conditions.
I am thrilled to take on this new challenging role as WTP continues its global growth strategy, Hood said. I am dedicated to guiding our clients through a high-touch experience, and I look forward to continuing to build on these relationships as they are integral to our organisation.
Jeremy brings a broad and dynamic skill set to our team in California, said Bob Bennetsen, executive vice president and senior managing director with Alliant. He has worked across a range of industries and is able to apply his insights to find creative solutions to complex problems and deliver powerful results to his clients.
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Tesla Inc. is facing increased scrutiny as federal investigations said Thursday they are investigating a fatal crash in Virginia involving one of the companys SUVs that collided with a tractor-trailer truck.

The accident, which took place on July 19 in Fauquier County, Virginia, resulted in the death of a 57-year-old man who was driving a Tesla, the Fauquier Times reported. The electric vehicle crashed into a tractor-trailer that was leaving a truck stop, the paper said.

The probe comes as the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in the midst of a series of investigations targeting Tesla, its products and its chief executive officer, Elon Musk. Federal regulators are looking into possible problems with the companys seat belts, steering wheels and driver-assistance features.

The collision is the 54th included in NHTSAs Special Crash Investigation of advanced driver-assistance systems like Teslas Autopilot. The broader probe began in 2016 after a fatal accident in Florida involving a Model S that was being operated with its automated driving system activated.

Tesla vehicles have been involved in all but nine of the incidents that have been added to NHTSAs investigation. The automaker, which has disbanded its media relations department, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Virginia Tesla
A freight train derailed in the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, blocking passage through a key route linking Northern and Southern Europe for goods transport as well as passengers during the height of the summer travel season.

The tunnel will remain closed until at least Aug. 16, the countrys federal rail operator SBB said in a statement. Some passenger trains and part of the freight will be redirected via the so-called panorama route over the mountains, which will add about an hour to planned journeys, SBB said. Some freight may also move via the Lotschberg track.

SBB is also working to use the Gotthard tunnels second tube to restart operations. At 57 kilometers, the worlds longest railway passage last year accounted for nearly 70% of all train freight moving through the Swiss alps to ship provisions to German and Italian companies. A large number of steel tubes, paper and packaging products for Italian companies are regularly transported via the tunnel.

Seasonal Low

While the closure of the transport route will impact supply chains, the summer holiday means freight volumes are currently at a seasonal low, SBB said.

The accident, in which no one was hurt, derailed 23 of the cargo trains 32 cars and damaged a gate in a tunnel connecting the two main tubes that run North to South. The removal of one single derailed car takes hours, SBB officials said during a media call.

As long as the connecting tunnel is open no trains can go through either of the two tubes due to changes in air pressure caused by fast-moving trains endangering rescue teams, according to officials. Provided that engineers find an interim solution to fix the gate in the connecting tunnel, SBB officials indicated the intact tube may open for traffic by mid next-week.

Photograph: View of the drivers cabin of the first regular passenger train passing the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland Photo credit: Aleksandra Bakmaz/picture alliance/Getty Images

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Trucking
A growing greenlash against Europes environmental agenda has not so far derailed its decarbonization plans, but looming elections could put future climate and nature measures at risk.

The European Union (EU) has burnished its role as a leader on climate change, enshrining carbon reduction targets in law and proposing policies to slash emissions this decade.

And so far the impact of the green backlash is limited, say policymakers and analysts, because most of Europes main CO2-cutting policies are fixed into law.

But as policymakers seek to translate net-zero targets into measures that extend beyond power generation to areas such as buildings and transport, they face increasing resistance as citizens struggle with a cost-of-living crisis.

Angst over a law to phase out oil and gas heating brought Germanys ruling coalition close to breaking point, while in the Netherlands, anger at plans to cut nitrogen pollution led to a shock poll win for a new farmers protest party.

Analysts say politicians are increasingly tapping into worries about the expense of green policies ahead of regional, national and EU elections over the next year-and-a-half.

Its definitely different circumstances than in 2019 when we started with this maximum support and the political willingness to act from  across the parties, European Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters.

Politicians must take into account polls showing a large majority of citizens are worried about climate change and strong business interests behind the green transition.

We have this stable majority which supports the green deal, he said, referring to the level of support in the European Parliament for the EUs overall green agenda.

But then we come to more difficult files (EU legal proposals) where I think, inevitably, they are very much affected by the political debate, Sinkevicius added.

As a result, officials say it is getting harder to pass green laws, with some EU governments resisting new emissions limits for cars and seeking to weaken pollution controls for livestock farms. A proposal to improve the energy efficiency of buildings faces pushback from countries worried by the cost.

Polands government, which faces October elections, is even suing Brussels over climate policies.

Does the EU want to make authoritarian decisions about what kind of vehicles Poles will drive? its Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa asked last month.

Nature conservation measures face even greater opposition than decarbonization ones due to lobbying by the powerful agriculture sector and a lack of strong business incentives for change, said Nathalie Tocci, director of Italian international relations think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali.

Although a recent campaign by the center-right European Peoples Party, the biggest group in the European Parliament, to kill off a proposed law to restore damaged environments failed, the proposal looks set to be diluted.

The elections to the European Parliament next year will be very decisive if one looks further ahead, because the center right group is turning more negative to green policies, the European Council on Foreign Relations Mats Engstrom said.

Green Investor Confidence

Another concern is the impact on Europes diplomatic standing and investor confidence, coming as the United States offers multi-billion-dollar green subsidies and tax breaks.

Its slightly ironic that Europe is having these problems when the United States has finally got its act together, said Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ward said Europe risked falling behind India and China in establishing green industries and technologies.

Last year, India boosted solar capacity by 28%, outpacing the capacity growth of European heavyweights.

If Europe is wavering, it will allow other countries to take advantage in the international markets in electric vehicles and other technologies, Ward said.

Britain has already quickly gone from being a leader on the world stage to looking quite weak on green policies, he said.

Britains climate advisers said in June the country is not doing enough to meet its 2050 net zero target, while a government-commissioned review found businesses complained of weaknesses in Britains investment environment.

Progress in UK onshore and offshore wind has been hampered by rule changes, for example, prompting some developers to warn they will struggle to invest without better incentives.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who faces an election within 18 months, last month warned of climate policies that unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs.

Citizens, Businesses

Europes green policies are still more credible than U.S. ones, given see-sawing between electoral cycles in the United States, some analysts said.

But EU politicians are going to need to address more concerns of citizens and businesses if they want to maintain support as they legislate on sectors that hit close to home.

Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten told Reuters in June that the main challenge for the next few years was for politicians to show that the green transition was also a just one, with support available for those in need.

Rows over green policies have propelled right-wing populist parties to second place in both Dutch and German polls.

The German heating law debacle underscored the importance of ensuring green laws enabled transition without overwhelming anyone, Nina Scheer, climate protection spokesperson for the ruling Social Democrats in parliament, said.

Otherwise, citizens might start to feel that climate policy is always financially overwhelming and bad, and that sentiment is then exploited by populists.

Crafting a strong green industrial policy is key, said Simone Tagliapietra, Senior Fellow at think-tank Bruegel.

If we dont create green jobs in Europe, if we dont make sure to have these industrial and economic opportunities, we will be in trouble, Tagliapietra said.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Gloria Dickie in London; additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam, Angelo Amante in Rome, Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Susanna Twidale and William James in London; editing by Alexnder Smith)

Topics Europe Pollution
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at WTW, Markel and RSA Insurance.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

WTW Hires Bryce for Personal Lines, Canada

Insurance broker WTW announced the appointment of Allison Bryce as the national practice leader, Personal Lines, Canada, within Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), North America.

Bryce brings 20-plus years of experience as a successful executive and client leader in the North American insurance industry. Joining from The Magnes Group, where she most recently served as a partner and vice president, and private client leader for more than 16 years, Bryce will be based in the Toronto office.

Reporting directly to Tyler Banks, practice leader for Personal Lines, North America, and Erin Magilton, Canadian leader, Corporate Risk and Broking, Bryce will focus on deepening and expanding client relationships across the Canadian market.

A highly respected insurance leader with strong carrier relationships, Bryce brings a unique outlook to the personal insurance space which will further enhance the value proposition that WTW brings to each personal lines client.

She is passionate about delivering an exceptional client experience and works collaboratively with clients to help them navigate the complexities of insurance contracts. Prior experience includes more than 13 years at PSA Insurance Services, where she served as personal lines manager before becoming a managing partner.

Allison brings a personal approach to the business, always seeking an understanding of specific client needs. Additionally, her broad network of industry relationships will be a welcome addition to WTW. Her strategic insights in delivering specialized solutions to personal lines insurance clients is industry-leading, and I am delighted to welcome her to the team, commented Tyler Banks, Practice Leader, Personal Lines, North America, CRB, WTW.

***

Markel Taps PwCs Feng as Warranty & Indemnity U/W

Markel, the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc., has named Steven Feng as an underwriter for its Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) team.

Based at Markels London office, Feng will report directly to Bryan Dressler, head of W&I at Markels international insurance business, where he will be responsible for underwriting the tax risks inherent in W&I transactions. Fengs skillset complements the teams existing strengths, which include experience in multiple insurance lines, financial due diligence, and investment rationale expertise, to create a model specifically tailored for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) transactions in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA).

Feng brings a wealth of experience to his underwriting role, having spent more than nine years at professional services firm PwC. After qualifying as an accountant in PwCs Assurance team, he spent almost five years working within the organizations London Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Tax team, where he advised private equity clients on a variety of mid-market to high value transactions. During this period, he held several senior roles which included senior associate for M&A tax and M&A tax manager, respectively.

Markels W&I business line was established last year with the purpose of being able to systematically assess the primary pillars of W&I risk  insurance, financial, legal, and tax due diligence  to allow for a streamlined and steady experience for our brokers and insureds. Stevens background in managing tax risks in line with the cadence of M&A fits this foundation perfectly, commented Dressler.

***

RSA Appoints Godfrey as Transformation Director

RSA Insurance announced it has appointed James Godfrey as transformation director, effective as immediately.

In his new role, Godfrey will contribute to the delivery of RSAs strategic outperformance objectives by driving the UK&I strategic transformation roadmap and investment profile. He will lead a team that will be responsible for the delivery of enterprise-wide programmes intended to future-proof its technology, digital and data capabilities.

Godfrey will report into Oliver Holden, chief information officer at RSA, UK&I.

Godfrey will join RSA from Atos, where he held the position of Technology and Business Change Transformation Specialist, working with clients to deliver transformational technology and business change programmes. Prior to this, Godfrey was UK Transformation Director at Aviva, where he was responsible for delivering the insurers integrated multi-year strategic investment roadmap and business architecture.

Topics Willis Towers Watson Canada
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A federal judge has dismissed a shareholder lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and his board of directors of ignoring red flags surrounding disgraced former client Jeffrey Epstein.

In a Wednesday evening decision, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said shareholders led by Miami and Pittsburgh pension funds failed to first ask the banks board directly to address their concerns, or show it would be futile to do so, before suing.

The Manhattan-based judge said he will explain his reasoning in due course. Rakoff did not address specific accusations about the largest U.S. banks relationship with Epstein.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Lawyers for the shareholders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shareholders had accused Dimon, seven other directors and Jes Staley, a former private banking and investment banking chief, of having put their heads in the sand as Epstein used his accounts to further abuses of young women and girls.

The so-called derivative lawsuit sought to have the defendants or their insurers pay damages to JPMorgan, for the benefit of shareholders.

Rakoff is also overseeing two Epstein-related lawsuits against JPMorgan by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the financier owned two neighboring islands, and by Epstein victims.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is seeking at least $190 million in damages, while a $290 million settlement with victims awaits final court approval.

JPMorgan is suing Staley, who has expressed regret for his friendship with Epstein and denied knowing about his sex trafficking, to cover its losses in both lawsuits.

Staley was also Barclays chief executive from 2015 to 2021.

The case is City of Miami General Employees & Sanitation Employees Retirement Trust et al v Dimon et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-03903.

Photo: (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Topics Lawsuits
CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP)  A grass fire near Austin, Texas, spread into trees near an apartment complex and condominiums, destroying one of the buildings and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the 50-acre (20-hectare) fire that resulted in the evacuation of about 300 apartments, 95 townhomes and several businesses in Cedar Park, on the northern edge of Austin, Fire Chief James Mallinger said Wednesday.

One apartment building was destroyed and three others damaged, according to Cedar Park Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin.

It could have been much, much worse, Penniman-Morin said.

The cause of the fire, reported early Tuesday evening, was not yet known, Mallinger said.

It started as a grass fire and encroached on buildings by going from grass to trees, the chief said. Flames shot up to 60 feet (18 meters) high.

The trees were very close to the building  even touching the roof in a couple of cases, Mallinger said. The wind moved the fire quickly around the apartment and condo complexes, then crossed a road, where its progress was stopped.

The fire was about 60% contained, and firefighters planned to remain at the scene Wednesday, according to Mallinger.

Residents of the three damaged buildings were being allowed to return Wednesday with help from firefighters, but the destroyed building was too unsafe to enter, Mallinger said.

Topics Texas
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McClenny Moseley & Associates, the embattled law firm that filed thousands of hurricane-damage lawsuits in Louisiana, raised a total of $40 million from private investors, one of its founding partners said during a court hearing on Tuesday.

Zachary Moseley provided that information under direct questioning from US District Judge James D. Cain Jr., according to insurance defense attorney Matthew Monson, who attended the hearing in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Cain asked specifically about how much money MMA had obtained from the Equal Access to Justice Fund. Moseley replied, we raised $40 million in total, another person who attended the hearing, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

Monson, who was one of the first attorneys to call attention to MMAs misrepresentations to insurers, said it was his impression after hearing the exchange that Moseley meant all of the $40 million came from the Equal Access to Justice Fund.

The revelation raises new questions about the role of litigation funding in the justice system. While third-party investment in lawsuits is a widely accepted practice, Monson said it could be inappropriate for investor money to be used to improperly solicit clients.

Nobody can use runners, he said. He added that he is not accusing the investors of any wrongdoing because he doesnt know how MMA spent the money.

The law firms actions, however, have been condemned by Cain and other US District Court judges.

Cain called Tuesdays hearing to hear from MMA attorneys whom the court suspended from practicing law in the Western Louisiana district after discovering that the firm had lied to insurers about who it represented and filed lawsuits on behalf of a restoration contractor, sometimes without telling the property owners that it was suing their insurers purportedly on their behalf. Cain also inquired about the status of funds held in client trust accounts.

Monson said Cain asked Moseley directly about the Equal Access to Justice Fund. The judge did not explain why he was interested in the fund and made no comment after Moseley told him how much money had been raised.

The Claims Journal previously reported that MMA paid $13.9 million to an internet marketing firm called Velawcity to sign up clients with hurricane-damage claims. The law firm paid $3,000 to $3,500 for each prescreened client lead.

Cain did not ask, and Moseley did not say, how the Equal Access to Justice Fund money was used.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that it is a hedge fund based in West Palm Beach, Florida, managed by B.E. Blank & Co. The company said in a statement filed last December that it has raised $213.1 million from 15 investors since its formation in March 2018.

B.E. Blanks website says the company believes in conscious capitalism to generate sustainable returns. Our capital can help create a world where attorneys utilize their talents as accelerating forces for bettering society, the website says.

B.E. Blank partner and senior investment team member Benjamin E. Blank did not return a telephone message and email by the Claims Journal on Wednesday.

Cains questions about the hedge fund took up only a small portion of Tuesdays hearing. The judge spent most of the day dealing with orders that suspended six MMA attorneys from practicing law in the Western Louisiana district. Three of the attorneys asked the judge to lift suspensions that were imposed for terms ranging from six months to a year.

Three of MMAs former Louisiana attorneys  Claude F. Reynaud, Cameron S. Snowden and Grant P. Gardiner  appeared in court on Tuesday. Each of them said they were unaware that MMA filed suits on behalf of homeowners it did not represent. They said they did not participate in the law firms marketing efforts.

Cain said that he will take the lawyers comments under advisement but took no other action on the suspensions Tuesday. The judge did, however, conduct some housekeeping in order to safeguard MMA client trust accounts.

Cain ordered Moseley to transfer any money being held for clients in Louisiana to a trust account in Louisiana registered with the Louisiana State Bar and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. He also directed Moseley to provide detailed information about MMAs accounts with Veritex Community Ban and Oakwood Community Bank and deliver to his office any undeposited checks from insurers for hurricane claim settlements.

Topics Florida Louisiana Funding
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An accountant for Ormond Beach-based Security First Insurance Co. has been charged with stealing more than $1.4 million by creating false invoices and routing the funds to her personal accounts.

Samantha Rae Link, 30, of Daytona Beach, was arrested Wednesday, charged with grand theft and fraud, the Ormond Beach Police Department said in a statement. Link had been an accountant at the insurer for 8 years, Security First President Melissa Burt DeVriese said Friday.

DeVriese said she knew the woman and worked on the same floor.

Im very disappointed. Its a very unfortunate situation, DeVriese said.

She stressed that the alleged fraud took place at the managing general agency level and did not affect Security Firsts $73 million surplus. The firm also has adequate corporate insurance to cover employee theft.

Links alleged actions came to light after Security First changed its accounting system and noticed some irregularities, including double invoices from vendors with slightly different numbers.

As soon as the theft was apparent, the company fired the woman and reported it to police, DeVriese said. Since then, Security First has changed its accounting processes again to provide further safeguards against similar actions.

Link is reportedly represented by criminal defense attorney Aaron Delgado, of Daytona Beach. He could not be reached for comment Friday morning. Link was still in the Volusia County Correctional Facility as of Friday morning, held on a $650,000 cash bond.

The case is being prosecuted by the local State Attorneys office, which was involved in the investigation, the police chief said in a statement.

Security First has seen few instances of employee embezzlement or theft, DeVriese said. After Hurricane Irma struck the state in 2017, one worker was found to have created fake vendors and funneled some $280,000 to personal accounts before the fraud was discovered.

When asked if she had advice for other insurance carriers, she noted that while most employees appear to be honest, some bad actors are out there.

Its up to the companys management to continuously monitor the companys process and procedures to ensure compliance with best practices, DeVriese said. We did that, which is why we caught the theft. But this is an on-going and continuous process  so well never stop refining and improving our processes and procedures to reduce the opportunities for bad actors.
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Miami wants to attract even more out-of-state workers and wealthy newcomers like hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin. But first, County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava faces a huge environmental problem: overflowing garbage heaps and septic tanks.

Some of greater Miamis massive landfills, known by clever names like Mount Trashmore, will run out of space by 2026, according to a report from Cavas office. More urgent are the septic systems that serve the citys 2.7 million residents. Many of those front-yard sewage tanks overflow when it rains, releasing fecal bacteria and other contaminants that transform patches of tropical paradise into toxic swamps that kill fish and sicken people.

Its very critical, said Cava, who was elected the first woman to lead Miami-Dade County in 2020. We have to address all of that aggressively.

Its all bad news for Miamis status as a magnet for people fleeing aging cities with failing infrastructure, rising crime, higher taxes and cold weather. No other major American city depends so heavily on septic tanks, a system of treating sewage normally reserved for rural areas. Thats the case for properties all over the county  from the wealthy enclaves of Coral Gables to Miami Beach, and 50 miles southwest, to Homestead, near the Everglades.

Its unbelievable, not just to me but to most of the planning and environmental community, that you can have a county as urban as Miami-Dade and not have everybody on water and sewer, said Howard Nelson, who heads the environmental practice at Bilzin Sumberg.

Ditto for trash. Miami, like many US cities, buries much of its garbage in landfills in far corners of the city, away from the rich. They are smelly, man-made hills rising 130 feet or more, swarming with flies, birds, bulldozers and trucks. By law, the county cant issue building permits unless it has at least five years of garbage disposal capacity. Cavas solid waste director, Michael Fernandez, abruptly quit in July, warning that the county wont have enough space for trash if Cava doesnt act fast. At this point, the County will have to issue a moratorium to stop all development, Fernandez wrote in his resignation letter. (Cava disputes that assessment.)

Cava, a Democrat elected on promises of hardening the city for climate change, says she will come up with a solution soon. Shes proposed piling trash higher atop the landfills and building a $1 billion incinerator and power plant, in part to replace an incinerator used to process 1 million tons of trash a year that burned down over four weeks in February and March.

Keeping the toilets flushing is a more complex and expensive challenge. There are 108,000 homes and businesses with septic tanks in Miami-Dade County. Many bathe the ground with human waste within two feet above drinking water aquifers, falling short of minimum limits to avoid contamination. There are 50,000 more in neighboring Broward County, part of the citys sprawl. Under Cava, the county has spent $1 billion on water and sewer lines, and has allocated another $160 million.

But ridding the county of septic tanks will cost at least $4 billion, according to government estimates. Residents will likely have to pay higher taxes and fees to fund those efforts, as well as the expansion of landfills and other trash collection costs.They already pay more than $500 a year for garbage collection, and could be charged another $36 in pickup fees per Cavas $10 billion proposed 2023 budget. Homeowners must also cover the cost of connecting their properties to sewer lines  $20,000 on average.

Other cities have their share of problems. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, heavy rains routinely overwhelm sewer systems. Houstons aging water system is so fragile that on some days it springs more than 1,000 new leaks. And New Yorks sewer system frequently overflows when it rains.

Until Miami fixes its woes, infrastructure problems could stymie the development Cava needs to attract more wealthy residents like Griffin, who moved his financial empire, Citadel, to Miami in 2022. We say, Be like Ken Griffin,' Cava said.

There are already problems. On Belle Meade Island, a waterfront neighborhood on Biscayne Bay where homes cost $10 million or more, sewage pumps run 16 hours a day to keep up. Thats almost double the allowed maximum operating time, so theres a county moratorium on new construction there. Right now, if we do not have sewerage pumping capacity, it stops development, said Cava.

These are crises decades in the making, exacerbated by the complexities of governing the mishmash of 34 municipalities that make up greater Miami and putting off expensive solutions. As Miami-Dade County Mayor, Cava oversees an annual budget of about $10 billion and nearly 30,000 employees.

For years, Miami failed to address warnings of a sewage calamity, even since the federal government levied massive fines and ordered a fix. Theres a long history of leaky septic tanks sickening people by contaminating groundwater with deadly E. coli bacteria and killing fish when the muck reached the ocean. In 2020, 27,000 fish died in Biscayne Bay due to septic tank runoff, and there have been multiple massive kills since.

In 2018, Miami-Dade County, in one of its many studies over the last decade, warned: Improperly functioning septic systems can pose an immediate public health risk. But Cava, a former sociologist, has struggled to find a way to fix it.

We are not in a crisis, Cava said almost four years later, at a July 17 news conference. Not on my watch.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Homeowners
You dont hear a lot about insurtechs and cannabis, but one firm aims to change that paradigm.

SquareRisk principals say they aim to transform the wholesale distribution model for specialty insurance, building partnerships with more than 15 specialty insurance carriers and MGAs.

The insurtech launched Aug. 3. As one of the founders said, from a timing standpoint, now is the time when agents and brokers are beginning to look for the same kind of experience and specialty insurance they get in standard lines.

For our latest episode, we spoke with SquareRisk founders Monesh Jain, an insurtech executive, and Art Catapang, who has 38 years in the business.

Following are takeaways from that conversation.

Jain was part of the early-stage team at SquareTrade, acquired years back by AllState in a $1.6 billion transaction. He also founded a global consulting firm.

Why now was one of the first questions he tackled.

If you look at the last several years, I think technology has done a great job in helping accelerate distribution of insurance products and the personal lines and standard commercial, right? But if really look at some of the specialty products, things like, you know, cannabis, cyber, like flood, like a lot of those specialty products, agents are still spending days and weeks trying to get a quote if they get one, then the customers like, Hey, get me multiple quotes, he said. And then theyre going back to wholesale, like trying to get multiple quotes, right? So, I think we are really at a point where agents experiencing, the agents are demanding that we should be getting experience very similar to what we get in standard lines. They want specialty insurance to be accessible as much as the standard lines are, right?

Jain believes that leveraging technology is the answer.

Catapang believes the rollout is also well times as newly legal states continue to get rolled out.

The idea as we enter these new states is were shortening the times. So, speed typically wins with clients, and clients also want multiple quotes, Catapang said. So, theyre not looking to the agents to go to the past mature underwriters. Theyre all looking for the new capacity. And so they can have access to these, get them quickly. And very often, speed wins, especially when youre in a startup mode. You need to get those quotes very fast because youre going through the license process and you have to show proof of insurance, whether its a compliance issue, a contract issue, it needs to be very quickly. And, and a lot of these new buyers dont have a lot of time to secure the coverage.

Jain envisions the problem from a retail brokers perspective. Even one working a top wholesaler with a client who needs workers compensation for their cannabis operation, it may take a week to get a quote.

And if you want multiple quotes, like good luck, right? And not because theyre not great, theyre all like great players, but just because the technology adoption in the industry is just not there, right? And what we want to do is take that one to two weeks and convert into minutes, right?

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Topics InsurTech Tech Cannabis
Source: Rob Goff

August 11, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) In the impending financial results, Echelon Capital Markets wants to see a sales pipeline update and "confirmation that Q1/23 headwinds have subsided," it noted in a report.

Volatus Aerospace Corp. (VOL:TSX; VLTTF:OTCQB) is expected to post better financial results in Q2/23 than in Q1/23, reported Echelon Capital Markets analyst Rob Goff in a quarter preview note dated July 31.

We "expect to see improvements in Q2/23" after a tough Q1/23, during which some revenues were delayed and others were lost due to headwinds, Goff wrote. "We note the company's prior reference to a robust sales pipeline where we are optimistic that it will secure significant wins."

Projected Return of 283%

As such, Echelon maintained its Q2/23 forecasts and its CA$0.90 per share target price on Volatus, currently trading at about CA$0.24 per share.

The difference between these prices implies a material return for investors of 283%.

Volatus remains a Speculative Buy.

Original Guidance Unchanged

What bodes well for Volatus in Q2/23 and H2/23, wrote Goff, is that management, post Q1/23, reiterated its previously stated guidance for full-year 2023: US$52 million (US$52M) in revenue and US$16.6M of gross profit with a 32% margin.

"In 2023, Volatus expects to generate US$10-12M in recurring revenue from oil and gas contracts compared to US$9M in 2022," Goff added.

Management expects to achieve these numbers thanks to the company's large, outstanding requests for proposals (RFPs), increased military sales, and the capacity to commercially leverage some of its technologies.

Also, Volatus has been tackling and trying to work around the various headwinds it faced in Q1/23. Echelon would like to see confirmation, in Volatus' Q2/23 results, that the drone solutions firm has had some success in this regard.

Managing the Headwinds

Goff provided updates on the factors that affected Volatus' revenue in Q1/23. They are:

1) Severe weather and wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia thwarting weekly inspections.

After obtaining approval, Volatus completed its first mission in July, helping wildfire suppression agencies in Western Canada.

"The company looks to add between US$1M and US$1.2M in inspection revenues in June and July with a greater impact likely to be seen with the Q3/23 results," Goff wrote.

2) Delays in executing oil and gas contracts due to fires and the slow start of the Canadian flying season.

Management indicated it has multiple recurring contracts between US$12M and US$15M in 2023 that, together with its robust pipeline, support the full-year revenue guidance. Echelon wants an update on the sales pipeline in the Q2/23 results. Plus, the Canadian drone company has several RFPs in its sales funnel that could increase Q4/23 revenues.

3) Delays in meeting equipment demand in Ukraine.

Thanks to its newly acquired product, the iRed Remote Sensing, Volatus expanded its presence in the United Kingdom.

4) Delays in building inventory.

Volatus has subsequently bolstered inventory to support greater product sales through Q2/23.

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August 11, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Global warming has raised the economic status and political importance of critical minerals, but with that also comes an increased risk of resource nationalism across the globe.

Resource Nationalism Risks

The term "resource nationalism" is loosely defined as the tendency of people and governments to assert control, for strategic and economic reasons, over natural resources located on their territory. It is often described as a backward form of state protectionism.

While it presents opportunities for those in less developed countries to seek profit from their natural resources, state ownership can almost certainly exacerbate the instability of the world's critical minerals supply.

A 2021 report by global risk intelligence company Maplecroft identified an increasing risk of resource nationalism in as many as 34 countries around the world. Dominating the list are Latin American and African countries with large reserves of critical minerals including copper (Zambia), cobalt (DRC) and lithium (Bolivia).



The 10 highest risk countries. Source: Verisk Maplecroft

Countries most at risk are those dependent on the minerals they export but have suffered significant economic contractions. These places are more likely to try and recoup their financial losses by targeting the mining industry in their countries, it said.



Resource-dependent countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America recorded the greatest increase in risk. Source: Verisk Maplecroft

According to the UK-based firm, resource nationalism can manifest itself in a number of different actions taken by governments, in order of increasing severity:

Observing existing contracts but not renewing contracts that have expired;

Indirect expropriation, where an investor retains legal title to their property but is deprived of its economic use (eg, ex post amendment of agreed fiscal terms (tax and royalty rates) to increased governmental share of revenues);

Lawful nationalization, normally undertaken for public purpose and on a non-discriminatory basis, with due process and fair compensation; and

Unlawful expropriation of foreign-owned assets without fair compensation.

In its report, Maplecroft observed an increasing willingness of governments to intervene in the economy through more subtle means, such as indirect expropriation or demand increases in local content requirements, rather than outright nationalization or large tax increases imposed on foreign mining. In Africa, for example, Mozambique, Zambia and Ghana have all enacted mining laws in the past few years amending their fiscal legislation.

In Latin America, the firm points to two influences behind resource nationalism. The first is ideologically driven, such as Argentina's nationalization of Repsol's interest in YPF; and the second is increased pressure from communities to exert greater control over their mineral resources. The latter is best personified by Chile. Triggered by the worst social unrest in a generation, anchored in rampant inequality, the country reportedly has just elected an assembly that will place responsibility for writing a new constitution in the hands of the left wing.

The reforms could give more power to indigenous communities and expand water rights, including a potential ban on mining in areas where there are glaciers, along with increased state ownership of water desalinated by mining companies.

Zambia made it into Maplecroft's top 10 high-risk list due to an attempted liquidation of Konkola Copper Mines, whereas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congolese government in 2018 raised taxes on mining firms and increased royalties. The country is Africa's biggest producer of copper and cobalt.

One explanation of why resource nationalism has picked up in recent years has to do with globalization. During the 1970s and 80s it was common to see developing world governments nationalizing industries. However when globalization emerged in the 1990s, there was a need for foreign investment as governments privatized industries, resulting in fewer attempts to seize foreign-owned assets like mines and factories.

This changed when governments in Latin America, primarily, saw mining profits moving out of the country and they sought to seize greater control over their mineral wealth.

Recent Example: Chile's Lithium

Chile is perhaps the most significant example of a "resource nationalism" bombshell that was dropped in recent times.

In April 2023, newly elected President Gabriel Boric announced his plan to nationalize the country's lithium industry, with the state taking a majority stake in all new contracts. According to the media, state-owned copper mining company Codelco will initially sign up partners for new contracts, after which a national lithium company will have that responsibility.

As well, Codelco and another state-owned miner, Enami, will be given exploration and extraction contracts in areas where there are now private projects. The two lithium miners already in Chile, SQM and US-based Albemarle, will continue to operate until their contracts expire.

Additionally, the Chilean government wants to create a regional lithium association with neighboring Argentina and Bolivia, which together make up the "lithium triangle" region where 65% of the world's known lithium reserves are located.

"In Chile, it's probably going to be the most significant case," said Carlos Pascual, top energy executive with IHS Markit, via Reuters, referring to the regional efforts to exert more government control over the mineral seen as key to a greener future and Chile's outsized role in the metals market.

The Latin American nation is currently the world's 2nd largest lithium producer, representing about a quarter of the global output.



Source: World Economic Forum

"This is seen as an opportunity to ensure direct revenues to the state just as many countries decided to nationalize oil in a different era," he added.

Chile's lithium nationalization comes on the heels of a similar plan announced by Mexico, which has yet to even produce the metal but boasts a respectable quantity of lithium reserves (top 10 in the world).

In early 2022, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez, like his fellow leftist in Chile, enacted a sweeping lithium nationalization and later ordered the creation of a new state-run lithium company called LitioMx.

Lopez Obrador, who reveres the country's landmark 1938 oil nationalization, justified his policy as its logical extension, arguing that only the government can prevent exploitation by corporations and ensure broadly distributed benefits.

Lithium is certainly not the only mineral targeted by states. Last year, Indonesia announced an export ban on bauxite, the ore used to make aluminum, that would commence June 2023. The aim is to replicate the success of its 2020 ban on raw nickel exports.

Zimbabwe, which already banned exports of raw lithium ore in December 2022, followed that up with an export ban covering all base mineral ores earlier this year.

Key Factor: High Demand & Prices

This trend of increased resource nationalization will likely continue as the global competition for critical minerals intensifies, driving their prices (and potential profits) higher. In Maplecroft's 2021 study, it mentioned commodity price cycles as an important factor in setting this trend.

In GTDT Practice Guide: Mining 2022, Juliette Fortin, senior managing director of FTI Consulting and a global thought leader, wrote that "the tendency for resource nationalism increases when government bargaining power is higher, which typically occurs at time of increased prices, especially if this coincides with an investor being in a position where they have made sunk investments."

"There is some debate as to whether the recent increases in mineral prices are the beginning of a new super cycle. However, given the long lead times in mining projects, the rise in demand for critical minerals created by the energy transition will almost certainly lead to an imbalance in supply and demand, which has already precipitated a rise in resource nationalism," she added.

Also sharing this view is Eurasian Resources Group CEO Benedikt Sobotka. "Resource nationalism typically arises when prices are surging or are expected to do so, and we are seeing an emerging wave of resource nationalism in 2023, including export bans," he stated in an interview with S&P Global.

Intensified efforts to build new infrastructure amid the global energy transition could only create a bigger demand for critical battery minerals like lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt  and, by extension, heighten the resource nationalism risks.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts demand for minerals used in EVs and battery storage will grow at least 30 times by 2040.

Lithium should see the fastest growth, the agency said, with demand growing by over 40x in its Sustainable Development Scenario by 2040, followed by graphite, cobalt and nickel (around 20-25 times). The expansion of electricity networks means that copper demand more than doubles over the same period.



Source: IEA

The IEA says solar plants, wind farms and electric vehicles generally require more minerals to build than their fossil fuel-based counterparts. A typical electric car requires 6x the mineral inputs of a conventional car and an onshore wind plant requires 9x more mineral resources than a gas-fired plant.



Source: IEA

To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, IEA data previously showed that sectors contributing to the green energy transition will be responsible for over 45% of the total copper demand, 61% of the nickel demand, 69% of the cobalt demand, and a whopping 92% of lithium demand by 2040.

To reach net-zero, demand for these key metals needed for the deployment of energy transition technologies such as solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles will grow fivefold by 2050, BloombergNEF research finds.

Lurking Threat: Supply Insecurity

Going hand-in-hand with an increased demand for critical minerals is the security of supply, which can be seen as another contributing factor to resource nationalism.

Admittedly, keeping up with the unprecedented level of demand for these raw materials presents a huge obstacle the world has to overcome. The problem is twofold, one of which is simply down to a lack of supply in the production pipelines.

A 2020 World Bank report estimates that global production of graphite, lithium and cobalt production will need to rise more than 450% by 2050 from 2018 levels, just to meet demand from energy storage technologies.

Graphite essential to green transformation



Source: World Bank

By 2030, at least 300 new mines - for materials like cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, rare earth elements (RREs) and vanadium - will need to be brought onstream. That's no easy task, especially given the time lag between committing the capital, developing the mine and starting production, which can easily span 10 to 20 years.

Given the massive projected increase in metals consumption through 2050 under a net-zero scenario, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fears that current production growth rates are inadequate, and could result in a more than two-thirds gap versus demand. The shortfall in copper, lithium and platinum is expected to vary between 30-40% relative to demand.



Source: IMF

Because of the shortfall, "prices could reach historical peaks for an unprecedented length of time," the fund warned. While this should spur more investment into the mining sector, as mentioned earlier, the threat of resource nationalism also becomes elevated.

According to Dr. Carole Nakhle, an energy economist and CEO of London-based advisory firm Crystol Energy, most studies on the outlook for minerals typically assume that the status quo in the industry's structure will remain in place and the risk of significant disruptions to that structure has been largely overlooked.

"When a natural resource gains greater strategic importance and its value increases accordingly, it attracts state intervention and control," she wrote in a May 2023 article on how resource nationalism could further complicate the energy transition.

This brings us to the second main issue with supply security  that the key mineral deposits tend to be concentrated in the hands of a few countries which can have outsized influence on supply chains. In fact, the production of many minerals is more geographically concentrated than that of oil or natural gas.

Critical mineral processing is even more concentrated, with China the dominant player, as depicted in the graphic below.



Source: IEA

Such high concentrations, as you can imagine, make any supply chain susceptible to disruption. In extreme cases, it could lead to a "weaponization" of critical minerals, the most recent example being China's export curb on gallium and germanium.

A recent study by IEA found that the concentration of supply is actually intensifying for some critical minerals in 2022 despite US and Europe's efforts to diversify and reduce reliance on China.

The minerals in question include nickel and cobalt, both key ingredients in EV batteries whose supply sources are heavily concentrated. Nearly 70% of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while about a third of nickel production is credited to Indonesia.



Source: IEA

The IEA report also confirms that China controls a majority of the metals processing business, establishing itself as the dominant force in the battery metals supply chain.

"Our analysis of project pipelines reveals a somewhat improved outlook for mining, but not for refining operations where today's geographical concentration is greater," the agency stated.

Planned projects are mostly developed in incumbent regions, with China holding half of planned lithium chemical facilities and Indonesia representing nearly 90% of planned refined nickel plants, the IEA said.

"Many resource-holding nations are seeking positions further up the value chain while many consuming countries want to diversify their source of refined metal supplies. However, the world has not yet successfully connected the dots to build diversified midstream supply chains," it added.

Supply Dominance & Resource Nationalism

Without a more diversified supply chain, resource dependency would continue to be a main theme of discussion and a threat to the main importers of critical minerals.

Prior to releasing its 2023 Critical Minerals Market Review, the IEA had already warned that high concentration levels increase the risks that could arise from physical disruption, trade restrictions or other developments in major producing countries.

According to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, most of these producing countries are politically unstable, and so the risk and cost of doing business there are greater.



Source: Austrian Foreign Ministry

Furthermore, the governance of natural resources in many of these places is "suboptimal," as the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) put it.

Additionally, for all those countries, the mining sector has strategic importance, especially where it is the backbone of the economy and the primary source of government revenue. Countries are considered resource-dependent when metals and minerals account for more than 20% of exports by value, and mineral rents are more than 10% of the country's GDP, according to the ICMM. In many countries, that threshold is easily exceeded.

To paraphrase Dr. Nakhle's article:

"All the above factors - from the concentration of production and reserves to the sector's strategic importance and particularly the potential for high prices - create fertile ground for a rise in resource nationalism."

This explains why many of the countries with high scores on Maplecroft's Resource Nationalism Index also happen to be those with the richest mineral reserves. By cross-referencing nations with the largest reserve base for certain minerals (based on USGS figures) with those that have high potential for resource nationalism, we see a clear overlap (in asterisk below).

According to the GTDT Practice Guide, an increase in resource nationalism will create a conflict between the interest of states to maximize the value of their natural resources and the interests of producers to maximize production in response to the demand created by the energy transition.

This is reflected in the rising number of international arbitration claims brought by investors against national governments. For example, Colombia is currently facing an ICSID claim over attempts by the state's authorities to retroactively claim more than US$180 million in royalties. Peru is also facing a pair of claims from investors in the Carro Verde copper-molybdenum mining project relating to a demand for US$316 million in royalties.

Given the abundance of critical minerals in countries with a track record of resource nationalism, it's expected that dispute activity will continue to increase in the future. A rise in disputes would therefore reduce the incentives for investors to invest in these jurisdictions, placing pressure on an already strained global supply.

Over time, this dynamic would create a "vicious cycle" of heightened resource nationalism risk motivated by an increasing strategic and economic importance of minerals, thus severely delaying the global energy transition.

Mining-Friendly Jurisdictions

Of course, the far easier way to lessen the risk of resource nationalism is to steer clear of countries that are considered high investment risks and shift toward those with sufficient resources and policies designed to maximize mining operations.

For many years the mining industry has been guided by the Fraser Institute's annual investment attractiveness index, which rates regions based on their geologic attractiveness and the respective government policies and attitudes toward mineral exploration. The index is constructed from the responses given by select industry participants who have been asked to rank provinces, states and countries according to various public policy factors in an annual survey.

The 2022 edition of Fraser Institute's survey revealed Nevada as the top jurisdiction in terms of investment attractiveness, moving up from 3rd place previously. Western Australia, which topped the 2021 list, ranked 2nd this time. Saskatchewan continues to be on the podium, dropping slightly from 2nd to 3rd (see below).



Source: Fraser Institute

Rounding out the top 10 are Newfoundland & Labrador, Colorado, Northern Territory, Arizona, Quebec, South Australia, and Botswana. The US, Canada and Australia each have three jurisdictions in the top 10 list, followed by Africa with one.

African sources of graphite, uranium tainted by conflict

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is ranked as the least attractive jurisdiction for investment followed by Mozambique, South Sudan, and Angola. Also in the bottom 10 (beginning with the least attractive for investment) are Zambia, South Africa, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. Africa is the region with the most jurisdictions (8) in the bottom 10. Asia and Oceania each have one jurisdiction in the bottom 10.

Conclusion

At AOTH, resource nationalism/country risk is always at the top of our considerations when conducting due diligence on exploration companies. As such, it's no coincidence that all of the resource companies featured on the website appear on the left (low risk) side of the above table.

Many of those are exploration companies that happen to focus on critical minerals, a market that is seeing unprecedented growth as the global energy transition continues to drive up demand.

Richard (Rick) Mills

aheadoftheherd.com

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Source: Streetwise Reports

August 11, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Dolly Varden Silver Corp. has drilled so efficiently this summer that it is expanding its campaign at its Golden Triangle project by 10,000 meters with the same budget.

Dolly Varden Silver Corp. (DV:TSX.V; DOLLF:OTCQX) released initial drill results and announced it is expanding its campaign at its flagship Kitsault Valley gold-silver project in British Columbia by about 10,000 meters to 55,000 meters of drilling.

Efficiencies have allowed the additional drilling within the same budget, the company said. More than 70 holes have been drilled so far this season.

"Three of the 11 reported holes have extended the high-grade Kitsol vein closer to surface, while a fourth extended the separate Torbrit Main deposit along strike to the south," wrote Research Capital Corp. analyst Stuart McDougall in an Aug. 8 research note. "On the back of this update, a fifth rig has been added to complete an additional 10,000m earmarked for new exploration targets."

McDougall kept his Speculative Buy rating on the stock with a US$1.35 per share target price.

Highlights released Tuesday from the Kitsol Vein in the Torbrit Deposit area include:

Hole DV23-334 with 297 grams per tonne silver (g/t Ag) over 8.32 meters, including 1,090 g/t Ag over 0.90 meters at Kitsol

Hole DV23-336 with 342 g/t Ag over 18 meters, including 2,270 g/t Ag over 0.5 meters and 995 g/t Ag with 3.6% lead (Pb) over 0.60 meters at Kitsol

Hole DV23-337 with 496 g/t Ag over 9.57 meters, including 1,100 g/t Ag over 0.73 meters at Kitsol

Hole DV23-348 with 334 g/t Ag over 3.5 meters, including 672 g/t Ag over 1.34 meters at Torbrit Main, south extension

The Kitsault Valley project, which includes the company's namesake silver property and a gold-silver property previously owned by Homestake Ridge, hosts an indicated resource of 34.7 million ounces silver (Moz Ag) and 166,000 ounces gold (Au), and inferred resources of 29.3 Moz Ag and 817,000 ounces Au within multiple outcropping deposits.

The Catalyst: Another Eskay Creek?

Results released earlier this year revealed the highest-grade silver assay yet received from the Dolly Varden property.

Hole DV22-329 in the Wolf Vein northeast returned 1,499 g/t Ag, 1.8% lead (Pb), and 0.46% zinc (Zn) over 15.94 meters (8.77 meters estimated true width), including 23,997 g/t Ag, 1.24% Pb, and 0.34% Zn over 0.35 meters (0.19 meters estimated true width).

"These resources are contained within multiple outcropping deposits, which makes Kitsault Valley one of the largest high-grade, undeveloped precious metal assets in all of western Canada," Newsletter writer Rick Mills wrote on May 16.

Bob Moriarty of 321 Gold has called Dolly Varden's assay results "absolutely staggering" and said the Golden Triangle is "one of the most important districts in the world."

"Dolly Varden has done an incredible job," Moriarty said. "Anyone interested in investing should go to their website and go through the news because the numbers are absolutely mind-bending."

Moriarty said he believed Dolly Varden could be another Eskay Creek, which has historically produced 160 Moz Ag and 3.3 Moz Au.

Most people aren't aware that 70% of the silver produced in the world is a byproduct of copper mining, he said.

"Dolly Varden is pure silver," he said. "The number of pure silver mines in the world is small - only 30% total."

The company's stock was also upgraded to Good from Above Average by SADIF Investment Analytics, the research firm reported in a July 12 research note.

There are more deposits that Dolly Varden will go after at the project, President and Chief Executive Officer Shawn Khunkhun said.

"We've just got so much work to do," Khunkhun said in an interview on Junior Resource Investing. "And now we have the team, and through supportive shareholders like Eric Sprott, like Fidelity, like Hecla Mining, and other institutions,  we've got the money and the targets and the team to unlock the value in this project."

More Mines Needed

Silver is the most conductive element and is used to coat electrical contacts and in solar technologies. Almost all computers, cars, and appliances, and most probably the device you're reading this on, contain it.

The industry saw a 237.7-million-ounce (Moz) deficit in 2022, "most likely also an all-time record," the Silver Institute wrote in its World Silver Survey 2023.

"The combined 2021 and 2022 deficits more than offset the cumulative surpluses of the previous 11 years," the institute wrote. "We believe that 2023 will see much of a repeat of last year."

The newsletter author Mills wrote, "To satisfy future demands, it's clear that more silver mines must be developed to reverse this trend. The focus has to be on promising silver explorers and mine developers that could contribute to the future supply chain."

Ownership and Share Structure

Dolly Varden reports a number of institutional investors. Fury Gold Mines Ltd. (FURY-T) owns 23.37% of the company with 59.5 million shares, Hecla Mining Co. (HL:NYSE) owns 10.62% with 27.04 million shares, 2176423 Ontario Ltd. owns 10.07% with 25.63 million shares, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC owns 6.68% with 17.00 million shares, and ETF Managers Group LLC owns 2.83% with 7.20 million shares.

Sprott Asset Management LP owns 2.13% with 5.44 million shares, U.S. Global Investors Inc. owns 1.28% with 3.25 million shares, Mirae Asset Global Investments owns 1.16% with 2.96 million shares, DWS Investment GmbH owns 0.29% with 0.75 million shares, and Charteris Treasury Portfolio Management owns 0.2% with 0.5 million shares.

It has 255 million shares outstanding with a market cap of CA$183.11 million. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.355 and CA$1.24.

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The value of Irish spirits exports grew to a record high of 1.45bn during 2022 with the US remaining the number one buyer, a new report from Drinks Ireland shows.

According to the Irish Spirits Market Report for 2022, there has been a continued consumer trend towards premiumisation which is driving the increase in sales. Compared to 2021, the value of Irish spirits exports grew by 17% while domestic sales saw growth of 6%.

Volume is measured in sales of nine-litre cases. Between, Irish whiskey, Irish cream and poitin, 25.2 million nine-litre cases were sold around the world in 2022.

The US imported nearly four times as many of these spirits drinks from Ireland than any other country. In total, nearly 8.2 million cases were exported from Ireland to the US of which 5.84 million were cases of whiskey.

The next biggest market is the UK where 2.39 million cases of these three spirits were imported followed by Germany with 1.4 million cases. Whiskey alone saw 15.2 million cases sold worldwide while Irish cream sold 9.9 million cases.

Domestically, vodka remains Irelands favourite spirits drink accounting for 30% of all spirits sales. Whiskey accounted for 26% of all sales while gin had 13%.

Overall, 2.7 million nine-litre cases of spirits were sold in Ireland last year of which 54.3% were on-trade sales and 45.7% were off-trade sales.

'Premiumisation'

Cormac Healy, Director of Drinks Ireland, said there is a continuing trend towards the premiumisation in the drinks industry with the culture around drinking in Ireland evolving. He said consumers are increasingly choosing quality over quantity.

This move to premium products has had an impact on the sales of gin which was down 1.7% compared to 2021. The report said that this was driven by a slowdown in standard gin sales but premium gin sales increased by 15%.

The report added that by 2022 the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis had a hugely adverse impact on producers.

Bryan Fallon, chair of the spirits section of Drinks Ireland, said the challenges presented by inflation have shown little sign of abating going into 2023 driving up producer and consumer pricing across the globe.
Video-conferencing company Zooms staff announcement earlier this week sounded a death knell for remote work advocates.

The firm, which was so widely depended upon during the pandemic lockdowns and fuelled change in working habits, said that any of its employees that live near a Zoom office will be required to be onsite two days a week to interact with their colleagues.

Zoom is not an outlier either. Other companies, particularly in the tech industry, have rolled back on offering remote working in recent weeks, and staff across the globe, including in Ireland, have been searching for guidance.

In the last number of weeks and months there appears to be an effort by many of the tech and financial services firms to regularise the working patterns and systems of their employees, said Barry Crushell, solicitor at employment law specialist firm Crushell & Co.

In another example, Facebook owner Meta recently said it will be reversing its working-from-home policy despite telling its staff it would allow permanent remote working post-pandemic.

Barry Crushell, solicitor at employment law specialist firm Crushell & Co.

Mr Crushell suggested the issue of remote working is rearing its head again in Ireland, as a sweet spot is yet to be reached that makes both employees and employers happy.

He said that some firms began asking staff to return to work as covid restrictions eased at the end of 2021 and 2022 and the discussion around it tapered off somewhat for a while.

Big Tech firms have brought the matter back to the forefront and without clear legislation or guidelines for employers and staff, teething problems are set to continue.

Employment law

Under Irish law, employees now have the right to ask their boss for a remote working option. But employers are within their rights to say no.

Mr Crushell argued that some firms are clamping down on remote working under the current system in an effort to abide by their EU regulatory obligations and to prevent risk exposure.

Over the last number of years, there was a significant degree of flexibility afforded to many employees which means they could operate remotely and their whereabouts in many respects were unknown, he explained.

If they (the employer) become aware that an employee is no longer resident in Ireland for tax purposes and is carrying out the overwhelming majority of their work for that company in a foreign jurisdiction, it actually exposes that company to potential liability in that jurisdiction, said Mr Crushell.

Now there is a determined effort by many employers that their employees are back in the office living and working in Ireland.

Taxation is just one piece of the remote working puzzle yet to be solved though. Some firms, including Zoom, are pushing the value of socialising in the workplace and have indicated that they want more people onsite for this reason. For some, this is a welcome move.

I prefer hybrid or fully onsite. This whole remote palaver gets on my nerves, said Rosanna Loughnane, former talent acquisition partner at tech firm Zendesks Irish operations.

Ms Loughnane lost her job at the end of last year after Zendesk announced it would cut 5% of its global workforce amid the global tech slowdown, impacting some of its 500 staff in Ireland.

Parenting

Curtailing remote working could become a major obstacle for employees who have built their life around this system over the last three years. For example, employees with children were among those that reaped the benefits of being able to work from home.

I prefer to be out meeting colleagues and mixing up my day. I do think circumstances affect this. If you have kids you would want no commute or live further away, said Ms Loughnane.

I am 41, single, and have no kids living in a studio apartment in Rathmines. No brainer don't you think, she said.

Mr Crushell said he is also aware of the positives remote working can have for parents.

He said that he knows people in the legal profession who have had children pre and post-pandemic who said if remote work wasnt made available to them they would go to a competitor.

While there is no legal obligation to provide remote working to a parent, it could become problematic in the near future if employers fail to do so."

At the moment, employers and employees are in a standoff over remote work with no clear path forward. It is difficult to determine which party has the edge.

Labour market

Ireland currently has an extremely tight labour market with unemployment at a record-low level of around 4%. Therefore, firms that are looking for mainly on-site workers may have to compromise if potential applicants are demanding remote working conditions.

However, big tech companies are still attractive employers for people and some might forego remote working for the chance of getting hired.

Mr Crushell said that some of his clients were made redundant as part of the tech job cuts and many are not being offered the same opportunities that they had pre-covid. He added that its also taking a long time to get new jobs due to heavy competition and a tight jobs market.

Employment in the tech sector, which is leading the push back to the office, increased by 3.1% in the June quarter despite redundancies, according to the Central Bank. This reflects continued strong labour demand in parts of the sector.

The tech sector provides more than 160,000 jobs across the Republic. Ireland has escaped the heft of global tech layoffs due to tighter redundancy laws but the number of cuts is edging closer to 3,000 as the slowdown persists.

The long-term solution still needs to be outlined but Mr Crushell said he believes the majority of employers are willing to offer a degree of flexibility in how and where employees can work.

He added that it is likely most workplaces will keep hybrid and flexible working conditions, but there are limits to it.

Mr Crushell suggested that removing remote work will not be sustainable for companies in the long term if there is no discernible benefit for employees being there except visibility.

'Commercial risks'

Meanwhile, a full return to the office could be a double-edged sword for firms said Mr Crushell.

I do think there are inherent commercial risks if employers insist on employees returning back to the office on a more permanent and frequent basis, he said.

Remote working still offers firms the opportunity to look at a greater talent pool as they could hire staff in different counties with a lower cost-of-living. Mr Crushell said that he has heard of job applicants living in rural counties accepting lower remuneration for firms based in cities that offer remote working.

However, this may have some unintended consequences and could eventually hit the commercial property sector which has buoyed the construction industry post-pandemic.

Mr Crushell said he is aware of developers looking at older offices and some firms are downsizing as remote working continues. These spaces could have the potential to be converted into residential properties to tackle the housing crisis.

The remote working conundrum is likely to be addressed in more detail soon as there is a clear hunger for it among Irish employees.

Ireland was the fastest to adopt remote working among 27 EU member states, according to a recent report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland (BNPPRE).

The report, which analyses Eurostat data, showed the Netherlands has the highest percentage of its workforce engaged in remote working, but Ireland is leading the change in workforce habits in terms of how rapidly remote working is taking the place of traditional office-based work.

Irelands adaptability throughout the pandemic has been remarkable in many ways, not least the ease with which businesses and employees alike adjusted their working models, said John McCartney, BNPPREs director of research.

Of course, this has had knock-on implications for commercial property. Over time, remote working has enabled employers to adopt hot-desking and rostering systems which reduce the amount of office space they need to carry per employee.

In addition, co-working spaces are also quickly becoming a thing of the past as employers grapple with the issue of remote work.

Office space provider WeWork said it had substantial doubt about its future. The company, which has operations in Ireland, was adamant that the pivot toward remote and hybrid working would benefit them as employers would be more careful about entering into long-term leases and would look to WeWorks flexible models instead. However, the business has struggled to stay afloat post-pandemic.

IWG provides an optimistic contrast to WeWork though. The office space providers revenue rose 14% in the first six months of the year while operating profit more than doubled.

It is not yet clear what the employment norms will look like in the coming years but one thing seems certain. The consensus among employees is that a five-day week working in the office is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Russias economy may return to its pre-war level as soon as next year as it adapts to the impact of international sanctions, though the Kremlins drive to expand military recruitment may yet undo this goal.

The economy expanded by an estimated 4.6% in the second quarter and by 1.5% in the first half of the year, prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with officials. Deepening staff shortages are adding to Russias difficulties as the Kremlin seeks to draw more volunteers into joining president Vladimir Putins faltering invasion of Ukraine thats now in its 18th month.

Mr Putin last week signed legislation that raises the draft age to 30 from 27 in January and bans men from leaving the country once they have received a digital conscription notice.

The measures may permit targeted mobilisation that would boost short-term growth by reducing the impact of staff shortages and allow the economy to reach its pre-war size by mid-to-late 2024, soon after scheduled presidential elections, according to Bloomberg Economics Russia economist Alexander Isakov.

Still, opting for conscript mobilisation is unlikely to reverse the decline in long-term growth, he said.

The GDP data means Russias economy has expanded for four successive quarters, following a decline of more than 4% a year ago, defying predictions of a prolonged slump in response to the sanctions imposed over the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Increased defence spending has boosted industrial production while consumer demand is gaining momentum.

Even so, the ruble is approaching 100 per dollar after weakening almost 25% since the start of the year. While flows of imports remain stable, restrictions on Russias energy sales, including an oil price ceiling imposed by Group of Seven nations, have led to a steady decline in export revenue.

The economy may reach its pre-war size by the middle of next year, said Natalia Lavrova, chief economist at BCS Financial Group, who forecasts 2% growth in 2023.

The Bank of Russia recently upgraded its full-year growth forecast to 1.5% to 2.5% for 2023, noting that output in most sectors focused on domestic demand had reached or even exceeded pre-war levels.

It sees growth next year at 0.5% to 2.5% and 1% to 2% in 2025.

Bloomberg
Ive been on a pilgrimage. Not to Lough Derg or anywhere religious but I did have a sense of reverence as I checked out the shelves of James Nicholsons beautiful wine shop in Crossgar in County Down, around 25 km south of Belfast.

Founded by James Nicholson in 1977 and a regular winner of awards ever since, the shop is worth a visit, and worth a detour if you are heading up to Belfast for lunch in Ox or Eipic for example.

Among the iconic producers imported by JN Wines are Ridge from California, Olivier Leflaive in Burgundy, Pesquera in Ribera del Duero, Vieux Telegraphe in Chateauneuf du Pape, Jamet in Cote Rotie, Felton Road in Central Otago, and Zind Humbrecht in Alsace. Nicholsons also have a close relationship with the Moueix family of Chateau Petrus and Chateau La Fleur Petrus in Pomerol, and Dominus Estate in Napa Valley.

Nicholsons also sell the Duclot Bordeaux Collection every year, a mixed case of icon wines such as Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau. Lafite, Chateau Cheval-Blanc, and Chateau Margaux.

I imagine myself laying these wines down until their 10th birthday and then opening them two at a time to compare say Ch. Margaux and Ch. Lafite.

Nicholsons wines are also available in the Republic through some excellent outlets including WorldWide Wines in Waterford and Matsons in Cork, but of course, they also deliver all over Ireland (duty paid).

My wine suggestions this week follow no particular theme other than that they are all imported by James Nicholson, taste delicious, and cover some regions that I dont get to mention all that often.

For the Diary:

The Big Grill Fest is on in Herbert Park, Dublin, from next Thursday to Sunday, and drinks to match your barbecue flavours will be provided by Neighbourhood Wines, Trouble Brewing, Wicklow Wolf, Hope, Carlow Brewing, Dot Brew, and many more.

Wine Under 20

Pikes Hills & Valleys Riesling 2022, Clare Valley, Australia  18

Pikes Hills & Valleys Riesling 2022, Clare Valley, Australia  18

Stockists: Grape & Bean Portlaoise; James Nicholson Wines Crossgar - jnwine.com

I havent featured a Clare Valley Riesling in a while but I couldnt omit this old favourite.

Candied apple and lime aromas mixed with washed stones and citrus  fuller and rounder on the palate than expected with sweet-tart apple flavours, a pleasing fruit-focused roundness balanced by pristine acidity. Delicious.

AA Badenhorst Secateurs Red 2021, Swartland, South Africa  17-18

AA Badenhorst Secateurs Red 2021, Swartland, South Africa  17-18

Stockists: Carry Out The Reeks Killarney; The Oarsman; Baggot Street Wines; James Nicholson Wines Crossgar - jnwine.com

From uber fashionable Swartland this is a peppery-spicy-juicy blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Cinsault.

Generous and supple on the attack, darker fruits come through on the mid-palate with a touch of chocolate, and dark berry fruits dominate the finish with spice and structure balancing out the finish.

Chateau Pesquie Chardonnay 2020, Ventoux, France  16

Chateau Pesquie Chardonnay 2020, Ventoux, France  16

Stockists: James Nicholson Wines Crossgar - jnwine.com

Chardonnay is en vogue again in case you havent heard, and no wonder when it goes so well with food. Melon and tropical fruit aromas, fleshy pears, and soft ripe fruits are quickly balanced by citrus acidity and apple skin tautness.

Rounded, complex, and pleasurable, this will match everything from fish to pork to pasta.

Wine Over 20

Chateau du Hurreau Saumur Champigny Tuffe 2020, Loire  23

Chateau du Hurreau Saumur Champigny Tuffe 2020, Loire  23

Stockists: MacCurtain Wine Cellar; Wicklow Wine Co; theAllotment.ie; James Nicholson Wines Crossgar  jnwine.com

From one of the Loire Valleys best producers and made from 100% Cabernet Franc near the pretty village of Saumur.

Cherry fruit aromas with a touch of graphite and blackcurrant leaf  flavours of pomegranate and wild strawberry, supple and fruity with a balancing lively tartness and a dried berry finish.

Massaya Le Colombier 2020, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon  23

Massaya Le Colombier 2020, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon  23

Stockists: Matsons; Blackrock Cellars; Petes Provisions; James Nicholson Crossgar  jnwine.com

Made by the Ghosn family in Lebanon in partnership with Vieux Telegraph in Chateauneuf and Dominque Hebrad from St. Emilion.

A blend of Cinsault and Grenache with a touch of Syrah and Tempranillo  savoury and layered with mature fruits and garrigue herb aromas, ripe berry fruit flavours, supple, juicy and pleasing.

Love by Leoube Rose 2022, Cotes de Provence, France  23-24

Love by Leoube Rose 2022, Cotes de Provence, France  23-24

Stockists: On The Grapevine; Cavistons; James Nicholson.

I tasted this in Nicholsons and then a week later at the EuroToques Food awards where it was a surprisingly good match for Sham Hanifas Goat Rendang.

A blend of Grenache & Cinsault with floral (violet?) aromas, red fruits and citrus  pink grapefruit and raspberry fruit flavours and a crisp tangy finish.

Wine of the Week

Killahora Rare Apple Ice Wine, 10.5% ABV, 375ml  27-28

Killahora Rare Apple Ice Wine, 10.5% ABV, 375ml  27-28

Stockists: Bradleys; JJ ODriscolls; Matsons; Ardkeen; Corkscrew; Martins; Celtic Whiskey Shop; Independents; KillahoraOrchards.ie Ive mentioned this before but I dont think Ive given a full slot. Recent winner of a prestigious award from the Euro-Toques Chefs organisation, many of whom use it in sauces and sell it in their restaurants. Killahora was in good company, with other winners including Wildwood Balsamics and Skeaghanore Duck.

Made from rare varieties of bitter-sweet apples mostly grown on the south-facing slopes of the Killahora Orchards in Cork.

The must from pressed frozen apples is fermented for 12 months and produces an intensely rich wine with floral scents and honeyed sweet fruit flavours (strawberry, baked apple, candied angelica). Serve with fruit desserts, cheese or pate.
When I wrote my first book, I began the writing process by looking at a place I knew well, the southwestern Dublin suburb of Tallaght. In its time, Tallaght acted as lazy shorthand for a kind of working-class neer-do-wellism that had the middle-class Irish media frothing at the mouth. Over time, other suburbs or cities have played the same role  as rhetorical spaces onto which can be projected images of danger: no-go zones.

At the time I was writing, about a decade ago, Tallaght hadnt fully shaken this perception, and alongside my own memories of the place, I wanted to explore the suburbs wider significance.

I say I knew it well. The past tense is appropriate, as I had left it young, just after primary school, and moved elsewhere, to a more middle-class neighbourhood. This separation seemed to me to be a central part of the process of writing about a place: only when youve moved on can you recollect it. Memories can be a fiction, or at least can be lightly fictionalised, so I wanted to confront my memories with the concrete reality of the place once more.

Whats a place really like? The truth is that its so diffuse  there are often many perspectives, one of which is yours  that its difficult, perhaps impossible, to capture objectively. And yet, place is often my starting point for a piece of writing.

The temptation, because distilling a sense of a place is a subjective endeavour, is to supercharge it with colourful, pseudo-poetic descriptions that tend towards a sort of pantheistic raptness. Place writing, and particularly nature writing, is haunted by such practices, and I suppose it depends on your tolerance for writers being intensely writerly whether you like it or not. I personally prefer a kind of documentary approach that allows imaginative digression but is rooted in the physical.

There are two kinds of place writing I engage in: writing about somewhere I have a personal connection with, and writing about somewhere Im less connected with. Perhaps I have never visited the latter place until a story brings me there. As a writer youre expected to prove your close personal connection to a story, to trot out some proof that you qualify as a trustworthy narrator of a tale.

In some ways, this is laudable and logical: any exploration of a place that ratches up its exoticism carries a residue, whether intentional or not, of nineteenth-century colonial adventurism. The language of travel writing risks being inflected with such assumptions while the best work interrogates such inherited traits. Often, though, writers might find it easier to steer clear of such traps and not write about anything that isnt seen as authentically their own.

Perhaps thats for the best. But, then again, were also often told that writers should be fearless and plunge into writing whatever they want regardless of the consequences. It appears to me that theres a balance between the two extremes. That there are ways and means of writing about place that will result in better work. They involve carefully considering your own relationship with the story to be told and doing your research.

Karl Whitney, author and writer

One can get tied up in knots when considering ones own relationship to a story, to the degree that the relationship outweighs the subject of your work. My view of this oscillates between thinking that the writer is a valid character in a work and that their endless neuroses and distorted view of their own importance has its own kind of drama and, well, not thinking it at all and wishing theyd write about something else entirely.

And yet, without self-reflection, the work will be thin and theres a serious chance the writer might not have considered the different aspects of what theyre doing, or fully sounded the imaginative depths of their chosen subject, and, as a result, end up with a lack of fizz in the writing. When a writer is pinging with ideas they can drive things on in a way that they cant if theyre dutifully ticking off a list of topics they have to cover in their work.

Intellectual excitement creates its own momentum, and that happens, in nonfiction writing at least, when the research has been absorbed and digested and the writer genuinely feels like they have something to say.

That something to say may not be neatly summarisable. You might be communicating an atmosphere or sketching a character or exploring a phenomenon. You might not have any answers, but youre posing a fascinating problem or illuminating a new aspect of the world or advancing a new way of seeing, and you need to get it across to the reader, and thats what drives your writing.

When I decided to write about Tallaght, I thought it might be an idea to go for a walk, setting out one morning from my parents house in a suburb that adjoins Tallaght, and seeing what I encountered along the way. As I walked, I kept a small notebook in my hand so that I could scribble down whatever I thought might be of interest. Rather than zigzag around sprawling suburban estates I decided to trace the boundaries of the place.

This approach suggested a few questions that were to guide my writing: where did Tallaght end and the rest of Dublin begin? What did its development say about the Ireland of the time, and whats the significance of the way its been portrayed over the years?

Ultimately, though, it was a personal journey, so many of the landmarks I encountered had some autobiographical significance, and, sure enough, memories would spring up when prompted by certain details, such as the corrugated concrete paving on the street outside my childhood home (I recalled how the tyres of my BMX bike would rumble along its surface).

A bilingual sign for Tallaght's LUAS stop. Photo: Darren J. Prior/Wikipedia

So, I set off with some idea of the kind of experience I might have, and a hazy vision of the general shape of the kind of piece of writing that might emerge. But the process of walking and encountering the place in all its complexity triggered memories and ideas that would then, in turn, play a part in the construction of the written work, changing the plan into something more complex and emotionally resonant. The experience of researching the chapter was a central part of making the writing come alive, and it meant being alert to how familiar places made me feel, but also being open to the unexpected aspects of a place in which, at that point, I hadnt lived in for twenty years.

This is what I really enjoy about writing  that you can set off thinking you know, more or less, where youre going, but are led in a new direction by the practice; that you have the ability to surprise yourself. When I talk to students about planning a piece of writing, I sometimes say that a writing plan is like a map to a place you havent visited yet, and that the experience of writing might fill in the gaps on that map or change it completely.

When I returned home from my day spent walking around the suburb in which I had spent the first twelve years of my life, I had a notebook filled with notes and a head swimming with ideas. I didnt quite realise it then, but I had established an approach that would guide me through researching and writing my book. But it was a first step and nothing more. The real work was just beginning.

Karl Whitney is the author of Hidden City: Adventures and Explorations in Dublin (Penguin).
The Government has been urged by both experts and politicians to set up a single intelligence agency separate from An Garda Siochana and the Defence Forces.

The separate calls both highlight a perceived failure in Ireland to give sufficient priority to intelligence gathering and assessment.

International expert David Strachan-Morris says intelligence provided by gardai and the Defence Forces is insufficient for what Ireland needs.

In a submission to the Governments Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, Fine Gael MEPs say there is a failure to embrace intelligence gathering and sharing here.

Mr Strachan-Morris, a lecturer in intelligence and security at the University of Leicester, said Irelands approach to national and international security emphasises diplomacy, consensus and soft power.

In a paper for the Dublin-based Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, he says this approach does not mean Ireland is immune to the actions of powerful nations and cites Russia which he says regularly encroaches into Irish airspace and Irish waters.

Mr Strachan-Morris said: This level of policymaking will involve difficult and complex decisions on an ongoing basis, but there appears to be no discussion about an intelligence infrastructure to support this.

Ireland is not completely without an intelligence capability. The Defence Forces and An Garda Siochana provide military and security intelligence about potential threats to the State and its overseas interests. But, useful as it is, it is insufficient for Irelands needs.

He said the existing intelligence services provide current and warning intelligence but are limited in their ability to provide strategic intelligence or in-depth national intelligence estimates. He is against increasing the role of the gardai or Defence Forces.

Expanding the remit of these organisations to include that task would be a mistake; it would put an undue strain on their resources and distract them from their core missions, said Mr Strachan-Morris.

A separate national intelligence agency, in whatever form, with a clear chain on responsibility to government [under a designated minister] will ensure that decision-makers receive the strategic and estimative intelligence they need.

Fine Gael MEPs Sean Kelly, Frances Fitzgerald, Deirdre Clune, Maria Walsh, and Colm Markey say gardai and the Defence Forces have separate intelligence units.

The State has essentially two intelligence-gathering agencies and, uniquely for a European country, there is no overarching body above them nor is there a senior government security adviser or office mandated with synthesising that intelligence into a comprehensive security analysis, they said.

Our failure to embrace intelligence gathering and sharing is weakening our intelligence capability as there is no clear line for our EU partners and external agencies to interact with one central agency or point of contact.
The fiancee of Private Sean Rooney, who was killed while on peacekeeping duty in Lebanon last December has posted a heartfelt tribute to him on what was supposed to be the day they were getting married.

Pte Rooney, 23, from Newtowncunningham in Donegal was serving with the 121st infantry Battalion as part of a United Nations Interim Force when he and his comrades came under fire near Sidon, about 30 miles on the from Beirut on December 14.

The vehicle he was driving became separated from colleagues in another vehicle as they travelled towards the Lebanese capital, and communications between the two vehicles broke down.

After ending up on remote country roads, Pte Rooney's vehicle encountered a large crowd that tried to stop them from passing through the village of Al-Aqibiya.

Pte Rooney managed to steer clear of the group but shots were fired into the back of his vehicle, at least one of which hit him, killing him instantly. Three other men were injured in the attack, among them Trooper Shane Kearney, 22, from Killeagh in East Cork, who suffered serious injuries.

The UN peacekeepers' two-vehicle convoy was on an administrative run to escort two soldiers to the airport who had been granted compassionate leave to return to Ireland following family bereavements.

Before he was killed, Pte Rooney had been engaged to his partner Hollai Nic Conaill Oig.

08/08/23 08/08/23 We might not be getting married today but we will make up for everything we missed out on when I see you again  pic.twitter.com/w15R3fRzki  Hollai Nic Conaill Oig (@holly_1865) August 8, 2023

Tuesday, August 8, 2023, would have been their wedding day. Writing on social media, Ms Nic Conaill Oig shared a picture of a black wedding band on her left hand.

"We might not be getting married today but we will make up for everything we missed out on when I see you again," she wrote.

Five men have been charged in connection with the attack on Pte Rooney's vehicle. The first hearing date of the criminal trial of those accused of his killing took place on July 14 in Lebanon.
An Irish family has told of their rush to avoid the catastrophic fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week.

The wildfires in the historic town of Lahaina has killed at least 55 people and Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that number is likely to rise.

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island and then feasting on homes and anything else that lay in its path.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday with at least 1,500 more expected to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Declan Kelly and his family arrived in Maui last Saturday to stay at a resort in Kihei on the south shore of the island.

He said that the family had thought of staying in Lahaina, which is on the west coast of the island and at the centre of the current emergency.

We actually went to Lahaina on Monday [to visit], not realising it would be razed to the ground less than 24 hours later.

Speaking on Newstalk, Mr Kelly said there had been no talk about the fires when they visited Lahaina, which he described as a beautiful area full of craft shops and galleries and lovely old buildings on the waterfront.

The resort where they were staying was only 20 miles from Lahaina and when the family went out for a meal on Tuesday night they noticed the smell of smoke.

Wildfire wreckage in Lahaina, Hawaii. Picture: AP/Rick Bowmer

We turned on the news, we started looking at social media and realised there was a fire. We didn't know anything about the extent of it. You could see a red glow in the distance.

An alert message from the US government came through on one of the phones of the group. They realised then that there were three fires, one of which was just two-and-a-half miles south of them.

Given its proximity they decided to go north to get closer to the airport which was not affected. Mr Kelly acknowledged that he had been concerned that most of the roads on the island were two lanes which meant if they clogged up there would be nowhere to go.

The drive to the airport had been a white-knuckle drive with him holding on tightly to the steering wheel of the rental car.

I was unnaturally calm. I just knew I had a job to do and I needed to keep going.

Read More Maui fire deaths surge to 53 and likely to go higher, governor says

Since then the family received the all-clear to return to their accommodation. While the fires were not totally extinguished, they appeared to be under control to a large extent, he said.

We waited a while and we made a decision to go back, we'd left stuff behind us as well. We went back down the road and it was clear, and our area seems to be stable.

Mr Kelly said they are continuing with their holiday plans to visit other islands.

Maui residents who escaped the wildfires have asked why Hawaiis emergency sirens did not alert them as the flames raced toward their homes.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning system was triggered before a devastating wildfire wiped out the historic town of Lahaina, officials confirmed.
Two Cork river catchments are among six across the country primed to be nurtured back to "pristine water quality"  considered unpolluted and biodiversity rich  as part of a 20m project.

The Shournagh around Tower and Blarney and the Awbeg around Kanturk will join the likes of Lough Graney in Clare and the Sheen in Kerry, after a months-long probe into how they can be brought back to "best of the best" status.

The 20m EU-funded Waters of Life project aims to restore the six areas to so-called "high status or pristine waters", which is when they are judged as close to pristine condition, rich in biodiversity, and show little or no impact from human activity.

The Croom, Limerick-based Waters of Life team will now begin to roll out actions identified in recent months as necessary to bring them back to the highest quality status.

The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, which oversees the operation, said Waters of Life is working with landowners, local authorities, and communities to make improvements to the water quality of each catchment.

The Shournagh, which rises in the foothills of the Boggeragh Mountains around 25km northwest of Cork City, has five distinguishable areas of water, but two of those five need to be nursed back to pristine status after following into the "moderate" ranking.

Urban wastewater and runoff, as well as agriculture and some one-off housing runoff have contributed to the area around Blarney losing its pristine status, with elevated phosphorus and nitrates detected.

A swan cleaning its feathers in the Awbeg river in Doneraile Park, Cork. Picture:Dan Linehan

The catchment includes areas of wet woodland, scrub, scrub woodland and old estate mixed woodland, while dippers and grey wagtails are known to feed along and around the river channels. It also supports salmon and other fish.

The Awbeg catchment in North Cork comprises a tributary of the Blackwater, known locally as the Awbeg river, and the Lisduggan which flows into the Awbeg to the south of Castlemagner.

A special area of conservation nearby includes otters, salmon, lamprey, twaite shad, freshwater pearl mussel, and includes the lower 2-3km of the Awbeg before it joins the Blackwater.

Nutrient pollution from agriculture as well as urban wastewater from the Castlemagner wastewater treatment plant have been linked with the high quality diminishing, with nitrate a potential significant issue impacting water quality, an assessment found.

Overall, just 44% of rivers across the country for which a pristine objective has been set in the River Basin Management Plan for Ireland are currently achieving that status.

The Waters of Life team will now use the insights found to help bring the river catchments back to the "best of the best", with it particularly keen to work with farmers and landowners.

Participating landowners including foresters will be able to avail of support from a voluntary results-based payments scheme linking higher environmental quality with higher payments, the department said.

Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan TD called it "imperative" to bring back water areas to pristine condition.

High status water bodies are a precious resource and it is imperative that we not only halt, but reverse their decline.

"Todays report highlights new and valuable insights into our highest status waters, and we hope to see this knowledge put to good use, not just through the Waters of Life project but by farm advisors, landowners, and all of the stakeholders working to improve water quality."

He pointed to other nature restoration schemes that paid out grants of more than 2.4m in 2022 as incentives of local farmers, landowners, and communities getting involved.

"I encourage eligible groups in the areas around those catchments to get involved in the project," he said.
Gardai are warning students to "be wary of rental scams", with the annual return to college seeing a spike in the number of fraud cases. It comes as a 20-year-old woman lost 7,400 after transferring the money to a 'landlord' in the Netherlands for a property that was never available to rent.

Approximately one-third of all accommodation fraud reports occur in August and September each year, according to gardai.
Why is covid-19 in the news again?

Cases of a new variant, called EG.5, nicknamed Eris, have been slowly increasing over the summer. This week the World Health Organization said while it is tracking a number of variants, it has now declared Eris as a 'variant of interest'. It does not meet the threshold for the higher alert level variant of concern. The WHO said while Eris is causing more serious illness than other variants, including Omicron of which it is a descendant, it is more transmissible.

Is the Eris variant in Ireland?

Yes, the HSE said on Thursday it has already been associated with outbreaks in hospitals here.

The number of covid patients in hospitals has been rising since July. On Friday there were 414 covid patients in hospitals  a sharp jump from the 92 patients on July 11.

But so far it is not leading to large numbers of seriously ill people, with 12 patients in ICUs around the country.

How should infection be prevented?

The HSE has urged anyone who is eligible for vaccination to come forward, as they expect protection from vaccines and prior infection to help reduce the impact of this wave.

Older people and anyone in groups vulnerable to the virus will be offered flu and covid-19 vaccines from the end of September.

Antigen tests will be back in vogue, they are still for sale in most supermarkets and many pharmacies are also still stocking them.

The HSE is no longer providing PCR tests. So if you think you need a test, you should speak with your GP or contact the closest GP practice.

Will we go into lockdown again?

Not according to the Taoiseach.

I think we are facing a new wave of covid, there have been a lot of new infections and there has been an increase in hospitalisations, but I don't anticipate the reintroduction of any restrictions, Leo Varadkar said this week.

We're in a very different place than we were when covid started.

HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said he does not expect a national mask-wearing mandate in healthcare settings, although sites can introduce this locally if they need to.

What are the risks?

If you have tested positive for covid, you can still pass on the virus. The HSE advises staying at home for five days from the date of the first symptoms. You should also avoid people at higher risk from the virus for up to 10 days.

Parents of vulnerable children may be watching with some concern but this variant has not been found serious enough to change advice around going to school.

However, people can suffer debilitating long covid symptoms for months  or even years  after just a mild covid-19 infection, so that risk remains.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, with an eye to these vulnerable people including nursing home residents, has called for a review of infection measures.

Get more advice from the HSE at: hse.ie/conditions/covid19/if-you-have-covid-19/
A Dublin mother accused of repeatedly kicking an unconscious US tourist in the face during a vicious robbery has been refused bail and sent forward for trial.

Sarah Dunne, 31, who is of no fixed address, but previously had accommodation in Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, was charged with assault causing harm to the holidaymaker, and robbing him on April 27 at Oliver Bond Street, Dublin 8.

She appeared at Dublin District Court on Friday to be served with a book of evidence and faced objections to bail.

She denies the charges, Judge Ciaran Liddy heard.

Garda Eimear Redmond cited the seriousness of the incident and alleged the accused and two others viciously assaulted and took a number of personal items from the injured party, including his bank card, wallet, $100, and a phone.

She said the attackers could be seen on CCTV footage. Garda Redmond alleged the accused, who denies involvement, can be seen kicking the injured party, as he lay unconscious on the ground, numerous amounts of times.

She added: And can be seen hitting him straight into the face leaving a large open laceration over his forehead.

Garda Redmond claimed the accused could also be seen going through his pockets.

Gardai arrested Ms Dunne 300 metres away while paramedics treated the tourist, who later went to a doctor.

He has since left Ireland.

The garda agreed with defence counsel Kevin McCrave that the accused mentioned that she had health difficulties.

The barrister told Judge Liddy his client had a child, came from a good and supportive family, and would obey strict bail terms.

However, Judge Liddy declined the bail application.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had directed trial on indictment at a higher level with broader sentencing g powers.

Judge Liddy granted an order sending Ms Dunne forward for trial in custody to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case will be listed for mention on October 13. Legal aid was granted.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has said that it hopes re-instate all N25 westbound lanes of the Dunkettle Interchange upgrade project before the end of next month.

On Friday afternoon, TII issued a progress update on the works being carried out at Dunkettle, and updated advice on layout adjustments for motorists.
Ireland has five different types of courts, with their importance increasing the further up the legal system you go. The five courts in Ireland are: the District Court, Circuit Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Alongside the five courts, the Irish legal system is divided into two branches, civil and criminal. All courts handle both civil and criminal proceedings.

Civil actions are taken by individuals against other individuals or organisations, for example, personal injury claims. The purpose of a civil claim is most often to seek compensation or to recover money owed. The State generally has no part to play in these cases.

Criminal prosecutions are handled by the State, usually through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). They deal with things considered illegal, like murder, rape, and theft, as well as drunk-driving and speeding.

Outcomes of criminal cases include an acquittal (where the accused person is found not guilty), a fine, community service or a jail term.

What are the five courts?

1. District Court:

The District Court is the lowest court in the Irish court system. It is organised on a local basis throughout the country. The business of the District Court can be divided into four categories: criminal, civil, family law and licensing.

It is a court of local and limited jurisdiction, meaning it can only make orders or decisions on certain types of cases. In criminal matters, it deals with drunk-driving, speeding, and assault cases.

The Anglesea Street Courthouse in Cork, which hears District Court cases as well as cases from other courts. Picture: David Creedon

The District Court can only hear civil cases where the requested damages or compensation is less than 15,000. It also hears family law cases, including custody issues, and handles liquor licensing cases.

A judge sitting alone deals with these cases, no jury.

2. Circuit Court:

The Circuit Court is the second tier of the Irish courts system and is organised on a regional basis.

It is a court of local and limited jurisdiction, meaning it is restricted as to which cases it can decide in both civil and criminal matters. Civil cases in the Circuit Court are tried by a judge sitting without a jury. It deals with civil cases which do not exceed 75,000 as well as family law cases. including divorce.

Criminal cases at the Circuit Court sit with a judge and jury. This court deals with all criminal offences, except those at the most serious level (murder and rape).

The Circuit Court also hears appeals from the District Court.

3. High Court:

The High Court is the third tier of the Irish courts system. It has the power to hear all criminal and civil matters, usually those that cannot be dealt with by the lower courts.

Unlike the Circuit Court and District Court, the High Court is not a court of local and limited jurisdiction, meaning that it is not restricted to hearing cases from certain areas and there is no limit to the amount of monetary damages it can award.

When the High Court is dealing with criminal cases, it is known as the Central Criminal Court. It tries the most serious criminal offences, such as murder and rape, and cases which the Circuit Court cannot deal with. The cases are heard and tried by a judge and jury.

The Central Criminal Court

Until recently, the court sat only in Dublin. In recent times, it has travelled to a number of other venues including Cork, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford.

4. Court of Appeal:

The Court of Appeal is the second-highest tier in the Irish courts system. Its main function is to hear appeals from the High Court, as well as from the Circuit Court, Central Criminal Court or Special Criminal Court.

The Court of Appeal is not a court of local or limited jurisdiction, meaning that it is not restricted to hearing cases from certain geographical areas and there is no limit to the amount of monetary damages it can award.

It is made up of 15 ordinary judges and the President of the Court of Appeal. The President of the Court of Appeal assigns the work of the court. Cases are normally heard and determined by three judges.

5. The Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Ireland and the court of final appeal. It usually sits in the Four Courts in Dublin and hears appeals from the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Ireland, who is President of the Court, and nine ordinary judges. Cases are heard by three, five or, in exceptional circumstances, seven judges.

The Four Courts which houses the High Court, the Supreme Court and civil cases.

A case in the Supreme Court is decided by agreement of the majority of judges and sittings are mostly open to the public, with the exceptions of family law cases and particular sexual offences.

In some circumstances, the President of Ireland may refer any Bill passed by the Oireachtas to the Supreme Court to decide whether it is unconstitutional.

6. Other Courts:

The Special Criminal Court only deals with criminal cases. It deals with terrorist and organised crime cases. This court sits with three judges and no jury, in order to avoid jury intimidation.

Other special courts include the Children's Court and the Drug Treatment Court.
From the humdrum to the hubristic, technology is transforming the way we live. Far from being mere buzzwords, many advances are effecting significant  and positive  change for people and businesses alike.

One of those is Internet of Things, or IoT.

IoT is about solutions to fix business challenges and bring efficiencies to everyday life. explains Colin Barrett, head of IoT with Vodafone Business Ireland. With 20 years experience in the technology sector, he is best placed to speak about how these advances will alter the way we live and do business.

The term internet of things is somewhat abstract. I get asked all the time what IoT means. There are different perceptions as to what it is because there is such a diverse range of benefits that it delivers.

What is IoT and why is it important to business?

For the uninitiated, IoT is essentially a network of connected devices which are often all around us, and could be serving any type of functional purpose. When you combine IoT devices with automated systems, data can be gathered for analysis, environments can be monitored, alerts can be triggered, or actions can be remotely executed. But Barrett is adamant that IoT is not simply about connected technology; its about the value or competitive advantage that, for example, Irish businesses can derive by capturing real-time data across thousands of devices, vehicles, people or even livestock and then representing it in a way that gives them a digital advantage  be it a new revenue stream or cost efficiencies. Its also around societal transformation and making Irish communities lives easier, he adds. IoT is just the conduit and its therefore best described in the context of the real-world scenario it has made possible. Its more about the value it delivers, than the technology.

IoT provides the real-time data for digital bus stops.

Powering society and enterprise

And this value from Vodafone IoT is evident in many everyday examples of its use. For example, if you buy a new car, it will likely have an IoT sim card embedded in it for SOS location services, infotainment subscription services and much more. Across Dublin, IoT powers digital bus stops to provide real-time schedules allowing city commuters to plan their journeys. It also connects thousands of on-street electric vehicle charging points nationwide and provides in-air digital services to the aviation industry.

Many Irish homes and businesses are kept secure with alarms and CCTV that are IoT connected for monitoring. And there are thousands of IoT water pressure sensors across Irelands water pipe network to help detect leaks and reduce water wastage. Vodafone have been a pioneering IoT provider in Ireland for decades with hundreds of enterprise organisations leveraging our capability and experience says Barrett.

Vodafones IoT technologies enable vehicle fleet management and the move to EVs.

IoT is also widely prevalent in the health sector; for example, IoT connectivity facilitates digitally connected ambulances across Ireland and other regions to help improve patient safety and critical transit. IoT availability has already revolutionised real-time remote telemedicine where wearable devices not only monitor patients, but also dynamically treat them. Wearable sensors employ IoT connectivity to allow independent living for older people.

Vodafone Ireland enables SMEs to streamline costs and become more sustainable through IoT.

Keeping abreast of energy costs

IoT is also aiding the shift towards sustainability and energy efficiency, helping to address many of the challenges this move presents, Barrett adds. For example, Vodafone Ireland has recently launched an IoT pilot initiative with the aim of lowering energy costs for Irish SMEs. This monitors electricity consumption through sensors installed around the customer premises, such as air-con, lights, heating, power, he explains. It helps drive changes in behaviour, by alerting when energy usage threshold values are exceeded.

So while there is clearly a commercial imperative, the societal benefits are also obvious. This aligns with Vodafones core principle of inclusion for all, Barrett says.

Vodafone worked with Civic Solutions to launch an IoT Solution that monitors 600 smart life buoys nationwide to help save lives in Irish waters.

IoT technology making a difference

Vodafone IoT has partnered with an organisation to provide smart disability parking spots in Limerick which reduces the stress for disabled drivers by helping them rapidly find available disability parking, he explains. And last year we worked with Civic Solutions to launch an IoT Solution, which monitors 600 smart life buoys nationwide to help save lives in Irish waters. These are all examples of where Vodafone IoT connectivity is behind a lot of societal services that impacts and touches on all of us.

The beauty of IoT, Barrett emphasises, is that its not the preserve of large organisations and well-known brands. Its about what kind of difference it can make to any kind of community or businesses of any size. He points out that there are now a raft of small tech start-ups using IoT solutions to build brand new businesses and services.

IoT devices can serve a range of functions from fleet management to asset tracking and personal safety.

Why choose Vodafone?

By its nature, IoT may involve devices moving across different jurisdictions or being deployed in multiple different countries. This can make things pretty complex, Barrett admits. Vodafone, however, is able to remove that complexity with a seamless scalable connectivity solution under one Vodafone contract, which can roam across more networks than any other network operator in the world.

We provide IoT connectivity in over 190 countries, he notes. And our local Irish expertise is supported by our global IoT business unit with over 1,400 IoT experts.

Despite these achievements and advancements, IoT is far from fulfilling its potential. Barrett notes that the ubiquity of 5G networks is expected to lead to a huge surge in growth of IoT devices.

Connecting cities and towns through 5G networks and IoT can help cities and regions with economic development, efficiency, sustainability and better citizen engagement for large-scale urban change, he explains. It can generate the data needed to measure, implement and optimise operations  whether thats measuring air quality, traffic flow, planning health services, waste collection, public transport or energy and food waste.

IoT will also be increasingly used in the health sector to allow for robotic surgery and remote treatment.

With its unmatched connectivity and breadth of experience in this space, Vodafone is widely recognised as the leader in IoT services, Barrett says. Weve been involved in the development and delivery of the standards that have defined IoT since its inception.

The organisation is currently connecting 169 million IoT devices deployed by customers around the world  more than any other organisation  and has been recognised by consultancy firm Gartner as the IoT connectivity leader for nine years in a row.

Given the scale of our global customer base and our IoT business unit for 20 years, theres a huge wealth of experience and skill which we can draw upon, says Barrett. This allows Vodafone Ireland to bring thought leadership when we work with local Irish organisations and agencies to ensure maximum benefit can be leveraged for businesses and society.

See vodafone.ie for more information
Hawaii Governor Josh Green says 53 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise.

A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighbourhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition.

A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighbourhoods that had been a vibrant vision of colour and island life reduced to grey ash.

Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago.

We are heartsick

Boats in the harbour were scorched, and smoke hovered over the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the islands west side.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Mr Green told The Associated Press.

More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that were still burning, he said.

The death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue, Mr Green added, and officials expect it will become the states deadliest natural disaster since a 1961 tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island.

We are heartsick, he said.

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island and then feasting on homes and anything else that lay in its path.

The official death toll of 53 as of Thursday makes this the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

The Hawaii toll could rise, though, as rescuers reach parts of the island that had been inaccessible due to the three ongoing fires, including the one in Lahaina that was 80% contained on Thursday, according to a Maui County news release.

Lahaina has been reduced to grey ash (Rick Bowmer/AP)

More than 270 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and dozens of people have been injured, including some critically.

We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern, said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Search and rescue teams still will not be able to access certain areas until the fire lines are secure and they are sure they will be able to get to those areas safely, Mr Weintraub added.

Communications have been spotty on the island, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times. Power was also out in parts of Maui.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday with at least 1,500 more expected to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in the thousands who have been displaced.

The fires were fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south.

It is the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. Traveling in Utah on Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone whos lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.

Mr Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.
Maui residents who escaped a wildfire that killed at least 55 people have asked why Hawaiis emergency sirens did not alert them as the flames raced toward their homes.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning system was triggered before a devastating wildfire wiped out the historic town of Lahaina, officials confirmed.

Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest single outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain.

But many of Lahainas survivors said they did not hear any sirens and only realised they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired postal worker from Lahaina, did not know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and mobile phone service had both gone out earlier that day, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger.

The historic town of Lahaina was destroyed in the fire (AP)

Mr Leonard tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a sea wall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.

Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Mr Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub said the departments records do not show that Mauis warning sirens were triggered on Tuesday. Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Mr Weintraub said.

Experts say the fires are likely to transform the landscape in unwanted ways, hasten erosion, send sediment into waterways and degrade coral (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

It is not clear if those alerts were sent before widespread power and phone coverage outages cut off most communication to Lahaina.

Fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started on Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path.

The wildfire is already the states deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island.

Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island (AP)

Governor Josh Green said the death toll will likely rise further as search and rescue operations continue.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Mr Green said after walking the ruins of the town with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen.

Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.

The fire is also the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

Lahainas wildfire risk was well known. Maui Countys hazard mitigation plan, last updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfire ignitions and a large number of buildings at risk of wildfire damage.

West Maui was also identified as having the islands highest population of people living in multi-unit housing, the second-highest rate of households without a vehicle, and the highest rate of non-English speakers.

This may limit the populations ability to receive, understand and take expedient action during hazard events, the plan noted.

Mauis firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association.

There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands  Maui, Molokai and Lanai  he said.

President Joe Biden has promised to help people who lost their homes (AP)

Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but they are all designed for on-road use. The department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said.

That means fire crews cant attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas, Mr Lee said. The high winds caused by Hurricane Dora made that extremely difficult, he said.

Youre basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch, Mr Lee added. Youve got to be careful  you dont want to get caught downwind from that, because youre going to get run over in a wind-driven fire of that magnitude.

Many people have lost their homes, and the death toll is expected to rise (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP, File)

Mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Lahaina residents, Mr Bissen noted, while tourists in hotels were told to shelter in place so that emergency vehicles could get into the area.

The mayor said that downed power poles added to the chaos as people attempted to flee Lahaina by cutting off two important roads of town. Speaking at a Thursday afternoon press conference, he said that 29 poles fell with live wires still attached, cutting off the roads to Wailuku and the airport and leaving only the narrow highway toward Kahakuloa.

Communications have been spotty on the island, with emergency, landline and mobile phone service failing at times. Power was also out in parts of Maui.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday with at least 1,500 more were expected to leave on Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director.

Officials turned the Hawaii Convention Centre in Honolulu into an assistance centre for tourists and locals, stocking it with water, food, and volunteers who help visitors arrange travel home.

US President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster on Maui. On Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone whos lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.

Mr Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.
Tensions are escalating between Nigers new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Nigers flailing democracy.

The Ecowas bloc said it has directed a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told AP that Nigers junta had informed a top US diplomat they would kill Mr Bazoum if neighbouring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It is unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it.

Stranded trucks with goods are seen at the border between Nigeria and Niger in Jibia (AP)

Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the Ecowas meeting, neighbouring Ivory Coasts president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements  We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Mr Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group thats ravaged the region.

France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Analysts say the bloc known as Ecowas might be running out of options as support fades for a military intervention (AP)

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS is not in touch with the reality on the ground and should not intervene.

Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident who says Mr Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, said: It is our business, not theirs. They dont even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger.

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey waving Russian flags and screaming down with France.

Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also on Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS decision and called on the junta to urgently halt the escalation with the regional organisation.

It also called for the immediate release of Mr Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger expected on Saturday was postponed.

On Thursday night after the summit, Frances foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted.

Supporters of Nigers ruling junta marched towards the French military base shouting down with France, carrying signs and waving Russian flags (Sam Mednick/AP

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of Ecowas to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum.

However, he did not specify whether the US supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers who ousted Mr Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president.

Representatives of the junta told US under secretary of state Victoria Nuland of the threat to Mr Bazoums life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said.

Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, addresses supporters of Nigers ruling junta in Niamey, Niger, last Sunday (AP)

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Mr Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said on Friday that it had spoken to Mr Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor.

The president said he has not had electricity for nearly 10 days and is not allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It is unclear if the threat on Mr Bazoums life would change Ecowass decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An Ecowas invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Nigers size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for Ecowas. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.
Supporters of assassinated Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio will host a public memorial for the slain candidate on Friday, after the attorney general's office charged six suspects in his death.

Villavicencio, a former lawmaker and crusading anti-corruption journalist, was gunned down leaving a campaign event on Wednesday evening, less than two weeks before the election.

The murder was a shocking example of rising violence and crime in the South American country and led some voters to weigh whether they will go the polls on Aug. 20. It has made an unsettled election even harder to forecast.

Police investigators walk the scene outside at a school where presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed while at a campaign rally Picture: AP Photo

Six suspects - all Colombians who police have said belong to criminal groups - were remanded in custody for 30 days by a judge late on Thursday, the attorney general's office said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

"On the basis of the elements of conviction presented by the attorney general's office, the judge ordered preventative prison for the six accused of murder," the office said. "The order will last 30 days."

According to charging documents uploaded to the justice system's website, all six were also charged with illicit trafficking of substances.

Two of the men were previously charged, on July 5, with reception of stolen goods, according to documents on the website. Another document listed two of the men as Ecuadoreans.

All the men had previous criminal records in Ecuador and Colombia, an Ecuadorean police spokesperson said.

A search of the public records database run by the Colombian police listed three of the men as having no criminal record, while the remaining three were listed as "currently not required by any judicial authority."

One other suspect in the crime died from wounds sustained in a shootout with authorities on Wednesday.

The government has said it is pursuing the "intellectual authors" of the murder and has promised heightened security nationwide to ensure peaceful elections.

Villavicencio died from cranial trauma, hemorrhage and cerebral laceration caused by a bullet, an autopsy quoted in the charging documents said. He also suffered a cranial fracture.

His supporters are waiting to see whether his family on Friday will give details of plans for his funeral, but many planned to gather at a public memorial at noon local time in Quito.

Villavicencio's body was released to two family representatives, including his lawyer, on Thursday, according to the attorney general's office.

As a labor organizer and then a journalist, Villavicencio had long been exposed to threats due to his scathing and meticulously documented corruption accusations targeting some of the biggest names in Ecuador's political and financial establishment.

Wearing a bullet proof vest Andrea Gonzalez, the running mate of slain presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, arrives for a press conference on Thursday. (Picture: AP Photo)

Despite the suspension of campaigning by two opponents and widespread condemnation of the murder, politicians lost little time in trading barbs.

Villavicencio's party denounced "political use" of his death and some supporters lobbed criticism at former President Rafael Correa, whom Villavicencio clashed with as an investigative journalist.

Luisa Gonzalez, the Correa-backed candidate who leads the race with just below 30% voter support, accused outgoing President Guillermo Lasso of ties to the Albanian mafia, an allegation Lasso has always denied.

The mud-slinging could worsen citizen confidence in the electoral process and its results, analysts said.

Villavicencio, a married father, had 7.5% support in polls, placing him fifth out of eight candidates.

Violence in Ecuador has surged in recent years, especially in cities along drug-trafficking routes like Guayaquil and Esmeraldas where citizens say they live in fear.

Several Latin American countries have seen similar issues since the coronavirus pandemic.

Lasso, who is dealing with an impeachment bid against him, called the elections early. He has been criticized for failing to tamp down violence, and his government blames bloodshed on the streets and in prisons on criminal infighting to control drug trafficking routes used by Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and others.

Beyond security, employment and migration are major issues in the presidential contest.

Candidates will participate in a mandatory televised debate on Sunday. Villavicencio's party had asked for the debate to be postponed, but the electoral authority declined.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the presidents son ahead of the 2024 election.

Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of President Joe Bidens son, as the special counsel. It comes as plea deal talks in Hunter Bidens case hit an impasse.

The attorney general noted the extraordinary circumstances of the matter in making the announcement at the Justice Department.

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden. Picture: AP

Garland said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

Hunter Bidens attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Friday.

The announcement of a special counsel is a momentous development from the typically cautious Garland and comes amid a pair of sweeping Justice Department probes into former President Donald Trump, whos Joe Bidens chief rival in next years election.

It also comes as House Republicans are mounting their own investigation into Hunter Bidens business dealings. The Republicans are struggling to connect the sons work to his father, and so far they have not been able to produce evidence to show any wrongdoing.

Justice officials did not explain what prompted the sudden move after years of investigating Hunter Biden, who used drugs and whose personal entanglements have trailed his fathers political career.

US Attorney David Weiss Picture: AP

Legal proceedings are dramatically shaping the 2024 presidential race in an unprecedented way. Garland has now named special counsels to investigate Trumps handling of classified records and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as well as Fridays announcement into Bidens son.

Garland said he expects Weiss, as special counsel, to work expeditiously and in an even-handed and urgent manner. He said Weiss will have all the resources he requests to probe the matter.

Last month, Hunter Bidens plea deal over tax evasion and a gun charge collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics.

Republicans had derided that agreement as a sweetheart deal as they pushed their own probe.

Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, has been leading the congressional inquiry into Hunter Bidens financial ties and transactions. The Kentucky lawmaker has obtained thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.

Shortly after Hunter Biden reached an initial agreement with the government, Comer joined forces with two chairmen of powerful committees to launch a larger investigation into claims by two IRS agents who said the Justice Department improperly interfered in the yearslong case.

The Republicans claimed Weiss was being blocked from becoming a special counsel. Its a claim Weiss and the Justice Department denied.

Since then, Comer has brought in a former business associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, who provided fresh insight during closed-door testimony into how the Democratic presidents son capitalized on his relationship with his father, who was then vice president, to court foreign investors.

Picture: AP

Archer said Hunter Biden was using the illusion of access in Washington. But he offered no tangible evidence that Joe Biden played any role in his sons work beyond saying hello during their daily family calls.

By being named special counsel Weiss will have broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.

Weiss was nominated by Trump to serve as Delaware U.S. attorney in 2017 and was retained after Biden took over so he could continue to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation. He had been a prosecutor for years before, handling both violent crimes and white-collar offenses, and worked in private practice between stints in the federal prosecutors office.
An infant and his 23-year-old mother were among those killed during a nighttime airstrike on a village monastery in southern Sagaing Region on Thursday, residents of Ta Laing Village said.

One of two bombs dropped by a junta fighter jet at 2.15am on Thursday hit Ta Laing monastery where many of the residents of the village in Sagaing Township were sleeping. Besides the mother and her eight-month-old boy, a 65-year-old woman was killed by the bomb, 15 other people were injured while sleeping inside the monastery, and an unknown number of livestock were killed, residents said.

No clashes between junta troops and resistance forces had occurred in the area prior to the airstrike, they said.

Residents were taking refuge in the village because regime ground troops had entered nearby villages via the Ayeyarwady River, they said.

Residents fled [to the monastery] as regime troops were approaching villages by river. Troops raided Ta Laing Village [after the airstrike], but the details are unknown, a resident of Sagaing Township told The Irrawaddy.

The Sagaing District Medical Team said some residents of the village were arrested by the junta ground troops who arrived after the airstrike.

Residents of Sint Kaing, Oak Pho and Chaung Oo villages have fled as regime ground troops approach.

Regime troops raided Ta Laing Village before. On July 2, they killed five local resistance fighters and torched more than 100 homes.

Junta troops have been attacking resistance strongholds by air, on the ground and from rivers. Widespread indiscriminate airstrikes in resistance areas as well as massacres have been documented in great detail. In April, 157 civilians including 42 children in Kantbalu Townships Pazigyi village were killed by a junta airstrike.
The chairwoman of a Mandalay-based charity was rearrested by Myanmars military regime on Wednesday after being freed from jail some two months ago under an amnesty.

Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe, also known as Ma Nwe New Win, who leads Shwe Mahar Nwe blood donors association and Mandalays branch of the Myanmar Rescue Federation, was released in May after being imprisoned for two years since late 2021.

A family member of Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe said her whereabouts remain unknown and authorities had offered no information about her detention.

We only knew about her arrest after [pro-junta channel] Han Nyein Oo posted that she had been detained at around 1 pm. She was with us on Wednesday morning. She left home after lunch saying that she would donate blood at the 300-bed hospital on 62nd Street. She said she and other members were donating blood when we had phone contact with her around 1 pm. We have since lost contact with her, said the family member.

On Wednesday morning, pro-junta Telegram channel Han Nyein Oo called for the arrest of Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe, alleging she had participated in activities to mark the 35th anniversary of the pro-democracy 8888 Uprising. Within hours, the channel posted a photo of Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe blindfolded and wearing a mask inside a private vehicle.

A member of Shwe Mahar Nwe charity said: She did not participate in activities to mark the 8888 Uprising. She has not participated in any political activities since her release from prison. We are worried about her safety. The photo posted by Han Nyein Oo is not of her. It was another person, but [junta personnel] arrested her without verifying the photo.

Ma Shwe Mahar Nwe was arrested on November 15, 2021 as her association sought donations of clothes for displacement camps and orphanages. After she posted on Facebook that people could also donate camouflage clothing, junta troops arrested her at her office on November 15.

She was then charged with sedition and handed three years in jail. After spending nearly two years behind bars, she was released conditionally on May 3 when the regime granted an amnesty to mark the Kasone Full Moon Day.
As the juntas military has already destroyed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), it no longer needs to be abided by, the Karen National Union (KNU), one of Myanmars oldest ethnic armed groups, said at a press conference on Aug. 10.

We no longer have any cause to abide by the NCA because the [junta] military has already destroyed the principles written in Chapter 1, which is the heart of the agreement, said Padoh Saw Tah Doh Moo, secretary general of the KNU, at a press conference to mark 100 days since a new KNU Central Executive Committee was elected at the organizations last congress.

The military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 and the subsequent brutal crackdowns, violence, atrocities, and war crimes committed by the juntas military were offenses that violated the NCA and rendered it void, he said. Since then, the KNU has been fighting against the regime.

It is not the first time the KNU has declared the NCA to be defunct. It officially stated in September 2021 that the agreement was no longer valid due to the military coup.

The KNU became an NCA signatory in October 2015, joining several other ethnic armed groups and the government of Myanmar.

To date, there are 10 NCA signatories. Three of them, the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Chin National Front (CNF) and KNU are engaged in heavy fighting against the juntas military, and are supporting newly founded peoples resistance groups in the areas under their control.

In May, the KNU released a statement vowing to continue to work with other pro-democratic forces to end military rule. The juntas National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee condemned the KNUs statement as not constructive, counter to the NCA and likely to lead to confrontation.

The juntas committee has held so-called peace talks since late 2022 with seven of 10 NCA signatories and three non-signatories: the United Wa State Army, the National Democratic Alliance Army and the Shan State Progress Party.

Most Myanmar people, both inside the country and abroad, have slammed those ethnic armed groupsespecially the NCA signatoriesthat have agreed to attend talks held by the junta, calling them the ones who shake bloodstained hands, a reference to the junta militarys terror campaign, which has included over 140 massacres of poor civilians so far.

The juntas invitation to talks was rejected by the KNU, ABSDF and CNF, as well as the non-signatory Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Karenni Army. Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG), whose Peoples Defense Force (PDF) is fighting against the junta military throughout the country, was also not invited.

At the Aug. 10 press conference, the KNU leaders who were newly elected by the organizations 17th Congress, which was held in May, reported their experiences over the past three months and discussed their upcoming plans.

The group said it was determined to continue the war of resistance against the Myanmar military junta, which has escalated its savage aerial bombardments throughout the country, and shared its concern for the need to protect and help the many victims of the atrocities of the juntas military.

It also said that since the coup, nearly 600,000 people have fled their homes due to clashes in its territory.

Padoh Saw Tah Doh Moo called on the international community to put more pressure on the junta and impose more arms embargos, as well as to assist in the humanitarian crisis.

He also reaffirmed that, Since the NCA no longer exists as they [the junta] have trampled on the heart of it, the KNU is no longer party to it, adding, It has nothing at all to do with us, if they use the NCA to delude the international community or the people.
An airline operated by a junta crony is set to launch direct flights between Myanmar and Russias third largest city next month.

Myanmar Airways International (MIA) will fly from Yangon and Mandalay to Russias Novosibirskthe third largest city in Russia and a major producer of nuclear energy and technology every Tuesday and Saturday starting from September 5. The ticket fare is US$ 409.

MAI is owned by Aung Aung Zaw, who sponsors junta boss Min Aung Hlaings international travel. But Russia, the major arms supplier of the regime, has been the only country Min Aung Hlaing can visit so far since the coup. MAIs direct flight to Russia is its first international flight outside of Asia.

Amid international sanctions, Myanmars junta and Russias government have established and fostered multi-sectoral cooperation, from politics, diplomacy and nuclear technology, arms supply, to education and health.

Direct flights are a new step in collaboration between the two pariah states.

They also follow a cooperation agreement between Myanmars junta and Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom last year, which has major subsidiaries in Novosibirsk.

The flights will debut about one year after Min Aung Hlaings visit to Russia when he met President Vladimir Putin and discussed direct flights to promote tourism.

MAI was previously the national carrier. Kanbawza Group, owned by top crony Aung Ko Win, took it over under Thein Seins quasi-civilian government. Aung Aung Zaw, who heads 24 Hour Groups of Companies, acquired the airline from Aung Ko Win in late 2018.

Ma Yadanar Maung, a spokesperson for advocacy group Justice for Myanmar (JFM), told The Irrawaddy: MAI is a key business partner of the Myanmar military junta. MAI and the Myanmar Air Force have shared aircraft and the junta leadership use an MAI-branded aircraft for their international travel, including to Russia, where the junta leadership has discussed business and the purchase of arms.

Following US sanctions against two state-owned banks  Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bankcrucial to supplying US dollars for the regime, Singapores United Overseas Bank (UOB) said it will shut all of MAIs bank accounts by August 15.
Myanmars civilian National Unity Governments defense ministry claims junta forces suffered heavy losses in Kyauktaga Township, Bago Region, on Wednesday.

The shadow ministry said on Thursday that its resistance groups and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the countrys oldest revolutionary group the Karen National Union, attacked around 60 Light Infantry Battalion 589 troops at Thamin Inn Kone village in the east of the township for about nine hours.

Other junta units based in nearby Thahtay Kone village and Kyauktaga town supported ground troops during the fighting with shelling and a fighter jet conducted two airstrikes against resistance forces, said the Special Commando Battalion that coordinated the attack.

More than 30 regime soldiers were killed and around 24 weapons, including an anti-drone jammer and a large quantity of ammunition, were seized, said the civilian ministry.

A resistance fighter and two KNLA troops were killed in the fighting, it said.

Kyauktaga Peoples Defense Force on Thursday said the junta has cut off phone connections in the area. The junta has not retrieved its dead soldiers from the area, it added.

Resistance groups say they have stepped up attacks in Bago Region in recent months.

On Wednesday, resistance groups raided a police station in Nyaung Pin Thar village, Phyu Township, killing two regime troops and injuring four others, said the ministry.

It said drones were used to drop two 60mm bombs on regime forces in a forest near a police station in Oak Phyat village in the township on Tuesday. Four regime troops were killed and three injured, it said.

The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports.

Resistance snipers attacked the police station and used explosives, killing one junta soldier and injuring three others.
At least 55 Myanmar junta forces as well as three resistance fighters were killed in the last three days as Peoples Defense Force groups (PDFs) and an ethnic armed organization (EAO) stepped up attacks on regime targets across the country.

In one case, two regime soldiers defected to a resistance group in Karen State.

Incidents were reported in Bago, Sagaing, Mandalay and Magwe regions and Karen State.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and the EAO.

Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Junta suffers heavy losses in resistance attack in Bagos Kyauktaga

More than 30 regime forces were killed and many others injured in Kyauktaga Township, Bago Region when a joint force of PDFs and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), attacked a military unit for nine hours in Thamin Inn Kone Village, said the Defense Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), which formed the PDFs.

A PDF fighter and two KNLA troops were also killed. A large quantity of military weapons and ammunition was seized by the resistance groups.

The junta forces had not yet retrieved their dead soldiers from the clash site, according to Kyauktaga PDF, which added that the junta also cut off phone connections in the township.

Regime forces killed in series of resistance attacks in Bago

At least seven regime troops were killed when resistance groups conducted attacks on regime targets in Phyu Township, Bago Region on Tuesday and Wednesday, said the NUGs Defense Ministry.

On Aug. 9, PDF groups raided a police station in Nyaung Pin Thar Village, killing two regime forces and injuring four others. PDF groups retreated from the area without casualties.

On Tuesday, the resistance group also used a drone to drop two 60-mm mortar bombs on regime forces positioned in a forest near a police station in Oak Phyat Village, Phyu Township. Four regime forces were killed and three injured.

The resistance groups continued to attack the regime forces at the police station with sniper fire and heavy explosives, killing one more regime soldier and injuring three others.

Junta soldiers killed by resistance mines in Bago

At least four regime troops were killed and many others injured in Nattalin Township, Bago Region on Wednesday when Tharyarwaddy District PDF Battalion 1 triggered land mines to ambush a military unit heading to a resistance area near Taung Nyo Dam, said the PDF group.

After being ambushed, the retreating soldiers burned houses in nearby Pyinn Ma Khaung Village on that afternoon.

Regime targets bombed by resistance drones in Magwe

Myaing PDF said it and other resistance groups used drones and makeshift remote-controlled planes to drop bombs on regime forces stationed in the pro-regime village of Thayet Khwa, where a Pyu Saw Htee militia group was formed, in Myaing Township, Magwe Region on Thursday.

Military casualties were unknown.

Police station attacked in Magwe



Combined resistance forces stage a surprise attack on a police station in Kamma town, Pakokku Township on Wednesday. / Scorpion PDF (Myaing)

Two junta troops were gunned down in Pakokku Township, Magwe Region on Wednesday when several resistance groups jointly staged a surprise attack on a police station in Kamma town, said West Plains Force, which joined the attack.

Military checkpoints pounded in Magwe



Resistance forces fire improvised mortar rounds at regime bases in Myaing Township on Tuesday. / Myaing PDF

Three regime forces were killed or injured in Myaing Township, Magwe Region on Tuesday when local resistance groups used a large number of makeshift mortar rounds to shell two military bases on the highways linking Mandalay and Pakokku Township, said Myaing Peoples Defense Force, which coordinated the attacks.

Junta forces responded indiscriminately with heavy explosives and firearms, but there were no resistance casualties.

Military flotilla ambushed in Sagaing

Kyauk Lone Gyi PDF claimed to have killed a soldier as it and other resistance groups used sniper rifles to ambush regime forces on a military flotilla of 12 vessels including barges and gunboats traveling on the Chindwin River in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday.

Regime forces killed in resistance drone strikes in Mandalay



Resistance drones drop bombs on regime targets in Ngazun Township on Wednesday. / Black Eagle Defense Force (Myinmu)

At least four junta soldiers including a captain were killed in Ngazun Township, Mandalay Region on Wednesday when six resistance groups used drones to drop bombs on regime forces stationed in the pro-junta village of Yay Lal Thaung, where pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia groups were formed, said Black Eagle Defense Force (Myinmu), which joined the attacks.

The next day, the combined resistance groups continued to conduct drone strikes on another military unit including Pyu Saw Htee militias from Kan Thar Village as the regime forces were traveling to Yay Lal Thaung. In the drone strikes, many regime forces suffered injuries.

Junta troops responded with firearms but all resistance members retreated from the area without casualties, the resistance groups said.

Military vehicles hit by mines in Mandalay



Natogyi PDF members trigger land mines during a recent ambush of military vehicles in Natogyi Township. / Natogyi PDF

Natogyi PDF claimed to have killed four regime soldiers and injured many others when it triggered land mines to ambush three military trucks in Natogyi Township, Mandalay Region on Wednesday.

The vehicles were ambushed while traveling from Natogyi to Myittha town in the east of the township.

Two junta soldiers defect in Karen

Two junta soldiers including a sergeant from Light Infantry Battalion 118 defected from the military and joined Karen resistance fighters in Myawaddy Township, Karen State on Tuesday, said Myanmars oldest ethnic rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU).

The two defectors surrendered their weapons to the resistance group. Each soldier was given a 50,000 Thai baht (US$1,400) reward for defecting.
Friday, Aug 11th, 2023 (9:00 am) - Score 912

Broadband ISP 1310 (thirteen-ten), which offers full fibre services via Openreachs national network and is also building its own FTTP network across parts of Hampshire (England), has this morning announced that theyve acquired UK communications provider TxRx Communications Ltd to accelerate growth and broaden their services.

Established in 2018 by Simon Green, James Rossell, and Robert Belgrave, 1310 initially started life by offering services to UK homes and businesses via Openreachs national network. But since 2021 theyve also been deploying their own fibre infrastructure, as well as utilising various other wholesale networks to reach new areas.

NOTE: The name 1310 is inspired by one of the common wavelengths of light (1310 nanometres) used in single mode fibre cables. Meanwhile, TxRx reflects network terminology  TX being an abbreviation for Transmit, and RX for Receive.

The last build update we had from 1310 was almost a year ago (here), which revealed that their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network had reached a total of around 6,000 premises passed. The deployment itself started during 2021 in the South Farnborough and North Camp areas of Hampshire, but since then theyve also covered the town of Rothwell and have begun to build in Basingstoke.

Similarly, TxRx is an established ISP in the Basingstoke area and has also been providing gigabit-capable internet connectivity solutions around parts of Farnborough, which helps to explain 1310s interest in the provider.

James Rossell, Director of 1310 Limited, said: With the support and experience of the combined team, TxRx and 1310 will be able to offer our customers access to newer and alternative fibre technologies, including Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) to the hardest-to-reach rural areas.

Tim Robinson, Founder of TxRx, said: TxRx customers can rest assured that I will continue to play a key role as a director of the combined company, and I am really looking forward to providing the same level of personalised service to both TxRxs and 1310s customers.

The hope is that the merger of two similar organisations with complimentary technologies and skillsets  as well as an acceptably geeky eye for company names   will enable the combined team to provide a faster and broader portfolio of reliable connectivity options for their customers.

No details about the financial side of the transaction have been disclosed.
Today

Periods of wind driven rain this evening. Remaining cloudy overnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 25 to 40 mph, becoming N and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.

Tonight

Periods of wind driven rain this evening. Remaining cloudy overnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 25 to 40 mph, becoming N and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy skies. High 91F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
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By Vrinda Narain, McGill University | 

(The Conversation)  The second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is fast approaching. Since then, Afghan women have been denied the most basic human rights in what can only be described as gender apartheid.

Only by labelling it as such and making clear the situation in Afghanistan is a crime against humanity can the international community legally fight the systematic discrimination against the countrys women and girls.

Erasing women from the public sphere is central to Taliban ideology. Womens rights institutions in Afghanistan, notably the Ministry of Womens Affairs, have been dismantled while the dreaded Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has been resurrected.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has been dissolved and the countrys 2004 constitution repealed, while legislation guaranteeing gender equality has been invalidated.

Today, Afghan women are denied a post-secondary education, they cannot leave the house without a male chaperone, they cannot work, except in health care and some private businesses and they are barred from parks, gyms and beauty salons.

Women targeted

Of the approximately 80 edicts issued by the Taliban, 54 specifically target women, severely restricting their rights and violating Afghanistans international obligations and its previous constitutional and domestic laws.

The Taliban appear undeterred, continuing where they left off 20 years ago when they first held power. The results of their ambitions are nearly apocalyptic.

Afghanistan is facing one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises. About 19 million people are suffering from acute food insecurity, while more than 90 per cent of Afghans are experiencing some form of food insecurity, with female-headed households and children most impacted.

Gender-based violence has increased exponentially with corresponding impunity for the perpetrators and lack of support for the victims, while ethnic, religious and sexual minorities are suffering intense persecution.

Article continues after bonus IC video

Taliban Tasers and turns hoses on Afghan women protesting beauty salon ban | ITV News

This grim reality underscores the urgent need to address how civil, political, socioeconomic and gender-based harms are interconnected.

International crime

Karima Bennoune, an Algerian-American international law scholar, has advocated recognizing gender apartheid as a crime under international law. Such recognition would stem from states international legal commitments to gender equality and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 aimed at achieving global gender equality by 2030.

Criminalizing gender apartheid would provide the international community with a powerful legal framework to effectively respond to Taliban abuses. While the UN has already labelled the situation in Afghanistan gender apartheid, the term is not currently recognized under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as being among the worst international crimes.

Presenting his report at the UN Human Rights Council, Richard Bennett  the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan  stated:

A grave, systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls is at the heart of Taliban ideology and rule, which also gives rise to concerns that they may be responsible for gender apartheid.

Criminalizing gender apartheid globally would allow the international community to fulfil its obligation to respond effectively and try to eradicate it permanently. It would provide the necessary legal tools to ensure that international commitments to womens rights in all aspects of life are upheld.

Shaharzad Akbar, head of the Rawadari human rights group and former chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, has urged the Human Rights Council to acknowledge the situation in Afghanistan as gender apartheid.

Shes noted that the Taliban have turned Afghanistan to a mass graveyard of Afghan women and girls ambitions, dreams and potential.

South African support

A number of Afghan womens rights defenders have also called for the inclusion of gender apartheid in the UNs Draft Convention on Crimes Against Humanity.

Most remarkably, Bronwen Levy, South Africas representative at the Security Council, has urged the international community to take action against what (Bennetts) report describes as gender apartheid, much like it did in support of South Africas struggle against racial apartheid.

Elsewhere, the chair of the European Parliaments Committee on Womens Rights and Gender Equality, as well as the head of its Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan, have described the unacceptable situation in Afghanistan as one of gender apartheid.

Whenever and wherever apartheid systems emerge, it represents a failure of the international community. The situation in Afghanistan must compel it to respond effectively to the persecution of women.

Recognizing Taliban rule as gender apartheid is not only critical for Afghans, it is equally critical for the credibility of the entire UN system. As Afghan human rights activist Zubaida Akbar told the Security Council:

If you do not defend womens rights here, you have no credibility to do so anywhere else.

The Talibans brutal two years in power in Afghanistan have taught us that ordinary human rights initiatives, while important, are insufficient for addressing gender apartheid. The world needs resolute collective international action to end the war on women. Not in two months. Not in two years. But now.

Vrinda Narain, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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( Tomdispatch.com)  On July 24th, the Israeli Knesset passed a measure forbidding the countrys High Court of Justice from in any way checking the power of the government, whether in making cabinet decisions or appointments, based on whats known as the reasonability standard. In the Israeli context, this was an extreme act, since right-wing parliamentarians were defying massive crowds that had, for months on end, demonstrated with remarkable determination against such radical legislation. And that measure was only one part of a wide-ranging redesign of the court system unveiled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January, which deeply alarmed his critics.

As exemplified by prominent world historian Yuval Noah Harari, such protestors warned that limiting the functions of the highest court, in a land with a parliamentary system largely lacking other checks and balances, represented a big stride toward a future autocracy. After all, dangers abound in a nation with a one-chamber legislature, lacking the equivalent of a Senate, that elects the prime minister as the instrument of its will.

The central motivation for that legislation, however, lay not in domestic politics but in the desire of extremists in the cabinet to ensure that the courts wont be able to interfere with their plans to vastly increase the number of Israeli squatter-settlements on Palestinian land on the West Bank and perhaps someday soon simply annex that occupied territory. Under such circumstances, members of the far-right Religious Zionist Party were recently excoriated by Tamir Pardo, a former head of Israeli intelligence, as Israels Ku Klux Klan.

Reasonability, Fraud, and Occupation

The Israeli supreme court had invoked whats called the reasonableness doctrine, rooted in British common law, to strike down Netanyahus January appointment of Aryeh Makhlouf Deri as Minister of Health and the Interior in his ever more extreme cabinet. Deri, a Moroccan-Israeli, leads the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, largely comprised of Mizrahim, or Jews of Middle Eastern ancestry, like himself. Deri has often been in trouble with the law. He was, in fact, given a three-year jail sentence in 1999 for fraud and bribery. In 2022, he was facing a possible conviction for tax fraud by the High Court of Justice, which could have resulted in jail time and a seven-year ban on political activity. According to the justices of that court, Deri promised to retire from politics to avoid being sentenced, a vow on which he later reneged.

Netanyahu managed to keep Shas in his current coalition despite its loss of that important cabinet seat. Indeed, he still needs its support to stay in power. Over time, the Shas Party has swung far to the right on the Israeli political spectrum, while taking an ever-harder line in favor of expanding Jewish settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, which Israel seized in 1967. It is now inhabited by some three million stateless Palestinians whose land continues to be usurped. The Shas leadership has shifted to ever stronger support for Jewish settlements on the West Bank in large part because of the increasing proportion of Israeli squatters there who hail from the Haredim or Ultra-Orthodox religious tradition. They had already become about a third of all West Bank settlers by 2017.

In the Israeli system, the Ultra-Orthodox pay little in taxes, are subsidized to study the Bible, and are exempted from military service. Moreover, as a group, thanks to their tendency to have large families, they have grown to about 13% of the Israeli population. They place a substantial burden on the state, which, in recent years, has responded by giving them inexpensive housing on Palestinian land.

At the left-leaning +976 Magazine, journalist Ben Reiff recently pointed out that Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, a long-time factotum in Netanyahus Likud Party and a driving force behind the recent attack on the judiciary, justified his actions primarily in terms of the Palestine issue. He singled out High Court decisions that prevented the blackballing of individuals who supported the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel movement for the countrys apartheid-style policies toward the Palestinians or who backed refuseniks, Israeli soldiers who decline to serve as part of an occupation force in the Palestinian West Bank. Levin also complained bitterly about court rulings requiring that Palestinians be treated in accord with the Geneva Conventions. One conclusion from Reiffs reporting is that there will be ever more blackballing of critics of the occupation by the present government.

The High Court (Sometimes) Recognizes the Rights of Palestinians

Another step Netanyahu has said he would like to implement is to allow a simple majority in the Knesset to overrule any High Court rulings striking down legislation as inconsistent with the countrys basic laws on human rights, passed in the 1990s. Among the grievances of the particularly extremist Greater Israel faction in the cabinet is that courts dependence on international law in some of its rulings against Illegal settlements  those established by militant vigilantes on West Bank land owned by Palestinian families for centuries.

Over the years, the High Court has, in fact, ruled in favor of numerous settlements, while drawing on aspects of Ottoman, British, and international law to do so. Ottoman law, for instance, permitted the state to assume ownership of fallow land. On that basis, the court has, in the past, allowed the Israeli state to declare swathes of the Palestinian West Bank state land. It mattered little that an occupying state settling its citizens on such territory gravely breached the Geneva Convention IV and the 2002 Rome Statute that acts as a charter for the International Criminal Court.

In other words, all such settlements should be illegal. Palestinians often protest, to no avail, that land designated by authorities in Tel Aviv as ownerless and fallow is, in fact, private property and has even been recently cultivated. Once it officially becomes state land, however, the court has indeed permitted Israeli citizens to build on it, which is how most Israeli settlements on the West Bank came to be. The court considers such Jewish-only housing projects legal under Israeli law.

Article continues after bonus IC video

Al Jazeera English: Israeli protesters concerned freedoms could be limited

Although those settlements on the West Bank are often depicted as a volunteer and private activity, the Israeli government has long provided subsidies and other incentives to people moving into such remarkably low-rent settlements and continues to do so to this day. Because so many Ultra-Orthodox men, with their limited educations (and incomes), are unemployed, they are especially open to such obvious opportunities.

Although once upon a time many illegal Israeli settlements were swiftly dismantled by the Israeli army, some survived and began lobbying the government for recognition. In 2017, the Knesset took a radical step, passing a law that allowed the Israeli state to expropriate Palestinian land at will and used that power to legalize 16 previously illegal squatter-settlements. In 2020, the High Court shocked Knesset right-wingers by striking down that very law and explicitly stating that Israeli sovereignty simply didnt apply to West Bank Palestinians who were under occupation and must be treated in the context of international law on military occupations. The Court even cited Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees occupied persons respect for their dignity and family rights.

Sovereignty and Settlement

That ruling, with its explicit denial of Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Territories, proved a genuine shock to the political right and underlies its ongoing Knesset campaign to neuter the courts. Extremist Bezalel Smotrich, now both minister of finance and responsible for the Palestinian West Bank, was deeply angered by that High Court ruling. He insisted that the only acceptable response would be passing the bill allowing the Knesset to override the courts immediately. As it happens, his own home was built on private Palestinian land just outside the municipal limits of the legal settlement of Kedumim. The left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported in June 2020 that then-speaker of the Israeli parliament, Yariv Levin, lashed out, claiming the High Court had once again today trampled, as is its unacceptable tradition, Israeli democracy and the basic human rights of many Israeli citizens. As for Netanyahu, at the time he suggested that the problem of illegal settlements would best be resolved by a formal Israeli annexation of a large area of the Palestinian West Bank.

The way the High Court held that Israel has no sovereignty over the West Bank deeply offended the members of the extremist Religious Zionism bloc led by Smotrich, including its coalition partner, the Jewish Power Party led by extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir (who is now Israels minister of national security). Under the circumstances, you undoubtedly wont be surprised to learn that their platform for the November 2022 parliamentary election centered on sovereignty and settlement  that is, sovereignty over and settlement of the Palestinian West Bank. Indeed, they claimed that Palestinian agricultural and building projects in their own villages were expansionist and vowed to act quickly to curtail them.

Having joined Netanyahus ruling coalition since that election, they have now acquired substantial power to pursue the goal of halting Palestinian economic life. Smotrich even called for a Palestinian village to be wiped off the map of the West Bank. Though he later backpedaled under pressure, the lawless extremity he and a significant part of Netanyahus coalition today represent should be all too obvious.

Given that the High Court stands in the way of such lawlessness, despite its own frequent betrayal of Palestinian rights, the extremists are determined to gut it. Significant numbers of those who responded to the recent mass demonstrations against Netanyahus court decision with counterdemonstrations were bussed in from the squatter-settlements, many of them Haredim.

The Imperiled Rights of Women, LGBTQ+, and Minorities in Israel

Although the right wings primary motivation for eviscerating the authority of the courts had to do with the urge to take fuller control of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the changes already implemented and still contemplated by Prime Minister Netanyahu and crew have dire implications for all too many Israeli citizens as well. As a start, more than 20% of them are persons of Palestinian heritage. Think of them as Palestinian-Israelis (on the model of Italian-Americans), though they are called Arab Israelis in Hebrew. Some 60 laws and administrative decrees have already ensured that they remain second-class citizens. In 2018, in fact, the Knesset explicitly deprived them of sovereignty, reserving it for Jewish Israelis alone (while stripping Arabic of its previous designation as an official language).

Admittedly, on occasion, the High Court has ruled in favor of equal rights for Israelis of Palestinian heritage. It did, for instance, allow government funding of their religious communities and school administration. In most other instances, however, it repeatedly rebuffed their demands for equal treatment under the law, which helps explain why they have largely been absent from the enormous demonstrations that have shaken the country every week since January. Still, Palestinian-Israeli community activists are alarmed that the Knessets removal of court oversight when it comes to the reasonableness of administrative appointments could prove a carte blanche for far more active discrimination against Muslim and Christian Palestinian-Israelis.

Despite a distinct lack of concern for Palestinian rights, centrist and secular Jewish Israelis are in no doubt about the serious impact the Netanyahu governments gutting of the judiciary could have on their lives. That explains why a quarter of the country has participated in those huge, ongoing demonstrations and 58% of all Israelis want the government to stop trying to curtail the power of the courts.

Haaretz reports that women fear such power could lead the present right-wing government to put authority over alimony and child support in the hands of all-male rabbinical courts, block the government from signing onto the Istanbul Convention for the Prevention of Violence against Women, and increase gender segregation at beaches, parks, and the Wailing Wall. It might even move to reduce any commitment to their very presence on governmental bodies.

Similarly, LGBTQ+ Israelis, who had, through their activism, secured ever more rights in Israel since the repeal of the countrys sodomy laws in 1988, feared that their freedoms might be reversed by the most homophobic government in the countrys history. That self-described proud homophobe Bezalel Smotrich typically supports a law that would exempt religious people from being charged with discrimination if they decline to provide a service on the basis of their religious beliefs.

Corruption

Although the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and minorities are obviously on the line, another pressing concern for those protesting the limits being imposed on judicial authority is the growth of government corruption, which could have a striking impact on the countrys future. Netanyahu is already on trial for accepting bribes (a trial hes tried to legislate away). He also wanted to make the notoriously corrupt Aryeh Makhlouf Deri his deputy prime minister and may now proceed with that plan.

A Netanyahu government unconstrained by the courts could engage in favoritism in contracts, licenses, and legislation of all sorts. The fear of such things has led 28% percent of Israelis, including a surprising number of young married professionals, to admit that they are at least considering leaving the country. Many claim they fear that the government is going to take their money. Although 600,000 to a million Israelis are typically out of the country at any time, studying or working elsewhere, they usually do come home sooner or later. Now, however, relocation agencies report that such returns are plummeting. There has also been a 20% drop in immigration to Israel this year and that shortfall would undoubtedly be even more serious were it not for the Russian Jews fleeing their ever more unstable, war-embroiled country. Reuters reports that investors in the usually vibrant Israeli high-tech sector that accounts for about 14% of the countrys $500 billion gross domestic product are now keeping about 80% of their new start-ups abroad. Many tech companies have also moved both their bank accounts and some of their assets out of the country.

Meanwhile, the protests  with hundreds of thousands of people in the streets every Saturday evening  continue, with demonstrators experiencing increasing police brutality. Masked cops are arbitrarily beating them up and aiming water cannons at their heads, sometimes using skunk water  a putrid chemical that sticks to your clothing and skin  to disperse them.

Once upon a time, such tactics were honed to a kind of grim perfection to repress Palestinians on the West Bank. Now, the Israeli opposition is discovering that such brutalization of indigenous West Bank villagers has boomeranged and the government has begun to deal with them as it once did with stateless Palestinian demonstrators. Consider this the new Israeli reality: the 56-year-long brutal occupation of the Palestinian Territories has come home to roost and Israel is now occupying itself.

Copyright 2023 Juan Cole

Via Tomdispatch.com
August 11, 2023 - TheNewswire - Rockport, Canada - New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSXV:NAM); (OTC:NMTLF); (FSE:P7J) (NAM or the Company) is pleased to announce the filing of a new, positive National Instrument 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) Technical Report (the Report) on SEDAR for its 100%-owned River Valley Palladium Project, 60 km east-northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The results of the PEA were previously announced in a Company press release dated June 29, 2023. This is NAMs second PEA completed on River Valley (see Company press release dated June 27, 2019). The effective date of this new Report is June 29, 2023.

New PEA Highlights

Pre-Tax NPV(5%): $296M; After-Tax: $140M

Pre-Tax IRR: 16%; After-tax IRR: 11%

Annual Production: 2.5 Mt of potential process plant feed at an average grade of 1.19 g/t PdEq and process recovery of 71.5%, resulting in an average annual payable Pd production of 47,400 oz.

Total Tonnes Processed over Life of Mine: 38.6 Mt/16 years

Pre-production Capital Requirement: $269M

Average Unit Operating Cost: $30.98/t

Assumed US$ Metal Prices: $2,150/oz Pd, $1,050/oz Pt, $1,830/oz Au, $4.00/lb Cu

River Valley Process Plant Feed: Treated in an on-site conventional sulphide flotation plant to produce a saleable PGM-enriched Cu concentrate for transport off-site for smelting and refining

Project Enhancement Opportunities: Increased metal recoveries and expanded Mineral Resources

Harry Barr, NAM Chairman & CEO, stated: We are pleased to file the Report for the River Valley 2023 PEA, which shows positive results with an after-tax NPV(5%) of $140 M CAD and IRR of 11% and 16 years of palladium, platinum and copper production. Compared to the 2019 PEA, this new PEA is based on a much smaller, higher-grade operation with markedly lower CAPEX, expanded underground mining and reduced open pit mining, and significantly smaller environmental impact. These encouraging results are based on the 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate, produced in accordance with current CIM standards and guidelines, to provide feed to an on-site 2.5 Mtpa process plant. The next steps in Project development include testing of promising new technologies for improved platinum metal recoveries and targeting areas for drilling to convert Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources, expanding current Mineral Resources, and the discovery and delineation of new mineralized zones, all for incorporation into future, more advanced economic studies.

PEA Summary*

The site plan layout for the new River Valley PEA is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. New PEA site layout plan for the River Valley Palladium Project.



Five open pits and two underground portals that have been used in the engineering design of the Project, the proposed process plant site, low-grade stockpile, waste rock storage facilities, tailings storage facility, and site infrastructure are shown in Figure 1. The Project as represented in Figure 1 has an area of approximately 40 km2, which reflects a major reduction and increased focus from the 130 km2 site plan area in the 2019 PEA.

The parameters of the PEA are summarized in Table 1. PEA operating costs and capital costs are presented in Tables 2 and 3.

Table 1. PEA Summary Parameters

Assumptions Palladium Price (Base case) US$/oz 2,150 Exchange Rate US$:CDN$ 1.35 Production Profile Total Tonnes Processed (M) 38.6 Process Plant Head Grade PdEq g/t 1.19 Mine Life (years) 16 Daily process plant throughput (tpd) 6,850 Palladium Process Plant Recovery (%) 71.5 Total Payable Palladium Equivalent Ounces (k) 735 Average annual Palladium Production Ounces (k) 47.4 Operating Costs ($ per tonne processed) Unit Average LOM Operating Costs 30.98 Open Pit Mining Costs 12.63 Underground Mining Costs 60.61 Processing Costs 12.69 G&A 2.01 LOM Average Cash Cost US$/oz Pd 1,241 Capital Requirements Pre-Production Capital Cost ($ M) 268.7 Sustaining Capital Cost (Life of Mine) ($ M) 163.0 Project Economics Royalties (%) 3 Royalty Payable After $2M Buy Down to 1% ($ M) 25 Taxes (M $) 258 Pre-Tax Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flow ($ M) 609 NPV (5% Discount Rate) ($ M) 296 IRR (%) 16.1 Payback (years) 6.1 After-Tax Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flow ($ M) 352 NPV (5% Discount Rate) ($ M) 140 IRR (%) 11.3 Payback (years) 6.9

Table 2. Operating Cost Summary

Operating Cost Unit LoM Open Pit Mining Cost $/t mined 2.95 Open Pit Mining Cost $/t processed 12.63 Underground Mining Cost $/t processed 60.61 Process Cost $/t processed 12.69 G&A $/t processed 2.01 Unit LoM Average Operating $/t processed 30.98

Table 3. Capital Cost Summary

Development Capital Initial (Y-2, Y-1) ($ M) Sustaining ($ M) Total LOM ($ M) Open Pit Development and Equipment 37.0 59.4 96.4 Process Plant 119.2 119.2 On-Site Infrastructure 17.4 17.4 Electrical Powerline 30.0 30.0 Tailings Management Facility 17.0 27.0 44.0 Owner's Costs 10.0 10.0 Underground Mine Development 37.1 37.1 Reclamation Bond and Closure 16.3 16.3 Contingency 29.9 18.1 48.0 Total Capital 268.7 163 431.7

*This PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-01) Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects. It was prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. with D.E.N.M. Engineering Ltd., Knight Piesold Ltd. and Story Environmental. Readers are cautioned that the PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic variability.

Next Steps

At least two major opportunities to increase the value of the River Valley Palladium Project are:

1) improved metal recoveries; and

2) increased Mineral Resources

1) Improved Metal Recoveries

Hydrometallurgical Options. The main focus of this PEA from a processing standpoint is conventional milling and flotation with upgrading of the resultant copper concentrate to a marketable product. The final concentrate (copper and PGMs) would be shipped to specific smelters to treat the River Valley product as a part of the revenue stream.

As an alternative to shipping to smelters, pressure leaching and metal precipitation options to recover platinum group metals (PGMs), gold and base metals will be investigated. Several PGM deposits worldwide are currently being subject to hydrometallurgical testing, as a potentially economic alternative to base metal smelters.

Alternative Flotation Applications. Conventional flotation of the River Valley material has thus far been unable to produce a high-grade marketable smelter concentrate for maximum net smelter returns.

The expected concentrate grades based on the recent testing at SGS Lakefield were detailed in New Age Metals press release dated August 9, 2022.

Preliminary scoping work has been completed on the River Valley material utilizing two flotation alternatives to produce a higher-grade rougher concentrate and also possible increases in PGM recoveries. The two technologies being investigated are the Woodgrove flotation and the Glencore (Jameson) cell techniques.

Rhodium Recovery & Marketability. Additional work in this area would be beneficial for the Project,

due to the relatively high metal price of rhodium. The testwork recently completed showed the ability to recover rhodium in the final concentrate, albeit not at a saleable threshold grade for the smelters. Review of the rhodium mineralogy and process alternatives is recommended.

An initial proof-of-concept PLATSOLTM test program is under development with SGS Canada Inc. for completion in Q4 of 2023.

2) Increased Mineral Resources

The distribution of the current Mineral Resources at River Valley is shown in Figure 2.

Major infill, expansion and exploration drill programs are planned at River Valley to: 1) convert Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources at the Lismer and Varley Zones; 2) expand current Mineral Resources at depth and along strike at the Dana South, Banshee, Lismer Ridge, Varley and Azen Zones; and 3) test targets and delineate mineralized zones that show potential for inclusion in future Mineral Resource modelling, particularly in the footwall to the River Valley Intrusion, as guided by the results of surface and downhole geophysical surveys and 3-D geological modelling.

The drilling programs are slated to commence in H2 2023, subject to financing.

Figure 2. Distribution of pit constrained Mineral Resources at $15/t NSR cut-off. The priority mineralized zones for infill, expansion and exploration drilling are labelled red, which are open to expansion by drilling at depth and, in places, along strike. Note that the Pine Zone is not exposed at surface. M&I = Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, Ind = Indicated Mineral Resources, and Inf = Inferred Mineral Resources.

About the River Valley Project

The River Valley Palladium Project is located 100 road-km east-northeast from the City of Sudbury.

The Project area is linked to Sudbury by a network of all-weather highways, roads and rail beds and is accessible year-round with hydro grid and natural gas power nearby. River Valley enjoys the strong support of local communities, like the Village of River Valley, 20 km to the south. Fully executed Memorandum of Understandings are in place with the Temagami First Nation and the Nipissing First Nation groups, since 2014 and 2022, respectively. Environmental baseline studies re-commenced in 2020 are planned to continue through 2023.

About NAM

New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration and development of green metal projects in North America. The Company has two divisions; a Platinum Group Element division and a Lithium/Rare Element division.

The PGE Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project, one of North Americas largest undeveloped Platinum Group Element Projects, situated 100 km by road east-northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner to advance its River Valley Palladium Project.

In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska, and plans to complete a surface mapping and sampling program in 2022. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

The Companys Lithium Division is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Company is exploring for hard rock lithium and various rare elements, such as tantalum, rubidium, and cesium. The Company has announced its preliminary $2 million 2023-2024 exploration budget that will cover the first 4 months of the program. A larger budget has been submitted to our partner Mineral Resources Limited and we expect it to be approved this summer. Further Exploration plans for 2023 include geophysical surveying, summer field work (which will include mapping, lithogeochemistry, MMI soil geochemistry, biogeochemistry, channel sampling), and permits/ archaeological surveys. The Company has a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL, ASX: MIN), a top global lithium producer to explore and develop the Companys lithium project portfolio in Southern Manitoba. Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective of optioning our projects with major and junior mining companies through to production. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for our newly acquired Northman, McLaughlin Lake, and South Bay Lithium Projects in northern Manitoba, and its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.

Investors are invited to visit the New Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can review the company and its corporate activities. Any questions or comments can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Harry Barr at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Faraz Rasheed at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613 659 2773.

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This PEA was prepared under the supervision of Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. The metallurgical testwork, process plant design and cost estimates were prepared by David Salari, P.Eng. of D.E.N.M Engineering Ltd. The tailings facility and water management were prepared by Jessica Breault, P.Eng., the rock mechanics design input was prepared by were prepared by Ben Peacock, P.Eng. of Knight Piesold Ltd. The Environmental, Community and ESG write-up was prepared by Maria Story, P.Eng., of Story Environmental Inc. Mr. Puritch reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. William Stone, P.Geo., Lead Geoscience Consultant for New Age Metals, is the Company Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Harry Barr

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as continue, efforts, expect, believe, anticipate, confident, intend, strategy, plan, will, estimate, project, goal, target, prospects, optimistic or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Companys ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIREWEED METALS CORP. (Fireweed or the Company) (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; formerly Fireweed Zinc Ltd.) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the Offering) for gross proceeds of up to CAD$16,800,000.

Highlights

The Offering is being made available to key existing shareholders with lead orders from the Lundin Family, Larry Childress, and others.

The price of the Offering will be $1.92 per share, a significant premium to the current market price limiting dilution. There is no intention to upsize the Offering.

The Lundin Family, through their Trusts, have indicated their intention of subscribing to any amount of the Offering that remains unallocated; This participation retains them collectively as Fireweeds largest shareholder.

The Offering will provide Fireweed with capital to significantly expand the large 2023 drill program on the Companys projects and lay the groundwork for an even larger 2024.

CEO Statement

Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated Our 2023 drill program is well underway and ahead of schedule. With expanded and winterized capacity in place at our Macmillan Pass camp, and five drills on site, we are seizing the opportunity to expand our program by as much as 50% or more. This will not only mean a substantial increase in drill results, but also result in improved data to support future resource updates and economic studies. It is a huge vote of confidence in our Geology and Operations teams that our key shareholders will back them to expand an already large program.

The Offering

The Offering consists of 8,750,000 flow-through common shares of the Company at a price of CAD$1.92 per share through a charitable donation arrangement (Premium Flow-through Shares). The proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development of the Companys projects in northern Canada. The gross proceeds from the issuance of all Premium Flow-through Shares will be used on the Companys projects to incur Canadian Exploration Expenses (CEE) which will qualify as flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures under the Income Tax Act (Canada). These expenses will be renounced by the Company to the purchasers of Premium Flow-through Shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2023 in an aggregate amount no less than the proceeds raised under the Offering.

The issuance of any Common Shares to insiders will constitute a related party transaction, as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (MI 61-101). Such participation will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the securities acquired by the insiders, nor the consideration for the securities paid by such insiders, will exceed 25% of the Companys market capitalization.

Closing of the Offering is subject to certain customary conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day following the date of closing.

About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE:20F): Fireweed is a public mineral exploration company on the leading edge of Critical Minerals project development. Fireweed is well-funded, with a healthy working capital position, and is well-positioned to carry out the large 2023 exploration program. The Company has three projects located in Canada:

Macmillan Pass Project (Zinc-Lead-Silver): Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km Macmillan Pass project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world** where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential.

Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km Macmillan Pass project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world** where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential. Mactung Project (Tungsten): The Company owns 100% interest in the 37.6 km Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macmillan Pass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO 3 and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO) make it the worlds largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*.

The Company owns 100% interest in the 37.6 km Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macmillan Pass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO) make it the worlds largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*. Gayna River Project (Zinc-Lead-Gallium-Germanium): Fireweed owns 100% of the 128.75 km Gayna River project located 180 km north of the Macmillan Pass project. It is host to extensive mineralization including Critical Minerals zinc, gallium and germanium as well as lead and silver, outlined by 28,000 m of historical drilling and significant upside potential.

In Canada, Fireweed (TSXV: FWZ) trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. In the USA, Fireweed (OTCQB: FWEDF) trades on the OTCQB Venture Market (www.otcmarkets.com) and is DTC eligible for enhanced electronic clearing and settlement. In Europe, Fireweed (FSE: 20F) trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Fireweeds VP Geology, Dr. Jack Milton, P.Geo. (BC), a Qualified Person as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Companys website at FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedarplus.ca.

ON BEHALF OF FIREWEED METALS CORP.

Brandon Macdonald

CEO & Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements

Offering Disclosure Statements

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Companys securities in the United States. The Companys shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (forward-looking statements). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to interpretation of the terms of the Offering, the participation of certain existing shareholders, future work plans, the use of funds, and the potential of the Companys projects, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects, "anticipates, "believes, "intends, "estimates, "potential, "possible, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will, "may, "could, or "should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include but are not limited to, exploration and development risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Companys operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and laboratory tests, and one-time events. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete the Offering on the terms set out above, or at all. The Company assumes no obligation to update forwardlooking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law.

Footnotes and References

* References to relative size and grade of the Mactung resources and Macmillan Pass resources in comparison to other tungsten and zinc deposits elsewhere in the world, respectively, are based on review of the Standard & Poors Global Market Intelligence Capital IQ database.

: For details see Fireweeds Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Macmillan Pass Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, Watson Lake and Mayo Mining Districts Yukon Territory, Canada filed on www.sedarplus.ca on February 23, 2018, and Fireweeds News Release dated January 10th, 2018.

: For details see Fireweed Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report Macmillan Pass Project Yukon Territory Canada filed on www.sedarplus.ca on July 9, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated May 23, 2018. This Technical Report includes a Preliminary Economic Analysis disclosing an economic analysis of mineral resources that is preliminary in nature and does not include any mineral reserves. It is equally emphasized that the mineral resources disclosed within this Technical Report are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

: For details see Fireweed news release dated June 13, 2023 Fireweed Metals Announces Mineral Resources for the Mactung Project: the Largest High-Grade Tungsten Deposit in the World and the technical report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mactung Project, Yukon Territory, Canada, with effective date July 28, 2023 filed on www.sedarplus.ca.

Contact:

Brandon Macdonald

Phone: (604) 646-8361

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Metallica Resources Corp. (TSXV: WMS) (Western Metallica or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Consolidated Copper Corp. (Consolidated Copper) (the Acquisition) pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated August 10, 2023 (the Agreement). Consolidated Copper holds options to acquire 100% of the Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects, two highly prospective copper-molybdenum porphyry projects located in Northern Peru.

Highlights:

Complementary Portfolio of Assets: The Acquisition of Consolidated Copper marks a strategic option for Western Metallica, expanding its horizons beyond Spain and positioning the Company as a copper-focused mineral exploration firm.

The Acquisition of Consolidated Copper marks a strategic option for Western Metallica, expanding its horizons beyond Spain and positioning the Company as a copper-focused mineral exploration firm. Attractive Mining Jurisdiction: By acquiring 100% of the Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects, both located in Northern Peru, Western Metallica gains access to a region known for its rich mineral potential. Peru is a mining-friendly jurisdiction, which, coupled with its status as the second-largest copper producer globally, makes it an attractive destination for mining investment. The presence of major players like Rio Tinto, First Quantum and Hudbay Minerals in the vicinity of Cana Brava and Turmalina further reinforces the potential of these projects.

By acquiring 100% of the Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects, both located in Northern Peru, Western Metallica gains access to a region known for its rich mineral potential. Peru is a mining-friendly jurisdiction, which, coupled with its status as the second-largest copper producer globally, makes it an attractive destination for mining investment. The presence of major players like Rio Tinto, First Quantum and Hudbay Minerals in the vicinity of Cana Brava and Turmalina further reinforces the potential of these projects. Favourable Market Conditions: Western Metallicas timely acquisition aligns with an expected period of increasing strength in the copper market, making it an opportune moment to secure these prospective assets. With the increasing demand for copper as a crucial resource in the global energy transition, Western Metallicas move positions the company favorably to cater to the growing market needs.

Western Metallicas timely acquisition aligns with an expected period of increasing strength in the copper market, making it an opportune moment to secure these prospective assets. With the increasing demand for copper as a crucial resource in the global energy transition, Western Metallicas move positions the company favorably to cater to the growing market needs. Untapped Exploration Potential: The Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects lie within a copper-porphyry region that has seen notable exploration and production success. However, the central and northern portions of the belt remain significantly under-explored, presenting a region of compelling interest for future discoveries. Western Metallicas expertise in exploration and development puts the Company in a prime position to unlock the untapped potential of these projects.

Gregory Duras, CEO and Director of Western Metallica Resources commented, Western Metallica is excited to enter into this Transaction to acquire Consolidated Copper, which we believe complements our existing portfolio by adding a new package of highly prospective assets in a region that is attractive for investment. Both projects lie on a copper-porphyry belt that has seen notable exploration and production success, but with much of the central and northern portions of the belt remaining significantly under-explored and, therefore, a region of compelling interest. Given the strength of the Companys balance sheet and the current positive market dynamics for copper, this is an opportune time for the Company to make this strategic acquisition.

Terms of the Share Purchase Agreement

Pursuant to the Agreement, Western Metallica has agreed to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Consolidated Copper in exchange for an aggregate consideration of (i) 20,000,000 common shares of the Company (the Common Shares) and (ii) 5,000,000 common share purchase warrants of the Company (the Warrant), with each Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.10 until the earlier of: (i) the date that is one (1) year from the date of issuance, and (ii) within twenty (20) days of the Company providing such holder with written notice accelerating the Warrant expiry date, provided that that the daily volume weighted average price (or closing bid price on days when there are no trades) of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) is at least $0.15 for a minimum of twenty (20) consecutive trading days prior to such written notice from the Company being provided.

The Acquisition was an Arms Length Transaction, as such term is defined in the policies of the Exchange, and no finders fees are payable in connection with the Acquisition. The Acquisition was completed as an expedited transaction pursuant to Exchange Policy 5.3 - Acquisitions and Dispositions of Non-Cash Assets and remains subject to final acceptance of the Exchange.

A copy of the Agreement will be filed under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com.

Cana Brava Project

Cana Brava is a highly prospective 5,100-hectare copper-molybdenum project, located in the La Libertad Department of northern coastal Peru, only 35 kilometers inland from the Peruvian coast. The Project is located at an elevation of 1,500 metres in the western Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes. The Project contains at least three partially eroded porphyry centers and there is potential at Cana Brava for a cluster of medium-sized porphyry copper-molybdenum systems of above average grade. At the westernmost (El Sausal) porphyry center, concentrically arranged propylitic, phyllic and potassic alteration have been mapped over an area of at least 800 metres x 600 metres, with visible copper and molybdenum mineralization associated with stockwork-style quartz veining present in the topographically lowest parts. The existence of a well-developed supergene enrichment profile at El Sausal is encouraging and suggests possible enrichment of copper grades near surface. Apart from first pass mapping work, the project has never been explored by systematic modern exploration and no drilling has ever been executed to test the porphyry centres. The proximity to the coast and potential port is a positive factor for future development and economic considerations.

Turmalina Project

The 2,600-hectare Turmalina Project is a highly prospective copper-molybdenum breccia-hosted system located in the Piura region of northern coastal Peru, approximately 170 kilometers by road from the Pan-American coastal highway to the west. The Project is located at an elevation of 2,600 metres in the western Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes. The existence of widespread (kilometer-scale) porphyry-style phyllic alteration, sulfidic veining and numerous small quartz-tourmaline breccia pipes suggests potential exists for a very large porphyry copper-molybdenum system at depth under the breccia systems. In addition, the Project contains a historic, high-grade copper-molybdenum-producing mine in one of these breccia pipes; historical development was from within a cylindrical, semi-vertical breccia pipe about 200 metres in diameter, over at least 400 metres of vertical extent. Ore grades were verified in eight production levels, exploiting high-grade copper-molybdenum arranged around the borders of the breccia pipe. The Company believes that there is a high chance for discovery of further productive high-grade, copper-molybdenum breccia pipes. Apart from the limited historical production from the breccia pipe, the Project has never been explored by systematic modern surface exploration and no drilling has ever been executed to test the porphyry concept.

About Consolidated Copper Corp.

Consolidated Copper Corp. is a private Canadian-based firm with mineral claims, rights and interests in two copper-molybdenum porphyry prospective projects located in Peru; Cana Brava and Turmalina. The projects lie on the Upper Cretaceous and Miocene Cu-Mo porphyry belt respectively, occurrences that extend for at least 900 kilometers along the Western Cordillera and the adjacent high plateaus province, defined by a large number of hydrothermal mineral deposits of different types. The Cana Brava Project is a copper-molybdenum property located in La Libertad Province, comprised of a total of six exploration concessions across 3,900 hectares, plus newly staked extensions of two exploration concessions for 1,200 hectares. The Turmalina Project is a copper-molybdenum past-producing mine which underwent limited production, located in the Piura Province, comprised of six exploration concessions across 2,033 hectares, plus a newly staked extension of a new exploration concession for 600 hectares.

Scheduled Investor Update Call

Western Metallicas Chief Executive Officer and Director, Gregory Duras, and Vice President Exploration, Giovanni Funaioli, will discuss the Companys key initiatives and expectations for Y2023-2024, including prospective exploration and drill programs, and will respond to shareholder and investor questions during a scheduled update call, on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time.

The participants may use the below information to join the call, accessible via the Zoom platform, by video conferencing and by dial-in:

Please click the link below to join the video call:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82088890032?pwd=c2JHTGxrS0NYZDBQdXB0Yk16UXpkQT09

Or join via telephone:

+1 438 809 7799 Canada

+1 587 328 1099 Canada

+1 647 374 4685 Canada

+1 689 278 1000 US

+1 929 205 6099 US

+34 84 368 5025 Spain

+44 208 080 6592 United Kingdom

+49 69 3807 9883 Germany

Webinar ID: 820 8889 0032



Passcode: 888888

Other international numbers available: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kCpxQ9j5w

Qualified Persons

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Giovanni Funaioli, Eur.Geol., Vice President Exploration of Western Metallica, who is a Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Giovanni Funaioli is an employee of the Company and is not considered independent under NI 43-101.

The technical information relating to the Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects is historical in nature and has not been independently verified by the Company.

About Western Metallica Resources Corp.

Western Metallica is an Ontario company with its head office in Toronto, Ontario, trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol WMS. Western Metallica is in the business of mineral resource exploration and development, its principal assets are its 100% owned Nueva Celti Copper Property in the Ossa Morena belt in Andalusia, Spain, and three other Spanish gold projects in the Navelgas Gold Belt in Asturias, Spain (Penedela, Valledor and Sierra Alta).

Further information of the Company can be found at: www.westernmetallica.com

For more information please contact:

Western Metallica Resources Corp.

Gregory Duras

Chief Executive Officer

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Investor Relations

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-statements. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the planned drill program and the development of the Companys projects and other mining projects and prospects thereof, the final acceptance of the Acquisition by the Exchange; global demand for copper; and the potential and economic viability of the Cana Brava and Turmalina Projects. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thunderbird Minerals Corp. (TSXV: BIRD) (Thunderbird or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a mineral lease and option agreement dated July 24, 2023 with Bull Mountain Resources, LLC (BMR), for the Apache property, California (the Apache Project), whereby Thunderbird has been granted the exploration and development rights for the Apache Project for a minimum of 50 years as long as preproduction payments are maintained and then for an indefinite period of time thereafter as long as mining operations are continued.

California ranks as one of the premier gold districts, with historic production of approximately 140 million ounces of gold from lode and placer sources (Knopf 1929; Clark 1992, Bohlke 1999, Walker 2001). The Apache Project is located in the mineral-rich Mojave Desert region of Southern California (Figure 1). The southern California desert is host to multiple active mines, including: Equinox Golds Castle Mountain and Mesquite mines, Rio Tintos Boron Mine complex, and Golden Queen Minings Soledad Mountain Project. In addition, Apollo Gold and Silver owns the Calico silver-barite project, which hosts one of the largest undeveloped silver deposits in the western US (Figure 2). Kern County, where the Apache Project is located, has a long history of supporting responsible resource development.

The Apache Project consists of 152 unpatented lode mining claims (approximately 1,200 hectares) surrounded by numerous historic and active small placer gold mining pits and digs. The Apache property shows no evidence of historic drilling and overlies only a few hardrock prospect pits, shafts, and tunnels. Mineralization within the Apache property is primarily hosted in Paleozoic calcareous sediments and meta-sediments within a structural corridor that has strong similarities to other districts in the Sierra Foothills Metamorphic (California) and Walker Lane (Nevada) mineral belts.

The claims overlay a 3.0 km x 1.2 km alteration footprint with significant quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP), silicification and argillization of the meta-sediments and intrusive host rocks. Rock chip sampling revealed widespread gold (Au) and copper (Cu) anomalies with grades up to 7.46 g/t Au and 4.34% Cu (see Figure 3, 4 and 5). Sulfide minerals, however, have typically been leached from surface exposures. This target is interpreted to be the high-level exposure of an extensive Cu-Au porphyry system further defined by geophysical magnetic and electro-magnetic (EM) anomalies consistent with porphyry systems. Additionally, there are several outlying target zones also marked by magnetic, gravity and EM anomalies with similar characteristics to other oxide-gold and Cu-Au porphyry systems in the region.

John Newell, President and CEO of Thunderbird, states: The management of Thunderbird Minerals is thrilled to have the opportunity to advance the year-round Apache Project in Kern County, California. The Apache Project was discovered by Mr. Perry Durning and Mr. Bud Hillemeyer, the principals of BMR, both having a wealth of experience in mineral exploration. They are excellent grassroots explorationists renowned for mineral discoveries, and mine and project development. The geological team at Thunderbird looks forward to the prospect of adding another potential deposit to the pairs impressive list of discoveries.

About Bull Mountain Resources

Bull Mountain Resources, whose principals are Perry Durning, Frank (Bud) Hillemeyer, and Nick Hillemeyer, was formed in 2020. Durning and Hillemeyer, who originally operated under La Cuesta International, Inc. (LCI), received the PDAC Thayer Lindsley International Mineral Discoveries Award in 2010 jointly, in recognition of their outstanding record of grassroots discoveries in Mexico. The coveted Thayer Lindsley International Mineral Discoveries Award is presented annually by the PDAC in memory of Thayer Lindsley, one of the Canadas greatest mine-finders. Additionally, Perry Durning and Frank Hillemeyer discovered the Los Gatos silver-base-metal deposit after receiving the Thayer Lindsley Award. In total, Durning and Hillemeyer have discovered over 820 million ounces of silver, 14.3 million ounces of gold and nearly 9 billion pounds of copper, lead, and zinc (Total past production and all resource categories for deposits attributed to their discoveries).

Apache Project Highlights

The Apache Project is located at the intersection of major northwest and northeast trending fault systems that have likely concentrated magmatic activity in the area. These structures typically act as conduits for mineralized fluids. The property has strong potential to host economic low- and high-sulphidation gold systems and Cu-Au porphyry systems.





Two targets have been delineated on the property to date. The Apache target is a high-level porphyry target with multiple intrusive stocks with a strong gold-copper association. The Garlock target is an exposed porphyry copper stock with significant skarn alteration within host meta-sedimentary rocks. Over 500 rock chip samples have been collected on the property to help define specific target areas.





Anomalous gold and copper assays in the Apache target vicinity occur within a 3.0 x 1.2 km area with grades up to 7.46 g/t Au and 4.63% Cu (Figure 3).





Anomalous gold and copper assays in the Garlock target area extend over a 1.2 x 0.75 km area with grades up to 4.63 g/t Au and 7.82% Cu (Figures 6 and 7).





Multiple drainages were tested by stream silt sampling. Of 45 drainages sampled, 28 returned values of 20 ppb Au or higher, and 8 returned values greater than 100 ppb Au with a high of 1,085 ppb Au (1.085 g/t Au). Not all anomalies have been followed-up by ground-based exploration.





No verified historical drilling has been recorded; therefore, geochemical and geophysical anomalies remain untested.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the mineral lease and option agreement, Thunderbird has the rights to the Apache Project for exploration and mining for a minimum of 50 years provided it continues to make the following preproduction payments:

US$28,000 upon signing of the agreement (the Effective Date).

US$10,000 6-months after the Effective Date;

US$10,000 12-months after the Effective Date;

US$15,000 18-months after the Effective Date;

US$15,000 24-months after the Effective Date;

US$20,000 30-months after the Effective Date and every 6 months thereafter.

Thunderbird is also obligated to fulfill the following minimum work commitments (comprised of exploration, development or mining expenditures) on the Apache Project as follows:

$50,000 in Year 1;

$50,000 in Year 2;

$50,000 in Year 3;

$100,000 in Year 4 and every year thereafter.

On achievement of production on the Apache Project, a production royalty of 2% of net smelter returns is payable on claims owned by BMR and newly located claims by Thunderbird within the area of interest. Also, 0.5% of net smelter returns is payable on third party claims and claims acquired from third parties within the area of influence, provided that a minimum production royalty of US$20,000 is payable quarterly. On payment to BMR of US$10,000,000 in any combination of pre-production payments, production royalties and minimum royalties, the production royalty on claims owned by BMR reduces to 1%, and on third-party claims and claims acquired from third parties within the area of influence, the royalty reduces to 0.25%.

Figure 1: Location of the Apache Project with regard to regional geology. Sierra Nevada Metamorphic Belt rocks, which underlie the project area, were intruded by the younger Sierra Nevada Batholith. Figure is modified after Irwin, 1999.

Figure 2: The Apache Project location is within the mineral-rich Mojave Desert region of Southern California.

Figure 3: Several exposure levels of the porphyry system are interpreted across the ~3 km trend of alteration and mineralization at the Apache Target.

Figure 4: Photo of the NW zone of elevated Cu-Au values in close proximity to mapped altered dikes.

Figure 5: Photo of the southeast zone of elevated Au values that are potentially outlining a higher-level exposure of a porphyry system.

Figure 6: The Garlock target overlies a USGS mapped granodiorite porphyry that is closely associated with significant copper and gold mineralization.

Figure 7: Rock sample examples from the Garlock Target. Note: unidirectional solidification textures (UST).

About Thunderbird Minerals Corp.

Thunderbird is a junior grassroots explorer focused on the discovery of new precious metal and copper projects through systematic exploration of metal-endowed terranes located in Tier-one mining jurisdictions in North America. Thunderbirds focus is on development of its portfolio of projects to the mineral resource stage. Thunderbirds projects include its flagship Bullseye property in the Wels District of the Yukon Territory. Thunderbirds other properties include the Eagle Mountain gold property in the Cassiar Gold District in northern British Columbia, the Argo copper and gold property near Quesnel B.C., and the Apache copper and gold property in Kern County, California. Thunderbird continues to look for attractive properties throughout North America to add to its early-stage project pipeline.

More information can be found at the Companys website at www.thunderbirdminerals.ca

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

John Newell, President and Chief Executive Officer

Carl Schulze, P. Geo., Consulting Geologist with Aurora Geosciences Ltd, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for Thunderbirds exploration projects and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.

For new information about the Company's programs, please visit Thunderbird's website at www.thunderbirdminerals.ca or contact John Newell by telephone (604) 568-8807 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or john.newell@thunderbirdminerals.ca.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking information). Without limiting the foregoing, such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the process and completion of the Offering, the use of proceeds of the Offering and any statements regarding the Companys business plans, expectations and objectives. In this news release, words such as may, would, could, will, likely, believe, expect, anticipate, intend, plan, estimate and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or the Company managements good faith belief with respect to future events and is subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. The forward-looking information set forth herein reflects the Companys expectations as at the date of this news release and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
MONTREAL, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSX: AYA) (OTCQX: AYASF) ("Aya" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce interim financial and operational results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. All amounts are in thousands of US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Q2-2023 Highlights

Operational and Financial

Strong operational performance: Silver production of 526,703 ounces ("oz") in Q2-2023, a 15% increase from Q2-2022 Recoveries averaged 87.3% in Q2-2023, compared to 87.9% in Q2-2022 Ore processed increased to 72,190 tonnes ("t") in Q2-2023 compared to 59,995t in Q2-2022

Revenue of $9.6 million in Q2-2023, a 12% increase from Q2-2022

in Q2-2023, a 12% increase from Q2-2022 Cash cost of $10.98 per oz in Q2-2023 compared to $10.95 per oz in Q2-2022 (  )

per oz in Q2-2023 compared to per oz in Q2-2022  Operating cash flow of $3.7 million in Q2-2023, a 234% increase compared to Q2-2022

in Q2-2023, a 234% increase compared to Q2-2022 Robust financial position with $52 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (  ) compared to $42 million at December 31, 2022

of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  compared to at Settled dispute with previous CEO and related Net-Profit Interest ("NPI") agreement, resulting in the dissolution of the NPI

Exploration and Development:

Completed 12,424 meters ("m") of drilling at Zgounder in Q2-2023

Conducted 4,634m of diamond drill hole ("DDH") drilling on Zgounder Regional properties in Q2-2023: Preliminary results returned anomalous zinc ("Zn") and copper ("Cu") values including silver ("Ag") intercepts

of diamond drill hole ("DDH") drilling on Zgounder Regional properties in Q2-2023: Completed 18.7 kilometers ("km") of the 36km DDH program at Boumadine in Q2-2023: Extended the strike 400m to 3.8km, which remains open in all directions Mapping identified a new at-surface northwest zone that extends over 1.5km

Acquired Tirzzit historical copper mine property, which is 67.7km, and rights for $4.7 million

Zgounder Expansion:

Advanced Zgounder Mine expansion in Q2-2023: Overall project 45% complete and tracking on budget Underground development on track, with 65% of lateral and 42% of vertical development completed Completed detailed engineering, ball mill and crushing equipment on schedule Mobilised open-pit contractor, commenced in-pit stripping and produced first ore Continued construction of the new tailings and water storage facilities on schedule



(1) The Corporation reports non-GAAP measures, which include cash costs per silver ounce and free cash flow, which are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning and the methods used by the Corporation to calculate such measures may differ from methods used by other companies with similar descriptions. See "Non-GAAP Measures" on page 15 of the Corporation's Q2-2023 MD&A for a reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures. (2) Non-GAAP Measures, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $49,568,497 and restricted cash of $2,540,987.



Long-term Sustainability of Zgounder Operations:

Continued construction of the 90km power line to connect Zgounder to renewable grid power

Provided over 3,040 hours of health & safety training

Completed emergency response station and took delivery of mine rescue vehicle and equipment

"Continuing our strong start to the year, Zgounder delivered another exceptional quarter with strong financials and solid execution. We benefited from above-capacity milling rates and higher silver prices, which drove strong cash flow and silver production of 526,703 ounces as well as lower cash costs," said Benoit La Salle, President and CEO. "We continue to execute on our Zgounder expansion, which is 45% complete and on budget, and are well-positioned to achieve our full-year production and cost guidance.

In July, we published our 2022 Sustainability Report highlighting how we have accelerated integration of ESG and climate change across Aya. We have aligned our operations with the recommendations of the TCFD and tied executive compensation with strategic objectives linked to key ESG performance indicators.

Our exploration success and resource growth continued in the quarter with the strike extension to the south and the discovery of a northwest zone at Boumadine. We also acquired the historical Tirzzit copper mine, which adds seven prospective copper-silver permits near Zgounder. In the near-term, we are adding drill rigs at Zgounder and Boumadine and mobilizing at Tirzzit and expect to further extend the Boumadine Main Trend, which will translate into additional resources in Q1-2024."

Q2-2023 Operational and Financial Highlights

Key Performance Metrics* Q2-2023 Q2-2022 Variation Operational Ore Mined (t) 103,231 62,221 66 % Ore Processed (t) 72,190 59,995 20 % Average Grade (g/t Ag) 265 273 (3 %) Mill Recovery (%) 87.3 % 87.9 % (<1%) Silver Ingots Produced (oz) 202,559 219,762 (8 %) Silver in Concentrate Produced (oz) 324,144 239,299 35 % Total Silver Produced (oz) 526,703 459,061 15 % Silver Ingots Sold (oz) 164,707 196,556 (16 %) Silver in Concentrate Sold (oz) 287,816 242,524 19 % Total Silver Sales (oz) 452,523 439,080 3 % Avg. Net Realized Silver ($/oz) 21.26 19.53 9 % Cash Costs per Silver Ounce Sold () 10.98 10.95 <1% Financial Revenue 9,621 8,574 12 % Cost of sales 6,876 5,811 18 % Gross Margin 2,745 2,763 (1 %) Operating (loss) (36) 506 (107 %) Net Earnings (loss) (525) 725 (172 %) Operating Cash Flow 3,674 1,100 234 % Cash and Restricted Cash (2) 52,109 67,945 (23 %) Shareholders Earnings (Loss) per Share  basic (0.00) 0.01 NM Earnings (Loss) per Share  diluted (0.00) 0.01 NM

(1,2) See footnotes (1, 2) on first page

Second Quarter 2023 Financial & Operational Highlights

Quarterly silver production of 526,703 oz, comprising 324,144 oz in silver concentrate and 202,559 oz in silver bars.

Mill average feed grade of 265 grams per tonne ("g/t") Ag was reported in Q2-2023 compared to 273 g/t Ag in Q2-2022, a decrease of 3%.

Milling operations reached 793 tonnes per day ("tpd"), surpassing design capacity of 700 tpd.

Average combined mill recovery of to 87.3% in Q2-2023 compared to 87.9% in Q2-2022, a decrease of 0.6%.

Plant availabilities reached 93.4% and 96.6% for the flotation and cyanidation plants, respectively.

Cash flow generated by operating activities of $3,674 in Q2-2023 compared to cash flow of $1,100 in operating cash flow in Q2-2022.

in Q2-2023 compared to cash flow of in operating cash flow in Q2-2022. Revenue from silver sales totaled $9,621 (Q2-2022  $8,574 ) in Q2-2023, an increase of 12% representing an average realized price of $21.26 /oz. (Q2-2022 - $19.53 /oz).

(Q2-2022  ) in Q2-2023, an increase of 12% representing an average realized price of /oz. (Q2-2022 - /oz). Operations generated a gross margin of $2,745 in Q2-2023, a 1% decrease compared to Q2-2022.

in Q2-2023, a 1% decrease compared to Q2-2022. Net loss for the quarter was $(525) (diluted EPS of $(0.00) ) in Q2-2023, compared to net earnings of $725 (diluted EPS of $0.01 ) in Q2-2022.

Q2-2023 Operations Review

In Q2-2023, Zgounder Mine operations focused on the ramp-up of the underground mine, completing mobilization of the open pit contractor and finalizing the open-pit definition drilling program. The 1,950m underground level is now fully operational, and access to the 1,925m level is in construction. Open-pit stripping commenced in June, and ore production occurred in July. A total of 103,231t of ore was mined and 72,190t was processed in Q2, adding over 30kt of ore in inventory, in line with the 2024 commissioning plan.

The quarter saw completion of the new emergency response and mine rescue station as well as on-site delivery of mine rescue equipment and an emergency vehicle. Consequently, training for the mine rescue and emergency response teams has been scheduled in the second half of the year. Over 4,075 hours of training have been dispensed year to date, a 150% increase compared to H1-2022 which reflects the Corporation's commitment to enhancing the health and safety culture at Zgounder.

Zgounder Development

Construction of the plant and surface infrastructure continued to track on budget. At the end of Q2-2023, the mine expansion project was 45% complete, compared to 32% at end of Q1-2023.

Construction of the processing plant was 40% complete, with engineering near-complete and procurement well advanced. Earthworks were completed in the quarter, and most concrete foundations were poured. Delivery of several long-lead equipment items are expected on site in Q3-2023, including the ball mill.

Underground development continued to advance strongly in the quarter. Over 6,500m of lateral and ramp accesses have now been completed, representing 65% of the total lateral infrastructure. Most levels between 1,925m and 2,100m are now connected to the underground ramp. The main ventilation shaft has been completed, and installation of primary fans is planned for Q3-2023. To date, 253m of vertical raises have been completed, 42% of the total development. In June, the open pit contractor was mobilized, and open pit operations commenced. Overall, open pit and underground mine development are 47% advanced.

At quarter-end, construction of the tailing storage facility was progressing well and was 55% complete. The two water storage basins were 74% complete with only the lining installation remaining, in time before the rainy season. Other infrastructure, such as the camp, roads, workshops, and warehouses, were 55% completed. Finally, the power line and electrical substations progressed to 27% completion.

At the end of Q2-2023, $132 million had been committed across all capital cost categories, and $54 million had been incurred. The Aya project team remains confident of completing the project within the original budget of $159 million including contingency.

The table below presents construction progress by main project area:

Area Progress Process Plant 40 % Underground and Open-Pit Mines 47 % Tailings 55 % Water Management 74 % Electrical Infrastructure 27 % On-site Infrastructure 55 %

Q2-2023 Exploration

Zgounder

In Q2-2023, drilling at Zgounder focused on delineating near-mine targets both laterally and at depth. A total of 12,424m of DDH and reverse circulation ("RC") drilling was conducted on Zgounder in Q2-2023 (exploration and definition drilling) including T28 and YAK underground drilling. At quarter-end, two underground rigs were active on the property and the 26,000m underground DDH program was 17% complete. Given that the development of the 1,950m level is complete and the 1,925m level is near-complete, the exploration program is expected to be expanded in H2-2023.

Notably, surface RC drill hole ZG-RC-23-2260-70 intersected 1,611 g/t Ag over 27m including 4,771 g/t Ag over 5.0m, confirming ongoing high-grade mineralization in the open-pit area. Furthermore, hole ZG-23-02 returned 1,753 g/t Ag over 6.5m, defining high-grade mineralization from surface in the east outside of the resource envelope.

Zgounder Regional

At the end of June 2023, a total of 8,582m had been drilled on the Zgounder Far West, Tala and Izza areas of the Zgounder Regional permits. Preliminary results released at the end of May returned anomalous Zn, Cu and Ag values that will be drill tested in parallel to new zones. Hole ZGW-22-06 in the Zgounder Far West intercepted 1.22% Zn over 85.5m including 1.91% Zn over 5.0m. In the Tala area, hole AM-22-001 intercepted 0.93% Cu over 6.0m including 1.27% Cu over 3.0m.

Boumadine

Five drill rigs were active on the Boumadine property throughout the second quarter with a total of 31,395m drilled in H1-2023. The 2023 drill program, which was 85% complete at quarter-end, was completed in July. The aim of the infill and exploration drilling was to explore and extend the strike along the main trend in the Central and South Zones. In early July, results from Q2-2023 drilling were released, confirming the extension of the main trend mineralization by 400m to 3.8km in strike to the south with BOU-DD23-125, BOU-DD23-136 and BOU-DD23-142 intersecting high-grade mineralization in the form of massive sulphide veins.

In parallel, results from surface detailed mapping were received in Q2-2023 which identified a new at-surface northwest zone at Boumadine. The surface samples returned values up to 460 g/t Ag Eq along a 1.5km structure of N030 orientation, demonstrating the potential outside of the Boumadine Main Trend (see Figure 7). The mapping revealed two major sets of faulting events: a N030 faulting event that cross-cut Boumadine Main Trend (N340) and may be responsible for the Au-Zn enrichment of the mineralization; and a N070 fault event cutting both N340 and N070 structures which seem responsible for the Ag-Pb enrichment. A total of 127 surface grab samples were also taken, with 36 still pending results.

The quarter saw a first site visit by RSC Consulting Limited, which has been mandated to conduct a NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate of Boumadine. Furthermore, an on-site sample preparation laboratory was commissioned on the project site, which will greatly improve sample turnaround times.

The technical information relating to Zgounder, Zgounder Regional and Boumadine properties was reviewed and approved by David Lalonde, B. Sc, Head of Exploration, designated as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

Acquisition of Tirzzit

On June 28, 2023, the Corporation acquired Tirzzit, a collection of seven permits located 25 km from the Zgounder Silver Mine in the Kingdom of Morocco.

The Corporation issued 622,728 of its shares at C$8.36 (having a value of $3.9M) and paid $800,000 in cash for a total consideration of $4.7 million. The assets acquired include the following:

Seven permits, comprising five exploration permits and two mining licenses, one of which hosts a high-grade historical copper mine.

A property totaling 67.7 square km.

The transaction remains subject to administrative procedures in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Q2-2023 Conference Call

The Corporation will hold a conference call today at 10 am EDT to discuss its Q2-2023 financial and operational results. The webcast can be accessed as follows:

Via webcast: https://app.webinar.net/PblE8kG8eLX

Via URL entry: https://emportal.ink/3NONQbo

To join the call without operator assistance, register and enter your phone number to receive an instant automated call back.

To join the call without operator assistance, register and enter your phone number to receive an instant automated call back. Via telephone: Local and international: (+1) 416-764-8650

N. American Toll Free: 888-664-6383

You can also dial direct to be entered to the call by an operator. To ensure your participation, please call approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call.

The conference call and webcast will be available for replay by dialing (+1) 416-764-8677 or toll-free on 1-888-390-0541, entry code 370442 #. The conference call replay will expire on August 18, 2023.

The presentation slides will also be posted on Aya's website.

About Aya Gold & Silver Inc.

Aya Gold & Silver Inc. is a rapidly growing, Canada-based silver producer with operations in the Kingdom of Morocco.

The only TSX-listed pure silver mining company, Aya operates the high-grade Zgounder Silver Mine and is exploring its properties along the prospective South-Atlas Fault, several of which have hosted past-producing mines and historical resources. Aya's Moroccan mining assets are complemented by its Tijirit Gold Project in Mauritania, which is being advanced to feasibility.

Aya's management team is focused on maximising shareholder value by anchoring sustainability at the heart of its operations, governance, and financial growth plans.

For additional information, please visit Aya's website at www.ayagoldsilver.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which reflects management's expectations regarding Aya's future growth and business prospects (including the timing and development of new deposits and the success of exploration activities) and other opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "will", "expect", "maintain", "achieve", "expand", "ramp-up", "plan", "as-planned", "tracking", "guidance", "potential", "deliver", "committed", "continue", "growth", "advance", "expected", "increase", and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements and information with respect to the exploration and development potential of Zgounder and the conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources into Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, future opportunities for enhancing development at Zgounder, executing on the planned expansion at the Zgounder mine, and timing for the release of the Company's disclosure in connection with the foregoing. Although the forward-looking information contained in this press release reflect management's current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Aya cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions, and its expectations of future developments that management believe to be reasonable and relevant but that may prove to be incorrect. These assumptions include, among other things, the closing and timing of financing, the ability to obtain any requisite governmental approvals, the accuracy of Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Estimates (including, but not limited to, ore tonnage and ore grade estimates), silver price, exchange rates, fuel and energy costs, future economic conditions, anticipated future estimates of free cash flow, and courses of action. Aya cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, including government approvals and permitting, changes in economic conditions, changes in the worldwide price of silver and other key inputs, changes in mine plans (including, but not limited to, throughput and recoveries being affected by metallurgical characteristics) and other factors, such as project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of Aya, as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in Aya's 2022 Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2023, and in other filings of Aya with securities and regulatory authorities which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Aya does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Nothing in this document should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell Aya securities. All references to Aya include its subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise.
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSXV: SCZ) ("Santacruz" or "the Company") ("the Company" or "Santacruz") is announcing that effective immediately, Carlos Silva Ramos, is stepping down from his role as CEO and Director of Santacruz, due to personal reasons. Executive Chairman Arturo Prestamo has assumed the role of Interim CEO while the Company conducts its search for a new CEO.

Arturo Prestamo, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Santacruz commented, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Carlos for his years of service to Santacruz. He has been an integral part of the Company's growth into a multi-asset producer. We wish him all the best."

About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Santacruz Silver is engaged in the operation, acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Latin America. The Bolivian operations are comprised of the Bolivar, Porco and the Caballo Blanco Group, which consists of the Tres Amigos, Reserva and Colquechaquita mines. The Soracaya exploration project and San Lucas ore sourcing and trading business are also in Bolivia. The Zimapan mine is in Mexico.

'signed'

Arturo Prestamo Elizondo,

Executive Chairman

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward looking information

This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "expects" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or will "potentially" or "likely" occur. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding the Company's search for a new CEO.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to the Company's search for a new CEO.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, the assumption that the Company will continue to conduct its search for a new CEO.

There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law.
Check Out these Four Interesting Handmade Products by Madiskarte Moms

Small business owners, especially women entrepreneurs, are important to both their immediate communities and the local economy. Research shows that there are around 28,000 Womens SMEs (WSMEs) in the country or around one in four of all SMEs in the Philippines.





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Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH) is one such support group for moms who are starting their own businesses or scaling up their existing ones. MMPH has its own The online communityis one such support group for moms who are starting their own businesses or scaling up their existing ones. MMPH has its own Facebook group and YouTube channel that feature posts and videos of moms sharing advice and best practices in online marketing and selling. Its very inspiring to see moms telling their own stories of how they started small and eventually scaled up.





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The idea of making balms came to the mompreneur when she wanted to make one for a friends son with G6pd or the lack of an enzyme (glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase) in the blood. Anything minty is not allowed to touch his skin so I first made a salve for him, and that sparked the idea of eventually selling them.





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April started her business eight years ago after she stumbled on a Facebook post about giant paper flowers. I was intrigued and quickly became interested, so I decided to try making them myself. Since then, I have been exploring various social media platforms in search of creative ideas and online tutorials to gain inspiration. The positive feedback and encouragement I received from my friends, family, and early clients played a significant role in shaping my current path, she says.





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I got the idea from Pinterest. I saw earrings that were so beautiful that I made some for myself. When I posted them on Facebook, a lot of people inquired where they could get them or if I was selling them. I couldnt do it full time because I work full time for an AU-based company. Making polymer clay earrings is both a side business and a hobby, Cess says.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exits a transit station in Toronto, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Justin Trudeau and his family are vacationing in British Columbia for just over a week, the Prime Minister's Office says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
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According to Sir William Osler, The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business  This calling inherently involves sacrifices. How many of us would sacrifice our freedom, livelihood, or even lives for this calling as the clinicians in Iran have been doing? Iranian doctors demonstrated their bravery in September 2022 when 800 members of the Iranian Medical Council denounced the authorities attempt to cover up the murder of Mahsa (Jina) Amini by the morality police for improper hijab. Ever since, Iranians taking to the streets to protest for basic human rights have been met with brute force and deliberately injured by security forces. When they seek medical attention at hospitals for these injuries, they are identified and detained by uniformed and plainclothes agents. Even ambulances are used to transport these patients to prisons.

Iranian doctors have developed ingenious methods to honor their ethical and medical obligation of caring for the injured. For example, they change the personal data of hospitalized patients in the medical records. Physicians inside and outside Iran attempt to provide remote recommendations to the wounded. Some brave doctors in Iran even treat injured protestors in person, outside hospital settings.

However, honoring the calling of medicine comes at a high cost for these clinicians. Many doctors have been arrested, kidnapped, tortured, and even murdered for providing medical care for wounded protestors. While the true number of doctors in custody remains unknown, we know about the following individuals: Dr. Hashem Moazenzadeh, Dr. Alireza Sedaghat, Dr. Bita Mirzaei, Dr. Ramin Neshasteh, Dr. Reyhaneh Mokhtarian, Dr. Mohsen Sohrabi, Dr. Yaser Rahmanirad, Dr. Behnam Ohadi, Dr. Homayoun Eftekharnia, and Dr. Iman Navabi. In November 2022, Dr. Mohammad Edalattalab posted a video in tears with a swollen face and bleeding lips after security forces ransacked his office in Somesara and assaulted him for treating injured protesters. Other health care personnel have also been targeted. A pharmacist, Dr. Shouresh Heidari, was detained for six days in 2022 for treating injured protestors in Bukan. Clinicians are harassed and warned that they would lose their job, license, and even life if they treat wounded protestors in their homes or offices.

One of the earliest known medical fatalities was Dr. Parisa Bahmani, a surgeon who was shot and killed in October 2022 when security forces opened fire during a peaceful rally by doctors protesting the authorities interference with treatment of the injured and the practices of militarizing ambulances and hospitals. Another known physician victim is Dr. Aida Rostami, who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in December 2022 for providing medical care outside of the hospital for injured protestors in Ekabtan. The authorities claimed that both Dr. Aida Rostami and Dr. Parisa Bahmani had died in car accidents. However, after insisting on viewing her body, Dr. Rostamis family noted various injuries including bruises on her face and genitalia, broken arms, and an enucleated left eye. According to the forensic report, the cause of death was trauma with a hard object. The medical examiner told the family that they had been ordered not to reveal the true cause of Aidas death. They said that she did not die in a car accident; they killed her.

Dr. Ebrahim Rigi is another victim of the state. He was initially arrested at his hospital in October 2022 for treating injured protestors of Zahedans Bloody Friday. Bloody Friday refers to September 30, 2022, when security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters who had rallied after the Friday prayers in Zahedan, killing and injuring hundreds, including several children. Dr. Rigi was released on bail in December, but re-arrested again in February 2023 and killed under torture, after publishing the following post in Instagram: No Iranian or Baluch will forget September 30. The incident was as wide as the broken hearts of the bereaved mothers as wide as the broken hearts of the families of Khodanour, Mahsa Amini, and other victims. We all had many dreams in this land, and we might say to ourselves that we have died somewhere else, and this is our hell. Maybe so I did not know that helping the wounded and criticizing the killing of our brothers and sisters is also a sin. In this land, however, I have complained to God against all those who have been involved in oppressing me. But my dears, know this, even my death, even my execution, was no longer important to me. Because I have died many times in this country 

Another brutalized physician is Dr. Hamid Gharehasanlou, a radiologist and philanthropist. While charged with killing a member of the paramilitary Basij force, Dr. Gharehasanlou has consistently refused to accept guilt despite being subjected to torture. Nonetheless, the authorities issued and delivered a death sentence to him in the hospital, while he was undergoing medical treatment for injuries he received as a result of the torture, including six broken ribs. The only evidence against Dr. Gharehasanlou was provided by his wife, Farzaneh, who said that her husband may have kicked the Basij member. Farzaneh later told the court that her confession was obtained under torture and recanted her statement. While the death sentence has now reportedly been overturned, the couple remains incarcerated.

In December 2022, an alliance of German medical organizations condemned the murder of Dr. Aida Rostami for providing medical care to protesters. In an open letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the alliance expressed solidarity with Iranian medical professionals as well as concern about the human rights and medical situation facing the civilian population of Iran. Access to health care is a human right, not a tool for oppression. At the cost of their own lives and freedom, Iranian doctors have resisted becoming players in this systemic oppression and demonstrated bravery in upholding their medical and ethical obligations. I would like to urge more clinicians and medical organizations to support Iranians and raise their voice against oppression, the continued violation of human rights, and war against Iranian medical professionals.

The author is an anonymous physician.
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Join Erkeda DeRouen, a family physician, as we delve into the recent remake of The Little Mermaid. Discover how this Disney film led Erkeda on a journey to explore the inspiring story of Howard Ashman, his battle with HIV during the AIDS epidemic, and the lessons we can learn from his legacy. Well also discuss the power of storytelling in health care and how collaboration can revolutionize the system for better outcomes.

Erkeda DeRouen is a family physician.

She discusses the KevinMD article, The Little Mermaid inspires a health care revolution: Breaking silos for equitable, accessible, and innovative solutions.

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Civil Society Organizations have asked the East African Community member states to empower farmers with modern tools which will help them to transform their lives and be able to alleviate poverty.

The Country Manager of Yara Kenya and Uganda William Ngeno, says, empowering farmers with digital solutions is bound to help them to quickly market their products and in the process, the sector will transform.

He says, currently the agricultural sector is employing majority of the population, and therefore much attention should be put on the sector.

Yara East Africa is Kenya and Ugandas leading crop nutrition company, providing farmers in Kenya and Uganda with knowledge and best practices to improve their yields.

We celebrate with our partners and clients who have entrusted us over the years, and we remain confident in the transformative impact we can achieve collaboratively within Ugandas agricultural sector, Ngeno stated. At Yara, our social impact initiatives position us as a catalyst for digital inclusion and empowerment in farming. Our aim is to facilitate economic opportunities for women and youth in agriculture, accelerate growth for Micro, Small, and Medium businesses within our communities, and continue contributing to food security, said Ngeno.

He made the remarks while meeting farmers in the agri-business chain.

The event drew participation from over 100 attendees, with distinguished retailers recognized for their invaluable contributions to the industry, walking away with prizes including motorbikes, phones, and other exciting goodies.
Court has temporarily halted the hearing of a case in which minister for Karamoja Karamoja Affairs Mary Gorreti Kitutu is accused of causing loss of public property after her alleged involvement in the diversion of iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people in Karamoja sub-region.

The trial has been halted by Anti-Corruption Court Judge Jane Kajuga Okuo pending determination of an application in which Kitutu is challenging the trial on grounds of torture and several human rights violations allegedly inflicted on her while in police custody.

Kitutu is jointly charged with her brother Michael Naboya Kitutu and personal assistant Joshua Abaho.

Prosecution states that between the month of June 2022 and January 2023 at the office of the Prime Ministers stores in Namanve , Mukono District, Kitutu caused loss of public property in form of 9,000 prepainted Iron sheets of gauge 28 by diverting them from the intended purpose of benefiting the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme to her own benefit and to the benefit of third parties having reason to believe that such act would lead into loss of the said property.

However, in the said application which now court wants to first determine, Kitutu who is the only applicant says on April 3, 2023, she got a phone call from the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja directing her to go and meet the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) Director Tom Magambo to avoid embarrassment and being arrested forcefully.

That upon reaching the CID Kibuli, Kitutu was immediately arrested and interrogated by nine police officers who also confiscated her phones, and the following day, she was driven to the parliamentary committee on Presidential Affairs where she was forced to take oath despite having denied an opportunity to instruct her lawyers.

According to the minister, she was kept in police custody for three days without being given food and water despite asking for it. The minister also claims that she was subjected to all forms of torture, blindfolded, and driven to Kayunga district at night in search of iron sheets, in a manner that was meant to force her to confess to crimes she had not committed.

Kitutu contends that the actions of the state agents were calculated to deny her a fair hearing and to cast her as a villain in the public domain and as such, her rights were violated irreparably and gravely compromised.

She further argues that the process leading to her arrest by the Uganda Police Force, the interrogation by the Parliamentary Presidential Affairs Committee, and other state institutions subjected her to torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment during the course of investigations against her.

Kitutu has further accused the DPP of violating her rights after being denied disclosure of exculpatory exhibits and documents they intend to rely on to prosecute her. She now wants the charges against her dismissed.

As such, Kitutus lawyers led by Jude Byamukama have asked the court to halt the trial pending the determination of this application filed against the Attorney General

However, prosecution led by state attorney Jonathan Muwaganya asked court to dismiss the application on grounds that for the High Court to stay proceedings, the question of violation of fundamental human rights should have been raised in the course of the proceedings before the Court. In this case,

In her ruling, Okuo halted the trial saying court is expected to take action and therefore disagreed that it has not been adduced before the course of proceedings within her court.

The main case has been fixed for September 14, 2023.
The case of inciting violence against Kawempe North Member of Parliament Muhammad Ssegirinya has been pushed to October 6, 2023.

This after his relatives informed court that Ssegirinya is unwell and that he is out of the country [in Germany] for treatment.

The communication prompted the trial magistrate Siena Owomugisha to adjourn the matter to October.

The legislator is alleged to have posted a message on his official Facebook page Ssegirinya Muhammad Fans page  that is calculated to incite the public against a section or group of the Ugandan population while relating it to the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.

He is alleged to have committed the offence between August and September 2020 while in Kampala.

Ssegirinya is also battling other charges of terrorism, murder, and attempted murder; all relating to the spate of murders that swept the Greater Masaka region in 2021.

Prosecution states that Ssegirinya allegedly connived with his Makindye West counterpart Allan Ssewanyana to terrorise the people of Masaka with pangas.
A section of opposition Members of Parliament has welcomed President Musevenis decision to reverse with immediate effect his earlier decision requiring all government agencies to advertise with only government-owned media outlets.

During yesterdays meeting with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) at Entebbe State House, the President directed the Minister of ICT Dr Chris Baryomunsi to meet with the NAB team next week to harmonise the position on how they will be considered for government advertising cash.

They raised a concern of lost revenues due to a directive I issued on channeling all government advertising business to UBC and New Vision. This directive was never intended to harm the private sector but to help revitalize UBC. We have therefore agreed that we shall give govt media entities some preferential treatment while still giving the private companies an opportunity to remain in business, Museveni posted on X, the former Twitter.

Speaking to journalists from Parliament, the shadow minister for information and anti-corruption Joyce Bagala congratulated the media fraternity for a battle well fought.

She said as opposition members of Parliament, they consider free media a critical partner in the new agenda for Uganda and must avoid self-censorship due to regime interference and intimidation.
Commanders of the disarmament operation and senior leaders in Kotido and Kaabong Districts say they have recovered over 80 guns in the last three months from reformed Karimojong warriors locally known as Karacunas.

The former warriors have been urged to embrace the amnesty window and return guns.

The call was made during a mass security mobilization for a voluntary approach to the disarmament operation dubbed Usalama Kwa Wote.

Major General Don Nabasa, the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) 3rd Division commander says through a voluntary approach, the joint forces have been able to recover over 80 guns and 1200 live rounds of ammunition in the last three months from the entire area of operation.

Meanwhile, Brig Gen Felix Busizoori, the deputy Division commander says the forces maintain combat readiness and enhanced deployments to deter any possibility of re-armament from neighboring countries in the Karamoja sub-region.

The Chairperson Local Council 5 for Kotido District Hon Komol Lotee popularly known as Kacheri boy pledged to rally the masses towards total support for a voluntary approach as it yields positive results. He recognized the womens efforts in persuading their husbands to voluntarily surrender guns to security commanders and committees, Isaac Oware, 3rd division public information officer said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the commandant of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, senior commissioner of police Elias Kasirabo said a number of security interventions to regulate livestock trade have taken course with 13 markets officially opened and closely monitored with reduced exit routes. So far, 26 traders have been legalized with permits.
By AFP

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was tragically assassinated in Quito just days before the upcoming election, intensifying concerns over the surge of organized crime in Ecuador.

Ecuador declared a state of emergency Thursday and asked the FBI to help probe the assassination of a popular presidential candidate, whose death has highlighted the once-peaceful nations decline into a violent hotbed of drug trafficking and organized crime.

Police said six Colombians have been arrested in the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist and anti-corruption crusader who was gunned down as he left a campaign rally in the capital Quito on Wednesday night.

Another attacker, also Colombian, was shot dead by security agents, authorities said.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata said the assailants belonged to organized crime groups, without specifying which ones.

Shocked citizens expressed their frustration with the burgeoning violence in the South American country, which has seen its murder rate soar as drug gangs wage bloody turf wars.

Housewife Ruth Flores, 65, told AFP people were outraged by the murder of a man she saw as the hope for honesty in our country. A candidate who denounced the corruption of narcopolitics.

She described the situation in the country as very worrying. You cant walk peacefully there is no security.

President Guillermo Lasso declared a two-month state of emergency, and said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had accepted the countrys request for help, with a delegation arriving soon.

Villavicencio had complained of receiving threats from Los Choneros, one of the countrys most powerful drug gangs.

They told me to wear a (bulletproof) vest. I dont need it. Let the hitmen come! They may bend me but they will never break me, the politician told a rally earlier this week in Chone, the gangs birthplace.

Electoral officials have also reported threats against them ahead of the snap election on August 20. A popular mayor and aspiring lawmaker have also been assassinated in recent weeks.

Villavicencio was targeted with a hail of gunfire, with the countrys main newspaper, El Universo, reporting he was assassinated hitman-style and with three shots to the head.

His family wept and held each other as his body was transported from a forensic lab to a funeral home for a private wake.

The attack came a little over a week before the snap election, called by Lasso after he dissolved the opposition-dominated Congress in May to avoid an impeachment trial over alleged corruption.
Almost 1,500 South Kilkenny properties in the Carrick-on-Suir deployment area will be able to connect to high-speed fibre broadband network at the end of autumn this year.

That's according to National Broadband Ireland, the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the National Broadband Plan on behalf of the Government. The area also includes the rural areas and townlands surrounding Piltown, Fiddown and Killamery.

Around 19,000 premises in County Kilkenny are included in the States Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, County Kilkenny will receive 72M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

Construction works are underway to connect 1,456 homes, farms and businesses in the Carrick-on-Suir deployment area and broadband on NBIs high-speed network is expected to be available between October and December later this year. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living near Carrick-on-Suir to visit nbi.ie/eoi to sign up for notifications on when they will be able be able to join the network.

Works have already been completed in other parts of Kilkenny and there are a total of 9,770 premises that are available to pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 2,810 connections made so far. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.

The Carrick-On-Suir deployment area is comprised of 4,860 homes, businesses, farms and schools across counties Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Waterford. The area will see an investment of approximately 19M to deliver the new high speed fibre network. This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working.

We are delighted to announce that Kilkenny premises in the Carrick-on-Suir area will be able to order high-speed broadband services through the National Broadband Ireland network by the end of this year," said Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland.

"This will enable users to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides. Presently surrounding areas of Johnstown can order high-speed fibre broadband to connect to the National Broadband Network.

As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather it enables services from a range of broadband providers or Retail Service Providers (RSPs). As a wholesale provider, NBI will make the new Fibre-to-the-Home network available to all RSPs operating in the Intervention Area.

Some 62 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the National Broadband Ireland network and 51 are certified as ready to start providing connections as of today. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the National Broadband Ireland network, visit NBI.ie/buy.

National Broadband Ireland contractors have been on the ground across the country and over 177,412 premises nationwide can order or pre-order broadband on the NBI network so far.

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.

NBI is encouraging people to check their eligibility and register for updates at www.nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progresses in their area.
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(Kitco News) - Gold and copper producer Aura Minerals (TSX: ORA) (OTCQX: ORAAF) today announced the first gold pour at its Almas gold mine in Brazil on August 10, 2023.

The company said that since the commencement of production on April 23, approximately 152,000 tons of ore was processed, 46,000 in June and 106,000 tons in July from the Paiol pit, nearing the nominal capacity of 114,000 tons per month.

Aura noted that the commissioning of the mill is ongoing and above the companys expectations with commercial production anticipated in the coming weeks. The company said it is on track to meet the 2023 guidance of between 23,000 to 28,000 ounces.

President and CEO Rodrigo Barbosa commented, Achieving the first gold pour at Almas is a significant milestone for Aura given it is the first ever green field project we have constructed, and that being on time and on budget. We are proud of this achievement, and I would like to thank our entire team for their tireless efforts and the community for their unwavering support.

We expect to announce commercial production imminently and look forward to showcasing how Almas will positively impact production and financial outlook.

Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas.
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(Kitco News) - Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), one of the worlds largest copper producers, reported today that the company is investigating a cybersecurity incident affecting its information systems.

In a statement, the company said it is assessing the impact and proactive measures are being taken to address the situation, adding that the company is working closely with third-party experts and law enforcement.

FCX said that to date, there has been limited impact on production.

Transitional solutions are being planned and implemented to secure information systems as quickly as possible, the company said.

FCX is a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. FCX operates geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold and molybdenum. FCX is one of the worlds largest copper producers.

Shares of the company traded down 2.25% today.
NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on Friday, where he may learn if he will have to prepare for his October fraud trial from behind the jailhouse door.

Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research.

He has been largely confined to his parents' Palo Alto, California, home on $250 million bond since his December 2022 arrest, but the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan now wants him jailed for witness tampering.

Prosecutors first made their surprise request to jail the former billionaire in a July 26 hearing, saying he "crossed a line" by sharing former romantic partner Caroline Ellison's personal writings with a New York Times reporter.

Ellison had been Alameda's chief executive, and is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried after pleading guilty to fraud and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Two other former members of Bankman-Fried's inner circle entered similar guilty pleas.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers have said prosecutors mischaracterized his intentions in sharing Ellison's writings, arguing he wanted to defend his reputation and had a right to speak to the press.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will decide whether Bankman-Fried should remain free. The hearing begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time (1800 GMT).

In the July 26 hearing, Kaplan restricted Bankman-Fried from speaking publicly about his case, and asked both sides to address whether jail was necessary.

The gag order has also drawn attention from news media including the Times, which in an Aug. 2 letter to the judge said the measure should be loosened to only restrict comments that could interfere with a fair trial.

A July 20 article in the newspaper contained excerpts from Ellison's personal Google documents prior to FTX's collapse.

She described being "unhappy and overwhelmed" with her job and feeling "hurt/rejected" from her personal breakup with Bankman-Fried.
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(Kitco News) - In a move that was widely expected by analysts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin (BTC) ETF application and instead opened a 21-day comment period to the public to get feedback on the investment product.

According to a notice filed by the SEC on Friday, the regulator is specifically seeking comments on the amendment added by the Cboe exchange in July that named Coinbase as the surveillance sharing agreement partner for the ETF, referred to as Amendment No. 3.

The Commission is instituting proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 3, should be approved or disapproved, the SEC filing said. Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change. [The] institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 3.

The Commission requests that interested persons provide written submissions of their views, data, and arguments with respect to the issues identified above, as well as any other concerns they may have with the proposal over the next 21 days, the notice said.

Anyone wishing to file a rebuttal to any submission has a 35-day period, meaning the process will likely extend for at least another month.

In June, the SEC said it would either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the application by Aug. 13. Since that date falls on a Sunday, it was widely expected that the regulator would make its announcement by the end of the day Friday.

I think you're probably right that Aug. 13 will come and go, ARK CEO Cathie Wood said during an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. I think the SEC, if it's going to approve a bitcoin ETF, will approve more than one at once.

Because most of these essentially will be the same, it will come down to marketing, communicating, the message to see how they do, she added. We're trying to get the word out there that our research is deep, and we've been doing it since 2015.

ARK originally filed to list the ETF in May, which gives the SEC a maximum of 240 days, or until January 2024, to reach a final decision.

In response to the notice, James Seyffart, an ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, said, This is a STANDARD delay letter. There's some confusion but only the first few paragraphs of this letter are written by the SEC and it's very standardized. The rest is just a copy-paste of the 19b-4 application written by CBOE (& Ark/21Shares). There isn't much to read into here IMO.

According to Terrence Yang, Managing Director at Swan Bitcoin, the delay was expected as little has changed in terms of preventing Bitcoin price manipulation, which has been the primary reason the SEC denied previous spot BTC ETF applications.

The crypto lawyers I respect and I fully expected SECs delay of ARKs Bitcoin ETF, Yang said. After all, whats changed? The SEC repeatedly denied all spot Bitcoin ETF applications because foreign (read: Chinese) exchanges with fake and manipulated trading activity would mislead American investors about the true market price and volume for Bitcoin.

Cathie said earlier this week all Bitcoin ETFs should be approved at once, but that doesnt affect the SECs decision here, because there is still a more than a significant amount of Bitcoin price manipulation and wash trading by, IMHO, Chinese exchanges, he added. SEC wants mechanisms in place to be able to detect fraud. Having Coinbase as a pricing source in ARKs surveillance-sharing agreement helps, but it only really works if crypto is cleaned up first. Thats what the Chinese and US governments are doing, in going after Huobi, Binance, Tron, etc. Bitcoin is a global asset. There is just too much Bitcoin price manipulation right now.

Felix Shipkevich, a fintech regulatory attorney and Special Professor at Hofstra Law School, told Kitco Crypto that it's not surprising that the SEC is prioritizing the review of applications of large financial institutions (FI), BlackRock and Fidelity, over ARK. If we are likely to see a BTC ETF get the SEC's blessing, we are more likely to see it for the bigger FIs.

Kent Halliburton, President of Bitcoin mining company Sazmining,also aligned with this outlook, saying, Despite having approved a futures-based Bitcoin ETF some time ago, the SEC has continued to drag its heels on approving a spot Bitcoin ETF. All eyes are now on the BlackRock ETF application to see what the SEC will do next.

The SEC currently has at least eight spot BTC ETF applications on its docket for review, including products from BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, WisdomTree, Bitwise and Invesco.
Aug 11 (Reuters) - While the market mostly shrugged off President Joe Biden's move to prohibit some U.S. technology investments in China, U.S. investors said they were worried Beijing would retaliate or pull back from buying American technology.

Aiming to protect national security and prevent U.S. capital and expertise from aiding China's military modernization, Biden this week issued an executive order barring some new U.S. investments in China in sensitive technologies including computer chips, while regulating others.

U.S. investors were unfazed by the initial news, saying that the restrictions, at first blush, were more limited than feared and unlikely to extend to passive investments in public Chinese stocks. But several portfolio managers said the bigger worry was whether China would strike back, as it has in the past.

"Much depends on how China decides to react to that. The very significant technology war between the countries is a big negative and the administration seemed to be trying to make that announcement without making too many waves with China," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.

The iShares MSCI China Exchange Traded Fund (MCHI.O), one of the largest ETFs of U.S.-listed China-based companies, finished up 0.7% on Thursday, while the rest of Wall Street finished flat.

In response to Biden's executive order, China's commerce ministry said it was "gravely concerned" and reserved the right to take counter-measures. Some China analysts said Beijing's options are limited and would unlikely escalate the matter.

Others, though, thought that view was too optimistic.

China in May targeted U.S. chip maker Micron Technology after Washington imposed a series of export controls on American components and chipmaker tools to China, and the U.S. has accused Beijing of penalizing other U.S. companies amid growing tensions between the two global economic powerhouses.

"It is naive to think that there won't be some type of retaliation from China," said Tom Plumb, CEO of mutual fund Plumb Funds. China could restrict exports of rare earths used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and other components, or target other U.S. technology companies, Plumb said.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

China hawks in Washington say American investors have transferred capital and valuable know-how to Chinese technology companies that could help advance Beijing's military capabilities. Beijing, for its part, has been seeking self-sufficiency in the intensifying tech disputes, which could also stem the flow of capital into U.S. companies and markets.

"This is obviously going to put China in a position where they're going to try to reduce their dependency on any U.S. company for higher levels of technology," said Plumb.

U.S. private equity and venture capital investors, which have already pulled back from China, are likely to sit on the sidelines while they await more clarity on how the rules will be implemented, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Some portfolio investors are also reducing their exposure to China.

Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, said some clients had already asked for reduced or zero China exposure via stocks, bonds and ETFs.

"After the government's announcement, I suspect that we may receive a few more similar requests," he said.

Phillip Wool, a co-portfolio manager of Rayliant Quantamental China Equity ETF, said U.S.-China tensions were causing investors to miss out on China growth.

"The bigger risk for investors is not allocating to a market where valuations are so low - relative to other equity markets and Chinas own history - and where there are plenty of companies with strong fundamentals undergoing rapid growth."
Peter Menzies writes:

Here's a word of caution for policy-makers looking to help publishers retrieve some of their advertising revenue lost to web giants such as Google and Meta: Whatever you do, don't look to Canada for inspiration. Canada's efforts to defend democracy, as prime Minister Justin Trudeau put it, have turned out to be a counterproductive fiasco. The government hoped the Online News Act would salvage a struggling legacy news industry and become a model to be copied globally. But it is the most spectacular legislative failure in Canada's living political memory. Inspired by an Australian publishers-collective that managed to squeeze deals reportedly amounting to as much as U.S. $150 million annually from Meta and Google, Canada's Online News Act forces those same tech companies, provided they facilitate the sharing of links to access news stories, to pay for the privilege of doing so, even if the service is provided for free. As was the case in Australia, Canada's legacy newspaper companies  the largest of which is owned by a New Jersey hedge fund  insist the American platforms have been stealing their content and profiting from it.

NZ sadly is going down this path also, as the Government looks to legislate to force tech companies to fund media companies.

The tech companies did roll over in Australia, but Canada is too large a market for them to do so.

As a result, Meta has concluded its only option is to comply with the legislation by beginning to move out of the business of carrying news links on Facebook and Instagram; Meta says it will complete the process before the Act comes into force toward the end of the year. Google also announced it would no longer be including Canadian news organizations in online searches performed in Canada. Panicked efforts by the government to see if some sort of accommodation can be introduced under the law have been rebuffed completely by Meta, which might retreat from the news-carrier business globally. Google is still speaking with the Canadian government, but the latter's description of these conversations as negotiations is most likely an overstatement. Google's decision last month to exclude Canada from its Bard AI chatbox launch indicates the mood isn't great. Unless Trudeau's team can cap Google's liability at an agreed-upon level and future-proof that cap  sources indicate an extra $100 million annually is Google's firm offer  it appears Canada is on the verge of destroying far more journalism jobs than it ever could have hoped to save. The loss of access to Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms would be, Canada's already-struggling publishers said in Senate hearings, disastrous and amount to millions of dollars in losses. For emerging and innovative providers  217 have launched in Canada since 2008 to offset the disappearance of an estimated 450 newspapers  the impact is considered even more devastating. Most (if not all) of them have built their business models on maximizing the value they receive through Google and, primarily, Facebook.

The media need the tech companies far far more than the tech companies need the media. Good on them for standing up to legalised theft via government.

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...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values of 105 to 115 degrees. * WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest, and west central Illinois. Portions of central, east central, northeast, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...Until 10 PM CDT Thursday. The heat may last into Friday for some areas. * IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
Aenza S.A.A. (NYSE:AENZ  Get Free Report)s stock price rose 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1.75 and last traded at $1.75. Approximately 7,559 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 69% from the average daily volume of 4,472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.73.

Aenza S.A.A. Stock Performance

The firms 50 day moving average is $1.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.01.

About Aenza S.A.A.

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Aenza SAA., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the Infrastructure, Energy, Engineering and Construction, and Real Estate businesses in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. The company's Infrastructure segment offers long-term concessions or similar contractual arrangements in Peru for highways with tolls, Lima Metro, a sewage treatment plant in Lima, as well as operation and maintenance services for infrastructure assets.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded Argo Group International from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Friday, May 26th.

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Argo Group International Trading Up 0.2 %

ARGO stock opened at $29.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.52. Argo Group International has a fifty-two week low of $19.00 and a fifty-two week high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($1.11). The business had revenue of $419.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $461.90 million. Argo Group International had a negative net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 4.57%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Argo Group International will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argo Group International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARGO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Argo Group International by 334.7% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 926 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Argo Group International by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,680 shares of the companys stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argo Group International by 148.0% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the companys stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Argo Group International during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argo Group International by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,976 shares of the companys stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter.

About Argo Group International

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Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty markets. The company operates in two segments, U.S. Operations and International Operations. It offers primary and excess specialty casualty, general liability, commercial multi-peril, and workers compensation, as well as product, environmental, and auto liability insurance products; management liability, transaction liability, and errors and omissions liability insurance; primary and excess property, inland marine, and auto physical damage insurance; and surety, animal mortality, and ocean marine insurance products.

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Black Hills (NYSE:BKH  Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Mizuho from $60.00 to $56.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BKH. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Black Hills from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Black Hills from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Black Hills currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $66.29.

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Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of Black Hills stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.43. The stock had a trading volume of 9,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,841. Black Hills has a fifty-two week low of $56.60 and a fifty-two week high of $79.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.99.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $411.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Black Hillss revenue was down 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Black Hills will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Black Hillss dividend payout ratio is 67.02%.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKH. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in Black Hills by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 36,590 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,657 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 34,426 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,190 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Black Hills by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 748,590 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $57,656,000 after purchasing an additional 50,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Black Hills by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,420 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.24% of the companys stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

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Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 220,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,482 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,024 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.

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ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT  Get Free Report)s stock had its buy rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $13.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLCs price target would indicate a potential upside of 66.45% from the stocks current price.

CHPT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of ChargePoint from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on ChargePoint from $25.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on ChargePoint in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. They set a neutral rating for the company. Bank of America raised ChargePoint from a neutral rating to a buy rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $15.50 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on ChargePoint from $13.00 to $10.80 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $16.52.

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ChargePoint Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of CHPT traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $7.81. The stock had a trading volume of 7,783,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,880,955. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.50. ChargePoint has a 12-month low of $7.22 and a 12-month high of $19.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.37.

ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 1st. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.04. ChargePoint had a negative return on equity of 88.36% and a negative net margin of 64.78%. The company had revenue of $130.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 59.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that ChargePoint will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other ChargePoint news, insider Michael D. Hughes sold 94,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total transaction of $783,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 897,894 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,488,435.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael D. Hughes sold 94,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total value of $783,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 897,894 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,488,435.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Pasquale Romano sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.91, for a total transaction of $79,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,148,054 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $32,811,107.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 910,111 shares of company stock worth $7,905,137. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ChargePoint

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in ChargePoint during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in ChargePoint by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 380,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,340,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in ChargePoint by 36.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 308,769 shares of the companys stock worth $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 83,152 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in ChargePoint by 7.9% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,293 shares of the companys stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ChargePoint during the second quarter worth approximately $2,853,000. 35.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ChargePoint Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

ChargePoint Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides electric vehicle (EV) charging networks and charging solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers a portfolio of hardware, software, and services for commercial, fleet, and residential customers. ChargePoint Holdings, Inc was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Campbell, California.

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Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWN  Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,496 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF comprises 0.6% of Clear Investment Research LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Clear Investment Research LLCs holdings in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IWN. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Ellevest Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF by 84.7% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 218 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF by 571.4% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of IWN stock traded down $0.99 on Thursday, reaching $147.05. 1,115,237 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,513,905. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.98. The stock has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.15. iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has a 1-year low of $127.21 and a 1-year high of $160.21.

About iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF

iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF, formerly Ishares Trust Russel 2000 (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 2000 Value Index Fund, is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Value Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 2000 Index issuers with relatively lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth.

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Raymond James upgraded shares of Conifex Timber (OTCMKTS:CFXTF  Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Separately, CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Conifex Timber from C$1.50 to C$1.25 in a research note on Thursday, April 20th.

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Conifex Timber Stock Performance

Conifex Timber Company Profile

OTCMKTS CFXTF remained flat at $0.87 on Thursday. Conifex Timber has a 52-week low of $0.87 and a 52-week high of $1.83. The stocks fifty day moving average is $0.91 and its 200-day moving average is $1.04.

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Conifex Timber Inc primarily manufactures and sells lumber products in the United States, Canada, Japan, and internationally. It is involved in the timber harvesting, reforestation, and forest management activities; manufacture of finished softwood lumber from spruce, pine, and fir logs; manufacture, sale, and distribution of dimension lumber; processing logs into lumber and wood chips, as well as residual products, such as wood chips, trim blocks, sawdust, shavings, and barks; and providing value added lumber finishing services.

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Cabot (NYSE:CBT  Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Credit Suisse Group from $85.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals companys stock. Credit Suisse Groups price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.38% from the stocks current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Cabot from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Cabot from $90.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Cabot from $111.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Cabot from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.25.

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Cabot Trading Up 1.1 %

CBT traded up $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.07. 309,234 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,819. The companys fifty day moving average price is $69.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.93. Cabot has a fifty-two week low of $60.50 and a fifty-two week high of $83.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.29.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.14). Cabot had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 7.48%. The company had revenue of $968.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cabot will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBT. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 176.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cabot by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 683 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Cabot by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 976 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Cabot during the first quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cabot by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the companys stock.

Cabot Company Profile

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Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The company operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. It offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $500.00 to $615.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.93% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LLY. 3M reissued a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, April 28th. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $430.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $517.00.

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Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $4.74 on Tuesday, reaching $521.49. 4,107,888 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,079,546. The company has a market capitalization of $495.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $296.32 and a 52 week high of $538.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firms 50-day moving average is $455.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.40.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 20.54%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares in the company, valued at $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of the businesss 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 directly owns 36,941 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,864,681.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 772,663 shares of company stock valued at $365,372,076. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth $561,000. Institutional investors own 87.25% of the companys stock.

About Eli Lilly and Company

(Get Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR  Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $120.00 price objective on the industrial products companys stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Emerson Electric from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. TheStreet raised shares of Emerson Electric from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $102.24.

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Emerson Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EMR opened at $95.51 on Monday. Emerson Electric has a 52-week low of $72.40 and a 52-week high of $99.65. The company has a market capitalization of $54.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.20. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 14.27% and a net margin of 80.41%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.89 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Emerson Electric will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Emerson Electrics dividend payout ratio is currently 9.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Lisa Flavin sold 48,718 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.65, for a total value of $4,367,568.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 51,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,639,208.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerson Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMR. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 94,950.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 96,464,073 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $8,719,388,000 after acquiring an additional 96,362,586 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 105,280.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,417,593 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $5,227,354,000 after acquiring an additional 54,365,954 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $702,606,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,835,398 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,136,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,621,089 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,579,534 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $247,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763,928 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.63% of the companys stock.

About Emerson Electric

(Get Free Report)

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and engineering company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The company operates through Automation Solutions, AspenTech, and Commercial & Residential Solutions segments.

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Hanlon Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Free Report) by 45.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,471 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.s holdings in Unum Group were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 197.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,860 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. 78.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. They issued an overweight rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Unum Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total transaction of $222,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,053 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,540,337.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total value of $222,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,053 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,540,337.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Puneet Bhasin sold 14,609 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total value of $678,880.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,506 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,904,653.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,351,330 in the last ninety days. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.60. The company had a trading volume of 916,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,448,588. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.87. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $36.27 and a twelve month high of $51.15.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Unum Groups payout ratio is 20.25%.

Unum Group Profile

(Free Report)

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:IJR  Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,356 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 574 shares during the quarter. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF comprises approximately 3.3% of Clear Investment Research LLCs holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Clear Investment Research LLCs holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in IJR. White Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 3.7% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 521,176 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $50,398,000 after acquiring an additional 18,514 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 167,396 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $16,187,000 after purchasing an additional 16,012 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF during the first quarter worth $693,000. Finally, Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,049 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Stock Down 0.4 %

IJR stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.11. 2,779,320 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,004,708. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has a 52 week low of $86.40 and a 52 week high of $108.24. The firms fifty day moving average price is $100.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.48. The company has a market cap of $71.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.15.

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Company Profile

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

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Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Free Report) (TSE:MG) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

MGA has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Magna International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Magna International from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Magna International from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Magna International from $59.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Magna International in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Magna International has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $67.14.

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Magna International Price Performance

MGA stock opened at $58.92 on Monday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $57.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.83. Magna International has a 12-month low of $45.58 and a 12-month high of $68.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA  Get Free Report) (TSE:MG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. Magna International had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Magna Internationals quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Magna International will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Magna International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Magna Internationals dividend payout ratio is 56.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magna International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Magna International by 36.3% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,201,580 shares of the companys stock valued at $350,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,111 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Magna International by 1.7% during the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,193,529 shares of the companys stock valued at $117,507,000 after purchasing an additional 36,850 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Magna International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,902,371 shares of the companys stock valued at $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Magna International by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 969,113 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,885,000 after purchasing an additional 28,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Magna International by 5.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 905,672 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,821,000 after purchasing an additional 47,858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.13% of the companys stock.

Magna International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.

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Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT  Free Report) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $51.00 to $59.00 in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services providers stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Essent Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on Essent Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Essent Group from $50.00 to $59.00 in a report on Sunday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Essent Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $54.29.

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Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $52.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.95. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $34.27 and a 52 week high of $53.66.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $260.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $262.07 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 66.31%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. Essent Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 2,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.09, for a total transaction of $125,325.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 218,457 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,511.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $444,016 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.10% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Essent Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 31,731 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,139 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,589 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,433 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.34% of the companys stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC  Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SITC. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of SITE Centers in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $12.50 price target on the stock. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of SITE Centers from $13.00 to $14.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of SITE Centers from $12.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.17.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SITE Centers

SITE Centers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SITC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $13.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,811,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,866,734. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.50 and a 200-day moving average of $12.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73 and a beta of 1.56. SITE Centers has a 12-month low of $10.42 and a 12-month high of $15.61.

SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.27). SITE Centers had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 21.07%. The business had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $136.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. SITE Centerss revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SITE Centers will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SITE Centers

In related news, CFO Conor Fennerty sold 12,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.26, for a total transaction of $159,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,364 shares in the company, valued at $1,291,046.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SITC. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in SITE Centers by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 25,812 shares of the companys stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of SITE Centers by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 36,428 shares of the companys stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in SITE Centers by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 55,418 shares of the companys stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP grew its position in SITE Centers by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 13,507 shares of the companys stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SITE Centers in the first quarter valued at approximately $792,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.61% of the companys stock.

SITE Centers Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.

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West African Resources Limited (OTCMKTS:WFRSF  Get Free Report) traded up 45.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $0.80 and last traded at $0.80. 131,320 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1,328% from the average session volume of 9,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.55.

West African Resources Stock Performance

The companys fifty day simple moving average is $0.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.66.

About West African Resources

(Get Free Report)

West African Resources Limited engages in the mining, mineral processing, acquisition, exploration, and project development of gold projects in West Africa. The company has 90% interests in the Sanbrado Gold Project covering an area of 116 square kilometers located in Burkina Faso; and Kiaka gold project located in Burkina Faso.

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President Yoon Suk Yeol will send a delegation made up of the land minister and a lawmaker to the inauguration ceremony of incoming Paraguayan President Santiago Pena Palacios, his office said Friday.







Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and Rep. Jung Hee-yong of the ruling People Power Party will attend the ceremony on Aug. 15 as special envoys of the president.







The delegation plans to offer Yoon's congratulations to the incoming president and deliver a personal letter containing his wish to work closely with the new administration.







During their stay, the delegation will also meet with officials of the new Paraguayan government and parliament, as well as with Korean businesspeople and residents in the country, while also promoting South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. (Yonhap)


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On 10 August Mexicos foreign minister,, met with US Secretary of Statein Washington.

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On 10 August the Venezuelan government hailed a Lisbon court ruling requiring Novo Banco, a Portuguese bank, to release 1.35bn (US$1.48bn) in frozen Venezuelan assets.

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On 10 August a medical surgeon was shot dead by three assailants outside his own house in the city of Moron, in Argentinas most populous province of Buenos Aires, in an armed car theft.

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A month after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' controversial immigration law came into effect, Florida businesses are struggling from the lack of workers turned away by its harsh rules.

DeSantis proudly called his law "the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country." It was part of the governor's push to attract more of the GOP base to his side as he runs for president, but the law has proven costly for local businesses in agriculture, construction, and hospitality that mostly rely on undocumented immigrants because of the cheap labor they provide.

Since it took effect on July 1, Florida hospitals are now required to ask patients their immigration status and employers are now required to use an electronic database to identify if the people they hired are in the country illegally. Under this new law, undocumented immigrants are also not allowed to have driver's licenses, and the driver's licenses from some states that allow undocumented immigrants to have one are deemed invalid.

This has driven many undocumented immigrants, from laborers to cooks to farm workers to construction workers to move out of the state and look for work elsewhere. Many move to Georgia where farms tend not to care about immigration status.

Housing prices in Florida are sky-high right now, which means it should be good for the construction industry. However, Yahoo! News reported that developers often find it difficult to complete their big projects in the state because of the lack of cheap labor that undocumented immigrants provide.

While there are immigrant workers allowed to work in the US, many of them also have families who are undocumented. They also left the state for fear for their loved ones as they are afraid they might be persecuted under this new Florida immigration law.

READ NEXT: Texas Sheriff Files Criminal Charges Over Ron DeSantis's Martha's Vineyard Migrant Stunt

Rising Fear and Confusion Brought by Florida Immigration Law

Thanks to Ron DeSantis' new law, immigrants are now scared of going to the hospital because it might lead to them getting deported, with undocumented migrants also fearing discrimination if it is found that they are undocumented.

Paul R. Chavez, senior supervising attorney for the Immigrant Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, slammed the vague wording in the law, saying, that it does not comport with the laws of the federal government.

Groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center are suing the Florida government and trying to have the law thrown out. Chavez stated that there is existing case law where states like Georgia and Alabama tried similar anti-immigrant laws. This means that there is a good chance that they might win.

Injunction Sought Vs. Ron DeSantis' New Florida Immigration Law

The Florida immigration law has already been challenged on its constitutionality as attorneys for migrants and advocates asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction against it on Tuesday.

The immigrant advocates target the section that targets the transportation of migrants, arguing that federal law governing this issue will trump state law, according to CBS News.

"(The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) has squarely held that Congress has preempted the entire field of migrant transport - that states cannot enact any laws in this field," the filing said. "That alone establishes that (the disputed section of state law) is preempted and must be enjoined. (The section) is also preempted because it prevents immigrants from entering Florida, and because it creates a new immigration classification that does not exist in federal law. Clear precedent establishes that both are impermissible."

READ NEXT: Florida Could Face Mass Labor Shortage Due to Ron DeSantis' New Immigration Law

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: New Florida law impacts undocumented workers - WPLG Local 10
The aftermath of the devastating Maui wildfire in Hawaii presents a stark scene of destruction and tragedy.

The death toll has reached a sobering 53, while survivors recount stories of narrowly escaping the flames with only the clothes on their backs, AP reports.

Aerial observations of historic Lahaina, once a vibrant symbol of island life, reveal a landscape transformed into desolation.

Once colorful and full of life, entire neighborhoods lie reduced to gray ashes and rubble. Notable landmarks like the renowned Front Street, bustling with tourists just days ago, now stand as mere blackened foundations.

The harbor's boats bear the scars of scorching heat, and a shroud of smoke hangs over the town - a town with a storied history dating back to the 1700s.

Among the businesses devastated is Whaler's Locker, one of the town's oldest shops owned by Tiffany Kidder Winn.

In the wake of the destruction, she encountered a grim scene of burned-out vehicles, some containing charred remains.

Winn recounts witnessing individuals seemingly trapped in traffic on Front Street, unable to escape the advancing flames. A tragic sight of a body leaning against a seawall adds to the heart-wrenching narrative.

READ NEXT: Hawaii: Mauna Loa Erupts

How Did Maui Wildfire Begin?

The cause of the fires remains undetermined, but they initially ignited in vegetation and swiftly engulfed populated areas driven by wind gusts exceeding 60 mph, according to The Guardian.

The blaze rapidly enveloped coastal Lahaina with fierce intensity and speed, leaping across intersections and wooden structures that held a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Residents faced chaotic evacuations, navigating roads obstructed by flaming debris. The US Coast Guard rescued 14 people, including two children, who sought refuge by jumping into the water.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain described the event as a "classic wildland-urban interface fire," where flames transitioned from vegetation to urban areas, igniting structures consecutively.

The fires coincided with strong winds and low humidity. The conditions that the National Weather Service had warned could result in high fire danger and rapid spread.

Hawaii was already grappling with drought during its dry season when Hurricane Dora, located several hundred miles away, brought unusually strong winds.

These winds, amplified by the hurricane's presence, knocked out power lines and intensified the flames' destructive path.

President Joe Biden Declares Maui Wildfire a Major Disaster

President Joe Biden responded to the catastrophe by declaring a major disaster in Hawaii, enabling federal aid and support for recovery efforts, per USA TODAY.

"We'll get aid into the hands of people who desperately need the help. Anyone who's lost a loved one or whose home has been damaged is going to get help immediately," Biden said before delivering his speech in Salt Lake City.

He emphasized the swift delivery of aid to those affected, providing assistance such as grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, according to a statement from the White House.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is expected to facilitate these aid processes, streamlining support for the Maui wildfire affected communities.

Information about eligibility for federal assistance can be accessed at disasterassistance.gov.

READ MORE: FBI Agents Kill Utah Man Who Allegedly Makes Threats to Joe Biden

This is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: What fueled the Hawaiian wildfires that killed dozens and leveled historic Lahaina town - From PBS NewsHour
Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso is calling on the FBI for help after the assassination of National Assembly member and Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio sent shockwaves across the country.

In a post on X, Lasso revealed that he asked the FBI to help investigate the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and that the agency has accepted the request and will be sending over a delegation to Ecuador in the next few hours.

He solicitado apoyo al FBI para la investigacion del asesinato del candidato presidencial Fernando Villavicencio Valencia. La Agencia Federal de Investigacion e Inteligencia de EEUU acepto nuestra peticion y en las proximas horas una delegacion llegara al pais.  Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) August 10, 2023

In addition, Lasso also declared a two-month state of emergency following the assassination. This period will include the first round of elections scheduled for August 20, according to France 24.

"Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio," President Guillermo Lasso wrote in a previous tweet. He blamed the assassination on organized crime, which Villavicencio has been crusading against. The candidate rubbed several crime bosses the wrong way with his campaign, even gaining the ire of a group connected to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

"For his memory and for his fight, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished," Lasso vowed.

He also stated in an address online, "The Armed Forces as of this moment are mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquility of the country, and the free and democratic elections of August 20."

A 3-day national mourning period has also been declared "to honor the memory of a patriot, of Fernando Villavicencio Valencia."

Ecuador Arrests 6 Colombians in Connection to Fernando Villavicencio Assassinations

Ecuador's interior minister, Juan Zapata, confirmed that Ecuadorian authorities have made several arrests in connection to the candidate's assassination. Chief among these arrests are six suspects who were all from Colombia.

READ MORE: Ecuador: Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio Shot Dead

Villavicencio, a former journalist who used to work for The Guardian, was assassinated as he was leaving a campaign rally at a high school in Quito. One of the suspects was killed in a shootout that ensued after the presidential candidate was shot.

The New York Times pointed out that the assassination of the journalist-turned-politician was reminiscent of the assassination of Haiti's president, Jovenel Moise, in July 2021. This was because Colombians were involved in both high-profile assassinations. It is still not clear if these Colombians were hired mercenaries, just like what happened during the Moise assassination.

Rising Violence and Organized Crime in Ecuador

Ecuador lies between Peru and Colombia, two of the world's biggest producers of Coca, a plant used in making cocaine, but it did not have much of a history in terms of drug manufacturing. However, the country is seeing a rise in violence due to drugs and organized crime.

According to CNN, the country is now an integral trafficking route from South America to North America and Europe, with local criminal organizations affiliated with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels battling it out on the country's Pacific coast.

Before he was killed, Fernando Villavicencio has been calling out these organizations, particularly namedropping the jailed leader of one of these criminal gangs. He was also not shy about revealing that he had been receiving death threats from them, saying that his candidacy was widely seen as a threat by these gangs.

READ NEXT: 5 Most Bizarre Foods in Ecuadorian Cuisine

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio shocks Ecuador ahead of election - ABC News (Australia)
Donald Trump did not seem too happy with Special Counsel Jack Smith requesting a January 2, 2024 trial date over his 2020 election interference case as he went on another all-caps rant after the date was proposed.

"Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2, just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses," wrote the ex-POTUS on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA! Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"

According to The Guardian, Jack Smith has been very aggressive as of late, with prosecutors arguing that "A January 2 trial date would vindicate the public's strong interest in a speedy trial."

In the filing, prosecutors added, "It is difficult to imagine a public interest stronger than the one in this case in which the defendant - the former president of the United States - is charged with three criminal conspiracies."

"It appears that defense counsel is already planning which motions the defendant will file," said the prosecution, noting that Donald Trump's legal team already knows what arguments will be making during the trial. "It appears that defense counsel is already planning which motions the defendant will file," added prosecutors.

Georgia DA Fani Willis Tells Staff To Ignore Donald Trump's Attacks

The federal election interference case is not the only election battle that Trump might go to jail for, as he is facing another round of indictments, this time from Georgia. The former president has since stepped up his attacks on Fulton County DA Fani Willis as those indictments loom.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Will Have His Mugshot Taken Over Georgia Election Case, Vows Georgia Sheriff

However, as the Independent reported, Willis is telling her staff to ignore Trump's "derogatory and false" rants and attacks and continue working on the case.

A new memo was released from her office regarding this, telling staff, "You may not comment in any way on the ad or any of the negativity that may be expressed against me, your colleagues, this office in the coming days, weeks, or months."

Trump is spreading rumors on social media that Willis is having an affair with a rapper that her office is investigating. He did not present any evidence regarding this.

Donald Trump and Valet Walt Nauta Plead Not Guilty to Additional Classified Documents Charges

Trump's legal troubles continue, though, as he is not just facing a Georgia election probe and the special counsel's 2020 election interference and January 6 investigation but also the classified documents probe. Additional charges were made for the latter as new details emerged.

However, as the former POTUS and his valet Walt Nauta faced these new charges, they pleaded "not guilty" once again. A lawyer representing the ex-POTUS entered the plea on his behalf as Trump previously waived his right to attend the hearing, according to Al Jazeera News. Nauta was present during the hearing, however, and also entered a "not guilty" plea.

These new charges were in addition to Trump's 37-count indictment and Nauta's six. They were added after Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira tried to destroy security tapes crucial to the investigation. The Trump employee soon became the third defendant in the case.

READ MORE: Former Donald Trump Lawyer Admits To Making 'False' Statement on 2020 Election

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 'His mouth has been his biggest enemy': Trump Georgia indictment could come with gag order - MSNBC
Ellen Casey, the widow of Pa. Gov. Robert Casey and mother of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, died Friday in Scranton, her son announced on X, formerly Twitter.

Casey Jr. said his mother died after a brief illness. She was 91.

Democrat Robert Casey was governor from 1987 to 1995. He died in 2000. He and Ellen Casey were married for 50 years and had eight children. Survivors include grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well.

A statement from the Casey family: pic.twitter.com/g0F9zKo9u6  Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) August 11, 2023

Current Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro has ordered flags on state facilities, public buildings and grounds to fly at half-staff in Ellen Caseys honor.

Gov. Robert Casey and his wife, Ellen Casey, speak to Amy Miller, 11, left and Jessica Hassell, 8, both of Harrisburg, during a tour of the Pa. Farm Show in 1995. (PennLive, file)Harrisburg Patriot-News

Ellen was an ambassador for the commonwealth and her beloved home of Scranton. Like Governor Casey, she made family, health, and children part of her lifes work, first lady Lori Shapiro said in a news release. Her work to raise awareness around breast cancer, literacy and so much more made the lives of countless Pennsylvanians better.

Ellen Casey was a liberal arts graduate of Marywood College in Scranton.

In 1990, The Patirot-News wrote that officials in both the public and private sector credit her with bringing the literacy issue to the forefront in Pennsylvania and say her involvement has given many people the encouragement to learn how to read.

In that story, John Christopher, director of the Education Departments Division of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, described her as a tremendous plus in helping the overall adult education program in Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Casey has been tremendous assisting in the adult literacy effort, he said. She has been to many graduations. She has been to prisons, and she has been to hospitals, meeting with the people. She even had a reception for 10 outstanding students last year.

Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge said he and his wife, Michele, offered sympathy to the Casey family.

When we first moved into the governors residence in January 1995, no one was more welcoming, open and gracious to our family than Ellen Casey, he said in an statement. Her thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit during that period of transition helped us immensely, especially Michele who as the new first lady welcomed Ellens good counsel about setting up a home in Harrisburg.

Her leadership and advocacy on behalf of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition has positively impacted the lives of countless women across the commonwealth. Her work in that area continues to this day.

All of us so admired Ellens strength during former Governor Caseys significant health challenges and the care and love she shared not only with her husband but her entire family. She was always there for Governor Casey and the family, a true matriarch in every sense of the word.

Matt Casey, middle, stands on the steps of St. Peter's church, Scranton, with his mother, Ellen, left, and other family members as Gov. Robert P. Casey's coffin is lowered into a hearse for procession to the burial site in Moscow, Pa., in 2000. (PennLive, file)Harrisburg Patriot-News

This story has been updated with Ridges statement.

More:

Sen. Bob Casey to seek 4th term in office in 2024

Pa. state workers ratify AFSCME contract with largest pay raises in years

Property tax, rent rebate program will soon serve more older Pennsylvanians
Laois Heritage Week features a special sunflower fundraiser that will help families living with Autism and Alzheimers.

Pick your Own Sunflowers is a Charity Event in aid of Laois Offaly Families for Autism and The Alzheimers Society of Ireland is the name of the event at The Heath House on the final weekend of Heritage Week which runs from August 12 to 20.

The event is the brainchild of Roisin O'Connell Hussey who has organised similar events in recent years. During Heritage Week in 2022 some 4,000 was raised for Ukrainian refugees.

"Bring your own secateurs and enjoy family or personal time in an acre of sunflowers, on our little organic farm, in the beautiful Laois countryside. Watch out for bees, butterflies and lady birds and a few thistles and creepy crawlies, as your walk among the sunflowers," say the organisers this year in their invite to the public.

Strong covered shoes are recommended, as the flowers are planted in an organic farm field event with no pesticides or herbicides used.

"So there will be stinging plants and insects," say the organisers.

Adults are asked to supervise children at all times. Parking available around the venue The Heath, Portlaoise, eircode R32 VH28. Access is limited to the sunflower field area only. The event is weather dependent.

The event takes place on Sunday, August 20 starting at 10.30am. No booking is required, but numbers are limited to a maximum of 200 people per picking session as follows:

10:30am-12:30pm

12:30-2:30pm

2:30-4:30pm

All proceeds are accepted via donations at the entrance to the charities.

For more information email: roisinoconnellhussey@gmail.com or telephone: 085 175 4709
A Senator from County Kildare has welcomes the announcement of a new 15 million electric vehicle (EV) charging scheme.

Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin made the comments earlier today.

She said about the announcement: "I am delighted this call under the EU Just Transition Fund has just been launched.

"The collaboration for this endeavour involves financial support from both the Irish government and the European Union, with the aim of enabling an equitable shift towards a low-carbon economy in the Midlands region, a Just Transition Fund totalling 169 million has been jointly established by the EU and the Irish government.

"This fund is allocated for the period spanning from 2023 to 2026."

Senator O'Loughlin continued: "Within the framework of the Joint Task Force (JTF), a fresh initiative is accessible through Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) within Ireland's EU JTF region.

"This initiative enables the installation of Electric Vehicle chargers at community establishments.

"Valued at 15 million, this program offers grants sourced from the EU Just Transitions Fund... this fund receives contributions from both the Irish Exchequer and the European Union, and it covers the entire expense linked to civil, electrical, and installation tasks required for setting up publicly available 50 kW electric vehicle chargers."

The Senator further said that while the news was positive, she added that she 'will be continuing to lobby for my own area of Rathangan to gain access to Just Transition Funding.'

"The exclusion of many areas of South Kildare from the fund is an issue, and is something I feel should be addressed," she added.

Applications for this fund are open until September 28.

In related news, Senator O'Loughlin said that a site in Newbridge has seen 'a significant reduction' in antisocial behaviour.
A 20-year-old woman was the subject of fraud when she transferred 7,400 euro to someone she believed was the landlord of a property but later discovered the home was never for rent, according to gardai.

An Garda Siochana has issued a warning over student accommodation fraud amid an anticipated annual spike between August and October.

In the case of the 20-year-old woman, gardai said she had travelled to the Netherlands to obtain the keys for the rented property there but the landlord failed to meet her, ignored her phone calls and ultimately blocked her number.

She subsequently learned the property was never up for rent, gardai said.

In another case, a 30-year-old man viewed a digital letting agency and was sent what he believed was a contract via email, which he signed and paid a total of 4,000 euro for a property in Dublin.

The lease was agreed to start on July 1 2023. When the man went to the property, there was nobody there and he was unable to contact the landlord.

Elsewhere, a 25-year-old woman transferred 1,200 euro over the app Revolut for a first months rent after responding to an advertisement regarding an apartment  but no keys were ever provided.

Gardai also released details of a case study regarding a 28-year-old woman looking for a seasonal rental who contacted an agent with a UK-registered number via WhatsApp.

The agent requested a deposit of 1,236 euro which was transferred to a bank with a French international bank account number (IBAN).

The woman was then unable to make further contact with the agent.

A 21-year-old woman posted on Facebook that she was seeking student accommodation in Cork and received correspondence from a third party with what she believed was a suitable apartment.

The agent requested a deposit of 800 euro to secure the accommodation.

Since making the transfer she has not received keys to the apartment or any correspondence from the agent.

All these incidents were reported to gardai in July of this year.

Gardai said while there was a 38% increase in accommodation fraud in 2022 compared with 2021, there has been a slight decrease (8%) in fraud reports to the end of June this year.

Approximately one third of all accommodation fraud occurs during August and September, with more than 50% of victims of accommodation fraud aged under 25.

Approximately 55% of victims of accommodation fraud are female and around half of the incidents occur in Dublin.

Gardai said around two million euro has been stolen in accommodation fraud in last five years.

They warn that typically forms of fraud include when the fraudster claims to be out of the country and cannot show the renter the property unless they pay a deposit.

Gardai said fraudsters can also be living in the property when they show a number of people the home, get a deposit from several parties and disappear with the money.

Often the transaction appears normal until the renter finds that the property does not exist, is already occupied or the keys do not work and the landlord has disappeared.

Gardai also warned that reservation fraud occurs when a person pays for a hotel/guesthouse room and subsequently discovers that the transaction was fraudulent, for example, the property does not exist or staff at the property have no record of the booking.

The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) has issued advice and warning signs when looking for rented accommodation.

Warning signs include when payment is demanded before signing the lease or when a renter is asked to pay cash, cryptocurrency or money via a non-bank transfer.

Gardai advised renters never to agree to rent a property without first having the opportunity to view it, to ensure that the keys work and they have proper contact details for the landlord/agent  which would ideally be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. and Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Forestry, Senator Hackett Pippa Hackett, have welcomed the European Commissions announcement that it has granted State Aid approval to the afforestation scheme under Irelands new Forestry Programme.



The Forestry Programme is a 1.3 billion investment by the Government in Irish forestry for the next five years from 2023-2027 which required State aid approval by the Commission.



Welcoming the Commission decision, Minister Hackett said, The Commissions approval of our afforestation programme is a hugely significant milestone in our longer term vision out to 2050 to increase our forest cover as a critical part of the States Climate Action Plan.



The new 1.3 billion Forestry Programme is the best-funded, most environmentally friendly programme in the history of the State.



It has been designed so that planting trees can deliver for farm incomes, for climate, for biodiversity, for water quality, for recreation, for rural economies, and for the production of high quality timber for use in our homes and other buildings of the future.



Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, commented, Farmers are absolutely central to the success of our overall forestry strategy. Reflecting that ambition, our new Forestry Programme is designed to attract and reward farmers ahead of any other landowners.



This Governments policy is to provide farmers with the biggest opportunity to benefit from the forestry payments this programme can deliver.



I fully appreciate that confidence in the sector has been damaged but this Programme, that will see farmers get 20-year premiums at an annual rate up to 66% higher than previous programmes, will reinvigorate the sector and support our climate action targets.



The new Programme provides for increased premiums for planting trees of up to 1,142 per hectare depending on the forest type, as well as extending the premium period from 15 to 20 years for farmers. Others will receive premiums for 15 years.

It offers a broad range of planting options and the rates are 46%-66% higher than the previous Forestry Programme.



The total budget for the Forestry Programme 2023  2027 is 1.3 billion.



This includes establishment grants for afforestation as well as annual premium payments for 20 years for farmers who sign up to the Programme between 2023 and 2027, and 15 years for non-farmers who do so.
During a protest by the Landless Workers' Movement on a Brazilian highway, at Eldorado dos Carajas, in the state of Para, on April 16, 2023. NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP

Is there dissension between Lula and his main ally? In recent weeks, the left-wing president has had to face up to the demands of Brazil's largest mass organization, the Landless Workers' Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, MST), whose activists have stepped up their protests and stunts. They are doing so at the risk of irritating, or even undermining, the head of state they helped elect in October 2022.

The most recent action took place on July 31 in Petrolina, in the heart of the arid Sertao Nordestino in Brazil's north. Thousands of MST members spectacularly occupied a farm, owned by the state agricultural research agency Embrapa, with their fists raised in protest. The aim was to force the government to respect its commitments and find land for 900 landless farming families in the region.

The action is part of a wider context of the movement's popularity. Four months ago, the MST unleashed its "Red April" and occupied at least nine farms across the country. Backed by its large activist numbers (nearly 500,000 farming families), the landless activists intended to bring their full weight to bear on the country's institutions, aiming to obtain a fairer distribution of land and the agrarian reform they have been demanding for decades.

A 'cowardly' government

After the Jair Bolsonaro years, when he described the landless activists as "terrorists" and advocated the use of "flamethrowers" against them, it would be an understatement to say that the return of a left-wing government was eagerly awaited. "Comrade Lula," founder of the Workers' Party (WP), has been a staunch supporter of the movement since the 1980s. During his first two terms in office (2003-2011), he redistributed almost 50 million hectares of land and opened lines of credit to small farmers. All this ensured his popularity.

"Lula represents the return of democracy and the reconstruction of Brazil. But that doesn't mean we will stop being autonomous, stop defending agrarian reform and stop organizing a people's movement!" said Ceres Hadich, national coordinator of the MST. This is all the more true since, eight months after the president's return to office, she believes that little or nothing has been done to help the landless workers. Yet more reason for disappointment, and even anger, to grow among the MST ranks. Recently, Joao Pedro Stedile, a founder and historic figure of the movement, criticized the government in the press for being "very slow" and "cowardly."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Lula's image is tarnishing in Brazil

"We know it's not an easy task for Lula, after the chaos left by Bolsonaro," said Hadich. It's also, she acknowledged, made more difficult by the president's complex political position, as he only controls a fifth of the seats in Congress. The slightest social advance would be conditional on the agreement of conservative establishment parties, which are sympathetic to the positions of agribusiness and major landowners.

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The former head of the Lebanese Central Bank, Riad Salameh, on December 20, 2021, in Beirut. JOSEPH EID / AFP

The beginning of Riad Salameh's retirement was quickly disrupted. Less than two weeks after stepping down as head of the Bank of Lebanon (BDL), the former central bank governor was sanctioned by the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom on Thursday, August 10. In the eyes of the US Treasury Department, his "corrupt and unlawful actions have contributed to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon."

Washington is accusing the 73-year-old former governor, who held his post for some 30 years, of having "abused his position of power (...) to enrich himself and his associates by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars through layered shell companies to invest in European real estate." He is also accused of having "placed his personal financial interests and ambitions above those of the people he served, even as the economic crisis in Lebanon worsened." Lebanon has been in an economic meltdown since 2019.

The measures taken by the US and its partners mean that Salameh's assets  as well as those of his relatives, who have also been blacklisted  are frozen in these countries. Salameh has told Reuters that he intends to "challenge" the decision. The US administration claims that the "coordinated sanctions complement" ongoing investigations in Europe and Lebanon. Two arrest warrants against him were issued in May by the French and German courts. Presenting himself as a "scapegoat," the former governor has always denied accusations of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.

Warning to political leaders

Salameh has long been considered a loyal partner of the US. As head of Lebanon's central bank, he had access to sensitive data, including that which could concern Hezbollah financiers, who are being hunted down by Washington. The fact that he was able to complete his final term of office was seen by some observers as a sign that the US wished to spare its former ally. "However, it was well known that the Americans no longer supported Riad Salameh," said a senior Lebanese official, before adding ironically that "it took them longer to reach the conclusions of the European investigators."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Discredited but untouchable, former Lebanese central bank director Riad Salameh will enjoy golden retirement

The US sanctions are "belated, but far from insignificant," said anti-corruption lawyer Karim Daher. "They will complicate all transactions in other financial markets. Banks operating in dollars don't want to take the risk of dealing with a person watched by the US Treasury. These sanctions are also a sign that the noose is tightening internationally around Riad Salameh."

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Supporters of the CNSP party demonstrate in Niamey on August 10, 2023. AFP

Night was falling on the Niger River when Niamey residents learned of the decision which, if implemented, could plunge their country into war. On Thursday, August 10, the heads of state and representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered the mobilization of its military force at an extraordinary summit in Abuja. The same objectives that have been repeated since the early hours of the July 26 coup against President Mohamed Bazoum were invoked: to dislodge from power the coup leaders commanded by General Abdourahamane Tiani and to free the elected president, currently held captive with his wife and son, in order to restore constitutional order.

The threat of military intervention by west African armies has hung over the Niger junta since the previous ECOWAS summit on July 30, when the regional organization set the generals a one-week ultimatum. Determined to retain power in Niamey at the risk of compromising the security of its members, the deadline expired without the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) showing the slightest sign of surrender. A new chance for dialogue emerged, but on Tuesday, August 8, the junta refused the arrival in Niamey of the joint delegation dispatched the same day by ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Niger: Junta is fueled by anger against a 'sick democracy'

"All diplomatic efforts undertaken by ECOWAS to resolve the crisis have been defiantly rebuffed by the military leadership," lamented the organization in its final press release on Thursday. While underlining "its determination to keep all options open for a peaceful resolution of the crisis," ECOWAS reiterated its readiness for military intervention. The details, the "how" and "when," were defined by the chiefs of staff of member countries meeting in Abuja from August 2 to 4. A further planning step was taken on Thursday when ECOWAS gave "instructions" to the armed forces chiefs of staff committee "to mobilize the force and all its components without delay."

The force was created in 1990 on Nigeria's initiative to put an end to the civil war in Liberia. It subsequently intervened in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, and, in its most recent operation to date, Gambia in 2017. The deployment schedule, number and exact origin of the soldiers making up the force have not yet been communicated. Ivory Coast believes the coup leaders should be dealt with firmly. Returning from Abuja, President Alassane Ouattara announced on Thursday evening that his country would "provide a battalion" of 850 to 1,100 men, alongside Nigeria and Benin, as well as "all the financial provisions" necessary for the smooth running of an operation "as quickly as possible."

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An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP

Hawaii's chief legal officer said Friday she was opening a probe into the handling of devastating wildfires that killed at least 80 people in the state this week, as criticism grows of the official response. The announcement and increased death toll came as residents of Lahaina were allowed back into the town for the first time  with most finding their homes reduced to ashes, and even the lucky few angry at a sense of abandonment.

Hawaii's Attorney General Anne Lopez said her office would examine "critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawai'i islands this week." She added that her department would make the findings public.

Late Friday, Maui County officials revised the death toll to 80, adding that 1,418 people were in emergency evacuation shelters. The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.

Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Scientists have said global warming caused by carbon emissions is contributing to the extreme weather.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP

'Completely destroyed'

The number of people killed has surpassed the count from when a tsunami struck the Big Island in 1960. "Without a doubt, there will be more fatalities. We don't know ultimately how many will have occurred," Governor Josh Green said.

Green said he expected the death toll to exceed Hawaii's worst previous natural disaster, a large wave that left 61 people dead in 1960 on the Big Island. The death toll currently stands at 67 but "the number has been rising and we will continue to see loss of life," he said.

Images taken by an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer who flew over Lahaina showed it had been reduced to blackened, smoking ruins. The burned skeletons of trees still stand, rising above the ashes of the buildings to which they once offered shelter. Green said 80% of the town was gone  "completely destroyed."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Heatwaves: The economic cost of climate inaction

Thousands have been left homeless and Green said a massive operation was swinging into action to find accommodation. "We are going to need to house thousands of people," he told a press conference.

President Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a "major disaster" and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, with rebuilding expected to take years. Pope Francis on Friday offered his prayers to the people of Hawaii and said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy.

Crews from Honolulu arrived on Maui along with search and rescue teams from the US mainland equipped with five K-9 cadaver dogs, Maui County said. Firefighters were continuing to extinguish flare-ups and contain wildfires in Lahaina, with spot blazes evident. Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said Thursday that as many as 1,000 people could be unaccounted for, though he stressed that this did not mean they were missing or dead.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in the historic Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii. PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP

Water rescues

US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina.

Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of dense smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water. Thousands of people have been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out.

Maui County has asked visitors to leave "as soon as possible," and organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport. The island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy.

As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for brush or forest fires.
HELLS Angels motorcycle club have opened a clubhouse in county Limerick, the Leader can reveal.

A celebration was organised with dozens of bikers from Limerick and across Ireland attending the event. It was held at the location of their new clubhouse, just off the N24, near Pallasgreen.

The arrival of the Hells Angels has caused concern among some locals in the wider Pallasgreen area. The Leader understands that gardai in Limerick are aware of the Hells Angels' arrival in Limerick.

With a membership of over 6,000, and 467 chapters in 59 countries, the Hells Angels is the largest motorcycle club in the world

One Pallasgreen local told the Leader of their concerns.

Look, I'm sure they are passionate about their Harley Davidsons and going for bike rides and what not but you do read an awful lot in the press about them which would make you uneasy, said the local.

While gardai are aware of the opening of the Hells Angels clubhouse on the weekend before last, it was handled very differently to the official initiation of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club Limerick chapter seven years ago.

That gathering in 2016 was heavily policed by local gardai, detectives and the Regional Support Unit.

The Limerick Leader contacted Hells Angels MC Ireland asking what their plans for the clubhouse are and if they would like to allay the concerns of some locals but there was no response at the time of going to press.

The Leader also contacted a person who is familiar with the motorbike club scene and asked them about the Hells Angels coming to Pallasgreen.

They are sound. They took over an empty building and made a fine job of it. People are watching too much TV. They are a nice bunch of lads, they told the Leader.
NATIONAL Heritage Week returns once again this year with an assortment of events in Limerick dedicated to Irelands cultural, built and national heritage.

Each year Limerick community organisations participate in Heritage Week by organising events throughout the city and county.

This year National Heritage Week will take place from Saturday August 12 to Sunday August 20.

It brings together volunteers, community groups and heritage enthusiasts to share their experience, knowledge, culture and practices.

This years theme invites you to explore the traditions and practices, knowledge and skills passed down through generations.

Some of the events expected throughout the week include the Art of Writing at the Hunt Museum in Limerick city. This event will allow you to find out more about the ancient art of calligraphy. Learn to make a pen from a feather and how to write as they would have in Medieval Europe.

Lough Gur Visitors Centre will be hosting a workshop on the native bumblebee. This workshop is aimed at children between the ages of six and ten.
Vigorous debate boiled over into heated exchanges on the streets of Limerick city when a group of far-right protestors demonstrated their anger at the availability of LGBTQ+ reading materials for children in local libraries and bookstores.

They deem the material to be explicit and unsuitable for children.

The far-right demonstrators were met by counter-protestors, many from the group Limerick Against Fascism, who showed up with colourful pride flags.

Heated exchanges took place as the agitators - who claim they are on a Sovereign Voyage to protect childhood on the Shannon river- held up a large banner on the centre of O'Connell Street that read There are only two genders, male & female.

After holding recent protests in Dublin, Cork and Galway, the group made their way to Limerick. Wearing green sweatshirts branded Education not indoctrination, the far-right protestors first stopped on Bedford Row, not too far from OMahonys bookshop, with their banner.

Later on, they went to Limerick City Library, where gardai were waiting for their arrival. In a bit to prevent them from entering the library, a group of counter-protestors held hands to make a chain.

After quickly leaving the scene, the protestors made their way to Eason on OConnell Street, where they entered the premises to search for the books they want to see banned.

Later on, they walked to bars, where staff refused to serve them, as they were concerned about the safety of their customers.

At the head of the far-right group is Andrew (Andy) Heasman, an activist from Dublin, who calls himself an Irish journalist on social media. He has been complaining that a book written by author Juno Dawson (among others books) is pornographic and should not be displayed for children.

On Friday, their second day in the city, the far-right group were seen cruising down the River Shannon on their motor boat before making their way to Limerick City Library, where they entered the premises.

The protestors asked if the book This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, was on the shelves referring to pornographic material and the book being deemed inappropriate for children.

A staff member told them the book was part of their collection. They were asked by library staff to stop filming inside the premises, but the group didnt stop recording saying it was for their own safety.

Counter-protestors showed up to the library with a colourful pride flag. They responded, saying that the far-right protestors have previously contradicted what they are saying about protecting children.

Before leaving the premises, Mr Heasman told staff youve been served and tried to hand them an envelope.

After the scene at Limerick City Library, counter-protestors made their way to OMahonys bookshop on OConnell Street, as they were worried the group might head there.

According to the managing director of OMahonys Booksellers, Frank OMahony, anyone has the right to protest but Mr O'Mahony didn't want any disruption inside the bookshop.

They can protest in the ordinary channels. They can walk up and down the street as long as it's allowed by guards, that sort of thing. But we don't allow protests inside in the shop as I have a staff to look after. They shouldn't be protesting inside libraries.

"They're doing a lot of things that just aren't acceptable. So that's why we're going to close the doors as soon as they arrive and not deal with them. They want to protest. Let them do it out in the street like anybody else. End of story.

After failing to ban books in Limerick, the men were seen getting back onto their motorboat to head for the next stop on their voyage.
LIMERICK influencer Chloe Koyce has become the face of makeup brand Flormar as she takes on the new gig of headline brand ambassador.



The 23 year old launched the first campaign yesterday into Halley's Pharmacy in Annacotty and the campaign will continue to roll out in Flormar concession stands across the country over the next few weeks.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by CHLOE KOYCE (@chloekoyce)



The role of a brand ambassador is to create awareness for a company's service or product, to interact with customers and listen to their feedback as well as develop new ways to market products.



An influencer is known as a person who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience.



Influencing and influencer marketing has become a big part of companies marketing campaigns with more influencers starting out to one day reach as big a milestone as Chloe.



After launching the campaign, Chloe took to her Instagram stories to say;



What is my life, I can't believe it is out and I can talk about it. It means so much to me and my goal is to get fully involved in Flormar. I am going to make Flormar the best brand ever and it is already but I am moving onto the next thing already.



Chloe continued; It is honestly insane, when I was filming Flormar videos before I had an ironing board, one light and books and boxes stacked up to film. To think that was in lockdown in 2020 and here I am now the face of Flormar.It is all thanks to the team I have around me, Flormar, my management and obviously you guys as none of this would have been possible and I am so excited.



Flormar took to Instagram to break the news of their new face saying; Having collaborated with Chloe for several years now and watching her account grow and grow to the social media superstar she is today, it was a no-brainer to team up with her to be the face of our brand. Watch out for everything thats coming.Chloes face appearing front and centre of all our stands, makeup masterclasses, behind the scenes of our gorgeous shoot and more.We love you Chloe and we are so excited to work with you these next few months.





Chloe hinted that her first role as brand ambassador will be to plan a Flormar event which we will be keeping our eyes peeled to find out more!
AN ADDITIONAL 78,000 children will now receive additional free healthcare benefits thanks to the extension of one HSE scheme.

Children aged six and seven will receive free GP Visit Cards, meaning free GP care for 78,000 more children. Families and guardians are being encouraged to register online.

Since 2015, children under six years of age have been eligible for GP Visit Cards. The measure extending eligibility to children these ages was announced recently by the government, and is supported by an agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation.

Our staff have been working hard in the background preparing for this change, said Shaun Flanagan, HSE Assistant National Director, Primary Care Reimbursement Service.

We have updated our systems and processes to make it as easy as possible for people to apply for the new GP Visit Cards on behalf of eligible children.

Remember, the quickest and easiest way to apply for a GP visit card for your child is online, Mr Flanagan reminds people.

If you have a GP visit card, you don't have to pay to see your doctor but you will have to pay for medicines and other services.

Eligibility for income based means tested GP Visit Cards is being widened in two phases, the first being introduced on Monday, September 11, and the second on Monday, November 13.
THE FUTURE of the VW brand is at stake." When Thomas Schafer, the mass-market marques newish boss, gave a presentation to his management team in early July, he did not sugarcoat its problems. High costs, falling demand, growing competitionthe list goes on. The roof is on fire," he warned, echoing one of the most noted alarm calls in recent business historyfrom Stephen Elop, who in 2011 compared his company to a burning platform" shortly after taking the helm at Nokia, then the worlds largest maker of mobile phones.

In the case of Nokia, the wake-up call did not help. A few years later the firm was dismantled and its mobile-phone business sold to Microsoft, which has since closed it down. Could mighty VW, its mightier parent group, which owns nine other brands, or even Germanys mightiest industry as a whole really suffer a similar fate? And if it did, what would that mean for Europes biggest economy?

An imminent implosion of the car industry seems unlikely. In 2022 Volkswagen was the worlds largest carmaker by revenue, giving it plenty of cash to support its biggest brand. On July 27th it reported that sales rose by a healthy 18% in the first half of 2023, year on year, to 156bn ($174bn). BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Germanys two other big automotive concerns, are in decent nick.

Yet disaster is no longer inconceivable. German industrialists are feeling real angst about the future. In July an index of business confidence from Ifo Institute, a think-tank, fell for the third consecutive month. German bosses echo Mr Schafers list of concerns and add other gripes, from bunged-up bureaucracy to the delicate geopolitics of trade with China.

Carmakers are more exposed to these challenges than most industries, as they are having to negotiate several transformations at once. They must electrify their fleet, for instance, and learn to develop software. As these trends play out, more of the value added is likely to come from elsewhere. Industry insiders admit that factories will have to shrink or even close down, as will many suppliers, especially those which make parts for internal combustion engines and gearboxes.

Germanys car industry must also tackle its growing China problem. Having benefited from the Asian giants rapid growth in recent decadesin the second half of 2022 Germanys three big car companies made around 40% of their revenue therethey are now suffering from a reversal of fortunes. Volkswagen has just cut its global delivery forecast owing chiefly to slowing Chinese sales. Geopolitics are liable to make things worse. And Chinese rivals have started expanding abroad, particularly in Europe. Last year, for the first time, China exported more cars than Germany: around 3m and 2.6m vehicles, respectively.

Driven to extinction?

All these problems are coming together in Wolfsburg, home to Volkswagens headquartersand thus the roof in Mr Schafers metaphor. According to press reports, orders for the groups EVs are between 30% and 70% below plans, depending on the marque. The firm still has to sort out its software problems: in May it again shook up the management team of Cariad, its digital unit. In Chinas fast-growing market for EVs, the VW brand is an also-ran, with a market share of 2%.

The consequences of carmakers potential demise depend on how big you think the industry is. Carmaking directly employs fewer than 900,000 people in Germany, two-thirds of them at the car firms and the rest at their suppliers. That is just 2% or so of Germanys total workforce. Nearly three-quarters of passenger cars sold under a German brand are now made abroad. Last year a mere 3.5m vehicles left local factoriesabout as many as in the mid-1970s.

Worried industry insiders point to alternative measures. More than half of the EUs carmaking gross value added is produced in Germany, miles ahead of France, which is second with 9%. Cars account for 16% of German exports of goods. And although the economic importance of Germanys car industry peaked at 4.7% of the countrys gross value added in 2017, the share was still at 3.8% in 2020, the last year for which data are available, calculates Nils Jannsen of the Kiel Institute, a think-tank. According to other estimates, this is about a percentage point more than other carmaking powerhouses such as Japan and South Korea.

Moreover, zeroing in on narrow industry numbers misses the sectors true importance for Deutschland AG. Its an operating system of sorts," explains Oliver Falck, who runs the Ifo Centre for Industrial Organisation and New Technologies. Important parts of the German economy and its institutions rely on it," he says.

For starters, direct suppliers are not the only ones to depend on Volkswagen and its peers. More recent numbers are hard to come by, but according to a study in 2020 by Thomas Puls of IW, another think-tank, and others, global demand for German cars accounted for more than 16% of the value added of Germanys metal bashers and plastics makers. They also estimated that such global demand indirectly paid for another 1.6m jobs, bringing the total number of people supported by the car industry to 2.5m, more than 5% of the German workforce.

German investment and innovation are tied to the countrys carmakers. The car industry accounted for 35% of gross fixed capital formation in manufacturing in 2020, according to IW. In 2021 the sector was the source of more than 42% of manufacturing research and development and paid for 64% of all R&D conducted by other firms and research institutions, based on numbers from the Stifterverband, an association mostly of research foundations. According to IW, carmakers accounted for nearly half of corporate patent filings in 2017, up from a third in 2005.

The car industry is also central to Germanys much-vaunted social model. One important element is regional equality. Car factories were often built in otherwise economically weak areas, of which Wolfsburg is the prime example. The sector shores up many of these regions. According to one recent study, 48 of Germanys 400 cities and counties are heavily dependent on jobs in the car industry. Wolfsburg leads the pack: 47% of the citys workers toil in the sector. Should carmaking fade, Germany would face many local crises", says Wolfgang Schroeder, one of the authors of the study and a fellow at the WZB, a research outfit.

Without a strong car industry, Germanys generally placid industrial relations would become much rougher. Union leaders such as Roman Zitzelsberger, who heads IG Metall in Baden-Wurttemberg, the state that is home to Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bosch, a giant car-parts supplier, freely admit that it is the organisations backbone". IG Metalls some 2m members make it the worlds single biggest trade union. About a third of them work in the car industry. Union membership at some companies in the sector reaches 90%. This strength, in turn, helps IG Metall negotiate good wage deals which then radiate out to other firms and industries where it is less entrenched.

The car industry also undergirds Germanys model of co-determination, where workers are guaranteed representation on corporate boards. Volkswagen is again the prime example. The sectors powerful works councils provide IG Metall with access to important resources, from money to information. Employee representatives make up half the firms 20-member supervisory board, giving them access to regular updates about the companys condition and the ability to veto strategic decisions. (Another two members are political appointees from the state of Lower Saxony, which owns 12% of the group.)

If this arrangement were to fall apart, it would alter the balance of Germanys labour market, reckons Sebastian Dullien, an economist at the Hans-Bockler-Stiftung, a trade-union think-tank. To exaggerate only a bit, it will make a big difference whether Volkswagen manages its transformation or whether it is replaced by Tesla," he says, referring to the American EV pioneer, which has just announced that it intends to expand its plant near Berlin to what will be Europes biggest car factory. Over time, says Mr Dullien, manufacturing jobs in Germany would no longer be exceptionally well paid relative to service ones and manufacturing jobs in other European countries.

Harder to measure, but no less profound, would be the psychological effects of a diminished German car industry. The reputation of German industry and its engineering prowess, already knocked by Volkswagens Dieselgate" emissions-cheating scandal of 2015, would take another hit. In a paper published last year, Rudiger Bachmann of the University of Notre Dame and others calculated that because the company was found fiddling with emissions readings, sales of other German brands in America fell by 166,000 cars, costing them $7.7bn in forgone revenues, or nearly a quarter of their total in 2014.

If Germanys car industry were to evaporate, in other words, this would leave a huge economic crater in the midst of Europe", says Mr Schroeder of WZB. Germanys politicians are, of course, desperate not to let that happen. After Dieselgate, their support for the sector is less wholehearted. But subsidies such as tax breaks for company cars, which make it worthwhile for employees to forgo a part of their salary in exchange for a high-end vehicle, are not going away. More than two in three new cars in Germany are bought by companies; many end up being driven mostly on personal trips.

In Lower Saxony the car industry may well be too big to let fail. Volkswagen operates factories in five places besides Wolfsburg. Altogether, the firm employs about 130,000 people there. The states politicians need only look next-door at Thuringia to see what might happen if its economy flounderedwhich it inevitably would were Volkswagen to crumble. The far-right Alternative for Germany party now leads Thuringian polls with 34%.

Riding into the sunset

Such considerations are drowning out voices pointing out that extending life support for carmakers could be counterproductive in the long term. Mr Bachmann thinks German politicians need to put a bit more faith in market forces to fill the economic space that might open up as German carmaking wanes. Germanys oversized car industry, once a strength, increasingly holds the country back, argues Christoph Bornschein of TLGG, a consultancy. Cars are the biggest manifestation of Germanys total focus on mechanical engineering," he says. As Volkswagens ongoing problems with its software unit show, an economic system that is optimised to churn out expensive mechanical wonders that run like clockwork will struggle to reinvent itself in an increasingly digitised world.

Once the car industry is no longer that dominant, there would be more space for alternatives. Fewer subsidies would flow into the sector, and more capital into startups. Fewer young Germans would study mechanical engineering and more opt for computer science instead. And researchers would put more effort into, say, developing mobility services instead of filing one more car-related patent.

The freewheeling approach has worked for Eindhoven. The Dutch city, once as dominated by Philips, a one-time electronics giant, as Wolfsburg is by Volkswagen, now hosts thousands of small companies. Most of these supply ASML, a manufacturer of advanced chipmaking equipment that has emerged as one of Europes most valuable companies. Espoo, still home to the rump Nokia, which today makes telecoms networking gear, also now boasts a thriving startup ecosystem.

Admittedly, carmaking is much more deeply rooted than the ephemeral production of electronics such as mobile phones. As such, especially if the decline is gradual, the sector will adapt. Big suppliers such as Bosch or Continental will work more for foreign carmakers such as Tesla (in the Californian firms early days, Bosch is said to have provided 80% of its value added). Smaller suppliers will specialise and provide services, as many Mittelstand firms have done before. And Germany is likely to stop producing cheaper cars and focusing even more on making smaller numbers of higher-margin luxury ones. Volkswagen may even turn itself into a contract manufacturer, assembling EVs for other brands, much as Foxconn puts together iPhones for Apple.

Some in and around the industry are already imagining a future without Volkswagen, at least as it exists today. The business needs to stop building its strategies only around the car", says Andreas Boes of ISF Munich, another research outfit. Mr Boes leads a group of youngish car-industry executives and experts which recently published a Mobilistic Manifesto". Instead of making cars ever more comfortable, so people spend more time in them and can be sold additional services, firms should aim to organise societys ability to go from A to B as a whole, he suggests. Volkswagen and its fellow German carmakers have always helped people move around. There is no reason why they shouldnt keep doing it in clever new ways.
The web design industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in India. With over 900 million internet users, India is the second-largest online market after China. This growth of internet users has led to a surge in demand for web design services, especially from small and medium enterprises (SMEs). And this is where getting the best web design companies in India comes in.

According to a study by KPMG, SMEs with a digital presence have 51% higher revenues than those without. This means that if you run a business, you will get higher revenues with an online presence.

But heres the challenge. Many web design companies have emerged in India to cater to this growing demand for web design. Since many web design companies are out there, knowing the best for your business is difficult. And that is why this article exists.

We vetted several companies based on their expertise, experience, quality, and pricing. And from our results, we compiled a list of the top 10 web design companies in India that you should consider for your web project.

You can easily get the best web design companies in India by checking out this list. Ready? Lets check them out!

List of Top 10 Web Design Companies in India

Here are Indias best web development agencies for creating stunning, functional websites for your business.

View Full Image eFlair has a team of experienced and skilled web designers.

eFlair WebTech is one of the best web development agencies in India, specializing in creating custom websites for clients across various industries.

With over a decade of experience, eFlair has a team of experienced and skilled web designers who use the latest technologies and tools, including AI and Machine Learning, to deliver high-quality, user-friendly websites.

They've worked with big names like Expedia and Razorpay, consistently delivering results that exceed industry standards.

Services offered: Responsive web design, UI/UX design, e-commerce development, CMS development, SEO, digital marketing, mobile app development, and more.

Location: Bangalore and Vijayawada

Contact email: info@eflairwebtech.com

View Full Image Techahead gives human-centric design, scalable and secure architecture, and digital products that make a real impact.

Techahead has been shaking up the tech industry for over a decade, delivering cutting-edge digital solutions and pushing the boundaries beyond what's possible.

With a team of over 200 highly skilled professionals in India and an impressive portfolio of 2,000+ successful projects, Techahead gives human-centric design, scalable and secure architecture, and digital products that make a real impact.

Theyve worked with startups and global brands, including big names like Audi, Disney, American Express, and Starbucks.

Services offered: Web design, Mobile App Development, Web App Development, Internet of Things (IoT).

Location: New Delhi

Contact: sales@techaheadcorp.com

View Full Image Openxcell takes team ownership seriously and delivers outstanding results to its clients.

OpenXcell is a trusted and accredited web design company with a solid reputation for delivering premium services. With over 12 years of experience, it has a global customer base of over 1000 and over 500 qualified professionals who can help transform your business with cutting-edge technology.

They offer transparent pricing and state-of-the-art facilities to ensure quick product delivery. Openxcell takes team ownership seriously and delivers outstanding results to its clients.

Services offered: Web design, Mobile App Development, Web Application Development, B AI & ML Machine Learning UI UX Design.

Location: Ahmedabad

Contact: sales@openxcell.com

View Full Image Quytech offers end-to-end solutions that meet and exceed customers' expectations.

With over 13 years of experience, 1000 completed projects, and 500 satisfied customers, Quytech is trusted as one of the best web development agencies in India. From conceptualization to deployment support, they offer end-to-end solutions that meet and exceed customers' expectations.

Quytech has fueled success for hundreds of clients from Healthcare, Hospitality, FMCG, Retail, Real Estate, Education, Travel, and other business verticals.

Services offered:web design, web development, AI/ML development, blockchain development.

Location: Delhi NCR

Contact: info@quytech.com

Emizentech is one of the top UI/UX design agencies in India, renowned for providing cutting-edge digital solutions across diverse industries. Theyre dedicated to delivering e-commerce websites and websites that are highly efficient, scalable, and cost-effective.

Their highly skilled and expert designers and developers work together to analyze your needs, implement proven strategies, and develop creative ideas to give you a website or application to help your business succeed.

Services offered:Web design, Mobile app development, DevOps, digital transformation, and web development.

Location: Jaipur

Contact email: info@emizentech.com

Algoworks is a leader in digital transformation, and thats why it's one top 10 web design companies in India. Their team of experts specializes in providing top-notch web services. Algoworks has been at the forefront of web design since 2006, focusing on delivering exceptional results.

Theyve won numerous awards and completed over 1200 projects for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Their team of passionate techies and designers take pride in delivering top-quality products.

Services offered:Web design,Mobile app development, DevOps, digital transformation, Salesforce, and web development.

Location: Noida

Contact: sales@algoworks.com

The NineHertz is one of the leading website design firms in India dedicated to delivering top-quality digital solutions. With them, you can get access to a top-notch web design team, a decisive business consultant, a marketing leader, and a product manager all in one.

Since 2008, The Nine Hertz has been creating web solutions for some of the world's most innovative brands, including Pepsi, Casio, and Ericsson. The Nine Hertz has over 200 team members, including industry experts in web design and development.

Services offered:UI/UX design, mobile app development, digital transformation, e-Commerce solutions, and web development.

Location: Jaipur

Contact: sales@theninehertz.com

GeekyAnts is one of the incredibly leading web design companies in India that are taking the tech world by storm.

What's even more impressive is that they partner with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Google, AWS, and Vercel (creators of Next.js), and they've worked with 500+ clients worldwide. They've helped companies in various industries, including big names like Darden, MPL, ICICI, and Noon.

Services offered:UI/UX design. Web & Mobile Development, Business Analysis, Product Management.

Location: Bangalore

Contact Tel: +91 9595884422

Hyperlink Infosystem is one of the best web designers in India. This ISO 9001:2008 certified organization has delivered over 4500 dynamic and cost-effective solutions to clients worldwide since 2011. With an exceptional team of professionals, Hyperlink Infosystem has become one of the industry's most popular providers of tech services.

And that's not all! Hyperlink Infosystem is a member of the prestigious GESIA and has won numerous awards for its professional website creation in India.

Services offered:Web design,Mobile App Development, Web development, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain.

Location: Ahmedabad and Mumbai

Contact: info@hyperlinkinfosystem.com

WDI is one of the rapidly growing web design companies in India. Their team of excellent developers creates fast, secure, and scalable web solutions tailored to your specifications while adding significant strategic value to your product plan.

With over 20 years of experience, WDI has a vast knowledge base in various sectors, including FoodTech, eCommerce, SaaS Luxury and Lifestyle, Healthcare, and more. And their large team of expert and experienced designers is ready to support your business and fuel its growth. Plus, they work with trending tools, technologies, and frameworks, including AI and Machine Learning, to provide cutting-edge solutions for our clients.

Services offered:Web design,Mobile app development, e-Commerce, and web development.

Location: Mumbai

Contact: ideas@wdipl.com

Importance of Web Design in Digital Transformation

Digital transformation uses technologies to create new or modify existing business processes, products, services, and customer experiences. It is a strategic and innovative approach to achieving competitive advantage, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and business growth in the digital era.

Web design is integral to digital transformation, as it determines how a business interacts with its online audience and delivers its value proposition. It affects various aspects of digital transformation, including:

1. User Experience (UX)

User experience (UX) is a user's overall impression and satisfaction when interacting with a website or web application. It involves usability, accessibility, functionality, aesthetics, performance, and security.

A good web design can enhance the UX by providing a clear, intuitive, and engaging interface that meets the users needs and expectations. As a result, it can increase user retention, loyalty, conversion, and advocacy.

2. Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization is designing and developing a website or a web application that adapts to different screen sizes, resolutions, and orientations of mobile devices. It ensures that the website or the web application is accessible, readable, navigable, and responsive on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

A good web design can ensure mobile optimization using responsive, adaptive web design, progressive web apps, etc. This can improve user reach, engagement, and satisfaction.

3. Branding and Business Growth

Branding is creating a unique identity and image for a business in the minds of its customers and stakeholders. Web design can reinforce branding by creating a consistent and coherent visual identity across all digital channels and platforms. This can increase brand awareness, recognition, trust, loyalty, market share, revenue, profit, and a business's customer base.

4. Global Reach

Web design can help you access and serve customers from different countries and regions worldwide. You can create a website or a web application compatible with other languages, currencies, time zones, and cultural norms. It can also leverage global networks, partnerships, and platforms to expand the businesss presence and influence in the global market.

Pros and Cons of Web Design in Business

While Web design has many benefits for businesses in the digital age, it has some challenges and drawbacks that you must consider. Here are some of the pros and cons of web design in the industry:

Pros

Web design can help businesses create a professional and attractive online presence to attract and retain customers.

It can help businesses communicate their message and value proposition effectively and efficiently to their target audience.

Web design can help businesses optimize their website or web application for different devices, browsers, and search engines, improving their visibility and ranking on the internet.

It enhances the customer experience by providing a user-friendly, interactive, and personalized interface that can increase user satisfaction and loyalty.

Web design can help businesses increase their conversion rate by providing clear calls to action, trust signals, testimonials, and incentives to persuade users to take the desired action.

Web design can help businesses reduce operational costs by automating and streamlining their processes, such as inventory management, order processing, payment processing, customer service, etc.

It can help businesses generate valuable data and insights by tracking and analyzing user behavior, preferences, feedback, and performance metrics that can help them improve their products, services, and strategies.

Cons

Web design can be expensive and time-consuming to create and maintain, especially if it involves complex features, functions, and integrations.

It can be vulnerable to cyberattacks, hacking, malware, and other security threats that compromise the business's data, privacy, and reputation.

Technical issues such as bugs, errors, glitches, and downtime can disrupt the website or web application's functionality, performance, and reliability.

External factors like user feedback, competitor actions, market trends, and regulatory changes require frequent updates, modifications, and adaptations.

Websites can be challenging to differentiate and stand out, as millions of websites and web applications offer similar products, services, and features.

Understanding Web Design

Web design is a broad and multidisciplinary field with various aspects of creating and maintaining websites and web applications. It involves both the creative and technical aspects of web development. Lets explore this further.

Web Design vs. Web Development

Web design and web development are often used interchangeably, but they differ. Web design is planning and designing the visual and interactive elements of a website or a web application, such as layout, color scheme, typography, graphics, images, navigation, interactivity, and user interface. Web development is the process of coding and programming the functionality and logic of a website or a web application, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, etc.

Web designers create the front-end or the user-facing part of the website or web application, while web developers create the back-end or the server-side part of the website or web application. However, they both need to collaborate and communicate effectively to ensure that the website or web application meets the client's and user's requirements and expectations.

Types of Web Design

You can use different types of web design to create websites and web applications, depending on the purpose, audience, and content of the website or web application. Some of the common types of web design are:

1. Responsive web design

Responsive web design adapts to different screen sizes, resolutions, and orientations of devices, such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. It uses flexible grids, images, and media queries to adjust the layout and content of the website or web application according to the devices capabilities and preferences. Responsive web design aims to provide an optimal user experience across all devices.

2. Adaptive web design

Adaptive web design uses predefined layouts for different screen sizes and devices. It detects the devices characteristics and delivers the most suitable layout. Adaptive web design can provide faster loading times and better performance than responsive web design, but it requires more maintenance and testing.

3. Progressive web apps

This web design combines the features and benefits of both websites and native mobile apps. They are websites that you can install on mobile devices, work offline, send push notifications, access device hardware, etc. Progressive web apps aim to provide a seamless and immersive user experience across all platforms.

Tools and Technologies

Various web design tools and technologies are used to create websites and web applications. Some of the common ones are:

1. Figma

Figma is a web-based design tool that allows teams to collaborate on designs in real time. It is a popular choice for web designers because it is easy to use and has many features.

2. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful image editing software for creating and editing images for web design.

3. Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics software used to create illustrations, logos, and other graphics for web design.

4. HTML

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the foundation of all web pages. Developers use it to define the structure and content of a web page.

5. CSS

Cascading Style Sheets are used to control the appearance of a web page. This is for setting a web page's font, color, and layout elements.

6. JavaScript

JavaScript is a programming language used for adding interactivity to a web page. You can use it to create animations, pop-ups, and other interactive features.

7. Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a front-end framework that makes it easy to create responsive web pages. It provides a set of pre-built components and styles for creating a consistent look and feel across different devices.

Emerging Trends and Innovations

Web design is a dynamic and evolving field that constantly adapts to new trends and innovations in technology, user behavior, and market demands.

Some of the emerging trends and innovations in web design are:

1. AI and Machine Learning in Design

In web design, developers use AI and Machine Learning to automate tasks, optimize performance, enhance user experience, and generate creative solutions.

Some examples of AI and Machine Learning in web design are chatbots, content personalization, and the design of a website or a web application to each user's individual preferences.

2. Voice User Interfaces

Voice User Interfaces allow users to interact with websites or web applications using voice commands or speech recognition. They can provide more natural, convenient, and accessible communication and navigation for users, especially on mobile devices.

Voice Assistants can perform tasks or provide user information using voice input and output.

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects connected to the Internet that can communicate with each other and users. It can include sensors, cameras, smartphones, wearables, appliances, vehicles, etc.

IoT is now used in web design to create smart and interactive websites or web applications that collect, process, and display data from IoT devices. Some examples of IoT in web design are Smart Homes and Smart Cities.

4. Sustainability and Eco-friendly Designs

Sustainability and eco-friendly designs aim to reduce websites' or web applications' environmental impact and carbon footprint. They can include Green Hosting and Minimalist Design.

Competition and Collaboration In the Web Design Industry

The web design industry in India is highly competitive and dynamic, as many web design companies offer similar products, services, and features to the same or different markets. However, this competition among web design companies can have positive and negative effects. Here are some of them.

5. Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis involves studying rivals' strengths, weaknesses, products, and market strategies. It enables companies to identify opportunities and threats, tailor their offerings, and create unique selling propositions. This analysis fosters a competitive edge, guiding firms in decision-making, and it can lead to innovations in design, functionality, and user experience.

6. Collaboration Opportunities

Collaboration in the web design industry can be instrumental in pooling resources, expertise, and creativity. Collaboration fosters innovation and the sharing of ideas and technologies, whether between different teams within a company or through partnerships between companies. This can lead to more effective and efficient design processes and better end products. You can achieve collaboration through joint ventures, strategic partnerships, or simply the effective teamwork of designers and developers.

7. Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are common strategies in the web design industry for growth and consolidation. Acquiring or merging with another company can provide access to new markets, technologies, and talent. It might allow a company to expand its service offerings or gain a competitive advantage by eliminating competitors. Though potentially beneficial, M&A must be handled carefully to ensure a positive outcome and integration of cultures and technologies.

8. Entry Barriers and Regulations

While open to new entrants, the web design industry presents certain barriers and regulations. The need for specialized skills and knowledge can deter new competitors on the barriers front.

Establishing a reputation and a portfolio, competing with well-established players, and the fast-paced nature of technological change can be daunting for newcomers. Regulations might also impact the industry, with laws related to intellectual property, data protection, accessibility, and others that must be adhered to in the design process.

Choosing the Right Web Design Company

Choosing the right web design company for your web project can be a daunting and challenging task, as there are many factors that you need to consider before making a decision.

Some of them are:

1. Understanding What Your Needs Are

You need to have a clear idea of what you want your website or web application to do, how you want it to look, and who you want it to serve.

You must define your web project's requirements, objectives, and expectations, such as target audience, value proposition, features, functions, budget, timeline, etc.

2. Checking References and Reviews

Check the references and reviews of the web design companies you are interested in, such as their portfolio, testimonials, ratings, awards, certifications, etc. This might reveal evidence of their quality, experience, reputation, and credibility in the web design industry.

Also, look for feedback from their previous or existing clients, such as their satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals.

3. Analyzing Technology Compatibility

Check the technology compatibility of the web design companies you are interested in, such as their tools, technologies, frameworks, platforms, etc.

You must also look for compatibility with your existing or future systems, such as your website hosting, domain name, email service, etc.

4. Post-launch Support and Guarantees

Ask about the post-launch support and guarantees that the web design companies you are interested in offer, such as their maintenance, updates, upgrades, bug fixes, security patches, backup services, etc. You may test their support services' reliability, responsiveness, and availability.

Conclusion

Web design is a vital and influential factor in the digital transformation of businesses in the 21st century. It can help companies create a professional and attractive online presence that can attract and retain customers, communicate their message and value proposition, and increase their conversion rate.

However, to achieve this, you must choose the right web design company for your web. If you choose from the top 10 web design companies in India listed in this article, you can rest assured that you made the right choice!

FAQs

1. Are Indian web design companies competitive on a global scale?

Yes, Indian web design companies are competitive globally, as they offer high-quality, innovative, and affordable web design services to clients worldwide. Indian web design companies also have access to a large pool of talented, skilled, and experienced web designers who can deliver excellent results within tight deadlines.

2. How much does web design cost in India?

The cost of web design in India can range from as low as 12,500 to as high as 35,000 or more.

3. What are the latest trends in web design?

Some of the latest trends in web design are AI and machine learning, voice user interfaces, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Sustainability and Eco-friendly Designs.

4. How do I choose the right web design company for my business?

You must first understand your needs to choose the right web design company for your business. Then check references and reviews and analyze the technology compatibility of the web design companies you are interested in.

5. What should I expect from a professional web design company?

You should expect a professional web design company to understand your needs and expectations, deliver quality and value, and provide post-launch support and guarantees.

6. Can I find affordable web design services in India for my small business?

Yes, you can find affordable web design services in India for your small business, as many web design companies in India offer high-quality, innovative, and customized web design services at reasonable prices.
India's digital sector has grown significantly, establishing the country as a center for technological innovation and business ventures. This growth has amplified the importance of web development, leading to an increase in web development firms nationwide. Both startups and established businesses are seeking high-quality, user-centric web solutions.

In this environment, determining India's leading web development companies is essential but challenging. The evaluation criteria go beyond technical skills, including customer satisfaction, creativity, timely delivery, and adaptability to technological advancements. After thorough analysis, certain firms stand out as leaders in India's web development industry.

Here goes the list of top Web Development Companies in India:

View Full Image eFlair Webtech provides Custom Web Development to create unique websites for various industries.

eFlair Webtech is known for delivering innovative web and mobile app solutions tailored to the unique needs of each client. They have also been consistently rated as the best mobile app development company in India by leading publications. Their commitment to quality and customer satisfaction sets them apart in the industry.

Services Offered: They provide Custom Web Development to create unique websites for various industries, Mobile App Development for both iOS and Android platforms, and stunning UI/UX Design to enhance user experience.

Location: Bengaluru, India

Contact Email: info@eflairwebtech.com

View Full Image TCS also offers Cloud Solutions to leverage the power of cloud computing.

TCS is a global leader in the IT services sector, providing robust solutions and services. With a presence in multiple countries, they are committed to delivering excellence and innovation.

Services Offered: Their services include Enterprise Web Development for large-scale organizations, Cloud Solutions to leverage the power of cloud computing, and IoT Integration to enable smart connectivity between devices.

Location: Mumbai, India

View Full Image Coforge provides Digital Solutions to enable businesses to thrive in the digital age.

Description: Coforge is dedicated to transforming businesses through innovative technology solutions. They have a strong presence in the IT consulting space and believe in creating lasting value for their clients.

Services Offered: Offering IT Consulting to help businesses align technology with their goals, Business Process Services to optimize operations, and Digital Solutions to enable businesses to thrive in the digital age.

Location: Noida, India

IndiaNIC has established itself as a premier IT company, delivering end-to-end solutions. Their team is dedicated to creativity, innovation, and providing quality services.

Services Offered: They specialize in Web Development to create responsive websites, Mobile Apps for various platforms, UI/UX Design for engaging interfaces, and E-commerce solutions to power online stores.

Location: Ahmedabad, India

Aalpha is a global pioneer in providing cutting-edge IT consulting and offshore outsourcing solutions. They are known for their commitment to excellence and customized service delivery.

Services Offered: Their expertise includes Web Development for creating scalable websites, Mobile Applications for seamless mobile experiences, and E-commerce Solutions for robust online platforms.

Location: Bengaluru, India

Infosys is a multinational corporation known for its quality IT consulting and services. Their solutions empower businesses to innovate and stay ahead in a competitive market.

Services Offered: They provide Web Application Development for customized web solutions, Cloud Computing for efficient data handling, and AI Solutions for implementing intelligent automation.

Location: Bengaluru, India

iMobDev Technologies specializes in delivering tailored mobile app development and web design solutions. They believe in creating value through innovation and quality.

Services Offered: Their services encompass Mobile App Development for personalized mobile experiences, Web Development for interactive websites, and E-commerce solutions for successful online retail.

Location: Ahmedabad, India

Mphasis focuses on providing IT services with an emphasis on cloud and cognitive solutions. Their approach is geared towards enhancing business agility and scalability.

Services Offered: They offer Cloud Solutions for optimized cloud computing, Cybersecurity to protect sensitive information, and Digital Transformation to modernize business processes.

Location: Bengaluru, India

Wipro is a leading IT consulting and business process services company. With a global presence, they provide strategic solutions that drive growth and efficiency.

Services Offered: Their expertise includes Custom Web Design to create unique web experiences, Cloud Migration for seamless transition to cloud platforms, and Cybersecurity to ensure robust protection.

Location: Bengaluru, India

LTIMindTree is a multinational technology consulting firm, providing technology implementation and innovative solutions. Their approach is client-centric and aimed at providing maximum value.

Services Offered: They provide Custom Web Development for creating tailored websites, Cloud Integration for seamless connection with cloud services, and Analytics to derive insights from data.

Location: Bengaluru, India

11. Capgemini

A global leader in consulting, technology services, and digital transformation, Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital, and platforms.

Services Offered: Consulting, Digital Transformation, IT Outsourcing, and more.

Location: Paris, France (Global Headquarters)

12. Accenture

Accenture is a multinational company specializing in IT services, consulting, and strategy, helping clients thrive in the digital era.

Services Offered: IT consulting, cloud services, cybersecurity, and more.

Location: Dublin, Ireland (Global Headquarters)

13. Cognizant

A leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process services, Cognizant is dedicated to helping clients grow their business.

Services Offered: Digital Operations, Digital Systems & Technology, Digital Strategy.

Location: Teaneck, New Jersey, USA (Headquarters)

14. Nityo Infotech

Nityo Infotech is a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company with a strong commitment to innovation.

Services Offered: IT services, consulting, digital solutions.

Location: New Jersey, USA (Headquarters)

15. IPIX Tech Services Pvt Ltd

IPIX Tech Services is a prominent IT solutions organization, offering a range of services in software development, web development, and more.

Services Offered: Web design & development, e-commerce solutions, mobile app development.

Location: Kozhikode, Kerala, India

16. Hyperlink InfoSystem

A renowned web and mobile app development company known for delivering innovative solutions and engaging mobile apps.

Services Offered: Mobile app development, web development, AI, AR/VR, and more.

Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

17. Cyber Worx

Cyber Worx is a leading web design & development agency that crafts digital experiences to help businesses grow.

Services Offered: Website design & development, SEO, e-commerce solutions, mobile app development.

Location: New Delhi, India

18. Mobulous

Mobulous is a top-notch mobile application development company offering integrated, vibrant, and streamlined solutions to businesses worldwide.

Services Offered: Mobile app development, web development, UI/UX design.

Location: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

19. Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra offers innovative and customer-centric information technology experiences, enabling enterprises, associates, and society to rise.

Services Offered: IT services, consulting, digital transformation, cybersecurity.

Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India

20. Evince Development

Evince Development is an IT solutions provider known for its innovative approach and expertise in full-stack development. They position themselves as a globally integrated digital innovation agency. With a strong emphasis on bridging the gap between business and IT, they have been instrumental in delivering robust solutions to clients around the globe.

Services Offered: Web development, E-commerce solutions, CMS development, Digital Marketing, and Cloud Computing Services.

Location: USA, India

Web Development: An Essential Building Block of the Digital World

Web development is a multifaceted and dynamic field that involves the creation, design, and maintenance of websites. It plays a crucial role in defining the online presence of businesses, brands, and individuals, enabling them to connect with audiences worldwide. Let's delve into what web development entails.

Definition and Components

Web development is the process of designing and building websites and web applications that are accessed through the Internet. It's the engine behind the beautiful designs and interactive features that we interact with daily on the web. Web development can be broken down into several key components:

Front-End Development: This is what users see and interact with directly. It involves the creation of the visual layout, design, and interactivity using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Front-end developers strive to create a responsive and user-friendly experience.

Back-End Development: This aspect of development deals with the server side of the application. Back-end developers use various programming languages like PHP, Ruby, or Python to create the logic that powers the website. They build and maintain databases, applications, and servers that enable the user-facing side to function smoothly.

Full-Stack Development: Full-stack developers have the expertise to work on both the front-end and back-end of a website. They understand the entire "stack" of technology, including databases, servers, system engineering, and client-side scripting.

The Landscape of Web Development

The Indian web development landscape is a complex and dynamic ecosystem, marked by innovation, competition, and an unwavering pursuit of technological excellence. Here, we break down some of the critical aspects that define the web development industry in India:

a. Types, Technologies & Tools

The rapid evolution of web technologies in India is a testament to the nation's growing technological prowess. From traditional HTML/CSS to modern JavaScript frameworks like React and Angular, Indian web development companies have demonstrated their ability to stay ahead of the curve.

Leveraging tools such as DevOps and adopting methodologies like Agile, they ensure efficiency and responsiveness in a fast-paced development environment. The integration of AI, AR/VR, and IoT within web platforms further enriches the user experience, marking a shift towards more intelligent and immersive digital interactions.

b. Industry Standards & Regulations

The Indian government, in collaboration with various industry bodies, has laid down standards and regulations to ensure quality, privacy, and security in web development. Policies around data protection, such as the Personal Data Protection Bill, have significant implications on how web solutions are designed and deployed.

Adherence to global standards like ISO, WCAG for accessibility, and GDPR for data protection is becoming increasingly common among top-tier web development firms. These standards not only protect the consumer but also enhance the reputation of Indian web development companies on the international stage.

c. Outsourcing to India: Pros and Cons

India has long been a preferred destination for outsourcing web development tasks, attracting clients from across the globe. The competitive pricing, abundance of skilled developers, and alignment with global quality standards make it an appealing choice.

Pros:

Cost-effectiveness

Access to a large talent pool

Scalability and flexibility

Alignment with international time zones

Cons:

Cultural and language barriers

Varying quality among service providers

Potential legal complexities

The success of outsourcing to India largely depends on selecting the right partner, clear communication, and understanding the legal landscape.

Choosing the Right Web Development Company

Selecting the right web development partner is a critical business decision that requires careful evaluation and understanding of one's unique needs. Here's a closer look at what businesses should consider:

a. Understanding Business Needs

Identifying the specific requirements of the business, whether it's a simple informational website or a complex e-commerce platform, is the first step. Clarity of purpose helps in shortlisting companies with relevant expertise.

b. Evaluating Portfolio & Case Studies

Examining a company's previous work provides insights into their capabilities, creativity, and the industries they have served. Case studies can reveal their problem-solving abilities and the impact of their solutions.

c. Client Testimonials & Reviews

Client feedback offers a glimpse into the company's client-handling abilities, responsiveness, adherence to timelines, and overall satisfaction.

d. Technical Expertise & Innovation

Assessing the company's technical skills, familiarity with latest technologies, and innovative approach can ensure that they are equipped to deliver cutting-edge solutions.

e. Pricing & Value Proposition

While cost-effectiveness is essential, understanding the value proposition helps in balancing quality with affordability. Hidden costs, if any, must also be scrutinized.

Trends, Competition, and Future Outlook

Trends

The web development industry in India is embracing trends like Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), AI-driven chatbots, AR/VR experiences, and responsive design. Sustainable web design is also gaining traction, reflecting a global move towards environmentally conscious technologies.

Competition

The market is highly competitive, with numerous players ranging from specialized web development firms to full-service digital agencies. International players are also making inroads, increasing the competition and pushing companies to innovate continually.

Future Outlook

India's web development scene is poised for sustained growth, driven by digital transformation across industries, governmental support, and an ever-increasing internet user base. Investments in education, infrastructure, and supportive policies will continue

Building Relationships with Web Development Companies

Maintaining a productive relationship with a web development company can foster long-term success. Here's how:

a. Clear Communication

Open and honest dialogue fosters understanding, sets expectations, and ensures that both parties are aligned towards common goals.

b. Collaboration and Partnership

Viewing the relationship as a partnership rather than a transaction encourages collaboration, mutual respect, and shared success.

c. Feedback and Continuous Improvement

Regular feedback and a willingness to iterate and improve create a culture of continuous enhancement, resulting in a better end product.

d. Ethical Considerations

An understanding of ethical practices, such as intellectual property rights, data privacy, and fair pricing, is crucial in maintaining trust and integrity.

Leading Technologies in Web Development

In India's rapidly evolving web development landscape, the utilization of cutting-edge technologies ensures that solutions are efficient, scalable, and future-ready.

a. JavaScript Frameworks (React, Angular, Vue)

These frameworks are at the core of many modern web applications, providing robust structures for building interactive and responsive websites.

b. Backend Technologies (Node.js, Django, Ruby on Rails)

Utilizing high-performance backend technologies ensures smooth data handling and integration, optimizing the user experience.

c. Mobile Development (React Native, Flutter)

With a mobile-first approach, these technologies enable cross-platform app development, widening reach, and ensuring seamless user experiences across devices.

d. AI and Machine Learning

Implementing AI algorithms in chatbots, recommendation systems, or personalization enhances user engagement and offers innovative solutions.

e. Cloud Computing

Leveraging cloud technologies like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud ensures scalability, security, and accessibility, essential for today's global businesses.

Methodologies & Best Practices

The top web development companies in India follow world-class methodologies and adhere to best practices to ensure quality, consistency, and success.

a. Agile Development

Emphasizing collaboration, flexibility, and client involvement, Agile methodology allows for adaptability and alignment with changing business needs.

b. DevOps Approach

Integrating development and operations, DevOps ensures continuous delivery, automation, and efficiency across the development lifecycle.

c. User-Centered Design (UCD)

Focusing on user needs and preferences, UCD leads to intuitive and engaging user interfaces, enhancing user satisfaction.

d. Security Compliance

Adhering to global security standards and regulations protects user data and builds trust in the developed solutions.

e. Sustainable Web Development

Emphasizing efficiency and environmental consciousness, sustainable practices are gaining traction in web development, reflecting a broader global movement.

Opportunities for Collaboration and Innovation

India's vibrant web development ecosystem offers fertile ground for collaboration, experimentation, and innovation.

a. Startups and Entrepreneurship

The surge of startups and entrepreneurs in India presents exciting collaboration opportunities, fostering innovation and growth in the web development space.

b. Government Initiatives and Support

Policies such as "Startup India" and "Digital India" provide an impetus to the tech industry, opening avenues for collaboration between the government, industry, and academia.

c. Education and Skill Development

Collaborations with educational institutions ensure a steady supply of skilled professionals, driving excellence in web development.

Challenges Faced by Web Development Companies in India

The vibrant web development sector, while brimming with opportunities, is not without its challenges:

a. Talent Acquisition and Retention

Finding and retaining highly skilled professionals remains a concern, with global demand outpacing the supply of trained talent.

b. Rapid Technological Changes

Staying abreast of the swiftly evolving technological landscape requires constant adaptation, investment in training, and modernization of toolsets.

c. Data Security and Privacy Concerns

Ensuring robust data protection amidst rising cyber threats and complex regulations necessitates a vigilant and proactive approach.

d. Quality Assurance and Standardization

Delivering consistently high-quality services while adapting to diverse client requirements calls for rigorous quality controls and adherence to international standards.

e. Market Competition and Price Sensitivity

Intense competition, both domestically and globally, exerts pressure on pricing, demanding a careful balancing of quality, innovation, and cost-effectiveness.

India's Global Positioning in Web Development

India's web development industry is positioning itself as a global leader, leveraging several key strengths:

a. Cost-Effective Solutions

Competitive pricing, without compromising on quality, makes India an attractive destination for outsourcing web development projects.

b. Skilled Workforce

With a large pool of tech-savvy professionals, India offers a breadth of expertise across various technologies and domains.

c. Innovation and Entrepreneurship

A thriving startup culture and a focus on innovation position India at the forefront of technological advancements and creative solutions.

d. Strategic Partnerships

Collaborations with global tech giants and industry leaders enable access to cutting-edge technologies and foster a culture of excellence.

Conclusion

The exploration of India's web development landscape uncovers a world of innovation, opportunity, complexity, and dynamism. The balance of strengths and challenges, the alignment with global trends, and the pursuit of excellence paint a promising picture for the future of web development in India.

Whether you're a business seeking web development services, a developer looking to grow in this industry, or an observer interested in technological evolution, India's web development scene offers rich insights, endless possibilities, and a gateway to the digital future.

FAQs

1. What Are the Essential Components of Modern Web Development?

Modern web development encompasses both frontend (user interface) and backend (server-side) components. Essential elements include HTML/CSS for layout and design, JavaScript frameworks like React or Angular for interactivity, server-side languages like Python or PHP, databases like MySQL or MongoDB, version control systems, and security protocols.

2. How Does Responsive Web Design Enhance User Experience?

Responsive web design ensures that a website's layout, images, and functionalities adjust automatically to different screen sizes and devices. It enhances user experience by providing a consistent look and feel across smartphones, tablets, and desktops, improving navigation, and reducing loading times.

3. What Are the Key Considerations for Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility ensures that websites are usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. Key considerations include proper use of headings, alternative text for images, keyboard navigation, contrast ratios for readability, and adherence to accessibility standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

4. How Do Web Development Companies Ensure Data Security?

Web development companies employ various measures to ensure data security, such as using secure socket layers (SSL) for encrypted connections, implementing firewalls, conducting regular security audits, following secure coding practices, and adhering to data protection regulations relevant to the industry and region.

5. What Role Do Content Management Systems (CMS) Play in Web Development?

Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal allow users to create, manage, and modify content on a website without needing to write code. CMS plays a crucial role in web development by simplifying content creation and maintenance, offering pre-built themes and plugins, and enabling collaboration among different users.

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On August 9th President Joe Biden unveiled his latest weapon in Americas economic war with China. New rules will police investments made abroad by the private sector, and those into the most sensitive technologies in China will be banned. The use of such curbs by the worlds strongest champion of capitalism is the latest sign of the profound shift in Americas economic policy as it contends with the rise of an increasingly assertive and threatening rival.

For decades America cheered on the globalisation of trade and capital, which brought vast benefits in terms of enhanced efficiency and lower costs for consumers. But in a dangerous world, efficiency alone is no longer enough. In America, and across the West, Chinas rise is bringing other aims to the fore. Understandably, officials want to protect national security, by limiting Chinas access to cutting-edge technology that could enhance its military might, and to build alternative supply chains in areas where China maintains a vice-like grip.

The result is a sprawl of tariffs, investment reviews and export controls aimed at China, first under the previous president, Donald Trump, and now Mr Biden. Janet Yellen, Americas treasury secretary, has travelled to Delhi and Hanoi to tout the benefits of friendshoring", signalling to company bosses that shifting away from China would be wise. Although such de-risking" measures would lower efficiency, the thinking goes, sticking to sensitive products would limit the damage. And the extra cost would be worth it, because America would be safer.

The consequences of this new thinking are now becoming clear. Unfortunately, it is bringing neither resilience nor security. Supply chains have become more tangled and opaque as they have adapted to the new rules. And, if you look closely, it becomes clear that Americas reliance on Chinese critical inputs remains. More worrying, the policy has had the perverse effect of pushing Americas allies closer to China.

All this may come as a surprise, because, at first glance, the new policies look like a smashing success. Direct economic links between China and America are shrivelling. In 2018 two-thirds of American imports from a group of low-cost" Asian countries came from China; last year just over half did. Instead, America has turned towards India, Mexico and South-East Asia.

Investment flows are adjusting, too. In 2016 Chinese firms invested a staggering $48bn in America; six years on, the figure had shrunk to a mere $3.1bn. For the first time in a quarter of a century, China is no longer one of the top three investment destinations for most members of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. For the best part of two decades, China claimed the lions share of new foreign-investment projects in Asia. Last year it received less than India or Vietnam.

Dig deeper, though, and you find that Americas reliance on China remains intact. America may be redirecting its demand from China to other countries. But production in those places now relies more on Chinese inputs than ever. As South-East Asias exports to America have risen, for instance, its imports of intermediate inputs from China have exploded. Chinas exports of car parts to Mexico, another country that has benefited from American de-risking, have doubled over the past five years. Research published by the imf finds that even in advanced-manufacturing sectors, where America is keenest to shift away from China, the countries that have made most inroads into the American market are those with the closest industrial links to China. Supply chains have become more complex, and trade has become more expensive. But Chinas dominance is undiminished.

What is going on? In the most egregious cases, Chinese goods are simply being repackaged and sent via third countries to America. At the end of 2022, Americas Department of Commerce found that four major solar suppliers based in South-East Asia were doing such minor processing of otherwise Chinese products that they were, in effect, circumventing tariffs on Chinese goods. In other areas, such as rare-earth metals, China continues to provide inputs that are hard to replace.

More often, though, the mechanism is benign. Free markets are simply adapting to find the cheapest way to supply goods to consumers. And in many cases China, with its vast workforce and efficient logistics, remains the cheapest supplier. Americas new rules have the power to redirect its own trade with China. But they cannot rid the entire supply chain of Chinese influence.

Much of the decoupling, then, is phoney. Worse, from Mr Bidens perspective, his approach is also deepening the economic links between China and other exporting countries. In so doing, it perversely pits their interests against Americas. Even where governments are worried about the growing assertiveness of China, their commercial relationships with the biggest economy in Asia are deepening. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade deal signed in November 2020 by many South-East Asian countries and China, creates a sort of single market in precisely the intermediate goods in which trade has boomed in recent years.

For many poorer countries, receiving Chinese investment and intermediate goods and exporting finished products to America is a source of jobs and prosperity. Americas reluctance to support new trade agreements is one reason why they sometimes see it as an unreliable partner. If asked to choose between China and America, they might not side with Uncle Sam.

Putting the risk into de-risking

All this carries important lessons for American officials. They say that they want to be precise in how they guard against China using a small yard and high fence". But without a clear sense of the trade-offs from their tariffs and restrictions, the risk is that each security scare makes the yard bigger and the fence taller. The fact that the benefits have so far been illusory and the costs greater than expected underscores the need for laser focus.

Moreover, the more selective the approach, the greater the likelihood that trading partners can be persuaded to reduce their reliance on China in the areas that really matter. Without it, de-risking will make the world not safer, but more dangerous.

For subscribers only: to see how we design each weeks cover, sign up to our weekly Cover Story newsletter. For more coverage of Joe Bidens presidency, visit our dedicated hub and follow along as we track shifts in his approval rating. For exclusive insight and reading recommendations from our correspondents in America, sign up to Checks and Balance, our weekly newsletter.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
HONG KONGChina lifted restrictions on group tours to the U.S., Australia, South Korea and Japan on Thursday, a move that is set to boost global tourism after three years of pandemic restrictions.

Chinas Ministry of Culture and Tourism added almost 80 new destinations to a list of countries approved for group travel on Thursday, with immediate effect. The countries were the third batch of places that group tours led by travel operators can now visit, including some in East Asia that are among the most popular destinations for Chinese holiday makers.

With Thursdays announcement, Chinese tourists can now travel in groups to almost 140 countries around the world. A few dozen nations remain excluded, including Canada, Ukraine, as well as some countries in South America and Africa. China didnt restrict individuals from traveling abroad during the pandemic, but getting the proper paperwork was difficult and Covid-prevention measures made the return to China onerous.

While global travel and tourism largely resumed last year, mainland China remained a major outlier until Beijing began lifting pandemic-era border restrictions in December. Tour groups make overseas travel more accessible for many in mainland China, especially those who dont speak foreign languages.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, China had become the largest and most valuable source of visitors for many travel destinations around the world. Then, for three years, many of these countries tourism sectors were left wondering when Chinese international travel would be allowed again, and how long it would take to return to prepandemic levels.

Japan, for instance, saw tourist arrivals in June return to 72% of 2019 levels, though the figure for Chinese travelers was only 24%, the government said.

It is possible that Chinese traveler numbers wont return to pre-Covid levels for some time, if ever. Many households in China have seen their household finances strained amid concerns about the economy. Airlines have yet to resume their full slate of flights, while visa and passport backlogs remain a problem. More people in China have shifted toward spending their holidays within China, rather than abroad, analysts say.

Even so, any rebound in Chinese outbound tourism is likely to have intangible effects in addition to financial ones.

When considered alongside a sharp drop in inbound tourism to China, the number of opportunities for Chinese citizens to interact with foreigners and other countries has fallen precipitously since prepandemic daysa contributing factor to geopolitical tensions, experts say.

Chinese tourists were the worlds biggest travel spenders before the pandemic, spending $255 billion overseas in 2019, according to International Monetary Fund data. U.S. tourists, in second place, spent a little more than half that amount.

In Australia, Chinese tour groups accounted for more than one quarter of the $1.4 billion that Chinese tourists spent in the country in 2019. In June, Australia stepped up efforts to lure them back by resuming its global advertising campaign in China.

The return of Chinese tourists will represent a substantial leap" in the recovery of Sydney tourism, said Deb Zimmer, head of BridgeClimb, which offers group tours to the top of Sydneys Harbour Bridge.

Trade and diplomatic ties between the two countries were strained during the pandemic, with Beijing angered by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrisons call for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, which was first identified in China. A new Australian government elected last year has promoted an improvement in relations. The return of Chinese tour groups would also help stabilize the nations relationship with China, said Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell.

In South Korea, hopes for a revival in Chinese group tours have been especially pronounced. Chinese group tours to South Korea were already in a deep freeze for several years before Covid-19, after China blocked its tour groups from traveling to the country, in apparent retaliation for Seouls decision to install a U.S. missile-defense system that Beijing strongly opposed.

On Thursday, shares in Hankook Cosmetics and tour agency Lotte Tour Development, two expected beneficiaries of increased Chinese tourism, each soared by around 30%. Grand Korea Leisure, a state-run casino operator, jumped more than 20%.

According to South Korean government data, Chinese travelers spent an average of about $1,600 per visit to the country in 2019, more than double that of visitors from Japan and roughly one-third more than those from the U.S.

Retail and travel stocks in Japan were similarly buoyed by the news from Beijing. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which operates Tokyo department stores popular among tourists, rose 4.6% on Thursday, while Japan Airlines gained 2.3%. Air China stock advanced 4.5%.

A Japanese government spokesman praised the Chinese move at a regular press conference on Thursday. Japanese officials have welcomed this years tourism resurgence for the economic boost it provides, despite concerns about overtourism.

Write to Selina Cheng at selina.cheng@wsj.com
Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy has spoken about how democracy can work in a better way during the convocation of Techno India University in Kolkata. The business magnate said that democracy works best in an environment of pluralism, where every citizen has the freedom to practice one's own beliefs and faith without imposing it on others.

According to him, democracy will prosper only if a mindset is created that highlights the commonalities of various beliefs rather than the differences.

Citing a quote from former US President Franklin D Roosevelt on democracy, Narayana Murthy said that "true democracy has four freedoms-freedom of expression, freedom of faith, freedom from fear and freedom from want".

Muthy, now chairman emeritus of Infosys, said that in a democracy, one has the freedom to express opinions responsibly, courteously, and fearlessly, and where one also has the freedom to seek a better quality of life.

"This translates to the responsibility to create a just society, which embraces the fundamental principle to provide the strongest set of civil liberties and personal rights to everyone, and to tolerate new economic inequalities only if such inequalities ameliorate the conditions of the poor citizens," he said.

Further, the Infosys founder expressed concern regarding India's population. He said, "India has not put population control on the front burner. The most urgent need at the moment is to reduce our population growth rate. While certain parts of India have made decent progress in reducing it, certain other parts have not paid sufficient attention to this important issue".

Exhorting the graduating students, Murthy said a professional lives by the rules of its ethics.

"A professional strives hard to be open-minded since he knows that the most dangerous thing in the world is a closed mind," he said.

The university also conferred the Doctor of Letters degree on eminent industrialist Ratan Tata in absentia.
NEW DELHI : After decades of integration, the global economy is seeing increasing fragmentation, making it one of the biggest challenges for multilateralism and addressing shared economic objectives, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Speaking at a G20 event in Mumbai, Sitharaman said that Indias presidency has so far ensured that geopolitical differences dont supersede the core mandate of international cooperation.

Indian presidency has ensured that common ground is reached in all economic issues while maintaining a forward-looking agenda in G20 in 2023," Sitharaman said.

Discussions have been centred around finding solutions to existing challenges and forestalling emerging problems," she added.

Notably, last month, countries of the G20 grouping could not agree on a joint statement at the end of a meeting of their finance ministers and central bank governors, as the grinding war in Ukraine continued to polarize the bloc, which counts Russia, China, and the US as members.

Sitharaman emphasized that the Indian G20 presidencys main focus is to strengthen multilateral development banks (MDBs) to address mounting debt issues among developing economies.

MDBs need to expand their scope of operation to address the needs of emerging economies," she said.

By restructuring existing debt and providing sustainable finance, the international community can contribute to releasing financial resources for vulnerable countries to shield their populations from economic hardships," she added.

Sitharaman also pointed out that MDBs are currently not equipped well enough to address these demands adequately and will need to evolve.

MDBs are facing increasing pressure from donor and borrowing countries to expand their lending operations beyond their core development mandate," she said. She said G20 under the Indian presidency is working on solutions that can constructively contribute to the efforts that MDBs are undertaking.

Sitharaman said that India has voiced the concerns of the global south.

The international community must collaborate in stronger ways to coordinate debt structuring for low income and middle income vulnerable countries facing debt distress," she added.

Meanwhile, the Indian governments chief economic advisor, V. Anantha Nageswaran, who spoke after Sitharaman, said that the ongoing geo-economic distress is harming the emerging and developing economies that are more reliant on integrated global economy and developed on globalization.

These challenges are global in nature for which we need global solutions," he added.

The priorities of the finance track of G20 under Indian presidency are strengthening international finance architecture, financing for global public goods, managing global debt and vulnerabilities, addressing macro economic impact of food and energy security, and financing sustainable and resilient cities of tomorrow.
Independence Day 2023: India fought against British rule for around 200 years and finally proclaimed independence from the centuries-long dominance on August 15, 1947. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared Independence Day on the same day. Following this, India became the largest democratic country in the world.

The preparation is going on in full swing as India gears up to celebrate its 77th Independence Day this year. Delhi Police have put security arrangements in place in the national capital ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is popular for carrying unique headgear and attire on Independence Day, will hoist National Flag from the historic Red Fort and will address the nation afterward.

As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) initiative, the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign is scheduled to take place nationwide from August 13 to 15. The campaign aims to inspire individuals to proudly display the national flag at their residences.

Here are 10 important facts about India's national flag

1) The first Indian national flag was hoisted on August 7, 1906, at Parsee Bagan Square in Kolkata. The flag had three major colors namely red, yellow, and green.

2) In 1931, a landmark resolution was passed adopting a tricolor flag as our national flag. This flag, the forbear of the present one, was saffron, white and green with Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel at the center.

3) With a few modifications, Ashoka chakra from the lion capital of emperor Ashoka, the Indian Tiranga was officially adopted on July 22, 1947. It was first hoisted on August 15, 1947.

4) Earlier, Indian citizens were not allowed to hoist the National Flag except on selected occasions. This changed after a decade-long legal battle by industrialist Naveen Jindal culminated in the landmark Supreme Court judgment of January 23, 2004.

5) In 2004, the top court declared that the right to fly the National Flag freely with respect and dignity is a fundamental right of an Indian citizen within the meaning of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India.

6) In 1904, India's first national flag was designed by Sister Nivedita, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda.

7) Rabindranath Tagore composed the Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata song in 2911, which was later renamed Jan Gan Man.

8) In India, only one location produces the national flag, according to media reports.

9) Tiranga or Tricolor has three colors which include saffron on the top signifying strength and courage of the country. White in the center embodies peace and truth. The green color at the bottom shows the fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land.

10) Five more nations celebrate their Independence Day with India. These countries include  the Republic of Congo, South Korea, North Korea, Liechtenstein, and Bahrain.
Since 2014, PM Modi's Independence Day speeches have showcased government achievements and outlined future plans. With a looming 2024 election, this year's speech might include some significant announcements. Here is a look back at the PM Modi's big announcements during his Independence Day speeches

2022: Panch Pran, 5G mobile technology

On the 76th year of Independence in 2022, PM Modi called for moving forward with 5 pledges to fulfil freedom fighters dreams by 2047, referring it as Panch Pran.

We must work on Panch Praan (resolve): 1. Country will take on big aims like developed India. 2. We must not suffer even a scintilla of a colonised mind. 3. We must be proud of our heritage. 4. Unity and unified purpose. 5. The duties of citizens (including PMs, CMs) to work for the country," he says.

He also announced that 5G mobile technology will be available in India soon.

2021: Amrit Mahotsav of independence for 75 weeks

August 15, 2021, marked the 75th year of Independence of India and to commemorate it, PM Modi announced to celebrate Amrit Mahotsav of independence for 75 weeks.

National Master Plan Gati Shakti, that prime minster claimed would create lakhs of job, was announced. PM Modi also promised that his government will deliver 75 Vande Bharat trains that would connect every corner of the country. Apart from this, PM announced Fortified Rice plan, Sainik School for girls, National Hydrogen Mission.

2020: Make for World, Vocal for Local

Addressing the nation from Red Fort to mark the 74th Independence Day, PM Modi put forward the mantra of Make for World alongside his pet initiative of Make in India. He also promoted the concept of vocal for local.

The mindset of free India should be vocal for local. We should appreciate our local products, if we dont do this then our products will not get the opportunity to do better and will not get encouraged," PM Modi said.

It is note here, 2020 is the year when COVID-19 gripped the entire world

2019: Chief of Defence Staff for Army, Navy and Air Force

In a major announcement, PM Modi on August 15, 2019, said Chief of Defence Staff will be the head of the three services - Army, Navy and Air Force. He would be single point of contact between the armed forces and the Prime Minister.

"Our forces are India's pride. To further sharpen coordination between the forces, I want to announce a major decision from the Red Fort. India will have a Chief of Defence Staff - CDS. This is going to make the forces even more effective," PM Modi said

2018: Ayushman Bharat

In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced Ayushman Bharat or National Health Protection Scheme

Prime Minister Modi said the Ayushman Bharat scheme will help ten crore families or 50 crore Indians. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (Ayushman Bharat Scheme) will be launched on 25th September (Deendayal Upadhyayas birth anniversary) this year. It is high time we ensure that the poor of India get access to good quality and affordable healthcare."

2017: 75 years of Quit India Movement

This year, the Prime Minister mentioned as the country marks 75 years of Quit India Movement and 100th anniversary of Champaran satyagraha, Indians must be determined to create a New India.

India witnessed her collective strength from 1942 to 1947. Similarly, next five years, 2017 to 2022 are crucial for the country's progress," Modi said.

2016: Kashmir and Pakistan

Again no major announcements this year. In his third Independence Day speech, Modi strongly condemned human rights abuses in Balochistan, a move hailed as a political coup.

This was viewed as a response to Pakistan's focus on Kashmir. The Prime Minister also criticised Pakistan's stance on Kashmir and its glorification of terrorists like Burhan Wani.

2015: Start up India, Stand up India

Modi's second I-Day speech lacked the vigor of the first, missing major announcements. He highlighted government achievements and promises, including the in-principle approval of One Rank One Pension. The address focused on Jan Dhan Yojana progress, black money, and corruption crackdown.

He also made a strong pitch Start Up India, Stand Up India" slogan.

2014: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India

2014 was Modi's first Independence Day speech as the Prime Minister.

During the speech, he portrayed himself as a "pradhan sevak" (chief servant) and striking a relatable note, he omitted the bullet-proof shield during his speech.

He also mentioned the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for cleanliness and introduced the "Make in India" initiative to attract investment.

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Police have arrested an MP from Nepal who purchased fake degrees from Bihar and used it to pursue higher education in China.

In a report by the Hindustan Times, Nepal lawmaker Sunil Kumar Sharma has been arrested on charges of forging educational certificates. He reportedly bought a higher secondary academic degree from Bihar and used it to pursue higher studies in China.

The lawmaker has been accused of forging educational certificates. It is learnt that his 10 plus certificate is fake.

A team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Nepal arrested Sharma who is also a member of the House of Representatives from Nepals ruling party, from Kathmandu.

The Himalayan Times the chief of CIB and Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Kiran Bajracharya has written to the HoR Speaker about the arrest of Sharma as per Article 103 (6) of the Constitution of N

He was elected to the House of Representatives from Morang-3 and is considered close to the Shekhar Koirala camp in the Nepali Congress.

The arrest of Sharma comes a day after he demanded the resignation of home minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and finance minister Prakash Sharan Mahat over the alleged smuggling of 100 kg of gold that was seized last month.

According to the CIB, some of the doctors have received registration from Nepal Medical Council by submitting fake academic certificates from India and attending the exams conducted by the Council for registration certificates. Likewise, Sharma's certificate of I.Sc. was 'not verified' by the National Examinations Board, Sano Thimi, Bhatkapur.
Russias plans to launch its first lunar lander in nearly 50 years on Friday and become the first country to reach the south pole of the moon is a symbolic moment for a country anxious to prove it still has the technological capabilities befitting a great world power.

The difficulties are manifold, from executing a successful launch to actually landing a probe on the rugged terrain at the pole. Western sanctions stemming from its war in Ukraine mean Moscow has fewer collaborators than it might have had in the past. Russian scientists are also racing against a similar mission from India.

Aside from boosting Russian prestige, a first-ever landing at the pole could be a valuable step forward in expanding scientists understanding of whether there could be sufficient quantities of ice there to provide fuel, oxygen and drinking water to support a possible human settlement in the future.

The Luna-25 lander scheduled to launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, some 3,450 miles from Moscow in Russias far east at around 2 a.m. local time, marks the countrys first mission to the Moon since 1976 and comes as a new wave of countries expand their footprint in space.

Indias Chandrayaan-3, a spacecraft with an orbiter, lander and a rover, is also projected to land at the lunar south pole later this month. In May, China sent its first civilian astronaut into orbit as part of a new crew for its space station.

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, plans a human spaceflight around the moon in late 2024 on a mission that would take people deep into space for the first time in decades and set the stage for a landing the agency would like to conduct with the American spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX in 2025.

The stakes of the Luna-25 mission are especially high for Russia and President Vladimir Putin. The sanctions imposed since the war in Ukraine halted much of its collaboration with the U.S. and European nations, impeding several missions and driving Russia closer to China as Beijing expands its own ambitions for space.

We are now likely witnessing the final chapter of significant cooperation between the United States and the Russian Federation in space," Benjamin L. Schmitt, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Physics and Astronomy, said in written comments.

Sentiment in the scientific and astronaut communities has begun to shift toward the realization of a future in which NASA and Roscosmos are no longer close partners due to the horrific acts of the Putin regime in Ukraine and Russias hybrid threats against global democracies more broadly," he said.

NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, have continued working together on crew launches to and operations of the International Space Station.

India and more than two dozen other countries have agreed to U.S.-backed principles for space exploration, while Russia is collaborating with China in the International Lunar Research Station that plans to man a base on the moon by 2036. Since 2011, China has been excluded by U.S. law from working with NASA.

Putin, mindful of the pride Russia takes in its Soviet-era history of space exploration, has insisted that Moscow will continue to develop its lunar program despite Western sanctions.

We are guided by the aspirations of our ancestors to move forward, despite any difficulties and attempts from outside to hamper our advance," he said during a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome shortly after the invasion last year.

Roscosmos said the 1,764-pound, four-legged Luna-25 is expected to gather readings on the lunar surface for a year. According to Roscosmos, it is equipped with a 1.6-meter-long Lunar Robotic Arm, to remove and collect surface deposits, and several scientific instruments, including for the study of plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere.

The south pole is strategic because of its rich water-ice resources and long-term potential as a site for mining, industry, and settlement," Namrata Goswami, an independent scholar on space policy, said in an email.

A successful mission would demonstrate that Russian space effort remains a major capability for the country," she added. Thats the message Putin will have sent to the rest of the world. It is an important signal not only to the West but to China," which the Kremlin has been courting to join future space missions.

A positive outcome is also important to Russia for allaying doubts about its military superiority over Ukraine after numerous battlefield setbacks exposed technical and strategic flaws, according to analysts who cover the role of the space industry in Russian politics.

In recent years, launch malfunctions, construction accidents, corruption scandals and a dearth of expertise have compounded what observers have described as a deepening crisis in Russias space industry. Western sanctions, among them technology export controls and restrictions aimed at degrading Russias aerospace and space sectors, have exacerbated the challenges to Russias space program.

At a minimum, a successful Luna-25 mission could result in a chance for the Putin regime to engage in its usual propaganda aimed at playing down the effect of sanctions on its high-tech aerospace sector," said Schmitt, a co-founder of Duke Universitys Space Diplomacy Lab. Conversely, a high-profile mission failure might suggest that technology export controls may indeed be having their intended impact."

Pavel Luzin, a nonresident senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis, a public policy institution where his focus includes Russias space policy, said it would be impossible for Russia to develop its space capabilities when it is self-isolated from other countries and people in the world because of its aggressive and criminal behavior."

Russias Luna-25, Luna-26 and Luna-27 probes all depend on European electronics and equipment, Luzin said, adding that even if Russia purchased all necessary things years before 2022, it would be hard for Roscosmos to use them without partnering ties."

The mission to the moons south pole is exceptionally difficult. Russian space engineers have never carried out such a mission. Nor has the Vostochny Cosmodrome ever hosted a comparable launch. Local authorities have ordered nearby villagers to evacuate to avoid the risk of being struck by the rockets boosters when they separate from the main vehicle.

The craggy lunar terrain also complicates prospects for a successful landing. Since the end of the Cold War, India, Israel and Japan have all attempted and failed to successfully land on the lunar south pole, showing how difficult this is even for advanced spacefaring nations," Goswami said.

Roscosmos officials have acknowledged the dangers of the mission, with the agencys head, Yuri Borisov, telling Putin in June that such missions are always risky." He estimated the probability of success at 70%.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. agency wished the Russians well in their Luna-25 mission, but poured cold water on any future Russian attempt to land cosmonauts on the moon soon.

I think the space race is really between us and China," he said.

Still, excitement in Russia has been building for days. Many people brim with pride over being the first nation to send a human into space. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who stunned Americans by circling the Earth in 1961, remains a national hero whose story is taught to Russian schoolchildren.

State media has published detailed dossiers of the lunar lander and television commentators have gone into overdrive extolling Russias competence in the space arena. The event is expected to receive wall-to-wall live coverage.

The risks if it goes wrong, are high, though.

Said Goswami, the space analyst: Its Russias game to lose."

Micah Maidenberg contributed to this article.

Write to Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com
The Amazon.com Inc. founder, and the worlds third-richest person, agreed to pay $68 million for an estate in Indian Creek, a man-made barrier island in the larger Miami area, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The 2.8-acre (1.1 hectare) three-bedroom property, built in 1965, was previously owned by MTM Star International, a company with ties to Panama. Public records show the sale took place in June, but the identity of the final buyer was undisclosed. Prior to that, the last recorded sale was in 1982 for $1.4 million.

A representative for Bezos didnt respond to requests for comment.

Bezos, 59, is also looking at other purchases in the area, the person said, asking not to be named. The exclusive Indian Creek is known as Billionaire Bunker" and has been home to the likes of Carl Icahn, Tom Brady, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Bezos has amassed multiple homes in recent years, including in Washington, D.C., a nine-acre Beverly Hills mansion he bought for $165 million in 2020 and an estate in Maui. He owns properties in Manhattan and Seattle as well as a 300,000 acre ranch in Texas, where the launch site to Blue Origins New Shepard rocket is based.

His spending on ultraexpensive items has accelerated since he stepped down as CEO from Amazon in 2021 and after he separated from his wife MacKenzie Scott. He owns one of the worlds most expensive superyachts, the Koru, which launched this year and cost an estimated $500 million to build.

His Indian Creek purchase spans almost 9,300 square feet (864 square meters), according to property records, and includes a pool.

With a $163 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos would instantly become Indian Creeks richest inhabitant. The island has just about 40 residences, a country club and its own police department.

Real estate values have soared there, but also for the high-end Miami area in recent years as the region has drawn some of the worlds wealthiest people. Ken Griffin, Dan Loeb and Josh Harris have also scooped up lush waterfront Miami Beach mansions since the pandemic.

The purchase marks a homecoming for Bezos, who graduated from high-school in Miami, after his Cuba-born stepdad got a job in Florida. His parents own properties in Coral Gables and Miami Beach.

Hes also been spending time in the area. Bezos attended the Miami Grand Prix party in May and was spotted that weekend with his now-fiancee Lauren Sanchez.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Russia successfully launched its inaugural moon-landing spacecraft on Friday in 47 years. The mission aims to achieve the distinction of being the first country to achieve a gentle landing on the lunar south pole, an area thought to contain valuable reservoirs of water ice.

As per a report by Reuters, Russia's recent lunar mission, it's inaugural one since 1976, is in a competitive race with India, which sent its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander to space last month.

Moreover, it's part of a larger competition involving the United States and China, both of whom have well-developed lunar exploration initiatives that focus on the southern region of the Moon.

From the Vostochny Cosmodrome located 3,450 miles (5,550 km) to the east of Moscow, a Soyuz 2.1v rocket successfully launched the Luna-25 spacecraft. The launch took place at 2:11 a.m. Moscow time on Friday (1111 GMT on Thursday).

According to Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, the lunar lander is anticipated to make contact with the Moon's surface on August 21. This contrasts with Roscosmos' earlier announcement of August 23 as the projected landing date.

Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 vs Russia's Luna-25 race to the moon: here's who will claim the south pole position 1st

"Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny Cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.

Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the moon's south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of water ice in the region's shadowed craters.

The success of the Luna-25 mission carries significant importance, as the Russian government asserts that the sanctions imposed by Western countries due to the Ukraine conflict, including those aimed at the aerospace industry, have not managed to severely damage the Russian economy.

Additionally, the moon mission serves as a trial for Russia's increasing self-reliance in space. This comes in the aftermath of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in a substantial reduction in Moscow's space-related collaborations with Western nations, with the exception of its involvement in the International Space Station. The cooperation between the Russian space agency and NASA on the space station is regarded as crucial for the station's continued functioning.

Also Read: Russia Aims to Restore Prestige in Race to Moons South Pole

"Russia's aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it's an expression of national power on the global stage," Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.

US astronaut Neil Armstrong gained renown in 1969 for being the first person to walk on the moon, but the Soviet Union's Luna-2 mission was the first spacecraft to reach the moon's surface in 1959, and the Luna-9 mission in 1966 was the first to make a soft landing there.

Meanwhile, Moscow shifted its attention towards the exploration of Mars, and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia refrained from launching probes beyond the Earth's orbit.

The anticipated timeframe for the Luna-25 spacecraft to depart Earth's orbit was at 3:30 am Moscow time.

(With inputs from agencies)
Hundreds of pro-coup protesters demonstrated in front of a French army base in Niger's capital Niamey on Friday, as West Africa's regional body made moves towards a possible military intervention to restore civilian rule.

ECOWAS - the Economic Community of West African States - ordered the activation of a standby force on Thursday, two weeks after generals ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years.

The proposed mission has raised the spectre of deepening conflict in a strategically important region where Western powers have lost sway during the spate of coups and where Russian influence appears to be on the rise.

A lot of anger is being targeted at former colonial power France, whose forces have been kicked out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso following coups there, and whose presence in Niger is under threat. In the days after the coup, protesters attacked the French embassy.

Friday's protest appeared peaceful but the message was clear.

"Long live Russia," one protestor's sign read. "Down with France.... Down with ECOWAS".

Since the July 26 coup, many Nigeriens have turned up at junta-organised rallies to show support for the generals, criticising Western powers and lauding Russia, mirroring street scenes in Mali and Burkina Faso after coups there between 2020 and 2022.

"I am here to request the departure of the French forces," said protester Salamatou Hima on Friday. "We are free and we have the right to demand what is beneficial for our country."

STANDBY FORCE

West African nations meanwhile began preparations to commit troops for possible action to reverse the coup, with regional army chiefs set to meet in the coming days.

It was not yet clear how long the standby force would take to assemble, how big it would be, and if it will actually invade.

Russia's foreign ministry said it supported the ECOWAS efforts to mediate but warned against any military intervention.

"We believe that any military attempt to resolve the crisis in Niger could lead to a protracted confrontation in this African country, as well as to a sharp destabilization of the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region," it said in a statement.

ECOWAS said all options were on the table and it still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Niger crisis.

Security analysts said an ECOWAS force could take weeks or longer to assemble, potentially leaving room for negotiations.

Ivory Coast is the only country so far to specify how many troops it would send. President Alassane Ouattara on Thursday promised a battalion of 850.

Benin and Sierra Leone said on Friday they would contribute troops but did not say how many. Senegal said last week it would contribute troops if there were an intervention.

Most other ECOWAS countries - including regional heavyweight Nigeria, which holds its rotating presidency - have so far declined to comment.

Gambia and Liberia told Reuters on Friday they had not yet taken a decision.

Military governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, both ECOWAS members, have said they will defend the junta in Niger.

The military leaders have yet to react to ECOWAS' decision although they have rebuffed repeated calls for dialogue by the international community and named a new government hours before Thursday's ECOWAS summit.

An internal political movement set up in opposition to the coup sided with ECOWAS' military response on Friday and said it would be available to help.

France said it fully backed all the conclusions of the ECOWAS summit but stayed clear of outlining any concrete support it could give to a potential intervention.

'SAVE' BAZOUM

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said they were increasingly worried about Bazoum's detention conditions.

The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday said the conditions were "rapidly deteriorating" and could amount to a violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch said it had spoken to Bazoum this week and that he had told them that his family's treatment in custody was "inhuman and cruel".

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," HRW quoted Bazoum as telling them.

Bazoum's daughter Zazia Bazoum, who is in France, told Britain's Guardian newspaper the junta was keeping him in deplorable conditions to try to pressure him to sign a resignation letter. Reuters could not independently confirm the conditions of his detention.

The coup in uranium-rich Niger, one of the world's poorest countries but an ally for the West in the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel region, was triggered by internal politics but has repercussions far beyond its borders.

U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger as part of the fight against local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State that has killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
A rocket carrying a lunar landing module was successfully launched on Friday, marking Russia's reentry into lunar exploration after a hiatus of almost half a century.

The mission aims to reach the moon before an Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3. Here are the top ten points about Russia's Luna-25. 1. The historic liftoff took place at Russia's Vostochny spaceport located in the Far East, propelling the Luna-25 craft towards its lunar destination. This mission stands as Russia's inaugural moon endeavour since 1976, during the era of the Soviet Union. 2. The Russian lunar lander is set to achieve lunar arrival on August 23rd, coinciding with the timeline of an Indian spacecraft that was initiated on July 14. The Russian vehicle is projected to embark on a roughly 5.5-day journey to reach lunar proximity. Subsequently, it will engage in an orbital phase spanning three to seven days, maintaining an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers, prior to commencing its descent toward the lunar surface. Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 vs Russia's Luna-25; Race to Moon's south pole position 3. Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it wants to show Russia is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon," and ensure Russia's guaranteed access to the moon's surface." 4. ISRO on social media platform, X, congratulated Roscosmos, said, "Congratulations, Roscosmos on the successful launch of Luna-25  Wonderful to have another meeting point in our space journies. Wishes for  Chandrayaan-3 & Luna-25 missions to achieve their goals."

5. The Luna-25 launched flawlessly from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, according to video feed from Roscosmos. The spaceport is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is key to his efforts to make Russia a space superpower and move Russian launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, PTI reported.

6. The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moon's environment ahead of building any base there, otherwise we could be building things and having to shut them down six months later because everything has effectively been sand-blasted," Bloomer said.

Also Read: Russia Aims to Restore Prestige in Race to Moons South Pole

7. The sanctions levied against Russia following its incursion into Ukraine have created obstacles in its ability to acquire Western technology, consequently affecting its space endeavors. Notably, the Luna-25 mission originally included plans for a lunar rover; however, this concept was discarded to enhance the craft's dependability by reducing its weight, according to analysts.

8. Study of the moon is not the goal," said Vitaly Egorov, a popular Russian space analyst. The goal is political competition between two superpowers  China and the USA  and a number of other countries which also want to claim the title of space superpower."

9. Scientists are especially intrigued by the lunar south pole due to the potential presence of permanently shaded polar craters, believed to hold valuable reserves of water.

10. The frozen water within these crater formations holds the promise of being converted into breathable air and vital rocket fuel by upcoming space explorers.

(With inputs from agencies)
Following the recent communal clashes in Haryana's Nuh, various farmer unions and Khap panchayats have come forward to urge for calm and to call for the arrest of Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante believed to be involved.

The violent incidents occurred on July 31 in Nuh, which has a predominantly Muslim population. A confrontation erupted when a procession organized by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was assaulted by groups of people. The clashes resulted in the loss of six lives, including two home guards and a religious leader.

Also Read: Haryana Nuh Violence Highlights: 141 arrested, 55 FIRs registered

Up to this point, a total of 113 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered, leading to the arrest of 305 individuals linked to the clashes. Among those apprehended, 106 individuals are currently being questioned by the police.

Recently, a significant assembly of Khap panchayats, farmer unions, and religious figures from Haryana convened a 'Mahapanchayat' event in Hisar. During this gathering, they strongly denounced the outbreak of violence and collectively adopted multiple resolutions that advocate for tranquility and cooperation within the area, NDTV reported.

Conducted by the Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union, the mahapanchayat drew participants from Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities. At this gathering, a unanimous decision was reached, asserting the commitment of people from diverse religious backgrounds to collaborate in reestablishing a peaceful environment.

Also Read: Haryana Nuh updates: Curfew to be lifted today from 9 am to 1 pm

In recent developments, letters attributed to certain panchayat leaders in Mahendergarh, Rewari, and Jhajjar districts have emerged online. These letters purportedly declare restrictions on Muslim traders engaging in commercial activities within their respective villages.

Reportedly, Manesar allegedly shared a video on social media, asserting his presence at the religious procession in Nuh and urging his followers to participate extensively. However, subsequent online warnings advised him to keep his distance from the event.

Manesar explained that he heeded the counsel of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who expressed concerns that his attendance could escalate tensions in the locality. Haryana's Police Chief, P K Agrawal, has announced the establishment of a dedicated special investigation team (SIT) to examine Manesar's involvement in the clashes.

Earlier on August 7, Haryana Police has arrested various Rohingya refugees in connection with the recent clashes in Nuh district. Officials say that some of these refugees have been identified for pelting stones and being part of the violence on July 31.

Nuh superintendent of police Narender Bijarniya that a demolition drive was carried was carried out on the properties held by some of the refugees because they were illegally occupying Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran land in Taru, as per a Hindustan Times report.

(With inputs from NDTV, Hindustan Times)
The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has selected 106 potential candidates for the upcoming state assembly election. Among them, 66 will compete in BJP stronghold constituencies that the party hasn't won in the last three elections, while the remaining 40 are incumbent MLAs, sources close to the development told Hindustan Times.

The party has another 56 sitting lawmakers -- the house strength is 230 -- but it believes these MLAs need to do more before they are confirmed as candidates, the source also revealed

Notably, the party has refrained from publicly revealing the candidates' names. Kamal Nath, the MPCC president, stated that the candidates have been privately informed and public announcements are unnecessary.

In late-2018, Congress won 114 seats, forming government. In Mar 2020, 28 Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists left, toppling Kamal Nath govt and BJP returned to power after 15 months. In November 2020, BJP won 19 out of 28 by-polls. Except 15 months, BJP ruled since 2003.

How the candidates were selected?

The candidates have been asked to start campaigning in their respective assembly seats. They were identified to end the dispute related to ticket distribution and also prevent last-minute infighting. The workers and office bearers have also been asked to support the candidates," said a second Congress leader, who too asked not to be named, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

The grand old party also pointed out that selection was done after conducting detailed survey of candidates and constituencies, and also factor in caste.

We will win this election with micro management and social engineering and thats why candidates, who are performing the best in the survey, have been informed that their names have been finalised.," MP Congress Committee spokesperson KK Mishra said

However, the BJP mocked the decision and alleged the tickets have sold out.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the Manipur crisis on Friday. The Prime Minister, he alleged, wanted to burn Manipur and does not want to extinguish the fire. The Wayanad MP also critiqued the PM's recent address before the Parliament, nothing that he had very little to say about the Manipur issue.

Yesterday the PM spoke in Parliament for about 2 hours 13 minutes. In the end, he spoke on Manipur for 2 minutes. Manipur has been burning for months, people are being killed, rapes are happening but the PM was laughing, cracking jokes. It doesn't suit him..." the newly reinstated lawmaker said. Gandhi said that the Indian Army could stop this nonsense" within two days but the Prime Minister did not want to take action. Manipur has been decimated. For the first time Bharat mata has been expunged in Parliament."

I have been to all states. We go when there are floods, droughts and even tsunami. But have never seen anything like this before. When I went to Meitei area, don't bring any Kuki as a part of your security otherwise we will kill them. Similarly Kuki warned us against bringing Meitei security guards. PM can't go to Manipur, at least he should have spoken about Manipur at length," Gandhi said.

He also accused the PM of not understanding his job role.

When the PM becomes a PM, he ceases to be a politician. He becomes the representative of the voice of the country. Politics should be put aside and the PM should speak not as a petty politician but the PM should speak with the weight of the Indian people behind him. It is tragic to post Mr Narendra Modi, it is sad. The PM does not understand what he actually is..." he added.

(With inputs from agencies)
Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP P Wilson on Friday flagged the fact that the names of all the three new bills introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, were in Hindi. The three new bills that aims to replace British-era criminal laws were introduced in the lower house of the parliament on Friday and will be sent to a panel for scrutiny.

MP Wilson said that the nomenclature was yet another form of Hindi imposition. The three bills have been named Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively. MP Wilson cited Article 348 of the Constitution of India, where it has been stated All Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State, shall be in the English language South Indian lawyers are going to spend most of the time in courts trying to pronounce these names." MP Wilson noted. Earlier, when the Union Government tried to introduce a legislation with a Hindi name in Parliament, I had opposed the same & the Hon. Union Finance Minister had clarified that the name of the Bill was only in English but the Hindi portion should have been in brackets." MP Wilson added.

Not just MP Wilson, several DMK leaders ridiculed the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government over the nomenclature of three bills moved to replace existing criminal laws, saying it showed how much the BJP "is afraid of 'India'".

Senior DMK leader and party spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the word 'Bharatiya' was being used in the bills instead of India as "they are afraid of the term."

"They have changed the name of the bills as 'Bharatiya' instead of 'India'. So how much they are afraid of India; they stand exposed," Elangovan told news agency PTI.

"They are afraid of the term 'India' because the name was taken by opposition parties. These are all very immature...exhibits the immaturity of this government," he said.

The Opposition INDIA bloc comprises of the Congress, DMK, Left parties, TMC and AAP, among others, was named Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) recently.

Elangovan, a former MP, also questioned the need for tabling the bills on the last day of the session. ".....why should they introduce these bills and what they will do is rake up some trouble there. When the opposition parties walk out, there will be no voting; they will pass it," he charged. He termed the move "anti-democratic".
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha which aims to replace British-era laws in a bid to overhaul the criminal justice system in India. While several draconian British era laws have been critcised over the years including the contentious Article 377 , criminalising of indigenous communities, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), several bills and laws, and Supreme Court verdicts later, changes have been enforced.

The latest in this list are three bills that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 that have been introduced by Amit Shah in Lok Sabha.

Among them was the much debated- Sedition Act. The sedition act pertains to criminals offences which endanger sovereignty unity and integrity of India.

Amit Shah in Lok Sabha mentioned that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 will repeal the offence of sedition under Section 124A. This section will be replaced with Section 150 in the new bill.

Sedition Law in India

The sedition law was drafted by Thomas Macaulay in 1837 and was added to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 1870 by James Stephen as Section 124A.

According to Section 124A, the sedition law states that, Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added."

This means that if any citizen of Indian sub-continent uses their words, whether that is written or verbal, or by visible representation that is through posters, movies, images etc attempts to incite hatred for India will be punished under the sedition law.

In present scenario, the Sedition law is invoked as a crime under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Stay on Sedition

The Supreme Court in 11 May 2022, stayed Section 124A. The bench led by the then-CJI N V Ramana stated that the sedition law, enacted to prosecute freedom fighters and maintain colonial rule over the nation, has since been misused owing to its broad interpretation and it shall not be used until further orders were issued by the court.

Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

A new bill to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will repeal the offence of sedition completely, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Lok Sabha on Friday. The IPC, which was framed by the British in the year 1860, has been the core of the criminal justice system of the country for more than 160 years.

Subversive activities replaces Sedition in new bill by Amit Shah

According to the new bill introduced by Amit Shah, Section 150 states, Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial mean, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine."

The word Sedition means- a conduct or speech that incites people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

The word subversive means- tending or intending to overthrow, destroy, or undermine an established or existing system, especially a legally constituted government or a set of beliefs.
The whole of a life may be summed up in a momentary appearance," wrote Susan Sontag, a critic of photography and much more. She may have overstated the power of a frozen image, but photographs matter. They help to document lives, reinforce memories and encourage self-expression (and, equally, may distort reality). The rise of social media, combined with digital photography and camera-phones, has changed the way that most people look at, and share, still images. They are more present than ever, though often more fleeting than before. These five books explore the history of photography, as well as the relationships between photography, art and documentary. The authors also consider what images may teach viewers about themselves or society. Together the books also serve as a guide to what makes a good photographand shed light on what it takes to be a better photographer.

A World History of Photography. By Naomi Rosenblum. Abbeville Press; 748 pages; $85.00 and 60.99

Naomi Rosenblum chronicles the technological story of photography along with its aesthetic trends. In this book, published in 1984, she includes profiles of influential photographers and gives an introduction to discussions of photographys role in art, documentary, technology and commerce. Many accounts of photographic history focus heavily on the English-speaking world and on Europe. One virtue of A World History of Photography" is that Rosenblum includes an account of how photography spread in parts of Asia in the 1860s, notably because of British colonial rule in Hong Kong and India. The book also touches on how enthusiasts in the Brazilian royal family encouraged early landscape documentation in South America. The author, who died last year, captures the immensely rich history of the medium in this beautifully illustrated volume.

The Photographers Eye. By John Szarkowski. The Museum of Modern Art; 156 pages; $29.95 and 19.95

Written in 1966, this book is a masterclass in visual analysis from a champion of 20th century photography. Szarkowski began his career as a photographer but won fame after he became an early director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Under his guidance, MoMAs photography collection grew to be one of the most significant anywhere. Szarkowski asked himself how could this mechanical and mindless process be made to produce pictures meaningful in human terms". His answer, appropriately, is not to be wordy but to let images speak for themselves. Both household names and unknown photographers feature among the 175-odd works in this book. Szarkowskis goal is for the reader to consider fully, across five chapters, the elements of photographic composition. Each chapter begins with a short introduction that serves as a guide to structuring an image. His book is essential for readers who want to improve their photographic skills while learning about visual theory.

On Photography. By Susan Sontag. Picador; 224 pages; $18. Penguin Modern Classics; 9.99

Susan Sontag was an American writer, teacher, philosopher, activist and one of the most influential critics of photography. Her work On Photography" is among the most enduring on the topic and remains a foundation of any photographic education. Nonetheless, these six essays are controversial. Sontag, who died in 2004, broaches topics such as truth, beauty and pathos with wit, but also provides an often scathing critique of the medium. She is often philosophical, exploring how the camera limits, shapes or perhaps even controls how many peopleboth photographers and othersapprehend the world. Sontag shows that photographs both show viewers things they cannot witness and numb their reactions to them. Photographs, she warns, may desensitise as well as illuminate.

Photographs Not Taken. By Will Steacy. Daylight Books; 136 pages; $14.95 and 10.99

Unlike the other titles recommended here, Photographs Not Taken" does not discuss any actual photographs. Instead, Mr Steacys compendium features essays from famous photographers on the moments when they were unable to capture an image. This is a heartfelt expression of love for the medium and its practitioners that counterbalances Sontags critical outlook. Photographers are sometimes accused of objectifying their subjects or of exploiting their suffering. In this book, the reader gets a sense of the trials that photographers go through. Mark Power of Magnum Photos, an agency, remains haunted by a missed opportunity at Gdansk shipyard. After a long day of taking pictures that he wasnt completely satisfied with he spotted a ship beautifully lit by the setting sun. But security guards stopped him from capturing the moment on film. Another photographer, Simon Roberts, recalls the heartbreak of covering the AIDS crisis in Zimbabwe. In a third example, Elinor Carucci explores how difficult it is to take artful pictures of her children while also mothering them. One lesson from all the stories is that photographers who do excel are immensely committed to their medium.

The Social Photo. By Nathan Jurgenson. Verso Books; 144 pages; $16.95 and 12.99

This book is a timely look at the role of photography in a networked culture. Nathan Jurgenson plots how photography has moved away from art and journalism. Instead it plays a new role in digital communication. The Social Photo", published in 2019, is a remarkably comprehensive survey of social-media photography. It is a book of sociologyin part an exploration of the phenomenon of the selfiebut not one crammed with statistics. Mr Jurgenson is interested in social pressure and in the way people manage the images of themselves that they present to others. Selfie-takers, he suggests, do not deserve the scorn that is sometimes heaped upon them. Mr Jurgenson also explores the phenomenon of the food photo" as well as the way that pictures cease to be stable objects when they are used primarily for communication, in some cases even self-destructing", as with Snapchats ephemeral images. For those who are nostalgic about the demise of analogue photography, his discussion of the faux-vintage photo" will be pleasing. The sort of photography shared on social media might seem trivial, but that is a misconception, this study contends. Mr Jurgenson puts the social photo in a broader context of photographic history in a way that should appeal to even the sniffiest critic.

Read more: A recent story considered the video art of an Irish photographer who has tracked the systematic destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Another reviewed a three-volume book about a photographer, Van Leo, who proclaimed himself to be the Man Ray of Egypt". This one, from 2018, considers the power of news photographs.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Xiaomi, the renowned Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has made an announcement on X regarding the official launch date of the Mi Mix Fold 3 foldable smartphone. This highly anticipated device is set to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. In addition to this innovative foldable smartphone, there are speculations that the company might unveil the Xiaomi Pad 6 Max tablet and the Redmi K60 Ultra smartphone during the same event.

Xiaomi's CEO, Lei Jun, has taken to Twitter to tease the eagerly anticipated upcoming smartphone, unveiling official images that confirm its design. The device boasts a Leica-branded quad-camera setup on its rear and displays elegantly curved corners. This innovative smartphone is set to make waves in the competitive foldable phone arena, going head-to-head with rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Pixel Fold.

The CEO of Xiaomi has officially announced that the launch event for the Mi Mix Fold 3 smartphone will take place in China. Jun has announced that the forthcoming foldable smartphone is scheduled to be released in the company's domestic market on August 14th.

Additionally, the company has unveiled official renderings of the upcoming phone on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. These renderings provide a comprehensive view of the Mi Mix Fold 3, showcasing the device from all angles in both its folded and unfolded modes. The Weibo post exhibits the smartphone in a stylish design and presents two color options: black and cream variants. As of now, the company has not disclosed any significant specifications of the smartphone.

As per a GizmoChina report, it is anticipated that the Mi Mix Fold 3 will incorporate the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and include a periscope telephoto lens. Furthermore, the foldable smartphone is rumored to house a 4,800 mAh battery, expected to be compatible with 67W fast charging.
The five millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) produced by Chinas leading NEV manufacturer BYD rolled off the production line on Wednesday.

China has been the worlds largest automobile production and sales country for 14 consecutive years, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) topped the global market for the eighth year in a row.

Particularly, Chinas vehicle exports soared to around 1.07 million units in the first quarter of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, indicating that China had become the worlds largest auto exporter in the period, even outpacing Japan.

This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows workers working at a factory of Lotus in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

This photo taken on June 19, 2023 shows workers working at a factory of Lotus in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

A staff member works at an assembly line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in a factory of Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east Chinas Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This aerial photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows domestically-made vehicles at the Horgos comprehensive bonded area in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. More and more domestically-made automobiles have been exported through the Horgos Port, one of Chinas closest ports to Central Asia and Europe by land transport, to countries along the Belt and Road, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 18, 2023 shows vehicles waiting for shipment at Yantai Port in Yantai, east Chinas Shandong Province. The port is seeing busy days ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival as arrays of vehicles waiting for shipment occupy its roll-on/roll-off terminal. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

NEVs are a highlight of Chinas vehicle exports. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese auto manufacturers exported 457,000 units of NEVs from January to May this year, an increase of 1.6 times over the same period last year.

Since 2020, Chinas electric car manufacturers have begun to enter the overseas mainstream automobile markets and become more competitive relying on their original technologies and targeted market strategies.

A worker is busy on the production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) at a factory of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east Chinas Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022.(Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2023 shows a workshop of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto Inc. in Changzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

A transport vehicle delivers the installed power battery system parts at a workshop of SAIC-CATL Motor Power Battery System Co., Ltd. in Changzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu Province, Feb. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This undated photo shows a production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) of BYD in Shenzhen, south Chinas Guangdong Province. (BYD/Handout via Xinhua)

This undated photo shows a production line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) of BYD in Shenzhen, south Chinas Guangdong Province. (BYD/Handout via Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Oct. 12, 2022 shows new energy vehicles (NEVs) at a factory of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east Chinas Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

This aerial photo taken on July 11, 2023 shows new energy vehicles for export at a terminal of Taicang Port, east Chinas Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Ji Haixin/Xinhua)

Shayne Heffernan
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The man convicted of killing Chattanooga Police Officer Julie Jacks has been released early from prison.
Community, Charity & Cause

By Chris Boyle Published: August 11 2023

The Town of Oyster Bay never forgets its hometown heroes, and we are proud to honor the life and service of Detective Joseph Paolillo, said Supervisor Joe Saladino.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino, members of the Town Board and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined with the New York Police Department (NYPD) in ceremonially renaming a street in honor of fallen NYPD Detective Joseph Paolillo. A hero, Detective Paolillo died in the line of duty from 9/11-related cancer contracted in the aftermath of search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center. Stationed at Ground Zero, Joseph frantically searched for the remains of his brother John, an FDNY Battalion Chief, and fellow Americans.

The Town of Oyster Bay never forgets its hometown heroes, and we are proud to honor the life and service of Detective Joseph Paolillo, said Supervisor Saladino. Joseph loved his community, his city and his country and will always be remembered for his bravery. This street, in the community where he lived for many years, will forever serve as a reminder of his sacrifice and his extraordinary life. When people pass by this block, they will remember Detective Paolillo as an exemplary first responder who gave his life to save others.

Joseph began his career in the 34th Precinct in Harlem. He then went to the 19th Precinct on Manhattans Upper Westside and concluded his career with the Real Time Crime Center. His amazing legacy however, as a Top Cop in the bravest sense, will forever endure. Detective Paolillo will always be remembered as an exemplary first responder who did not hesitate to act even if the situation was perilous, and as someone who always put the safety of residents ahead of his own.

Born in Brooklyn, Joe was a resident of Glen Head for 21 years. He moved to be near his brother John, who lived just five blocks away. Joseph, who enjoyed music, playing the guitar and taking long walks, lived on Sheppard Street with his beloved wife Josephine and their three sons Raymond, John and Martin. He was a loving husband, a devoted father and a great neighbor. The family still lives in the Sheppard Street home just down the road from where NYPD Detective Joseph Paolillo Way will forever be displayed in his honor. The Paolillo family stood by their dad and supported him in every way until his last day on September 9, 2019.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: August 11 2023

JOSEPH MALVASIO, 65, and GREGG MARCUS, 57, are charged with with running a years-long advance-fee scheme through which they defrauded hundreds of victims of at least approximately $12 million.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging JOSEPH MALVASIO and GREGG MARCUS, a/k/a Gregg Pierce, with running a years-long advance-fee scheme through which they defrauded hundreds of victims of at least approximately $12 million. MALVASIO and MARCUS were arrested this morning will be presented later today in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: As alleged, Joseph Malvasio and Gregg Marcus perpetrated an advance-fee scheme whose victims were defrauded into paying millions of dollars for loans they needed but never received. Instead of keeping their promises to the victims, Malvasio and Marcus allegedly used the victims money to fund their lavish lifestyles.

FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Christie M. Curtis said: "The defendants are alleged to have operated a fraudulent loan scheme where they collected fees from victims, however, had no intention of providing such loans. The fees were then used to fund luxury personal expenses. Ensuring that financial fraudsters are held accountable in the criminal justice system remains a top priority of the FBI."

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment:[1]

From at least in or about March 2017 through at least in or about August 2023, JOSEPH MALVASIO and GREGG MARCUS operated an advance-fee scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims of at least approximately $12 million. MALVASIO and MARCUS operated this fraudulent scheme through their ownership and operation of a business called Global Capital Partners Fund LLC (GCPF). MALVASIO and MARCUS falsely represented that GCPF was a legitimate business that would provide loans to individuals who were interested in funding for private commercial projects. Instead, MALVASIO and MARCUS defrauded victims, collecting thousands of dollars in fees from each victim without intending to issue a loan.

MALVASIO and MARCUS typically collected several fees from each victim, including a letter of intent fee, a commitment fee, and an appraisal fee. Each fee ranged from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Once MALVASIO and MARCUS collected these fees, they informed each victim that he or she would not receive a loan and then refused to refund any of the fees each victim had paid.

Once MALVASIO and MARCUS received money from victims, they transferred the funds to their personal accounts and used them to make payments in the tens of thousands of dollars to Porsche, BMW, and Modern Yachts LLC, among other dealers of luxury goods. MALVASIO and MARCUS also used victim funds to make payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal credit card expenses.

MALVASIO, 65, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Bridgehampton, New York, and MARCUS, 57, of Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, are each charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.

This case is being handled by the Offices General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackie Delligatti is in charge of the prosecution.
Community, Charity & Cause

By Chris Boyle Published: August 11 2023

The variety show included singing, dancing and instrumental performances, and a rousing and emotional choral musical number at the beginning and end of the show.

Helen Keller Services (HKS), a Long Island-based non-profit offering programs and services for the DeafBlind Community, hosted its annual season-ending show for its Camp Helen Keller campers at the campus of Long Island University in Greenvale here today.

The variety show - whose theme was Totally Awesome 80s - included singing, dancing and instrumental performances, and a rousing and emotional choral musical number at the beginning and end of the show. Parents and families were also on hand.

For the children, its an opportunity to shine, have fun with their peers and express themselves, said Sue Ruzenski, CEO of Helen Keller Services. They are discovering how talented they truly are and what joy they can bring to the audience here today.

Camp Helen Keller is a summer program created more than 60 years ago for children ages five to 15 who are blind or visually impaired. Its main goal is to improve participants' self-esteem, self-confidence, and socialization skills. It is held at the LIU Post campus in Brookville and admits campers from Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens, who receive free door-to-door transportation. Campers participate in traditional activities, such as swimming, arts and crafts, music and dance classes, and field trips and technology classes that have been adapted for visually impaired people.

He is excited to get on the bus every day, said Denise Hayden, of Floral Park, whos 13 year old son Joe is a camper. Hes with kids who are just like him. Hes not the person on the outside looking in, hes part of a group. I am so appreciative of that.
The US imposed sanctions on four Russian tycoons who helped found the Alfa Group banking conglomerate, finally joining UK and European allies that had restricted their assets soon after the Ukraine war began.

The Treasury Department announced sanctions against Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev, partners in the group that controls Russias largest retailer and private bank.

The four men and Andrei Kosogov founded Luxembourg-based investment firm LetterOne in 2013. All resigned from the board after Fridman and Aven were hit with EU sanctions that froze their assets within days after the Russian full-scale invasion last year. LetterOne itself has not been sanctioned and the ownership share of sanctioned individuals is below 50%.

The investment firm, which managed $27 billion in assets in 2021 including the Holland & Barrett health food chain and a stake in mobile operator Turkcell, suffered a drop of about 20% last year, LetterOne Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Muir told the Luxembourg Times in June.

Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The US-sanctioned quartet had been sanctioned by the UK and the EU soon after Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and it had been an enduring mystery why the US  which has slapped sanctions on hundreds of people and entities over the war  had held off punishing them too.

Fridman has publicly condemned the war as a tragedy, saying war can never be the answer, but he stopped short of directly criticizing President Vladimir Putin. One of Russias most prominent businessmen, Fridman and his partners have gone to the EUs top courts in Luxembourg to fight their sanctions designations, saying theres no evidence hes a Putin ally or that hes backed or benefitted from aggression in his native Ukraine.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
UP Visayas, DOST, Eco Life partner to develop aquaculture feeds

(From left) Dr. Reynold Tan, UPV TTBDO Director; Dr. Harold Monteclaro, UPV Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension; Dr. Rex Ferdinand Traifalgar, CFOS-IA Director/ UPV-DOST Ulva Seaweed CRADLE Project Leader; UPV Chancellor Clement Camposano;

Ms. Obi Roco, Managing Director of Trading Room; Ms. Fedelia Flor Mero, Senior Science Research Specialist, DOST-PCAARRD

The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the private company Trading Room, the manufacturer of Eco Life, have signed a Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) to develop immunoactive and growth-promoting aqua feed made from Ulva or seaweed. The project aims to boost the production of organic, seaweed-based feeds for aquatic species such as fish, shrimps, and tilapia.

UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano and Trading Room Managing Director Obi Roco signed the agreement. Joining them were Senior Science Research Specialist Fedelia Flor Mero of the DOST- Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD); Dr. Rex Ferdinand Traifalgar of UPV-DOST; Director Dr. Reynold Tan of UPVs Technology Transfer and Business Development Office; and UPVs Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Harold Monteclaro.

The agreement signifies the joint commitment of the academe and industry in advancing research and development in the country, said Ms. Mero. With a focus on creating a positive impact on the agriculture and aquaculture sectors, the DOST-PCAARRD, through its Inland Aquatic Resources Research Division, remains dedicated to supporting projects like this to ensure that we are working towards nourishing our resources to stimulate a healthy ecosystem for the benefit of our stakeholders.

Through the support of DOST-PCAARRD, UP Visayas and Trading Room will be able to work together on R&Dwith the former providing the technical expertise and the latter leveraging on its large-scale production of the ingredient and its marketing network. The project leader is UPVs Dr. Rex M. Traifalgar, recipient of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) 2015 Outstanding Young Scientist Award in Fisheries Science.

The outcome of the collaboration will facilitate the production of healthy and abundant aquaculture products and invigorate the coastal communities that harvest Ulva seaweed.

Trading Room is the Philippine pioneer in ulva seaweed production and came up with the all-natural feed additive called Eco Life G1. Trading Rooms Ms. Roco declared that this latest partnership affirms their belief in Filipino scientists.

The result is going to be profound, she said. Not only will our seaweed farmers increase their harvests More farmers will be encouraged to do aquaculture. Suppliers of feeds, vitamins, fishery equipment, and commodity supplies will also benefit from the expansion of the aquaculture industry.

Chancellor Camposano noted that the prospects are truly encouraging. Lumot is life, he quipped, referring to the local term for seaweed.

U.P. Visayas is determined to engage more deeply with industry, particularly in partnership with companies committed to sustainability and social inclusion and equity, Chancellor Camposano said, adding their university is exploring the possibility of expanding the partnership to include working with the Mindanao State University in Tawi-Tawi.

For more information on Eco Life G1, visit www.ecolife.ph.

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The UK Royal College of Physicians public health charity group dismissed as myths the assumption that vaping is a gateway to smoking and that vapes are more harmful than cigarettes.

Clarisse Virgino, the Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says in its recently-released peer-reviewed briefing paper that if vaping were a gateway into smoking at population level, smoking rates would show a reduced rate of decline or start to increase.

To the contrary between 2010 and 2021 when e-cigarette use grew rapidly from a low base in England, smoking rates among children continued to fall at least as rapidly as previously, which does not support the gateway hypothesis at population level, ASH says.

It is among the contents of the ASH brief which has been peer reviewed by academics and clinicians who are expert in addiction; behavior change techniques; electronic cigarettes, smoking cessation and tobacco control; epidemiology; mental health and health inequalities; and respiratory and critical care medicine.

The brief also denies that vaping nicotine is more harmful than smoking tobacco, as it cites data showing that while more than 75,000 people a year die from smoking in the UK, only five fatalities were linked to vaping products in the last 12 years.

The ASH brief aims to help in responsible reporting of evidence about vaping and reduce repetition of misconceptions as conventional wisdom; overstating the evidence, with caveats downplayed or missed out; and presenting opinions as facts.

Consumer and public health advocacy groups in the Philippines said the ASH brief provides helpful information that would help millions of smokers who are looking for better alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

There exists a large collection of scientific evidence that vapes are significantly less harmful than cigarettes, yet some groups still spread lies that are risky. This will only exacerbate the problem of smoking which is the leading cause of premature deaths globally, said Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of Quit for Good.

Clarisse Virgino, the Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, said the ASH brief adequately addresses the misconceptions on vaping.

She said various scientific groups in the UK such as NICE guidance, British Thoracic Society, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Royal College of Midwives endorse the use of vapes, instead of cigarettes, after high-quality randomized controlled trials found nicotine containing e-cigarettes to be an effective aid to quit smoking.

Recently, no less than the UK Prime Minister endorsed the distribution of free e-cigarette kits to adult smokers in England in an effort to make them quit. This only proves that vapes are much better alternatives to combustible cigarettes whose smoke is what causes diseases among humans in the first place, said Virgino.

Vapes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes are considered tools of tobacco harm reduction. These alternative products do not burn tobacco. Science has found that the act of burning produces smoke which contains more than 6,000 chemicals and about 100 of those are associated to smoking related diseases. The elimination of burning and smoke, significantly reduce the chemical emissions of smoke-free alternatives to up to 95 percent.

Dr. Mata said that based on the ASH brief, real-world evidence from population surveys in England found that smokers who use an e-cigarette in a quit attempt are more likely to succeed in that attempt. This suggests that e-cigarettes have helped 30,000 to 50,000 additional smokers to successfully quit each year in England since 2013.

The ASH briefing paper departs form the World Health Organization  Framework Convention on Tobacco Controls campaign for prohibitive policies on smoke-free alternatives. The FCTC Conference of the Parties will convene in Panama this November.

ASH clarifies it strongly supports stricter regulation of e-cigarettes to reduce their affordability, appeal, accessibility and promotion to children, while at the same time ensuring that adult smokers are not discouraged from using vaping to quit smoking.

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Legal and security experts are urging the Philippine government to do a joint patrol with like-minded allies in its next resupply mission to

the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal.



Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the Philippines can follow the examples of Malaysia and Indonesia, which continued

their survey and naval drills in their EEZ in the South China Sea, together with the United States and Australia, despite warnings from

the Chinese Coast Guard.



We can have joint patrols with the US at the same time [in the next resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal]. We can calibrate it. Remember,

Malaysia and Indonesia were able to survey and drill despite warnings from the Chinese Coast Guard that the area falls within the nine-dash line They sent their Navy together with the survey ship and the drilling ship, and, at the same time, the US and Australia conducted

naval drills in the same area, thats for Malaysia. For Indonesia, the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan happened to pass by, Carpio

explained.



The Americans are there. They did the favor to the Malaysians and Indonesians without a defense treaty. And the Australians also did the

same to Malaysia. Why are they doing this? Because they want to preserve freedom of navigation We can do all these things. Its up to

us if we have the political will, he added.



Carpio made the statement during a forum on Thursday organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with the United States

Institute of Peace. Philippine government officials and local and foreign experts attended the forum and discussed various issues

including the current security environment in the West Philippines.



The former SC Justice said the Ayungin Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre is aground in the West Philippine Sea, is one of the flashpoints

in the Philippines-China relationship. Ayungin Shoal is about 20 nautical miles from Mischief Reef.

The arbitral tribunal ruled that Mischief Reef is a low-tide feature forming part of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines.



Despite this, China illegally reclaimed Mischief Reef and converted it into the largest air and naval base of China in the Spratlys.

Because of Ayungin Shoals proximity to Mischief Reef, China wants to seize Ayungin Shoal from the Philippines Carpio explained.

Similarly, Stratbase President Professor DIndo Manhit urged the Philippine government to maximize joint patrols and have like-minded allies shepherd Philippine vessels in its next resupply mission.



As our military outpost, we should not be deterred from sending supplies, from improving that facility [BRP Sierra Madre]. Whats

happening now, they [China] are stopping us from moving forward.

Our supply ships should really push through This is where we can maximize joint patrols and be shepherded by allies and friends during the resupply. Not to cause war but simply to exercise our own rights based on international law. Our military facility is within our Exclusive

Economic Zone, Manhit explained.



The stronger statement by our President is really welcome and now we hope it turns into stronger actions and generate enough support and alliance from partners. Ive always believed that to ensure stability, you need to bring people together to define and protect what is our

Philippine EEZ, he added.



Moreover, former United States Air Force official and security expert Col. Raymond Powell said that one of the leverages the Philippines can

use against dealing with an extremely large and aggressive country like China is its partnerships with like-minded allies.



Powell, also a fellow at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University in the United States, said the

Ayungin Shoal, including the BRP Sierra Madre, is the most vulnerable outpost in the entire South China Sea and needs to be reinforced.



Its vulnerable not just because of how few people are there and their inability to defend themselves but the fact that their outpost is deteriorating and will ultimately succumb to time and the weather and the elements.

That will happen unless the Philippines, with its US allies, are able to come up with some other solution to repairing or replacing, somehow lifting, circumventing, and defeating the ongoing Chinese blockade, Powell explained.

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Moscow, RussiaRussia launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a probe to the Moon on Friday, live images showed, kicking off its first mission to the celestial body in nearly 50 years.

The rocket with the Luna-25 probe lifted off at 02:10 am Moscow time (07:10 Friday Manila time) from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, according to live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The spacecraft is due to reach lunar orbit in five days, will remain on the Moon for a year, and will be tasked with taking (samples) and analyzing the soil as well as conducting long-term scientific research, the Russian space agency said.

It will then spend between three and seven days choosing the right spot before landing in the lunar south pole area.

Roscosmos expects the probe to land on the Moon around August 21, a source in the agency told AFP.

The launch is the first mission in Russias new lunar program, which gets underway at a time when Roscosmos is being deprived of its partnerships with the West amid the conflict with Ukraine.

This is the first lunar mission for post-Soviet Russia. The last one took place in 1976, when the USSR was a pioneer in the conquest of space.

The mission is important for the Russian space sector, which is suffering from funding problems, corruption scandals and increasing competition from the United States and China, as well as from private initiatives such as billionaire Elon Musks Space X.

According to Russian space expert Vitali Iegorov, the mission is the first time that post-Soviet Russia has attempted to place a device on a celestial body.

The biggest question will be: can it land? he told AFP, stressing that this mission is of great importance for Russia.

President Vladimir Putin has pledged to continue Russias space program despite sanctions, pointing to the USSRs sending of the first man into space in 1961, at a time of escalating East-West tensions.

We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward, despite difficulties and external attempts to prevent us from doing so, Putin said at the Vostochny Cosmodrome last year.

The mission is important for the Russian space sector, which is suffering from funding problems, corruption scandals and increasing competition from the United States and China, as well as from private initiatives such as billionaire Elon Musks SpaceX. AFP

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LEADING business owners, investors, venture capitalists, and political figures, gathered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, to celebrate the launch of Block Dojo in Asia recently.

The VIP evening was hosted by Block Dojo, a renowned incubator fostering blockchain entrepreneurship, in partnership with nChain, a leading global technology company, offering software solutions, consulting services, and IP licensing for clients across major industries looking to benefit from the security, transparency, scalability and cost-effectiveness of blockchain.

The event aligns with the President of the Philippines heralding the importance of Blockchain and digital asset technologies in November 2022 and, more recently, calling for digital transformation across the nation.

nChain and Block Dojo are committed to creating tangible business opportunities for Blockchain development and acting as a leading light in the digital revolution in the Philippines.

Shown here are (from left) Stephanie Tower, nChain Business Development Lead  Philippines; Alex Bell, nChain Co-founder and Programme Director; Stefan Matthews -nChain Co-Founder & Executive Chairman; Jay Gujral, nChain Global Commercial Director; James Merchant, Executive Chairman  nChain Block Dojo and Chief Business Development Officer; and Dr. Craig Wright, nChain Chief Scientist.

The culmination of the event marked the opening of Block Dojos call for submissions from start-ups across the Philippines, interested in securing a place to attend the 12-week programme, which puts entrepreneurs through their paces via technical education, investment guidance, investor pitching, and commercialization.

Stefan Matthews, nChain Executive Chairman & Block Dojo Director, said: Last December, I committed to the Provincial Government of Bataan to establish an instance of Block Dojo here in the Philippines, specifically in Bataan. The official launch represents the delivery of that commitment.

Further, we are delivering against the mandate announced by His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in October 2022. We invest in promoting Filipino start-ups, guiding them to provide blockchain solutions to the Philippines and the world, and internationally showcasing technology, innovation, and capabilities.

Our Block Dojo investment will intake approx. forty selected concepts and output ten as business ready and funded. This process is not a one-off, cohorts will continue, and the process will be repeated three (3) times per year, so over two years, we will have an intake of 240 start-ups and deliver 60 successful, advanced Filipino projects. I wish all cohort participants well; I am optimistic about what we will see here. This initiative is very special to us all.

On the other hand, James Marchant, nChain Business Development Officer & Block Dojo Executive Chairman said: This event marks the opening of Block Dojo Philippines, the first Dojo in Asia and indeed our first international Dojo outside of the UK. Since nChain committed to supporting the Philippines earlier this year, my team and I have been busy recruiting and training a local team and establishing partnerships with other local stakeholders. We are quickly becoming the epicentre of what we have found to be a vibrant and growing startup community. Our recent launch event marks the opening of Dojo Philippines accepting applications from Filipino founders and entrepreneurs that have an idea for a business and want to leverage the commercial expertise of the Dojo as well as the IP, technology, and resources of nChain to catapult their idea into the next big thing. The first intensive 12 week-programme will begin in Bataan in January 2024 and our first Filipino cohort of startups will launch to the world in March 2024.

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Defense lawyers for U.S. National Guardsman Jack Teixeira and prosecutors squared off Thursday over release conditions presented to a federal judge as he hopes to be freed before an espionage trial starts.

Teixeiras lawyers said online comments and searches he made did not display an actual ideological desire to harm others, according to documents filed by his defense team. Government concerns were downplayed due to his comments being shared primarily among teenagers on a forum dedicated to war/combat-based videogames, his lawyers added.

The conspicuous lack of evidence demonstrating that Mr. Teixeiras online talk reveals a motive or plan to harm others demonstrates once again that the governments suggestion that Mr. Teixeira is a threat to the public is unsupported for this determination, Teixeiras lawyers said.

Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, is accused of leaking top-secret military documents regarding the war in Ukraine to his internet friends over Discord, a communication platform popular amongst video gamers. Officials said he accessed Discord while employed at the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod.

He faces six charges of willful retention and transmission of classified national defense information.

Prosecutors argued that Teixerias lawyers requested release conditions that present a fictional version of himself rather than the undeniable reality of the individual he is, court documents said.

Read more: Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to sharing classified documents

The defendants violent rhetoric combined with an unhealthy obsession with firearms, presents a significant danger to the community, prosecutors said. And the defendant has also shown through his brazen conduct to date that he has no misgivings about endangering the nation by putting at risk the closely guarded secrets of the United States. Put simply, there are no conditions of release that can adequately mitigate the risks posed by the defendant if released by this court.

Presiding U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani will decide on the defenses appeal of a May detention order by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, who found Teixeria to be a security risk who could flee the country if released on bail.

Last month, Teixeiras lawyers asked Talwani to reverse the decision by invoking former President Donald Trump, who prosecutors during his second of three indictments did not seek to detain him despite his access to fleeing the country, AP reported.

While Teixeiras lawyers said the governments conspicuous lack of evidence in demonstrating that the guardsmans online talk was something of major concern, prosecutors called his arguments a red herring and their presentation of Teixeira as a family-oriented, law-abiding Massachusetts resident was shattered by Hennessy as illusion.

Pre-arrest flight was not the concern of the government, and the government does not dispute that the defendant did not flee in the days leading up to his arrest, they said. Instead, the defendant used those precious days to destroy evidence, to hide his trail of criminal activity, and to urge anyone who would listen not to speak to government agents and to destroy anything traceable to him.

Prosecutors noted that the weight of the evidence against Teixeira is voluminous and compelling, court documents read. They then outline their accusations that Teixeira destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses, remains a risk to national security and poses a physical danger to the community, all of which they assert weighs in favor of detention.

Read more: FBI agent says Jack Teixeira could have more classified documents at North Dighton residences

The governments concern continues to be that the defendant will exchange his wealth of knowledge (and any information he did not destroy) for his freedom, or, in the alternative, that the defendant will continue on his destructive, obstructive, and potentially dangerous path if released, prosecutors said.

Teixeira is due to appear in court for a pretrial conference in September.
Chelsea Handler will make a stop at Springfield Symphony Hall on Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

Handler, best known as a comedian, has also served as a television host and has ranked as a New York Times best-selling author. After a seven-year run as the host of E!s top-rated Chelsea Lately, she launched her documentary series Chelsea Does, followed by her talk show Chelsea on Netflix in 2016.

Of her six best-selling books, five have reached No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Handler made her return to Netflix last year with her comedy special Revolution.
A New Hampshire woman and her daughter are healthy and unharmed after being kidnapped in Haiti for 13 days, according to a Christian nonprofit.

Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped on July 27 while serving in El Roi Haiti Outreach Internationals community ministry near Port-au-Prince, the nonprofits website stated. She has been a nurse for the school, according to a video on the website. But she also provides services for the community.

On Wednesday, the nonprofit confirmed Dorsainvil and her daughter had been freed.

Today we are praising God for answered prayer, the nonprofits website read, adding there was still much to process and to heal from in this situation.

On Thursday, the nonprofit said the woman and her daughter were healthy and unharmed.

Alix is a remarkably resilient woman whose walk with God guides her deep love for her family and her passionate commitment to the Haitian people, the website read.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that Dorsainvil was working in the small brick clinic when armed men burst in and seized her. Lormina Louima, a patient waiting for a check-up, said one man pulled out his gun and told her to relax.

When I saw the gun, I was so scared, Louima told the AP. I said, I dont want to see this, let me go.

Some members of the community said the unidentified men asked for $1 million in ransom, a standard practice of the gangs killing and sowing terror in Haitis impoverished populace.

The U.S. State Department confirmed to the Boston Globe that it was aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti.

We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners, a department spokesperson told the newspaper.

The nonprofit previously said it was thankful for the team working to find Dorsainvil.

We are so thankful for the very knowledgeable and experienced professionals God has brought together to complete the task of securing their freedom, the website reads.

Alix Dorsainvil, who is also the directors wife, and their child were kidnapped Thursday morning from El Roi Haiti Outreach Internationals campus near Port au Prince while serving in their community ministry. Dorsainvil is originally from New Hampshire. Photo by El Roi Haiti Outreach International.

She first visited Haiti soon after the 2010 earthquake. She was still in college but fell in love with the people, the website reads. She continued taking trips back to Haiti during her breaks from school and during the summers.

Alix Dorsainvil, who is also the directors wife, and their child were kidnapped Thursday morning from El Roi Haiti Outreach Internationals campus near Port au Prince while serving in their community ministry. Dorsainvil is originally from New Hampshire.

Dorsainvil is originally from New Hampshire and graduated from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, according to the Associated Press, where there is a program to support nursing education in Haiti. She then started working as a nurse.

It doesnt surprise me that Alix chose to get involved in this type of service work, Regis College president Toni Hays told WMUR. She [is] amazing. She [is] passionate, she [is] compassionate.

And she continued going to Haiti.

Once she started working as a nurse she would save money and then self-fund all of her trips to Haiti, going as often as she could, the website said. She had lived in Haiti for multiple years, showing love and care in a variety of ways before coming on staff with us, but has had a heart for the hurting since she was a child. She seeks people out to show them love and compassion, and no one is excluded from receiving her kindness.

In 2020, Dorsainvil became a staff member at El Roi Haiti as a school nurse.

Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family, the website states. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.

About a year later, she married the ministry director, Sandro Dorsainvil.

Sandro Dorsainvil grew up in the Cite Soleil area, a community in Port-au-Prince known for its poverty and violence, according to the website. He taught himself English and Spanish and had multiple translating jobs in Haiti, including a translating job by an adoption agency. He later attended high school in Montana and graduated from Liberty University in 2018.

He is now the founder and director of El Roi Academy.

The violence has stirred anger among Haitians, who say they simply want to live in peace.

Around 200 protesters, largely from the area around El Roi Haitis campus, echoed that call as they walked through the sweltering streets wielding cardboard signs written in Creole in red paint.

She is doing good work in the community, free her, read one.

The nonprofit thanked the thousands of Haitians who used their voices and risked their lives to march for the release of Alix and her child as well as other Haitian captives.

To the many people and communities in Haiti that expressed support for Alix and her daughter during this time, we want to say thank you for the courage youve shown in the midst of your own challenges, the statement read.

Local resident Jean Ronald said the community has significantly benefitted from the care provided by El Roi Haiti.

Such groups are often the only institutions in lawless areas, but the deepening violence has forced many to close, leaving thousands of vulnerable families without access to basic services like health care or education.

Earlier this month, Doctors Without Borders announced it was suspending services in one of its hospitals because some 20 armed men burst into an operating room and snatched a patient.

As the protesters walked through the area where Dorsainvil was taken, the streets were eerily quiet. The doors to the clinic where she worked were shut, the small brick building empty. Ronald and others in the area worried the latest kidnapping may mean the clinic wont reopen.

If they leave, everything (the aid groups programs) will shut down, Ronald worried. The money they are asking for, we dont have it.

There is also a do not travel advisory issued for Haiti.

Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure, the advisory states.

It states kidnappings are widespread and that victims regularly include U.S. citizens.

Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked, it reads. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victims families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members.

Still, Massachusetts organizations said there have been security challenges for years and the latest update by the U.S. State Departments do not travel advisory is nothing new.

Weve already adapted to the security risks for some time, said Elizabeth Fischelis, program manager for the Haiti Development Institute, an initiative of The Boston Foundation.

Haiti Development Institute, a non-profit with an office in Boston, supports organizations in rural Haiti and provides funds and grants to grassroots organizations. Fischelis said many donors have stopped going, although some still do.

There are intrepid donors who still go, but many dont, she said, adding that she arrived on the island last week and planned to stay only for a few days.

Fischelis said that the non-profit intentionally set up offices outside of Port-au-Prince to promote development in rural areas before violence grew.

There are definitely security concerns and areas not to go, but there are some places you can go safely and there is work that is proceeding, she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
A Boston doctor was arrested and charged after officials claim he masturbated in front of 14-year-old on an airplane, according to acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levys office.

Sudipta Mohanty, 33, was charged with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. Mohanty was arrested Thursday and was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.

Mohanty is an internal medicine and primary care doctor with a practice in Boston, according to Levys office.

On May 27, 2022, Mohanty was flying on Hawaiian Airlines Flight from Honolulu to Boston. He was seated next to a 14-year-old traveling with her grandparents, who were seated nearby.

About half-way through the flight, the 14-year-old saw Mohanty had covered himself with a blanket up to his neck and that Mohantys leg was bouncing up and down, Levys office said. Eventually, the blanket was on the floor and no longer covering Mohanty. The 14-year-old told officials Mohanty was masturbating.

The 14-year-old moved seats. After the flight, the 14-year-old told their family and they called law enforcement.

What Dr. Mohanty is accused of doing in front of a fourteen-year-old girl is reprehensible, said Christopher DiMenna, acting special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston division. Todays arrest should make it crystal clear that the FBI takes crimes aboard aircraft seriously, everything from sexual misconduct as alleged in this case, to assault, interfering with the flight crew, and theft. If youve been the victim of a crime aboard an aircraft or have witnessed one take place, we ask you to report it to both your flight crew and the FBI.

The charge of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States provides for a sentence of up to 90 days in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
A driver in South Boston recently tried to pull a fast one in the HOV lane. Police, however, werent fooled.

Massachusetts State Police pulled over a Mercedes Benz driver who tried to pass off a mannequin as a human passenger while driving in the HOV lane  which is reserved for vehicles with two or more human passengers.

The driver dressed up the mannequin with glasses, a Boston Bruins hat and a striped work shirt in an attempt to make it look more life-like.

State police took the opportunity to remind drivers that mannequins, dogs and imaginary friends dont count as commuters in the HOV lane, according to a Facebook post by the State Police Association of Massachusetts, the union representing state police.

Ensuring safety and fairness on our highways is a priority of our members, the State Police Association wrote.

The post did not include whether the driver was cited for the incident. MassLive reached out to Massachusetts State Police for comment.
A bridge in Canton remains undefeated, the police department said Friday.

A tractor-trailer had attempted to go under the Bolivar St. Bridge but got stuck around 8 a.m. Friday. While there was damage to the truck, the bridge remained standing.

Bolivar St. Bridge remains undefeated, the Facebook post read, also adding #TheSignsArentLying.

Police warned the area would be closed while crews cleaned up from the crash. WCVB reported that even while the tractor-trailer was stuck under the bridge, the Commuter Rail trains were seen moving slowly over it.

Bolivar St. Bridge remains undefeated. Bolivar St. will be closed while crews clean this up. #Bolivard #TheSignsArentLying Posted by Canton Police Department on Friday, August 11, 2023

About two weeks ago, the MBTA Transit Police tweeted about a rental truck that briefly got stuck under the East Dedham Bridge in Westwood around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 24.

Read more: New eclectic shop in Springfield lives up to its unique name

The impact caused damage to the bottom of the bridge, Superintendent of Transit Police Rich Sullivan confirmed to MassLive, but did not disrupt train service for too long. Sullivan said there was a slight delay on the Franklin/Foxboro Line so engineers could inspect the bridge.
Three Springfield-area organizations will try and reduce food insecurity in the city with an event Saturday at noon.

The Hampden County District Attorneys Office, in partnership with Springfield Together Inc. and Inter Produce, will distribute 200 food boxes to families in need.

Two hundred families who arrive at Inter Produces Springfield location at 679 White St. will receive a box full of fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, and bread.

Ali Bulut, the owner of Inter Produce, has donated fresh food in the past to local families as his way of helping his community.

The event was made possible by a $13,000 grant awarded to Springfield Together from the Hampden County District Attorneys Office in June and is a continuation of Springfield Togethers ongoing project targeting food insecurity.

The food distribution will continue Saturday until supplies are exhausted.
School boards, city councils, state agencies, and other public bodies will no longer be able to seal minutes from nonpublic meetings indefinitely unless they reconsider the decision at least every 10 years.

Gov. Chris Sununus signature this week of House Bill 321 will require public bodies and agencies to review sealed minutes no later than 10 years after they were last sealed. Currently there is no requirement to revisit and vote to keep minutes sealed.

When the law takes effect Oct. 3, minutes can remain sealed only if a majority of a board, agency, or public body votes to keep them sealed. If no vote is taken, the minutes will automatically be available to the public.

Public bodies and agencies can adopt policies requiring review sooner than 10 years but not later.

Read More: MassLive sues University of Massachusetts over refusal to produce public records

David Taylor, a former member of the Oyster River School Board in Durham, was among those who urged lawmakers to pass the bill.

The importance of a regular review is the minutes should not be sealed for any longer than they need to, he said in written testimony. In general, sealed minutes deprive the public about the actions of a public body. As soon as the condition for sealing passes, the minutes should be unsealed. If sealed minutes languish, then this is not likely to occur.

Public bodies and agencies can act in nonpublic session and seal those minutes in limited circumstances.

Those include discussions of personnel matters; situations that would harm the reputation of anyone other than a member of the public body; and certain discussions about the purchase, sale, or lease of property or pending litigation.

Read More: Gov. Charlie Baker signs public records overhaul into law

The bills prime sponsor, Rep. Josh Yokela, a Fremont Republican, worked with Right to Know NH and the New Hampshire Municipal Association on the bill. Yokelas cosponsors included five Republicans and a Democrat.

The New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions. Follow the New Hampshire Bulletin on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
CHICOPEE  Key Food Marketplace, a family-owned and -operated supermarket, has opened its doors at 187 Exchange St. While the store has been open since mid-July, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Aug. 4.

Key Food owner Tony Diaz said he wanted to come to Chicopee because there are no other stores in the immediate area, besides Fruit Fair. He added that almost all major food supplies are on Memorial Drive, including BJs, Walmart and Big Y, to name a few.

I thought it would be a good spot to open in Chicopee, he said.

Diaz shared that Key Food is like a typical supermarket, but on a smaller scale. It started in Holyoke 20 years ago and now, both sites  Chicopee and Holyoke  are under the same ownership group.

He noted that any ads or sales programs always will be the same at both stores, along with the same prices to avoid confusion [and] keep it simple.

Diaz said it is a very competitive market.

He continued, One thing [that] sets us apart is a lot of items we sell are ethnic items from Puerto Rico, Columbia, Jamaica  different parts of the world.

Key Food also provides a shuttle service for customers  at no additional cost  when they buy a minimum of $70 in groceries. Customers can be transported with their groceries to anywhere in the Western Massachusetts region.

Diaz shared that Key Food also offers online shopping through Instacart, allowing people to shop from their homes or elsewhere.

A handful of the Holyoke employees are coming to Chicopee with experience and to train the new hires. The staff are all locals from the Western Massachusetts region, and as sales improve, Diaz said he is looking to hire more.

Diaz is the second generation of the family-owned business. He said it is a group effort with his daughters, wife, nephews, parents and uncle helping to run the business.

[We] are happy to be able to serve this family. We welcome people from all over Western [Massachusetts], and we hope they like our store, Diaz said.

This opening marks another significant milestone in our ongoing journey towards fostering local commerce and providing our residents with top-quality, diverse food options, said Mayor John Vieau.

He continued, As mayor, Im delighted to see businesses like Key Foods Market invest in our community, creating new jobs and strengthening our local economy.
A Massachusetts family is asking for peoples help to find a woman who lives in Lahaina, which has been destroyed by a wildfire.

Linda Vaikeli hasnt been heard of since before the wildfires started, according to Boston 25. Her family, located in Rochester, told the news outlet she has health issues and doesnt get around very well.

She needs some assistance. I just hope someone was able to get to her and help her to evacuate, Beth McCleod told the news station.

Her son, Jason Musgrove, wrote on Facebook that as of Thursday around 9 p.m. there was no record of her with the Red Cross, hospitals or police.

Im gutted and overwhelmed with the unknown, he wrote.

The wildfires on Maui have killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Gov. Josh Green warned that the death toll would likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhoods that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for alerts.

What we experienced was such a fast-moving fire through the ... initial neighborhood that caught fire they were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice, Ventura said.

She lives in an apartment on Baker Street in Lahaina. She was home alone when the wildfires started, Dylan Kai, her grandchild, wrote on Facebook. He said his grandpa, Sione Vaikeli, had gone to a doctors appointment and was unable to get back into Lahaina.

He is safe and trying to work his way back to town now, he wrote.

The family has shared photos of Linda Vaikeli on Facebook.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
SPRINGFIELD  The citys newest retail addition to downtown is named appropriately Downtown, with the second line of the name being Curiosities, Oddities & Art.

The space at 114 State St. is one-part antique shop, one-part collectible shop and one-part art gallery. It is a collaboration between Gretchen Stibolt, Dino Baiardi and Jennifer Tatro.

Baiardi and Tatro also operate the Little Italys Thrift Shop at 320 St. James Ave.

Stibolt described the shops inventory as very eclectic, and that she is a curator of antiques, oddities and curiosities.

She is a sculptor who makes art out of found objects. Many of her creations are featured in the shop. There are also books, framed prints, vintage clothes, used jewelry and other items a person might find in an antique shop. In addition, there are items, such as soap, made by local artisans.

There are also oddities such as fossils, South American folk sculpture, a rocking chair filled with naked dolls, parts of mannequins, religious imagery and several vintage movie posters.

She admitted she is still trying to identify some of the items for sale.

In a rear area is a room filled with collectible toys and model cars.

Stibolt said it took two months of cleaning to get the space ready.

Were still feeling our way around, she said.

With MGM Springfield across the street, Stibolt said, We think this is a fabulous location. She added she had looked at the space years ago, but now its right.

Tatro operates the part of the shop that has vintage clothing and antique jewelry. Her goal is to have an inventory with affordable price points.

Were constantly adding new stuff, Tatro said.

Baiardi said his goal is to promote the arts and said the owner of the building has given them permission to make the second floor of the building  which once was offices for attorneys  into artist studios.

The store is open Wednesday through Saturday or by appointment, and for additional information call 413-214-3152.
Four children who survived torture and abuse at the hands of foster parents reached a $7 million settlement with the states child welfare agency, attorneys announced Friday afternoon.

This was a complete failure of the foster care system, Erica Brody, the plaintiffs attorney, said in a news release.

No amount of money can compensate our clients for what they have suffered, but by reaching this settlement the state is acknowledging its culpability in allowing foster children to be tortured for years in the Blouin home.

The now-grown children had filed the suit in Middlesex County in 2019, claiming Susan and Raymond Blouin sexually, physically and verbally abused the former foster children for more than a decade.

The lawsuit, which listed damages over $40 million, accused the state of continuing to allow the children to live at the Blouins home in Central Massachusetts despite evidence of unsafe conditions.

The suit accused the Blouins of numerous acts of torture and abuse, including binding their former foster children with duct tape, locking them naked in dog cages and forcing them to wear diapers until they were 13 years old in their Oxford home.

Read More: Worcester child abuse prevention team honored for work by DA Joe Early

The lawsuit claimed the department received at least 11 allegations of abuse between December 2002 and October 2004 but did not remove the last child from the Blouins home until October 2004.

A disabled child also died in 1997 while in the Blouins care, according to the lawsuit.

Susan Blouin, her former boyfriend, Philip Paquette, and her husband, Raymond Blouin, were all charged criminally in 2019.

Brody said the lawsuit sends the message that state social workers who turn a blind eye to the suffering of foster children will be held liable for violating the United States Constitution.
Editors note: This story has been updated to correct a description of a state agencys decision about prospective foster parents.

A Southampton couple seeking to adopt filed a discrimination lawsuit this week against employees of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. They allege an agency worker raised questions about their fitness to parent because of their religious beliefs.

Specifically, they claim the agency flagged their eligibility because the couple believes a LGBTQ child would need to live a chaste life.

Their lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, then transferred to the Western Division.

A DCF official said Thursday that the lawsuit has not been served to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and that the agency and department declined to comment.

Mike and Kitty Burke, lifelong residents of their Hampshire County town, wanted to become parents. The couple married in 2018 and struggled with infertility, which led them to seek private adoption. When that path became too costly, the Burkes began the process to become foster parents with the hope of adopting a child, according to the lawsuit.

The Burkes goal with their lawsuit, they said, is not only to be approved to be foster parents, but to end this campaign against faith and kids in need once and for all.

In January 2022, the Burkes applied to the DCF be whats known as resource parents. Over the next few months, they underwent training and interviews to deem whether or not they were fit to be resource parents.

While DCF employees were approving of many aspects of the Burkes qualities, their religion became a topic of contention, according to the couple.

The Burkes are heavily involved in the Catholic Church, both as parishioners and workers. They work as musicians for their church  Kitty as a cantor and Mike as an organist.

Since the Burkes are devout Catholics, they believe people should not engage in premarital sex and that marriage is strictly between a man and a woman.

When asked their opinion if their child identified with a sexual orientation other than being straight, the complaint alleges that Kitty said, theres nothing wrong with it, Im going to love you the same, but I believe you would need to live a chaste life.

Mike agreed with her sentiment and expressed a desire to talk more with their child about it, according to the lawsuit.

In an opinion piece submitted to The Republican and MassLive, the Burkes wrote that the told the agency that we would love and accept our child no matter their future sexual orientation or struggle with gender dysphoria.

However, they previously said they would not support a medical gender transition for that child if they came out as transgender due to their belief that sex is immutable, according to their complaint.

Linda-Jeanne Mack, program director of Child Welfare Adoption Services with 18 Degrees Family Services, visited the home of the Burkes for an interview. Afterwards, she wrote a recommendation to the agencys Licensing Review Team and acknowledged that the Burkes had many positive attributes, including an openness to fostering a child regardless of race or ability.

However, Mack recommended that the couple be granted approval with conditions due to their religion and views on the LGBTQIA+ community. According to the lawsuit, Mack expressed her apprehension by writing that the Burkes are heavily involved in their Catholic Church and cite their religious views as their primary reason for seeing LGBTQIA++ individuals in this way.

The Burkes said in their commentary that they filed the discrimination lawsuit because they believe their denial is strictly due to their deeply held religious beliefs.

The DCFs Licensing Review Team, which examined the Burkes file, deemed that it was concerned with the couples statements/responses regarding placement of children who identified LGBTQIA.
WILBRAHAM  After giving birth to two sets of twins, real estate attorney Karen Romano is no stranger to changing diapers.

But what she never expected was to still be changing her son Sean, who is 6 years old and weighs 66 pounds.

Sean has significant special needs as a result of a rare chromosome disorder, and hes not toilet-trained, said Romano.

When Im out and about with him and need to change him, my options are to put him on an infant table, which is typically rated up to about 40 pounds, with his head and his feet hang off  or change him on the floor of a public restroom. I can also go back to our vehicle and try to change him there, she continued.

The mother of four said there are virtually no changing tables anywhere that are made to safely accommodate her son and adults who need to be changed in public. As an attorney, Romano focuses much of her time on legislative remedies to difficult issues, and that is what shes doing to help her son and other state residents with special needs, disabilities and injuries, or who otherwise need help from a caregiver.

As I was running into this problem more and more, I started thinking theres got to be other options, she said.

Karen Romano, of Wilbraham, plays with her 6-year-old son, Sean, Romano in their home. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Romano and her family of six live in Wilbraham, so she turned to state Rep. Angelo Puppolo to discuss what is becoming a nationwide issue.

Roughly 27 percent of Americans, or 61 million people, have a diagnosed disability; in the Bay State, somewhere between 787,330 and 1,332,752 of its residents have a disability; and, tens of thousands of state residents are caretakers for family members with disabilities, according to the federal, state and sector agencies and advocates.

Arizona, California, Michigan and Pennsylvania already have enacted legislation to address the lack of restroom accommodations.

A number of national organizations are trying to move this forward in the commonwealth. The time is right to have this conversation, said Puppolo, D-Springfield. Its a critically important health and safety issue. Its a matter of equity and fairness.

Puppolo has written and is sponsoring HB 212, an act requiring universal changing stations in public building or places of public accommodation that are newly constructed, reconstructed or remodeled on or after Jan. 1, 2026. A hearing on the measure is scheduled for Sept. 12 before the Legislatures Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

Romano makes clear that, while challenges with her son are motivating her, helping children and adults across the commonwealth is her ultimate goal.

Each of these individuals and their caregivers deserves access to a safe and dignified method to manage their needs, she said.

Romano and her husband, Keith, are trying to normalize life as much as possible for their family, going on road trips, vacations or just taking in the sights. But traveling with Sean is difficult.

Karen Romano, of Wilbraham, feeds her 6-year-old son, Sean, in their home. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

It makes everything much more complicated. I have three other children, so if I have to go back to the car to change him, am I taking all the kids with me? How am I going to manage that situation? Going to beaches is difficult, because has to wear a swim diaper, and I have to change him there in the middle of the beach, she said.

Because of his genetic disorder, Sean Romano has physical and mental disabilities along with developmental delays that prevent him from controlling his bladder and bowels  and he doesnt understand the concept of toilet training, Romano said. His condition is so rare, there are only 500 diagnosed cases in the world.

The familys two 11-year-olds, along with Seans 6-year-old twin, understand their brother has challenges, and theyve become sensitive to his needs.

Weve always instilled in them everybody develops at different times and in different ways. They know Sean has some difficulties. But they view it as everybody does their own thing, in their own way and at their own pace, she said. They also have compassion for children and adults with disabilities outside the family.

Romano said she thinks a law mandating universal changing stations will be good for businesses, attracting families that otherwise struggle to find places to change children and adults with special needs.

Puppolo said he expects there to be questions about the impact of his bill, including how much it will cost to purchase and install larger changing stations, whether there is enough space in buildings to accommodate the stations, what is considered a renovation, and other matters.

Puppolo predicts passage of HB 212 might come, but not before close examination, fiscal studies and possible pilot programs have been completed.

Im pushing for it to pass, but its hard for me to predict. I can tell you I am fighting and doing all I can to move this forward, said Puppolo.

Romano is urgently trying to generate broad support for the bill, even if it means going public with an especially sensitive and private family matter.

When you have a child with special needs, especially one with a rare disorder, you learn very quickly you have to be their biggest advocate.
A 28-year old New Bedford man has been convicted for violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend, according to the Bristol County District Attorneys office.

Matthew Torres, 28, from New Bedford, was convicted for aggravated assault and battery with serious bodily injury and domestic assault and battery, according to a press release from the DAs office. Torres was sentenced by Judge Susan Sullivan to serve five years in state prison, after a three-day trial in Fall River Superior Court.

On Sept. 23 New Bedford Police were sent to a residence for a domestic disturbance after someone called police and said his friend was attacked by her ex-boyfriend, said the release.

When police arrived, they found a woman, who said Torres was high on drugs when he attacked her. She said he punched her in the face multiple times and locked her in a dog kennel for about 10 minutes, the DAs office said. She was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured eye socket and a broken nose.

During Torres trial, the woman cut off her testimony and refused to answer any questions despite being granted immunity by the court, said the release. After she was given many opportunities to continue her testimony, the judge jailed her overnight for contempt of court.

The trial was able to continue without the womans testimony by using her statements to police at the time of the incident, as evidence, and also testimony from a 911 caller, two police officers, an EMT and the emergency room doctor, according to the DAs office.

Torres is a repeat offender with a nine-page criminal record which includes at least three other jail or state prison sentences for crimes ranging from domestic violence to burglary, said the release.

The defendant committed a brutal assault against the victim, which resulted in a broken nose and fractured facial bones. Unfortunately the victim would not cooperate with the prosecution despite the severe beating and the granting of immunity by the court, said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III in the press release. This is something Ive rarely seen in my career. As the judge indicated, this undermined the court proceedings and is an affront to the administration of justice. Its very sad. However I commend the jury for using their common sense and concluding no one else couldve inflicted these serious injuries. The defendant has a significant record and needs to be kept off the street to protect this victim and society.
Lawmakers who championed state support for a suicide prevention program for young people are lobbying their colleagues to restore funding that Gov. Maura Healey slashed from the fiscal 2024 budget, calling the governors cut needlessly cruel and its impact unnerving.

Hey Sam, a texting service for people ages 15-24 grappling with loneliness, depression or suicidal feelings, was slated to receive $1 million from the compromise budget the Legislature sent to Healey. The $1 million was part of a broader $1.8 million allocation for Samaritans, Inc., which provides suicide prevention services across the state.

But Healey moved to strike the Hey Sam money from the $56 billion budget she signed into law this week, saying the reduction would make the programs funding consistent with her original budget proposal.

Rep. Ted Philips, who co-hosted a legislative briefing with Sen. Becca Rausch earlier this year to spotlight the success Hey Sam has had tackling youth mental health crises and appealing for continued state funding, has urged the Houses budget chief to recommend an override of Healeys line item veto once formal sessions resume in the fall.

This cut is needlessly cruel at a time when student mental health resources need all the funding that it can get, Philips wrote in a letter, which was shared with the News Service, to House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz on Wednesday. I am truly grateful for your efforts to fund 4513-1027 (Samaritans) at $1.8M in the conference committee budget that we sent to the Governors Desk, and I hope that you will continue to support that number by recommending that the House override this ill-conceived veto in the near future.

Nearly 1,700 young people have used Hey Sam by texting 439-726 since it launched in March 2022, according to the Samaritans website.

The program has a 100% success rate at de-escalating conversations among people expressing a high risk of suicide and not involving emergency services, said Kathy Marchi, CEO and president of Samaritans, Inc. The young people receive help from their peers, who use a language, tone and style they can relate to, Marchi said.

Marchi said shes not sure what the future of Hey Sam will look like without the state funding, though Samaritans may need to cut back on operating hours, volunteer and staffing levels, and initiatives aimed at promoting awareness of the suicide prevention tool. But Hey Sam isnt shutting down, Marchi told the News Service on Friday.

What we feel is weve got some traction, weve had success, but we believe the program has yet to see its biggest day. Theres much growth ahead of us, Marchi said. One way or another weve got to figure this out.

In a veto document explaining the reduction of funds by $1.4 million to Samaritans, Healey wrote that the goals of the program are sufficiently funded through an expansion in the Suicide Prevention and Intervention line item. That line item includes more than $8 million to implement a statewide suicide prevention plan, with some funds directed to address elder suicide behavior and for a crisis hotline serving veterans and concerned family members, according to the budget.

The line item also carves out at least $1 million for implementing 988 suicide and crisis call centers, an investment that Administration and Finance Secretary Matt Gorzkowicz highlighted at the budget signing ceremony Wednesday. Maintaining the full recommended funding for Samaritans would have been a bit redundant and duplicative in light of the other mental health programs included in the budget, Gorzkowicz signaled as he explained the governors Hey Sam veto.

The federal government requires that Massachusetts operate the 988 hotline, which an administration official said provides mental health support for people of all ages 24/7. The parallel options could create confusion, the official said.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to ensuring that Massachusetts residents, especially young people, can access mental health support when they need it, Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Healey, said in a statement to the News Service. Were proud to continue to support the 988 hotline and its providers, including Samaritans, which offer 24/7 phone and text support for people experiencing mental health challenges.

Samaritan receives state funding to serve as a 988 provider, and it will also receive $400,000 remaining from the line item that Healey vetoed, the administration official said.

Marchi said the governors veto may stem from a lack of understanding or misinformation about the differences between Hey Sam and 988.

For now, Marchi said, the texting option for 988 is not staffed by people based in Massachusetts, which could limit their ability to make referrals to local services. The volunteers are also likely not the same age as the young people reaching out for help, unlike on Hey Sam, she indicated.

I really do hope that this is a matter of educating and sharing more information, clarifying, so that it feels like this is certainly an override request that can be well supported, Marchi said.

Read More: House answering call for special education funding

Rausch worked with Samaritans to develop the pilot program for Hey Sam during the COVID-19 pandemic. She argued the premise of Hey Sam, which operates as a peer-to-peer texting initiative, is entirely distinct from 988, which the Needham Democrat said is also very important in providing mental health services.

Rausch said its unnerving to think about the destruction or dismantling of a service thats proven effective at helping young people and saving lives.

The budget isnt over. Weve overridden gubernatorial vetoes in the past, Rausch said in an interview, voicing hope that she and her colleagues will override this veto from Healey, too. We are in an ongoing mental health crisis that disproportionately affects youth.

Samaritans received $1.4 million in fiscal 2023 to fully implement Hey Sam, which Rausch said has helped Bay Staters stay anonymous while accessing confidential care from volunteers their age. The latest budget boost would have expanded operating hours for the service, she said.

Hey Sam saves lives  period, Rausch said. I dont know how theyre going to run without the money.
Julia Moriconi damaged her left lung when she got COVID-19 during a trip to Italy in 2020, only to return to the United States determined to launch her ice cream business.

Back in January 2020, concern for COVID-19 was starting to spread in the United States, with the first case reported here Jan. 20. But Moriconi, of Worcester  recovering from the virus herself after returning from a trip where she learned firsthand how Italians make delicious gelato  was singularly focused on opening Mrs. Moriconis Ice Cream that May, unaware of how bad things would get.

I got back and I got better, she said. ... But Im like, OK fine. Im better now, and Im opening ... Memorial Day weekend. ... I still didnt get it. Like it was happening somewhere else ... I finally slowed down to watch the news.

Read more: Toro Loco Taqueria hopes to offer Mexican food fast in downtown Worcester

But she did it, albeit a little later. Moriconi began selling ice cream in the summer of 2020, starting out of a cart then from a food truck.

Now, she plans to sell her ice cream from a production kitchen located inside of the Whitall Mills complex on Brussels Street in Suite 130 in Worcester.

How Moriconi got into ice cream

After attending Pennsylvania State University to learn about food and science safety, specifically in dairy, Moriconi traveled to Italy in 2020 to understand the craft of ice cream making.

I got to see how these artisan gelato makers used real fruit, fresh fruit, said Moriconi. They make the best ice cream, the best. I always wanted to get that unattainable flavor.

The summer of 2020, when businesses slowly began to open up more, with precaution, Moriconi was insistent on making her ice cream to sell to the public.

The depression part was real, said Moriconi, about the pandemic. Im thinking, Im 50 whatever years old, if not now, then when do I open? When do I do my business?

Moriconi began her journey in 2020 by renting some space in an ice cream production kitchen located on a farm in Dunstable, and by selling her ice cream at the Shrewsbury Farmers Market. As she still does, Moriconi only sold pints, not individual servings of ice cream.

After a year, Moriconi switched to WooTrucks in Boylston, where she had access to a commissary kitchen and could sell her ice cream during festivals and private events. But her business began to snowball and Moriconi outgrew her space.

Now shes in the Whitall Mills complex, which is home to several other local businesses, including Acoustic Java, Summit Ink & Beauty and Moriconis next-door neighbor, Courthouse Brew Co.

The kitchen is visible to customers so they can watch workers make Mrs. Moriconi's Ice Cream's foods.

What will Mrs. Moriconis Ice Cream offer in the mill?

Moriconi is hoping to have her ice cream business up and running by Labor Day weekend and plans to be open Thursday through Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m. and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Customers can watch staff and Moriconi working in the kitchen and can choose from an assortment of flavors.

Moriconi has a solid eight to nine flavors of ice cream, including chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mocha, peanut butter chocolate chunk and black raspberry chocolate chunk, which is her bestseller.

Mrs. Moriconis Ice Cream also sells seasonal flavors, such as her peppermint ice cream in the winter and will make a recipe that includes apples, cinnamon or caramel in the fall  it depends whats in harvest because Moriconi uses products that are in season.

When creating her ice cream, Moriconi uses the basic formulation of sugar, vanilla, and milk and cream from Jersey cows raised by Mapleline Farm in Hadley.

Im supporting a small business, a small farm, a family-owned farm, said Moriconi.

21 1 / 21 Mrs. Moriconi's Ice Cream

Mrs. Moriconis Ice Cream doesnt want to lose her brand identity as being an ice cream, Italian ice and frozen dessert seller, and she plans on continued to use her food truck and ice cream cart for events.

However Moriconi is considering the idea of selling other food options  such as sandwiches, salads and soups  and will likely team up with other local businesses.

But for now, Moriconi is only offering her prepackaged pints for $12, half pints for $7, ice cream sandwiches for $10, and ice cream-filled pastries for $7.

It is very much to-be-determined, said Moriconi about her menu. I just have to get my feet solid on the ground first.

Moriconi was approved for her victualer license during a Worcester License Commission meeting Aug. 10, which means she can now make food in her new production kitchen for the public.

People can follow Mrs. Moriconis Ice Cream on Facebook, Instagram and find her website here for more info about the business and when the official opening date is.

The next step for Moriconi is to be approved by the citys board of health after a pending inspection of her space.

After everything shes been through, Moriconi feels like you cant surprise me now.

I dont care if aliens land and theyre just like, were taking over the dairy industry, said Moriconi. OK, honey, Ill be up in Mars. Ill see you later. Like, well make this work. I dont know what the gravity is going to be like, but well figure it out.
Rural Ireland is starting to see the fruits of Government investment according to An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who said that Government investment in rural communities is only getting started.

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar was in Mayo on Thursday afternoon where he visited Ballinrobe and Glencorrib before crossing the border into Headford where he attended a public meeting entitled 'The Rural Roadmap to 2030'.

During his visit to Ballinrobe he met with the Town Hall committee who recently benefited from a 4.6 million funding allocation from the Rural regeneration and Development Scheme and in Glencorrib he visited the local Sunny Days Community Childcare Centre.

Speaking to the media in Glencorrib, Mr Varadkar said he was delighted to visit the area and see for himself the work on the ground and promised to continue to invest in rural communities.

I am glad to see people moving into the towns and villages and see the value of investment in community childcare and sporting facilities. We are only getting started. If you think about it, it is only since 2015 or 2016 when we balanced the books and we were able to start spending and investing again and it takes a few years to see the fruit of that investment. We are starting to see that now around the country and I am absolutely determined we will continue to invest in our communities, rural and urban all over the country, he said.

An Taoiseach's visit to south Mayo was organised on the back of an invitation from local MEP, Maria Walsh to accompany her to meet with community groups and organisations across rural communities.

During his tour of Glencorrib, Mr Varadkar met with sporting and community groups who showed him plans they had to develop facilities in the village.

Speaking to The Mayo News in Glencorrib, Ms Walsh said that Glencorrib is a thriving community and young people were starting to return home from places like Australia and Canada. She said that places like Glencorrib is a 'fantastic testament that rural Ireland is alive and well' and it is the role of her and other local representatives to ensure that funding is provided to these communities.

It is incredibly important that the Taoiseach visits places like Glencorrib and it is fantastic to meet community groups who are applying for funding.

While it is lovely to meet people he [Leo Varadkar] also has a job to do and my job as a public rep from a European side is to make sure the Government is applying for EU funding to support community groups. We have issues with dereliction and public transport and making sure mental health supports are coming to rural Ireland and they are the type of things that he [Leo Varadkar] will be leaving with. It is important that he is not just hearing it from public reps like me but to make sure he hears it from people on the ground, she said.
A warning has been issued to people booking the NCT to avoid a website which charges an additional fee for the car test.

The National Car Testing Service confirmed that it has become aware of a website which claims to act as an intermediary for customers who want to book their NCT for a fee.

A statement confirmed: "NCT wish to make it clear that this organisation has no affiliation with the National Car Testing Service in any capacity and urges the Irish public to proceed with caution and to only use the official NCT website https://www.ncts.ie/

"When we became aware of it, we posted warnings on our website, social media channels and have reported it to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CPCC), Google and the gardai. To date, we have had minimal referrals from customers who have been impacted from this website however, we are still urging the Irish public to proceed with caution when booking an NCT and to only use the official NCT website".

A spokesperson said: "There is no need for anyone to pay a third-party website to book an NCTS or be placed on the NCTS priority list as this can be done easily at https://www.ncts.ie/ where a customer will only incur the cost of the test itself. The average booking lead time for an NCT is 21 days booking lead time statistics (ncts.ie).

"NCTS would also like to warn drivers of the dangers of passing on their personal details, such as name, address, and credit card numbers to these sites. While such information is required to book an NCT, it should only be provided when booking a test through the official website," the spokesperson said.

The price list for an NCT - full Test: 55.00; Re-test: 28.00; Cancellation Fee Full Test - 22.00 Euro; Cancellation Fee Re-test -11.50; Euro Total price to be paid if cancelling a full test: 77.00 Euro (if not providing the required notice period).

In addition, customers can also book their NCT through the call centre (01 4135992) where they will assist with an NCT booking for them.
Poste : Directeur des operations et des finances

Lieu : Kinshasa, Republique democratique du Congo, 2023

Chemonics International cherche un Directeur des operations et finances pour le programme Global Health Supply Chain-Technical Assistance (GHSC-TA) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Francophone Task Order (TO). L'ordre de mission francophone dans le cadre du GHSC-TA IDIQ fournit une assistance technique pour renforcer les systemes d'approvisionnement en sante regionaux, nationaux et infranationaux par le biais de son portefeuille de projets en Afrique francophone, notamment au Benin, en Republique democratique du Congo (RDC), au Niger, au Togo, au Burkina Faso, en Mauritanie et en Cote d'Ivoire.

Le projet repond aux besoins d'assistance technique en matiere de produits de sante de l'USAID, d'autres agences du gouvernement americain, de gouvernements de pays partenaires, d'organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) et d'autres entites dans tous les domaines de la sante (par exemple, le paludisme, le planning familial, le VIH/SIDA, la tuberculose, la sante de la mere et de l'enfant, etc.) et represente un mecanisme par lequel l'USAID offre une assistance technique liee aux produits de sante mondiaux dans les domaines suivants :

Renforcement des systemes d'approvisionnement des pays, et

Collaboration strategique pour ameliorer la disponibilite a long terme des produits de sante.

Le Directeur des operations et des finances rend compte directement au Directeur Pays (CD) en RDC et travaille en etroite collaboration avec la direction du projet et le PMU pour diriger la gestion operationnelle et financiere du programme national de la RDC. Le directeur des operations et des finances supervise egalement directement le personnel professionnel et de soutien local a long terme, y compris le chef de bureau, le responsable des ressources humaines, les comptables, les assistants administratifs, le personnel informatique, le personnel charge des achats et les chauffeurs. En outre, il/elle sera charge(e) d'assister le Directeur Pays dans le developpement et la mise en uvre des systemes de gestion et la supervision des operations et du personnel du projet.

Les responsabilites comprennent :

Contribuer a la realisation des objectifs generaux du projet, selon les besoins, afin d'en assurer la performance.

Soutenir le CD dans l'elaboration et la mise en uvre de systemes de gestion cles qui soutiendront la planification du projet, l'etablissement de rapports et la gestion des performances, la gestion financiere, les systemes d'acquisition de biens immobiliers et de materiel technique et la gestion du personnel.

Faciliter l'utilisation des outils et des systemes necessaires a la planification, a la mise en uvre, au suivi, a l'etablissement de rapports et au controle de la qualite des activites operationnelles et administratives du programme.

Soutenir le CD, le PMU et le directeur de l'ordre de mission dans l'engagement de l'USAID/Washington et de l'USAID/RDC sur les questions financieres et operationnelles.

Gerer la comptabilite du programme, les rapports financiers au niveau national, y compris la redaction de tous les budgets, et gerer les comptes bancaires, y compris les rapprochements bancaires. Il recherche des economies et fournit des analyses financieres a la direction du projet et a l'USAID.

Gerer le personnel, y compris le chef de bureau, le comptable, le chauffeur et d'autres membres du personnel charge des operations et des finances.

Soutenir le responsable des ressources humaines en cas de besoin pour le recrutement, l'embauche, l'elaboration de politiques de projet et d'avantages sociaux, ainsi que pour la gestion des conges, l'evaluation des performances et les cessations d'activite.

Veiller au respect des reglementations du gouvernement americain, des politiques de l'organisation et des reglementations des clients (par exemple, le Field Office Guide to Field Accounting and Compliance, le Field Office Procurement Handbook, le Personnel Policy Manual, le FAR, l'AIDAR, etc.), ainsi que des lois de la RDC.

Etablir des normes et des procedures pour garantir l'efficacite des programmes de conformite dans l'ensemble du projet.

Aider le bureau local de Chemonics a repondre aux demandes de donnees et aux nouvelles exigences. Identifier les faiblesses operationnelles du projet et demander de l'aide si necessaire.

Planifier et suivre les activites financieres et administratives avec Chemonics Washington et le personnel du bureau de projet afin d'evaluer les besoins de mise en uvre. Tenir Chemonics Washington au courant de la situation financiere du projet et de l'execution du budget.

Gerer les achats des bureaux locaux et veiller a leur conformite.

Assurer l'interim du CD pour toutes les taches operationnelles en son absence.

Superviser l'emission des cheques de paiement pour les transactions traitees, l'enregistrement des paiements et la distribution et/ou l'envoi des cheques au fournisseur approprie.

Assurer la supervision et la gestion financieres. Superviser le personnel comptable et les procedures comptables conformement aux politiques comptables de Chemonics International et preparer tous les etats financiers contractuels ou autres chiffres budgetaires requis par Chemonics International ou l'USAID.

Preparer et soumettre des rapports comptables mensuels au siege et repondre aux questions de l'unite comptable du siege et de l'unite de gestion de projet.

Superviser la mise en place et le maintien de systemes d'archivage transparents et a l'epreuve des audits, conformement aux politiques de Chemonics.

Analyser et rationaliser les processus dans le bureau local, assurer la formation et le renforcement des capacites du personnel du projet sur une base continue en ce qui concerne l'administration et la mise en uvre du projet.

Servir de point focal au bureau local pour toutes les questions de securite, y compris la propriete et les mises a jour du manuel de securite du bureau local, la liaison avec l'unite de gestion de la securite du bureau local, la garantie que les protocoles de securite sont suivis, revises et mis en uvre dans le bureau du projet, et les exercices d'entrainement pour s'assurer que le personnel est familiarise avec les procedures d'evacuation et autres procedures en cas d'urgence.

Autres taches confiees par le Directeur Pays.

Qualifications :

Une licence est exigee ; un diplome superieur dans une discipline pertinente est souhaite.

Professionnel oriente vers les resultats, capable d'atteindre les objectifs fixes en cooperation avec le client, les homologues et les parties prenantes.

Au moins 5 ans d'experience dans la gestion des contrats de l'USAID, y compris de solides competences en matiere de passation de marches/sous-traitance, de comptabilite, de conformite, de gestion financiere, de ressources humaines et de gestion de la clientele.

Une experience prealable sur le terrain est souhaitee (y compris des postes a l'etranger a long terme ou des engagements a court terme prolonges), demontrant une forte capacite a gerer et a mettre en uvre des programmes complexes finances par l'USAID dans un contexte de pays en developpement.

Connaissance de l'environnement operationnel de la RDC de preference, notamment en ce qui concerne l'enregistrement, les taxes et le droit du travail.

Competences averees en matiere de gestion financiere, de procedures et de politiques operationnelles, de passation de marches et de sous-traitance, de conformite et de ressources humaines.

Experience en tant que chef d'equipe ayant a hierarchiser plusieurs taches dans un environnement extremement rapide, a respecter les delais et a faire preuve d'un bon jugement professionnel refletant positivement l'image du projet et communiquant le message du programme etabli pour le projet.

Experience du recrutement, de la formation et de la gestion reussie d'equipes, ainsi que de la garantie de la qualite de leurs produits.

Capacite averee a travailler de maniere productive au sein d'une equipe.

Posseder d'excellentes capacites d'organisation et d'execution de taches multiples.

Capacite a communiquer clairement et efficacement.

Excellente maitrise de l'anglais et du francais, tant a l'oral qu'a l'ecrit.

Une connaissance ou une experience prealable dans les secteurs de la sante ou de la chaine d'approvisionnement est un atout.

Instructions de candidature :

Veuillez envoyer un courriel avec votre CV et votre lettre de motivation en piece jointe et " Directeur des operations et des finances " en sujet a ghsctadrc.recruitment@gmail.com avant le 31 aout 2023. Nous encourageons les candidats a postuler le plus tot possible, etant donne que nous evaluerons les candidatures au fur et a mesure. Pas de demandes par telephone, s'il vous plait. Chemonics contactera les finalistes.

Chemonics est un employeur qui prone l'egalite des chances et ne pratique aucune discrimination dans ses pratiques de selection et d'emploi sur la base de la race, de la couleur, de la religion, du sexe, de l'origine nationale, de l'affiliation politique, de l'orientation sexuelle, de l'identite de genre, de l'etat civil, du handicap, de l'information genetique, de l'age, de l'appartenance a une organisation d'employes, ou d'autres facteurs non lies au merite.

Chemonics attache une grande importance a la protection de vos donnees personnelles. Si vous vous trouvez dans l'Union europeenne, veuillez lire notre Avis de confidentialite des donnees de recrutement de l'UE pour savoir comment nous traitons les donnees personnelles. Vous pouvez acceder a cet avis en cliquant sur le lien suivant : https://chemonics.com/eu-recruiting-data-privacy-notice/.

Fait a Kinshasa, le 11/08/2023

----------------------- VERSION ANGLAISE



Operations and Finance Director | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo | 2023

Chemonics seeks an Operations and Finance Director for the Global Health Supply Chain-Technical Assistance (GHSC-TA) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Francophone Task Order (TO). The Francophone TO under the GHSC-TA IDIQ provides technical assistance for strengthening regional, national and sub-national health supply systems through its portfolio of projects in Francophone Africa, including Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Cote dIvoire. The project serves the health commodity technical assistance needs of USAID, other USG agencies, partner country governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other entities across all health elements (e.g. malaria, family planning, HIV/AIDS, TB, maternal and child health, etc.) and represents a mechanism through which USAID offers global health commodity-related technical assistance in:

Strengthening Country Supply Systems, and

Strategic Collaboration to Improve the Long-Term Availability of Health Commodities.

The Operations and Finance Director reports directly to the Country Director (CD) in DRC and works closely with project leadership and the PMU to lead the operational and financial management of the DRC country program. The Operations and Finance Director also directly supervises long-term local professional and support staff including the office manager, HR manager, accountants, administrative assistants, IT staff, procurement staff, and drivers. In addition, s/he will be responsible for assisting the Country Director with the development and implementation of management systems and supervision of project operations and staff. This long-term position will be based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with occasional intermittent travel throughout the country as needed.

Responsibilities include:

Support the achievement of the overall project goals as required to ensure project performance.

Support the CD in developing and implementing key management systems that will support project planning, reporting, and performance management; financial management; property and technical procurement systems; and personnel management.

Facilitate the use of tools and systems required for the planning, implementation, tracking, reporting and quality control of the programs operational and administrative activities.

Support the CD, PMU, and the Task Order Director in the engagement of USAID/Washington and USAID/DRC on financial and operational matters.

Manage program accounting, country-level financial reporting including drafting all budgets, and manages bank accounts including bank reconciliations. Looks for cost efficiencies and provides financial analysis for project leadership and USAID.

Manage personnel including office manager, accountant, driver and other operations/finance staff.

Support the human resources manager as needed with recruiting, hiring, developing project policies and benefits, as well as managing leave, performance assessments, and separations.

Ensure compliance with U.S. government regulations, organizational policies and client regulations, (e.g. Field Office Guide to Field Accounting and Compliance, Field Office Procurement Handbook, Personnel Policy Manual, FAR, AIDAR, etc.), and the laws of DRC

Establish standards and procedures to ensure that the compliance programs throughout the project are effective and efficient.

Assist Chemonics home office with data requests and new requirements. Identifies operational weaknesses on the project and requests assistance when necessary.

Plan and track financial and administrative activities with Chemonics Washington and Project Office staff in order to evaluate needs for implementation. Keep Chemonics Washington up to date on the financial status of the project and the execution of the budget.

Manage field office procurements and ensures compliance.

Serve as acting CD for all operational tasks during CDs absence.

Supervise the issuing of checks of payment for processed transactions, the logging of payments, and the distribution and/or mailing of checks to the appropriate vendor.

Provide financial oversight and management. Supervise accounting personnel and accounting procedures according to the Chemonics International accounting policies and in preparing all contractually required financial statements or other budget figures by Chemonics International or USAID.

Prepare and submit monthly accounting reports to the home office, and respond to questions from home office accounting unit and project management unit.

Supervise the establishment and maintenance of transparent and audit-proof record keeping systems per Chemonics policies.

Analyze and streamline processes in the field office, provide training and capacity-building to project staff on an ongoing basis on project administration and implementation.

Serve as the field office focal point for all security matters, including ownership of and updates to the field security manual, liaising with the home office security management unit, ensuring security protocols are followed, reviewed, and implemented in the project office, and practice drills to ensure staff are familiar with evacuation and other procedures in the event of an emergency.

Other duties as assigned by the country director.

Qualifications:

Bachelors degree required; advanced degree in relevant discipline desired.

Results-oriented professional capable of achieving targets and goals set in cooperation with the client, counterparts, and stakeholders.

Minimum 5 years of experience managing USAID contracts, including strong skills in procurement/subcontracting, accounting, compliance, financial management, human resources, and client management.

Previous field experience desired (including long-term overseas positions or extended short-term engagements), demonstrating a strong ability to manage and implement complex USAID-funded programs in a developing country context.

Knowledge of the DRC operating environment preferred, including registration, taxes, and labor law.

Demonstrated skills in financial management, operations procedures and policies, procurement/subcontracting, compliance, and human resources.

Experience as a team lead having to prioritize multiple work assignments in an extremely fast-paced environment, to meet deadlines, and to exercise good, professional judgment that reflects positively on the image of the project and communicates the established program message of the project.

Experience recruiting, forming, and successfully managing teams, and ensuring the quality of their products.

Demonstrated ability to work productively within a team.

Possess excellent organizational and multi-tasking skills.

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

Excellent oral and written English and French language proficiency required.

Knowledge or prior experience working in health or supply chain sectors a plus.

Application instructions:

Please send an email with your CV and cover letter attached and Operations and Finance Director in the subject line to ghsctadrc.recruitment@gmail.com by August 31, 2023. We encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible as we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. No telephone inquiries, please. Chemonics will contact finalists.

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.

Chemonics values the protection of your personal data. If you are in the European Union, please read our EU Recruiting Data Privacy Notice to learn how we process personal data. You may access the notice via the following link: https://chemonics.com/eu-recruiting-data-privacy-notice/.
by Ray Schultz , August 10, 2023

Brands doing business in foreign countries or with customers who write in different languages have a new tool at their disposal: Google has added a native translation integration within the Gmail mobile app.

To translate messages on mobile, users simply have to select Translate and choose the preferred language.

This apparently would be used for incoming customer communications, not for outgoing email blasts.

The main requirement would be trusting Googles translation platform.

Google describes the process as follows:

A new dismissible banner appears when the content language of a message is different from the Google.com Mail display language in your account settings.

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Google adds: You can also choose to have Gmail always translate or never translate specific languages.

Again, such a service is not likely to be useful in email marketing campaigns. Marketers have long been advised to think globally, act locally, and Googles translation may or may not catch all local nuances.

Thats equally true if the recipient chooses to translate an incoming campaign email.

However, brands will be able to translate incoming messages from consumers who write in a language other than English  a time-saving device.

Google notes that for years, it has allowed users to translate emails in Gmail on the web to over 100 languages.
by Ray Schultz , August 10, 2023

A group of 10 organizations, including The Associated Press and Gannett, is calling for a legal framework to protect journalism from unregulated AI use.

In an open letter titled, Preserving public trust in media through unified AI regulation and practices, the signees advocate regulatory and industry action to ensure:

Transparency about the makeup of training sets used to create AI models.

Consent of intellectual property rights holders on copying of their content in training data.

Ability of media companies to collectively negotiate with AI model developers about use of their intellectual property.

Requiring that generative AI models identify AI-generated content.

Mandating that generative AI model providers eliminate bias and misinformation.

The group argues that AI, if left unchecked, can threaten the sustainability of the media ecosystem as a whole by significantly eroding the publics trust in the independence and quality of content and threatening the financial viability of its creators.

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The letter also contends that AI models can disseminate content often without any consideration of, remuneration to, or attribution to the original creators.

The open letter was signed by:
by Erik Oster , August 10, 2023

Molson Coors has expanded its beyond-beer brand portfolio by acquiring Blue Run Spirits.

The acquisition sees Molson Coors growing the Coors Spirits Co. division established with the launch of its own Five Trail Whiskey around two years ago. Coors Spirits Co. also introduced its in-house Barmen 1873 Kentucky Bourbon this year.

The acquisition also fulfills the companys strategic priority of premiumization.

Blue Run is currently available in 31 states and, according to the MolsonCoors blog, retails for between $100 and $250. David Coors, who will continue to lead the spirits division as executive chair going forward, explained that the price point made it complementary to Five Trail, which retails for around $60.

Beer remains core to who we are, but were also committed to evolving with our customers, offering an array of beverages for an array of occasions, Coors told Marketing Daily. Spirits have been growing, and we dont think theres any reason to doubt the trajectory.

We plan to continue building our spirits division, which could be through innovation or acquisition or, most likely, both, he added.

Blue Runs forthcoming Kentucky distillery, announced in March, will continue as planned following the acquisition. The brand will also debut three new whiskey releases, slated for release in the late summer or early fall.

Blue Runs founders -- Andy Brown, Jesse McKnight, Mike Montgomery and Tim Sparapani -- will all remain with the brand. Montgomery will take on an expanded leadership role as vice president of Coors Spirits Co.

Shaylyn Gammon, who joined Blue Run as whiskey director in 2021, will serve as whiskey curator for Coors Spirits Co. going forward. Jim Rutledge will continue serving as distillery consultant and liquid advisor for the brand.

Blue Run has accomplished in three years what many brands hope to do in a generation and has done it at the luxury end of the whiskey category," Molson Coors Chief Commercial Officer Michelle St. Jacques said in a statement.

While its competitors have struggled recently, MolsonCoors reported its best quarter of net sales revenue since 2005 last quarter.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 10, 2023

Meta Platforms this week urged a federal appellate court to reconsider its decision to revive claims that Facebook's former ad-targeting options violated laws against discrimination.

The decision, issued in June by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, rejected Meta's argument that it was protected from liability by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which broadly immunizes web companies from content created by third parties.

Instead, the panel essentially said in an unsigned opinion that the allegations in the lawsuit, if proven true, could show that Facebook was a co-developer of the ads, not simply their host.

Meta now argues that ruling conflicts with prior decisions issued by the 9th Circuit.

Plaintiffs sued Facebook for providing neutral tools that unidentified third-party advertisers allegedly chose to misuse, the company wrote in a request for a new hearing before the entire Circuit. The nature of those claims should have made this case easy under this courts Section 230 case law, which holds that an interactive computer service provider cannot be held liable when it gives users of the service neutral tools they can use to communicate information.

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The company added that the panel advanced its own novel view of how Section 230 ought to be interpreted, instead of following precedents.

The battle dates to 2019, when resident Rosemarie Vargas and other Facebook users alleged in a class-action complaint that the company's ad-targeting platform violated civil rights laws by allowing advertisers to block housing ads from users based on factors such as race, sex or age.

The case was one of several lawsuits against Facebook over allegedly discriminatory ads.

By the time Vargas and the others sued, Facebook had already agreed to revise its targeting options to prohibit advertisers of housing, employment or credit offers from targeting ads based on age, gender, ZIP code and ethnic affinity.

U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick in the Northern District of California dismissed the complaint in 2021. He ruled that the Facebook users' allegations, even if true, wouldn't show how they were affected by Facebook's former ad-targeting options.

Orrick also said Facebook was protected by Section 230 for any illegal ads posted by outside parties, noting that the company's ad-targeting tools were neutral.

Use of the tools was neither mandated nor inherently discriminatory given the design of the tools for use by a wide variety of advertisers, he wrote. Vargas and the others then appealed to the 9th Circuit, which reinstated the lawsuit.

The panel majority said both that Vargas's allegations were specific enough to warrant further proceedings, and that Facebook was not entitled to rely on Section 230.

The judges based the portion of their ruling dealing with Section 230 on a 2008 decision that revived a discrimination lawsuit against housing matching service Roommates.com, which was sued over roommate ads posted by users. The appellate court said at the time that Section 230 didn't protect companies that actively developed unlawful material, and that Roommates.com developed the ads because it offered filtering tools that enabled discrimination. (Roommates.com later won that case, because anti-discrimination laws don't apply to people who live in the same home.)

The panel that ruled against Meta said Facebook was comparable to Roommates.com because Facebook's ad platform allowed advertisers to target specific audiences, both by including categories of persons and by excluding categories of persons, through the use of drop-down menus and toggle buttons."

But Meta argues in its new papers that Facebook's ad-targeting service differed significantly from Roommates.com's housing matching service.

For instance, Meta argued, Roommates.com required users to provide information about race and other protected characteristics, but Facebook didn't require advertisers to exclude any adults from receiving ads.

By default, all adult Facebook users are eligible to receive any ad, the company writes.

The 9th Circuit directed lawyers for the plaintiffs to respond to Meta's request by August 29.
by Teresa Buyikian , August 10, 2023



Soldiers can eat healthfully, too.

Food meal delivery franchise Clean Eatz Kitchen has launched a partnership with the United States Department of Defense to provide military bases with reliable access to nutritionist-approved meals.

The program recently kicked off with Clean Eatz Kitchens first delivery to a U.S. military base in Iwakuni, Japan, earlier this month. This global expansion marks the first time the chain has operated outside the U.S.

The Wilmington, North Carolina franchise operates almost 100 fast casual brink and mortar locations nationwide, as well as providing home meal Heat & Eat delivery service. While consumer access is still only available in the U.S., the brand is hoping the government partnership will help expand its reach internationally.

According to a report issued by Grand View Research, the global meal kit delivery services market was valued at $20.54 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a rate of 15.3% annually from 2023 to 2030.

The subset Heat & Eat segment is projected to register even faster growth during the forecast period, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.7% from 2023 to 2030. Heat & Eat meal kit delivery service providers like Clean Eatz offer meals prepared by chefs to consumers, allowing them to select which meals they would like to receive. These kits have been gaining popularity not just in the U.S. but across the globe.

The report also noted that Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing market for meal delivery and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 16.7% from 2023 to 2030. The market is expected to witness incredible growth in the region due to the convenience and freshness of the products.

Additional players in the Heat & Eat category include Blue Apron, EveryPlate, Freshly, Gobble, Green Chef and Factor45 and Hello Fresh.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 11, 2023

Montana's ban on TikTok violates the First Amendment rights of app stores, including ones run by Apple and Google, a trade group representing the tech companies argues in new court papers.

In deciding which apps to allow and how to present them to users, app stores function like publishers and distributors of third-party speech, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, writes in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday with U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula. The First Amendment protects the rights of publishers and distributors to make these 'editorial' choices.

The organization is urging Molloy to block the new law from taking effect.

The law, passed earlier this year, prohibits app stores from offering the app to people in Montana, and prohibit the use of the app in the state (with some exceptions for law enforcement). The measure doesn't penalize users, but provides for sanctions starting at $10,000 per violation against TikTok and mobile app marketplaces.

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Unless blocked, the law will come into effect January 1, 2024.

The Chinese-owned TikTok and several users have asked a judge to prevent the state from enforcing the law, arguing it violate the First Amendment. Their request is backed by several outside groups, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the tech-industry funded policy organization Chamber of Progress.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association's arguments focus on the law's effect on app stores' First Amendment rights.

App stores provide an outlet for third-party speech and thus have constitutional rights independent of the third parties whose speech they disseminate, the group writes. The editorial discretion exercised by app stores is no less a protected communicative act than are print publications and broadcasts that present speech.

Montana lawmakers who passed the bill expressed concerns that TikTok's parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance, shares data about U.S. users with China. Other states have prohibited use of the app on government-owned devices or public WiFi networks, but haven't attempted to ban residents from using the app.

The Montana legislature also accused TikTok of failing to remove dangerous content that allegedly encourages young users to engage in risky activity.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association says neither of those concerns justify a ban on the app, but adds that even if those concerns could warrant a ban, there still wouldn't be a valid reason to impose punitive sanctions on app stores.

Even if Montanas interests are found 'compelling,' the law is not narrowly tailored in imposing punitive sanctions on app stores; Montana could adequately serve its interests by enforcing its ban on TikTok operating in the state, the organization writes.
by Ray Schultz , August 11, 2023

Email security and deliverability platform EasyDMARC has formed a strategic partnership with the K.A.B. Group, a managed service provider.

The arrangement will help K.A.B. Group clients to protect their domains from phishing, EasyDMARC says.

The K.A.B. Group seeks to safeguard its clients' communications, ensuring they experience the highest levels of email security and deliverability, says Dakarai Breveard, president of The K.A.B. Group.

That firm's commitment to providing these services aligns perfectly with our mission to make email safer for everyone," says Gerasim Hovhannisyan, CEO of EasyDMARC.

Easy DMARC cites Verizon DBIR 2021 research showing that 93% of all successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email. It also points out that 85% of emails end up in the spam folder, as per Mailmodo.

The K.A.B. Group offers IT support to small businesses in South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, and Plymouth, Indiana.

EasyDMARC is a cloud-native B2B SaaS email security and deliverability platform.
by Teresa Buyikian , August 11, 2023

As fires continue to rage on the island of Maui, leveling the historic tourist town of Lahaina and with no end in sight, Hawaiian BBQ restaurants in the U.S. are doing their part to help those in need.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ has joined the relief effort by donating one dollar for every customer order made through its official L&L Hawaiian Barbecue mobile app and website orders, up to $10,000. Contributions to the Oahu, Hawaii-based chain will be donated to the American Red Cross of Hawaii to provide shelter and comfort to thousands of fire evacuees.

L&L will run the charitable program through Aug. 31 at select locations throughout its 200 units. The chains Lahaina Shopping Center location has unfortunately been completely destroyed by the fires.

"We are humbly asking our supporters, customers, and franchisees across the nation to join us in our effort to support the people of Maui during this challenging time, said Elisia Flores, chief executive officer of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. This is a time to show the spirit and strength of aloha."

Founded over 50 years ago in Hawaii and introduced to the mainland in 1999, L&L continues to grow, opening 26 stores during the pandemic between 2020 and 2022, and three new locations in 2023. The chain also has two stores in Japan.

Another Hawaiian BBQ chain is also doing its part for relief efforts. Ono Hawaiian BBQ announced via email and Instagram that the chain will donate 50% of all online sales on Aug. 11, to the Hawaii Community Fund. Orders must be made via the companys website.

The family-owned restaurant brand Ono, founded in 2002, recently surpassed the 100-unit milestone in the continental U.S. with new locations in California and Arizona.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 11, 2023

A Washington state law requiring online companies to release detailed information about political ads to the public violates the First Amendment, the tech policy organizations NetChoice, Chamber of Progress and TechNet argue in new court papers.

The organizations are urging a Washington appellate court to reverse a ruling by King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North, who ruled that Meta Platforms violated the law and fined the company nearly $25 million.

The state measure, which was passed in November of 2018, requires companies displaying digital ads to make available a host of detailed information about them -- including the ads' cost and sponsors, descriptions of the geolocations and audiences targeted, and the total number of impressions generated.

Meta, which is appealing North's ruling, says in court papers filed in April that it attempted to ban all political advertising in the state, but that some users chose to ignore the ban and ran those ads anyway.

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The company also argues to the state Court of Appeals that the law violates the First Amendment and is overriden by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which immunizes companies from liability for users' posts.

The Attorney General's office countered in papers filed in June that the law serves important governmental interests of providing voters access to information that could educate them about their votes and preventing corruption in Washington elections.

NetChoice, Chamber of Progress and TechNet contend in their friend-of-the-court brief contend that the law violates the First Amendment, in part because it effectively bans online political ads in the state.

The groups argue that Meta and other platforms can't realistically comply with the law, because it doesn't require political advertisers to notify the platforms about political ads, or to provide platforms with information about the ads.

It is anything but undisputed that platforms have error-free automated means of obtaining real-time knowledge of all Washington candidates, ballot propositions, and related ads. Without that impossible omniscience, platforms cannot comply, the groups write.

Several leading platforms -- including Meta, Google, and Yahoo -- have endeavored to avoid violating the law by banning Washington state political ads, the groups add. Whatever the states supposed interest, the First Amendment does not permit Washington to pursue that interest through an overbroad law that shuts down an entire channel for core political speech and diminishes the voice of its citizens in Washington elections.

The legal battle dates to 2020, when Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Meta for allegedly violating the disclosure law by selling hundreds of ads to at least 171 Washington state political committees, but failing to make information about the ads available.

North found that Meta violated the transparency law 822 times, based on evidence that Facebook failed to respond to specific requests for information about political ads. He then fined the company $30,000 per violation.

Meta was previously prosecuted for allegedly violating an earlier version of Washington's campaign finance law. The company settled that earlier case in 2018, when it agreed to pay $200,000 and also said it would stop accepting political ads in the state.

Ferguson alleged in the subsequent lawsuit that Facebook violated its earlier promise.

Notwithstanding its announced policy to no longer accept political advertisements for Washington elections, Facebook continued to accept or provide political advertising for election campaigns in Washington State after November 30, 2018, Ferguson alleged in the 2020 complaint.

Meta argues to the appellate court that it tried to block political ads in Washington, but that some ads slipped through the ban and made it onto Metas services due to the self-service nature of its ad platform.

The company also says the ruling should be reversed on the theory that the disclosure law is unconstitutional.

Unlike every other disclosure law that the Supreme Court has endorsed, this law imposes those burdens not on political speakers or candidates, but on digital platforms that display and disseminate political speech, the company wrote in its appellate papers.

Meta added that in 2019 a federal appellate court struck down a Maryland law that would have required online news sites, social media services and other platforms with more than 100,000 unique monthly users to post information about political ad purchases on their own websites.
In a historic legal win for religious freedom in the military, a member of the Sikh community graduated from Marine Corps recruit training Friday while wearing articles of faith intrinsic to the South Asian religion.

Pfc. Jaskirat Singh stood at attention -- while wearing a turban, beard and unshorn hair -- as he listened to the national anthem play on the parade deck at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. For Singh, the day was not only the culmination of three months of hard training, but nearly two years of legal tumult that allowed him to don traditional Sikh wear at boot camp.

He is likely the first enlisted Marine to graduate from recruit training while wearing articles of faith intrinsic to the Sikh tradition, specifically a beard and turban, according to the Sikh Coalition which, along with other advocates, has helped him and more than 50 Sikh Americans secure military accommodations for religious wear.

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"I am honored to serve my country in the Marine Corps, and proud that I was able to do so while respecting my Sikh faith," Singh said in a press release from the Sikh Coalition. "I hope that my graduation sends a clear message to other young Sikhs who are considering military service: Your faith does not have to be a barrier to any career."

Singh graduated as an 0311 military occupational specialty, or infantryman.

His accomplishment represents an important step in years-long negotiations between the Sikh Coalition and the Marine Corps, which have butted legal heads since at least November 2021 over the accommodations, according to the press release.

Those negotiations reached a fever pitch in April of last year when Singh and three other plaintiffs sued the U.S. government after the Marine Corps offered an accommodation that would require Sikhs to surrender their turbans and beards while at boot camp.

Eventually, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Singh a preliminary injunction and ruled that the Marine Corps must allow Sikhs to wear their hair and beards in uniform, including at recruit training. Singh shipped off for boot camp in May 2023.

The legal win was only partial, however, and advocates are continuing to push for broader accommodations. Singh and another Sikh Coalition client, Marine Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor, are prohibited from wearing unshorn beards when deployed to areas where they would receive hostile fire or imminent danger pay -- in other words, combat zones.

"This presents an inherent limit on any Marine's career, given how much of the world such a prohibition covers and the forward-deployed nature of the branch," Giselle Klapper, the Sikh Coalition deputy legal director, told Military.com on Friday. "We will continue working to ensure that both of these men and others who come after them have full equality of opportunity."

This prohibition represents a painful thorn for Sikhs who serve in the military, especially for Marines. In 2011, Marine Cpl. Gurpreet Singh was killed in action while serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was made to shave his beard and cut his hair on that deployment, and died without being able to wear important articles of faith.

"I remember talks with him when we were deployed downrange in Afghanistan," Army Lt. Col. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, founder of the Sikh American Veterans Alliance and the first Sikh military officer to be awarded an accommodation by the Defense Department in 2009.

"He said, 'Maybe someday the Marine Corps allows Sikhs to serve with our turbans and beards,'" Kalsi recalled Cpl. Singh saying in Afghanistan. Kalsi said he was determined to make that happen.

"Of course, he passed away before he could see that," he said to Military.com on Friday.

Kalsi said that he felt "immense pride" for Pfc. Singh during his graduation day, and that it was surreal to return a salute from him.

"We've basically adopted him," Kalsi said. "So he's part of our family, and to have him salute back is just a very proud moment."

The military has previously tried to make the argument that beard accommodations would interfere with military tasks like donning a gas mask and making a protective seal around one's face, but Kalsi said that he has had no problems performing any military task because of his articles.

For example, he told Military.com that when he is in an environment that requires a helmet, he already has on his "patka" or small turban, which easily fits under his headgear.

Pfc. Singh similarly did not experience any issues in training, and specifically told reporters Friday that he had no problem creating a seal for his gas mask.

For the Marine Corps' part, a spokesperson told Military.com that Singh "did really well."

"He was a squad leader throughout training," Maj. Joshua Pena, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, told Military.com. "He met all the standards. He's a Marine. ... We're really excited to see what he does with his career."

The Sikh Coalition's legal efforts are not limited to the Marine Corps. For more than a decade, the coalition has headed efforts to help Sikhs serve in the military. In 2017, the group facilitated religious accommodations in the Army and did the same for the Air Force three years later.

While the Sikh faith centers around oneness and equality, it is also steeped in a deep "warrior-saint" tradition. Sikhs have been serving in the American military for more than 100 years, as well as other militaries around the world.

Following leave, Pfc. Singh will go to Camp Pendleton in California for additional training, according to the Sikh Coalition.

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: First Sikh Marine Recruits Hope to Start Training in Weeks After Legal Win
The Army Reserve has seemingly fixed its scholarship program after the service component ran out of money to cover education benefits earlier this week and did not message the breakdown to its troops.

"We have resolved the temporary outage of tuition assistance funding which impacted some of our soldiers," a statement from the Army Reserve said Friday. "Funding is available, and there should be no lapse in their ability to utilize their educational benefits. We apologize for the uncertainty and concern this may have caused."

The fix comes after Military.com reported Wednesday that reservists were unable to enroll in fall semester courses, which are set to start within two weeks at most universities. Soldiers were getting error messages and being told by education administrators that the Army Reserve had exhausted its $20 million funding allocated for tuition.

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The service component had to scramble for an additional $20 million to allocate toward its tuition assistance program, an Army official with direct knowledge of the situation told Military.com.

It is unclear how the Army Reserve so badly miscalculated demand for tuition assistance. It also did not proactively contact its formations about potential tuition hiccups or issue any message on social media until Military.com's inquiry on the matter.

More money would have been made available for the new fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, long after college bills would be due -- likely forcing soldiers to pay out of pocket, take out loans or hope the university would excuse late payments from the government.

The Army Reserve scholarship covers up to $250 per credit hour, or up to $4,500 per academic year. The benefit is separate from the GI Bill through the Department of Veterans Affairs. But the GI Bill has become more difficult to earn as overseas deployments have slowed down for part-time troops.

Education benefits are some of the military's most cherished boons and a key recruiting tool for the Army. But the service has struggled to deliver the benefits in recent years.

In 2021, the Army launched its new education benefits online portal, Army IgnitED. That platform was plagued with glitches and was effectively unusable in its early months.

The Army even dumped Deloitte, the initial contractor for IgnitED. The buggy platform pumped the brakes on beneficiaries' education, and nearly 800 soldiers had to pay out of pocket. The service is working toward reimbursing them and has largely fixed IgnitED.

Meanwhile, the Army National Guard has ceased payments to soldiers for student loan debts due to its own funding issues.

That halt impacts payments for debt incurred between 2020 and 2022. The Student Loan Repayment Program, or SLRP, pays for up to $50,000 in debt. The National Guard did not respond to a request for comment on the status of that benefit.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Army National Guard Halts Payments for Soldier Student Loans After Funding Snafu
A new bipartisan bill is aiming to allow Air Force veterans who served in space operations the opportunity to become legacy Space Force Guardians, in an effort to recognize past service members' contributions to creating the newest military branch.

The bill, titled the Space Force Legacy Guardian Recognition Act, inspired language that was added to the House's version of the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. It was introduced by Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and co-sponsored by Salud Carbajal, D-Calif.; Brian Babin, R-Texas; Doug Lamborn, R-Colo.; and Ted Lieu, D-Calif.

"I'm proud to stand alongside my colleagues in acknowledging the contributions of our nation's Air Force space operators who laid the foundation upon which our current Space Force is built," Babin, the House Space Force Caucus co-chair, said in a press release.

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The legislation allows the Department of the Air Force to acknowledge Air Force space operations veterans as honorary separated members of the Space Force, to be referred to as "Legacy Guardians."

The language mostly puts the ball in the Department of the Air Force's court, giving it the authority to establish the process and determine effective dates, eligibility criteria and other matters.

"It is important to note that designation as a USSF Legacy Guardian under this legislation does not entitle individuals to additional benefits beyond those listed above," said a press release from the Space Force Association, a military advocacy organization that endorsed the legislation.

Rhonda Sheya, a spokeswoman for the Space Force Association, told Military.com that the effort is not included in the Senate version of the NDAA, but said the measure has not been controversial.

The Space Force, being only three years old, does not have many veterans and still remains the smallest service branch with a little over 8,000 Guardians.

Many of the ranks are filled with transfers from other services, and former Air Force service members contribute largely to the branch's numbers.

The Legacy Guardian status would be open only to past Air Force service members in space operations, not other service branches like the Army, Navy or Marine Corps.

The Department of the Air Force's 2024 budget requests growing the Space Force to 9,400 Guardians, which would add 800 personnel to its active-duty number of 8,600 in its 2023 budget, according to details released earlier this year.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: 'We Owe Them an Identity and Culture': Space Force's STARCOM Gets New Commander
TAIPEI, Taiwan  China has detained a worker from a military industrial group on suspicion of spying for the CIA, national security authorities said Friday, adding to the list of public accusations of espionage between Beijing and Washington.

The Ministry of State Security, the countrys civilian spy agency, said in a statement that a military industrial worker surnamed Zeng had been providing military secrets to the CIA in exchange for large sums of money.

The 52-year-old suspect had been sent to Italy to study by his employer. There, he met an official with the U.S. embassy, who later turned out to be a CIA agent, the ministry claimed.

Zeng gradually developed a psychological dependence on (the U.S. official), who took the opportunity to indoctrinate him with Western values, the statement, posted on the ministrys WeChat page, read.

It added that the U.S. official promised the Chinese suspect large amounts of money and to help his family emigrate to the United States in exchange for sensitive information about Chinas military, which the worker had access to through his job.

Having finished overseas study, Zeng returned to China and continued to have multiple secret meetings with the CIA agents and provided a great amount of key intelligence and collected funds for spying, the ministry said.

It added that the suspect had been detained and the case was being further investigated.

The announcement is the latest in a string of public accusations of espionage between Washington and Beijing.

Last week, the U.S. arrested two U.S. Navy sailors on accusations of providing military secrets to China.

Relations between China and the U.S. plunged to their lowest level in years after the U.S. earlier this year shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had flown over U.S. territory.
Big cash bonuses are not just for Navy recruits. The Navy is also offering more than $100,000 to naval aviators to stay in the service and become senior officers and admirals.

In an administrative message released last week, the sea service announced that pilots who are commanders in rank and eligible to head up a squadron could receive $105,000 if they agree to three more years of service.

The amount is $5,000 higher than in previous years, and the Navy has also introduced a two-year obligation option with a $35,000 bonus as well.

Read Next: Army Reserve Fixes Tuition Benefits Breakdown Just Before Students Enter Fall Semester

The message notes that officers who take the three-year bonus -- paid out in $35,000 increments over those years -- will have a 22-year obligation of service. The two-year bonus carries a 21-year obligation.

Meanwhile, the Navy's recruiting website for new enlisted sailors boasts that future active-duty sailors who leave for boot camp before October can earn up to $140,000 between bonuses and loan repayment offerings.

The Navy says that its goal with the large retention bonus for pilots is to keep "highly talented, hard-working naval aviators and naval flight officers, screened for aviation command" on active duty and hold on to "their invaluable and irreplaceable skill sets and leadership."

"They are the major commanders and flag officers of tomorrow," the message added.

While there is little recent data, historically, government investigations and reports have found that the Navy has struggled to retain pilots in necessary numbers. However, that problem is not as severe as the struggle the Navy's surface warfare community faces. It's also not the only branch facing the challenge.

The Navy also runs a similar retention program for reserve pilots at the department head level. This year, it offered similar-sized bonuses for some pilots to stay past that mid-career point as well.

Applications for the commanding officer bonus are due by the end of August.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Navy Recruiting Boss Overruled by Superiors on 6-Day Workweek Plan
The United States Navy has moved into the final leg of a real estate competition to replace its obsolete NAVWAR facilities and remake the rest of the 70.3-acre military campus that bumps up against Interstate 5 in San Diego's Midway District.

The federal government said Thursday that it received proposals from shortlisted development teams, but did not disclose how many proposals it received, identify the developers participating in the solicitation or provide a description of the bids.

Detailed bids for the expansive property were due Wednesday with proposers asked to submit site and design drawings for new government facilities, a demonstration of proposed private development concepts, financial models and a proposed schedule.

The competition is expected to culminate with the Navy selecting a winning proposal before the end of the year. The parties would then enter into an exclusive negotiation period.

"I'm pleased to see progress on this important project," Rear Adm. Doug Small, who heads the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, said in a statement. "As we march forward towards the goal of new mission-capable facilities for NAVWAR, we look forward to continuing our close partnership with the city and local community."

Owned by the Navy since the mid-1990s, the Old Town Campus at Naval Base Point Loma is home to the military's Naval Information Warfare Systems Command and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific divisions. The property, commonly referred to as NAVWAR, consists of two large parcels straddling Pacific Highway with 1.68 million square feet of administrative, lab and warehouse space spread across World War II-era hangars that are said to be past their useful life.

In November, the Navy formally put the property on the market, asking development teams to respond with their resumes and high-level visions for the site. In April, the agency said that it had invited four development teams to respond with more detailed submissions.

The Navy is offering the land for "in-kind" consideration, meaning it wants to exchange the property, in lieu of cash, for new facilities. The government's preference is to transfer the property through a 99-year ground lease, subject to approval by the secretary of the Navy.

The format is modeled after the agency's 2006 agreement with Manchester Financial Group for the 12-acre Navy Broadway Complex opposite San Diego Bay. The experimental public-private partnership eventually resulted in a 17-story, waterfront office building for Navy Region Southwest, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest and Navy Region Southwest Reserve Component Command. Manchester later sold off the remainder of the site to developer IQHQ, which is currently building a large life science complex and public park.

Teams participating in the NAVWAR competition are likely proposing mixed-use projects with new Navy facilities and a substantial number of residential units alongside hotels, office buildings and retail shops. A preliminary environmental analysis conducted by the Navy studied a development concept with 19.6 million square feet of development  including 10,000 residential units  all spread across 109 buildings as high as 350 feet. The development intensity is possible because the Navy's land is not subject to local zoning laws or building height restrictions.

Although Navy officials have repeatedly stated a desire to be good neighbors, the agency has taken a closed-door approach to its solicitation process in an effort to maintain the confidentiality of negotiations. Participating teams, bound by a non-disclosure agreement, have been barred from talking to the media or openly discussing their plans for the site with community groups.

"The Navy has a very large budget. They do a lot of real estate transactions, but most of the things that the Navy does is already on government property," said Mark Balmert, who is president and CEO of the nonprofit San Diego Military Advisory Council, or SDMAC. "As big as the Broadway complex was in that public-private venture, this is several times larger. This is probably the largest public-private real estate (deal) that the Navy has ever done. Maybe that's what makes them extra cautious."

The Navy said Thursday that it will also continue to evaluate the feasibility of a NAVWAR-only development funded by traditional military construction methods. The statement references the aforementioned environmental work, which was paused after backlash to conceptual models that depicted a wall of skyscrapers towering over Interstate 5. The federal agency is required by the National Environmental Policy Act to prepare an environmental impact statement evaluating multiple development alternatives, and work on the document is expected to resume once the real estate competition concludes.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NIAMEY, Niger  Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Nigers junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It's unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it. Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coasts president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted. U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Nigers size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Niger.

The situation is alarming. ... Well see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and its unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and theres irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Nigers foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.

___

Associated Press reporters Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C, Elaine Ganley in Paris and Toussaint N'Gotta in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, contributed.
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It was reported back in February that the Orioles had declined a five-year lease extension on their lease at Camden Yards. The hope was that they could work out a longer deal that would allow them to take advantage of a new Maryland law and borrow $600MM for stadium upgrades. It was hoped that the longer deal would be worked out by the All-Star break, but it hasnt come to fruition, with new reporting from Andy Kostka, Brenda Wintrode, Hallie Miller and Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner indicating club CEO and chairman John Angelos is trying to leverage the negotiations to acquire public land.

As noted in the report, Angelos and Maryland Governor Wes Moore took a tour of The Battery in March. The Atlanta area development houses Truist Park, where the Braves play, as well as various other spaces for retail, commercial and residential uses. He seems to see The Battery as a kind of model to emulate, though there are logistical challenges to following that blueprint in Baltimore. As noted in the report from the Banner, the Braves moved away from Turner Field in Atlanta to the suburb of Cumberland, purchasing 82 acres of land and spending $452MM on The Battery.

With that model in mind, Angelos is reportedly trying to get an extra $300MM in state funds as well as public land around Camden Yards, which is holding up a deal as the deadline looms at the end of the year. There are several obstacles to Angelos getting his wish, per the authors of the report.

One complication involves the Baltimore Ravens, who play in M&T Bank Stadium, just south of Camden Yards. The Maryland Stadium Authority lease with the Ravens, which that club signed in January, contains a clause requiring parity with their fowl neighbors. If the authority negotiates more favorable terms for the Orioles, they would have to modify their agreement with the Ravens in a comparable fashion.

Another part of that lease is that 4,000 nearby parking spaces have to remain surface lots, not to be turned into underground parking, so as to allow tailgating. The report notes that there are also state-owned parking lots nearby, with the revenue generated from those lots goes to the teams. If the Os wanted that land, the authority would need to start a procurement process that could involve bids from other developers. One source with knowledge of the negotiations tells the authors that Angelos wont get the land or money he is seeking.

Regardless of the complicated details, the report notes that the negotiations have shifted, with the plan moving from straightforward stadium upgrades to a much more complex design. A public opinion poll was circulated this week, from an unknown source, asking Marylanders how they felt about the Orioles potentially pursuing a larger revitalization project in a public-private partnership.

All this comes on the heels of an apparently tumultuous period for the Angelos family. Reports from 2022 indicated the family had been battling each other over how to move forward with the club after Peter Angelos collapsed in 2017, with Goldman Sachs having been retained to look into the possibility of a sale. There were various lawsuits involving Peters wife Georgia and their sons John and Louis, though it was reported in February of 2023 that those had all been dropped, just a few days after the club declined to renew its lease at Camden Yards. John was formally approved by the leagues other owners as the Orioles new control person following the 2020 season.

John Angelos has declined to comment on the current matter but Governor Moore expressed optimism about the process. There is a core belief that this is about what we need to do to create a winner on the field, but also Im committed to making sure that this is a win for Baltimore, and that this is a win for the state of Maryland, he said. We have a shared vision to be able to build a new journey and a new era where having the Orioles and the Ravens and all the other activities you can have in Baltimore  [happen] simultaneously. And were all going to win. The current lease expires on December 31 of this year.
DETROIT -- Police are looking for a trio of suspects who fled from police early Friday morning and shot a responding officer. According to Fox 2 Detroit, police were dispatched to the area of Morang and Whitehill just after midnight after ShotSpotter technology detected gunfire.

When police arrived, neighbors directed officers to a nearby apartment building. As police approached the building, thats when the suspects emerged and ran away from police. One of the suspects opened fire on the officers, hitting one of them in the leg. The two other officers on scene returned fire at the suspects, but it is unknown if anyone was struck.

During a press conference, police chief James White said praised the officers and others in the department for how they deal with increasing violence in the city.

We are encountering violence like we havent seen I mean just extreme violence, impulse decision-making, White said. And theyre constantly under threat but they show up and they do this work. Keep this community safe and I couldnt be prouder.

ShotSpotter uses sound frequency tools to detect gunfire in areas around Detroit. When a shot is detected by the technology, police are notified and can be better informed on where the shot originated from when investigating.

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BENZIE COUNTY, MI  A Northern Michigan man is facing felony charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child during 2017.

During July 2023, a child disclosed to a school resource officer that they had been sexually assaulted in 2017. The report was turned over the Michigan State Police Traverse City Post for investigation.

The child was then interviewed at the Childrens Advocacy Center. The suspect was contacted and declined to be interviewed.

A warrant was issued Wednesday by the Benzie County Prosecutor for the arrest of Kenneth Raymond Driver, 73, of Interlochen. Driver was arrested without incident at his residence later that day. He was lodged at the Benzie County Jail.

Driver was arraigned for two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, victim under 13; and one count of second-degree CSC, victim under 13, on Thursday in the 85th District Court in Benzie County. His bond was set at $250,000/10%. Hes due back in court at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31.

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Riley Keough dropped more singular revelations in her Vanity Fair profile than Daisy Jones & the Six dropped singles in the first season of the streaming series.

The Emmy-nominated actor, the granddaughter of music legend Elvis Presley, spilled the beans about her baby girl, her struggles with Lyme disease and her grief over the death of her mother Lisa Marie Presley. Perhaps most importantly, she shared where things stand between her and her grandmother Priscilla Presley following Lisa Maries death in January.

I have been through a great deal of pain  Parts of me have died and Ive felt like my heart has exploded, but I also feel. Im trying to think of how to phrase this ... I have strengthened the qualities that have come about through adversity, Keough told Vanity Fairs Britt Hennemuth about the tragedies her family has endured since her brothers suicide in 2020.

The tragedies, however, have been coupled with happy moments, such as the arrival of her first child, her Emmy Awards nod for Daisy Jones and her acclaimed turn in the film War Pony.

I think Ive certainly been chosen for some wonderful things and chosen for some horrible things too, she said. I am aware that I have been through a lot of very crazy things, but I dont feel like a victim. I dont feel like poor Riley ... I also dont really feel chosen.

The 34-year-old actor spoke frankly, although with some trepidation, about the harried legal battle over Lisa Maries lucrative estate, which included Elvis iconic Graceland home and the familys interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises. Lisa Marie, the sole trustee and longtime steward, had left it to Keough and her siblings before she died unexpectedly of weight-loss surgery complications in January.

Priscilla, Elvis ex-wife and Lisa Maries mother, questioned the authenticity and validity of her daughters will in regard to the estate and the ugly back-and-forth played out in the media. However, the parties resolved the legal dispute, reaching a proposed settlement in June that installed Keough as the sole trustee. (The agreement also allows Priscilla to be buried at Graceland and receive a payout of more than $1 million, in addition to $400,000 in legal fees and costs.)

When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us, Keough said. Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because its complicated. We are a family, but theres also a huge business side of our family. So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had.

In fact, she noted that clarity has been had.

Things with Grandma will be happy. Theyve never not been happy, she said. Im trying to think of a way to answer it thats not a 20-minute conversation... There was a bit of upheaval, but now everythings going to be how it was.

Shes a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfathers legacy and Graceland. Its very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy. Thats her whole life. So its a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. Shes just been my grandma.

She also disputed reports that said Priscilla wouldnt actually be buried in Graceland, saying that she doesnt understand what the drama in the news was about.

If she wants to be [buried there], of course. Sharing Graceland with the world was her idea from the start, Keough said. I always had positive and beautiful memories and association with Graceland. Now, a lot of my familys buried there, so its a place of great sadness at this point in my life.

The actor also shared random tidbits: that her pals are Zoe Kravitz, Dakota Johnson and Kristen Stewart; that Priscilla went out with late O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian; she lived in Kim Kardashians compound before Kardashian and Ye demolished it; and she also lived in both Graceland and Neverland for a time.

Touching on another personal matter, Keough shared some details about the birth of her first child, a life event intertwined with her grandfathers legacy, brothers death and mothers funeral. The Runaways and Mad Max: Fury Road star publicly revealed her parental status during Lisa Marie Presleys funeral, dropping the detail about her daughter into a statement that was delivered by her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen. (I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters, she wrote at the time.)

Keough told the magazine that she welcomed Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen via surrogate in August 2022. The baby girls unique name is an homage to the Mississippi town where her famous grandfather was born. And Storm was the middle name of her brother Benjamin, whom she said, in a lot of ways, felt like my twin.

Its funny because we picked her name before the [Baz Luhrmanns] Elvis movie, she said. I was like, This is great because its not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family  its not like Memphis or something ... Then when the Elvis movie came out, it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, Oh, no. But its fine.

She also spoke candidly about her diagnosis with Lyme disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause debilitating symptoms. Keough shared that shes struggled with it for years and tries to alleviate the symptoms at a holistic treatment center in Switzerland (where she sat for a portion of the interview.) The illness, she explains, is part of the reason she used a surrogate.

I think its a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people, she said. I can carry children, but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.

2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
We here in Michigan know just how picturesque our state looks each fall as the leaves change and the colors burst into bright red, orange and yellow. Theres nothing quite like going on a drive or hiking the trails to see the magnificent display the trees create as the weather turns.

So it should come as no surprise that the voters in a national contest for the best fall foliage have one of our state parks near the very top of destinations in the U.S. to see the colors. As of Friday morning, Tahquamenon Falls State Park is in second place in the USA Today Readers Choice poll for Best Destination for Fall Foliage. Only Keystone State Park in Pennsylvania is ahead of Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

The contest allows readers to vote on which location they think has the best fall foliage in the U.S. Voting for the contest runs until Sept. 4 with the winners being announced on Sept. 15. You can vote once per day until the voting period ends.

As the name implies, Tahquamenon Falls State Park is best known for its waterfalls  but theres a lot more to do around here than just marvel at the rushing water. There are more than 35 miles of hiking trails to explore, with ample opportunity to enjoy peak leaf season and spot wild black bears, deer, foxes, and a massive array of native birds along the way, reads the contest description of Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

The contest features 20 different destinations in the U.S. including Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri, Acadia National Park in Maine and Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio.

This isnt the first time Michigan has been acknowledged by the USA Today readers for its fall colors. Last year, voters named the Upper Peninsula as the best place to see fall colors.

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HOWELL, MI -- A 20-year-old man was fatally shot in Livingston County on Friday, according to police.

Police were called to the 400 block of West St. of Howell just after midnight on Friday, Aug. 11, for a report of shooting. When they arrived, they found a 20-year-old male dead.

The area was closed for several hours while police established a crime scene and began investigation, police said.

A suspect is already in custody and there is no ongoing threat to the public, according to police. The suspect has not been named.

The Howell Police Department was helped by crews from the Livingston County Sheriffs Office, Michigan State Police and Livingston County EMS.

The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The Perseid meteor shower has the entire Northern hemisphere looking towards the sky, waiting to see the natural lights show.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Grand Rapid Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) will host an all-night watch party at the James C. Veen Observatory, located at 3308 Kissing Rock Ave. in Lowell Township.

The event is scheduled during the peak hours of the meteor shower from 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12 through 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks in mid-August, and is considered the best meteor shower of the year, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for Veen Observatory visitors under the age of 18. Public Museum and GRAAA members get in free.

Participants are encouraged to bring a blanket and get cozy for a long night under the sky. If the conditions are too cloudy to see the sky clearly enough, the event will be canceled, officials say.

However, Jack Daleske, planetarium manager for for the Grand Rapids Public Museum and member of the GRAAA, said that looking at his astronomy weather app, he is optimistic the skies will clear up for Saturday night.

Daleske said the Perseid meteor shower is the best time to see a meteor or a shooting star.

Theres other meteor showers at different times a year, but I just think the chances of seeing the meteor during this one are really good, and this Saturday is actually going to be the peak of that meteor shower, Daleske said.

Daleske said that patience is a virtue with these kinds of natural phenomena, so bringing a snack, a friend and a blanket is much encouraged to keep yourself entertained until you finally see a shooting star.

With the guidance of the astronomical association, visitors will be able to learn more about what theyre looking at through the telescope such as the different color compositions of the meteors and what that means in terms of what level of oxygen the meteor is experiencing in the Earths atmosphere.

Daleske said he is most excited to see visitors get excited about learning about space and all that has to do with the meteor shower, which many people may only pay attention to a couple times in their life.

I just think its gonna be a lot of fun, Daleske said. You dont have to be a scientist to really appreciate how beautiful and impressive these meteors look. Even if you dont know a lot about astronomy, you can go up to some of these different telescopes and start asking questions and you might learn a lot.

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IONIA COUNTY, MI -- A misapplication of manure is being blamed for killing thousands of fish in an Ionia County creek, state officials said.

Staff with the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy office said they were notified late Monday, Aug. 7 of a fish kill in Bellamy Creek, northwest of Ionia.

The specific area is near McKendry and Johnson roads near Easton Cemetery.

EGLE staff said an initial investigation shows that manure fertilizer was applied too close to the creek and not tilled into the soil as it should have been. State regulations require a 100-foot setback from a stream when applying manure fertilizer, but the manure along Bellamy creek was applied within 10 feet.

The type of fish killed was not immediately known.

The manure came from a Saranac area dairy farm, but the farm was not responsible for the misapplication, EGLE staff said. Instead, the manure had been transferred to another party which performed the field application.

State Department of Natural Resources staff are working with EGLE to assess the fish fill.

EGLE supervisors say its likely the state will seek penalties and restitution in the case.

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BERRIEN COUNTY, MI -- A man has been missing from an adult foster care for four days, and police are asking for the publics help to find him.

James Alber was reported missing from an area adult foster care home Monday, Aug. 7. James is a 42 year-old white male with blonde hair and green eyes. He is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds, the Berrien County Sheriffs Office said.

He was last seen at 4:18 a.m. on Aug. 9 at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. He was wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and some form of sweater, police said.

Alber suffers from a disability and is reported to possibly be unstable and in need of medical attention, police said.

Police ask anyone who sees him to contact their local law enforcement agency.

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CASS COUNTY, MI -- A black SUV struck a pedestrian and left the scene of the crash, the Cass County Sheriffs Office said.

At 2:50 a.m. Friday, Aug. 11, the Cass County Sheriffs Office was called to investigate a personal injury crash near M-60 and Yankee Street in Howard Township, Cass County Sheriff Richard J. Behnke said.
SAGINAW, MI  While a substitute teacher at Freeland High School more than a decade ago, Anthony D. Meyer infiltrated the life of a 15-year-old student. Over the course of a year, he sexually assaulted her at his home, her home, and his parents home.

Since then, Meyer has become a different person and lived an exemplary life, according to his attorney. Yet Meyers victim said she too has changed, due to the trauma Meyer inflicted over his desire to have sex with a minor.
Six customers are suing Ford Motor Co. because they allege the company sold hybrid vehicles with faulty engines, leading to catastrophic cars fires, according to a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The 124-page document claims the Michigan-based auto manufacturer knew or should have known of the stall and fire risk prior to launching the vehicles  2020-2023 Ford Hybrid Escapes, 2022-2023 Ford Hybrid Mavericks and 2021-2023 Lincoln Hybrid Corsairs  and did not act to timely warn car owners.

The car models, which contain 2.5-leter hybrid electric vehicle and 2.5-liter plug-in electric vehicle engines, can suffer a block breach, according to the lawsuit. This occurs when the engine seizes and shatters the rods and connected bearings, which can thrust through the engine block or the oil pan, causing oil or fuel vapor leaks and pools where it is at risk of ignition, potentially causing spontaneous hood smoke or fires.

Warranty claims related to the fire risk were made to Ford as early as April 2021, the lawsuit said. It further alleges, although Ford issued recalls in March and July 2022 and reportedly developed a solution to prevent more fires, the company did not inspect the engines to decisively know which car had the defects to properly address the issue.

Instead, Ford removed the shutter blinds and drilled holes in the engine shield in an attempt to mitigate the risk that fluids and vapors expelled from the blown engines will ignite, while leaving the vapors and fluids themselves to run onto the roadways, or onto vehicle owners driveways and garages, the lawsuit claims.

Choosing profits over safety, Ford chose not to inspect the engines to locate and replace those that were defectively manufactured, the lawsuit states.

However, another recall report submitted by Ford in May to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and provided to MLive reveals the company is currently developing a remedy, expected to be available in the third quarter of 2023.

We expected the initial repair to be effective, but continued to monitor the performance of the vehicles and reacted responsibly as facts developed, reads a Ford statement. Weve now learned that some customers continued to drive on the alternative hybrid electric system even after an engine block breach, and so we are notifying customers to park the vehicle if whats known as a block breach occurs. Our team is working earnestly to resolve the issue and meet the needs of our customers.

Prior to the original recall, the lawsuit says Ford admitted to at least 23 reports of hood fires or smoke. A Ford spokesperson noted that there are no known injuries or deaths as a result of these incidents.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, submitted by Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, are: Todd Nishon of California, Harry Hilburg of Missouri, Raymond Dyne III of Nebraska and William Simmons of Wisconsin and Joseph Vaillancourt and James Capps of Arizona.

Nishon purchased a 2021 Escape Titanium Hybrid in November of that year. Once he received a recall notice from Ford, he asked the dealership performing an oil change on the car if workers could complete the repairs. He was told the dealership couldnt do so, as the lawsuit claims there was only one person who could do the work and that person only works certain days. The dealership did not schedule a day for Nishon to have the repair completed. It was only a month later in October 2022 that the car exploded into flames, which Nishon was fortunate to escape.

After regular use, Capps and his wife were driving his 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid from Kingman, Arizona to Mesquite, Nevada in April 2022, when he noticed his vehicle wasnt driving properly. He turned the vehicle around to go back to Kingman when he noticed smoke coming from under the car. The car gave the message zero oil pressure and engine shut down. Capps pulled over and shut off the car as another driver began to yell at him and his wife to get out of the vehicle as it was on fire.

The vehicle was totally consumed by the fire within about 15 minutes, the lawsuit states.

The other plaintiffs had similar stories, having unknowingly purchased one of the recalled vehicles. They either had their car fixed following the recalls or ran into problems at the dealership while attempting to do so, and are now concerned with the potential fire hazard.

According to the lawsuit, all plaintiffs were admittedly familiar with Fords marketing tactics. The company touts its vehicles as reliable and safe, but the customers were not told of the fire risk before purchasing the car.

The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status nationally and in the plaintiffs individual states, restitution for the purchase or overpayment of the vehicles, a court order prohibiting Fords deceptive acts or practices and the collection of other costs or fees.

Read more from MLive:

Three Republicans charged after spat, fight at GOP functions in Clare hotel

All 16 pro-Trump electors have pleaded not guilty to Michigan felony charges

To combat puppy mills, Michigan bill would stop dog sales at pet shops

Endangered piping plovers flourish under tribes watch on remote Lake Michigan island
First came steam, second was electricity, then computers.

And now manufacturing, a cornerstone of Michigans economy, is in its fourth revolution: digitization. Industry advocates hope manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0  a term used to describe this current era  to drive the $100 billion economic engine into the future.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

The president of the St. Petersburg, Fla. branch of the NAACP is calling for the removal of the citys fire chief after an anonymous city survey accused him of fostering a hostile work environment for employees of color and women, including not taking concerns of Black firefighters seriously.

The allegations were raised against St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Department Chief James D. Large, who has been in his position since 2006. He started his career in the department in 1974.

Large has said that the accusations against him are false, according to multiple news reports.

It is clear that Fire Chief Large holds a disparaging stereotypical belief and that it hampers his ability to effectively lead the citys fire department, Esther Matthews, the groups president, said at a City Council meeting Thursday, adding that shed submitted a formal letter to Mayor Ken Welch calling for Larges termination.

Welch has since placed Large on administrative leave with pay over the weekend as the case remains under review. The mayor also admitted that there have been allegations of bullying leveled against Large.

Stories like these are not uncommon at fire departments across the country. According to a 2023 study examining workplace patterns of fire service employees published in the Journal of Student Research, 55 percent of female participants have been or know someone who has been sexually harassed or assaulted by a coworker.

Female participants also reported being subjected to harmful work environments. Research conducted by the National Fire Protection Association found that 5 percent of career firefighters were women.

Yet, female firefighters have reported feeling unwelcome in some departments, according to a 2017 Drexel University study.

Matthews and the St. Petersburg NAACP branch arent the only ones concerned about Larges conduct. She added that others with knowledge of departmental operations have reached out to the branch.

The city of St. Petersburg deserves to have leaders who do not have a disdainful attitude towards their employees and also the residents of this city or who harbor views that are in direct conflict with human respect and human dignity, Matthews said.

News of Larges misconduct was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, which spoke with seven active firefighters about their experiences in the department. Each of them described interactions that contributed to a hostile environment that included racist, sexist and homophobic comments.

One firefighter said that Large prepared a disciplinary inquiry for her for missing department education during a leave of absence, which she took after suffering a miscarriage.

The firefighter said that she was forced to recall the story of her miscarriage to high-ranking officials. Another firefighter accused Large of sexual harassment.

City Council members unanimously voted to hold a discussion about a potential management study on the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Department on Aug. 24.

But residents of St. Petersburg remained divided over how to approach Larges employment. At least three active-duty female firefighters spoke highly of him at the meeting during public comment.

Angela Munoz, a St. Petersburg firefighter, described a welcoming environment for women in the department.

As long as we prove we are willing to work as hard and tirelessly as those around us, they welcome us with open arms, she said.

However, concerned residents took issue with the high number of allegations brought against Large.

Bruce Nissen is one of those residents. Its obvious that there are several people here who work for the Fire Department who feel very good about it, Nissen said.

But its also very clear both from complaints that have been made and from investigations that have been done, that there are definite problems in the Fire Department in St. Petersburg, he continued.

Severe enough problems, I think, that in order to make the department work well, the chief needs to step down.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

The Florida Department of Education (under Gov. Ron Desantis direction) recently approved videos from the conservative unaccredited Prager University Foundation (PragerU) as part of its newest public school curriculum.

The self-proclaimed worlds leading conservative nonprofit offers free curriculum to students in public and private schools and has come under fire for whitewashing Black history, denying the existence of climate change, promoting colonization, inserting opinion into its curriculum, and more.

Heres a taste of what some videos show:

One video called  How to embrace your femininity  tells girls to try smiling more (because its one of the most beautiful things God created), to embrace taking on the role of a wife and mother and to not show anger.

Another video shows Frederick Douglass taking a dig at the Black Lives Matter movement while justifying the existence of slavery and calling the founding fathers abolitionists.

A narrator in one video claims, Slavery was not invented by white people, while in another, she says, There is no such thing as gender-affirming care. You cannot affirm something that does not exist.

In the Playing the Black Card video (which has 11 million views), conservative activist Candace Owens says, With the Black card, you can sell books full of indecipherable prose because with a card that powerful, who cares if your words make any sense?

You get the gist.

Whos behind PragerU? The biggest figure of the far-right group is co-founder and conservative radio host Dennis Prager, whos repeatedly chastised Democrats for making it impossible to say the n-word and has used a slur for Jewish people on his radio show.

In an op-ed for Newsweek, he claimed that sending your kid to college [endangers] their mind and their character, and that they will leave college more intolerant and more foolish than they did when they arrived.

Other PragerU leadership, such as CEO Marissa Streit, unsurprisingly believes the American education system is failing kids by teaching them leftism, rather than tools to think critically. One PragerU presenter, Karly Borysenko, went so far as to say that everyone who died in the Holocaust chose to die before they were ever born.

The orgs funding also comes from sources that echo the messages presented in its curriculum. Texan billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks, who made their fortune from oil and gas fracking, and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation  a group that opposes climate regulations and advocate for low immigration  both help fund PragerU.

As of 2018, the group spent more on Facebook advertising than major political campaigns and national advocacy groups and was among the top 10 biggest political spenders on the site.

Whats especially dangerous about this group in the classroom, educators say, is the way its videos insert opinions, which to young viewers presented in an educational context, can seem like fact. While individual school districts get to decide whether theyll encourage the use of these videos, the decision to use the materials ultimately lies in the hands of the teacher since PragerU is now state-endorsed.

There are around 3 million kids (more than the entire population of Kansas) in Florida schools.

I dont think that all of our educators are going to have some sort of, you know, sinister agenda, I think that well have well-meaning people who are just looking for resources to use in their classroom They cut out a lot of curriculum that we typically would be able to choose from, and so theyve created what a lot of us refer to as a resource desert. So, if youre in a resource desert, youre gonna reach for the most accessible resource, which could be PragerU in this situation, said Jessica Wright, the vice president of the Florida Freedom to Read Project.

Florida is the first state to approve videos from PragerU, but many are worried it will set off the same decision for many states. That being said, Florida isnt the only state to shy away from teaching the truth; Texas science curriculum now requires that schools teach positive lessons about fossil fuels.
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Fifty-eight years ago today, chaos erupted in the Los Angeles Watts neighborhood after 21-year-old Marquette Frye was arrested for drunk driving. Commonly referred to as the Watts Rebellion, this 6-day uprising was a culmination of longstanding tensions between the community and law enforcement. Watts was one of many urban uprisings happening across the country during that time in response to poor living conditions and police brutality.

Our joy is a birthright as is our rage. Even our ancestors who marched across bloody bridges in Alabama lauding the importance of nonviolence would agree. Sometimes the only response we can muster in the face of terror is rage, especially in a country where violence has never not been present. The resulting grief of that looms over our communities, from the streets of Ferguson to the dirt roads of rural Mississippi. It time-travels through centuries of persistent oppression.

That grief, it is always with us.

We ARE our ancestors

Three African Americans signal Black power while members of the Ku Klux Klan get ready to march from Selma to Montgomery retracing the march in 1965 led by the late Dr. Martin Luther King.

There is a common misconception that our ancestors and living elders never resisted the violence of white supremacy. The fact that we are here existing in 2023 should be more than enough to debunk that. Black folks have rebelled against the system since they were forcibly brought to this landsome even jumped from ships to escape the curse of slavery. Theres also the story of Nat Turners Rebellion, but it was neither the largest nor the first slave revolt to take place.

In 1811, the German Coast Uprising occurred in present-day Louisiana at the Andry Plantation. Charles Deslondes, a slave driver believed to be of Haitian descent, led the charge over the course of several days, and even recruited from neighboring Plantations along the way.

Before that was the 1712 slave revolt in New York City and the 1730 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina. While none of these rebellions were successful, it sent a wave of fear among enslavers and further undermined the myth of the happy and docile slave.

A group of Black people confront members of the Ku Klux Klan in 1938, after the secret organization's resurgence in the area.

Our rebellion against this country and its violent institutions is inherited. And that inheritance includes both violent and nonviolent resistance. Black people across this country have been rendered socially, politically and economically powerless. Not just powerless but invisible. When Dr. King  every racists favorite person to quote  spoke of riots as the language of the unheard, that, to me, is a literal interpretation.

Like our ancestors, when our pleas go unheard, we often resort to the only language the oppressor understands. That, too, is a necessary strategy toward our liberation.

In our rage, there is love always

A Black person poses with a sign in front of burning police vehicles in Philadelphia, PA to protest police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, May 30, 2020.

Perhaps it is impossible for our collective rage to exist without a capacity to love. Maybe love is what drives us to disrupt the daily lives of those privileged by an unjust system. What they call a riot, I might call love. Love of community and of ourselves.

On that fateful night in the Watts neighborhood, Black folks gathered around their brother as a police officer attempted to arrest him. They showed up as both weary witnesses and victims of state-sanctioned violence and neglect. In that weariness, they cried out. They cried out in the only ways that guaranteed that theyd be, not only seen, but heard.

Just two years after the Watts Rebellion, hundreds of uprisings ensued across the nation in Black communities. A year later, Dr. King was killed and we raged again and again from D.C. to Chicago to Baltimore. Decade after decade, the same story repeated itself. And whether we are silent or loud in our anger, it has always been deemed too much; in so many words, they say: Ask us nicely to stop making a grave out of your neighborhoods.

A memorial in the middle of the street where Michael Brown was shot by police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on August 15, 2014.

Over 50 years later we are here, still grieving Black lives lost to police violence, grieving Black lives lost to prisons. Still being told that every stand we take against white supremacy, is somehow the wrong way.

As we move through Black August, let us not forget our inheritance. Love can exist in and alongside centuries of justified rage.
Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, South African National Democratic Congress Council of Elders Chairman has indicated that the entitlement mentality of the NDC branches abroad is not helping party cohesion.

"For some people to think that things should be done the way they want always is not the way to go. This attitude and posture has come about due to the contributions they make towards the party", he explained.

Mr. Quashie in a telephone interview on CTV Wednesday, 9th August, 2023 was reacting to concerns by some branches outside the country complaining about Alex Segbefia behaviour.

He said, Alex Segbefia is human and not above criticisms but, "One thing I know for sure is the he would not go contrary to what the party says and to the terms of reference of the International Relations Department of the party, that, I can assure you."

The SA Council Chair quells all accusations against the International Relations Director of the NDC Alex Segbefia about his intransigence regarding organising re-elections for the UK/Ireland branches of the party.

"Alex Segbefia has lived in the UK/Ireland and would understand the issues there more than me and you (the host). It would be very unfair to say that you've tried calling him to clarify issues and he's not picking up. Alex Segbefia has always wanted to be called to clarify issues to the public," he stated.

In his appeal to the party supporters, Mr. Benjamin Quashie cautioned them to be measured in their demands on the party and the executives. "In politics, you cannot feel entitled and believe that something should be done for you alone. There should be compromises here and there and that is what helps build a political party."
Pupils of Al-Mateen educational complex in the Bawku municipality of the Upper East Region are appealing to the two feuding factions, Kusaasis and Mamprusis to put an end to the conflict and the needless loss of innocent lives.

The school children are urging the fighters to sell their guns and invest the proceeds in their education.

Some of the school children told this reporter that they are living in fear making lives difficult for them and their parents.

The pupils made this known at a career day with the Military Taskforce in Bawku at the 11 Battalion Camp at Bazua in the Binduri district.

The proprietor of the Al-Mateen educational complex, Zuquwati Ibn Kafidubu said the population of his school has reduced from over 300 to only 96 as a result of the conflict in the area.

He called on the people of Bawku to give peace a chance.

The military task force commander in Bawku, Col Antwi Awuah Darkwa commended the Al-Mateen educational complex for campaigning for peace in Bawku.

Col Antwi Awuah Darkwa said children learn from their parents through observation.

According to him, there is a high chance the children will copy their parents saying "so when parents are firing guns, killing people, and doing all kinds of odds things children will copy same."

The military officers took the children through the formation of the military, the hierarchy and its apparatus.

They noted that the soldiers are formed to defend the country against any external aggression.
The Obuasi East District Assembly in the Ashanti Region has been adjudged the best performing Assembly in Ashanti Region in the 2022 National Rankings of Metropolitan/Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs) Annual Performance Evaluation Report across the country.

The Obuasi East District Assembly was also ranked fourth (4th) in Ghana.

The Assembly scored 91.63% and was rated Excellent in Key Performance Areas such as general administration, human resource management, financial management reporting and infrastructure as well as social services, economic development, environment and sanitation.

The 261 MMDAs in the country at the beginning of every year, sign the performance contract with the Regional Coordinating Councils. This contract is not only serving as a tool for monitoring and evaluating service delivery but will encourage competition among the MMDAs.

The District Chief Executive for Obuasi East Hon. Faustina Amissah in a statement expressed appreciation to the Management, Assembly Members and Staff of the Assembly for working assiduously to ensure the District Assembly attains this feat.

Hon. Amissah appealed to management, staff and Assembly members to double their efforts to enable the Assembly to perform better in subsequent rankings.

The District Coordinating Director, Mr. Eric Aboagye-Mensah also praised management and staff of the Assembly for their dedication to duty.

He said management and staff worked very hard to get to the current position and will continue to put in extra efforts to maintain its position and move forward in this years rankings.

The Obuasi East District forms part of the newly created districts in Ghana. It was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2332 of November 2017 and was inaugurated on 15th March 2018.

The district was carved out of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly as one of the 38 newly created and upgraded district Assemblies in Ghana and has Tutuka as its capital.
Nearly 2.2 million students in the country have benefited from the governments flagship free Senior High School (FSHS) and the free Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) programmes, the Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, a Deputy Minister of Education has said.

Since 2017, he said the government had expanded educational infrastructure, constructing more than 1,140 facilities nationwide, comprising dining halls, dormitories, ICT centers, classroom blocks and libraries, and other facilities in SHS and TVET schools.

Rev Fordjour, also the Member of Parliament for Assin South constituency in the Central Region disclosed this when he inaugurated a 100-bed capacity hostel facility furnished with 150 bunk beds and 300 mattresses for Yamfo Anglican SHS at Yamfo in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo region.

Dr Freda Prempeh, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and the MP for Tano North constructed the girls hostel to improve the admission of girls in the school.

Rev Fordjour said despite the increased enrolment, the implementation of the Free SHS and the free TVET programmes had not compromised the quality and standard of education in the country and stressed governments determination to strengthen the programmes to benefit more students.

He said government had also prioritised girl-child education and was therefore doing everything possible to bridge the long-existing gap between boys and girls, the rich and the poor as well as deprived and urban communities.

Rev Fordjour advised SHS students to capitalize on the huge investments made by the government, remain disciplined and learn their books to build on their educational career.

On her part, Dr Freda Prempeh, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and the MP for Tano North indicated that quality education remained the key to unlocking the potential of the Ghanaian child, saying, by investing in their educational infrastructure, we are also investing in the future of our nation.

According to him, this hostel facility will not only provide accommodation for students but would also foster a sense of community and camaraderie.

She stated, it would also be a place where friendships are formed, knowledge is shared, and lifelong memories are created.

Dr Prempeh expressed the optimism that with the hostel, the challenges of inadequate accommodation at the school would be addressed so the girls could focus on their studies.

She commended the management, staff and teachers of the school for their hard work and unwavering support towards shaping the lives of the students.

The Rev Canon Barnabas Kofi Okoh, the Headmaster of the school expressed appreciation to Dr Prempeh for her unflinching support towards enhancing the schools infrastructure development and appealed for more support.
On Tuesday, 8th August 2023, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Middle Belt Development Authority Lawyer Vincent Frimpong Manu visited various examination centers where candidates in the Kwadaso Constituency are writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

At each centre, he donated branded pens to all the candidates and wished them good luck. While urging the children to aspire and achieve higher heights, he recalled with nostalgia, the time he wrote a similar examination in 1988.

Lawyer Vincent Frimpong Manu also provided an undisclosed amount to cater for the lunch of teachers, invigilators, supervisors and security personnel who were on duty at all the centres and thanked them for the successful coordination of the examination so far.

At the Yaa Asantewaa Senior High School Centre, Lawyer Frimpong Manu took the opportunity to interact with the Headmistress, Mrs. Felicia Danquah to learn at firsthand, the challenges the school is facing. He pledged his commitment to partner with the school authorities to tackle the challenges.

Lawyer Vincent Frimpong Manu who is a Kwadaso Constituency Parliamentary Candidate hopeful has made the education of children and youth a priority.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced a significant change in the voting process within the House.

Deputy speakers are now permitted to cast their votes confidentially, marking a departure from the previous practice.

Mr Bagbin emphasised that this amendment aims to quell the disorder that had marred voting proceedings in the past.

In a recent public forum at Takoradi, Western Regin, Mr Bagbin explained that Deputy Speakers can now discreetly communicate their voting choices to clerks, ensuring a smoother process.

"Now, we have come up with new standing orders. So, a lot of work has been done within this period. Revising the standing orders which started in 2002 has not been successful until now, but within three years, we have succeeded in doing so", he said.

"The first and second deputy speakers -- when you are presiding in my absence -- can vote by indicating your preference to the clerks in silence, and he will add to the number", Mr Bagbin revealed.

"It's not in your place to say, 'those who are supporting, say 'aye' and you are also shouting, 'aye'. How then do you determine, if you also shout?" the Speaker wondered.

This reform is intended to enhance the integrity of voting within the Ghanaian parliamentary system.

Source: classfmonline.com
10.08.2023 LISTEN

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has slammed Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and his deputies for mismanaging state funds.

In a statement released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) where the stock of Government of Ghana's debt had to be cut in half, was a key prerequisite for an International Monetary Fund bailout.

A major plank of the corrective action required for the IMF program was the Domestic Debt Exchange, where the stock of Government of Ghana debt was to be halved from 105% of GDP to 55% of GDP by 2028. The holders of Government debt had their debt instruments exchanged for new ones with lower interest payments and longer terms. Despite the losses inflicted on households and banks, the threshold of 55% of GDP was not met, the central bank stated.

However, the Minority leader noted that the BoG's attempt to justify its extravagant spending deepens their stance on his resignation.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) called for the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, over alleged mismanagement of the nations central bank.

The party threatened to occupy the central bank if the governor and his team refused to vacate their positions after a 21-days.

In this regard, we call for the resignation of the Governor of the central bank and his deputies within 21 days from today," it said.
Three French police were charged on Thursday over a 27-year-old man's death during rioting earlier this summer, prosecutors said.

An autopsy of the man who died in Marseille during the riots showed marks on his chest consistent with the impact of a shot from a blast ball commonly used by police.

The officers were arrested on Tuesday over the incident - the only known death at or on the margins of the unrest that gripped France in June and early July over the killing of a teenager by a policeman during a traffic check outside Paris on 27 June.

The man, Mohamed Bendriss - a married father-of-one whose widow is expecting a second child - died after feeling unwell while riding a scooter.

Prosecutors have said they consider it probable that the man's death was caused by a violent impact to the thorax caused by the firing of a projectile of the blast ball type.

The three will be charged with armed violence unintentionally causing death.

However, the prosecutor's office also said that the victim may have been involved in the looting of a shoe outlet in the city.

French police controversy

Indications were that Bendriss had been involved in theft from the store, and was being pursued by police as he rode his scooter away.

As he rode on the pavement past police he was hit by one projectile, and another - a so-called bean bag round - hit his scooter.

He rode on, but was later found to have suffered cardio-respiratory arrest and died, the prosecutors said.

In all, five police officers from the elite Raid unit had been taken into custody on Tuesday but two were released.

Several civilians and police are giving evidence as witnesses in the case.

The officers will remain under judicial supervision,and are banned from having any contact with plaintiffs in the case. They are also suspended from participating in any policing of urban riots or large-scale events.

The investigation is the latest high-profile incident involving Marseille police.

Earlier this summer, a 22-year-old man called Hedi had to have part of his skull removed after being beaten up and fired on with a blast ball on 21 July by a group of men suspected to be police officers.

Four Marseille police officers have been charged over the incident.

Three have been released under judicial supervision.

The fourth has been remanded in custody for the duration of the investigation. His detention caused huge controversy within the French police.

Officers across the country went on sick leave en masse as a sign of protest but a court rejected the appeal against his detention.
Dr Freda Prempeh, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources has advised candidates writing this years West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to stay away from social media and on their books to pass the exams well.

This is not the time to stay on Tiktok and Facebook because the WASCCE determines your academic career and success, Dr Prempeh stated when she inaugurated a girls hostel for the Yamfo Anglican Senior High Schools in the Tano North Municipality.

Dr Prempeh, also the Member of Parliament for Tano North constituency lobbied for the construction of the 100-bed capacity hostel furnished with 300 bunk beds and mattresses.

The Minister told the candidates the government and their parents had invested much into their SHS education hence the need for them to pass the exams well to justify such investments.

Try as much as possible to learn and pass your exams to make President Nana Akufo-Addo proud for introducing the FSHS. Dont allow social media to take your time because that would affect your performance, Dr Prempeh stated.

The Minister said the implementation of the FSHS had benefited over 1.2 million children nationwide, and stressed the government's commitment to strengthen the programme to benefit more children.
The Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency, Hon Muntaka Mubarak Mohammed has disclosed his intentions to introduce a Private Member's Bill in Parliament for the regulation of tricycles (Pragyia) in Ghana.

The MP believes legalizing the operations of 'pragyia' in Ghana will reduce the increasing rate of unemployment in the country.

He observed that his decision was born out of the recent demonstrations by pragyia operators who have embarked on countless protests following a decision by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly KMA to ban their operations in the Central Business District of Kumasi.

Speaking to Dr Cash on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM's afternoon political show "Dwabrem", on Thursday, August 10, 2023, Hon. Muntaka said he will begin the process of introducing the bill in October when parliament resumes sitting.

"Authorities in Ghana sometimes behave like ostriches, they know the problem at hand but try to ignore it, because the pragyia passes through the port yet nobody is ready to talk about legalizing its operations.

"This pragyia is the main means of transportation for thousands of people in the country, it sometimes serves as an ambulance, so why would they pretend It is not there, who are they deceiving?" he quizzed.

The MP emphasized that he will fight to ensure the activities of pragyia are regulated.

He however urged the riders to be disciplined, law-abiding, and adhere to the motor traffic rules and regulations to avoid accidents caused by their careless and reckless driving.

He urges them to also adhere to the directives by the Assembly and negotiate with leaders if the directives would affect their business in the Metropolis.
Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency, Hon Muntaka Mubarak Mohammed says banning tricycle operators in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region will be a serious national security threat.

The MP has observed that there are hundreds of youths making a living out of the tricycle business.

"So banning them outright from the Central Business District of Kumasi will render them jobless.

"Youth unemployment is already a security threat; fortunately the tricycle business has kept most of these youth active preventing them from engaging in social vices," he stated.

The MP was speaking on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM's afternoon political show Dwabrem on Thursday August 10, 2023, hosted by Prince Nii Ade (DOK Cash).

The KMA as part of efforts to decongest Kumasi City has banned the operations of tricycle activities in parts of the city.

Controversies surrounding the restriction of Pragyia riders in Kumasi appear to be far from over as hundreds of pragyia operators have vowed to embark on continuous demonstrations against the assembly.
West African leaders have approved the deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday.

The ECOWAS regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago, deposing Mohamed Bazoum as president.

But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Ouattara said: "The Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalize things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible."

Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said.

Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, centre, said the use of force against Niger's coup leaders would be 'a last resort'. By KOLA SULAIMON (AFP)

"We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions."

Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the bloc's force.

Former colonial power France gave its "full support to all the conclusions" the bloc reached, the foreign ministry said.

But even as the summit took place, Niger's new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.

A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries.

The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum -- detained since July 26 -- or face military possible intervention.

In Abuja, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: "All is not lost yet" for a "peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability".

But he added: "No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort."

Before the closed-door talks, Tinubu had insisted that "we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach".

'We must engage'

The 15-nation bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgences.

Before the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged that "the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome".

An attempt this week to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Niger's capital Niamey was rejected by the coup leaders.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries. By - (AFP)

"We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum," Tinubu said.

The possibility of military intervention in Niger, a fragile nation that ranks among the world's poorest, has sparked debate within ECOWAS and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as Russia.

Niger's neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, both ruled by military governments that seized power in coups, also warned an intervention would be a "declaration of war" on their countries.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, also hit by a recent coup, have been suspended from ECOWAS and like Niger were not represented at the Abuja summit.

Economic Community of West African States. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

Current ECOWAS chair Nigeria had taken a hard line against last month's coup, the fifth in Niger since independence from France in 1960.

Speaking before flying to Abuja on Wednesday, Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said the future of ECOWAS was at stake following the recent coups among its members.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres joined a chorus of concern about 63-year-old Bazoum, saying that he and his family were reportedly enduring "deplorable living conditions".

CNN reported Wednesday that Bazoum was being kept in isolation and given meals of only plain rice and pasta.

Unstable Sahel

Countries in the Sahel are battling a jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012, spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015, and is now causing jitters in states on the Gulf of Guinea.

The bloody campaign has been devastating for those three countries, which have turbulent histories and rank among the poorest nations in the world.

Niger has the misfortune of facing a double jihadist insurgency, both in its southwest and also from militants crossing into the southeast.

Bazoum's election in 2021 had helped Niger cement close ties with France and the United States, which have major bases and troop deployments in the country.

France last year withdrew its forces from Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with their military leaders, refocussing its anti-jihadist strategy on Niger.
The Bono Regional office of the New Patriotic Party over the weekend builds the capacity of the regional, constituency executives and all MMDCEs as part of efforts in strengthening the structures of the party in the region to break the 8-year electoral cycle of governance in the country.

The workshop concentrated on building a consensus in unity to achieve the prime objective of recapturing lost seats in the 2020 elections and maintaining the existing ones.

The National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye (Nana B) reiterated the need to embrace the laid down structures of the party to have everybody on board in all party activities.

National Communications Director, Mr. Richard Ahiagbah underlined the significance of comprehensive communication skills, a tool that can be used to secure victory in 2024 elections.

Mr Ahiagbah urged party executives and members to recognize the critical role effective communication strategies play in dispelling propaganda and presenting accurate information to the public.

He pointed out the elements of successful communication, including active listening, deliberate attention to delivery, and the ability to inform and inspire audiences.

The National Communications Director stressed that the partys success hinges on its ability to dominate discussions across various platforms, such as the airwaves, offices, markets, and public gatherings.

The workshop which was centered on building the capacity of all constituency officers had all speakers take their turns to energize and contribute to the success of the maiden edition of the forum.

The MPs, Ministers and CEOs in the Region pledged their commitment to the executives and their unflinching support to the party in the region to reclaim all lost seats.

The attendees in no particular order were National executives led by Henry Nana Boakye (Nana B) the national organizer, Abdul Salam the national youth organizer, Richard Ahiagbah the national communications director, Nelson Owusu Ansah the national training coordinator and Deputy CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Seth Ponku office of the research department at the Jubilee House, Nana Appiah Mensah CEO state housing, Hon Agyeman Manu MP for Dormaa central and Minister for health, Hon Ignatius Baffour Awuah MP for Sunyani West and Minister for Labour Relations, Hon Alfred Tuah Yeboah the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana, Hon Akwasi Ameyaw Kyeremeh MP for Sunyani East and Board chairman for BUI Power Authority and all 12 MMDCEs

The event was also heavily supported by Hon Dr Akosua Frema Opare, the chief of staff of the Republic of Ghana, Justin Frimpong Kodua, the General Secretary of the New patriotic party, Hon Dr John Kumah, Deputy Finance Minister and MP for Ejisu, Mr Sammi Awuku CEO National Lottery Authority and Campaign Manager for HE Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr Akwasi Agyeman Busia, CEO DVLA and Ptron to the organizational structure of the New Patriotic Party in the region.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has denounced the World Bank's decision to suspend new funding in response to a law targeting LGBTQ+ people, accusing the lender of using money to try to "coerce" the country's government.

The World Bank said on Tuesday that Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, which imposes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, contradicted its values.

The bank will not consider new public financing for Uganda until it can be sure that projects it finances in the country do not discriminate against sexual and gender minorities, it said.

In a statement on Wednesday night, Museveni said that Uganda would not give in to pressure from foreign institutions.

"It is, therefore, unfortunate that the World Bank and other actors dare to want to coerce us into abandoning our faith, culture, principles and sovereignty, using money. They really underestimate all Africans," he said.

Museveni said that Uganda had other sources for loans and was trying to reduce borrowing in any case.

While the president said that oil production expected to start by 2025 would provide additional revenues, he added he hoped the World Bank would reconsider its decision.

The bank's move will force Uganda to revise its budget. The government will shortly ask parliament to vote on a revised 2023-2024 plan to reflect the potential financial impact of the lending suspension, junior finance minister Henry Musasizi told parliament on Thursday.

Billions of dollars

The World Bank has an existing portfolio of $5.2 billion (4.7 billion) in Uganda, although projects already underway will not be affected.

Uganda's health ministry, which is among recipients of the World Bank funds, issued a circular after its announcement reiterating that no one should be denied medical services.

The ministry said that healthcare providers and workers were "not to discriminate, stigmatise any individual who seeks health care for any reason, gender, religion, tribe, economic or social status or sexual orientation".

Rights campaigners had voiced concerns that following the new law, healthcare providers might report LGBTQ+ people seeking medical care to the police, or that people would be wary of going to hospital for fear of being stigmatised.

The United Nations, several governments and global rights groups have condemned Uganda's law, which makes "aggravated homosexuality" a capital offence and imposes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.

The United States has also threatened to cut aid and investment in Uganda since the measures were signed into law in May.

(with newswires)
Security analyst, Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd.), has warned that the decision of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to invade troubled Niger using the military could set a bad precedent for the region.

Mr. Aboagye explained that if ECOWAS goes into Niger, it will mean that any time there is a military coup in any country in the sub-region, the bloc will be obligated to intervene using the same effort.

This could be difficult to do in some cases, he said.

The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, on Thursday, August 10, ordered the blocs standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.

In response to ECOWAS declaration, the security analyst urged the bloc to be cautious, as it could have serious consequences.

He said that ECOWAS would likely face logistical challenges in mobilizing its forces and that the best force the bloc could deploy at this point would be a diplomatic one, not a military one.

The 6000 force will not be sufficient. We stand the risk of running into problems, so ECOWAS will need to find commanders to put a campaign structure and group forces, and so we cannot at this stage, determine when the invasion will take place.

The best force the ECOWAS has right now is the diplomatic force. The budget of the action has not been worked out yet and also the deployment and the additional capability is essential which we currently dont have in West Africa.

They can go ahead, but my understanding will be that that will be a bad precedent which means that anytime there is a coup anywhere in Africa, then the bloc must go in to intervene so as not to create the impression that this decision is taken because Niger is a smaller force, Mr Aboagye further stated.

citinewsroom
US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has warned that the passage of the Anti-LGBTQ+ law could affect trade and investment in the country.

Ambassador Palmer said that while a number of American companies are preparing to invest in Ghana, any law that discriminates against LGBTQ+ people could hurt the countrys reputation and make it less attractive to investors.

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Ambassador Palmer said: Lots of ethnic communities make Ghana strong, stable, and attractive for investments. I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQ community. They should be managed to be made the colour of the money green or red if its Ghanaian, but if it is discrimination, then that will send a signal not to [only] LGBTQ investors and exporters but to other American companies. Then Ghana will be less welcomingso I hope it stays that welcoming."

The Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, which is currently under consideration by Parliament, aims to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, prohibit the promotion and advocacy of LGBTQ+ content, and provide protection and support for children and individuals involved in LGBTQ+ issues.

The Supreme Court of Ghana dismissed an application in July 2023 seeking to injunct the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from continuing with the consideration of the bill.

The application was filed by a researcher named Dr. Amanda Odoi, who argued that the ongoing consideration of the bill is a breach of Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution.

Article 108 of the Constitution stipulates that no bill or motion shall be considered by Parliament if, in the opinion of the person presiding, the bill is to impose taxation, impose a charge on the consolidated fund or other public funds unless it is introduced by the president.

It is the contention of the applicant that the bill considered in its entirety will impose a charge on the consolidated funded and offends the 1992 Constitution as it is a private members bill.

This legal action adds to the ongoing debate and controversy surrounding the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, with stakeholders expressing differing opinions on the proposed legislation.

 CitiNewsroom
West Africa's regional bloc Ecowas on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force for possible use against the junta that that has taken power in Niger, saying it wanted a peaceful resolution but would consider military intervention "as a last resort".

After emergency talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja, Ecowas pledged to enforce sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on those preventing the return to power of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held by soldiers since 26 July.

"No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort," said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the bloc's chair.

"I hope that through our collective effort we can bring about a peaceful resolution as a roadmap to restoring stability and democracy in Niger," he said. "All is not lost yet."

An official statement included a resolution asking the bloc's defence chiefs to "activate the Ecowas Standby Force with all its elements immediately".

Another resolution spoke of ordering "the deployment of the Ecowas Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger", immediately followed by another that spoke of restoring such order "through peaceful means".

US backing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced support for the bloc's efforts.

"The United States appreciates the determination of Ecowas to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis," he said on Thursday.

In a statement, Blinken also said that the US would hold the junta accountable for the safety of Bazoum, his family, and detained members of the government.

Separately, there were reports that Niger's junta had warned the US that they would kill Bazoum if other countries attempted any military intervention to restore him.

Speaking anonymously, two Western officials told the Associated Press that representatives of the junta told US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum when she visited the country earlier this week.

Logistical questions

An Ecowas force could take weeks or longer to assemble, potentially leaving room for negotiations.

Thursday's statement did not spell out how the force would be funded, which countries would participate or how many troops and what hardware they could contribute.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit, Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said he considered the detention of Bazoum "a terrorist act" and promised to supply a battalion of troops.

"We want democracy in our sub-region. We do not accept, we will not accept coups d'etat. These putschists must go. If they don't let Bazoum out to be able to exercise his mandate, I think we should move ahead and get them out," he said.

In further comments later on Thursday, Outtara said that Nigeria and Benin would also contribute troops.

"The putschists can decide to leave tomorrow and there won't be any military intervention  it all depends on them," he said.

Ecowas is split over the coup in Niger, with suspended member states Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by military governments, vowing to defend the Nigerien junta.

After a string of coups since 2020 and growing militant activity, Ecowas leaders said last year that they were determined to create a standby force of thousands of troops.

(with Reuters)
It is the dream of most of the youths in this country that our beloved country Ghana will achieve a higher standard like most of the developed nations in the world.

Talking of infrastructure, jobs, good health et al. In general, policies which will help develop this nation and to make us compete with some of the already developed nations in the world.

The gullibility of some youths has brought us thus far. We have allowed ourselves to be swindled by these grabby politicians whose aim is to rape all our resources, dip their ten fingers to steal from state coffers.

As youths, should we still wait on the government to solve our problems for us? If that is the case then for me i think Ghanaians have a long way to journey.

The fear to speak out as citizens has made these so called politicians take a big advantage over us.

The Economic Fighters League is the only vibrant group who can help energize the youth to fight for this country, politicians have used us especially we the youths as prey and they have really sucked our blood.

Revolution is the best way to go as a nation, if Cuba through Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara were able to stand fight to save the country, why cant we also do such? Its about we need to rise, wake up from our slumber and save mother Ghana.

Ghanaians are not bound to fail but due to poor and shambolic leadership we have experienced so far under the fourth (4th) republic, it has created an impression in the minds of these politicians that Ghanaian youth are lazy while that is not the case.

Its about time we need to mobilize ourselves, come together and deliver the nation from the hands of the wicked oppressors.

Ghana can do better, yes we can. This fight isnt about cutlasses and guns but we will deal with them intellectually.

We of the Economic Fighters League through our leaders, led by CiC Ernesto Yeboah has played a vital role as a concerned citizen of this country.

One of his major achievements which cant be forgotten is the Drop that Chamber campaign.

Like by now our lawmakers would be using taxpayers money to acquire themselves a new parliamentary chamber where by they can sit unconcern making their useless noise yeah yeah.

Kudos to our vibrant leader and other fighters supporting CiC Ernesto Yeboah for this vital role and achievements.

I wish to draw the curtains here.

Catch you other time.
11.08.2023 LISTEN

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority leader has said the Bank of Ghana's (BOG) justification for a $250 million new headoffice is incomprehensible.

According to Mr. Forson, previous Governors and Directors operated under the same old facility and made profits.

The excuse that the current Bank of Ghana Head office is not earthquake resistant is most ridiculous to say the least. We need not remind the Bank of Ghana that previous Governors and Directors of the bank maximized the operations and profit of the bank from that same old facility by deploying more reasonable options of relocating aspects of the banks operations to the Cedi House and another facility of the Bank on the Spintex Road, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson stated.

He continued that it is ridiculous for BoG to prioritize a $250 million dollar new office complex at a time it has recorded an unprecedented loss of GHS60.8 billion.

The question BOG must answer is that; if at the time the Bank of Ghana recorded successive years of profit under NDC/Mahama government (2012-2016), the managers of the bank did not consider a new office complex an urgent priority but rather invested in the construction of the BOG hospital to support the healthcare needs of the country, how can BOG prioritize a new $250 million dollar office complex at a time it has recorded an unprecedented loss of GHS60.8 billion and a negative equity of GHS55.1 billion?

It is instructive to note, that the cost of the ill-timed new head office complex the BOG is rapidly putting up is four times the cost of the ultramodern Ecobank Head Office building and six times the cost of Kempinski hotel in Accra.

In fact, our conservative estimates show that the cost of the new head office complex the BOG is putting up can build at least, 3,750 new six (6)-unit classroom blocks to expand access to education or at least 3,500 CHP compounds to improve the access to health care delivery in the country, he stressed in a statement.
11.08.2023 LISTEN

The anti-gay bill presently before Parliament has prompted a warning from the United States of America (U.S.A) ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer.

According to the U.S.A ambassador, the bill if passed into law will drive away LGBTQI investors and other American companies from Ghana.

In an interview with journalists in Accra, she said the country gains from maintaining its hospitality.

Ghana is a very welcoming, tolerant society, with lots of interreligious harmony, lots of ethnic harmony that makes Ghana strong and stable, and attractive for investments.

I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQI Community. There is money to be made, and the color of your money is green or red but if there is discrimination or worse then that will send a signal to not just LGBTQ investors but other American companies, she stated on Thursday, August 10.

Her statement follows the World Bank's announcement that it will no longer issue fresh loans to Uganda due to the latter's contentious anti-LGBTQ law.

The World Bank announced on Tuesday that it will halt project financing while reviewing steps to safeguard sexual and gender minorities from prejudice and exclusion in its initiatives.

Ugandas Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Groups values, we believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality. This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world, the World Bank said in a statement published by the Al Jazeera network.

Meanwhile, one of the sponsors of the anti-gay bill in Ghanas Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has said Ghana would not be disturbed by the action that the World Bank has taken against Uganda for passing the anti-gay bill into law.

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi noted that the World Bank cannot blackmail African countries to accept the practice of homosexuality.

Speaking on the Midday news on TV3 Thursday, August 10, he stated Ghana is not perturbed by what is happening in Uganda. In any case, the World Bank is a bank for all of us, it is not a bank of just a group of people.

Africa has 54 nations and if the world bank wants to blackmail Africa into accepting LGBTQ, I think they are wrong, they are biting more than they can chew. We will not back down today, we will not back down tomorrow.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer has noted that there will be grave consequences if Ghana discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community.

Speaking on the sidelines of the US-Ghana Business Expo, she said she hopes Ghanaians known for being tolerant and welcoming will not discriminate against the minority group of LGBTQ+ people.

She said discrimination will push away not only LGBTQ+ investors but other American companies as well.

Ghana is a very welcoming, tolerant society, with lots of interreligious harmony, lots of ethnic harmony that makes Ghana strong and stable, and attractive for investments.

I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQI Community. There is money to be made, and the color of your money is green or red but if there is discrimination or worse then that will send a signal to not just LGBTQ investors but other American companies that Ghana is less welcoming than I am telling people that it is now, US Ambassador Virginia Palmer said in an interview on Thursday, August 10.

The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill criminalises LGBTQ+ and its activities in the country.

Uganda has suffered a first hit after passing its anti-LGBTQ law.

This week, the World Bank has announced it will halt new loans to Uganda due to the passage of the bill.

The World Bank insists that financing of projects in Uganda will be paused until the anti-gay bill in Uganda is reviewed to go in line with its vision.

Ugandas Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Groups values.

We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality. This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world, the World Bank said in a statement published by Al Jazeera network.
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has wondered why Ghanaians hate to hear that the salary of their elected MPs has been increased when they are the same people who go knocking on their doors for financial assistance of all sorts.

At a public forum in Takoradi in the Western Region, Mr Bagbin observed: "Whatever is given to the one you struggled to elect, you are opposed to it, even though every day you knock at his door to request money to pay school fees and hospital bills, donate to churches, festivals and funerals".

"You hate to hear that his salary is being increased", Mr Bagbin said.

In his view, "there must be a problem".

In May 2022, ay former National Democratic Congress MP for the Buem Constituency in the Oti region, Mr Daniel Ashiamah, said while in parliament, "I was paying the medical and school fees of people in my constituency and failed to pay the secondary school fees of my son".

He revealed: "While I was paying these huge sums of money as fees for people in my constituency, my son was being sacked from school over my failure to pay his fees".

"I guess I must have forgotten about him because his fees were so so small in the scheme of the fees that I was paying for my constituents children", he added.

Speaking on Accra100.5FMs morning show, Ghana Yensom, on Friday, 13 May 2022, Mr Ashiamah said: "As an MP, I took the decision not to use my allocation from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) to pay fees for my children, so, my immediate family was suffering while my constituents were enjoying".

The former MP, who entered parliament as a result of a by-election, said being a lawmaker looks prestigious from the outside but miserable on the inside because of the wanton expenditures he and his colleagues are compelled to make which are way above their salaries.

In his view, being an MP is one of the most miserable careers in Ghana.

"It is no joy being an MP", he said.

Apart from school and medical fees, he was compelled to be making donations at funerals, weddings and other social gatherings.

"I came to parliament through a by-election and after all the work I did for the constituency, they insisted I go for a term ", explaining how working as MP can be depressing.

"In this situation, if you have not planned your life, what will you do?" he wondered.

He cautioned young politicians to think carefully about their ambition to enter parliament since, according to him, it is not easy being there.

"If you don't have the vision to be in parliament, you do not have any business being there", he warned.

Source: Classfmonline.com
11.08.2023 LISTEN

Some 37 frontline workers in the Obuasi Municipality who worked tirelessly to provide quality healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic have been honoured by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Known as The Presidential Awards, each of the awardees received a certificate of recognition signed by the President.

The Presidential Awards was initiated by President Akufo-Addo to acknowledge the exceptional role of frontline health workers across the country who braced the storm to provide exceptional services in the peak of the outbreak of COVID-19.

The awardees in the Obuasi Municipality were made up of nurses, midwives, doctors and environmental officers who played various roles in the fight.

They received a certificate of recognition, signed by the President as part of the 2023 Presidential Awards for COVID-19 Frontline Workers.

The Municipal Coordinating Director who represented the MCE to give the awards on behalf of the President said Obuasi was one of the hot spots identified during the outbreak of COVID-19 but through the selfless and dedicated efforts of frontline health workers, the virus was optimally contained.

He said the nation in its quest to appreciate the efforts decided to present them with the awards. "The President appreciates the efforts of our gallant frontline workers hence the award. I want to assure you that the nation recognizes your efforts and dedication to duty. I believe this will spur you to do more".

Dr. Kwadwo Nyarko Jecteh, the Medical Superintendent of the Obuasi Government Hospital who led the frontline workers to receive the awards expressed gratitude to the President for recognizing the efforts of the workers during the pandemic.

"We are grateful to the President and the nation for appreciating our works. was grateful that the highest office of the land had given credence to the milestones chalked by the gallant healthcare providers," he stated.

He gave the assurance that health workers in the Municipality would not rest on their oars but will continue to work assiduously to ensure residents were safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

The awardees who spoke with the media were full of excitement, thanking the President for the honour. " We are happy our efforts have been appreciated by the first gentleman of the land. This will motivate us to continue to deliver on our mandate," Victor Nuamah, a Psychiatric nurse at the Obuasi Government Hospital said.
The Upper West Regional Youth Parliament has been recognized as the Most Outstanding Youth Parliament in Ghana of the year by the National Youth Authority at the prestigious Northern Ghana Achievers and Mentors Awards.

At the awards ceremony held in Tamale, Northern Region, on August 4, 2023, the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament held a joint parliamentary sitting with their counterpart Northern Regional Youth Parliament on the motion, "A Year's Implementation of the National Youth Policy; Successes, Challenges and the Wayforward: the Perspective of Government and CSOs."

Speaking with the Speaker of the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament, Rt Hon James Baba Anabiga, he said the recognition meant that the Youth Parliament was the most vibrant and phenomenal.

He noted that the recognition was but merely a confirmation of the fact that the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament is a premier youth parliament that continues to set the pace for youth parliamentary activities in the country.

He said the award came with so much joy and at the same time, threw a challenge at the parliament to not rest on its oars but to continue to do even more of what it was doing.

"It means that we should not relent on our efforts in advocating for development, human development, social development and of course, infrastructural development.

"It's an award and also a challenge to us, we are on our feet and on our toes to ensure that we do even more than what we have done," he said.

The Upper West Regional Youth Parliament has, since its inception, been a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change in the area of youth and community development.

Meanwhile, the Upper West Regional Youth Parliament paid a courtesy call on the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih to strengthen the relationship with the Office of the Regional Minister and to present the award to the Minister.

The visit, according to the Speaker of the Parliament, Rt. Hon. James Baba Anabiga, was per the practice of the house to introduce its leadership to the Regional Minister after each parliamentary year.

Commenting on the upcoming International Youth Day (IYD), the Speaker hinted that the Youth Parliament would be holding a mega parliamentary sitting to commemorate the day.

On his part, Dr Bin Salih expressed his pleasure to the Youth Parliament and encouraged them to continue to be objective in their dealings.

He assured them of his readiness to collaborate and support them in pursuing the Upper West development agenda.

The Minister agreed to grace the parliamentary sitting as the Special Guest of Honour who will present a paper on the State of Upper West Regions Development and the Role of Youth in Supporting the Development Drive of the Region.

The visit to the Minister was led by the Speaker, in the company of the Regional Director of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr Ampofo Amankona, together with selected leadership and members of the parliament.
11.08.2023 LISTEN

Africa's Creative Heritage

The African fashion industry pulsates with vibrancy and diversity, boasting a rich cultural heritage and an abundance of creative talent. From traditional textiles to contemporary designs, African fashion has earned widespread global recognition for its unique aesthetic and remarkable craftsmanship. Indeed, Africa has become a compelling new frontier for fashion, offering the industry a fresh perspective on style and boasting a burgeoning creative class that is propelling Africa's wealth of talent and resources onto the world stage.

Nonetheless, despite this tremendous potential, a recent study highlights some challenges faced by creative businesses on the continent. Many of these enterprises are young, small, and generate relatively modest monthly orders, resulting in lower earnings. Surprisingly, nearly 70% of these businesses are less than five years old, and about a third are less than three years old. Moreover, 68% of creative businesses employ fewer than five people, and a staggering 80% fulfil less than 30 orders per month, translating to less than one order per day. The median earnings for these businesses typically range from $250 to $500 per month.

The Ananse White Paper, titled Unleashing the Commercial Potential of African Creatives Through Digital Technology emanates from a comprehensive study conducted in collaboration with Botho Emerging Markets Group, Mastercard Foundation, and the African Development Bank's Fashionomics Initiative. Employing a mixed research approach, the study encompassed both primary and secondary research, with the primary research consisting of a comprehensive 43-question survey administered to respondents from 46 countries. Notably, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa emerged as the top three countries with thriving creative ecosystems.

Increasing Use of Digital Technology

The study underscores a remarkable shift towards the use of digital technology, with a significant lean towards e-commerce. However, the majority of sales still occur through offline channels due to five major barriers to adoption identified in the study: high setup costs, challenges with online payments, logistical and delivery complexities, lack of knowledge of e-commerce setup, and difficulties with ongoing maintenance.

Among the challenges faced by creatives who do not sell online, the most prominent is the high cost associated with setting up an online store. This generally reflects the fact that the services available are not tailored to price points that would be affordable in African countries, given that many such services are provided by companies based in the mature western economies. Moreover, accessibility to online payment services has been historically limited on the continent, though there have been recent improvements. Consequently, even among those African creatives who employ e-commerce, a significant 70% of them make less than half of their sales online. The resolution of these barriers holds immense potential for substantial growth in e-commerce utilization by African creatives.

The study also highlights remarkable growth in the use of social media by African fashion creatives, with social media platforms now playing an essential role in driving new customer traffic, equivalent to the power of word-of-mouth referrals. Social media and word-of-mouth referrals account for 47% and 48% of new customer inquiries, respectively.

A Note on Gender Disparity

Notably, African creatives predominantly consist of women (67%, according to our study). However, these women face gender-based disparities, earning less and hiring fewer individuals than their male counterparts. Of the women creative entrepreneurs, only 32% generate over USD $500 in monthly sales, compared to 42% of men. Furthermore, a mere 27% of women hire five or more staff, in contrast to 42% of men.

Moreover, women display lower proficiency in using digital technologies, engaging in e-commerce, and harnessing digital payment methods. In fact, women are 31% less likely than men to have an e-commerce website. Additionally, female respondents were twice as likely to report having no e-commerce skills, while being twice as less likely as their male counterparts to report having 'advanced' e-commerce skills. This emphasizes the importance of targeted policies and strategies that support women-led small and medium-sized businesses, addressing the specific challenges faced by female-owned creative enterprises.

Inter-Africa Trade in Fashion

Like other industries on the continent, African creatives primarily engage in more trade with the rest of the world than with other African countries. Only 4% of African creatives trade with customers in other African countries, whereas 15% conduct trade with international customers outside Africa. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) offers immense potential for African creatives to expand sales within the continent by eliminating trade barriers and facilitating increased trade flows. When it becomes fully operational, the AfCTA will be the largest free trade area, after the World Trade Organization, by the number of member states, geographic size and population spanning 1.3 billion people.

Challenges Faced by African Designers

The creative economy in Africa contends with various challenges, including limited market access, lack of funding, unfavorable regulatory environments, and skills gaps. Creative entrepreneurs confront numerous hurdles when attempting to access local and international markets, secure financing, navigate regulatory complexities and fully embrace e-commerce. Participants in the study, indicated that they would readily embrace e-commerce with appropriate training. Crucially, the most sought-after skills include managing online stores (74%), using an online store (69%), processing and handling e-commerce orders (63%), building brand profiles (56%), writing product descriptions (54%), and capturing high-quality product photos for e-commerce (44%). These skills challenge for entrepreneurs, can be mitigated by making digital merchandising training more accessible.

Addressing regulatory challenges is equally vital, as e-commerce policies across the African continent exhibit significant variations that impede cross-border trade. Outdated customs policies, particularly regarding cross-border e-commerce, pose significant obstacles. Additionally, ambiguous legal frameworks and intellectual property rights discourage funding institutions from supporting creative enterprises, as they harbor doubts about the viability of investments in delivering acceptable returns. Rectifying these regulatory hurdles would provide a much-needed boost to African creatives, especially considering the surge in e-commerce adoption, which has risen by over 70% in Africa since the pandemic.

Interventions to Address Challenges Faced by African Designers

Given Africa's accelerated adoption of digital technologies, creative MSMEs are likely to continue shifting towards social media and e-commerce platforms to reach domestic, regional, and international markets. While digital tools can help creative entrepreneurs navigate structural gaps more effectively, a systemic approach is essential to create an enabling environment for business expansion. The Ananse White Paper recommends prioritizing the following five areas for public, private, and development sector actors to empower creative SMMEs to fully leverage digital technology for business scalability:

Skills development and trade support through vocational training programs, particularly targeting business, digital, and marketing skills for women and young people, who constitute a majority of creative entrepreneurs. Harmonization of the African e-commerce customs regime to reduce the complexities of cross-border trade, unlocking significant trade opportunities for African fashion entrepreneurs within the continent and across the world. Ensuring that creative MSMEs can fully benefit from the AfCTA, with specific accommodations for the creative sector under the AfCFTA. This includes key policy areas such as intellectual property rights and transparent, harmonized quality standards. Regular assessments of the impact of interventions on the lives of African creatives. African countries need to establish a framework for continuous understanding and analysis of the creative economy, thereby informing policymaking. Increased investment in the creative industries, achieved by establishing an early-stage fund dedicated to small and medium-sized creative businesses. The African creative industry requires substantial and dedicated capital for creative entrepreneurship, as existing funding mechanisms tend to be small, fragmented, and biased towards larger businesses over MSMEs.

Download your free copy of the White Paper here.
11.08.2023 LISTEN

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George has countered the argument by H.E Virginia Palmer, the US Ambassador to Ghana on how the country will lose investor confidence if the anti-gay bill is passed into law.

Speaking on the sidelines of the US-Ghana Business Expo, she said she hopes Ghanaians known for being tolerant and welcoming will not discriminate against LGBTQ+ groups.

She said discrimination will push away not only LGBTQ+ investors but other American companies as well.

Ghana is a very welcoming, tolerant society, with lots of interreligious harmony, lots of ethnic harmony that makes Ghana strong and stable, and attractive for investments.

I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQI Community. There is money to be made, and the color of your money is green or red but if there is discrimination or worse then that will send a signal to not just LGBTQ investors but other American companies that Ghana is less welcoming than I am telling people that it is now, US Ambassador Virginia Palmer said in an interview on Thursday, August 10.

Reacting to this argument, Sam George says he is surprised this is coming from the US Ambassador to Ghana.

He wants the US Ambassador to understand that Ghana remains welcoming and open to American investors as a stable and viable democracy.

He adds in a post on Twitter that Ghana will welcome investors who value the principles of integrity and respect the cultural values of their partners.

Below is the full post of Sam George:

Dear Virginia Palmer, US Ambassador to Ghana, I have seen videos of your comments at the US-Ghana Business Summit.

You have expressed fears that investors from the US would not find Ghana attractive if we as Ghanaians uphold our values and reject the depravity of LGBTQI. I find that really surprising.

Are American investors looking to invest in a Country and with partners who have no values? I thought the basic test of a potential partner is integrity and values? Ghana as you know is very intolerant of religious extremism. Has that made American investors wary of Ghana as an intolerant investment destination?

Let me reassure you and the U.S. Embassy Ghana that Ghana remains welcoming and open to American investors as a stable, viable democracy. We welcome investors who value the principles of integrity and respect the cultural values of their partners.

I am confident it should not be a worry as our intended legislation is NOT different from American laws in states like Florida and Kentucky. I believe the US Supreme Court agrees largely with Ghana's position.

Cheers to a mutually beneficial business relationship between  and the . 
11.08.2023 LISTEN

The Omanhene of Asante Juaben Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region, Nana Dr Appiagyei Dankawoso I, has been announced as the esteemed chief guest of honor for the Inspired Aswel Foundation (IAF) Women Empowerment Summit.

The event is scheduled to be held at the prestigious Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Saturday August 19, 2023.

Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I, known for his dedication to community development and empowerment, brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to the event. As the Omanhene Kyeame of the Asante Juaben Traditional Area, he has been a driving force of numerous initiatives aimed at uplifting the lives of the people in his region.

His vast experience in the private sector and his commitment to advancing the cause of women will be an invaluable resource for the programme according to the organizers.

As the President-General of the West Africa Nobles Forum (WANF) and the immediate past President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I has been at the forefront of advocating for the economic empowerment of women.

He is also a former President of the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) which comprises fifty-four (54) countries and the leader of the Private Sector Council of Ghana.

With his Honorary Doctorate Degree in Financial Management from the Dayspring University - U.S.A., a Masters degree in Financial Management from GIMPA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Cape Coast, Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I is well-equipped to provide guidance and mentorship to the young females who will be participating in the program.

His presence as the special guest underscores the importance of womens empowerment, a cause close to his heart.

In an interview during the launch of the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of IAF, Aswel Annan, expressed great enthusiasm for the involvement of the highly distinguished personality as the chief guest of honor.

He said, we are thrilled to have such a distinguished guest as our chief guest of honor and we look forward to working with him to put women at the centre of our developmental programme.

The Women Empowerment and Training Summit will serve as a platform to inspire, educate, and support women in various aspects of their lives, including entrepreneurship, education, health, and leadership.
Dr Korang addressing the training

11.08.2023 LISTEN

The Marian Conflict Resolution Center (MCRC) of the Catholic University of Ghana (CUG) has opened a five-day professional training on the effective and efficient use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for conflict resolution.

The training, underway at the universitys main campus at Fiapre, near Sunyani, is expected to empower participants drawn from public and private institutions and academia nationwide, with relevant skills and approaches in the use of ADR mechanisms.

This would empower them to become professional mediators, Dr Vida Korang, the Executive Director of the MCRC told the media in an interview on the sidelines of the training.

Established in 2011, she said the center had trained thousands of ADR practitioners and mediators nationwide, who were now competent in handling ADR cases in courts and other institutions.

Dr Korang highlighted the relevance of ADR in conflict resolution, saying mediators and practitioners played an integral role in promoting and sustaining national and global peace.

So, professional training on ADR is really essential to build, strengthen and sustain peace at workplaces, homes and in the society, she said.

The participants would be taken through topics such as understanding conflict, introduction to ADR, mediation and negotiation skills, communication in dispute resolution, mediation ethics, drafting and mediation agreement.

Dr Korang said the topics would further enhance the ability of the mediators in analyzing the stages leading to conflict situations and applied the right approaches and procedures in tackling them.

Professor Daniels Obeng Ofori, the Vice-Chancellor of the CUG, said peace remained essential and a prerequisite for improved job productivity and therefore inspired the participants to take the training seriously to acquire the required skills in conflict resolution.
Fears for Niger's detained president mounted on Friday, a day after West African leaders declared they would muster a "standby" force in their efforts to return him to power.

The European Union and African Union joined the United States and other voices in sounding the alarm for democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on July 26.

"Bazoum and his family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, calling for the leader's immediate restoration to office.

The AU echoed the concern, saying "such treatment of a democratically elected president" was "unacceptable."

New strongman: General Abdourahamane Tiani led the coup against Bazoum on July 26. By - (ORTN - TAlA Sahel/AFP)

A source close to Bazoum said "he's OK, but the conditions are very difficult," adding that the coup leaders had brandished the threat of assaulting him in the event of military intervention.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had spoken to Bazoum, his doctor, his family lawyer, a former communications advisor and a family friend on Wednesday and Thursday.

Bazoum, 63, described the treatment of him, his wife and their 20-year-old son as "inhuman and cruel," HRW said.

"I haven't had electricity since August 2 and no human contact since August 4. I'm not allowed to receive my family members (or) my friends who have been bringing food and other supplies to us," the group quoted him as saying.

Without power, the family has been forced to eat only dry food, and nothing fresh, Bazoum reportedly said.

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," he was quoted as saying. "They've refused to let him get medical treatment."

Intervention warning

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Thursday said the Nigerien military "are holding President Bazoum hostage. I personally think that it's a terrorist act."

The summit agreed on a 'standby force' in the crisis but also stressed hopes for a diplomatic solution. By KOLA SULAIMON (AFP)

Ouattara was speaking on the sidelines of an emergency summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Under pressure to stem a cascade of coups among its members, the bloc approved the deployment of what it called a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger.

The leaders did not provide any details on the force or any timetable for action, and also emphasised that they still wanted a peaceful solution.

Before the closed-door talks, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu -- a hardliner in the crisis -- stressed "we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach".

Coup problems: West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

ECOWAS had previously issued a seven-day ultimatum to the coup leaders to return Bazoum to power.

But the regime defied the deadline, which expired on Sunday without any action being taken.

Troubled region

ECOWAS comprises 15 nations, with Nigeria -- West Africa's most populous nation and economic powerhouse -- the most powerful voice.

Since 1990, the bloc has intervened among six of its members at times of civil war, insurrection or political turmoil.

A supporter of Niger's military regime pictured in Niamey on Thursday. The words mean 'Forwards'. By - (AFP)

But the possibility of intervention in deeply fragile Niger has sparked debate within its ranks and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as Russia.

ECOWAS members Mali and Burkina Faso, both ruled by military governments that seized power in coups, have warned an intervention would be a "declaration of war" on their countries.

Those two countries, along with Guinea, were not represented at the Abuja summit, nor were Niger's coup leaders.

Countries in the western Sahel -- an arid region on the fringes of the Sahel -- are among the poorest and most turbulent nations in the world.

The latest coup is Niger's fifth since the landlocked country gained independence from France.

Like Mali and Burkina Faso, the country is struggling with a brutal jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives, forced many people from their homes and undermined faith in government.

Niger has the misfortune of facing a double jihadist insurgency, both in its southwest and also from militants crossing into the southeast
11.08.2023 LISTEN

Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has admonished the Bank of Ghana (BoG), urging the central bank to be sensitive to the hard times.

Mustapha's comment follows the profligate expenditure of the central banks in 2022.

During Peace FMs Kokrokoo morning show, Salam Mustapha did not entirely condemn the actions of the bank authorities.

However, he expressed concern over certain aspects of the report that saw the central bank incurring GHS60.8billion in 2022.

Specifically, he highlighted the huge allowances paid to the bank's Directors at a time many Ghanaians are grappling with economic difficulties.

"We are in an austerity period. They should be a bit sensitive. When you check the allowances they paid to their Board of Directors and so on and so forth, it wasn't appropriate.

They should be mindful of the times in which we are," Mustapha stated.
A Diaspora Perspective Through a Psychological Lens: Unveiling Abike Dabiri-Erewa's Resilience and the Call for President Tinubu to Leverage Her Global, National, and Domestic Strengths Amidst National Dynamics

In the intricate tapestry of Nigerian politics, one name shines with distinct significance  Abike Dabiri-Erewa. A trailblazing female leader, her journey has been one of resilience, determination, and unwavering commitment to service. As a psychologist observing the diaspora's interactions, it becomes increasingly evident that her contributions should not be overlooked. The call to President Bola Tinubu to recognize her pivotal role amid the complex power dynamics of Nigerian politics is both indispensable and urgent.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa's ascent to prominence has not been without its challenges. She has emerged as a symbol of strength, defying gender biases and societal expectations. Her perseverance in the face of adversities speaks volumes about her character and leadership qualities. From her tenure in the Nigerian House of Representatives to her chairmanship of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Dabiri-Erewa's journey is a testament to her resilience in navigating the male-dominated political arena.

The diaspora community, scattered around the globe, watches closely as Dabiri-Erewa's contributions come to the forefront. As a psychologist, by my observations it is evident that her efforts extend beyond mere political roles; they encompass empowerment, unity, and international engagement. Her involvement in diaspora affairs demonstrates a profound understanding of the complexities faced by Nigerians living abroad. It is a reflection of her empathetic leadership style, resonating deeply with the psychological struggles and aspirations of the diaspora.

However, amidst this backdrop of recognition, there exists a need for President Tinubu to continue to acknowledge her contributions fully. The power dynamics within Nigerian politics are intricate, often overshadowing the achievements of remarkable leaders like Dabiri-Erewa. It is incumbent upon President Tinubu to rise above these dynamics, setting an example of equitable recognition. Her dedication to his political trajectory and her impactful roles in governance deserve more than fleeting acknowledgment.

This call for recognition is not just about Abike Dabiri-Erewa; it's about the message it sends to the nation. By acknowledging her contributions, President Tinubu would be sending a resounding message that leadership is about collaboration, unity, and appreciating diverse perspectives. It would be a demonstration of true statesmanship, setting the stage for a government that values merit and inclusivity above all else.

By way of my diaspora observations, seen through a psychological lens, reveal a remarkable female leader who has weathered storms, shattered barriers, and paved the way for others. The call for President Tinubu to recognize her resilience and contributions is not only a call for justice but also a call for the advancement of Nigerian politics. It's an appeal for a government that treasures its leaders, regardless of gender, and values their collective journey towards progress. As the pages of Nigeria's political future turn, the narrative of recognizing resilience must be etched prominently  a narrative that involves Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the indispensable call for her acknowledgment.

As Nigeria stands at the crossroads of its democratic evolution, the selection of key officials becomes a pivotal moment that shapes the nation's trajectory. In this context, the call to appoint Abike Dabiri-Erewa as a minister emerges not only as a strategic decision but also as a transformative one. I delve deeper into the compelling reasons behind this call, shedding light on how Dabiri-Erewa's extensive experience and unyielding dedication resonate with Nigeria's aspirations for inclusive growth and progressive governance.

Amidst the quest for gender equality and women's empowerment, the need for proactive leadership cannot be overstated. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's journey stands as a testament to her resilience and unflinching commitment in the face of gender-related challenges. By appointing her as a minister, Nigeria would be making a resounding statement that women's voices and leadership are integral to the nation's development. Her presence in a ministerial role would not only inspire young women but also pave the way for substantial policy changes that foster gender equity across various sectors.

From her days as a journalist to her influential roles in politics, Dabiri-Erewa's advocacy for fairness, transparency, and accountability has remained steadfast. Her unwavering commitment to the welfare of Nigerians resonates deeply with the essence of good governance. As a minister, she possesses the unique ability to institutionalize these principles within the government's functioning, ensuring that the needs and aspirations of the citizens remain at the heart of policy decisions.

In the realm of Nigerian politics, the narrative of hard work and dedication can often be overshadowed by the intricate web of power dynamics and influences. A glaring example of this is the case of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a name that not only resonates with political prowess but also echoes the resilience and commitment exhibited in propelling Bola Ahmed Tinubu to power. While her contributions were undeniable in Tinubu's rise, it is disheartening to witness her significance being minimized in the shadows of powerful men.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa's journey through Nigerian politics has been marked by unwavering determination and dedication. As a staunch supporter and key player in Bola Tinubu's political trajectory, she displayed unmatched vigor, traversing the challenging terrain of Nigerian politics. Her efforts went beyond mere participation; they were infused with an unyielding commitment that played a pivotal role in shaping the path to success.

However, the corridors of power often cast intricate patterns that can obscure the luminosity of even the most dedicated individuals. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's tireless commitment during this journey seemed to have earned her recognition, yet the landscape that follows paints a different picture. It is disheartening to witness her being relegated to the periphery, her influence seemingly dwarfed by the looming figures of powerful men.

This scenario brings to light a psychological dimension that is often at play in political dynamics  the selective acknowledgment of efforts. President Tinubu's journey to leadership was undoubtedly a collective endeavor, with Abike Dabiri-Erewa standing as a cornerstone of that collective effort. Disregarding her contributions not only undermines the principles of fairness and recognition but also sends a disconcerting message about the power dynamics within male dominated administrations in Nigeria.

From a psychological perspective, the act of recognizing and acknowledging someone's contributions holds immense value. It not only validates their hard work but also fosters a culture of inclusivity and unity. The oversight of Abike Dabiri-Erewa's efforts inadvertently perpetuates a narrative of exclusion, where those who significantly contributed are brushed aside. This not only breeds resentment but also creates a dissonance between the administration's rhetoric and actions.

In the midst of Nigeria's evolving political landscape, the call for recognition becomes even more crucial. As the country embraces democratic transitions and institutional evolution, the psychology of leadership and governance plays a pivotal role. Acknowledging Abike Dabiri-Erewa's role is not just a matter of symbolism; it holds the potential to reshape the narrative, instilling a sense of unity and empowerment among political allies.

In a world characterized by complex geopolitical dynamics, Nigeria's representation on the global stage requires individuals who can adeptly navigate international relations. Dabiri-Erewa's extensive experience in foreign affairs, including her roles on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, makes her an ideal candidate to represent Nigeria's interests with finesse and diplomacy. Her presence as a minister would not only enhance Nigeria's standing but also forge alliances that contribute to economic growth, technological advancement, and cultural exchange.

President Tinubu stands at a crossroads where he has the opportunity to demonstrate astute leadership by continuously acknowledging Abike Dabiri-Erewa's contributions. This acknowledgment is not merely a gesture; it is a testament to his commitment to valuing merit and fostering an environment where hard work and dedication are acknowledged, regardless of gender. It is a reflection of his willingness to challenge prevailing power dynamics and lead by example.

In the grand tapestry of Nigerian politics, Abike Dabiri-Erewa's story is not one of subservience, but of strength and dedication. Her journey from dedicated participant to an indispensable contributor should be celebrated, not overshadowed. By recognizing her contributions, President Tinubu has the chance to not only rectify an oversight but to pave the way for a more equitable and harmonious political landscape. The resonance of such recognition transcends mere politics; it embodies the essence of leadership that values and empowers every individual who plays a role in shaping the nation's destiny.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa's journey through Nigerian politics has been marked by unwavering determination and dedication. As a staunch supporter and key player in Bola Tinubu's political ascent, she displayed unmatched vigor during the campaign, traversing the challenging terrain of Nigerian politics. Her efforts went beyond mere participation; they were infused with an unyielding commitment that played a pivotal role in shaping the success of the campaign.

However, the corridors of power often cast intricate patterns that can obscure the luminosity of even the most dedicated individuals. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's tireless work during the campaign seemed to have earned her recognition, yet the post-campaign landscape paints a different picture. It is disheartening to witness her being relegated to the periphery, her influence seemingly dwarfed by the looming figures of powerful men.

In the midst of Nigeria's evolving political landscape, the call for recognition becomes even more crucial. As the country embraces democratic transitions and institutional evolution, the psychology of leadership and governance plays a pivotal role. Acknowledging Abike Dabiri-Erewa's role is not just a matter of symbolism; it holds the potential to reshape the narrative, instilling a sense of unity and empowerment among political allies.

In a world characterized by complex geopolitical dynamics, Nigeria's representation on the global stage requires individuals who can adeptly navigate international relations. Dabiri-Erewa's extensive experience in foreign affairs, particularly during her tenure as the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, makes her an ideal candidate to represent Nigeria's interests with finesse and diplomacy. Her presence as a minister would not only enhance Nigeria's standing but also forge alliances that contribute to economic growth, technological advancement, and cultural exchange.

Nigeria's journey as a young democracy is marked by psychological characteristics that reflect a society in transition. The shift from autocracy to democracy brings about changes in societal expectations, leadership views, and governance psychology. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's potential appointment resonates strongly with this psychological narrative because she exhibits a leadership style that aligns with the ambitions of democratic nationalism. Her emphasis on transparency, accountability, and welfare aligns with the aspirations of citizens who yearn for responsive and just governance.

Furthermore, Dabiri-Erewa's own journey, marked by resilience in the face of adversity, presents a psychological archetype of determination and empowerment. Her rise from being a journalist to a prominent political figure symbolizes the collective psyche of a nation striving for progress. Her appointment as a minister would not only serve as a psychological affirmation of the possibilities within Nigeria's democracy but also inspire citizens to actively engage in nation-building.

In the pursuit of Nigeria's transformative journey, the appointment of Abike Dabiri-Erewa as a minister emerges as an imperative. Her unwavering advocacy for gender equality, diplomatic finesse, and diverse skill set harmonize seamlessly with the nation's aspirations for comprehensive development. By entrusting her with a ministerial role, Nigeria can bridge the gap between potential and realization, empowering its citizens to thrive in an environment of inclusive progress. The time is ripe to embrace Dabiri-Erewa's expertise and passion, steering the nation towards a brighter future that embodies the principles of equity, prosperity, and sustainable growth, from both a practical and a psychological standpoint.

The synergy between Bola Tinubu's visionary leadership and Abike Dabiri-Erewa's strategic capabilities has the potential to redefine Nigeria's political landscape. Their shared commitment to progress, effective governance, and gender empowerment could herald an era of transformative change. The collaboration between these two influential figures could yield policies and initiatives that drive economic growth, uplift marginalized communities, and position Nigeria as a formidable force on the global stage.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa is renowned for her relentless fight against corruption and her staunch promotion of government transparency, aligning firmly with the principles of good governance and accountability. Her knowledge and perspectives could complement Bola Tinubu's, potentially making her a valuable addition to the cabinet. As is the case with any political analysis, it remains crucial to consider diverse viewpoints and remain well-informed about the evolving landscape of Nigerian politics. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's notable work within the diaspora and her potential collaboration with experts have the potential to significantly enhance her prospects as a cabinet member. Her engagement with the diaspora and partnership with experts can significantly strengthen her qualifications. Her leadership at the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) underscores her unwavering commitment to engaging with Nigerian communities abroad.

This expertise holds the potential to forge stronger diplomatic relationships, foster increased investment, and facilitate a smoother exchange of information between Nigeria and its global diaspora. Global Networks - Through her extensive work with the diaspora, Dabiri-Erewa has undoubtedly cultivated networks and relationships with Nigerian communities spanning the globe. These connections can form the foundation for mutually beneficial partnerships in areas such as trade, investment, cultural exchange, and technology sharing. In her ministerial role, Dabiri-Erewa could tap into the knowledge of diaspora professionals, scholars, and business leaders. The collective wisdom of these experts can catalyze innovative solutions to address the challenges confronting Nigeria. Skills Transfer and Knowledge Sharing - Dabiri-Erewa's focus on diaspora affairs could encompass initiatives that incentivize skilled Nigerians abroad to contribute to the country's progress. By creating platforms for knowledge exchange, mentoring, and skills transfer, Nigeria could witness substantial improvements across various sectors. Nigerian diaspora professionals and entrepreneurs could play a pivotal role in boosting investment opportunities.

Collaborating with them, Dabiri-Erewa could actively promote investment in critical sectors like technology, infrastructure, healthcare, and agriculture. Her diaspora proficiency uniquely positions her to advance Nigerian culture and heritage on the global stage. By collaborating with cultural experts, she can effectively showcase the country's diverse heritage and establish stronger international cultural bonds. Policy Formulation - Teaming up with experts in economics, international relations, and relevant fields, Dabiri-Erewa can help shape policies that harness the diaspora's potential for national growth. Strategies encompassing talent retention, remittances, and sustainable partnerships could emerge. Advocating for the Rights of the Diaspora - Dabiri-Erewa's consistent advocacy for the welfare of Nigerians abroad demonstrates her unwavering dedication to their interests. This advocacy could extend to guaranteeing fair treatment, addressing grievances, and providing essential support for Nigerians living abroad. Abike Dabiri-Erewa's comprehensive grasp of diaspora affairs and her collaborative endeavors with experts could substantially elevate Nigeria's global standing and domestic progress. An effectively orchestrated approach, harnessing the collective expertise and resources of the diaspora community, holds the promise of yielding positive outcomes for both the nation and its expatriate citizens.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a distinguished Nigerian politician, journalist, and expert in diaspora affairs, emerges as a prominent name demanding attention. Her achievements and dedication mark her as a potential candidate for a ministerial role. Born on October 10, 1962, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, Dabiri-Erewa pursued English studies at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and St. Teresa's College, Ibadan. Further enhancing her qualifications, she obtained a masters degree in mass communication from the University of Lagos, coupled with executive education from Harvard Kennedy School. As Nigeria and its President stand at a pivotal juncture, the need for Abike Dabiri-Erewa's expertise has never been more apparent. This need extends beyond her accomplishments; it's about recognizing her resilience and embracing her potential.
Sacks of onions sent to various onion markets in the Ashanti Region have gone bad due to days of border closure in Benin, which delayed the movement of the goods.

Over 500 sacks of onions that were offloaded from trucks have turned bad, and onion sellers are counting their losses.

The rotten onions are either being disposed of or sold to retailers at reduced prices.

At the Anloga Onion markets, a sack of onion which was sold at GH1,300 is now being sold as low as GH100.

One of the truck drivers, Seidu Sule, said in an interview with Citi News that the trucks carrying goods, including foodstuffs, were stuck at the Benin border for days due to the political tension in Niger, which resulted in the closure.

We spent ten days at the Benin border, so the onions have turned bad. Onions start to go bad within four days. The Ghana Ambassador came to intervene, which is why we were allowed to pass through the border, but it was too late. We have lost a lot of money. About 220 bags of onions have all gone bad.

The onion sellers say the losses incurred are running into millions of Ghanaian cedis.

Sadness has befallen us. When you are approaching the market, you will smell the scent of the onions that have gone bad. This is due to our inability to reach here on time as a result of the closure of the border. We cant calculate the amount lost as it stands now. An onion bag that used to be sold at GHS1,300 is now five bags being sold at GH150. We dont know what we are going to do. We are calling on the government to come to our aid because its affecting us. We pay taxes.

Another onion seller lamented, Im now selling a bag of onion for GH100, GH200, GH500. We have sent some to the refuse dump. I will not even get my principal, not to talk about my profits. We even sent money for additional trucks when we heard that the border was opened. And here we are with so much loss.

Soldiers in the West African country of Niger announced a coup on national television on July 27.

They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, and closed the nations borders.

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was held by troops from the presidential guard.

On August 7, the coup leaders closed the countrys airspace until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from their neighbors.

The West African group of countries, ECOWAS, had earlier warned that it could use force if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated by 23:00 GMT on Sunday.

A junta spokesman says Nigers armed forces are ready to defend the country.

-citinewsroom
A Deputy Minister of Education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has dismissed reports that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is going to be cancelled.

There has not been any discussion or policy to terminate BECE today or tomorrow, the notion should be disregarded, he stressed.

Rev Ntim Fordjour made this known after interacting with some BECE candidates at the St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School in Accra.

The 2023 BECE started on Monday, August 7 and scheduled to end on Friday, August 11.

Accompanied by the Greater Accra Director of Education, Stephen Bamfo, to visit candidates, the Assin South Member of Parliament said the West African Examination Council (WAEC) remains our partner in education development.

We will keep resourcing WAEC so it would continue to discharge its mandate as required of them.

He recounted the supportive role WAEC has played over the years towards the development of education in the country, indicating, once in a while, we remit them depending on their needs and the programme they are running.

The Deputy Minister lamented the few isolated infractions at certain examination centres across the country which he described as very unfortunate.

He stated that those involved would be dealt with to serve as a deterrence to others.

Rev Ntim Fordjour assured candidates that there are available space in the over 900 senior high schools (SHS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions once they pass.

-3news.com
Ghana Police Service has mourned the death of one of its most trusted and beloved horses, P/H Corporal Queen Mother.

This majestic horse, which passed away on Tuesday, August 8, has featured in major state ceremonies like Independence Parades, State of the Nation Address and graduation of Cadet Officers.

According to a statement from the Service, the bond with P/H Corporal Queen Mother extended beyond duty with the horse becoming a beloved member of the police family.

It is said to have become a crowd favourite at public events with its imposing presence and dignified demeanour, evoking a sense of pride and respect.

 As the Ghana Police Service mourns the loss of its distinguished horse, it also celebrates the invaluable contributions it made to the Service and the nation as a whole, the police said in its statement on Wednesday, August 9.

The legacy of this remarkable horse will continue to inspire and remind Ghanaians of the unwavering commitment and dedication that define the nations law enforcement agency.

In honour of its contributions to the service, P/H Corporal Queen Mother has been posthumously promoted to the rank of a Sergeant.

P/H Corporal Queen Mother, now P/H Sergeant Queen Mother left behind three offspring, the youngest being two weeks old.

-3news.com
Minority Chief Whip Kwame Agbodza has fired back at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) over the reasons given for the construction of the new headquarters.

He told TV3s Komla Kluste that The $250m cost of the new BoG headquarters opposite Ridge Hospital can pay more than Half of the Cocoa Road Contractors.

The BoG justified the construction of a new building to serve as its new headquarters in Accra.

The central bank explained in a statement on Wednesday, August 9 a structural integrity assessment conducted by the BoG revealed that the current BoG Head Office building, built by the Nkrumah Government in the early 1960s, is no longer fit for purpose and could not stand any major earth tremors.

The outcome of the structural integrity work was that the main building does not satisfy the full complement of excess strength required for a building to be considered safe for usage. This means that in the case of a worst-case gravity and wind loading scenario, for example, unusually strong wind, the building may be significantly affected.

The building also does not have the required strength to withstand the expected imposed significant earthquake loads that would be expected to occur in the Accra area. Based on the above, and looking at the strategic objective of positioning Ghana as the financial hub of the sub-region, with prospects of a potential Headquarters for a future regional Central Bank.

The Board and Management of the Bank considered a new Head Office building as the most important priority project to support the operational efficiency of the Bank, and also position the Bank of Ghana in a very good position to be the host of the regional Central Bank as we currently host the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) of the sub-region.

This statement was on the back of the revelation by the Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson that the BoG was spending $250 million to put up a new head office at time the Bank is in financial difficulties.

Dr Forson accused the Governor of printing money to finance this project because the BoG has no money.

The Bank of Ghana does not have money but spending $250million for a new head office, which means he is printing additional money to finance this project, Dr Forson said.

He further gave the Governor and his two deputies up to 21 days starting Tuesday, August 8 to resign after indicating that the governor just prints cash to support the government's spending.

We have to get this Governor out and let us have a new Governor. If we allow him to stay in the office, we will set bad precedence for future managers to do the same, he said at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, August 8.

Dr Forson stressed, He has messed us so much that we cannot wait to see his back.

We demand the immediate resignation of the Governor and his deputies within 21 days. We will march to occupy the central bank to save the Bank of Ghana if he fails to reign. The March will ensure accountability, he said.

-3news.com
A private legal practitioner, Mr. Martin Kpebu has revealed that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has frozen two bank accounts of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

This forms part of an investigation into the circumstances that led to the former government appointee keeping such huge amount of money in her home.

Speaking in an interview on Hot Edition on 3FM, Wednesday, Mr. Kpebu said, what I am hearing is that they have found $5million in her account and GHC48m in another.

Madam Cecilia Dapaah tendered her resignation in a letter to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Saturday, July 22 barely 24 hours after news of some foreign cash stolen from her bedroom came to light.

I intend to cooperate fully with all the state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts, she assured in her letter.

I have no doubt that at the end of the processes it will be established that I have conducted myself with integrity during my period in public service and I will be fully exonerated from all the allegations, she further said.

Madam Cecilia Dapaah was said to have kept $1 million, 300,000 and millions of undisclosed Ghana Cedis at home.

These monies were allegedly stolen by two house helps, for which they are standing trial at an Accra Circuit Court.

Later, the Attorney-General asked the Police to investigate the ownership of the US$200,000 and 300,000 stolen from the home of the Former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

This was after the A-G said Madam Abena Dapaah did not mention the owner of the cash.

The A-G in its advice on the money stolen from Madam Dapaah said that [She] stated in her initial complaint that $800,000 belonged to her deceased brother and GHC300,000 of contribution towards her mother's funeral contained in a box and a bag respectively were stolen. This is confirmed by Henry Osei Kwabena who told the police on 4th July 2023, that he brought the box of money to her sister for safekeeping.

"This notwithstanding, it is important for the police to conduct independent investigations into these assertions to ascertain the following:

"i. The true ownership of the amount of US$800,000. ii. The source(s) from which the established owner of the amount of US$800,000 acquired the money. iii. Whether the accused actually stole the full amount of US$800,000 from the house of the complainants.

-3news.com
11.08.2023 LISTEN

A governance expert, Professor Baffuor Agyeman-Duah has slammed Akufo-Addo's government for failing to address corruption in his administration.

According to Mr. Agyeman-Duah, the president hardly condemns his own appointees who have allegedly been implicated in corrupt-related activities.

He acknowledges that though the government has set up organizations like the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to combat corruption, the government must boldly punish appointees who engage in the act.

Speaking in an interview on TV3 on Thursday on the Cecilia Abena Dapaah scandal, Prof. Agyeman-Duah stated, under this government, the public has not seen any substantive statements and policies towards addressing corruption. Of course, we are aware of the establishment of certain institutions to fight corruption, but when it comes to human behaviors and actions, we hardly ever hear official condemnation or rebuke and truly this particular case is yet to be resolved.

His remarks follow OSP's confirmation that $590,000 and GH2.73 million were discovered in Cecilia Dapaah's home during a search at Abelemkpe, Accra.

This was confirmed in a writ filed at an Accra High Court by the OSP on Tuesday, August 8.

The case has been moved to be heard on Thursday, August 17.
Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a Governance lecturer at Central University has slammed the Bank of Ghana (BoG) following the GHS60.8 billion loss it incurred last year.

The Minority held a press briefing dubbed "Moment of Truth" on Tuesday, August 9 2023 demanding the heads of the Governor of the BoG and his deputies for the profligate expenditure.

The Minority called for the resignation of Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, along with his deputies in a 21-day ultimatum.

They even threatened to stage a protest in front of the bank if their demand are not met.

Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, disclosed during the event that "the Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout."

The Minority leader attributed these losses to the alleged mismanagement and recklessness of the current Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, claiming that such actions have affected the country's economy.

He stated, "This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities.

They also raised concerns about the negative equity of over GHS 55.1 billion, indicating a dire financial situation for the bank.

"The bank has also recorded a negative equity of over GHS 55.1 billion. What this simply means is that the Bank of Ghana is insolvent. In other words, the once prestigious Bank of Ghana, the mother of all banks in Ghana, has been bankrupted and collapsed by this NPP economic management team led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the complicity of the Governor of the Central Bank," Dr. Ato Forson said.

Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, sharing his views on the matter during an interview on Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show, voiced his disappointment with the situation.

"They should put their things in order; what's going on is not proper...They should do their job well because you have a very huge task.

Your regulatory and supervisory aspects are not going well," Dr. Otchere-Ankrah emphasized.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revoked the permit of Non-Ferus Metal company in Tema East and shut it down due to its environmental violations.

This happened today, Friday, August 11, 2023, when the Executive Director of the EPA, Dr Henry Kokofu led a taskforce to enforce EPAs regulations on environmental hazards.

He revealed that the Non-Ferus Metal company polluted the environment at night and lacked safety measures for workers, exposing them to acidic substances and lead.

Interacting with the staff of the company, Dr Kokofu assured the staff that the move was for their good and was also to allow for further investigations into the companys operations.

All that we are saying is that we are here to ensure the safety of the environment and the health of the people including your officers and employers. We are not here to mar anybodys business, but we cannot allow this magnitude of pollution to go on. You the workers are being subjected to and exposed to hazards You are so precious to the country Ghana, you are sons of Ghana. You deserve to work in a very congenial environment. We are afraid that you might have been exposed to substances like lead, so we are going to bring in the public health to test each one of you at the expense of the company to ensure that none of you is having any health issues.

Again we will temporarily close down the factory and summon the owners to the head office in Accra to come and explain why they are working under these conditions, and then we will prescribe what needs to be done. Once they are able to do it, we allow them to do it. We are not going to allow operations in this situation. It is dangerous for your health and the environment so kindly cooperate with us in this direction, he stated.

-citinewsroom
A Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has expressed shock over the push for Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to be changed as running mate for NDC's flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama.

Reports suggest that the likes of business mogul, Sam Jonah, former deputy chief of staff, Dr Valerie Sawyerr, founder of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah and former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, stand the chance of replacing Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang as running mate.

But in an interview with Citi News, the Political Science Lecturer, Dr Asah-Asante indicated that even though the individuals who are being mentioned are also qualified, Professor Opoku-Agyemang stands tall among them.

The names that we have heard are all credible, Mr Mahama will be able to pick and pick the right person to lead the party. But Im so surprised that people want Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang out, shes a very important material, shes somebody who has seen it all, and shes someone who has what it takes to partner Mr Mahama. Apart from her, there are other good materials who can also do the work.

They said she couldnt match up with then running mate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in what sense? That they were discussing economic issues and Professor Naana Jane Opoku -Agyemang couldnt articulate clearly some of the issues.

Who is more knowledgeable than the professor? That she cant learn anything, I challenge those people. The woman is worth her salt, and she can understand any subject. You dont need an economist, we saw Dr Bawumia/Akufo-Addo combination and the economic results are here for us to see, Dr Asah-Asante stated.

Former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah in a statement dated August 9, dissociated himself from speculations that he's being considered as a running mate to the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress.

However, the party says the flagbearer is yet to make that appointment in consultation with the National Executive Committee and its Council of Elders.

-citinewsroom
The ongoing investigation into the sources of uncovered monies belonging to former Minister for Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah has taken a dramatic turn as significant amounts of money have been uncovered in her residence.

Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak said Ghanaians are now eagerly awaiting the source of the huge sums of money uncovered.

Searches conducted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) at Cecilia Dapaah's Abelemkpe residence have uncovered some $590,000.00 and GHC2,730,000.

The OSP has taken swift action to freeze her bank accounts, which hold revealed some huge sums in both dollars and cedis.

In reaction to the revelations, Dr. Clement Apaak, the Builsa South lawmaker, said "Ghanaians are anxiously waiting to hear the source of these gargantuan sums, plus the $590k, gh2.7M from her other house, and the $1million, 300k, GHS350k stolen."

He continued, According to reports by Joy FM, the frozen accounts under OSP's scrutiny belong to various banks, including Prudential Bank, with a balance of $5 million and GH48 million, and SGSSB, with GH1 million and GH700,000.

Following the speculation and media frenzy, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) issued a statement clarifying that it has not disclosed any information or details regarding the amount of money in the frozen bank accounts of Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

The OSP emphasized that the information circulating in the media about purported bank balances should be disregarded.

The OSP urges the public to disregard media accounts on purported bank balances reported to have been disclosed by the OSP, the OSP stated.
Carlos Ahenkorah, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Tema West, has said he doesn't regret snatching ballots papers during the vote-counting process for the speakership elections on January 7, 2021.

According to Mr. Ahenkorah, the majority of his colleague's MPs hailed his action during and after the incident.

In an interview with Kumasi's Oyerepa FM, he said his decision to snatch the ballots papers was due to his undying passion, dedication, and allegiance to the party.

A lot of my colleagues did not understand why I snatched the ballots but today they turn to hail me. A lot of them say if they knew that things were going to be so tough in parliament as we experience today, what happened to you would have happened to you. A whole party, NDC parliamentarians mostly oppose our policies in parliament with the support of the Speaker of Parliament. How is that possible?

So what happened there was my dedication and commitment to NPP and my loyalty. Even though I dont think Im going to do it again, I don't regret doing it, Carlos Ahenkorah stated.

On January 7, 2021, there was drama in Parliament when Carlos Ahenkorah, snatched some ballot papers and attempted to flee from the Chamber of Parliament.

It all started when the Tema West MP, who was not involved in the process of counting the ballots, sensed that Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, the speaker chosen by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was losing the race to Alban Bagbin, the nominee for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Hon. Ahenkorah snatched uncounted ballot papers in the Speaker of Parliament elections and attempted to bolt with them.

But the security detail inside the House accosted him when he attempted to flee.
An International Diplomatic Consultant, Al-Wahab Farouk has questioned the existence of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), insisting that the body has no right to invade Niger.

Following a meeting by ECOWAS on Thursday, August 10, an order was issued for a standby force to get ready to embark on an operation in Niger to oust the military junta to restore democratic rule.

Speaking to Asempa FM on the Ekosii sen programme on Friday, August 11, International Diplomatic Consultant Al-Wahab Farouk described ECOWAS as a joke.

He questioned why ECOWAS did not attempt to send soldiers to Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso after coups in those countries recently but all of a sudden it wants to attack Niger.

Arguing on the Economic Charter of ECOWAS which talks about providing help to countries in distress, Al-Wahab Farouk slammed the body for failing to help Ghana during its economic crisis.

About a year ago a country called Ghana, we were on our begging knees for $3 billion from IMF. We have an ECOWAS with its second charter talking about 'Economic' which is to support and help each other. Nigeria couldnt get $3 billion for Ghana to stop begging, Togo, Ivory Coast and the others didnt get $3 billion for Ghana. These are the countries making up ECOWAS who want to go to war.

You couldnt get $3 billion for Ghana, a founding member and you want to go to war. So realistically ECOWAS does not have the existing powers to attack Niger, Al-Wahab Farouk argued.

The International Diplomatic Consultant is convinced that although ECOWAS can continue to issue threats of an impending raid of Niger, it cannot go ahead with any operation because among other things no member state will commit funds to such a military intervention.

Ghana knows that the warning from ECOWAS cannot happen. ECOWAS does not have that power in terms of realities to put together a team, call it a mobile force, call it a military, whatever to go to Niger. They know first and foremost that they cant do it.

For some of us, we know the talk can go on, the big talk can happen, the warnings can take place but realistically they know its not possible. The organization ECOWAS does not exist. It is only the name that exists, International Diplomatic Consultant Al-Wahab Farouk opined.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has warned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to dare send Ghanaian soldiers to Niger for any military intervention of ECOWAS.
11.08.2023 LISTEN

Like education, as enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal no.4 of the United Nations, health plays a pivotal role in the economic growth and development of a country and the strategic well-being of its people. Liberia as a country has faced numerous challenges, including a devastating civil war, the Ebola outbreak, the Covid-19 pandemic, and several communicable and non-communicable diseases which shattered the economy and surrendered the country to a vulnerable shock.

The countrys healthcare sector was plagued by major factors which collectively undermined its ability to provide quality health services to the Liberian people, thereby resulting in increased mortality rates, hindrance to socioeconomic development, and limited access to essential healthcare.

However, inheriting an under-resourced and deteriorated healthcare sector which was characterized by weak health policies and governance, insufficient investment, inadequate health infrastructure, President George Weah's administration has made consequential efforts to improve Liberia's healthcare system, stemming from infrastructure development, quality of care, healthcare accessibility to health education campaign and response to public health emergencies.

Meanwhile, these are some of the important determinants that have announced the health sector of the Weahs administration to the world as progressive in a five-year period of unhindered growth, development, and macroeconomic prosperity. Digging deep into these, President Weahs Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, the governments ardent development mantra, recognized the need for modern facilities and equipment, and invested in the construction and renovation of numerous healthcare facilities across the country  the construction of the 14 Military Hospital in Margibi County, the 100-bedroom Emirates Hospital in Gbarpolu County, and several other medical facilities around the country.

The government succeeded in building a resilient healthcare system that resulted in increased access to essential healthcare services, decreased mortality rates, and increased productivity of the population. This step has boosted the countrys progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. When Donors Health Pool dried up, the government added 2,500 health workers to the payroll, regularized and increased salaries for 500 supplementary workers, increased doctors monthly salaries from US$700 to US$2,000, and provided specialist training for more than nineteen medical doctors.

This phenomenon gave rise to competitive wages, improved working conditions, and sufficient professional development opportunities in the sector, resulting in a significant increase in the number of medical doctors, nurses, and other critical healthcare personnel. The government also prioritized the refurbishment of major hospitals, such as the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, which has been equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and facilities including the dialysis center and first-ever DNA testing machine. These infrastructure improvements have enhanced the capacity of the healthcare system to provide quality healthcare services to its citizens.

President Weah's administration has demonstrated a commitment to improving healthcare accessibility for all Liberians. One notable initiative is the establishment of rural health centers, which aim to bring healthcare services closer to remote areas. Through this initiative, healthcare services, including maternal and child health, immunization, and basic healthcare, have become more accessible to those living in remote regions. Additionally, efforts have been made to strengthen the primary healthcare system, ensuring that basic healthcare services are available to all citizens, regardless of their location or financial status.

President Weah's government has implemented various health education campaigns to raise awareness about prevalent health issues, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and malnutrition. These campaigns have involved community outreach programs, radio and television broadcasts, and the distribution of educational materials. By prioritizing health education, the government has empowered the population to make informed decisions regarding their health, leading to improved health outcomes and reduced disease burden.

The government has prioritized the training and recruitment of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and midwives. Efforts have been made to improve the working conditions and remuneration of healthcare workers, which has not only boosted morale but also increased the retention of skilled professionals within the country. This investment in human resources has positively impacted the quality of healthcare services and contributed to the overall progress of the healthcare sector.

For example, the government sent more than 40 medical doctors in developed nations around the world for specialized training so as to enhance the system and contribute to a more revamped healthcare system in Liberia. When countries witnessed and experienced global shock of the Covid-19 pandemic that ravished developed economies, Liberias health sector proved its resilience and proactiveness in the fight against the virus by instituting strong health policies and governance through the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia.

The country witness its first Rapid Antigen Testing at the Roberts International Airport and other parts of the capital city and the government was successful in vaccinating 71% of the countrys total population, placing Liberia at 3rd best performing country in West Africa and 7th in Africa in the first against Covid-19. At the time, the government provided advanced home-based specialist training for 101 doctors. These massive efforts made by the government led to the improvement in the working conditions and remuneration of healthcare workers and increased the retention of skilled professionals within the country. This investment in human resources has positively impacted the quality of healthcare services and contributed to the overall progress of the healthcare sector under President Weahs leadership.

Though challenges still persist including the need for sustained funding, President George Weah's administration has made commendable strives to improve the Liberian healthcare sector. Major progress has been achieved in various aspects of the healthcare system through infrastructure development, healthcare accessibility initiatives, health education campaigns, and investments in human resources. The government has deemed it crucial to continue prioritizing the healthcare sector to ensure sustained progress and improve the overall health and well-being of the Liberian people.
Thousands of coup supporters rallied near a French military base in Niger on Friday, a day after West African leaders said they would muster a "standby" force in their efforts to reinstate the country's deposed leader.

Fears also mounted for elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on July 26, with reports saying his detention conditions were deteriorating.

Protesters near the base on the outskirts of the capital Niamey shouted "down with France, down with ECOWAS", a reference to the West African bloc which on Thursday approved deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order".

Many brandished Russian and Niger flags and yelled their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France," said one demonstrator, Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a students' union.

Former colonial power France has around 1,500 personnel in Niger as part of a force battling an eight-year-old jihadist insurgency.

It is facing growing hostility across the Sahel, withdrawing its anti-jihadist forces from neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso last year after falling out with military governments that ousted elected leaders.

Niger's new leaders scrapped defence agreements with France last week, while a hostile protest outside the French embassy in Niamey on July 30 prompted Paris to evacuate its citizens.

Fears for Bazoum

The European Union and African Union joined others in sounding the alarm for Bazoum on Friday.

President Mohamed Bazoum took office in 2021 -- his election marked Niger's first peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960. By Issouf SANOGO (AFP/File)

"Bazoum and his family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Bazoum's reported detention conditions "could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law."

The AU echoed the concern, saying "such treatment of a democratically elected president" was "unacceptable".

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that the "coup plotters must face harsh consequences should anything happen" to Bazoum or his family.

A source close to Bazoum said "he's OK, but the conditions are very difficult," adding that the coup leaders had brandished the threat of assaulting him in the event of military intervention.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had spoken to Bazoum earlier this week. The 63-year-old described the treatment of him, his wife and their 20-year-old son as "inhuman and cruel", HRW said.

The summit agreed on a 'standby force' in the crisis but also stressed hopes for a diplomatic solution. By KOLA SULAIMON (AFP)

"I'm not allowed to receive my family members (or) my friends who have been bringing food and other supplies to us," the group quoted him as saying.

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," he was quoted as saying. "They've refused to let him get medical treatment."

Intervention warning

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday approved the deployment of what it called a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger following an emergency summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Chiefs of staff from ECOWAS members will meet on Saturday in Ghana's capital Accra, regional military sources said on Friday.

The leaders did not provide any details on the force or any timetable for action, and emphasised they still wanted a peaceful solution.

Under pressure to stem a cascade of coups among its members, ECOWAS had previously issued a seven-day ultimatum to the coup leaders to return Bazoum to power.

But the regime defied the deadline, which expired on Sunday without any action being taken.

Troubled region

Since 1990, the 15-country bloc has intervened among six of its members at times of civil war, insurrection or political turmoil.

Coup problems: West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

But the possibility of intervention in deeply fragile Niger has sparked debate within its ranks and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as Russia.

Moscow on Friday said a military solution "could lead to a protracted confrontation" in Niger and "a sharp destabilisation" across the Sahel.

Military-ruled ECOWAS members Mali and Burkina Faso have warned an intervention would be a "declaration of war" on their countries.

Countries in the arid western Sahel region are among the world's poorest and most turbulent nations.

New strongman: General Abdourahamane Tiani led the coup against Bazoum on July 26. By - (ORTN - TAlA Sahel/AFP)

The latest coup is Niger's fifth since the landlocked country gained independence from France in 1960.

Like Mali and Burkina Faso, the country is struggling with a brutal jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives, forced many people from their homes and undermined faith in government.
ASA Savings and Loans Limited has made a donation to support the operations of Pantang Psychiatric Hospital.

The donation done through the Madina branch of the Savings and Loans company has seen the outfit spending thousands of cedis to provide valuable items to the hospital.

Items donated include three sets of digital pressure monitors, five pieces of one-and-half bed size mattresses with mackintosh covers, five sets of bedsheets, five packs of surgical gloves, two packs of A4 sheets l, three gallons of disinfectant, as well as three gallons of detergent.

Receiving the items on behalf of Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, Madam Gloria Lasisi who is the Senior Nursing Officer of the facility said the hospital which is located in the Ga East Municipality provides services to psychiatric and medical out-patients, as well as psychiatric in-patients.

According to her, Pantang Psychiatric Hospital lacks a lot of equipment and needs the help of other organisations and individuals.

As a facility, we lack a lot of equipment to enable us to deliver services efficiently. We reached out to ASA and thankfully they came to our aid. We hope other benevolent individuals and organizations will emulate this assistance and do the same to help improve healthcare delivery nationwide, Madam Gloria Lasisi said.

Speaking during the presentation of the items, Madam Patience Abla Nsatimba added that the Hospital is grateful to ASA Savings and Loans for this kind gesture and prayed for more support in the near future.

On his part, the Area Manager of ASA at Madina, Mr. Godson Adzafi assured the staff and clients of Pantang Psychiatric Hospital of continued support.

He noted that the presentation of items forms part of the companys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

Mr. Richard Nartey, CSR Manager of the Savings and Loans company admonished the management of the facility to put to good use the donated items, so as to mitigate the challenges the facility faces.
12.08.2023 LISTEN

Mr James Awula, the Assembly Member for the Bankpama Electoral Area in the Wa West District has appealed to the District Chief Executive (DCE) to facilitate the establishment of an immigration checkpoint at the Bankpama community.

He said that had become necessary following the construction of a road linking Bankpama, a border community along the Black Volta to the district capital, Wechiau, which could serve as a route for unscrupulous people from Burkina Faso to enter Ghana.

The road linking the Yiziiri community on the Dorimon-Wechiau stretch through the Bankpama community to the Black Volta is being constructed under the European Union (EU) 35 million feeder and farm access roads project.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Bankpama, Mr Awula commended the government and the EU for giving a facelift to that road, which he said would improve economic activities, especially farming in the area.

The EU provided a grant of 35million to the government for the rehabilitation and maintenance of 670km of feeder and farm access roads in the Upper West Region aimed at improving interconnectivity between areas of agricultural production and market centres.

Mr Awula, however, said, Because we are on the border, we are afraid that now that the road has been opened these bad people will want to cross over into the community through that road.

Violent extremist activities in neighbouring Burkina Faso had posed a security threat to Ghana with the Ghana government taking steps to avoid the infiltration of those extremist groups into the country.

The Assembly Member also appealed to the DCE and the Wa West Health Directorate to consider upgrading the Bankpama Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) facility to a Health Centre to improve the quality of health service delivery at that facility.

He explained that people from neighbouring communities in Burkina Faso accessed health care services from that facility and that upgrading it to Health Centre would be of great service to the patients visiting the facility.

Because it is a border community, many people come there for healthcare service. So I have written letters to the District Assembly requesting that it should be upgraded to a Health Centre, Mr Awula intimated.

He indicated that the community had initiated a process to construct a maternity ward at the Bankpama CHPS to enhance maternal healthcare service delivery and appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to assist the community to complement the project.

We have finished with the building but we don't have the financial strength to roof it, so we are appealing to the DCE and the Member of Parliament, Peter Lanchene Toobu and any other person who is touched by God to come to our aid else now that the rain has started it will collapse if we don't roof it early, Mr Awula said.

GNA
The African Union, European Union and United Nations expressed concern on Friday over the detention of Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his military guard on 26 July. He has been held at the presidential palace ever since, where he is reportedly cut off from basic supplies and health care.

Reports point to "a worrying deterioration" in the conditions of Bazoum's detention, the AU warned.

"Such treatment of a democratically elected president through a regular electoral process is unacceptable," said a statement from the chair of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The EU also called for Bazoum to be released immediately and unconditionally.

"Bazoum and his family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.

'Inhuman and cruel'

Human Rights Watch said that it had spoken to Bazoum this week, who reported that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor.

The president said he has not had electricity for nearly 10 tdays and is not allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the residence.

Bazoum, 63, described the treatment as inhuman and cruel, HRW said.

The coup leaders are seeking to pressure Bazoum into signing a resignation letter, his daughter Zazia Bazoum, who is in France, told The Guardian newspaper.

She said the family has limited food to eat without a refrigerator and each of them has lost weight.

"This is torture, they make life very difficult for them," she said.

The UN's human rights chief, Volker Turk, said in a statement that the conditions in which Bazoum is being held with his wife and son could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law.

Threatened with death

Sources told RFI that the junta has threatened to execute Bazoum if the Western African bloc Ecowas attempts to reverse the coup by force.

The threat was also relayed to a US diplomat who visited Niger earlier this week, the Associated Press reported.

Ecowas is gathering a standby force from neighbouring countries in readiness for a possible military intervention in Niger, which it says would be a last resort.

The bloc gave the order to activate the force after emergency talks on Thursday. It is expected to hold another summit on Saturday to discuss further details.
Two pregnant women, and a nursing mother were among the candidates who wrote the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the Keta Senior High Technical School Examination Centre and Kedzi Zion school centres respectively.

Reverend David Kofi Dzikunu, the Supervisor at Ketabusco examination center, in an engagement with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), disclosed that a total of 224 candidates were present out of 225.

Other examination centers including Ketasco also recorded two absentees with two pregnant candidates for the examinations.

Madam Patience Dogbey, the supervisor at Kedzi Zion Examination Centre, expressed satisfaction with the preparations and arrangements for the just ended exercise.

Mr Emmanuel Gemegah, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Keta, during a tour to the various examination centers, called on the candidates to produce excellent grades.

Being pregnant does not deprive one of pursuing her goals and setting targets in education, he stated.

Mr Gemegah urged the security personnel and all invigilators at the various centers to perform their duties with the needed level of professionalism.

Mr Ferdinand Amuzu, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Education Service at Keta, on his part, said all the necessary arrangements were put in place for a successful experience.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,524 candidates are participating in this years examination drawn from 47 schools and placed at seven examination centers in the Keta Municipality.

The exercise, which commenced on Monday, August 7, ended Friday, August 11, 2023

GNA
West African nations on Friday suspended a key military meeting on the crisis in Niger, a day after saying they would muster a "standby" force in their bid to reinstate the country's deposed leader.

Fears also mounted for elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on July 26, with reports saying his detention conditions were deteriorating.

Chiefs of staff from West African ECOWAS bloc countries were set to attend a meeting on Saturday in Ghana's capital Accra, regional military sources had said on Friday.

But they later said that it had been suspended indefinitely for "technical reasons".

The sources said the meeting was originally set up to inform the organisation's leaders about "the best options" for activating and deploying the standby force.

Many protesters brandished Russian and Niger flags. By - (AFP)

ECOWAS has yet to provide details on the force or a timetable for action, and the leaders have emphasised they still want a peaceful solution.

The last-minute cancellation came as thousands of coup supporters rallied near a French military base in Niger on Friday.

Protesters near the base on the outskirts of the capital Niamey shouted "down with France, down with ECOWAS".

Niger's new leaders have accused ex-colonial power France, a close Bazoum ally, of being behind the hardline ECOWAS stance against the coup.

Many brandished Russian and Niger flags and shouted their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

Some shouted their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani. By - (AFP)

"We are going to make the French leave! ECOWAS isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France," said one demonstrator, Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a students' union.

France has around 1,500 personnel in Niger as part of a force battling an eight-year jihadist insurgency.

It is facing growing hostility across the Sahel, withdrawing its anti-jihadist forces from neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso last year after falling out with military governments that ousted elected leaders.

Niger's new leaders scrapped defence agreements with France last week, while a hostile protest outside the French embassy in Niamey on July 30 prompted Paris to evacuate its citizens.

Fears for Bazoum

The European Union and African Union (AU) joined others in sounding the alarm for Bazoum on Friday.

"Bazoum and his family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Bazoum's reported detention conditions "could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law".

There is increasing concern over the conditions in which deposed president Mohamed Bazoum is being held. By Issouf SANOGO (AFP/File)

The AU said "such treatment of a democratically elected president" was "unacceptable".

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that the "coup plotters must face harsh consequences should anything happen" to Bazoum or his family.

A source close to Bazoum said "he's OK, but the conditions are very difficult". The coup leaders had threatened to assault him in the event of military intervention, the source added.

Coup problems: West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

Human Rights Watch said it had spoken to Bazoum earlier this week. The 63-year-old described the treatment of himself, his wife and their 20-year-old son as "inhuman and cruel", HRW said.

"I'm not allowed to receive my family members (or) my friends who have been bringing food and other supplies to us," the group quoted him as saying.

"My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor," he was quoted as saying. "They've refused to let him get medical treatment."

Under pressure to stem a cascade of coups among its members, ECOWAS had previously issued a seven-day ultimatum to the coup leaders to return Bazoum to power.

But they defied the deadline, which expired on Sunday without any action being taken.

The coup leaders have since named a new government, which met for the first time on Friday.

Troubled region

Since 1990, the 15-country bloc has intervened among six of its members at times of civil war, insurrection or political turmoil.

But the possibility of intervention in deeply fragile Niger has sparked debate within its ranks and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as from Russia.

Moscow, whose influence in the region has grown, said a military solution "could lead to a protracted confrontation" in Niger and "a sharp destabilisation" across the Sahel.

The president of ECOWAS member Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves, spoke out against a military intervention on Friday and said his country was unlikely to participate in such a campaign.

Military-ruled ECOWAS nations Mali and Burkina Faso have warned an intervention would be a "declaration of war" on their countries.

General Salifou Mody, Niger's new defence minister, made a brief visit to Mali on Friday, according to a Malian presidential adviser speaking on condition of anonymity.

The coup is Niger's fifth since the landlocked country gained independence from France in 1960.

Like Mali and Burkina Faso, the country is struggling with a brutal jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives, forced many people from their homes and undermined faith in government.
Some Junior High School graduates in the just ended Basic Education Certificate Examination said they were happy the free Senior High School policy was still being implemented.

Some of the graduates, speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the last paper, French Language, noted that they could not wait to enter the second cycle to enjoy the policy.

They hoped that successive governments would continue the policy as they described it as a good policy to lessen burden, especially on parents, who could not afford to pay their wards school fees.

They expressed their profound gratitude to the Almighty God for his mercy and grace, which they said had made it possible for them to come to a successful end.

Makafui Gifty Kra, one of the graduands was grateful to her parents and teachers for their love and care, adding that she could not wait to enter Senior High to continue her education.

Meanwhile, it was all joy at the various centres of the Examination visited by the Ghana News Agency within the Ho township.

The graduates were full of joy with some throwing the paper into the air as they made a joyful noise unto their Maker for seeing them through.

We shall overcome a popular victory song, sung to encourage oneself while going through tough times or situations filled the atmosphere as the graduates ran here and there embracing and congratulating each other.

Goodbye BECE, we are done with you could be heard among some of them as they jumped and danced with some of the boys removing their top shirts and throwing them into the air.

GNA
Hosking Partners LLP lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP  Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,191 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 71,734 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.8% of Hosking Partners LLPs holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Hosking Partners LLPs holdings in American Express were worth $60,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 27,029 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $5,054,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,421 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of American Express by 207.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 946 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $397,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.84% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $197.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Stephens reissued an underweight rating and set a $146.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Redburn Partners lowered shares of American Express from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $180.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $172.88.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $0.28 on Thursday, hitting $163.54. 2,554,376 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,272,323. American Express has a 1-year low of $130.65 and a 1-year high of $182.15. The stock has a market cap of $120.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $170.59 and a 200-day moving average of $166.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The payment services company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.08. American Express had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 29.26%. The firm had revenue of $15.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About American Express

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.

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Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,000 shares of the credit services providers stock after selling 58,000 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.3% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltds holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltds holdings in Mastercard were worth $84,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $21,442,000. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 30.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $97,335,000 after purchasing an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,926,000. 81.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Raymond James lifted their price target on Mastercard from $450.00 to $453.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $392.00 to $404.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $435.00 to $450.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $436.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.15, for a total value of $47,954,768.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,934,013 shares in the company, valued at $38,089,849,054.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 10,838 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.38, for a total transaction of $4,274,290.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,166,426.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.15, for a total value of $47,954,768.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,934,013 shares of the companys stock, valued at $38,089,849,054.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,967 shares of company stock worth $104,732,510. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $397.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,100,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,225. The stock has a market cap of $374.19 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $276.87 and a 1-year high of $405.19. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $387.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $374.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.10% and a net margin of 43.37%. The company had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.37%.

Mastercard Profile

(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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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report).

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South Africa: Eastern Cape Presidential Imbizo underway

Friday, August 11, 2023

The ninth District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo has kicked off at the Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.

The Presidential Imbizo presents an opportunity for South Africans from all corners of the country to voice out the challenges they face from their everyday lives directly to the President and Cabinet, with a view to tackle them head on.

The President has visited all provinces, with the Eastern Cape imbizo expected to be the last in this round.

Opening the programme for the day, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng said the imbizo is an important platform for citizens to get their concerns heard at the highest level.

It is an honour that we gather here today as part of culmination of an essential journey of the [DDM] Presidential Imbizo that we started.

This is the last round, our ninth imbizo. What is important is that we give the citizens the opportunity to talk to the President and that is the main reason why we have come here, she said.

The Minister added that ministers and the President will respond with a way forward on the challenges raised.

We are here today as part of the [DDM], the Presidential Imbizo to talk to you about service delivery challenges and opportunities in your areas. The President and the ministers will show some of these opportunities and talk about some of the programmes within the DDM framework to show that we are working together.

We are doing this in support of [municipalities] because we know that basic services are important such as water, sanitation, healthcare [and] education. When we work together as the spheres of government, we can deliver services and improve turnaround time, she said.  SAnews.gov.za

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This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Camping World (NYSE:CWH  Free Report) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CWH. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Camping World in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded Camping World from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Camping World from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Camping World from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Camping World from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Camping World presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $34.00.

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Check Out Our Latest Report on Camping World

Camping World Stock Performance

Camping World Cuts Dividend

CWH traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.73. The stock had a trading volume of 559,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,810. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $29.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 2.60. Camping World has a 1 year low of $18.69 and a 1 year high of $33.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.36.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 14th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Camping Worlds payout ratio is presently 287.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kent Dillon Schickli sold 10,101 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $272,727.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 72,124 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,947,348. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 44.20% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camping World

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWH. Dfpg Investments LLC increased its position in Camping World by 2.5% during the second quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the companys stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Camping World by 88.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 944 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Camping World by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,219 shares of the companys stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Camping World by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,602 shares of the companys stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Camping World by 50.0% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 37.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Camping World Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Camping World Holdings, Inc, together its subsidiaries, retails recreational vehicles (RVs), and related products and services. It operates in two segments, Good Sam Services and Plans; and RV and Outdoor Retail. The company provides a portfolio of services, protection plans, products, and resources in the RV industry.

Further Reading

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Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Free Report) by 79.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,263 shares of the industrial products companys stock after buying an additional 560 shares during the quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltds holdings in Deere & Company were worth $521,000 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. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,003 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 143,047 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $59,061,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 145,700 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $60,157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 71.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $537.00 to $517.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $492.00 to $436.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $484.00 to $416.00 in a research note on Sunday, May 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $462.16.

Deere & Company Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:DE traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $434.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,273,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,425. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.06. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $410.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $400.42. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $328.62 and a twelve month high of $450.00.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The industrial products company reported $9.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $8.57 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $16.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.87 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 43.11%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 31.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. Deere & Companys dividend payout ratio is currently 16.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares of the companys stock, valued at $45,398,598.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Tami A. Erwin purchased 675 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $371.05 per share, with a total value of $250,458.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 950 shares of the companys stock, valued at $352,497.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at $45,398,598.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,690 shares of company stock worth $37,335,181 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Profile

(Free Report)

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.

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1ST Source Bank cut its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG  Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,035 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,445 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Banks holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 260,979 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 333,392 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,572,000 after acquiring an additional 8,904 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the first quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,323 shares of the companys stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.3% in the first quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,820 shares of the companys stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roundview Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.9% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 43,929 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,532,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 64.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PG. Bank of America upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Truist Financial downgraded Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price target for the company from $165.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $164.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $156.12. The company had a trading volume of 4,307,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,442,249. The company has a market capitalization of $368.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $122.18 and a one year high of $158.38.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.05. The company 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 32.88% and a net margin of 17.87%. Procter & Gambles revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.39 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 21st will be paid a $0.9407 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.73%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total value of $1,315,668.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,908.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 33,022 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $5,160,017.72. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 888 shares of the companys stock, valued at $138,758.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,038 shares of company stock worth $8,460,839. Insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

(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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1ST Source Bank lowered its holdings in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD  Free Report) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,199 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 569 shares during the period. 1ST Source Banks holdings in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 500.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 384 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. American National Bank lifted its stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 20,900.0% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 420 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. now owns 473 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 685 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.92% of the companys stock.

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iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LQD traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.10. 9,723,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,426,260. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has a fifty-two week low of $98.41 and a fifty-two week high of $114.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $107.13 and a 200-day moving average of $107.85.

About iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid, the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds for sale in the United States.

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Alithya Group (TSE:ALYA  Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Cormark from C$4.00 to C$3.50 in a research note issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormarks target price suggests a potential upside of 40.00% from the stocks previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Alithya Group from C$3.25 to C$2.75 in a research report on Friday. Acumen Capital increased their target price on shares of Alithya Group from C$3.50 to C$3.75 in a research note on Friday, June 9th.

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Alithya Group Price Performance

About Alithya Group

Shares of TSE:ALYA traded up C$0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$2.50. 10,131 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,422. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 77.89. The businesss fifty day moving average is C$2.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$2.48. Alithya Group has a one year low of C$1.95 and a one year high of C$3.06. The stock has a market cap of C$219.65 million, a PE ratio of -8.06 and a beta of 0.77.

(Get Free Report)

Alithya Group Inc provides strategy and digital technology services in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company's business strategy services include strategic consulting, digital transformation, organizational performance, and enterprise architecture services. It also provides application services, such as digital applications DevOps, legacy systems modernization, control and software engineering, cloud infrastructure, quality assurance, and automated testing; enterprise solutions comprising enterprise resource planning, corporate performance management, customer relationship management, and human capital management; and data and analytics solutions, including business intelligence, data management, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, as well as internet of things.

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Glenview Trust co raised its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD  Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,329 shares of the consumer goods makers stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Glenview Trust cos holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 105.1% during the 4th quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 445 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 499 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 5.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Price Performance

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.42. 462,950 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,495. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $98.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 52 week low of $44.51 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( NYSE:BUD Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The consumer goods maker reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

BUD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC lowered Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $80.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the company from $64.00 to $68.50 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $67.06.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BUD

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

(Free Report)

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.

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Shares of AppLovin Co. (NYSE:APP  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $45.00. The company traded as high as $39.57 and last traded at $39.08, with a volume of 2902876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.20.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on AppLovin from $25.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AppLovin from $16.00 to $17.50 in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on AppLovin from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their target price on AppLovin from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AppLovin from $21.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $34.21.

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Insider Activity at AppLovin

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other AppLovin news, major shareholder Denali Holdings L.P. Kkr sold 15,952,381 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $335,000,001.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,782,619 shares of the companys stock, valued at $940,434,999. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . In other AppLovin news, major shareholder Denali Holdings L.P. Kkr sold 15,952,381 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $335,000,001.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,782,619 shares of the companys stock, valued at $940,434,999. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 52,193 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.04, for a total value of $1,306,912.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,449,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,292,299.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,064,762 shares of company stock valued at $682,874,433. Company insiders own 12.43% of the companys stock.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter worth about $2,269,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in AppLovin by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,015 shares of the companys stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,393,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in AppLovin by 5,930.9% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 426,809 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,981,000 after purchasing an additional 419,732 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in AppLovin by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,180 shares of the companys stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.47% of the companys stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 620.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day moving average of $19.99.

AppLovin (NYSE:APP  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.14. AppLovin had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 0.70%. The firm had revenue of $750.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for mobile app developers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their apps in the United States and internationally. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; Adjust, an analytics platform that helps marketers grow their mobile apps with solutions for measuring, optimizing campaigns, and protecting user data; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of an app's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which primarily distributes streaming video for content companies.

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA  Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,946,121 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 95% from the previous sessions volume of 1,514,279 shares.The stock last traded at $7.91 and had previously closed at $7.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBVA has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. HSBC upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a research report on Friday, May 26th. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.34.

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $47.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.30.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 26.54%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 733,348 shares of the banks stock worth $4,173,000 after purchasing an additional 129,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 643,708 shares of the banks stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 41,706 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 393,935 shares of the banks stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 15,070 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,093 shares of the banks stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,972 shares of the banks stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 3,749 shares during the period. 2.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services. It offers current accounts; and demand, savings, overnight, time, term, and subordinated deposits. The company also provides loan products; deals in securities; leasing, factoring, brokerage, and asset management services; and manages pension and investment funds.

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Hudbay Minerals (TSE:HBM  Get Free Report) (NYSE:HBM) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Bank of America from C$7.25 to C$8.25 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a neutral rating on the mining companys stock. Bank of Americas price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.20% from the stocks previous close.

HBM has been the subject of several other reports. CIBC lowered their price objective on Hudbay Minerals from C$10.00 to C$9.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Barclays raised Hudbay Minerals from an equal weight rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 7th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on Hudbay Minerals from C$8.00 to C$9.25 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Hudbay Minerals from C$11.00 to C$10.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Hudbay Minerals from C$11.25 to C$11.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$9.56.

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Hudbay Minerals Trading Down 1.8 %

Hudbay Minerals Company Profile

Shares of HBM stock traded down C$0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting C$7.10. The companys stock had a trading volume of 172,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,547,644. The companys fifty day simple moving average is C$6.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$6.80. Hudbay Minerals has a 52 week low of C$5.00 and a 52 week high of C$8.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 81.40, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of C$2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 103.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 2.06.

(Get Free Report)

Hudbay Minerals Inc, a diversified mining company, together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of properties in North and South America. It produces copper concentrates containing copper, gold, and silver; zinc concentrates; zinc metal; and gold and silver dore and molybdenum concentrates.

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Bank of Queensland Limited (OTCMKTS:BKQNY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 700 shares, an increase of 75.0% from the July 15th total of 400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Bank of Queensland Price Performance

BKQNY stock opened at $7.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.38. Bank of Queensland has a 1-year low of $7.18 and a 1-year high of $10.12.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Bank of Queensland from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 18th.

Bank of Queensland Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bank of Queensland Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Australia. The company operates in Retail Banking, BOQ Business, and Other segments. It offers personal banking services comprises savings and term deposits, and transactional accounts; debit and credit cards; home, personal, and car loans; and travel, home and content, landlord, and car insurance, as well as investment services comprising online share trading services, and self-managed superannuation funds.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE  Free Report) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $168.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the utilities providers stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on SRE. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sempra from $174.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Friday, July 21st. 888 reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Sempra in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $174.00 to $166.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $165.71.

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Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $143.00 on Monday. Sempra has a one year low of $136.54 and a one year high of $176.47. The company has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.34.

Sempra shares are scheduled to split on the morning of Tuesday, August 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Tuesday, August 22nd. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, August 22nd.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.16. Sempra had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,141,824 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $191,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 780.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at $782,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 668,646 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $112,411,000 after purchasing an additional 23,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,575 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.45% of the companys stock.

Sempra Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Gas Company, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment provides to San Diego and southern Orange counties; and natural gas service to San Diego County.

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Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,781,849 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after selling 622,120 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.13% of Boston Scientific worth $789,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BSX. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 109.5% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 551 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 44.3% during the 1st quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC now owns 658 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 840 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 92.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. CL King started coverage on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Friday, June 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. They issued an overweight rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $58.35.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total value of $360,298.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,453 shares in the company, valued at $938,971.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 63,339 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.60, for a total transaction of $3,394,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 213,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,462,842.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total transaction of $360,298.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares of the companys stock, valued at $938,971.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,378 shares of company stock worth $4,993,445. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 0.3 %

BSX stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.02. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,832,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,035,623. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 85.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.79. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12 month low of $37.74 and a 12 month high of $54.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.55.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

About Boston Scientific

(Free Report)

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BSX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Free Report).

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Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Free Report)s stock had its buy rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $61.00 target price on the medical equipment providers stock. Needham & Company LLCs price objective points to a potential upside of 19.94% from the companys current price.

BSX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Boston Scientific in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $58.35.

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Boston Scientific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BSX stock opened at $50.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.79. Boston Scientific has a 1 year low of $37.74 and a 1 year high of $54.74. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $52.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.50 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 6.81%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boston Scientific will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total value of $360,298.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $938,971.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 63,339 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.60, for a total transaction of $3,394,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 213,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,462,842.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total transaction of $360,298.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $938,971.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,378 shares of company stock worth $4,993,445 over the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 109.5% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 551 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 209.4% during the second quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 92.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $7.57-$7.85 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Broadridge Financial Solutions also updated its FY24 guidance to $7.57-7.85 EPS.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $179.36. 735,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,880. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $163.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.90. The stock has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 1.02. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $131.35 and a fifty-two week high of $183.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.11. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.29% and a net margin of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Broadridge Financial Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutionss payout ratio is 62.23%.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $169.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $170.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Broadridge Financial Solutions

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 6,900 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.98, for a total transaction of $1,027,962.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,916 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,926,285.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Laura Matlin sold 4,052 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total value of $622,913.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,825 shares of the companys stock, valued at $895,477.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 6,900 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.98, for a total value of $1,027,962.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,916 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,926,285.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.3% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 9,227 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,280 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,530 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.4% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the business services providers stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.9% during the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the business services providers stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the companys stock.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

(Get Free Report)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions.

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Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd. (NYSE:BNRE  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 14th will be given a dividend of 0.07 per share on Friday, September 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 13th.

Brookfield Reinsurance Price Performance

Shares of Brookfield Reinsurance stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.71. 1,776 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,435. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $362.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.27 and a beta of 1.48. The firms fifty day moving average is $33.43 and its 200-day moving average is $33.08. Brookfield Reinsurance has a 52 week low of $28.30 and a 52 week high of $54.13.

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Brookfield Reinsurance (NYSE:BNRE  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Reinsurance had a return on equity of 0.38% and a net margin of 0.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Reinsurance

About Brookfield Reinsurance

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Credit Suisse AG grew its position in Brookfield Reinsurance by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 10,356 shares of the companys stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC bought a new position in Brookfield Reinsurance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Brookfield Reinsurance by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,965 shares of the companys stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Brookfield Reinsurance by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 34,300 shares of the companys stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Brookfield Reinsurance by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 43,448 shares of the companys stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the last quarter. 39.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides annuity-based reinsurance products to insurance and reinsurance companies in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Direct Insurance, Reinsurance, and Pension Risk Transfer (PRT). The Direct Insurance segment offers a range of insurance products and services including life insurance, annuities, property and casualty insurance, health insurance, credit insurance, and pension products.

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California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,485,322 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 27,503 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.14% of Charles Schwab worth $130,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Beacon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 704.2% during the first quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 82.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,584,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,966,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firms 50 day moving average is $59.42 and its 200 day moving average is $60.94. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $45.00 and a one year high of $86.63.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.54%. Charles Schwabs quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is 29.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 77,640 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $4,018,646.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,771,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,093,761,349.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 77,640 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $4,018,646.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,771,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,093,761,349.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 59,672,778 shares in the company, valued at $3,974,207,014.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 225,447 shares of company stock worth $13,866,915. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Redburn Partners cut Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised Charles Schwab from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Three equities 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, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.09.

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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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Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE  Free Report) had its price target lowered by Truist Financial from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and natural gas companys stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CPE. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Callon Petroleum from $58.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Callon Petroleum from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Callon Petroleum from $40.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Sunday, May 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Callon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Callon Petroleum from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $49.57.

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Callon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of CPE stock opened at $37.03 on Monday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $34.54 and its 200-day moving average is $35.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 2.75. Callon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $28.91 and a 52 week high of $50.19.

Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $562.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $561.08 million. Callon Petroleum had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 35.11%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Callon Petroleum will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Callon Petroleum

In related news, Director Steven A. Webster purchased 7,384 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.50 per share, for a total transaction of $225,212.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 610,208 shares in the company, valued at $18,611,344. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Callon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Callon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Callon Petroleum by 260.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Callon Petroleum by 220.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Callon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 92.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Callon Petroleum

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Callon Petroleum Company, an independent oil and natural gas company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in West Texas. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS  Get Free Report) (TSE:CLS) has been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.06.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Celestica from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. TD Cowen raised Celestica from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.50 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. CIBC raised Celestica from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com cut Celestica from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Celestica from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on CLS

Celestica Price Performance

NYSE CLS opened at $20.83 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $15.91 and its 200 day moving average is $13.61. Celestica has a fifty-two week low of $8.21 and a fifty-two week high of $22.68. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Celestica (NYSE:CLS  Get Free Report) (TSE:CLS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. Celestica had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 2.17%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Celestica will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Celestica

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Celestica by 120.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,371 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 105,576 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Celestica during the 1st quarter valued at about $132,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Celestica by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 265,505 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 44,885 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in Celestica by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 168,657 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Celestica by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 12,536 shares of the technology companys stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 3,276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.93% of the companys stock.

About Celestica

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Celestica Inc provides supply chain solutions in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through Advanced Technology Solutions, and Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segments. The company offers a range of product manufacturing and related supply chain services, including design and development, new product introduction, engineering services, component sourcing, electronics manufacturing and assembly, testing, complex mechanical assembly, systems integration, precision machining, order fulfillment, logistics, asset management, product licensing, and after-market repair and return services.

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Channing Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL  Free Report) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,232 shares of the companys stock after selling 157,394 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $9,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 140.6% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,741 shares of the companys stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth about $1,162,000. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 445,226 shares of the companys stock worth $29,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. 71.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 18,908 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.74, for a total transaction of $2,018,239.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,521 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,631.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 18,908 shares of the firms stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,521 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,631.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 36,536 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,922,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 147,078 shares in the company, valued at $11,766,240. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 754,718 shares of company stock worth $60,696,499 over the last ninety days. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of RCL stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.57. 1,806,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,711,851. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $36.92 and a fifty-two week high of $112.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.28, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -322.41 and a beta of 2.47. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $99.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.62.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.24. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 0.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.08) earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 61.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. VNET Group reissued a maintains rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $88.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $85.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $65.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $107.08.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on RCL

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

(Free Report)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 13, 2023, it operated 64 ships. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

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Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG  Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $205.00 to $200.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $230.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $200.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $200.33.

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Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LNG stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $166.98. 986,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,698,663. Cheniere Energy has a 1-year low of $135.00 and a 1-year high of $182.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 4.92, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy company reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.81 by $2.80. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 28.47% and a return on equity of 481.80%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 15.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1,484.6% during the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 206 shares of the energy companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the energy companys stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.36% of the companys stock.

About Cheniere Energy

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Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile pipeline interconnecting the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. On August 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor which has been going on for about 8 months, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that since June 15, Nagorno-Karabakh has been under total blockade as a result of which 120,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing an acute shortage of food and medicine, and people with serious health problems as well as 9,000 pregnant women are deprived of urgent medical assistance.

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that Azerbaijan does not comply with two Orders of the International Court of Justice regarding the restoration of movement along the Lachin corridor and ignores the targeted calls of international partners and various bodies. Therefore, in current conditions, clear steps are needed that will result in the immediate lifting of the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

During the phone call, the sides also touched upon the bilateral agenda and expressed readiness to take steps towards the development of collaboration between Armenia and the UAE, noting the importance of high-level mutual visits.
Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP  Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Cheniere Energy Partners Stock Up 2.3 %

CQP stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.85. The company had a trading volume of 130,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,162. Cheniere Energy Partners has a 1-year low of $42.96 and a 1-year high of $62.08.

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Cheniere Energy Partners Company Profile

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Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. It owns and operates natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Sabine Pass LNG production terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

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Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CWAN  Get Free Report) CEO Sandeep Sahai sold 1,625 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $29,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,478. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Clearwater Analytics Price Performance

CWAN stock opened at $16.52 on Friday. Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.02 and a 1 year high of $20.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -150.45 and a beta of 0.46. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $16.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 5.87 and a current ratio of 6.29.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Clearwater Analytics from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Clearwater Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Clearwater Analytics in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Clearwater Analytics from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clearwater Analytics has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Clearwater Analytics by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,732 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearwater Analytics during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Clearwater Analytics by 1,129.0% during the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,163 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Clearwater Analytics by 35.3% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,663 shares of the companys stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Clearwater Analytics in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.98% of the companys stock.

Clearwater Analytics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc develops and provides a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for automated investment data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, and reporting services to insurers, investment managers, corporations, institutional investors, and government entities in the United States and internationally.

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Shares of Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE  Get Free Report) were up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $2.55 and last traded at $2.55. Approximately 2,015,757 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 5,275,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James reduced their target price on Coeur Mining from $4.25 to $4.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. 58.com restated an initiates rating on shares of Coeur Mining in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. National Bankshares set a $4.25 target price on Coeur Mining and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. National Bank Financial initiated coverage on shares of Coeur Mining in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. They issued an outperform rating and a $4.25 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Coeur Mining from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $3.75 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $3.79.

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View Our Latest Analysis on CDE

Coeur Mining Stock Up 8.9 %

The firms 50 day simple moving average is $2.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.30. The company has a market cap of $859.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.41 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.01). Coeur Mining had a negative net margin of 8.64% and a negative return on equity of 13.03%. The business had revenue of $177.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. The firms revenue was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Coeur Mining, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Routledge acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.16 per share, for a total transaction of $25,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 301,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at $953,631.12. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 16,600 shares of company stock valued at $51,080 over the last 90 days. 1.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coeur Mining

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CDE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Coeur Mining by 163.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,002,353 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $4,461,000 after buying an additional 621,717 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Coeur Mining by 6.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,555 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Coeur Mining by 5.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 204,214 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 10,250 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Coeur Mining by 1.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,128,208 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $5,020,000 after purchasing an additional 15,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Coeur Mining by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 655,171 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 159,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.60% of the companys stock.

Coeur Mining Company Profile

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Coeur Mining, Inc engages in the exploration and development of silver and gold mining properties and mines located in United States, Canada and Mexico. It operates through the following segments: Palmarejo. Rochester, Kensington, and Wharf. The Palmarejo segment includes a gold-silver complex. The Rochester segment operates an open pit heap leach silver-gold mine located in northwestern Nevada.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR  Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 344,649 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 13,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYSs holdings in Entergy were worth $37,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1,019.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 235 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1,618.8% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 275 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 86.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Entergy Stock Up 0.2 %

Entergy stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.31. 1,437,636 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,473,803. The firms 50-day moving average price is $99.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.64. Entergy Co. has a one year low of $94.16 and a one year high of $122.46.

Entergy Announces Dividend

Entergy ( NYSE:ETR Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.26 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 10.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. Entergys payout ratio is 65.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETR. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Entergy from $124.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $107.00 in a report on Sunday, May 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Entergy from $134.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $116.45.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Entergy

Entergy Profile

(Free Report)

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Utility and Entergy Wholesale Commodities. The Utility segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas.

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CCL Industries (TSE:CCL.B  Get Free Report) had its target price cut by analysts at Cormark from C$78.00 to C$75.00 in a research note issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormarks price target indicates a potential upside of 20.99% from the companys current price.

CCL.B has been the topic of a number of other research reports. National Bankshares boosted their price target on CCL Industries from C$78.00 to C$79.00 in a report on Friday. TD Securities lifted their price objective on CCL Industries from C$73.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CCL Industries has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$75.11.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CCL.B

CCL Industries Trading Down 0.7 %

About CCL Industries

Shares of CCL.B traded down C$0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$61.99. The company had a trading volume of 164,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,259. The firm has a market cap of C$10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.58. The stocks 50 day moving average price is C$63.57 and its 200 day moving average price is C$64.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.52. CCL Industries has a 52-week low of C$57.16 and a 52-week high of C$71.58.

(Get Free Report)

CCL Industries Inc manufactures and sells labels, containers, consumer printable media products, technology driven label solutions, polymer bank note substrates, and specialty films. The company operates through four segments: CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia. The CCL segment offers pressure sensitive and specialty extruded film materials for decorative, instructional, functional, and security applications in the consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer electronic device, and automotive markets.

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Coupang (NYSE:CPNG  Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. Coupang had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 1.94%. The businesss revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS.

Coupang Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CPNG traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.29. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,928,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,825,179. The stock has a market cap of $34.31 billion, a PE ratio of 80.46 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Coupang has a 12-month low of $12.66 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The companys 50 day moving average is $17.23 and its 200 day moving average is $16.18.

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Insider Transactions at Coupang

In related news, Director Hanseung Kang sold 174,324 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $2,789,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 475,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,611,888. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Hanseung Kang sold 174,324 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $2,789,184.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 475,743 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,888. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tae Jung Kim sold 4,671 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.56, for a total value of $82,022.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 260,142 shares in the company, valued at $4,568,093.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,337,078 shares of company stock valued at $36,626,905 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Coupang

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coupang in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Coupang in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coupang in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,000. Quantamental Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Coupang by 54.9% during the first quarter. Quantamental Technologies LLC now owns 11,044 shares of the companys stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Coupang by 25.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,268 shares of the companys stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several equities analysts have commented on CPNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Coupang from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Coupang from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Coupang from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded Coupang from a d rating to a c- rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Coupang from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.40.

View Our Latest Report on CPNG

About Coupang

(Get Free Report)

Coupang, Inc, together with its subsidiaries owns and operates in e-commerce business through its mobile applications and Internet websites primarily in South Korea. The company operates through two segments, Product Commerce and Developing Offerings. It sells various products and services in the categories of home goods and decor products, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, and everyday consumables, as well as travel, and restaurant order and delivery services.

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Decatur Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 5,926 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 17,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 94,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,840,000 after buying an additional 22,879 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,771,584 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $72,281,000 after buying an additional 15,900 shares in the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 197,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $8,057,000 after buying an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 23,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 5,228 shares in the last quarter. 67.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $41.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.35.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE PFE traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.72. The companys stock had a trading volume of 18,695,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,473,770. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.65 and a 52-week high of $54.93. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.55%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Pfizers revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. Pfizers payout ratio is currently 43.62%.

Pfizer 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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Decatur Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET  Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,625 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,840 shares during the quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc.s holdings in MetLife were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife by 177.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 112,612 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the first quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 151,539 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $8,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,491 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 16.0% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,699 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.83% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, May 26th. TheStreet downgraded MetLife from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on MetLife from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.50.

MetLife Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $62.66. 3,914,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,155,947. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.35. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $77.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 3.14%. The firms revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. MetLifes dividend payout ratio is currently 80.93%.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued.

About MetLife

(Free Report)

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.

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Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited (OTCMKTS:DMZPY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 800 shares, an increase of 700.0% from the July 15th total of 100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DMZPY. UBS Group lowered Dominos Pizza Enterprises from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Dominos Pizza Enterprises from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, July 24th.

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Dominos Pizza Enterprises Stock Performance

Dominos Pizza Enterprises Company Profile

OTCMKTS DMZPY opened at $16.87 on Friday. Dominos Pizza Enterprises has a 52 week low of $14.35 and a 52 week high of $25.85. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $15.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.70.

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Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited operates retail food outlets. The company holds franchise rights for the Domino's brand in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Taiwan. It operates a network of 3,396 stores. Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited was founded in 1983 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $550.00 to $630.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Cantor Fitzgeralds target price indicates a potential upside of 20.81% from the companys current price.

LLY has been the subject of several other reports. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $420.00 to $490.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $517.00.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

LLY stock traded down $4.74 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $521.49. 4,107,888 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,079,546. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $455.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $396.40. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $495.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.62, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $296.32 and a 52-week high of $538.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 61.42%. The business had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The companys revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total value of $261,174.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,978 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,163.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total value of $261,174.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,978 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,602,163.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 20,646 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.77, for a total transaction of $9,141,429.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 101,668,164 shares in the company, valued at $45,015,612,974.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 772,663 shares of company stock worth $365,372,076. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 193.3% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 88 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 156.4% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.25% of the companys stock.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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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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YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Armenia has died after sustaining a gunshot wound in circumstances that are yet to be determined, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said Friday.

Serviceman Zhora Z. Karapetyan sustained the fatal gunshot wound on August 10. Doctors were unable to save his life.

An investigation is underway to reveal the circumstances of the deadly incident.

In a statement, the Armenian Ministry of Defense extended condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

UPDATES:

17:00 - Investigators announced that a preliminary probe has determined the incident to be suicide. Two other servicemen are under arrest on suspicion of abetment to suicide.
Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK  Get Free Report) (TSE:EDR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The mining company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $50.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.01 million. Endeavour Silver had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 5.22%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS.

Endeavour Silver Price Performance

Endeavour Silver stock remained flat at $2.99 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 134,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,359,430. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71 and a beta of 1.44. Endeavour Silver has a twelve month low of $2.47 and a twelve month high of $4.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.38.

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Institutional Trading of Endeavour Silver

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Endeavour Silver by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,017 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Endeavour Silver by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 44,064 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its holdings in shares of Endeavour Silver by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 66,595 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Endeavour Silver by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,635 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Endeavour Silver by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 69,000 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.69% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EXK shares. TD Securities cut their price target on Endeavour Silver from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Alliance Global Partners increased their price target on Endeavour Silver from $5.25 to $5.75 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on Endeavour Silver in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price target on Endeavour Silver from $8.00 to $7.75 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $6.04.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Endeavour Silver

Endeavour Silver Company Profile

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Endeavour Silver Corp., a silver mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of mineral properties in Mexico and Chile. The company explores for gold and silver deposits, and precious metals. The company was formerly known as Endeavour Gold Corp.

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First Pacific Advisors LP lessened its stake in American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG  Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,607,475 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 79,479 shares during the period. American International Group makes up approximately 5.2% of First Pacific Advisors LPs holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. First Pacific Advisors LP owned about 0.90% of American International Group worth $332,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American International Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of American International Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 27,251 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of American International Group by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,110 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American International Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of American International Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 5,044 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.18% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIG. TheStreet upgraded shares of American International Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of American International Group from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Credit Suisse Group restated a neutral rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of American International Group in a research note on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of American International Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American International Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.79.

Insider Transactions at American International Group

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen sold 635 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Saturday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.47, for a total value of $33,953.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,629.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen sold 635 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Saturday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.47, for a total value of $33,953.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,629.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder International Group American sold 74,750,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.25, for a total transaction of $1,214,687,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 426,395,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,928,918,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,732,218 shares of company stock worth $1,394,947,575 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.49% of the companys stock.

American International Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AIG stock opened at $60.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.13. American International Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.66 and a 52 week high of $64.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $58.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.10.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. American International Group had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $13.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts predict that American International Group, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American International Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. American International Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.37%.

About American International Group

(Free Report)

American International Group, Inc offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through General Insurance, and Life and Retirement segments. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers' compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance.

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First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI  Free Report) by 51.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,650 shares of the health services providers stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LPs holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 52.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,975 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $4,547,000 after buying an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,212 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $2,265,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.63% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, CFO Brian C. Evanko sold 2,307 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 12,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.00, for a total transaction of $3,564,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,093 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $609,063. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian C. Evanko sold 2,307 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,180 shares of company stock valued at $8,270,294 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $288.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.88. The company has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.65. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $340.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The health services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $48.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $47.24 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The Cigna Groups revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 24.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 6th will be issued a $1.23 dividend. This represents a $4.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 5th. The Cigna Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on The Cigna Group from $333.00 to $287.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on The Cigna Group from $356.00 to $341.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $284.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut The Cigna Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $337.79.

Check Out Our Latest Report on The Cigna Group

The Cigna Group Profile

(Free Report)

The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers.

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First Pacific Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER  Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,611,536 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock after selling 6,376 shares during the period. Uber Technologies comprises about 1.3% of First Pacific Advisors LPs investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. First Pacific Advisors LPs holdings in Uber Technologies were worth $82,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UBER. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Uber Technologies by 581.5% during the 1st quarter. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd now owns 408,900 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $12,962,000 after purchasing an additional 348,900 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in shares of Uber Technologies by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 629,407 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $19,978,000 after purchasing an additional 264,843 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Uber Technologies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,370 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $4,957,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Uber Technologies by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 11,658 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Uber Technologies by 689.0% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 899,535 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $28,515,000 after acquiring an additional 785,528 shares during the last quarter. 73.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UBER has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Uber Technologies from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Uber Technologies from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Uber Technologies in a report on Monday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Uber Technologies from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Uber Technologies from $46.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $55.03.

Insider Activity at Uber Technologies

In related news, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 644 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total value of $26,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 128,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,285,556. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Uber Technologies news, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $4,751,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,316,243 shares of the companys stock, valued at $62,534,704.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 644 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total transaction of $26,404.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 128,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,285,556. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 225,642 shares of company stock worth $10,325,237. Insiders own 3.84% of the companys stock.

Uber Technologies Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UBER opened at $44.60 on Friday. Uber Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.94 and a 52-week high of $49.49. The company has a market capitalization of $91.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The ride-sharing company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.19. Uber Technologies had a negative return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 1.07%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.33) EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Uber Technologies, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Uber Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services.

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Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG  Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $8.80 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts target price indicates a potential upside of 30.43% from the stocks previous close.

Separately, Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Global Business Travel Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $8.90.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Global Business Travel Group

Global Business Travel Group Stock Performance

Shares of GBTG stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.90. 143,150 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,611. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -11.11 and a beta of 0.26. Global Business Travel Group has a 12 month low of $4.26 and a 12 month high of $8.40.

Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.03). Global Business Travel Group had a negative return on equity of 2.09% and a negative net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $578.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $555.50 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Global Business Travel Group will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul G. Abbott bought 8,147 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $50,918.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,537,225 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,857,656.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.00% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GBTG. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Business Travel Group during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Credit Suisse AG bought a new position in Global Business Travel Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Business Travel Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Cowen AND Company LLC acquired a new position in Global Business Travel Group in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Global Business Travel Group during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.65% of the companys stock.

Global Business Travel Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Global Business Travel Group, Inc provides business-to-business (B2B) travel platform in the United States and internationally. The company's platform offers a suite of technology-enabled solutions to business travelers and clients; travel content suppliers including airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and aggregators; and third-party travel agencies.

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Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN.A  Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.45, but opened at $9.60. Gray Television shares last traded at $9.60, with a volume of 111 shares traded.

Gray Television Stock Down 5.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $859.06 million, a PE ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.37.

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Gray Television (NYSE:GTN.A  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.09. Gray Television had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $813.00 million during the quarter.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

About Gray Television

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Gray Televisions dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.73%.

(Get Free Report)

Gray Television, Inc, a television broadcast company, owns and operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. As of February 28, 2019, it owned and operated television stations in 91 television markets broadcasting approximately 400 program streams, including approximately 150 channels affiliated with the CBS Network, the NBC Network, the ABC Network, and the FOX Network.

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Hosking Partners LLP reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,730 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,057 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLPs holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 346.7% in the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 731 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.38% of the companys stock.

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Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.70. 2,753,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,722,768. The company has a market cap of $77.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.96 and a 200 day moving average of $45.57.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The companys revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 98.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MO

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.

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Hydro One Limited (TSE:H  Free Report)  Analysts at Raymond James upped their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for shares of Hydro One in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, August 9th. Raymond James analyst D. Quezada now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.51 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.49. Raymond James has a Market Perform rating and a $38.50 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hydro Ones current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for Hydro Ones Q4 2023 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.59 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.87 EPS.

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Several other research analysts have also commented on H. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hydro One from C$41.00 to C$39.00 in a research note on Thursday. CIBC decreased their price objective on Hydro One from C$41.00 to C$40.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$38.25.

Hydro One Trading Up 0.8 %

H stock opened at C$36.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$37.33 and a 200 day moving average price of C$37.66. Hydro One has a fifty-two week low of C$30.87 and a fifty-two week high of C$40.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 131.00, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of C$22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.26.

Hydro One Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 12th. Hydro Ones payout ratio is 70.00%.

Hydro One Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hydro One Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electricity transmission and distribution company in Ontario. The company operates through three segments: Transmission, Distribution, and Other. It owns and operates high-voltage transmission lines and primary low-voltage distribution network.

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IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG  Get Free Report) (TSE:IMG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The mining company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.01, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $238.80 million for the quarter. IAMGOLD had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS.

IAMGOLD Stock Performance

Shares of IAG traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.32. 3,047,322 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,389,820. IAMGOLD has a fifty-two week low of $0.92 and a fifty-two week high of $3.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.43. The businesss 50 day moving average is $2.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IAG. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 36,759 shares of the mining companys stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 40,939 shares of the mining companys stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 88,106 shares of the mining companys stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,391 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 169,131 shares of the mining companys stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 8,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IAMGOLD during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 48.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on IAG shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of IAMGOLD in a research note on Monday, May 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $3.25 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of IAMGOLD in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $2.89.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on IAMGOLD

About IAMGOLD

(Get Free Report)

IAMGOLD Corporation, through its subsidiaries, explores, develops, and operates gold mining properties in North America and West Africa. The company owns 100% interest in the Westwood mine, covers an area of 1,925 hectare and located in Quebec and the Cote gold project, which covers an area of 596 square kilometer located in Ontario, Canada; and 90% interests in the Essakane mine situated in Burkina Faso and Boto gold project located in Senegal, West Africa.

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Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (OTCMKTS:IMPUY  Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.88 and last traded at $6.02, with a volume of 85048 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.06.

Impala Platinum Stock Performance

The firms 50 day simple moving average is $7.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.91.

Impala Platinum Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited engages in the mining, processing, refining, and marketing platinum group metals (PGMs). The company produces platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, and by-products. It has operations on the PGM-bearing ore bodies, including the Bushveld Complex located in South Africa; and the Great Dyke situated in Zimbabwe.

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Cabinet members on August 11 that they should introduce scholarship opportunities for cadets of the Monte Melkonyan Military College.

A scholarship must be set for cadets of the Monte Melkonyan college in order to promote admissions. This issue must be solved, Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting.
Katoro Gold plc (LON:KAT  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 0.08 ($0.00) and last traded at GBX 0.08 ($0.00), with a volume of 50698 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.09 ($0.00).

Katoro Gold Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of 589,160.00, a P/E ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 0.51. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 0.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 0.11.

Katoro Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Katoro Gold plc operates as a gold and nickel exploration and development company in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, South Africa, and Tanzania. The company primarily explores for nickel, platinum group metals, copper, and gold deposits. It holds 65% interest in the Haneti project covering an area of approximately 5,000 square kilometers located in central Tanzania; and Blyvoor Tailings project located in South Africa.

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KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB  Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 88,307 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the previous sessions volume of 222,790 shares.The stock last traded at $38.82 and had previously closed at $39.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of KB Financial Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KB

KB Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The firm has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.51, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.40.

KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The bank reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter. KB Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 14.72%. Equities analysts anticipate that KB Financial Group Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of KB Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in KB Financial Group by 79.6% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 697 shares of the banks stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 156.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 625 shares of the banks stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 41.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the banks stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in KB Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of KB Financial Group by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,152 shares of the banks stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 5.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KB Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

KB Financial Group Inc provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance.

Further Reading

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Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI  Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,058,849 shares of the pipeline companys stock after selling 320,184 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $53,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.5% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 13,066 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the first quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 34,263 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 4.8% during the first quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 12,837 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 6.1% during the first quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 10,893 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.3% during the first quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 189,582 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.03% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 55,849 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.36, for a total transaction of $969,538.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 55,849 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.36, for a total value of $969,538.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $135,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,219 shares in the company, valued at $219,942. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KMI shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.10.

View Our Latest Report on KMI

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Kinder Morgan stock opened at $17.54 on Friday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $17.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.28. The company has a market capitalization of $39.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.95. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.00 and a 1 year high of $19.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The pipeline company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.55 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 7.79%. The businesss revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 28th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. Kinder Morgans dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.80%.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

(Free Report)

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.

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Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,360 shares of the insurance providers stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TRV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,875,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,820,386 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,466,244,000 after acquiring an additional 829,918 shares during the period. Prostatis Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $839,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 17,864.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 698,799 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $119,781,000 after buying an additional 694,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,956,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.06% of the companys stock.

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Travelers Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of TRV traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.57. 359,727 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,592. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.65 and a 12-month high of $194.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

Travelers Companies ( NYSE:TRV Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($1.99). Travelers Companies had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Travelers Companiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.60%.

Travelers Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the companys board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TRV shares. Roth Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Travelers Companies from $208.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Travelers Companies in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Travelers Companies from C$183.00 to C$185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $183.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $196.08.

View Our Latest Research Report on TRV

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.05, for a total transaction of $1,750,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,080 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,464,704. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Travelers Companies Profile

(Free Report)

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.

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Mandalay Resources (TSE:MND  Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported C($0.04) EPS for the quarter, reports. Mandalay Resources had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 7.55%. The business had revenue of C$53.29 million for the quarter.

Mandalay Resources Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MND opened at C$1.71 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$1.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.71, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Mandalay Resources has a one year low of C$1.56 and a one year high of C$3.50. The company has a market capitalization of C$158.93 million, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.38.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Mandalay Resources from C$3.50 to C$3.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th.

About Mandalay Resources

(Get Free Report)

Mandalay Resources Corporation, a natural resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of various mineral properties. It explores for gold, silver, and antimony deposits. The company holds a 100% interest in the Costerfield gold-antimony mine covering an area of 7,540.78 hectares (ha) located in Central Victoria, Australia; and the Bjorkdal gold mine that comprises 9 mining concessions and 19 exploration permits located in Vasterbotten County in northern Sweden.

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Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW  Free Report) by 92.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,149 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 20,682 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLCs holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 84,116 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 152,200 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 12,737 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 57,304 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 64.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,289 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. 74.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

MPW has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from a strong-buy rating to an underperform rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the company from $9.00 to $8.00 in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set an equal weight rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.92.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MPW traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.00. The stock had a trading volume of 25,976,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,975,096. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.10 and a 12 month high of $16.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 69.64, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.49.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

(Free Report)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 444 facilities and approximately 45,000 licensed beds in ten countries and across four continents.

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Meridian Mining UK Societas (CVE:MNO  Get Free Report)s stock price shot up 9.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$1.07 and last traded at C$1.03. 247,282 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 220,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.94.

Meridian Mining UK Societas Trading Up 9.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$152.09 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$1.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$1.03.

About Meridian Mining UK Societas

(Get Free Report)

Meridian Mining UK Societas, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Brazil. The company explores for manganese, gold, copper, and tin deposits. It holds interest in the EspigAo polymetallic project and the Ariquemes tin project located in RondAnia.

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MetLife (NYSE:MET  Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $76.00 to $81.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services providers stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MET. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. TheStreet lowered shares of MetLife from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.50.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MetLife

MetLife Stock Up 0.0 %

MET opened at $62.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.37. MetLife has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $77.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.10.

MetLife (NYSE:MET  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.91 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 7th. MetLifes payout ratio is 80.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in MetLife by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 116,658 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,759,000 after acquiring an additional 34,248 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 11,543 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Leo Brokerage LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in MetLife by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 148,449 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $8,601,000 after acquiring an additional 10,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.83% of the companys stock.

About MetLife

(Get Free Report)

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.

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Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. bought a new stake in ForgeRock, Inc. (NYSE:FORG  Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 96,174 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,981,000. Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. owned about 0.11% of ForgeRock at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in ForgeRock by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 594,228 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,241,000 after buying an additional 94,337 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in ForgeRock by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 3,023 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in ForgeRock by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,251 shares of the companys stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 10,178 shares during the period. Catalyst Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in ForgeRock in the 1st quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY boosted its holdings in ForgeRock by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 2,311 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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ForgeRock Price Performance

NYSE:FORG opened at $21.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.12 and a 200-day moving average of $20.15. ForgeRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.13 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Insider Transactions at ForgeRock

ForgeRock ( NYSE:FORG Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $63.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.55 million. ForgeRock had a negative return on equity of 21.09% and a negative net margin of 33.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that ForgeRock, Inc. will post -0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider Samuel J. Fleischmann sold 1,581 shares of ForgeRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $31,477.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,852 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,426,073.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other ForgeRock news, EVP Peter M. Barker sold 2,084 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $42,826.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 212,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,370,368.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Samuel J. Fleischmann sold 1,581 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $31,477.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,852 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,426,073.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 550,288 shares of company stock valued at $10,715,823. Company insiders own 31.80% of the companys stock.

About ForgeRock

(Free Report)

ForgeRock, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a digital identity platform to secure, manage, and govern the identities of customers, employees, partners, application programing interfaces (APIs), microservices, devices, and the Internet of things worldwide. The company offers identity management products to automate onboarding/registration and progressive profiling, identity lifecycle and relationship management, identity provisioning and synchronization, user self-service, personalization, delegation, and privacy and consent management.

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Mondrian Investment Partners LTD decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 687,627 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTDs holdings in Novartis were worth $63,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,556,539 shares of the companys stock worth $136,587,000 after purchasing an additional 240,710 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 4,869 shares of the companys stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 42.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,996 shares of the companys stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.5% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 95,477 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Novartis by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,528 shares of the companys stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating for the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $103.65. 997,928 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,023,067. The stock has a market cap of $219.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $74.09 and a twelve month high of $105.61.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.32 million. Novartis had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 14.76%. The companys revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

About Novartis

(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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YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Constantinos Kombos has expressed full support to Armenia and has called on Azerbaijan to lift the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Phone conversation with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan on dire humanitarian crisis following the blockage of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, Kombos posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Reiterated Cyprus full support to Armenia and called Azerbaijan to lift the blockage in line with 2020 ceasefire statement & ICJ decision.

The Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023, the United Nations highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supplies Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medication for Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan blocked the trucks at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.
Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (NYSE:TIXT  Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,721 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 3,019 shares during the quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.s holdings in TELUS International (Cda) were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in TELUS International (Cda) during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC purchased a new position in TELUS International (Cda) during the third quarter worth approximately $101,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in TELUS International (Cda) by 388.5% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,154 shares of the companys stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 4,099 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in TELUS International (Cda) by 43.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,367 shares of the companys stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in TELUS International (Cda) during the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.30% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

TIXT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on TELUS International (Cda) from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TheStreet cut TELUS International (Cda) from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on TELUS International (Cda) from $15.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. National Bank Financial cut TELUS International (Cda) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on TELUS International (Cda) from $21.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.33.

TELUS International (Cda) Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TIXT opened at $9.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $658.09 million, a PE ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. TELUS International has a 52-week low of $8.74 and a 52-week high of $31.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.64.

TELUS International (Cda) Company Profile

(Free Report)

TELUS International (Cda) Inc design, builds, and delivers digital solutions for customer experience (CX) in Europe, North America, the Asia-Pacific, and the Central America. The company provides digital experience solutions, such as AI and bots, omnichannel CX, enterprise mobility solutions, cloud contact center, big data analytics, platform transformation, and UX/UI design; and customer experience solutions, including work anywhere/work from home, contact center outsourcing, technical support, sales growth and customer retention, healthcare/patient experience, and debt collection.

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BT Group (OTCMKTS:BTGOF  Get Free Report) had its price target cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from GBX 240 ($3.07) to GBX 220 ($2.81) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on BT Group from GBX 150 ($1.92) to GBX 145 ($1.85) in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. UBS Group cut BT Group from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on BT Group from GBX 240 ($3.07) to GBX 225 ($2.88) in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Berenberg Bank decreased their price target on BT Group from GBX 160 ($2.04) to GBX 150 ($1.92) in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BT Group from GBX 275 ($3.51) to GBX 280 ($3.58) in a research note on Friday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $181.11.

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BT Group Trading Up 2.7 %

BT Group Company Profile

OTCMKTS:BTGOF traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1.50. 27,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,852. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.72. BT Group has a 52 week low of $1.25 and a 52 week high of $2.00.

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BT Group plc provides communications products and services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Consumer, Enterprise, Global, and Openreach segments. The company builds, owns, and operates fixed and mobile networks; and designs, builds, markets, sells, and supports network access, connectivity, and related solutions.

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Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI  Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on OHI. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.25.

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Omega Healthcare Investors Stock Down 1.5 %

Omega Healthcare Investors Dividend Announcement

NYSE:OHI opened at $31.25 on Monday. Omega Healthcare Investors has a 1-year low of $25.61 and a 1-year high of $33.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64 and a beta of 1.00. The firms 50-day moving average price is $31.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 5.55 and a quick ratio of 5.55.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. Omega Healthcare Investorss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 262.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Omega Healthcare Investors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OHI. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors by 6.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,517 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Omega Healthcare Investors by 5.6% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 326,488 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,510,000 after purchasing an additional 17,447 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Omega Healthcare Investors by 13.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 67,846 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 7,873 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in Omega Healthcare Investors in the first quarter worth approximately $248,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Omega Healthcare Investors by 5.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 184,776 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $5,758,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.04% of the companys stock.

About Omega Healthcare Investors

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Omega is a REIT that invests in the long-term healthcare industry, primarily in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Its portfolio of assets is operated by a diverse group of healthcare companies, predominantly in a triple-net lease structure. The assets span all regions within the U.S., as well as in the U.K.

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Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:IEMG  Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,709 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the quarter. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF makes up approximately 0.3% of Operose Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Operose Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IEMG. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF during the first quarter valued at approximately $121,380,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,491,405 shares of the companys stock worth $1,048,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,043 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 426.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,182,147 shares of the companys stock worth $106,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767,489 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,341,960 shares of the companys stock worth $856,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan raised its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan now owns 11,005,033 shares of the companys stock worth $513,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,693 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA IEMG traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.39. The stock had a trading volume of 7,524,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,155,429. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a 1 year low of $41.44 and a 1 year high of $52.30. The stock has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.21.

About iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of emerging-market firms, covering 99% of market capitalization. IEMG was launched on Oct 18, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL  Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,221 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after selling 7,384 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 843.3% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 283 shares of the enterprise software providers stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 43.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,286,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,443,487. The firm has a market cap of $306.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 55.54, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $60.78 and a one year high of $127.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average of $100.76.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

Oracle ( NYSE:ORCL Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 12th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.74 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 17.02% and a negative return on equity of 470.73%. The businesss revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 12th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Oracles dividend payout ratio is currently 52.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Oracle from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Oracle from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Oracle from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Finally, VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $119.37.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Oracle

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $423,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 354,837 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.39, for a total transaction of $43,783,337.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,543,033 shares in the company, valued at $313,784,841.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,175,443 shares of company stock valued at $510,658,596. Insiders own 43.70% of the companys stock.

Oracle Profile

(Free Report)

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.

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Owens Corning (NYSE:OC  Get Free Report) Director W Howard Morris sold 1,033 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.63, for a total transaction of $146,303.79. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,889 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,791,109.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Owens Corning Stock Performance

Shares of OC opened at $141.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.23 and a 200-day moving average of $109.85. Owens Corning has a one year low of $74.22 and a one year high of $143.67. The company has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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Owens Corning (NYSE:OC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Owens Corning had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Owens Corning will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Owens Corning Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 14th. Owens Cornings payout ratio is 14.74%.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $105.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Owens Corning from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $138.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Owens Corning from $127.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Owens Corning from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Owens Corning presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $140.92.

Get Our Latest Research Report on OC

Institutional Trading of Owens Corning

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Owens Corning during the 2nd quarter worth about $911,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Owens Corning during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Owens Corning during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Owens Corning during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 310 shares of the construction companys stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.43% of the companys stock.

Owens Corning Company Profile

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Owens Corning engages in manufacture and sale of insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composite materials in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Composites, Insulation, and Roofing. The Composites segment manufactures, fabricates, and sells glass reinforcements in the form of fiber; and glass fiber products in the form of fabrics, non-wovens, and other specialized products.

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Payfare (TSE:PAY  Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by Raymond James from C$16.00 to C$11.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James price target would suggest a potential upside of 69.23% from the stocks previous close.

Payfare Trading Up 0.3 %

PAY stock traded up C$0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$6.50. The company had a trading volume of 55,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,180. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Payfare has a 52 week low of C$3.77 and a 52 week high of C$7.44. The stocks 50 day moving average price is C$5.78 and its 200 day moving average price is C$5.98. The stock has a market cap of C$309.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 216.67 and a beta of 1.48.

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Payfare Company Profile

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Payfare Inc, a financial technology company, provides instant payout and digital banking solutions to gig economy workers in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company offers PayFare, a platform that provides access to earnings, as well as banking services, such as ATM withdrawals, funds transfers, bill payments, and savings wallets; Paid Portal by Payfare, a payout solution for gig workforces; and Paid App by Payfare, a digital banking app.

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Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY  Free Report)  Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for shares of Teledyne Technologies in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 9th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now forecasts that the scientific and technical instruments company will post earnings of $4.74 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.75. The consensus estimate for Teledyne Technologies current full-year earnings is $19.10 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Teledyne Technologies Q4 2023 earnings at $5.19 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $19.13 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $5.02 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $4.88 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.41 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $21.43 EPS.

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Several other research firms have also recently commented on TDY. StockNews.com raised Teledyne Technologies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 26th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Teledyne Technologies from $503.00 to $499.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on Teledyne Technologies from $533.00 to $565.00 in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Teledyne Technologies from $470.00 to $455.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 27th.

Teledyne Technologies Price Performance

TDY stock opened at $383.84 on Friday. Teledyne Technologies has a 12-month low of $325.00 and a 12-month high of $448.71. The company has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $400.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.58.

Teledyne Technologies (NYSE:TDY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.63 by $0.04. Teledyne Technologies had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 13.75%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.43 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Teledyne Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Teledyne Technologies by 2,240.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,465,581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 1,402,965 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Teledyne Technologies by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,876,353 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $2,350,012,000 after buying an additional 1,339,098 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Teledyne Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,954,000. Durable Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Teledyne Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $140,332,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP grew its stake in Teledyne Technologies by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 345,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $138,137,000 after buying an additional 144,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.31% of the companys stock.

Insider Transactions at Teledyne Technologies

In other news, VP Melanie Susan Cibik sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.00, for a total transaction of $826,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 27,305 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,276,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Teledyne Technologies Company Profile

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Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides enabling technologies for industrial growth markets in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. The company's Instrumentation segment offers monitoring and control instruments for marine, environmental, industrial, and other applications, as well as electronic test and measurement equipment; and power and communications connectivity devices for distributed instrumentation systems and sensor networks.

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Invitae Co. (NYSE:NVTA  Free Report)  Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs boosted their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for Invitae in a report issued on Tuesday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of ($0.30) per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of ($0.33). The consensus estimate for Invitaes current full-year earnings is ($1.48) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Invitaes Q4 2023 earnings at ($0.29) EPS, FY2023 earnings at ($1.26) EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at ($0.29) EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at ($0.27) EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at ($0.26) EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.25) EPS, FY2024 earnings at ($1.06) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($0.94) EPS.

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Invitae (NYSE:NVTA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $117.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $116.57 million. Invitae had a negative return on equity of 6,100.71% and a negative net margin of 161.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.78) earnings per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Invitae from $1.75 to $1.50 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Raymond James lowered Invitae from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Invitae from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Invitae in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a sell rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Reduce and an average price target of $2.08.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Invitae

Invitae Trading Down 3.6 %

NVTA stock opened at $1.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.68, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.97. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $1.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.48. Invitae has a 12-month low of $1.02 and a 12-month high of $6.68.

Institutional Trading of Invitae

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVTA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Invitae by 12.7% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,588,422 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 179,611 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Invitae by 114.1% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,012 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 13,330 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Invitae by 25.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,893,538 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 378,831 shares during the period. Longitude Cayman Ltd. increased its position in Invitae by 17.6% in the second quarter. Longitude Cayman Ltd. now owns 600,000 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Invitae by 67.0% in the second quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,459 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 12,219 shares during the period. 70.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Invitae news, CEO Kenneth D. Knight sold 45,432 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.20, for a total value of $54,518.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,671,610 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,005,932. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Invitae news, CEO Kenneth D. Knight sold 45,432 shares of Invitae stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.20, for a total transaction of $54,518.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,671,610 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,005,932. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert L. Nussbaum sold 26,476 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.20, for a total transaction of $31,771.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 576,431 shares of the companys stock, valued at $691,717.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,005 shares of company stock worth $208,409 over the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Invitae Company Profile

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Invitae Corporation, a medical genetics company, that provides genetic information to improve healthcare of people in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers genetic tests in various clinical areas, including hereditary cancer, precision oncology, women's health, rare diseases, and pharmacogenomics; digital health solutions; and health data services.

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Redburn Partners lowered shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV  Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $27.00 price target on the airlines stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.00.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.6 %

LUV stock opened at $33.84 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $28.40 and a 52 week high of $40.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.17.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.81% and a net margin of 2.31%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 6th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 5th. Southwest Airliness dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 247.5% in the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airlines stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 279.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 948 shares of the airlines stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.81% of the companys stock.

About Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a total fleet of 770 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.

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On August 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a readout.

August 11, 2023, 09:56 Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 11, ARTSAKHPRESS: Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor which has been going on for about 8 months. Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that since June 15 Nagorno-Karabakh is under total blockade as a result of which 120,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing an acute shortage of food and medicine, and people with serious health problems as well as 9,000 pregnant women are deprived of urgent medical assistance.

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that Azerbaijan does not comply with two Orders of the International Court of Justice regarding the restoration of movement along the Lachin corridor and ignores the targeted calls of international partners and various bodies. Therefore, in current conditions, clear steps are needed that will result in the immediate lifting of the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

During the phone call, the sides also touched upon the bilateral agenda and expressed readiness to take steps towards the development of collaboration between Armenia and the UAE, noting the importance of high-level mutual visits.
Savers Value Village (NYSE:SVV  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report issued on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Robert W. Bairds price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.64% from the stocks previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Savers Value Village in a report on Monday, July 24th. They issued a buy rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Savers Value Village in a report on Monday, July 24th. They set an overweight rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Savers Value Village in a report on Monday, July 24th. They set a buy rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Savers Value Village in a report on Monday, July 24th. They set a buy rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, CIBC began coverage on shares of Savers Value Village in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. They set an outperform rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $28.43.

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Savers Value Village Stock Performance

Insider Activity

SVV stock opened at $23.60 on Friday. Savers Value Village has a 12 month low of $21.50 and a 12 month high of $25.48.

In other news, major shareholder Ares Management Llc sold 6,885,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $115,606,117.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 134,659,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,927,766.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Savers Value Village

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Savers Value Village in the second quarter valued at about $1,479,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Savers Value Village in the second quarter valued at about $592,000. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Savers Value Village in the second quarter valued at about $527,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Savers Value Village in the second quarter valued at about $18,961,000. Finally, Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Savers Value Village in the second quarter valued at about $1,212,000.

Savers Value Village Company Profile

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Savers Value Village, Inc sells second-hand merchandise in retail stores in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It operates stores under the Savers, Value Village, Village des Valeurs, Unique, and 2nd Avenue banners. The company purchases secondhand textiles, including clothing, bedding, and bath items; shoes; accessories; housewares; books; and other goods from non-profit partners, then processes, selects, prices, merchandises, and sells them in its stores.

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR  Get Free Report) insider Angela Strank acquired 4,717 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 210 ($2.68) per share, with a total value of 9,905.70 ($12,659.04).

Angela Strank also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, May 19th, Angela Strank acquired 6,359 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 156 ($1.99) per share, with a total value of 9,920.04 ($12,677.37).

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Stock Up 0.6 %

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock opened at GBX 209.10 ($2.67) on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 159.41. The firm has a market capitalization of 17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,485.00, a PEG ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RR. Shore Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Friday, July 28th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a GBX 100 ($1.28) price target on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 145 ($1.85) to GBX 156 ($1.99) and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 119.20 ($1.52).

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Company Profile

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc operates as an industrial technology company in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Civil Aerospace, Defence, Power Systems, and New Markets. The Civil Aerospace segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells aero engines for large commercial aircraft, regional jet, and business aviation markets, as well as provides aftermarket services.

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CI Financial (TSE:CIX  Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$20.00 to C$21.00 in a research note issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canadas price target suggests a potential upside of 19.93% from the companys current price.

CIX has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities upgraded shares of CI Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a C$17.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of CI Financial from C$13.50 to C$18.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CI Financial from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd.

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CI Financial Price Performance

CI Financial stock traded up C$0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$17.51. The stock had a trading volume of 519,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 747,424. The firms 50 day moving average is C$15.45 and its 200 day moving average is C$14.47. CI Financial has a one year low of C$11.85 and a one year high of C$18.69. The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 269.02.

CI Financial (TSE:CIX  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported C$0.76 EPS for the quarter. CI Financial had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 11.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CI Financial will post 3.1908397 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Mary Ward bought 6,000 shares of CI Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$16.19 per share, with a total value of C$97,140.00. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CI Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of CI Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,055 shares of the companys stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CI Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,471 shares of the companys stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in shares of CI Financial by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,449 shares of the companys stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. 16.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CI Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CI Financial Corp. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm manages separate client focused equity, fixed income, and alternative investments portfolios. It also manages mutual funds, hedge funds, and fund of funds for its clients through its subsidiaries.

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California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM  Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,741,082 shares of the CRM providers stock after selling 14,687 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.18% of Salesforce worth $347,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 81.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $208.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,003,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,335,094. The businesss fifty day moving average is $216.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $202.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 552.18, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.34 and a twelve month high of $238.22.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

Salesforce ( NYSE:CRM Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 31st. The CRM provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Salesforce had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 1.18%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.74, for a total value of $259,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,838,191.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.68, for a total transaction of $3,235,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,206,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,495,345,882.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.74, for a total value of $259,675.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100,309 shares in the company, valued at $20,838,191.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,109,743 shares of company stock valued at $236,855,509. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Salesforce from $235.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $225.00 to $250.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Societe Generale lowered Salesforce from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $224.56.

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Salesforce Company Profile

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Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.

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Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (NYSE:HIX  Free Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,997 shares of the closed-end funds stock after selling 25,271 shares during the quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLCs holdings in Western Asset High Income Fund II were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 106,576 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 3,445 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 69,904 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 183,499 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 111,100 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,533 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 6,046 shares during the last quarter.

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Western Asset High Income Fund II Stock Performance

Shares of Western Asset High Income Fund II stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.05. The company had a trading volume of 66,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,609. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.97. Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.14 and a 12-month high of $5.96.

Western Asset High Income Fund II Announces Dividend

Western Asset High Income Fund II Profile

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.049 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.64%.

(Free Report)

Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC. The fund is co-managed by Western Asset Management Company, Western Asset Management Company Limited, and Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd. It invests in the fixed income markets across the globe.

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Borregaard ASA (OTCMKTS:BRRDF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 43,100 shares, a growth of 94.1% from the July 15th total of 22,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days.

Borregaard ASA Stock Performance

Shares of Borregaard ASA stock opened at $15.45 on Friday. Borregaard ASA has a 12-month low of $12.65 and a 12-month high of $15.75. The businesss 50 day moving average is $15.45 and its 200-day moving average is $15.63.

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Borregaard ASA Company Profile

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Further Reading

Borregaard ASA develops, produces, and markets specialized biomaterials and biochemicals in Norway, rest of Europe, the United States, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: BioSolutions, BioMaterials, and Fine Chemicals. The BioSolutions segment provides biopolymers for a range of applications, such as agrochemicals, batteries, industrial binders, and construction; and biovanillin for flavor and fragrance companies, as well as for food and beverage industry.

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SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Bank of America from $27.00 to $36.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Bank of Americas price target suggests a potential upside of 2.95% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SLG. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of SL Green Realty from $84.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of SL Green Realty in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of SL Green Realty from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $34.27.

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SL Green Realty Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SLG traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,479,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,969. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.28. SL Green Realty has a fifty-two week low of $19.06 and a fifty-two week high of $51.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported ($5.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($6.96). SL Green Realty had a negative net margin of 50.10% and a negative return on equity of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $221.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SL Green Realty will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SL Green Realty

In other SL Green Realty news, Director Betsy S. Atkins sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.47, for a total transaction of $107,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,662 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $250,383.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SL Green Realty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $700,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 154.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 86,295 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 20,037 shares during the period. 85.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SL Green Realty Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattans largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet.

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Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Free Report) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,920 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 710 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Edison International were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EIX. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,198,846 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $139,891,000 after buying an additional 189,441 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Edison International by 68.4% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 6,894 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Edison International by 64.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Edison International by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 5,504 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Edison International in the 4th quarter worth about $451,000. 88.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Edison International in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of Edison International from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Edison International from $79.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on Edison International from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Edison International from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Edison International Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE EIX traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.97. The companys stock had a trading volume of 120,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.80. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $69.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.44. Edison International has a fifty-two week low of $54.45 and a fifty-two week high of $74.92.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. Edison International had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th were given a $0.738 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Edison Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Edison Internationals payout ratio is 118.95%.

About Edison International

(Free Report)

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, generates and distributes electric power. The company supplies electricity to approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California to residential, commercial, industrial, public authorities, agricultural, and other sectors. It also provides decarbonization and energy solutions to commercial, institutional, and industrial customers in North America and Europe.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EIX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Free Report).

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Roth Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of Standard Lithium (OTCMKTS:SLI  Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, PriceTargets.com reports.

Standard Lithium Price Performance

Shares of SLI traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.47. The stock had a trading volume of 564,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,957. Standard Lithium has a 1 year low of $2.83 and a 1 year high of $6.74. The firm has a market cap of $772.19 million, a PE ratio of -44.70 and a beta of 2.43. The stocks 50 day moving average is $4.45 and its 200 day moving average is $4.06.

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Standard Lithium (OTCMKTS:SLI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Standard Lithium will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Company Profile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Standard Lithium by 20.7% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,346,531 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,917,000 after purchasing an additional 402,561 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Standard Lithium by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 287,346 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,078 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Standard Lithium by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 273,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Standard Lithium in the 1st quarter valued at about $758,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Standard Lithium by 285.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 194,630 shares of the companys stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 144,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.29% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with approximately 150,000 acres of brine leases located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd.

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Swedbank AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:SWDBF  Get Free Report) is one of 288 publicly-traded companies in the BanksRegional industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Swedbank AB (publ) to related companies based on the strength of its risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Swedbank AB (publ) and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Swedbank AB (publ) 0 0 0 0 N/A Swedbank AB (publ) Competitors 1087 3271 3302 16 2.29

As a group, BanksRegional companies have a potential upside of 301.79%. Given Swedbank AB (publ)s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Swedbank AB (publ) has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Swedbank AB (publ) pays an annual dividend of $10.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 55.9%. Swedbank AB (publ) pays out 68.9% 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.

28.9% of Swedbank AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.8% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by institutional investors. 16.3% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Swedbank AB (publ) and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Swedbank AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A Swedbank AB (publ) Competitors 33.75% 10.17% 0.94%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Swedbank AB (publ) and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Swedbank AB (publ) N/A N/A 1.23 Swedbank AB (publ) Competitors $3.76 billion $889.14 million 251.98

Swedbank AB (publ)s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Swedbank AB (publ). Swedbank AB (publ) 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.

Summary

Swedbank AB (publ) competitors beat Swedbank AB (publ) on 9 of the 10 factors compared.

About Swedbank AB (publ)

(Get Free Report)

Swedbank AB (publ) engages in the provision of various banking products and services to individuals and companies. The company operates through Swedish Banking, Baltic Banking, and Large Corporates & Institutions segments. It offers savings accounts, mutual funds and insurance savings, pension savings, institutional asset management, and other savings and investment products; provides private residential lending, consumer financing, corporate lending, leasing, and other financing products, as well as trade finance, and factoring services; and current accounts, cash handling, debit and credit cards, and card acquiring, as well as domestic, international, mobile, document, and other payment products. The company also provides equity trading, structured products, corporate finance, custody services, fixed income and currency trading, and other capital market products; and offers administrative services, treasury operations, real estate brokerage and management, legal services, safe deposit boxes, and other services. In addition, it offers life insurance and pension solutions; and transaction banking services comprising cash management, securities, account, and clearing and settlement services, as well as provides Internet and mobile banking services. It has operations in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland, China, and the United States. The company was formerly known as ForeningsSparbanken AB and changed its name to Swedbank AB (publ) in September 2006. Swedbank AB (publ) was founded in 1820 and is headquartered in Sundbyberg, Sweden.

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Anthony Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit the Philippines for bilateral talks in two decades as part of a five-day Southeast Asian sojourn.

The prime minister will travel to Indonesia, the Philippines and India in September to meet with regional leaders to discuss global challenges and advance Australia's economic, security and climate agenda.



The whirlwind trip will begin with Mr Albanese attending the third annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta from September 6 to 7.

He will then move to Manila for a meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr on September 8 which is expected to focus on boosting co-operation on defence and maritime security, development and education.

It will mark the first bilateral visit to the Philippines by an Australian prime minister since 2003.

Mr Albanese's last stop will be at the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, with this year's two-day meeting centred on the theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

The prime minister said deepening Australia's engagement with Southeast Asia was a key priority for his government.

"Our futures are intertwined - so it's essential that we work together to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous region," Mr Albanese said in a statement on Friday.

"It is more important than ever that Australia works closely with international partners, including through multilateral economic forums like the G20, to address shared challenges and opportunities."
Compass Point upgraded shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (NYSE:SKT  Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $26.00 price target on the real estate investment trusts stock, up from their prior price target of $21.00.

SKT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Tanger Factory Outlet Centers in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. 888 reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Tanger Factory Outlet Centers from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $22.75.

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Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Stock Performance

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Dividend Announcement

SKT opened at $24.80 on Monday. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers has a 52-week low of $13.26 and a 52-week high of $25.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 2.49. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $22.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.21.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.245 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. Tanger Factory Outlet Centerss payout ratio is 118.07%.

Insider Activity at Tanger Factory Outlet Centers

In related news, insider Steven B. Tanger sold 220,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.67, for a total value of $4,768,786.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,281,919 shares in the company, valued at $27,779,184.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan E. Skerritt sold 3,310 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $69,642.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,145.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven B. Tanger sold 220,064 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.67, for a total value of $4,768,786.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,281,919 shares of the companys stock, valued at $27,779,184.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 228,374 shares of company stock worth $4,938,179 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,314 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 175,065 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $3,864,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,637 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,090 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,623 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc (NYSE: SKT) is a leading operator of upscale open-air outlet centers that owns (or has an ownership interest in) and/or manages a portfolio of 36 centers with an additional center currently under development. Tanger's operating properties are located in 20 states and in Canada, totaling approximately 13.9 million square feet, leased to over 2,700 stores operated by more than 600 different brand name companies.

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TBH Global Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 64.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,584 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 6,554 shares during the period. TBH Global Asset Management LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GS. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,936,351 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $2,038,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,350 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,044,608 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $1,650,142,000 after purchasing an additional 144,177 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 52,016 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 89,985 shares during the period. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 2,224,798 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $727,754,000 after buying an additional 43,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.90% of the companys stock.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $340.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $287.75 and a twelve month high of $389.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $334.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.45.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The Goldman Sachs Group ( NYSE:GS Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.73 EPS. The companys revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The Goldman Sachs Groups payout ratio is 42.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Credit Suisse Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Odeon Capital Group raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $355.75 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $339.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $396.93.

View Our Latest Research Report on The Goldman Sachs Group

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 1,145,486 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $13,436,550.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,099,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $587,665,868.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.28, for a total transaction of $1,496,376.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,457,330.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 1,145,486 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $13,436,550.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,099,392 shares in the company, valued at $587,665,868.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,159,686 shares of company stock worth $123,960,027. 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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Todd Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) by 7.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 205,242 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 13,507 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $19,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Capital One Financial by 43.4% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. America First Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new position in shares of Capital One Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Capital One Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.73% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Capital One Financial

In related news, insider Kara West sold 2,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.06, for a total transaction of $271,771.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,202,377. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kara West sold 2,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.06, for a total transaction of $271,771.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,202,377. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard D. Fairbank sold 3,891 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.34, for a total value of $456,569.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,848,406 shares of the companys stock, valued at $451,571,960.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,973 shares of company stock worth $3,090,031 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.27% of the companys stock.

Capital One Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Capital One Financial stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.21. The stock had a trading volume of 919,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,169,231. The firm has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.95. Capital One Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $83.93 and a 12-month high of $123.09.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.21. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Capital One Financial Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 4th. Capital One Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on COF. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $112.00 to $108.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Capital One Financial from $80.00 to $87.00 in a report on Friday, July 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Capital One Financial from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Capital One Financial from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Capital One Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Capital One Financial currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $109.09.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on COF

Capital One Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One Bank (USA), National Association; and Capital One, National Association, which provides various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.

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Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ING Groep (NYSE:ING  Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,383,347 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 19,224 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in ING Groep were worth $28,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in ING Groep by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in ING Groep during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in ING Groep by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,183 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ING Groep by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,292 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in ING Groep by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.08% of the companys stock.

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ING Groep Stock Performance

ING Groep stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $14.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,385,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,628,334. ING Groep has a 12 month low of $8.14 and a 12 month high of $14.99. The firms 50-day moving average price is $13.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

ING Groep ( NYSE:ING Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. ING Groep had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 28.40%. As a group, research analysts predict that ING Groep will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4267 per share. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This is a positive change from ING Groeps previous semi-annual dividend of $0.41. ING Groeps payout ratio is presently 43.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ING Groep in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ING Groep has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $14.39.

View Our Latest Research Report on ING Groep

ING Groep Company Profile

(Free Report)

ING Groep N.V., a financial institution, provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Rest of Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. It operates in six segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, Wholesale Banking, and Corporate Line Banking.

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Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF  Free Report) (TSE:SLF) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,643 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 7,439 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Sun Life Financial worth $21,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SLF. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 41.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $50.52. 1,161,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 477,077. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.96 and a twelve month high of $53.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.36.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

Sun Life Financial ( NYSE:SLF Get Free Report ) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.86 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 8.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.566 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. This represents a $2.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Sun Life Financials payout ratio is presently 57.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SLF. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Sun Life Financial from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Monday, May 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on Sun Life Financial from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.

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Sun Life Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as personal health, dental, critical illness, long-term care, and disability insurance products. The company provides financial advice, asset management, and investments related products.

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Todd Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO  Free Report) (TSE:BMO) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 268,770 shares of the banks stock after selling 88,408 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in Bank of Montreal were worth $23,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 339.0% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the banks stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,125 shares of the banks stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.18% of the companys stock.

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Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $87.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 325,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,319. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $63.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of $81.57 and a 1-year high of $105.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.16.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

Bank of Montreal ( NYSE:BMO Get Free Report ) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The bank reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.35 by ($0.19). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Bank of Montreals payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $149.50.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on BMO

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 37,510 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 75% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,395 call options.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of LLY stock traded up $6.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $528.28. 2,514,775 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,075,861. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $296.32 and a 12-month high of $538.00. The companys 50-day moving average price is $456.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $397.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.87%.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $560.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $385.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $375.00 to $500.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $615.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $447.00 to $498.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $517.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LLY

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 591 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.62, for a total value of $275,772.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 101,028,219 shares of the companys stock, valued at $47,141,787,549.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 591 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.62, for a total value of $275,772.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 101,028,219 shares of the companys stock, valued at $47,141,787,549.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total value of $261,174.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,978 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,163.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 755,017 shares of company stock worth $357,815,036. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 533,336.4% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 19,059,681 shares of the companys stock worth $8,938,609,000 after acquiring an additional 19,056,108 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth $3,416,206,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 102,752.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,446,026 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,992,374,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440,731 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,059,204 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,411,740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 316.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,434,073 shares of the companys stock worth $217,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.25% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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US Bancorp DE lowered its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,803,847 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 122,571 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.57% of U.S. Bancorp worth $317,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenview Trust co increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.2% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 495,336 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $17,857,000 after acquiring an additional 10,498 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,634 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.2% in the first quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 72,690 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 20.8% in the first quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 47,701 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 8,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 19,397 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. 74.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Credit Suisse Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $58.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Raymond James raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $39.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Sunday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $48.20.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.49. 10,030,226 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,693,151. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.15 and a 200 day moving average of $37.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.97. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $27.27 and a fifty-two week high of $49.95.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 16.59%. The firms revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. U.S. Bancorps payout ratio is 53.19%.

About U.S. Bancorp

(Free Report)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Services, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.

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US Bancorp DE lessened its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYG  Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 810,031 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 48,665 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.44% of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF worth $61,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allstate Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $117,246,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 1,438,868 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $105,943,000 after buying an additional 582,040 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167,916 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $96,108,000 after buying an additional 57,046 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 838,789 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $61,760,000 after buying an additional 286,078 shares during the period. Finally, BTS Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $42,431,000.

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iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.75. 15,324,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,170,043. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $70.40 and a twelve month high of $79.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.70.

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid the United States dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds for sale in the United States, as determined by the index provider.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HYG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYG  Free Report).

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Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE  Free Report) by 25.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,490 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 10,360 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Vale were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 277.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Vale by 527.0% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 4,763 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.82% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VALE. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Vale from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $16.64.

Vale Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Vale stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.46. 4,171,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,471,938. The stock has a market cap of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.86. The firms 50-day moving average price is $13.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.03. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $11.72 and a 12-month high of $19.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4056 per share. This is a boost from Vales previous semi-annual dividend of $0.35. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Vales payout ratio is 28.63%.

Vale Company Profile

(Free Report)

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VALE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE  Free Report).

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Furnished 3 bedroom, 3 bath home for rent, located at the village edge. Available September 1. Desired lease term is 9 months. Other terms are negotiable. Wonderful, private location. Close to schools and a short walk to the village. The main level features a sunny & bright living room, dining room and kitchen, three bedrooms, one with an ensuite, and another bathroom. There are hardwood floors throughout the main level. The covered porch off the dining room overlooks the private back yard. Downstairs you'll find a family room, another room currently set up as a 4th bedroom, a full bath, utility room and access to the garage. Tenant will have 1 garage space available. Landlord will bill Tenant for all utilities (gas, electric, WiFi, etc.). This rental does NOT including any access to the Gayle Road lake rights. Tenant is responsible for trash removal and snow plowing. Landlord will handle lawn mowing & maintenance. Bedding & linens not included. The tenant(s) will be responsible to do credit/background check through RentSpree at a cost of $20.00.

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Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG  Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $90.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.81 million. Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 9.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Vishay Precision Group updated its Q3 2023 guidance to EPS.

Vishay Precision Group Price Performance

Vishay Precision Group stock opened at $36.52 on Friday. Vishay Precision Group has a 52 week low of $29.52 and a 52 week high of $45.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $36.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $496.67 million, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.29.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley assumed coverage on Vishay Precision Group in a research note on Friday, April 14th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on Vishay Precision Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wes Cummins bought 12,000 shares of Vishay Precision Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.41 per share, with a total value of $412,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 477,292 shares in the company, valued at $16,423,617.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.01% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 99.9% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 500.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 4th quarter worth $157,000. UBS Group AG purchased a new position in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 4th quarter worth $175,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,665 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vishay Precision Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.

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Wayfair (NYSE:W  Get Free Report)s stock had its buy rating reiterated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLCs price target suggests a potential upside of 37.29% from the companys previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $60.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. UBS Group raised Wayfair from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Wayfair from $39.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Wayfair from $25.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Wayfair from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $79.11.

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Read Our Latest Stock Report on W

Wayfair Price Performance

Insider Activity

Wayfair stock opened at $72.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.63 and a beta of 3.19. Wayfair has a 12-month low of $28.11 and a 12-month high of $90.71. The firms 50-day moving average is $63.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.08.

In other news, Director Anke Schaferkordt sold 679 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $49,634.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,286 shares of the companys stock, valued at $678,806.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Steve Oblak sold 1,923 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.19, for a total transaction of $104,207.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 221,662 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,011,863.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anke Schaferkordt sold 679 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $49,634.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,286 shares of the companys stock, valued at $678,806.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,489 shares of company stock worth $7,540,837 over the last 90 days. 26.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wayfair

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of W. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Wayfair by 3,259.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 991,072 shares of the companys stock worth $32,596,000 after acquiring an additional 961,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wayfair in the 4th quarter worth about $28,044,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Wayfair in the 1st quarter worth about $18,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Wayfair by 1,447.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 431,479 shares of the companys stock worth $14,817,000 after purchasing an additional 403,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Wayfair in the 1st quarter worth about $13,642,000. 87.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wayfair Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Wayfair Inc engages in the e-commerce business in the United States and internationally. The company provides approximately fourty million products for the home sector under various brands. It offers online selections of furniture, decor, housewares, and home improvement products through its sites, including Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional.

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Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO  Get Free Report) shares traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$7.20 and last traded at C$7.20. 85,950 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 728,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$6.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDO has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a C$8.00 price target on shares of Wesdome Gold Mines and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 19th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Wesdome Gold Mines from C$8.75 to C$11.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th.

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Get Our Latest Analysis on Wesdome Gold Mines

Wesdome Gold Mines Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of C$7.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$7.30. The firm has a market cap of C$1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.00 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.74.

Wesdome Gold Mines (TSE:WDO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The company reported C$0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.05 by C($0.03). Wesdome Gold Mines had a negative return on equity of 5.35% and a negative net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of C$76.70 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. will post 0.0296698 EPS for the current year.

About Wesdome Gold Mines

(Get Free Report)

Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. explores and develops of gold deposits in Canada. The company produces gold in the form of dore bars, as well as silver as a by-product. It holds interest in the Eagle River Mine and the Mishi Mine in Ontario; and the Kiena Mine in Quebec. The company was formerly known as River Gold Mines Ltd.

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Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, an increase of 118.0% from the July 15th total of 11,100 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 45,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Xinyuan Real Estate Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of XIN traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $3.11. The companys stock had a trading volume of 8,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.87, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Xinyuan Real Estate has a 12-month low of $2.95 and a 12-month high of $7.55. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $3.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.04.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Xinyuan Real Estate stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN  Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 478,629 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $536,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.90% of Xinyuan Real Estate at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.62% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Xinyuan Real Estate in a report on Friday, August 4th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

Check Out Our Latest Report on XIN

About Xinyuan Real Estate

(Get Free Report)

Xinyuan Real Estate Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in residential real estate development and construction in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. The company develops residential projects, such as multi-layer apartment buildings, sub-high-rise apartment buildings, high-rise apartment buildings; auxiliary services and amenities, such as retail outlets, leisure and health facilities, kindergartens, and schools, as well as office, mixed-use, and commercial properties.

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Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN  Free Report) by 246.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,861 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 19,830 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of AMN Healthcare Services worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 32,938 shares of the companys stock worth $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the companys stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 290,030 shares of the companys stock worth $24,061,000 after purchasing an additional 27,610 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 770,961 shares of the companys stock worth $63,959,000 after purchasing an additional 139,891 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,814 shares of the companys stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the companys stock.

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AMN Healthcare Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMN Healthcare Services stock opened at $90.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average of $95.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.37. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.15 and a 1-year high of $129.04.

Insider Activity

AMN Healthcare Services ( NYSE:AMN Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $991.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.32 million. AMN Healthcare Services had a return on equity of 42.90% and a net margin of 7.29%. The companys revenue was down 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Daphne E. Jones sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.57, for a total transaction of $109,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,799 shares in the company, valued at $854,536.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMN has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on AMN Healthcare Services from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on AMN Healthcare Services from $111.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMN Healthcare Services from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on AMN Healthcare Services from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on AMN Healthcare Services in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMN Healthcare Services has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $112.17.

Read Our Latest Analysis on AMN

About AMN Healthcare Services

(Free Report)

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc provides healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States. It operates through three segments: Nurse and Allied Solutions, Physician and Leadership Solutions, and Technology and Workforce Solutions. The Nurse and Allied Solutions segment offers travel nurse staffing, rapid response nurse staffing and labor disruption, allied staffing, local staffing, and revenue cycle solutions.

Further Reading

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Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT  Free Report) by 770.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,707 shares of the asset managers stock after acquiring an additional 37,803 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltds holdings in State Street were worth $3,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the first quarter valued at $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. New Hampshire Trust bought a new stake in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of State Street during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 89.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at State Street

In other news, CFO Eric W. Aboaf sold 11,899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.28, for a total value of $812,463.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 157,860 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,778,680.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other State Street news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,814 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $123,660.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,197 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,263,039.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eric W. Aboaf sold 11,899 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.28, for a total transaction of $812,463.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 157,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,680.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the companys stock.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of STT opened at $73.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. State Street Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.62 and a fifty-two week high of $94.74.

State Street (NYSE:STT  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.14 billion. State Street had a net margin of 16.99% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The companys revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 29th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from State Streets previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. State Streets dividend payout ratio is 34.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on State Street from $72.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on State Street from $92.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of State Street from $91.00 to $81.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of State Street from $100.00 to $87.00 in a report on Sunday, July 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of State Street in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three 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 price target of $76.17.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on STT

State Street Company Profile

(Free Report)

State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody, accounting, regulatory reporting, investor, and performance and analytics; middle office products, such as IBOR, transaction management, loans, cash, derivatives and collateral, record keeping, and client reporting and investment analytics; foreign exchange, and brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors.

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For the second time in 14 months, the Cayuga Economic Development Agency is searching for a new leader.

Michael Miller, who was named CEDA's executive director in July 2022, is no longer with the agency. As of Friday, his name and bio were removed from CEDA's website.

Kevin Miles, chairman of CEDA's board of directors, confirmed Miller's departure and said his last day was Wednesday. He told The Citizen that it was an "amicable" split, but did not provide more details.

Miller told The Citizen that he was shocked by his dismissal and is "very disappointed in the board's decision." Regarding Miles' characterization of his departure, he said "the split was not amicable."

The vacancy will be discussed at CEDA's board meeting next week, according to Miles.

Miller was hired as part of a shift in the leadership structure of CEDA and the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce. For nearly 10 years, the two organizations were led by one executive director, with Andrew Fish and, later, Tracy Verrier holding that title.

After Verrier left for a new job in 2021, the organizations changed the top leader's title to CEO and hired Bradly Broadwell in April 2022. Broadwell was removed from his position after two months on the job.

As CEDA's executive director, Miller was involved in Cayuga County's plans to capitalize on Micron's $100 billion investment in central New York. He also played a role in a major development for the city of Auburn  the marketing of the former Bombardier plant that has been vacant since 2006.

On Wednesday, Miller's final day with CEDA, he appeared at the Cayuga County Legislature's Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting. He provided updates on CEDA's work and took questions from legislators. But he did not give any indication that he would no longer serve as the agency's leader.

In his message to The Citizen Friday, Miller said he was not aware he would be removed from his post.
Indian biopharmaceutical company Biocon Ltd is planning to list its biosimilars business, a significant contributor to the companys total revenue, by the first half of 2025, a top executive said on Friday. Biocon Biologics, a fully integrated subsidiary of Biocon Ltd, focuses on making biosimilars, with key revenue-generating markets being the United States and Europe. "I would say it (listing of the biologics business) can happen any time after the second half of 2024  it is likely to happen in the first half of 2025," Biocon Ltd CEO and Managing Director Siddharth Mittal told Reuters. Last year, Biocon acquired U.S.-based Viatris Incs biosimilar business. "There are a couple of milestones (to meet) before we get to that stage  we have to complete transition of all territories of Viatris to us and we are looking at reducing the debt which was taken to fund the acquisition," Mittal said. Biosimilars are copies of costlier complex biological drugs used to treat illnesses such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. According to research and analytics services firm IQVIA, the global biosimilar market value is expected to grow to an estimated $75 billion by 2030 from $17.9 billion in 2020. Mckinsey also estimates the industry to see continued double-digit growth to become a $60-billion market by the decades end. On Thursday, Biocon reported a 29.8% drop in first-quarter profit. Revenue, however, jumped 60%, helped by the strong performance of the biosimilar business. Revenue growth in the biosimilars business more than doubled during the quarter to 20.15 billion Indian rupees. Biocon Biologics has a portfolio of more than 20 products primarily focusing on oncology, immunology and diabetes. ($1 = 82.8070 Indian rupees)

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Container Corporation of India (Concor) plans to spend around Rs 600 crore as capital expenditure in 2023-24 to procure rolling stock, containers and rakes.



"Out of the Rs 600 crore, we will spend Rs 200 crore to upgrade the handling machinery, Rs 200 crore to procure containers, Rs 150 crore to acquire new terminals and Rs 50 crore for miscellaneous," Ajit Kumar Panda, Director (Project & Services), said in a post-earnings conference call on August 11.



He added that Concor had spent around Rs 560 crore in 2022-23 with a majority of the investment of around Rs 300 crore being spent on procuring rolling stock which will be delivered in 2023-24.



In the first quarter of 2023-24, Concor has procured around 1,800 containers so far and the company will add around 400 containers every month in 2023-24.



"We aim to add close to 5,000 containers in 2023-24," the company's chairman and managing director Kalyana Rama said, adding that Concor is also looking to acquire around 24 trains in 2023-24, after adding four trains to its fleet in April-June.



Concor also aims to commission another five terminals by the end of 2023-24.



Rama added that Concor is still on track to spend around Rs 8,000 - Rs 10,000 crore as capital expenditure by 2026-27 to acquire rakes, start new inland container terminals, increase its domestic containers, and upgrade handling machinery.



"We want to acquire around 270 rakes in the next few years, double our domestic containers to around 2 lakhs, and develop a new ecosystem," Rama said.



Rama also said that Concor has lost market share in the export-import container train operator (CTO) cargo segment in the first quarter of 2023-24.



Concor's container train operator market share at the end of the April-June quarter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust stood at 60 percent, at the Mundra Port stood at 37 percent and at the Pipavav Port stood at 45 percent.



Concor had reported a market share of around 79 percent at JNPT, 38 percent at Mundra, and 48 percent at Pipavav at the end of December 2022.



Rama added that Concor had launched a new discount scheme in November, which offers its CTO customers a one-plus-one opportunity under the scheme.



Concor is also continuing its empty repositioning scheme and is also working on coming up with some new schemes.



In 2022-23, Concor had experienced a decline in its market share primarily in the western market (Mundra) and the NCR segment.



In order to enhance profitability from domestic operations, it had introduced value-added services such as distribution logistics and last-mile logistics.



This drop in market share was attributed to competitive pricing strategies from rivals and also faced competition from the road transport sector.



The logistics major maintained its guidance to improve Exim volume in 2023-24 despite seeing a drop in overall Exim volumes in India.



In 2022-23, Concor handled around 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TeU) of cargo traffic out of which 1.91 million TeU came from Exim and 440,878 TeU came from domestic operations.



"Even though exports may not increase, the existing Exim

volume has come down. In the last year, we lost some percentage share. Now we are working on regaining that share back. So that is the main thrust area this year. So we will get back our share, so that will increase our Exim volumes," Rama said.



Concor is also confident of meeting its guidance of 10 percent topline and bottom line growth in 2023-24, despite seeing an 18 percent on-year fall in its bottomline in April-June to Rs 245 crore and a 3.5 percent on-year fall in its topline to Rs 1,923 crore.



The company's Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) margins also fell to 20.6 percent from 24 percent a year ago.



Rama said that the big reason for the fall in the company's EBITDA margin in April-June was on account of rising land leasing charges, especially at its Inland Container Depot in Tughlakabad, Delhi.



"The Delhi government has increased the land leasing charge for Tughlakabad ICD by Rs 100 crore annually, which will reflect as a Rs 22-23 crore every quarter," Rama said.



The company's total land lease charges for 2023-24 are expected to rise to around Rs 500 crore from Rs 380-390 crore that the company paid in 2022-23.



Concor pays land lease charges at the rate of 6 percent per annum on the market value of industrial land with an annual escalation of 7 percent, for terminals run on railway land.



Last year, the Union Cabinet approved a policy under which land lease charges would be levied at 1.5 percent of the market value of land per annum with an annual escalation of 6 percent.



Concor currently runs 61 inland container depots (ICDs) of which 26 terminals are built on land leased from Indian Railways (IR). These 26 terminals account for more than half of the annual revenue of the company.



The company's empty running cost stood at Rs 28.6 crore for Exim market in April-June and Rs 86 crore for the domestic market, Rama said.



He added that Concor is aiming to run around 40 percent of its volumes on double-stack trains by the end of 2023-24, from the 25 percent volumes its serves at the moment.



Concor ran around 4,000 double-stack trains in 2022-23, and aims to increase the number of trains to around 4,500 in 2023-24.



On August 11, shares of Concor fell 4 percent as its June quarter earnings disappointed investors, triggering a sale of the logistics solutions provider's shares.



Macquarie observed that an overall underperformance was the result of a lower realisation and an increased land licence fee. Even though there was an increase in volume, the decrease in price counterbalanced this, resulting in a drop in revenue, according to the brokerage firm.



The foreign brokerage firm has a neutral rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 620. Macquarie said a balance between market share and profitability would be key.
Diversified group Raymond Ltd on Friday reported a multi-fold growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,066.74 crore in the June quarter, helped by gains from sales of its consumer business to Godrej Consumer Product Ltd (GCPL). The leading textile and apparel maker had posted a net profit of Rs 81.93 crore during the April-June period of the previous fiscal, Raymond said in a regulatory filing.



Its revenue from operations rose 2.5 per cent to Rs 1,771.46 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 1,728.14 crore in the year-ago period. During the June quarter, Raymond Consumer Care Ltd (RCCL), an associate company, sold its entire business, including all brands, to GCPL on a slump sale basis for a consideration of Rs 2,825 crore. However, the manufacturing location in Aurangabad for sexual wellness products was not part of the deal.



Accordingly, Raymonds share in the profit from the sale of RCCLs business for the quarter ended June includes a gain of Rs 983.01 crore. Its profit excluding profit from associates and joint ventures, exceptional items and tax in the June quarter was Rs 112.46 crore, down 4.05 per cent, from Rs 117.21 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.



Total expenses of the Singhania family-controlled firm were at Rs 1,714.02 crore, up 4.69 per cent in the first quarter of FY2023-24. The companys total income in the June quarter was Rs 1,826.48 crore, up 4.1 per cent. The companys total income in the June quarter was Rs 1,826.48 crore, up 4.1 per cent. During the quarter, Raymond faced "moderate consumer sentiments in a seasonally weak quarter" and also had an "early onset of the End Of Season Sale (EOSS) in the apparel sector."



Its residential real estate continued to demonstrate sustained demand including high demand for luxury homes, as per an investors presentation by Raymond. In the March quarter, Raymonds revenue from the textile segment stood at Rs 688.39 crore and it was Rs 191.88 crore from the shirting segment. "High-Value Cotton Shirting segment reported sales in the quarter at Rs 192 crore, a growth of 13 per cent as compared to Rs 170 crore in the previous year, led by demand for our cotton offerings by our B2B customers. The segment reported an EBITDA margin of 10 per cent for the quarter," it said.



The apparel segment reported a revenue of Rs 304.52 crore while garmenting section recorded a revenue of Rs 264.83 crore. "Our continued focus on casualisation and premiumisation in the Branded Apparel segment enabled a topline growth of 16 per cent along with a steady growth showcased by our Branded Textile business in comparison to the same quarter last year," it said. In the engineering business, Raymonds tools & hardware business revenue stood at Rs 110.05 crore and it was Rs 99.30 crore from auto components.



However, its revenue from real estate and development of property in the June quarter fell 18.43 per cent to Rs 233.65 crore. "During the quarter, total booking value was Rs 330 crore in overall 3 projects with 82 per cent of total units in Ten X Habitat, nearly 87 per cent of total units in The Address by GS project and 38 per cent of launched units in TenX Era project which was launched in February 2023," it said. Shares of Raymond Ltd on Friday settled 0.22 per cent lower at Rs 1,968 apiece on the BSE.
Zydus Lifesciences on August 11 reported a 109 percent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,086.9 crore for the April-June quarter of the financial year 2023-2024. The pharma company had reported a net profit of Rs 518.3 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 5,139.6crore, 29.6 percent higher than Rs 3,964.3 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, the company said in an exchange filing. The bottom line and top line were above CNBC TV-18's estimates of Rs 880.7 crore and Rs 5,075.8 crore, respectively. The Ahmedabad-based company reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at Rs 1,503.3 crore, up from Rs 833 in the year-ago period. The EBITDA margin was at 29.3 percent, up from 20.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. US formulations contributed to 48 percent of the revenue during the reported quarter. The company filed 4 ANDAs (Abbreviated New Drug Application) and launched 4 new products during the quarter in the US market. Branded formulations business in India delivered 10 percent growth YoY. This segment contributed to 24 percent of the revenue reported in this quarter. Consumer Wellness business contributed to 14 percent of the revue of this quarter. Unseasonal rains during the first half of the quarter impacted the off take of Glucon-D. Rest of the wellness portfolio posted near double digit growth. The company spent Rs 3,23.9 crore on research and development (R&D) which was 6.3 percent of revenues in the April-June quarter. Shares of the company are down 0.83 percent at Rs 652.40, after the announcement of the quarterly earnings at 12.49 pm on NSE.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday introduced bills to amend the Central and Integrated GST laws to levy 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs. The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were introduced by Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests over suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House. Friday is the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament. Once the amendments to CGST and IGST laws are passed, states will get similar amendments in state GST law cleared by the respective assemblies. The amendments pertain to insertion of a provision in the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming. The amendment in IGST Act relates to inserting a provision to impose GST liability on online money gaming provided by offshore entities. Such entities would be required to get GST registration in India. The amendments will also provide for blocking access to online gaming platforms located overseas in case of failure to comply with registration and tax payment provisions. The amendments to the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) laws were approved by the GST Council last week. The council had approved levy of 28 per cent GST on full face value of entry level bets in online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

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Indermit Gill, the World Bank's chief economist, has called on India to be the champion of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).



Speaking via video-conference at a seminar in Mumbai organised jointly by the finance ministry's Department of Economic Affairs and the Reserve Bank of India, Gill said on August 11 that countries such as India and Indonesia should not wait for larger countries to take the lead in the global matter.



"The protagonists (of the DSSI) have to be the countries that are managing their economies well," Gill said.



"And the countries that are managing their economies well right now are Indonesia and India and countries like that. They should be the one taking the lead. They should not be passive and wait for the US and others to do it. So I think it is about time India took the lead on these things," Gill added.



Gill was responding to a question by India's Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran about who could be the champion for the DSSI in the way the then US Secretary of Treasury Nicholas Brady was in the late 1980s for debt-laden developing countries.



Set up in 2020 in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, or DSSI, calls for bilateral official creditors to temporarily suspend debt service payments from poorest countries. However, it was soon recognised that relief beyond the DSSI was needed to help vulnerable countries, which led to the Common Framework for Debt Treatments. The Common Framework allows debt rescheduling tailored to the specific needs of requesting countries.



Also Read: India releases G20 Chair Summary, joint statement unlikely before Leaders' Summit



While Gill called for India and similar countries to take the lead in debt relief, Deepak Mishra  director and chief executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and part of the discussion along with Gill  said India had already taken the lead by making debt relief for poor and vulnerable countries one of the key agenda items for its G20 Presidency and co-chairing the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable along with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.



Mishra, who worked at the World Bank before ICRIER, said it was unfair to expect results on debt relief from the G20 under Indias Presidency.



Also Read: Little encouragement from China on common debt recast principle, source says



"We have talked about how multilateralism in is crisis. And then we say G20 should deliver. But G20 is also a multilateral forum. So G20 is fractured... And I think countries like India and I am sure Brazil and South Africa will try to do the best they can in the given very constrained environment, but overall I am not very optimistic that we will be able to solve this through G20. I think developing countries have to basically take charge of their own destiny and figure it out," Mishra said.



Responding to Gill's comment that India should take the lead on debt relief, Mishra said the leader must come from organisations which have the most at stake.



"The reason why Nicholas Brady was at the forefront was because America was most exposed to the Latin America debt problem So I think (World Bank President) Ajay Banga could actually emerge as a leader. US has the G20 Presidency after South Africa, and my hunch is that's when you get the real debt relief," he added.
In a significant moment, President Draupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill on August 11, 2023. This gave India a specific legislation that addresses the protection of a citizen's personal data.



The long-awaited law was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 7 and by the Rajya Sabha on August 9. The legislation specifically addresses citizens' privacy and establishes guidelines on how individuals' data can be used by private or government entities.



Now that the law has been enacted, the government will initiate the rule-making process for the DPDP Law.



If the DPDP law, in its current form, offers a legislative framework, the process of rule-making will be responsible for defining its specific parameters. For example, the existing law stipulates that the government will identify a list of countries to which data transfers are prohibited. The rule-making processes will establish the criteria upon which a country can be designated for inclusion in this data transfer restriction list.



Also read: What the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill means for you



The industry has also started lobbying the government to make the rule-making process open with stakeholder consultations.



A data protection law has been sought by various sections of society ever since the Supreme Court deemed the Right to Privacy as fundamental  with reasonable restrictions  in 2016.



A Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill was introduced in 2018 and tabled in 2019, after which it was referred to a joint parliamentary committee. The panel studied the bill for two years and presented its report and a modified PDP Bill in December 2021.



But in 2022, the government withdrew the PDP Bill, citing compliance-related reasons and came out with the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill after a few months. The cabinet approved the bill in July, clearing its way to be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session.
Diversified conglomerate ITC Limited on Friday said the FMCG business has immense potential for growth with its brands commanding an annual consumer spend of Rs 29,000 crore. Speaking at the 112th AGM of the company, ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri told shareholders in his address that the FMCG brands are being exported to several countries and the business vertical has immense growth potential due to the rising per capita income of the people. "The ITC Next strategy for the FMCG business is to build a future-ready portfolio. With more than 25 brands at the moment, the annual consumer spend is around Rs 29,000 crore", Puri said. He said that the addressable market for the FMCG vertical of ITC is USD five trillion. "The business has immense opportunity to harness this potential", Puri added. Regarding the hotel business, the ITC board had given in-principle approval to demerge the vertical and spin it off into a new entity. Puri said that the business is well poised to capitalise on the growth potential of the tourism sector growing. "We have pivoted to an asset-right strategy. With 120 hotels at the moment under ITC fold, managed properties comprise 55 per cent of the total rooms", he said. Regarding the cigarette business, he said the company has been introducing new brands with stability in the taxation regime, sales volumes are increasing. ITC continues to strengthen the cigarette business, he added. Puri said the FMCG business is linked to the agri-value chain. The ITC MAARS project will support 4000 FPOs by 2030, he said.

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The Karnataka government on August 11 set 2028 as the new deadline for completing the long-pending 148-km Bengaluru suburban rail project (four corridors).



While the Union government sanctioned the suburban rail project in October 2020 with a completion time of six years (by 2026), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone in June 2022, stated that the project, first mooted in 1983, would be completed in 40 months.



However, Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil, who inspected the Mallige Line of the suburban rail (Benniganahalli- Chikkabanavara) on August 11, said, "This project which runs parallel to the existing South Western Railway (SWR) lines has its challenges but the first corridor (Mallige Line) will be completed in 26 months. So far, 10-15 percent of the work has been achieved related to corridor 2 and ground work will be over in the next 10 months."



Also read: Suburban rail project moving at a snails pace



The minister said that officials have been instructed to work towards completing works related to all four corridors by 2026. "Even if it gets delayed due to some unforeseen reasons, the project would be ready by 2028," said. The civil work for the Mallige Line was awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on August 26, 2022, but work has been progressing at a snail's pace.



Asked about the absence of a full-time managing director (MD) for the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) executing the project, Patil said, "K-RIDE is a joint venture established by the Karnataka government (51 percent equity) and the Union Ministry of Railways (49 percent). While the railways wants to appoint a railway person as MD, we intend to appoint a general officer. But this issue will be resolved within the next two to three months."



Gaurav Gupta, additional chief secretary of the Infrastructure Development Department as well as the Energy Department, currently holds additional charge as MD at K-RIDE. Gupta is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre.



Also read: Traffic-hit Bengaluru's mobility projects suffer as civil servants juggle multiple roles



K-RIDE has also proposed a Phase 2 project (extension of Phase 1 corridors) covering 452 km and connecting satellite towns and cities, including Kolar, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Bangarapet, Hosur and Gauribidanur.



Regarding the consideration of the standards of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (design speed: 180 kmph; maximum operational speed: 160 kmph) instead of the suburban rail (maximum speed: 90 kmph; operational speed: 35 kmph) for Phase 2, Patil said, "The pre-feasibility study will determine whether it will be a suburban rail or high-speed rail for Phase 2, but this is still in the initial stages."



Also read: Bengaluru suburban rail's Phase 2 to cover 452 km; Karnataka seeks nod from rail ministry



Chikkabanavara-Yeshwantpur section to be completed first



K-RIDE officials said the 8 km Chikkabanavara-Yeshwantpur section of the 25 km Benniganahalli-Chikkabanavara (Mallige Line) will be completed first. "The elevated portion's work will commence soon. Work is going on full swing in the priority stretch from Chikkabanavara to Yeshwantpur (8 km) and K-RIDE plans to inaugurate this section first. The station work tender for 12 stations of the Mallige Line has been invited on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode and the tender will be opened on August 31, 2023," said a K-RIDE statement.



Status of other corridors



K-RIDE had requested SWR to hand over 193 acres of railway land for the Heelalige-Rajanukunte stretch on the Kanaka Line in January 2023.



"Railway land has yet to be transferred. Separately, K-RIDE is acquiring private land through the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB). A proposal for acquiring 8 km of land has been submitted to KIADB to issue a preliminary notification. The assessment of private and government land ownership and documents is underway," a K-RIDE official said.



"The alignment of the Kanaka Line has in principle been approved by SWR but the final alignment plan is pending. The civil works tender was opened on July 4, 2023, and four bids have been received, now undergoing evaluation," another K-RIDE official explained.



The Sampige Line (KSR Bengaluru City-Airport-Devanahalli) is awaiting final approval from SWR. The estimation for the civil tender is in progress, and the civil work tender is expected to be invited by September 2023. The alignment for the Kengeri-Cantonment-Whitefield (Parijaata Line) is also under finalisation.



Rs 7,438 crore foreign loans



The Department of Economic Affairs has communicated the project fund requirement of Rs 7,438 crore (800 million euros) to bilateral funding agencies: KfW, Germany (500 million euros) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg (300 million euros).



"A preliminary appraisal mission was conducted with KfW and EIB on October 15, 2022, and January 27, 2023, respectively. All necessary documents for loan processing have been submitted to the funding agency. The loan process is complete, and the loan agreement signing with the funding agency is scheduled for December 2023," a K-RIDE official stated.



"The civil works, depots and system contracts for Sampige and Parijaata lines, including traction, power supply, signalling, telecom, lift, escalator, automatic fare collection, etc., will be funded through the loan amount. Procurement of these tenders will adhere to the bank's standard bid documents, requiring no objection from the funding agencies before inviting tenders. All system works tendering for Sampige and Parijaata lines will be finalised after signing the loan documents, planned for December 2023," according to a K-RIDE statement.



Two depots



The Bengaluru suburban rail project will have two depots for rolling stock maintenance. The Devanahalli depot on the Sampige Line will span 51 acres. Of this, 5 acres of government land have been acquired, and the remaining land acquisition is ongoing.



The Soladevanahalli depot on the Mallige Line will encompass 52 acres, and a land acquisition proposal has been submitted to KIADB for Phase-I acquisition. The tender for the detailed design consultant for both depots has been opened, and three bids have been received and are currently undergoing evaluation.



The RFQ or request for qualification bids for rolling stock (on public-private partnership mode) has already been opened, with three firmsCAF/Spain, BHEL and BEMLsubmitting their bids. After evaluation, a request for proposal will be issued. The initial batch of 10 trains for the project is expected to be supplied in October 2025, according to a K-RIDE statement.
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David Tulley can't get into 9 E. Genesee St., but now he's on top of it.

The owner of I'm Stuck began leasing the billboard above the downtown Auburn location of his cannabis business this week. Tulley told The Citizen he has leased the billboard for three years.

Thanking central New York for its support, the billboard is part of what Tulley hopes is the next phase of his business. Eight I'm Stuck locations, including the one in downtown Auburn and the Weed Warehouse in Aurelius, were shut down and padlocked by the state Office of Cannabis Management July 31 for selling cannabis without a dispensary license and selling cannabis to minors, the state said.

Tulley's attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, has filed a motion to dismiss the state's injunction closing I'm Stuck. A hearing will be held Sept. 6, Tulley said. In the meantime, Bondy is negotiating with the state in hopes of securing Tulley a cannabis processor license in exchange for agreeing to keep his locations closed. Tulley said the deal would be a "win-win" for him and the Office of Cannabis Management.

"They're short on processors," he said. "That's why they have the same products in every store. Some farmers aren't even getting into stores because there aren't enough processors."

A representative of the state Office of Cannabis Management told The Citizen they could not comment on the validity of Tulley's statement.

The I'm Stuck owner said he has a facility in Syracuse "ready to go" for processing cannabis into products like prerolled joints and edibles. Those products would carry the I'm Stuck and I'm Baked brand names and logos advertised by the downtown Auburn billboard. However, the state's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act prohibits holders of processor licenses from also holding dispensary licenses.

The next phase of Tulley's business could see him doing both in Minnesota, which became the 23rd state to legalize recreational cannabis in May. He spoke to The Citizen by phone from the Twin Cities, where he said he is meeting with landlords about opening I'm Stuck locations. Like in New York, they would technically give cannabis products to customers for free while charging them for consultations.

Tulley doesn't believe his locations in Cayuga, Wayne, Monroe and Oswego counties will ever be allowed to reopen, he said, despite Bondy's argument that such "gifting" is legal in New York.

Along with the shutdown of I'm Stuck, Tulley could also face millions of dollars in fines, the state said in a news release. There is a $10,000 penalty for each day of selling cannabis without a license, or $20,000 if the seller has received a notice to stop selling by the Office of Cannabis Management. He had received several such notices, including a July raid of his Auburn and Aurelius locations.

"It won't be in the millions because I don't have that," Tulley said of the fines he will face. "I gave it all back to the community."

'Ready for war': Auburn-area cannabis businesses remain open after raid The two unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the Auburn area that were raided by authorities on Tuesday remain open, and their owner declared t
For Sachin Shah, Fund Manager at Emkay Investment Managers, the source of confidence in Indian manufacturing stems from the structural point of view more than just the make-in-India initiative or the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.



Two of the most important factors for him to be excited about any investment in manufacturing are RoCE (return on capital employed) and cash.



Seasoned for more than two decades in Indian equity markets, Shah believes that the manufacturing sector has the potential to create multi-baggers over the next 5-10 years.



In the pharma space, he is quite optimistic on the CDMO (CRAMS) space. "We believe there is a significant tailwind to the sector (China+1, Europe+1) and structurally the business is inherently profitable and scalable with a such a large highly qualified scientist pool available in India," he shares in an interview to Moneycontrol. Excerpts from the discussion:



Do you expect manufacturing to grow faster than the key benchmarks?



We have been quite sanguine about manufacturing since the last two years. Our confidence in Indian manufacturing stems from not only from 'Make In India' or 'PLI Schemes' but more from the structural point of view. When we talk about each of our strategies, two most important factors for us to be excited about any investment are RoCE (return on capital employed) and cash. Remarkably, despite facing numerous crises, the manufacturing industry displayed improvements in both these aspects.



The cash ROCE (CFO divided by capital employed) which was on a decline for many years looked up for the first time in FY21 and rose beyond the long-term average and has continued to do so in FY22-23. CFO represents cash flow from operations.



Also read - Manufacturing: New hot stock picking ground for MFs. Here are their top picks



Another crucial structural change that took place was the enhancement of cash flows and the focus on its allocation. During the Covid-19 crisis, a remarkable and evident trend was the significant improvement in working capital investment. The incremental investment in working capital as a percentage of EBIDTA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) decreased from 25 percent to as low as 7.5 percent between FY19 and FY23. Every rupee saved on working capital can be used to repay debt and consequently the debt to equity ratio of BSE500 companies came down from 0.8x to 0.55x.



The positive impact of enhanced ROCE, streamlined balance sheets, and improved utilisation quickly became evident as the rejuvenated capital expenditure (capex) cycle gained momentum in no time.



We do believe that the manufacturing sector has potential to create multi-baggers over the next 5-10 years. Over the past two decades, the manufacturing sector lost a significant market share in GDP as well as stock market indices to services (BFSI and IT). As manufacturing sees unforeseen expansion over next few years driven by both domestic consumption as well as exports, we expect the tables to turn in favour of the sector.



Over next 5-10 years, we believe that the manufacturing sector will regain that market share, both in GDP as well as in equity indices.



What's your take on the possibility of a major correction in the market if the Fed gives confirmation over rate hike cycle and reduction in volatility?



As of going ahead, we think its high time to separate the man from the boys in each sector. In case of auto, clearly premium and luxury is bound to do better than the economy segment and not only for four-wheelers but also for two-wheelers.



Also read: RBI's I-CRR will not cause any liquidity shortage for banks, say bankers



Within banking, we would now bet only on those banks who have invested in distribution and hence able to mobilise deposits easily and cheaper than competitors.



Is it time to add exposure to pharma space?



We are quite optimistic on the CDMO (CRAMS) pharma space, we believe there is a significant tailwind to the sector (China+1, Europe+1) and structurally the business is inherently profitable and scalable with a such a large highly qualified scientist pool available in India.



The domestic branded generics space continues to grow steadily at high single-to-double digit annual secular growth, with very high gross margins and profitable operating margins.



Also read: Euphoria? A Rs 9 crore SME IPO gets bids worth over Rs 2,700 crore



The pharma sector underperformed in CY22, valuations therefore had become quite reasonable. Long-term investors can invest in some of the high-quality businesses run by superior management at reasonable valuations.



How do you see the ongoing corporate earnings season?



As of today, 36 Nifty stocks (ex BFSI) have reported a sales/EBITDA/ PAT growth of 4 percent/21 percent/29 percent YoY. The slower revenue growth seems more an outcome of lower commodity prices, even as EBIDTA margins have expanded 260bp YoY leading to strong profit growth.



Which sector has delivered strong performance in the June quarter? Do you think this will remain in the coming quarters too?



Overall, the banking sector has delivered very decent first quarter (Q1 FY24) results, we are quite impressed with growth in advances and deposits along with maintaining the margins (NIMs and spreads) at large private sector banks.



Most of the capital goods companies also delivered very strong results, more importantly the order in-flows, order book and outlook commentary were even more encouraging. We believe both the above sectors should do well for the rest of the year too.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Hero MotoCorp Limited shares skidded 1 percent to Rs 3,009 by 10am on August 11 even after reporting a 32.1 percent on-year increase in net profit to Rs 824.7 crore for the first quarter that ended June 30, 2023.



The country's leading two-wheeler (2W) manufacturer's total revenue stood at Rs 8,767 crore during the period under review, topping CNBC-TV18 estimates. This is against Rs 8,392 crore posted in the corresponding period last fiscal, the company said in an exchange filing on August 10.



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The company's EBITDA margin stood at 13.8 percent in the reporting quarter as against 11.2 percent last fiscal. The increase in margins can be attributed to softening of commodity costs, accelerated savings programmes and judicious price increases.



As per the company disclosures, the company sold 13.53 motorcycles and scooters in the April-June quarter.



Also read: Hero MotoCorp rides high on investor confidence despite downgrades by analysts



The company said it has received 25,597 bookings for the Harley Davidson X440 since the commencement of bookings on July 4. More than 65 percent of the total bookings are for the top model priced at Rs 2.96 lakh ex-showroom.



Hero also said that the introductory ex-showroom prices have now been revised for the Denim, Vivid and S variants to Rs 2,39,500, Rs 2,59,500 and Rs 2,79,500, respectively.



"It is heartening to see the confidence shown by the customers in Hero MotoCorps foray into this segment," said Niranjan Gupta, CEO of the company on the order traction. The Harley-Davidson X440 is a collaboration between the Harley-Davidson brand and Hero MotoCorp.



The stock price has also been under pressure after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the residence of Pawan Munjal, Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, after taking cognisance of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case, CNBC TV-18 reported on August 1.



The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently apprehended a close associate of Munjal for carrying undeclared foreign currency. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case has been registered against Munjal.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The shares of Medanta hospital chain operator Global Health rose over 2 percent in early trade on August 11 as investors cheered the company's stellar show in the April-June quarter.



The hospital chain on August 10 reported a 73.75 percent on year rise in consolidated net profit for the June quarter at Rs 102.01 crore. Revenue also showed strong growth, jumping 25.28 percent year-on year to Rs 773 crore.



Revenue share for developing hospitals (Medanta Lucknow and Patna) also rose to 28.9 percent against 23.4 percent in the year-ago period. Revenue from international patients jumped 45 percent to Rs 47.7 crore, driven by increased volume and realisation.



The Average Revenue Per Occupied Bed (ARPOB), a key growth metric, grew 7.1 percent on year to Rs 63,148.



At 9.19 am, Global Health was trading at Rs 701.05 on the National Stock Exchange, 1.6 percent higher from the previous close.



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The company's operational performance also improved, as the EBITDA margin expanded to 25.1 percent from 22.6 percent in the year-ago quarter.



The hospital chain added 28 new beds at its Patna facility, taking the groups bed capacity to 2,725 in Q1 from 2,697 in the previous quarter.



Ties up with DLF for Delhi hospital



The company also announced plans to develop a 400-bed super-specialty hospital in Delhi in partnership with DLF to further strengthen presence in the National Capital Region, taking its bed count to around 2,400 in the region.



Global Health and DLF will form a new company, with both contributing an equal 50-50 percent to the new venture. Medanta will run the hospital and have operational control, while DLF will be a strategic investor.



The hospital will provide cutting-edge medical and surgical interventions in over 20 specialties and also have a comprehensive cancer care unit.



"This hospital will allow us to serve patients across the entire NCR belt by seamlessly linking our facilities in Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida," Pankaj Sahni, Group CEO and Director of Global Health, said in a press release.



The company also plans to add around 800-1,300 beds over the next two-three years. Out of the total, 770 beds, or 60 percent of the new capacity, will be added at existing hospitals, leading to lower capital expenditure per bed.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.




You can only know so many companies. If youre managing 50 or 100 positions, the chances that you can add value are much, much lower. - Lou Simpson



At the start of this earnings season, banks were the clear favourites. Even after accounting for slightly lower net interest margins because of rising deposit rates, they remained one of the best stories on the Street. That view has changed over the last few weeks, with analysts and investors now fretting about the pressure on NIMs.



Thats surprising because the pressure on NIMs was expected, and banks had hinted as much while announcing their March quarter numbers. The view gaining ground is that the banks are fairly valued at current levels, though some of the good public sector names are offering a better risk-reward ratio. Over the last year, strong credit growth has been a major driver of the banking story. The rethink on banking stocks could mean that the Street is not sure if credit growth will be as strong this year as well. If demand for credit remains strong, then margin pressures should not be too much of a worry. But if credit growth falters for whatever reason, the disappointment could be acute considering that institutional investors have a much higher exposure to the sector than they did a year ago.



Analysts say that much of the floating rate loan book has been repriced higher, and gains on that front are likely to be limited. At the same, investments in branch and technology could keep profit margins in check.



Kabhi Khushi Abhi Gum



A decent set of June quarter numbers from adhesive maker Pidilite if one were to focus on margins (up 450 basis points year-on-year) and the bottomline (up 32.5 percent YoY). The market responded by pushing the stock 2.5 percent lower at close. One explanation for the weakness in the stock could be that the Street is disappointed with the muted topline growth (up 5.6 percent).



The Pidilite management need not be dejected. Richly valued stocks in general are not finding takers in this market. And Pidilite is quoting over 90







times trailing one-year earnings. Look at how stocks like Asian Paints, Titan and Asian Paints have been faring of late. While announcing the March quarter numbers, the Pidilite management had said that it was looking ahead with cautious optimism even as it maintained its double digit volume growth with 20-24 percent margin guidance for FY24. Investors would be waiting to hear the companys guidance after the latest performance, before firming up their view.



Falling raw material prices come as a relief to Pidilites margins, but as my colleague Sachin Pal from the Moneycontrol Pro team points out, it also strengthens the hand of unorganised player, which then start snapping at the heels of the established players. Also, the market will now watch the incremental returns from capital deployment in new businesses.



When you have an outsized share of the key market you operate in (adhesives in the case of Pidilite), further returns are limited. That explains why market leaders Asian Paints, Astral and Pidilite are now diversifying into other areas. But the returns from the new businesses will be slow to come, Pal told Short Call.



Berger Paints



For all the hand-wringing over rising competition in the paint industry because of Grasims entry and the JSW Paints upping its gains, Berger Paints has not fared too badly. The June quarter numbers have been better than expected, the company has improved its market share in the decorative paints business, and is expanding its distribution network aggressively. The shares are near their 52-week high, but the Street appears to be divided.



The issue seems to have more to do with valuations. At 70 times trailing earnings, analysts feel the stock is reasonably valued. To be able to earn a higher valuation multiple, investors will want proof that the June quarter numbers were not a one-off and that Berger can sustain the performance in the face of rising competition from both Asian Paints and Grasim.



HSBC is among the bulls on the stock with a 'buy' rating and a target price of Rs 790. Nomura and Morgan Stanley have lauded the June quarter performance, but have a neutral rating on the stock.



Dr Copper



Chinas largest private copper producer Nanfang Nonferrous is expected to commission its new smelter capacity by October, earlier than expected, Reuters reports, quoting unnamed sources. Nanfangs new copper plant will more than double its total copper production capacity to 700,000 tonnes a year from 300,000 tonnes.



So what?



Rising domestic copper smelting capacity in China means local miners will respond by stepping up extraction and process more raw copper ore. This in turn means less appetite for buying refined copper from foreign companies.



China stimulus



With another major Chinese property developer in trouble, global investors are waiting to see if China will come up with a stimulus package for the real estate sector. But even if the government were to announce one, would that be effective?



From Bloomberg:



Massive oversupply of housing means it will take a while for any property stimulus to flow through to actual construction, if it does at all. With a shrinking population and slowing urbanization, there are fewer structural factors driving housing demand in China as well.
The bigger balance sheet of HDFC Bank following its merger with parent Housing Development Financial Corporation (HDFC) will boost fund flow to the affordable housing segment, HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty said on August 11.



It will also help the bank to fund agriculture and small and medium-sized business in a better way, he said.



"As a consequence of this merger, the larger balance sheet of the bank would offer to the national economy possibilities of higher credit growth, a larger bouquet of financial products and higher flows into affordable housing, agriculture, MSME etc," Chakraborty said while addressing the bank's annual general meeting in Mumbai.



HDFC Bank merged with HDFC on July 1 and the largest merger in India's corporate history made the Mumbai-based private sector lender the world's seventh most valuable bank.



After the merger, the loan book or advances of the merged entity jumped 38.77 percent to Rs 22.21 lakh crore as against 16 lakh crore as on March 31, the bank said in an investor presentation.



The merger gave HDFC Bank entry into India's booming housing loan market, while for HDFC, the decision made sense on account of vanishing regulatory arbitrage available for non-banking finance companies.



The bank will also benefit from the addition of a market-leading home loan product, which can now be directly offered through its large network of branches, helping a greater number of people fulfil their aspirations to be homeowners, Chakraborty said.



The home loan business will also benefit from a low cost of funds that a bank traditionally enjoys, he added.



"It will also enable the bank to offer to its wider customer base a full suite of financial products like life insurance, general insurance, health insurance, and investment products like mutual funds by leveraging the strength of major entities like HDFC Ergo, HDFC Life and HDFC Mutual Fund, which now come into the banks fold as a result of the merger," Chakraborty said.



He said HDFC Bank is well-placed to capitalise on this opportunity, both for financing private investments and consumer finance, aided by its low cost of funds, wide customer reach and a large and stable balance sheet.



"We feel privileged to be a part of this burgeoning economic environment and Indias growth story," Chakraborty said.



On April 4, 2022, HDFC and HDFC Bank announced the decision to merge. The move came almost seven years after HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh said his firm could consider a merger with HDFC Bank provided circumstances were in favour.



In his speech, Chakraborty also talked about key changes in the board. Former HDFC CEO Keki Mistry has joined the board as a non-executive director. Executive director Kaizad Bharucha has been redesignated as deputy managing director, while Bhavesh Zaveri has joined as an executive director.



At 3.05 pm, the stock was trading at Rs1,617.45 on the National Stock Exchange, down 1.12 percent from the previous close.
Financial services firm Abans Holdings Ltd on Friday said it has secured boards approval to diversify its operations and enter into the countrys mutual fund business. This strategic move will position the company at the forefront of asset management services, Abans Holdings said in a statement. In addition, the company said it has received boards clearance for establishing an asset management business in Singapore. "Through its subsidiary, Abans Broking Services Pvt Ltd, the company is proposing for making an application to obtain a capital markets license to engage in fund management activities in Singapore," the statement noted. Unveiling its expansion plans, the company announced that its subsidiary Abans Finance is in the process of incorporating a wholly-owned subsidiary in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). This subsidiary will focus on lending business operations, strengthening the companys foothold in the lending segment. Abans Holdings is looking to become a dominant player in alternative investments. The company serves as an investment manager for a category II alternative investment fund domestically. Furthermore, it is actively pursuing an investment manager license in GIFT City, which will enable it to manage a category-III alternative investment fund in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Abans Holdings, which got listed on the courses in December 2022, had assets under management (AUM) of Rs 1,850 crore as of June this year.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on August 10 said the private sector needs to engage in the development and financing of global public goods such as Unified Payment Interface (UPI).



Das further added that it is not because these entities create an enabling ecosystem for businesses to thrive but also because they would be a commercially viable endeavour.



The UPI has been a public sector-led initiative, it is not necessary that public goods can only be developed and financed by the public sector. The private sector needs to engage in the provision of global public goods, Das said.



Das was speaking at the G20 Finance Track National Event.



He further said, in this regard, it is worthwhile to build innovative design features which private investors find attractive in financing of GPGs. In the investment cascade, keeping in view the very large investment requirements, the trigger financing can come from public investment.



"This would help in minimizing risk and expanding market access. Subsequent financing needs can be met by the private sector," Das added.



He said that Global Public Goods play a crucial role in shaping developmental strategies and securing human welfare across borders and generations. but, financing them has become a critical issue in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the highly unsettled geopolitical

environment, climate change, fractures in international supply chains,

and tectonic shifts in financial market conditions and global liquidity.



Adding to this, Das said a multilateral debt relief program providing targeted assistance to low-income countries with high debt levels needs to be considered on a priority basis.



The crucial role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in addressing global debt vulnerabilities cannot be overstated.



"These institutions are at the centre of international monetary and financial system. Hence it is incumbent upon them to do more for countries in debt distress," Das said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on August 11 set a coupon rate of 7.18 percent for the new 10-year government securities maturing in 2033 after the weekly bond auction. The coupon is in line with the market expectations. Money market dealers pegged the coupon on the new benchmark bond between 7.10 percent and 7.20 percent. It is eight basis points lower than the one for the previous 10-year bond, which was set at 7.26 percent. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The central bank accepted a full amount worth of Rs 14,000 crore on the new 2033 bonds, the release said. While on the 7.06 percent 2028 bonds, the cutoff price or yield was Rs 99.50 or 7.1848 percent, on 7.30 percent 2053 bonds, the cut-off price or yield was Rs 98.85 or 7.3949 percent, the central bank said in a release. The central bank also set the cut-off rates for underwriting commission payable to primary dealers at 26 paise on 7.06 percent GS 2028, 36 paise on new 2033 bond, and 67 paise on 7.30 percent GS 2053. The yield on the current benchmark bond 7.26 percent 2033 was at 7.1863 percent. On August 7, the central bank announced the new 10-year government securities maturing in 2033. Moneycontrol reported on July 31 that the central bank was likely to announce the new 10-year benchmark bond on the first Monday of August. The announcement of the new benchmark bond was expected as the current 10-year benchmark bond 7.26 percent 2033 has reached an outstanding amount of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, as per the central bank's data. The government issue bonds to borrow money from the market to fund its expenditure. The tenure of these bonds vary from three years to 40 years.

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The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authoritys (YEIDA) scheme for residential plots that was launched recently has received encouraging response from home buyers, with as many as 18,000 people having registered for the same till August 10, officials privy to the development said.



About 1,184 residential plots are up for grabs in three YEIDA sectors  16, 17, and 20. The scheme, which opened for applications on August 8, will close on September 1.



Also Read: All about Yamuna Expressway Authoritys residential plots scheme



A YEIDA official said that over 6,000 application forms had been sold as of August 10.



The residential plot scheme is receiving very good response. As many as 17,888 people have registered till August 10, and 6,022 application forms have been sold. Over 3,000 applications have been successfully submitted, and as many as 819 people have deposited the earnest money (to book the plot), the YEIDA official told Moneycontrol.



The plots on offer will be allotted through a lucky draw, to be held on October 18, 2023.



The demand



The official said that there is huge demand for land parcels in the YEIDA area because of its good connectivity with Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi, and other cities through the Yamuna and the Eastern Peripheral expressways. A pod taxi service between Jewar Airport and Pari Chowk, and the metro railway, will further boost last-mile connectivity in the region. Pod taxis are automated cars that travel on a track from point to point.



People want to invest here because in the coming years the YEIDA region, especially along the Yamuna Expressway, will witness unprecedented growth thanks to the upcoming Noida international airport, and other projects like the Film City, industrial parks, etc. Land in Noida and Greater Noida is very expensive, but the YEIDA is offering residential plots at Rs 24,600 per square metre (sq m), which is very competitive. Hence we are seeing good response, the official said.



Under the scheme, plots are offered in seven different sizes  120 , 162, 200, 300, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 sq m.
Real estate developer Puravankara posted a loss of Rs 17 crore in the first quarter of FY23 with a revenue of Rs 323 crore, up by 50 percent annually, the company said in a regulatory filing on August 11.



"While the revenue is higher compared to last year, lower EBITDA and loss are on account of increased marketing expenses for 119 percent sales growth that cannot be capitalised. Additionally, the increased general and administrative (G&A) expenses to support the increased business activity will be recovered in coming quarters with increased delivery," sources in Puravankara told Moneycontrol.



The company recorded sales of Rs 1,126 crore, up by 119 percent annually, for developing 1.36 million square feet (msf) in the quarter ended June 30. Collections from the buyers stood at Rs 696 crore in the April-June quarter.



"The results for Q1 FY24 show a strong start to the new fiscal year. Presales have more than doubled to Rs 1,126 crore. With a robust pipeline of 15 msf of new launches this year, we are confident of continuing to drive our pre-sales growth momentum," Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Limited.



Average price realisation in Q1 FY24 increased by 11 percent to Rs 8,227 per sq ft up from Rs 7,436 per sq ft last year.



Operating cash inflows stood at Rs 866 crore, a jump of over 30 percent annually while the EBITDA slipped by 46 percent annually to Rs 75 crore.



Net debt in the first quarter of FY23 stood at Rs 2,119 crore and the net debt to equity ratio touched at 1.07 for Q1. Net debt has reduced by Rs 89 crore compared to the previous quarter.



Balance collections from sold units (completed and ongoing) in all launched projects remained at Rs 3,052 crore while the total estimated surplus from all completed and ongoing projects is Rs 6,730 crore.



The company said the total value of unsold inventory, including new launches in Q1FY24, touched Rs 5,528 crore.



Currently, the company is set to launch new projects spanning more than 15 msf across Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi and Coimbatore this year and is eyeing a topline of Rs 18,000 crore from these launches in the next three years.
Two men were apprehended by police Friday afternoon following a high-speed chase through Auburn.

One man was apprehended at the end of McMaster Street, near the Arterial, where he had entered the Owasco River. The second was apprehended in the parking lot of Curley's Restaurant. Their car, a Saturn, could be seen in bushes near the railroad tracks separating the two areas. The car was reported stolen by its owner on Facebook that morning.

The Auburn Police Department, Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police apprehended the men after a pursuit that included the use of spike strips.

According to Saturday's daily arrest reports by Auburn police and the county sheriff, one of the men, Kevin Allen Huntington, 19, of Red Creek, was charged with: aggravated assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon, a class B felony; second degree assault with intention to cause physical injury with a weapon, a class D felony; fourth degree criminal possession of stolen property: vehicle except motorcycle, a class E felony; third-degree robbery, a class D felony; and first-degree criminal contempt: physical contact, a class E felony.
The Supreme Court on August 11 issued notice to the central government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an appeal filed by the directors of real estate giant M3M, Pankaj Bansal and Basant Bansal seeking to set aside the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court refusing to release them. The Bansals were represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who argued that M3M is one of the largest real estate companies in India and it will fail if they continue to be in custody. They urged the court to consider the plight of thousands of people, who have sought to book homes in their projects. Senior advocate Tushar Mehta appeared for ED and sought three weeks to file a response. The court has thus deferred the hearing of the case to September 6. In July 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to release Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, after they were arrested on charges of money laundering in connection with a former CBI judge in Panchkula. In June 2023, the ED took custody of Bansals. According to the anti-corruption bureau's FIR, it has been alleged that the judge was showing favouritism in the ED and CBI cases against the M3M group directors and another real estate group called IREO. The judge was later suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

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Skootr Global Private Limited, a managed office space provider, has leased over 1 lakh sq ft of space in an office building by Max Estates in Noida for five years at a rent of Rs 74.22 lakh per month. The company has leased the ninth and tenth floors in Max Square in Noida. The tenth floor is spread across an area of 53,505 sq ft (chargeable area), while the ninth floor is spread across an area of 49,605 sq ft. The rental rate is Rs 72 per sq ft per month, the rent agreement showed. The monthly rent for the tenth floor is 38.52 lakh per month and that of the ninth floor is 35.7 lakh per month, the documents showed. The company has made a security deposit of Rs 2.31 crore for the tenth floor and Rs 2.14 crore for the ninth floor. The lease agreements come with an escalation clause wherein rent would be increased by 15 percent every three years, the documents showed. The lease started on June 1, 2023, and the rent agreement was registered on July 7, 2023. Emails have been sent to both Max Estates and Skootr. Max Estates is part of the Max Groups listed entity, Max Ventures & Industries Ltd (MaxVIL). Founded in 2016, Skootr currently manages close to 10 lakh square feet of office space across 15 centres in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. While Bengaluru continues to top the list of 20 Asia-Pacific region (APAC) cities in flexible office space stock, Delhi-NCR has emerged as the third-largest, overtaking Beijing and Seoul, with a stock of 8.4 million square feet (msf), according to a report from real-estate consultant CBRE.

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Electric two-wheeler maker Ather is looking to double its market share to about 30-40 percent over the next few years with the launch of its affordable 450S scooter in the 125cc category.



In 150 cc space, Ather is present in the entire market. Six or seven out of 10 scooters sold in the 150cc space is an Ather 450X and we have a dominating market share over there. With the 125cc launch, we will double our market share in the overall EV space to about 30-40 percent, Ather co-founder and chief executive Tarun Mehta told Moneycontrol on August 11 on the sidelines of the scooter launch event.



In the 125 cc space separately as well, we are planning to make a significant market share of about 30-35 percent. This product also allows us a more accessible price point.



Ather will launch the scooter, which is the affordable variant of 450X, in a phased manner. The 450S will be made available across dealerships by the third or the last week of August.



We have been adding 10-12 dealerships every month and we have a strong presence across 150-200 cities and we are looking to add 100 more this year, Mehta said.



The 450S starting price is Rs 1,29,999. Athers 450X ranges between Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 1,70,000.



The specs



The 450S comes with a battery capacity of 2.9 kWh, an IDC (Indian Driving Conditions) range of 115km, a 040 acceleration of 3.9 sec, and a top speed of 90 km/h, the company has said.



It comes with a host of changes from 450X such as the DeepView Display, a new switchgear, FallSafe, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), and coasting regen, which improves range by up to 7 percent, the firm said in a statement to media.



The so-called FallSafe feature can detect changes in the speed, orientation, and acceleration when the rider is about to fall over. It switches off the motor and activates flashing indicator lights to notify those around to step forward to rescue the rider, the company said.



We are expanding the portfolio and adding a new affordable variant of 450X which is 450S, the S variant will compete with 125cc bikes that are out there in the market. This is the largest segment out there, Mehta said.



Ather has also introduced a feature in its mobile app that helps riders locate charging facilities.



"Ather mobile app will calculate the entire route for the travel and plan the route accordingly to help you make a stop and charge on the way. This is a first-of-a-kind feature, we always had it but now we are adding a multi-city trip planner feature," Mehta added.



Ather is seeing a rise in demand across cities as well as Tier 3 and 4 towns, he said.



To meet the growing demand, the electric two-wheeler manufacturer plans to expand the capacity to nearly 15 lakh units from 4.2 lakh units through its facilities in Hosur in Tamil Nadu. The company was looking to raise funds by next year for the expansion, Mehta said.
August 11 has turned out to be the best day for shareholders of HCL Technologies in the last 14 months with the intraday gains scaling a high of Rs 1,186.95, a day after it announced a deal with Verizon Business.



HCL Technologies on August 10 announced signing a $2.1-billion deal with the US telecom major. Through the strategic global partnership, HCL Tech will become the primary managed network services (MNS) collaborator for Verizon Business in all networking deployments for global enterprise customers.



According to a statement from the company, the partnership which combines Verizons networking power, solutioning, and scale with HCL Technologies' market leading managed service capabilities will help usher in a new era of large-scale wireline service delivery for enterprise customers.



At 9.56am, shares of HCL Tech were trading nearly 3 percent higher at Rs 1,166.90 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock was also the top gainer on the Nifty 50.



Trading volumes were also higher as 33 lakh shares changed hands on the exchanges, higher than the one-month daily traded average of 32 lakh shares.



Follow our market blog for all the live action



While the Noida-based global technology services major will take a lead on post-sale implementation and ongoing support, Verizon will lead all customer acquisitions, sales, solutioning, and overall planning and development with its customers.



In a regulatory filing, HCL Technologies said that it expects "the deal to have a positive revenue impact over the next six years" beginning in November 2023. Deal wins for the technology major stood at $1.56 billion as of the April-June quarter, a significant drop from its $2 billion plus order book in the previous seven quarters.



According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, the deal announcement could lower the perceived risk of a potential cut in revenue guidance at the lower end. They also expect some of the underperformance to reverse as a result of the announcement.



Also Read | HCLTech bags $2.1-billion deal from Verizon, shares up



HCL Technologies put up subdued earnings for the June quarter, aligned with the overall slowdown in the IT sector. While the company reported a 7.6 percent on-year growth in net profit for the June quarter, sequentially, the bottomline was down 11.2 percent to Rs 3,534 crore. Consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 12 percent on-year to Rs 26,296 crore.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Several shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) took to Twitter on August 10 and said shares of Jio Financial Services (JFS) have been credited to their demat account. This comes three weeks after the exchanges held a special pre-open session for JFS' price discovery.



Investors, however, should note that they cannot buy or sell shares of JFS at the moment. The stock's listing date has not been announced yet. It is the 51st stock on Nifty 5o included at a constant price of Rs 261.85 apiece.



The oil-to-telecom conglomerate will hold its 46th annual general meeting (AGM) virtually on August 28.



Ahead of the AGM, RIL has also scheduled one-on-one meetings with institutional investors at the Motilal Oswal 19th Annual Global Investor Conference and Nuvama India Conference.



Follow our live blog for all the market action



Foreign broking firm Morgan Stanley has reiterated "overweight" rating on the RIL stock with a target price of Rs 3,000. Tightening global refining and chemical markets, rising market share and reduced competitive intensity in telecom industry, and partnerships in new energy business can trigger further upside to this target, Morgan Stanley said.



"RIL Retail currently serves over 98 percent of Indias pin codes through integrated online and offline networks. It has around 3 million merchant partnerships on the commerce platforms and online sales accounts for about a fifth of revenues," it added.



It is this merchant base that Jio Financial Services will target for loan disbursal, banking experts say.



"The data on these kirana stores would often be proprietary to Jio Financial and hence, Jio Financial would know more about kirana stores and merchants than what the rest of the world might know," HDFC Securities' ASV Krishnan told Moneycontrol.



Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 18,258 crore for the quarter ended June 2023, down 5.9 percent from the year-ago period as muted performance in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) partly offset the strong growth in consumer-facing businesses. Higher finance cost and depreciation also weighed on the companys bottomline.



At 12 pm, RIL was quoting at Rs 2,524 on the NSE, down 0.48 percent from the previous close.



Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Verizon, the No. 1 U.S. telecom company by subscribers, said it had signed a technology deal with India's HCLTech to help manage networks for business customers in a bid to stem a decline in its wireline business. Verizon's wireline business, which includes selling to business customers, has been a drag on its revenue for several years. Customers are looking for platforms that use artificial intelligence and automation techniques, and Verizon had to decide whether to invest significantly in upgrading systems or partner with a company that has such services, Scott Lawrence, senior vice president at Verizon, said in an interview. Under the terms of the deal, Verizon Business will lead sales and development, while HCLTech will take care of post-sale network roll-out and support. Some Verizon employees will also move to HCLTech. The partnership will help to grow existing managed service business, add new clients and reduce potential churn, Lawrence said. "We are going to start unlocking value as early as the end of this year and certainly into 2024, 2025 and beyond," he said.

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Italy's Ambassador to India Vincenzo De Luca has said the two countries would soon sign a bilateral pact in the defence sector to ramp up their military ties and maintained that Rome was working hard to contribute to the 'Make in India' programme.



In a move to enhance navy-to-navy cooperation between the two countries, Italian Navy's warship ITS Morosini is on a port visit to Mumbai from August 10 to 13. Italian Navy officials will also meet the top brass of the Mumbai-headquartered Western Naval Command during this period.



"We are working very hard to contribute to the programme of self-reliance, Make in India," Luca said on Thursday at a press conference here.



He said that there are some specific technologies where Italy can add value to the Make in India programme, namely torpedo, helicopter, radar, electronic warfare and shipyard.



Make in India is the Narendra Modi government's flagship programme that aspires to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure.



"We will very soon sign a bilateral MoU in the defence sector," added the Italian envoy.



He said an MoU (memorandum of understanding) in the defence sector already exists between the two sides, but it will be renewed which will further industrial collaboration after the two countries elevated their ties to strategic partnership earlier this year.



ITS Morosini, which is in Mumbai, had earlier visited Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh. It will head to Oman after India.



"In the framework of the current Italian Navy's five-month naval diplomacy campaign throughout the Indo-Pacific area, this visit aims at demonstrating Italy's commitment towards the region and at strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding between navies and showing the excellence of Italian naval and defence industry," the Italian embassy said in a statement.



Commissioned in October 2022, ITS Morosini is one of the latest warships in the Italian Navy fleet and it can reach the speed of 32 knots and has a very powerful propulsion system.



The ship, which can accommodate two helicopters, also has a naval cockpit which is one of its kind, said the statement.
A revamped Lal Chowk and Clock Tower at the heart of Srinagar will be inaugurated by Jammu and Kaskmir L-G Manoj Sinha on the eve of Independence Day. A testimony to the Valleys ever-changing political scene, both Lal Chowk and Clock Tower, got a facelift as part of the Srinagar Smart City project.



The Clock Tower is renovated in a way it looks appropriate with surrounding buildings. Its height has been raised by about 10ft. The base, which was impacted by the 2014 flood has been retrofitted too. A structure has also been created for the National Flag, said Iftikhar Ahmad Kakroo, Chief Engineer of Srinagar Smart City Project.



Kakroo said while the design of the renovated Clock Tower reflects Kashmirs local culture and uses the Valleys signature tiles, all four clock faces now share a common central processing unit and hence will show the same time.



Meanwhile, the iconic Lal Chowk has got a new look too. Athar Amir Khan, CEO of Srinagar Smart City said that the new design has incorporated the traditional architecture and added more grandeur to this iconic place. The Lal Chowk precinct has been designed as a pedestrian plaza.



The entire Lal Chowk, Residency Road and spaces around it such as the Riverfront or Polo View Market have already started capturing the attention of both locals as well as tourists. Every day thousands are visiting. The redevelopment has brought these works on the tourism map. I am sure these projects will act as new anchor points as far as tourism is concerned, said Khan.



While Lal Chowk and Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) are ready to welcome tourists, we take a look at some of the major events, which took place at the Lal Chowk impacting the nations history.



Nehrus promise



It was 1948 and India had won a war against Pakistan. Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru arrived in Srinagar and unfurled the Tricolor at Lal Chowk. It was where he promised the Valley that it can choose its political future.



BJPs Ekta Yatra



In 1991, then BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi embarked upon Ekta Yatra, which would begin from Kanyakumari and end in Srinagar. It was a period of peak militant activities in the Valley. Joshi, accompanied by various party leaders, including Narendra Modi, hoisted the national flag at Lal Chowk on Republic Day amid gunshots and protests.



Amarnath Shrine Board controversy



Amid Amarnath land row, on August 15, 2008, police personnel hoisted the flag at the Clock Tower. However, it is said that soon a mob was seen marching towards the spot with the aim to hoist green flags.
Expressing anguish over the manner in which women were subjected to grave atrocities in Manipur, the Supreme Court has said that mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the other community and the state is bound to stop this.



The court also asked the three-member committee of retired judges constituted by it to inquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4.



A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence is completely unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy.



"Mobs commonly resort to violence against women for multiple reasons, including the fact that they may escape punishment for their crimes if they are a member of a larger group.



"In time of sectarian violence, mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the community that the victims or survivors hail from. "Such visceral violence against women during conflict is nothing but an atrocity. It is the bounden duty of the state " its foremost duty, even to prevent people from committing such reprehensible violence and to protect those whom the violence targets," the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said in its August 7 order, which was uploaded on Thursday night.



More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.



The top court also said that it crucial for the police to identify and arrest the accused person expeditiously because they may be required for the completion of investigation.



"Further, the accused may attempt to tamper with or destroy the evidence, intimidate witnesses, and flee from the place of the crime," the bench said, adding significant delay in the identification and arrest of the accused for no reason at all cannot be countenanced by it.



Observing that sectarian strife has also led to large scale destruction of residential property and places of worship, the apex court said it is duty bound to step in while performing its plain constitutional obligation. This court is also of the opinion that its intervention will be a step towards the guarantee of non-repetition that victims of such crimes are entitled to, it said.



"The remedies which have been granted are those which the court feels will be even handed across all communities and do justice to all those who have been injured (in any manner) by the sectarian violence.



"The victims of violence must receive remedial measures irrespective of their community. Likewise, the perpetrators of violence must be held accountable irrespective of the source of violence," it said.

The top court said there are serious allegations, including witness statements, indicating that the law-enforcing machinery has been inept in controlling the violence and, in certain situations, colluded with the perpetrators.



"Absent a proper investigation, this court will not enter a finding of fact on these allegations. But, at the very least, such allegations require an objective fact-finding to be conducted. "Those who are responsible for a breach of public duty must equally be brought to account, regardless of their rank, position, or post," it said.



The apex court said every officer or employee of the state who is guilty not only of dereliction of constitutional and official duties but of colluding with perpetrators to become offenders themselves, must be held accountable without fail. "This is the promise of justice that the Constitution demands from this court and from all branches of the state," it said.



In order to ensure that the violence ceases, the perpetrators of violence are punished and the faith and confidence of the community in the justice system is restored, the top court constituted a committee of three former high court judges, including Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, former Judge of the Bombay High Court and Justice Asha Menon, former Judge of the Delhi High Court.



The apex court said the mandate of the three-member committee would be to enquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4 from all available sources, including personal meetings with survivors, members of families of survivors, local/community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports.



The committee will also submit a report to it on the steps required to meet the needs of the survivors, including measures for dealing with rape trauma, providing social, economic, and psychological support, relief and rehabilitation in a time bound manner, the bench said.



Directing that the process of investigation shall be monitored by the apex court, the bench also appointed former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar to supervise the investigation by the CBI into the FIRs transferred to it and the investigation by the investigative machinery of the state into the remaining FIRs.



"For the purpose of ensuring proper investigation of the FIRs which are transferred to the CBI, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs shall place at the disposal of the CBI five officers drawn from the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and NCT of Delhi at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.



"At least one of these five officers shall be a woman. For this purpose, the Directors General of Police of the above States shall nominate an officer at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police for deputation to the CBI," it said.



On deputation, the officers shall perform their functions under the overall structure of the CBI and submit periodical information and reports as may be required Padsalgikar, it said.



"Dattatray Padsalgikar is also requested to investigate the allegations that certain police officers colluded with perpetrators of violence (including sexual violence) during the conflict in Manipur.



"The Union Government and the State Government shall provide any assistance required in order to carry out this investigation. The findings shall be submitted to this Court in the form of a report," the bench said.
Here is a collection of all the important stories this afternoon:



Supreme Industries, REC surge on MSCI addition, ACC dropped from Global Standard Index



MSCI on August 11 unveiled its list of stocks as part of the August Global Standard Index review, effective from September 1, 2023. The revised index features notable additions, including Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), Astral, and Ashok Leyland. Read here



LIC goes shopping where not too many dare to go



India's largest institutional investor Life Corporation of India (LIC) has ventured into one of the hotly-contested segments of Dalal Street, with the insurer making fresh investments worth thousands of crores of rupees in the IT sector in the June quarter. While analysts have turned cautious, the countrys largest life insurer has shown confidence in the IT space by pumping in Rs 8,000 crore in some of India's biggest tech companies. Read here



Exclusive: Fin Min planning to offload 3 percent in Cochin Shipyard in Q3



The Finance Ministry is likely to offload a stake of up to 3 percent in Cochin Shipyard this fiscal year, likely in the October-December quarter, said a government official, adding that the divestment would be through the Offer for Sale (OFS) route. Read here







Corporate loans a taboo, bad assets building up, alerts this ace banking analyst



After having burned their fingers in the bad loan crisis that roiled the power sector back in 2017, Indian banks have truly managed to turn a corner. They now record robust credit growth amid low slippages, while constantly providing for bad loans. However, there might be more than what meets the eye, believes ASV Krishnan of HDFC Securities. Read here



HCL Tech surges most in 14 months after $2.1-billion Verizon deal



August 11 has turned out to be the best day for shareholders of HCL Technologies in the last 14 months with the intraday gains scaling a high of Rs 1,186.95, a day after it announced a deal with Verizon Business. Read here



SpiceJet Q1 Preview: What to look for in the results today



SpiceJet Ltd, the Gurugram-based company that operates the eponymous low-cost carrier, will declare its Q4FY23, full-year FY23 and Q1FY24 results on August 11. The airline had deferred its results for Q4 and FY23 owing to the ill health of one of the members of the audit committee. The company has been facing heavy going in the recent past yet continues to operate against all odds. Read here
AUBURN  A registered sex offender is headed to state prison after admitting to sexually abusing a child.

William J. Roth Jr., 52, with a previously listed address of 58 Holley St., was in front of Judge Thomas Leone in Cayuga County Court Thursday, facing charges of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a class B felony; failure to notify the Division of Criminal Justice Services of a change of an internet identifier, a class E felony; and 17 counts of possession of a sexual performance by a child.

As a part of a previous agreement, Roth was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years of post-release supervision for the course of sexual conduct offense. He was also sentenced to one to three years for both the failure-to-notify charge and one of the charges of possession of a sexual performance by a child, satisfying the other 16 possession charges.

All of those sentences will run concurrently.

A news release from the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office said a four-year investigation uncovered that Roth, a previously convicted sex offender, sexually assaulted a female child for three years, was in possession of child pornography and had been using an email address he hadn't registered with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The investigation began in 2019.

Before Leone announced his sentence, Roth spoke on his own behalf.

"First and foremost, I want to apologize to my victim. There were hurtful, disgusting things that were done to her," he said. Roth said he hopes the victim receives the best counseling possible and apologized to the court, his mother and his attorney, Rome Canzano, "for having to deal with this case."

Leone noted Roth took "full responsibility" in his pre-sentence investigation report. The judge also told Roth the child will have to "deal with your actions" for the rest of her life.

After court, Senior Assistant District Attorney Heather De Stefano told The Citizen it was determined Roth abused the child and her sisters from 2016 to 2019. De Stefano worked with three separate Auburn Police Department detectives on the case over the course of four years. In 2022, Roth contacted the child online and the child recorded an online interaction with Roth where he made incriminating admissions. She sent the recording to Auburn police, De Stefano continued, and it was decided there was enough from that interaction to move forward with charges.

Roth was charged with the count of failure to notify and one of the counts of possession of a sexual performance by a child in January, and was later indicted on the 16 other child pornography charges. De Stefano said a sealed indictment with the course of sexual conduct charge was executed in March.

DeStefano thanked Auburn police and lauded the child's bravery and intelligence.

"We wouldn't be where we are without her," De Stefano said.

Also in court

 Marcus Brumberger, 58, faced a second-degree conspiracy charge. He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison. Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said Brumberger was involved in a drug-selling ring that included much of central New York and Bakersfield, California. Sixteen people were charged for their alleged involvement in the ring in August 2022, and Grome Antonacci said Brumberger was one of eight people previously indicted before that.

Brumberger's sentence on the conspiracy count is running consecutively with a sentence from an unrelated case in Pennsylvania. According to The Susquehanna Independent, Brumberger was sentenced to 12 months to five years for involuntary manslaughter and nine months to five years for aggravated assault by motor vehicle for his role in a July 2019 crash that killed one person and injured another. He received those sentences in the Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas, and they will run consecutively.

 Damario A. Johnson, 31, transient, Auburn, was sentenced on a second-degree strangulation charge to three years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

 Bishop T. Prenatt, 29, with a previously listed address of 6 Spring St., Upper Apartment, Auburn, was in court on charges of aggravated family offense, fourth-degree criminal mischief and two counts of first-degree contempt. For the contempt counts and the family offense charge, he was sentenced to five years of shock probation starting with the first six months in Cayuga County Jail, but had already served the "shock" portion of the sentence. He was sentenced to three years of shock probation for the criminal mischief count, with those sentences running concurrently.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to move the Central Goods and Services Tax Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today on August 11, during the last day of the monsoon session of the Parliament. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha, where he accused the opposition of delaying bills and urged that "every second here should be utilised for the country". Follow our Parliament LIVE coverage here After a break, Lok Sabha commenced proceedings for the day at 11 am. Heres a look at the Bills to be discussed. Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha Sitharaman will move the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha. The bill aims to levy a 28 percent goods and services tax (GST) on casinos, online gaming, online money gaming, and horse racing, PTI reported. Currently all these activities are taxed at 18 percent on platform fees and 5-28 percent of full face value. The amendment seeks to increase GST revenues from full face value of entry-level bets. Integrated Goods and Services Tax Amendment (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha Another bill to be tabled for debate in Lok Sabha by the finance minister is the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Amendment (Amendment) Bill, 2023. It seeks to impose GST liability on online money gaming by offshore entities and requires them to register in India, as per a PTI report. It also seeks to block access to online gaming platforms located overseas in case of failure to comply with registration and payments. Once passed, both amendments are likely to be effective from October 1, sources told PTI. Private Members Bill in Rajya Sabha Meanwhile, the Private Members Bill will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha today. It seeks to put a limit on the number of guests to be invited and dishes to be served at weddings.

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Recent reports that the Indian ambassador in Baku Sridharan Madhusudhanan was hauled up by the host country and admonished for weapons transfers to Armenia via Iran is both surprising and not surprising. Surprising because Azerbaijan has been on quite a shopping spree for arms, primarily from Turkey and also Israel, in recent times but wants to deny the same right to its neighbour Armenia, a sovereign state.



These transfers, the Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev warned Ambassador Madhusudhanan, would escalate the situation as it would militarise Armenia and be detrimental to sustainable peace between the two South Caucasian nations.



But that was exactly what Azerbaijan did with the arms it purchased from its pals  it militarised Azerbaijan, turned the frozen conflict into a hot one, and wrested the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian control. It is understandable that negotiating from a position of strength is in Azerbaijans interest.



Why India Mustnt Flinch



On the other hand, Indian arms to Armenia have not been used in the conflict, and hence, allegations of escalation are untrue. Since there is no international arms embargo on Armenia it has as much right to import arms as much as India has the right to export them.



In fact, Indias policy in the South Caucasus is a sound one, though it got a bit of a late start. In a column in these pages some years ago, this author had written how close ties with Armenia would be beneficial for India. The small landlocked state situated in the South Caucasus occupies a strategic geo-political location, sandwiched as it is between Russia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan.



Bilateral relations have a natural edge given the centuries long history of interaction between our two peoples. At least since the 16th century AD, there is documented history of Armenians in India; undocumented history stretches back further in time. Soon after the disintegration of the USSR, India recognised and established diplomatic relations with Armenia and ties have only become closer since.



Azerbaijans Pakistan Slant



This, however, did not impede ties with Armenias neighbour and rival Azerbaijan. India extended recognition to the latter at the same time but it was Azerbaijan that took an indifferent stance, and now even inimical, while simultaneously deepening ties with Pakistan, facilitated by Turkey. For instance, there has been no high-profile official bilateral visit between the two sides.



Furthermore, while Armenia has always supported the Indian position on Kashmir, India has remained neutral on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan, however, has been supporting Pakistans position on Kashmir, allowing Kashmir Day events to take place in Baku; more recently last week it allowed an event by the Pakistani embassy there condemning Indias scrapping of Article 370, which gave Kashmir special status.



The support has not stopped there.



While Pakistan firmly supported Azerbaijan in its war with Armenia last year, with reports of Pakistani fighters joining the war on the Azeri side, it is well established that Azerbaijan won the 2020 war  its first military victory against Armenia  mostly on the military support provided by Turkey.



Turkeys belligerence against India and its president Recep Tayyip Erdogans strident anti-India stand on Kashmir, including in the UN, are well known. Following the Karabakh war, which has imbued fresh optimism in both Ankara and Baku, defence relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan have also increased.



Soon after the war, in a tripartite meeting in Islamabad in January 2021 of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Pakistan, the three states adopted the Islamabad Declaration, which said that Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan back each others position on Kashmir, Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh.



Synergies With Armenia



Such statements find no parallels in relations between India and Armenia. The Islamabad meeting was followed up by a two-week-long military drill between the three countries  Three Brothers  2021 in Baku.



Against this backdrop Indias defence collaboration with Armenia is but natural. Just as the Karabakh war catapulted Turkish drones sales in the region, Armenia can become the launch-pad for Indias transformation from a weapons importer to a weapons exporter.



The known weapons sales to Armenia till now include SWATHI weapon locating radars developed by the DRDO, and indigenously manufactured Pinaka rocket launchers and anti-tank rockets.



It also gives India a valuable foothold in a geo-politically strategic region. With Russia  Armenias closest economic and military ally  distracted by Ukraine, India may have a bigger role to play there. It is entirely up to Azerbaijan to improve relations with India.



Aditi Bhaduri is a journalist and political analyst. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
As the three-week monsoon session comes to a close, the Bharatiya Janata Party is on a high following its easy win in the opposition-sponsored no confidence motion and for the headstart it got for the upcoming election season from Prime Minister Narendra Modis two-hour-long reply to the debate.



Despite the edge enjoyed by the BJP, a dispassionate look back on the session shows that it threw up no clear winners. The BJP may have won the numbers game but its speakers failed to display the necessary empathy and compassion for the suffering people of Manipur. Instead, they indulged in whataboutery by focussing on the poor administrative record of the opposition-ruled states while using their speeches to provide a laundry list of the Modi governments achievements.



Manipur: Not Enough Said, Or Done



Home Minister Amit Shah did make a detailed speech on Manipur but did not provide any convincing answers on the restoration of peace in the troubled state.



The opposition, on its part, lost an opportunity to pin down the BJP on Manipur as most of its members made meandering speeches. Though the three-month-old ethnic conflict in Manipur was the dominant issue during the session, it was reduced to a footnote in most speeches, barring a few exceptions.



Given an opportunity to engage in political grandstanding, Modis much-awaited reply to the debate on the no-trust motion was more in the nature of an election speech, devoted primarily to an unbridled attack against the opposition, especially the Congress and the Gandhi family. Manipur did not figure in his speech for the first hour, forcing the opposition to walk out in protest.



And when he did refer to Manipur, it was a brief and anodyne statement. The PM merely assured the people that the country stood by them and that efforts were on to bring back normalcy in the state while promising strict action against those who committed crimes against women.



No answers were forthcoming to Gaurav Gogois questions on why Modi did not visit Manipur, his failure to speak on the ongoing civil strife for 80 days and the reason for not sacking Manipur chief minister Biren Singh.



Opposition: Unity And Weakness



The outcome of the three-day debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha threw up no surprises. Given the numerical strength of the BJP, it was well known that the Narendra Modi government would score an easy victory.



Leaders of the Congress-led INDIA alliance had publicly admitted that it lacked the numbers to topple the government but chose to move a no-confidence motion against the government as a last resort to compel the PM to break his silence on the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur since the oppositions demand for a statement from the PM had yielded no result.



The opposition succeeded in keeping the focus on Manipur through the monsoon session. Both houses of Parliament witnessed incessant angry protests and slogan shouting on this issue from the beginning of the monsoon session. Except for a debate on the Delhi Services Bill, a belligerent and united opposition ensured the two Houses remained in a constant state of turmoil and that Manipur remained centrestage.



And yet when the no confidence debate got underway, the oppositions record was no better than that of the BJP. Admittedly, the opposition was handicapped by its poor bench strength and lack of good speakers which prevented it from mounting an effective and sufficiently valiant attack against its chief political rival. Its speakers missed the opportunity to keep the focus on Manipur, the primary reason for moving the no-trust motion against the Modi government.



Except for a few speakers like Gaurav Gogoi and Mohua Moitra who did not stray from the core issue, most opposition members sought to corner the government on an array of issues from price rise and unemployment to the Chinese incursions in Ladakh and the communal tensions triggered by the BJPs majoritarian agenda. Rahul Gandhi did make a forceful intervention on Manipur but the lengthy reference to his personal journey during the Bharat Jodo Yatra was jarring and unnecessary.



But then that is the nature of a debate on a no-trust motion which lacks a focus and allows speakers on both sides of the political divide to dwell on wide-ranging issues.



On the positive side, the INDIA bloc of parties did succeed in putting up a united fight against the Modi government. It was able to draw national attention to the civil strife in Manipur as the political class has traditionally paid scant attention to developments in the North Eastern states.



Modi Fires Up BJP



The BJP had the advantage of numbers in the debate on the no-trust motion. Not only was it able to draw upon its large talent pool to field its senior ministers in the debate but as the largest bloc of MPs, the BJP got more air time to hold forth on the government's achievements on the floor of the House.



Modis reply was the proverbial icing on the cake for the treasury benches as he tore into the opposition, especially the Congress, sought to create friction between the political parties in the INDIA bloc by pointing to the contradictions in the newly-formed grouping, and dwelt on his governments accomplishments to set the stage for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.



Now that the session has come to a close and political players head out for the forthcoming round of assembly polls, it has to be seen if Manipur will continue to figure in their political discourse. Or will it fall by the wayside?



Anita Katyal is a Delhi-based independent journalist. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
A conflict by proxy is shaping up in the South China Sea. Whether it will flare up or die down will be determined not in the vicinity of the emerging fight, but in New York on Saturday. Again, a week later, what happens on the following Saturday in San Francisco will either add fuel to the fire or the flames will be extinguished  for now.



On the face of it, tensions have risen since August 5 when China water-cannoned a Philippines naval vessel on a supply mission for its troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed sea. It is a proxy fight. The real reason for the flare-up is the transit through New York and San Francisco of Taiwans Vice President William Lai Ching-te on his way to Paraguay and back for the ceremonial swearing-in of that countrys new President.



Rising Tensions



China does not want officials or political leaders in the United States of America to meet Lai or any other important Taiwanese politicians during what Beijing calls sneaky visits by independence separatists from its renegade province. Since China cannot, in practice, stop contact between Taiwan and the US, it is countering it by ratcheting up tensions in the South China Sea.



At the time of writing, the US political establishment is holding its cards close to its chest as far as Lais transit itinerary is concerned. Exactly a year ago, Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, infuriated Beijing by visiting Taipei. China raised tensions in the Taiwan Strait to heights unseen in at least three decades. It kept people on the breakaway island on edge by firing ballistic missiles over it and a 23-fold, daily increase in cyber-attacks on Taiwans critical infrastructure in protest. In April this year, Pelosis successor, Kevin McCarthy, met Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen in California while she was on transit to Latin America similar to Lais travels this month. It was a watershed of sorts because no American of such a high political rank had met any Taiwanese President on US soil since 1979. Chinas response was provocative: it sent maritime safety vessels from the south-eastern Fujian province into container routes to Taiwan with a mandate to board vessels and inspect their cargo.



Third-party Confrontations



Unlike a new kind of escalation last week involving a third country  the Philippines in this case  tensions, although heightened, have been managed during previous disputes over Taiwans attempts to outmanoeuvre China on the diplomatic front. If Lai had been transiting through the US this time merely as Vice President and meeting US officials or politicians, Beijings reactions may have been similar to past ones. However, Lai is Taiwans next presidential aspirant and front-runner in elections due to be held in January 2024. That makes it necessary for mainland China to choose its options for dealing with him carefully. For now, Beijing appears to have decided to have a third-party confrontation.



The next fortnight will show whether the tensions will be confined to the Philippines in the disputed sea or if it will be in addition to what China does against Taiwan and put its presidential hopeful in his place, as it were. China will not act rashly against the Philippines or use overwhelming force against Manila in any case: a US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty is a guarantee against aggression against the Philippines. It has stood Manila in good stead for 72 years since it came into force. Bolstering the firm stand so far taken by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to preserve Manilas sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal, two important middle powers, Japan and France, have reiterated their support for the outcome of an arbitration seven years ago against Chinas claims in the South China Sea. So, the waters of this normally placid sea threaten to turn choppy any day.



The US Hand



Going by recent Chinese public pronouncements, it clearly considers the Joe Biden Administration as the instigator of potential trouble by both Tsai and her likely successor. Even as the mainlands rulers leave open enough speculative room for the accommodation of Lai by mainland China if he is elected President, their main target will be the White House. Therefore, like the proxy war in the South China Sea, there is a fascinating media war that is ongoing for the hearts and minds of the American public. This is also somewhat unprecedented.



On July 4, the US Independence Day, Lai wrote an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal outlining his four pillars strategy as the likely future President to ensure stability on the self-ruled island. Two weeks later, the Chinese government responded in the same newspaper with a stinging denunciation of Lai. Yet, it contained olive branches to Taiwan. Penned by the Spokesperson of Chinas embassy in Washington, the response emphasised that mainland China is Taiwans biggest export market and investment destination. It further pointed out that trade between the two sides grew by over 7,000 times from 1978 to 2021. The response was a circuitous appeal to Lai to care about cross-Strait economic ties. This is a pointer that notwithstanding the issue of Chinese sovereignty vs Taiwans independence, bilateral economic ties could be the rationale for any modus vivendi between the two sides in the coming years. The op-ed battles have interestingly been joined by Foxconn founder Terry Gou in an article in The Washington Post. It has added to speculation that the billionaire industrialist may enter the presidential fray himself as a one-China advocate.



KP Nayar has extensively covered West Asia and reported from Washington as a foreign correspondent for 15 years. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
In a landmark move, Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in Lok Sabha to replace colonial-era laws, asserting that the proposed laws will transform the country's criminal justice system and bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen at the centre stage.



Shah introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 that will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively and said the changes were done to provide speedy justice and creating a legal system that keeps contemporary needs and aspirations of the people.



The BNS Bill has provisions that seek to repeal sedition, and award maximum capital punishment for crimes such as mob lynching and rape of minors, the Home Minister said. The Bill also has provisions to provide first-time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences.



The Bill also lists new offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.



"I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime," Shah said while noting that the laws made by Britishers were full of signs of slavery aimed at punishing those opposed to their rule.



The Home Minister also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the three Bills for examination by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.



The minister said the focus of the laws that will be repealed was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to deliver justice.



"By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen at the centre stage," he said.



The offences against women and children, murder and offences against the State have been given precedence, Shah said, adding that various offences have been made gender-neutral.



"The experience of seven decades of Indian democracy calls for comprehensive review of our criminal laws, including the Code of Criminal Procedure and adopting them in accordance with the contemporary needs and aspirations of the people," said the statement of object for the BNSS Bill.



It said the government's mantra was "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas" and it was committed to ensuring speedy justice to all citizens in conformity with these constitutional democratic aspirations.



"The government is committed to making a comprehensive review of the framework of criminal laws to provide accessible and speedy justice to all..."it added.
Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned sine die on August 11, drawing curtains on the Monsoon session that was marked by an intense face-off between the opposition and treasury benches. Despite the chaos, the government succeeded in passing an array of key legislations.



The overall productivity in the Lok Sabha, where the government holds a brute majority, stood at 45 percent, as per the details shared by officials. The productivity rate was higher in the Rajya Sabha at 63 percent, despite the treasury benches lacking in terms of absolute majority.



A total of 22 bills were cleared by both, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, in the session that stretched from July 20 to August 11.



Also Read | All past no-confidence motions defeated or inconclusive



Among the notable bills that received the Parliament's clearance include the proposed law for digital data protection, amending the services rules of the Delhi government, and amending the law related to regulation of mines and minerals sectors.



Here's a look at the bills passed by the Parliament:



- Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The bill replaces an ordinance promulgated by the Centre for handling the transfers and postings of officials in the Delhi government. The legislation does away with the contentious Section 3A of the ordinance that held that the Delhi legislative assembly will not have control over services under Entry 41 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.



- The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The two GST laws were passed by the Parliament on its final day of functioning for this session. The amendments allow the government to raise the tax rates related to casinos, online gaming and horse racing to 28 percent.



- Digital Personal Data Protection Bill: The legislation mandates the establishment of the Data Protection Board of India by the central government to protect the online data of citizens. It will monitor compliance and imposition of penalties, direct data fiduciaries to take necessary measures in the event of a data breach and hear grievances made by affected persons.



- Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill 2023: The bill provides high-level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences, including mathematical sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture.



- Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The legislation amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in Chhattisgarh. The bill provides for the consideration of Mahara and Mahra communities in the state as synonyms of the Mehra, Mahar, and Mehar communities.



- National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) Bill, 2023: The bill includes provisions to elevate the standards of nursing education and services, enhance professional conduct, and ensure greater transparency and accountability. It will replace the existing Indian Nursing Council with a modern regulatory structure.



- National Dental Commission Bill, 2023: The legislation is aimed at introducing a regulatory framework by establishing the National Dental Commission (NDC), which will replace the existing Dental Council of India (DCI) and repeal the Dentists Bill, 1948.



- Inter-services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023: This defence sector-related bill empowers the commander-in-chief and the officer-in-command of inter-services organisations with disciplinary and administrative powers over personnel from other forces serving in such establishments.



- Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023: This legislation amends the IIM Act of 2017, thereby making the country's President the "Visitor" to the IIMs with powers to audit their functioning, order probes and appoint as well as remove directors.



- Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023: This legislation will help create a national and state-level database of registered births and deaths, which eventually would ensure efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits.



- Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The amendment bill provides for fixing or adopting the standards for emission or discharge of effluents from coastal aquaculture units, making the owner liable to pay the cost of demolition and cost of damage to the environment.



- The Mediation Bill, 2021: This legislation will reduce the maximum time for completion of mediation proceedings to 180 days, which can be extended by another six months, at the application of the parties involved. It mandates the parties to attempt to settle a civil or commercial dispute through mediation before approaching a court or tribunal.



- Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023: This legislation amends the Pharmacy Act, 1948 which regulates the practice and profession of pharmacy. The bill looks at the insertion of new section 32C, which provides a special provision relating to persons registered or qualified under the Jammu and Kashmir Pharmacy Act, 2011.



- Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023: The legislation was marred in controversy as it seeks to restrict the conservation scope of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to only certain forest lands. The government, however, maintained the law is aimed at removing ambiguities.



- The Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023: The amendment bill seeks to harness the full potential of maritime resources to support India's economic growth, by promoting exploration and mining through the participation of both the public and private sectors.



- Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023: The bill puts six minerals, including lithium  used in electric vehicle batteries and other energy storage solutions  into a list of critical and strategic minerals. The exploration and mining of these six minerals, previously classified as atomic minerals, were previously restricted to government-owned entities.



- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022: The legislation, claims the government, is intended towards boosting "Ease of Living" and "Ease of Doing Business". It decriminalises a total of 183 provisions in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 ministries and departments.



- The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The bill aims to deter piracy of films by imposing strict penalties on individuals involved in unauthorised audio-visual recording and distribution of copyrighted content.



- The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The legislation aims to expand the scope, remove regulatory gaps and reduce the compliance burden without diluting environmental protection rules in the coastal areas.



- The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022: The legislation repeals a total of 65 laws that were considered to be obsolete or that which were made redundant by other laws.



- The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The bill amends the Advocates Act, 1961, by repealing certain sections related to touts under the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879.



- The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023: The legislation seeks to repeal the existing Press and Registration of Books Act. The 1867 Act was a pre-independence archaic law that was not in sync with the current media landscape.



In addition to the above legislations, three new bills were tabled in the Lok Sabha and are expected to be discussed in the Winter session. They include The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, which is proposed as a replacement for the Indian Penal Code, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which is a potential replacement of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Bharatiya Sakshya Act that might be aimed at substituting the The Indian Evidence Act.
A controversy has erupted in Kerala over some financial transactions between a private minerals company and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter T Veena and her IT firm.



Evidence has also cropped up that also showed that the company had dealings with top leaders of both the ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress-led UDF.Evidence has also cropped up that also showed that the company had dealings with top leaders of both the ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress-led UDF.



The issue came to the fore after a Malayalam daily recently reported that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) paid a total of RS 1.72 crore to the CM's daughter during a period of three years between 2017 and 2020.



The newspaper report, citing the recent ruling of an Interim Board for Settlement, said that the Kochi-based company previously had an agreement with Veena's IT firm for consultancy and software support services.



Despite the fact that no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis due to her relationship with a "prominent person", the report said, citing the deposition of the minerals company authorities before the Income Tax Department.



As the news report snowballed into a political row, the BJP attacked Chief Minister Vijayan and urged him to break his silence over the allegations cropping up against his daughter.



The Congress, however, went soft on the matter, prompting the saffron party to question the grand old party for not raising it in the ongoing Assembly Session.



Lashing out at the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-headed UDF over the issue, BJP state Chief K Surendran said the ruling and opposition parties in Kerala are the ones who accept money from "robbers" on a monthly basis.



Not just the CM's daughter, but the Opposition leaders also received "monthly payments" from the mining company, he said, while addressing the party's assembly march here.



Criticising the UDF for not raising the raging issue in the Assembly, Surendran charged that the opposition leaders in the state became the ones who extended all support to the corruption of the CM and his daughter.



Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan rejected the criticism, saying that even if the opposition had given a notice for adjournment over the issue, the CM would not have replied.



However, the ruling CPI(M) categorically rubbished the charges and claimed that the news report was totally baseless and that the CM's daughter received the amount as per the legally valid contract between her IT firm and the minerals company.



"A contract between two companies is a transparent one. All the financial transactions that were part of it were done through the bank," the party's state secretariat said in a statement on Thursday."



Such a legal transaction between the two companies was depicted as a monthly payment, and nothing wrong has happened in connection with the deal, it said.



"Children of political activists also have the same right as all other citizens to take up any legitimate occupation. Veena also started a consulting firm based on this. All its operations are transparent," the Marxist party further said."



Stating that the accused company itself made it clear that there was no wrongdoing in this regard, the ruling party also said that the chief minister has nothing to do with these issues.



A conspiracy was clearly behind unnecessarily dragging the name of the chief minister in the settlement order, it said adding that the remarks were made without hearing Veena's version.



The people of the state will reject such false stories just as they did when similar allegations cropped up against the CM's family before, the party leadership added.



However, rejecting the CPI(M) 's claims, Satheesan told reporters that the verdict of the interim settlement board of the Income Tax Department indicated grave corruption by the CM's daughter.



"The finding of the settlement board was that the money was paid to Veena's company without providing any service. The minerals firm's officials themselves gave such a statement," he said.



So it is very clear that the agreement was made between the two companies with the objective of legalising the transaction of illegal money, Satheesan alleged.



The government should register a case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and legal proceedings will be initiated if they do not do it, he said.



"The allegation against the CM's daughter was not an issue that can be raised as an adjournment motion. A matter falling under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot be raised in the House as an adjournment motion," he explained.



Senior BJP leader and union minister V Muraleedharan also criticised the Congress for not raising the matter in the House, saying it was the latest example of politics of compromise between the LDF and the UDF in the state.



Muraleedharan said there was only one united front in the state, and it was led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.



Whether it is the issue of corruption or religious beliefs, Vijayan is the person who takes decisions, and Satheesan obeys all his directives, he charged.



The Congress-led UDF's failure to raise the issue in the assembly is "shameful", he added. The Congress-led UDF's failure to raise the issue in the assembly is "shameful", he added.



In Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Tom Vadakkan dubbed the payment made to the Kerala CM's daughter's company as "Veena Tax" in a statement.



"The New Delhi bench of the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board ruled that the money was given considering the relationship with a 'prominent person'. Veena and her company, Exalogic Solutions, had agreed to supply CMRL with IT, marketing consulting, and software services," Vadakkan, who is from Kerala, said.



However, the income tax examination discovered that no services were provided, he said.



CMRL Managing Director S N Sasidharan Kartha said the money was paid in monthly instalments as per the contract, he added.



"The Income Tax Department alleged that Veena and Exalogic received Rs 1.72 crore during 2017-20, which is an 'illegal transaction'. The Income Tax Department has been able to demonstrate with the help of convincing evidence that the money was paid for services that were not provided, according to a settlement board," the BJP leader said.



Given the nature of these allegations and the questions raised by the Income Tax Department, it is of the utmost importance that the matter be investigated central investigative agencies, Vadakkan added.Given the nature of these allegations and the questions raised by the Income Tax Department, it is of the utmost importance that the matter be investigated central investigative agencies, Vadakkan added.



Documents seized from the residence of CMRL's chief financial officer K S Suresh Kumar, who worked with the company for 27 years, and his subsequent statement revealed that prominent politicians from the Congress, Muslim League and the CPI(M) were "recipients of cash" running into Rs 95 crore, he claimed.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday claimed that many NDA constituents were with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP "out of fear" and would jump ship at the time of elections.



The JD(U) leader, who is one of the key architects of the opposition coalition INDIA, responded with a resounding "bilkul" (certainly) to repeated queries from journalists as to whether he foresaw a "wipeout" of the NDA in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.



Asked about Modi's 'ghamandia' jibe, he said "All of us have joined hands for the betterment of the country. They (the BJP) are not aware that many parties, which I shall not name right now, are with them out of fear. They will come over to this side when the elections are announced".



Kumar, who snapped ties with the BJP a year ago, also took a veiled dig at Modi's absence from the Parliament during the first two days of debate on the no-confidence motion.



"The House is in session and people remain busy roaming around (ghoomte rahte hain). A far cry from the days when Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to be in power and I was one of his ministers. We used to make it a point to remain inside the House and pay attention to the proceedings", the septuagenarian recalled.



The JD(U) leader, whose party supported the no-confidence motion, was of the view that the opposition "did its job" by highlighting the Manipur issue and other problems faced by the country.



"Unfortunately, the ruling dispensation seems to have captured the media. So little coverage is given to the opposition while whatever these people say or do is published and broadcast ad nauseum. I have cut down my consumption of news in disgust", exclaimed the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar.



He also lashed out at the BJP when his attention was drawn towards the saffron party's repeated claim of routing the Mahagathbandhan which he joined after quitting the NDA.



"They keep mocking my party as being number three in terms of numerical strength in the assembly. They should admit the conspiracy they had hatched with the help of their agent", said Kumar, obliquely referring to Chirag Paswan, who was heading the Lok Janshakti Party during the 2020 Vidhan Sabha polls.



Paswan had fielded candidates, many of them BJP rebels, in all seats which were being contested by the JD(U), causing the tally of the chief minister's party to fall drastically.



"After the elections, I had refused to go for another term as chief minister. I relented only because of the BJP's insistence. They gloat about their superior numbers. They should remember Lok Sabha and assembly polls of the past when we fought together and JD(U) won more seats than they did", said Kumar.



Wistfully remembering Vajpayee, "for whom I will always have immense respect", Kumar accused the current dispensation in the BJP of "having other priorities" and complained about the refusal to grant special status to Bihar and alleged attempts to take credit for schemes launched by the state government.



"It was we who took piped water to every household and electricity to every village. But they wanted to project these as their own achievements", alleged Kumar.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks criticising the opposition on the Manipur issue, saying those who were "silent" were the ones "playing politics". Sibal's attack on the prime minister came a day after Modi hit out at the opposition during his reply in the Lok Sabha to a no-confidence motion brought by the INDIA bloc against his government. Modi said the opposition was never interested in discussing the Manipur situation. He added that the Union home minister explained the issues in great detail with patience and without any politics. In a tweet, Sibal said, "PM: Opposition 'playing politics' over Manipur. Not quite. Remember, the Supreme Court suo motu expressed deep concern over violence against women. Said was 'unacceptable in a constitutional democracy'." "Not the opposition, but those who were silent were 'playing politics'," he said. Sibal, who was a Union minister during UPA I and II, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He has floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.

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Google has begun rolling out Beta 5 for Android 14 on Pixel smartphones. The next major release of the operating system is only weeks away, and Google says this is the final chance for developers to make sure their apps are ready for transition. Also read | ChatGPT now on Android in some countries including US According to GSMArena, Google implied that the Beta 4 released last month would be the final beta build before final release. The company has now changed those plans and edited their previous roadmap to include Beta 5 in August. The new beta build also includes security updates and is the final "release candidate" build for Android 14. If you want to try it out, its available for: Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Fold. Also read | WhatsApp puts voice call with 32 participants on trial If you own an eligible device, log in to your account and visit this page to enroll your device for the beta. You should see a list of your devices that are compatible with the beta.

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With the addition of new equipment in the coming weeks, Cayuga County will bolster security at its office building in Auburn.

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck informed the county Legislature's Judicial and Public Safety Committee this week that a new bag scanner has arrived. They are waiting on the delivery of a metal detector. Schenck did not have a timetable for when that will be delivered, but expects it to be at least a few weeks.

The bag scanner and metal detector will be placed inside the building's main entrance. Cayuga County Legislature Chairman David Gould told The Citizen that there have been conversations about how to increase the building's security.

"We've been thinking about it for quite a while," he said. "For the safety of the building, the safety of the employees and the public that comes in and out of here."

Anyone who enters the building will be required to pass through the metal detector. If they have bags, they will be scanned.

Gould compared it to the setup at the Cayuga County Courthouse. When you enter the courthouse, you must pass through a metal detector and bags are scanned.

There weren't any incidents that led to the decision. Gould, a longtime law enforcement officer who served three terms as sheriff, noted that it's not just about the security of employees who work in the building. He considers it a safety measure for visitors, too.

"We live in a different world than we did 20 years ago or 10 years ago," he said.
In a sequence from OMG 2, Kanti Sharan, played by the terrific Pankaj Tripathi, approaches the judges bench and discovers that its teak-lined, austere edges are covered in grime. Moments later, he cleans the entire courtroom as a sanctimonious act of preserving that which is otherwise deemed to be pure. Yahi toh nyaay ka mandir hai, he tells the judge, when asked. Its a lovely moment that melds the rigidity of the court to the softness of the Indias conservative belief system. We are a people preoccupied with faith, constructed by its ideas but also hamstrung by its cynical judgements. Judgement that our conscience inherits from our naive interpretations. Directed by Amit Rai, OMG 2, goes where maybe no film has gone to argue that sex, before it becomes a source of pleasure, has to also become an object of knowledge and education; as much as the culture we take pride in, the values we claim to be raised on. Its not quite the cure for social ills that it comes to suggest, but it's a hell of a way to launch a difficult conversation.







This spiritual sequel to the hit film of a decade ago, OMG 2 charters its own course, and you could argue, tackles harder territory. Set in an unnamed, but religiously dense town somewhere in UP - OMG 2 focuses on Kanti Sharan, a devout of Shiva, whose son embarrasses himself by consuming one too many boner pills. After Kanti discovers the truth behind his sons mysterious hospitalization, he accosts him at first, but gradually begins to empathize with him. Egged on by bullies at school, the young boy conducts far too many experiments  some of them fairly ludicrous  as an exercise in reassuring his fragile sense of manhood. Its a common myth that is threaded through the needle of some truly awful advice and misdirection. The consequences of which the innocent seeker has to bear by being shamed and suspended from his school. The coterie of poor mentors, opportunists and escapists who refuse to talk science and sense to him, however, isnt confronted. Its a task that Kanti, guided by divine power of course, takes upon himself.



Like the first film, the mainstay of this sequel is a court case that opens itself up to both ridicule and cautious debate. It is at once an abomination and the most relevant conversation a young India ought to be having. Kanti is forced to fight his own case  where he is an accused too - where he is somewhat philosophically assisted by Akshay Kumar, playing God. The films first winner is the casting slate. Yami Gautam is terrific as the sharp, at times ruthless lawyer defending the group of men accused of purveying the hackneyed untruths that qualify for sexual advice and education in this country. Pawan Malhotra is excellent as the empathetic judge who struggles with translating chaste Hindi. In a scene where he blankly walks across the courtroom to dismiss two idlers, youll be mesmerized by a version of him we simply havent seen enough of. Maybe this is a starting point of sorts.



The prize, however, for shouldering and practically animating a film that could so easily be bogged down by the hushed tone of its subject material, goes to Pankaj Tripathi. As Kanti, Tripathi is an unrefined, blunt version of himself. Someone who hasnt read every book in his cabinet, but is willing to turn to them cometh the hour. Its perhaps the best call made by the writers. For Kanti isnt naturally flamboyant or a born liberal. He is instead slowly converted by the experiential education he opens himself up to. The books come and go, and of course there is mention of the Kamasutra, the sculptures of Ajanta and Ellora, but what makes the material eventually stick, is that cheeky, disarming body language that Tripathi could just open his own school of training for. Even Kumar, sporting dreadlocks, and ghettoish, hippy costumes looks like his charming, nonchalant old self. His comedic timing, and his pizzazz so to speak, return in an avatar that has repeatedly, gotten the best out of him. May he pay heed to the just rewards here. The softness of the former, thus, finds a rousing, elevating finishing touch is the goofy insouciance of the latter. Dare I say, its a match made in heaven.



Sex education is a fairly complex tapestry, something that even OMG 2s fairly dogged inquiry struggles to canvas. In fact, the penultimate question that it deals with is possibly the trickiest to approach. Just how does one go about delivering this dictum in a country so diverse, so morally jagged. No one straight line connects two faiths, two cultures, let alone two families in this vast landscape that has learned to revel in its distinctions. Universality here is a whim, an idea that even OMG 2 can only metaphorically refer to as nudity. Sach hamesha nanga hota hai, Kumar says, somewhat simplistically, without the fabric of chequered social contracts to consider. Its where the film writes itself into a corner, and finds convenient, easy routes. But its a minor blemish in a largely satisfying journey. For this is a courageous and important film. It might come across as a lot of men talking down to the rest, but maybe it needs to start with them first. At least someone put it in theatres, and made sure it made us laugh, cry and go home thinking about that catapulted, hastened journey between sensation and sin.
Google will not remove till August 18 from its Playstore the mobile applications of the startups that have challenged its in-app billing policy, the tech giant told the Madras High Court on August 11.



The undertaking was given by the search giant as the court agreed to hear the startups petitions challenging a single-judge bench order that dismissed their pleas against Googles Playstore policies.



A two-judge bench of the high court, which issued a notice to Google, will hear the startups pleas for interim orders on August 18.



Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, who appeared for Google, told the court that he would file a reply on why interim order should not be granted to startups.



Senior advocate and former finance minister P Chidambaram represented the startups.



The court was hearing appeals against the Madras High Court dismissing 14 of the 16 pleas from startups and tech companies, including Bharat Matrimony, Shaadi.com and Unacademy, against Google's app billing policy.



The court said the issue fell under the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The two remaining pleas, from streaming service company Disney+ Hotstar and exam preparation app Testbook, are also likely to be dismissed.



According to the court, since the startups have alleged abuse of dominant position by Google, the CCI should be the one deciding the matter.



The CCI was empowered to direct any enterprise guilty of abuse of dominant position to discontinue such practices, hence any order passed by the anti-trust watchdog would be applicable to all the businesses, the court said.



But in the present proceedings, such an order would be applicable only to the company that has challenged Google's policy.



The court passed the order after Google filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908 contending that the suits filed by the startups were not maintainable.



Google said the suits should be filed in California in the US, as the company was headquartered there. A civil court cannot adjudicate the issue as it involved allegations of anti-trust violations, it argued.



The petitioners include KukuFM, TrulyMadly, QuackQuack, Pratilipi, Crafto, Tamil publisher Ananda Vikatan, streaming services like Altt, Stage and Aha and industry body Indian Digital Media Industry Foundation that represents prominent streaming services such as Zee5, SonyLIV and SunNXT.



The court had earlier provided an interim injunction to these companies, asking them to pay a lower 4 percent fee to Google for using its in- app payments system. It also directed the tech giant not to delist any of them from the Play Store.



The injunction was in response to the petitioners moving the high court challenging Google's notice to either adopt its new app billing policy or face delisting from the app marketplace. Google said in May 2023 that it would start enforcing Play billing policy in India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 11 introduced the 'Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita', the 'Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita' and the 'Bharatiya Sakshya' bills as proposed replacements for the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.



The three laws currently govern Indias criminal justice system. While the government and the courts have updated these laws periodically, this is the first time that the government has announced a plan to replace them with new laws.



The move to repeal the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act is the biggest criminal law reform since Independence, said Sameer Jain, managing partner at PSL Advocates & Solicitors. India was amending the old 19th century law to suit its need but a fresh law in this regard will be helpful in tackling some chronic issues in taking evidence, trial procedure and sentencing.



Many provisions of the IPC were considered to have been enacted to suit Victorian sensibilities. The courts had to intervene regularly to ensure that the law was updated to keep up with societal and technological advancements.



For instance, the Supreme Court struck down provisions of the IPC that made homosexuality and adultery punishable offences. The evidence act had to be updated to make electronic evidence admissible in the courts of law.



The laws were archaic and needed a complete overhaul. Further, the draft bills have also accounted for technological advancements, which is commendable, said Utsav Trivedi, a partner at TAS law.



Community service



Trivedi noted that the bill contains forward-looking provisions for digitisation of complete trial via video conferencing, framing of charges within 60 days of receiving the charge sheet, and pronouncement of judgment within 30 days of final arguments.



This will definitely fast-track trials and reduce the pendency of cases, he said.



Anushkaa Arora, founder of ABA Law Office, said the introduction of the bills was a pathbreaking development to replace age-old archaic British raj laws.



The bill introduces less-harsh punishment for some small crimes and introduces certain new offences. Community service, which is prevalent as a punishment in western countries, has been brought into Indian law.

As per the stated objects and reasons, providing first-time community service as punishment for petty offences is a welcome step, said Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co.



However, he noted that a new set of offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India raises apprehension of misuse.



Section 150 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, bill refers to acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.



There appear to be changes in sentencing and some offences seem to have been absorbed now into the act, said Robin Fernandes, a partner at Vesta Legal.



The sedition controversy



While Shah told parliament that sedition as an offence would be repealed as a whole, many experts said it has been brought back in a different form.

Sedition is an offence under the existing law to punish those who bring or attempt to bring hatred or contempt against the government. A person could be charged with sedition for writing or saying something against the government.



In May 2022, the Supreme Court put the provision of law on hold after it was inundated with writ petitions that challenged its constitutional validity. The government has constantly told the court that it plans to repeal the law as a whole.



Experts argued that sedition was made an offence by the British prior to independence to suppress freedom fighters and the same provision cannot be used 75 years after independence. Freedom fighters such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak were punished for sedition.



It has been argued that provisions in the bill providing for punishment for waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, are a replacement for sedition.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on August 11 deferred the hearing of engine lessor Wills Lease Corporation's insolvency plea against low-cost airline SpiceJet to September 11.



During the hearing today, senior advocate Virender Ganda, who appeared for Willis, argued that it was the creditor under the provisions of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. He stated that other entities such as Wills Ireland and Willis Engine Securitisation Trust 1 were part of a service group of which Willis Lease Finance Corporation was the service provider as a result of which it becomes the operational creditor. Ganda took the court through various documents to substantiate his case.



However, owing to the paucity of time, the tribunal could not conclude the hearing as a result of which the hearing was deferred.



On August 8, the tribunal questioned Willis as to why it did not send a fresh insolvency notice to SpiceJet when it withdrew its previous plea. Willis had previously initiated an insolvency plea against SpiceJet for the same cause of action. However, it withdrew the plea owing to some technical defects in March 2023.



Earlier, senior advocate Krishnendu Dutta, who appeared for SpiceJet, argued that the plea was not maintainable as Willis did not have the court's permission to refile it. He argued that Willis was not the actual creditor as the engine leases had been entered into with different entities such as Wills Ireland and Willis Engine Securitisation Trust 1, among others.



According to Dutta, these companies should have assigned their rights to Wills Lease Finance Corporation to enable Willis to pursue this litigation. However, they have not done so. There are nine lease agreements with four lessors and Willis Lease Finance is not a part of any of the agreements, Dutta said.



On July 21, SpiceJet argued that Will Lease Finance Corporation is not an operational creditor, as SpiceJet's lease agreements were with companies such as Wills Ireland and Willis Engine Securitisation Trust 1 among others.



On July 4, NCLT asked Willis to convince them on how a second plea of insolvency based on the same transaction is maintainable.



Other insolvency pleas against SpiceJet



There are a total of five insolvency pleas filed by lessors against SpiceJet. Two pleas by aircraft lessor Aircastle and one plea by lessor Wilmington and one by Celestial Aviation Services.



The NCLT on May 8 issued notice in Aircastle's first plea and sought the airline's response. SpiceJet had accordingly filed a response to the plea, and Aircastle sought a short adjournment on May 25 to respond to the airline's reply. Subsequently, SpiceJet filed an application questioning the maintainability of Aircastle's insolvency plea. The airline also questioned the maintainability of Aircastle's second insolvency plea and Wilmington's plea.
Jailer frenzy has gripped the nation as Rajinikanth fans celebrate the release of the superstar's return to the big screen after a gap of two years. Jailer opened to largely positive reviews in theatres across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, garnering an impressive Rs 52 crore in India on its debut day. Several shows through the week have already been booked solid, while fans have been photographed queuing up in large numbers trying to score tickets. Some offices in Chennai and Bengaluru declared a holiday on Jailer release day so employees could watch the movie guilt-free, but Rapido has gone one step ahead. The bike and auto taxi aggregator has organised an exclusive screening of the Tamil-language film for its auto drivers  or auto captains, as it calls them  in Chennai. The exclusive screening of Jailer stands as a gesture of Rapido's deep appreciation for its captains, showcasing the companys commitment towards creating a positive work culture that prioritizes the well-being and work-life balance of its captains, Rapido said in a statement. Over 500 auto drivers will get to enjoy Jailer on the big screen. The screening will take place on August 12 at Chennais Krishnaveni Theatre. Rapido co-founder Pavan Guntupalli praised autorickshaw drivers as the backbone of Rapidos success and said they work tirelessly to ensure connectivity for commuters in Chennai. Rapido believes that occasional breaks are essential to maintain a work-life balance. Rapido Auto takes pride in embodying the spirit of Rajinikanth, serving our Captains with the same passion and enthusiasm that makes the Superstar a legend, Guntupalli said. Jailer marks Rajinikanths return to the silver screen as 'Tiger' Muthuvel Pandian in a hugely anticipated action flick.

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Tesla boss Elon Musk has an update for his much-anticipated cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The tech titans cage match will take on an ancient twist, paying homage to the grandeur of Rome's past.



The match will be livestreamed on Meta and X, formerly Twitter.



Musk unveiled his plans for the fight, in a tweet: "The fight will be managed by my and Zuck's foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all."



This unexpected shift in locale comes after Musk's conversations with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, who have endorsed the epic showdown.



He proclaimed, "Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy. And all proceeds go to veterans."



Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy

 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023

But it's not just the battle's backdrop that's capturing attention. Musk also provided an update on his physical condition, revealing, "I spent 3 hours in an MRI machine on Monday. Bottom line is that my C5/C6 fusion is solid, so not an issue. However, there is a problem with my right shoulder blade rubbing against my ribs, which requires minor surgery. Recovery will only take a few months."



On the other side of the ring, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains eager to take on Musk. He had suggested August 26 as a potential date for the brawl, but Musk has yet to confirm.



Zuckerberg's earlier shared on his own platform Threads, "I'm ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn't confirmed. Not holding my breath."



Musk's initial challenge to Zuckerberg came after the billionaire responded to news about Meta's Threads launch, exclaiming, "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol.



Since then, the fight's narrative has evolved, with Musk disclosing his "mega back pain" sustained during a sumo wrestling bout. Last year, Musk had challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "single combat" over the war in Ukraine as well.
A woman in the United States reportedly abandoned her pet French bulldog at a Pittsburgh International Airport car park after a dispute with airline staff regarding the animal's travel eligibility. The incident unfolded in the early hours of Friday morning, when authorities were alerted to an unattended stroller carrying the dog near short-term parking.



According to Allegheny County Police Department, a microchip was discovered on the dog, but attempts to reach the owner proved futile.



The woman, who was reportedly en route to a resort, insisted that her pet was an emotional support animal, seeking permission for the dog to accompany her on the flight.



Despite her assertions, airline personnel remained sceptical, informing her that the pet would need to be safely enclosed in a travel crate for the journey.



Undeterred by their directive, the woman, whose identity remains undisclosed, chose an astonishing course of actionleaving the defenseless canine near the parking area and proceeding to board her flight.



Dont leave your pets behind!



This morning at approximately 5:30 a.m., ACPD officers working at Pittsburgh International Airport were called to assist with a dog that was found unattended in a stroller on airport property. pic.twitter.com/eTzN8fdQWN

 Allegheny County PD (@AlleghenyCoPD) August 4, 2023

Sergeant Jason Donaldson of the Allegheny County Police Department said the dog was estimated to be around seven years old and is presently under the care of a local animal shelter.



"We found the dog to be in good health," Donaldson stated, addressing concerns about the dog's well-being. The incident sparked a surge of public outcry on social media, with people expressing interest in adopting the abandoned dog.



One user remarked, "This is the best thing that could have ever happened to that baby. Now it has a chance to find a real home and to be loved."



Another wrote: "Poor baby, Id rescue that lovey in a second!!! Shame on that human owner, dont ever get a pet again."



The Allegheny County Police Department has indicated that the owner may face charges of animal abandonment, an offense under Pennsylvania state law. Intentionally or knowingly abandoning an animal is regarded as an act of cruelty, with penalties ranging from a fine of $300 to $1,000 upon conviction.
Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space on Thursday with its first tourists - a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean. This is the first successful space tourism flight for the American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate.



Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastasia Mayers, 18, became the first mother-daughter duo to fly to space together. The mother-daughter duo from Antigua won their tickets in a prize draw. Also on the trip to the edge of space was Jon Goodwin, a former British Olympian.



Goodwin, 80, was among the first to buy a Virgin Galactic ticket in 2005 and feared, after later being diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, that hed be out of luck. Since then hes climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and cycled back down, and said he hopes his spaceflight shows others with Parkinsons and other illnesses that it doesnt stop you doing things.



Schahaff, Mayers and Goodwin were accompanied by pilot Kelly Latimer, plane commander and NASA astronaut CJ Sturckow and astronaut instructor Beth Moses as they travelled to space on board the VSS Unity.



The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.



That was by far the most awesome thing Ive ever done in my life, said Jon Goodwin, who competed in canoeing in the 1972 Olympics. He described the trip as a completely surreal experience.



The most impressive thing for the ex-Olympian was witnessing the curvature of the earth  The most impressive thing was looking at Earth from space, the pure clarity was very moving, he said. It was far more dramatic than I imagined it would be, the pure acceleration was completely surreal.



Meanwhile, Anastatia Mayers, a University of Aberdeen student, said the experience was indescribable. I have no words. The only thought I had the whole time was wow, she revealed after the trip.



Mayers added that the experience will help her become more open to adventure. The experience has grounded me and awoken me - I definitely feel a lot more connected to Earth itself and a lot more motivated to explore and be even more adventurous, she said.



(With inputs from the Associated Press)
Anil Agarwal, founder and CEO of Vedanta Resources, recently met Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds. The industrialist said the Canadian actor took a keen interest in knowing more about Nand Ghar, Vedanta's flagship programme aimed at directly benefitting children and women. Agarwal said that after meeting the star, he realised that they have a similar value system. I met everyone's favourite superhero recently. Ryan Reynolds ko kaun nahin janta (who does not know Ryan Reynolds?). I heard a lot about him being one of the nicest people. Unse milkar jaana how similar our values are (I realised after meeting him how similar our values are), Agarwal tweeted, sharing a photo of him with Ryan Reynolds on X (formerly Twitter). He is extremely passionate about child welfare initiatives and was interested in our @Nandghar. I told him how I myself have experienced hunger as a child, and that my dream is that no child in my country should go to bed hungry. I met everyone's favorite superhero recently.. Ryan Reynolds ko kaun nahin janta.. I heard a lot about him being one of the nicest people... unse milkar jaana how similar our values are He is extremely passionate about child welfare initiatives and was interested in our pic.twitter.com/PTXu2RTcyq  Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) August 11, 2023 The Vedanta boss said Reynolds was impressed with the millet nutirbar that Nand Ghar serves children to combat malnutrition. Project Nand Ghar describes itself as a modern anganwadi initiative with "state of the art infrastructure" to combat malnutrition, educate and empower women. In recent years, Anil Agarwal has been documenting his journey from humble beginnings in Bihar to Mumbai, the city of dreams, where he went to build his globally-diversified company. Agarwals Vedanta, a global natural resources company, has presence in India, Africa, Ireland and Australia. More than 65,000 employee and contractors work with the London-headquartered company.

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Jeff Bezos is adding a waterfront mansion in Florida to his rapidly expanding real estate empire.



The Amazon.com Inc. founder, and the worlds third-richest person, agreed to pay $68 million for an estate in Indian Creek, a man-made barrier island in the larger Miami area, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.



The 2.8-acre (1.1 hectare) three-bedroom property, built in 1965, was previously owned by MTM Star International, a company with ties to Panama. Public records show the sale took place in June, but the identity of the final buyer was undisclosed. Prior to that, the last recorded sale was in 1982 for $1.4 million.



A representative for Bezos didnt respond to requests for comment.



Bezos, 59, is also looking at other purchases in the area, the person said, asking not to be named. The exclusive Indian Creek is known as Billionaire Bunker and has been home to the likes of Carl Icahn, Tom Brady, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.



Bezos has amassed multiple homes in recent years, including in Washington, D.C., a nine-acre Beverly Hills mansion he bought for $165 million in 2020 and an estate in Maui. He owns properties in Manhattan and Seattle as well as a 300,000 acre ranch in Texas, where the launch site to Blue Origins New Shepard rocket is based.



His spending on ultraexpensive items has accelerated since he stepped down as CEO from Amazon in 2021 and after he separated from his wife MacKenzie Scott. He owns one of the worlds most expensive superyachts, the Koru, which launched this year and cost an estimated $500 million to build.



His Indian Creek purchase spans almost 9,300 square feet (864 square meters), according to property records, and includes a pool.



With a $163 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos would instantly become Indian Creeks richest inhabitant. The island has just about 40 residences, a country club and its own police department.



Real estate values have soared there, but also for the high-end Miami area in recent years as the region has drawn some of the worlds wealthiest people. Ken Griffin, Dan Loeb and Josh Harris have also scooped up lush waterfront Miami Beach mansions since the pandemic.



The purchase marks a homecoming for Bezos, who graduated from high-school in Miami, after his Cuba-born stepdad got a job in Florida. His parents own properties in Coral Gables and Miami Beach.



Hes also been spending time in the area. Bezos attended the Miami Grand Prix party in May and was spotted that weekend with his now-fiancee Lauren Sanchez.
AUBURN  An Auburn man will be tried for murder charges a second time next year after his previous conviction was overturned on appeal.

Gage Ashley, 25, will be tried again for charges in the November 2019 shooting death of Joshua A. Poole beginning Monday, March 4, 2024.

The trial, blocked out for two weeks, was scheduled Thursday afternoon in Cayuga County Court before Judge Thomas Leone. Ashley was present in court with his new retained attorney, Shaun Chase of Syracuse-based Cerio Law Offices, who replaced attorney Todd Sloan. Chase told Leone he has been involved with the case for about two weeks.

After the March trial date was scheduled, Leone remanded Ashley back to Cayuga County Jail. He is next due in court Thursday, Aug. 24, for arguments related to a motion filed by Sloan.

Ashley was one of four people charged with the death of Poole, 36, at 8 Delevan St. Ashley was convicted in December 2021 of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and sentenced to 21 years to life for the murder charges and 15 years to life for the other charges. However, in May, the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department  a mid-level appeals court  overturned the conviction after determining that the grand jury that indicted Ashley was illegally constituted because one member had a criminal conviction.

The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office is now retrying the case against Ashley, and he was arraigned in June on the same charges.
Pakistan's outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said former premier Nawaz Sharif will return to the country next month to face his pending court cases and lead the party's campaign for the general election.



Nawaz Sharif, 73, has been living in self-imposed exile in the UK since November 2019. He was convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018.



He was serving a seven-year imprisonment at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Mills case before he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on "medical grounds".



In an interview with Geo News on Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, 71, said he would travel to London to meet his elder brother Nawaz Sharif as soon as the caretaker government took charge in the country.



Shehbaz Sharif reiterated that his elder brother would be Pakistan's prime minister for the fourth time if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won the next election to be held later this year.



His statement came as the process to appoint caretaker setup formally kicked off with the dissolution of the National Assembly on Wednesday, three days ahead of the mandated period.



"Nawaz Sharif will come back to Pakistan next month and will face the law and lead the election campaign," the incumbent prime minister said without giving the exact date of Nawaz Sharif's return.



In 2016, Nawaz Sharif stepped down as the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets.



His appeals against the conviction are currently pending in the relevant courts.



"He (Nawaz Sharif) will neither wear a hat nor a bucket," Shehbaz Sharif said while taking a thinly veiled jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan who dons a bulletproof helmet while appearing for court hearings.



Khan, 70, was sentenced to three years in prison by an Islamabad trial court on Saturday in the Toshakhana corruption case for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He was subsequently arrested by the Punjab police from his residence in Lahore.



Khan, who is currently lodged in the Attock Jail, appealed his conviction and the three-year prison sentence in the case by filing a plea through his lawyers at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.



Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PML-N president, hoped that his party would win the next general elections and he will work as an activist of the party under the Nawaz Sharif-led government.



The early dissolution of the National Assembly will allow the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections in the country within 90 days instead of 60 days, the stipulated time if the legislature completes its term.



The polls are expected to be delayed for a couple of months as new census results have been approved, which makes it a constitutional obligation to carry out delimitation before elections.



The ECP is bound to carry out delimitation within 120 days and then announce the election schedule.



Shehbaz Sharif will continue to perform his duties as the premier until the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.



Speaking about his meeting with Opposition leader Raja Riaz to deliberate on the interim Prime Minister's name, Shehbaz Sharif said: "It is hoped that the name of caretaker prime minister will be agreed upon before three days."



Under the Constitution, the prime minister and the opposition leader have three days to finalise the caretaker prime minister's name. In the first round of consultation on Thursday, they failed to reach a consensus on the interim Prime Minister's name.



"It has been decided that another round of consultation will be held tomorrow (Friday). Till a name is not finalised no name will be revealed," said Riaz following the meeting.



His statement indicated that both sides are keeping cards close to their chest. However, Riaz did confirm that he had shared the names of his candidates with the premier, hoping that things will clear out tomorrow.



Shehbaz Sharif said he will also consult his brother Nawaz Sharif regarding the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.



Amid concerns that polls might be delayed, Shehbaz Sharif said general elections should be held as soon as possible, adding that the ECP is responsible for holding elections in the country, not the caretaker setup.
August 11, 2023

Ukraine SitRep: The End Of The Counteroffensive

Western media have finally change course. They are now admitting that the much promoted Ukrainian counter-offensive has failed. In fact, the acknowledge that it never had a chance to win in the first place.

The Hill, the Washington Post and CNN now agree that the Ukrainian army will never achieve its aims.

That makes it difficult for the Biden administration to get Congress approval for $24 billion in additional 'aid' to Ukraine. It does not make sense to pay for a cause that is evidently lost.

The Polish President Duda has also acknowledged that the counter-offensive has failed. Relations between Warsaw and Kiev have gotten worse and Polish interests will not allow for more support or active intervention.

Nothing has come from the 'peace conference' which Saudi Arabia arranged on Ukraine's behalf.

Despite the onslaught of bad news the Ukrainian army is still trying to take Russian positions in the south and east of Ukraine. But it simply does not have enough in men and material to break through the lines.

Even if they would manage to get a local breakthrough there are not enough reserves to push for the necessary follow up. Just one of the NATO trained brigades has still been held back. All others have been mauled in their various deployment zones.

In the northeast around Kupyansk the Russians have started their own offensive which has the Ukrainians on the run. Ukraine has ordered the evacuation of the area:

A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk and its surrounding areas, as Russia intensified shelling of Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region and claimed to have captured Ukrainian positions near the city on Thursday.

But Kupyansk is a Russian city and people refuse to leave.

The Russian campaign is slowly speeding up. As the Ukrainian Strana.news reports (machine translation):

Also in Ukraine, it is recorded that from Kupyansk to Bakhmut, Russia has increased the number of attacks. "Over the past month, the total number of attacks in the Kupyansk, Limansky and Bakhmut directions has grown significantly. In July, during the week there were 6-6.5 thousand attacks, during the last week-9 thousand attacks, " - said the representative of the National Guard Ruslan Muzychuk. According to him, the Russian Federation does not experience "shell hunger". Aviation is also actively used, and over the past few weeks, more than 50 air attacks have been taking place every day, and sometimes more than 80.

That is bad news for the Ukrainian side which lacks the reserves to counter the Russian onslaught. There are also less weapons coming in from the West. F-16 fighter jets will be delayed for another nine months due to training issues. Tanks and other material are in short supply.

Strana also report of an interview with a knowledgeable Ukrainian soldier (machine translation):

Continuing the topic of the situation at the front, an interesting interview was given by a Ukrainian sniper fighting near Bakhmut with the call sign "Grandfather". On the air of political scientist Yuri Romanenko, he was introduced as Konstantin Proshinsky (this is a pseudonym). The fighter spoke in detail about his vision of the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian army. 1. Mobilization. In his opinion, it is conducted incorrectly. Recruits are sent to the front who have never been trained, and they are often over 50 years old and with a whole bunch of diseases.

...

2. No rotation. The soldier says that "the same brigades" are fighting at the front, and people are not taken out of the front line for six months or more. Whereas by Western standards, they can be kept in a war zone for no more than three months.

...

3. Behavior of mid-and high-level commanders. According to Proshinsky, many of them are trying to arrange a "mini-Stalingrad" on the positions, forcing them to go into frontal assaults on well-fortified Russian positions.

...

4. The Russian Army began to fight better.

...

5. Proshinsky believes that Russia has not yet used much of what it has against Ukraine.

The soldier thinks that the Russians will not move from their positions and that a stalemate peace like in Korea would be the end result.

I believe that to be wrong. Russia's aim is to liberate at least the four regions that it has claimed for itself. For political reasons it can not stop before that is done.

Should the Ukraine continue to fight after that, Russia is likely to set new aims and take more land.

Posted by b on August 11, 2023 at 13:06 UTC | Permalink

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Hawaii is increasingly under siege from disasters, and what is escalating most is wildfire. It is, in fact, one of the riskiest states in the country. That reality can clash with the vision of the storied state as a paradise.
Life on the Keweenaw Peninsula offers a short weather window for summer activities but year-round options for solar power, writes researcher Ana Dyreson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. In this guest blog, she highlights efforts taking place at the nations northernmost Regional Test Center to improve photovoltaic performance in cold climates.

"The natural obstacles and the hardships to be endured are such as to discourage all but the most hardy and enterprising." Dr. Charles Isaacs, on his time spent at Fort Wilkins in Upper Michigans Copper Harbor during the winter of 1844-45.

Anyone who has spent a winter at Michigan Tech can relate to Dr. Isaacs observations. Only those who can navigate a snow season that lasts from October to May can thrive here, whether by skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles or their own intrepid driving skills. For every challenge, a solution can be found by those hardy and enterprising enough to try.

The same applies to creating resilient and adaptive electric power systems in cold climates. Technologies like solar photovoltaic panels that first proliferated in sunny climates are becoming more common in snowy climates. If engineers can adapt system designs, solar can be optimized for our climate. Lessons we learn here with extreme snow are helpful to other locations that get regular snow.

"Solar in the Upper Peninsula is not new. During the winter the snow will reduce performance, and utility rate agreements vary, but solar systems will generate electricity that will offset your electricity costs to some extent over the year. Our research is about how to reduce those wintertime losses." Ana Dyreson, Michigan Tech Great Lakes Energy Group

While some tend to think of solar energy on the smaller scale  for homes or individual entities  about 65% of solar capacity in the U.S. is utility-scale. Solar photovoltaics (PV) make up the largest technology category in new utility-scale installations in the U.S., and this sectors growth is only expected to accelerate in coming decades.

Large-scale PV installations and other macro trends like decarbonization and electrification are global trends. However, I believe their success depends on whether designers consider the specific characteristics of regional climates and community-scale social barriers.

Designing PV systems for cold, high latitudes and snowy climates  especially to reduce the amount of time that PV systems are covered in snow  is an important regional challenge. My research focuses on how to improve performance in the winter and understand the impact of high penetrations of solar PV on the power system.

Dyreson, who leads the Great Lakes Energy Group, says global solutions for sustainable energy rely on understanding the characteristics of regional climates and communities.

As an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Tech, I lead the Great Lakes Energy Group. The work of group member Ayush Chutani, a Ph.D. student, is illustrative of our mission. Chutanis research is focused on snow shading, which describes the condition that occurs when the snow on panels is deep enough to stop solar photovoltaics from generating electricity. He seeks to optimize the design of single-axis tracking solar PV systems to minimize snow shading, increasing the amount of energy a PV system can produce over the course of a winter.

At large solar facilities, solar arrays are either fixed-tilt, meaning they don't move at all, single-axis tracking or dual-axis tracking. Single-axis tracking systems, currently the most common option for new facilities, rotate automatically throughout the day from east to west, following the sun. Dual-axis tracking systems can move on the north-south axis as well as east-west, offering higher energy output at a greater cost.

The solar array in winter at Michigan Tech's Advanced Power Systems Labs adjacent to Keweenaw Research Center.

No matter the tracking type, when snow covers a large solar power plant it isnt as practical or easy to remove it as it can be for a small residential system. Our research group sees an opportunity to reduce snow shading on single-axis tracking systems by changing the position of the panels, optimizing the tracking in order to shed snow buildup. Were observing snow cover and ambient conditions in real time as the panels track. How does positioning encourage melting snow to fall off the panels? How can we optimize position for snow shed by accounting for wind speed, irradiance, and temperature?

Watch Solar Energy in Cold Climates video Watch Watch Dyreson and two of her research students share their findings and field audience questions in a 2023 Husky Bites video webinar.

Chutanis research is made possible by a generous donation from Array Technologies. In late 2022, the company installed a 10-row, 33-kilowatt, grid-tied single-axis tracking solar PV system at the Michigan Solar Regional Test Center (RTC), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated facility, which is headquartered at Michigan Techs Advanced Power Systems Laboratories. Its one of five RTCs  and the northernmost  managed by Sandia National Laboratory. Chutanis work is also supported by funding from Sandia through the DOEs Solar Energy Technologies office.

The system Array Technologies installed roughly doubled the Keweenaw-based research technology centers footprint, providing a foundation for observational studies led by both Michigan Tech and company research teams as we look for ways to improve system operation in cold and snowy climates.

Chutani hopes to develop new algorithms using a system of snow sensors that he installed last winter. The sensors will be used for new smart controls on the single-axis tracking systems to adjust their position before, during or after observed snow.

Based on our first winter, we can see anecdotally that the position of the panels is not the only variable that matters  wind speed and direction, as well as temperature, interact with snow and sun to affect the timing of when the snow is shed. If Chutani is successful, the electrical power output can be increased and worst-case snow loading that constrains the mechanical design of the supporting structures can be reduced.

About the Researcher Ana Dyreson adyreson@mtu.edu

906-487-1173 Research Interests Grid integration under high penetrations of wind and solar energy

Drought and heat impacts on power systems

Thermal power plant modeling

Hybrid power plant value propositions

Electricity load modeling Researcher Profile

Improving PV system operation in cold climates improves cost-effectiveness and ultimately addresses one of the biggest challenges in climate change and sustainability: reducing the carbon intensity of electricity supply. The hardy and enterprising mindset that we apply to solutions  as well as life in the Keweenaw  serves us well as we take on this task.

Regional Energy Projects with Global Significance

The Great Lakes Energy Group continues to work on numerous projects that emphasize the incorporation of regional considerations. With global and national investments in clean energy on the rise, the importance of including regional climate in system designs is paramount. Whether its solar PV, legacy natural gas power plants, heat pumps or electric vehicle charging infrastructure, our strategy involves using the best available weather and climate data along with local context to look for sustainable solutions that are socially and technically suited to northern climates.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigans flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

CATL partners with POWERCHINA

On August 11, CATL entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA). As per the agreement, both parties will cooperate on the research on new energy storage applications, energy storage product development and industry cooperation, domestic and international expansion in the energy storage and integrated smart energy markets, smart energy and smart city demonstration projects, comprehensive energy bases utilizing wind, solar, hydro, and energy storage, as well as the establishment of energy storage equipment manufacturing bases and the exploration of international business opportunities.

Photo credit: CATL

KHAT delivers 200,000th set of air spring assemblies

Zhejiang Konghui Automotive Technologies Co., LTD. ("KHAT") successfully delivered its 200,000th set of air spring assembly to customers on August 5. This achievement marks a significant milestone in KHAT's corporate growth and represents a new peak in the development of China's automotive air suspension industry.

Photo credit: KHAT

EVE Energy breaks ground on factory in Malaysia

EVE Energy, known for its expertise in lithium-ion technology, successfully conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for its Malaysia factory, which represents the company's 53rd factory. With an investment of up to $422.3 million, the factory will specialize in the production of cylindrical batteries and is expected to create around 600 direct job opportunities upon completion.

Photo credit: EVE Energy

VOYAH Dreamer permitted for export to Europe with EWVTA certificate granted

On August 11, VOYAH, the premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand of Dongfeng Motor Group, announced via its Weibo account that its VOYAH Dreamer high-end MPV has been officially granted the European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (EWVTA). This milestone signifies that the European version of VOYAH Dreamer is now eligible for mass export and can be registered for official road use across all European Union member countries.

HESAI's Maxwell Intelligent Manufacturing Center nears completion in Jiading district

The construction of the Hesai Technology ("HESAI")'s Maxwell Intelligent Manufacturing Center project in Jiading Industrial Zone has reached its final stages, according to an update from the WeChat account of Jiading district's government. The interior decoration of the R&D and production building is nearly complete, with the aim of becoming operational before the end of the year.

ZEEKR to unveil ZEEKR 001 FR supercar soon, expected to be priced over 1 million yuan

In response to recent online rumors about a possible refreshed version of the ZEEKR 001, ZEEKR, the premium electric vehicle brand of Geely Auto Group, has released a statement clarifying that there are no redesign plans for the ZEEKR 001. Addressing the speculations head-on, the carmaker unveiled the answer: ZEEKR's performance supercar, the ZEEKR 001 FR, will make its debut on ZEEKR brand's technology day to be held soon.

ZEEKR announces limited-time price reduction for ZEEKR 001

ZEEKR, the premium electric vehicle brand of Geely Auto Group, announced on August 11 a new limited-time pricing and benefits policy for its first production model, the ZEEKR 001, featuring price reductions ranging from 30,000 to 37,000 yuan. This policy will be applicable to customers who place new orders between August 11th, 9:00 and December 31st, 24:00, 2023.

Chinese auto chip supplier Flagchip Semiconductor to build digital platform with Puhua Software

Suzhou Flagchip Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (referred to as Flagchip) recently joined forces with leading Chinese basic software provider Puhua Software Co., Ltd. (referred to as Puhua Software) to officially unveil a domestically developed integrated digital platform solution for intelligent connected vehicles based on the AUTOSAR standard.

NETA Auto to deploy Dassault Systemes' DELMIA APRISO solution in vehicles, component factories

NETA Auto, the Chinese new energy vehicle maker under HOZON Auto, on August 10 inked an agreement with the global software company Dassault Systemes for the strategic cooperation in the fields like the digital transformation of intelligent manufacturing, according to NETA Auto's press release.

Dongfeng Motor Group faces YoY drop in July auto sales

Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited (Dongfeng Motor Group) was challenged with a double-digit decline in July auto sales, according to the company's report released on August 10.

SGMW's Baojun Yunduo all-electric car hits market to vie with BYD Dolphin

The Baojun Yunduo (translated into "cloud"), a five-seater compact sedan made by SAIC-GM-Wuling ("SGMW"), officially hit the market on August 10, coming with four trim levels: 360 Plus, 360 Pro, 460 Pro, and 460 Max. Its prices span a range from 95,800 yuan to 123,800 yuan, setting the starting price nearly 21,000 yuan below its closest competitor, the BYD Dolphin.
A last resort: Families turn to private contractors to help children lost to the street
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on veterans' care at George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at Auburn Manufacturing, a company that produces heat- and fire-resistant fabrics for a range of industrial uses in the U.S. and abroad, in Auburn, Maine, U.S. July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.Sexual wellness brand Svakom has partnered with Calvista, a Melbourne-based pleasure products wholesaler, to exclusively distribute its products in Australia.

"Teaming up with Calvista will open many more doors for Svakom in the region thanks to their extensive network and more than 30 years of industry experience, a representative for Svakom said. This exclusive distribution agreement will allow Svakom to serve new and existing clients so that more adults can experience our luxurious yet affordable product range."

Calvistas well-established distribution network, expertise and professionalism make them the ideal partner for Svakom in Australia at a time when our brand is experiencing rapid growth worldwide," the rep added.

Vanessa Rose, the Svakom account manager for Australia, lauded the distribution deal with Calvista, which is effective this month.

Our exclusive partnership with Calvista provides an exciting opportunity to introduce Svakom to a previously untapped audience in Australia, Rose said. We look forward to this positive collaboration, which will expand our market reach, drive growth for all parties, and see many exciting initiatives launched."

Rose added: "Together, we will redefine the meaning of pleasure in the region as more adults become able to experience the luxurious, innovative and technologically advanced products for which Svakom is renowned.

For more information, visit Svakom's website and Calvista's website.
How a madam at Chinese massage parlors outside LA took on federal law enforcement
Red crime scene tape surrounds a home, right, in the 8500 block of E. Canyon Vista Drive in Anaheim on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, where Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was taken into custody by Anaheim police after a shooting death of his wife, according to multiple sources. (Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register/SCNG/TNS)
The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
GVB says Guam is on track to hit 1M visitors next fiscal year
MONTREALYesGirlz.com, which describes itself as bright, fun, full of high energy and amazing talent, has relaunched in partnership with YourPaysitePartner.

When we started YesGirlz, we wanted to create a bright, fun, light-hearted and real brand, where the girls can have a good time on set and bring their unique personalities and styles of performing to each scene, YesGirlz partner Andre said. We encourage everyone to be themselves and have fun. Our philosophy is that we are in the people business, and we express that by always putting our talent at the center of our universe because, without them, there is no YesGirlz. We are humble enough to acknowledge that each performer we work with is critical to our success.

We believe in evolving and pushing ourselves to strike the balance of consistency and ways to keep things new, fresh and exciting," he added. "Being content creators at our core, we knew that to expand, we would need experts to help us on our growth journey, so the partnership with YourPaysitePartner made sense to us. They truly are the experts in this dynamic, ever-changing landscape of digital content. We definitely are better together.

We have been aware of YesGirlz and have always enjoyed the style of content they created, said YourPaysitePartners Kenny B. After meeting with them and learning their philosophy behind creating that content, both teams just clicked. We felt confident that we could help to implement new ways to keep things fresh and exciting for their fans, such as adding new BTS content and making the site mobile responsive.

Follow YesGirlz on Twitter @xxxyesgirlz and Instagram @yesgirlz_dot_com.

YesGirlz.com is available for promotion through YourPaysitePartner's RadicalCash program at RadicalCash.com.

For more information on YesGirlz.com, contact Erik at [email protected].
CAL Fire logo View Photo

Sacramento, CA To enhance forest and fuels management projects, CAL FIRE and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have formalized a statewide Good Neighbor Authority agreement, simplifying collaboration across land boundaries and aiming to bolster the health of Californias forests.

As part of the Good Neighbor Authority initiative, CAL FIRE and the BLM have inked a comprehensive agreement valued at around $4.5 million. This funding, allocated to CAL FIRE through the agreement, will facilitate improved coordination for forest health projects, fuel reduction, and restoration efforts on BLM-managed public lands within California. Notably, the BLM oversees a vast expanse of 15 million acres, accounting for roughly 15 percent of the states total land area.

Matthew Reischman, Deputy Director for Resource Management at CAL FIRE, expressed the groundbreaking nature of this collaboration, asserting that it stands as a pivotal stride towards safeguarding Californias natural resources and communities from the destructive impacts of wildfires. Through strategic planning and joint efforts, this partnership streamlines planning steps and seeks to foster a healthier and more resilient environmentone that is better equipped to withstand the challenges posed by wildfire and other ecological stressors.

Beyond its implications for wildfire prevention, this partnership seeks to fortify BLM wildlands against climate-related stressors like drought. Additionally, it addresses potential threats posed by insects and fungi, which can impact the overall health of natural systems.

Under this agreement, CAL FIRE is empowered to pursue state objectives on federal lands, with priority projects identified based on the alignment of CAL FIRE and BLM strategic goals. Examples include projects that bridge fuel breaks from the State Responsibility Area to BLM lands, fuel reduction efforts in high-threat areas for catastrophic wildfire impact, as well as post-fire restoration and hazard reduction activities in regions affected by wildfires or other climate-induced stressors. This streamlined approach replaces the prior need for protracted coordination across jurisdictional boundaries.
Calaveras, CA Colin Dunn, a student at San Andreas-Calaveras High School (CHS), has achieved a significant milestone by gaining acceptance into the California Youth Council (CYC). Dunns selection marks the first time a student from Calaveras County will be representing the region on the CYC. The California Youth Council operates under the umbrella of the California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP) and the Tulare County Office of Education.

Prospective members of the Calaveras Youth Council must submit an application and a letter of recommendation. Membership typically spans a single school year. After serving a term during his junior year, Dunn, now a senior at CHS, is set to contribute to the CYC for the 2023-24 academic year. A nomination by an FNL Coordinator is an additional requisite for consideration for the state youth council.

Brandon Dodge, FNL Coordinator, emphasized the significance of youth development programs like Friday Night Live in giving young individuals a platform to voice their concerns. Dodge stated, FNL allows young people to be open and honest about the problems they face on campus or in their community while being provided the tools and resources to make a difference. He continued, I nominated Colin because hes been a natural leader from day one. He makes it a point to recognize and create a relationship with everyone he meets, and I know he will do the same with his new peers on the California Youth Council. This will be a huge year of growth for Colin, and we are excited to see him grow.

The California Youth Council comprises youth leaders from high school and college age groups across the state. Each CYC member contributes localized experiences regarding youth issues in their respective communities to the broader state level. The aim is to effect change that extends beyond their hometowns and serve as a link between local youth and state-wide initiatives.

Reflecting on his journey, Dunn shared, When I first joined FNL in 2021, I had no idea about CYC, I didnt envision myself representing my county as a part of the CYC team. Becoming a part of the CYC team means a great deal to me because it means I get to represent my county on a bigger stage. He added, As a member of the CYC team, I hope to be able to spread awareness about the problems that rural California faces.
Blue Jay Fire In Yosemite - 2020 View Photo

Yosemite, CA  A group of Republican lawmakers are meeting in Yosemite National Park today to talk about the impacts of wildfires.

Mother Lode Congressman Tom McClintock is helping to lead a field hearing of the US House Natural Resources Committee.

Congressional leaders from across the country will be meeting up to discuss forest management. On hand will be Arkansas Congressman Bruce Westerman, who is the Chair of the Committee. The others planning to be in attendance, all of which are Republicans, include Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Dan Newhouse of Washington, David Valadao of California, and John Duarte of California. It will be held at 11 am at Curry Village and is entitled Conservation in a Crown Jewel: Discussion about Wildfires and Forest Management.

The meeting is open to the public.
Since leaving ESPN, Katie Nolan has talked a bit about the things she liked in her 2017-2021 stint with the company, but also about the challenges of fitting into a role with the Worldwide Leader. Shes now revealed some particularly interesting details on what happened there around her Always Late show in particular.

Nolan revealed those in a new appearance on BetRivers podcast Off Air with Julie Stewart-Binks. Heres that podcast, with the key ESPN conversation starting around 18:30:

Here are some of those key Always Late comments from Nolan, including revealing that the show only came about after she pressed for it, and the move from ESPN+ to linear TV (ESPN2) in 2019 came after execs initially wanted to cancel the show:

I went to ESPN, and I tried to do, like, Okay, you brought me here because you liked Garbage Time, so were going to make a Garbage Time here, right? Well, no, we were going to have you host, like, SportsCenter on Snapchat. And I was like Yeah, but that takes 15 minutes, so then what? With my paycheck, clearly theres got to be something else you want me to do.'

And mostly, for that, it was like you dont want to be a woman who takes less because you dont need more, and then youre setting the bar low for any woman who comes after you. So I was like Well, there must be more. And then there wasnt, until we kind of pushed for there to be more. And then they were like Well, we have ESPN+, you can put a show on there, but you cant share any of it on the internet, because it has to be behind the paywall. So I was like Well, thats kind of a handcuff.'

So we just made this show. And the people that helped us make it were all fantastic. But the person in charge of us changed like every few weeks. So I never had anybody who was, like, going up the chain and being like This is what were making.'

It just sort of didnt stay. And then there was a point where they cancelled it, and I went into the office of somebody important like You cant cancel it! And out of that meeting, they put it on TV. So I didnt know how it worked there, I didnt know how decisions were made. It was weird. But I loved it, and it was great, but it didnt work. It didnt happen, it didnt pop off, it didnt get supported by the network.

Much of that fits with previous discussions around ESPN and Nolan, but there are some interesting details here. The network was very excited about her when they announced her hire in October 2017, saying she would have a prominent digital presence while also making appearances across ESPN studio programming. The next month, they announced plans for a podcast and a digital show with her. But as per Nolans comments here, that only actually came to fruition from her pushing, with the network mostly looking at her for that Snapchat show.

And things then got weirder still, at least from Nolans account here. That Always Late move to linear TV in 2019 was described in a New York Post headline as ESPNs plan to reignite Katie Nolans show, and that seemed fair from the outside. But its fascinating to hear that ESPN initially tried to cancel the show before making that move to linear. And it should be noted that Always Lates 2020 cancellation (which was only officially revealed a year later) likely had a lot to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, with that show shifting to remote production and then stopping doing new episodes relatively early during the pandemic.

The larger points Nolan makes here about the importance of fit at ESPN and the importance of having an executive who goes to bat for you and your particular content have been stated by many. And some of the uncertainty, leadership changes, and seemingly-conflicted goals from ESPN Nolan discusses here have also been mentioned by others. They were really obvious with her, though, especially around the network signing her to an extension in 2020 and then promptly laying off Ashley Braband, her podcast co-host and producer. This fits into a larger narrative of different ESPN executives having wildly different content goals, and content plans changing significantly in a short span based on executive shifts. But its notable to get these specific details from Nolan.

[Off Air with Julie Stewart-Binks on Apple Podcasts]
An Israeli army raid in the northern West Bank kills a Palestinian militant View Photo

TULKAREM, West Bank (AP)  The Israeli military stormed into a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, sparking a firefight with Palestinian gunmen and killing a Palestinian man, medics said.

The raid into the Tulkarem refugee camp was the latest deadly Israeli military operation into Palestinian cities and towns following a monthslong surge of violence that has escalated regional tensions, highlighted the weaknesses of the Palestinian Authority and helped fuel rising militancy in the restive occupied territory.

The Israeli military said that Palestinians hurled explosive devices, fireworks and stones at troops, who fired back. Palestinian gunmen also blocked the roads, opened fire and burned tires in the cramped alleys of the camp, the army said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that one man was killed and three others were wounded by Israeli fire.

The Tulkarem branch of a loosely organized militant group known as the Lions Den  which emerged in the northern city of Nablus last year  identified the man killed as Mahmoud Jarad and claimed him as a member.

Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank has surged to levels unseen in nearly two decades, with more than 160 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of 2023, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the raids and others not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.

Israel says the raids are essential to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see the violence as a natural response to 56 years of occupation, including stepped-up settlement construction by Israels government and increased violence by Jewish settlers.

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.
Arizona Democrats lose lawsuit looking to block No Labels Party View Photo

PHOENIX (AP)  An Arizona judge has rejected the state Democratic Partys lawsuit targeting the new No Labels Party, which many Democrats fear will boost former President Donald Trumps bid to return to the White House.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes properly recognized No Labels as a political party earlier this year, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper wrote in a decision dated Monday. Cooper rejected Democratic claims that there were deficiencies in the paperwork No Labels filed but said she may allow Democrats to refile the lawsuit with new arguments.

This is an important win for American democracy and a testament to the power of over 41,000 Arizona voters who signed to give No Labels ballot access in Arizona, No Labels leaders Benjamin Chavis Jr. and Jay Nixon said in a statement.

No Labels says it is seeking ballot access in many states and will run a bipartisan unity ticket for president if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees. Group leaders say theyll stand down if theres not a clear path to victory.

Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans worry a No Labels candidate couldnt win but would tip the scales in favor of Trump or a Trump-like Republican.

No Labels has also gained ballot access in states including Alaska, Colorado and Oregon, but the stakes are especially high in Arizona, a battleground state where Democratic President Joe Biden won in 2020 by a little over 10,000 votes, less than half a percentage point. Biden won two other states by less than one percentage point.

The Arizona Democratic Party has separately filed a complaint with the secretary of states office looking to force No Labels to disclose its donors or lose its status as a political party.

We are, as always, evaluating all of our options and will continue to fight to protect Arizonans right to know who is bankrolling this organization as they inject themselves into our elections, Morgan Dick, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, said in a text message.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER

Associated Press
Former Tennessee state senator gets 21-month prison sentence for campaign finance cash scheme View Photo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A former Tennessee state senator on Friday was sentenced to 21 months in prison after he unsuccessfully tried to take back his guilty plea on federal campaign finance charges and initially described the case as a political witch hunt.

Former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey received his sentence in U.S. District Court in Nashville in the case centering on his attempts to funnel campaign money from his legislative seat toward supporting his failed 2016 congressional bid. He wont have to begin his prison time until October.

I do think theres a need to sentence you that sends a message for general deterrence, U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw said Friday.

Crenshaw handed down the punishment after the former Memphis-area lawmaker argued in March that he should be allowed to go back on his November 2022 guilty plea because he entered it with an unsure heart and a confused mind due to events in his personal life  his father had terminal pancreatic cancer, then died in February, and he and his wife were caring for their twin sons born in September. Crenshaw denied the change of plea in May.

Before that, Kelsey had pleaded not guilty  often saying he was being targeted by Democrats. But he changed his mind shortly after his co-defendant, Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, pleaded guilty to one count under a deal that required him to cooperate fully and truthfully with federal authorities. Smith was sentenced Friday to five years of probation.

Late last month, federal prosecutors accused Kelsey of intentionally delaying his sentencing after he switched up his legal defense team.

Dozens of Kelseys friends and family packed the Nashville courtroom, where many silently cried and comforted each other as Crenshaw explained why he was sentencing Kelsey to 21 months in prison.

Im truly sorry for the actions that led me here today, Kelsey told the court. I knew I was taking a risk and yet I did it anyway and in doing so, I broke the law.

Prosecutors had initially requested 41 months of prison time and spent the majority of their Friday argument depicting Kelsey as a sophisticated mastermind behind a complicated campaign scheme designed to flout federal finance regulations.

However, Kelseys attorneys countered that the former lawmaker simply crossed a very small line and that the government was seeking a harsher punishment because he hadnt shown enough remorse for his actions.

Yet Crenshaw noted that out of the four character witnesses who provided testimony that day, only one  former Democratic state Rep. John DeBerry  mentioned that Kelsey was regretful of his actions.

Life is about living with consequences, DeBerry said, who detailed working with Kelsey closely during their time working in the Tennessee Statehouse. When we lose ourselves, you forget you got to do it the right way every time.

In October 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Kelsey and Smith, who owns the The Standard club in Nashville, on several counts each. The indictment alleged that Kelsey, Smith and others violated campaign finance laws by illegally concealing the transfer of $91,000 from Kelseys state Senate campaign committee and $25,000 from a nonprofit that advocated legal justice issues  to a national political organization, the American Conservative Union, to fund advertisements urging support of Kelseys congressional campaign.

Prosecutors allege that Kelsey and others caused the organization to make illegal and excessive campaign contributions to Kelsey by coordinating on advertisements, and that they caused the nonprofit to file false reports to the Federal Election Commission.

Two co-conspirators were also involved, including former Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Durham, a Republican, who was expelled in 2016 on multiple sexual misconduct allegations. Durham cooperated with federal officials in Kelseys case and has not faced any charges.

Kelseys attorney had argued that since Durham wasnt facing prison time, then neither should their client. Crenshaw disagreed by repeatedly pointing out that Durham and others agreed to work with federal officials early on.

Kelsey, a 45-year-old attorney from Germantown, was first elected to the General Assembly in 2004 as a state representative. He was later elected to the state Senate in 2009.

Due to his conviction, Kelsey is banned from running for state office in Tennessee and has been stripped of his law license. He also been ordered to surrender any guns from his possession.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report from Nashville, Tennessee.

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI

Associated Press
The Eternal Memory begins with a confused Augusto Gongora waking up one morning as his wife of two decades gently greets him.

Nice to meet you, he tells her.

The loving, lyrical Maite Alberdi -directed documentary is the story of one mans decline due to Alzheimers disease, but its so much more.

Its a stronger love story and one that tries to say things about a countrys collective memory, too.

Gongora, a journalist, author and TV host, documented the crimes in his native Chile by Gen. Augusto Pinochets dictatorship. He and his wife, actress and academic Paulina Urrutia, are the stars of The Eternal Memory, which documents his growing disorientation and unmooring.

It is a very intimate work, navigating the lost spaces in a ravaged mind, the camera going into their bedroom and even a shower stall. We watch Urrutia shave her husband, dry him with a towel like a child and read to him as they take a walk.

Im someone that has come here to help you remember who Augusto Gongora was, she tells him.

Alberdi assembled some 40 hours of footage, augmented by 20 more that Urrutia captured when the couple was alone.

The director also switches back in time to capture Gongora as a vibrant TV reporter and in home movies as a doting dad, his white hair turning black and a mustache suddenly sprouting on the younger man.

It is hard to watch the vibrant, articulate man in those old images struggling in his last years. He gets confused by his reflection in a glass door  We know each other, he tells his wife. Later, he sobs in frustration: Something very strange is happening here. Help me, please.

Throughout is Urrutia, the very definition of a loving spouse, patient and trying not to take it personally that her husband is drifting away and not always knowing who she is.

The Eternal Memory, a MTV Documentary Films release that is in theater Friday, is not rated. Running time: 84 minutes in Spanish with English subtitles. Three stars out of four.
Ecuador was already in a major crisis; now it is in an even bigger one.

In what appears to have been a highly professional hit job, Fernando Villavicencio, one of the eight candidates in Ecuadors upcoming presidential election, on August 20, was assassinated on Wednesday (Aug 9). The candidate was shot three times in the head by sicarios while boarding his campaign vehicle after a political rally in Quito. Nine people were wounded in the shooting. The police arrested six people in relation to the assassination, one of whom died in police custody after reportedly sustaining a bullet wound during the hit.

Villavicencios death was confirmed by Ecuadors outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who posted the following message on his Twitter (X) account:

My solidarity and condolences to his wife and daughters. Because of their memory and their struggle, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished.

The Ecuadorean police say the six suspects arrested in connection with the assassination are Colombian, which prompts the question: are they ex-military? This may explain their ability to pull off three head shots from a distance in the middle of a crowd. Its also worth recalling that Colombian mercenaries were also behind the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Time for the Brave

Before his assassination, 59-year old Villavicencio was placing fourth or fifth in most polls. He took a particularly hard line on the drug cartels that have made life insufferable for everyday Ecuadorians over the last two years. Being silent and hiding in moments that criminals kill citizens and officials is an act of cowardice and complicity, he said. I double down on my decision to go on fighting daily to defeat the mafias.

Before entering politics, he was a muckraking journalist who made a name for himself exposing the corruption of the government of former leftist President Rafael Correa, currently in exile in Belgium. On the campaign trail Villavicencio portrayed himself as an anti-corruption crusader and campaigned under the slogan, Its time for the brave.

But as notes former British diplomat Craig Murray on his blog, Villavicencios anti-corruption campaigning was selective and aimed only at making accusations against left wing figures. By contrast, he bitterly opposed the judicial process against President Lasso on corruption charges, calling it a legal atrocity that leaves the constitution in rags.

He also helped Luke Harding and Dan Collins fabricate the Guardians infamous front page story that Paul Manafort and Julian Assange had held pro-Trump meetings in the Ecuadorean Embassy, which was never corroborated by any other newspaper. As Murray points out, the story was fabricated in order to breathe new life into Clintons flagging Russiagate invention.

Wikileaks has described Villavicencio as a serial fabricator of news stories. He has also made enemies along the way, including, it seems, some of Ecuadors biggest drug cartels. In the clip below, Villavicencio told the crowd that he has no fear, calling his brave voters his bulletproof vest and declaring that the time for threats is over. The drug lords, he said, can come. Bring them on. The sicarios can comeThey can bend me. They can never break me.

For the moment, it is not clear who is responsible for Villavicencios death, and like many other political assassinations in Latin American it may never be. Murray speculates that Villavicencio may have paid the ultimate price for coming out of the shadows and seeking the political limelight after spending years helping the CIA forge documents, distribute them and spread corruption allegations against left-wing figures. Its an interesting theory, backed up by decades of CIA-backed coups and political assassinations in the region, but for the moment that is all it is.

Could the US be stirring the pot in South America, where it has lost significant economic power and strategic influence to its number-one geostrategic rival, China, and whats more in a country that only three months ago signed a free trade agreement with Beijing, becoming only the fourth economy in the entire region to do so? It is certainly possible  the US has both a motive and plenty of form  but for the moment, there is no proof.

What is almost beyond doubt is that one or more drug cartels are involved, though other players, including political rivals, businesses and intelligence agencies, may well have played a part. Those agencies include, of course, the CIA, which has a long, storied history of collaborating with drug traffickers. It also has motives aplenty.

So far, there appear to be two main suspects, both of which are drug traffickers. The first is Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias Fito, the leader of the Choneros, Ecuadors biggest criminal cartel, which is linked to Mexicos Sinaloa cartel. The entire Choneros leadership, including Fito, have been in prison since 2011 but they have been able to continue running their operations from behind bars, not only controlling their drug trafficking operations but also expanding into extortion, contract killings, and the trade of contraband.

In the weeks leading up to his death Villanvicencio reported receiving death threats from Fito, who had apparently taken umbrage to Villanvicencios open discussion of Fitos criminal activities on the campaign trail. In July, Villanvicencio told reporters:

A serious threat has been made against me and my campaign team from one of the capos of the Sinaloa cartel, alias Fito, warning that if I go on referring to him and his organisation, they will attack me, try to kill me. What this does is confirm that our campaign seriously affects these criminal structures.

Fito may or may not have been on the other end of the phone line and he may or may not have had a motive for wanting to kill Villavicencio, but he has not fessed up. Instead, supposed members of a rival gang, Los Lobos, have claimed responsibility. In a video posted on social media just hours after Villanvicencios assassination, a group of hooded men waving rifles, flipping gang signs and claiming to be Los Lobos said they were responsible. As the Mexico-based British crime journalist Ioan Grillo noted in a tweet, the style of the video is very similar to cartel videos made in Mexico.

But hours later, another video was released, this time showing the leaders of Los Lobos in prison, their faces uncovered, denying the whole thing.

We dont hide our faces and nobody speaks for us, the apparent head of the mob said. We reject the assassination of the presidential candidate, the senor Fernando Villavicencio. And we are clear that we have never murdered people of the government or civiliansOther criminal groups try to destablize the country.

The Los Lobos organisation has ties to Mexicos Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which used to operate as the armed wing of the Sinaloa cartel but is now a direct rival, having diversified into drug-producing and trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, illegal mining, and oil theft.

Over the past few years Los Lobos has grown into Ecuadors second largest organised crime outfit, and has been waging a brutal war against the Choneros and other gangs for control of Ecuadors illicit drugs trade. According to Insight Crime, that war, which continues to this day, has been the major driver of one of the sharpest rises in homicide rates in Latin America, many of them in prisons where the leadership and centers for operations often lie.

2022: A Deadly Year

Between 2021  the year Lasso, a former bank executive, came to power  and 2022, the number of violent crimes in Ecuador soared by an eye-watering 82%, more than any other country, reported the Ecuadorian daily Primacias in January this year. That was enough to propel the country to fourth place in the 2022 edition of Insight Crimes annual ranking of the most violent countries in Latin America, just above Mexico and below Venezuela (#1), Honduras (#2) and Colombia (#3).

There are many possible reasons for this including the pandemics pummelling of the economy, changes in the regions cocaine trade routes and the increasing influence of the Sinaloan and Jalisco drug cartels from Mexico.

Ecuador is a key gateway to shift the disco powder to the coast and then via the Panama Canal to the booming European market as well as to U.S. snorters, writes Grillo. [F]ollowing the regional trend, the gangs have diversified to other rackets such as extortion. Their rise has turned Ecuador, which long appeared immune to the narco wars in Latin America, into one of its bloodiest battlegrounds.

By the summer of last year, the situation had gotten so bad that President Lasso was talking about creating a Plan Ecuador to combat the rising lawlessness in the country. The plan, he said, would be modelled on Plan Colombia, the disastrous US-designed and -delivered drug-eradication program that burnt through $15 billion of aid funds during more than two decades, worsened the violence in Colombia, bathed more than a million hectares of farmland in a rich brew of toxic chemicals, including Monsantos probably carcinogenic weedkiller glyphosate, exacerbated illegal mining while overseeing a significant upsurge in coca production.

Lasso is now on his way out. With rock bottom public approval, he dissolved parliament in May, forcing snap elections, in order to avoid impeachment for corruption. Parliament had voted to launch an investigation into his activities after an expose by La Posta, an investigative news website, revealed the existence of a system of corruption across public institutions set up by Danilo Carrera, Lassos brother in law, and involving members of the Albanian mafia. Lasso is accused of at least knowing of the corruption and doing nothing to stop it.

After receiving death threats, Andersson Boscan, the co-founder of La Posta, and investigative journalist Monica Velasquez left the country. In April, one of the key suspects in the case against Carrera and Lasso, Ruben Cherres, a business associate of Carreras who was also suspected of ties to Albanian drug traffickers and was caught on tape boasting about removing and replacing members of the government at will in exchange for money and favours, was found dead at a house on the Punta Blanca coast, together with the bodies of his girlfriend, a friend and his security guard.

Until the elections next Sunday, Lasso is effectively ruling Ecuador by decree. One of his first acts following the assassination of Villavicencio was to declare a state of emergency. Which begs the question: could Lasso, his brother-in-law and their associates be behind the assassination? Some people in Ecuador, including NC reader Monsoon, believe so. Given the legal proceedings they could soon face, especially under a new government, Lasso et al certainly have a motive for wanting to sow disruption and chaos, and perhaps even derail next weeks elections. But again, there is no proof.

Musings on the Bigger Picture

As far as I can recall, this is the first assassination of a presidential candidate for quite some time in Latin America, which I suppose is a blessing of sorts. In Mexicos 1994 presidential election, the front runner Luis Colosio was killed on the campaign trail in Baja California. Five years earlier, Luis Carlos Galan was shot dead by hitmen hired by the drug cartels during a campaign rally in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca. At the time, he was comfortably ahead in the polls for the forthcoming 1990 presidential election. The investigation into his assassination remains unsolved.

Thats not to forget, of course, the assassination in July 2021 of Haitis President Jovenel Moise by a group of Colombian mercenaries trained in the US, or the recent botched attempt on the life of former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. There was also an attempt to kill Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro with drones as well as a knife attack on Brazils Jair Bolsonaro, both in 2018.

In this election, the clear favourite is Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate of the Citizen Revolution Movement, a democratic socialist party formed by supporters of former President Rafael Correa who abandoned Correas former PAIS Alliance party during the presidency of Lenin Moreno, Correas hand-picked successor. Moreno infamously betrayed Correa, his supposed mentor, by handing over Julian Assange to the British police, allegedly in exchange for a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, as well as reversing many of Correas economic reforms.

If Gonzalez wins, she will govern the country until 2025, the year Lassos term is scheduled to end. But she will have her work cut out, especially on the security and economic front.

Ecuador was one of the first countries to default on its sovereign debt during the virus crisis, much of which was owed to China. In September 2022, Lassos government reached an agreement with Chinese lenders to restructure some $3 billion of debt. Then in May this year, it signed a free trade agreement with China, becoming only the fourth Latin American country to do so. Like El Salvador, Ecuadors economy is fully dollarised. And like El Salvador, its trade with China is soaring. A Gonzalez presidency will presumably mean a continuation of this trend.

But there could also be market turbulence. Having already restructured its debt with China dn the IMF, Ecuador closed the second quarter with an emerging markets bond indicator (EMBI) of 1,912 points, up from 1,255 at the beginning of the year. Its the third highest level in the region, after Venezuela and Argentina. According to Bloomberg, investors biggest fear is that Lasso, a former banker and Coca Cola national director, will be replaced by a non-pro-market choice.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly for the region as a whole, Villavicencios death, presumably at the hands of a drug cartel, comes less than a month after the US Drugs Enforcement Agency published a report warning about the Mexican cartels worldwide reach. The reports findings, including claims that the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have more than 40,000 operatives in over 100 countries around the world, were vigorously denied by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

But the hyperbole in Washington continues to grow. In testimony to Congress, the DEA Chief Administrator Anne Milgram repeated a claim that the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG pose the greatest criminal threat the United States has ever faced, and that these ruthless, violent, criminal organisations have associates, facilitators and brokers in all 50 states in the United States.

There is no denying that Mexicos drug cartels are expanding their reach across Latin America as well as far beyond the region, with devastating consequences for the rule of law and political stability. That said, the timing of the DEAs report is suspicious, coming just as Republican lawmakers in the US, as well as influential opinion makers such as Tucker Carlson, are rallying around the absurd idea that to solve the fentanyl crisis, the US need only invade its southern neighbour, Mexico, and bomb the cartels out of existence, which will obviously make things a whole lot worse. The assassination of Villavicencio will merely strengthen their resolve.
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The five millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) produced by China's leading NEV manufacturer BYD rolled off the production line on Wednesday.

China has been the world's largest automobile production and sales country for 14 consecutive years, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) topped the global market for the eighth year in a row.

Particularly, China's vehicle exports soared to around 1.07 million units in the first quarter of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, indicating that China had become the world's largest auto exporter in the period, even outpacing Japan.

NEVs are a highlight of China's vehicle exports. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese auto manufacturers exported 457,000 units of NEVs from January to May this year, an increase of 1.6 times over the same period last year.

Since 2020, China's electric car manufacturers have begun to enter the overseas mainstream automobile markets and become more competitive relying on their original technologies and targeted market strategies.




It's "Dracula on a Boat."

Not on a cruise ship or on a pontoon boat, both of which might yield more interesting results than "The Last Voyage of Demeter," a stiff tale of the count's journey by sea from Romania to the shores of England in the late 1800s.

Here, the undead creature terrorizes the crew on a shipping vessel on the high seas, sucking their blood one by one as the ship clips along. But there's never much life to the passengers to begin with, as "Demeter" plods forward, and viewers feel as trapped on board as the poor saps waiting to meet their fate.

Corey Hawkins, who played Dr. Dre in "Straight Outta Compton," stars as Clemens, a doctor who boards the Demeter as it ships off from port. He's joined by Elliot ("Game of Thrones'" Liam Cunningham), the ship's captain, first mate Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) and several others, mostly bearded sea types who aren't long for the world.

Strange things are afoot on board the Demeter as soon as it sets sail. The livestock are inexplicably slaughtered, and a woman, Anna ("The Nightingale's" Aisling Franciosi) is discovered on board, nearly dead. Clemens brings her back to life, much to the dismay of the others, and she starts making eerie declarations of the "he is on board!" type, stopping short of saying quite who he is.

It's Nosferatu of course, but the movie  based on "The Captain's Log" chapter from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula"  sure takes its time arriving at the inevitable. The reveal is slow, and once he's out (Javier Botet plays the bloodsucker, when he's not rendered digitally), "Demeter" becomes episodic, as Drac attacks at night, the crew spends the daylight hours figuring out what happened to so-and-so, and night falls again.

Norwegian director Andre vredal works with handsome production design on board the ship, but "Demeter" never feels like anything but a doomed voyage. The violence is mostly rendered at night, the gory kills either in shadows or otherwise obscured. A sequel is teased at the end, because of course it is, but there's not enough life in this story to warrant its continued telling. Abandon ship.
Yves here. If youve been following the Ukraine war, you may have noticed the disconnect between reports touting the idea that Poland might be prepared to intervene militarily or find some pretext for a less aggressive takeover of parts of Western Ukraine versus Warsaw and Kiev trading barbs. Note that the reports pressing the idea that Poland might Do Something also overlook that the Polish military was reported as being not keen about intervention. Polish voters are also souring on Project Ukraine, due among other reasons to the refugee influx hitting a level where Poles are reported to be worried about dilution of their culture.

But Ukraine is its own worst enemy. Ukraine officials has been constantly whinging for more support as if it were a matter of right and being openly dissatisfied about what they are getting. That posture led Biden to rebuke Zelensky privately a while back.

At the start of August, a Polish presidential aide complained that Ukraine was not grateful for the support it was getting. That led Ukraine to take the high-handed step of Ukraine summoning the Polish ambassador for a dressing-down (this sort of thing is usually reserved for more serious and substantive rows). As Euronews points out, Polish unhappiness about Ukraine grain undercutting Polish farmers is another source of tension:

Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania have all seen their domestic grain production and relative compatibility in the EU single market  which they belong to and Ukraine does not  suffer due to copious amounts of cheaper grain flooding the market. The UN brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine in July of 2022 Soon after, farmers in EU nations bordering Ukraine complained that the grain was making its way into EU markets and that their locally produced grain  which is subject to EU regulations, taxes and other mechanisms and thus automatically more expensive  was being cast aside. As a result, these countries independently imposed a ban on importing Ukrainian grain in April. Unilateral import bans risk violating the principle of a common EU market In response, the European Commission adopted an exceptional measure which replaced the national import bans with an EU-approved ban for the five The measure is due to expire on 15 September. However, Poland has said it will not lift its individual ban if the EU chooses to not extend this measure.

The Andrew Korybko post below has more details on the progress of the spat.

By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO, which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website

Casual observers might be shocked by the Polish leaders candidness, while Kievs supporters might accuse him of betraying their regime after becoming the first Western leader to debunk its top two lies nowadays, but his words werent unprovoked nor said in a vacuum. The background is that political ties between these wartime allies have tremendously worsened since late July after both sides finally began prioritizing their contradictory national interests.

Two of Kievs top propaganda narratives nowadays are that its selflessly sacrificing itself for the sake of the West by fighting Russia instead of surrendering and that its ongoing counteroffensive is succeeding in pushing that countrys forces out of Ukraines pre-2014 borders. The first largely remains above official criticism or skepticism since those who dare to doubt it risk being canceled, but the second has suddenly begun to be debunked by the Mainstream Media as proven by the following articles:

* NBC News: Is Ukraines counteroffensive failing? Kyiv and its supporters worry about losing control of the narrative

* CNN: Western allies receive increasingly sobering updates on Ukraines counteroffensive: This is the most difficult time of the war

* CNN: Why a stalled Ukrainian offensive could represent a huge political problem for Zelensky in the US

* CNN: We expected less resistance: Ukrainian troops on southern front learn not to underestimate their enemy

* The Hill: Alarm grows as Ukraines counteroffensive falters

* Washington Post: Slow counteroffensive darkens mood in Ukraine

In the face of this rapidly shifting narrative that threatens to topple one of the pillars of Kievs Western-directed propaganda, Zelenskys senior advisor Mikhail Podolyak lashed out at critics in a tweet thread here where he demanded that they be patient and closely monitor his sides progress. Polish President Andrzej Duda has been doing precisely that since the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine began, however, and hes concluded that Kiev isnt doing the West any favors and its counteroffensive failed.

He dropped both bombshells, the first of which debunked the claim that Kiev is selflessly sacrificing itself for the sake of the West and which hitherto hadnt ever been officially challenged by any Western leader before, in an interview with the Washington Posts Marc Thiessen from 1 August that was published nine days later. The relevant excerpts will be republished below for the readers convenience before analyzing them in the context of this conflict and evolving Polish-Ukrainian ties in particular:

Q: At the NATO summit when President [Volodymyr] Zelensky criticized the [leaders joint statement about Ukraines prospective membership], there was criticism of him that he was ungrateful for all the help [given to] Ukraine. That suggests that our help to Ukraine is charity. Is our help to Ukraine charity, or is Ukraine really doing us a favor by giving its children, its lives to defend us against the Russian threat?

A: I would say it this way: I dont see it in these categories  neither that we are doing an act of charity for Ukraine, nor that Ukraine is doing charity for usWe are sending them arms. Why? Because we want to support them in defending their own territory.



We Poles have many reasons to supply Ukrainians with weapons.  But the whole democratic world also knows that any aggressor who violates the borders of a democratic state in the 21st century in Europe must be stopped.



Q: Could Poland fight a combined arms operation without long-range weapons and without air power? Because thats what were forcing the Ukrainians to do today. What does Ukraine need that its not getting today?

A: Ukraine has been supplied with long-range artillery, and it is being supplied with long-range artillery to this day.  One could go as far as to say that Ukraine now has much more modern military capabilities than Russia.

The question is: Does Ukraine have enough weapons to change the balance of the war and get the upper hand? And the answer is probably no. They probably do not have enough weapons. And we know this by the fact that theyre not currently able to carry out a very decisive counteroffensive against the Russian military. To make a long story short, they need more assistance.

Casual observers might be shocked by the Polish leaders candidness, while Kievs supporters might accuse him of betraying their regime after becoming the first Western leader to debunk its top two lies nowadays, but his words werent unprovoked nor said in a vacuum. The background is that political ties between these wartime allies have tremendously worsened since late July as was documented in the following analyses:

* Poland & Ukraine Are Arguing Over Grain Once Again

* Ukraines Ungratefulness Is Finally Starting To Perturb Poland

* Kievs Prediction Of Post-Conflict Competition With Poland Bodes Ill For Bilateral Ties

In brief, each side finally began prioritizing their national interests, which resulted in public tensions due to the absence of any pressure valve for dealing with sensitive disagreements such as those over agricultural cooperation and historical memory. Moreover, each side has self-interested political reasons in escalating rhetoric against the other: Ukraine wants to distract from its failing counteroffensive while the ruling Polish party wants to rally its nationalist base ahead of mid-Octobers elections.

It was against this backdrop that Duda did the previously unthinkable by telling one of the US most influential Mainstream Media outlets that Kiev isnt doing the West any favors by fighting Russia and that its counteroffensive failed. Granted, he conveyed these two points in a polite way that signaled his continued support for NATOs proxy war on Russia through Ukraine, but its still an unforgivable offense from that regimes perspective.

NBC News warned earlier this month that Kiev and its supporters are worried about losing control of the narrative, which has now come to pass after what Duda just said. He and his country are much more popular and less polarizing among average Westerners than Zelensky and Ukraine, plus nobody doubts their anti-Russian credentials due to widespread awareness of Polands difficult history with that country. These observations mean that his words will likely have an outsized impact on reshaping the narrative.

As for the future of Polish-Ukrainian relations, its looking dimmer by the day due to their spiraling disputes becoming self-sustaining at this stage. Thats not to suggest that Warsaw will cut Kiev off from arms and other forms of support, but just that the trust which used to characterize their relations since February was finally exposed as illusory. This could complicate their reported plans to form a joint military unit and could lead to Poland acting unilaterally in Western Ukraine in the worst-case scenario.
Yves here. Even though this post is from a known official America propaganda outlet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, it contains enough admissions against interest about US prospects for getting its way in Niger that I found it revealing. It also has some observations about Wagner forces in the theater that sound accurate. Readers are very much encouraged to sanity check that and other views presented below. Of course, there is no mention of the USSR and now Russia having cred in the region for its past anti-colonial efforts.

By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty staff. Cross posted from OilPrice

U.S. relations with Niger, a key ally, face challenges after a military coup ousted the president, potentially paving the way for greater Russian influence in the Sahel.

Yevgeny Prigozhins Wagner group, linked to the Kremlin, has signaled support to the Nigerien coup leaders, complicating international geopolitical dynamics.

With multiple coups destabilizing the Sahel region, experts believe the Sahels weak governments and anti-Western sentiments offer fertile ground for Russian engagement.

After a series of coups swept across Africas impoverished Sahel states over the past three years, leading to a larger Russian military presence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March made a historic trip to Niger, Washingtons key ally in the region.

Niger is really an extraordinary model at a time of great challenge  a model of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation, Blinken, the first U.S. top diplomat to visit Niger, said at the time. Its one that we deeply value and deeply respect.

Now, less than five months later, U.S.-Niger relations are on the verge of collapse after military officials on July 26 ousted the president and seized power. The coup  if it succeeds  also threatens to deepen regional instability, weaken regional security, and possibly open the door to greater Russian influence in the Sahel and beyond, experts warn.

An Alarming Trend

Before the coup, Nigers image in the West had been improving, thanks in part to a peaceful, democratic transfer of power in 2021  the countrys first since independence more than seven decades ago. Blinkens trip was designed to affirm U.S. support for Niger and its president, Mohamed Bazoum, who has aligned key priorities with the West.

The United States has invested about $500 million over the past decade to train and equip the Nigerien military to combat militant organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS that have been terrorizing the Sahel. The United States, which has 1,100 troops on the ground, also built a large-scale drone base in the north of the country used to surveil the armed groups cross-border movements and to gather intelligence.

But a wave of coups across the Sahel now threatens to jeopardize this cooperation and progress.

Three of Nigers neighbors, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad, have all succumbed to coups since 2020, as have nearby Sudan and Guinea. Other countries in the region, including Senegal, have recently experienced major political turmoil.

This is an alarming trend, Sean McFate, an adjunct professor at Syracuse University and an Africa expert, told RFE/RL. The more coups happen, the more success they enjoy, the more temptation there will be for future juntas around Africa.

McFate added that the trend has opened the door for increasing Russias influence.

This time, the United States and its partners, including the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have taken a firm stand against the Nigerien junta in the hopes of forcing it to reinstate the democratically elected Bazoum.

Washington has halted some aid to Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, while 11 members of the West African community have imposed tough financial sanctions and cut deliveries of electricity. ECOWAS has also threatened to invade Niger.

What Wagner Offers

By contrast, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Kremlin-connected entrepreneur and founder of the notorious Wagner mercenary group, which is active in Africa, has offered support to the Nigerien coup leaders, although experts question whether his group can do much in the short term.

The junta needs support and recognition if theyre not going to step down, Daniel Eizenga, a research fellow at the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told RFE/RL. And thats what Wagner potentially offers them  a big complication to anything that looks like a military intervention [by ECOWAS] to push them out.

Wagner has up to 1,000 troops each in Mali and Libya as well as nearby Sudan, Eizenga said. It also has forces in the Central African Republic.

But with clouds over Wagners future following its failed rebellion in Russia in June and its current commitments in Africa, it is unclear how many men it could muster to support the coup leaders in Niger, Eizenga said.

What Wagner would be able to mobilize in the short term, I think, is the paramount question here, he said. But it doesnt take a lot of boots on the ground on the part of Wagner to create a very complicated international geopolitical situation that might deter ECOWAS from intervening as its threatened to do.

Sebastian Elischer, a political science professor at the University of Florida and a sub-Saharan Africa specialist, said Wagner doesnt appear to have much heavy equipment in Africa to help Niger confront ECOWAS.

He described Wagner assets in Africa as basically Kalashnikovs and Toyotas and said troops deployed to neighboring Mali are mainly military trainers, not combatants.

Both Elischer and Eizenga also questioned how Niger would pay Wagner in light of the aid cuts and sanctions. Niger had expected to receive $2.2 billion in foreign aid, loans, and grants this year, an amount equivalent to 40 percent of its budget.

I dont really see [Wagner involvement] playing out in Niger in the short term, Elischer said.

He explained that Russia doesnt have the historical economic and diplomatic ties with Niger that it does with Mali and other countries where Wagner is active to help facilitate cooperation.

He called Wagner posturing as an alternative partner to Niger largely a performance for the media and especially for the African audience.

Russia has been pushing to make inroads into Africa since 2014, when the United States and Europe began to isolate Moscow following its forcible seizure of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, experts said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month held a summit with African leaders and delegations in St. Petersburg, his second since 2019.

Russias interests in Africa include weapon sales, UN votes, and access to natural resources, Elischer said. It also seeks to project itself as a viable player in the Global South and to make the West worry about it, he added.

I think that is more so than anything else, certainly in the Sahel, he said.

A Toxic Cocktail

The Sahel, a vast semiarid region that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, is wedged between the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south. It crosses through parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan.

The region has seen an explosion of militant violence over the past decade amid a toxic cocktail of entrenched poverty, weak governments with little legitimacy, disruptive climate change, and other problems, experts say.

The Sahel is fertile ground for Russian engagement because the governments are fragile and the public widely shares anti-French and anti-Western sentiments, McFate said. France left a brutal colonial legacy in the Sahel that is still felt today.

In Mali, Wagner replaced French forces after their expulsion by a junta.

Russia is exploiting anti-French attitudes across the Sahel so that they can supplant France politically, hegemonically throughout the region, McFate said. Russia wants everybody looking toward Moscow and not toward Washington or Paris.

The Washington Post, citing leaked U.S. intelligence, reported in April that Washington possessed information indicating Wagner was seeking to create a unified confederation of African states that would include Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Sudan.

Wagner was planning the overthrow of the regime in Chad as part of that larger goal, the newspaper said.

The United States has said it does not believe Wagner was behind the coup in Niger. Experts say it was triggered by Bazoums decision to replace military officials appointed by his predecessor.

That said, Niger has twice been the target of Russian disinformation campaigns, according to an April 2022 report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Networks connected to Wagner reportedly sought in recent years to trigger rumors of a coup in Niger, the center said.

Eizenga said Nigers security situation is likely to deteriorate if Wagner moves in, pointing to the explosion of violence in Mali and Burkina Faso following their coups and the departure of French forces.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland told reporters on August 7 following a meeting with members of the junta that they understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited in.

Eizenga said if the United States and ECOWAS can coerce the junta in Niger to give up power, it could have positive reverberations in the Sahel.

The coup leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso have repeatedly delayed promises to ECOWAS to hand back power to civilian control in an attempt to entrench themselves, he said.

If ECOWAS can show that it is not toothless, then the leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso may not skip the next deadline, he concluded.
If youre like me, youre almost always down for some new Asian food in Nashville, and there are a couple of great developments coming up on that front. The first is the long-awaited opening of the new Otaku Ramen location on Douglas Avenue in East Nashville, and the second is a pair of announcements from chef Arnold Myint of International Market. Get ready to slurp down the details!

Sarah Gavigan and the team at Otaku are like sharks. They have to keep moving or theyll die. In addition to starting up a retail ramen business with her husband Brad and their noodle manufacturing master Tillman Gressitt, Sarah has been hard at work overseeing the expansion of the Otaku empire with an upcoming location in Franklin next year and the construction of a sleek new flagship location in East Nashville's Highland Yards complex at 747 Douglas Ave.

+3 Sarah Gavigan Expands Her Otaku Empire With New Secret Weapon Gavigan, her husband Brad and their partner Tillman Gressitt are bringing noodles to the people with Super Happy Noodle

The wait is over for Easties seeking to get their hands on a piping bowl of Gavigans ramen again, because after a soft opening today, Otaku Ramen East will officially open its doors tomorrow, Aug. 12, at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner. Gavigan describes the restaurants service model as enhanced counter service and promises that the new location will live up to the company credo of Fun Fast Loud Hospitality.

In addition to the beloved Otaku menu of bowls, snacks and boba, the offerings at Otaku East will include beer, sake, batched cocktails and frozen drinks, including one icy offering that was unfamiliar to me, frozen beer. Frozen beer is a popular accompaniment to ramen in Japan, and the frozen beer machine at Otaku is the first of its kind in Middle Tennessee. The beverage is supposedly much, much better than that Busch Light can you found in the back of your freezer when you stuck it in there last fall just to cool it off a little bit.

In another excellent development, the new Otaku location will feature a dedicated walk-up window for to-go pickup and delivery along with walkaway boba tea orders. The modern new building offers a conditioned patio area for year-round semi-al-fresco dining or just to take advantage of happy hour specials from 4 until 6 p.m.

Gavigan is excited to be back in the neighborhood where her ramen experience started out. I am thrilled to be back in our home neighborhood of East Nashville, as its where the brand was born and began," she says. "This location brings us one step closer to our mission of serving happiness one bowl at a time, and look forward to serving our community.

Welcome home, chef!

In more great news comes the announcement that Arnold Myint will be taking his unique brand of Thai cuisine to the home of some longtime fans of International Market. James Green grew up enjoying the delightful dishes off the steam table at IM, and when the original market closed, he and his wife Louisa actually bought some of the iconic orange booths to use at their West Nashville cocktail bar and grill, Otto's.

It will all come full circle when Myint visits Ottos at 4210 Charlotte Pike for a Kitchen Takeover on Sunday, Aug. 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. Hell be serving creative dishes like a Northern Thai sausage hot dog with tamarind mustard and tomato chutney, and shrimp ceviche chae man pla  dressed in a Thai chili, garlic, fish sauce and lime. Additionally, IM plans to serve Sunday bar bites at Otto's starting in mid-September through the fall.

To keep up with the schedule and the menus, follow both businesses on the socials at Ottos Instagram and International Markets.

In addition to running his own restaurant and popping up with friends, Myint has been busy expanding his own online and media reach, including working on a new cookbook and a recent partnership with Epicurious, who has recently published Arnolds take on Thai salads  including three recipes for glass noodle salad, fried egg salad and som thum-style green beans that you can make at home.

He has also teamed up with S. Pellegrino to plan an upcoming Khan Thoke Supper Club serial inspired by the family-style dining experience of Northern Thailand. Featuring dishes that arent normally on the International Market menu (or even on most Thai restaurant menus), the multicourse chefs tasting will include delights like Khao Kluk Kapi (shrimp-paste rice with caramelized pork, dried shrimp and green mango), Hanglay (a Northern Thai/Burmese tamarind and pickled-onion-braised meat stew) and house-cured smoked trout laab, which you might know better as larb.

The series will be hosted seasonally, with the first edition coming on Sunday, Sept. 10, and the second on Sunday, Dec. 17. Two more dates are planned for 2024, but dont wait that long! Make your reservations for the first dinner at International Markets website, and prepare to be wowed from 5 until 9 p.m. at the market at 2013 Belmont Blvd.
Conservative German party brands EU a failed project, calls for its complete overhaul as a federation of autonomous nations

Conservative German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has officially declared the European Union (EU) a "failed project."

This statement was published by the AfD in its current program, which was unveiled at the party's recent convention in Germany in preparation for the upcoming European Parliament election in June 2024.

According to AfD's program, the EU has "completely failed" to address many issues besetting the continent, including immigration and the green energy agenda. The party also made it clear that it does not support the adoption of the euro as a currency in Germany. (Related: Europe has spent hundreds of billions in energy subsidies to shield citizens from EU-caused energy crisis.)

AfD's program stopped short of demanding that Germany exit from the EU. Instead, the AfD is calling for the bloc to be overhauled and rebuilt as a "federation of European nations," whose main tasks would be the protection of the continent's external borders against mass migration, strategic autonomy in security policy and the preservation of the "different identities" that make up Europe.

"Based on these pillars, the member states can autonomously and flexibly conclude functional bilateral or multilateral agreements according to their needs. Our idea of Europe is clear: sovereign nation-states instead of an EU superstate and debt union, free citizens instead of protection and bureaucratic incarceration. And people living together in peace and respect on our continent," the party said.

AfD could take over Germany by 2025

The release of this program comes at a time when the AfD's popularity in Germany is steadily rising. Recent polls put support for the conservative party at between 18 percent to a record-high of 23 percent.

Germany is due to hold another federal election in 2025. If current electoral trends persist, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's left-wing Social Democratic Party (SDP) will likely be dethroned as the biggest party, and his three-party coalition with the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the environmentalist Greens might not have enough seats to form a majority in parliament.

Despite the clear threat posed by the AfD, Scholz and his party seem unfazed, with the chancellor stating back in June that he was "confident that the AfD won't do any better in the next general election than it did in the last one."

The AfD also has to go up against the "firewall" that Germany's five other main parties  the SDP, FDP, Greens, the Left Party and the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU)  set up. This firewall is essentially a vow not to work with the AfD in any form, whether at the federal, state or local level.

CDU Leader Friedrich Merz reiterated that this firewall will remain up as he insisted that there would never be any kind of cooperation between his party and the AfD, even at the local level.

Leading members of the AfD recently spoke out against cooperating with the CDU/CSU of former Chancellor Angela Merkel  a departure from previous statements made by AfD Co-Leader Tino Chrupalla who batted for the CDU to dismantle the firewall against the party.

AfD Deputy Chairman Stephan Brandner recently stated that he did "not see a reason to approach" the CDU, noting that the party had their chance to try to cooperate with the AfD for "much too long."

But before the 2025 federal election, AfD leaders are gearing up for the EU parliament election next year as well as several state-level elections, including two later this year. Chrupalla pointed out that current polling suggests that the party might end up becoming the biggest party in at least three state elections in eastern Germany.

"We could take on government responsibility," said Chrupalla.

The party's goal in the upcoming state elections is to gain enough support that it would be impossible for any of the other parties to form a majority without cooperating with the AfD. Should the "taboo" of cooperating with the AfD be broken at the state level, it could make future breaches of the so-called firewall less controversial.

Chrupalla even noted that the party would be in government in the near future "first in a state in the east, and then in the west, and then nationally."

"There are some politicians who want to build firewalls," Chrupalla added. "We East Germans have experience with walls, and the last wall that was built in Germany [the Berlin Wall]  we East Germans tore it down."

Learn more about the downturn in global governments at BigGovernment.news.

Watch this video discussing whether the AfD can successfully topple the globalist government in Germany.

This video is from the Brian Ruhe channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Leaked documents: Socialist Spain wants the EU to ban all end-to-end encryption.

Europeans don't realize "one day they will become a minority in their own countries," warns best-selling South African writer Ernst Roets in interview with Hungarian media.

STARVE FOR THE CLIMATE: European Union partners with Dutch government to shut down dairy, cattle, pig and poultry farms across the country.

European Parliament to criminalize physical cash use by imposing limit on cash transactions.

EU trying to force all member states, including resisters Hungary and Poland, to accept same-sex "marriage."

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

APNews.com

DW.com

ForeignPolicy.com

Brighteon.com
Brand new video, captured by neighbor, shows FBIs encounter with the man who threatened Biden; this appears more like an execution than an arrest

A Utah man was shot and killed during an FBI raid early Wednesday morning. The deceased suspect was Craig Robertson, according to multiple sources and federal reports the FBI confirmed that the raid was related to an investigation into threats against President Joe Biden and others.

(Article by George Rowe republished from USASupreme.com)

The shooting happened around 6:15 AM local time in Provo, Utah, while FBI agents were trying to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence.

President Biden is scheduled to arrive in Salt Lake City later that day. On the Suspects Facebook Page, there are numerous posts expressing violent intentions towards the Biden family and other individuals.

Seventy-five-year-old Craig Deleeuw Robertson was being charged with three counts of interstate threats, threats against the president, and influencing, impeding, and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat, according to a criminal complaint.

Robertson allegedly threatened Biden earlier, but the FBI waited just days before POTUS was scheduled to visit Utah and to react at 6 AM.

He posted that the FBI visited him before:

A brand new Video has been released and was captured by a neighbor showing an FBI encounter with Robertson. The FBI says its agents were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants in Provo when they shot and killed a suspect, at around 6:15 a.m.

There was an explosion outside the house  watch the middle of the left side. Whatever this video captured, it is not a gunshot.

Timestamps below:

Regardless of legality, flash bangs are not typically present when serving search & arrest warrants.

The FBIs investigation began in April, and U.S. Secret Service became aware of it in June, according to reports.

The shooting is under review by the FBIs Inspection Division, the Bureau announced on Wednesday.

The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously, the FBI said in a statement. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBIs Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide.

A Secret Service spokesperson said they are aware of an FBI investigation involving an individual in Utah who has exhibited threats towards a Secret Service protectee.

While we always remain in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, this is an FBI-led effort and we would refer any related questions to the FBI, the Secret Service spokesperson concluded.

Robertsons daughter-in-law told NBC News, Its a very, very difficult time for the family.

It was also reported by a friend of a neighbor that the gentleman was 300 pounds and walked with a cane!

More from the neighbors:

The FBI just shot and killed an elderly brother in our ward. Financial clerk for years. Sweet guy. Full swat team. My wife is good friends with his neighbor, she and her 5 yr old were terrorized. Wife went to check on her. His body is still laying in the street. My God.  J. Whitebread (@JWhitebread1) August 9, 2023

I can't believe this has happened. I will get more details soon. This guy was a threat to no one. He was an elderly 300lb guy who could barely walk with a cane. Took care of his disabled adult son. Liked to make furniture. My God what is this country coming to?!  J. Whitebread (@JWhitebread1) August 9, 2023

Neighbor says it was not the police but the FBI. WHAT THE EVERLOVING F*CK??!! How is an elderly man who can barely walk a threat to ANYONE??!! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON??!!  J. Whitebread (@JWhitebread1) August 9, 2023

The way the FBI reacted should send shockwaves through our community but again the media is staying quiet and we have to ask another question.

Whens the FBI raid on the homes of these celebrities who publicly threatened to kill President Trump?

(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. This is an opinion article, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)

Read more at: USASupreme.com
From dumb to dangerous

The Dumbest Generation Grows Up is Mark Bauerleins sequel to his bestselling 2009 book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future. Both books deal with Millennials, the generation usually defined as anyone born between 1981 and the mid-90s, and the author, who taught English at Emory University for many years, has had a good look at this generation. His first book was widely reviewed, with many critics commenting on its dire predictions for the future of Millennials. As its title implies, Prof. Bauerleins new book explores whether these predictions have been borne out. He argues that they have.

(Article by Jef Costello republished from AmRen.com)

The conclusions of the earlier book can be summarized in a single quotation: The Dumbest Generation will cease being dumb only when it regards adolescence as an inferior realm of petty strivings and adulthood as a realm of civic, historical, and cultural awareness that puts them in touch with perennial ideas and struggles.

The conclusion of Prof. Bauerleins new book is that the dumbest generation has most certainly not grown up. But the volume is far from being one long I told you so. Prof. Bauerlein offers us fresh reflections on what has gone wrong with Millennials and how we might avoid making the same mistakes with future generations.

Needless to say, whats wrong with kids today? is a perennial lament, and Prof. Bauerlein mentions that many have dismissed his concerns for precisely this reason. Especially among older generations, there is a strong desire to believe that our problems are nothing fundamentally new, that the doomsayers are taking it all far too seriously, and that everything will sort itself out. I saw this attitude in my own parents.

Admittedly, we are doomed is a bitter pill to swallow. But it is hard to come away from any sustained experience with Millennials without becoming a doomsayer.

Like Prof. Bauerlein, I recently retired from many years of university teaching, a good portion of which was spent trying to understand the problems of my students, who changed dramatically over the course of my 30-year career. Toward the end, I was teaching Gen Z, the generation after the Millennials  who, if anything, are worse.

My students combined ignorance with strident moral certainty (possibly the most striking thing about high-profile Millennials like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). They seemed to have had no general education at all, and lacked the most basic knowledge of history, even recent history. They were immature and emotionally fragile.

Many could not handle criticism, no matter how sugar coated. It took very little to reduce them to tears  or to send them into fits of narcissistic rage. They were shockingly bereft of intellectual curiosity, and many gave the impression of having no internal life at all.

It was difficult to get a class discussion going, because my students were often unwilling to make judgments of any kind. Partly, this was because they had an intense fear of offending anyone. But, in addition, they professed to believe that everything is relative and that its therefore wrong to judge (completely unaware of the fact that this itself is a judgment). They also saw no inconsistency in espousing relativism and then, in the next moment, denouncing their political opponents as evil.

In general, their moral reasoning was framed exactly in these sorts of black and white terms (an issue that is very important for Prof. Bauerlein, as we shall see). But in their own behavior they were often shockingly amoral. Many lied to me, and I caught large numbers of them cheating on assignments. They were always looking for shortcuts. Almost none did the assigned reading.

Many could not follow a simple chain of reasoning. Often it seemed that my class was the first occasion they had ever been challenged to think. It was common for them to visit me during my office hours and ask me to tell them exactly what I wanted them to say on tests or in papers. When I said that I wanted to see evidence that they had done their own thinking, they would look panic stricken.

A very sizeable percentage of students had a documented learning disability that I was required somehow to work around. Many of them had been diagnosed as somewhere on the autism spectrum. They often seemed disconnected from their bodies and from nature. In my last several years of teaching, more and more identified as transgender.

Most of my students seemed desperately unhappy and unfulfilled. I became convinced, and still am, that something had gone seriously wrong with these people. Yes, its true that the older generation has always complained about the younger, probably since human life began. But the Millennials and Gen Z seem to have problems that are unique  and uniquely bad. Bad for them, and bad for societys future. If these are the people who will be in charge one day, it really is hard not to believe we are doomed.

Searching for some precedent, we might be tempted to liken our woke Millennials and Gen Z to the starry-eyed students radicals of the 1960s. But the similarities are only superficial. As Prof. Bauerlein points out, the children of the 60s were protesting the Vietnam War and the draft  major issues, in other words. Students today are protesting microaggressions.

And the radical youths of the 60s were far more literate than what passes for young radicals today. In the 60s, when Robert Frost visited a university to read his poems, he would fill a stadium. Today, the students would attend only if required, and they would sit in the bleachers texting through the entire event.

Certainly, the youth of today are overwhelmingly liberal, just like their predecessors in the 60s. But this seems to be perennially true. As Winston Churchill supposedly said, If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart, and if you are not a conservative when old, you have no brain. What is genuinely surprising, however, are the polls showing that more than a third of Millennials support communism.

One reason for this, of course, is ignorance of history. Most Millennials can give you an exact figure of how many people were murdered by the Nazis, but they have no idea that in the last century communist governments killed around 100 million of their own citizens. The other part of the problem, however, is that even the Millennials who support communism dont even really know what it is.

When I confronted my leftie students with the figure of 100 million dead, they would usually respond, But that wasnt real communism! It was a line some had picked up from professors. Each time someone said this in class, I asked the students to explain to me what real communism is. None could.

This is why Prof. Bauerlein is critical of conservatives who call these young people socialists. They dont know enough to identify as socialists, or anything else. He points out that while his students have pledged to fight racism, most are unaware of the steps already taken by the courts and the legislature to end discrimination.

A friend of mine got a vivid sense of this when he decided to attend a BLM protest two and a half years ago in Atlanta, passing himself off as a fellow traveler. The young white protestors he spoke with said they were there because nothing had been done for blacks. When my friend gingerly asked them how they assessed such measures as affirmative action, most had no idea what he was talking about.

How can you join in the ongoing struggle when you have no knowledge of the ground thats already been won? Its for reasons such as these that Prof. Bauerlein prefers to call the younger generation utopians rather than committed socialists. As he puts it:

What belief best suits a youth who doesnt want to go to church? What conception of human nature will appeal most to someone who trusts in his own exceptional nature? What vision of the future works best for someone with no sense of the past? What standard of judgment goes with a sensibility that wont distinguish superior from inferior creations? What ultimate meaning will he find on his own? The answer is: Utopia.

The Utopia todays youth yearn for is one where everything will be fair and everyone will be nice. No one will want for anything, and no one will have to do anything he doesnt want to do. Work (if there is any) will be fun. All the pseudo-problems (systemic racism, climate change, etc.) will, of course, have been solved. And, most importantly, all student loan debt will have been forgiven.

It is hard to believe that their views are this simplistic, but they are. I had to sympathize with Prof. Bauerleins descriptions of how he struggled mightily to find some depth in his students worldview. He recalls asking one young woman why students were so triggered by an impending campus visit by conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos. Drawing her words out for effect, she responded, They believe that everyone . . . deserves . . . to be happy. And she chose not to elaborate.

The problem with Milo is that he is sharp-tongued; his words hurt. That some of those words are true is simply not a relevant consideration. The Utopia of the Millennials and Gen Z will be one where no ones feelings will be hurt, and thus no one will be made unhappy. Being thin-skinned and easily offended are the characteristics of the younger generation that are now most often noticed. Their views on freedom of speech are exactly what you would expect them to be.

Prof. Bauerlein cites a recent poll showing that 44 percent of students think that the First Amendment does not protect so-called hate speech. Sixteen percent said that they dont know, making the solidly pro-free speech contingent a mere 40 percent. Fifty-one percent believe that protestors are justified in shouting down a speaker uttering offensive and hurtful statements. Nineteen percent believe it is justified to use violence against such a speaker.

While liberal journalists and academics had hailed Millennials some years ago as the most tolerant generation in history, they have shown themselves to be anything but. Prof. Bauerlein cites the authors of a survey from 2020 called the American Worldview Inventory, who drew the following conclusions: Findings show Millennials  by their own admission  as far less tolerant than other generations. In addition, they are more likely to want to exact revenge when wronged, are less likely to keep a promise, and overall have less respect for others and for human life in general.

So, where did it all go wrong? Or, to quote the very first sentence of the book, What have we done to them? Prof. Bauerlein asks us to look to the reading habits of Millennials. The 2010 American Times Use Survey (ATUS) showed them spending fully five hours and 40 minutes per day on leisure and sports. Most of this, however, was screentime.

Reading print (books, magazines, etc.) accounted for a mere seven minutes on weekdays and six minutes on weekends. A 2006 survey of high school students found that 43 percent reported spending one hour or less reading for classes each week. Twelve percent reported zero reading for class. Contrast this to the Gen Xers of 1987, 47 percent of whom spent at least six hours per week preparing for class.

Again and again, Prof. Bauerlein demonstrates a steady and disturbingly swift decline over the past 30 to 40 years. College readiness scores in reading dropped from 53 percent in 2009, to 45 percent just 10 years later. SAT reading scores show a similar decline. A 2004 survey showed that only 43 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds read any kind of serious literature in the preceding 12 months. In 1992 it was 53.3 percent. In 1982 it was 59.8 percent.

There are several reasons why it is possible for students to get away with not reading literature. The first is that teachers have lowered their standards. In response to their students resistance to reading, teachers have simply required less.

Racial diversity is, of course, another factor in this decline in standards. The average black student is at nowhere near the reading level of even the worst whites. Since our educational system, and our society as a whole, cannot admit the reality of racial differences, areas of study where the disparities are all too obvious must either be eliminated or relentlessly dumbed down. The result is that generations of promising white students have been deprived of an education in good literature, so as not to draw attention to black shortcomings. Unsurprisingly, Prof. Bauerlein is silent on this subject.

The decline of reading standards in our high schools has had a catastrophic impact on university education. Early in my teaching career I realized that when I gave lectures, I could not assume that the students had read the assignments. It was useless to impose such measures as reading quizzes, since there would have been rampant failure. My students had not been challenged to read difficult material in high school. As a result, most of them could not understand the reading on their own, even if they tried to plow through every page.

Finally, there is a pervasive relativism in academia today. It began in the universities and has now taken root in high school. Many academics refuse even to entertain the idea that there are essential pieces of literature that all students should read, especially when books by Dead White Males top the list. Those who do believe in the importance of the Great Books tend to keep silent, for fear of being branded as right-wing. It is impossible to overstate the cowardliness and conformism of university professors.

Prof. Bauerlein blames Millennials lack of exposure to good literature for most of their problems. This is his central thesis. The idea was suggested to him by a colleague, who was commiserating with Prof. Bauerlein one day about his students shortcomings. They havent read enough literature, the man said, matter-of-factly. Prof. Bauerlein was astonished by the simplicity of this explanation  and by the end of The Dumbest Generation Grows Up he wholly endorses it.

For Prof. Bauerlein, not reading good books explains why Millennials hold such simplistic and naive views, why they are unable to make nuanced moral judgments, and why they lack empathy for people who hold differing opinions. The same colleague explained to him that a good novel is good psychology. Prof. Bauerlein writes:

He didnt mean anything complicated by that remark, only that good novels land interesting characters in situations of conflict, and good authors give them psychological depth. The characters have motives, and you have to figure them out. Read the books, and you treat the characters as real people having actual thoughts and doing real things. I immediately agreed. His point was too commonsensical to dispute.

In other words, you learn a lot about life and other people from reading good literature. It helps you become a more astute observer of the human condition, teaches you to empathize with others, sometimes even with the villain of the piece, and this fosters intellectual and emotional maturity.

Prof. Bauerlein cites neuropsychological studies showing that fiction activates regions of the readers brain aligned with what the characters are doing or feeling. In other words, you literally do feel something of Priams grief for Hector. I dont think we needed neuroscientists to tell us this, but its the sort of evidence that tends to impress modern people, especially Americans.

Thus, the reason Social Justice Warriors tried to assault Charles Murray back in 2017 was because they hadnt read enough novels. I am not caricaturing Prof. Bauerlein; this is what he claims. He writes that the students didnt see [Murray] as an individual, a man with a history and an experience. No, they faced a racist, a depersonalized, undifferentiated embodiment of racism, a figure distinguished only by his fame and power. For students immersed in real literature, this would not have been possible.

While I myself have long preached the benefits of an education in the Great Books, I am not convinced that this is really the key to whats wrong with kids today. The folks I spent time with a few summers ago in rural West Virginia havent read any literature either  yet they possessed the one priceless trait that seems to be lacking in so many Millennials: simple human decency.

The reason they possessed it was because they had led real lives  lives that were sometimes difficult. They had to grow up fast. There was no coddling; the tough-minded people who raised them had no patience with whining and excuses. They had to do without a great deal that other modern children take for granted. And, most importantly, their lives required them to spend most of their time in the real world interacting directly with other human beings and learning how to get along with them.

Millennials, by contrast, have spent much of their lives staring at screens, interacting with virtual friends who can always be kept at a distance. They have imbibed toxic quantities of propaganda and advertising, all of it presenting a sometimes radically false view of life and human nature. The people I met in West Virginia have seen too much real life to find wokeness plausible.

They havent read enough literature is much too facile an explanation of what is wrong with Millennials. But its exactly the sort of theory that one would expect of an emeritus professor of English  a man who has spent decades on college campuses reading books. Thats a nobler way of life than spending ones days looking at TikTok, but it is just as removed from the real world.

Near the beginning of The Dumbest Generation Grows Up, Prof. Bauerlein offers us a few tidbits that could form an alternative (or complementary) explanation of what is wrong with Millennials. He mentions these, but then drops them  perhaps because they are just too depressing. For example, he quotes a New York Times article according to which parents working for the tech industry increasingly panic over the impact screens have on their children and [are moving] toward screen-free lifestyles. The reporter goes on to note that executives in Silicon Valley are now sending their children to vigilantly low tech schools, such as Waldorf schools.

In other words, they are worried about their own products damaging the developing brains of their children. Prof. Bauerlein also quotes Chris Anderson, former editor of Wired and head of a robotics firm: We thought we could control it. And this is beyond our power to control. This is going straight to the pleasure centers of the developing brain. This is beyond our capacity as regular parents to understand.

Anderson goes on to compare tech to crack cocaine, and Prof. Bauerlein responds with a line from the occasionally sagacious Bill Maher: The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they are friendly nerd-gods building a better world and admit theyre just tobacco farmers in T-shirts selling an addictive product to children.

Its not clear that the damage screentime is doing to young minds is reversible. Some of my own students, despite my best efforts, seemed to be broken. Lets hope it is reversible, for technology now seems to be breeding generations of people programmed to be shallow, unfeeling, tyrannical narcissists. The internet has been an enormous gift, especially to those of us on the Dissident Right. But as Paracelsus said, All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.

It is dangerous to try to attribute a complex phenomenon to one single cause or condition. Prof. Mark Bauerlein is certainly correct when he argues that Millennials would have benefitted by greater exposure to good books. I am afraid, however, that the real roots of their problems may be much more sinister and much harder to fix.

Read more at: AmRen.com
Japan slated to release Fukushima nuclear power plant wastewater this month

The Japanese government is getting ready to start releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the sea by late August.

Local newspapers reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet with cabinet members to decide on a specific time to discharge treated water after returning from a trilateral summit with the U.S. and South Korea on Aug. 18. Reports also revealed that Kishida will meet with representatives from the nation's fisheries association ahead of the release.

At a press conference on Aug. 7, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced that there's still no specific time yet for the release. Matsuno added that the Japanese government will decide after measures to "ensure safety and limit reputational damage are put in place."

Amid international pushback from several countries, Japan recently cleared major hurdles to release treated water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The power plant was the site of a meltdown in 2011 and water is used to cool nuclear fuel that melted and solidified in reactor cores involved in the meltdown. The water used for that is, of course, contaminated.

The treated water has been purified to remove most radioactive materials using an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) and other equipment. The treated water is kept in storage tanks on the grounds of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Estimates show that the tanks could be full by the first half of 2024 and the Japanese government has indicated its plan to release it into the sea "around summer."

According to TEPCO, it plans to dilute the treated water at least 100 times on-site by combining it with a large amount of seawater. This will allegedly help reduce the concentration to less than 1,500 becquerels per liter (Bq/L), which is 40 times stricter than the national standard.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a comprehensive review in July, claiming that the move "would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

Additionally, Japans atomic watchdog approved the use of the discharge facility operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).

Japan eyes August release to avoid the fishing season

The plan to release wastewater from the power plant has resulted in friction with China, with the country criticizing Japan over safety concerns.

The Hong Kong government has announced that it will ban imports of seafood and other related products from several regions in Japan once the treated wastewater is released.

South Korea, whose relationship with Japan has become more positive under President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration, supported the plan, but with requests to be involved in monitoring the operation.

According to reports, the Japanese government wants to avoid starting the procedure in September, which is when bottom trawling fishing begins on the coast of Fukushima prefecture. (Related: RADIOACTIVE fish discovered near Fukushima renews concerns over plans to dump nuclear wastewater into the ocean.)

The results of a poll conducted by Japanese broadcaster JNN early in August revealed that 50 percent of those surveyed were in favor of plans to release the treated wastewater from the disaster site, while 35 percent were against the move.

Find more related stories at Fukushima.news.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Fukushima power plant disaster and how it contributed to the extinction of Alaska snow crabs.

This video is from the Strontium Milks channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Japan gets green light to release Fukushima radioactive water into Pacific Ocean.

IAEA says Fukushima nuclear plant plan to dump radioactive waste into Pacific Ocean is perfectly safe.

Radioactive Fukushima water to be released into the ocean.

Sources include:

Bloomberg.com

JapanNews.Yomiuri.co.jp

Brighteon.com
Kenyan government SUSPENDS rollout of Worldcoin over potential risks to public safety

The government of Kenya has suspended the controversial tech firm Worldcoin over allegations that the cryptocurrency project is a potential risk to public safety

Worldcoin is founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The project is unique in that it requires potential users to register their irises to create a unique digital identity which can then be linked to digital currencies managed through Worldcoin's smartphone app, the World App.

The launch of this project has led to people in major cities all over the world  including the Kenyan capital of Nairobi  lining up to get their irises scanned by shiny, spherical eyeball scanning devices known as the Orb. (Related: New crypto linked to digital ID forces all users to scan their EYEBALLS using iris-scanning technology.)

Kenya was one of the first countries where Worldcoin launched its sign-ups, quickly becoming one of the biggest markets for the new cryptocurrency project. But the Kenyan government then immediately decided to suspend it.

The Kenyan Ministry of the Interior issued a decree suspending Worldcoin enrollment activities in the country, citing concerns with the "authenticity and legality" of its activities in the areas of security, financial services and data protection.

"Relevant security, financial services and data protection agencies have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the aforesaid activities," noted Minister of the Interior Kithure Kindiki in a statement.

A previous review of Worldcoin's operations by the Communications Authority of Kenya and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has already raised concerns, including the potential for Worldcoin to obtain consumer consent in return for a monetary award  an act that borders on inducement.

As part of its promotional activities, Kenyans who voluntarily got their irises scanned to sign up for Worldcoin were offered 25 Worldcoins in exchange  amounting to around 7,100 Kenyan shillings (nearly $50). Reports from the launch of Worldcoin in Kenya noted that relatively few people were familiar with the project or its goals and were instead only looking to sign up to receive the $50 reward.

The suspension covers both Worldcoin and "any other entity that may be similarly engaging the people of Kenya" and will remain in place until the government can determine "the absence of any risks to the general public whatsoever."

More than 350,000 Kenyans already signed up and received their crypto rewards before Worldcoin suspension

Nearly three million people in at least 35 cities around the world have already signed up for Worldcoin as of press time, including more than 350,000 Kenyans.

Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity, Worldcoin's parent company, said in a statement that the company has complied with Kenyan authorities and has paused World ID verifications as it continues "to work with local regulators to address their questions." Blania added that the World ID "is built for privacy" and that the company will continue its global rollout.

"Worldcoin remains committed to providing an inclusive, privacy-preserving, decentralized on-ramp to the global digital economy and looks forward to resuming its services in Kenya while working closely with local regulators and other stakeholders," the company said in a statement.

Kenya is not the only country concerned with the potential risks associated with Worldcoin. Financial and digital regulators in countries like France, Germany and the United Kingdom are also evaluating Worldcoin and whether it may violate local and supranational privacy protections.

"Let us support the stoppage of Kenyans being used as guinea pigs and their data being harvested," said Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Ministry Alfred Mutua. "You have to ask yourself why your eyes are being scanned and information gathered. What does it mean and what will it mean to you and your offspring?"

Learn more about threats to privacy around the world like the Worldcoin project at PrivacyWatch.news.

Watch this short clip of people voluntarily lining up to have their eyeballs scanned by the Worldcoin orb.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Worldcoin accused of unethical practices shortly after its official launch.

OpenAI CEO launches iris-scanning crypto plan to "verify" every human being: IT'S TIME."

OpenAI CEO launches global "Worldcoin" cryptocurrency to facilitate Universal Basic Income (UBI) and globalist authoritarian control.

"Worldcoin" is here: Just get your eyes scanned by "The Orb" and your new "World ID" will be issued to you.

Worldcoin CEO: Global digital currency tied to global digital ID will soon be required "whether you like it or not."

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

Reuters.com

TheVerge.com

TechCrunch.com

Brighteon.com
Leaked info suggests ATF is about to pass new rule BANNING private gun sales

Frustrated at the lack of progress in dismantling the Second Amendment, fake president Joe Biden is planning to use executive orders to weaponize the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) against Americans and strip them of their right to privately buy and sell firearms.

The New York Times reported this week, and AmmoLand News confirmed, that a new rule set to take effect by the end of the year will prohibit all private gun sales  or what Everytown, a prominent anti-gun organization, calls the "private sales loophole" or the "digital loophole"  in the United States.

"The big guy," as he is referred to on Hunter Biden's laptop and in private WhatsApp messages pertaining to money laundering, will also soon call on the ATF to develop a new rule requiring anyone who profits from the sale of firearms to hold an FFL (Federal Firearms License).

Because firearms tend to increase in value over time rather than depreciate, this planned new rule would sweep everyone who has ever sold a gun into the FFL catch net, allowing the swamp creatures in Washington, D.C., to have their way with many gun-loving Americans.

(Related: Why isn't the government going after Big Pharma, which is ultimately responsible for many of the mass shootings that we now know were fueled by psychiatric pharmaceutical drugs?)

Biden wants your guns

The so-called "digital loophole," as the gun haters call it, includes popular marketplaces like Armslist Firearms Classified, a platform on which private parties can list their firearms for sale rather than have to go through a gun store.

The Biden regime has made it abundantly clear that it wants to see Armslist and all other online marketplaces for firearms shut down for good. Doing so is unconstitutional, though, so Biden and his cronies are attempting to impose the bans differently, and piece by piece through a gradual chipping away at the Second Amendment.

"Private-party transactions are not a 'loophole,'" says Armslist founder Jonathan Gibbon, whose company is in the crosshairs of the upcoming ATF rule.

"Buying and selling firearms is a guaranteed right under the Second Amendment. Interfering with state laws allowing citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights should concern everyone. Americans have a First Amendment Constitutional right to use the internet, to communicate about their other Constitutional rights."

Gibbon says Armslist has been under attack by anti-gun groups for many years, and has even had to fend off numerous lawsuits aimed at shutting it down. So far, Armslist has a perfect track record when it comes to defeating these cases, though the cost to do so is steep.

The proposed new rule is currently in draft form and is expected to be announced later this year. After that, the Biden regime aims to finalize it by late spring of 2024 or early summer of 2024 at the latest, and it would then go into effect in the fall of 2024.

Other earlier ATF rule changes such as the bump stock ban and the pistol brace rule have been successfully challenged in court, so the hope is that this, too, will be challenged and defeated before it ever gets the chance to be enacted.

"The courts have ruled that the ATF does not have the authority to pass these rules subverting the powers of Congress to make laws," AmmoLand reports.

"In an attempt to head off another defeat, the ATF and the Justice Department will claim that the power to require private sellers to obtain an FFL was delegated to them by Congress through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)."

The latest news coverage about the government assault on the Second Amendment can be found at SecondAmendment.news.

Sources for this article include:

AmmoLand.com

NaturalNews.com
Oregon gender surgery clinic uses robot to mutilate patients, including children

The Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has experienced a high influx of clients seeking vaginoplasty, a surgical construction of the vulva and vagina.

Dr. Blair Peters, a surgeon leading the gender program at OHSU, boasts that the gender surgery clinic has performed the "highest volume" of sex changes on the West Coast. OHSU uses a high-tech robot to perform automated genital surgeries on patients, including children. The gender surgery clinic could perform two robot-assisted vaginoplasties in a single day.

The vaginoplasty robot, often called the "castration machine," performs mutilation on the male's genitalia to surgically install a fake vulva and vagina over the empty spot. (Related: Seattle Public Schools to offer gender-affirming mutilation to minor children as young as 10 at NO COST, meaning TAXPAYERS will foot the bill.)

"Robotic surgery is a sophisticated way of doing surgery on the inside of the belly cavity without making a big incision. And that approach allows you to use tissue from the inside of the belly cavity to be part of the vagina," an OHSU employee explained in a 2021 video on OHSU's YouTube channel.

But genital surgeries are far from safe. A group of nine patients published a letter in 2018 complaining that they experienced physical injuries and sexual dysfunction after undergoing genital surgeries at OHSU.

Mutilated children often suffer from life-threatening complications

In May, a teenage transgender died from complications after opting to surgically replace his penis with a fake vagina. Prior to the death-inducing surgery, the boy was considered "healthy," but his male genitals were abnormally undeveloped due to early use of drug-induced puberty suppression.

So at the time of the "conversion," there was not enough penile tissue available for surgeons to use in creating a fake neo-vagina. As a result, surgeons decided to use the boy's bowels for the reconstruction.

The supposedly life-changing event for the 18-year-old boy resulted in a cascade of life-threatening complications. The procedure took a fatal turn as his body succumbed to necrotizing fasciitis within 24 hours, despite intensive medical interventions. The body went into multiple organ failure after developing an E. coli infection from his waste-filled bowels.

Dr. Michael Biggs, a sociologist who has been vocal about these issues, highlighted the inherent risks involved in using intestinal tissue for such surgeries. "Opening up your intestines is obviously much riskier, and intestines are also messy," Biggs explained.

The incident shows the serious downsides of the so-called "gender-affirming treatments."

Even Peters acknowledged this risk of gender-affirming procedures in a video interview published by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo. Peters stated that teenagers who have had their puberty medically suppressed may not have enough genital tissue to develop a neo-vagina if they undergo vaginoplasty in their late teens. They might also find it difficult to get used to the daily vaginal dilation required as long-term post-operative care due to a lack of sexual experience.

More news about America's acceptance and promotion of pedophilia and child abuse can be found at Evil.news.

Watch this video to learn about how the Vatican is directly involved in pushing sex change operations for kids.

This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Oregon to become sanctuary state for children to get abortions, sex changes without parental consent.

Transgender extremist attacked lawmaker, police officer after Oklahoma House voted to ban child sex changes.

Republican Gov. Lombardo of Nevada signs bill requiring insurance companies to pay for child sex changes.

Washington state Democrats pass bill allowing shelters to take in runaway children seeking abortions, sex changes without telling parents.

LGBT queer surgeon in Oregon using high-tech genital surgery ROBOTS to crank out high volume of child sex changes.

Sources include:

DailyCaller.com

ThePostMillennial.com

Brighteon.com
Last month, former military officials testified before Congress about their experiences with UFOs or unidentified aerial phenomena, and suggested that the U.S. government knows more about potential alien life than they are letting on to the public.

It was blockbuster news, especially for the terminally online population, and during a long, hot summer filled with climate dread and economic woes, it added another element to our collective existential anxiety  or maybe a bit of hope, an escapist fantasy. It also lends some relevance to Marc Turtletaubs gentle dramedy Jules, about a lonely older man befriending the alien who crashes in his backyard.

The crash comes as a shock, but its a welcome jolt to the system for Milton (Ben Kingsley) who occupies his days in the small town of Boonton, Pennsylvania, by offering public comment at the local city council meetings, and enduring the worrying of his harried daughter Denise (Zoe Winters), who has concerns about his cognitive abilities. When the extraterrestrial visitor crashes into his azaleas, Milton calls 911, and brings it up to the supermarket cashier, but no one believes him, because theyre accustomed to writing Milton off.

In the script by Gavin Steckler, this extreme scenario offers the opportunity to explore the ways in which elderly people are written off, ignored or otherwise banished to the margins of society. Milton gets away with it simply because no one is paying attention.

The only folks who do take notice are Miltons fellow city council meeting regulars: Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin), who discover the alien Milton has been harboring, and join him in befriending the silent gray creature. They feed the alien apples and name their new friend Jules, and attempt to keep the secret contained, because they know what happens to those little guys in movies.

Indeed, a parallel subplot features a government search for the crashed weather satellite, where techs in low-lit command centers scan the airwaves for evidence of the alien, and stern officials dispatch Men in Black-style agents in pairs of two. The dramatic tone and style of this section mimics alien-invasion action movies, and contrasts with the bucolic vibe of Miltons home in mild Boonton.

What lends Jules its tender humor is Kingsleys straightforward, almost deadpan delivery and his performance as Milton reacting forthrightly to such extraordinary circumstances. The material is high-concept but stretched thin (at barely 90 minutes, it somehow overstays its welcome). The moral metaphor about the elderly as outsiders is not complex but it is deeply felt, thanks to the cast of Kingsley, Sansom Harris and Curtin, who elevate whats on the page.

Jules proves a fine showcase for these three actors. Kingsley consistently disappears into his performances with astonishingly chameleonic skill, and he doesnt rest on his laurels here. But its been too long since Sansom Harris and Curtin had such substantial roles, and both are compelling whether Sandy is sharing family photos with Jules, or Joyce is belting out Free Bird. Jules understanding eyes and lack of verbal communication tend to inspire confessions from these new friends.

Aliens have been an eternal obsession for humanity, even if they are so hot right now (see also: Asteroid City), but Jules utilizes the alien encounter not to explore the possibilities of extraterrestrial life but to paint a portrait of life on Earth. Its a simple tale, simply told, but with a lot of heart and humanity at the center of it all.
Chicago officials refuse to disclose how they spent $120M in taxpayer money on ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Officials in Chicago are refusing to turn over records disclosing how they spent $120 million allegedly to care for illegal immigrants arriving in the city

Mainstream media outlet CBS 2 recently reported that the Chicago Office of Budget and Management (OBM) denied the news team's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for those spending records. The office is also ignoring requests for these same records from the office of Illinois Attorney General (AG) Kwame Raoul. (Related: US border crisis persists: Thousands of migrants continue to cross daily despite the summer heat.)

CBS 2 initially filed a request for the spending records with the OBM under FOIA in February. FOIA generally requires government offices to turn over public records provided that those records do not pose a threat to national security. After months of delay, the city later denied the request and claimed that no such records exist.

Not giving up, CBS 2 then sent a FOIA request to the Chicago Department of Finance. The department responded by claiming that CBS 2 should request the records from other city departments. The news outlet then took this to Raoul's office, where CBS 2 is still waiting for a response after sending at least three separate letters requesting the records.

"This is plainly illegal," said government transparency attorney Matt Topic. "The statute [FOIA] says that a public body has to respond to a request for a review like this." He has previously sued the city of Chicago hundreds of times for not turning over public records.

Illegal immigrants have been bused into the city since August of last year, and while statistics are a bit muddled it is estimated that nearly 12,000 so-called "asylum seekers" are currently residing in the city.

During a city council hearing, Alderman Ariel Reboyras shared his current estimate that the city on average spends about $7,000 a month for each migrant. If this is the case, then it could mean that the city is  at a minimum  spending around $84 million a month for the population of illegals.

Officials routinely hide how they spend tax dollars on illegals

Despite the fact that $120 million has been set aside for spending on so-called "asylum seekers," it does not seem that the city's residents are benefiting from this. Asylum seekers, including women with children, can be seen camping outside of many places in Chicago, including right outside of police stations. CBS 2 even noted that it witnessed a mother and child on a street corner selling candy.

Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, who also wants to see how the government is spending taxpayer dollars, has also yet to receive any requested financial records.

"Heads need to roll," she said. "[You all] know some of that is some shady dealings. That's what that is. Somebody's lying. There are [records], they're just hiding them."

"Just say you ain't gonna give [the records] to us. Be honest. 'We ain't gonna give it to you because we f----d up the money.' Say that."

Taylor then warned that she would be willing to help take the office to federal court "and get whoever fired who made that decision" to not share the spending records.

Learn more about the influx of illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities like Chicago at InvasionUSA.news.

Watch this Next News Network report discussing Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's $25 million taxpayer-funded plan to cover rent for illegal immigrants.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Chicago's Black community slams city officials over $51 million fund for migrants.

Parents infuriated as illegal migrants enroll at Chicago schools without health records (while vaccine mandates are forced on American kids).

Just five of Chicago's largest public pension systems owe more pension debt than the sum of 44 states.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

CBSNews.com

TheCenterSquare.com

Brighteon.com
Records show that Fauci, Collins both profited from COVID with 58 NIH royalty payments worth $325M

The former heads of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) made bank from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic."

Former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and former NIAID Director Dr. Tony Fauci together received 58 royalty payments from companies to license their own personal COVID-19 inventions, which were also developed using American taxpayer dollars.

Not only did Fauci and Collins grift the American public for cash to develop their little concoctions, but they also profited through royalties from the continuing payments that arrived in their bank accounts throughout the "pandemic."

Transparency watchdog OpenTheBooks.com published more than 1,500 pages of unredacted records this week showing which companies paid Fauci and Collins for their inventions, all thanks to a mostly successful probe using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The NIH fought tooth and nail to stop the FOIA requests from being fulfilled, but ultimately OpenTheBooks.com was able to procure most of what it sought, which definitively shows that Fauci and Collins financially raped the country while heavily profiting from the "pandemic."

(Related: In 2021, Collins resigned from his post as head of the NIH after he was exposed for his involvement in illegal gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.)

Fauci and Collins profited from flu vaccines, too

All in all, there were 56,000 transactions amounting to more than $325 million. The only thing we do not know are the individual amounts for each payment and its corresponding licenses, which are not listed in the records.

Fauci personally received 37 payments from three companies between 2010 and 2021, including 15 from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, which manufactures products for medical research including antibodies. Santa Cruz Biotechnology made the fifth-most payments in the royalty database.

Fauci also took in 14 payments from Ancell Corp., which produces immunology tolls, as well as eight payments from Chiron Corp., which was acquired by Novartis in 2006.

"Novartis has received $17 million in NIH contract payments and $15 million in NIH grants since the acquisition," Just the News reports.

"Fauci's NIAID contracted with Chiron in 2004 to help develop an avian influenza vaccine. He was the highest-paid federal employee when Fauci retired at year's end, with a $480,000 salary in 2022."

As for Collins, the former NIH director who stepped down to serve as fake president Joe Biden's Covid-19 "czar" collected 21 payments from four different companies between 2010 and 2018.

The genetic research firm GeneDx accounted for 12 of them, having received $5 million in federal contract payments, mostly from the NIH, since 2008.

"Four payments to Collins came from Quest Diagnostics' Specialty Laboratories, which provides biological testing services; four from Ionis Pharmaceuticals, originally named ISIS, known for RNA-targeted therapeutics; and one from Progeria Research Foundation, a nonprofit specializing in research for the congenital disorder," explains Just the News.

OpenTheBooks.com says it needs the names and license numbers for each payment, which the NIH conveniently redacted before a court ordered that this information be made public, in order to scrutinize the records "for potential conflicts of interest or public health risks."

The reason for this is that we need to know whether or not Fauci lied under oath when he told Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) at a hearing last year that "I doubt" Fauci received any royalties from any entity that received money from the NIAID, which Fauci was overseeing at the time.

"Fauci was already confirmed to have received more than $45,000 in royalties nearly two decades earlier, when he was also NIAID director, for an experimental AIDS treatment funded by NIH, according to an Associated Press investigation. OpenTheBooks said later studies showed it had 'zero efficacy' and that Fauci 'never provided proof' of his claim that he'd donate the royalties to charity."

The latest news about what the COVID criminals are up to can be found at Plague.info.

Sources for this article include:

JustTheNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Natural News nominated for the American Liberty Awards with winners being announced tomorrow in Austin, Texas (hosted by Rob Dew)

On August 12 in Austin, Tex., the American Liberty Awards are scheduled to take place. Andis a leading contender for being one of the most truth-telling, liberty-supporting independent media platforms out there.

Along with The Gateway Pundit, Infowars, Zero Hedge, National File, The Epoch Times, LifeSiteNews, Summit News, Political Signal, Breitbart News, Uncover DC, Human Events, Revolver, Valiant News, and The Post Millennial, Natural News has been nominated for the category of "Most Trusted Print Media.

The day will feature not just an awards ceremony but also speeches and performances from doctors, attorneys, musicians, rappers, entertainers, and even January 6 "insurrection" political prisoners who all believe that telling the truth is better than lying, in short.

The creators of the American Liberty Awards are also honoring and giving awards for the following other categories:

"Most Truthful Writer" in news media

"Most Trusted Broadcast Media"

"Best Medical / Freedom Organization"

"Most Truth Revealing Movie"

"Best Medical Provider"

"Best Comedy Skit Creator"

"Most Truth Revealing Book"

"Best Legal Bulldog"

"Best Public Servant"

"Meme Maker Best Analysis"

"Broadcast Best Investigative Journalist"

"Most Powerful Song"

"Patriot in the Arena Culture Jammer"

"Best InfoBomb Creator"

"Lifetime Achievement"

(Related: In 2018, Dew addressed the issue of fully vaccinated people contracting and spreading the very diseases against which they were supposedly immunized.)

Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both nominated for Best Public Servant

In the Best Public Servant category, nominees include former President Donald Trump and 2024 presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Also named in this category are Chris Sky, Gen. Michael Flynn, Laura Loomer, Kari Lake, Reps. Rand Paul, Paul Gosar, Clay Higgins, Ron Johnson, Matt Gaetz, Chip Roy, and Sens. Ron Johnson, John Kennedy and JD Vance.

Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit has been nominated for the Most Truthful Writer award, along with Cassandra MacDonald and Cara Castronouva; Infowars' Adan Salazar, Jamie White, Kelen McBreen; Summit News' Paul Joseph Watson and Steven Watson; The National File's Patrick Howley; Zero Hedge's Tyler Durden; Whitney Webb; Scott Greer; and many more.

"Throughout the ages, Americans have stood up against the onslaught of tyranny," reads the American Liberty Awards website about what the awards ceremony and event seek to honor.

"Sometimes these men and women do not get celebrated in their own times, in other times they do. These days, those that shine the brightest light of liberty are the most shunned and scorned by the corporate globalist system that is strangling those very freedoms."

"Our goal is to thank those warriors using their words, songs, art, minds and passion to light the fires of liberty in the hearts of men and women. We will celebrate and recognize these brave voices and individuals. The globalists have the Oscars, the Grammys, the Tonys ... we have The Libbys. The American Liberty Awards. The Awards Show of the People, by the People, for the People."

Keep in mind that this is the first-ever American Liberty Awards, which now exists in stark contrast to the mainstream awards ceremonies routinely held by the globalists and a satanists. Think of it like the "red" side of the coin to offset the "blue" side.

Anyone who values liberty and freedom will find that the American Liberty Awards is a much better fit than anything the establishment has to offer. And if you support the January 6 "insurrectionists" who were punished by the system that fateful day, the American Liberty Awards aims to be a voice for them, too.

"The January 6 political prisoners need to be at the forefront in all of our minds," says Frank Cavanaugh, one of the co-creators behind the Libbys.

We appreciate your support and encourage you to continue reading NaturalNews.com and our other affiliate sites to keep up with the latest news about health, politics, and liberty.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

NaturalNews.com
NYC to build migrant TENT CITY near Rikers Island to accomodate 2,000 illegals

In a desperate attempt to keep all the illegal migrants invading New York City far away from rich and powerful Manhattanites, Mayor Eric Adams is setting up a migrant tent city on Randall's Island near Riker's Island that reports indicate will be able to house 2,000 illegals.

The move came a week after a proposal emerged to house migrants right smack dab in Central Park, which wealthy, far-left New York said no way to, which then prompted Adams to propose sending them off to a nearby island in the middle of Manhattan's East River.

"As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night," Adams complained about the invasion.

Keep in mind that Adams was previously a loud and proud supporter of illegal immigration, echoing common far-left tropes about how "no human is illegal" and the virtue signaling "we welcome our foreign neighbors" yard signs seen all throughout America's posh neighborhoods.

It turns out that people flush with cash and high standing in society do not want illegal aliens anywhere near their properties, parks, stores, and daily lives. So, Adams is proposing sending them off to an island prison, of sorts, similar to Alcatraz.

(Related: In case you missed it, the Health Ranger shared video footage of a UN-sponsored human migration camp at Darien Gap that is a real eye-opener as to what is really going on south of the border.)

You got what you asked for, New York City

The Big Apple has been struggling for a while with what to do with all the illegals that are pouring into the city day in and day out due to America's open borders policies.

Leftist have been pushing for open borders for years, so it was simply assumed that New York City, a far-left enclave, would be more than willing to house as many of them as flood across the border unabated. It turns out even the bleeding hearts do not want to deal with illegal immigration once it hits their own backyards.

For a while, New York City was trying to jam-pack as many illegals as possible into hotels, and even went so far as to ask city residents to house one or two, or 10, in their own spare bedrooms.

Once that was tapped out, Adams resorted to pushing for the Riker's Island concept, which would keep the illegals cordoned off and surrounded by water so they do not bother the New York City elite.

Thus far in 2023, some 57,000 new illegal migrants have flooded into New York City. This means that the Riker's Island concept will only provide refuge for less than four percent of these people  and 2023 is only halfway over, which means many more illegals will continue to flood into the Big Apple in the days to come.

In the comments on a story about all this, someone noted that all this illegal migration is taking a toll not only on the U.S. but also the Central and South American countries from which these invaders hail.

"Currently, many South American countries are in crisis due to their core populations moving to the U.S.," this person wrote.

"Also, natives of every land deserve a stable environment. We should exchange travel with people in other lands, for the enjoyment of differing cultures and environments. However, as a rule, immigration causes negative consequence on both ends, and when in extreme, as currently, a humanitarian crisis."

America is being taken over by migrant invaders. Learn more at InvasionUSA.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheNationalPulse.com

NaturalNews.com
Saudi Arabia to build futuristic oasis of Neom in a bid to move beyond oil

Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious journey to shape a future beyond fossil fuels, with the futuristic oasis of Neom having a big role in it

According to the New Statesman, Neom is part of the kingdom's Vision 2030 spearheaded by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also the kingdom's prime minister. The futuristic oasis is reportedly inspired by the kingdom of Wakanda as depicted in the 2018 film "Black Panther."

Neom is a sprawling $500 billion city project stretching across 10,000 square miles in the southwestern corner of the Saudi peninsula. Dubbed "a start-up the size of a country," it is a beacon of modernity showcasing futuristic architecture, cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices. Neom's audacious scale and avant-garde designs reflect Saudi Arabia's determination to diversify its economy away from oil.

Central to Neom's design is "The Line," an awe-inspiring concept featuring two 500-meter-high skyscrapers facing each other across a 170-kilometer desert expanse. The skyscrapers' outer walls are reflective solar panels charging the city within, expressing Riyadh's desire to move away from fossil fuels.

But the kingdom's quest for a post-petroleum future is not without its challenges and controversies. The nation's investment in renewable energy, green hydrogen production and electric vehicle manufacturing is juxtaposed against its persistently criticized human rights record. Reports of detentions, disappearances and crackdowns on dissent continue to mar the country's image on the global stage.

The Middle Kingdom now the kingdom's key economic partner

Despite this, Riyadh seems unfazed. It continues to forge international partnerships and position itself as an influential player in global politics. Saudi Arabia's partnership with the BRICS group, including founding members Russia and China, demonstrates its willingness to maneuver between major global players.

Back in June, the Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA) closed a $5.6 billion deal with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Human Horizons. It was signed on the first day of the 10th Arab-China Business Conference on June 11. Under the deal, the two parties will team up to develop, manufacture, and sell new electric vehicles. (Related: Saudi Arabia, China initiating plan to create petroyuan and bring an end to the petrodollar.)

Meanwhile, Human Horizons  which sells the HiPhi EV marque in China  will share its expertise and cutting-edge technology to support Saudi Arabia's ambitions of establishing a domestic EV manufacturing industry. The collaboration is mutually beneficial, as Human Horizons aims to expand its presence internationally and enter select European markets.

MISA views the partnership as a strategic initiative to reduce the country's reliance on oil exports and to foster growth in non-oil industries. It also lines up with Saudi Arabia's broader diversification agenda, and the influx of investments is expected to drive innovation, technology transfer, and job creation within the kingdom. Moreover, this move underscores China's growing interest in the Saudi market, as the communist nation seeks to expand its presence in the Arab world.

According to Reuters, the $5.6 billion deal with Human Horizons is part of a larger $10 billion investment signed between Saudi Arabia and China during the conference. These investments span diverse sectors including technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, metals, tourism and healthcare.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed the importance of deepening ties with Beijing during the conference, adding that Riyadh wishes to avoid a "zero-sum game."

"We came to recognize the reality of today that China is taking, had taken a lead [and] will continue to take that lead," he said. "We don't have to compete with China. We have to collaborate with China."

Visit EnergySupply.news for more stories about Saudi Arabia's move away from oil.

Watch this video about Saudi Arabia and China planning to create the petroyuan.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Saudi Arabia to extend its voluntary oil production cut until September.

Saudi Arabia fortifies relations with Russia, thumbing its nose to the West.

Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations with Syria after rekindling ties with Iran.

Saudi Arabia, US on high alert as they prepare for IMMINENT attack from Iran.

Saudi Arabia could invest in Iran very quickly following China-brokered deal to re-establish diplomatic relations.

Sources include:

TheNewStatesman.com

Reuters.com

YourNews.com

Brighteon.com
They call for GENOCIDE: White farmers murdered, attacked following South African politicians demand to Kill the Boer during a far-left-wing party event

In South Africa, White farmers have been brutally attacked , robbed and one was even murdered following an event where Julius Malema, the president of the far-left South African political party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led a packed stadium in chanting a racist song "Kill the Boer" during the faction's 10th-anniversary celebration on July 29.

In the video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Marxist-Leninist party's Malema, dressed in his trademark red beret, spoke in front of 90,000 supporters who were all dressed in the party's red color. The remarks were made as South African parties position themselves for national elections in 2024. (Related: Thousands of black South Africans chanted "Kill the whites! Kill the white farmer!" at massive event while making MACHINE GUN noises.)

Can you imagine a rally of right-wing whites chanting that you have to "kill the black farmer"? Well, exactly the opposite has happened in #SouthAfrica where at a rally of the extreme left they chanted "kill de Boer" (kill the white farmer). pic.twitter.com/J7JopxccYX  Alberto Caliu?? (@AlbertoCaliu) July 31, 2023

The said chant that seemed to be a "battle cry" reignited debate about a controversial decades-old song that dates back to the struggle against apartheid. The song which is also known as "Dubula iBhunu," was popularized in the early 1990s by Peter Mokaba, a leader of the African National Congress (ANC) ahead of the end of South Africas racist apartheid system of racial segregation.

In 2012, however, the ANC, which was also previously led by Nelson Mandela, vowed to no longer sing the song, following controversy stemming from claims the song was related to a series of violent attacks on white farmers. The party also expelled Malema that same year in an effort to ease racial tensions in the country. The EFF leader had previously said he was prepared to kill for former South African President Jacob Zuma, though their relationship soured after Zuma was sanctioned by the ANC. In 2013, he founded the EFF, which is now the third-largest party in the countrys parliament, behind the ANC and Democratic Alliance (DA).

Meanwhile, Mpumalanga farmer Theo Bekker, 79, was brutally murdered in a farm attack a day after the EFF rally. The four people, who were arrested for the killing of Bekker and the attempted murder of his wife, were expected to appear in the Balfour Magistrate's Court on Aug. 7. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said 18-year-old Siyanda Gift Ziqubu, and 18-year-old Kgahliso Motoung appeared in court on Thursday alongside two juveniles, who cannot be named. The matter was postponed to Monday. All the accused are facing charges including murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, pointing of a firearm, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.

South African farmer Theo Bekker (79) was brutally murdered by 4 thugs yesterday The attackers beat him with an iron bar, slit his throat, and then beat his wife Marlinda This came 24 hours after EFF leader Julius Malema told a crowd of 90k people to kill the Boer (Whites), pic.twitter.com/mbz0V20yVS  End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 31, 2023

"It is alleged that on July 30, the accused acted for a common purpose and went to the victims place in Grootvlei, in Balfour. On their arrival, they attacked the deceased and demanded money and a firearm from him," according to NPA Mpumalanga regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa. "It is further alleged that they suffocated the deceaseds wife with a plastic bag and assaulted her several times. They then robbed the victims of an undisclosed amount of money, a firearm, and a vehicle which they drove away with."

The four assailants were arrested after the Bekkers' vehicle, a Renault Kwid stolen from the crime scene, overturned in Villiers, Free State.

Malema intentionally called for mass genocide of white farmers

The other party DA slammed Malema, accusing him of inciting ethnic violence. "This is a man who is determined to ignite... civil war," said party leader John Steenhuisen. He described the firebrand politician as a "bloodthirsty tyrant" bent on inciting "mass murder." The DA would file a complaint against him with the UN Human Rights Council and was considering further legal action.

Moreover, X's South Africa-born platform owner Elon Musk has spent the past week tweeting about the incident and slamming Malema and his party. In one tweet Monday, he claimed the organizers were "openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa," and asked President Cyril Ramaphosa, who belongs to a different party from Malema, "Why do you say nothing?"

On Friday, the tech mogul posted a screenshot of a New York Times article that cites historians who argue the song is not meant to be taken literally. He criticized the news outlet for supporting calls for "racial killings," recommending people to "cancel" the newspaper and circumvent its paywall. He later tweeted the Times "does punch above its weight for a regional publication. Well done."

The New York Times actually has the nerve to support calls for genocide! If ever there was a time to cancel that publication, it is now. You can read their articles for free anyway using https://t.co/2NjvMTsWmj. pic.twitter.com/ow11wxw7Ny  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2023

Meanwhile, Malema defended the song in a press conference and attacked Musk, saying he "looks like an illiterate" and the "only thing that protects him is his white skin."

Still, the EFF denied that the chant constitutes a direct call for violence.

South African Black Party leader Julius Malema doubles down on kill the Boer (Whites), kill the White farmer song calling for genocide of whites, then attacks Elon Musk: He looks like an illiterate. The only thing that protects him is his white skin. pic.twitter.com/6tEKafNHyJ  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 3, 2023

Visit Genocide.news for stories similar to this.

Sources for this article include:

TheNationalPulse.com

NDTV.com

IOL.co.za
TYRANNY through CENSORSHIP: Web browsers could soon be required by law to block traffic to what the government labels fraudulent websites

The French government has issued a worrying proposal that Mozilla's Open Policy & Advocacy blog is warning could eventually lead to governments being able to block all websites deemed "fraudulent."

Calling the plan "well-intentioned yet dangerous," Mozilla warns that the French government is plowing ahead with plans to force web browsers like Firefox "to create a dystopian technical capability" allowing bureaucrats to regulate what people see online.

"Article 6 (para II and III) of the SREN Bill would force browser providers to create the means to mandatorily block websites present on a government provided list," Mozilla explains about the plan.

"A world in which browsers can be forced to incorporate a list of banned websites at the software-level that simply do not open, either in a region or globally, is a worrying prospect that raises serious concerns around freedom of expression. If it successfully passes into law, the precedent this would set would make it much harder for browsers to reject such requests from other governments."

(Related: Even before the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) appeared out of nowhere, Google was already pushing a "final solution" to eradicate independent news sites from the web forever.)

Could such a law ever be enacted in the United States?

Since the deep state is having trouble containing the spread of "misinformation" online via content providers and publishers (i.e., Facebook, Google, and Twitter), it is apparently switching tactics to go after browsers themselves.

We are told that the government would basically feed a website blacklist to web browser creators like Mozilla and force them to encode a block that disallows internet users from accessing certain websites.

"If a capability to block any site on a government blacklist were required by law to be built in to all browsers, then repressive governments would be given an enormously powerful tool," reports Tech Dirt.

"There would be no way around that censorship, short of hacking the browser code. That might be an option for open source coders, but it certainly won't be for the vast majority of ordinary users."

Should this proposed law be enshrined on the books, it will do away with what Mozilla describes as "decades of established content moderation norms," effectively allowing authoritarian governments to "easily negate the existence of censorship circumvention tools."

It is not a stretch to assume that the copyright industry would also capitalize on the law by trying to force web browsers to also block websites that contain infringing content. In fact, such a concept has already been brought to life in the past  check out the book Walled Culture to learn more.

In 2004, BT (British Telecom) introduced something called CleanFeed that, again, also had good intentions, at least on the surface, in that it was contrived to block all illegal child pornography websites from being accessed. This is a good use of such technology, but there are also bad uses that we expect to also take place.

"Exactly the logic used by copyright companies to subvert CleanFeed could be used to co-opt the censorship capabilities of browsers with built-in Web blocking lists," Tech Dirt reports. "As with CleanFeed, the copyright industry would doubtless argue that since the technology already exists, why not to apply it to tackling copyright infringement too?"

"That very real threat is another reason to fight this pernicious, misguided French proposal. Because if it is implemented, it will be very hard to stop it becoming yet another technology that the copyright world demands should be bent to its own selfish purposes."

The latest news about the globalist quest to censor all truth wherever it may be found can be found at Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

TechDirt.com

NaturalNews.com

WalledCulture.org
The two-way street between a thriving environment and happiness

People spending time in nature (Photo by Joe McFarlane/iStock)

In the Carleton University happiness lab, our biggest line of research explores the idea that environmental sustainability can come via a happy path through nature. This seems especially relevant in the last couple of years, as the COVID-19 pandemic created well-being challenges and as our environmental problems become increasingly pressing. Many people coped with pandemic stress by turning to nearby nature, as indicated by a Nature Conservancy of Canada poll that put that figure at 94 per cent in 2020. We observed similar things in more intensive studies of Canadian students, and the strategy looked quite effective for happiness too.

Nature was the balm wed needed after months of physical distancing and pandemic-related uncertainties (Photo by Christine Beevis Trickett/NCC staff)

Despite the pandemic challenges, many peoples well-being bounced back pretty quickly. We found that students who started spending more time in nature during the pandemic were happier than those who did not increase their time in nature. In addition to the actual time spent in nature, we assessed peoples subjective sense of connection with nature. People high in this nature relatedness tend to see themselves as more a part of nature, linked with shared experiences, evolution and ecosystems, and with feelings of closeness like in our human relationships. During the pandemic, highly nature-related people turned to nature even more than others; however, the benefits of spending time in nature did not depend on nature relatedness; they were enjoyed by new and old nature lovers alike.

My students and I tried to enjoy nature more during the pandemic, yet we remained cautious about conducting in-person studies, as there were new waves of infection and ever-changing guidelines. One way we adapted our research approach was by using a smartphone app to ask about peoples day-to-day experiences; that is, asking people the same questions many times over the course of a few weeks. This approach had some nice advantages, such as assessing participants where they are, rather than in a psychology laboratory or specific location chosen by the researcher. It also allowed us to look at changes over time, such as how a particularly good day looks different than a particularly bad day. We aimed this strategy at old and new research questions.

For example, people and media stories seemed increasingly concerned with eco-anxiety, or feeling upset about climate change and environmental destruction. This is an unpleasant experience, but it may also be manageable and perhaps even a useful discomfort. We found that most days did not bring high levels of eco-anxiety, even as almost everyone reported the experience at some point. Additionally, on days when people reported more eco-anxiety, they also reported engaging in more environmentally friendly behaviours.

Tree planting at Meeting Lake 03 (Photo by NCC)

We think people may have been coping with feelings of eco-anxiety by trying to do something about the root causes of environmental problems. This goes along with what nature-informed therapists have told us, and it seems like an example of the more generally effective category of problem-focused coping. So, even though environmental challenges are big and complex, taking individual action, even in small ways, seems to help both the environment and our anxiety about it.

This research also suggested a downside for people with strong nature relatedness; they reported more eco-anxiety. Fortunately, this extra anxiety was not enough to overwhelm the very consistent finding that nature-related people are generally happier. (Happiness is broad; while anxiety works against it, positive emotions and satisfaction can still win the balance.) Indeed, looking at daily reports shows that good days include some time in nature and when the subjective connection feels strong.

Person spending time in nature (Photo by Zen Chung via Pexels)

Doing nice things for the environment also may do more than ease eco-anxiety. We also found that the days when people did more environmentally sustainable behaviours (some with eco-anxiety and many without) were also happier days. Although pro-environmental behaviours are sometimes framed in terms of sacrifices, it seems like they could instead act as little mood boosters in daily life.

Doing nice things for the people we love tends to boost happiness; the same may be true for nature.
One of these days' challenges is how to control the vegetation that grows under and around the solar arrays, which can reduce their efficiency and pose a fire hazard.

Traditionally, solar farm operators have used mowers, weed whackers, herbicides, or manual labor to keep the vegetation in check.

These techniques, meanwhile, may be pricy, intrusive, polluting, harmful to the soil and wildlife, etc. Because of this, some owners of solar farms are turning to sheep, a more eco-friendly and long-lasting option.

Sheep are great groundskeepers for solar farms

Sheep are ideal animals for grazing on solar farms because they are short enough to fit under the panels, they eat a variety of plants, including weeds, and they do not damage the wires or equipment, as per Phys.org.

Sheep also provide natural fertilizer for the soil, which can improve its health and carbon sequestration. By using sheep to maintain the vegetation, solar farm operators can save money, reduce their environmental impact, and support local farmers and ranchers who provide the sheep.

Sheep grazing can also create a more diverse and attractive landscape, which can benefit wildlife and pollinators.

In comparison to mowed or herbicide-treated areas, sheep grazing on solar farms can boost plant diversity by 90%, pollinator richness by 150%, and avian diversity by 120%, according to studies from Oregon State University and the University of California, Davis. The study also found that sheep grazing did not affect the performance or durability of the solar panels.

Also Read: Experiment Reveals How Light Competition Plays a Dominant Role in Biology

Sheep grazing on solar farms is a growing practice

Sheep grazing on solar farms is not a new idea, but it is becoming more widespread as the solar industry grows and seeks more sustainable ways of operating, as per ArsTechnica.

A nonprofit group that supports and promotes this technique, the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA), estimates that roughly 900 acres of solar land are currently being used for sheep grazing in New York State alone. According to the ASGA, the US has around 2 million acres of potential solar grazing pasture.

Many solar farm operators have partnered with local farmers and ranchers who provide the sheep for grazing.

For example, White Oak Pastures, a sixth-generation homestead in Georgia that practices regenerative agriculture, has grazed 1,000 sheep on a 700-acre solar farm that powers a Facebook data center.

Cabriejo Ranch, a family-owned ranch in Missouri that raises grass-fed lamb, has grazed sheep on several solar farms across the country, including in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Minnesota.

Pennsylvania State University Extension has conducted research and outreach on sheep grazing on solar farms in Pennsylvania, where there are about 300 megawatts of solar capacity installed.

Possibilities and difficulties with sheep grazing

A personalized grazing plan successfully enhances acreage and can let dedicate additional area to growing forage on the property for the winter, as per PennState Extension.

Additionally, shifting sheep to a solar array throughout all or part of the grazing season may assist with challenging parasite issues on domestic pastures.

Offering grazing services has its share of difficulties as well. One issue could be a lack of wintering area for the amount of sheep required to operate a solar farm. Under-grazing of the home farm's fenced acres is a different issue.

Driving time and distance are challenges, according to sheep owners working in the solar array grazing industry. It can also be difficult to invest in a trailer, handling equipment, watering equipment, and mineral feeders.

Related Article: UK: 55 Sheep Disappear in the Isle of Lewis, Sheep Theft Increased by 15% Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Experts expressed belief that the reliance on nuclear power is expected to grow following some countries move to shift towards the use of fossil fuels.

A report on Associated Press said that a number of the 30 countries, which are depending their nuclear energy from some 440 plants, are importing radioactive materials from Russia's state-owned energy corporation Rosatom, including the firm's subsidiaries.

The said company is known to lead the global landscape when it comes to uranium enrichment, and it has also secured the third spot in terms of uranium production and fuel fabrication.

Some nuclear energy advocates have remarked that the United States as well as other European countries would face difficulty when it comes to cutting off imports of Russian nuclear products.

Read Also: Nuclear Power to Help Achieve Zero-Emission Electricity Systems, 10- 20% Decarbonization May Now Be Possible

Nuclear power reliance

An entry posted on Energy Monitor stated that some of the European countries' reliance and dependency over Russia for nuclear energy is forecasted to considerably increase.

It said that by 2040, up to 78 percent of Hungary's electricity could be acquired from Russian-made reactors. On the other hand, Bulgaria is facing the prospect of a 37 percent Russian reactor-dependent electricity grid by the same date.

Meanwhile, in terms of nations outside the EU, Armenia and Sudan are also gearing towards up to 111 percent and 96 percent electricity dependency on Russian-made reactors, respectively, by 2040.

Aside from nuclear energy, Russia is known to be the world's largest exporter of natural gas, second-largest exporter of oil, and third-largest exporter of coal.

Research has shown that Russia's portfolio of foreign orders, which include reactor construction, fuel provision and other services, was massively distributed among 54 countries.

With this, Rosatom has claimed this to be worth more than US$139 billion over a ten year period, noting that these have not been covered by Western sanctions.

At present, experts see that nuclear energy could be Russia's "overlooked trump card" in a decarbonizing world. The dependency on their nuclear energy could actually be traced years ago.

Meanwhile, there have been observations that the positive assessments of Rosatom's international nuclear energy engagements have gone more naive after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at least in European nations that are known to be heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuels.

"For most Western-aligned states, it will be inconceivable to enter into any type of new dependence or even non-dependent cooperation with Russia in the nuclear energy sector. Consequently, alternative sources and supply chains will need to be found that eventually will lead to a reduction of the global dependency on Rosatom's nuclear fuel-production capacity," an entry posted over Nature Energy indicated.

Importation

An ABC News report recently disclosed that the US and some European allies are importing huge amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia.

These purchases are seen to give Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars at a time that they need revenues as they continue to engage war with Ukraine.

The sales, which are legal and unsanctioned, have raised concerns from nonproliferation experts and elected officials as they believed that these would go against efforts to curb Russia's war-making abilities.

Related Article: Advocates Claim that Nuclear Power May Help Cut Global Emissions in Half

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The Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme 2023 is a progressive housing initiative launched by the Government of Karnataka, aimed at uplifting economically disadvantaged families by providing them with financial assistance for building or renovating their homes. The scheme is designed to address housing inadequacies, improve living conditions, and promote socio-economic development among vulnerable sections of society. Recognizing that adequate housing is a fundamental right and an essential aspect of human dignity, the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme seeks to empower families who have faced challenges in securing decent shelter. By offering financial support, the scheme not only enhances the quality of life for beneficiaries but also contributes to the overall growth of communities and the state as a whole.

Through a systematic approach, the scheme targets eligible beneficiaries who meet specific criteria, ensuring that those who are genuinely in need of housing assistance receive the support they require. The Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme aligns with the governments commitment to inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and creating an environment where every citizen has the opportunity to thrive. At its core, the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Karnataka envisions a future where families, regardless of their socio-economic background, have access to safe and dignified housing. By addressing housing challenges, the scheme aims to create a positive ripple effect, uplifting families, fostering stronger communities, and contributing to the overall betterment of society. Through this initiative, the Government of Karnataka demonstrates its dedication to ensuring that every citizen has a place to call home and a foundation upon which to build a brighter future. This comprehensive guide outlines the key steps for registration, eligibility verification, online application, and the benefits offered by the scheme.

Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme 2023 Eligibility Criteria

Before delving into the registration process, its crucial to understand the eligibility criteria for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme. Eligibility generally revolves around factors such as income, residency, and specified conditions. The scheme primarily targets economically disadvantaged families in Karnataka seeking to improve their housing conditions.

Keywords: Eligibility Criteria, Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme, Economically Disadvantaged Families

How to Check Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Eligibility

To check eligibility, applicants must fulfill certain criteria set by the government. These may include income limits, residency requirements, and family composition. Eligible candidates can proceed with registration, ensuring they meet the stipulated criteria.

Documents Required for Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme 2023

The specific documents required for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme may vary based on the governments guidelines and any updates made to the scheme. Its essential to refer to official sources or contact the relevant government authorities for the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the required documents for the scheme in 2023. However, I can provide you with a general list of documents that are typically requested for housing schemes like the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme: Proof of Identity: Aadhar Card

Voter ID Card

Passport

Any other government-issued photo ID Proof of Residence: Residence certificate issued by a competent authority

Ration Card

Electricity or water bill Income Certificate: Document verifying the applicants family income to determine eligibility for the scheme Caste Certificate (if applicable): Required for individuals belonging to reserved categories Proof of Marital Status: Marriage certificate (if applicable)

Proof of widowhood/divorce (if applicable) Bank Account Details: Proof of bank account, including a canceled cheque or bank passbook copy Passport-sized Photographs: Recent passport-sized photographs of the applicant and family members Land Ownership/Lease Documents (if applicable): Proof of ownership or lease agreement of the land where construction/renovation will take place Construction/Renovation Plan: Details of the proposed construction or renovation, including plans, estimates, and other relevant documents Any Other Relevant Documents: Documents specified by the government or authorities as part of the application process Please note that the list above is indicative and based on general requirements for the Karnataka housing scheme. The actual documents required for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme in 2023 might vary. Its crucial to visit the official website of the Karnataka Housing Board or the relevant government department to obtain the latest and accurate information regarding the required documents and the application process for the scheme in the current year.

Apply Online Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme 2023

Visit the Official Website: Access the official Karnataka Housing Board website or the designated government department responsible for the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme. Navigate to the scheme-specific section to find relevant information and resources. Download the Application Form: Download the application form provided on the website. Ensure it is the most recent and official version to avoid any discrepancies. Complete the Application Form: Fill out the application form accurately, providing all necessary details as required. Double-check the information to ensure accuracy. Attach Required Documents: Prepare and attach/upload the necessary documents, which typically include identification proof, income certificates, residence proof, and any additional documents specified by the authorities. Submit the Application: Submit the completed application form and attached documents through the online portal. Verify that all information is correct before proceeding. Application Verification: Once submitted, the authorities will review and verify the provided information and documents. This step is vital to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries receive the schemes benefits.

the application process for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme was primarily conducted online through the official website of the Karnataka Housing Board or the relevant government department. However, if you are specifically looking for information about an offline application process for 2023, its recommended to check with the official sources or government authorities for any updates or changes that might have occurred since then.

Offline Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme ApplicationForm Process

Please note that the information provided below is based on the general process for offline applications for housing schemes and might not reflect the current process for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme in 2023. Here is a general outline of the steps you might take for an offline application process:

Obtain Application Form: Visit the nearest government office or designated Karnataka One Center. where application forms for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme are distributed. Collect Information: Seek assistance from the officials at the center to understand the schemes eligibility criteria, required documents, and any specific guidelines. Fill Out the Form: Carefully fill out the application form with accurate and complete details. Make sure to provide all the required information, such as personal details, family information, income details, and other relevant information. Attach Documents: Collect and attach the necessary documents along with the application form. These documents might include proof of identity, proof of residence, income certificate, passport-sized photographs, and any other documents specified by the authorities. Submit the Application: Submit the filled-out application form along with the attached documents to the designated center. Make sure to keep a copy of the application and any receipts or acknowledgments provided by the officials. Application Verification: After submission, the authorities will review and verify the application and documents. This process might take some time, during which the officials will assess your eligibility for the scheme. Application Status and Approval: You might need to periodically check with the relevant authorities or the designated center to inquire about the status of your application. If your application is approved, you will be notified accordingly. Benefit Disbursement: Upon approval, if you are selected as a beneficiary, you will receive the benefits of the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme as per the governments guidelines.

Please remember that the above steps are based on a general offline application process for housing schemes and may not accurately represent the specific process for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme in 2023. Always refer to the most recent and official sources for accurate information about the application process and eligibility criteria for the scheme.

Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Approval and Benefits 2023

Approval Notification: Upon successful verification, eligible applicants will receive a notification of approval. This notification confirms their eligibility and readiness to receive the benefits of the scheme. Financial Assistance Disbursement: Approved beneficiaries will have the financial assistance or benefits disbursed directly to their registered bank accounts as per the governments guidelines. This step ensures a transparent and seamless process.

Benefits of the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme:

Affordable Housing: The scheme provides a significant opportunity for economically disadvantaged families to afford decent housing and improve their living conditions. Empowerment: By promoting homeownership, the scheme empowers families and enhances their overall socio-economic status. Community Development: Improved housing conditions contribute to the development of healthier and more vibrant communities. Reduced Homelessness: The schemes focus on housing construction and renovation helps reduce homelessness and provides stability to vulnerable families. Government Support: Beneficiaries receive valuable financial support from the government, reducing the burden of home-related expenses. Economic Growth: The scheme stimulates economic activity in the construction and real estate sectors, generating employment opportunities.

Last Date for Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme

Gruha Laksmi Scheme Karnataka Startred From 19th July 2023 KGLS Yojana Online Registration Last Date  Announced Soon

How to Check Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Application Status 2023

Checking the application status for the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme is an essential step to staying informed about the progress of your application. While I can provide you with a general guide based on the typical process, please note that specific instructions or platforms may have changed since my last update in September 2021. Its recommended to visit the official website of the Karnataka Housing Board or relevant government departments for the most up-to-date information. Heres a general guide on how to check your Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme application status:

Visit Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme 2023 official website: Go to the official website of the Karnataka Housing Board or the designated government department responsible for implementing the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme. https://sevasindhugs1.karnataka.gov.in/gl-stat-sp/Slot_Track Login to Your Account: If you have already registered for the scheme and have an account on the website, log in using your credentials (such as username and password). If not, you may need to create an account using the registration process outlined on the website. Application Status Section: Look for a section on the website that specifically provides information about checking the application status. This section may be labeled as Application Status, Track Your Application, or something similar. Enter Application Details: Once you access the application status section, you might be prompted to enter certain details to retrieve your application status. These details could include your application/reference number, date of birth, and other relevant information. Check Status: After entering the required details, submit the information. The system should then display the current status of your Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme application. You might see one of the following statuses: Application Submitted: Your application has been successfully submitted, and it is in the process of verification and review.

Application Under Review: The authorities are currently reviewing your application and the attached documents.

Approved: Your application has been approved, and you may be eligible to receive the benefits of the scheme.

Rejected: Unfortunately, your application did not meet the eligibility criteria or other requirements. Follow-Up and Contact Information: If you have any queries or concerns about the application status, the website might provide contact information, such as a helpline number or an email address, where you can seek assistance. Its advisable to reach out to the relevant authorities for clarifications if needed. Regular Updates: Some websites might provide options to receive regular updates about the application status through SMS or email notifications. If this option is available, consider subscribing to stay informed about any changes in your application status.

Please remember that the above steps are a general guide and may vary based on the actual procedure and platform provided by the Karnataka Housing Board or the government department. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always refer to the official sources and resources related to the Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme.

Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Official Website:- https://sevasindhugs1.karnataka.gov.in

Conclusion:

The Karnataka Gruha Lakshmi Scheme is a commendable initiative by the Karnataka Government to uplift economically disadvantaged families by providing them with the means to secure proper housing. By following the outlined steps for eligibility verification and online application, eligible applicants can take advantage of this schemes benefits, promoting inclusive growth, empowerment, and improved living conditions for families across the state.
Grand Canyon visitors are at risk of heat-related illnesses in the future amid the threat posed by extreme heat fueled by climate change. This is according to a new study by the United States National Park Service (NPS), which warned that millions of people who visit the Grand Canyon National Park each year could be exposed to heat stroke and other health hazards associated with scorching temperatures.

Researchers involved in the study arrived at their conclusion based on data that they collected more than a decade ago. This led to predict that such a scenario may occur in the coming decades until the year 2100. The NPS research team also acknowledged the contribution of greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide, to the warming of the massive U.S. valley that encompasses Arizona and other states.

The study was revealed as the Continental U.S., especially the Southwest, has experienced persistent heatwaves that affected millions of Americans. The extreme heat is also the same for other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and China. In recent years, scientists have linked the heat dome with some reported deaths in multiple countries.

Grand Canyon Extreme Heat

Based on the study published in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday, August 9, the NPS researcher team made clear that the current climate emergency is "the greatest public health threat" of our century. The research team highlighted excessive heat is attributed for more deaths compared with any other extreme weather events.

Climate change can increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of these events, according to the team, which asserted that exposure to excessive heat can lead to long-term poor health conditions and heat-related illnesses. Although anthropogenic global warming is felt worldwide, the study's authors chose the Grand Canyon National Park as a site of their research.

Also Read: Splooting Behavior in Animals Signals Extreme Heat Made Worse by Climate Change

Heat-Related Illnesses

The study says heat-related illnesses include not only heat stroke but also heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and among others. These hazards can lead to hospitalization and even death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says some of the symptoms of a heat-related illness are: high body temperature, headache, dizziness, fainting, sunburn, and even heat rash.

The NPS team used data relating to humidity, heat-related illness, temperature, and visitation at the Grand Canyon from 2004 to 2009. Then, they used existing climate models to predict the rate at the risk could change in the future under two scenarios: moderate and high levels of global warming pollution, as cited by CNN.

Based on the results, the said U.S. government agency found the rate of heat-related illnesses per 100,000 visitors increased in both scenarios. Specifically, it will increase by up to 137% by the end of the 21st century. In fact, fatalities have started already in potentially relation to the Grand Canyon's extreme heat.

Experts and authorities in the field have suspected heat to be responsible for killing 16 people at the Grand Canyon National Park since 2007, as cited by the U.S. media outlet.

Related Article: Climate Change: Extreme Heat Increases Mental Health Issues
Officials have ordered the release of endangered red wolves raised in captivity to the North Carolina wilderness area, where it is thought that about 30 of the canine species still roam freely, in response to concerns that they may go extinct by 2024.

Jump-Starting the Release

After the US Fish and Wildlife Service stopped releasing wolves raised in captivity, environmental organizations filed a lawsuit. They only exist in the wild outside of zoos and refuges for wildlife in eastern North Carolina.

On representatives of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Welfare Institute, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a complaint. Documents submitted in US District Court in North Carolina state that a settlement deal was struck on Wednesday.

According to Ramona McGee of the Southern Environmental Law Center, one of the world's most effective predator reintroduction programs took place in North Carolina for 25 years. According to McGee, this agreement clears the way for the red wolf to reclaim its due position as a famous success story.

Captive-Bred Endangered Red Wolves

Prior to their 1987 reintroduction to North Carolina, red wolves were nearly extinct over much of the Eastern US due to habitat destruction, trapping, and hunting. They only inhabit five counties in North Carolina. Nearly 300 wolves have been kept in captivity by scientists at zoos and other locations in recent years.

The state's natural population increased by over 100 after the red wolves were reintroduced and stayed constant through 2012, according to the Toronto Star.

By releasing captive-born pups and sterilizing competing coyotes, wolf populations were increased. However, those methods were abandoned in 2015 as a result of pressure from landowners and conservative politicians who thought wolves were a nuisance.

Red wolves live in a region where farms and private property predominate. Over the years, no fewer than 96 red wolves have perished from gunshot wounds.

Some landowners claim that the presence of wolves has made it more difficult to control coyotes. Because the dogs are readily confused, a federal judge in 2014 prohibited night hunting for coyotes in the red wolf area.

Red wolves are now restricted to just five counties in North Carolina. Approximately 30 of them are still living in the wild as of June 2023, according to the Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Also Read: Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups Born in Great Plains Zoo, Officials to Decide Future Relocation

Extinction by 2024

A federal court was motivated by the lawsuit in 2021 to compel the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a strategy to increase the population of wild wolves while the lawsuit was pending.

In his ruling, US District Judge Terrence Boyle stated that while extinction is a very real prospect, the conservation groups were likely to triumph.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will create and release red wolf release plans for eight years, under the settlement agreement. Metrics for gauging performance will be included in the plans.

The organization asserts that it recognizes the significance of the red wolf population in Eastern North Carolina and is dedicated to managing it per the Endangered Species Act.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that there were 32 to 34 red wolves in the wild overall as of June, but only 16 were known or had collars. The captive population of red wolves contained 278 individuals.

According to a statement released on Wednesday by Johanna Hamburger, an Animal Welfare Institute, the deal saves wild red wolves from extinction.

Red wolves may become extinct in the wild by 2024, according to biologists who informed the Fish and Wildlife Service at the time this lawsuit was filed, according to Hamburger via ABC News.

Related Article: North Carolina Zoo Welcomes 12 More Critically Endangered Red Wolf Pups from 3 Litters
According to a recent study, bed bugs may be able to acquire and spread the staph infection methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Staph Infection and Bed Bugs

MRSA is a kind of bacteria that lives on people's skin and can lead to life-threatening illnesses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it may occasionally result in sepsis or even death.

According to Jose E. Pietri, Ph.D., an author of the study and Sanford School of Medicine assistant professor at the University of South Dakota, their findings offer the first experimental evidence in favor of the theory that, in some circumstances, bed bugs may help spread MRSA.

According to medical professionals, MRSA can result in staph infections, which are difficult to treat because of their resistance to various drugs.

Experts say that staph infections frequently spread in medical establishments like hospitals and nursing homes as well as in educational institutions and public places.

Blood Feeding Experiment

The team of researchers from the University of South Dakota carried out three experiments with sterile blood that was encircled by a collagen membrane that had been infected with MRSA at a quantity that is commonly found on human skin.

The bed bugs were permitted to "blood feed" through these infected membranes by the researchers. Then, according to the journal post describing the study, scientists measured the amount of live MRSA present both internally and externally on the bed bugs throughout seven days.

MRSA persisted on the outside of the bed bugs in two of the three studies for up to three days after exposure.

In one of the trials, internal replication of the bacteria was seen for up to seven days.

The scientists checked to determine if bed bugs might spread MRSA while feasting on blood seven days later.

As observed in two of the trials, the bacteria reached the membrane that was uncontaminated.

According to Pietri, the findings do not demonstrate that bed bugs are important natural carriers of MRSA. Ultimately, further clinical and epidemiological research explicitly exploring the connection between MRSA infections and bed bugs is required.

Numerous infectious disease specialists stated that although the data is intriguing, more research is necessary to conclusively link bed bugs to MRSA epidemics.

Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an infectious diseases attending physician in New York, was not involved in the research.

Instead of utilizing humans, the study was conducted using artificial feeders. Although extremely infrequent, there have been prior links between bed bug exposure and MRSA breakouts.

Prevention

Hirsch claims that MRSA is quite prevalent because, even though it can cause really serious illnesses, it typically just colonizes individuals without causing any harm.

According to him, Staph is frequently found on the skin, the front of the nose, and in the surroundings on linens, clothing, and close items.

According to the expert, there are steps people can take to prevent MRSA infections. He advises making efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Hirsch emphasized the significance of maintaining cleanliness while cautioning against over-cleanliness, which can dry up the skin and increase susceptibility to infections.

He cautioned diabetics to maintain tight control of their blood sugar to lower the chance of infection because Staph has a sweet tooth.

Hirsch claims that maintaining a clean and fresh immediate environment also lessens the load of bed bugs.

Also Read: German Beer Made of Recycled Greywater From SF Luxury Apartment: Safe but Not For Sale

This is an experimental study, according to Dr. Aaron Glatt, the director of infectious diseases. It only lends credence to the idea that MRSA could be spread from person to person via bed bugs. This is not actually occurring in people, according to the study.

However, bed bugs can be an annoyance in and of themselves, so it is preferable to prevent infestations as much as possible, Glatt continued. There is little evidence to suggest that this is a major way of MRSA transmission in humans, FOX News reports.

The findings by Pietri's group were recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Related Article: Invasive Cattle Screwworm Fly Outbreak in Panama Border Halts Transport of Infested Livestock
A new study discovered that the population of grey-necked rockfowl suffered a declining population.

Researchers noted the smaller suitable habitat for the rare bird due to habitat fragmentation and forest cover loss.

Scientists have been studying the distribution and habitats of birds, including the grey-necked rockfowl. Understanding their environments is vital for researchers to develop conservation plans for threatened birds.

The Grey-necked rockfowl (Picathartes areas) is considered nearly threatened due to habitat loss threats. They are known for their noticeable gray back and blue-red bald head. It is considered endemic to Central America.

Threatened Gray-Necked Rockfowl

The study was published in Bird Conservation International by experts from Cameroon Biodiversity Association (CAMBIO) in partnership with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The researchers aimed to discover the extent of the impact of habitat loss and forest cover loss on the threatened Grey-necked rock fowl.

Furthermore, the study noted that the suitable habitat for the threatened bird is smaller than expected. The team found about 17,327 square kilometers, which is essential for a bird's desired habitat.

According to the study's co-author Dr. Ekwoge Abwe, the forest cover loss affects the endemic and endangered species in Central Africa. Biodiversity is a concern that is driven by climate change.

Dr. Abwe is a Scientific Program Manager for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The study highlighted the importance of changing the status of birds to Vulnerable from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The recent report emphasized that changing the bird conservation status could be helpful for the conservation of their species.

To further observe the bird species, the researchers said they used the 339 records of the occurrence of the threatened Grey-necked Picathartes. They combined the environmental variables to illustrate the global distribution of the birds better.

Dr. Abwe explained that the Gray-necked rock fowl is an essential indicator for a healthy forecast, adding that the Grey-necked Picathartes requires steep slopes and forest cover.

Also Read: Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wrens Survival Endangered Due to Wildfires in Northern Australia

Amazing Facts about Grey-necked rockfowl

According to World Land Trust's report, the grey-necked rockfowl can also be found in cliffs and rock areas. They are sensitive in terms of breeding, requiring below-closed canopies in rainforests. They can create a nest using dead leaves or dry grass during nesting that could be around August and October.

The grey-necked rockfowl likes to feed beetles, earthworms, snails and earthworms.

Furthermore, the bird is also threatened by human disturbance and bird hunting.

Did you know?

In the recent study in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wrens population in Northern Australia is at risk due to wildfires. The report said the bird habitat is sensitive to dry and drought conditions, even in low-intensity fires.

Related Article: Saving Colorful Guam Kingfisher: Scientists Hopeful To Conserve Declining Bird Population

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Recent research showed the fossils thrived in the coldest conditions in the environment 73 million years ago.

The fossil is from the Gypsonictopidae, a family of mammals.

Researchers have been on a quest to discover the unknown species on Alaska's coast that lived million years ago, especially during the extreme temperatures.

Recently, experts from Florida State University and the University of Alaska discovered fossils near the coast of Northern Alaska.

While the researchers were discovering in Northern Alaska, they found unique tiny fossils of mammals that they believed lived in extreme cold 73 million years ago.

The study was published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.

Ice Mouse Fossils living in the coldest conditions

Alaska has been known for extreme temperatures, which selected species could likely adapt or survive.

According to the University of Colorado Boulder's press release, the study named the fossils Sikuomys mikros.

To clarify, the researchers said that the fossils are not from a mouse, but came from the Gypsonictopidae family of now-extinct mammals.

The researchers traveled to the area of Prince Creek Formation, which is far and remote.

They carefully gathered the fossils at the site and identified the fossils of the tiny teeth, which is like the size of grain sand.

The study's lead researcher, Jaelyn Eberle of CU Boulder, explained that the discovery showed the perfect little tooth from the now-extinct mammal.

Meanwhile, the study's co-author, Gregory Erickson, explained that the study is essential to understand the Lost World of Arctic animals.

It can help them understand how the little mammals managed to live under extreme cold.

Erickson is from the Florida State University.

Little Mouse Likely did not hibernate

The report noted that the species could likely did not hibernate. According to Eberle, they could possibly stay active during their time, consuming likely insects and worms.

Based on the press release, Patrick Druckenmiller explained that the newly discovered fossils would give a new window into ancient Alaska. Druckenmiller is also the director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North and the study's co-author.

Also Read: Social Distancing in Animals: Harbor Seals Maintain Space Between Aquatic Species to Prevent Diseases

Ancient worms revived after 46,000 years in Siberian Permafrost

Scientists recently revived ancient worms after being frozen in Siberian Permafrost for 46,000 years. The recent study was published in PLOS Genetics journal.

The discovery of the worms can assist experts to unravel their existence and behavior million years ago.

According to the report, the worms were revived after scientists fed them with food and water. The said worms are believed to have live during the Pleistocene period.

Furthermore, the report highlighted that the worms likely survive in extreme environments, including freezing. The cryptobiotic state is also called as temporary death because the said species can later on live or survive.

Under the cryptobiotic states, species prevent their reproduction and metabolic existence function.

Other species that can go into a state of cryptobiosis are shrimp and tardigrade species.

Related Article: Small Ancient Worms Resurrected After 46,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature News.
Authorities are expecting that the death toll in the wildfires that ravaged the Island of Maui will spike in the coming days.

Citing information from Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry Maui fire authorities, the County of Maui disclosed that the number of fatalities already climbed to 53.

Records showed that of the total number, 36 have been confirmed on Wednesday, August 9.

On the other hand, 17 deaths were added and confirmed on Thursday, August 10.

At a press conference, Governor Josh Green lamented that the island would see that the number of deaths are piling up.

"As you know, the number has been rising and we will continue to see loss of life. We also see many hundreds of home destroyed," Green told reporters.

"It's a heartbreaking day, what we've seen today has been catastrophic but we tell you there are going to be a team effort to bring our state back," Green vowed.

Search for unaccounted family members

Officials from the County of Maui, meanwhile, announced that a Family Assistance Center has been opened at the Kahului Community Center in order to extend assistance to individuals who are looking for information about their family members and loved ones who are unaccounted for and could be affected by the damaging flames in the county.

Following this, the Maui Emergency Management Agency will also distribute and pass out forms, which will be filled by residents so that they could get assistance in the process of locating their unaccounted relatives and loved ones.

Authorities also said that those who are trying to search for their family members, who may be affected by the blaze, may contact the American Red Cross hotline at 1-800-733-2767 for assistance.

Furthermore, two additional shelters were also opened to cater to the needs of displaced residents.

These additional evacuation facilities are located at King's Cathedral Maui at 777 Maui Veteran's Highway in Kahului and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 1300 Maui Lani Parkway in Kahului.

Read Also: Maui Wildfire Kills Six; Thousands Force To Evacuate

80% contained

Officials said that the wildfire, which caused massive damage in Lahaina town, was reported to be 80% contained.

Fortunately, the Fire Department bared that it is making progress when it comes to curbing the Lahaina fire as well as the ravaging flames in Pulehu and Upcountry Maui.

Fire personnel in Lahaina were able to further secure the perimeter of wildland areas that got burned. Efforts continue including patrolling operations in places with massive damage because of the fires.

Based on the Civil Air Patrol flyovers more than 270 structures and establishments have been adversely affected by the fire in Lahaina town.

The Pulehu fire, meanwhile, was reported to be 70% contained as response teams already used heavy equipment in order to create firebreaks through the night.

Firefighters are still in the process of securing the perimeter.

On the other hand, officials are still prohibiting the entry into Lahaina as the firefighting effort continues.

The Honoapiilani Highway is open for those who want to leave the West Maui region. Moreover, travelers can also leave the area through Waihee.

Experts earlier said they are already considering other factors that have triggered the wildfire aside from the fueling of Hurricane Dora.

Some possible reasons for the wildfires' massive spread are the low humidity and dry vegetation, as well as climate change.

United States President Joe Biden already gave a green light on declaring that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaii. The highest American official also tasked the Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the blaze.

The White House said that the assistance could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, as well as other programs that will help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Related Article: Hurricane Dora at Category 4 Fuels Wildfires in Maui, Locals Swim Away from Blazing Town

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A care home granted the long-time wish of a woman living with dementia to share a moment with an elephant in a zoo.

Kay Day, an 87-year-old woman who rarely leaves her room at Blakelands Lodge in Marston Moretaine, was able to visit her favorite animal at Whipsnade Zoo.

The spokesperson of the care home said they raised funds for the trip because they wanted to do something kind for the elders, who spend a lot of their time alone.

Dream come true

Day described the encounter with the elephant as a dream come true.

The elder said that she never expected to see an elephant again.

"It's such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl it up and put it in his mouth," she said during an interview.

Day, who has a room that is decorated with elephant toys and photographs, said her favorite part of elephants is the trunk, which is said to be "so gentle."

She also expressed gratitude to the organizers of the trip, saying that she could sit forever with an elephant by her side.

Elephant keeper My Eriksson said that the zoo is delighted to meet an elephant-loving person.

"As a conservation zoo, working to protect wildlife and connect people with nature, we're honoured to have been able to play a part in making Kay's dream come true."

Whipsnade Zoo is part of the Zoological Society of London, an international science-driven conservation charity aiming to restore wildlife in the United Kingdom and around the world, according to the zoo's website.

Read Also: African Elephants Have Sneaky Nighttime Feeds on Crops, but Avoid Raids During Full Moon Nights

Elephant behavior

The elephants at Whipsnade are part of a European-wide elephant breeding program.

The zoo is home to a multi-generational herd of seven Asian elephants, including male Ming Jung, matriarchs Kaylee and Lucha, adult females Karishma and Donna, calf Elizabeth, and the newest calf, Nang Phaya.

Whipsnade Zoo's Center for Elephant Care recently posted a video of 11-month-old elephant calf Nang Phaya actively playing at night.

Elephant keeper Stefan Groeneveld revealed that cameras are being used to watch the herd at night so that they can give 24-hour care and learn more about the changes in the family dynamic after Nang Phaya's birth last year.

He explained that from the latest footage, the public can see that it has been always playtime for Nang Phaya, who seems to be not ready to grow up yet.

The footage provides a unique look into the herd's nighttime routines and inspires support for the conservation zoo's efforts to safeguard endangered species.

The herd directly contributes to conservation through vital research such as dung sampling to support fecal DNA testing, sound monitoring to aid communication understanding, and motion studies and thermal imaging to inform technology being developed to protect and conserve elephants in the wild.

Groeneveld stressed that elephants are one of the world's most endangered species, suffering everyday dangers in the wild from poachers, conflict with the populations with which they coexist, droughts, and habitat loss and degradation.

Related Article: Baby Elephant Saves 'Drowning' Rescuer -- How Smart are These Gentle Giants?

Related Video:
Scientists found an abundant marine ecosystem and communities on the South of Wellington and Kapiti coast.

Some marine animals are undescribed and unknown.

Researchers have been on the quest to discover the secrets of oceans. Special equipment is essential to unearth unknown species to science.

Learning new species can help experts track their populations and save them from threats, including habitat loss and shipping collision.

According to NOAA Ocean Exploration, scientists managed to explore a small part of the oceans, noting that deep sea waters are largely unknown to science.

As of this year, NOAA showed that about 24.9% global sea floor was already mapped by experts using advanced technology.

On the South of Wellington's and Kapiti coast, the areas are considered rich in biodiversity and coral reef systems.

Wellington South Coast and Marine Life

In a recent report, the Department of Conservation explained that the Wellington coast has important marine communities.

In 2019, researchers discovered an unusual fish, half-naked hatchetfish, and hula skirt siphonophore.

As a result, experts from the Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington looked into the coast and found something new and stunning biodiversity on the coast.

According to marine biologist and Professor James Bell, the marine environment on Wellington's coast has unknown marine areas.

The researchers underwent an exploration of the area's deep waters. Researchers explored at least 18 sites, with a depth of 26 to 72 meters.

Professor Bell added that the marine communities have stunning coral reefs and branching sponges. They also found rich sponges and bryozoans (moss animals).

The report added that the 18 sites are not considered protected.

The Missouri Department of Conservation explained that bryozoans are small aquatic animals that thrive in colonies.

Bryozoans are essential for the marine environment. They also live in freshwater, swamps, ponds and lakes.

In addition, Professor Bell explained that the discovered marine communities and animals were amazing, which is different from shallow waters.

In the Kapiti Coast marine communities, the researchers also found octopus, hagfish, sharks and blue cod.

However, the report raised concerns that the 18 sites they explored were unprotected. The species under the deep waters and coral reef systems could likely suffer from habitat loss and overfishing threats.

Also Read: Climate Change Threatens Sea Urchin Survival That Can Devastatingly Affect Coral Reef Growth

Marine conservation of coral reef systems and aquatic species

NOAA explained that coral reefs are essential for biodiversity and marine animals.

According to the report, at least 25% of fish are dependent on coral reef systems. The decline of the reef system can affect fish and other aquatic species.

As a result, mapping the ocean floor and deep water discovery is essential to protect and conserve marine environments, known and unknown to science.

Recently, a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology showed the impact of extreme weather events on sea urchin populations.

Sea urchins are vital for ecosystems as natural engineers.

Excessive rainfall could likely result in different salinity water levels, which sea urchins are sensitive.

Related Article: Florida Ocean Temperature Reaches Over 100 Degrees; Temp Likely to Become World Record

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
25 dead tree saplings were caused by negligence and an essentially non-existent watering procedure in Portland.

30 Tree Saplings in an East Portland Neighborhood

A little more than two years ago, the Portland Bureau of Transportation planted around 30 saplings in a grassy triangle of Mill Park an East Portland neighborhood using federal infrastructure funding.

Two years ago, the city used federal infrastructure dollars to plants trees in an East Portland neighborhood. This spring, it stopped watering them.



They died. @sophiegreenleaf reports. https://t.co/7340vT9LyP  Aaron Mesh (@AaronMesh) August 10, 2023

The labels still on the saplings listed the trees as Douglas firs, Japanese maples, and redwoods.

The city hired a contractor to plant the trees over the course of a year, and they were then watered for the next year by placing 15 to 20 gallons of water per week in heavy-duty green bags placed around the bases of the young trees.

Unimplemented Watering Procedures and 25 Dead Tree Saplings

According to PBOT spokesperson Hannah Schafer, the city's contract with that business expired on March 31 of this year.

New trees thereafter became the responsibility of PBOT, owner of the triangle.

There is only one issue: the agency admitted that it has stopped watering the trees. Now that several of the saplings are dead or nearing dehydration, they will probably need to be removed.

Nearby resident Ray Johnson says it's a huge letdown but not unexpected.

Johnson believed that if these trees had been placed in a wealthier area of the city, such as the West Hills, their watering needs would have been taken care of.

According to Schafer, the bureau just trims trees for visibility and to clear brush; it is not their responsibility to water them.

They simply aren't equipped for or knowledgeable about performing further tree upkeep, the spokesperson explained.

Regardless of watering abilities, at least 25 of the triangle's trees appeared to be beyond saving last week.

Japanese maples, which are long and spindly and have no leaves on any of their bone-dry limbs, make up about a third of the sickly trees. Other dead trees include robust, bushy Douglas firs with brown, fragile needles.

Tree Planting Efforts in Portland

The tree canopy in East Portland is less than half as dense as it is on the west bank of the Willamette River, in a study by Portland State University's Urban Studies and Planning Department, where city leaders have concentrated their tree-planting efforts for years.

According to climate scientists, regions with less tree cover offer less protection from the blazing sun and are more likely to experience a climate disaster.

The terrible heat wave that struck Portland in the summer of 2021 and claimed 69 lives proved this prediction accurate.

Nearly a fifth of the city's heat-related deaths occurred in four ZIP codes east of 42nd Avenue last summer.

According to PSU climate expert Vivek Shandas, who tracks Portland's heat islands, the deaths in East Portland that summer should not have been a surprise.

As per Shandas, there is ample proof that this was a likely consequence.

The expert explained that people will continue to perish if the problems in these locations, which are frequently 15 to 20 degrees hotter, are not directly mitigated

Also Read: Elm Tree Leaves Quick Foraging Tips and Benefits: What Is Special About This Tree?

City Planning Improvements

Government representatives have failed to protect tree canopy twice this year, the second occasion being PBOT's neglect to water the 30 trees in the traffic median.

According to news reports from back in June, the state is now cutting down 570 trees lining the road as part of a street-widening project that is taking place along a 67-block section of Southeast Powell Boulevard.

If trees in the triangle island need to be removed and replaced, it probably won't happen until next spring, according to Schafer, who also notes that there is a great deal of desire to add trees wherever it is possible in the initiatives to help combat the heat island effect, particularly in areas in East Portland where that problem is so prevalent.

According to Schafer, PBOT is collaborating with Portland Parks & Recreation's Urban Forestry team to assess several possibilities for the care of these trees in the interim.

Related Article: Colorful Rock Snake Ernie, Grows to 30 Feet on Utah Sidewalk




Illustration:Liu Rui/GT

Global TimesOn Wednesday, Canada said it is "highly probable"that China helped orchestrate an online disinformation campaign against Conservative Party lawmaker Michael Chong in May.

Upon closer examination, the statement is replete with phrases such as "likely" and "no indication." It pointed out that "while China's role in the information operation is highly probable, unequivocal proof that China ordered and directed the operation is not possible to determine."

Even without any clear evidence, Canada is claiming the Chinese government was behind the "WeChat campaign" of sharing the so-called "misleading narratives" about the Conservative politician. This is blatantly a smear and slander.

Such practices resemble rogue behavior, with the main purpose being to attract attention and spur discussion in the international community. Regardless of the truth, even if the allegations are ultimately proven unfounded, the smear has already had its effect. Western countries are too familiar with the rules of this game and know how to use words like "probable" and "likely" to draw attention, criticize, or question China.

When reporting on Chong, Chinese media outlets often focus on how he has utilized his anti-China stance to attract attention. This does not constitute misinformation at all. The fact is, Chong has indeed been actively involved in "anti-China" campaigns and has repeatedly made unfounded accusations of a so-called "genocide" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. As a result, this opposition MP has been prohibited from traveling to China or engaging in business with Chinese citizens.

The entire issue surrounding Canada's accusations against China revolves around Canada shamelessly smearing and spreading rumors about China. On one hand, as Liu Dan, a researcher at the Center for Regional Country Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said, the Justin Trudeau government is under domestic political pressure and needs to show a tougher stance on China. On the other hand, it has been no secret that lack of independent foreign policy, Canada is standing with the US to contain China and has become a US pawn. It is eager to cater to and please the US.

Canada has been following the US in its anti-China campaign by repeatedly spreading disinformation and discrediting China. These actions not only involve unjustified accusations and slander against China but also cause damage and humiliation to Canada itself.

In a media statement shared on Wednesday, Chong called the campaign against him "another serious example of the communist government in Beijing attempting to interfere in our democracy by targeting elected officials." He also renewed his call for a public inquiry into the allegations of foreign interference by China in Canada.

His words, as always, are unreliable. He previously accused China of targeting him and his relatives in Hong Kong after spreading false narratives about Xinjiang. However, Canada's Wednesday statement revealed that "there was no indication Chong or his family faced any security threat."

His accusations of alleged Chinese interference in Canada's internal affairs are groundless. China has never interfered in the internal affairs of any other country and is opposed to any interference by any country in the internal affairs of others. However, some Canadian media and politicians are once again pointing their fingers at China. Their aim is to attract attention and tarnish China's image. In fact, it is Canada that is interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and spreading disinformation.

Following behind the US to smear and attack China, acting as a vanguard against China, besides making the US happy, what else can Canada gain? Canada should return to a more independent foreign policy instead of following the US. It should abandon its ideological bias and Cold War mentality, stop spreading lies and disinformation against China, and cease misleading the public and damaging the relationship with China. Otherwise, it will surely face the consequences of its actions.


One of the things you can do this weekend will transport you to a galaxy far, far away. Which is ironic, because this might be the best time of the year to be in Billings.

Julia-Louis Dreyfest IX

Billings' best DIY festival is back this weekend, and there's so much going on you'd have a hard time trying to do it all. On Friday night there's music at Craft Local starting at 6 p.m., and poetry at Electric Storm Gallery at 7 p.m. Saturday music starts at 2:30 at the North Park Rec Center, and 5 p.m. at Craft Local. Sunday ends the shindig with a potluck at 10 a.m. at North Park, music at 11 a.m. at North Park Rec Center and at 2 p.m. at NOVA, and then the big finale that night with music at Craft Local starting at 5 p.m. and comedy at NOVA at 8 p.m.

That's a big schedule, and go to as much as you can, but here are some recommendations: Goochslam, a "experimental surf rock" band out of Bozeman are at Craft Local on Friday at 9 p.m. Friends of Caesar Romero, an expertly named power pop group are coming from the Dakotas to play at Craft Local on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Sunday's got a prime slot for the Missoula based, female-fronted punk rockers But I'm a Cheerleader, and closes out with Billings' own Bull Market, one of the best (and loudest) bands around.

Weekend tickets are $25, and you can grab one in advance (and get an exact schedule) at waste-division.org/jdk-2023.

Harlo Music Project

If you're looking for more of a country vibe this weekend, you're in luck, because Saturday is the return of Harlo Music Project, which brings national touring musicians to main street in little Harlowton. Doors are at 2:30 p.m., and the show kicks off with Way Down North at 3:10 p.m., and ends with Mike and the Moonpies at 8:30 p.m. In between, on two different stages, there'll be sets from Michelle Rivers, Marcedes Carroll, Vandoliers and Sterling Drake. It's one of the best parties in all of Eastern Montana, with food and drink vendors, adjacent camping at Chief Joseph Park in Harlowton. Tickets are $40 at Gally's Brewing Company in Harlo (which you should just stop at anyways), or at harlomusicproject.com/tickets.

MontanaFair Concerts

MontanaFair kicks off on Friday, and as usual there are some shows at the Metra. Chevelle, who had the best song on Madden 05, are playing at 7 p.m. on Friday. And Ludacris, of all people, is closing out the concerts at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

But if you can only make one, head to Carly Pearce at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Partially for Pearce, whose regret and whiskey soaked ballads have turned her into a star on the pop country circuit. And the draw for Billings folks is that Juliette Angelo is set to open. Angelo recently packed 150 people into the Rhoadside Events Center in Huntley for her Pasty Cline tribute show, and is ready to perform for a whole lot more.

Tickets for all shows are available at metrapark.com/events.

Flyboys and Fly Fishermen at the Babcock

The Babcock showed the original 1977 "Star Wars" last weekend, so they're following up with 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back." The massive success of the original allowed George Lucas to more than double his budget and, to his great relief, hand the director's chair over to Irvin Kershner, and screenplay duties to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. It's almost gauche to talk about how influential "The Empire Strikes Back" is, but it redefined what franchise filmmaking could be, both doubling down and expanding upon its predecessor, and adding a perfect little green guy named Yoda, who is real, and is also your friend. Catch it at 7 p.m. Friday night and at 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Also up this week is "Mending the Line," a new film that's showing at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Starring Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls, the movie is about fly fishing, so of course it was filmed in Paradise Valley. Watch it and point to the screen every time you recognize the terrain.

Then on Wednesday at 7 p.m., hop back in time for the 2002 cult classic buddy comedy "Super Troopers."

'Will James: The Consummate Storyteller' at the YAM

In honor of the Yellowstone Art Museum's current exhibition "Will James in Magazines," on Thursday, Aug. 17, Gavin Woltjer will present a new lecture about James. Woltjer, who is the director of the Billings Public Library, is using resources to retell the story of James, the patron saint of art in the Magic City. Reception at 5 p.m., presentation at 6 p.m., and the YAM is always free on Thursdays from 5-8 p.m.

Honorable mentions

Kirks' Grocery's pay-what-you-can Kitchen Party is back from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11. Food by Ash Woodward of Rose Hollow Catering, and beats from DJ Dixon Moonstomper.

NOVA's "Wet Ink Festival" is this weekend. Friday night is a Projectile Comedy improv show at 7:30 p.m., for $15 at the door. During the show, six playwrights will be preparing six different one act plays, which will then be performed Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Saturday is $10, or free if you attended Friday night.

Family Tradition play at the Heights VFW on Friday from 7-11 p.m. and Sunday from 2-6 p.m.

The 406 Events Lawn (323 N. 14th St.) is hosting "Reggae Under the Rims" this weekend. Funky fun kicks off on Saturday at 2 p.m. with Prezident Brown and special guests Reggae Angels. Music is back on Sunday at 3 p.m. with B-Side Players. Saturday is $31.50, Sunday is $26.25, and there's a weekend pass for $48. Tickets are at 406eventslawn.com/reggaeundertherims.

Dance the night away on Saturday, Aug. 12 at Westpark Village (2351 Solomon Ave.) at the Soda Pop Dance, with music from Cimmaron Band. Dance runs from 6-9 p.m., and it's $5.

Texas Hippie Coalition are playing the Pub Station on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. $20 tickets at thepubstation.com.

Red Shahan is at the Pub Station on Thursday, Aug. 17 at 8 p.m. $15 tickets are at thepubstation.com.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for greater coordination among the international community to address the challenges faced by debt-saddled low and mid-income countries.

Addressing a seminar on the global economy organised as part of the finance track of India's G-20 presidency, Sitharaman said such a move can help shield vulnerable populations from economic hardships.

So far we have ensured that geo-political differences do not supercede the core #G20 mandate of international co-operation.



A common thread in our G20 agenda is 'How to prepare for a better tomorrow for all'.



: FM @nsitharaman #G20India pic.twitter.com/77v8THpbAF

MUMBAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for greater coordination among the international community to address the challenges faced by debt-saddled low and mid-income countries. Addressing a seminar on the global economy organised as part of the finance track of India's G-20 presidency, Sitharaman said such a move can help shield vulnerable populations from economic hardships. So far we have ensured that geo-political differences do not supercede the core #G20 mandate of international co-operation. A common thread in our G20 agenda is 'How to prepare for a better tomorrow for all'. : FM @nsitharaman #G20India pic.twitter.com/77v8THpbAFgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });  PIB in Maharashtra
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amid reports suggesting that China objected to the phrase 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' at a G20 meeting as it was in Sanskrit (which is not an official language of the UN), India on Friday said it was the inspiration for the theme of the G20 under Indias Presidency.

"As you are aware, the theme of the G20 Presidency in English is One Earth One Family One Future. This is based on our civilisational ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which has received widespread support and permeates many of the initiatives that India has brought to the G20 Agenda and this also finds a mention in the G20 logo which has the verse in Sanskrit and English," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday.

In the outcome document after the G20 Energy Transistions Working Group meeting in Goa on 20th July, China apparently was reluctant to accept the phrase, arguing that Sanskrit was not recognised by the United Nations which has Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish as its official languages.

However, sources point out that China was the only exception as the other members saw nothing wrong with it.

ALSO READ | Advisories asking people to stay indoors likely as countdown to G20 Summit begins in Delhi

Several members said that India as the chair of the G20 had the right to take a call on such matters.

However, even though the objections were raised orally, the Sanskrit phrase has been retained in the logo and letterhead of each document but the final document only had the English version.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is the theme of India's G20 presidency. It is inspired from the Maha Upanishad, an old Sanskrit scripture. The theme fundamentally highlights the importance of all lifehuman, animal, plant, and microorganismas well as their interdependence on Earth and across the universe. The theme also exemplifies LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), which highlights the importance of environmentally sustainable and responsible lifestyle choices, both at the individual and national level, in creating a cleaner, greener, and bluer future.

The G20 Presidency also heralds for India the start of "Amritkaal," a 25-year period commencing from the 75th anniversary of its independence on August 15, 2022, leading up to the centenary of its independence.

Meanwhile, India is now gearing up for the G20 Summit to be held in Delhi on September 9th and 10th.

NEW DELHI: Amid reports suggesting that China objected to the phrase 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' at a G20 meeting as it was in Sanskrit (which is not an official language of the UN), India on Friday said it was the inspiration for the theme of the G20 under Indias Presidency. "As you are aware, the theme of the G20 Presidency in English is One Earth One Family One Future. This is based on our civilisational ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which has received widespread support and permeates many of the initiatives that India has brought to the G20 Agenda and this also finds a mention in the G20 logo which has the verse in Sanskrit and English," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday. In the outcome document after the G20 Energy Transistions Working Group meeting in Goa on 20th July, China apparently was reluctant to accept the phrase, arguing that Sanskrit was not recognised by the United Nations which has Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish as its official languages.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); However, sources point out that China was the only exception as the other members saw nothing wrong with it. ALSO READ | Advisories asking people to stay indoors likely as countdown to G20 Summit begins in Delhi Several members said that India as the chair of the G20 had the right to take a call on such matters. However, even though the objections were raised orally, the Sanskrit phrase has been retained in the logo and letterhead of each document but the final document only had the English version. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is the theme of India's G20 presidency. It is inspired from the Maha Upanishad, an old Sanskrit scripture. The theme fundamentally highlights the importance of all lifehuman, animal, plant, and microorganismas well as their interdependence on Earth and across the universe. The theme also exemplifies LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), which highlights the importance of environmentally sustainable and responsible lifestyle choices, both at the individual and national level, in creating a cleaner, greener, and bluer future. The G20 Presidency also heralds for India the start of "Amritkaal," a 25-year period commencing from the 75th anniversary of its independence on August 15, 2022, leading up to the centenary of its independence. Meanwhile, India is now gearing up for the G20 Summit to be held in Delhi on September 9th and 10th.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday tabled a controversial bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India (CJI) with a Union cabinet minister in the three-member panel that picks the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners.

Currently, the panel comprises the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister will join the panel in place of the CJI, giving the government more power over the appointment of top election officials.

The bill comes months after the Supreme Court in March ruled that the selection panel should comprise the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the Chief Justice of India, till a law is framed by Parliament for the appointment of top Election Commission officials.

Current Chief Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey is to demit office in February 2024, months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The Bill was moved in the Upper House by Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal amid an Opposition uproar.

Criticising the bill, Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said since the proposed panel will have two BJP members and one from the Congress, whichever EC is selected will be loyal to the ruling party.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal called it a blatant attempt at making the Election Commission a total puppet in the hands of the prime minister. Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that even if the bill is passed by Parliament, it would be unconstitutional. It is likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court, he said.

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday tabled a controversial bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India (CJI) with a Union cabinet minister in the three-member panel that picks the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners. Currently, the panel comprises the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister will join the panel in place of the CJI, giving the government more power over the appointment of top election officials. The bill comes months after the Supreme Court in March ruled that the selection panel should comprise the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the Chief Justice of India, till a law is framed by Parliament for the appointment of top Election Commission officials. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Current Chief Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey is to demit office in February 2024, months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The Bill was moved in the Upper House by Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal amid an Opposition uproar. Criticising the bill, Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said since the proposed panel will have two BJP members and one from the Congress, whichever EC is selected will be loyal to the ruling party. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal called it a blatant attempt at making the Election Commission a total puppet in the hands of the prime minister. Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that even if the bill is passed by Parliament, it would be unconstitutional. It is likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court, he said.
By IANS

MORADABAD: A BJP leader from Sambhal, Anuj Chaudhary, 34, was shot dead outside his residence in Pakwada area of Moradabad.

He was taking a walk outside his apartment with his brother Puneet when three bike-borne assailants came and opened fire on him on Thursday evening. His brother rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed to bullet injuries.

Anuj, a resident of Aliya Nekpur village in Sambhal, has an apartment in a society in Moradabad.

He had unsuccessfully contested block chief elections from Asmoli block in Sambhal district and lost by 17 votes.

He was an active party member and was seen at all party meetings in Sambhal.

"Recently, he had moved a no-confidence motion against the existing block chief which led to this incident," his brother told police.

VIDEO | A BJP leader, identified as Anuj Chaudhary, was shot dead outside his residence in UP's Moradabad on Thursday night.



"The firing incident took place in Majhola police station area of Moradabad district last evening, in which a person named Anuj Chaudhary was shot by some pic.twitter.com/OMvsPbPiOg  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 11, 2023

Moradabad SSP Hemraj Meena and SP City Akhilesh Bhadauria rushed to the spot and started an investigation.

The body has been sent for an autopsy.

SSP Meena said, "The family lodged a complaint against Amit Chaudhary and Aniket and an unidentified person. We have formed multiple teams to arrest the accused."

Disclaimer: Disturbing visuals. Viewer discretion is advised.

MORADABAD: A BJP leader from Sambhal, Anuj Chaudhary, 34, was shot dead outside his residence in Pakwada area of Moradabad. He was taking a walk outside his apartment with his brother Puneet when three bike-borne assailants came and opened fire on him on Thursday evening. His brother rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed to bullet injuries. Anuj, a resident of Aliya Nekpur village in Sambhal, has an apartment in a society in Moradabad.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He had unsuccessfully contested block chief elections from Asmoli block in Sambhal district and lost by 17 votes. He was an active party member and was seen at all party meetings in Sambhal. "Recently, he had moved a no-confidence motion against the existing block chief which led to this incident," his brother told police. VIDEO | A BJP leader, identified as Anuj Chaudhary, was shot dead outside his residence in UP's Moradabad on Thursday night. "The firing incident took place in Majhola police station area of Moradabad district last evening, in which a person named Anuj Chaudhary was shot by some pic.twitter.com/OMvsPbPiOg  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 11, 2023 Moradabad SSP Hemraj Meena and SP City Akhilesh Bhadauria rushed to the spot and started an investigation. The body has been sent for an autopsy. SSP Meena said, "The family lodged a complaint against Amit Chaudhary and Aniket and an unidentified person. We have formed multiple teams to arrest the accused." Disclaimer: Disturbing visuals. Viewer discretion is advised. UP :   BJP       Live Video.      .    ,      . https://t.co/OJAGbGzdbs pic.twitter.com/HwKoxO80Ac  Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) August 10, 2023
By PTI

GUWAHATI: The Manipur unit of the Congress on Friday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for only three minutes on the strife-torn northeastern state out of the over two-hour-long speech he delivered during the no-confidence motion in Parliament.

Posing three questions before the prime minister on X, formerly known as Twitter, senior spokesperson of the state party unit Ningombam Bupenda Meitei also asked why the PM was silent on the territorial integrity of Manipur during the speech on Thursday.

His third question was when he would visit Manipur.

In his post on X, Meitei said, "Dear Prime Minister @narendramodi,

1. Why did you speak for hardly 3 minutes out of 2 hrs & 12 minutes of your yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha on Manipur?

2. Why did you choose to be silent on the territorial integrity of Manipur in Lok Sabha?

3. When are you coming to Manipur?"

Dear Prime Minister @narendramodi,



1. Why did you speak for hardly 3 minutes out of 2 hrs & 12 minutes of your yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha on Manipur?



2. Why did you choose to be silent on territorial integrity of Manipur in Lok Sabha?



3. When are you coming to Manipur?  Ningombam Bupenda Meitei (@BupendaMeitei) August 11, 2023

Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday said the prime minister spoke for two hours during which he criticised the grand old party for most of the time instead of speaking on Manipur and sharing the pain of the people there.

Opposition bloc INDIA said it has moved the no-trust motion to end the prime minister's 'silence' on the Manipur ethnic strife.

ALSO READ | Congress asks why Manipur BJP MP, whose home was burnt down, hasn't been allowed to speak in LS

Opposition MPs staged a walkout from Lok Sabha when Modi was replying, alleging that there was no reference to Manipur in the first 90 minutes of his speech.

Meanwhile in Guwahati, the Assam unit of the Trinamool Congress alleged that the prime minister and the BJP want only votes from the northeast but never bother to visit the region during times of crisis.

"He (Modi) said that he has come to NE 96 times in nine years, but what use it is, if he doesn't come in times of crisis? He didn't come during the Assam floods. Manipur is burning for months, he hasn't come nor has he deputed any minister," TMC Assam unit president Ripun Bora said.

Bora asserted that Modi has 'diluted' the gravity of the situation in Manipur by comparing it with other states during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

"BJP thought that they have money and can purchase votes. They are not at all serious about finding a permanent solution. They have dishonoured the sentiment of the people of Manipur. We condemn the apathy and irresponsible response of the prime minister," the former Rajya Sabha member said.

Ethnic violence 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 strife has been continuing for the last three months, killing more than 160 people and leaving thousands homeless.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley.

Tribals 'Nagas and Kukis' constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

GUWAHATI: The Manipur unit of the Congress on Friday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for only three minutes on the strife-torn northeastern state out of the over two-hour-long speech he delivered during the no-confidence motion in Parliament. Posing three questions before the prime minister on X, formerly known as Twitter, senior spokesperson of the state party unit Ningombam Bupenda Meitei also asked why the PM was silent on the territorial integrity of Manipur during the speech on Thursday. His third question was when he would visit Manipur.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In his post on X, Meitei said, "Dear Prime Minister @narendramodi, 1. Why did you speak for hardly 3 minutes out of 2 hrs & 12 minutes of your yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha on Manipur? 2. Why did you choose to be silent on the territorial integrity of Manipur in Lok Sabha? 3. When are you coming to Manipur?" Dear Prime Minister @narendramodi, 1. Why did you speak for hardly 3 minutes out of 2 hrs & 12 minutes of your yesterday's speech in Lok Sabha on Manipur? 2. Why did you choose to be silent on territorial integrity of Manipur in Lok Sabha? 3. When are you coming to Manipur?  Ningombam Bupenda Meitei (@BupendaMeitei) August 11, 2023 Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday said the prime minister spoke for two hours during which he criticised the grand old party for most of the time instead of speaking on Manipur and sharing the pain of the people there. Opposition bloc INDIA said it has moved the no-trust motion to end the prime minister's 'silence' on the Manipur ethnic strife. ALSO READ | Congress asks why Manipur BJP MP, whose home was burnt down, hasn't been allowed to speak in LS Opposition MPs staged a walkout from Lok Sabha when Modi was replying, alleging that there was no reference to Manipur in the first 90 minutes of his speech. Meanwhile in Guwahati, the Assam unit of the Trinamool Congress alleged that the prime minister and the BJP want only votes from the northeast but never bother to visit the region during times of crisis. "He (Modi) said that he has come to NE 96 times in nine years, but what use it is, if he doesn't come in times of crisis? He didn't come during the Assam floods. Manipur is burning for months, he hasn't come nor has he deputed any minister," TMC Assam unit president Ripun Bora said. Bora asserted that Modi has 'diluted' the gravity of the situation in Manipur by comparing it with other states during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. "BJP thought that they have money and can purchase votes. They are not at all serious about finding a permanent solution. They have dishonoured the sentiment of the people of Manipur. We condemn the apathy and irresponsible response of the prime minister," the former Rajya Sabha member said. Ethnic violence 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 strife has been continuing for the last three months, killing more than 160 people and leaving thousands homeless. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals 'Nagas and Kukis' constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.
Preetha Nair By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With barely eight months to go for the general elections, the Modi government on Thursday defeated by voice vote a no-trust motion after three days of debate in the Lok Sabha amid an Opposition walkout.

Replying to the motion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the people of Manipur that the Centre and the state governments were working together to restore peace in the violence-hit state and asserted that those responsible for heinous crimes against women will not be spared. The Northeast is a piece of our heart... The problems of Manipur are being presented in such a manner as if they had begun in the recent past, Modi said.

I would like to assure all the citizens that peace will prevail in Manipur soon. I would like to assure the people of Manipur, especially women, that the country is with you. Parliament is with you, said Modi just after the Opposition staged a walkout midway through the speech as Manipur didnt figure in it till then. The mention of Manipur came after an hour and 40 minutes of the address.

In the speech that lasted around two hours and 20 minutes, the PM kept his focus on attacking Congress, the failures of UPA governments and the Opposition bloc INDIA. In a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress, Modi held the grand old party and its politics responsible for the problems of the Northeast. He recalled incidents like the use of the Air Force to attack the people in Mizoram, to point at the Congress's neglect of the region.

As for the no-trust motion, he recalled having said in 2018 that it was not a floor test for us but for them. Modi added that in 2028, when the Opposition moves another no-confidence motion, India would have become the third-largest economy in the world.

In a stinging attack against the INDIA bloc, he said changing their name will not change their fortunes. This is a ghamandia (arrogant) alliance. The first I in INDIA stands for the arrogance of parties and the other I for one familys arrogance, he charged. The Opposition, he said, is all about loot ki dukan (loot shop) and nafrat ka bazaar (hate bazaar), in what was seen as a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhis frequent pitch on mohabbat ki dukan (love shop).

NEW DELHI: With barely eight months to go for the general elections, the Modi government on Thursday defeated by voice vote a no-trust motion after three days of debate in the Lok Sabha amid an Opposition walkout. Replying to the motion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the people of Manipur that the Centre and the state governments were working together to restore peace in the violence-hit state and asserted that those responsible for heinous crimes against women will not be spared. The Northeast is a piece of our heart... The problems of Manipur are being presented in such a manner as if they had begun in the recent past, Modi said. I would like to assure all the citizens that peace will prevail in Manipur soon. I would like to assure the people of Manipur, especially women, that the country is with you. Parliament is with you, said Modi just after the Opposition staged a walkout midway through the speech as Manipur didnt figure in it till then. The mention of Manipur came after an hour and 40 minutes of the address.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In the speech that lasted around two hours and 20 minutes, the PM kept his focus on attacking Congress, the failures of UPA governments and the Opposition bloc INDIA. In a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress, Modi held the grand old party and its politics responsible for the problems of the Northeast. He recalled incidents like the use of the Air Force to attack the people in Mizoram, to point at the Congress's neglect of the region. As for the no-trust motion, he recalled having said in 2018 that it was not a floor test for us but for them. Modi added that in 2028, when the Opposition moves another no-confidence motion, India would have become the third-largest economy in the world. In a stinging attack against the INDIA bloc, he said changing their name will not change their fortunes. This is a ghamandia (arrogant) alliance. The first I in INDIA stands for the arrogance of parties and the other I for one familys arrogance, he charged. The Opposition, he said, is all about loot ki dukan (loot shop) and nafrat ka bazaar (hate bazaar), in what was seen as a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhis frequent pitch on mohabbat ki dukan (love shop).
Amit Mukherjee By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Colonial-era criminal laws, including that on sedition, headed straight for the shredder on Friday as the Centre announced their complete overhaul through three bills tabled in the Lok Sabha. They will be referred to a parliamentary committee for vetting.

Introducing the bills that replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Section 124A (sedition) will be completely repealed but Section 150 punishes acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India will stay.

Shah claimed the objective of existing bills was to punish people rather than provide justice. Their replacements  The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023  will completely transform Indias criminal justice system, he claimed.

Some of their salient features are maximum punishment for crimes like mob lynching and rape of minors. Besides, marrying a woman by concealing her identity or having a sexual relationship under false promises of marriage, promotion or employment will attract up to 10-year imprisonment.

In cases of sexual violence, the statement of the victim and video recording will be compulsory and police will have to provide a status update on a case within 90 days. Every district will have a police official who will give a certificate to the family of those arrested that they are responsible for the person. Information will have to be provided both online, and personally, as the proposed law mandates.

For the first time, community service as punishment for petty offences is sought to be introduced.

Some new offences have also been included, such as armed rebellion, subversive and separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity of India, Shah told the House. The aim is to raise the conviction rate to 90 per cent, he added.

The new bill allows trials of absconders and fugitives in absentia. Also, a forensic teams visit to a crime scene has been made mandatory if the crime would attract at least seven years of imprisonment.

New formulations

Whole procedure right from filing an FIR to case diary, chargesheet and judgment to be digitised

A visit by a forensic team to the crime scene will be mandatory if the crime entails punishment of seven years or more

Three mobile forensic science labs are to be present in every district

All courts to be computerised by 2027

For the first time, filing e-FIRs will be possible. Zero FIR can be registered in any police station. Complaint will be sent to the police station concerned in 15 days

In case of sexual violence, victim's statement and video recording are compulsory. Police will have to provide status update on a case within 90 days

No government can withdraw a case entailing punishment of 7-yr jail or more without hearing the victim

Community service is to be introduced as punishment. For cases entailing less than three years of jail, summary trial will be enough

Chargesheet deadline is 90 days. Further 90-day extension with court permission. Probe must be wrapped up in 180 days. After trial, judgment in 30 days

For filing complaints against civil servants, authorities will have to give or deny permission within 120 days. If no response, it will be deemed to be a yes

Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions or by hiding identity will be a crime

For gang rape, punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life in jail. Provision for death sentence for raping minors. For mob lynching, punishment from seven years in jail to death sentence

Death sentence can only be converted to life; and lifer can be pardoned only within seven years of punishment

Terrorism defined for the first time. Trial to be allowed even if the criminal is absconding - like fugitive Dawood Ibrahim

NEW DELHI: Colonial-era criminal laws, including that on sedition, headed straight for the shredder on Friday as the Centre announced their complete overhaul through three bills tabled in the Lok Sabha. They will be referred to a parliamentary committee for vetting. Introducing the bills that replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Section 124A (sedition) will be completely repealed but Section 150 punishes acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India will stay. Shah claimed the objective of existing bills was to punish people rather than provide justice. Their replacements  The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023  will completely transform Indias criminal justice system, he claimed. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Some of their salient features are maximum punishment for crimes like mob lynching and rape of minors. Besides, marrying a woman by concealing her identity or having a sexual relationship under false promises of marriage, promotion or employment will attract up to 10-year imprisonment. In cases of sexual violence, the statement of the victim and video recording will be compulsory and police will have to provide a status update on a case within 90 days. Every district will have a police official who will give a certificate to the family of those arrested that they are responsible for the person. Information will have to be provided both online, and personally, as the proposed law mandates. For the first time, community service as punishment for petty offences is sought to be introduced. Some new offences have also been included, such as armed rebellion, subversive and separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity of India, Shah told the House. The aim is to raise the conviction rate to 90 per cent, he added. The new bill allows trials of absconders and fugitives in absentia. Also, a forensic teams visit to a crime scene has been made mandatory if the crime would attract at least seven years of imprisonment. New formulations Whole procedure right from filing an FIR to case diary, chargesheet and judgment to be digitised A visit by a forensic team to the crime scene will be mandatory if the crime entails punishment of seven years or more Three mobile forensic science labs are to be present in every district All courts to be computerised by 2027 For the first time, filing e-FIRs will be possible. Zero FIR can be registered in any police station. Complaint will be sent to the police station concerned in 15 days In case of sexual violence, victim's statement and video recording are compulsory. Police will have to provide status update on a case within 90 days No government can withdraw a case entailing punishment of 7-yr jail or more without hearing the victim Community service is to be introduced as punishment. For cases entailing less than three years of jail, summary trial will be enough Chargesheet deadline is 90 days. Further 90-day extension with court permission. Probe must be wrapped up in 180 days. After trial, judgment in 30 days For filing complaints against civil servants, authorities will have to give or deny permission within 120 days. If no response, it will be deemed to be a yes Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions or by hiding identity will be a crime For gang rape, punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life in jail. Provision for death sentence for raping minors. For mob lynching, punishment from seven years in jail to death sentence Death sentence can only be converted to life; and lifer can be pardoned only within seven years of punishment Terrorism defined for the first time. Trial to be allowed even if the criminal is absconding - like fugitive Dawood Ibrahim
By PTI

AHMEDABAD: At least 10 persons, including three children, were killed, while four others were injured when a mini-truck, in which they were travelling, rammed into a stationary truck in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat on Friday, police said.

The incident took place near Bagodara village on Rajkot-Ahmedabad Highway when a group of people was returning to Ahmedabad from Chotila in neighbouring Surendranagar district, they said.

"Five women, three children and two men were killed in the accident that took place in the morning," Ahmedabad District Superintendent of Police Amit Vasava said.

Further details are awaited.

AHMEDABAD: At least 10 persons, including three children, were killed, while four others were injured when a mini-truck, in which they were travelling, rammed into a stationary truck in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat on Friday, police said. The incident took place near Bagodara village on Rajkot-Ahmedabad Highway when a group of people was returning to Ahmedabad from Chotila in neighbouring Surendranagar district, they said. "Five women, three children and two men were killed in the accident that took place in the morning," Ahmedabad District Superintendent of Police Amit Vasava said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Further details are awaited.
Harpreet Bajwa and Ujwal Jalali By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Two suspects, wanted for their alleged involvement in Nuh communal clashes in which six people died and 88 were injured, were today arrested after a brief encounter with the Haryana Police. They were allegedly returning to Haryana from Rajasthan where they were hiding for some days, police said.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said violence in areas like Badshahpur, Sohna, and Pataudi was not pre-planned but random flare-ups. To date the interrogation and investigation have revealed it was all random. We have a case when men were having drinks and then decided to participate in a communal flare-up, she said.

She said the situation was normal in Gurugram city though miscreants have tried to ignite communal hatred. The police have registered 37 cases in the communal flare-up and of the 93 detained, 80 have been released on bail.

About action against AAP leader Javed Ahmed, the prime accused in the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist during Nuh violence, she said investigations were on. We cannot divulge the details of investigations. Further details will be revealed in due course, she said. To ensure a thorough investigation into the communal clashes, a special investigation team has been formed to probe the Sector-57 mosque arson case in which an Imam, Muhammad Saad was killed.

The Haryana Police is on the lookout for suspects who allegedly came from Rajasthan and rioted, targeting the cow vigilantes to avenge the killing of two Muslim youths, Nasir and Junaid, belonging to Rajasthan earlier this year. Haryana Police said at least a dozen social media groups have been traced to Pakistan.

Sources said the two suspects, Munfeed Khan and Saikul Khan of Gawarka village in Tauru, tried to evade a police team and were intercepted near a hillock of Sakho village in Tauru area of Nuh district. The suspects opened fire at the police team. One of them was injured in the leg when the police fired back. One country-made gun, a pistol and a motorbike were seized from them.

Munfeed, who has a bullet injury in his leg, has been admitted to Nalhar Medical College for treatment, Mukesh Kumar, DSP of Tauru, told the media. Police spokesperson Krishna Kumar said the encounter lasted about an hour. Sources said the police cyber cell has traced a dozen social media groups to Pakistan. These groups were being run on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Telegram with thousands of followers from across the Mewat region of Haryana and Rajasthan and were allegedly spreading hatred. Most of the suspects held were active members of these groups.

They declared cow vigilantes as kafirs and urged the local Meo community to punish them. Though the chats have been deleted by the majority we are trying to retrieve the data. The Rajasthan Police are also looking into similar accounts with numerous followers in Alwar and Bharatpur districts, said a police official. It is learnt that a YouTube account in the name of Ahsan Mewati Pakistani with 273 videos and 80,000 followers was spreading unrest. It has now been taken down.

Sources said of the arrested, four are from Ghatmika village of Nasir and Junaid who were allegedly killed by cow vigilantes. The police are in search of at least 50 others who hailed from Alwar and Bharatpur. The suspects have reportedly confessed to having carried out arson in order to avenge the killing of two Muslims allegedly by cow vigilantes, including Monu Manesar. They had made separate WhatsApp groups to carry out arson, asking members to avenge the killings.

CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Two suspects, wanted for their alleged involvement in Nuh communal clashes in which six people died and 88 were injured, were today arrested after a brief encounter with the Haryana Police. They were allegedly returning to Haryana from Rajasthan where they were hiding for some days, police said. Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said violence in areas like Badshahpur, Sohna, and Pataudi was not pre-planned but random flare-ups. To date the interrogation and investigation have revealed it was all random. We have a case when men were having drinks and then decided to participate in a communal flare-up, she said. She said the situation was normal in Gurugram city though miscreants have tried to ignite communal hatred. The police have registered 37 cases in the communal flare-up and of the 93 detained, 80 have been released on bail.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); About action against AAP leader Javed Ahmed, the prime accused in the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist during Nuh violence, she said investigations were on. We cannot divulge the details of investigations. Further details will be revealed in due course, she said. To ensure a thorough investigation into the communal clashes, a special investigation team has been formed to probe the Sector-57 mosque arson case in which an Imam, Muhammad Saad was killed. The Haryana Police is on the lookout for suspects who allegedly came from Rajasthan and rioted, targeting the cow vigilantes to avenge the killing of two Muslim youths, Nasir and Junaid, belonging to Rajasthan earlier this year. Haryana Police said at least a dozen social media groups have been traced to Pakistan. Sources said the two suspects, Munfeed Khan and Saikul Khan of Gawarka village in Tauru, tried to evade a police team and were intercepted near a hillock of Sakho village in Tauru area of Nuh district. The suspects opened fire at the police team. One of them was injured in the leg when the police fired back. One country-made gun, a pistol and a motorbike were seized from them. Munfeed, who has a bullet injury in his leg, has been admitted to Nalhar Medical College for treatment, Mukesh Kumar, DSP of Tauru, told the media. Police spokesperson Krishna Kumar said the encounter lasted about an hour. Sources said the police cyber cell has traced a dozen social media groups to Pakistan. These groups were being run on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Telegram with thousands of followers from across the Mewat region of Haryana and Rajasthan and were allegedly spreading hatred. Most of the suspects held were active members of these groups. They declared cow vigilantes as kafirs and urged the local Meo community to punish them. Though the chats have been deleted by the majority we are trying to retrieve the data. The Rajasthan Police are also looking into similar accounts with numerous followers in Alwar and Bharatpur districts, said a police official. It is learnt that a YouTube account in the name of Ahsan Mewati Pakistani with 273 videos and 80,000 followers was spreading unrest. It has now been taken down. Sources said of the arrested, four are from Ghatmika village of Nasir and Junaid who were allegedly killed by cow vigilantes. The police are in search of at least 50 others who hailed from Alwar and Bharatpur. The suspects have reportedly confessed to having carried out arson in order to avenge the killing of two Muslims allegedly by cow vigilantes, including Monu Manesar. They had made separate WhatsApp groups to carry out arson, asking members to avenge the killings.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India has issued an advisory for its nationals in Niger asking them to leave the country at the earliest. There are approximately 250 Indians in Niger.

"The government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. They may bear in mind that airspace is currently closed. When departing through a land border utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday.

Further, those nationals who are planning to travel to Niger in the coming days have also been similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalises.

"All those Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian Embassy in Niamey are strongly advised to do so expeditiously," added Bagchi.

ALSO READ | Tensions rise as West African nations prepare to send troops to restore democracy in Niger

The Indian Embassy is assisting Indians who are seeking help to leave Niger.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has called for the immediate release of the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted in a military coup on 26th July.

"We urge for the immediated released of President Bazoum. Such treatment of a democratically elected leader is unacceptable," said the AU Commissions President Moussa Faki Mahamat in a statement issued on Friday.

Moussa Faki also urged the international community to help save President Bazoum and pool in their efforts to do so.

The AU said on Friday that it was concerned about "the deterioration of President Mohamed Bazoum's detention conditions."

Moussa Faki also said that the AU supported the response of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the situation in Niger. ECOWAS says its forces were on standby  in case a need arose to intervene.

NEW DELHI: India has issued an advisory for its nationals in Niger asking them to leave the country at the earliest. There are approximately 250 Indians in Niger. "The government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. They may bear in mind that airspace is currently closed. When departing through a land border utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday. Further, those nationals who are planning to travel to Niger in the coming days have also been similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalises.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "All those Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian Embassy in Niamey are strongly advised to do so expeditiously," added Bagchi. ALSO READ | Tensions rise as West African nations prepare to send troops to restore democracy in Niger The Indian Embassy is assisting Indians who are seeking help to leave Niger. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has called for the immediate release of the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted in a military coup on 26th July. "We urge for the immediated released of President Bazoum. Such treatment of a democratically elected leader is unacceptable," said the AU Commissions President Moussa Faki Mahamat in a statement issued on Friday. Moussa Faki also urged the international community to help save President Bazoum and pool in their efforts to do so. The AU said on Friday that it was concerned about "the deterioration of President Mohamed Bazoum's detention conditions." Moussa Faki also said that the AU supported the response of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the situation in Niger. ECOWAS says its forces were on standby  in case a need arose to intervene.
A District Court judge in Billings has ruled against a woman who filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs after she was raped by an officer while he was on duty.

The woman, identified in court records as L.B., sued in 2018 after Bullcoming pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges and sent to prison. She was impregnated by the rape and had a child.

L.B. argued in her suit that the BIA is liable because Bullcoming was in uniform and on duty, and was responding to a dispatch call to the victims home, when the rape occurred.

The government argued that because the rape occurred outside the course and scope of his employment, the BIA was not at fault.

Earlier this week, District Judge Susan Watters sided with the government in granted its summary judgement.

It is beyond dispute that the assault arose out of Bullcomings employment with the BIA, Watters ruled. He showed up to L.B.s house in response to a dispatch call and it was through his authority under the BIA that he coerced L.B. into sex.

But, the conduct was a gross deviation from that which was authorized by the BIA, Watters ruled citing a previous judges ruling in the case.

L.B. is represented by Billings attorneys John Heenan and Timothy Bechtold. On Friday, the attorneys filed an appeal.

On Oct. 31 of 2015, L.B. called police in Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to say her mother was driving home drunk after the two of them had been out drinking together. Bullcoming found L.Bs mother was home safe and then drove to L.Bs home.

Bullcoming threatened to have L.B. jailed and to have social services take her children away.

Something needs to be done about this, Bullcoming told L.B.

And she responded, Like what do you mean? Like sex? And he responded, yes.

In testimony related to the lawsuit, Bullcoming said that he had sex with about a dozen other women while in uniform and while on duty as a BIA officer.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In an Ambassador-level trilateral meeting, India, Japan and Sri Lanka, spoke about ways to forge ties that would lead to a free and open Indo Pacific.

"The Japanese PM, Fumio Kishida, had highlighted that South Asia as one of the major pillars in Free and Open Indo Pacific. Japan attaches primary importance to ties to India and Sri Lanka as they are indispensable partners, said Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki in Delhi on Thursday.

He was speaking on the opening session of the India-Sri Lanka-Japan Trilateral Cooperation.

Ambassador Suzuki also said that they attached a lot of importance to transparent and equitable debt restructuring where all countries take part, he also complimented Indias financial support to Sri Lanka which helped in their debt restructuring. He also said that there should be equal treatment for all creditor countries when it comes to Sri Lankas debt restructuring.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Ambassador, Milinda Moragoda said that India played a significant role in Sri Lankas recovery.

"The role of private sectors from both India and Japan have to be enhanced by way of more investments in Sri Lanka. There are four pivotal collaboration areas between India, Japan and Sri Lanka. These include low-carbon power generation, energy hub development, logistics and connectivity and people to people contacts. These proposed collabs aim to strengthen Sri Lankas connectivity and trade potential as well as promoting tourism, education, training and skills development, said Ambassador Moragoda.

Meanwhile, Puneet Agrawal, Joint Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) Ministry of External Affairs said that connectivity lay at the core of Indias approach to economic revival of Sri Lanka.

"In terms of maritime connectivity, we are focused on resumption of passenger ferry service between India and Sri Lanka. There is an emphasis on energy, power connectivity and Japan is a reliable partner for both India and Sri Lanka, Agrawal added.

NEW DELHI: In an Ambassador-level trilateral meeting, India, Japan and Sri Lanka, spoke about ways to forge ties that would lead to a free and open Indo Pacific. "The Japanese PM, Fumio Kishida, had highlighted that South Asia as one of the major pillars in Free and Open Indo Pacific. Japan attaches primary importance to ties to India and Sri Lanka as they are indispensable partners, said Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki in Delhi on Thursday. He was speaking on the opening session of the India-Sri Lanka-Japan Trilateral Cooperation.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Ambassador Suzuki also said that they attached a lot of importance to transparent and equitable debt restructuring where all countries take part, he also complimented Indias financial support to Sri Lanka which helped in their debt restructuring. He also said that there should be equal treatment for all creditor countries when it comes to Sri Lankas debt restructuring. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Ambassador, Milinda Moragoda said that India played a significant role in Sri Lankas recovery. "The role of private sectors from both India and Japan have to be enhanced by way of more investments in Sri Lanka. There are four pivotal collaboration areas between India, Japan and Sri Lanka. These include low-carbon power generation, energy hub development, logistics and connectivity and people to people contacts. These proposed collabs aim to strengthen Sri Lankas connectivity and trade potential as well as promoting tourism, education, training and skills development, said Ambassador Moragoda. Meanwhile, Puneet Agrawal, Joint Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) Ministry of External Affairs said that connectivity lay at the core of Indias approach to economic revival of Sri Lanka. "In terms of maritime connectivity, we are focused on resumption of passenger ferry service between India and Sri Lanka. There is an emphasis on energy, power connectivity and Japan is a reliable partner for both India and Sri Lanka, Agrawal added.
Shruti Kakkar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court constitution bench hearing pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 for the fifth day on Thursday observed that Jammu and Kashmirs sovereignty was ceded completely to the Union of India. There are various shades of concurrence in the Constitution, but the imposition of fetters on Parliaments legislative power did not dilute the dominion of Indias sovereignty over states, it said.

The five-judge bench led by Chief Justice CJI DY Chandrachud stressed that the inclusion of J&K in Article 1 of the Constitution meant that the transfer of sovereignty was complete. Therefore we cant read the post-Article 370 constitution as somehow a document that retains some elements of sovereignty in J&K. Our notions of parliamentary exclusion from states have been an evolving exercise, but one thing is clear, the sovereignty was ceded completely to the Union, the bench said.

The remarks were made after the bench considered Senior Advocate Shah Zafars contention that J&K could be integrated completely only after the signing of the merger agreement and revocation of Article 370 as well as the Instrument of Accession. There was no conditional surrender of sovereignty to the dominion of India. The surrender of sovereignty was absolutely complete. Only once the same was unquestionably and fully vested with the dominion of India can the restraints that would apply would be in the power of Parliament to enact legislation, it said.

The court also termed the contention of Article 370 acquiring a permanent character as dangerous, It said the issue, which required adjudication, was related to the correctness of the methodology adopted.

Also in top court

Reintegration into society right of accused

Considering the pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, the Supreme Court on Thursday opined that the reintegration of the accused into society is a constitutional right. Reintegration of accused in society is a constitutional right. Remission is mentioned in Articles 161 & 72 and it is a statutory right, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked. The remarks were made by the bench after considering National Federation of Womens counsel Nizam Pashas submission that entertaining remission requests is a part of an exercise of constitutional powers by the executive, not a right in itself.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court constitution bench hearing pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 for the fifth day on Thursday observed that Jammu and Kashmirs sovereignty was ceded completely to the Union of India. There are various shades of concurrence in the Constitution, but the imposition of fetters on Parliaments legislative power did not dilute the dominion of Indias sovereignty over states, it said. The five-judge bench led by Chief Justice CJI DY Chandrachud stressed that the inclusion of J&K in Article 1 of the Constitution meant that the transfer of sovereignty was complete. Therefore we cant read the post-Article 370 constitution as somehow a document that retains some elements of sovereignty in J&K. Our notions of parliamentary exclusion from states have been an evolving exercise, but one thing is clear, the sovereignty was ceded completely to the Union, the bench said. The remarks were made after the bench considered Senior Advocate Shah Zafars contention that J&K could be integrated completely only after the signing of the merger agreement and revocation of Article 370 as well as the Instrument of Accession. There was no conditional surrender of sovereignty to the dominion of India. The surrender of sovereignty was absolutely complete. Only once the same was unquestionably and fully vested with the dominion of India can the restraints that would apply would be in the power of Parliament to enact legislation, it said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The court also termed the contention of Article 370 acquiring a permanent character as dangerous, It said the issue, which required adjudication, was related to the correctness of the methodology adopted. Also in top court Reintegration into society right of accused Considering the pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, the Supreme Court on Thursday opined that the reintegration of the accused into society is a constitutional right. Reintegration of accused in society is a constitutional right. Remission is mentioned in Articles 161 & 72 and it is a statutory right, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked. The remarks were made by the bench after considering National Federation of Womens counsel Nizam Pashas submission that entertaining remission requests is a part of an exercise of constitutional powers by the executive, not a right in itself.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: The death of a first-year student of Jadavpur University under mysterious circumstances has led to a political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the principal opposition party, BJP on Friday as both held each other responsible for the tragedy.

The microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) became the ground for the slugfest.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar accused the state government of failing to curb ragging in colleges.

However, education minister, Bratya Basu retaliated saying the university functions under the direct control of Governor CV Ananda Bose.

JU incident proves that the West Bengal Government has failed to establish true governance in the education sector," said Majumdar in his message on the microblogging platform. He blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for failing to eradicate ragging.

"Shame on WB government.. My deepest condolences with the family of Swapnodeep Kundu, Majumdar said.

Hitting back at the saffron camp, Basu said that BJP is now finding fault with the state government whenever unfortunate occurrences take place in the state.

The BJP State President, in his haste to blame us, has forgotten that the Jadavpur University is under the direct control of the Governor! So, it is his failure and in turn the failure of his political masters to control this deplorable incident!

During the tenure of previous governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, the state Assembly passed a Bill replacing the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of all state-run universities but the move could not be implemented as an Act as the Raj Bhavan is still yet to give a nod to it.

Swapnodeep, a resident of Bagula in Nadia got admission to the university on August 3. He was found lying naked on the ground near his hostel room on Wednesday night.

He was rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

His mother said she had received a call after her son attended the first day's classes on Wednesday.

But he made another call to his mother on Thursday and expressed his fear. He requested to take him back home, said Swapnodeeps uncle Arup Kundu.

Shortly after Swapnodeeps parents lodged a complaint with the police alleging he was a victim of ragging in the hostel, the university authorities chose to take some action on Friday.

The first-year students were segregated from the senior students in a separate building. Besides, we prohibited the entry of outsiders and former students of the university to the hostels, said an official of the institution.

KOLKATA: The death of a first-year student of Jadavpur University under mysterious circumstances has led to a political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the principal opposition party, BJP on Friday as both held each other responsible for the tragedy. The microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) became the ground for the slugfest. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar accused the state government of failing to curb ragging in colleges.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); However, education minister, Bratya Basu retaliated saying the university functions under the direct control of Governor CV Ananda Bose. JU incident proves that the West Bengal Government has failed to establish true governance in the education sector," said Majumdar in his message on the microblogging platform. He blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for failing to eradicate ragging. "Shame on WB government.. My deepest condolences with the family of Swapnodeep Kundu, Majumdar said. Hitting back at the saffron camp, Basu said that BJP is now finding fault with the state government whenever unfortunate occurrences take place in the state. The BJP State President, in his haste to blame us, has forgotten that the Jadavpur University is under the direct control of the Governor! So, it is his failure and in turn the failure of his political masters to control this deplorable incident! During the tenure of previous governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, the state Assembly passed a Bill replacing the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of all state-run universities but the move could not be implemented as an Act as the Raj Bhavan is still yet to give a nod to it. Swapnodeep, a resident of Bagula in Nadia got admission to the university on August 3. He was found lying naked on the ground near his hostel room on Wednesday night. He was rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His mother said she had received a call after her son attended the first day's classes on Wednesday. But he made another call to his mother on Thursday and expressed his fear. He requested to take him back home, said Swapnodeeps uncle Arup Kundu. Shortly after Swapnodeeps parents lodged a complaint with the police alleging he was a victim of ragging in the hostel, the university authorities chose to take some action on Friday. The first-year students were segregated from the senior students in a separate building. Besides, we prohibited the entry of outsiders and former students of the university to the hostels, said an official of the institution.
Preetha Nair By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Alleging that the timing of the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Lok Sabha is deliberate, the Opposition alliance INDIA boycotted Lok Sabha proceedings on the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament on Friday.

The members, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also held a protest march to the statue of B R Ambedkar in the Parliament complex. Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha on Thursday for repeated misconduct pending an investigation by the Privileges Committee. The case was referred to the committee by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi.

The Congress on Friday said it will intensify its protest to revoke Chowdhurys suspension, as he is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and with the suspension, he would not be able to participate in PAC meetings on CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) reports.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue in Rajya Sabha on Friday as well. Chowdhury has been suspended on a flimsy ground. I am pleading with the Chairman of the House that you have to protect democracy as Chowdhury is in the Public Accounts Committee, Business Advisory Committee, and the CBC selection. He has been deprived of all these institutions and if he is suspended, it is not good, Kharge said.

Speaking to the media, Kharge said that the timing of Chowdhurys suspension was deliberate as he is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. It is well-planned so that he cannot be reinstated on the last day of the session. His suspension would mean that he would not be able to participate in PAC meetings on CAG reports, which expose the governments irregularities.

He cannot participate in the Business Advisory Committee meetings, said the Congress chief, adding that the Constitution was being shredded to pieces as the BJP government did not want to run Parliament according to it.

Kharge said that all rules and regulations were being set aside and the government was trying to threaten and intimidate every opposition MP and even suspend them. He pointed out that another senior member of the Rajya Sabha, Rajani Patil, was suspended in the same manner last time.

NEW DELHI: Alleging that the timing of the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Lok Sabha is deliberate, the Opposition alliance INDIA boycotted Lok Sabha proceedings on the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament on Friday. The members, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also held a protest march to the statue of B R Ambedkar in the Parliament complex. Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha on Thursday for repeated misconduct pending an investigation by the Privileges Committee. The case was referred to the committee by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi. The Congress on Friday said it will intensify its protest to revoke Chowdhurys suspension, as he is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and with the suspension, he would not be able to participate in PAC meetings on CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) reports. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue in Rajya Sabha on Friday as well. Chowdhury has been suspended on a flimsy ground. I am pleading with the Chairman of the House that you have to protect democracy as Chowdhury is in the Public Accounts Committee, Business Advisory Committee, and the CBC selection. He has been deprived of all these institutions and if he is suspended, it is not good, Kharge said. Speaking to the media, Kharge said that the timing of Chowdhurys suspension was deliberate as he is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. It is well-planned so that he cannot be reinstated on the last day of the session. His suspension would mean that he would not be able to participate in PAC meetings on CAG reports, which expose the governments irregularities. He cannot participate in the Business Advisory Committee meetings, said the Congress chief, adding that the Constitution was being shredded to pieces as the BJP government did not want to run Parliament according to it. Kharge said that all rules and regulations were being set aside and the government was trying to threaten and intimidate every opposition MP and even suspend them. He pointed out that another senior member of the Rajya Sabha, Rajani Patil, was suspended in the same manner last time.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Friday approved amendments to the Central and Integrated GST laws to levy a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced bills in the House on Friday, the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament, amid opposition protests over the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were passed by the Lok Sabha by a voice vote, without a debate.

States will now get the amendments passed in the state GST laws in their respective assemblies.

The amendments pertain to the insertion of a provision in the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming.

The amendment in IGST Act relates to inserting a provision to impose GST liability on online money gaming provided by offshore entities.

Such entities would be required to get GST registration in India.

The amendments will also provide for blocking access to online gaming platforms located overseas in case of failure to comply with registration and tax payment provisions.

The amendments to the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) laws were approved by the GST Council last week.

The council had approved a levy of 28 per cent GST on the full face value of entry-level bets in online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Friday approved amendments to the Central and Integrated GST laws to levy a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced bills in the House on Friday, the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament, amid opposition protests over the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were passed by the Lok Sabha by a voice vote, without a debate.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); States will now get the amendments passed in the state GST laws in their respective assemblies. The amendments pertain to the insertion of a provision in the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming. The amendment in IGST Act relates to inserting a provision to impose GST liability on online money gaming provided by offshore entities. Such entities would be required to get GST registration in India. The amendments will also provide for blocking access to online gaming platforms located overseas in case of failure to comply with registration and tax payment provisions. The amendments to the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) laws were approved by the GST Council last week. The council had approved a levy of 28 per cent GST on the full face value of entry-level bets in online gaming, casinos and horse racing.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for two months to former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on medical grounds in a money laundering case.

Malik had moved the top court against the Bombay High Court's July 13 order denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi noted that Malik is in hospital for kidney disease and other ailments.

"We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said.

The ED arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Mumbai.

Malik had sought relief from the HC, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit.

The high court had said it will hear his plea seeking bail on merit after two weeks.

The ED's case against Malik is based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for two months to former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on medical grounds in a money laundering case. Malik had moved the top court against the Bombay High Court's July 13 order denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi noted that Malik is in hospital for kidney disease and other ailments.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said. The ED arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Mumbai. Malik had sought relief from the HC, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit. The high court had said it will hear his plea seeking bail on merit after two weeks. The ED's case against Malik is based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
By PTI

MUMBAI: A court here on Friday remanded Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh in 14-day judicial custody for allegedly shooting dead his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra recently.

Singh was produced before a magistrate court in suburban Borivali on Friday at the end of his previous remand.

The court remanded him judicial custody as no further remand was sought by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which is probing the case.

In a related development, the court denied permission to the probe agency to perform brain mapping, polygraph and narco-analysis tests on Singh.

The GRP had sought consent for the tests, saying the matter was very serious and a thorough investigation was needed.

The incident took place on July 31 on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.

Singh (34) allegedly shot dead his senior - RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena - and three passengers on board the train, officials said.

He was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network).

MUMBAI: A court here on Friday remanded Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh in 14-day judicial custody for allegedly shooting dead his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra recently. Singh was produced before a magistrate court in suburban Borivali on Friday at the end of his previous remand. The court remanded him judicial custody as no further remand was sought by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which is probing the case.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In a related development, the court denied permission to the probe agency to perform brain mapping, polygraph and narco-analysis tests on Singh. The GRP had sought consent for the tests, saying the matter was very serious and a thorough investigation was needed. The incident took place on July 31 on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra. Singh (34) allegedly shot dead his senior - RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena - and three passengers on board the train, officials said. He was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network).
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A minor girl from West Bengal, whose Instagram reels received many impressions on social media, one day got an offer to act in a Hindi film. She readily accepted the offer, but soon found to her shock that the proposal was bait to lure her into prostitution. It was a narrow escape for her. But many such girls fall prey to miscreants on social media looking for vulnerable profiles.

The rising number of such cases has caught the attention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The child rights body will be holding a meeting of all stakeholders on August 21 to deal with the problem of social media becoming a tool for trafficking. The meeting aims to examine the existing mechanism and develop preventive measures to ensure the safety of children in the cyber world.

In a letter to all the stakeholders, including the IT and telecom ministry, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said, The commission has received information regarding several alarming incidents where minor children have been lured and further been made victim to offences like online grooming for various unlawful activities, trafficking, online sexual abuse and online harassment by people who they meet on social media websites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

He further said the commission had received complaints and reports on the availability of child sexual abuse material on various social media platforms and web pages. Speaking to this paper, Kanoongo said that in the last two years, they have encountered several cases where minor girls have been lured through social media, especially Instagram.

It is important to note that these incidents are now on the rise due to the easy access of the unmonitored or unsupervised Internet and social media platforms, Kanoongo said. In the West Bengal incident, the girl was lucky that the accused was nabbed in time. In another incident, we found a body of a minor girl similarly lured through social media. Several such instances have come to light. Social media has now become the tool for traffickers, he added.

Kanoongo said young children posting videos and reels online are unaware that they are easy prey for online stalking and online grooming for unlawful activities. We want cyberspace to be a safe space for minors. It is thus necessary to examine and develop a framework and mechanism to safeguard them, he added.

In his letter, the NCPCR head has said that the commission deems it appropriate for a deliberation to examine and review framework/mechanism under various laws, based on the inputs from all the stakeholders, and recommend measures for their effective implementation. Such framework will not only cater to the challenges faced by the authorities but also lay down preventive measures to safeguard children, the letter said. Major Internet Service Providers have also been invited to attend the meeting.

Lured online

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has received information regarding several alarming incidents where minor children have been lured and been made victim to offences like online grooming for various unlawful activities, trafficking, online sexual abuse and online harassment by people who they meet on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

NEW DELHI: A minor girl from West Bengal, whose Instagram reels received many impressions on social media, one day got an offer to act in a Hindi film. She readily accepted the offer, but soon found to her shock that the proposal was bait to lure her into prostitution. It was a narrow escape for her. But many such girls fall prey to miscreants on social media looking for vulnerable profiles. The rising number of such cases has caught the attention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The child rights body will be holding a meeting of all stakeholders on August 21 to deal with the problem of social media becoming a tool for trafficking. The meeting aims to examine the existing mechanism and develop preventive measures to ensure the safety of children in the cyber world. In a letter to all the stakeholders, including the IT and telecom ministry, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said, The commission has received information regarding several alarming incidents where minor children have been lured and further been made victim to offences like online grooming for various unlawful activities, trafficking, online sexual abuse and online harassment by people who they meet on social media websites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He further said the commission had received complaints and reports on the availability of child sexual abuse material on various social media platforms and web pages. Speaking to this paper, Kanoongo said that in the last two years, they have encountered several cases where minor girls have been lured through social media, especially Instagram. It is important to note that these incidents are now on the rise due to the easy access of the unmonitored or unsupervised Internet and social media platforms, Kanoongo said. In the West Bengal incident, the girl was lucky that the accused was nabbed in time. In another incident, we found a body of a minor girl similarly lured through social media. Several such instances have come to light. Social media has now become the tool for traffickers, he added. Kanoongo said young children posting videos and reels online are unaware that they are easy prey for online stalking and online grooming for unlawful activities. We want cyberspace to be a safe space for minors. It is thus necessary to examine and develop a framework and mechanism to safeguard them, he added. In his letter, the NCPCR head has said that the commission deems it appropriate for a deliberation to examine and review framework/mechanism under various laws, based on the inputs from all the stakeholders, and recommend measures for their effective implementation. Such framework will not only cater to the challenges faced by the authorities but also lay down preventive measures to safeguard children, the letter said. Major Internet Service Providers have also been invited to attend the meeting. Lured online The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has received information regarding several alarming incidents where minor children have been lured and been made victim to offences like online grooming for various unlawful activities, trafficking, online sexual abuse and online harassment by people who they meet on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: The first post office in India, which was, until recently, referred to as the last post office, is located on the banks of the Kishenganga River near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The post office, bearing PIN code 193224, is run by a postmaster and three mail runners. It was known as the last post office of the country until recently. Now the signboard near it describes it as the First Post Office of India.

The post office is located right on the edge of Pak-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) where the LoC divides the anxious nations. A stream passes between, known as Kishenganga River on one side of the LoC and Neelum River on the other. On the Indian bank of the river, stands the post office

With the border ceasefire between India and Pakistan troops undisturbed in the past two years, the postmaster Shakir Bhat and three mail runners are distributing the mail with significant ease, without the fear of being caught in a border fire-fight or shelling.

Earlier, mail runners were hesitant in delivering mail to the army posted at the LoC and to the local population out of the fear of the barrage of bullets that were exchanged across the border occasionally.

The thawing of ice between India and Pakistan, with decreasing cross-border hostilities between the two nations, has made the life of the locals relatively easier. Those working at the post office echoed a similar relief.

It is a historic post office, being operational even before the two countries were divided in hate in 1947. The post office did not refrain from its duties towards the people and troops even as the hostilities between Indian and Pakistan forces reached their peak in 1965, 1971 and 1998 Kargil wars between the two nuclear-armed neighbouring states.

The post office has been functioning out of the house of postmaster Shakir ever since 1993 when the post office was washed away in the flash floods. A local Tufail Ahmed Bhat said that the post office mostly received mail and speed posts for and from army personnel posted at the LoC.

It takes three days for speed posts to reach the Keran post office, from where postmaster Shakir and the three mail runners take them to their destination without fail. He said the post office has recently become an attraction for tourists, who are visiting Keran after the border area was relatively demilitarized and opened to visitors last year.

After the improvement in the ground situation in J&K and the cessation of India-Pakistan hostilities at the LoC, the authorities have thrown open many border areas including Keran, Karnah, Uri, Gurez, etc to visitors. Earlier, these border areas used to be completely inaccessible to outsiders and even for the local population.

SRINAGAR: The first post office in India, which was, until recently, referred to as the last post office, is located on the banks of the Kishenganga River near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The post office, bearing PIN code 193224, is run by a postmaster and three mail runners. It was known as the last post office of the country until recently. Now the signboard near it describes it as the First Post Office of India. The post office is located right on the edge of Pak-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) where the LoC divides the anxious nations. A stream passes between, known as Kishenganga River on one side of the LoC and Neelum River on the other. On the Indian bank of the river, stands the post officegoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); With the border ceasefire between India and Pakistan troops undisturbed in the past two years, the postmaster Shakir Bhat and three mail runners are distributing the mail with significant ease, without the fear of being caught in a border fire-fight or shelling. Earlier, mail runners were hesitant in delivering mail to the army posted at the LoC and to the local population out of the fear of the barrage of bullets that were exchanged across the border occasionally. The thawing of ice between India and Pakistan, with decreasing cross-border hostilities between the two nations, has made the life of the locals relatively easier. Those working at the post office echoed a similar relief. It is a historic post office, being operational even before the two countries were divided in hate in 1947. The post office did not refrain from its duties towards the people and troops even as the hostilities between Indian and Pakistan forces reached their peak in 1965, 1971 and 1998 Kargil wars between the two nuclear-armed neighbouring states. The post office has been functioning out of the house of postmaster Shakir ever since 1993 when the post office was washed away in the flash floods. A local Tufail Ahmed Bhat said that the post office mostly received mail and speed posts for and from army personnel posted at the LoC. It takes three days for speed posts to reach the Keran post office, from where postmaster Shakir and the three mail runners take them to their destination without fail. He said the post office has recently become an attraction for tourists, who are visiting Keran after the border area was relatively demilitarized and opened to visitors last year. After the improvement in the ground situation in J&K and the cessation of India-Pakistan hostilities at the LoC, the authorities have thrown open many border areas including Keran, Karnah, Uri, Gurez, etc to visitors. Earlier, these border areas used to be completely inaccessible to outsiders and even for the local population.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in Manipur warned all 10 Kuki-Zo legislators in the state not to attend the special session of the Assembly, likely to be held on August 21.

it is strictly mandated that no #Kuki-Zo tribal MLA participate in any manner or form in the Manipur Special Assembly, scheduled for Aug 21, 2023, the ITLF wrote on X, previously Twitter.

Seven of these MLAs are from the ruling BJP, two from the Kuki Peoples Alliance, which withdrew its support to the government recently, and one is an independent. None of them is in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley now.

Earlier, some of them had said it would not be possible for them to attend a session of the Assembly given the volatile situation.

Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo MLAs took exception to Union home minister Amit Shahs comment in Parliament linking the ethnic violence to the influx of Chin-Kuki people from Myanmar.

ALSO READ | 'I was forcefully pinned down,' says Manipuri woman alleging gang-rape on May 3; files 'Zero FIR'

While our people are still reeling under relentless attacks on our villages by Meitei militia led by Manipur Police, it is disheartening that the Union Home Minister should state in parliament that the ethnic cleansing on Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people is a disturbance caused by infiltration from Myanmar post the 2021 (Myanmar) Junta takeover, the MLAs said in a statement.

They said the narratives of Meitei fundamental organisations like Haomee Federation, Meitei Leepun and Kangleipak Kanba Lup that Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people in the state are foreigners and the branding of the community as poppy planters which fueled animosity between the two communities have been ignored by Shah in his statement.

We, as elected representatives of the Kuki Zomi-Hmar people of Manipur, hereby once again reiterate that the ethnic cleansing on our people is a pre-planned attack aimed at grabbing tribal land against constitutional provisions. Our people have been violently cleansed from the valley, and our colonies have been razed to the ground, the legislators said.

They reiterated that the Centre must give recognition to this demographic segregation in the form of a separate administration through a political settlement.

We urge the Union Home Ministry to furnish details of illegal infiltrators from Myanmar and proof of their participation in the village defence efforts of Kuki -Zo-Hmar villages. We urge the Solicitor General to furnish proof of the dead bodies in Imphal mortuaries belonging to illegal infiltrators, failing which due apology to the court and the nation would be in order, they added.

GUWAHATI: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in Manipur warned all 10 Kuki-Zo legislators in the state not to attend the special session of the Assembly, likely to be held on August 21. it is strictly mandated that no #Kuki-Zo tribal MLA participate in any manner or form in the Manipur Special Assembly, scheduled for Aug 21, 2023, the ITLF wrote on X, previously Twitter. Seven of these MLAs are from the ruling BJP, two from the Kuki Peoples Alliance, which withdrew its support to the government recently, and one is an independent. None of them is in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley now.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Earlier, some of them had said it would not be possible for them to attend a session of the Assembly given the volatile situation. Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo MLAs took exception to Union home minister Amit Shahs comment in Parliament linking the ethnic violence to the influx of Chin-Kuki people from Myanmar. ALSO READ | 'I was forcefully pinned down,' says Manipuri woman alleging gang-rape on May 3; files 'Zero FIR' While our people are still reeling under relentless attacks on our villages by Meitei militia led by Manipur Police, it is disheartening that the Union Home Minister should state in parliament that the ethnic cleansing on Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people is a disturbance caused by infiltration from Myanmar post the 2021 (Myanmar) Junta takeover, the MLAs said in a statement. They said the narratives of Meitei fundamental organisations like Haomee Federation, Meitei Leepun and Kangleipak Kanba Lup that Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people in the state are foreigners and the branding of the community as poppy planters which fueled animosity between the two communities have been ignored by Shah in his statement. We, as elected representatives of the Kuki Zomi-Hmar people of Manipur, hereby once again reiterate that the ethnic cleansing on our people is a pre-planned attack aimed at grabbing tribal land against constitutional provisions. Our people have been violently cleansed from the valley, and our colonies have been razed to the ground, the legislators said. They reiterated that the Centre must give recognition to this demographic segregation in the form of a separate administration through a political settlement. We urge the Union Home Ministry to furnish details of illegal infiltrators from Myanmar and proof of their participation in the village defence efforts of Kuki -Zo-Hmar villages. We urge the Solicitor General to furnish proof of the dead bodies in Imphal mortuaries belonging to illegal infiltrators, failing which due apology to the court and the nation would be in order, they added.
Another Kalispell man accused in a bank robbery in Butte last year will avoid prison and could clear a felony conviction from his record if he abides by probation terms over the next three years.

District Judge Kurt Krueger gave John Robert Austin a three-year deferred sentence Thursday for his part in robbing the Wells Fargo bank on Harrison Avenue on Sept. 1, 2022.

Prosecutors say Austin and Logan Christopher Nadasi waited in car while Caleb Weston Bernhardt went inside, threatened to shoot a teller unless she handed over money, and got away that day with $2,350. All three were 19 at the time.

Bernhardt pleaded guilty to robbery and Austin and Nadassi pleaded guilty to robbery by accountability, but the crimes carry the same maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

The teller who was robbed expressed compassion and didnt want any of the young men sent to prison, so based on that and other factors, prosecutor Kelli Fivey recommended deferred sentences for all three.

District Judge Robert Whelan gave Bernhardt a three-year deferred sentence Wednesday. He noted that Bernhardt had no prior criminal record but said he never would have considered such a light sentence unless the victim agreed to it. The teller hugged Bernhardt in the courtroom after Wednesdays hearing.

Prosecutor Ann Shea, who was filling in for Fivey during Austins sentencing hearing Thursday, also cited the tellers wishes.

The victim was very clear that based on the ages of the defendants, even as serious as this offense is, she did not want a sentence that would affect their futures, Shea told the judge. She wanted them to have the opportunity to show that they can be productive members of society."

Krueger noted that a deferred sentence could lead to an expunged record if Austin met all probation conditions over the next three years. He then asked Austin if he could comply.

Absolutely, Austin said.

Nadasi, the other defendant in the case, is to be sentenced Sept. 13.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Slamming BRS MP Nama Nageshwar Raos statement made in Parliament that the Telangana farmers are being provided 24X7 free and uninterrupted power supply, BJPs Bandi Sanjay on Thursday offered to resign as an MP if the BRS government proves its claims. Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion moved against the NDA government, Sanjay said that Nageshwar Rao tried to mislead the Parliament.

If you prove that there is a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply for farmers in Telangana, I will resign. Do you have the guts to prove it? Let us go to the farmers directly from here. If you cant prove it, will your Chief Minister tender his resignation, he asked the BRS MPs.

Referring to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as Kasim Chandrasekhar Rizvi, Sanjay alleged that after the formation of Telangana, the assets of IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao and his wife have increased by 400 times and 1,800 times respectively by 2018.

The per capita income of Telangana farmers is `1,12,836, but the Chief Ministers income from agriculture is `1 crore. Rama Raos income is `59,85,000, which is 5,000 per cent more than an average farmers income, and his wifes income is 2,000 times more than that of the ordinary farmers, he said.

Responding to the Chief Ministers comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi with regard to the Manipur issue, Sanjay said: What about the murders, rapes and land grabbing happening in Telangana? Why has the CM never visited the families of the farmers and students who died by suicide?

There is only one work for BRS netas. Raat bhar peetha... din bhar sotha... kisi se bhi nahin milta. Yeh hai BRS neta, he quipped.

HYDERABAD: Slamming BRS MP Nama Nageshwar Raos statement made in Parliament that the Telangana farmers are being provided 24X7 free and uninterrupted power supply, BJPs Bandi Sanjay on Thursday offered to resign as an MP if the BRS government proves its claims. Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion moved against the NDA government, Sanjay said that Nageshwar Rao tried to mislead the Parliament. If you prove that there is a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply for farmers in Telangana, I will resign. Do you have the guts to prove it? Let us go to the farmers directly from here. If you cant prove it, will your Chief Minister tender his resignation, he asked the BRS MPs. Referring to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as Kasim Chandrasekhar Rizvi, Sanjay alleged that after the formation of Telangana, the assets of IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao and his wife have increased by 400 times and 1,800 times respectively by 2018.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The per capita income of Telangana farmers is `1,12,836, but the Chief Ministers income from agriculture is `1 crore. Rama Raos income is `59,85,000, which is 5,000 per cent more than an average farmers income, and his wifes income is 2,000 times more than that of the ordinary farmers, he said. Responding to the Chief Ministers comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi with regard to the Manipur issue, Sanjay said: What about the murders, rapes and land grabbing happening in Telangana? Why has the CM never visited the families of the farmers and students who died by suicide? There is only one work for BRS netas. Raat bhar peetha... din bhar sotha... kisi se bhi nahin milta. Yeh hai BRS neta, he quipped.
By Online Desk

A 16-year-old girl from Nepal has died after being banished to a 'period hut'- the latest victim of an ancient ritual that still persists in the country- reports The Guardian.

Anita Chand, from the Baitadi district, in the west of the country, is understood to have died on Wednesday from a snake bite while she was sleeping. Her death is the latest in a series where teenage girls have died from chhaupadi- a centuries-old belief that women and girls are unclean and untouchable during menstruation. As per chhaupadi, teenage girls are forced to stay alone at "period huts" for the duration.

According to the police of Baitadi, her family have denied she was on her period when she died. They said they are investigating Anita's death.

We are working to end this practice but still [have] lots to do, said Bina Bhatta, vicechairperson of Pancheshwar rural municipality in Baitadi.

According to The Guardian, The last reported death from chhaupadi was in 2019. Parwati Budha Rawat, 21, died after spending three nights in an outdoor hut. Her death was the fifth reported case that year. Women and girls have died from animal attacks and from smoke inhalation after lighting fires in windowless huts. Rawats brother-in-law was sentenced to three months in jail.

After her death, several campaigns started in Nepal to end chhaupadi, and thousands of period huts were destroyed. But during Covid, the campaign took a step back and people started rebuilding period huts.

Even though chhaupadi was made illegal in 2005, people in Nepal still follow this centuries-old practice.

Radha Paudel, founder of Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation, told The Guardian, There is a law that criminalised banishing women during their period and also there are policies but the government itself doesnt implement them.

A 16-year-old girl from Nepal has died after being banished to a 'period hut'- the latest victim of an ancient ritual that still persists in the country- reports The Guardian. Anita Chand, from the Baitadi district, in the west of the country, is understood to have died on Wednesday from a snake bite while she was sleeping. Her death is the latest in a series where teenage girls have died from chhaupadi- a centuries-old belief that women and girls are unclean and untouchable during menstruation. As per chhaupadi, teenage girls are forced to stay alone at "period huts" for the duration. According to the police of Baitadi, her family have denied she was on her period when she died. They said they are investigating Anita's death. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); We are working to end this practice but still [have] lots to do, said Bina Bhatta, vicechairperson of Pancheshwar rural municipality in Baitadi. According to The Guardian, The last reported death from chhaupadi was in 2019. Parwati Budha Rawat, 21, died after spending three nights in an outdoor hut. Her death was the fifth reported case that year. Women and girls have died from animal attacks and from smoke inhalation after lighting fires in windowless huts. Rawats brother-in-law was sentenced to three months in jail. After her death, several campaigns started in Nepal to end chhaupadi, and thousands of period huts were destroyed. But during Covid, the campaign took a step back and people started rebuilding period huts. Even though chhaupadi was made illegal in 2005, people in Nepal still follow this centuries-old practice. Radha Paudel, founder of Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation, told The Guardian, There is a law that criminalised banishing women during their period and also there are policies but the government itself doesnt implement them.
While traveling around our state this summer, everyone is seeing Montana being built. From roads, to broadband, to critical infrastructure that keeps our water safe. As a state we have an exciting once in a generation opportunity to set Montanas businesses and Montanas workforce up for a bright future. But in order to ensure the best possible outcome for local businesses, consumers, and workers we must connect this funding to strong labor standards. Together, we can keep these investments in our communities and build an exciting future for all Montanans.

Investments in Montana through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law include: $3.1 billion for roads, bridges, and roadway safety, $628 million to ensure high-speed internet coverage across the state, billions of dollars for water reclamation projects in Indian and rural communities and $565,000 to remove sources of lead in Montana schools and child care facilities.

Thanks to the advocacy of workers across the state and the work of Montanas senior senator to get this money into Montana, all of these investments will help local businesses grow and provide good paying jobs for the next decade.

Even though this is a monumental opportunity to grow our state, it is critical that we invest these funds wisely, and that means making strong investments in our local workforce and the next generation of Montanans. The good news is that this is a win-win-win for local businesses, taxpayers, and working families.

Research in recent years has shown that high labor standards such as prevailing wage laws protect work for in-state contractors and ensure the highest quality of work with fewer cost overruns. Montanas prevailing wage law also creates 1,800 jobs every year and improves the state economy by $248 million.

Productivity per construction worker is 14 to 33 percent higher in states that have prevailing wage laws, leading to jobs being done quicker and at a higher quality. High labor standards also dont impact bid competition or the cost of construction, they simply ensure that workers are paid fair value and Montanas contractors arent undercut by out of state companies, ensuring these investments stay in Montana.

By protecting Montanas labor standards and investing in our workforce, we are encouraging local contractors that invest in our local economies, in apprenticeship programs, and in safety on the job. For example, states with prevailing wage laws increase apprenticeship training by 8% and see reduced injury rates by 13%.

Connecting infrastructure projects to strong labor standards is the most efficient way of spending this money in Montana to maximize the benefits to our local economies and working people across the state. Because this investment is not just building roads, bridges and broadband access but about building communities and families.
MG Motor India Commemorates a Century of Customer Assurance and Innovative Experiences

Driven by Technology and Smiles, the brand takes pride in its India growth story, fostering communities, promoting diversity, and bolstering the electric vehicle ecosystem. Since commencing its India journey in 2019, MG Motor India has been at the forefront of CASE mobility, starting with MG Hector, India's first Internet SUV followed by MG ZS EV - the first fully-electric Internet SUV.The manufacturer also offers an industry-first personal AI assistant and the first-in-segment Autonomous Level 2 technology, both featured in the mid-size SUV - Astor. Continuing with its unwavering commitment to offering advanced and exciting products with a host of smart features and luxury, India's first ADAS SUV- Gloster was launched in 2021 for premium SUV buyers. This year, the company also launched a futuristic and practical urban commuter, MG Comet - The Smart EV, to address the challenges of daily city commuting. MG has been registering significant growth over the last four years and sold around 1,75,000 units in India. The brand has also become the 2nd largest EV-seller in India with ZS EV and MG Comet, cumulatively aggregating more than 12,000-unit sales.The company on its 100th year anniversary is dedicated to recognizing and rewarding its loyal customers. MG Motor India is rolling out a 100-day customer campaign with offers including special pricing, exchange benefits, loyalty schemes, extended warranty, and service offers for new customers. Through daily giveaways led by MG dealers, and loyalty bonuses for new cars, MG Motor India expresses its gratitude to its existing customers. MG's customers can visit MG centers to avail the benefits.According to Rajeev Chaba, CEO Emeritus, MG Motor India, "As we celebrate MG's historic centenary milestone, we take pride in our journey in India, becoming an integral part of the automotive landscape. From the outset, we envisioned a connected, autonomous, shared, and electric future of mobility and we now proudly stand at the forefront of this transformative landscape. Our customers have been our guiding force, encouraging us to introduce groundbreaking innovations. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each of them, and to our stakeholders, partners, and employees for their unwavering trust and support. it is through their support and encouragement that MG has come to be synonymous with technology and smiles, a promise we deliver consistently through meaningful experiences. Today, as we embark on to the next century, our commitment to India remains steadfast."MG is committed to creating a Robust EV Ecosystem in India and working cohesively to develop a 6-way charging solution. The carmaker has reached 330 Touchpoints in 157 cities and aims to reach 400 in 270 cities. Also, MG Motor has been constantly endeavouring to engage with start-ups to drive innovation through MG Developer & Grant Program - the largest mentoring program in the automotive segment.MG Motor - 100 years of Motoring & PassionMG, the fastest-growing car brand is entering its 100 years of Motoring & Passion journey. Tracing its history back to 1924, MG is famous for outstanding design, market-leading technology, and excellent value-for-money cars. Today, the company is establishing itself as a driving force in the rapidly expanding electric car market, with a market-leading range of electric vehicles that are encouraging more drivers than ever to switch to zero-emission motoring. Designed in Marylebone, London, and manufactured in state-of-the-art factories in several countries, today's MGs are practical, spacious, and packed with technology. MG continues to demonstrate a forward-thinking and progressive approach to the needs of today's discerning motorists.(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584383 172O70O247O171)
59,524 km length of broad gauge rail line electrified: Ashwini Vaishnaw

In response to a question by a member in Lok Sabha yesterday, the Minister said electrification of rail line offers benefits such as reduced operating cost, haulage of heavier freight trains and longer passenger trains, among others."The completion of Electrification project depends on various factors like forest clearances by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the project. As such the confirmed time frame for completion of project cannot be ascertained at this stage," Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic and Information Technology Vaishnaw said in the written reply.Further, he also apprised the House about the steps taken to increase the speed of the trains. He said sectional speed has been raised to 130 kmph over 10,400 route km."Works for raising of sectional speed to 160 kmph on existing New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah routes have been sanctioned costing Rs 6806 Cr. and Rs 6685 Cr. Respectively," the minister said.(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584383 172O70O246O216)
Amcor Announces Acquisition of Scalable Flexible Packaging Plant in High-growth Indian Market

Phoenix Flexibles has one plant located in Gujarat, India, and the business generates annual revenue of approximately US$20 million from the sale of flexible packaging for food, home care and personal care applications.Amcor currently has four flexible packaging plants in India. The business has delivered double-digit organic sales growth per annum over the last three years, significantly outpacing growth in the underlying market, and is also investing to double its local footprint in the Pharmaceutical and Medical packaging categories.The addition of Phoenix Flexibles' well capitalized and strategically located production facility will immediately increase Amcor's capacity to satisfy continued high demand and drive strong returns for shareholders. The acquisition also adds machine-direction oriented film technology, enabling local production of a broader range of more sustainable packaging solutions, and brings capabilities allowing Amcor to expand its product offering in attractive high-value segments.Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific President Mike Cash said, "Amcor continues to see substantial opportunities to grow our flexible packaging business in India. With this acquisition, we are investing to maintain and build upon the significant momentum the business has delivered over several years. The scalable nature of the acquired facility, combined with the localization of new capabilities, further enhances our customer value proposition in this attractive high-growth market."The acquisition is subject to customary closing procedures and is expected to close in the September 2023 quarter.Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly lighter weight, recyclable and reusable, and made using an increasing amount of recycled content. In fiscal year 2022, 44,000 Amcor people generated $15 billion in annual sales from operations that span 220 locations in 43 countries. NYSE AMCR; ASX AMC.For more information, please visit www.amcor.com. LinkedIn I Facebook I YouTube(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584383 172O70O242O210)
Poland plans to move 10,000 troops to border with Belarus, says country's Defence Minister

In an interview with the Polish National Radio, the Polish Defence Minister said that around 10,000 soldiers will be on the border where 4,000 will directly support the border guard and the remaining 6,000 will be in reserve."The violation of Polish space by Belarusian helicopters cannot be underestimated because of the Belarusian approach," Blaszczak said on the radio adding it was another provocation."Everything that is happening in Belarus is coordinated with the actions of Russia," CNN quoted Blaszczak as saying.Tensions have been mounting on the Belarus-Poland border since a number of Wagner fighters were stationed in Belarus following the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin's aborted mutiny in June.Last month, Belarus' Defense Ministry announced that its forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near the border with Poland, a NATO member.Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, on July 29, claimed that over 100 troops from the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, are moving towards a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania.The Poland PM said that his government had received information that Wagner mercenaries went near the Grodno, a city in western Belarus close to the land, which is also known as the Suwalki gap or corridor, according to CNN.Thousands of Wagner troops are reportedly in Belarus following a failed military uprising in Russia.Morawiecki alleged that Belarus, a key ally to Russia, has been sending migrants westward in an attempt to overwhelm Polish border forces. And till now, this year, around 16,000 attempts were made by migrants to cross the border illegally, he added.The troop movements, Morawiecki added, appeared to be another element in this campaign to destabilize the border, according to CNN."They will probably be disguised as Belarusian border guards and will help illegal immigrants to enter Polish territory, destabilize Poland, but they will also probably try to infiltrate Poland pretending to be illegal immigrants and this creates additional risks," he said, according to CNN.These claims came as the Belarusian defence ministry, last month, said the country's forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near its border with the NATO member.(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584384 172O69O150O95)
Akshay Kumar releases new clip of his character ahead of 'OMG 2' release

Akshay will this time be playing the role of Lord Shiva, and so far it's a bit of a mystery of what exactly he'll be like.The clip which the actor posted on his Instagram account shows him in the form of Mahadev sadhu inside a police station where he is telling the officers that he will burn the city if his stuff is not found. In a humorous exchange, he goes on to say that his anger knows no bounds and once he is enraged then it took him 13 days to cool down.After that it intercuts to his more intimidating form as a messenger of Shiva in human form walking the Earth with the track 'Har Har Mahadev' playing in the background with Pankaj Tripathi folding his hands in reverence alongside many devotees.The clip is in fact a subtly dark but still comedic reference to the event that in Hindu mythology known as the 'Shiva Tandava' where the deity was enraged at the death of Sati, who has Lord Shiva's first wife, later reborn as Parvati.This led him to a violent cosmic dance called 'Tandava' to express his grief and rage. In this violent dance he almost consumed the whole cosmos, until his anger cooled down 13 days later.'OMG 2' is one of Bollywood's biggest films of August this year alongside 'Gadar 2'.The movie in a surprising twist had earlier been given an A certification by the Censor Board of Film Certification in India, despite the movie not being solely aimed at adults.Directed by Amit Rai, the movie will star Akshay, Pankaj, Yami Gautam, Pavan Malhotra and Arun Govil, hitting theatres on August 11, 2023.anv/aa/prw(IANS | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584384 172O70O246O58)
CAG objects to excess withdrawal of funds in UP

It has also taken strong exception to the failure of successive state governments in Uttar Pradesh to place excess disbursement of Rs 32,533.46 crore under 48 grants for regularisation before the state legislature.The excess disbursement of funds made from 2005-2006 to 2020-2021, in violation of Articles 204 and 205 of the Constitution of India "vitiates the system of budgetary and financial control and encourages financial indiscipline", the government auditor said in the State Finances Audit Report (for year ended March 31, 2022) placed before the state Assembly here earlier this week.The CAG has further noted that the excess expenditure over the authorisation and subsequent non-regularisation have been regularly reported in the previous State Finances Audit Reports of Uttar Pradesh.It has recommended the state government should ensure that all the existing cases of excess expenditure are placed before the state legislature for regularisation.Leading economist Professor Yashvir Tyagi said "Disbursement of grants by successive state governments without legislative approval, which has been objected to by the CAG, is not healthy fiscal practice. It also shows a lack of fiscal discipline. In a way it takes away the right of the legislature to scrutinise the funds disbursed and spent by the government. Such a lapse should have been avoided."The CAG has also objected to lump sum provisions of Rs 7,696.63 crore made by the state government under various heads. Out of this lump sum provision, Rs 4,261.46 crore (55.37 percent of the provision) was actually spent. It mentioned that lump sum provisions of Rs 4,260.01 crore were made for road works, which constituted 27.88 per cent of the budgeted provisions.Out of this, the actual expenditure was Rs 3,533.50 crore."Lump sum provisions without identifying the exact object of expenditure is against transparent budgetary practices," the CAG observed.The CAG further objected to the practice of rushing expenditure in the last month of the financial year, and recommended that the state government should issue guidelines to control the rush of expenditure towards the closing months, especially in March, in order to maintain a steady pace of spending.(IANS | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584384 172O70O247O94)
Maha reports first Covid fatality in months; experts monitor Omicron sub-variant situation

The deceased was a 75-year-old Mumbai resident who suffered from liver carcinoma. While the individual was diagnosed with Covid-19, authorities have stated that the virus was not the primary cause of his death.Meanwhile, Mumbai reported 10 new Covid cases, elevating the total infection count to 11,64,108, while the latest death took the overall fatality figures to 19,776. This is the second time in August that the city has reported Covid cases in double digits; the previous instance occurred on August 6.Recovery rates continue to inspire confidence, with four more patients recuperating from the illness, taking the total number of recoveries to 11,44,285. Currently, Mumbai has 47 active cases. A total of 292 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, raising the cumulative test count to 1,89,17,951, as per the civic body's bulletin.Rise of a new Covid variant?Though there are indications of an increase in Covid cases in Maharashtra due to the new Omicron sub-variant, EG.5.1, detected in some samples, health experts have emphasised that there is no cause for immediate concern. No significant surge has been noted since the detection of this sub-variant.The state health department said that it would be premature to attribute the rise in cases to the new sub-variant. The situation will be carefully monitored over the coming week to reach a more conclusive understanding, as all respiratory infections typically show a surge during June to September.(IANS | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584385 162O158O110O150)
A California woman died Friday after falling while hiking on Teewinot mountain in Grand Teton National Park.

Joy Cho, of Simi Valley, California, succumbed to significant injuries during the fall and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a park press release.

Park rangers responded before dawn on Friday, Aug. 11, to the report of a hiker being injured in the Teton Range, inside Grand Teton National Park.

Chos body was short-hauled from the scene and turned over to the Teton County Coroners Office. Her seven hiking companions were flown to the Jenny Lake Search and Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows and transported back to their vehicles at the trailhead.

At an elevation of 12,330-feet, Teewinot is the sixth-highest mountain in the Teton Range. A 6-mile trail accesses the mountain from near Moose, Wyoming.

Short-haul is a technique where an individual or gear is suspended below a helicopter on a 150- to 250-foot rope. This method allows rescuers more direct access to an injured person, and it is often used in the Teton Range, where conditions make it difficult to land a helicopter in the steep and rocky terrain
Iss baar, Adhir babu ka kya haal ho gaya PM Modi takes jibe at Congress in Lok Sabha

In reply to the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against his government PM Modi said that the Congress party has continuously "side-lined" its leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary."When the no-confidence motion was moved against the Vajpayee government, Sharad Pawar was leading the debate in 1999. In 2003, a motion was moved once again, that time, Sonia Gandhi led the debate and in 2018 also, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, the leader of the opposition took charge of the debate. But this time, what has happened to you, Adhir Babu? His party did not give a chance to him to speak. It was Amit Shah who gave him a chance to speak and it was you who allowed him even after his time was passed," PM Modi said.He further said that he was unable to understand the 'compulsion' for not mentioning Adhir as the speaker from the Congress party."I do not know what is your compulsion. Why he has been side-lined? Maybe there would be a call from Kolkata. Congress insults him again and again. I express my sympathy to Adhir Babu," he added.The Prime Minister then took a jibe at Adhir Ranjan Chaudhury and said "But he is an expert on how to do a complete mess," PM Modi added.Meanwhile, the members of the Opposition kept asking the PM to speak on Manipur.However, starting his speech, Modi took a jibe at the Opposition over moving a no-confidence motion against his government saying that this is the blessing of God that a motion for floor test has been brought by the opposition."God is very kind and speaks through some medium...I believe that it's the blessing of God that opposition has brought this motion. I had said during the no-confidence motion in 2018 that it was not a floor test for us but a floor test for them and as a result they lost in the elections..." PM Modi said while replying to the no-trust vote.The PM also said that Opposition's No-Confidence has always been lucky for the NDA government."In a way, Opposition's No Confidence has always been lucky for us. Today, I can see that you have decided that NDA and BJP will come back in the 2024 elections with a grand victory, breaking all previous records, with the blessings of the people," he said, adding that the trust of the people of the country shown in our government again and again.(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584385 172O70O242O250)
Renovated Clock Tower at Lal Chowk gives glimpse of London in heart of SrinagarA A

With its resplendent charm and the melodious chime of its bells echoing through the streets every hour, this iconic structure has become a symbol of normalcy and a cherished memory for many.The clock tower, also known as Ghanta Ghar, holds a special place in the hearts of the community. What once began as an advertising spectacle by the Baja Company many decades ago has now evolved into a historical landmark that stands testament to the passage of time. As the bells toll rhythmically, they not only mark the hours but also signify a shared history that binds generations.Passers-by are drawn to the tower not only by its auditory allure but also by its aesthetic appeal. Local shopkeepers and tourists alike find themselves captivated by the tower's enchanting transformation. "The new look of the Clock Tower is becoming a major point of attraction for one and all," a shopkeeper expressed with enthusiasm.The tower's architecture has sparked comparisons with London's iconic Elizabeth Tower, often affectionately referred to as the Big Ben. This resemblance to a symbol of a far-off city has given rise to a unique sense of connection and curiosity.For Farooq Ahmad, a shopkeeper with a deep appreciation for history, the clock tower embodies significance beyond its visual and auditory splendor. "Bells ringing at the newly renovated Clock Tower alert everyone and give a reassuring sense of normalcy," he shared. Indeed, the tower's hourly chime serves as a gentle reminder of the constancy amidst the ebb and flow of daily life, evoking a sense of comfort and unity.Javaid Ahmed, a fruit seller who witnesses the tower's allure every day, shared his perspective on its newfound charm. "One feels as if we are in London. The new look of the clock tower is indeed an attractive one," he mused. The tower's transformation has reinvigorated the spirit of the area, offering a touch of elegance and timelessness that resonates with residents and visitors alike.The completion of this remarkable project has been a labor of love, a culmination of dedication and meticulous craftsmanship. Iftikhar Kakroo, Chief Engineer of Srinagar Smart City Limited, expressed his satisfaction with the progress. "With 99 percent of the work on the clock tower completed, we are on track for the grand inauguration before the Independence Day on August 15," he proudly declared. The tower's European design has not only garnered widespread acclaim but has also sparked a viral sensation across social media platforms, further extending its allure to a global audience.(ANI | Posted on 10 August 2023, 1692584385 172O71O250O7)
Ukraine orders evacuation of citizens from Kupyansk city after intense Russian shelling

Notably, Kupyansk was one of several cities and towns that were taken back by Kyiv last September, but in recent weeks Russia has stepped up its efforts to capture the city for a second time.The order says that the mandatory evacuation has been announced for the residents of the Kupyansk city, as well as of Zaoskilya, which lies on the east bank of the Oskil River.In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified attempts to break through Ukrainian front lines east of the Oskil River and have increased the frequency of air strikes and artillery barrages against settlements on both sides of the river.The order says that "taking into account the constant shelling...and the security situation in the territory of Kupyan district," mandatory evacuation is also required for a number of settlements to the north and east of the city where some civilians are still living," as per CNN.Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces have captured Ukrainian positions and observation points around the village of Vilshana, north-east of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region.The Defence Ministry claimed that Ukrainian counterattacks had been rebuffed. It further claimed that a Ukrainian attack further south, in Novoselivske, had been thwarted and that Ukrainian mortar positions and other equipment had been destroyed.Earlier, two civilians were reportedly injured overnight following Russian shelling in a village north of Kupyansk, CNN reported citing a Ukrainian military official.Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the casualties were reported in the village of Kindrashivka, and the city council building in Kupyansk was hit in an airstrike."Over the past 24 hours, Russians massively shelled settlements of Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv, Chuhuiv, Izium and Kupyansk districts with guided aerial bombs and other weapons," CNN quoted Syniehubov as saying.Ukrainian defences repelled Russian attacks in the areas of Sinkivka and Ivanivka, northeast of Kupyansk, he added.Earlier on Wednesday, three people were killed and several others injured in the Russian attack in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko alleged.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584386 172O70O251O34)
Country is with you: PM Modi's message to Manipur

"There are serious crimes against women and they are unforgivable," he added."Both the state and central governments are doing everything possible to ensure that the accused get the strictest punishment. I want to assure the people that peace will be restored in Manipur in the coming time," PM Modi said while replying to the no-confidence motion against his government.He further said the country is with the people of Manipur."I want to tell people of Manipur including women and daughters of Manipur that the country is with you," he added.Notably, the Opposition has moved a no-confidence motion against the NDA government over the issue of Manipur.The Opposition has been demanding a statement from the PM inside the Parliament over Manipur."Congress is asking us answers for Manipur violence, they are forgetting what Nehru ji did when Assam was attacked," PM Modi said. He further said that the Opposition didn't have the courage and intention to discuss Manipur. "We had asked them to come for a discussion on Manipur. The Home Minister had written a letter, asking them to hold a discussion on Manipur. But they didn't have the courage and intention. There was an intention to send a message of peace to the people of Manipur in Amit Shah's message," the PM said. Meanwhile, Opposition MPs staged a walkout of the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks on the motion.PM Modi, coming down heavily on the Opposition, especially on Congress said that their pain is 'selective' and they cannot think beyond politics."Whose government was there in Manipur when everything used to happen according to the wishes of insurgent organisations? Whose government was there in Manipur when Mahatma Gandhi's picture was not allowed in government offices, whose government was there in Manipur when the decision to not allow the national anthem in schools was taken?... Their pain is selective. They cannot think beyond politics...," he added.Modi tore into the Congress party during his reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion, saying the people of the country had no confidence in Congress."People of the country have no confidence in Congress. Due to arrogance, they are not able to see the reality. In Tamil Nadu, they won in 1962 and since 1962 the people of Tamil Nadu are saying 'No Congress'. In West Bengal they won in 1972, people of West Bengal are also saying 'No Congress'. In UP, Bihar, and Gujarat they won in 1985 and the people of these states are also saying 'No Congress'...," the PM said.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584386 162O158O87O222)
CM Yogi inaugurates first air service between Lucknow, Varanasi

The service, launched by IndiGo Airlines, will complete the journey between Varanasi and Lucknow in just 55 minutes.Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the flight held at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, the Chief Minister described the launch of the flight to connect the state capital with the spiritual capital of the nation as "much-needed" and a "commendable effort".He added, "This service will fulfill the commitment of the Prime Minister's Udaan Scheme, which aims to allow even the common man wearing slippers to travel by air."The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the Government of India and IndiGo Airlines on behalf of the people of the state, said the statement.He stated that the demand of entrepreneurs, businessmen, representatives, enlightened society, and pilgrims visiting the Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi was being met today with the launch of the air service between Varanasi and Lucknow., it added.CM Yogi further stated that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, Varanasi has established new milestones in the realms of spirituality, culture, and physical development, said the statement."Considering this progress, it was crucial for Varanasi to be connected with Lucknow through air. In the year 2016-17, Varanasi Airport saw only 19 lakh passengers in a year, but today, in 2022-23, this number has grown to more than 25 lakh passengers", he added.The Chief Minister highlighted that in the past 6 years, there has been a rapid expansion of air services in Uttar Pradesh. Initially, in 2017, there were only two active airports in Varanasi and Lucknow whereas presently, there are 9 fully operational airports in the state, added the statement.He mentioned that the state government is now expeditiously preparing 12 more airports, including two international airports, and among these, the Ayodhya Airport will become fully operational in December.Similarly, the first runway of Asia's largest Jewar Airport will also be completed by the end of this year, it added.The Chief Minister revealed that in the past, no one even thought about domestic airports, but today the work of connecting Azamgarh, Shravasti, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, Moradabad, and Saharanpur with air services is progressing rapidly, said the official statement.He emphasized that the country is currently in a phase of healthy competition wherein safety and punctuality in air services are particularly essential. He said that around 2000 new aircraft are set to enter the Indian market soon, which will elevate people's aspirations to new heights, it added.The Chief Minister further asserted, "even though the distance from Lucknow to Varanasi is around 300 kilometers, the necessity for this air service was undeniable. We need to grasp the importance of Varanasi.""On the occasion of the launch of the first flight service, all the MLAs from Varanasi are travelling to Varanasi, and they will return similarly by air, he CM said.The statement also said that the Chief Minister, while providing the first ticket of the Lucknow to Varanasi flight service to a female passenger, extended best wishes to all travelers for a comfortable journey.On this occasion, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation General Dr. VK Singh, joined through video conferencing from New Delhi.During the program, State Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh, Cabinet Minister Anil Rajbhar, Minister of State Ravindra Jaiswal, Dr Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu, Chief Secretary of the state Durgashankar Mishra, Director-General of Police Vijay Kumar, Principal Secretary Sanjay Prasad, CEO of IndiGo Peter Elbers, Special Director of IndiGo R.K. Singh, and Chief Minister's advisor Awanish Awasthi were present, said the statement.The IndiGo flight service between Lucknow and Varanasi has been started for three days a week, namely Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, for now, said the statement.The IndiGo flight with flight number 6E-7319 will depart from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow at 2:20 PM and will arrive at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi at 3:30 PM after a 1-hour and 10-minute journey.Similarly, the IndiGo flight with flight number 6E-7321 will depart from Varanasi Airport on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 4:05 PM and will arrive at Lucknow Airport 55 minutes later, stated the official statement.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584386 162O158O94O162)
No conditional surrender of sovereignty of Jammu & Kashmir with India, notes SC Constitution Bench

Though, various provisions in the Constitution required concurrence with the State but the same did not necessarily undermine the sovereignty of the Union of India, remarked CJI D.Y. Chandrachud during the hearing on the batch of pleas."There are various shades of concurrence required in the Constitution.But one thing is clear, sovereignty was ceded completely to the Union of India," he said, while referring to Article 1 of the Constitution says that India shall be 'a Union of States' and that it includes the state of Jammu and Kashmir.The court asked senior advocate Zaffar Shah, appearing for the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, one of the petitioners, as to what is superior, the Constitution of India or J&K Constitution. In response, Shah said of course, the Indian Constitution.The bench then said: "Even today Parliament can't enact a law on the State List.the distribution of legislative powers does not affect sovereignty."It orally observed that it is difficult to say that Article 370 is permanent and can never be abrogated. It asked Shah to contemplate a scenario where the state of J&K itself wanted all provisions of the Indian Constitution to apply.Shah replied there could be different perceptions and the main question is whether Article 370 was temporary or became permanent after the Constituent Assembly was not in existence.Earlier, senior advocate Kapil Sibal on the very outset of his arguments had submitted that integration of Jammu & Kashmir in India "is unquestionable, was unquestionable and will always remain unquestionable"."The state of Jammu & Kashmir continues to be a part of India. Nobody disputes it, nobody ever disputed it. Jammu & Kashmir is a unit of the Indian Union," he had said during the first day of the hearing.The Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, and Surya Kant, would hear the matter consecutively starting from August 2, except for Mondays and Fridays. A large number of petitions have been filed by political parties, private individuals, lawyers, activists, etc., challenging the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which downgraded and split Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.Earlier, another Constitution Bench had ruled against the necessity of referring the matter to a seven-judge bench. In the pending matter, intervention applications have also been filed by Kashmiri Pandits supporting Centre's move stripping special status accorded to the erstwhile state of J&K.(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584387 172O71O250O53)
Extreme heat wave to hit Israel

Friday will see normal weather for the month of August, but on Saturday the temperatures will start to rise across Israel but mainly in the mountains and the interior of the country.The heat wave is expected to peak on Sunday with roasting temperatures in the mountains and the eastern valleys, with many places above 40 degrees Celsius and some areas over 45 degrees Celsius.The daily peaks along the coastline will be lower at 30 to 35 degrees Celsius but with high humidity, meaning that the beaches and nearby areas will still feel the extreme heat.According to the Israel Meteorological Service, a rare phenomenon for this season of medium-to-high clouds in the sky will roll in from the east and possibly bring lightning.Temperatures will start dropping on Monday and the rest of the week will see seasonally normal weather.A heat wave hit Israel last month as well, one that affected the eastern Mediterranean region as well as the Balkans and much of Europe.The Health Ministry urged the elderly and the chronically ill to avoid exposure to the sun and called on the public to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and heatstroke. Authorities also banned lighting fires in public areas and placed an aerial firefighting squadron on special alert.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584387 172O69O150O44)
Uttar Pradesh's infrastructure is an attraction for investors from across the world: State governmentA

The hallmarks of Yogi government's achievements on the infrastructural front include pothole-free roads, a network of expressways, highway construction, improved connectivity to major cities, industrial corridors, defense corridors, and international and domestic airports, a UP government statement said.The state government's massive action to improve infrastructure of Uttar Pradesh has brought investment proposals worth more than Rs 36 lakh crore to Uttar Pradesh through the Global Investors Summit held in Lucknow early this year. Many of these proposals will be launched during the groundbreaking ceremony to be held soon in the state.State government officials said, "During GIS, when the possibilities of investment in UP were discussed with all the investors, everyone focused on UP's infrastructure in particular. Entrepreneurs believe that the rapid construction of expressways, highways, airports, and flyovers in the state has facilitated smoother connectivity between major cities and states."Besides Western Uttar Pradesh, which is close to the national capital Delhi, significant entrepreneurs have also come forward to invest in Purvanchal and Bundelkhand. "The state government has signed MoUs for investment of Rs 10 lakh crore in Purvanchal and about Rs 5 lakh crore in Bundelkhand which are expected to generate numerous jobs in these regions," statement added.Speaking of expressways, Uttar Pradesh is rapidly progressing towards becoming the first state in the country with 13 expressways. Currently, there are 6 operational expressways in the state, with a total length of 1225 kilometers, official statement said."Additionally, work is ongoing on 7 more expressways, which collectively span 1974 kilometers. The construction of the 341-kilometer-long Purvanchal Expressway and the 296-kilometer-long Bundelkhand Expressway began during Yogi government and was completed also during CM Yogi Adityanath's tenure," statement said.The Jhansi Link Expressway and Chitrakoot Link Expressway projects are progressing, while the Bundelkhand Expressway Defense Corridor project has also begun. The construction of the Gorakhpur-Purvanchal Link Expressway is also advancing, and a decision has been made to construct the Ballia Link Expressway from Gorakhpur to Majhi Ghat via Ballia, the statement said."Not just expressways, the Yogi government has also revitalized numerous highways and roads. Over 60,000 kilometers of roads have been made pothole-free, and special maintenance has been carried out on more than 17,000 kilometers of routes. The construction of 125 flyovers and 80 international entry points is underway in the state. New roads spanning 2941 kilometers have been constructed, and existing roads covering 2242 kilometers have been widened," government statement added.In this sequence, 70 new state highways with a length of 5604 kilometers and 57 new district roads with a length of 2831 kilometers have been announced. Connecting 26 tehsil headquarters and 151 block headquarters with 2-lane roads is in progress, along with the construction of roads leading to the villages of national and international athletes as well as martyrs, UP government statement further said."Furthermore, Uttar Pradesh is surging towards becoming the only state with 21 airports, including 5 international and 16 domestic airports. The largest international airport in the country is being developed in Jewar, while another international airport is under construction in Ayodhya as well," statement added.Notably, international airports are already operational in Kushinagar, Varanasi, and Lucknow. Furthermore, agreements have been made with the Airport Authority of India for the operation and management of airports in Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Sonbhadra, and Shravasti.As for connectivity, air services are available for 80 destinations in the state. There are 14 flights operating from Gorakhpur to various places and 12 flights from Prayagraj to different destinations."In addition to this, progress is being made in various other projects as well. A megafood park is being established in Baheri, Bareilly and an international film city is being set up on a 1000-acre land in Noida. The Atal Industrial Mission has been initiated, and there is progress on the Yamuna Expressway Medical Device Park," statement said.Furthermore, metro rail services have already started in four cities, while trial runs have been conducted in Agra, and preparations are underway for the DPR for Gorakhpur. Smart city projects have been initiated with a budget of Rs 547 crores for Ayodhya, Firozabad, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Mathura-Vrindavan, Meerut, and Shahjahanpur. Under the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana, 4007 kilometers of roads have been constructed.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584387 162O158O86O19)
G20 health ministers to participate in summit on traditional medicine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the meeting would seek to enhance the scientific basis of traditional medicine and help meet the UN targets for health.The summit next Thursday and Friday would "explore ways to scale up scientific advances and realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people's health and well-being around the world," he added.WHO emphasises that traditional medicine can be a catalyst for "achieving the goal of universal health coverage and meeting global health-related targets that were off-track even before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," Haq said.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be at the summit along with G20 Health Ministers and scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine and health workers, the organisation said."Bringing traditional medicine into the mainstream of healthcare -- appropriately, effectively, and above all, safely based on the latest scientific evidence -- can help bridge access gaps for millions of people around the world," he said.An aim of the summit is to enhance scientific rigour in traditional medicine, according to WHO.The summit will look for methodologies to develop a global research agenda and set priorities in traditional medicine, it said."Advancing science on traditional medicine should be held to the same rigorous standards as in other fields of health," said John Reeder, WHO's Director for Research and Health."This may require new thinking on the methodologies to address these more holistic, contextual approaches and provide evidence that is sufficiently conclusive and robust to lead to policy recommendations," he added.WHO said, "Natural doesn't always mean safe, and centuries of use are not a guarantee of efficacy; therefore, scientific method and process must be applied to provide the rigorous evidence required for the recommendation of traditional medicines in WHO guidelines."(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584388 172O70O242O64)
Ukrainian Navy designates temporary corridors for merchant vessels in Black Sea

The sea lanes have been proposed by Ukraine to the International Maritime Organisation, the Ukrainian Navy said on Thursday in a statement on Facebook.The routes will be primarily used to allow civilian ships stuck in the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny due to the Russia-Ukraine war to leave Ukrainian waters, the statement added.The Ukrainian Navy emphasised that military threats and mine danger in the Black Sea persist, blaming Russia for creating hazards to merchant shipping, Xinhua news agency reported.After the Black Sea Grain Initiative collapsed last month, Russia and Ukraine said they would consider ships sailing to each other's ports through the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo.int/khz(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584388 162O158O111O204)
Minimal flows from Jackson Lake Dam this spring were enough to avoid "any widespread or significant impacts to the Snake River fishery," said Darren Rhea, Wyoming Game and Fish Department fisheries supervisor in the Jackson Region.

Going into this spring, there was concern that wouldn't happen. Under pressure from WGFD, the Bureau of Reclamation and the state of Wyoming reached an agreement to avoid impacts to fisheries.

Reclamation was able to maintain minimal flows from the dam to support the river and preserve the Oxbow, while strong runoff from large tributaries immediately downstream helped augment the typical spring flow and sustain critical habitat throughout the river, he added.

Uncommon hydrologic conditions created an imbalance in the Upper Snake reservoir system during the 2023 water year, with water levels low in the upper reaches (Jackson Lake) and high in the lower reaches, WGFD explained. The imbalance created the potential for a loss of storable water in the reservoir system if flows were to have spilled past Milner Dam in southern Idaho.

As water conditions evolved, Reclamation was able to operate the reservoir system to meet flood risk requirements, avoid water supply storage loss, and maintain 280 cubic feet per second below Jackson Lake Dam without use of Wyomings contracted space in Palisades Reservoir. Following peak runoff in June, Reclamation coordinated with managing partners and began operating Jackson Lake Dam to meet downstream demands.

As part of the agencies continued commitments to transparency and collaboration, planning for fall agency and public meetings is underway, where resource managers will discuss water operations outlook, fisheries, and research opportunities to support future management. Additionally, Reclamation plans to share with the public foundational information about how federal reservoir systems operate. The public meetings are slated for Sept. 14.

As federal stewards, we recognize our tremendous responsibility to work with our partners to continue providing the many benefits of the upper Snake system while finding solutions that are good for fish and for people said Snake River Area Manager Lanie Paquin, in a statement.

Reclamation and the state of Wyoming will work together to review and, if needed, update the 1996 Guidelines for Decision-Making in Operation of Wyomings Contracted Space in Palisades Reservoir to promote a greater shared understanding and enhance future coordination efforts. This undertaking also will include collaboration with Idaho water users, as well as other interested stakeholders. Through these discussions, Reclamation is committed to finding long-term solutions that address Wyomings concerns, while meeting its contractual obligations and operational responsibilities.
UN agencies urge action following another Mediterranean tragedy

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) pressed for a more unified approach to search and rescue operations, said the UN News on Thursday.This recent tragedy, unfolding between August 3 and 4, saw only four individuals rescued -- by a commercial ship. These survivors, later escorted to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard, shared that they were initially a group of 45. Sadly, 41, including three children, remain unaccounted for.Lending support during the disembarkation and initial reception stages, IOM, UNHCR, and Unicef collaborate with local authorities in Lampedusa. Their aim is to guarantee that those in need of international protection receive it and to identify individuals with particular needs promptly, Xinhua news agency reported.Such incidents contribute to the escalating death toll from shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean. Data from IOM's Missing Migrants Project indicates that more than 1,800 individuals have either died or gone missing on this route in 2023 alone. Shockingly, this path represents more than 75 per cent of all Mediterranean fatalities over the past decade.The vessel involved, an iron barge that embarked from Sfax, Tunisia, fell victim to the merciless Mediterranean waves. The UN agencies emphasise the heightened risks associated with iron vessel crossings, especially under adverse weather conditions, UN News said.These "heart-wrenching events" illuminate the smugglers' utter lack of humanity towards the migrants and refugees. This is further exemplified by a recent incident off Lampedusa where a pregnant woman and her child perished, according to UN News.Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, highlighted the need for improved management of these migration flows.On the social media platform X (previously Twitter), Grandi emphasised addressing underlying issues, responses in transit nations, trafficking, and establishing secure migration routes. Without further commitment from states towards structured and coordinated sea rescues, he warns, tragedies like this will undoubtedly recur.int/khz(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584388 172O70O250O87)
UN experts seek info on Tibet's detained environment defenders

In a statement on Thursday, the three experts -- the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association; and the Special Rapporteur on human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment -- admonished the Chinese government to provide details about the reason for detention and the health conditions of the nine Tibetans, all of whom were detained between 2010 and 2019.The Special Rapporteurs also emphasized that Chinese authorities should provide adequate medical care and permit the Tibetans' families to visit them.They also stated that the lack of information shared by Chinese authorities could be interpreted as a "deliberate attempt" to hide the environmental defenders from global attention."We welcome the Special Rapporteurs' forceful challenge to Chinese authorities' persecution of environmental defenders," said Kai Mueller, Executive Director of the International Campaign for Tibet Germany."China must reverse its dismal record and prove its claimed prioritization of environmental protection is more than a global smoke screen for unfettered exploitation of the Tibetan Plateau. It must prove that by releasing these nine activists and ending its broad persecution of Tibetan environmental defenders."Mueller added "The international community should raise these cases of persecution during the upcoming Universal Periodic Review of China at the United Nations Human Rights Council early next year."The nine Tibetans identified in the release, Anya Sengdra, Dorjee Daktal, Kelsang Choklang, Dhongye, Rinchen Namdol, Tsultrim Gonpo, Jangchup Ngodup, Sogru Abhu and Namesy, were all detained after they protested illegal mining activities or exposed the poaching of endangered species.While some were handed prison sentences of up to 11 years, the length of sentences imposed in six cases, namely against Dhongye, Rinchen Namdol, Tsultrim Gonpo, Jangchup Ngodup, Sogru Abhu and Namsey, have not been made public by the Chinese government.As the UN experts underscored, the extent to which the imprisoned Tibetans had access to legal representation, and whether any of them have been provided with medical assistance while in prison, also remain unclear.Over the last two decades, as the Chinese government has scaled up mining, damming, urbanisation projects and other infrastructure across Tibet, environmental defenders have faced mounting persecution for their efforts.(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584389 162O158O110O81)
Chinese warship docks in Colombo

In a statement, the Navy said the warship, HAI YANG 24 HAO of China's People's Liberation Army, arrived in the capital city on Thursday.The 129 metre-long ship is manned by a crew of 138 and commanded by Commander Jin Xin. It will depart on Saturday, the statement added.In August last year despite security concerns raised by India about the Chinese vessel's presence in nearby waters, the Yuan Wang 5 had docked at the Hambantota Port following delays.At the time, Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry had said that the government engaged in "extensive" consultations with "all parties concerned" with a "view to resolving the matter in a spirit of friendship, mutual trust and constructive dialogue".It said the ship was allowed to dock on the condition that no scientific research was conducted in Sri Lankan waters.On its part, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that the ship would conduct scientific research "in accordance with international law".(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584389 172O70O250O176)
Socionext strengthens design and development capabilities with new office in Bangalore, India

The office is located at No652 Khata No 4312/652, 22nd Cross, 23rd Main, HSR Layout, Sector-2, Bangalore-560102, India. Socionext America, the US subsidiary of Socionext, Inc., will head operations of the new India branch office, which is scheduled to open on August 16, 2023.Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, is a major hub for advanced technology and software companies. The city is home to numerous research and development centers, IT start-ups, gaming companies, and hundreds of engineering colleges offering companies access to a vast talent pool.The growth of major India tech companies over the next decade will increase significantly, according to TechNavio."Bangalore is strategically chosen for scaling up our operations," said Hisato Yoshida, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Global Business Development at Socionext. "Due to Socionext's remarkable growth over the last several years, we are seeking to expand our R&D resources in order to better serve our customers' needs.""Having a new office abroad helps us to better understand and operate in scale," said Rajinder Cheema, Sr. Vice President of Engineering at Socionext America. "Socionext's expansion into India opens new opportunities for the company's growth and diversification and access to local markets, workforce talents, and investment opportunities."About Socionext America Inc.Socionext America Inc. is the US branch of Socionext Inc., one of the world's leading fabless SoC suppliers. Headquartered in Milpitas, California, the company provides leading-edge technologies and offers a wide range of standard and customizable SoC solutions. Socionext America meets customers' requirements with quality semiconductor products based on extensive and differentiated IPs, proven design methodologies, and state-of-the-art implementation expertise, with full support.For product information, visit our website, e-mail sna_inquiry@us.socionext.com or call 1-844-868-1795. For company news and updates, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.About Socionext Inc.Socionext Inc. is a global SoC supplier and a pioneer of a unique "Solution SoC" business model through decades of industry experience and expertise. Socionext contributes to global innovation in advanced technologies including automotive, data center, networking, and smart devices. As a trusted silicon partner, Socionext delivers superior features, performance, and quality that differentiate its customers' products and services from their competition.Socionext Inc. is headquartered in Yokohama, and has offices in Japan, Asia, United States and Europe to lead its development and sales activities. For more information, visit https//www.socionext.com/en/.Photo - https//mma.prnewswire.com/media/2182839/Socionext_India_Office.jpg(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584389 172O70O247O161)
KCR delighted over environmental clearance for Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme

The Chief Minister is happy that the lift project got the clearance when the first stage works reached the final stage and were ready for the next phase.CM KCR said it a delightful moment that the clearances will help to speed up the second phase works which provides irrigation water to 12.30 lakh acres in erstwhile Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar districts.The CM said that it is another historical victory for Telangana that the state succeeded in getting clearances against all odds.Apart from the construction of projects, Telangana once again proved it is unmatched in obtaining permissions. It is the testament of the government's commitment, the CM said.The chief minister congratulated the engineering officials of the Irrigation department who worked hard to get the environmental approvals for Palamuru lift scheme and, and said the time has come to wash the feet of Palamuru citizens with river Krishna water soon.Meanwhile, state minister and BRs working president K.T. Rama Rao has congratulated farmers of erstwhile Mahbubnagar and Rangareddy districts."Tenacious efforts of Hon'ble CM KCR have paid off and now the much awaited Palamuru - RR lift irrigation scheme will be completed on a war footing," he tweeted.(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584390 172O70O250O4)
Effective Treatment of Budd-Chiari Syndrome at Jehangir Hospital

BCS is a group of disorders characterised by hepatic venous outflow occlusion, and if left untreated, it can lead to liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.The study highlights the significance of timely diagnosis and effective disease management in improving patient outcomes.The patient presented with jaundice, ascites, decreased appetite, and weakness, indicating acute liver injury. Dr Parimal S Lawate & Dr Harish Soni were leading the case and further examination revealed sarcopenia, bilateral lower limb edema, and a history of cirrhosis. Doppler imaging confirmed hepatic vein thrombosis, resulting in portal hypertension. A provisional diagnosis of BCS with acute liver failure and decompensated cirrhosis was made.The case study employed a comprehensive approach involving physical examinations, blood tests, radiological imaging, and Doppler studies. The patient's medical history, symptoms, and diagnostic findings were analysed to establish an accurate diagnosis. Doctors at Jehangir Hospital started specific therapies for each of her ailments. The treatment plan was tailored to address the specific ailments associated with BCS, i.e jaundice, decompensated cirrhosis, and ascites.The patient was prescribed a combination of anticoagulants, diuretics, liver-supportive medications, beta-blockers, and antacids. She showed significant improvement within a week and was discharged with oral medications and an oral anticoagulant for follow-up.One month later, the patient presented with gross ascites, jaundice, difficulty breathing, and signs of sepsis. Prompt resuscitation, administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and laboratory investigations revealed renal injury, hepatic encephalopathy, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Intensive care and monitoring were initiated, along with appropriate therapies for sepsis, renal injury, and metabolic encephalopathy.After a week of intensive care, the patient's clinical condition and blood parameters improved substantially. As the patient went into acute liver failure, so we listed the patient in the Liver transplant registry and to prevent recurrent ascitic fluid accumulation, the decision to perform Direct Intrahepatic Porto-Caval Shunt was made.The DIPS procedure, which was conducted successfully by Dr Mukul Mutatkar, resulted in decompression of the portal venous system hence reduced portal pressures, and eliminated the need for repeated therapeutic ascitic tapping. The patient's overall health improved, and she was discharged on oral medications for continued management.Dr Mukul Mutatkar, Interventional Radiologist says, "The patient's presentation with jaundice, ascites, decreased appetite, and weakness necessitated immediate action. Our comprehensive approach, including specific therapies, anticoagulants, and the successful DIPS procedure, ensured significant improvement and saved the patient's life. Our teamwork, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate treatment strategies ensured the patient's remarkable recovery."Progression of BCS can be fulminant, acute, or chronic, but it is usually asymptomatic for a long period of time until it progresses rapidly to liver cirrhosis and the development of portal hypertension.If timely diagnosis and disease management are not initiated, significant morbidity is associated with BCS, with 1-year and 3-year untreated mortality exceeding 70% and 89%, respectively.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584390 172O70O247O94)
Alkem Laboratories Unveils Campaign to Celebrate 50 Years of Excellence

Established in 1973, the company has played a pioneering role in revolutionizing healthcare, and today, it stands tall as a symbol of quality, innovation, and commitment to improving lives. As part of this momentous occasion, Alkem introduced its new tagline, 'Inspiring Healthier Lives' a testament to its enduring vision and values.From humble beginnings to global prominence, Alkem Laboratories has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to providing accessible and affordable healthcare solutions to millions of people worldwide. The company's founders, Late Samprada Singh, and his brother B.N Singh with their unwavering determination laid the foundation for a legacy that continues to thrive under the visionary leadership of Sandeep Singh.Reflecting on the 50-year journey, Sandeep Singh, Managing Director shared his thoughts, saying, "This is a moment of immense pride for all of us at Alkem Laboratories. Over the past five decades, we have consistently pursued excellence in pharmaceuticals, striving to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients. The launch of our tagline statement, 'Inspiring Healthier Lives,' is a testament to our commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality healthcare solutions that positively impact individuals, families, and communities."The credo, 'Inspiring Healthier Lives' underscores Alkem's core values, encapsulating its dedication in enhancing global health outcomes. Through cutting-edge research and development, the company has introduced a wide array of breakthrough therapies across various therapeutic categories such as Anti-infective, Gastro-intestinal, Pain management and Vitamins/Minerals/Nutrients to name a few etc. addressing some of the most pressing healthcare challenges of the current time.Founder and Chairman, B.N Singh, while reflecting on Alkem's incredible journey, remarked, "When we began this journey fifty years ago, our vision was clear - to provide affordable medicines without compromising on quality. Today, as we celebrate our Golden anniversary, we are overwhelmed by the positive impact we have created on countless lives. Our credo encapsulates the spirit of Alkem, and I have no doubt that the company will continue to inspire healthier lives for generations to come."Alkem Laboratories' commitment to corporate social responsibility has been integral to its journey. Through various healthcare awareness initiatives, disease prevention programs, and medical assistance to underserved communities, the company has touched the lives of people far beyond the realm of pharmaceuticals.To commemorate the 50-year milestone, Alkem Laboratories will host a series of events, both virtual and in-person, to express gratitude to its employees, stakeholders, partners, and the medical community whose dedication and support have been instrumental in the company's success. Alkem will also be publishing their 1st annual CSR report and their coffee table book to commemorate this journey.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584390 172O70O246O62)
Appu Series Introduces India's First 4K Animated Feature Film - APPU

Diving into an enchanting world, 'APPU' follows the adventures of Appu, the lovable elephant calf, whose mischievous spirit wins the hearts of children and adults alike. When faced with the heart-wrenching loss of his mother and the capture of his father by poachers, Appu embarks on a heroic journey, discovering his powers and a newfound strength to protect his family and species."We are thrilled to present 'APPU' to the world," said Suraj Raheja at Appu Series. "With our commitment to excellence in edutainment, this film carries a powerful message about wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship. Through the magic of animation, we aim to inspire the young generation to cherish and protect our precious wildlife."As we approach Elephant's Day, a symbolic tribute to these magnificent creatures, 'APPU' aspires to raise awareness about elephant conservation and the importance of preserving our natural heritage. The film's emotive storytelling and cutting-edge 4K resolution promise a captivating experience for audiences of all ages.Appu IP was created as a medium to change the way children learn by making learning as entertaining as possible. Appu Series punctuates their motto of 'learning through fun!' Besides the movie, Appu Series boasts over 1000 animated English songs; Appu - The Yogic Elephant TV Web Series ; Grade Based Content Math, covered in 809 videos with a duration of approximately 61 hours; Logical and Math Puzzles; 1000 animated Puzzles and Brain Teasers; and Appu Merchandise.As families prepare to embark on this awe-inspiring cinematic adventure, 'APPU' stands as a beacon of inspiration and education, encouraging the young minds of today to become compassionate and responsible stewards of our planet's precious wildlife.For more information about 'APPU' - the animated feature film, and Appu Series, please visit their website.Appu Series, a division of Media Fusion Pvt. Ltd., is a multimedia company dedicated to revolutionizing children's education through entertaining content. With over two billion views on YouTube and close to two million subscribers, Appu Series has become a front-runner in the edutainment industry. From educational rhymes to math lessons and captivating stories, Appu Series continues to set new standards in engaging and enriching learning experiences.Media ContactName Mayank JainEmail Mayank@elitediscoveries.com(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584391 172O70O247O10)
Josh Lucas shot underwater scenes for 6 to 8 hours for 'Black Demon'

The film, directed by Adrian Grunberg, follows Paul and his family in a hellish ordeal where they realise that a local oil rig is being terrorised by a gigantic megalodon. Stranded in the middle of the ocean with no one to their rescue, they must make it out alive to save the villagersThe film also stars Josh Lucas, Fernanda Urrejola, Julio Cesar Cedillo and Venus Ariel.Talking about the most challenging part of filming and his favourite scene, Josh Lucas said "I think it's a weird thing to say that my favourite scenes to shoot were probably the underwater scenes, they were really strange. Because I was shooting underwater, sometimes 6 to 8 hours a day with this team of divers and pretending to be removing a bomb and fighting against a shark, doing this kind of wild stuff."He further mentioned "You're alone in this environment with a group of divers, and you're trying to communicate back and forth with your family who is on a raft up above, and the whole thing is in your imagination. Yet, you're 30 feet deep for 6 hours at times and it is kind of like this oil rig (points to the set) that this group of people created. It was just challenging in a way that was like when you walk away everyday being exhausted with the thought of 'wow I might've done something really cool'. I hope the emotion of those experiences is really there in the film."The film is set to have its digital premiere on Lionsgate Play on September 8, 2023 in India.(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584391 172O70O247O119)
UN to focus on North Korea rights violations and missile programA

North Korea launched numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as a large number of ballistic missiles this year, according to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.North Korea frequently claims that the joint military drills between the United States and South Korea are to blame for the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and claims that its missile programme is designed to intimidate and "strike fear" into its adversaries, VOA reported."We know the government's human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program," Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in a joint interaction with the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan and Albania."The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and the Republic of Korea," the US envoy said about the systemic human rights abuses, VOA reported.The United States holds the 15-nation Security Council's rotating presidency this month and Thomas-Greenfield has said that human rights would be the core theme.It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is "long overdue."Russia and China often argue that the Security Council is not the correct UN venue to discuss human rights issues. But a senior US official who briefed reporters Thursday said none of the other forums focuses on the links between North Korea's WMD and ballistic missile advancements, which is why the Security Council must be briefed on the issue, VOA reported.Moscow and Beijing could call for a procedural vote in a bid to block the meeting. Nine of the 15 council members would then have to vote in favour of holding it for the meeting to happen. The senior US official said Washington is "in a comfortable place" in terms of having sufficient council support.The council will be briefed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in North Korea Elizabeth Salmon, as well as a civil society representative, VOA reported."Protecting people around the world is an integral part of the UN Charter and an important responsibility of the Security Council," the ambassador said."And that means holding the DPRK regime accountable for its human rights abuses and violations," the ambassador added.DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.The senior US official said that Pyongyang's use of forced labour to fund its illicit weapons programs would also be highlighted at the session.The Kim government's human rights abuses are well known. The UN Commission of Inquiry and other independent human rights experts have documented testimony from hundreds of defectors.In 2014, the COI found that North Korea's violations had risen to the level of crimes against humanity. Among them, the report found, "extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation."According to VOA, the last time the council discussed North Korea's human rights was at an informal, "Arria" style meeting in March. China objected to it, saying it was not constructive and would not ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and blocked the consensus necessary to broadcast it on the United Nations website.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584391 172O70O242O126)
TUNIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 57th Carthage International Festival is being held at the site of Carthage in Tunisia's capital Tunis. Dancers from China's Ningxia Art Troupe attended the festival and staged a fabulous performance for the audience.

Carthage, builtin the 9th century B.C., is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a famous scenic spot.

The festival, held every summer during the tourist season, isthe largest and most influential art festival in Tunisia, withartists from across the world performing at the ancient Roman theaterthere.

It resumed last year after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.This year's festival runs from July 14 toAugust 19.
In great detail, spelled out in 137 pages, Yellowstone National Parks staff has laid out their argument for a more hands-off and less lethal model of managing the parks bison herd, setting up what could be a confrontation with the state of Montana.

The parks Bison Management Plan draft environmental impact statement was released to the public for comment on Thursday, outlining three possible alternatives.

Last year, when the Park Service first announced the planning process, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte wrote a letter to the agency advocating for a halt to the process to identify mutually acceptable management alternatives.

At about the same time, the Nez Perce Tribe tentatively supported allowing the bison herd to grow to more than 7,000 animals.

Yellowstone has and will continue to engage the State of Montana on issues it has outlined, said Morgan Warthin, chief of Public Affairs for Yellowstone, in an email. The park will also continue consulting with Tribes and other cooperating agencies and carefully evaluate public comments during this process.

Learn more

Now the public has its second opportunity to weigh in. During the scoping period, which sparked the governors and Nez Perce Tribes remarks, more than 2,500 public comments were received.

We are evaluating comments from the State of Montana along with others, Warthin noted.

Two online public meetings have been scheduled to provide an opportunity to learn more about the plan and planning process and to ask Park Service staff questions.

The first webinar is set for Aug. 28 at 10:30 a.m. (the link is bit.ly/YellowstoneBisonEIS) and the second is on Aug. 29 at 4 p.m. (bit.ly/YellowstoneBisonEIS2).

The deadline to submit comments is Sept. 25. A final EIS is expected to be released in 2024.

This plan allows the NPS to evaluate bison management based on new scientific information and changed circumstances, explore ways to reduce bison being sent to slaughter, and to continue working closely with Tribal Nations and agency partners in management, the agency wrote in a press release. The Draft EIS will also consider the bison management actions likely to occur on lands outside the park in Montana, while acknowledging the NPS does not have jurisdiction or control over actions such as hunting or tolerance for bison beyond the park boundary.

Alternatives

Here are the three alternatives for bison management the Park Service has outlined:

Alternative 1: "The NPS would continue management of bison pursuant to the existing Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), approved in 2000. This would maintain a population range of bison similar to the last two decades (3,500 to 5,000 bison after calving), continue hunt-trap coordination to balance population regulation in the park by using culling and hunting opportunities outside the park, increase the number of brucellosis-free bison relocated to Tribal lands via the Bison Conservation Transfer Program (BCTP), and work with the state of Montana to manage the already low risk of brucellosis spreading from bison to cattle."

Since 2012, the NPS and other IBMP partners have met the goals of the group while averaging a population of about 5,000 bison after calving. Shipments of bison to slaughter, to reduce their population, have ranged between 0 and 1,304 each winter.

Managing to a population closer to 3,000, as Gianforte has called for, could substantially decrease genetic diversity and skew the age and sex composition of the population, the Park Service said.

Alternative 2: Bison would be managed within a population range of about 3,500 to 6,000 animals after calving with an emphasis on using the transfer program to restore bison to tribal lands and tribal treaty hunting outside the park to regulate numbers.

Under this alternative, to reduce stress on animals from shipping them to slaughter or to address a lack of slaughter facility availability or capacity, NPS staff may cull some captured bison on-site by shooting them within the fenced pastures of the bison facility at Stephens Creek. About five to 20 bison per day could be killed, depending on the number of people available to process, load and transport bison. This would involve collaborative management between the Park Service and tribes.

The Park Service could also collaborate with other IBMP members and treaty tribes to evaluate temporary capture facilities at the north end of Gardiner Basin, farther away from the park boundary where hunting is now concentrated. This could help spread hunters out in the narrow basin.

Alternative 3: The NPS would rely on natural selection, bison dispersal, and public and tribal harvests in Montana as the primary tools to regulate numbers, which would likely range from 3,500 to 7,000 or more animals after calving.

This alternative would preserve the most bison with the least management.

Captures of bison for shipments to slaughter would immediately cease, with natural selection and public and tribal hunter harvests outside the park in Montana the primary way to limit bison numbers.

Larger hunter harvests would have to occur more frequently outside the park for this alternative to be effective, the Park Service noted, which may necessitate tribal and public hunters allowing bison to distribute across a larger landscape before hunting them.

However, should the bison population approach 7,000 animals, removals of more than 1,000 bison would need to occur to slow population growth.

We look forward to digging into the draft EIS and making recommendations for a new plan that continues the parks commitment to reducing slaughter, emphasizes using the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to rehome healthy bison to Tribal lands, and incorporates a target population range based on the best available science, said Scott Christensen, executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, in a statement.

Background

Since 1995, the parks management of bison has been governed by an agreement between the Park Service and state of Montana. This led to the creation of the Interagency Bison Management Plan, a group of state and federal officials  and later tribal representatives  to guide oversight of the animals.

The IBMP was created based on concerns about bison transferring brucellosis to cattle. Such an infection costs cattle producers money and time, but so far in Montana all cases of brucellosis infections in livestock have been traced to elk, which can also carry the disease.

Because of these disease concerns more than two decades ago, the Montana Legislature put the Department of Livestock in charge of bison management in the state  the only wildlife species in the state under DOLs direct control.

In agreements initially developed by the IBMP, the goal was to keep the Yellowstone bison herd small enough  around 3,000 to 3,500  that the animals wouldnt want to migrate out of the park in winter in search of food and possibly come into contact with livestock.

In the past 23 years, however, the Park Service has developed a body of brucellosis studies that provide a better understanding of how the disease is transmitted and the herd has grown. Last year the population was estimated at close to 6,000 animals.

Brucellosis

Heres some of the knowledge that has changed over time regarding the understanding of brucellosis. Greater detail is provided in the EIS.

"About 60% of adult female Yellowstone bison test positive for brucellosis antibodies in their blood, indicating previous exposure to the bacteria that causes brucellosis, but only 10% to 15% are infectious and could potentially shed bacteria and spread the disease to other bison, cattle or elk.

"In 2010, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service changed regulations to deal with brucellosis outbreaks in cattle on a herd-by-herd basis, without imposing unnecessary corrective actions and associated economic costs on the rest of the producers in the state. If outbreaks are investigated and contained by removing all cattle testing positive for brucellosis, the entire state or area is not reclassified or subject to corrective actions."

In 2015, Montana increased tolerance for more bison on public lands to the west of the park.

In 2016, genetic data indicated elk, not bison, had infected cattle herds with brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone at least 27 times. Elk exposed to brucellosis roam about 17 million acres, whereas Yellowstone bison are restricted to about 1.5 million acres, mostly in the park.

The eradication of brucellosis would require eliminating the disease in elk, which would involve attempting to capture, test and vaccinate or slaughter tens of thousands of elk across the entire Greater Yellowstone Area, which most people consider unacceptable and impossible at this time, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded in 2020.

Following a study, the Park Service determined that park-wide vaccination of bison for brucellosis would not achieve desired results and could have unintended negative effects to the population and visitors' experience.

Quarantine

Before live bison can be transferred to tribes, they must pass a series of tests guaranteeing the animals are brucellosis-free. To do this, the bison are placed in quarantine facilities. For males, the testing can take almost two years. For females it now takes close to two-and-a-half years.

Initially, the Park Service envisioned using existing quarantine facilities in the park near Stephens Creek, north of the park at Corwin Springs, and on the Fort Peck Reservation for its Bison Conservation Transfer Program which provides live animals to tribes. However, Montana maintained that the shipment of Yellowstone bison through Montana to the Fort Peck Reservation was not allowed before the animals completed the first two phases of quarantine.

In addition, APHIS maintained quarantine facilities for Yellowstone bison could only be established in the Designated Surveillance Area for brucellosis, an area where elk are monitored outside the park. The quarantine facility on the Fort Peck Reservation is located outside this surveillance area, so live bison are only allowed to conclude the last phase of brucellosis testing there, greatly limiting the number of bison the park is able to place in the initial phases of quarantine.

Although the state is concerned about the transportation of live bison to Fort Peck for quarantine, the disease has not been transmitted from bison to cattle despite the shipment of almost 6,450 bison to slaughter in Montana and Idaho since 2001. When combined with hunting, the majority of which is tribal, 11,470 Yellowstone bison have been killed since 2001.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, which helped fund the parks construction of a new quarantine facility near Gardiner, praised the draft Bison Management Plan, saying it is a critical opportunity to preserve the last 20 years of progress made conserving the most ecologically and culturally significant wild bison herd on the planet.

Shorter?

The Park Service is working with APHIS and Montana to see whether this quarantine protocol can be shortened, especially for male bison. Though male bison can shed Brucella abortus bacteria in semen, they likely are not capable of infecting females due to low numbers of bacteria, the EIS said.

In 2022, APHIS and the NPS analyzed existing quarantine data to determine the number of days a group of bison needed to be held and tested in quarantine to ensure a negligible risk of one animal having brucellosis, the EIS said. A time-to-event model using this data predicted 95% of bison with brucellosis would test positive within 210 days, 99% by 250 days, and 99.9% by 294 days. In other words, only one in 1,000 bison (0.0014 probability) with brucellosis bacteria would not be detected by 300 days and fewer than four in 10,000 bison would not be detected by 330 days.

These findings suggest regulators could reduce testing timelines to allow animals to complete quarantine within one year with negligible risk of brucellosis transmission, the Park Service said.

Since 2005, APHIS and the Park Service have placed more than 600 Yellowstone bison in quarantine, the EIS said. The average time in quarantine was about 700 days (888 days for females and 660 days for males). The maximum time an animal was in quarantine before release was 1,356 days. The latest detections of brucellosis antibodies during testing in quarantine were at day 232 (male bison) and 259 (female bison), with 67 bison (11%) testing positive for brucellosis exposure while in a holding facility.

Reducing the quarantine requirements of bison to less than one year, while still using assurance testing as an added safety measure, could nearly triple the capacity of the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. That means up to eight groups of about 225 bison could be advanced to assurance testing at Fort Peck annually.

That would quickly dwarf the current bison transfer program. Since 2019, 294 brucellosis-free Yellowstone bison have been transferred to the Fort Peck Tribes for redistribution to other tribes.

Tribes

Some tribes believe the management of Yellowstone bison reflects the history of the United States treatment of tribes, the Park Service said.

Yet the agency is making an effort to make amends.

In September 2022, the NPS director issued a policy memorandum describing how the Park Service would ensure Tribal Nations play an integral role in decision-making related to the management of federal lands and waters through co-stewardship, the EIS noted. Co-stewardship refers to collaborative partnerships for managing and preserving natural and cultural resources under the responsibility of federal land managers. It includes the sharing of expertise and information and combining capabilities to improve resource management, advance shared interests, and ensure tribal involvement when plans or activities may affect their interests, practices, or traditional use areas.

Additionally, in November 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality issued guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge.

Then in January 2023, the Secretary of the Interior issued order 3410, Restoration of American Bison and the Prairie Grasslands, to enhance the agencys work to restore wild and healthy populations of bison through collaboration with other federal agencies, states, tribes and landowners.

Troy Heinert, executive director of the Intertribal Buffalo Council, said in an email, We are happy to see that the bison transfer program is an integral part of each alternative in the EIS. ITBC has always advocated for the transfer of live buffalo to tribal lands. There is a unique connection between Yellowstone buffalo and Tribal people and we are thrilled to re-establish that connection.

Hunts

The EIS noted, In recent years, concentrated tribal hunters on national forest lands near the park boundary have, at times, resulted in conflicts with nearby residents due to shooting near roads and houses, gut piles left on the landscape, shooting of elk and other ungulates, and occasional incidents of shooting toward other hunters, houses and cars. The Park Service said its Bison Management Plan will not resolve such issues.

However, it has advocated for expanding the habitat for bison outside the park on public lands, which in theory would help spread hunters out, rather than concentrating them in the Gardiner Basin.

To that end, and to the state of Montanas displeasure, the Park Service has pointed to the Custer Gallatin National Forests Land Management Plan which identified possible bison habitat.

The Park Service would work with the Custer Gallatin National Forest on projects to create or connect suitable bison habitat and allow bison to be present and distributed year-round on the national forest, the draft EIS said. This could involve exploring options for hazing, trailering, or otherwise releasing or relocating small family groups (10 to 20 bison) captured in the Stephens Creek Administrative Area to federal lands within the northern or western management areas.

In his 2022 letter to the Park Service, Gov. Gianforte aimed to shoot such speculation down. He wrote, It is important for (the National Park Service) to understand that Montanas tolerance is limited, and any assumption of continued tolerance zone expansion presumes too much.

Mike Honeycutt, executive officer for the Montana Department of Livestock, said his agency is not yet ready to comment on Yellowstones draft EIS.

We need to evaluate the final draft alternatives and discuss them internally and with our partners in other state and federal agencies before making any official comment, he wrote in an email. I do not have a timeline for that process, but it will obviously be before the end of the public comment period.

The preferred method for submitting comments before Sept. 25 is online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/YellowstonebisonEIS. Comments may also be mailed or hand-delivered to: Superintendent, Attn: Bison Management Plan, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.
England striker Harry Kane agrees Bayern Munich move, set for medical on Friday: Reports

After weeks of protracted talks, Bayern and Spurs agreed a deal worth more than a100 million (A86.4m) for the star striker.Kane was reportedly leaning towards staying in north London but now has agreed to join Bayern Munich in a deal worth more than A86m and will pen a four-year contract at the Allianz Arena, Eurosport reported.The 30-year-old wanted his future to be settled before Spur's season-opening Premier League game at Brentford on Sunday.Kane has been the German champions' leading target all summer and they had several bids rejected before reaching an agreement on Thursday.It is expected that the striker will wear the No.9 shirt, vacated by Robert Lewandowski after his move to Barcelona a year ago.The forward is Tottenham's all-time top scorer with 280 goals in 435 appearances. With 213 goals in 320 Premier League games, he is currently 48 goals off breaking Alan Shearer's record as the highest scorer in Premier League history.Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times -- in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21 -- since making his debut for the club in 2012.bc/bsk(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584391 172O70O246O58)
Green Curriculum for the Green-themed International Youth Day

Aligned with this year's theme for International Youth Day, 'Green Skills for the Youth Towards a Sustainable World', the curriculum aims to instill a 'green mindset' among young students.The self-learning-based curriculum is developed to increase awareness about consequences of climate change and help young minds imagine an alternative future for our planet. The curriculum places young people at the center of this changing world and provides them with tools to champion climate action.The 'green curriculum' has 13 modules which cover various topics such as green mindset, evolution of agriculture and industry, sustainable practices, emerging green job opportunities, future trends and judicious resource utilization.The content employs an engaging audio-visual narrative format to simplify intricate environmental issues for young learners. The curriculum, originally designed for students of the ITIs and other vocational courses, is highly relevant and suitable for other school students too.The curriculum can be accessed on Quest Alliance's 'Quest app' on Google Play Store. It can also be accessed on the internet using the link questapp.in. The curriculum intends to provide green content to students, teachers and parents on demand. Besides being available on the internet, the green curriculum will also be taught to thousands of students in network schools of Quest Alliance.Nikita Bengani, Director, Quest Alliance, said, "The immediacy of the climate crisis demands a swift transition towards a sustainable future. The green curriculum serves as a vital tool, cultivating awareness, values, and attitudes necessary to thrive in and support a resource-efficient society."She also added that the green curriculum will help the youth develop a sustainability mindset, empowering them to apply these principles in their daily lives. "By nurturing awareness, action, and intent, we aim to inspire young learners to pursue meaningful green careers," she added.The UN International Youth Day is observed on August 12 of every year since 1998, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today's global society.Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit trust that equips young people with 21st century skills by enabling self-learning. We design scalable solutions that enable educators to address critical gaps for quality education and skills training. We facilitate learning networks and collaboration to bring about systemic change fueled by research and innovation.For more information, please visit the website www.questalliance.net.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584392 172O69O150O210)
Abhishek Banerjee thought he would portray SRK in 'Dream Girl 2'

Abhishek Banerjee, who has earned a reputation for his versatility, is known for his work in 'Mirzapur', 'Stree', 'Bhediya', 'Paatal Lok' and several other projects.Speaking about his character, he revealed, "My character's name in the film is Shah Rukh, which initially led me to wonder if I was supposed to portray the real Shah Rukh Khan or a romantic character. However, after reading the script, I discovered that this character is entirely different."Talking about the vulnerable side of his character, Abhishek revealed "He is a person struggling with depression and sadness, but when he encounters Pooja, he finds a glimmer of hope in his life."'Dream Girl 2' which is a sequel to the superhit Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer 2019 release, also stars Ayushmann and Ananya Panday. Accompanying them on this laughter-filled journey are a talented ensemble of actors, including Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Annu Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Seema Pahwa, and Vijay Raaz, all ready to deliver an entertaining performance that is sure to resonate with the audience.Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa and produced by Ektaa R. Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, the film is scheduled to hit the cinemas on August 25, 2023.aa/kvd(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584392 172O70O246O58)
Issues of South China Sea need to be resolved peacefully: MEA

"Let me emphasize where we are on the South China Sea developments. We've always felt that the issues need to be resolved, disputes peacefully, and the rules-based order, and we would certainly urge parties to follow that as well as ensure that no such incidents do not happen," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said when asked whether the tension between China and Philippinesis concerning India.He further stated, "I mentioned specifically that I have already made a comment regarding the need to adhere to international law. I think I'd leave it at that."The "excessive and offensive" use of a water cannon by Chinese ship to block a Filipino supply boat occured at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.He reiterated that India has a long-standing position on the disputes regarding South China Sea as parties need to adhere to international laws."We have also underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes," he added.On August 5, the Philippines accused Chinese Coast Guard ships of firing water cannons and making dangerous manoeuvres at its ships in the South China Sea."The Philippine Coast Guard strongly condemns the China Coast Guard's dangerous manoeuvres 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's action received backlash from different countries. By Sunday, Washington, Manila's principal ally, had denounced China's actions and reaffirmed that it will uphold its end of the mutual defence pact with the Philippines.Australian, Japanese, and German officials referred to China's moves as "dangerous" and "destabilising."Meanwhile, China also reacted on the incident and in a response accused the Philippines Coast Guard of trespassing in its waters."Two Filipino supply vessels and two coast guard vessels illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Renai Reef in China's 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.Beijing has disregarded a 2016 decision from an international court finding that its claim to practically all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade flow every year, has legal standing.On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines on most of its submissions. the arbitral tribunal adjudicating the Philippines' case against China in the South China Sea ruled overwhelmingly in favour of the Philippines, determining that major elements of China's claim--including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters--were unlawful, according to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.However, China doesn't accept the ruling, maintaining it was "null and void."(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584392 162O158O94O36)
India, China likely to hold 19th round of Corps Commander talks on August 14

The two countries have been in a military standoff for the last three years since May 2020, when the Chinese tried to aggressively alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control."The Indian side would be led by Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali for the talks with representatives of the Chinese military on August 14. Officials from Ministry of External Affairs and ITBP are also expected to be part of the talks The two sides are likely to discuss the issues related to DBO and CNN junction along with other matters. India would also be pressing for disengagement from the Eastern Ladakh front," defence sources told ANI.This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months. The last meeting between the two sides at the Corps Commander level was held in April earlier this year.The meeting is taking place when both sides are engaged in rapid construction activities along the border areas to strengthen their respective positions.The two countries started holding military talks on disengagement and de-escalation of the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh soon after the confrontation started between the two militaries.The two sides have since then disengaged from multiple confrontation points and moved to new positions to avoid clashes and resolve the issues peacefully.Sources said the Indian side is keen to resolve the dispute amicably securing all Indian interests in the region and has deployed over 50,000 troops to match the Chinese deployments in the areas opposite eastern Ladakh.The two sides have been heavily deployed but have resisted direct conflicts even though the Indian side does not rule out the possibility of any misadventure by the adversary along the LAC.India thwarted one such misadventure by the Chinese Army in December 2022 in Yang Tse near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.(ANI | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584393 162O158O95O36)
MoS Defence inspected preparations for Independence Day

During the inspection, he appreciated the efforts of the NCC cadets, concerned officials and personnel deployed on duty.MoS Ajay Bhatt also addressed the NCC cadets who were participating in the 77th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi. These cadets have been selected from all districts of the country.Bhatt said that the warriors who sacrificed their lives for the country will always be a source of inspiration for all of us. He described NCC cadets as the future soldiers who would be a strong pillar for maintaining the unity and integrity of this country."You represent a Amrit Kaal generation, both as NCC cadets and also as the young generation of the country. This Amrit generation will take the country to a new height in the coming 25 years, making India self-reliant and developed," he said.The Minister listed out the initiatives taken by the Government under the leadership of PM Modi for the youth of the country."New avenues are opening for the youth in India. Be it India's digital revolution, be it India's start-up revolution, be it innovation revolution, the youth are getting the biggest benefit of all these. The reforms in defence sector are also providing new opportunities for the young generation," he said.Bhatt appreciated enthusiasm and morale of NCC cadets and felicitated them with mementos.(IANS | Posted on 11 August 2023, 1692584393 162O158O94O58)
Gov. Doug Burgum is at the U.S.-Mexico border this week visiting North Dakota National Guard troops who are helping with security.

The Wahpeton-based 188th Engineer Company is on a 30-day mission. Burgum deployed the unit to help with a state of Texas operation. The North Dakota Emergency Commission approved a $2.2 million loan from the Bank of North Dakota to send the troops south. The loan ultimately will be repaid with taxpayer money.

Members of the Bismarck-based 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Regiment also are deployed at the border, on federal status in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The work theyre doing down here is so important, trying to protect the border, trying to stop illegal crossings. This is a matter of national security, Burgum said.

The North Dakota National Guards adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, is accompanying Burgum.
The North Dakota Supreme Court has adopted an open meetings rule as a progression from a 2020 rule updating public access to state court records, but remote access of those records remains unavailable.

The new rule that took effect Aug. 1 implements the open meetings provision of the North Dakota Constitution for the judicial branch. Court meetings have always been accessible, but this rule removes any doubt, according to North Dakota Newspaper Association attorney Jack McDonald.

He said that its a natural follow to the state Supreme Court's 2020 rewrite of the public access rule, but its not nearly as controversial. The public access rule that included remote access to court documents with the click of a mouse caused many concerns regarding privacy violations when it was adopted.

Examples included people upset about a birth date being easily available, or the name of an adopted child, according to McDonald.

I would view the opposition as not opposition to the availability of (court documents) so much as it was to how they were available through the internet," McDonald said. "Nobody was really wanting to make more closed records. They were just against the idea that there was just carte blanche access to every single record there was through the internet.

Before 2020, people who wanted court documents had to go to a courthouse, or request a clerk of court email the information. Most clerks did, but they were not required to do so.

The 2020 rule granted remote public access to more than 10 years' worth of court documents. But the state Supreme Court suspended remote access after a week due to violations of a 2009 privacy rule that prohibits information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, minors names and financial account numbers from appearing on documents.

It is the responsibility of the filer to redact the information, according to State Court Administrator Sally Holewa. She said the court did not anticipate such a widespread disregard for the rule by filers. There also was confusion among the pubic.

Holewa recalled the office received at least 10 complaints a day when the records first went up online. Some were of legitimate violations of the privacy rule, but she said many were not.

People dont always realize court documents are public documents. And so the calls are Well, whose business is it that I have this collection judgment? or Whose business is it that I file for divorce? she said.

The court is not actively working on reinstating remote access, as officials are unsure of how to get filers such as attorneys and judges to comply with the privacy rule and ensure the necessary information is properly redacted.

So right now, it was whoever files is responsible for making sure it complies. If we were to take that on with the clerks office, we would be shifting any liability for a missed redaction from the individual filing, to the state," Holewa said. "And we dont want to make that transition, at least not unless we had the staff and the confidence that we could get clean documents.

Holewa said lawmakers during the 2023 Legislature denied the state Supreme Courts request to transfer some of the county clerks to state employment. The transfer would have possibly enabled them to adopt a filing system similar to Minnesotas, which Holewa points to as a potential solution. Minnesota has specially trained staff, including lawyers, who look at every document and ensure that privacy protections are in place and the proper information is redacted.

But this shifts the liability of upholding privacy rules onto the state court office, and Holewa said the office does not have the resources to meet those standards. Liability issues also prevent clerks from rejecting a document for not meeting the requirements.

Both McDonald and Holewa mentioned software that could possibly be used to properly file documents, but that could cost up to $200,000 a year. The software also would have to be maintained and taught in order to find more complicated data such as minors names.

Our North Dakota system, its traditionally underfunded and understaffed, and so you dont want to do anything that would further make filing things and the life of the clerk more complicated or harder, McDonald said.

Licensed attorneys are still able to remotely access court records, but citizens must either go through a terminal at a courthouse or request documents via email.

The state Supreme Court last fall began requiring clerks and court officials to provide copies of records to requesters. The modification to the public access rule also included a provision that should remote access be restored, only records from Jan 1. 2020, onward would be remotely available. Holewa said this date was chosen as a reminder to filers to comply with the privacy rule.

She said many people who seek remote access are involved with cases, and either have to pay their lawyer to receive their files, or drive to the courthouse to retrieve them. She said the court's goal with remote access is to remove barriers and make the system more fair, especially for those who represent themselves.

If you have a court case and you represent yourself, the lawyer on the other side can get all the documents sitting at his or her desk. You have to drive to the courthouse  it would level the playing field for everyone, and I think thats a good goal to go toward, she said.

Holewa said its still a goal for the court system to provide remote access as officials strive for greater transparency. She and McDonald both believe that openness enables people to better understand government.

Im a great believer that public records are important for the public to learn whats going on, both in government and in their own court system. And the way they can find that out is through access to the records and the meetings," McDonald said. "The more that the public can understand how the court system works, the more theyll agree with the court system."
Among the accounts given to Danville police in reports of firearms being stolen: A man forgetting he left it on the toilet seat during a break from playing video poker at a gas station and a woman leaving hers in her unlocked car, parked in an unlocked garage.
Kara Allison moved to Mahomet in 1990, when she was in the seventh grade. Thirty-three years later, the third-grade teacher at Lincoln Trail Elementary School still calls it home.
Ecuador will hold six Colombian men for at least a month as the country probes their involvement in the slaying of a presidential candidate whose lifes work was fighting crime and corruption, the national prosecutors office said Friday
Im a Hilltopper but dont hold that against me please, said Schlarman grad Michael Gourley, the new principal at North Ridge Middle School. Among his previous stops: Urbana High, where he was associate principal.
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Scientists can finally hunt down a harmful kind of human T cell, thanks to new research led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University.

Immune cells called ex-T regulatory cells (exTregs) tend to be rare in the body and, so far, impossible to detect in human samples. The new study gives scientists a reliable way to find human exTregs and provides a window into how exTregs contribute to inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers used fluorescent tags to track down exTregs in mice prone to atherosclerosis. They then identified specific markers that made these exTregs special. They transposed these findings to humans to detect exTregs in human blood.

"These cells are likely causing damage," says LJI Postdoctoral Researcher Payel Roy, Ph.D., co-first author of the new Nature Immunology study. "Now we have the potential to use these biomarkers and screen for these cells in human blood."

"Identifying exTregs in humans opens up more opportunities for research since patient material-;like blood samples-;are readily available," adds study senior author Klaus Ley, M.D., co-director of MCG's Immunology Center of Georgia.

Crazy ex-T regulatory cells

T cells do many jobs in the body. Some T cells have the job of alerting other immune cells to danger or destroying infected host cells. These T cells are the fighters, the offensive lineup. T regulatory cells (Tregs) have the important job of stopping the other T cells from releasing too many inflammatory, or cytotoxic, molecules as they fight infection. The Tregs are like the referees.

In previous studies, Ley and his LJI colleagues found that some T cells contribute to atherosclerosis by attacking a molecule called apolipoprotein B (APOB), the main component in the "bad" cholesterol that builds up into dangerous plaques in the arteries. These T cells ramp up their attacks as atherosclerosis worsens, likely adding to inflammation in the arteries. The weird thing is that these T cells look a lot like the normally helpful Tregs.

The new study reveals the true identities of these cells: they are exTregs. ExTregs are like zombie Tregs. They've gone through a genetic "deprogramming" and lost their ability to help regulate inflammation.

Scientists don't know exactly why exTregs develop, but the phenomenon may happen when the body misses the mark in an attempt to adapt to chronic disease.

"When you have too much chronic inflammation, say, for example, in heart disease, your body is highly stimulated and may be rewired to address the situation," says LJI Postdoctoral Researcher Antoine Freuchet, Ph.D., who served as co-first author of the new study. "Because of that, this kind of Tregs, whose purpose was to keep the bad guys in check, turn bad themselves. Instead of controlling the inflammatory guys, they acquire inflammatory properties."

Red cell, green cell

The new study had to begin in mice. "ExTregs have been identified in mice for a long time, but there were no tools to find them in people," says Ley. "In mice, you can use genetic manipulation to label cells, but you cannot do that in people."

For the study, the researchers tagged both Tregs and harmful exTregs in a mouse model prone to atherosclerosis. These fluorescent red and green tags glowed when Tregs were functioning normally. A switch from green and red to only red revealed exTreg development in real time.

The team then took organ samples from the mice and used a technique called flow cytometry to detect the green and red tags to sort the Tregs from the exTregs. The researchers used techniques called bulk RNA sequencing to learn more about these cells.

The sequencing highlighted vast differences in gene expression and showed that exTregs make a distinct set of genes that sets them apart from Tregs. At last, the scientist could detect specific exTreg markers.

Detecting exTregs in humans

Next, the researchers used the exTreg markers found in mice to transpose them to a single cell RNA sequencing performed on human blood samples. Through this process, they successfully identified biomarkers for human exTregs. They studied human blood samples provided by researchers at the University of Virginia and by LJI's John and Susan Major Center for Clinical Investigation.

The researchers were thrilled to find that the exTreg biomarkers they'd seen in mouse samples were also relevant for human exTregs. They discovered that exTregs from humans with atherosclerosis are potentially more potent.

"Now that we can detect ex-Tregs in the blood, we can fish them out specifically and know who they are-;know their molecular fingerprints," says Roy.

Going forward, the researchers hope to use exTreg biomarkers to detect and study the roles of these cells in other chronic health conditions, such as in patients with autoimmune diseases. Roy and Freuchet are also interested in studying samples from the same individual patients taken over time. How might exTreg biomarkers change as atherosclerosis changes? Would they see decreased signs of exTregs if a patient was put on an effective medication?

"This could be a powerful tool for future studies," says Freuchet.
By summer 2021, Gilbert Milam Jr. was living a good life. A nationally renowned rapper who performs under the name Berner, Milam was also enjoying the global expansion of Cookies, a brand of cannabis products and clothing that he co-founded and was running as CEO.

But Milam was haunted by a family history of cancer, including his mother's death from stomach cancer at 54. So, at age 37, he told his physician in San Francisco that he wanted to take every precaution against being diagnosed too late to live a full life. As it happened, his doctor said there was a new test to try.

The blood test, Galleri, returned a DNA signal for colon cancer. After a colonoscopy confirmed it was stage 3, Milam underwent eight hours of surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Today, he said, he is cancer-free.

"That test saved my life, and that's a fact," said Milam, speaking with KFF Health News from his tour bus in July.

Galleri, priced at $949, is the first of a wave of so-called multi-cancer early-detection (MCED) tests, which analyze DNA fragments in the blood for abnormalities associated with cancer. Grail, the Menlo Park-based biotech company that created Galleri, says it checks more than a million specific DNA sites for cancer signals and can identify more than 50 types of cancer, including cervical, colon, breast, and prostate. More than a dozen prospective rivals are developing their own cancer-screening products.

The medical community, however, has yet to come to a consensus on the value of MCED tests. The notion of broadly screening seemingly healthy people has raised alarms among those who already lament the American medical system's penchant for overtesting and, often, overtreating patients based on test results. Some note the controversy around prostate-specific antigen tests for prostate cancer as an example.

"A screening test has to be magnificent, mathematically, for it to be beneficial," said Jerome Hoffman, a professor emeritus at UCLA's Department of Medicine and a longtime critic of overtesting and overdiagnosis. "The biggest threat on the horizon is overdiagnosis  finding things that don't matter but that we intervene on anyway."

Many experts say it isn't yet clear whether the tests do more harm than good  and having one already commercially available troubles them.

"You interview a hundred people and tell them there's a test that could detect 20 or 30 or 50 cancers with a single blood sample, and a whole lot of them are going to say, 'I want that,'" said Philip Castle, cancer prevention director at the National Cancer Institute. "But this is a brave new world. We don't know anything about these tests, truly."

Milam's journey began in San Francisco when he was having blood drawn to check for covid-19 antibodies. He told his doctor, Jordan Shlain, about his fear of developing life-threatening cancer, and about his family's history with the disease.

Shlain, founder of the San Francisco-based concierge practice Private Medical, told Milam about Galleri.

"Our practice had done a 12- to 18-month review of the science. We grilled the people at Grail," said Shlain. "The short version is, new test, promising results, and we know that genetics and genomics have transformed the way cancer is treated. You have to be skeptical if you're a scientist, but this is also a tension between policymakers and primary care doctors. I take care of individuals, not populations."

Shlain said he doesn't recommend the test for all patients; it would depend on their histories and risk factors. On the other hand, he said, "You can't prevent cancer, but you can prevent it from killing you by catching it early. That's just a truism."

Milam, who continues to both perform and run Cookies (the company has been the subject of recent lawsuits), has become an evangelist for the test. He has often discussed his experience with his more than 2 million Instagram followers, and he wonders why more doctors don't prescribe Galleri as they would standard screenings. Shlain said even some doctors in his practice are reluctant, despite Private Medical's deep dive into the research.

Grail's path has not been smooth. The company was originally a spinoff of San Diego gene-sequencing pioneer Illumina, and after the firm raised venture funding and proved its technology, Illumina bought it back last year for $7.1 billion. But because Illumina dominates the market for the sequencers needed in MCED testing, the Federal Trade Commission has sued to unwind the deal on antitrust grounds.

Grail also acknowledged in June that about 400 of its customers were mistakenly told they might have cancer  not because of an error with the test, but because incorrect form letters were inadvertently sent out by a vendor.

Josh Ofman, Grail's president, said the company is lobbying Congress "along with many constituent groups" to authorize Medicare to cover the cost of MCED tests, which could unlock billions of federal dollars in potential revenue. Grail recommends annual screening, but it's generally not covered by insurers.

Said Castle, speaking of MCED tests in general, "I can't remember seeing anything [in laboratory tests] that compares with the potential market of this. This is the kind of money being thrown around that we usually reserve for pharma."

Grail used an exemption for laboratory-developed tests to begin marketing Galleri without FDA approval two years ago, a move that raised eyebrows in the medical community because that process is typically used for tests with no commercial value. Another MCED blood test, by Exact Sciences, is following the same path to market and is expected to be available soon.

"I'm going to guess that we'll see more and more of that because companies are eager to start selling," said Barnett Kramer, a former director of cancer prevention at the NCI and a member of the Lisa Schwartz Foundation for Truth in Medicine. "But that sometimes comes before the actual proof of a benefit  and I think that's the case here."

Detailed studies on the net benefit of MCED tests could take 10 to 15 years, Castle said. The FDA doesn't have to wait for a large-scale federal study to be completed, but it could still be years before the agency approves any MCED test.

The aim of a longer, large-scale study is to better understand both the benefits and risks associated with early-cancer screening. Among other considerations: Many types of the disease lack treatments, and not all cancers grow significantly or ever become a problem. Skeptics of MCED tests worry about patients being diagnosed and treated  sometimes intrusively and with potential dangers  based on a finding that isn't a true threat.

"It's not enough to say you find cancer," Castle said. "The question is, can we find cancer and save lives? We also want to know about the harms associated with this  false negatives and false positives  and whether the test works equally well in all populations."

Ofman said Galleri has been the subject of multiple small-scale tests, including a study led by University of Oxford researchers that found a 76% positive predictive value  the probability that a patient with an abnormal test result actually has cancer. The study was supported by the United Kingdom's National Health Service, which has undertaken a randomized clinical trial of the test that will ultimately involve 140,000 adults. Early results are expected next year.

Currently, established tests screen for only a handful of cancers  and those generally identify cancer in its later stages, when less can be done to intervene. According to NCI research, 73% of people who die of cancer had cancers that weren't detected by the standard tests in use.

"You have more treatment options for cancers that are found early, sometimes including ones that are curative," Ofman said. "And even with stage 3 or 4 cancers, treatments when the cancers are found asymptomatically get better outcomes."

But with more than 100,000 Galleri tests already sold, Kramer, with the Foundation for Truth in Medicine, is among those concerned that the marketing of the product is running ahead of evidence in its favor.

"The weight of ethical burden shifts to the person who is trying to get the healthy person to take the test," Kramer said. "The best-case scenario here is that the test might actually reduce the risk of dying from the second-most common cause of death in the adult population, and if it did that with a low risk of overdiagnosis, that would be a major win. But we're a long way from being able to say that."

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
The FDA has approved Leqembi, the first disease-modifying treatment for early-stage Alzheimer's and a precursor condition, mild cognitive impairment. Medicare has said it will pay for the therapy. Medical centers across the country are scrambling to finalize policies and procedures for providing the medication to patients, possibly by summer's end or early autumn.

Its a fraught moment, with hope running high for families and other promising therapies such as donanemab on the horizon. Still, medical providers are cautious. "This is an important first step in developing treatments for complex neurodegenerative diseases, but it's just a first step," said Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

Unanswered questions abound as this new era of treatment begins for mild cognitive impairment and early-stage Alzheimer's. Will Leqembi's primary benefit  a slight slowing of decline in cognition and functioning  make a significant difference to patients and family members or will it be difficult to discern? Will its effects accelerate, decelerate, or flatten out over time?

Will demand for Leqembi (the brand name for lecanemab), a monoclonal antibody that requires infusions every two weeks, be robust or restrained? How many older adults in their 70s and 80s will be able and willing to travel to medical centers for infusions twice a month and have regular MRI scans and physician visits to monitor for potential side effects such as brain bleeds or swelling?

Even with Medicare coverage, how many people will be able to afford the suite of medical services required, including cognitive tests, infusions, doctors' appointments, MRI scans, genetic tests, and spinal taps or PET scans to verify the presence of amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's and a precondition for receiving this therapy?

Will primary care physicians start routinely screening older adults for mild cognitive impairment, something that doesn't happen currently?

These questions aren't surprising, given that these dementia treatments are opening uncharted territory. Here's some of what people should know:

Leqembi basics. Leqembi is very effective at removing amyloid plaques (a protein that clumps between neurons) from people's brains. But it doesn't reverse cognitive decline or prevent future deterioration.

In a briefing document, Eisai, the company that makes Leqembi, said clinical trials showed a 27% slower rate of decline for people taking the drug. But when raw scores on the cognitive scale used to measure results are considered (4.41 for the Leqembi group at the end of 18 months versus 4.86 for the placebo group), the rate of improvement was 9%, according to Lon Schneider, a professor of psychiatry, neurology, and gerontology at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

Benefits may be hard to detect. Research suggests that patients notice a "clinically meaningful" change in cognitive performance  a noticeable alteration in their ability to think, remember, and perform daily tasks  when scores rise at least 1 point on an 18-point scale used to measure Leqembi's impact. But the change detected after 18 months for patients taking this medication was only 0.45%.

"That's a minimal difference, and people are unlikely to perceive any real alteration in cognitive functioning," said Alberto Espay, a professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Petersen has a different perspective since many patients have told him they'd be happy to put off getting worse. "If we can keep these patients stable for a somewhat longer period of time, that's meaningful," he told me.

Side effects are common. The drugmaker reported 17% of patients taking Leqembi experienced swelling in the brain and 13% had brain bleeds. Most of these side effects occurred during the first three months of treatment and resolved without serious consequences four months later.

In slightly more than 1 in 4 cases, there were also infusion-related side effects  chills, aches, nausea, vomiting, a spike or drop in blood pressure, and more.

A little-discussed side effect is a reduction in brain volume associated with Leqembi and other anti-amyloid therapies. "We don't know what this will mean to patients long term, and that's concerning," Espay said.

Because people with the APOE4 gene variant, which raises the risk of Alzheimer's, are also at higher risk of Leqembi side effects, physicians at major medical centers will recommend genetic testing as they evaluate potential patients.

Not all patients will qualify. "I'm very carefully selecting the patients I think will be appropriate, focusing on people with mild cognitive symptoms who are otherwise healthy," said Erik Musiek, an associate professor of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

He has about 20 patients ready to start treatment once Washington University starts offering Leqembi, perhaps by early autumn. Delivering this therapy "is going to be challenging, and I think we need to err on the side of caution," he said.

In Los Angeles, UCLA Health has set up a multidisciplinary group of specialists, similar to a cancer tumor board, to undertake comprehensive reviews of patients who want to take Leqembi, said Keith Vossel, director of UCLA's Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research and Care. They will disqualify people with evidence of more than four microbleeds on brain MRIs, those taking blood thinners, and those with a history of seizures.

At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, a new Alzheimer's therapeutics clinic will carefully assess potential patients over three to four days and treat only people who live within a 100-mile radius. "We'll start with patients who are fairly healthy and follow them very closely," Petersen said.

At Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, Mary Sano, director of Alzheimer's Disease Research, is concerned about older patients with mild cognitive impairment who want to take Leqembi but don't have evidence of amyloid plaque accumulation in their brains. "We'll only treat people who are amyloid-positive, and I'm afraid this could lead to people feeling like we're not taking care of them," she said. About 40% to 60% of patients 58 and older with mild cognitive impairment are amyloid-positive, research indicates.

Also of concern are patients who have moderate Alzheimer's or early-stage cognitive impairment due to vascular dementia or various metabolic causes. They, too, would not be able to take Leqembi and may well be disappointed, Sano noted.

Costs could be considerable. Costs for Leqembi are difficult to calculate since Medicare officials haven't announced what the government will pay for services. But the University of Southern California estimates that a year's worth of care, including the $26,500 cost of the medication, could total about $90,000, according to Schneider.

A separate analysis by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review suggests that all the medical services necessary to administer the drug, monitor patients, and undertake needed testing could total an average of $82,500 yearly on top of Leqembi's direct cost.

Assuming a patient copayment of 20%, that would mean at least $18,000 in out-of-pocket spending. While many older adults have supplemental insurance (a Medigap plan or employer-sponsored retiree coverage) to cover these costs, nearly 1 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries lack this type of protection. And it remains to be seen what policies private Medicare Advantage plans will put in place for this medication.

We're eager to hear from readers about questions you'd like answered, problems you've been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit kffhealthnews.org/columnists to submit your requests or tips.
North Dakotas oil production increased eightfold from 2007 to 2022, thanks in large part to the push of one man.

The oil boom was sparked, in part due to horizontal drilling and advancements in hydraulic fracturing, which enabled producers to access more Bakken oil.

The man who pioneered the advancement and deployment of that technology, Harold Hamm, the founder and chairman of Continental Resources, spoke at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum on Thursday promoting his new book. Game Changer: Our Fifty-Year Mission to Secure Americas Energy Independence discusses his life, the history of Continental Resources and his political views on U.S. energy policy, among other topics.

Hamm has long advocated for the U.S. to drill more oil. This has historically put him in contention with those skeptical of U.S. oil and gas abundance, and today with those pushing to decarbonize the economy.

Hamm said he is optimistic about the future of North Dakota oil production.

Its still being drilled and developed, and itll be producing for another 50 years, no doubt, he said.

Hamm said he has appreciated the regulatory environment for oil companies created by the state Industrial Commission.

Its really proven that North Dakota is open for business, he said.

Horizontal drilling today is the preferred method of drilling for most producers, rather than vertical wells. It causes less surface disturbance than other forms of oil extraction due to its ability to cut across a greater amount of land and its increased efficiency.

In recent years, stock market trends have favored renewable energy companies as the technologies become more widespread and large investors face calls to lessen their carbon footprint.

Hamm decided to take Continental Resources stock private in 2022.

You didnt get paid by the market to be public anymore so we took it private and we have a lot more time as a result of doing that, he said. Instead of being on this treadmill of reporting every quarter and all that, our next quarter is 25 years from now.

Continental Resources continues to be North Dakotas top oil producer, with six drilling rigs operating as of this week.

I cant say enough about some of the people that had that vision to give us the latitude to operate, Hamm said.
From tackling homework challenges to drafting emails, people are discovering a vast array of applications for natural language processing tools like generative artificial intelligence (AI) engines. Now, researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) are using this same kind of technology to build a knowledge base in order to guide decision-makers on vaccine development. Through the Rapid Assessment of Platform Technologies to Expedite Response (RAPTER) project, the scientists leverage machine learning and AI to search the scientific literature for knowledge on how to build effective vaccines against new infectious viruses and bacteria.

Historically, vaccine development is a lengthy and expensive process-;often taking multiple years and millions of dollars to complete. Vaccines are typically made using one of several different strategies, or "platforms." However, different strategies can generate different immune responses. With RAPTER, researchers figure out which strategy would work best for a specific virus or bacteria to maximize the value of immune responses from the host. The tool aims to help produce new vaccines more rapidly and with a reduced timeline and cost.

Speed-reading with AI

Part of being a scientist involves publishing research results so that other scientists may learn from the experiments.

"There is a lot of information already in existence in scientific literature-;too much for any person to possibly read through," said data scientist and PNNL RAPTER lead researcher Neeraj Kumar. "We are building RAPTER to automatically comb through the literature and catalog results from different experiments on vaccine design strategies-;ultimately providing decision-makers with information to select the best strategy for the next pandemic."

Under the RAPTER project, PNNL scientists work closely with colleagues from HMS to automatically extract information from scientific publications in a meaningful way. "For our part of the RAPTER project, we aim to learn from existing successes and failures in vaccine design through the scientific literature and build robust artificial intelligence decision-making tools for vaccine design," said HMS's Director of Machine-Assisted Modeling and Analysis Benjamin Gyori.

HMS scientists have already built similar tools for small molecule design. However, vaccines and immunology are much more complex. Together, we are building upon those tools to automatically extract key information from publications to understand more about the immune responses using different vaccine strategies." Jeremy Zucker, PNNL computational scientist

PNNL and HMS scientists make this possible by defining the key terms that connect mechanisms of immunity to experimental measurements. Once the terms are defined, the RAPTER tool can identify the relationships between terms across different scientific publications. This information feeds into the Knowledge Extraction for Strategic Threat Response using Evidence from the Literature (KESTREL) database to build an extensive graph of relationships in the immune response.

"Understanding these relationships in the immune response can help us predict how different vaccine strategies can provide protection," said Kumar. "With this knowledge, scientists can focus their efforts on strategies that are more likely to succeed."

Defending against future threats

For decades, the Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has mitigated emerging threats-;from nuclear to biological-;with science, technology, and capability development investments. As evidenced by the effects of COVID-19, pandemics pose a major threat to national security. To help protect us against future pandemics, DTRA supports a consortium of research institutes, led by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in the development of the RAPTER tool.

In contrast to PNNL and HMS's efforts, scientists at LANL are collecting and curating raw experimental data on viruses and vaccines and using artificial intelligence to identify patterns within the data to build a profile for each vaccine candidate. Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Northern Arizona University, Tulane University, University of California San Diego, University of New Mexico and University of Nevada at Reno also contribute to the project.

Once the initial computational tools are built, the research institutes will combine their efforts to experimentally validate their results. Researchers including PNNL's biomedical scientist Zachary Stromberg will work to experimentally confirm the computational results for the mRNA platform-;the same platform used in the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

"Together, we can build an automated pipeline to expedite scientists' vaccine design efforts," said Kumar.
Previous research has revealed that the Apolipoprotein-4 (APOE-4) allele increases the risk for a variety of diseases in aging populations, specifically Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. And yet, despite the negative effects of this genetic variant, it remains prevalent in approximately 20% of the human population.

In a quest to determine how this negative allele is surviving natural selection, a group of researchers have discovered that the APOE-4 allele is associated with higher fertility in women.

In a new paper released in Science Advances, researchers including UC Santa Barbara anthropologist Michael Gurven worked alongside the Tsimane community in Bolivia, a forager-horticultural society, to study the effects of the allele through an evolutionary lens.

Senior author Gurven, and lead author Benjamin Trumble, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, headed to the Bolivian Amazon lowlands where the Tsimane live.

Co-directors of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project (also co-directed by Hillard Kaplan and Jonathan Stieglitz), they have a longstanding relationship with the Tsimane to collect demographic and biomedical data alongside the provisioning of medical care -; a relationship that has been in effect for over two decades.

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project is a large interdisciplinary team effort funded by the National Institute on Aging, combining U.S. and Bolivian anthropologists, clinicians and medical specialists.

With more than 17,000 people living across 90 villages, the Tsimanes' agrarian lifestyle is more similar to human life prior to the Industrial Revolution than modern cities, offering a unique glimpse into health and aging without the influences of modern day amenities.

What we do is try to understand what human health was like prior to industrialization." Benjamin Trumble, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

"For 99% of human history, we were hunter-gatherers. The world we're living in today is really weird. It's this built environment that we've created that's very different from what it was throughout most of human evolution."

For this particular study, the researchers collected data from 795 Tsimane women, ranging in age from 13 to 90 years old. The team of researchers not only retrieved genetic data to determine which alleles are prevalent for each individual, but also detailed reproductive histories that provide information about their fertility, including age of first birth, how long between births and the total number of live births.

They discovered that Tsimane women with the presence of one APOE-4 allele had an increase of 0.5 births, compared to those without the APOE-4 allele. The number of live births increased even more when there was the presence of two copies of the APOE-4 allele, where these women had an average of two more live births compared to those without this specific allele.

"What we found was that women with the APOE-4 allele began reproducing almost a year earlier and they had shorter interbirth intervals," Trumble explained. "Those two things combined allow them to have about half an additional child if they have one copy or two additional children if they have two copies."

This advantageous effect on fertility could help to explain how an allele that has such a negative impact in one's later life through the increased chances of developing Alzheimer's or cardiovascular disease has not been weeded out by natural selection -; the advantages take place in one's early to mid-life years, and therefore are passed along to their offspring.

"Genes that are associated with diseases that occur after reproduction is complete, are thought to be invisible to selection, in what is called 'selection's shadow,'" Gurven said. "If those same genes provide benefits to your fitness earlier in life, it would be even harder for selection to weed out those genes."

Other, smaller studies have shown other advantageous aspects of the APOE-4 allele, including that children in Brazil are able to handle environmental pathogens and parasites, such as giardia, better than those without the allele, which resulted in better cognitive functions and higher growth rates.

This study builds on prior work showing other potential benefits of APOE-4 in the rural high-infection environment of the Tsimane. In one, the researchers showed that Tsimane APOE-4 carriers showed lower levels of inflammation when uninfected, but maintained higher blood lipid levels that buffer costs of immune activation during infection. In another, they showed that APOE-4 carriers were protected from cognitive declines, but only those who had experienced infection.

Even with these benefits of the APOE-4 allele that have been discovered, there is still the major deleterious effect of the increased risk of Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease in the later stages of life.

Interestingly, this negative effect of the allele is mostly seen in Westernized nations. The Tsimane, for instance, have the lowest rates of dementia and Alzheimer's in the world, as discovered by the large interdisciplinary team last year. This is despite having the same 20% prevalence of the APOE-4 allele in their population.

What can this mean for understanding and treating the negative effects of the allele in areas affected the most?

"We need to think outside the box and move beyond our focus on 'this allele causes X disease' and that's just how it is. Instead, we need to take a step back and ask, what about in different environments? What about in the environments in which humans evolved?" said Trumble.

"When we see that APOE-4 has different effects on our health in different environments, we need to think about the larger context in which those genes first evolved and are later maintained, like how our genes might hurt us in some settings, but help us in others," said Gurven. "If we could figure out a way to mimic the conditions where APOE-4 doesn't harm us, but may even help, that could launch a new path forward for disease prevention."
To provide the best care for injured service members, combat medics need reliable tools. To develop better tools, they call upon engineers.

Suvranu De, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is leading a five-year, $1.3 million cooperative research agreement with the U.S. Army that will use ultrasound and artificial intelligence to investigate the characteristics and healing trajectory of burn wounds, leading to faster diagnosis and improved recovery.

The earlier physicians can diagnose the severity of burn wounds, the faster they can apply the best treatment for patients. The challenge for doctors is that traditional diagnostic techniques don't give accurate measurements until about three weeks after the injury.

The researchers will use artificial intelligence to analyze the data collected with ultrasound. Analysis with deep learning technology can improve accuracy rates for burn thickness to more than 95%, De said.

This gives non-expert field medics a massively helpful tool. In the battlefield, they need to rapidly decide on a treatment paradigm. Do they apply medication, or do they recommend surgery preemptively? That's a big decision." Suvranu De, Dean, College of Engineering, Florida State University

He will also develop standards for high-fidelity simulators for burn wound management, allowing the military to use potential future innovations from private companies in ready-to-use applications.

The work is a continuation of a previous research agreement in which De led a team that focused on burn thickness. Now he will focus on how burn wounds heal over time.

"That is my goal: Can I not only detect wound depth, but also predict how and when it is going to heal?" he said.

Second-degree burn wounds can be classified by their depth. Superficial wounds typically heal with non-invasive therapies, such as ointments. But deeper burns require surgery.

Visual examinations provide limited information for doctors who need to decide on a course of treatment. Laser Doppler imaging gives accurate readings, but those machines are costly and rare in hospitals.

Ultrasound machines, in contrast, are widespread. De and his team will develop their technique with B-mode ultrasound, which is already widely used for monitoring pregnancies, echocardiogram scans of the heart and other common procedures. Portable devices that could be used at forward operating bases in the military use the same technology.

The researchers from FSU will work closely with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command  Soldier Center (CCDC SC) in Orlando in this project.
Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said any policy changes concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong must be discussed between the Indonesian government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Mr Sun made the statement this morning while speaking to the media and explained that he met Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong Slamet Noegroho yesterday to discuss the issue of placement fees for the employment of Indonesian domestic helpers.

The labour chief said: The key message we got back from yesterday's meeting between the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong and myself is that any policy change concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers to work in Hong Kong must be conducted on the basis of a government-to-government meeting.

Mr Sun stressed that in order to maintain cordial, mutually beneficial and close co-operation between Hong Kong and Indonesia, no change should be made by Indonesia to arrangements for the placement of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong that would increase the burden on Hong Kong employers or undermine employment opportunities for such helpers.

I also made it very clear to the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong that whatever changes are being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers, they should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should they affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

He added that any discussion between Hong Kong and Indonesia about such policy changes must be based on mutual trust and respect.
Honda 2-Wheelers India has launched the 2023 CD110 Dream Deluxe at a starting price of Rs 73,400 (ex-showroom Delhi) in the country. It gets Hondas special 10-year warranty package which includes 3 years as standard and extendable further upto 7 years as an option.

Despite being Hondas most affordable motorcycle in India, it gets several advanced features such as Chrome muffler cover, 5-spoke silver alloy wheels, Combi-Brake System (CBS) with equalizer, Engine Start/Stop switch and Side Stand Engine Inhibitor. Furthermore, the 2023 Honda CD110 Dream Deluxe boasts of stylish graphics alongside modern visor and fender.

The motorcycle rides on high quality tubeless tyres while flaunting a DC headlamp upfront. It has a single seat which measures 720 mm in length. The company has equipped the 2023 CD110 Dream Deluxe with a 4Ah MF battery and Viscous Paper Filter.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Tsutsumu Otani, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, With the launch of all-new OBD2 compliant CD110 Dream Deluxe, we are excited to redefine affordability and performance in the Indian motorcycle market. This next generation motorcycle, packed with comfort, convenience and reliability, reflects HMSIs commitment to providing unmatched value to our customers.

Introducing the all-new offering from HMSI, Mr. Yogesh Mathur, Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, Building on the rich legacy of brand CD, we are proud to introduce the all new CD110 Dream Deluxe. The motorcycle offers a comprehensive package of comfort, convenience, and style. We are confident that the attractive pricing and unmatched value will appeal to a wide range of customers, making it the perfect choice for daily commuting.

Mechanically, it is powered by a OBD2 compliant PGM-FI engine with Enhanced Smart Power (eSP) and ACG Starter Motor. It generates top power of 8.7 bhp at 7,500 rpm and peak torque of 9.30 Nm at 5,550 rpm while mated to a 4-speed gearbox.
Air India, the iconic Tata-group-owned airline, has finally unveiled a dynamic new brand logo and a captivating aircraft livery.

This visionary leap comes hand in hand with the airlines ambitious plan to revolutionize its fleet, boasting an unprecedented acquisition of 470 state-of-the-art aircraft in a monumental multi-billion-dollar pact.

Dubbed The Vista, the airlines new emblem embodies the essence of a resolute new India and stands as a beacon of the airlines Vihaan.AI transformation, marking a milestone in its journey. Inspired by the pinnacle of a golden window frame, the logo encapsulates boundless possibilities, progressiveness, and a daring new perspective embraced by the airline.

Revealing the bold new look of Air India.Our new livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, gold highlights and a chakra-inspired pattern. Travellers will begin to see the new logo and design starting December 2023.#FlyAI #NewAirIndia *Aircraft shown are pic.twitter.com/KHXbpp0sSJ  Air India (@airindia) August 10, 2023

Aviation enthusiasts and travelers will get to see The Vista emblem by the close of December this year, coinciding with the introduction of Air Indias inaugural Airbus A350 to its fleet. The alluring design and livery showcase an enchanting palette featuring deep reds, rich aubergines, and glistening gold accents, further complemented by a mesmerizing chakra-inspired motif.

Campbell Wilson, the visionary CEO of Air India, articulated the underlying transformation, saying, Our transformative new brand reflects an ambition to make Air India a world-class airline serving guests from around the globe, and that represents a new India proudly on the global stage." Wilsons fervor for the airlines fresh identity is evident in his description of the new Air India  bold, confident, vibrant, yet grounded in the profound heritage and traditions that define Indian hospitality on a global scale.

The beloved Maharaja emblem, a cornerstone of Air Indias identity, undergoes an exciting makeover, retaining its iconic essence while adopting a vibrant new palette. This step symbolizes Air Indias evolution, embracing its history while soaring forward into the future.

Air Indias bold move has resulted in a monumental purchase agreement of 470 new aircraft, sealing a remarkable $70 billion deal with aviation titans Airbus and Boeing. The flight of deliveries will embark on its journey in November, following the contract signing at the Paris Air Show in June. Among the marvels to be added to Air Indias fleet are 34 A350-1000 and six A350-900 Airbus models, alongside 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft. The deal encompasses 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo, and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft.

As part of its holistic transformation, Air India is ushering in an array of enhancements, including a revamped website and mobile app, offering an elevated digital experience complete with novel tools and features. The traveler experience is further elevated with the establishment of brand-new lounges at Delhi and New York JFK airports.

The workforce, an integral component of Air Indias vision, has seen a substantial boost with the addition of over 5,000 new personnel, including 3,200 dedicated cabin crew members and close to 1,000 skilled cockpit crew. All these efforts converge within Air Indias five-year transformation roadmap under the Vihaan.AI initiative, poised to elevate the airline into the echelons of world-class aviation.
With an aim to enhance Mumbais metro connectivity, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has granted a sprawling 47-hectare land for a pivotal car shed and other vital projects as part of the forthcoming Metro Line 12, spanning from Kalyan to Taloja.

Thane Collector Ashok Shingare, in a momentous announcement, unveiled the allocation of land for the pivotal depot and associated infrastructure, encompassing a labor camp, casting yard, receiving substation, and a lush plantation zone, situated near Nilje Pada within the Kalyan taluka.

An authoritative source from the MMRDA disclosed that this 47 hectares of land has been generously granted by the collector, serving as an integral facet of a paramount public endeavor.

This momentous gesture paves the way for the initiation of the depots construction bidding process. It is being anticipated that MMRDA is aiming for a staggering ridership of 1.25 lakh passengers within the inaugural year, surging to an impressive count of over 2.6 lakh daily commuters by the year 2031. The corridors mission is twofold: to alleviate Mumbais congestion problem and to expedite the regions overall progress trajectory.

New Mumbai Metro Line 12: Route

Spanning an impressive stretch of 20 kilometers, Metro Line 12 is all set to redefine Mumbais urban mobility landscape with a total of 17 metro stations. This transformative metro line, an extension of the developing Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro Line 5, also known as the Orange Line, is presently under diligent construction.

Furthermore, it will seamlessly integrate with the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Kasarvadavali-Gaimukh lines 4 and 4A. This strategically engineered network will empower commuters from the eastern side to effortlessly traverse to Taloja with seamless transfers at just two stations.

New Mumbai Metro Line 12: Stations

The journey of Metro Line 12 will kick off from Kalyan East, unfolding across a route that encompasses a series of pivotal stations including Ganesh Nagar, Pisavali Gaon, Golavali, Dombivali MIDC, Sagaon, Manpada, Sonarpada, Hedutane, Kolegaon, Nilje Gaon, Vadavali, Bale, Waklan, Turbhe, Pisarve Depot, Pisarve, culminating at Taloja.

This innovative projects fully elevated layout, which will be shared by the 17 stations and cover the whole 20-kilometer route, is a noteworthy aspect. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is providing funds in the amount of Rs 5,494 crore, is driving the financial momentum behind this innovative project. The project, which is expected to be completed in October 2025, is going to change the way people think about mobility in Mumbai by greatly improving connectivity.
Youth today understands the importance of early financial planning and opt for multiple ways and mediums to grow their money. Along with increased interest towards investment in mutual funds, FDs, and real estate, considerable interest is generated by the IPOs of new-age start-ups. However, insurance protection is one significant investment tool that can create a safety net for wealth creation planning for youth.

Heres what Aftab Chaz, associate director and business head at Elephant.in, insurtech consulting and advisory platform for corporate employees and businesses, suggests about the insurance.

It is always advisable to start with insurance planning at a younger age, as there are more benefits, and lesser premiums, and youth can lead a sustained and financially protected life for a longer period of their lifetime," Chaz said, while suggesting five insurance policies for the youth.

Term Life Insurance with Return of Premium Option: Term life insurance is an essential policy for the youth to ensure the financial well-being of their loved ones in case of an unfortunate event. By opting for a policy with the Return of Premium" feature, policyholders can get back the total premiums paid if they outlive the policys term. This provision is an excellent investment for the future, offering protection and potential returns. Youth can be assured that their financial contributions will not go to waste, ensuring a sustainable path to safeguard their familys financial stability.

Health Insurance with Personal Accident Cover: Health is wealth, and investing in comprehensive health insurance is crucial to leading a sustainable life. With medical expenses soaring high, adequate health coverage protects youth from potential financial setbacks from unexpected illnesses or accidents. For example, with the rising accident cases amongst todays youth, a personal accident cover (in-built into the health insurance plan) provides an additional lump sum pay-out in case of an accident, and the health insurance policy covers hospitalisation expenses.

Zero Depreciation Add-on Cover in Car Insurance: As the youth increasingly embraces eco-consciousness, owning a vehicle today is responsible for protecting the environment and oneself. Car insurance offers financial protection against accidents, theft, or damages caused to others due to their vehicle by insuring their cars. Along with car insurance, todays youth should opt for add-on covers like Zero Depreciation, Roadside Assistance, Engine Protector, NCB Protection, Key Replacement, Loss of Personal Belongings and Return to Invoice.

Cyber Insurance: India reported around 53,000 cases of cybercrime in 2021 and the rate is increasing steadily at around 5 per cent yearly. Cyber insurance has become necessary in todays technologically advanced world, especially for the tech-savvy youth. As they lead their lives online, there is an increasing risk of cyber threats such as phishing and email spoofing, identity theft, unauthorised online transactions, legal expenses, cyber extortion, etc. Cyber insurance offers protection against these risks and provides financial assistance in the event of cyber-related incidents. By investing in cyber insurance, the youth can safeguard their digital assets and financial security, embracing sustainability in the digital realm.

Travel Insurance: While travelling brings joy and personal growth, it also entails certain risks. Travel insurance is essential for young individuals to protect themselves from unforeseen emergencies during their journeys, such as hospitalisation resulting from accidental injury or sickness, baggage loss/theft, trip cancellation, flight delay/cancellation, passport loss/theft, etc. By investing in travel insurance, the youth can enjoy their explorations responsibly, ensuring financial security and supporting the principles of sustainable tourism.

Insurance provides a safety net that can help mitigate the financial impact of unexpected events. Chaz said people should not wait to buy insurance policies till they reach an elderly age. Todays lifestyle is very different from the past and an unprecedented circumstance or event can happen in anyones life, sans the age. While this Youth Day celebrates a sustainable world, Insurance will equally help create a sustainable financial world for themselves and their families.
The Bihar Public Service Commission has released the admit cards for teacher recruitment exam. Applicants can download the BPSC Teacher Admit Card from official website, bpsc.bih.nic.in. The exam will be administered in two shifts on each of the days of August 24, 25, and 26, according to a notification. The morning shift will take place between 10 AM and 12 PM, and the afternoon shift is scheduled between 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM.

BPSC TEACHER RECRUITMENT EXAM ADMIT CARD 2023: STEPS TO DOWNLOAD

Step 1: Visit the Bihar Public Service Commissions official website, bpsc.bih.nic.in.

Step 2: Look for the Bihar teacher recruitment 2023 admit card download link and click on it.

Step 3: Fill in your login credentials and click on submit

Step 4: The Bihar teacher recruitment 2023 admit card will be displayed on the screen.

Step 5: Save and download the admit card and take a printout of it for future records.

Those who qualify must log in to their online dashboards and upload two 25 KB passport-size pictures, as directed by the commission. On August 21, candidates will be able to access comprehensive exam center information on the BPSC website. By August 20, candidates must make sure they have downloaded their admission cards.

The posts of TGT, PGT, or primary teacher will be given to those who pass the recruiting exam. The recruitment drive by BPSC aims to fill 1,70,461 teacher openings. Candidates must appear at the exam center one hour before the examination begins. They must ensure that the OMR papers are properly sealed before leaving the testing room. It is advisable that candidates bring extra copies of their admission cards for each shift to give to the invigilators.

In addition to their admission card, candidates must bring a valid government ID to the exam location. Candidates must arrive at the exam location by the time specified on their admit card in order to avoid last-minute issues.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren will felicitate the students selected for Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship. Under the scheme, the students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category will be provided tuition fees, and living, journey and other expenses. Reportedly, 25 eligible students will be going to UK and Ireland for studies. Notably, this is the first time that the scholarship is being provided to students from the SC, Minority, and OBC communities along with students belonging to Scheduled Tribes.

As per the reports, 5 students belonging to the scheduled caste, 7 from the backward class, and 3 students who hail from the minority class have been selected for the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship. Additionally, 10 Scheduled Tribe students have also been selected to avail the benefit of the scholarships.

The names of these students are Kamal Shashwat, Jyoti Vandana Lakra, Ayush Stephen Toppo, Shravan Kumar, Omprakash Kumar, Nidhi Badhwar, Kumar Pritam Puri and Mallika Mahato, and Hasan Ali Banna among few others.

The scheme was launched in 2021 by the Hemant Soren government to provide an opportunity for the students of Jharkhand to pursue postgraduate studies at leading universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. At that time, the scholarship enabled only 10 pupils to study abroad. As a result, seven students from Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities were selected for pursuing higher studies under a state-funded scholarship. They are currently studying at Loughborough University, the University of Warwick, and the University of Sussex.

Overwhelmed by the success of the scheme in the first year of the launch itself, the state government stepped in with the decision to expand the provision of fully-funded scholarships. From 2022, up to 25 students every year were enabled to pursue a one-year Masters or two-year M Phil programme across 31 disciplines. The state government, last year, also increased the allocated budget for the scholarship to Rs 16 crore per year.
Morton County's preliminary 2024 budget includes a reduction of at least five mills, but county property taxes might still go up for many residents due to valuation increases.

The preliminary budget of $34.4 million is up from this year's budget of just over $32 million. The general fund, funded partially by property taxes, has a budget of $13.2 million. This year's general fund was $12.9 million.

Property taxes would see a reduction of 5.1 mills, but bills may still go up as valuations have increased as a whole. Mills are used to calculate property tax.

Taxable valuations increased an average of 9.9% in the county, with some properties seeing increases upwards of 20%.

I looked at a house outside of the city of Mandan -- the value increased by 24%. They would see a 19% increase on county taxes, County Auditor Dawn Rhone said.

The County Commission approved the preliminary budget last month. The commission at a previous meeting recommended a pay increase of $2,000 and an additional 1% contribution to retirement plans for all county employees -- a roughly 3% increase in the county's payroll.

The commission is allowed to lower the mill levy or move items around prior to passing the final budget. Commissioners are not allowed to increase mills after the passage of the preliminary budget, according to Rhone.

Estimated tax statements will be sent to county residents at the end of August, and a public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Sep. 26 before the commission votes on final approval.
After the death of the first-year student from Jadavpur University, authorities and police are on high alert. So far, police have interrogated 30 students who stays in hostel. Swapnodip Kundus death has raised serious concerns on the issue of ragging. Police officials are investigating and sources confirm that no evidence of ragging is found, however police interrogation is under process.

Also Read: Jadavpur University Student Death: Seven-Member Committee to Probe After 1st Year Student Falls from Hostel Balcony

News18 has exclusively interacted with a first- year student from Jadavpur University Arpan Maji who alleged that incidences and reports of ragging in the University are true. We were directed by some seniors to cut hair and beards. I had long hair but I chopped them as they directed. We all were asked to wear full pants in the hostel and had to get inside the hostel premises by 6 PM. In case we could not, then had to convince seniors" said the student.

He added that there was an intro session of two hours every night. Without divulging into what transpired in the session, Arpan alleged that seniors were gender insensitive. The first year student clarified that it was just a group of seniors who used to do dadagiri in the hostel.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has also spoken with the family of Swapnodip Kundu. The father of the 18-year-old boy has filed a complaint pointing toward students of the hostel for his sons death. He added that his son had informed him that he was under pressure. Police have also started investigation under IPC section 302 and 34. Jadavpur University administration has asked first-year hostel students to temporarily shift to a new hostel for boys in the campus.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest is started between Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC). BJP state president Sukanto Majumdar has blamed TMC, SFI, and DSF over their administrative support" to carry out ragging in the University campus. On the other hand, Education Minister Bratya Basu pointed that Jadavpur University is under direct control of the Governor. The BJP State President in a hurry to blame us has forgotten that the Jadavpur University is under direct control of the Governor. So, it is his failure of his political masters to control this deplorable incident" tweeted the Minister.

On August 9, Swapnodip Kundu, fell down from the balcony of the universitys main hostel. He received multiple injuries and was undergoing treatment at KPC Medical College. Later he succumbed to injuries.
The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test Cell would most likely begin the registration procedure for NEET PG 2023 counselling today, August 11. Students who have passed the NEET PG 2023 exam and want to study in Maharashtra can apply. Filling out the registration form, uploading your documents, and paying the application cost are all part of the application procedure. The official website for NEET PG Maharashtra counselling is cetcell.net.in/NEET-PGM-2023.

Maharashtra NEET PG 2023: How To Download

Medical students who want to register for Maharashtra NEET PG counseling online can do so by following the instructions below:

Step 1- Visit the official website at cetcell.net.in/NEET-PGM-2023/login.

Step 2: On the homepage, click the direct link to register for the NEET PG counseling 2023.

Step 3: Log in using the necessary information and complete the registration form.

Step 4: Upload the requested documents.

Step 5: Pay the registration fee and save the receipt

Step 6: Print a hard copy of the application confirmation document after downloading it for further use.

Candidates must pay Rs 3,000 as an application fee, which is non-refundable, in order to register. In addition, the government will shortly publish a complete counseling schedule online. The state CET cell will announce a general list of students and a common state merit list following the completion of the Maharashtra NEET PG 2023 registration procedure.

The next step for candidates is to make their selections and show up to the designated medical college for document verification. The comprehensive information brochure for NEET PG 2023 has also been made available by the Maharashtra state counseling council. The official website allows medical applicants who are looking for admission into MS, Diploma, or PG programmes to check it out and download it.

Maharashtra NEET PG 2023: List Of Documents
The National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai will be formally renamed as the Indian Institute of Management, Mumbai (IIM Mumbai) now that the Lok Sabha has passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on August 4. The National Institute of Industrial Engineering is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee at the time of this announcement. The country is currently home to 20 IIMs, and the elevated status of NITIE Mumbai to the IIM level would mark the establishment of the 21st IIM. With IIM accreditation, NITIE will be able to further its goal of producing global leaders and professionals, which it has demonstrated since its inception in 1963.

Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Society and Board of Governors, NITIE and Chairman & Founder, Allcargo Group, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Education & Skill Development on the occasion of NITIE being renamed as IIM Mumbai.

Getting IIM recognition is a moment of immense pride for NITIE and Mumbai. NITIE has a reputation of excellence in imparting quality education in the fields of industrial engineering, engineering management and management sciences. Inclusion of NITIE in the IIM Act, 2017 will further encourage us to continue our journey of academic brilliance by nurturing a culture of continuous learning and innovation to build leaders of tomorrow.

Shetty further stated that the institute intends to establish new standards of learning excellence.

Professor Manoj Tiwari, Director, NITIE, stated on the occasion that NITIEs participation in the IIM Act, 2017 is the culmination of years of hard work, commitment, and collaborative efforts by the institutes facility, administrative officials, management members, employees, alumni, and students.

The acknowledgement underlines our sustained endeavours to achieve academic excellence in the domains of industrial engineering, engineering management and management sciences, supply chain. It will inspire us to further elevate our academic offerings with deep industry insights and experience, Tiwari added.

In line with the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to alter the IIM Act of 2017, the president will have the authority to visit the IIMs, oversee their operations, order investigations, and appoint and dismiss directors.
Based in Noida, Sujal Singh admitted into IIT Delhi in a Civil Engineering course. It was a dream come true not only for him but for his family as well. But soon, Sujal realised that his interest and future of the world lies in Computer. Hence with support of his father, he rejected the IIT Delhi seat and went to get an admission in Delhi Technological University (DTU) in Computer Science course.

Sujals father sells towel near the Great India Place mall, Noida. With 5-6 customers on daily basis, his father works hard to meet the two ends. But seeing his son dedication, 47 years old Balwant Singh who earns less than Rs 20,000 in a month happily devotes his left over savings for Sujals education. Recalling the hard work of his son with Indian Express, he said, I knew my child was capable, he used to study all day. Sujal woke up early in the morning and studied till late at night. Whenever I would wake up at night to get water at about 2-3 am, he would still be studying. He never spent much time outside with friends also.

As stated by Balwant Singh, Sujal scored 99.5 percent in JEE Mains all credits to his hard work. Sharing his views on Sujals education he said that, I never forced my kids to pursue a particular field. I want to see them excel in the field they opt for." Moreover, Singhs daughter is pursing Science in Delhi and aims to crack UPSC examination.

Sujal Singhs dream to get admission in DTU was not an easy one. The fees of the University is higher hence rejecting the idea of bank loan, Balwant borrowed money from his relatives. Seeing the calibre of Sujal, his relatives supported him financially. Sharing deeds, Balwant said Sujals uncle lent them Rs 1 lakh for his education. However, at the same time, he is worried about the future expenses of his education but firmly believes that he will manage Sujals education.
Actor Jiya Shankar was evicted from the Bigg Boss OTT 2 house earlier this week during a mid-week eviction. Jiya, who placed sixth on the show, has often mentioned to other contestants that her mother is estranged from her father. Jiya has never revealed the reason behind her parents separation. Before leaving the show, she told co-contestant Elvish Yadav that she has not spoken to her father in nearly 20 years.

When Elvish asked Jiya about her father, Hindustan Times quoted her as saying, No, we havent spoken to each other. I dont even know where he is, what does he look like, or have heard his voice. I havent spoken to him in the last 20 years and there is no contact. He has another daughter from his second marriage. He has a wife and a daughter. He has moved on in life. Why will he bother about us now?"

According to a report in ETimes, Jiya said that she misses his protection and care. When I see other families together, sometimes when an elderly person says something to me  Im unable to express or react I feel his absence. When I was a kid and if anyone would ever say something to me, I would run to my father and complain and he would take a stand for me. He was very protective towards me. Whenever I feel unsafe or if Im not able to give it back to someone, I miss him a lot," the report quoted her as saying.

In an earlier episode, Jiya had revealed that she does not use her fathers surname. When Jiyas mother, Surekha Gavli made an appearance on the show during a family task, she said that she had separated from her husband when Jiya was 13 years old. Later in the show, Jiya mentioned that she and her mother faced all their hardships together after her father abandoned them.

Jiya was evicted from the show on Tuesday. During the course of the show, she was often accused by co-contestants and fans of the show alike for not maintaining her relationships and often getting confused about them. Her mother had said on the show that Jiya did not grow up with many relatives and positive relationships around her. She said perhaps this is why the actor complicated her friendships on the show.
Air India has unveiled a new logo and new aircraft livery as a part of the massive transformation plan where the company recently completed the historic purchase of 470 new aircraft in a multi-billion-dollar deal.

The airliner hopes that the new logo and new aircraft livery reflect the tech upgrade that Air India is undertaking to include artificial intelligence enabled systems. Tata-group owned airline said the new logo, The Vista, captures the essence of bold new India, which marks a milestone in its Vihaan.AI transformation."

What is the New Logo?

Air India has now ditched its red arched window accents for a gold window frame" bracketing the words AIR INDIA on the top-right corner. The tail design of the new aircraft will feature hues of gold, red and purple, along with a red and gold underbelly with the name in bold.

The new logo The Vista is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame which signifies limitless possibilities, progressiveness and the airlines bold new outlook for the future, the company statement said. The livery and design feature a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern.

Tracing our legacy through the evolution of our logos! From Tata Airlines in 1932 to our emblem adorned with the wheel of Konark, each logo takes shape of a fabled chapter in our journey. #TreasuresOfAI #TBT #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/tvzCBLyuQv Air India (@airindia) August 10, 2023

The company has said that the iconic mascot The Maharaja was not going anywhere and will continue to be part of the airlines journey into the future."

However, the travellers will get to see the new logo by the end of this year in December when Air Indias first Airbus A350 will enter the aircraft fleet.

Our transformative new brand reflects an ambition to make Air India a world-class airline serving guests from around the globe, and that represents a new India proudly on the global stage," Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said.

The companys chairman N Chandrasekaran said that Air India aims to have the best technology in the next 9-12 months and the airliner is putting all of its information technology systems in place as it looks to rise as a serious contender in Indian and foreign market.

Air Indias New Deal

The new logo and livery is part of the total transformation of the airline which is aiming to redefine its role as Indias flagship airline."

The airline company, in one of the worlds largest aviation orders in June, signed purchase agreements with Airbus and Boeing for 470 new aircraft in a $70 billion deal.

The purchase agreement was signed in June this year and the deliveries will begin by November. The largest Indian carrier is purchasing 220 Boeing aircraft from the US and 250 jets from Airbus. The details of the purchase include- 34 A350-1000, six A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft.

Big Plan

The company is undergoing a transformation and will completely refurbish the interiors of its wide-body fleet of 43 widebody aircraft as a part of $400 million deal.

The new changes include new website and a mobile app offering significantly improved web experience with new digital tools and features. It is also coming up with new lounges at Delhi and New York JFK airports.

The company hired over 5,000 new people, including 3,200 Cabin crew and nearly 1,000 Cockpit crew. The airline has made significant investments throughout the guest experience to elevate its service to become the preferred airline for travellers in India and abroad.

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata founded the airline in 1932 and named it Tata Airlines. In 1946, the aviation division of Tata Sons was listed as Air India, and in 1948, Air India International was launched with flights to Europe.

The international service was among the first public-private partnerships in India, with the government holding 49 per cent, the Tatas keeping 25 per cent and the public owning the rest. In 1953, Air India was nationalised and last year, the airline was taken over by the Tata Group from the government.

(With inputs from agencies)
Parliament is the temple of democracy and parliamentary procedures the rites by which the will of the people is translated into practice. But the terms and jargon involved in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha processes can be difficult to grasp. The News18 series, House Talk, brings you a ready reckoner to make sure that none of it is Greek to you.

The centre on Thursday introduced the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 which would put in place a new system of appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners.

This bill assumes significance in the context of the apex court judgment passed in March 2023. Here is all you need to know about the new bill and how were the appointments made in the election body as of now.

What was the SC Judgement?

The Supreme Court in a judgment on March 2 related to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Elections Commissioners (ECs) held that the President will appoint these officials on the advice of a committee consisting of the prime minister, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The judgement by the SC bench led by Justice KM Joseph came in response to a PIL filed in 2015, challenging the constitutional validity of the practice of the Centre-appointed members of the EC.

The judgment was passed by a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, who held that this norm would continue to be in effect until a law on the issue is enacted by Parliament.

What the New Bill States?

The Bill doesnt include the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the committee that will advise on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Elections Commissioners (ECs).

The Bill envisages that the CEC and ECs shall be appointed from among people who are holding or have held the post equivalent to Secretary to the Government of India and shall be persons of integrity, who have knowledge of and experience in management and conduct of elections.

According to the Bill, a Search Committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary and comprising two members not below the rank of Secretary having knowledge and experience in matters relating to elections, shall prepare a panel of five persons for consideration of the Selection Committee for appointment of CEC and ECs.

The Selection Committee will consist of the prime minister as a chairman, the leader of the opposition as the member, and a union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister as a second member.

How were the Selection Made?

Currently, the appointments of Chief Election Commissioner and the Elections Commissioners are governed by Article 324(2) of the Constitution which states, The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the President".

The CEC and ECs hold the office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.

The conditions of service of the officers of the election body are governed by the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 (EC Act).

To ensure the independence of the CEC and ECs security of tenure has been ensured to them. Article 324 (5) makes it clear that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. Other Election Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

All About Election Commission

Election Commission is one of the most important constitutional bodies that constitution makers envisaged. Its importance lies in the fact that it is tasked with conducting free and fair elections that forms the bedrock of a democratic polity.

Till 15 October 1989, the Election Commission worked as a single-member body consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner. It was on October 16, 1989, that the President appointed two other commissioners to give an extra hand to the election body as there was a sudden increase in its workload as the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years and the number of voters increased significantly.

The commission worked as a three-member body until January 1990 when two Elections Commissioners (ECs) posts were abolished. In October 1993, the President appointed two more Elections Commissioners (ECs) and since then the Election Commission has worked as a three-member body.

However, the CEC and ECs have equal powers and receive equal remuneration which matches that of a Supreme Court judge. If any difference of opinion on any matter arises between the three members it is decided by the majority.

Speaking on the provisions related to the Election Commission, Dr BR Ambedkar said in the constituent assembly that the whole election machinery should be in the hands of a Central Election Commission, which alone would be entitled to issue directives to returning officers, polling officers and others.

As the constitution has not laid down a specific legislative process for the appointment of the CEC and ECs, the appointments till date were made by the President on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

With the new bill, any ambiguity over who has the final say in the appointments of the CEC and ECs will be made clear.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Congress by saying that the opposition INDIA alliance in a ghamandi alliance and added that the 26 parties in the alliance stand for arrogance.

In his speech that lasted for around 2 hours 20 mins, PM Modi said that ever since the Congress party was found, it has stolen its ideology and election symbol from the freedom struggle. PM Modi also took a dig at the partys founder AO Hume and reminded that he was a foreigner.

PMs All Out Attack on Congress

Prime Minister Modi attacked the Congress for stealing partys identity, on its dynasty politics and for being against the countrys interest.

ALSO READ | Why PM Modi Reminded Congress of Mizoram Bombings? All About IAFs First Attack Within India

He mocked INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc as an attempt to put plaster on a decrepit building and added that their new shop will soon be shut down. The opposition is all about loot ki dukan and nafrat ka bazar, he said in what was seen as his swipe at Gandhis frequent mohabbat ki dukan pitch.

The Congress was at the Centre of Modis political attack as he took dig at the INDIA alliance by saying that the parties have added two Is of arrogance to the NDA, and the one I of arrogance is of the alliances 26 constituents and the other I is of arrogance of one family.

Attack on the Origin of Congress

From its Gandhi title to the election symbol, Congress has taken everything from somewhere else, PM Modi said in his address.

All the things associate with the Congress identity doesnt belong to it. From the party symbol to the political ideology, Congress claims that these are its own, but it has been taken from others, PM Modi said.

In order to hide their shortcomings, they stole the party symbol and the ideology. The party is in a denial mode ever since 2014. Who was the founder of the party- AO Hume, he was a foreigner, he further said.

In 1930, the freedom movement got a new energy and a new flag and the country adopted the national flag. The Congress saw the power of the national flag and stole it. They also stole the name Gandhi to get voters See their election symbols, a pair of bullocks, hands  all stolen, he added.

How AO Hume Founded Congress

Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant working in India, played a critical role in founding Congress. Born in June 1829 to Joseph Hume, an East India Company official, Hume tried his hand at the Navy before entering the Bengal Civil Service in 1849, according to The Print.

Hume, a member of the Theosophical Society, formed the party because of the influence of the mystic gurus of the Himalayas, believe some historians. Reports said that Hume started developing differences with the British administration in 1979 and resigned from his service.

The Congress was founded on December 28, 1885 by 72 political workers including Hume. The 72 reformers, journalists and lawyers gathered for the first session of the Congress at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay.

When the Congress was founded, the aim of the party was not to demand independence from the colonial rule but to influence the policies of the British government in favour of Indians. There were theories that the Congress was set up by Hume and the others under the directions of Viceroy Lord Dufferin to act as a safety valve for the rising discontent among the Indians.

In 1894, Hume left India and moved back to London where he founded the South London Botanical Institute.

The party after its inception consisted of mostly educated ad upper-class people who studied abroad. However, with the passing time, the party became more diverse and started setting up provincial organisations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at the Congress party while speaking before the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and reminded the Grand Old Party of its poor governance record in the Northeast.

PM Modi recalled the bombing in 1966 where the Indian Air Force was used to attack people in Mizoram for the first time in the countrys history. Modi accused Congress of being the root of the problems in Northeast India for decades.

What PM Modi said on Mizoram?

PM Modi said that during the 1966 Mizoram bombing, the Congress government attacked innocent civilians in the state through the Indian Air Force.

On March 5, 1966, innocent civilians were attacked by the Indian Air Force. Imagine getting our own air force to attack our fellow citizens. Was their security not the responsibility of the government of India? Who was in power at the time?" Modi questioned.

The people from the Congress should answer whether the Air Force was from a different country. Were the people of Mizoram not the citizens of my country, the prime minister said.

He added that even today the people of Mizoram observe mourning on March 5. The Mizoram incident was the first and last episode in the history of independent India when the Indian Air Force was used to bomb inside the country.

What happened on March 5, 1966?

For the last 57 years, the people in Mizoram have observed March 5 as the Zoram Ni or Zoram Day to mark the anniversary of the infamous aerial bombing of Aizwal by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

On March 5, the then central government, headed by Indira Gandhi, launched airstrikes to quell the Mizo rebellion which continued for a week. These airstrikes have devastated several towns in the Mizo-dominated Lushai Hills region including present day capital Aizawl.

The airstrikes have devastated several towns in the Mizo-dominated region known as the Lushai Hills, including Aizawl.

The day Zoram Ni is observed throughout the day to commemorate the sufferings endured by the Mizo people due to the attack on people by the IAF. This year too it was observed in Aizawl and across Mizoram.

However, the dark chapter of Indira Gandhis rule has been kept hidden from the people of the country for a long time. March 5, 1966 became the day when the centre government at that time pushed Mizoram more firmly on the path of separatism.

Mizo National Armys Revolt

The Mizo National Front (MNF), which was then an insurgent outfit then, had declared independence from India in on March 1, 1966. A month back, the Mizo National Army under separatist Mizo National Front revolted against India in February 1966 and a fighting broke out in Mizoram, which was part of Assam during that time.

In March, the group took control of the Aizwal armoury in control of Assam Rifles command centre. The separatists attacked the Assam Rifles battalion headquarters at Aizawl and an Assam Rifles patrol party was ambushed near Aizawl on March 3, which led to five casualties in the paramilitary force.

The military tried to transport troops by helicopter, but the Mizo National Armys snipers chased them off. Then in March, the air force launched a machine gun fire and the attacks intensified when bombs were dropped.

According to reports, the problem in Mizoram started during the time of Jawaharlal Nehru as the central government at that time neglected Assam and the Northeast.

The famine in Assam in 1959 further created problems. Neither the central government led by Nehru nor the Assam government paid any attention to the problem and as a result the crops were destroyed in the Lushai Hills area and hundreds of people lost their lives.

The airstrikes carried out by the government further fuelled the fire of separatism among the Mizos not only led to violence and terrorism for the next five decades but the violence led to Mizoram attaining separate statehood in 1987.

Pakistan and China Interference

In the 1960s when the separatism was increasing among the Mizos, China attacked the North-East Frontier Agency in 1962 (NEFA included Assam and Arunachal) which led to a full-fledge war between India and China. Though, China unilaterally withdrew from Indian territories, but India lost significant territory which was captured by China in Aksai Chin.

Meanwhile, Pakistan allowed Laldenga who was leading separatism among the Mizo people through Mizo National Front to operate camps in East Pakistan (presently Bangladesh). With the support of Pakistan, Laldenga dreamt of bringing the Mizo dominated areas into existence as an independent country and planned an armed rebellion.

Laldenga dreamt of rebelling against India and creating Mizoram as an independent country; and named his operation as Operation Jericho. He launched the operation on March 1, 1966 and Aizawl was surrounded by Mizo rebels from all sides. In retaliation to the operation, Indira Gandhi ordered the aerial operation on March 5.
Two key aides of Canada-based listed terrorist" Arsh Dala were arrested on Friday, soon after their arrival at the Delhi airport from the Philippines, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

Manpreet Singh alias Peeta" and Mandeep Singh were close operatives" of Dala and had non-bailable arrest warrants against them for carrying out terror acts, including threats and intimidation, and terror funding, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

Originally from Punjab, they had been living in Manila in the Philippines and were nabbed by an NIA team at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.

The investigations had revealed that the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a banned terrorist organisation. They were also engaged in smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosives for the KTF from across the border," the spokesperson said.

Besides smuggling weapons from Pakistan, they were involved in recruitment of youths to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF," the spokesperson said.

The official said the duo had been working for Dala who has been operating from Canada for the past three-four years and got executed many killings in Punjab over the past few years.

According to the NIA, both Peeta and Singh were part of an extensive extortion racket for raising funds for the KTF and Dalla. They used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and threaten them to pay up huge amounts," the agency said.

A special NIA court in Delhi had issued non-bailable warrants against them earlier in a case related to terrorist activities of the banned pro-Khalistan terrorist organisations in India.

The two also have several criminal cases registered against them in Punjab.

The NIA had registered a case suo motu on August 20 last year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with terror activities of the banned terrorist organisations in the country.

The agency has been cracking down on terrorist outfits and individual terrorists conspiring to smuggle terrorist hardware such as arms, ammunition and explosives into the country and raise funds for carrying out terrorist acts.
Anthrax is spreading among ranches in southwestern North Dakota, with confirmed cases reaching levels not seen in almost 20 years.

The first case was confirmed in late July. The state Agriculture Department on Friday said there are now 16 affected premises: 15 confirmed by the North Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and one probable case based on clinical signs.

Those operations have lost an estimated 120 cattle, according to Deputy State Veterinarian Beth Carlson.

One confirmed infection is in eastern Hettinger County, with the remaining in neighboring Grant County. The 16 cases match the total in the state from 2006-20, according to Agriculture Department data. There were two cases in 2021 and none last year.

"We have not had more than four confirmed cases since 2005, when we had 109 premises affected," Carlson said.

The 2005 outbreak resulted in more than 500 confirmed animal deaths and estimated losses of 1,000.

North Dakota Stockmen's Association Executive Vice President Julie Ellingson said the growing number of cases this year is a concern to the industry.

"Anthrax seems to rear its ugly head when there are weather extremes, and parts of southwestern North Dakota certainly saw those recently, with up to 5 inches of rain in a shot and near 100-degree temps in some places that made those (anthrax) spores so volatile," she said.

Anthrax bacteria spores lie dormant in the soil and become active under extreme weather conditions such as drought or flooding. Cattle get sick when they ingest the spores.

"We are hopeful that the milder, more seasonal weather and an aggressive vaccination effort in the highest risk areas will help curtail losses and the count will not increase," Ellingson said.

State Veterinarian Dr. Ethan Andress said the cases this year "are a reminder to livestock producers throughout the state to take action to protect their animals from the disease, especially in areas with a past history of anthrax."

"Producers in the affected area have been working with veterinarians to vaccinate and treat animals," he said. "Veterinarians are reporting that the vaccination and treatment protocols are extremely effective.

Anthrax vaccines are readily available, but it takes about a week to establish immunity, and the vaccine must be administered annually, according to the department.

Cases through the years have most frequently been in the northeast, southeast and south central parts of North Dakota, but the department said conditions are right for anthrax in many areas of the state.

While typically only a few anthrax cases are reported in North Dakota every year, it can cause devastating losses in affected herds, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. Weather and soil conditions have contributed to the number of cases were seeing this year.

Ellingson said, "It is hard any time you lose an animal, but to lose multiple animals at one time to a disease such as this is simply heartbreaking. In todays market environment, those animals are valuable and so there is a significant economic impact to the affected operations as well."

For more information, go to www.ndda.nd.gov/diseases/anthrax.
Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil on Friday said the work on the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project corridor-2 between Benniganahalli and Chikkabanavara (25.01 km) will be completed within the set deadline of the next 26 months.

The Minister spoke to reporters after inspecting the progress of work along with Energy Minister K J George and K-RIDE officials. He also visited Lingarapuram, Shampura, Hebbal and Yeshawantpur.

The BSRP project which runs parallel to the existing South-Western Railway lines has its challenges. However, these will be resolved to ensure completion of the project within 26 months, Patil said.

The Minister said the officials have been instructed to work towards completing the works related to all four corridors by 2026. Even if it gets delayed due to some unforeseen reasons the project would be ready by 2028, he added.

According to him, the BSRP requires 157 acres of Railway land. He further said existing encroachments and structures on Railway land are being removed. Private land of about 5.11 acres required for laying of tracks has been acquired. Government land of about 2.72 acres has been acquired out of the total 7.73 acres.

Patil said Defence land of about 7.38 acres is required at three locations Jalahalli, Nagawara, and CQAE near Yeswanthpur. Working permission and in-principle approval has been obtained for these three locations from Defence Authorities.

Physical possession is yet to be handed over to KRIDE, Patil explained.

So far, 10 to 15 per cent of work has been achieved related to corridor-2 and ground works will be over in the next 10 months. The ongoing RUB (Railway Under Bridge) at Shampura will also be completed by then, the minister explained.

After completing Corridor-2, works related to Corridor-3 between Bengaluru and Devanahalli Airport and Corridor-4 between Kengeri and Whitefield will be taken up, Patil said.

He said a proposal has been sent to extend the BSRP to Chikkaballapura, Mysuru, Magadi, Tumakuru, Gowribidanuru, Kolara, and Hosuru. If this gets approved the BSRP would expand to a length of 452 km. Approval has been sought from Railways Department to conduct a pre-feasibility study regarding this.

Tenders have been invited to construct 12 stations under EPC mode (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) along the stretch of corridor 2 and the tender process will be finalised on August 31, Patil said.

The tender process for civil works of corridor-4 is over and bidders will be awarded the works soon. Supply of the first batch of 10 trains will begin in October. 2025, he added.
Five members of a Mewat-based gang allegedly involved in armed robberies and kidnappings have been arrested from southeast Delhis Tughlakabad area, police said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Hafeez (29), Rahil (28) and Ikram (33) of Haryana, and Robin (24) and Mursaleen (27) of Rajasthan, they said.

According to the police, five pistols, 10 cartridges and a truck with ATM-breaking tools were seized from them.

On Wednesday, information was received that five members of the Mewat-based gang were coming from Karnataka in a truck and were heading for Tughlakabad, police said.

A trap was laid and around 5 pm and upon seeing the five accused approaching in a truck, they were asked to surrender.

Instead, the accused took out their pistols and threatened to shoot. They were, however, overpowered, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) H G S Dhaliwal said.

The accused disclosed that they were members of a Mewat-based gang of led by one Hafeez. They used to commit armed robberies, ATM break-ins and kidnappings in different states, including Delhi, Dhaliwal said.

On Monday, the accused had gone to Karnatakas Vijayapur to rob an ATM. But while committing the crime, they panicked on hearing a police siren and escaped, police said.

They were previously involved in more than 17 criminal cases, including murder, abduction, armed robberies, dacoities, vehicle theft and ATM breaking in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi, police added.
At least 10 people, including three minors, were killed in Gujarats Ahmedabad after a mini-truck, which the victims were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck on Friday, the police said. 13 others were left grievously injured in the mishap.

Five women, three children and two men were killed in the accident that took place in the morning, Ahmedabad District Superintendent of Police Amit Vasava said.

Ahmedabad SP Amit N Vasava told ANI that there were a total of 23 people inside the vehicle when the crash occurred.

Today in the daytime, an incident took place in which a truck was parked at the roadside due to puncture and a vehicle was going to Ahmedabad from Rajkot and the passengers travelling in the vehicle belong to Kheda village," Vasava told ANI.

#WATCH | Gujarat: "Today in the daytime, an incident took place in which a truck was parked at the roadside due to puncture and a vehicle was going to Ahmedabad from Rajkot and the passengers travelling in the vehicle belong to Kheda village The vehicle collided with the truck https://t.co/x1GJwsTjUJ pic.twitter.com/yfUxmeCxGZ ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

The vehicle collided with the truck parked by the roadside which led to the death of passengers. A total of ten people have died including five females, two males and three children. We are investigating the matter and RTO and NHAI are also involved in it. A total of 23 people were there in the vehicle, out of which two people sustained serious injuries," he added.

The incident took place near Bagodara village on Rajkot-Ahmedabad Highway. The group of people was returning to Ahmedabad from Chotila in neighbouring Surendranagar district.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia amount for the family of the victim.

Pained by the road mishap on the Bavla  Bagodara highway in Ahmedabad district. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF will be  PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 11, 2023

Pained by the road mishap on the Bavla-Bagodara highway in Ahmedabad district. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected," PMO India tweeted.

(With inputs from PTI/ANI)
The West Bengal police on Friday arrested an ex-student in the death case of a first-year student of Jadavpur University. This is the first arrest in the alleged suicide case and the accused will be produced in the court Alipore Court tomorrow.

The accused is a former MSc student, Sourabh Chowdhury. Earlier in the day, he was taken into custody for interrogation.

Swapnodeep Kundu, a student at Jadavpur University, died after allegedly falling from the second-floor balcony of the main hostel. He was grievously injured and was undergoing treatment at the KPC Medical College where succumbed to the injuries at 4.30 am on Thursday.

The 18-year-old accused hailed from Bagula, Hanskhali. He was an undergraduate student of Bengali (honours).

According to a preliminary probe, he allegedly fell from the A2 hostel building around 11.45 pm on Wednesday.

Some students claimed that Kundus death was a result of ragging at the University campus.

Sources said that the boy had started staying with his friends instead of staying at the hostel as he was afraid to stay at the hostel because of constant alleged harassment.

However, the police are investigating the suicide angle after his parents alleged foul play by the hostel. Some students have claimed that Kundu took the extreme step due to ragging at Jadavpur University. One of the professors has also alleged that the incident was related to ragging.

Initial probe disclosed that the victim called his mother at around 9 PM on Wednesday and expressed his fear about something", a police officer said.

His phone got switched off later. We are looking into his call list to find out whether he spoke to anyone else after that or not," the police said, adding that they have examined the mobile phones of his roommates.

We are waiting for the post-mortem examination report. That will help us in our investigation," he added.

Meanwhile, another first-year student of Jadavpur University alleged in a Facebook post that ragging by a few seniors was behind the death of his friend Swapnodeep.
Twelve policemen were injured in stone pelting, following a scuffle between two groups on a highway in Maharashtras Dhule district, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Mumbai-Agra Highway (NH-3) at Sangvi village in Shirpur taluka around 9.30 pm on Thursday, an official said.

A scuffle broke out between two groups, following which people staged a raasta roko" blocking the movement of vehicles on the highway, he said.

On being alerted, the highway polices Shirpur in-charge Narendra Pawar and his personnel reached the scene and tried to restore traffic, when an angry mob started pelting stones at them, the official said.

Twelve police personnel were injured in the stone pelting and were rushed to a hospital, he said.

The mob also vandalised two vehicles of the highway police, and some important equipment and documents are missing, the official said.

A first information report has been registered at Sangvi police station and a probe into the incident is underway, he said.
Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw, in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, highlighted the central governments commitment to further reforms in the telecom sector and shared the growth report from March 2014 to March 2023.

Vaishnaw shed light on various measures taken to enhance the quality of services, bridge the digital divide, and ensure the security of telecom networks across the country.

ALSO READ | Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE Updates HERE

As per the response, the governments commitment to reforming the telecom sector has led to significant progress in the past nine years.

The growth report stated:

The mobile subscriber count, those who have active mobile phone connections, has risen from 90.45 crore in 2014 to 114.39 crore as of March 2023

Mobile broadband subscribers have soared from 4.56 crore in 2014 to 81.20 crore in 2023, highlighting the growing digital connectivity in the country

The number of mobile towers has increased from 4 lakhs to 9.9 lakh, and the base transceiver stations (BTS) have grown from 6.49 lakh to 25.42 lakh in the same period.

Optical Fibre Cable laid has witnessed substantial growth, from 11.05 lakh km to 38.06 lakh km.

The average mobile data tariff has significantly reduced from Rs 269 per GB to Rs 10.1, making data more affordable to a wider population.

Data usage per mobile subscriber per month has surged from 0.27 GB to 17.11 GB, underlining the increasing reliance on digital services.

RURAL COVERAGE

As per Vaishnaws response, the government has launched various initiatives to extend telecom facilities to villages that were previously devoid of telecommunication services. The ongoing BharatNet initiative is aimed at providing coverage to all uncovered 38,901 villages, with an outlay of over Rs 41,000 crore.

Furthermore, the response to Parliament noted that the scope of BharatNet has been expanded to encompass all inhabited villages, involving an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore.

It was also stated that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) plays a crucial role in ensuring quality services. The government has engaged TRAI to review existing Quality of Service (QoS) regulations, with the aim of incorporating more stringent parameters and benchmarks to enhance the overall quality of telecom services.

The response also highlighted various measures that underscore the governments focus on safety and security, streamlined processes, and integrated infrastructure connectivity. These include the launch of the Call Before You Dig (CBuD) app, the Gati Shakti Sanchar" portal, and the Sanchar Saathi portal.
The Bombay High Court has come down heavily on all municipal commissioners of Mumbai over pothole-ridden roads, while Thane collector has been asked to submit a response on deaths caused by poor roads.

Potholes had resurfaced in Thane, in Mumbais neighbourhood, barely after the first heavy showers from June last week, forcing the the residents of the area to question the quality of work even as chief minister Eknath Shinde has been working hard to ensure that his constituency gets the best amenities and pothole-free roads.

The Bombay HC has summoned six municipal commissioners of Mumbai to remain present in a contempt petition related to potholes. The high court bench of Chief Justice will listen to the matter on August 11. The HC said no action will be taken unless senior officials are made personally liable.

Apart from the commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the chiefs of the Thane Municipal Corporation, Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation also have to appear before the court.

The court in its order requested the presence of the commissioners to explain why they should not be made liable for disobedience and non-compliance of the judgment dated February 24 and April 12, 2018, passed by this Court in PIL No.71 of 2013.

Despite the aforesaid observations made by the Court, it appears that adequate measures have not been taken by the respective Corporations to ensure strict compliance of the order dated 24th February and 12th April 2018," the court noted. The court issued directions after listening to the Public interest Litigation petition filed by advocate Ruju R Thakker.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, soon after taking over as the CM, Shinde launched the Changing Thane initiative and directed the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to undertake beautification work as well as repairs and concretisation.

As many as 282 roads were taken up for a total cost of Rs 605 crore, including 127 road works in the first package costing Rs 214 crore and 155 roads in the second package costing Rs 391 crore, the report stated.

In July, a 32-year-old biker died on the spot after he fell off his bike while avoiding potholes and was run over by a dumper at Dwarli on Shree Malang Gad Road in Kalyan.

A day later, another biker fell and suffered severe injuries while crossing a damaged portion of Ghodbunder Road in Thane. The stretch where the mishap occurred was barely 500m from municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangars residence.

(With inputs from ANI)
KERALA LOTTERY RESULT TODAY: The Kerala state lottery department has announced the results for Nirmal NR-342 lucky draw for Friday, August 18. The draw was held at Gorky Bhavan, near Bakery Junction, in Thiruvananthapuram. The lucky recipient of the first prize will get Rs 70 lakh, while the second prize winner will receive Rs 10 lakh, and the third prize winner will get Rs 1 lakh. Check the full list of winning numbers for lucky draw here.

NIRMAL NR-342 LOTTERY: WINNING NUMBERS

WINNING NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKH IS NA 570940 (THRISSUR)

Agent Name: SAJEEVAN

Agency No.: R 10075

WINNING NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 10 LAKH NH 261902 (ERNAKULAM)

Agent Name: GEETHA PURUSHOTHAMAN

Agency No.: E 4938

WINNING NUMBER FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE

NA 520712

NB 394900

NC 270381

ND 987449

NE 833298

NF 258955

NG 733309

NH 345996

NJ 411895

NK 228662

NL 938886

NM 744970

WINNING NUMBERS FOR THE CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE

NB 570940

NC 570940

ND 570940

NE 570940

NF 570940

NG 570940

NH 570940

NJ 570940

NK 570940

NL 570940

NM 570940

WINNING NUMBERS FOR THE 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE

0007 0292 0302 2755 3606 4089 4128 4495 4782 5127 5142 5273 7510 7761 7880 7987 8407 9299

WINNING NUMBERS FOR THE 5TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE

0115 0673 1070 1561 1711 2379 2726 3237 3401 3429 3611 3761 3762 3823 4359 5457 5573 5979 6090 6149 6440 6666 6708 6718 6824 6884 7082 7263 7693 8560 8677 9109 9167 9244 9484 9816

WINNING NUMBERS FOR THE 6TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE

0028 0085 0216 0520 0589 0650 0773 0782 0839 1113 1451 1505 2020 2078 2138 2300 2309 2310 2321 2322 2531 2703 3153 3594 3614 3692 3759 3994 4041 4042 4173 4180 4403 4519 4539 4580 4933 4939 5076 5094 5112 5205 5223 5228 5420 5513 5810 6136 6256 6410 6428 6464 6510 6888 6990 7185 7197 7428 7501 7643 7676 7785 7864 8012 8143 8185 8322 8946 8971 8997 9125 9279 9418 9518 9647 9717 9775 9781 9960

WINNING NUMBERS FOR THE 7TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE

0001 0073 0079 0128 0267 0428 0451 0467 0792 0981 1045 1111 1196 1266 1402 1424 1525 1838 1847 1867 1990 2029 2165 2203 2277 2295 2417 2517 2527 2585 2612 2614 2628 2641 2754 2948 3029 3064 3155 3265 3286 3295 3347 3584 3633 3776 3822 3896 3923 4127 4162 4186 4200 4223 4269 4283 4350 4374 4611 4686 4822 4824 4999 5073 5086 5249 5398 5432 5590 5666 5716 5735 5845 5919 6015 6115 6138 6287 6294 6585 6710 6750 6799 6835 6973 6982 7038 7135 7269 7328 7350 7400 7454 7522 7534 7573 7750 7858 7916 7927 7986 8047 8059 8129 8138 8145 8287 8542 8660 8721 8722 8851 8880 9088 9165 9314 9469 9658 9679 9730 9903 9979

KERALA LOTTERY RESULT TODAY: NIRMAL NR-342 PRIZE DETAILS

1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakh

2nd Prize: Rs. 10 Lakh

3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh

4th Prize: Rs. 5,000

5th Prize: Rs. 1,000

6th Prize: Rs. 500

7th Prize: Rs. 100

Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000

Thiruvonam Bumper Lucky Draw Worth Rs 25 Crore On September 20

Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Monday unveiled the 2023 Thiruvonam bumper lottery which carries a first prize of Rs 25 crore. The second prize winner will get Rs 20 crore, which will be divided equally - Rs 1 crore each- among 20 winners. The 20 winners of third prize will get Rs 50 lakh each. The 10 winners of the fourth prize will get Rs 5 lakh each, while the fifth prize of Rs 2 lakh each will be distributed among 10 winners. The lottery ticket is priced at Rs 500. The draw will be held on September 20.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD PDF WITH FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS

STEP 1: Visit keralalotteries.com

STEP 2: Click on Lottery Result

STEP 3: A new page will open. Click on View

STEP 4: You can access PDF by clicking on Download icon on the top right side of the page.

HOW TO CHECK NIRMAL NR-342 LOTTERY RESULT?

Participants of NIRMAL NR-342 lottery can check result by clicking on the official website of the Kerala Lottery Department: www.keralalotteries.com. Apart from the website, these results are also published in the Kerala Government Gazette. Interested candidates can participate in the lottery by purchasing the tickets, which are priced at Rs 40, from any Taluk lottery offices in the state. The Kerala has three lottery offices in Punalur (Kollam district), Kattappana (Idukki district) and Thamarassery (Kozhikode district).

KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 2023: HERES HOW TO CLAIM PRIZE MONEY

Winners of NIRMAL NR-342 lottery draw must confirm their winning tickets with the Kerala lottery results published in the Kerala Government Gazette. If they find their ticket number in the published gazette, they must report to the Kerala lottery office in Thiruvananthapuram along with their tickets and identification proof to claim the prize within 30 days.

KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 2023 FAQs: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

How do I buy Kerala lottery tickets?

Kerala lottery tickets can only be purchased from authorized retailers in state.

Which online sites are best to buy Kerala lottery tickets?

Selling or buying lottery tickets over the Internet is illegal in India, so you can buy it only through authorised ticket agents by physically visiting them.

Is Kerala lottery available online?

No. As per the rule, only physical tickets are permitted to sale.

What is the price of Kerala lottery ticket?

Weekly lottery tickets are available for Rs 40, while the Bumper lotteries price varies - Rs 200 to Rs 300 - depending upon prize amount.

Who is eligible for Kerala lottery?

Anyone above the age of 18 years can purchase lottery tickets. Even those who are not the residents of the state can buy, but they need to physically visit the state of Kerala and buy the ticket from an authorized retailer.

Also, its important to check the local laws of the state you live in. Some states have restrictions on participating in lotteries or buying lottery tickets from other states.

Where to buy Kerala lottery?

One can buy the ticket from an authorized retailer in Kerala.

How much money will I get from Kerala lottery?

Depending upon the prize money, winner of Kerala lottery can win from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 12 crore

When is Kerala lottery results declared?

The results of weekly lottery is announced everyday at 3 pm, and for the Bumper lottery, it is announced at 2 pm.

Is lottery legal in Kerala?

The Kerala Lotteries are regulated by the State Government.
A Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjabs Tarn Taran in the early hours of Friday. The BSF troops observed suspicious movement of a Pakistani intruder ahead of border fencing in the area near Thekalan village in the district.

The BSF also issued an statement about this matter.

PRO, Punjab Frontier of BSF says, Today on 11th August, during morning hours, Border Security Force (BSF) troops observed suspicious movement of a Pakistani miscreant/intruder ahead of Border fencing, in the area falling near bordering Village Thekalan under District Taran ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

Troops challenged the intruder, but he did not stop and continued moving forward. Sensing imminent threat and to stop further misadventure, BSF troops fired upon the miscreant in self-defence, killing him on the spot.

Previously, in July this year, while thwarting a major narcotic smuggling bid, the BSF shot dead a Pakistani intruder in Jammu and Kashmirs Samba district.

Officials had said alert border guards picked up suspicious movement near the S M Pura post in the Ramgarh sector late at night and opened fire when the suspected intruder paid no heed to the repeated warnings.

Further early, in January this year, a Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the Gurdaspur sector along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab. The intruder was believed to be armed at the time.

(With PTI inputs)
The Parliament approved the amendments to the Central and integrated GST laws to levy 28 per cent tax on full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

Rajya Sabha returned the two proposed legislations to Lok Sabha with a voice vote, without any discussion. Lok Sabha, on the other hand, approved the two bills  The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023. Both the bills were introduced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The amendments pertain to the insertion of a provision in the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming. The amendment in IGST Act relates to inserting a provision to impose GST liability on online money gaming provided by offshore entities. Such entities would be required to get GST registration in India.

Amendments to both these bills were approved by the GST Council last week.
A second person has been sentenced to a lengthy federal prison term and a third suspect has pleaded guilty in what authorities say was a drug trafficking operation that brought copious amounts of meth and heroin from California to North Dakota.

Shawn Abernathy, of Bismarck, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison. U.S. District Judge Dan Traynor ordered him to spend five years on supervised release following his prison time. Abernathy earlier had pleaded guilty to a drug distribution conspiracy charge, and prosecutors dropped two other drug counts.

Abernathy and Ronald Newhauser, of Hazen, made multiple trips to California beginning around March 2020 to get large amounts of meth and heroin from Juan "Elmo" Macias and bring the drugs back to North Dakota to distribute, authorities alleged. Abernathy in one trip brought back 5 pounds of meth, according to court documents.

Abernathy would fly from North Dakota to Sacramento, California, pick up the drugs and travel back to North Dakota on an Amtrak train. Newhauser would send proceeds from sales of the drugs in North Dakota through the mail to Macias, according to court documents. Macias rented a post office box in Lodi, a town near Sacramento, where he picked up the money, authorities said.

Newhauser was accused of being in possession of 6 pounds of methamphetamine, 3  ounces of heroin and more than $50,000 in cash when he was arrested following a September 2020 chase involving Beulah police that reached speeds of 100 mph, according to court documents.

Newhauser pleaded guilty to drug distribution conspiracy in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced last month to seven years behind bars.

Macias reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in May, and pleaded guilty on Thursday to drug distribution conspiracy. He's scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 1 in U.S. District Court in Bismarck.
Alarmed at increasing incidents of road fatalities in the state, the Punjab government has decided to set up a Sadak Suraksha Force (SSF). Chief minister Bhagwant Mann gave the nod for the creation of the force during the cabinet meeting held on Friday. A government spokesperson said the cabinet gave its consent to launch the force as a plan for road safety on 5,500 kilometres of state and national highways.

Punjab has witnessed an increase in traffic and road infrastructure over the past few decades. As many as 144 patrolling vehicles, fitted with specialised equipment, to check drunken driving and overspeeding will be deployed on these routes, each covering a distance of 30 km. An amount of Rs 30 crore will be spent on the purchase of vehicles and the equipment installed in them. Around 5,000 police personnel will be deployed in the Sadak Suraksha Force of which around 1,200-1,500 personnel will be immediately provided out of the newly recruited police jawans.

The cabinet also gave its approval for setting up a facilitation centre" at the arrival hall of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, to assist NRIs landing there. This centre will be manned 247 and the passengers/relatives will be given assistance regarding the arrival of flights, connecting flights, taxi services, lost luggage facilities, etc, at the airport. The centre will have tie-ups with taxi services available at reasonable rates.

The cabinet gave its nod to use artificial intelligence (AI) in further improving governance in the state. The decision aims at making the state a frontrunner in the use of AI in governance and providing better services to residents. AI can be helpful in reducing road accidents, checking tax evasion, improving health services and citizen interfaces, etc, say officials.

The Punjab cabinet also approved the Annual Administrative Report of the police department for the year 2019.
The Rajasthan Police has lodged a complaint against Congress MLA Gopal Meena and 5 police officers after the politician allegedly forced a Dalit man to lick his shoe and an officer urinated on him.

The incident occurred on June 30, but the complaint was filed almost a month later since the victim was afraid to do it.

The victim also accused the police of ignoring his complaint when he did the first time, according to the FIR, news agency PTI said.

According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that the police picked him up while he was working in a farm and took him to a place where the MLA forced him to lick his shoe. After this, the complaint adds, the Circle Officer Shivkumar Bhardwaj urinated on him.

The complainant said that the MLA and the cop also snatched his mobile phone and threatened him with consequences.

The man also said that he has been under a lot of pressure and has been getting threats since he filed the complaint.

Cong MLA reacts

Reacting to the incident, the Jamwa Ramgarh MLA has refuted the charges and said that fake" allegations have been made against him due to a property-related dispute.

It is a tactic to mount pressure on me. Some people want me to help them in illegal land encroachment. I do not know the man who registered this case, Meena said, according to PTI.

Jamwa Ramgarh SHO Sitaram Saini said the case was registered on July 27 and the matter was subsequently sent to CID (CB) for further investigation.

Apart from the MLA, and the Circle Officer, the SHOs of four police stations have been named in the FIR.
The central government has introduced three new bills to replace signs of slavery and will be repealing the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act, so as to make the criminal justice system more victim friendly.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, has been reintroduced as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, will be known as the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam once notified.

Search and seizure operations will now be videographed through electronic devices and, for the first time, the Centre has defined terrorism.

Remissions have been rationalised and, with the implementation of these bills, commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment; commutation of life sentence to imprisonment for a term of seven years; commutation of sentence of seven years imprisonment to three. A new provision has been included for crime related to murder on the basis of race, caste, community for which a provision of minimum seven years imprisonment or life imprisonment or death penalty has been made.

Erasing colonial legacy

A home ministry official said there is a colonial imprint on the criminal law process. British laws enacted 160 years ago were intended to protect the interests of the British and their government in London  sedition and protection of treasury got precedence over murder and crime against women. The aim was to make British rule paramount rather than safeguard human rights.

Complex procedures in the IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act has led to high pendency of cases in court; inordinate delay in the delivery of justice; poor and socio-economically backward communities being deprived of justice; low conviction rates; overcrowding in prisons; and a large number of undertrial prisoners.

Colonial words removed

The government has removed certain colonial words. These words were in rampant use in these three legislations, which the judicial system was using even after independence. These words include Parliament of the United Kingdom, Provincial Act, London Gazette, jury, barrister, Lahore, Commonwealth, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Her Majestys Government, Possession of the British Crown, Court of Justice in England, Her Majestys Dominions among others.

Issue not raised for the first time

Before taking a final call on the three bills, previous governments, too, had received recommendations for reforms in the criminal justice system. The Law Commission of India has recommended amendments in different reports with committees like the Bezbaruah Committee, Viswanathan Committee, Malimath Committee, Madhav Menon Committee recommending reforms. The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs in its 146th report in 2010, 128th report in 2006 and 111th report in 2005, called for reforms.

Lengthy consultation process

In 2019, the ministry of home affairs initiated this reform process. The union home minister wrote a letter to all governors, chief ministers, lieutenant governors or administrators in September 2019. In January 2020, suggestions were sought from the Chief Justice of India, chief justices of all high courts, bar councils and law universities.

In December 2021, suggestions were sought from MPs, while the Bureau of Police Research and Development sought suggestions from all IPS officers. A committee was set up under the chairmanship of the vice-chancellor of the National Law University Delhi.

Thousands of suggestions received

According to the government, it received thousands of suggestions. A total of 18 states, six union territories, the Supreme Court, 16 high courts, five judicial academies, and 22 law universities sent their suggestions. A total of 142 MPs, IPS officers as well as state and central forces also sent in their suggestions. The home minister held about 58 formal and 100 informal review meetings.

Use of technology

The government is claiming that electronic and digital records, email, server logs and documents available on the computer, smartphones or laptop messages, website, and locational evidence, will be used to meet the challenges of next level technology. Mail messages will be available on digital devices, FIR to case diary, case diary to chargesheet judgment will be digitised.

Interestingly, issuances and servicing of summons as well as warrants and their execution will also be digital. For the examination of the complainant and witnesses, a register shall be maintained by all police stations and courts containing email addresses, phone numbers or other similar details, while summons will be duly sent by electronic means.
The wrangle between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka over Katchatheevu, the 285-acre island on the Palk Strait, has taken centre stage now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the former PM Indira Gandhi for ceding the land in 1974. The then chief minister M Karunanidhi had written to the prime minister underscoring the historic allegiance of the land to the Raja of Ramnad.

Was it (Katchatheevu) not part of Bharath Mata," PM Modi said in Parliament while responding to the oppositions no-confidence motion against his government.

The Prime Ministers comments came against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalins reminder to raise pending issues over the island with Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe during a visit in July.

Stalin in a letter to PM Modi said: The transfer of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, by the Union Government, without the state governments consent, has deprived the rights of the Tamil Nadu fishermen and adversely impacted their livelihoods." The DMK president also reiterated the attempts by Karunanidhi including an appeal to the then Prime Minister in 2006 to retrieve Katchatheevu island.

Tamil Nadus periodic reminders and the Centres finger-pointing at the 1974 decision have been a regular feature in the states political landscape. While not an electoral issue, the ceding of Katchatheevu has often been leveraged as a tool to hit out at the DMK, for it happened during their rule. Another agreement, signed during the Emergency in the absence of a government in Tamil Nadu, clearly demarcated areas where fishermen on either side are disallowed to conduct their activity.

The agreement between India and Sri Lanka on the maritime boundary between both countries in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal was signed on March 23, 1976. It read: The fishing vessels and fishermen of India shall not engage in fishing in the historic waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive zone of Sri Lanka nor shall the fishing vessels and fishermen of Sri Lanka engage in fishing in historic waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone of India, without the express permission of Sri Lanka or India, as the case may be

Tamil Nadus fishermen have been frequently facing conflict with Lankan authorities in their usual fishing activity around Katchatheevu. As recently as last month, nine Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadus Ramanathapuram district were arrested by the Lankan navy between Katchatheevu and Neduntheevu.

The frequent arrests and seizure of boats by the Lankan navy impact livelihoods among Tamil Nadus fishermen, which has been a slow-burning issue, fuelling discontent with the state governments. Even during the time of J Jayalalithaa, the Katchatheevu retrieval has been a political point. In June 2016, three months before her hospitalisation and subsequent death, chief minister J Jayalalithaa met with Prime Minister Modi, and one among her points of emphasis was the retrieval of Katchatheevu and a permanent solution to the problem.

Political observer N Sathiya Moorthy said: It is a constant talking political point but never an electoral issue. If you look at the last several elections, no party has won or lost because of the Katchatheevu issue in Ramanathapuram district. It is also pertinent to note that the Prime Minister has mentioned it in Parliament. The Government of India as an institution over the past several decades has reiterated that it is a closed chapter and Katchatheevu is part of Sri Lanka. The Modi government has also reiterated this point more than once."
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2023: International Youth Day is celebrated every year on August 12. It is a day to celebrate the potential of young people and to commit to creating a better future for all. The theme for International Youth Day 2023 is Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World". This theme highlights the importance of providing young people with the skills they need to contribute to a sustainable future.

International Youth Day 2023 History

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared August 12 as International Youth Day in 1999. The UNGA decision was based on the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, which was held in Lisbon in 1998.

International Youth Day 2023 Significance

International Youth Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing young people around the world. It is also a day to celebrate the contributions of young people to society.

The 2023 International Youth Day will focus on the following:

The importance of green skills for youth. The role of youth in sustainable development. The challenges and opportunities facing young people in the context of climate change. The need to invest in youth.

The UNGA has called on governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to take action to support young people and help them achieve their full potential.

International Youth Day 2023: How to Celebrate
Actor Alia Bhatt had not even finished celebrating the success of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, when her Hollywood debut Heart of Stone released on Netflix on Friday. Keeping the glamorous Rani Chatterjee aside, Alia will now be seen as Keya Dhawan - a hacker on the run from a global peacekeeping agency, seeking justice. The film stars Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan as leads. But, the film is getting mixed reviews from Twitterati, with some even comparing the film to Mission: Impossible.

One user wrote, #HeartOfStone is bad. its a poor mission: impossible copycat filled with boring storytelling & blandly executed action. gal gadot, alia bhatt, jamie dornan are there & while ive no sympathies for the zionist, it feels bad to see alia & jamies talents being wasted."

#HeartOfStone is bad. its a poor mission: impossible copycat filled with boring storytelling & blandly executed action. gal gadot, alia bhatt, jamie dornan are there & while ive no sympathies for the zionist, it feels bad to see alia & jamies talents being wasted. pic.twitter.com/QAN3jFDqmO Pramit (@pramitheus) August 11, 2023

Commenting on the films cinematography, another user wrote, Why cant @netflix make a sharp, glossy looking action film like Mission Impossible? Watching Heart of Stone and some of it looks like grainy Super 8 home movies. The Gray Man and others have a similar pallor. Hundreds of millions and iPhone video looks way better."

However, in a twist of narrative, some netizens are appreciating this comparison. One person wrote, Heart of Stone reviews calling it derivative of Mission Impossible 7, and as somebody that doesnt like Mission Impossible 7, I consider that a good thing oddly enough lol, maybe Ill have more fun with a movie that borrows that same concept but knows how to have fun with it idk."

Gal Gadots array of stunts as Rachel Stone in the film warrant these comparisons. While talking about headlining Heart of Stone with Flaunt, the actor had also mentioned Mission: Impossible. I grew up watching Bond, Mission: Impossible, Bourne, Die Hardthey were all perfect escapismI always wanted to play in one," she said.

While some netizens held that one needs to have a heart of stone" to watch the film, others lauded the film for its gripping screenplay. One person wrote, Heart of Stone" on Netflix will leave you breathless, shattered, and craving for more. Dont say I didnt warn you! #HeartOfStone #NetflixThriller #IntenseJourney"

#HeartOfStone was so enjoyable and fun. Great action, fantastic stunts The last 30 mins were amazing especially and the screenplay though predictable had exciting moments. #AliaBhatt so proud of you  An amazing character to play in your first HW movie ! Gal  & Jamie  sagar (@alianator07) August 11, 2023

Fans of Alia Bhatt also took to Twitter to extend their appreciation. One person wrote, #HeartOfStone was so enjoyable and fun. Great action, fantastic stunts  The last 30 mins were amazing especially and the screenplay though predictable had exciting moments. #AliaBhatt so proud of you  An amazing character to play in your first HW movie! Gal  & Jamie "

Just finished watching #HeartOfStone and idc about others but I loved @aliaa08 as Keya she did such a great job considering it was her first english language film Im so proud and overall it was a nice interesting watch ," another fan added.
Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel starrer Gadar 2 has been garnering a lot of attention ahead of its release. The sequel, which is ready for the clash with Akshay Kumar starrer OMG 2 today, has received a lot of positive responses. And according to the news, Gadar 2 team will be hosting a special screening for President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday, i.e. August 13.

Pinkvilla has exclusively reported that Sunny Deol and team Gadar 2 are set to host a special screening for Droupadi Murmu, the honorable President of India. The cast and crew members are planning to host the private screening for the President on the upcoming Sunday (August 13, 2023), in New Delhi. Interestingly, it was the Presidents office that requested a special screening of the highly anticipated film. The exciting update was officially confirmed by the officials of the production banner Zee Studios, in an exclusive chat with the portal.

Talking about Gadar 2, Sunny Deol will be seen playing the role of Tara Singh and Ameesha will be seen in Sakina. Utkarsh Sharma will play the role of Tara Singh and Sakeenas son Charanjeet Singh. Reportedly, the story revolves around Taras journey to Pakistan to save his son.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta told News18 exclusively that the first preference for the audience is Gadar 2. The advance booking of Gadar 2 is mind-boggling. I am pretty sure the film will earn anywhere between Rs 35-40 crore range on Day 1. The brunt of this will be borne by OMG 2 as the advances are barely 10 percent of the Sunny Deol starrer. So the opening of Akshay Kumars film will be affected."

The makers also organized a special screening for the Indian Army. A source close to Bollywood Hungama mentions, The first screening of the movie received a thunderous response from them, and even better than Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. As they left the screening, they chanted Hindustan Zindabad on their way out last night. The response from the crowd was super energetic and positive.
Prime Video today announced the commencement of a series of masterclasses to be held across key film and television institutes in India. These masterclasses are a part of the Letter of Engagement (LoE), signed between Amazon India and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) earlier this year. The collaboration between Amazon and MIB seeks to promote creative talent, commence capacity building measures and showcase Made in India creative content, globally. The maiden masterclass in this series was held at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and was attended by National Award-winning director Nitesh Tiwari, talented and popular actor Janhvi Kapoor, renowned film editor Antara Lahiri, along with Shri Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, MIB, with Sushant Sreeram, Country Director, Prime Video, India, hosting the session.

Titled Crafting Stories that Resonate, the masterclass traversed a variety of topics of interest to the students, ranging from finding the right stories, infusing them with relatability, the significance of writing to the role of improvisation in acting, and the changes brought forth by streaming.

Nitesh Tiwari, who is known for directing films like Bawaal, Dangal, Chhichhore, Chillar Party, as well as writing and producing several others, spoke about the process of casting in a film. Its a rule which me and my writers normally follow; we do not keep any actor in mind when writing the story, he said.

All of us have certain perceptions about various actors  someone does a particular kind of role well, someone is good in action or emotional scenes  you have those perceptions, and once you keep an actor in mind, you will start writing to their strengths and start avoiding what you perceive are their weaknesses. You will never get any surprises then. And our cinema has suffered because of that, because we keep on seeing actors doing the same things over and over again, and thats because the roles were written for specific actors only.

When asked about his opinion on the final film being different from the initial vision, he stressed on the need for directors to be receptive to change saying, Its always significantly different. If it is not then maybe somewhere Im failing as a director because I have probably gotten into a tunnel vision as a writer and Ive only managed to deliver that. So, I personally put a lot of stress on myself, and make a lot of effort in lifting the vision that I had as a writer, along with my co-writers, to deliver something which is cinematically much better than what was initially expected.

Talking about the process of acting and the role of improvisation in acting, Janhvi Kapoor whos played the lead in films like Bawaal, Dhadak, Mili, Roohi, among others, said, As actors we have a very unique responsibility to give birth to a complete human being. And each human being is so specific in their baggage, memories, hopes, and desires that no two people, even if theyve been brought up together in the same household, can ever have the same outlook on things. So, the thing is to know your character as well as possible, and then even if youre not improvising dialogues, sometimes in the middle of doing a scene, you might discover a feeling that feels very honest to who your character is, and even that can count as an improvisation.

Talking further about identifying when an actor should pivot in their career, Janhvi said, When you identify that as a performer youve developed crutches that you go to easily, things that you know come naturally to you, are convenient and will be liked by every director, then you should identify that youre only impressing yourself or the people in the moment. But as an actor you need to keep pushing yourself, breaking those crutches, challenging yourself, going into unchartered territories. For a while now, Ive played slightly more vulnerable characters, perhaps even slightly backfooted characters with a lot of sincerity. I think that Ive developed my go to regimen to what someone like that would be like, and just for my sake, and for what I feel like doing as an artist, I feel I want to go away from it, pivot and challenge myself. Soon hopefully!

Film editor Antara Lahiri, who has worked on films and series like Shakuntala Devi, Four More Shots Please! S2, Modern Love Mumbai, and more, spoke about the intertwined relationship between direction and editing. Editing and filmmaking, in general, is very collaborative. It doesnt really belong to one individual as a process, she said. It works best when youre working with a director whos extremely secure and open to ideas. I think, sometimes, it works against the story if the director is very fixated on his or her way of telling the story, and not particularly keen to collaborate. You need to be given the space to explore, and if a director is willing to give you that space, thats really a very interesting collaboration.

Prime Video will be organizing subsequent masterclasses, all as a part of the Letter of Engagement with MIB, in premier film institutes around the country.
The much-anticipated 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) commenced today with a dazzling inauguration press conference, marked by the presence of eminent Bollywood personalities and luminaries. This cinematic extravaganza, celebrating the rich heritage of Indian cinema, officially kickstarted in the morning amidst glitz and glamour, promising a series of captivating film showcases, interactive sessions, and engaging discussions.

Gracing the inauguration event were the illustrious Karan Johar, heartthrob Kartik Aaryan, the charismatic Mrunal Thakur, and the dynamic Vijay Varma.

The festivals Founder and Director, Mitu Bhowmik Lange, radiated enthusiasm as she welcomed the distinguished guests, acknowledging their valuable contribution to the industry and the festival itself. With the support of the Victorian Government and the backing of Indian film aficionados, IFFM has emerged as a global platform that fosters cultural exchange and appreciation of cinema.

Joining the celebration were luminaries from the Indian film industry, including the talented and visionary directors such as Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Kanu Behl, and Prithivi Konanur.

As the curtains rise on the 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, audiences can expect a captivating cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and showcases the magic of Indian storytelling. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) kicked off from 11th August and will go on till 20th August this year.

Karan johar said at the event, This is my third time at IFFM. And Im so grateful to the warmth and grace of the festival and everyone involved with it. Im here joined by many fellow of the Indian film fraternity and Im honoured to be amongst such impeccable talent. We have such iconic filmmakers and actors like the team of Sita Raman, a movie I have loved, Vijay Varma who can practically do any role given to him. Or Kartik, who has given us films that resonate with the entire country and has given films that brought people back to the theatres.

Kartik said, Im so overwhelmed to be in Australia and Im thankful to Mitu and to IFFM for inviting me here. The love from the Indian community has been both surprising and overwhelming. Never thought there would be so much love and fanfare for Indian cinema in Australia.

Mrunal added, When I came to IFFM with Love Sonia, I didnt have any plans or idea where my career would go. But I met Nikkhil Advani sir here in Melbourne who then offered me Batla House and even my producers of Sita Raman, I met in Melbourne. So this festival holds a very special place in my heart. I always love coming back here.
Looks like, all is well between Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar, post their huge fallout with Dostana 2. While the film got shelved, the duo is keen on collaborating again for another project and are hopeful that this may materialise. The filmmaker and actor recently graced the Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne, with their joint media appearance and revealed that they are working together for something.

The duo were asked, when can they expect a collaboration, Karan responded by saying, We gave one attempt and for various reasons, it didnt fructify and we have been in conversation to do something. Hopefully, this one will materialise. Its something we are very excited about.

When asked if that could actually be Dostana 2, Karan smiled and added, Ask us no secrets and we tell you no lies, and broke into laugher with Kartik.

At the start of the press conference, Karan while addressing the media spoke highly of Kartik and added, Kartik, I believe you will be married at the end of this [film festival] and what fun, if its a wedding in Melbourne. Kartiks films have resonated deeply with the country and has given films that brought people back to the theatres. More power to him. May his contribution to cinema always be [given dues].

Back in April 2021, Kartik Aaryan had walked out of Dostana 2. He was all set to share screen space with his then-rumoured girlfriend Janhvi Kapoor for the same. The duo had even shot for some scenes and the shooting was shelved mid-way.

The statement about recasting for Dostana 2 was shared by Dharma Productions. It read, Due to professional circumstances, on which we have decided to maintain dignified silence- we will be recasting Dostana 2, directed by Collin DCunha. Please wait for the official announcement soon.

Without revealing much, Kartik had earlier shared in an interview with ETimes, This happens sometimes. I havent spoken about this before. I believe in what my mother has taught me and these are my value too when theres an altercation between two people, the younger one should never speak about it. I follow that and hence I never speak about it." Kartik was then asked about the report that he allegedly demanded more money from the makers and when it was denied, he backed off. Reacting to this, he added, This is like Chinese whispers, a make belief story. I have never left a film because of money. I am very greedy but in terms of script and not money.

Kartik Aaryan is currently basking in the success of his last film Satyaprem Ki Katha where he shared screen space with Kiara Advani. Karan on the other hand, is also riding high on the success of his recently released directorial Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, which starred Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh.
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has activated the North Dakota Harvest Hotline.

The service that was first implemented in 1992 helps hook up farmers who need custom combiners with commercial harvesters looking for work.

Farmers who need custom combining and combiners looking for a job should call us at 701-328-5110, Goehring said. Your name and information will be entered into the Harvest Hotline database to be matched up with other callers.

Agriculture Department employees will answer calls weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Callers can leave a message on evenings and weekends. The service is free.

A self-service Harvest Hotline map also is available again this year on the department website, http://www.nd.gov/ndda/. Click on "Resource Maps."
Rani Mukerji reportedly opened up about her heartbreaking miscarriage. The actress was a speaker at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 on Thursday, August 10, when she revealed that she was pregnant in 2020 but had a miscarriage. She said that she lost the baby five months into her pregnancy. The tragedy took place before the filming of her film, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway. Rani said she didnt share the story of tragedy during the promotion of the film because she felt it would have been perceived as promotion tactics.

As quoted by Business Today, Rani Mukerji said, Maybe this is the first time I am making this revelation because, in todays world, every aspect of your life is discussed publicly, and becomes an agenda for talking about your film to get more eyeballs. Obviously, I didnt speak about this when I was promoting the film because it would have come across as me trying to speak about a personal experience that would propel the filmso, it was around the year when COVID-19 struck. It was 2020. I got pregnant with my second baby at the end of 2020 and I unfortunately lost my baby five months into my pregnancy."

She added that one of the producers of the film, Nikhil Advani, reached out to her 10 days after the miscarriage. After I lost my baby, Nikhil (Advani) would have called me probably like 10 days later. He told me about the story and I kind of immediately not that I had to have the loss of a child to feel the emotion but sometimes there is a film in the right time of what you are going through personally to be able for you to connect with it instantly. When I heard the story, I was in disbelief. I never thought in a country like Norway an Indian family would have had to go through, she said.

Rani added that neither the producer nor director Ashima Chibber knew about her miscarriage. When they see this interview, they will be quite shocked, she said.

The Kuch Kuch Hota Hai star is married to Yash Raj Films head Aditya Chopra. The couple welcomed a daughter in 2015, whom theyve named Adira.
Shraddha Kapoor attended CNN News18s Rising India-She Shakti conclave in New Delhi on Friday, August 11. During the event, Shraddha revealed that she recently watched Karan Johars directorial Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The Stree actress appreciated Alia Bhatts performance in the movie and called her an absolute delight.

In my peer group, there are so many people doing such good work. I recently watched Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and I absolutely loved Alia in it. I thought she was extremely effortless, so natural, and an absolute delight to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her," Shraddha said.

Asked about the iconic actors she looks up to, Shraddha added, So many icons I look up to. I have them in my own household. To begin with, I admire them for the way they have brought me up. The kind of work they have done is phenomenal."

During the session, Shraddha also talked about the negativity on social media and mentioned that she tries to focus on good things. I apply the same kind of thinking with which I have been brought up, which is perspective, what you pay attention to grows, if I focus on love and adulation and when I share some candid aspects of my life maybe someone is going to get inspired in some way also. So, I focus on that. Very very frankly. I feel that it is also something I use as my strength," she told the host. The actress has over 80 million followers on Instagram.

News18s Rising India Initiative embodies a commitment to fostering thought leadership and facilitating crucial discussions on groundbreaking innovations and our nations future prospects. This exceptional event unites visionaries, decision-makers, and influential speakers from all corners to unlock the boundless potential of India. You can watch the Rising India conclave here.
Congress chief and leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday, expressed his discontent over the suspension of his party colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the Lower House of Parliament on flimsy ground. Kharge claimed that Chowdhurys suspension was prompted by his mentioning of the term Nirav Modi", where Nirav merely translates to calm and silent in Hindi.

Chowdhury was suspended on Thursday from the House for making objectionable comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech while participating in the no-confidence discussion.

He only said Nirav Modi. Nirav means Shaant (quiet), and for that, he was suspended? Kharge said to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

#WATCH | LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raises the issue of the suspension of Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury; says, He has been suspended on a flimsy ground. He just said Nirav Modi. Nirav means calm, silent. You suspend him over that?" pic.twitter.com/La3xjqHpcD ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

He further urged Vice President Dhankhar to protect the democracy" and intervein in revoking his party colleagues suspension.

He has been suspended on a flimsy ground I am pleading with the vice president and the Chairman of the House that you have to protect democracy as he (Adhir) is in the public accounts committee, business advisory committee too, and the CBC selection. He has been deprived of all these institutions and if he is suspended, its not good, the Congress leader said.

Earlier today, Opposition leaders of the INDIA alliance met to discuss the suspension of the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and discuss the way ahead.

The Congress has termed the action against its floor leader unbelievable" and undemocratic".
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Friday slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government for not appointing the guardian ministers for 17 districts and claimed that both deputy chief ministers were eyeing the CMs chair.

The three ruling partners  Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar faction of NCP  are competing to loot the state coffers, he said.

In this government, one minister is the guardian minister of six districts. Nineteen guardian ministers have been appointed for 36 districts. This means 17 districts still do not have a full-time guardian minister, said Patole.

The Congress leader said the government is in a quandary over who will do the flag-hoisting on August 15, referring to a list of ministers assigned to hoist the Tricolour at district headquarters on Independence Day.

The government had earlier announced that the flag-hoisting will be done by the district magistrates and commissioners in the absence of a guardian minister, but changes had to be made to it, Patole told reporters here.

Both deputy chief ministers  Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar  are eyeing the CMs chair. Theres confusion and utter chaos in the government, Patole claimed.

The Congress leaders alleged that the three-party government is not at all concerned about the issues of the people. He said the administration is not functioning and officials in the rank of tehsildar are being caught red-handed taking bribes.

This is not a good sign for the state. Due to lack of government control over the administration, corruption has skyrocketed, he claimed.

Maharashtra is facing the crisis of double sowing, he said.

First, there was excess rainfall, and now theres no rain at all. The Kharif crops are at risk. While the public is suffering, instead of doing something for them, theres competition among the three (ruling) parties who can loot the government treasury more, he said.

Referring to allegations about the death of five patients in a single day at a civic-run hospital in Thane, Patole called it unfortunate and said it happened in CMs city. The hospital, however, has denied the allegations.

Patole claimed that Maharashtras health budget is just 1 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product and it should be increased to 15 per cent.

The health services in the state are deteriorating, hospitals lack doctors, nurses, and medicines. On the other hand, the government is only giving advertisements. Ordinary people are not getting even basic medical facilities. This is a government of only a handful of people, he said.

The Congress leader claimed that there are 75,000 vacant posts of teachers in the state but the government is only making announcements about teacher recruitment. The education system is collapsing, schools are in a shambles, he said.

In Maharashtra, which boasts leaders like Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, children from underprivileged families are not getting an education, he said.

People are fed up with the governance of the BJP and soon the public will oust them from power, he claimed.
Union minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Friday alleged that the Congress left no stone unturned to disturb peace in Manipur for political mileage as Rahul Gandhi is feeling like a fish out of water" and yearning for power. Thakur alleged that it was the Nehru-Gandhi family which sowed the seeds of hatred in Manipur and other northeastern states for political gains.

Home Minister Amit Shah in the House (Lok Sabha) gave detailed information on Manipur and also brought a proposal for calling for peace. But the Congress tried to create disturbance in the House and left no stone unturned in creating disturbance in Manipur as well," he said. The information and broadcasting minister alleged that the Congress hands are soaked in the blood of thousands of people of northeastern states".

Rahul Gandhi ji, you are yearning for power like a fish out of water. You have a habit of sowing seeds of hatred," he alleged.

Thakurs remarks came after Gandhi said it does not behove the prime minister to laugh and crack jokes in Parliament when the state has been on fire" for the past four months.

The prime minister wants Manipur to burn and allows it to burn", Gandhi alleged at a press conference at the Congress headquarters here and asserted that if the Narendra Modi government wanted to stop the violence, there are tools in the hands of the government that can do so immediately.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued the final order for delimitation of assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Assam, with the total number of constituencies retained at 126 and 14, respectively. However, names of at least 19 assemblies and one Parliament seat have been changed.

In a statement, the poll body said that all assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state have been delimited based on the 2001 Census as provided in Article 170 and Article 82 of the Constitution.

The census figures of 2001, as published by the Census Commissioner, have alone been considered for this purpose. The number of seats in the Legislative Assembly in the State of Assam have been kept as 126 and number of seats allocated in the House of People for the State of Assam as 14," the ECI said, adding that Articles 170 and 82 laid down that the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the allocation of seats in the House of the people to the States should not be altered until the relevant figures for the first census taken after 2026 are published.

As per the delimitation order, nine seats in the Legislative Assembly are allocated for Scheduled Castes, while one seat is allocated for Scheduled Castes in the House of People.

Further, 19 Assembly constituencies and two Parliament Constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been done on the basis of the provisions laid down in Article 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India," they added.

WHAT DOES THE DELIMITATION ORDER SAY?

For delimitation, the lowest administrative unit has been taken as village in the rural areas and ward in urban areas. These units have been kept intact and have not been broken anywhere in the state.

The order has been prepared based on administrative units of development  Development block, Panchayats and village in rural areas and Municipal Boards, wards in urban areas.

Among the changes are increase in SC assembly seats from eight to nine and ST assembly seats from 16 to 19.

One assembly seat has been added in the Autonomous districts in West Karbi Anglong District and the assemblies in Bodoland districts have increased from 11 to 15.

The ECI has retained Diphu and Kokrajhar Parliamentary seats as reserved for ST and Lakhimpur Parliamentary seat will continue to be unreserved.

Further, one unreserved assembly is in Dhemaji district and one Parliamentary seat namely Diphu is reserved for ST, which comprises six ACs of three Autonomous districts.

WHAT IS DELIMITATION?

Delimitation means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body, as per the ECI.

In India, the job of delimitation is assigned to the Delimitation Commission or a Boundary Commission.

Since Independence, the Commissions have been constituted four times  in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002.

WHY WAS ASSAM LEFT OUT?

Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done on the basis of census figures, 1971, by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.

However, when the exercise was repeated in 2002, Assam was not a part of that.

Not just Assam, but Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland, were also left out after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Gauhati High Court challenging the use of the 2001 Census for reference.

In February 2020, then President Ram Nath Kovind paved the way for the delimitation exercise in Assam, rescinding the February 8, 2008 order.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said he would retire from politics if it is proved that he has taken commission (bribe).

Hitting out at former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and former minister R Ashoka for accusing him of collecting commission, he said he sought to know whether the two BJP leaders would resign if their allegations prove false.

I will retire from politics today itself if I have taken commission from anyone. But will Bommai and Ashoka announce their political retirement if they (allegations) prove wrong? Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, said the investigation into the various works taken up by the BBMP will cover all aspects and not just one department.

Meanwhile, Bommai told PTI that the Congress government is indulging in severe corruption in the entire state, especially in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Metropolitan Bengaluru Municipal Corporation).

The Contractors Association has gone to the Governor and given a representation, they tweeted to Rahul Gandhi also and they have met us also. So we have taken up their cause, he said.

There is deep, open corruption going on. No payments have been made to the contractors for the past three months. They are citing some inquiry as a reason (for stalling payments). Let them do the inquiry. We are not stopping them. Let them do an inquiry and hang the guilty but genuine people who have worked for the past six months, there is no payment happening, Bommai said.

According to him, he had released a payment of Rs 650 crore in April this year when he was chief minister.

Bommai said the property tax collected by the BBMP should be given to the contractors who completed works genuinely.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday debunked Congress leader Rahul Gandhis claim that the words Bharat Mata in his Lok Sabha speech were expunged from proceedings, claiming that he lacks understanding and seems to have lost his mental balance".

Addressing a presser, Joshi said, Congress and other opposition parties never thought that we would agree for a discussion on ManipurLike Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said we should be sensitive about the issue. I think Rahul Gandhi lost his mental balance, it appears like thatHe has not heard the reply. He did not come to the HouseIt is very unfortunate that the so-called grand old party is behaving so irresponsibly"

#WATCH | Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi says, Congress & other opposition parties never thought that we would agree for a discussion on ManipurLike PM Narendra Modi & Union Home Minister Amit Shah said we should be sensitive about the issue. Today, as well what pic.twitter.com/SqhHrJkHge ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

Joshi asserted that only some unparliamentary words and not Bharat Mata were expunged from Gandhis address during the no-confidence motion debate on Wednesday and accused Opposition parties of creating ruckus and not letting debate on several key bills happen during the session for political reasons.

The term Bharat Mata has not been expunged. What was unparliamentary has been expunged. Unparliamentary words are selected as per a rule book and there is nothing arbitrary about it," he claimed.

Lok Sabhas productivity was 45 per cent and Rajya Sabhas 63 per cent during the session, a large part of which was marred by the oppositions protest over the Manipur issue.

Joshi said 22 bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 by Rajya Sabha, while 23 bills were passed by both Houses. Some bills passed by one House in previous sessions got the nod of another House in this session.

This comes hours after the Gandhi scion held a conference in which he slammed PM Modi for laughing and cracking jokes" in the Parliament at a time when Manipur faced violence.

During a press conference, Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Modi for his reply to the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, saying he devoted just two minutes to Manipur in his over two-hour speech.

I watched the PM yesterday speaking for two hours laughing, joking, lagaoing naaras (raising slogans). The Prime Minister seems to have forgotten that the state of Manipur is on fire and has been on fire for many days," Gandhi said.

The Prime Minister sitting in the middle of Parliament was shamelessly laughingThe issue was not Congress or me, the issue was what is happening in Manipur and why it was not being stopped," he added.

In his over two-hour long speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, PM Modi critised the Opposition for its take on Manipur and said, we could have discussed Manipur also had they showed interest. The Home Minister gave in writing that we are ready to discuss Manipur."

He also said that the state and central governments are trying their best to punish the accused and that peace will be restored in the state again.

I want to assure mothers and daughters of Manipur that this country is with you, this House is with you. I would like to assure the people of Manipur that the state will once again walk on the path of development and we will ensure it," he said.

(with inputs from PTI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis criticism of the Congress during his reply to the no-confidence motion shows the grand old party is growing stronger.

PM Modi on Thursday spoke for more than 130 minutes in the Lok Sabha in a reply to the debate on the no-confidence brought by opposition parties. The Congress later hit out at the PM, saying he is gripped with a Congress-phobia and that is why he criticised the party throughout his speech.

Talking to reporters, Raut said, The Congress is still in the heart and brain of the prime minister even though he has won two elections (as a PM). Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party has put up a challenge and the party is growing. Referring to Modi, he said, You are in power for 10 yearsforget the Congress and speak about your work. Raut said the no-confidence motion was moved to make the prime minister come to Parliament and give a statement on the Manipur issue and what the government is doing to restore peace there.

Replying to questions, Raut played down the flying kiss controversy saying it was one of the items in mohabbat ki dukan.

Accept it or dont. It is a token of love. Why get angry? It is because you cant give a message of love and peace. If Rahul Gandhi gives this message despite the hate speech made against him, its a big thing, the Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP said.

Raut also claimed that in 2024, the opposition INDIA alliance will win the Lok Sabha elections and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will form the government in Maharashtra after the assembly polls next year.

More parties from Maharashtra will join the INDIA alliance during its upcoming meeting in Mumbai, he added.
Bharat Mata seems to be in distress as two parts of the country  Manipur and Tamil Nadu  claim that she has been hurt and disrespected.

Both incidents have their shock value, raising one question  Is this the Bharat Mata we were taught about in school, the one that embodied united we stand, divided we fall?

Lets understand what happened in both the states.

MANIPUR

Manipur has been seeing clashes between the two ethnic tribal groups  Meitei and Kuki  building up over decades. This issue has been steeped in their history, entangled with identity politics, faith and fierce territorial conflicts.

ALSO READ | Bharat Mata Ki Major Drama in Lok Sabha Over RaGas Speech on Manipur; Smriti Irani Raps Him

Congress leader and newly reinstated Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack against the BJP over the violence in Manipur, stating that the Central governments action has led to the murder of Bharat Mata.

Bharat Mata ki hatya aapne Manipur mein ki, said Gandhi, amid protesting voices of the ruling BJP members and table thumping by the Congress.

Talking about his visit to Manipur, Gandhi asked the Prime Minister why only the Home Minister had gone there. Do you not consider Manipur a part of India? I used the word Manipur, but the reality is there is no Manipur left. You have divided Manipur into two parts, you have broken up Manipur, Gandhi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not in the Lok Sabha when Gandhi spoke. He took on the Congress leader on August 11, reminding the Congress that they were responsible for the partition of the country in 1947. How can the opposition talk about Bharat Matas murder when they themselves cut Bharat Mata into three pieces?

Later, Speaker Om Birla expunged Gandhis remarks on Bharat Mata. Gandhi reacted saying Apparently, Bharat Mata is an unparliamentary word in India nowadays."

TAMIL NADU

Down south, Bharat Mata herself is being drawn into another political clash.

Officials of the Revenue Department in Tamil Nadus Virudhunagar removed the statue of Bharat Mata on the premises of the BJP office for installing it without obtaining necessary permission. It was removed on August 7 at 1 am.

The state unit of the BJP had recently installed a black stone statue of Bharat Mata. They condemned this, calling it a vitriolic move by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). They questioned the rationale behind the move as the statue was installed on a private piece of land. Pictures of the revenue officials removing the statue after scaling the walls as the gate were locked began to be circulated.

ALSO READ | Amit Shah Inaugurates Bharat Mata Mandir in Karnatakas Puttur

The officials claimed that there was a government order that said that prior permission is required from the authorities concerned before installing statues. If the statue was installed inside within four walls of a building, nobody is going to question it. But if kept outside in full public view, adequate permissions need to be taken from the officials, said a senior revenue official.

The BJP countered it by saying that not only was it installed on their premises which was not government land, but the need to seek permission was only for statues of community or political leaders and not of Bharat Mata.

BJP State President K Annamalai not only criticized the action of police officials to remove the statue, but also called it an act of vendetta by the corrupt DMK government.

THE FORMS OF BHARAT MATA

Over centuries, Bharat Mata has emerged in many forms and myriad shades of struggles, ideologies, and political discourse. The very first canvas to showcase Bharat Mata was a painting by noted artist Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He depicted her draped in robes the color of saffron, four arms gracefully bearing a manuscript, a swathe of white cloth, a japamala, and a bundle of grain stalks. This was Tagores way of representing the movement against the partition of Bengal.

But this has also been a point of debate when Sugata Bose, the grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in his book, said that Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, originally invoked the term Bangamata as Mother Bengal, and not Vande Mataram, as it came to be known later.

Another prominent yet controversial depiction of Bharat Mata that was seen as provocative and deplorable was noted artist M. F. Husains Bharat Mata where she was portrayed in a naked form. It forced Husain to apologize.

ALSO READ | War of Wards Between BJP, BSP Leaders on Stage in UP Over Bharat Mata Ki Jai Chants | WATCH

In Varanasi, a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. Inside the temples sanctum, there is no idol or statue, but a map of India which Gandhi said was a representation that underscores the essence that Mother India, devoid of prejudice, caste, creed, religion, and color.

Bharat Mata was the symbolic face of Indias fight for independence and peaceful coexistence, and continues to be so. Having gone through this tumultuous journey, the essence of Bharat Mata, which is being reiterated today, is aptly reflected in these verses by Sri Aurobindo, Indias noted philosopher and poet:

mAtAsmi bhoH putraka bhAratAnAM sanAtanAnAM tridashapriyANAm |

shakto na yAnputra vidhirvipakShaH kAlo aapi no nAshayituM yamo vA ||

I am the mother, O child, of the Bharatas, the eternal people beloved of the gods, whom neither hostile Fate nor Time nor Death has power to destroy.
If Season 1 of Made in Heaven was the opening act, Season 2 takes center stage with a savory and exhilarating performance that weve been eagerly awaiting. After a patient four-year intermission, this latest presentation on Amazon Prime, crafted by the team of Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar, Alankrita Srivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan, Anil Lakhwani, and Rahul Nair, delivers a captivating binge-worthy experience. The script shines a spotlight on the grand spectacle of Indian weddings with a punchy, confident, and engaging narrative that holds attention until the final note of the closing episode.

While the weddings depicted in the show are opulently orchestrated, delightfully portrayed, and exquisitely captured, its the Buddhist wedding that touches the heart more profoundly than the eye. Fans have fallen head over heels for this particular installment, Episode 5 entitled The Heart Skipped a Beat, in which Radhika Apte, playing a Dalit bride, insists on a Buddhist wedding as a response to her in-laws request for the traditional pheras ceremony and a court marriage, all while featuring Dr. B.R. Ambedkars portrait alongside the Buddha.

Also Read: If You Remember Made in Heaven, Your Childhood Was Awesome: Womans Post Has Twitter Confused

As Aptes character asserts, Everything is about the politics," viewers have been so spellbound by this impactful scene that theyve taken to Twitter, unable to relinquish its hold.

This episode by far has been best! Aesthetically the most pleasing as well!" penned a user. I loved this season still have to complete the series but what lovely episode was this," echoed another.

Directed by Ghaywan, he leverages his keen perspective in whats being celebrated as the most impactful episode, presenting arguments that amplify the characters voices rather than the writers or directors. He elevates Aptes voice by initiating a discourse on her political beliefs, not only challenging the outdated Brahmanical establishment but also presenting an informed Dalit counter-narrative.

Also Read: Radhika Apte Talks About Sacrifices Made By Women, Gives Her Parents Example

Now, without delving further and keeping some surprises in store for you, its safe to say that the anticipation for Season 2 was fervent, and it truly hits all the right chords, with Sobhita Dhulipala shining as the star she always is!
Sobhita Dhulipala returns once again to her origins, garnering immense acclaim for her poised performance. Yes, Made in Heaven Season 2 reintroduces us to Tara Khanna, resuming her journey from where it was paused. Amidst navigating her divorce with Adil (Jim Sarbh), discovering a new companion, tending to her young nieces educational needs, managing her mothers persistent demands for higher alimony, and striving to keep her enterprise Made In Heaven afloat, Tara remains an enigmatic force.

In the midst of all this, her admirers remain entranced by her, encompassing not only her performance but also her style, which left viewers utterly enchanted throughout the web series.

Also Read: Dalit-Buddhist Wedding in Made in Heaven Has Twitter Realising Breaking Norms Can Be Beautiful

The actress herself is basking in the adoration and prominence that have blossomed since the shows release. Couldnt take my eyes off Sobhita Dhulipala. What acting. What styling. Perfection," raved a fan, prompting Dhulipala to express her gratitude on Twitter. Another comment humourously pointed out, you can tell made in heaven is fiction because who in their right mind would want to divorce sobhita dhulipala," drawing a playful response of Too kind" from her.

Even her style in the series remains as classy as Season 1, featuring chic sarees, monochrome and pastel-hued dresses that charm viewers as much as her acting prowess.

Whoever styles sobhita dhulipala in made in heaven deserves the nobel prize equivalent of styling/costuming," reads a comment, echoing the sentiment of many.

No doubt, Dhulipala embodies the role of an ambitious social climber who ensnared a wealthy husband through any means necessary. Her brilliance shines in quiet moments, such as her affectionate touch of a cherished green handbag. Tara emerges as an unapologetic antihero, a rarity, making questionable choices while adamantly rejecting judgment from mother, lover, and business partner alike.

Also Read: If You Remember Made in Heaven, Your Childhood Was Awesome: Womans Post Has Twitter Confused

In fact, Made in Heaven feels like a lavish feast that stretches on, leaving you craving a moment of respite to slip off those polished shoes and capture a breath of fresh air. Nonetheless, amidst this grandeur, it paints a canvas of unforgettable snapshots.
In what comes as a strange incident, a Tesla car which totaled last year in the United States suddenly came back online. CNBC executive editor Jay Yarow started receiving notifications on his phone. Taking to Twitter, Jay shared the entire scenario. He stated that it is now in Ukraine and someone is listening to Drake on his logged in Spotify account. Jay was able to discover this by opening up his Tesla app and using a geolocation feature.

His tweet has now gone viral on the social media platform. It has also made people curious and they eagerly want to know what went down or if it was a security risk.

Also Read: Woman Performs DIY Tooth Extraction To Avoid Hefty Dentist Bill

Heres an unusual situation. I had a Tesla, crashed it, it was totaled. And now its  in Ukraine? And someone there is listening to Drake on my, still logged in, Spotify account, wrote Jay as he shared an image from the Tesla map.

Here's an unusual situation. I had a Tesla, crashed it, it was totaled. And now it's  in Ukraine? And someone there is listening to Drake on my, still logged in, Spotify account. pic.twitter.com/ymW2psyvz6 Jay Yarow (@jyarow) August 10, 2023

i totaled my car one time and someone sent me pictures of it getting fixed up in Dubai, wrote a Twitter user. Another person wrote, Im sorry but this is awesome. Id love to know each step along the way of how the vehicle went from totaled to landing in Ukraine.

And here we all were, thinking that cluster munitions were the most morally troubling weapon to be deployed https://t.co/1KS08noKNr goblin poster, PhD (@thecrimsongrot) August 10, 2023

Jays old Tesla is in Ukraine nearly on the front lines, and Drake is the soundtrack. https://t.co/47HFSnr94g Clark Kent (@ClarkKe49569692) August 10, 2023

When you "total" a car, and its not actually completely fucked up, but just damaged enough for US insurance not to fix it. 90% of the time it gets sold on action, fixed or not, and man do they buy up that shit in Eastern Europe for like 40% cheaper than market price. Very Common. https://t.co/84VsIMwIR9 Linas (@Linassp3) August 10, 2023

Also Read: Man Uses Cow Dung To Plaster His Home, Calls It Natural And Healthy For Household

According to CNBC, CTO of automotive security firm Canis Labs, Ken Tindell, claims that there can indeed be a security risk with totaled cars that are restored. The credentials to internet services are clearly left in the vehicle electronics and then can be used by whoever gets hold of the electronics. He further mentioned that it is possible to get data out of working electronics.
The UK security minister Tom Tugendhat on Thursday announced a new funding worth Rs 1 crore to enhance the nations capability to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism, the British High Commission in India said.

The announcement came shortly after Tugendhat met Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar.

It is always good to be back with friends. We have so much to discuss and so much work to do together. https://t.co/jg7IRhBz4i Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) August 10, 2023

During a meeting with Indias External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Thursday (10 August), UKs Security Minister Tom Tugendhat announced new funding to enhance the UKs capability to tackle Pro-Khalistan Extremism, the High Commission said in a statement.

The 95,000 investment will enhance the governments understanding of the threat posed by Pro-Khalistan Extremism, complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the Joint-Extremism Task Force, the statement further added.

The announcement comes amid separatist, pro-Khalistan elements increasing their attacks on Indian missions, consulates and communities in the UK.

Good to meet UK Minister of State Tom Tugendhat this afternoon. Discussed how India and the United Kingdom could make their partnership more contemporary and productive. The current global scenario offers many opportunities to develop our ties, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said.

The UK minister of state highlighted that a deeper partnership between the UK and India allows both nations to effectively tackle the security threats we both face.

Im committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism  whatever form it takes, Tugendhat was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Tugendhat was in India to attend the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting which is being held in Kolkata under Indias chairmanship as India is the current G20 President.

Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence, Tugendhat said, according to a report by PTI.

Tugendhat will also visit the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by child sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud before travelling to Kolkata for Saturdays meeting.

He is also scheduled to hold a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Khalistani separatists earlier this March attacked the Indian High Commission in London and vandalised the premises and also disrespected the tricolour. They threatened the staffers inside the high commission premises. Similar attacks were carried out on missions across Canada, the US and Australia.
President Joe Bidens administration on Thursday asked Congress for more than $13 billion in new military spending for Ukraine, citing the need for continued support following Russias unprovoked" invasion of the country last year.

The funding would help Ukraine and other vulnerable countries impacted by Russias unprovoked and brutal invasion," Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to Congressional leader Kevin McCarthy and others.

Close to $10 billion of the new military funding would go towards several activities aimed at replenishing defense articles from Department of Defense stocks and accelerating production of new equipment, according to the OMB.

The President has reaffirmed that we will stand with Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty for as long as it takes," Young said. This strategy has successfully united our allies and partners and equipped Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression," she added.

The White House request is part of more than $21 billion in new Ukraine-related spending it asked for on Thursday. The funding request requires Congressional approval before the money can be disbursed.

Other large requests include a $3.3 billion ask to provide three additional months of direct budget support to Ukraine. This would ensure that the government of Ukraine can continue responding to critical needs, including providing healthcare and education," the OMB said.

As of July 25, the United States has committed more than $43.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, the Department of Defense said in a recent statement.
Chinas plans to build a new embassy near the Tower of London have stalled following local opposition to what would be the biggest diplomatic compound in Britain.

The borough of Tower Hamlets, the local government council in London responsible for the area, blocked the project in February, citing concerns about the increased risk of terror attacks, protests and traffic in an area visited by millions of tourists each year.

Chinese authorities had until Thursday to appeal the decision to the U.K. government but did not, Tower Hamlets said.

If the applicant wanted to appeal through the public inquiry procedure then they would have already needed to have given notice to us as the local planning authority, Tower Hamlets said in a statement. We havent received any such notification from the applicant.

Chinas plans called for comprehensive redevelopment of a 5.2-acre site that was home to the Royal Mint from 1811 to 1968, demolishing some of the existing buildings and restoring others. The new embassy compound would include some 57,000 square meters of floor space, including offices, a cultural exchange building and 225 apartments.

Thats about 18% bigger than the new U.S. embassy in London, which opened in 2018 with 48,000 square meters of space.

While Tower Hamlets planning officials recommended authorizing the project, the borough council voted on Feb. 10 to refuse planning permission.

The Chinese Embassy in London called on the British government to intervene.

It is the international obligation of the host country to provide facilitations and support for the construction of diplomatic premises, the embassy in a statement. We urge the U.K. side to fulfil its relevant international obligations.

British authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The embassy decision comes amid growing concerns in the U.K. about Chinese investments in critical infrastructure, as well as allegations that it has attempted to influence British politicians and university researchers.

That decision came four months after a pro-democracy protester had to be rescued by police after he was dragged onto the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester. After that incident, Britains foreign secretary summoned the Chinese ambassadors deputy to his office and demanded an explanation.

The Tower Hamlets council said the proposed embassy compound would strain local police resources, increase road congestion and have a negative impact on the area surrounding the Tower of London.

The proposed embassy would result in adverse impacts on local tourism, due to concerns over the effect of potential protests, acts of terrorism and related security mitigation measures on the sensitive backdrop of nationally significant tourist attractions, the council said in announcing its decision.
An Indian-American doctor has been arrested and charged for allegedly masturbating and exposing himself within the view of a 14-year-old female seated next to him onboard a flight from Honolulu to Boston last year. Sudipta Mohanty, 33, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts for an incident that dates back to May 2022. On Thursday, Mohanty was arrested and later released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.

Everyone, especially children, has the absolute right to not be exposed to lewd conduct when they are traveling, said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. If you engage in the type of illicit behavior alleged here, you will be caught and held accountable wherever it happens.

What Dr. Mohanty is accused of doing in front of a fourteen-year-old girl is reprehensible, said Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. Todays arrest should make it crystal clear that the FBI takes crimes aboard aircraft seriously, everything from sexual misconduct as alleged in this case, to assault, interfering with the flight crew, and theft. If youve been the victim of a crime aboard an aircraft or have witnessed one take place, we ask you to report it to both your flight crew and the FBI.

#BREAKING: Today, #FBI Boston special agents arrested Dr. Sudipta Mohanty for allegedly committing lewd acts within the view of a 14-year-old female seated next to him onboard a flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022. https://t.co/Rl3dV7ORM2 pic.twitter.com/gLTOFhXR52 FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) August 10, 2023

According to the charging documents, Mohanty is an internal medicine and primary care doctor with a practice in Boston. It is alleged that, on May 27, 2022, Mohanty was a passenger aboard a Hawaiian Airlines Flight enroute from Honolulu to Boston with a female companion. Mohanty was allegedly seated next to a 14-year-old minor traveling with her grandparents, who were seated nearby.

About halfway through the flight, the minor allegedly observed that Mohanty had covered himself with a blanket up to his neck and that Mohantys leg was bouncing up and down. Shortly thereafter, the minor observed that the blanket was on the floor, no longer covering Mohanty, and that Mohanty was masturbating. The minor moved herself to an empty seat in a different row for the remainder of the flight.

After arriving in Boston, the minor informed members of her family about the incident and law enforcement was notified. The charge of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States provides for a sentence of up to 90 days in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to USD 5,000.
The Indian Embassy in Washington has taken up the issue of a Sikh New York State Trooper being barred from growing a beard with senior levels of the Biden administration, as lawmakers voiced concern over the incident and termed it religious discrimination.

New York State trooper Charanjot Tiwana sought permission to grow a beard for his wedding in March last year. However, his request was denied on the grounds that keeping a beard would pose a safety risk if required to wear a gas mask.

Indian officials here took up the issue with the office of the New York State Governor, and Indias Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has taken up the matter with senior levels of the Biden administration. The New York State Police and the Governors office are also working on it, officials here said.

Assemblyman David Weprin, representing Queens in the New York State Assembly, termed the denial of Tiwanas request to grow his beard a concerning incident of religious discrimination in the New York State Police.

In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Weprin said that he had sponsored the Religious Garb Law, signed into law in 2019, so no one will have to choose between practising their religion and doing their job. Calling for immediate action by the New York State Police to accommodate Tiwana in accordance with state law, Weprin said, Quite frankly, I am appalled by these discriminatory practices and clear violation of state law. New York State is the most diverse in the country, and if we dont let those officers serve with their religion and their faith, we wont have enough police officers, a report in CBS News quoted Sgt. Gurvinder Singh, President of the Sikh Officers Association, as saying.

The report quoted a New York State Police spokesperson saying, We have recently updated our guidelines with respect to facial hair The New York State Police Uniform and Equipment Committee is currently working on a policy for the design and issuance of turbans. The President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the apex Sikh religious body, Harjinder Singh Dhami, had written to Sandhu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to raise a strong objection to discriminatory policy of the NY State Police of forcing Sikh troopers to cut hair & protect the rights of Sikh community. In 2016, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the countrys largest police force, announced it would allow Sikh officers to wear beards and turbans while in uniform.
The external affairs ministry said Indians whose presence in coup-affected Niger is not essential may leave as soon as possible. The Government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In the light of the prevailing situation in Niger, Indians whose presence is not essential, may leave as soon as possible, the external affairs ministry said on Friday in a press release.

The ministry said that the government is monitoring the situation in Niger and told citizens in the nation to take utmost precautions to ensure their safety and security.

They may bear in mind that air space is currently closed. When departing through a land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security, the press release further said.

Those who may be planning travel to Niger in the coming days are also similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalises. All those Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian Embassy in Niamey are strongly advised to do so expeditiously, the press release said.

The external affairs ministry shared an emergency phone number (+ 227 9975 9975) and asked Indian nationals to contact the Indian embassy in Niamey in case of any emergency.

The external affairs ministry last week said that 250 Indians residing in the West African country are safe. The embassy has informed us that it is in close contact with the Indian community in Niger, the external affairs ministry said.

Niger is currently witnessing protests and unrest after its military staged a coup that toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum. The military has installed strongman General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new leader of the west African nation which for the past few years has been fighting jihadist violence.

The coup, however, has left France - a former colonial power which still believes west Africa comes under its sphere of influence - and West African bloc ECOWAS - a 15-member Economic Community of West African States - unimpressed and the bloc with help from western powers is planning a military intervention to return Bazoum to power.
Nepali lawmaker Sunil Sharma, who is a medical doctor, has been apprehended for allegedly possessing counterfeit academic certificates for grades 11 and 12, according to a Kathmandu-based newspaper. This development reportedly follows Sharmas vocal criticism of the governments failure to control gold smuggling.

Nepali Congress legislators arrest followed the revelation that certificates from an Indian academic institution, allegedly issued to him, were fake, The Kathmandu Post reported. This arrest comes as several doctors are under scrutiny by the Nepal Medical Council for allegedly submitting counterfeit proficiency certificate-level academic documents to qualify for MBBS entrance exams.

As per the report, Nepals Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) received a letter from the National Examination Board on July 21, 2021, pertaining to Sunil Sharmas academic certificates. According to Police sources, Sharmas arrest for investigative purposes after discovering that certificates purportedly originating from an Indian academic institution were fraudulent.

Sharma, who owns the Nobel Medical College and several hospitals, was also elected to the House of Representatives from Morang constituency. Prior to this, Sharma had demanded the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat. He held them accountable for a recent gold smuggling incident involving over 100 kg of gold from Hong Kong, seized last month after passing through airport customs.

Comparing the government to North Koreas regime, Sharma was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu daily, The state of North Korea has arrested me, but I am happy, while threatening a hunger strike for an exhaustive inquiry into the gold smuggling case. Along with him, four other doctors were also apprehended on similar charges.

The Nepal Medical Council had registered complaints of doctors producing counterfeit academic certificates for MBBS entrance exams. These certificates were not verified by the National Examination Board.

According to The Kathmandu Post, Sharmas background includes earlier controversies, including attempts to influence medical seat allocations, affiliation grants to colleges, and determination of MBBS fees. His Nobel Medical College faced allegations of not meeting standards and over-admitting students.
using the ChatGPT3 tools to identify papers for a review on vaccine equity, to see who is talking about it at the moment and what is being said, but also what has not been said.

**

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

07 August 2023

Correction 09 August 2023

Artificial-intelligence search engines wrangle academic literature

Developers want to free scientists to focus on discovery and innovation by helping them to draw connections from a massive body of literature.

Amanda Heidt

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[An illustration of a person pointing to digital shapes with lines connecting from their eye to the shapes like a network.]

Credit: The Project Twins

For a researcher so focused on the past, Mushtaq Bilal spends a lot of time immersed in the technology of tomorrow.

A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Bilal studies the evolution of the novel in nineteenth-century literature. Yet hes perhaps best known for his online tutorials, in which he serves as an informal ambassador between academics and the rapidly expanding universe of search tools that make use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Pulling from his background as a literary scholar, Bilal has been deconstructing the process of academic writing for years, but his work has now taken a new tack. When ChatGPT came on the scene back in November, I realized that one could automate many of the steps using different AI applications, he says.

This new generation of search engines, powered by machine learning and large language models, is moving beyond keyword searches to pull connections from the tangled web of the scientific literature. Some programs, such as Consensus, give research-backed answers to yes-or-no questions; others, such as Semantic Scholar, Elicit and Iris, act as digital assistants  tidying up bibliographies, suggesting new papers and generating research summaries. Collectively, the platforms facilitate many of the early steps in the writing process. Critics note, however, that the programs remain relatively untested and run the risk of perpetuating existing biases in the academic publishing process.

What ChatGPT and generative AI mean for science

The teams behind these tools say they built them to combat information overload and to free scientists up to be more creative. According to Daniel Weld at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, Washington, and Semantic Scholars chief scientist, scientific knowledge is growing so rapidly that it's nearly impossible to stay on top of the latest research. Most search engines help you find the papers, but then youre left on your own trying to ingest them, he says. By distilling papers into their key points, AI tools help to make that information accessible, Weld says. We were all loyal fans of Google Scholar, which I still find helpful, but the thought was, we could do better.

The next great idea

The key to doing better lies in a different type of search. Google Scholar, PubMed and other standard search tools use keywords to locate similar papers. AI algorithms, by contrast, use vector comparisons. Papers are translated from words into a set of numbers, called vectors, whose proximity in vector space corresponds to their similarity. We can parse more of what you mean, the spirit of your search query, because more information about the context is embedded into that vector than is embedded into the text itself, explains Megan Van Welie, lead software engineer at Consensus, who is based in San Francisco, California.

Bilal uses AI tools to follow connections between papers down interesting rabbit holes. While researching descriptions of Muslims in Pakistani novels, AI-generated recommendations based on his searches led Bilal to Bengali literature, and he ultimately included a section about it in his dissertation. For his postdoc, Bilal is studying how Danish author Hans Christian Andersens stories were interpreted in colonial India. All that time spent on the history of Bengali literature came rushing back, he says. Bilal uses Elicit to iterate and refine his questions, Research Rabbit to identify sources and Scite  which tells a user not only how often papers are cited, but in what context  to track academic discourse.

Racial inequalities in journals highlighted in giant study

Mohammed Yisa, a research clinician at the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, follows Bilal on Twitter (now known as X), and sometimes spends evenings testing the platforms that Bilal tweets about.

Yisa particularly enjoys using Iris, a search engine that creates map-like visualizations that connect papers around themes. Feeding a seed paper into Iris generates a nested map of related publications, which resembles a map of the world. Clicking deeper into the map is like zooming in from a country-wide view down to, say, states (sub-themes) and cities (individual papers).

I consider myself a visual learner, and the map visualization is not something Ive seen before, Yisa says. Hes currently using the tools to identify papers for a review on vaccine equity, to see who is talking about it at the moment and what is being said, but also what has not been said.

Other tools, such as Research Rabbit and LitMaps, tie papers together through a network map of nodes. A search engine targeted at medical professionals, called System Pro, creates a similar visualization, but links topics by their statistical relatedness.

Drowning in the literature? These smart software tools can help

Although these searches rely on extractive algorithms to pull out useful snippets, several platforms are rolling out generative functions, which use AI to create original text. The Allen Institutes Semantic Reader, for instance, brings AI into the reading experience for PDFs of manuscripts, Weld says. If users encounter a symbol in an equation or an in-text citation, a card pops up with the symbols definition or an AI-generated summary of the cited paper.

Elicit is beta-testing a brainstorming feature to help generate better queries as well as a way to provide a multi-paper summary of the top four search results. It uses Open AIs ChatGPT but is trained only on scientific papers, so is less prone to hallucinations  mistakes in generated text that seem correct but are actually inaccurate  than are searches based on the entire Internet, says James Brady, the head of engineering for Elicits parent company, Ought, who is based in Orista, Spain. If youre making statements that are linked to your reputation, scientists want something a bit more reliable that they can trust.

For his part, Miles-Dei Olufeagba, a biomedical research fellow at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, still considers PubMed to be the gold standard, calling it the refuge of the medical scientist. Olufeagba has tried Consensus, Elicit and Semantic Scholar. Results from PubMed might require more time to sort through, he says, but it ultimately finds higher-quality papers. AI tools tend to lose some info that may be pivotal to ones literature search, he says.

Early days

AI platforms are also prone to some of the same biases as their human creators. Research has repeatedly documented how academic publishing and search engines disadvantage some groups, including women1 and people of colour2, and these same trends emerge with AI-based tools.

Scientists who have names that contain accented characters have described difficulties in getting Semantic Scholar to create a unified author profile, for instance. And because several engines, including Semantic Scholar and Consensus, use metrics such as citation counts and impact factors to determine ranking, work that is published in prestigious journals or sensationalized inevitably gets bumped to the top over research that might be more relevant, creating what Weld calls a rich-get-richer effect. (Consensus co-founder and chief executive Eric Olson, who is based in Boston, Massachusetts, says that a papers relevance to the query will always be the top metric in determining its ranking.)

None of these engines explicitly mark preprints as worthy of greater scrutiny, and they display them alongside published papers that have undergone formal peer review. And with controversial questions, such as whether childhood vaccines cause autism or humans are contributing to global warming, Consensus sometimes returns answers that perpetuate misinformation or unverified claims. For these charged questions, Olson says that the team sometimes reviews the results manually and flags disputed papers.

Could AI help you to write your next paper?

Ultimately, however, its the users responsibility to verify any claims, developers say. The platforms generally mark when a feature is in beta testing, and some have flags that indicate a papers quality. In addition to a disputed tag, Consensus is currently developing ways to note the type of study, the number of participants and the funding source, something Elicit also does.

But Sasha Luccioni, a research scientist in Montreal, Canada, at the AI firm Hugging Face, warns that some companies are releasing products too early because they rely on users to improve them  a common practice in the tech-start-up world that doesnt gel well with science. Groups have also become more secretive about their models, making it harder to address ethical lapses. Luccioni, for instance, studies the carbon footprint of AI models, but says she struggles to access even fundamental data such as the size of the model or its training period  basic stuff that doesnt give you any kind of secret sauce. Whereas early arrivals such as Semantic Scholar share their underlying software so that others can build on it (Consensus, Elicit, Perplexity, Connected Papers and Iris all use the Semantic Scholar corpus), nowadays, companies dont provide any information, and so its become less about science and more about a product.

For Weld, this creates an extra imperative to ensure that Semantic Scholar is transparent. I do think that AI is moving awfully quickly, and the lets stay ahead of everyone else incentive can push us in dangerous directions, he says. But I also think theres a huge amount of benefit that can come from AI technology. Some of the main challenges facing the world are best confronted with really vibrant research programmes, and thats what gets me up in the morning  to help improve scientists productivity.

Nature 620, 456-457 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01907-z

UPDATES & CORRECTIONS

Correction 09 August 2023: An earlier version of this article gave the incorrect title for Mohammed Yisa.
The U.N. Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Koreas dire human rights situation since 2017 next week, the United States announced Thursday. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, will brief council members at the Aug. 17 meeting.

We know the governments human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program, Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and crimes being perpetrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong Ils regime against its own people as well as the people of Japan and South Korea.

Thomas-Greenfield, who is chairing the council during this months U.S. presidency, stood with the ambassadors from Albania, Japan and South Korea when making the announcement.

Russia and China, which have close ties to North Korea, have blocked any Security Council action since vetoing a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of its intercontinental ballistic missile launches. So the council is not expected to take any action at next weeks meeting.

China and Russia could protest holding the open meeting, which requires support from at least nine of the 15 council members. A senior U.S. official from the U.N. mission, who was not authorized to speak publicly, indicated the U.S. has enough council support for the meeting to take place.

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Koreas first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking  so far unsuccessfully  to cut funds and curb the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

At a council meeting last month on Pyongyangs test-flight of its developmental Hwasong-18 missile, North Koreas U.N. Ambassador Kim Song made his first appearance before members since 2017.

He told the council the test flight was a legitimate exercise of the Norths right to self-defense. He also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia to the brink of nuclear war, pointing to its nuclear threats and its deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in 14 years.

Whether ambassador Kim attends next weeks meeting on the countrys human rights remains to be seen.

In March, during an informal Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea  which China blocked from being broadcast globally on the internet  U.N. special rapporteur Salmon said peace and denuclearization cant be addressed without considering the countrys human rights situation.

She said the limited information available shows the suffering of the North Korean people has increased and their already limited liberties have declined.

Access to food, medicine and health care remains a priority concern, Salmon said. People have frozen to death during the cold spells in January, and some didnt have money to heat their homes while others were forced to live on the streets because they sold their homes as a last resort.
A woman from Bakersfield in Los Angeles was arrested earlier this week after her video of beating up a female street food vendor went viral. 36-year-old Renee Hines was booked into the Los Angeles County jail after she attacked taco vendor Joanna Vasquez in front of her stall in Watts.

The video showed Hines beating up Vasquez outside her food stall. According to a report by the New York Post, Hines first did not pay for her taco and after taking her takeaway went straight to her car.

She got enraged after the taco vendor started filming her. She rushed out of her car and then started beating up Vasquez and also pepper-sprayed her.

Later, the Los Angeles Police Department announced in a press release that Hines was booked into the Los Angeles County jail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Hines also trashed the Tacos Ortiz stand after she punched and pepper sprayed the vendor. She also lost her job as a temporary contractor after her employer came to know of the viral video.

We were alerted to an online video of a temporary worker whom her employer had assigned to work at one of our warehouses. This person is no longer assigned to work at our company and will not be allowed to return to any of our facilities, her employer, Yusen Logistics America, said.

She pulled my hair and then punched me in my shoulders. She punched me in the face. She unloaded on me and then let me go, Vasquez was quoted as saying by news agency KTLA.

The incident came to light when operators of Tacos Ortiz filed a police report and posted the video of the attack on Instagram, urging netizens and the public to come forward and identify the woman.

In the video, Hines can be seen attacking Vasquezs co-worker as well when she noticed him recording her licence plate number. They need to put her in jail and fine her and she needs to pay for all the damage because it is not right what she did. I just want her to pay for what she did, Vasquez was quoted as saying by KTLA.

It was also revealed that Hines was a repeat offender as she ate at Tacos Ortiz at least twice before and left without paying.

Hines, if convicted of her crimes, could be sentenced to up to four years in state prison and remains jailed on a $30,000 bail.
West African leaders have approved the deployment of a standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coasts President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday. The ECOWAS regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago, deposing Mohamed Bazoum as president.

But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Ouattara said: The Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalize things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible."

Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said. We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions."

Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the blocs force.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced support for ECOWAS, without explicitly backing its call for military intervention. The bloc was playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS leadership and work on this", he said.

Former colonial power France gave its full support to all the conclusions" ECOWAS reached, the foreign ministry said. But even as the summit took place, Nigers new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.

A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries. The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum  detained since July 26  or face military possible intervention.

In Abuja, Nigerias President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: All is not lost yet" for a peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability". But he added: No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort."

Before the closed-door talks, Tinubu had insisted that we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach".

- We must engage -

The 15-nation bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgences. Before the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged that the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome".

An attempt this week to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Nigers capital Niamey was rejected by the coup leaders. We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum," Tinubu said.

The possibility of military intervention in Niger, a fragile nation that ranks among the worlds poorest, has sparked debate within ECOWAS and warnings from neighbouring Algeria as well as Russia. Nigers neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, both ruled by military governments that seized power in coups, also warned an intervention would be a declaration of war" on their countries.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, also hit by a recent coup, have been suspended from ECOWAS and like Niger were not represented at the Abuja summit. Current ECOWAS chair Nigeria had taken a hard line against last months coup, the fifth in Niger since independence from France in 1960.

Speaking before flying to Abuja on Wednesday, Guinea-Bissaus President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said the future of ECOWAS was at stake following the recent coups among its members.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres joined a chorus of concern about 63-year-old Bazoum, saying that he and his family were reportedly enduring deplorable living conditions". CNN reported Wednesday that Bazoum was being kept in isolation and given meals of only plain rice and pasta.

Unstable Sahel

Countries in the Sahel are battling a jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012, spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015, and is now causing jitters in states on the Gulf of Guinea.

The bloody campaign has been devastating for those three countries, which have turbulent histories and rank among the poorest nations in the world. Niger has the misfortune of facing a double jihadist insurgency, both in its southwest and also from militants crossing into the southeast.

Bazoums election in 2021 had helped Niger cement close ties with France and the United States, which have major bases and troop deployments in the country. France last year withdrew its forces from Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with their military leaders, refocussing its anti-jihadist strategy on Niger.
The historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina is now in charred ruins as the death toll rose to 55. The US government has said that it is one of the deadliest disasters in Hawaiis history.

The fires, also known as brushfires, were fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane and in a span of two days engulfed the entire west coast of Maui island.

Survivors speaking to news outlets are sharing stories of loss and survival as they were left with no option but to take refuge in the ocean to save themselves from getting charred in the fires.

A Kansas mother who was on vacation told news agency BBC that she was telling others to get into the ocean. She said that it was not just her but tourists and residents grabbed water, food and their phones and ran for the waves in order to stop themselves from getting charred.

Tourists and locals could not even seek refuge in the vehicles around them because the flames engulfed those in no time and spread the fire. We have to get to the ocean. There was nothing else because we were cornered in, the resident from Kansas was quoted saying by news agency BBC.

A separate report by the BBC said that none of the fires are 100% contained.

The report also highlighted why the residents and tourists were trapped in the fire. It said that there is only one road that leads in and out of the town.

The woman with her children were in the water for nearly four hours as the sky above them turned pitch black due to the smoke.

Lahaina, remains the hardest hit from the brushfires that ravaged Maui. It is home to 12,000 residents.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that more loss of life is expected.

It really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town. Its completely devastating. It was really hard to seeYou feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods, a Canadian tourist was quoted as saying by AFP.

The BBC report, citing a resident of Hawaii, highlighted that since Lahaina once served as a major whaling port most buildings are made of wood which facilitated the spread of the fire.

They were like matchsticks on the ground, Susanne Kemper was quoted as saying by the BBC.

At least 14,000 tourists were moved from Maui, and close to 15,000 tourists will be moved on Thursday (local time) and Friday.
Ethnic groups in southwest China celebrate Torch Festival Pub Date:2023-08-11 10:24 Source:CGTN Ethnic groups across southwest China, including the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lahu and Jinuo, celebrated the Torch Festival on August 10, the 24th day of the sixth month of the traditional Chinese calendar. As part of the annual celebrations, people light fires to expel evil spirits, sing and dance to pray for safety and a good harvest and use the occasion to make friends and trade goods. Dubbed the Eastern Carnival, the Torch Festival is the most important festival of the year for several ethnic groups. Although different ethnic groups have their own legends about the origins of the festival, most of them involve extolling ancestors and ethnic heroes. The Torch Festival celebrations held by the Yi people are perhaps the most well-known of all. Famed for their rich tradition of song and dance legends, the Yi people's epic performances have been passing on their Torch Festival customs for generations. On the first day of the festival, villagers sacrifice cattle and sheep to their ancestors, create sparks from stones to make a holy fire on an altar and listen to the priest chanting sutras. Later, they light torches from the altar and parade across the fields to scare away pests and evil spirits. The next day, villagers gather at a square and hold various activities under light from the altar's holy fire, such as horse racing, wrestling, singing and dancing, and bull and sheep fights. The most exciting event is the annual beauty contest as young men and women get together to try their utmost to display their charms. On the last day, all the torches are collected to create a large bonfire. People sing and dance until midnight and play games together. Young people also use the occasion to fearlessly express their admiration to their loved ones. The Torch Festival of the Yi people was included on the national intangible heritage list in 2006. Editor:Zheng Chen

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The U.S. Supreme Court today halted a Purdue Pharma settlement that would have protected the billionaire Sackler family from civil lawsuits related to the opioid crisis.

The Sacklers, who amassed their wealth through the promotion of an addictive and deadly drug, must be perplexed at this turn of events. They might be thinking, "Isn't the system supposed to let wealthy people like us get away with everything? What went wrong?"

From CNN:

Until recently, Purdue was controlled by the Sackler family, who withdrew billions of dollars from the company before it filed for bankruptcy. The family has now agreed to contribute up to $6 billion to Purdue's reorganization fund on the condition that the Sacklers receive a release from civil liability.

Purdue expressed disappointment in a statement, implying that they're concerned about the victims, not their personal wealth: "We are disappointed that the U.S. Trustee, despite having no tangible interest in the outcome of this process, has been able to single-handedly delay billions of dollars in value that should be put to use for victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement for communities across the country, and overdose rescue medicines." T

From The New York Times:

Although it is routine for companies who seek bankruptcy protection to be shielded from legal claims, the unusual part of this agreement was that it extended that liability protection to the company's owners. Sackler family members have said they would not sign onto a settlement without an agreement protecting them from lawsuits.

From CNN:
A teenager from New York City died after jumping from the ledge of a waterfall in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains on Tuesday afternoon. The Brooklyn 16-year-old and a friend both jumped from the Fawn's Leap waterfall, which is about 24 feet above the surface of the water, per Metro, and landed in the swimming hole below, but then began to struggle, the New York Post reports. "Both landed in the water near the south side of the base of the falls where the hydraulic current caused by the waterfall was too strong for them to swim out of," the Athens Volunteer Fire Department says in a statement.
Former Trump fixer , ex-attorney , and convicted felon Michael Cohen may soon be adding a new descriptor before his name: congressional candidate. "I am interested and there's a multitude of folks encouraging me to run," the 56-year-old told Semafor on Thursday, noting that he lives on Manhattan's East Side, in New York's 12th District. He says he would run as a Democrat, meaning that would likely have him squaring off in a primary against current Rep. Jerry Nadler, who's served in Congress since 1992 and has been the Democrats' top representative on the House Judiciary Committee since 2019.

The Times of Israel notes the list of charges that Cohen pleaded guilty to 2018 and that would hover over his candidacy, including lying to Congress and to banks, evading paying income taxes, and breaching campaign finance laws. He spent a little over a year behind bars before being released to spend the rest of his three-year sentence at home due to the pandemic. In addition to dabbling in crime and politics, Cohen is also now finding himself at the center of a reality-TV commotion involving The Real Housewives of New York City. More on that hubbub here. (Read more Michael Cohen stories.)
This week, the Ohio State Medical Board voted to indefinitely suspend Sherri Tenpenny's medical license and fined her $3,000.

Sherri Tenpenny is an osteopath physician who was listed among the Center for Countering Digital Hate's "Disinformation Dozen" a group responsible for spreading up to 65% of anti-vaccine content on the internet. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Tenpenny used her social media channels to spread anti-vaccine and anti-masking disinformation. She also became famous after testifying in June 2021 in front of an Ohio State House Health Committee supporting House Bill 248, the "Enact Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act."

In that testimony, she expressed fears that people were becoming magnetized after getting the vaccine, citing evidence of people being able to stick metal keys and spoons to their bodies, post-vaccine. She also hinted that there was some kind of connection between the vaccine metals and 5G towers. In case it isn't obvious, I have to state clearly that those assertions are all conspiracy theories that are not grounded in scientific fact.

Cleveland.com explains that her 2021 testimony at the Ohio State House Health Committee became the "subject of widespread ridicule," and "triggered a swarm of 350 complaints to the State Medical Board and a chain of events that led to the regulators indefinitely suspending the medical license Wednesday of anti-vaccine activist Sherri Tenpenny." They go on:

The board, charged with protecting the public and overseeing the licensure of Ohio's doctors, yanked Tenpenny's license on procedural grounds rather than the substance of her comments. Board staff found she flouted investigators who came to visit, declined to answer written questions, and objected wholesale to the regulators' inquiry. "Dr. Tenpenny, neither you nor any doctor licensed by this board is above the law, and you must comply with the investigation," said Dr. Jonathan Feibel, an orthopedic surgeon and medical board member. "You have not done so, and therefore, until you do, your license will be suspended."

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Tenpenny refused to answer the medical board's questions and didn't show up for a deposition nor an investigative conference. They further explain:

The board asked Tenpenny for her evidence and sources to back up her claims about the COVID-19 vaccines, including an allegation that it was a ruse to inject people with genetic material and that patients suffered multiple complications. The board also asked her to back up her claims about "some major metropolitan areas liquifying dead bodies and pouring them into the water supply."

Since that 2021 Ohio House hearing, Tenpenny has continued spreading her anti-vaccine disinformation, and has the ear of Presidential Candidate RFK, Jr. In June 2023, she appeared on RFK, Jr.'s "Health Policy Roundtable," alongside others from the Disinformation Dozen list. The four Disinformation Dozen members at the roundtable included: Sherri Tenpenny, Joseph Mercola, Sayer Ji, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. himself. To learn more about that roundtable, listen to Conspirituality Podcast Brief: RFK's Health Propaganda Roundtable:
Six people have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio , the Ecuadorian presidential candidate gunned down Wednesday, and they're all Colombia nationals. Citing a police report, the AP reports the men were found hiding in a home in Quito, Ecuador's capital, and that cops also seized four shotguns and a rifle, ammo, a handful of grenades, a motorcycle, and another vehicle. The BBC notes a seventh suspect, also from Colombia, died after being injured during a shootout with police on Thursday.

The assassination of the 59-year-old Villavicencio, which also took place in Quito, was the first killing of a presidential candidate in Ecuador, per the New York Times, which notes that the mayor of the city of Manta was fatally shot just last month. A Villavicencio campaign adviser says the candidate, who'd been very vocal about pushing back against crime and government corruption, received at least three death threats before he was killed.

Both the Times and the AP note that the alleged involvement of Colombians in the assassination brings to mind the killing two summers ago of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. At least 18 former Colombian soldiers are currently jailed in Haiti and awaiting trial in that case. The small South American nation of Ecuador, located right between the drug-laden nations of Colombia and Peru, has been struggling with drug trafficking itself of late, resulting in an uptick in violence "not seen in decades," per the AP.

"Electorally speaking, this year is the most violent in our history," political scientist Arianna Tanca tells the Times. "I think that what is going to change is the way we conceive of politics. I think that from now on it becomes a high-risk profession." Still, Ecuador's president says the assassination won't stop elections from taking place next week. "Given the loss of a democrat and a fighter, the elections are not suspended," Guillermo Lasso said Thursday, per the AP. "On the contrary, they have to be held, and democracy has to be strengthened." (Read more Ecuador stories.)
A pub celebrated as "Britain's wonkiest" as a result of its slumping foundation and sloping walls burned down in mysterious circumstances Saturday and police say they're treating it as arson. The 18th-century Crooked House pub near Dudley, England, was demolished before an investigation into the blaze had been completed. Staffordshire Police said in a statement that following an assessment from a specialist fire investigator, they believe the fire "may have been started deliberately," the AP reports. An outpouring of anger among local residents following the blaze was compounded on Monday when the shell of the pub was flattened by a mechanical digger.

The fire occurred two weeks after it had been sold by pub and hotel operator Marston's to a local firm, which said it planned an "alternative use" for the historic building. The company is controlled by Carly Taylor, whose husband is a former director of the neighboring landfill site, the Times of London reports. More questions were raised when it emerged that mounds of dirt had blocked firefighters from reaching the siteand that the digger that knocked down the remains of the pub was hired days before the fire. Authorities are investigating whether the demolition of the pub was illegal.

The pub was originally a farmhouse when it was built in 1765 and subsequently began sinking on one side as a result of extensive coal mining in the local area, which is part of the central England region widely known as the Black Country. It became a pub in 1830 and had long been a tourist attraction, with visitors marveling at how coins and marbles appeared to roll uphill on the bar. Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, has called for it to be rebuilt "brick by brick." The rubble attracted plenty of visitors this week, including Tom and Laura Catton, who were live-in managers for more than two years, the BBC reports. Tomwho proposed to Laura in the pubsat in the rubble for a final beer. (Read more pubs stories.)
It's good to be the king. But if you can't be the king, it's not so bad to deliver boxes to the king in a big brown truck. USA Today reports that full-time UPS drivers will make an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits under their new contract. Part-time employees will make a bit more than $25 an hour, though with full health care and pension benefits, CEO Carol Tome said in an earnings call this week. The company and the Teamsters union agreed to the five-year contract while on the brink of a potentially paralyzing strike. The union represents about 340,000 UPS employees, and while they are still voting on the pact, "we expect our new labor contract to be ratified in two weeks," said Tome, per CNBC.
The death toll from the Hawaiian wildfires stood at 55 on Friday afternoon, but it's expected to multiply in the near future. The reason? Authorities have not yet been able to search inside the scores of burned-out buildings. "We're waiting for FEMA to help with that search, as they are equipped to handle the hazmat conditions of the buildings that have that have been burned," says the mayor of hard-hit Maui, Richard Blissen, per CNN.

Lahaina: Evacuated residents of the devastated town of Lahaina on Maui will soon be allowed to return to check on their property, said Gov. Josh Green, per the New York Times. "Everyone please brace themselves as they go back," he warned, adding that the town is "gone." Green toured the area Friday, per Hawaii News Now. "When you see the full extent of the destruction in Lahaina, it will shock you," he says. "It does appear like a bomb and fire went off, if I may. And all of the buildings virtually are gonna have to be rebuilt. It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds in its own image, with its own values."
In a Friday hearing to determine just how much Donald Trump can talk publicly about his legal troubles, neither side got everything it wanted. But the judge in Trump's election interference case made clear that the former president will have to be abide by restrictions, even if he is running for president. "The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any impact on my decision," said US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, per the Wall Street Journal . "I intend to keep politics out of this." Trump, she said, "has a First Amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute," per CNN . "In a criminal case such as this one, the defendant's free speech is subject to the rules."

"If that means he can't say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, then that's how it's going to be," Chutkan said. Still, the judge rejected the government's request for what the Washington Post describes as a "blanket protective order over information released in the case." Prosecutors fear Trump will reveal evidence in the case during a speech or on social media and wanted to bar him from speaking about the case entirely. They also accuse him of attempting to intimidate witnesses. On Friday, Chutkan took what the Hill calls a "middle path." Meaning, she "hashed out a deal that gives Trump more latitude to discuss evidence gathered in the Jan. 6 case while blocking the sharing of sensitive discovery such as [witnesses'] testimony gathered in the case."

She said she would be keeping a careful watch on Trump's public statements to make sure they don't cross the line. "I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case," Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro. "I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings." And that includes speeding up the trial, per Politico.

Lauro at one point complained that putting restrictions on Trump's speech would jeopardize his candidacy by limiting his ability to defend himself from a rival. "You are conflating what your client needs to do to defend himself and what he wants to do politically," she responded, per CNN. "And what your client does to defend himself has to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet." Lauro promised that his client would "scrupulously abide by his conditions of release." The judge will issue a written summation of her guidelines soon. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
Accused of attempting to intimidate a witness, Sam Bankman-Fried was ordered Friday to await his fraud trial in jail rather than in his parents' home. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan made his decision after prosecutors told the Manhattan court the founder of FTX had acted to intimidate a witness. "There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice," Kaplan said. He said he'd entertain a request from the defendant's lawyers to allow him to go to his lawyers' offices to prepare the case, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Prosecutors said the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange gave a New York Times reporter private writings by Caroline Ellison, an executive who worked with Bankman-Fried and is his ex-girlfriend. The documents were used in a Times profile of Ellison, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is cooperating with prosecutors. Kaplan said the writings were provided to discredit the witness, per CNBC. Although the judge had set restrictions on the defendant's use of the phone and internet, the reporter went to the California house where Bankman-Fried was staying. The defendant also talked to a reporter on the phone more than 100 times before the Times story was published, prosecutors said.

The trial on seven criminal counts involving FTX's collapse is scheduled to begin Oct. 2; prosecutors say Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars from customers and defrauded lenders and investors. As the hearing Friday ended, Bankman-Fried's mother cried in the courtroom. She tried to approach her son but was stopped by US Marshals. Bankman-Fried gave his blazer, tie, and to his lawyers before being handcuffed by the Marshals and led away. (Read more Sam Bankman-Fried stories.)
Fairbanks, AK (99701)

Today

Rain likely. Low 49F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain likely. Low 49F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
IMA Life North America plans to double its capacity for making freeze-drying machines for pharmaceutical companies, and its seeking tax breaks to help fund its Town of Tonawanda expansion.

The U.S. subsidiary of Italys IMA Group is working with Montante Construction on a proposal to construct an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility in the Colvin Woods Business Park in Tonawanda. That would mark a significant expansion for the company, which already has a 60,000-square-foot production plant at 2175 Military Road but needs more room to meet customer demand.

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The new operation would include 50,000 square feet of space for a development laboratory, three production bays and warehouse space to assemble, test and ship its machinery, as well as 30,000 square feet of corporate office space for the companys North American headquarters.

The $27.6 million project will primarily be funded through company equity, along with $1.13 million in Excelsior Jobs tax credits from Empire State Development Corp., in exchange for IMA Life creating 30 new jobs, paying an average salary of $72,293.

But the company also is seeking $824,819 in sales tax breaks on $9.43 million in eligible purchases, plus an even more lucrative property tax break from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

If approved, construction would begin in early October, with completion a year later and occupancy in November 2024. Upon completion, IMA Life would also maintain its existing operation, which is leased from Uniland Development Co., but would shift 120 existing jobs to the new site, leaving 34 at Military Road. It would then add the new jobs at Colvin Woods over the next two years.

IMA specializes in manufacturing packaging and process equipment for the pharmaceutical, food and industrial sectors, generating $2.1 billion in total revenues last year and employing 6,900 worldwide. It employs 544 in the United States, including 154 in the existing Tonawanda facility, which it acquired in 2008 when it bought the former Edwards Freeze Drying Division.

But it needs additional space and wants to stay in Tonawanda to maintain the availability of the unique skills of our employees and to ensure continuity of the business, according to the application. After examining alternative campus locations in New York and other states, it turned to the business park, the application said.

Located at 700 Colvin Woods Parkway, the 15.2-acre vacant site is roughly half of a larger property that is currently owned by Elmlawn Cemetery and Crematory, but has not been used for burials and is not considered suitable for that purpose.

Instead, it has been leased to Ciminelli Properties as part of Colvin Woods for more than 20 years, but only the eastern end of it was developed.. Meanwhile, the western part is vacant.

The entire property is under contract to be acquired for $1.95 million by Ciminelli, an affiliate of Ciminelli Real Estate Corp., which will then sell the western piece to IMA Life for $2.29 million. The sale has been approved by the New York State Cemetery Board.

Plans call for 37,500 square feet of manufacturing space, 7,000 square feet for research and development, 5,500 square feet for warehouse storage and 30,000 square feet for offices.

Costs include $16.85 million for construction, $4 million for manufacturing equipment, $1 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment, and $3.42 million in professional fees.

IMA says the project and assistance are needed to prevent the company from moving out of state, noting that the parent company owns six other companies in the United States outside of New York. Tonawanda is also competing with the other locations for IMAs flagship U.S. corporate office.

. The genuine threat to New York State and WNY is IMA Groups ability to pursue this project out-of-state, the application said. It added, The requested incentives are a critical piece of the capital stack for the project and are necessary to move forward.
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Carol L. Chur, who with her husband built one of the most successful private health care companies in New York State, died Aug. 1 in her home in Clarence after a short illness. She was 80.

Born in Imperial, Neb., the third of seven children, Carol Lorene Jaeger was salutatorian of her high school class and earned a bachelors degree in journalism in 1965 from the University of Nebraska.

She went on to Syracuse University, where she completed a masters degree in journalism with a specialty in mental health communications.

Mrs. Chur won a Journalism Gold Key Award at the University of Nebraska and a fellowship grant award at Syracuse University. She was a member of Theta Sigma Phi, the national professional fraternity for women.

At Syracuse, she met Robert M. Chur, son of a nursing home operator in East Aurora, who was studying for a masters degree in business administration. They were married on May 17, 1967.

They lived in New York City, San Francisco and Napierville, Ill., where she was the school board reporter for the Napierville Sun, before they moved to Western New York to assist in her father-in-laws nursing home operation.

In 1978, they founded Heathwood Health Care Center in Amherst, which became the foundation for ElderWood Affiliates. When ElderWood Senior Care was sold in 2013, it had grown to 19 facilities in Western and Central New York employing 2,900 people.

With ElderWood, Mrs. Chur served on the board of directors as vice president and secretary while working day-to-day as vice president of communications and administrative services. She created the companys policies and procedures and oversaw the external design of its first few new facilities.

After the sale, the Churs retained the original Heathwood Assisted Living location in Amherst and a second one in Penfield, outside Rochester. Their daughter, Carla Chur Suero, who joined them in the business in 1994, became Heathwoods president and CEO in 2016.

Mrs. Chur and her husband established the Chur Family Foundation in 2014 to provide assistance to non-profit organizations.

An ardent supporter of the womens movement, she was a charter member of the National Womens History Museum in Washington, D.C.; a longtime member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and a member of the American Association of University Women.

In the 1990s, she was active with the Clarence League of Women Voters and served as its spokesperson.

Mrs. Chur completed a masters degree in art history at the University at Buffalo in 2005, with a thesis entitled The Raquette River Quilters: A Case Study of Cultural Biases and Contemporary Quiltmaking Production from a Feminist Perspective.

She donated her art history thesis research to the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain, where it became the basis for an exhibition of Adirondack quilts.

She was a longtime member of the American Quilt Study Group in Lincoln, Neb., collected quilts made in the Adirondacks and Bermuda and had a commemorative quilt made to celebrate the sale of ElderWood.

In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Carla Chur Suero and Kelly Henry; two brothers, Sidney Jaeger and Duke Jaeger; a sister, Sheila Johnson; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday Aug. 13 in Clarence First Presbyterian Church, 9675 Main St., Clarence.
Through the use of the Stream Platform, surgeons have the potential to make a more accurate and timely diagnosis of postoperative leaks, dreaded complications of digestive tract surgeries, which can lead to better treatment outcomes and an improved quality of life for their patients. Stream Platform's international debut, made possible through the company's strategic partnerships with Canadian Hospital Specialties Limited (CHS Ltd.) and Gulf Medical Co. Ltd., marks an exciting new chapter in postoperative care around the world.

"The launch of Stream Platform is a pivotal milestone in addressing the critical need we hear from surgeons across the globe: patients suffer from life-threatening complications, and we don't catch them soon enough. With a data-driven approach backed by artificial intelligence, we can predict complications and enable preventative medicine - an entirely new paradigm of care that is precise and tailored to individual patient needs."

- Youssef Helwa, CEO and Cofounder of FluidAI

About Stream Platform

Postoperative leaks are a potential complication for patients who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery. Leaks are a significant concern, carrying a high risk of morbidity and mortality for patients, potential short- and long-term consequences, and significant implications for healthcare systems more broadly, including increased length of patient stay and decreased quality of life.

The Stream Platform is a system that utilizes patient-specific data to improve postoperative care. Using advanced sensors and an AI-driven algorithm, this non-invasive, easy-to-use device, can help drive detection of leaks early on, which can ultimately save hospitals both time and money.

The Stream Platform consists of the Origin Inline Device, which gathers patient data from the surgical site; and the Delta Bedside Monitor, a tablet that utilizes the Stream app to analyze and display the patient data.

About FluidAI Medical

FluidAI (formerly known as NERv Technology Inc.) is a Canadian medical technology company that uses AI to aid with the early detection of postoperative leaks. From general to gastrointestinal surgeries, FluidAI's mission is to empower healthcare providers with data-driven solutions that improve patient outcomes and advance postoperative care. To learn more about FluidAI and how the company is transforming postoperative care, please visit https://fluidai.md/.

SOURCE FluidAI Medical

For further information: Mustafa Obeidat, Strategic Partnerships, FluidAI Medical, +1 (877) 660-6378 ex. 205, [email protected]

 Modal title
Proprietary machine-learning model gives vehicle sellers a clear picture of value

WESTCHESTER, Ill., Aug. 10, 2023 /CNW/ - RB Global, Inc. (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA), a trusted global marketplace for insights, services and transaction solutions for commercial assets and vehicles, today announced that its subsidiary IAA has released three enhancements to its selling platform. The product enhancements, IAA Vehicle Score, IAA Vehicle Value and the IAA Sales Decision Center, all work together to provide vehicle sellers with information that is critical in helping to optimize their auction strategies for greater returns.

IAA Vehicle Score is a patented, cutting-edge computer vision tool that provides fast and accurate ratings based on vehicle attributes and photos taken during vehicle check-in, allowing for cost- and time-savings. The automated model uses the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning techniques to analyze the vehicle's four corner images and provide accurate damage ratings. A score is assigned to the vehicle, giving a quick reference point for the vehicle's damage severity [as it moves through the sale process].





IAA Vehicle Value uses the IAA Vehicle Score, plus several other relevant inputs, to deliver precise, unbiased vehicle valuations through machine learning and data mining. The predictive model is built on historical data and specific vehicle attributes, comparing similarly equipped and geographically located vehicles to generate a predicted value range. This gives vehicle sellers a strong position to access and negotiate the values of vehicles sold via IAA digital auctions.





Visible within IAA's existing selling environments, the new IAA Sales Decision Center gives sellers critical stock-level data to enable deeper data-driven decision-making, increases marketplace competition and helps sellers maximize returns. Sellers can use the data within the tool to make better-informed decisions regarding below-reserve sales, negotiations and vehicle reruns.

"Our customers are hungry for information that will add value for their businesses, so we're investing in the tools to help them make informed selling decisions and generate better returns," said Matt Ackley, Chief Digital Officer at RB Global. "We continue to work closely with insurance carriers, dealerships, fleet lease and rental car companies to identify more opportunities like this set of enhancements, where we can implement technology to help automate processes and optimize vehicle selling decisions at scale."

For more information on IAA's auction platform, visit IAAI.com.

About RB Global

RB Global, Inc. (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA) is a leading, omnichannel marketplace that provides value-added insights, services and transaction solutions for buyers and sellers of commercial assets and vehicles worldwide. Through its auction sites in 14 countries and digital platform, RB Global serves customers in more than 170 countries across a variety of asset classes, including automotive, commercial transportation, construction, government surplus, lifting and material handling, energy, mining and agriculture. The company's marketplace brands include Ritchie Bros., the world's largest auctioneer of commercial assets and vehicles offering online bidding, and IAA, a leading global digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers. RB Global's portfolio of brands also includes Rouse Services, which provides a complete end-to-end asset management, data-driven intelligence and performance benchmarking system; SmartEquip, an innovative technology platform that supports customers' management of the equipment lifecycle and integrates parts procurement with both OEMs and dealers; Xcira, a leader in live simulcast auction technologies; and VeriTread, an online marketplace for heavy haul transport.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release contain include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements may include statements relating to future events and anticipated results of operations, business strategies, the expected timing and associated benefits with respect to announcement of the IAA Vehicle Value, IAA Vehicle Score and Sales Decision Center product enhancements, the products themselves, and other subjects of this release on our business and plans regarding our growth strategies, and to our customers and company generally, and other aspects of RBA's or IAA's respective businesses, operations, financial condition or operating results and other statements that are not historical facts. Words such as "should," "may," "will," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" "could," "can," "intends," "target," "goal," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates," "opportunity" and similar expressions identify forward- looking statements. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of the combined companies or the price of RBA's common shares. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. While RBA's management believe the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond RBA's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the effects of the business combination of RBA and IAA, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the completion of the merger; the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the response of competitors to the merger; the ultimate difficulty, timing, cost and results of integrating the operations of RBA and IAA; the fact that operating costs and business disruption may be greater than expected following the consummation of the merger; the effect of the consummation of the merger on the trading price of RBA's common shares; the ability of RBA to retain and hire key personnel and employees; the significant costs associated with the merger; the outcome of any legal proceedings that could be instituted against RBA; the ability of the combined company to realize anticipated synergies in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the combined company to realize potential revenue, EBITDA, growth, operational enhancement, expansion or other value creation opportunities from the sources or in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the trading multiple of the combined company to normalize or re-rate and other fluctuations in such trading multiple; changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to generate cash flow and/or finance operations in the manner expected or to de-lever in the timeframe expected; the failure of RBA or the combined company to meet financial forecasts and/or KPI targets; legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting the business of RBA; general economic and market developments and conditions; the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which RBA operates; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, pandemics, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as RBA's response to any of the aforementioned factors. Other risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are included in RBA's periodic reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and/or applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the risk factors identified under Item 1A "Risk Factors" and the section titled "Summary of Risk Factors" in RBA's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and IAA's periodic reports and other filings with the SEC, including the risk factors identified under Item 1A "Risk Factors" and the section titled "Summary of Risks Affecting our Business" in IAA's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2023. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date hereof. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Many of these risk factors are outside of our control, and as such, they involve risks which are not currently known that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed or implied herein. RBA does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information, future events, changes in its expectations or other circumstances that exist after the date as of which the forward-looking statements were made, except as required by law.

SOURCE RB Global

For further information: RB Global Contacts: Media Inquiries, Jeanene O'Brien | RB Global, Inc., SVP, Global Marketing Communications, (708) 492-7328, [email protected]; Analyst Inquiries, Sameer Rathod, RB Global, Inc., VP, Investor Relations/Market Intelligence, (510) 381-7584, [email protected]
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada Inc. (SCI), in its deep commitment to preserving and protecting Canadian parks and wilderness, is launching a partnership with Leave No Trace Canada to help conserve Canada's natural environment.

Since 2005, Leave No Trace Canada (LNTC) has taken a lead role in addressing the need to mitigate our impact on all types of parks and natural areas. The non-profit organization provides Canadians with the information needed to help protect nature while enjoying the benefits of various forms of outdoor recreation activities.

(CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles provide guidelines to prevent and minimize our environmental impacts:

Plan Ahead and Prepare Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces Dispose of Waste Properly Leave What you Find Minimize Campfire Impacts Respect Wildlife Be Considerate of Others

As SCI launches the third consecutive year of its Adventure On program, it is encouraging all Canadians to learn and practice the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and apply them as a strategy to explore nature in ways that reduce our impact on the environment.

As part of this year's education and awareness campaign, SCI and LNTC will be launching the Leave No Trace Pledge. The Pledge is the organization's invitation to Subaru owners and Canadians to be mindful as they adventure on in Canada's natural playground. When a participant takes The Pledge and shares their commitment on social media, a tree will be planted in Canada. SCI and Leave No Trace Canada have committed to and are challenging Canadians to help plant up to 10,000 trees in 2023 by taking and sharing the Pledge.

"We are excited to partner with Leave No Trace Canada and help promote their Seven Principles," said SCI Chairman, President and CEO Tomohiro Kubota. "We look forward to challenging Canadians to take The Pledge as we believe these guidelines provide the basis of responsible exploration, mitigating environmental impact."

"The support we receive from Subaru Canada will help Leave No Trace further our work in delivering to Canadians a science-based framework and solutions to preserving natural habitats across Canada," said Richard Vinson, Chair of the Board of Directors with Leave No Trace. "Our Seven Principles are simple considerations and are key to minimizing our impact outdoors for every outdoor enthusiast who wants to enjoy the benefits of our parks and natural areas, now and in the future."

About Subaru Canada , Inc.

Subaru Canada, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 95 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @SubaruCanada on Twitter.

About Leave No Trace Canada

Leave No Trace Canada empowers people to be the solution to conservation. It is a non-profit, registered charity dedicated to promoting the conservation of our parks, natural areas and wildlife by helping to minimize the impact of outdoor enthusiasts through the application of the seven Leave No Trace Principles. Leave No Trace encourages all Canadians to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors while protecting Canada's natural and cultural heritage. When you leave no trace, you show that you care!

SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc.

For further information: Julie Lychak, PR Manager, (905) 568-4959, [email protected]; Madison Marple, PR Specialist, (905) 568-4959, [email protected]; Sebastien Lajoie, PR Specialist, Quebec Region, (514) 336-0600, [email protected]; Richard Vinson, Chair, Director, Partnerships, (902) 499-3434, [email protected]; Ryan Stewart, Director, Communications, (250) 650-4842, [email protected]
TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2023 /CNW/ - According to Retail Council of Canada's (RCC) Back-to-School 2023 Shopping Survey, people plan to spend carefully this year and are more focused on purchasing lower-priced items than in years past. In line with this, stationery is expected to be the top spending category (60.8%), which is noteworthy since this this product category did not make the list at all in 2022. Shoppers also plan to defer purchases of higher-priced items.

The rush to shop starts now as 29.5% of respondents said they plan to make their purchases 2-4 weeks before the start of school returns (vs 42.9% in 2022). 15.7% of Canadians will make their purchases one week or less before the start of school. This is a shift from 2021 and 2022 when we saw people shopping much earlier because many items were expected to be out of stock. Now that they supply chain has normalized, consumers intend to shop closer to the start of the school year.

Other takeaways of interest include:

Almost 2/3rds (66%) of Canadians make a dedicated trip to purchase back-to-school items, whereas in 2022 only 32.7% did.

81% of Canadians will shop at brick-and-mortar retailers in their neighborhood instead of purchasing their items online. This is almost double of what we saw in 2022 (41%).

73.6% of Canadians plan to spend more than $50 . The number of people planning to spend less than $50 has gone up by 3.4% compared to 2022, which is indicative of the tightening of purse strings due to the prevailing economic conditions.

. The number of people planning to spend less than has gone up by 3.4% compared to 2022, which is indicative of the tightening of purse strings due to the prevailing economic conditions. Stationery (60.8%), followed by clothing (32.1%), books and music (23.4%), and personal or home electronics (18.2%) are the top back-to-school shopping spending categories.

Big box retailers (62.3%), followed by clothing (32.1%) and department stores (19.5%) and drug stores (18.4%) will take the biggest share of Canadian's wallets during back to school.

About the Survey

Caddle, in partnership with the RCC, surveyed Canadians from coast to coast to better understand consumers' shopping intentions around the back-to-school shopping season. Surveys were conducted in July 2023 using Caddle's mobile platform and online panel amongst a representative randomized sample of n= 9,165 and n= 9,848 Canadian adults. All data presented has a Margin of Error of 1% or lower.

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail is Canada's largest private-sector employer with over 2.3 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates over $91 billion in wages and employee benefits. Core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) were over $462B in 2022. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members represent more than two-thirds of core retail sales through small, medium, and large retail businesses across the country. This includes 54,000 storefronts including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers, online merchants and quick service restaurants. Our grocery members alone represent more than 95 per cent of the market in Canada.

For more information, contact: Michelle Wasylyshen at [email protected]

SOURCE Retail Council of Canada
Record revenue 106% higher than the same period in the prior year, with five consecutive quarters of gross margin improvement leading to first quarter of positive operating cashflow and Adjusted EBITDA(1).

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - Trees Corporation (CBOE: TREE) (the "Company" or "Trees"), is pleased to announce its first quarter financial results for the three month period ended June 30, 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2023 (the "QUARTER"):

All-time high revenue of $4.05 million , a 106% increase from the comparative period in 2022 and a 47% increase from the three months ended March 31, 2023 .

, a 106% increase from the comparative period in 2022 and a 47% increase from the three months ended . Record gross profit of $1.4 million (34% of revenue), a 101% increase from $0.7 million for the comparative period in 2022 (33% of revenue).

(34% of revenue), a 101% increase from for the comparative period in 2022 (33% of revenue). Net loss from operations of $0.6 million ( $0.003 per share) in the Quarter compared to a net loss of $0.7 million ( $0.006 per share) in the comparative period in 2022.

( per share) in the Quarter compared to a net loss of ( per share) in the comparative period in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA (1) for the Quarter of $0.11 million compared to $0.05 million for the comparative period in 2022.

for the Quarter of compared to for the comparative period in 2022. Cash provided by operating activities in the Quarter of $0.08 million , a $0.8 million increase from the $0.55 million cash outflow recorded in the comparative period in 2022.

"During the first quarter ending June 30, 2023, Trees achieved positive operating cashflows, record revenue and gross margin and positive Adjusted EBITDA(1) as a result of our disciplined focus on key operating strategies and objectives" said Jeff Holmgren, President and CFO of Trees. "Trees has demonstrated from the results of this quarter, that it is firmly on a path for long- term profitable growth. With the added financial and operational scale from the previously announced business combination with FOUR20 (defined below), we are excited for the future as we emerge as one of the largest cannabis retailers in Canada."

On July 12, 2023, Trees and 420 Investments Ltd. ("FOUR20") entered into a business combination agreement, pursuant to which Trees and FOUR20 will amalgamate, constituting a reverse takeover of Trees by FOUR20 under the policies of Cboe Canada, the new business name of the NEO Exchange (the "FOUR20 Transaction"). Completion of the FOUR20 Transaction remains subject to certain closing conditions, including receiving approval from shareholders, Cboe Canada and the provincial regulators. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions, the FOUR20 Transaction is expected to be completed on or before October 15, 2023.

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure, see heading 'Specified Financial Measures' and 'Adjusted EBITDA' for further guidance.



Selected Financial Information



Three Months Ended

June 30, 2023 Three Months Ended

June 30, 2022

Change

Change

$ $

$

% Revenue from retail sales 4,048,641 1,966,340

2,082,301

106 % Revenue from wholesale accessory sales 47,239 27,659

19,580

71 % Other revenue 66,461 105,214

(38,753)

100 % Total revenue 4,162,341 2,099,213

2,063,128

98 % Total gross profit 1,411,776 701,271

710,505

101 % Gross profit margin from product sales 34 % 33 %

0.5 %

2 % Operating expenses 1,022,591 259,944

762,647

293 % General and administrative expenses 156,243 947,977

(791,734)

(84 %) Loss from operations (555,645) (689,877)

134,232

19 % Loss per share (basic) (0.003) (0.006)

0.006

54 % Loss per share (diluted) (0.003) (0.006)

0.006

54 %



Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A

The results discussed herein are a summary and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for three months ended June 30, 2023 and the fifteen month period ended March 31, 2023, and related management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, copies of which are available under the Company's profile on SEDAR and the Company's Investor Relations website at www.TreesCorp.ca.

SPECIFIED FINANCIAL MEASURES

Certain specified financial measures in this earnings release, including Adjusted EBITDA, are non-IFRS measures and may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. This non-IFRS financial measure should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure that the Company uses to evaluate its operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA provides information to investors, analysts, and others to aid in understanding and evaluating the Company's operating results in a similar manner to Management. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as loss and comprehensive loss before finance costs; gains and losses on fair value adjustments; depreciation; impairments, lease remeasurements and other costs; and certain one-time transaction costs and restructuring costs, as determined by Management.

The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss and comprehensive loss for the periods noted:





Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Adjusted EBITDA

30-Jun-23 30-Jun-22 Net loss and comprehensive loss

(555,645) (689,877) Adjustments:





Finance costs

215,941 153,871 Amortization and depreciation

449,993 410,893 Transaction costs

- 75,371 Gain on debt settlements





Adjusted EBITDA

110,290 (49,742)



About Trees

Trees is a cannabis company at the intersection of community, content, and commerce. Publicly traded on the Cboe Exchange, Trees offers a differentiated retail experience, that aims to educate, amplify and unlock emerging consumer segments and need states that allows Trees to uniquely engage the 360-cannabis consumer. The Company currently has 14 Trees branded storefronts in Canada, including nine (9) stores owned and operated in Ontario and five (5) stores owned and operated in BC.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Throughout this MD&A, references are made to non-IFRS financial measures, including system-wide sales, same store sales, earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA"). These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Non-IFRS measures provide investors with a supplemental measure of the Company's operating performance and therefore highlight trends in Company's core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. Management uses non-IFRS measures in measuring the financial performance of the Company.

System-wide retail sales represents the sum of the revenue reported to Trees by (i) brand licensed retail cannabis stores, which are subject to a brand license agreement providing Trees with a royalty interest, and (ii) Company-owned retail cannabis stores. Management believes this measure is useful to the investment community in evaluating brand scale and market penetration and is used by management of Trees to assess the financial and operational performance of the Company and the strength of the Company's market position relative to its competitors.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements in this document include, among others, statements relating to the Trees' expectations regarding the closing of the FOUR20 Transaction and receipt of shareholder, Cboe Canada, and regulatory approvals in connection therewith, expectations regarding the Company's ability to unlock and capture emerging consumer segments across its platforms, expectations regarding the Company's ability to engage its customers and new consumer segments and need states, the expectation that the Company will be successful in its growth strategy, and other statements that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: (a) the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; (b) compliance with extensive government regulation; (c) domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Company's business and results of operations; (d) the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Company's securities, regardless of its operating peers; (e) adverse changes in the public perception of cannabis; (f) the impact of COVID-19; and (g) general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

The Cboe Canada has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Trees Corporation

For further information: Trees Corporation, Jeffrey Holmgren, President and Chief Financial Officer, Email: [email protected]
Actor Creates Organization to Help Schools Access Over a Billion Dollars in Grant Money

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 10, 2023 /CNW/ -- VSBLTY Groupe Technologies Corp. (OTCQB: VSBGF) (CSE: VSBY) (Frankfurt 5VS) ("VSBLTY"), a leading software provider of AI-driven security and retail analytics technology, applauds the efforts of Matthew McConaughey's organization that will assist schools in accessing the over one billion dollars in grant money available through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

https://www.greenlightsgrantinitiative.org is a one-stop shop for accessing grants along with tools and tutorials. Its purpose is to make the grant application process more streamlined and accessible. In some cases, the organization will apply on a school's behalf.

VSBLTY CEO says actor Matthew McConnaughey works to help schools be safer for students and teachers. Tweet this

On July 20, 2023, Matthew McConaughey posted a video outlining and updating his initiative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMpdgcUjANM.

"There is the need, there is the funding, and there is the technology, yet bringing these components together for a solution is proving to be challenging for some school districts," explained Jay Hutton, CEO of VSBLTY. "We applaud the initiative created by McConaughey and his wife to help schools access available funding and, ultimately, implement safety solutions. We look forward in being able to play a small part in this noble effort to make our schools and our children safer."

VSBLTY's AI-driven software Vector provides enhanced facial recognition that is crucial to strengthening today's security requirements when applying contextual data, including the ability to recognize weapons or suspicious persons in a crowd.

With various partners, VSBLTY has launched a vigorous campaign with its Vector technology to provide protection to U.S. schools and houses of worship and to scale up these deployments. This additional funding and streamlined access could help accelerate these installations and rollouts.

Investor Relations

Harbor Access

Jonathan Paterson, 475-477-9401

[email protected]

Graham Farrell, +1-416-842-9003

[email protected]

CONTACT: Linda Rosanio, 609-472-0877

[email protected]

About VSBLTY (http://vsblty.net/)

Headquartered in Philadelphia, VSBLTY (OTCQB: VSBGF) (CSE: VSBY) (Frankfurt: 5VS) (OTC: VSBGF) ("VSBLTY") is the world leader in Artificial Intelligence and real time interpretation of what a CCTV and other cameras see. By utilizing facial recognition, age and gender, VSBLTY's proprietary technology can effectively enhance retail brand engagement and measurement through customized ads on in-store digital displays at point of purchase in real time. This technology has proven to increase brand sales by over 25%. The firm is also recognized for its leadership role in the growing "Store as a Medium" movement that enables brands to reach customers with paid media ads when and where buying decisions are being made while producing a new revenue stream for retailers.

Using its proprietary AI software, VSBLTY has also developed a range of security products that include not only facial recognition but weapon recognition utilizing modern surveillance cameras and legacy CCTV cameras. VSBLTY has the capability to create a proactive security system rather than a reactive security system, providing early warning of threats that can save lives.

SOURCE VSBLTY
Cheektowaga did not sign up to be the focal point in Western New York for the national debate over immigration, but with more than 500 asylum-seekers sent to the town from New York City, that is what it has become.

The same day authorities said a man from Venezuela seeking asylum committed rape in front of a child in a Cheektowaga hotel, the Town Board said it is considering legal action against New York City for sending asylum- seekers to live in hotels in the town.

Poloncarz: Erie County won't declare emergency to block asylum-seekers "Not only is such an order illegal under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is morally repugnant," Poloncarz said in a statement he posted to Twitter.

Following in the footsteps of other municipalities in central and downstate New York, the town is arguing that the three hotels being used as long-term housing for asylees are in violation of town code because they are essentially acting as homeless shelters, which they are not permitted or zoned for.

The town could seek a temporary restraining order through the court system to prevent New York City officials from sending more migrants to Cheektowaga.

All we want to do is make sure these asylum-seekers are safe, Town Supervisor Diane Benczkowski said Tuesday during a town board meeting. Thats the reasoning for this resolution, is to make sure that theyre safe.

But a Cheektowaga code enforcement official said the town routinely has people staying in hotels for extended periods, in violation of the code town officials now want to enforce. And Justin Mazzola, the deputy director of research for Amnesty International USA, said actions such as what the town is pursing really does show the xenophobia in some of these communities.

Since June, more than a dozen busloads of asylum-seekers have traveled to Western New York from New York City because the city is running out of room for the tens of thousands of asylees sent from the countrys southern border.

According to the town code, a hotel is defined as a building or group of buildings, whether detached or in connected units, used as individual sleeping or dwelling units designed primarily for transient automobile travelers and providing accessory off-street parking facilities. If a person lives in a dwelling for more than 30 consecutive days, they are considered a permanent resident under New York State law.

Since the asylees are living in the hotels for extended periods of time, they cannot be considered transient, and, therefore, the hotels are violating town code, the town is arguing.

The hotels should have to contact the town to ensure their buildings meet the needs of non-transient residents and fully comply with Town Codes, and none of these businesses have registered as rental properties or demonstrated compliance to the applicable laws, the resolution reads.

Poloncarz: Erie County won't declare emergency to block asylum-seekers "Not only is such an order illegal under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is morally repugnant," Poloncarz said in a statement he posted to Twitter.

Addressing the Town Board, Supervising Code Enforcement Officer Richard Coburn said it is not uncommon for construction workers who come to work in Western New York to stay at local hotels for extended periods of time, sometimes up to nine months. The town has never investigated a hotel for allowing extended stays in the past, Coburn said.

This is the first time that its been brought to my attention that we do not allow extended stays in the hotels greater than 30 days, Coburn said.

The resolution  which was unanimously adopted  authorizes the towns code enforcement office to inspect the properties and give a report to the board by Aug. 18. After that, the town attorney can pursue legal action to bar more asylum-seekers from coming to Cheektowaga.

Republican Erie County executive candidate calls for vote on 'sanctuary county' status Casilio's proposal comes as the number of migrants from New York City in Erie County reaches 450.

I feel we need to put the mayor of New York City on notice that we, the Town of Cheektowaga, is in control of our own town, and that he needs to respect the Cheektowaga Town Code, Benczkowski said. He either acts immediately to correct this unlawful act or we go to court.

Other municipalities in the state have successfully received temporary restraining orders from courts to block New York City from sending asylum-seekers to their communities.

In May, the town of Orangetown in Rockland County argued that a local hotel was in violation of local zoning laws for housing migrants for extended periods of time. A state Supreme Court justice granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the hotel from housing non-transient guests, according to reporting from The Journal News.

A judge in Onondaga County approved a similar order from the town of Salinas, which sued a local hotel for housing asylees in opposition to the towns zoning laws, The Post-Standard reported.

Mazzola, whose research includes refugee and immigrant rights, said the chaos this situation has created shows that New York City cant handle this influx of migrants. The issue requires a unified state and federal response, he said.

People like to point out that our immigration system is broken, yet the federal government pretty much refuses to fix it, Mazzola said. And thats whats leading to these issues now. People seeking safety and security here in the U.S., seeking asylum, are just basically shipped around the country. Unfortunately, this is what happens.

Local legislators say they have been shut out by the county and state government officials making decisions about the asylum-seekers.

They didnt tell us, they didnt ask us, Benczkowski said of officials in New York City. We couldve checked into this ahead of time to make sure that these hotels could really handle these people coming in. Nobody gave us notice. They just said they were shipping them here. So now, theyre here 30 days, and they need to abide by our laws.

Asylum-seekers have temporary, legal status in the United States while their asylum petitions are pending.

The costs for transportation, housing, food and other resettlement expenses for the migrants sheltered in Cheektowaga are being paid for by New York City and coordinated through a government contractor called DocGo. Local refugee resettlement organizations, such as Jericho Road and Journeys End, are handling intake and helping with immigration legal assistance.

Police contact with asylum-seekers

Since the first asylum-seekers arrived in Cheektowaga, some in the community have been concerned about their presence, and dont want them staying there.

Residents have brought forward questions and concerns about health and safety in the community, where migrant children will attend school and who is footing the bill for the asylees in Western New York.

During the Town Board meeting, Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould said the Police Department has had very few interactions with asylum-seekers.

On July 16, police arrested an asylum-seeker for shoplifting at the Walden Galleria, Gould said.

Following that incident, two other people were arrested for shoplifting. One of those people later caused a disturbance at the hotel and has since been removed from the asylum-seeker program, Gould said.

The company that is operating (DocGo) has assured me that if theres anybody that we interact with in a violent nature, or is causing repeated problems in our community, that they will transport them back to New York City and remove them from their program, Gould said.

Political outcry follows arrest of asylum-seeker on rape charge An accusation of rape last week in a Cheektowaga hotel against an asylum-seeker from Venezuela has touched off a firestorm of criticism from Republicans who have been critical of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz's response to the migrant crisis.

Another asylum-seeker, Jesus D. Guzman-Bermudez, 26, was arrested and charged last week after he was accused of raping a woman in the hotel in the presence of a 3-year-old child.

He was held without bail, and a temporary order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim. Prosecutors said the victim and the suspect know each other.

The sexual assault did not involve anyone from the public, Gould said.




Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has told the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, that the APC has no Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp to rehabilitate distressed politicians.





Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State, made the assertion on Thursday while commenting on the allegation made by Godwin Obaseki, the current governor, that Shaibus court case against him was a prelude to his defection to the APC.





PM News reports that Oshiomhole urged the deputy governor to respect and be loyal to his boss, insisting that his wish is for Edo to be governed in peace and harmony.





But let me say this, to say that somebody wants to run to the APC, I want to say that the APC is not a rehabilitation centre. I can tell you that for free.





We in APC are satisfied the way we are; we are happy in opposition and we are not about to receive people who are coming because they have lost out. I want to say that there is no IDP camp in APC.





So my advice is that those who are having challenges should learn how to respect their bosses. I have always advised people that whoever you work with, be loyal, Oshiomhole was quoted as saying.





Oshiomholes remark came after Shaibu had approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking protection from possible impeachment and removal from office by his principal, Obaseki.





He requested an interlocutory injunction to stop harassment, intimidation, or embarrassment, and to allow him to carry out his duties as the deputy governor.





It is being alleged that the relationship between Shaibu and his principal, Obaseki, has been tense in recent months.
Frodd, the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) All-Stars housemate, is under criticism over his steamy dance with Mercy Eke.

During Thursdays pool party, the housemates decked out in their pool attire and danced in pairs.

However, it was Frodds steamy dance with Mercy that garnered attention.

Mercy wore a colourful g-string bikini that accentuated her figure, while Frodd donned a black ensemble.

The duo danced seductively, with Frodd grinding against Mercy, as she playfully slapped her butt.

They also engaged in poolside interactions, where Mercy poured alcohol on herself for Frodd to lick, but it was Kiddwaya, another contestant, who did so.

Frodd also made an attempt to pull Mercy away from Kiddwaya and draw her closer to himself.

This incident sparked several negative reactions from fans on social media.

Many expressed disappointment, citing Frodds marital status and impending fatherhood as reasons he should have exercised better judgement.

On the other hand, some believed that Mercy also bore a responsibility to uphold boundaries, regardless of her friendship with Frodd.

A user wrote: Are we to blame Mercy Eke or Frodd for this kind of move? Friends I get it but boundaries too are important.

The behavior of Mercy Eke with Frodd isnt just todays something. Shes well experienced with married men in Lagos and Im not surprised Dont break this young mans home, another user added.

See more tweets below:

~

Yall better dragged these two weirdos the way yall dragged TEGA and BOMA !!!



This Mans wife is probably in labor as we speak!!! 



Yo!!! Mercy Eke & Frodd, yall disgust me!!!



#bbnaijaAllstars #BBNaija pic.twitter.com/He6MEOVcwf  Rebel (@Rebel_YSL) August 10, 2023

Nah Frodd is an embarrassment abeg.. married man isonu #BBNaijaAllStars  Lucy'sLovePot (@MzLucyM) August 10, 2023

Mercy Eke taking advantage of a full grown man who knows what he's doing? Free Mercy Eke abeg she no kee person abeg  #BBNaijaAllStars #BBNaija https://t.co/0jLnRxb418  Andy (@Thefam88) August 10, 2023

Mercy has said it several times on this house that shes comfortable with Frood friendship in that house bcos hes married !! See ehn they are friends and will still dance together you can go and drink sniper #BBNaijaAllStars  Isabella (@lsa__Bell) August 11, 2023

But my question is , why is mercy not respecting the fact that Frodd is a married man.  Titans Ambassador  (@DoveSam2) August 11, 2023

Frodd need to change his ways asap.. he is getting too touchy touchy these days. Married man on live TV not movie #BBNAllStars  Tired Ghanaian (@tired_ghanaian) August 10, 2023

Are we to blame Mercy Eke or Frodd for this kind of move?

Friends I get it but boundaries too are important

#bbnaijaAllstars #bbnaija pic.twitter.com/GK25j2SYqr  I am woman (@mrselovia) August 11, 2023

so you left the married man frodd, the one that did the exchanging of vows to drag mercy eke. until you guys start being real on this app I will NEVER take yall serious



And reminder frodd is the one that went to mercy #Bbnaija #BBNaijaAllStars https://t.co/6PZbbFenCc  Yvonnes Cute Forehead  (@raedee224) August 11, 2023

Wtf is wrong with Frodd????? This is soooo embarrassing #BBNaija #BBNaijaAllStars  Deedee (@__adeola__) August 10, 2023

I need yall to give Frodd thesame energy yall gave Tega on this app as a married woman. What kind of ashewo married man be this ? #BBNaija #BBNaijaAllStars  TheCutestKimmy (@symply_kim) August 10, 2023

The behavior of Mercy Eke with Frodd isn't just today's something. She's well experienced with married men in Lagos and I'm not surprised... Don't break this young man's home. #BBNaijaAllStars  Nwafresh  (@Nwafresh) August 10, 2023

Omo Mercy sha

Im kinda dissapointed because she knows Frodd is married, like where is the boundaries? So much for women supporting each other  #bbnaija



pic.twitter.com/Reg6fFt6LD  Cynthia (@Cyndodo_) August 11, 2023

For those being surprised by the way mercy has been moving with frodd!dont be naa her way!she doesnt respect boundaries normally!she sees nothing wrong in flirting and doing things with a married man!she tried it with mike,Mike was reserved!frodd isnt  #BBNaijaAllStars pic.twitter.com/prZKqmVyze  PeterobisBae//VKR/ (@agama_x) August 11, 2023

Thank God Frodd is not the first married man to come on the show, we've had Mike Edwards, Niyi, etc.. What Frodd did is embarrassing biko .. Mercy kuku be shouting I have a man every day..lol #bbnaijaAllstars #BBNaija  Chichi the Soul Snatcher (@Gingermuscovado) August 11, 2023

Frodd is such disgusting man smh!! He needs to leave the house like tf!! Seyi is married but you won't see him doing all this weird things with the girls. 

Arg mercy my dear, this guy will stain your white.  https://t.co/Tx642cQeVc  Just Ivy  (@SimplyIvy29) August 11, 2023

Which kind of married man is this? Sh@me on Frodd he needs to be evicted from that house asap!#bbnaijaAllstars #Bbnaija



pic.twitter.com/cBv3WPKxeo  Alien  (@ad1boi) August 11, 2023
President Alassane Ouattara of Cote dIvoire says the decision by the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy troops to the Niger Republic was taken collectively by member states.

Recall that ECOWAS on Thursday during its second extraordinary meeting, directed the deployment of standby military troops to restore constitutional order in the Niger Republic.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting in Abuja, Outarra described the detention of the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum by the military junta in Niger as an act of terrorism.

We had a very good summit. We thank President Tinubu for having us, for his hospitality and for the people of Nigeria, he said.

As youre aware, this is the second summit in 10 days that we have organised on Niger and this is a critical problem we have to solve.

As youre aware, ECOWAS has taken many decisions in the past, legal and factual about the coup detat and the community has always condemned coup detat and coup detat have happened in many countries in the sub-region.

ECOWAS has intervened in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and recently in Gambia, Guinea Bissau and today we have a similar situation in Niger. I would like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this. This is not a matter of Nigeria against Niger, not at all.

We have sent a delegation, high personalities like former president Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, former governor of CBN Sanusi, my friend and many other personalities in this important country, to talk to the people of Niger.

But they are keeping President Bazoum as a hostage. I personally consider this as a terrorist act and we cannot let this continue. We have to act.

ECOWAS is nearly 400 million people, 240 million in Nigeria, 140 million in the West African monetary union. So this is 400 million people. If we do not have democracy, do you think that our countries will be able to move ahead? This coup detat is not acceptable.

Also speaking with reporters, Macky Sall, Senegalese president, said he was in support of the decision taken by ECOWAS.

I support the action that has been proposed by ECOWAS that we do not accept this coup to stand and that we make every effort to make sure that constitutional order returns to Niger, Sall said.

If we had made mistakes in the past, we should try to correct them now. There is always a time to get started. I think it was a mistake not to have taken action previously, but now that we are together on this, we should take action to make sure that it does not continue.
Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, has asked leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to dialogue with the military junta in the Niger Republic.

On Tuesday, the leadership of the regional body resolved to impose financial sanctions on the individuals and entities believed to be supporting the military junta in the Francophone country.

On Thursday, the ECOWAS leaders directed the deployment of standby military troops to restore constitutional order in the Niger Republic.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Friday, Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the masses in the landlocked country are suffering from a lack of power supply while the military junta has switched to generators after the country was cut off by Nigeria.

The human rights lawyer said sanctions should be limited to the members of the Nigerien military junta, noting that the masses who were not part of the coup detat are the ones bearing the brunt.

He added that ECOWAS leaders should reject the dangerous invitation of France and her allies to fight a proxy war in the Niger Republic.

In addition, economic sanctions were imposed on the Niger Republic. In implementing the economic sanctions, the Bola Tinubu administration has cut electricity supply to the Niger Republic with dire consequences for the civilian population, the statement reads.

In other words, the masses have been thrown into darkness even though they were not involved in the planning and execution of the coup detat which sacked the democratically elected government.

In justifying the disruption of electricity supply by the federal government, the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission said that Niger Republic currently owes Nigeria N4.22billion ($5.48m: $/N769.27 exchange rate) for power supply.

Since Nigeria supplies about 70 percent of the electricity of Niger Republic on the basis of a valid agreement, the masses of that country are bearing the brunt of the policy while the members of the military junta and the political class have since switched to generators.

Having decided to step back from immediate military action against the Niger Republic due to popular opposition in all the member states of the ECOWAS, the leaders should promote dialogue with the military junta.

This is in consonance with the resolution of the members of the ECOWAS security committee constituted by the defence chiefs of the member states.

Therefore, the ECOWAS leaders should reject the dangerous invitation of France and her allies to fight a proxy war in the Niger Republic.
Chiwetalu Agu, the ace Nigerian actor, has recalled how he got a contract worth N20 million from Mike Adenuga, the billionaire businessman.

In a recent interview on the  WithChude podcast, Agu said Adenuga initially offered him N10 million for a project.

The film star said although he had not made N1 million then, he insisted on getting N20 million.

Agu said he was about to leave Adenugas office when the business mogul eventually agreed to pay him N20 million for the project  which he did not share details on.

He described the contract agreement with Adenuga as the most wonderful thing at that moment.

Chief Mike Adenuga said, what I have for you in this contract is N10 million. I have not seen one million naira before when he was pricing me N10 million. But I refused and said if not N20 million, forget it, he said.

He insisted. So I pretended to rise up, saying give me money to go back to Enugu. If there should be anything like the next available flight, can you get it for me and let me quietly go back home?

They regarded me as being serious when I rose up from the seat. Chief Mike Adenuga said sit down, He ordered them to bring the documents for signing.

I did it diplomatically in the office. I did not want them to know that N20 million was a big thing. But it was the most wonderful thing at that moment.

In 2014, Agu was reportedly enlisted as an ambassador of Globacom, a telecommunications company owned by Adenuga.
A Buffalo man has been charged in a homicide that occurred as a result of a domestic incident on Monday in the 3400 block of Main Street.

The suspect, 29-year-old Savon Stewart of no permanent address, was taken into custody Thursday by patrol officers and charged with second-degree murder, according to police.

About 3 p.m. Monday, officers from Buffalo's Northeast District station were called to the scene of an injured and unresponsive woman who later was determined to be dead at the scene and her cause of death ruled a homicide. She was later identified as 27-year-old Jena Macdiarmid of Buffalo.

The Erie County District Attorneys Office assisted the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Unit during the investigation.

Stewart, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 16 for a felony hearing.

If convicted of the charge, Stewart faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, the District Attorney's Office said.

 Harold McNeil
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received electoral management innovative tools from the European Union support to democratic governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN).

The tools were delivered through the development alternatives incorporated (DAI) to further enhance Nigerias electoral system.

The items include collation and returning officers management system (CROMS); election results management system (ERMS); political parties financial reporting and audit system (PFRAS).

Others are the media monitoring and analysis tool and the online app for voters and electoral officers, to easily locate existing polling units across the country.

Receiving the tools, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, commended the EU-SDGN for the support.

Yakubu said INEC would closely examine the tools with a view of tweaking them where necessary, to meet the immediate and emergent challenges in the conduct of elections.

He said the CROMS is designed to streamline, simplify and enhance the security, reliability and credibility of the recruitment process for collation and returning officers.

The ERMS seeks to ensure better results management process, enhancing accuracy and creating a repository of election results, something envisaged by section 62 (1) and (2) of the electoral act, 2022, he said.

The media monitoring and analysis tool intends to enhance the commissions capacity to filter media coverage of the commission.

The PFRAS seeks to assist the commission to monitor political party finance more efficiently and effectively.




President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is committed to ensuring democracy returns to Niger Republic.

Tinubu stated this while delivering his closing remarks at the second ECOWAS extraordinary summit held in Abuja on Thursday.

Top on the agenda was the political impasse in the land-locked country, after the military junta defied the ECOWAS deadline to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum.

After the deliberations, the bloc resolved to deploy standby military troops to restore constitutional order in Niger.

We have exhibited great membership, dedication and patriotism and have recognised the danger facing our dear neighbour, Niger, Tinubu, who is the ECOWAS chairperson, said.

All is not lost yet. The outcome of this summit is a testament to the power of collaboration and unity. We have reaffirmed our commitment to the people of Niger and the progress of the entire ECOWAS community.

We will continue with that. And you know Ill see from the communique of this extraordinary summit that no option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.

If we dont do it, no one else will do it for us. We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting Niger in the journey towards peaceful democratic stability in the country.

Tinubu noted that the move will undoubtedly have challenges but expressed hope that the unity of the bloc will help to navigate these obstacles and chart a path towards lasting peace and prosperity for Nigerians and ECOWAS.
Leaders of the coup in Niger Republic have reportedly told a top US diplomat that they would kill ousted President Mohamed Bazoum if neighbouring countries attempted any military intervention.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that the junta disclosed this to two western officials, amid the announcement of the deployment of a standby force by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday.

According to the AP, representatives of the junta told Victoria Nuland, US under secretary of state, of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country this week.

The report also said a US official confirmed the account on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Aneliese Bernard, a former US state department official who specialised in African affairs, said the threats are capable of escalating tensions on all sides.

Still, this junta has escalated its moves so quickly that it is possible they do something more extreme, as that has been their approach so far, she was quoted as saying.

In a communique issued at the close of Thursdays meeting in Abuja, ECOWAS arrived at a number of decisions to address the Niger crisis.

The bloc condemned Bazoums hostage condition and held the military government in Niger responsible for the safety of the detained president, his family and the democratically elected administration.

ECOWAS also directed the president of the commission to monitor the implementation of the sanctions on Niger and ordered the committee of the chief of defence staff to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately.

Bazoum was deposed on July 26 in a bloodless coup. The junta has since formed a cabinet to oversee the nations affairs.








Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opened up on who among the Christian leaders in Nigeria he thinks will go to heaven.





According to Obasanjo, the only Christian leader in Nigeria he is sure that will make heaven is the late Prelate Emeritus of the Methodist Church of Nigeria Dr Sunday Mbang, CON.





Obasanjo made this statement at the funeral service of the late Prelate which is at the moment ongoing in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Obasanjo was the Special Guest of Honour at the event.





Obasanjo said the late Prelate was not only forthright but he was not a man of emotions. And that shortly after his release from prison and pressure was on him to become the President of Nigeria, one of the prominent Nigerians he consulted across the country was the late Prelate Emeritus Mbang and he gained enormously from his advice.





Obasanjo said the late Prelate Emeritus was a man he always sought his advice because of his forthrightness. He added that when Governor Emmanuel Udom was at the helm of affairs in Akwa Ibom State and he wanted to seek Mbangs opinion on any burning issue, he would visit Akwa Ibom State under the pretext of wanting to see the governor, but the person he was going to see was the late Prelate Emeritus.





Mbang, who was once President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and the first black President of the World Methodist Council, died in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday May 16, 2023. He was aged 86.




A Nigerian missionary priest working in Gambia, Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, has told his followers that prayers do not fix refineries or stabilise the nations economy.





Ugwu made the assertion in a post via his verified Facebook page on Friday.





The cleric said that the reason some church ministers and priests, including him, kept advocating for good governance is because people continuously ask them to pray and give them hope and encouragement to withstand the difficulty and hunger in the country.





According to him, bad government policy could make situations even worse.





He wrote, This situation in which you ask church ministers or priests to continuously pray and give people hope and encouragement to withstand the difficulty and hunger in the country is the reason we kept advocating for good governance. Because, in truth, prayers do not fix refineries or stabilize your economy. You can organize a 10-day crusade on liberating people from poverty and granting them open doors, you may fast and shout all night, but just one agbado policy implemented. . .you will watch how those whose doors were already opened no longer see even windows to pass through.




The Nigerian Army has distanced itself from the security outfit assembled by former Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.





The Army said it was not in collaboration with Dokubos private military company.





Recently, Dokubo had a private military company that was engaged by the government to work alongside the military in some states.





However, the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the veracity of Dokubos claim could only be ascertained by the relevant agency statutorily mandated to license such outfits.





In a statement, Nwachukwu said the Nigerian Army had never conducted any operation with Dokubos private company.





According to Nwachukwu: Going by that interview, Dokubo claims he owns a private military company that was engaged by the government of Nigeria.





However, it must be clarified that the Nigerian Army is not in any form of partnership or collaborative pact with the ex-militant or whatever private security outfit he claims to own.





It is also expedient to place on record that contrary to his claims, the Nigerian Army has never conducted any operation jointly or side by side with Asari or the organisation he represents, in any of those areas he mentioned or in any Asari Dokubo theatre of operations.
Welcome to NJ Cannabis Insider

Hello everyone

Its Jelani speaking since Enrique is on vacation. We had a busy week full of great takeaways.

There was the The National Forum for Black Public Administrators, NJ Chapter event in Plainfield, weve also got an informative column from resident weed professor Rob Mejia and a Q&A that does a deep dive into job boards, algorithms and tax amnesty.

Remember, our event in Newark is heavily approaching and weve expanded the vendor floor per the communitys request.

Take care and until next time...

 Jelani Gibson, not the publisher, somewhat the editor at this point :)

Reporters Notebook

There was a National Forum for Black Public Administrators conference in Plainfield that was full of familiar faces. Sponsors included CannaCoverage founder Nichelle Santos, who also moderated the event, Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Minorities for Medical Marijuana and the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association. The conference had takeaways for what lies beyond the horizon for the future of the market. Lets get to it.

Election season

Election season is coming up for the legislators, and with that comes more fiery campaign speeches against the backdrop of promises kept and not kept.

Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly of Paterson was clear about his take on healing the harm from the War on Drugs.

These marijuana businesses are not set up for people who are already rich, its for the marginalized, those who have been impacted by this in their communities, he said. When somebody brings in a celebrity ... we dont want you in our community, go back to Hollywood, go back to where you are. Its nice to take a picture with you but we need folks to have an impact.

That being said, Paterson has fallen under controversy not only for its role in the drug war, but its police department which is under state takeover.

One of our NJ.com reporters, Deion Johnson, did an article where residents described their experience as living in hell.

The recent shooting of Najee Seabrooks being the last straw to a powder keg didnt help matters.

Cannabis businesses are coming at the intersection of politically fraught issues. More scrutiny than ever is being paid to whether or not cannabis businesses are staying true to their social equity promises, but with that most also come the inevitable question to legislators and public officials  where do they stand?

The question tends to have more pressure during election season when their job prospects are on the line. That means that lobbying is going to be in effect with the possibility of more legislative hearings for the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Access to capital, homegrow, municipal barriers with a regulatory commission that has little oversight over them and then some, are all questions that are going to be posed to legislators in the coming months.

Whether society is willing to give as many resources to decriminalization as it gave to criminalization will continue to be the billion dollar question as the market gets built out.

Municipalities

Orange mayor Dwayne Warren was present as a public official who had opted out. The reasons Warren gave were indicative of a political reality.

I dont want it near parks, I dont want it near any places where our kids are, bus stops  those are the kinds of opposition concerns that I think we have to start to deal with and thats one of the impediments I think were going to face ... thats where a very silent groundswell of people [are] who may seek to litigate that this may be a hazard.

Essentially, if Warren approves it, hes afraid of getting voted out or sued out by a NIMBY coalition.

This shows a deeper fault line in democracy overall.

Municipal officials usually get elected by a small fragment of the population that votes. As a result, that same small fragment can also exert pressure.

Warren is not alone, and a lot of off-record conversations Ive had with mayoral officials have expressed the same fears.

Its a Catch-22. Municipalities wanted power over how they get to license, but when they took that power on they also took on the bulk of litigation and political responsibility.

Roll-Up Life co-founder Precious Osagie Erese noted that working with municipalities had its challenges such as the situation she faced in East Orange, but working with them was one of necessity.

Ive known a lot of those local officials my whole life so its concerning when you can have all of that and still not be successful, but I dont want it to be a deterrent for anybody whos looking to be in  I want it to be a wake up call, she said. I truly believe that operators have to work with municipalities. You have to talk to them, you have to get in there and send emails and letters, put your presence there.

Legacy to legal

Justus Foundation Chief Operating Officer Scheril Murray Powell, who is also featured in our Q&A for this issue, had a wide ranging interview with NJ Weedman Ed Forchion.

Forchion voiced skepticism of the legacy market being replaced by legal cannabis.

I could care less if Curaleaf or whoever opens up, theyre going to get their piece ... but were not going anywhere, he said.

Forchion noted that including legacy operators would create less headaches for municipalities in the long run.

Most of them are in your cities, he said to municipal officials in attendance of unlicensed operators. Especially in the urban cities. Theyre there, theyre not going anywhere. They duck and hide  a lot of them arent big mouths like me  theyre making good money. The black market is thriving. I see some of these news reports about this corporation having to shut down for this reason or that reason. I dont know any black marketeers shutting down.

To medical and beyond

Simply Pure Trentons Tahir Johnson, Holistic Solutions founder Suzan Nickelson and Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey director Ken Wolski dropped gems as well.

Wolski spoke heavily about the need for homegrow and the overall hospital system getting involved with insurance to pay for patient access to cannabis.

Right now if you go into a hospital and youre a medical cannabis patient you have to stop using your medical cannabis and that can have a fatal reaction, he said.

Johnson spoke of how cannabis businesses are still serving as the largest educators of the product.

Theyre the first point of contact to be able to educate our community about this, he said.

Nickelson described education in her dispensary as a collaborative process with the customer.

We are educating individuals, coming out, being a part of the community, bringing the information and destigmatizing, she said.

Overall takeaway:

Municipalities, education and what legislative changes  if any  make it to the finish line are going to be the lifeblood of a stable cannabis industry. As election season comes into full swing, the industry is entering a period for more opportunity and lobbying.

 Jelani Gibson

Prof Mejias Weed Corner

Why cannabis rescheduling or descheduling matters

By Rob Mejia, a regular contributor to NJ Cannabis Insider, is a teaching specialist at Stockton University where he teaches the cannabis courses. He is also the author of The Essential Cannabis Book and The Essential Cannabis Journal. His cannabis education company is called Our Community Harvest.

In October 2022, President Biden made two important cannabis announcements. First, pardons would be issued for those convicted of minor federal cannabis charges. Because cannabis charges that are strictly federal are rare, this edict only applied to citizens of Washington D.C. (which is under federal control) and those who crossed state lines or otherwise ran afoul solely of federal cannabis regulations.

The second announcement which has vast implications is Bidens directive to the Attorney General and the Health and Human Services Secretary to start an administrative review of the way that cannabis is scheduled. This review is expected to be concluded by the end of 2023.

As a reminder, the United States uses a system of drug classification ranging from classes 1 to 5 with class 1 being the most addictive, having no medical applications, and a high potential for abuse. Cannabis is currently deemed to be a schedule 1 substance along with heroin, LSD, and peyote.

This system was put in place under then President Nixon in the 1970s. Since then, there have been efforts to reschedule cannabis with no success.

But what will it mean for cannabis operators, citizens, and regulatory agencies if cannabis is successfully rescheduled or descheduled this time?

If cannabis becomes a schedule 2 substance:

Cannabis will continue to be regulated by the DEA and FDA

Research could become easier

Hospitals may get easier access and the VA may be able to recommend cannabis to veterans

Pharmaceutical companies and MSOs could begin to standardize cannabis products to look more like traditional pharmaceuticals

All cannabis products would be subject to FDA scrutiny and approval; existing operators may be subject to even more regulations

The 280E tax code would still apply

If cannabis becomes a schedule 3 (to 5 substance):

Bullet points for schedule 2 would still apply

But 280E would not apply

Cannabis would remain a state by state regulated industry

If cannabis is descheduled:

Cannabis would be federally regulated; this would be true federal cannabis reform

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau would likely regulate the cannabis industry (and it is expected that this would look similar to the way alcohol is regulated)

Interstate and international commerce would be allowed

280E would not apply to cannabis operators

The bottom line is that rescheduling would continue to support a gap between state and federal regulations and may even worsen conditions for some operators. Also, it would have to be clear that the DEA and the FDA could not apply federal law to state-licensed cannabis businesses.

Descheduling, on the other hand, would begin the process of federal legalization. The goal would be to see cannabis treated like any other business  without onerous overregulation. But it would also bring challenges and opportunities since growers, processors, and indeed nearly all cannabis businesses across the United States could now compete with each other.

Above all, we need to continue to educate our legislators about the need to move on from a prohibitionist past to an equitable, profitable cannabis future.

Prof. Mejias Weed Corner is a regular column for NJ Cannabis Insider, focusing on news, trends and innovation in the local cannabis market. Reach out to him at Robert.Mejia@stockton.edu

Q&A with ...

Scheril Murray Powell and Sloane Barbour

In this Q&A we had a wide ranging interview with Justus Foundation COO Scheril Murray Powell and Sloane Barbour, co-founder of careersincannabis.com, who partners with Powell on hiring initiatives. Here, we talk to both of them about cannabis job boards, algorithms, taxes and how all of those factors affect the current cannabis markets ability to hire and cultivate businesses. You can find Powell and Barbour on LinkedIn.

Q: What are the stakes and importance of establishing a space for legacy operators to tell their stories on hiring applications?

Powell: They built this industry, so they should get priority and they already know cannabis so well as opposed to the new entrants into the market. Amnesty has always been important because we want people to be able to share their stories on job applications.

Barbour: We also run the job boards for a dozen or so partners and Justus Foundation is one of those partners. If you go to Justus Jobs, which is their job board, [they have] all the technology, job listings, application flows and integrations [that] are powered by our system. The goal of this is to expand access to cannabis jobs to everyone  especially to folks that have had this really traumatic experience by being involved with a cannabis crime.

Q: What makes your job board so unique?

Barbour: Careersincannabis.com has become the largest job board in the cannabis industry. We process about 800 to 1,000 job applications a day.

Q: Tell me about the type of advantage your job board has over the traditional competitors?

Barbour: We have the largest corpus of cannabis jobs and cannabis resume data. Very few other people are doing this. With all that data we were able to attract more customers which gives us more jobs and then in turn were able to improve our algorithm which allows us to identify the transferable skills a job seeker has. About 80% of the people that are applying for jobs have never worked professionally in cannabis before.

Q: Whats the importance of education when it comes to this process?

Barbour: Youre educating the public through your services with journalism. We feel its our obligation to do the same thing through career development in order for this industry to receive the credibility and mainstream adoption that we all want to see.

Q: When it comes to cannabis applications and jobs, how does the industry grapple with tax reporting for legacy job applicants and entrepreneurs.

Powell: Its challenging. In New York we really looked at their entire history, whether they worked as a 1099 at any point in their life, maybe in college. We look at the opportunity for their spouse to be the applicant, their child to be the applicant or their parents to be the applicant if that person is the one with the really firm concrete source of funds. There have been cases when weve done amendments to IRS tax statements based on things they didnt realize that counted as them having a business or income that they would have to report.

Sometimes people will have a sneaker sale if they did sneaker sales on Cash App. Its just making sure they go back and pay taxes on those funds that they earned and their other entrepreneurial pursuits.

Q: What would need to happen to provide amnesty on the national level, do we need federal tax amnesty at some point?

Powell: There are a lot of approaches to amnesty. I think its the amnesty with regards to taxes, their criminal history, and them being vulnerable to being charged for something that they did in the past.

We need it to happen at the state level as well as the federal level. There are initiatives now looking to approach the Biden Administration to see if he can have amnesty by executive order. it can also happen legislatively as a part of some of these other bills that have been proposed; the MORE Act, SAFE Banking Act. There can be modifications to those bills and provisions around amnesty for the federal level.

Q: What resources do you think people need in the NJ, NY and PA area that arent talked about enough?

Powell: I think were not talking about our nonprofit organizations that have been supporting small businesses for a very long time. I think we need to talk more about where the Small Business Services office are. Where are the nonprofits in your area that support small businesses and what do they offer as services? Exhaust those resources before you look to hooking up with venture capitalists and some type of investor to give up equity you may not need to give up.

 Jelani Gibson

Events

N.J.s premier cannabis business conference touches down in Newark

On Oct. 12, the states premier B2B cannabis business conference and networking event will return to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Newark Airport  just as the state opens to receive applications for new category licenses.

Doors open at 9 a.m. with the keynote speaker opening the all-day event at 10 a.m. The conference ends at 5 p.m. Tickets ($295) are on sale now for the conference. A select number (10%) of discounted tickets also are available for social equity applicants.

Topics covered will revolve around the current state of New Jerseys marketplace, focusing on the new category licenses, which will offer more business opportunities for aspiring cannabis companies entering the space. They are:

Wholesale: to store, buy and/or sell bulk cannabis and cannabis products.

Distribution: to transport bulk cannabis and cannabis products.

Delivery: to transport retail purchased cannabis and cannabis products to consumers

Other key areas of discussion include:

Application strategies

Municipal approval

Real estate, site control

Construction, buildouts

Site operation procedures (SOPs)

Well also delve into funding and raising capital, compliance and best practices as well as how your business can stand out in a competitive and expanding market.

As with March, NJ Cannabis Insider will also bring back its Discovery Areas for Women-owned Businesses, Social Equity Businesses and Education & The Future Workforce.

Cannabis Insider Jobs

For cannabis recruitment solutions please contact Deneen Wright, dwright@njadvancemedia.com or call 201-324-5092.
A small plane crashed Friday afternoon in a field in Cumberland County, FAA officials told NJ Advance Media.

A single-engine Cessna 172P flipped over after landing in the field near Millville around 2:15 p.m., authorities said.

The FAA said that only the pilot was on board, but officials did not release his condition.

The New Jersey State Police, the agency that patrols the area where the plane crashed, could not immediately be released to comment on whether or not the pilot was injured.

The registered owner of the Cessna is listed as Cape May Aviation, LLC, according to FAA Registry records.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Essex County said goodbye Friday to New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, a Newark native and East Orange resident who went on to powerful statewide positions in Trenton but retained the admiration and affection of people back home.

Hundreds of local and state officials led by Gov. Phil Murphy, plus family members, friends and admirers went to the Essex County Historic Courthouse to pay their respects to Oliver, a Democrat who was New Jerseys first woman of color elected to statewide office. Oliver died while still in office Aug. 1 of an undisclosed illness at 71.

Sheila wasnt just a great leader and great orator who had a strong compassion for others, she was a very nice person, said Cynthia Shearin, who met Oliver half a century ago when both were undergraduates at Lincoln University, a historically Black institution near Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Some people, when they achieve the level of greatness that she achieved, they change. But she was the same.

Shearin, a Bloomfield resident who manages the Weequahic Branch of the Newark Public Library, was on line to view Olivers flag-draped casket inside the courthouse, where her remains were to lay in state Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It was only the second time Essex County bestowed the honor, following U.S. Rep. Donald Paynes passing in 2012.

The Rev. DeForest Buster Soaries, a former New Jersey secretary of state, will preside over the service and the Rev. Al Sharpton is to deliver the eulogy. Singer Dionne Warwick, an East Orange native, is expected to attend.

Word of her Olivers death that solemn Monday afternoon flooded inboxes with official statements praising her as a trailblazer for women of color in New Jersey and nationwide.

When elected lieutenant governor as Murphys running mate in 2017, she became the only woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey. She was only the states second lieutenant governor, after then-Gov. Chris Christies running mate Kim Guadagno in 2013.

And when fellow lawmakers chose her as state Assembly speaker in 2010, Oliver became the first Black woman  and woman of color  to hold the powerful leadership position in New Jersey, as well as only the second Black woman anywhere in the United States to lead a statewide legislative body. She held the job for four years.

Her career in public office included a stint in the 1990s on the Board of Education of the East Orange School District, ultimately serving as board president. She represented the 34th legislative district in the New Jersey Assembly from 2004 to 2018, including her years as speaker. Oliver ran for U.S. Senate in the 2013 special election, finishing fourth in a Democratic primary won by now-U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

She was also the first elected official in the states executive branch to die in office since William Livingston, New Jerseys first governor, in 1790.

Fridays event began at 9:30 a.m., when Murphy, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and 150 other officials and guests gathered on the steps of the columned courthouse, which had been draped with purple and black funeral bunting, and silently witnessed the arrival of Olivers remains in a gold-toned hearse.

A member of the Honor Guard from Essex County Sheriff's Office stands next to a portrait of Lt. Gov Sheila Oliver as she lies in state inside the Essex County Historic Courthouse in Newark on Friday, August 11, 2023. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, a Newark native passed away at the age of 71 on August 1.Julian Leshay | For NJ Advance Media

An honor guard of eight officers from the State Police, Essex County Sheriffs Office, local departments carried the casket up the steps past the hushed crowd, as Sheriff Armando Fontoura led 11 officers in a solemn salute.

Inside the courthouse, the casket lay on a platform amid a semi-circle of Essex County, New Jersey and U.S. flags. Family members sat in a dozen chairs that faced the casket, as mourners filed past it, able to pause for reflection, a prayer, or simple silence, before filing out of the courthouse onto the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Among the first to emerge was Newark City Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr., who was Olivers deputy when she served as founding director of the county Department of Citizen Services, then succeeded her in the position. Ramos father died only weeks before, amplifying his dominant emotion as he stood before Olivers casket.

Sadness, he said. Its been a very strange time, and it gives the you opportunity to reflect. Shes going to be missed. We lost her too soon.

It was longtime Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, the Democratic powerbroker, who hired Oliver into the job, and then backed her election to the state Assembly and ascension to the powerful speakers position that she held from 2010-2014.

But DiVincenzo said Olivers allegiance was not to him, or to anything other than what she thought was right. She had no boss, he said with a smile, adding that Olivers independence was never a source frustration. No, because I knew that what she was doing was the right thing.

She was a good friend, added DiVinzeno, a fellow Newark native who was born just three months before Oliver. Im going to miss her.

One of the women Oliver paved the way for was State Senator Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, who as senate majority leader is among the states highest-ranking elected officials.

The reason why I had an easier pathway to leadership or to being elected was because of women like Sheila, said Ruiz, who on a personal level referred to Oliver as my friend, my sister.

We would text most recently just to unwind on those trips home from Trenton, and wed talk about policy or talk about agendas, said Ruiz. She was family to me.

In lieu of flowers, Olivers family has asked that people make donations to the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, c/o Genova Burns LLC, 494 Broad Street, 5th Floor, Newark, NJ, 07102, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps young women of color interested in government, public policy, and community organizing.

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
A jury in Essex County on Wednesday convicted a North Carolina resident in the shooting death of a man in Orange in front of the victims home two years ago.

James Height, 55, was convicted of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of Renown Wilson, 55, who died eight days after he was shot, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II.

Height had lived briefly in Wilsons home in Orange before moving to Burlington, North Carolina, the prosecutor said.

A home security camera captured Height walking onto Wilsons property about 10:50 p.m. on June 24, 2021, and waiting on his porch for the victim to return. The two spoke before Height suddenly placed a .32-caliber revolver to Wilsons head.

Wilson then headed toward his front door, but Height again placed the gun to his head, preventing him from entering the home.

They struggled onto the front yard, where Height shot Wilson once in the stomach and then chased him into the street, shooting at him again and grazing his neck, Stephens said.

Wilson died of his injuries on July 2, 2021. Height was arrested at his North Carolina home on July 7, 2021.

After a two-week trial, the jury convicted Height of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, and two second-degree weapons offenses, including one for having a gun while having a prior conviction.

Stephens said due to Heights criminal history, he faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 9.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Federal law enforcement officials seized about 900 pounds of cocaine after tracking a man who traveled in a commercial truck from Detroit to Buffalo, authorities said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross said 37-year-old Ahmed El Kady, a citizen of Canada, was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court.

After entering the country from Ontario in Detroit on Monday, Ross said El Kady was tracked by law enforcement as he traveled into Ohio and back into Michigan before ending up at a truck stop in Cheektowaga on Wednesday and spending the night.

Through this seizure, we have significantly disrupted the day-to-day operations of this criminal organization and choked off a major drug pipeline of illicit narcotics into our region. From what I understand, this may be the largest cocaine seizure in Western New York or, even, perhaps, the northern border, said Matthew Scarpino, special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations.

El Kady was remanded into federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Monday, Ross said during a news conference.

Prosecutors charged El Kady by criminal complaint with possessing with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, as well as conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine.

Based upon the actions of the defendant and another individual after arriving in Buffalo, law enforcement, who had been conducting surveillance of the defendant and his truck, obtained a search warrant to search the defendants truck. The truck was searched on the evening of Aug. 10. Approximately 386 to 430 kilograms of cocaine were discovered after that search, Ross said.

Federal agents from Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol worked the case with local law enforcement from the Erie County Sheriffs Office, Buffalo, Cheektowaga and North Tonawanda police, as well as Canadian law enforcement.

Scarpino said the investigation was conducted through the Border Enforcement Security Task Force, otherwise known as BEST. The task force, Scarpino said, is designed to identify, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations looking to exploit our borders.

Ross said Thursdays seizure was a significant haul that was meant to be distributed and dispersed into the Western New York community.

This is important to our community as we see the deaths from opioid poisoning rise, she said. So far, in 2023, there have been 245 confirmed or probable opioid deaths based on poisonings or overdoses compared with the 307 deaths for all of 2022.

Ross said 81% of those reported deaths are attributed to cocaine mixed with fentanyl. In addition, she said, authorities are beginning to see an increase in the average age of overdose victims, with the largest increase among adults age 50 and over.

We are also seeing increases of overdoses in communities of color, including Black, Hispanic and Native American communities, Ross said.

Know that my office, working with our law enforcement partners will continue to work to keep this poison off the streets out of our communities. We will arrest and prosecute those trying to bring this poison into our communities, she added.

Scarpino said much of the drugs found in the shared international border region of Western New York and Southern Ontario are supplied by transnational criminal organizations operating locally, nationally and internationally using established smuggling and distribution methods.

Our investigation isnt over. We still have work to do. Were going to continue to investigate and identify anyone that was involved in the conspiracy and make sure that theyre brought to justice, Scarpino said.

Scarpino said theres a difficulty in providing an approximate street value of the drugs seized, since figures fluctuate.

In the United States, typically you see a kilo of cocaine go for $30,000. Up in Toronto, you see it going for approximately $50,000, he said.
Taco Bells new Taco Tuesday promotion, which next month will give away $5 million in free tacos across the country, is being billed as a celebration of one of Americas favorite foods.

But Gregory Gregory, the owner of Gregorys Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point, believes the chains intentions are more nefarious.
Clyde Peter Hall, 84,  who played for the Giants in the 1960s  already had been sprung from prison on a compassionate release during Covid, when he was busted in April 2021 for trying to sell fentanyl-laced drugs outside his Manhattan apartment, according to the New York Post.

And on Thursday, as he begged for mercy, Hall admitted he knew he was doing wrong.

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I was a professional athlete. All my life, I have lived by the standards, Hall, who appeared in a tan jumpsuit, told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. So the answer is yes, I knew what I was doing against the law.

Actually, Hall hasnt been living according to lawful standards. He had been serving a 20-year prison sentence for financial fraud crimes when he was released, then tried to sell the drugs to a DEA informant. When drug officials swept in on the bust, they found six kilograms of cocaine in his apartment, prosecutors said.

Hall was facing the possibility of life in prison for narcotics distribution before pleading guilty to a lesser charge of intent to distribute 40 grams of a controlled substance containing fentanyl. He is looking at a possible sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison  tacked on to the remainder of his 20-year sentence, ends in 2026.

Clyde accepted full responsibility for his role. Despite his age, we remain hopeful that he will not have to live out the rest of his life in prison, attorney Jason Goldman said.

Hall, who appeared in 12 games with the Giants in 1961, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5.

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A resident board member of a Jersey City public housing complex has been charged with stealing more than $20,000 of city housing authority funds, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Tyest Bryant, 53, of the Booker T. Washington housing complex, misused fund for her own benefit between 2017 and 2022, the prosecutor said. Bryant was arrested at the Hudson County Prosecutors Office in Secaucus Thursday and has been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, a third-degree offense.

Bryant, who was a member of Booker T. Washingtons Residence Management Council as far back as 2013, was released on a summons pending her first court appearance, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 15. The housing complex is located at Bright and Fremont streets, abutting Gateway Park.
The Paterson man who struck a Weehawken police officer with a stolen car and rammed into a Port Authority police cruiser earlier this month is free while he awaits prosecution.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Carlo Abad rejected the Hudson County Prosecutors Offices motion to detain 20-year-old Ricky Rivera through prosecution. Instead, Rivera, who is charged with aggravated assault, eluding, unlawful possession of a weapon (vehicle), possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (vehicle) and receiving stolen property, was placed on Level 3 monitoring.

Level three monitoring involves reporting to a court officer weekly, alternating in-person visits and teleconferences. It does not require an electronic monitoring bracelet or confine him to his home.
A 36-year-old Mercer County man was shot and killed in his home in Lawrence early Friday, authorities said

Lawrence police found Anthony Irizarry in the living room shot in the back after being called to his home on Mendrey Court at about 12:30 a.m., the Mercer County Prosecutors Office said.

Irizarry was brought to an area hospital where he died of his injuries. No arrests have been made and officials havent provided a motive.

The shooting remains under investigation by the prosecutors office.

Mendrey Court is in Lawrence Square Village, a condominium complex.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Chris Pullen at 609-989-6406 or Lawrence police officer in charge William Jett at 609-331-5010. Information can also be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Love wins, love always wins. Its winning big at Harpers Cafe in West Orange. Just a few weeks ago vandals tried to shatter the shops LGBTQ+ Pride by smashing windows and splashing paint on its rainbow flags. But instead, the act of hate brought the community close together in what owner Garan Dickson calls an overwhelming showing of love and support.

Garan says the shop, which serves craft coffee and popular brunch menu items like avocado toast, was in mid-July struck twice in a span of 24 hours. Ive been open since 2019 and never had anything like this happen, he says. Only recently after I put the Pride flags up was the shop targeted.

First, black paint was thrown toward the storefront on Sun Valley Road, smearing the door, windows and two Pride flags that were hanging in front of the building. And later, a brick was thrown through the front window, cracking it and launching shards of glass into the store and onto the sidewalk. The glass on the front door was also smashed.

But the real action began when word of what happened started to spread throughout the town, a diverse suburb of Newark with nearly 48,000 residents.

Garan quickly shared the news on social media, informing clients the store would close while we make repairs to the damage. Almost instantly, supportive comments from patrons condemning the attacks and asking how they could help started flooding in.

West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney was among the first to decry the vandalism, urging anyone with information to immediately contact West Orange police.

No crime, especially one possibly directed towards a specific group, will be tolerated in West Orange and is denounced by the mayor, the township council, and township officials by the deepest measure possible, she said in a statement posted on West Oranges website. The outpouring of outrage felt by West Orange residents over this incident is indicative of our values as a community.

Those values were on full display just days after the attacks when nearly 200 people  West Orange locals and residents from neighboring areas  showed up to the cafe to help Garan and his staff at a paint up and fix up event.

I decided to open for one day and have the community come and paint the plywood I had covering the broken windows, Garan says.

Garan Dickson, owner of Harper's Cafe in West Orange, says after his LGBTQ+-friendly shop was vandalized, residents and locals in nearby towns have showed him an overwhelming amount of love and support.

His goal? To show whoever did this, and whoever thinks like them, that it will only unite us and make us stronger, he tells me. To show whoever did this that they didnt affect my desire to support the LGBTQ+ community. If anything, its only strengthened my support for them.

And sadly, there are still too many who think like them. Incidents related to sexual orientation, gender and gender identity nationwide represented 20.4% of all single-bias incidents reported in 2022, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data on hate crimes.

Recently in Brooklyn, a Black gay man was stabbed to death by a teen who allegedly yelled homophobic slurs at him before killing him. Undoubtedly, the LGBTQ+ community needs us all to double down on our love and support so that in the ugly face of hate, love can and will triumph.

On a rainy Friday morning at Garans shop, thats exactly what happened. Despite the poor weather, the community did not stand down.

To see that many people, many of them people I hadnt met and who had traveled from surrounding towns, to see the mayor and council members of West Orange, to see all these people in the rain or under the tents we put up, he says. Painting, helping, for three, four hours ...it was just beautiful.

Several area businesses surprised Garan by donating food, water and sweets for those whod come by to help. The owner of local bagel shop Bagels by Jarrett dropped off pizzas. West Orange bakery Whisked Confections provided cookies and pastries. And even Councilman Bill Rutherford added to the days lunch: He hired a barbecue food truck to come by the cafe and make brisket sandwiches for everyone.

We reopened the shop a few days after but that wouldnt have been possible without the help of the community, Garan says. Their show of support was enormous, overwhelming. We appreciate it all.

Since the vandalism, he and a few other store owners in the cafe's vicinity have installed security cameras. And West Orange police, he says, have increased their presence in the neighborhood.

West Orange public information officer Joseph Fagan says police are continuing to investigate the incidents as bias crimes but told me there are no active leads to report. He strongly encouraged anyone with information about the crimes to contact the Departments non-emergency line at 973-325-4000.

As far as the defaced Pride flags, Garan tells me a Harpers Cafe customer took them home, washed them and later brought them back to the shop where theyre once again  and very proudly  visible.

Ive been receiving a lot of gifts from people wanting to show support, he says. One was a really nice wooden piece that has a Pride flag painted on it so I have that on display in the cafe, too.

He says hes since had repairs done on the windows and door but tells me he has the colorful artwork done by the community on the entryway of the shop.

So now, Pride at Harpers is in even more places than before. I ask if he feels afraid his shop will again be vandalized by those wanting to change that.

No, Im not afraid at all, he quickly replies. And if it does, its just something well have to deal with.

Daysi Calavia-Robertson may be reached at dcalavia-robertson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram at @presspassdaysi or Twitter @presspassdaysi. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Republicans and Democrats alike may be confused about what is going on with former President Donald Trump. To foster greater understanding, the Peoples Organization For Progress (POP) will have a public reading of Special Counsel Jack Smiths most recent federal indictment at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, at City Hall in Newark.

On Aug. 1, Special Counsel Jack Smith announced that former President Donald Trump had been indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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In the indictment, Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

Mosaic had a brief chat with POP Chairman Lawrence Hamm about this special event.

Mosaic: Why did you decide to host this special reading?

Hamm: Former President Donald Trump was indicted in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The indictment is so significant that we felt the need to do something extraordinary to educate people about what Trump is alleged to have done, reveal the gravity of the allegations against him, and underscore what an extraordinary occurrence this is in American history.

The seriousness of this indictment cannot be overstated. Never before has an impeached president who lost an election tried to overturn that election to keep himself in power. We have never come so close to dictatorship before.

Mosaic: What do you hope to accomplish with the reading?

Hamm: We felt the best way to do this was to have a reading of the actual indictment against Trump, all 45 pages of it, in the public square. We hope that by doing this it will inspire others to read the indictment for themselves.

Mosaic: Why is it important for everyday citizens to read such a lengthy legal document?

In his announcement, Special Counsel Jack Smith encouraged people to read the entire indictment.

Every person in this country should not only be concerned about this but should demand that Trump and all those who conspired with him be held accountable and brought to justice.

Mosaic: If I remember correctly POP called for Trumps impeachment.

Hamm: POP has been a long-time opponent of the former president. Our group opposed and protested Trumps candidacy, and held marches calling for his removal while he was in office.

Mosaic: Whats going to happen at the reading?

Hamm: At the event, we will have about ten individuals read several pages of the indictment. In this way, we hope to get through the entire document in a relatively short period.

Mosaic: Will you have special guest readers?

Hamm: We may have a few surprise guests in addition to members of POP which is comprised of educators, social justice advocates, students and people from every facet of our New Jersey community.

Mosaic: Who can attend the event?

Hamm: The event is open to the public and will be hosted at Newark City Hall, 920 Broad St., Newark, 07102. For directions and other information call the Peoples Organization for Progress at (973)801-0001.

Mosaic: Thank you, Larry.

Hamm: Thank you, Ande.

Ande Richards wants to hear from New Jerseys communities of color, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ communities, and those who feel underserved by traditional media. She may be reached at arichards@njadvancemedia.com.

Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor for Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom.
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New York State Police accused an Allegany County woman of shoving two children's faces in feces to punish them.

Ravyn M. Cramer, 26, of Angelica, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault for injuring a person less than 7 years and endangering the welfare of a child.

Tyler J. Cramer, 28, also of Angelica, was charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Troopers and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation started looking into a possible child abuse incident on Wednesday and determined that Ravyn Cramer shoved the faces of the two children under 7 years old in feces as a form of punishment, leading to injuries to the children. The arrests were made Thursday.

Troopers said the children both received medical attention at a nearby hospital. Child Protective Services was contacted to assist in the investigation.

Both Cramers were arraigned in Friendship Town Court and released, and are to appear in Angelica Village Court at a later date.

 Barbara O'Brien
Hieu Than was influenced by his grandmothers cooking, both in his native Vietnam and here in New Orleans. He eventually became interested in fine dining and worked at Gautreaus under chef Sue Zemanick. In 2015, he opened Kin as a fine dining restaurant and later pivoted to focus on ramen. He closed the restaurant during the pandemic. On Monday, Aug. 14, he is participating in the Little Mao BBQ series at Mister Mao. He and chef/owner Sophina Uong will prepare a special menu. The series continues through August. For more information, visit mistermaonola.com.

Gambit: What will you do at the Little Mao BBQ dinner?

Hieu Than: I want to do something that would remind me of my two grandmothers, one of whom is still with us.

The one who passed basically babysat me when I was a child in Vietnam. She had these really red teeth. Stained that way. Thats the result of years of chewing betel leaves. Theres a dish that she made. Its a very common dish where they would take ground beef and some spices  a bunch of warm spices like clove, anise, cardamom, a tiny bit of cinnamon  and roll it in some betel leaves and grill it and serve it with a dipping sauce. It varies from region to region. The flavors are simple.

I am going to use lamb instead of beef. Ill add some wine-soaked sultanas, and maybe some chopped up nuts. I am going to do something with sesame seeds.

For me, its the nostalgia and being able to make food my grandmother made. Its to remember how we are connected to people and how we feed people.

The other dish I am thinking about doing is fried catfish nuggets and chicken oysters. I want it to be a play on how things get lost in translation when were naming things. A chicken oyster is a little muscle thats right above the hip. Its a tiny little nugget thats so delicious. There are only two of them on each chicken. So itll take a whole farm just to do this. The dish is just fried catfish nuggets and chicken oysters. It sounds simple, but there are a couple of layers of things that I want to do to it. Itll be served with a caramelized fish sauce.

The fried part is because my other grandmother. When she and my grandfather came to America, they started a grocery store business, which turned into a fried chicken business. Shes been frying chicken and all kinds of food for easily 40 years now. When I came to America, I switched from the foods my paternal grandmother made in Vietnam to staying at my grandmothers corner store after school. That was good old fried Southern food. Its still open. There are two locations of Manchu, and we have a place on the West Bank called Golden Wings.

In Vietnam, we grill a lot. If something wasnt boiled or steamed, it was grilled. There wasnt a lot of frying. It might have been about the cost of oil. We had an old wood burning stove. You wouldnt want to try to fry over that.

Gambit: Do you miss working in restaurants?

Than: When I sold the restaurant, I decided I was going to take a break. Everybody keeps asking me have I have watched The Bear, but I havent even watched it. I have serious PTSD.

My son is 5. I want to just be a dad. The itch to cook is always there. I miss being in the kitchen and working with a kitchen family. I have turned down most of the invitations to do pop-ups because I am focused on being a dad. If I cook in a kitchen, I want it to be meaningful and with people I enjoy being around.

Id like if the industry could start figuring out how to make it sustainable. Once we figure that out, I might be tempted to come back and open a restaurant. Right now its in flux.

Nigel Pais and Kenny Truong created The Nori Guys pop-up to serve 'sushi tacos' Nigel Pais and Kenny Truong told us about entering the restaurant business, starting The Nori Guys and their upcoming events.

Gambit: What does the restaurant industry need?

Than: I want to see the next generation that comes up have the room and the space to do what they want to do.

I met Sophina through industry things. I really like what shes doing. Shes opened up the space and made it possible for some cooks to earn a little more money or highlight pop-ups that one day may become brick and mortars. If we as a city want to feed into our culinary assets, we need to invest in some of these new talents that arent necessarily getting the press or airtime they deserve.

For her to make her platform and space accessible to people is what makes our culinary community so beautiful, and I think thats what we need to nourish the future of our food culture here. What shes doing needs to happen all across the city. Give people a space and a platform.

I work for a wholesale food distribution company now. A lot of these chefs are some of my clients. Its a good way to see them all the time. I went into it wanting to understand in the post-pandemic era why food costs so much. Now I am on the other side, and it is frightening. When you talk about moving away from commodity goods, the cost amplifies. Thats the balance as a chef or business owner  looking at the quality and cost of what youre bringing in and how much it costs on the bottom line. Does the diner understand that that is an ethically sourced food product? This is an animal that was allowed to range. Its hard. When we got into farm-to-table, it was really romanticized. But we didnt educate people on economically how it affects our industry. When youre pushing for farm-to-table, youre pushing for paying your farmers more. Youre pushing for a tomato costing more.
Its good that the state Health Department is calling Erie County Medical Center to account for the catastrophic conditions in its behavioral health emergency department. But why was Albany so slow to respond? It also must answer for failing to protect some of the most vulnerable among us.

The issue might not have come to light but for the actions of stressed-out and fed-up nurses who, in a two-minute, 15-second video posted eight months ago, sounded an alarm about conditions in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, known as CPEP. What it and additional reporting revealed was shocking:

One nurse said she had taken care of 50 patients by herself on one shift. Others said they regularly cared for a double-digit number of patients.

A patient, beset with feelings of worthlessness and talking of suicide, spent nearly three days in the largest observation room in the department with roughly 40 other patients.

Anxious family members couldnt see their loved ones and struggled to get updates on their condition.

One woman, following a two-day stay in the observation room in November, reported filthy floors, 50 patients crammed into an area with no place to sleep, food left sitting out for up to 12 hours, and one patient who had a seizure and was ignored for several minutes.

The state Health Department launched an investigation after the video was posted, inevitably raising the questions about whether it knew of such conditions earlier. If not, why not? And if, so, why did it take the public posting of a disturbing video to prompt action? Lives were at stake.

Action, at least, is underway. Health Department investigators found that the hospital did not comply with state Public Health Law related to the development and implementation of an annual clinical staffing plan for CPEP. While no fine was associated with the finding, ECMC had to submit a plan of correction to the state, which was accepted.

Among the improvements undertaken, planned or under consideration are:

Providing for video visitation for patients so they can potentially speak with loved ones during their stay.

Physical upgrades to the unit, included within a $13.5 million funding request through the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.

Hiring more permanent staff and temporary agency workers, as needed.

Creating a social worker discharge planner position to act as a tour guide to answer questions and rotate through the waiting area.

Modified assignments sheet to clarify responsibilities both for staff members and for potential reviewers looking back at conditions months later.

An expanded public waiting room, renovated adolescent treatment area to provide a new group activity area and creation of comfort and quiet rooms to assist with de-escalation and treatment.

Such changes offering the possibility of improved service are both welcome and necessary. A mental health crisis can be fearsome and tragic.

Still, these improvements dont answer the larger question of why conditions were ever allowed to become so desperate without the Health Department stepping in. If it happened once, it could happen again.

Buffalos CPEP is the one of the largest such units in New York, which makes it especially significant. But if those crucial deficiencies could take root here, other facilities could also be at risk. Patients and family members around the state might want to know that Albany is on the ball.

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
The context to Mac Phipps music didnt really matter to St. Tammany Parish prosecutors in 2001. Without forensic evidence to tie Phipps to the crime he was accused of, prosecutors turned to the 22-year-old New Orleans rappers music to paint him as capable of murdering 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr. at a Slidell club in February 2000.

And the use of his lyrics in court ultimately influenced the jury members decisions, the jury foreman told The Huffington Post in 2015. At the end of the trial, Phipps was convicted by a split jury of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison  despite numerous discrepancies from the start and facts that would later come to light, leading to clemency for Phipps and his release from prison in 2021.

Recent changes to Louisiana law, though, aim to protect artists from having their works used against them in criminal cases in the manner Phipps lyrics were once used against him. On Aug. 1, the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act went into effect, changing parts of state law to prevent creative or artistic expression from being used to establish a defendants character in court. Louisiana is the second state in the country to pass this kind of legislation, following California.

When I was in prison, I was like, if theres anything that I can do, Im going to do whatever I can do to stop what happened to me from happening to anyone else, says Phipps, who has spent much of the last year sharing his story and advocating for legislation like the RAP Act. Theres much more work to be done, we have a long ways to go, but this was a great step forward.

Creative or artistic expression, according to the RAP Act, can mean any form of art, including music, dance, performance art, and film. Murder ballads have been often cited as examples of now protected speech  no one would really believe that Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, right?

But like many things in the American criminal justice system, the majority of cases where an artists words were used against them have involved young Black and Latino men  and most of those cases involve hip-hop.

Phipps, who was then signed to No Limit Records, had been arrested for the 2000 killing of Victor. But without physical evidence, prosecutors relied on Phipps lyrics and witnesses  several of whom later said authorities bullied them to point the finger at the New Orleans rapper  to establish his character. Despite the fact Phipps had no criminal record, prosecutors argued that because he wrote violent lyrics, then it must be possible he killed Victor.

During his trial, they took verses from his songs Shell Shocked and Murda, Murda, Kill, Kill  which was influenced by the military movies Phipps grew up watching with his father, a Vietnam veteran  out of context and combined lyrics in a misleading fashion in order to paint Phipps as capable of first-degree murder

Phipps always asserted his innocence, and evidence has come out over the years to support him. In 2021, Gov. John Bel Edwards granted clemency, and Phipps returned home to New Orleans.

Along with Phipps case, there have been other high-profile examples in Louisiana where rap lyrics have been used during a trial, including No Limits rapper C-Murder and Baton Rouge-born rapper Boosie. And last year, Atlanta rappers Young Thug, Gunna and other members of their Young Stoner Life collective were arrested in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case where lyrics were cited in the grand jury indictment.

But while those cases caught headlines, amateur and up-and-coming rappers are most impacted by the practice, according to the book Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America by Erik Nielson and Andrea L. Dennis.

Through their research, Nielson and Dennis have identified around 500 cases from across the country where rap lyrics were used in court  and they acknowledge in "Rap on Trial that there are many more cases to be found.

One of the earliest cases they found was from 1991, when Derek Foster was arrested by Chicago police for allegedly transporting drugs in suitcases. Foster denied he knew about the drugs in the suitcases, but at trial, prosecutors turned to the rap lyrics he had written in a notebook to say Foster had knowledge of drug terms  failing to acknowledge he could have picked up the terms through popular culture. He was convicted of possession with intent to distribute.

Another example cited by Nielson and Dennis in Rap on Trial was the 2012 trial of Alex Medina, a 14-year-old aspiring rapper in Ventura, California. Medina had been charged as an adult for first-degree murder, and during his trial, prosecutors asserted that violent lyrics he had written as well as recordings were "autobiographical journals.

It didnt matter that the lyrics were written in verse and were clearly inspired by well-known rappers or werent even written by Medina (he had copied down lyrics to some of his favorite songs, which were then charactered erroneously as his own), Nielson and Dennis write. They were presented to the jury as confessions of pervious acts.

Medina was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 25 to life.

The use of artistic expression in court has become increasingly controversial, and legislators in a number of states and at the federal level have been considering changes similar to California and Louisiana.

The bill to change Louisianas law was filed during the 2023 regular session by state Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, with support from state Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans. It passed both the state House and Senate with bipartisan support.

Its about the First Amendment; its about protecting free speech, says Reid Wick about the bills bipartisan draw.

A New Orleans-based musician, Wick is a membership and industry relations representative with The Recording Academy and worked with Phipps and his wife, Angelique Phipps, to advocate for the bill. National representatives of The Recording Academy, the Warner Music Group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations also pushed for the changes.

It sounds really simple, and it is simple: Were just trying to protect the creators right to create art, Wick says.

The RAP Act amends the states Code of Evidence to include creative or artistic expression as not admissible in a criminal trial to prove the character of a person. There are exceptions, though: Artistic expression can be used to establish proof of motive, intent and knowledge when its directly related to the crime the defendant is accused of committing.

The final act signed by Edwards also is not as strong as the original House Bill 475, which included language prohibiting the use of any artistic expression unless the prosecution could prove before a judge that it was relevant to the specific crime at hand by clearing several criteria. The new changes also put the burden on the accused to provide reasonable notice to the prosecution in advance of trial asserting that the evidence is creative or artistic expression.

Only time will tell if and how the changes will protect artists in court, but Phipps, Wick and other advocates feel its an important step forward.

For me, the next step is to get this passed on the federal level, Phipps says. I want to make sure this art cant be used to judge your character. I want the same protections and the same benefit of the doubt that artists in other industries get.
Guest column: We studied violence in Louisiana. Here are some stark truths.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump talks to supporters and the media upon his arrival at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
News / Local

by Staff reporter

A "BOGUS" Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Marondera Central parliamentary candidate, Misheck Manyere, has vowed that he will not betray his followers by withdrawing his candidacy.Speaking during a Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ)-organised Press club discussion in Marondera, Manyere said he was chosen by the citizens.Manyere successfully filed his nomination papers as a CCC candidate despite the opposition party having Caston Matewu as its official candidate.The CCC says Manyere is among the more than 20 "bogus candidates" funded by a Zanu-PF affiliate, Forever Associates Zimbabwe, to confuse opposition voters and divide votes."I am not going to withdraw as that would mean betraying the citizens who want me to go to Parliament," Manyere said."We are almost there, the citizens will decide on August 23. If Matewu wins, I will be the first to congratulate him."Addressing a campaign rally in the town recently, CCC leader Nelson Chamisa declared Matewu the party's legitimate candidate for Marondera Central constituency.The opposition has failed to convince the "rebels" to withdraw their candidacy.The CCC alleges signatures were forged on a number of nomination papers, resulting in 20 National Assembly constituencies and even more local authorities having more than one CCC candidate on the ballot paper. This includes 15 Harare constituencies where there are multiple CCC "candidates"."I wanted to withdraw in the first place, and even signed an affidavit to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) but the citizens refused. They want me," Manyere said.Matewu, however, said he was not losing sleep over Manyere's candidacy."I am not losing sleep over this at all. I am the chosen parliamentary candidate for Marondera Central constituency and the citizens are aware of that. They will vote for me come election day," said Matewu.
"Dual circulation," the new development pattern that China adopted in 2020, takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and foreign markets to reinforce each other. BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Since China adopted the new development pattern of "dual circulation" in 2020, there have been speculations that China is "turning inward." Such speculations are simply a misinterpretation of the new development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and foreign markets to reinforce each other. In no way should "dual circulation" be interpreted as a closed domestic loop. To help the readers get a fuller picture of China's new development pattern, the article provides information regarding its birth, possible contributions to the country's further opening-up, and potential opportunities it is expected to bring to the world. GROWING DOMESTIC DEMAND The new development pattern was rolled out based on changes in China's development conditions and demand for long-term high-quality growth. It also represents China's swift response to a changing global landscape that has witnessed rising protectionism and anti-globalization. "Through the strategy, China hopes to solidify its domestic market capabilities while also increasingly opening up to the rest of the world," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar. "Recent trends have indicated just how perilous it is for countries to exclusively rely on international value chains in the backdrop of protectionist economic models or political aggressions manifested through sanctions. On this account, it is only rational that countries develop reasonable levels of domestic self-sufficiency and competitiveness," Adhere said. A stronger domestic China will increase economic throughput in terms of goods demanded in other parts of the world besides China, which remains the largest consumer market, he added. With a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of more than 400 million, stable demand from the world's largest consumer base serves as a crucial pillar for the global economy. "China can actively participate in the development and reinforcement of global supply chains while also developing its own domestic supply chains. This can allow China to benefit from specialization and efficient resource allocation at home while minimizing the risks associated with overreliance on external supply sources," Adhere said. FURTHER OPENING-UP China has benefited greatly from its reform and opening-up over a period of 40-plus years. Expanding the domestic market is not in contradiction with China's policy of opening-up, nor does it mean the international market is no longer important to the world's second-largest economy. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said in its World Investment Report 2023 that global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 12 percent in 2022, while inflows to China rose by 5 percent to a record 189 billion U.S. dollars, mainly in manufacturing and high-tech industries. In the first half of 2023, some 24,000 new foreign firms were established in China, marking a 35.7-percent increase year on year, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. "I think we can say that opening up is a great benefit to China's neighbors and many countries across the world because they get the opportunity to sell to the Chinese market," said Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club. "The world's business needs China. And the world's business will continue to find that China is a good place to be," Perry said. "China is a model global trader, especially to developing countries," Perry said. "Being a major trader helps keep China as part of the world and stays safer." Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, China held a string of international events to further open up itself to the world, including the China International Import Expo, the China International Consumer Products Expo and China International Fair for Trade in Services. More notably, China signed in 2020 the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the world's largest free trade pact. As a result, trade between China and other RCEP members in 2022 increased 7.5 percent year on year to 12.95 trillion yuan (about 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars), and RCEP investment in China, in actual use, climbed 23.1 percent to 23.53 billion U.S. dollars, data shows. GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES China's new development pattern will bring numerous new opportunities to the world in many areas, one of which is the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Adhere noted. Echoing the view, Perry said, "China's new development model will bring more higher quality goods into the world markets, especially Asia and BRI, and provide a market for developing countries to export to China." Over the past decade since the initiative was launched, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations, resulting in more than 3,000 cooperation projects and generating nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars in investment, official statistics show. Apart from developing countries that benefited from opportunities through Belt and Road cooperation, multinational companies from developed countries also discovered fresh investment and cooperation potential in China. "Although domestic production and consumption are emphasised in the new model, China still prioritizes international trade and investment as an avenue for technology exchange, resource procurement, and market access," Adhere said. In recent years, many foreign companies have chosen China as their ideal location for their research and development (R&D) centers to cater to the vast Chinese market demands and serve a larger global market. Global carmaking giant Tesla Inc. announced in April that it will build a new mega factory in Shanghai, which will be dedicated to manufacturing the company's energy-storage product Megapack. To tap into China's fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market, Volkswagen Group, a veteran German carmaker, reached an agreement in July to buy a 4.99-percent stake of Chinese EV startup Xpeng for 700 million U.S. dollars and co-develop two EV models for the Chinese market. In May, Volkswagen also inked an investment agreement to build an R&D, innovation, and procurement center in Hefei, the capital of China's Anhui Province. In March, global water technology provider Xylem put its R&D center in China into operation, while French multinational Schneider Electric launched its automation R&D center in east China's Wuxi City. In May, a new Volvo car design studio was opened in Shanghai. The carmaker only has three design studios across the globe. L'Oreal Chairman Jean-Paul Agon said China has proven to be a stabilizer for the global economy, an accelerator for consumption and the world's laboratory for innovation. "We believe that 'investing in China is investing in the future,'" Agon told Xinhua in a recent interview. "With a further open market, improving business environment and promising domestic demand boost initiatives, China is embracing the world with new opportunities. Meanwhile, China is also bringing opportunities to the world. We look forward to more companies enjoying these opportunities," he said.
News / Local

by Staff reporter

LAWYERS representing Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga's estranged wife Marry Mubaiwa yesterday said the courts had taken long to bring their client to trial on money laundering charges and should, therefore, remove her from remand.Mubaiwa's lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, said it was mind-boggling that the State kept pushing for postponement giving various excuses.Yesterday, the State said the matter could not be taken to trial as the presiding magistrate Stanford Mambanje was on leave.The State also said it was still waiting for documents related to the matter from South Africa.Mtetwa, however, protested saying her frail client was being unfairly treated."We submit that if the State is not ready, we apply to have the accused removed from remand," Mtetwa said."The accused has been on remand since December 2019."Mtetwa said Mubaiwa was of poor health, hence keeping her on remand denied her access to medical attention outside the country. Her right arm was amputated last year."It is a struggle for her to come to court," Mtetwa said."She could not access court 15 because there are no working lifts here. All this can be reduced if the State removes her from remand."It's now three years and seven months and the State is still speaking of investigations still underway."The State, led by Pardon Dziva, opposed her application to be removed from remand, saying it needed to do further investigations."There is need to carry further investigations given the complexity of this matter. It is in the interest of justice that the State is given more time so that the accused can have fair trial with all documents available," Dziva said.Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa postponed the matter to today.
ROME (Reuters) -Tesla boss Elon Musk said on Friday his planned cage fight with billionaire rival Mark Zuckerberg would be held at an "epic location" with an ancient Roman theme, as Italy indicated it was ready to stage the scrap.

Italy's Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement that he had spoken to Musk about hosting a "large charitable and historically evocative event".

He did not specify what the event would be, or when it might be held, saying only that it would not take place in Rome.

Opposition politicians denounced his willingness to let the social media and tech moguls fight it out in Italy.

"I find it simply mind-boggling that the Italian cultural heritage is being made available to two billionaires who want to indulge themselves like foolish teenagers," said Carlo Calenda, a former industry minister and head of Azione party.

"There are things that simply are not for sale. One of these is the dignity and history of a great nation," he said.

Musk and Zuckerberg have been egging each other into a mixed martial arts (MMA) cage match since June.

At one point, Musk said Rome's ancient Colosseum would host the fight, but Italy ruled that out. However, the owner of media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, said on Friday that the clash would nonetheless have an ancient Roman theme.

"Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location," the Tesla CEO said in a post on X.

Sangiuliano said on Friday that any event would respect and safeguard Italy's heritage sites.

"It will not take place in Rome. Above all, a substantial amount, many million euros, is expected to be donated to two important Italian paediatric hospitals for strengthening facilities and scientific research to combat children's diseases," he said in a statement.

Story continues

"It will also be an opportunity to promote globally our history and archaeological, artistic and cultural heritage," he added.

Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper suggested that if the fight happened, it might be staged in Pompeii, near Naples.

Musk threw down the gauntlet to Zuckerberg in a June 20 post, saying he was "up for a cage match" with his business rival, who is trained in jiujitsu.

A day later, Zuckerberg, who has posted pictures of matches he has won on his company's Instagram platform, asked Musk to "send location" for the proposed throwdown.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Federico Maccioni; Writing by Crispian Balmer, Editing by William Maclean)
The Northwest Indiana Influential Womens Association is offering a certificate on workplace productivity and "getting out of email hell."

The group that supports the professional development of women in the Calumet Region has rolled out a new certificate program called Optimizing You! Priorities, Processes, and Getting Out of Email Hell." It's aimed at boosting productivity.

Participants can learn new skills so they can optimize their workdays and become more productive workers. Presenter Craig Sroda, the CEO and owner of South Bend-based VCIO Global, will teach tips on tricks on how to augment workflow and get more out of their time, such as by putting Microsoft Office Suite to use.

He runs a consulting company that advises businesses on technology, IT strategy and digital transformation.

Attendees can learn how to get 20% of their workday back, optimize their day to attain the best results, go paperless, manage priorities, collaborate with teams and get out of email hell.

The class will take place via Zoom from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 29. The Northwest Indiana Influential Womens Association will mail out certificates of completion to all the participants.

Participation is limited, so anyone interested is encouraged to register early.

The Northwest Indiana Influential Women Association aims to help women advance their careers by bringing them together for networking with leaders in a number of industries, offering them support, hosting annual awards and providing education like the "Optimizing You!" seminar.

For more information, visit nwiiwa.org.
U.S. Steel plans to start using Google Cloud's generative artificial intelligence.

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, one of the Region's biggest industrial companies, aims to develop AI-based applications that would drive efficiencies at its iron ore mines. U.S. Steel plans to launch MineMind, which will be rolled out at its Minnesota Ore Operations in Minntac and Keetac.

MineMind would aim to simplify equipment maintenance, providing ideal solutions for mechanical programs. The goal is to save time and money and boost productivity.

Weve meaningfully accelerated digitization at U. S. Steel through our work with Google Cloud. Faster repair times, less down time, and more satisfying work for our techs are only some of the many benefits we expect with generative AI, said David Burritt, president and CEO of U.S. Steel. Im thrilled that the U. S. Steel team is a manufacturing leader in this work.

It's estimated it would let the steelmaker's technicians reduce the amount of time of work orders by 20%, making them more efficient and productive. U.S. Steel maintenance crews for instance could use the tool to help them make truck repairs and order replacement parts.

The AI application supplies references to verified sources to ensure accuracy.

U.S. Steel plans to roll out the AI application in September. It will initially be used with more than 60 haul trucks that move the iron ore that's ultimately fed into Northwest Indiana blast furnaces.

The steelmaker has used machine learning, vision processing and natural language processing at its mines and mills before. However, this will be the first time U.S. Steel has used a generative AI application.

U. S. Steel is at the forefront of the generative AI adoption cycle, said Michael Clark, vice president, Google Cloud, North America Regions. Our innovative work with U. S. Steel to power operational and functional innovation with our advanced generative AI technology has the potential to not only transform manufacturing but adjacent industries  from trends and logistics, to supply chain, sustainability, process automation, and more.

U. S. Steel, one of the Region's largest employers with mills in Gary and Portage, plans to continue to work with Google Cloud to build more new gen AI applications.
LAPORTE  Mary Yoder shook and was nearly overcome at times with emotion as she acknowledged to the court her role in the 2021 torture death of her 4-year-old son Judah.

"Yes ma'am," the 27-year-old repeatedly replied as a prosecutor asked if she was aware of the specific acts of abuse the boy was suffering at the hands of herself and his father, 30-year-old Alan Morgan.

Yoder said she knew Alan was striking the boy, keeping him alone in the basement and leaving him alone there while the rest of the family left the home, denying him food and locking the refrigerator to restrict access. She said she was aware the abuse ultimately resulted in the boy's death.

Yoder, who appeared in court Friday morning in jail garb and shackles, pleaded guilty to felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in Judah's death and domestic battery applying to another child in the home, who was described simply as being just under 2 years of age at the time.

She faces up to 40 years behind bars on the first criminal count and up to six years on the second.

70-year-old man charged in Valpo-area shooting The other man was shot, injured and flown to a hospital in Illinois for treatment, police said.

LaPorte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos took the proposed plea agreement under consideration and set a Nov. 1 hearing to decide whether to accept it and carry out sentencing.

A plea in the case was expected in March, but Yoder appeared to surprise the judge when she opted at the time to go to trial. A Sept. 25 trial was scheduled, but canceled Friday as a result of the plea.

Judah Morgan's badly battered and starved body was discovered Oct. 11, 2021, at his parents' home in Hamlet. Officials said the boy had been bound with duct tape, confined in a dark basement for days at a time, beaten and starved.

Judah Morgan Judah Morgan, 4, died from blunt force trauma Oct. 11, 2021, after police were called to his biological parents' home in LaPorte County.

Yoder was charged with Level 1 felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death, Level 5 neglect of a dependent involving cruel confinement, Level 5 felony domestic battery and Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent, court records show. She also faces misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal and failure to make a report.

Alan Morgan pleaded guilty to murdering him and was sentenced by Alevizos in November to 70 years behind bars.

The Indiana Court of Appeals last month unanimously rejected a request to shorten the prison term.

On hand Friday in court to watch Yoder's plea was Knox resident Jenna Hullett, a second cousin to Judah Morgan who raised the boy for the first several years of his life until the Indiana Department of Child Services ordered him placed with Yoder and Alan Morgan. The boys body was found six months later.

A civil lawsuit targeting Alan Morgan accuses the IDOCS of placing the child in the hands of his known abusive parents and then closing the case on the child, who had been in the agency's care since birth.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into LaPorte County Jail Dominic Byrd Daniel Pahl Randy Spence William Riser Ivan Gonzalez Randall Cannan Andrew Steffen Jed Saunders Tyler Sullivan Jennifer Johnston Brent Barton Timothy Borman Derek Kennedy Demetrius Stephens Keith Tunis
VALPARAISO  A 52-year-old Valparaiso man will spend a year on home detention followed by three years of probation after pleading guilty to driving drunk in November and striking a mother and child walking to school, his attorney said.

Wayne Adams III had pleaded guilty before Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish to a felony count of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and misdemeanor OWI endangering another person, according to defense attorney Robert Varga.

"Only days before the accident, Wayne suffered the death of his father and the loss of his girlfriend to suicide," Varga said. "In his grief, Mr. Adams made the poor choice of turning to alcohol to deal with the pain of the losses he experienced."

"It is an understatement to say that Mr. Adams has anguished over the suffering he caused, and he hopes and prays for the full recovery of those he injured."

The woman, who was struck Nov. 28 while walking her 6-year-old daughter near Cooks Corner Elementary School at 358 Bullseye Lake Road in Valparaiso, was to be transferred to a Chicago hospital with multiple fractures to her ribs, pelvis, sacrum, lower back and leg, according to court documents.

UPDATE: Region mom admits to her role in torture death of 4-year-old son Mary Yoder is scheduled to appear in court Friday morning to plead guilty in the case, records show.

Her daughter, who was also hit and run over, suffered a sprained thumb and bump on her head and was to undergo a CT scan, police said.

Adams initially denied consuming any alcohol and blamed the woman and child for the crash, a charging document says.

"Wayne grabbed my arms and stated, 'She just walked out in front of me'," a Valparaiso police officer said.

A later blood draw revealed his blood-alcohol concentration to be more than twice the legal limit.

"It should be noted that the crash occurred during active school zone and that there were multiple buses and school children in the area at the time of the crash," police said.

Police say Adams has a 2018 OWI conviction in Porter County.
George C Rogge Agency, Shurr Insurance Agency, Tonn and Blank Construction and other Region businesses were honored for their longevity.

Governor Eric Holcomb honored 38 Indiana companies with the Governors Century Business Award or Governor's Half-Century Business Award, including several from Northwest Indiana. The honors recognize the longevity of companies that have been in continuous operation for 50 or 100 consecutive years and have shown a commitment to community service.

The Governors Century and Half-Century business awards honor Hoosier companies for both their staying power and service to their communities and economic contributions to the state.

The state honored Frain Mortuary for 156 years in Pulaski County, George C Rogge Agency for 100 years in Lake County, Shurr Insurance Agency for 100 years in Porter County, Tonn and Blank Construction for 101 years in LaPorte County, Crisis Center for 52 years in Lake County, the Crown Point Swim Club for 55 years in Lake County and Kwiatkowski Masonry for 77 years in Lake County.

Every year, the Century and Half-Century awards remind me of the dedication and perseverance Hoosiers across the state bring to their businesses, and each year it is truly an honor to recognize these organizations that have withstood the test of time, navigated economic uncertainties and demonstrated unconditional commitment to their employees and communities across Indiana," Holcomb said.

More than 1,200 Indiana businesses have been recognized since the awards were first introduced 32 years ago.
MERRILLVILLE  People driving through Merrillville will most likely experience traffic problems at various times of the day.

It's not unlike most cities and towns throughout Lake County. But Merrillville wants answers about how to deal with the issue.

Town Council President Rick Bella read from a prepared statement during Tuesdays Merrillville Town Council meeting to explain that although the council has made great strides to calm the traffic in town, much more needs to be done.

The council then unanimously approved a motion to start the process called a Request for Proposals for a townwide traffic study. Merrillville will pay for the work with American Rescue Plan Act funds the town has received.

It seems like driving habits have changed with motorists driving way over the posted speed limit, texting while driving, talking while holding cellphones, and generally not paying attention to traffic signals, Bella said.

Speeders are all over  even throughout our neighborhood streets  and shockingly even the streets that the speeders live on," he said. "And that is just a real head-shaker. You live here, and you speed in your own neighborhood?

The town has installed several radar speed limit signs, speed humps, and even added stop signs, but the council realizes more is needed.

We see that better street configurations, properly timed traffic signals, and right-turn lanes can assist, but we need a comprehensive plan, not a continuation of a Band- Aid approach, Bella added.

Council members all agreed its necessary for a traffic study in town that would include a plan for the Town Council to consider making improvements in its traffic flow.

A plan, done by a qualified engineering company, will help the town prioritize and focus on the worst areas of town first to gain relief. Knowing where stop signs are needed, signals, turn lanes, and even street markings to assist drivers could make a big difference.

Councilman Shawn Pettit said he hopes Merrillvilles police force would realize the seriousness of this and keep that in mind when stopping speeders in town.

We should not be just giving warnings. Those should all be tickets, he added.

Police Chief Kosta Nuses said officers are writing tickets every day, but with such a large problem, it will take more than just that to stop bad drivers.

GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week
The Indiana Republican Party has effectively shut the door on the possibility of a competitive primary election for its 2024 U.S. Senate nomination.

In an unprecedented move, the state party itself has endorsed the U.S. Senate bid of Congressman Jim Banks, R-Columbia City  essentially telling any other Hoosier Republican interested in seeking the nomination they need not apply.

The endorsement also has the practical effect of designating Banks as officially unopposed for the Republican nomination, which allows the Republican National Committee to spend money and allocate resources on Banks' behalf prior to the May 7, 2024, Indiana primary.

Kyle Hupfer, Indiana GOP chairman, said the 320 endorsements Banks has piled up from all kinds of Republicans all over the state since announcing his campaign in January makes it obvious the 44-year-old, four-term congressman for northeast Indiana is the party's preferred candidate for U.S. Senate.

"As this process has unfolded, it has become clear that Congressman Banks is the conservative choice. Throughout his career of public service, he has fought for our shared conservative Hoosier values in the state Senate, overseas in Afghanistan, and continues to fight for them today in Congress. We look forward to him taking that fight to the U.S. Senate as Indianas next U.S. senator," Hupfer said.

Banks, who also has been endorsed by Republican former President Donald Trump, told hundreds of Hoosier Republicans gathered Thursday in Indianapolis for the party's annual fundraising dinner he's grateful to earn the state party's backing.

"Indiana is a conservative state that deserves a conservative senator, and I look forward to continuing to make my case to Hoosiers across the state that I am a conservative voice they can trust with a consistent track record of getting things done," Banks said.

Michael Simpson, Republican chairman for Porter County and Northwest Indiana's 1st Congressional District, said following the party's endorsement announcement that he's ready for Banks to advance to the Senate.

"I appreciate Chairman Hupfer's commitment to the state GOP bylaws, and am thrilled that the state party chose to endorse Jim Banks for Senate," Simpson said. "Congressman Banks is the right man at the right time to represent Hoosiers in the Senate, and I look forward to electing him next November."

Indiana's 2024 U.S. Senate contest is a rare open-seat race because the incumbent, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., opted against seeking a second six-year term to instead run next year for the Republican nomination for Indiana governor.

The two most prominent Democratic candidates so far seeking their party's U.S. Senate nomination are lobbyist and former state Rep. Marc Carmichael, D-Muncie; and Keith Potts, a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council.

Gallery: Take a virtual tour of Indiana's state parks Brown County State Park Chain O' Lakes State Park Charlestown State Park Clifty Falls State Park Falls of the Ohio State Park Fort Harrison State Park Harmonie State Park Lincoln State Park McCormick's Creek State Park Mounds State Park O'Bannon Woods State Park Ouabache State Park Pokagon State Park Potato Creek State Park Prophetstown State Park Shades State Park Shakamak State Park Spring Mill State Park Summit Lake State Park Tippecanoe River State Park Turkey Run State Park Versailles State Park White River State Park Whitewater Memorial State Park
Igor Emmerich

We've got an exclusive first-look clip at new AI thriller T.I.M. starring The Witcher's Eamon Ferran, which you can watch above.

The clip sees Ferran's android make a call for robotics engineer Abi (Barbarian and Bird Box Barcelona's Georgina Campbell), only to freak her out by revealing he can mimic her voice to sound exactly like her.

"Experiments have shown that people are more comfortable with AI that sound less human and use traditional household objects. If you prefer, I can adjust my vocal pattern for a more naturalistic delivery," T.I.M. explains.

We're not quite sure she's that comfortable, really.

Igor Emmerich

T.I.M. (which stands for Technologically Integrated Manservant) sees the titular android get a bit too obsessed with Abi when she's given a prototype of him when she starts a new job for a tech company.

The android starts to do everything he can to take her husband's (Mark Rowley) place, using his access to their data to make Abi think that her husband is cheating on her again. But can Abi discover the truth before it's too late?

When the first trailer for T.I.M. landed last month, it was confirmed that the new movie would be available to watch on Netflix in the UK and Ireland from Wednesday, August 16.

So not too long to wait to find out what else T.I.M. gets up to...

Altitude Film Sales

The movie marks the feature debut of writer-director Spencer Brown who praised the cast when he spoke about the movie last year.

"Georgina lights up the screen with her amazing presence and subtlety, Mark wins our hearts with his humour, depth and humanity, and Eamon completes the central trio with a brilliant AI performance that showcases his truly world-class talent," he enthused.



T.I.M. is released on Netflix in the UK and Ireland on August 16.

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Although the Barbie movie is a billion-dollar global hit, officials in Lebanon and Kuwait moved on Wednesday to ban the film, saying its content contradicts the conservative values of their countries.

Unlike other movies that have been banned in the Middle East, Barbie does not feature any scenes that overtly portray same-sex relationships. The cast does feature L.G.B.T.Q. performers, including Kate McKinnon, who is gay, and Hari Nef, who is transgender.

A Kuwaiti committee on cinematic censorship banned both Barbie and the horror film Talk to Me this week. Lafy Al-Subeie, an under secretary in the Ministry for Press and Publication, said the films promote ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order, according to a state-run news agency.

Al-Subeie told the news agency that foreign movies that run counter to Kuwaits public ethics will often have scenes censored, but that movies that carry alien concepts, message or unacceptable behavior are fully banned.
At the same time, the companies said they would end a bitter legal dispute. In 2021, Wisk sued Archer in federal court, accusing a pair of Archer engineers of stealing proprietary information when they left Wisk. Archer later sued Wisk, accusing it of engaging in a smear campaign against Archer.

Wisk was formed as a joint venture of Boeing and Kitty Hawk, an aviation start-up backed by the Google co-founder Larry Page. Kitty Hawk announced plans to shut down last year, and Boeing announced in May that it had acquired Wisk outright.

None of the companies disclosed the size of Boeings investment, but Archer said it was part of the $215 million that it had recently raised from Stellantis, the automaker whose brands include Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep and Maserati; United Airlines; and other financial institutions. Including that amount, Archer has raised more than $1.1 billion to date.

Archer, one of the leaders in the development of all-electric aircraft, also called air taxis, also said on Thursday that it had received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin flight tests of its production aircraft, Midnight, in the coming weeks.

The company plans to start commercial operations in 2025, pending F.A.A. approval. Last month, Archer announced an agreement to deliver up to six of its aircraft to the Air Force.
The expansion plan was the first indication that driverless cars could be commercially viable after billions of dollars in investments by the tech and auto industries. San Francisco would be a proof of concept for the rest of the country, said Matt Wansley, a law professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York.

Darcie Houck, a commissioner who voted for the expansion, said the companies had met requirements that the state set out. But she added that it was critical that the industry work directly with the city to review problems after they occurred and establish training for emergency workers like firefighters who sometimes interacted with the cars.

Cruise operates 300 vehicles in San Francisco during the night and 100 during the day, while Waymo operates 250 throughout the day. Neither company expected a significant increase in the number of vehicles.

Waymo said its driverless fleet would align with rider demands, while Cruise said it would focus on expanding the market to new parts of the city, since it had offered paid rides only in northwest San Francisco.
A Georgia couple filed a lawsuit this week against a doctor, hospital and nurses involved in the delivery of their first child, claiming that an obstetrician had used too much force during the procedure, resulting in the decapitation and death of their baby.

The complaint, filed Wednesday in Clayton County State Court, also alleged that unnamed staff members at the hospital, Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Ga., about 13 minutes south of downtown Atlanta, had tried to conceal from the couple that their son had been decapitated and discouraged them from seeking an autopsy.

Their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare, Cory Lynch, a lawyer for the couple, said at a news conference in Atlanta on Wednesday.

According to the suit, filed on behalf of Jessica Ross, 20, and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr., 21, of Riverdale, Ga., the obstetrician, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, applied excessive force on the babys neck and head during an attempted vaginal delivery in early July, separating the head from the body.
About 11,000 tourists have been evacuated and another 1,500 were slated to fly out of the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday, after wildfires inflamed by gusting winds killed at least 36 people, destroyed homes and businesses and caused outages to cellphone service and power.

Visitors who are on nonessential travel are being asked to leave Maui, and nonessential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

The agency also urged travelers with plans to visit West Maui in the coming weeks, or the Mauna Kea resort area of the Big Island, where fires are also burning, to consider rescheduling their travel plans for a later time.

Heres what travelers with an upcoming trip to Maui or other Hawaiian islands need to know.

What is the status of the wildfires?

President Biden on Thursday issued a major disaster declaration for the state of Hawaii and approved federal aid funding to support people in Maui County, which encompasses the island of Maui and several others. Officials have said the wildfires are largely contained, though heavy smoke and ash has lowered air quality and displaced thousands of people.
The death toll from the fires that overtook Maui was already growing significantly on Thursday as questions mounted over whether officials had acted with enough urgency to evacuate the tourist haven of Lahaina, where many people described harrowing escapes.

When the brush fire was first spotted early on Tuesday, Maui County officials ordered evacuations in an area on the eastern edge of town near a school. But within a few hours, officials announced on Facebook and on the county website that the blaze had been 100% contained. And for the next few hours, while the county Emergency Management Agency warned people to stay away from several blocked roads, there appear to have been no further evacuation orders.

Only as the fire spread rapidly into Lahaina, rekindled by powerful winds, did officials order more evacuations, according to statements posted on the countys website and social media accounts. But by then, in the afternoon, some people were already dodging flames and thick smoke as they made last-minute efforts to reach safety, and many residents said they never received any alerts.

At a news conference on Thursday night, the fire chief, Bradford Ventura, said the blaze had moved so quickly that it was nearly impossible for emergency management officials to send out evacuation orders in time.
The wildfires that have killed at least 55 in Maui are burning on an island that also contains the part-time homes of billionaires, including Oprah Winfrey, Peter Thiel and Jeff Bezos.

The presence of celebrities and tech executives on the island has in the past created tension with locals. Few of the high-profile owners have commented publicly on the status of their homes during the fire crisis.

Representatives for Ms. Winfrey, who has lived in Maui part-time for more than 15 years, did not respond to a request for comment. According to Architectural Digest, her portfolio of roughly 1,000 acres on the island includes 870 acres in Kula, an area southeast of Lahaina where firefighting efforts were underway on Thursday. During brush fires in 2019, she gave Maui County access to a private road on the property to assist with evacuations.

The seclusion and natural beauty of Maui have long attracted celebrities, including Steven Tyler, Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson and Jim Carrey. It has also drawn a suite of tech executives, who have purchased some of the most expensive properties on the island.
I believe that a lot of people stayed in their homes expecting the Fire Department to show up and put out the fire, he said. Some older people in the community are accustomed to smoke from the days when sugar cane fields were burned at harvest time, he said. They might not have felt that alarmed when they smelled the smoke, he said.

Officials said identifying the remains of the dead among the ashes would be a long, painstaking process. Chief John Pelletier of the Maui County Police Department described Lahaina as hallowed sacred ground because of the number of remains around the town. The regions FEMA administrator said that cadaver dogs are being sent from Washington and California to search for human remains. Asked how many people were missing, Chief Pelletier said: Honestly we dont know. The lack of internet and power were hampering the search, he said.

The Maui wildfire carries the highest death toll of any fire in the United States since the 2018 Camp fire in California that killed 85 people.

By Thursday, the fire was largely contained, the authorities said, and search and rescue efforts were being aided by 30 members of the U.S. military. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from the island, including London Breed, San Franciscos mayor, who was vacationing on Maui when the fire struck. Thousands more were crowding shelters on the island.

We are going to need to house thousands of people, the governor said on Thursday. He urged people across the state to open their homes to those made homeless by the fires.
Atypical weather conditions conspiring with a healthy dose of bad luck created ideal circumstances on Tuesday for wildfires to ignite on Maui and then spread, ravaging the island.

Even for an area accustomed to wildfire weather, Maui has been experiencing particularly low humidity and high winds this summer, and a drought has dried out its vegetation. The winds, strengthened by a passing hurricane and mountainous terrain, fanned the blazes.

Normally, the trade winds this time of year are moderate or breezy, and they move from high pressure toward low pressure. The greater the pressure difference and the closer the low and high pressure areas are to one another, the stronger the winds become.

This week, as Hurricane Dora passed hundreds of miles south of Hawaii, its wind field was not large enough to reach the islands. However, its pressure was so strong that it bolstered the trade winds, which reached 40 miles per hour in Maui.
The latest:

With rain forecast over Maui early this week, federal and local officials said Saturday that they were trying to keep toxic chemicals from the Lahaina fire from spreading to the ocean. They will use a gluelike substance to bind ash and debris in place while building silt fences near the coast and putting hay bales around storm drains to reduce the spread of pollution.

The official death toll has reached 114 people and is expected to climb. So far, Maui County has publicly identified only six of the individuals, all of whom were over the age of 70. Children are believed to be among the dead, according to the Maui County police chief, but their names have not been released and may not have been determined yet.

More than 175 people and 45 cadaver dogs are conducting searches, Gov. Josh Green said on Thursday. About 78 percent of the burn area  3.5 square miles  had been searched as of Friday evening.

The chief of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, Herman Andaya, resigned on Thursday a day after he defended not using outdoor alert sirens during the wildfires. Mr. Andaya cited health reasons in announcing his departure. Mayor Richard Bissen said Friday that Maui would replace him as quickly as possible.

Officials are coming under increasing scrutiny for how they handled the crisis on Maui, where a brush fire near the historic town of Lahaina exploded on Aug. 8 into the countrys deadliest wildfire in more than 100 years. Some people who were in the area said they were unaware that their lives were in danger until they saw the fast-moving flames bearing down on them.

Maui emergency officials did not use a system of 80 outdoor alert sirens to warn residents and tourists, and many people said that they did not receive cellphone alerts telling them to evacuate. By the time they realized they had to flee, the main highway connecting the town with the rest of the island was choked with traffic.

A day before Mr. Andaya resigned, he defended his agencys decision not to use the sirens the afternoon of Aug. 8. He said on Wednesday that the outdoor alert system along the coastline has been used to direct people toward the hills to escape a tsunami, and that he feared that sounding the sirens this time would send many residents heading toward the flames.

With very little time to leave, some people never escaped their homes, and others died in their cars as they tried to flee. A number of desperate residents felt their best option was to jump into the ocean, where they clung to rocks and huddled together to survive.
A year and a half after the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board voted to remodel the Georgia Brown Elementary School campus, board members are set to start the process over again.

The re-start comes as board members learn there may be potential safety concerns at the school.

A geologic anomaly was discovered under the campus that could indicate a potential earthquake fault.

The school board decided during a meeting Tuesday evening to vote on several actions during its next meeting scheduled for Aug. 22, five days after the start of school.

Votes in store for Paso Robles school board

First, the board may vote on forming a new district committee to study if the district should shutter an elementary school campus.

A similar committee formed in 2019 found that the Georgia Brown Elementary School campus should be closed to save the district about $700,000 annually.

However, that committee is now at the center of the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights investigation into a complaint alleging that the district discriminated against Latino and Spanish-speaking community members by not having a diverse committee and not dispersing information in Spanish.

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District trustee Kenny Enney asks a question of staff.

The board may also vote on funding a study to determine where in the district the Spanish-English-language dual immersion program currently at Georgia Brown Elementarys campus could be housed.

Additionally, board members may vote on funding a capacity study to better understand the districts current school campus capacity. That could help the district better understand if it has too many school campuses as student enrollment trends downward.

During the late August meeting, Paso Robles school district staff must bring the school board information from the California Division of the State Architect regarding what it would approve or not approve to happen on the Georgia Brown campus in terms of construction due to the geologic anomaly found under the campus.

Story continues

District staff must also give board members a report on what San Luis Obispo County Public Health Departments assessments have determined are the conditions at Georgia Brown Elementary.

Supporters of various schools including Georgia Brown were in attendance at the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District school board meeting.

District awaits information about Georgia Brown Elementary School safety

The school district is awaiting information regarding the current safety of the Georgia Brown Elementary campus.

A pre-remodel survey found a geologic anomaly beneath the campus, which could indicate either an earthquake fault or other feature such as an old riverbed.

A district contracted structural engineer with an expertise in seismology had previously told district officials that the campus was safe given the information known at the time about the geologic anomaly.

The Division of the State Architect has told district staff the agency will not approve any remodel or construction plans on the Georgia Brown Elementary School campus until the district has further investigated the anomaly.

The Division of the State Architect has said at this point that theyre not going to condemn the building, they dont have the authority to condemn the building, Brad Pawlowski, the school districts chief business officer, said during the Tuesday meeting. However, it is now on the responsibility of the district, meaning the board of trustees, that you take action knowing that there is some sort of anomaly there.

Pawlowski said there are two options: further investigate the anomaly or to abandon the school site.

According to a state spokesperson, Georgia Brown Elementary received certification from the Division of the State Architect at the time of its original construction which means it complied with all applicable codes.

This certification status remains unchanged, state information officer Fallon Okwuosa wrote in an email. A project that is certified by DSA is considered safe to occupy.

Before moving forward with renovations, the district is required to submit a geotechnical hazards report to the California Geological Survey for review, Okwuosa said.

The Geological Survey must accept the report in order for the project to comply with administrative and building code requirements, Okwuosa said.

As the regulation requires the geological assessment and acceptance by CGS for the project to advance, the district can only conduct remodeling activities such as painting or new flooring and maintenance activities, Okwuosa said, which dont have to be submitted to the Division of the State Architect.
As jurors spent the summer in a Pittsburgh courthouse listening to weeks of testimony about the massacre that left 11 dead in a neighborhood synagogue, Hardy Carroll Lloyd was busy.

He placed Nazi-themed stickers on street signs and playground equipment around the city, federal authorities said, and his hate-filled screeds arrived in the email inboxes of local reporters and Jewish organizations. Photos of people who had testified at the trial, including those who had been wounded in the synagogue attack, showed up on an enemies list on his website.

On social media, he pledged to track down the jurors at the trial, sought guidance on making ghost guns and pipe bombs, and urged anyone reading his website to follow the example of Robert Bowers, the man who carried out the synagogue massacre, the deadliest antisemitic attack in the countrys history.

On Thursday morning, a week after Mr. Bowers was sentenced to death, Mr. Lloyd was arrested by federal agents in Follansbee, W.Va., a tiny city about 40 miles from the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh. He was charged with three federal criminal counts, including witness tampering and obstruction of justice, in connection with what prosecutors say was a campaign of threats against people involved in the trial.
The deal comes as Iran and the United States appear to be observing an informal agreement under which Iran has limited its nuclear program and restrained proxy militias in Iraq and Syria to avoid harsh American reprisals.

U.S. officials have repeatedly denied that they reached any nuclear deal with Iran after indirect talks held in Oman earlier this year. But officials from several countries have described those discussions, and Iran appears to be adhering to an agreement. Its parameters include Iranian enrichment of uranium at purity levels no higher than 60 percent, and no significant attacks on U.S. troops by Iranian proxy forces in Syria and Iraq.

Two senior Israeli defense officials said the deal involving the prisoners and the frozen funds is part of the broader understandings reached in Oman. These understandings, according to the officials, are already being implemented on the ground. One senior U.S. military official said that there has been decreased activity by Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq against U.S. troops there in recent weeks. One of the Israeli officials added that while Iran has sent military assistance, including potent drones, to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year, Moscow would like more than it has received.

Mr. Rome said the Biden administration likely hopes that formal nuclear talks organized by the European Union could restart later this year. The negotiations, aimed at restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which President Donald J. Trump withdrew in 2018, collapsed last summer amid what U.S. officials called unacceptable Iranian demands.

But Mr. Rome added the Biden administration was unlikely to want a new nuclear agreement ahead of the 2024 election, given the issues political volatility. Iran may feel the same way, given Mr. Trumps possible return to the Oval Office. A key reason talks to restore the nuclear deal failed last year was Tehrans insistence on guarantees that a future president, perhaps Mr. Trump himself, would not renege again on the deal  which the Biden administration could not promise.
Former Vice President Mike Pence never said Donald J. Trumps name. In 21 minutes on the Iowa State Fair soapbox on Thursday, Mr. Pence referred to Mr. Trump as my former running mate and the former president but made no reference to anything that happened during what he usually calls the Trump-Pence administration.

Mr. Pence avoided these references even when a voter in the crowd  a supporter of President Biden  accused him of having committed treason on Jan. 6 in a question, eliciting boos from an otherwise respectful crowd.

I know you might have a different impression about what my duties and responsibilities were on Jan. 6, and Im happy to talk to you about it, Mr. Pence said.

What he didnt know was that the man who had shouted the question at him was a retired postal inspector who had traveled from Colorado for a bit of political performance art.
If anyone asks, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has an endorsement in the Republican presidential contest  his Red River neighbor, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota.

Im not a Republican, Im not going to vote in the Republican primary, but if I did Id vote for him, Mr. Walz said as Mr. Burgum addressed a small and not terribly rapt audience at the Iowa State Fairs political soapbox.

The Walz endorsement  hes a Democrat  probably wont do much for Mr. Burgum in Iowas Republican caucuses. Mr. Walz came to the fair to tout his partys policies and promote President Bidens re-election campaign amid the thicket of Republican White House hopefuls who aim to knock Mr. Biden out of the Oval Office.

During a tour of the fairs midway, Mr. Walz ticked through all the usual Biden campaign talking points, discussed how Minnesotas state fair is superior to Iowas (Theres no shame in being second, he said), wondered if anyone would heckle former Vice President Mike Pence during his appearance Thursday afternoon and chowed down on a pork chop on a stick.
Then, not long after she learns that Tawneys old fiance Cal, a director, is making a film about her life and still-unsolved murder, Salma discovers the body of a young actress, Ankine Petrosyan, in the pool at the same house where her sister lived, suspended in the water, twisting gently like a ballerina in a music box. Ankines resemblance to Tawney is so uncanny that Salma believes there must be a link between their deaths. She sets her sights on Cal: Shes always believed he was guilty, and to prove it, she needs to finagle her way onto his movie set.

Sutton indicts our culture for its fixation on beautiful young women who died at the hands of others. Salma grimly notes how eager her customers are to fork over $75 to let tragedy crinkle the edges of their cookie cutter  lives, sprinkling Dead Girls over their Instagram feeds like a game of brunch, brunch murder.
Richard J. Whalen, who in his diverse career wrote a best-selling biography of Joseph P. Kennedy, the patriarch of the Democratic political dynasty, before joining Richard M. Nixons 1968 presidential campaign as a speechwriter  but who left before the election and wrote a critical book about him  died on July 18 in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. He was 87.

His daughter, Laura Whalen Aram, said his death, at a nursing home, was caused by pneumonia.

Mr. Whalen was 27 and working at Fortune when the magazine published his 13,000-word profile of Joseph Kennedy in January 1963. His article described how he had accumulated great wealth and rose to become chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and then, early in his time as the United States ambassador to Britain, with the war looming, publicly urged coexistence between the Western democracies and Hitlers Germany.

But, the article continued, what he craved more than money was political success for his sons. While making money, Mr. Whalen wrote, Kennedy managed to raise three attractive, persuasive sons who come easily to leadership. Wealth made their arrival easier; it didnt guarantee it.

By early 1963, his eldest surviving son, John, was the president of the United States; his middle son, Robert, was the attorney general; and his youngest, Edward, was a senator from Massachusetts.
One day in mid-June, Lloyd Blankfein called David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs. Mr. Solomon had not been expecting it.

Mr. Blankfein, a big Goldman shareholder and Mr. Solomons predecessor, had lost $50 million since January on his stake because of the banks sinking stock. He made it clear to Mr. Solomon that his patience was waning, according to three people briefed on the conversation. Mr. Blankfein offered to provide him with more hands-on advice, or even return to the firm in any capacity that might help, the people said.

Mr. Solomon, politely but firmly, turned Mr. Blankfein down.

It has been a slog for Mr. Solomon. Now in his fifth year as Goldmans leader, he is struggling to steer the elite investment bank through a humbling stretch that has brought intense focus on his management style. In July, Goldman reported a collapse in profits, the result of a misbegotten foray into consumer banking that the firm is unwinding. Goldman has undergone three rounds of layoffs over the past year. Its stock trails that of its peers.

It isnt just Mr. Blankfein who is fed up. Senior Goldman partners, former executives and investors have expressed frustration with the banks performance amid a turnaround plan that has yet to show results. Its an unusual indication of unrest at a firm whose 400 or so partners have long observed an informal keep-it-in-the-family rule.
Yellow, a trucking company that filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, told a judge this week that it would fully repay the $729 million it owed the federal government by selling warehouses, trucks and other assets. But with its industry in a downturn, Yellow could struggle to get top dollar for its assets.

Failure to pay back taxpayers in full would be an ugly conclusion to a three-year financial saga that began during the pandemic. The Trump administration handed a financial lifeline to Yellow, then called YRC Worldwide, in 2020, when the economy was in free fall and the company, which had been struggling before the coronavirus, was in danger of collapsing.

Yellows most recent financial statements showed that its liabilities exceeded its assets by nearly $450 million at the end of June. But the company said this week that it expected to repay its debt to the government in full. The loan comes due in September 2024.

The uncertainty about whether Yellows assets will be worth enough to pay the Treasury Department and private creditors does not surprise lawmakers and legal experts who have long raised questions about the companys business and the federal loan granted to it.
Call Her King

Stream it on BET+.

Though Jaeda King (Naturi Naughton) practices martial arts, she isnt your prototypical hero. The married mother is a judge, and shes presiding over the biggest case of her career. Despite his pleas of innocence, Sean Samuels (Jason Mitchell) has already been convicted of murder and his sentencing is imminent. However, Seans brother, Gabriel (Lance Gross), isnt waiting for the outcome. Armed with a fleet of gunmen, Gabriel, a.k.a. Black Caesar, storms the courthouse to spring Sean. And Jaeda  lets call her King  uses more than her gavel to fight back.

King winds through the baddies with the prowess of Foxy Brown and the confidence of Shaft. But the director Wes Millers film is also an origin story of sorts. Kings fight isnt only with Black Caesar and his crew, but also with the broken justice system itself, and the way it both targets Black people and pits them against one another. Along the way, the nimble Naughton announces herself as a bona fide action star.

Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman

Stream it on Hi-Yah!
In the fall of 2021, an acquaintance of Alex Norman, the founder of a cannabis apparel and lifestyle brand called Budega NYC, reached out to congratulate him on making a deal to open several dispensaries in Southern California.

There was just one problem, Mr. Norman said: It wasnt me.

Instead, an international conglomerate had claimed the Budega name, which Mr. Norman, 50, said was a nod to the longstanding role of New Yorks neighborhood bodegas in supplying weed before legalization. It was the first of a series of copycats that have forced Mr. Norman, who lives in Brooklyn, to decide whether to wage costly legal battles to defend his brand, work out deals to coexist or start over with a new name.

Cases like his have played out across the country as states legalize cannabis and allow businesses to open stores and release products under similar-sounding names. What in another industry might be blatant trademark infringement is becoming more common in cannabis sales for a simple reason: dispensaries and greenhouses are excluded from federal protections because marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

Industry analysts say the state-federal divide on cannabis is fueling a rise in trademark disputes that is driving many small companies out of business, threatening efforts to draw consumers and entrepreneurs out of the illicit trade and into emerging legal markets like New Yorks. Jessica Gonzalez, a cannabis and trademark attorney, said the trend will only accelerate if the federal government legalizes cannabis and companies begin competing for national dominance.
The 17-year-old charged with murder as a hate crime in the fatal stabbing last month of a gay Black dancer at a Brooklyn gas station pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday.

The teenager, Dmitriy Popov, entered the plea in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, where he will be tried as an adult. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder. The hate crime count could increase any minimum sentence to 20 years from 15.

The killing Mr. Popov is accused of committing occurred on July 29, when the dancer, OShae Sibley, and a group of friends stopped for gas at a filling station in the Midwood section of Brooklyn while on their way home from the beach, prosecutors said.

As Mr. Sibley, 28, and his friends danced to a Beyonce song, another group of people began to yell homophobic and anti-Black slurs at them, prosecutors said. A witness told the authorities he saw Mr. Popov stab Mr. Sibley. Mr. Popov, who lives in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, was arrested several days later.
What I felt most strongly were material signs of poverty. No one in my neighborhood commented on my periodically absent mother, but some did note the lack of a Nike emblem on my sneakers. There was a kind of soul-crushing mockery at school. You lived in difficult circumstances at home and went to the place where you might make a better life for yourself, and the other kids made fun of your suffering. We were all both victim and persecutor in equal measure.

When I dreamed of my future, I never said that I wanted to be time wealthy. Instead, I longed for tangible things that Id be able to give to a family of my own. I wanted to put a financial barrier around my kids self-esteem. I looked forward to a moment when they wouldnt stare nervously into their closet trying to pick a passable outfit. I didnt want them to be hesitant to invite friends over, uncertain of what might be seen. The joy they felt at Christmas and birthdays would be genuine and not performative. Poor kids quickly learn how to fake enthusiasm to avoid exacerbating their parents guilt over their meager offerings. We smile after receiving presents that do little more than remind us of what we do not have.

How do we get to that better future? Once again, it is about time. Climbing the economic ladder requires long days to make the grades to get into college and perhaps graduate school. Then come extended hours to get ahead in our careers. Unlike our parents, many of us are not trading time for survival. We sacrifice time for money because we saw that modeled. And no one taught us how to stop. How do we know when we should give up that payday for time? There will always be a better home, a supposedly higher-quality school district.

Everything in the culture tells us to keep going, stay with the grind, develop a side hustle. The signs of that success are visible. My kids can have the shoes I couldnt afford. They live in the kind of neighborhood that was closed to me.

We cannot show off time; it is a hidden currency, but it is of incalculable worth. Most studies show that the time parents spend with children has an outsize impact on their emotional health. Kids are better adjusted and perform better in school when parents are more involved.
Vivek Ramaswamy is a 38-year-old investor and former pharmaceutical executive who wants to be the Republican nominee for president. Hes not ahead by any means, but hes doing better than you might expect. If Donald Trump dominates the field and Ron DeSantis is the far runner-up, then Ramaswamy is the candidate poised to rise if the Florida governor falls further behind.

Ramaswamy is anti-woke, condemns Juneteenth as a useless holiday and says that diversity is not our strength. He thinks climate activism is a cult and wants to send the military to the border with Mexico. He wants to unravel the so-called deep state, thinks the Trump indictments are politically motivated and wont say whether, if he had been in Mike Pences shoes, he would have refused Trumps demand to overturn the 2020 election results.

In other words, hes preoccupied by most of the same concerns as his rivals. But he does have one gimmick that DeSantis and Trump dont: We are a constitutional republic. We need to revive civic duty among young Americans, Ramaswamy said on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Thats why Im announcing my support for a constitutional amendment to raise the voting age from 18 to 25, but to still allow 18-year-olds to vote if they either pass the same civics test required of immigrants to become naturalized citizens, or else to perform 6 months of military or first responder service.

Ramaswamy has elaborated in interviews on his call to raise the voting age for most young people. I think we have a loss of civic pride in our country. I think people, young people included, do not value a country that they simply inherit, he told NPR. I think we value a country that we have a stake in building. And I think that asking a young person, asking any citizen, to know something about the country before voting, I think is a perfectly reasonable condition.
Over the past decade, the Sahel, a vast semiarid region of western and north-central Africa, has become a tangle of transnational terrorist groups, including the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Boko Haram and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. Frances eight-year military campaign intended to stabilize the region, named Operation Barkhane, ended in failure in the fall of 2022, leaving a security vacuum that was quickly filled by jihadists and Wagner mercenaries.

Contrary to the postcoup narrative, Niger  while a democracy  was hardly an oasis of stability: The Global Terrorism Index has documented a steady increase in terrorism-related deaths in the country in recent years. But the nations successive elected governments were at least willing to cooperate with Washington, allowing the U.S. military to conduct regional counterterrorism activities. The United States, which has two military bases in Niger with roughly 1,100 troops between them, cooperated with government officials and operated a security cooperation assistance program for Nigerien troops fighting Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants in the Sahel.

Now military exercises between America and Niger have been suspended. Washington has stopped short of calling the crisis a coup  a move that would require the United States to halt security and economic assistance. American diplomats and West African officials are trying to negotiate a return to power for Mr. Bazoum. If that effort fails, and Washington loses access to the drone base it runs there and other intelligence and surveillance activities in the area, its grasp of what insurgent groups are up to in the Sahel will be severely curtailed.

Wagner will be ready. Its forces are already deployed in Mali and Libya, both of which border Niger, as well as in the Central African Republic and Sudan. Since first sending troops to Africa in 2017, the group has embedded itself in these fragile states and siphoned valuable resources, a quid pro quo that offers military muscle in exchange for mining contracts that allow Wagner subsidiaries to extract gold, diamonds and other commodities that pad Russias coffers. Their operations have frequently resulted in the deaths of civilians, with credible accusations of sexual violence, torture and extrajudicial killings. The arrangements boil down to simple supply and demand: African putschists need the security that Wagner can provide, and the Kremlin needs the funding stream to soften the blow from biting Western sanctions.

That system did not collapse after Mr. Prigozhins failed coup. Within days of Wagners aborted advance on Moscow, Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that Wagners African footprint would remain. Late last month, Mr. Prigozhin reportedly surfaced from exile in St. Petersburg, where he posed for photographs with African leaders who were in town for a summit. Mr. Putin also attended.
Heather Klein was in her cabin at Camp Nah-Jee-Wah, nursing her first iced tea of the morning, when a photograph arrived on her phone and she drew a deep, sudden breath.

Ms. Klein, the mental-health coordinator for a network of sleep-away camps, has a morning routine: responding to queries from anxious parents, who have looked at the photographs posted online the night before. Why does my child look sad? they want to know. Where are their friends?

This message was from a counselor  and it was serious. A teenage camper had switched from high-tops to Crocs to go to the beach, which allowed her counselor to see a row of cuts the girl had made with a razor.

As the pandemic recedes, many camps are adding mental supports. Some have care teams that meet regularly to discuss interpersonal dynamics among bunkmates. Many set aside time and space for therapy via video during the day. And many camps have created new staff positions focused full time on mental health. At the NJY camps, a network of Jewish overnight camps in Pennsylvania, that person is Ms. Klein, 51.
One of Mr. Bankman-Frieds lawyers, Mark Cohen, said in court that he intended to appeal. Judge Kaplan said he wouldnt wait for the outcome of that effort before sending Mr. Bankman-Fried to jail.

The courtroom scene was the latest humiliating blow to Mr. Bankman-Fried since his cryptocurrency company fell apart in one of the most stunning corporate crashes in recent history. FTX rode the highs of the virtual currency market to become one of the industrys leading companies before filing for bankruptcy after a run on deposits last fall. Over a few weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried went from being an industry titan courted by politicians and celebrities to a criminal defendant facing decades in prison.

Now he will have to prepare for his trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 2, from a jail cell.

The court dispute over his bail focused on a New York Times article, published last month, that described private writings by Caroline Ellison, an executive in Mr. Bankman-Frieds business empire who had also dated him. Ms. Ellison has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors investigating Mr. Bankman-Fried.

In court filings, prosecutors said Mr. Bankman-Fried had given the documents to The Times to intimidate Ms. Ellison by casting her in a negative light before his trial. They also noted Mr. Bankman-Frieds numerous conversations with others in the media, including the author Michael Lewis, who is writing a book about FTX that is set for publication the week the trial begins.
An ice cream company based in Brooklyn has issued a recall of all flavors of its soft serve ice cream and sorbet brand after two people who ate its vanilla chocolate flavor fell sick and were sent to the hospital, according to the company and health officials. The illnesses were possibly linked to listeria, a type of bacteria that can cause serious sickness in people 65 or older and miscarriages and premature births in pregnant women, health officials said.

The company, Real Kosher Ice Cream, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would immediately recall all six flavors of its Soft Serve on the Go Cups, packaged retail versions of soft serve ice cream and sorbet. Real Kosher notified all retailers that stock the brand, asking them to remove the products from shelves and freezers and dispose of them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert on Thursday about a listeria outbreak that might be linked to Soft Serve on the Go Cups.

In its own statement updated Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration said that an investigation into the outbreak was ongoing. The recall, the agency said, affects 19 states and the District of Columbia where the products are distributed, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Soft Serve on the Go Cups are also distributed in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and Britain.
The deadly wildfires in Hawaii last week have evoked painful memories of dozens of other fatal blazes that have seared the American landscape, especially in the West.

While some of the most devastating wildfires have occurred in recent decades, others date to the 1800s, when firefighting technology was not as advanced.

Here are some of the deadliest wildfires in the United States since the end of the Civil War.

1871

The Peshtigo fire, more than 2,000 deaths

Northeast Wisconsin

The second half of the 19th century saw three especially deadly fires: the Thumb fire in Michigan in 1881, which killed 282 people; the Hinckley fire in Minnesota in 1894, which killed 418 people; and the Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin in 1871. The exact number of deaths is unknown, but some estimates place it at more than 2,000 people.
Firefighters were still working to fully contain flare-ups from the fast-moving wildfires that devastated the historic oceanside town of Lahaina and other parts of Maui.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center said Saturday that more than 2,000 buildings had been damaged or destroyed by the fires and estimated the cost to rebuild at $5.52 billion. The death toll rose to 93 by Saturday night.

Here are scenes from the fires and their aftermath.

Monday, Aug. 14
The devastating wildfires in Hawaii have come at a time of upheaval for the insurance industry, in a place that had not been considered very risky by underwriters.

The states residents have generally paid low home insurance rates  the cheapest in the country, according to Bankrate, a consumer financial services company  because there are relatively few natural disasters in Hawaii, with the private sector on stronger footing than in states like Florida and California. In recent years, both states have been more prone to extreme weather events than Hawaii.

But the deadly fires in Maui this week, which destroyed thousands of homes and will take what the states governor said would be billions of dollars to rebuild from, may make insurance companies reconsider policy rates and coverage, as they have in more disaster-prone areas.

Insurance rates are set on a state level, with varying degrees of government regulation and intervention. Typically, states like Hawaii that have strong private insurance markets have not needed forceful state involvement on rates.
The first videos showed residents fleeing through walls of fire, frantically trying to escape a disaster that caught many of them off guard. Then came reports of people leaping into the Pacific Ocean as flames engulfed Lahaina, a historic seaside town on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

The scenes were reminiscent of some of Californias most horrific wildfires. When the Camp fire eviscerated the town of Paradise in 2018, residents had little time to escape an inferno propelled by high winds. And during the wine country fires in 2017, some desperate people jumped into their swimming pools to escape the flames.

We wont know the full scope of the disaster in Hawaii for days. Officials are still assessing the situation and providing limited updates, each one seemingly more horrific than the last. As of Friday morning, the official death toll had risen to 55, and Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii and other officials were saying it would probably surpass the toll from the 1960 tsunami, which took 61 lives on the Big Island. The governor called the Maui fires likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history.

California has tried to learn from its wildfires. But even with decades of experience, the state braces each year for natural disasters unlike any before, as climate change takes hold.
President Biden warned on Thursday that Chinas struggles with high unemployment and an aging work force make the country a ticking time bomb at the heart of the world economy and a potential threat to other nations.

When bad folks have problems, they do bad things, the president told a group of donors at a fund-raiser in Park City, Utah.

Mr. Bidens comments are the latest example of the presidents willingness to criticize China  often during fund-raising events with contributors to his presidential campaign  even as his administration seeks to ease tensions between the worlds two largest economies.

Earlier this summer, at a fund-raiser in California, Mr. Biden called President Xi Jinping of China a dictator who had been kept in the dark by his own officials about the spy balloon that flew over much of the United States from late January to early February before being shot down by the U.S. military.
Donald J. Trumps legal problems arent just piling up  his legal bills are, too.

New financial reports show that the former presidents various political committees and the super PAC backing him have used roughly 30 cents of every dollar spent so far this year on legal-related costs. The total amounts to more than $27 million in legal fees and other investigation-related bills in the first six months of 2023, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records.

That $27 million in legal costs includes Mr. Trump paying at least eight law firms more than $1 million each in the first half of 2023, part of a sizable set of legal billings expected to spiral upward in the coming months as his overlapping criminal cases wind their way toward courtrooms in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

The new disclosures revealed the remarkable degree to which Mr. Trumps political and legal cash are intermingled, much like his own political and legal fate.

Mr. Trumps complex political orbit is already spending more than it is taking in, and tapping into money it raised years ago  an unusual trajectory this far out from an election. And the burn rate raises questions about whether such an approach is untenable, or whether Mr. Trump will eventually need to dip into his own fortune to pay for his lawyers, his 2024 campaign or both.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Friday elevated the federal prosecutor investigating President Bidens son Hunter to the status of special counsel after negotiations to revive a plea agreement on tax and gun charges foundered.

The move raised the possibility that Mr. Biden could be tried in the politically charged case, which seemed resolved until a few weeks ago.

The prosecutor, David C. Weiss, has since 2018 investigated a wide array of accusations involving Mr. Bidens business and personal life, including his foreign dealings, drug use and finances. But as special counsel, Mr. Weiss, who is also the U.S. attorney in Delaware, can pursue charges in any jurisdiction he chooses without seeking the cooperation of local federal prosecutors.

The investigation appeared to be near an end in recent months when Mr. Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors in a deal that would also have allowed him to avoid prosecution on a gun charge. Mr. Weiss, who has been roundly criticized by Republicans over the terms of the deal, asked Mr. Garland on Tuesday to be named special counsel.
With the news that the Justice Department has named a special counsel to investigate a wide range of conduct by President Bidens son Hunter Biden, his life is bound to come under even more intense scrutiny.

A father of five with a law degree from Yale, Mr. Biden, 53, has acknowledged a decades-long addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine, and his foreign business dealings have led to questions about President Bidens influence.

Heres a look at key dates in the life of the presidents son.

Feb. 4, 1970

Hunter Biden is born, the second child of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. Hunters older brother, Beau, was born in 1969, and his sister, Naomi, was born in 1971.
After a freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg secured what seemed like a significant victory. Following years of resistance, the nations largest freight railroads agreed to participate in a federal safety program that allows employees to confidentially report safety issues.

But five months after that commitment, none of the railroads have formally joined the program. Though they say they still intend to participate, the companies have raised concerns about the initiative, saying it is flawed and needs to be overhauled, according to government and industry officials.

The railroads hesitation raises questions about whether a key step to improve rail safety that Mr. Buttigieg hailed in the wake of the East Palestine derailment will come to pass. And it illustrates the steep challenge looming over federal officials and lawmakers as they push for safety changes after the Ohio accident, sometimes against the wishes of the freight rail industry. In Congress, a rail safety bill with bipartisan support faces an uncertain fate.

Too often, after a major rail incident, an immediate public call for better safety practices has eventually given way to industry pushback and inaction, Mr. Buttigieg said in a statement. That must not happen this time.
The federal judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trumps prosecution on charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 election rejected his request on Friday to be able to speak broadly about evidence and witnesses  and warned Mr. Trump she would take necessary measures to keep him from intimidating witnesses or tainting potential jurors.

The caution from the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, came during a 90-minute hearing in Federal District Court in Washington to discuss the scope of a protective order over the discovery evidence in Mr. Trumps case, a typically routine step in criminal matters. Later Friday, Judge Chutkan imposed the order but agreed to a modification requested by the Trump legal team that it apply only to sensitive materials and not all evidence turned over to the defense.

She concluded the hearing with a blunt warning to Mr. Trump, and an unmistakable reference to a recent social media post in which he warned, If you go after me, Im coming after you!  a statement his spokesman later said was aimed at political opponents and not at people involved in the case.

I do want to issue a general word of caution  I intend to ensure the orderly administration of justice in this case as I would in any other case, and even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel, she said, could be considered an attempt to intimidate witnesses or prejudice potential jurors, triggering the court to take action.
Fighting between Ethiopias military and a local ethnic militia in the northwestern Amhara region has intensified in recent weeks, pushing the government to block the internet and declare a state of emergency and leading Israel to evacuate more than 200 Ethiopian Jews and Israelis.

The clashes follow monthslong tensions over Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds proposal to dismantle special regional forces nationwide and integrate them into the army  a move Amhara nationalists said would undermine security in their region.

The ethnic militia, known as Fano, had been allied with Mr. Abiy in his two-year effort to crush rebel fighters in the neighboring Tigray region, but it is now battling the military in an effort to preserve Amharas regional forces.

Less than a year after the Tigray war ended, the fresh fighting threatens to plunge the country into another conflict, analysts say, and could undermine stability in a region already dealing with a war in Sudan that has sent refugees fleeing into Ethiopia.
Former President Jacob Zuma of South Africa returned to prison early Friday morning to continue serving a sentence for contempt, but was released almost immediately under a program to relieve overcrowding in the countrys jails, the authorities said.

With his release under the program, it is unlikely that Mr. Zuma will serve more time in prison on the contempt charge. Political opponents accused the government, run by Mr. Zumas political party, of giving him preferential treatment, saying it had intentionally started to roll out the overcrowding program on the day he reported to jail.

Mr. Zuma had served just two months of a 15-month sentence in 2021 for defying a court order to testify before a national inquiry on corruption when he was released on medical parole by the corrections commissioner at the time, a close political ally.

But last year, an appeals court ruled that Mr. Zumas release was unlawful and that he had to return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence, a decision upheld by the countrys highest judicial body last month.
China has been steadily intensifying military pressure on Taiwan over the past year, sending jets, drones, bombers and other planes farther and in greater numbers to extend an intimidating presence all around the island.

Chinese naval ships and air force planes have been edging closer to Taiwans territorial seas and skies, probing the islands vigilance and trying to wear down its military planes and ships. Chinese forces have also been operating more frequently in skies and waters off the islands eastern coast, facing the West Pacific. Chinas increasing presence there signals its intent to dominate an expanse of sea that could be vital for the islands defenses, including for securing potential aid from the United States in a conflict, experts say.

Beijing claims Taiwan is its lost territory that must accept unification, preferably peacefully, but by force if Chinese leaders deem that necessary. It has seized on moments of high tension with Taiwan to intensify military activities around the island, and it may put on another show of force in the coming days, when Taiwans vice president, Lai Ching-te, passes through the United States.

Mr. Lai leaves on Saturday for Paraguay, and is scheduled to stop in the United States on his way there and back. Beijing regards such transits in the United States as an affront to its stance that Taiwan is not an independent state. Mr. Lai is also the presidential candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party, which supports asserting Taiwans separate status, a position that Beijing condemns as separatism.
Mexico Leads LATAM in Travel Rule Adoption as Argentina Lags Behind

Source: Alexey Novikov/Adobe

Mexico is leading the way in Latin Americas Travel Rule adoption drive, a study has found  with Argentina lagging behind.

The claims were made by the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (known locally as GAFILAT), an intergovernmental organization comprising 18 Latin American countries.

GAFILAT is affiliated with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog that created the Travel Rule.

The rule requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to share sender information and other data when transferring coins onto other VASPs platforms.

The FATF wants global governments to enshrine the Travel Rule into national law.

This has already been done in nations such as Japan and South Korea.

And the FATF has also called on governments to oblige crypto exchanges to use KYC (know your customer) protocols, in a bid to end anonymous crypto trading.

The Travel Rule is just one of a collection of FATF guidelines created for the crypto sector.

In a GAFILAT report, the organization claimed that Mexicos adoption of these guidelines was ahead of most other nations in the sector.

The body commended the nations cooperation with its fintech industry on regulatory matters.

The country, the report noted, had also developed secondary regulations that are aimed at complying with FATF recommendations.

Back in 2021, the same body commended Mexico for improvements in the application of regulatory standards.

GAFILAT said, at the time, that Mexico had made progress with adopting around three-quarters of the FATFs 40 protocols.

Mexico Forges Ahead with Crypto Regulation  Argentina to Follow?

GAFILATs most recent report claimed that Brazil, Chile, and Bitcoin-keen El Salvador were also making good progress with FATF guideline adoption.

And it praised Cuba, Nicaragua, and Paraguay for making more modest (but still significant) progress in this regard.

The report further commended Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia for implementing some regulations that establish minimum obligations for VASPs.

But there were words of warning from the body for Argentina, as well as Uruguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.

The body said these nations have still not attempted to regulate their crypto sectors.

Argentinas government has indicated that it is prepared to remedy this, particularly as it continues to seek financial aid from the IMF.

Earlier this year, the nation began cracking down on exchanges.

More recently, the national energy provider announced it would charge crypto miners the highest band of energy tariffs.

Sebastian Negri, the head of the National Securities Commission (the nations markets regulator), has spoken of the urgent need for Buenos Aires to comply with FATF recommendations.
Emerging from a friends Maserati on southern Spains Mediterranean coast, Ksenia Sobchak wants the world to know: Back home in Russia, fighting for change is futile.

There is no resistance, nor can there be any, she says. This has to be understood.

She can point to ample proof to support her pessimism: Thousands of Russians have been arrested for protesting the war. Hundreds of journalists are in exile. Opposition leaders are serving yearslong prison terms.

All this sacrifice has failed to stop President Vladimir V. Putins invasion of Ukraine, and, in Ms. Sobchaks view, these fruitless efforts only add weight to her message: Liberal Russians should find ways to live with Mr. Putins war because theres nothing they can do about it.

Ms. Sobchak is one of the best-known media figures still based in Russia and the daughter of one of Mr. Putins first political mentors. She is able to widely communicate her call for Russians to just cope with the war, though her stance has also made her profoundly unpopular among two distinctly different sets.
Ukraine said its air defenses shot down a ballistic missile over Kyiv on Friday, a rare midmorning assault on the Ukrainian capital as Russia stepped up its assaults on towns and cities across the country.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that three other ballistic missiles, known as Kinzhals, were aimed at military airfields in the western part of the country. Kinzhals are one of the most sophisticated conventional weapons in Russias arsenal.

During the past and this week, the enemy intensified the use of virtually the full spectrum of its weapons to strike Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian military said in a statement. In particular, he increased the number of attacks by sea-, air- and land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.

One Russian missile crashed into the home of an 8-year-old boy in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine, officials said.
Just four days ago, asylum seekers were moved onto an austere barge moored off the British coast as the government rolled out a new policy aimed at illustrating its tough approach on migration.

On Friday that vessel was evacuated, after bacteria that can cause Legionnaires disease were found in the water system, leaving in disarray plans to showcase the governments strategy.

The evacuation was an embarrassing end to what some in government had called small boats week, a publicity blitz intended to prove it was delivering on a promise to make changes that would stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in often unseaworthy vessels. Critics say it was also meant to appeal to right-wing voters ahead of a likely election next year.

But it also underscored deeper concerns about a divisive migration strategy that has so far failed to achieve its aims.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced on Friday that his government was dismissing all of the countrys regional military recruitment chiefs to crack down on corruption, after multiple revelations of officers taking bribes to let men evade being drafted into fighting the Russian invasion.

The announcement this week that since the invasion prosecutors had opened 112 cases against 33 officials involved in recruitment offered the latest evidence that the war had provided new avenues for the entrenched governmental corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Two recruitment officers have been accused in recent days of enriching themselves by falsifying documents that label men as unfit for service  in some cases collecting $10,000 per head.

The allegations come as bombs are falling on civilians, soldiers are dying, Ukraine is trying to enlist more troops to replace those killed or wounded, and millions are sacrificing to ensure the nations survival.

Mr. Zelensky did not hide his contempt in announcing that he was firing the 24 regional recruitment chiefs, saying in a video posted on social media that the system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason. Those officers who are removed but have committed no wrongdoing, he added, should serve at the front if they want to keep epaulets and prove their dignity.
When Siamak Namazi traveled to Tehran in the summer of 2015, Iran had just signed a landmark nuclear deal and the government was encouraging expatriates to return home and bring their expertise and dollars.

So the 51-year-old Iranian American businessman flew from his home in Dubai to visit his parents and attend a funeral in Iran.

But he was arrested and charged with collaborating with a hostile government  an allusion to the United States  and eventually became the longest-held American citizen that Iran has acknowledged imprisoning. In January, he went on a hunger strike for seven days to bring attention to his ordeal.

On Thursday Mr. Namazi, along with four other dual national Iranian Americans, became part of a prisoner swap deal between Iran and the U.S.
A United Nations operation to transfer more than one million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker into another ship off the coast of Yemen has been completed, officials said on Friday, averting a catastrophic spill that could have devastated marine life and communities across the Red Sea.

But with one crisis averted, another looms: The recovery vessel could be stranded until thorny negotiations over who owns the transferred oil are resolved.

Yemen, the worlds poorest Arab country, has been fractured by a war that has stretched on for eight years, with territory carved up under the control of two rival governments and various militias. For years, both of those governments have claimed ownership of the oil on the decaying tanker, called the FSO Safer, hoping to gain desperately needed revenue from its sale.

The most pressing step was to prevent oil spillover from the deteriorating FSO Safer, said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, an organization that researches conflicts. Now, with the salvage operation concluded, we find ourselves returning to the difficult point concerning the oil inside the tanker.
College students must file the form each year to get financial aid from the federal government. Many states and colleges also base their own aid on the federal form. The FAFSA collects detailed financial information about income and assets from students and their parents and serves as a gateway to grants, scholarships and loans for higher education. Congress approved changes to both the form and its formula in 2020, but the Education Department has taken several years to finish the update.

Some changes, like shielding more of a familys income from the aid calculation, tend to increase eligibility for financial help. More students will be eligible for federal need-based Pell grants, and those who previously got partial grants will be eligible for larger amounts, said MorraLee Keller, senior director of strategic programming with the National College Attainment Network.

But the update also eliminated what was effectively a discount for families with multiple children in college. About a third of college students have a sibling who is also enrolled, Dr. Levine said. The change in aid eligibility for some families with multiple college students may be substantial, he said, and unexpected  particularly for currently enrolled students who will see a change from their aid package for the upcoming school year.

Their price is about to go up a lot, and they dont know it, Dr. Levine said. His report includes an online tool that families can use to estimate how their aid may be affected.

One rationale for the change is that financing a college education now involves long-term saving and borrowing, and isnt something that most people can pay for with their current income. So its unfair to give a break to families because they have twins or children close in age attending college simultaneously but not to people with children spaced further apart.
Both consumers and employees increasingly expect companies to be engaged on social topics, according to the results of a new survey from Weber Shandwick, KRC Research, Powell Tate and United Minds.

Pulse on America: Public and Employee Opinions on Business and Societal Issues asked over 1,000 consumers, as well as 501 company employees, how a companys willingness to take a stand on such hot-button topics as human rights, gun violence, racism, immigration and LGBTQ+ issues affect their opinion of that company.

On the employee side, job satisfaction appears to be a big plus of corporate activism. More than eight out of 10 (84 percent) of employees at companies with leaders who speak up on critical events and issues reported being satisfied with their jobs. That compares with only 57 percent for employees in companies who leaders do not speak up on those issues.

The workplace itself is seen as something of a haven from the contentious nature of the current political landscape. While more than half of the consumers surveyed (58 percent) said the general tone in the country today is not civil and respectful, 79 percent of the employees said that their workplace remained a civil environment.

However, the 27 percent of employees who reported having heard their company referred to as woke had varying views of the effect of that term. Close to a third (31 percent) said that the woke label would make them proud of my company. However, 19 percent said that it would make then embarrassed for my company and 16 percent said it would make them ashamed to work for my company.

A considerable number also said that working for a company considered woke could make the company a target of aggression and harassment (27 percent) or could make employees themselves targets (22 percent).

The risks that companies take with consumers when it comes to voicing political or social opinions are a double-edged sword for companies as well. More than half of consumers said they had taken action to oppose or support a company based on its positions or actions. About four in 10 (44 percent) said they had boycotted a company, while 36 percent have steered their purchase decisions toward companies with views that they share. A quarter of them (25 percent) have participated in both activities.

Silence is an increasingly fraught option, said Weber Shandwick chief public affairs officer Pam Jenkins. These findings show that effective leaders recognize meaningful signals and bring clarity amid the noise surrounding social issues. Instead of retreating, they are creating thriving workplaces and earning brand loyalty and strong reputations by listening to their stakeholders and tackling tough issues head on.

The Weber Shandwick study was conducted between July 7 and 10.
A Gordonsville man is looking at a maximum of 51 years behind bars if hes convicted of robbing a property in Orange County Wednesday afternoon.

Yusuf Abdul Grey was arrested Wednesday by Orange County sheriffs deputies, with help from Louisa County and Gordonsville authorities, for stealing numerous items from a property in the 18000 block of Cameron Road near Gordonsville, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office.

Grey was charged with two counts of felony burglary, felony larceny, misdemeanor larceny and possession of stolen property with the the intent to sell, a Thursday statement from the sheriffs office reads.

The burglary and larceny charges each are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The Class 3 felony charge for burglary also carries a fine of up to $100,000. The Class 5 felony for possession of stolen property with intent to sell is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. Grey also could spend up to a year behind bars for misdemeanor larceny and face a fine of up to $2,500.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Progress.

Grey was being held at Central Virginia Regional Jail under a secured bond as of Friday afternoon.
Seven businesses across Ireland were ordered to close in July 2023 for breaches of food safety legislation.

That's according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), which today (August 10) confirmed a total of ten enforcement orders were issued last month due to food safety breaches, which include "heavy" cockroach activity near uncovered food, the presence of rodent droppings, and the storage of rotten meat.

Three Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998 on Al Huda Grocery in Dublin 1, Spice of India (restaurant/cafe), in Bishopstown, Cork, and MJ Atkinson Limited in Cavan, while four further closure orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations 2020 to Momo's (restaurant/cafe) in Tallaght, Dublin 24, Sichuan Chilli King (restaurant/cafe), in Dublin 1, Pizza Lab (takeaway) in Dublin 7, and Ocean Palace Chinese Takeaway in Navan, Co. Meath.

An improvement order and prohibition order were served under the FSAI Act 1998 to D Grill (restaurant/cafe) in Dublin 2 and Delhi2Dublin in Dublin 12 respectively, while a further prohibition order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations 2020 on Pizza Lab (takeaway) in Dublin 7.

Reasons for the issuing of enforcement orders include the storage of medications immediately above ingredients, a lack of information relating to meat traceability, significant build-up of mould on surfaces in a cold storage room, and no evidence of regular cleaning.

An inspector also noted an open bag of cooked chicken stored adjacent to blood-stained boxes of raw chicken in one establishment, while another noted foul water stagnating in an open drain near a drinks service area.

Commenting on the news, Chief Executive of the FSAI, Dr Pamela Byrne, said that while the majority of food businesses adhere to food safety regulations, it is clear that some businesses are not fully compliant.

She said, "Food safety is critical to safeguarding public health. Failures to follow the basics of staff training, regular cleaning and correct storage of food are seen again and again throughout the Enforcement Orders issued in July.

"It is also not acceptable for businesses to store and process meat and poultry without proper registration with the relevant authorities.

"Unregistered and unauthorised food businesses are a risk to public health, as it is not possible to verify compliance with food law. All food businesses, from the established to the newly opened, must fully adhere with food safety regulations at all times. Enforcement action will be taken for transgressions, in the interest of public health protection."
MY Commis Chef apprenticeship experience has been a whirlwind in the best possible way. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I also could never have predicted the doors it would open or the things we would learn, writes Shauna Kelly, Tipperary ETB Commis Chef Apprentice. Shaunas Apprentice Employer is Mani Restaurant, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

I believe we got so lucky to have a Tutor like Fergal Phelan to ensure even the academic side of things would never be dull or overwhelming. He understood from the beginning that we were not accountants or English scholars and that we would have to find our own way of retaining information.

I would not have described myself as a confident person before this course. However, with Fergal's guidance and the team morale within the class, I've learned to push myself and to go for the things I want.

In June of our first year, with Fergal's advice and leadership, I was chosen to compete at the World Skills Competition in the RDS in Dublin. I couldn't believe I had even been offered a place considering they had never chosen an ETB student from a Commis Chef Apprenticeship before. I was nervous leading up to the competition and even during it. When it was all over, I was proud that I was in a unique group of the top six under 25s Chef Apprentices in the country. It was something I had never originally set out to do but I was overjoyed when I completed it.

Through the connections Fergal had made after I had been selected to compete in the RDS, I was asked to train with the Junior Irish Chef team for over a month. This experience was unique and taught me the kind of planning and training that goes into competing as a chef.

In November and December, we had to develop a product, packaging, labelling, test batches and a product launch. This was something I loved, and it helped me to understand the importance of being able to turn an idea into a viable product.

In February of our second year, I competed in Catex in the RDS. As part of the Cold Salon section, I put myself forward in the Macaron division. I had to make six different flavour combinations and 24 macarons in total, and I was awarded with a bronze medal. I was surprised as I was not completely happy with them when I left for Dublin that morning. But it was another achievement that I could be proud of, and I felt like I had accomplished something that I hadn't expected.

Recently, we experienced a funded training field trip to the Lady Helen in Mount Juliet to enjoy a tasting menu, with the chance to pose questions to the Head Chef. This was a rare opportunity that I never dreamed we would experience together. The elegance and refined plating were like something from another world. It was the perfect dining experience, Wonderland style.

And the most recent highlight has been our Chocolate Showpiece masterclass from the Head Pastry Chef in the Cashel Palace. An entire day learning how to work with chocolate was surreal. We learned to understand structures, how to build and the importance of casting and cutting chocolate the right way. It was an honour to have a masterclass with Alicia. The opportunity to ask her questions and get her advice on our showpiece ideas was incredible.

Everyone has different strengths and preferences. There are so many different subjects and modules covered on the apprenticeship course, including Volume Food Production, Global Cuisine, Gastronomy, Classical Cuisine and so on. We've had a butchery demonstration and entire days devoted to international cuisine.

It has been truly life changing and eye opening. I have learned techniques that have changed the way I approach my work. Also, I've made friends I will cherish even after this course is over. If anyone was thinking about signing up for this course, I would say do it because you won't regret it. And with a Tutor like Fergal leading the way, you'll open doors you didn't even know were there.

The next intake for the Commis Chef Apprenticeship in Tipperary is January 2024. If you would like to express an interest, please contact Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB) Apprenticeship Services by email at apprenticeship@tipperaryetb.ie or call (052) 6191431.
A flake of blue paint flutters and falls from the bars of the jail cell door as it swings open with a clang.

Inside, two metal bunks along the wall dominate the cramped 5-by-7 room.

Its summer, and it is nearly as hot inside as it is outside. The cell has not had air conditioning since it was constructed 48 years ago.

The sound of dripping water from a showerhead at the end of the cell block ticks off the seconds like a clock. During the winter, the water is kept on all day to keep inmates warm. There has never been heating, either.

There are no ramps and only a single grab bar by a single toilet in the entire facility. The building has never complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act  it doesnt have to under Virginia law.

Above the bars, scrawled on the wall in pencil are the words: The s--tshack.

This is a cell block at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

In the words of Jesse Crosson, It is the worst experience of your life.

Crosson would know. He was behind bars there for almost a year after he was arrested on robbery, gun and drug charges in 2002.

The conditions he faced there have by and large remained unchanged since he was released two years ago, said Crosson, who now regularly returns to the jail as a volunteer to mentor inmates.

On a recent tour of the jailhouse, The Daily Progress confirmed that.

But changes are coming, according to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Authority.

The jail is in the early stages of an overhaul of the oldest part of the structure built on top of a landfill in 1974  and not renovated once  that will cost nearly $49 million and last through late 2025.

The newer parts of the facility, built in 2000, will not be touched other than a fresh coat of paint.

With the renovations, I think we are taking a major step to increasing the quality of life for inmates, and I am looking forward to them, the jails superintendent, Martin Kumer, told The Daily Progress.

Renovations have been long delayed because the jail has been chronically overcrowded for years. The inmate population has decreased by more than half since Kumer started 26 years ago.

We have the lowest population Ive seen at around 270 inmates, Kumer said. Weve maintained that now for almost three years now. We couldnt renovate in the past because we were so overpopulated that we didnt have anywhere for the inmates in the old wing to go in the meantime while we renovated.

While the planned improvements will not increase capacity, Kumer noted, they will provide more, and better, mental health care units: designed to reduce stimulation for inmates experiencing mental health crises or reacclimating to medication.

The improvements are about bettering conditions for everyone at the jail, Kumer said, not just inmates.

We want to improve the overall living conditions for and working conditions for the inmates, staff and visitors, Kumer said. Importantly, were not adding any beds. We will knock down the old wing, add more mental health care, add classrooms, make trauma-enforced design, improve HVAC, plumbing and electrical and bring some of the facilities up to current codes and more.

I think the renovations are a great step forward, but theres still a lot to be done, Crosson said.

One of those things is the phone contracts that often limit inmates ability to stay in contact with the outside world, he said.

At the same time the jail is pursuing renovations, jail officials are also negotiating new phone contracts for inmates that they promise will also improve the quality of life for those behind bars. That negotiation process, though, is a more regular event, occurring every two to five years.

It cost 12 cents a minute for inmates to make phone calls. They also receive four free, 15-minute calls a month. In 2021, phone calls brought in close to $600,000 which went directly to the jails coffers.

Trying to keep in touch with people outside of jail is extremely expensive, Crosson said. For a lot of guys, they cant afford it and sometimes arent able to wish their kids happy birthday, tell their parents they love them and miss out on lifes biggest moments.

While the jailhouse still has landline phones, most inmates use tablets that are stored in each cell block. Any form of communication on those tablets, including phone calls, video calls and emails, costs inmates.

Our goal is always to have the lowest calling rate while maintaining a reasonable commission, and our goal has not changed with time, Kumer said.

Communications are provided by Inmate Calling Solutions LLC, one of only three providers to jails and prisons in the commonwealth of Virginia. Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail officials and lobbyists on both sides of the political aisle described the current arrangement as monopolistic.

But approaches to breaking that monopoly and what that means for inmates and jails differ.

The way phones and other revenue sources for the jail work is inhumane. The jail profits hugely while inmates make pennies, Shawn Weneta, a policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, told The Daily Progress.

The ACLU has been advocating for the abolition of the current system.

We want to end phone contract monopolies. Its time that phone service be free for inmates, Weneta said.

Other groups agree that there is a monopoly and that the system unfairly profits off inmates but dont go as far as the ACLU in advocating for free phone calls.

There is no oversight of the commission revenue system, Ben Knotts, the legislative director for libertarian conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity Virginia, told The Daily Progress. It remains a constant incentive for jails to increase revenue off the backs of inmates and their families, and these companies have a monopoly.

Kumer falls more in line with that latter camp.

My goal is to reduce costs for inmates, but its not going to be free, Kumer said. Logistically, we make money off it. It costs money to provide all those tablets and phones. Somebodys got to pay for that.

Phones arent the only place where the jail makes money; there is also commissary.

The kitchens at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, staffed by roughly 15 inmates, sit in the basement of the building. Its humid, between the brown tile floors and the yellow walls its unclear how clean or dirty the room really is and, according to Crosson, whats being prepared in the steel pots sitting on the stoves barely resembles food.

What they would serve us, I usually wouldnt even be able to make out what the food was. It was borderline and sometimes actually inedible, Crosson said. Many times, youd have inmates in the kitchen helping to serve the food and they would be like, I dont even know what is going into these meals.

As a result, many inmates prefer to purchase food from the commissary. That food is not cheap; in fact, it can be double the price of what it is on the outside.

Lots of inmates, if they had the money, would buy food from the commissary in order to not go to bed hungry, Crosson said. A small bag of chips could run you twice the regular price.

Commissary isnt limited to food.

Theyd give us one bar of soap for a month. Thats not enough, Crosson said. When it was time for laundry, you were lucky if you had another pair of clothes. The essentials were lacking. Youd end up having to pay for things as basic as toothpaste and a toothbrush for upwards of five dollars.

Kumer disagrees with Crossons culinary criticism.

You have bad food, and youve got yourself a riot, he said. We have a chef with executive chef experience who makes food. We deviate from the state required menu a lot. We spend a little extra to provide fresh food. Our guidelines use a lot of processed and canned foods. We use more fresh and seasonal foods.

There is always going to be complaints, Kumer said.

Do I want to eat cakes, chips and cookies because they taste good? Sure, I do, because Im human. But I cant eat only that, its a give and take. Its the same for inmates, he said. You are always going to have somebody who doesnt like whats on their tray and somebody who doesnt like the way it was prepared. But as far as quantity, nutritional value and quality, weve always gone above and beyond.

Its hard to deny the commissary isnt popular, however. According to the jail, the commissary grossed more than $200,000 in 2021 alone.

Between commissary, phone calls and other expenses, its costly to be incarcerated. But its usually not the inmates who are paying.

Its their families. And oftentimes, those families dont actually have the finances to afford the costs.

More than a third of families go into debt to cover the costs of staying in touch with an incarcerated relative, according to the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. This only creates more financial instability when an inmate is released. Inmates often are saddled with debt from fines and fees when they reenter society.

A report issued by the Virginia Department of Corrections in October 2022 backs this up.

Commissary is a government mandated monopoly and is therefore not priced competitively given the lack of free market forces, the report says. The 9% commission collected by VADOC, in addition to high prices and sales tax, collected to fund these services places an unfair cost on some of the Commonwealths poorest families.

Inmates make pennies an hour for working while in jail  work that remains legal because of a clause in the 13th Amendment:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Like phone contracts and commissary costs, there are those who would like to see that changed.

The average inmate makes between 20 and 45 cents an hour, Phil Wilayto, the co-founder of prison reform group Virginia Prison Justice Network, told The Daily Progress. That is not remotely close to a living wage. The easiest way to solve it would be to amend the Constitution.

Wilayto said that last sentence without any sense of irony. The Constitution was last amended 31 years ago. Of the 11,000-plus amendments proposed since the founding of the country, only 27 amendments have ever been ratified  two have been repealed.

Amending the Constitution to provide working inmates a living wage would also likely face pushback from those who profit from the pennies paid and the millions earned off those behind bars.

Revenue generated from phone calls and commissary adds up. A state report, which the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail contributed to, found that the jail had the second-highest revenue from commissions in the entire commonwealth, at $1.56 million.

That report is wrong, Kumer said.

The cost report relied upon for this information is incomplete, is absent of information, and is inaccurate. It should not be relied upon for analysis, Kumer said in an email. Our annual FY 2021 Audited financials list commissary canteen commission at $276,165 and our telephone revenue at $500,965 for a total revenue of commissary and phones of $777,130.

That would mean the state report and the jails own numbers vary by $783,407.

Discrepancies aside, there is widespread agreement: The costs of being locked up extend beyond the jailhouse gates.

These costs manifest themselves in a vicious cycle of recidivism. Inmates who clearly struggled to abide by the law on the outside, often struggle to find peace on the inside and struggle again once freed, making it all the more likely they wind back up in jail.

Many times, without being able to afford to stay in touch with loved ones, inmates end up falling back in with the same people that got them into jail in the first place, Kenneth Hunter, a spokesman with prison reform group Ignite Justice and a former inmate himself, told The Daily Progress. The systems in place to help inmates reenter society successfully usually fail. A lot of times inmates are released, and the jail does nothing more for them than say, Good luck.

A new, and better, phone contract at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail could be a good place to start changing that.

Studies have shown that staying in touch with loved ones while incarcerated reduces the likelihood an inmate will commit more crimes when released, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit prison reform group.

In September, bids for the new phone contracts at Charlottesvilles jail will be finalized.
Children on cloud nine  thanks to Udhayanidhi Stalin!

Video Of Vijay's Father Touching Rajinikanth's Feet Goes Viral After His Clip With Yogi Triggers Controversy

6 Months Jail, 5,000 Fine For Jayaprada For Failing To Pay ESI To Staff

Chennai

oi-Prakash KL

A Chennai court has sentenced six-month imprisonment to actress-turned-politician Jayaprada as part of a case linked to a petition filed by employees of a cinema hall owned by her in Rayapeta.

She has also been fined Rs 5,000. The said movie hall is run by Ram Kumar and Raja Babu, according to a report in Deccan Chronicle.

As the management failed to pay the ESI of the theatre employees, they moved the court. However, Jayaprada has promised to clear the entire amount to her employees while appealing to the court to dismiss the case.

Nonetheless, the advocate representing the Labour Government Insurance Corporation raised an objection to her appeal.

As a result, Jayaprada and three other individuals involved in the case were subsequently handed a six-month prison term. Also, they were also instructed to each pay a fine of Rs 5,000.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 18:49 [IST]
RS Adjourned Twice Amid Uproar Over Media Report On Chinese Funding To Spread Propaganda Against India

AAP MP Raghav Chadha Suspended From RS Over Forging Signatures

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha has been suspended for 'forging' signatures of five Rajya Sabha MPs. Chadha has been suspended until the committee of privileges investigating the case against him submits its report related to the Delhi Services Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Four Rajya Sabha MPs had claimed that Chadha included their names without their permission in a motion on August 7. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Wednesday, sent the complaints of the MPs to the privileges committee to look into the matter.

The MPs, Sasmit Patra, S Phangnon Konyak, M Thambidurai, and Narhari Amin, accused Chadha of adding their names to a House panel without asking them.

Earlier on Thursday, Chadha hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over "forged signatures" allegations by five Rajya Sabha MPs and challenged the saffron party to show him the piece of paper where they are claiming the forged signatures.

"I have come under compulsion to expose the lies of the BJP. As per the rule book, no signature is required or taken. So I challenge the BJP to show me the piece of paper where they are claiming the forged signatures," Chadha said at a press conference.

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AAP's Raghav Chadha suspended from Rajya Sabha over forgery allegations | Oneindia News

BJP Trying To Suppress My Voice, Says Raghav Chadha On Breach Of Privilege Complaints Against Him

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday referred the complaints of the MPs to the Privileges Committee to examine and investigate the allegations raised by them.

Chaddha had proposed a Select Committee of the House to examine the Delhi Services Bill.

After eight hours of discussion and debate, the Bill to replace the Centre's Ordinance for control of services in the national capital was passed by the Upper House after a division in which 131 MPs voted in favour of the legislation and 102 against it.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 14:56 [IST]
Big Changes In Indian Criminal Laws: Key Points From Amit Shah's Speech

India

oi-PTI

Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act, asserting the proposed laws will transform the country's criminal justice system and bring the spirit to protect the rights of citizen at the centre stage.

Introducing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, he said the changes were made to provide speedy justice and for creating a legal system on par with contemporary needs and aspirations of the people.

Here are the major points mentioned by the Home Minister in his speech in the Lok Sabha:

The aim of the laws is not to punish, but to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime.

The Whole procedure, right from filing an FIR to case diary, charge sheet and getting judgment will be digitized.

Forensic sciences will be in focus. A visit by a forensic team to a crime scene will be mandatory if the crime entails a punishment of seven years or more.

Three mobile forensic science Laboratories will be present in every district.

The aim is to take the conviction rate up to 90 per cent.

All courts in the country will be computerised by 2027.

For the first time, filing e-FIRs will be possible.

A zero FIR of an incident can be registered in any police station. The complaint will be sent to the police station concerned within 15 days.

Every district will have a police official who will give a certificate to the family of those arrested that they are responsible for the arrested person. Information will have to be provided both online, and personally.

Amit Shah Tables Three Bills In Lok Sabha To Provide Capital Punishment

In case of incidents of sexual violence, the statement of the victim and video recording will be compulsory.

Police will have to provide a status update on a case within 90 days.

No government will be able to withdraw a case entailing punishment of seven years imprisonment or more without hearing the victim. This will protect citizen's rights.

Community service is being introduced as a punishment for the first time.

To stop delays in cases, changes have been made. For cases entailing less than three years of imprisonment, a summary trial will be enough. This will reduce cases in session courts by 40 per cent.

Charge sheets will have to be filed within 90 days. A court can extend it for another 90 days. A probe will have to be finished in 180 days and should be sent for trial.

After trial, judgment will have to be given in 30 days. It will have to be uploaded online within a week.

For filing complaints against civil servants, authorities concerned will have to give or deny permission within 120 days. If a response is not received, it will be deemed to be a yes.

A provision has been added for compensation through the properties of a declared criminal.

Provision has been made stricter for punishment in case of organized crime and international gangs.

Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions or by hiding identity will be considered a crime.

For gang rape, there is a provision for punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life in jail.

Provision for death sentence for raping minors.

For mob lynching, there will be provisions for seven years of imprisonment, life imprisonment and death sentence.

A new provision has been added for snatching.

Crime against children will entail a 10-year jail term as punishment. Penalties have also been increased.

To stop political use of punishment waivers by governments, a new provision has been made that death sentences can only be converted to life imprisonment and life imprisonment can be pardoned only within seven years of punishment. This is to ensure those with political influence do not escape the law.

Sedition law will be completely repealed.

"This is democracy, everyone has the right to speak," Shah said.

Previously, there was no definition of terrorism. For the first time, terrorism is being defined.

Trial to be allowed without criminals if he or she has been declared absconding. It would make trials of criminals like Dawood Ibrahim possible.

Vehicles don't have to be kept till the end of the case once videography is done. * There will be an overhaul of the criminal justice system and everyone will get justice in a maximum of three years.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 17:15 [IST]
Conman Kiran Patel Duped Gujarati Businessman, Arrested In Ahmedabad

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

Conman Kiran Patel who is accused of cheating a businessman in Gujarat's Morbi of Rs 48 lakh, has been arrested on Thursday.

Conman was produced in court by the city police Crime Branch. Patel, and his wife Malini Patel, face allegations of impersonation, breach of trust, cheating, and criminal conspiracy.

Earlier in May, a complaint was lodged against Patel after he deceived businessman Bharat Patel by portraying himself as a Class 1 officer in 2017 and promising to assist in obtaining a permit from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) for his chemical business.

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Despite taking the hefty sum, Kiran Patel did not deliver on his promises, leading to further investigation. After looking into the matter in 2018, the businessman found that Kiran Patel had made no efforts to secure the required clearances.

These recent allegations add to six prior cases of cheating filed against Kiran Patel by the Gujarat Police.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 12:51 [IST]
Haryana Farmers, Khaps Appeal For Peace In Nuh, Demand Arrest of Monu Manesar

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In the aftermath of communal clashes in Nuh, Haryana, various farmer unions and Khap panchayats have united to advocate for peace and demand the arrest of cow vigilante Monu Manesar.

The clashes, which erupted on July 31 in Nuh, where the majority population is Muslim, resulted in six fatalities when a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession was attacked. Among the deceased were two home guards and a cleric.

Monu Manesar, a Bajrang Dal leader, is sought for his alleged involvement in the killing of two Muslim men earlier this year. Reports that Manesar might attend the religious procession in Nuh purportedly triggered the communal violence, extending to Gurugram and beyond.

The ongoing situation has seen the registration of 113 FIRs and the arrest of 305 individuals linked to the clashes. Currently, 106 detainees are under police interrogation.

SIT To Be Formed, Role Of Monu Manesar Being Probed: Haryana DGP On Haryana Communal Clashes

A significant convergence of Khaps, farmer unions, and religious leaders from Haryana convened for a 'Mahapanchayat' in Hisar on Wednesday. The assembly, organized by the Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union, featured representatives from Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities. The gathering resolved that adherents of all faiths will collectively endeavor to reinstate tranquility.

Notably, certain letters purportedly penned by panchayat heads in Mahendergarh, Rewari, and Jhajjar districts have surfaced online, indicating that Muslim traders have been prohibited from conducting business within their villages.

The response from farmer unions towards the Haryana government's management of the Nuh communal strife has been critical, while Khap reactions have been mixed. While some Khaps have supported the boycott of Muslim traders, others have condemned the violence and demanded Manesar's arrest. Particularly, Khaps connected to the Jat community are voicing demands for Manesar's apprehension and fostering communal unity.

Reportedly, Manesar released a video on social media claiming his intention to participate in the Nuh religious procession, urging his supporters to join in large numbers. However, he later received warnings via social media advising him to stay away.

Manesar has asserted that he refrained from attending the event at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's counsel, as they feared his presence could escalate tensions.

Haryana's state police chief, P K Agrawal, announced the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe Manesar's role in the clashes.

The 30-year-old is wanted by authorities for the abduction and murder of two Muslim men, Junaid and Nasir, who were discovered dead in a burned car in Bhiwani in February. Their families in Rajasthan's Bharatpur alleged that they were beaten and killed by Bajrang Dal members, a claim denied by the group.

Who Is Monu Manesar? The Bajrang Dal Leader Accused Of Inciting Communal Clashes In Nuh

After a two-week closure due to the communal unrest, schools and transportation services in Nuh are slated to reopen. Authorities have also advised Muslim clerics to observe Friday prayers at their residences.

"In light of the improving situation in the area, all educational institutions will reopen from August 11. Likewise, Haryana State Transport bus services will fully resume from the same date. Curfew will be relaxed on Friday. ATMs within Nuh's municipal corporation area, Tawdu, Punhana, Ferozepur Jhirka, and Pingawa and Nagina blocks will remain accessible during this period," as stated by the Nuh administration.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 12:21 [IST]
Highlights Of 3 Criminal Law Bills Tabled in Parliament

India

oi-Prakash KL

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, which are British-era laws

He said that in the current laws, heinous crimes like murder or crime against women were placed very low and crimes like treason, robbery and attack on the official of the government were kept above these. He said that we are changing this approach and the first chapter in these new laws will be on crimes against women and children. The second chapter will be on murder/homicide and criminality with human body. We have brought this law by taking a very principled decision of bringing the citizen at the centre instead of governance.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, will now have 533 sections, 160 sections have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 9 sections have been repealed.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, which will replace the IPC, will have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, 175 sections have been amended, 8 new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 23 sections have been changed, 1 new section has been added and 5 repealed.

The state-of-the-art technologies have been incorporated in these laws. The definition of documents has been expanded to include electronic or digital records, e-mails, server logs, computers, smartphones, laptops, SMS, websites, locational evidence, mails and messages available on devices, which can be used in courts, which will give freedom from the pile of papers.

Provision has been made in this law to digitize the entire process from FIR to case diary, case diary to charge sheet and from charge sheet to judgement. At present, only the appearing of the accused in court can be done through video conferencing, but now the entire trial, including cross-questioning, will be done through video conferencing. Examination of complainant and witnesses, investigation and recording of evidence in trial and High Court trial and entire appellate proceedings will now be possible digitally. It will also make videography compulsory at the time of search and seizure, which will be part of the case and this will save the innocent citizens from being implicated. No charge sheet will be valid without such recording by the police.

As per the proposed bill, the forensic team should compulsory to the crime scene for offenses punishable for 7 years or more.

Amit Shah said that for the first time after 75 years of independence, we are starting Zero FIR to ensure the convenience of the citizens.

"Wherever the crime may have happened, the citizens will be able to lodge complaints even outside of their police station area. Within 15 days of the registration of crime, it will have to be forwarded to the concerned police station. For the first time we are adding the provision of e-FIR. Every district and police station will designate a police officer who will inform online and in person about the arrest to the family of the arrested person. Shah said that the statement of the victim has been made compulsory in the case of sexual violence and video recording of the statement has also been made compulsory in the case of sexual harassment," he said. It will be compulsory for the police to give the status of the complaint to the complainant in 90 days and thereafter in every 15 days.

No government will be able to withdraw a case of imprisonment of 7 years or more without hearing the victim, this will protect the rights of the citizens. Under this law, for the first time, we are bringing community service as a punishment. The scope of summary trial in small cases has also been increased, now offenses punishable up to 3 years will be included in summary trial, with this provision alone more than 40 percent cases in sessions courts will be finished.

A time limit of 90 days has been fixed for filing the charge sheet and depending on the situation, the court will be able to give permission for further 90 days. In this way, within 180 days the investigation will have to be completed and will be forwarded for trial. Courts will now be bound to give notice of framing of charges to the accused person within 60 days. The Hon'ble Judge will have to give the decision within 30 days of the completion of the argument, this will not keep the decision pending for years, and the decision will have to be made available online within 7 days.

Union Home Minister said that the government will have to decide on the permission for trial against a civil servant or police officer within 120 days, otherwise it will be treated as deemed permission and the trial will be started. "We have made another big revolutionary change, the SP who is currently working, will testify after seeing the same file, the earlier concerned officer was not required to come, which will provide quick testimony and justice will also be delivered soon. Apart from this, we have also brought a provision for attachment of the property of declared criminals. We are also adding a new provision of different type of harsh punishment against inter-state gangs and organized crimes in this law."

The Centre is making many provisions to deal with crime and social problems against women. A provision has been made to criminalize sexual intercourse on the basis of false promises of marriage, employment and promotion and on the basis of false identity. In all cases of gang rape, a provision of 20 years of punishment or life imprisonment has been made, which is not being implemented today.

In the case of girls below 18 years of age, a provision of death penalty has also been kept. For mob lynching all three provisions of 7 years, life imprisonment and death penalty have been kept. There was no provision for mobile phone or chain snatching from women, but now provision has been kept for the same.

The punishment for offenses against children has been increased from 7 years to 10 years. Provision has also been made to increase the amount of fine in many crimes. There is also a provision of 10 years of imprisonment for criminals who run away from custody. There were many cases of using pardon from sentences for political gains, now the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment, life imprisonment to a minimum of 7 years and 7 years to a minimum of 3 years.

Earlier there was no definition of terrorism, but now crimes like secession, armed insurgency, subversive activities, separatism, crimes like challenging the unity, sovereignty and integrity of India have been defined in this law and the rights have been given to confiscate the properties of those related to these crimes.

The court will order this on the cognizance of the investigating police officer. The Modi government has taken a decision regarding trial in absentia. The Sessions Court Judge, after due process, will try and sentence a person declared a fugitive in absentia, no matter where in the world he may be hiding. He will have recourse to Indian law and court to appeal against the sentence.

A large number of case properties are lying in police stations across the country, these can be disposed of by videography and submitting the verified copy to the court. A total of 313 changes have been made in this law which will bring a widespread change in our criminal justice system and anyone will be able to get justice within a maximum of 3 years, the Home Minister said. He said that special care has been taken of women and children in this law, it has been ensured that the criminals are punished and such provisions have also been made to prevent the police from misusing their powers. On the one hand, laws like sedition have been repealed, on the other hand, provision of punishment for exploiting women by cheating and heinous crimes like mob lynching, and cracking down on organized crimes and terrorism has also been done.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 20:24 [IST]
Legal drinking age in Delhi reduced from 25 to 21: here is a look at the rules in other states

How Legal Experts React To Govt's Move To Replace Colonial-Era Laws

India

pti-PTI

The Centre's move on Friday to introduce three bills in the Lok Sabha to replace colonial-era laws -- the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act -- was welcomed by legal experts who, however, voiced their reservations about naming them in Hindi.

While former Delhi High Court judge Justice (retd) R S Sodhi said India is a "developing and vibrant society" in which one can't have stagnant laws, senior advocates Vikas Singh and Vikas Pahwa said these colonial-era legislations were "obsolete statutes" and there was a need to replace them.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said, however, replacing the names of these legislations with Hindi terms is "completely meaningless" in a judicial system which is largely run in English.

Advocate J Sai Deepak, a prominent voice against laws enacted during the British rule, said though he has not gone through the bills, he is happy that at least the names for these statutes have been changed.

In a landmark move, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha on Friday to replace colonial-era laws, asserting that the proposed laws will transform the country's criminal justice system and bring the spirit to protect the rights of Indian citizens to the centre stage.

Shah introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively and said the changes were done to provide speedy justice and create a legal system that keeps contemporary needs and aspirations of the people in mind.

Commenting on the government's move, Justice (retd) Sodhi said wherever changes are needed, it should be brought in and any law which is for the betterment of the society should be welcomed. "In a vibrant society, the laws must also change. You cannot have stagnant laws," he told PTI.

On being asked about the proposed provision to provide for first-time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences, Justice (retd) Sodhi said, "Introduction of community service as a punishment for petty offences is a good thing because sending someone to jail for small issues does not help anyone."

"If the aim is to reform, public services are much better and you should try to bring that person to the mainstream," he said.

Expressing his opinion on the government's move, Vikas Singh said the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act are old and obsolete statutes and there was a need to replace them. "That is something which is to be appreciated," he said.

However, he flagged the issue of naming these bills in Hindi and said the names of these statutes should not be in Hindi as it is not the official language of courts. Singh said people who are not conversant with Hindi will find it difficult to understand the names of these proposed Acts. Echoing him, Sankaranarayanan said these changes in the nomenclature were meaningless.

"I haven't looked at the bills in detail but at least replacing names is completely meaningless in a judicial system which is largely run on English language, particularly at the Supreme Court where it is provided by the Constitution that the language of the court is English," he said.

Sankaranarayanan said these changes also create an apprehension that this is an attempt to force Hindi as a pre-eminent language in the country. Responding to a question as to how this will affect law enforcement and the judicial process, he said it will be pretty much ignored as it is like calling "Connaught Place as Rajiv Gandhi Chowk."

Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa also welcomed the government's initiative, saying there was a dire need for modifications to these three statutes. "The three major criminal Acts were implemented more than hundred years ago and were in dire need of modifications. As a criminal lawyer, I have always felt that the procedure of trials, the definitions of the penal offences and the law of evidence are archaic, need radical changes and have to be in sync with modern India. Any law formulated on these lines would be propitious for the criminal justice system of our country," he said.

Pahwa said if these bills satisfy the test of emergent judicial needs, they shall bring cardinal advancement in the way trials are conducted in the country. Advocate J Sai Deepak said the Hindi names for these statutes is a "good start" as 'naamkaran se hi kaam shuru hota hai' (from naming, the work starts). "The thing is I don't know about the content of the bills. I am happy that at least there is change in the names. I hope that there is more to the eye than symbolism. I would like to see what the content of bills is and what kind of Indian ideas are there, rather 'Bharatiya' ideas, which have been engrafted into these bills," he said.

The BNS Bill has provisions that seek to repeal the sedition law and award maximum capital punishment for crimes such as mob lynching and rape of minors, the Home Minister said. The Bill also has provisions to provide for first-time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences.

The Bill also lists new offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. "I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime," Shah said while noting that the laws made by the British were full of signs of slavery aimed at punishing those opposed to their rule.

The Home Minister also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the three Bills for examination by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
I Won't Seek Muslim Votes: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

India

oi-Prakash KL

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that he will not seek the votes of Muslims and will not do "vote bank politics."

"Right now, I don't want Muslim votes. All problems happen because of vote bank politics...I visit a Muslim area once a month, attend their events and meet people, but I don't link politics with development. I want Muslims to realise their relationship with the Congress is all about votes," NDTV quoted the Assam Chief Minister as saying in an interview.

He claimed that he would develop the areas of Muslims first after which they can vote for him.

"Don't give me votes. Let me develop your areas in the next 10 years. I want to ensure child marriage practice ends, stop going to madrasas. Go to colleges instead. I am going to inaugurate seven colleges for Muslim daughters, especially girls," Sarma added.

Sarma indicated that the BJP's relationship with Muslims is beyond votes.

"The Congress did not build infrastructure or schools in Muslim areas. But I want to develop them. I will do this for 10-15 years, then I will ask for votes from Muslims. If I ask for votes from them now, it will become a give-and-take relationship. I don't want it to be a transactional relationship," the Chief Minister added.

Sarma claimed that he did not campaign in Muslim areas in the previous election. "In 2016 and 2020, during campaigning, I did not go to Muslim areas. I had said I would go only after winning the election. Even this time I am telling them, vote for whoever you want. BJP will not campaign in their area," the Assam CM, who quit Congress in 2015 to join the BJP in Congress, added.

In 2016, the BJP emerged victorious in Assam Assembly polls by unseating the Congress's Tarun Gogoi-led government that had held power for three consecutive terms. The saffron party's success was widely attributed to Sarma's strategic manoeuvres. In the following year, despite securing fewer seats than Congress, the BJP managed to establish a government in Manipur.
Major Overhaul: Centre Aims To Replace IPC, CrPC & Indian Evidence Act With New Laws

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday presented three bills in the Lok Sabha, aiming to replace the British-era laws of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. These bills have been titled as the "Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita", "Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and "Bhartiya Sakshya Bill".

Shah mentioned that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, set to replace the IPC, will entirely abolish the offense of sedition outlined in section 124A of the code.

"The laws that will be repealed... the focus of those law was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," Shah said in the Lower House of Parliament.

"The aim will not be to punish, it will be to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime," he added.

#WATCH | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "...Under this Bill, we have set the goal that the conviction ratio has to be taken above 90%. That is why, we have brought an important provision that the Sections which provide for 7 years or a greater jail term, under all those pic.twitter.com/Ap0eSzdCsG  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

Crafted by the British in 1860, the IPC has served as the foundation of the nation's criminal justice system for over 160 years. The new legislation to replace it is named the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Similarly, the CrPC of 1973 will be succeeded by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Furthermore, the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 will make way for the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.

Read on to know more here:

Previously, Ajay Kumar Mishra, the Union Minister of State for Home, revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs sought input from various stakeholders including Governors, Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, Chief Justice of India, Chief Justices of High Courts, Bar Council of India, Bar Councils of different states, universities, law institutes, and all Members of Parliament regarding comprehensive revisions in criminal laws.

Mishra also highlighted that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, in its 146th report, recommended a comprehensive review of the country's criminal justice system.

Sonia Gandhi Summons Congress MPs Meeting Over Adhir Ranjan's Lok Sabha Suspension

Furthermore, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had previously emphasized the necessity to overhaul and streamline the country's criminal law through comprehensive legislation, rather than making fragmented amendments to existing acts, as mentioned in their 111th and 128th reports.

"In order to bring about comprehensive changes in the criminal laws of the country, ensuring accessible and prompt justice for all and establishing a legal framework centered around the people, the government has initiated the process for comprehensive amendments to criminal laws such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, in consultation with all stakeholders," Mishra said in a written response to a query.

The Minister disclosed that a committee led by the Vice-chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi, had been formed to suggest reforms in the realm of criminal laws.
An Albemarle County man was arrested and charged Thursday for the online solicitation of a minor under the age of 12 years old.

The 52-year-old William Dwayne Combs was formally charged with use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children. That is a Class 5 felony, according to the Virginia Code, and punishable by a term of no fewer than five years in a state correctional facility.

As of Friday afternoon, Combs was booked at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

The Albemarle County Police Department said it received information on July 26 regarding the online solicitation of a minor, after which an investigation ensued. The investigation is ongoing, police said in a statement.

Combs had a bond hearing Friday morning, and has an "attorney review" hearing Aug. 25 at 9 a.m.

Anyone with information regarding Combs is encouraged to contact Detective Michael Wells with Albemarle County Police Departments Criminal Investigations Division at (434) 296-5807 or the anonymous CrimeStoppers tip line at (434) 977-4000 or crimestoppers@albemarle.org.

There are lots of resources to help parents and children stay safe on the internet, according to the Albemarle Police Department. That includes educating children on the importance of privacy and critical thinking, setting up parental controls, monitoring online interactions and content, and staying informed on apps, social media platforms and trends a child may be using.
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New Guidelines Aim To Prevent Misleading Health Claims By Celebrities, Influencers

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Individuals identifying as medical practitioners, health, and fitness experts will now be required to disclose their official certifications when endorsing brands or products on social media platforms. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has introduced Additional Guidelines for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers engaged in the health and wellness sector. Those portraying themselves as health professionals or medical practitioners must include a clear disclaimer.

These new guidelines complement the existing Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and the Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, issued on June 9, 2022, and replace the "Endorsement Know-hows" guidebook released on January 20, 2023.

The Additional Influencer Guidelines for Health and Wellness Celebrities, Influencers, and Virtual Influencers have been devised following extensive consultations with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Ayush, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

The primary objective of these guidelines is to address deceptive advertisements, unverified claims, and to ensure transparency in health and wellness endorsements.

According to these guidelines, certified medical practitioners and health & fitness experts who possess recognized certifications must reveal their status when disseminating information, endorsing products or services, or making health-related assertions.

Celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers presenting themselves as health experts or medical practitioners must provide explicit disclaimers to clarify that their endorsements do not substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

This disclosure or disclaimer is essential when discussing or making claims about topics such as health benefits from food items & nutraceuticals, disease prevention, treatment, or recovery methods, and immunity enhancement, among others.

These disclosures or disclaimers should be prominently displayed during endorsements, promotions, or any instance of making health-related statements.

General wellness and health advice like 'Stay Hydrated by Drinking Water', 'Regular Exercise Enhances Well-being', 'Limit Sedentary Behavior and Screen Time', 'Prioritize Sufficient Rest', 'Turmeric Milk Aids Recovery', 'Daily Sunscreen Use Guards Against UV Rays', and 'Hair Oil Application for Hair Growth', which do not endorse specific products, services, or target distinct health conditions or outcomes, are exempt from these regulations.

However, it remains crucial for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers depicting themselves as health experts or medical practitioners to differentiate between personal opinions and professional advice, refraining from making specific health claims without substantiated evidence.

Audiences are encouraged to consult healthcare professionals for comprehensive information about products or services.

DoCA will actively oversee and enforce these guidelines, and violations may result in penalties under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and other relevant legal provisions.

The government asserts that these guidelines will fortify the industry and safeguard consumer interests.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 11:10 [IST]
Did You Receive An Emergency Alert On Your Phone Today? Know What It Means

Niger Coup: Indian Govt Urges Citizens To Leave Country Amidst Unrest

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Indian government on Friday issued an advisory urging all Indian citizens in Niger to leave the African nation as soon as possible due to the prevailing conditions. Additionally, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recommended that Indian nationals should reconsider their travel plans until the situation stabilizes.

During a media briefing, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the MEA, said, "The Government of India is closely monitoring the unfolding developments in Niger. Given the current circumstances, Indian nationals whose presence is non-essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. It's important to note that airspace is currently closed. If departing through land borders, they should take utmost precautions to ensure their safety and security."

He further added, "Those who have plans to travel to Niger in the upcoming days are also advised to postpone their travel until the situation returns to normal."

Tensions have risen between Niger's newly established military regime and the West African regional bloc due to the latter's decision to deploy troops in order to restore Niger's struggling democracy.

#WATCH | MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi says, "Government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. They may bear in pic.twitter.com/vjqzqxdyY2  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

The ECOWAS bloc recently announced that it has instructed a 'standby force' to reinstate constitutional order in Niger after the Sunday deadline for the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum had passed.

According to reports, two Western officials mentioned that Niger's junta had conveyed to a senior US diplomat their intention to harm Bazoum should neighboring countries attempt any military intervention to reinstate his leadership.

The details of the force's deployment, participating countries from the 15-member bloc, and the timeline remain uncertain. Experts suggest that it could consist of around 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could potentially be operational within a few weeks.

Meanwhile, the president of neighboring Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, affirmed after the ECOWAS meeting that his country would participate in the military operation, alongside Nigeria and Benin.

"Ivory Coast will contribute a battalion and has made all necessary financial arrangements... Our goal is to reinstate Bazoum in his rightful position. We are committed to achieving peace and stability in the sub-region," Ouattara stated on state television, as reported by the Associated Press.
SC Grants Interim Bail To Former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

Former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik who was arrested over a money laundering case in 2022, has been granted an interim bail by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Malik for two months on medical grounds.

Malik had moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court's July 13 order denying him bail on medical grounds in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi noted that Malik is in the hospital for kidney disease and other ailments. "We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said.

"We are passing the order strictly on medical conditions and have not entered into the merits of the case," the bench said.

The ED had arrested Malik in February 2022 in a case allegedly linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.

NCP leader Nawab Malik's son booked in alleged visa fraud case

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Mumbai.

Malik had sought relief from the HC, claiming he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease apart from various other ailments. He also sought bail on merit.

The high court had said it will hear his plea seeking bail on merit after two weeks.

The ED's case against Malik is based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Sonia Gandhi Summons Congress MPs Meeting Over Adhir Ranjan's Lok Sabha Suspension

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, has convened an urgent meeting for today with the party's Lok Sabha members. The objective of the gathering is to address the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the lower house due to what has been termed "repeated misconduct." The meeting is scheduled to take place at 10:30 am in the CPP office located within the Parliament premises.

Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, took the initiative to propose Chowdhury's suspension on Thursday. This action came in response to specific remarks made by the Congress leader during a no-confidence motion debate, which provoked strong reactions from members of the ruling party. The resolution endorsing the suspension was passed via a voice vote.

In response, Chowdhury defended his comments, asserting that he did not intend to insult Prime Minister Modi. He clarified that his use of the term "nirav" to describe the Prime Minister's response to the Manipur issue was not meant as an insult. He pointed out that it was the Prime Minister's supporters who took offense and pushed for his suspension, a matter that has now been referred to the privileges committee.

Congress MP Manish Tewari expressed his dismay over the suspension, branding it as "unfortunate" and a violation of Article 105 (1) of the Indian Constitution. He emphasized the larger implications of such an action on parliamentary democracy and free speech within legislative bodies. Tewari remarked on X that "This is a fit case to challenge the suspension in an appropriate Court of Law."

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Manickam Tagore, the Congress whip in Lok Sabha, expressed astonishment over the suspension, particularly noting that it is the first time the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha has been suspended for criticizing Prime Minister Modi. He condemned the move as undemocratic and an expression of autocratic behavior.

During the parliamentary session, Pralhad Joshi justified Chowdhury's suspension by stating that the Congress leader's behavior had become habitual and regrettable. Despite receiving multiple warnings, his conduct had not improved. Joshi highlighted that Chowdhury consistently made unsubstantiated allegations, demeaned the government's dignity, and never issued apologies. The Minister cited incidents where Chowdhury's remarks had disrupted proceedings, including when the Home Minister was speaking.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 8:50 [IST]
What Is EG.5 Variant? What Are The Symptoms Of New COVID-19 Strain 'Eris'?

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

EG.5 is a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant that was first identified in the United States in January 2023. It has since been detected in more than 40 countries, including India, China, South Korea, Japan, and Canada. EG.5 is a descendant of XBB.1.9.2, with one extra spike mutation.

EG.5 is more transmissible than other Omicron subvariants. However, it does not appear to be more severe.

What are the symptoms of EG.5?

The symptoms of EG.5 are similar to those of other Omicron subvariants. They may include

fever,

cough,

shortness of breath,

fatigue,

muscle aches,

headache,

sore throat, and runny nose.

Some people with EG.5 may also experience nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

How does EG.5 spread?

EG.5 is spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces.

What are the potential risk associated with EG.5 variant?

In its evaluation of the risk associated with EG.5, the WHO has stated that available evidence suggests no significant additional public health risks when compared to other lineages descended from the Omicron variant. However, the organization emphasises the need for a more comprehensive risk assessment of EG.5.

How can I protect myself from EG.5?

There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from EG.5:

Get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

Wear a mask in public indoor settings.

Social distance from others.

Wash your hands frequently.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

What is the WHO doing about EG.5?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially classified a recently identified sub-variant of Covid as EG.5, informally referred to as "Eris," as a variant of interest, which means that it is being monitored closely for any potential changes in its transmissibility or severity. The WHO is also urging countries to continue reporting comprehensive data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths. This data will help the WHO to better understand the impact of EG.5 and to make informed recommendations for public health measures.

What does the future hold for EG.5 Variant?

It is still too early to say for sure what the long-term impact of EG.5 will be. However, the WHO is concerned about the potential for EG.5 to cause another wave of COVID-19 infections. The WHO is urging countries to take steps to prepare for the possibility of an EG.5-driven wave, such as increasing vaccination rates and improving testing and contact tracing capabilities.

The importance of data reporting

The WHO has stressed the importance of consistent and comprehensive COVID-19 data reporting. This data is essential for understanding the impact of EG.5 and for making informed decisions about public health measures. Unfortunately, many countries are not reporting comprehensive data to the WHO. This is hampering the global response to the pandemic and making it difficult to track the spread of EG.5.

The WHO is urging all countries to make a renewed commitment to reporting comprehensive COVID-19 data. This data is essential for protecting people from COVID-19 and for preventing future pandemics.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, has noted that EG.5 exhibits heightened transmissibility but does not demonstrate increased severity compared to other Omicron sublineages in circulation since late 2021.

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern over the insufficient reporting of COVID-19 data by many countries to the WHO. He revealed that only a mere 11% of countries had reported data on hospitalisations and ICU admissions related to the virus.

Dr. Van Kerkhove lamented the lack of data from numerous countries, highlighting that this data deficiency hampers the global response to the virus. She noted a decline in the agility and responsiveness that was more prominent in the initial stages of the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19 remains staggering, with over 6.9 million lives lost and more than 768 million confirmed cases since the virus emerged. The WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic in March 2020 and lifted the global emergency status for COVID-19 in May of the current year.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 9:24 [IST]
Chinese Journalist Jailed For 3 Years Shares His Ordeal

International

oi-PTI

A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China's state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention, including being allowed to stand in sunlight for just 10 hours each year.

Cheng Lei has been held for three years, and although found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, has yet to be sentenced. She hasn't seen a tree since she was detained and deeply misses her daughter and son, now entering high school, Cheng said in a statement conveyed to an Australian diplomat and released to local media.

"I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush," Cheng said in the statement read by her partner Nick Coyle on the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

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"I secretly mouth the names of places I've visited and driven through," Cheng said. "It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all, I miss my children."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it would continue to support Cheng and her family and advocate for her interests and well-being. "Ms. Cheng's message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country," Wong said in a statement. "All Australians want to see her reunited with her children." Wong said Australia had consistently advocated for Cheng and "asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms Cheng, in accordance with international norms." Coyle said Cheng had been allowed to write to him since last September. He said the most difficult thing for her was the toll that the long-term separation from her children was taking. He said she hoped to send a message to Australians in her statement.

"It's trying to communicate with the Australian people who she is, and what she loves about her country," Coyle told the ABC. "It's a country that she feels very lucky to have come to at a very young age and had the benefit of our warmth and multicultural nature, and education, and way of life. So she misses it.''

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Cheng, 48, moved with her family to Australia at age 10. She returned to China to work for the international department of state broadcaster CCTV. The details behind her detention and trial remain sealed. Chinese prosecutors have broad powers to level charges of spying or leaking state secrets with little or no evidence, and Cheng could face years of prison.

Chinese authorities have also been accused of holding foreign nationals, particularly those born in the country, to obtain diplomatic gains or the return of Chinese citizens abroad wanted on a variety of charges. China's relations with Australia have recently improved after China put them on freeze over Canberra's accusations of Chinese political interference and intimidation of the local Chinese community.

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2023, 9:01 [IST]
Turkiye's Erdogan Set To Take Oath For 3rd Term In Office

Turkey Earthquake: Powerful Quake Strikes Malatya, Injuring 23

International

-Sushmita Halder

Strong earthquake hits Turkey, causing casualties and damage

A powerful earthquake struck Turkey on August 11, resulting in several injuries and deaths. Numerous buildings were also damaged due to the tremors. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7 and its epicenter was in Yesilyurt city of Malatya province. More than 23 people were injured in Malatya and Adiyaman as a result of falls and people throwing themselves off buildings to avoid being crushed under a collapsed building.

Rescue operations underway to help affected individuals

Following the earthquake, rescue teams immediately began their operations to assist those affected by the disaster. Emergency services were deployed to provide medical aid and support to injured individuals. Efforts are being made to ensure that everyone is accounted for and provided necessary assistance.

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'Red Alert' issued as aftershocks continue

As aftershocks continued following the initial quake, authorities issued a 'Red Alert' warning residents about potential dangers. People were advised to stay away from damaged buildings as further tremors could cause additional collapses or structural failures.

Government mobilizes resources for relief efforts

The Turkish government has mobilized various resources for relief efforts in the affected areas. The Ministry of Health dispatched medical teams and supplies to treat the injured, while search and rescue teams have been working tirelessly to locate any trapped individuals under rubble.

International support offered to Turkey

Several countries and international organizations have expressed their solidarity with Turkey and offered assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake. Aid teams, equipment, and supplies are being sent from various nations to help with search and rescue operations as well as provide necessary aid to those affected.

Precautionary measures urged for future earthquakes

Experts emphasize the importance of taking precautionary measures to minimize casualties and damage caused by earthquakes. They advise people living in seismically active regions to be prepared by creating emergency kits, securing heavy furniture, and following safety protocols during such incidents.

FAQ's When did the earthquake occur? The earthquake occurred on August 11.

Where did the earthquake strike? The earthquake struck Malatya, Turkey.

How many injuries were reported? 23 injuries were reported.

Were there any deaths caused by the earthquake? Yes, there were deaths caused by the earthquake.

What was the impact of the tremors on buildings? Numerous buildings were damaged due to the tremors.
The Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar. Described by journalists and news outlets as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law. There are also restrictions on their freedom of movement, access to state education and civil service jobs. The legal conditions faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar have been compared to apartheid by some academics, analysts and political figures, including Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, a South African anti-apartheid activist. The most recent mass displacement of Rohingya in 2017 led the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against humanity, and the International Court of Justice to investigate genocide.
The pair asked a third party to make dummy bids at the auction of their Sydney home in an attempt to increase the sale price, according to court documents.
As a supporter of Ukraine, Germany has been targeted by foreign intelligence services, but not just since the Ukraine war began. Here's a reminder of some prominent spy cases.
The man accused of blowing through a stoplight and killing two people near an Interstate 64 ramp last year lost his criminal traffic case Tuesday evening.

The 53-year-old Culpeper resident, John Saville Chadduck, was convicted in Albemarle General District Court of reckless driving and given a three-month jail term.

He just plowed right through, said Robert Downer, a retired judge hearing the case. It was a reckless decision.

The early evening incident on May 19, 2022, killed 34-year-old Bryan Daniel Warrick and his 5-year-old son Milo Warrick. Their deaths devastated their Lake Monticello-based family, according to the victim impact statement read aloud by grieving widow and mother Jakki Warrick.

My oldest son and I lost half our family  I repeat half our family, Warrick told the court. We feel obliterated by grief.

The wreck, she said, occurred the night before she and her husband, a graphic designer for locally based app developer WillowTree, were to celebrate both their wedding anniversary and their younger sons kindergarten graduation.

Bryan and Milo were young and had their whole life ahead of them, she said. The pain will never go away.

The incident occurred at an intersection that had been revamped seven months earlier, a $2 million project to end the so-called weave of two ramps in short succession on I-64 near mile marker 118.

Two motorists testified about what happened after they waited in the pair of left turn lanes around 5:30 p.m. Having traveled southbound on U.S. Route 29, they and the Warrick vehicle were stopped at red lights waiting to cross the northbound lanes of 29 to enter I-64s eastbound on-ramp. They said the overhead arrows turned green.

I started moving my vehicle forward, testified Guy S. Webster. This white box truck just kept on coming. I said to myself, Hes not going to stop.

Webster said he was just 15 feet away with his windows open when he saw the northbound box truck strike the Warricks sedan.

There was no braking, said Webster. There was no horn.

On cross-examination, Webster was asked about how Warrick was driving.

As he started to roll forward, I started to roll forward, said Webster. It was normal; it wasnt jack rabbit or anything.

Chadducks attorney, West Point-based Brenton Bohannon, noted that at the time of the crash the intersections traffic signals never provided any time when the lights in all directions were red, a routine safety buffer which was subsequently applied there after the crash.

Theres no all-red condition, said Bohannon.

Bohannon also pointed to tables of vehicle weights and stopping distances introduced into evidence and noted that his client, by his own admission to an investigating officer, was likely traveling 58-60 mph when he saw the light turn yellow.

This is a heavy box truck, said Bohannon, asserting that hitting the brakes might have flipped the truck.

After an Albemarle County police officer, Kate Kane, testified that a post-crash examination of the traffic signal showed 6.5 seconds of yellow light before turning red, Bohannan said his client needed more time. He said that Chadduck needed 1.5 seconds of reaction time plus 5.2 seconds of braking time for a total of 6.7 seconds to safely stop the truck.

Our argument is he couldnt have stopped, said Bohannon. He just didnt have enough time.

Prosecutor Ray Szwabowski pushed back.

You need some sort of new math to make that work, said Szwabowski. We know that he was behind that stop bar and that he ran that red light.

Albemarle County police officer David Huffman, who filed the reckless driving charge five months after the crash, testified that he found the tires and brakes of the box truck, a Ford F-750, in good condition.

Another officer, Jacob Chisom, testified to being the first officer on the scene and to finding Chadduck bleeding in the cab of the box truck  and pinning blame on the Warricks.

He said, The light was yellow, and I think they were running the red light, Chisholm testified.

Noting the newness of the interchange, the defense attorney, Bohannon, also noted that a third vehicle, a parked pickup truck was damaged after the initial impact, belonged to CES Consulting, a contractor with a history of assisting the Virginia Department of Transportation.

They were in the area, said Bohannon, and we know what they do.

He raised questions with two of the testifying officers suggesting that CES technicians were there to repair faulty traffic lights. Neither officer agreed with that assessment.

There could be something going on with this light, Bohannon argued.

The defense lawyer was more successful when pointing out that no witness testified to seeing the box truck violate a red light before colliding with the Warrick vehicle.

Its absolutely possible that both of them had the right of way and that neither of them were in the wrong, Bohannon argued.

The prosecutor called that argument a red herring, because officer Kane testified to examining the traffic signals that evening and to finding them working properly. Chadducks allegation that her late husband ran a red light particularly incensed Jakki Warrick.

This was not an accident, Warrick told the court. We view defendant Chadduck as a murderer.

While betraying no emotion during the rest of the widows impact statement, Chadduck gently shook his head at that assertion. He did not testify.

According to two officers who told the court about speaking with Chadduck in the cab of the wrecked box truck, Chadduck was severely injured by the collision. He made his way to the defendants table Tuesday walking slowly with the assistance of a cane.

Looking back on it, he didnt make the right decision, Bohannon conceded. The fact that two people lost their lives doesnt necessarily make this reckless.

Warrick brought five photographs to the witness stand, including smiling images of her late husband and the son who she said was Bryan Warricks Mini-Me. As she shoved an image of the mangled automobile toward the defendant, she said the first responders told her they spent 20 minutes probing what remained of her husbands blue Lexus before they found the body of her little boy.

To say that Im shattered and heartbroken is an understatement, said Warrick. Our hearts and souls have been obliterated by the death of Bryan and Milo, and we are not OK.

Before the judge pronounced the sentence, Warrick urged the maximum, which was a year behind bars. The prosecutor seconded that.

I hereby request that the defendant be punished to the fullest extent of the law, Warrick said. We hope that will protect others.

Sitting through all of this testimony were the parents of Warrick and of her late husband, who live in Colorado, as well as her teenage son Landon.

There is nothing that I could do in any way, shape or form that could minimize the effect on the family, said the judge.

Downer set the penalty at 12 months in jail with nine months suspended, and he suspended Chadducks drivers license for six months. An additional charge of driving without securing his seat belt brought a $25 fine.

Chadduck was granted a delay on reporting to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail while he considers an appeal.

Neither side would comment to The Daily Progress on the verdict.
Germany is considering sending "Taurus" guided missiles to Ukraine. What can these systems do?
The man was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of spying for Moscow. German media reports he worked in a department which procured highly modern systems for electronic warfare.
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Thousands of people have been evacuated as authorities rush to tame fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Rescue efforts are ongoing as the flames have yet to be fully contained.
Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa is hosting chats at the Iowa State Fair, providing the Republican contenders with a friendly forum to connect with voters.
Lahaina: The death toll from devastating wildfires in Maui climbed to 53 Thursday, Hawaii Gov Josh Green told The Associated Press.



We're talking about the largest natural disaster of this generation in Hawaii, Green said. We are heart-sick that there are more than the original 36 who have passed, he said. The Governor expects the number to increase as crews continue to search for survivors.

Green said it looks like there have been more than 1,000 structures destroyed.

"Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down," Green said after walking the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen.

Philanthropy experts recommend that people seeking to donate to Maui's wildfire victims wait to do so. Regine Webster, vice president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, says the full scope of need may not be known for up to a week as firefighters finish up their response. She also urged potential donors to support organisations with deep local ties and community knowledge.

Images and stories coming out of the historic town of Lahaina paint an increasingly grim scene as Hawaii's emergency responders work to rescue victims and control wildfires that have ravaged parts of Maui this week.

A flyover of the area Thursday showed normally vibrant communities had been reduced to gray and black. Street after street was nothing but rubble and foundation, said Associated Press video journalist Ty O'Neil, who was on the flight. The road was littered with charred vehicles, and an elementary school was left a mess of collapsed steel. Though pockets of wispy smoke remained, there were no active flames visible.

Tiffany Kidder Winn arrived in Lahaina on Wednesday to survey the damage. Her gift store, Whalers Locker, was destroyed along with many others on Front Street. The scene became gruesome, she said, when she came across a line of burnt-out vehicles, some with charred bodies inside.

It looked like they were trying to get out but were stuck in traffic, she said.

She later spotted a body leaning against a seawall. He had managed to climb over but died before he could reach the ocean while escaping flames, she surmised. Now and then, she would pause to allow her emotions and sense of horror to spill out.

"The fire came through so quickly that there was no notice, she said. I think a lot of people just had no time to get out.

President Joe Biden spoke with Gov Green by phone and offered his condolences for lives lost and land destroyed by the wildfires, the White House said.

He pledged federal disaster aid to ensure that anyone who's lost a loved one, or who's home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately.

Smoke blows across the slope of Haleakala volcano on Maui, Hawaii, as a fire burns in Maui's upcountry region on Tuesday, Aug. 8. 2023. Photo: Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP

Biden promised to streamline requests for federal assistance and said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on Maui. He also ordered all available Coast Guard and Air Force personnel on the island to work with the Hawaii National Guard.

Our prayers are with the people of Hawaii. But not just our prayers. Every asset we have will be available to them, he said.

Earlier Thursday, the White House announced the president had approved a disaster declaration for the state, clearing the way for federal aid. The funding will include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover damaged uninsured property and other programs for Maui residents and businesses suffering losses.

Officials are still trying to get a handle on the fires' progress but know they're not fully contained, Hawaii Emergency Management spokesman Adam Weintraub said.

We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern, he said. Our search and rescue teams from Maui and supporting agencies are not able to do their job until the fire lines are secure.

Gov. Green, US Sen Brian Schatz and Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers headed to Maui on Thursday morning to assess the damage from devastating wildfires, Schatz wrote on social media.

Emergency rescue, recovery and firefighting operations were still underway, so the group would be careful not to interfere with those efforts, Schatz wrote on the X platform, previously known as Twitter.

Winds are finally backing off. The number of dead continues to rise, Schatz wrote.

Smoke blows across the slope of Haleakala volcano on Maui, Hawaii, as a fire burns in Maui's upcountry region on Tuesday, Aug. 8. 2023. Photo: Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP

Officials on Thursday confirmed 53 deaths from the wildfires that swept across parts of Maui this week, driven by fierce winds from a hurricane passing far south of the island chain. Dozens more people were injured.

The damage assessment will help Hawaii's leaders get a better idea of what federal aid is needed.

In a Facebook post, the governor asked that Hawaii's residents provide all the emotional and financial support they can to residents of Lahaina and Maui, calling the wildfires the deadliest natural disaster the state has seen in generations.

A mass evacuation effort resumed Thursday morning for visitors and residents stranded just north of a historic town in Maui that was destroyed, officials said.


Shark Tank

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On Shark Tank, the reality show produced by ABC TV, new entrepreneurs pitch their nascent businesses to hugely successful entrepreneur investors hoping to acquire financing and strategic partners. The brilliant show has created scores of new millionaires whose enterprises have contributed to the U.S. economy and have provided thousands of jobs. It has also inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs, some as young as ages 13, 11, and 6. Perhaps most importantly, the show has confirmed that the American Dream is alive and well.

Shark Tank also exposes what's wrong with our polarized society and political arena. In competing for deals the sharks will often fight fiercely sometimes criticizing, even insulting each other. But that doesn't stop them from working together to invest jointly in promising businesses.

Presenting climate projects to the Sharks would be as demanding as it is for current hopefuls on the show. The sharks are no easy money fools. Nor are they deceived by flashy ideas that are not backed by sound business plans and scalability to reach projected goals. Often Shark Mr. Wonderful (Kevin O'Leary) will protest "I'll be old before I get my money back from your deal."

Shark Lori Greiner is fond of asking: "You say Walmart and Target have expressed interest in your invention at trade shows. Do you have purchase orders?" If there are no purchase orders (commitments to buy) the interest in the product is a maybe at best. And maybes are red flags for sharks. Success for the proposed business then depends on "if."-- IF big retailers come through with purchase orders. However, just interest in a product is often a polite way of saying no.

Shark Tank's emphasis on sound disciplined investing got me wondering how the sharks would respond to many of the projects designed to stop the devastating effects of climate change. Are these projects sufficient or scalable fast enough to halt anticipated disasters?

I can imagine the challenging voice of Shark Mark Cuban querying CEOs and Government officials: You set goals for reducing emissions years ago that haven't been met. Why should we believe that more of the same programs will work now? How will more money make a difference? What do you think would actually make a difference?

Unlike Shark Tank-backed businesses, the outcomes of climate projects over the last two decades have been dismal. Despite billions invested in countless projects globally, the world is in worse shape than when these projects were initiated. CO2 in the atmosphere is at its highest level ever. At 420 ppm (parts per million), as recently reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , it crosses a bar scientists have said we must not cross. And unprecedented three-digit extreme temperatures in parts of the world are threatening health, lives, and economies.

Surprisingly, many see their projects and proposals scaling decades in the future--like the recent pledges of many countries to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This defies scientists who are warning that we have as few as ten years to achieve that goal before we experience the worst consequences of climate change. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the world is on a "highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator."

Tragically, the barrage of reports and dire warnings about current and impending climate change calamities seem to have desensitized the public. The words "crisis" and "catastrophe" have become normalized. Thus, we continue on the same paths with programs that have failed in the past and are not likely to succeed in the future in time to achieve net zero emissions.

We repeatedly hear that there is still time to defeat climate change IF." However, the climate change ifs have been compromised over and over as reflected in the increasing climate change-initiated disasters.

A Shark Tank special on climate change could provide a great service to the world. Let's hear the sharks' reactions and counsel to staged proposals modeled after current climate projects or actual ones in development. That might expose likely failures, as well as potential successes. Ultimately, it might inspire the best, most feasible programs to assure the viability of life on this planet.
Email is dead. Long live Email.

Have you tried discussing something with friends on email lately? Often it's worse than not even trying. Many people will never reply to any emails at all. Some will reply to the first email in a discussion thread after there have been eight emails and the consensus on some point has moved on. Someone else will then reply to a combination of what the person who is a week behind the times said plus what someone else just said who's up to speed, but also to what a third person has been saying all this time unbeknownst to many of the participants, and following a completely different line of thought on WhatsApp or Signal, or was it Telegram? No wait, it was on Slack, which two of the participants began using to make everything more "convenient" and to show kindness to others since everyone hates email. Some people will eventually read an email if you phone them and ask them to. But they'll phone you back again to tell you that they've read the email and to ask if you can't (for godsake) let the rest of the gang know about it through Facebook instead of, you know, keeping it secret. There's someone else, meanwhile, whom you'd like to add to the email thread if it could be said to exist, because you've just discovered that they've been sending you lots of brilliant contributions through Twitter. But when you message them back through Twitter I mean X asking if they can please email you, their reply makes clear that they believe you've made a funny joke. Perhaps funnier, though, is the routine conundrum you soon find yourself in of having some people in your group asking you to please re-send each email repeatedly and to please give them 24-hour, 2-hour, and 1-hour reminder emails prior to any event, while of course other people are complaining that there are too many !%%#$?$ emails or, more often, not complaining just vanishing. Not vanishing on purpose, of course, as it will turn out later that they've wanted to be emailed at three different email addresses, but not the fourth one which you were using that one has been abandoned since oh god, I don't know last Tuesday.

Back in January, I wrote In Praise of Email. I didn't hold out much hope and now I've lost what I had. Email is probably dead. Email was the single most powerful organizing tool that movements without wealthy backing had. It still sits there of course, pretending to still exist, mocking us with its enormous potential. Eventually, it will likely lose that gleam and as with television become a medium we no longer even recognize potential in, not because of something inherent in the technology, but because of what people have done to it. Unless we reshape email into a different sort of tool. It has, of course, many replacements, but none of them seems to have replaced what email could do.

By "people" I mean individuals, but I also mean corporations and governments. We've focused our concerns about net neutrality on websites, while email has been destroyed and a social-media oligarchy has claimed ownership of a big chunk of communications. Somehow we forgot that nobody every much looked at any non-corporate websites except when an email had just told them to do so, or some creative and fortuitous event had caused corporate communications systems to redirect eyeballs outside of the matrix something they have learned to avoid. Now, with emails no longer as capable of directing mass interest toward websites, access to those websites can be as neutral as it pleases without disturbing a single inflictor of misery on the world.

Websites are themselves becoming more difficult to create and maintain, of course. Either they must be fully created through some corporate platform that owns and controls them and determines how they are promoted or hidden all done without any need to control individuals' access to the internet itself, or their creators must invest ever-increasing amounts of time or money to protect websites from the twin assaults of outside hacking and inside "updates" and "improvements" constantly inflicted on every tool with which one can build a website.

But email was much more than a means of directing people to websites. In fact, email can still direct people to websites. That part of email is not all-the-way dead, merely terminally ill. Email was also a means of communicating among individuals and small groups. It was super-convenient, in that you could send when you wanted and receive when/if you wanted and reply when/if you wanted. You could reply or reply-all or forward, add recipients or remove recipients or blind-copy recipients. It had potential for rudeness and misunderstanding, but we were learning to avoid those problems. It also had potential for clarity and diplomacy. It could be as short or long as needed. It could be calmly composed after 10 minutes of private cursing. Email was a fully-developed technology. You could schedule an email for next week, or schedule it by time zones. An autoresponder could tell people you were out. You could read a group discussion now or later, or read only the parts from certain people. There were no more obvious improvements that hadn't been made.

I think the best counter-argument I've heard to my tendency toward nostalgia for email is, in its entirety: "Shut up, Boomer." I take such a lengthy exposition from young people very seriously, considering how much time must have gone into drafting and revising it. Maybe I'm just an introvert, a writer, and an old relic. Maybe.

There were always people who wouldn't write and would only talk once on phones and now on Zoom. They were always right that talking is nicer in many ways. It was always more enjoyable to talk with them. But they were always wrong to imagine that I could get even 1% of the usual amount done if I had to listen to everyone chat about everything. They've won. But movement organizing has lost. Nothing can happen anymore without zoom calls. Too bad for introverts. But also too bad for setting up multiple events and petitions and mass-email campaigns and websites in a matter of minutes by multitasking. Forget it. Zoom owns you. The global webinar is an absolutely wonderful thing, but it could have been created without destroying email. And it isn't the non-writing extroverts who are killing email.

Well, non-writing has something to do with it. Film has replaced books, though there is still a niche for books. Transcribed and misspelled spoken messages, graphics, videos so short that you could remove the good parts and have negative time, and zoom call after zoom call after ever-loving zoom call have replaced email. There may still be a niche for email if we can find it. But "writer," like "book reader," is not a neutral characteristic. Books are better than films in many ways. That more people have watched Oppenheimer than read the book, though each has its own major pros and cons, is an indication that the world is a vastly stupider place than it needs to be. We should be educating readers and writers. Being able to communicate in writing is not like being able to read a non-digital clock or cursive. It's part of being an informed and intelligent participant in culture. I'm not saying that everyone should be able to write a novel, though I see nothing wrong with that. I'm saying that everyone should be able to write an email. There were always some topics better discussed in-person/by phone/by video. But there were and are many better discussed by email.

Yes, I'm old. Yes, I've never had any idea how people do things on their phones, not when I could read teeny tiny print in the dark and not when I cannot read it. But young people have not all moved to texting. They've all moved to a dozen or two different media, so that there's no one way to include everyone. Non-plutocratic activist campaigns cannot financially afford to do texting as they've done email. Not that texting could do what has been done with email even if it were free.

So, what do I propose?

I think a variety of approaches may be needed. Some may succeed or partly succeed and others fail. We need to continue pushing for net neutrality and expanding what we mean by that.

We need to work for the break up and/or public takeover of massive monopolistic social media platforms, in order to replace not just oligarchy and not just privacy-invading profiteers but principally in order to abolish secret backstage manipulation of content that prioritizes some, buries some, and completely censors some for no good reason.

We need to abolish spam, through public, non-corporate identification of and blocking of actual spam. The problem here is almost certainly not technological. A culture that can not only spilt the atom but create a 3-hour movie about using it to kill Japanese people and not show a single Japanese person in the movie can block spam.

We need to reverse the vicious cycle of sending and re-sending emails because there are too many emails. We need to dedicate ourselves not to sending an email enough times to reach someone but to reading every email that has been sent to us a single time.

We need to develop strategies for moving people off corporate email and onto independent email providers that provide a useful and accountable and non-invasive service. If you have to write things in a calendar yourself rather than having it done by a robot that reads your email, then governments and corporations will also have to spy on you themselves with some effort, and you will be able to demand an answer as to why some email was never sent or never arrived. Replacing something like Google Groups does not require critical mass to work, like replacing Twitter does. It requires believing it is a moral duty.

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A Crozet coffee house and store are working together to offer a discount-for-donation trade-off to help local schools prepare for the upcoming start of classes.

Mudhouse Specialty Coffee Roasters and Bluebird Company plan to collect school supplies this weekend.

The drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m Saturday and Sunday at the two establishments Crozet locations, according to a joint statement released earlier in the week.

On those days, there are two ways to receive 15% off your Mudhouse order  show a receipt from the mobile book trailer or bring a school supply donation, that statement reads.

Offers are not combinable and are only for one-time use, the two businesses said.

Collected books will be donated to the Free Book Bus, which will be on site over the weekend. School supplies, meanwhile, will be donated to local schools.

Mudhouse is a Charlottesville-based coffee-making and -selling enterprise founded more than 30 years ago. Today, it operates multiple coffee shops in the Charlottesville area as well as a roastery and an experimental coffee farm in Panama.

Bluebird Company is a Crozet-based retailer, bringing together the owners of Bluebird Bookstop and Fancy & Nell, which describes itself as a community-minded retail partnership and one-stop shopping destination.

The Charlottesville-based Free Book Bus was founded in 2018 and has provided more than 39,000 books to families since that time. Its goal is to help children and young adults with less access to books build their own home library.
GREENVILLE, WI - Wrecker Supply USA, a division of WiscoLift, Inc., has implemented a new program to thank all military, current and previous, their families, as well as Fire, Police and EMS personnel. This program partners with GOVX ID to verify the customer's service credentials and then provides them with a code that they can use at WreckerSupplyUSA.com. This code provides users with 15% OFF their entire order and can be 
Dear Amy: My daughter is moving nearby with her husband and eight-month-old grandson.

She has a flexible job and works from an office in her home, and has asked me to watch my grandson two afternoons a week. (Im retired.)

I love my daughter. She is a wonderful human being, but she can get under my skin like no one else.

She has a way of saying mean comments (Hes MY baby!) or just being thoughtless (she rarely expresses gratitude for gifts or favors).

I am highly sensitive and when I am feeling confident her behavior doesnt grate as much, but when Im not feeling confident, its hard to take.

I worry that babysitting will strain our relationship, with all of the pitfalls involved (mainly criticism from her).

Should I address the issue, or just buck up and be a strong grandma?

 Clueless in Carolina

Dear Clueless: You should address this in advance, and also buck up and be a strong grandma.

You dont say whether you actually want to take this on, but if you do, then you should establish some clear parameters. For instance, you might choose to watch him in your home (not hers). She would bring him to you, and you would bring him back at a designated time.

This would remove you from her direct scrutiny.

Talk this through in advance, and let her know that youll try this for two or three months, and that if it doesnt work out for either of you, she can make another arrangement with no hard feelings (thats the strong grandma part).

Dear Amy: This is not about disagreeing with you, but I am just wondering why you chose not to address forgiveness with the gentleman who served in Vietnam [The Older Brother], while his brother-in-law did not.

I have learned that all real change begins within.

 Jim

Dear Jim: I completely agree about forgiveness, but my assumption was that the writer had already forgiven his brother-in-law, because he was now trying to build a relationship.

You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.
Dear Annie: I am currently married with no kids. I travel a lot for work and vacation. The issue is my wifes sister, her husband and their kids. Three years ago, my wife and I allowed them to move into our home because their living situation was not great. They shared a small apartment that was overrun with rats and cockroaches. We told them that they could stay until they were able to get back on their feet. This was only supposed to be six months to a year. Annie, its been three years in counting with no end in sight.

This is the fathers third marriage, and he has seven kids in total. The children rule the roost and are not disciplined. I am no longer their fun-loving uncle. We butt heads about everything. I find myself on the edge of screaming at them daily. When I get home from work, the house is a complete mess. They eat all the food I buy, dont clean and do not pay rent. They are on easy street, and I am paying for it.

My wife and I had decided to finally give them a hard deadline to leave this past spring. My wifes sister lost her job just before this deadline. She was employed three weeks later -- while the husband has been employed this whole time -- but the hard deadline came and went.

Worse yet, my wife is completely on their side. She doesnt want them to be forced out because then she would be abandoning family. I am at my wits end and dont know what to do. A co-worker suggested that when Im home, I should be in nothing but my underwear to make the situation uncomfortable for them so they will leave. I feel like I am completely out of options and have been actually considering this or worse. Please, Annie, what should I do? -- Almost Au Naturel in Alabama

Dear Almost Au Naturel: Your co-workers suggestion gets points for creativity. Unfortunately, it is also passive, avoidant and immature. A direct confrontation would solve your problem quickly, but it sounds like you are willing to do anything to avoid that.

The first step is to get on the same page as your wife. Explain to her that you are not abandoning the family -- and perhaps brainstorm some other ways in which you can support them -- but that you need to regain control of your home in order to preserve your well-being. Once you and your wife find your common ground, initiate the long-overdue conversation.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
A Southern California judge accused of killing his wife texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her, prosecutors said Friday as they charged him with murder and sought new bail conditions.

A court filing from prosecutors says Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson texted: I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I wont be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. Im so sorry.

Prosecutors also say that 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered during a search of his home. A rifle registered in his name is not accounted for, according to a statement from the district attorneys office.

The shooting happened after Ferguson and his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, were arguing at a restaurant on Aug. 3, prosecutors said in their court filing. They continued arguing after returning to their home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills. The court document says the wife said something to the effect of why dont you point a real gun at me? and he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest.

The document says their adult son called 911 and said his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom. Jeffrey Ferguson also called 911 to vaguely report the shooting.

Ferguson, 72, was arrested last week. He was released a day later on $1 million bail.

Prosecutors want Ferguson to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor.

Fergusons attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions. This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more, they said.

FILE - In this photo released Aug. 4, 2023, by the Anaheim Police Department, shows Jeffrey Ferguson. Ferguson was arrested late Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, after police received reports of a shooting at the home and found the judges wife, Sheryl Ferguson, shot inside, said Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock.Anaheim Police Department via AP, File

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He handles criminal cases in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorneys office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards. He served as president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agencys findings.

--The Associated Press
During the year that he presided over truancy court in the small Southern Oregon coastal town of Brookings, Judge Gary Milliman heard all kinds of reasons that students missed school for days on end.

A student admitted that he was being bullied, a fact he hid from his family out of embarrassment. Another was regularly skipping class to accompany his pregnant girlfriend to doctor appointments. One girl said she didnt see much point in going to school, because her boyfriend would support her financially.
Consumers and food professionals alike are still dealing with how the COVID pandemic, higher costs, staffing shortages and calls for more equitable treatment of restaurant workers have impacted the dining industry. And TV and filmmakers are also taking notice, as this Sundays episode of CNNs The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper illustrates.

In the special episode, celebrity chef Bobby Flay talks with chefs and restaurant owners around the country to explore how the business of dining out has changed, and what pivots chefs and restaurant owners have had to make to adapt to evolving conditions.

Flay recalls how March 2020 was a turning point, as restaurants in many cases soon had to abruptly stop traditional service. Some closed, including Flays own New York restaurant, Gato, which was among the more than 110,000 restaurants that shuttered -- some of them permanently -- in 2020.

As many restaurants were shutting their doors, others were scrambling to find alternate ways to stay afloat, including re-focusing to takeout, or offering grocery-style services. For more examples of how restaurants evolved, Flay sets out for in-person visits with some chefs and business owners.

Among the people Flay interviews are chef Chris Bianco, of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and Los Angeles; chef Esther Choi, of MokBar in New York City; Chef Cat MacDowell, who discusses operating a plant-forward restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky; and Jason Johnson, who runs getREEF, an example of a ghost kitchen virtual food hall, at North Carolinas Raleigh/Durham airport.

In one extended segment, Flay talks with chef Bonnie Morales and Israel Morales, the couple who own Kachka restaurant in Portland. After the apparently mandatory establishing aerial shot of the Willamette River, in downtown, Flay says, Its a Tuesday afternoon at Kachka, the establishment that has won acclaim for its Russian-inspired cuisine.

Before the dinner rush, the staff gathers in one of Kachkas dining rooms, Flay says in a voice-over, as the camera shows Bonnie and Israel Morales talking with the assembled employees. But theyre not going over the dinner specials.

Instead, owners Bonnie and Israel Morales are discussing the restaurants finances. Sitting down with the couple, Flay says that he hasnt seen many other owners being open about their profit-and-loss statements with employees, and asks why the Morales chose to do that.

When youre faced with something really catastrophic and it turns your whole house upside down, you cant go back to old practices, Israel Morales says. You cant really put the house back together.

Flay tells viewers that, as staff shortages escalated during the pandemic, the husband-and-wife team reimagined their business model to address employee inequity. In 2022, as Flay says, the Morales did away with tips, and instead charge a 22 percent service fee, which goes toward providing health insurance and a minimum wage of $25 per hour for employees.

Citing his own decades of experience, Flay says that, in the restaurant business, there are three big buckets of costs, occupancy costs, labor costs, and cost of goods.

The 22 percent service fee is, in a way, asking the customer to subsidize some of the costs, Flay says. Im going to ask you the obvious question which Im sure some of your customers have asked you -- why dont you just raise the prices?

Israel Morales says, people price shop, and that factor needs to be taken into account.

Flay asks if there has been any pushback from customers, and Israel Morales says, generally, feedback has been positive.

Its his opinion, Flay says, that We are literally half a generation away from people paying what restaurants need to cost, and that, what with rising costs, and staffing issues, In many ways, the restaurant business as we know it is fractured.

As is the case with another current documentary about how the pandemic rocked the restaurant industry, Sorry, Were Closed, the CNN special focuses on chefs and business owners, and not on people who work in other aspects of the restaurant world.

Related: Portland 2020 protests, local chef are part of documentary about COVIDs impact on restaurants

In one sequence, Flay goes on a ride-along with a DoorDash staffer to report on how food delivery services saw demand spike during the pandemic. The staffer is a DoorDash marketing executive, however, though Flay does allude to scrutiny and lawsuits relating to how delivery drivers are compensated, noting, The battle for fair pay for drivers continues.

Flay ends the special on a generally upbeat, though realistic note. He mentions restaurateurs who seem to be doing well now that, as Flay says, the pandemic has subsided, while stating that its almost impossible to make a profit in the restaurant business.

The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper episode, Restaurant Nation: Whats Changed? airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug.13 on CNN. No cable? You can stream episodes on Max; and other services, such as The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper on Max; and other services, including Sling and Hulu.

 Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Some fans of Yellowstone, the hugely popular contemporary Western TV series, may have already watched 1883, described as a Yellowstone prequel. The show, which stars Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, premiered in December, 2021, on the Paramount Plus streaming service.

(No cable? You can stream 1883 on Philo, which offers a free trial; and Paramount Plus)

Recently, however, the Paramount Network -- which airs Yellowstone -- has been airing rebroadcasts of 1883. Viewers without access to Paramount Plus have been able to watch the Western, which tells a story about James (McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Hill), ancestors of the ranching patriarch played by Kevin Costner in Yellowstone, traveling in a wagon train across the Western wilderness.

Elliott, who spent some of his younger years going to school in Portland, costars in 1883 as Shea Brennan, a Civil War veteran who, with his right-hand man, Thomas (LaMonica Garrett), leads the wagon train.

The Paramount Network airing of 1883 reaches its conclusion on Sunday, Aug. 13, with Episode 10, titled, This Is Not Your Heaven. Without giving anything away, the episode finds characters making fateful choices, including Brennan, who journeys to the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast, keeping a promise he made to his late wife.

Elliott talked about Oregon and how he returned to the state to film Brennans final scene in 1883 in an interview with comedian and podcast host Marc Maron.

The 1883 finale, This Is Not Your Heaven, airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, on the Paramount Network.

More of our coverage:

Sam Elliott apologizes for blasting Power of the Dog in podcast where he also talked about Portland

 Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Construction of a much-anticipated giant troll sculpture was completed Friday afternoon at the campus of the nonprofit Nordic Northwest in Southwest Portland near Washington Square mall. The exact location was mostly kept under wraps from the public to prevent construction interference until now.

The 19-foot-tall troll is nestled between trees behind Fogelbo, a home filled with Nordic antiques and art on the National Register of Historic Places. The troll was constructed over 10 days with the help of 60 volunteers, according to Brady Jensen, Nordic Northwest board vice president.

In all, the crew spent more than 500 hours constructing the creature and 40 additional volunteers provided morning and lunch meals, Jensen said.

The troll is named Olebolle and is peering into a red house and is apparently looking for a giant cookie jar. The scene is based off a poem the artist wrote.

The troll is part of a six-sculpture exhibition called Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King. The exhibition plans to place giant Nordic troll characters in natural landscapes across the Pacific Northwest.

The trolls are the brainchild of Danish artist and environmentalist Thomas Dambo. He constructs them with volunteer help using recycled materials  namely, old wood pallets. His whimsical trolls appear in forests, along streams and rivers, and in other natural areas.

The Oregon troll was created using 99% recycled and reclaimed wood, according to Jensen. Reclaim Northwest donated the lumber used to frame the troll. Oregon Canadian Forest Products, a local saw mill and lumber company, and Walter E. Nelson Co., a janitorial equipment supplier, donated lumber and shipping pallets used to create the exterior cladding and fur.

Dambo has already created about 100 troll sculptures around the world. These will be the first installed in the Pacific Northwest.

Nordic Northwest even had a troll cam and live streamed some of the building process:

If you go:

The public is welcome to see the troll starting Sunday, Aug. 13 and will be closed Saturday, Aug. 12 for an event.

You can visit the troll during daylight hours at the campus of the nonprofit Nordic Northwest at 8800 S.W. Oleson Road, not far from Washington Square. It will be on site for at least three years. The troll isnt visible from the street, and visitors will need to travel down a gravel path to find it. Follow the troll signs.

 Teresa Mahoney, Vickie Connor and Samantha Swindler
Three days after he was thrust into the top job at a small Oregon fire district beset by financial and labor-management strife, Michael Gorsuch resigned Friday as interim chief of Columbia River Fire & Rescue, calling the past week his lifes worst.

In a resignation letter, he said he simply couldnt go on to lead the St. Helens-based fire departments 35 full-time firefighters.
Portland State University plans to partner with Oregon community colleges to extend associate- to-bachelors degree pathways for students incarcerated in several state prisons using $2.3 million from Wisconsin nonprofit Ascendium Education Group.

Portland State currently offers bachelors degrees for women incarcerated in Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, and Portland Community College recently started offering an associate degree program at the facility, said Deb Arthur, director of Portland States Higher Education in Prison program. The millions will help Portland State create a pathway for students to transfer from one program to the other at Coffee Creek and expand its bachelors degree offerings to do the same at Santiam Correctional Institution and Oregon State Penitentiary, where incarcerated students can currently earn an associate degree from Chemeketa Community College, Arthur said.

Students are at all different levels, just like they are on the outside, Arthur said. Building the transfer pathways both extends students college options and helps ensure institutions collaborate on prison education pathways, she said. It really is exciting and opens up a lot more opportunities for students.

Portland State is the first four-year university in Oregon seeking federal approval to allow students to pay for their bachelors degree with Pell Grants for low-income students. The university also plans to extend computer-based offerings for students incarcerated at Coffee Creek, who are expected to gain new access to online classes this fall, Arthur said.

This story was brought to you through a partnership between The Oregonian/OregonLive and Report for America. Learn how to support this crucial work.

Sami Edge covers higher education for The Oregonian. You can reach her at sedge@oregonian.com or (503) 260-3430.
As head of the Oregon Labor Bureaus Civil Rights Division, Carol Johnson faced intense pushback from many of her employees as she tried to institute changes. But was that resistance to her leadership style -- or because she is a Black woman?

That is the key question that a Multnomah County jury was tasked with answering Friday morning after more than two hours of closing arguments in Johnsons $2.3 million civil lawsuit against the Labor Bureau. During Johnsons year as the agencys civil rights director, she answered to Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, now a Democratic member of Congress representing the greater Eugene area.

One of Johnsons attorneys, Diane Sykes, said Johnson faced a racist accusation of cronyism for hiring Black employees and was treated far worse than similarly situated managers at the Labor Bureau who were not Black.

Johnson, a lawyer with 20 years of experience in Arkansas, faced unparalleled pushback in her Oregon job, Sykes said. Then after she filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hoyle acknowledged Johnson had been subjected to racial hostility but nevertheless retaliated against her, Sykes said.

Attorney Marc Abrams, representing the Labor Bureau, told jurors that Johnsons my way or the highway management style, including her lack of familiarity with and respect for labor union protections, was a primary cause of the pushback and hostility by her subordinates, many of whom were lawyers.

This is an agency full of crusty people. A lot of them have law degrees.  You can expect pushback from them no matter what, Abrams said. Johnson and her legal team provided no evidence that Johnsons race was their motive, he said.

Johnsons lawyers conceded the hostility she faced at work came from her subordinates, not Hoyle and Deputy Labor Commissioner Duke Shepard. But Hoyle and Shepard failed to investigate Johnsons complaints of racism until after she tendered her resignation and they failed to take steps to make agency employees cease their racist hostility toward her, Sykes said.

One particularly bad act by Hoyle, Sykes said: She sent a press release trumpeting a law firms investigation into Johnsons claims and touting findings that cleared Hoyle and the agency and questioned Johnsons credibility. Hoyle sent the press release less than four months before she announced her run for Congress.

Val Hoyle had political aspirations and she had no shame about dragging Ms. Johnson through the mud to get there, Sykes told the jury Friday. Most of the jurors are white but at least four are people of color, including one Black man.

Abrams said the agency distributed the report and the press release because the investigation was a public record and because news outlets had already covered Johnsons allegations of Labor Bureau race discrimination. Johnson produced no evidence that Labor Bureau employees, many of whom are people of color, treated Johnson they way they did because she was Black or showed less pushback to white managers, Abrams said.

One issue that got a lot of attention before and during the trial, but ultimately bore little importance in the case: Johnson received a package of animal feces mailed to her home, and both she and her bosses at the Labor Bureau suspected it was sent by a disgruntled employee. But ultimately no one was able to determine who sent the offensive mailing or if it was related to Johnsons work.

Johnson asked the jury to award her $17,000 for lost wages and other economic impacts and nearly $2.3 million for emotional and other non-economic harms. Jurors deliberated for about five hours Friday without reaching a decision. Court officials expect a verdict to come on Monday.

-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @ORPolEds
In Portland, its illegal to crack a beer or smoke marijuana on sidewalks or in a city park. But state law enshrines peoples right to consume fentanyl, meth, heroin and other hard drugs on public property.

The upshot of that paradoxical legal landscape: Portland officials cannot make open drug use so much as a citation-worthy offense.
Friday 11 August 2023 1:03pm

After dedicating his career to Maori land law and family law, a University of Otago alumnus will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws next week.



Judge Isaac.

Judge Wilson Isaac (Ngati Porou, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Kahungunu) will have the degree conferred at Otagos graduation ceremony on Saturday, 19 August. He will also give the graduation address.

Judge Isaac graduated from Otago with a Bachelor of Arts in 1974 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1977.

He spent 17 years as a solicitor and partner at Burnard Bull & Co, in Gisborne, where he developed an extensive practice in Maori land law and family law.

He has held several positions at the Maori Land Court; he was appointed a judge in 1994, Deputy Chief Judge in 1999, and Chief Judge in 2009.

At the same time as his promotion to Chief Judge, he was also made Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal.

He retired from both roles earlier this year.

During his time at the Tribunal Judge Isaac led several hearings: Mohaka ki Ahuriri Inquiry, the Northern South Island Inquiry and National Park District Inquiry, the Freshwater and Geothermal Resources Inquiry and the Napier Hospital and Health Services Report Inquiries.

He is currently the Presiding Officer for the Maori Military Veterans Inquiry and the Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into Remaining Historical Claims.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson says Judge Isaacs dedication to law is remarkable, evident by his nearly 30 years as a judge of the Maori Land Court.

He has made a lasting impression throughout his career and exemplifies many of the qualities associated with Otago alumni.

Judge Isaac is honoured and humbled to receive one of the Universitys most prestigious qualifications.

Otago gave me the foundation to my career and set the groundwork for a good work ethic. It was a great place to study.

Faculty of Law Dean Professor Shelley Griffiths is pleased to recognise Judge Isaacs distinguished career with this years third honorary degree, given to alumni to mark the 150th anniversary of law at Otago.

First as a practitioner and then as a judge, he has made an important contribution to the law in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Waitangi Tribunal held hearings on many claims and published very significant reports during the 14 years he was its Chair.

For more information please contact:

Jessica Wilson

Adviser Media Engagement

University of Otago

Mob +64 21 279 5016

Email jessica.wilson@otago.ac.nz
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - An international human rights body focused on Ethiopia has voiced deep concerns over the worsening security situation in the northwest of the country, particularly in the Amhara region
Photo: (Photo : Dino Rizzo Shares Ways to Serve During Back-to-School Season)

All across the country, students and their parents are gearing up for another school year ahead. While this season typically involves shopping for new clothes and school supplies, 35-year ministry veteran Dino Rizzo says it is also a great time to serve.

Dino Rizzo, the founder of Servolution and author of the book "Serve Your City," says that we should always be thinking of ways we can give back to the local community. Even if the acts of kindness you can do are small, they can be very consequential to others.

So, as you're preparing to return to school -- or helping your kids do so -- here are some ways you can serve during back-to-school season.

Collect School Supplies

Throughout the country, there are students in need whose families aren't able to afford basic school supplies. With schools requiring many students to provide these supplies for students, this can make it difficult for these kids to keep up with their classmates.

A great way to serve during back-to-school season is to either participate in a school supply drive or start one yourself. You can shop for school supplies on your own or even just make a list of common school supplies that kids will need and then give that list to local businesses and community groups.

Enlist the help of leaders in your community so that they can get the word out for you.

Provide Free Haircuts

Every kid could use a fresh back-to-school haircut, but not everyone has the means to do so. You may not be a barber or hair stylist, but that doesn't mean you can't help in this regard.

Go to your local salon or barbershop, and ask them if they would like to participate in a charity drive to give needy kids back-to-school haircuts for free. Favor Church in Florida, for example, did just this -- partnering with a local barbershop so that young men from two different foster care homes in the area could get a haircut before the new school year.

Provide Educational Resources

One of the biggest challenges that needy families face throughout the year is that they don't know of all the resources that are available to them. Whether it be the availability of free or reduced food at school or help with after-school care, sometimes what's needed most is the knowledge that these programs exist.

Connect Fellowship Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, understands this and recently hosted a Health & Wellness Fair in their community. As Dino Rizzo explained, the back-to-school-focused event provided school supplies and snacks for kids and provided a wealth of information and resources to families in need.

Church communities can do the same in their location by partnering with local school districts and other charity organizations. Having a place where parents and kids can enjoy themselves, collect needed supplies, and gain valuable information can get them started on the right foot heading into the new school year.

About Dino Rizzo

Dino Rizzo, a 35-year ministry veteran, co-founded Healing Place Church with his wife, DeLynn, where he served as senior pastor for two decades. Through his passion for inspiring believers to serve their communities, Dino Rizzo founded Servolution and authored "Serve Your City." As Executive Director of ARC (Association of Related Churches), Rizzo oversees the planting of over 1,000 churches worldwide and is on the Senior Leadership Team at Church of the Highlands.
Photo: (Photo : Mark Borenstein / Getty Images)

A 9-year-old girl named Serabi Medina lost her life in a tragic shooting incident.

The young girl was innocently playing on her scooter and savoring an ice cream treat on a Saturday evening, only to have her world shattered by a senseless act of violence perpetrated by her adult neighbor.

Court records reveal the heartbreaking details of the incident that unfolded in the Portage Park neighborhood, leaving Serabi's family and the entire community in grief and disbelief.

The 9-Year-Old Lost Her Life While Playing

Serabi Medina was fatally shot by a nearby resident named Michael Goodman, as per statements from Chicago officials.

The authorities have clarified that the Medina family had no previous connection with Goodman, whose residence is opposite Medina's home in Chicago's Portage Park area.

The devastating incident occurred when Goodman allegedly exited his dwelling, gun in hand, and shot Serabi in the head right before she could enter her building.

This horror unfolded in front of her father, who desperately tried to shield her. On that fateful Saturday, while the young girl played on her scooter outside their residence, her father was chatting with a couple of friends.

After one of them gave her some money for ice cream, Serabi went to the ice cream truck. When she returned, a gunshot rang out, and her father immediately instructed her to go inside.

But as she approached the entrance, Goodman allegedly emerged from his place, gun in hand, and advanced toward her. Her father, alarmed, shouted at Goodman and rushed to his daughter.

But before he could reach her, Goodman reportedly aimed and shot the girl, according to the account by Assistant State's Attorney Anne McCord during Goodman's bail hearing.

In a bid to stop the assailant, Serabi's father tackled Goodman. In the ensuing scuffle, the firearm went off, injuring Goodman in the eye.

Despite being promptly rushed to the hospital, young Serabi succumbed to her injuries. The traumatic incident was witnessed by the father's three friends.

Read Also: AP Psychology Reversal: Florida Schools Divided on LGBTQ Content Inclusion

Community Outcry and Unanswered Questions

Gun violence had earlier taken a toll on the family. In 2018, Serabi's mother tragically lost her life to a shooting in Chicago as she sat on a local street.

Following the devastating loss of her mother five years prior, Serabi deeply connected with her father, according to her cousin.

She was constantly by his side, and he became her pillar of strength, guiding her through life without her mother.

Friends, neighbors, and those who knew Serabi expressed their shock and sorrow, struggling to comprehend the motives behind such a heinous act.

According to Megan Kelley, a neighbor and friend of the victim's family, shared that Goodman had previously confronted the family over noise concerns.

She revealed that the alleged shooter had a history of complaining about children playing in the area, leaving the community perplexed by the extent of his actions.

Michael Goodman, 43, now faces first-degree murder charges in connection with Serabi Medina's death. He appeared in court, where a judge denied him bond.

Goodman's lawyer cited severe mental health issues, and an order for immediate psychiatric treatment was issued by the court.

The circumstances surrounding Goodman's mental state raise questions about his motives and the factors that led to this tragic incident.

As Chicago grapples with the loss of an innocent 9-year-old girl, Serabi Medina's memory serves as a painful reminder of the fragility of life.

The community mourns the loss of a bright young soul, taken far too soon by an act of violence that defies reason.

As investigators work to uncover the truth behind the tragedy, the city united in grief and a collective call for justice.

Related Article: Teen Mental Health 101: Parent's Guide to Providing Essential Support
Photo: (Photo : Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash)

As the fall season approaches, state and local health officials across the United States are gearing up for a potentially challenging period marked by a surge in respiratory illnesses. Their concerted efforts are directed towards proactive measures and strategic planning to encourage and facilitate widespread vaccinations against COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) once these vaccines become available.

Dr. Marcus Plescia, the esteemed Chief Medical Officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, expressed heightened concern during a recent briefing regarding the impending pan-respiratory season. It's a moment that calls for unwavering preparedness and collaboration.

Strategic Messaging: Navigating the Unique Challenge of Coexisting Respiratory Viruses

Highlighting the need for comprehensive communication strategies, Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, emphasized that the fall focus will revolve around clear, integrated messaging. The objective is to ensure that those who are most vulnerable are well-informed and motivated to protect themselves against the trio of respiratory viruses.

In step with these concerted efforts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also taking a proactive stance in confronting the potential threat of respiratory illnesses during the upcoming season. Kathleen Conley, a CDC spokesperson, underlined the agency's commitment to equipping Americans with a deep understanding of the risks in their communities and empowering them with information on effective protective measures.

The drive to make vaccinations widely accessible is already in motion. Several major pharmacy chains have proactively initiated appointments for flu and RSV vaccinations, and anticipation is building for the release of an updated COVID-19 booster shot by late September.

To maximize protection, health officials are advocating swift action. Adults aged 60 and above are being urged to seek RSV vaccinations as soon as their healthcare providers advise. Moreover, a resounding call has been issued for individuals above the age of 6 months to secure their flu shots well before the Halloween festivities, aligning with the "flu before boo" approach.

While awaiting the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the new COVID-19 booster, health authorities are laying the groundwork for its smooth integration with ongoing vaccination efforts. Dr. Manisha Juthani, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, introduced the idea of administering both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines concurrently, streamlining the process for the public's convenience.

Read Also: 'Ineffective' FluMist Vaccine Blamed by Utah Parents For Daughter's Death Due to Influenza

Global Insight: Monitoring Respiratory Trends Beyond US Borders

A network of pharmacies, medical offices, and potential vaccination events will serve as pivotal hubs for delivering these critical vaccinations throughout the fall season. Dr. Joseph Kanter of the Louisiana Department of Health stressed the importance of taking a proactive approach to reach individuals where they are, leveraging lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pharmacy giants such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS have already embarked on the path to offering flu and RSV vaccinations. These establishments are poised to play a key role in providing the new COVID-19 booster shots once they receive the requisite approval.

As the autumn months approach, uncertainties loom, prompting state health officials to craft strategic plans to effectively handle potential surges in flu, COVID-19, and RSV cases. Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for the state of Alaska and President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, underscored the importance of preparedness and adaptability in navigating the dynamic landscape of respiratory illnesses.

With vigilance, clarity in communication, and an unwavering commitment to public health, the United States is well-positioned to navigate the complex interplay of COVID-19, flu, and RSV during the forthcoming fall season. By remaining steadfast in their efforts, health officials hope to mitigate the impact of these respiratory viruses and safeguard the well-being of communities nationwide.

Related Article: FDA Approves GSK's Arexvy: First Vaccine to Protect Against Life-Threatening RSV in Elderly
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Ive been saddened at the news over the past few hours. The destruction of the historic town of Lahaina on Maui and the loss of life there are depressing. I first visited Lahaina in 1970, staying in the old Pioneer Inn. Nearly a century and a quarter old, it was built almost entirely out of wood  and its now apparently gone. The massive banyan tree nearby has been damaged, if not killed. Lahainas art galleries and restaurants have, I assume, also been destroyed. The towns museum has been gutted, along with its treasures. I look at the photographs and I recognize familiar places  a Protestant church, a Buddhist temple  in flames. I hope that the historic school above the town has survived, but Im worried and doubtful. There are at least two Latter-day Saint chapels in the area, in one of which we met with a Tongan ward just this past February and were moved by powerful Polynesian singing. Ive heard nothing about them. I hope that theyre okay, and that the people we met there are well.

Swift to its close ebbs out lifes little day;

Earths joys grow dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Ive also been saddened by the horrible story of Craig Robertson, who was killed by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Provo early yesterday morning. He was, reportedly, a kindly man in person who attended his local ward every Sunday, but his Facebook posting history revealed a shockingly hateful and toxic ideological side to him that I find truly horrifying. He could have been a neighbor of ours. In fact, he was a neighbor of ours, living slightly more than three miles directly south of our home. What could have possessed him to post the things that he did and, apparently, to meet the FBI with gunfire or, at least, armed? There is, Im convinced, something genuinely demonic abroad in the land. It has long since gone far beyond legitimate political differences.

I was further saddened to see how ugly the controversy over a proposed temple in Cody, Wyoming, has become, at least in some circles. A few commenters on the Facebook page of a group that bills itself as Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods are calling for legal war with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for a list of LDS-owned businesses to be boycotted. (Perhaps such businesses might be required to display a yellow star, say, so that they will be more easily identifiable?)

Opposition to the temple ostensibly derives from its height, its planned location in a residential area, and the bright lights with which all Latter-day Saint temples are allegedly ablaze throughout the night. Some on the Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods Facebook page have, however pointed to the Mountain Meadows Massacre as representative of the Church, dismissed the Church as non-Christian and therefore not welcome in the God-fearing city of Cody, and pronounced it not a real religion but, rather, a soulless corporation. More recently, though, one Kevin Jay Clapper has distinguished himself by pronouncing my faith .

a religion founded by a pedo, that harbors thousands more . . . on purpose. Who on Earth would support such a thing? Maybe Jeffery Epstein disciples can move in across the street.

In response to such falsehoods, I can only hope that the excellent work of Jennifer Roach can be better disseminated among both Latter-day Saints and those who feel the need to condemn Latter-day Saints.

Finally, I was saddened today to read this, in an interview conducted by Tyler Cowen with the brilliant, learned, and prodigiously accomplished David Bentley Hart:

The Book of Mormon. I have no opinions about it whatsoever. Its kind of silly, the way it comes across to me. Ive only read it once. . . . Come on. The Book of Mormon is supposedly read off from these golden plates that Joseph Smith was shown and able to read with magical spectacles, plates that no one else ever saw. Thats very much a story. If you want to believe it, you can. (See David Bentley Hart on Reason, Faith, and Diversity in Religious Thought (Ep. 184): Is he the best-read guest in the history of the show?)

To which I respond with, among other things, this, this, this, this, and these. And theres a very great deal more where those come from.

Ignorance often saddens me.

I was cheered today, though, by an unexpected visit from a friend and former student, Professor Benjamin Huff. We enjoyed some great conversation and then went out for a really good Thai dinner and yet more great conversation.

When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves. And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy. (Joseph Smith, in Doctrine and Covenants 130:1-2)

Thats a very attractive and satisfying promise.
*

Those who incorrectly argue that limbo is Catholic dogma, often base it on statements such as the following, as laid out by Catholic apologist Scott Eric Alt:

First, Pope Gregory X, at the Second Council of Lyons (1274), said: The souls of those who die in mortal sin or with original sin only  immediately descend into Hell, yet to be punished with different punishments. Second, Pope Eugene IV, at the Council of Florence (1439), said: Moreover, the souls of those who depart in actual mortal sin or in original sin only, descend immediately into hell but to undergo punishments of different kinds. Third, Pope John XXII, in a Letter to the Armenians (1321), said: The Roman Church teaches  that souls of those who depart in mortal sin or with only original sin descend immediately to hell, nevertheless to be punished with different punishments and in disparate locations. . . . Though all this is no doubt Catholic dogma, these quotations speak only generally, and do not at all address the specific question of the fate of infants who die without even the possibility of baptism. [Those who make this argument assume] that the general has application to the specific, even though none of the passages . . . mention infants who die in utero, still less Limbo. That is a separate issue, and a separate theological debate. (No, the Limbo of Infants is Not Defined Catholic Dogma, National Catholic Register, 4-5-16)

Denzingers Enchiridion is the official source (I have a hard copy of the most recent 2012 edition) that compiles Catholic dogmas. It never declares that limbo is a dogma. If our critics claim otherwise, let them produce the documentation. The above three citations (if they want to utilize those) are about a different topic, as Alt observed. The only place I could find in Denzinger that references the concept and word limbo (of children) at all is Pope Pius VIs Constitution Auctorem fidei (August 28, 1794), devoted to the errors of the Synod of Pistoia (1786). The 26th error was condemned as follows:

The Punishment of Those Who Die with Original Sin Only 26. The doctrine that rejects as a Pelagian fable that place in the netherworld (which the faithful commonly designate by the name of the limbo of children) in which the souls of the dead with only original sin are punished with the punishment of damnation without the punishment of fire, as if those who remove the punishment of fire were thereby introducing some intermediate place and state exempt from guilt and punishment between the kingdom of God and eternal damnation, as the Pelagians have imagined, <is> false, rash and injurious to Catholic schools (D 2626, pp. 535-536)

Basically, this condemnation simply denies that the belief in limbo is Pelagian and is a state between heaven and hell, which is a universe away from the notion that it is required infallible dogma for all to believe. It just isnt. And if it never was a dogma, then there can be no alleged contradiction between dogmas or doctrines in the Catholic Church in this regard, and the question of whether Pope Martin V contradicted the post-1870 understanding of papal infallibility never even comes up. Its a moot point; an irrelevancy.

Obviously if different theological opinions on a given issue are permissible according to the Church, then infallibility isnt in play, because when it is, differing opinions are no longer allowed. Thus, Tourinho and Brunno fail to make rather elementary distinctions in critiquing Catholicism. Sadly, this is all too common. Critics of the Church construct a mere straw man to knock down, accomplishing nothing.

The Vaticans International Theological Commission issued the document, The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised, which was approved by Pope Benedict XVI in January 2007. It stated about limbo in its second paragraph:

This theory, elaborated by theologians beginning in the Middle Ages, never entered into the dogmatic definitions of the Magisterium, even if that same Magisterium did at times mention the theory in its ordinary teaching up until the Second Vatican Council. It remains therefore a possible theological hypothesis.

This document goes on to state:

34. In the Churchs tradition, the affirmation that children who died unbaptised are deprived of the beatific vision has for a long time been common doctrine. This common doctrine followed upon a certain way of reconciling the received principles of revelation, but it did not possess the certitude of a statement of faith, or the same certitude as other affirmations whose rejection would entail the denial of a divinely revealed dogma or of a teaching proclaimed by a definitive act of the magisterium. The study of the history of the Churchs reflection on this subject shows that it is necessary to make distinctions. In this summary we distinguish first, statements of faith and what pertains to the faith; second, common doctrine; and third, theological opinion. . . . 38. d) The Bull Auctorem fidei of Pope Pius VI is not a dogmatic definition of the existence of Limbo: the papal Bull confines itself to rejecting the Jansenist charge that the Limbo taught by scholastic theologians is identical with the eternal life promised to unbaptised infants by the ancient Pelagians. Pius VI did not condemn the Jansenists because they denied Limbo, but because they held that the defenders of Limbo were guilty of the heresy of Pelagius. By maintaining the freedom of the Catholic Schools to propose different solutions to the problem of the fate of unbaptised infants, the Holy See defended the common teaching as an acceptable and legitimate option, without endorsing it.

Lets now turn our attention specifically to the Council of Constance in 1415 and Pope Martin V: who, incidentally, became pope in November 1417 and confirmed various decrees of the council in 1418 and thereafter, and the polemical claims made by Tourinho and Brunno regarding both.

Denzinger includes a condemnation of 45 errors of Wycliffe made at the Council of Constance in its Session 8: May 4, 1415, and confirmed by Pope Martin V on February 22, 1418 (D 1151-195; pp. 321-325 in the 2012 edition). These do not include Wycliffes thesis #6, presently under consideration. The manifest absurdity of some of these propositions is readily seen in the following representative examples:

#10 (D 1160) It is against Sacred Scripture for ecclesiastics to have possessions. #20 (D 1170) He who gives alms to friars is thereby excommunicated. #22 (D 1172) Saints who founded religious orders sinned by founding them. #23 (D 1173) Religious living in religious orders do not belong to the Christian religion. #27 (D 1177) All things happen by an absolute necessity. #29 (D 1179) Universities, . . . colleges, . . . and teaching offices in them are vain things brought in by the pagans; they are of as much use to the Church as is the devil. #36 (D 1186) The pope with all his clerics who own possessions are heretics by the fact that they have possessions . . . #37 (D 1187) The Church of Rome is the synagogue of Satan . . . #44 (D 1194) Augustine, Benedict, and Bernard are damned, unless they have repented of the fact that they had possessions and instituted and entered religious orders; and thus, from the pope down to the last religious, all are heretics. #45 (D 1195) All religious orders, without distinction, were introduced by the devil.

Denzinger (2012) provides footnotes documenting where in his writings Wycliffe made these ludicrous and outrageous statements.

Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils (2017), edited by Norman P. Tanner, lists 58 additional condemned propositions (decreed at Session 15, July 6, 1415), in addition to the aforementioned 45 (out of 260 total that the Church opposed). These can be seen on an EWTN web page that utilizes Tanner as its source, and they include thesis or proposition #6: Those who claim that the children of the faithful dying without sacramental baptism will not be saved, are stupid and presumptuous in saying this.

The question, then, is whether this point of theology has been dogmatically established by the Church (thus allowing no contrary views). I have already shown how it is not so established (and there is still more to come on that below). The second thing is: what, precisely did the Council intend, in condemning this particular proposition?

I have asked Dr. Robert Fastiggi, a Catholic systematic theologian, who edited and translated large portions of the 2012 edition of Denzinger, to clarify this, since some skeptics of the Church will claim that my own arguments and interpretations carry no force at all, since I am a mere lay apologist with no formal theological education (though, I hasten to add, I have tons of informal education over 46 years). This is one reason of many why we have Catholic theologians, and Dr. Fastiggi is of impeccable orthodoxy. He is as qualified as anyone to tackle this challenge from our separated brethren. Here are his words in personal correspondence to me:

The Council of Constance did not define limbo as a dogma. Rather, Wyclifs article no. 6 was condemned because it was offensive to the ears of the devout and/or rash and seditious. The introduction to the list of condemned articles explains that some of them were and are notoriously heretical and others were offensive to the ears of the devout and rash and seditious. The list does not specify which of the articles are heretical and which are offensive to the ears of the devout and rash and seditious. [From Tanner: It was found that some, indeed many, of the articles thus examined were and are notoriously heretical and have already been condemned by holy fathers, some are offensive to the ears of the devout and some are rash and seditious.] To condemn a proposition as heretical, it must be clearly condemned as such, and the faithful must know it has been condemned as heretical. We dont have a clear specification that article 6 is heretical so its best to understand it as condemned because it is offensive to the ears of the devout and/or rash and seditious. * Why, though, would it be offensive to the ears of the devout and rash and seditious? It is because it is rash and seditious to say that those who believe that unbaptized babies will not be saved are stupid and presumptuous. We still teach that the Church does not know any means other than Baptism that assures entrance into eternal beatitude (CCC 1257). St. Thomas Aquinas, however, taught that God is not bound to the sacraments, and CCC 1257 takes note of this (though it doesnt provide the reference). [Dave: the relevant portion from St. Thomas Aquinas will follow Dr. Fastiggis words below] * We also need to note that those who believed (and still believe) that unbaptized babies dont go to heaven did not believe these infants suffer any torment but only the deprivation of the beatific vision. This is clear in Innocent IIIs 1201 letter to Archbishop Humbert of Arles (Denz.-H 780). [. . . the punishment of original sin is the deprivation of the vision of God . . .] * Its also important to note that the Church has not totally repudiated the possibility of limbo for unbaptized babies. The 2007 document of the International Theological Commission on the Fate of Unbaptized Infants made this clear. * The CDF approved this 2007 document. Although the ITC document is not magisterial itself, it has been approved by the CDF for publication, which is a witness to its theological soundness. * I think what we can safely say is this: The Church has never solemnly taught limbo as a dogma. * The condemnation of article 6 of Wyclif in session 15 of the Council of Constance cannot be understood as a dogmatic proclamation of the truth of limbo or the absolute certitude that unbaptized babies will not be saved. It is simply condemning the view that those who hold this position are stupid and presumptuous. * We need to understand the condemnation of article 6 of Wyclif in session 15 of Constance in light of subsequent theological development. The Church today allows for belief in limbo as acceptable, but she does not require it as a dogma (and never did). Catholics can hope for the salvation of unbaptized babies, but we cannot state with absolute certitude that they are saved (see CCC 1261). * There was no papal error in the condemnation of article 6 of Wyclif during session 15 of Constance. It was not an error to condemn those who regarded an acceptable theological opinion as stupid and presumptuous. * The condemnation of article 6 of Wyclif during session 15 of Constance does not in any way challenge papal infallibility or demonstrate papal error.

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Gods power is not bound to the sacraments (see CCC, 1257)

St. Thomas Aquinas Summa theologiae III q. 64 a. 7:

But it must be observed that as God did not bind His power to the sacraments, so as to be unable to bestow the sacramental effect without conferring the sacrament; so neither did He bind His power to the ministers of the Church so as to be unable to give angels power to administer the sacraments.

St. Thomas Aquinas III q. 68 art. 2:

I answer that, The sacrament or Baptism may be wanting to someone in two ways. First, both in reality and in desire; as is the case with those who neither are baptized, nor wished to be baptized: which clearly indicates contempt of the sacrament, in regard to those who have the use of the free-will. Consequently those to whom Baptism is wanting thus, cannot obtain salvation: since neither sacramentally nor mentally are they incorporated in Christ, through Whom alone can salvation be obtained. Secondly, the sacrament of Baptism may be wanting to anyone in reality but not in desire: for instance, when a man wishes to be baptized, but by some ill-chance he is forestalled by death before receiving Baptism. And such a man can obtain salvation without being actually baptized, on account of his desire for Baptism, which desire is the outcome of faith that worketh by charity, whereby God, Whose power is not tied to visible sacraments, sanctifies man inwardly. (Dr. Fastiggis bolding and italics)

So in the final analysis, what we have in Tourinhos and Brunnos critique is yet another instance in a long, sad line of critics of the Church having a very incomplete or dim knowledge of what it is that they are addressing. They merely present a caricatured straw man to knock down, not actual Catholic teaching, as has been amply shown by now. So they have proven nothing, except  with all due respect  their ignorance of Catholic theology and our system of authority.

They claimed, The Dogmatic Teaching of the Church of Rome, defined in an Ecumenical Council, is that children who were not baptized would not be saved. That never happened. They understand neither what is meant by Catholic Dogma, nor how to properly document when it is decreed. They write: The Church of Rome today has abandoned this teaching. It cant abandon what was never dogmatically established (with a prohibition of contrary views) in the first place. A supposed inexorable, undeniable correspondence between not being baptized and non-salvation is not  and never has been  a Catholic dogma, which means  by straightforward logic  that it could not have been abandoned.

Various opinions on this are allowed to be held among Catholics to this day, as they have always been. But most orthodox Catholic theologians today, following the qualifying thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas (and strong hints in Holy Scripture) do not hold to the proposition expressed by Wycliffe in his thesis #6, brought to the table by Tourinho and Brunno in an effort to besmirch Holy Mother Church. And I agree with the majority of current theologians. In any event, the Church has not dogmatically decided the question.

There is undoubtedly an explicit contradiction here (there is not at all, as proven above), but the question goes further. If the Council of Constance had already solemnly decided on this question, (it did not do so, as shown). As we see, the Church of Romes doctrine of papal infallibility falls before us . . . The example provided does no such grandiose thing, since no dogmatic proclamation as to heresy being involved was ever made.

Since it wasnt decreed, and therefore doesnt involve infallibility or dogma in the first place, then one cant argue that a contradiction is currently present in teachings that are contrary to the strict Augustinian-type views on the question (which are still permitted, but in a small minority among orthodox theologians at present). Not to nitpick, but Pope Martin V was also not in the Council as claimed, since he wasnt elected pope until 1417, two years after it closed.

Dr. Fastiggi showed how the Council of Constance didnt clarify which condemned propositions had to do with outright heresy. Tourinho and Brunno cite the Sentence condemning 260 articles of Wyclif from the Council (Session 156 July 1415), but this is also the document that notes  a thing ignored by our two zealous critics  three different sorts of errors in these propositions:

1) many, indeed, were and are notoriously heretical. 2) But some are offensive to the ears of the devout. 3) And some are rash and seditious.

Since its not stated that thesis #6 fell under category #1, we have no way of authoritatively or logically concluding that it does, from this data. Catholics were not to preach, teach, or hold the said articles or any one of them. But of course it doesnt follow from the prohibition that all of the theses were heretical. It is true that Wycliffe was definitively pronounced to be a heretic by the council:

This holy synod, therefore, . . . declares, defines and decrees that the said John Wyclif was a notorious and obstinate heretic who died in heresy, and it anathematises him and condemns his memory.

But it doesnt follow that absolutely everything he taught was a heresy. Surely he believed in God, for example (he wasnt an atheist). Thats not a heresy, even though he was (if we categorize his overall thought from a Catholic perspective) a heretic. Presumably he believed that Jesus Christ was incarnate and redeemed sinners from hell, and any number of other Christian doctrines (if not these, then others), etc., etc. In other words, he believed in some true things.

Likewise, his rant about one of the many permissible Catholic opinions regarding the fate of unbaptized infants did not involve heresy. It seems to me most likely to have entailed what the council noted in #3 above. I agree with Dr. Fastiggi: it is rash and seditious to say that those who believe that unbaptized babies will not be saved are stupid and presumptuous.

That would include someone like St. Augustine (Calvinists favorite Church father by far). We shouldnt be surprised by this, seeing that Wycliffe (see D 1194 above) believed that Augustine was damned, unless he repented at the last minute for having committed the unthinkable outrages of having possessions and entering a religious order: both things  in Wycliffes bizarre mentality  making him a heretic.

These are the desperate lengths that critics of the Catholic Church will go. They will side with an irrational extremist like Wycliffe, who damned even St. Augustine (one of their own heroes: though it is a straw man caricature of Augustine that they revere), and who believed all sorts of ludicrous things, if he opposes the Catholic Church, under the jaded philosophy of my enemys enemy is my friend.

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Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. Im always in need of more funds: especially monthly support. The laborer is worthy of his wages (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a full-time Catholic apologist , and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog.

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Photo credit: Portrait of Pope Martin V (1368-1431), by the Venetian School, after Pisanello (1995-1455) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

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Summary: Two Brazilian Calvinists fail to find error and self-contradiction in Catholic teaching concerning unbaptized infants and papal infallibility, as I decisively prove.
The launch of Microsoft 365 kick-started the Windows cloud PC era with a focus on business in 2021, but it has become increasingly clear that Microsoft is planning a cloud-based Windows for private users as well. Now, Windows 11 Insider preview testers who subscribe to Microsofts cloud PCs can use a new feature called Windows 365 Switch that lets you switch between the local Windows 11 installation on your PC and a cloud-based Windows 365 installation in under a second.

How to use Windows 365 Switch

get windows 11 pro for cheap from pcw Windows 11 Pro Best Prices Today:

Microsoft just delivered Windows 11 Build 23521 to insiders in the Dev Channel. The most interesting new feature is the support for Windows 365 Switch, which will also be available for Windows 11 test versions in the beta channel. You can switch with a keystroke, swipe gesture or mouse click.

Microsoft describes the new Windows 365 Switch feature in a blog post:

Windows 365 Switch provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the same familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture. Windows 365 Switch enables a seamless experience from within Windows 11 via the Task view feature.

Microsoft continues:

This new round tripping feature is extremely valuable for bring-your-own device (BYOD) scenarios when you connect from your own Windows device to a secure company owned Cloud PC.

In other words, you can switch from a PC or notebook with Windows 11 to a completely separate Windows installation in the cloud and back again at any time. This makes sense, for example, if you also want to work professionally on your private computer and all data and files should be strictly separated from each other in order to comply with data protection regulations or security requirements.

You can switch between Windows 365 and Windows 11 in a jiffy with the new switch. Microsoft

These are the current requirements for using the Windows 365 switch:

Windows 11-based endpoints (available in Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise)

Participation in the Windows Insider Program (Beta Channel preferred, but Dev Channel also supported) for both Windows 11 and Windows 365

Windows 365 Cloud PC licence

Switching to and from the cloud PC takes less than a second, Microsoft promises. Heres a step-by-step guide on how to use Windows 365 Switch.

You can let Microsoft know your opinion and experience with the new Windows 365 Switch feature via the Feedback Hub app, which you can also use to report problems and make suggestions. To do so, go to the category Desktop environment in the Feedback Hub and select the subcategory Switch to Cloud PC (from Task View).

So far, only corporate customers can use the cloud-based Windows 365. Windows 365 is not yet available for private users.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.
In the world of banking, the mention of art might seem out of place. Yet, Absa Bank is defying this notion, thanks to its more than three decades of association with the esteemed L'Atelier pan-African Art competition.



For 37 years, the Absa L'Atelier has been one of Africa's most prestigious art competitions, captivating artists and enthusiasts alike. What sets this competition apart is Absa Group's transformative decision to extend it to some of its markets across the continent. Since Ghana's inclusion in 2015, three Ghanaian artists  Henry Obeng, Michael Jackson Blebo, and Gandor Collins  have been crowned winners.



This bold move by Absa demonstrates its unwavering commitment to its clients and customers.

"What matters to our customers is of utmost importance to us. The L'Atelier art competition clearly shows our dedication to meeting the needs of our customers in every possible way. Art is a common platform for bringing people together in Africa and Ghana. By associating with this art platform, we bring our customers closer and foster stronger connections," affirms Nana Essilfuah Tamakloe, Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations at Absa Bank Ghana.



As part of the 2021 prize package, The Absa Gallery introduced country tours, allowing some winners to exhibit in their home countries. Ghana had the privilege of hosting the roadshow exhibitions in 2023, with Michael Jackson Blebo, the 2021 winner, leading a group of artists, Adelheid Frackiewicz and Ayobolo Kekere-Ekun, from South Africa and Nigeria respectively.



At the Institute Museum of Ghana, Noldor Residency in Accra, the exhibition titled "Refuge: An uncommon home" provided a captivating experience for art enthusiasts. Michael Jackson Blebo expressed his excitement, saying, "The L'Atelier competition gave me the platform to showcase my talent to diverse audiences across the continent. It was an exciting period in my career journey, and I hope to leverage that success to take my career to new heights."



The exhibition delved into themes that spoke to the artists' self-reflective journey through art, confronting personal trauma, and anxieties about the past and future. Using a blend of objects and traditional materials, they delicately navigated the creation of these artworks, discovering solace and tranquillity within their own personal spaces.



Visitors to the Noldor residency in Accra spoke of a reimagined experience of the home as a place of refuge, extending beyond the physical realm. Theodore Albright, an art enthusiast and legal professional, marvelled at the "visceral experience of pure traditional African art on display. You felt you were in a different place; total serenity and clarity."



Absa Bank's commitment to art and culture through the L'Atelier competition not only elevates the profile of African artists but also strengthens the bank's connection with its clients and communities. It is a testament to how finance and art can beautifully intersect, shaping a more vibrant and culturally enriched Africa.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Airtel Kenya has outlined plans to invest a minimum of US$150 million into expanding its network across the next three years.

Citing comments from the operators CEO Ashish Malhotra, Business Daily reported that Airtel Kenya plans to install 649 new network sites nationwide  adding to its current portfolio of 3200  to bring its population coverage to 89%.

Last month, Airtel Kenya brought commercial 5G services to 16 counties across the country, deploying more than 370 dedicated 5G sites. CommsUpdate reports that the operator plans to install a further 120 sites within the next three months.

Malhotra noted that: the response has been good, though the penetration of 5G-enabled devices in the country is almost 1% of our total devices. It is purely an issue of the cost of devices.
The World Bank said on Tuesday it would halt new lending to the Ugandan government after concluding that its anti-LGBTQ law, which has been condemned by many countries and the United Nations, contradicts the bank's values.



In response, the East African country dismissed the move as unjust and hypocritical.



A World Bank team traveled to Uganda immediately after the law was enacted in May and determined that additional measures were needed to ensure projects were being implemented in line with the bank's environmental and social standards.



"No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested," the bank said in a statement, adding that such measures were now under discussion with Ugandan authorities.



"Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group's values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality," the bank said.



"We remain committed to helping all Ugandans - without exception - escape poverty, access vital services, and improve their lives."



World Bank President Ajay Banga, who took office in June after the Ugandan law was enacted, has come under pressure to respond to the Ugandan law. On June 15, 170 civic groups urged Banga to take "specific, concrete and timely actions" in response to the Uganda anti-LGBTQ law, including suspending future lending.



Uganda's state minister for foreign affairs, Okello Oryem accused the bank of hypocrisy, saying they were lending to countries in the Middle East and Asia that have the same or harsher laws on homosexuality.



"There are many Middle East countries who do not tolerate homosexuals, they actually hang and execute homosexuals, in the United States of America many states have passed laws that are either against or restrict activities of homosexuality ... so why pick on Uganda?" he said.



"The World Bank has been put under pressure by the usual imperialists."



The World Bank had provided $5.4 billion in International Development Association financing to Uganda by the end of 2022, including many health and education projects that could be affected by the new law.



The existing portfolio will continue to disburse funds, even as new lending is put on hold, a World Bank source said.



Private sector projects backed by the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) would proceed only "on a selective basis," the bank said in a separate note to staff seen by Reuters.



It said the IFC and MIGA would also implement additional measures to "ensure inclusion and non-discrimination as needed."

Source: Reuters









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Nigerias President, Bola Tinubu, is facing a huge backlash at home over his threat to use military force to reverse the coup in next-door neighbour, Niger.



Local media report there was strong opposition to military intervention at a session of the upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, on Saturday, despite the fact that it is controlled by Mr Tinubus party.



This was especially the case among lawmakers representing states along the more than 1,500km (930 mile)-long border with Niger, but there has also been countrywide condemnation of the possibility of war.



West African regional bloc, EOWAS, had set a deadline of Sunday for the junta to give up power  or face possible military action.



The decision was very much seen as Mr Tinubus as he is ECOWAS current chairman, and Nigeria is its most influential member.



Although the junta has defied the ultimatum, ECOWAS did not respond by immediately sending troops. This came as a relief to many Nigerians who prefer a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.



Some question whether a seven-day deadline was realistic given that Nigeria and other countries have to get parliamentary approval before deploying the military.



Many people are also appalled that electricity to Niger was cut on President Tinubus orders, causing blackouts in Nigers capital, Niamey, and other cities.



Critics claim that this is in violation of a treaty that had enabled Nigeria to build a dam on the River Niger, though Mr Tinubus supporters say the power cuts are aimed at pressuring the junta to hand back power to ousted President, Mohamed Bazoum, without military confrontation.



Nigeria and Niger share strong ethnic, economic and cultural ties and any military intervention against Niger would affect northern Nigeria, already facing serious security challenges of its own.



An influential group of Muslim clerics in northern Nigeria said Mr Tinubu must not rush into an avoidable conflict with a neighbour at the behest of global politicking.



Mr Bazoum was a key ally of the West, allowing former colonial power, France, and the US to keep military bases in the country to help in the fight against militant Islamists wreaking havoc across much of West Africa.



The military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have vowed to come to the defence of Nigers coup leaders if ECOWAS does use force, raising the prospect of a major regional conflict.



All eyes are now on Mr Tinubu who has been the most vocal in condemning coups in West Africa, and said last month that ECOWAS cannot be made up of toothless bulldogs

Source: BBC









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Reverend Dr Joyce Aryee, the Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministry, has advised the youth to harness the positives of social media to improve their lives instead of the negatives.



According to her, social media had good and bad sides and the youth must explore the good side to enhance their education and lives.

Rev. Dr Aryee gave the advice on Friday during the Lead Yourself Conference for Senior High students held at the Achimota College.



The programme, organised by the David Douglas Leadership Forum (DDLF) in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Accra, was attended by more than 2,500 Senior High School (SHS) students across the country.



They included Adisadel College, Achimota College, St Thomas Aquinas SHS, Labone SHS, Accra Girls SHS, OReilly SHS, Mando Senior High and Technical School, Mfantsiman SHS, and Presbyterian Senior High School, Osu.



Under the theme The Importance of Entrepreneurship in National Development, the objectives of the programme were to equip the students with entrepreneurship, leadership and technical skills to prepare them to be job creators instead of seekers.



Rev. Dr Aryee, who gave the keynote address on the topic How to Unlock your Potential, expressed concern about the practice where the youth and students used social media to engage in social vices instead of learning.



She said social media has become a platform where an individual could learn any skill or trade.



The Chief Executive Officer of the KAMA Group of Companies, Dr Michael Agyekum Addo, said the 21st century was a period for technical entrepreneurship, requiring people to create products and services to address the needs and problems of society.



The President of Ghana Traders Association, Dr Joseph Obeng, for his part, said the youth could create their own businesses through the ideas they had, adding that social media could be a veritable means to help the youth create their own businesses.



The Executive Director of DDLF, David Douglas Tengey, said the increasing youth population and the number of students being churned out by the various tertiary institutions did not commensurate with existing jobs, hence the growing unemployment rate in the country.



He said there was a need to promote entrepreneurship in the country, hence the focus of the DDLF on entrepreneurship to equip the students with entrepreneurship skills and knowledge to help the students to become entrepreneurs.

Source: Ghanaiantimes.com.gh









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The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, says chiefs must be allowed to participate in active party politics in the country.



He has therefore, proposed a relook into constitutional provisions that barred chiefs from participating in active politics, adding that Ghana needs to re-orient its democratic architecture and ensure that the wisdom and expertise of chiefs can be tapped to enhance representative governance in the country.



Mr Bagbin also stressed the urgent need to tackle the seemly exclusion of the citizenry from harnessing dividends of Ghanas democratic experience.



He made the proposal at a public forum in Takoradi yesterday as part of activities to mark 30 years of parliamentary democracy.



The forum was on the theme 30 years of parliamentary democracy under the 4th Republic: The journey thus far.



He added that We need to listen, think together, and well be taking stock on what we did wrong with our leaders, that chiefs should not be in active politics and thats not helping us. They used to govern; today we have imposed other chiefs on our chiefs, so we have District Chief Executives.



Historically, Mr Bagbin noted that the African, by tradition, embraced a democratic culture which promoted competition and that the concept of Parliament was instituted in kingdoms, empires, long before the coming of the whites (Europeans).



He said the kingdom systems ensured movement of people in different directions and bonding together with their own traditions and a sense of leadership based on the three pillars of government, which the Fante Confederacy copied.



We Africans started with so many of the things and they came and stole from us, polished, rebranded and brought them back to us as if there were new things that we are to learn from, the speaker of Parliament said.



Mr Bagbin said God had blessed Ghana so much that there was no need for people to be afraid but, be patient while the mistakes were corrected.



He said the current explosion of social and political upheavals blowing across the sub-Saharan corridors were an indication that the citizenry had lost touch with governance.



Mr Bagbin said after 30 years of democratic experiment, there was the urgent need for Parliament to get closer to the people, explain the challenges to them and as to how to correct the hurdles.



Nana Kobina Nketsia, paramount chief of Essikado Traditional Area, said he believes it was time Parliament showed serious interest in public affairs and debates within the public space and help find ways to deal with issues of economic justice the country faced, today.



On the Speakers entourage were Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah; Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah; MP, Wassa East, Isaac Adjei Mensah; Deputy Clerk of Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djetoro; Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo and Director Media Relations, David Damoah.

Source: Ghanaiantimes.com.gh









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Kwamena Duncan has slammed the Leader of the Minority in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson over the Minority's threat to picket the Bank of Ghana (BoG) after issuing a 21-day ultimatum to the Governor and his deputies to resign.



The Minority has accused the Governor of the BoG, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies of financial malfeasance and request their immediate resignation.



Addressing the media during a "Moment of Truth" series on Tuesday, an event organized by the National Democratic Congress to set the records straight, Ato Forson stated; "We in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) saw the red flags and have consistently warned of the mismanagement of the financial sector by the Governor of the Central Bank and his team of incompetent deputies."



Establishing the facts of their case, he said; "Only last week, the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana was released. This report depicted the catastrophic decline of the Bank into a bottomless pit. The report revealed the following astonishing facts:



1. The Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion.

This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout. This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities."



He noted that the NDC and the Minority want the Governor and his deputies to step down, stressing "we are resolved to embark on popular action to occupy the Central Bank and drive out the team of inept, callous and criminal mismanagers of the finances of this country and Save the Bank of Ghana".



But Kwamena Duncan, tackling the issue on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, went ad hominem on the Minority Leader.



He rebuked Ato Forson saying since he replaced Haruna Iddrisu as the leader of the Minority, he has brought no significant transformation to the team.



"What value has he added? What has he brought on board? What is that special thing that was seen in him that made the party change Haruna Iddrisu and bring him?", he questioned.



He also ridiculed Ato Forson's fluency in English Language stating "as a leader, his grammar is poor".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Former NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs says the Minority in Parliament's threat to picket Bank of Ghana if the Governors fail to heed their call to resign within 21 days will "end nowhere".



He likened the Minority to "kindergartens" while reacting to the matter during Peace FM's Wednesday edition of "Kokrokoo" show.



The Minority caucus says they will picket the Central Bank after their 21-day ultimatum if the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies remain at post.



They accuse Dr. Addison of mismanaging the Bank of Ghana, causing the bank to lose over 60 billion cedis.



"We in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) saw the red flags and have consistently warned of the mismanagement of the financial sector by the Governor of the Central Bank and his team of incompetent deputies.



"Only last week, the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana was released. This report depicted the catastrophic decline of the Bank into a bottomless pit. The report revealed the following astonishing facts...Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion...twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout.



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities," Minority Leader, Ato Forson said during an event dubbed "Moment of Truth" held by the NDC on Tuesday, August 8.



Allotey Jacobs, in response, says "I disagree with this picketing. It will end nowhere!...This is a lazy man's work".



He questioned the authority of the Minority to demand Dr. Addison and his deputies should step down.



"Do they have the power to remove the Governor of Bank of Ghana?...Do they have power to appoint and disappoint? Who appoints the Governor of Bank of Ghana?", he queried.



Watch video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Bernard Allotey Jacobs has registered his utter displeasure with the decision by the Minority in Parliament and the National Democratic Congress(NDC) to picket the Bank of Ghana if the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies don't comply with their order to resign within 21 days.



The opposition party accuses the Governor and his deputies of mishandling the bank resulting in the bank losing a whopping 6 billion dollars.



"We in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) saw the red flags and have consistently warned of the mismanagement of the financial sector by the Governor of the Central Bank and his team of incompetent deputies.



"Only last week, the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana was released. This report depicted the catastrophic decline of the Bank into a bottomless pit. The report revealed...Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout.



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities," a statement read by Minority Leader, Ato Forson outlined.



They indicated their resolve "to embark on popular action to occupy the Central Bank and drive out the team of inept, callous and criminal mismanagers of the finances of this country and Save the Bank of Ghana", stressing "the March to Ensure Accountability will begin in 21 days if the Governor of the Bank of Ghana does not do the needful and pack bag and baggage out of that sacred institution that he has so desecrated".



Allotey Jacobs has excoriated the Minority's decision stating they "are creating tension" in the country.



He, therefore, issued a warning to them saying "what I want to tell the Minority is that look at what is happening in the west coast of Africa. Don't create tension and don't think that something will happen for you to get something".



"It will not be possible but rather you will create some kind of thing that cannot be described," he exclaimed while delivering his submissions on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Bank of Ghana is said to have lost over 60 billion cedis equivalent to 6 billion dollars last year.



According to a statement read by the leader of the Minority in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, during an NDC event dubbed "Moment of Truth" on Tuesday, August 8, 2023; a Bank of Ghana (BoG) report depicted a "catastrophic decline" of the bank.



He disclosed "the Bank of Ghana recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout".



The Minority accused the Governor of the bank, Dr. Ernest Addison for this loss and therefore calls on him together with his deputies to resign from office.



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities", Hon. Ato Forson iterated.



They further revealed; "The bank has also recorded a negative equity of over GHS55.1 billion. What this simply means is that the Bank of Ghana is insolvent. In other words, the once prestigious Bank of Ghana, the mother of all banks in Ghana, has been bankrupted and collapsed by this NPP economic management team led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the complicity of the Governor of the Central Bank."



Read full statement below:





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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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Professor Smart Sarpong has lauded the Minority in Parliament after they revealing some information about the Bank of Ghana during their "Moment of Truth" event held on Tuesday, August 8, telling the media the Bank of Ghana, last year, lost over GHc 60 billion.



The Bank of Ghana, according to a statement read by the leader of the Minority in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, recorded a "catastrophic decline" in 2022.



The bank, he disclosed, "recorded a staggering loss of GHS60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion. This is twice the amount we are to receive from our recent IMF bailout".



"This means the recklessness and mismanagement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana has cost the nation twice what we are struggling and sacrificing to receive from the IMF amid major conditionalities", Hon. Ato Forson asserted.



The Minority further revealed "the bank has also recorded a negative equity of over GHS55.1 billion. What this simply means is that the Bank of Ghana is insolvent", adding "in other words, the once prestigious Bank of Ghana, the mother of all banks in Ghana, has been bankrupted and collapsed by this NPP economic management team led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia with the complicity of the Governor of the Central Bank".



They accused the Governor of the bank, Dr. Ernest Addison for this loss and say he and his deputies must resign from office within 21 days.



Addressing the issue on Peace FM's panel discussion programme "Kokrokoo", Professor Smart Sarpong, a Senior Research Fellow of the Kumasi Technical University, noted that regarding this BoG matter, the Minority has been a better source of public information.



He wondered why the bank authorities have failed to lead the conversations regarding activities of the bank and delivering reports and explanations to the public to dispel doubts and misconceptions.



"It tells you that the Minority, in this case, has become a better source of public information than the Bank of Ghana," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi.



To him, it is unfortunate that the bank has been poor on feeding the public with relevant information and giving clarifications on matters and advised the authorities to review their public relations.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The National Communications Officer of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi says his party will make sure the Governor of the Bank of Ghana leaves office with immediate effect.



He told NEAT FMs afternoon political talk show, 'Me Man Nti' that preparations are underway to stage a Kume preko kind of demonstration to ensure governor Dr Ernest Addison vacates his post.



We will besiege the Bank of Ghana Governor and his deputies to leave the premises of Bank of Ghana. We have given him 21 days to resign, Sammy Gyamfi reiterated his partys position on the Governor.



According to Sammy Gyamfi, the Governor together with the Board have disregarded the Bank of Ghana Act, which had contributed to the Bank losing close to over GH60 billion.



He said if the Bank that has a supervisory role over other banks could not respect the very Act that established it, then the Bank has no moral right to collapse other banks for flouting Ghana's banking regulations.



He also accused the leadership of the Bank of increasing the salaries of staff by more than 60 per cent despite the economic hardships in the country.



Watch video below





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Brazilian regulator Anatel has signed an agreement with the Japanese government focused on open RAN, with the goal of increasing deployments of the technology in Brazil and developing new business opportunities between the countries.

The deal will see the partners share knowledge relating to open RAN such as spectrum policies, carry out tests, and collaborate with other countries. Japans general director for international affairs Nomura Eigo noted that the partners would also strengthen their cooperation on 5G as the technology continues to gain traction in Brazil.

Anatel chief Carlos Baigorri described open RAN as an opportunity for Brazilian industry as the increased range of suppliers and disaggregation of network equipment would make the market more competitive. The partners noted that the deal came about as a result of their aligned interests in developing competition-friendly regulation.
Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, South African National Democratic Congress Council of Elders Chairman has slammed the Bank of Ghana's expenditure of a whopping 97.4 million and 1.316 trillion cedis on foreign and domestic travels and motor maintenance and running respectively.



He questioned whether the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been using Jaguars and Rolls Royces for their operations to occasion such quantum of monies expended.



Mr. Benjamin Quashie, in a telephone interview today, 9th August, 2023, on CTV, expressed worry at the high levels of dissipation of the Ghanaian taxpayer's money by the BoG.



"When we complain of not having money, this Bank of Ghana has gone round printing money for this government. In 2021 and 2022 alone, they printed more that 80 billion", he wondered, quizzing how the country got to this level.



Further, he revealed that out of the 80 billion that was printed for government, 48 billion had been written-off as bad debt. "You know what that has done? It has put almost 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty", Mr. Kofi Quashie emphasized.



In the view of the SA Council Chair, such reckless and unconscionable expenditure on the part of the government is very thoughtless and shows a government that is highly inconsiderate of the plight of Ghanaians.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Minister for Information and MP for Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has hailed Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for his immense contributions to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the government.



Addressing NPP stakeholders on Friday during Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's campaign visit to Ofoase Ayirebi, the Minister said Dr. Bawumia has proven his that bravery and capabilities to lead the party, endorsing him to come tops in the NPP presidential election.



"When we needed men to defend our party, Dr. Bawumia made himself available and committed himself to it," Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said.



"Whenever the party is under attack, Dr. Bawumia is the one who always avails himself to defend the party at the risk of suffering personal attacks, but he does it and he has been very committed to it", he emphasized.



The Information Minister further expressed his admiration for the Vice President saying "let me reveal something today. Since I knew Dr. Bawumia in 2008 when he was at Baank of Ghana and I was at Joy FM and since we got together in politics, I have learned some things from him quietly".

"I have learned about how he puts his ears on the ground to consult and listen. His commitment and dedication and also his humility," he added.



Hon. Oppong Nkrumah joined his Constituency Chairman to declare his emphatic support for Dr. Bawumia in the upcoming the Super Delegates Conference of the NPP which will be held across the nation next week and asked the delegates to finish their work by electing the Veep during the party's main election in November.

He described Dr. Bawumia as a friend of his constituency stressing "this month, I and our Chairman will go and vote for him (Dr Bawumia) and in November, Ofoase Ayirebi delegates will also have the opportunity to vote for him massively to show gratitude for what Dr. Bawumia has done for the party and Ofoase Ayirebi".

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An 89-year-old law firm is winding down operations.

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP filed a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry informing the state that it will lay off 83 people at the end of the month at 1600 Market St., Suite 3600 in Philadelphia.
A contract has ended in York County for a company that provides healthcare support services.

Crothall Healthcare filed a WARN notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry informing the state it will lay off 64 hourly and salaried environmental services associates that provide services at WellSpan Health in York County. However, Crothall said in the WARN notice that it anticipates that most employees will be hired by the hospital or an incoming vendor.

WellSpan said the contracts will be ending in four of its regional areas in a phased process starting September 10 -- southwestern York on September 10; northeastern York on September 17; southeastern York on September 24 and at the York Monument location on October 1. WellSpan didnt identify the new vendor.

The health system said in a provided statement that the change was the result of a routine contract review and that all impacted employees will receive information on positions with WellSpan.

As part of routine contract review, WellSpan conducted a request for proposal process for our out-patient housekeeping services. Proposals were evaluated based on a variety of factors beyond costs including quality, service, and sustainability considerations. All employees of the current vendors released from their positions will be provided information on positions available with WellSpan and the contact information for new vendors who have indicated they will be hiring additional staff.

The health system said that Crothall Healthcare will continue to provide services for WellSpan in Lebanon and Northwestern York regions.

Officials at Delaware County-based Crothall couldnt be reached for comment.

The WARN Act is federal legislation that offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff. Although there are some exceptions to the requirement. The WARN notice was dated Aug. 10.
The final land development and subdivision plan for a proposed shopping center on the Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township came in front of the townships planning commission Thursday evening.

But the plan for the Beltway Commons shopping center at 5401 Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township will be delayed at least one more month. The planning commission voted to table the final land development plan to give the developer more time to work on it. Ultimately, the plan will still need approval by township commissioners.

The 132,144-square-foot shopping center is being developed by California-based Pacifica Companies and will include retail establishments, a fueling facility, and restaurants.

The final land development plan sheds new details about future tenants coming to the Beltway Commons shopping center. According to the land development plan, the shopping center will include the following:

Raising Canes will occupy a 3,615-square-foot space with a drive-thru.

Starbucks will occupy a 2,405-square-foot space with a drive-thru.

Cava will occupy a 2,400-square-foot space with a drive-thru.

T-Mobile will occupy a 2,000-square-foot space.

Panda Express will occupy a 2,500-square-foot space with a drive-thru.

First Watch will occupy a 4,000-square-foot space.

McAllisters will occupy a 3,060-square-foot space.

A fueling facility will occupy 200 square feet of space.

Beltway Commons will be anchored by a 99,804-square-foot retail building. Akhil Israni, director of development for Pacifica Companies, the projects developer, previously told PennLive that the retail building will be home to a warehouse club. PennLive reached out to Israni following the meeting but he declined comment.

There are also six additional spaces ranging from 1,895 to 3,060 square feet of space.

8 1 / 8 Park Inn by Radisson hotel on Carlisle Pike

The 15-acre property sits at the junction of Route 581 and across the Carlisle Pike from the Gateway Square shopping center.

The proposed shopping center has been years in the making and was first reported by PennLive nearly four years ago. The property was previously home to Park Inn by Radisson Harrisburg West, Wandas Deck and Beach Club, the West Shore Hardware Bar, Blarneys and Legends. The venues hosted numerous concerts, other events and weddings.

In 2010, investors attempted to bring a casino to the hotel, but the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said the hotel didnt have enough rooms to qualify for a license.

In late 2021, the Radisson was demolished to make way for the shopping center.
Five former leaders of Pennsylvanias corrections officers union have been charged with theft after police say they stole union funds by using credit cards for personal expenses and conspiring to conceal their actions.

The men were charged in a Harrisburg court last month following a financial crimes investigation led by the Pennsylvania State Police, which investigators said was prompted by the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Associations own audit of questionable credit card purchases.

The fraudulent transactions made between 2015 and 2019 include dozens of iTunes charges, thousands of dollars spent at wineries and vineyards, and a string of expenses at luxury venues in Las Vegas, according to an affidavit filed by state police.

Investigators said the five former union leaders used union credit cards  issued to them for official business purposes only  to make personal expenditures, submitted intentionally vague expense reports, and attempted to block other union leaders and members from inquiring further.

The five men charged are former union President Jason Bloom, for unlawful transactions totaling $8,286.48; former President Roy Pinto for $2,030.50; former Executive Vice President Tim Walsh for $5,834.58; former Western Region Vice President Larry Blackwell for $2,488.02; and former Eastern Region Vice President Robert Storm for $4,422.13.

The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association is the bargaining unit which represents guards at Pennsylvanias state prisons. Bloom has been suspended without pay from his state prison job, and the other four men are no longer employed by the Commonwealth, according to the a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

None of the men charged are involved with the union any longer, according to the current leadership.

The executive board initiated its own forensic audit of PSCOA office finances and turned all findings over to the state police, current union President John Eckenrode said in an emailed statement. We continue to work with the state police and district attorneys office to ensure justice is served. Due to the ongoing legal process, we wont have any further comment.

According to the affidavit, the matter was investigated by a state police organized crime detective and a Fayette County financial crimes expert, who initiated their work in April of 2021 after it was learned that the union had hired a firm to do forensic accounting in response to complaints that that previous union members were using their business credit cards for personal purchases and financial gain.

The accounting firm issued its final report to the union in August of 2022, which was also shared with the police investigators who then performed additional inquiries and interviews, according to the affidavit.

The unions former treasurer told investigators that on more than one occasion he questioned credit card expenses and related that he was told by [Bloom] that his job was to just pay the bills, according to the investigators affidavit. The treasurer told investigators he had shut off a credit card, but the defendants went around him to turn it back on, the affidavit states.

The treasurer also related that the defendants would not submit the receipts for their transactions and put a very broad description within their voucher system, according to the affidavit, and continued to do so even after the an auditing firm told them in 2016 that their credit card documentation was not up to IRS standards.

This was done to further personal transactions and financial gain despite the fact that the defendants actions were placing the PSCOA under significant risk of having their tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS, police investigators wrote in the affidavit.

The investigation also indicated that the defendants conspired with each other as the crimes were being conducted, the affidavit states, typically traveling as a group at the time the unlawful expenses were incurred. They attempted to hide these activities by combining illegal purchases with legitimate business costs such that the personal nature of the unlawful expenses would not be detected, investigators wrote.

The former treasurer was quoted at an October 2018 board meeting as saying that the PSCOA had spent over $400,000 on Visa charges and that half of the stuff on there, I dont even know what it is, according to the affidavit.

Over 150 transactions are listed in the affidavit, the most recent of which are dozens of iTunes charges made by Bloom, ranging from $19.07 to $127.19 apiece. Bloom, along with Walsh, Blackwell, and Storm, also made large purchases  sometimes over a thousand dollars per transaction  at vineyards and wine stores in 2018, according to the list provided to the court.

Pinto and Walsh also made similarly large purchases using PSCOA funds at Dicks Sporting Goods stores in Florida in 2015 and 2016, according to the affidavit.

Further, the listing in the affidavit also features a string of purchases by Walsh on his PSCOA credit card in Las Vegas, including a $1,085.72 expense at Caesars Hotel & Casino and two transactions at Caesars Place totaling $1,168.12.

All five men are facing similar sets of charges, including felony counts, relating to theft by deception and the misuse of institutional funds. All of the men are scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Barbara Pianka on Aug. 23.

READ MORE:

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Pa. corrections staffers to soon begin wearing body cameras
Talk about a huge letdown.

Philadelphia native podcaster Gillie Da Kid went on a rant on Instagram, calling out American Airlines recently after the airline overbooked his flight back to the U.S., canceled his flight and left him stranded in Europe, according to media sources.

The Million Dollaz Worth of Game host explained the situation while slamming the airline in a video post. According to the podcaster, he was flying with American Airlines from Madrid to a location he didnt say in the video, but revealed the airline gave his first-class ticket away due to overbooking the flight, which happened before he arrived for the flight.

He was then told that he wont be able to leave Madrid until Thursday.

Whats even worse, Gillie Da Kid claims that he is an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member, the highest tier on Americans frequent-flyer program.

I fly three times a week man on American Airlines, he began his video. You know they oversold the flight and gave our tickets away, man? I was first class, man. Now theyre saying they aint got a flight back until Thursday, he said in the video.

American Airlines  is this how you treat your Executive Platinum members? Im confused, man, he added.

Im in Madrid and yall gave my flights away. My first-class flights away. What is it American Airlines? Im confused. The people at the desk they treat you like [expletive]. They tell you they cant do nothing for you. Whats going on American Airlines? Im an Executive Platinum Member. I think thats the highest. I need to get the [expletive] out of here tomorrow, he continued.

In another video posted to Instagram, the podcaster was seen speaking to a staff member at the airlines check-in counter. In the videos caption, he wrote that he purchased four first-class seats on the flight.

There is no flight going. We give you one option  theres a flight you can take tomorrow, the staff member told the podcaster in the video, in addition to informing him that American Airlines had no other flights that day.

The staff member informed the podcaster and his traveling companions that check-in closed at 11:30 a.m. An argument ensues, because a woman can be heard telling the staff member that the four were there before that time.

Right now, its unclear what time the group arrived.

I dont want to talk to you, the staff member said to Gillie Da Kid in the video. Do not shout to me that way, or we call the police.

Read More:
A Harrisburg area United Methodist Church leader has been an uncle, or host, for Little League World Series teams every August for 24 years.

But this year will be special for Rev. Gary Weaver because he and host partner Doug Alexander are responsible for the first Cuban team to appear in the series in its 76-year history.
The upcoming Powerball drawing on Saturday, Aug. 12 will contain a jackpot of $194 million.

No players won the jackpot from the most recent drawing on Wednesday. Numbers 10, 15, 21, 67, and 69 were picked, along with 3 in the red Powerball slot and 2 as the Power Play number.

Powerball drawings take place every week on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights at approximately 10:59 p.m. ET. Notably, you are required to purchase your ticket(s) before the deadline at 9:59 p.m. ET on the night of the drawings.

Lottery players in Pennsylvania must be at least 18 years of age and physically located within state lines to play games online and collect prizes.

Interested in watching a Powerball drawing occur? View the local listings below:

Erie: WJET Ch. 24 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Harrisburg/Lancaster/York: WGAL Ch. 8 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Johnstown/Altoona/State College: WTAJ Ch. 10 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Philadelphia: WTXF Ch. 29 Lottery Results at 11:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh: WPXI Ch. 11 Lottery Results at 11:11 p.m.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: WNEP Ch. 16 Lottery Results at 11:00 p.m.

To play the Powerball, begin by visiting the PA Lottery website or a nearby Lottery retailer (i.e., convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.).

Then, either have the terminal randomly select your numbers via the Quick Pick tool, or pick your own numbers. If choosing your own numbers, select five numbers from 1 to 69 and

one number (your Powerball selection) from 1 to 26.

Standard Powerball tickets will cost you $2 a piece.

Power Play add-on

For an additional $1, you can choose to take part in the Power Play add-on. In doing so, youre giving yourself the opportunity to multiply any non-jackpot prize that you may possibly win.

Below, you will find how the Power Play add-on affects potential winnings:

Match Without Power Play 2x 3x 4x 5x 10x 5 white balls + Powerball Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot 5 white balls $1 million $2 million $2 million $2 million $2 million $2 million 4 white balls + Powerball $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $500,000 4 white balls $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $1,000 3 white balls + Powerball $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $1,000 3 white balls $7 $14 $21 $28 $35 $70 2 white balls + Powerball $7 $14 $21 $28 $35 $70 1 white ball + Powerball $4 $8 $12 $16 $20 $40 Powerball $4 $8 $12 $16 $20 $40

Summary

Remember, the current Powerball jackpot is sitting at $194 million ahead of the next drawing scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12 at approximately 10:59 p.m. ET. Make sure to buy your ticket(s) before the cut-off time one hour prior to the drawing.

Sidelines Group provides PennLive with original sports betting, lottery and casino content including odds, analysis, predictions and reviews to educate bettors. Please bet responsibly.

If you have a gambling problem and are located in Pennsylvania, call 1-800-GAMBLER or contact the 24-hour helpline chat at https://www.pacouncil.com/chatline.
By MATTHEW DALY, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration says it could soon launch a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to review risks posed by a handful of chemicals later this year, and is considering chemicals used for plastic production as a key benchmark. Vinyl chloride is among a range of chemicals eligible for review, and EPA could begin a risk evaluation on vinyl chloride in the near future, the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press.

If selected, EPA would study vinyl chloride to determine whether it poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, a process that would take at least three years.

Environmental and public health activists cheered the development, saying EPA should have banned vinyl chloride years ago.

If one positive thing can come out of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine  and I would argue nothing positive has come out of it so far  it is for the Biden administration to use their existing legal authority to start the process to ban vinyl chloride, said Judith Enck, a former regional EPA administrator and president of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group that seeks to end plastic pollution.

That accident was a chilling warning that we must act now to ban petrochemicals like vinyl chloride, and keep communities safe from known carcinogens, added Heather McTeer Toney, another former regional EPA administrator who leads a separate group called Beyond Petrochemicals.

Vinyl chloride is a flammable gas used to make polyvinyl chloride plastic, better known as PVC. The chemical is found in plastic PVC pipes, as well as vinyl siding, packaging and a range of consumer goods, including furniture, car parts, shower curtains and toys used by children and pets.

Inhalation of vinyl chloride has been linked to liver cancer and other health problems, according to the National Cancer Institute, and its use has long been banned in cosmetics, hair spray and other personal products. PVC plastic is not a known or suspected carcinogen, the agency said.

The Vinyl Institute, a trade group that represents manufacturers, called the effort to ban vinyl chloride misguided.

A July 27 news conference at EPA headquarters, attended by Enck, Toney and other activists, was little more than a publicity stunt that irresponsibly ignores decades of credible science showing that vinyl chloride is safely and responsibly manufactured in the United States, Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute, said in a statement.

Regrettably, Beyond Plastics has chosen to use the tragic events of East Palestine to advance deceptive and disproven claims about our industry that only serve to mislead the public, Monroe added.

Debate over vinyl chloride has simmered for years, but gained a new urgency after the Feb. 3 derailment of a 50-car Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine. Three days later, emergency crews released toxic vinyl chloride from five tank cars and burned it to keep them from exploding.

That sent a billowing plume of black smoke over the town near the Pennsylvania border and prompted the evacuation of about half of its 5,000 residents. Months later, residents are concerned about lingering impacts on health, even though state and federal officials say tests show the towns air and water are safe.
Hawaii went from lush to bone dry and thus more fire-prone in a matter of just a few weeks  a key factor in a dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging.

Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of these flash droughts as well as other extreme weather events like whats playing out on the island of Maui, where dozens of people have been killed and a historic tourist town was devastated.

On Thursday, Hawaiis governor said 53 people have been killed in Maui wildfires.

Were talking about the largest natural disaster of this generation in Hawaii, Green said. We are heart-sick that there are more than the original 36 who have passed.

He expects the number to increase as crews continue to search for survivors. Green said it looks like there have been more than 1,000 structures destroyed.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Green said after walking the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. Without a doubt, it feel like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.

Climate change is leading to unpredictable or unforeseen combinations that are fueling extreme fire weather, said Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbias faculty of forestry. What these ... catastrophic wildfire disasters are revealing is that nowhere is immune to the issue.

Heres a look at the Maui fires, and whats behind them:

FLASH DROUGHTS

Flash droughts are so dry and hot that the air literally sucks moisture out of the ground and plants in a vicious cycle of hotter-and-drier that often leads to wildfires. And Hawaiis situation is a textbook case, two scientists told The Associated Press.

As of May 23, none of Maui was unusually dry; by the following week it was more than half abnormally dry. By June 13 it was two-thirds either abnormally dry or in moderate drought. And this week about 83% of the island is either abnormally dry or in moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor.

Maui experienced a two-category increase in drought severity in just three weeks from May to June, with that rapid intensification fitting the definition of a flash drought, said Jason Otkin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Otkin co-authored an April study that shows that flash droughts are becoming more common as Earth warms by human-caused climate change. A 2016 flash drought was connected to unusual wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, he said.

Even in the past week theres been a quick acceleration of that drought, said University of Virginia hydrologist Venkat Lakshmi. Flash droughts occur when the rain stops and it gets so hot that the atmosphere literally sucks moisture out of the ground and plants, making them more likely to catch fire.

Plants are getting really, really dry, Lakshmi said. Its all related to water in some ways.

The most destructive fires usually occur during drought. If an area falls into drought quickly, that means there is a longer window of time for fires to occur, Otkin said. The risk for destructive fires could increase in the future if flash droughts become more common, as some studies have indicated.

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Lahaina Square on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, left, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, following a wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island. (Maxar Technologies via AP)AP

INVASIVE GRASSES

Elizabeth Pickett is the co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit that works with communities across Hawaii on wildfire prevention and mitigation. Pickett said there used to be massive tracts of land occupied by irrigated pineapples and sugar cane, and as those businesses declined and ceased, the lands were taken over by invasive, fire-prone grass species.

The problem is at such a large scale, 26% of our state is now invaded by these grasses, she said Thursday. The landscape that has been invaded is steep, rocky and challenging to access. Its a really hard landscape. You cant just go with a lawn mower.

When these grasses burn, they burn into the native forests, threatening endangered species, and then the forests are replaced by more grass, Pickett said.

WHATS FANNING THEM?

Major differences in air pressure drove unusually strong trade winds that fanned the destructive flames, according to meteorologists.

Trade winds are a normal feature of Hawaiis climate. Theyre caused when air moves from the high-pressure system pressure north of Hawaii  known as the North Pacific High  to the area of low pressure at the equator, to the south of the state.

But Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the islands this week, is exacerbating the low-pressure system and increasing the difference in air pressure to create unusually strong trade winds, said Genki Kino, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Honolulu.

Hawaiis state climatologist, Pao-Shin Chu, said he was caught off guard by the impact Dora had from roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) away.

Hurricane Dora is very far away from Hawaii, but you still have this fire occurrence here. So this is something we didnt expect to see, he said.

Strong winds, combined with low humidity and an abundance of dry vegetation that burns easily, can increase the danger of wildfire, even on a tropical island like Maui.

If you have all of those conditions at the same time, its often what the National Weather Service calls red flag conditions, said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University.

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE PLAYS A ROLE

Climate change in many parts of the world is increasing vegetation dryness, in large part because temperatures are hotter, Fleishman said. Even if you have the same amount of precipitation, if you have higher temperatures, things dry out faster.

Clay Trauernicht, a fire scientist at the University of Hawaii, said the wet season can spur plants like Guinea grass, a nonnative, invasive species found across parts of Maui, to grow as quickly as 6 inches (15 centimeters) a day and reach up to 10 feet (3 meters) tall. When it dries out, it creates a tinderbox thats ripe for wildfire.

These grasslands accumulate fuels very rapidly, Trauernicht said. In hotter conditions and drier conditions, with variable rainfall, its only going to exacerbate the problem.

STRONGER HURRICANES

Climate change not only increases the fire risk by driving up temperatures, but also makes stronger hurricanes more likely. In turn, those storms could fuel stronger wind events like the one behind the Maui fires.

Thats on top of other threats made worse by climate changes.

Theres an increasing trend in the intensity of hurricanes worldwide, in part because warm air holds more water, Fleishman said. In addition to that, sea levels are rising worldwide, so you tend to get more severe flooding from the storm surge when a hurricane makes landfall.

While climate change cant be said to directly cause singular events, experts say, the impact extreme weather is having on communities is undeniable.

These kinds of climate change-related disasters are really beyond the scope of things that were used to dealing with, UBCs Copes-Gerbitz said. Its these kind of multiple, interactive challenges that really lead to a disaster.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  A Texas man who was convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl in the 1980s and then run out of several towns following his early release from prison has been indicted on two new murder charges, including one that could carry the death penalty, prosecutors announced Friday.

Raul Meza Jr., 62, was arrested on murder charges earlier this year in the deaths of his roommate in May and a woman in 2019. Austin police said at the time they were also looking at as many as 10 cold cases going back to 1996 that could be connected to Meza, though they have not announced any findings.

The indictments handed up by a Travis County grand jury on Thursday include one count of capital murder in the death of Gloria Lofton, 65, who was found in her home. The grand jury also indicted Meza on one count of murder in the death of Jesse Fraga, 80.

Mezas attorney, Russell Hunt Jr., did not immediately return a phone message Friday. Since May, Meza has remained in jail on a $1 million bond.

According to court records, Meza called the Austin Police Department on May 24 and confessed to one of the killings when a detective answered the phone.

My name is Raul Meza, the caller said, according to an affidavit. I think you are looking for me.

Decades earlier, Meza caused an uproar in Texas towns where he tried settling down after serving about a third of a 30-year sentence in the rape and killing of 8-year-old Kendra Page. Her body was found behind an elementary school. He was released on parole in 1993, with credit for time served and good behavior.

After picketers drove him out of six cities, Meza directly pleaded to the public.

In my heart, I know that I will not willfully bring harm to anyone, he said during an August 1993 news conference, in which he described himself as a born-again Christian and not a threat to society.

Officers in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville found Fragas body May 20 while doing a wellness check after loved ones hadnt heard from him for several days.

Austin police said Meza called them May 23 and confessed to killing Fraga, his roommate. Police said he included details that had not been made public, although they did not disclose those details.

Police said Meza also implicated himself in the 2019 death of Lofton. He did not name her, but said the street name where she was killed.

Lofton, 66, was strangled to death.

Eight to 10 cold cases going back to 1996 are being investigated as possibly connected to Meza, and the number could rise, Austin Police Department detective Katie Conner said in a news conference Tuesday. She said there appeared to be no immediate connections between the victims and that the cases fit the circumstances that they were looking at, but did not elaborate further on what those were.

When Meza was arrested, police said, he was carrying a backpack containing zip ties, a flashlight, duct tape and a .22 caliber pistol with extra rounds.

Meza said he was ready and prepared to kill again and looking forward to it, Austin Police Department detective Patrick Reed said.

After being released on parole in the girls killing, residents of Texas cities large and small protested when he moved there. He was forced to move from El Paso, San Antonio, Wichita Falls, Mineral Wells, and Sweetwater. After moving to rural Uvalde County, west of San Antonio, to live with his grandparents, he was jailed again after his family said he had verbally abused them.

Somebody made a bad decision 41 years ago and let this guy for whatever reason manipulate the system and justice was not served, said Bruce Mills, Austins assistant city manager who was a police investigator on the 8-year-old girls case.
Beer drinkers can now enjoy a Pennsylvania brew and support one of Gisele Fettermans community efforts at the same time.

Fetterman, the wife of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that her Free Store 15104 in Braddock, Allegheny County, had partnered with neighboring brewery Brew Gentlemen on a new beer.

A portion of the proceeds will go to support the Free Stores mission of providing food, clothes and other items to those in need, she said.

From the label to the taste, the amazing team at BG worked closely without our volunteers to design (label designed by Genvah and Melvenia) and create it, wrote Fetterman, who added that the beer is available at the brewery, via the Brew Gentlemen website or at local distributors in western Pennsylvania.

And then we had a BEER! @15104FreeStore was thrilled to partner with our local besties @BrewGentlemen for a beer that will make you kinder and a part of the proceeds will go to continue to support our work. pic.twitter.com/sDbKqCnk0X  Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) August 10, 2023

Fetterman said the Free Store and Brew Gentlemen wanted to make a beer that will make you kinder. She started the Free Store in 2012 in the heart of Braddock, where her husband was mayor for 13 years before being elected lieutenant governor.

On the brewerys website, the Free Store Brew is described as made with wild berry and blood orange in participation with the Barrel and Flow Festival 2023, a Black craft brew and arts festival held in Pittsburgh on Aug. 12.

A four-pack of 12 oz. cans is available for $13.97 plus shipping costs and taxes.
By Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard during Listening to Listeners, an original Today in Pa. segment that occurs every other Friday.

You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | August 11, 2023

Advocates in Pennsylvania are looking to decriminalize, research, and maybe even legalize psychedelics. Verizon is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who could give them information on the perpetrators behind the thefts and vandalism that caused a series of outages throughout the state. Troopers picked up a dog that was roaming around I-95. And these restaurants wings are officially fly.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.

As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA.
By Megan Guza, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

PITTSBURGH  White supremacist Hardy Carroll Lloyd was arrested Thursday on federal charges, accused of trying to influence witnesses and testimony in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial through emails and blogs posts calling for violence against Jews and threatening to dox jurors, witnesses, and anyone who pushed back against his hateful rhetoric.

Federal charges were filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Northern West Virginia. The complaint against Lloyd was unsealed Thursday morning after he was taken into custody by federal agents at his Follansbee, W.Va., home.

Lloyd, 45, has a long history of antisemitism, violence, and making threats against the Jewish community, the LGBTQ community, and anyone else who is not straight and white.

Jury trials are a hallmark of the American justice system, and attempts to intimidate witnesses or jurors will be met with a strong response, said U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld. The use of hateful threats in an effort to undermine a trial is especially troubling.

In a series of emails and blog posts that escalated as the death penalty trial against Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers progressed, Lloyd called for so-called lone wolves to target synagogues and Jews.

Walk into a synagogue and gun down 11 Jews and one rabbi, he wrote in late May. Thats how you make a difference, people.

Lloyd also took aim at jurors in the case, writing in one website post: Yall who are on the jury, make sure to vote what you know in your heart is morally correct.

In another email, he expressed a desire to obtain jurors names after the proceedings.

Hope the jurors get told that and vote the right way, he allegedly wrote.

Lloyd is the self-appointed reverend of the hate group dubbed the Church of Ben Klassen, named for the late Florida congressman and white supremacist. He founded the hate group/religious movement known as the Creativity Movement. He has taken responsibility for racist and antisemitic flyers and stickers left across Pittsburgh in recent months and weeks.

Threats of violence used to intimidate or influence a community or jury cannot and will not be tolerated, said Mike Nordwall, the special agent in charge of the FBIs Pittsburgh office.

In addition to the threatening emails and online posts, Lloyd or someone working with him placed antisemitic stickers in and around Squirrel Hill over the course of the trial. The stickers directed people to Lloyds website where he posted his threats and other vitriol.

Shawn Brokos, director of security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said the flyers, stickers and emails increased as the trial began.

Much of it, she said, was hateful but free speech, but some of it, like Lloyds emails, went beyond the pale.

There is a fine line between protected hateful speech and the vitriolic threats and direct calls to action that filled Lloyds emails and online posts, Brokos said, and its often difficult to discern which side of that line some things fall on.

Targeted threats can be a deciding factor.

They may be not targeted at one particular location but rather targeted at the Jewish Pittsburgh community, she said. This particular individual is very familiar with the Pittsburgh Jewish community. The emails had a continual call to action by lone wolves.

She said context also matters.

Does this individual have a history of violence? Access to weapons? Yes. Together, that is a very concerning recipe for danger, she said.

Lloyd is from the Pittsburgh area and has a history of making violent threats and illegally possessing weapons.

He was acquitted of homicide in 2006 in connection with the 2004 shooting death of a former girlfriend, Lori Hann, after his defense attorney argued hed shot the unarmed woman in self-defense. A jury found Lloyd not guilty of murder but convicted him on charges of illegally possessing a handgun.
NEW YORK (AP)  The wife of Rex Heuermann, the man charged with killing at least three women and burying their bodies on a remote coastal highway, is living in a waking surreal nightmare, her attorney said Friday, struggling to pay for cancer treatment while living in a house trashed by investigators.

At a news conference on Long Island, attorneys for Heuermanns estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, and his two adult children complained police left the home in shambles while searching for possible evidence.

Their valuables were shattered, their places were destroyed, the places they laid their heads no longer exists, said Vess Mitev, an attorney who is also representing Heuermanns 26-year-old daughter, Victoria, and 34-year-old stepson, Christopher Sheridan. Theyre going through a horrific emotional time that none of us can imagine.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said police followed standard procedure during their 12-day search of the house.

Ellerup is scrambling to find a way to pay for her skin and breast cancer treatment once her medical insurance, which is tied to her husbands employment, runs out later this year, her lawyers said. Ellerup filed for divorce last month.

The family has raised more than $40,000 through a GoFundMe started by Melissa Moore, the daughter of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the Happy Face Killer.

That crowd-funding campaign drew complaints from John Ray, an attorney for Shannan Gilbert, a woman found dead in a coastal marsh on the same barrier island as the women Heurmann is accused of killing. He urged the public not to donate to the family.

Suffolk Police have concluded that Gilbert drowned accidentally  a finding her family has not accepted, believing she was also killed.

Heuermann, 59, was charged last month in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, prosecutors have said. All four of the women were believed to be engaged in sex work prior to their disappearance. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty the charges.

Bob Macedonio, an attorney for Ellerup, said Heuermann was living a complete double life, with his wife and children totally in the dark about his alleged crimes. The attorneys shared a photo of the Heuermann household on Christmas in 2011, a little over a year after his final victim went missing, showing wrapped gifts sitting under an adorned tree in the familys living room.

Authorities have not reached out to any family members, the lawyers said. Ellerup has spoken to her husband by phone, but has not visited him.

Heuermann is due back in court Sept. 27. His estranged wifes lawyers have said they plan on suing law enforcement agencies over the damage to the house.

Crime laboratory officers arrive to the house where a suspect has been taken into custody on New York's Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, Friday, July 14, 2023, in Massapequa Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

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Major wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed dozens of people and caused heavy damage, particularly in the historic town of Lahaina, as of Aug. 10, 2023. The state has asked all visitors to leave Maui and those planning to travel there to reschedule their trips  a harsh blow to a destination whose economy relies heavily on tourism. University of South Carolina research professor Rich Harrill, an expert on hospitality and tourism, explains how such events affect places like Maui in the short and long terms.

How tourism-dependent is Hawaii compared to other popular destinations?

Compared to other destinations, Hawaii is very reliant on tourism  it comprises about 25% of the states economy. According to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, visitor spending was projected to be US$20.8 billion in 2023 and $23.4 billion in 2026.

Tourism plays an even greater role on Maui. Maui County has the states highest reliance on tourism, with 51% of its jobs falling into sectors directly associated with tourism. That means household incomes and purchasing power there are strongly influenced by the tourism economy.

What are the main steps that tourist-related businesses on Maui will have to take in the coming days and weeks?

The first step any business owner should take is to ensure that their business opens in line with all state protocols and laws related to the safety, health and welfare of residents and visitors.

In the short term, the top priorities are helping visitors get flights home, handling cancellations and assessing damage to facilities and property. Then, in the weeks that follow, businesses will clean up and make repairs. They will have various aid sources, including the county, state and federal governments, nonprofits and private insurers.

As we saw during the COVID-19 shutdowns, downtime can give business owners an opportunity to reflect on their product or service and how they market it. Some business owners decided to close up shop and retire. Others redoubled their efforts to accommodate the post-pandemic rebound in visitor demand.

Maui is asking visitors to leave and to delay planned trips  will a lot of tourism-related jobs be lost?

Individual businesses and corporations may offer some types of worker protection. But historically, many jobs in the tourist sector get cut in the short term when a crisis shuts down business. Then, as conditions improve, companies gradually hire employees back.

How do local governments decide when to start inviting visitors back?

This is a process thats led by groups known in the travel industry as destination marketing and management organizations. They often have names like tourist boards, or convention and visitors bureaus, and they help promote and market local attractions.

Working with their local destination marketing organization, local governments should make decisions carefully about inviting visitors back. First and foremost, they need to consider the health, safety and welfare of everyone whos involved  residents, visitors and hospitality providers. All of those groups should be involved in the decision, and it needs to be communicated through carefully crafted marketing messages to reach globally diverse audiences.

Once the needs of the community and its residents have been met, a new marketing campaign takes place that typically presents a revitalized destination that is open and ready for visitors. This message may emphasize new and improved aspects of the destination, or simply show that its beloved and iconic qualities are still there to enjoy. That includes making sure that transportation is available to reach the destination and that theres quality lodging and dining readily available for all price points.

In your experience, does interest in top destinations like Hawaii usually bounce back to pre-disaster levels?

Globally, tourism revenues are projected to grow by almost 5% yearly through 2027. Unlike other forms of economic development, travel and tourism have shown resilience through many different types of crises.

Even destinations that have been massively damaged can regain their markets, although rebuilding may be a multi-year process. New Orleans was a major destination within a decade after it was flooded by Hurricane Katrina. The same was true for the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Hurricane Iniki ravaged it in 1992.

Tourism is a experience that is unique to the human condition. It sustains our hopes and dreams, and offers relaxation and tranquility, or excitement and adventure, through good times and bad.

Rich Harrill, Research Professor of Hospitality and Tourism and Director, International Tourism Research Institute, University of South Carolina

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the presidents son ahead of the 2024 election.

Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been investigating the financial and business dealings of the presidents son, as the special counsel.

President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, file)AP

Just as his appointment as special counsel was announced, Weiss notified a federal judge in Delaware that plea deal talks in the Hunter Biden case were at an impasse.

Garland noted the extraordinary circumstances of the matter as he made the announcement at the Justice Department. He said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

The move is a momentous development from the typically cautious Garland and comes amid a pair of sweeping Justice Department probes into Donald Trump, the former president, and President Joe Bidens chief rival in next years election.

It also comes as House Republicans are mounting their own investigation into Hunter Bidens business dealings.

The Republicans claimed Weiss was being blocked from becoming a special counsel, a claim he and the Justice Department denied.

By being named special counsel, Weiss will have broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.

Last month, Hunter Bidens plea deal over tax evasion collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics.

Republicans had derided that agreement as a sweetheart deal as they pushed their own probe.
By TY ONEIL, CLAIRE RUSH, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and REBECCA BOONE, The Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP)  Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaiis famous emergency warning system didnt alert them as fires raced toward their homes.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed Thursday.

Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats. But many of Lahainas survivors said in interviews at evacuation centers that they didnt hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

The burnt wildfire wreckage of a boat is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didnt know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and cell phone service had both gone out earlier that day, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger.

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a seawall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.

Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub told The Associated Press on Thursday that the departments records dont show that Mauis warning sirens were triggered on Tuesday. Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Weintraub said.

Its not clear if those alerts were sent before widespread power and cellular outages cut off most communication to Lahaina.

Communications have been spotty across Maui, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times. Power was also out in parts of the island.

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhood that it was impossible for to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for emergency alerts.

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)AP

The wildfire is already the states deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island. During a Thursday press conference, Gov. Josh Green said the death toll will likely rise further as search and rescue operations continue.

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Green said after walking the ruins of the town Thursday morning with Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.

The fire is also the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

Mauis firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands  Maui, Molokai and Lanai  he said.

Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but they are all designed for on-road use. The department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said.

That means fire crews cant attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas, Lee said. The high winds caused by Hurricane Dora made that extremely difficult, he said.

Youre basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch, Lee said. Youve got to be careful  you dont want to get caught downwind from that, because youre going to get run over in a wind-driven fire of that magnitude.

A banyan tree rises among the Wildfire wreckage, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP

Mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Lahaina residents, Bissen noted, while tourists in hotels were told to shelter in place so that emergency vehicles could get into the area.

Lahaina residents saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility erupt in flames as they were escaping.

Chelsey Vierras great-grandmother, Louise Abihai, was living at Hale Mahaolu, and the family doesnt know if she got out. She doesnt have a phone. Shes 97 years old, Vierra said Thursday. She can walk. She is strong.

Relatives are monitoring shelter lists and calling the hospital. We got to find our loved one, but theres no communication here, said Vierra, who fled the flames. We dont know who to ask about where she went.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and tens of thousands of people have crowded airports to leave the island. Officials turned the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu into an assistance center, stocking it with water, food, and volunteers who help visitors arrange travel home.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. Traveling in Utah on Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone whos lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately. Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.
OZARK- The Vietnam War is called Americas Helicopter War because of the enormous role helicopters and their crews played in air support, medical evacuation and troop transportand an all-volunteer group in the Wiregrass strives daily to ensure those contribution are not forgotten.

A success story from the beginning, is how retired Lt. Col. John Doc Holladay described Ozark-based Friends of Army Aviation to those attending the Fort Novosel-Wiregrass Chapter of the Association of the United States Army quarterly meeting Thursday at the Ozark Civic Center. Its an honor to tell you the story.

Holladay, a retired Army aviator with three combat tours in Vietnam under his belt, is president of the nonprofit all-volunteer organization. We are here to serve Army Aviation and very proud to do it with honor and dignity. We always strive for the best and that focus starts at the top, Holladay said, introducing retired Army Maj. Gen. Lou Hennies of Ozark, board of directors chairman.

A primary purpose of the organization, Holladay said, is to preserve Army Aviation heritage through static displays of legacy aircraft and by providing helicopter rides to some 30,000 since the programs inception in 2017. In 2022, the Friends of Army Aviation flew 6,800 passengers at multiple venues and airshows across the country, Holladay said. We bring the Army Aviation story to the American people.

We want to support the families and friends of soldiers who have given the ultimate in support of freedom around the world and to inspire young people to consider aviation as a career, Holladay said. We strive to maintain, restore and preserve authentic legacy Army aircraft used in combat operations and give the public the opportunity to ride in and experience the same sights and sounds as those of a combat veteran.

As time and distance accumulates, the legacy of the contributions of the American soldier fades into distant memory, Holladay said about the war in Southeast Asia that ended 50 years ago this year. The contributions made by these patriotic Americans should not be lost, he said. Thats basically our mission, our creed.

The heritage helicopter rides in the restored UH-1 Huey helicopters cost the organization $2,100 an hour. Thats the reason there is a charge for the rides and any donations to the 501c3 are appreciated, Holladay said. Were not in it for the money. Every one of is a volunteer. Every penny we generate goes back into the preservation and operation of this aircraft.

Our passion is to convey the importance of Army Aviation and to remember the role it played by providing troops with the support needed to achieve their mission and to ensure their survival on the battlefield, Holladay said. Thousands of helicopters provided mobility throughout the war zone providing close air support to the troops on the ground.

The late Joe Galloway was a news reporter at the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in 1965 and the only civilian awarded the Bronze Star in the Vietnam War. Holladay said Gods Own Lunatics is the phrase coined by Galloway in a poem he wrote in tribute to helicopter crews in Vietnam. Holladay played a narration of the poem accompanied by video news clips of combat. That familiar wop-wop-wop (of the helicopter blades) is the soundtrack of our war, Galloway wrote. That noise was always great comfort, it meant someone was coming to help. Someone was coming to get our wounded, someone was coming to bring us water and ammo, someone was coming to help us bring our dead brothers home and someone was coming, one day, to give us a ride out of hell.

No matter how bad things were, when we called, you came, Galloway wrote in his tribute to the UH-1 Huey Helicopter air crews serving the troops on the ground. We thought you were Gods own lunatics and we loved you.

Those interested in more information about the Friends of Army Aviation, located at 189 Heritage Way in Ozark, can call (334) 445-0008 or email Friendsofarmyaviation@outlook.com.
A Dothan man was arrested Wednesday night after he allegedly robbed a local business and assaulted an employee, according to police.

Lorenzo Gregory Fortenberry, 38, of Dothan, is charged one with count of third-degree robbery. His bond was set at $10,000.

According to Dothan Police, on Wednesday, August 9, at around 9:30 p.m., officers rushed to the 300 block of Columbia Highway after receiving reports of a theft.

Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect, later identified as Fortenberry, attempted to leave without paying for merchandise. When an employee tried to intervene, Fortenberry assaulted the worker and fled.

Using video footage, officers identified Fortenberry as the suspect, and a lookout was issued for him. Later that night, Fortenberry was found and taken into custody without incident.

The employee was not injured in the incident.
PN Podcast: Goodbye, Jesse Fullen; Guest Tyler Patterson Talks Big RGPS Win

August 11, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S.

On the latest PokerNews Podcast, it is Jesse Fullen's final episode before he departs PokerNews for an exciting opportunity, which he talks about alongside co-host Chad Holloway. The two also discuss Daniel Negreanu playing in a home poker game in Las Vegas after being invited by some high schoolers about to head off to college. Plus, learn about winners from both the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) and Triton Poker London stop.

They also welcome guest Tyler Patterson, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and World Poker Tour (WPT) champ, who is fresh off winning the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Checkpoint Finale for $200K. A consummate grinder, Patterson talks about his victory, what his life is like nowadays, competing for Thunder Valley's all-time money lead, and his upcoming plans, which include a trip overseas.

Finally, before everything was said and done, Jesse shared some of his favorite memories from his time with PokerNews.

Listen to those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!

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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 PokerNews Podcast: It's @jessefullen's last episode; @RGPokerSeries @TVPokerRoom champ @TylerPoker!
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Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson, and Ted Lieu wrote to the Department of Justice urging Attorney General Garland to open an investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas.

The House Democrats wrote in part:

Justice Thomass consistent failure to disclose gifts and benefits from industry magnates and wealthy, politically active executives highlights a blatant disregard for judicial ethics as well as apparent legal violations. No individual, regardless of their position or stature, should be exempt from legal scrutiny for lawbreaking.

The integrity of our judicial system hinges on the impartiality and transparency of its members. As a Supreme Court justice and high constitutional officer, Justice Thomas should be held to the highest standard, not the lowest and he certainly shouldnt be allowed to violate federal law. Refusing to hold him accountable would set a dangerous precedent, undermining public trust in our institutions and raising legitimate questions about our nations equal application of laws.

The representatives wrote that a DOJ investigation was the only way to protect the integrity of the Supreme Court and the judicial system to make sure that this type of criminal activity and corruption does not happen again.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has said that impeachment must be on the table for Justice Thomas.

The House Democrats who have signed the letter are some of the most credible and influential members of the Democratic caucus. Clarence Thomas is being shielded from an impeachment investigation, but a tiny House majority, but Democrats are suggesting that the crisis at the Supreme Court has gone beyond impeachment and reached the level of criminality where Justice Department involvement is necessary.

If Democrats take back the House next year, Justice Thomas might want to consider retirement because his corruption is not going to be forgotten.
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House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) said through a spokesperson that David Weiss isnt the right person to be Hunter Biden special counsel and cant be trusted.

Fox News reported, We are getting our first reaction from congressional Republicans about what transpired in the last hour, a spokesperson for Jim Jordan makes it clear they dont believe David Weiss is the right man to handle this job as special counsel, even though he was overseeing the hunter Biden probe, to begin with. A spokesperson for the congressman saying they dont believe he can be trusted and they believe the whistleblower testimony painted a damming light on this investigation.

Video:

Republicans demand a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. When the DOJ appoints a special counsel, Republicans like Jim Jordan complain that they wanted a different special counsel. David Weiss has spent years working on the Hunter Biden investigation. It would have made zero sense to appoint someone new.

Jim Jordan is mad because the grounds for impeachment that President Biden interfered with the Justice Department to protect his son are dead and gone.

It is difficult for Republicans to paint the President as abusing the power of his office when the Justice Department has independence and the freedom to investigate his son.

The Hunter Biden situation is sad. He apparently fell into addiction after his brother Beau died and made some bad choices. If Hunter Biden broke the law, he will have to face the consequences, but from a political point of view, the appointment of David Weiss as special counsel is terrible news for Republicans.
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During the protective order hearing, Judge Chutkan said that Donald Trump doesnt have unlimited free speech and he will have restrictions on him like every other defendant.

MSNBC reported, Im going to read a quote, coming from the court, so it may not be perfectly precise, your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the Internet. And to the extent your client wants to make statements on the Internet, they always have to yield to witness security, witness safety, the judge continued saying I can see the possibility of a lot of problems here. Trumps attorney assured the judge that President Trump will, quote, scrupulously abide by the conditions of his release and the judge reiterating hes a criminal defendant hes going to have restrictions like every single other defendant. So it appears at this point that the focus is on one  not limiting the presidents counsel in the former president from posting this information online  from talking about this discovery, but a restriction on certain sensitive materials on what can be shared.\

Chutkan on Trumps free speech claims:

Judge Tanya Chutkan in the protective order hearing: "Mr. Trump, like every American, has a first amendment right to free speech. But that right is not absolute."  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 11, 2023

Video:

The judge is making it clear that Donald Trump doesnt have unlimited free speech rights. Just like any other criminal defendant, he is going to have restrictions, but the protective order is not a gag order. Trump will have the ability to speak, but not about sensitive information, witnesses must be protected, and he will have to adhere to the conditions of his release.

Trump and his lawyers want no protective order, but Judge Chutkan also said that the case will be tried in the courtroom, not on the Internet. It appears that there will be a protective order to safeguard witnesses and testimony. Judge Churkan seems to be delivering a strong message to Trump that the courtroom is her world, and he will not be allowed to run wild.
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House Republican claims that the President was interfering in the investigation of Hunter Biden were shattered when Attorney General Garland named David Weiss special counsel.

Garland said:

Mr. Weiss has told Congress that he has been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including the responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of any prosecution consistent with federal law, the principles of the federal prosecution and departmental policies. In a July 2023 letter to Congress, Mr. Weiss said that he had not to that point requested special counsel designation. On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed. Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel.

This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests. It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently, based only on the facts and the law. Mr. Weiss will also continue to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. As special counsel, he will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has previously exercised to oversee the investigation and decide where, when and whether to file charges.

The special counsel will not be subject to the day to day supervision of any official of the department, but he must comply with the regulations, procedures and policies of the department. Consistent with the special counsel regulations, at the conclusion of Mr. Weiss work he will provide me with a report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by him. As with each special counsel who has served since I have taken office, I am committed to making as much of his report public as possible, consistent with legal requirements and department policy.

Video:

Garlands move pretty much kills the House Republican claim that President Biden is interfering with the Department of Justice. The appointment of Weiss also wrecks various conspiracy theories floated by Reps. Comer and Jordan about how Weiss was blocked from special counsel status.

The Weiss special counsel appointment also takes away one of Trumps favorite talking points about he is being unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice.

On the surface, the Weiss move might seem like a bad thing for Biden, but that is the point. The Department of Justice is reaffirming their objectivity and ability to act independently.

Republicans will be complaining to the heavens about the Weiss special counsel appointment because it takes away one of the claims that is a basis for Bidens impeachment.
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A recent Michigan focus group of 13 voters who voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020 thought that Trump has too much legal baggage in the 2024 election.

Axios sat in on the Michigan focus group and reported:

Although some of these voters remain uncertain about supporting President Biden next year, most are sure that backing Trump would involve carrying too much legal baggage into another presidency.

The economy, abortion rights and foreign policy are grabbing the attention of former Trump supporters more than the details of his third indictment over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The voters were confused about the details of all of Trumps indictments and still thought that it was possible for him to win again due to the loyalty of his supporters.

For someone who doesnt follow the news every day or read websites like this one frequently, the confusion is understandable, The swing voters in Michigan dont need to know the details of the indictments. These are the sort of voters who dont want Trump and his scandal/drama back. Theyve already ruled out voting for him next November in a critical swing state where a few thousand votes could be the difference between victory and defeat.

The Michigan voters are also the type of voters who may not understand the indictments but will get the message if Trump is convicted. A felony conviction will likely make Trump unelectable to many voters in swing states.

The fact that voters are worried about the loyalty of Trumps supporters helps Democrats because Trump will still be taken seriously, and voters will go to the polls in droves to vote against him.

Voters understand much more than Republicans think, and many view Trump as a threat who is also damaged goods.
The KBH Nursing Scholarship was created to continue the legacy of Kimberly Bianca Holland. Holland died on May 25, 2021, at age 39. After her death, her family established the KBH Nursing Scholarship in her honor. This annual $500 scholarship is awarded to a graduating high school student wh Read moreNursing scholarship established in memory of Kimberly Holland
A new scientific study suggests the world should start preparing to protect the ecosystems that emerge from under the disappearing ice, as a warming planet is inevitably causing glaciers to melt. If nothing is done to stop global warming, the world could lose glaciers totaling the size of Finland by 2100. Even a best-case scenario  if the targets of the Paris Agreement to stop climate change are met  predicts glacier shrinkage the size of Nepal, according to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature. The analysis from Swiss and French scientists adds to worries about glacier melt and to a growing call for increasing efforts to protect the planet from climate change, while putting a renewed focus on what will be left behind as glaciers melt away. Read moreAs glaciers melt, a new study seeks protection of ecosystems that emerge in their place
NEW HOLLAND  The Aiken County Fire Chiefs Association represents familiar territory for Gene Fogle, due to his years with the Salley Fire Department, but he reached some new ground Aug. 10, attending an association meeting and being the focus of attention.

Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, attended the meeting and presented a framed copy of a resolution approved by the House of Representatives, honoring Fogle and wishing the former fire chief "continued success and happiness in all his future endeavors."

Fogle grew up in Springfield and came on board with Salley's fire department in 1977. He became the chief in 1994, serving in that position until spring 2023. His wife, Nancy, also attended the meeting, held at New Holland Fire Department's headquarters on Old Ninety Six Indian Trail.

"I knew you were up to something," said the longtime fire chief. Taylor, as the meeting began, showed up and read the resolution.

Taylor acknowledged that he and Dennis Jackson, New Holland's fire chief, put their heads together to plan the salute to Fogle. "We thought this would be the most appropriate place to honor a veteran chief," Taylor said.

The resolution, referring to Fogle, noted, "From his high school years whenever the fire department in Springfield rang the big fire siren, he would follow the curious crowd to the fire. Responding to the call became a lifelong habit."

The longtime fire chief's professional background was largely in the high technology of the day, the resolution noted. "Gene worked on a computer at Columbia's BlueCross BlueShield facility, using punch cards and learning about the IBM 360."

His background also included service in the Air Force  active duty from 1966 to 1970 and inactive 1971-72. The military years included service in Wyoming, helping keep nuclear missiles ready for action.

Fogle, recalling his background in firefighting, said, "I just started this when I was in high school  and my respect goes to the volunteers in whatever department, whatever service you're with. I appreciate all that y'all do."
Before we get too far removed from the whole bizarre dispute between Equity Court Judge Joseph Strickland and the Richland County legislative delegation, we need to spend a few minutes on an extraordinary rebuke that one of our justices lobbed at his colleagues on the S.C. Supreme Court as p Read moreScoppe: How Justice Few is keeping mysterious missing opinion in the spotlight
A Houston County Judge earlier this week ordered a Dothan pastor to stay away from a church after leaders fired him in July.

According to court documents, in February 2020, Darryl Roberts, former pastor of Greater Beulah Baptist Church in Dothan, allegedly attached signatures of church leadership without their consent to a church bylaws document he filed with the Houston County Probate Office and the Alabama Secretary of State.

In July of this year, members of the deacon ministry voted unanimously to fire Roberts. However, the lawsuit claims Roberts has refused to vacate his position and continues to access church property and financial accounts.

On Wednesday, Houston County Judge Maurice Steensland issued a temporary restraining order, barring Roberts from church facilities and cutting off his access to any of the church accounts.

However, in response to Steenlands decision, members of the Greater Beulah Baptist Church want the restraining order lifted as soon as possible as they claim it was filed without the permission of the entire congregation.

Greater Beulah Members, a lawsuit and restraining order has been filed against Pastor Darryl S. Roberts without the consent of the entire membership, a post from the Greater Beulah Baptist Church Facebook page read. Pastor Roberts as of today (Thursday) can no longer come on the church grounds.

The statement called for members to go to the office of attorney Ben Irwin and sign an affidavit to have the restraining order removed.

Court records show Steensland has set a hearing regarding the temporary restraining order for Friday, Aug. 18.
COLUMBIA  Half a dozen employees across two Columbia-area Publix stores are the latest group of service industry workers to walk off the job in protest, claiming they've experienced inequity in the workplace.

They picketed in front of the Publix on Harbison Boulevard on Aug. 10, kicking off a three-day strike over unequal treatment and wages at the grocery chain's Harbison and Rosewood Drive stores.

Publix did not immediately respond to The Post and Courier's request for comment.

Feesa Stroman said she has worked as a deli clerk in the Harbison store for about six months, having been transferred from another of the grocer's locations to help make up for staffing shortages at the store caused by high turnover.

Stroman alleged she had experienced numerous grievances since transferring to the store in the busy shopping district in northwest Columbia, ranging from time card and task assignment issues to hours and scheduling problems. She also claimed privileges and disciplinary actions aren't applied equally to all employees.

"The majority of the problem starts with management," Stroman said.

Stroman said Publix portrays to the public a work culture of dignity and respect for employees. But she said she has instead faced anxiety.

The Publix workers are also striking to seek higher wages and more frequent evaluations for pay raises.

The demonstration by the staff at Publix follows strikes by workers supported by the USSW, or Union of Southern Service Workers, at a number of other restaurants and stores in the Midlands.

Workers at a Waffle House on Garners Ferry Road delivered a demand letter to management on July 1, alleging unsafe work conditions The Post and Courier previously reported. The workers then filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on July 10.
The Columbia Repertory Dance Company presents In Our Time on Aug. 18 and 19 at the Columbia Museum of Art.

The performance explores different moments in life, expressing emotions and its' effect on the body through movement. It features many styles of dance choreographed by members of the company and guest artists.

The Columbia Repertory Dance Company is a bit different from many of the dance companies in Columbia. Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, managing director and co-founder of the Company, said the genesis of the company came from a problem she saw in her experiences as a professional dancer in Columbia.

The idea for this company comes from the fact that dance in Columbia and South Carolina  and a lot of places but really in this region  is limited largely to the fall and winter months, Boiter-Jolley said. Of course, that's a bummer for the audience members, for patrons who want to go see dance, but also it's a bigger bummer for the performers, for the people who are supposed to be professional dancers but can't make a living dancing for six months out of the year.

Boiter-Jolley said this structure discourages dancers from working professionally in Columbia, which means many leave to dance in other cities. So, she and Stephanie Wilkins, now the Artistic Director of the company, created the Columbia Repertory Dance Company. The group has its shows during the summer as a way to provide more opportunities to dancers in Columbia and encourage them to stay in the city.

A student of mine, who's actually dancing with my company this season, is dancing in Europe, which is fantastic. But what if we had those dancers? What if they wanted to stay here?" Wilkins wondered. "What if there were a system that allowed them to actually build a life in dance in South Carolina, where they felt like they were being recognized or being at least supported in something that they had spent their life building?

When the company began in 2018, they were sponsored by the Jasper Project. In 2022, they became a separate nonprofit organization, which allows them to apply for more funding to continue supporting the artists involved. It also allows them to take on bigger opportunities, including performing in June 2023 at the Dumbo Dance Festival in New York.

In Our Time marks the company's second performance as a nonprofit; it continues the group's collaborative approach, with multiple choreographers working in different styles of dance. Boiter-Jolley said the dances range from grounded modern dance to jazzy, musical-theater-inspired numbers.

Erin Bailey danced with the company last season and is returning again for In Our Time. In addition to dancing, she has also choreographed a contemporary pointe piece. Although she had not danced on pointe in years, Bailey worked with four pointe dancers to combine her looser style with their classical training to create a dance that contrasts the delicate performance of ballet and emotional realities.

The idea that ballet and pointe shoes bring, it's just this really put-together woman, in this case, Bailey said. But I really wanted to throw the lens on the reality of that, how that can really feel like a role that we have to play. So what does the body look like, even on pointe, when it's tired or even more fierce than delicate?

Bailey is also performing in other dances choreographed by Stephanie Wilkins, and guest artists Angela Gallo, Jennifer Deckert and Andre Megerdichian. She said the dances are a good challenge and have pushed her to think about dance in a different way.

I do have to get into different modes... the ways I'm thinking about moving in my body," Bailey said. "In my career I've been very improvisational and very free with my timing and stuff. Most of these dances are very calculated, and timing is important and counts can get really tricky for me. I have to reprogram my body to get there.

Boiter-Jolley said pairing different styles of dance creates a spider-web show, where unlikely connections can be made. It also allows the company to spotlight many different dancers, emphasizing their collaborative nature and commitment to the wider dance community in Columbia.

Some of these artists are artists that have not been seen on stage as much as they could have been, if our dance community were as welcoming on a large stage as it should be, Boiter-Jolley said. I'm excited that Columbia has the opportunity to see some of the talent that they've been missing out on, alongside some of the talent that they have seen.

The Columbia Repertory Dance Company will perform "In Our Time on Aug. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. at the Columbia Music Festival Association Artspace. Tickets are $30. For more information visit coladance.com.
PAWLEYS ISLAND  The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office is investigating a series of threatening social media posts aimed at Waccamaw High School.

Deputies traced the threats back to a Waccamaw student, but the student denied making the posts, according to a sheriff's office report. That student remains at home while the investigation progresses.

The sheriff's office confirmed the threat investigation the night of Aug. 9.

The following morning, the sheriff's office announced that a search warrant had been obtained for the Murrells Inlet home of the student suspected of making the threats.

"When interviewed, the juvenile denied any involvement in making threats, and asserted that the actual perpetrators used an old photo of him posing with an Airsoft gun," sheriff's office media specialist Heather Pelham wrote on Aug. 10. "Investigators seized cellphones, laptops, and several Airsoft rifles from the residence."

Deputies didn't find any firearms in the home.

In an update on Aug. 11, Pelham wrote that multiple students and "receivers of the online threats" had been interviewed as part of the investigation. The Computer Crimes Unit of the GCSO identified the IP addresses involved in the incident and is working with service providers to obtain more information.

"These devices are continuing to be analyzed to prove or disprove the students statement that he was not involved in the posting of threats," Pelham wrote. "This analysis, as it should, takes time and all information pertinent to the case will be shared once analysis has been completed."

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office at 843-546-5012.
Insects seem to be the main pest at the Possums counter this week. Armyworms, chinch bugs, fleas, roaches (hey, it is Charleston, they like the worlds best city also) and mosquitoes have been attacking our Lowcountry homes and yards. Read moreSummer pests at the gate
CONWAY  A seven-year state investigation into Horry County Schools' controversial school construction program ended with no criminal charges being filed.

The Horry County Board of Education awarded a bid in 2015 to Firstfloor Energy Positive LLC to design and construct five new schools: Socastee Elementary and Middle, Carolina Forest Middle, St. James Intermediate and Myrtle Beach Middle.

The State Law Enforcement Division opened an investigation into the deal after hearing allegations that board members received kickbacks from the North Carolina-based construction firm that received the contract, according to a recently released SLED report.

SLED concluded that there wasn't evidence to justify criminal charges, particularly after former Horry County Board of Education Chairman Joe Defeo died of a heart attack in 2018.

Defeo had shown the most favor to FFEP during the 2015 bidding process, and he died before he could be interviewed, according to SLED's report.

"Although allegations arose that the board chairman, Joe Defeo, and certain other board members received compensation to vote in favor of FFEP, there were no HCSD staff members, board members or outside representatives who had firsthand knowledge or documentation to validate the allegations," according to SLED's report.

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson declined to prosecute the case after reviewing SLED's investigation.

It appears the discrepancies in the bids were explainable as the school district switched the criteria from the initial bids to items that were more expensive on the front end with hopes of it being more energy efficient on the back end, Richardson wrote in a December letter to SLED Special Agent Joe Albayalde.

Horry County Schools also issued a statement regarding the decision.

"HCS is aware of SLEDs findings and the closure it brings to this matter," said Lisa Bourcier, district spokeswoman. "We look forward to the start of the 2023-2024 school year."
South Carolina is one of the most dangerous states in the nation for pedestrians, and fatality rates are only getting higher. Experts blame the problem on a combination of changing driver trends and poor design. What's less apparent is how to address the issues. Read moreWhy are so many pedestrians dying on South Carolina roads?
McBEE  Several years ago, a newspaper writer named John Davis searched for the words to describe how toxic and hard-fought the politics in this town had become.

It was 2009, and McBee had been fighting for the better part of a decade over who should control the wells that supplied its water. Davis wrote that he saw real-world effects in the squabble; McBees rivalries were derailing plans for a sewer project that he thought could shake rural Chesterfield County from its economic doldrums.

To describe what was happening in McBee, a crossroads town midway between Charlotte and Florence, he landed on these words:

Blood feud.

McBee is a case study of how distrust spreads: how communities lose faith in institutions and how their public life frays once they do. Its a story of how festering suspicions tear holes in their social fabric and promote the chilling effect of fear, until a towns residents are left to do most of their talking in court. It plays out over thousands of pages of depositions, investigative files, meeting minutes and court records. The Post and Courier reviewed them as part of Uncovered, its initiative to shine light on questionable government conduct in areas that have gone unscrutinized.

The infighting Davis described in the Pageland Progressive-Journal would prove tepid compared to what came next: a saga spanning no fewer than 16 lawsuits and investigations by at least three state agencies, an inspector general and a federal grand jury. Contested elections for town council and mayor have been decided by the state Supreme Court  twice. In this town of some 760 residents, the courts and law enforcement have been asked to weigh allegations of corruption and diverted money, of election tampering, of slander and retribution.

Its not always obvious why McBees disputes spiraled as far as they did, or even where the animosity began. Some observers joke that the feuding, which has now consumed more than a tenth of the towns history, must have started with a childhood slight.

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But read the long paper trail of McBees discontent and youll quickly be led to a common theme: the abundant supply of water beneath it.

The town sits on the headwaters of South Carolinas two largest aquifers, which serve major users like Mount Pleasants water system and Googles data center in Berkeley County. The water takes thousands of years to reach the coast, but in McBee, the aquifers refill in a matter of years. Its such an enticing resource that in 2016 Nestle spent $40 million to build a bottled water factory just outside town limits.

At the center of the fighting is a man synonymous with McBees water. Glenn Odom grew a small water company into a countywide force pumping a billion gallons a year. He has attracted suspicion ever since his utility got control of McBees wells all those years before.

And he has long inspired distrust and reticence.

Chesterfield Countys elected officials made a habit of asking to talk about Odom off-the-record, Davis noted in a column. Other times, they aired their thoughts cryptically and tried not to speak his name.

In the countys public life, Davis wrote, Odom was becoming the mysterious he. 

Chapter 1: Headwaters

Every town began with a reason for being: fertile land or a safe harbor, gold rushes or land prospectors. In McBee (pronounced MAK-bee), it was a rail line.

Before there was a town there was a cotton platform on a new railroad at the turn of the 20th century, a stop in the pine trees between Columbia and Cheraw. Soon, people settled around it. In 1901, they incorporated a town, and they named it for a railroad promoter who died decades before the first rail was laid.

The town has been defined ever since by the infrastructure that flows through it.

It developed its most distinctive industry, peaches, because railroad officials were eager to boost cargo. A handful of factories popped up along the rail line, creating a corridor of industry.

Later, McBee became a crossroads of two busy thoroughfares. In one direction, on U.S. Highway 1, it has the only stoplight for miles. In the other, it was once a notorious speed trap between Charlotte and Myrtle Beach.

Most recently, it has become a nexus of water pipelines that reach out in a web across Chesterfield County. This new chapter has been written in large part by Odom, who, like McBee itself, owes his arrival to the railroad. As a teenager in the early 1960s, he moved there from Columbia because his father got a job at the local train station.

Two decades later, Odom had set roots in the sandhills, and he began to forge links to a utility that became known as Alligator Rural Water & Sewer. When the utility was still an idea, he went door-to-door to sign up homeowners.

When Alligator was organized in 1987, Odom was elected its first board president. It had two wells and just 150 customers. When it grew big enough to need a full-time manager in the 2000s, Odom was the pick.

Alligator quickly marched across Chesterfield County because of an accident of geology.

Chesterfield County is where South Carolinas terrain transitions, where rolling sandhills spill onto the flat coastal plain. Its biggest towns are built on its northern edge, where a layer of bedrock makes groundwater hard to come by.

But on the south end, the sandy soil absorbs the rain like a giant sponge. Below McBee, a reservoir of water replenishes itself with every storm.

In the early 2000s, a bad drought depleted the rivers that supplied the northern towns drinking water. Alligator stepped in. Soon, it was pumping water across the county. By 2021, it provided 86 percent of the countys drinking water, financial disclosures show.

But in McBee, questions were swirling about how Alligator achieved that growth.

McBee itself had voted to buy water from Alligator in 1999 because the town had trouble passing state inspections. It also agreed to let Alligator control its wells. Alligators critics later took issue with the vote: Under a new administration, McBee alleged in a court filing that half the town council worked for the utility.

Then Odom became mayor. And in 2001, McBee applied for $850,000 in grant money from the state to help another utility build a water line to the north of the county. There, the limited water supply threatened to shutter a textile factory. Alligator agreed to supply more water. After receiving the grant money, Odom and the town clerk signed the check handing over the funds.

As years passed, concerns emerged about the ties between McBee and Alligator. The utility was one of the towns biggest contractors, yet its employees were serving on town council. That didnt sit right with a textile factory owner named John Campolong, so he ran for mayor.

The core of his mission was simple: If elected, he was going to try to take the water back.

He won.

Chapter 2: Action and reaction

In office, Campolong often talked about the value of McBees water. To control the water, he would say, is to control the towns destiny. He has called the aquifer a blessing from God.

Campolong pushed to take back control of the water system against all obstacles. He pressed forward despite the towns 40-year contract with Alligator. He was not deterred when state regulators critiqued its plan as "overly optimistic."

And the new mayor did not shy away from criticizing Odom. Two patterns emerged early in Campolongs administration: He and his allies were willing to raise serious questions about Odom in the towns name. And they came to believe that Odom was finding ways to retaliate against them.

In 2009, his first year in office, Campolong wrote a letter to the state attorney general and the State Law Enforcement Division detailing several issues about Alligator he found troubling.

Among other things, he wanted to know if Odom had made money from the 2001 textile plant grant, since it hadnt benefitted McBee in Campolong's view. And he asked if the town councilmen who hired Alligator to run McBees water system had been given jobs improperly.

Its unclear whether the agencies acted on the letter. The Attorney General's Office has no record of it, and SLED did not respond to requests for comment.

Months after it was sent, Alligator notified Campolong that it planned to build water and sewer lines on his familys land. It threatened to use eminent domain to gash a straight line through their property. Alligators engineer said it needed to build a new line to prevent a countywide water shortage.

Campolong didnt buy it, and his family filed court papers to stop the seizure. He accused Alligator of political retribution: I believe much of Alligator's actions against me are meant as harassment to hinder my work in protecting the best interests of the citizens of McBee, he wrote in an affidavit.

While his familys legal battle played out, Campolong and the town council sent the Attorney Generals Office another letter. They asked again for an investigation. This time, records show, SLED opened one.

After a four-month investigation, local prosecutors decided not to bring charges. But McBees factions were no closer to making amends.

***

The growing tension between Odom and Campolong had consequences beyond either man. It soon pitted McBee and Alligator against each other.

The utility had spent $1.1 million to update McBees infrastructure and link their systems, Odom said in court papers. When Campolong became mayor, Alligator was still paying off the debt it took on to finance the project.

And as Campolong pushed to take back McBees water system, Alligator played hardball to shut him down.

The utility told regulators concerned about McBees ability to supply water on its own that Alligator was unwilling to be the town's backup. It said it would dig up the pipes connecting their systems if McBee went out on its own.

This was alarming to McBees biggest customer, a company called A.O. Smith with a factory north of town. It had been unhappy with the towns service, and now it doubted an independent McBee could supply all the water it needed, court records show.

It found an ally in Alligator, and the two made a deal: Alligator would build a new line to A.O. Smith, cutting out McBee entirely.

Losing A.O. Smith, one of North Americas largest makers of water heaters, would be a serious problem for McBee. The factory accounted for more water sales than all its residents combined, the town said. At one point, McBee said it might have to shut down its water system if the factory cut ties.

But the town didnt know about this agreement right away. It stayed in the dark until the plan was in motion. Then, one Sunday in June 2015, someone noticed crews laying pipes to the factory.

The town filed a lawsuit before the week was out.

***

McBee filed its case on a Wednesday. The next afternoon, one of McBees water mains started gushing.

The break was a mystery. There was no obvious cause like construction work in the area. There was just a round puncture in a pipe.

The break also became a sort of Rorschach test for McBee politics. Odoms critics saw hints of something nefarious. His supporters saw coincidences.

For example, Odom was already taking pictures of the scene when the towns contractor, Joey Oliver, arrived. But then, Odom usually showed up to line breaks, Oliver testified.

Alligator employees told Oliver they'd be fired if they lent a hand, he said in an affidavit. Odom denied making threats and said Alligator had previously been instructed by Campolong to stay away from the towns system.

McBee struggled to fix the leak. Crews could not find the pipes shutoff valve. They didnt have the right part to patch the line and couldnt get it until the next morning. Water spilled out overnight, and Odom drove by repeatedly, the contractor said. A.O. Smith called town hall complaining of low water pressure.

McBees leaders made no secret that they thought Alligator had exacted revenge. Their distrust of Odom was about to become official town policy.

In a 2016 lawsuit, the town said it believed the line was deliberately sabotaged, and it blamed Alligator.

And the town didnt stop there: It aired a laundry list of suspicions dating to the beginning of the water feud. It accused Odom and Alligator of diverting the towns grant money, acting deceptively in taking over its water system and pursuing a corrupt business model to enrich Odom.

McBees claims were lambasted in court records as conspiracy theories with zero factual support, and the town later dropped them.

But the towns feud was now heating up.

Chapter 3: Odom and Alligator

Alligator shares some similarities to the cooperatives that provide electricity across rural South Carolina. Its customers technically own the utility, and they pick its board.

But court records describe a utility that keeps its members at arms length.

In a 2020 deposition, Odom said members cannot attend board meetings without permission. They can only come if they fill out a form and state what (their) business is, he said. And unlike co-op members, they dont get a share of the utilitys profits.

Do they get anything for being owners? an attorney asked Odom at his deposition.

Water, Odom answered.

Like co-ops, Alligator answers only to the board its members elect, not to state regulators. But critics are suspicious of the elections, court records show. A factory owner once sued to get on the ballot, alleging Alligator changed the rules to disqualify him from running. In an affidavit, Campolong alleged that only candidates who support the current leadership actually win.

***

Meanwhile, Odom has had a particularly close relationship with Alligator. His fortunes have long been tied to the utilitys.

His salary as general manager, for instance, fluctuated depending on what the utility could afford. It fell as low as $12,000 a year in lean times only to spike in more prosperous years. Court records show it reached as high as $428,000 after Alligator signed a contract to supply Nestle, its biggest customer.

And Odom was not only an employee of Alligator before he retired in 2021, he also owned the company that Alligator hired to handle its day-to-day operations. Their ties were so close that in a deposition he sometimes used the first person to describe Alligator.

According to its contract, Odom's company would be responsible for hiring employees, taking samples of the water and reading the meters.

In return, Odom's company could get a cut of Alligator's revenue if the utility grew large enough. Financial disclosures show that in 2022 the company was paid $1.9 million.

That fee covers many of the utilitys operating costs, but Odom has acknowledged getting hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the management fee.

But Alligator hasnt always been able to afford the fee, so it racked up debt. In 2018, Alligator paid off part of it by signing over more than 400 acres of land to Odoms company, property records show. The company, in turn, has made money harvesting pine straw from the property, according to court records.

The arrangement can make it hard to tell where Alligator ends and Odom's company begins.

In a 2020 deposition, Odom said Alligators vehicles were used for utility work 95 percent of the time. But at times they were used to haul trash for him, he said.

To avoid the appearance of impropriety, he said, he supplied the gasoline.

Chapter 4: Counterattack

The suspicion surrounding Odom and Alligator caused them legal problems that went well beyond McBee's lawsuit in 2016.

Odom has said that in addition to three SLED investigations, he has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. (A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office for South Carolina confirmed it opened an investigation related to Alligator in 2015.) He said he and Alligator have twice been investigated by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which lends money to the utility.

Odom has said that none of the investigations found any wrongdoing.

The S.C. Public Employee Benefit Authority also investigated Odom personally. Court records show that it received an anonymous package about him in 2017. As a result, the agency denied him a state pension that his attorneys contend would have been worth at least $100,000 a year.

At a trial contesting that decision, Odom complained of 10 years of this constant harassment by critics. He has said that all the investigations took a toll. Beyond his legal bills, he said he started taking medicine to stay grounded.

You get a subpoena to go to the grand jury of the federal government, you dont sleep well, Odom said in a deposition. I mean, when youre being investigated by the federal government, it was a lot of 3 in the mornings that you dont sleep. And that went on for years and years and years.

So Odom went on the offensive.

***

In 2018, Odom enlisted one of South Carolinas top defamation lawyers, Johnny Parker, to sue two of his detractors. He alleged that theyd tarnished his reputation.

Odom brought the lawsuit against Campolong and Kemp McLeod, a fourth-generation farmer. His family is best known for growing Macs Pride peaches on hundreds of acres that explode with pink blossoms each spring.

Odom and McLeod, then a town councilman, had clashed before. Alligator sued McLeod Farms, claiming that pesticides it used until the 1970s was polluting McBees water. The case was eventually settled.

Now, Odom claimed the mayor and the councilman had spread lies about him. He alleged they told people he had stolen McBees grant money all those years earlier and that hed punctured the water line. In a deposition, he said those allegations cost him opportunities to hold public office, and they drove away regulars at the Huddle House restaurant he owned.

In a deposition, he said he wanted millions of dollars in damages because your name is irreplaceable.

What followed was an excruciatingly detailed examination of McBees public life. One by one, the towns elected officials and Odoms critics were brought in for depositions. Many were held back-to-back at town hall.

They were questioned about how they knew each other. (Im from McBee was a common refrain.) And they were pressed on the contents of their campaign flyers, personal conversations and town council discussions.

One former town councilman, Marion Stephens III, said that whenever water came up at town council, talk of Odom followed.

It starts going back to whenever Alligator Water took over the water for the town.  And it goes from that to, you know, hes a crook, Stephens said in a deposition.

Years later, the case is still pending, even after a judge concluded that Campolong and McLeod couldnt be held responsible for what they said at town hall.

Now, if the case goes to trial, it will center on just two conversations McLeod had years ago.

Jurors would be asked to consider whether he harmed Odoms reputation when he allegedly asked a customer at his peach stand why she supported a man who stole money from McBee, court records show. And the jury would evaluate whether he defamed Odom when he and a friend talked about the grant money over breakfast at Huddle House.

McLeods attorneys have argued those conversations should be exempted, too. By then, they argue, Odom had thrown himself into town politics, and McLeod had every right to say his opinion.

However distasteful Mr. Odom may find the opinions of the citizens of McBee about his actions, the attorneys wrote, his remedy is at the ballot box  not in the courts.

But as with so many McBee controversies, the ballot box led straight back to the courts.

Chapter 5: Disputed elections

McLeods peach stand conversation happened during a particularly tense moment in McBee.

It was 2016, and as American politics spiraled toward acrimony and tribalism, the town was preparing for its own divisive election: Odom was running for mayor again.

In the same year that the town accused Alligator of sabotage, Campolong printed flyers that accused Odom of depleting McBees bank accounts and using its grant money without any benefit to our town.

The flyer alleged Odom was suing to keep McBee from producing its own water and to take away its biggest customer. It said Campolong was fighting for the water so our citizens, not Alligator, will control our destiny.

But Odoms supporters were mobilizing, according to an attorney for Campolong and other candidates. At an election commission hearing, the attorney said an Alligator employee named Sydney Baker gathered absentee ballots and turned them in.

Odom beat Campolong by eight votes, 200-192.

But as was often the case in McBee, the real fight was just beginning. The case was bound for review by the towns Municipal Election Commission and, later, the courts.

After a hearing, the commission decided it was uncomfortable with the way the election was conducted. Nearly a third of the ballots were cast absentee, and Odom carried 88 percent of them, it said in a written order.

The Commission is convinced that  Odom manipulated and abused the political process in McBee, its members wrote in September 2016.

The commission ordered a new election. This time, Campolong won.

In 2018, Odom ran for office again. The initial results showed he lost by one vote, 209-208. This time, Odom pushed back, arguing that some of his supporters ballots were incorrectly rejected.

Some of the disputed ballots came from residents of Odoms 40-odd rental properties. They had moved into Odoms properties weeks before the election, which fed his opponents suspicions. At an election hearing, the voters were questioned about whether they actually paid rent and whether their new homes were even livable.

The fight went to the courts. Finally, the state Supreme Court sided with Odom, clearing the way for his return to office.

***

McBees election commission is staffed by part-time volunteers who have limited legal training and a fraught job: They preside over cases that bring the towns tensions to the surface.

The panels former chairwoman, Linda Sterling, wrote to town council in 2019 that shed been harassed around the time of the hearings. Rocks were thrown at her windows, her car was scratched and bottles were smashed in her driveway. At times, commissioners were escorted into town hall by a sheriffs deputy, she said in an interview.

McBees election commission was asked to adjudicate challenges to every election between 2014 and 2020, and a legal arms race followed.

Candidates for town office have secured heavy-hitting lawyers to try cases before the commission, including an attorney who was hired to defend President Donald Trump against impeachment. They have hired a private investigator to check voters residency and a handwriting expert to analyze their signatures.

Meanwhile, the constant disputes created instability in town government.

Commissioners voted to overturn results in four straight election cycles. On three occasions, courts reversed their rulings. Twice, the disputes reached the state Supreme Court.

The appeals left the town in limbo for months at a time.

Consider the 2020 election, when Odom again ran for mayor. Baker helped residents request mail-in ballots, going door-to-door with an iPad and a printer. Odom again won the absentee vote overwhelmingly. And as it had before, the election commission took issue with the disparity, accusing Odom and Baker of blatant violations of state election laws.

The issue reached the Supreme Court, which didnt hear the case for a year and took nearly as long to render a decision once it did.

As McBee waited, the existing administration stayed in place. Campolong, who was in his 90s and had not run for reelection, continued on as mayor.

The town council was stuck, too, and frustration mounted, town records show. One member, Beulah Bolton, railed against the appeals as a waste of time. She called it a child-like game and a waste of time. She said the losing candidates must not care about the town.

Bolton had been a voice of conciliation in the past. When she sat for a deposition in Odoms defamation case, she said she did so reluctantly. She didnt want anyone to think she was taking sides.

After all, she said shed heard people talk about how Odom and McLeod had both helped them out and how they wished theyd just get along.

Maybe we could have a better town. Ive heard that comment a lot, Bolton said at the deposition.

But the fight was dragging on all the same. The wait was so long that one candidate caught up in the appeal ran for and won a different seat before the first one was decided.

Finally, in February, the Supreme Court confirmed the result: Odom was the new mayor. He took office almost two and a half years into a four-year term.

The justices were split 3-2. McBees feud had divided the Supreme Court, too.

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Alabamas Department of Human Resources is hoping to find a new home in Houston County.

They have outgrown that building; the first part of it was built in the 1950s, Houston County chairman Brandon Shoupe said. The building is not designed for a lot of the programs that DHR is offering. Its just old and has a lot of wear and tear, so maintenance would be a lot less in a new building.

During a Houston County Commission administrative meeting Thursday, representatives from DHR spoke to commissioners about the possibility of building a new office in the area for the agency.

The present DHR building is located at 1605 Ross Clark Circle in Dothan. A location is already picked out for the new building if the commission elects to move forward in the process.

We recently acquired some land over on Prevatt Road, so thats where it would go, Shoupe said. We would like to enhance the services to the citizens of this county.

Randall Beesley, director of general services at DHR, said aside from providing the land, the new office wouldnt cost the county anything.

The means of payment is through a bond issue, Beesley told commissioners. During this whole process, DHR will be responsible for all the costs from start to finish. With this project being 40,000-50,000 square feet, it will probably be repaid in 25 to 30 years. DHR makes all of those payments, so theyll be nothing on your side.

Although the commission and the state seem on board with idea, it could take a few years for DHR to get a new office.

The next step is for the commission to formally vote on a resolution requesting a new DHR building, Shoupe said. However, that doesnt mean were going to get one next month or next year. Theres a process involved at the state level, and they have to wait until they can fit it in their project list. Its completely out of our hands and may take a long time.
Ammo Grrrll has found them: Offers I CAN Refuse! She writes:

Every day, dozens of times a day, my Email In-Box is filled with an infinite number of ways to separate me from my money. I have mentioned before that I am a big fan of a particular brand of jeans called NYDJ. That is an acronym for Not Your Daughters Jeans. They USED to be made in the U.S. of A, which was a big selling point for me, but that ship has sailed now. My other reason for buying them was fit. For whatever reason  probably the scosh of give in them  these jeans fit me better than any other I have found. I own several dozen pairs in a wide variety of colors and, yes, sizes.

But is corporate NYDJ happy with me yet? No. Every day, sometimes every hour, I receive emails touting their latest styles, now in (sigh) sustainable fabrics. You want to see sustainable, you should check out my 40-year-old t-shirts still in service! Including two shirts celebrating the Twins World Series wins, which happened in 1987 and 1991. But I digress. If I ever do click on the NYDJ Website and look at a few styles, within minutes I will get another email warning me that the styles you looked at are selling out fast!

This kind of busybody monitoring should terrify us all. Now its just a normal part of our day. The first time I experienced this was when we moved here in 2010 and I surfed the Net for some patio furniture. The very next day, ALL the pop-up ads on my elderly computer were for  wait for it!  PATIO FURNITURE! WHAT were the chances? I thought. And then immediately thought, Hey, WAIT a minute  whats going ON here? Okay, it was not totally immediately because I am a naturally trusting naif and also a slow learner.

Should I turn on the television, even trying to listen to some relaxing music on YouTube, I will be presented with many chances to spend some more money. Yet more annoying are the ads that encourage OTHERS to make more incursions into the Taxpayers Stash, in the never-ending attempt to empty the Treasury and make all of us welfare-dependent serfs. (Yeah, I know, its already gone and were running on IOUs now. I try not to think about it.).

An example: Multiple times a day, I see a loooong loud ad that starts by LITERALLY YELLING: STOP! STOP everything youre doing right now and look at your screen! Holy cow! I stopped doing dishes at once and looked at the screen because the voice continued, You may be missing out on benefits you are ENTITLED to!

Yes, friends, this ad is determined to convince Medicare and Medicaid recipients who must also be hearing-impaired, that they might very well be MISSING OUT on some sweet bennies! If you are in the right Zip Code (say what?) you could get extra loot to pay for co-pays for vision care, dentists, doctors, and  no, really  healthy groceries! Medicare is running on fumes and the government is trying to make it pay for GROCERIES now?

Of course, as we have seen from restricting food stamps and other commodity giveaways to healthy foods, this just means that the recipients use the stamps to pay for semi-decent groceries and use their cash to pay for liquor, cigarettes, soda pop, and junk food. With all the well-intentioned attempts in the world to force people to make healthier choices, I see irrefutable evidence that America has licked its Anorexia problem forever.

Alternatively, of course, recipients just sell the food stamps and use THAT cash for drugs and donuts. Manys the time here in Walmart in Arizona, I have been behind illegals, sorry, MIGRANTS, who pay for groceries with some sort of welfare card and then haul out a shockingly large wad of cash to pay for Tecate and cigarettes. What a country, right?! I find it fascinating that those extras relentlessly advertised to Medicaid recipients are doled out by Zip Code. How much you wanna bet that YOUR Zip Code is not eligible?

Moving on to other offers, since we are only a YEAR away from Nominating Conventions, I get dozens of offers an hour to contribute to the useless grifters in both political parties. A pox on both your Houses, and also on the Senate. With VERY few exceptions, Im not giving a dime and certainly not to a corrupt overarching Committee that is only going to dole out the loot to the candidates they prefer who have no intention of upsetting any apple carts.

Plus funding lavish getaways, parties, salaries and bonuses for the employees of that Committee whose main goal is to deliver failure. Mission accomplished! Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me hundreds of times, somebody take pity and lock up my checkbook!

I get many offers for investment opportunities, but, luckily, I dont handle those. If it were up to me, we would have put all our money into CDs  especially after we got the CD player. (Rim shot!) No, seriously, Im not good with money, except for the spending part. If you are looking for a gal who knows how to make cash disappear like ice cubes on Arizona asphalt in August, Im your Grrrll. Thank God, theres Joe/Max!

The wonderful young comic Nate Bargatze has a bit about how he also is not on top of his finances, in fact, doesnt even know what bank his wife has their money in. He says his wife walks in and says, Is somebody having FUN here  Id like to put a stop to that! And then he confesses that a marriage can only have ONE fun-loving dreamer in it and one strict person. If both people are dreamers, youll be homeless in an hour.

But perhaps the most bizarre offers I get daily are for what I BELIEVE is sex, but couched in very strange algorithm-avoiding terms. It is crystal clear to me that the sites are not populated with native English speakers despite pretending that Brenda or Lisa is conveniently located just around the corner from me. HOW an elderly, married, ferociously heterosexual woman keeps getting these offers from women is a mystery. No matter how many times they are blocked, up they pop again in a new guise.

How do I know they are foreign scammers and not local women? Here is an EXACT example of one from a few days ago:

Curious and dirty woman Beauty but great sex drive wants to meet a cozy horny man for nice sex moments. Does that sound like a native English-speaker to YOU, even a semi-literate imbecilic one, such as a member of The View?

So much to unpack there. I know most of us ladies like our men horny AND cozy, although this curious and dirty woman is not actually promising much, just moments. The random, whimsical capital letter on Beauty just makes it for me.

Last week, Lola was looking for a man to meet in a intellectual way. Try the library, dear.
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Summary: Renowned for its creative and strategic marketing services, BOWEN, the New York-based web design agency, earns its spot for the first time on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America.NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / BOWEN, a privately owned website design agency headquartered in Mineola, New York, has announced that it has been ranked #4812 on Inc. magazine's annual 2023 Inc. 5000 National list. This list ranks the fastest-growing private companies across the United States of America. BOWEN's specific rankings include #309 in New York, #464 in Advertising & Marketing, and #349 in the NY-NJ-PA region.BOWEN, a web design agency, is committed to creating top-notch web experiences that cater to the needs of today's businesses. Recognizing that customers are digitally sophisticated and seek genuine emotional connections through websites, BOWEN offers solutions to address the common challenges businesses face. Many companies grapple with an inconsistent online presence and lack unified visibility. BOWEN counteracts this by expanding its creative design services, offering businesses a distinctive and relatable digital voice that stands out amidst the crowded online landscape.Reputation for driving connectionsAlmost 20 years since its launch, BOWEN has already received accolades and recognition in the digital marketing sector for its impactful design and marketing services. The company has showcased its ability to craft long-lasting digital connections that provide unparalleled value to clients across the world.As part of its commitment to a comprehensive, strategic, and sharp creative design approach, BOWEN has grown its range of branding and digital marketing services across all verticals and mediums. BOWEN stands out as a global brand experience creator that can deliver a customized response to address the unique challenges of different industriesInc. 5000 National methodologyThe 2023 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies are ranked according to their percentage of revenue growth when comparing to the previous years, 2019 and 2021. In order to be eligible to apply to the 2023 Inc. 5000 list, for-profit companies must be based in the U.S., privately owned and fully independent. They need to have been generating revenue by the first date considered and must have entered a minimum revenue for 2019 of $100,000 and $1 million for 2021.The recognition by Inc., the world's most trusted entrepreneur media magazine, makes businesses part of an exclusive community of peers. Being ranked on the Inc. 5000 list of private companies that are achieving remarkable growth further establishes the credibility of long-established businesses.More information is available from BOWEN's press contact, Dan Bowen. To reach the company by phone, call 516-308-3539, or email at hello@ bowenmedia.com . Anyone looking for specialist services from the website design company can do so via the company website https://www.bowenmedia.com . BOWEN's address is 183 Mineola Blvd, Mineola, NY 11501.SOURCE: BOWEN
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PLANO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / The prestigious Dr. David Stager Scholarship for Medical Students is now open for applications. This scholarship, valued at $1,000, is a one-time award designed to support passionate and academically exceptional medical students pursuing their dreams in the field of healthcare. Applicants will have the chance to showcase their innovative thinking and leadership qualities while addressing critical challenges in the healthcare industry.Dr. David Stager, a highly respected ophthalmologist known for his dedication to patient care and commitment to medical excellence, is the driving force behind this scholarship initiative. With over three decades of experience in the field, Dr. Stager has become a trusted authority in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus. His passion for medicine and desire to make a lasting impact in the lives of patients have inspired the establishment of this scholarship to nurture the future leaders of the healthcare industry.To be eligible for the Dr. David Stager Scholarship for Medical Students, applicants must be full-time undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a medical degree at an accredited university or college in the United States. In addition to academic achievement, candidates should demonstrate a genuine passion for medicine and a strong commitment to improving patient care and healthcare outcomes. The scholarship selection process will also involve an essay contest, where applicants will have the opportunity to propose innovative solutions to address the most significant challenges facing the healthcare industry today."In your opinion, what is the most significant challenge or issue currently facing the healthcare industry, and how do you propose innovative solutions to address it effectively?"Applicants are invited to submit creative and insightful essays of under 1000 words in response to this prompt. The essays will be evaluated based on a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape, critical thinking skills, and the ability to propose groundbreaking ideas that can positively impact the industry."We believe in empowering the next generation of medical visionaries who possess the determination and brilliance to revolutionize the healthcare landscape," said Dr. David Stager Jr. "The scholarship aims to encourage young minds to think boldly and drive change in the healthcare industry." With the deadline set for February 15, 2024, interested applicants are urged to submit their applications at the earliest convenience. The winner of the scholarship will be announced on March 15, 2024, providing ample time for the selection committee to carefully review the submissions and select the most deserving candidate.This scholarship not only offers financial support to a promising medical student but also provides a unique opportunity to connect with medical professionals and make a meaningful impact on the healthcare community. Dr. David Stager and his team are eager to receive applications from exceptional medical students who meet the specified criteria.To apply for the Dr. David Stager Scholarship for Medical Students, please visit the official website: https://drdavidstagerscholarship.com/ About Dr. David Stager Jr.:Dr. David Stager is a highly esteemed ophthalmologist with an unwavering passion for providing exceptional eye care and enhancing the lives of his patients. His journey in medicine began in Dallas, where he attended St. Mark's School of Texas before graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University. Driven by a thirst for knowledge and cultural enrichment, he pursued further education in European history in Oxford, Spain, and Paris.Dr. Stager earned his medical degree and completed his residency in Ophthalmology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. His profound interest in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus led him to pursue a fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., under the guidance of the renowned Dr. Marshall M. Parks.Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Stager actively contributes to the advancement of ophthalmology through research, education, and philanthropic efforts. He has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to ophthalmology textbooks, and served as a guest lecturer worldwide.Contact Info:Spokesperson: Dr. David StagerOrganization: Dr. David Stager ScholarshipWebsite: https://drdavidstagerscholarship.com Email: apply@ drdavidstagerscholarship.com SOURCE: Dr. David Stager Scholarship
Troy Universitys Community Health Workers certificate program is entering its second year, and the Universitys College of Health and Human Services is currently taking applications for upcoming sessions, the first of which will begin later this month.

The Community Health Workers certificate program is made possible by a $3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administered through the Universitys School of Nursing and School of Social Work and Human Services in partnership with The Wellness Coalition, the three-year grant is helping to train and place Community Health Workers in underserved areas within the state to help educate and direct residents in those areas to available health care services.

Community Health Workers are trusted members of their communities who empower their peers through education, helping to connect residents with to available health care resources.

In its first year, the free, online program trained five cohorts of Community Health Workers, reaching individuals in 40 of Alabamas 67 counties. Year two will soon get under way with program start dates set for Aug. 28, Sept. 11, and Sept. 25. Those interested in applying for the training should visit troy.edu/communityhealth.edu.

We were very excited that we could reach such a wide area of the state in our first year of training, said Dr. Wade Forehand, Director of TROYs School of Nursing. We are excited about starting our second year with these three new start dates in August and September and are accepting applications now.

The program covers a 12-week period, the first 10 of which includes weekly modules that trainees complete at their own pace. The last two weeks of the program will provide students with a 60-hour internship experience. The trainees are eligible for stipends in the amount of $5,000 for successful completion of the program, which are intended to help reduce barriers to success such as childcare expenses, travel expenses, training costs and technology needs, among others.

To be eligible for the program, participants must hold a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent; be a U.S. citizen or a foreign national having possession of a visa permitting permanent residence in the U.S.; be a resident of the state of Alabama with priority given to trainees from underserved/vulnerable communities; and a willingness to complete the program in its entirety.

Dr. Forehand said the application process is competitive and the program has received interest from more than 1,000 individuals in its first year.

This training is aimed at those who want to make a difference in their communities, those that care about improving health care that is available not only for the state, but also for those in their communities, their neighbors, he said. Community Health Workers are really involved in that grassroots, community level. It is not easy work, but it is very rewarding and personally gratifying to be able to serve the community in this capacity and help to improve the health of those people that they see every day.

The program is the states first and only recognized Community Health Worker Program registered through the Alabama Office of Apprenticeships.

This achievement underscores our commitment to advancing community health initiatives in the state, said Dr. Javier Boyas, Professor and Director of the School of Social Work and Human Services. Our efforts are geared towards making community health work more prominent in Alabama and we continue to work to establish community connections with health-minded organizations throughout the state.

Health organizations that are interested in learning more about the training program or who are interested in hiring Community Health Workers can fill out an interest form on the website.
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Imprending Lead Plaintiff Deadline is October 2, 2023NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP ("Wolf Haldenstein") reminds investors that a federal securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Hayward Holdings, Inc. ("Hayward" or the "Company") (NYSE:HAYW) common stock between March 2, 2022 and July 27, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period").All investors who purchased shares and incurred losses are advised to contact the firm immediately at classmember@ whafh.com or (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774. You may obtain additional information concerning the action or join the case on our website, www.whafh.com If you have incurred losses, you may, no later than October 2, 2023, request that the Court appoint you lead plaintiff of the proposed class. Please contact Wolf Haldenstein to learn more about your rights.PLEASE CLICK HERE TO PROVIDE CONTACT AND TRANSACTION INFORMATIONThe filed complaint filed alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors:that Hayward and its management had engaged in a channel-stuffing scheme designed to artificially boost Hayward's short-term sales and earnings;that Hayward had flooded its channel partners with inventory that they did not want or need at a level that far outpaced then-existing consumer demand;that Hayward's channel partners were suffering from an inventory glut as a result of the channel-stuffing scheme that would require a massive destocking in the second half of 2022;that Hayward's channel-stuffing scheme had cannibalized future sales, materially impairing the Company's ability to sell to its customers;that the demand for pool equipment had slowed down, which, combined with flooding channel partners with more inventory, led to an inventory glut and the need for these channel partners to reduce inventory levels; andas a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.On July 28, 2022, Hayward disclosed that it was expecting its channel partners to reduce its inventory on hand by approximately 4 to 6 weeks in the second half of 2022. As a result, the Company updated its full year 2022 outlook expecting net sales to decline between 2% and 6% year-over-year, compared toprior guidance expecting net sales growth between 9% and 12% year-over-year.On this news, the price of Hayward's stock price fell $2.50, or 17.9%, to close at $11.21 per share on July 28, 2022.Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York, Chicago and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this case, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein by telephone at (800) 575-0735 or via e-mail at classmember@ whafh.com Contact:Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLPPatrick Donovan, Esq.Gregory Stone, Director of Case and Financial AnalysisEmail: gstone@ whafh.com or classmember@ whafh.com Tel: (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.SOURCE: Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-08-11 18:01:06

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MILWAUKEE, WI / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, it is essential to nurture and support the next generation of medical professionals who will shape its future. Dr. Scott Kamelle, an esteemed Gynecologic Oncologist who also served as the Director of Gyn Oncology at Aurora Healthcare in Milwaukee for 10 years and is now serving on the cancer leadership and research committee for advocate Aurora, proudly announces the launch of the Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors, a prestigious scholarship program aimed at empowering talented and passionate individuals pursuing a career in medicine.Investing in Aspiring PhysiciansThe Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors is a testament to Dr. Kamelle's commitment to advancing healthcare and his dedication to improving patient outcomes. This scholarship seeks to recognize and support students who exemplify academic excellence, possess a deep commitment to the medical field, and demonstrate problem-solving skills essential for addressing the complex challenges faced by the healthcare industry.A Glimpse into the CriteriaTo be considered for this distinguished scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:Academic Pursuit: Be a current undergraduate student actively pursuing a career in medicine or a high school student with plans to attend university for a medical degree.Excellence in Academics: Demonstrate outstanding scholastic achievements that reflect a commitment to academic excellence.Commitment to Medicine: Exhibit a genuine passion for making a positive impact on the lives of patients, showcasing a deep commitment to the field of medicine.Dedication to Personal Growth: Possess a strong desire for personal and professional growth, continually striving to expand knowledge and skills within the medical field.Essay Requirement: Submit a thoughtful essay of under 1000 words in response to the prompt, "Describe a significant challenge currently faced by the healthcare industry and propose an innovative solution to address it effectively."Problem-Solving Skills: Demonstrate a creative and resourceful approach to problem-solving, showcasing the ability to tackle complex issues within the healthcare sector.Supporting Aspirations and Inspiring ChangeThe Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors not only provides financial support but also recognizes the potential of aspiring physicians to drive transformative change within the medical field. The scholarship is open to all eligible students who meet the criteria and encourages diversity and inclusivity to foster a dynamic community of future doctors.A Word from Dr. Scott Kamelle"Having dedicated my career to providing exceptional care to women facing gynecologic cancers, I am thrilled to launch the Scholarship for Future Doctors. Through this initiative, we aim to empower aspiring medical professionals to pursue their dreams and create a lasting impact on healthcare. I believe that by nurturing young talent and inspiring innovative thinking, we can revolutionize the medical landscape and enhance patient care." How to ApplyInterested applicants can apply for the Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors through the official website: https://drscottkamellescholarship.com/ . The application process requires the submission of academic transcripts, a resume, the essay response to the prompt, and any relevant supporting documents. The deadline for submissions is [Date].About Dr. Scott KamelleDr. Scott Kamelle is an esteemed Gynecologic Oncologist and the Director of Gyn Oncology at Aurora Healthcare in Milwaukee. He pursued his medical journey at the University of California, Berkeley, Boston University School of Medicine, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kamelle further specialized in Gynecologic Oncology through a fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Throughout his career, he has held esteemed positions, including practicing in Chicago and being an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine. Dr. Kamelle's dedication to improving healthcare systems and patient care has been recognized through numerous awards and accolades.About the Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors: The Dr. Scott Kamelle Scholarship for Future Doctors is a prestigious scholarship program aimed at empowering talented and passionate individuals pursuing a career in medicine. The scholarship seeks to recognize academic excellence, commitment to medicine, and problem-solving skills among aspiring physicians. Driven by Dr. Scott Kamelle's vision, the scholarship aims to nurture a community of dedicated individuals who will make significant contributions to the field of medicine and improve patient care. For more information and to apply, visit https://drscottkamellescholarship.com/ Contact Info:Spokesperson: Dr. Scott KamelleOrganization: Dr. Scott Kamelle ScholarshipWebsite: https://drscottkamellescholarship.com/ Email: apply@ drscottkamellescholarship.com SOURCE: Dr Scott Kamelle Scholarship
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NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until October 2, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE:RTX), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 8, 2021 and July 25, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of RTX and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-rtx/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by October 2, 2023.About the LawsuitRTX and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.The alleged false and misleading statements and omissions include, but are not limited to, that: (i) the Company's Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine that powers hundreds of aircraft across many airlines had been affected by a quality control issue from at least 2015-2020; (ii) the quality control issue would require the Company to recall and reinspect many of its GTF airplanes, affecting customers and harming its business; and (iii) as a result, RTX's statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.The case is Peneycad v. RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation, et al., No. 23-cv-01035.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/ Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
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Proxymity, in partnership with Computershare and Citi, now provides the South African market with the unprecedented ability to leverage golden source data, delivering investor communications in real-time and error-free, throughout the entire chain of ownership.LONDON, ENGLAND / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Proxymity, the leading digital investor communications platform, announced today the successful go-live of its digital proxy voting service, Proxymity Vote Connect, in South Africa. In collaboration with Computershare and Citi, Proxymity now provides the South African market with the unprecedented ability to leverage golden source data, delivering investor communications in real-time and error-free, throughout the entire chain of ownership. This proven technology has already been adopted in several markets. In the UK, over 65% of FTSE 100 are connected to Proxymity and are benefiting from improved connections with their investors.Proxymity LogoProxymity Logo The introduction of digital end-to-end institutional investor communications is a first in the South African market, facilitating global connectivity both into and out of the country for international issuers and investors alike. Proxymity Vote Connect Total was conceived in response to the increasing demand from issuers, intermediaries and investors for heightened transparency and improved engagement. The platform offers a direct connection between all parties, enhancing transparency and efficiency across the board.The benefits for all connected parties are substantial. Issuers can now take control of the notification received by their investors, receive votes earlier and engage with investors more efficiently. Whilst their shareholders can now benefit from more time to research, cast votes up until the market deadline and receive confirmation that their vote was cast at the meeting.Clients of Citi and Computershare in South Africa can now harness the power of Proxymity's digital platform. They can now benefit from the improved communication platform that addresses the shortcomings of traditional, often paper, or Excel-file-based voting channels both globally and in South Africa.The use of Proxymity Vote Connect Total can help companies adopt global best stewardship practices, including compliance standards and direct connections to global libraries and Institutional Shareholder Services, fostering trust and confidence within the investment communityDean Little, Co-Founder and CEO, Proxymity, said: "We are pleased to be able to translate our long-standing and global collaborations with Computershare and Citi to the South African market. Investors and issuers alike will benefit from our tested and trusted technology, which will provide unrivalled transparency while stimulating investment in the country. Launching Proxymity Vote Connect Total in this market is a significant step in our mission to reinvent investor communications globally." Masha Maharaj, Citi Securities Services Head: Sub Sahara Africa: "The extension of the Proxymity into South Africa is an example of Citi's continued efforts to leverage innovation to improve client experience. The collaboration with Proxymity and Computershare enables our South African clients to benefit from a more streamlined and transparent digital investor experience." Bennie van der Westhuizen, CEO, Computershare ZA: "The use of data and market intelligence in investor relations can help issuers create effective shareholder engagement strategies that reach as many holders as possible. Proxymity and Computershare's connectivity service enables investors to begin submitting real-time voting instructions to Computershare by more than a week before an AGM takes place, enabling issuers to facilitate more meaningful conversations between their shareholders, investor relations teams and boards, increasing shareholder input and improving governance." ==ENDS==About ProxymityAdopted by over 65% of FTSE 100 companies, Proxymity connects the world's ecosystem of issuers, intermediaries, and investors digitally in real-time, bringing unprecedented transparency, efficiency, and accuracy to traditional paper-based processes. Trusted by the world's largest financial institutions, it is the leading digital investor communications platform, serving over 25 markets world-wide. Proxymity's ground-breaking technology has also been recognised industry-wide, with recent awards including FSTech's "Most Disruptive Technology in the FinTech Sector" and GC Magazine's "FinTech of the Year (Asia) 2023".Our solutions give public companies confidence that their AGM/EGM agendas are transmitted as "golden source" and provide institutional investors with the time to research and vote on corporate decisions, as well as actual digital confirmation that their votes have been received. The digital-native platform, built on highly scalable technology, provides full compliance with the latest regulations such as the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II).Proxymity promotes enhanced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) by improving communication between issuers and investors while making it easier for intermediaries to provide efficient, timely and compliant client service.The company is backed by a global consortium of the industry's most influential financial institutions, representing seven of the world's top ten Global Custodians managing over $200 trillion in assets under custody (BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Borse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Mediant, State Street).For more information, visit www.proxymity.io About CitiCiti is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in nearly 160 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services.Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi About ComputershareComputershare is a global market leader in transfer agency and share registration, employee equity plans, mortgage servicing, proxy solicitation and stakeholder communications. We also specialise in corporate trust, bankruptcy, class action and a range of other diversified financial and governance services.Founded in 1978, Computershare is renowned for its expertise in high-integrity data management%
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Nova Leap Health Corp., North Arrow Minerals Inc., and Green River Gold Corp. discussing their latest news.The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.Nova Leap Health Corp. Posts Q2 2023 Results Including Record Adjusted EBITDANOVA LEAP HEALTH CORP. (TSXV:NLH), a growing home health care organization, is pleased to announce the release of financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.For the full interview with Nova Leap Health's President and CEO, Chris Dobbin and to learn more about their news, click here.North Arrow Confirms Four Spodumene Pegmatites at LDG Project, NT Drilling Planned to Start in AugustNorth Arrow Minerals Inc. (TSXV:NAR) is pleased to report it has confirmed at least four spodumene pegmatites at the company's 100% owned LDG Property, Northwest Territories.For the full interview with North Arrow Minerals CEO and Director, Ken Armstrong and to learn more about their news, click here.Green River Gold Reports Assay Results from the Quesnel Nickel Project, and Intersects Nickel, Magnesium, Cobalt, and Chromium Beginning at the Bedrock Surface for the 47th Consecutive HoleGreen River Gold Corp. (CSE:CCR)(OTC Pink:CCRRF) is pleased to announce the receipt of assay results for drill holes WK-23-02 and WK-23-03 from MSA Labs, Langley, B.C.For the full interview with Green River Gold's CEO Perry Little and to learn more about their latest news, click here.Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald.About The Market HeraldThe Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write stories that move the Canadian capital markets.DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca . Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website ( themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.CONTACT:The Market Heraldmarketing@ themarketherald.ca SOURCE: The Market Herald
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CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Touchstone Exploration Inc. ("Touchstone", "we", "our", "us" or the "Company") (TSX:TXP)(LSE:TXP) reports its operating and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023.Selected information is outlined below and should be read in conjunction with our June 30, 2023 unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's discussion and analysis, both of which will be available under our profile on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com) and on our website ( www.touchstoneexploration.com) . Unless otherwise stated, all financial amounts herein are rounded to thousands of United States dollars.Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:"I am pleased to provide an update on our financial and operational results for the second quarter of the 2023 financial year. The results come as we continue to focus our efforts on the commissioning of the Cascadura facility and completing production testing at Royston-1X. We look forward to providing shareholders with further updates in the near term." Second Quarter 2023 Financial and Operational HighlightsAchieved quarterly production average volumes of 1,827 boe/d, representing a 29 percent increase relative to the 1,420 boe/d produced in the prior year equivalent quarter.Natural gas production from our Coho-1 well averaged net volumes of 4.2 MMcf/d (703 boe/d) in the quarter and contributed $811,000 of net natural gas sales at an average realized price of $2.11/ Mcf.Realized petroleum and natural gas sales of $7,181,000 compared to $12,596,000 in the 2022 comparative quarter, as $811,000 in net natural gas sales were offset by decreased crude oil sales of $6,226,000, reflecting a 36 percent decline in realized crude oil pricing and a 21 percent decrease in crude oil production.Generated an operating netback of $2,826,000, representing a 51 percent decrease from the 2022 equivalent quarter primarily attributed to the 43 percent decline in petroleum and natural gas sales.Reported funds flow from operations of $6,000 in the quarter compared to $803,000 in the preceding quarter and $1,150,000 in the prior year equivalent quarter.Recognized a net loss of $71,000 ($0.00 per basic share) and comprehensive income of $136,000 in the quarter compared to a net loss of $262,000 ($0.00 per basic share) and a comprehensive loss of $529,000 reported in the same period of 2022.$5,135,000 in quarterly capital investments primarily focused on expenditures related to the construction of the Cascadura natural gas and liquids facility and two Royston-1X production tests.Amended our Trinidad based loan agreement in May 2023, allowing for an additional $7 million revolving loan component that was fully drawn in June 2023 to provide liquidity while we complete construction of the Cascadura facility.Exited the quarter with a cash balance of $10,138,000, a bank debt principal balance of $31,000,000 and a net debt position of $28,913,000.Financial and Operating Results SummaryThree months endedJune 30, Six months endedJune 30, 2023 2022 %change 2023 2022 %change Operational Average daily production Crude oil(1) (bbls/d)1,124 1,420 (21) 1,204 1,408 (14)Natural gas(1) (Mcf/d)4,215 - n/a 4,667 - n/aAverage daily production (boe/d)(2)1,827 1,420 29 1,982 1,408 41 Average realized prices(3) Crude oil(1) ($/bbl)62.26 97.48 (36 63.64 90.61 (30)Natural gas(1) ($/Mcf)2.11 - n/a 2.12 - n/aRealized commodity price ($/boe)(2)43.19 97.48 (56) 43.64 90.61 (52) Production mix (% of production) Crude oil(1)62 100 61 100 Natural gas(1)38 - 39 - Operating netback ($/boe)(2) Realized commodity price(3)43.19 97.48 (56) 43.64 90.61 (52)Royalties(3)(12.94) (34.97) (63) (12.98) (31.80) (59)Operating expenses(3)(13.25) (17.52) (24) (12.61) (17.35) (27)Operating netback(3)17.00 44.99 (62) 18.05 41.46 (56) Financial ($000's except per share amounts) Petroleum and natural gas sales7,181 12,596 (43) 15,657 23,092 (32) Cash from operating activities2,975 3,533 (16) 3,888 3,883 - Funds flow from operations6 1,150 (99) 809 2,593 (69) Net loss(71) (262) (73) (350) (498) (30)Per share - basic and diluted(0.00) (0.00) - (0.00) (0.00) - Exploration capital expenditures4,795 2,932 64 13,545 4,806 182Development capital expenditures340 436 (22) 609 1,116 (45)Capital expenditures(3)5,135 3,368 52 14,154 5,922 139 Working capital deficit (surplus)(3) 10,913 (346) n/aPrincipal long-term bank debt 18,000 24,000 (25)Net debt(3) - end of period 28,913 23,654 22 Share Information (000's) Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted233,144 212,204 10 233,091 211,517 10Outstanding shares - end of period 233,428 212,275 10 Notes:In the table above and elsewhere in this news release, references to "crude oil" refer to light and medium crude oil and heavy crude oil product types combined and references to "natural gas" refer to conventional natural gas, all as defined in National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101"). Refer to "Advisories -Product Type Disclosures" for further information.In the table above and elsewhere in this news release, references to "boe" mean barrels of oil equivalent that are calculated using the energy equivalent conversion method. Refer to "Advisories - Oil and Natural Gas Measures" for further information.Non-GAAP financial measure. See "Advisories - Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for further information.Touchstone Exploration Inc.Touchstone Exploration Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company engaged in the business of acquiring interests in petroleum and natural gas rights and the exploration, development, production and sale of petroleum and natural gas. Touchstone is currently active in onshore properties located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Company's common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "TXP".For further information about Touchstone, please visit our website at www.touchstoneexploration.com or contact:Mr. Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive OfficerMr. Scott Budau, Chief Financial OfficerMr. James Shipka, Chief Operating OfficerTelephone: 403.750.4487AdvisoriesForward-Looking StatementsCertain information provided in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, witho
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / The future of social trading has arrived with the electrifying launch of iCopyTrading.co.uk . Seamlessly merging innovation and intelligence, iCopyTrading.co.uk reshapes the landscape of trading on the cTrader Copy platform, propelling traders toward unprecedented success.The financial realm has witnessed an evolutionary leap with the emergence of social trading platforms, allowing traders to engage, collaborate, and replicate winning strategies. iCopyTrading.co.uk takes this concept to soaring heights, unfurling an immersive platform that empowers traders to unearth, assess, and trail the industry's finest.Highlighted hallmarks of iCopyTrading.co.uk encompass:Revolutionary Trader Evaluation System: Harnessing the power of an avant-garde algorithm, iCopyTrading.co.uk assesses traders based on multifaceted parameters including performance dynamics, risk resilience, unwavering consistency, and strategic prowess. Discerning traders can now identify virtuoso traders with precision.Immersive Trader Profiles: Unveiling intricate trader profiles, iCopyTrading.co.uk serves as a virtual window into each trader's journey, affording a panoramic view of trading history, performance metrics, risk appetite, and stylistic finesse. Prospective followers are now equipped to make enlightened choices, ensuring every step is strategically calibrated.Live Performance Vigilance: Through real-time monitoring, iCopyTrading.co.uk keeps traders on the pulse of every strategic move, empowering followers to stay agile and informed amidst rapidly shifting market conditions. Evolving with the market becomes a reality, not a mere aspiration.Tailored Copy Settings: Diversity finds its zenith with iCopyTrading.co.uk , as traders sculpt their trading journey with tailored copy settings. Seasoned or novice, the platform caters to the unique preferences and aspirations of every trader.Knowledge Hub: Beyond a revolutionary platform, iCopyTrading.co.uk evolves into an unparalleled hub of wisdom, ushering traders through insightful tutorials, resources, and thought leadership. Empowerment takes center stage, elevating traders' proficiency and confidence.Captivating attention with these monumental features, Mr. John Smith, CEO of iCopyTrading.co.uk , expressed his enthusiasm, " iCopyTrading.co.uk represents more than a platform; it's a transformational journey. We've engineered an ecosystem that empowers traders, fostering growth, and propelling them toward their financial aspirations. It's exhilarating to be at the helm of such innovation." To commemorate its groundbreaking launch, iCopyTrading.co.uk unfurls a limited-time celebration, granting access to exclusive privileges. Traders seeking to redefine their cTrader Copy experience are summoned to www.iCopyTrading.co.uk to bask in the revelry of information and enrollment.For media inquiries, please reach out to:Robert J. CaponeMedia Relationscapone@ icopytrading.co.uk +46122012442About iCopyTrading.co.uk: iCopyTrading.co.uk stands as a testament to the pioneering spirit, revolutionizing the social trading landscape on the cTrader Copy platform. By orchestrating a symphony of innovation, intelligence, and empowerment, iCopyTrading.co.uk propels traders toward unmatched heights of success.About iCT5000x:iCT5000x is iCopyTrading's most successful trading strategy and is officially released on the cTrader Copy platform for anyone to copy. For more information about it, just sign up on https://iCopyTrade.co.uk SOURCE: iCopyTrade
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BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, a high-concept "rock spectacle", has released their new single "Keep My Head". The single and accompanying music video have already hit viral status and become another popular hit in their discography. This comes as the second viral music video the band has released with the first being "Goth Beach" back in 2022. The single released on July 22nd and was received warmly among their fanbase.Photo Credit: Jon Beckley The band offers a diverse collection of aesthetics and experiences that fans enjoy. Boston Survival Guide has described Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys as "musically sophisticated and immensely talented, wildly unusual and diverse in material and presentation, a Dada-esque circus carnival run amuck, and just plain good not-always-so-clean' fun." The band has eight members that all bring their own flavor to the experimental, niche style: Walter Alice Sickert, Mary Widow, Rachel Jayson, Mike Leggio, Matt Zappa, Brother Bones, jojo lazar, and Edrie."Keep My Head"'s music video displays the band's characteristic charm and the unconventional arsenal of tools they use in their musical presentation, such as a glockenspiel, mandolin, and even broken toys. The music video hit thousands of views overnight, and the song has been streamed over 450,000 times."Creating Keep My Head' was like weaving a spell, infusing every note and lyric with the enchanting essence of our collective imagination," says lead vocalist Walter Alice Sickert. "The song is a portal into our world, a high-voltage invitation for listeners to journey with us through the tapestry of sound and emotion. Just as we broke the mold with 'Goth Beach,' this single is a sonic kaleidoscope that dares to challenge conventions and transport us to uncharted sonic landscapes." The success of "Keep My Head" provides the band with the confidence needed to persist in their harmonious blend of "musical alchemy" and the art of performance. Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys aspires to consistently uphold this streak of achievement through their upcoming releases with the aim of expanding their community of fervent listeners. The music video "Keep My Head" is live on the band's YouTube channel, and the track is available for streaming on both Bandcamp and Spotify.ABOUT WALTER SICKERT & THE ARMY OF BROKEN TOYSBased out of Boston, Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys is a high concept rock band that thrives in their own signature genre that's a combination of Rock, Goth, and Punk. All eight members bring their own flavor to the band's carnival infused, Dada-esque performance art that has awarded them with numerous viral hits online. Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys' latest single "Keep My Head" released on July 22, 2023 and has added another notch of success to the band's spike studded belt.To learn more, follow the band online at armyoftoys.com , or contact:Samantha Bryan, Production and Tour Managersam@ armyoftoys.com +1 617-477-7540Instagram: @armyoftoysBandcamp: https://armyoftoys.bandcamp.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/armyoftoys/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WalterSickertandArmyofToys/ SOURCE: WALTER SICKERT & THE ARMY OF BROKEN TOYS
A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has withdrawn his interest in being part of President Bola Tinubus cabinet, PREMIUM TIMES can exclusively report.

Presidency sources said Mr El-Rufai told President Tinubu at a meeting on Tuesday that he was no longer interested in becoming a minister but would continue to contribute his quota to the development of Nigeria as a private citizen.

He also told the president that he needed time to focus on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands, one of our sources said.

Another insider also told this medium that the former governor suggested a new ministerial nominee  Jafaru Ibrahim Sani  for Kaduna State, saying the President would find him very useful and resourceful.

Mr Sani served as commissioner in three ministries in Kaduna State (Local Government Education and Environment) while Mr El-Rufai was governor.

Mr El-Rufai visited the President at the presidential villa a day after the Senate confirmed 45 ministerial nominees after a week-long screening of 48 of them.

The upper legislative chamber, however, withheld his confirmation and those of two others, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.

The two others were a former senator from Taraba, Sani Danladi, and a nominee from Delta State, Stella Okotete.

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Our sources said on becoming aware of the Senate pronouncement on his case, Mr El-Rufai, who only returned to Nigeria from London on Monday, sought and got an appointment to meet the president.

At the meeting on Tuesday afternoon, President Tinubu, according to our sources, told the former governor he received some petitions critical of his ministerial nomination.

The president then asked for 24 hours grace to review the petitions and the SSS report to the Senate to enable him to reach a decision.

It was at that point that Mr El-Rufai responded that he was no longer interested in being minister since it appeared some forces around the president were scheming intensely to block his emergence as federal minister.

Mr El-Rufai had disclosed during his confirmation hearing on 1 August that Mr Tinubu asked him to work with him on the power problem facing the country.

According to him, the President had given a target of seven years for Nigeria to stop experiencing power outages in the country.

At the Tuesday meeting, Mr El-Rufai also reportedly told the President that since he would no longer be in the federal executive council, he would return the next day with his team to present the preliminary work done so far on the energy sector.

The team that accompanied the former governor to make presentations to the president on Wednesday includes Eyo Ekpo, a former commissioner at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); Hafiz Bayero, a former commissioner and administrator of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority; Tolu Oyekan of the Boston Consulting Group and Ayodele Oni, a lawyer.

Olu Verheijen, the special adviser to the President on Energy Matters, presented on Gas.

Mr El-Rufai is studying for a doctorate in public policy at the United Nations University, Maastricht.

His associates say as he prepared to leave office as governor in May this year, he had indicated his desire to exit public life and concentrate on his PhD programme.

But that was until then President-elect Tinubu asked him to join his cabinet so he could charge him with the responsibility of repositioning the inefficient power sector in Africas largest economy.

It is unclear what suddenly went wrong between the two men such that an agency of government would block Mr El-Rufais ministerial nomination without the president lifting a finger.

When contacted, Muyiwa Adekeye, the media adviser to Mr El-Rufai, declined to comment for this story.

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Each serving senator received not less than N2 million as allowance before proceeding on seven weeks of vacation, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

A senator who requested not to be named because he was not authorised by the upper house to speak on the matter confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that all the 109 senators were paid the allowance for the holidays, which commenced on Monday and ends on 26 September.

A calculation done by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the senators were paid a total of N218 million, having received N2 million each to enjoy the vacation.

The bank alerts were received by the senators on 8 August, just before the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced it.

Announcing the largesse

Mr Akpabio, on Monday, told the senators that some money had been credited to their accounts to enjoy their holidays.

In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly, he said shortly after screening and confirming the ministerial nominees.

The senate president was immediately informed by his colleagues that he was speaking on live television.

Upon realising the seriousness of his remarks, he quickly announced its withdrawal and rephrased his statement, saying that the senate president sent prayers to the mailboxes of the senators.

I withdraw that statement. In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.

More for presiding officers?

It is not clear if the presiding officers, namely the senate president and the deputy senate president, also got N2 million each going by the difference in salaries and allowances they earn and those of the other senators in the remuneration package approved by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Also, it is expected that the principal officers would earn higher allowances than their colleagues.

There are eight principal officers, with the majority party, APC, having four and the minority, comprising the six opposition parties, also having four.

The principal officers are the senate leader, deputy senate leader, chief whip and deputy chief whip.

There are also minority leader, deputy minority leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip.

Illegal token for senators

The N2 million allowance given to the senators is illegal as no such provision is made in the remuneration package approved by RMAFC, the body authorised by law to prepare salaries and allowances for public servants.

There is also no provision for token in the commissions document, as stated by Mr Akpabio while announcing the largesse to the senators.

The lawmakers are, however, entitled to recess allowance under the law, which is 10 per cent of the annual basic salary of each legislator, and is paid once a year.

According to the package prepared by RMAFC, a senator earns N2,026,400 and therefore gets N202,240 as a recess allowance per annum.

The basic salary of the senate president per annum is N2,483,242, and therefore receives N248,424 as recess allowance.

On his part, the deputy senate president earns N2,309,166, and his recess allowance is N230,916.

N70bn support  for lawmakers working conditions

There are speculations the N2 million each of the senators got was drawn from the N70 billion allocated to the National Assembly in the amended 2022 supplementary budget.

President Bola Tinubu had in June proposed the allocation in the Supplementary budget to support the working conditions of new members. It was immediately approved by the lawmakers.

The fresh allocation came despite the huge allocation of N228.1 billion to the National Assembly in the 2023 budget. The figure was an increase of about N59.1 billion from N169 billion proposed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in the budget.

Akpabios gaffes and public outrage on Senators

The announcement by Mr Akpabio that senators had been paid a token stirred anger and outrage from Nigerians, considering the hardship many are going through as a result of the removal of petroleum subsidy.

Many Nigerians have also questioned the ability of the Akpabio-led senate to fight corruption and assist in developing the countrys economy.

But it was not the first time the senate president will make such a gaffe.

Last month, he was filmed on live trivialising Let The Poor Breathe, a phrase commonly used to criticise the hardship Nigerians are currently going through.

But in a statement, Mr Akpabio explained it was not intentional to insult the people, adding that he was not unaware of the hardship Nigerians were facing.

He said the motive behind Let The Poor Breathe was to firmly reject any plan of increasing electricity tariffs for Nigerians, considering the ongoing economic challenges that Nigerians are faced with.

We are deeply concerned about the negative tilting of a very harmless statement by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, about his deep concern and that of the Senate on the plight of the ordinary Nigerians as a result of the prevailing economic situation in the country, the statement by the media unit of the office of the Senate president

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Google for Education Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand Paul Hutchings (R) hands over Google for Education's commitment to Vice Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Duong Anh Duc at a meeting in HCMC, Aug. 9, 2023. Photo by VNA

Google for Education Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand Paul Hutchings underlined its interest to seek cooperation opportunities with HCMC at a meeting this week.

Holding that this is the best time for the city to speed up digital transformation, Hutchings said that the two sides have great cooperation potential in this field and promote the growth of the local education sector.

He thanked the city for accompanying with and supporting Google during the implementation of its program to support education development in the city, expressing his belief that the two sides will work together to build a new technology-using strategy, thus creating an ecosystem to optimize the potential of students and teachers.

He said in the future, Google will introduce the Chromebooks solution in Vietnam, and commit itself to providing an ecosystem of education technology including technology and AI applications and achievements for education.

Google hopes to introduce its latest and most advanced solutions and make contributions to the growth of the digital economy of the city in particular and Vietnam in general, especially in the fields of human resources training, he said at the meeting in HCMC Wednesday.

HCMC's Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc said that the city pays special attention to high-quality human resources training serving digital transformation process, and hopes to build a development foundation basing on science, technology and AI.

The city highly values Google's engagement in education sector, he said, stressing that IT solutions will be an effective tool for enhancing the quality of vocational and tertiary training.

Duc expressed his belief that the two sides will work more efficiently for the growth of the education sector, adding the city hopes for Google's assistance in building criteria and standards for technology access for students and designing a training program for lecturers.

Google for Education made its official commitment to HCMC and introduced AI Education - its partner company in Vietnam - to implement joint action plans.

Accordingly, AI Education will conduct free consultation and support programs on the implementation of Workspace for Education for the whole city, while training personnel on system management of Workspace for Education services. It will develop and implement a training plan for information technology administrators, along with training plans for local teachers and provide Google's international standard training programs in the field of digital skills and AI skills.
France and Mali stopped giving visas to each others citizens, as tensions between the two former allies have grown, Le Monde reports.

According to the French daily, the French embassy in the capital of Mali, Bamako, stopped issuing new visas after Paris added Mali to its list of red zone nations where its residents are strongly discouraged from travelling. In a travel advisory update, the French foreign ministry said In the current context of strong regional tensions, all travel to Mali is strongly not advised. French citizens in Mali are urged to show the greatest vigilance.

In reciprocity, the junta in Mali responded by halting the issuance of new visas to French citizens at its embassy in Paris, according to the Malian foreign ministry.

According to the French online visa service provider Capago, the French embassys reorganisation of services as a result of the higher security classification has rendered it unable to issue visas until further notice.

In a context of strong regional tensions, Mali has been classified as a red zone by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. This modification leads to a reorganisation of the services of the French Embassy in Bamako, which will therefore no longer be able to issue visas until further notice. Therefore, we inform you that the visa centre and the Capago call centre are closed, the statement reads.

Malis foreign ministry said that it had learned of the reclassification with surprise in a statement posted to social media.

Relations between France and Mali deteriorated following the militarys takeover of Bamako in 2020 and the removal of elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita reportedly due to his failures to quell a brutal insurgency.

In a phased pullout that finished in 2022, France started to withdraw its anti-militant troops as the conflict grew worse and the junta enlisted the help of Russian paramilitaries.

Malis junta then imposed a ban on the operations of NGOs funded or supported by France, including aid organisations, as tensions between Paris and Bamako grew. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, the countrys interim prime minister, defended the action in a statement on social media, claiming it was in retaliation for Frances recent suspension of development assistance for Mali.

Meanwhile, an uptick in regional tensions brought on by a coup on July 26 in Niger, a crucial French ally, has coincided with the bilateral dispute.

French visa issuance has also been banned in Burkina Faso, another former Sahelian ally that had two coups in 2022, according to the Capago website.

In January 2013, after sending troops to combat militants in the nations north, France was hailed as a hero in Mali. Nine years later, the insurgency has gotten worse and many Malians are cheering Frances departure.

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The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, said they have killed three suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imufu, a community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement on Thursday, said the suspects were behind the killing of two personnel of the Neighbourhood Watch Group on 21 August in Umuagama, Enugu-Ezike, another community in the council area.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the gunmen were killed Thursday morning when a team of police operatives serving in the council area raided a camp belonging to the IPOB and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.

The police spokesperson said, on arrival at the camp, the suspects engaged the police operatives in a shoot-out.

However, three of the hoodlums were neutralised in the ensuing gunfight, while many others escaped with varying degrees of severe gunshot wounds, he said.

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Mr Ndukwe said preliminary investigation further revealed that the gunmen had made several attempts to enforce the illegal sit-at-home order in some parts of the council area.

The illegal order is usually enforced by a faction of the IPOB, believed to be led by a Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa.

Four pump action guns, one locally fabricated revolver gun, a pistol, six live cartridges, military camouflage uniforms, fabrics of IPOB insignia, and objects suspected to be amulets were among the items recovered by the gunmen, according to the police.

The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, has reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the police to rid out unrepentant criminals in the state, Mr Ndukwe said.

Mr Ammani lauded the operatives for successfully executing the operation just as he charged them and others to remain firm, resilient and maintain the tempo of crime fighting in the state.

The police commissioner appealed to residents of the state, particularly owners of medical facilities in the council area, to support the police by promptly reporting individuals seen with gunshot wounds for immediate action.

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The United States would hold the junta that took power in Niger Republic accountable for the safety of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and detained members of the government.

The United States joins the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in calling for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The United States recently paused certain foreign assistance programmes for Niger after the military junta overthrew the democratically elected president.

West Africas regional bloc on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force for possible use against the junta that took power in Niger in July.

It said it wanted a peaceful restoration of democracy but all options, including force, were on the table.

According to Mr Blinken, the United States appreciates the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The threat of an invasion, though not specific, raises tensions in and around Niger, a uranium producer that until the coup, was an important ally of the West in the fight against Islamist insurgents devastating the Sahel region.

The junta, which seized power on 26 July, had defied a 6 August deadline to stand down set by ECOWAS, instead closing Nigers airspace and vowing to defend the country against any foreign attack.

The bloc pledged to enforce sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on those preventing the return to power of Bazoum.

(Reuters/NAN)

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The President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Mahamat, has expressed his strong support for the ECOWASs decisions on Niger.

The President of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat expresses his strong support for ECOWAS decisions on anti-constitutional change in Niger, AU said in a press statement.

ECOWAS on Thursday at the second emergency meeting held to discuss Niger called on AU to endorse all the decisions it has taken on Niger.

The continental bloc of African states had initially given a 15-day ultimatum to putschists in Niger to restore constitutional order. The ultimatum expires tomorrow.

The junta also denied a joint team of AU, ECOWAS and UN the chance to meet with the putschists.

Mr Mahamat condemned the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family, describing it as illegal kidnapping and unacceptable.

The President of the commission challenges the military authorities on the urgency of stopping the escalation with the regional organisation, mistrust of it and the continuation of the kidnapping of the President in worryingly deteriorating conditions, the statement said.

He called for the immediate release of Mr Bazoum and all members of his family and government.

ECOWAS on Thursday authorised the immediate deployment of its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.

However, at the same meeting, Nigerias President and ECOWAS Chair Bola Tinubu appealed to his colleagues to continue to dialogue with the coup leaders. However, ECOWAS ordered the activation and deployment of its standby force, while negotiations continue.

Many Nigerians, including the parliament, have advocated the use of diplomacy as against the use of force.

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The Defence Headquarters says Nigerian troops have, in the last week, killed 38 terrorists, apprehended 242 others and rescued 89 kidnapped hostages in different operations across the country.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Buba, a brigadier general, said the apprehended suspects comprised 175 gunmen/criminals, 20 kidnappers, 30 collaborators and 17 pipeline vandals.

He said the troops denied the oil theft saboteurs N607 million being the value of seizures as well as recovery of 38 assorted weapons and 186 ammunition.

Giving the breakdown, Mr Buba said the troops recovered 14 AK 47 rifles, one G3 rifle, one PKT, three AK47 rifles loaded with 23 rounds of 7.62mm special, one SMG, 10 dane guns and five locally-fabricated pistols.

Others, according to him, include two fabricated weapons, two double-barrel guns, one locally-made revolver, three locally-fabricated pistols, 151 rounds of 7.62mm special, five rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 16 rounds of 9mm ammo, 16 rounds 5.56 x 45mm ammo, 5 rounds of 7.62mm special (refilled), 12 AK47 magazines, one G3 rifle magazine, one FN rifle magazine, one magazine containing 30 rounds of 7.62mm special and seven empty cases of 7.62mm special.

Miscellaneous items recovered include; 33 motorcycles, 30 mobile phones, four tricycles, four Motorola HH radios, four vehicles, 10 bags of fertilizers and 73 livestock.

Also recovered are seven cutlasses, one magazine pouch, two solar panels, 10 litres of PMS, a Nigerian police uniform, two gas cylinders, one power bank, one pair of woodland and desert camouflages each.

Troops also recovered the sum of N2.59 million, he said.

In the North-east, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai neutralised 16 terrorists, arrested 53 terrorists and rescued 34 hostages as well as recovered a large cache of arms during the period.

In the North-central, he said, troops of Operations Safe Haven remained relentless in offensive posture against kidnappers and other criminal elements within the operational area.

He said the troops had also within the week killed three terrorists, arrested 13 suspected criminals, and five kidnappers and rescued three kidnapped hostages.

According to him, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke also killed seven terrorists, arrested three suspects and rescued three kidnapped hostages.

In the North West, Buba said troops of Operation Hadarin Daji neutralised five terrorists, arrested eight suspects and rescued nine kidnapped hostages while several terrorists camps were destroyed.

He said the troops of Operation Whirl Punch neutralised five terrorists, arrested 44 collaborators and rescued 15 kidnapped civilians while several weapons with four trucks and four motorcycles amongst other items were recovered.

In the South-south, Mr Buba said that troops of Operation Delta Safe destroyed 39 illegal refining sites, 72 dugout pits, 65 wooden boats, 70 storage tanks and 119 cooking ovens with sundry equipment such as two speedboats, five outboard engines, and four pumping machines.

He added that the troops recovered 1,247,700 litres of stolen crude oil, 132,500 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, 57,450 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosine and 800 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.

In the South-east, he said, troops of Operation UDO KA eliminated two members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network, arrested two, apprehended two trucks loaded with illegally refined AGO and rescued four kidnapped hostages.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria will not back down in its offensive operations aimed at tackling insecurity across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country.

Rather, the military will brutally hunt down the orchestrators and take appropriate actions to hold them accountable for their actions.

The military, while conducting these operations, will continue to take great measures to prevent civilian casualties as protecting civilians remains a vital part of our objective to promote greater security for all Nigerians.

The uncommon cooperation, collaboration and support received from citizens across the country are greatly assisting own operations to yield expected results, he said.

(NAN)

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One of the young Nigerian girls kidnapped in 2014 has been rescued by the Nigerian military, an official has said.

Rebecca Kabu was rescued on 17 July in Cameroon, said Yaminu Musa, a rear admiral and the Coordinator of the Counter Terrorism Centre in the office of the National Security Adviser.

Mr Musa told Nigerias First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, that Rebecca was kidnapped at age 13 in 2014 and is now 22 years old.

He said the returnee has been certified medically and mentally fit to be reunited with her parents in Zana village in Borno State, according to a statement from the office of the First Lady during a visit by Mr Musa and Rebecca to the office.

He said subsequently, the NSA office would follow up and present her case, alongside the 15 other rehabilitated girls that were also rescued, for the federal government to support their education.

Im here to present to you one of those our young ones that were kidnapped in 2014, we are lucky to have one of them back in our midst. Rebecca was kidnapped and abducted from her school in Chibok in 2014 by late Shekau-led Boko Haram.

She was rescued and repatriated from Cameroon on July 17 and has completed intensive medical screening and physiological evaluation over the past two weeks by a team of medical and psychological experts between the office of NSA and the National Intelligent Agency.

Rebecca has been found to be in good health and is psychologically stable; the next step is to hand her over to the Borno state Governor for onward reuniting with her family in Zana, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the kidnap of 277 Chibok girls from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014 during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. More than half of the girls were later rescued with scores of them still unaccounted for.

They were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terror group which was then led by Abubakar Shekau, who was later killed by a rival terror group.

In her response to Fridays visit, Mrs Tinubu was quoted as saying that she was committed to ensuring Rebecca gets all the support she needs including furthering her education.

Rebecca will be our first comeback story and returnee, she is our first fruit; she is a case I am quite interested in to see that she can go back to school at her own pace, she said.

In her response to the First Lady, Rebecca was quoted as saying that she could barely understand English Language.

Read the full statement by Busola Kukoyi, the Special Adviser on Media to Mrs Tinubu below.

The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON on Friday at the presidential villa, Abuja, received Rebecca Kabu, one of the 277 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in 2014.

The First Lady who received Rebecca along with the Wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, promised to ensure that Rebecca is well taken care of medically and fit to return to school willingly.

Senator OluRemi Tinubu while assuring that the remaining girls in captivity are not forgotten, appreciated the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and other security agencies and those who were involved in Rebeccas rescue.

Our dear daughter, Rebecca, I welcome you, Ive been praying for you all night, it is well with you, what has happened to her is much trauma; words are inadequate for me to describe it.

Cases of amnesia should be treated; it is difficult to get by, but since you are still here, God has plans for you. I thank the office of the NSA and NIA for not relenting and everyone that is assisting in her rehabilitation.

Rebecca will be our first comeback story and returnee, she is our first fruit; she is a case I am quite interested in to see that she can go back to school at her own pace.

The First Lady said her NGO, Renewed Hope Initiative, is strongly working on how mature girls who are forced out of school can return to school for quality education.

She promised that Rebecca will be one of the first recipients of her benevolence.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu said the younger ones, if well educated, would be able to fit into society and inherit the good legacies the older ones are leaving behind.

Earlier, I talked to the NSA representative about cases of alternative high schools where girls like Rebecca can go back and learn at their pace because education is important for her and others.

They need education as tool for the marketplace, to be able to understand and manage the inheritance and legacies that shall be handed to them.

We pray and continue to pray that all our children that are still with Boko Haram will come back home, we are waiting in earnest, we have not given up hope, I am sure that by the time she is reunited with her parents, she will be glad.

With the governor waiting for her, she is in good hands, the first lady said.

Responding, Rebecca, in her low voice, told the first lady that she could barely understand English Language, but the first lady condoled her, saying that she would overcome it.

Earlier, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa, the Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre, NSA, said Rebecca, kidnapped at age 13 in 2014 and now 22 years old, was rescued by the government security agencies on July 17.

He said the returnee has been certified medically and mentally fit to be reunited with her parents in Zana village in Borno state.

He said subsequently, the NSA office would follow up and present her case alongside the 15 other rehabilitated girls that were also rescued for Federal Government education support.

Im here to present to you one of those our young ones that were kidnapped in 2014, we are lucky to have one of them back in our midst. Rebecca was kidnapped and abducted from her school in Chibok in 2014 by late Shekarau-led Boko Haram.

She was rescued and repatriated from Cameroon on July 17 and has completed intensive medical screening and physiological evaluation over the past two weeks by a team of medical and psychological experts between the office of NSA and the National Intelligent Agency.

Rebecca has been found to be in good health and is psychologically stable; the next step is to hand her over to the Borno state Governor for onward reuniting with her family in Zana.

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What Young People Want, a massive survey project undertaken by PMNCH  a global alliance for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, hosted by the World Health Organization  today reports interim results through a public dashboard launched on the eve of UN International Youth Day 2023 on 12 August.

The survey asks young people, aged 10-24 to express, in their own words, what they want most for their own well-being, giving voice to many of those who have simply never been asked, including in fragile and low-resource settings.

Among 713,273 respondents between ages 10-24, the top interest expressed by young people (40.5%) is for learning, competency, education, skills and employability (40.5%), reflecting a strong interest in job stability, financial and material security and independence.

This result was reflected across all age groups, particularly among those aged 15-19 (47.2%) and among adolescent girls (49.2%), who frequently cited the need for learning opportunities and quality education.

In 2022, in low- and middle-income countries, learning losses to school closures due to COVID-19 left up to 70 per cent of 10-year-olds unable to read or understand a simple text  up from 53 per cent pre-pandemic.

In parallel, rising conflicts around the world have left many young people unable to engage in the job market, including as a result of low levels of education, physical and psychological conditions, and scarcity of educational and vocational training. Climate change too presents a looming challenge to economic well-being, with an estimated 60% of young people around the world currently lacking necessary skills to support the green transition.

PMNCH aims to obtain responses from a total of at least 1 million young people by October 2023, when it will convene the Global Forum for Adolescents  a virtual gathering and the worlds largest event to date focused on adolescent well-being, powering the 1.8 Young People for Change campaign, launched in October 2022.

Real-time needs from an overlooked population

The survey is based on a simple yet powerful question: To improve my well-being, I want . Young people are asked to use their own words to express their ideas, with the most frequently occurring words chosen by respondents including: education, health school, opportunity, job and access. The most frequent phrases chosen included mental health, good health, good education, reproductive health education, learning opportunity and job opportunity.

Young people in low- and middle-income countries have been among the most affected of our increasingly fragile world, including pandemic disruptions to school-based education, household food insecurity and income scarcity, rising mental health concerns, the cost-of-living crisis, and the deepening impact of climate change.

For those with the right knowledge and tools, youth leaders and influencers can be heard via social media. But for too many others, their voices remain unheard. Those with command of policy and investment tools are left uninformed and unable to access meaningful evidence. What Young People Want seeks to change that.

What Young People Want has empowered us to break the silence and raise our voices for a better future, said Saksham Parimal, a mobilizer for the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign and a policy engagement Fellow at the YP Foundation in Bihar, India.

We no longer feel unheard or overlooked. This campaign has given us the platform to demand action on issues that matter to us and our community. Together, were forging a path towards positive change, ensuring that our health and well-being are prioritized. We are the architects of our future, and with What Young People Want, our dreams are turning into reality, he said.

The survey uses both digital technology and face-to-face outreach through teams of trained youth mobilizers to collect responses on a very large scale.

A WhatsApp-based chatbot allows smartphone users to quick and easily register their responses by scanning a QR code. Non-smartphone users with little or no technology access can register their responses through 1.8 campaign youth mobilizers active at community level in more than 20 participating countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and others.

Once data has been entered, an algorithm rapidly assesses and classifies each response into one of five major domains informed by a conceptual framework on adolescent well-being developed by UN agencies with PMNCH. The framework organizes and classifies various needs of adolescents, assessed through extensive community outreach and research work, and highlights the inter-dependence of health and nutrition, education, safety and security, resilience and positive values in producing well-being.

Key findings

Other common needs and concerns expressed by young people included safety and a supportive environment (cited by 21.2% overall) and good health and optimum nutrition (16.3%).

The youngest survey respondents had specific concerns: The need for safety and a supportive environment was cited by 11.0% of respondents aged 15-19, 8.4% of those aged 20-24, and 1.8% of those aged 10-14. Adolescent boys want clean water and good roads, while adolescent girls added free sanitary pads to the list in addition to clean water.

Overall, nearly half of respondents (47.2%) fell within the range of 15 to 19, comprising 25.7% girls and 21.5% boys.

Among these, the average age is 16, accounting for 13% of total respondents. The youngest group of adolescents (10 years old) was the least represented at 1.2%, while the oldest group of adolescents and youth aged 24 years, accounts for 7.3% of the respondents.

Approximately 1% of respondents identified as transmen, transwomen, gender-fluid, two-spirit, nonbinary, agender, other, or preferred not to say their gender.

More than two-thirds (68.8%) of respondents were from the African region, followed by the South-east Asia region at 27.5%, and a small minority from Latin America. Survey outreach to date has prioritized low- and middle income countries, ensuring that voices less often heard are prioritized. Future outreach will expand to high income countries.

India constituted the largest population of respondents, comprising 17.2% of the total sample. Uganda ranks as the second-largest contributing country, accounting for 12.0%, followed by Indonesia at 10.2%, and Zambia at 8.4%.

Agenda for Action for Adolescents

Results in real-time are available through the What Young People Want Digital Dashboard, enabling users to analyze data and trends by topic, gender, age, and country. The dashboard is an open access public tool for students, young change-makers, national policymakers and journalists seeking to understand and address youth demands at national and global levels. The dashboards data is directly collected from survey responses and not sourced from official country statistics or data sets.

At a global level, PMNCH will roll up the findings from the What Young People Want survey into an Agenda for Action for Adolescents, to be unveiled at the Global Forum for Adolescents on October 11-12, 2023.

The Global Forum for Adolescents will be a key milestone for the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign, bringing together youth and adolescents, advocates, global leaders and decision-makers at a pivotal moment for kickstarting policy shifts and program re-design at the country level, said Helga Fogstad, Executive Director, PMNCH.

Adolescence is a critical stage of development with positive outcomes not only for adolescents but for people of all ages. Ensuring adolescents well-being is critical to the achievement of a sustainable future for all, requiring cross-sectoral approaches that respond to the multi-faceted nature of their development. Effort spent to ensure adolescent well-being today, especially for females, will yield a triple dividend for adolescents now, in their future lives and for generations to come.

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The emir of Zazzau has confirmed that four people died and seven others were injured in a mosque that collapsed in Zaria.

The emir, Ahmed Bamalli, said the victims were observing the Asr prayer around 4 p.m. when the building collapsed on worshippers.

We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque yesterday, and were planning to deploy a team of civil engineers to effect repairs when this unfortunate incident happened.

The emir condoled with the families of the deceased and directed that people pray outside the mosque pending when the mosque would be rebuilt.

The emir directed that the funeral prayer of all the corpses be observed by 8.30 p.m. at the emirs palace on Friday.

A resident who was at the scene of the mosque collapse, Murtala Kwarbai, told PREMIUM TIMES that the building collapsed on worshippers.

ALSO READ : One dead, many rescued as building collapses in Abuja

I was not inside but I was close to the mosque about to join the congregation when the building fell on worshippers.

Some people sustained injuries and about four died.

The Zazzau emirate Jumaat mosque is as old as the emirate itself. It is an ancient mosque where many emirs pray in it. I think the mosque is due for rebuilding, Mr Kwarbai said.

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France has been the most malevolent of colonial powers that is not ready to give up control of its former colonies Its Francafrique policy has been known for its exploitative systems designed to profit from African resources As a result, many African states, including Niger, continue to face poverty and underdevelopment. The time for revolt has come Francophone Africa should however realise that it would be regressing if it sacrifices democracy to the fight against neo-colonialism.

The ECOWAS emergency summit held yesterday started well. Chairman Bola Tinubu, in his opening remarks, called for a focus on the use of diplomatic channels and negotiations for managing the situation at hand. As I was writing this column to commend the new approach of the sub-regional organisation, news broke out that ECOWAS had ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic. The President of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, made the declaration while reading the resolutions of the meeting. He also called on the African Union, partner countries and institutions, to support the resolution taken by the sub-regional body. ECOWAS said that all efforts made to dialogue with the military junta in Niger Republic have been defiantly rejected by the coup leaders, as it condemned the continuous detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family members. It then directed the Committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to immediately activate the ECOWAS standby force, with all its elements, towards restoring constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. The path taken is that of escalation.

Niger Republic has already been hit by the most severe regime of sanctions in the history of the region. Financial transactions have been blocked, the country is very dependent on food imports, especially from Nigeria, and that too has been blocked, as is the case with drugs. The cut of electricity supply from Nigeria, breaking a treaty obligation, has had a devastating effect and hospitals can no longer carry out operations as patients are dying. The long history of fraternal relations between Nigeria and Niger is unravelling fast, and much has happened in this regard within one week.

There is no surprise that a significant part of the public opinion in Niger Republic is upset with Nigeria over the threat of an armed restoration of the democratic order in the country, with the utilisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force for this. The Nigeriens are screaming at the top of their voices that this historical juncture is for the dismantling of French neo-colonialism in their country, and not democracy. There is a rising campaign, significantly facilitated by the Russian Wagner Group, that opposition to military rule is tantamount to supporting French and American imperialism. The narrative is presenting ECOWAS and Nigeria as the new lap dogs of French and American imperialism. Nigeria has not changed its position of support for the protection of democracy on the basis of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. These are our shared values, which Nigeria and ECOWAS are insisting must be respected.

Nigeria may suffer considerably if Niger withdraws its role as a buffer thats keeping out violent extremists from the Sahel. Cooperation with them on the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram would also suffer. I had hoped that the warm reception the putschists offered Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, when he engaged in Track 2 diplomacy on Wednesday, would have opened doors which Nigeria and ECOWAS would have reciprocated by rolling back some of the most severe sanctions affecting the supply of electricity, food and drugs, so that dialogue and the search for a way forward can start in earnest. Reverting to the threat of the use of force will only make them more stubborn. The people in Niger are focusing on the immediate imperative of liberation from the French imperial stranglehold and were expecting their friends and neighbours to be supportive of this aspiration.

Nigeria should be concerned about the orchestrated campaign in the social and traditional media portraying it in a negative light as an agent of France and the United States. The strong presence of French, American and, to a lesser extent, Italian security personnel and assets, including a large US drone base, creates a situation that could easily transform an intervention for the restoration of democracy into a complex proxy war fought out by foreign interests engaged in the new geopolitical repositioning of world powers.

We published an open letter to President Tinubu yesterday pointing out that Nigeria has high stakes on this matter because Niger is a very dear, brotherly and supportive neighbour, and the measures taken should not be allowed to harm the Nigerien people. The cutting off of electricity supply to Niger, breaking a longstanding treaty obligation, may ultimately harm our national interest, especially within the purview of the Kandadji dam currently under construction by the Nigerien government. The apparent rising wave of popular support for the putschists might create a situation in which the role of Nigeria is seen as being at variance with the interest of the Nigerien people and in support of external interests.

Nigeria should be concerned about the orchestrated campaign in the social and traditional media portraying it in a negative light as an agent of France and the United States. The strong presence of French, American and, to a lesser extent, Italian security personnel and assets, including a large US drone base, creates a situation that could easily transform an intervention for the restoration of democracy into a complex proxy war fought out by foreign interests engaged in the new geopolitical repositioning of world powers. In this regard, the current challenges of insecurity around the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry and mass kidnappings, might all be exacerbated as the flow of arms, violent extremism and armed banditry spread and deepen in our sub-region. It is therefore important that as a nation, we align our approach to the restoration of democracy in Niger to our national interests.

In line with Tinubus opening speech yesterday, we should have created conditions for the restoration of Track One, as well as Track Two diplomacy, by making a gesture to the putschists through measures such as the withdrawal of the threat of the use of force and cutting back at the most severe sanctions that affect the people. We should be providing assurances to the Nigerien people of Nigerias commitment to maintaining friendship and fraternal relations with the government and people of Niger. Nigeria also needs to improve its strategic communications, showing that actions undertaken are in tandem with our long-standing commitment to the protection and consolidation of democracy within Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa.

Niger should remember that it has a lot of vulnerabilities and has benefitted enormously from support from Nigeria over the years. It should be aware that the Wagner Group might make promises to but its interest is also to exploit their mineral resources. It has to be less recalcitrant if a way forward is to be found.

France has been the most malevolent of colonial powers that is not ready to give up control of its former colonies, even after seventy years of independence. Its Francafrique policy has been known for its exploitative systems designed to profit from African resources, using pressure, capital, and frequently outright force to maintain control over its former empire. As a result, many African states, including Niger, continue to face poverty and underdevelopment. The time for revolt has come. France has blatantly refused to allow its colonies establish their own currencies, as such its tactics are not even hidden. Francophone Africa should however realise that it would be regressing if it sacrifices democracy to the fight against neo-colonialism. We require both freedom and democracy.

Over the years, France has demonstrated a pattern of intervening militarily  over 50 times since 1960  in African countries to secure governments that remain compliant with French economic interests, particularly related to the continued use of the CFA Franc. The reality is that France has been dependent on Africa for its status as a world power for more than a century. It has imposed treaties that continue to enslave these countries. As they combat the French, the Francophone African countries should realise that we their ECOWAS neighbours are their friends who want them to enjoy freedom from France and also democratic rights in the conduct of their affairs.

Finally, Niger should remember that it has a lot of vulnerabilities and has benefitted enormously from support from Nigeria over the years. It should be aware that the Wagner Group might make promises to but its interest is also to exploit their mineral resources. It has to be less recalcitrant if a way forward is to be found.

A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.

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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

Dear brothers and sisters, indeed one of the oldest ways of solving any kind of disputes among human beings peacefully has been the diplomatic negotiation.

Nowadays most of the nations use this method to ease strained relations, reduce hostility, and establish economical and political relations, as well as halting armed combats, and consolidating peace.

Diplomatic interaction, being a universal bequest of antiquity was practiced in Islam right from the periods of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him); the first four Caliphs; the Umayyad dynasty; the Abbasid Empire; down to the Ottoman Empire. Diplomacy is one of the most practical and dynamic topics of international relations; therefore, the religion of Islam since its beginning, has recognised this logical approach as one of the most important ways for conducting international affairs through ambassadors and envoys who use peaceful means.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), with respect to existing traditions and Quranic teachings, signed diplomatic negotiations in ties with Arabian tribes and other states. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) implemented this method by delegating ambassadors or representatives to different countries. Prophet Muhammads conducts were actually the reflection of all the Islamic principles like justice, tolerance, truthfulness and fair play to anyone.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) never showed himself as the rigid and narrow-minded diplomat or leader, but he always accepted negotiation and disliked armed combat as solution. For instance in the case of Charter of Madinah, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) attempted to negotiate with all these people of Madinah and the Jews, and later the negotiation had been documented which is known as Constitution of Madinah. It is a document of great historical significance. The provisions of the Treaty itself really showed the credibility of Prophet Muhammad as diplomat and a good leader. Another remarkable diplomatic practice of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) can be clearly notice in the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah. In this Treaty he really exhibited to Muslims the real art of negotiation.

As a peace-oriented diplomat, Prophet Muhammad preserved peace and offered negotiation even when his attention to enter Makkah was deterred by the Quraish. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) during the negotiation upheld the principle of tolerance, persuasion and patience. Prophets diplomacy really enabled him to handle this extremely complicated and fragile negotiation. Even the terms of the Treaty were unfavourable to the Muslims, Prophet Muhammad still did not react aggressively.

Indeed the Prophets political foresight and diplomacy later led to the clear victory of Islam in the following years. Initially, diplomatic procedures were adopted in Islamic history as a means of spreading the word of Islam.

Respected brothers and sisters, todays Islamic world encompasses more than 50 countries in the world. Geographically, Islamic world claims almost 20% of the worlds land mass. There are over one billion Muslim populations in the world today which comprises over 25% of the world population. Therefore, here is power bloc which cannot be ignored in geo-politics, but Muslim countries are incidentally divided over petty issues. Muslim countries are not united in a bloc because of sectarian divide. Although Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) was established to safeguard and protect the interests of Muslim world in a spirit of promoting international peace and harmony, but in practice there is no unity among Muslim Countries. Recently this organisation has changed its name. It is now known as the Organisation of Islamic cooperation (OIC).

In the United Nations OIC also represents safeguarding and protect the interests of the Muslim. Islam remains a force despite division among the Muslim countries, to be reckoned with on the worlds geopolitical and diplomatic fronts.

Dear brothers and sisters, many religious leaders and political pundits in many countries, time and again, spoke about Islam. Of late, Prince Charles came out with truth about Islam at a lecture at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies on 27 October, 1993. One is tempted to quote from his lecture:

Islam is part of our past and our present, in all fields of human endeavour. It has helped to create modern Europe. It is a part of our own inheritance, not a thing apart. More than this, Islam can teach us today a way of understanding and living in the world.

Dear servants of Allah, diplomacy in Islam did not flourish in a day or two but it took a definite shape over the years since the days of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This fact has completely been ignored by the writers on diplomacy. The emergence of Islam was neither a marginal event, as some Christian historiographers would have depicted it nor one important happening, but it represented a turning point in the struggle between spiritual belief and materialistic philosophy.

As a religion, Islam brings in the concept of equality of man. As a matter of fact, Islam is a complete code of life encompassing all spheres of human activities  social, economic, legal, cultural and political. Islam is for all humanity irrespective of caste, creed and colour. Its Islam that provides the idea of a universal state based on the equality of man.

In the early days of Islam, diplomacy and diplomatic negotiations was referred to as an auxiliary to or a substitute for war. For example, messages were delivered by an emissary to the Emperor or King to accept Islam before war broke out. Emissary was sent to exchange prisoners of war at the end of war. During Abbasid period exchange of gifts or negotiation of treaties were carried out. Emissary was dispatched by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to preach tenets of Islam or for political purpose. Such emissaries were received by the Emperor or King of Byzantine, Egypt, Persia and Ethiopia.

According to historians, the Emperor of Ethiopia and King Al-Muqawqis of Egypt accepted the invitation to accept Islam while Emperor of Byzantine refused to embrace Islam. The Persian King, however, tore up the letter. When this news carried back by the envoy to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), he remarked that his kingdom would be torn.

The diplomatic exchange was essentially religious in nature. The emissary was selected from amongst the confidants, who were known as knowledgeable about religion, adroit, physically strong and good looking as well.

During the old days emissary was looked upon as spy. As such, envoy was instructed to refrain from drinking and to keep away from woman in particular. A negotiation skill constitutes as an important factor in diplomacy and nations must rely upon the quality of their diplomacy to act as a catalyst for different factors that constitute their power. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) initially began preaching Islam in Makkah, but he was opposed by the Quraish group. Twice he organised meetings of the elites of the Quraish in Makkah to pass the message of Allah revealed to him but he was jeered at. Finally he went to the masses to address them but when he spoke against their many gods they became furious and considered him as their enemy.

His uncle Abu Talib was also against him. However, Abu Talib protected him from the wrath of the Quraish. A deputation of the Quraish went to Abu Talib to register protest against Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and Abu Talib averted the crisis by his conciliatory note. But relations between Prophet Muhammad and the Quraish continued to deteriorate. A complaint was lodged with Abu Talib again and he was told by the delegation of the Quraish to put a stop to the activities of his nephew. They said:

Until we are rid of him we will fight both of you till one side is perished.

Abu Talib called his nephew, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and admonished him by saying:

Spare me and you. Do not put on me a burden greater than I can bear.

Despite stiff opposition and accusation Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) remained calm and composed which are rare qualities of a diplomat. When the Quraish did not succeed in stopping his activities, they started negotiations with him. They thought that they could buy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by offering him money or if it was an honour, they would make him their chief or if it was sovereignty, they would make him the King.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) listened to them avidly and when their arguments were over, Prophet Muhammad started recitation of the Surah which says our hearts are veiled from that which you invite us. The Quraish lost their case as Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did not accede to any of their proposals.

Muslims became the target of attacks in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was humiliated following the failure of the negotiations initiated by the Quraish. He decided to move to Taif to convince the Chiefs there, but he could not succeed there either because Chiefs turned down the invitation to embrace Islam. Stones accompanied by jeers and abuses rained on him. Prophet was injured but he carried out his mission. When all Chiefs in Makkah decided to kill Prophet, he decided to leave for Madinah.

At the age of 53 Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) migrated to Madinah where he was received with affection. Initially, he wanted to establish a base from where he could spread the message of Allah. Therefore, he started negotiations with the people of Madinah and the Jews as well to sign a treaty of friendship and cooperation. He succeeded in executing the treaty of friendship and cooperation which became the first such treaty that he ever signed. It remained a document of great historical significance because it gave birth to the concept of a state based on faith, apart from being first treaty in Islam.

Abdul-Rahman Azzam, an author on the Eternal messages of the Prophet and former Egyptian Ambassador described it as a covenant between Islamic peoples and Jews worshippers who joined the pact and thereby became another link in the chain. With the conclusion of this agreement, Islam anticipated the modern era of the League of Nations and the United Nations by more than thirteen centuries. Abdul-Rahman Azzam was the founder of Arab League and served as its first Secretary-General from 1945 to 1952.

The Muslims were declared as one community (Ummah/Nation) and Muslims from Madinah became the brethren of Muslims from Makkah. This treaty is known as the Charter of Madinah. It stipulated the idea of the Islamic state in its formative stage while it explicitly spelled out that any incident or quarrel from which disaster was to be feared, would be referred to Allah and to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The age old conflict between Muslim Palestinians and Jewish Israelis necessitates that the parties follow the Charter of Madinah for living in peace and harmony side by side.

In the treaty emphasis was laid on the unity of the Ummah in war and peace. The striking part of this treaty is that it is based on the common faith that the Ummah thrives on, but not on the basis of Kinship. The treaty is also done away with the local, territorial and tribal alliances. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) introduced a system of consultation with leading companions to take a decision on all major issues affecting the life of the people of Madinah.

During his life time Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) received many envoys from different heads of states for making an agreement of peace with Muslims after the defeat in Wars. Generous treatment was meted out to envoys and they enjoyed immunity. An envoy, who was convicted by the state to which he was accredited, was also given due respect which an envoy deserved. Envoys were allowed to perform their own prayer and religious rites too. According to Islamic teaching the head of state, president or governor does not enjoy immunity which an envoy can. The Head of State, president and governor are subject to trial for flouting the law of the land. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) himself is a glaring example of one who one has heard cases against him. The Prophet had set an example that the leader is as much subject to law as an ordinary citizen. He is also on record to have allowed the delegation of the Christians of Najran to hold their service in his Mosque. Another charter, which is known as charter of Najran, pledged the security of the lives, religion and property of the Christians. There should be no interference with the practice of the faith or observance or any change in their rights or privileges.

Generally, envoys were not arrested or detained. In one of the cases Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) detained an envoy of Makkah and he was released when the Muslim envoy who was detained by the Quraish returned safe from Hudaibiyyah (Makkah) to Madinah. During the life time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) envoys enjoyed diplomatic privileges. He did not insist on agreement or protocol as has been the present day practice by Vienna convention for receiving any envoy from a country.

There is another episode which relates to the appointment of Wahshi, the Abyssinian slave as Ambassador, but he was reluctant to accept ambassadorial appointment because he barbarously killed Hamza, uncle of the Prophet in the battle of Uhud which was a reprisal against Muslims by the Quraish following the defeat at the battle of Badr.

Dear brothers and sisters, on the invitation of King Salman I have had the pleasure to visit Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah in 2014 to offer Umrah, apart from visiting historical places. I had been to the battle fields of Badr and Uhud to recollect Islamic glorious struggling past and courage shown by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in organising fighting forces and strategies as well against various odds.

This is what Professor G.W. Chowdhury, a former Professor of Political Science of Dacca University in mid-50s who retired as Adjunct professor from Columbia University in New York in 1984 to join his wife Dilara Chowdhury, a retired Professor of Political Science from Janagirnagar University, wrote in his book: the Prophet Muhammad, his life and eternal message pointed out that:

The Prophet Muhammad was very successful in his military strategy. Against heavy-odds, he achieved success after success over his opponents. He himself organised the military expeditions. After military victories he would decide how to deal with defeated foes, demonstrating a regard for just and fair rules of war and peace. His perfection and greatness in military affairs were beyond measure.

I would like to note another significant war of the Trench (Khandaq) which took place in Madinah on the fifth year of the Hijrah from Makkah. According to Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, a western Islamic scholar noted for English translation of Quran:

The Prophet by the advice of Salman, a Persian, caused a deep trench to be dug before the City of Madinah, and he led the work of digging it. The army of clans was stopped by the trench, a novelty in Arab warfare. It seemed impassable for Calvary, which formed their strength. They camped in front of the trench while Muslims were awaiting the assault. News came that Bani Quraizah, a Jewish group of Madinah which till then had been royal, had gone over to the enemy. Fortunately, delay caused by the trench had damped the ardor of the clans. It was followed by a bitter wind from the Sea (Red Sea on which Makkah and Madinah thrives), which blew for three days and nights so terribly that not a tent could be kept standing, not a fire lighted, not a pot boiled. The tribesmen were in utter misery. One night the leader of Quraish ordered to retire.

That was the end of war of trench. The treaty of Hudaibiyyah during life of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was significant which had made truce with the Quraish to defuse the tense situation between two cities of the present Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Quraish recognised Prophet Muhammads rights to proselytise without hindrance in 628-629 and Jews of Khaibar put to the sword. That treaty of Hudaibiyyah had helped people from Madinah led by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to march peacefully towards Makkah to perform Umrah and tawaf around the Kaabah. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had sent letters and messengers to Kings of Persia, Yemen, Ethiopia and the emperor Heraclius inviting them to accept Islam.

When Wahshi presented his credential to the Prophet, he was accorded unprecedented treatment which was described by some Islamic scholars as:

Both unexpected and unparalleled in the annals of Arab history.

It had been the practice in those old days that the envoys were received through ceremonial reception and provided with gifts. Similar treatment was accorded to an envoy on completion of tour of duty. If a Muslim envoy received gifts from a foreign ruler it would go to the treasury of the state. Similarly, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) also deposited in the state coffer gifts received from foreign country. This system exists in the present day modern world.

The Prophet also sent envoys to the Arab and non-Arab rulers. The first mission was sent to Abyssinia during Prophets early days in Makkah when Prophet and his followers were subjected to harassment by the Quraish. A group of Muslims was dispatched to Abyssinia to seek protection of King Negus (Najjashi). Muslims put forward their arguments and convinced King Negus (Najjashi) for political asylum which was granted. The Quraish could not succeed to convince King Negus (Najjashi) to hand over Makkah Muslims despite providing valuable gifts to the King of Abyssinia.

During Prophets life time envoys were briefed to be tactful, accommodating and sympathetic in the conduct of negotiations before being accredited to different cities, communities and countries to convey the message of Islam. Envoys were sent to the rulers of Yemen, Bahrain, Oman and the Governors of Damascus and Alexandria by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The envoy in Islamic terminology is known as Safir. The word Safir is derived from Safar which means travelling with a special mission. A Safir or envoy is entrusted with full power for negotiations, conciliations, or conclusion of treaty or alliance. The envoy used to carry the official letter to hand over to the head of state or president of the receiving country. This letter was either in the form of letter of credence empowering the envoy to deliver the message verbally or general statement explaining the purpose of the mission.

During Umayyad period diplomatic interaction was confined to Byzantines for the purpose of signing peace treaties. Umayyad Caliphates negotiated peace treaties and paid annual tribute to the Byzantine emperor to dissuade him from attacking them particularly at a time when they were involved in civil war.

Frequent exchanges of an envoy took place during the Abbasid period. Peaceful solution of conflicts through negotiations was always preferred. An exchange of prisoner of war by concluding treaties was encouraged. Envoys were given grand ovation during Abbasid period. They were received by the representative of the Caliph or Sultan in the capitals of Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova (now part of modern Spain) and were escorted in a procession to the houses earmarked for them. Several Byzantine emissaries paid visits to Baghdad during the reign of Al-Muqtadir. There was a tradition that an envoy was not only entertained lavishly but also taken round to places of interests and magnificent palaces. Envoys were also provided with gifts and robes of honour before their departure on completion of tour of duty which reflected hospitality of the host state. It is interesting to note that gifts are exchanged by both sides when Prime Minister or President visits a host country as a part of diplomatic protocol which is generally followed in the present day.

During Abbasid rule there were four big powers. In the East there were the Abbasid and Byzantine empires while in the west the Frankish empire and the Umayyads of Spain. The rivalry between the two eastern powers and the two western powers continued for a long time which ultimately led to establishing significant diplomatic links. There were also conflicts between two Muslim states and the two Christian states. These conflicts in fact facilitated Frankish ruler and the Abbasid Caliph to develop cordial relations with each other. Similarly, Cordova developed cordial relations with Constantinople.

According to one source, it was Pippin, the ruler of Franks, who dispatched diplomatic missions to Al-Mansur, second Caliph of Abbasid to initiate diplomatic negotiations. The first such exchange of envoys took place in 765 AD. During the period of Charlemagne, son of Pippin, several envoys were dispatched to the court of Haruna Rashid, Caliph of Abbasid to establish friendly relations among the two great monarchs.

Dear brothers and sisters, diplomacy or diplomatic negotiations in Islam played very significant role in diffusing tension, signing treaties to make peace with enemy, exchanging prisoners of war and establishing contact with even non Muslim countries. During the time of peace diplomacy gained prominence in facilitating trade relations, exchanging information among nations and fulfilling other social purposes. Foreign policy is perceived in medieval days for the spread of Islam and to avoid conflict in peaceful manner. That was the beauty of diplomacy and diplomatic negotiations in Islam.

Respected servants of Allah, please let us try and discover the history and significance of diplomacy and diplomatic negotiations in Islam, from its early days as an auxiliary to war to modern times.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and securityand his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Muharram 24, 1445 AH (August 11, 2023).

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Tourists take pictures of Koh Phi Phi Leh, an island in Thailand. Photo by AFP

Thailand will reduce approval time and required documents to simplify its visa application procedures as an effort to attract more foreign visitors, said a government official on August 10.

Thai deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has streamlined the application for a tourist visa, decreasing the number of supporting documents and processing time to seven working days from 14.

Ratchada said that inbound foreign tourists to the Southeast Asian country increased as expected, even during the off-season, as the Thai government attaches importance to the facilitation of tourists and promotional activities.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand welcomed 15.89 million tourist arrivals from January to early August, earning over 663 billion baht (about US$18.92 billion) in revenue from foreign visitors.

The country is on course to meet the whole-year foreign tourist target of 25 million, according to the ministry, compared with 11.15 million in 2022. Tourism, a key driver of Thailand's economic growth, accounts for about 12% of the country's GDP.
Pinnacle Oil & Gas Limited has announced the appointment of Robert Dickerman as chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.

The appointment was made in Kano on Tuesday during the companys Board meeting.

In a statement issued by the Chairman of the company, Nasir Ado Bayero, the emir of Bichi, on behalf of the Board of Directors, the appointment was based on Mr Dickermans experience and stellar performance during his tenure as chief operating officer and subsequently as managing director and acting CEO.

Before his current appointment, Mr Dickerman had a robust career as a senior energy executive with more than 30 years experience. He holds a masters degree in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Management at University of Chicago and a BS degree from Union College. His expertise spans strategy, development, operations, performance management and corporate governance.

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Mr Dickerman was MD/CEO of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company and held leadership positions as COO of Marubeni Power and CEO of Sempra Energy Solutions and Edison Source of Edison International.

Mr Dickermans appointment followed the recent appointment of two members of the companys executive management as executive directors; Adenike Labinjo, who is the chief operating officer (COO) of the company, and Sunday Anyaogu, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company.

Prior to joining Pinnacle, Ms Labinjo, who holds a bachelors degree in Maths/Statistics as well as a masters in business administration (M.B.A), from the University of Lagos, was the chief operating officer of Petrolex Oil and Gas Limited and had a management career at Oando PLC.

Mr Anyaogu had a progressive career in Finance Management at Polystyrene Industries, Reliance Telecommunications and High Gate Insurance. He is an alumnus of International School of Management (ISM), Lagos, holds a B.Sc. in Accounting from Abia State University and an MBA from the University of Lagos.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation Nigeria (ACTIA).

At the meeting, the board lauded the companys Founder, Peter Mbah, for his pioneering effort and immense contributions to the development of the industry giant, positioning it at the zenith of leadership in the downstream oil sector.

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During his inaugural speech on 29 May, President Bola Tinubu announced that fuel subsidy is gone. As a result of that announcement, small business owners in Lokoja, Kogi State, have seen their businesses shrink as they struggle to cope with the sharp increase in the price of petrol.

Some small business owners who spoke to these reporters lamented the negative toll the high cost of goods and services is having on their enterprises.

Sitting on a chair in front of his shop, Hassan Aruna, a cybercafe owner at the Federal University Lokoja (FUL), waits for customers, but they are not forthcoming.

This cafe is my only means of feeding and providing for my family, he said. He said he started losing customers after he increased the cost of making photocopies due to the hike in the price of petrol.

I now make photocopies at N30, which is 50 per cent more than the previous price (N20). Even at that, I barely make up to a quarter of what I used to make in a day before the fuel subsidy was removed. This is really frustrating. I may close down this shop soon, he lamented.

Gladys Ameh, a hairstylist, has been forced to increase the prices she charges for her services. Like Mr Aruna, despite hiking her fees her business is still regressing.

Washing and relaxing of hair which was N1,000 before subsidy was removed, has faced a 50% increase in price and is now N1,500. Right now, I do not even make enough to fuel my generator. I barely make use of electrical hair equipment. I can only hope for a change soon, Ms Ameh said.

She explained that she has lost more customers in the past week than she has in her six years of being a hairdresser.

Market women lament

Retailers in Lokoja are also bearing the brunt as a price hike has led to low patronage.

Rebecca Joel, who has been selling foodstuff for 30 years, explained how the high cost of transportation has led to an increase in the price of goods.

It is getting harder for me to run my shop. I purchase most of my foodstuffs from Itobe and Kabba junction, Normally, a bus to Itobe from this market will only cost N200, it is now N700. When Im returning with my goods, I pay as high as N1,500 instead of N500, Mrs Joel said.

She explained how the hike in transportation costs led to a hike in foodstuff prices.

To sustain myself, I have to spread the expenses on transportation on all my goods. A small bowl of garri sold for N100 before the removal of the fuel subsidy is now N300. People (customers) are buying in smaller quantities than they used to. This is seriously affecting my purchasing power, she complained.

Helen Nmodu, a civil servant who also owns a shop, has something similar to say.

Since the removal of the fuel subsidy, I barely make sales at the shop. There has been a downward turnout of customers compared to before. Most times, all I get in a day can only cover my transportation fare to my house and back to the shop the next morning. I can barely afford three square meals. she lamented.

Yahaya Hassan, a barber, while lamenting his recent bitter experience, wants the government to return the subsidy on petrol.

I have never experienced this kind of hardship in my ten years of being a barber. I wish the action of the government on subsidy could be undone. I now drink garri three times a day.

Students affected; expert speaks

Since the removal of the subsidy, fuel prices have continued to rise from its initial N197 to N540 and now N617. Consequently, fares for public transportation have increased in several parts of the country.

Students of the FUL also bear the brunt of this increment. A ride on shuttle buses in the school, which cost N200 before, now cost N300, while coaster buses fares which cost N100 before, have become N200.

David John, who lives off-campus, said he has been forced to take drastic measures including missing some classes in order to cope.

In a bid to save funds for feeding and other minor expenses, I have resorted to missing classes. This has affected my class attendance because I have to cut down on my transportation expenses, the 100-level Computer Science student said.

Joy Ebe, an economist at the Kogi State University, says the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy may be too much for the economy to handle.

The poverty rate in Nigeria is very high. Although, in the long run, it will benefit the economy by freeing up resources for other sectors like the agricultural, education, and health sector, however, its suddenness will be greatly felt, especially because no palliative has been seen to be put in place by the government to cushion the impact on citizens, she said.

This story was produced by newly-trained student reporters under the Campus Reporter project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development.

The following students from the Federal University Lokoja and the Kogi State University authored the story:

1. Ocheje Winner

2. Ocheje Wonder

3. Olorunleke Oluwatosin

4. John Progress

5. Koyebi Adeola

6. Opeyemi Mary

7. Shelong Tapshak

8. Olajide Marvelous

9. Loveth Samuel

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The Nigerian Navy says it will establish an operational base in Enugu State to improve the security of lives and property by securing the states coastal areas.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State at the Government House, Enugu, on Thursday.

Mr Ogalla, a vice admiral, commended Mr Mbah for his bold actions in fighting insecurity in the state since he was sworn in as governor of the state.

The navy chief said he was impressed with the successes recorded by the governor within the short period he has been in office.

The Nigerian navy has three primary roles, which are first, the military duties, being the protection of this countrys territorial integrity and sovereignty from the maritime domain. We have policing roles as well as diplomatic roles.

We have noticed that within this role of policing duties, we have not really extended our functions to Enugu State, and we want to do that with your support, he said.

To this end, we plan to extend our operations to encompass and cover the broader spectrum of Enugu State, knowing that the state has a navigable river around Uzo-Uwani (Council Area). That river used to be a seaport during the colonial era, and it has been abandoned.

We believe that if we are able to police that area, it will give assurances to investors, who will now invest in the development of that seaway for the benefit of the people of Enugu State, Mr Ogalla stated.

He appealed for the support of the governor to carry out the bold initiative towards showing presence within that important seaway in the state.

Our operations there will be aimed at providing internal security operations both through area surveillance and patrol in such a manner that economic activities can thrive without hindrance, he added.

Mbah speaks

Responding, Mr Mbah appreciated President Bola Tinubu for appointing Mr Ogalla, an indigene of the state, to head the countrys navy.

The governor described the appointment of the navy chief as something of immense value and significance, not just to the people of Enugu State, but to the entire South-east region.

He hailed the planned establishment of a naval operational base in Enugu State, saying the erroneous impression that Enugu was landlocked emanated from the underdevelopment of the states waterways and added that the security of the coastal areas would change the narrative.

So, I am happy that the naval chief made the commitment today (Thursday) that the navy will establish an operational base in Enugu State. This is heartwarming for us, as this will support the fight against insecurity in Enugu, especially at that flank of our state.

I want to assure you, on behalf of the government of Enugu State, that we are going to support you with all that is required to ensure the actualisation of your operational base, Mr Mbah assured.

He urged the chief of the naval staff to also consider establishing a naval school and hospital in the state.

Background

Like other states in Nigerias south-east, security has deteriorated in Enugu State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in such attacks.

There was tension recently in Enugu after Mr Mbah banned an illegal sit-at-home order usually enforced by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

The Nigerian government has accused IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the south-east region, including Enugu. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.

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More than 7,500+ volunteers mobilized to conduct thousands of waterway cleanups and native trees plantings across the state

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Seagram's Escapes recently partnered with Keep Florida Beautiful to plan widespread clean-up efforts across southwest Florida shorelines. More than 7,500 people participated, removing 215K lbs. of trash and debris during events held March through July 2023. A $50,000 grant from Seagram's Escapes funded the program that included inland and waterway cleanups that prioritized some of the areas hardest hit by recent hurricanes, especially Hurricane Ian. This is the second year that Seagram's Escapes invested funding to positively impact coastal areas in Florida.

The funds were allocated through partnerships with four Keep Florida Beautiful affiliates: Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Keep Lee County Beautiful and Keep Charlotte Beautiful. The investment supported more than 1,000 projects across the state including waterway clean ups, sustainable plantings, and invasive species removal.

"Seagram's Escapes is proud to help keep Florida beaches beautiful for residents and tourists," said Jaime Polisoto, Seagram's Escapes brand director. "Our partnership with this impactful environmental organization enables our team to help promote sustainability in the communities where we sell our product. Keeping beaches beautiful is something every person in Florida can appreciate."

In each market, the Seagram's Escapes investment supported the 2023 Great American Coastal Clean Ups, World Ocean's Day clean ups, shoreline vegetation plantings, and restorative work including numerous Kayak clean ups that enabled removal of harmful debris from the delicate mangroves.

"Partnerships are mission critical for Keep Florida Beautiful and our local affiliates," said Savanna Christy, executive director, Keep Florida Beautiful. "Not only do these collaborations increase our impact in communities statewide, they also help us to reach a more expansive audience with our message - we depend on our environment and diverse ecosystems and they depend on us."

About FIFCO USA Triple Bottom Line Commitment

FIFCO USA, parent company of Seagram's Escapes, is a triple bottom line company committed to impacting the community and environment. In partnership with its stakeholders, FIFCO USA seeks opportunities to create sustainable impact in the areas where we operate. The company focuses on promoting smart consumption; building strong communities; improving waterways, trails and parks, and workforce development. Additionally, FIFCO USA partners with grassroots, charitable organizations that create sustainable impact. Visit https://www.fifcousa.com/smart-consumption/ to learn more or to submit a program or project for consideration.

About Seagram's Escapes: Seagram's Escapes is a premium malt beverage with natural flavors and certified colors. Introduced in 1985 and based out of Rochester, New York, Seagram's Escapes is currently the #4 traditional flavored malt beverage brand in the United States.

Stay connected with Seagram's Escapes on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest. Always Drink Responsibly. 2023 The Seagram Beverage Company, www.seagramsescapes.com.

The Seagram Beverage Company is owned by FIFCO USA. For more information, please go to: https://www.fifcousa.com.

Media Contact

Carla M. Mancuso

[email protected]

1-585-317-9268

SOURCE Seagrams Escapes
MILWAUKEE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual is celebrating its 39 financial advisors honored on this year's Forbes' Top Next Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list. The accolade recognizes the top advisors across the country building their client lists and leading the way in their state, all the while before they turn 40.

"We know from research that four in five Millennials and Gen Z believe their financial plans need improvement, and they're increasingly turning to financial advisors for advice they can trust," said Aditi Javeri Gokhale, Northwestern Mutual chief strategy officer, president of retail investments and head of institutional investments. "Our company's strategy is to intentionally engage prospective clients when they are younger and emerging in their careers, enabling our advisors to create long-term relationships with clients that bridge 20, 30, and even 40 years."

Northwestern Mutual's 2023 Top Next Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list-makers:

Brian Aikens , Aikens Financial, Akron , Ohio

Aikens Financial, , Ohio Joseph Anderson , The Anderson Financial Group, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The Anderson Financial Group, M. Paul Armstrong , Armstrong & Sinoff Financial, Orlando, Fla.

Armstrong & Sinoff Financial, Samuel Arthur , Haven Wealth Advisors, Atlanta

Haven Wealth Advisors, Jason Bell , GBP Wealth Management, Hunt Valley, Md.

GBP Wealth Management, Douglas Benson Jr, Benson Wealth Management, Ankeny, Iowa

Benson Wealth Management, Andrew Bird , Mosaic Financial Partners, Whitefish Bay, Wis.

Mosaic Financial Partners, Christina Bridgewater , Hepworth & Associates, Boise, Idaho

Hepworth & Associates, Martin Burch , BWM Wealth Strategies, Charlotte, N.C.

BWM Wealth Strategies, Brandon Cline , Wilmink Smith Cline Wealth Advisors, Barboursville, W. Va.

Wilmink Smith Cline Wealth Advisors, John Martin Couric III , Couric Krebs Financial, Charlottesville, Va.

Couric Krebs Financial, Matthew Cutter , Wellesley, Mass.

James Daffin , Realize Wealth Management, Cincinnati

Realize Wealth Management, Scott DeSantis , Civic Financial, Boston

Civic Financial, Kevin Earnest , Butterfield Partners, Downers Grove, Ill.

Butterfield Partners, Jacqueline Fish , LifeWorth Financial, Charlotte, N.C.

LifeWorth Financial, Merrill Gagne , Gagne Wealth Management Group, Greenfield, Mass.

Gagne Wealth Management Group, Brandon Gaines , Todd & Gaines Integrated Wealth Planning, Lexington, Ky.

Todd & Gaines Integrated Wealth Planning, David Girola , DeRouen Girola & Associates, Lake Charles, La.

& Associates, Tyler Hjelseth , Edgewater Wealth Management, Tacoma, Wash.

Edgewater Wealth Management, Charles Irvin , Luca Partners, Durham, N.C .

Luca Partners, Samuel Laorenza , Omni Wealth Management, Woburn, Mass.

Omni Wealth Management, Tyler Layne , Layne Financial, Twin Falls, Idaho

Layne Financial, Jonathan Lehman , Summit Financial Group, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Summit Financial Group, Brandon McIntyre , Roach McIntyre & Associates, Columbus, Ohio

Roach McIntyre & Associates, Austin Mitchell , Kairos Capital Partners, Frisco, Texas

Kairos Capital Partners, James Munder , Munder Financial, Indianapolis, Ind.

Munder Financial, William Newton , Luca Partners, Raleigh, N.C.

Luca Partners, Daniel Reisner, Reisner Financial, Tampa, Fla.

Reisner Financial, Adam Riegel , Ivy Capital Partners, Wellesley, Mass.

Ivy Capital Partners, Robert Roy , RMG Wealth Management Group, Wilbraham , Mass.

RMG Wealth Management Group, , Mass. Ryan Schmitt , GSG Wealth Management, Evansville, Ind.

GSG Wealth Management, Michael Sedjo , Alpha & Omega Wealth Strategies, Edina, Minn.

Alpha & Omega Wealth Strategies, Nicholas Shultz , Omni Wealth Management, Woburn, Mass.

Omni Wealth Management, Darren Trautmann , Emerald Wealth Management, Bellevue, Wash.

Emerald Wealth Management, Neil Van Dam , Van Dam Financial Group, Fargo, N.D.

Van Dam Financial Group, Andrew Watkins , Triangle Wealth Advisors, Durham, N.C.

Triangle Wealth Advisors, Alex Wieme , Stone Arch Advisory Group, St. Cloud, Minn.

Stone Arch Advisory Group, Aaron Young , Barnes Young Wealth Advisors, Louisville, Ky.

"Our next generation of advisors is showcasing what it means to be a client-first financial advisor, and this accolade further validates the value they add in people's lives," said Tim Gerend, Northwestern Mutual's chief distribution officer. "At a time when the average age of a wealth manager is mid-50s, we're proud to have so many advisors who are under 40, highly trained, credentialed and ready to help people build comprehensive financial plans."

About the Forbes' 2023 Top Next Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State List

Developed by SHOOK Research, the accolade is based on an algorithm of qualitative criterionmostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviewsand quantitative data. Those advisors that are considered have a minimum of four years' experience, and the algorithm weighs factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass the highest standards of best practices.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With more than $558 billion of total assets being managed across the company's institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, nearly $35 billion in revenues, and $2.2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 111 on the 2023 FORTUNE 500.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services. Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services.

Advisors who utilize a different firm name do so as a marketing name for doing business as a representative of Northwestern Mutual. Marketing names are not registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance agencies or federal savings banks. Advisors are insurance agents of NM. Investment advisory services provided as Advisors of NMWMC. Investment brokerages services provided as Registered Representatives of NMIS.

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual
SHENXIAN, China, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 1, 2023, Mun Gyeonggil, the directing manager of Korea Daesan Industry Co., Ltd. led a delegation to Shenxian County on a visit to the modern agriculture and cultural tourism industries of the county.

The delegation led by Mun Gyeonggil visited destinations such as Luxi New Variety Promotion Base, Shenxian County Xinlixin Food Co., Ltd., Shandong Jiahua Biotechnology Co., Ltd., to get a detailed knowledge of the development of modern agriculture in the county and have in-depth exchanges on bilateral cooperation, according to the News Office of Shenxian County People's Government.

In the Central Plains Modern Agriculture Carnival of the county, the delegation visited the 8 pavilions of the event one by one, learned about the intangible cultural heritage of the county in detail at the third pavilion, and had an in-depth discussion on strengthening the cultural exchanges. Liu Xianfeng, an intangible cultural heritage inheritor of the county, showed the paper tearing techniques of Chinese red square seal, which attracted attention from the delegation. The seal is an important part of Chinese culture, which is not only artworks, but also contains Chinese symbols, charm and spirit. Paper tearing is an art of graphic hollowing similar to and different from paper cutting at the same time. Liu Xianfeng shows the flavor of inscriptions on bronze or stone tablets in the form of paper tearing, which reflects a sense of history as a bold innovation in the inheritance and development of traditional culture.

The delegation spoke highly of the development of modern agriculture, cultural tourism industry and intangible cultural heritage in the county. Hopefully, both sides will further strengthen communication and enhance exchanges, explore more cooperation opportunities in the development of such fields as modern agriculture, cultural and tourism projects, and cultural exchanges, expand the space for common development, and strive to achieve mutual benefit, common development and cultural prosperity.

SOURCE The News Office of Shenxian County People's Government
Future members join AP and partners at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new living community

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP), a national, family-owned construction management and contracting company, recently broke ground on Artessa Mound Harbor, a cooperative living community for people 62 years and better in Mound, Minnesota. Located on Auditors Road less than a mile from Lake Minnetonka, Artessa Mound Harbor will include 125,000 square feet of living and community spaces at completion in August 2024. Artessa Development, an affiliate of Lifestyle Communities, is the experienced developer of the co-op community; AP is constructing the building and installing tenant finishes in partnership with Kaas Wilson Architects.

Rendering of Artessa Mound Harbor.

"The West Metro continues to see demand for high-quality amenities and buildings among potential community members," said Blake Invie, Project Manager at AP. "We're proud to support the redevelopment with a state-of-the-art living facility in the heart of the walkable Mound community. This is a great opportunity for AP to build upon our expertise in senior living and establish a partnership with Artessa Development and Lifestyle Communities that will extend to communities around the country."

Artessa Mound Harbor is comprised of 52 high-end senior co-op residences with 11 unique floor plans ranging from 1,006-1,905 square feet. One element that sets the co-op style apart from other senior housing options is the wide array of resident personalization options offered in each unit. Members choose a home plan situated across four floors of cooperative living. The main floor boasts roughly 6,150 square feet of indoor amenities and nearly 2,000 square feet of outdoor living spaces that act as an extension to a member's private residence. Some of the many amenities include pickleball courts, fitness areas, lounges, a woodshop, a coffee bar, liquor lockers, a community kitchen and a theater. Exterior features include gathering areas, firepits, grill stations and a terrace.

"Artessa Mound Harbor provides members with an alternative to owning a single-family home or a townhome," said Dena Meyer, President of Lifestyle Communities, Artessa Development. "It's an appealing option for people looking to enjoy a home where they can collectively own and control the cooperative community in which they reside."

In Artessa communities, members buy a share in the cooperative corporation, which owns the land, building and common areas. This type of residential housing provides for steady annual growth of members' equity at a fixed rate of return of the initial share payment. This ensures that homes remain affordable and marketable long-term."

Future residents of Artessa Mound Harbor attended the groundbreaking event on June 28 and were invited to participate by bringing soil from their current homes to mix with that of their future residences. For more information, visit the Artessa website: https://artessaliving.com/community/mound-harbor/

AP prioritizes fostering engagement with the community, city officials and local neighbors and business owners throughout the entirety of the project. Moreover, AP has directly collaborated with neighboring businesses to ensure their ontinous operation during the construction phase. Additionally, the project team has diligently implemented an especially strict stormwater management plan to protect Lake Minnetonka.

About Adolfson & Peterson Construction

Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) is a leading construction management firm in the U.S. and consistently ranked as a Top 100 Contractor by Engineering News Record (ENR). It remains a trusted family-owned business known for quality, reliability and strong partner relationships while maintaining one of the strongest safety records in the industry. AP offers preconstruction, construction and contracting services across multiple market segments and geographic regions with more than 650 employees and offices in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas and Wyoming. Dedication to clients, communities, and employees and a commitment to core values and innovation has allowed the company to remain an industry leader and dependable construction partner for decades. For more information, visit www.a-p.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. AP is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

About Artessa Development

Artessa Development, an affiliate of Lifestyle Communities, is an award-winning developer of cooperative communities where people 62 and better can pursue an active lifestyle in a low-maintenance, amenity-rich home that offers financial and logistical flexibility. With more than 50 years of experience in the cooperative living space, the company has developed or financed over 40 communities and helped more than 4,000 members call Artessa home. To learn more, visit artessaliving.com.

SOURCE Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Five U.S. citizens unjustly detained in Iran have been released from prison and placed under house arrest  the first positive step in a negotiating process that, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken expects, will lead to their return home to the United States.

There is more work to be done to actually bring them home. My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare and the nightmare their families have experienced.

The five Americans are Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Shargi and two people who wished to remain private. Namazi, Tahbaz, and Shargi were all imprisoned on false charges of espionage and were released from Tehrans notorious Evin prison.

Because negotiations for the return home of the Americans remain ongoing and delicate, as National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, U.S. officials did not offer details about what has been agreed upon or is being discussed.

In an interview on CNN, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, however, that negotiations are about giving and taking, and there was no universe in which we were going to get these five Americans home without some bartering, some compromising with the Iranians. And that bargaining is going on right now.

Secretary of State Blinken made clear some parameters of the process:

In any event, in any respect, Iran will not be receiving any sanctions relief. And in any instance where we would engage in such efforts to bring Americans home from Iran, Irans own funds would be used and transferred to restricted accounts such that the monies can only be used for humanitarian purposes, which as you know, is permitted under our sanctions. Theres an exemption for humanitarian thats there from the start.

We will continue to enforce all of our sanctions. We will continue to push back resolutely against Irans destabilizing activities in the region and beyond, including now in supplying Russia with drones for its war of aggression against Ukraine. And none of these efforts take away from that, said Secretary Blinken. These are entirely separate tracks. We focused on getting our people home, but we continue to take strong actions against Irans other activities that we and so many other countries profoundly object to.
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Anheuser-Busch and its wholesaler partners are teaming up with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) for the fifth consecutive year to donate emergency drinking water to local fire departments nationwide. This summer, more than 9,000 cans will be donated to four fire departments across Florida to help them prepare for and respond in times of crisis and long incident at home.

Firefighters and first responders in our communities rely on clean drinking water to stay hydrated in times of need; yet volunteer fire departments often lack the budget and resources to supply. The water donations to Florida fire departments are designed to deliver on this critical need, as well as to support the communities where Anheuser-Busch's customers and employees live and work.

"Having access to clean drinking water is crucial for first responders during prolonged emergencies like active wildfires, so it's critical to our readiness to have these resources on hand when crises occur," said John King, Chief of the Munson Volunteer Fire and Rescue District. "We thank Anheuser-Busch and the NVFC for the water donations and their continued support of fire and EMS responders."

Now in its fifth year, the partnership between Anheuser-Busch and the NVFC is expanding its reach to provide 2.5 million cans  more than ever before  to over 600 volunteer fire departments (VFDs) across 47 states, with a goal of reaching more than 1,000 VFDs before the end of the year. The initiative's expansion represents a significant evolution in the brewer's 30-year-strong commitment to disaster relief, as well its deep appreciation for the first responders who are keeping their communities safe.

"Showing up for our communities and first responders has long been part of Anheuser-Busch's legacy  that's who we are. We're proud to continue building on that tradition by working with our wholesaler partners and NVFC to support our neighbors, friends, and families," said Cesar Vargas, Chief External Affairs Officer at Anheuser-Busch.

"Emergency drinking water is critical for firefighters' safety and ability to respond to crises at home each year," said NVFC Chair Steve Hirsch. "We appreciate Anheuser-Busch's increased commitment to supplying our nation's fire service with this much-needed resource and for their continued partnership in keeping our communities safe."

In Florida, the donations of emergency drinking water will be made to 4 volunteer fire departments including the Munson Volunteer Fire and Rescue District, Jay Volunteer Fire Department, Lorida Volunteer Fire Department, and Cross Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

Since 2019, Anheuser-Busch and its national network of independent wholesalers  including local partners, Bernie Little Distributers, Burkhardt Sales and Service, and Lewis Bear Company  have partnered with the NVFC to donate more than 8 million cans of clean, safe drinking water to more than 1,400 fire departments across 49 states to support disaster response needs.

"At The Lewis Bear Company, we're proud to support the dedicated members of the Munson Volunteer Fire and Rescue District fire department with this delivery of emergency drinking water, in partnership with Anheuser-Busch," said Chad Bonner, President of The Lewis Bear Company. "We hope it provides some relief as they battle fires and other emergencies throughout the year."

The emergency drinking water is sourced from Anheuser-Busch's breweries in Cartersville, Georgia and Fort Collins, Colorado which periodically pause beer production to can clean, safe drinking water to support disaster relief efforts in partnership with the American Red Cross and NVFC. Since the creation of its emergency drinking water program in 1988, Anheuser-Busch has donated more than 90 million cans of clean drinking water to U.S. communities affected by natural disasters and other crises.

Learn more about the Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters Program at www.nvfc.org/water.

ABOUT ANHEUSER-BUSCH

At Anheuser-Busch, our purpose is to create a future with more cheers. We are always looking to serve up new ways to meet life's moments, dream big to move our industry forward, and make a meaningful impact in the world. We hope to build a future that everyone can celebrate, and everyone can share. For more than 165 years, Anheuser-Busch has carried on a legacy of brewing great-tasting, high-quality beers that have satisfied beer drinkers for generations. Today, we own and operate more than 120 facilities, including breweries, wholesaler distribution centers, agricultural facilities and packaging plants, and have more than 18,000 colleagues across the United States. We are home to several of America's most loved beer and beyond beer brands, including Michelob ULTRA, Cutwater Spirits, Stella Artois, Budweiser and Bud Light as well as a number of regional brands that provide beer drinkers with a choice of the best-tasting craft beers in the industry. From responsible drinking programs and emergency drinking water donations to industry-leading sustainability efforts, we are guided by our unwavering commitment to supporting the communities we call home. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com or follow Anheuser-Busch on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FIRE COUNCIL

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, emergency medical, and rescue services. The NVFC serves as the voice of the volunteer in the national arena and provides critical advocacy, resources, programs, and education for first responders across the nation. Learn more at www.nvfc.org.

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch
Newly introduced position will focus on enhancing customer experience

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Annexus Health, Inc., the leading healthcare technology company that is revolutionizing the patient access journey through its innovative solutions, today announced that Sarah Provan has joined its leadership team as Vice President of Operations, overseeing the Implementation, Support, Content, Training, and Technical Program Management teams.

Added to support the company's rapid growth, this new role is focused on enhancing efficiency across the organization, beginning with customer operations.

"Sarah will head up the creation of an operations center of excellence at Annexus Health," said Co-Founder and President Brad Frazier. "She is a seasoned leader and change agent with a track record of finding new and innovative ways to increase impact, decrease cost, and ultimately improve the healthcare ecosystem for patients and their families. She's a natural fit for Annexus Health."

Sarah comes to Annexus Health with 15 years of healthcare IT experience, most recently serving as Senior Director of Operations at Collective, a PointClickCare company. There, she drove strategy and performance of 7 professional service teams during an incredible growth phase, tripling the size of the Collective network and doubling annual recurring revenue. Prior to that position, Sarah was Vice President of Operations at Health Catalyst, driving strategy and implementation of tools and resources for a team of 130 analytic engineers and directors during the start-up phase of the business unit.

"I love helping business groups evolve into their next phase of maturity, and I'm excited to do that for my teams at Annexus Health," said Sarah. "There's such a deep need in the industry for the solutions Annexus Health offersI'm passionate about being part of the solution for the huge challenge of patient affordability and equitable access to care. The Annexus Health mission is a powerful one because it's personal to everyone here. We've all known someone who has needed high-cost care at some point in their lives, and that motivates all of us to really lean into our work and build a better patient access journey."

About Annexus Health

Annexus Health is the leading healthcare technology company that is revolutionizing the patient access journey by delivering innovative solutions, including tech-enabled services, that reduce financial and administrative burdens to improve access, speed, and adherence to critical care. Learn more at annexushealth.com.

Media Contact:

Tim Koenig

VP Marketing

[email protected]

SOURCE Annexus Health
SHANGHAI, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asieris Pharmaceuticals (688176), a global biopharma company specializing in discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and other related diseases, announced that the Phase III bridging clinical trial of Hexvix for bladder cancer diagnosis met the primary endpoint. The results of the study will be submitted to the Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for a new drug application (NDA) in the coming months.

The study is a prospective, self-controlled, multicenter Phase  trial aimed at investigating the additional detection rate and safety of Hexvix and blue light cystoscopy (BLC) versus white light cystoscopy in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) including tumors with stage carcinoma in situ (CIS), Ta, and T1.

A total of 158 patients were enrolled in this study. The completed statistical analysis results indicate that the study has been successfully conducted and has achieved the primary endpoint. The results of the study will be presented at upcoming academic conferences.

In January 2021, Asieris entered into a license agreement with Photocure ASA (Photocure, OSE:PHO), a bladder cancer specialty company based in Oslo, Norway, to obtain the exclusive registration and commercialization rights of Hexvix in mainland China and Taiwan.

"The clinical data of Hexvix further confirms its outstanding clinical performance. We sincerely thank all the researchers and participants for their dedication and efforts in advancing this clinical study." said Dr. Linda Wu, Chief Development Officer of Asieris, "This marks a significant milestone in our company's comprehensive efforts to create an integrated diagnostic and therapeutic solution in the field of bladder cancer. We will continue to vigorously advance the follow-up work, aiming to achieve commercialization and benefit more bladder cancer patients as soon as possible."

About Asieris

Asieris Pharmaceuticals(688176.SH), founded in March 2010, is a global biopharma company specializing in discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and other related diseases. We strive to improve human health to preserve patient's dignity. We aim to become a global pharma leader that integrates R&D, manufacturing and commercialization in our areas of focus, as we provide best-in-class integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions for patients in China and worldwide.

The company has been developing its proprietary R&D platform and core technologies, exploring new mechanisms of action, and efficiently screening and evaluating drug candidates. With a well-established in-house R&D system and expertise in global drug development, Asieris is committed to launching first-in-class drugs and other innovative products to address huge unmet needs in its areas of focus.

Asieris is also enhancing its pipeline for genitourinary diseases via proprietary R&D and strategic partnerships, while closely following cutting-edge technologies and therapeutics. The company strives to discover and identify unmet clinical needs, and adopts a forward-looking approach in product planning and life-cycle management. We aim to establish an outstanding portfolio that covers diagnosis and treatment in a bid to benefit more patients in China and globally.

SOURCE Asieris
NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Automated Material Handling Equipment Market size in the US is expected to increase by USD 1.51 billion between 2021 and 2026, with a CAGR of 3.97%. The comprehensive report covers market segmentation by product (conveyor system, AS/RS, robotics system and AGV) and end-user (Automotive, e-commerce and 3PL, food and beverage, and others).

Strategic Objectives of the Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in the US:

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in US 2022-2026

Market Expansion and Growth: The market aims to solidify its position by expanding its market share and exploring new industry segments. By venturing into previously untapped areas, it seeks to achieve sustained growth and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

The market aims to solidify its position by expanding its market share and exploring new industry segments. By venturing into previously untapped areas, it seeks to achieve sustained growth and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Innovation and Product Development: The market is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technological advancement, fostering the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, and machine learning. This drive for innovation ensures the development of solutions that are not only advanced but also adaptable to evolving customer needs.

The market is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technological advancement, fostering the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, and machine learning. This drive for innovation ensures the development of solutions that are not only advanced but also adaptable to evolving customer needs. Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction: A key objective is to offer solutions that significantly enhance operational efficiency while simultaneously reducing costs for businesses. Through the implementation of automation, the market strives to optimize processes, minimize manual labor, and reduce maintenance expenses, ultimately contributing to improved productivity and profitability for its clients.

A key objective is to offer solutions that significantly enhance operational efficiency while simultaneously reducing costs for businesses. Through the implementation of automation, the market strives to optimize processes, minimize manual labor, and reduce maintenance expenses, ultimately contributing to improved productivity and profitability for its clients. Customer-Centric Approach: Customer satisfaction is paramount. The market's customer-centric approach involves tailoring its offerings to address specific industry requirements. It places great importance on providing exceptional customer service, ensuring that clients receive solutions that precisely match their needs and receive comprehensive support throughout their partnership.

Customer satisfaction is paramount. The market's customer-centric approach involves tailoring its offerings to address specific industry requirements. It places great importance on providing exceptional customer service, ensuring that clients receive solutions that precisely match their needs and receive comprehensive support throughout their partnership. Market Differentiation and Branding: To stand out in a competitive landscape, the market focuses on market differentiation and branding. By highlighting its unique strengths and competitive advantages, it aims to carve a distinct identity that resonates with clients and positions it as a leader in the automated material handling sector.

To stand out in a competitive landscape, the market focuses on market differentiation and branding. By highlighting its unique strengths and competitive advantages, it aims to carve a distinct identity that resonates with clients and positions it as a leader in the automated material handling sector. Continuous Research and Market Analysis: Remaining at the forefront of industry trends requires ongoing research and analysis. The market's commitment to staying informed about evolving customer preferences and market dynamics ensures its ability to adapt strategies, refine offerings, and maintain a competitive edge.

These strategic objectives collectively drive the automated material handling equipment market's growth, innovation, and customer-centric approach within the US and beyond.

The Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in the US

The Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in the US is driven by advanced plant automation and Industry 4.0 technologies. These factors enable enhanced efficiency and reduced costs, particularly in industries like food and beverage and pharmaceuticals. However, challenges, such as the complexity of equipment usage and regulatory compliance, demand attention. The market's focus on innovation, customer needs, sustainability, and strategic collaborations positions it for success. As it navigates these dynamics, the market is poised to capitalize on opportunities, address challenges, and lead the way toward a future marked by transformative growth and industry leadership. For more information on market drivers, trends, or challenges, find the sample report here.

The Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in the US report also includes detailed analyses of the competitive landscape of the market and information about 10 market companies, including:

Daifuku Co. Ltd.

Grabit Inc.

Honeywell International Inc.

Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc.

inVia Robotics Inc.

John Bean Technologies Corp.

KION GROUP AG

Locus Robotics Corp.

Material Handling Systems Inc.

Meidensha Corp.

Technavio provides the Automated Material Handling Equipment Market in the US Analysis Report 2023-2027 along with the historical data! Buy the full report here.

Below, find a few suggestions:

Full Service Long-term Material Handling Equipment Rental Market: The full service long-term material handling equipment rental market size in Europe has the potential to grow by USD 802.11 million during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will decelerate at a CAGR of 9.27%. This report provides a detailed analysis of the market by end-user (construction, industrial, and agriculture), geography (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and rest of Europe), and key companies.

Material Handling Equipment Telematics Market: The material handling equipment telematics market share is expected to increase by USD 2.17 billion from 2021 to 2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 10.85%. The report covers material handling equipment telematics market segmentation by product (truck, earthmoving equipment, crane, tractor, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, and South America).

About Technavio:

Technavio is a trusted source for industry news and insights that help businesses stay ahead in today's competitive landscape. With a team of experienced analysts and researchers, we continuously scrutinize and evaluate the dynamic landscape of markets across the globe. Our comprehensive coverage, meticulous research methodologies, and pragmatic industry expertise have earned us the trust and reliance of a vast clientele, including over 100 esteemed Fortune 500 organizations.

SOURCE Technavio
Median Home Price in the Mid-Atlantic Region Up 3.9% in July, Strongest Price Growth Since January, Different Trend than Other National Markets

Demand remains strong as low inventory has forced buyers to continue their home search well into the summer

Sales activity is still tracking below 2022, but the gap has narrowed as mortgage rates have moved closer to last year's levels

The main constraint is still supply, as new listing activity is at a more than two decade low across the region

NORTH BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mid-Atlantic housing market stayed firmly on the summer pace set in June, as buyers still compete for historically-low levels of inventory even in the midst of an elevated mortgage rate environment, according to the Bright MLS Mid-Atlantic July Housing Report released today. The median home price in the region was up 3.9% in July, the strongest price growth since January.

"It's been surprising to me that higher rates and prices have not pushed more people out of the market, particularly first-time buyers," said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS Chief Economist. "Buyers are definitely having to get creative to navigate the competitive market, with assumable mortgages and seller financing now part of the conversation for some."

"It's been surprising to me that higher rates and prices have not pushed more people out of the market, particularly first-time buyers," said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS Chief Economist. Tweet this

The median sales price in the Mid-Atlantic was $400,000 in July, 3.9% higher than a year ago, with prices up in each of the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore metro areas. Median days on the market, an indicator of how quickly homes are moving, stayed flat at seven in Baltimore, nine in Philadelphia, and was even down a day in the Washington, D.C. metro area to seven.

Summer typically sees the market cool slightly, as vacation and travel season kicks into high gear. No relief was found in the market for buyers, however, as new listings were down over 29% in the region. Active listings were down 19.1%, further indicating the pace of the market is still very fast, with buyers needing to move quickly once they find a home on the market that suits their needs.

New pending sales declined 13% and closed sales were down 20% year-over-year across the region in July. The lack of inventory is also impacting showings, which were down nearly 12% from a year ago. Despite the year-over-year declines, the gap in market activity between this year and last year has narrowed.

Looking ahead, Bright expects the fall market in the Mid-Atlantic will be characterized by low inventory, stable or rising home prices, and growing affordability challenges. Mortgage rates will begin to come down but will likely remain around 6.5%. With mortgage rates remaining elevated, homeowners have little incentive to sell if it means they will have to give up their low rate. However, expect listing activity to increase slightly over the next couple of months, as there will be more "movers of necessity," as well as more transactions with non-standard financing, including assumable mortgages, which are available in some cases for FHA loans or mortgages backed by the VA or USDA, as well as seller financing.

Key Market Takeaways

Philadelphia Metro Area: The Home Price has Risen for the 6th Consecutive Year, but Buyers are Still Willing to Buy

In July, the median price in the Philadelphia metro area was $369,000, just shy of the $370,000 record in June. Prices rose in all local markets in the region, including in Philadelphia County, where home prices had dipped earlier this year.

Housing affordability is a growing challenge in the Philadelphia region. Despite the affordability challenges, home buyers remain active in the Philadelphia area market. While showing activity was down 13.8% compared to last July, the 2022 to 2023 gap in buyer traffic has been narrowing.

Baltimore Metro Area: The Lack of Supply is Causing Frustrations for Buyers

In July, a total of 2,852 new listings came onto the market across the Baltimore metro area, which is down 38.7% compared to last July and is at a more than 20-year low. While elevated mortgage rates and growing affordability challenges have not deterred buyers, the persistently low inventory has subdued sales activity across the region.

Buyers need to act quickly, particularly in the region's suburban markets where there is only about a month's supply of inventory. The median days on market in the Baltimore region was 7 in July, meaning half of all homes sold in a week or less.

Washington, D.C. Metro Area: Home Prices are Making the Strongest Climb in Over a Year, but Demand is Still Strong

The Washington area's hot summer weather typically slows housing market activity, but this year home shoppers are still active, competing over ever-shrinking inventory and driving prices higher. In July, the median sales price in the Washington, D.C. metro area was $590,000, a 4.8% rise from a year ago and the biggest year-over-year increase since June 2022. Prices are rising faster in the region's suburban markets, where housing is slightly more affordable.

Overall, across the region, there were just 5,731 total active listings at the end of July, down 29.3% from a year ago and less than half of the inventory that was on the market prior to the pandemic. Buyers this summer have been acting quickly. The median days on market in the Washington, D.C. metro area was just 7 in July, meaning that half of all homes sold in a week or less.

Central Pennsylvania: Prices are Growing and Inventory Declines for the Second Consecutive Month

The price trajectory in Central Pennsylvania continued upward in July. While median price growth moderated in February through April, the past few months have seen bigger gains in price. July 2023's median price of $275,000 was 7.8% higher than last year and only $2,000 less than the record high median price hit the prior month.

While demand is slower than last year, the lack of new listings has started eating into the inventory gains from earlier this year. Active listings decreased 7.8% year-over-year in July. This follows the smaller 1.4% decline that happened in June. Price pressure will likely remain as the inventory situation in Central Pennsylvania is bleak.

Maryland-West Virginia Panhandle: Prices are at Record High While Demand Continues to Outweigh Inventory

The median sale price in the Maryland/West Virginia Panhandle reached $295,000 in July 2023. This is the highest median price recorded for the region. Home prices are now more than 50% higher than they were in 2019. Still, the Panhandle is significantly more affordable than other major metros in the Mid-Atlantic.

As buyers consider affordability, the Maryland/West Virginia Panhandle has been a draw. Demand in the area continues to outweigh supply. New listings have been significantly below 2022 levels, and while pending and closed sales have been lower, their gap is narrowing. As inventory continues to fall, price pressure will continue as buyers in the Maryland/West Virginia Panhandle compete for limited listings.

Maryland Eastern Shore: The Median Price Falls after a High in May, but Inventory is Unlikely to Grow Anytime Soon

Maryland Eastern Shore has had some ebbs and flows in its median sale price. In July, the median price decreased 2.2% compared to the previous year, now at $342,350, but this comes just two months after hitting the highest median sale price on record.

Inventory struggles and elevated mortgage rates have limited transaction activity. Yet as mortgage rates more closely resemble 2022 now than they did at the beginning of the year, the difference in pending sales has declined. In July 2023, new pending sales lagged July 2022 by 12.3%. Moves out of necessity (e.g., marriage, divorce, children, job change) will continue, and the gap may close further in the fall.

Del/Mar Coastal: Inventory is Higher than Levels in 2022, Unlike the Rest of the Mid-Atlantic, but Pricing Pressure Persists

In some ways, Del/Mar Coastal matches the overall Mid-Atlantic housing market trends  prices continued to climb year-over-year, new listings have been added much slower than their 2022 pace, and the difference between pending sales in the two years narrowed.

Yet Del/Mar Coastal has more inventory than was available to buyers last year. The Mid-Atlantic saw a second, and larger, decline in inventory in July. The gap between active listings in Del/Mar Coastal is shrinking but remained in positive territory, up 9.0%.

The relative "extra" inventory in Del/Mar has not impacted price trends. While May's median price declined 0.5% year-over-year, June's was up 7.9%, and the July median price rose 5.1% compared to a year ago.

North Central Virginia: The Median Price is Up While Listings Continue to Plummet

While some markets around the country have seen dropping prices, the same is not true in much of the Mid-Atlantic, including North Central Virginia. The median sale price in North Central Virginia was 4.4% higher than the previous year, off slightly from its recent high of $475,000.

In July 2023, active listings decreased 22.8% from last year. The difference has grown over the past three months, down 4.5% in May and then 15.8% in June. Active listings may not look so bleak compared to the only 1,019 that were on the market in February 2022, but inventory levels are less than 40% of what they were in 2019.

Southern Maryland: Prices Have Come Down Slightly, but Inventory Remains a Big Constraint

The median sale price in Southern Maryland declined 1.2% year-over-year in July; however, the dip in prices was driven by a 4.3% decline in single-family home prices. The price trend in Southern Maryland has been up and down in 2023, likely a result of the mix of homes being sold and the push and pull of supply and demand.

Low inventory will keep the Southern Maryland market competitive. Active listings are down for the 2nd month in a row, down 17.0% in July. New listings have consistently tracked below their 2022 levels and are not enough to add to supply.

About Bright MLS

Bright MLS was founded in 2016 as a collaboration between 43 visionary associations and two of the nation's most prominent MLSs to transform what an MLS is and what it does, so real estate pros and the people they serve can thrive today and into our data-driven future through an open, clear and competitive housing market for all. Bright is proud to be the source of truth for comprehensive real estate data in the Mid-Atlantic, with market intelligence currently covering six states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Bright MLS's innovative tool libraryboth created and curatedprovides services and award-winning support to well over 100K real estate professionals, enabling their delivery on the promise of home to over half a million home buyers and sellers monthly. Learn more at BrightMLS.com.

The full Mid-Atlantic and new area reports are available at BrightMLS.com/MarketInsights .

SOURCE Bright MLS
MIAMI, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Wash Advisory, LLC ("CWA"), a leading investment banking firm exclusively focused on advising privately-owned car wash businesses, is pleased to announce the successful sale of Ducky's Car Wash, located in Chicago, Illinois. The CWA team represented Ducky's Car Wash on the transaction.

Duckys Car Wash

This strategic sale marks a significant milestone for both the seller and the buyer. Ducky's Car Wash has been a cornerstone of the community, providing exceptional service and customer satisfaction for many years. "The transaction represents a win-win situation, with the seller achieving their financial goals and the buyer making a valuable addition to their investment portfolio" says John-Michael Tamburro, Managing Director at CWA

About Car Wash Advisory

Car Wash Advisory is a leading nationwide investment banking and brokerage firm specializing in, and focused solely on, the car wash industry. Founded by CEO Harry Caruso, Car Wash Advisory's team of financial professionals provides sell-side M&A advisory and debt and equity capital raising services to car wash owners and operators across the United States. To learn more or reach out to the CWA team, visit www.carwashadvisory.com

Media Contact:

Robin Sisk

3322094246

363646@email4pr.com

SOURCE Car Wash Advisory
Luis Moreno Ocampo , first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said Azerbaijan's blockade applies as genocide under the Genocide Convention

Ocampo called on world powers to prevent starvation of 120,000 Armenians

CFTJ says turning a blind eye to the tragedy could ripple around the world

MONTROSE, Calif., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), a group of attorneys dedicated to collecting testimonial evidence of war crimes, has called on world powers to intervene in Nagorno-Karabakh after a report this week by renowned international legal expert Luis Moreno Ocampo found Azerbaijan's blockade of the enclave constituted a genocide against the 120,000 ethnic Armenians living there.

Luis Moreno Ocampo

"This hidden genocide, starvation by blockade, has been exposed," the California-based group said. "It is now the responsibility of state parties, especially the US, to take measures to stop Genocide 2023."

Maggie Arutyunyan, Esq. a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of CFTJ said the horror of genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh is the failure of the state parties to the Genocide Convention that keep repeating the words "never again" to mass atrocities but have not stepped up to prevent the latest case.

"When put on notice by Mr. Ocampo's thorough report, those who continue to turn a blind eye become complicit in Genocide 2023," she said, adding that ending the blockade will have the immediate effect of preventing what Ocampo called the "physical destruction" of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. "At this point, it takes political will by the US and state parties to stop Genocide 2023, and stop starvation by blockade."

Azerbaijan seized control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan's official borders but which has operated as a self-governing entity for decades, in a deadly 2020 war. What remains of the enclave  known by Armenians as Artsakh  is connected to the outside world by the Lachin Corridor. On December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan blocked the road, allowing only intermittent passage by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers  and since June 15 all passage has been entirely blocked, cutting off food and other supplies.

"Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks," Ocampo wrote in the 22-page pro bono report (read it here ) entitled "Genocide against Armenians in 2023."

Ocampo, who was the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, noted that Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention determined that "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction" constituted a genocide attempt.

"You will find no crematoria in Artsakh, nor machetes, but genocide by starvation is no less devastating for being silent," Ocampo said. "It was the same deadly method used against Armenians in 1915, against Poles and Jews in 1939, and against the people of Srebrenica in 1993. And unless we intervene right now, we'll have a Genocide on our hands by year's end."

Ocampo, who began his legendary career by helping to liberate his native Argentina from military dictatorship, had written last week to Azerbaijan's authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev, demanding explanations about his intentions and cautioning that his behavior could be investigated as a genocide. He did not receive a reply. Ocampo said Aliyev should be investigated by the ICC, but the priority now is to prevent the physical elimination of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Ocampo's meticulous analysis of President Aliyev's intention of genocide, and possible avenues for state parties to prevent 'physical destruction' of Armenians, is crucial," Arutyunyan said. "As neutral third parties we will continue to document first-hand evidence, using proper methodology ensuring its reliability and authenticity."

The Center for Truth and Justice collects testimonial evidence of war crimes and provides them to international organizations and actors  especially amplifying the voice of Armenians affected by discrimination, ethnic cleansing, displacement, war crimes, mass atrocities and genocide.

Ocampo's report, released Aug. 8, has been delivered to the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, to Armenia's Ambassador to the United Nations Mher Margaryan, and to the Armenian Foreign Ministry in Yerevan.

During his time at the ICC, in 2008, Ocampo obtained arrest warrants against Sudan's then-President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Bashir was deposed and is in jail in Khartoum.

ABOUT THE CFTJ:

CFTJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in November 2020 in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh war. We are a group of lawyers overseeing the collection of firsthand testimonial evidence from war survivors via in-depth, recorded interviews. We run two law clinics, one in Armenia and one in Nagorno-Karabakh, which are the first of their kind. Through our clinics, we train Armenian law students and young lawyers to interview survivors of the war and record their testimonies. To date, we have conducted hundreds of interviews and trained nearly 100 current or future lawyers. By being a permanent home for the testimonials, CFTJ serves as a resource to academic and legal practitioners who seek to use the evidence for purposes of education and/or legal action.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Maggie Arutyunyan, Communications Director, at 1(818)749-8185

SOURCE Center for Truth and Justice
SHANGHAI, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpaca products, which used to be a niche industry, have thrived in China thanks to the China International Import Expo.

In 2021, Pacific Alpacas, an alpaca fiber provider from New Zealand, suffered a sales slump at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns and was eager to explore new markets.

Booth of BBFAT, a Peruvian brand of handmade alpaca wool products, at the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) (PRNewsfoto/CIIE)

Considering China's large population and expanding middle-income group, the enterprise's manager Hu Tao set his sights on its market.

After months of preparation, the company attended the fourth CIIE in November 2021, with a 9-square-meter booth.

To Hu's surprise, the booth received a throng of buyers, distributors and suppliers. The 100 alpaca wool quilts he brought sold out within three days.

This unexpected result boosted Hu's confidence in the Chinese market.

In June 2022, Pacific Alpacas transported 3.3 metric tons of alpaca fiber to China, marking the largest export of alpaca fiber in New Zealand's history.

Five months later, the company participated in the 2022 CIIE and sealed strategic agreements with several Chinese partners including China Southern Airlines' e-commerce branch and a cross-border e-commerce industrial park in Sanya, Hainan province.

Hu said the CIIE can help enterprises tap into Chinese markets quickly. Pacific Alpacas is not the only alpaca product supplier that benefited from the CIIE.

At the fifth CIIE in November 2022, the Peruvian alpaca product brand BBFAT showcased 120 exhibits and made contracts with 23 partners.

Xu Ling, head of brand operations in BBFAT, said that when it entered Chinese markets in 2021, they exhibited only 30 products at the CIIE.

"Thanks to the event, we have gained lots of fans in China," Xu said.

Currently, BBFAT is operating five stores in China which are racking up sales of about 400,000 yuan ($55,600) every month, according to Xu.

As export orders surge, a growing number of Peruvian craftsmen have escaped poverty, Xu added.

Diana Pita, commercial counsellor of Peru's Consulate General in Shanghai, said that CIIE has become a perfect platform for foreign companies to learn about China's commercial culture and consumption trends.

BBFAT has developed alpaca wool-made plush panda toys for Chinese markets, while Pacific Alpacas has created a variety of alpaca coats.

In addition, Wild Wild World, an alpaca theme park built by Pacific Alpacas and an alpaca farm from Inner Mongolia autonomous region, began operations in Shanghai's Chongming Island in April.

Covering an area of 12.53 hectares, the park is the largest one of its kind in East China.

Now Pacific Alpacas is preparing for the sixth CIIE, which is scheduled for November.

"In contrast from the previous sessions, we have applied for a special booth this year," Hu said, adding that they will create an array of alpaca-themed artworks for the event in collaboration with artists from New Zealand.

BBFAT also plans to bring more than 200 exhibits to the sixth CIIE, according to Xu.

ContactMs. Cui Yan

Tel.0086-21-968888

Email[email protected]

Websitehttp://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ciieonline|

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/ciieonline

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SOURCE CIIE
The badge from the Leadville, Colo. Police force and engraved rifle of Harvey "Arapahoe Harve" Faucett will be offered with meticulously documented history

ROCK ISLAND, Ill., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The legend of a Leadville, Colo. city marshal will ride again when his solid gold, diamond studded badge and engraved hunting rifle cross the auction podium this August at Rock Island Auction Company's (RIAC) Premier Firearms Auction Aug. 25  27. The two items of lawman and frontier scout Harvey S. Faucett, also known as "Arapahoe Harve," will be offered separately with a pre-auction estimate on the lavish badge being $25,000-$45,000, while the rifle is expected to bring $30,000-$50,000.

Courtesy of Rock Island Auction Company

The gold, shield-shaped badge was presented to City Marshal Harvey S. Faucett by the Leadville, Colo. police force on July 11, 1884, as a token of gratitude and honor for Faucett's esteemed service including the arrest of Doc Holliday, one of the American West's most famous figures. With a sculpted eagle atop the badge and Faucett's name engraved on the front, it also bears a five-pointed star with each point possessing its own diamond, and a larger diamond at the star's center. Nestled in its original case and with only minor handling marks, it is one of the finest, 19th century, western peace officer badges known to collectors.

Faucett led a fascinating life that reads like a period dime novel. While his most widely recognized adventure is the 1884 arrest in Leadville of Doc Holliday, a close second would be the story of how Faucett obtained his beloved rifle.

The engraved rifle was a treasured gift that Faucett received from Zechariah Chafee. Faucett and another man were hired by Chafee and Professor Henry Newton to guide them through the hostile Black Hills. Unfortunately, Newton died along the journey, so, Faucett agreed to help Chafee transport his body across a 200-mile stretch of land during which they encountered life-threatening challenges. Chafee was touched by the gesture and pledged his undying friendship to Faucett which he commemorated with a handsome hunting rifle from Providence Tool Co. Despite the many ordeals they endured along their trek, the presentation inscription simply states, "H.S. Faucett, From Z. Chafee for services, 1877." The two would remain dear, lifelong friends.

"The accompanying letters between Chafee and Faucett, meticulously documented by the late Greg Lampe, a renowned fine arms collector, provide a thorough account of this remarkable story," said Kevin Hogan, President of Rock Island Auction Company. "The badge and rifle's association with these characters has cemented their place in the folklore of the American West."

Both historic items include extensive research, the rifle is even accompanied by a period photo of Faucett holding his treasured hunting arm.

View the full auction catalog for the August Premier Firearms Auction here.

About Rock Island Auction Company

Rock Island Auction Company is the world's #1 auction company for firearms, bladed weapons and militaria. Founded in 1993 by its current CEO Patrick Hogan, RIAC continues to lead the industry with record sales numbers and their extensive and beautiful marketing efforts. Their 150,000 square foot campus consists of two buildings and hosts around 18+ auctions each year. They actively seek consignments, be it a single weapon or a collection of hundreds, a thousand-dollar item or one million. For more information, please visit www.rockislandauction.com or call 1-800-238-8022.

Media Contact

Julia Patterson

847-306-0912

[email protected]

SOURCE Rock Island Auction Company
CHICAGO, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Cosmetic Antioxidants Market by Source (Natural, Synthetic), Type (Vitamins, Enzymes, Polyphenols), Function (Anti-aging, Hair Conditioning, UV Protection), and Application (Skin Care, Hair Care, Make-up)- Global Forecast to 2028", size was USD 132 million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 178 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.2%, between 2023 and 2028.

The cosmetic antioxidants market is driven by the rise in the aging population, increasing disposable income, and changing lifestyles of consumers. Self-expression and appearance are of utmost importance in today's fast-paced social media-driven world, thereby driving the demand for cosmetic products, which in turn, is fueling the demand for antioxidants.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Cosmetic Antioxidants Market"

283  Tables

77  Figures

268  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=144119844

Natural source segment to account for larger share in the cosmetic antioxidants market in 2022.

The growth of the natural source segment of the cosmetic antioxidants market can be attributed to the formulation and stringent implementation of various regulatory obligations over the use of chemically derived ingredients in cosmetics. Moreover, the increased awareness among the masses about the benefits offered by natural ingredients is also fueling the growth of the natural source segment of the cosmetic antioxidants market.

Vitamins to lead cosmetic antioxidants market during the forecast period.

Vitamins are used in various cosmetics products. Their positive effect on the human skin is a major driving factor. Vitamins are known for their antioxidant properties, which help protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals. They can also promote collagen production, improve skin elasticity, and enhance the overall appearance of the skin. Additionally, certain vitamins have been found to have moisturizing, brightening, and anti-aging effects.

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Anti-aging segment to account for the larger share of the cosmetic antioxidants market in 2022.

The global population is aging, with a larger proportion of people reaching older age groups. As people age, there is a growing demand for products that can help maintain a youthful appearance and address age-related concerns. Cosmetic antioxidants are widely used in cosmetic products such as serums, face creams, and lotions, among others, as anti-aging ingredients. These antioxidants help increase collagen and hydrate the skin.

Skincare to lead the cosmetic antioxidants market during the forecast period.

Cosmetic antioxidants play a crucial role in skincare products. They help protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can lead to inflammation, premature aging, and other skin concerns. These antioxidants can be found in various skincare products, such as serums, moisturizers, and creams. Incorporating products with antioxidants into your skincare routine can help protect your skin and promote a healthier, more youthful appearance.

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Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region, in the overall cosmetic antioxidants market, during the forecast period.

The cosmetics industry in the Asia Pacific is flourishing due to a rise in the number of working women, increased spending of the masses on cosmetic products, and the growth of the young population in the region. Increasing population, improving standard of living, and rising e-commerce activities have increased the demand for cosmetic products in the region. Emerging economies such as China and India are high-growth markets for skin care, hair care, and make-up products in the region, owing to the economic growth of these countries and increased consumer spending on cosmetic products.

Market Players

The key players profiled in the cosmetic antioxidants market report include Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Croda International Plc (UK), BASF SE (Germany), Eastman Chemical Company (US), Wacker Chemie AG (Germany) and others.

Browse Adjacent Market: Specialty Chemicals Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Personal Care Ingredients Market - Global Forecast to 2027

Cosmetic Pigments Market- Global Forecast to 2026

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The United States assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August, and immediately focused on addressing global food insecurity.

There are now about 260 million people around the world who are acutely food insecure, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Food insecurity itself drives conflict; it drives forced migration. It stunts growth, both physical growth and economic growth. It holds countries back. It holds people back, he said. The flip side of the coin is were also increasingly seeing food being used as a weapon of war, for leverage, for political purposes in conflict after conflict  Weve just had 91 countries commit in a joint communique to ending the use of food as a tool of war. That, in and of itself, is a powerful statement, and we urge others to join.

This is most evident in Ukraine, where Russia, having torn up the Black Sea Grain Initiative that enabled Ukraine to export food, has been intentionally targeting food silos in Ukraine  literally destroying food as well as the means to produce it.

Russias actions have serious repercussions for the food insecure world-wide. Over the last year and a half, the United States has provided an additional $14.5 billion in food assistance to countries around the world. We are the largest contributor by far to the World Food Program  50 percent of its budget every single year, said Secretary Blinken.

But for all the emergency assistance that were providing, and others are providing, its not enough. The United Nations and particularly the World Food Program has determined that right now we need to address the food insecurity for well over 100 million people around the world, he said.

Finally, said Secretary Blinken, we also have to take a long-term perspective.

By 2050, it is estimated that the population of this planet could be as many as 10 billion people. Demand for food is likely to increase by 50 percent over what it is today, and yet yields  whats actually being produced  are going down, not up, he said.

We have to  and we are  addressing this challenge, said Secretary Blinken. Through programs like the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soil, a new U.S. initiative, we can grow more resilient, more nutritious food. This is a powerful new way to really make a difference over the long term in making sure that we have strong agricultural capacity and production around the world.
DANVILLE, Calif., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cubix Asset Management, a premier self-storage operator in Northern and Central California, is revolutionizing the tenant experience with the launch of Swivl's AI-powered chatbot and CallPotential's call center service.

With 80 years of combined experience, Cubix Asset Management (Cubix) is a trusted industry expert, owning and operating a portfolio of 38 properties comprising over 23,000 storage units and 2.8 million sq. ft.

The new call center and AI chatbot service enhance Cubix's comprehensive suite of services, including property management, acquisition and development, site planning, market analysis, and financial modeling.

The call center acts as a centralized hub, providing timely and professional responses to customer inquiries for rentals. Staffed by experienced professionals, it helps property owners maximize revenue and minimize expenses.

The Swivl chatbot offers instant support to customers 24/7, leveraging artificial intelligence to respond to user queries efficiently. This tool contributes to Cubix's goal of delivering a premium service experience.

Mason Levy, CEO of Swivl, expressed excitement about working with Cubix to bring a modern user interface and intuitive digital experience to their customers. Swivl's automated interactions help with sales inquiries, payment assistance, problem-solving, and more.

Cubix is committed to sustainable practices and designs green, state-of-the-art facilities that minimize environmental impact. The company's brand is preferred by over 400 self-storage operators.

Besides its services, Cubix handles HR, compliance, and facility operations, providing great support to optimize clients' self-storage businesses. Its financial reporting and performance analysis help clients make data-driven decisions.

The launch of the new call center and AI chatbot marks a significant milestone for Cubix in its mission to provide exceptional self-storage solutions. The company's industry expertise, innovative technology, and customer-centric approach set new standards in the self-storage industry.

To contact Cubix and learn more about its services, visit their website at www.cubixassetmanagement.com . Or email Cubix at [email protected].

About Us

Cubix Asset Management is a premier self-storage company with a strong presence in Northern and Central California. With over 80 years of combined experience, the company has designed, owned, and developed more than 400 self-storage facilities. Managing a portfolio of 38 properties, Cubix delivers exceptional customer experiences and tailored storage solutions. Their comprehensive services include property management, acquisition and development, design plans, permits, and consulting. Through innovative technology, sustainable practices, and premium service, Cubix helps clients maximize their self-storage assets and achieve success.

SOURCE Cubix Asset Management
BELLINGHAM, Wash., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiso, the renowned global retail chain offering a wide range of affordable and unique products, is thrilled to announce the grand opening at Sunset Square in Bellingham, Washington on September 2nd. "We are thrilled to open our store at Sunset Square in Bellingham," said Jack Williams, Chief Retail Operations Officer for Daiso USA. "This achievement reflects the dedication and support of our customers who have embraced Daiso's unique concept and diverse product range. We are excited to provide an exceptional shopping experience to the vibrant Bellingham community and look forward to serving our customers with the utmost care and dedication."

The new Daiso store at Sunset Square encompasses 9,760 square feet and promises to be a haven for shoppers seeking quality merchandise at affordable prices. With its extensive range of products spanning various categories, including Japanese inspired home decor, stationery, food, and more, Daiso has become synonymous with accessible and innovative offerings. John Clarke, Chief Development Officer for Daiso USA says, "Washington based Daiso customers have shown us through our online business and social media their desire for us to have more stores within the state, influencing our immediate growth strategy in this region. We currently operate 101 units in 7 states with more states opening in 2024".

On both Saturday, September 2nd and Sunday, September 3rd, the first 100 customers to shop at the Sunset Square location and make a minimum purchase of $30 will receive an exclusive tote bag and a plushie. These special offerings are Daiso's way of expressing gratitude to its loyal customers and welcoming new shoppers to the Daiso community.

Daiso invites customers to join in the celebration. The Sunset Square Daiso is anchored by neighboring tenant Xfinity and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m to 9 p.m and Sunday 10 a.m to 8 p.m.

About Daiso:

Daiso is a global retail chain founded in Japan, known for its vast array of unique and affordable products across various categories such as household goods, stationery, beauty, and more. Daiso entered the US market in 2005 and continues to expand its global footprint while maintaining its commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. The Daiso US headquarters is located in La Mirada, CA.

SOURCE Daiso USA
SEATTLE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiso, the renowned global retail chain offering a wide range of affordable and unique products, is thrilled to announce the grand opening at SeaTac Village in Federal Way, Washington on September 2nd. "We are thrilled to open our store at SeaTac Village in Federal Way," said Jack Williams, Chief Retail Operations Officer for Daiso USA. "This achievement reflects the dedication and support of our customers who have embraced Daiso's unique concept and diverse product range. We are excited to provide an exceptional shopping experience to the vibrant Federal Way community and look forward to serving our customers with the utmost care and dedication."

The new Daiso store at SeaTac Village encompasses 10,255 square feet and promises to be a haven for shoppers seeking quality merchandise at affordable prices. With its extensive range of products spanning various categories, including Japanese inspired home decor, stationery, food, and more, Daiso has become synonymous with accessible and innovative offerings. John Clarke, Chief Development Officer for Daiso USA says, "Washington based Daiso customers have shown us through our online business and social media their desire for us to have more stores within the state, influencing our immediate growth strategy in this region. We currently operate 101 units in 7 states with more states opening in 2024".

On both Saturday, September 2nd and Sunday, September 3rd, the first 100 customers to shop at the SeaTac Village location and make a minimum purchase of $30 will receive an exclusive tote bag and a plushie. These special offerings are Daiso's way of expressing gratitude to its loyal customers and welcoming new shoppers to the Daiso community.

Daiso invites customers to join in the celebration. The SeaTac Village Daiso is anchored by neighboring tenant HomeGoods and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m to 9 p.m and Sunday 10 a.m to 8 p.m.

About Daiso:

Daiso is a global retail chain founded in Japan, known for its vast array of unique and affordable products across various categories such as household goods, stationery, beauty, and more. Daiso entered the US market in 2005 and continues to expand its global footprint while maintaining its commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. The Daiso US headquarters is located in La Mirada, CA.

SOURCE Daiso USA
NEW YORK and LONDON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP ("Davidson Kempner"), a global investment management firm, announces the signing of a binding agreement with X3 Group ("X3"), a subsidiary of ION, for the sale of Prelios S.p.A. ("Prelios").

Established in 1990 in Milan, Italy, Prelios is the Italian leader in alternative asset management, servicing and specialized property services with more than 40bn of assets under management across non-performing loans, unlikely-to-pay exposures and real estate funds.

Since investment funds advised by Davidson Kempner acquired the business in 2018, Prelios has been able to grow its revenue from 100m to over 300m while significantly improving profitability.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the authorization of the relevant authorities.

Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor and Linklaters LLP provided legal advice to Davidson Kempner.

Lazard acted as financing advisor to Prelios.

The law firm Russo De Rosa Associati acted as tax and legal advisors for the management.

UBS acted as financial advisor, Gattai, Minoli, Partners and Chiomenti provided legal advice, Facchini Rossi Michelutti provided tax advice to ION.

Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas led the consortium of banks, also including Banco BPM, Standard Chartered Bank and Mediobanca, that are providing financing to X3 for the transaction. BNP Paribas and Mediobanca acted as financial advisors to X3. Milbank provided legal advice for the financing to X3 and Latham & Watkins advised the lenders.

About Davidson Kempner Capital Management

Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP is a global investment management firm with over 40 years of experience and a focus on fundamental investing with a multi-strategy approach. Davidson Kempner has more than $37 billion in assets under management and over 500 employees across seven offices: New York, Philadelphia, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Mumbai. Additional information is available at: www.davidsonkempner.com .

About Prelios

Prelios is the leading, vertically integrated Italian player offering a one-stop shop for investors and banks in alternative asset management and high value-added services across the real estate and credit value chains. Prelios is the first private player in the unlikely-to-pay segment leveraging on its first mover advantage and highly innovative DNA, long-term partnerships with the two leading Italian banks and sizeable management structure in the market, while also leading in the non-performing loans servicing segment. Prelios acts as operating partner of choice for large global and domestic institutional investors ensuring end-to-end coverage from scouting of new market opportunities, structuring, asset management and exit. Additional information is available at: https://prelios.com.

About ION

ION is a permanent capital investment holding company focused on software and data to digitize and automate mission-critical workflows. Additional information is available at: https://iongroup.com/.

Press Contacts

Davidson Kempner

Greenbrook

Rob White/Teresa Berezowski

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 207 952 2000

Community

Roberto Patriarca

Email: [email protected]

Tel: + 39 335 6509568

ION

https://iongroup.com/media-inquiry/

SOURCE Davidson Kempner; ION
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DCKAP, a B2B technology company that shapes online shopping experiences for distributors, has launched Klizer, a new brand dedicated to providing specialized ecommerce services. This milestone follows DCKAP's strategic focus on developing technology products that simplify commerce for distributors a year ago.

Founded in 2005, DCKAP has since been at the forefront of transforming ecommerce experiences for distributors through its dedicated team of experts. With the rebranding to Klizer, the ecommerce services division is operating under its own unique identity.

This new Klizer branding enables its professional services team to operate independently, better serving clients and expanding services.

Klizer Ecommerce

Klizer's mission is to drive growth and profitability, by providing businesses with reliable ecommerce services that enhance their online presence and boost revenue.

The company helps clients create opportunities for commerce success. Klizer provides innovativeand comprehensiveecommerce solutions tailored to each client's unique needs, challenges and industry.

Klizer offers a wide range of ecommerce services, including development and design services for BigCommerce, Shopify, and Adobe Commerce, ADA compliance, mobile development services and many more.

New Website Implementation: Delivering visually stunning and user-friendly websites, tailored to clients' specific requirements.

Delivering visually stunning and user-friendly websites, tailored to clients' specific requirements. Seamless Platform Migration: Ensuring smooth upgrades from custom-built ecommerce platforms to modern, scalable SaaS solutions, enhancing efficiency and scalability.

Ensuring smooth upgrades from custom-built ecommerce platforms to modern, scalable SaaS solutions, enhancing efficiency and scalability. Optimizing Performance with Re-platforming: Migrating clients to new platforms, maximizing performance and customer experience.

Migrating clients to new platforms, maximizing performance and customer experience. Support and Maintenance: In-house developers provide ongoing support and maintenance, ensuring seamless operations and sustained growth.

In-house developers provide ongoing support and maintenance, ensuring seamless operations and sustained growth. Providing Market Presence: Marketing services including SEO strategies and digital marketing campaigns, that empower B2B distributors to reach their target audience and expand their market presence.

Marketing services including SEO strategies and digital marketing campaigns, that empower B2B distributors to reach their target audience and expand their market presence. Flexibility with Headless Commerce: Utilizing modern technologies, providing unmatched flexibility and customization for enhanced online shopping experiences.

Utilizing modern technologies, providing unmatched flexibility and customization for enhanced online shopping experiences. Ensuring Glitch-free Experiences: Ecommerce quality assurance (QA) services that employ rigorous measures, delivering glitch-free and optimized ecommerce experiences.

Ecommerce quality assurance (QA) services that employ rigorous measures, delivering glitch-free and optimized ecommerce experiences. ADA Compliance: Making websites accessible to more users.

Making websites accessible to more users. Enhanced Customer Engagement with Mobile Apps: Offering engaging and feature-rich mobile apps, driving increased customer engagement and sales.

Klizer is committed to being a strategic partner for B2B businesses seeking success in the digital marketplace. As part of its continuous improvement and innovation, Klizer plans to expand its services to meet evolving client needs. Its team is dedicated to ongoing learning, with plans to introduce more service offerings in the near future.

DCKAP will continue to offer distributor-specific products, such as DCKAP Integrator and DCKAP PIM, addressing unique industry needs and challenges. Despite operating under distinct brand identities, DCKAP and Klizer remain united in their ambition to simplify commerce and drive growth.

With DCKAP's focus on product development and Klizer's commitment to delivering exceptional ecommerce services, clients can look forward to a dynamic partnership that addresses their commerce and digital business needs.

For more information about Klizer and its comprehensive ecommerce services, visit www.Klizer.com .

About Klizer:

Klizer is a specialized ecommerce services brand with 18+ years of experience under the DCKAP umbrella, dedicated to empowering B2B businesses through customized solutions. With a team of experienced professionals, Klizer offers a comprehensive suite of ecommerce services, driving growth and delivering seamless online shopping experiences for distributors.

About DCKAP:

DCKAP , founded in 2005, is a forward-thinking technology company committed to simplifying commerce for distributors. With a rich history in the ecommerce domain, DCKAP offers a range of products designed to address the unique challenges of B2B distributors and foster growth in the digital age.

Media Contact:

Sonia Coleman

636-579-6650

[email protected]

SOURCE DCKAP
HUDSON, Ohio, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE:DBD) today confirmed that it has completed its financial restructuring and has emerged from the related Chapter 11 and Dutch proceedings as anticipated per the company's previous announcement on Aug. 9. We expect that new shares in the emerged company will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "DBD" on Monday, Aug. 14.

Octavio Marquez, Diebold Nixdorf chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: "This is a landmark day for Diebold Nixdorf and begins a new chapter as we have successfully completed our debt restructuring and emerge as a financially stronger company. Now, we are well-positioned to drive solid performance with an optimized balance sheet, more liquidity and less debt  creating the foundation needed for long-term success. We thank our banking and lending partners for their support through the process. We are very excited about what we will be able to accomplish moving forward, as we deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers and create value for our stakeholders, focused on positioning Diebold Nixdorf for success with continued investments in our people and products."

Company hosting investor call Monday, Aug. 14

As previously announced, Mr. Marquez and Jim Barna, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will share more information during a conference call with investors Monday, Aug. 14 at 8:00 a.m. ET. The call / webcast and supporting materials will be available at https://investors.dieboldnixdorf.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations/default.aspx. A replay of the webcast can be accessed on the website for up to three months after the call.

Diebold Nixdorf's common stock that was outstanding prior to the restructuring process was canceled upon the company's emergence from the Chapter 11 restructuring process today, and holders thereof will not receive any recovery. In connection with that cancellation, such common stock will be delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

About Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated (NYSE:DBD) automates, digitizes and transforms the way people bank and shop. As a partner to the majority of the world's top 100 financial institutions and top 25 global retailers, our integrated solutions connect digital and physical channels conveniently, securely and efficiently for millions of consumers each day. The company has a presence in more than 100 countries with approximately 21,000 employees worldwide. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information.

X: @DieboldNixdorf

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/diebold

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DieboldNixdorf

YouTube: www.youtube.com/dieboldnixdorf

DN-F

SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated
Digitools Consulting's customers can now benefit from Salesforce consultation, implementation, and managed admin services

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Digitools Consulting, LLC today announced it has launched Digitools Consulting, LLC on Salesforce AppExchange, empowering customers to connect with the right Salesforce-accredited consulting professional for their specific business needs. It also offers a maximum of ten free Salesforce licenses that can be used towards Salesforce's Power of Us program, which provides discounted Salesforce technology to education institutions and nonprofit organizations like the Missouri Association of Manufacturers.

Salesforce Partner

Digitools Consulting, LLC is currently available on AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxConsultingListingDetail?listingId=a0N4V00000IrKGIUA3&legacy=true.

Digitools Consulting, LLC

With the new Consultant Finder, customers can identify the best experts to solve individual business challenges from more than 1,000 consulting partner firms. Customers can choose experts based on expertise, location, company size, and customer reviewsinsights all powered by thousands of customer projects performed by over 65,000 accredited consultants.

Through the power of AppExchange, customers have the potential to find consulting partners that specialize in specific industries and sectors.

Comments on the News

"By launching Digitools Consulting, LLC on AppExchange, our goal is to become a trusted advisor for our customers and help them identify the right end-to-end Salesforce solutions for their unique business needs."  Nathan J. Bunting , Founder and CEO

, Founder and CEO "After learning about the potential our business could have with Salesforce, we knew it was critical that we identify the right solutions that would meet us where we're at and progress our business goals." Jeff Cumley , Associate Director at Missouri Association of Manufacturers

Salesforce, AppExchange, Power of Us and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

About Salesforce AppExchange

Salesforce AppExchange, the world's leading enterprise cloud marketplace, empowers companies, developers and entrepreneurs to build, market and grow in entirely new ways. With more than 7,000 listings, 11 million customer installs and 117,000 peer reviews, AppExchange connects customers of all sizes and across industries to ready-to-install or customizable apps and Salesforce-certified consultants to solve any business challenge.

Additional Resources



Follow Salesforce on LinkedIn and Twitter

and Follow Digitools Consulting, LLC on LinkedIn and visit their Website

Media Contact:

Nathan J. Bunting

Digitools Consulting, LLC

417-699-1081

[email protected]

SOURCE Digitools Consulting, LLC
DUBLIN, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Home Care & Assisted Living Market, By Service Type, By Service Provider, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Europe's home care & assisted living market is poised for impressive growth in the forecast period from 2024 to 2028

The increasing prevalence of various chronic conditions such as neurological disorders, cancer, and diabetes is expected to drive the demand for home care & assisted living services in Europe.

The aim of home care & assisted living is to enable individuals to remain in their homes while receiving proper care and assistance in their daily lives. This may include healthcare services and life assistance, encompassing wound care, medical treatment, pain management, therapy, and medication reminders, among other provisions.

Additionally, factors such as an increase in life expectancy, growing awareness about home care and assisted living services, a rise in healthcare expenditure, and greater awareness of geriatric care devices are all contributing to the market's growth in the region.

Rising Incidence of Neurological Disorders



Growing incidences of neurological disorders such as paralysis, dementia, post-traumatic disorders, and others among the masses in the region are bolstering the growth of the market. The incidence of dementia rises rapidly with age.

The rising number of people suffering from neurological disorders require assistance, due to which they need home care services. According to the NHS, in the United Kingdom, research indicates that there are over 850,000 people who have dementia. One in 14 individuals aged 65 and above has dementia, and the disorder affects 1 in 6 people over the age of 80.

The number of people with dementia is increasing because people are living longer. It is expected that the number of people suffering from dementia in the United Kingdom will be over 1 million in 2025. Therefore, demand for home care and assisted living are surging, which, in turn, bolsters the growth of the market.



The surge in Demand for Home Care Services



Change in lifestyle has expanded the array of home care service offerings, such as nursing care, home care, among others. Also, the rising awareness among the younger generation as well as the elderly population is surging the demand for home care and assisted living.

Owing to the prevalence of various diseases, people are opting for home care services as these services are more suitable for their wellbeing and lifestyle, and also, these services provide a sense of comfort and peace of mind to elders.

Also, the rising geriatric population is facilitating the use of home care services and assisted living as they suffer from one or more health conditions, which, in turn, facilitates the growth of the market.



Recent Developments

Medtronic's Integrated Health Solutions (IHS) has 170 ongoing long-term partnerships in 24 nations across Europe (such as Italy, the Netherlands, and the U.K.) and the Middle East, offering value to health care organizations and supporting the offering of high-quality service at home at a lower price.

In the United Kingdom, Elderly Care is an essential healthcare alternative for senior citizens; it has recently raised about USD10 million of capital to offer improved home care to the aging generation. MMC Ventures, an investor of Elder, supported the initiative. This entity aims to solve the 'social care crisis' that has cropped up.

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present Europe home care & assisted living market

Mears Group PLC

Heritage Independent Living Ltd.

Ashfield Healthcare Gmbh

Bayada Home Health Care

AB Care (European Service LLC)

Korian Group

Buurtzorg Nederland

Legrand Group Espana, S.L.

Orpea Group

DomusVi SAS

Report Scope:



Europe Home Care & Assisted Living Market, By Service Type:

Rehabilitation Services

Nursing Services

Personal Care Services

General Well-Being Services

Others

Europe Home Care & Assisted Living Market, By Service Provider:

Public

Private

Europe Home Care & Assisted Living Market, By Country:

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Finland

Belgium

Portugal

Denmark

Netherlands

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/mxxnm4

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

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SOURCE Research and Markets
World Elephant Day founder Patricia Sims to be an ambassador on an Exodus Adventure

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The award-winning adventure tour operator, Exodus Travels today announced its expanded support of elephant conservation efforts and an upcoming trip with Patricia Sims, founder of World Elephant Day.

Exodus Travels' 'Free to Roam' elephant conservation project is based in Tsavo National Park in Kenya, a major wilderness area that is home to the country's largest population of elephants.

Working together with on-the-ground conservation experts Tsavo Trust and the Tofauti Foundation, the project is designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict and educate local people on the benefits of wildlife conservation through the introduction of the innovative 10% Fence Plan, which was designed to prevent crop raiding and livestock predation and, in turn, increase food security for the people that call this area home.

Last year, the 'Free to Roam' project implemented the plan in the Kamungi Conservancy in Kenya's Tsavo West National Park, and this year, thanks to the success of the initial roll-out, the Exodus Travels Foundation will support the construction of two additional fences in the nearby Shirango Conservancy in Tsavo East National Park.

"The Exodus Travels 'Free to Roam' project in Tsavo demonstrates that positive results are possible when companies, conservation organizations, and local communities work together to achieve a peaceful and sustainable co-existence between elephants, wildlife, and people, where everyone wins," says Patricia Sims, founder of World Elephant Day, an annual event on August 12 that is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants.

The goal of the 'Free to Roam' project is to allow elephants and other wildlife to thrive, with more space to roam, by empowering the local Tsavo communities to give 90 percent of land back to nature, while increasing food security by delivering permaculture training for locals who own the remaining 10 percent. This buffer zone aims to help form a peaceful co-existence between local wildlife and members of the surrounding communities, who benefit through improved farming techniques that help them become self-sufficient through sustainable means.

"With the new Kamungi Conservancy in place, we've seen the wildlife population increase and community lives have steadily improved," says Kyalo Ndeto, a Kamungi Conservancy member who shares her experience as a beneficiary of the project. "In the past, community members used to poach for bushmeat and have negative attitudes towards wildlife, especially elephants, but because of the increased awareness of the benefits that wildlife conservation can bring, wildlife is not just tolerated on community land, there's a sense of harmony, with locals and wildlife living together."

In related news, Exodus Travels has also announced an adventure trip to Kenya with Patricia Sims that coincides with World Elephant Day 2024, as part of its Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS) Quests collection. Details about this and other notable RCGS trips will be introduced next month.

In honor of World Elephant Day, Exodus Travels offers additional expert-led, small-group tours where individuals can see these magnificent creatures up close, safely and sustainably. Examples include: Kenya and Tanzania Adventure, Namibia and Botswana: Dunes & Delta, Wildlife and Wilderness of Botswana, and Zambezi Canoe Safari .

About Exodus Travels

For 50 years Exodus Travels has been the leader in active adventures and is known for "improving life through travel." Exodus Travels is a winner of the National Geographic Traveller Reader Awards and is a recipient of the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Award, Wanderlust Magazine's Best Tour Leader of the Year, USA Today's Readers' Choice Award and the British Travel Awards.

Exodus Travels provides unforgettable journeys and expert insights through more than 500 active adventures to Europe and 100 other countries. Award-winning trips across seven continents include active adventures to the majestic peaks of Kilimanjaro, the agent wonders of Machu Picchu, the breathtaking beauty of Italy's Amalfi Coast, and other memorable destinations.

With an unwavering commitment to sustainability, Exodus Travels is dedicated to creating incredible, responsibly run adventures, and understands the importance of regenerative travel. Efforts include a "re-wilding" initiative that ensures for every traveler, 100 square meters of land is dedicated to preservation projects. Exodus Travels is dedicated to creating memorable and responsible adventures so travelers can book and travel with confidence.

Exodus Adventure Travels is part of Travelopia, the world's largest collection of experiential travel brands. Travelopia's 26 award-winning travel brands lead the way in creating unique experiences for guests around the world. To learn more about Exodus Travels and the company's award-winning adventures visit ExodusTravels.com , or follow the company on social @ExodusTravels.

For more information on the 'Free to Roam' project, watch Exodus' original short film Living in the Land of the Tuskers , which the company released last year. Visit ExodusTravels.com/us for details about its many adventures and commitment to sustainability and the planet.

For high-resolution images, click here.

SOURCE Exodus Travels
Highlights

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund has selected EDF to optimise new 80MW battery asset.

The energisation process for Stony, located in Milton Keynes, began on 31 July 2023.

Deployment of this asset is part of a pipeline of new projects that will take Gore Street Energy Storage Fund's operational energy storage portfolio to in excess of 370MW.

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF), London's first internationally diversified fund dedicated to facilitating the energy transition through deployment of energy storage, has selected EDF, Britain's biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, as its trading and optimisation partner for a new 80MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

The agreement will see EDF optimise the Stony BESS through its market-leading Powershift platform, providing access to a variety of revenue streams including the Balancing Mechanism, wholesale optimisation and ancillary services, alongside leveraging EDF's trading expertise.

This is the third contract GSF has awarded EDF, which already manages the trading and optimisation for both the 20MW Lascar and 20MW Hulley BESS assets.

EDF is a leading provider of route-to-market services for storage developers and investors and is committed to the long-term future of energy storage systems, with more than 950MW of battery optimisation contracts signed.

With existing installed capacity close to 110MW online in GB as part of a 292MW operational portfolio across four international energy markets, GSF is recognised as one of the leading battery operators.

Stuart Fenner, Director of Wholesale Market Service Commercial, at EDF said: "We are very pleased that Gore Street Energy Storage Fund has once again chosen EDF as its trading and optimisation partner and we are committed to continuing to strengthen our relationship into the future. This partnership will provide essential flexibility to the energy system and reinforces EDF's commitment to helping Britain achieve net zero."

Alicja Kowalewska-Montfort, Technical Principal at Gore Street Capital, the investment manager of Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, said: "EDF has a strong track record with two of our existing assets, making the agreement to take on Stony a natural progression based on consistently good performance. Its commercial offer represented best value for Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, and we look forward to building on our joint success with the fund's biggest GB asset to date."

For media enquiries: media@edfenergy.com

About EDF

EDF is helping Britain achieve Net Zero by leading the transition to a cleaner, low emission, electric future and tackling climate change. It is the UK's largest producer of low-carbon electricity(1) and supplies millions of customers with electricity and gas.

It generates low carbon electricity from five nuclear power stations and more than thirty onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms.

EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and there are advanced plans for a replica at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes.

EDF is one of the UK's largest investors in renewables, with more than 1GW of renewable generation in operation and over 4GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage. We are constructing our largest offshore wind farm in Britain - the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe project in Scotland.

EDF is helping its customers, both in business and at home, take their first steps to sustainably powering their lives. Whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity, selling energy back to the grid or installing a heat pump. EDF is one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company's energy services business, Imtech, is one of the largest technical service providers in the UK and Ireland.

EDF is part of EDF Group, the world's biggest electricity generator. In the UK, the company employs around 11,000 people at locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

EDF is a leading provider of battery optimisation and trading services in the UK, delivering market leading performance by leveraging the latest in AI optimisation technology and in-house battery trading expertise. EDF has currently contracted more than 950MW of battery storage in Great Britain.

About Gore Street Energy Storage Fund

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc ("GSF" or "the Company") is London's first internationally diversified listed energy storage fund, launched in May 2018. It holds a portfolio totalling 1.17 GW spread across battery storage facilities in Great Britain and Ireland, Western Mainland Europe and the US. It is listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE All-Share Index.

Energy storage technologies can enhance power system stability and flexibility and are, therefore, key tools for balancing out variability in renewable energy generation to integrate higher levels of clean energy supply into power grids. In this way, energy storage is critical to the renewable and low-carbon energy transition.

About Gore Street Capital

Gore Street Capital was formed in 2015 as a global platform to acquire and manage renewable energy solutions. As an experienced renewable energy, infrastructure, and private equity investment manager, it supports robust businesses and high-performing assets that contribute towards the transition to a low-carbon economy.

In 2018, Gore Street Capital created the UK energy storage investment class, listing Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (LSE: GSF) on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange. As the Investment Manager of GSF, it has played a material impact in the growth of GSF from 30m to finance the acquisition of a 10 MW seed portfolio in Great Britain to a market cap of over 502m.

Gore Street Capital comprises a team of almost 40 energy professionals in GB, Ireland and the US working across finance, construction, engineering, legal and more as it continually brings roles in-house to support the fund. It believes energy storage is crucial in the fight against climate change.
DUBLIN, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Swine Artificial Insemination Market 2023-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global swine artificial insemination market is projected to reach USD 3.16 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.67% from 2023 to 2030.

Factors driving market growth include the increasing demand for pork products, advancements in artificial insemination technology, growing awareness about its benefits, and a focus on swine genetics. Companies like PIC, a subsidiary of Genus, are making investments in gene-edited PRRSv-resistant pigs to address disease challenges.

The market faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, African Swine Fever outbreaks, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and macroeconomic hurdles from 2018 to 2022. However, the global demand for pork is expected to rise, boosting the adoption of artificial insemination to meet the increasing demand. Swine producers are becoming more aware of the benefits of artificial insemination, leading to improved productivity and herd health.

Factors such as sustainable food production, animal genetics, and concerns over zoonoses contribute to market growth. Swine producers are increasingly adopting artificial insemination products and services to breed disease-resistant, high-quality swine with better meat quality and feed efficiency. The market is expected to continue growing, driven by rising awareness and technological advancements.

The report highlights various market segments, with services accounting for the largest share in 2022 and semen projected to grow at the fastest rate. Normal semen held the highest share in 2022, while sexed semen is expected to grow at about 8% in the coming years. The private distribution segment had the highest market share in 2022 and is projected to grow at the fastest rate. Asia Pacific held the highest market share in 2022, while Latin America is expected to grow notably at a rate of about 7% in the near future.

Market Dynamics

The swine artificial insemination market is driven by factors like the increasing demand for pork products, advancements in technology, and supportive initiatives. On the other hand, limitations like lack of awareness and limited access to supplies and skilled labor in certain countries pose challenges to the market's growth. Overall, the market is expected to thrive in the coming years, fueled by the rising demand for pork and ongoing technological advancements in artificial insemination techniques.

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope

Chapter 2. Executive Summary

Chapter 3. Swine Artificial Insemination Market Variables, Trends, & Scope

Chapter 4. Swine Artificial Insemination Market: Solutions Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 5. Swine Artificial Insemination Market: Distribution Channel Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 6. Swine Artificial Insemination Market: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 7. Competitive Landscape

Genus PLC

IMV Technologies

Shipley Swine Genetics

Agtech, Inc.

Neogen Corporation.

GenePro, Inc.

MINITUB GmbH

Swine Genetics International

Hypor BV

Semen Cardona S.L.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pbstvp

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.



Media Contact:



Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

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SOURCE Research and Markets
CHENGDU, China, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- US photographer Kyle Obermann's spirit of adventures and tales accumulated over the years, borrow a page from writer Jon Krakauer's 1990s' nonfiction work, Into the Wild, in which a young adventurer dives headlong into the unknown of the wilderness of Alaska, and through his explorations, he transforms into the he has always wanted to be.

It is clear that Obermann shares a similar appreciation for the wilderness and nature as does Into the Wild's protagonist Christopher McCandless, the major difference being his chosen wilderness of exploration, located thousands of miles away from his home in the US: China.

Venturing into the deepest, most remote pockets of nature found in almost all Chinese provinces, the 31-year-old photographer uses images captured to let the country's biodiversity speak for itself.

The 'other half'

Obermann, better known by his Chinese name Ouyang Kai, arrived in Beijing as an international university student in 2014, a year after China had affected by air pollution, especially in the central and eastern regions.

It was almost inevitable for Obermann to have noticed the aftermath of such challenging environmental conditions, yet with his burning passion for the Chinese language and Chinese culture, the young American chose to stay in the country and started to explore what he calls the "other half" of China - the country's vast nature characterized by over 40 percent of hardly explored wilderness - that Obermann said he had "never been taught in textbooks."

In the years since moving to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, he has traveled to over 20 nature reserves across the country, exploring sites like Shennongjia, a forestry district in Hubei Province and the Sanjiangyuan region in Qinghai, in the Xizang Plateau interior. With rich water resources, Sanjiangyuan is also known as the "Three-River-Source" that nurtures a national-level park by the same name.

His journeys to the five Chinese national parks were "fascinating," according to Obermann. Known as the "Giant Panda National Park," photos posted on Obermann's official website are unique, not least because of their "pandaless" nature, but because the subjects are people, mainly those on the frontlines of conservation efforts deep in the bamboo fields.

Such a "human-nature interaction" captured by the US photographer has guided him to understand the differences between Chinese and Western national parks.

Unlike national parks in his home country such as Yellowstone and the Serengeti National Park found in East Africa's Tanzania, both of which are considered no man's land, Chinese parks like the Three-River-Source National Park encompasses around 17,000 households to date since it was designated as a pilot site in 2015. A total of 10 pilot parks across the country are inhabited by over 600,000 people indigenous to them.

"China's national parks are focused on some of the most biologically diverse regions in the country first and foremost," Obermann noted.

He told the Global Times that it could be "greatly disparaging" to underestimate China's abundance in nature if considering the nation's environmental challenges obscures the larger picture of conservation.

Brotherhood with locals

As a conservation photographer, Obermann always risks his own life to show audiences images of some of the most threatened yet perilous wildernesses. Such bravery is employed in the hopes of raising conservation awareness and aiding non-profits or rangers involved in conservation efforts to not only receive the recognition they deserve, but also raise much-needed funding.

"And often the best way to make someone fall into love is to show them [a] visual story," Obermann noted.

Describing his chosen career as life-threatening is far from an understatement. From falling into a river to sleeping in caves while soaking wet and with hardly any food, Obermann recalled terrifying moments experienced while documenting the creation of the Giant Panda National Park to the Global Times. The experience, though harrowing, led to the forging of a "brotherhood" between Obermann and local Chinese people.

"For me, going to China was the only way; the answer to the question of why I existed on this planet in this time," he said.

Obermann's passion for China was born when he was an 18-year-old fresherman. He even spent his 22nd birthday at the library memorizing Chinese vocabulary using handmade flashcards, and this too, according to Obermann, was still one of his best birthday memories.

From a self-taught Chinese language learner to being able to converse in dialects found in Sichuan Province, southwest China, when sharing hotpot with friends, Obermann's cross-cultural life experiences allow him to see where China and the US converge beyond the political sphere.

China and the US are among countries that boast of vast lands. With both having implemented nationally characteristic philosophies in managing and conserving nature, a "collaboration" in matters of environment, according to Obermann would be a step toward establishing a friendship between the two nations and peoples.

In July, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry visited China marking the first time face-to-face meeting between the two countries in 2023, to discuss environmental matters.

Liu Shu, a global environmental researcher told the Global Times that the two countries have established working groups for enhanced cooperative mechanisms over environmental issues. The two countries are also the "most capable" at promoting the transition of global energy, Liu noted, to which developing renewable energy has been valued as an alternative path to better the environment globally.

In 2021, China took over the presidency of the COP15, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in Kunming, Yunnan Province, southwest China.

Introducing real case studies at the conference such as the local Honghe Hani Rice Terraces and wild Asian elephants, COP15 revealed China's commitment to global biodiversity conservation was firm.

"I could go adventure in almost any country, but the relative scarcity of knowledge surrounding China's natural landscapes and importance to protect them made [an] adventure in China all the more meaningful," Obermann said.

Diving deep into not only the beauty but also the future development of nature, Obermann's 21st century journey "into the wild" appears to be more fortunate and optimistic than McCandless who eventually lost his life in the wilderness.

"I am starting a book project about China's national parks and wilderness that hopefully can bring these places to more people across the world," he told the Global Times.

SOURCE Global Times
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company focused on reinventing businesses through innovative technology solutions, today announced the launch of a dedicated Microsoft Studio. This initiative aims to enhance the value of Globant's client investments through its extensive knowledge and experience in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Globant continues to drive innovation and offer services that have the latest technologies, such as AI and cloud computing, at its core. The new Studio will consolidate Globant's expertise and insights with Microsoft's capabilities and solutions, resulting in an unparalleled offering combining technology and innovation proficiency.

"The need for strategic technology partners to help organizations with digital transformation and technological innovation is growing. At Globant, we are committed to being at the forefront of innovation. We envision and develop custom solutions that meet our customers' specific needs and help them adopt new technologies. This allows them to stay ahead of the competition and remain relevant in the ever-changing digital landscape," said Diego Fabani, Sr. Managing Director at Globant. "Globant's investment in enhancing its partnership with Microsoft covers everything our customers could need to achieve their business goals and stay ahead of the competition, from cloud migration to data analytics, from enterprise services to app modernization."

The full Microsoft Studio suite of capabilities includes:

Cloud Strategy and Economics  Enables the development and implementation of cloud adoption and transformation strategy, optimizing cloud costs with a focus on business objectives

 Enables the development and implementation of cloud adoption and transformation strategy, optimizing cloud costs with a focus on business objectives Azure Data and AI  Advantage data-driven insights and make data-driven business decisions to develop better business strategies delivering immediate and long-term impact

 Advantage data-driven insights and make data-driven business decisions to develop better business strategies delivering immediate and long-term impact Migration And Modernization - Leverage the latest methodologies & tools to transition the existing IT infrastructure, applications & database to a more advanced technology environment

Leverage the latest methodologies & tools to transition the existing IT infrastructure, applications & database to a more advanced technology environment Enterprise Services - Power a suite of intelligent business applications, such as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, to streamline all aspects of your business operations, achieving greater efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences

Power a suite of intelligent business applications, such as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, to streamline all aspects of your business operations, achieving greater efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences Managed Services - Outsource your operations & responsibilities to Azure-certified subject matter experts who can monitor, manage, and maintain your IT infrastructure and systems

"We firmly believe that the key to a company's success lies in its capacity for continuous reinvention. In today's dynamic landscape, it is essential for core business operations to embrace agility and digital empowerment, enabling swift transformation to ever-changing market conditions," said Diego Tartara, Chief Technology Officer at Globant. "I'm immensely proud of the journey from becoming a Microsoft partner to the remarkable milestone of launching Microsoft Studio today. Our team's exceptional skill set and extensive experience with Microsoft ecosystem uniquely position us to guide our clients towards optimal solutions, seamlessly implement them, and provide unwavering support."

Microsoft joins the Enterprise Studios portfolio, which focuses on helping businesses enhance their core operations and processes, enabling them to adapt in a fast-changing market rapidly. For more information about it, click here .

About Globant

We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation, design, and engineering meet at scale.

We have more than 27,000 employees and we are present in 25 countries and 5 continents working for companies like Google, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.

We were named a Worldwide Leader in AI Services (2023) and Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services (2020) by IDC MarketScape report.

We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard , MIT , and Stanford .

, , and . We are active members of The Green Software Foundation (GSF) and the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.

Contact: [email protected]

Sign up to get first dibs on press news and updates.

For more information, visit www.globant.com .

SOURCE Globant
In partnership with The Well CDC, the new sign was unveiled at a community celebration on Aug. 10

AKRON, Ohio, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a nod to Goodyear's longstanding history in Akron, Ohio, the company has collaborated with The Well CDC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing Akron's Middlebury neighborhood, to revitalize the iconic Goodyear sign that shines over the company's former headquarters, which is now Goodyear Hall.

In a nod to Goodyears longstanding history in Akron, Ohio, the company has collaborated with The Well CDC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing Akrons Middlebury neighborhood, to revitalize the iconic Goodyear sign that shines over the companys former headquarters. The historic Goodyear sign has served as both a Goodyear and Akron icon and symbolizes the companys roots in the Middlebury neighborhood in Akron.

The historic Goodyear sign has served as both a Goodyear and Akron icon and symbolizes the company's roots in the Middlebury neighborhood in Akron. In celebration of the company's 125th anniversary, Goodyear worked with The Well CDC to restore the sign, which has not been operational in nearly a decade.

"This project shines a light on Goodyear's continued commitment to invest in Akron and in the communities where we live and work," said Laura Duda, senior vice president and chief communications officer. "We are thankful to work together with great community partners like The Well CDC to support the neighborhood that Goodyear has called home for the past 125 years."

The revitalized sign was unveiled at The Well CDC's Imagine the Future celebration on Aug. 10. All fundraising proceeds from the event benefit the organization's economic and housing initiatives to support the Middlebury community.

"The Well CDC invests in people through the built environment. What better way to imagine the future of our community then by partnering with Goodyear to invest in our place and re-light this iconic Akron landmark. We hope this sign can be a symbol in the Middlebury neighborhood, and all over Akron, that we have a place worth investing in and fighting for," said Zac Kohl, Executive Director of The Well CDC.

"The iconic Goodyear sign is synonymous with the City of Akron," said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. "To see it lit up again in celebration of the company's long-standing commitment to this city is a special moment for all who call Akron home. I look forward to many more years of Goodyear's partnership and impact in Akron."

Goodyear will celebrate its 125th anniversary this month on Aug. 29. Visit our Corporate Website to learn more.

About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Goodyear (NASDAQ: GT) is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 74,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The industrial sensors market size is estimated to grow by USD 12.5 billion from 2022 to 2027, at a CAGR of 9% according to Technavio. Download a sample report now!

Industrial sensors market insights -

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Industrial Sensors Market 2023-2027

Vendors : 15+, Including Amkor Technology Inc., Amphenol Advanced Sensors, Analog Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Excelitas Technologies Corp., Hamamatsu Photonics KK, Honeywell International Inc., Itron Inc., Motion Solutions, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., NXP Semiconductors NV, Renesas Electronics Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., ROHM Co. Ltd., SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC, Siemens AG, STMicroelectronics NV, TDK Corp., TE Connectivity Ltd., Texas Instruments Inc., and Maxim Integrated Products Inc., among others

: 15+, Including Amkor Technology Inc., Amphenol Advanced Sensors, Analog Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Excelitas Technologies Corp., Hamamatsu Photonics KK, Honeywell International Inc., Itron Inc., Motion Solutions, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., NXP Semiconductors NV, Renesas Electronics Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., ROHM Co. Ltd., SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC, Siemens AG, STMicroelectronics NV, TDK Corp., TE Connectivity Ltd., Texas Instruments Inc., and Maxim Integrated Products Inc., among others Coverage: Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends, and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors

Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends, and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors Segments: End-user (Process industries and Discrete industries), Product (Pressure, Temperature, Proximity, Flow, and Others), and Geography (APAC, EUROPE , NORTH AMERICA , MIDDLE EAST and Africa , and SOUTH AMERICA )

To understand more about the industrial sensors market, request a sample report

Industrial sensors market - Company Insights

The growing competition in the market is compelling companies to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Technavio report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors including Amkor Technology Inc., Amphenol Advanced Sensors, Analog Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Excelitas Technologies Corp., Hamamatsu Photonics KK, Honeywell International Inc., Itron Inc., Motion Solutions, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., NXP Semiconductors NV, Renesas Electronics Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., ROHM Co. Ltd., SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC, Siemens AG, STMicroelectronics NV, TDK Corp., TE Connectivity Ltd., Texas Instruments Inc., and Maxim Integrated Products Inc.

Industrial sensors market  Market Dynamics

Major Drivers -

The growth of the industrial sensors market is driven by the miniaturization of industrial sensors.

The miniaturization develops over time and is anticipated to continue during the forecast period.

Owing to this factor, the price of sensors has decreased. There is an increasing level of competition among the top sensor manufacturers and IoT service providers.

This results in the market's revenue rising significantly.

Moreover, as sensors become more affordable, manufacturing companies can use them more frequently to gather more data and use them to inform their decisions.

Key Trends -

An emerging trend in the industrial sensors market that is expected to positively impact the market growth is the increase in real-time data monitoring for predictive analytics in industries.

It was challenging to gather insights from devices due to the factor that real-time data collection was not possible due to unconnected devices.

But operators now have access to every second of data in the plant facility due to IoT-connected smart devices. Organizations can plan their maintenance activities based on predictive analysis, which provides insights into the health of the plant equipment based on its actual condition by collecting real-time data and hence, predictive analytics is useful during maintenance.

These analytics assists in predicting equipment failure even before it manifests itself, thereby reducing unneeded downtime.

Hence, such benefits are boosting the adoption of IoT sensors across manufacturing industries, which is expected to drive the growth of the global market during the forecast period.

Major challenges -

A key challenge that hampers the market growth of industrial sensors is the growing challenge of delivering high quality at low cost.

System developers and engineers diversify their product lines by constantly developing products with improved features.

In order to compete in the growing industrial automation market, industrial sensor vendors must offer readily customizable and reasonably priced industrial sensors.

The requirement for customization, which many end users require to ensure accurate and dependable delivery, significantly contributes to the cost of industrial sensors and because sensors can now be purchased off-the-shelf and are widely used in industrial automation systems and equipment, the price of sensors has decreased over time.

However, a sensor specifically designed for a particular industrial process control application will be more expensive and technologically sophisticated.

Resultantly, sensors for automating industrial applications require careful engineering, manual wiring, and costly components, which will negatively impact market growth during the forecast period.

Drivers, Trends, and Challenges have an impact on market dynamics, which can impact businesses. Find more insights in a sample report!

The industrial sensors market report provides critical information and factual data, with a qualitative and quantitative study of the market based on market drivers and limitations as well as future prospects.

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What are the key data covered in this Industrial Sensors Market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the industrial sensors market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the size of the industrial sensors market and its contribution to the market with a focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the industrial sensors market across APAC, EUROPE , NORTH AMERICA , MIDDLE EAST and Africa , and SOUTH AMERICA

, , and , and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of industrial sensors market vendors

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Industrial Sensors Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 9% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 12.5 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 8.32 Regional analysis APAC, EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA, MIDDLE EAST and Africa, and SOUTH AMERICA Performing market contribution APAC at 42% Key countries US, CHINA, JAPAN, GERMANY, and FRANCE Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Amkor Technology Inc., Amphenol Advanced Sensors, Analog Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Excelitas Technologies Corp., Hamamatsu Photonics KK, Honeywell International Inc., Itron Inc., Motion Solutions, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., NXP Semiconductors NV, Renesas Electronics Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., ROHM Co. Ltd., SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC, Siemens AG, STMicroelectronics NV, TDK Corp., TE Connectivity Ltd., Texas Instruments Inc., and Maxim Integrated Products Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table Of Contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global industrial sensors market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global industrial sensors market 2017 - 2021 (USD billion)

4.2 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 (USD billion)

4.3 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Product Segment 2017 - 2021 (USD billion)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 (USD billion)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 (USD billion)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by End-user

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

6.3 Process industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Process industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Process industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Process industries - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Process industries - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Discrete industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Discrete industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Discrete industries - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Discrete industries - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Discrete industries - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by End-user (USD billion)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Market opportunity by End-user (USD billion)

7 Market Segmentation by Product

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 44: Chart on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 46: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Comparison by Product

7.3 Pressure - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 48: Chart on Pressure - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Pressure - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 50: Chart on Pressure - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Pressure - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Temperature - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 52: Chart on Temperature - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Temperature - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 54: Chart on Temperature - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 55: Data Table on Temperature - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Proximity - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 56: Chart on Proximity - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on Proximity - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 58: Chart on Proximity - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on Proximity - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Flow - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 60: Chart on Flow - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on Flow - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 62: Chart on Flow - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on Flow - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 64: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 66: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 67: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.8 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 68: Market opportunity by Product (USD billion)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on Market opportunity by Product (USD billion)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 70: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 71: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 72: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 73: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 74: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 75: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 76: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 77: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 78: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 EUROPE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 79: Chart on EUROPE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on EUROPE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 81: Chart on EUROPE - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on EUROPE - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 NORTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 83: Chart on NORTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on NORTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 85: Chart on NORTH AMERICA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on NORTH AMERICA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 MIDDLE EAST and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 87: Chart on MIDDLE EAST and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on MIDDLE EAST and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 89: Chart on MIDDLE EAST and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on MIDDLE EAST and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 SOUTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 91: Chart on SOUTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on SOUTH AMERICA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 93: Chart on SOUTH AMERICA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on SOUTH AMERICA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 95: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 96: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)



Exhibit 97: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 98: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 CHINA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 99: Chart on CHINA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on CHINA - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 101: Chart on CHINA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on CHINA - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 JAPAN - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 103: Chart on JAPAN - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on JAPAN - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 105: Chart on JAPAN - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on JAPAN - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 GERMANY - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 107: Chart on GERMANY - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 108: Data Table on GERMANY - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 109: Chart on GERMANY - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 110: Data Table on GERMANY - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 FRANCE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 111: Chart on FRANCE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 112: Data Table on FRANCE - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 (USD billion)

Exhibit 113: Chart on FRANCE - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 114: Data Table on FRANCE - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 115: Market opportunity by geography (USD billion)



Exhibit 116: Data Tables on Market opportunity by geography (USD billion)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 117: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 118: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 119: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 120: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 121: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 122: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 Amkor Technology Inc.

Exhibit 123: Amkor Technology Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 124: Amkor Technology Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 125: Amkor Technology Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 126: Amkor Technology Inc. - Segment focus

12.4 Amphenol Advanced Sensors

Exhibit 127: Amphenol Advanced Sensors - Overview



Exhibit 128: Amphenol Advanced Sensors - Product / Service



Exhibit 129: Amphenol Advanced Sensors - Key offerings

12.5 Analog Devices Inc.

Exhibit 130: Analog Devices Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 131: Analog Devices Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 132: Analog Devices Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 133: Analog Devices Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 134: Analog Devices Inc. - Segment focus

12.6 Broadcom Inc.

Exhibit 135: Broadcom Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 136: Broadcom Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 137: Broadcom Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 138: Broadcom Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 139: Broadcom Inc. - Segment focus

12.7 Hamamatsu Photonics KK

Exhibit 140: Hamamatsu Photonics KK - Overview



Exhibit 141: Hamamatsu Photonics KK - Business segments



Exhibit 142: Hamamatsu Photonics KK - Key news



Exhibit 143: Hamamatsu Photonics KK - Key offerings



Exhibit 144: Hamamatsu Photonics KK - Segment focus

12.8 Honeywell International Inc.

Exhibit 145: Honeywell International Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 146: Honeywell International Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 147: Honeywell International Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 148: Honeywell International Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 149: Honeywell International Inc. - Segment focus

12.9 Maxim Integrated Products Inc.

Exhibit 150: Maxim Integrated Products Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 151: Maxim Integrated Products Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 152: Maxim Integrated Products Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 153: Maxim Integrated Products Inc. - Segment focus

12.10 Motion Solutions

Exhibit 154: Motion Solutions - Overview



Exhibit 155: Motion Solutions - Product / Service



Exhibit 156: Motion Solutions - Key offerings

12.11 NXP Semiconductors NV

Exhibit 157: NXP Semiconductors NV - Overview



Exhibit 158: NXP Semiconductors NV - Product / Service



Exhibit 159: NXP Semiconductors NV - Key news



Exhibit 160: NXP Semiconductors NV - Key offerings

12.12 Renesas Electronics Corp.

Exhibit 161: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 162: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 163: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 164: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Segment focus

12.13 Robert Bosch GmbH

Exhibit 165: Robert Bosch GmbH - Overview



Exhibit 166: Robert Bosch GmbH - Business segments



Exhibit 167: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key news



Exhibit 168: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key offerings



Exhibit 169: Robert Bosch GmbH - Segment focus

12.14 Rockwell Automation Inc.

Exhibit 170: Rockwell Automation Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 171: Rockwell Automation Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 172: Rockwell Automation Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 173: Rockwell Automation Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 174: Rockwell Automation Inc. - Segment focus

12.15 Siemens AG

Exhibit 175: Siemens AG - Overview



Exhibit 176: Siemens AG - Business segments



Exhibit 177: Siemens AG - Key news



Exhibit 178: Siemens AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 179: Siemens AG - Segment focus

12.16 STMicroelectronics NV

Exhibit 180: STMicroelectronics NV - Overview



Exhibit 181: STMicroelectronics NV - Business segments



Exhibit 182: STMicroelectronics NV - Key news



Exhibit 183: STMicroelectronics NV - Key offerings



Exhibit 184: STMicroelectronics NV - Segment focus

12.17 TDK Corp.

Exhibit 185: TDK Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 186: TDK Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 187: TDK Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 188: TDK Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 189: TDK Corp. - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 190: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 191: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for USUSD

Exhibit 192: Currency conversion rates for USUSD

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 193: Research methodology



Exhibit 194: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 195: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 196: List of abbreviations

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Kaleyra announces changes in the management team: Nicola Junior Vitto departure and new appointment of Mauro Carobene

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) ("Kaleyra" or the "Company"), an enterprise Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS), announces certain management changes.

As previously disclosed, on June 28, 2023, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Tata Communications Limited, a company listed on BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ("Tata Communications"), pursuant to which, at the closing, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications.

Nicola Vitto has announced his resignation from his position as Chief Product & Technology Officer of Kaleyra, Inc. (the "Company"), with such resignation to become effective on September 4, 2023.

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company has ceased its search for a new Chief Executive Officer. It is contemplated that Dario Calogero will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company up to the closing of the Merger and Mauro Carobene, the Company's Chief Business Officer has recently entered into an agreement to become the Head of the Kaleyra Business.

Dario Calogero, CEO of the Company, commented: "I want to thank Nicola for his service with Kaleyra throughout these years for the outstanding work in building our platforms and services across our regions and I wish him all the best for his future endeavors. At the same time, I want to personally congratulate Mauro for the nomination as Head of the Kaleyra Business."

About Kaleyra

Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) is a global group providing mobile communication services to financial institutions, e-commerce players, OTTs, software companies, logistic enablers, healthcare providers, retailers, and other large organizations worldwide. Through its proprietary platform and robust APIs, Kaleyra manages multi-channel integrated communication services, consisting of messaging, rich messaging and instant messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail, voice services, and chatbots. Kaleyra's technology makes it possible to safely and securely manage billions of messages monthly with over 1,600 operator connections in 190+ countries, including all tier-1 US carriers. For more information, please visit www.kaleyra.com .

Marketing Contacts



Zephrin Lasker

Senior Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances

[email protected]

Lori Perkins

Senior Director  Marketing and Communications

[email protected]



Investor Contact

Shannon Devine / Mark Schwalenberg

MZ North America

+1 203-741-8811

[email protected]

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its omnichannel and other product and global customer developments, and its expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business plans of Kaleyra's management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements referenced or contained on this Form 8-K are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Kaleyra in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Kaleyra as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Kaleyra will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including Kaleyra's ability to regain compliance with the NYSE Listing Company Manual, the mix of services utilized by Kaleyra's customers and such customers' needs for these services, including any variability by geography, market acceptance of new service offerings, the ability of Kaleyra to expand what it does for existing customers as well as to add new customers, that Kaleyra will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated, and the impact of other geopolitical and macroeconomic factors such as the war in Ukraine, may have on Kaleyra's operations, the demand for Kaleyra's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. Additional risk factors that that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all; (ii) the satisfaction (or waiver) of closing conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction; (iii) potential delays in consummation the proposed transaction; (iv) the ability of Kaleyra and Tata Communications to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance or condition that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (vi) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (vii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (viii) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Kaleyra's business, including current plans and operations; (ix) the ability of Kaleyra to retain and hire key personnel; (x) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (xi) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting Kaleyra's business; (xii) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xiii) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which Kaleyra operates; and (xiv) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect Kaleyra's financial performance. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. The Company refers you to the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and comparable sections of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings, which have been filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Kaleyra US
JACKSON, Miss., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The Mississippi State Department of Health has designated Mississippi Baptist Medical Center as a Level III trauma and primary pediatric center and a Mississippi burn center.

A Level III trauma center is an acute care facility with the commitment, resources and specialties to provide initial resuscitation of trauma patients. MBMC is among 15 facilities MSDH recognizes with this designation in the region, and MBMC is the second Mississippi hospital in Jackson to receive burn center designation in 2023.

Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, welcomes the crowd to the press conference on Aug. 10. Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center Mississippi Baptist Medical Center trauma and burn team.

"Being designated as a trauma and burn center is a historic achievement for Mississippi Baptist Medical Center and the state of Mississippi," said Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. "For the first time in Mississippi history, residents will have access to a community or academic hospital for burn care in Jackson. With Dr. Derek Culnan, the state's most decorated and experienced burn surgeon leading our burn program, we are confident Mississippians will have access to incomparable care."

Culnan is a fellowship-trained and triple board-certified burn surgeon who has treated burn and critical care patients for the past decade. He also led the state's only and recently shuttered burn center at Merit Health Central in Jackson from 2008 until October 2022. He is the medical director of the Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Centers and is the medical director of MBMC's burn program.

"This designation confirms we have the people, experience, training and passion to provide the best burn care at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center with Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Centers," said Culnan. "Burn care is a very specialized realm of health care. Our experience allows us the opportunity to provide prompt, efficient treatment for injuries with the long-term goal of producing the best outcomes for our patients."

MBMC designated Level III trauma and burn center

Culnan and his multidisciplinary team of burn specialists began offering surgeries at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in November 2022. Since that time, Culnan and MBMC's team have treated 927 patients and conducted 1,059 surgeries.

MBMC submitted its application to be designated as a trauma center in November 2022 and burn center in March 2023. The Mississippi State Department of Health conducted a site visit for the burn program on Tuesday, July 18. To receive designation, burn programs must comply with the rules and regulations of the Mississippi Trauma Care System and standards of care.

Mississippi Baptist Medical Center's burn program includes emergency medicine physicians, plastic surgeons, intensivists, hospitalists, anesthesiologists, physical and occupational therapists and other specialties.

In 2023, U.S. News & World Report named Mississippi Baptist Medical Center the No. 1 hospital in Mississippi for the fifth year in a row. The hospital was also recognized with the Platinum Performance Achievement Award by the American College of Cardiology for its treatment of heart attack patients. Mississippi Baptist Health Systems signed a shared mission agreement with Baptist Memorial Health Care in May 2017, making Baptist Memorial one of Mississippi's largest employers and the largest health care system in the state. Baptist Memorial is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest not-for-profit health care providers in the Mid-South with hospitals in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.

SOURCE Baptist Memorial Health Care
Reinforcing a commitment to breastfeeding mothers past World Breastfeeding Week 2023

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Momcozy, a trusted brand to over 2 million moms globally for its industry-leading wearable breast pump, is reinforcing a commitment to breastfeeding mothers with their 'Real Support for Breastfeeding Moms' event. The event will take place in Scottsdale, Arizona tomorrow, August 12, to celebrate the success of World Breastfeeding Week. Upwards of 350 new moms are expected to be in attendance.

Momcozy 'Real Support for Breastfeeding Moms' Event

Momcozy's event focuses on normalizing breastfeeding and empowering women by providing mothers with accurate breastfeeding information via an educational panel with certified, lactation consultants, cultivating supportive communities and delivering comprehensive maternity solutions through its products.

"Breastfeeding poses challenges beyond feeding for mothers," said a Momcozy representative. "As such, we want to lend our support beyond Worldwide Breastfeeding Week by giving moms empowering resources to help their journey, so they can be 'cozy' in every aspect of their lives."

Since 2021, Momcozy has collaborated with Arizona-based photographer Alicia Samone to unify breastfeeding moms and their babies through a powerful group photo where each mother is breastfeeding their child. It's a high-impact statement that moms should be able to breastfeed in public with confidence and assurance that the world supports them as they nourish their children.

This year, as part of Momcozy's expanded education initiative for breastfeeding moms, the event will include access to one-on-one sessions with professional lactation consultants, a certified panel of breastfeeding experts to answer moms' most pressing questions, news on the official launch of Momcozy's Breastfeeding Support Program, and more.

Attendees will also experience Momcozy's line of high-quality products first-hand; each designed to simplify every aspect of a breastfeeding mom's life, including:

Momcozy's range of hands-free breast pumps, featuring the versatile M5, efficient S12 Pro, and enduring S9 Pro, designed to offer moms the support at work, at home and on-the-go.

Products for the home, including Momcozy's Video Baby Monitor for constant, worry-free supervision, and its antimicrobial Natural Bamboo Diapers for reducing diaper rash and keeping little ones comfortable and happy.

Natural Bamboo Diapers Momcozy's top-rated nursing bras which allow moms to enjoy the best in comfort, support and convenience while nursing, pumping, or for simply enjoying their day.

Outside the event, Momcozy is an advertising partner of renowned pregnancy and parenting outlet The Bump, to reach parents on the topic of breastfeeding support and World Breastfeeding Week.

About Momcozy

Momcozy strives to be a companion for moms from pregnancy through the early stages of motherhood. With its breast pumps, nursing bras and other mom care products, Momcozy brings the very best in comfort to moms everywhere. With continuous innovation and mother engagement, Momcozy has created products dedicated to making moms' lives easier and more comfortable. https://momcozy.com/

Media Contact:

Molly Bell

414-628-5776Hi

[email protected]

SOURCE Momcozy
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of record-breaking temperatures in June, NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Aug. 14, to discuss its latest climate data.

The news conference will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, along with leading climate experts from the space agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will discuss new findings from both agencies.

During the call, NASA also will underscore the breadth of its research, technology, and development aimed at measuring and mitigating climate change, which is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration.

Additional participants in the call include:

Kate Calvin , chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters

, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters Gavin Schmidt , director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York

, director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Carlos Del Castillo , chief, Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

, chief, Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Sarah Kapnick , chief scientist, NOAA

To participate virtually, media must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the event to Jennifer Dooren at: [email protected]. NASA's media accreditation policy is online.

In addition to expert interviews in English, Del Castillo is available for interviews in Spanish.

In July, NASA hosted a similar media event to highlight its climate work in the wake of NASA's June 2023 data showing that month as the hottest June on record.

To learn more about NASA's climate work, visit:

https://climate.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA
WUHAN, China and SAN DIEGO, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurophth Therapeutics, Inc. ("Neurophth"), a China's leading gene therapy company for ophthalmic diseases, announced the closing of nearly 95 million USD in Series C+ financing. The round was co-led by Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund, Wuhan Optical Valley Financial Holding Group, Wuhan Hi-Tech Holding Group, Hubei KTLC and Guangzhou Jinkong Fund. Additionally, several prominent investment firms participated, including CMG-SDIC Capital, Silicon Paradise Asset Management and Yangtze River Industry Fund. The raised funds will be directed towards advancing clinical trials for Neurophth's core products, enhancing the firm's R&D capabilities and expanding its pipeline.

Neurophth completed its Series C financing in 2021, co-led by CMG-SDIC Capital and Sequoia Capital China, with further investment from Sunshine Life Insurance and China Merchant Bank International Capital. This follows the closing of Series B financing co-led by Guofang Capital and InnoVision Capital, with additional capital from Oriza Holdings, Harvest Capital, Grand Mount Capital, Sequoia Capital China and Northern Light Venture Capital. In early 2020, the firm finalized its Series A financing, co-led by Sequoia Capital China and Fosun, following the conclusion of its angel round of funding in August 2018, co-led by Miracle Light Venture, the venture arm of BGI Genomics, with additional investment from BOHE Angel Fund and Northern Light Venture Capital.

In early 2023, Neurophth's leading candidate NR082 (rAAV2-ND4) marked a historic milestone as the first gene therapy drug to complete patient enrollment for a Phase III clinical trial in China. Additionally, the company concluded the enrollment of the first patient for Phase I/II clinical trials in the US. NFS-02, Neurophth's second candidate and the world's sole gene therapy targeting ND1-LHON, is under development and has received IND approval from both the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, Neurophth is conducting a global multi-center clinical trial of the drug candidate.

"We're honored to have earned the trust of top investment institutions in the biopharmaceutical sector," said Professor Bin Li, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Neurophth. "Since the beginning of this year, we've made substantial progress in the clinical trials of our products. We plan to keep focusing on developing gene therapies for ophthalmic patients worldwide. With the support of our investors and our technological acumen, we're positioned to accelerate our clinical trials and R&D of new drugs, delivering gene therapies to patients more quickly."

"We extend our sincere gratitude to leading investment firms for acknowledging Neurophth's past accomplishments and future potential. This round of financing is expected to bolster clinical trials for our key products while helping expedite the development and commercialization of new drugs," stated Neurophth CFO Su Zhang. "To address the unfulfilled needs of patients, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to increasing R&D investments, enhancing technological capabilities and broadening the pipeline."

"Unwavering support from our investors provides a solid foundation for Neurophth's continuous growth," stated Eric Lin, Secretary of the Board and Senior Vice President of Neurophth. "The firm is committed to advancing the gene therapy sector through ongoing innovation and R&D of new drugs, aiming to become a global leader in ophthalmic gene therapy, in line with our investors' support and expectations."

"We fully recognize Neurophth's strength and potential in the gene therapy field, evidenced by their swift progress and outstanding achievements in technology R&D and clinical trials," noted Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund. "This financing round has also received strong support from the state-owned platform Donghu New Technology Development Zone. In the future, we along with various state-owned platforms will further collaborate with Neurophth to support the company's innovative development on a global scale. We anticipate Neurophth's continued growth and development of pioneering gene therapies that will benefit patients worldwide."

"With a strong commitment to the biomedical and healthcare industries, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund provides comprehensive support to exceptional companies across various segments," commented Huang Cheng, Chairman of Guangzhou Jinkong Fund. "As a distinctive provider of gene therapies, Neurophth boasts significant product advantages, a leading gene therapy R&D platform and cutting-edge CMC production technology. In addition, the founder, Bin Li, contributes a wealth of scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Given the substantial unmet clinical need for ophthalmic diseases and the considerable market potential, we are highly optimistic about Neurophth's prospects for growth."

"CMG-SDIC Capital is thrilled to continue our participation in Neurophth's latest financing," mentioned the life science team of CMG-SDIC Capital. "We fully acknowledge Neurophth's leadership in China's gene therapy sector and plan to continue our partnership with Neurophth to foster the company's growth and further the development of the industry. We look forward to the launch of Neurophth's therapies, which will have the potential to benefit patients globally."

About Neurophth

Neurophth is China's leading gene therapy company for ophthalmic diseases. With subsidiaries in China (Wuhan, Shanghai and Suzhou) and the US (San Diego, CA), Neurophth is striving to develop genomic medicines for patients suffering from genetic diseases globally. Our AAV platform has been successfully validated through data from an investigator-initiated retinal gene therapy study. The significant findings from the research have been published in Nature-Scientific Reports, Ophthalmology and EBioMedicine. Our most advanced investigational gene therapy drug candidate, NR082, used for the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) associated with mtND4 mutation (ND4-LHON), has been granted orphan drug designation (ODD) by the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It is the first Chinese gene therapy drug to receive Investigational New Drug (IND) approval for clinical trials from both China's NMPA and the FDA. Neurophth has completed patient enrollment for the Phase III clinical trial in China and established several clinical research centers in the U.S. Recently, our second gene therapy drug candidate NFS-02 has been granted IND clearance from the FDA and NMPA and is undergoing a global multi-center clinical trial. The company's pipeline also includes autosomal dominant optic atrophy, optic neuroprotection, vascular retinopathy, and other preclinical candidates. To learn more about us and our growing pipeline, please visit www.neurophth.com.

About Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund

Hubei Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund Management Co., Ltd ("Yangtze River-CMB"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMB International, manages Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund. The fund has built a strategic presence in a number of high-tech sectors, including medical technology, renewable energy and intelligent manufacturing. Utilizing capital as a key catalyst, the firm remains committed to facilitating the rapid growth of high-tech companies.

About Guangzhou Jinkong Fund

Guangzhou Jinkong Fund Management Co., Ltd ("Guangzhou Jinkong Fund"), a subsidiary of Guangzhou Finance Holdings Group, is a leading private equity investment fund management platform with a registered capital of 1.1 billion yuan. With headquarters in Guangzhou and a strategic focus on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the company has a global reach in its investment initiatives. Guangzhou Jinkong Fund's investment strategy centers on fostering innovation and growth throughout various industry chains. To achieve this, the company has developed a diverse portfolio that includes a science and innovation master fund, a state-owned enterprise innovation fund, a district-level investment fund, an urban renewal fund, a rural revitalization fund, a life and health fund, and a hard science fund. Through a unique five-in-one service model, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund emphasizes the attracting of top-tier businesses, development of industrial parks, provision of financial services, creation of listing platforms and formation of industrial clusters. This comprehensive approach enables the company to offer invested enterprises a full spectrum of innovative financial solutions, ranging from industry chain integration and capital operation to leveraging government resources. Currently, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund oversees 26 industrial equity investment funds and 3 government investment funds, with assets under management totaling 48.277 billion yuan. The company's funds have been invested in 281 projects, including 48 companies that have gone public.

About CMG-SDIC Capital

CMG-SDIC Capital, a leading private equity management firm in China, strategically targets investments in the advanced manufacturing sector. We prioritize technological innovation and place tremendous value on supporting exceptional entrepreneurs and their teams. Our diverse investment portfolio encompasses intelligent manufacturing, smart electric cars, life sciences, and information and communication technology. We are deeply committed to driving the evolution of the manufacturing industry towards sustainability, digitization and service-oriented growth. The team manages cumulative assets exceeding 100 billion yuan, with a diverse investor base that includes financial institutions, social security trust funds as well as state-owned and private companies.

SOURCE Neurophth Therapeutics, Inc.
Co-founded in 2003 in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Erich Gunther, Jeff Lamoree, and Bob Zavadil, EnerNex offers a cross-cutting blend of expertise in grid modernization planning and implementation; renewable energy engineering, design, and integration; and electric power systems planning and engineering. Over the past 20 years, EnerNex has gained a reputation of being a go to resource for understanding, analyzing, and solving an assortment of diverse, complex, and unique challenges for the electric utility and power industry.

EnerNex President and CEO Jeff Lamoree reflects, "It's quite an achievement to see the company that the three of us founded 20 years ago become what it is today. I believe our success stems from the company's deep-rooted passion for engineering and problem solving, the hard work of our highly experienced team, and our customers around the world who continue to call on us to solve their energy challenges. It is because of this, that we look forward to continued success in the years to come."

Summary of key achievements:

A month after the company formed, the Northeast blackout of August 2003 occurred. EnerNex developed a white paper explaining what happened and posted it online within hours of the event. The paper went "viral" bringing international attention to the infant company.

Have performed power system studies for over 22 GW of onshore and offshore wind power plants, over 8 GW of solar power plants, and 1 GW of Battery Energy Storage.

The only Tennessee company awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency to research ways of enhancing the cybersecurity of electric utility communication and control systems.

Honored by GridWeek and the U.S. Department of Energy for Innovation in Implementation and Deployment in grid modernization.

Involved in the EPRI IntelliGrid initiative, an effort to lay out an architecture for a self-healing, reliable grid.

Played a crucial role in the development of industry standards for studying the impacts of integrating large amounts of renewables into the power grid. The company led the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS) which began by modeling wind resources in a large part of the Eastern Interconnection and finished by conducting a detailed wind integration study and top-down transmission analysis.

Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS) which began by modeling wind resources in a large part of the Eastern Interconnection and finished by conducting a detailed wind integration study and top-down transmission analysis. Awarded a contract by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in support of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel standards development and harmonization effort.

U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in support of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel standards development and harmonization effort. Taking the firm's expertise worldwide with engagements in Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast, Philippines, the Caribbean and West Africa to modernize the electric power grids overseas.

Active in developing energy system resiliency strategies through multiple projects and thought leadership activities for utilities, Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, and non-profit institutions.

To honor the life and memory of co-founder and Smart Grid pioneer Erich Gunther, the IEEE Power & Energy Society established the Erich Gunther Future Power Innovator Scholarship to recognize those students in a power engineering discipline who are pushing the bounds of current thought to make the power and energy industry better.

Erich Gunther Future Power Innovator Scholarship to recognize those students in a power engineering discipline who are pushing the bounds of current thought to make the power and energy industry better. In June of 2018, EnerNex joined CESI, a world-leading energy technology and innovation consulting company headquartered in Europe. The partnership has expanded EnerNex's global footprint, capability, and impact in the marketplace.

In planning for the future, EnerNex announces a key addition to their team. Tom Jones joins as the Director of Transmission and Interconnection with over 30 years of experience involving all aspects of power systems engineering - systems planning and analysis; conceptual plan development; detailed engineering design of facilities; regional operations planning and compliance. Jones is a vital addition to the team as the firm grows its transmission and interconnection service offerings.

Michele Pastore, Chief Business Strategy Officer stated: "I am proud of our 20-year commitment to industry and the contributions of our staff to improve the operation and reliability of electric power systems. As we look ahead, we share a renewed commitment to offer advanced, innovative engineering services. Utilities, asset owners, and the rest of the industry will continue to address the increasing role of wind, solar, and storage as well as the additional complexity of managing high level of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) on the grid and our team stands ready as we solve these challenges together."

About EnerNex

EnerNex, a CESI Company, is a leader in providing engineering, consulting, and research services to the electric power industry worldwide. Founded in 2003, the company is focused on helping their clients understand, adopt, and leverage new and emerging electric power technologies to advance a cleaner, smarter energy system of the future.

To learn more about CESI, a world-leading innovation, technical consulting and engineering company for the electric power sector, visit: www.cesi.it.

For more information on EnerNex:
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from Oklahoma and Texas will have separate opportunities to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The two space-to-Earth calls will air live Monday, Aug. 14, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured conducting maintenance tasks inside the International Space Station's Harmony module. Credits: NASA

At 12:10 p.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Frank Rubio will answer prerecorded questions from students in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. The event, hosted by Kingfisher High School, will connect the students' knowledge of agriculture to plant science on station and STEM career opportunities. U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, will give opening and closing remarks.

Media interested in covering the event should contact David Coronado at: [email protected] or 206-633-9004 no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11.

Bowen and Rubio also will answer prerecorded questions from students at the Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas at 1:50 p.m. Through the event, the academy hopes to attract a diverse group of students to STEM and increase participation in STEM activities.

Media interested in covering the event should contact SST Communications Director, Heather Vaughn at: [email protected] or 202-680-8577 no later than 5 p.m. Aug. 11.

For more than 22 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts living in space aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston through the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Near Space Network.

Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for future exploration. As part of Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers  the Artemis Generation  ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

SOURCE NASA
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Patriot") (TSXV: PMET) (ASX: PMT) (OTCQX: PMETF) (FSE: R9GA) is pleased to announce that it has received the 2023 Best Emerging Company Award at the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie, Australia.

PMET Wins Emerging Company of the Year at Diggers and Dealers Tweet this Blair Way, CEO, President and Director, Patriot Battery Metals Accepts Best Emerging Company Award at Diggers & Dealers 2023. (CNW Group/Patriot Battery Metals Inc)

Blair Way, Patriot's President and CEO comments, "This award acknowledges the tremendous effort of our entire team and their unwavering dedication. In very short order since our discovery hole in 2021 we have confirmed the Corvette Lithium Project in Quebec as the largest hard rock lithium discovery in the Americas and the eight largest in the world. This is a fantastic accomplishment that was validated by our recently announced maiden resource estimate. However, we are just getting started, as less than five kilometres have been drilled thus far over the property's district scale 50-kilometre trend. We are well funded now to execute on a much more extensive drill program."

About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale 100% owned Corvette Property located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, and proximal to regional road and powerline infrastructure. The Corvette Property hosts the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite with a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate of 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 (at a cut-off of 0.40% Li2O) and ranks as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas, and one of the top 10 largest lithium pegmatite resources in the world. Additionally, the Corvette Property hosts multiple other spodumene pegmatite clusters that remain to be drill tested, as well as more than 20 km of prospective trend that remain to be assessed.

For further information, visit www.patriotbatterymetals.com. Please also refer to the Company's continuous disclosure filings, available under its profile at www.sedarplus.ca and www.asx.com.au, for available exploration data.

This news release has been approved by the Board of Directors,

"BLAIR WAY"

Blair Way, President, CEO, & Director

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are included to provide information about management's current expectations and plans that allows investors and others to have a better understanding of the Company's business plans and financial performance and condition.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, regarding the Company's strategy, future operations, financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "plan", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the drilling program.

Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such information or statements. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate. Key assumptions upon which the Company's forward-looking information is based include the total funding required to complete the Company's Corvette Lithium Project, including the drilling program.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties facing the Company's business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. Some of the risks the Company faces and the uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the ability to execute on plans relating to the Company's Corvette Lithium Project, including the timing thereof. In addition, readers are directed to carefully review the detailed risk discussion in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR+, which discussion is incorporated by reference in this news release, for a fuller understanding of the risks and uncertainties that affect the Company's business and operations.

Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. As such, these risks are not exhaustive; however, they should be considered carefully. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements found herein. Due to the risks, uncertainties and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The mineral resource estimate in this release was reported by the Company in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.8 on July 31, 2023. The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the previous announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the previous announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business plans, financial performance and condition and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. The Company qualifies all of its forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

SOURCE Patriot Battery Metals Inc
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As devastating wildfires continue to burn on Hawaii's Maui and the Big Island, Purina is donating $25,000 to Greater Good Charities to support the global nonprofit's crisis response efforts and provide both immediate and long-term recovery to people and animals in Hawaii.

Purina Donates $25,000 to Help Pets and People Impacted by Hawaii Wildfires

Dozens of lives have been lost, hundreds of buildings have been destroyed and thousands of people and animals have been displaced in what's being called the state's worst natural disaster in 30 years. Purina's donation will aid Greater Good Charities in providing cash grants for rescue and medical care, pet food, and supplies.

to Hawaiian-based animals rescues and emergency shelters.

"Our hearts go out to the families and pets being affected by these wildfires, and to the communities that are experiencing such a catastrophic loss" said Kim Beardslee, Director of Community Affairs at Purina. "We have a long history of coming to the aid people and pets when disaster strikes, and we will continue working with our partners to provide support however we can."

Purina donates more than $30 million annually in monetary grants, Purina pet food and cat litter to support nonprofit organizations that help bring and keep people and pets together, as well as supports relief efforts in the wake of natural disasters.

"Greater Good Charities is currently mobilizing to help the people and pets in the communities impacted by the tragic Maui wildfires by providing immediate support and solutions to aid in the island's long-term recovery," said Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities. "We are grateful to our partners like Purina who have not hesitated to step in to amplify our efforts in Maui."

To learn more about causes Purina supports, visit www.purina.com/about/partnerships, and to donate to Greater Good Charities' Disaster Response, visit www.greatergood.org.

About Nestle Purina PetCare

Nestle Purina PetCare creates richer lives for pets and the people who love them. Founded in 1894, Purina has helped dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives by offering scientifically based nutritional innovations. Purina manufactures some of the world's most trusted and popular pet care products, including Purina ONE, Pro Plan, Friskies and Tidy Cats. Our more than 10,000 U.S. associates take pride in our trusted pet food, treat and litter brands that feed 46 million dogs and 68 million cats every year. More than 500 Purina scientists, veterinarians, and pet care experts ensure our commitment to unsurpassed quality and nutrition.

Purina promotes responsible pet care through our scientific research, our products, and our support for pet-related organizations. Over the past five years, Purina has contributed more than $150 million towards organizations that bring, and keep, people and pets together, as well as those that help our communities and environment thrive.

Purina is part of Nestle, a global leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness. For more information, visit purina.com or subscribe here to get the latest Purina news.

About Greater Good Charities

Greater Good Charities is a 501(c)(3) global nonprofit organization that works to help people, pets, and the planet by mobilizing in response to need and amplifying the good. Greater Good Charities, with a 100/100 rating on Charity Navigator, has invested more than $575 million in impact, including cash grants, in-kind supplies, and programmatic support, to charitable partners in 121 countries since 2007. To learn more about how Greater Good Charities is amplifying the good across the globe, please visit greatergood.org or follow Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok.

SOURCE Nestle Purina PetCare
The global railway maintenance machinery market is driven by an increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects, surge in the number of railway electrification projects, and benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery.

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Railway Maintenance Machinery Market by Product Type (Tamping Machine, Stabilizing Machinery, Rail Handling Machinery, Ballast Cleaning Machine, Catenary Maintenance Machine, and Others), By Application (Ballast track and Non-ballast Track), and Sales Type (New Sales and Aftermarket Sales): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20232032". According to the report, the global railway maintenance machinery market was valued at $4 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $7.2 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.5% from 2023 to 2032.

Download PDF Sample @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/8504

Railway maintenance machinery refers to a number of specialized tools and automobiles used in the construction, repair, and restoration of railway infrastructure. A range of technologies and equipment are used to ensure the safe and effective operation of overhead lines, signaling systems, train tracks, and other components related to railway networks. Switches, tunnels, catenary systems, bridges, railway tracks, etc. are all examined, maintained, and fixed using railway maintenance equipment. International connectivity and trade are often dependent on effective train infrastructure. As a result, regions with high levels of trade invested in maintaining and developing their railway networks.

Prime determinants of growth

An Increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects and a surge in the number of railway electrification projects, and benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery drive the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market. However, the Dearth of skilled staff and lack of reimbursement in developing countries restricts market growth. Moreover, technological integration in railway maintenance machinery is anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities in the coming years.

Report coverage & details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $4 billion Market Size in 2032 $7.2 billion CAGR 5.5 % No. of Pages in Report 230 Segments covered Product Type, Application, Sales Type, and Regions Drivers Increase in government spending on the construction of railway projects. The surge in the number of railway electrification projects. Benefits associated with railway maintenance machinery. Opportunities Technological innovation Restraints The dearth of skilled staff and lack of reimbursement in developing countries. High cost of the machines.

Covid-19 Scenario

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global lockdowns, the railway maintenance machinery market faced a downturn.

However, as the global situation started improving, the demand for railway maintenance machinery was restored back. This, in turn, presented various growth opportunities for companies operating in the railway maintenance machinery market.

Buy This Research Report (230 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/1027a669b89a84ae1bda7afbd3b420de The tamping machine segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on product type, the tamping machine segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for nearly half of the railway maintenance machinery market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, this machine is cost-effective with higher working speed, saving time, reducing track maintenance cost, and maximizing the speed of track. However, the others segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 6.8% from 2023 to 2032, owing to benefits associated with railway m aintenance machinery such as enhanced safety, time-saving feature for goods trains carrying highly inflammable material, and maximized speed of railway track.

The ballast track segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on application, the ballast track segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, owing to its wide usage to clean the surface on the railway track. These tracks are laid under railway sleepers to reduce the stress on the ground. However, the non-ballast track segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 5.8% from 2023 to 2032, it offers features such as releasing dust from ballast and has high train speed.

The aftermarket sales segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on sales type, the aftermarket sales segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for more than half of the global railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 5.9% from 2023 to 2032, owing to the existing railway system's age, the need for regular maintenance and replacement of components increases. This creates opportunities for aftermarket sales of spare parts and maintenance services.

Europe to maintain its dominance by 2032.

Based on region, Europe held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the global railway maintenance machinery market revenue, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. Europe has been at the forefront of developing high-speed rail systems, connecting major cities and countries across the continent. High-speed rail requires advanced maintenance machinery and sophisticated maintenance practices to ensure safety and efficiency and hence it promoted the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market in Europe. However, the LAMEA region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 7.3 % from 2023 to 2032. Rapid urbanization and a growing population in certain parts of the LAMEA region have led to increased demands for reliable transportation systems and is expected to drive the growth of the railway maintenance machinery market.

Inquire Before Buying @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/8504

Leading Market Players: -

System7 Rail Holding GmbH

MER MEC S .p.A

.p.A Fluor Corporation

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.

Harsco Corporation

Geatech Group s.r.l.

Plasser & Theurer

Sinara Transport Machines Holding

CRRC Corporation Limited

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the railway maintenance machinery market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, business expansion, acquisition, collaboration, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

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About Allied Market Research:



Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Technavio, a leading provider of industry news and insights, is pleased to announce its latest report on the Remote Patient Monitoring Market. The report highlights the estimated growth and forecast for the market between 2022 and 2027, predicting an increase in market size of USD 1,733.81 million and a rise at a CAGR of 22.22%.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Remote Patient Monitoring Market 2023-2027

The Key drive such as the emergence of digital healthcare services, the concept of Healthcare 4.0, and the need for healthcare accessibility in remote areas. Integration of electronic devices, smartphones, and advanced medical technology is shaping the healthcare landscape, supported by the adoption of analytics, cloud computing, IoT, and AI. Mobile health is a prominent trend, delivering healthcare through mobile devices and addressing aging populations and chronic diseases.

YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 21.01 % Key Countries North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)

The report provides a comprehensive insight into the market segmentation by product (vital signs and implantable), end-user (hospitals, ASCs, and home care), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)). This segmentation provides a comprehensive view of the market, encompassing diverse communication solutions and regions. Furthermore, it examines key trends shaping the companies landscape and identifies potential challenges faced by market players. To get insights into the key trends, download the sample report here!

The major Remote Patient Monitoring Market companies include Abbott Laboratories, Advantech Co. Ltd., Alten SA, Boston Scientific Corp., Caretaker Medical NA, Draegerwerk AG and Co. KGaA, Honeywell International Inc., Koninklijke Philips NV, Masimo Corp., Medtronic Plc, Napier Healthcare Solutions Pte Ltd. Nihon Kohden Corp. OMRON Corp., OSI Systems Inc. and OSP Labs.

These companies are actively implementing various strategies, such as strategic alliances, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, geographical expansion, and product launches, to enhance their presence and competitiveness in Remote Patient Monitoring Market.

The global remote patient monitoring market is driven by the convergence of digital healthcare services, the emergence of Healthcare 4.0, and the imperative to extend healthcare access to remote areas. The integration of electronic devices, smartphones, and advanced medical technology is reshaping the healthcare landscape through innovations like analytics, cloud computing, IoT, and AI. The rising trend of mobile health addresses the needs of aging populations and those with chronic illnesses. However, challenges persist due to inconsistent reimbursement policies. North America, with its heightened awareness and accelerated demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to be a significant contributor to this market's expansion.

Technavio provides a report that includes competitive intelligence, highlighting major players' key developments and growth strategies, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions and stay competitive in the market. To buy the complete report on Remote Patient Monitoring Market, click here.

Below, are other reports you might be interested with:

Patient Monitoring Equipment Market: The Global Patient Monitoring Equipment Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.48% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 20.39 billion. This report covers clinical mass market segmentation by end-user (hospitals, clinics, and ambulatory care services), type (bed-side patient monitoring equipment and remote patient monitoring equipment), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of World (ROW)).

Multiparameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market: The multiparameter patient monitoring equipment market size will decline by USD 1.51 billion during 2020-2024, and the market's growth momentum will decelerate during the forecast period. The report covers artificial intelligence (AI) in social media market segmentation by product (high-acuity monitors, mid-acuity monitors, and low-acuity monitors) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, and ROW).

About Technavio:

Technavio is a trusted source for industry news and insights that help businesses stay ahead in today's competitive landscape. With a team of experienced analysts and researchers, we continuously scrutinize and evaluate the dynamic landscape of markets across the globe. Our comprehensive coverage, meticulous research methodologies, and pragmatic industry expertise have earned us the trust and reliance of a vast clientele, including over 100 esteemed Fortune 500 organizations.

SOURCE Technavio
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2), based in Morgantown, West Virginia, is marking the first year of a signed collaboration agreement with Saab, combining CMI2's capability to bridge the gaps in defense innovation and technology experimentation with Saab's expertise in advanced military training solutions. The alliance blends CMI2's focus on experimentation and training at its Adaptive Experimentation Facility in Fola, West Virginia, with Saab's focus on producing and implementing advanced military training systems to improve soldier and warfighter readiness.

Leadership from the West Virginia National Guard receive an overview of Saab's technology from David Rees, Director, Training and Simulation, at the most recent DIRT Days iteration held at the CMI2 Adaptive Experimentation Facility in Fola, West Virginia, July 21, 2023. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Edwin L. Wriston)

The first full year of the collaboration between CMI2 and Saab boasts numerous successful events via partnerships with the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), the 101st Airborne, and 82nd Airborne Divisions. Most recently, in July 2023, CMI2 engaged Saab to support Soldiers from the West Virginia Army National Guard.

"Our collaboration with CMI2 combines our world leading military training solutions and their capabilities in experimentation to create something truly unique  a live training environment that forces adaptive thinking to fulfill our customers' unique and ever evolving military training requirements," said Erik Smith, President and CEO of Saab in the U.S. "I'm proud of what our two organizations have been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time."

The CMI2 Fola site is a stand-alone training and experimentation facility designed to enable Soldiers, Marines, Special Operators, and other groups to conduct live free-play events to evaluate new technologies in a realistic training environment. Saab's collaboration with CMI2 combines its world leading military training solutions and CMI2's capabilities in experimentation to create a unique, austere and challenging training environment.

"The beauty of this collaboration is that CMI2 and Saab are implementing a one-of-a-kind offering that includes the ability to perform technology experimentation and advanced training in the same location," said CMI2 founder Dr. Zenovy Wowczuk. "This collaboration also includes creating a joint office and innovation facility at the Fola site."

In mid-April, CMI2 and Saab collaborated to host the second of three successful Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days, where more than 300 military personnel participated in and field-tested emerging tactics and technology while bolstering their operation skill sets through challenging, realistic exercises in the rugged terrain of Clay County, West Virginia.

"CMI2 not only established a collaboration with an international company the caliber of Saab, but they have found a leading defense company who's also investing in West Virginia and hiring West Virginians," said Governor Jim Justice. "Together, these two companies are building a one-of-a-kind military capability right here in the Mountain State, which will no doubt be the premier training space for the next decade."

Built on a reclaimed coal mine property, the Adaptive Experimentation Facility was transformed by CMI2 to create a destination for testing and experimentation of military technology against a permanent, professional adversary/red-team force. The opposition force capability allows the developers to stress experimental technology and provide real-time design modifications to optimize the development cycle. This red-team capability also allows Soldiers to interrogate current tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) during and after training events with the help of Saab's advanced training aides, After Action Reporting (AARs), and leverage of the data they can collect and analyze.

Wowczuk said each organization's unique capabilities will allow for new technologies and advanced training systems to be implemented and create a one-of-a-kind testbed for both Soldiers and technology developers.

"The Adaptive Experimentation Facility is not your cookie cutter test range or training facility. We have created a truly niche facility and a new way for Soldiers to prepare for the next fight," Wowczuk said. "The combined resources of Saab and CMI2 will truly make Fola a distinctive destination with exceptional capabilities."

Saab is a leading defense and security company with an enduring mission, to help nations keep their people and society safe. Empowered by its 19,000 talented people, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer, more sustainable and more equitable world. Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems.

Saab is headquartered in Sweden. It has major operations all over the world and is part of the domestic defense capability of several nations.

Saab, Inc. is a U.S. based wholly owned subsidiary, delivering advanced technology and systems, supporting the U.S. Armed Forces and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as international and commercial partners. Headquartered in Syracuse, New York, the company has business units and local employees in seven U.S. locations.

SOURCE Civil-Military Innovation Institute
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wayman Aviation Academy , one of the newest aviation colleges in the state, announced a unique partnership with Spirit Airlines through their Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program. The program will provide graduates with easily accessible, local mentorship with Spirit Airlines pilots and a fast track to a career in aviation as a First Officer with the airline.

What also makes this partnership unique is that Wayman Aviation is the only flight college in the country, and in Spirit's program, that trains future pilots using Competency Based Training & Assessment (CBTA), a superior standard of flight training recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The partnership with Spirit highlights the trust airlines are placing in Wayman Aviation's rigorous training standards. Tweet this

"Our partnership with Spirit through its Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program highlights the level of trust airlines are placing in Wayman Aviation's rigorous training standards," said Eduardo Luy, Vice President of Wayman Aviation.

Wayman Aviation will not only be helping Spirit Airlines tackle the pilot shortage by sending pilots into their ranks sooner, thanks to this program and Wayman's R-ATP certification . They will also provide better-formed pilots armed with CBTA training and an associate's degree in aviation sciences.

"As innovators at one of the best aviation colleges in the state, we have adopted a process called competency-based training which allows our students to be much more advanced in the principles of aviation safety at the early stages of their career compared to students from traditional flight schools," said Tony Shen, President of Wayman Aviation.

Wayman Aviation is excited for this partnership with its hometown airline Spirit as it aligns with Wayman's mission of providing the industry with the best-trained and most well-prepared pilots possible. Their headquarters are located only 15 minutes apart in Broward County, Florida.

ABOUT WAYMAN AVIATION ACADEMY

Wayman's mission is to Change Lives Through Aviation. We take passionate cadets and help them achieve their dreams through rigorous training in quality aircraft with quality instruction. Over the last 35 years, Wayman Aviation has developed into one of the premier flight training colleges in South Florida. Wayman offers full career preparation from FAA certification to college degrees and flows through to airlines such as Republic, Sky West (American, United, Delta), Spirit Airlines, and Silver Airways. For more information, please visit www.wayman.edu .

SOURCE Wayman Aviation Academy
ORLAND HILLS, Ill., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the flourishing world of cannabis, there are some stand-out brands  and Stash, in partnership with Revolution Cannabis, is excited to add just such a premium brand to the shelves of their new Orland Hills and Peru dispensaries.

Cookies, represented in Illinois by Revolution Cannabis. is well known to cannabis aficionados across the globe, and now Stash Dispensaries is one of the first in the state of Illinois to stock Cookies.

Cookies X Stash

"We are delighted to bring such a high quality, well-known brand to Stash," said CEO Matt Longo. "The Cookies brand is well known and respected in the space for their amazing products, not to mention their founder's activism in communities disproportionally affected by previous attitudes towards cannabis. It is a great honor to welcome these products to Stash, working hand-in-hand with world-class cultivators Revolution Cannabis."

Products on shelves at Stash from Friday, August 11 include flower, concentrate, edibles, and vape cartridges and feature the popular Powder Sugar live rosin vape.

For more information and for other updates from Stash, please visit www.stashdispensaries.com.

Stash Dispensaries are located at: 9545 W 167th Street, Orland Hills, IL 60487 and

1320 38th Street, Peru, IL 61354

About Stash, Revolution and Cookies

Stash Dispensaries is a leading adult-use cannabis retailer, providing a wide range of high-quality carefully curated products, with something for everyone.

Revolution Cannabis is a pioneering cultivation and production facility known for its innovative approach and delivering premium cannabis products to the market.

Cookies, founded by Gilbert Anthony Milan Jr. (Berner), is a globally recognized lifestyle and cannabis brand, synonymous with quality and authenticity, using exceptional cannabis genetics and producing a wide range of cannabis-infused products to garner a dedicated, worldwide following.

SOURCE Stash Dispensaries
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EpiVax Inc. announces the publication of results from a research collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration aimed at streamlining generic drug evaluations. The research, initiated in 2018 with a $1M contract spanning two years (HHSF223018186C), was established to develop best practices for assessing the immunogenic potential of active pharmaceutical ingredients and their impurities for filing Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs). Additional funding of $1.1M was secured for this program in 2020 (75F40120C00157). The results of the preclinical assessment initiative are now published in "Drug Discovery Today" titled, "Immunogenicity Risk Assessment of Synthetic Peptide Drugs and Their Impurities."

The collaboration was triggered by a draft guidance for generic peptide ANDAs released in 2018, which was later finalized in 2021 (FDA-2017-D-5767). This guidance underscores the significance of identifying and characterizing any key impurities present in a drug's formulation before approval. Particularly, it suggests new or "higher level" impurities that differ from those in the reference listed drug undergo assessment to determine if they introduce new T cell epitope content to the product. A Broad Agency Announcement invited potential collaborators to explore these assessments with the agency. EpiVax's expertise in T cell immunogenicity positioned the company as a competitive candidate for this project.

Throughout the program, EpiVax adapted in silico and in vitro immunogenicity risk assessment methods, previously leveraged for vaccine and biologics assessment, to evaluate the immunogenicity of generic drug impurities. The publication outlines EpiVax's recommended "PANDA" approach, featuring case studies.

Since 2018, EpiVax's scientists have garnered extensive experience in supporting drug manufacturers with immunogenicity assessments for ANDA submissions to various global regulatory agencies.

Thankful for the opportunity to make an impact in this domain, the EpiVax team anticipates future opportunities to develop their expertise and offerings as the generic peptide market continues to grow. As patents for over 80 approved peptide drugs approach expiration and open the door for generics , EpiVax stands ready to play a role in this expanding landscape.

About EpiVax:

EpiVax is a 25-year-old biotechnology company located in Providence, RI. Scientists at EpiVax, are identified as leaders in the field of immunogenicity assessment of vaccines and biologics. EpiVax partners with a global roster of companies, agencies, and academic collaborators to further research in the immunogenicity space, as applied to autoimmunity, infectious diseases, cancer and beyond.

Press Contact:

Sarah Moniz

Assoc. Director, Business Development

[email protected]

SOURCE EpiVax Inc.
PHOENIX, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rising costs of tuition, housing, and other essential expenses, nearly 3 million students are starting college for the first time, and families are making significant financial commitments to support their children's pursuit of higher education. However, unforeseen events can quickly turn what for many families is often the second largest investment in their lives into a substantial financial loss.

Without proper coverage, college families are vulnerable to potential financial losses

"The National Student Clearinghouse reports 113,000 students took a leave of absence in 2021, including for medical reasons," said John Fees, co-founder and CEO of GradGuard. "When you consider the average cost of attendance to be $18,000 a year, that totals more than $2 billion that families lost."

GradGuard urges families to understand and plan for the following potential financial risks this upcoming school year:

Fires, floods, theft, and more: Many families might overlook the importance of renters insurance for their students living off-campus or in on-campus housing. Without proper coverage, students and their families are vulnerable to potential financial losses due to theft, fire, water damage, and other unexpected events.

According to Clery Act Reports , an average of over 24,000 crime and safety incidents have been reported annually on college campuses since 2009.

2,411 robberies were reported on average annually.

1,840 fires were reported on average annually.

20,521 burglaries were reported on average annually.

Renters insurance can help provide replacement costs if a pipe bursts in a residence hall, a fire happens on an off-campus housing facility, or a student's laptop were stolen. GradGuard's college renters insurance provides peace of mind and protection against these risks, ensuring that students can focus on their studies without worrying about the cost of replacing their belongings.

Serious illnesses, injuries, death of a tuition payer, and more: Life is unpredictable, and sometimes, circumstances beyond a student's control can force them to withdraw from college mid-semester. Families who are unaware of tuition refund policies might face significant financial losses.

According to the 2022 GradGuard/College Pulse College Confidence Index, most students struggle with maintaining their personal well-being, including mental health, at a time when an understanding of refund policies is low.

74% of students and 66% of parents report they are unfamiliar with the refund policies of their college or university. (College Confidence Index, 2022)

52% of parents report it would be difficult for them to pay for the cost of an extra semester. (College Confidence Index)

69% of students who consider withdrawing cite emotional stress as the reason for stopping school. (Gallup-Lumina Foundation, 2022)

If a student must withdraw from college due to a serious illness, injury, or accident, it's unlikely they will receive a full refund for tuition, let alone for housing or other fees. Tuition insurance can help protect families from the financial impact of unexpected withdrawals due to a covered illness, injury, or other covered reason and can provide reimbursement for tuition, housing, and academic fees when schools do not. Covered reasons can include illnesses and injuries such as mono, concussions, and mental health conditions, as well as the death of a tuition payer.

"College is a significant investment for families, and families are smart to be aware that it is not risk free," said Fees. "If you cannot afford the cost of another semester or unintentional damages to a residence hall, consider protecting yourself with GradGuard's tuition and renters insurance plans."

Terms, conditions, and exclusions (including for pre-existing conditions) apply. Plans only available to U.S. residents and may not be available in all jurisdictions. Recommended and provided by GradGuard, a service of Next Generation Insurance Group, LLC (NGI), the licensed agent for all insurance programs. Insurance plans include insurance benefits and assistance services. Pricing may vary by state. Insurance benefits are underwritten by Jefferson Insurance Company (NY, Administrative Office 9950 Mayland Drive, Richmond, VA 23233) rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Co. A+ (Superior) is the 2nd highest of A.M. Best's 13 Financial Strength Ratings. Non-insurance benefits/services are provided by AGA Service Company. Claims are administered by Allianz Global Assistance (AGA). AGA and Allianz Tuition Insurance are marks of AGA Service Company or its affiliates. AGA Service Company is an affiliate of Jefferson Insurance Company. Plans include insurance benefits and assistance services. Except as expressly provided for under the plan, consumer is responsible for charges incurred from outside vendors. Contact AGA Service Company at 888-427-5045 or 9950 Mayland Dr., Richmond, VA 23233 or [email protected] .

About GradGuard:

GradGuard is the #1 provider of college renters and tuition insurance. Since 2009, GradGuard has protected more than 1.3 million students at more than 1,800 unique institutions. GradGuard's innovative protections are embedded within the enrollment processes of the largest and most prestigious universities in the United States, ensuring their students are protected from the risks of college life.

Media Contact:

Natalie Hubertus

650-302-5656

[email protected]

SOURCE GradGuard
Highlights

Aug. 11th is National 811 Day, which promotes safe digging practices to protect underground utility lines

Customers encouraged to call 811 and have underground utility lines marked before digging

With summer comes extra time outside, and home improvement projects. Dominion Energy Virginia encourages homeowners and contractors to call 811 and have underground utility lines marked before beginning any digging projects.

The 811 service is free of charge and supported by Virginia's utilities to protect communities from accidental damage to underground utility lines.

Whether you're a construction contractor or working on a DIY home improvement project, locating the underground electric or gas lines on your property could save lives, avoid outages and help you avoid fines. State law requires the public to contact 811 at least three business days before starting a project to request underground utility markings.

"Everyone has a role to play in keeping our communities safe," said Sylvia White, Dominion Energy Virginia's Director of Distribution Operations. "Calling before you dig is one of the most important things you can do before any construction or home improvement project. It will keep you safe and protect the safety of your neighbors."

Here are a few important reminders for safe digging:

Call before you dig. Before digging, contact VA811 at least three full working days before beginning any digging project by visiting www.va811.com or dialing 8-1-1.

Before digging, contact VA811 at least three full working days before beginning any digging project by visiting www.va811.com or dialing 8-1-1. Wait for the utility lines to be marked. At no cost, 811 technicians will mark the location of the utility lines on the requested property. Once you've confirmed the utilities have been marked, it is safe to begin the digging project.

At no cost, 811 technicians will mark the location of the utility lines on the requested property. Once you've confirmed the utilities have been marked, it is safe to begin the digging project. Respect the markings for your safety. Dig at least 2 feet from all sides of the marks, not on them.

Dig at least 2 feet from all sides of the marks, not on them. Dig with care. If you accidentally damage a utility line, no matter how minor it may seem, move to a safe location. From a safe place, call Dominion Energy Virginia at 1-866-366-4357.

Visit dominionenergy.com/safety/call-before-you-dig for more information about the call-before-you-dig process.

View the Spanish language version of this release.

About Dominion Energy

About 7 million customers in 16 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
Demonstrates company's consistent ability to empower midmarket organizations and their mobile and agile workforce to achieve a seamless and connected life



ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Targus, the number one laptop bag brand in the US1 and a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, announced today that Midsize Enterprise Services (MES), a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Targus on its 2023 MES Midmarket 100 list.

The MES Midmarket 100 recognizes top vendors that have proven themselves to be forward-thinking technology providers offering solutions that support the growth and innovation of midmarket organizations.

Targus is recognized for its continued innovation and proven ability to address the emerging needs of the midmarket sector.

MES defines the midmarket as an organization with an annual revenue of $50M-$2B and/or 100-2500 total supported users/seats. Companies were selected due to their go-to-market strategy, how they serve the midmarket, and the strength of their midmarket product portfolios.

Targus was selected for its continuous innovation and proven ability to equip midmarket organizations and their mobile and agile workforce with purposeful, productivity-boosting solutions that empower a seamless and connected life.

"The MES Midmarket 100 list recognizes key vendors that are invested in the growth and development of midmarket organizations. According to National Center for the Middle Market, there are nearly 200,000 U.S middle market businesses that represent one-third of private sector GDP, employing approximately 48 million people," said Adam Dennison, VP Midsize Enterprise Services, The Channel Company. "The midmarket is a major driver of our economy and that's why I'm so proud of the vendors and executives identified on this elite list for their consistent commitment to helping midmarket organizations succeed and thrive. They should be applauded and commended for their dedication to this vital market segment."

Ed Lawson, Director of US Channel Sales, Targus, added, "Our insight-driven approach, global reach, and commitment to quality allow our company to continually meet the performance, style, and protection needs of mid-sized businesses everywhere. Being included on the MES Midmarket 100 list is a testament to the importance of our offerings to midmarket organizations."

The MES Midmarket 100 list recognizes today's biggest IT movers and shakers who have set themselves apart as forward-thinking technology providers that support the growth and innovation of midmarket organizations. Winners were selected based on their consistent commitment to helping the midmarket segment succeed and thrive in today's fast-paced digital economy.

The MES Midmarket 100 list is featured online at https://www.crn.com/midmarket100

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn , and Facebook.

About Targus

For 40 years, Targus has been revolutionizing mobile computing accessories for large enterprises and consumers, alike  connecting people and technology in meaningful ways. From laptop bags to tablet cases, to peripherals and universal docking stations, we persistently conceive, design, and produce innovative, productivity-boosting solutions that make the complex, simple; and seamlessly integrate into the lifestyles of mobile professionals wherever they work  at home, in the office, or wherever they go. We cross categories, regions, industries, and lifestyles with a breadth and depth of products that provide you with the solutions you need to live, dream, and do.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California, Targus has global operations in more than 24 offices and distribution in more than 100 countries. Learn more about us at Targus.com, like or follow us on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

1Source: Circana, US B2B Reseller, Unit Sales for Laptop Bags, 12ME June 2023.

2023 Targus is a registered trademark of Targus International LLC in the US and in certain other countries. The Channel Company, LLC. The Channel Company logo is a registered trademark of The Channel Company LLC. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Targus
Funds Raised Will Support Military Members, Veterans and Their Families

DALLAS, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After its July fundraising campaign, Texas de Brazil announced today that the family-owned Brazilian steakhouse brand raised over $45,000 to support the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces as they continue to help support military members, veterans and families.

The campaign promoted in Texas de Brazil restaurants nationwide and on various digital platforms raised over $31,000 paired with a corporate donation from the company of $14,000.

Texas de Brazil raised over $45,000 in July for the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces. Tweet this The Red Cross works on behalf of the American public to ensure that military personnel get help whenever and wherever they need it.

"We proudly support the American Red Cross programs that serve our military heroes and their families. These men and women endure countless sacrifices, and it's our honor to give back and provide an opportunity for others to help raise funds that go directly to those who protect our freedoms," says Salim Asrawi, president of Texas de Brazil.

"Texas de Brazil and its customers have had an amazing impact on the Red Cross mission year after year, and we are so happy with the continued success of this campaign. The Red Cross is incredibly grateful for their support that allows us to deliver real hope and care for our military veterans and their families," said Ariane Einecker, chief development officer, American Red Cross North Texas Region. "We thank Texas de Brazil staff members, customers, and leadership for their collaboration and support. Thanks to you, we can look to the future with hope and readiness to assist our armed forces."

The Red Cross works on behalf of the American public to ensure that our military personnel get help whenever and wherever they need it. Every day, employees and thousands of volunteers help deliver services at Red Cross offices and provide 24/7 global emergency communication services and other support in veteran healthcare facilities and more than one hundred military installations across the country and worldwide.

About Texas de Brazil

Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria featuring a continuous dining experience that blends the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item salad area, an award-winning wine list and a la carte dessert selections. Founded as a family-owned business in 1998, Texas de Brazil is one of the largest Brazilian-American steakhouse brands in the world, with 52 restaurants in 22 states, 1 in Puerto Rico and 11 international locations. For more information, visit TexasdeBrazil.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE Texas de Brazil
HOUSTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Howard Hughes Corporation ("HHC") and Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. ("Howard Hughes Holdings") today announced completion of the previously announced holding company structure, making Howard Hughes Holdings the parent holding company of HHC. Howard Hughes Holdings replaces HHC as the public company trading on the New York Stock Exchange. HHC traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HHC". Commencing on Monday, August 14, 2023, Howard Hughes Holdings will trade under the new ticker symbol "HHH".

Each existing share of HHC common stock outstanding immediately prior to the reorganization has automatically converted, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of common stock of Howard Hughes Holdings, having the same designation, rights, powers, and preferences and qualifications, limitations, and restrictions as a share of HHC common stock immediately prior to the reorganization. Accordingly, HHC stockholders automatically became stockholders of Howard Hughes Holdings with the same number and ownership percentage of shares in Howard Hughes Holdings as they held in HHC immediately prior to the reorganization. HHC now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Howard Hughes Holdings. The Board of Directors and the executive officers of HHC immediately prior to the reorganization continue in their same roles at Howard Hughes Holdings.

The holding company reorganization, which is intended to be a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes for HHC's stockholders, will promote the growth of its businesses, including by providing additional flexibility to fund future investment opportunities and to segregate assets and related liabilities in separate subsidiaries.

Howard Hughes Holding's common stock (NYSE: HHH) will begin trading at the opening of trading on August 14, 2023, under the new CUSIP number 44267T102.

About Howard Hughes Holdings Inc.

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S. Its award-winning assets include the country's preeminent portfolio of master planned communities, as well as operating properties and development opportunities including: the Seaport in New York City; Downtown Columbia in Maryland; The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills in the Greater Houston, Texas area; Summerlin in Las Vegas; Ward Village in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Teravalis in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area. Howard Hughes Holdings' portfolio is strategically positioned to meet and accelerate development based on market demand, resulting in one of the strongest real estate platforms in the country. Dedicated to innovative placemaking, the company is recognized for its ongoing commitment to design excellence and to the cultural life of its communities. Howard Hughes Holdings is the parent holding company of The Howard Hughes Corporation, which was traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC; commencing on Monday, August 14, 2023, Howard Hughes Holdings will trade under the ticker HHH. For additional information visit www.howardhughes.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements accompanied by words such as "will," "believe," "expect," "enables," "realize," "plan," "intend," "assume," "transform" and other words of similar expression, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, assumptions, and projections as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth as risk factors in The Howard Hughes Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly and Annual Reports. The Howard Hughes Corporation cautions you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. The Howard Hughes Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

Media Contact

Cristina Carlson, 646-822-6910

SVP, Head of Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Eric Holcomb, 281-475-2144

SVP, Investor Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE The Howard Hughes Corporation
Essential aid is being provided as thousands evacuate the island of Maui

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salvation Army has launched widespread efforts to provide food and other essential items and services to evacuees in Hawaii. After an unseasonably dry summer and strong winds spurred by Hurricane Dora in the Pacific Ocean, spontaneous wildfires erupted and spread across numerous communities on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The fires have already tragically claimed 36 lives and consumed thousands of acres while displacing more than 11,000 people from their homes. The Salvation Army is actively partnering with local emergency management and leaders, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, and other nonprofit organizations to serve evacuees and first responders.

"The Salvation Army is committed to assisting those in need during this critical time," said Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder, national commander of The Salvation Army. "Our local officers, staff, and volunteers are extending relief and support to people in affected areas, ensuring that no one faces this disaster alone. We will continue to do everything to support these communities now and well after the flames have been extinguished."

Working alongside other nonprofit disaster relief organizations, Maui County, and other state and local emergency management agencies, The Salvation Army has already coordinated thousands of meals for individuals and families at Maui County/American Red Cross shelters. The shelters are offering refuge from the wildfires and are a safe haven for people to receive assistance and resources.

Victor Leonardi, Divisional Director of Emergency Services & Safety for The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division, said: "When the fires started Tuesday night, we knew the impact would be substantial. Our Lahaina Lighthouse Corps buildings were among those evacuated in West Maui and we are awaiting clearance to return to Lahaina to inspect the property. In the meantime, our Salvation Army officers, staff, and volunteers helped coordinate thousands of meals for our neighbors in need. We will continue to support our community as we assess the damage and prepare for the challenging days ahead."

The Salvation Army has already coordinated thousands of meals for individuals and families at Maui County/American Red Cross shelters. The shelters are offering refuge from the wildfires and are a safe haven for people to receive assistance and resources.

In addition to the fires in Hawaii, The Salvation Army is also serving those affected by flooding in Alaska, Tennessee, and Kentucky; severe storms in Washington D.C.; and the heat wave affecting millions of people across the country.

To learn more about The Salvation Army's disaster relief efforts, click here.

The best way to support ongoing efforts in Hawaii is by making a financial contribution, which allows The Salvation Army to meet immediate and long-term needs. Those who are able to donate can do so by simply:

Visiting https://salarmy.us/HawaiiWildfires2023.

Calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

For media inquiries, please email [email protected].

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army annually helps nearly 24 million people in America overcome poverty, addiction, and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, shelter for the homeless, and rehabilitation services for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,000 centers of operation around the country. During times of disaster, 100% of designated donations to The Salvation Army are used for immediate response and long-term efforts. In 2021, The Salvation Army was ranked No. 2 on the list of "America's Favorite Charities" by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on X @SalvationArmyUS and #DoingTheMostGood.

Media Contact

Darian Taylor

Senior Manager, Public Relations & Public Affairs

832-265-8446

SOURCE The Salvation Army
TULSA, Okla., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Tulsa is preparing to welcome 151 National Merit scholars to campus as new students this fall  more per capita than any university in the country.

"We are thrilled that so many National Merit scholars have enrolled at The University of Tulsa as first-time college students. They recognize TU's legacy of high academic standards and what's possible when students are supported holistically," said President Brad R. Carson. "From internationally ranked STEM programs, a curriculum rooted in the arts and humanities and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, TU offers a unique educational experience for top students."

The University of Tulsa is welcoming more National Merit scholars per capita than any university in the U.S. this fall. Tweet this

TU is a small, private, research university with just under 4,000 students. Known internationally for engineering and cyber studies, undergraduates receive a foundation in the liberal arts.

TU anticipates 151 National Merit scholars this fall  nearly 80% of whom are from outside Oklahoma. The university provides generous financial aid packages to National Merit finalists and semifinalists as well as a job placement guarantee for all new undergraduates, making a TU degree one of the nation's most valuable.

"When I was trying to decide which college to attend, TU was not originally on my list. I checked out the school website and was immediately attracted to the beautiful architecture. I was pleased to discover the college's firm commitment to liberal arts and to the classical studies," said National Merit Finalist Georgia Rabaey, 18, of Marshall, Minnesota.

Many National Merit scholars and other academically successful students are drawn to TU's Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge and new Honors College.

"With a major in biology and a minor in neuroscience, I was delighted by the flexibility of the curriculum, particularly on the pre-med track," said National Merit Finalist Abhay Bindroo, 17, of Little Elm, Texas.

The University of Tulsa is located on a 200-acre residential campus along historic Route 66 just two miles from downtown Tulsa. TU is among the top 15% of U.S. News & World Report's best colleges and was ranked No. 20 among U.S. universities that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math by Forbes Magazine. With a perfect score from Money Magazine for Best Colleges in America, TU is in elite company nationwide for graduation and placement rates, cost of attendance, financial aid and alumni salaries. To learn more, visit utulsa.edu.

SOURCE University of Tulsa
A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from PR Newswire this week, including a Pop-Tarts x Crocs collab and PayPal's stablecoin launch.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Press Release Roundup, Aug. 7-11, 2023. Photo provided by Kellogg Company. https://prn.to/3YpZLRM

Read more of the latest releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNalert on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for the U.S. Postal Service, Wendy's, Fox Corp. and Eli Lilly.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story. Subject Matter Experts: Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles.

Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles. Related Resources: Our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, features regular media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
Announcement Coincides with International Youth Day (August 12) and Z Zurich Foundation's Support of Global Youth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Junior Achievement USA (JA) announced today a four-year commitment from the Z Zurich Foundation to update its K-5 curriculum. Through this collaboration, the curriculum, which has a strong emphasis on financial literacy, will be redesigned with enhanced digital components and to be more reflective of the communities Junior Achievement serves. The announcement coincides with International Youth Day on August 12 in recognition of the Z Zurich Foundation's commitment to JA programs around the world, including in Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, Indonesia and several countries in Africa.

Research by educators in the K-5 grades has repeatedly demonstrated the cumulative value of introducing and reinforcing financial literacy, career and entrepreneurship topics to young students as a foundation for more focused and specific lessons in later years. Introducing learning opportunities with real-world topics and skills allows students to practice and apply creative thinking and problem solving at an early age, providing the building blocks for developing the self-esteem and self-sufficiency needed to pursue more rigorous academic and real-world challenges. The K-5 curriculum redesign focuses on prevention and intervention at the earliest stages and provides programming to address systemic challenges caused by a lack of financial literacy.

"Financial literacy education in elementary school establishes a basis for greater financial capability later in life," said Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "With the Z Zurich Foundation's support, our redesigned K-5 learning experiences will have even greater impact on millions of young people each year."

The collaboration between the Z Zurich Foundation and Junior Achievement USA, supported by Zurich North America, will focus on the following objectives:

Contribute to filling gaps in U.S. school system approaches to financial literacy education for young learners.

Redesign K-5 curriculum to be more accessible and reflective of the communities Junior Achievement serves, including enhanced digital elements.

Engage Zurich North America employees through in-person and virtual volunteerism in 810 geographic locations in the U.S.

"This four-year program with Junior Achievement USA is a significant opportunity to support proven and sustainable system change solutions in youth empowerment through financial literacy. The prevention aspect of this program enables us to equip young people with the tools and resources to thrive and reach their full potential. Our joint ambition with Junior Achievement USA and Zurich North America for this grant is to impact millions of American students, as well as thousands of educators and Zurich North America volunteers," said Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation. "We are very proud of this new collaboration, building on impactful programs we have already built with Junior Achievement around the world."

Many Zurich North America employees are already active JA supporters, and this new collaboration will expand the organization's volunteer efforts. "We are so pleased to be part of this commitment to Junior Achievement USA," said Brian Winters, Head of National Accounts Broker Execution, U.S. National Accounts at Zurich North America. "Zurich North America employees are eager to volunteer and support JA efforts to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. This amazing organization inspires students to dream big and reach their potential, and we're proud to support programming enhancements that will help make an even greater impact on students."

About Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 3.3 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Z Zurich Foundation

The Z Zurich Foundation works alongside Zurich Insurance Group employees and other stakeholders as well as with governments and NGOs in pursuit of a future where people can thrive in the face of increasing climate hazards, where those of us feeling the stresses of life are empowered to speak up, and where the marginalized in our society can reach their full potential.

The Z Zurich Foundation is a Swiss-based charitable foundation established by members of the Zurich Insurance Group. It is the main vehicle by which Zurich Insurance Group delivers on its global community investment strategy.

Visit the Z Zurich Foundation's website to learn more about its work: https://zurich.foundation. Follow Z Zurich Foundation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America is one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals. Our customers represent industries ranging from agriculture to technology. Zurich North America is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer serving people and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience.

Reflecting its purpose to "create a brighter future together," Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has the highest-possible ESG rating from MSCI. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil.

The Group has about 56,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.

SOURCE Junior Achievement USA
All Thinkific customers will have the ability to get their own mobile app, customized in their own branding, built and maintained by Thinkific.

Thinkific's Branded Mobile solution allows Creators to increase sales, course completion rates and overall student engagement, including more engaged communities.



Branded Mobile now accessible as an add-on to Thinkific plans, at the competitive price of $199 /month.

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Thinkific Labs Inc. ("Thinkific" or the "Company") (TSX: THNC), a leading platform for creating, marketing, and selling online learning products, today announced the early expanded availability of its innovative 'Branded Mobile' solution, enabling all Creators across its platform to have their own fully customizable, branded mobile app.

"For our Creators, providing their students with an app-based learning environment that suits their lifestyle and is accessible on the devices they use most, leads to better engaged communities and higher sales, driving more revenue, " said Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific. "We're excited to release this feature to all Creators on our platform, and to continue delivering on our promise to provide our customers with the best tools to build, scale and earn from their remarkable online businesses, all under their own brand."

'Branded Mobile' is now accessible to all Thinkific 'self-serve' plans as an add-on, at a competitive price point of $199/month. Thinkific's Branded Mobile offering launched earlier this year and quickly built a waitlist of customers looking to have their own app under their own brand. Today this offer is open to any customer looking to leverage mobile to grow their business.

Branded Mobile transforms the way Creators are able to deliver courses and cultivate communities through mobile devices. App features include, in-app purchases, push notifications, on-the-go access to course materials including video, audio, PDF, text and downloadable lessons, dynamic activity feeds, and Creator's communities. Students can manage their own learning experiences, easily access new content and purchase new courses directly within the app, increasing Creator sales, course completion rates and community engagement.

Creators using the Branded Mobile solution are able to fully customize their mobile app listings on Google Play and Apple App Stores to reflect their unique brand identity, and can tailor in-app experiences to their specific audiences and course design. They also gain access to Thinkific's expert services to lead the process and ultimately receive a customized mobile app, without the headache of having to build it themselves.

To find out more about Branded Mobile, please visit - https://www.thinkific.com/branded-mobile/ .

About Thinkific

Thinkific (TSX:THNC) makes it simple for Creator Educators and established businesses of any size to scale and generate revenue by teaching what they know. Our platform gives businesses everything they need to build, market, and sell digital learning productsfrom courses to communitiesand run their business seamlessly under their own brand, on their own site. Thinkific's 50,000 active Creators earn hundreds of millions of dollars in direct course sales while teaching tens of millions of students. Thinkific is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and has a distributed team.

For more information, please visit www.thinkific.com.

This news release includes forward-looking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Often, but not always, forwardlooking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "is expected", "expects", "scheduled", "intends", "contemplates", "anticipates", "believes", "proposes" or variations (including negative and grammatical variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the Company's launch of its Branded Mobile solution and related features; the anticipated benefits of the Branded Mobile solution for the Company's customers including the ability to engage, monetize and retain their audience; competitive advantage; successful listing of apps on third party app platforms; advances in and expansion of the Company's platform offering; the development and success of new products and services; expectations related to increased adoption and retention of Thinkific's platform or Thinkific Communities; and expectations related to increased revenue for the Company and its customers. Such statements and information are based on the current expectations of Thinkific's management, and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although Thinkific's management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements and information are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forwardlooking statements and information speak only as of the date on which they are made and Thinkific undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forwardlooking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Thinkific Labs Inc.
BALTIMORE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The William & Lanaea C. Featherstone Foundation, an award-winning nonprofit, unveils its Featherstone College Scholarship Award recipients. Today, thirty Featherstone Scholars will receive $3,000 merit-based scholarships for their high academic achievements during a special awards celebration.

The Featherstone Awards Ceremony is an annual event that showcases Baltimore's most promising youth and promotes academic equity in higher education.

The phenomenal lineup includes:

Kurt L. Schmoke , president, The University of Baltimore

, president, Travis E. Mitchell , senior vice president & chief content officer of Maryland Public Television, will provide the keynote address.

, senior vice president & chief content officer of will provide the keynote address. Felipe Garcia Landa , deputy consul, Embassy of Mexico

deputy consul, Alicia Wilson , co-founder of The Black Philanthropy Circle, will receive the Featherstone Changemaker Award. This prestigious prize recognizes an influential leader who drives social change and positively impacts the community.

"The Featherstone Scholarships are designed to provide achieving students from underrepresented communities with the financial means that empower our next generation of student leaders and challenge the status quo," said David Rosario, owner of State Farm. "State Farm is honored to continue our long-standing support of the Featherstone Foundation."

"We are thrilled to support the outstanding accomplishments of Baltimore City's promising students in Baltimore City," said Burgundi Allison, associate director for diversion and prevention, Annie E. Casey Foundation. "The Featherstone Foundations work aligns with our focus on strengthening families, building stronger communities and ensuring access to opportunity, because children, youth and young adults need all three to succeed."

The Featherstone Foundation has a track record of creating equal access to opportunities. The Foundation has provided over $326,000 through 131 scholarships to outstanding students from 25 countries who now attend 12 institutions. Each scholar has demonstrated exemplary academic achievements. This year's awardees attend Coppin State University, Frostburg State University, Morgan State University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Stevenson University, The University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland.

The Featherstone Awards Ceremony takes place on August 11, 2023, at The University of Baltimore at 4:00pm. Learn more here .

The William & Lanaea C. Featherstone Foundation creates sustainable solutions to bridge the opportunity divide for underserved communities.

SOURCE The William & Lanaea C. Featherstone Foundation
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy culture press releases from PR Newswire, including support for diverse students and America's seniors.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering different cultural groups stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly People & Culture Press Release Roundup, Aug. 7-11, 2023. Photo provided by L'Oreal Paris. https://prn.to/3DQ3kHr

Read more of the latest culture-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNmltcult on Twitter.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
By Joel Cela

Highlights

Albania announces results of its first wind auction, launched in 2021

EBRD Renewable Energy Programme creates an enabling framework for projects, increasing private sector participation in Albania

SECO provides funding for technical assistance and regulatory work in the energy sector

The government of Albania has announced the results of the country's first utility-scale bidder-selected site auction for onshore wind. Three bidders have been awarded capacity, totalling 222.48 MW, under the country's third renewable energy auction and the first for onshore wind.

The successful bidders are Total Eren with a bid of 44.88/MWh for a capacity of 75 MW; Guris with a bid of 74/MWh for 74.88 MW; and Verbund with a bid of 74.95/MWh for 72.6 MW.

With Total Eren's bid, the result marks another record price for the country and the Western Balkans region.

Albania launched the auction in 2021, with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy running the tender. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has helped the Albanian authorities introduce competitive procurement processes for renewable energy projects.

Gianpiero Nacci, EBRD Director, Sustainable Business and Infrastructure, said: "Albania has made remarkable progress towards meeting its renewable energy targets and implementing auctions. We are very pleased to have supported the first wind auction in the country with bidder-selected sites and look forward to launching the 300 MW solar auction. This success is a game changer for Albania, a testament to what can be achieved with the right policy framework and a government committed to delivering on their renewable energy targets."

Ekaterina Solovova, EBRD Head of Albania, added: "We continue to be a strong partner to the Albanian authorities. We are proud to be the anchor financier of the Karavasta project, the first successfully auctioned solar plant in the country, and stand ready to continue leveraging financing for renewable energy, especially when we see solid and mature projects coming through as a result of sector reforms."

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has provided funding for the technical assistance that covers the new tender, as well as for work on energy sector regulation that will enable renewable energy sources to be deployed. SECO is also financing the upcoming 300 MW solar auction.

Albania has led the way in the region by successfully running renewable energy auctions to accelerate the use of renewable energy. Since 2020, Albania has awarded 240 MW of solar energy, with record low prices in the region, and 222.48MW of onshore wind. A further 300 MW of solar power will be awarded in the coming months. This brings the total capacity supported by the EBRD through the Renewable Energy Programme to over 460MW, which reflects about 20 per cent of the country's current total transmission grid capacity. The EBRD is also working with the government of Albania to assess the country's offshore wind potential, with the intention of further diversifying the energy mix, and continues to work on key improvements to the regulatory framework.

The EBRD Renewable Energy Programme is an important tool for driving systemic change by creating an enabling environment for the development of renewable energy projects and increasing private sector participation in Albania.

The auctions have attracted new and credible private investors and developers, both international and national, boosting the sector's competitiveness. Since the first auction, the number of bids has increased significantly, with highly reputable international and national developers expressing interest in the process and the growth of renewable energy in Albania.

The Renewable Energy Programme has created a more supportive and stable regulatory framework and introduced transparent and competitive bidding processes for renewable energy projects.

As a result, Albania is benefiting from low prices of electricity sourced from renewables at a time of global disruptions and high prices.

The Bank has been helping Albania develop a sustainable and diversified energy sector through policy discussions with government, technical legal assistance and investment. It is a leading institutional investor in the country, having invested 2 billion in over 140 projects to date.
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy travel industry press releases from PR Newswire, including Americans' opinions on the REAL ID Act and passenger rail travel.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the travel industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Travel Press Release Roundup, Aug. 7-11, 2023. Photo provided by Norwegian Cruise Line. https://prn.to/3OCFHXY

Read more of the latest travel-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNtravel on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for SeaWorld, Gogo, and Choice Hotels.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
Wellness Appliance Brand Commemorates Milestone with Largest-Ever Anniversary Sale

ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribest , a premium appliance manufacturer, dedicated to making healthy living easy, is proud to celebrate 35 years of innovation and service in support of healthy lifestyles. Since its inception, Tribest has designed 65+ wellness appliances used in over 30 countries to enrich daily wellness and make healthy living more accessible worldwide.

Founded by Jae Choi and Now Led by William Choi, Tribest Celebrates 35 Years of Making Healthy Living Easy Tribest's Greenstar Elite Jumbo Twin Gear Slow Masticating Juicer

An industry trailblazer, Tribest debuted its signature Greenstar Juicer in 1994, catalyzing the juicing trend. Acclaimed for its superior juice quality and efficiency, today the Greenstar remains a premier choice for health enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Beyond the Greenstar, Tribest has always been at the forefront of innovation, not only introducing the U.S.'s first personal blender but also producing the first mason jar-compatible version for effortless on-the-go smoothies.

Throughout its journey, Tribest has continuously prioritized the well-being of its customers, earning them a loyal following and establishing Tribest as a trusted name in the wellness community. Each product incorporates advanced technology to optimize nutrient and enzyme preservation and keep food as close as possible to its raw form.

"At Tribest, we've spent 35 years innovating high-quality products that streamline healthy living. We've introduced many industry firsts, such as our Greenstar Juicers and the first-ever Personal Blender in the U.S.," shared Will Choi, CEO of Tribest. "We've only scratched the surface of what's possible, as we are relentlessly driven to innovate, crafting cutting-edge products that empower global consumers to embrace healthier futures."

In its mission to cater to consumers at every stage of their wellness journey, Tribest introduced the Shine Kitchen Co. by Tribest product line. This range boasts compact, affordable kitchen tools, including cold-pressed juicers , Electric Spiralizers , and a newly launched Rapid Cold Brew Coffee & Tea Machine featuring vacuum extraction technology.

To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Tribest will be launching a special 35% off sitewide sale from 8.17-8.19. Also, for the remainder of 2023, all books on Tribest's website can be purchased for only $0.35.

Reflecting on 35 years of championing healthy living, Tribest continues its legacy, driven by quality and customer satisfaction. As such, the brand is poised to continue its leadership in the premium appliances market for years to come. For more information on Tribest and its range of premium appliances, please visit www.tribest.com .

ABOUT TRIBEST:

Based out of Anaheim, California, Tribest Corporation has proudly spent 35 years manufacturing high-quality appliances, carefully designed to make healthy living easy. Tribest aims to provide its customers with the latest innovations to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Its products range from high-end juicers and blenders, to dehydrators, spiralizers, sprouters, nut milk makers, coffee appliances and more. To learn more about Tribest Corporation, visit www.tribest.com.

Media Contact:

T-Aira Jelks

HYPH PR

[email protected]

310.694.0895

SOURCE Tribest
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study published in Tobacco Control found that higher awareness of the "It's Messing with Our Heads" public education effort from truth, the proven-effective and nationally recognized youth smoking, vaping, and nicotine prevention campaign from Truth Initiative, led to significantly lower e-cigarette use among youth and young adults. The study found that the campaign, which connected the dots between vaping nicotine and increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress among young people, led to lower odds of youth both using and intentions to use e-cigarettes in the future. This is the first time a study has shown a relationship between e-cigarette prevention messaging exposure and lowered e-cigarette use among youth and young adults.

Youth vaping remains a serious public health threat, with data from the 2022 Monitoring the Future Survey showing noteworthy upticks among 10th and 12th graders and increases in daily use among those who vape in all grades. According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 14.1% of high school students report current e-cigarette use with 46% of those students reporting frequent use. These findings underscore the persistence of the youth e-cigarette crisis as tobacco companies flood the market with cheap, youth appealing, flavored disposable e-cigarettes that remain easily accessible on shelves across the country.

The study surveyed more than 18,000 respondents aged 15-24 from September 2021 to October 2022. When 65-70% of respondents said they were aware of truth ads in a given week, there were 14% lower odds of current e-cigarette use. In weeks with 70-75% campaign awareness, there were 16% lower odds, and weeks with greater than 75% awareness had 18% lower odds, indicating a dose-response relationship as well as the overall efficacy of the messaging campaign.

"This new study reinforces the powerful impact that the truth campaign has by giving young people the facts, exposing the tactics of the tobacco industry, and helping youth and young adults make their own informed decisions to never use or stop using nicotine. This has always been the unique and special value of the truth campaign," stated Robin Koval, CEO and President of Truth Initiative. "With 2.5 million middle and high school students in the U.S. using e-cigarettes last year alone, our work today is as important as ever. Faced with a worsening youth mental health crisis and the tobacco industry's continued efforts to hook a new generation to nicotine, we remain deeply committed to provide education and quitting resources to help young people live their best and healthiest lives."

In September 2021, truth launched the "It's Messing with Our Heads" campaign to expose nicotine's role as a contributor to the worsening youth mental health crisis and the tobacco industry's ongoing attempts to distort public perception about the health effects of vaping products.

In addition to finding that awareness of truth's e-cigarette prevention messaging is linked to significantly lower odds of youth and young adults vaping nicotine, the study found that higher weekly campaign awareness made it less likely that young adults would want to use e-cigarettes in the future as well.

Findings from the paper have indicated an even greater and more direct impact on keeping youth safe from nicotine use. Using the results, researchers estimated that 3% fewer young people reported vaping in the past month during weeks where campaign awareness was above 65%. By using data from the U.S. Census, they calculated that the campaign prevented 1.3 million 15- to 24-year-olds from starting to vape between September 2021 to October 2022, slowed progression among those who use e-cigarettes, and promoted quitting overall.

The "It's Messing with Our Heads" campaign brought light to the two colliding crises affecting youth today  mental health and vaping. In addition to the harm nicotine inflicts on developing brains, it also can negatively impact mental health. With U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently calling attention to declining youth mental health, numerous peer-reviewed studies have revealed troubling links between the issue and nicotine, including that nicotine can increase symptoms of depression and anxiety. More information on these interlinked issues can be found in the Truth Initiative white paper, "Colliding Crises: Youth Mental Health and Nicotine Use."

Mass media campaigns like the ones employed by truth have historically been effective tools for addressing youth cigarette use, contributing to the decline in prevalence from nearly 30% in 1997 to 2% in 2022. The truth public education campaign has been proven to have prevented millions of young people from becoming smokers, including 2.5 million between 2015 and 2018 alone. And past research has found that young people with strong truth brand awareness and loyalty had much lower odds of vaping and intending to vape a year and a half later, as well as that young people with higher awareness of truth campaigns were more likely to know certain facts about e-cigarettes. With a new study from the CDC stating that e-cigarette sales increased by more than 46% between January 2020 and December 2022, there is a clear need for public education campaigns such as these to continue alerting and educating a new generation at risk for nicotine addiction.

The full study, "Reducing e-cigarette use among youth and young adults: evidence of the truth campaign's impact," can be found here.

About Truth Initiative

Truth Initiative is a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all young people reject smoking, vaping and nicotine and a future where tobacco and nicotine addiction are a thing of the past. Our impact has helped drive youth smoking prevalence down from 23% in 2000 to a historic low of 2% in 2022. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth public education campaign. As youth e-cigarette use threatens to put a new generation at risk for addiction to nicotine, we are leading the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction in all forms. Our first-of-its-kind, text message quit vaping program This is Quitting has enrolled more than 610,000 young people nationwide and our youth e-cigarette prevention curriculum Vaping: Know the truth is being used in more than 6,000 schools nationwide. Our rigorous scientific research and policy studies, community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco, and innovation in tobacco dependence treatment are also helping to end one of the most critical public health battles of our time. Based in Washington D.C., our organization, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more, visit truthinitiative.org.

About truth

truth is the longest-running proven effective national tobacco prevention campaign for youth and young adults. The campaign delivers the facts about tobacco use and the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry so that young people can make informed choices and influence others to do the same. We are credited with preventing millions of young people from becoming smokers and are committed to achieving the same results with the youth e-cigarette crisis. As part of this effort, our first-of-its-kind, text message quit vaping program for teens and young adults This is Quitting has enrolled more than 610,000 young people nationwide since its launch in 2019. truth is part of Truth Initiative, a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where young people reject smoking, vaping, and nicotine. Learn more about truth and the organization behind it at thetruth.com and truthinitiative.org.

SOURCE Truth Initiative
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUSK Partners ("TUSK"), the premiere dental-focused M&A Advisor, advised Asheville Dental Associates in its affiliation with Oakpoint. The transaction was led by Josh Swearingen, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions at TUSK Partners. Alex Cherniavsky and Taylor Adams spearheaded the diligence and analytics efforts for TUSK.

Under the leadership of Dr. Glen Abbott, Asheville Dental Associates has served the Asheville, North Carolina community since 2015. Asheville Dental Associates provides premier dental care to their patients with an individualized approach focused on creating healthy smiles.

Dr. Glen Abbott, Founder of Asheville Dental Associates, commented, "The TUSK Team was fantastic throughout this process. They listened to my goals, provided top-tier support throughout the process, and found the right partner for my practice at the best price. Their team was fully committed to our business, and we could not have asked for a better team to work with. I am looking forward to the beginning of this partnership with Oakpoint."

Alex Zanetti, Director of Development at Oakpoint, said, "We couldn't be more excited to have Dr. Abbott and his team join our network of practices. Dr. Abbott has built a wonderful practice with a great service portfolio and patient-centered culture. We look forward to beginning the partnership and providing all necessary support for the continued success of Asheville Dental Associates."

About Asheville Dental Associates

Asheville Dental Associates was founded in 2015 by Dr. Glen Abbott. Asheville Dental Associates provides a variety of general and cosmetic dental services to the Asheville, North Carolina region. Dr. Abbott and his team focus on providing comprehensive and individualized patient care to every smile they touch. For more information, visit https://www.dentistinasheville.com.

About Oakpoint

Oakpoint is a dental support organization (DSO) that provides non-clinical support services under business service agreements. Their affiliated partner practices maintain ownership while leveraging the Oakpoint operating platform to achieve growth.

Mick Janness and Erik Strang founded the group's goals for 2023 are $130 million of affiliated practice revenue and 10+ newly affiliated practices. The long-term growth plan includes supporting 200 doctors and clinical teams across an integrated platform. For more information, visit https://oakpoint.us.

About TUSK Partners

TUSK Partners ("TUSK") provides M&A Advisory services in the dental industry. TUSK has completed over $950M of transactions across all specialties. With an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and access to 100's of buyers nationwide, we help our clients confidently pursue M&A transactions that maximize their long-term value. With our significant collective experience of over 40+ years of dental practice transactions, we offer our clients solutions that help them achieve their strategic and financial objectives. For more information, visit https://tusk-partners.com .

SOURCE TUSK Partners
DUBLIN, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "US Pet Supplements Market - Focused Insights 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The US pet supplements market was valued at $890.00 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $1,381.21 million by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 7.60% during the forecast period.

This report unveils a comprehensive exploration of the US pet supplements market. Through a meticulous analysis, it lays bare the market's size and forecast data, encapsulating the revenue generated by the sale of pet supplements.

The study is not confined to static figures; rather, it captures the dynamic essence of the market, considering its evolution from 2023 to 2028 in the United States. A meticulous examination of growth enablers, constraints, and trends forms the backbone of this study, offering a multifaceted understanding of the market's intricacies.

Both demand and supply aspects are illuminated, fostering a comprehensive comprehension of the market's dynamics. The profiles of prominent market players and leading companies further enrich the report's insights. In the realm of supplements, these mixtures that enhance animal feed or are directly administered to animals hold a vital role.

By providing additional nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, they elevate energy levels, sharpen focus, improve heart health, and bolster immune systems in pets. Offered in various forms  chewable tablets, powders, liquids, capsules, and gel capsules  these supplements cater to diverse preferences.

Notably, the rising disposable income among the US populace has spurred increased spending on pets, perpetuating growth in this domain.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

The US pet supplements market is growing significantly due to a shift toward science-based and veterinarian-formulated supplements, high demand for natural/herbal pet supplements, increasing pet ownership, and rising consumer spending on pet health.

In the US pet supplements market, the demand for chewable is rising as they are easy to consume and offer complete absorption of nutrients. Chewing also helps reduce stress and improve the health of dogs, which drives the chewable market in the US.

Pet owner spending on pet food has significantly increased in recent years, driving the US pet supplements market during the forecast period.

Mars Petcare, Nestle, The J.M. Smucker Co., Nutramax Laboratories, PetIQ, and Wellness Pet Company are the leading players with strong market penetration. Vendors such as Herbion, Healthy Breeds, Waggedy, PetLab Co., FoodScience, Codeage, Ready Pet Go, Zesty Paws, Swedencare, Virbac, NOW Foods, and others are the prominent players in the market with a noteworthy presence.

Pet food companies are entering the pet supplements market in the US. For instance, Nulo and Open Farm are the recently launched pet supplements in the US market.

The demand for pet supplements that are herbal/natural and non-GMO is increasing in the US market. Many companies offer pet supplements for a specific application, such as hip & joints, which also help improve pets' overall health.

MARKET STRUCTURE

Market Dynamics

Competitive Landscape of the US Pet Supplements Market

Key Vendors

Other Prominent Vendors

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

SEGMENTATION & FORECAST

Pet Market Insights (2022-2028)

Dogs

Cats

Others

Form Market Insights (2022-2028)

Chewables & Tablets

Powders

Others

Application Market Insights (2022-2028)

Hip & Joints

Skin & Coat

Digestive Health

Others

Distribution Channel Market Insights (2022-2028)

Offline Distribution

Online Distribution

VENDORS LIST

Key Vendors

Mars Petcare

Nestle

The J.M. Smucker Co.

Nutramax Laboratories

PetIQ

Wellness Pet Company

Other Prominent Vendors

Herbion

Healthy Breeds

Waggedy

PetLab Co.

FoodScience

Codeage

Ready Pet Go

Compana

Zesty Paws

Swedencare

Morning Bird Products

Pet Wellbeing

Ark Naturals

NOW Foods

Virbac

Zoetis Services LLC

Nulo

Open Farm

HIKE AGAIN REMEDIES

Bocce's Bakery

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ifh5v7

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

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SOURCE Research and Markets
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the devastating August 2023 wildfire that has claimed the lives of over 60 individuals and uprooted thousands, the Walkup Fire team has united with Hawaii's Davis Levin Livingston and Southern California's Panish Shea Boyle and Ravipudi.

This group brings together an exceptional consortium of legal expertise, renowned for their unrivaled success in cases of wrongful death, personal injury, and extensive property loss stemming from electrically ignited wildfires.

The wind-fueled inferno left a trail of destruction through the heart of Maui, obliterating significant portions of the historic town of Lahaina. With a red flag warning ominously anticipated by the National Weather Service, conditions were perfectly aligned for the catastrophic results of negligence, as ample fuel combined with hurricane-force winds created a volatile environment.

More than 80% of wildfires in the United States result from human or industrial activity. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire's origin may be attributed to utility-related activities caused by contact between an electrical transmission line and vegetation during foreseeable high winds.

The Walkup Wild Fire team is renowned for their pivotal role as co-lead counsel in the aftermath of the 2017 California Wine Country fires and for securing hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution for victims of the 2017 Wine Country fires, 2018 Butte County Camp Fires, and the 2018 Southern California Thomas fire. These experienced attorneys are now channeling their substantial experience to assist the residents of Maui, Hawaii, in the aftermath of this mass disaster.

In collaboration with Hawaii's Davis Levin Livingston and Southern California's Panish Shea Boyle and Ravipudi, the Walkup Fire team is committed to aiding Maui residents in their journey toward recovery from this tragedy.

The time to act is now for those who have lost loved ones, sustained significant injuries, or lost their homes and businesses. Individuals are encouraged to contact Walkup Firm partners Michael A. Kelly, Khaldoun Baghdadi, or Andrew McDevitt.

Reach out today by calling 415-981-7210 or visit our website at www.walkuplawoffice.com

Media Contact:

Gina Fernandes

626-376-1456

SOURCE Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
PYC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of first-in-class precision medicines for patients who have genetic diseases and no treatment options available

The Company is currently evaluating the safety/tolerability and efficacy of an investigational drug candidate with disease-modifying potential in patients with a blinding eye disease of childhood called Retinitis Pigmentosa type 11 (RP11) for which there are no existing treatments

for which there are no existing treatments PYC's drug candidate for the treatment of RP11 has today been designated a Fast Track development program by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

has today been designated a Fast Track development program by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The purpose of the Fast Track designation is described by the FDA as being 'to get important new drugs to the patient earlier' [1]

This drug candidate is now eligible for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review along with a range of other benefits[2]

PERTH, Australia and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PYC Therapeutics Limited (ASX:PYC) today announces that the VP-001 program, the first investigational drug candidate designed to address Retinitis Pigmentosa type 11 (RP11) to progress to human trials, has received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Fast Track process is "designed to facilitate the development, and the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need" with Fast Track status "often leading to earlier drug approval and access by patients"[3].

Benefits of the Fast Track designation include:

Increased frequency of meetings with the FDA to discuss the drug's development plan;

Eligibility for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met; and

The potential for a Rolling Review in support of a New Drug Application[4].

PYC will utilise the Fast Track designation to work with the FDA on advancing this important drug program towards patients on an accelerated timeline.

PYC's CEO Dr Rohan Hockings commented:



"We welcome the opportunity to work with the FDA to progress this important drug candidate towards becoming the first treatment option available for patients with RP11 with disease-modifying potential"

About VP-001  the first potential treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa Type 11

RP11 is a blinding eye disease that begins in childhood and ultimately leads to legal blindness in middle age. The disease affects ~1 in every 100,000 people and is caused by insufficient expression of the PRPF31 gene in the retina.

There are currently no treatment options available for patients with RP11 nor are there any in clinical development.

VP-001 is a precision therapy that aims to restore the expression of the PRPF31 gene back to levels required for the normal function of the retina. VP-001 utilises PYC's proprietary drug delivery technology to overcome the major challenge for RNA drugs by ensuring that sufficient drug reaches its target inside the cells affected by RP11.

About PYC Therapeutics

PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company creating a new generation of RNA therapies to change the lives of patients with genetic diseases. The Company utilises its proprietary drug delivery platform to enhance the potency of precision medicines within the rapidly growing and commercially proven RNA therapeutic class. PYC's drug development programs target monogenic diseases  the indications with the highest likelihood of success in clinical development[5].

The Company was the first to progress a drug candidate for a blinding eye disease of childhood into human trials and is now progressing multiple 'fast-follower' programs into the clinic. For more information, visit pyctx.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

[1] US FDA. Fast Track designation explanation available on the FDA website [2] Additional criteria need to be met in relation to each additional designation [3] https://www.fda.gov/patients/fast-track-breakthrough-therapy-accelerated-approval-priority-review/fast-track [4] https://www.fda.gov/patients/fast-track-breakthrough-therapy-accelerated-approval-priority-review/fast-track [5] Advancing Human Genetics Research and Drug Discovery through Exome Sequencing of the UK Biobank https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.02.20222232

SOURCE PYC Therapeutics
SHANGHAI, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), and Boostimmune, a biotech company dedicated to developing next-generation anti-cancer therapies modulating the tumor immune microenvironment and ADCs to novel targets, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) had been signed for research and discovery services for Boostimmune's pipeline.

Under the collaboration, Boostimmune will have access to WuXi Biologics' integrated discovery services and extensive expertise in antibody discovery, lead optimization, in vitro screening and characterization, as well as in vivo tests. WuXi Biologics will be the exclusive service partner to support Boostimmune in generating different modality candidates, including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies and recombinant proteins.

Dr. Gwanghee Lee, Co-founder and CEO of Boostimmune, commented, "Collaborating with WuXi Biologics - and accessing their comprehensive antibody generation technology platform - offers an opportunity to discover novel biological candidates and explore the science of complex proteins. We look forward to working with WuXi Biologics to build a compelling pipeline with the potential to meaningfully improve the lives of patients."

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, commented, "We are very pleased to partner with Boostimmune to advance their innovative pipeline. The biotech industry in South Korea is flourishing, and there is increasing demand for end-to-end discovery and development services. WuXi Biologics is proud to support our global and Asia partners in bringing innovative biologics solutions to market for patients around the world."

About Boostimmune

Boostimmune is a biotech company developing innovative, first-in-class antibody-based therapies to address unmet needs in oncology. Its pipeline projects consist of naked monoclonal antibodies to modulate the tumor immune microenvironment, ADCs to novel targets with potential patient selection biomarkers and an ISAC (Immune Stimulator Antibody Conjugate) directly targeting immunosuppressive myeloid cells. Boostimmune was co-founded in 2021 by a world-class pioneering immunologist, Professor Tadatsugu Taniguchi at the University of Tokyo, who originally identified Interferon beta, Interleukin-2, and Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs).

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK) is a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) offering end-to-end solutions that enable partners to discover, develop and manufacture biologics - from concept to commercialization - for the benefit of patients worldwide.

With over 12,000 skilled employees in China, the United States, Ireland, Germany and Singapore, WuXi Biologics leverages its technologies and expertise to provide customers with efficient and cost-effective biologics discovery, development and manufacturing solutions. As of May 31, 2023, WuXi Biologics is supporting 613 integrated client projects, including 21 in commercial manufacturing.

WuXi Biologics views Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibilities as an integral component of our ethos and business strategy, and we aim to become an ESG leader in the biologics CRDMO sector. Our facilities use next-generation biomanufacturing technologies and clean-energy sources. We have also established an ESG committee led by our CEO to steer a comprehensive ESG strategy and its implementation, enhancing our commitment to sustainability. For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com.

Contacts

Media

[email protected]



Business

[email protected]

SOURCE WuXi Biologics
BEIJING, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhihu Inc. ("Zhihu" or the "Company") (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390), a leading online content community in China, today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 before the U.S. market opens on August 23, 2023.

The Company's management will host a conference call at 8:00 A.M. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 (8:00 P.M. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Wednesday, August 23, 2023) to discuss the results.

All participants wishing to join the conference call must pre-register online using the link provided below. Once the pre-registration has been completed, each participant will receive a set of dial-in numbers, a passcode, and a unique registrant ID which can be used to join the conference call. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Registration Link: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10181708/fa277db324

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.zhihu.com.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live call, until August 30, 2023, by dialing the following telephone numbers:

United States (toll free): +1-877-344-7529 International: +1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code: 6924451

About Zhihu Inc.

Zhihu Inc. (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390), a leading online content community in China where people come to find solutions, make decisions, seek inspiration, and have fun. Since the initial launch in 2010, we have grown from a Q&A community into one of the top comprehensive online content communities and the largest Q&A-inspired online content community in China. For more information, please visit https://ir.zhihu.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

Zhihu Inc.

Email: [email protected]

Piacente Financial Communications

Helen Wu

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

Email: [email protected]

In the United States:

Piacente Financial Communications

Brandi Piacente

Phone: +1-212-481-2050

Email: zhihu@tpg-ir.com

SOURCE Zhihu Inc.
Calibre Mining Corp. posted record adjusted net income of $33.6 million, or 7 cents per share, a 133% increase over the share price for the second quarter of last year, and the companys president and chief executive officer, Darren Hall, said he was enthused about exploration in Nevada and Nicaragua.

With nine drill rigs active across all of our assets, Im excited about the future, he said in the earnings webcast.

The companys adjusted net income of $33.6 million was more than double the $15.48 million, or 3 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2022, and net income without adjustments was $33.2 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with $15.43 million last year, or 3 cents per share.

I am pleased to announce another exceptional quarter in which we delivered a third consecutive production record resulting in our strongest quarterly net income to date, Hall said in the earnings announcement.

As we continue to strengthen our balance sheet, we remain fiscally responsible by self-funding all exploration and organic growth from operation cash flow while increasing our cash position, he said.

Total cash on hand at the end of the second quarter was $77 million.

Calibre reported free cash flow of $15.9 million in the second quarter, with help from the average realized gold price of $1,974 per ounce.

Hall said that with cash costs and all-in sustaining costs lower than budgeted, the company is on track to deliver full-year production and cost guidance and generate strong cash flow.

The companys gold production guidance for the year is 250,000 to 275,000 ounces, with 40,000 to 45,000 of those ounces coming from Nevada. The AISC guidance for the year is $1,175 to $1,275 per ounce.

Total production in the second quarter was 68,776 ounces, up from 59,723 ounces in the 2022 quarter, and all-in sustaining costs were $1,239 per ounce, with Nicaragua operations showing $1,156 per ounce all-in sustaining costs, while Nevada was at $1,427 per ounce.

Pan Mine produced 10,384 ounces of gold in the second quarter, a little less than the 10,913 ounces produced in the 2022 quarter. Operations in Nicaragua produced 58,392 ounces, compared with 48,810 ounces of gold in the 2022 quarter.

Vancouver-based Calibre operates the Pan Mine in White Pine County, where they have seen drilling successes at the Dynamite North and Palomino targets immediately north and south of the current surface mine. The results have expanded zones with grades higher than Pans stated mineral resource grade of 0.4 grams of gold per ton.

Hall said the discoveries are helping the company better understand the potential at Pan, which Calibre acquired when it completed acquisition of Fiore Gold Ltd. in January 2022.

In Nevada, new shallow, high-grade gold mineralization has been identified in proximity to the south pit, which is expected to positively impact grades as early as next year, he said. In Nicaragua, we continue to intersect high-grade mineralization along the VTEM Gold Corridor at Limon with continued anticipated conversion to year-end resources and reserves, he said.

Calibre started a fourth open pit mine, Eastern Borosi, with ore deliveries to the Libertad mill in Nicaragua, and initial drilling yielded high-grade results from the past producing Talavera deposit within the Limon Mine Complex, according to the earnings report.

For the first half of the year, Calibre produced 134,526 ounces of gold companywide, compared with 111,621 ounces in the first half of last year, and all-in sustaining costs were at $1,239, a little less than the $1,244 per ounce costs in the first half of 2022, according to the earnings report.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  North Americas Building Trades Unions has announced that it has signed a project labor agreement with Bechtel Construction Company for Lithium Americas Thacker Pass project, which will tap into the largest deposit of lithium in North America. Major earthwork construction began at the project site north of Winnemucca in mid-June.

The Thacker Pass project is a massive step in the right direction towards bringing this nation closer to energy independence, said Sean McGarvey, president of NABTU. This state-of-the-art project will aid in creating a fully domestic supply chain of the critical resources necessary to deploy clean, renewable energy. Additionally, it will provide hundreds of middle-class sustaining union jobs for years to come  jobs that highlight how, from extraction to deployment, the men and women of the building trades are committed to building the energy grid of the future.

NABTU applauds GM, Lithium Americas, and Bechtel for their engagement and support of the unionized construction industry and looks forward to growing our strong relationship as we labor to bring these critical minerals to the U.S. to market, McGarvey said.

Ailie MacAdam, president of Bechtels Mining & Metals business, said, This agreement forms an alliance that will be critical to attracting the qualified craft professionals we will need to complete this project safely and with quality. Bechtel has partnered with NABTU on countless construction projects, and we look forward to bringing this new opportunity to northern Nevadas current and future workforce.

Were pleased to see this Lithium Americas project moving forward with skilled labor, said Jeff Morrison, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. GMs future EV production will increasingly draw from domestic resources like the Lithium Americas project, helping to make our supply chain more secure, and todays agreement will help ensure that it will be built by experienced professionals in the building trades.

Thacker Pass will help America reduce its carbon emissions and secure its battery supply chains, so it is only right that this project leverages American labor, said Jonathan Evans, CEO of Lithium Americas. With our Project Labor Agreement, we are pleased to be tapping into the NABTUs 115-year track record of deploying skilled craftsmen to deliver many of our countrys most complex and vital construction projects. Lithium Americas, Bechtel and NABTU will work together to ensure that Thacker Pass is built safely to benefit all Americans.

NABTU said in its announcement that this major agreement will ensure millions of dollars of middle-class wages are injected into northern Nevada and the American economy and that the project will be built by the highest-skilled and highest-trained workforce.

NABTU is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry that collectively represent over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada.
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United Nations, Aug 11 : The WHO and India are convening the first global summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar next week with the participation of G20 Health Ministers.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterresas Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the meeting would seek to enhance the scientific basis of traditional medicine and help meet the UN targets for health.

The summit next Thursday and Friday would "explore ways to scale up scientific advances and realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people's health and well-being around the world," he added.

WHO emphasises that traditional medicine can be a catalyst for "achieving the goal of universal health coverage and meeting global health-related targets that were off-track even before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," Haq said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be at the summit along with G20 Health Ministers and scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine and health workers, the organisation said.

"Bringing traditional medicine into the mainstream of healthcare -- appropriately, effectively, and above all, safely based on the latest scientific evidence -- can help bridge access gaps for millions of people around the world," he said.

An aim of the summit is to enhance scientific rigour in traditional medicine, according to WHO.

The summit will look for methodologies to develop a global research agenda and set priorities in traditional medicine, it said.

"Advancing science on traditional medicine should be held to the same rigorous standards as in other fields of health," said John Reeder, WHO's Director for Research and Health.

"This may require new thinking on the methodologies to address these more holistic, contextual approaches and provide evidence that is sufficiently conclusive and robust to lead to policy recommendations," he added.

WHO said, "Natural doesn't always mean safe, and centuries of use are not a guarantee of efficacy; therefore, scientific method and process must be applied to provide the rigorous evidence required for the recommendation of traditional medicines in WHO guidelines."

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
New Delhi, August 11 : The Supreme Court in its judgment has said that it will monitor the process of investigation in the sectarian violence and strife in Manipur.

It appointed former Maharastra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar to supervise the CBI investigation into the FIRs transferred to the central probe agency. He will also supervise the investigation into the remaining FIRs registered by the Manipur police.

A bench of CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the objective of monitoring the probe is to ensure that the perpetrators of violence are punished according to the procedure established by law and secondly, to ensure that the rule of law is restored and public confidence in the investigative and prosecutorial process is sustained.

The bench noted that 11 FIRs involving cases of sexual violence against women and children have been referred to the CBI by the state government. It directed that six other FIRs, which were brought to the notice of the court by petitioners, will also be transferred to CBI, if after verification it is found that they also involve similar offences.

"For the purpose of ensuring proper investigation of the FIRs which are transferred to the CBI, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs shall place at the disposal of the CBI five officers drawn from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and NCT of Delhi at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. At least one of these five officers shall be a woman," the top court ordered in its judgment, uploaded late on Thursday night.

It said that these officers, who will be nominated by Director General of Police of the above states, will submit periodical information and reports as may be required by Padsalgikar.

The state of Manipur, in its submissions before the court, had proposed to set up 42 SITs to be headed by an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police to inquire into murder or any other heinous crime.

For FIRs related to rape, outraging of modesty and other sexual offences, the SITs will also include at least one female Inspector, two female Sub-Inspectors and four women police constables.

The state government said that these SITs will be supervised weekly by an officer of the rank of DIG/ IG/ADG. In addition, the DGP will also monitor these cases fortnightly.

The Supreme Court directed the Union Home Ministry to "make available, on deputation, one officer of the rank of Police Inspector drawn from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and NCT of Delhi".

As per the Supreme Court's judgment, the Union Ministry will "also nominate, on deputation, at least 14 officers not below the rank of Superintendent of Police to be in charge of the respective SITs".

The apex court clarified that the investigation by the SITs constituted for the state of Manipur will also be monitored and supervised by Padsalgikar.

It direced that SIT will visit each relief camp, as many victims may not approach the police machinery of their own, the Supreme Court said.

"The SITs constituted by the state of Manipur shall not consist exclusively of members belonging to either one of the communities involved in the clashes in Manipur," the top court added.

The court directed the Centre and Manipur governments to take stock of the number of arms missing or looted from the armouries of the state and asked them to formulate and implement a plan to recover any missing arms.

The former Maharastra DGP will also investigate allegations that several police officers colluded with perpetrators of violence during the conflict in Manipur.

The above directions were passed by the Supreme Court in the batch of pleas related to inter-ethnic clashes in the northeastern state, including the suo-moto case where Centre and Manipur governments were directed to take immediate steps on the viral video of two young tribal women paraded naked after being raped.

Padsalgikar will submit a report to the apex court within a period of two months, elaborating on the progress which has been made.
Kiev, Aug 11 : The Ukrainian Naval Forces have said that it has designated temporary corridors for merchant vessels sailing from and to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

The sea lanes have been proposed by Ukraine to the International Maritime Organisation, the Ukrainian Navy said on Thursday in a statement on Facebook.

The routes will be primarily used to allow civilian ships stuck in the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny due to the Russia-Ukraine war to leave Ukrainian waters, the statement added.

The Ukrainian Navy emphasised that military threats and mine danger in the Black Sea persist, blaming Russia for creating hazards to merchant shipping, Xinhua news agency reported.

After the Black Sea Grain Initiative collapsed last month, Russia and Ukraine said they would consider ships sailing to each other's ports through the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo.
MISRATA, Feb. 18, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of illegal immigrants gather in a yard guarded by Libyan police in Misrata, Libya, on Feb. 18, 2015. Libya has long been a transit point for migrants seeking to reach Malta, Italy, and other places in Europe.. Image Source: IANS News

Tunis, Aug 11 : Tunisian authorities have transferred 126 illegal immigrants stranded at a border crossing with Libya to accommodation centres.

Boarding three buses, the immigrants were transferred from the Ras Ejdir crossing to safe shelters in the southeastern provinces of Medenine and Tataouine, near the border with Libya, where they would receive necessary care provided by the Tunisian Red Crescent, said a statement released by the Tunisian Interior Ministry on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Feki reached with Libyan Acting Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi a consensual solution to evacuate illegal immigrants from the border area between Libya and Tunisia by each party accepting a group of them.

Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the most popular transit points for illegal immigration to Europe, Xinhua news agency reported.

Although Tunisian authorities have adopted rigorous measures to tackle the problem, the number of illegal immigrants from Tunisia to Italy has been on the rise.
Moradabad : , Aug 11 (IANS) A BJP leader from Sambhal, Anuj Chaudhary, 34, was shot dead outside his residence in Pakwada area of Moradabad.

He was taking a walk outside his apartment with his brother Puneet when three bike-borne assailants came and opened fire on Thursday evening. His brother rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed to bullet injuries.

Anuj, a resident of Aliya Nekpur village in Sambhal, has an apartment in a society in Moradabad. He had unsuccessfully contested block chief elections from Asmoli block in Sambhal district and lost by 17 votes.

He was an active party member and was seen at all party meetings in Sambhal.

"Recently, he had moved a no-confidence motion against the existing block chief which led to this incident," his brother told police.

Moradabad SSP Hemraj Meena and SP city Akhilesh Bhadauria rushed to the spot and started an investigation.

The body has been sent for an autopsy.

SSP Meena said, "The family lodged a complaint against Amit Chaudhary and Aniket and an unidentified person. We have formed multiple teams to arrest the accused."
Gorakhpur, Aug 11 : Six persons have been arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur on multiple charges, including the gang rape of a woman eight days ago, police said.

The accused also face charges of murder, assault and illegal liquor manufacturing, the police added.

A case has been registered against the six accused under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and the Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, the police said on Thursday.

The police said that the gang leader, Pradyuman Nishad, was arrested after being shot in the leg, while the remaining five accused were also taken into custody and subsequently sent to jail.

The main accused, Pradyuman Nishad, has nine previous cases registered against him. The other five accused also had several cases lodged against them in the past.
United Nations, Aug 11 : In the wake of yet another devastating shipwreck in the Mediterranean, three UN agencies voiced their concerns, advocating for enhanced, secure routes for migrants and asylum-seekers heading to the EU.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) pressed for a more unified approach to search and rescue operations, said the UN News on Thursday.

This recent tragedy, unfolding between August 3 and 4, saw only four individuals rescued -- by a commercial ship. These survivors, later escorted to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard, shared that they were initially a group of 45. Sadly, 41, including three children, remain unaccounted for.

Lending support during the disembarkation and initial reception stages, IOM, UNHCR, and Unicef collaborate with local authorities in Lampedusa. Their aim is to guarantee that those in need of international protection receive it and to identify individuals with particular needs promptly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Such incidents contribute to the escalating death toll from shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean. Data from IOM's Missing Migrants Project indicates that more than 1,800 individuals have either died or gone missing on this route in 2023 alone. Shockingly, this path represents more than 75 per cent of all Mediterranean fatalities over the past decade.

The vessel involved, an iron barge that embarked from Sfax, Tunisia, fell victim to the merciless Mediterranean waves. The UN agencies emphasise the heightened risks associated with iron vessel crossings, especially under adverse weather conditions, UN News said.

These "heart-wrenching events" illuminate the smugglers' utter lack of humanity towards the migrants and refugees. This is further exemplified by a recent incident off Lampedusa where a pregnant woman and her child perished, according to UN News.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, highlighted the need for improved management of these migration flows.

On the social media platform X (previously Twitter), Grandi emphasised addressing underlying issues, responses in transit nations, trafficking, and establishing secure migration routes. Without further commitment from states towards structured and coordinated sea rescues, he warns, tragedies like this will undoubtedly recur.
Los Angeles, Aug 11 : At least 53 people have been confirmed dead in the devastating hurricane-driven wildfires in Hawaii's Maui Island, authorities said, warning that the death toll will likely continue to rise.

"As firefighting efforts continue, 17 additional fatalities have been confirmed today amid the active Lahaina fire. This brings the death toll to 53 people," Maui County wrote in a statement posted to the county website on Thursday, The Guardian reported.

Crews have continued mass evacuation efforts and desperate searches for survivors as displaced residents try to come to terms with what appears to be widespread destruction, particularly in the historic community of Lahaina.

"Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down," Josh Green, Hawaiias Governor said.

The US president, Joe Biden, on Thursday approved a disaster declaration for Maui, which will allow federal aid be used to help local recovery efforts for areas affected by the wildfires. He pledged that the federal response will ensure "anyone whoas lost a loved one, or who's home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately".

Fire engulfed Lahaina, a town of 13,000 residents on Tuesday night when strong winds propelled a blaze that had started in vegetation to the urban centre, The Guardian reported.

On Thursday, three fires remained active on the island, in Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry. The Lahaina fire was 80 per cent contained. County officials said firefighters have been facing "multiple flare-ups" and additional firefighters were requested from Honolulu.

Search and rescue efforts are a priority, said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for the Hawaii emergency management agency. But teams will not be able to access certain areas until the fire lines are secure and they can get to those areas safely, he added.

Officials were working to evacuate residents and tourists stranded in Kaanapali, just north of Lahaina, The Guardian reported.

Officials were preparing a convention centre in Honolulu to accommodate up to 4,000 people displaced by the wildfires. Kahului airport in Maui was also sheltering 2,000 travellers who recently arrived on the island or whose flights were cancelled.

"These fires are absolutely devastating, and we will not know the full extent of the damage for a while. In the meantime, the highest priority is the safety of the people," said Brian Schatz, the US Senator for Hawaii, in a statement.

The catastrophic fires, which turned neighbourhoods into barren wastelands and destroyed more than a thousand structures, are expected to become Hawaii's deadliest natural disaster since 1961 a" when a tsunami killed 61 people.

Hurricane Dora complicated matters for firefighters in an already dry season. Hawaii, which is currently facing drought conditions, is sandwiched between high pressure to the north and a low pressure system associated with Dora, said Jeff Powell, a meteorologist in Honolulu, adding that dryness and gusts "make a dangerous fire situation so that fires that do exist can spread out of control very rapidly".

The Maui county Mayor, Richard Bissen Jr, said the island had "been tested like never before in our lifetime".
Washington, Aug 11 : Former US President Donald Trump as well as his close personal aide Walt Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the latest charges in the case of mishandling classified documents.

Trump and Nauta, a former White House military valet turned personal aide, are facing charges which accuse the two men and a third aide of conspiring to conceal surveillance footage at the former President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), reports the BBC.

They have already pleaded not guilty to previous charges against them.

The office of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the documents case and also overseeing a separate indictment of Trump over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, on Thursday recommended to a federal court in Washington D.C. that the former President face trial in the election case on January 2, 2024.

In June, he charged the former President with 37 counts, for retaining hundreds of confidential files, including about US nuclear secrets and military plans, after leaving office and for lying to investigators.

Nauta was also charged in the indictment and accused of moving files to hide them from the FBI.

In a superseding indictment, prosecutors detailed an alleged effort between Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, to obstruct the investigation, the BBC reported.

The court document alleges the two men, at Trump's request, tried to delete security footage outside the storage room where documents were being held.

That indictment added one count of wilful retention of defence information and two of obstruction against Trump, bringing the total charges against him in the case to 40.

He had previously waived his right to appear in person in the Florida courtroom on Thursday.

His attorney Todd Blanche entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Nauta also received two additional charges of obstruction in the latest indictment, while de Oliveira was charged with four counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Both men were present in the room, but de Oliveira was unable to enter a plea as he had not yet retained local counsel.

His arraignment has been rescheduled for August 15.
Elon Musk is predicting the U.S. consumption of electricity, driven in part by battery-powered vehicles, will triple by 2045.

The man behind the move to replace gasoline-fueled cars with electric ones worries about having enough electricity. He anticipates an electricity shortage in just two years.

I cant emphasis enough: we need more electricity, Musk told an energy conference in June. However much electricity you think you need, more than that is needed.

The U.S. energy industry in recent years is already struggling to keep up with demand amid heat waves and other demand spikes.

This also comes at a time when older fossil fuel plants are being replaced by renewable energy.

Utilities are making huge expenditures to retool their systems to be greener. Its estimated the largest U.S. electric companies will spend $1.8 trillion by 2030 on these efforts.

Musks push for tripling electricity output comes for an industry that has only grown at an annual rate of 1% over the past 20 years.

This urgent need for electricity gives nuclear power a second chance. Governments everywhere are reconsidering nuclear power, given it provides carbon-free energy.

Nuclear has long been promoted as a green energy source, but the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan reignited fears of meltdowns and environmental contamination.

In the U.S., 12 reactors have been closed since 2012. The current 18.2% nuclear share of American power generation was scheduled to decline.

But countries are now reexamining nuclear power with both France and Japan turning back to nuclear following supply shortages brought about by the war in Ukraine. France generates 75% of its electricity from nuclear with announced plans for more.

Most notably China is accelerating a transition to nuclear power. Its currently the third-largest nuclear producer in the world.

The Democratic Party platform in 2020 endorsed nuclear power for the first time in 50 years. President Bidens infrastructure bill includes billions to keep aging U.S. nuclear plants from going offline.

On August 1, a new nuclear reactor providing energy to 500,000 homes in the southern U.S. came online. The Plant Vogtle reactor in Georgia is the first new nuclear project to be built from scratch in three decades.

In California, both Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed their positions on the 2025 scheduled closing of the states last nuclear power plant, PG&Es Diablo Canyon.

Newsom said the plant, which provides 10% of the states electricity, should stay open until 2030 to help California meet it clean energy targets and avoid power outages.

During an intense heat wave prompting a state of emergency in 2022, state legislators and Newsom approved a $1.4 billion loan for PG&E to maintain plant operations until 2030  and potentially much longer.

Nevada has no electricity generated by nuclear power.

In 2019, the Nevada legislature passed legislation requiring 50% of Nevadas electricity be generated by renewable sources by 2030.

Currently, two-thirds of the states electricity is produced by natural gas fired power plants with Nevada phasing out coal power plants. Renewable sources are 27% of electricity production.

Opponents lambast nuclear power, citing concerns over disposal of radioactive nuclear waste; the risk of accidents and environmental damage; and, their expense to build.

In a Gallup survey, almost half of voters say they oppose nuclear power. A decisive majority of Democrats, environmentalists and young people oppose it.

Ironically, these are the very people who profess to be worried about climate change and are the most opposed to the one technology that can plausibly do something about climate change.

Nuclear is the carbon-free energy source thats ready to go.

Musks push for tripling of electricity output is part of his vision for a transition to a fully electric economy. The world cant get there with renewables alone. If even achievable, it will require safe, advanced technology nuclear power.
Singapore, Aug 11 : A 41-year-old Indian-origin bar owner went on trial at the Singapore High Court for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl who worked for him in 2020, a media report said.

Raj Kumar Bala molested and raped the victim between the night of February 21, 2020 and the early morning of the next day at a rented flat, The Straits Times reported, citing prosecutors.

Of the 13 witnesses who had lined up to prove Bala's crime, prosecution presented two witnesses identified as B1 and B2 in the court documents.

B1 and B2, like the victim, had run away from a Girl's Home and were staying and working at Bala's bar on Dunlop Street in Little India.

The court was told that B1 had been sexually assaulted by Bala, but since she was a runaway and pregnant, she continued to seek shelter at the bar.

The alleged victim was hired by Bala at B2's behest, and on the same day his bar was raided by the police after an acquaintance of the runaways made a report that they were working there.

Bala picked up the runaways and drove them to a rented flat where he sexually assaulted the alleged victim in a drunken stupor.

Prosecutors told the court that B1 witnessed Bala raping and molesting the victim, who was too drunk to fend him off.

The victim told B2 the next day that she had been raped and left the flat where she returned only once to collect her pay.

She eventually returned to the Girl's Home on July 20, 2020, and narrated her ordeal to a case worker from the Ministry of Social and Family Development on August 5, 2020.

According to Singapore law, if convicted of rape, one can be jailed for up to 20 years and also be fined or caned.

If convicted of molesting the victim, a person can be jailed for up to two years, fined and caned.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Aug 11 : UN human rights experts have called on the Chinese government to provide information about nine Tibetans imprisoned for their peaceful efforts to protect Tibet's environment, which is crucial to the entire region.

In a statement on Thursday, the three experts -- the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association; and the Special Rapporteur on human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment -- admonished the Chinese government to provide details about the reason for detention and the health conditions of the nine Tibetans, all of whom were detained between 2010 and 2019.

The Special Rapporteurs also emphasized that Chinese authorities should provide adequate medical care and permit the Tibetans' families to visit them.

They also stated that the lack of information shared by Chinese authorities could be interpreted as a "deliberate attempt" to hide the environmental defenders from global attention.

"We welcome the Special Rapporteurs' forceful challenge to Chinese authorities' persecution of environmental defenders," said Kai Mueller, Executive Director of the International Campaign for Tibet Germany.

"China must reverse its dismal record and prove its claimed prioritization of environmental protection is more than a global smoke screen for unfettered exploitation of the Tibetan Plateau. It must prove that by releasing these nine activists and ending its broad persecution of Tibetan environmental defenders."

Mueller added: "The international community should raise these cases of persecution during the upcoming Universal Periodic Review of China at the United Nations Human Rights Council early next year."

The nine Tibetans identified in the release, Anya Sengdra, Dorjee Daktal, Kelsang Choklang, Dhongye, Rinchen Namdol, Tsultrim Gonpo, Jangchup Ngodup, Sogru Abhu and Namesy, were all detained after they protested illegal mining activities or exposed the poaching of endangered species.

While some were handed prison sentences of up to 11 years, the length of sentences imposed in six cases, namely against Dhongye, Rinchen Namdol, Tsultrim Gonpo, Jangchup Ngodup, Sogru Abhu and Namsey, have not been made public by the Chinese government.

As the UN experts underscored, the extent to which the imprisoned Tibetans had access to legal representation, and whether any of them have been provided with medical assistance while in prison, also remain unclear.

Over the last two decades, as the Chinese government has scaled up mining, damming, urbanisation projects and other infrastructure across Tibet, environmental defenders have faced mounting persecution for their efforts.
Colombo, Aug 11 : The Sri Lankan Navy announced that a Chinese warship has docked at the Colombo Port on a three-day formal visit to the island nation, almost a year after the visit of a controversial Chinese ship with ballistic missile and satellite tracking facilities.

In a statement, the Navy said the warship, HAI YANG 24 HAO of China's People's Liberation Army, arrived in the capital city on Thursday.

The 129 metre-long ship is manned by a crew of 138 and commanded by Commander Jin Xin. It will depart on Saturday, the statement added.

In August last year despite security concerns raised by India about the Chinese vessel's presence in nearby waters, the Yuan Wang 5 had docked at the Hambantota Port following delays.

At the time, Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry had said that the government engaged in "extensive" consultations with "all parties concerned" with a "view to resolving the matter in a spirit of friendship, mutual trust and constructive dialogue".

It said the ship was allowed to dock on the condition that no scientific research was conducted in Sri Lankan waters.

On its part, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that the ship would conduct scientific research "in accordance with international law".
Bengaluru, Aug 11 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the Basaveshwara statue in Athani town and will also lay the foundation stone for other development projects on Friday.

Athani constituency is represented by former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi.

The statue of Basaveshwara is revered by the Lingayat community in Basaveshwara Circle of Athani city. Sources said that the Congress leadership is particular about the Lingayat vote bank in north Karnataka and it is trying to keep its vote bank in good books.

The Chief Minister will also inaugurate drinking water, and other irrigation projects in Kokatanura in Athani taluk, later in the day.

He will also hold a meeting with the party leaders after the event and return to Bengaluru in the evening.

Laxman Savadi and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar quit the BJP and joined Congress ahead of assembly elections after they were denied the party tickets.

Their entry into Congress ensured breaking of Lingayat vote bank which in turn benefited the Congress.

Jagadish Shettar lost his constituency however, the Congress made him MLC and have also promised him a prominent post in the coming days.

The party is also contemplating to field Jagadish Shettar against Union Minister for Mine, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad constituency, where the Lingayat votes play an important role.
Washington, Aug 11 : Crypto asset trading platform Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO, William Shihara, have agreed to settle charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $24 million over charges that they operated as an unregistered exchange, broker and clearing agency.

Bittrex's foreign affiliate, Bittrex Global GmbH, also agreed to settle charges that it failed to register as a national securities exchange.

"For years, Bittrex worked with token issuers to 'scrub' their online statements of any indicia that they were investment contracts -- all in an effort to evade the federal securities laws. They failed," said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

The settlement makes clear that "you cannot escape liability by simply changing labels or altering descriptions because what matters is the economic realities of those offerings", Grewal added.

As alleged in the SEC's complaint, Bittrex acted as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency by providing services to US investors in connection with crypto assets that were offered and sold as securities.

Bittrex and Shihara allegedly directed issuers who sought to have their crypto assets made available for trading on Bittrex's platform to first delete from public channels certain "problematic statements" that Shihara believed would lead a regulator to investigate whether the crypto asset was offered and sold as a security.

As part of the settlement, the defendants neither admit nor deny the SEC's allegations.

Bittrex and Bittrex Global have agreed to pay $14.4 million, prejudgment interest of $4 million, and a civil penalty of $5.6 million, for a total monetary payment of $24 million.

--IANS

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London, Aug 11 : UK-based cyber security giant NCC Group has confirmed it will lay off more employees, just months after cutting 7 per cent of its workforce.

However, how many employees will be affected is not confirmed.

According to TechCrunch, citing sources, the company is undergoing its second round of layoffs in just six months.

"As set out earlier this year, we have a renewed global strategy in response to changing market dynamics and client demands. These macro forces are affecting the industry as a whole, which is why we must establish strong foundations for the future," an NCC spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"Regrettably, this means that a relatively small number of our talented colleagues are in consultation and some based in North America have already left NCC Group."

The layoffs follow NCC's announcement in February of plans to lay off 125 employees in the UK and North America.

NCC Group is one of many cybersecurity companies that have laid off employees in recent months.

Earlier this week, cybersecurity company Rapid7 announced to lay off around 470 employees, or 18 per cent of its workforce.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Rapid7 said it was laying off employees as part of a restructuring plan. In connection with the restructuring plan, the company plans to permanently close certain office locations.

Earlier this month, US-based bug bounty and penetration testing platform HackerOne announced to lay off about 12 per cent of its workforce as the global economic slowdown continues to impact the tech community.

The decision of job cuts will affect employees globally, including those in the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands and other countries.

--IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11 : CPI-M on Friday again asked the Kerala Leader of Opposition (LoP) Satheesan about the controversy surrounding the former chief minister Oommen Chandy's medical treatment.

"We wish to know what Satheesan has to say about the Oommen's medical treatment as it was from Puthupally itself the medical concerns were raised about his treatment. Those who raised concerns are still around in Puthupally," said CPI-M leader K. Anilkumar while kick-starting the election campaign for CPI-M for the September 5th assembly by-election to Puthupally assembly constituency in Kottayam district.

Anilkumar asked why the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had to initiate steps for the medical treatment of Oommen Chandy.

The Puthupally assembly constituency was represented by the veteran Congress Oommen Chandy for the last 53-years. After he passed away last month, the Congress leadership has passed the constituency seat to his son Chandy Oommen.

On Thursday, LoP Satheesan said the CPI-M is resorting to cheap politics led by the party's 'third rate' leaders.

"In 2019, Chandy was diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to a hospital in Kochi. The same year, he was taken to leading hospitals in New York, Germany and then was also admitted to CMC Vellore.

"From 2019-22, his condition remained stable. He also consulted doctors in Germany who advised him to undergo follow up treatment in Bengaluru.

"Early this year, after returning from Bengaluru, he was given treatment at a hospital in Kerala but again was airlifted to Bengaluru where he passed away. It's unfortunate the CPI-M has resorted to cheap politics," said Satheesan.

In January this year, Chandy's younger brother wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his immediate intervention for ensuring proper medical treatment for Chandy.

In February, the Kerala government constituted a medical team which recommended shifting Chandy to Bengaluru and breathed his last on July 18.

It remains to be seen if the CPI-M will talk about the solar scam issue in which few staff members of Chandy's office were also involved.

The Solar scam issue was taken up by Vijayan who was the then CPI-M state secretary and used it successfully in 2016 and also as Chief Minister when he led the 2021 assembly polls.

However, both the Kerala Police and CBI have cleared Chandy in the case.
Kathmandu, August 11 : Sunil Sharma, a Nepali Congress MP from Kathmandu, has been arrested for the alleged possession of fake academic certificates.

Sharma was arrested on Thursday by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police.

Nepal Police spokesperson, Deputy Inspector General Kuber Kadayat said the MP, elected from Morang-3 constituency, was arrested on the charge of fraud related to his educational certificatse.

Sharma, also a medical professional who runs a hospital, was charged with a similar case about seven years ago.

The ruling Nepali Congress has opposed his arrest.

"He was arrested because he demanded the resignation of Home and Finance Ministers over a gold smuggling case," Nepali Congress lawmaker Arjun Nar Singh KC alleged.

"Why did the police drop the investigation seven years back against Sharma and why are they digging out now?" he queried.

Sharma is a vocal critic of Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat for their alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case.

Shrestha is from the CPN (Maoist Center) ,while Mahat belongs the Nepali Congress.

On July 18, Nepal Police had confiscated over 100 kg of gold near the Kathmandu airport.

According to Sharma, without involvement of the Home and Finance Ministries, such a big amount of gold cannot be smuggled from Hong Kong to Kathmandu.

After the arrest, the CIB informed House Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire that Sharma was taken into custody as per Article 103 (6) of the Constitution of Nepal.

He was arrested as per the law since investigation was deemed needed on a charge on fake academic certificates, said the CIB.

According to the CIB, some of the doctors have received registration from Nepal Medical Council by submitting fake academic certificates from India and attended the exams conducted by the Council for registration certificate.

At least seven other doctors who used the fake academic certificates to pursue MBBS were also arrested on Thursday and Friday, according to the CIB.

Likewise, Sharma's certificate of I.Sc. was 'not verified' from the National Examinations Board, it added.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : In the company's 112th AGM address Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Ltd, shared his vision on ITC: Nation First - Transforming for our Shared Tomorrows.

The ITC Next strategy seeks to harness this potential and address the imperatives of fostering demand-responsive agriculture, accelerating value-addition, enhancing productivity, quality and farm incomes, strengthening competitiveness and tackling vulnerabilities arising from climate risks, Puri said.

The purposeful policy thrust of the government to accelerate digital adoption in the farm sector and promote Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are laudable steps to engender transformation in the agri-sector. These far-reaching policy interventions have enabled ITC to bring the power of digital revolution to farmers with FPOs as the pivot. ITCMAARS, the phygital ecosystem that ITC launched last year, is poised to be a game changing catalyst to usher in Next Generation Agriculture, he added.

"This new business model enables larger efficiencies in sourcing, higher value addition and better traceability of attribute-specific products, besides promoting sustainable agriculture. ITCMAARS has been rapidly expanded to nine states, supporting more than 6,00,000 farmers through 1,150 FPOs. ITC's aspiration is to support 4,000 FPOs by 2030, stepping up farmer empowerment from 4 million to 10 million. As the ITCMAARS ecosystem scales up, it will strengthen the competitiveness of the Foods and Agri Businesses, and create a new business model whilst empowering farmers," Puri said.

ITC's CSA programme is de-risking farmers from extreme weather events, he added.

ITC's Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) programme aims to de-risk farmers from extreme weather events. Multiple initiatives have been taken to promote regenerative agriculture with a package of agronomy practices, high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties as well as appropriate mechanisation. Today, the programme has already covered over 2.3 million acres, against the target of 3 million acres, benefiting more than 7,40,000 farmers. It is encouraging to note from an assessment of the first phase of CSA districts that GHG emissions of selected crops reduced between 13-66 per cent and net returns to farmers increased by 46-93 per cent. Also, 70 per cent of the villages have moved into the High-Resilience, High-Yield category, Puri said.

A key opportunity area in the agri-sector is horticulture given the potential for value addition, exports and higher farmer incomes. This segment contributes around 30 per cent to Agri GDP while using only 13 per cent of the gross cropped area. ITCas Agri Business is building on its portfolio of Value-Added Products across multiple value chains including spices, coffee, frozen marine products, processed fruits and organic produce, he said.

The Business is also gearing up for a full play in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.

This year, ITC set up a state-of-the-art export-oriented spices facility in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. This plant, together with the Integrated Crop Management programme of ITC, initiated in partnership with various state governments, will provide formidable competitiveness, support agri value chains, whilst empowering farmers.

In addition, ITCas subsidiary, ITC IndiVision Limited has recently commissioned a world-class facility for the manufacture and export of nicotine and nicotine derivative products, conforming to stringent US and EU Pharmacopoeia standards.

This plant, equipped with sophisticated technology draws strength from the deep engagement with tobacco farmers enabling traceability, consistency and superior sustainability practices lending a competitive edge in the global market, Puri added.

aToday, ITC is the largest procurer of agri-commodities in the private sector, sourcing 4.5 million tonnes across 20 value chains in 22 states, placing it in a unique position to make a meaningful difference to rural transformation and farmer empowerment. The multidimensional initiatives of ITC build resilience and competitiveness of inclusive value chains and deepen digital adoption, thus benefitting millions of farmers. ITCas world-class FMCG brands anchor several agri value chains contributing to rural transformation and national priorities. We believe our efforts will usher in a new dimension of agricultural progress, benefitting farmers whilst providing significant competitive advantage to ITCas businesses," he said.

Puri said agriculture assumes even more significance as we envision a future with nearly 10 billion people on this planet by 2050, requiring a massive 70 per cent increase in food production. The agri sector has the onerous task of providing for food, bio-energy and livelihood security, even as climate change causes more vulnerability. Nearly half of Indiaas workforce is dependent on this sector, which faces challenges of low productivity and incomes. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a new developmental paradigm for this sector.

India is well endowed as the second highest agri-producer in the world, with the largest arable land and diverse agro-climatic zones. Yet, agriculture accounts for just 18 per cent of GVA with only 3 per cent share of global trade and less than 10 per cent share of processed produce. However, there is tremendous untapped growth potential through vertical scale-up, value addition and larger integration to global markets, with consequent large-scale rural transformation, he said.
Kathmandu, Aug 11 : In connection to a massive gold smuggling racket, Nepal Police on Friday arrested two more Chinese nationals from the Kathmandu airport while they were awaiting to board a flight to Beijing.

Last month, the police confiscated one quintal of gold smuggled from Hong Kong and arrested some Chinese and Nepali nationals in connection.

The final destination of the smuggled gold is believed to be India, according to the Nepal Police.

The two Chinese nationals arrested on Friday were identified asLi Jialin and Li Fuyan.

The two were in the black list of the Department of Revenue Intelligence for their alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case.

A huge debate is going on in Nepalas parliament over investigating the case and the main opposition, CPN-UML has been obstructing the regular house proceedings over the issue.

While the CPN-UML is demanding a high-level probe into the case, the government is being criticised for not initiating an investigation for organised crime even after it was revealed that the smuggling was well-planned and taking place with the involvement of nationals from multiple countries.

Initially, the Department of Revenue Investigation was probing the matter but after huge pressure from different quarters, now the government has handed over the responsibility to Central Investigation Bureau, a special arm of the Nepal Police that handles organised crime.

The two Chinese nationals have been handed over to the Bureau for further interrogation, according to the Nepal Police.

On July 18, the Department of Revenue Investigation had seized a huge quantity of gold from Sinamangal, Kathmandu after the consignment had passed the airport customs undetected.

The department had sent the gold, hidden in cartons of motorcycle brake shoes and electric shavers, to the Nepal Rastra Bank, where the yellow metalas gross weight was found to be 155kg.

A total of 18 people have been arrested so far.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai welcomes Mr. Scott James, the new Consul General of New Zealand to Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: hcmcpv.org.vn)

He made the statement on August 9 during his reception for the new New Zealand Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, Scott James.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai thanked the new Consul General Scott James for sharing his cooperation plan with Ho Chi Minh City in the near future; and committed to work together with the Consulate General of New Zealand to promote cooperation in trade, tourism and cultural exchange. In addition, he expressed his wish to welcome many New Zealand business delegations to visit Ho Chi Minh City to explore investment opportunities, adding that the two sides still have a lot of potential for cooperation in areas where New Zealand has strengths such as the digital economy, green transformation, education, health care, and transportation.

New Zealand Consul General Scott James thanked the Ho Chi Minh City authority for creating favorable conditions for the Consulate General of New Zealand in the past time, and looked forward to continuing to receive support in the future. He also said New Zealand wishes to strengthen cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in education, trade and tourism.

Informing that a number of New Zealand delegations will come to Vietnam to promote cooperation projects in tourism and aviation, he added that New Zealand is also planning to open a direct route between the two countries. With his responsibility, he pledged to work together with the Consulate General of New Zealand to help and connect Ho Chi Minh City and New Zealand businesses./.
GUWAHATI: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived in Guwahati and visited the Maa Kamakhya Temple on Monday.. Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati, August 11 : The Assam government has planned to build a ropeway at the famed Kamakhya temple atop the Nilachal Hills in Guwahati.

In a video posted on X on Thursday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government is striving toward a "new horizon" for the Kamakhya temple, which is visited by a large number of devotees from home and abroad annually.

An extensive study has already conducted by the state government to run the ropeway service from Kamakhya railway station to the temple.

Sarma said that the ropeway will reduce travel time for pilgrims and guests arriving by train by 5560 per cent and also increase tourist potential.

With a capacity of carrying 1,000 people per hour, the ropeway will operate in each direction.

It will traverse the distance to Nilachal hills within seven minutes.

The state government has set a deadline of June 2026 to compete the ropeway.

Notably, in line with the Kashi-Vishwanath Temple Corridor in Varanasi, the Assam government also intends to build a corridor at the Kamakhya temple.

According to a senior government officer, the total amount of open space surrounding the temple will grow from the current 3,000 sq.feet to roughly 100,000 sq.feet, distributed over three levels.

The official stated that the access corridor's average width would rise from its present width of 8 to 10 feet to roughly 27 to 30 feet.

The six major temples in Nilachal, which are currently hidden from the general public's gaze, will be brought back to their former splendour.

A holding capacity of between 8,000 and 10,000 pilgrims will also be created as part of the project to lessen the pressure during the Ambubachi Mela and other significant festivals.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned hearing on the plea filed by the widow of slain IAS officer G. Krishnaiah challenging the premature release of former Bihar MP Anand Mohan Singh.

"We will take it up on any non-miscellaneous day in September," said a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta, while posting the plea for hearing on September 26.

Notably, Justice Kant is a part of the 5-judge Constitution Bench which is hearing the batch of pleas challenging abrogation of Article 370, consecutively from August 2, except for Mondays and Fridays.

During the hearing, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, apprised the bench that the state government considered remission of 97 convicted persons on the same day and it did not solely grant remission to gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan.

At this, Justice Dipankar Datta said: "Were all these 97 people charged for murdering a public servant? Their case is that the policy was changed to release him (Anand Mohan)."

In response, Kumar said that he will file a detailed response categorizing the convicts who were granted remission, on the basis of their offences.

The top court allowed the Bihar government to file an additional counter affidavit within a period of two weeks. It also granted a period of one week to the petitioner to file a rejoinder affidavit, if any.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the widow of slain bureaucrat, told the court that the state government has not furnished him with the copy of the official files pertaining to the case.

Notably, the Bihar government has submitted before the court the original records in connection with the remission granted to the former MP following the Supreme Court orders.

On Friday, the apex court asked the petitioner Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of G. Krishnaiah, to apply before the state government to obtain the copy of original files pertaining to the case.

In its counter affidavit, the state government had told the Supreme Court that the amendment, which purportedly felicitated early release of gangster-turned-politician, was sought to remove the discrimination on the basis of status of a victim.

"The punishment for murder of general public or a public servant is the same. On the one hand, the life convict prisoner guilty of murder of general public is considered eligible for premature release and on the other hand, the life convict prisoner guilty of murder of a public servant is not eligible for consideration for premature release. The discrimination on the basis of status of a victim was sought to be removed," it said.

Anand Mohan Singh was released from the Saharsa jail following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules.

The petition alleged that the Bihar government amended the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 with retrospective effect vide amendment dated April 10, 2023, in order to ensure that the convict, Anand Mohan, be granted the benefit of remission.

In 1994, Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla. The mob was instigated by Anand Mohan Singh.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore on Friday said that the leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive alliance (INDIA) will boycott the proceedings of the Lower House against the suspension of party MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and will also not participate in the tea hosted by Speaker Om Birla.

In a tweet, Tagoore, who is an MP from Tamil Naduas Virudhunagar said, aINDIA MPs in Loksabha boycotted proceedings to protest against the suspension of Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. We wonat participate in the tea hosted by the Speaker also. With 142 MPs from 23 Parties boycotted."

The remarks from the Congress leaders comes in the wake of suspension of Chowdhury from the Lok Sabha for his objectionable comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech while participating in the no-confidence discussion, and his suspension will be in place till the report of the privileges committee comes.

The Lower House through voice vote passed the resolution to suspend Chowdhury, after Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi informed the House that Chowdhury has often made baseless allegations and remarks against leaders from the ruling party, be it the prime minister or other cabinet ministers.

Friday is the last day of the Parliament's Monsoon Session that commenced on July 20.
Lucknow, Aug 11 : The BJP in Uttar Pradesh will start visiting all the parliamentary constituencies from next week to collect direct feedback from the grassroots regarding the performance of its MPs.

The feedback will determine the fate of the sitting MPs.

According to sources, state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and state general secretary (organization) Dharam Pal Singh will be visiting the Lok Sabha constituencies to assess the prevailing political situation.

They will be meeting party MLAs, MLCs, local party workers, former party functionaries and influential people in every constituency to gather first-hand information of the political situation and the performance of its sitting MPs.

The exercise would be initiated around the time when the UP BJP will also reboot its organisational machinery at the ground level.

The move is being planned less than a week after BJP MPs from the state met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and he told them that the performance of past five years would determine their future prospects.

The purpose of the meeting was to keep the MPs on their toes in the run up to Lok Sabha polls, sources added.

A senior BJP leader said party president J.P. Nadda later asked the state's party leadership to camp in the maximum number of parliamentary seats, primarily the critical ones, where it won in 2019 but saw a downward performance in the 2022 Assembly polls.

For instance, the BJP won Kairana in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but in 2022 Assembly elections it could win only Nakur and Gangoh while losing out on Kairana, Thana Bhawan and Shamli.

Likewise, the Muzaffarnagar seat was won by the BJP's Sanjiv Baliyan, but in 2022, the party lost four out of five Assembly seats there.

State BJP spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava said: "BJP is worker-driven party and solely rests on input of its workers at grassroot levels. Our leadership keeps meeting workers to get a feel of ground situation."
Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Nuh. Image Source: IANS News

Gurugram, Aug 11 : Panicked after recent communal clashes in Nuh and Gurugram in Haryana, many artisans from the minority community have fled the violence-hit districts of Haryana.

Much of the exodus has taken place from the Rojka Meo Industrial area in Nuh, and Gurugram's Sector-37, Khandsa, Kadipur, Manesar and IMT Sohna.

The exodus was triggered after mobs led by right-wing groups indulged in stone pelting, set multiple shops ablaze, and threatened and thrashed scores of workers belonging to a particular community after a VHP procession was attacked in Muslim dominated area in Nuh.

The Nuh and Gurugram violence claimed the lives of six people and 88 were injured. The violence sparked widespread fear among migrant workers of a community who work in the textile industries in Nuh, Gurugram, and Sohna.

The exodus started on August 1 as the workers headed back to their homes in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal carrying their meagre luggage and accompanied by their wives and children.

"In Gurugram Muslim karigars have left Gurugram amid violence and fear. However, these karigars were not targeted in Gurugram and even no one has threatened them as they worked in garment houses and not in open shops like, salon shops, meat shops or scrap shops. They returned to their native places due to fear, which harms the garment industries' production," K.K. Gandhi, President of Industrial Association Sector-37 told IANS.

Gandhi said the winter season is a few months away and this is a peak time for the production of winter clothes. The violence will surely prove to be a great loss to the garment industry.

"We are leaving, we are no longer safe here and have no faith in the police," said Babu Jha, a middle-aged Karigar from Bihar, who worked in one of the garment houses in Gurugram.

"We have told our employers that we no longer feel safe despite the presence of security guards," he said.

Meanwhile, the IMT Manesar Industrial Association has condemned the violence.

"We do not believe in religion among the workers. We hired workers as per their work quality and skill and at the time of hiring, we do not see religion. We strongly condemn the violence that erupted in Nuh and Gurugram," Atul Mukhi, President of IMT Manesar Industrial Association told IANS.

Hundreds of policemen have been deployed across the two districts and authorities are building confidence among the remaining laborers.

Yet, some migrants said their faith had been shaken.

"I am leaving Gurugram for good with my family. Nobody can protect us. People are threatening us. Landlord has vacated our homes," said Rahim Khan, on his way to Bihar.

"In Rojka Meo around 30 to 40 textile, dying units and auto part units are operating but due to recent clashes Hindu as well as Muslim employees are not reporting to work. However, they were not targeted by anyone but due to fear they have left for their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," R.S. Khatana, President of Mewat Chamber of Commerce Association, told IANS.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice in response to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) application that seeks to overturn the orders that prevented any forceful actions against NewsClick and the online media portal's Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha in an alleged money laundering case.

This application was submitted as part of an ongoing case from 2021 where NewsClick and Purkayastha sought a copy of the ECIR registered by the financial probe agency in September 2020.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee has granted two weeks for NewsClick and Purkayastha to respond to the application.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 6.

The ED wants to revoke two orders issued by another bench on June 20 and 21, 2021.

During the hearing, ED counsel Zoheh Hossain, while requesting an expedited hearing, claimed that this involves a "criminal conspiracy of paid news" where Rs 38 crore was received in violation of laws.

However, NewsClick's legal representative argued that the issue, which has remained unresolved for the past two years, does not demand immediate attention.

The legal representative also pointed out that the ED has consistently requested delays during earlier hearings.

The court documented the ED's stance that it has discovered supplementary evidence that "exposes" NewsClick's involvement in money laundering and other scheduled offenses.

After issuing a notice, the court initially believed that the probe agency's request and the arguments presented by the investigative agency hold validity, and thus, the matter needs careful consideration.

The ED in its application said that additional material has been revealed during further probe in the matter which discloses the commission of the offence of money laundering as, well as commission of scheduled offence which has been intimated to the predicate agency as well, by way of an appropriate communication u/s 66(2) of the PMLA as well.

On June 21, 2021, the High Court had instructed the ED to refrain from taking any forceful measures against NewsClick and Purkayastha pertaining to the money laundering case.

This temporary safeguard was subsequently prolonged on July 29, 2021.

The ED launched its investigation based on a Delhi Police FIR, conducting searches at the NewsClick premises and various other locations connected to the overseas funds received.

According to the FIR, the petitioner company, PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, acquired foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to Rs 9.59 crore from Worldwide Media Holdings LLC USA during the fiscal year 2018-19.

The accusation states that this investment was made by significantly inflating the petitioner company's shares to evade the 26 per cent FDI ceiling imposed on digital news websites.

Furthermore, it is alleged that over 45 per cent of this investment was diverted or misappropriated to cover salary/consultancy expenses, rent, and other outlays.

As a result, the company stands accused of violating FDI and other regulations within the country, thereby causing financial harm to the government's treasury

--IANS

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Los Angeles, Aug 11 : Actor Martin Sheen has given his full support to the feature documentary film 'To Be Free' which covers the issues of labour trafficking in the US. he said that it is happening right in front of everyone's eyes.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sheen said: "People need to understand this is so prevalent and it's happening under our eyes in the United States and in other countries in the West."

The actor, best known for his roles in films such as 'The Departed', 'Catch Me If You Can', 'Badlands', 'Apocalypse Now', 'Gandhi' and 'Judas and The Black Messiah' among many other massive hits, is also a big political activist.

Martin Sheen is executive producing the feature which explores the issues and challenges of tackling labour trafficking in the United States, where people are coerced into various forms of bonded labour through many methods.

Some of these include fraud as well as abuse of power to force them to do unpaid work in restaurants, farm fields, and construction sites or nail salons.

Directed by Benjamin Ryan Nathan, the documentary covers a well known yet virtually hidden crisis of human trafficking which has made inroads into pretty much every American town and every sector of the economy.

The affair of labour trafficking in the US is so big that it has been compared to essentially slavery. As such, 'To Be Free' uses animation and live-action dramatisations, the inspirational testimony of victims, witnesses and survivors as well as experts in the socio-political domain to reveal the breadth and depth of the modern slavery problem in the U.S. ahead of eyeing meaningful social change.

Sheen also went on to connect the issues of modern slavery with nuclear proliferation, who he has been a long standing critic of. The actor who had portrayed fictional American president Josiah Bartlet in 'The West Wing' series told THR: "You can't separate one issue from another. They're all part of a vast area of abuse on vulnerable human beings, whether it's homelessness or drug addiction or immigrants seeking a safe port.'

He added: "I've tried to focus wherever there were people who were abused, or there was a sense of abuse, someone without a voice, that could not get attention to their plight or the criminality that they were exposed to. They all have equal importance as long as a human being is being denied their rights."
London, Aug 11 : England and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has reportedly agreed to a four-year contract with the German champions Bayern Munich and will travel to Germany for a medical on Friday.

After weeks of protracted talks, Bayern and Spurs agreed a deal worth more than a100 million (A86.4m) for the star striker.

Kane was reportedly leaning towards staying in north London but now has agreed to join Bayern Munich in a deal worth more than A86m and will pen a four-year contract at the Allianz Arena, Eurosport reported.

The 30-year-old wanted his future to be settled before Spur's season-opening Premier League game at Brentford on Sunday.

Kane has been the German championsa leading target all summer and they had several bids rejected before reaching an agreement on Thursday.

It is expected that the striker will wear the No.9 shirt, vacated by Robert Lewandowski after his move to Barcelona a year ago.

The forward is Tottenham's all-time top scorer with 280 goals in 435 appearances. With 213 goals in 320 Premier League games, he is currently 48 goals off breaking Alan Shearer's record as the highest scorer in Premier League history.

Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times -- in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21 -- since making his debut for the club in 2012.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to burn Manipur and he is not trying to douse the fire.

He also said that the Indian Army can stop the violence in the northeastern state in two days.

His remarks came a day after the Prime Minister spoke on the no-confidence option in Lok Sabha and also spoke on Manipur.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Yesterday PM in Parliament spoke for over 2 hours and 13 minutes and in last, for 2 minutes, he spoke on Manipur."

Slamming the Prime Minister, the Congress leader said, "Manipur is burning for months, people are being killed and women raped and children are getting killed."

Targeting the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi, who is a Lok Sanha MP from Kerala's Wayanad said: "Prime Minister Modi was speaking in Lok Sabha while laughing. It does not suit him. The Prime Minister of India should not have made the joke. I was not the subject, not the Congress but was Manipur. And what is happening in Manopuur and why it is not being stopped was the subject."

Rahul Gandhi said that he has been in politics for last 19 years and visited all states whether during floods, tsunami, or violence.

"What I have seen in Manipur, have not seen such thing in last 19 years," the Congress leader said.

Referring to his statement in Lok Sabha on no-confidence when he said that Bharat Mata has been murdered in Manipur, Rahul Gandhi said, "I said that Prime Minister Modi killed India in Manipur and these are not hollow words."

He also said that when he reached Manipur and had to visit the people was asked to remove the Kuki or Meitei people from my security detail.

He said, "Today a state has been murdered. The state has been divided. Thus I said BJP has murdered India in Manipur."

"When Modiji was laughing I thought how a Prime Minister can say like this. He cannot go there. He cannot go, but he should speak on Manipur. Indian Army can stop the violence in Manipur in 2 days."

Rahul Gandhi alleged, "The Prime Minister wants to burn Manipur and does not want to douse the fire."

On Thursday, Modi in his over two hours long speech he gave an assurance that peace will prevail in Manipur and that it will march forward on the path of development.

The BJP-ruled state government in Manipur has been trying to resolve the situation prevailing there for the past six years and the efforts will continue in the future too, Modi said.

"The entire country and the House is with Manipur. We will together ensure peace there," Modi said.

However he said that all efforts to ensure peace in the state should be free of politics.
Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Nuh. Image Source: IANS News

Gurugram, Aug 11 : The farmer unions and khap panchayats in Haryana have demanded a fair probe into the violence that rocked Nuh and Gurugam districts on July 31, and have asked people to avoid misleading videos.

They also urged people to avoid misleading communal-based videos, and should intimate the police about such videos and not to take law into their own hands.

Various farmer unions, Khap panchayats, and religious leaders have appealed for peace. They have also urged the police to arrest Mohit Yadav aka Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante, who is the prime suspect in the killing of Nasir and Junaid earlier this year.

A Mahapanchayat was called in Hisar to condemn the Nuh riots on Wednesday. The gathering was attended by 2,000 people, including Khap panchayats, farmers unions and religious leaders of different communities.

"We demand a fair investigation into the matter and we also urge people of Nuh not to act over misleading communal videos and if they receive such videos from any channel they should first report to the law agencies to avoid any incident," Suresh Koth, President Bhartiya Kisan Union told IANS.

He further said after the completion of the investigation Haryana Khap, farmer unions and religious leaders will visit Nuh and will talk to people.

Violence erupted when a procession organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was stopped by groups of people. The clashes resulted in the loss of six lives, including two home guards and a cleric.

In Nuh 59 FIRs have been registered and 218 individuals have been apprehended.

Manesar reportedly posted a video on social media claiming his participation in the Nuh religious procession and encouraged his followers to gather in Nuh.

However, he did not attend the procession after the Vishva Hindu Parishad asked him not to, fearing that his presence could escalate tensions.

As the situation is getting normal, schools and banks have been opened in Nuh after 11 days. However, Internet services still remain suspended in the district.

Authorities have also encouraged Muslim clerics to conduct Friday prayers at home.

Nuh administration released a statement stating, "In view of the normal situation in the area, it has been decided to open all educational institutions from August 11. Bus services of Haryana State Transport are also being fully restored from August 11. Curfew was relaxed on Friday for five hours in Nuh.
Leaders of Phu Yen Province and members of the Pacific Partnership 2023 attend the program opening ceremony. (Photo: NDO)

Returning to Vietnam for the 12th time, Pacific Partnership enables participants, including U.S. and Vietnamese personnel, to work together to enhance disaster response capabilities and foster new and enduring friendships.

"This year, as we mark the 10-year anniversary of our Comprehensive Partnership, we rededicate ourselves to enhancing bilateral cooperation in humanitarian endeavors, said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Marc E. Knapper.

Over the last 18 years, Pacific Partnership has translated our leaders' commitments into tangible actions, fostering a safer and more secure future for our people. Our now 28-year bilateral relationship ensures that both current and future generations reap the benefits. Vietnam's role as a partner in the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific underscores the vital importance of our partnership in shaping a brighter, safer, and more resilient future, said Ambassador Knapper.

At the invitation of host nations, the Pacific Partnerships mission partners conduct tailored humanitarian civic action preparedness activities in areas such as engineering, disaster response, public health, and host nation outreach events. This years mission will feature nearly 1500 personnel with partner nations from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

The 2023 Pacific Partnership mission demonstrates our longstanding commitment to the Indo-Pacific while further strengthening enduring relationships and cooperation with partner nations like Vietnam, said Rear Adm. Mark A. Melson, Commander, Task Force 73 and Executive Agent for this years mission.

While in Phu Yen, Pacific Partnership 2023 will provide tailored medical care focusing on subject-matter exchanges and community education; constructing new buildings for Le Quy Don School, Hoa Hoi Primary School, Tran Phu Primary School and Hoa Dinh Tay Primary School; and knowledge exchanges with exercises covering disaster response and humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band will perform alongside Vietnamese musicians in a variety of community engagements./.
After Modis praise, mixed reception for LIC, HAL shares at bourses. Image Source: IANS News

Chennai, Aug 11 : A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi singled out Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and praised their performance in Parliament, their shares got mixed reception from the investors.

While LICas shares went up, HAL's counter after initial boost came down.

Replying to the opposition-led no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Modi praised the two government companies.

He said HAL is touching new heights of success and has registered the highest-ever revenue.

Throwing light on the ills spoken by the opposition about the LIC, Modi said that it is growing stronger with each passing day.

On Friday, the shares of LIC opened at Rs 676.95 (previous day closing price Rs 642.10) and later changed hands at around Rs 660.

The Asian life insurance giant on Thursday said it closed the first quarter of FY24 with a higher net profit of Rs 9,543.71 crore.

On the other hand, HALas scrip opened at Rs 3,824.94 (previous closing Rs 3,791.25) and touched a high of Rs 3,869.30 and later was changing hands for Rs 3,769.40.

This despite HAL logging impressive first quarter results.

According to HAL, it closed the first quarter of FY24 with an operational revenue of Rs 3,915.34 crore (Q1FY 23 Rs 3,622.52 crore) and a net profit of Rs 814.19 crore (Rs 606.66 crore).

The after tax profit got a boost with HALas other income during the period under review going up to Rs 410.79 crore from Rs 192.09 crore earned during previous year corresponding period.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS

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Hong Kong, Aug 11 : Chinese conglomerate Huawei on Friday said its consumer business (which includes smartphones) rose 2 per cent to 103.5 billion yuan (over $14.3 billion) in the first half of 2023, showing definite signs of growth after substantial decline in its smartphone sales in the past two years amid the US sanctions.

In the first half of 2023, Huawei generated 310.9 billion yuan ($43.1 billion) in revenue, with a year-on-year increase of 3.1 per cent and a net profit margin of 15 per cent.

The company's ICT infrastructure business contributed 167.2 billion yuan, its Cloud business 24.1 billion yuan, its digital power business 24.2 billion Yuan and its intelligent automotive solution (IAS) business, 1 billion Yuan.

"I would like to thank our customers and partners for their ongoing support. I'd also like to thank the entire Huawei team for its solidarity and dedication. Huawei has been investing heavily in foundational technologies to harness trends in digitalisation, intelligence, and decarbonisation, focusing on creating value for our customers and partners," said Sabrina Meng, Huawei's Rotating Chairwoman.

In the first half of 2023, "our ICT infrastructure business remained solid and our consumer business achieved growth", she mentioned in the earnings report.

"Our digital power and cloud businesses both experienced strong growth, and our new components for intelligent connected vehicles continue to gain competitiveness," Meng added.

According to the IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 65.7 million smartphones shipped in China in the second quarter this year, a narrower decline of 2.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, the Chinese market saw 130.9 million shipments, down 7.3 per cent year-on-year.

Huawei reached the top 5 again by having a tie with Xiaomi. The return of Huawei was mainly supported by a better product launching pace as well as the favourable sales performance of its P60 series and foldable Mate X3 model.

Huawei and Apple were the only vendors with a positive YoY growth in the Top 5 ranking, as the price discounts of Apple's iPhone 14 series successfully stimulated the demand, according to the IDC report.
Chandigarh, Aug 11 : Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), in a joint operation with Moga Police, have arrested gangster Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi Dalewalia, who was the key shooter in Santokh Singh murder case, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Friday.

He said the accused is a member of the Goru Bacha gang.

The police have also recovered one pistol along with five cartridges from his possession.

The development comes a fortnight after the police arrested three shooters -- Nirmal Singh, alias Nimma, Aprail Singh, alias Shera, and Jaskaran Singh, alias Karan -- who were allegedly involved in the murder of Santokh Singh, who was killed by four assailants in Moga town on July 16.

The police had recovered three .32 calibre pistols along with 10 cartridges and a car, which was used in a crime, from their possession.

DGP Yadav said a team of the AGTF under the supervision of ADGP Promod Ban, along with Moga police, following reliable inputs have arrested Gopi Dalewalia from the Mehatpur area in Jalandhar.

The accused is convicted in four criminal cases and was declared a proclaimed offender in a murder case at Goraya in 2016, he added.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Aug 11 : The energy and vibrancy of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth at the age of 73 years is much talked about. His best friend from Bengaluru, Raj Bahaddur has revealed the secret during the release of his recent mega hit 'Jailer'.

Talking to the media, Raj Bahaddur explained that Rajinikanth derives energy from meditation. He goes to the Himalayas often and meets sages. The sages will give him certain roots of medicinal plants to remain composed and young. Once that root is eaten, it will give energy for the period of a week. It will energise the body, he explained.

"That is why Rajinikanth is 73-year-old, and looks like a 23-year-old man. He is looking more active and vibrant films after films. The swag has never come down. The reason is the special medicinal plant root that gives him the energy," said Raj Bahaddur.

He further explained that every Rajini film is a festival. "Rajinikanth called me yesterday and asked me to watch the movie and give my review. Others will only tell him that the movie is good and I will give him correct feedback. I won't do that. He has been my friend for 53 years. I don't fear and tell things plainly as they are. Rajinikanth knows about it," he explained.

"After every film's release, Rajinikanth will visit the Himalayas, conduct prayers and come back. He could not go to the Himalayas for four years as he was sick. This year he has gone. When he called me, I advised him to not go as there is heavy rain in north. But whatever he decides, he does it, no matter what," he stated.

"I like 'Basha' the most among Rajinikanth's superhit movies. Likewise, at an age of 73 years, Rajini has retained the same swag in the Jailer movie. Like 'Basha', this movie is also going to create history," he said.

Rajinikanth is settled in Tamil Nadu but he is a Kanndiga. Rajinikanth has great respect towards Kannada language. He has ensured that Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar is part of the Jailer movie. We have known each other for more than five decades. He was the conductor and I was the driver," said Raj Bahaddur.

"Fans celebrate me coming to theatres and they think Rajinikanth himself has come to watch the movie. Rajinikanth knows about it and many times warned me to be careful," he added.

Rajinikanth had explained in length the bond between him and Raj Bahaddur at the pre-release function of the movie Jailer and remembered how he could enter the film industry because of him.

--IANS

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Battle for UP: FIR against Mukhtar Ansari's son for controversial remark. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Abbas Ansari's wife, Nikhat Bano, who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police over her alleged unlawful meetings with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA in jail.

A bench of Justices A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh granted the relief in view of the fact that petitioner is a woman and a lactating mother of a one-year-old child.

It clarified that Nikhat Bano will be able to meet her husband, son of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansarik, who is presently lodged in Kasganj jail, only after obtaining permission of the trial court.

Earlier in May, the Allahabad High Court refused to extend her any relief considering the seriousness of the allegations against her.

On February 11, Nikhat Bano visited her husband inside Chitrakoot jail and was found in possession of two mobile phones and Rs 21,000 cash along with 12 Saudi Riyals, during a raid conducted by the district administration.

She, among others, was arrested for "illegally meeting" her husband in jail, in contravention of prison rules. Abbas Ansari was subsequently transferred to Kasganj jail by the Uttar Pradesh government.

In the case, the state police has also arrested prison officials who allegedly facilitated meetings between the husband and wife in exchange for cash.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Central government has introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha to regulate the appointment, conditions of service and term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.

The Bill proposes that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs) will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

The opposition believes that if this bill becomes a law, it will affect the autonomy of the Election Commission.

Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said in an interview to IANS that it is very important for democracy to remain neutral of the Election Commission.

According to Surjewala, if the bill becomes a law, the Election Commission will be transformed into a government election commission instead of being independent. Excepts:

IANS: What is your stand regarding the bill?

Surjewala: It was a black day in Parliament in the history of democracy. Election Commission is the last independent body to conduct free and democratic elections in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to make it the Modi Election Commission.

A constitution bench of the Supreme Court has clearly said that if the Election Commission is not fair, then democracy cannot survive in the country. Therefore, a three-person panel was formed to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner, consisting of the Chief Justice, Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, so that a balance is maintained.

IANS: What is your objection to the bill? What provisions are you opposing?

Surjewala: We have three direct objections.

The first objection is that through this law, the government is hatching a heinous conspiracy to nullify the decision of the five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.

The second objection is that after the enactment of this law, the Election Commission will not be able to remain impartial, because now the Chief Election Commissioner will be appointed by the Prime Minister, one of his ministers and the Leader of the Opposition. That is, two people will be from the government and one will be from the opposition and with a full majority they will be able to make the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner whom they want.

The third objection is that there is segregation of power in the Constitution of India i.e. The Judiciary and Executive cannot snatch each other's power but now an attempt is being made to destroy the balance that was created by the Supreme Court bench through this law.

IANS: What will be the impact on the Election Commission if the bill becomes a law?

Surjewala: It will end the autonomy and independence of the Election Commission. And the Election Commission will become a puppet of the government. Favourite people of the government will be appointed in the Election Commission. This bill and law is totally illegal and it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in an illegal manner so that the voice of the opposition and the country could not be heard.

IANS: What is the objection to the panel headed by the Prime Minister proposed in the bill.

Surjewala: With this the government will have its own Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioner, election commission, and results. No need of democracy, no need of the Supreme Court, no need of Parliament. This is a law to hold democracy hostage because when there will be no autonomy of the Election Commission, then how will democracy survive?
Toronto : , Aug 11 (IANS) Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has pulled out of the ongoing Canadian Open due to an abdominal injury ahead of his round of 16 clash against Jannik Sinner.

After spending nearly five hours on the court across his opening wins against Lorenzo Sonego and Max Purcell, the Briton was set to face Sinner but he pulled out.

"I have an issue with my abdominal (muscles) so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to play this evening. I'm really sorry," Murray said, addressing the stadium crowd.

"I feel like I've let you down. I've rarely been in this situation in my career and I feel terrible," he added.

It is just Murray's seventh time conceding a walkover in his long career. A three-time champion at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada (2009, 2010, 2015), the 36-year-old was especially upset given that this might be his last appearance in Toronto.

He was seeking his first quarterfinal at the event since his 2015 title run, and his first Masters quarter-final since he won the Paris crown in 2016.

"I don't know, this might be my last time playing here as well. So to finish like this feels rubbish," Murray said before thanking the Canadian fans for their support over the years. He also took time to sign autographs before leaving the court.

The 36-year-old Murray is up four places to No.36 in the ATP Live Rankings behind his two wins this week -- his highest mark since 2018 -- and is hopeful for a speedy recovery with Cincinnati and the US Open around the corner.

"I had a very similar issue last year in Stuttgart before Wimbledon, which forced me to miss the Queen's Club tournament. I was able to play Wimbledon. It took me about 10-12 days before I was feeling good again," he recalled.

"This is not as bad as that but obviously the danger if you compete and play is you could make it worse. I'll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days," he added.

Courtesy of the walkover, Sinner advanced to face Gael Monfils in Friday's quarterfinals and moved ahead of Andrey Rublev into fifth in the ATP Live Race To Turin.
Kochi, Aug 11 : The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Malayalam Cine Director M.J.Lijeesh challenging the Kerala State Film Awards for the year 2022.

The Court termed the plea 'frivolous' and dismissed the same, after observing that the pleadings were insufficient and lacked evidence to prove the allegations of nepotism and bias made by the film director.

Lijeesh is the director of the Malayalam movie 'Aakaashathinu Thazhea which also contested for the awards.

He claimed that he did not win any award for the film due to nepotism and bias on the part of the jury.

In his petition, it was also pointed out that similar allegations raised by another movie director, Vijayan, who had said that he had evidence against the jury members of the State Awards which could prove bias and nepotism on their part.

The petitioner claimed that by overlooking his film, the Chalachitra Academy had violated his right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

Therefore, he approached the High Court to quash the 2022 awards.

He had also sought the court to direct the State government and the Kerala State Police Chief to conduct an inquiry and take action against film director, Ranjith Balakrishnan, who is the present chairperson of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

But the High Court dismissed the petition.
Nykaa's net profit down 27% to Rs 3.3cr, revenue up 24% in Q1. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 11 : Online beauty and fashion e-commerce major Nykaa on Friday reported a 27 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 3.3 crore in the first quarter of FY24.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent company of Nykaa, had posted a net profit of Rs 4.55 crore in the year-ago period.

Nykaa's revenue from the operations was Rs 1,421.8 crore for the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,148.4 crore for the corresponding period a year ago which was a growth of 24 per cent.

Nykaa's stock ended at Rs 146.25, up Rs 0.5 or 0.34 per cent on the BSE ahead of the earnings report.

The company's total expenses went up 22 per cent to Rs 1,418.8 crore during the June quarter, compared to Rs 1,148 crore in the last year period.

Nykaa's gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 24 per cent YoY to Rs 2,667.8 crore.

In FY23, Nykaa's revenue from operations stood at Rs 5,143.8 crore, demonstrating a strong growth of 36 per cent YoY, and the company achieved EBITDA at Rs 256 crore, demonstrating a 57 per cent growth YoY.

"Over the last two financial years, and further to the IPO, our revenue from operations grew from Rs 2,440 crore in FY21 to Rs 5,143 crore in FY23 and EBITDA expanded from Rs 156 crore to Rs 256 crore in the same period," the company said in its earnings report.

Falguni Nayar, Executive Chairperson, MD, and CEO, Nykaa said that with steady improvements of over 40 per cent and 60 per cent 2-year growth in beauty and fashion platform conversions, "our investments towards building the right technology stack as well as customer-first shopping experiences are paying off".

"This strong step-function growth also comes on the back of improvements across personalization capabilities, breadth and depth of product portfolio, UI UX enhancements, marketing optimisations and quality of in-bound visit traffic," she mentioned.

Last week, reports surfaced that Nayar will also lead the marketing department of the company after the exit of six executives, including the marketing head.

Since April, the company has witnessed a series of resignations which include chief marketing officer Shalini Raghavan, forcing Nayar to spearhead the key department.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Indian government on Friday said that it is closely monitoring the situation in violence-hit Niger, and has advised Indians living in the west African nation to leave the country as soon as possible.

An advisory issued by the External Affairs Ministry said that "India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible".

They may bear in mind that air space is currently closed. When departing through a land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security, it said further.

The advisory further stated that those who may be planning travel to Niger in the coming days are also similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalises.

The government has also advised Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian Embassy in Niamey, to do so expeditiously.
Flood in Khounkham district of Khammuane province, Laos (Photo: VNA)

Lao media quoted the sayings of Mr. Keovilay Xayabouth, Head of Khounkham district, Khammuane province, as saying that the Lao government, especially the army, is speeding up the search for the missing Vietnamese driver.

So far, rescuers have saved 45 Vietnamese citizens stuck at the incident and helped 40 vehicles flee from the affected areas, he said.

Landslides happened in four locations along the highway on August 4, pushed 110 vehicles, including 95 trucks, 13 pickups, a bus and a motorbike, into the ravine.

A total of 25 people, including three women and five children, were stranded at one location, while another 43 were trapped at another, all of whom were brought out safely.

According to the local authorities, currently the section of National Highway 8 through the mountainous areas of Phou Pha Man and Phou Hai is still temporarily blocked until further notice for repairing.

Due to prolonged heavy rains recently, landslides have happed on many roads across Laos, leading to the blockage and damage of many roads.

In addition to conducting rescuing activities and assisting affected people affected by floods and landslides, Lao authorities are focusing on repairing the damaged roads./.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking to restrain opposition political parties from use of acronym "INDIA" (Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance) for their grouping.

aWho are you to file this? This seems to be purely a publicity interest litigation," a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia questioned advocate Dhawan Uniyal, questioning the locus standi (right to approach judicial forum) of the PIL petitioner.

Sensing the disclination of the bench to entertain the public interest litigation, Uniyal sought permission to withdraw the petition. The court dismissed the plea as withdrawn, at the present stage.

The top court said that if there is any grievance against use of the term aINDIAa by political parties, the petitioner may approach the Election Commission.

The Delhi High Court on August 4 issued notice to the Centre, the EC and 26 political parties in a similar PIL filed before it. It has posted the matter for hearing next on October 31 saying that "it requires hearing".

It has been alleged that the opposition political parties have been exploiting the name of 'INDIA' for their political advantage, potentially misleading voters and engaging in activities that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process.

In July, 26 political parties including the main opposition Congress announced the name of 'INDIA' in Bengaluru to fight against the ruling BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Delhi Police on Friday told a court that they possess sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and a BJP MP.

Singh is facing allegations of sexual harassment involving women wrestlers.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal was informed by the Delhi Police that there is a clear case against Singh and co-accused, Vinod Tomar, who is the suspended assistant secretary of WFI.

The police's representative, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava, emphasised that the accused should be charged according to the offences listed on the charge sheet.

"The evidence is substantial enough to establish charges under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), and 354-D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code against Singh," he told the court.

The court is scheduled to reconvene on August 19 to allow the complainants' advocate to present their arguments regarding the charges.

"Srivastava has opened arguments by submitting that the submissions made by the Ld. defence counsel are not meritorious," the court order read.

"Firstly, qua submissions made by the defence in reference to Section 188 Cr.P.C., it is submitted that the bar of Section 188 is applicable when the offence is committed outside India in its entirety and not otherwise," it stated.

"Secondly, it is argued that the offences in question have partly been committed in Delhi and partly outside and therefore, the Delhi Court will have jurisdiction. Thirdly, it is argued that matter at hand squarely falls under section 354 IPC and having recourse to Section 468(3) Cr.P.C., there can be no questions on the bar of limitation," the order further stated.

"Fourthly, it is argued that the oversight committee report cannot be called a report which has exonerated the accused. As per the Ld. Addl. PP, it is merely a departmental enquiry and the same does not bar the jurisdiction of this court. Lastly, it is argued that the court is duty bound to only see the material on record in the strict brackets of prima facie scrutiny and a mini trial cannot be conducted at this stage," the order further stated.

On July 18, Rouse Avenue court granted interim bail to Singh and Tomar.

The Delhi Police's charge sheet running over 1,000 pages was filed before the court for the offences under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (making sexually coloured remarks), 354D (stalking) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against accused Singh.

Tomar has been accused of offences under Sections 109, 354, 354A, 506 of the IPC.

In the FIR registered at Connaught Place police station, it has been alleged by the six adult grapplers that Singh allegedly attempted to coerce one athlete into sexual acts by offering to provide her with "supplements", invited another wrestler to his bed and hugging her, as well as assaulting and inappropriately touching other athletes.
After US, UK sees rise in Covid cases with new variant. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 11 : The new subvariant of Omicron, EG.5.1, which is more transmissible, yet is less likely to worsen Covid infection, unlike previous variants that increased ICU admissions and also led to death, according to global scientists.

As cases rise globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday designated EG.5.1, nicknamed Eris, as a "variant of interest". The global health stated that the sub variant was first reported on February 17.

While EG.5 may fuel increases in cases, the WHO said it poses a low risk to public health in comparison with other omicron descendants because there is no evidence it is causing more-severe disease.

Dr Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, US, said there is no evidence that EG.5 infections cause more severe illness than other omicron sub variants, ABC news reported.

EG.5 has likely evolved to become more transmissible than its predecessors, however, as evidenced by its prevalence, Barouch said. But he suggested that widespread immunity from a combination of vaccinations and past infections should keep most people safe from severe illness.

"Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation.

"While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date," it added.

EG.5.1 has been detected in about 51 countries in total, including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, France, Portugal and Spain.

In the week beginning June 19, one in 13 cases were down to the Covid variant, the WHO said.

The latest data suggests it now accounts for 17.4 per cent of cases -- one in six -- which the WHO described as a "notable rise".

However, there has been no increase in hospital or ICU admissions, or death.

Although infections are growing in some countries, it's not at a rate that should cause alarm, said James Wood, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

"EG.5.1 is not a significant issue of itself -- more like the first step on the ladder to the variant that will cause our next wave," he was quoted as saying to ABC news.

So far, the symptoms of EG.5 also appear to be the same as previous strains, said Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

"These include sore throat, runny nose, cough, URI [upper respiratory infection] symptoms, and low-grade fevers."
Los Angeles, Aug 11 : No charges will be pressed against the Sikh convenience store employee who was seen thrashing a shoplifter with a stick in a viral video clip, the District Attorney's Office in California's San Joaquin county announced.

"The Stockton 7-11 Store Clerks are not and have never been suspects of the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office," San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement.

"Any investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened and attempted to rob them," Freitas said this week.

The shoplifter, identified by the police as 42-year-old Tyrone Frazier, is seen in the five-minute video clip throwing boxes of cigarettes and other products into a trash can at a 7-Eleven location in California. As he tries to flee with the items, one of the clerks pins him down, while the Sikh is seen beating him with a wooden stick in the video.

According to Stockton Police, Frazier had already robbed the shop twice, threatening to shoot the employees if they intervened. During each theft, cops arrived two minutes after receiving the reports, but the suspect was gone by the time officers got there, the KTVU news channel said, citing police.

The third robbery was not reported to the police and was caught in the viral video instead. Frazier was detained on August 7 in connection with vandalism and the 7-Eleven robberies.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on bail plea filed by directors of Gurugram-based realty company M3M Group, Pankaj Bansal and Basant Bansal, in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to alleged bribing of a CBI/ED judge.

A bench of Justices A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh agreed to examine the special leave petition filed by Bansals and sought response of the Central government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the matter.

It posted the pleas for further hearing on September 6.

In July, the Punjab & Haryana High Court denied bail to the Bansals after they were arrested in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case pertaining to the alleged bribing of a former CBI/ED judge.

According to the FIR filed by the Haryana Police's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), reliable information was received that Sudhir Parmar, the then Special Judge in Panchkula, showed favouritism to Roop Kumar Bansal, Basant Bansal, and IREO Group owner Lalit Goyal, in the criminal cases of the ED under the PMLA and other cases of the CBI pending against the aforementioned accused individuals in his court in exchange for undue advantage.

It was alleged that the judge received undue benefits through his relative Ajay Parmar. Subsequently, Ajay Parmar was arrested. The ED on Thursday also arrested suspended special judge.

--IANS

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Chandigarh, Aug 11 : The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday stayed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections slated for Saturday till further orders following a petition of the Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA).

The petition challenged the move to allow the Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association to cast votes in the WFI polls.

Advocate Ravinder Malik, representing the HWA, headed by Member of Parliament Deepinder Hooda, said the HWA is a registered society in the state and is affiliated to the WFI.

He said one more body, Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association, has claimed that it was affiliated with the WFI as well as Haryana Olympic Association.

"The returning officer has given the finding in favour of Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association, saying they fulfil the condition of affiliation with WFI as well as Haryana Olympic Association," said the advocate.

Adjourning the case for August 28, Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj observed: "As the counsel for the respective parties contend that they have crucial right to cast vote for the elections to the Executing Committee of the Wrestling Federation of India which is scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 12.08.2023, election of the Executive committee of Wrestling Federation of India is ordered to be stayed till the next date of hearing."

"Response(s) by the respective parties be filed positively on or before the adjourned date with copy in advance to the learned counsel opposite. Replication, if any, be also filed by the learned counsel for the petitioner in the meanwhile with copy in advance to the learned counsel opposite," he added.
Gurugram, Aug 11 : Following an appeal by Muslim groups, the Friday namaz was offered in mosques at different places of Gurugram on Friday.

Amid high security due to recent clashes, most mosques witnessed a slightly low turnout as many offered prayers at home.

Officials said the Friday prayers passed off peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

The Muslim groups have advised people to restrict movements and offer prayers in mosques. In case a mosque is not available in nearby areas, offer prayers at home, the groups said. Most mosques including Jama Masjid Sohna Chowk, the Masjid near Rajiv Chowk, and others saw lower turnout as compared to regular Friday prayers.

The district administration, on the other hand, clarified that despite the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC  which prohibits the gathering of four or more people in a specified area  there would be no restrictions on Friday prayers.

In Nuh, the administration had asked Muslims to offer prayers at home, as they did during Covid.

Jamiat Ulema President Mufti Saleem Qasmi appealed to people not to offer Friday prayers in any open places and asked them to offer prayers in mosques or at their homes.

"We have asked members of our community not to offer Friday prayers in open spaces and refrain from traveling long distances for Friday prayers," Shahzad Khan, a member of Muslim Ekta Manch, said.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said: "There are no restrictions on Friday prayers. Namaz was allowed."
Kolkata, Aug 11 : In a clear sign of alliance ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls, the Congress will not field its candidate against the CPI(M) for the September 5 bypoll in Dhupguri Assembly constituency in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district.

The Congress will instead support CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy in the bypoll, which has been necessitated following the sudden demise of BJP legislator Bishnu Pada Roy on July 25.

The Congress-Left Front alliance yielded good results in the recent past, when the Left Front-backed Congress nominee Bayron Biswas defeated his Trinamool Congress rival by a massive margin in the bypoll to the Sagardighi Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, known to be a stronghold of the ruling party.

However, just within two months after winning the bypoll, Biswas jumped ship to the Trinamool.

Now again the Congress and the Left Front have replicated the Sagardighi model for the Dhupguri bypoll by fielding an alliance candidate. Now it is to be seen whether the CPI(M) candidate can take advantage of the united contest against the Trinamool and the BJP.

Bishnu Pada Roy was a first-time MA and also the first BJP legislator from the Dhupguri Assembly constituency. In 2021, he got elected after defeating sitting Trinamool MLA Mitali Roy.
Gurugram, Aug 11 : Sudarshan News Resident Editor, Mukesh Kumar, was arrested on Friday for allegedly posting misleading tweets against Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran, police said.

An FIR was registered against Kumar on August 9 under Sections 153B, 401, 469, and 505 (1) (C) of the IPC and Section 66-C of the IT Act.

A team of the cyber crime police station arrested him from here.

"The tweet was posted based on baseless, untrue, and misleading facts from the 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle @mukeshkrd on August 8. Taking cognisance of this, the Gurugram Police have registered a case and further investigation into the matter is underway," police said in a statement.

Kumar had reportedly tweeted that Gurugram Police Commissioner had got a call from the Al Jazeera news channel and pressure is being created on her to act against Hindus.

He went on to claim that after getting the call, she came under so much pressure that she initiated a crackdown on the workers of Hindutva outfits.

The FIR comes days after communal clashes rocked Nuh and Gurugram districts on July 31, in an attempt to stop a VHP procession.

The violence prompted the government to clamp the curfew and suspend mobile internet services in Nuh, Palwal, Hodal, and Sohna.
Mumbai, Aug 11 : In a scene from the Sunny Deol-starrer 'Gadar 2', a huge hand pump abruptly occupies the entire screen space in the middle of a crucial fight sequence between Indians and Pakistanis.

As the audience bursts out laughing, Deol merely looks at the pump -- good enough to let us know he is aware of all those who have invented jokes about him and his special talent for yanking pumps off the ground. No spoilers, but as expected, keep your ear plugs safe if you must endure the high-decibel drama at a theatre.

That, in a way, summarises the sequel to 'Gadar 2', where despite the familiar territory of Pakistan being the enemy country, it is seen sowing seeds of utmost compassion for Indians not once but quite a few times.

'Gadar 2' is yet again a period action drama film directed and produced by Anil Sharma, and written by Shaktimaan Talwar. It need not have been a sequel since the plot is precisely the same -- that of an Indian crossing the borders and falling in love with a damsel who is, obviously, a Pakistani.

And you guessed it right! There's blatant and unashamed jingoism, and muscle flexing that stuns the entire army of Pakistan, and the intrepid Indians manoeuvre their way into the bylanes of Lahore without the fear of getting recognised, let alone being attacked by cops, soldiers and other people gunning for them.

Sunny is back in a role that made history with 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' tying as the biggest money-spinner along with Aamir Khan's 'Lagaan' -- and both films were released on the same day, June 15, 2001.

It's 1971 and Tara Singh (Deol) and Sakina (Ameesha Patel) are seen living peacefully in Punjab with their son Charanjeet (Utkash Sharma), who, much against his father's wishes, aspires to be a film star. Singh would have none of it and keeps reprimanding his son from time to time, urging him to study hard.

Soon, when Pakistan attacks India, Deol, who as a transporter operates a fleet of trucks, is asked to cart arms and supplies to the Indian soldiers who were caught unawares. The request is made by Lieutenant Colonel Devendra Rawat (Gaurav Chopra), who has tremendous respect for Singh.

In Lahore, meanwhile, Major General Hamid Iqbal (Manish Wadhwa) hasn't forgiven Tara for destroying their troops singlehandedly earlier. Later, Singh travels back to the same land in the backdrop of the 'Crush India' campaign, in what appears to be a personal mission to save his son Charanjeet 'Jeete' Singh who, when his father doesn't return for three years, is determined to get him back home. He too, like his father, falls for a Pakistani pretty face, Muskaan (Simrat Kaur), and the two swear undying love for each other.

But he is imprisoned and tortured by the Pakistani soldiers under Major General Hamid Iqbal. The fights, the mission, the backdrop and even some of the stars have become familiar faces for all those who would recall the film more than 20 years ago.

If there is something different or fresh in this version, it's the portrayal of sensitive Pakistanis, both on and off the battlefield, who get teary-eyed imagining an Indian traversing a long distance from India to look for his father.

Or Muskaan's parents, who in the midst of cross-border tension and brutal attacks, agree to their daughter not sidestepping her love and allow her to navigate through gunfights, bombings and heartless killings of her tribe by two Indians, one of whom is her love interest. All this in the name of love!

Deol's pagdi is intact as he delivers lines more to check out his lung power, be it in the battlefield, or anywhere else. Even at his home.

Patel, who created a storm in the first part with her innocent looks and pristine beauty, is trying hard to look the same as she did earlier. She doesn't have much to do, save, to shed copious tears at the drop of a hat. And does she disappoint? Considering she has precious little else to do in this three-hour-long film, she doesnat!

Utkarsh, who was a child in the earlier version, is all charged up swaying to the beats occasionally. With a slew of gifted actors appearing on the marquee every Friday, he needs to unlearn a lot more if he is serious about a career in films. Najeeb Khan's photography gives a picture of grime and dust in a frontline combat zone as one would imagine it to look.

And since it has Deol leading the cast, Monty Sharma has no qualms about using ear-splitting sounds at the slightest opportunity whenever the drama on screen ebbs a little or surges.

It seems for any occasion, the extremely artistic composer has only one instruction to follow: blaring cacophony of sounds to complement the over-the-top production!

Film: Gadar 2 (Running in theatres) Duration: 170 minutes

Director: Anil Sharma Cast: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma.

Cinematography: Najeeb Khan Music: Mithoon Monty Sharma

IANS Rating: **
Iranian National Assembly President Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomes National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. (Photo: VNA)

Titled "Iran wishes for closer international cooperation with Vietnam", the article on the homepage of Iran's TASNIM news agency, presented in Persian, Arabic and English, said at the meeting with Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on August 8, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi especially emphasized the importance of further tightening cooperation between Iran and Vietnam in both the region and the international arena.

Accordingly, the two countries need to jointly strengthen the interests of each other through increasingly strong cooperative relations.

Meanwhile, Press TV quoted President Ibrahim Raisi as saying that the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries has not been commensurate with the good development of political relations. President Ibrahim Raisi believed that the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue would be an important turning point in promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Titled "Iranian President affirms that the spirit of independence and the pursuit of self-reliance are common values between the two peoples", the article in 12 different languages on the homepage of the IRNA news agency quoted many important statements of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a meeting with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and the Vietnamese delegation on the evening of August 8.

Accordingly the Iranian President expressed his wish that the two countries promote cooperation, and exploit each other's strengths to develop together and bring benefits to the people and the two countries./.
Guwahati, August 11 : The Assam chapter of Trinamool Congress on Friday alleged that the Central government has an involvement in the unrest that broke in Manipur more than three months ago.

The party's national spokesperson and Assam unit President Ripun Bora told reporters here: "The dubious role of Assam Rifles in handling the situation in Manipur since May 3 has been substantiated by various video footage. There have been allegations of clash between Manipur Police and Assam Rifles, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, and is responsible for maintaining the law-and-order situation in the state."

He also claimed that Manipur Police have registered an FIR accusing the Assam Rifles of preventing the police from doing their duty, including blocking their way with armoured vehicles, which allegedly allowed Kuki militants suspected of killing Meiteis to escape.

Bora also questioned the behaviour of BJP MPs during the Narendra Modi's speech in the Parliament, during which the Prime Minister referred to Manipur.

"The Prime Minister gave a more than two-hour long speech; however, he spoke on Manipur only for two minutes. Also, the BJP MPs were laughing and clapping when the Modi was speaking on Manipur," the Trinamool leader said.

According to Bora, this has busted the BJP's fake concerns about Manipur.
Kolkata, Aug 11 : Renowned physicist and Padma Bhushan recipient Bikash Sinha died at a Kolkata hospital on Friday. He was 78.

A former director of of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Sinha was suffering with various age-related ailments for quite some and was admitted at the hospital for the last couple of weeks, his family members said.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhusan in 2010.

In her condolence message, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described Sinha as an illustrious son of Bengal in the field of knowledge. "Saddened to know about the untimely demise of the great scientist Bikash Sinha. An illustrious son of Bengal, this talented nuclear physicist made us proud by his contributions to not only the world of knowledge but also the on-going public life. We could confer on him our highest state award 'Banga Bibhushan' in 2022, and his personal presence on the dais inspired us. We could give him 'Rabindra Smriti Puraskar' too in 2022. I convey my sincerest condolences to his family, friends, students, and admirers," she said.

Bangabibhushan is an award introduced by the Chief Minister for acclaimed personalities from various field in the state on lines of the Padma awards.

Sinha was a specialist in nuclear physics, high energy physics and early universe cosmology. He led the first representing team from India in the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Geneva.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Posting photos of his tour on Instagram has landed a notorious burglar in jail.

The 29-year-old accused, identified as Sanjeev a.k.a. Shiva, had gone on a trip after robbing a house in West Delhi last month. He had taken a loan on the stolen jewellery to fund his trip, the police said on Friday.

The police have also arrested the receiver of the stolen items, Abdul Malik, also known as Nijam.

Sharing the details, the police said that on July 11, an incident of burglary took place in Uttam Nagar. The complainant had alleged that several gold items worth lakhs of rupees were stolen from his house.

During investigation, the police analysed the CCTV footage of the area as well as that of the nearby places.

The police tracked the culprit through CCTV footage, in which Sanjeev could be seen leaving the complainant's house in a hurry. Thereafter, Sanjeev was put under technical surveillance, which showed that the last location of the suspect's mobile number was in Haridwar.

"The suspect used to switch off his mobile phone for long hours to avoid detection. An analysis of the CDR of the suspect revealed that soon after committing the crime, he went to a gold loan outlet named Capri Loans located at Jeewan Park," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka). M. Harsha Vardhan.

"Accordingly, the police visited Capri Loans and found that Sanjeev had pawned two gold rings and received Rs 20,000 in cash as a loan against them," said the DCP.

However, the accused person continuously changed his location to evade arrest.

"When the accused reached Kappam in Kerala, he posted his travel video on Instagram, attempting to mislead the team by claiming that he was going to Dubai for work," said the DCP.

"After making several coordinated efforts, the team finally succeeded when he uploaded a video on his Instagram account, stating he was in Agra. The video was thoroughly analysed, and since he took an e-rickshaw for Eidgah Road in Agra, the clue paid off. A police team reached Agra, searched several hotels on Eidgah Road, and after checking 7-8 hotels, finally apprehended the suspect," the DCP said.

During interrogation, Sanjeev disclosed that he had sold the remaining jewellery to a man in Saharanpur. Subsequent raids were conducted, and Malik was apprehended, and the stolen jewellery was also recovered at his instance.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Friday welcomed the Union government's decision to connect Bathinda and Ludhiana to Delhi through a 19-seat aircraft under the Udan Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

The SAD chief had raised this issue in Parliament through a question which was answered by the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Gen V.K. Singh (retd).

The minister said the RCS route connecting Bathinda and Ludhiana to Hindon had been awarded to M/s Big Charters Private Ltd and that the company would operate a 19-seater aircraft.

Flights on the Bathinda-Delhi-Bathinda route had been discontinued in March 2020 after completion of the prescribed three years of tenure and there was a huge demand from people, including businessmen and Central government employees, to restart this service.

Badal also welcomed the Civil Aviation ministryas decision awarding routes connecting Adampur to Hindon, Nanded, Kolkata, Goa, and Bengaluru.

He said this was also a long-standing demand after the routes connecting Adampur to Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur had been started in 2018 but discontinued after three years.

Badal had in his question demanded resumption of all flights which had been discontinued from Adampur, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Bathinda airports, besides asking the Civil Aviation ministry to give timelines for it. He has also made a renewed plea for resumption of the Bathinda-Jammu flight also. He said the flight, which used to run five days a week, had an average occupancy of 70 per cent and was a boon for those paying pilgrimage to Vaishnoo Devi and Amarnath.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Aug 11 : A Delhi court has given Congress leader Jagdish Tytler who is facing charges related to the Pul Bangash killings during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, 10 days to review documents provided by the CBI, including the charge sheet.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Vidhi Gupta Anand, approved this request made by Tytler's counsel, who initially asked for two weeks to go through the materials.

Tytler participated in the proceedings via video conferencing.

The court is scheduled to reconvene on August 21 to discuss the case further.

Tytler, on Thursday, had filed a request with the court to be allowed to attend proceedings through video conferencing.

The plea was presented in court on the grounds of security concerns.

Tytler's advocate has appealed for the court's authorisation for his client to participate remotely, citing a recent protest by the Sikh community during Tytler's in-person appearance on August 5.

Last week, on August 5, the court after accepting a bail bond by Tytler, posted the matter for next hearing on August 11.

The development came a day after Special Judge Vikas Dhull had granted anticipatory bail to Tytler.

During the hearing last week, Tytler's wife, Jennifer, stood security for him in the case, and the court verified her identity and financial status.

After noting that she was financially independent, the court accepted her as a surety.

Tytler was brought to court amid high security. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) members staged a protest outside Rouse Avenue Court, voicing their opposition against Tytler. Scores of people demanded justice while protesting in front of the court.

A minor clash was also reported between the protesters and police.

Judge Dhull had granted the relief to Tytler on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety of the like amount.

The Gurdwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market was set on fire by a mob on November 1, 1984 and three persons, namely Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh, were burnt to death.

The incident took place a day after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

In its charge sheet filed before the court, the CBI has said that Tytler incited, instigated and provoked the mob that had assembled at the gurdwara, which resulted in the burning down of the shrine and killing of the three persons.

Charges under Sections 147 (rioting), 109 (abetment) read with 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among others, have been invoked against Tytler by the probe agency.

On June 2, the Rouse Avenue Courts had approved a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI against Tytler in the riots case and also transferred the case to the special MP-MLA court for trial.

The court had earlier also instructed the CBI to expedite the process of obtaining the forensic report of Tytler's voice sample.
Mumbai, Aug 11 : The controversy between Piyu and Priyanka about their encounter at the start of 'MTV Roadies: Karm Ya Kaand' doesn't seem to die down at all.

Rather, it's picking up further as both were called out and Piyu proceeded to complain about Priyanka directly to the Gang Leaders and the show host, Sonu Sood, with every contestant backing her as well.

At the start of the show, Piyu and Priyanka had engaged in a tussle, with Priyanka mouthing the worst of insults, directly attacking Piyu's parents in the process, though Piyu had maintained her cool, only giving a witty reply and gently pushing her.

Priyanka, in order to show she was the bigger boss, pushed Piyu very hard which knocked her back leading to other contestants telling Priyanka to back off. Piyu had then said that she wanted to directly complain to Sonu Sood about Priyanka's temper and bad, unsporting attitude.

Now the jury is out as Sonu Sood and Gang Leaders Rhea Chakraborty, Prince Narula and Gautam Gulati all condemned Priyanka for her actions and demanded an apology. Prince tried to gently tell Priyanka that her actions were wrong, but Priyanka would not budge.

She went on to say that Piyu is not the goodie two shoes she pretends to be on screen, because off screen she too has mouthed horrible insults to her. But then the contestants also came and backed Piyu, saying that Priyanka was outright lying and that Piyu had been very chill about the whole thing.

Sonu Sood on his part was silently observing but definitely not buying any of Priyanka's excuses, telling her to apologise with the Gang Leaders. But Priyanka still refused to budge, saying "I'm sorry sir, but I won't apologise."

This attitude of Priyanka has earned her a bad enough reputation already, and attitude goes a long way in making someone a Roadie. While Piyu has kind of emerged as a fan favourite for her behaviour, Priyanka has become horribly despised for her behaviour, and that does not bode too well at all.

'MTV Roadies: Karm Ya Kaand' streams on MTV and JioCinema.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Member of Parliament from Punjab, on Friday presented a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the reservation of two seats for Kashmiri Sikhs in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and granting minority status to them in the valley.

Sahney said the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 26.

The bill seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 and reserve two seats for Kashmiri migrants and one seat for displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the Union territory's legislative assembly.

These members will be nominated by the L-G, according to the provisions of the Bill.

While appreciating this step of the government, Sahney told the media that the Sikhs have been living in the valley for hundreds of years now, right from the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and they have equally suffered the pain and grief as any other minority community.

"As of today, there are more than one lakh Sikhs residing in the Kashmir Valley who did not left the place despite the fear of terrorists and have been living in atrocities from decades now. They also deserve fair representation in the Assembly as nominated members," he said.

"Now, when the government is coming up with a proposal for reserving three seats, we should not forget the valour and contribution of Sikh community in making and safeguarding of Jammu and Kashmir. We as a nation are obliged to provide fair share and representation to the Sikh population of Jammu and Kashmir," Sahney added.

He also demanded minority status for the Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir and reservation in government jobs and education for them.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the Centre over delay in filing its reply on a PIL seeking re-introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill, 2008 which contemplates reservation of 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha and all state Assemblies for women.

"You have not filed a reply. Why are you shying away?" a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S.V.N Bhatti asked Additional Solicitor General K.M. Natraj, representing the Centre.

The bench said that the issue is "too important" and asked the ASG if the Centre intends to implement the one-third women quota.

In response, the ASG submitted that a writ of mandamus (order) cannot be issued by the top court to the Centre to table a particular legislation in the Parliament.

The court posted the matter for further hearing in the month of October, asking Centre to file its reply in the meantime.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Centre on the plea moved by the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), saying that it is an important matter. The public interest litigation (PIL) plea pointed out that the bill was not passed despite promises, and its primary objectives have been publicly supported by the mainstream political parties including the present regime.

It submitted that it has been 25 years since the first Women's Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1996, and the government has time and again provided frivolous reasons for the delay in passing of the Bill. It is submitted that the main reasons quoted by the respondent for not passing the Bill is the need for further consideration and consensus between political parties.

It said that the election manifestos of the political parties such as the BJP, the Congress, the AIADMK, the DMK, the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Biju Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, and the Nationalist Congress Party have included the promise of passing the Women's Reservation Bill.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said he was suspended from Rajya Sabha for asking tough questions to the BJP government.

Chadha, who has been accused by the BJP of forging the signatures of five MPs, was on Friday suspended from the Rajya Sabha by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

"I was suspended for asking tough questions that left the BJP, the world's largest party, without answers through my speech in Parliament on Delhi Service Bill. My crime was exposing BJP's double standards on Delhi's statehood," he said.

Taking a dig at the saffron party, Chadha said: "I showed them a mirror and held them accountable, which left them scared. By suspending a MP based on false allegations, the government's actions unmistakably signal an alarming stance that reeks of being 'anti-youth' and undermines the very foundation of fair representation and democratic values.

"The suspension of AAP and other INDIA bloc MPs highlights the alarming trend in Parliament, where the BJP blurs the lines between fact and fiction to silence the Opposition. The way in which the BJP orchestrated the suspension of Rahul Gandhi indicates their willingness to employ similar tactics to suspend and subsequently expel any AAP MP without hesitation," the AAP MP said.

Chadha further said: "This Monsoon Session saw an unprecedented abuse of power by the government. Microphones were forcibly silenced and the voice of Opposition ruthlessly quashed with 3 MPs from AAP alone being suspended. The suspensions of MPs have exposed the BJP's increasing desperation.

"Over this week, I have received two notices from the Privilege Committee, which is unprecedented. It's clear that the BJP is weakened and is increasingly resorting to political vendettas. I will strongly present my case before the the Committee and seek justice," the MP said.

He further said: "Some BJP MPs and their propaganda machinery have falsely accused me. I challenge the BJP to produce the alleged document with wrongful signatures. I reiterate that the allegations of wrongful signatures are completely baseless."

Chadha also claimed that suggesting the names of MPs for Select Committees does not necessitate the acquisition of their signatures or written consent.

"It is only a mere proposal, with some proposed MP names. If anyone wishes to withdraw their name, they can," he added.
Chennai, Aug 11 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday lashed out at the Union government for making attempting to replace the criminal laws by introducing new bills with Hindi titles.

In a social media post, Stalin, who also heads the ruling DMK, termed it an "audacious attempt" by the BJP-led government to tamper with the essence of India's diversity through a sweeping overhaul with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill to replace the IPC, the CrPC, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively - "reeking of linguistic imperialism".

"This is an affront to the very foundation of Indiaas unity. BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have no moral right to even utter the word of Tamil language hereafter," he said.

Stalin maintained that in the crucible of history, Tamil Nadu and the DMK have emerged as the vanguards against such oppressive overtones.

"From the anti-Hindi agitations to safeguarding our linguistic identity, we have withstood the storm of Hindi imposition before, and we shall do it again, with unyielding determination.

"The fire of resistance against Hindi colonialism is ablaze once more. The BJP's audacious bid to supplant our identity with Hindi will be opposed resolutely," he asserted.

Stalin has also started the hashtag 'StopHindiImposition'.
Villagers receive rice and flour in Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Villagers unload food and bottled water from a truck in Longmen Township of Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Villagers receive rice in Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Villagers unload food and bottled water from a truck in Longmen Township of Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Villagers carrying disaster relief rice walk back home in Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

A villager carrying disaster relief rice walks back home in Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 9, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Villagers transfer donated vegetables in Ligezhuang Village of Zhaogezhuang Town, Laishui County, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 10, 2023. Affected by heavy rainfall, some villages in Laishui County encountered traffic and communication disruptions. Local authorities have made every effort in mending infrastructure damaged by flood while delivering disaster relief supplies purchased by the government and donated by all walks of life to flood-affected residents. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Editor: GSY
Kolkata, Aug 11 : A fresh tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the state government has surfaced in West Bengal with Governor C.V. Ananda Bose directing removal of Suhrita Paul as Vice Chancellor of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS).

Bose, by virtue of his post of Governor, is also the Chancellor of WBUHS.

The charges are that Paul was not appointed following the rules laid down by the University Grants Commission (UGC), and she was appointed by a search committee which did not have any representatives from the UGC.

Previously there had been instances of appointments or reappointments of Vice Chancellors in state universities in West Bengal being cancelled on the same grounds of being appointed by search committees without UGC representatives.

Recently, different associations of doctors too had sent deputations to the Governoras House alleging massive mismanagement in the functioning of the WBUHS. Thereafter Raj Bhavan initiated an investigation in the matter. Raj Bhavan sources said that since that time despite sending so many communiques to Paul in the matter, she did not reply to a single one of those.

Finally, the Governoras House took the decision to remove her.

Meanwhile, the state Education Department is mulling the idea of approaching the courts to challenge the decision of the Governoras House. Now it is to be seen whether Paul takes legal recourse on her own or the state government does the same on her behalf.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Two brothers were stabbed to death by a 25-year-old man near a hotel in Southwest Delhi, the police said on Friday.

A senior police officer said that the accused has been identified as Umaang, while the deceased have been identified as Rajesh Yadav (42) and Ranjan Yadav (26), both residents of Mahipalpur. Rajesh was married to Umang's sister.

Providing details, the police said the incident took place on Thursday. A call was received at the Vasant Kunj police station at around 11 p.m., reporting a stabbing incident.

On reaching the spot near Avalon Hotel in Mahipalpur, the police found two unconscious men with stab wounds on their bodies.

"The suspect was also present at the scene. The injured were rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital, where they were both declared brought dead," the officer said.

Ranjan worked as a peon at a clinic in Malviya Nagar, while Rajesh was employed at a bank in Gurugram.

"Umang, who worked as a waiter at Avalon Hotel, has been taken into custody," the officer said.

Based on preliminary findings, it has been revealed that Rajesh and Ranjan had gone to visit Umang at his workplace. Rajesh was not on good terms with his wife.

"When the two brothers reached the accused's workplace, a confrontation broke out leading to the accused stabbing them," the officer added.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The government on Friday told Parliament that as per new visa rules of the UK government, international students will not be able to switch out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been complete.

This became applicable from July 17, 2023 onwards, the government said, adding that the new visa rules will affect students from all nations.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in an oral response to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Ray in Lok Sabha that from January 1, 2024 onwards, international students will not be able to bring dependents unless they are on postgraduate courses, currently designated as research programmes.

In 2022, the number of Indian students (excluding dependents) who have gone to the UK for studies was 1,39,539, the minister further said.

"The new visa rules will affect students from all the countries. The government of India remains closely engaged with British authorities on all issues relating to further strengthening of people to people ties and the movement of young Indian students and professionals," Jaishankar said.

Ray had sought to know whether the government has taken note that UK has changed its visa rules for students from abroad, which would impact millions of Indian students who undertake part time work to meet their expenses abroad while studying.
Guwahati, Aug 11 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that the solution to the Manipur crisis will not be possible through military, rather it would come only from the heart.

Talking to mediapersons, the Chief Minister said that the Manipur problem can not be solved by bullets.

He said the Congress and other opposition parties had demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak in the Parliament on Manipur, but when the Prime Minister started speaking they walked out.

"They (opposition parties) are fully exposed  Their intention was only to disrupt the Parliament proceedings and had nothing to do with Manipur. For their vested interest, they raised hue and cry in the Parliament but they do not genuinely care for Manipur," Sarma said on the sidelines of a function here.

The Assam Chief Minister said that Mode spoke on the northeast and Manipur in the Lok Sabha from his heart and demonstrated his close affection towards the region.

"While we are happy, the opposition will definitely be unhappy. As a principal opposition party, the Congress should have listened to the speech till the end.

"Rahul Gandhi said that the Indian Army should stop the violence... This means they should open fire on the civilians. Is that his prescription? How could he say that? The Army will not be able to solve anything permanently... They will be able to bring a temporary solution in a given situation," he said.

"How could Rahul Gandhi claim that the Indian Army can stop the violence in Manipur in two day," the Chief Minister asked.

Sarma, who is the convener of the anti-Congress North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the northeast chapter of the NDA, had earlier visited Manipur and held meetings with various NGOs and civil society organisations.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be on a visit to four European countries, including France in the second week of September this year.

A Congress source told IANS: "Rahul Gandhi will be visiting France, Belgium and Norway."

The source said that the Congress leader will also be interacting with the members of the European Union.

He will also meet the students and the Indian diaspora during his visit.

Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi visited the US and UK.

He also interacted with students, the Indian diaspora and with some prominent university members.
New Delhi, August 11 : The Supreme Court said on Friday that it is concerned about two minor sons of slain gangster Atiq Ahmed, who are allegedly in the custody of Uttar Pradesh police.

"We are concerned because those children are in jail, this is what we were told," said a bench comprising of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar to the counsel of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

In response, the counsel submitted that he will request for an adjournment of the matter as he doesn't have instructions from the state officials on this count.

"They are in child care custody," the counsel added.

"But, on what ground? If they have a relative, they should be released," the bench said.

At this, the state government counsel said: "I will get the instructions."

Reportedly, the sister of slain gangster has moved the Supreme Court seeking custody of Atiq's two minor sons, who are lodged in the child protection home at Rajrooppur in Prayagraj since the past five months.

It is alleged that after the killing of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two security guards in Prayagraj on February 24, the state police had picked up the two minor sons of Atiq and lodged them at the child protection home in Rajrooppur.

IANS

PDS/
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Congress on Friday hit back at the BJP-led Central government, saying that their claims of wanting to have a discussion on Manipur is completely 'bogus' and the opposition had to bring a no-confidence motion to break his 'maun vrat' (silence) on the violence in the northeastern state.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh in a tweet said, "The claim of the Modi government that the they wanted a discussion on Manipur is completely bogus. It required a no-confidence motion to get the Prime Minister to break his 'maun vrat' on Manipur. In a speech that was 133-minutes long, he barely spoke on Manipur for even four minutes, and only after the INDIA parties walked out."

"In Rajya Sabha, the INDIA parties offered a middle path of having a discussion on the basis of a mutually negotiated motion/resolution. On one pretext or the other, the Treasury benches did not take this forward. Just to be absolutely clear: since August 3, the Opposition has been ready to sit with the floor leaders of the BJP to work out a mutually agreeable text for the Motion under Rule 167," the Rajya Sabha MP added.

"Now to make such false claims after the Session is over by the concerned Ministers is the standard operating procedure of the Modi government," he said.

His remarks came after the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Congress and other opposition parties never thought that the government would agree for a discussion on Manipur.
Hyderabad, Aug 11 : Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has given nod for handing over 33 acres to the Telangana government, a move which is expected to help in widening of roads to ease traffic congestion in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad.

The SCB at its special meeting on Friday passed a resolution to handover the land for widening of roads from Paradise Circle to Suchitra Circle and from Gymkhana Grounds to Hakimpet Air Force Station.

This will pave the way for taking up the long-pending works on the busy roads connecting to Hyderabad-Nagpur national highway 44 and Hyderabad-Karimnagar state highway one (Rajiv Rahdari).

The widening of roads is expected to ease congestion in Bowenpally and Tirumalagiri areas.

However, officials said the widening works and also the proposed skyways and Metro corridors can be completed only if 157 acres of land belonging to various defence units is handed over to the state government.

The land was identified in the joint survey by Defence Estate Officer (DEO), Secunderabad Circle and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).

Cantonment Board (SCB) CEO Madhukar Naik said they have agreed to give 33 acres under their management but for the remaining 124 acres, respective departments will have to take a decision.

The defence lands include different categories like Army lands and leased land.

The SCB has asked the state government to pay Rs.329 crore for 33 acres.

The state government has long been demanding the Defence Ministry to hand over the lands for undertaking proposed skyways and other projects to ease the traffic congestion.

The proposal under Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP) was first mooted in 2017.

Telangana's minister for municipal administration and urban development K.T. Rama Rao had called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi on June 23 and requested him to transfer defence lands.

The state minister had said after the meeting that the state government had been requesting the Centre to transfer defence lands for construction of skyways from Jubilee Bus Stand to Rajiv Rahadari, from Paradise Circle to Medchal ORR.

KTR said that if the defence ministry comes forward to give 96 acres of land for Jubilee Bus Stand-Rajiv Rahadari skyway and 56 acres for Paradise Circle-Medchal ORR skyway, the state government would give alternate lands of equal value.

He said the state government was also developing skywalks. While the skywalk at Uppal has been completed, the work on the skyway at Mehdipatnam was stalled as the defence ministry had not given the permission.

The state has also sought defence land for a road to link Golconda and Ibrahim Bagh.

The State Cabinet at its meeting on July 31 decided to undertake massive expansion of Hyderabad Metro.

It was announced after the meeting that double elevated Metro corridors will be developed to improve the public transportation system. The corridors from Jubilee Bus Station to Thumkunta and Patny to Kandlakoya at Outer Ring Road (ORR) are proposed along the routes connecting Nagpur national highway and Karimnagar state highway.

While the lower level will be for motor vehicles, the upper one will be for Metro trains.
Hyderabad, Aug 12 : YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) led by Y.S. Sharmila will soon merge with the Congress party as all hurdles have been cleared, a source told IANS on Friday.

After a visit to Delhi where she met a key central leader of the Congress party, Sharmila returned to Hyderabad on Friday night.

While she did not reply to queries by the waiting mediapersons, IANS learnt that all hurdles for YSRTP's merger with the Congress party have been cleared.

Sharmila, who was camping in Delhi for the last couple of days, held talks with Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal.

Though there has been a buzz in political circles for the last few months about YSRTP's merger with the Congress, this is the first time that Sharmila has held talks with a central leader of the party.

Sharmila is daughter of Congress leader and former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

The Congress party believes that her joining will further boost the morale of the party ahead of Telangana Assembly elections due to be held towards year-end.

Sharmila, who is sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has already made it clear to the Congress party that she is not interested in Andhra Pradesh politics and that she will confine herself to Telangana.

She has already announced her decision to contest from Paleru constituency in Khammam district.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has said that he would welcome Sharmila into the party. The MP reached Hyderabad with Sharmila. He told reporters that he met her on the flight.

"I have invited the daughter of late YSR to join the Congress party," he said.
New Delhi, Aug 12 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday criticised the BJP-led Centre over the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

The CAG's audit report on AB-PMJAY, which was presented in the Parliament earlier this week, highlighted various irregularities in the implementation of the scheme.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, while attacking the ruling dispensation, demanded a thorough investigation into the findings of the CAG report.

"Taxpayers' money has been spent in the advertisement but the beneficiaries didn't receive the benefits. As per this scheme, it's been told that approx 26,000 hospitals have been impaneled but the CAG report says among these hospitals, some lack doctors, some MRI and CT scan machines and most of these don't even have beds," Kakkar said.

Citing various reports, the AAP spokesperson claimed that the Centre spends less than 2 per cent of its GDP on healthcare, ranking the country poorly in global health spending comparisons.

"The health sector is not a priority for the Central government and this is reflected in the lack of comprehensive healthcare schemes," she said.

The CAG report revealed that a total of 7,49,820 beneficiaries under the AB-PMJAY were linked to a single invalid mobile number -- 9999999999, besides, 1,39,300 beneficiaries were registered on an invalid mobile number -- 8888888888 -- while 96,046 beneficiaries were connected to another mobile number -- 9000000000.

The report also disclosed that multiple beneficiaries were linked to the same or erroneous Aadhaar. A total of 12,85 beneficiaries were linked to Aadhaar number 000000000000.

IANS

std/arm
Tourists ride camels to visit the Giza Pyramids scenic spot in Giza, Egypt, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The revenue of Egypt's tourism sector reached 10.7 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year 2021/2022 that ended in June 2022, marking an increase of around 120 percent over the 4.9 billion U.S. dollars in the previous fiscal year, Egypt's official statistics authority announced on Wednesday.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt hit 11.7 million in 2022, registering a year-on-year increase of 46.6 percent from 8 million tourists in 2021, Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said in a report.

Europeans accounted for 62.6 percent of the tourists who visited Egypt in 2022, followed by Arabs who represented 26.4 percent and Americans who accounted for 5.8 percent, while the rest came from other countries, according to the report.

In July, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa said that nearly 7 million tourists visited Egypt in the first half of 2023, expecting that the number of tourists will reach a record high by the end of the year.

The number of tourists in Egypt dropped to around 3.7 million in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, after it saw a boom in 2019 with over 13 million tourists visiting the monument-rich country, according to official data. The number gradually recovered to about 8 million in 2021 and the tourism market has since been thriving.

Tourism sector is one of the main sources of foreign currency for Egypt, accounting for around 12 percent of the GDP and employing about 3 million Egyptians. 

Tourists visit the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids scenic spot in Giza, Egypt, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Tourists ride camels to visit the Giza Pyramids scenic spot in Giza, Egypt, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Editor: JYZ
Gandhinagar, Aug 12 : Gujarat's food industry is set to expand with the operation of two mega food parks in the state, according to the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel.

In his response to a query raised by Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani, the minister said that one park located in Surat is already operational, while another in Mehsana is under development.

The information was revealed during the monsoon session of Parliament, where details about the funding were also shared.

Of the Rs 100 crore sanctioned for both parks (Rs 50 crore each), Rs 82.67 crore has already been disbursed.

Across India, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has approved a total of 41 Mega Food Parks (MFPs) in various states and union territories, with Gujarat receiving approval for two of these parks.

The investment in each MFP project is anticipated to be around Rs 250 crore.

Furthermore, the minister's reply provided insights into the progress in other states, such as Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Out of the five MFPs approved in these regions, three are currently in operation, with a combined investment of Rs 339.10 crore already made.
Patna, Aug 12 : The police in Bihar's Araria on Friday arrested the district President of AIMIM in connection with a diesel theft case.

The accused has been identified as Rahmat Ali, who was arrested from Sonpur Chakorwa village under the Narpatganj police station.

"The accused was using a unique modus operandi to steal diesel. He was using a specially-designed truck equipped with a high-pressure pump. He used to park his truck alongside other trucks, put a pipe and extract diesel in a few minutes," said Ram Pukar Singh, SDPO of Araria Sadar.

The district police also seized the truck equipped with a high-pressure pump from the Hariabada toll plaza located on NH 57. The truck is registered in the name of Rahmat's brother Kurban Ali.

Meanwhile, Rahmat claimed that it is a political conspiracy hatched against him to frame him in a theft case.

Rahmat used to be an auto driver who earned huge money in the past few years. He had earlier joined the Jan Adhikar Party led by Pappu Yadav. Later, he joined AIMIM and became the district president of Araria.

He had also unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Assembly elections from Narpatganj.
Goa accident: Man was driving Mercedes, police are firm on it, says CM Sawant. Image Source: IANS News

Panaji, Aug 12 : Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visited the three injured persons, who sustained multiple injuries in an accident involving the Mercedes car, the Chief Minister's office (CMO) said.

These injured persons are currently undergoing treatment in the Goa Medical College.

"Chief Minister met Rajesh Patil and took update on the treatment and recovery of the injured," CMO tweeted on Friday.

On Sunday night, three persons were killed and three others sustained critical injuries after a speeding Mercedes rammed into three cars and two two-wheelers while heading towards Panaji on the Banastari bridge in Ponda taluka, around 17 km from here.

After the accident, the people present at the site told reporters that a woman was driving the car. However, the police have arrested a man.

According to police, the driver of the car, Paresh Sinai Sawardekar (48), husband of Mercedes owner Meghana, has been arrested.

People are demanding the arrest of Meghana Sawardekar, however a court in Goa's Ponda on Wednesday granted her interim protection.

"The applicant is granted interim protection/bail until disposal of application for anticipatory bail on merits. In the event of arrest of the applicant, she will be released upon executing a personal bond of Rs 20,000 and one surety of like amount."

"The applicant will cooperate in the investigation of the crime. She will not tamper with the evidence directly or indirectly. She will not influence witnesses," Additional Sessions Judge, Panaji, sitting at Ponda, Cholu M. Gauns, said in the order.

The next hearing is scheduled on August 16.
New Delhi, Aug 12 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested five members of a Mewat-based gang of robbers -- involved in various heinous crimes -- from the national capital's Tughlakabad area, an official said on Friday.

The arrested individuals were identified as Hafeez (29), a resident of Nuh in Haryana, Rahil (28), Ikram (33), residents of Palwal in Haryana, Robin (24) and Mursaleen (27), residents of Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

The police have also recovered five pistols, 10 bullets, one truck with ATM breaking tools, including a gas cutter and a bottle of spray paint.

The accused have been also found previously involved in more than 17 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, abduction, assault on police, hurt, armed robbery, dacoity, intimidation, riots, trespass, ATM breaking, and the Arms Act in various states, including Delhi, as per police records.

According to police, on Wednesday, specific inputs were received that five members of the gang were coming from Karnataka in an Eicher truck and were heading towards Sarvodaya School in Tughlakabad, between 5 and 6 p.m.

"A trap was laid and they were forced to stop by the police team. However, instead of surrendering, the accused took out their pistols and threatened to fire. The police team overpowered the five and disarmed them," said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal.

On questioning, it was revealed that they had gone to Vijayapur, Karnataka, to commit an ATM-related theft in their Eicher truck.

"Rahil sprayed the paint on the CCTV camera of the ATM of ICICI Bank in Adarsh Nagar, Vijayapur, and after that the remaining four entered the ATM. They started cutting it open with a gas cutter and other tools. In the meantime, they panicked on hearing the siren of the police, and they had to escape from the spot," said Dhaliwal.

"Fearing their arrest, they were returning to the Mewat area when they were nabbed in Delhi," the police officer added.
New Delhi, Aug 12 : A boy, aged around 5-6, was found dead on Friday in east Delhi,the police said, adding that it is being suspected that the child died by drowning.

According to the police, around 10.49 a.m. on Friday, the police received a call regarding spotting of the body of a boy following which a police team was dispatched for the spot.

"The kid was found by two persons in a drowned condition in around five to six feet deep water adjacent to Pusta Road. The fire department was informed and called after which the body was pulled out," said a senior police officer.

"No injuries marks were found on the deceased's body. The child was found wearing a blue shirt and white stripes blue shorts," said the official.

"Senior police officials, the crime team and forensic team have visited the spot. We have also collected the water sample and the deceased's body is preserved in Subzi Mandi Mortuary," said the police officer, adding the incident is being probed from all angles.
United Nations, Aug 12 : The UN has welcomed the release of five of its security personnel who were kidnapped in Yemen on February 11, 2022.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was delighted to learn of the release, his Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday, adding that "available information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health".

The UN Chief was profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of their families and friends have finally come to an end, Haq said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General reiterates that kidnapping is an inhumane and unjustifiable crime and calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable," the Deputy Spokesman added.

"He also expresses his solidarity with other people still held against their will in Yemen."

David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, also welcomed the development, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a statement, he thanked the government of Yemen and all others that helped secure the release of the five UN personnel and contributed to ensuring their health during such a long time in captivity.

"While the entire UN family in Yemen is relieved that our colleagues are free, we also recall other UN staff are still held against their will in Yemen. We stand in solidarity with them," Gressly said.
Ankara, Aug 12 : Turkish security forces killed at least 12 members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkey's Defence Ministry said.

In a statement, the Ministry said on Friday that the Turkish armed forces "neutralised" the YPG members when they were "preparing for an attack" in northern Syria.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralised" in their statements to imply the surrender or death of terrorists, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Ministry's statement, released on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, was accompanied by drone footage of several targets being struck in the region.

The Ministry said that with the latest operation, the number of "terrorists" eliminated since Thursday in the northern regions of Turkey's neighbouring Syria and Iraq has reached 21.

TArkiye has retaliated against the YPG's killing of six of its soldiers this week by launching operations in the two neighbouring countries, where the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Syrian branch YPG are hiding.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
Hosted at historic Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., the community networking hike will promote the advancement of women in healthcare IT

BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Dimensional Insight, an award-winning enterprise analytics provider, is partnering with HIT Like a Girl to co-host a community networking hike, aimed at promoting the advancement of women in healthcare IT. This unique event will provide attendees with the opportunity to network and connect while enjoying the scenic beauty of Walden Pond.

The hike will take place at Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. on Tuesday, August 29th at 5:30 pm. The event is open to all and serves as a valuable networking opportunity for peers and leaders in healthcare IT. The hike is cohosted in collaboration with HIT Like a Girl, a podcast and online community that "celebrates, listens to, and learns from" women leaders in healthcare IT. HIT Like a Girl is traveling cross-country on their #RoadtoHLTH tour, with stops along the way to highlight women in healthcare IT. The Walden Pond hike is just one of their stops in the Boston area.

"This 'walk in the woods' we're co-hosting with HIT Like a Girl offers an exciting chance for women in healthcare IT to come together, network, and empower each other. It's a fantastic opportunity to drive collaboration and progress in our industry," says Kathy Sucich, VP of Marketing at Dimensional Insight.

Dimensional Insight's solutions provide customers with a complete portfolio of capabilities ranging from data integration and modeling to sophisticated reporting, analytics, and dashboards. The platform has been named "Best in KLAS" eight times, a feat unrivaled by any other vendor in its category. In the 2023 Best in KLAS report, Dimensional Insight received straight A's, further solidifying its industry-leading position.

To register for the event, please click here.

About Dimensional Insight

Dimensional Insight is a leading provider of analytics, data management, and performance management solutions, offering a complete portfolio of capabilities ranging from data integration and modeling to sophisticated reporting, analytics, and dashboards. Founded in 1989, Dimensional Insight has thousands of customer organizations worldwide. Dimensional Insight is an 8-time Best in KLAS winner and consistently ranks as a top-performing analytics organization by customers and industry analysts in its core market segments including healthcare, manufacturing, and beverage alcohol. For more information, please visit https://www.dimins.com.

Media Contact

Kathy Sucich, Dimensional Insight, 781-419-2145, [email protected]

Twitter, Facebook

SOURCE Dimensional Insight
Double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Shervin Naderi, MD, FACS, has been named one of America's Best Plastic Surgeons 2023 by Newsweek magazine for his outstanding surgical skills and expertise in rhinoplasty.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Dr. Shervin Naderi was distinguished in the rhinoplasty category in Newsweek's prestigious second annual ranking of the country's top plastic surgeons. He was recognized for his artistic mastery, innovative techniques, and commitment to patient satisfaction at The Naderi Center, which has two locations in the Greater Washington DC metro with offices in Reston Virginia, and Chevy Chase Maryland.

As a preeminent rhinoplasty expert, Dr. Naderi combines his extensive experience and perceptive eye to craft elegant, natural-looking results tailored to each patient. Unlike any other Plastic Surgeon in the United States, Dr. Naderi exclusively performs only one surgery - Rhinoplasty, making him a true Rhinoplasty specialist.

A Prestigious Honor Among the Nation's Best

Earning a spot on Newsweek's selective list is an exceptional achievement that denotes superior expertise and patient satisfaction. The America's Best Plastic Surgeons ranking is based on a rigorous selection process involving thousands of medical professional recommendations and assessments of quality of care.

Out of about 12,000 plastic surgeons only 358 plastic surgeons across 20 states made the final list this year, which speaks to the highly competitive nature of this honor. Dr. Naderi was one of only 165 honored for rhinoplasty surgery.

This prestigious accolade affirms Dr. Naderi's leading reputation and validates the consistently outstanding care he provides patients. His position among the top plastic surgeons world wide underscores Dr. Naderi's commitment to achieving beautiful, natural, harmonious results and the highest levels of patient satisfaction through his rhinoplasty practice.

About Dr. Shervin Naderi

Dr. Shervin Naderi is renowned as an exceptional rhinoplasty surgeon and a leading authority on nasal surgery. Although The Naderi Center provides a full array of face and body cosmetic surgery procedures with several ultra specialist surgeons, Dr. Naderi is focused on the nose.

Almost a quarter century ago, after completing his residency in Head and Neck Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Naderi pursued an intensive fellowship under world-renowned facial plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Perkins. This advanced training allowed him to hone his skills and develop techniques to expertly handle the intricacies of nasal surgery. He has grown exponentially and innovated far more superior techniques since then.

With over two decades of experience performing thousands of rhinoplasties, Dr. Naderi has become one of the most sought-after rhinoplasty surgeons in the world. He is able to precisely diagnose structural issues and create customized surgical plans to optimize both form and function. A Naderi Nose is uniquely tailored for each patient with no cookie cutter noses and no telltale signs of plastic surgery.

His accomplishments and reputation for excellence have earned Dr. Naderi international recognition. Patients come from all over the United States and overseas for the opportunity to have their surgery performed by Dr. Naderi.

Dr. Naderi's Prestigious Accolades and Accomplishments

Dr. Shervin Naderi has received numerous honors and distinctions that underscore his leading reputation as an elite rhinoplasty surgeon, including:

Double board certification in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

Named one of America's Best Plastic Surgeons by Newsweek (2023)

Recognized as a Top Beauty Doctor (2016)

Awarded the RealSelf 500 Award (2015)

Selected as one of Virginia's Favorite Physicians by Vitals Patients' Choice Award (2016)

Favorite Physicians by Vitals Patients' Choice Award (2016) Chosen as the Most Compassionate Doctor by his patients (2011)

Voted the #1 Top Rated Cosmetic Surgeon in Washington, DC

Listed in the Global Directory of Who's Who

Named an Outstanding Cosmetic Surgeon by the National Institute of Cosmetic And Plastic Surgery Research

Dr. Naderi's extensive expertise and commitment to patient satisfaction have earned him a reputation as one of the country's foremost rhinoplasty experts. But his reputation for honesty and ethics is truly unique in a profession often known for too many sales pitches. Dr. Naderi spends many hours each week talking potential patients out of cosmetic surgery.

A Personalized Approach to Facial Harmony

During consultations, Dr. Naderi conducts a detailed assessment of the entire facial structure. He takes the time to understand his patients' specific goals and address any concerns they may have. With this understanding, professional insight, and experience, Dr. Naderi crafts personalized surgical plans that aim to create a natural-looking nose, perfectly complementing the individual's facial features.

Dr. Nader's patients have the opportunity to see advanced computer imaging to demonstrate the potential outcome of their surgery.

In certain cases, Dr. Naderi may advise patients that rhinoplasty is unnecessary or recommend alternative treatments better suited to their objectives. Patient education and satisfaction take precedence over any other incentives.

Dr. Naderi's thorough, honest communication and mastery of facial aesthetics have earned the trust of his patients. His focus remains on fulfilling their goals and creating a nose they will feel proud of for a lifetime.

About The Naderi Center

The Naderi Center was founded by Double Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Shervin Naderi who is an expert in revision rhinoplasty and rhinoplasty surgery. Patients from around the world seek his expertise. The Naderi Center for Plastic Surgery & Dermatology and Dr. Shervin Naderi have been featured in numerous media publications such as the Northern Virginia Magazine, New Beauty Magazine, Capital Files Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, DC Magazine and Bethesda Magazine, among many others.

If you are interested in learning more about the services offered at The Naderi Center or would like to schedule a consultation with double board certified facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Naderi or one of the other ultra specialist plastic surgeons there please call 703-481-0002 or 301-222-2020 to set up a consultation at the Reston or Chevy Chase office.

Media Contact

Amelia Viera, virginiafacialplasticsurgery.com, 301-222-2020, info@virginiafacialplasticsurgery.com

SOURCE Naderi Center for Cosmetic Surgery
This is the 10th year Harris Teeter and Titan Farms have partnered for the Peaches with a Purpose campaign

MATTHEWS, N.C., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Harris Teeter and Titan Farms donated 37,800 pounds of fresh peaches to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (SHFBM) through the companies' Peaches with a Purpose campaign.

When shoppers bought a peach between July 26 and August 8 at a North Carolina Harris Teeter location, Titan Farms donated a percentage of that sale to SHFBM in the form of fresh peaches.

Titan Farms, the largest peach grower on the east coast, created Peaches with a Purpose to help feed the under-served while bringing attention to the problem of food-insecurity. Through the partnership between Titan Farms and Harris Teeter, the two companies donated more than 380,000 pounds of peaches over the last ten years.

"We want to thank Titan Farms for supporting local hunger relief efforts and for allowing us to consistently be a part of this program," said Danna Robinson, director of corporate affairs for Harris Teeter. "Fresh produce is scarce in food banks across the country, and we are happy to be able to contribute nutritious items to those in need."

The peach donation will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, which serves a total of 24 counties in North Carolina and South Carolina. In the SHFBM service area, more than 489,000 people live in poverty including 159,000 children and 52,000 seniors.

"I am eternally grateful for 10 years of continuous support through Peaches with a Purpose from Harris Teeter and its loyal customers," said Lori Anne Carr, vice president of Titan Farms. "Fresh produce is often in short supply in food banks, through this partnership, we have been able to provide fresh, nutritious peaches to local N.C. communities for an entire decade. In collaboration with Harris Teeter, Titan Farms serves as a valuable means to address the scarcity of fresh produce in food banks. This partnership demonstrates a commitment to helping families and individuals access essential resources."

###

About Harris Teeter

For more than 60 years, Harris Teeter, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), has enriched lives  one meal, one family, one associate, and one community at a time. Headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, Harris Teeter employs 36,000 valued associates across more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, and the District of Columbia.

About Titan Farms

Founded in 1999 by Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr, Titan Farms is a premier grower, packer and shipper of fresh peaches and vegetables. With core values focused on producing the highest quality produce in the market, you are sure to take home the freshest produce they have available. Today, Titan Farms is the largest peach grower on the east coast, with over 6,200 acres of peaches, 600 acres of bell peppers, 1,000 acres of broccoli and 36 acres of eggplant. Titan Farms is a family-run operation, including long-time employees who have become part of their Titan family.

About Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina

As part of Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina - serves 24 counties in North and South Carolina. In FY 2021-2022, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina distributed over 75 million pounds of food and household items to over 950 hunger feeding agencies including emergency pantries, soup kitchens, senior programs, shelters and low-income daycares.

Media Contact

Paige Pauroso, Harris Teeter, 704-844-3101, ppauroso@harristeeter.com

SOURCE Harris Teeter
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on Friday on the export of grain through transit corridors.

"A separate meeting with head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Budanov, commander-in-chief Zaluzhny, commander of the Navy Neizhpapa, head of the SBU Maliuk, and the Ministry of Infrastructure on alternatives for exporting grain through transit corridors," he said in a video message on Friday.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure that Ukraine continues to be a guarantor of food security, and that our people have access to world markets," he said.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) announced eight keynote speakers for the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, taking place 15-18 October in Las Vegas, NV. This signature event brings together top pharmaceutical industry and regulatory leaders offering compelling presentations and interactive discussions on industry-critical technical developments.

NORTH BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) announced eight keynote speakers for the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, occurring 15-18 October in Las Vegas, NV, and virtually. This acclaimed event brings together top pharmaceutical industry and regulatory leaders, offering compelling presentations and interactive discussions on industry-critical technical developments.

The 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo features a dynamic line-up of thought-provoking keynote presentations led by some of the most prominent names in the pharmaceutical industry.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Pam Cheng - Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Information Technology  AstraZeneca

Pam Cheng is the Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Information Technology, and Chief Sustainability Officer for AstraZeneca. She led AstraZeneca's Global Operations in developing and supplying 3 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 170 countries. With oversight across 18 countries, Pam manages manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, IT, and sustainability, leading a team of over 20,000. Prior, she spent 18 years at Merck/MSD in global roles. Pam holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA in marketing from Pace University.

Judy Chou - President and CEO - AltruBio, Inc

Judy Chou, PhD is the CEO, President, and board member of AltruBio, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company in San Francisco, CA. With a remarkable career in the biomedical industry, she has led global biotech organizations, including Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Judy's expertise lies in the development and manufacturing of biologics, and she has made significant contributions to breakthrough technologies and accelerated product development. She serves on the boards of Akero Therapeutics, Inc., California Institute of Regenerative Medicines (CIRM), and advisory boards for UC Berkeley Engineering School and Silicon Valley Women in Engineering.

David Churchward - Global Head Sterility Assurance, Cell and Gene Technologies - Lonza Biologics

David Churchward is the Global Head of Sterility Assurance for Lonza Biologics' cell and gene technologies business unit. With extensive experience in regulatory collaboration and international harmonization, David ensures sterility assurance standards for manufacturing cell therapies and viral vector products. He previously served as a GMP inspector with the UK MHRA and contributed to major regulatory initiatives.

Kyle Haraldsen - Chief Technology Officer - Lyndra Therapeutics

Kyle Haraldsen is the Chief Technology Officer of Lyndra Therapeutics. With over 20 years of industry experience, he leads product and platform R&D activities, including the development of the LYNX drug delivery platform. Kyle has a strong background in technical operations, product development, and project management, having held leadership positions at Saniona and AMAG Pharmaceuticals.

Celia Lourenco - Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister - Health Canada

Celia Lourenco, PhD, is the Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister for the Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada. With extensive experience in drug regulation, Celia provides strategic direction for health product and food regulation. She has engaged with international regulatory authorities and co-chaired the COVID-19 working group at the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities.

Flavius Martin - Executive Vice President of Research - Gilead Sciences, Inc

Flavius Martin is the Executive Vice President of Research at Gilead Sciences, Inc. In this role, he oversees innovative research and preclinical programs across therapeutic areas. With nearly 20 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, Flavius has held leadership positions at Amgen and Genentech, contributing to advancements in oncology, inflammation, and cardiometabolic research.

Matthew Pearl - Patient Advocate - Fanconi Anemia Research Fund & EveryLife Foundation

Matthew Pearl is a remarkable patient advocate and a dedicated contributor to various nonprofits who captivates audiences worldwide, sharing his invaluable insights and inspiring the Rare Disease Community. His commitment extends to organizations such as the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, the Rare Action Network, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and the National Ability Center. Matthew's groundbreaking research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard, where he was the first Fanconi Anemia (FA) patient to investigate FA, has garnered international recognition.

Michael Lee Sherwood - Chief Innovation and Technology Officer - City of Las Vegas

Michael Lee Sherwood has over 20 years of experience in process improvement, technology, and innovation. As the Chief Innovation and Technology Officer for the City of Las Vegas, he drives initiatives to create brighter and more sustainable communities through collaboration and workforce development. Michael previously served as the Deputy Director of Public Safety, Business Services & City Technology for the City of Irvine, California.

Learn more and register for the 2023 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo today.

About ISPE

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) is a global nonprofit association serving its members through leading scientific, technical, and regulatory advancement across the entire pharmaceutical lifecycle. The 20,000+ members of ISPE provide solutions to complex pharmaceutical industry challenges through innovation, member and workforce development, and technical, regulatory, and compliance collaborations in more than 120 countries worldwide. Founded in 1980, ISPE has its worldwide headquarters and training center in North Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and its operations center in Tampa, Florida, USA. For more information, visit ISPE.org.

Media Contact

Jessica Bleess, ISPE, 813-739-2289 x280, [email protected]

SOURCE ISPE
The SBB Research Group Foundation has named Vivian Chen a STEM Scholarship recipient.

CHICAGO, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The SBB Research Group Foundation named Vivian Chen a recipient of its STEM scholarship. The $2,500 award empowers students to create value for society by pursuing higher learning through interdisciplinary combinations of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Vivian Chen is a first-year Northwestern University student, studying Computer Science. Chen is a recipient of the Chicago Engineers Foundation Incentive Award and has been named an Amazon Future Engineer. She has a summer 2023 internship at Amazon.

"Vivian is the kind of student we want to support with our scholarship. She has enormous promise as an engineer," said Matt Aven, co-founder and board member of the SBB Research Group Foundation.

For eligibility criteria and more information on the Foundation's STEM scholarship, please visit http://www.sbbscholarship.org.

About the SBB Research Group Foundation

The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation sponsors the SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship, supporting students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. In addition to its scholarship program, the Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies.

Media Contact

Erin Noonan, SBB Research Group Foundation, 1-847-656-1111, [email protected]

SOURCE SBB Research Group Foundation
Receives 2023 Frederick C. Morgan Individual Achievement Award for lifelong contributions to HFMA

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- RevSpring, the leading provider of healthcare engagement and payment solutions, proudly announces that Kenneth Stoll, RevSpring vice president of strategic accounts, has received the 2023 Frederick C. Morgan Individual Achievement Award. The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) presented Stoll with the award at its 2023 Annual Conference for his lifelong contributions to HFMA and the healthcare finance profession.

"It's an honor to receive the Individual Achievement Award from HFMA," said Stoll. "I have been very fortunate throughout my career and always have made an effort to pay it forward, whether that involves giving back to the Columbus, Ohio area, serving HFMA or helping clients reach their goals."

Stoll's HFMA membership spans more than 25 years, during which he has held numerous volunteer roles at the local, regional and national levels. For nearly 20 years, he was a board member of the Central Ohio Chapter, including serving as chapter president and chair from 2007-11. In this term, Stoll led efforts that increased membership satisfaction rates and resulted in the chapter winning six national HFMA awards in 2010.

Since 2019, Stoll has served as chair of the Central Ohio Gives Back Committee, which, among other community efforts, has donated more than 40,000 much-needed socks to the homeless population in Columbus. Beyond Ohio, Stoll held regional executive roles from 2011-13, representing seven local chapters from Michigan and Ohio. Nationally, Stoll was appointed to an HFMA committee tasked with reinventing the chapter volunteer experience from 2015-19.

Stoll joined RevSpring in 2020 as vice president of strategic accounts. In this role, he proactively identifies RevSpring solutions that can help existing clients optimize their patient engagement and billing strategies. Stoll has made significant contributions during his tenure with RevSpring, which include leading the company in sales last year, an achievement he is on pace to repeat this year.

"We join HFMA in applauding Ken for his decades of service," said Casey Williams, senior vice president, engagement and payment applications, RevSpring. "Through decades of delivering results and giving back, he has earned the trust and respect of revenue cycle management professionals, making him an inspiring colleague and effective steward of the RevSpring name. We are honored to have him on our team."

Stoll is a graduate from Wittenberg University and has lived in Westerville, Ohio, with his wife Kelly, for the past 33 years. In addition to the Individual Achievement Award, he has been recognized repeatedly for his service by the HFMA, receiving the Central Ohio Chapter's George Gevis Award; the Dick Schrock Award for promoting collaboration among HFMA chapters; and the President's Gavel and Pin; and more.

About RevSpring

RevSpring leads the market in engagement and payment solutions that inspire patients to participate in and pay for their healthcare. The company has built the industry's most comprehensive and impactful patient engagement suite, spanning the clinical, administrative and financial experience. RevSpring's OmniChannel communications and payment solutions are backed by behavior analysis, propensity-to-pay scoring, contextual messaging, and user experience best practices. Using proprietary data analytics to tailor the engagement from preservice to post-service to payment, RevSpring improves the patient experience and outcomes for providers, members and patients. To learn more, visit revspringinc.com/healthcare. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contact

Kristen Jacobsen, RevSpring, 7639235280, [email protected]

Kellie Kennedy, The Harbinger Group, 3129334903, kelliek@theharbingergroup.com

SOURCE RevSpring
Number of casualties of attack of occupiers in Zaporizhia rises to 16, incl four children

The number of people injured as a result of the Russian missile attack on Zaporizhia on the evening of Thursday, August 10, has grown to 16 people, including four children, Head of the regional military administration Yuriy Malashko has said.

"Unfortunately, the number of wounded has increased to 16 people, including four children," Malashko said on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, secretary of Zaporizhia City Council Anatoliy Kurtiev reported 14 victims, including a three-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.

However, according to the National Police press service in Telegram, at 21:00 it is known about one killed woman and nine injured in varying degrees of severity.

The police said the Russians carried out the attack using the Iskander-K cruise missile at around 19:20 on Thursday evening.

"On August 10, the Russians once again hit a public recreation area with a rocket. As a result of the hit, vehicles parked near the epicenter of the explosion caught fire, the fire was quickly contained by the employees of the State Emergency Service," the police said.

The department said the blast wave and debris partially destroyed the civilian infrastructure.

It is indicated that all special services are working at the scene.

As previously reported, Russian occupiers launched a missile attack on Zaporizhia on Thursday evening and hit Reikartz hotel, and two high-rise buildings were also damaged.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny met with Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Daniel Zmeko to discuss the situation at the front, the needs of the Ukrainian army for weapons, ammunition and air defense equipment.

"Pleased to welcome Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, General Daniel Zmeko, who visited Ukraine this week. We had a constructive meeting, worked at one of the command posts. I briefed my colleague on the situation at the front, the course of our defensive and offensive operations, and spoke about the actions enemy," Zaluzhny said on his Telegram channel on Friday.

Zaluzhny also said they discussed the current needs of the Ukrainian army in weapons, ammunition, and air defense equipment. They noted the importance of training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

"I thanked my Slovak colleagues for this visit and support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression," he said.
An imaginative boy anticipating the weekly bookmobile visit to his underserved neighborhood features in the first release in Stories from Latin America, a new series from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint dedicated to publishing global and translated childrens literature. The series will focus on fiction and nonfiction set in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean because, as editorial director Kathleen Merz noted, These are our neighbors. She added that books written beyond our borders can challenge the two-dimensional narratives that we have about people from other countries. Stories told in voices from these different places speak to real lived experience.

Resilience, Warmth and Humanity

Launching Stories from Latin America on September 19 is Colorful Mondays: A Bookmobile Spreads Hope in Honduras, written by Nelson Rodriguez and Leonardo Agustin, illustrated by Rosana Faria and Carla Tabora, and translated by Lawrence Schimel; the story is based on a real bookmobile program in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Luis, an optimistic boy, strives to fill the lives of his family and friends with joy and color through happy stories, as hes described in the book. Whether hes getting water from the well or selling the tortillas his mother makes, recalling those experiences evokes the same emotion he feels when he sees a rainbow and he longs to share those feelings with others living in Villa Nueva. The bookmobile that comes on Mondays, a pickup truck, carries tents and a puppet theater in addition to books. The puppet show entertains children who are often hungry or have no shoes.

Merz said that Colorful Mondays speaks to the creativity, the resilience, the warmth, and humanity of the charactersand the writers and illustrators who have brought them to life.

Deep Roots and Universal Themes

Other books in the series will share themes of resilience and humanity despite challenges and hardships. Due on September 26, On the Edge of the World, written by Anna Desnitskaya and translated by Lena Traer, explores the similarities and differences between two children longing for friendshipVera, who is living on Russias Kamchatka Peninsula, and Lukas, on the coast of Chileand reveals how imagination can cross even the widest oceans. Printed as a tete-beche or head-to-tail story, the book has two front covers, one featuring Vera, the other Lukas.

In The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent, due out October 10, prose and illustration combine in a modern-day myth written by Irene Vasco, illustrated by Juan Palomino, and translated by Lawrence Schimel. A young urban woman arrives in an Indigenous village in the Amazon to teach in a straw-roofed structure with no walls. When the books she has carried from the city, the only things that made her feel sure of herself, are lost in a flood, she learns how words arent the only vehicles for storytelling.

A sense of place anchors all of the launch titleseach setting is distinctive and perhaps unfamiliar to most North American readersyet the relationships between characters are recognizable and comforting, Merz said. Thats one of the things the series is about. As an editor, I look for specificity, uniquenessstories that are deeply rooted in a place, but have these universal themes that we can relate to no matter what country were from.

Translator Lawrence Schimel said his philosophy is to recreate the reading experience of the original text. In Colorful Mondays, which he described as a vivacious story, both in text and illustration, a lighter tone prevails compared to the more dreamlike quality of The Young Teacher and the Serpent. Those characteristics affect everything from vocabulary choices to sentence structure, he explained, so that even though both books are translated by me, they each read like themselves.

Looking BackAhead

The series includes six backlist titles from Eerdmans: 9 Kilometers by Claudio Aguilera, illustrated by Gabriela Lyon, translated by Lawrence Schimel; Building an Orchestra of Hope by Carmen Oliver, illustrated by Luisa Uribe; Circles of Hope by Karen Lynn Williams and Linda Saport; 2023 Batchelder Honor winner Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War by Monica Montanes, illustrated by Eva Sanchez Gomez, translated by Lawrence Schimel; Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War by Maria Jose Ferrada, illustrated by Ana Penyas, translated by Elisa Amado; and Ninos: Poems for the Lost Children of Chile by Maria Jose Ferrada, illustrated by Maria Elena Valdez, translated by Schimel.

Ninos, Merz acknowledged, handles subject matter that some might regard as unsettling for children. Yet she explained, theres so much beauty in these stories, even though they tackle difficult things. Schimel noted that while the book does not gloss over the fate of those children who were murdered or disappeared during the Chilean dictatorship, by imagining the childhoods they might have had, Ninos underscores what happened by showing the beauty stolen from the world along with those young lives.

While no set number of titles is planned annually for Stories from Latin America, Merz said, One of the things we look for in books that were acquiring [for this series] is timelessness. These are books that I love.
The first in-person iteration of NAIBA and SIBAs joint conference, New Voices New Rooms drew 278 booksellers from 18 states who travelled to Arlington, Va. to talk shop August 7-10. Programming included a keynote speech from Julia Fabris McBride of the Kansas Leadership Center, bus tours of local bookstores, position-specific retreats, breakout sessions, a busy exhibition floor, and receptions for booksellers to interface with authors and editors.

NVNR was launched as a virtual trade show by SIBA and NAIBA in 2020, and Elliot batTzedek, member manager of NAIBA, was glad to see NVNR leap off the screen into the real world. There are opportunities when youre meeting together and talking that you cant get over Zoom, she said, particularly for newcomers who have not yet met their colleagues due to the pandemic. For stores that opened during Covid, this is their welcome to the business.

Indeed, the conference saw an impressive number of first-timers. There were 33 new stores at this years conference (19 NAIBA, 14 SIBA), reflecting the rapid growth of independent bookstores across the two regions, even amid the pandemic and other economic challenges. (In 2022, 173 new independent bookstores opened in the U.S., per the ABA.)

First-timer Sarah Rifield, a bookseller at Park Books & Literacy Lab in Severna Park, Md., was amazed by how warm and inviting the event was. Bookselling can feel reclusive, she said, and then you come to these and events, you find your community, and you find youre all dealing with the same things.

Nyawira Nyota, a college student and bookseller at Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, N.C., attended NVNR for the first time thanks to a Binc Foundation Scholarship and found the programming "helpful and engaging." At Page 158, Nyota is helping to grow the stores TikTok presence, and throughout the day on Tuesday she filmed various moments from the trade show for a TikTok video.

On Tuesday, bookstore managers, owners, and childrens booksellers gathered for specialized retreats. Kate Storhoff, general manager of Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, N.C., raved about the fantastic managers retreat, which she called a braintrust of people in a room sharing ideas. Casey Rose Frank, a first-timer and owner of Gold Bee Bookshop in Liverpool, N.Y., was heartened to see so many women at the owners' retreat, and to encounter so many booksellers having the same experiences as meand I didnt even know it!

Tuesdays main event was the jam-packed Indie Author Reception, which featured Kim Coleman Foote, author of Coleman Hill (SJP Lit); Toni Shiloh, author of The Love Script (Bethany House); Danny Caine, author of How to Protect Bookstores and Why (Microcosm Publishing) and co-owner of the Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kan; and others. Some authors set out candy at their tables to entice booksellers, while others got even more clever. Martin Clark, author of The Plinko Bounce (Rare Bird), meted out honey, coffee, and circuit breakers. (Youll get it if you read the book, Nyota of Page 158 assured me.)

On Wednesday, booksellers hit the exhibit floor, which featured 88 publishers and other vendors, from Penguin Random House and Two Dollar Press to Bookshop.org and Edelweiss. (For the first time, NVNR limited the number of exhibitors in attendance.) John Leary, executive director of field sales at Hachette Book Group, was especially excited for this portion of the conference because talking face-to-face with booksellers is the best part of the job.

Recent news of Simon & Schusters purchase by private equity firm KKR didnt loom very large over the exhibit floor. Tim Hepp, a national field account representative for S&S, said employees were cautiously optimistic about the sale. Meanwhile, booksellers were mostly glad that the publisherwhich had been on the market since March 2020had finally found a buyer. Its nice that its been settled, that its no longer up in the air, said Jessica Osborn, co-owner of E. Shaver Books in Savannah, Ga.

Osborns more pressing concern was for S&Ss new ownership to get them on Batch, referring to the electronic invoicing system now used by PRH, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. Diana Robinson, co-owner of Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Ga., added, The goal is to get all the publishers on Batch. (Nathan Halter, program manager at Batch, said working with S&S had been a nonstarter since the publishers status was nebulous, but he hopes that given their new stability, theyll be open to moving forward with Batch.)

Throughout the day, breakout sessions took place at smaller tables on the exhibit floor. For Genre Buzz, booksellers gathered at one of 16 tables designated by genre to brush up on their knowledge or dish about their favorite titles. During a workshop on holiday prep, Lauren Nopenz Fairley of The Curious Iguana in Frederick, Md., offered tips on ordering, stocking, and displaying product and urged booksellers to prioritize, organize, and stay calm when in the throes of the holiday rush.

Closing out Wednesday was the Focus on Editors Reception, a new event developed in appreciation of how booksellers love editors, said SIBA executive director Linda-Marie Barrett. At cocktail tables along the hotels indoor terrace, 12 editorsincluding Jordan Pavlin of Knopf, Ibrahim Amad of Penguin Random House, Rachel Kahan of William Morrow, and Matt Johnson of Kensingtondiscussed big forthcoming titles with booksellers and doled out advanced copies. Galleys of new books by Michael Cunningham, Kaveh Akbar, and Rachel Khong went particularly quickly.

The final day of the conference included the NAIBA annual meeting and SIBA town hall, as well as hourlong breakout sessions on topics including school book fairs, cash flow, event planning, and banned books. The the latter topic was especially salient for SIBA members in states such as Florida, Kentucky, and Arkansas. NAIBA member Casey Rose Frank, of Gold Bee Bookshop, relished the opportunity to connect with booksellers from states affected by censorship laws. More than ever Ive loved being able to talk to people about how and what theyre doing in the face of book bans, and connecting with people in affected stateswho are faring better than expected, Frank said. Its been incredibly affirming.
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Property details:

Former restaurant property in Sandoval, IL. Just an hour from St. Lous Metropolitan. This is an interesting commercial opportunity to own retail building at the intersection of two highways. Being located between highways 50 and 51 and front line of Mine Street, it offers good visibility and accessibility. The proximity to Carlyle Reservation and various medium and big cities can also be advantageous for potential businesses.Considering the county's assessed market value of $142,620, the seller ...

Price: $ 28,600 Availability: For Sale Seller State of Residence: Illinois Type: Retail Property Address: 211 S Mine Street Lot Size (acres): 13000 State/Province: Illinois Year Built: 1970 Location: 628**, Sandoval, Illinois

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Price: $ 888 Seller State of Residence: California Type: Homesite, Lot Property Address: off Canal Road , Gulfport , Mississippi 39503 Zip/Postal Code: 39503 Zoning: Residential City: Gulfport State/Province: Mississippi Location: 395**, Gulfport, Mississippi

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ESCAPE TO GODS COUNTRY AND OWN A PIECE OF PARADISE NEXT TO THE CANADIAN BORDER!! This huge 40 +/- acre tract of recreational and hunting land is located in Wade, Maine. This lot offers over 2000' of brook frontage which also serves as a boundary line. You have 130' of paved road frontage. You have a new road that was built recently on this lot that is over 600' long and has a pad at the end of the road to accommodate a cabin. Power was brought into the end of this the new road. A great area for ...

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Netflix has announced the cast of the new series Toxic Town.

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The streaming service said in a press release Thursday that Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty), Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education), Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat) and Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) will star in the four-part limited series.

Toxic Town hails from Broke & Bones and writer Jack Thorne. The series explores the Corby poisonings, one of the Britain's biggest environmental scandals.

"Toxic Town is a story about community, focusing on three mothers who take on a David and Goliath fight for justice. By tracing through the years of their fight, a terrible truth comes to the surface -- one of stinging injustice," an official synopsis reads.

Thorne will executive produce with Annabel Jones and Minkie Spiro, with Spiro as director.

"The Corby Toxic Waste Case is one of those moments in history that is defining. It showed our ability to close our eyes and ears to the safety of our people. It also showed the remarkable way that people will fight for what's right," Thorne said in a statement. "Toxic Town tells the story of these funny, brave, incredible women and the way they scrapped for their children."

Toxic Town will begin production later this month.
Zendaya paid a visit to a mural dedicated to her late Euphoria co-star Angus Cloud.

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The 26-year-old actress stopped by the mural Wednesday in Los Angeles following Cloud's death at age 25 in July.

Zendaya shared a photo on Instagram Stories of the mural, which features Cloud's image and dedications such as "Angus 4 ever."

Zendaya plays Rue Bennett on Euphoria, which completed a second season on HBO in February 2022. Cloud portrayed Fezco "Fez" O'Neill on the show.

Zendaya stopped by a mural dedicated to her late "Euphoria" co-star Angus Cloud following his death. Photo by Zendaya/Instagram Stories

Cloud's family announced the actor's death July 31. The family said Cloud's father had died the week previous.

"The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend," the family said in a statement.

"Angus was open about his battle with mental health. We hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not along and should not fight this on their own in silence," the statement reads.

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Zendaya paid tribute to Cloud, born Conor Angus Cloud Hickey, in a post Aug. 1 on Instagram.

"Words are not enough to describe the infinite beauty that is Angus (Conor)," the actress wrote. "I am so grateful I got the chance to know him in this life, to call him a brother, to see his warm kind eyes and bright smile, or hear his infectious cackle of a laugh (I'm smiling now just thinking of it)."

"I know people use this expression often when talking about folks they love... 'they could light up any room they entered' but boy let me tell you, he was the best at it. I'd like to remember him that way," she added. "For all of the boundless light, love and joy he always managed to give us. I'll cherish every moment."

Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and other cast members also paid tribute to Cloud on social media.
Retro AR-15s are all the rage, but at the end of the day most of them are simply ARs wearing different dresses.

Foreign military weapons fall into a seemingly magical category where theyre believed to be ideal by those who havent used them, but actually come with some traps and shortfalls. Like the upgraded AUG in RECOIL Issue 65, today we take on the challenge of updating a foreign mini monster, the HK G3k.

The G3 has been used by many countries as their primary service rifle, yet to pop culture, its smaller roller-locked brother, the MP5, is better known, at least here in the United States. The precursor to the G3, the Spanish CETME rifle, was based around the roller-delayed blowback system of the German StG 45(M) and French AME 49.

In order to accommodate the requirements of a German contract, HK approached CETME to modify their existing design for German production.

Updates included being chambered in 7.62x51mm instead of 7.6251 CETME. As with many of HKs other rifles, Germany wasnt the only country to produce the G3, with it being manufactured under license by 12 other nations, including Turkey and Greece. All told, the G3 was fielded in some form by over 50 countries, including the British and their renowned SAS through the Troubles.

During fights with the IRA in Northern Ireland, the SAS reportedly liked the kinetic energy of the 7.62x51mm of the G3 versus the HK33/53 or the MP5, but when working in and around vehicles the gun was less than ideal due to its overall length. HK went back into their shed, grabbed a hacksaw, and cut the G3 barrel down to 12.5 inches. And lo, the G3k was born. They even went so far as to cut some down to submachine gun size with the HK51 and its 9-inch barrel, but it wasnt fielded to the same extent as the G3k.

SHORTFALLS

The common theme running through foreign service rifles is the lack of aftermarket support  not just in America. Some models suffer more than others, but the U.S. consumer market seems to drive the modernization of weapons more than military needs or contract verbiage.

The lower is more modern with Magpul, and the ergos are better as well.

If a firearm becomes popular in America, the aftermarket jumps in to support the weapon. Due to its highly modular design and wide adoption, the G3 hasnt suffered from a lack of aftermarket parts as much as some others. HK worked to make the G3 as modular as possible, with users having the ability to remove the buttstock and handguard with only a few pins.

Optic mounting wasnt integral to the weapon at the time of the initial design but can be handled with Pic rails that clamp onto the upper receiver or having a capable gunsmith weld one on. The trigger falls right in line with many heavy battle rifle triggers  nothing to write home about, and much worse than even average AR-15 aftermarket options. Charging handle placement on the G3 also greatly limits using the top of the handguard for any accessories.

THE BUILD

Working within these limitations, the goal was to build a G3k as a working carbine. Since this project wasnt modding a factory G3 or HK91, a receiver was ordered from PTR industries along with a ragged German parts kit.

Joe Stoppiello of Dakota Tactical would be the one to perform the hard labor of putting the rifle itself together, and the multiple conversations we had with companies like Parabellum Combat Systems about the build were incredibly helpful during the decision-making process.

In terms of parts kits, prices have gone up, and the surplus remnants are worse  it aint 2004 anymore. The availability of surplus rifles has been taken for granted, and the currently available G3 parts kits are some of the last ones standing.

With Joes guidance, I procured the parts needed to convert the full-size G3 parts kit to a G3k. For the conversion from a G3 into a full-fledged short-barreled G3k, you need things like the proper cocking tube, cocking piece, barrel, and other assorted small parts. Since this enterprise wouldnt be a budget build anyway, advice on procuring the right RCM hammer forged barrel to start with was heeded.

With an affection for FDE, when all was said and done, the G3k was finished with the stock HK color RAL8000, aka baby poop.

Stock: Spuhr R-410

The factory stock coupled with the G3k being a 7.62x51mm rifle creates a situation where recoil has sort of a fulcrum point when shouldered. Armalite or AR-based rifles have a straight-back buffer system that pushes directly into the shoulder, whereas the roller-lock HK systems have the more-traditional drop. Hakan Spuhr, one of the mad design geniuses of our industry and founder of Spuhr in Sweden, came up with a new polymer stock for the G3 to alleviate this. It makes the recoil much more like an AR-10.

The stock is collapsible, with six positions adjusting the length of pull from 12.6 to 15.75 inches. Theres also a cheekpiece that puts the shooters eye significantly more in line with modern optics..

Rail: Dakota Tactical MHS-33

The factory plastic handguards dont leave much in the way of modularity or ability to mount accessories. While there are multiple companies such as B&T and KAC who make Picatinny rails, we went with M-LOK and Dakota Tactical. This simple and slim rail offers M-LOK slots on five sides, is simple to install, and works great.

Trigger: Timney MP5 Two-Stage

If youve ever felt the long stiff trigger pull of a stock HK, then this shouldnt surprise you. While the GI trigger die-hards will talk about how many people have deployed with the factory trigger and done good work, those people also had no choice. The Timney HK trigger is a very nice two-stage with a 2-pound first stage and a 2-pound second stage. The housing is 6061 aluminum with an S7 tool steel hammer. The trigger shoe and disconnector are made of billet A2 tool steel.

Lower: Magpul SL Grip Module

The G3 and its variants came with several different options for lower receivers. Originally, the idea was for this rifle to have a steel grip, but it was decided for the sake of modernization and better ergonomics to make it more like an AR. And whats more AR than Magpul? This module offers a grip angle and feel like the grips we all know and love and can be swapped out in a couple of minutes. A Magpul safety selector rounded out the swap.

Optic: Aimpoint CompM4, Unity Tactical FAST COMP, on Dakota welded Pic Rail

As a 12.5-inch 7.62 with the intent to be portable, the right direction for a sight system was a red dot with magnifier. However, after getting all the parts in place to work with the welded rail, it became evident the magnifier wouldnt work with the HK rear sight. So red dot only  oh well.

Light: Modlite with Arisaka Mount and Unity Axon SL

The handguard situation on the G3 creates interesting challenges when mounting modern accessories, even with the availability of M-LOK slots. A Modlite with an Arisaka mount attached easily enough but figuring out a switch solution proved difficult. Stoppiello at Dakota Tactical suggested running a reverse Unity Tactical Axon SL button on the rail. This configuration can be hard to wrap your head around, but it works. The M-LOK attachment makes the button wider and more difficult to use any surrounding slots for a hand stop or similar. Cable routing is handled with some Emissary Development cable clips, making for a nice package thats easily actuated with weak side fingers.

The Spuhr stock brings the recoil more in line with the bore, making it more manageable.

ON THE RANGE & LOOSE ROUNDS

With the number of rounds most shooters in the states have put through AR rifles, the transition to a new platform can be interesting. The controls might be in another location, the recoil impulse different, and order of operations for things like malfunctions or reloads changed.

Shooting and training with a G3 or other platform can be frustrating as you work against ingrained training designed for other platforms. Fear not, this is part of the process of learning.

This G3k handles well for a large-frame gun and is about as small as a G3 can be while still being somewhat practical.

The HK51 and its smaller barrel may look great in pictures, but its actual use is questionable. The gun runs great  and barks out to all those little 5.56mm carbines scattered across the range.

With the hassle of dealing with the NFA, the loss in velocity in 7.62x51mm with a mere 12.5 inches, and training required to transition from a AR-15/10, would a G3k be a good recommendation as a primary rifle? The answer would most likely be no, but we live in one of the last free countries on the planet where you can if you so wish.

If youve always wanted a G3 and the idea of a G3k just excites you, then without a doubt youll be happy if you take the plunge. Theres a lot that can be accomplished with this old warhorse.
hild killed as result of missile attack on Prykarpattia, there are casualties

As a result of a missile attack on Ivano-Frankivsk region, a child was killed, there are injured, Head of the regional military administration Svitlana Onyschuk said.

"This morning, the enemy launched a missile attack on Prykarpattia. There was a hit on a civilian facility. There were victims, including a child who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The doctors did everything possible, but, unfortunately, they failed to save the child's life," Onyschuk said on the Telegram channel on Friday, expressing her condolences to the family.

In turn, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) in the Telegram channel said on August 11, at about 10:00, the Russian military fired aeroballistic missiles at the infrastructure of Ivano-Frankivsk region.

"The missile hit the territory of a household in Kolomyia district, where a family with three children lived. As a result of the shelling, an 8-year-old boy was killed. Data on other victims is being specified," the administration's head said.

According to the prosecutor's office, the blast wave and debris partially destroyed the utility building.

Relevant services and an investigative team are working at the scene.

Under the procedural leadership of Ivano-Frankivsk prosecutor's office, a pretrial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war (part 1 of article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been launched.

The pretrial investigation is carried out by the SBU Department in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Bands of heavy rain showers along with strong wind gusts at times, especially early. Low 68F. S winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Localized flooding is possible..

Tonight

Bands of heavy rain showers along with strong wind gusts at times, especially early. Low 68F. S winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Localized flooding is possible.
Asset Management Companies (AMCs) demonstrated improved business metrics in the first quarter ended June 2023 (Q1FY24), but a sharp run-up in stocks leaves little room for further upside in the immediate term, say analysts.

During this quarter, HDFC AMC reported a 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenue from operations at Rs 575 crore.

Nippon India's revenue from operations went up 12 per cent to Rs 354 crore.

Profits grew at a faster pace for both asset managers, thanks to a steep rise in other income.

While HDFC AMC's net profit was up 52 per cent YoY to Rs 478 crore, Nippon India's profit doubled to Rs 236 crore.

The other two listed AMCs  Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) and UTI  also posted improvements in business metrics.

While ABSL managed to arrest the decline in its market share with improved scheme performances, UTI AMC surprised with a 60 per cent YoY rise in revenue from operations.

Net profit rose 155 per cent to Rs 234 crore.

ABSL's operational revenue rose 2 per cent to Rs 311 crore.

Profit went up 79 per cent to Rs 185 crore, propelled by a surge in other income.

The results for the forthcoming quarters are also expected to remain strong, especially for HDFC and Nippon, as most of their equity schemes are featuring in the top quartile in the returns chart.

This is expected to help them further improve their market share by attracting higher inflows.

Taking note of this trend, brokerages have re-rated the price-to-earnings (P/E ratio) of the two fund houses.

In its latest review of Nippon India, ICICI Securities has raised the price target to Rs 364 from Rs 236 while also revising the P/E multiple to 25x from 20x.

It sees a 14 per cent upside in the stock based on the revised metric.

However, in the case of HDFC, the brokerage believes that positives may have already been priced in.

"Post the 43 per cent stock price rally (of HDFC) since April 2023, there is limited upside considering the constant lag in revenue growth compared to AUM growth," ICICI Securities said in a recent note.

The brokerage has downgraded HDFC AMC's shares from 'Add' to 'Hold' with a price target of Rs 2,550.

ABSL AMC has earned an upgrade from the brokerage due to "improved earnings growth prospects driven by better fund performance, strong retail franchise, and revision in (proposed) total expense ratio (TER) regulation".

ICICI Securities has downgraded UTI AMC to 'Hold' on account of a declining outlook of yields and dip in market share.

Prabhudas Lilladher has a 'Buy' rating on the stock on the basis of comparatively cheap valuations.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which had proposed a new expense (TER) structure for mutual funds to bring down costs for investors, is set to dial down the cuts in TERs.

This has allayed fears of a significant decline in margins for AMCs.

In the MF business, yields typically decline over time as regulations call for a reduction in fee with the rise in assets under management.

Analysts believe the decline in yields can be countered by shoring up volumes.

"Long-term prospects of the Indian AMC industry remain intact given the low penetration levels in India vis-a-vis developed countries and is a play on the financialisation of savings in India.

"The key to long-term profitability will be execution and building scale," Axis Securities said in its report on Nippon India.
Any other film producer or actor in Udhayanidhi's place would have thought a thousand times before wanting to do anything with a movie like Maamannan, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.

IMAGE: A poster of Maamannan.

In a state where the likes of the all-time great MGR, followed by next generation's Rajinikanth and the current crop's top biller Vijay, have taken pains to build up an on-screen image that would serve their political ambitions, Tamil Nadu's DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin may have risked his electoral future and that of the ruling party, in the choice of his swan song of a film, Maamannan, which hit the screens weeks after he joined the cabinet of his Chief Minister father, M K Stalin.

Translating as 'king-emperor', the film is about the daily travails of the untouchables in the unforgiving social set-up that Dravidian Tamil Nadu still is and told through the life and times of an elected legislator from that very background.

The father, Maamannan, supposedly a timid, ruling party legislator, played very effectively by Vadivelu, one-time king among Tamil cinema's comedy stars, flexes his muscle, as if he were waiting for it, when son Adhiveeran or Veera (Udhayanidhi), traumatised by a childhood experience, rises in revolt over the oppression of his people, personalised and personified in the case of his father.

It is an old story, differently told, without the kind of communal props, like burning of Dalit homes, rape/mass-rape of their women and worse.

Reflecting the path that the idea of 'social justice' has travelled in the state, the film is more contemporary in that the dominant caste hurt of his father's self-respect is enough for Veera to take on the 'antiquated oppressor', Rathnavelu, played very convincingly by the multi-lingual Malayalam star Fahadh Faasil.

Given to clubbing his dog to death for losing a rural race for canines in the 'caste over-conscious' Salem district, Faasil, the young district party secretary, is unable to stomach the older, two-time Dalit legislator daring to take the seat offered only to his son, but egged on by that very son.

Yes, there is blood and fury, or fury and blood, but the happy ending comes through the ballot box.

Despite the usual denial of right to campaign in multiple villages, Maamannan retains his imaginary Kasipuram seat (sounds close to Rasipuram in neighbouring Namakkal district?) against Rathnavel's prop, implying that it is a 'reserved constituency' for the Scheduled Castes.

After award-winning hits, Pariyerum Perumal (2019) and Karnan (2021), for film-maker Mari Selvaraj, Maamannan is third in a row on caste politics.

Maybe as an indication of how deep-seated caste oppression has become, Maamannan takes a slow pace, at times making it look like a docu-drama.

Though the film is gripping in parts, there are a lot of loopholes in the script -- like the absence of family or party men, or even the police, when there is repeated anticipation of attacks on a ruling party MLA, his family and home, all of it in a caste-sensitive environment and when the chief minister is also on his side.

Then there is the mystery of a man from the shanties coming to live in a near-palatial building in the middle of nowhere, with politics as his only vocation and a son, who is busy tending to pigs -- another risk in the image-conscience Indian cinema.

Veera does nothing much else for a living -- as if to draw a parallel to the antagonist's kennel of native breed of hunting dogs.

If you smell political corruption in the background, the film-maker has not done anything to change that perception.

But then, Mari Selvaraj is not the first film-maker in the genre, nor will this one be the last caste-based film that is differently told compared to the previous generations.

Like 'Dalit literature' and 'Dalit theatre', 'Dalit cinema' too has come to stay within the larger canvas of commercial filmdom.

Through subtle sub-plots, film-makers like Pa Ranjith have already brought caste issues to mainstream commercial cinema, that too through the dominating on-screen presence of super-star Rajinikanth (Kabali, 2016 and Kaala, 2018).

His other hits like Madras (2014) and Sarpetta Parambarai (2021), and all others since 2012, were commercial in every sense of the term, and the film-maker's off-screen image invested on his films to give an otherwise invisible 'caste twist' to the proceedings.

Pa Ranjith's two successive movies with Rajinikanth came out when the latter was talking freely and frequently about entering direct politics.

It is now dismissed as a ploy to capture the film-goer's fertile imagination, after he cried wolf citing health issues after announcing entering the 2021 state assembly elections in a big way.

Then there was T J Gnanavel's Jai Bheem (2021) with Surya in the lead and Vada Chennai (Vetrimaran-Dhanush combo, 2018) in the same genre.

It is here that Udhayanidhi has made a difference. He is not an aspiring politician any more as Rajini once was, or the current rage Vijay now is.

He is already in the depth of it all, instead. Vijay, reportedly the highest-paid actor across India, now 49, has begun talking about a desire (or commitment?) to enter the Tamil Nadu assembly poll scenario in 2026.

Typical of filmi figures wanting to throw constant hints at a future innings in state politics -- Vijaykanth too travelled that path before launching the DMDK in 2006 -- Vijay has launched people-oriented and student-centric welfare measures now, ahead of his multi-starrer Leo, due for release in October.

Even without it Vijay -- a Christian who is the butt of many Hindutva memes -- has been throwing subtle hints of the earlier Rajini kind by having supporting characters in his recent films like Bigil appearing in readily identifiable Muslim attire.

IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin pays tribute to his father and former CM M Karunanidhi on his 5th death anniversary in Chennai, August 7, 2023. To his right is son Udhayanidhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

This is not certainly Udhayanidhi's first film as an actor.

He began with the hugely successful love-comedy Oru Kal, Oru Kannadi (2012), where he provided equal screen space to Santhanam, the mainstay comedian of the time, now a middle-aged hero.

This is Udhaya's 16th film in 11 years, but officially declared the last one, before he joined his father's ministry last year.

He had begun as a film producer through the Red Giant Movies as far back as 2008, and became an equally successful distributor, too, before long.

If there were controversies galore in his other two filmi avatars, as an actor, Udhayanidhi, now 46, has done mostly light-hearted roles, until the Maamannan concept struck him -- as he has confessed at the pre-release promo and media interviews.

Rather, after viewing the film-maker's two previous works, he wanted to work with Mari Selvaraj, and he wanted it to be his last film before entering full-time politics as a minister.

He was already an MLA when he signed up Mari Selvaraj, for what once again turned out to be a home production.

It is here that Udhayanidhi's risk-bearing capacity stands out. So does that of his CM-father.

Any other film-producer or actor in Udhayanidhi's place would have thought a thousand times before wanting to do anything with a movie like Maamannan.

No party boss and CM in Stalin's place would have been able to identify (even if silently) with the political risks that it entailed for the party.

After all, abject casteism is a reality in Tamil Nadu.

If anything, the successful social justice model, which Stalin has rechristened as the 'Dravidian model' after becoming CM, has only accentuated the sharp differences between the oppressed and dominant castes in the rural milieu.

This owes to the level-playing field that the Dravidian social justice scheme has been providing for the former through the past hundred years, since the advent of the Justice Party government in the then Madras presidency in 1920.

IMAGE: Udhayanidhi with workers of the Chennai Municipal Corporation, August 7, 2023. Photograph: Kind courtesy Udhayanidhi Stalin/Twitter

The fact is that social divide exists in Tamil Nadu, despite all what the Dravidian movement might have done, both in government and outside.

So much so, in very many regions and constituencies, starting with individual villages, dominant communities, whatever be their social hierarchy and standing, gang up to ensure that a Dalit candidate or party or alliance does not get their votes.

It is in the blood, and it is this huge risk that Udhayanidhi the politician has taken as a film actor.

There is more to it. Caste divisions are strong and electorally decisive in the state.

It is equally, if not more so, in Salem district, which along with the rest of the western region, has remained unapproachable for the Stalins' DMK ever since the late MGR floated the breakaway AIADMK, decades ago, in 1972.

And the party has been moving heaven and earth to change the political discourse in the region, both under Stalin and earlier under his father and DMK patriarch, M Karunanidhi -- but to little avail.

As for Udhayanidhi, who is at present the party's youth wing chief and heir-apparent, to tread on the thorny path takes either a lot of courage, as reflective of his generation, or is it a product of his inexperience?

Considering that father Stalin did not stop him from doing the movie should show that either it is no more an election issue as used to be feared in the past, or the party leadership may be cut off from ground realities, as often alleged in these and other matters.

It is in this context the post-Maamannan social media posts on past and present instances of Dalit legislators being offered a plastic chair in the presence of DMK's dominant caste ministers and other party leaders were doing the rounds soon after the film's release, on June 29.

For, the latter class were seated in more comfortable sofas, which has become a social status-marker.

Some videos from Stalin's past party conclaves for mass introduction of DMK alliance candidates in election times also began reappearing.

In them, all 'dominant caste' candidates were seated or were standing alongside the leader on the dais whereas the lone Dalit -- or at times two or three -- was/were made to stand below the dais, or be seated on a plastic chair, thereabouts.

Some of them were seen standing on those plastic chairs, if only to catch the attention of the cadres and voters when others were seated on the dais.

Whoever posted those pictures, videos and memes did not reveal their political identity, if any -- and naturally so.

After all, casteism of the kind dominates the polity and society across the board, and no party in the state can claim to be rid of it.

Even in the so-called Dalit-centric parties, there are gradations within the community, where superiority complex prevails, so does social adversity, at times leading to violence.

That way, there are questions if Udhayanidhi's filmi effort would go on to consolidate Dalit votes in the party's favour -- and/or turn the rest against the DMK -- even as its Dalit VCK ally may be left sulking about the further loss of base, which is already eroded from the mid-nineties' peak.

IMAGE: Udhayanidhi Stalin and Keerthy Suresh in Maamannan.

Yet, there is no explanation how and why actor Vadivelu and Mari Selvaraj came to be seated in chairs while Udhayanidhi was on a comfortable sofa, as netizens have posted.

Some say the picture was taken in Vadivelu's house where Udhayanidhi was a guest and so on, but not everyone is convinced, though no one has made a big issue of it -- for very obvious reasons.

Especially in western Salem, where the film is centred and where the Opposition AIADMK and also the Vanniar community-dominant PMK are strong, casteism too is the strongest.

So much so, there were counter-casteist films like Draupathi (directed by Mohan G Kshatriyan, 2020), which made out a case for honour killing.

Even Maamannan has its quota of counter-narratives.

Supposed dominant caste persons have been 'trending' Fahadh Faasil's character on social media, rechristening it as either Rathnavelu Gounder or Rathnavelu Thevar or Rathnavelu Naicker, the three dominant intermediary castes in the west, south and north of the state -- who as communities have purported problems about accepting Dalits as they come.

And it was also in Thevar Magan that Vadivelu came to be recognised as an up and coming 'character artiste', though he had to wait for two more decades to get a meatier role -- this one again as the face of oppressed, but with more than a screen presence in Maamannan.

Vadivelu then went on to rule the comedy scene in Tamil filmdom, followed by a decade of exile, for campaign misadventure during elections 2011 and intransigence in not living up to his commitment to producers as powerful as S Shankar of Robot fame.

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst & political commentator.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
All regional military commissars will be dismissed, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message on Friday after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

"We are dismissing all regional military commissars. This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said.

He said, people "who have gone through the front or who cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have retained their dignity and do not have cynicism," would be appointed. "They can be trusted with this recruitment system," the president said.

According to Zelenskyy, "every military commissar against who there is a criminal proceeding will be fully and fairly liable. Dismissed military commissars and other officials who have epaulettes and for who no evidence of a crime or violation has been found, if they want to keep their epaulettes and prove their dignity, they go to the front."

But, he stressed, "the army is not and will never be a substitute for criminal punishment. Officials who mixed up shoulder straps and benefits are definitely on trial."

According to the president, a total of 112 criminal proceedings have been initiated against officials of military registration and enlistment offices. Some 33 suspicions - regional military commissariats, workers of military medical commissions, and other officials.

"Abuse in different areas - Donetsk, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Kyiv, Lviv. Someone took cash, someone - cryptocurrency. Illegal enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, illegal benefits, illegal transfer of military conscripts across the border," he said.

According to Zelenskyy, "the National Security and Defense Council meeting on this issue will be held in two weeks. Currently - verification, preparation, and proposals."
'The relationship between Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370 is vexed.'

'Sentiment in Jammu towards Article 370 was largely unfavourable and Jammu resented being lumped with Kashmir and placed on a different footing from the rest of India.'

Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: Wife and relatives of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma , who was shot dead by suspected militants, mourn his demise, at Achan, in Pulwama on.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has begun hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's August 5, 2019, decision to revoke the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.

The five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Dr Dhananjay Yeshwant Chandrachud has been posing questions regarding the abrogation of the Constitutional provision that bestowed special status on the erstwhile state.

Last year, Navi Books, an initiative of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy had published Hamin Ast: A Biography of Article 370 (external link), which was authored by Arghya Sengupta, Jinaly Dani, Kevin James and Pranay Modi.

Discussing his book with Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra, Arghya Sengupta, founder and research director at Vidhi, discussed the circumstances in which this special provision was made in the Constitution, and why it was applied only to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The concluding segment of a two-part interview:

Part 1 of the Interview: 'Incorrect to say Article 370 has been abrogated'

One thing that is not often discussed is the role of Sardar Patel in bringing about Article 370. Was he satisfied that a special provision was needed for the state of J-K or did he do it out of political compulsion?

He was largely unhappy about the provision. Nehru was leading discussions around Article 370 through his trusted aide N G Ayyangar and so Patel was at a distance.

As our book notes, he drew the line when there was a discussion that fundamental rights would not apply to J-K and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court would not apply there.

He said clearly that this was unacceptable. But overall, like everyone else in Delhi at the time, Patel wanted a legal agreement so that a political solution could finally be reached.

So he went along with the final draft of Article 370 as a well-worked compromise.

Why did the special provisions that the constitution of J-K granted to its 'permanent residents' fail to prevent violence against Kashmiri Pandits and seizure of their properties? Did it not apply to them?

Why were so many Kashmiri Pandits against the provisions of Article 370 that granted special status to the state?

Kashmiri Pandits were permanent residents of the state, legally entitled to their own land. What happened to them during militancy in the state were acts of lawlessness and must be condemned.

Again, the relationship between Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370 is vexed.

On the one hand they were beneficiaries. As the comparatively better educated and wealthier permanent residents, a large number of government jobs were held by Pandits.

But Pandits remained a tiny Hindu minority in a Muslim dominated Valley. The real opposition to Article 370 came from Jammu and the Praja Parishad which was active there.

Sentiment in Jammu towards Article 370 was largely unfavourable and Jammu resented being lumped with Kashmir and placed on a different footing from the rest of India.

The same is true for Ladakh. After all, as a document of the ministry of defence notes, the geography of the state was 'a historical accident'.

The book shows how the Indian government and Parliament used the 'tunnel of Article 370 to drive truckloads of legislation' to J-K, and the special status was steadily eroded.

Can it be said that scrapping of special status was a slow, gradual process effected by various governments?

How much political credit can the present dispensation take for the 'complete integration of J-K into India'?

You are right that the erosion of special status was slow and steady.

In fact, its importance was primarily as a symbol that J-K was somehow different from the rest of India. But yet, in law, it meant that J-K did have autonomy over its own future -- it did need two hands to clap.

It is a different matter that erosion happened -- but the key point is that erosion happened because politicians in Srinagar supported it.

They may have been puppet regimes; they may not have been. But they had a say in their own destiny.

The actions of August 5 and 6, 2019, are markedly different because J-K no longer has control over its own destiny as it did previously. It is now like any Union territory in India and in time, likely to become like any other state.

Didn't the Supreme Court say in 2018 that Article 370 has acquired permanent status, observing that since the Constituent Assembly of the state ceased to exist the President would not be able to fulfil the mandatory provision of getting its recommendation for its abrogation?

However, the government found a turnaround by changing the definition of Constituent Assembly. Does it go against the wisdom of the Supreme Court's observation?

There was no binding judgment of the Supreme Court in this matter. So the course of action taken by the government was not closed to it.

The determination of this question is still pending adjudication in the Supreme Court.

Was the abrogation of special status necessary for the 'full integration' of J-K into India? Could it have been done in a manner other than that was followed by this government?

It was certainly a possible method. The other method may have been more painstaking and idealistic -- a day when J-K residents would themselves wholly want to be a part of India, when they did not see any benefit from remaining separate or aloof, when militarisation was no longer a problem, when full integration could happen with consensus.

That ideal day, unfortunately, was/is not anywhere on the horizon.
'The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource in their areas and feel the Meitei push for ST status is because of this reason.'

IMAGE: Security personnel conduct Joint Combing Operations in sensitive areas in both the Hills and Valley sectors of Manipur. Photograph: ANI Photo

"The southern part of Manipur is believed to be sitting on a bowl of oil estimated at being almost five trillion cubic feet in size," states Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retired), former commander 4 Corps responsible for the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh and military secretary, Army HQ.

"This is said to be covering the hill districts of Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Jiribam all of which are inhabited by the Kuki-Zo people," he tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in part 2 of the interview.

General Gurung was commissioned into the Grenadiers regiment and served nearly four decades in the Indian Army. He also served as defence attache to Myanmar.

Part 1 of the Interview: 'Assam Rifles is an excellent time tested force'

As a former corps commander in the North east, what were some of your learnings from this region and its people?

How did you ensure peace between the various tribes, and maintain the security of this region?

As the corps commander I was responsible for the Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh. Besides Walong in the Lohit Valley, Kameng is the most sensitive in the area because of the Tawang monastery (also known as Urgelling Monastery) where the Sixth Dalai Lama was born.

Tawang and Yangtse are crucial to Tibetan Buddhism.

Tawang is inhabited by the Monpa tribe and China expects the next Dalai Lama to be chosen from this tribe. This is the reason why Tawang holds more significance to the Chinese for they do not want this to happen.

Yangste has been in the news lately due to the clash that happened there. This happened during my time and will continue to happen every year.

I say this because it has become an integral part of China's op rehearsal programme each year to keep prodding the issue to indicate that it has not been settled. Yangste is one of the few disputed areas under Indian control.

As the corps commander I was also responsible for counter-insurgency operations in Lower Assam and the Karbi Anglong jungles. The ULFA (the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom) was almost drained out with the surrender of all its top leaders except Paresh Barua who continues to hide either in Myanmar or Yunnan even to this day.

That left only the NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) [Ranjan Daimary] faction still active besides the KPLT () in the Karbi jungles and an occasional group of the GNLA (Garo National Liberation Army) from the Garo Hills of Meghalaya.

IMAGE: The police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse a crowd gathered near the Bharatiya Janata Party's regional office in Imphal. Photograph: ANI Photo

Is the discovery of oil a factor in the trouble and violence in Manipur?

Discovery of oil is another reason attributed to the ongoing clashes in Manipur. The southern part of the state is believed to be sitting on a bowl of oil estimated at being almost five trillion cubic feet in size.

This is said to be covering the hill districts of Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Jiribam all of which are inhabited by the Kuki-Zo people.

The responsibility for oil exploration was given to Jubilant Energy, a Netherlands-based company while government firms like the ONGC which is drilling in Upper Assam were ignored.

It is reported that 30 oil well locations are said to have been identified and many more could still to be located. However, the deal has been questioned by environment experts who feel that it would disturb the rich soil conditions that exist in these areas besides harming the flora and fauna.

The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource available in their areas and feel that the Meitei push for ST (Scheduled Tribe) status is because of this reason.

Being granted ST status would allow the Meiteis access to these tribal areas and with governance being dominated by them anything would be possible thereafter.

What have been the foremost memories of your tenure in Myanmar?

There are many. I have made friends for life. The Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) would often tell me, 'Colonel, only a military man will understand another military man.'

I have always believed that a country should be allowed to write its own history and Myanmar is no exception.

For India, Myanmar is an extremely important neighbour. It's the gateway for fructification of our Act East Policy.

If we have announced our 'Neighbourhood First' policy we must learn to follow it in letter and spirit. It is therefore important that we maintain good and cordial relations with whichever party is in power in that country.

That I think is the true essence of astute diplomacy.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Twenty-eight students of a municipal school in west Delhi's Naraina area were hospitalised on Friday with two of them requiring oxygen support after allegedly inhaling noxious fumes following a suspected "gas leak" incident nearby, officials said.

IMAGE: Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva (4th from right) meets with students who fell ill after a gas leak incident in the MCD school, Naraina, at RML hospital, in New Delhi, August 11, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said the students, including two girls who were put on oxygen support in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, are doing fine.

The Aam Aadmi Party's MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak, who met the ailing students at the hospital, said it is being claimed that the gas leaked from a train that was passing the railway tracks nearby.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in a statement, said, "The gas leak occurred at the nearby railway tracks."

However, the Railways, in a statement, said they have not received any report of gas leak from any station and asserted that their wagons never transport any toxic gas that may pose a health hazard.

The MCD, in a statement, said that 19 students were admitted to RML Hospital and nine at Acharya Bhikshuk Hospital.

All the nine students admitted at Acharya Bhikshuk Hospital have been discharged. Of the 19 students admitted in RML, 15 came by 11.28 am. Four more came after 3 pm, it said.

The civic body said all the students who were admitted to the hospital by 11.28 am are being discharged except one who has some pre-existing chronic gastric problem.

"Hence, 14 students are being discharged and five are kept for observation. A teacher will stay in the hospital overnight to take care of the students."

Some parents of the affected children alleged the school authorities did not inform them about the incident. Children, who became ill, said they experienced stomach aches and breathing difficulty due to the foul smell.

The police said they received a call about some students falling sick and vomiting at Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya in Inderpuri.



"According to initial assessment, a foul smell filled some classrooms, which made the children feel sick. Apparently, the children had just eaten. The smell has subsided, but as a precaution, all classrooms have been vacated," deputy commissioner of police (West) Vichitra Veer said.

The senior officer said further examination of the premises is being done to ascertain the source of the smell.

"There is a railway track nearby. However, it is yet to be ascertained where the smell was emanating from," he said.

Following the incident, officials from the civic health department rushed to the two hospitals and the school. The education department of the MCD is also on the job, the official added.

"We will probe at our level too to find out what caused this incident," the senior official said.

A student's father said, "We went to the school where some people said children have been taken to RML hospital. That is how we came here."

Another parent said, "After we learnt about the incident, we checked the nearby hospitals. Then a person told us that our children are in RML Hospital. We have been told that they ate something following which they fell ill."

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak said that preliminary examination by doctors has ruled out the possibility of food poisoning.

"Investigation is underway to ascertain where this gas came from since there was nothing in the school that could have led to it. People are saying that a train was passing by and possibly this gas came from there. An MCD team is probing it," he said.

A railway spokesperson said train wagons never transport any toxic gases which may pose any health hazard.

"Moreover no such report of gas leakage has been reported from any station and there was no movement of any trains having gaseous contents passing in the area indicated during the time of incidence," he said.

Oberoi met the ailing students and said they were doing fine.

"I inform with a great feeling of relief that the two girls who were in RML on oxygen support are fine now. All the children admitted to both hospitals are fine now. We are working to rehabilitate the children to the safe confines of their homes now.

"Delhi Crime's Forensic team visited the school today. They will submit the report identifying the exact reason," she said in a post on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

The MCD, in a statement, said officials have been directed to probe the incident and find the cause as well as the source of the gas leak.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Virendra Sachdeva met the students at RML hospital. He said neither the students nor the teachers were able to say what caused the incident and the civic body should probe the matter.

"The students said they were sitting in their classroom when they got a very strong smell which caused vomiting and unconsciousness," the BJP leader said.

In a statement, Sachdeva accused the AAP of "misleading" the families of students by saying they have been affected by a gas leak.

In 2017, a chemical leak from the Tughlakabad container depot had affected over 450 girl students, a few teachers and some residents.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act, asserting that the proposed laws will transform the country's criminal justice system and bring the spirit to protect the rights of citizen at the centre stage.

IMAGE: Home Minister Amit Shah introduces the three bills in the Lok Sabha, August 11, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo/Sansad TV

Introducing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, he said the changes were made to provide speedy justice and for creating a legal system on par with contemporary needs and aspirations of the people.

Here are the major points mentioned by the home minister in his speech in the Lok Sabha:

The aim of the laws is not to punish, but to provide justice. Punishment will be given to create a sentiment of stopping crime.

The whole procedure, right from filing an FIR to case diary, charge sheet and getting judgment will be digitised.

Forensic sciences will be in focus. A visit by a forensic team to a crime scene will be mandatory if the crime entails a punishment of seven years or more.

Three mobile forensic science laboratories will be present in every district.

The aim is to take the conviction rate up to 90 per cent.

All courts in the country will be computerised by 2027.

For the first time, filing e-FIRs will be possible.

A zero FIR of an incident can be registered in any police station. The complaint will be sent to the police station concerned within 15 days.

Every district will have a police official who will give a certificate to the family of those arrested that they are responsible for the arrested person. Information will have to be provided both online, and personally.

In case of incidents of sexual violence, the statement of the victim and video recording will be compulsory.

The police will have to provide a status update on a case within 90 days.

No government will be able to withdraw a case entailing punishment of seven years imprisonment or more without hearing the victim. This will protect citizen's rights.

Community service is being introduced as a punishment for the first time.

To stop delays in cases, changes have been made. For cases entailing less than three years of imprisonment, a summary trial will be enough. This will reduce cases in session courts by 40 per cent.

Charge sheets will have to be filed within 90 days. A court can extend it for another 90 days. A probe will have to be finished in 180 days and should be sent for trial.

After trial, judgment will have to be given in 30 days. It will have to be uploaded online within a week.

For filing complaints against civil servants, authorities concerned will have to give or deny permission within 120 days. If a response is not received, it will be deemed to be a yes.

A provision has been added for compensation through the properties of a declared criminal.

Provision has been made stricter for punishment in case of organized crime and international gangs.

Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions or by hiding identity will be considered a crime.

For gang rape, there is a provision for punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life in jail.

Provision for death sentence for raping minors.

For mob lynching, there will be provisions for seven years of imprisonment, life imprisonment and death sentence.

A new provision has been added for snatching.

Crime against children will entail a 10-year jail term as punishment. Penalties have also been increased.

To stop political use of punishment waivers by governments, a new provision has been made that death sentences can only be converted to life imprisonment and life imprisonment can be pardoned only within seven years of punishment. This is to ensure those with political influence do not escape the law.

Sedition law will be completely repealed. "This is democracy, everyone has the right to speak," Shah said.

Previously, there was no definition of terrorism. For the first time, terrorism is being defined.

Trial to be allowed without criminals if he or she has been declared absconding. It would make trials of criminals like Dawood Ibrahim possible.

Vehicles don't have to be kept till the end of the case once videography is done.

There will be an overhaul of the criminal justice system and everyone will get justice in a maximum of three years.

Click on the links below to read the text of the 3 bills.
The purpose of the three new bills that seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (1860), Criminal Procedure Code (1898) and Indian Evidence Act is not to punish but to give justice, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.

IMAGE: Home Minister Amit Shah introduces the new bills to replace IPC, CrPC, in the Lok Sabha, August 11, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo/Sansad TV

He said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023; Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 will protect all the rights of citizens given by the Constitution.

"The three outgoing laws were made to strengthen and protect the British rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice. The three new laws made with Indian thought process will bring a huge change in our criminal justice system. The Modi government has brought these laws taking a very principled decision to bring citizens at the centre instead of governance," he said.

Shah said the three old laws had signs of slavery as they were passed by the British parliament. With the new laws, the signs of slavery will be removed from a total of 475 places, he said.

The home minister said one of the five 'PRAN' taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the country on August 15 was to end all signs of slavery and the three bills are going to fulfil this vow.

He said Modi had said in 2019 that all the laws made during the time of the British across all the department should be made in accordance with today's time and in the interest of the Indian society after adequate discussion and consideration.

As many as 18 states, six Union territories, the Supreme Court, 16 high courts, five judicial academies, 22 law universities, 142 MPs, around 270 MLAs and public have given their suggestions on these new laws.

The home minister said intense discussions were held over four years on these laws and he himself was present in 158 consultation meetings.

The Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, now has 533 sections, 160 sections of old law have been changed, nine new sections have been added and nine repealed.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023, which will replace the Indian Penal Code, will have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, 175 sections have been changed, eight new sections added and 22 repealed.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 23 sections have been changed, one new section has been added and five have been repealed.

He said a total of 313 changes have been which will bring a widespread change in India's criminal justice system, and now people will be able to get justice within a maximum of three years.

The proposed laws expand the definition of documents to include electronic or digital records, e-mails, server logs, computers, smart phones, laptops, SMS, websites, locational evidence, mails, messages on devices.

They have provisions to digitise the entire process -- from FIR and case diary to charge sheet and judgment.

Videography is proposed to be made compulsory at the time of search and seizure and without such recording by the police no charge sheet will be valid, according to the bills which also make compulsory the visit by a forensic team on the crime scene in cases having provision for punishment of seven years or more.

Provision of e-FIR is being added for the first time, and every district and police station will designate a police officer who will officially inform the family of the arrested person about his arrest online and in person, the bills propose.

In cases of sexual violence, video recording of the statement of victim has also been made compulsory.

The bills propose that no government will be able to withdraw a case that entails imprisonment of seven years or more without listening to the victim.

The scope of summary trial has been increased in petty cases and now crimes punishable up to three years will be included in summary trial. This provision is expected to end over 40 per cent of cases in sessions courts.

A time limit of 90 days is fixed for filing charge sheet but the court can give 90 more days depending on the situation and the investigation will have to be completed within 180 days and trial started, the legislations propose.

Courts will now be bound to give notice of framing of charge to the accused person within 60 days and the judge will have to give verdict within 30 days after the completion of arguments, the bills propose, saying it will not keep the decision pending for years.

The order will have to be made available online within seven days.

The government has to decide on permission within 120 days for trial against civil servants or police officers else it will be treated as deemed permission and trial will be started, the bills propose.

A provision has been brought for the attachment of property of declared offenders, a new provision of harsh punishment against inter-state gangs and organised crimes has also been proposed.

Sex on the pretext of marriage, employment, promotion and false identity has been made a crime for the first time and 20 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment has been proposed in all cases of gang-rape.

Provision of death penalty has been made in case of crime with girls below 18 years of age, while all three provisions -- seven years in jail, life imprisonment and capital punishment -- have been made for mob lynching.

Earlier, there was no special provision for punishing cases of snatching of mobile phone or chain from women, but now a special provision has been made to address these situations -- imprisonment for 10 years or life imprisonment in case of permanent disability or being brain dead during the crime.

There were many cases of using pardon for political gains, now the death penalty can only be changed to life imprisonment, life imprisonment to a minimum of seven years and seven years to a minimum of three years.

The Modi government is going to repeal sedition law completely because, officials said, India is a democracy and everyone has the right to speak.

Earlier, there was no definition of terrorism, now crimes like armed insurgency, subversive activities, separatism, challenging the unity, sovereignty and integrity of India have been defined in this law for the first time.

A decision on trial in absentia has been taken, a person declared fugitive by a sessions court judge will be tried and sentenced in his absence, no matter where in the world he may be hiding, if the fugitive has to appeal against punishment, he will have to follow Indian law, the bills propose.

"After three years, every year 33,000 forensic science experts and scientists will be available in the country, the target has been set in the law to take the conviction ratio above 90 per cent," Shah said.

Click on the links below to read the text of the 3 bills.
Opposition parties in Assam on Friday criticised the final report on delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies and termed it a ploy by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to safeguard its political future.

IMAGE: Voters stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station at Boithalangsu in West Karbi Anglong of Assam, June 8, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

They also maintained that the Election Commission of India, which carried out the process, has failed to address the objections placed before it by the political parties as well as individuals and other organisations.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has, however, claimed that the final notification has accepted some of the suggestions placed by the state government in line with the demands of people.

In its final order, the poll panel had kept intact the number of assembly constituencies at 126 and Lok Sabha seats at 14, while revising the nomenclature of one parliamentary and 19 assembly constituencies as mentioned in the draft notification.

According to an ECI statement, 19 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

One Lok Sabha and nine assembly constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Castes.

"The ECI declared the final notification sometime ago. We will have to go through it in details. We will come with our reaction day after tomorrow," Sarma said.

Sarma said the state government had placed before the ECI requests for change in names of some of the constituencies, as demanded by people.

"Some of our requests have been met and some not," the CM added.

Leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, said the Congress has been protesting the way in which the delimitation exercise was carried out.

"There has not been equitable distribution of population in the process. The matter is being contested in the Supreme Court also. We will have to wait and watch what the ECI submits before the apex court," he said.

Citing the example of his own Nazira constituency, the Congress leader said, An area with a sizeable Muslim population from my constituency has been taken away. We believe this is a political tactic."

"The Congress party, in principle, is not opposed to the delimitation process. But we have objection to the process in which it was done. We had repeatedly urged the ECI and the government to first address the issues raised by people and then go forward with the process," deputy leader of opposition in state assembly Rakibul Hussain said.

Hussain added that the Congress and its conglomerate of 11 other anti-BJP parties have already geared up to fight the delimitation politically.

Raijor Dal working president Bhasco De Saikia claimed that the ECI has accepted only some demands for changes in names of constituencies but the core issues raised were ignored.

"Political parties and others had raised before the ECI that boundaries of constituencies where indigenous voters played a decisive role were proposed to be changed. But such demands were not addressed in the final notification.

"It has been proven that the ECI is not a neutral body anymore. We had expected that it will wait for the Supreme Court case before publishing the final notification, but it didn't even wait for it," he added.

Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi claimed that the constituencies have been re-drawn only with the motive to ensure victory for BJP candidates.

"The BJP knows that it will lose the next year's election. To safeguard its vote bank, it has carried out this delimitation process," he said.

Gogoi said the party will wait for the apex court's verdict in the case and depending on the outcome, it will build up people's movement against it.

All assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state were delimited (redrawn) based on the 2001 Census.

The last delimitation exercise in Assam took place in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 Census.

Many political parties have knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court against the entire delimitation exercise.

The ECI had on June 20 notified the draft delimitation document with the full bench of the poll panel visiting Guwahati over three days from July 19 to hear objections and demands of political parties, organisations and individuals.

An ECI team had earlier visited Assam on March 26-28 and held interactions with political parties, public representatives, civil society members, social organisations, members of the public and officers regarding the delimitation exercise before coming out with the draft.
A Chinese Navy warship capable of surveillance has docked at the Colombo port, nearly a year after another spy vessel berthed at a strategic port in the country and raised concerns in India.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy warship HAI YANG 24 HAO arrived at the port of Colombo on Thursday, the Sri Lankan Navy said. The vessel is to leave on Saturday.

The 129 metre-long ship which arrived in Colombo is manned by a crew of 138 and it is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. The ship is scheduled to depart the country tomorrow, the navy statement said.

According to media reports on Friday, Sri Lanka delayed its arrival upon concerns raised by India.

"The Chinese authorities sought permission for it earlier, but Sri Lanka delayed permission because of resistance from India," the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Despite a briefing by Sri Lanka to Indian officials, the latter remained concerned about the research ship's visit to the island nation.

In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship, Yuan Wang 5, which arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota elicited strong reactions from India.

There were apprehensions in New Delhi about the possibility of the vessel's tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian defence installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

However, after a considerable delay, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock at the strategic southern port of Hambantota, being built by a Chinese company.

Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt.

The negotiations for Sri Lanka's external and domestic debt restructuring must be concluded by September, in time for the International Monetary Fund's review of its USD 2.9 billion bailout extended in March this year.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.
Over 250 eminent citizens, including former judges and ambassadors, have written to the President and Chief Justice of India calling for strong action against online news portal NewsClick, which is alleged to have received dubious funds from American billionaire Neville Roy Singham to spread Chinese propaganda.

IMAGE: Newsclick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha.



Alleging that Indian taxpayers are being manipulated by fake news and subterfuge manufactured in China, the signatories to the letter said "free press" covertly funded by China has had a field day challenging our democracy.

"We request you to direct the Union government to initiate an enquiry forthwith, at the highest levels, to ascertain the full extent of this anti-India conspiracy and thereby bring these enemy agents to justice... Now it is clear that it was no coincidence but by design that there was complete congruence on the coverage of the Rafale fighter jets deal in NewsClick and the agenda picked up by the opposition parties," the letter said.

"The question that inevitably arises is, should we not check such forces which are spreading misinformation and trying to interfere with our democratic processes at the behest of foreign powers? Can we allow such forces to let the voice of reason, of patriotism, of integrity be muffled for petty agendas?

"The news media portal NewsClick, notorious for peddling fake narratives, has been found guilty of questionable links to a country openly inimical to India's interest, China," it added.

NewsClick is again in the spotlight after a recent New York Times report claimed that the news portal was part of a global network that received funding from Singham, who allegedly works closely with the Chinese government media machine.

The premises of NewsClick and its editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha were raided by the Enforcement Directorate in September 2021. It, last year, attached a flat worth Rs 4.52 crore, located in south Delhi's Saket area, linked to Purkayastha apart from fixed deposits worth Rs 41 lakh as part of the investigation.

The signatories to the letter include K Sreedhar Rao, former Chief Justice Telangana high court; 13 former high court judges, former home secretary L C Goyal; former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi; former NIA director Yogesh Chander Modi; 12 former ambassadors; 20 former DGPs; among others.

In the statement jointly put out by the group, they said, "The e-mail exchanges that are in public domain establish beyond doubt that these people are not leaders but dealers. They are not columnists but actually fifth-columnists. It is high time that this manufactured consensus of anti-national, anti-democratic, and ironically anti-free press agenda is set to rest."

"The second disturbing point is that we, Indian taxpayers, are being manipulated by fake news and subterfuge manufactured in China. The fact that a website based in India is actively working for China makes us concerned, distressed and angry.

"The issues on which these forces were getting paid to build a media narrative in India are similar to the agenda of saving China's reputation when questions were asked of it in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are akin to the agenda of making China look good and India look bad with regard to how these countries managed the aftermath of the pandemic," the letter said.

The New York Times report was also raised in Parliament when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said the funds pumped into NewsClick were used to create an anti-India environment and that he had documents pertaining to e-mail exchanges between Left leader Prakash Karat and Singham.

The ED, as part of its criminal investigation against NewsClick, its promoters and others, is probing alleged fraudulent foreign funds infusion of more than Rs 86 crore from entities linked to Singham into its holding company (PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd.) and is expected to file a charge sheet in this case soon.
A fake international call centre was busted in Hyderabad and 115 members of an interstate gang who allegedly cheated US citizens by impersonating executives of an e-commerce giant were arrested, the Cyberabad police on Friday said.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

On reliable information, police teams raided the illegal call centre and apprehended 115 cyber fraudsters including tele-callers who targeted US nationals through Voice over Internet Protocol calling and had allegedly duped them for the past two-and-a-half years, Cyberabad police commissioner M Stephen Raveendra said.

According to the police, the accused persons collected data, such as phone numbers and personal data from a portal, and the employees of the call centre randomly made calls using VoIP to US citizens.

The fraudsters would scare them saying they have received a parcel in the victim's name, containing suspicious substances, a release from Cyberabad police commissionerate said.

Then the employees of the call centre would collect the personal information of the US citizens and later threaten them that US Customs and Border Protection cell department will initiate legal action against them. The callers would then force them to purchase gift card/vouchers of the e-commerce firm so as to cancel/return the said parcel, it said.

In fear, the US citizens would purchase the gift vouchers and inform the call centre employees, who would then ask them to give them the redeem code of the gift cards, the police said.

Elaborating on their modus operandi, the police further said that the fraudsters subsequently sell the gift cards at discounted rates on another website. When the code is redeemed, the purchasers from that website send money to the fraudsters in the form of cryptocurrency.

After that, the accused convert that cryptocurrency into USDT by using wallets on a cryptocurrency exchange platform and then sell them to local bitcoin vendors to get Indian currency, police said.

The police said seven laptops, 115 CPUs, 94 monitors and 120 mobiles were seized from the accused and a case was registered. Further investigations are on.
Use of trademarks as keywords by Google in its Ads Programme does amount to "use" under the intellectual property law and, in case of infringement, it cannot claim benefit of "safe harbour" from liability under the law, the Delhi high court has said.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

The court's observations came on an appeal by Google against the order of a single judge bench on a lawsuit by Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd alleging that the use of its trademark and its variations as keywords on Ads Programme resulted in the diversion of traffic from the website of the plaintiff to that of the advertiser.

A bench headed by Justice Vibhu Bakhru said prima facie, Google is an "active participant" in use of the trademarks of proprietors and it was difficult to accept that the search engine would be exempted under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act from the liability of infringement of trademarks by its use of the trademarks as keywords in the Ads Programme.

"Google is not a passive intermediary but runs an advertisement business, of which it has pervasive control. Merely because the said business is run online and is dovetailed with its service as an intermediary, does not entitle Google to the benefit of Section 79(1) of the IT (Information Technology) Act, in so far as the Ads Programme is concerned," the bench, also comprising Justice Amit Mahajan, said in a recent order.

"Prima facie, we are unable to accept the view that use of trademarks as keywords in the Ads Programme is use only by the advertisers and not Google... It is difficult to accept that whilst Google, in a manner of speaking, sells keywords for use in its proprietary software; it does not use it," the court said.

Google argued that being an intermediary in relation to the Ads Programme, it was entitled to safe harbour and if an advertisement was violative of the trade marks Act, the advertiser should be held liable.

"We find no infirmity with conclusion (of single judge) and hold that Google's use of the trademarks as keywords does amount to use in advertising under the TM (trade mark) Act. We also find no infirmity with the conclusion of the learned Single Judge that if it is found that Google has infringed plaintiff's trademark or is contributorily liable for the same, the benefit of safe harbour under Section 79(1) of the IT Act would not be available to it," the court said.

The court observed that Ads Programme is Google's commercial venture and the use of a trademark as keywords for display of advertisements in respect of goods or services clearly amounts to use of the trademark in advertising within the meaning of Section 29(6) of the trade mark Act.

It nonetheless said there was "nothing illegal in Google using trademarks as keywords for display of advertisements if there is no confusion that the links or Ads displayed are not associated or related" to the plaintiff.

The facts of each case are required to be considered in determining whether in a given case use of a trademark as a keyword amounts to infringement under the trade mark Act, the court said.

It also said its views are "prima facie and solely for considering the present appeals".
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated UAH 200 million to the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense for the purchase of weapons, military equipment and ammunition.

As representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk said on Telegram, the corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Friday.

Thus, UAH 200 million was allocated to the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense on a non-refundable basis from the reserve fund of the state budget for the implementation of measures related to strengthening the state's defense capability, in particular for the purchase of weapons, military equipment and ammunition.
The Bombay high court on Friday said the cause of deaths due to poor condition of roads, potholes and manholes are not natural but man-made, and it is the constitutional obligation of the Maharashtra government and civic bodies to ensure good, motorable and safe roads.

Photograph: Sahil Salvi for Rediff.com IMAGE: Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal was among civic chiefs from five municipalities who appeared before the Bombay high court in a contempt case over potholes in the metropolises, August 11, 2023.

A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor also pulled up the state government for not taking any decision on a suggestion made in court last year to hand over all roads in the city under the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for maintenance and repair work.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by advocate Ruju Thakker seeking contempt action against the civic authorities for failing to implement the high court's orders of 2018 directing the repair of potholes along all arterial roads in Mumbai and neighbouring areas.

Pursuant to the court directives issued on Wednesday, commissioners of the civic bodies of Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan Dombivili, Navi Mumbai, Vasai Virar and Mira Bhayander were present in court on Friday.

The bench directed all the municipal corporations to file exhaustive affidavits detailing what steps it has taken on a 2018 order passed by the court to ensure that all roads are made potholes free.

"Every day there is some incident. These are man-made. The cause of these deaths is not natural. It is man-made. You (government and civic bodies) have to stop this. It is your responsibility. You have a constitutional obligation," Chief Justice Upadhyaya said.

It was not the job of the court to pass orders on such issues, the bench said.

BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal on Friday told the court that Mumbai has witnessed very heavy rainfall this season and the condition of roads have deteriorated due to this.

Roads in Mumbai are being concretised and as and when the issue of potholes arises, the road concerned is repaired, he said.

The court was, however, not impressed and said the fact remains that roads are still in poor condition and asked why roads cannot withstand rains.

"The situation remains the same. The quantum of work required to be done is much more. I have been a student of statistics and we were taught that there are three stages of lies  one is lying, the second is damn lying and the third is statistical lies," CJ Upadhyaya said.

When the bench sought to know from the state government if it has taken a decision on the suggestion of handing over roads in Mumbai to the BMC, government pleader P P Kakade said a decision is yet to be taken.

"It was a simple executive decision. Why is it taking so long? Providing motorable safe road is as much your responsibility as it is of the corporations. What have you done? The menace continues even today. The problem continues," the court said.

On the issue of open manholes, the bench directed the ward officer of each of the 24 wards in Mumbai to carry out an inspection and submit a report within three weeks.

The bench directed the state government and corporations to file their affidavits and posted the matter for hearing on September 29.
The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the Bihar government as to how many of the convicts, granted remission in April this year along with former Lok Sabha MP Anand Mohan, were held guilty of murdering public servants on duty.

IMAGE: Former MP and freed murder convict Anand Mohan. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Bihar government informed the top court that a total of 97 convicts, including Mohan, who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah, were prematurely released at the same time.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta posted the plea filed by the wife of the slain IAS officer challenging the remission granted to Mohan for final hearing on September 26.

The top court allowed senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, to file an additional affidavit giving the details of the released convicts who were held guilty of killing a public servant.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of the slain officer, requested that the state be asked to serve upon them the original records of remission granted to Mohan so they can prepare their response.

Kumar objected to the request and said if Luthra's client wanted original records of remission, she can file an application under the Right to Information Act.

"There was no wrongdoing. Total of 97 persons including Mohan were released at the same time," Kumar said.

Justice Datta asked whether all these 97 people, who were granted remission, had been convicted of murdering a public servant and, if not, how many were guilty of such an offence.

Kumar said he does not have such data and needed further instruction on the details of all the convicts who were granted remission and released prematurely.

The bench said the petitioner's case is that the remission policy was changed to benefit Mohan.

"You (Kumar) furnish the details about the persons who were convicted for the murder of public servants and were granted remission," Justice Datta said.

On May 19, the top court had directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records with regard to the remission granted to Mohan, a gangster-turned-politician.

It had told the counsel appearing for the Bihar government that no further adjournment will be granted in the case, and directed him to place the complete records for perusal by the court.

Luthra had argued the state government changed the policy retrospectively and released Mohan.

Mohan was released from Saharsa jail on April 24 after serving 14 years following an amendment to the Bihar prison rules by the state government.

The petitioner has contended the life imprisonment awarded to Mohan meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life and it cannot be mechanically interpreted to last just 14 years.

"Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission," she has said in her petition.

Anand Mohan was awarded death penalty on October 5, 2007 by the trial court which was commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Patna High Court on December 10, 2008, and confirmed by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2012.

The remission of Mohan's sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in the killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.

Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.

Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession, and was alleged to have instigated the mob to kill Krishnaiah.
The Allahabad high court has directed Chhata tehsildar in Mathura district to explain as to how the ownership of the Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple land was changed in revenue records in 2004 in the name of a graveyard.

IMAGE: Allahabad high court. Photograph: ANI Photo

Justice Saurabh Srivastava passed the order on a petition filed by Shri Bihari Ji Sewa Trust, Mathura.

The court fixed the next date of hearing in the case on August 17.

The writ petition was filed seeking directions to revenue authorities at Chhata, Mathura to correct the revenue entry which has been 'illegally' made against the graveyard in place of Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple.

The counsel, representing the state government, sought the attention of the court that one application is also pending since the entries in the revenue records have now been changed from graveyard to 'purani abadi'.

'In view of the aforementioned facts and circumstances, Tehsildar is hereby directed to appear in person for explaining the proceedings whatsoever carried out by the revenue authorities from time to time for changing the entries available over plot no. 1081 situated at Village Shahpur, Tehsil Chhata of Mathura district,' the court said in its order passed on last Thursday.

According to the petitioner, the plot no. 1081 situated at village Shahpur is originally in the name of Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple and the same is apparent from the record of rights of 1375-1377F.
India and China are likely to hold the 19th round of corps commander level talks on Monday at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point in the Eastern Ladakh sector to resolve the ongoing military standoff between the two countries for over three years.

IMAGE: Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali (middle), who leads the talks from the Indian side. Photograph: ANI Photo

The two countries have been in a military standoff for the last three years since May 2020, when the Chinese tried to aggressively alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control.

The Indian side would be led by Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali for the talks with representatives of the Chinese military on August 14. Officials from ministry of external affairs and ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) are also expected to be part of the talks The two sides are likely to discuss the issues related to DBO and CNN junction along with other matters. India would also be pressing for disengagement from the Eastern Ladakh front, defence sources told ANI.

This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months. The last meeting between the two sides at the corps commander level was held in April earlier this year.

The meeting is taking place when both sides are engaged in rapid construction activities along the border areas to strengthen their respective positions.

The two countries started holding military talks on disengagement and de-escalation of the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh soon after the confrontation started between the two militaries.

The two sides have since then disengaged from multiple confrontation points and moved to new positions to avoid clashes and resolve the issues peacefully.

Sources said the Indian side is keen to resolve the dispute amicably securing all Indian interests in the region and has deployed over 50,000 troops to match the Chinese deployments in the areas opposite eastern Ladakh.

The two sides have been heavily deployed but have resisted direct conflicts even though the Indian side does not rule out the possibility of any misadventure by the adversary along the LAC.

India thwarted one such misadventure by the Chinese Army in December 2022 in Yang Tse near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
Opposition leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance will meet at 10 am to discuss the suspension of the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and discuss the way ahead, sources said.

IMAGE: Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addresses a press conference on his suspension from the Lok Sabha over 'deliberate and repeated misconduct', at the Parliament premises, in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

They will also decide on a strategy for the way forward in the Rajya Sabha, where their demand for a discussion on Manipur has not been accepted.

The sources said parliamentary floor leaders of the INDIA bloc parties will be meeting at the chamber of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

They also said that a meeting of the Congress' Lok Sabha MPs has been called at 10.30 am at the Congress Parliamentary Party office to discuss Chowdhury's suspension.

The Congress' Whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore has written to Speaker Om Birla for moving a motion for the adjournment of business in the House to discuss the issue of the suspension.

'It is a matter of deep concern that Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a dedicated member of this House, was suspended without any proper reason yesterday as he spoke about 'Nirav' which means 'Silence' in Hindi and compared it with the silence of Prime Minister Modi. This incident raises serious questions about the essence of our democratic principles, which prioritise freedom of speech and the right to express genuine concerns,' Tagore said in his notice.

He said in a thriving democracy like India, open dialogue and constructive criticism play a pivotal role in shaping the governance process.

'Especially suspending a Member of Parliament for bringing forth allegations highlights potential shortcomings of the central government. It is crucial that we uphold the fundamental tenets of our democratic system, wherein the voices of people are heard and acknowledged. It's the first time in the history of the Parliament of India that the leader of the largest opposition party is suspended without opposition MPs in the House.

'Therefore, the House should come forward to discuss the issues which have forced the concerned democratic authority to go for suspension and the House should revoke the suspension of the leader of the largest opposition party Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, as it sends a positive message about our commitment to democratic values,' the Congress leader said.
The ethnic violence in Manipur dominated the Monsoon session which ended on Friday with Parliament witnessing repeated disruptions and protests by the Opposition in both Houses and a fiery debate in the Lok Sabha where a no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party government was defeated.

IMAGE: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla leaves while the Opposition MPs stage a protest as the House adjourns sine die, marking the end of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, August 11, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.

Lok Sabha also passed a unanimous resolution appealing for peace in the northeastern state.

The Houses were adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous session that also saw the suspension of four members -- two each of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -- with leader of Congress in the Lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury being among them.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 45 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha about 63 per cent during the session that started on July 20 and had a total of 17 sittings.

The motion of no-confidence in the Council of Ministers moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi was discussed for around 20 hours and saw participation of 60 members, including ministers.

Prime Minister Modi replied to the debate on the motion before it was negated by a voice vote.

"During this session, we held 17 sittings which lasted for 44 hours and 13 minutes," Speaker Om Birla said in Lok Sabha, adding that 20 government bills were introduced and 22 draft legislations were passed by the Lower House.

In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said a total of 50 hours and 21 minutes during the 17 sittings of the House were lost due to avoidable disruptions, adversely impinging on the overall productivity of this session.

At the conclusion of the session, he asked members "to make an assessment of the ground we have covered in our journey towards meaningful governance and legislative action".

"Once again, we yielded to the allure of narrow interests and allowed disorder to be the 'new normal' in the proceedings of the House. It appears that my appeals have not resonated well with our members. The frequent unwholesome spectacle of disruptions only indicates that my message has not found the attentive audience it deserves," Dhankhar said.

He said the House was able to pass a few bills during the session that witnessed some lively and animated debates and the Question Hour could be taken up on a few occasions. "But I feel the productivity of the Question Hour could have been much better."

He noted that the Rajya Sabha witnessed a positive development of giving fair representation to women members to be part of the panel of vice-chairpersons and using their managerial skills for the smooth conduct of the proceedings of the House.

"I think, they have vindicated their role and made us proud. In a similar vein, the Secretariat, in a laudable move, undertook a progressive initiative to empower its women employees by affording them the opportunity to attend to the significant table duties within the hallowed Chamber," the chairman said.



Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi said that during the session, 20 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha and five bills in Rajya Sabha. As many as 22 bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 bills by Rajya Sabha, he said.

One bill each was withdrawn from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the total number of bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the session was 23, he said.

A large part of the entire session was marred by the opposition's protests over the Manipur violence issue.

The Opposition in both Houses demanded a discussion on the Manipur issue under a rule that entails voting, but the government said it was ready for a discussion under a different rule.

The opposition also demanded the statement of the prime minister on the Manipur violence, but some BJP members countered it saying there should also be a discussion on atrocities and crimes against women in some states ruled by opposition parties and cited the examples of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, all of which are going to polls in the next few months.

Lok Sabha saw the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and AAP's Sushil Kumar Rinku. Rajya Sabha suspended two AAP members - Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

After Chowdhury was suspended for gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct, it further angered the opposition members, who boycotted the valedictory address by Lok Sabha Speaker

Om Birla and later boycotted the customary tea hosted by him.

Some important bills that were passed during the session were the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, National Dental Council Bill, Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, and the Armed Forces Organization (Command, Control, and Discipline) Bill.

On the last day of the session, the Upper House was adjourned twice in the pre-lunch session amid an uproar by opposition members who demanded a discussion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in the House on the situation in Manipur.

Manipur has been engulfed in ethnic violence since May 3. More than 150 people have been killed in clashes between the majority Meiteis and the tribal Kuki community.

Before being adjourned sine die, Rajya Sabha returned to Lok Sabha two proposed legislations on the Central and Integrated GST laws by a voice vote without any discussion. The proposed laws seek to levy 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar regretted that despite his best efforts and the government's willingness, the Manipur violence issue could not be discussed in the House.

"In Lok Sabha, the honourable home minister for more than an hour reflected only on Manipur. The honourable prime minister in his discourse focussed on Manipur, indicated to the nation a soothing and healing touch... 'Ab socho humne kya khoya, kya paya' (Now ponder what have we lost and what have we got?" Dhankhar told the House, where most of the opposition members were absent in the post-lunch session of the last day.

The chairman further said, "This House on account of unruly conduct, indecorous behaviour could not avail the historic opportunity of guiding the Lok Sabha on Manipur and that was on account of our actions. This was very painful. Once again we yielded to the allure of narrow interest, and allowed disorder to be the new normal in the proceedings of the House."

Taking a dig at members of opposition parties who trooped to the well of the House during the session, he said, "Disorder cannot be allowed to be the order of the House. This has been weaponised as a political strategy and that is anti-democratic, anti-constitutional."
Meira Paibis, a collective of Meitei women, on Friday staged sit-in demonstrations across five districts of Imphal Valley in protest against the alleged gang rape of a 37-year-old woman in Churachandpur on May 3, when the ongoing ethnic violence started.

IMAGE: Women belonging to the 'Meira Paibis' (a group representing Meitei Society) hold torches as they stage a demonstration demanding restoration of peace in violence-hit Manipur, on August 10, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The survivor alleged she was gangraped by a group of men while fleeing her burning house in Khumujamba Leikai in Churachandpur, police said.

A first information report (FIR) was lodged with Bishnupur women police station on August 9 and the matter was later forwarded to Churachandpur police station for investigation, they said.

In protest against the incident, Meira Paibis staged sit-in demonstrations in Keisampat, Uripok and Singjamei areas in Imphal West district and Kongba and Khurai in Imphal East district.

Similar protests were also held in Bishnupur, Kakching and Thoubal districts.

Ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 and has been continuing for the last three months, killing more than 160 people and leaving thousands homeless.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday refuted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charge that words 'Bharat Mata' in his speech were expunged from Lok Sabha proceedings, claiming that he lacks understanding and seems to have lost his mental balance".

IMAGE: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaks during the vote on no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, August 9, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo/Sansad TV

Speaking to reporters, the minister asserted that only some unparliamentary words and not 'Bharat Mata' were expunged from Gandhi's address during the no-confidence motion debate on Wednesday and accused opposition parties of creating a ruckus and not letting the debate on several key bills happen during the session for political reasons.

The Lok Sabha's productivity was 45 per cent and Rajya Sabha's 63 per cent during the session, a large part of which was marred by the opposition's protest over the Manipur issue.

Joshi said 22 bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 by Rajya Sabha, while 23 bills were passed by both houses. Some bills passed by one house in previous sessions got the nod of another house in this session.

Accusing the opposition of disrupting Parliament for political reasons, he said they participated in the discussion on the Delhi services bill to show their unity but created a ruckus otherwise except for a few occasions, including the debate on the no-confidence motion in the lower house.

With Gandhi targeting the government earlier in the day, Joshi hit back.

The Congress leader said central security personnel told him in Manipur, which has been roiled by ethnic violence, that they had never seen anything like what was happening in the state.

"That is why I said 'Bharat Mata' has been murdered in Manipur. For the first time, the words 'Bharat Mata' have been expunged from Parliament. It is an insult to those words," the former Congress chief said, referring to his speech in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-trust motion earlier this week. Parts of his speech were expunged by Speaker Om Birla.

Countering him, Joshi said, "The term 'Bharat Mata' has not been expunged. What was unparliamentary has been expunged." Unparliamentary words are selected as per a rule book and there is nothing arbitrary about it, he claimed.

"It appears from whatever statements he (Rahul Gandhi) has made today that he has lost his mental balance," the minister said.

In a dig at the Congress, he said it is a good sign that the opposition party has started talking of 'Bharat Mata' and raising the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP dispensation. Earlier, the Congress would never use the words 'Bharat Mata', he said.

He also rejected as "bogus" the opposition's allegation that their members have been suspended from both the Houses on flimsy grounds for political reasons. They never wanted discussions to take place in Parliament because of the government's "historic" performance on all counts, he claimed.

Joshi described Parliament's monsoon session as the "most successful" session due to the significance of the bills tabled and passed.

It is unfortunate that opposition parties did not take part in discussions for political reasons, he said.

The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill were among the key legislations which were passed by Parliament during this session.

Accusing opposition parties of disrupting the last session as well, he urged them to let the winter session take place undisturbed. The next session will be the last full-fledged session of Parliament before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Gujarat high court on Friday rejected Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh's plea seeking an interim stay on the criminal defamation proceedings against them filed by Gujarat University in connection with remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree.

IMAGE: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Sanjay Singh (left) being welcomed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Lucknow, June 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Refusing to grant an interim stay on the defamation proceedings underway at a metropolitan court here against the two leaders, Justice Samir Dave noted that both of them had earlier given an assurance to the metropolitan court that they would remain present before it to record their statement.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Dave rejected the Aam Aadmi Party leaders' plea for an interim stay on the proceedings and issued a notice to the Gujarat University to file its reply.

A metropolitan court had earlier summoned Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Singh on August 11 in the defamation case filed by Gujarat University over their sarcastic and derogatory statements in connection with PM Modi's degree.

The two AAP leaders later filed a revision application in the sessions court challenging the metropolitan court's summons in the defamation case.

However, the sessions court on August 7 rejected their plea for an interim stay on the trial, after which, they approached the Gujarat high court.

The revision application in the sessions court will now be heard on August 21.

During Friday's hearing, senior advocate Mihir Joshi, appearing for Kejriwal, sought an interim stay on the trial being conducted by the metropolitan court till the sessions court gives its verdict on the revision plea.

On the issue of summons issued to the AAP leaders, Joshi said that the order by the magistrate was incorrect and invalid.

He said personal presence is not required because the recording of a plea can be done through advocates.

Entire proceeding is not justified. There is no attempt to delay, said Joshi on allegations that such pleas were filed to delay the trial.

He also informed the court that the metropolitan court had granted exemption from personal appearance twice in the past on different grounds, including when there was a flood-like situation in Delhi last month.

However, senior advocate Mitesh Amin, appearing for Gujarat University, informed the court that both Kejriwal and Singh had earlier given an undertaking to the magistrate that they would remain present on August 11.

They had given an undertaking and today is August 11. That undertaking needs to be honoured, said Amin.

Justice Dave, on several occasions, also raised the issue of the undertaking and asked Joshi when the AAP leaders were appearing.

You have given assurance that you will remain present on August 11. Then you have to remain present. (It seems that) you are avoiding court appearance, that is not proper. Situation in New Delhi is alright now. So, when are you appearing?...Are you ready to appear? After five days, seven days or ten days? the judge asked.

The metropolitan court has summoned the two leaders after observing that prima facie there appeared to be a case against them under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Gujarat University registrar Piyush Patel had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and Singh over their comments after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the Chief Information Commissioner on PM Modi's degree.

They made defamatory statements in press conferences and on Twitter handles targeting the university over Modi's degree, the complainant stated.

Their comments targeting the Gujarat University were defamatory and hurt the prestige of the university which has established its name among the public, as per the complainant.

Their statements were sarcastic and intentionally made to hurt the prestige of the university, he said.

Some of the comments quoted by the complainant and attributed to Kejriwal are: If there is a degree and it is genuine, then why is it not being given?; They are not giving degree because it might be fake; and If the Prime Minister studied at Delhi University and Gujarat University, then Gujarat University should celebrate that its student became the country's PM.

Singh said that they (GU) are trying to prove the PM's fake degree as genuine, according to the complainant.

The AAP leaders' statements would make a person believe that GU issues fake and bogus degrees, the complainant had said.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing down the curtain on the monsoon session that witnessed persistent protests over the ethnic violence in Manipur and a fiery debate on the no-confidence motion against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

IMAGE: Proceedings of the Lok Sabha underway on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, on Friday. Photograph: SansadTV/ANI Photo

In the Lok Sabha, the discussion on the no-confidence motion, initiated by Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, lasted for nearly 20 hours and saw participation of 60 members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the debate on the motion, which was rejected by a voice vote.

The session also witnessed suspension from the House of the leader of the Congress party, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, for 'gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct', an action which further angered the opposition members, who boycotted the valedictory address by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

"During this session, we held 17 sittings which lasted for 44 hours and 13 minutes," Birla said, adding that 20 government bills were introduced and 22 draft legislations were passed by the lower house.

Some important bills that were passed during the session were the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, National Dental Council Bill, Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, and the Armed Forces Organization (Command, Control, and Discipline) Bill.

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die, after seeing two adjournments in the pre-lunch session amid an uproar by opposition members who demanded a discussion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's a statement in the Upper House on the situation in Manipur.

When the House reassembled for the post-lunch session, it returned to Lok Sabha the two proposed legislations on the Central and Integrated GST laws by a voice vote without any discussion.

The proposed laws seek to levy 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

It also adopted a motion to suspend Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha from Rajya Sabha for 'gross violation of rule, misconduct, defiant attitude and contemptuous conduct', pending a report by the privileges committee.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, after his customary address, adjourned the House sine die.
The Defense Forces shot down one of the four X-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles fired on the territory of Ukraine, the rest hit near the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk region, there is a hit in the residential sector, according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Today, at about 10.00, the enemy launched four X-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from four MiG-31K aircraft. The launches were carried out from the airspace of Tula and Lipetsk regions of the Russian Federation," the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a message on the Telegram channel on Friday.

As reported, "the missiles entered the airspace of Ukraine from the north, heading southwest to the area of the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk region. One X-47 missile was destroyed within Kyiv region. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure facilities were hit, and there is a hit of one of the missiles in the residential sector."

"According to the Ivano-Frankivsk regional city administration, a child was killed as a result of a missile strike by Russian terrorists, and there are others injured," the report says.
A resident of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh has "confessed" to killing Nagpur-based Bharatiya Janata Party functionary Sana alias Heena Khan, who went missing last week, after his arrest on Friday, a police official said.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The accused, Amit Sahu alias Pappu, was arrested along with two others by the Nagpur police from the Ghora Bazar area of Jabalpur in the adjoining state, ten days after Khan, a Nagpur BJP minority cell functionary, went missing, he said.

Nagpur DCP (Zone 2) Rahul Madne claimed Sahu, the prime accused in the case who was known to the 34-year-old victim, has "confessed" to kidnapping and killing Khan.

He also showed the murder spot to the police, but the victim's body has not been recovered yet, said the officer.

A motive was not immediately clear.

The role of the two other persons arrested along with Sahu, who runs a 'dhaba' (roadside eatery) in Jabalpur, in the crime was not disclosed by the police.

The Nagpur police team that arrested the trio has left for the city in eastern Maharashtra and will produce the accused in a local court on Saturday.

Khan's mother Mehrunisha, a resident of Awasthi Nagar here, lodged a complaint when her daughter went missing after leaving for Jabalpur on August 1 to meet Sahu, the police have said.

Based on her complaint, a first information report was registered at the Mankapur police station here against Sahu, who was booked under IPC Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), they said.

According to the FIR, Khan left from Nagpur in a private bus and contacted her mother the next day on reaching Jabalpur. Later she went missing.
Opposition parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) boycotted Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday to protest the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House.

IMAGE: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi leads a protest with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Opposition MPs under the banner of the INDIA in front of the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar against the suspension of Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House, at Parliament premises, in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo

They also decided not to attend the customary tea to be hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the conclusion of the Monsoon session of Parliament on Friday.

Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha on Thursday for 'repeated misconduct' pending an investigation by the privileges committee.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for Chowdhury's suspension, saying he disturbed the House whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers spoke or a debate was going on. The resolution was passed by a voice vote.

'INDIA MPs in Loksabha boycott's proceedings to protest against the suspension of Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,' said Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore in a post on X, earlier Twitter.

'We won't participate in the tea hosted by Hon. Speaker also. With 142 MPs from 23 Parties boycotted,' he said.

The INDIA bloc members later marched to the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar in the Parliament complex as a mark of protest. Some of them raised slogans against Chowdhury's suspension and demanded that it be revoked.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was among those who led the opposition's protest.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of violating the Constitution in Parliament and said MPs are being suspended on flimsy grounds.

"MPs are being suspended citing rules and this has never happened in the past. After suspension, the issue is being sent to the privilege committee to ensure that members do not attend the business advisory committee and other parliamentary committee meetings," he alleged.

The opposition will continue to fight against such "illegal" actions of the Modi government, he said.

Some of the MPs also wrote to Birla seeking revocation of Chowdhury's suspension.

Chowdhury has denied insulting the prime minister.
Observing that there has to be harmony and comity between communities, the Supreme Court on Friday mooted a committee constituted by the director general of police (DGP) of Haryana to go into the cases registered in the wake of the recent communal riots in the state that claimed six lives.

IMAGE: Paramilitary forces deployed in Nuh, Haryana. Photograph: ANI Photo

The top court was hearing a plea over alleged blatant hate speeches calling for killing members of a particular community and their social and economic boycott at rallies in different states, including Haryana.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked additional solicitor general K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, to seek instructions and inform it about the proposed committee by August 18.

"There has to be some harmony and comity between the communities and all the communities are responsible. I do not know if this has been exaggerated but the problem of hate speech is not good and nobody can accept it.

"We can ask the DGP to constitute a committee of three or four officers nominated by him who will receive and peruse all materials from station house officers and take a call if the material is authentic and issue appropriate directions to the concerned police officer. At SHO level and police level, the police needs to be sensitised," the bench said.

The top court also directed journalist Shaheen Abdullah, who is the petitioner in the case, to collate all material, including videos, and submit to the nodal officers appointed in each state in pursuance of its October 21, 2022, judgment.

During the hearing, Nataraj submitted the Union of India is also against hate speeches which must be checked totally.

He acknowledged the mechanism to tackle hate speeches is not working in some places.

At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Abdullah, submitted that people needed to be protected against hate speeches and "this kind of vitriol cannot go on".

When the bench asked Sibal about the idea mooted by it for setting up a committee, the senior lawyer said, "My problem is when someone threatens shopkeepers to throw out Muslims in the next two days, this committee is not going to help."

Sibal said police keep on saying that FIR has been registered but the offenders are never arrested or prosecuted.

"The problem is not the registration of FIRs, but what progress is made? They do not arrest anybody, nor do they prosecute anybody. Nothing happens after the FIRs are lodged," Sibal said.

The matter will now be heard on August 18.

The application filed by Abdullah has referred to the August 2 order of the apex court which said, "We hope and trust that the state governments and police will ensure that no hate speeches irrespective of the identity are made against any community and there is no physical violence or damage to the properties.

Observing that hate speeches vitiate the atmosphere, the top court had said wherever required, adequate police force or paramilitary force would be deployed and the authorities, including police, will use CCTV cameras installed or record/make video recording in all sensitive areas.

The application said despite the apex court's order, over 27 rallies were organised in various states in the aftermath of the communal clashes in Haryana's Nuh and hate speeches were made.

"Despite the aforementioned order, more than 27 rallies have been organised across various states where blatant hate speeches calling for the killing and social and economic boycott of Muslims have been openly delivered," it said.

The application contains a table showing some of the rallies that took place between August 1, 2023 and August 7 with relevant video links.

"In a video that surfaced on social media on August 2, 2023 a procession by the 'Samhast Hindu Samaj' can be seen walking through a neighbourhood in Hisar, Haryana, in the presence of police officials issuing warnings to residents/shopkeepers that if they continue to employ/keep any Muslims after 2 days then their shops will be boycotted," it said.

The petitioner has sought directions to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi and Director General of Police of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and other authorities to take adequate action and ensure such rallies are not allowed.

The top court had passed the August 2 order after senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for Abdullah, said 23 demonstrations were announced by Hindu right groups Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal in various parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) over the Haryana clashes.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, were killed in the communal clashes that first erupted in Nuh when a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession was attacked by mobs. The communal clashes later spread to Gurugram and some other places close to the national capital.
Expressing anguish over the manner in which women were subjected to grave atrocities in Manipur, the Supreme Court has said that mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the other community and the state is bound to stop this.

IMAGE: Members of Manipur Students' Union stage a demonstration against the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, in Imphal. Photograph: ANI Photo

The court also asked the three-member committee of retired judges constituted by it to inquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence is completely unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy.

"Mobs commonly resort to violence against women for multiple reasons, including the fact that they may escape punishment for their crimes if they are a member of a larger group.

"In time of sectarian violence, mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the community that the victims or survivors hail from.

"Such visceral violence against women during conflict is nothing but an atrocity. It is the bounden duty of the state -- its foremost duty, even -- to prevent people from committing such reprehensible violence and to protect those whom the violence targets," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said in its August 7 order, which was uploaded on Thursday night.

More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The top court also said that it crucial for the police to identify and arrest the accused person expeditiously because they may be required for the completion of investigation.

"Further, the accused may attempt to tamper with or destroy the evidence, intimidate witnesses, and flee from the place of the crime," the bench said, adding significant delay in the identification and arrest of the accused for no reason at all cannot be countenanced by it.

Observing that sectarian strife has also led to large scale destruction of residential property and places of worship, the apex court said it is duty bound to step in while performing its plain constitutional obligation.

This court is also of the opinion that its intervention will be a step towards the guarantee of non-repetition that victims of such crimes are entitled to, it said.

"The remedies which have been granted are those which the court feels will be even handed across all communities and do justice to all those who have been injured (in any manner) by the sectarian violence.

"The victims of violence must receive remedial measures irrespective of their community. Likewise, the perpetrators of violence must be held accountable irrespective of the source of violence," it said.

The top court said there are serious allegations, including witness statements, indicating that the law-enforcing machinery has been inept in controlling the violence and, in certain situations, colluded with the perpetrators.

"Absent a proper investigation, this court will not enter a finding of fact on these allegations. But, at the very least, such allegations require an objective fact-finding to be conducted.

"Those who are responsible for a breach of public duty must equally be brought to account, regardless of their rank, position, or post," it said.

The apex court said every officer or employee of the state who is guilty not only of dereliction of constitutional and official duties but of colluding with perpetrators to become offenders themselves, must be held accountable without fail.

"This is the promise of justice that the Constitution demands from this court and from all branches of the state," it said.

In order to ensure that the violence ceases, the perpetrators of violence are punished and the faith and confidence of the community in the justice system is restored, the top court constituted a committee of three former high court judges, including Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, former Judge of the Bombay high court and Justice Asha Menon, former Judge of the Delhi high court.

The apex court said the mandate of the three-member committee would be to enquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4 from all available sources, including personal meetings with survivors, members of families of survivors, local/community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports.

The committee will also submit a report to it on the steps required to meet the needs of the survivors, including measures for dealing with rape trauma, providing social, economic, and psychological support, relief and rehabilitation in a time bound manner, the bench said.

Directing that the process of investigation shall be monitored by the apex court, the bench also appointed former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar to supervise the investigation by the CBI into the FIRs transferred to it and the investigation by the investigative machinery of the state into the remaining FIRs.

"For the purpose of ensuring proper investigation of the FIRs which are transferred to the CBI, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs shall place at the disposal of the CBI five officers drawn from the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and NCT of Delhi at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

"At least one of these five officers shall be a woman. For this purpose, the Directors General of Police of the above States shall nominate an officer at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police for deputation to the CBI," it said.

On deputation, the officers shall perform their functions under the overall structure of the CBI and submit periodical information and reports as may be required Padsalgikar, it said.

"Dattatray Padsalgikar is also requested to investigate the allegations that certain police officers colluded with perpetrators of violence (including sexual violence) during the conflict in Manipur.

"The Union Government and the State Government shall provide any assistance required in order to carry out this investigation. The findings shall be submitted to this Court in the form of a report," the bench said.
The United Kingdom's security minister, Tom Tugendhat, has announced a new funding of 95,000 pound (around Rs 1 crore) to enhance Britain's capability to tackle "pro-Khalistan extremism".

IMAGE: Khalistan supporters attempted to pull down the Indian flag at the High Commission in London. Photograph: ANI on Twitter

The British high commission said this in a readout on Tugendhat's three-day visit to India that began on Thursday.

The announcement on the new funding comes amid growing concerns in India over increasing activities of pro-Khalistani elements in the UK. New Delhi had reacted sharply after an attack by some Khalistani elements on the Indian high commission in London in March.

Tugendhat is in India to bolster bilateral cooperation on security initiatives and attend the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting.

"During a meeting with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Thursday, minister Tugendhat announced new funding to enhance the UK's capability to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism," the high commission said on Friday.

It said the 95,000 pound investment will enhance the government's understanding of the threat posed by "pro-Khalistan extremism", complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the joint-extremism task force.

"The living bridge between India and the UK reflects our deep and enduring friendship. As the world's oldest and largest democracies, we have many shared opportunities to make the world a safer and more prosperous place," Tugendhat said.

"A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. I'm committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism -- whatever form it takes," he said.

The minister said he is delighted to be attending the G-20 meeting.

"Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence," he said.

Before travelling to Kolkata for the G20 meeting, which will take place on Saturday, Tugendhat is scheduled to visit the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by child sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud.

He will also meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the high commission said.

British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said: "The unique connection between our people brings both huge opportunities and security challenges."

"Through mechanisms like the joint extremism task force we are acting jointly on countering threats, including pro-Khalistan extremism, as well as on migration, to keep our people safe," he said.

Ellis said the migration and mobility relationship between the two countries is a "pillar of our comprehensive strategic partnership" that also includes ensuring a free and open Indo Pacific, and tackling the biggest challenges facing the world around climate and health.

"This is a partnership for now, including India's G20 presidency, and for the future," he added.

British officials maintained that the security of the Indian high commission in London and its staff, are of utmost importance to the UK government.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
The Morning Almanac with Arlo Mudgett is heard Monday through Friday mornings on radio stations Oldies KOOL FM 106.7, 96.3, and 106.5 and over Peak-FM 101.9 and 100.7. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema, the press service of the President's Office reported on Friday.

The head of the Ukrainian state thanked his colleague for visiting Kyiv and Bucha together with other leaders of African countries in June this year.

Zelenskyy invited Zambia to take part in the implementation of the Peace Formula, in particular, to join the next meeting at the level of diplomatic advisers, as well as the preparation of the Global Peace Summit.

"The Peace Formula is now more relevant than ever. This is the only way to a just peace and stability in the world that can be taken as a basis. And we are actively working with partners to prepare the Global Peace Summit," the President of Ukraine noted.

The leaders of Ukraine and Zambia also discussed the need to prolong the Black Sea Grain Initiative and agreed that it is inadmissible to use food as a weapon.

"Together, we must put an end to Russian attempts to use food as a weapon, as well as to Russian blackmail of the world with hunger and high food prices," Zelenskyy emphasized. In addition, the heads of state touched upon the issue of holding the Ukraine  Africa Summit and discussed cooperation in the context of other upcoming international events.
Hong Kong: Session on President Xi's letter held

Chief Executive John Lee expressed that he hopes the education sector will carefully study and understand President Xi Jinping's reply letter to Hong Kong students to grasp its core essence.

The Education Bureau explained that President Xi gave a reply letter to students of Pui Kiu Middle School in Hong Kong on July 24, conveying his earnest expectations for the citys young generation.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government held a sharing session on the Important spirit of President Xi Jinping's reply letter to Hong Kong students at the Central Government Offices today.

The goal of the sharing session was to enable the political and education sectors to obtain a deeper understanding of the significance of President Xi's letter in nurturing talent in Hong Kong.

In his letter, President Xi reiterated that patriotic education is the core of the spirit of the Chinese nation and acknowledged Hong Kong people's noble tradition of loving both the country and Hong Kong.

President Xi stated that he is pleased that Hong Kongs younger generation is shouldering their mission and responsibility with a strong sense of national pride.

The letter especially encouraged students to combine reading and travelling, gain a deeper understanding of global trends, delve into the history and culture of the country and national affairs, strengthen their affection for and sense of belonging to the country and sharpen their skills and abilities so that they can shoulder great responsibilities and make contributions to building an even better Hong Kong and advancing national rejuvenation.

Mr Lee said in his speech that President Xi's letter has great significance on Hong Kong which is advancing from stability to prosperity.

He pointed out that the letter demonstrates President Xi's care and encouragement to Hong Kong students, motivates all schools in Hong Kong, and serves as an important guide for the entire education sector.

The Chief Executive added that the Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to strengthening patriotic education and national education and promoting national education in schools within and beyond the classroom, so as to enable students to understand the history, culture and national affairs of the motherland from an early age, cultivate a strong affection for home and country, enhance their sense of national identity and national pride, and raise their awareness of safeguarding national security.

He stressed that he hopes the education sector will carefully study and understand President Xi's letter to grasp its core essence, integrate it into their work and strive together for nurturing capable talent ready to shoulder great responsibilities for Hong Kong.

Also at the sharing session, Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin said to live up to the spirit of the reply letter, the Education Bureau will continue to strive to foster in the younger generation a strong sense of belonging to the country as well as sharpen their skills and abilities.

She made it clear that the bureau will take forward its work on leading students to deepen their understanding on global, national affairs and the principle of "one country, two systems"; helping students to strengthen their affection for and sense of belonging to the country, further enhancing Chinese history and culture education and stepping up the promotion of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) education.

The sharing session was attended by around 230 participants, including Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress; Hong Kong Standing Committee members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; members of the Legislative Council Panel on Education; the directorate of the Education Bureau; representatives of education organisations; the principal, teachers and students of Pui Kiu Middle School; heads of primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens, as well as secondary school teachers and senior secondary school students.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Dobrobut medical network in June increases number of consultations for adults by almost 30%, for children by 70%

In June 2023, the Dobrobut medical network increased the number of consultations compared to June 2022 for adults by almost 30%, for children by 70%.

The medical network told Interfax-Ukraine agency, in particular, in June 2023, the number of visitors to the medical centers of the Dobrobut network amounted to 40,000, while in June 2021 the network received 50,000 visitors, and in June 2022  28,000 visitors.

The network said that the top three in terms of the number of consultations for adults in 2022 included a general practitioner, a gynecologist, and a neuropathologist, while in 2023, therapists, gynecologists, and otolaryngologists were the most in demand.

Dobrobut is one of the largest private medical networks in Ukraine. The network includes 17 medical centers in the city of Kyiv and the region, an emergency service, dentistry and pharmacies. The network's medical centers provide services for children and adults in over 75 medical areas. Every year, Dobrobut specialists perform more than 7,000 operations. The network employs 2,700 employees.

From the first days of the war, the Dobrobut Medical and Diagnostic Center in Kyiv, with the support of Direct Relief International and the Dobrobut Foundation, provided free assistance to wounded soldiers and people who found themselves in a difficult situation due to the war.

Dobrobut became the first private chain in Ukraine to receive funding from the U.S. federal government. With the support of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the company will build a modern physical rehabilitation center.
A scuffle broke out between two groups in Sangvi Shirpur village of Dhule district in Maharashtra over a torn banner during World Tribal Day celebrations. The scuffle soon turned violent as arguments between two groups over the torn poster escalated, resulting in stone pelting from both sides. As per preliminary reports, the banner put up on the occasion of Adivasi Day was torn down by unknown persons. As the situation became more tense, alleged attempts were made to set some people on fire. A few car windows were also shattered.

Section 144 imposed in the area

Sangvi police made attempts to avert a serious collision. Special reserve police force (SRPF), the riot control squad and additional police officers were summoned to the spot. Additionally, all access roads to Sangvi village were blocked. Dhule police have imposed Section 144 in the area. Search for the absconding accused is underway.

This stone-pelting has resulted in several injuries. Shirpur Civil Hospital received three of them for treatment. Three critically injured people, 18-year-old Laxman Bhil, 40-year-old Shivdas Asaram Bhil, and Subhash Vijay Sonawane, have been taken to Dhule for treatment.

After surveying the riot, Tehsildar Mahendra Mali, MLA Kashiram Pawara, and Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjay Barkund were trying to hold talks with the locals, when the windows of the vehicles belonging to Mali and Pavara were smashed.

FIR has been filed, 13 arrests made so far

Commenting on the situation, SP Barkund told Republic, "The incident took place yesterday, when members of a tribal community spotted a torn flex related to the ongoing celebrations. Stone pelting ensued by the agitated mob. Maximum police forces were deployed to control the crowd. Meanwhile, several injuries were reported. As many as three civilians, three senior police officers and 15 officials from Dhule police sustained injuries. We have booked more than 50-60 people. Some 13 arrests have been made so far. We are also verifying the video footage we have received and trying to identify the culprits. More arrests might be made as we probe further. A first information report (FIR) has been filed under sections 353, 307, 143, 149 , 341, 324 and 327 of the Indian Penal Code.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has kicked off his visit to the ASEAN members Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia this week as tensions are heightened between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea. Yi, who was recently appointed as China's Foreign Minister after the months-long disappearance of Qin Gang, started his four-day Southeast Asia trip on Thursday, August 10. Yi's trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia is first since he was appointed in place of Gang on July 25 by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Yi's visit comes as tensions ratcheted between China and Manila over firing at the Philippine supply ship on Second Thomas Shoal by the Chinese coastguard vessel in the South China Sea. The firing of the water cannons by Beijing's forces at the US ally Manila's vessels in the South China Sea has stirred fresh tensions between two nations who have been involved in the longstanding geopolitical dispute over Beijing's occupation of the crucial shoal -- the Spratly Islands.

On August 7, the Philippine government summoned Beijing's ambassador and lodged a diplomatic protest over the South China Sea confrontation.

China 'willing to work with three countries to promote peace': Chinese Foreign Ministry

According to a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wangs trip is aimed at bolstering strategic communication and ties with Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia in order to promote regional stability. Beijing is looking forward to smoothening the rifts with neighbouring island nations amid the growing US-China rivalry. After Manila accused the Xi Jinping administration of being 'offensive' and 'belligerent' in the region, China said that it sought to take professional actions to safeguard its territorial integrity and have diplomatic relations with the neighbouring island nations.

China also lashed out at the US for 'pointing fingers' and creating differences following a statement published by Washington in support of Manilas maritime claims in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands dispute is a long ongoing issue around the territorial claims of the shoal in Southeast Asia between China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei.

China is also willing to work with the three countries to promote economic recovery, maintain peace and tranquillity, and deepen exchanges and mutual learning, as well as making greater contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity for the region and the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry's statement read.

According to the experts, the latest dispute between China and the Philippines could end up in the delay of the negotiation process of the code of conduct that made some progress earlier last month. At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta that was held on July 11-12, the members of the ASEAN awaited the conclusion of the Code of Conduct (CoC) for the South China Sea and East Sea over scores of issues including the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area." At the meeting, the ASEAN members reaffirmed the shared commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the region in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The number of countries that supported the preparation of the Ukrainian Formula of Peace has reached 58, Andriy Yermak, head of the President's Office, said on the air of the telethon on Friday.

"If last time we had 43 countries, today there are already 58. And this is not the end, and I can also say that we have a large number of countries that want to join," he said.

According to Yermak, on Friday there was a meeting on energy security at the ambassadorial level with the leadership of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"Today we talked about energy security. The Prime Minister talked about what the aggressors had done to our strategic infrastructure. The minister of energy, the head of Ukrenergo, and the head of Naftogaz spoke. We also talked about how we are preparing for the heating season, what difficulties we have, where we need help, how we are consolidating our friends and partners in preparation today," the head of the Office said.

"Next time we will talk about environmental safety," Yermak said.

According to him, ten groups have been created for each item of the Peace Formula. "Our specialists will work in these groups, international experts will also be involved," he said.

These working groups, Yermak said, start working on Monday. "Our plan is to develop this detailed program for each item in our formula and have it done by the end of this month. In order that in a month, as we agreed in Jeddah, we could hold the next meeting at the level of advisers and already discuss the date and venue of the summit," Yermak said.
An anonymous social media post that China had produced more research in top scientific journals than the United States has ignited a heated debate among Chinese users. The post also claimed the quality of Chinese research now surpasses the West and that China is on track to win Nobel awards for science in the coming two decades.

The social post, citing data from the scientific journal Nature, is correct in some respects. China for the first time in 2022 surpassed the U.S. in the number of papers published on natural science in 82 journals. But it is misleading in other respects. When more journals are factored in, the U.S. remains the leading source of scientific research. Also, the data do not assess the quality of the research, so any prediction of Nobel prizes is speculative.

The claims were shared in a Chinese-language post on the messaging platform LINE.

Nature conducts an annual assessment of the top 82 scientific research journals worldwide. Chinese research institutes have now published more papers overall than American counterparts, as reported by the 2023 statistics from the publication, reads the post in part.

The lengthy post shared a link to a report published by Nature on June 14, titled: Nature Index Annual Tables 2023: China tops natural-science table.

Screenshot of the misleading LINE post. (Photo by AFCL)

The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output. The index ranks the top institutions, such as universities, and countries each year based on the number of scientific articles and papers published in prominent journals. Its latest 2023 tables are based on Nature Index data from Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022.

Citing the Nature report, the post also made other claims about the performance of Chinese universities and their counterparts in the field of science. AFCL found the post is correct in some respects, but also misleading in other respects. Below is what AFCL discovered.

Did China produce more research in top scientific journals than the U.S.?

The article cited by the LINE post discusses the indexs partial data that covered only 82 journals.

This data shows China for the first time in 2022 surpassed the U.S. in the number of papers published in natural science journals that cover subjects including biology, physics, chemistry, earth science, and astronomy.

Screenshot of a Nature report that shows China for the first time in 2022 surpassed the U.S. in the number of papers published in 82 natural science journals. (Photo by AFCL)





However, according to the final version of the index published by Nature after adding data from 64 medical journals, China fell behind the U.S. in scientific output.

The U.S. scored 21,473.33 shares and 30,503 counts, while China garnered 20050.89 and 24536, respectively, according to the final version.

The Nature Index "Share" counts how many writers from a certain place helped write an article. Each writer is counted the same, with the highest score being 1.0.

Meanwhile, if an article has even just one writer from a specific place or institution, that place gets a Count of one, no matter where the other writers are from.

Screenshot of the final version of the index after adding data from 64 medical journals. (Photo by AFCL)

Did Chinas national academy publish more research papers than Harvard and MIT?

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has published 6,887 papers, representing 21% of the total and surpassing Harvard University and MIT by a factor of two and four, respectively, the LINE post also claimed.

AFCL found this claim to be roughly correct. It is true that the CAS  which topped the 2023 tables with the most shares and counts  outperformed Harvard University and MIT. The counts score CAS garnered is roughly twice that of Harvards with 3,626 and four times that of MITs 1,911.

Screenshot of the Nature Index Tables that shows the CAS topped in 2023 tables with the most shares and counts, outperforming Harvard University and MIT. (Photo by AFCL)

Did some Chinese universities publish more papers than some prestigious Western counterparts?

The total number of papers published by Chinese universities such as the University of Science and Technology of China, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, and Zhejiang University has surpassed that of prestigious institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Cambridge University, and Oxford University, reads the LINE post in part.

But AFCL found this to be misleading. At least one of the four Western universities mentioned in the LINE post did outperform some of the five named Chinese universities.

As for counts, Peking University is the only Chinese university that outperformed the four Western institutions. MIT, Stanford, Cambridge and Oxford all outperform some of the other four universities from China.

Peking University ranks first in counts amongst the institutions measured by Nature for the calendar year 2022, with MIT and Stanford ranking second and third respectively. (Photo by AFCL)





As for shares, only Stanford outranked any of the five Chinese institutions.

Stanford ranks first in shares amongst the institutions measured by Nature for the calendar year 2022. USTC, Nanjing University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Zhejiang University did overtake MIT, Cambridge, and Oxford. (Photo by AFCL)

Did Nature comment on the quality of the research or any prediction of Nobel prizes?

The LINE post, citing a Nature report, also claimed: Chinas basic scientific research meets or even exceeds Western standards. In the next 10 to 20 years, China could produce a sizable number of Nobel Prize recipients in the field of science.

However, AFCL discovered no articles published by Nature that discussed the quality of research conducted by Chinese institutions meeting or exceeding Western standards or the likelihood of China producing a significant number of future Nobel Prize winners in the field of science.

The Nature Index tracks a small proportion of the total number of research articles published, and they cover the natural sciences and health sciences only, Nature noted on its website.

Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals. We encourage users to combine the open source Nature Index data with other information, measures and tools.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mat Pennington.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a new branch of RFA established to counter disinformation in todays complex media environment. Our journalists publish both daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers understanding of public issues.
But is so far holding back on any immediate retaliatory moves such as restricting key technology exports.

A central processing unit semiconductor chip is displayed among flags of China and the U.S., in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023.

Beijing has accused the U.S. of trying to block its development, claiming that the Biden administration is pursuing technology hegemony. It also urged Washington to immediately revoke its erroneous decision.

China strongly opposes and expresses firm dissatisfaction with the U.S.s insistence on implementing investment restrictions against China, said Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a written statement Thursday.

The ministry accused the U.S. of trying to deprive China of its development rights in a move that constituted naked economic coercion and technological bullying.

This action by the U.S. seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, disrupts the international economic and trade order, disturbs the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and severely damages the interests of businesses in China, the U.S. and around the world. Its essence is anti-globalization and decoupling from China.

The strong reaction came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order that regulates American investments in Chinas microchip, quantum computing and artificial intelligence industries.

Biden administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the order will limit Chinas access to technologies critical to the next generation of military innovation.

China opposes the U.S.s overuse of national security to politicize and weaponize trade, scientific and technological issues and deliberately making obstacles to normal economic and trade exchanges and technological cooperation, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for Chinas embassy in Washington, told RFA.

The U.S. side has repeatedly expressed its non-intention to decouple with China, but what it actually did is repeatedly decoupling and severing supply chains from China, he said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, on July 9, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein





In Beijing last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. doesnt want decoupling but is pursuing de-risking.

Beijing is likely to see such words as little more than semantics, but it is in an unfamiliar place economically.

Its a particularly sensitive time, with official data on Wednesday showing that Chinas consumer prices fell year-on-year in July for the first time in two years, amid wide concern about deflationary pressure on what was previously seen as a miracle economy.

I dont think the U.S. Treasury or the [Biden] administration planned it this way, but this is spectacularly bad timing for China, said Eswar Prasad, a professor in international trade at Cornell University, in an interview with CNBC.

Confidence is falling, growth is stalling, China seems to be sliding into a downward spiral with deflation, low growth and lack of confidence all feeding on each other, Prasad added.

Bad folks

At a reelection fundraiser in Utah on Thursday, Biden said, We have China to deal with, calling it a ticking time bomb in many cases, the Associated Press reported.

Theyve got some problems, Biden said. And thats not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.

Biden is known for his unexpected pokes at Beijing, with some commentators referring to them as gaffes.

In June, just two days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped a visit to Beijing, Biden elicited a flurry of angry responses from China by calling Xi Xinping a dictator. Biden declined to walk the remark back.

At the fundraiser on Thursday, Biden said that China was in trouble due to turgid growth and the highest unemployment rate going. He also blasted Xis signature Belt and Road Initiative as the debt and noose, because of the high levels of lending to developing economies associated with the global investment program.

Investing in China

Beijing had previously heralded this year as The Year of Investing in China, but foreign investors have failed to materialize as the administration shows every sign of being determined to make it harder to do business in China, not easier.

Following the implementation of a new counter-espionage law last month, the U.S. State Department advised Americans to reconsider travel to China due to arbitrary enforcement of local law, exit bans and wrongful detentions.

Meanwhile, a long anticipated bounce-back in consumer demand after the end of COVID-19 lockdowns has so far been a damp squib, as China faces what is frequently referred to as the specter of deflation with households and businesses paying down debts rather than exuberantly borrowing and spending.

Its likely that Chinas economic squeeze is making it reluctant to react to the U.S. technology restrictions materially.

According to the latest Chinese rules, which took effect on August 1, exporters of gallium and germanium, rare metals used in computer chips and solar cells, need to obtain government licenses.

China has so far made no further retaliatory moves.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
The department of justice says a judge made an error in refusing an injunction banning 'Glory to Hong Kong.'

People raise their hands as they sing and listen to the protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" during an anti-government demonstration in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 30, 2019.

The Hong Kong government has said that a judge in the city made "an error" in denying an injunction on disseminating a banned protest anthem, and that courts should defer to the executive in matters of "national security."

The city's Department of Justice said on Monday it will appeal a court decision not to grant an injunction banning all reference to Glory to Hong Kong, an anthem of the 2019 protest movement, online and offline, after its application was rejected by the Court of First Instance.

Judge Anthony Chan had ruled that an injunction, which the government wanted to include online platforms visible from Hong Kong, would be unnecessary, as the use of the song is already covered by existing criminal laws, including the 2020 national security law banning public criticism of the government.

The government had wanted the court to grant the ban on broadcasting or distributing the song, which it says advocates "independence" for the city, and which has been mistakenly played at international sporting events instead of the Chinese anthem, "March of the Volunteers."

In a move that undercuts the judicial independence promised to the city by China, it is now appealing on the basis that Chan's ruling was "in error," and that judges should "defer" to the executive when making their decisions.

"The learned Judge erred in failing to take into account the overriding principle that national security is of the highest importance, which must be followed when discharging the Judiciary's constitutional duty to effectively prevent, suppress and impose punishment for any act or activity endangering national security," the appeal document said. "This is a constitutional duty imposed by a national law."

"The learned Judge erred in failing ... to give any or sufficient deference to the executive's assessment on the necessity, effectiveness and utility of the Injunction," the document said, citing the court's "lack of institutional capacity and expertise to make such evaluative judgment."

"Where it is the assessment of the executive authorities that a proposed measure is necessary or may be effective or have utility, the Court should accord due weight and deference to such assessment," it said.

Hong Kong was promised a "high degree of autonomy" under the terms of its 1997 return to Chinese rule, within the "one country, two systems" framework agreed between British and Chinese officials and enshrined in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

1984 pact broken

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration treaty also promised that the city's way of life  including an independent judiciary  would remain unchanged for 50 years, although Chinese officials have since said they are no longer bound by it.

Chinese officials have been speaking for years against the separation of powers -- a mechanism found in liberal democracies to ensure that lawmakers and judicial systems remain free of executive control.

After Beijing imposed the national security law on the city in 2020, Hong Kong officials started to follow suit.

"Our executive, legislative, and judicial arms of government aren't separate as they would be ... in a constitutional political system," then chief executive Carrie Lam said in September 2020. "Any power we enjoy here in Hong Kong is granted to us by the central leadership [in Beijing]."

The appeal document also reveals one of the key reasons that the government wanted the injunction in the first place -- to get it removed from online platforms, where it is often referred to as the Hong Kong National Anthem.

"The Song remains freely available in the internet and remains prevalent ... many of the people disseminate the Song used pseudo-names," it said.

"Major [internet platforms] are only willing to remove ... content from their platforms with the production of a valid court order demonstrating that ... [the] misrepresentation of the Song as the national anthem of Hong Kong ... is unlawful," it said.

So far, Hong Kong has largely escaped the wide-ranging and constant government censorship seen behind China's Great Firewall, despite an ongoing crackdown on public dissent and criticism of the government under a draconian national security law.

Downloads of Glory to Hong Kong spiked on international streaming platforms  before it was removed from some music services soon after the government announced it would seek the injunction in June.

"The learned Judge was wrong in finding that the 'chilling effects' cannot be dismissed when the Injunction is aimed at acts and activities which are unlawful and endanger national security," the appeal document said.

More like the mainland

Current affairs commentator Sang Pu said the use of such arguments in the appeal shows that the government is looking for ways to further subordinate the judiciary to the executive, drawing a parallel with the way things already work in mainland China.

"The whole point of the 'Glory to Hong Kong' case isn't to get the song taken down," Sang Pu said. "It's about the courts and the judiciary."

"[The appeal argument] is tantamount to saying that the courts must comply with whatever the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government asks of them," he said. "It's about gradually forcing the Hong Kong judiciary ... to obey orders from the government."

Legal scholar Kevin Yam said the judge was "brave" to make the ruling he did in the first place.

"The [judge] totally understood the importance of the national security law in the original ruling," Yam said.

"But now the Hong Kong government has now taken the idea that there should be a bit more weight given to what the executive wants ... and conflated it with the very different idea that the executive should totally override the judiciary," Yam said.

"This is a distortion of some very basic principles," he said.

Judicial independence was named as one of seven "taboos" in an internal party ideological directive issued in 2013, shortly after ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping took power.

Other banned topics include press freedom, civil society, citizens' rights, the historical mistakes of the Chinese Communist Party and talking about the financial and political elite.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
The two-month-old thawing of ties between Beijing and Washington faces its first major test this weekend, with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te becoming the self-governing islands latest leader to transit through the United States amid protests from China.

Lai arrives in New York on Saturday en route to Paraguay to attend the inauguration of President-elect Santiago Pena Palacios, before flying home next week  this time after overnighting in San Francisco.

The so-called U.S. transits by the front-runner in Januarys presidential election in Taiwan come at a sensitive time in relations between Washington and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and opposes direct ties between it and the United States.

At the Aspen Security Forum last month, Chinas ambassador in Washington, Xie Feng, even described Lai as being like a gray rhino charging at us, a euphemism that suggested the vice-president could create a loud disturbance in the warming U.S.-China relationship.

As a result, Lais visit will take place with little fanfare.

I think the Biden administration wants to keep this visit low-profile, said Kharis Templeman, a research fellow and Taiwan expert at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution, and Lais team understands that and wont do anything to push the limits this time around.

While such a trip was nothing out of the ordinary, Templeman noted, Beijing was already pathologically suspicious of Lai, who has in the past been associated with Taiwanese independence, and will likely react angrily to indicate the depth of their opposition to Lais visit.

They may also want to make it clear to Taiwan voters that cross-Strait relations will only get worse if they vote for Lai, he added.

Cooling ties

Lais trip mirrors transits through the United States earlier this year by his boss, President Tsai Ing-wen, which were at the time similarly slammed by Beijing as flagrant violations of the One China principle, by which it claims the self-governing island as inalienable territory.

However, Tsais trip came during a more perilous time in U.S.-China relations, with ties heavily strained by the spy balloon incident, U.S. microchip policies and aggressive maneuvers by Chinese fighter jets and warships near Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen waves as she arrives at a hotel in New York, March 30, 2023, during her transit en route to Central America. (John Minchillo/AP)

Since that friction started to ebb in mid-June, though, three members of President Joe Bidens cabinet have made trips to Beijing, with a fourth  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo  expected to follow.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has also been invited to make a trip to Washington, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying this week that it is our full expectation that he will travel to the United States to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

That may be muddied by the U.S. trips by Lai, though, who could soon lead the self-governing island Beijing says is a renegade province.

While Tsais trip in April en route to similar engagements in Taiwans few remaining Latin American allies was more high-profile  it included the president receiving a leadership award in New York from the conservative Hudson Institute  China has seemed no less peeved by this trip by the man it calls the deputy leader of the Taiwan region.

Besides the Chinese ambassadors comments likening Lais trip to a stampeding rhino, Chinas foreign ministry has separately called on the United States to refuse Lais visit, and reiterated its anger at U.S. connivance and support for Taiwan independence separatists.

The Taiwan question is at the core of Chinas core interests and a red line that cannot be crossed, a spokesperson for the ministry said.

China urges the U.S. to abide by the One China principle.

No meet, no foul

Lai is no stranger to controversy, having called himself a pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence. In 2017, he also declared: I am without a doubt a politician who supports Taiwanese independence who will never change this stance no matter what office I hold.

But he has since largely hewed to his partys line that since Taiwan is already independent of Beijing and operating as its own sovereign nation, it does not need to make any further declarations.

Lai himself is also clearly hoping for a lower-profile trip this time than Tsais earlier this year, with Wang Juntao, a leader of the pro-Taiwan Chinese Democratic Party in New York City, saying there are no plans to organize rallies to welcome him as they did Tsai earlier this year.

Wang said he understood Taipeis diplomatic dilemma.

They want to use the transit to showcase the U.S. support for Taiwan's democracy, but also don't want to create any potential trouble for the U.S., Wang said, adding that the U.S. doesnt want to provoke too much conflict. Its difficult to strike the right balance.

As is usual for such unofficial transits by Taiwans leaders, U.S. officials also say there are no plans for White House officials to meet with Lai during his trips through the United States, and note his itinerary  like Tsais in April  carefully avoids Washington.

In this 2015 photo, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen [center] laughs while party officials, including Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te [left], prepare to shout slogans during a news conference in Taipei. (Pichi Chuang/Reuters)

U.S. executive branch leaders have over the years left such meetings to lawmakers, as with House Speaker Kevin McCarthys meeting with Tsai in April or his predecessor Nancy Pelosis trip to Taiwan last August, which triggered the nearly year of tense ties with Beijing.

U.S.-Taiwan relationship

In the background, though, some in Congress have been pressing for even closer official ties with Taiwan. A group of House members last month wrote a public letter to Vice President Kamala Harris calling on her to meet with Lai during his trip, as his formal U.S. counterpart.

Lawmakers in 2018 also passed a law  the Taiwan Travel Act  that expressly allows Taiwanese leaders and officials to visit the United States and authorizes White House officials, as well as officials at the departments of defense and state, to openly meet with them.

More recently, a bipartisan group of senators has pushed to end the practice of double taxation for people who work in both Taiwan and the United States by allowing them to choose where they will be taxed, a measure that would treat the island even more like its own country.

Others still want to outright recognize Taiwan as independent.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Wisconsin who was one of the House members who wrote to Harris, told Radio Free Asia that since Chinese President Xi Jinping had made very clear he planned to one day annex Taiwan, current U.S. policy was akin to appeasement.

He said thats why he introduced a bill to recognize Taiwan as a country. The legislation, he said, was considered fringe only a few years ago, with only one other co-sponsor, but has since gained steam amid growing tensions with China and now has 44 co-sponsors.

History is littered with people who have chosen appeasement with those who are belligerent. It simply does not work, he said. Taiwan has never been part of China. The Taiwanese want to be an independent nation, and they should be allowed to be.

A threat to the thaw

Still, many in Washington still see that kind of stance as unnecessarily belligerent in itself, fearing that changing the U.S. stance could provoke an invasion Beijing could otherwise indefinitely delay as unwise.

We want Xi Jinping to wake up every day and say Hey, you know, its too costly. The risk is too high. Todays not the day were going to invade, said Bonnie Glaser, the managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Xi Jinping has not made a political decision to invade Taiwan, she added. He has a huge amount of problems on his plate already.

But for Lai, the ever-present threat of an invasion makes paying a visit to the United States a no-brainer, especially if that annoys Beijing, said Wuer Kaixi, a former Tiananmen Square protest leader and general secretary of the Taiwan Parliamentary Human Rights Commission.

If China is going to play any role in the upcoming presidential elections, it would be the question of whether Taiwan is prepared to defend itself, or whether its better off doing a deal with Beijing, Wuer Kaixi told RFA, adding it seemed clear where the votes were.

Taiwanese watched what happened in Hong Kong, he said, and most of them refuse doing a deal with Beijing.

Jane Tang contributed reporting.
Refugees and rights organizations are concerned the data could be used against the refugees.

People who fled from Myanmar collect donated clothes at a temporary distribution center in Farkawn village near the India-Myanmar border, in the northeastern state of Mizoram, India, Nov. 20, 2021. Indian media outlets have reported that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, Manipur and Mizoram state officials earlier this year discussed biometric data collection and decided to start the process in Manipur.

Authorities in the Indian border state of Manipur have begun collecting biometric data from thousands of Myanmar citizens who have fled conflict between armed ethnic groups and the military junta in their home country, but the refugees fear that the collected data could be shared with the junta, several refugees told Radio Free Asia.

Since fighting broke out on July 22 in the town of Khampat on the Myanmar side of the border, more than a thousand local residents have fled to Manipur. They have not been able to return since.

They are among about 50,000 Myanmar citizens who have fled to India since the junta ousted Myanmars democratically elected government in a coup in 2021. The Indian government has been collecting biometric data since the end of July.

The refugees, aid workers and human rights activists are concerned that India will arrest Myanmar citizens using the collected biometric information and hand them over to the military junta or that they could be swept up into internal conflicts in India.

Refugees from Myanmar are required to record their fingerprints, eyes, face, and voice, a Myanmar refugee, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFAs Burmese Service.

They register by scanning the eyes and all 10 fingerprints. The data has been collected as if we are migrants from another country, the refugee said. The first place the biometric data was collected was in the detention center.

The refugee said that all of the refugees in the center will be registered within the next three to four days.

All of us outside the center will have to register ourselves as migrants in police stations as migrants, and we will have to provide our biometric data to do so.

Another refugee said many feel unsafe because they are worried that the biometric data could be used against them. Additionally, they fear that the government is increasing security measures because the refugees could be swept up in a local ethnic conflict.

Armed Kuki men guard a checkpoint at Torbung village in Churachandpur district, in the northeastern state of Manipur, India, July 23, 2023. Credit: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

In the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki, two local Indian ethnic groups,  the Kuki tribe is protecting the Myanmar refugees. So in return the refugees seem to support the Kuki, the second refugee said. Indian authorities might have concerns that the refugees might be involved or complicit in the conflict which could lead to our mistreatment at the local level as well.

According to a statement of the Manipur state government on July 29, the biometric data collection process started in the foreigner detention center near the Sajiwa prison in East Imphal District.

Indian media outlets reported that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, Manipur and Mizoram state officials discussed the issue of registering Myanmar refugees in April 2023 and decided to start the process in Manipur state. Current directives from the ministry authorize biometric data collection in Manipur starting on July 29 and ending on Sept. 30.

Concerns

The biometric data could enable the selective arrest of any refugee who is wanted by Myanmars junta, Salai Dohka, an official for an India-based organization called India for Myanmar, told RFA.

Myanmar political activists who [the junta] regard as criminals  who are sheltering in India could be sent back to Myanmar in some form of criminal exchange, said Dohka. We are also worried that Myanmar refugees in India could be accused of committing drug and other unlawful crimes and could be used as scapegoats in ethnic disputes caused by political conflicts in India.

Internally displaced people are seen in Kampat, Sagaing region, Myanmar, near the Indian border as they try to flee escalating fighting, July 24, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

Salai Tel Ra, the program manager of Chin Human Rights Organization, told RFA that the collection of biometric data should not be done and that there is a rising concern about how this information will be used.

This information is related to the rights of each citizen and their survival and security, said Ra. They should not force the refugees to give up their biometric data. It would be another story if the stakeholders voluntarily consent to it. In fact, [the refugees data] is none of the Indian governments business.

RFA attempted to contact both the Indian Embassy in Yangon and the Indian Foreign Ministry in New Delhi for comment on the situation, but neither has responded. Officials of the East Imphal District in Manipur state were also not responsive to questions.

The Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi did not reply to emails asking if they would protect the refugees.

The juntas spokesperson in the Sagaing region did not respond to telephone calls.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Eugene Whong.
An eight-month-old child was among the victims of the monastery bombing.

Four civilians, including an eight-month-old child, were killed and at least 10 injured when a junta jet bombed a township in Myanmars Sagaing region on Friday morning, residents told RFA.

The jet bombed a monastery in Sagaing townships Ta Laing village, where displaced people were sheltering, according to a local who didnt want to be named for fear of reprisals.

At around four in the morning, the jet hovered and dropped a bomb as a junta column entered Ta Laing village, hitting the monastery gate and causing casualties, said the local.

Junta troops raided the village in the early morning and civilians were also arrested but there was no fighting.

The local said around 80 troops entered the village after the airstrike and detained around 20 villagers, who were still being held as of Friday afternoon local time.

A local Peoples Defense Force member, who requested anonymity, told RFA that troops fired rocket-propelled grenades at the monastery when they withdrew on Friday afternoon.

On the way out of Ta Laing village, the junta troops opened fire with two shots with shoulder-fired weapons toward the monastery, he said, adding that a battle with his anti-junta militia was almost certain to happen.

Locals said more than 6,000 civilians from villages in Sagaing township fled their homes ahead of the junta raid.

Calls to the juntas spokesperson for Sagaing region, Saw Naing, went unanswered.

Junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said on July 31 that the junta is staking out territory and declaring martial law in parts of the country in order to restore peace and stability.

The junta has extended the state of emergency for another six months, further pushing back plans to hold national elections to replace the military regime that has run Myanmar since a February 2021 coup..

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
The U.S. aid agency will open its expanded mission to Pacific island countries next week, aiming to show commitment to a region that now has the option of turning to China for infrastructure and development assistance.

The visit of the agencys top official, former diplomat and journalist Samantha Power, to Papua New Guinea and Fiji from Aug 13-16 coincides with the Chinese navys hospital ship, Peace Ark, visiting several Pacific island countries to provide medical care.

Powers trip would be an opportunity for the U.S. to listen to partners and to discover how we can more effectively deliver on the priorities set by Pacific islanders, said Michael Schiffer, assistant administrator for the Bureau of Asia at the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, at a briefing on Thursday.

The U.S. government outlined plans to boost its USAID presence during a summit with Pacific island leaders in September last year that was a response to Chinas inroads in the region.

U.S. participation in the vast ocean region dwindled after the early 1990s disintegration of its Cold War-era rival, the Soviet Union. Its diminished diplomatic presence was an opening for Chinas government to expand its influence by helping to meet the substantial development needs of economically-lagging Pacific island nations.

In Papua New Guinea, Power will mark the elevation of the USAID presence there to a country representative office overseeing USAID programs in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. In Fijis capital Suva, she will open what the agency says is a reestablished regional mission that will work with nine Pacific island countries.

In Fiji, she will also address an annual conference of defense chiefs, which is jointly hosted by Fijis military and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, on the subject of underpinning U.S. engagement in the region based on defense, diplomacy and development, according to Schiffer.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), speaks during a press conference in Sarajevo on Jan. 21, 2022. Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters





Pacific islands nations hope to benefit from the China-U.S. rivalry but are also critical of what some see as the gap between reality and the rhetoric of donors and multilateral financial institutions, particularly on insufficient financing for projects to withstand climate change and projections for sea-level rise this century.

They say they are with us on our regional threats but theres a disconnect between this and the resources they offer on the table, Fijis Finance Minister Biman Prasad said Thursday at a meeting of the regions economic ministers.

China, over several decades, has become a substantial source of trade, infrastructure and aid for developing Pacific island countries as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and build its own set of global institutions.

The Solomon Islands has been Chinas highest profile success in building influence among Pacific island countries in recent years. It switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in 2019 and last year signed a security pact with China, alarming the U.S. and allies such as Australia, who fear it could pave the way for a Chinese military presence.

Schiffer said the U.S. and Solomon Islands governments are continuing to discuss a greater contribution of U.S. aid and infrastructure for the country of 700,000 people, which grapples with lack of roads, spotty telecommunications and insufficient basic healthcare.

A USAID project in the most populous Solomon Islands province, Malaita  which in February ousted premier Daniel Suidani who blocked China-funded aid and projects  had disappointed locals by not providing immediate benefits.

Chinese naval hospital ship, Peace Ark, docks on a visit to Tonga's capital city Nuku'alofa on July 28, 2023. Credit: Tupou Vaipulu/AFP





The Peace Ark hospital ship has recently visited Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu as part of its current mission in the Pacific, according to Chinese state media and Pacific island media reports.

Its stop in Tonga last month happened just a couple of days after a visit by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to underline the recent opening of a U.S. embassy in the Polynesian kingdom.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy hospital ship, Mercy, will be docked in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara in November to provide medical care when the city hosts the Pacific Games, according to the Solomon Islands government.

Eileen Natuzzi, a Pacific islands health expert and affiliate faculty at Georgetown Universitys Centre for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies, has said that the hulking white hulled hospital ships are only big public relations.

Regardless of which country provides them, military medical missions do not address the significant health system issues that people living in Pacific Island countries currently face, she said in a July commentary for the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

These problems require a much deeper long-term commitment than the Mercy or Peace Ark can achieve, she said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
Green groups in the Philippines are welcoming the governments decision this week to suspend nearly two dozen Chinese-backed reclamation projects in Manila Bay until it completes a review on the environmental impact.

The temporary halt will allow regulators to review each project approved under former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Marcos administration said after the American embassy had expressed concern last week over the role of a -blacklisted Chinese company in the projects and their potential environmental impact.

Maria Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga, the environment secretary, announced the projects suspension Thursday, saying that all are under review for a cumulative impact assessment on the environment. She did not give a specific timeline for the reviews, but said her office would determine compliance including whether the projects had environmental clearance certificates.

We welcome this [cumulative impact assessment], as it is a long-overdue step in the complete appraisal of the impacts of reclamation across the critical bay ecosystem, said the Peoples Network for the Integrity of Coastal Habitats and Ecosystems (Peoples NICHE), which along with another organization representing some 20 local environmental advocacy groups, applauded the action.

We also hope it serves as a precedent for similar approaches in other parts of the country where reclamation projects are also concentrated, such as in Metro Cebu, Peoples NICHE said in a letter to the environment department, referring to a highly urbanized city in the central Philippines.

The suspension comes amid increasing tensions between the Philippines and China over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, although the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tried to balance friendly ties with both China and Beijings geopolitical rival, the United States.

A China Coast Guard ship last weekend fired water cannon at a Philippine Coast Guard ship escorting a civilian convoy that was delivering supplies to a Filipino marine outpost in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal). Since then, the two sides have exchanged angry messages, and the Philippines said it was close to launching joint patrols with the U.S. in contested waters as well as deploying its own maritime militia there.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. Embassy had noted the reclamation projects link to the state-run China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), saying the U.S. Department of Commerce had added the firm to its Entity List for helping the Chinese military construct and militarize artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control had also included CCCC on its sanctions list.

A Filipina takes part in a protest outside the Chinese consulate in Metro Manila, Aug. 11, 2023. Credit: Basilio Sepe/BenarNews

Peoples NICHE warned that some big-ticket projects could be cleared on technicalities during the review. It said one airport project that encroaches on Manila Bay farther north has been identified as a land development project.

We believe that all infrastructure projects in the Manila Bay area should be included in the impact assessment because doing otherwise will only give us an impoverished understanding of the scale and scope of their environmental impacts, it said.

The group also called on the government to include social scientists on its review team because of concerns that projects would displace large communities.

Yulo-Loyzaga said a scientific team would be organized within the month to carry out the study. While announcing that the 22 projects approved during the Duterte administration (2016-22) had been suspended, she did not provide a specific list.

We have to take our time, really, beginning with those that are ongoing, because they are, in fact, already impacting the areas. And then, we will graduate to those that are in fact, still not yet begun, the secretary said.

Endangered clams

On Friday, the Tanggol Kalikasan (Protect the Environment) group said it supported growing calls by legislators and other nationalist groups to ban CCCC from operating in the Philippines.

[C]hinese companies are involved in major projects in the Philippines such as the Manila Bay Reclamation Project that have adverse impacts on the environment and biodiversity, Tanggol Kalikasan said.

The presence of Chinese maritime militia boats in contested waters had led to the destruction of vital coral reefs, the group alleged.

Poaching of endangered giant clams has also become prevalent, the group said.

On Friday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, a Marcos ally, said taxpayers were unwittingly funding Chinas illegal activities in the South China Sea because of the continued patronage of Chinese contractors.

He called on the Marcos government to cut ties with the Chinese contractors.

The public works department has projects with companies that are state-owned by China, which has not stopped bullying our fishermen, Zubiri said in a local radio interview.

Then lets retaliate and blacklist these companies. Why should Filipino taxpayers pay these state-owned firms, whose income would go back to China, which will then use it to pay for their navy and coast guard who will harass us, he said. That is not right.

He said the government should look at awarding big-ticket projects to friendlier countries such as Japan or South Korea.

Lets just give them to our neighbors who love us, who are our friends, those who are helping us, he said, as he hit out at China for being two-faced by publicly declaring its friendship yet doing things to undermine the Philippines.

Basilio Sepe, Jojo Rinoza and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
A Chinese government-sponsored visit to Xinjiang by 25 Beijing-based ambassadors and other diplomats from developing countries has come under fire by human rights activists for pushing an official narrative that the mostly Muslim Uyghurs in the far-western region are thriving, despite the reality of severe repression.

The delegation, which included diplomats from Dominica, Myanmar, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Nicaragua and Mexico, visited the western autonomous region from July 31 to Aug. 3.

Xinhua news agency and CGTN, Chinas state-run international TV broadcaster, covered the diplomats as they visited Xinjiangs capital Urumqi, the cities of Aksu and Kashgar, and other significant locales to observe the regions economic and social progress and affirm that the local population in Xinjiang is living a happy life.

And the Chinese government's efforts appear to have paid off.

During our time in Xinjiang, we had open conversations with the local people and observed that they lead content and happy lives, Martin Charles, the ambassador to China from the small Caribbean island nation of Dominica, told Xinhua.

We didnt come across any instances of forced labor, and there were no indications of human rights violations, he said.

China is relying on government-organized visits for foreign officials and influential people from various professions to promote an alternative vision of Uyghur life in Xinjiang amid growing condemnation by Western nations over its maltreatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities.

The U.S. government and several Western parliaments have declared that the ongoing human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions, torture, forced sterilizations of Uyghur women, and forced labor, amount to genocide and crimes against humanity.

China has also denounced a report issued nearly a year ago by the U.N. high commissioner for human rights that documented cases of severe rights abuses in Xinjiang. The report said that the abuses could constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.

Though the groups invited to tour the region are diverse, they have one thing in common: They all support Chinas Xinjiang policy.

'Telling the story of Xinjiang well'

In early February, another visiting delegation of Beijing-based ambassadors and diplomats from African countries, including Senegal, Benin, Mali, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Uganda, Lesotho and Chad, visited Xinjiang and expressed support for Chinas policies there.

All the countries maintain strong economic ties with China because many have benefited from Chinese-built and financed infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. They also support China within the United Nations.

Members of the delegation of diplomats who visited in July also expressed their rejection of a previous proposal by the U.N.s top human rights body to hold debate on alleged rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The proposal by mostly Western nations, including the United States, was voted down in October 2022.

Six days before the diplomats visited Xinjiang, the Chinese government organized a seminar in Urumqi to convey its narrative of the region. During discussions about telling the story of Xinjiang well, participants emphasized reaching overseas audiences by transmitting the narrative in languages other than Mandarin Chinese.

Hector Dorbecker, counselor for economic-commercial and financial affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Beijing, tries to play dutar, a long-necked two-stringed lute, in Jiayi village of Xinhe county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 2, 2023. Credit: Zhao Chenjie/Xinhua via Getty Images

In late December 2018, a delegation of diplomats from Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, and 12 other countries, all stationed in Beijing, visited Xinjiang on an agenda organized by the Chinese government, which presented re-education camps as voluntary vocational training centers.

The Chinese government has also sponsored foreign journalists on trips to Xinjiang.

Chinese officials arranged for a group of journalists from 10 foreign media outlets to tour major cities in Xinjiang in April 2021 to defend its policies in the region and dispel reports of human rights abuses.

In August 2019, Chinese Communist Party officials hosted another group of foreign journalists, most of whom worked for state broadcasters from countries along the Silk Road economic belt, putting them up in fancy hotels while they toured Xinjiang and lecturing them on Chinas measures to stop terrorism and separatism in the region.

The officials took the journalists to some mosques still left standing though authorities had closed, demolished, or turned into museums many others in Xinjiang, to a re-education camp they said was a vocational training center, and to shows where young Uyghurs danced and sang.

rights activists weigh in

Henryk Szadziewski, director of research at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said the arranged visits are a consistent tactic employed by the Chinese government to conceal their wrongdoings during which they use others to amplify their messages.

Whether it is a western vlogger doing a travel blog or diplomats from countries that are friendly, or that rely on China in terms of its economy, or [face] threats or pressure, they put out this message that Xinjiang is now safe and prosperous as a region, he said.

While China invites people from nations sympathetic to its perspective to visit Xinjiang, it has rejected requests by the U.S. and human rights groups that independent investigators be able to visit the region.

Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said all visits to Xinjiang by foreign diplomats were designed by China to cover up rights abuses.

If everything is fine, why not let in independent international investigators, particularly given the mountain of evidence of some of the most serious crimes under international law? she asked.



So, its not clear why some people got to go and others dont unless Beijing has something to hide, she said.

Sayragul Sauytbay, an ethnic Kazakh who testified about the abuse she witnessed while detained in a re-education camp in Xinjiang, cautioned visiting diplomats against ignoring Chinas rights abuses in the region and becoming accomplices to them.

They know and can see China is lying, but they are turning a blind eye, she said. These are the countries that rely on China, but for them, this is a rare opportunity. They are going there to help spread propaganda and cover up the crimes China has committed.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
Nguyen Van Chuong is believed to be at imminent risk of execution, despite allegations of police torture.

Amnesty International, the European Union and other international organizations have urged Vietnams president to halt the execution of a prisoner convicted in the 2007 murder of a police major, saying there are serious concerns he was tortured and didnt receive a fair trial.

Nguyen Van Chuong, 40, is believed to be at imminent risk of execution, according to an Amnesty International statement.

His family was asked on Aug. 4 to report to the Peoples Court of Haiphong city within three days to make arrangements to receive his remains  but they werent given information on an execution date, the statement said.

The case against him has been beset by disturbing allegations from day one, including that he was beaten and hung upside down during interrogation to force a confession, Amnestys Montse Ferrer said in the statement.

Chuong was convicted in the robbery and murder of Major Nguyen Van Sinh in Haiphong city in northeastern Vietnam. Two others were convicted in the case.

He and his family have made many petitions, asking all levels of the administration to reconsider his death sentence.

Chuong alleges he was beaten and coerced by the investigator while the testimonies of the other suspects contradicted each other. The make of weapon described and the marks on the victims body were inconsistent in their statements.

Additionally, state media reports have shown that several people from Chuongs village  40 kilometers (24 miles) away from the crime scene  were willing to testify that they saw him at the time of the murder.

The court relied primarily on the polices reports to convict Chuong, according to Amnesty International.

Authorities have denied that Chuong was tortured during the investigation.

The London-based Amnesty lists Vietnam, China and North Korea as countries that are known to use the death penalty extensively, but also where use of the death penalty remained shrouded in secrecy and statistics were incomplete or unavailable.

The Death Penalty Information Center says Vietnam handed down 102 death sentences in 2022.

A very hot case

Fridays statements and petitions from the U.N. Human Rights Office, diplomatic missions and other international organizations would certainly create an impact on Vietnamese leaders, lawyer Le Van Hoa told Radio Free Asia.

This is now a very hot case in Vietnam and many people inside the country have already made petitions and recommendations to the government and Party leaders, he said.

Hoa was the Head of Inspection of Unfair Sentences of the Central Committee of Internal Affairs from 2013 to 2014 and was tasked with reviewing many questionable cases, including Chuongs.

After studying the case file, his team realized that the death sentence against Chuong was full of holes. They proposed that the Central Committee of Internal Affairs consult with the National Assembly Standing Committee to direct and re-examine this case.

But for unknown reasons, the Central Committee for Internal Affairs stopped looking into the case and the death penalty remained in place, Hoa told RFA last year.

Hoa later retired and began providing legal counsel to Chuongs family.

Now that the Chief Justice of the Hai Phong Supreme Peoples Court has signed a decision to proceed with the execution, only an intervention by Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong can stop it, Hoa told RFA on Friday.

Executions in secret

A letter to Thuong sent on Wednesday from 13 international human rights organizations said it was unclear if the execution is imminent or has already been carried out. They urged the president to immediately notify Chuongs family about his current status.

Vietnam continues to use the death penalty, mostly in secret, regardless of the global trend toward abolishing the death penalty, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said in a statement.

We call on the authorities to immediately halt the execution, and to carry out an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture, he said.

The use of confessions extracted under torture that results in a death sentence violates both the absolute prohibition of torture as well as fair trial guarantees, rendering the sentence arbitrary and a violation of the right to life, as set out in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Viet Nam is a state party.

The E.U. and the diplomatic missions of Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom in Vietnam also appealed to Vietnamese authorities to stop the execution.

We strongly oppose the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances, which is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can never be justified, and advocate for Vietnam to adopt a moratorium on all executions, they said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova has said that negotiations on providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles are ongoing.

"We are in the process and are working to get these long-range missiles and strike at enemy targets throughout Ukraine, launching shells from the ground. We hope that we will get these opportunities in the near future," Markarova said in an interview with LB.ua.

She also said that the United States very positively perceived the initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the forum of defense industries.

"Many U.S. companies have already joined the work and ask us when we can organize a forum and how many companies we are going to bring. By the way, this is an important question, because even large corporations do not work without contractors. Therefore, we need to bring everyone together - both large manufacturers, and those who supply them with components, and the financial sector, and everything else," Markarova noted.
In 2013 and 2014, I wrote extensively about new revelations regarding NSA surveillance based on the documents provided by Edward Snowden. But I had a more personal involvement as well.

I wrote the essay below in September 2013. The New Yorker agreed to publish it, but The Guardian asked me not to. It was scared of UK law enforcement and worried that this essay would reflect badly on it. And given that the UK police would raid its offices in July 2014, it had legitimate cause to be worried.

Now, ten years later, I offer this as a time capsule of what those early months of Snowden were like.

It's a surreal experience, paging through hundreds of top-secret NSA documents. You're peering into a forbidden world: strange, confusing, and fascinating all at the same time.

I had flown down to Rio de Janeiro in late August at the request of Glenn Greenwald. He had been working on the Edward Snowden archive for a couple of months, and had a pile of more technical documents that he wanted help interpreting. According to Greenwald, Snowden also thought that bringing me down was a good idea.

It made sense. I didn't know either of them, but I have been writing about cryptography, security, and privacy for decades. I could decipher some of the technical language that Greenwald had difficulty with, and understand the context and importance of various document. And I have long been publicly critical of the NSA's eavesdropping capabilities. My knowledge and expertise could help figure out which stories needed to be reported.

I thought about it a lot before agreeing. This was before David Miranda, Greenwald's partner, was detained at Heathrow airport by the UK authorities; but even without that, I knew there was a risk. I fly a lot -- a quarter of a million miles per year -- and being put on a TSA list, or being detained at the US border and having my electronics confiscated, would be a major problem. So would the FBI breaking into my home and seizing my personal electronics. But in the end, that made me more determined to do it.

I did spend some time on the phone with the attorneys recommended to me by the ACLU and the EFF. And I talked about it with my partner, especially when Miranda was detained three days before my departure. Both Greenwald and his employer, The Guardian, are careful about whom they show the documents to. They publish only those portions essential to getting the story out. It was important to them that I be a co-author, not a source. I didn't follow the legal reasoning, but the point is that The Guardian doesn't want to leak the documents to random people. It will, however, write stories in the public interest, and I would be allowed to review the documents as part of that process. So after a Skype conversation with someone at The Guardian, I signed a letter of engagement.

And then I flew to Brazil.

I saw only a tiny slice of the documents, and most of what I saw was surprisingly banal. The concerns of the top-secret world are largely tactical: system upgrades, operational problems owing to weather, delays because of work backlogs, and so on. I paged through weekly reports, presentation slides from status meetings, and general briefings to educate visitors. Management is management, even inside the NSA. Reading the documents, I felt as though I were sitting through some of those endless meetings.

The meeting presenters try to spice things up. Presentations regularly include intelligence success stories. There were details -- what had been found, and how, and where it helped -- and sometimes there were attaboys from "customers" who used the intelligence. I'm sure these are intended to remind NSA employees that they're doing good. It definitely had an effect on me. Those were all things I want the NSA to be doing.

There were so many code names. Everything has one: every program, every piece of equipment, every piece of software. Sometimes code names had their own code names. The biggest secrets seem to be the underlying real-world information: which particular company MONEYROCKET is; what software vulnerability EGOTISTICALGIRAFFE -- really, I am not making that one up -- is; how TURBINE works. Those secrets collectively have a code name -- ECI, for exceptionally compartmented information -- and almost never appear in the documents. Chatting with Snowden on an encrypted IM connection, I joked that the NSA cafeteria menu probably has code names for menu items. His response: "Trust me when I say you have no idea."

Those code names all come with logos, most of them amateurish and a lot of them dumb. Note to the NSA: take some of that more than ten-billion-dollar annual budget and hire yourself a design firm. Really; it'll pay off in morale.

Once in a while, though, I would see something that made me stop, stand up, and pace around in circles. It wasn't that what I read was particularly exciting, or important. It was just that it was startling. It changed -- ever so slightly -- how I thought about the world.

Greenwald said that that reaction was normal when people started reading through the documents.

Intelligence professionals talk about how disorienting it is living on the inside. You read so much classified information about the world's geopolitical events that you start seeing the world differently. You become convinced that only the insiders know what's really going on, because the news media is so often wrong. Your family is ignorant. Your friends are ignorant. The world is ignorant. The only thing keeping you from ignorance is that constant stream of classified knowledge. It's hard not to feel superior, not to say things like "If you only knew what we know" all the time. I can understand how General Keith Alexander, the director of the NSA, comes across as so supercilious; I only saw a minute fraction of that secret world, and I started feeling it.

It turned out to be a terrible week to visit Greenwald, as he was still dealing with the fallout from Miranda's detention. Two other journalists, one from The Nation and the other from The Hindu, were also in town working with him. A lot of my week involved Greenwald rushing into my hotel room, giving me a thumb drive of new stuff to look through, and rushing out again.

A technician from The Guardian got a search capability working while I was there, and I spent some time with it. Question: when you're given the capability to search through a database of NSA secrets, what's the first thing you look for? Answer: your name.

It wasn't there. Neither were any of the algorithm names I knew, not even algorithms I knew that the US government used.

I tried to talk to Greenwald about his own operational security. It had been incredibly stupid for Miranda to be traveling with NSA documents on the thumb drive. Transferring files electronically is what encryption is for. I told Greenwald that he and Laura Poitras should be sending large encrypted files of dummy documents back and forth every day.

Once, at Greenwald's home, I walked into the backyard and looked for TEMPEST receivers hiding in the trees. I didn't find any, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. Greenwald has a lot of dogs, but I don't think that would hinder professionals. I'm sure that a bunch of major governments have a complete copy of everything Greenwald has. Maybe the black bag teams bumped into each other in those early weeks.

I started doubting my own security procedures. Reading about the NSA's hacking abilities will do that to you. Can it break the encryption on my hard drive? Probably not. Has the company that makes my encryption software deliberately weakened the implementation for it? Probably. Are NSA agents listening in on my calls back to the US? Very probably. Could agents take control of my computer over the Internet if they wanted to? Definitely. In the end, I decided to do my best and stop worrying about it. It was the agency's documents, after all. And what I was working on would become public in a few weeks.

I wasn't sleeping well, either. A lot of it was the sheer magnitude of what I saw. It's not that any of it was a real surprise. Those of us in the information security community had long assumed that the NSA was doing things like this. But we never really sat down and figured out the details, and to have the details confirmed made a big difference. Maybe I can make it clearer with an analogy. Everyone knows that death is inevitable; there's absolutely no surprise about that. Yet it arrives as a surprise, because we spend most of our lives refusing to think about it. The NSA documents were a bit like that. Knowing that it is surely true that the NSA is eavesdropping on the world, and doing it in such a methodical and robust manner, is very different from coming face-to-face with the reality that it is and the details of how it is doing it.

I also found it incredibly difficult to keep the secrets. The Guardian's process is slow and methodical. I move much faster. I drafted stories based on what I found. Then I wrote essays about those stories, and essays about the essays. Writing was therapy; I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and write an essay. But that put me at least three levels beyond what was published.

Now that my involvement is out, and my first essays are out, I feel a lot better. I'm sure it will get worse again when I find another monumental revelation; there are still more documents to go through.

I've heard it said that Snowden wants to damage America. I can say with certainty that he does not. So far, everyone involved in this incident has been incredibly careful about what is released to the public. There are many documents that could be immensely harmful to the US, and no one has any intention of releasing them. The documents the reporters release are carefully redacted. Greenwald and I repeatedly debated with The Guardian editors the newsworthiness of story ideas, stressing that we would not expose government secrets simply because they're interesting.

The NSA got incredibly lucky; this could have ended with a massive public dump like Chelsea Manning's State Department cables. I suppose it still could. Despite that, I can imagine how this feels to the NSA. It's used to keeping this stuff behind multiple levels of security: gates with alarms, armed guards, safe doors, and military-grade cryptography. It's not supposed to be on a bunch of thumb drives in Brazil, Germany, the UK, the US, and who knows where else, protected largely by some random people's opinions about what should or should not remain secret. This is easily the greatest intelligence failure in the history of ever. It's amazing that one person could have had so much access with so little accountability, and could sneak all of this data out without raising any alarms. The odds are close to zero that Snowden is the first person to do this; he's just the first person to make public that he did. It's a testament to General Alexander's power that he hasn't been forced to resign.

It's not that we weren't being careful about security, it's that our standards of care are so different. From the NSA's point of view, we're all major security risks, myself included. I was taking notes about classified material, crumpling them up, and throwing them into the wastebasket. I was printing documents marked "TOP SECRET/COMINT/NOFORN" in a hotel lobby. And once, I took the wrong thumb drive with me to dinner, accidentally leaving the unencrypted one filled with top-secret documents in my hotel room. It was an honest mistake; they were both blue.

If I were an NSA employee, the policy would be to fire me for that alone.

Many have written about how being under constant surveillance changes a person. When you know you're being watched, you censor yourself. You become less open, less spontaneous. You look at what you write on your computer and dwell on what you've said on the telephone, wonder how it would sound taken out of context, from the perspective of a hypothetical observer. You're more likely to conform. You suppress your individuality. Even though I have worked in privacy for decades, and already knew a lot about the NSA and what it does, the change was palpable. That feeling hasn't faded. I am now more careful about what I say and write. I am less trusting of communications technology. I am less trusting of the computer industry.

After much discussion, Greenwald and I agreed to write three stories together to start. All of those are still in progress. In addition, I wrote two commentaries on the Snowden documents that were recently made public. There's a lot more to come; even Greenwald hasn't looked through everything.

Since my trip to Brazil (one month before), I've flown back to the US once and domestically seven times -- all without incident. I'm not on any list yet. At least, none that I know about.
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent with RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

Erstwhile allies Pakistan and Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist rulers continue to spar over the Taliban's alleged support to militants fighting Islamabad.

"It is the responsibility of the security and intelligence agencies of Pakistan to carry out their duties properly and not to blame Afghanistan," chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on August 9

His statement was an apparent response to an August 7 speech by General Asim Munir. The head of Pakistan's powerful military said Islamabad was concerned "over sanctuaries available to banned outfits and the liberty of action they enjoy on Afghan soil," vowing that his country will dismantle terrorist organizations.

"The involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents in Pakistan is detrimental to regional peace," Munir said.

On August 6, Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob called on his fighters to obey a recent decree by their supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, which forbids them from engaging in jihad outside Afghanistan.

"If mujahedin (Taliban forces) continue to fight despite orders from the emir to stop, then it is not jihad but rather hostility," Yaqoob said.

The decree is part of the Taliban's response to Islamabad's accusations that Afghan fighters are involved in attacks on Pakistani forces by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other jihadist groups who shelter inside Afghanistan.

Why It's Important: The public bickering indicates that Islamabad now sees Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as a major security threat after abandoning efforts to end the TTP's insurgency through peace talks brokered by the Afghan Taliban.

Since the Taliban returned to power, partially enabled by Pakistani support for its two-decade-long insurgency, the TTP dramatically escalated its attacks on Pakistani forces.

Islamabad's efforts to end the violence by offering concessions to the group in talks mediated by the Taliban backfired as the TTP violence turned into an expanding insurgency. The group is trying to regain control of large swathes of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province bordering Afghanistan.

But under Munir's leadership, the Pakistani military is pressuring the Afghan Taliban to rein in the TTP because of its close organizational and ideological alliance with its Afghan hosts.

What's Next: There are no signs that the TTP is stepping back from its violent campaign against Pakistan.

With elections looming, Pakistan will be governed by an interim caretaker government in the near future.

The continuation or increase in Pakistani Taliban violence will prompt Munir to exert more pressure on the Afghan Taliban in this sensitive period, further tearing apart the two former allies.

What To Keep An Eye On

Humanitarian aid groups operating in Afghanistan warn about the dangerous consequences of severe funding shortfalls as they grapple with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The UN estimates that nearly 30 million Afghans out of a population of 40 million need humanitarian assistance as they struggle with the consequences of a collapsing economy.

Afghanistan is still reeling from the loss of development and financial aid after donors stopped funding one of the world's most aid-dependent countries following the Taliban's return to power two years ago.

"We need some $110 million immediately to store food for the winter for nearly 3 million people," said Wahidullah Amani, a spokesman for the World Food Program in Afghanistan.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a U.S. NGO, expressed concern over diminishing funds to respond to Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis.

The IRC says that only 23 percent of the $4.6 billion humanitarian appeal has been funded this year. By the same time last year, 40 percent of the previous plan was funded.

Why It's Important: This is a vital issue, as the Taliban's cash-strapped, unrecognized government is unlikely to fund humanitarian operations or pull an economic miracle.

Western donors are unlikely to shower aid on Afghanistan in a world struggling with multiple humanitarian crises because of the Taliban's harsh policies and extensive human rights abuses.

This will expose more of the most vulnerable Afghans to extreme hardship in the near future.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.
A polytechnic school in Russias Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.

The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.

The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.

Since then, RFE/RLs Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.

My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away, Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. He said to me on the phone, Come and get me or Ill die, so I picked him up immediately.

Zhanna, who asked that her underage sons name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.

The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.

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.

But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.

This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation, Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. [Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.

The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.

Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.

This was the last straw for me, Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.

RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.

Making Iranian Drones In Russia

The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.

According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.

Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.

After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.

So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.

In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.

WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.

The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.

The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.

Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education

Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.

Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.

In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the countrys military amid the war in Ukraine.

According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a patriotic character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.

Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a patriotic education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.

In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.

Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.

Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.

Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RLs request for comment.

The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working even if it's mom's birthday, before ending his speech with, Long live our great country.

WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.

Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed patriotic enough.

According to Protokol and Razvorots investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised world class salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.

However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.

Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RLs Idel.Realities
At least seven people, including a child, were killed and 129 were wounded in a Russian missile strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on August 19, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a "terrorist state" had carried out the attack and caused "a day of pain and loss."

Oleksandr Lomako, acting mayor of Chernihiv, said the attack was another blow to the city.

"This is another war crime by Russia against Ukraine. The blood of all innocent children and people is on the hands of Russia. We will not forgive this. Never," Lomako said on Telegram, adding that three days of mourning would be observed on August 19-21 under a decree he signed.

Zelenskiy, who is on a visit to Sweden, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Russian missile hit the heart of Chernihiv. A square, a university, and a theater." Zelenskiy also posted a video of the purported place of the attack.

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.

"Russia turned an ordinary Saturday into a day of pain and loss," said Zelenskiy.

"This is what it means to live next to a terrorist state," he said, adding, "I urge the world to stand up to Russian terror."

Regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on Telegram that the attack was "probably a ballistic missile."

Separately, the Interior Ministry said a 6-year-old boy was killed and 15 other children were among the wounded by the missile, which struck Chernihiv's Drama Theater. The mother of the boy killed in the attack was in serious condition, authorities said.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said most of the victims were in vehicles or were crossing the street on foot. The people inside the theater reached a shelter in time after the air-raid alert was announced, he said.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine condemned the missile attack as "heinous" and called on Moscow to end strikes on populated areas.

"It is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians," said Denise Brown in a statement.

"I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine, causing deaths, massive destruction, and soaring humanitarian needs."

Earlier on August 19, the Ukrainian military said that the air defense shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian Shahed drones that Russia used in its latest overnight attack on Ukraine.

"The air force in cooperation with the air defense and other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed 15 enemy drones," the military said in its daily report, adding that the attacks targeted the eastern, northern, and western parts of Ukraine.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on August 19 that its air-defense systems repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on a military airfield in Novgorod region located northwest of Moscow, but the attack resulted in a damaged Russian warplane.

There were no casualties in what the ministry's statement called "a terrorist attack," but a fire that broke out on the airfield causing damage to one of the warplanes parked there.

The information could not be independently verified.

WATCH: Residents of Kupyansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region are being transported to safety amid signs of a buildup of Russian forces nearby.

The ministry earlier claimed that it had downed a Ukrainian missile over Moscow-occupied Crimea overnight.

On the diplomatic field, Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena, traveled to Sweden for talks on defense cooperation.

Zelenskiy visited Sweden with his wife, Olena, for talks on defense cooperation.

He announced that he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had agreed on 10 points, including cooperation on the production of powerful CV-90 combat armored vehicles in Ukraine, joint training on equipment provided by Sweden, and further steps to transfer Gripen fighter aircraft to Ukraine.

"I am grateful to Sweden for its firm and consistent support. Together, we protect life, freedom, and our common values." Zelenskiy said at the conclusion of his visit to Sweden, which has applied for NATO membership.

Kristersson said he was proud to have had the honor to welcome Zelenskiy.



"I highly appreciate our close contacts and cooperation. Swedens support for Ukraines freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity will continue for as long as it takes," Kristersson said on X.

Sweden, which abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, is part of a coalition of 11 Western countries together with Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom that pledged last month to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces continue to advance in the areas near the southern cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, the military said on August 19, adding that during the day Ukrainian forces fought a total of 26 clashes along the front line.

The General Staff's evening summary said Russian forces carried out five missile and 44 air strikes and 17 attacks from rocket salvo systems on troop positions and populated areas.



The push toward the Russian-occupied strategic city of Melitopol is part of Ukrainian forces' attempt to cut off Russia's land bridge to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

It comes as a U.S. intelligence report quoted by The Washington Post assessed that Ukrainian forces do not appear likely to reach and retake Melitopol during the ongoing counteroffensive.



Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, most of the Luhansk region, and large tracts of the regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson.

The Russia-installed head of the military in Kharkiv, Vitaly Ganchev, said on Russian television on August 19 that the number of communities Russia controls in the Kharkiv region had grown by five and now totals 33.



"The front line is slowly moving toward Kharkiv. Our troops are approaching the suburbs of Kupyansk," he said.



It is not possible for RFE/RL to verify either side's claims of battlefield success.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Crimea is facing a shortage of gasoline after Ukraine last month bombed the only bridge connecting the Russian-controlled peninsula to Russia.

Gasoline stations in Crimea have at times run out of the oil product over the past month, residents have told RFE/RL.

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.

One of the leading gasoline chains in Criema sent clients a text message last week urging them to stock up on the product amid concerns about a shortfall, residents said.

Russia, one of the worlds largest produces of oil products, has been supplying the peninsula with gasoline and other oil products via rail across the $4 billion Crimean bridge opened in 2018.

Ukraines armed forces on July 17 struck the bridge for the second time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year. The strike forced Russia to halt oil product shipments by rail.

The bridge has become a key Ukrainian target as it tries to drive Russian forces from its territory, including Crimea. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Oil products are now delivered via a slow ferry crossing that can only take place during the day.

Local residents have taken to social media to complain about the lack of gasoline.

There is no 95 [octane] for the third day in a row, especially at Atan [gasoline station chain], one resident posted on a Sevastopol community page on Vkontake, a Russian social network.

Following the July 17 bombing, Russian-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev tried to calm residents, assuring them there wont be a deficit and said there was no need to stock up.

Misha, whats up with gasoline?  one resident wrote last week under Razvozhaevs Telegram channel, using the diminutive form of the governors first name in a sign of their displeasure. Do tankers only ship [Russian oil products] overseas?"

Some residents said gasoline can be found if you look for it. If some cases you need a ration card to fill up.

There is no gasoline at some gas stations. But there are plenty of those where it is sold freely. So you can find it when you need to fill up. I've filled up a full tank, and I only drive when its important business, one resident told RFE/RL.

There is gasoline, but you need a ration card. When I hear this, I feel that we have stepped 35 years into the past when you could only get sausage with a ration card, Nadezhda Golovanova wrote on a Sevastopol social media page, referring to food deficits during the Perestroika years.

WATCH: A section of the Crimea bridge was damaged by a deadly explosion last month. Moscow said two people were killed and a child was injured in the blast that it blamed on Ukrainian maritime drones.

Ukraine has sought to make life in Crimea untenable for Russia in an attempt to regain control of the peninsula.

With the receipt of new Western weapons and the development of indigenous ones, including drones, it has been making progress with that goal.

Kyiv has stepped up its targeting of Crimea in recent months and is also trying to cut off the land bridge from Russia to Crimea through the Donesk region with its latest counteroffensive. Ukraine has recently hit two bridges connecting Crimea to Ukrainian territory under Russian control.

Ukrainian military officials say the situation with supplies for residents will only get worse as Russia will need to prioritize deliveries to its military on Crimea.

Oleksandr Khmelevskiy, an independent expert, told RFE/RL that this could lead to social unrest, putting pressure on Moscow.

If the economic situation deteriorates significantly, support for the war from the population will decrease significantly. The further it goes, the more difficult it will be to explain to the population what Russia is fighting for, what this war was required for, he said.
DEREVYANNOYE, Russia -- On the morning of August 1, this quiet northern settlement woke up to a horrifying scene. Two wooden houses in separate parts of the village were gutted by fire. Inside one, police found the bodies of two men. In the second, they found the bodies of a married couple, the mans brother, and a pensioner who was staying with the family. All six had been stabbed to death.



The same day, police arrested two recidivist convicts -- Maksim Bochkaryov, 38, and Igor Sofonov, 37 -- on suspicion of murder and arson. Investigators said the suspects, who deny the accusations, were extremely drunk when they were arrested near the second burned-out house.



The shocking crimes made even more headlines when it was reported that Sofonov was a former fighter in the Wagner mercenary group who had been recruited in prison, wounded in Ukraine, and had returned to Russia with a pardon. Despite the fact that doctors had been unable to remove all the shrapnel from his body, Sofonov had planned to enlist in the army and return to the front, his relatives told RFE/RL.



I didnt expect anything like this, Sofonovs sister, Aleksandra, said. I think he was led into this. If he was involved, that is the only explanation. He wouldnt do such a thing on his own. There was no reason. I cant make sense of it.



The mass killing in Derevyannoye is one of a growing number of criminal incidents allegedly involving pardoned convicts returning from Ukraine. According to the Russian news outlet Agentsvo, at least 11 former Wagner fighters have been accused of murder after returning from the war since the beginning of this year.

In June, before he orchestrated an abortive mutiny, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin reported that 32,000 former prisoners had returned to Russia with clemency after serving in Ukraine, claiming that very few of them had committed crimes after doing so.



A former Wagner fighter who has been identified only as Sergei S. was arrested in May in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on suspicion of raping two minor girls.



In March, a Wagner veteran named Ivan Rossomakhin reportedly confessed to stabbing an elderly woman to death in the Kirov region town of Novy Burets, some 800 kilometers east of Moscow. He had returned from Ukraine just 10 days earlier.



Troubled Town



Derevyannoye -- the name means wooden -- is a quiet but troubled town of tree-lined streets and old wooden houses about 25 kilometers south of the capital of Russias Karelia region, Petrozavodsk. It stretches out along the stony shores of Lake Onega. About 1,000 people call it home.



There are a lot of drug addicts in the village, said a local man named Aleksandr. A lot of them. There are a lot of released convicts too. The owner of the cafe Sretensky Dvorik is one himself and he invites his friends to the village and sets them up with farm work. Before he came, it was a quiet place.

On August 4, police found the body of 45-year-old Yana Ligorkova, who had been missing since July 20, partially buried in an abandoned cowshed in the village. They arrested an 34-year-old man, whose name was not released, in connection with the case and charged him with murder.

Locals told RFE/RL that they suspected Ligorkovas killing was drug-related.



'Nothing Of Value'



The sister of one of the victims of the mass killing said it happened late at night.



My brother and his daughter were asleep, Irina Zhamoidina said. His son was watching television. When he didnt open the door, they broke in.

Zhamoidinas brother, Artyom Tereshchenko, 39, and his 71-year-old father were killed. The two children  aged 9 and 12 -- were able to escape from the burning building, local media reported. Tereshchenkos wife was working the night shift at a nearby hospital.



The children were witnesses, she said. My nephew immediately recognized Bochkaryov.



She said she had no idea why the intruders came to the house. There was nothing there to steal, she said. Nothing of value.



Maksim Bochkaryov was well known in Derevyannoye. A longtime resident of the village, he had served several prison terms for serious crimes, including rape and murder. He was last released in 2017 and had lived in the settlement for six years relatively quietly, neighbors said.

Im sure Bochkaryov is to blame, said one local man who served time in prison with both Bochkaryov and Sofonov. He is a violent person. An idiot. He dragged Igor into this. Got him drunk.



He sold drugs, and the police did nothing about it, claimed a local woman. He was always high. People were afraid of him. They complained about him all the time, but the police did nothing.



Bochkaryovs wife and daughter did not respond to inquiries from RFE/RL.



'No One Needs Me'



A Wagner recruiter signed up Igor Sofonov last year when he was serving time for theft, robbery, drug use, and attempted murder at the Obukhovo prison in St. Petersburg. Like tens of thousands of other convicts across Russia, he was promised good money and a pardon if he fought for six months in Russias invasion of Ukraine.



In September 2022, Sofonov was seriously wounded in combat, Aleksandra told RFE/RL. After a long hospitalization, he was sent back to Russia earlier this spring. He moved in with his mother and unsuccessfully tried to find a job while he threaded Russias bureaucracy in an effort to replace his passport and other documents that were lost or destroyed when he was wounded.



Ive seen blood and meat, he said in an audio message to a friend that RFE/RL obtained. Now Im going to get my life in order, and then Im going back to the front. I have decided to change my life. Im not going to mess around with drugs and sluts anymore. I dont want that anymore.



Late last month, Sofonov arrived in the area of Derevyannoye to visit his sister and her children. It was the first time the siblings had seen each other in four years, Aleksandra said.



I didnt notice any aggression in him, she said of the four days they spent together mushroom hunting and playing with the kids. He didnt talk much about the war. He was cheerful. He smiled and played with the children.

One story he did tell about the war was unforgettable, she said.



He described a young man who was cleaning his weapon, she said. He had obviously never held a gun before in his life. He carelessly hit the trigger and blew off his own head.



On the evening of July 31, shortly before Sofronov left to go drinking with Bochkaryov, whom he had met in prison, Aleksandra had a serious conversation with her brother, she said, in a bid to persuade him not to go back to Ukraine.



We were sitting around, and he was smoking, she recalled. She asked him why he wanted to return to the war.



He said: I want to prove to people that I am good. I feel like no one needs me, she said.



A friend of Sofonovs who served with him in Ukraine told RFE/RL that Sofonov planned to marry a nurse he had met while recuperating in the Russian-occupied eastern city of Luhansk. He planned to save his money and buy a house with her there.



Igor was looking for a house in Luhansk, the man said. He had pretty solid plans. On August 1, he planned to come to St. Petersburg to apply [to Wagner] for his compensation for being wounded. Then he planned to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry.



Why would he commit murder when he had such concrete plans? he added.



Sofonovs sister clings to hope that her brother was not involved in the Derevyannoye killings. If he was, she insisted, it was not premeditated.



People are writing that he is an animal or a vampire, Aleksandra said. He is not an animal or a vampire. He is nothing like that. The only thing I can think of is that he had some sort of mental breakdown.



This has been really hard for us, she added. For one thing, I see the relatives of that woman who was left alone with two children around here. What can she be thinking? What are they thinking?



Tomorrow I have to go to work, she concluded. And I dont know how I am going to look anyone in the eye.

Adapted by RFE/RLs Robert Coalson. This story is based on reporting by correspondents from RFE/RLs North.Realities on the ground in Russia. Their names are being withheld for their protection.
Explosions over Kyiv on August 11 prompted Mayor Vitali Klitschko to urge residents to stay in air raid shelters as Russian air strikes in the west, south, and east of Ukraine killed and injured more civilians.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

The Ukrainian military reported that Russia launched hypersonic missiles at the Kyiv region, including the Kh-47 Kinzhal. Klitschko said fragments of a downed missile had fallen on the territory of a children's hospital in the city, but that there were no injuries or damage.



In the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on August 11, an 8-year-old child was reported killed in a Russian missile strike.

"There are wounded (people) including a child who was brought to hospital in critical condition. Medics did everything possible, but unfortunately the child's life could not be saved," regional Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk wrote on the Telegram app.

A reported Russian drone strike on August 11 hit a humanitarian-aid-distribution center in Beryslav, a town in the southern Kherson region, Ukrainian officials said, but no injuries were reported.

A Russian air strike was also reported to have hit a home in a village in the eastern Kharkiv region, killing a 60-year-old woman, and injuring a 60-year-old man, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on August 11.

In the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, 51 explosions were recorded on August 11 as the Russian military shelled several communities near the Russia-Ukraine border, the regional military administration said. No injuries were reported, but two housing estates were damaged, according to the administration. Russian troops regularly shell the border communities of the Sumy region.

On the front line there were 25 combat clashes during the day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said in its evening report. In addition, Russian forces carried out 24 air strikes and about 37 attacks from rocket salvo systems on Ukrainian troop positions and populated areas, the General Staff said.



"Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population, including children," the General Staff added. "

Residential buildings and other civil infrastructure were destroyed," it said, warning that the probability of more missile and air strikes across all of Ukraine remained high.

In both of its briefings on August 11, the General Staff said Russian troops had conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the area of Kupyansk and Bakhmut. It also said Ukrainian forces were continuing counteroffensive operations in Melitopol and Berdyansk in the south.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said a drone was destroyed as it flew toward an unspecified target in Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that and added that debris had fallen northwest of the city center. He said the drone had caused no serious damage or casualties.

Earlier, reports said that Moscow's Vnukovo airport and the airport at Kaluga, some 150 kilometers southwest of the capital, had been closed temporarily due to what officials said was a suspected drone flight. They both later reopened.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov was quoted by TASS on August 11 as saying that Russian assault groups improved their tactical position and repulsed four Ukrainian Army attacks and counterattacks in the Kupyansk area over the past day.



RFE/RL cannot confirm claims from either side in the areas of the heaviest fighting.



Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba appealed again for long-range missiles from the United States and NATO countries in Europe.



"Long-range missiles have proved crucial. This is why Taurus and ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) are essential for Ukraine's success, and we ask partners to provide them as soon as possible. Both will be used solely inside our borders. The longer the missile range, the shorter the war," Kuleba said.



Ukraine has previously requested ATACMS from the United States and other Western partners. Washington thus far has refrained from providing the weapons over concerns that Kyiv would use them to target military objects inside Russia.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said on August 11 that Kyiv began the first round of negotiations at the working level with London on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, .



The talks were opened under the terms of a joint declaration signed in July by the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations that provides for unilateral bilateral agreements between Kyiv and the G7 countries to strengthen Ukraine's defense and intelligence capabilities.



"Great Britain became the second country after the United States with which Ukraine started such negotiations, and continued the positive dynamics of the implementation of the security agreements reached by our country with key international partners," a statement from the president's office said.



Zelenskiy has welcomed the security guarantees provided by G7 countries, calling them a step on the way to NATO membership for Ukraine.



The Kremlin said on July 12 that the West's plans to provide security guarantees to Ukraine were "extremely wrong and potentially very dangerous." Moscow claims that these guarantees will encroach on Russia's security.

With reporting by Current Time, AP, TASS, and Reuters
Ukrainian sends its rescuers to Slovenia to help with cleaning up flooding aftermath  Klymenko

Ukrainian rescuers have departed to Slovenia for the participation in the operations to clean up the aftermath of flooding in the country, Interior Minister of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said.

"Ukrainian rescuers have departed to Slovenia to help their colleagues. The country has suffered a flooding and it needs support. According to the decree of the president of Ukraine and the instruction of the Ukrainian government, a flooding response team was formed and sent to participate in the liquidation operations in the northeast of the Republic of Slovenia," he said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

The minister also said that the rescue team includes more than 50 specialists of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and around 20 units of special equipment.

Ukrainian rescuers have "necessary, and sometimes even unprecedented, experience that will help to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible," Klymenko said.

"Ukraine's friends can always count on our support. We will never abandon in trouble those who need help. Even if we face challenging times ourselves," he said.
A Ukrainian delegation led by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, has begun negotiations with the UK on an agreement on providing security guarantees, the presidential press service reports.

"Today, Ukraine has started initial working-level negotiations with the United Kingdom on a bilateral agreement on security commitments as envisaged by the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, which is the basis for the development of relevant bilateral agreements," according to a message published on the website of the President of Ukraine on Friday.

The United Kingdom became the second country after the United States with which Ukraine started relevant negotiations and "continued the positive dynamics of implementation of security commitments reached by our country with key international partners."

"The United Kingdom has consistently demonstrated its leadership and example in making and implementing the boldest decisions to support Ukraine. The Ukrainian people highly appreciate the assistance already provided and we are confident in further strengthening our strategic partnership both before and after the Victory," Andriy Yermak said.

These bilateral commitments for Ukraine are an element of strengthening our common security in the entire Euro-Atlantic region.
EMMERDALE TV star Dean Andrews and his new bride Helen have tied the knot and taken to social media to celebrate their good fortune.

The Rotherham couple were hitched in the sumptuous surrounds of The Tithe Barn, Bolton Abbey, a 16th century wedding venue in the Skipton area around 25 miles from where the Yorkshire soap opera is filmed.

Dean and Helen, who have been together for years, used the web hashtag #DeanandHelenMeantToBe as they marked their first day as a wedded couple.

The new hubby - also celebrating his 60th birthday - posted: This beautiful lady @hbg_indiarose has just made me the happiest man alive by saying yes to being my wife.

After the wedding bells, the couple, who live in the Rotherham area, were due to jet off on their honeymoon to Mauritius.

The pair have been planning their dream wedding for a while.

Dean, whose career rocketed in his role as a detective in the BBC drama Life on Mars, revealed their plans in a Valentines Day post in February.

Helen, joint owner at House of Rose Bespoke, of Todwick, and India Rose Luxury Hair and Beauty Ltd, of Whiston, describes her husband as The man who puts the colour in my life...You are my true soulmate and Ill love you forever and then some.

Dean's sister Rachel wrote on Facebook: So proud of this brother of mine and its wonderful to see him marry the love of his life. I love to see him happy. It makes my heart burst.

Who knew he would sing her down the aisle....I blubbed like a baby!

The pair are parents and grandparents.
SOUTH Yorkshire Police have been singing the praises of its Lifewise centre after the mock-up town centre was praised in a national report.

His Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services highlighted the immersive approach to community safety in its July paper Police Performance: Getting A Grip.

Lifewise is a joint venture from SYP and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue which uses interactive scenarios to educate visitors on staying safe and making informed decisions.

All South Yorkshire visit during Year 6 to take part in sessions covering topics like fire safety, knife crime and anti-social behaviour.

There are also sessions held on offences which affect older people more, such as fraud and online crime.

SYP and SYFR hosted an open day at the site in Hellaby last Thursday (3), when colleagues gave an insight into the work of officers and support staff for hundreds of visitors.

A police spokesperson said: The centre was bustling with energy, with many fun activities to take part in, including a treasure hunt, tombola, finger-printing, uniform try-on and beat the bleep.

On a usual day, the project officers and admin team at the Lifewise centre provide a number of educational inputs to schools and children across the county, whilst managing cadets, volunteers, the Mini Police programme, referrals, Crucial Crew and bespoke events.

The film set includes a magistrates court, bus stop, local shop, prison cell and more.

Community safety manager Margaret Lawson said: Our primary focus is using education and early intervention to keep members of our community safe, and we are extremely proud of the services we provide.

Working in collaboration with different partners allows us to constantly update the services we offer and ensure the messages and advice are relevant and engaging. This makes what we do at Lifewise unique, and weve seen the positive impact this has on improving community safety.

Other ventures at Lifewise include sessions on adapting to life in the UK for new arrivals from elsewhere in the globe, and partnership work with voluntary and community sector organisations on subjects such as rogue traders, fraud and missing people.

Find out more about the centre at www.lifewise999.co.uk.
Jagtar Singh Hawara

In 1998, A case was registered against Hawara at the Sohana police station.....

MOHALI: The Court Hearing in two cases involving Jagtar Singh Hawara, a prominent figure, and former militant, is scheduled to take place on August 28. Jagtar Singh Hawara was presented in the Additional District Sessions Judge Court in the cases related to the alleged possession of explosive material and conspiracy at the Sadar Kharar and Sohana police stations. However, a reply from the Additional Superintendent (ASP) of Central Jail Mandoli, Delhi, indicated that Hawara, considered a high-risk prisoner, could not be presented physically.

The unforeseen absence of Jagtar Singh Hawara in court was attributed to his high-risk status and the logistical challenge of providing adequate security personnel. Additionally, the upcoming Independence Day celebrations on August 15 further strained police resources. In light of these factors, he appeared virtually in the court and the next hearing of the court has been scheduled for August 28.

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The cases in question date back several years. In 2005, a case was registered against Jagtar Singh Hawara and others under the Explosive Substances Act 1908 and the Arms Act at the Kharar police station. However, Hawara was neither arrested nor subjected to any recovery of incriminating material at the time. Similarly, in 1998, another case was registered against him at the Sohana police station under several sections, but Hawara faced no arrest, nor was any evidence found against him.

Jagtar Singh Hawara's lawyer, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, expressed concern over the prolonged duration of the pending cases. Despite the completion of arguments, the charges have not been determined. Both cases, now slated for simultaneous hearings, have been rekindled by a High Court order.

Meanwhile, advocacy groups are also pushing for Hawara's personal appearance in court, emphasizing the need for transparency in legal proceedings. There are additional calls for Hawara to be transferred to jails in Ropar or Patiala, considering the FIRs are registered in Mohali and Chandigarh.
harrowing incident in Amritsar

Police has started further investigation in the matter

AMRITSAR: A harrowing incident has shaken Muchhal village of Tangra near Amritsar, where a 16-year-old girl, missing from her home for two days, returned home only to face a tragic fate. Her father, reportedly consumed by anger and suspicion about her character, ended her life abruptly. The father, now on the run, took the girl's life without uttering a word, then proceeded to tie her lifeless body to his motorcycle, parading it around the village before attempting to dispose of it on the railway tracks. Local authorities have launched a thorough investigation into the heart-wrenching incident.

The village was gripped by anxiety as the young girl remained unaccounted for over the course of two days. Despite desperate searches, her whereabouts remained a mystery until she unexpectedly returned home during the afternoon. Tragically, her enraged father, armed with a sharp weapon, allegedly took her life. Shocked villagers witnessed this horrifying act unfold before their eyes, with the entire sequence captured on CCTV cameras.

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Notably, Concerned citizens promptly alerted the police about the incident. The mother of the deceased has recounted the painful experience, sharing that her daughter's return was met with aggression from her father, who violently dragged her outside by her hair. Without explanation, he disappeared with his daughter, leaving the distraught mother clueless about their whereabouts and the impending tragedy took place.

The father tied the lifeless body to the back of his motorcycle, proceeding to transport it to the nearby railway tracks. His apparent intention was to stage the incident as an accident, attempting to have a passing train obscure the grim scene. However, Authorities have taken possession of the girl's body and commenced an intensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.




Earthquake

Injuries were primarily caused by building collapses in Malatya & Adiyaman

TOKYO: A Magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook the Hokkaido region of Japan, as reported by the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ). Fortunately, no immediate reports of damage or casualties have been received, and no official warnings have been issued at this time.

Meanwhile, Turkey experienced a 5.3 magnitude earthquake in its southern region. Reports from media outlets suggest that multiple buildings sustained damage, resulting in 23 reported injuries. The epicenter of the quake was located in the city of Yesilurt in the Malatya province. Notably, both Malatya and Adiyaman had previously been devastated by a massive earthquake in February, claiming the lives of over 50,000 people.

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Turkish Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, shared on social media that injuries were primarily caused by building collapses in Malatya and Adiyaman. Some individuals were forced to jump from buildings during the tremors, further contributing to the injuries. Television broadcasts showcased videos of the damages, painting a vivid picture of the impact.

The Earthquake ripples extended to India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where a 4.3 magnitude quake struck Port Blair during the late hours of Thursday night. The National Center for Seismology reported the occurrence at 2:56 am, with the epicenter located at a depth of 10 km. Fortunately, there were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damages.
Nishan Singh

Family is demanding Swift Repatriation

MANILA: A Horrifying incident unfolded in Manila as a 27-year-old Punjabi youth, identified as Nishan Singh, fell victim to a fatal shooting attack at a restaurant. The assailants, arriving on a motorcycle, targeted the young man, leading to his tragic demise on the spot. Nishan Singh hailed from the village of Randhawa in Kapurthala district, leaving his grieving family demanding the swift repatriation of his body.

Nishan Singh had embarked on a journey to Manila four years ago, seeking new opportunities and experiences in the bustling city. Tragically, this promising endeavor ended in a shocking and untimely loss. The victim's father, Prem Singh, recounted the heart-wrenching moment when an acquaintance from Manila called on Wednesday evening to deliver the devastating news of his son's murder. Nishan Singh had been mercilessly shot dead, leaving his family stricken with grief.

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The grieving family, reeling from the tragic incident, has fervently appealed to the Indian government to facilitate the prompt repatriation of Nishan Singh's body. The emotional plea underscores the family's desperate need for closure and the opportunity to lay their beloved son to rest in his homeland.


Ukrainians in Poland to be able to receive pensions and other types of financial assistance via intl postal transfer  govt decision

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a pilot project to make payments of pensions and cash assistance to recipients temporarily outside Ukraine through the international postal transfer of Ukrposhta.

"The innovation will simplify the receipt of pensions and other types of financial assistance to citizens who in Ukraine received them by mail and did not have current accounts opened with authorized banks," the press service of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories said in a statement.

For this, a person will need to send a corresponding application to JSC Ukrposhta in paper or electronic form.

"Ukrainians in Poland will be able to use the service for the payment and delivery of pensions or financial assistance abroad in the first place. If necessary, the experiment will be introduced in other countries," the press service said.

The ministry said that such services for citizens of Ukraine abroad will be free of charge.
If bars had fantasy leagues, these ensembles would be our first-round picks
A somewhat rare project  a roundabout on a state highway  will start to take shape this spring at the intersection of Valley Center Road and state Route 76 as authorities try to cut down on dangerous collisions in that area.

The roundabout will be the first built on state-controlled land in San Diego County, according to California Department of Transportation officials.

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Years in the planning, the project is expected to begin in March and be completed a year later at an estimated cost of $17.5 million.

A roundabout is a circulatory roadway through which vehicles travel counterclockwise within the intersection. Traffic entering the roundabout must yield to circulating traffic. Studies show roundabouts reduce the types of crashes that result in injury or loss of life because they require drivers to significantly slow down before entering.

The only traffic control at the intersection now is a lone stop sign along Valley Center Road. Highway 76 drivers have the right-of-way and zip through the intersection quickly, sometimes too quickly.

(A) stop sign at Valley Center Road, but none on the 76, creates a speed differential as people are starting from that stopped position trying to merge into that fast traffic, Caltrans Project Engineer Wendy Dandeneau said. That was the situation we were looking to correct.

She said the project was triggered by safety concerns.

Between 2005 and 2009 there were 35 accidents at or near the site, four times higher than the statewide average. More recent crash data wasnt available, but a 2014 report predicted that things would only get worse at the three-way intersection, with more development in the back country and the popularity of Indian casinos and hotels in the area.

A contractor for the roundabout project should be selected sometime in February, officials said.

Its coming right up, Dandeneau said.

The state could have installed a traffic light at the intersection, but opted to try something different.

We felt like there was a bit of a risk with a signal, Dandeneau said. The chances that some people would simply run the red light were too great, she said.

The geometry of a roundabout and introduction of curves force the vehicles to slow down as they go though it. There are a lot more visual cues that will be impossible to miss, she said.

Those cues will include flashing beacons placed on all three legs, visible well before vehicles approach the intersection. The roundabout will also feature a raised central island around which traffic circulates and spotter islands separating entering traffic from exiting traffic.

A report from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration found roundabouts on two-lane rural highways reduce crashes by up to 68 percent and injury crashes by up to 88 percent.

The construction project will realign Route 76 and Valley Center Road to form a new intersection. Additional signing, sidewalks, curb ramps, high friction surface treatment, landscaping, and a new bus pull out will also be constructed.

Two parcels of land, and parts of two others, have been acquired by the state for the project at a total cost of $3.5 million

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
Brussels views Moldova as a future member of the European Union, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Janis Mazeiks said.

"The European Union is interested in Moldova's development as a democratic and prosperous country. This is only natural, as we view Moldova as a future member of the EU," Mazeiks said in an interview published on the noi.md website on Friday.

Regarding the prospect of Moldova's integration with the European Union, Mazeiks noted that the country received EU candidate status last year. Now, a lot depends on Chisinau: it's important for the European Union that Moldova prepares properly for membership, he said.

Speaking about the development of economic relations, Mazeiks said that Moldova had begun to export two thirds of its products to the European Union. "It was not Moldova that rejected the Russian market, it was Russia that rejected Moldovan products. Regrettably, Russia is an unpredictable partner. We remember the embargo of 2006, the embargo of 2013 and the recent restrictions on importing agricultural products to Russia which were not based on objective information," he said.

"The fact that Moldovan manufacturers have reoriented themselves to the European market is a result of the European market's increasing openness and the restrictions imposed by Russia. We are bearing witness to a drastic change: Moldova's exports to EU member states account for two thirds of all Moldovan exports; exports to the EU are 13 times larger than exports to Russia. The EU has proven through its actions that it is a big, prosperous and predicable market, which is important for manufacturers. We are glad that Moldovans are actively using these opportunities," Mazeiks said.
Ukrainians continuously support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The remarkable and significant efforts from the population do not leave businesses indifferent. Despite regular collections and assistance, the need for drones on the front lines remains one of the most pressing.

Austrian gas station network AMIC ENERGY and Dignitas Fund announce the launch of a joint charity initiative called "MAVIC from AMIC."

As part of the charity initiative "MAVIC from AMIC," for every customer who refuels their vehicle with any type of gasoline or diesel, 5 hryvnias will be donated by AMIC Ukraine to purchase DJI MAVIC 3 drones for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The goal of the charity campaign is to provide hundreds of drones to the defenders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

We understand that technology plays a significant role in warfare, so Ukraine must stay one step ahead of the occupying country. Drones are the eyes of Ukrainian defenders: from data collection and target detection to gaining an advantage on the battlefield. Businesses should help Ukraine regain its own territories by sacrificing technology while preserving the most valuable asset - the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. Let's provide the Armed Forces with drones to see the undeniable Victory of Ukraine through technological eyes. Therefore, we are pleased to announce the start of a charity initiative in partnership with Dignitas Fund, said Gunter Maier, Managing Director of the Austrian gas station network AMIC ENERGY.

"While our military is focused on protecting our lives, we must support them daily," says Lyuba Shipovych, the founder of the charity organization Dignitas Fund. "Our goal is to provide technological support to the army and train the military. In the 21st century, we should not fight like in the First World War. Technology should come first, not the struggle at the cost of human lives."

We continue to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and will not let the enemy hide! Come to AMIC ENERGY and contribute to Victory with us!

Additional Information:

AMIC ENERGY is an Austrian company that owns a network of 470 retail gas stations in Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion, AMIC ENERGY has been providing continuous assistance to units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military administrations, territorial communities of various regions, charitable organizations, and has already provided over 300,000 liters of fuel, more than 65 units of special military equipment, the ANTIDRON KVSG 6+ channel suppression hardware complex, military clothing and body armor, nearly 200 portable heaters, cars, universal mobile batteries Hama Supreme, and more.

Dignitas (Latin for "dignity") is a charitable fund and an international volunteer group that has been in existence since 2023. The activities of the fund include: technological support for Ukrainian defenders, provision and training of defenders and rescuers, and rehabilitation of veterans.

The fund was created by a large team of like-minded individuals, including Lyuba Shipovych, Maria Berlinska, Dima Kavun, Lera Holoshchapova, Antonina Kumka, and over a hundred activists and volunteers.
The program of the forum "Grain Industry 2023" has been expanded and updated

On August 17-18 in Vinnytsia (Hotel France), the All-Ukrainian Conference and Exhibition "Bread Industry-2023" will address the most pressing issues of the grain processing industry of Ukraine.

Taking into account the approaching start of the forum, the program of Bread Industry-2023 has been updated and expanded. It should also be noted that more than 150 companies have confirmed their participation in the conference.

The conference will feature 2 informative specialized sessions, two panel discussions, a round table and an excursion to Vinnytsia Food and Flavor Factory.

The general partner of the event is Concern Khlibprom PJSC, partners: Export Support Center and Ukrainian Export Alliance. Support is provided by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the Ministry of Economy, Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, USAID, Chemonics and other industry organizations and agencies.

So, here is the conference program in detail.

Session 1: Ukraine's economy after 1.5 years of war: consequences and expectations for business

The session will analyze the state of Ukraine's economy after 1.5 years of war, consider the consequences and prospects for the market, business expectations of the state and tools to support it.

Speakers will include Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Nadiya Bihun, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Anatoliy Amelin, Director of Economic Programs at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, and Ksenia Sydorkina, Director of the USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program.

The moderator will be Olena Kovaleva, National Food Expert at UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization).

Panel discussion "Quality issues of Ukrainian raw materials in 2023/24 MY"

The panel will highlight the quality of wheat grain, the quality and use of enriched flour in the production of bread and pasta, and discuss general problems with the quality of raw materials and finished products.

Invited speakers: Oleg Onishchenko, Technical and Presentation Manager, SGS-Ukraine; Dmytro Zhygunov, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department of Technology of Grain Products, Bread and Confectionery, ONTU; Nadiya Bachal, Deputy Director for Product Quality and Safety, Stolychnyi Mlyn LLC; Nadiia Nepokrytova, Technologist, Sales Manager, Stern Ingredients Ukraine (Muhlenchemie); Andrii Mishyn, Head of Quality of Raw Materials and Finished Products, Bushtruk Farm (Kyiv Mix TM); Nataliia Grunwald, Executive Director, AGROSERT LLC; Pavlo Lebedev, Senior Associate, AGA Partners.

The discussion will be moderated by Rodion Rybchynsky, Chairman of the Board of Ukrkharchoprom, Director of the Union of Millers of Ukraine, FAO OON grain sector expert.

In addition, a roundtable discussion "Interaction of food companies with suppliers and consumers: B2B and B2C".

It will be attended by Hanna Lichman, MP of Ukraine, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Policy of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, USAID representative, Maryna Zabarylo, Director of Consumer Panel Services, GfK Ukraine, representative of the Research Institute "Ukragropromproductivity", Natalia Petrivska, Head of GR Department of the Association of Retailers of Ukraine, Dmytro Romanov, foreign markets expert, consultant of FAO/EBRD development projects, Volodymyr Ivchenko, acting Director General of the Research Institute "Ukragropromproductivity", Viktor Zhabchyk, Director of the private enterprise "Vilis" (produces pasta under its own trademarks "Vilis", "Makarella", "Italino", "Viverelli", etc.), Vladyslav Averchenko, Director General of PJSC "Concern Khlibprom" (TM "Agrola", "Vinnytsiakhlib", "Bandinelli", Grill & Bakery, etc. ), Artem Shtangeev, Commercial Director of Mixmart, Oleksandra Avramenko, Head of the European Integration Committee of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club and moderator of the event, Oleksandr Taranenko, President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Bakers.

The first day of the conference will end with a friendly dinner hosted by the general partner, Concern Khlibprom.

Session 2: Bread industry: market and technology

This session will be dedicated to discussing the development of technologies and the market of the Ukrainian bread industry (flour, bread, pasta, cereals, flour products, additives and ingredients), as well as marketing and distribution.

Speakers will include Rodion Rybchynskyi, Director of the Union of Millers of Ukraine, Oleksandr Taranenko, President of the All-Ukrainian Bakers Association, Sergiy Sakirkin, Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Union of Millers of Ukraine, Oleksandr Vereshchynskyi, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Founder of OLIS LLC, Vadym Horyelyi, Director of GVP Equipment. Also, representatives of the Export Credit Agency of Ukraine, the Alliance of Trade Finance and Factoring, banks and financial institutions, as well as an expert in grant writing (grant attraction), Ruslan Rokhov, Advisor to Export Credit Agency, Natalia Gavrilko, expert in grant writing (grant attraction), will share their vision of the situation in the industry.

The session will be moderated by Borys Shestopalov, co-owner of HD-group and GFS GROUP.

The practical end of the two-day conference will be an excursion to Vinnytsia Food and Flavor Factory, one of the leading canned food producers in Vinnytsia region and Ukraine as a whole.

Follow the updates to the program of the Bread Industry 2023 conference at this link.

Join the unbreakable community of professionals and get the most up-to-date information to develop and protect your business! To join, go to the conference page https://bakeryindustry.com.ua and fill in the application form by clicking on the "Participate" button.

Interfax-Ukraine is a media partner
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11

Answer of the MFA Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada to the question of local media regarding the article published by the "Kommersant" newspaper.

Question: On August 11, claims were made about the initial agreements on the facilitation by Azerbaijan of the passage through the Lachin border checkpoint in return for the usage of the "Aghdam - Khankendi" route by the ICRC in the article named "Artsakh against Karabakh" published in the "Kommersant" newspaper. What is the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding these claims?

Answer: An agreement was reached in recent days as a result of the efforts of the international partners on the transportation of goods by the ICRC via the "Aghdam - Khankendi" route and, after 24 hours, the intensification of the passage through the Lachin road via the ICRC.

Furthermore, based on Azerbaijan's proposal, a Yevlakh meeting between the representatives of Azerbaijan and the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh was agreed upon with logistical issues being finalized.

The aforementioned agreements notwithstanding, the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh withdrew their confirmation at the last moment.

The disrupting actions of the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh, as well as Armenia, which has turned this issue into a tool of political manipulation, definitively demonstrate their lack of interest in peace and stability, as well as the dialogue in this area.

Moreover, these steps prove the unfounded nature of allegations on humanitarian grounds and serve to aggravate the situation in the region.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov has received Egidijus Navikas, the outgoing Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Navikas wrote on X (Twitter), Trend reports.

The ambassador noted that he is happy that despite the fact that his activities in Azerbaijan fell on the period of COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite this, he said, during this period there was a positive trend in the development of relations between Lithuania and Azerbaijan.

On August 10 Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spread a statement related to the meeting of Bayramov with Navikas. The sides discussed the issues on the agenda of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Lithuania, as well as the current situation in the region.

Bayramov thanked Navikas for his efforts to develop relations between Azerbaijan and Lithuania during his diplomatic activity in the country, wished him success in his future activities.

He noted that the increase in mutual contacts and visits at the highest and high levels between Azerbaijan and Lithuania has recently contributed to the development of bilateral relations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. Azerbaijan has detained terrorist Kamran Zulfugarov, who has previously been deprived of the country's citizenship, Trend reports.

Zulfugarov was detained after illegally crossing into Azerbaijan's territory.

The information about the his whereabouts in Azerbaijan was verified as a result of an investigation conducted by the State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan. After establishing his whereabouts, he was detained.

Zulfugarov was brought to justice under the provisions of article 12.1 (Application of the Criminal Law to persons who commit a crime outside the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan), article 279.1 (Establishment of military formations or groups that are not provided for in legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and also for illegal activities of associations) and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and arrested by a court decision.

In addition, as a result of investigative and operational measures, it was established that Zulfugarov was trained in a special ISIS training camp in Syria, having mastered the skills of handling firearms and explosives.

Zulfugarov's participation in battles on the basis of religious radicalism and religious hostility in the Syrian city of Haritan, as well as armed conflicts as part of an illegal armed group led by Rovshan Badalov, nicknamed "Uncle Khalid", has been proven.

"Kamran Zulfugarov confessed to the crimes committed by him during his stay in ISIS," said the report.

Evidence has also been collected that members of the criminal group, which included Zulfugarov, beheaded captured people and committed other criminal acts with extreme cruelty.

Moreover, Zulfugarov, during his testimony, also told the details of his escape from Syria, expressing regret over joining the terrorists and for the actions he had committed.

Zulfugarov, born in Azerbaijan's Salyan district on December 14, 1983, left the territory of Azerbaijan, and participated in armed conflicts and committed terrorist attacks in Syria in 2013. He was deprived of Azerbaijani citizenship and the right to return to Azerbaijan in 2018 by a court decision on the basis of materials collected by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan and in accordance with the legislation.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. The so-called "expert opinion" of the former Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo, based on political instructions, is completely unfounded and biased, the Azerbaijani Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva said, Trend reports.

She stated that Ocampo, who has already created an appropriate image for himself with a mysterious and dark past, deliberately made both legal and historical mistakes in his anti-Azerbaijani policy.

"Legitimacy of Azerbaijan's activity to ensure the security, rights, and freedoms of its citizens, including Armenian citizens, in the UN-recognized Azerbaijani territories, has been acknowledged by international and regional organizations, including a relevant decision of the International Court of Justice, the ombudsperson noted.

"Absolutely distorted presentation of such activity for misleading the international community once again exposes those, who stand behind Ocampo," she further said.

"Instead of absurd and unfounded claims of possible 'genocide' in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, the former ICC chief prosecutor, who seems to have forgotten the principle of the rule of law, should investigate genocides in Khojaly, Meshali, Bashlibel, and other crimes committed by Armenians in this region, and investigate the matters discussed during meetings with perpetrators of these crimes," Aliyeva noted.

"It's regretful that statements and reports of certain 'international experts', taking Okampo as an example, show double standards regarding Azerbaijan, with the main goal being to incite conflicts based on ethnic hatred, to hinder the integration of Karabakh's Armenian residents into Azerbaijani society," she pointed out.

"Hence, while addressing representatives of international organizations and independent experts, we urge a detailed investigation of any conflict's essence, avoiding distortion of existing facts, refraining from steps that contribute to artificially exacerbating relations between nations, and supporting efforts aimed at ensuring a just peace and sustainable security," the ombudsperson concluded.

Previously, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev has exposed an anti-Azerbaijani report, prepared by Ocampo.
Plastic and rubber sustainability specialist Symphony Environmental Technologies announced the immediate resignations of non-executive director Bob Wigley and executive director Alexander Brennan on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said both Wigley and Brennan had stepped down from their positions on the board to pursue other business ventures.

In light of the departures, the Symphony board would now consist of three executive directors and one non-executive director.

The board said its current members included Nicholas Clavel, who serves as the non-executive director and chairman, chief executive officer Michael Laurier, chief financial officer Ian Bristow, and Michael Stephen, holding the positions of executive director and deputy chairman.

In adherence to the QCA corporate governance guidelines, Symphony said it would onboard two new independent non-executive directors.

To achieve that, the company said it would be enlisting the assistance of an external search agency.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank both Alexander and Bob for their contributions during their time with the group and in turn wish them the best in their other business endeavours, said chairman Nicholas Clavel.

At 0804 BST, shares in Symphony Environmental Technologies were down 2.7% at 9p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Verizon Business, a company division of global telecom giant Verizon Communications, stated that it has made HCLTech its primary managed network Services (MNS) collaborator in all networking deployments for global enterprise customers. In a filing to the exchanges, HCLTech informed the deal value has an estimated new total contract amount (TCV) of $ 2.1 billion for a duration of six years. This is the largest ever deal for the company after the $1.3 billion Xerox renewal deal in 2019. This comes at a time when large IT providers have been announcing mega deals even as technology spending has been hit due to macroeconomic concerns.

The US and Europe such large deals could be a factor in companies driving cost efficiencies and consolidating their vendors. HCLTech CFO Prateek Aggarwal that the company has a number of large deals at the advanced stages of the pipeline. "During the first quarter results, we announced that our pipeline was at an all-time high. This one was among the highest in that, but there are other large and mega deals which will take the requisite time required to fructify, and we hope to win them," said Aggarwal. In recent weeks, Infosys has disclosed a $2 billion 5-year with a large client and another $1.5 billion deal from BP. Meanwhile,

Indias largest IT services major, TCS, has announced an estimated $1.9 billion decade-long deal with UK-based Nest.Managed Network Services is core to our business, and were proud to collaborate with Verizon Business to lead MNS in all of their network deployments, modernization, and operations for private enterprise, said C Vijayakumar, chief executive HCLTech. Verizon Business will continue to lead all customer acquisition, sales, solutions, and overall planning and development with its customers. HCLTech will lead the post-sale implementation and ongoing support.

A select group of Verizon Business global customer operations staff will transition to HCLTech. Anil Ganjoo, chief growth officer- Americas for TMT, retail, and CPG businesses at HCLTech, added that the telecom sector continues to show interest in areas like 5G and edge computing. "The telecom sector had a rough patch last year, and discretionary spending continues to be under pressure. However, large telcos that have the bandwidth are looking at monetizing these offerings," said Ganjoo. With their (HCLTech's) IT service expertise and ongoing support of our enterprise networking deployments,

Verizon Business can modernize our service delivery and simultaneously heighten our focus on helping customers incorporate next-generation technology like 5G, SD-WAN, and SASE into their operations and their own customer offerings, said Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business.The partnership will offer customers an MNS portfolio and joint innovation on an integrated platform. This comes at a time when IT majors have called out an increasing delay in deal closures and a shortage of discretionary deals. Providers have, however indicated that large and transformational deals are still there in the market, which will benefit the larger players.
India and Japan being active and pivotal middle powers in the Indo-Pacific region, their collaboration for project-specific support in Sri Lanka holds significance and with their proven knowledge, experience, and expertise in tackling particular growth challenges, both countries could support Sri Lanka financially and technically, suggested brought out by prominent Colombo-based think tank Pathfinder Foundation. The Medium and Long-term Strategy for Indo-Japanese Collaboration to Support the Economic Transformation of Sri Lanka was released here in partnership with two prominent think tanks based in New Delhi, namely, NATSTRAT and Vivekananda International Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

India is a natural trade and investment partner for Sri Lanka, considering its geographical proximity and its current Neighbourhood First" policy. Japan has a long-standing relationship with the country providing development assistance. A vulnerable developing country like Sri Lanka can utilize tripartite cooperation to signal its specific demands more efficiently, thereby increasing opportunities for joint projects. Four areas Low-carbon power generation in Sri Lanka, Development of Trincomalee as an energy hub, Logistics & connectivity and People-to-people contact  have been identified in the report as broad areas of tripartite cooperation. Addressing the launch of the Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki said that Indias issuance of financing assurances to Sri Lanka at the time of its economic crisis was instrumental in accelerating the process of Sri Lankas debt restructuring and that it appreciates Indias engagement and forward-looking approach on the issue.

When Prime Minister Kishida visited Delhi and gave an address on the new plan of the free and open Indo-Pacific, he highlighted South Asia as one of the major pillars, one of the priority regions in his new plan. And Japan attaches primary importance to its relations with Sri Lanka and India as indispensable partners in order to realize the vision, Suzuki recalled. We place the highest priority on transparent and equitable debt restructuring where all creditor entities, creditors countries, and organizations participate. An equitable treatment among all creditors. If one country is favored over another, then the entire debt restructuring will fall apart. Sri Lankan President has made it public that Sri Lankan govt will never treat any country more favorably than others and Japan highly appreciates the public commitment that President made that crystal clear.

Milinda Moragoda, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner, also hailed the trilateral cooperation between the two countries and said that given the amount of investment required, it hence becomes an important aspect. This I would see as the next stage of our Presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe visit to India. As you know, the joint economic vision statement that was given between Prime Minister Modi and Wickremesinghe outlined three key areas. One was connectivity, the second was economic integration, and the third was an investment. In that context, given the amount of investments that are required, trilateral cooperation also becomes an important aspect of it. So in that context, Japan, India and Sri Lanka working together. Japan and Sri Lanka have had a long association, and so is India and Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner stated.
Tata Sons-owned Air India unveiled its new logo and livery, which will be timed with the delivery of its brand-new A350 aircraft in December. The airline, during an event herei, said that its new logo - 'The Vista' - is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, signifying limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airlines bold, confident outlook for the future. Air Indias brand-new aircraft livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern. It also boasts a striking new custom-made Air India Sans font, marrying confidence with warmth to position Air India as premium, inclusive, and accessible.

As part of the event, the airline also showcased its fresh tail design and introduced a new theme song. Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran highlighted that the logo symbolizes boundless opportunities and confidence. "The new logo unveiled today... the view depicted by the historically used window (the apex of the golden window signifies limitless possibilities, progress, confidence, and more). "We are dedicated to enhancing all facets of our human resources... Our fleet demands significant attention... While a substantial number of aircraft have been ordered... We need to renovate and elevate our existing fleet to meet acceptable standards... The road ahead demands immense effort, but our direction is clear... We are aware of our destination... The new logo embodies our daring vision," he said.

Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said: "Our transformative new brand reflects an ambition to make Air India a world-class airline serving guests from around the globe, and that represents a new India proudly on the global stage. The new Air India is bold, confident, and vibrant, but also warm and deeply rooted to its rich history and traditions that make Indian hospitality a global benchmark for standards in service." Designed in partnership with the brand transformation company, FutureBrand, the iconic new brand identity combines Air Indias glorious past with its drive to aim for excellence and innovate for the future, creating a standout brand design for a premium global airline with an Indian heart. Travelers will begin to see the new logo throughout their journey starting this December, when Air Indias first Airbus A350 enters the fleet in the new livery. "Colours, patterns, shapes and how they come together and what they represent matter, but our actions speak so much louder. We are in the midst of a total transformation to reimagine the role of Indias flagship airline," Wilson said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. As many as 30 Ukrainian children, who were brought to Azerbaijan for rehabilitation, visited the Shamakhi district with the organization of the Social Services Agency under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

Ukrainian children got acquainted with the beauty of the nature of Shamakhi and visited a safari park.

The children were provided with information about the history and monuments reflecting antiquity and modernity. The Ukrainian children, satisfied with the trip, thanked Azerbaijan for creating the conditions.

Within the framework of the 14-day social rehabilitation program, Ukrainian children get acquainted with Azerbaijan, visiting not only Baku but also the regions of the country.

Earlier, they visited Ismayilli, Gabala, and Shaki districts. As part of the program, art therapy, individual and group therapy with a professional psychologist, psychosocial trainings, English language courses, national dance classes, and master classes are conducted for Ukrainian children.
Goodnotes, the digital paper app for note-taking, has launched Goodnotes 6 exclusively on Apple platforms, which features artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Spellcheck, a new in-app marketplace and more. "With the Launch of Goodnotes 6, Goodnotes becomes the world's first AI-powered digital paper company, forever improving how people create, learn, work, and take notes," the company said in a statement. Goodnotes 6 is free to download on iOS, iPadOS and macOS, and free to use for up to 3 notebooks.

Users can unlock the full suite of features with unlimited notebooks for $9.99 per year or $29.99 as a one-time purchase. "Were thrilled to finally put Goodnotes 6 in the hands of our users, who we hope will feel the magic of a smarter and more delightful Goodnotes with our new user interface and our industry-first AI handwriting features," said Steven Chan, Founder and CEO of Goodnotes. The new application features AI-powered Spellcheck that instantly corrects handwritten typos in a users own handwriting and interactive exam prep materials for SAT and other standardized tests, with built-in hints and AI Math Assistance to identify errors.

It also features a new in-app marketplace where users can download new templates, stickers and digital stationery directly in the app. Other features include customizable folders and dynamic templates that allow users to customize the size and color of the digital paper in their notebooks and new pen gestures like Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso. "Goodnotes is on a mission to remove barriers for ideas and knowledge. Users can have all of their note-taking needs fulfilled inside a single app, whether its sharing, planning, getting unstuck, inspiring creativity, or learning from other peoples insights and materials," the company said. Existing paid GoodNotes 5 users can continue using GoodNotes 5, or upgrade to Goodnotes 6 at a discount. Goodnotes 6 will continue to be free for educational institutions through Apple School Manager, the company said.
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology services and consulting company, announced the appointment of Mr. N. S. Kannan to its Board of Directors for five years effective October 1, 2023, subject to the approval of shareholders. Mr. Kannan will serve as an Independent Director on the Board, bringing over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services domain, including Banking and Insurance. Mr. Kannan has recently superannuated as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. During his tenure as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kannan led the Company's transformation into a multiproduct and multi-channel company. Mr. Kannan has served in various leadership roles in the ICICI group, including as Executive Director & CFO of ICICI Bank. Mr. Kannan has also served as Chairman/Non-Executive Director of various ICICI group companies.

Mr. Kannan has also been part of various committees constituted by the Government of India and various regulatory bodies, including:

Appointed by RBI as advisor to resolve DHFL as the First Financial Service provider under the Indian Bankruptcy Code.

Member of the Corporate Bonds and Securitization Advisory Committee of SEBI

Chairman of the Regulatory Review Committee formed by Life & General Insurance Councils.

Member of the Insurance Advisory Committee constituted by IRDAI.

Member of the RBI Steering Committee on the implementation of Indian Accounting Standards.

Welcoming Mr. Kannan to the Board, Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited, said, We are pleased to have Kannan on our Board. Kannan is a veteran of the financial services industry, and Wipro will greatly benefit from his leadership experience, and expertise across Finance, Strategy, Corporate Governance, Risk Management, and beyond.

Commenting on his appointment, N S Kannan said, I am excited and honored to join the Board of Wipro, an iconic values and purpose-driven company that is a key technology partner to some of the most respected clients globally. I look forward to contributing to its next phase of growth and impact. Mr. Kannan holds a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from NIT, Trichy, Chartered Financial Analyst from the ICFAI, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Bangalore.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Days after a 21-year-old woman was stabbed in a commercial section of New Brighton, police arrested a 19-year-old woman in connection with the attack, court records show.

Chania Valentine, 19, of Holland Avenue in Mariners Harbor, was arraigned Wednesday in state Supreme Court, St. George, on felony charges stemming from the July 12 incident that authorities say unfolded around 8 p.m. on the 400 block of Jersey Street  an area long-plagued by criminal activity.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Rachael Wallach suffered a spinal cord injury 23 years ago, leaving her without the use of her legs. Needing a wheelchair since, she stared down a life of limited mobility.

But, Wallach got to work. She started Disrupt Disability, a 3D printing company centered on making wheelchairs that are customizable for users, and received a masters degree from Stanford University.

On a chance meeting at the Staten Island Ferrys Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan, Wallach met Noel Joyce, the founder and lead of New York Universitys (NYU) Project Mjolnir  the Norse name for Thors hammer.

Joyce, who suffered a mountain bike accident that left him paralyzed, was working alongside his NYU co-instructor Phil Caridi, the New York City project manager and technical specialist of an effort to design, create and assemble the worlds first open-source adaptive mountain bike that could be built by wheelchair users anywhere, giving them the opportunity to feel the rush of adventure.

The team wanted the bike to be cost-effective and easy to repair, all while allowing the design files to be publicly available. By the time Joyce met Wallach, the project had secured support from NYUs Tandon School of Engineering and received sponsorships from Specialized Bicycle components, SRAM Bicycle components and manufacturing aid from Fictiv.

The projects first bike was assembled in late April. Then, they needed someone to ride it.

During that chance encounter in the shadow of the Staten Island Ferry, Joyce asked Wallach if she would be interested. Not too long after, the bike and Wallach set out on their first challenge together: Conquering the trails at Staten Islands Freshkills Park on July 23.

Outfitted with hand pedals and battery assist, Wallach traversed Freshkills with the 50-pound alloy mountain bike, reaching the parks highest point on North Mound  an impressive 450 feet above sea level.

She conquered asphalt roads, gravel and dirt paths, grassy meadows and other conditions alongside a team of mountain bikers, including Staten Islands Matt LeBow, a well-known race enthusiast, the former New York City representative of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) and a member of the The New York City Mountain Bike Association (NYCMTB), a chapter of the IMBA that coordinated and supported the Freshkills effort.

When Wallach stopped for a water break, the NYU-led team, closely observing the bikes performance, asked if she needed anything.

More miles, said Wallach. And she was off.

Rachael Wallach riding the Project Mjolnir bike at Freshkills Park on Staten Island. (Photos courtesy of Jose Mendez & Jennifer Thompson)

Rachael Wallach riding the Project Mjolnir bike at Freshkills Park on Staten Island. (Photos courtesy of Jose Mendez & Jennifer Thompson)

To give joy to one person  to help a group like NYU Project Mjolnir and Rachael realize the success of their first test ride  to be a small part of seeing Rachaels smile when she felt that wind in her face for the first time in decades, makes it all worth it, said Mark Murphy, president of the Freshkills Park Alliance.

I am glad Freshkills Park could be that place for Rachael and the team at NYU, said Murphy. Freshkills is more than a park, it is a platform for doing great things for Staten Islanders and all New Yorkers.

The bike used at Freshkills is the first of an expected four that will be used at four global NYU locations, including Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. By bringing the effort to an international level, the team hopes to expand the projects reach.

When I am on the bike I have a freedom that is not afforded to me in my wheelchair, I can go places I could only dream of before and do a sport that brought me so much joy in the past, said Joyce. I want to make sure that as many people as possible can experience the forests, trails and natural world around us.

The cost of adaptive mountain bikes can surpass $20,000, making them inaccessible for some. Joyces idea for Project Mjolnir came as he got back into mountain biking in Ireland, quickly realizing the limitations of the handbike he was using. He began to create a better design to suit his needs without spendings tens of thousands of dollars.

At the beginning of this year, Joyce and Caridi worked with a group of students to create the working design of the first bike. Caridi leveraged his artistry and technical ability, tapping into his more-than-a-decade of experience as a master bicycle technician at Barnetts Bicycle Institute in Colorado and his work for companies like HP and Mattel, to help create the first iteration of the bike, named Mjolnir R 1.0.

After Wallachs successful ride on Staten Islands expansive Freshkills Park, Joyce said he envisions Project Mjolnir creating a new pathway of physical freedom.

As a wheelchair user I know only too well the barriers to those with disabilities is not just the physical environment, its often the lack of access to the equipment to get you through the physical environment, said Joyce. If you cannot access a handbike then you cannot handcycle, if you cannot handcycle you cannot explore the possibilities it can bring.

I hope this project will break down the barrier of cost for those who need it most and get more people with disabilities and their friends and families building and riding bikes, said Joyce.

Rachael Wallach riding the Project Mjolnir bike at Freshkills Park on Staten Island. (Photos courtesy of Jose Mendez & Jennifer Thompson)



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Richmond Avenue is now adorned with bright blue banners aimed at encouraging the community to shop local.

The decorative banners, installed by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC), feature a seagull and the words Shop Richmond Avenue, along with a tagline that reads: Richmond Avenue Merchants Association.

Richmond Avenue is one of Staten Islands premiere shopping destinations, said Councilmember Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) as the unveiling of the banners. We are excited to partner with the SIEDC in developing a merchants group that will deliver benefits to both business owners and residents alike. These banners not only beautify the strip, but serve as a clear reminder that residents should support their local shops and restaurants.

Borelli was joined last month by SIEDC President and CEO Mike Cusick, Jim Easley, general manager of the Staten Island Mall in New Springville, along with SIEDC staff members.

In 2022, Borelli worked with the SIEDC in launching a Business Improvement District exploration project along Richmond Avenue, a prominent shopping corridor in the borough. This endeavor involved establishing the Richmond Avenue Merchants Association, which kicked off with outreach efforts and a comprehensive community needs assessment, focusing on the busy stretch from Travis Avenue to Forest Hill Road.

Our organization (SIEDC) proudly manages the boroughs largest portfolio of neighborhood development work, Cusick said. Were looking forward to delivering superb, specifically tailored services to the Richmond Avenue district based on the discovered needs of this unique grouping of businesses. No matter the size or type of business, SIEDC looks to serve all members of the merchant community to achieve growth and prosperity for the betterment of the boroughs economy.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP)  Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaiis famous emergency warning system didnt alert them as wildfires raced toward their homes.

In this photo provided by Tiffany Kidder Winn, burned-out cars sit after a wildfire raged through Lahaina, Hawaii, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. The scene at one of Maui's tourist hubs on Thursday looked like a wasteland, with homes and entire blocks reduced to ashes as firefighters as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before devastating fires killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed Thursday.

Wildfire wreckage is seen Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The scene at one of Maui's tourist hubs on Thursday looked like a wasteland, with homes and entire blocks reduced to ashes as firefighters as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats. But many of Lahainas survivors said in interviews at evacuation centers that they didnt hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

Myrna and Abraham Ah Hee react as they stand in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. The Ah Hees were there because they were looking for Abraham's brother. Their own home in Lahaina was spared, but the homes of many of their relatives were destroyed by wildfires. They haven't been able to get in touch with Abraham's brother. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didnt know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and cell phone service had both gone out earlier that day, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger.

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. Maui officials say wildfire in the historic town has burned parts of one of the most popular tourist areas in Hawaii. County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said in a phone interview early Wednesday fire was widespread in Lahaina, including Front Street, an area of the town popular with tourists. (Alan Dickar via AP)

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a seawall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes, officials said August 9, 2023 as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport. The fires began burning early August 8, scorching thousands of acres and putting homes, businesses and 35,000 lives at risk on Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.

The burnt wildfire wreckage of a boat is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub told The Associated Press on Thursday that the departments records dont show that Mauis warning sirens were triggered on Tuesday. Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Weintraub said.

Wildfire wreckage is seen Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The scene at one of Maui's tourist hubs on Thursday looked like a wasteland, with homes and entire blocks reduced to ashes as firefighters as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

Its not clear if those alerts were sent before widespread power and cellular outages cut off most communication to Lahaina. Communications have been spotty across the island, in fact, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times.

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhoods that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for alerts.

A banyan tree rises among the Wildfire wreckage, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. For 150 years, the colossal tree shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called Lele, the Hawaiian word for relentless sun. Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The wildfire is already the states deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island. During a Thursday news conference, Gov. Josh Green said the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.

An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes, buildings, and the harbor area burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned Lahaina to ashes, officials said August 9, as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport. The fires began burning early August 8, scorching thousands of acres and putting homes, businesses and 35,000 lives at risk on Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down, Green said after walking the ruins of the town Thursday morning with Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

The blaze is also the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

Lahainas wildfire risk was well known. Maui Countys hazard mitigation plan, last updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfire ignitions and a large number of buildings at risk of wildfire damage.

In this photo provided by Tiffany Kidder Winn, a man walks past wildfire wreckage on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The scene at one of Maui's tourist hubs on Thursday looked like a wasteland, with homes and entire blocks reduced to ashes as firefighters as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

The report also noted that West Maui had the islands highest population of people living in multi-unit housing, the second-highest rate of households without a vehicle, and the highest rate of non-English speakers.

This may limit the populations ability to receive, understand and take expedient action during hazard events, the plan noted.

Wildfire wreckage is seen Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Mauis firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands  Maui, Molokai and Lanai  he said.

Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but they are all designed for on-road use. The department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said.

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

That means fire crews cant attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas, Lee said. The high winds caused by Hurricane Dora made that extremely difficult, he said.

Youre basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch, Lee said. Youve got to be careful  you dont want to get caught downwind from that, because youre going to get run over in a wind-driven fire of that magnitude.

Wildfire wreckage is seen Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The scene at one of Maui's tourist hubs on Thursday looked like a wasteland, with homes and entire blocks reduced to ashes as firefighters as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP)

Mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Lahaina residents, Bissen noted, while tourists in hotels were told to shelter in place so that emergency vehicles could get into the area.

The mayor said that downed power poles added to the chaos as people attempted to flee Lahaina, by cutting off two important roads out of town, including one to the airport. That left only the narrow highway toward Kahakuloa.

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of southern Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, left, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, following a wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Marlon Vasquez, a 31-year-old cook from Guatemala who came to the U.S. in January 2022, said that when he heard fire alarms, it was already too late to flee in his car.

I opened the door, and the fire was almost on top of us, he said from an evacuation center at a gymnasium. We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didnt stop.

This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo)

Vasquez and his brother Eduardo escaped via roads that were clogged with vehicles full of people. The smoke was so toxic that he vomited. He said hes not sure his roommates and neighbors made it to safety.

Lahaina residents saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility erupt in flames as they were escaping.

Chelsey Vierras great-grandmother, Louise Abihai, lives at Hale Mahaolu, and the family doesnt know if she got out. She doesnt have a phone. Shes 97 years old, Vierra said Thursday. She can walk. She is strong.

Relatives are monitoring shelter lists and calling the hospital. We got to find our loved one, but theres no communication here, said Vierra, who fled the flames. We dont know who to ask about where she went.

Tourists were advised to stay away, and tens of thousands of people have crowded airports to leave the island. Officials turned the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu into an assistance center, stocking it with water, food, and volunteers who help visitors arrange travel home.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. Traveling in Utah on Thursday, he pledged that the federal response will ensure that anyone whos lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately. Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was surging emergency personnel on the island.

Heres how to help victims of the wildfires in Hawaii.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  In honor of those who have passed away, here is a compilation of obituaries posted on SILive.com. Viewing times and guest books can be seen here.

Former Staten Island Hospital Orthopedic Chief Frank A. Ariosta recently passed away after living a highly fulfilling life. Born in 1938, Ariosta was a lifelong Staten Islander who enjoyed farming, hunting, wine-drinking, boating, and traveling. Career-wise, not only did he become the Staten Island Hospital Orthopedic Chief in 1962, but he also led the Center for Joint Reconstruction until he retired. For the full obituary, click here.

Elliot Mark Simon, 82, peacefully died on July 22, 2023, in his San Fransisco home. The native Staten Islander will be remembered for his many talents and his passion for the arts. After graduating from Curtis High School, Simon pursued a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the College of the City of NY and a Master of Science in Human Development from the University of Chicago. After college, he embarked on a 40-year career as a book editor. He was a proud member of multiple community choirs and a natural entertainer. For the full obituary, click here.

YESTERDAYS OBITUARIES

Gerald Frank Smith Sr., 91, died peacefully in Boynton Beach, FL on July 31. Smith was born and raised on Staten Island, living here for 90 years before moving to Florida, where his children and grandchildren lived nearby. During his teen years, he attended Curtis High School, worked at his fathers trucking business, and was a paperboy. As an adult, Smith bravely joined the Navy during the Korean War, earning himself three medals for his years of service. After his Navy career, Smith went on to run the family business with his father. He loved to travel, square dance, and listen to country music. For the full obituary, click here.

Gertrude Mary Stumpf, 92, passed away on August 7 on Staten Island following a brief period of illness. Born in the Bronx in 1930, Stumpf lived a fulfilling life, devoted to loving and helping others. After graduating high school, Stumpf began a career with New York Telephone Co., where she worked until she had her first child. She and her family moved to Staten Island in 1957. After years focused on raising her family, Stumpf started working again in the 1970s, serving in the rectory of Monsignor Farrell High School. She then went on to become a bookkeeper at First Investors. Aside from working, Stumpf was an active parish member at Our Lady Queen of Peace and she even taught CCD classes. She held membership to the Rosary and Altar Society, was a Eucharistic Minister, and was a part of the OLQP Mothers Club for 24 years. Loved by many, Stumpf was a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to 30. For the full obituary, click here.
San Mateo, CA (94402)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

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Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
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Billionaire investor Mike Cannon-Brookes has described Australian power giant AGL as one of the most toxic companies on the planet, responsible for releasing more climate-polluting greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than some individual nations.

Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of tech firm Atlassian and one of the countrys richest people, last year built an 11 per cent stake in AGL, which he used to launch a successful push to overhaul its board of directors and force new pledges for faster and deeper cuts to its enormous carbon footprint.

Mike Cannon-Brookes investment company, Grok Ventures, succeeded in blocking power giant AGLs proposed break-up. Credit: Bloomberg

Before Cannon-Brookes intervention, AGL had planned to continue burning coal at some of Australias largest power stations until well in the 2040s, but has since ceded to shareholder pressure to fast-track its exit from coal to 2035 and spend more on renewable energy.

Speaking at a business event in Sydney on Friday, Cannon-Brookes said AGL had been an obvious target because it was the nations single biggest carbon dioxide emitter, and presented a compelling opportunity to force meaningful change in Australias high-polluting, coal-dominated electricity sector.
United expansion United Petroleum founders Eddie Hirsch and Avi Silver have snapped up an East Hawthorn office building, paying $17 million for 465 Auburn Road. The move follows an $18 million office deal at Kew Junction last week, suggesting there is some movement in the suburban office market following a long stalemate between buyers and sellers. The two-storey 2739 square metre Auburn Road building had been one of Bunnings offices until the hardware giant moved to Botanicca in Richmond. It last changed hands in 2010 for $11.2 million. Colliers agents Alex Browne, Ben Baines and James Zhuang; Stonebridge agents Julian White, Dylan Kilner, and Chao Zhang; and Adam Guest, from Wilson Commercial, sold the property. They declined to comment on the buyers, but a caveat on the title revealed their identities.

Hirsch and Silver are active property buyers  often for petrol stations. They recently spent about $6 million on a 1.21ha site at 335 Berwick-Cranbourne Road, Clyde North, and a similar amount on service stations at 747 Toorak Road and Kingsway, South Melbourne. More hotels A large hotel site part-owned by former AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes is back on the market. The 1971 sq m property, at 540 Flinders Street, has frontage to Flinders Lane and comes with a permit for two hotel towers of 24 and 30 levels. TP Real Estate Holdings  a joint venture between Fernandes and Singapore-listed Plato Capital  bought the two-storey building in 2016 for $19.9 million.

Loading CBREs Scott Callow and Nathan Mufale, with Colliers Jozef Dickinson and Trent Hobart, are handling the listing. It is expected to fetch more than $30 million. Around the corner, Indian billionaires Kapil and Rahul Bhatia have listed the vacant Quincy Hotel on Flinders Lane for around $120 million, and Far East Consortium is also selling the newly opened Ritz-Carlton, near Southern Cross railway station. Recent JLL research shows 21 new hotels have opened in Melbourne in the past four years, adding 4889 rooms to lift the citys overall capacity to 26,500 rooms. A further 2000 rooms are under construction.

Healthcare no more? The sale of aged care and medical facilities has been a constant theme since the pandemic. The high cost of construction means many of are being retained for medical or care-related uses. However, some sales do not fit the mould. Next up is Cabrini Healths palliative care hospice on the corner of Airlie Avenue at 616-646 High Street, Prahran  a high-end residential area. While the Prahran median house price is $1.7 million, houses in this neck of the woods are regularly fetching up to $5 million, so the property is likely to sell for more than $10 million. The former Windermere Hospital was established by renowned matron Edith Hughes-Jones in 1938 and sold to Cabrini in 1998. It has since moved palliative care into the main hospital campus, on Wattletree Road, Malvern.

JLLs Josh Rutman, Jesse Radisich, Mark Stafford and MingXuan Li are selling the 2197 sq m site. Another on the market is the former Bupa aged-care site in Donvale. Loading The 6600 sq m property, at 296-302 Springvale Road, includes an 115 bed facility and adjoining land and is expected to fetch more than $15 million. It was built in 1991 and is on a large 18,224 sq m land parcel just off Mitcham Road and neighbouring two other aged-care properties.

CBREs Marcello Caspani-Muto, Sandro Peluso and Jimmy Tat are running an expression of interest campaign for the property. One site that is also not returning to any kind of medical or aged care use is the Uniting Churchs former Uniting AgeWell site in Kews Studley Park precinct. Last week, residential developer Michael Piccolo paid about $35 million for 18 Barry Street, in a deal negotiated by Colliers agent Hamish Burgess. Piccolo is planning a low-rise $180 million luxury development for the 8475 sq m site, pitched at eastern suburban downsizers who want to stay in the neighbourhood. Construction has started on Piccolos most recent project on Gore Street, Fitzroy, which was 70 per cent pre-sold to owner-occupiers.

Industrial release An additional 23ha of industrial land is being released at the Merrifield Business Park in Mickleham, established by MAB Corp and Gibson Property. To date, 70 hectares of the huge 415 ha estate has been developed, with Dulux, Ford and DOrsogna all taking up space. CBRE agents Daniel Eramo and Joe Brzezek are running the latest sales campaign. Eramo said owner-occupiers have been the biggest buyers of space, snapping up 57 ha of the site.
Since those early days Zimmermanns style signature has traversed swimwear, evening wear and childrens clothing. We obviously have a strong sense of femininity to a lot of what we create, but I always temper it with the more masculine, Nicky said in June. Be it in tailoring or accessories or other pieces. Its about balance. Developing a strong signature is the groundwork for billion-dollar deals, according to brand advisor Philip Corne, the former chief executive of Louis Vuitton in Australia. LVMH is run as tightly as you can imagine internally so that the creative talent has the best opportunity to do what they do, Corne says. When I first encountered the Zimmermann team that creative piece was there. They were all switched on and disciplined. By that time Nickys husband Chris Olliver was chief executive, joining the business in 2006.

Brand is everything, Corne says. Aesop were disciplined with that. In March, beauty giant LOreal acquired Melbourne-founded skincare brand Aesop in a $US2.53 billion ($3.8 billion) deal. Like Aesop, Zimmermanns international exposure grew steadily over time. They secured the windows at Harvey Nicholls in London, following their runway debut at the first Australian Fashion Week in 1996, alongside Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa and Alex Perry. As their range developed, they infiltrated Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges in London and e-boutique Net-a-porter, before the international roll-out of stores began in Los Angeles in 2011.

Zimmermanns patience finding investors who fit their expansion goals, rather than just offering money, was crucial says Corne. Less fortunate were Australian designers Kit Willow and Peter Morrisey who were ousted from their namesake brands after outside investment. Taking your brand outside of Australia is hard and Zimmermann have done a fantastic job, Corne says. They found strategic investors that helped them into new markets. Its never only been about the money. Loyalty is another shimmering thread in the companys fabric. Many of Zimmermanns key players have worked with the brand from its early days. Leading florist Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora, hairdresser Renya Xydis and London-based stylist Michelle Jank are frequent collaborators. They have an unwavering, faithful approach to their teams, Jank says. They feel like family to me. There is a constant unwavering positivity, generosity and lightness, which feels rare and special these days. It runs through everything they do, and I believe you can feel it in their clothing.

Interior designer Don McQualter of Studio McQualter worked on Zimmermanns second store, located on Sydneys Oxford Street, close to their market beginnings. He just completed work on Zimmermanns 58th boutique, in Hawaii, in April. Loading In our first meeting Simone said that they liked our work because she felt it wouldnt date, McQualter says. Weve always kept that in mind. We like to make the boutiques feel relatively low-key and comfortable, which is maybe what distinguishes them from many other brands. More stores are set to come, with Advent signalling greater ambitions in Asia and the Middle East in the investment announcement. And with Advent having recently partnered with beauty brands Parfums de Marly and Inition Parfums Prives, in a rumoured $US700 million ($1.1 billion) deal, a Zimmermann fragrance seems likely.

Its a serious business but friends of the sisters, who remain with the business and have a significant minority shareholding, are confident that they will find cause for laughter on the journey ahead. Theyre supportive, kind and they havent changed, Xydis says. They havent allowed this to change them. Nicky, Simone and Chris work hard but have a great sense of joy about them and in what theyre doing, says Jank. Nothing is more infectious than Nicky and Simones laughter. For Brown, the Zimmermanns success gives hope to other Australian labels with aspirations for billion-dollar valuations. The labels influence can be seen in the work of Aje and Alemais, while in 2010 the sisters offered mentorship to Dion Lee, who shows at New York Fashion Week.
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Aiko Neligans New York chapter might never have happened if not for cake.

Desperately waiting for Irish police to send through the documents that would let her finalise her visa application and stay in New York, Neligan had an ingenious idea. She Googled the best cake shop in Dublin, and started sending desserts to the station to sweeten her appeal.

It was the thing that got her dream to live in the city  where she would go on to work as an executive assistant for Wendi Deng, meet Anna Wintour at the Met Gala, and get serious about yoga  over the line.

That was more than five years ago. The Neligan that emerges from her yoga, wellness and fitness studio in New Farm on a warm winters morning is far less concerned with leaving the city she grew up in.

Situated on the corner of Annie and James Street, Assembly by Aiko straddles the suburban end of the road, a few blocks back from the lively concentration of storefronts, restaurants and bars that have transformed this neighbourhood into a drawcard for interstate and international tourists.

I love running a business here. We have established an amazing and supportive community. Credit: Chloe Hill - Toasted Daisy

Classes are held in a bright but modest room, straight off the street. While size has restricted the scale of her business  We only have five people per class  Neligan sees that as a benefit. I think its actually better for the space, she says, pointing to the popularity of her one-on-one sessions.
Judith Caine

Donvale, VIC The teachers pet Loading Wobbly-headed, snaggle-toothed, staggering like a sailor on a rolling sea, as writer Tim Elliott describes him, Phineas the cat is adorable [August 5]. No wonder he is an Instagram sensation! The fact that his unusual brain condition, cerebellar hypoplasia, is helping his neuroscientist carers (I dont like the word owner when it comes to companion animals) advance medical science on brain disorders is a shining silver lining. This wonderful, feel-good story is exactly what we need at a time when so much of the news is bleak. Chris Brown

Erskineville, NSW

Dicey Topics Loading As legendary environmentalist David Suzuki notes, Humans have grown so powerful, weve changed the properties of the planet [August 5]. The Anthropocene Working Group agrees and in July recommended to the International Commission on Stratigraphy that the 1950s marked the end of the Holocene  an epoch lasting 11,700 years, where the average global temperature stayed within the so-called human niche of 11-15 degrees Celsius. Just last month, the average global temperature exceeded 17 degrees for the first time since records began. We must listen to our elders  Suzuki, Attenborough, Goodall  all speaking out about climate change and its effect on life on Earth, before it is too late. Ray Peck

Hawthorn, VIC The Full Bottle

Loading A good reason for NOT buying wine in pouches is that glass bottles are recyclable, whereas plastic bags are not. Juliet Flesch

Kew, VIC ONLINE COMMENTS Presumed guilty

It is too easy for athletes to have incidental contamination showing a positive result. We need a better option for testing actual intentional drug cheats. Gds Gds Loading These athletes have a reverse onus of proof, where instead of sporting bodies having to prove the offence, an athlete has to prove they are innocent. What comes out is the level of contamination around, and how easy it is to inadvertently and innocently be declared a drug cheat, when you have followed all the rules and protocols set out by your sport. Time to have a major rethink on drugs in sport, and how the administration of drugs in sport needs to get better. Barry of Nambucca Very interesting if not sad article. I am all for catching drug cheats, but equally find it amazing that despite an athlete being cleared of doping allegations they are still suspended and hence treated as drug cheats. Thats just not fair. hayes_jimmy The reason diuretics like furosemide are banned is that they were used to dilute the concentration of the offending steroid in urine, making that agent difficult to detect. They have no performance-enhancing role themselves. Indeed, larger doses that would cause dehydration are likely performance-inhibiting. If the testing is now accurate at such minute quantities (literally less than a drop in an Olympic size pool) surely they could be removed from the banned list altogether (unless you are in a weight class sport, I suppose). David

The whole Peter Bol case was a debacle and an absolute travesty  the entire process and all the people involved need to be reviewed urgently. I am hoping Peter Bol can get his mojo back, but it would be completely understandable if he struggled to do so. He has lost precious time in a pursuit where time and age are so important. And he knows there will be those out there who will forever continue to doubt his integrity, because thats just the way some people are. The whole thing is so unjust! Mike Jefferson The teachers pet What a beautiful story and how fortunate for Phin that he ended up with the perfect human parents. I have a special needs cat, and Im proud to say she is definitely with the right humans (and an incredible vet) to make her life and wellbeing the very best it can be. Bridget84 Loading I love seeing Phin in my Instagram feed every morning. Despite his wobbliness, this cat is pure joy made manifest. I love his boisterous lust for life. There is no doubt he is very, very happy, and very well cared for. We are privileged to have people of the calibre of Collin and Daria here in Sydney. SanSouciant
Truscott initially thought the detective was reaching out to provide information about her missing grandfather, Donald Gordon Buckley, who was last seen alive in 1953. Donna Truscott began the GEDmatch process to find out more about her family, including her missing grandfather. [The detective] said, Im sorry, its not about your grandfather directly but it may be, and I was a little confused, Truscott explained. She said to me: In Alderley in Queensland in December last year, we found female remains, and DNA that you are a profile owner for has been matched to this female. Truscott was left shocked. Those words alone, I wasnt expecting to hear.

Truscott said she was told her family members were distant relatives of the dead woman, who police on Thursday identified as Tanya Lee Glover. It was really, really intense ... by the afternoon, [the detective] had spoken to genealogists and so forth and confirmed that my Aunty Jenny wasnt just the [sole] DNA match, my mum was a DNA match, and so was I, and so was my sister. We quickly established the DNA that we shared with this person was from the maternal side of my mums family. You dont imagine your DNA has been linked to an unsolved, unidentified homicide victim somewhere. Donna Truscott The DNA match was made through US site GEDmatch, which allows people to find relatives after uploading their DNA profile.

GEDmatch has been used in major cases, such as the identification of the Golden State Killer in California. Truscott had shared her DNA with investigators in 2017, in a bid to find out more about her family and any links to her missing grandfather. Basically nobody knew he was missing for 70 years, and people didnt know Tanya was missing either, so I think supplying your DNA, adding it to a database like that, its going to help bring someone home. Glover, originally from NSW, was believed to have been about 38 when she went missing from her last home, in Brisbanes Fortitude Valley. She had no children, and had moved to Queensland in 2006 after falling out with her family, police say.

They were traumatised at the news of her death, senior police said. Detectives have appealed for anyone who knew her, particularly between 2006 and 2010, to come forward. The next piece of this investigative jigsaw puzzle is trying to establish who knew Ms Glover so we can build a victim profile of her and try to identify any persons who may have wished to harm her or who had a motive to do so, Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said. On Thursday he confirmed Glover was identified through a genetic genealogy process.

Through that familial DNA process, theres certain genetic markers which are used to match what was an unidentified DNA victim, from Ms Glover, to known DNA profiles of biological relatives. Police have not identified the relatives.
As there were no other adults present, and Erins two children didnt eat the meal, it will be a matter of keen interest to investigators as to why Erin presented at hospital when she appeared symptom-free. With excellent snooping, the Sentinel-Times published real estate pictures from the previous sale of the double-storey, stylish weatherboard home that showed a cluster of alarmingly orange mushrooms at the base of a tree that no one in their right mind would eat. The photograph from the South Gippsland Sentinel Times. A case of multiple mysterious deaths always draws the attention of the homicide squad, and investigators curiosity was piqued when they discovered a social media post from June the previous year from Erins estranged husband, Simon. Some of you will know that Ive had some serious medical problems since late May. I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation, he wrote. My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live.

Naturally, police are checking Simon Pattersons medical records and his recollections into his collapse and recovery. Loading The Herald Sun reports Simon allegedly told friends he felt ill several times after eating with his former wife. This will be a matter of furious interest to detectives. Indigestion or intelligence? Watch this space. Any homicide investigator will tell you that while lightning can strike twice, you certainly want to go and have a look at the scorch marks. Police will have urged Simon not to drive down media street as they intend to play their cards as close to their chest as a professional poker player.

A tough case Death cap mushroom poisoning presents as gastro symptoms, a small period of apparent recovery, then a relapse that results in the collapse of internal organs until the liver and kidneys shut down. On August 4, six days after the Leongatha lunch, sisters Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson died. The following day, Don Patterson died, and Ian Wilkinson was fighting for his life and was placed on the emergency liver transplant list. Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, head of the homicide squad. Credit: Nine News The homicide squads chief, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, addressed the media using the deadest of bats as if playing for a draw on the last day of a Test on a Mumbai turner. I would like to say that, because the homicide squad is investigating this matter, it doesnt automatically mean that the deaths are suspicious, he said.

The house was searched and items seized, including pantry products and cooking utensils likely to have been used in meal preparation. Thomas is right, of course. This is a complex and, in all probability, protracted case that involves the Health Department and toxicology reports to complete a brief of evidence for either the coroner or a criminal court. At this point, no one has announced a cause of death, but few poisons destroy the liver so savagely as death cap mushrooms. Tests will be conducted on a food dehydrator found dumped in a local tip to see if it is working and if it was used to dry mushrooms  a food process that can take four to eight hours. They have asked for CCTV footage from the tip to see who dumped the dehydrator.

Why police attended the tip, 10 kilometres from Leongatha, is a matter they have chosen not to share. Suffice to say, it wasnt a fluke. They will try to work out why the four guests at the lunch were struck down with such devastating effect while the hostess was not. There are many perfectly reasonable explanations for this that may well surface in the fullness of time. Koonwarra Transfer Station and Simon Patterson (inset), the son of two of the people who died. Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola; Nine News Many questions police would like answered remain conjecture. This is because there were five adults present at the meal. Four cant talk and one wont. Erin Patterson has exercised her right to refuse to answer many questions, which lawyers will tell you is absolutely her right  and in many cases the sensible option. Their questions would include: Where did the mushrooms come from? Were they foraged and if so, by whom? Why would someone adept at country life make such a mistake? Why were police initially told they came from a supermarket when no one else in town became sick? Why did Erin Patterson attend the Leongatha Hospital?

If processed in a dehydrator, when did this happen? (They have a shelf life of a year.) Did the chef eat the meal? Was the meal pre-plated and served individually? If the purpose of the lunch was to talk about child access, it may be why Pastor Ian Wilkinson, a respected wise head in the community and his wife, Heather, were there as mediators. Police refused to say if Erins husband had declined the lunch invitation. Confronted by the media, Erin appeared distressed and said: Im so devastated about whats happened and the loss to the community and to the families and to my own children. Theyve lost their grandmother. In such an investigation, police will scrutinise Erins online browsing history and perhaps see if she purchased or borrowed books (including ones containing recipes).

This by no means suggests Erin Patterson is guilty of anything. She has said: Ive done nothing wrong. Quite separately from this matter, the use of poisons in crime thrillers and real-life playbooks has gripped audiences for centuries. A distraught Erin Patterson on Monday afternoon. Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola A quick browse reveals that the use of toxic mushrooms is a favourite crime fiction theme including in Murder by Mushroom by Virginia Smith, where a spiral pasta casserole at a church function is laced with deadly fungi in a small country town. To prove no plot is ever new, the Roman emperor Claudius was killed by his wife, Agrippina, when she served him a plate of poisoned mushrooms in 54AD.

One case that gripped the public was the Society Murders. Margaret Wales-King and her husband, Paul King, were bludgeoned to death by her son, Matthew, in April 2002. Matthew invited the couple to a home-cooked dinner of aperitifs, minestrone (laced with his mothers crushed sleeping pills), vegetarian risotto, Chilean red and white wine, and dessert followed by soothing chamomile tea. Matthew Wales on the day of his arrest in 2002. Credit: Ben Richards Once they lapsed into sleep, he beat them to death and disposed of them via a trailer he rented with his credit card. Some people arent meant to dabble in crime. In Bendigo years ago, meat worker Johnny Moss started a slow, unexplained spiral into ill-health.

His wife, Lorraine, was always by his side, feeding him home-cooked meals, asking concerned medical questions and finally taking her wheelchair-bound husband to the pub for respite. He started feeling ill in 1978, and was in and out of hospital for years. At work, he felt so ill he gave his home-cooked stew to a mate, a single man who took it home for dinner. John and Lorraine Moss on their wedding day. It was the worst I had ever felt in my life, the mate told police. I wonder how I survived. Meanwhile, Lorraine was broadening her mind, borrowing from a friend a medical text on poisoning and insect bites. She also went to a Bendigo library to read books on poisons.

Loading In August 1983, doctors took nail and hair samples to test for lead arsenic poisoning. The results were mislaid and didnt get to the doctors at the Austin Hospital until January 12, 1984. It was too late  Johnny Moss, 38, died the next day. His hair had 80 times the normal level of arsenic. Tests confirmed he was poisoned over years and was fed four massive doses over the last eight weeks of his life. Daughter Colleen told police: Our whole family life fell apart after dad died. Mum changed. She started wearing make-up and provocative clothing. Bobby Whyte worked with Johnny Moss at the local smallgoods factory. He started doing odd jobs around the Moss home when his workmate became ill.

A few months after Johnny died, Whyte moved in and later married Lorraine. She was charged with murder, but denied the allegations and the prosecution was dropped. Loading Years later, she confessed to her daughter and was convicted. Trial judge Bill Gillard remarked: It is hard to think of a more callous, heartless, wicked person. Your husband was suffering excruciating pain, yet you continued to feed him large doses of arsenic  your wickedness knew no bounds. Veteran homicide investigator Jack Jacobs visited the house many times. She always offered us a cup of tea. I always made sure I never took it.
During the week, two West Australian politicians changed direction so sharply Im surprised theyre not sitting in a physios office wearing soft collars.

It began with Premier Roger Cook slamming the brakes on the governments Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, then shifting into reverse, with years of hard work and good intentions tumbling off the back of the ute.

WA Premier Roger Cook. Credit: Trevor Collens

A few days later, Liberal leader Libby Mettam swerved into the right lane to avoid a looming collision with the more conservative elements of her party over her support for the Voice to parliament.

The incident left Mettam dazed and confused. Im unclear about what my position is now, she said, as she walked back her earlier support for the Voice.
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 Caroline Kennedy is in the market for a car. Nothing fancy like a Porsche or a Bentley. The United States ambassador to Australia, a member of one of Americas most storied political dynasties, is looking for a second-hand clunker to drive across the outback. Asked during an interview what she wants to achieve during her Australian posting, Kennedy responds, with a twinkle in her eye, that she wants to sample one of the Country Womens Associations famous scones. She then offers a second aspiration: I also have been looking online to buy a car for $1500 because I want to go in the shitbox rally. Excuse us? The shitbox rally, Kennedy explains to her confused guests, is a challenge to drive across some of Australias most remote roads (from, say, Adelaide to Perth or Melbourne to Alice Springs) to raise money for the Cancer Council. She first learnt about the event last October when she visited a Bunnings hardware store in Canberra to experience an authentic Australian sausage sizzle and got chatting to the volunteers. Almost a year later, the event is still on her mind. The ambassador explains what a shitbox rally is to her interviewers, Matthew Knott (centre) and Peter Hartcher (right). Labradoodle Chester listens in. Pictured at the US embassy in Canberra. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Kennedys advisers, who confirm her persistent interest in the topic, appear less enthused about the idea of her engaging in such a high-octane activity. At first, they too had no idea what she was talking about: why does the ambassador want to buy a ship box?

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Kennedy arrives for the interview after walking her labradoodles, Joey and Chester, around the grounds of the American embassy in Yarralumla, a five-minute drive from Parliament House. In a relaxed mood, the daughter of John F. Kennedy is wearing a black puffer jacket (which she later removes) and joggers, her footwear of choice even for formal occasions. Those who meet her are inevitably struck by the lack of airs and graces for someone born into a life of power and privilege. A fan of local breweries Bentspoke and Capital Brewing, she says she mailed several cans of Canberra beer to her son-in-law in the US and was relieved they didn't explode on the plane. She says if she gets her way, her dogs will be joined at the embassy by a flock of sheep. Ive done a lot of sheep research and nobody else is as excited about it as me, she says. Kennedy arrived in Australia last July with instant impact, chiding a veteran male reporter whom she believed interrupted a younger female counterpart during a brief press conference. Since then, shes been seen more often than heard, largely avoiding long-form interviews, press conferences and policy speeches. Unlike her Washington counterpart Kevin Rudd, a globally recognised expert on China, she is not prone to lofty geopolitical pronouncements. Instead, she has focused on travelling the breadth of the continent: visiting the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory, attending a Dolly Parton drag show in Perth and climbing 80 metres up a tree in an old-growth forest in Tasmania.

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I wanted to visit all the states and territories in my first year  that was a deliberate goal, she says, pointing out that she is ambassador to Australia rather than Canberra. Having served as ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration, Kennedy says it was her request to President Joe Biden to return to the Asia-Pacific, specifically Australia, for a second diplomatic posting. She admits, however, she was not an expert on the nuances of the country. I didnt come in with a lot of, really, foreknowledge, she says. As well as a way to soak up information about her new home, her travels have been an exercise in soft power diplomacy, using her celebrity status to project a positive image of Australias most important security partner. Rather than just passing through, she tries to stay in touch with those she meets along the way: traditional elders in East Arnhem Land were impressed by how she followed up a visit to an Indigenous primary school by arranging for the students to speak to astronauts on the International Space Station. A year into her posting, Kennedy is becoming more expansive: her 45-minute, no-topics-off-limits interview with this masthead is her most sustained media encounter since arriving in the country. Caroline Kennedy and her other diplomutt Joey, pictured at the US embassy residence in Canberra. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

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Earlier in the morning she had bantered on air with Today host Karl Stefanovic. I grew up being teased and all that so this is somewhat familiar to me, she says of the jocular Australian sense of humour. You cant just relax, youve got to stay on guard. Speaking at the unveiling of Rudds official prime ministerial portrait this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Kennedy for doing a remarkable job as ambassador. Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute international affairs think tank, says: Caroline Kennedy was already an accomplished diplomat with an excellent record of public service when she arrived in Canberra. I have been impressed by her understated manner, her conscientiousness and her curiosity. And of course, she has the ultimate ambassadorial superpower: the ability to get the president of the United States on the line. Caroline Kennedy, almost three, peeps over her father John F. Kennedys shoulder. Credit: AP wirephoto Kennedys 2013 appointment to Tokyo was initially greeted with some scepticism because of a perceived lack of foreign policy experience. Today, Japanese diplomats are effusive about her role in helping to arrange a historic visit by Obama to Hiroshima, the first time a US president had visited the city since it was devastated by an American nuclear bombing attack in World War II. In 2021, Japans emperor named her a first-class member of the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun in recognition of her work promoting US-Japan relations.

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While some children of celebrities develop a tortured relationship with their family history, Kennedy has embraced hers, using it as a way to advance chosen charitable causes and American foreign policy. A signed photograph from her father, who was assassinated when she was six, is on prominent display at her Canberra residence and she describes her diplomatic postings as a continuation of his work. JFK, she says, had hoped to be the first sitting US president to visit Japan and Australia. Im so proud of my family legacy and I think that being part of a big extended family was a huge source of strength, she says. Certainly, my mother [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis] set an example and encouraged my brother and I to pursue our own independent interests within that broader family legacy. Last week, Kennedy travelled to the Solomon Islands with her 30-year-old son, Jack Schlossberg, to recreate part of the famous 1.2-kilometre swim her father made in 1943 when his navy ship was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer. Again, the personal is geopolitical: as in WWII, the Solomons is playing a pivotal role in a great power competition, this time between the US and China. During her visit, Kennedy met in Honiara with the mercurial Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has alarmed Western leaders by praising Beijing and signing an expansive security pact with China. She says she emerged from the meeting assured that Sogavare wants to deepen ties with the US and Australia. Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, and her son Jack Schlossberg on their visit to the Solomon Islands last week. Credit: Instagram During her travels, Kennedy says she has been struck by the depth of affinity between the US and Australia, but theres no doubt her country has suffered major brand damage in recent years. A Pew Research poll released this year showed that 47 per cent of Australians have an unfavourable view of the US, the highest of the 23 democracies surveyed besides Hungary. The possibility of a Donald Trump return to the White House looms over the alliance, fuelling questions about how dependable a partner the US will be in the long term. I dont think we are an unreliable ally, Kennedy insists.

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NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman says he will vote in favour of enshrining a Voice to parliament in the Constitution, saying the disastrous outcomes facing First Nations communities requires elevating the advisory body into the nations founding document.

Directly contradicting his federal leader Peter Dutton, the Cambridge-educated silk who served as the states attorney-general for six years said he did not see the constitutional amendment as racist, and it did not present a significant legal risk nor an impediment to timely and flexible decision-making.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman has urged Anthony Albanese to split the referendum question. Credit: James Brickwood

My view is that this is an enhancement of liberal democracy. This doesnt detract from liberal democracy. Youre not creating special rights for classes. Instead, youre creating an advisory body to advise on behalf of the most disadvantaged section of society, Speakman said.

The enormity of the disparity between outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians meant elevating the Voice into the Constitution offered a better chance of closing the gap, Speakman said.
A fuel stop along the way. Credit: iStock Of course, proper pilgrims carry all their own gear and bunk down in ear plug-testing communal dorms called refugios, some of which are within monasteries. But there would be no such penance for this pretend pilgrim  instead, I opt to join a 10-day trip with Intrepid Travel. It promises a knowledgeable guide, comfortable hotel accommodation and the assurance that my luggage will be effortlessly whisked to the next destination. All I will carry is my backpack and  if Im being completely honest  some scepticism. Pushing off from Porto | A coastal affair If I can do it, you can do it! These are the encouraging words from our ebullient tour leader, Mariela Cavallo, during the welcome meeting on day one in Porto.

This is her fifth Portuguese Camino in a row, and shes never had anyone not make it to Santiago. I love this trip, she says, and the people from Galicia are just the friendliest. Tomorrow we will catch taxis over the border to start the walk in the small Spanish coastal town of Oia (despite the trips name, all our hiking will take place in Spain, in order to keep the trip to 10 days). From there the route winds along the coast, through a mixture of picturesque medieval towns, such as Baiona and Redondela, as well as more established port cities like Vigo and Pontevedra, before heading inland through the spa town of Caldas de Reis to Santiago. Well average about 23 kilometres per day, using a mixture of dedicated trails, meandering backroads and the occasional highway to thread our way through a scenic montage of sturdy granite villages, whispering oak forests and countless corn fields and vineyards. Our group isnt typical, according to Cavallo. On all her previous trips, shes mostly had women in their 60s, whereas we have three men (a rarity) and people in every decade from their 20s through to their 70s.

Its also an international affair, with a mix of Canadians, Brits, Americans, Aussies, Kiwis and Filipinos. Several are seasoned Camino pilgrims, having already ticked off the more popular French Way. Over the next 10 days we bond in a way that I havent experienced before on a multi-day hike. Theres lots of banter and teasing, of course, but plenty of heartfelt exchanges and soul baring too. Not only do people talk candidly about their relationships, loves and losses, but there are also deep philosophical discussions about meditation, religion and politics. In fact, almost every conversation seems to be infused with just a bit more gravity and meaning. Hitting the trail | In the spirit of the good way

If you had to sum up the trip in one phrase, it would be buen Camino! We hear it constantly, from fellow pilgrims, from locals on the street, through the open windows of passing cars and from the hotel, restaurant and cafe staff that stamp our passports along the route. Its a simple but surprisingly touching gesture  a sincere wish that we have a good Way. There are other defining features too  frequent stone waymarkers indicating the distance left to Santiago as well as numerous impromptu shrines, some a simple pile of hand-painted stones (traditionally representing a burden or sin that someone wishes to leave behind), others a wooden board or fence festooned with ribbons, scallop shells and poignant messages to loved ones. A Camino waymaker. Credit: iStock And then, of course, there are the more formal pilgrimage reminders  the countless stone crosses depicting Jesus or Saint James, the wells for feet washing and the fountains for drinking water. Many people buy a scallop shell (the most universally recognised Camino pilgrimage symbol) at the start of their journey and tie it to their backpacks; others carry a red and white flag bearing the cross of Saint James.

Theyre small gestures but they help to foster a sense of community and belonging; the feeling that were all in this together, all treading the same path. As a result, its an unexpectedly social experience, with conversations easily struck up on the trail or at rest stops along the way. I meet people of all ages and nationalities  four middle-aged Irish guys on rented mountain bikes, a couple from Germany pushing their child in a buggy; a group of perky Spanish youngsters who enthusiastically belt out romantic ballads as they effortlessly skip along. And then theres the eclectic cast of characters we encounter on the trail. Ever since people started making the pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, an entire industry has sprung up to service it. Theres Berto, the smoothie guy, an unfairly handsome individual who makes delicious fresh fruit smoothies from a van in the middle of a forest; Benancio, who creates handmade wooden staffs with elaborate carved animal heads; Manolito, who sells delicate shell-shaped earrings (Cavallo wears a different pair each day) and Juan de Camino, a nomad who lives in the forest and will stamp your pilgrim passport for a modest donation.

Although the distances we cover each day are similar, a couple of the legs are particularly testing, with steep climbs, little shade and afternoon June temperatures that soar over 30 degrees. While its a trip youd want to train for (Intrepid rates it as moderate), it doesnt require Olympian levels of fitness. Several of our groups older members have arthritis and need to use walking poles, but they soldier on, swept along by the camaraderie, the frequent buen Caminos and the promise of a coffee and a restorative pastry at the next stop. Walking up an appetite | Savouring the local delicacies One of the great rewards of a long-distance hike is the deluded permission it gives you to gorge yourself on record-breaking amounts of food and drink. And fortunately Galicia is a region full of delicious and intriguing specialities.

Predictably, seafood is a big focus, from the plumpest, tastiest oysters Ive ever tried in the coastal town of Arcade (Spains oyster capital) to pulpo a feira, meaty segments of boiled octopus sprinkled with paprika. I give the regions trademark tripe stew a miss (others assure me its delicious) but devour more than my fair share of seafood paella, tuna-filled Galician pies (similar to empanadas) and scorched, salt-smothered padron green peppers. Many restaurants offer a three-course Pilgrim Menu for the bargain price of 12 ($20) and every bar provides a generous serving of complimentary tapas with each round of drinks  anything from a slice of Spanish omelette to a sizzling dish of spicy chorizos. The only specialty I find underwhelming is the regions lauded Santiago cake  a dense tart made from ground almonds that tastes a bit like well, a dense tart made from ground almonds. On the wine front, Galicia might not be as famous as Rioja, but thanks to its maritime climate, its one of Spains top regions for whites, including some dangerously drinkable albarinos, godellos and treixadura that can cost as little as 1.5 a glass. Its not so well-known for reds, but can still turn out a fruity mencia that pairs well with a sliced rib eye or a marbled secreto cut of Iberico pork.

During our stay at Hotel Antolin, a beachside property on the outskirts of Redondela, Cavallo arranges for us to sample another Galician speciality  queimada, a blend of 50 per cent proof orujo brandy, sugar, lemon peel and coffee beans thats set alight and stirred in a bowl while an ancient pagan spell is recited. Designed to ward off bad spirits (not to mention nostril hair), the potent, syrupy concoction is often prepared at festivals and family celebrations. Whether it successfully protects me from evil omens remains to be seen, but it certainly doesnt spare me from a memorable hangover. In step with the Almighty | A spiritual quest As the trip progresses, it becomes clear that for three members of our group, this is a journey with genuine religious significance. They call into each of the many churches we pass along the way and find a mass to attend when we arrive in Vigo on Sunday. One explains that for her the trip is about reconnecting with the history of the faith.

On day seven, while hiking from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis, Cavallo organises for us to call into Casa de la Misericordia (House of Mercy) for an optional blessing by a Catholic hermit called Father Carlos. When were shown a Pilgrim Miracle Menu and encouraged to choose from an Encouraging Word or a Healing Touch, I can feel my anxiety levels rise. But I stay with it, as does most of the group, and everyone agrees that what follows is one of the most affecting parts of the trip. One by one, we each receive a heartfelt message of kindness, compassion and encouragement that would be touching however it was packaged. For some people, its clearly the emotional release they needed. I cried like a baby, admits one man, who we later learn has a severely disabled son back home. I feel like a big weight has been lifted from me. The final push | A moving finale

Our last day starts well. We spend the morning on quiet country lanes, weaving through dew-soaked vineyards to an intermittent chorus of cockerels and church bells. But then the temperature and the altitude starts to climb, and the afternoon is a challenging uphill slog in 32 degrees. The bland, high rise-filled outskirts of Santiago provide little respite but the ever-decreasing waymarkers and our first glimpse of the famous cathedrals twin spires in the distance help to lift morale. During the final few hundred metres, we follow a procession of fellow pilgrims through the narrow alleyways of the citys old town before emerging into the carnival-like atmosphere of Obradoiro Square and the impressive sight of the cathedrals imposing stone facade. We join the celebratory throng, hugging, cheering and taking photos, while all around us, the square echoes with triumphant cries and tears of joy. Surveying the scene, it reminds me of something a fellow agnostic said during the blessing two days before. With her eyes filled with tears, she turned to me and whispered, this is unexpectedly moving.

THE DETAILS Fly

Numerous airlines fly to Porto from Australia including Qantas, Emirates, British Airways and Qatar, often using European code shares for connections. Tour

Intrepid Travels 10-day Portuguese Camino trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela runs from September to June and includes accommodation, some meals and several hosted activities. The trip is rated as moderate meaning its suitable for active travellers with a good level of fitness. Maximum group size is 12. From $3185 a person, twin share. See intrepidtravel.com Walk

Essential items include comfortable hiking boots, a daypack, a reusable water bottle, rain gear, a hat and lightweight, quick-drying synthetic layers. Walking poles can be useful for uphill and downhill sections. Make sure youve worn in your hiking boots before the trip and can comfortably hike 23 kilometres in one day on a mixture of terrain carrying a daypack with sufficient water and snacks. More

visitportugal.com

spain.info The writer was a guest of Intrepid Travel. Five more Caminos to Santiago The original way

Allegedly the route taken in the ninth century by the first reported pilgrim, King Alfonso II of Asturias, this 320-kilometre journey begins in the medieval Spanish town of Oviedo and passes through UNESCO World Heritage-listed Lugo, a striking city surrounded by Roman walls. The French way

By far the best-known and most popular Camino, this route begins in the pretty French town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Dont fancy hiking 700-plus kilometres? Start in Sarria and tackle the last 115 kilometres instead.

The English way

Traditionally used by pilgrims from Northern Europe, this short but challenging 115-kilometre journey starts in the port of Ferrol on Spains north coast and winds its way south through Galicia to Santiago. The northern way

This testing 825-kilometre route along Spains northern coastline starts from Irun in the Basque Country and follows the path of an old Roman road before joining the French Way at Arzua. The spiritual variant

Essentially a detour from the main Portuguese Camino, this variation recreates part of the boat trip that brought Saint James remains from Jerusalem back to Galicia. The scenic 1.5-hour journey on the Ulla River passes 17 stone crosses. Five more pilgrimage routes around the world The Kumano Kodo, Japan

The only other UNESCO World Heritage-listed pilgrimage, the Kumano Kodo is actually a network of trails across Japans verdant Kii Peninsula connecting three sacred Shinto shrines. See tb-kumano.jp/en
Italy is mired in a debate over price gouging and rip-offs after a restaurant charged extra for providing a customer with two teaspoons with which to share a dessert, amid complaints over the soaring cost of taking a summer holiday.

An Italian couple had requested the extra teaspoon so that they could share the crema catalana that they had ordered in the pizzeria near Alba, a town renowned for truffles, in the northern region of Piemonte.

A couple was charged more than $2.50 by a restaurant in Italy for providing an extra spoon with their crema catalana. Credit: iStock

They were taken aback when the bill arrived with a 1.50 ($2.53) surcharge for due cucchiaini or two teaspoons.

While it was not a large amount of money, it has added to a general sense among Italians that hoteliers, restaurateurs and beach club owners are unreasonably hiking prices as they seek to make money from the post-pandemic rebound in tourism.
Still, this junta has escalated its moves so quickly that its possible they do something more extreme, as that has been their approach so far, she cautioned. Nine leaders from the 15-member West African bloc met on Friday (AEST) in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss their next steps. General Abdourahmane Tiani was declared as the new head of state of Niger by coup leaders on July 28. Credit: Reuters Speaking after the talks, ECOWAS commission president Omar Alieu Touray said he could only reaffirm the decisions by the military authorities in the subregion to deploy a stand-by force of the community. Financing had been discussed and appropriate measures have been taken, he said.

He blamed the junta for any hardship caused by the sanctions imposed on Niger and said further actions by the bloc would be taken jointly. It is not one country against another country. The community has instruments to which all members have subscribed to, he said. Supporters of Nigers ruling junta hold a Russian flag at the start of a protest called to fight for the countrys freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey earlier this month. Credit: AP A former British Army official who has worked in Nigeria said the ECOWAS statement could be seen as the green light to begin assembling their forces with the ultimate aim of restoring constitutional order. The official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said there was currently nothing in place for the use of force other than Nigerian forces. Without enablers and the support of other regional armies, its unlikely theyd enter, the official said.

ECOWAS has imposed harsh economic and travel sanctions on Niger, but analysts say it may be running out of options as support fades for intervention. The bloc has failed to stem past coups in the region: Niger is the fourth of its member states to undergo a coup in the last three years. Loading Nnamdi Obasi, a senior adviser with the Crisis Group think tank, said ECOWAS should further explore diplomacy in Niger. The use of force could lead to unintended and catastrophic consequences with unpredictable outcomes, he said, warning that a military intervention could also trigger a major regional conflict between democratic governments and an alliance of military regimes. The wider African Union has yet to weigh in on this crisis.

The AU Peace and Security Council could well overrule this ECOWAS decision if it felt that wider peace and security on the continent was threatened by an intervention, said Cameron Hudson, a former official for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Any coup that has succeeded beyond 24 hours has come to stay. So, as it is, they are speaking from the point of strength and advantage, said Oladeinde Ariyo, a security analyst in Nigeria. So, negotiating with them will have to be on their terms. Loading The junta has cut ties with France and exploited popular grievances towards its former colonial ruler. It also has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which operates in a handful of African countries and has been accused of committing human rights abuses. Moscow is using Wagner and other channels of influence to discredit Western nations, asserted Lou Osborn, an investigator with All Eyes on Wagner, a project focusing on the group.

Tactics include using social media to spread rumours, mobilise demonstrations and spread false narratives, Osborn said. She pointed to a Telegram post on Wednesday by an alleged Wagner operative, Alexander Ivanov, asserting that France had begun the mass removal of children likely to be used for slave labor and sexual exploitation. Neither Russias government nor Wagner responded to questions. Meanwhile, Nigers approximately 25 million people are feeling the impact of the sanctions. Some neighbourhoods in the capital, Niamey have little access to electricity and there are frequent power cuts across the city. The country gets up to 90 per cent of its power from Nigeria, which has cut off some supply.
In a scene intended to shock and antagonise the Muslim community, which was celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Adha, it was instead largely mocked, dismissed, or ignored by about 200 people gathered outside. But Momika, who sought political asylum in Sweden a few years ago, staged a further two protests in July where he set fire to the book outside the Swedish parliament and again stomped on a Koran and used the Iraqi flag to wipe his shoes outside Iraqs embassy in Stockholm. Salwan Momika is escorted by police to a location outside the Iraqi embassy. Credit: AP This time the incidents, given a permit by police in line with free-speech protections, triggered furious reactions from governments in Muslim countries including the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Jordan and Morocco. In Iraq, the Swedish ambassador was expelled and followers of a populist cleric stormed the countrys embassy in Baghdad. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia called Koran-burning an act of aggression which represented a culture of hatred and racism, and a manifestation of Islamophobia. It urged intervention from the United Nations.

The imam of the Stockholm Central Mosque, Mahmoud Khalfi, says the increased spate of burnings has stirred anger among Muslim communities in Scandinavia. Earlier in the year, far-right demonstrators burned a Koran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkeys embassy in Stockholm and have spread through copycat actions by other anti-Islam groups. Khalfi believes Muslims in Sweden are facing growing harassment. Every time, you wait for this absurdity that nobody supports to be put to a stop. Its just negative and has dangerous consequences, he says, adding the recent string of protests have had nothing to do with freedom of expression. We understand the need for freedom of expression, but we want something to change in how we are treated.

The burning [of the Koran] is part of a bigger pattern of hatred here that makes us feel very unsafe. He added that many young Muslims now felt Sweden was hostile to Islam, which he feared could fuel extremism. Protesters hold copies of the Koran as they demonstrate outside the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, Turkey. Credit: Reuters Amid a fierce reaction from the Muslim world, both the Swedish and Danish governments are now seeking to limit protests burning the Koran and other holy books by countering strong freedom of speech laws that have permitted the acts. Swedish authorities can only stop protests if demonstrators are violent, disrupt traffic, cause a public health risk, or if there is not enough police to maintain security. And even for those uncomfortable with the antics of the protagonists, the potential move to crack down on the acts has triggered criticism in Scandinavia.

Sweden and Denmark, along with Norway, are widely regarded as the most secular and progressive countries in the world, but the influx of Muslims from war-torn countries in the past decade has greatly impacted politics and society. In 2015, the Swedish government received a record-high 162,877 applications for asylum, primarily from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It represented about 1.6 per cent of Swedens population of 10 million  proportionally equivalent to more than 5 million people applying for asylum in the United States, which only received about 83,000 asylum applications that year. In just three months, 114,000 predominantly Muslim refugees arrived primarily into Malmo and small towns in the south, overwhelming the capacity of both government and civil society organisations while garnering continuous media attention. Demonstrators burn the Swedish flag during a protest in Tehran. Credit: Reuters It has fuelled massive support for the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, who gained seats at a national and local level since, with the moderate-led coalition government now reliant on their support in parliament.

Adding another layer of complexity to the issue has been Swedens bid to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine, which has ended Stockholms active foreign policy defined by non-alliance. Russia has been accused of fuelling a social media backlash, with cyber experts pointing out posts were deliberately geo-located in countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, and Indonesia targets, where Putin is using the crisis to provoke anti-Western feeling. Swedens prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has used increasingly dramatic language to describe the crisis, while also accusing Russia and others of trying to spread disinformation about the burnings by falsely claiming that his government was behind the acts. Police members try to restrain a man outside Stockholms mosque at Medborgarplatsen in July. Credit: AP We are currently in the most serious security situation since the Second World War and, as for Sweden, we are aware that states and state-like actors are actively exploiting the situation, he said earlier this month. He added that the Swedish government had started analysing the legal situation  including the Public Order Act  with the purpose of exploring the scope for measures that would strengthen our national security and the security of Swedes in Sweden and abroad.

Swedish police have several times tried to use public order legislation to stop the burnings but have been overturned subsequently by court decisions that have stated the burnings are permitted unless there is an immediate security threat. Local Muslim leaders fear this would not solve the problem and would only feed the narrative that action was being taken because of a violent reaction from the communities, and not race and religious baiting by others. They believe the burning of Holy books should come under laws that already ban hate speech against specific individuals and groups. Loading But Nils Funcke, a prominent Swedish freedom of speech advocate, says any attempts to curtail freedom of speech would signal that violent attacks, including on the Swedish embassy in Iraq, were successful. The distinction between criticism of religion and incitement against an ethnic group has been lost in the Koran burning debate. It is pointless to ban Koran burning, he says.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport, drs. Rodolphe Samuel extends heartfelt condolences to the community of St. Maarten, friends, and family of the late Roberto Celestino Arrindell.



It is safe to say that the community of Sint Maarten has lost a community advocate, educator, and cultural icon that exemplifies what it means to be a true St. Maarten patriot. Mr. Roberto Celestino Arrindell's immense contribution to his country will not go unnoticed, as it spanned multi-sectors and affected numerous individuals across generations, said Minister Samuel.

Within the sectors of education and culture, Mr. Arrindell worked as a passionate educator and in his personal time pursued his talents as an artist, poet and painter.

In the Education Sector, Mr. Arrindell served in the capacity of teacher, lecturer, and School Manager at various educational institutions at the secondary and tertiary levels. At the pinnacle of his career, he ultimately served as a school board representative for the FAVE Board regarding the development and implementation of education policy with the Ministry of ECYS. As a Math Teacher Mr. Roberto Celestino Arrindell is known to have taken his time to tutor many students that were struggling with the subject.

Mr. Roberto Celestino Arrindell was passionate about education and contributed towards the development of Sint Maartens most important resource, its people. With his boisterous, at times larger than life personality, Mr. Arrindell exuded confidence in all his undertakings. Through his life and his voice, he used education to transform the lives of many generations. We recognize and celebrate Mr. Arrindells contribution in the field of education and are saddened by his untimely passing. stated Sidonia Hodge-Lacorbiniere, Head of the Department of Education.

Within the Cultural Industry no one can doubt his commitment and dedication in upholding the legacy and cultural traditions of St. Maarten. His contributions run the gamut from poetry, painting and acting, particularly with the Cole Bay Theater Company. His well-known poem, Come, come, let we go back to the good old days was a poem that kept the listener enthralled as he retold stories of the yester years of St. Maarten of cultural icons that help build the nation.

Recently, Mr. Arrindell served as a member of the selection committee of the first Sage Cultural Awards 2022 hosted by the Department of Culture. Robertos booming voice and advocacy for individuals that are not so popular but have made tremendous cultural contributions to their community was very much documented within the selection committee, he will be truly missed by all, said Clara Reyes Department Head of Culture.
Collective Metals Discusses Geophysical Results for its Princeton Copper Project

COLLECTIVE METALS INC. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) (the aCompanya or aCollectivea)  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/collective-metals-inc/  is pleased to discuss geophysical results acquired by a previous operator and implications for its Princeton Project in southwest British Columbia (the aFlagship Projecta or the aProjecta).

The exploration targets for the Project are multiple Alkalic Cu-Au porphyry associated with Triassic age diorite intrusions similar to that being currently mined at Copper Mountain, located approximately 10 km east which represents the deposit model for the Project. Our exploration model resembles the model used at Kodiak Coppera?s MPD property, located approximately 30 km to the north-northeast. Documented mineralized occurrences are present within, and adjacent to, our Project, supported by a wealth of information acquired by previous operators, the BC Geological Survey Branch and Geoscience BC (see News Release dated July 5, 2023).

Kodiak Copper has demonstrated the benefit and cost effectiveness of 3D IP surveys in identifying and delineating new subsurface targets associated with their project. A 3D IP survey was completed by the previous operator on the Trojan a Condor Corrido in our current Project area, a comparatively small area in the central portion of the property underlying several showings and the Trojan (092HSE267) and NEV MINFILE (092HSE112) occurrences.

Chris Huggins, Chief Executive Officer of Collective, commented, aThe results of the Geophysical data provide great insights and allows Collective to compare the Princeton Projecta?s geophysics to Kodiaka?s and Copper Mountaina?s. The Company will use this data along with our other programs to develop high priority targets for drilling.a

The eastern portion of the survey is concealed by Princeton Group cover, which hinders identification of geophysical anomalies. Despite that, several anomalies were identified (Fig. 1). These results indicate that additional potential targets of interest are present below the Princeton Group cover sequence underlying the east side of the survey area.

The most significant features of interest from this limited survey are the highly prominent Bolas and Condor anomalies (Fig. 1 and 2) underlying the west side of the survey area. The very strong Condor geophysical anomaly extends from surface to a depth of at least 500m (the interpreted limit of reliable signal penetration with depth) and is associated with surface mineralization. The adjacent Bolas anomaly increases in intensity with depth, associated with surface mineralization. The three nodes evident at shallow depth (i.e., 50 m; Fig. 1) progressively merge with depth into a strong geophysical anomaly similar to the Condor.

The interpretation of the previous operator was that the 3D IP geophysical anomalies represent an increased proportion of sulphides related to spatially associated diorite intrusions. A large number of subsurface geophysical anomalies are present, ranging from weak through moderate to the very strong Bolad and Condor anomalies. Furthermore, our interpretation indicates strong potential for identification of sulphide mineralization, including copper sulphides, as documented by surface soil and rock geochemical results. Ultimately, the presence of multiple mineralized showings, as documented by the previous operator and MINFILE occurrences, is interpreted to indicate potential for multiple, mineralized porphyries associated with the large, spatially associated, high intensity magnetic anomaly (see News Release dated May 10, 2023). In summary, the Princeton Project is interpreted to host a sub-surface, potentially mineralized intrusive complex similar to that exposed at Copper Mountain (see News Release dated August 1, 2023).

The Companya?s Flagship Project is easily accessible by road and is located immediately west of Highway 3 south of Princeton, BC, in a well-established mining district with excellent infrastructure, a local workforce and support services.A The Project hosts potential for identification of one (or more) copper gold alkalic porphyry occurrences similar in age and deposit type to the Copper Mountain Mine.A The Project is also approximately 10 km west of Copper Mountain Mining Corporationa?s currently producing Copper Mountain Mine, which hosts a Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 702 Mt of 0.24% Copper.1

Qualified Person

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Rick Walker, P. Geo., who is acting as the Companya?s Qualified Person for the Princeton Property project, in accordance with regulations under NI 43-101.

The information disclosed is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Princeton Project.

References

1 a Copper Mountain Mine Life of Mine Plan and 65Kt/D Expansion Study Update NI 43-101 Report, Richard Klue, VP Technical Services, CMMC; Patrick Redmond, VP Exploration and Geoscience, CMMC; Luis Alberto Chang, VP Mining, CMMC; Berge Simonian, Director of Metallurgy, CMMC; Amaru Humala, Director of Mechanical Engineering, CMMC Scott Weston, VP Business Development and Strategy, Ausenco; August 1, 2022.

About Collective Metals:

Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) is a resource exploration company specializing in precious metals exploration in North America. The Companya?s flagship property is the Princeton Project, located in south-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 10 km west of the currently producing Copper Mountain Mine. The Princeton Project consists of 29 mineral tenures totaling approximately 28,560 ha (70,570 acres) in a well-documented and prolific copper-gold porphyry belt and is easily accessible by road, located immediately west of Highway 3.A

The Companya?s Landings Lake Lithium Project is located in northwestern Ontario where numerous lithium deposits have been delineated to host significant reserves of Li2O. The Landings Lake Lithium Project is located 53 km east of Ear Falls, Ontario and covers 3,146 hectares. The Whitemud Project, with several identified pegmatite outcrops, neighbours the Landings Lake Project and consists of 381 single cell mining claims totaling 7,775 hectares.

Social Media

@COMT_metals

Collective Metals Inc

Collective Metals Inc

ON BEHALF OF COLLECTIVE METALS INC.

Christopher HugginsChief Executive Officer

T: 604-968-4844

E: chris@collectivemetalsinc.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger & Marc Ollinger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as \may\, \expect\, \estimate\, \anticipate\, \intend\, \believe\ and \continue\ or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: interpretation of the geology and potential work on the Project. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Gold Royalty reports second quarter 2023 financial and operating results

Gold Royalty Corp. (aGold Royaltya or the aCompanya) (NYSE American: GROY  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/gold-royalty-corp/ ) is pleased to announce the filing of its operating and financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2023. The Company will be hosting an Investor Webcast to discuss these results and update on Friday, August 11 at 10:00 AM EDT. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

David Garofalo, Chairman and CEO of Gold Royalty, commented: \We have maintained our 2023 financial guidance and are encouraged by the expected near-term organic cash flow growth of our portfolio with assets such as Cote and Odyssey on the cusp of entering and ramping up production. Our team has continued to execute our growth strategy in a disciplined manner, having recently announced the agreement to acquire the Cozamin royalty while simultaneously achieving a 30% decrease in quarterly cash operating expenses year over year. We expect a strong second half of 2023 with increased production from Canadian Malartic, initial revenues from Cozamin, and Cote nearing completion of construction.\

Highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, include:

Adjusted Net Loss Per Share* for the second quarter of 2023 was unchanged at $0.02 per share compared to the comparative period as lower Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds in the second quarter 2023 were partially offset by an over 30% decrease in Cash Operating Expenses.

Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds* in the second quarter were lower than expected primarily due to resequencing of production at the Barnat Pit at Canadian Malartic. Full year Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds* guidance of $5.5 million to $6.5 million is maintained as the shortfall in revenue from Canadian Malartic is expected to be substantially recovered in the second half of the year.

On July 31, 2023, the Company announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 1% royalty on portions of the\- producing Cozamin copper-silver mine in Mexico operated by Capstone Copper Corp. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

The Company generated two new royalties through the royalty generator model and has now created 37 royalties through the royalty generator model since 2021.

Outlook

Management currently believes the Company is on track to meet its previously disclosed forecast of $5.5 million and $6.5 million in total revenues and land agreement proceeds in 2023 based on the production guidance published to date by the operators of the properties underlying the \-Company\-s interests, a forecasted gold price ranging from $1,700 to $2,000 per ounce and expected payments from land agreements. The Company expects to incur $7.0 to $8.0 million in recurring cash operating expenses in 2023 (forecasted operating expenses, excluding transaction-related and other non-recurring expenses) which remains unchanged as well. The Company currently expects that it willA generate positive net operating cash flow in 2024 (forecasted operating cash flow before movement in non-cash working capital adjusted for land agreement proceed credited against mineral properties) when select key growth projects are expected to ramp up in production, including the long-life cornerstone mines at CAtA and Odyssey.

The foregoing projected outlook constitutes aforward-looking informationa and aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and is intended to provide information about management\-s current expectations for the Company\-s 2023 fiscal year. Although considered reasonable as of the date hereof, such outlook and the underlying assumptions may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from the Company\-s expectations as set forth herein.A

In preparing the above outlook, management assumed, among other things, that the operators of the projects underlying the Company\-s royalties will meet expected production milestones and forecasts for the applicable period and that operators of land agreements will elect to make all expected payments over the period. See \Forward-Looking Statements\.

Portfolio Update

Odyssey Project (3.0% NSR over the northern portion of the project): On June 20, 2023, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (\Agnico Eagle\) provided an update on the Canadian Malartic Complex including the details of an updated internal study. The updated internal study outlined an improved production profile and opportunities to add production in years 2025 to 2028. Recent positive drill results in the Odyssey internal zones indicate the potential for further increases in production during the 2023-2028 transition period.

CAtA Gold Project (0.75% NSR royalty over the southern portion of the project): On May 11, 2023, IAMGOLD Corporation (\IAMGOLD\) disclosed that, as of March 31, 2022, the CAtA Gold Project was estimated to be approximately 80% complete. Additionally, on May 16, 2023, IAMGOLD disclosed a $400 million loan term financing deal with Oaktree Capital Management and outlined that construction of the large-scale, long life CAtA Gold Project was on-track and on-budget to commence production in early 2024.

Ren Project (1.5% NSR royalty and 3.5% NPI): On May 3, 2023, Barrick Gold Corporation (\Barrick\) reported their first quarter results and mentioned significant financial investments in equipment and development including portals at Ren that will boost productivity and mineralization development, alongside a new paste plant at Goldstrike. On August 8, 2023, Barrick reported their second quarter results and outlined that exploration had progressed at significant brownfields opportunities at Carlin. Barrick further outlined that drilling continues to confirm potential discoveries across the exploration pipeline in the Nevada Complex.

Fenelon Gold Project (2.0% NSR royalty over the majority of the project): On June 26, 2023 Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (aWallbridgea) delivered a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (aPEAa) for the Fenelon Gold Project. The PEA outlined a 12.3 year mine life with average annual gold production of 212,000 ounces. For further information regarding the PEA, please refer to Wallbridge\-s news release dated June 26, 2023.

Granite Creek Mine Project (10.0% NPI): On July 11, 2023, i-80 Gold Corp (ai-80a) provided a comprehensive update on its operations including development and exploration activities at Granite Creek. i-80a?s disclosed that its focus has shifted to the Ogee Zone at Granite Creek with positive grade reconciliation, increased mining rates and increasing production. i-80 is also accelerating infrastructure development to access the high-grade South Pacific Zone as Granite Creek progresses towards full commercial production.

Whistler Gold-Copper Project (1.0% NSR): On May 30, 2023, U.S. GoldMining Inc. (\US GoldMining\) announced that following the successful completion of its initial public offering in April 2023 which raised gross proceeds of US$20 million, US GoldMining has approved its 2023 exploration program and budget for the Whistler gold-copper project. It further disclosed that Phase 1 of its inaugural exploration program has commenced with field crews undertaking rehabilitation work on the existing camp which will enable the commencement of core drilling, mine engineering and environmental baseline studies later in the 2023 summer field season.

Royalty Generation Model Update

The Companya?s Royalty Generator Model had a productive quarter with two new royalties during the quarter. The Company has now generated 37 royalties since the acquisition of Ely Gold Royalties in 2021 through this model. Details of the new royalties generated during the quarter are as follows:

The Quarter Horse property was sold to First Majestic with Gold Royalty retaining a 0.75% NSR royalty over the property.

The Goldfield West property was sold to Centerra Gold Inc with Gold Royalty retaining a 2.0% NSR royalty over the property.

The Company currently has 31 properties for land agreements and 7 properties under lease and expects to generate $3.2 million in land agreement proceeds in 2023 assuming all land option agreements are exercised. The model continues to be a low-cost portion of the business with only $81,000 spent on mineral interests maintenance expense during the first half of 2023.

Investor Webcast

An investor webcast will be held on Friday, August 11, 2023 starting at 10:00 am ET (7:00 am PT) to discuss these results. Management will be providing an update to interested stakeholders on the Companya?s quarterly results including key recent catalysts that have been announced on the assets underlying the Companya?s royalties. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session where participants will be able to ask any questions they may have of management.

To register for the investor webcast, please click the link below: https://www.bigmarker.com/vid-conferences/GoldRoyaltyCorp-TownHallForum-Q2Results

A replay of the webcast will be available on the Gold Royalty website following the presentation.

About Gold Royalty Corp.

Gold Royalty Corp. is a gold-focused royalty company offering creative financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Its mission is to invest in high-quality, sustainable, and responsible mining operations to build a diversified portfolio of precious metals royalty and streaming interests that generate superior long-term returns for our shareholders. Gold Royalty\-s diversified portfolio currently consists primarily of net smelter return royalties on gold properties located in the Americas.

Gold Royalty Corp. Contact

Peter Behncke

Manager, Corporate Development & Investor Relations

Telephone: (833) 396-3066

Email: info@goldroyalty.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

Qualified Person

Alastair Still, P.Geo., Director of Technical Services of the Company, is a \qualified person\ as such term is defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (\NI 43-101\) and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release.

Notice to Investors

For further information regarding the project updates regarding properties underlying the Company\-s interests, please refer to the disclosures of the operators thereof, including the news releases and reports referenced herein. Disclosure relating to properties in which Gold Royalty holds royalty or other interests is based on information publicly disclosed by the owners or operators of such properties. The Company generally has limited or no access to the properties underlying its interests and is largely dependent on the disclosure of the operators of its interests and other publicly available information. The Company generally has limited or no ability to verify such information. Although the Company does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such third-party information is complete or accurate.

Unless otherwise indicated, the technical and scientific disclosure contained or referenced in this news release, including any references to mineral resources or mineral reserves, was prepared by the project operators in accordance with NI 43-101, which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission applicable to domestic issuers. Accordingly, the scientific and technical information contained or referenced in this news release may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes \forward-looking information\ and \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, \forward-looking statements\), including but not limited toA statements regarding: estimated future Total Revenues and Land Agreement Proceeds and expected future cash flows; the proposed acquisition on a royalty on portions of the Cozamin mine; expectations regarding the development of the projects underlying the Company\-s royalty interests, including the estimates of the operators thereof their timing and ability to achieve production; and expectations regarding the Company\-s growth and statements regarding the Company\-s plans and strategies. Such statements can be generally identified by the use of terms such as \may\, \will\, \expect\, \intend\, \believe\, \plans\, \anticipate\ or similar terms. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions and other important factors, including assumptions of management regarding the accuracy of the disclosure of the operators of the projects underlying the Company\-s projects, their ability to achieve disclosed plans and targets, macroeconomic conditions, commodity prices, the ability of the parties to the Cozamin transaction to satisfy the conditions to completion of such transaction and the Company\-s ability to finance future growth and acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including, among others, any inability to any inability of the operators of the properties underlying the Companya?s royalty interests to execute proposed plans for such properties or to achieved planned development and production estimates and goals, risks related to the operators of the projects in which the Company holds interests, including the successful continuation of operations at such projects by those operators, risks related to exploration, development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any such projects, any inability to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the proposed Cozamin transaction, the influence of macroeconomic developments,A the ability of the Company to carry out its growth plans and other factors set forth in the Company\-s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2022 and its other publicly filed documents under its profiles at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included, in this document, certain performance measures, including: (i) Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Net Loss Per Share; (ii) GEOs; (iii) Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds; and (iv) Cash Operating Expenses which are each non-IFRS measures. The presentation of such non-IFRS measures is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and other companies may calculate these measures differently.

Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Net Loss Per Share

Adjusted Net Loss is calculated by adding land agreement proceeds credited against mineral properties and deducting the following from net income: Transaction related and non-recurring general administrative expenses[1], share of (gain)/loss and dilution gain in associate, impairment, changes in fair value of derivative liabilities and short-term investments, gain on disposition of short-term investments, gain on loan modification, foreign exchange gain/(loss), other income/(expense) and land agreement proceeds credited against mineral properties. Adjusted Net Loss Per Share, basic and diluted have been determined by dividing the Adjusted Net Loss by the weighted average number of common shares for the applicable period. The Company included this information as management believes that they are useful measures of performance as they adjust for items which are not always reflective of the underlying operating performance of our business and/or are not necessarily indicative of future operating results. The table below provides a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Net Loss Per Share, basic and diluted for the periods indicated.

GEOs

Total GEOs are determined by dividing revenue by the following average gold prices.

Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds reconciliation

Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds are determined by adding land agreement proceeds credited against mineral properties to total revenue. The Company has included this information as management believes certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company\-s performance in comparison to other gold royalty companies in the precious metal mining industry. Below is a reconciliation of our Total Revenue and Land Agreement Proceeds to total revenue for the three and six months ended JuneA 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Cash Operating Expenses

Cash Operating Expenses is determined by excluding the impact of non-cash expenses, revenue, other income and tax recovery. The Company has included this information as management believes certain investors use this information to evaluate our performance in comparison to other gold royalty companies in the precious metal mining industry. The table below provides a reconciliation of net loss to Cash Operating Expenses.

[1] Transaction related and non-recurring general administrative expenses are a supplementary financial measure comprised of operating expenses that are not expected to be incurred on an ongoing basis. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, transaction related and non-recurring administrative expenses related primarily to professional fees related to changing the Companya?s fiscal year-end, tax restructuring following the completion of corporate transactions, establishing a dividend reinvestment and finance programs and select corporate development activities and in the same periods of 2022, related primarily to consulting fees and professional fees associated with corporate transactions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. The price of Azeri LT CIF Augusta brand totaled $91.19 per barrel on August 10, increasing by 0.04 compared to the previous price, Trend reports, referring to the source from the country's oil and gas market.

Azeri LT FOB Ceyhan brand currently costs $90.24 per barrel, which is $0.05 more than the previous price.

In addition, Azerbaijan sells its URALS oil through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. URALS cost $74.2 a barrel when shipped from the port, a decrease of $0.52 from the previous price.

Meanwhile, the price of a barrel of Brent Dated oil produced in the North Sea decreased by $0.19 from the previous day on August 10 to $88.27 per barrel.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on August 11, 2023)
T esco is to swap cheaper product lines into its convenience stores as shoppers battle the rising cost of living.

It revealed that more than 50 everyday products in its smaller Express shops will be replaced by better priced alternatives, many from its own-brand range.

The move comes as German discounter rivals Aldi and Lidl have witnessed sharp sales growth in recent months as cash-strapped shoppers seek to trim their shopping bills.

A study from Which? earlier this year also claimed that shoppers who regularly buy groceries from Tesco and Sainsburys convenience stores instead of bigger supermarkets were likely to pay hundreds of pounds more over the course of a year due to the higher price of many items stocked.

On Friday, Tesco said that the own-brand alternatives being switched in to replace other products are, on average, over 40% cheaper.

It said the move is in response to internal shopping data, which shows that price-conscious customers are increasingly turning to own-brand products for better value.

Among the own-brand lines being introduced are Tesco penne pasta (85p) and Tesco smooth peanut butter (1.65), both of which will cost half the price of the previous branded product stocked, it said.

Meanwhile, some branded lines, such as toothpaste, are being replaced by a cheaper branded alternative.

The new products will be delivered to stores over the coming fortnight, with the changeover complete by the end of August, Tesco said.

Sarah Lawler, Tesco Convenience managing director, said: We know customers are watching every penny at the moment, so we hope these helpful product swaps will bring down food bills for even more families.

Our Express stores offer unbeatable value on everything from essentials to fresh produce, making healthy food more accessible for the 2,000 communities that we serve across the UK.

And while our convenience stores dont have the shelf space to carry the full range of our larger shops, by swapping these products, weve been able to make way for even more of our great-value own brand ranges.
T he Co-Operative Bank is set to buy Sainsburys Banks portfolio of 3,500 mortgages, worth around 479 million, months after earlier talks had collapsed.

Sainsburys mortgage holders will have their loans transferred to the Co-Operative Bank over the next year to ensure a smooth process.

Nick Slape, CEO of The Co-operative Bank said: We are delighted to have agreed this transaction with Sainsburys Bank. Once the transfer activity is complete, we look forward to welcoming the new customers who will benefit from our ambitious new technology platform, which will simplify our banking services and will make us more efficient, giving us the flexibility to introduce new products and services.

This transaction, our first portfolio acquisition in more than a decade, further demonstrates the progress we have made in recent years and our strength in what remains a competitive UK mortgage market.

Sainsburys Bank, a subsidiary of the supermarket giant, has been aiming to sell its remaining mortgages after it stopped offering new loans in 2019.

Jim Brown, CEO of Sainsburys Bank, said: Were pleased to confirm we have agreed the sale of our mortgage book to The Co-operative Bank.

Closing the chapter on our mortgage offering is a big step in simplifying our business.

Sainsburys and the Co-Operative Bank had been in talks over a deal earlier this year, but those discussions reportedly fell apart in March because the parties couldnt agree on the price.

The deal comes just a week after reports emerged that small business-focused bank Shawbrook was considering a 3.5 billion merger with the Co-Operative Bank.
P assenger numbers at Heathrow airport climbed to 7.7 million in July, up 21.4% from last year, as Brits sought to escape the bad weather back home.

While the growth was strong, the numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels.

Traffic to Turkey was at record highs of more than 73,000 passengers, while there were near-record numbers of passengers going to Portugal, Gibraltar and Italy.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: It's great to see so many passengers getting away to grab some summer sun. We've got a great range of popular destinations and our teams are delivering excellent service which will ensure your travels get off to the best start.

After Heathrow had been hit hard by strikes and cancellations during Easter and Mays bank holidays, it boasted that service has been much better over the summer holiday period.

It has been a strong start to the summer season for passenger service, it said. With security queues consistently under five minutes, passengers can travel stress-free and enjoy more than 300 retail and food and beverage options at Heathrow.

New York remains the most popular destination.

The EU remained the most popular group of destinations, though passenger growth was slower at 15.6% to 2.6 million. North America was next with 2.0 million passengers.

The fastest growth was again for flights to the Asia/Pacific region, which had much stricter pandemic travel restrictions in place for much of 2022. The number of passengers rose by 72.9% to 951,000.

Holland-Kaye will leave later this year, but the date hasnt been announced yet.
Y oung Londoners will be opening their exam results with trepidation later this month and potentially considering their future career path.

Having overcome such adversity during the pandemic, students choosing to enter the world of work will find the skills they need to succeed are rapidly changing due to technological advances and the race to reach net zero.

At the same time, businesses across the capital are grappling with severe skills shortages that are acting as a barrier to improving growth and holding back productivity.

The capitals skills system is not working nearly well enough for Londoners, employers, or educators. Despite the city having the highest levels of qualifications in the country, unemployment is paradoxically around one per cent higher than the national average, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Meanwhile, a BusinessLDN survey of more than 1,000 business leaders and HR managers in the capital earlier this year found that three-quarters of firms (77%) were reporting open vacancies and of those two-thirds (65%) were struggling to fill them.

More than half (57%) cited a low number of suitable applicants with the required skills as the biggest challenge to recruitment.

There is a real risk this skills gap widens further in coming years as the rise of Artificial Intelligence, digitalisation and a growing focus on sustainability, will transform the citys jobs market for those entering it and those already in work.

Thats why weve joined forces with other London business groups to create a roadmap to tackle this skills crisis and future-proof the capitals labour market.

The Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), produced with the backing of businesses, education providers, the Mayor of London and funded by the Department for Education, sets out an ambitious plan to tackle skills shortages, address inequality and get more Londoners into better, higher-paying jobs by ensuring training provision matches employer demand.

It represents the biggest ever data deep dive on Londons labour market, involving around 1000 key stakeholders spanning all sectors of the economy and types of training providers.

The LSIP sets out a series of practical steps that business, educators and London government can take together to boost sought after skills, including digital and green, across the capital.

Among its recommendations are launching a new one-stop-shop to support jobseekers, creating a London Recruitment and Skills Support Hub to help businesses navigate the plethora of options available and embedding important transferable skills in training courses, like critical thinking and communications.

Improving digital skills is also a priority. Employers across all sectors currently lack digital skills at both ends of the spectrum  advanced and basic. At the same time, too many Londoners are unable to access reliable broadband or even a laptop, while not enough can code or take advantage of the opportunities offered by cloud computing.

Tackling digital exclusion is vital in the age of hybrid working and needs to go hand in hand with action to embed essential digital skills as a core part of the curriculum from a young age. This will require a broad-based coalition including the Greater London Authority, boroughs, employers, educators and other business bodies working with the likes of the London Office of Technology & Innovation to redouble efforts in getting free devices and training courses into the hands of disadvantaged Londoners.

A new London Digital Skills Partnership should also be created to bring together the expertise of the private sector and the capitals leading educators to co-design courses, especially in areas with fast-changing advanced and cutting-edge technology such as AI and data analytics.

London is a beacon for talent and opportunity. Only by tackling skills shortages, addressing inequality and boosting labour market inclusion can our city live up to its true potential. Students, workers and businesses need a skills system that allows them to seize the opportunities presented by the jobs of tomorrow if were going to raise productivity and accelerate economic growth.
S acha Baron Cohen will be reviving his famous character Ali G as part of a new stand-up tour, the PA news agency understands.

The parody gangster-rapper wannabe shot to fame in the 1990s and early 2000s, with prank interviews of various public figures, including the Beckhams, Donald Trump and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the character, who first appeared on Channel 4 sketch show The 11 OClock Show, in 1998.

PA understands that Baron Cohen has been working on a stand-up tour in which Ali G will make an appearance.

No further details of the tour have yet been provided.

The character, known for his distinctive yellow tracksuit, is from Staines-upon-Thames in England, and claims to be part of street gang Da West Staines Massiv.

Following his introduction Channel 4, he took on his own programme Da Ali G Show and starred in the 2002 movie Ali G In Da House.

Despite telling The Daily Telegraph in 2007 that he had retired the character, Baron Cohen delivered a keynote speech as the rapper at Harvard University in 2015.

He also appeared as Ali G at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards, where he was honoured with the comedic genius award and joked about cancelling himself over his controversial characters.

Baron Cohen performed as Ali G, Borat, Bruno and Admiral General Aladeen during the ceremony, using digital trickery to confront himself.

He accepted the prize as intrepid Kazakhstani journalist Borat, before suburban wannabe gangster Ali G appeared.
Review at a glance









W est London production duo Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland have said that they were inspired to start making music together after watching The Strokes at their local venue, Shepherds Bush Empire, back in 2006. Fast forward all the way to the end of this month and their band Jungle is on level pegging with the iconic New Yorkers, both headlining on different days at Hackneys All Points East festival.

Lloyd-Watson and McFarland remain far less likely to be recognised in the street, however. While never quite going as far as Daft Punks helmet disguises, they have deliberately retained an impressive level of anonymity for a group with three top 10 albums. Around the time of their Mercury-nominated self-titled debut in 2014, they werent revealing their full names and stayed out of their consistently stylish, mesmerisingly choreographed music videos. They were doing most of the singing, however, and performed on stage, albeit not as the focal points of their large live band.

Lydia Kitto

On album number four, theyre stepping backwards again, using more guest vocalists than ever before including the American rappers Erik the Architect, Bas and Channel Tres, plus a British veteran, Roots Manuva. A relatively recent permanent addition to the band, Lydia Kitto, has the dominant voice, singing with raw-throated soul on the powerful opener, Us Against the World.

At times in the past, though Jungles music has sounded impeccably cool, sitting between soul, funk, disco and electronica, it could be too tasteful to really excite. Here theres a sense of fun and energy that rarely lets up. Holding On thunders along on a weighty 4/4 beat. Candle Flame recalls the chirpy soul pop of Danish duo Junior Seniors one-hit wonder from 2003, Move Your Feet. Dont Play has the filtered, ear-twisting sound of French house music, while the flutes and chanting of Coming Back make for another one aimed at the dancefloor on their imminent lengthy world tour. The pair have been doing more DJ work than they used to, and seem to have given their own material more oomph to suit.

When they ease off a bit, as on the casually funky Dominoes and the weightless soul of Good at Breaking Hearts, the music goes down like a cool drink on a summer day. If the weathers fine when they start their tour in Victoria Park on August 26, this will be a perfect accompaniment.

Caiola
The ES Magazine team recommend three stunning escapes to bookmark now.

THE LUXURY RENTAL

PIANO HOUSE, PAXOS

The Piano House, Paxos / Scott Williams

It is believed that Paxos was created when Poseidon, the God of the Sea, hit Corfu with his trident and created the perfect setting for his clandestine romance with the nymph Amphitrite. For the truly swoonworthy views, though, youll want to ascend the islands rocky hills to discover Piano House.

Framed by dramatic cliffs and sparkling Greek waters below, this stone-walled house is a veritable temple to fun. Split between three buildings (which can sleep up to eight guests), the airy whitewashed rooms provide a beautiful backdrop for the eclectic bric-a-brac and antique furnishings curated by the owners, with a special focus on  surprise, surprise  sea-faring artefacts. For those that havent quite found their sea legs, theres plenty opportunity to make a splash in the house pool before heading into Paxos charming tavernas in Loggos or Lakka for a sundowner. Heaven sent? Our thoughts exactly.

Piano House sleeps up to eight in four bedrooms and costs from 2,545 per week, villa rental only, including maid service (scottwilliams.co.uk)

THE TAKE THE FAMILY ONE

PALEROS BEACH RESORT

Paleros Beach resort / ES Author

Have toddlers in tow? The Ionian coast is one of the closest parts of Greece to get to (read: a three-hour flight from Gatwick) and allows for a seamless arrival at the Paleros Beach Resort. Set on its own quiet little bay, with the all-too-familiar Greek backdrop of rolling hills and olive groves, the resort boasts 130 rooms and all the facilities a frazzled family could want. Wander down to the beach front and youll find an expert crew of instructors on hand to cater to all your watersport needs - sailing, windsurfing, wakeboarding and, if youre feeling particularly perky in the morning, stand-up paddleboarding yoga classes on the sparkling sea. Back on dry land, there are guided bike tours, including a 50k morning ride and back to the stunning island of Lefkada - rides at a variety of paces depart at different times, meaning all levels can give it a go.

For the little ones, things get going from breakfast (which is exemplary Mediterranean fare with a changing daily menu) at the kids club: with a British-trained team behind it and catering for babies as young as four months through to teenagers. Mark Warner have a stellar reputation for crafting a roster of age-appropriate activities to keep them engaged and happy, along with two sizeable swimming pools on site. For those feeling a little more adventurous theres the quaint local fishing village of Palairos, with its quintessentially Greek tavernas and local hangouts  many on the waterfront. A favourite of ours was the yacht club: frozen margaritas at sunset sitting at tables on the sandy beach, a crackling fire pit, woodfired pizzas and the freshest catch of the day.

Paleros Beach Resort, from 1,389pp departing 27 August in a family room, including flights, transfers, seven nights accommodation, watersports, land activities and childcare all on a half-board basis (markwarner.co.uk)

THE MEGA HOTEL ONE

MANDARIN ORIENTAL COSTA NAVARINO

Mandarin Oriental

A first for the luxury hotel group, the Mandarin Oriental has finally planted its flag in Costa Navarino. Part of the Greek region of Messinia, the resort draws from its enviable beachfront location and the majestic beauty of unspoiled countryside that surrounds it. Sleek design is one of the MO groups signatures and each of the 99 suites and villas are outfitted in chic, serene tones and authentic Greek flourishes. But the real star of show is the 1,500 sq m spa, which marries traditional Mediterranean rituals and the native flora and fauna of Greece - a no brainer given the rich history of the region - with high performance products and treatments, and a stunning 25m indoor/outdoor pool to boot. Dive in  the waters lovely.

From 855 for Bay View Junior Suite (mandarinoriental.com)
A man has been jailed for the murder of a 20-year-old Afghan refugee in an east London park six years ago.

Moosakhan Naseri, 20, who was known as Moosa, was set upon by a group of fellow Afghans, including now 28-year-old Javid Ahmadzai, in Plashet Park, East Ham, on October 15, 2017.

The court at the Old Bailey heard how Mr Naseri suffered a fatal stab wound to the chest during the attack and died at the scene.

Ahmadzai, was found guilty of murder and violent disorder and sentenced 24 years in prison on Thursday.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers, the lead investigator, said: "The level of violence used was shocking to the members of the public in the park that day and I commend all those who have helped our investigation.

"It is tragic that Moosakhan, an Afghan national, had come to the UK looking for a safer life after fleeing the Taliban in his home country."

The court had heard how Mr Naseri had come to the UK in 2005 to seek asylum because of the actions of the Taliban.

He lived in Bradford before moving to London to stay with an Afghan foster family who lived near the park where he died.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC said that the brutal attack had arisen because the victim owed 10 for some drugs which he could not pay back immediately.

After the killing, Ahmadzai fled to France but was extradited back to the UK on June 21, 2022 and was arrested for murder.
A man who played music out loud on his Tube journey through London has been hit with a 300 legal bill for annoying other passengers on the train.

Transport for London used a little-known byelaw to bring a criminal prosecution against Oluseun Olumide Olaifa, 31, over the incident on June 20.

Olaifa used a bluetooth speaker to blast his music on the Jubilee Line journey from Canning Town to Stratford, to the annoyance of at least one fellow passenger.

London Underground officer Razvan Lazar told Ealing magistrates court he heard music being played as Olaifa came up the escalator from the Jubilee Line platform around 7.50pm.

I observed a male passenger who I now know to be Mr Oluseun Olumide Olaifa approaching from the direction of the Jubilee line while playing loud music through a Bluetooth speaker, he said, in a statement.

I approached him and identified myself and explained to him that by his actions he was now in breach of the byelaws.

Whilst speaking to him another passenger approached me and stated he had been playing music the whole journey.

Recalling the encounter, Mr Lazar said byelaws are used to regulate the conduct of persons while on the TfL Network but Olaifa appeared unaware of the rules.

Playing loud music on your Bluetooth speaker is not aloud (sic) without written permission, he told the Tube user.

Olaifa is said to have replied: "OK but where does it say?

On being told he would be prosecuted, he is said to have added: "OK, please show me the byelaw.

Olaifa, who lives in Tottenham, was taken to court by TfL and pleaded guilty, telling the court: I apologise for such behaviour and this kind of behaviour will not repeat itself. Thank you.

He was sentenced in a behind-closed-doors Single Justice Procedure hearing to a 40 fine, 250 in costs, and a 16 victim surcharge.

The byelaw prohibits singing or playing music on the TfL network, including buses, Tube trains, Overground and trams, unless you have written permission like approved buskers.

The behaviour can be prosecuted if it causes the annoyance of any person.
A senior judge has threatened to lock up defendants for obstructing justice if they wait to plead guilty until the start of their trial and leave valuable courtrooms sitting empty, it has emerged.

Judge Robert Linford, the Honourary Recorder of Truro, issued the extraordinary warning in a message to senior barristers, complaining that his courts were being left unused when trials are cancelled at the last minute.

He said defendants forfeit their right to bail by entering late guilty pleas, they are guilty of obstructing the course of justice, and he warned that only utterly exceptional circumstances would stop him sending them to prison to wait for their sentencing hearing.

The leaked memo, published on social media by legal advice service CrimeLine, drew immediate criticism from barristers and legal commentators suggesting he is pursuing an unlawful policy.

Last year, the Senior Presiding Judge of England and Wales Lord Justice Edis led calls for a concerted effort within the legal community for guilty pleas to be brought forward in time - if they are likely to be entered eventually  to avoid wasting court time.

Judge Linford, who is the resident senior judge for Plymouth and Truro crown courts, said in his memo that the issue of aborted trials had been raised in a users group meeting in Plymouth and he had experienced the same problem while sitting recently in Truro.

There were 12 cases in the lists for trial in the last 2 weeks. ALL of them pleaded either the week before the trial or on the day, he wrote.

The result has been that both courts are not being used at all in the afternoons and for most of the mornings. We cannot currently get any judge for the week after next and so it looks like Truro Crown Court will close entirely for that week  Truro has become at the very bottom of the pecking order for judge cover in large part because we are not employing the judges that we have.

I am at a total loss to know how to deal with this.

It is certainly not a case of defendants attending and finding witnesses have shown up and so have pleaded. There are other causes.

In a final effort to stop this I am telling everyone that ANY defendant attending for trial in front of me at Truro or Plymouth who pleads guilty will (if there is an application for a report or other adjournment for sentence), save in utterly exceptional circumstances, be remanded in custody pending sentence.

In my view they forfeit their right to bail as they are guilty of obstructing the course of justice. Pleading guilty late is delaying justice and thereby obstructing it.

He added a request for his message to be passed on to all barristers working in the area on criminal cases, so that defendants can be advised accordingly.

Trial day must mean what it says, he wrote.

There will be a trial not a plea which could/should have been entered months (or years) ago.

When contacted by the Evening Standard, the Judicial Office declined to comment on Judge Linfords email.

Defendants are given increased credit  reduced sentences  for pleading guilty to their crimes earlier rather than later. On the day of trial, only 10 per cent credit is usually given, compared with 33 per cent for a guilty plea at the start of the legal process.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) records show 1,853 Crown Court trials in the first three months of 2023 were cracked  did not go ahead  after a late guilty plea was entered by the defendant.

The Crown Courts of England and Wales currently has a backog of more than 63,000 cases, and the MoJ announced on Friday that there would be unlimited judicial sitting days for the third year in a row.

However, there has been a lack of available judges to sit on cases, which has hampered efforts to bring down the backlog, and cracked trials leave judges who are available with no cases to oversee.

Barrister Josh Hitchens, in response to Judge Linfords memo, wrote online: This is unlawful and next person remanded should judicially review what is, almost certainly, an unlawful policy.

In his comments last year, Lord Justice Edis suggested dialogue between solicitors, barristers, list officers and resident judges, so you can identify cases of yours where they will plead guilty.

Where you think, if it was listed, it would probably plead, talk to the list officer and they should be saying OK we will list it.

This is a way of processing cases. Im not saying more cases ought to crack than they would today. Those which are going to crack anyway and should crack  lets get cracking.
P olice have launched an investigation after a man was shot in broad daylight on a busy north London street close to a police station.

The man was shot on Stoke Newington High Street, close to Stoke Newington Police station, shortly after 3pm on Friday.

He suffered a non-life-threatening arm injury in the incident, the Met said on Saturday. Detectives are hunting the gunman and no arrests have been made.

The scene of the shooting / StokeyLitFest / Twitter

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Wallace, who is leading the investigation, said: Gun crime has no place on the streets of London and our dedicated team of detectives will do all we can to track down whoever was responsible for this brazen crime.

This shooting happened in a busy area during the middle of the day so Im certain there will be people who saw what happened who can help with our enquiries. If you can help, please do get in touch.

Hackney Police said: Enquiries are being carried out at pace after a man was shot in Stoke Newington High Street shortly after 3pm today.

No arrests have been made at this stage, and a scene is in place which will be affecting peoples travel through the area.

We are working hard to establish who is responsible and will keep everyone updated as soon as possible - we know this is a hugely concerning incident.

The road was closed from Victorian Road, past Stoke Newington Police station, to Kynaston Avenue while police carried out their enquiries.

A London Ambulance Spokesperson said they were called to treat a man as a priority in nearby Yorkshire Close.

We were called today (August 11) at 3:15pm to reports of a shooting on Yorkshire Close, Hackney, said the spokesperson.

We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer, an ambulance crew, and a medic in a fast-response car.

Our crews treated a man at the scene before taking them to hospital as a priority.

Officers authorised a Section 60 covering the whole borough of Hackney until 7.30am Saturday, meaning police can search members of the public for weapons without needing the usual reasonable grounds of suspicion.

The enhanced stop and search power is intended to prevent serious violence associated with weapons and can only be authorised by a senior officer.

Anyone with information or footage is being asked to contact the Met, quoting CAD4206/11AUG.
A man from Suffolk who sent envelopes of white powder to schools, shopping centres, and businesses in a hoax terror campaign while posing as an Islamic extremist is facing jail.

Gary John Preston, 63, sent packages to Westfield shopping centres in east and west London, two primary schools in Essex, the DVLA headquarters in Swansea, and a Premier Inn close to Stansted Airport in a six-week campaign of terror.

Some of the packages contained notes with Arabic symbols as well as written threats, including: Think fast you have seconds.

In others, Preston wrote: U Should think fast u now have seconds InshaAllah and If I was you I would hold my breath and run in the name of Allah.

The white powder in the parcels was later tested and found to be talcum powder.

Preston, who lives in the market town of Haverhill in Suffolk, sent the packages between September and November 2013.

His targets included locations in Braintree in Essex; to the local college, Notley High School, Lyons Hall and St Michaels Church of England primary schools, as well as the Freeport Shopping Centre, and branches of Vision Express, Coral Bookmakers, Specsavers, Barclays Bank, and Costa Coffee.

Also among the targets were Transport for London, Essex County Council, the Premier Inn at Stansted Airport, Westfield Shopping Centres in White City and Stratford and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines, Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, an investment management firm, also in Chelmsford, a Holiday Inn in Hayes, west London, and Bishops Stortford Post Office.

Preston was not caught at the time of the terror campaign, as fingerprint and DNA evidence could not be matched to a suspect.

However he was identified in 2020 after a series of incidents involving concerning behaviour and white powder.

In August 2020, Preston called the fire brigade and claimed he had taken ricin, two months later his uncle reported taking toxic plants away from him, and in November 2020 Preston threw an unknown powder over a paramedic, an earlier court hearing was told.

At Woolwich crown court on Friday, Preston pleaded guilty to 21 charges brought under anti-terror laws, following an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).

He admitted sending notes with the intention of inducing in a person a belief that it is likely to be, or contain, a noxious substance or other noxious thing and thereby endanger human life or create a serious risk to human health.

Preston was remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing on November 10.

Hannah Wilkinson, head of ERSOUs Counter Terrorism Policing unit, said: Preston was intent on causing significant distress and concern among those who received these packages, and to target places such as schools really shows the extent of his warped mindset.

Despite the offences taking place some time ago, our detectives continued to revisit the investigation and as soon as new evidence became available, we were able to step up our enquiries once more.

Im delighted the weight of evidence brought together by our investigators left Preston with little option but to plead guilty.
A uthors appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival are demanding organisers end their links with fossil fuel companies  and are threatening a boycott of next years event if there is no action.

More than 50 of the authors and event chairs taking part in this years festival  which gets under way on Saturday  have said that if main sponsor Baillie Gifford does not divest billions of cash, organisers should find alternative sponsors.

If this does not happen, all authors should commit to boycotting the festival in 2024, the group said.

Leading writers including Ali Smith, Zadie Smith and Gary Younge have signed the open letter to festival organisers, accusing investment management firm Baillie Gifford of making huge profits from global disaster.

In the midst of climate breakdown, Baillie Gifford is investing almost 5 billion into the cause of this crisis: companies that profit from the fossil fuel industry

They added that the firm was seeking to hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said the festival would consider the authors concerns carefully and keep an open mind about how to proceed.

The letter comes in the wake of climate activist Greta Thunberg pulling out of an appearance at this years event, after accusing Baillie Gifford of greenwashing.

The investment management firm rejected Ms Thunbergs claims that it invests heavily in fossil fuels, saying just 2% of its clients money was invested in the sector.

However in their open letter to festival organisers, the authors and event chairs said Baillie Gifford has up to 5 billion invested in fossil fuel corporations.

They stated: These corporations fuel the climate crisis. Theyre making huge profits from global disaster, and hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

The group said they stand in solidarity with all people harmed by the climate crisis, including people in the global south who have lost their homes, their livelihoods and been forced to migrate.

They also expressed their solidarity with people in the UK, including those whose homes have been flooded, whose health has been damaged by air pollution, and those who continue to suffer the dire consequences of corporate greed and political negligence.

Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of There Are More Things, said: This summer has been defined by global wildfires, flooding and extreme heat: the climate crisis is here.

In the midst of climate breakdown, Baillie Gifford is investing almost 5 billion into the cause of this crisis: companies that profit from the fossil fuel industry.

Edinburgh International Book Festival allowing them to sponsor cultural events gives them a social licence to continue funding the destruction of our only home.

Mikaela Loach, author of Its Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World stated: Edinburgh International Book Festival wouldnt burn books, so why are they OK with burning the planet?

Baillie Giffords whopping 5 billion in investments in corporations making money from the fossil fuel industry is unjustifiable in a climate crisis caused and exacerbated by these same companies who have invested more into climate denial and delay than they have into green energy.

Edinburgh International Book Festival must stand by their Climate Positive commitment and drop Baillie Gifford as a sponsor.

Guy Gunaratne, the author of Mister, Mister, said: In recent years the Edinburgh International Book Festival has gone a long way in facilitating conversations about climate and environmental justice, featuring some of the most prominent authors currently writing on the issue.

For these conversations to go beyond words on the page, they must send a clear message to their sponsors.

We call on them to show us that they truly understand the urgency of the situation, and its impact on peoples lives worldwide.

Responding to the letter, Mr Barley said: We fully acknowledge your concerns about the devastating impact of fossil fuel exploitation on the climate  as individuals, and as a charity, we firmly agree.

For these reasons, we promise to think about your letter carefully. The last thing we want is to let anyone give the impression we are on opposite sides.

Just as we promise to listen carefully to you, we ask that you allow us some time to consider your comments. Wed also like to share with you the reasons why we have accepted this sponsorship agreement.

Like all arts organisations in the UK, we wouldnt have enough funds to operate without private sponsorship. We looked very closely at the work of Baillie Gifford and it seems to us that they are, in fact, investing in companies that are seeking to resolve the crisis.

Those companies include Orsted, the Danish windfarm specialist.

Orsted was mandated by the Danish government to keep two coal-fired power stations open until 2024 as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine  and that is the only reason why a small percentage of their income still comes from fossil fuels.

I hope you will talk with me and my colleagues, and discuss the complexities of this issue with us.
T he backbone of an 88ft-long replica of the Sutton Hoo longship has been completed, after a nine-month delay when one of the first wooden pieces split.

The full-size reconstruction of the Saxon ship that was excavated in 1939 is being built by a team of around 120 volunteers in a shed beside the River Deben in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Independent charity the Sutton Hoo Ships Company, which is building the ship, has been funded by donations.

The projects master shipwright, Tim Kirk, said most of the volunteers are retired  including retired engineers, social workers and an eye surgeon.

This week they were joined by three National Trust apprentice joiners, and Mr Kirk said they have also been helped by the Royal Engineers from the nearby Rock Barracks.

Dating from the early 7th century, the original Sutton Hoo longship has been described as a ghost ship, as its timber had rotted away in the acidic soil, leaving only an imprint in the sand.

Around a third of the planks of the replica ship  36 pieces  have now been fastened on, with the remaining 60 to 70 planks expected to be in place by the end of the year.

Mr Kirk said each plank takes around 40 hours to work down from a wedge of timber cleaved out of a log, with each section up to 5.5 metres (18ft) long and weighing 300 to 400lbs.

It then takes a further 20 hours to make the plank the right shape and fasten it to the ship.

The ribs of the ship, made of oak and secured with iron rivets, will start to be added further into work on the planking.

Mr Kirk said the backbone of the ship was completed in November of last year, a year after the first two finished pieces were joined together.

But the project was delayed by some nine months when one of these first pieces split.

The first piece that we secured, unfortunately it split, which is one of the hazards of using green timber  freshly sawn, unseasoned timber, said Mr Kirk.

That set us back as we had to go and source another tree that was exactly the same shape as the one we had before.

He said it took around six months to find a suitable tree, after a period of consultation on what to do about the split piece, then some 450 man hours to craft the new piece from the tree.

Mr Kirk said it had been really difficult to get the size of timber that we need and is seeking at least three logs that are six metres (20ft) long and 1.2 metres (4ft) in diameter.

Were looking for really big special trees and there are not as many about in Britain today and even fewer in East Anglia, he said.

It looks like well have to go outside of the region and look nationally, and Im hoping we dont have to go and look internationally but it may be that we have to do that which would, of course, add significant cost to the project.

He hopes the ship will be completed and be ready to be tested on the water by spring of 2025.

One of the National Trust apprentice joiners, Josh Bobbett, who usually works on windows, doors and gates at stately homes, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing to work on the longship.

Mr Bobbett, 32, from Shrewsbury, said: Its like nothing Ive ever done before.

Youve only got to look at it, really.

Almost 90ft of oak timber, all hand planed with axes, its a bit unusual.

He added: The biggest thing Ive learned really is a bit more about woodgrain, imperfections and how they can completely ruin your day if they arent going your way.

Ive got a new appreciation for that.

It is hoped that, following the 1 million project, the longship will become a tourist attraction.
T eenagers and children are at heightened risk of mental health issues during periods of exam stress, researchers have found.

Academics from University College London (UCL) reviewed 52 studies involving students who attended either a primary school, secondary school or sixth-form college around the world between 1991 and 2022. In 48 of the studies, they found a link between academic pressure within the school year and anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The UCL report noted that mental health-related hospital admissions among Canadian adolescents were highest from January to April and October to November but lowest during periods of school closure in July, August and December.

A similar study in England found that stress-related emergency admissions were highest for teenagers during term-time and lowest during holidays.

Suicide attempts by adolescents were also rarer during non-school months of June, July, and August in two US studies assessing the rate of hospital admissions for them across the year, researchers said.

Mixed anxiety and depressive symptoms were the most commonly-assessed outcome of the review, with eight out of 20 studies reporting a link between academic pressure and psychosomatic symptoms.

The authors wrote: Positive associations between measures of academic pressure and the mental health outcome of interest were found in 17 of the 19 studies investigating depressive symptoms, five of the six studies investigating anxiety symptoms, and in four of the five studies assessing suicidal ideation. All but one of the nine studies investigating timing with the school year found suicides, suicide attempts, mental health-related hospital presentations, and non-suicidal self-injury were lowest during school closure, suggesting a potential association with academic pressure within term time.

The survey comes as teenagers across England prepare to receive their A-level results next Thursday. Nearly 95,000 fewer A* and A grades will be awarded to sixth-formers compared with last year, education experts have warned.

The papers authors admitted that their review had several limitations, including the fact that the term academic pressure was used inconsistently across studies. Most studies analysed by the UCL team were cross-sectional, meaning it was impossible to determine which happened first  exposure to high levels of academic pressure or mental health problems.

If the relationship is causal, the researchers argued that modifying academic pressure through interventions at an individual, school or policy-level could reduce the rising incidence of adolescent mental health problems.

The lead author, Thomas Steare, told the Standard: Adolescents are increasingly feeling pressure from schools, parents, or themselves to achieve higher grades, and there are concerns extensive testing and exams are causing undue stress.
The two German diggers will be lowered into an underground chamber in west London next year as workers look to future-proof the final stop -the original intended destination in the heart of London.

It comes after Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced in March that work at Euston would be paused for two years as costs had ballooned to 4.8 billion compared with an initial budget of 2.6 billion.

The pause means Old Oak Common will be the high-speed railways only London station when services to and from Birmingham begin in six years time.

Old Oak Common has been designed to be an open plan station to allow for natural ventilation / HS2 Ltd/PA

This means passengers travelling to and from central London will need to take the Elizabeth Line to join up with other Underground services.

Huw Edwards, HS2 Ltds project client for Old Oak Common, said nothing his construction team was doing would preclude continuation of the railway to the destination that we all want, which is Euston.

Speaking from the work site, he said: We will be dropping two tunnel boring machines into the HS2 box here towards the east end, in the Euston direction, during next year.

When we do that, we will actually store them to be used once there is a Government decision to progress on towards Euston.

Mr Edwards said the pair of German-built diggers needed to be lowered into the holes in 2024 to allow for additional train tracks to be built over the top, with the Great Western main line to be widened as part of the Old Oak Common development.

We cannot wait, otherwise we would not be able to open the widened conventional station, Mr Edwards continued.

However, what we are not doing, we are not precluding tunnelling in the future in the Euston direction, to that destination.

Should the Old Oak Common to Euston leg  a distance of around five miles  be given the go-ahead, Mr Edwards said the tunnelling work and the daily operation of the major transport hub in the west London suburbs could happen in parallel if necessary.

The two boring machines will be named and blessed in a ceremony  with a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnelling, used during the service  before they are lowered into a deep chamber next year and covered over to await their potential dig towards Euston.

With the diggers potentially due to be stored for years, engineers will be sent down to routinely carry out maintenance on the two heavyweight machines.

The diggers will be positioned underground so that tunnelling work can be carried out immediately if ministers approve the Euston development, without the machines needing to be moved and with the freshly laid train tracks above unaffected.

HS2 was initially scheduled to open in 2026, but this has been delayed to between 2029 and 2033 due to construction difficulties and rising costs.

HS2 trains are now not expected to run to Euston until 2041 at the earliest.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is committed to delivering the Euston terminal despite reports earlier this year suggesting Old Oak Common could become the permanent London terminus for HS2 due to growing concerns over costs.

Mr Edwards, who also worked on the 1990s Jubilee line extension to Stratford during his career, said modelling carried out by HS2 suggested travellers could continue to alight at Old Oak Common even when the high-speed route was extended to Euston due to its connections into Londons shopping and finance districts.

Mr Edwards said: I think what we will probably see when Old Oak Common comes on stream is people will realise that the connection to the Elizabeth line, giving direct connection to the West End, the City and Canary Wharf, is actually a connection that people didnt realise was going to be there.

Im not expecting, and my understanding from the wider HS2 team is, we are not expecting all those people who couldnt go to Euston initially to then switch onto that Euston journey because we think a proportion will have realised that actually the onward journey  is actually good from Old Oak Common.

Old Oak Common, which has a 2.5 billion budget, will be the UKs largest newly built railway station when opened.

Its 14 platforms, with six dedicated to high-speed services, are expected to be able to handle around 250,000 passengers per day when HS2 is fully developed.
T he demise of Oxford Street is fuelling a rise in crime in the famous shopping area, a Marks & Spencer boss has said.

The street - one of Europes most well-known shopping areas - has been blighted in recent years by a proliferation of eyesore American-style sweetshops and vacant stores.

Meanwhile, Met Police data shows crime in the area has risen by 40 per cent in the last year - following a rise of more than 120 per cent in the 12 months before that.

M&S operations director Sacha Berendji said in a letter to the Telegraph that while the area was once the jewel in Londons shopping crown, it now comprised empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors.

His comments came after M&S was last month refused permission to tear down and rebiuild its flagship Oxford Street store, which it said would have helped boost the area.

Westminster Council had approved plans to let the retailer demolish the Art Deco building near Marble Arch and build a new shop, along with offices, a cafe and a gym.

But after significant opposition from heritage and environmental campaigners, Housing Secretary Michael Gove launched an inquiry and eventually rejected the proposal over concerns the public benefits did not outweigh the harm to nearby landmarks.

Mr Berendji criticised Mr Goves decision in his letter, saying the M&S redevelopment would have regenerated the area and attracted new investment.

On Wednesday, police descended on Oxford Street, arresting at least nine people and handing out 34 dispersal orders after social media posts suggested a mass looting was planned in the area.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the youths responsible for the chaotic scenes must be hunted down by police and locked up.

Mr Berendji said the incident was another reminder of how bad things are, writing in his letter: The street was practically locked down by police to prevent major unrest planned on social media.

Londoners know that something must be done to save Oxford Street.

Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street were hit by nearly 18,500 crimes in the 12 months to July this year - rising from 13,200 in the previous 12 months - according to Met Police data.

More than 82 per cent of the areas crimes in the last year were thefts, while 5 per cent were violence against the person and 4.5 per cent were robberies.

As the fight goes on against American sweet shops and business closures, hope appears to be on the horizon.

Plans were unveiled this week for a major new modern art museum, Moco Museum, which hopes to take over a sprawling 1920s building opposite Marble Arch for its third European gallery.

Meanwhile small businesses are being offered six months free rent to take up a shop in Oxford Street, in a bid by Westminster City Council to restore pride to its beleagured high street.

Westminster council has been contacted for comment.
A prominent campaigner against Russian propaganda was on Friday selected as the Liberal Democrats London mayoral candidate.

Rob Blackie said he will put plans to cut the capitals crime rate at the heart of his battle against Labours Sadiq Khan.

The Met must improve conviction rates for rape and serious sexual offences instead of focusing resources on trivial crimes such as possession of cannabis or laughing gas, he said.

Sadiq Khan has failed to tackle rape and other serious crimes over the last seven years and Labour are committed to the worst possible priorities for the police - arresting people for laughing gas rather than spending time on serious crimes, he said.

The Conservatives are discredited nationally by their cost of living failures and in London theyve all but given up.

For far too long people in London have been let down by Labour and the Conservative plan for London shows that they are not serious about tackling our citys problems.

Mr Blackie, from Brixton, spearheaded the award-winning Breaking Putins Censorship campaign, which uses digital advertising to get independent news about the war in Ukraine to people in Russia.

A life-long Lib Dem, he served as Charles Kennedys Director of Research during the Iraq War and has since been a London Assembly candidate at each election since 2012.

He beat Chris French, a former Met special constable, in a vote with London Lib Dem members to be revealed as the partys candidate at an event at the Tate on Friday morning.

The party had initially planned to unveil its selection in September, but brought the contests conclusion forward for an extra month of campaigning before the election in May next year.

In the last three mayoral elections, the party has come fourth - behind Labour, the Conservatives and the Green Party - and failed to gain more than five per cent of the vote, losing the 10,000 deposit required to run.

The Conservatives earlier selected Susan Hall as their candidate to take on Mr Khan.

Liberal Democrats London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, said: Sadiq Khan has taken his eye off the ball when it comes to keeping Londoners safe. The Met Police is in special measures and in London last year there were over 37,000 burglaries reported and yet for one in three, the police didn't even bother to turn up to investigate.

The Conservatives have given up on London and are out of touch with a liberal London.

Rob and the Liberal Democrats will offer the progressive alternative to Labours shortcomings whether that is on crime, the environment or Londons economy.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 11. Kazakhstan will reduce the investment visa threshold for foreign investors, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan Tamara Duisenova said, Trend reports.

Measures to increase the country's investment attractiveness are being aggressively implemented as part of the second path, which is related to business immigration. Obtaining permits for the employment of foreign labor, for example, has been simplified for A-5 investors.

76 expats have been granted such investment visas since the beginning of this year. The streamlining of the procedure for acquiring an individual identification number (IIN) and an electronic digital signature (EDS) through overseas representative offices on the basis of a "single application" for potential investors was a major milestone.

Moreover, the minister plans to reduce the investment visa threshold for entrepreneurs-investors. A new long-term investor A-6 visa has been introduced, which also grants the right to issue residence permits.

The process of issuing the Ata Zholy card to ethnic Kazakhs with successful business experience abroad was also approved. To date, the Otandastar Foundation has already formed a preliminary list of 50 ethnic Kazakhs who will be issued the Ata Zholy card.

The necessary preparatory work on this issue is currently being carried out.
T housands of punishments were imposed on military personnel over a 14-year period under laws incorrectly signed off, according to the Government.

Defence minister Baroness Goldie apologised for the admin blunder, which meant the two regulations were never legally constituted in 2009 and needed to be urgently revoked and remade after the error was detected in recent weeks.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the validity of any convictions will not be affected.

The Armed Forces Act 2006 sets out the most serious punishments available to the court martial and commanding officers when an offender has been convicted of a service offence or the charge has been found proven.

The 2006 legislation also allowed a regime of less severe punishments  including stoppage of leave, restriction of privileges and admonitions  and further requirements relating to service supervision and punishment orders to be made by the Defence Council via regulations.

These were published in 2009 although Lady Goldie said it has subsequently turned out an error had occurred.

The statutory instruments were only signed by one member of the Defence Council rather than the required two.

The MoDs initial estimate is that about 19,000 punishments were imposed under the two regulations issued in 2009, approximately 30% of all punishments given by commanding officers in this period.

An MoD spokeswoman said: The Armed Forces Minor Punishments Regulations was remade last month following a recently identified issue with the initial signing of the regulations.

This will not affect the validity of any convictions made under the regulations.

Appeals can be made against such punishments, although the MoD noted if the 2009 minor punishment scheme was not in place then personnel would have faced disciplinary action under the terms of the more severe 2006 system.

The error was discovered while amendments were considered to one of the 2009 regulations.

Although this error has gone undetected for 14 years, it does mean that these instruments were never legally constituted

A letter from Lady Goldie to MPs and peers, dated July 26 this year, highlighted an urgent requirement to revoke and remake the two regulations from 2009.

The minister wrote: The reason for needing to take this action is that, in accordance with the letters patent, Defence Council regulations must be signed either by two members of the Defence Council or by the secretary of the Defence Council for them to be legally made.

I can only apologise on behalf of the department that there appears to have been an administrative error with these two sets of regulations in that they were only signed by one member of the Defence Council  the then minister for defence, Kevan Jones.

Although this error has gone undetected for 14 years, it does mean that these instruments were never legally constituted.

My imperative was to rectify this omission as soon as possible after it was identified, particularly as these minor punishments are used regularly in summary hearings, and in the court martial.

Given this somewhat unique situation, the department was therefore given exceptional approval by the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee to revoke and remake the Regulations and lay them today, noting that this would be in breach of the 21-day rule for the laying and coming into force of secondary legislation, and the protocol that legislation is not laid during parliamentary recess.

I wanted to bring this matter to your attention as soon as possible and to explain the reasons for the highly unusual action that we have had to take.

I should also like to reassure you that a check has been completed of all other Defence Council regulations that were made in 2009 (and since), and there are no others which were incorrectly made.

Mr Jones is the Labour MP for North Durham and was a defence minister at the time the regulations were made.
T he Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their candidate in the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.

Gloria Adebo, who works as a data analyst, will run for the party in the vote triggered by the successful recall petition for Margaret Ferrier.

While a date for the by-election has not been set yet, it will be keenly contested by the SNP and Labour.

Originally from Nigeria, Ms Adebo lives in Rutherglen with her family and previously stood as a council candidate.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election is a real chance for local people to deliver a judgment on the difficulties and disasters we have been landed in by incompetent, populist governments in London and Edinburgh

She started her campaign by calling for more help for people struggling to pay their mortgages.

She said: The Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election is a real chance for local people to deliver a judgment on the difficulties and disasters we have been landed in by incompetent, populist governments in London and Edinburgh.

It neednt be like this. And it is the Liberal Democrats who, increasingly, are a growing and dynamic part of an alternative way forward  offering hope in place of despair, founded on a belief in individuals, in the rule of law, in equality of opportunity and the importance of human rights here and across the world.

Other candidates in the by-election include Labours Michael Shanks, the SNPs Katy Loudon and the Conservatives Thomas Kerr.
N icola Sturgeon has admitted she wants the police probe into the SNPs finances over as soon as possible.

Ms Sturgeon, speaking on Thursday at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe event hosted by Iain Dale, detailed the day Police Scotland turned up at the home she shares with her husband and former SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell, in April.

Ms Sturgeon admitted the day of the police raid had not been the best of my life but she was absolutely certain I have done nothing wrong.

Ms Sturgeon was later arrested on June 11 but, after being questioned for seven hours by police, she was released without charge.

Getty Images

Of course I want it to be over as soon as possible and get on the other side of it, she said.

It has obviously been a very difficult, traumatic experience. Im confident in my own position, I am absolutely certain I have done nothing wrong. Therefore, I need to, and do, trust in the process.

The police are doing their job and therefore I have to have faith that everything they are doing in the process of that is justified.

Police Scotland is investigating after independence campaigners complained 600,000, that was donated to the SNP, had gone missing from party accounts.

Although Ms Sturgeon, who announced her resignation as SNP leader in February, said she was aware the investigation was ongoing, she was not did not know of any developments or details of the probe.

She refused to comment on the relationship with her husband, only saying: My marriage is not something anybody should worry about.

Speaking about the police investigation, Ms Sturgeon stated: This is a serious process and in that process I am not going to speak for anybody other than myself, because I only can speak for myself.

Asked if the couple talked about such events while together, Ms Sturgeon said: I think I am choosing when I can to try to talk about happier things.
A sylum seekers have been evacuated from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset just days after arriving following a detection of Legionella bacteria.

All 39 on board have been taken off the barge after the Home Office said environmental samples revealed levels of legionella bacteria in the barges water system.

The samples require further investigation, the Home Office said, and under advice from health authorities, all people on board were disembarked as a precautionary measure.

Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires disease, a serious type of lung infection.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick was reportedly chairing meetings about the situation. The Home Office said no-one on board was showing signs of having the disease. It cannot be spread from person to person.

The Legionella detection only relates to the water system onboard the vessel itself, the Home Office said, and is not a risk to the wider community of Portland or related to fresh water entering the vessel.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.

Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation.

Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long-established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Councils Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.

No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.

Fifteen people were moved onto the vessel docked in Portland Port, which has capacity for 500, on Monday after a string of delays.

Around 50 people were expected to move onboard but around 20 were granted a last-minute reprieve after a series of legal challenges.

In a series of legal letters to the Home Office, solicitors raised concerns about the suitability of the accommodation for people with disabilities, mental and physical health problems as well as those who had fled torture and persecution, according to refugee charity Care4Calais .

Asylum seekers placed in UK hotels began receiving letters telling them they would be moved to the Bibby Stockholm at the end of July.

Most of the 222 bedrooms onboard the barge have twin bunk beds but there are also 20 larger rooms which would sleep four people, and two rooms housing six people.

Steve Smith, chief executive of charity Care4Calais, said: We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point.

The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this Governments hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britains asylum system.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: Across the country, most people want strong border security and a properly managed and controlled asylum system so the UK does its bit alongside other countries to help those who have fled persecution and conflict, while those who have no right to be here are swiftly returned.

Under this Government, we have neither as gangs are undermining our border security and the asylum system is in chaos.

It comes as 755 people were recorded crossing the English Channel in small boats on Thursday, the highest daily number so far this year, confirming the cumulative total since 2018 has passed 100,000.

Since current records began on January 1 2018, 100,715 migrants have arrived in the UK after making the journey, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency.

The numbers were recorded as a major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water. The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.

Meanwhile, Border Force reportedly suffered a double blow as one of its cutters broke down in the early hours of the morning and a 400,000 drone used to monitor activity in the Channel crashed into the sea.
A sylum seekers have been moved off the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge after Legionella was found in the water.

There were 15 people aboard the barge, but around 20 asylum seekers had their transfers cancelled by their lawyers.

Sky News reports that nobody who had been staying on the barge has shown signs of being unwell.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is reportedly chairing meetings about the situation, according to Sky News.

What is Legionella?

Legionella is a type of bacteria that can cause Legionnaires disease and Pontiac fever.

The bacteria can be found in freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Legionella becomes a concern when it enters water systems like showers and sinks.

The bacteria grows in water and can be spread in small droplets, though its rarely spread from person to person.

What is Legionnaires disease?

Legionnaires disease is a rare but serious lung infection that people can develop after inhaling droplets of water containing the bacteria Legionella. It is considered to be a severe form of pneumonia.

According to the NHS , the disease is usually caught at places like hotels or hospitals, but is rarely caught at home.

Symptoms of Legionnaires disease include a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain or discomfort, muscle pain, chills, fatigue, a high temperature, and flu-like symptoms.

The NHS advises that people should contact NHS 111 or their GP if they have been experiencing symptoms like a cough thats lasted three weeks or more, coughing up blood, chest pain that comes and goes, or happens when breathing or coughing, or feeling short of breath.

Legionnaires disease is usually treated in a hospital, where patients may receive antibiotics directly into their veins, oxygen through face masks, or tubes in their nose, and a machine to help them breathe.

Most people fully recover from Legionnaires disease.

The Government considers Legionnaires to be a notifiable disease in England and Wales, which means that health professionals have to inform local health-protection teams of suspected cases.

This allows them to track cases and prevent outbreaks.
M ore than 100,000 people have crossed the English Channel since 2018, the Home Office has confirmed, with the highest daily count for 2023 reached on Thursday.

Some 755 people were detected crossing the Channel in small boats on Thursday, making it the highest number on a single day so far this year, the Home Office said.

There were 14 boats detected, which suggests an average of around 54 people per boat.

The previous high for this year was 686 people on July 7.

The cumulative number of arrivals by small boats in 2023 now stands at a provisional total of 15,826. Total arrivals last year were 45,755.

The total number of people crossing in small boats since January 2018, when data was first reported, has now reached 100,715, the Home Office also confirmed.

Total small boat arrivals so far this year is around 15 per cent below the equivalent number at this point last year.

The numbers were recorded as a major search and rescue operation was launched on Thursday after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water.

The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.

Border Force reportedly suffered a double blow as one of its cutters broke down in the early hours of the morning and a 400,000 drone used to monitor activity in the Channel crashed into the sea.

The crossings come just weeks after sweeping asylum reforms became law and while the Government fends off legal challenges in the courts over its Rwanda deal and decisions to house migrants on former military sites in Essex and Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, asylum seekers were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm barge on the Dorset coast this week after the plans were beset by delays.

The much-criticised Illegal Migration Act, central to the Prime Ministers pledge to stop the boats crossing the Channel, will prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.

Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force, and it is anticipated elements of the new laws may be implemented in stages over the coming months.

Also this week, the UK and Turkey struck a deal to address the surge in illegal migration, which will focus on co-ordinated actions to disrupt and dismantle people smuggling gangs.

Part of the deal is the establishment of a new operational centre of excellence by the Turkish National Police.

Supported by the UK, the centre will focus on addressing organised immigration crime by sharing intelligence more fully and more quickly between the two nations.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, told LBC on Friday: This is a Europe-wide problem. Weve had a 30 per cent increase in illegal immigration across Europe, but were working with Turkey...with France, with Albania.

The arrangements with France have led to 33,000 fewer crossings  also tougher fines for employers and landlords.
N orthern Irelands Chief Constable Simon Byrne has sought to reassure staff and officer representative groups after a major data breach earlier this week.

The Police Service of Northern Irelands leadership was earlier pressed for a full response after details of more than 10,000 officers and staff were published online for a number of hours on Tuesday.

Mr Byrne cut short a family holiday to return to Belfast to answer questions about the data breach, and details of another incident emerged on Wednesday after the theft of documents and a laptop from a car in Newtownabbey in July.

Scores of officers have expressed concern for their safety in Northern Ireland, where police are under threat from terrorists, with the current level of threat assessed as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Mr Byrne answered questions from politicians in a closed session of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday before making a brief statement to media.

He revealed that dissident republican terrorists had claimed to have some of the data, but that claim had not been verified.

A Threat Management Assessment Group has been set up by the PSNI for those concerned about risk. It had had 600 referrals by Thursday evening.

Mr Byrne met the Nipsa trade union, which represents staff support officers, on Friday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Nipsa official Tracy Godfrey said she was alarmed to hear the number of requests for support from the group had risen to 900 overnight.

I believe that number will climb, but they have got processes in place to deal with it. Its just an awful lot of people with a lot of concerns, she told the BBC.

In a statement on Friday evening, the PSNI said the Chief Constable had held a number of meetings with organisations that represent staff and officers.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week

These included a meeting with the head of the Catholic Police Guild, which represents a significant number of Catholic members of the service.

Superintendent Gerry Murray spoke of particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI, and expressed concern the data breaches could impact on future recruitment.

Catholics have historically been underrepresented in police numbers in Northern Ireland. When former police force the RUC transitioned to become the PSNI in 2001, a temporary recruitment measure was used to welcome even numbers of Catholic and Protestant officers, referred to as 50/50 recruitment.

Catholic officers are often targeted by dissidents who want to intimidate those from a similar background from joining the PSNI.

Our guild was formed to provide a support service within the PSNI for Catholic members, and to raise issues which impact on their work within the PSNI, Mr Murray said.

It is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than the data breaches which have come to light this week.

Everyone understands the particular difficulties faced by Catholic members of the PSNI and indeed the implications of this for potential new recruits from the Catholic community.

Mr Murray said guild members had expressed genuine concerns over the release of the information.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff

They are worried for themselves and in many cases for their family members, he said.

As chairman of the guild I am also concerned about the impact on future recruitment of young Catholics into the Police Service.

We want to be assured that the data breach will be fully and quickly investigated and procedures put in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

Catholic officers and staff who feel vulnerable need to be supported in protecting themselves, their families and their homes.

The Police Service must acknowledge and take account of the particular sensitivities of the Catholic members of the force.

The community background of police officers and staff has to be given the proportionate weight when considering the implications of this data breach on serving officers.

It is important that the Police Service acts quickly and comprehensively to win back and retain the confidence of serving officers and staff. This applies particularly to colleagues from the Catholic community.

A PSNI spokesperson said the Chief Constable listened to any issues or concerns and reiterated his priority is the welfare and safety of all officers and staff.

He also reassured the guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected by the recent data breach.
A n official claimed the Foreign Office was blindsided by a coroners critical remarks after an inquest into the death of a young British woman in Qatar, a spokesman for the victims family has said.

Raffy Tsakanika, 21, from Cambridge, died after the car she was a passenger in was hit from behind by a second vehicle near Doha in March 2019.

Her family say they have been badly let down, both by the Qatari authorities, and by the British Government for not doing more.

The second vehicle, which was speeding, caused the first to lose control and overturn on a four-lane carriageway. It did not stop at the scene.

The driver, Qatari national Mubarak Al Hajri, was sentenced in his home country to two months in prison and ordered to pay compensation to the Tsakanika family.

At a UK inquest last year, a coroner criticised Qatari authorities for the lack of information provided.

Ms Tsakanikas stepfather, Donal Sullivan, has seen the Qataris have further evidence that has not been disclosed, Radd Seiger, a spokesman for the family said.

Mr Seiger said he, Mr Sullivan and Ms Tsakanikas mother Jo Sullivan met with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Tuesday.

During the meeting, an FCDO official claimed they were blinded by the publicity after the conclusion of the inquest and the coroners critical remarks, Mr Seiger said.

The inquest was told speed cameras caught Al Hajris car apparently undamaged shortly before the crash and damaged shortly afterwards, but these images were not provided to the UK coroner by Qatari authorities.

Ms Tsakanikas family are pressing for a meeting with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the FCDO.

They want him to raise the case with the Qataris at the highest level in an attempt to get CCTV footage they say the Qataris have.

It is impossible to describe how painful life is each and every day without Raffy, but to not know how she died when the Qataris have all that evidence in their own hands and are refusing to hand it over, while the FCDO simply stand by and watch, just makes it all a thousand times worse

If the Qataris refuse to disclose further material, the family wants the FCDO to amend travel advice to Qatar to warn people how they could be treated.

Mrs Sullivan said after the FCDO meeting: I do not understand why we are being so badly let down by both the Qatari and our own British Government.

It is impossible to describe how painful life is each and every day without Raffy, but to not know how she died when the Qataris have all that evidence in their own hands and are refusing to hand it over, while the FCDO simply stand by and watch, just makes it all a thousand times worse.

Mr Seiger said the family has been treated barbarically by the Qataris without the FCDO raising barely a finger to intervene.

We have read the riot act to them after this latest awful meeting and now expect them to fulfil their duty to represent Raffys familys interests rather than trying to not offend the Qataris, he said.

This scandal has been more than four years in the making and must now be resolved at the highest levels and we look forward to getting a meeting with Lord Ahmad in the diary without delay.

An FCDO spokesperson said: FCDO staff have offered support to Ms Tsakanikas family since her death in 2019.

We have raised this case with the Qatari authorities on multiple occasions, including at ministerial level.

We continue to offer them further support. This was a private meeting between FCDO consular officials and Ms Tsakanikas family and their representative.
T ravellers are facing travel misery at the end of the summer holidays as members of the biggest rail workers union stage fresh strikes in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said 20,000 of its members in 14 train operators would walk out on two consecutive Saturdays, including during the August bank holiday.

Industrial action will take place on August 28 and September 2 after no improved or revised offer from the Rail Delivery Group, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said.

The reason for this is the Government has not allowed them a fresh mandate on which discussions could be held, he said.

Our members and our union will continue fighting until we can reach a negotiated and just settlement.

All RMT members involved in the dispute will not book on for any shifts on the days where strike action is planned, the union said.

The 14 train operating companies affected are: Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and GTR, including Gatwick Express.

RMT has been embroiled in the dispute for over a year, with no sign of a breakthrough. The lastest action from the union was a one-day strike on Saturday July 29, with members picketing across the UK.

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said staff were offered a 13 per cent pay rise which was blocked without a convincing explanation by the RMT executive.

With further strike action the RMT are once again targeting customers looking to enjoy various sporting events, festivals, and the end of the summer holidays, disrupting their plans and forcing more cars onto the road, the spokesperson said.

We have now made three offers, the latest of which would have given staff pay rises of up to 13 per cent as well as job security guarantees and the RMT executive have blocked this without a convincing explanation.

We remain open to talks and we have said repeatedly that we want to give our people a pay rise, but until the union leadership and executive is united in what it wants and engages in good faith with the 30 per cent shortfall in revenue the industry is continuing to grapple with post-Covid, it is difficult to move forward.

Unfortunately, the repercussion of this impasse affects our staff, customers, and the communities across the country that rely on the railway.

Meanwhile Aslef members are currently in an overtime ban that began on August 7 and ends on Saturday. Members have refused to work for anything above and beyond their contracted hours and hundreds of trains have been cancelled every day as a result.

The six train companies affected by the overtime ban are Chiltern Railways, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, South Western Railway and Thameslink.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: The RMT leaderships decision to call more strikes and cynically target the travelling public over the bank holiday weekend is disappointing.

The Government has facilitated fair and reasonable pay offers. However, union bosses are opting to prolong this dispute by blocking their members from having a vote on these offers. We continue to urge that members are given their say and disruption is brought to an end.

Strikes are also set to cause chaos at Gatwick Airport over the August bank holiday weekend as Unite members working for ground handling company Red Handling, and Wilson James, which operates Gatwicks passenger assistance contract, walk off the job.

The two four-day strikes between August 18 and 25 will disrupt tens of thousands of passengers and hundreds of flights, the union says.

Adam Tyndall, programme director for transport at business group BusinessLDN, said: The latest round of industrial action risks an abrupt end to the busy summer season for many businesses, Londoners and visitors.

These strikes will be particularly disheartening for the hospitality and retail industries as they will be hoping to get as many customers as possible in the door before the holidays come to an end.

Londoners and businesses urgently want all those involved to get around the negotiating table and reach an agreement so they can make the most of the holiday period.
N udists in the Spanish region of Catalonia are fighting back against a rising trend of tourists sunbathing with a lack of respect in keeping their swimwear on.

Segimon Rovira has sent a letter to his local government on behalf of the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia, which he leads, to appeal the discrimination his movement faces.

Before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down, the 56-year-old told the Guardian on Friday.

Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on. But what they dont realise is that, if there are a lot of them, they end up making us uncomfortable. Its a lack of respect.

A beach in Barcelona / AFP via Getty Images

Catalonia state has a decades-long tradition of people stripping off on beaches but Mr Rovira feels the culture is being compromised by tourists. As a result, he said that nudists are now also choosing to remain clothed.

In the letter, he demanded the Catalan government hold a meeting into the discrimination that nudists face on the beaches with around 50 bays in the region potentially impacted. The trend is thought to affect the less touristy beaches outside Barcelona, that were previously off the beaten track.

In addition, the group is considering social media campaigns, signage, protests, and further awareness efforts to keep the beaches welcoming of nudity.

Mr Rovira said he blamed a rise in blogs and Instagram inviting tourists to the picturesque beaches without any message that the bay has nudist traditions.

He added: There are nudists who have stopped going to some beaches because they are too crowded, and there are too many people wearing swimsuits and they feel uncomfortable.

People that are naked dont want to end up with their photos on social media.

Theres no comparison between swimming in the nude and in swimwear. Youre more free, more calm and relaxed.
T ech entrepreneur Elon Musk says his much talked about cage fight with Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg will happen in an epic location after he discussed it with the Italian Prime Minister.

Musk recently rebranded the social media site Twitter as X - his latest move to transform the company since he bought it in October last year for 44 billion US dollars (34.3 billion).

Writing on the site, he said the bout with Zuckerberg will raise money for veterans charities and be presented as a gladitorial clash, adding: Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location. 

Musk also quoted the Latin phrase Dulce est desipere in loco which is a line from the Roman poet Horace and translates as It is delightful to play the fool occasionally; it is nice to throw aside ones dignity and relax at the proper time. 

He also said Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy and suggested some Twitter users will receive bonus behind the scenes footage of the event.

Musk said an exact date for the fight has not been set yet as he requires minor surgery but it has been discussed since June when the billionaire pair first agreed to face each other in a cage fight.

But Zuckerberg played down suggestions the fight with is close to being arranged.

The Meta owner said on social media platform Threads that none of Mr Musks claimed plans had been agreed, and that he was Not holding my breath.

Responding to the claims, Mr Zuckerberg said on Threads: I love this sport and Ive been ready to fight since the day Elon challenged me.

If he ever agrees on an actual date, youll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on.

Not holding my breath for Elon, but Ill share details on my next fight when Im ready.

When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game.

You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card.

The story began when Musk tweeted he was up for a cage fight with Meta boss Zuckerberg in an exchange that has since gone viral.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg / PA Archive

Mr Zuckerberg, who manages Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter rival Threads, agreed to the challenge by taking a screenshot of Mr Musks tweet and replying send me location.
A British family have described fleeing to the sea to survive apocalyptic wildfires that ravaged their Hawaiian holiday paradise, killing at least 55 people.

Many survivors said in interviews that they didnt hear any sirens or receive a warning that gave them enough time to prepare, and only realied they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

Andy and Sarah Whitehouse and their teenage daughters, from Derbyshire, followed crowds of panicking holidaymakers to the Pacific Ocean from their beachfront hotel.

Ms Wihtehouse, who had been celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary, spoke to The Times as she sheltered at a McDonalds with 1,000 or more still missing.

She said: The only reason were still here is because the wind direction stayed away. I cant describe it. Well never forget it.

She added the unfolding catastrophe felt like they were on the sinking Titanic with explosions filling the air like a war zone.

Her husband described how the family were first greeted with what they thought was a huge dark rain cloud, only to realise it was thick, black smoke. Ill never forget; it was just solid; everything vanished, he said.

It looked apocalyptic. It came within a mile.

He added: Its amazing, I mean, weve had people in the hotel who have lost everything, and they were just grateful to be allowed to swim in the pool.

The family are now waiting on a flight back to the UK.

Hawaii Wildfires | August 2023 1 / 33 Hawaii Wildfires | August 2023 Destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii AFP via Getty Images A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii AP Myrna and Abraham Ah Hee react as they stand in front of an evacuation centre at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, Hawaii AP Destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii AFP via Getty Images Thomas Leonard lies on an air mattress at an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium after his Lahaina apartment was destroyed by a wildfire AP Burned-out cars sit after a wildfire raged through Lahaina, Hawai AP The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in recent years AP The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street AP Smoke billows near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii via REUTERS A wildfire burns on the island of Maui near an intersection in Lahaina, Hawaii, via REUTERS Smoke billows near boats docked at Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, in Kahului, Hawaii, via REUTERS An aerial view of a wildfire in Kihei, Maui County, Hawaii, via REUTERS After hearing reports her home was destroyed along with her pets, Steff Baku-Kirkman reacts after wildfires driven by high winds were believed to have destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina, in Kahului, Hawaii REUTERS An aerial view shows damage along the coast of Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii via REUTERS People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui AP A charred boat lies in the scorched waterfront after wildfires fanned by the winds of a distant hurricane devastated Mauis city of Lahaina, Hawaii via REUTERS Smoke fill the air from wild fires at Lahaina harbor AP People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui AP Flames are seen near boats docked at Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii via REUTERS Smoke and flames rise in Lahaina, Maui County, Hawaii, via REUTERS A overview of south Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, AP An aerial view of smoke rising above as a wildfire burns in Lahaina, Hawaii Carter Barto/AFP via Getty Image Soke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii AFP via Getty Images An aerial view as smoke rises from burnt areas amidst wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, Vince Carter via REUTERS raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui AP

The wildfires are Hawaiis deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people.

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town.

Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from centuries-old Lahaina, didnt know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and mobile phone service had both gone out earlier on Tuesday, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger.

He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a seawall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui on Thursday and promised to streamline requests for assistance to the island.

Mauis firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association.

High winds caused by Hurricane Dora made this weeks task especially difficult. Youre basically dealing with trying to fight a blowtorch, Lee said.

Marlon Vasquez, a 31-year-old cook from Guatemala who came to the U.S. in January 2022, said that when he heard fire alarms, it was already too late to flee in his car.

I opened the door, and the fire was almost on top of us, he said from an evacuation center at a gymnasium. We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didnt stop.

Mr Vasquez and his brother Eduardo escaped via roads that were clogged with vehicles. The smoke was so toxic that he vomited. He said hes not sure his roommates and neighbors made it to safety.

Chelsey Vierra said on Thursday that she didnt know if her great-grandmother, Louise Abihai, managed to escape her senior living facility, which witnesses saw erupt in flames.

She doesnt have a phone. Shes 97 years old, Ms Vierra said. She can walk. She is strong.
O prah Winfrey has been seen handing out supplies to people affected by intense wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

At least 53 people have died after wildfires broke out on Tuesday morning as Hurricane Dora stirred up intense winds from hundreds of miles south in the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the historic tourist town of Lahaina on the island of Maui was razed to the ground, with around 2,000 people forced into emergency shelters and 18,000 homes left without power.

The US talk show host, 69, donated pillows, nappies and shampoo bottles to people sheltering at the War Memorial Stadium in Maui.

She told the BBC: Its a little overwhelming, you know. But Im really so pleased to have so many people bringing what they can and doing what they can.

I came earlier to see what people needed and then went shopping. Because often, you make donations of clothes or whatever and its not really what people need. So I actually went to Walmart and Costco and got pillows, diapers, sheets, pillowcases.

Maui mayor Richard Bissen described it as a deeply sombre day and warned that the death toll could increase.

The fires began on Tuesday, triggered by severe dry conditions and fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora as it moved across the Pacific further south. Three fires remained active on the island on Thursday  in Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry.

British musician Mick Fleetwood said he was heartbroken after his Fleetwoods On Front Street restaurant in Lahaina was lost in the fire.

The 76-year-old star opened the venue in 2012 after buying a home in nearby Napili Bay. This is a devastating moment for Maui, and many are suffering unimaginable loss, he posted on social media. Our main priority is the safety of our dear staff.
A huge fire has reportedly broken out at a warehouse just four miles away from Vladimir Putins official residence.

According to Russian state media, the fire occurred in Odintsovo, west of Moscow.

The town lies between Putins official residence and Vnukovo airport and was reported around midnight Moscow time on Thursday.

As of yet, the cause of the fire remains unknown but emergency services said it had spread over 21,500 square feet.

Russian officials also claimed to have downed a Ukrainian drone headed for Moscow on Friday.

An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a facility in Moscow was thwarted, the ministry said in a statement, adding the drone was jammed and crashed in a forest west of Moscow.

There are no casualties and no damage, it said although some flights were redirected to other airports in the Moscow region.

Earlier this week, a separate blast occurred at a factory north of Moscow that makes optical equipment for Russias security forces, injuring 45 people, six of them severely.

This followed what Russian officials claimed was an attempted drone attack on the capital.

One of the drones came down in the Domodedovo district south of Moscow, and the other fell near the Minsk highway west of the city, according to the mayor of the city, Sergei Sobyanin.

In May, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the Kremlin with two drones in an effort to assassinate the Russian president.

The more recent drone attacks have aimed at targets from ranging from the Russian capital to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
R ussia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years early on Friday.

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China.

All four nations have programmes looking totarget the lunar south pole, where it is hoped there could be water particles.

A Soyuz 2.1v rocket carrying the Luna-25 craft blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, at 2.11am on Friday Moscow time (1111 GMT on Thursday).

The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on August 21, Russias space chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax on Friday. Russian space agency Roscosmos previously pegged Aug. 23 as the landing date.

Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen, Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.

Luna-25, roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the moons south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of water ice in the regions shadowed craters.

There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission, as the Kremlin says the Wests sanctions over the Ukraine war, many of which have targeted Moscows aerospace sector, have failed to cripple the Russian economy.

The moonshot, which Russia has been planning for decades, will also test the nations growing independence in space after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine severed nearly all of Moscows space ties with the West, besides its integral role on the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency had planned to test its Pilot-D navigation camera by attaching it to Luna-25, but severed its ties to the project after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russias aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, its an expression of national power on the global stage, Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.

Major powers such as the United States, China, India, Japan and the European Union have all been probing the moon in recent years. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019.

No country has made a soft landing on the south pole. An Indian mission, Chandrayaan-2, failed in 2019.

Rough terrain makes a landing there difficult, but the prize of discovering water ice could be historic: large could be used to extract fuel and oxygen, as well as be used for drinking water.
The 77-year-old has already been charged with two other cases earlier this year  for illegally retaining classified documents in Miami and allegedly paying hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election in New York.

More recently, the latest indictment sees Trump facing four charges, accusing him of conspiracy to defraud the US government, tampering with a witness, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The 45-page indictment, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, alleged in stark detail that Trump knowingly spread false allegations about fraud, convened false slates of electors, and attempted to block the certification of the election on January 6.

However, Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes, said the campaign.

It added: These un-American witch hunts will fail.

But when will the trial take place? Here is everything we know.

When is Trumps trial?

The next step of the legal proceedings will see a trial being held so that the judge can hear arguments from both sides.

The federal prosecutors have asked the judge who is overseeing the case to schedule the trial to begin in January 2024.

In an eight-page filing, prosecutors from the office of the special counsel Jack Smith have used significant public interest as the reason why the trial should be speedy.

The filing submitted to the US district court judge Tanya Chutkan said: A January 2 trial date would vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trial.

The prosecutors added: It is difficult to imagine a public interest stronger than the one in this case in which the defendant  the former president of the United States  is charged with three criminal conspiracies.

The draft schedule proposed by the government would see evidence turned over to Trump through discovery completed by the end of August and jury selection at the start of December.

However, Trump wasnt pleased with the timeline suggested. On his Truth Social platform, the former POTUS said: Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!

As of now, a trial start date hasnt been formally set.
W e may be a nation of tea drinkers, but come the evenings and weekends, its a change of glass and drink to the euphoric fizz of Prosecco.

Brits are the biggest drinkers of Italys sparkling export; figures from the Prosecco DOC Consortium showed that the UK imported 130 million bottles in 2022, a 3.5 per cent increase on 2021 volumes. Made in the same way as Champagne, its a lot lighter on the wallet than its French counterpart, which goes some way to explaining its popularity.

The lower cost means its a bottle for big occasions as well as smaller-scale events; you could enjoy a flute for everything from celebrating birthdays to marking the end of the working week on a Friday night.

What types of Prosecco are there?

Typically made in a northeastern pocket of Italy in the shadow of the Italian Alps, prosecco comes in various degrees of fizziness: spumante (sparkling), frizzante (semi-sparkling) and tranquilo (still).

How can you tell Prosecco is authentic?

Look for the letters DOC or DOCG on the label. Translated from Italian, DOCG is short for Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin, while DOC stands for Denomination of Controlled Origin. These letters rubber-stamp the high quality of the sparkling elixir within and reassure shoppers that the Prosecco theyre sipping is the real deal.

When is National Prosecco Day?

If you need a reason to pop a cork, National Prosecco Day is on August 13, which is a Sunday in 2023. So go ahead and pair a glass with your roast.

The sparkling wine category is booming right now, to such an extent that supermarkets now dedicate entire aisles to the stuff. Made with producers big and small, they help to level the bubbly playing field and bring prices into a more affordable range. Weve rounded up the best bottles worth splashing out on below.

Whether youre bulk buying for an event like a special brunch, birthday or wedding, or you just fancy picking up a chilled bottle to upgrade a weekend dinner, make it feel extra special with a bottle of Prosecco.

Shop now
B rody Jenner has announced the birth of his first child with fiancee Tia Blanco.

The US TV personality, half-brother to Kylie and Kendall Jenner, said both mother and child were in perfect health and thanked fans for their love and support.

Jenner posted a video on Instagram on Thursday, showing the home birth of the baby, named Honey Raye Jenner, as well as a separate video including the baby shower.

Captioning the post, he said they had been cherishing this precious time together as a family.

We welcomed our baby girl, Honey Raye Jenner, to the world on July 29th, Jenner wrote.

Momma and baby are in perfect health. We are so incredibly in love and have been cherishing this precious time together as a family.

We want to thank everyone for all the love and support.

Jenner, known for appearances on The Hills and episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, is the son of Caitlyn Jenner and Linda Thompson.

In the separate video on YouTube he admitted that he had not always expected to become a father and had not enjoyed the best relationship with Caitlyn Jenner while growing up.

He said he would do the exact opposite of Jenner and would focus on being the absolute best father I can possibly be.

Commenting on his post, Thompson praised her son for being loving and attentive throughout Blancos labour.

What a spectacularly beautiful moment! Thank you so much for allowing me the incredible privilege of being there, and watching my little angel being born, she said.
A former contestant on The Apprentice took to social media to bemoan the fact she was sat next to a young family during her business class flight to Paris.

Lottie Lion, 23, who starred in the 2019 series of the Sir Alan Sugar reality show, claimed she was sat next to a six-year-old while its parents were a row ahead.

Lion posted a picture of herself with her head in her hands with the caption: Not to sound pretentious or anything (but we all know I am) why the f*** are children allowed in business class?

Theres a bratty six-year-old sat NEXT TO ME with the parents in the row in front.

When one of her followers asked: What are parents flying business class supposed to do with their kids?

Lion complained about the policy of allowing children to fly business class / Lottie Lion

She replied: I dont know, put them in the luggage hold or something I guess.

Thankfully, the businesswoman made it safe and sound to Paris  where she soon posted a picture of the French city from her lavish hotel room.

Earlier this year, Lion claimed she made as much as 9,000 in an hour on OnlyFans.

She told The Sun she was was charging fans 22 a month on the X-rated site, however she said she would never release anything remotely pornographic. Lottie saw it as an entrepreneurial opportunity to monetise [her] image.

Lottie Lion on The Apprentice / BBC

It comes after the star claimed Love Island star Hugo Hammond screamed in her face after she rejected his advances in 2022.

She said the pair went on a date after Hammond, who appeared on the show in 2019, asked her out on a date.

Lion claims they were enjoying a night out together until Hammond tried to kiss her  and when she declined his advances he lost his rag.
F ollowers of the Royal Family will be no stranger to Nacho Figueras, who has been by Prince Harrys side through thick and thin for nearly two decades.

Most recently, the two besties were spotted shopping for their wives in Japan, where they met to raise money for the Sentebale Polo Cup ahead of a summit on sport, community, and philanthropy.

The duke and Figueras bonded over their love for polo all the way back in 2007 and have been inseparable ever since. And, over the years, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made the decision to step away from the Royal Family, Figueras has been one of their most vocal supporters and has even appeared in their controversial Netflix documentary.

But who exactly is Nacho Figueras? Lets get to know the dashing athlete who always has Harrys back.

Who is Nacho Figueras?

Nacho Figueras, who was born Ignacio Figueras Bermejo, is a famed Argentinian polo player and model. Dubbed the David Beckham of Polo, Figueras is considered to be the most famous polo player in the world.

The Buenos Aires natives polo journey began thanks to his fathers friend Lucas Monteverde, who played polo professionally. At the age of nine, Figueras started to play with Monteverde and, when he was 14, decided to move into Monteverdes estate so he could focus on polo.

His professional career began when he was 17 years old. Over the years, he has played for the likes of White Birch, but he is currently the captain of Black Watch, a team he is a co-owner of.

Figueras modelling career

The polo players modelling career began more than a decade ago, when famed photographer Bruce Weber approached him at a dinner party in The Hamptons. Figueras realised that he could use the extra money he would make through modelling on polo and use the opportunity to raise awareness of the sport. In 2000, he modelled for Ralph Lauren and, by 2005, he was the face of Ralph Lauren Black Label. In 2009, he also became the face of the World of Polo fragrances.

The handsome polo athlete is also no stranger to television appearances, having appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and the CW series Gossip Girl.

Figueras personal life

The Argentinian sportsman tied the knot with Delfina Blaquier, a former model and photographer who also happens to be the daughter of an Argentinian polo player, back in 2004. The pair first met at a polo match in Buenos Aires in 1997.

The couple have since welcomed four children together: Hilario, Aurora, Artemio, and Alba.

Figueras wealth

The 46-year-old is believed to have a net worth of $30 million (23.5 million). His income is the result of his career as one of the most prominent polo players in the world and the face of Ralph Lauren.

Also, in recent years, the sportsman has released a range of perfumes inspired by his travels across the globe, with a portion of the sale proceeds being donated to Prince Harrys charity Sentebale.

Figueras relationship with Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Nacho have been close friends since bonding over polo in 2007.

When Harry first started dating Meghan, Nacho was one of the first people that the Prince discussed his relationship with.

In the Harry & Meghan docuseries, the athlete shared that Harry told him and his wife that he had met a girl who might be the one. Figueras added: You could tell right away that those eyes were those of someone whod fallen in love.

In 2019, he stood by his friend Harry when the couple were falling out of favour with the Royal Family and the British public. In a post, he shared: The world thinks they know everything about this man. I have been fortunate enough to spend enough time over the years to learn and understand the man he really is.

Since Meghan and Harry moved to the US, Nacho has been a prominent figure in their new lives, playing polo with Harry in Santa Barbara and spending time together.

From going on charity trips to African nations together to bonding over their love of fatherhood, Nacho and Harrys friendship seems like it will go on for many more decades.
A mericanscientists are reportedly close to discovering a new force of nature - which would be the fifth such finding in physics.

The Chicago-based Fermilab team are said to be finding more evidence that sub-atomic, muon particles are behaving differently from what current theories would suggest.

Scientists believe that an unknown force could be acting on the muons and, if proven, could mark the beginning of a revolution in physics.

Dr Brendan Casey, a senior scientist with Fermilab, told the BBC: "Were really probing new territory. Were determining the (measurements) at a better precision than it has ever been seen before."

What are the forces of nature?

All of the forces we experience in life can boil down to just four categories under scientific law. These are:

Gravity,

Electromagnetism,

The strong force, also known as the the strong interaction in nuclear physics

The weak force, another nuclear physics phenomenon.

What do these findings mean?

Further evidence and examination could unveil a fifth force of nature after the research in the Fermilab particle accelerator.

The research team is now honing in on its conclusions and has reduced the uncertainty of its measurements by a factor of two - according to reports.

The Fermilab team does not have conclusive proof just yet, however.

Their next step will be to complete an experiment called G-2, where researchers will test out the muons against the current theory called the Standard Model of their behaviour.

The BBC reported that the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN project in Switzerland is also capable of proving the theory and that it may be a race between the two teams as to who can get there first.

What are muons?

All matter is formed of atoms - which then break down into smaller particles - and these exist and behave in accordance with what is around them, the forces of nature (see below). Their behaviour, for 50 years, has been accurately predicted by the Standard Model theory.

Atoms are broken down into components and include muons, which are unstable subatomic particles of the same class as an electron - but 200 times larger. The Fermilab experiment found that muons were wobbling faster than the Standard Model was predicting, which suggested there is a further force of nature in play.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, August 11. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan amounted to $1.786 million from January through June 2023, Trend reports.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, which is 30.9 percent less than $2.587 million in the first half of 2022.

Tajikistans imports from Azerbaijan totaled $1.745 million, declining 31.7 percent compared to $2.558 million in JanuaryJune 2022. On the contrary, the countrys exports to Azerbaijan from January through June 2023 rose by 41.5 percent year-on-year, from $28,600 to $40,490.

Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover amounted to $26.1 billion from January through June 2023, increasing by 5.36 percent or $1.3 billion compared to the same period in 2022 ($24.8 billion).

Exports reached $17.9 billion during the reported period, which is $511.2 million, or 2.77 percent, less than in the same period last year.

During the first half of 2023, Azerbaijan's imports totaled about $8.1 billion, increasing by $1.8 billion (28.97 percent) compared to the corresponding period of 2022. Meanwhile, foreign trade turnover in Tajikistan decreased by 2.8 percent, or by $98.2 million year-on-year, in the first half of 2023, amounting to $3.42 billion.
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Approximately 250 French and Luxembourgian soldiers and 65 pieces of defence hardware from the NATO Battle Group in Romania will participate, August 14- 18, in the DEPLOYEX exercise at the Babadag shooting range, the Defence Ministry (MApN) reported on Friday.

The deployment of the troops and hardware will take place on Monday, and the purpose of the DEPLOYEX is practising rapid deployment of troops and hardware belonging to the Battle Group.

The exercise is also said to contribute to improving the interoperability of the forces inside the NATO Battle Group, being a continuation of the training sequences carried out previously at Cincu.

The NATO Battle Group contributes to an increase in Romania's defence co-operation with the participating countries - France, the Netherlands and Belgium (by rotation) - as well as with Luxembourg and, implicitly, to the consolidation of NATO security on the eastern flank.

Co-operation with strategic partners and the existence of relevant combat structures on the national soil contribute to an increase in the defence and deterrence posture amid the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, according to MApN.
The General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs that on Thursday, 153,854 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 16,849 were Ukrainian citizens.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, approximately 333,700 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, and more than 83,800 means of transport passed the control formalities (both in the direction of entry and exit) through the border points throughout the country.

As of February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 5,498,591 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.

The border police detected 57 illegal acts (35 crimes and 22 misdemeanors) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, and the value of the contravention fines applied amounts to approximately 7,720 RON.

Goods were seized for confiscation in the amount of approximately 3,434,400 RON.

Moreover, the source says that on Thursday, 16 foreign citizens who did not meet the conditions stipulated by the law were not allowed to enter the country, and 26 Romanian citizens were also not allowed to leave for various legal reasons.
Romania's Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu has thanked his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita for the "fundamental" role played by the Moroccan intellignce services in the process of releasing Romanian Iulian Ghergut, who was abducted eight years ago in Burkina Faso.

The two ministers had a telephone conversation on Friday, highlighting the bilateral Romanian-Moroccan co-operation in various fields such as industry, agriculture, education and research, emergency management, military co-operation or judicial co-operation.

Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) announced on Wednesday the release of Ghergut.

Ghergut, who worked as a security guard at a manganese mine in Tambao, in the northern African state of Burkina Faso, was kidnapped in 2015 and held hostage by the Islamist group Al-Mourabitoun, along with other foreign nationals. The Romanian was taken hostage on April 4, 2015, in an ambush on an SUV he was patrolling in, according to AFP.

At the time of the kidnapping, an inter-institutional crisis cell was formed that included MAE, the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), the Defence Ministry (MApN), and the Presidential Administration.

The Romanian then appeared in a video recording broadcast online.

Later, prosecutors with Romania's DIICOT Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terror opened a file in which the criminal prosecution in rem for acts of terrorism in connection with the kidnapping of the Romanian, began.
Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Friday in Galati that the major investment taking place in Romania, mostly with European funds, for the development of transport infrastructure are also important to the country's ties with the Moldova and Ukraine in the coming years, in the post-conflict era, when the reconstruction of Ukraine will also take place.

"From the perspective of the priorities that we as a country have declared, infrastructure investment in the Eastern parts of Romania are very important to us. And in this Galati-Braila area - if we are to do a calculation - I think that the most is invested in infrastructure as against other areas. I have just inaugurated the bridge that you all know, I refrain from saying that it is the bridge from Braila, being in Galati, so as not to upset anyone; we are talking about the expressway that will be finished next year between Galati and Braila, we are talking about the expressways to Focsani and to Buzau, we are talking about the A7, Autostrada Moldovei, Magistrala 500 of CFR. That shows the priorities we have in connecting Romania with Moldova and Ukraine in the coming years. That also means investment in the naval component. In the last year, we signed all the works from Ploiesti to Pascani and we are developing a northern route, the motorway to Siret, on the border with Ukraine, and to the East, to Ungheni, Chisinau. They are important for what the post-conflict period will mean, the reconstruction period that Ukraine will enter. We want that period to come as quickly as possible and for the war to end as quickly as possible and for Ukraine to enter this reconstruction area, for the infrastructure in Romania to be prepared for that," said Grindeanu.

He added that most of the large infrastructure projects in Romania are supported by European funds.

"As far as European programmes are concerned, the port of Constanta - just the railway component in the coming years - will reach almost 1 billion euros of investment. Funds will be allocated for the naval component, also European funds. All the investments and all the projects in Romania at this moment, major ones, have European funding. From this point of view, the European Union is with us, it also finances that 'Solidarity lanes' component; the project to increase the transit capacity on Sulina is about 18 million euros worth of European funds," added Grindeanu.

The Romanian official participated on Friday, in Galati, in a meeting with officials of the United States of America, the European Union, Moldova and Ukraine, that discussed alternative routes for shipping grain from Ukraine.

Also attending were Head of the US Office of Sanctions Coordination Jim O'Brien; Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov; Director General with the Directorate- General for Mobility and Transport Magda Kopczynska; officials of the European Commission and Moldova's Agriculture Minister Vladimir Bolea.
The manager of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Virgil Sefan Nitulescu, on Friday said that 45% of the museums in Romania "will simply disappear," if the draft ordinance on reducing the budget deficit was to enter force.

"There is a draft ordinance of the Government that aims to destroy Romania's museums. If this emergency ordinance comes into force, 45% of Romania's museums will simply disappear. It will be an attack on Romania's national culture and cultural identity. This is also the position that I included in an appeal addressed to the Government of Romania on behalf of five non-governmental organizations that deal with the protection of Romania's national cultural heritage and we are determined to go against the Government all the way. (...) We cannot accept the Romanian Government to reduce the budget deficit at our expense," said Nitulescu.

The MNTR manager accused the 'reckless" loans contracted by the Government, and also "the adoption of all kinds of pensions for some people who don't deserve them and all kinds of advanced documents for some individuals like those from ASF (Financial Supervisory Authority)."

"Not at our expenses, who are the bearers of the national cultural identity," reiterated the MNTR manager.

Several professional and civil society organizations active in the field of cultural heritage protection request the Government, through an appeal, to abandon the measures that will "amputate" the institutional system of culture and also the decentralization of the County Directorates for Culture.

"Taking note of the information communicated in the media regarding the Government's intention to introduce into the package of fiscal-budgetary measures announced, aimed at reducing the budget deficit, a series of measures with a serious negative impact on the institutional system in the field of culture and cultural heritage protection, including the abolition or merging of institutions - public libraries, theatres, museums, centres and cultural facilities - plus the decentralization of the County Directorates for Culture, we communicate our strong disagreement with these proposals and request their abandonment," the appeal sent on Friday to AGERPRES reads.

According to the same source, whatever measures will be proposed, they will have to result from a serious analysis, which will identify the problems, formulate solutions and analyze their potential impact.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. Latvia has set out a number of priorities in cooperation with Turkmenistan, a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia told Trend.

The priorities are the following: air transport, airport management, development of road transport and cooperation in the maintenance of railway rolling stock, the ministry said.

Furthermore, Latvia is ready to share its experience in matters related to port reform and by providing trainings of airport personnel.

"In our view, its crucial to develop a reliable and efficient transport corridors between the EU and Central Asia, thus the Latvian-Turkmen cooperation could play an important role. In the light of Russias war against Ukraine, strengthening connectivity and sustainable transport connections between Central Asia and Europe is of paramount importance and Latvia is ready to deepen its dialogue with the Turkmen side in this regard," the source added.

Earlier this year, Turkmen Logistics Association has signed memorandum of understanding with the Latvian Association of freight forwarders and logistics (LAFF). An agreement aimed at the development of the TRACECA transport corridor was reached on the development and implementation of projects for the introduction of digital systems in the field of logistics, and a proposal was also made for the regular organization of joint discussions with experts from different countries.
The authorizations granted by the Ministry of Agriculture for the treatment of autumn grassy cereal seeds with products based on neonicotinoids are perfectly valid because the institution is responsible for Romania's agricultural production, and research has shown that there is no direct link between these treatments and the disappearance of bees. said for AGERPRES the president of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (ASAS), Valeriu Tabara.

Three agricultural and environmental organizations - WWF Romania - the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Eco Ruralis Association and the Romanian Beekeeping Associations Federation ROMAPIS - three days ago requested the Ministry of Agriculture to withdraw the temporary authorizations granted at the request of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation, for the use of three products based on neonicotinoids, because they endanger the safety of pollinators and citizens.

In response, Valeriu Tabara, who used to be minister of Agriculture, opined that the requests were made "only out of a desire for affirmation, without scientific arguments", adding that ASAS performed analyzes at the most advanced laboratories in Europe, in France, Germany and Bulgaria respectively, after all the rules of the European Union, and no residues were found that would constitute a danger either for bees or for humans.

He added that in France, but also in other EU countries, there have been no treatments with neonicotinoids for years, and the phenomenon of the disappearance of bees has continued.

Tabara specified that the EU's decision to ban neonicotinoid pesticides came after a judgment of the European Court that judged a lawsuit complained by a Belgian about what was happening in Belgium and then it was a recommendation at the level of the member states not to use any exceptions anymore.

The Ministry of Agriculture granted, at the beginning of this month, authorizations for the emergency use of three products based on neonicotinoids for the treatment of autumn grassy cereal seeds (maize, sunflower and rapeseed) to combat soil pests.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared on Thursday evening on a Romania TV talk show that he will continue to support Marcel Bolos as Finance minister, as he considers him to be "a man of good faith and a good professional", mentioning that he called him after the spontaneous walkout this Thursday joined by a part of the ministry employees.

In this thread, the head of the Executive pointed out that he expects the employees of the Finance Ministry to get involved as quickly as possible in the budget reform process, which implies, among others, the digitalization of the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF).

"Each of us has flaws, first of all [minister Bolos] is skilled, has good faith, he is a man with the fear of God, what he lacks is that ability of better communicating with people. He is overwhelmed in these moments, because he and the ministry he leads are under a lot of pressure. The way I see it, Mr. Bolos made just one mistake. You cannot do everything by yourself. Power must always be shared, you cannot go into the fight without the whole team," Marcel Ciolacu said.

"What I expect from the Finance Ministry employees is to support the minister, the government, in this effort that we must start from the Finance Ministry with this budget reform, to speed up for the first time in 30 years the digitization of ANAF. We need a responsible team, no one wants resignations. I, Marcel Ciolacu, guarantee that no one will have their salary cut by one dime," Ciolacu assured.

As for the management of ANAF, he said that he will give the minister free hand to appoint rofessionals.

Over 15,000 employees from the Finance Ministry's structures from all over the country went on a spontaneous strike on Thursday, dissatisfied with the measures proposed by the Executive for cutting budget expenses, and which would affect over 22,000 people in the system.
The US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, on Friday told a press conference held in Galati that the United States is grateful to Romania for the support given to Ukraine, in the context of the war with Russia.

High representatives of the United States of America, the European Union, the Republic of Moldova and Romania discussed on Friday, in Galati, about alternative routes for transporting the grains from Ukraine.

The press conference on the topic of agricultural exports of Ukraine within the EU-Ukraine solidarity corridors was attended by the Romanian Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, Jim O'Brien, who heads the US office that manages the sanctions regimes (U.S. Sanctions Coordinator), Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, Magda Kopczynska - Director General for Mobility and Transport with the EU, representatives of the European Commission and the Minister of Agriculture from the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Bolea.

"The United States is grateful to Romania for hosting these important discussions and for everything done in support of Ukraine," emphasized Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec.

The Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, has shown that Romania is ready to double the transit capacity of Ukrainian grains through Romania from 2 to up to at least 4 million tonnes every month. He showed that, in what concerns the use of Danube as a transport route, the Sulina Canal is the only viable waterway, therefore it is important to optimize the capacity precisely on this route.

"We want to increase the number of pilots to bring the ships to the Sulina Canal, and we will have the 60 pilots that we promised by the end of August. We also have the European project that will end sometime in the fall, probably in October, which will allow navigation on Sulina, 24 hours, 7 days a week. When the number of pilots will increase, automatically the ports of Galati and Braila will also be used, along with Reni and Ismail. Today I have proposed not only the two ports, but I also came up with this proposal in front of my Ukrainian colleagues to use all the ports, including those upstream from Galati and Braila up to Orsova, while using the railway network up to those ports south of the Danube, and using barges from there further towards the Black Sea, towards Constanta," said the Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu.

In his turn, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said that the agreement between Ukraine and Romania will bring benefits to both sides.

"I want to thank our partners for this fruitful meeting and for the support granted to the Ukrainian citizens in their fight against the Russian military aggression. It is impossible to replace Ukrainian grains. When Russia withdrew from the grain agreement, the price of grains immediately increased by more than 8%, as the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said. Ukrainians are interested in using the territorial waters of Romania, in particular the port of Constanta and the Sulina Canal, for the transport of grains, and I think there will be benefits for both sides," said Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The Minister of Agriculture from the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Bolea, stated that his country will unconditionally support the transportation of Ukraine's grains through the network of solidarity corridors.

"The Republic of Moldova stood by the Ukrainian people. With a population of 2.5 million citizens, we hosted and were the second home for almost 750,000 refugees from Ukraine. In the second stage, the issue of solidarity corridors came into play of import and export of grains and in this way we reiterated the position of the Republic of Moldova of absolutely unconditional support for Ukraine in its economic export and transit processes to the ports of Constanta, Galati, which are located on the territory of Romania," stated Minister Vladimir Bolea.

The official of the European Commission, Magda Kopczynska, emphasized the importance of the Danube-Black Sea corridor for the transport of grains from Ukraine.

"The European Commission condemns the recent Russian attacks on the Ukrainian infrastructure in the Danube area, in the ports of Reni and Ismail, and regrets Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea agreement, which endangers human lives and global food security. Today we are making an important step in strengthening our efforts to reduce the Russian impact and improve the functionality of the Ukrainian solidarity corridors. When it comes to grain products, which are so important for global food security, between May 22 and the end of July this year, about 60% of Ukraine's exports went through the solidarity corridors, and the rest with the help of the Black Sea agreement. When we look at the potential of the solidarity corridors, the Danube-Constanta route is the biggest asset, almost 60% of Ukraine's grain exports coming through this route," stated the Director for Water Transport from the General Directorate for Mobility and Transport, Magda Kopczynska.

The US official who heads the office that manages the sanctions regimes (U.S. Sanctions Coordinator), Jim O'Brien, emphasized that regardless of the Russian attacks that affected the infrastructure in Ukraine, the grains will still reach the global markets.

"What you saw this afternoon is solidarity in action. Russia attacked Ukraine, bringing war close to this peaceful region. Romania, Moldova and Ukraine said to meet in Romania and find a solution. Russia attacked supplies global food, the Black Sea agreement brought 32 million tons of grain to the global market, the solidarity aisles brought something more. This group of countries said 'let's sit down and find solutions and bring more grain.' from Ukraine will reach the whole world," Jim O'Brien emphasized.

High representatives of the United States of America, the European Union, the Republic of Moldova and Romania met, on Friday, in Galati, to discuss alternative routes for transporting grain from Ukraine, the announcement about this meeting and the discussion agenda being made, on Thursday, by the US Embassy in Bucharest.
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL WORKING ON LAHAINA LAND TRANSACTION MORATORIUM

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that he has instructed state Attorney General Anne Lopez to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in the Lahaina area.

Green said he has heard of people he described as not even in real estate reaching out to ask about purchasing land owned by people in the disaster area.

My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab, he said. People are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying theyll be much better off if they make a deal. Because were not going to allow it.

He said hed have more details by Friday and added that hed also like to see a long-term moratorium on land bought by people who are not on Maui.

GOVERNOR: DEATH TOLL RISES TO 110

Hawaii's governor on Wednesday added four more people to the list of those killed in a fire that decimated the town of Lahaina on Maui last week. Gov. Josh Green said 110 people are confirmed dead and that 38% of the disaster area has been searched.

It makes us heartbroken, Green said at a news conference.

He also said about 2,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity in the area and that those people would also be eligible for services if they are suffering without power.

WHAT TO KNOW

 What spurred the fires? Right now, its unclear; authorities say the cause is under investigation

 What is the status of the fires? The county says the fire in centuries-old Lahaina has been 85% contained, while another blaze known as the Upcountry fire has been around 60% contained

 How does the loss of life confirmed so far compare with other U.S. fires? For now, it is the countrys deadliest fire in more than 100 years, with officials saying more than 100 people are dead, but the governor says scores of more bodies could be found

 How are search efforts going? The police chief said Monday that crews using cadaver dogs have scoured at least 30% of the search area, with five bodies identified so far

 Why did the fire cause so much destruction so quickly? The governor says the flames on Maui were fueled by dry grass and propelled by strong winds from a passing hurricane, and raced as fast as a mile (1.6 kilometers) every minute in one area

 Did emergency notification services work? Officials failed to activate sirens and instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts; meanwhile, residents faced power and cellular outages

 An electric utility is facing criticism and a lawsuit for not shutting off the power amid high wind warnings and as dozens of poles began to topple; in what may have been one of multiple ignition sources, a video shows a cable dangling in a charred patch of grass, surrounded by flames

TWO MEXICAN CITIZENS DIED FROM FIRES

The Mexican foreign ministry said it has confirmed that two people of Mexican nationality died as a result of the wildfires.

Personnel from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco are on Maui and are in contact with the families of the deceased to provide assistance to them, the foreign ministry said in a statement. No details were immediately available, including whether the victims were tourists or among the many foreign workers in Lahaina.

The consulate in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for details.

FEMA OPENS FIRST DISASTER RECOVERY CENTER

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened its first disaster recovery center on Maui to help victims of the Lahaina wildfires.

The agency is also sending in more dogs to help with search and recovery.

Deanne Criswell, the FEMA administrator, on Wednesday called the centers opening an important first step.

The centers are temporary places where people can get information about assistance from multiple federal agencies, not just FEMA. They also can get their questions answered and get updates on the status of their aid applications.

The number of canine search teams will be increased to more than 40 because of the difficulty of the search and recovery operation. The dogs need to rest frequently because of the terrain and the heat.

Criswell answered questions from reporters at the White House after she briefed President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Biden spoke by telephone with Gov. Josh Green during their meeting, she said.

Criswell will accompany Biden to Maui on Monday when he travels there to survey the damage. She said Biden will bring hope.

People can apply for assistance by going to disasterassistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-FEMA.

MAUI SCHOOLS BEGIN TO REOPEN

Most public schools on Hawaiis second-largest island have begun to reopen this week, starting with staff reporting for duty, according to the states department of education. But several schools are still being assessed to make sure they are safe for students and teachers, with crews cleaning debris and testing both air and water quality.

Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi visited three campuses in Lahaina on Monday, which remain closed after sustaining wind damage. Officials will determine reopening dates for those schools once they are confirmed safe.

Theres still a lot of work to do, but overall, the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally, which is encouraging, Hayashi said in a video update. We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages, and we continue to grieve the many lives lost.

If they are ready and able, Lahaina students may enroll in nearby schools so they have access to in-person services like meals, socialization and counseling, Hayashi said.

Schools in Central, South and Upcountry Maui and a few off-island schools have already begun enrolling displaced students. The Department says it is also offering both in-person and telehealth counseling for students, family and staff.

BIDENS TO VISIT MAUI NEXT WEEK

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui next week in the aftermath of the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in more than a century, the White House announced Wednesday.

The Bidens will meet Monday with survivors of the fires, as well as first responders and other government officials. They will see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday.

Biden and White House officials have signaled for days that a presidential visit was in the works as long as it would not disrupt search and recovery efforts. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has informed the White House that Bidens visit early next week should be fine.

GOVERNOR OPENS MAIN ROAD FOR LIMITED HOURS

Gov. Josh Green opened a main road so drivers can travel east to west on Maui during limited hours as of Wednesday.

We will have, of course, our National Guard responsible on the side of the road so that no one goes into the impact zone, where teams are still searching for fatalities following last weeks wildfires, Green said on ABCs Good Morning America.

What I can tell you is people are holding up, he said, adding, Were just grateful for everyones outpouring of support. And though the workload is extraordinary and our hearts are broken, we will get through it. We just are still kind of in the thick of doing recovery.

2 VICTIMS OF LAHAINA WILDFIRE IDENTIFIED AS THE DEATH TOLL RISES TO 106

Maui County released the names of two people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina Tuesday evening, as the death toll rose to 106.

A mobile morgue unit arrived Tuesday to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify remains, as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify victims and process remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agencys deputy assistant secretary for response.

Its going to be a very, very difficult mission, Greene said. And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.

The county said in a statement Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79 were among the dead, the first people so named. A further three victims have been identified, the county wrote, and their names will be released once the county has identified their next of kin.

GOVERNOR: DEATH TOLL RISES TO AT LEAST 101

The blaze that burned through the town of Lahaina on Maui last week has killed at least 101 people, Hawaiis governor said Tuesday, as recovery efforts continue.

We are heartsick that weve had such loss," Gov. Josh Green said during a news conference Tuesday.

Green had said earlier Tuesday during an appearance on Hawaii News Now that children are among the victims of the fires.

The fire is the deadliest in the U.S. in the past century. It has surpassed the toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which left 85 dead.

A century earlier, the 1918 Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through a number of rural communities, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes.

LAHAINA FIRE CAUSED ABOUT $3.2 BILLION IN INSURED PROPERTY LOSSES, RISK COMPANY SAYS

The Lahaina fire caused about $3.2 billion in insured property losses, calculated Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling company. That doesnt count damage to property not insured.

The risk firm said more than 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire with a total of more than 3,000 buildings damaged by fire or smoke or both. Because so many of the buildings were wood frame and older, the damage rates were higher than other fires, the firm said.

HAWAII NATIONAL GUARD ACTIVATES HUNDREDS TO HELP RESPOND TO FIRES

The Hawaii National Guard has activated about 258 Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel to help respond to the fires.

Guard members will offer support to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and local law enforcement agencies and help with command and control efforts, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping with debris removal and temporary power. The Corps has deployed 27 personnel  active duty and civilians  and 41 contractor personnel.

The U.S. Coast Guard has shifted its focus to minimizing maritime environmental impacts but is still ready to help individuals in the water.

Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Honolulu and the Coast Guard National Strike Force have established a safety zone extending one nautical mile seaward from the shoreline.

The have also deployed pollution response teams and equipment, including a 100-foot boom at the mouth of Blaina Harbor to contain any potentially hazardous contaminants and material. There are about 140 Coast Guard members aiding the response effort.

Singh said she doesnt know how many active-duty troops have responded, but said that active-duty forces will be part of the ongoing effort.
KYIV, Ukraine  Two Russian missile strikes hit the city center of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region Monday evening, killing at least five people and wounding two dozen more, Ukrainian officials said.

The strikes, which targeted the Ukrainian portion of a region partially occupied by Russia, occurred within 40 minutes of each other, according to Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko. The attack damaged nine-and five-story buildings, residential houses, a hotel where foreign journalists used to stay, dining establishments, shops and administrative buildings, he said.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said five people, including a local official of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, were killed and 31 more were wounded by the strikes. Nineteen policemen, five rescuers and one child were among the wounded, Klymenko said.

The Suspilne news site, however, cited head of the Pokrovsk City Military Administration Serhiy Dobriak as saying that seven people were killed and 27 were wounded. The conflicting reports could not be immediately reconciled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an online statement accused Russia of trying to leave nothing but "broken and scorched stones" in eastern Ukraine. His remarks accompanied footage of a damaged, five-story residential building with one floor partially destroyed.

The deadly attack came just a day after officials from around 40 countries gathered in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement for the war in Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced the two-day talks in Jeddah as not having "the slightest added value" because Moscow  unlike Kyiv  wasn't invited.

A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry repeated previous assurances that Moscow is open to a diplomatic solution on its terms that would end the 17-month-old war, and that it is ready to respond to serious proposals. The Kremlin's demands include Kyiv recognizing its annexation of four Ukrainian regions, which Russian forces at this point only partially control, and Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.

But Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, ruled out Moscow's previous demands that would give Russia time to dig in deeper in the parts of Ukraine it has occupied. He said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Russian forces must fully withdraw from the occupied areas and there would be no compromise by Kyiv on that.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Security Service announced Monday it had detained an alleged Russian informant who gathered intelligence about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to the southern Mykolaiv region last month.

It claimed the woman "was collecting data for an airstrike during Zelenskyy's visit."

The woman attempted to establish Zelenskyy's route, times and visits in the region. She was detained when she tried to pass the information to the Russians, the statement said, without providing evidence.

Zelenskyy has been a prime target for the Kremlin since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, when he refused to leave Kyiv as Moscow's forces approached.
ST. LOUIS  A controversial landlord is racking up more complaints at its newest luxury branded apartment building, yet another sign of management troubles in properties built by one of the citys most active residential developers.

Burglars broke into more than a dozen cars last Saturday in the parking garage at the 320-unit SoHo apartment building at 1515 South Seventh Street in Soulard, according to residents and online reviews. Those break-ins came just a few weeks after several other cars were burglarized in a garage that management has not secured, according to tenants.

The break-ins were the last straw for residents who complain about slapdash construction, unauthorized entries into units from staff and short-term rentals in some of the units. Several renters contacted the Post-Dispatch and others left negative online reviews.

Were paying $150 a month for our parking spots yet we cant have a secure parking garage? Lauren Court, who has lived there since November, told the Post-Dispatch.

The complaints from SoHo tenants are far from unique for the landlord. Led by brothers Victor Alston and Sid Chakraverty, Lux Living is one of the most active residential developers in St. Louis. Their property management companies, Asprient Properties and STL CityWide, have one of the largest apartment portfolios in town.

But the brothers have faced criticism over their management and business practices for years. At SoHo, where the rents approach $2,000 a month, the complaints echo those from residents last year who moved into another new Lux building, the Hudson north of Forest Park. And other renters have raised concerns at the brothers properties across the city, from older buildings on South Grand Boulevard and north of Forest Park to downtown lofts where Alston and Chakraverty control the condominium board.

Lux opened its SoHo complex late last year, though construction on some promised features has not been completed, such as promised rooftop lounge, tenants say. Others complain about air conditioning units going out, paint stains and cabinets that arent installed right. The city in 2020 granted the project a decade of property tax abatement worth 95% of the new buildings value.

Last weekends burglaries came despite a separate spate of car break-ins from a few weeks ago. One resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, said his car was broken into during the first incident.

My big issue with it is how they reacted, he said. They did nothing.

Another resident, who also requested to remain anonymous, said she has returned to the building at 5 a.m. after working night shifts and the garage door was open.

Multiple times Ive come in and the garage is wide open, she said. Theres car break-ins all over the city, right? But its the fact that they can walk right in.

On Thursday, a property management employee distributed a memo to residents saying an employee, who a resident said was a security guard, had been fired. The memo also said the car break-ins were connected to an illegal Airbnb operation run by one of the residents and that the resident had been removed from the premises.

The message went on to explain that the Airbnb was not connected to TheStay, a company registered to Chakraverty that, on its website, lists apartment rentals in locations where the brothers apartment buildings are located, including SoHo.

We also want to assure you that this incident was not associated with The Stay Airbnb units, the message from management said. The Stay follows a stringent process to vet all guests and does not book from locals. We strongly emphasize that tenant-run vacation rentals are neither condoned nor approved by Lux Living.

Legislation is pending at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen that would crack down on large short-term rental operators such as Chakravertys The Stay. It would require short-term rental operators to obtain permits and limit an operator to four units.

Alston, Chakraverty and their attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Negative reviews

Its not just the car break-ins that are irking tenants.

There was the pool party in June featuring DJ Brody Jenner, the son of Caitlyn Jenner, with tickets for sale to the public. Hundreds of people attended, including many nonresidents, tenants said.

And one of the tenants who asked to remain anonymous said building staff have entered or tried to enter her apartment uninvited and unannounced five times. She knows it was likely a mix-up  at least once they were trying to show a prospective tenant a unit  but it makes her uncomfortable to think that they can enter without warning.

A tenant at the Hudson near Forest Park recounted a similar experience of unauthorized entry into her apartment last year.

Management tries to keep a lid on the negative experiences.

Court, one of the SoHo residents, said she had a dispute two weeks ago with a staffer after they asked her and her friends to move from a pool cabana that was reserved. She protested until a staffer showed her the reservation. They eventually moved but as they were passing later the staffer called her the b-word and asked what her room number was.

Court said she told him she didnt feel comfortable sharing that. She said he chuckled and said, well find out.

She told building management about the interaction, and they told her the employee would be removed. But he was manning the front desk days later, she said.

Now, she doesnt feel comfortable in her own apartment anymore, and she wants out. She had already posted a negative review about the building and the unfinished amenities two months ago, and her friends posted one-star Google reviews recounting the pool and desk employee incident. So when Court asked about breaking her lease, management wanted something in exchange.

Following up to our most recent meeting, would you be interested in an early termination agreement? Alison Mason, SoHos property manager, wrote in an email to Court. This would mean that you would terminate your lease on or before 8/3023, after removing the negative reviews from Google posted by you and on your behalf.

SoHo still maintains a 3.4-star (out of 5) rating on Google. Thats partly because its reviews include many five-star reviews. But residents cant help but think at least some are fake.

One reviewer, a Lubna Kamran, recently noted the proximity of one of the continents great rivers.

SoHos location near the Mississippi River offers endless outdoor activities, the reviewer gushed as part of the rationale behind the five-star review.

Kamrans only other review? Five stars for the Hudson, one of Luxs DeBaliviere Place apartment buildings.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Police on Friday identified the three people who died in a double murder-suicide Thursday morning near Manchester.

Officers were called just before 11 a.m. to check on a man in the 200 block of Glandore Drive, police said.

Officers said they found two women shot dead. They were 64-year-old Mary Raab and 27-year-old Claire Gyurkikiss.

Paul Gyurkikiss, 61, was also found dead inside the home.

Investigators believe Paul Gyurkikiss shot both women before shooting himself.

Additional information was not immediately available.

Thursday mornings shooting was just one of several murder-suicides that have happened in the region this year.

Most recently, Coleman McIlvain, 34, killed himself after he killed his girlfriend, 30-year-old Seychelle Jackson, and two of her kids on July 3 in St. Ann.

LaTonya Browns body was found June 30. She was shot and killed in Norwood Court by her boyfriend Justin Taylor when she tried to leave him. He then turned the gun on himself.

A day later, on May 1, Cheryl Washington, 60, was shot and killed by 61-year-old Dana Haney, who then killed himself.

St. Louis County police investigated five murder-suicides in 2022.

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 The suicide and crisis lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources.
ST. LOUIS  When Rachel Guzman began her four-year career as a St. Louis patrol officer in north St. Louis, she said the district was understaffed but the workload was still manageable.

That changed, she said, around 2020. The police killing of George Floyd led to weeks of protests in St. Louis and nationwide, and calls intensified to defund police departments altogether. Meanwhile, tensions continued to mount between police and former Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, first elected in 2016 on the promise to deliver criminal justice reform and hold police accountable. The result was a police exodus.

People had started leaving the department, she said. People were fed up at that point.

Guzman herself left the St. Louis police department, and policing entirely, in September 2021 following the birth of her first child.

How we reported this story Reporter Dana Rieck attempted to contact more than 200 people who left the St. Louis Police Department in recent years, and she completed interviews with 16 of them. Some agreed to speak to the Post-Dispatch only under the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation at their current jobs. Interviews covered, among other things, their experience with the department and their reason for leaving.

The department has grappled for years with staff shortages, struggling to hire new officers and keep cops on board. The Post-Dispatch recently interviewed 16 former city cops about why they left the department.

Their reasons varied, but themes that came up repeatedly were conflicts with Gardners office, staffing shortages and politics. The citys low pay relative to other departments in the region was also mentioned, but most officers said that wasnt the main factor in their departure.

Half of those 16 officers left policing altogether. Five retired, and three left to work for another police department. Collectively, they represent more than 200 years of employment with the city police department.

A decade ago, when the city took control of the department after 152 years of state control, the agency employed 1,301 officers. Now the department is budgeted for about 1,275 officers but employed fewer than 950 as of Monday.

St. Louis isnt alone in its police staffing woes. Departments across the country have struggled to fill vacancies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Police Executive Research Forum. The nonprofit surveyed almost 200 police departments and found that hiring was down 5% in 2020, while resignations increased by 18% and retirements increased by 45% from the previous year.

Among the most common reasons for leaving was the publics increasingly negative view of policing, which was amplified by high-profile protests. Another study, published in 2019 in the International Journal of Police Science & Management, found the most common reasons cops left were job dissatisfaction, frustration with the department, frustration with the justice system and stress.

Retired Sgt. Clifford Sommer worked as a St. Louis police officer for 25 years and said his career was mostly enjoyable. But as the department lost officers, the workload for remaining cops was too much.

I had really planned to maximize my retirement at 30 years, Sommer said. When I weighed the pros and cons of staying or leaving, I probably extended my life by 10 years through eliminating the stress and the constant schedule changes.

He retired in 2021 and became a sworn officer for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis.

Like Sommer, most cops who spoke with the Post-Dispatch said they enjoyed working with their co-workers and felt a calling to improve their communities through policing. But those parts didnt outweigh the negatives  namely dealing with severe understaffing, internal politics and perceived anti-police sentiments from local politicians.

The departments top cop, Chief Robert Tracy, refused to talk to the Post-Dispatch about staffing issues or his plans to increase the number of officers on the agencys roster.

People who largely dont like law enforcement

Many former St. Louis police officers described a working environment rife with politicking, both internally and externally.

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, elected in 2021, campaigned on restructuring the department and reallocating the budget to alternative public safety programs. On her ninth day in office, she moved to reallocate $4 million budgeted for 98 long-vacant police officer positions and spend it on affordable housing, homeless services, a victims support program and civil rights litigators instead.

But since then, she and other top officials have approved some of the largest raises for police officers in recent memory and ordered a fleet of new take-home cars. The police departments budget has increased by at least $9 million since she took office.

Still, officers who spoke with the Post-Dispatch were adamant the administration did not support police, making a tough job harder and leading to low morale and widespread burnout.

Here in St. Louis, Kim Gardner and Tishaura Jones and (Deputy Public Safety Director) Heather Taylor were the catalysts that broke the system, said Roger Murphey, who retired in September 2021 after more than 26 years with the department.

It scares me working as a cog in the wheel, another officer said, and the people in control of your budget are people who largely dont like law enforcement. Who wants to go work in an environment when your local politicians are setting you up for failure and not providing you with the tools you need?

Jones refused an interview with the Post-Dispatch, but in an email her spokesman Nick Desideri rejected the notion that the mayor doesnt support the police, saying she believes in a balanced approach of prevention, intervention and enforcement.

He also contended that pay rates are, in fact, the largest concern expressed by officers in the last several years.

Anyone with experience working in organized labor can tell you that pay is the top issue every single contract cycle, he wrote.

When it came to internal dynamics, two officers compared the agency to a high school where rumors and gossip spread like wildfire.

Several officers said they thought the departments internal affairs unit was weaponized by arbitrarily enforcing policies and disciplining officers. And most said command staff fosters a toxic environment and are more involved in politics and advancing their own careers than supporting officers. Rising through the ranks became more about who you know, said Sommer, the retired sergeant.

The promotional system should be changed. Under state control, it was more objective, Sommer said.

Sommer, along with about half of the officers who spoke with the Post-Dispatch, worked for the department when it was controlled by a five-person board made up of the mayor and four governor appointees.

Officers said the department ran more efficiently then, and the environment was better. And Sommer noted that calling that structure state control can be misleading, as the governors appointees were normally local residents.

Jason Love, who worked for the department for about 24 years, added that resources arrived more quickly then and were less likely to get caught up in red tape.

As morale sank in recent years, Sommer said he began to see something new: His colleagues were quitting just a few years before their 20-year work anniversary, the point at which they could begin collecting a pension.

Murphey said he noticed the same.

It didnt start happening until Kim Gardners first term, he said.

Frustration with Kim Gardners office

Officers overwhelmingly blamed the frustrations on Gardner, who was first elected in 2016 and resigned unexpectedly earlier this year.

Cops said her resistance to prosecute criminal cases or hold violent suspects in jail was exasperating, especially when it came to building trust with crime victims.

At the end of the day, its frustrating, said Guzman, who worked in north St. Louis. Those victims are blaming you.

Several officers said prosecutors would refuse solid cases, even when officers thought the investigation was complete.

Matthew Sprankle, who worked for the department for two years and is now an officer in Illinois, said Gardner hindered a lot of peoples willingness to do a lot of good police work.

Many officers referenced Gardners exclusionary list, which outlined at least 28 officers from whom her office would no longer accept criminal cases. Some officers told the Post-Dispatch that their co-workers were not informed they were on the list until they applied for charges.

Others, like Murphey, were notified. He said he thinks her office put him on the list in 2017 because of two Facebook posts  one where he posted pro-police messages and one where he criticized Gardner and then-mayor Lyda Krewson. He was kicked out of the homicide investigation unit two years later. He was given a different reason for the transfer, but he suspects it was because he was on the exclusion list.

Id had enough of it and said, I cant do my job, Murphey said. Im just sitting here collecting dust.  So I walked in and said, Im retired, I quit. Thats what a lot of guys are doing.

Most officers who spoke to the Post-Dispatch said they believed conditions at the department will improve now that Gardner is gone. New prosecutor Gabe Gore was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson and took office in May.

Chronic staffing shortages

On a recent Sunday night, only three cars were patrolling the first district, a police source told the Post-Dispatch. The district covers a large swath of south St. Louis and is one of six districts in the city. Another eight police vehicles assigned to the district sat empty, according to the source.

Nearly every officer who spoke with the Post-Dispatch cited chronic understaffing and the resulting workloads as one of the main reasons they left the department.

Guzman, who worked in north St. Louis for four years, said each district should have about nine cars on the streets. Ideally, two officers would ride in each car. That was rarely, if ever, the case, most cops said.

Guzman was often in a patrol car by herself, leaving her unable to answer radio calls that required two officers or two vehicles.

That leaves a lot of calls waiting in the queue, Guzman said. Shootings, robberies, anything like that  officers are on those calls for hours.

One officer, who retired after more than 31 years, said much of the issue is off-street redundancies. She and another cop both noted that commanders aides are commissioned officers and they, too, have aides who are sworn officers.

Jones would not comment on perceived redundancies because it is a personnel matter, Desideri said, and she trusts the chief to make those staffing decisions.

Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. (tncms-asset)c41f4ce6-1124-11ee-b7a5-9b7eeec512d1[4](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)b56eba0a-ff0a-11ed-9cea-d3c2d3a14869[5](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)589cc7a8-f4d4-11ed-8e9e-a7568f716ea9[6](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)f3798e74-f023-11ed-98c6-1334dd414f9d[7](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)b396238c-e054-11ed-8e3b-9b4233431cbd[8](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)43c2635b-7982-53e7-87a4-da1a0e1c49bc[9](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)a40aa414-861d-5205-83e1-d079951f5286[10](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)49fd9517-e706-5203-8861-527285afc8f1[11](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)7d7844fc-73ae-5574-8cdc-f4571b4429ac[12](/tncms-asset)
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, August 11. The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Arzybek Kozhoshev, and the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia, Mohammad Ahmad Al-Jaber, held a meeting, Trend reports.

At the discussion, the concerns of cargo transport communication between the EAEU nations and the UAE were covered, particularly the potential for railroad traffic through Turkmenistan.

The parties also talked about ways to cooperate on building the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and introducing new energy sources, according to the press office of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

According to Arzybek Kozhoshev, plans are now being made to increase the amount of commodities that are transported by train from EAEU nations through Turkmenistan and Iran before being shipped by sea to the United Arab Emirates and in the opposite direction.

The minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the EEC also expressed particular interest in the possibility of increasing the volume of transportation of food products from the EAEU member countries to the UAE under the Eurasian Agroexpress joint project.

Moreover, Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber stressed the UAE's readiness for dialogue with the EAEU in the fields of transport and energy and also expressed interest in concluding an economic partnership agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the EAEU.
ST. LOUIS  More city neighborhoods could soon consider new taxes to cover services they arent getting from City Hall.

Leaders of several St. Louis neighborhoods followed the campaigns for special taxes in Holly Hills and St. Louis Hills, two prosperous south city areas. And three said that what leaders there are promising  more visible police patrols and beefed-up beautification, among other things  are the same things they want for their communities.

I think there could be a lot of benefits, said Jim Barnthouse, president of the neighborhood association on the Hill, St. Louis' celebrated Italian corner.

The growing interest in special taxing districts dovetails with well-documented declines in city services. Hobbled by the same staffing shortages plaguing other governments, St. Louis has struggled in recent years to fully staff its police department, answer 911 calls, pick up the trash and trim the trees  which has frustrated city residents from north to south.

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and aldermen have budgeted millions of dollars for hiring bonuses, salary increases and on-the-job training for some of the positions hardest to fill. The administration has also pushed for changes in the personnel department, which runs on 80-year-old rules intended to fight patronage hiring that some say make it hard to hire anyone. But problems have persisted.

The solution some neighborhoods are now contemplating, however  paying for services themselves  is under scrutiny.

City officials have begun to question the fairness and efficacy of private security patrols, which often employ off-duty St. Louis police officers.

Jones said in December that the department's policy on moonlighting needed to change. It's not fair, she said, for "well-heeled" neighborhoods to buy extra policing. Megan Green, president of the Board of Aldermen, said then that the board could even consider dissolving some of the special taxing districts that neighborhoods use to hire the extra cops.

And Alderman Bret Narayan, the chairman of the board's Public Safety Committee, said this week he wants to dig into whether officers' moonlighting is making it harder for the police department to fill regular shifts, or if officers are overworking themselves.

The concept of paying extra for public services is not without precedent. Commercial corridors like the Delmar Loop and South Grand Boulevard maintain special levies to cover security and marketing efforts. High-end residential areas in DeBaliviere Place, the Central West End and the Shaw neighborhood pay into special districts, too.

But leaders in Holly Hills struck a chord last summer when they proposed their own district and cited fears that without it, their sturdy swath of the South Side could be in trouble.

They said gunfire and high-profile crime were making it feel unsafe. They said cars racing in the park at night made it hard to sleep. They said the city wasn't responding to reports of dead trees and overgrown medians.

And for around $200 per year per property owner, they promised to do what the city couldn't: put more police on the beat, take care of the trees, and block off roads into Carondelet Park at night.

It was an appealing pitch. The tax passed with 62% of the vote last August. Within a few months, people in St. Louis Hills, the cornerstone of the southwest side, were working on a similar campaign promising to fight a bump in property crime with private security patrols and pay contractors to trim the trees, mow the grass, and upgrade playgrounds in Francis and Willmore parks.

And after that campaign's victory this week, Barnthouse, the Hill neighborhood association president, said it would be interesting to see whether the new tax makes a difference, especially on crime. Even in one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, he said, safety is the No. 1 concern. And if hiring some off-duty cops cuts into the number of car break-ins, it could be worth it.

"Even small petty crime hurts someone," he said.

Alderwoman Sharon Tyus said people in her Kingsway neighborhoods, on the northwest side, are also talking about the idea.

They want more money for neighborhood beautification efforts, she said, like putting out pots with palm trees. And of course, they want to feel safer.

"We don't have enough police," Tyus said, "so we have to look at what else we can do."

Jim Kingery, who lives in Grand-Bates, a tree-lined strip of old homes just east of Holly Hills, said he would like more money for the basics, too. He can count at least a dozen dead trees marked for removal a year or two ago that are still dropping limbs.

And, with Holly Hills right on the other side of South Grand Boulevard, absorbing Grand-Bates could be a natural expansion.

"If this is something we can do to maintain the neighborhood," he said, "then I'm all for it."

But he's still just watching for now. It takes time for the new tax money to be collected and start flowing. Security patrols only just began in Holly Hills.

Special taxing districts aren't for everyone. Compton Heights, northeast of Tower Grove Park, considered the idea a couple of years ago, but the neighborhood was split over whether they should have to pay extra for what are essentially city services, said Ben Clement, a neighborhood leader there.

Keith Fairchild, president of the Boulevard Heights Neighborhood Association, said residents need to hold city leaders accountable for providing the basics. Besides, he said, hiring private security in one area just pushes crime to the next neighborhood over.

"You're not an island," he said.
ST. LOUIS  St. Louis-area activists have been fighting for years to get government compensation for people with cancer and other serious illnesses potentially connected to Manhattan Project nuclear contamination. This week marked a major victory, with support coming from the president.

Uranium was processed in St. Louis starting at the onset of World War II as America raced to develop nuclear bombs.

Reports last fall that Jana Elementary, near Coldwater Creek in Florissant, may have been contaminated  a finding from a testing lab hired by plaintiffs lawyers in a pending case against several companies  drew renewed interest in St. Louis nuclear legacy. In response to alarmed constituents, both U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for additional testing, remediation and compensation. Jana was closed, forcing kids to study elsewhere, despite repeated assurances by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the school was safe.

Then, in July, reporting by The Missouri Independent, the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock and The Associated Press on government documents obtained by outside researchers gave new momentum to bipartisan efforts to compensate those in St. Louis and elsewhere whose illnesses may be tied to nuclear fallout and contamination.

On Wednesday, that support extended to President Joe Biden.

Im prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of, Biden said during a visit to New Mexico.

Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel, who lead the activist group Just Moms STL, said theyre optimistic but not letting up.

Its a great day, Chapman said. We feel incredible. But we dont take the time to celebrate it. For us, its like we have a strong wind at our back. Now who do we push? We dont let up for a moment.

Hawley introduced legislation last month to expand an existing compensation program for exposure victims. The Senate endorsed the amendment, but the proposed changes to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act are not yet included in a House-approved defense bill amid negotiations toward final legislation.

St. Louis is far from alone in suffering the effects of the geographically scattered national nuclear program. Advocates have been trying for years to bring awareness to the lingering effects of radiation exposure on the Navajo Nation, where millions of tons of uranium ore were extracted over decades to support U.S. nuclear activities.

Months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in St. Louis began processing uranium into a concentrated form that could be further refined elsewhere into the material that made it into weapons.

By the late-1940s, the government was trucking nuclear waste from the Mallinckrodt plant to a site near Lambert Airport. It was there that the waste was dumped into Coldwater Creek, contaminating a 19-mile waterway that stretches across north St. Louis County.

In 1966, the Atomic Energy Commission demolished and buried buildings near the airport and moved the waste to another site, contaminating it, too. Documents cited by AP and the other news organizations showed that storage was haphazard and waste was spilled on roads but that mistakes were often ignored.

Uranium waste also was illegally dumped in West Lake Landfill, near the airport, in 1973. Its still there.

Cleanup in St. Louis County has topped $1 billion, and its far from over.

Meanwhile, uranium was processed in neighboring St. Charles County starting in the 1950s, creating more contamination. The government built a 75-foot mound, covered in rock, to serve as a permanent disposal cell, and the area is considered remediated.

Some experts are skeptical about the connection between diseases and the contamination. Tim Jorgensen, a professor of radiation medicine at Georgetown University, told the AP in July that the biggest risk factor for cancer is age and that local radiations contribution would be so low as to be hard to detect.

Still, in 2019, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry issued a report that found people who regularly played in Coldwater Creek as children from the 1960s to the 1990s may have a slight increased risk of bone cancer, lung cancer and leukemia. The agency determined that those exposed daily to the creek starting in the 2000s, when cleanup began, could have a small increased risk of lung cancer.

Many of those with direct connections to illnesses are far more convinced. Kyle Hedgpeths young daughter and niece both were diagnosed with cancer in 2020, within a month of each other. Both have since recovered.

Hedgpeths wife and her brother grew up near a creek that flows from the St. Charles County site. He believes they picked up something from exposure to the creek and passed it down to their girls.

It seems all too coincidental, Hedgpeth said. I just think theres too many red flags literally putting it in their backyard to ignore it.

The Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
CLAYTON  A Berkeley man was sentenced Friday in the 2018 shooting deaths of two people  including a nearby concrete worker by a stray bullet.

A jury found Lonnell Lewis-Jones, 30, guilty in June of a role in a Feb. 22, 2018, shooting stemming from a fight over a car blocking a driveway in Berkeley.

One man involved in the argument, William Dortch, 27, of St. Ann, was killed. A nearby worker, Frank Langston, 55, was struck in the hip by a stray bullet and killed as he stood nearby on a concrete mixers ladder. He had just delivered a load of concrete to a Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District project for his employer, Raineri Ready Mix of St. Louis, when he was struck and killed in the street.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Kristine Kerr on Friday sentenced Lewis-Jones Friday to two life sentences on two counts of second-degree murder plus 17 years in prison for assault and armed criminal action charges. A life sentence in Missouri is calculated at 30 years before someone is eligible for parole.

Assistant prosecutor Robert Steele said during Lewis-Jones trial that the shooting showed no regard for life.

It looked like Bonnie and Clyde over a parking space, he said.

Lewis-Jones brother, Mequall Mickey West-Jones, was a co-defendant in the case and pleaded guilty in August 2021 to two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree assault and four counts of armed criminal action. He was sentenced to six concurrent life terms in prison plus 10 more years.

Lewis-Jones four-day trial included testimony from detectives and eyewitnesses to the shooting in the 8200 block of Canyon Drive. Witnesses who said the conflict started with a fight involving Lewis-Jones girlfriend and several other women over parking.

Langston, the worked killed by a stray bullet, was an avid motorcyclist and a longtime member of the Kirkwood-based Royal Crown Motorcycle Club. His wife, Sharon Langston, told the Post-Dispatch in 2018 that they were inseparable and had celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary at a steakhouse a couple of days before he was shot.

He was just an innocent victim, she said of her husband. And now my friend is gone, and I want to let (West-Jones) know I forgive him and ask the Lord to take that hate from me.
BOSTON  Massachusetts has joined a small but growing number of states adopting universal free school meals programs.

Spending for the program was included in an overdue $55.98 billion state budget signed into law by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday. The budget covers the 2024 fiscal year that began July 1.

The budget includes spending on schools, child care, workforce development, public transit, housing, climate resiliency and other key areas that will help make Massachusetts more affordable, competitive and equitable, said Healey, signing her first budget as governor.

The budget will also make community college free for students aged 25 and older, expand grants for early education and care providers, increase funding for apprenticeships and other workforce development programs, and dedicate one percent of the budget to energy and the environment for the first time, she added.

About $172 million in permanent funding is also included in the budget to provide universal school meals for public school students in kindergarten through high school.

Healey called the school lunch program an investment in childhood nutrition thats also removing a source of stress from our schools and our homes.

The meals programs will save families about $1,200 per student, per year, Senate President Karen Spilka said.

House Speaker Ronald Mariano, a fellow Democrat, said that as a former schoolteacher he saw firsthand the importance of ensuring that children have access to food during the school day.

The school lunch program is something Im extremely proud of, said Mariano who taught school for 12 years and served on a local school committee. I know the stresses of being in the classroom and seeing kids come in from the projects hungry, falling asleep at their desks because they havent eaten since lunch the day before.

Mariano said he sees the program as part of a larger effort to target childhood hunger.

As of July, at least seven states  California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont  have established optional or mandatory universal school meal programs for schools participating in national school lunch and school breakfast programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Six states mandate district participation and pay for the programs through general revenues or education funds. Colorado doesnt mandate district participation and funds universal meals through a voter-passed tax measure that reduces income tax deductions for households earning $300,000 or more.

Some states began looking for ways to create universal meals programs after a federal pandemic-era program that provided free meals for all public school students ended last year.

Ensuring that all student have access to lunches helps break down the stigma of receiving free meals, said activists who have pushed for the change.

Universality means every kid has the food they need, no questions asked, said Erin McAleer, president of the nonprofit Project Bread, who helped lead the push in Massachusetts. Eliminating labels of haves and have nots is long overdue. This milestone transforms a system that has been broken for decades.

For the first time, the Massachusetts budget also incorporates an estimated $1 billion in projected new revenue generated from the voter-approved millionaire tax amendment to the state constitution. The budget splits the new revenue between education and transportation initiatives.

Healey said she also issued more than $200 million in vetoes to the budget delivered to her desk by state lawmakers.

Fellow Democrats, who hold overwhelming majorities in both the Massachusetts House and Senate, will have the chance to override the vetoes if they want.
LONDON  The breathtaking development of artificial intelligence has dazzled users by composing music, creating images and writing essays, while also raising fears about its implications. Even European Union officials working on groundbreaking rules to govern the emerging technology were caught off guard by AI's rapid rise.

The 27-nation bloc proposed the Western world's first AI rules two years ago, focusing on reining in risky but narrowly focused applications. General purpose AI systems like chatbots were barely mentioned. Lawmakers working on the AI Act considered whether to include them but weren't sure how, or even if it was necessary.

"Then ChatGPT kind of boom, exploded," said Dragos Tudorache, a Romanian member of the European Parliament co-leading the measure. "If there was still some that doubted as to whether we need something at all, I think the doubt was quickly vanished."

The release of ChatGPT last year captured the world's attention because of its ability to generate human-like responses based on what it has learned from scanning vast amounts of online materials. With concerns emerging, European lawmakers moved swiftly in recent weeks to add language on general AI systems as they put the finishing touches on the legislation.

The EU's AI Act could become the de facto global standard for artificial intelligence, with companies and organizations potentially deciding that the sheer size of the bloc's single market would make it easier to comply than develop different products for different regions.

"Europe is the first regional bloc to significantly attempt to regulate AI, which is a huge challenge considering the wide range of systems that the broad term 'AI' can cover," said Sarah Chander, senior policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi.

Authorities worldwide are scrambling to figure out how to control the rapidly evolving technology to ensure that it improves people's lives without threatening their rights or safety. Regulators are concerned about new ethical and societal risks posed by ChatGPT and other general purpose AI systems, which could transform daily life, from jobs and education to copyright and privacy.

The White House recently brought in the heads of tech companies working on AI including Microsoft, Google and ChatGPT creator OpenAI to discuss the risks, while the Federal Trade Commission has warned that it wouldn't hesitate to crack down.

China has issued draft regulations mandating security assessments for any products using generative AI systems like ChatGPT. Britain's competition watchdog has opened a review of the AI market, while Italy briefly banned ChatGPT over a privacy breach.

The EU's sweeping regulations  covering any provider of AI services or products  are expected to be approved by a European Parliament committee Thursday, then head into negotiations between the 27 member countries, Parliament and the EU's executive Commission.

European rules influencing the rest of the world  the so-called Brussels effect  previously played out after the EU tightened data privacy and mandated common phone-charging cables, though such efforts have been criticized for stifling innovation.

Attitudes could be different this time. Tech leaders including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak have called for a six-month pause to consider the risks.

Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the "Godfather of AI," and fellow AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio voiced their concerns last week about unchecked AI development.

Tudorache said such warnings show the EU's move to start drawing up AI rules in 2021 was "the right call."

Google, which responded to ChatGPT with its own Bard chatbot and is rolling out AI tools, declined to comment. The company has told the EU that "AI is too important not to regulate."

Microsoft, a backer of OpenAI, did not respond to a request for comment. It has welcomed the EU effort as an important step "toward making trustworthy AI the norm in Europe and around the world."

15 things AI can (and can't) do AI and its limits Can: Be trained and 'learn' Cannot: Get into college Can: Perpetuate bias Can: Identify images and sounds Cannot : Drive a car Cannot: Judge beauty contests Can: Read and classify text and documents Cannot: Watch (and understand) a soccer match Can: Flip burgers Can: Make investments Cannot: Help itself from buying things Can: Raise billions of cockroaches on a farm Cannot: Be creative Can: Clean your teeth Can: Pollinate flowers
Americans count on the Food and Drug Administration to be guided by science  not public opinion or politics. Without a high scientific standard, it couldnt fulfill its mission of ensuring that our food, medicines, and cosmetics are safe.

Yet recently, the agency  which is staffed by about two-thirds scientists and one-third bureaucrats  has shown deep politicization on the subject of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes.

In June 2021, the FDA acting commissioner told Congress the agency was focusing e-cigarette regulation on the products with the biggest market share, as these have the largest impact on public health. That meant the agencys targets included brands like Juul and Vuse, which happen to be owned, respectively, by Big Tobacco heavyweights Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris) and Reynolds American. Those companies have considerable political sway, giving to election campaigns all over the country.

But just two months after the acting commissioners testimony, the FDA seemingly changed course, announcing marketing bans for 55,000 vape products made by three companies with notably small market shares. Strangely, products made by big-name, high market share companies like Juul werent covered by the order. Its practically impossible to know whether this sudden shift in priorities was the result of a pressure campaign from legislators and well-connected lobbyists. But its not an unreasonable conclusion to draw.

For those unfamiliar with vapes, they contain nicotine, which is derived from tobacco, but no actual tobacco, so they dont taste like traditional cigarettes. They can be made with just about any flavor, including tobacco and menthol as well as fruits and other foods.

In September 2021, the FDA promptly ordered more than five million vaping products off the market, the majority owned by small and medium-sized companies. At the same time, the agency said it was delaying review of the markets biggest players  Vuse, Juul, and NJOY, which is also owned by Altria. The favoritism was too obvious to ignore.

It also looked awfully whimsical. In spring 2022, some high-ranking lawmakers stepped up criticism of the FDA for its failure to remove Juul products from the market. In late June 2022, it temporarily did so. This suggests an approach to regulation that simply bends to the loudest political pressure of the moment.

The FDAs ad-hoc policy making continues this year. In April and May, Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., repeatedly complained to the media about Elf Bar, a popular imported e-cigarette brand. The FDA capitulated once again, issuing orders in June for customs officials to seize Elf Bar shipments at U.S. ports.

Issuing regulations in this incoherent and deeply politicized way creates a confusing and uneven playing field for U.S. businesses  especially smaller ones that dont have deep enough pockets to wield major political influence.

It also goes directly against the FDAs aim of protecting Americans health. Politicians have for years waged war on youth vaping, but in so doing, theyve ignored the real health benefits of e-cigarettes for adults who want to quit smoking. Some 28.3 million Americans smoke, and nearly half a million die each year from smoking-related illnesses.

E-cigarettes can provide a substitute or offramp from the regular kind. Studies demonstrate conclusively that vaping helps lifelong smokers quit. And the science is very clear that vaping is far less dangerous than smoking cigarettes. A recent U.K. study found e-cigarettes to be 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

Yet U.S. politicians  and the FDA administrators who so faithfully respond to their whims  continue to try to bar all non-tobacco-flavored vapes, based on the unsubstantiated notion that a strawberry or mango vape is strictly a tool to get kids addicted, and cant possibly help adults who need to quit smoking.

In a friends-of-the-court brief filed before the Supreme Court this summer, a group of eight public health experts wrote that poor regulation of [electronic nicotine delivery systems] based on flawed scientific reasoning will lead to unintended consequences and could do more harm than good for public health.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves in just such a sea of poor regulation. The FDA needs to get back to a decision-making process based on science. Our very health depends on it.

Stacy Washington hosts Stacy on the Right on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125, airing nightly 9 p.m. to midnight. She lives in Town & Country.
What kind of a governor would Jay Ashcroft be? Apparently, one who prioritizes culture-war stunts over his statutory duties, over public opinion and even over the core principles of his own self-professed conservatism.

That assessment is reinforced by the latest act in the ongoing political circus from Missouris Republican secretary of state, this one related to ESG investments that dare to take into account environmental and social concerns. Ashcroft is once again making targeted Missourians  voters, librarians, and now investors  jump though every hoop he can think of in his quest to display how tough-on-woke he can be for next years GOP gubernatorial primary voters.

Ashcroft has previously championed restricting voting rights, censoring public libraries and improperly sabotaging a proposed abortion-rights referendum. As reported by The Kansas City Beacon, he has now imposed a new rule that will require financial advisers and institutions to get signed disclosure forms from investors when the investment takes into account ESG scores (environmental, social and governance) rather than just maximum profit.

Like Ashcrofts lead role in creating Missouris unnecessary and burdensome voter ID law, and his imposition this year of unnecessary and burdensome new rules on what books public libraries can shelve, his ESG rule is an ideologically loaded solution in search of a problem. Both the Sierra Club and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce  not exactly familiar bedfellows  say its a bad idea.

Its not as if firms are being secretive about investment strategies that take into account issues like climate change and LGBTQ rights. The whole point of such strategies is to appeal to investors who want to grow their money responsibly.

And its not as if anyone in the real world (as opposed to the echo chamber of performative Republican politics) was clamoring for this rule. The lack of clamor was driven home by the fact that the Legislatures Republican majority this session tried and failed to pass a package of anti-ESG legislation that included restrictions similar to the ones Ashcroft has now unilaterally imposed.

As a Sierra Club official told The Kansas City Beacon, the new rule manages all at once to be anti-free market, anti-social responsibility and anti-environmental.

A Chamber of Commerce official, meanwhile, complains that the rule is so vaguely worded that you could look at it and almost every single transaction, you could say, theoretically, youre going to need this consent form.

The Chamber also complained that its attempts to work with Ashcrofts office to improve the language resulted in a slight tweak that didnt address the problem.

That should sound familiar. When Ashcroft earlier this year rolled out his library censorship plan, and a mandated public-comment period drew what appeared to be strong disapproval from the public, he responded by tweaking the plan and then putting it into effect despite the continuing public opposition.

Ashcroft was able to unilaterally impose the new ESG restrictions because the Missouri secretary of states office is one of the few in America that is tasked with regulating securities. We would argue that this move is a nakedly political abuse of that statutory power.

And its not the first. In addition to misusing his power over public library funding to censor libraries, Ashcroft is currently facing litigation for failing to offer a non-biased summary of the pending abortion-rights referendum as he is legally required to do. His proposed summary, stating that the referendum would allow for dangerous, unregulated, and unrestricted abortions, may work as a campaign bumper sticker. But its a brazen violation of his statutory duty to offer language that is neither intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice either for or against the proposed measure.

These seemingly disparate issues should be understood as part of the same political theme: The GOP so completely dominates Missouri politics today that the only thing a Republican gubernatorial candidate has to worry about is preventing fellow Republicans from getting to his right in the primaries.

Ashcroft, taking no chances, has shown again and again that hes willing to abuse the considerable power of the secretary of states office in service to that imperative. With that in mind, voters of all parties should think hard about whether they want the powers of the governors office in his hands.
President Tinubu has been in office since March 2023 and concentrated on his pledges to reduce corruption in the Nigerian government. One of his first acts was to order an audit of the central bank to be followed by an audit of the federal payroll. The current economic crisis has made endemic and epidemic corruption more visible. This is very visible in the oil production industry, which has greatly inflated costs because of corruption. Higher oil prices are canceled by declines in production caused by criminals and corruption. Corruption inflates the cost of everything and reduces the quality of work done by the government, especially when it comes to infrastructure.

Nnamdi Azikiwe, who served as president from 1963 to 1966, was one of the key people working to obtain independence for Nigeria from British colonial rule. What is now Nigeria was a collection of separate kingdoms and tribal territories that Britain got involved with after it outlawed slavery in 1807 and began a decades-long campaign to suppress the slave trade between African tribes and the Americas. Slavery was an ancient custom in most of Africa but American and European demand for more slaves led to more powerful tribes attacking weaker tribes to capture them as slaves for sale to American and European slave traders. In 1861 Britain took control of some portions of the Nigerian coast to deal with persistent slaving by inland tribes. Twenty years later Britain had control over more territory and installed a colonial government. This led to Nigerian nationalism and talented men like Nnamdi Azikiwe, to work for independence. When the 1960s Igbo rebellion broke out he advised the Igbo government for a few years before switching back to the Nigerian government.

After independence the biggest problem was corruption fed by the growing oil wealth coming from the oil fields in the south (the Niger River Delta). It was later calculated that about a trillion dollars of oil income was stolen between the 1960s and the present.

Back in 2004, Islamic terrorist violence in the northeast appeared and created some lasting problems. There are still millions of refugees plus substantial economic damage in the northeast (Borno State), where it all began. There seems to be no end in sight because of corruption, but more competent leadership in the security forces reduced the violence. All this was caused by a local group of Taliban wannabes calling themselves Boko Haram. Their activity in the capital of Borno State grew for a decade until in 2014 it seemed unstoppable. It took over a year for the government to finally muster sufficient military strength to cripple but not destroy Boko Haram. This did not get much media attention outside Africa, even though in 2014 Boko Haram killed more people than ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) did in Syria and Iraq. The main reason for Boko Haram gains in 2014 and 2015 was corruption in the army, which severely crippled effective counterterror efforts. By itself Boko Haram was too small to have much impact on a national scale but the inability to deal with this problem put a spotlight on the corruption that has hobbled all progress in Nigeria for decades.

A new president (a former general who is Moslem) was elected in early 2015 and made progress in changing the armys corrupt culture, but that is still a work in progress even though he was reelected in early 2019. More bad news was expected because of too many tribal feuds and too much corruption creating growing unrest throughout the country, which led to reduced oil income and further disputes over that, etc. This is especially bad down south in the oil producing region (the Niger River Delta). Violence against oil facilities continues. Worse, local politicians and business leaders had taken over the oil theft business.

Northern Moslems want more control over the federal government and the oil money. In northern and central Nigeria there is increasing violence as nomadic Moslem herders move south and clash with largely Christian farmers over land use and water supplies. For the last few years these tribal feuds have killed more people than Boko Haram. The situation is still capable of sliding into regional civil wars, over money and political power. Corruption and ethnic/tribal/religious rivalries threaten to trigger, at worse, another civil war and, at least more street violence and public anger.

August 10, 2023: In the northeast (Borno state) soldiers ambushed a group of armed Boko Haram members on a frequently used rural trail. Two of the Boko Haram men were killed and others fled, leaving behind their weapons and munitions.

August 5, 2023: The Nigerian Senate rejected president Tinubus request to send Nigerian troops into Niger to remove the recently installed military government. The Senate leaders believe the best way to intervene is with an ECOWAS force, which will take time to organize.

In the south (Port Harcourt), seven kilometers off the coast, an airstrike destroyed three boats carrying stolen oil. The air force also found and attacked a crude refinery set up by the oil thieves. These crude rural refineries produce cut-rate fuels for rural customers. These illegal refineries are easy to spot from the air and, when they are located, the army moves in via road or the navy via boat to shut them down. Sometimes the air force carries out an airstrike if speed is of the essence. The illegal refining business is so lucrative that losing several refineries every month or so is an affordable cost for a full time refining operation. The refinery personnel usually escape and build another crude refinery. The outlaws are armed, although they rarely fight back against the military raids.

July 26, 2023: In neighboring Niger there was a military coup. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria and chairman of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African states) warned the Niger coup leaders to restore the elected government. If that did not happen, Tinubu was prepared to organize and send an intervention force to restore the Niger government. Nigeria and ECOWAS have organized several peacekeeping operations and creating one for Niger was no idle threat. Nigerian armed forces have 135,000 troops on active duty while Niger has only 13,000. Nigeria spends over $3 billion on defense each year compared to $237 million for Niger. The Nigerian army has over a hundred tanks and more than 15,000 other armored vehicles compared to 728 armored vehicles in Niger. The Nigerian Air Force has 144 combat aircraft, including jets and helicopters. Niger has 16 military aircraft. The Niger coup leaders did not immediately reply to the Nigerian demands. Nigeria would most likely provide the bulk of the troops for an ECOWAS peacekeeping effort in Niger.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / GOBEL, the world's leading consulting and technology firm exclusively serving healthcare philanthropy, is proud to announce the formation of its Corporate Advisory Board. Comprised of some of the most distinguished individuals in healthcare senior leadership positions, the Board will bring its collective wealth of expertise and experience to support GOBEL's commitment to delivering transformational philanthropic services to its clients.

GOBEL's Corporate Advisory Board is a unique and influential entity in healthcare philanthropy. The broad range of board members' expertise in finance, strategy, healthcare operations, investment management, and technology guides GOBEL's increasing growth and success. In 2022 alone, GOBEL, motivated by the belief that gratitude drives impactful giving, helped its clients raise over $1.5 billion - making it its most prolific year to date with nearly triple-digit revenue growth. The Board's collective knowledge and insights have also aided GOBEL in facilitating important discussions and producing thought leadership about innovation in philanthropy and the evolving landscape of healthcare.

GOBEL's Corporate Advisory Board is comprised of the following industry leaders:

Gary Conner, Chair - Retired Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Tower Health, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Suncoast Health System, and Chief Financial Officer at City of Hope

Jim Blazar - Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health

Marissa Goldberg - Chief Executive Officer at Doheny Eye Institute

Nathan Heater - Deputy Chief Investment Officer at SSM Health

Dr. Bruce Lytle - Retired Chairman of the Heart & Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic and Founder of Bruce Lytle & Associates Consulting

Michael Malewicz - Vice President of Investments & Partnerships at Navitus Health Solutions

Neil Meltzer - President & CEO of LifeBridge Health

Prag Shah - Growth & Transformation Executive, former President of WealthEngine

Edward Sim - Executive Vice President of Universal Health Services and President of Acute Care Division

Matt Wagner - Director of Strategic Finance & Transactions at CommonSpirit Health

Fatema Zanzi - Hospital Chief Legal Officer

"We are grateful to benefit from such an exceptional group of healthcare leaders," said Chad Gobel, Founder & CEO of GOBEL. "Their wealth of experience and diverse perspectives have been and will continue to be instrumental in shaping our strategies, enhancing our services, and ensuring we continue to provide the highest level of support to our clients." For more information about GOBEL and its Corporate Advisory Board, please visit GOBEL's Our Team webpage.

For more information, contact Grace Castilow, PR Manager, at [email protected].

About GOBEL

GOBEL is the world's leading consulting and technology firm in healthcare philanthropy. They offer clients the most comprehensive solution for building a robust philanthropy program, using data and analytics to advise clients in organizational assessments, campaigns, grateful patient programs, major gifts and clinical training, and more. GOBEL also provides clients with primary and secondary research, along with peer analysis and benchmarking. Its team of 50+ seasoned healthcare development professionals and clinicians comes from the top medical centers in the nation. They bring more than 750 years of collective healthcare philanthropy experience to their client engagements and have worked with over 1,000 hospitals and health systems in their history.

Contact Information

Grace Castilow

Public Relations Manager

[email protected]

9419142687

SOURCE: GOBEL

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 11. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expected to provide a senior loan of up to $9 million to support Uzbekistan's Ipoteka Bank (IB), Trend reports.

According to the bank, this financing will go along with concessional finance of up to $1 million from the TaiwanICDF. The support is expected to be provided through the Green Economy Financing Facility II in Uzbekistan (GEFF II Uzbekistan) program. This funding is intended to aid IB in offering loans to eligible clients.

The funds from the EBRD will be directed towards on-lending to eligible Sub-borrowers, encompassing both businesses and individuals, including women and men, who are executing qualifying sub-projects aligned with the technical and financial criteria outlined in the GEFF II Uzbekistan Policy Statement. The loan agreement also entails that IB will enhance its ability to incorporate gender considerations into its green lending endeavors.

Ranked as the 5th largest bank in Uzbekistan based on total assets and holding a market share of approximately 7.9 percent by the close of 2022, IB operates through 39 branches and 122 service centers. Recently, OTP Group obtained a majority state (73.71 percent) in IB, making it the first foreign strategic investor to acquire a major bank within Uzbekistan's banking sector. OTP Group, a prominent financial group in Hungary, holds ratings of Baa1 (0)/BBB-(0) from Moody's and S&P as of May 2023.

Meanwhile, the EBRD's portfolio in Uzbekistan includes 16 completed projects with a total value of 391.3 million euros, covering areas such as water and sanitation, energy, district heating, transport, and small and medium business support.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2023 / South Star Battery Metals Corp. ("South Star" or the "Company") (TSXV:STS)(OTCQB: STSBF), is pleased to announce that further to its news release dated July 14, 2023, it has received final clearance relating to one subscriber who will become an insider of the Company upon closing of the private placement (the "Private Placement") through ownership of in excess of 10 percent of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares. Following confirmation that the subscriber's personal information form has been reviewed and cleared by the TSX-V, the Company issued an aggregate of 7,373,884 units ("Units") to the subscriber and the subscriber's funds in the aggregate amount of $3,908,158.52 are now available to the Company. Proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for exploration, development, construction activities, corporate G&A and general working capital requirements.

Each Unit consists of one (1) common share of the Company and one (1) common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one (1) additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of $1.25 per share for a period of five years from the date of issue. The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause (described in more detail below). The securities issued to the subscriber pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period ending December 12, 2023.

Acceleration Clause

The acceleration clause of the Warrants will provide that, if, during any period of ten (10) consecutive trading days between the date that is four (4) months following the closing of the Private Placement and the expiry of the Warrants, the daily volume weighted average trading price of the common shares of the Company on the TSXV (or such other stock exchange where the majority of the trading volume occurs) exceeds $2.50 on each day, the Company may, within thirty (30) days of such an occurrence, give written notice to the holders of the Warrants that all unexercised Warrants will expire at 4:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30th day following the giving of such notice. Upon receipt of such notice, the holders of the Warrants will have thirty (30) days to exercise their Warrants and any Warrants that remain unexercised will expire.

Early Warning Disclosure

FITPART FUND ADMINISTRATION SRVICES LTD. (the "Acquiror") acquired 7,373,884 Units on August 11, 2023. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one Warrant. Each Warrant entitles the Acquiror to acquire one additional common share of the Company for a period of five years from the closing of the Private Placement at an exercise price of $1.25 per share, subject to acceleration. The Acquiror previously held 4,500 shares, representing 0.01% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. Following the completion of the foregoing transaction, the Acquiror has control over 7,378,384 Common Shares and 7,373,884 Warrants representing approximately 17.63% of the Company's undiluted issued and outstanding Common Shares. Assuming exercise of all the Warrants, the Acquiror will hold 14,752,268 Common Shares of the Company, representing approximately 29.97% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a partially diluted basis.

The Acquiror acquired the Units through a private placement at a price of $0.53 per Unit for aggregate consideration of $3,908,158.52.

The Units were acquired for investment purposes. The Acquiror may acquire additional securities or dispose of securities of the Company in the future either on the open market, privately or otherwise depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans, other available investment and business opportunities and/or other relevant factors.

The disclosure respecting the Acquiror's shareholdings of the Company contained in this press release is made pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 62-104 - Take-Over Bids and Issuer Bids and a report respecting the above acquisition will be filed with the applicable securities commissions using the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) and will be available for viewing at www.sedar.com.

About South Star Battery Metals Corp

South Star Battery Metals Corp. is a Canadian battery metals project developer focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South Star's Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia, Brazil is the first of a series of industrial and battery metals projects that will be put into production. Brazil is the second-largest graphite-producing region in the world with more than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (>30t) has been completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65% of Cg concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% Cg. With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is fully funded for Phase 1, and the 12-month construction and commissioning are underway. Santa Cruz will be the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996 with Phase 1 commercial production projected in Q4 2023. Phase 2 production (25,000 tpy) is partially funded and planned for 2026, while Phase 3 (50,000 tpy) is scheduled for 2028.

South Star's second project in the development pipeline is strategically located in Alabama in the center of a developing electric vehicle, aerospace, and defense hub in the southeastern United States. The BamaStar Project is a historic mine active during World Wars I & II. A NI43-101 technical report with the maiden resource estimate has been filed on SEDAR. Trenching, phase 1 drilling, sampling, analysis, and preliminary metallurgical testing have been completed. The testing indicates a traditional crush/grind/flotation concentration circuit that achieved grades of approximately 94-97% Cg with approximately 86% recoveries. South Star is executing on its plan to create a multi-asset, diversified battery metals company with near-term operations in strategic jurisdictions. South Star trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol STSBF.

South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest standards of ESG principles based on transparency, stakeholder engagement, ongoing education, and stewardship. To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com .

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Pearce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals Corp.

On behalf of the Board,

Mr. Richard Pearce

Chief Executive Officer

For additional information, please contact:

South Star Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

+1 (604) 706-0212

Twitter: https://twitter.com/southstarbm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southstarbatterymetals

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southstarbatterymetals/

YouTube: South Star Battery Metals - YouTube

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: moving Santa Cruz into production and scaling operations as well as advancing the Alabama project; and the Company's plans and expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

SOURCE: South Star Battery Metals Corp.

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FDA established a PDUFA action date for ATI-1501 of September 23, 2023

Government funding committed to enable Appili to advance its biodefense vaccine candidate ATI-1701 towards an IND

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Appili Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:APLI; OTCQB: APLIF) (the Company or Appili), a biopharmaceutical company focused on drug development for infectious diseases and biodefense products, today announced its financial and operational results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30, 2023. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

"During this quarter, we executed an agreement with United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) for an initial amount of US$7.3million in funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and USAFA for our ATI-1701 vaccine, a crucial defense against Tularemia, which is a top-priority biothreat. Our partnership with USAFA and the recent agreement execution will enable us to advance this program towards an Investigational New Drug (IND), said Don Cilla, Pharm.D., M.B.A., President and Chief Executive Officer of Appili Therapeutics. "Additionally, securing US patent coverage through at least 2039 for ATI-1501, our Metronidazole formulation, is a significant milestone leading up to the anticipated FDA Prescription Drug User Fee (PDUFA) date on September 23, 2023. We look forward to receiving milestone payments and royalties from our partner, Saptalis Pharmaceuticals LLC ("Saptalis), in the coming quarters based on their submission and commercialization plans. These achievements are expected to position us with the required resources to continue to make progress in advancing our infectious disease assets."

Operational Highlights

On May 5, 2023, Appili executed an initial cooperative agreement with USAFA the previously announced funding of the ATI-1701 program. This agreement provides the first stage of funding from the previously announced US$14 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). This initial funding, in the amount of US$7.3 million, will be used to kick-off ATI-1701 early-stage development and regulatory activities. As the initial activities progress, Appili will submit proposals to USAFA for additional tranches of funding to continue development through IND submission. Under the terms of its agreement with USAFA, Appili will be reimbursed for direct costs and labour associated with budgeted program activities, plus will recover a portion of its overhead costs.

On May 24, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published patent claims for ATI-1501, Appilis liquid oral reformulation of the antibiotic metronidazole, under the U.S. Application No. 18/072,154, covering the composition and preparation methods. The patent extends protection for this formulation through 2039.

Appili completed the technology transfer of ATI-1801, a treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis, to the Companys contract manufacturing organization. Appili plans to request a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this year to discuss the previously generated Phase 3 data and agree on the necessary registration package to support a New Drug Application (NDA) submission, which the Company expects will include available nonclinical, manufacturing, and clinical data generated to date. To complete the remaining development work, Appili expects to pursue non-dilutive funding and partnership opportunities with NGOs and government agencies which share the Companys focus on tropical diseases.

Appili is actively evaluating the eligibility of ATI-1801 for a priority review voucher (PRV) which, if confirmed, would make ATI-1801 the second program at Appili that is potentially PRV eligible, joining ATI-1701.

Upcoming Milestones

The FDA established a PDUFA action date for ATI-1501 of September 23, 2023.

Appili expects to receive milestone payments for ATI-1501 in calendar Q3 2023 and Q4 2023 based on Saptalis NDA submission and commercialization plans.

Appili expects to receive first payments from USAFA for ATI-1701 in the coming weeks

Annual Financial Results

The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standard Board and Part I of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada HandbookAccounting. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

The net loss and comprehensive loss of $1.5 million or $0.01 loss per share for the three months ended June 30, 2023, was $0.8 million lower than the net loss and comprehensive loss of $2.3 million or $0.03 loss per share during the three months ended June 30, 2022. This relates mainly to an increase in government assistance of $0.8 million, an increase of $0.3 million in foreign exchange gains and a decrease in general and administrative expenses by $0.2 million. These decreases were offset by an increase in research and development expenses of $0.2 million, an increase in financing costs of $0.2 million and an increase in business development of $0.1 million.

As of June 30, 2023, the Company had cash of $0.5 million, compared to $2.5 million on March 31, 2023. In addition, the Company is dependent in large part on receiving the US$14 million DOD funding for the development of ATI-1701 in a timely manner. Due to delays in reimbursement for previously submitted invoices in the near term, Appili entered into a definitive agreement with respect to an unsecured $300,000 bridge loan from Bloom Burton & Co. Inc. For further details, please refer to the Companys managements discussion and analysis (the MD&A) for the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.

As of August 11, 2023, the Company had 121,266,120 issued and outstanding Common Shares, 7,842,000 stock options, and 58,247,879 warrants outstanding.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Companys unaudited interim condensed financial statements for the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year and the related MD&A, copies of which are available under the Companys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Appili Therapeutics

Appili Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that is purposefully built, portfolio-driven, and people-focused to fulfill its mission of solving life-threatening infectious diseases. By systematically identifying urgent infections with unmet needs, Appilis goal is to strategically develop a pipeline of novel therapies to prevent deaths and improve lives. The Company is currently advancing a diverse range of anti-infectives, including a vaccine candidate to eliminate a serious biological weapon threat, a topical antiparasitic for the treatment of a disfiguring disease, and a novel easy to use, liquid oral formulation targeting parasitic and anaerobic infections. Led by a proven management team, Appili is at the epicenter of the global fight against infection. For more information, visit www.AppiliTherapeutics.com.

Forward looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the funding commitment from USAFA and expected timing of invoice payment, further anticipated milestones and the timing thereof, the Companys development plans with respect to ATI-1501, ATI-1701 and ATI-1801, the anticipated PDUFA timing for ATI-1501, the timing of any milestone and/or royalty payments in respect of ATI-1501, potential PRV eligibility for ATI-1701 and ATI-1801 and the Companys expectations with respect to its ability to operate as a going concern and satisfy its ongoing working capital requirements. Wherever possible, words such as may, would, could, should, will, anticipate, believe, plan, expect, intend, estimate, potential for and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations of the Companys management for future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, those listed in the annual information form of the Company dated June 22, 2023, and the other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedarplus.ca). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Media:

Jenna McNeil, Communications Manager

Appili Therapeutics

E: [email protected]

Investor Relations:

Don Cilla, President and CEO

Appili Therapeutics

E: [email protected]

Source: Appili Therapeutics Inc.
Project Intends to Advance Californias Climate Leadership and Transformative Benefits to Local Communities

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Carbon TerraVault Holdings, LLC (CTV), a subsidiary of California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC), today announced that the California Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub has been selected to receive $11.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under its Regional DAC Hubs Initiative related to the proposed development of Californias first full-scale DAC plus storage (DAC+S) network of regional hubs. DAC+S is a solution that is intended to remove and then permanently store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) using low carbon emission energy and provide economic benefits to surrounding communities. This first DOE amount will be used to perform Front End Engineering Design (FEED) studies in 2024 on the proposed DAC facilities in Kern County, followed up with additional funding requests and planned development and construction potentially beginning in 2025. With selection for the DOE funding, the California DAC Hub is also eligible for additional funding from the California Energy Commission.

The California DAC Hub is being led by CTV Direct, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CTV focused exclusively on DAC+S; Kern Community College District (KernCCD), the community benefits plan lead; and EPRI, a non-profit energy research and development institute. The California DAC Hub consortium is comprised of approximately 40 organizations from across industry, community, tribes, government, technology, national labs, academia, labor, and workforce development. The California DAC Hub is expected to help accelerate the Golden States climate leadership and achieve its carbon neutrality goal. It also plans to prioritize surrounding under-represented California communities through transformative benefits potentially including:

Helping optimize the use of renewable energy

Utilization of reclaimed water and/or production of new water

Quality union jobs in construction and low carbon energy technologies

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and energy transition education programs

The California DAC Hub consortium is pursuing funding to develop a network of DAC+S hubs across the state under the DOEs Regional DAC Hubs Initiative, as outlined under the $3.5 billion Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), to accelerate the commercialization of atmospheric CO2 removal via integrated capture, processing, transport, and secure permanent geologic storage. CO2 from DAC+S hubs will not be used for enhanced oil recovery. Key to the success of the California DAC Hub will be strong relationships with diverse community stakeholders to develop an equitable, just, and environmentally responsible approach to the project.

The first hub is planned to launch in Kern County, California, and the consortium will look to expand to other locations across the state. Each hub is expected to provide tangible energy transition benefits to surrounding communities, such as high-paying and permanent jobs and workforce development programs for this cutting-edge industry, to help California progress toward its 2030 and 2045 carbon removal goals.

"We are thrilled with being awarded this DOE funding to create California DAC Hub and help California meet its ambitious climate goals," said Chris Gould, CRC Chief Sustainability Officer and CTV Managing Director. "Innovative solutions such as DAC+S are important to help decarbonize our economy and I cannot imagine a better group than our California DAC Hub consortium, which is made up of amazing and passionate organizations who are committed to working together and excited to take the next step to accelerate the energy transition, and benefit working families throughout our California communities."

"KernCCD is honored to lead the community benefits plan through the lens of equity," said Zav Dadabhoy, KernCCD Deputy Chancellor. "As we embrace the technology that will create the jobs of the future, it is incumbent to ensure that the wealth created in the process benefits the people and communities where the projects are located. By working with employers to create good jobs and career pathways, we ensure two-way engagement, transparency and that the benefits are invested to support a clean energy economy, especially in our rural areas. Congratulations to the California DAC Hub team for bringing together community partners, tribes, national labs, technology, academia, federal, state and local officials, and industry to make this happen."

"The next phase of the energy transition will require both emerging low-carbon technologies and the infrastructure to support them," said Neva Espinoza, EPRI Vice President, Energy Supply and Low-Carbon Resources. "This consortium aims to drive fundamental advancements on both fronts through a collaborative focus on direct air capture technology and the CO2 sequestration required to realize its carbon reduction benefits."

Led by CTV Direct, KernCCD and EPRI, the California DAC Hub consortium includes the following organizations and may expand as appropriate based on further community engagement and future regional hub locations:

Industry  Accenture, AECOM, Bloom Energy, Brookfield Renewable, Carbon TerraVault, EPRI, GeothermEx, GreenFire Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Sage Geosystems, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)

 Accenture, AECOM, Bloom Energy, Brookfield Renewable, Carbon TerraVault, EPRI, GeothermEx, GreenFire Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Sage Geosystems, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) Technology  Avnos and Climeworks

 Avnos and Climeworks Academia  Bakersfield College, CSUB, Taft College, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Carbon Management

 Bakersfield College, CSUB, Taft College, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Carbon Management National Labs  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Community  African American Network of Kern County (AANKC), B3K Prosperity, Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), Grandma Whoople Enterprises, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, KernCCD, Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (KCHCC), Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), National Impact Mentoring and Training Program (NIMTP), The Open Door Network, Tejon Indian Tribe, and the West Side Recreation & Park District

 African American Network of Kern County (AANKC), B3K Prosperity, Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), Grandma Whoople Enterprises, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, KernCCD, Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (KCHCC), Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), National Impact Mentoring and Training Program (NIMTP), The Open Door Network, Tejon Indian Tribe, and the West Side Recreation & Park District Government  City of Bakersfield, Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), and the West Kern Water District (WKWD)

 City of Bakersfield, Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), and the West Kern Water District (WKWD) Labor  Employers Training Resource (ETR), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)  Local 428; International Union of Operating Engineers  Local 12, Kern, Inyo, Mono Counties Building Trades Council, and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC)

CTV is committed to engaging with our community-based organizations and including them throughout the development of the California DAC Hub and future associated regional hubs. Open and meaningful dialogue with our diverse stakeholders is a priority for the consortium as we expand the participation of organizations and local communities.

Thank you to the organizations and legislators that support DAC and the California DAC Hub.

"California is pioneering new solutions to fight climate change," said California Governor Gavin Newsom. "Its not enough to cut emissions  we have to go further by actively removing carbon pollution from the atmosphere. This project will be the first of its kind in our state and will help us meet our world-leading climate goals."

"This Department of Energy award is an important first step to help meet Californias climate goals," said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. "The California DAC Hub community benefits plan developed in partnership with local communities will deliver economic and environmental benefits. I look forward to working with the California DAC Hub Consortium on this project which will serve as a HUB model across California."

"The investment and high road job opportunities that come with the grant of a Direct Air Capture Hub will allow California to build upon our current emission reduction strategies and reach our climate change goals with greater determination," said California State Senator Anna M. Caballero. "With its location in the Central Valley, the Direct Air Capture Hub will both be a boost to our local economy and launch the next phase of carbon reduction climate action in California and the nation. I look forward to supporting its implementation and working to ensure we use this opportunity to its utmost potential."

About Carbon TerraVault Holdings

Carbon TerraVault Holdings, LLC (CTV), a subsidiary of CRC, provides services that include the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide for its customers. CTV is engaged in a series of CCS projects that inject carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from industrial sources into depleted underground reservoirs and permanently store CO2 deep underground. CTV Direct is a wholly owned subsidiary of CTV focused on direct air capture. For more information, visit www.carbonterravault.com.

About EPRI

Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI's trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, affordable, and equitable access to electricity across the globe. Together, we are shaping the future of energy.

About Kern Community College District

Kern Community College District (KernCCD) serves more than 33,000 students in communities over 24,800 square miles in parts of Kern, Tulare, Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino counties through the programs of Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso College, and Porterville College.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that we believe to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than historical facts are forward-looking statements, and include statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, projected revenues, earnings, costs, capital expenditures and plans and objectives of management for the future. Words such as expect, could, may, "anticipate, intend, plan, ability, believe, seek, "see, will, would, estimate, forecast, target, guidance, outlook, opportunity or strategy or similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. Although CRC believes the expectations and forecasts reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are inherently subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. No assurance can be given that such forward-looking statements will be correct or achieved or that the assumptions are accurate or will not change over time. Particular uncertainties that could cause our actual results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: legislative or regulatory changes, including those related to direct air capture and the availability of related tax credits; our ability to successfully develop and finance direct air capture projects, including our ability to obtain funding from the federal government and other financing sources; availability or timing of, or conditions imposed on, permits and approvals necessary for direct air capture and other carbon management projects; and the other risks and uncertainties set forth in the CRCs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (especially in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors and Part II, Item 7. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) and in the CRCs other filings with the SEC. There may be other factors of which CRC is not currently aware that may affect matters discussed in the forward-looking statements and may also cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. CRC does not assume any obligation to publicly update or supplement any forward-looking statement to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof or as of the dates indicated in the statement.

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Richard Venn (Media)

818-661-6014

[email protected]

Joanna Park (Investor Relations)

818-661-3731

[email protected]

Source: California Resources Corporation
Annually, a portion of net proceeds from August sales of the Double Chocolate + Peanut Butter Chips MacroBar benefits Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

VIOLA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GoMacro, known for its organic, plant-based nutrition bars, is excited to partner with Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for the fourth year in a row. Born from a familys passion for Kenya and its wilderness, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was established in 1977 as a pioneering conservation organization dedicated to protecting Africas wildlife and preserving habitats for the future of all wild species. Best known for their Orphans Project, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust not only operates the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world, but also embraces all measures that complement the conservation, preservation, and protection of wildlife. Annually, a portion of net proceeds from Smooth Sanctuary MacroBars sold throughout the month of August will be donated to the Kenya-based nonprofit organization.

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Double Chocolate + Peanut Butter Chips (Photo: Business Wire)

Partnering with Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is one more way we live out our company principles to Tread Lightly and Give Back, says Jola Sonkin, CEO and Co-Founder of GoMacro. Their holistic approach to providing both protection to animals and conservation of key habitats is aligned with our mission to have a positive impact on the planet.

In addition to supporting the nonprofit's efforts with the annual Give Back Bar, GoMacro has also adopted a young elephant named Dololo through the Orphans Project. Dololo was rescued by the trust just outside Kenyas Tsavo East National Park after receiving a report of a calf submerged in a dam overnight with only his trunk raised for breath. Thanks to the nonprofit, and with donations from supporters like GoMacro, the orphaned elephant is receiving the medical care, nourishment, and enrichment he needs to eventually return to a wild herd.

As a family-founded company, were proud to support a family-founded organization leading the effort in protecting the unique wildlife and environment of East Africa. Were excited to continue our partnership with an organization that has international impact, says Sonkin.

In addition to the Smooth Sanctuary MacroBar, GoMacro offers three other Give Back Bars Everlasting Joy, Protein Replenishment, and Sunny Uplift benefiting nonprofits Feeding San Diego, Solutions for Change, Farm Sanctuary, and the Keep A Breast Foundation during dedicated times of each year.

The Double Chocolate + Peanut Butter Chips MacroBar is available for purchase at retailers nationwide, Amazon, and gomacro.com.

About GoMacro

GoMacro is the transformative leader in healthy and delicious plant-based protein and nutrition bars. Mother-daughter owned and based in a small rural community, their mission is to spread awareness for a balanced, plant-based lifestyle with products that make a positive impact on the planet. The GoMacro facility is powered by 100% renewable energy, and all MacroBars are made with high-quality, sustainably sourced, plant-based ingredients to help you have a healthy body, sharp mind, and bold spirit. Follow @gomacro on socials and learn more at www.gomacro.com.

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[email protected]

Source: GoMacro
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Momentum Ventures, the parent company behind online travel agencies FlightHub and JustFly.com, joins the global aviation community in celebrating the strides achieved in electric aviation. The company recognizes the profound potential of electric airplanes in reshaping the industry, ushering in a new era of air travel solutions that are both sustainable and environmentally friendly.

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The rise of electric aviation, exemplified by pioneering endeavors like Eviations Alice, marks a significant turning point in the perception and experience of air travel. According to The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Electric aircraft can provide a 49% to 88% reduction in CO2e emissions relative to fossil-fueled reference aircraft and can be 2.1 to 3.2 times more energy efficient during cruise.

"While we aren't engaged in electric airplane manufacturing, we enthusiastically welcome the positive influence they impart on the aviation sector," affirmed Matt Keezer, CEO of Momentum Ventures. "Electric airplanes harmonize with our core values of promoting sustainability and advancement within the travel industry."

Electric airplanes hold the promise of substantially reducing carbon emissions and operational expenses, presenting a revolutionary answer for short-haul and regional flights. While Momentum Ventures predominantly operates within the flight and travel sector, its endorsement of sustainable practices also encompasses broader initiatives aimed at fostering beneficial transformations.

Matt Keezer emphasized, "Collaboration across the industry is vital for maximizing the benefits of electric aviation. Momentum Ventures recognizes the importance of partnerships to address challenges related to battery technology, infrastructure, and supply chains."

As FlightHub and JustFly.com continue to excel within their respective roles, Momentum Ventures remains dedicated to endorsing and supporting initiatives that contribute to a sustainable aviation future.

About Momentum Ventures

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Momentum Ventures is a company committed to creating and growing startups that have the potential to make a significant impact in their industries. Momentum Ventures has created several successful online companies including FlightHub, one of North America's largest online travel agencies with annual sales of 3B per year. Since its founding in 2014, Momentum Ventures' focus on execution excellence and teamwork, combined with an extraordinary level of grit and commitment has helped them establish a reputation for creating successful startups.

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Press

Ayoub Hissar

[email protected]

+1 514 758 5102

Source: Momentum Ventures
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp. (Tel-Instrument, TIC, or the Company) (OTCQB: TIKK), a leading designer and manufacturer of avionics test and measurement solutions, today reported a net income of $295K ($0.07 per basic and $0.06 per diluted share) on revenues of $2.9 million for the first quarter of 2024 fiscal year, ended June 30, 2023.

Notes On First Quarter:

Revenues for the first quarter were $2.9 million, a 27% increase from $2.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

The gross margin percentage increased to 45% versus 37% in the year-ago quarter.

Operating expenses decreased by $205K, a 19% decline versus the year ago level as a result of funded engineering projects.

Operating income was $420K as compared to an operating loss of $244K in the year ago quarter.

Net income was $295K or $0.07 per share, compared to net loss of $233K or $(0.10) per share in the year-ago quarter.

The Company recorded $706K in positive cash-flow from operating activities for the quarter with cash balances improving to $6.5 million.

Backlog decreased to $5.3 million at the end of the first quarter, a $1.2 million decrease from the prior quarter-end.

Additionally, the Kansas Appellate Court denied our appeal motion on July 21, 2023. We continue to explore available options for next steps, including filing a further appeal.

Mr. Jeffrey OHara, Tel-Instruments President and CEO commented: We were extremely disappointed with the decision of the Kansas Appellate Court and are currently evaluating whether to pay the full judgment amount or appeal the decision to the Kansas Supreme Court. We were pleased with the revenue growth and profitability for the first quarter, although parts availability and lead times continue to hamper production. We are predicting solid growth for the remainder of this fiscal year. Notable orders received in the second quarter include a $875k TS-4530A software upgrade project for the U.S. Army and a $1.7 million order for Germany for T-4530i units. This T-4530i order has been received by our European distributor and we are waiting for them to issue the purchase order to TIC. We have also submitted a quote for 111 MADL test sets totaling $1.5 million and we expect a contract award this year. Additionally, TIC has $2 million of remaining funding for the CRAFT ECP. The Test Readiness Review (TRR) will take place late in the Spring of 2024 and this is expected to generate an additional $1.2 million of revenues. The production contract should commence later next year and is expected to generate annual revenues of up to $5 million per year. The SDR/OMNI continues to receive positive reviews from our customers, and we expect larger volume orders to start this Fall.

From a cash perspective, we have sufficient liquidity to pay the Aeroflex judgment amount in full if we elect not to appeal. TICs Board has also indicated its willingness to invest additional capital if needed to support our growth plans.

About Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp.

Tel-Instrument is a leading designer and manufacturer of avionics test and measurement solutions for the global commercial air transport, general aviation, and government/military aerospace and defense markets. Tel-Instrument provides instruments to test, measure, calibrate, and repair a wide range of airborne navigation and communication equipment. For further information please visit our website at www.telinstrument.com.

This press release includes statements that are not historical in nature and may be characterized as forward-looking statements, including those related to future financial and operating results, benefits, and synergies of the combined companies, statements concerning the Companys outlook, pricing trends, and forces within the industry, the completion dates of capital projects, expected sales growth, cost reduction strategies, and their results, long-term goals of the Company and other statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. All predictions as to future results contain a measure of uncertainty and, accordingly, actual results could differ materially. Among the factors which could cause a difference are: changes in the general economy; changes in demand for the Companys products or in the cost and availability of its raw materials; the actions of its competitors; the success of our customers; technological change; changes in employee relations; government regulations; litigation, including its inherent uncertainty; difficulties in plant operations and materials; transportation, environmental matters; and other unforeseen circumstances. A number of these factors are discussed in the Companys previous filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Act) protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.

TEL-INSTRUMENT ELECTRONICS CORP. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS June 30, 2023 March 31, 2023 (unaudited) ASSETS Current assets: Cash $ 4,531,637 $ 3,839,398 Accounts receivable, net 1,237,544 900,881 Inventories, net 3,606,661 3,586,065 Restricted cash to support appeal bond 2,011,133 2,011,083 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 244,448 817,625 Total current assets 11,631,423 11,155,052 Equipment and leasehold improvements, net 86,876 85,167 Operating lease right-of-use assets 1,476,765 1,526,551 Deferred tax asset, net 2,547,388 2,627,935 Other long-term assets 35,109 35,109 Total assets $ 15,777,561 $ 15,429,814 LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY Current liabilities: Line of credit $ 690,000 $ 690,000 Operating lease liabilities  current portion 204,065 202,087 Accounts payable 313,222 322,582 Deferred revenues - current portion 107,296 123,117 Accrued expenses vacation pay, payroll and payroll withholdings 304,450 240,034 Accrued legal damages 6,430,943 6,360,698 Accrued expenses - other 166,046 157,896 Total current liabilities 8,216,022 8,096,414 Operating lease liabilities  long-term 1,272,700 1,324,464 Other long term liabilities 51,438 53,416 Deferred revenues  long-term 157,203 173,883 Total liabilities 9,697,363 9,648,177 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders equity: Preferred stock, 1,000,000 shares authorized, par value $0.10 per share Preferred stock, 500,000 shares 8% Cumulative Series A Convertible Preferred authorized, issued and outstanding, par value $0.10 per share 3,935,998 3,875,998 Preferred stock, 166,667 shares 8% Cumulative Series B Convertible Preferred authorized, issued and outstanding, par value $0.10 per share 1,227,367 1,207,367 Common stock, 7,000,000 shares authorized, par value $0.10 per share, 3,255,887 and 3,255,887 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 325,586 325,586 Additional paid-in capital 6,644,804 6,721,535 Accumulated deficit (6,053,557 ) (6,348,849 ) Total stockholders equity 6,080,198 5,781,637 Total liabilities and stockholders equity $ 15,777,561 $ 15,429,814

TEL-INSTRUMENT ELECTRONICS CORP. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2023 June 30, 2022 Net sales $ 2,866,929 $ 2,253,757 Cost of sales 1,572,380 1,418,572 Gross margin 1,294,549 835,185 Operating expenses: Selling, general and administrative 584,858 556,933 Engineering, research, and development 289,441 522,103 Total operating expenses 874,299 1,079,036 Income (loss) from operations 420,250 (243,851 ) Other (expense) income: Interest income 39,289 986 Interest expense  other (13,455 ) - Interest expense  judgement (70,245 ) (51,920 ) Total other net expense (44,411 ) (50,934 ) Income (loss) before income taxes 375,839 (294,785 ) Income tax expense (benefit) 80,547 (61,916 ) Net income (loss) 295,292 (232,869 ) Preferred dividends (80,000 ) (80,000 ) Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders $ 215,292 $ (312,869 ) Basic net income (loss) per common share $ 0.07 $ (0.10 ) Diluted net income (loss) per common share $ 0.06 $ (0.10 ) Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 3,255,887 3,255,887 Diluted 5,215,665 3,255,887

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811874055/en/

Pauline Romeo

Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp.

(201) 933-1600 (Ext 309)

Source: Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp.
Additional Sponsorship Support by Mediacom with Polls Conducted by Selzer & Company

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Des Moines Register, part of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and the USA TODAY Network announced today that NBC News will partner with the Des Moines Register for the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll (The Iowa Poll). The Iowa Poll is widely recognized for insights leading up to the 2024 Iowa presidential caucuses. The partners will work with Selzer & Company pollster J. Ann Selzer to develop questions that will be analyzed for broad distribution of polling results.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811992546/en/

The Iowa Poll has a storied history of setting the stage for the presidential election cycle, said Carol Hunter, Executive Editor of the Des Moines Register. We are excited to join forces with NBC News and our longtime partners Selzer & Company and Mediacom to bring Iowans and the nation impactful information about the thinking of likely participants ahead of the 2024 Iowa caucuses.

The 2024 presidential election is well under way and its critical to capture the thinking of the electorate at every stage of the cycle, said NBC News Senior Vice President of Politics, Carrie Budoff Brown. NBC News is committed to covering this election from on the ground and across every state, talking to voters and reporting on the issues that matter most. The Iowa Poll is a crucial and trusted instrument in understanding the sentiment of voters ahead of the First in the Nation caucuses and we are delighted to work with the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer this cycle.

Established in 1943, the Iowa Poll celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. Selzer & Company will conduct the Iowa Poll, which will be developed in partnership with NBC News and the Des Moines Register. Polling is conducted with a random sample of voters registered in the state of Iowa, including those registered as Republican, Democrat, no party, or other party. The Iowa Poll, which is closely watched by political observers, will inform voters leading into the important Iowa caucuses, which are scheduled for January 15, 2024.

The Iowa caucuses pose perhaps the most difficult challenge a pollster can face. The number of Iowans who typically show up is small, and participation changessometimes dramaticallyfrom caucus cycle to caucus cycle. Its our pleasure to work with The Register, with its deep roots in Iowa politics, and with the veteran political reporters and analysts at NBC News to help craft and interpret the results of our polls to serve the state and the nation with our best take on what is happening politically in the lead-up to the January 2024 caucuses, said J. Ann Selzer, Selzer & Company.

As the states leading broadband provider, Mediacom recognizes the critical role our company plays in providing Iowa voters with access to information about key political and social issues, said Tom Larsen, Mediacoms Senior Vice President of Government & Public Relations. This is why we began our partnership with the Iowa Poll in 2015 and are proud to continue supporting this invaluable resource during the 2024 caucus cycle.

ABOUT GANNETT

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally-focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer Prize-winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 43 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 150 local news media brands. Gannett also owns digital marketing services companies branded LocaliQ, and runs one of the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures. To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com.

ABOUT NBC NEWS

More Americans watch NBC News than any news organization in the world. Its leading and award-winning television news broadcasts include TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Dateline NBC. Additionally, NBC News produces TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, The 3rd Hour of TODAY, Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist, Weekend TODAY and NBC News Daily, as well as primetime specials and breaking news reports. The NBC News Digital Group consists of online destinations NBCNews.com  a top three news site  and TODAY.com  a top three lifestyle brand  as well as its streaming networks, NBC News NOW, Dateline 24/7 and TODAY All Day. Additionally, the organizations award-winning audio unit is a top five podcast publisher in the U.S. and NBC News Stay Tuned, a first-of-its-kind social newscast, is the premier destination for the Gen Z audience across TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. NBC News also operates NBC News Studios, a unit producing premium documentaries, docuseries, select scripted programming, and content for emerging platforms, and the NBC NewsChannel affiliate news service. NBC News is part of the NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corporation. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit www.NBCUniversal.com.

ABOUT MEDIACOM COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the 5th largest cable operator in the United States and the leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Through its fiber-rich network, Mediacom provides high-speed data, video, and phone services to 1.4 million households and businesses across 22 states. The company delivers scalable broadband solutions to commercial and public-sector customers of all sizes through Mediacom Business and sells advertising and production services under the OnMedia brand. More information about Mediacom is available at mediacomcable.com.

ABOUT SELZER & COMPANY

Selzer & Company, a Des Moines-based company founded by J. Ann Selzer, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized, industry leading polling and audience research firm. Since 1994, Selzer has worked with a wide variety of clients, including healthcare organizations, financial institutions, universities, advocacy groups and technology start-ups. Selzer & Company conducts the Iowa Poll, which is regarded by political insiders as the gold standard for its accuracy and insights about the Iowa caucuses. More information about Selzer & Company is available at www.selzerco.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811992546/en/

Gannett

Lark-Marie Anton

Chief Communications Officer

(646) 906-4087

[email protected]

Audrey Pass

VP, Corporate Communications

(646) 416-0272

[email protected]

NBC News

Richard Hudock

Vice President, Communications

[email protected]

Mediacom

Thomas J. Larsen

Senior Vice President, Government & Public Relations

(845) 443-2754

[email protected]

Selzer & Company

Michelle Yeoman

Research Assistant/Office Manager

(515) 271-5700

[email protected]

Source: Gannett Co., Inc.
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ZincFive, the world leader in nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery-based solutions for immediate power applications, has won the 2023 Mission Critical Magazine Top Tier Product Award in the UPS Systems category for its BC 2 UPS Battery Cabinet. The BC 2 Battery Cabinet was selected for the unparalleled power density, reliability, industry-leading footprint, and unmatched safety it offers in UPS applications for data centers and other mission critical environments.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811319448/en/

ZincFives BC Series UPS Battery Cabinets are the first nickel-zinc battery energy storage solutions with backward and forward compatibility with megawatt class UPS inverters. (Graphic: Business Wire)

ZincFives BC Series UPS Battery Cabinets are the first nickel-zinc battery energy storage solutions with backward and forward compatibility with megawatt class UPS inverters. The BC 2 offers the smallest footprint per kilowatt, improving on the previous record-holder, ZincFives original BC battery cabinet. In addition, ZincFives NiZn technology offers minimal maintenance requirements, no thermal runaway, and the higher reliability demanded for mission-critical data centers while placing an emphasis on sustainability. ZincFives nickel-zinc batteries have a significantly lower end-to-end climate impact than lead-acid and lithium batteries, as validated by an expert third-party analysis.

"We are incredibly proud that our BC 2 UPS Battery Cabinet has been awarded the prestigious Mission Critical 2023 Top Tier Product Award in the UPS Systems Category," said Tim Hysell, Co-founder and CEO of ZincFive. "Our next-generation nickel-zinc battery cabinet represents an advancement in our already industry-leading system footprint, while maintaining the unparalleled safety, reliability and sustainability of our nickel-zinc battery technology. Receiving this award is a testament to the innovation and excellence we strive for at ZincFive.

The BC 2 Battery Cabinet measures only 21" in width, giving it an industry-leading compact linear footprint. The cabinet is robust, having passed a seismic shake test to an SDS of 2.29 g, resulting in a strong global seismic footprint. Other features include a wide operating temperature range, active cooling to reduce recharge time, simple maintenance, and easy conduit landing connections. ZincFive's newest BC 2 Battery Cabinet provides optimized design and packaging while utilizing the same reliable NiZn batteries that have been delivering best-in-class power density as well as superior safety and sustainability for over 12 years. The BC 2 Battery Cabinet ships fully assembled with batteries in the cabinet and delivers a strong Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) advantage for mission-critical data centers.

There are so many sides to the mission critical story, said Sarah Harding, group publisher for Mission Critical. What I love about this contest is that it recognizes so many aspects of the industry  from power solutions, thermal management, and safety to cabling, IT equipment, and software. Like our past winners, the 2023 Top Tier Products demonstrate manufacturing excellence while embracing safety, energy efficiency, and innovation.

About ZincFive, Inc.

ZincFive is the world leader in innovation and delivery of nickel-zinc batteries and power solutions. Supported by an impressive portfolio of international patents, ZincFive technology harnesses The Power of Good Chemistry to propel the world forward. ZincFive technology leverages the safety and sustainability of nickel-zinc chemistry to provide unparalleled high power density and performance to mission critical applications. ZincFive is a privately held company based in Tualatin, Oregon. For more information, visit www.zincfive.com.

ZincFive and the ZincFive logo are registered trademarks and The Power of Good Chemistry is a trademark of ZincFive, Inc.

Follow ZincFive: LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811319448/en/

Media Contact: [email protected]

Source: ZincFive, Inc.
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed OPEC logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

By Shariq Khan

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Oil prices edged higher on Friday after the International Energy Agency forecast record global demand and tightening supplies, propelling prices to the seventh straight week of gains, the longest such streak since 2022.

Brent crude futures rose 41 cents, or 0.5%, to settle $86.81 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 37 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $83.19. On a weekly basis, both benchmarks rose about 0.5%.

The IEA estimated that global oil demand hit a record 103 million barrels per day in June and could scale another peak this month.

Meanwhile, output cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia set the stage for a sharp decline in inventories over the rest of 2023, which IEA said could drive oil prices even higher.

On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it expects global oil demand to rise by 2.44 million bpd this year, unchanged from its previous forecast. Prospects for the oil market look healthy for the second half of the year, OPEC said.

U.S. economic data this week also lifted market sentiment, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of aggressive rate hikes.

Supply cuts and an improving economic outlook have created more optimism among oil investors, OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said. However, he noted signs momentum was wearing thin after a sustained rally. On Thursday, Brent hit its highest since January, a day after WTI hit its highest this year.

The last time that Brent rose for seven straight weeks was in January-February 2022, prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After falling for eight weeks in a row, the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S., an early indicator of future output, held steady at 525 this week, energy services firm Baker Hughes said.

The steady oil rig count indicates U.S. producers are maintaining discipline about drilling and exploration, said Eric Freedman, Chief Investment Officer at U.S. Bank Asset Management.

"The oil price keeps going higher but not as many companies are out looking for oil," he said.

Mixed economic data from China weighed on sentiment this week. While customs data showed crude imports up year on year, China's overall exports plunged 14.5% in July, with monthly crude imports retreating from June's near-record highs to their lowest level since January.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan; Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Andrew Hayley; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)
Amcor (NYSE: AMCR) today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Phoenix Flexibles, expanding Amcor's capacity in the high-growth Indian market.

Phoenix Flexibles has one plant located in Gujarat, India , and the business generates annual revenue of approximately US$20 million from the sale of flexible packaging for food, home care and personal care applications.

Amcor currently has four flexible packaging plants in India . The business has delivered double-digit organic sales growth per annum over the last three years, significantly outpacing growth in the underlying market, and is also investing to double its local footprint in the Pharmaceutical and Medical packaging categories.

The addition of Phoenix Flexibles' well capitalized and strategically located production facility will immediately increase Amcor's capacity to satisfy continued high demand and drive strong returns for shareholders. The acquisition also adds advanced film technology, enabling local production of a broader range of more sustainable packaging solutions, and brings capabilities allowing Amcor to expand its product offering in attractive high-value segments.

Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific President Mike Cash said, "Amcor continues to see substantial opportunities to grow our flexible packaging business in India . With this acquisition, we are investing to maintain and build upon the significant momentum the business has delivered over several years. The scalable nature of the acquired facility, combined with the localization of new capabilities, further enhances our customer value proposition in this attractive high-growth market."

The acquisition is subject to customary closing procedures and is expected to close in the September 2023 quarter.

ENDS

About Amcor

Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly lighter weight, recyclable and reusable, and made using an increasing amount of recycled content. In fiscal year 2022, 44,000 Amcor people generated $15 billion in annual sales from operations that span 220 locations in 43 countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC

www.amcor.com I LinkedIn I Facebook I YouTube

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SOURCE Amcor
This autumn, luxury brands surprised us with their outfits adapted to the usual everyday style. The world-famous Miu Miu, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and other fashion houses created looks with hoodies, leather jackets and jeans.

ADVERTISIMENT

Soon, the mass market will copy these collections, so fashionable things will become available to everyone. OBOZREVATEL talks about six looks that should be in every girl's wardrobe in the coming season.

Leggings and hoodies

Italian brand Miu Miu has added hoodies and oversized coats to its autumn collection. The trendy colour is camel. Leggings are back this season and should be combined with oversized sweaters and coats.

Oversized jeans

Gucci's look with baggy denim, thick-soled loafers and an oversized trench coat is perfect for any occasion. At first glance, it seems that the jeans look big on the model, but that's the idea. This style will hide any flaws.

ADVERTISIMENT

T-shirt and skinny jeans

Bottega Veneta suggested bringing back a look from the 90s, namely a white tank top with wide straps and mom jeans, oversized at the hips and narrowed at the ankles.

Leather and sweatshirt

Classic leather jackets have already gone out of fashion, and designers are choosing more colourful styles instead. A leather jacket with oversized sleeves and a hooded hoodie are trendy outfits for every day.

Sheepskin coat and Oxford shirt

ADVERTISIMENT

Lemaire is another brand that has succumbed to the casual trend. Their collection includes brown wool culottes, leather knee-high boots, a blue Oxford shirt with buttons and a leather sheepskin coat with a collar.

The distinctive features of Oxford shirts are the fabric with a two-strand weave and a button-down collar.

Quilted down jacket

Hermes presented a brown quilted coat in its collection. Such down jackets are really at the peak of popularity this autumn. Preference should be given to light or dark calm colours, from milk to brown.

ADVERTISIMENT

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL wrote about the fashionable things that Parisian women choose for warm outfits. French women know how to look sophisticated.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Boqii Holding Limited (NYSE: BQ) today announced that it will change its ratio of its American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") to Class A ordinary shares from one (1) ADS representing four and one-half (4.5) Class A ordinary shares to one ADS representing fifteen (15) Class A ordinary shares (the "ADS Ratio Change"). The ADS Ratio Change is expected to become effective on or about August 21, 2023 ( U.S. Eastern Time) (the "ADS Ratio Change Effective Date").

For Boqii's ADS holders, the ADS Ratio Change will have the same effect as a 3-for-10 reverse split on the existing ADSs. Each ADS holder on the ADS Ratio Change Effective Date will be required on mandatory basis to surrender to The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, (the "Depositary") for Boqii's ADS program, every 10 old ADSs held in exchange for 3 new ADSs. No action is required by holders of uncertificated ADSs to effect the ADS Ratio Change as the change will be effected on the books of the Depositary.

No fractional new ADSs will be issued in connection with the ADS Ratio Change. Instead, the Depositary will attempt to sell any fractional entitlements to new ADSs and the net cash proceeds from the sale of the fractional ADS entitlements (after deduction of fees, taxes and expenses) will be distributed to the applicable ADS holders by the Depositary. Boqii's ADSs will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BQ". As a result of the ADS Ratio Change, the ADS price is expected to increase proportionally, although the Company can give no assurance that the ADS price after the ADS Ratio Change will be equal to or greater than ten-thirds (10/3) times the ADS price before the change.

About Boqii Holding Limited

Boqii Holding Limited (NYSE: BQ) is a leading pet-focused platform in China . We are the leading online destination for pet products and supplies in China with our broad selection of high-quality products including global leading brands, local emerging brands, and our own private label, Yoken, Mocare and D-cat, offered at competitive prices. Our online sales platforms, including Boqii Mall and our flagship stores on third-party e-commerce platforms, provide customers with convenient access to a wide selection of high-quality pet products and an engaging and personalized shopping experience. Our Boqii Community provides an informative and interactive content platform for users to share their knowledge and love for pets.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Further information regarding such risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Boqii Holding Limited

Investor Relations

Tel: +86-21-6882-6051

Email: [email protected]

DLK Advisory Limited

Tel: +852-2857-7101

Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Boqii Holding Limited
Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLRWS) announces certain management changes.

As previously disclosed, on June 28, 2023 , the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Tata Communications Limited, a company listed on BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ("Tata Communications"), pursuant to which, at the closing, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications.

Nicola Vitto has announced his resignation from his position as Chief Product & Technology Officer of Kaleyra, Inc. (the "Company"), with such resignation to become effective on September 4, 2023 .

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company has ceased its search for a new Chief Executive Officer. It is contemplated that Dario Calogero will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company up to the closing of the Merger and Mauro Carobene , the Company's Chief Business Officer has recently entered into an agreement to become the Head of the Kaleyra Business.

Dario Calogero , CEO of the Company, commented: "I want to thank Nicola for his service with Kaleyra throughout these years for the outstanding work in building our platforms and services across our regions and I wish him all the best for his future endeavors. At the same time, I want to personally congratulate Mauro for the nomination as Head of the Kaleyra Business."

About Kaleyra

Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) is a global group providing mobile communication services to financial institutions, e-commerce players, OTTs, software companies, logistic enablers, healthcare providers, retailers, and other large organizations worldwide. Through its proprietary platform and robust APIs, Kaleyra manages multi-channel integrated communication services, consisting of messaging, rich messaging and instant messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail, voice services, and chatbots. Kaleyra's technology makes it possible to safely and securely manage billions of messages monthly with over 1,600 operator connections in 190+ countries, including all tier-1 US carriers. For more information, please visit www.kaleyra.com .

Marketing Contacts



Zephrin Lasker

Senior Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances

[email protected]

Lori Perkins

Senior Director  Marketing and Communications

[email protected]



Investor Contact

Shannon Devine / Mark Schwalenberg

MZ North America

+1 203-741-8811

[email protected]

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its omnichannel and other product and global customer developments, and its expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business plans of Kaleyra's management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements referenced or contained on this Form 8-K are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Kaleyra in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Kaleyra as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Kaleyra will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including Kaleyra's ability to regain compliance with the NYSE Listing Company Manual, the mix of services utilized by Kaleyra's customers and such customers' needs for these services, including any variability by geography, market acceptance of new service offerings, the ability of Kaleyra to expand what it does for existing customers as well as to add new customers, that Kaleyra will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated, and the impact of other geopolitical and macroeconomic factors such as the war in Ukraine , may have on Kaleyra's operations, the demand for Kaleyra's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. Additional risk factors that that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all; (ii) the satisfaction (or waiver) of closing conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction; (iii) potential delays in consummation the proposed transaction; (iv) the ability of Kaleyra and Tata Communications to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance or condition that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (vi) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (vii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (viii) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Kaleyra's business, including current plans and operations; (ix) the ability of Kaleyra to retain and hire key personnel; (x) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (xi) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting Kaleyra's business; (xii) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xiii) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which Kaleyra operates; and (xiv) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect Kaleyra's financial performance. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. The Company refers you to the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 , and comparable sections of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings, which have been filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kaleyra-announces-changes-in-management-team-301899040.html

SOURCE Kaleyra US
Basildon, August 11, 2023

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) today announced that its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd., has completed its previously announced private placement offering of CAD$ 400 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.50% notes due August 11, 2026, with an issue price of 99.883%. The notes were offered in a private placement to certain accredited investors in each of the provinces of Canada.

CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd. intends to add the net proceeds from the offering to its general funds and use them for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including, among other things, the purchase of receivables or other assets in the ordinary course of business. The net proceeds may also be applied to repay CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd.s indebtedness as it becomes due.

The notes, which are senior unsecured obligations of CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd., will pay interest semi-annually on February 11 and August 11 of each year, beginning on February 11, 2024, and will be guaranteed by CNH Industrial Capital LLC, CNH Industrial Capital America LLC and New Holland Credit Company, LLC, each an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CNH Industrial N.V.

***

The securities offered in the private placement have not been and will not be qualified for sale to the public under applicable securities laws in Canada and, accordingly, any offer and sale of the securities in Canada will be made on a basis which is exempt from the prospectus requirements of such securities laws.

The securities offered in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.

CNH Industrial Capital LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CNH Industrial N.V. and is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin. As a captive finance company, the primary business of CNH Industrial Capital LLC and its subsidiaries is to underwrite and manage financing products for end-use customers and dealers of CNH Industrial America LLC and CNH Industrial Canada Ltd. (collectively, CNH Industrial North America) and provide other related financial products and services to support the sale of agricultural and construction equipment sold by CNH Industrial North America. CNH Industrial Capital LLC and its subsidiaries also provide wholesale and retail financing related to new and used agricultural and construction equipment manufactured by entities other than CNH Industrial North America. CNH Industrial Capital LLCs principal executive offices are located at 5729 Washington Avenue, Racine, WI 53406, and the telephone number is +1(262) 636-6011.

Contacts:

Media RelationsEmail: [email protected]

Investor RelationsEmail: [email protected]

Attachment

Source: CNH Industrial N.V.
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP (Scott+Scott), an international securities and consumer rights litigation firm, reminds investors of its continuing investigation whether certain directors and officers of Corteva, Inc. (Corteva) (NYSE: CTVA) breached their fiduciary duties to Corteva and its shareholders. If you are a Corteva shareholder, you may contact attorney Joe Pettigrew for additional information toll-free at 844-818-6982, or [email protected].



Scott+Scott is investigating whether members of Cortevas board of directors or senior management failed to manage Corteva in an acceptable manner, in breach of their fiduciary duties to Corteva, and whether Corteva and its shareholders have suffered damages as a result.

On June 2, 2023, Corteva announced that it had agreed to pay $1.185 billion with The Chemours Company and DuPont de Nemours, Inc. to settle a class action lawsuit relating to PFAS-related drinking water claims of a class of public water systems. Cortevas share of the settlement is about $193 million.

What You Can Do

If you are a Corteva shareholder, you may have legal claims against Cortevas directors and officers. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at 844-818-6982, or [email protected].

About Scott+Scott

Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and consumer rights actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Connecticut, California, and Ohio.

Attorney Advertising

CONTACT:

Joe Pettigrew

Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP

600 W. Broadway, Suite 3300

San Diego, CA 92101

844-818-6982

[email protected]
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Morien Resources Corp. ("Morien" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MOX), today provides an update on the Donkin Coal Mine (Donkin or the Mine) in Nova Scotia, owned and operated by Kameron Collieries LLC (Kameron), upon which Morien has a 2% to 4% royalty interest.

On July 15, 2023, the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration (DOL), the provinces regulator for the Mine, issued a Stop Work Order (SWO) at Donkin in response to a roof fall.

The fall occurred in one of Donkins two access tunnels. The access tunnels were installed at Donkin in the late 1980s by DEVCO, a former federal Crown corporation.

In keeping with Kamerons safety protocols, it made a proactive decision to implement a comprehensive remediation program which included extensive roof bolting over the full length of the 3.5-kilometre-long access tunnel in order to safeguard against future falls. That program commenced on July 19 and ended on July 27.

While roof falls are not uncommon in underground mines, and while no Kameron workers were injured, nor any equipment damaged during the fall, the SWO nonetheless remains in place, approximately one-month after the fall was reported and over two-weeks after the tunnel was refurbished and bolted.

SWOs are meant to be temporary in duration. However, the duration of the current SWO has prompted Morien to issue todays news release. The timing for the release of the SWO is unknown as it depends on DOLs ability to timely assess the situation and suggest what corrective measures, if any, are required going forward.

Morien will provide more information as it becomes available.

About Morien

Morien is a Canada based, mining development company that holds royalty interests in two tidewater accessed projects. The Donkin Coal Mine re-commenced production during the third quarter of 2022 and royalties to Morien have commenced. The Black Point Aggregate Project is permitted, and although production has not begun, Morien is receiving advanced minimum royalty payments on a quarterly basis. Moriens management team exercises ruthless discipline in managing both the assets and liabilities of the Company. The Companys management and its Board of Directors consider shareholder returns to be paramount over corporate size, number or scale of assets and industry recognition. The Company has 51,292,000 issued and outstanding common shares and a fully diluted position of 54,192,000 after taking into consideration the newly issued share options. Further information is available at www.MorienRes.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable securities laws. These statements reflect Morien's current expectations of future revenues and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to Morien. Morien cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Morien currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties described in documents filed by Morien with the Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) from time to time. Morien cautions that its royalty revenue will be based on production by third party property owners and operators who will be responsible for determining the manner and timing for the properties forming part of Moriens royalty portfolio. These third party owners and operators are also subject to risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted herein including: volatility in financial markets or general economic conditions; capital requirements and the need for additional financing; fluctuations in the rates of exchange for the currencies of Canada and the United States; prices for commodities including coal and aggregate; unanticipated changes in production, mineral reserves and mineral resources, metallurgical recoveries and/or exploration results; changes in regulations and unpredictable political or economic developments; loss of key personnel; labour disputes; and ineffective title to mineral claims or property. There are other business risks and hazards associated with mineral exploration, development and mining. Although Morien believes that the forward-looking information contained herein is based on reasonable assumptions (including assumptions relating to economic, market and political conditions, the Companys working capital requirements and the accuracy of information supplied by the operators of the properties in which the Company has a royalty interest), readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with such statements. Morien expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information in this news release, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All dollar values discussed herein are in Canadian dollars. Any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information in this news release, as defined by applicable securities laws, has been approved by management of Morien as of the date of this news release. Such financial outlook or future-oriented financial information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such outlook or information should not be used for purposes other than for which it is disclosed in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, please contact:

Dawson Brisco, President & CEOPhone: (902) 403-3149[email protected]orJohn P.A. Budreski, Executive ChairmanPhone: (416) 930-0914 www.MorienRes.com

Source: Morien Resources Corp.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Electronics Canada today announced that the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series and Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Series are now available for purchase at Samsung Experience Stores, online at samsung.com/ca, and at select national retail and carrier partners across Canada.

The latest Galaxy devices have evolved to meet the needs of younger generations, providing unique opportunities powered by new form factors and enhancements across productivity, wellness and self-expression user experiences, said Raj Doshi, Head of Mobile Business at Samsung Electronics Canada. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Z Fold5, Tab S9 Series and Watch6 Series are helping to evolve how people interact with their devices.

Galaxy Z Flip5: Built for Self-ExpressionThe Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 delivers a stylish, unique foldable experience supported by innovative design and customizable functions. Now 1.78 times larger,1 the enhanced Flex Window is the largest Cover Screen on a Galaxy Z Flip yet.

With Flex Window, users can check the weather, control music playback or catch up on the latest global stock market updates all without opening their phone. In addition, the keyboard makes checking and responding to phone calls and messages from the Cover Screen easier. The improved Flex Hinge elevates the foldable experience, offering an aesthetically balanced and solid design while unlocking extraordinary hands-free camera capabilities through FlexCam and Flex Window.

For an even more personalized experience, the new Flipsuit Case2 is equipped with a changeable NFC card, called a Flipsuit Card, so users can coordinate their Flex Window design with their case design to reflect their own unique personality.

The Galaxy Z Flip5 is available for purchase at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and at major carrier and retail partner locations across Canada in Mint, Graphite, Cream, and Lavender,3 as well as a range of accessories4 including a Clear Gadget Case, Flap Eco-Leather Case, Flipsuit Case and easy-to-carry Silicone Case with Ring to create a more personalized look.5 In addition, the Galaxy Z Flip5 is also available in Grey, Blue, Yellow and Green exclusively at samsung.com/ca.

Galaxy Z Flip5:

256GB model: Available for $1,299.99 (Our regular price).

512GB model: Available for $1,459.99 (Our regular price).

For more information about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, please visit:https://www.samsung.com/ca/smartphones/galaxy-z-flip5/

Galaxy Z Fold5: Galaxys Productivity PowerhouseThe Galaxy Z Fold5 combines the power of an immersive, large screen with a sleek and lightweight design, offering both portability and performance. The 7.6-inch6 Main Screen provides an expansive viewing experience in both portrait and landscape mode. Gamers will be thrilled by the addition of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy7, which enhances graphics and uses AI to deliver a next-level gaming experience on the largest smartphone screen from Galaxy ever.

Productivity also gets a boost with the improved Taskbar, two-handed Drag and Drop8 and hidden pop-up9 features, allowing users to multitask and transfer content between multiple apps with ease.10 Whats more, the slimmer and more compact design of the S Pen Fold Edition makes it the most portable S Pen for Fold yet.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is available for purchase at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and at major carrier and retail partner locations across Canada in Icy Blue, Phantom Black, and Cream11, along with a variety of cases that offer practicality and style including a Slim S Pen Case, Clear Gadget Case, Eco-Leather Case, and a Standing Case with Strap.12 In addition, the Galaxy Z Fold5 is also available in Grey and Blue exclusively at samsung.com/ca.

Galaxy Z Fold5:

256GB model: Available for $2,399.99 (Our regular price).

512GB model: Available for $2,559.99 (Our regular price).

A 1TB model of Galaxy Z Fold5 is also available exclusively at samsung.com/ca for $2,879.99 (our regular price).

For more information about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/ca/smartphones/galaxy-z-fold5/

Galaxy Tab S9 Series: Bridge the Gap From Inspiration to CreationThe new Galaxy Tab S9 Series redefines Galaxys premium tablet experience through high-performance features and a stunning display. Empowering users to create, work, and easily connect, the Galaxy Tab S9 Series comes with a brilliant Dynamic AMOLED 2X display to deliver epic viewing, as well as stunning performance innovation from Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.13 With an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating14, both the tablet and its accompanying S Pen, have added protection15 to allow users to follow their inspiration more freely.

The Galaxy Tab S9 Series is available for purchase at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and at major carrier and retail partner locations across Canada in Beige and Graphite.

Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra: 1 TB: Available for $2,149.99 (our regular price) 512 GB: Available for$1,749.99 (our regular price) 256 GB: Available for $1,599.99 (our regular price)



Galaxy Tab S9+: 512 GB: Available for $1,499.99 (our regular price) 256 GB: Available for $1,349.99 (our regular price)



Galaxy Tab S9: 256 GB: Available for $1,249.99 (our regular price) 128 GB: Available for $1,099.99 (our regular price)



For more information about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/ca/tablets/galaxy-tab-s9/buy/

Galaxy Watch6 Series: Build Healthy Habits, Day and Night16

The new Samsung Galaxy Watch6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic,17 are designed to help users build better habits throughout the day and night.18 Samsung introduced the Galaxy Watch6 Series to help users not only track, but also personalize and enhance their sleep. Like Samsungs other wearable devices, the Galaxy Watch6 Series provides comprehensive sleep-related insights including an in-depth analysis of Sleep Score Factors.19

Beyond sleep, the Galaxy Watch6 Series packs holistic wellness offerings and powerful performance in a refined and sleek design, boasting a slimmer bezel, a larger and more vibrant display, as well as a more interactive user interface.20 Both models also allow users to access a greater selection of versatile watch faces and new band options to support a personalized look.

The Galaxy Watch6 Series is available for purchase at Samsung.ca, Samsung Experience Stores and major retailer partners across Canada. The Galaxy Watch6  an epic wellness enabler with a modern and minimalist design  comes in 44mm in Graphite and Silver and in 40mm in Graphite and Gold. For a more premium, timeless timepiece design, look no further than Galaxy Watch6 Classic featuring our fan-favorite rotating bezel  available in Black and Silver in 43mm and 47mm.

Galaxy Watch6:

44mm model: Available from $449.99 (Our regular price).

40mm model: Available from $409.99 (Our regular price).

Galaxy Watch6 Classic:

43mm model: Available from $549.99 (Our regular price).

47mm model: Available from $589.99 (Our regular price).

For more information about the Samsung Watch6 Series, please visit:https://www.samsung.com/ca/watches/galaxy-watch6/buy/

Promotional offers

FinancingCanadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 device at samsung.com/ca, at a Samsung Experience Store can pay as low as $8.61 per month with financing on approved credit through PayBright by Affirm. 12, 24, or 36 month plans at 0 percent APR are available with purchase.21

Gift with Purchase offerPurchase any eligible Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, or Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra from August 11, 2023 to August 26, 2023, and receive a compatible Book Cover as a bonus upon completion of your purchase.22 This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.

Purchase a Galaxy Watch6 Series device before September 13, 2023, and get an eligible Galaxy Watch6 Smartwatch Fabric Band on us.23 This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.

Trade-In offers

Galaxy Z Series:

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 before September 13, 2023, can receive a trade-in promotional credit of up to $400, in addition to the trade-in value of their eligible old smartphone.24

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 before September 13, 2023, can receive a combined trade-in promotional credit and trade-in credit of up to $900 when they trade-in an eligible Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip Series smartphone in any condition (subject to compliance with T&Cs).25

Galaxy Tab S9 Series:

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy S9 Series device before September 13, 2023, can receive a trade-in promotional credit of up to $250, in addition to the trade-in value of their eligible old Tablet.26

Canadians who pre-order and complete their purchase or purchase an eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before September 13, 2023, can receive a $500 guaranteed credit when they trade-in an eligible Galaxy Tab S Series device in any condition (subject to compliance with T&Cs).27

Galaxy Watch6 Series:

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Watch6 or Galaxy Watch6 Classic before September 13, 2023, can receive a trade-in promotional credit of $100, in addition to the trade-in value of their eligible old smartwatch28.

The trade-in program is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.

Galaxy Store coupon offerCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 before September 13, 2023, will receive a $50 Galaxy Store Coupon. To redeem, Canadians must visit the Samsung Members App on their eligible Galaxy device and download the coupon by October 15, 2023. Coupon must be used by November 13, 2023, and can only be used for a single in-app purchase transaction within the Samsung Galaxy Store game section. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.29

YouTube Premium offersCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold530 or Galaxy Tab S9 Series31 device before March 1, 2024, can get up to four months free of YouTube Premium and enjoy an ad-free, offline, and background play experience.

UBER offersCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold532 or Galaxy Tab S9 Series33 device before September 13, 2023, will receive a $50 Uber Voucher code. To redeem, Canadians must visit the Samsung Members App on their eligible Galaxy device and redeem by October 15, 2023. Voucher Codes will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.

Microsoft 365 Basic offerCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 device before March 1, 2024, can receive a six-month trial of Microsoft 365 Basic. Canadians must sync their gallery with OneDrive on their eligible Galaxy device to redeem before December 13, 2023. With six months of Microsoft 365 Basic, users can enjoy storage, an ad-free email and access to Microsoft support. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.34

SiriusXM offerCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 before September 13, 2023, will receive a 6-month trial of a SiriusXM Streaming Platinum subscription plan. To redeem, Canadians must visit the Samsung Members App on their eligible Galaxy device and redeem by October 15, 2023. This offer is available on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.35

GoodNotes OfferCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before December 31, 2023, are eligible to receive a 1-year free full version of GoodNotes for Android App (regular price $9.99); then after the 1-year free period ends, can receive a 20% off discount on their first purchase of the GoodNotes Android App via the Samsung Galaxy Store. This offer comes with free premium content (templates, sticker, and planner) and is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.36

LumaFusion OfferCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before August 10, 2024, are eligible to receive Galaxy exclusive 50% off instant discount for the LumaFusion App via the Samsung Galaxy Store and a 30-day free subscription to Storyblocks for LumaFusion. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.37

Clip Studio Paint OfferCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before December 31, 2023, are eligible to receive a 6-month free trial for one Clip Studio Paint account. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.38

Adobe OfferCanadians who purchase a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before December 31, 2024, can receive a 2-month complimentary trial of either Adobe Lightroom (Up to 1TB) or Adobe Express. This offer is available for purchases made at samsung.com/ca, Samsung Experience Stores, and participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers in Canada.39

Peace of Mind with Samsung Care+With a Samsung Care+ Plan, Canadians can experience total care service for their new Galaxy Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet or Wearable device. Users will be protected for up to two years against physical or liquid damage and mechanical malfunction or defects, with a team of dedicated Galaxy experts available to help them get back on track.40 Canadians who purchase a Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 device before August 18, 2023, can get41:

One (1) Samsung Care+ 1 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Z Flip5 device for $97.30 (1-Yr SC+ Smartphone Tier3 Flip only P-GT-NCXCS0PV - CANADA regular price - $139); or

One (1) Samsung Care+ 2 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Z Flip5 device for $160.30 (2-Yr SC+ Smartphone Tier3 Flip only P-GT-ACXCS0PV  CANADA regular price - $229); or

One (1) Samsung Care+ 1 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Z Fold5 device for $125.30 (1-Yr SC+ Foldable Tier4 P-GT-NXXCS0FV  CANADA regular price - $179); or

One (1) Samsung Care+ 2 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Z Fold5 device for $244.30 (2-Yr SC+ Foldable Tier4 P-GT-AXXCS0FV  CANADA regular price - $349)

Canadians who purchase a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device before August 26, 2023, can get42:

One (1) Samsung Care+ 1 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Tab S9 Series device for $41.30 (1-Yr SC+ Tablet Tier2 P-GT-NXXCT0HV - CANADA regular price - $59); or

One (1) Samsung Care+ 2 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Tab S9 Series device for $62.30 (2-Yr SC+ Tablet Tier2 P-GT-AXXCT0HV - CANADA regular price - $89)

Canadians who purchase a Galaxy Watch6 or Galaxy Watch6 Classic Series device before August 18, 2023, can get43:

One (1) Samsung Care+ 1 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Watch6 Series device for $27.30 (1-Yr SC+ Wearable (Watch) P-GT-NXXCW0PV  CANADA regular price - $39); or

One (1) Samsung Care+ 2 Year Plan at 30% off regular price (before taxes) for your selected Galaxy Watch6 Series device for $41.30 (2-Yr SC+ Wearable (Watch) P-GT-AXXCW0PV  CANADA regular price - $59)

Samsung Care+ promotional offers can be redeemed online at samsung.com/ca for purchases made at samsung.com/ca and in-store at point of sale for purchases made at Samsung Experience Stores. For purchases made at participating retailers and carriers, please visit shop.samsung.com/ca/samsung-care-plus.

Samsung Pay got even better. Meet Samsung Wallet.Samsung Wallet is your on-the-go app for essentials  payment cards, digital keys44 and loyalty and membership cards, now all in one place, all accessible with one swipe. With Samsung Wallet, youll be able to store passwords, addresses and card details for easier online browsing and shopping. Your payment cards and loyalty and membership cards scattered around your inbox can be stored as well. The entire wallet is protected by allowing access using your biometric data or PIN number. Please visit: samsung.com/ca/apps/samsung-wallet for details.

Premium Care ServiceYour Galaxy Z Series device comes with dedicated customer care services designed specically to deliver a great customer service experience to our valued customers. Our experts are available by phone 9am-9pm EST at 1-888-970-FOLD and available 24/7 via Live Chat.samsung.com/ca/support/galaxy-fold-premier-service

About Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.Samsung Electronics Canada inspires Canadians to reach their full potential through a transformative ecosystem of products and services that deliver innovation and distinct design to their connected lives. The company is helping to redefine the worlds of TVs, smartphones, and wearable devices, tablets and digital appliances. In 2022, Samsung was ranked as one of Canada's "Most Reputable Companies" by Leger, named one of Canadas Top 100 Employers and placed first on Forbes 'The World's Best Employers' list. Dedicated to helping make a difference in the lives of Canadians, Samsung's award-winning corporate giving initiatives support public education and health-related issues in communities across the country. To discover more, please visit: www.samsung.com/ca.

Follow Samsung Canada at facebook.com/SamsungCanada, on Instagram @samsungcanada or on Twitter @SamsungCanada.

Contact:

Shalynn MortillaroAccount Manager, North Strategic647-614-1737[email protected]

1 Compared to Galaxy Z Flip4. Measured diagonally, Galaxy Z Flip5s Cover Screen is 3.4-inch in the full rectangular form; actual viewable area is approximately 95% of the full rectangular area due to the rounded corners and lower cutout.2 Accessories sold separately. Model and colour availability may vary by market or carrier.3 Availability of colour may vary by market, region or carrier.4 Accessories sold separately. Model and colour availability may vary by country or carrier.5 Accessories sold separately. Model and colour availability may vary by market or carrier.6 Measured diagonally, Galaxy Z Fold5's Cover Screen size is 6.2-inch in a full rectangle and 6.1-inch accounting for the rounded corners. The actual viewable area is smaller due to the rounded corners and camera hole.7 Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Snapdragon is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.8 Certain applications may not support two-handed drag and drop.9 Certain applications may not support hidden pop-up.10 Certain applications may not support App Continuity.11 Availability of colour may vary by market, region or carrier.12 Accessories sold separately. Model and colour availability may vary by country or carrier.13 Snapdragon is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm incorporated. Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.14 Galaxy Tab S9, S9+ and S9 Ultra are rated as IP68. The inbox S Pen is also water and dust-resistant with an IP68 rating. Consistent with IP68 rating, water resistant in up to 5 feet of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. Rinse residue / dry after wet. Not advised for beach or pool use.15 Compared to Galaxy tablets without the IP68 rating. 16 Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring or management of any medical condition or disease. Any health-related information accessed through the device and/or application should not be treated as medical advice. Users should seek any medical advice from a physician. Certain features may vary by market, carrier, or the paired device.17 Availability may vary depending on market, model and the paired smartphone. All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice.18 Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring or management of any medical condition or disease. Any health-related information accessed through the device and/or application should not be treated as medical advice. Users should seek any medical advice from a physician. Certain features may vary by market, carrier, or the paired device.19 Displayed on a paired smartphone.20 Compared to Galaxy Watch5 series.21 On approved credit. Purchase an eligible product using a payment plan offered by PayBright by Affirm with up to 36-months term and 0% APR for qualified customers. To qualify for financing, the minimum purchase value of cart must be $200 before taxes and fees. If you purchase products from multiple categories, the lowest available financing rate will be applied to each product in your cart. All the other financing terms and conditions remain the same. If you purchase products separately, then different financing rates may apply. Applicants who are not approved for a 0% APR payment plan may be offered alternative payment plans at a greater cost of credit. All transactions are subject to approval by PayBright by Affirm. Financing offers may vary from time to time and may be amended or canceled at any time. Financing offers may vary for customers in the Province of Quebec. See www.paybright.com/faq for more information.22 Some conditions apply. Offer is valid from August 11 to August 26, 2023. Purchase from a participating authorized Canadian retailer, Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or samsung.com/ca any eligible Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, or Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra and receive a compatible Book Cover as a bonus (EF-BX710PBEGCA, MSRP $109.99; EF-BX810PBEGCA, MSRP $124.99; EF-BX910PBEGCA, MSRP $139.99) upon completion of your purchase. Eligible Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series tablets are as follows: SM-X710NZEAXAC, MSRP $1,099.99, SM-X710NZAAXAC, MSRP $1,099.99, SM-X710NZEEXAC MSRP $1,249.99, SM-X710NZAEXAC MSRP $1,249.99, SM-X810NZEAXAC, MSRP $1,349.99, SM-X810NZAAXAC MSRP $1,349.99, SM-X810NZEEXAC MSRP $1,499.99, SM-X810NZAEXAC MSRP $1,499.99, SM-X910NZEIXAC MSRP $2,149.99, SM-X910NZAIXAC MSRP $2,149.99, SM-X910NZEAXAC MSRP $1,599.99, SM-X910NZAAXAC MSRP $1,599.99, SM-X910NZEEXAC MSRP $1,749.99, SM-X910NZAEXAC MSRP $1,749.99.Savings will be realized upon completion of your Galaxy Tab S9 Series purchase. While supplies last. No rain checks. Limit of one Galaxy Tab S9 Series Smart Book Cover per Galaxy Tab S9 Series device purchased. The exact model of the Smart Book Cover received by the customer will depend on the eligible Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series device purchased by the consumer. Open to Canadian residents only. Participating authorized Canadian retailers may vary and may sell for less. If you return the eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device purchased pursuant to this offer, you are no longer eligible for the bonus Smart Book Cover. Any such return of the Galaxy Tab S9 Series device must include the Smart Book Cover. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Promotion may be cancelled or changed without notice.23 Terms and Conditions Apply. Fabric Band Offer applicable to the following SKUs: SM-R965FZKAXAC, SM-R965FZSAXAC, SM-R960NZKAXAC, SM-R960NZSAXAC, SM-R945FZKAXAC, SM-R945FZSAXAC, SM-R940NZKAXAC, SM-R940NZSAXAC, SM-R940NZKCXAC, SM-R940NZSCXAC, SM-R955FZKAXAC, SM-R955FZSAXAC, SM-R950NZKAXAC, SM-R950NZSAXAC, SM-R935FZKAXAC, SM-R935FZEAXAC, SM-R930NZKAXAC, SM-R930NZEAXAC, SM-R930NZKCXAC, SM-R930NZECXAC. For full Terms and Conditions, please see https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/.24 Certain conditions apply. Receive a trade-in promotional credit of up to $400, in addition to the trade-in value of your eligible old smartphone (the Eligible Trade-In Product), when you:(i) pre-order and complete your purchase of an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Fold5 device between July 26and August 10, 2023; or purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Fold5 device between August 11, 2023 and September 13, 2023 (the Offer Period), from a participating authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, a Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or online at https://www.samsung.com/ca/; and(ii) complete the trade-in of your Eligible Trade-In Product by September 13, 2023; and(iii) in the case of purchases made online, ship the Eligible Trade-in Product within 21 calendar days of receiving the waybill.Selection and availability may vary. While quantities last. No rain checks. No cash value. The minimum qualifying trade-in value of the Eligible Trade-In Product must be $25 as determined by the Service Providers device valuation software. $400 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an eligible Galaxy Note Series, Galaxy S Series, or Galaxy Z Series device and purchasing a Galaxy Z Fold5 device. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice, cannot be combined with any other offer and is available to Canadian residents only. Offer provided by Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. See https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ for Full Terms and Conditions. Please note: for trade-in transactions online at Samsung.com/ca if you do not send in your Eligible Trade-In Product within the prescribed time, or if the device condition differs materially from that which you have represented to be accurate using the Trade-In Tool, your trade-in transaction may be subject to a charge-back, in whole or in part, in accordance with the Trade-In Program Terms and Conditions of Use.25 Certain conditions apply. Receive a combined trade-in promotional credit and trade-in value of up to $900, for your eligible Galaxy Z Flip or Fold Series smartphone (the Eligible Trade-In Product), when you:(i) pre-order and complete your purchase of an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Fold5 device between July 26and August 10, 2023; or purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Flip5 or Fold5 device between August 11and September 13, 2023 (the Offer Period), from a Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or online at https://www.samsung.com/ca/; and(ii) complete the trade-in of your Eligible Trade-In Product by September 13, 2023; and(iii) in the case of purchases made online, ship the Eligible Trade-in Product within 21 calendar days of receiving the waybill.Selection and availability may vary. While quantities last. No rain checks. No cash value. $900 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an eligible Galaxy Z Fold Series device and purchasing a Galaxy Z Fold5 device. $700 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an eligible Galaxy Z Flip Series device and purchasing a Galaxy Z Flip5 device. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice, cannot be combined with any other offer and is available to Canadian residents only. Offer provided by Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. See https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ for Full Terms and Conditions. Please note: for trade-in transactions online at Samsung.com/ca if you do not send in your Eligible Trade-In Product within the prescribed time, your trade-in transaction may be subject to a charge-back, in whole, in accordance with the Trade-In Program Terms and Conditions of Use. The Galaxy Z Flip or Fold Series device can be traded-in in any condition to participate in this program provided that (i) the IMEI or Serial Number of the device can be validated and has not been removed, altered or defaced; and (ii) the device malfunction or damage, if any, is not due to (A) improper or intentional installation or removal of any parts or components, or (B) improper or intentional equipment modification.26 Certain conditions apply. Receive a trade-in promotional credit of $250, in addition to the trade-in value of your eligible old Tablet device (the Eligible Trade-In Product), when you:pre-order and complete your purchase of an eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device between July 26and August 10, 2023; or purchase an eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device between August 11 and September 13, 2023 (the Offer Period), from a participating authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, a Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or online at https://www.samsung.com/ca/; and complete the trade-in of your Eligible Trade-In Product by September 13th, 2023; and ship the Eligible Trade-in Product within 21 calendar days of receiving the waybill. Selection and availability may vary. While quantities last. No rain checks. No cash value. $250 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an Eligible Trade-In Product and purchasing a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice, cannot be combined with any other offer and is available to Canadian residents only. Offer provided by Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. See https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ for Full Terms and Conditions. Please note: for trade-in transactions online at Samsung.com/ca if you do not send in your Eligible Trade-In Product within the prescribed time, or if the device condition differs materially from that which you have represented to be accurate using the Trade-In Tool, your trade-in transaction may be subject to a charge-back, in whole or in part, in accordance with the Trade-In Program Terms and Conditions of Use.27 Certain conditions apply. Receive a combined trade-in promotional credit and trade-in value of $500, for your eligible Galaxy Tab S Series device (the Eligible Trade-In Product), when you:pre-order and complete your purchase of an eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device between July 26and August 10, 2023; or purchase an eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device between August 11 and September 13, 2023 (the Offer Period), from a participating authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, a Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or online at https://www.samsung.com/ca/; and complete the trade-in of your Eligible Trade-In Product by September 13, 2023; and ship the Eligible Trade-in Product within 21 calendar days of receiving the waybill. Selection and availability may vary. While quantities last. No rain checks. No cash value. $500 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an eligible Galaxy Tab S Series device and purchasing a Galaxy Tab S9 Series device. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice, cannot be combined with any other offer and is available to Canadian residents only. Offer provided by Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. See https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ for Full Terms and Conditions. Please note: for trade-in transactions online at Samsung.com/ca if you do not send in your Eligible Trade-In Product within the prescribed time, your trade-in transaction may be subject to a charge-back, in whole, in accordance with the Trade-In Program Terms and Conditions of Use. The Galaxy Tab S Series device can be traded-in in any condition to participate in this program provided that (i) the IMEI or Serial Number of the device can be validated and has not been removed, altered or defaced; and (ii) the device malfunction or damage, if any, is not due to (A) improper or intentional installation or removal of any parts or components, or (B) improper or intentional equipment modification.28 Certain conditions apply. Receive a trade-in promotional credit of $100, in addition to the trade-in value of your eligible old smartwatch (the Eligible Trade-In Product), when you:pre-order and complete your purchase of an eligible Galaxy Watch6 Series device between July 26th, 2023 and August 10th, 2023; or purchase an eligible Galaxy Watch6 Series device between August 1and September 13, 2023 (the Offer Period), from a participating authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, a Samsung Experience Store in Canada, or online at https://www.samsung.com/ca/; and complete the trade-in of your Eligible Trade-In Product by September 13, 2023; and ship the Eligible Trade-in Product within 21 calendar days of receiving the waybill. Selection and availability may vary. While quantities last. No rain checks. No cash value. $100 credit is based on completing the trade-in of an Eligible Trade-In Product and purchasing a Galaxy Watch6 Series device. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice, cannot be combined with any other offer and is available to Canadian residents only. Offer provided by Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. See https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/ for Full Terms and Conditions. Please note: for trade-in transactions online at Samsung.com/ca if you do not send in your Eligible Trade-In Product within the prescribed time, or if the device condition differs materially from that which you have represented to be accurate using the Trade-In Tool, your trade-in transaction may be subject to a charge-back, in whole or in part, in accordance with the Trade-In Program Terms and Conditions of Use.29 Terms and conditions apply. The Galaxy Store in-app Coupon Offer is valid from July 26 to September 13, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. When you purchase any Samsung Galaxy Flip5 or Fold5 at, participating authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, at a Samsung Experience Store in Canada or online at http://www.samsung.com/ca/, you are eligible to receive one (1) $50 Galaxy Store In-app Coupon. Your Galaxy Store Coupon must be downloaded from Samsung Members App on your eligible device by October 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. Participating authorized Canadian retailers or carriers may vary. Once the Galaxy Store Coupon is applied to your Galaxy Store Account, your $50 Coupon must be used by November 30, 2023 EST. Your Galaxy Store Coupon can only be used for a single in-app purchase transaction within the Samsung Galaxy Store games. c Visit www.samsung.com/ca/offer for more details.30 Terms apply. This YouTube Premium 4 month free trial promotion is open to participants in Canada who purchase and activate a Samsung Galaxy Flip 5 or Fold 5 by March 1,2024 at 11:59pm PST. Offer only available to users who are not current YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium subscribers, and have not been YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Red, or Google Play Music subscribers nor participated in a YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Music, or YouTube Red trial before. Offer must be redeemed by April 1,2024 at 11:59pm PST. Valid form of payment required at sign-up, but you will not be charged until the trial period expires. At the end of the trial period, you will be automatically charged the individual subscription price. You can cancel your trial at no charge at any time before the trial is over. You can cancel your YouTube Premium paid subscription at any time. Offer requires a Google account. Must be 18 years or older. Offers may not be combined with any other promotion, discount, code, and/or offer. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. No refunds for partial billing periods are available. Promotional value of offer nontransferable, not for resale, and not redeemable for cash or cash equivalent. Full terms: https://www.youtube.com/premium/restrictions. Promoter: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 129 Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043.31 Terms apply. This YouTube Premium 4 month free trial promotion is open to participants in Canada who purchase and activate a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (S9, S9+, S9 Ultra, S9FE, S9FE+) series by March 1, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. Offer only available to users who are not current YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium subscribers, and have not been YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Red, or Google Play Music subscribers nor participated in a YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Music, or YouTube Red trial before. Offer must be redeemed by April 1, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. Valid form of payment required at sign-up, but you will not be charged until the trial period expires. At the end of the trial period, you will be automatically charged the individual subscription price. You can cancel your trial at no charge at any time before the trial is over. You can cancel your YouTube Premium paid subscription at any time. Offer requires a Google account. Must be 18 years or older. Offers may not be combined with any other promotion, discount, code, and/or offer. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. No refunds for partial billing periods are available. Promotional value of offer non-transferable, not for resale, and not redeemable for cash or cash equivalent. Full terms: https://www.youtube.com/premium/restrictions. Promoter: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 129 Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043.32 Terms apply. Offer is valid from July 26 to September 13, 2023 at 11:59pm EST (the Offer Period). Offer available at an authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, at a Samsung Experience Store in Canada or online at http://www.samsung.com/ca/. When you purchase any Samsung Galaxy Flip5 or Fold5 (each, an eligible Samsung device) during theOffer Period, you are eligible to receive one (1) $50 Uber Voucher Code (Uber Voucher Code). Only 3,000 Uber Voucher Codes are available in total. Voucher Codes will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers may vary. Visit the Samsung Members App on your eligible Galaxy device no later than October 15, 2023 to claim your $50 Uber Voucher Code. Uber Voucher Terms and Conditions apply. Limited to one code per person. Can only be used by the first person who redeems the code. Uber Voucher is only valid for rides requested/orders placed using applicable Uber App. Taxes, fees, and tips will be covered provided that the value of the Uber Voucher is greater than the total order amount. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. To learn more about Uber Voucher terms, visit https://www.uber.com/legal/en/document/?country=united-states&lang=en&name=uber-consumer-vouchers-terms-and-conditions33 Terms and conditions apply. Offer is valid from July 26 to September 13, 2023 at 11:59pm EST (the Offer Period). Offer available at an authorized Canadian retailer or carrier, at a Samsung Experience Store in Canada or online at http://www.samsung.com/ca/. When you purchase any Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series device during the Offer Period, you are eligible to receive one (1) $50 Uber Voucher Code (Uber Voucher Code). Only 3,000 Uber Voucher Codes are available in total. Voucher Codes will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Participating authorized Canadian retailers and carriers may vary. Visit the Samsung Members App on your eligible Galaxy device no later than October 15, 2023 to claim your $50 Uber Voucher Code. Uber Voucher Terms and Conditions apply. Limited to one code per person. Can only be used by the first person who redeems the code. Uber Voucher Code is only valid for rides requested/orders placed using applicable Uber App. Taxes, fees, and tips will be covered provided that the value of the Uber Voucher is greater than the total order amount. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. To learn more about Uber Voucher terms, visit https://www.uber.com/legal/en/document/?country=united-states&lang=en&name=uber-consumer-vouchers-terms-and-conditions34 Terms and Conditions apply. Six-month trial of Microsoft 365 Basic ($2/month value, for a total of $12 value) available for consumers who have purchased a Samsung Galaxy B5Q5. Offer is available between July 26th, 2023 and December 31st, 2023. Offer must be redeemed during this period and participants must sync their gallery with OneDrive to commence the 6 month trial. Form of payment required. Six month trial of Microsoft 365 Basic available for consumers with OneDrive Gallery Sync capable Samsung phones. Google Plays terms and conditions apply. Refer to https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-365/onedrive/samsung-offer for details. After the 6 month trial, your subscription will automatically renew into a monthly paid subscription. You can cancel at any time prior to the trial end date and your form of payment will not be charged. Offer not available to existing Microsoft 365 subscribers (including trials), anyone who previously redeemed a Microsoft 365 or OneDrive trial in Google Play, or former Microsoft 365 or OneDrive premium subscribers who canceled in the last 90 days. One offer per customer and per device. Offer cannot be transferred or combined with other Microsoft offer. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. Offer requires a Samsung and Microsoft account. Refer to https://www.microsoft.com/onedrive-samsung-offer for details. Setting up a Samsung Account is free. To set up your Samsung Account, please go to: http://www.samsung.com/ca/samsungaccount/35 Terms apply. SiriusXM Offer is valid from July 26 2023 at 12:00am to September 13, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. Your SiriusXM Promo Code must be downloaded from the Samsung Members App from your eligible Samsung device by October 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. This offer is limited to the first 5,000 participants. While quantities last. Offer is non-transferable, subject to change or cancellation without notice. See complete offer details at www.samsung.com/ca/offer. SIRIUSXM TERMS: OFFER DETAILS: Purchase a full price SiriusXM Streaming Platinum subscription and get your first 6 months for free. A credit card is required for this offer. Service will continue every month thereafter and your credit card will automatically be charged the regular price of $12.11 per month (plus taxes) for as long as you choose to remain a subscriber. The plan you choose is for an indeterminate term and therefore services will continue until you cancel. You may call us at 1-888-539-7474 to cancel at any time. This offer cannot be combined with any other and is available for eligible new subscribers only. SiriusXM Canada reserves the right to modify or terminate this offer at any time. Streaming service may not be available unless data is enabled; data charges may apply and are charged separately. Contact your wireless service provider for details. Channel lineup varies by package. All terms, fees, content and features are subject to change. You can only listen on one streaming device at a time per subscription. Subscriptions to SiriusXM Canada are subject to our Customer Agreement. We collect and use personal information according to our Privacy Policy.36 Some conditions apply. Offer is valid from August 9 to December 31, 2023 at 11:59pm EST (Offer Period). When you purchase any Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series device during the Offer Period, you are eligible to receive 1-year free full version of GoodNotes for Android App (regular price $9.99); then after the 1-year free period ends, receive a 20% off discount on your first purchase of the GoodNotes for Android via Samsung Galaxy Store (Discount Price $7.99, regular price $9.99). The offer comes with free premium content (templates, sticker and planner) valued at $17.96. No rain checks. No substitutions and no cash value. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion unless specifically agreed to by Samsung. Offer may be cancelled or changed without notice. Any in-app purchases in the Galaxy Store will be governed by the Galaxy Store terms and conditions available HERE. For details, visit www.samsung.com/ca.37 Conditions apply. Offer is valid from August 11, 2023 to August 10, 2024 at 11:59pm EST (Offer Period). When you purchase any Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 device with Android version 10 or above, during the Offer Period, you are eligible to receive Galaxy exclusive 50% off instant discount for the LumaFusion App via Samsung Galaxy Store (Discount Price $14.99, regular price $29.95); and a 30-day free subscription to Storyblocks for LumaFusion (valued at $9.99). A Samsung Account is required. Valid form of payment required at sign-up, but you will not be charged until the trial period expires. You can cancel at any time prior to the trial end date and your form of payment will not be charged. No rain checks. No substitutions and no cash value. Offer may be cancelled or changed without notice. Any in-app purchases in the Galaxy Store will be governed by the Galaxy Store terms and conditions available HERE. For details, visit www.samsung.com/ca.38 Terms and conditions apply. To receive a 6-month complimentary trial of Clip Studio EX ($8.90/month), open and update the preloaded Clip Studio Paint for Galaxy from your eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device. Preload supported in select markets. Clip Studio Paint can also be downloaded from the Galaxy Store. One 6-month free trial for Clip Studio Paint account per Galaxy device, only to customers using it for the first time on a new Galaxy device (including those who already have a Clip Studio Paint account). Certain features may be restricted after the 6 free months of service. Paid subscription is available for additional use. Users are NOT asked for payment information prior to the free trial. After the free trial, users can choose to subscribe from: CSP PRO: $4.49/month or $24.99/annual, CSP EX: $8.99/month or $71.99/ annual (The free trial provides CSP EX.) Subscription plans: https://ec.clip-studio.com/enus/application/plans?transitionSourceUrl=https://www.clipstudio.net/en/.39 Terms and conditions apply. Offer ends December 31, 2024. To receive a 2-month complimentary trial (US$9,99/month, approximately CAD$13.60 value) for either Adobe Lightroom (Up to 1TB) or Adobe Express (Offer), download and open Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Express from your eligible Galaxy Tab S9 Series device. Launch the Adobe-made Offer Landing page and follow the registration process. Valid form of payment required at sign-up, but you will not be charged until the trial period expires. You can cancel at any time prior to the trial end date and your form of payment will not be charged. A Samsung Account and an Adobe ID are required. This Offer is non-transferrable and cannot be combined with any other offer. Offer not available to existing subscribers. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Offer is non-transferrable or applicable to other products or services, and may be cancelled or changed without notice. Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Express subscription is subject to the Adobe Terms of Use (https://www.adobe.com/legal/subscription-terms.html).40 Terms and Conditions apply. For full Terms and Conditions, please see https://support-ca.samsung.com/secaew/consumer/ca/terms.41 Terms and Conditions apply. For full Terms and Conditions, please see https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/samsung-care-plus-promo42 Terms and Conditions apply. For full Terms and Conditions, please see https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/samsung-care-plus-promo43 Terms and Conditions apply. For full Terms and Conditions, please see https://www.samsung.com/ca/offer/samsung-care-plus-promo44 Digital keys are available for select SmartThings-compatible smart door locks and automobiles including BMW 1-8 Series, X5-X7,and iX models, launched after July, 2020, Exact features availability may vary by model and is subject to change, please visit https://www.samsung.com/ca/apps/samsung-wallet/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a1b5c85b-7eef-4c54-b636-45c7009d297d

New Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Tab S9 Series and Galaxy Watch6 Series are now available in Canada Inspired by you, created for you: the latest mobile devices from Samsung usher in a new era of Galaxy innovation.

Source: Samsung Canada
SINGAPORE, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This news release is issued by Robert M. Friedland pursuant to the early warning requirements of Canadas National Instrument 62-104 and National Instrument 62-103 with respect to class A (Common Shares) of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (Ivanhoe Mines).

In connection with a personal financing transaction entered into by Mr. Friedland with a third-party U.S. commercial bank (the Financial Institution), Mr. Friedland has pledged as security an aggregate of 32,500,000 common shares in favour of the Financial Institution (the Pledged Shares), which constitute 2.66% of the 1,220,553,764 common shares of Ivanhoe Mines currently issued and outstanding. Mr. Friedland has also purchased an aggregate of 22,000,000 put options allowing him to sell 22,000,000 common shares to the Financial Institution and has also sold 32,500,000 call options entitling the Financial Institution to purchase 32,500,000 common shares, in each case for purposes of facilitating the financing transaction (commonly referred to as a collar transaction) (collectively, the Transactions). The Transactions have been completed in four separate tranches. Mr. Friedland has not sold or otherwise disposed of any common shares of Ivanhoe Mines. The Financial Institution has no rights to dispose of, sell, transfer or vote, any of the pledged common shares until maturity or such time as the pledge has been realized following an event of default under the transaction terms with the Financial Institution.

Mr. Friedlands controlled affiliate, Newstar Advantage Ltd., continues to be the registered owner of 105,570,260 common shares and Mr. Friedland continues to directly own 57,421,548 common shares (which includes the Pledged Shares), which in aggregate total 162,991,808 common shares, representing in aggregate approximately 13.35% of the Ivanhoe Mines common shares currently issued and outstanding. Mr. Friedland also may be deemed to own 3,446,659 common shares issuable on exercise of previously granted options, 405,343 common shares issuable upon the vesting of restricted share units and 112,350 common shares issuable upon the vesting of performance share units, and as a result may be deemed to own, in aggregate, 166,956,160 common shares, representing approximately 13.63% of Ivanhoe Mines common shares then issued and outstanding on a partially-diluted basis.

Mr. Friedland has a business address of 150 Beach Road, #25-03, The Gateway West, Singapore 189720.

For further information and to obtain a copy of the early warning report filed under applicable Canadian provincial securities legislation in connection with the transactions hereunder, please go to Ivanhoe Mines profile on the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) or contact Sam Kenny at (604) 689-8765. Ivanhoe Mines has an office at 606-999 Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 3E1.

Source: Robert M. Friedland
MONTREAL, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saputo Inc. (TSX: SAP) (Saputo or the Company) announces that the nominees listed in the management information circular dated June 8, 2023, were elected as directors of Saputo at the annual meeting of shareholders held on August 11, 2023.

Each of the following nine nominees proposed by the board of directors was elected as a director of Saputo, pursuant to a vote conducted by ballot. The outcome of the proxies received by the Company and the ballots cast was as follows:

Voted For Voted Against % For % Against Lino A. Saputo 348,114,226 9,589,139 97.32% 2.68% Henry E. Demone 348,251,525 9,451,962 97.36% 2.64% Olu Fajemirokun-Beck 344,230,401 13,473,086 96.23% 3.77% Anthony M. Fata 340,744,997 16,958,393 95.26% 4.74% Annalisa King 347,374,170 10,329,317 97.11% 2.89% Karen Kinsley 356,994,450 709,037 99.80% 0.20% Diane Nyisztor 355,364,000 2,339,487 99.35% 0.65% Franziska Ruf 355,364,080 2,339,407 99.35% 0.65% Annette Verschuren 352,981,215 4,722,272 98.68% 1.32%

About SaputoSaputo, one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada, a leading dairy processor in Australia and the top dairy processor in Argentina. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the top producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products. In the United Kingdom, Saputo is the leading manufacturer of branded cheese and dairy spreads. In addition to its dairy portfolio, Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a range of dairy alternative cheeses and beverages. Saputo products are sold in several countries under market-leading brands, as well as private label brands. Saputo Inc. is a publicly traded company and its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SAP. Follow Saputos activities at Saputo.com or via Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Investor InquiriesNicholas EstrelaDirector, Investor Relations1-514-328-3117

Media Inquiries1-514-328-3141 / 1-866-648-5902[email protected]

Source: Saputo Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP. (CSE: CCC) (FSE: BJ4) (OTCQB: CCCFF) ("Carlyle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 12,000,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.085 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,020,000.

Each Unit will consist of one common share in capital of the corporation (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.15 per Common Share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance.

The securities offered pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance. The Company may pay a finder's fee on a portion of the gross proceeds of the Offering. The Offering remains subject to regulatory approval and the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE").

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for advancement of its Newton Project and for general working capital.

About Carlyle

Carlyle is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties. Carlyle owns 100% of the Newton Project in the Clinton Mining Division of BC and is listed on the CSE under the ticker "CCC", on the OTCQB Market under the ticker "CCCFF", and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the ticker "BJ4".

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP.

"Morgan Good"

Morgan Good

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information regarding this news release, please contact:

Morgan Good, CEO and Director

T: 604-715-4751

E: [email protected]

W: www.carlylecommodities.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding the terms of the Offering, the anticipated closing date of the Offering and the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied certain material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will complete the Offering in the anticipated timeframe and use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that the Company will not receive the required regulatory approvals or approval from the CSE in connection with the Offering, that the Offering will not close on the anticipated date and that the Company will not use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176978
Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - CBD of Denver (OTC Pink: CBDD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire LUXORA Holding AG, a leader in the CBD Wholesale market, seamlessly importing and distributing premier North American CBD Flower throughout Europe.

CBDD has created a new subsidiary, LUXOA LLC, to combine its existing wholesale CBD flower business with that of LUXORA Holding AG. CBDD's wholesale CBD flower business is continuing to bring top line revenue with increased margins to the Company. The cannabis legalization is now on the forefront in Europe and LUXORA is being positioned to take early advantage of the coming changes.

Unlocking New Horizons in Cannabis with LUXORA

LUXORA Holding AG is positioned to revolutionize the dynamics of cannabis operations across the continent.

It's product portfolio includes distribution and resale rights for distinguished brands such as:

Weedo: Established in 2018, Weedo has emerged as a premium specialty retailer for legal, high-quality hemp and CBD products, epitomizing the evolving cannabis lifestyle through a range of successful pillars, including an expansive e-commerce platform, an influential cannabis online magazine, strategic partnerships, engaging YouTube content, and stylish retail stores. Weedo Website

Hempcrew: Pioneering innovative combinations with premium ingredients and essential oils, Hempcrew excels in crafting exceptional formulas that capture a diverse array of flavors. The brand's commitment to quality encompasses every stage of production, from organic hemp cultivation to meticulous bottling, resulting in top-tier offerings. Hempcrew Website

Happybuds: Setting a new standard in the German market, HappyBuds flowers stand out not only in aroma but also in structure and appearance. Grown under stringent quality controls in Switzerland, these flowers undergo a rigorous selection process before being meticulously dried and fermented to perfection. Happybuds Website

Mydarling: myDarling extends the spectrum of CBD's benefits to animals, catering to the well-being of pets through high-quality CBD products, including oils and treats. My Darling Products

Collectively, these brands have demonstrated impressive revenue generation, reflecting LUXORA's dedication to delivering superior products that resonate with consumers.

Seizing Germany's Cannabis Potential

LUXORA is strategically positioning its German division to leverage the forthcoming approval of legislation creating the framework for Germany's journey towards cannabis legalization. With an estimated 8 million potential consumers among the country's 80 million citizens, the proposed bill outlines a pivotal provision allowing Cannabis Clubs to serve up to 500 members, each authorized to purchase 50 grams per month, amounting to a remarkable potential monthly production of 25 kilograms per club.

Luxora's objective is to capture 2% of the potential 13,000 Cannabis Clubs (8,000,000 consumers divided by 500 members per club) in Germany, offering Plug & Play solutions that allows clubs to produce for a maximum cost of 3 per gram.

A Proven Legacy of Expertise

Backed by a collective experience of nearly 100 years, LUXORA's dedicated team comprises seasoned experts who have overseen successful management of production and distribution, and operated social clubs in Ibiza and Barcelona.

"Our company has accomplished remarkable milestones even before our merger with the existing CBD business of CBD of Denver. Our commitment is unwavering, directed towards delivering substantial value to the company, its shareholders, and the cannabis industry as a whole. While the journey of cannabis legalization has a historical precedence in the USA and Canada, Europe is now stepping onto a similar path. We are positioned to capitalize on this shift, armed with concepts that emphasize both, quality and quantity for Cannabis Club owners," asserts CEO Jan Schwager. He underlines the team's resolute dedication to sharing these achievements through our official Social Media channels.

Innovating Cannabis Cultivation

At the heart of LUXORA's pioneering strategy lies the Plug&Play Grow solution, an innovative concept poised to redefine cannabis cultivation for Cannabis Club owners. This streamlined solution guarantees a monthly production of 25 kilograms per club, ensuring a consistent supply of premium genetics meticulously chosen by industry experts.

A Future Defined

The acquisition of LUXORA Holding AG by CBDD marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of the European cannabis market, poised to drive unprecedented growth, introduce premium products, and contribute to the establishment of a thriving, regulated cannabis industry in Europe.

About CBD of Denver, Inc. (Berliner Innovation)

CBD of Denver, Inc. is focused on acquiring profitable assets at attractive valuations to create value for shareholders. The company's team is dedicated to sourcing high-margin, innovative products that align with its values. The Company has diversified from offering just CBD products to offering a number of innovative consumer products such as the Magic Lappen and the Berlinr13 Anti-Slip solution.

About the Magic Lappen

The Magic Lappen provides maximum shine, streak free drying, and only requires water - no chemicals or detergents. The Magic Lappen is also chemical-free and lint-free; cleaning of all smooth and shining surfaces is robust and durable with a leather-like feel. Its innovative structure enables high absorption of dirt, dust, and grease and can be washed many times at 60. The product is vegan and ecofriendly.

Follow Magic Lappen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for more information and updates.

Follow The Magic Lappen on Instagram: @themagiclappen or shop on our website: https://www.the-magic-lappen.com/

Visit the CBDD/ Berliner Innovation: www.berlinerinnovation.de

See our innovative Anti-Slip product: www.berlinr13.de.

For questions, please submit to [email protected] the company will respond.

About LUXORA LLC

LUXORA LLC is a trailblazing entity in the European cannabis industry, with offices spanning the USA and Europe. Our core expertise revolves around unlocking the potential of the legalized cannabis market, offering Plug&Play solutions tailored to the dynamic needs of this rapidly expanding sector. With a profound understanding of the opportunities and challenges brought forth by legalization, our experienced team is dedicated to pioneering the future of the legal cannabis market in Europe. Our offerings range from consulting and market research to product development and distribution solutions, aimed at simplifying the path to legalization for our esteemed clients.

For inquiries, please contact: Investor Relations Email: [email protected]

For more information, please visit: Website: www.luxora-holding.com

Follow Us: Twitter | Instagram

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176888
Six Miss Universe contestants in Indonesia have accused the pageant organisers of sexual harassment by filing complaints with the police. Law enforcement officials assured that an investigation would be conducted.

ADVERTISIMENT

The beauty contest in Indonesia was held in the capital Jakarta from 29 July to 3 August. According to the models, the organisers asked them to strip down to their underwear "to check their bodies". The incident was reported in local news outlet Official iNews.

The girls reported to the police that they were asked to undress for an alleged medical examination in a room with more than 20 people, most of them men. The participants were then photographed topless. The applicants' lawyer, Mellisa Angraeni, stressed that there was no need for such 'checks'.

One of the models later added at a press conference that the organisers had asked her to pose in an inappropriate position, including with her legs open.

ADVERTISIMENT

Representatives of the international Miss Universe pageant, owned by Thai transgender media mogul Jakapong "Ann" Jakrayuthatip, responded to the incident. They assured that they would look into the matter.

"Miss Universe takes allegations of sexual violence and misconduct very seriously. Ensuring a safe place for women is a top priority for the Miss Universe organisation," the organisation said in a statement.

It should be noted that religious groups in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, have previously opposed beauty pageants in general.

ADVERTISIMENT

We would like to add that Miss Universe will be held in El Salvador this December. The exact date will be announced later.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, on 8 July, Miss Netherlands 2023 was held and 22-year-old model and actress Rikki Colle won the contest. She will be the first transgender representative of the Netherlands and the second such participant in the history of the Miss Universe pageant. Read more in our article.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Get Ready to Experience a New Level of Trading Proficiency with MoonBot's Advanced Features and Customization Options

Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2023) - MoonBot is thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of its new Telegram trading bot that is set to transform the trading experience. Combining exceptional speed, transparency, and customization options, MoonBot promises to provide users with an unparalleled trading tool.





Moonbot



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8203/176885_moonbot1.jpg

What will set MoonBot apart is its commitment to speed and transparency. Users will be able to execute trades faster than ever before, with a command to transaction signature time of just 100-150 milliseconds. This speed, combined with MoonBot's focus on transparency, will enable users to execute more proficient and effective trade strategies.

MoonBot isn't just about speed. It's about giving users more control and customization options than ever before. With MoonBot, users will be able to tailor their trading experience to their specific needs and strategies. And with more features to be added in future updates and the upcoming V2 release, MoonBot is a trading bot that will evolve with its users.

Please note: The MoonBot product and website are currently under development and not fully completed. We are working diligently to finalize both and appreciate your patience. We encourage you to check back soon for updates and more information.

Matt Hartog, Head of Communications at MoonBot says, "MoonBot will be more than just a trading bot. It's a tool that will empower users to trade more effectively and efficiently. With its speed, transparency, and customization options, we believe MoonBot will redefine what users expect from a trading bot."

Additional Information

MoonBot is the result of over 8 months of dedicated work by a team of veteran web3 developers with over 30 years of combined experience. The development of MoonBot, valued at over 300K USD, is a testament to our commitment to providing innovative solutions for traders.

About the Company

MoonBot is a pioneering company dedicated to pushing the boundaries in the trading world. With a team of seasoned developers and a commitment to innovation, MoonBot continues to deliver solutions that empower traders and shape the future of trading.

Media Contact:

Name: Matt Hartog, Head of Communications at MoonBot

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.moonbottrades.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176885
St. Paul, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2023) - PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM) (NYSE American: PLM) ("PolyMet" or the "company"), today reports its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023.

The company experienced three significant events during the period:

Completed an offering of rights to shareholders of common shares of the company raising approximately $195M in gross proceeds (the "Rights Offering") to repay outstanding debt, fund PolyMet's share of the work program associated with the NewRange Copper Nickel joint venture and certain other corporate activities. The Rights Offering was fully backstopped by Glencore, which now holds approximately 82% of PolyMet shares;

Received the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision wherein it revoked the Clean Water Act section 404 permit for the NorthMet Project. NewRange continues to evaluate its options and develop strategies to recover the permit; and

Entered into a definitive agreement with Glencore whereby Glencore will acquire the approximately 17.8% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company that Glencore does not currently own for $2.11 in cash per share, subject to approval by PolyMet shareholders, court approval and other customary closing conditions (the "Transaction").

In addition, integration efforts related to the NewRange Copper Nickel joint venture continue as planned.

Key Balance Sheet Statistics

(In '000 US dollars)





June 30, 2023





December 31, 2022



Cash $ 14,087

$ 11,046

Deposits with related party

82,073



-

Working capital

92,306



(86,386 ) Total assets

546,079



492,853

Total liabilities

37,618



164,679

Shareholders' equity $ 508,461

$ 328,174



Key Income and Cash Flow Statement Statistics

(in '000 US dollars, except per share amounts)





Three months ended



Six months ended



June 30, 2023



June 30, 2022



June 30, 2023



June 30, 2022

Operations expense $ 5,073

$ 3,432

$ 10,800

$ 7,240

Other expenses/(income):















Debt accretion and interest

77



2,496



3,592



4,522

Loss on refinancing

-



-



-



1,598 Rehabilitation accretion

289



484



720



964

Gain on financial asset fair value

-



(117 )

-



(269 ) Gain/(loss) on restricted deposits

(278 )

1,680



(1,116 )

2,517 Gain on NewRange transaction

-



-



(8,535 )

- NewRange transaction costs

-



-



4,825



- Other expense/(income) - net

(1,160 )

1,250



(1,002 )

1,255



















Loss before Taxes:



4,001



9,225



9,284



17,827 Deferred income tax expense

-



492



-



492

Total Loss:

4,001



9,717



9,284



18,319 Total Loss ($/share)

0.02



0.10



0.06



0.18













Net Increase in Cash $ 4,239

$ 2,346

$ 3,041

$ 4,718















Weighted average shares outstanding

189,347,222



101,471,132



145,769,301



101,450,044



Loss for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was $4.0 million compared with $9.7 million for the prior year. The decreased loss was primarily due to lower interest expense following the repayment of outstanding debt in April 2023.

Loss for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was $9.3 million compared with $18.3 million for the prior year. The decreased loss was primarily due to a gain on the NewRange Copper Nickel transaction in February 2023 and lower interest expense partially offset by NewRange transaction closing costs.

Cash increased $4.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2023 and increased $9.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase in cash primarily reflects Rights Offering proceeds during the quarter partially offset by repayment of outstanding debt and deposits with Glencore under the cash management agreement.

The financial statements have been filed at www.polymetmining.com and on SEDAR+ and EDGAR and have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. All amounts are in U.S. dollars. Copies can be obtained free of charge by contacting the company at 444 Cedar Street, Suite 2060, St. Paul, MN 55101, or by e-mail at [email protected]. Project developments described above are derived from these documents and should be read in conjunction with them.

* * * * *

About PolyMet

PolyMet Mining Corp. is a mine development company holding a 50% interest in NewRange Copper Nickel LLC, a joint venture with Teck Resources Limited. NewRange Copper Nickel holds the NorthMet and Mesaba copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metal (PGM) deposits, two globally significant clean energy mineral resources located in the Duluth Complex in northeast Minnesota. The Duluth Complex is one of the world's major, undeveloped copper, nickel and PGM metal mining regions. NorthMet is the first large-scale project to have received permits within the Duluth Complex. For more information: www.polymetmining.com

For further information, please contact:

Media

Bruce Richardson, Corporate Communications

Tel: +1 (651) 389-4111

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Tony Gikas, Investor Relations

Tel: +1 (651) 389-4110

[email protected]

PolyMet Disclosures

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning anticipated developments in PolyMet's operations in the future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "potential," "possible," "projects," "plans," and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will," "may," "could," or "should" occur or be achieved or their negatives or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated benefits of the 50/50 joint venture, the company's expectations with respect to the future development of NorthMet and Mesaba, and statements with respect to the Transaction. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, among other things, receipt of regulatory, shareholder and court approvals and timing of closing of the Transaction, and the outcome of the development of the NorthMet and Mesaba projects. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements due to risks facing PolyMet or due to actual facts differing from the assumptions underlying its predictions.

PolyMet's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and PolyMet does not assume any obligation to update (except as required by law) forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations and opinions should change.

Specific reference is made to risk factors and other considerations underlying forward-looking statements discussed in PolyMet's most recent Annual Report on Form 40-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and in our other filings with Canadian securities authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Annual Report on Form 40-F also contains the company's mineral resource and other data as required under National Instrument 43-101.

No regulatory authority has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/176827
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Etehad Law (310-550-1220) has announced contingency-based legal representation for injury and accident victims in Beverly Hills seeking compensation.



The move comes as Etehad Law looks to provide injured parties in and around Beverly Hills with personal injury law guidance in line with the latest regulatory developments. The firm is led by Attorney Simon Etehad, a personal injury lawyer practicing in California for over 25 years.

More information is available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/etehad-law-empowering-clients-across-los-angeles-with/id1562180400?i=1000621808783

Etehad Laws legal services are now offered to assist with an array of injury cases, spanning auto or vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, slip and fall situations, and more. The firm aims to recover compensatory amounts that reflect harm sustained and losses incurred.

Our mission at Etehad Law is to provide exceptional legal representation and support to accident and injury victims in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, said Simon Etehad. We firmly believe that every client deserves justice and fair compensation for their losses, and we are committed to fighting tirelessly on their behalf.

Etehad Law points to the severe injuries that can transpire as a result of car crashes, in particular - ranging from head trauma to spinal damage. It explained that such consequences can leave victims facing ongoing costs due to immediate medical treatment and surgeries, as well as physical rehabilitation or therapy.

According to the firm, possible losses after accidents may also extend to lost income from employment, as injured parties are unable to work going forward. For this reason, Etehad Law takes into account the full impact that incidents have had on the lives of victims and their families when filing claims.

The service it offers covers each stage of the injury claim process. As noted by Etehad Law, this may involve settlement negotiations with insurance companies, lawsuit preparation against liable parties, and courtroom representation.

Etehad Law is also positioned to aid victims in need of immediate replacements for damaged vehicles, either by facilitating car repairs or helping with rental setups.

Additional information is available at https://www.theattorneypost.com/legal-excellence-in-los-angeles-etehad-laws-stellar-services-for-personal-injury-business-real-estate-and-more/

Etehad Laws updated services follow a contingency-based model, with legal fees payable after settlements have been agreed or awarded in court.

Interested parties in Beverly Hills and Hollywood can find additional details about Etehad Law and its legal services at https://www.audible.com/pd/ITEM_NAME-Podcast/B0CC5P31SB?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Contact Info:

Name: Simon Etehad

Email: Send Email

Organization: Etehad Law

Address: 150 South Rodeo Drive Suite 350 , Beverly Hills, California 90212, United States

Website: https://www.etehadlaw.com/



Release ID: 89104630

In the event of encountering any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release, we kindly request that you immediately contact us at [email protected]. Our dedicated team will be readily accessible to address your feedback within 8 hours and take appropriate measures to rectify any identified issues or facilitate press release takedowns. Ensuring accuracy and reliability are central to our commitment.
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Marty Higgins is celebrated as one of Mutual of Omaha's top financial advisors in its 114-year history. Recognized for his achievements and unwavering commitment to excellence, Higgins chairs Family Wealth Management in Marlton, NJ and authored the bestseller, DistributionLand. He manages $178 million in assets.



In a prestigious honor, Marty Higgins was recognized as one of the most successful financial advisors and agents in the 114-year history of Mutual of Omaha, a leading Fortune 500 insurance and financial services company.



Read more about this recognition in Mutual of Omaha's official newsroom.



In a day filled with commendation and reflection, Mutual of Omaha dedicated a series of honors and events at their Omaha-based corporate headquarters to celebrate Higgins. The ceremony highlighted his significant contributions as a longtime agent and financial advisor, bringing to the fore his unwavering commitment to excellence and integrity.

Away from the corporate limelight, Marty chairs a reputed financial planning and advisement business in South Jersey. His team at Family Wealth Management, based in Marlton, NJ since 1976, comprises experts and leaders who specialize in addressing financial needs across different life stages.

A company proclamation lauded his achievements, stating, Through Martys continuous quest for excellence and his thirst for knowledge, he emerged as a distinguished expert in insurance, investments, and financial planning. His highly acclaimed book on retirement planning further cements his position in the financial community, gaining the trust and unwavering loyalty of his clientele.

Higgins' remarkable track record boasts of 42 consecutive Chairmans Club recognitions and a slew of other awards and honors. Currently overseeing $184 million in life insurance in force and managing assets worth $178 million, Marty has significantly influenced the lives of his clients. His relentless drive to assist customers in safeguarding their cherished possessions and accomplishing their financial objectives is evident. Moreover, he has also penned the Amazon bestseller, DistributionLand, further expanding his influence in the financial world.

For those seeking wisdom in financial planning and advisement, Higgins stands as a testament to dedication, knowledge, and success.

About Us: Established in 1999 and located in Marlton, NJ, Family Wealth Management LLC is a preeminent wealth management firm led by founder and president, Martin V. Higgins. Through its proprietary "WealthCare Process", the firm specializes in designing comprehensive financial and retirement income plans tailored for pre-retirees, retirees, independent women, business owners, and companies' 401k plans. Under Higgins' visionary leadership, Family Wealth Management strives to provide generational guidance, ensuring clients of all ages can make informed financial decisions. The firm boasts a distinguished team of advisors, including renowned professionals like Michael J. Einhorn, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and Scott Mahoney, a Certified Financial Planner with expertise in Retirement, Business, and College Planning Strategies. Not only do the team members possess vast experience and certifications, but they also bring diverse personal histories and a strong commitment to helping clients realize their financial goals. The Family Wealth Management team believes that their clients should live a life free from financial worries, and they work tirelessly to make that belief a reality. Their comprehensive approach, combined with a dedication to understanding each client's unique financial landscape, positions Family Wealth Management as a trusted partner for financial success. For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit their website.

Contact Info:

Name: Marty Higgins

Email: Send Email

Organization: Family Wealth Management

Address: 9000 Lincoln Dr E Ste 300, Marlton, NJ 08053

Phone: 877-988-7722

Website: http://www.familywealthadvisory.com/



Video URL: https://youtu.be/hcYnJBspV3s

Release ID: 89104643

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AES Argentina Generacion S.A.

Offer to Exchange Any and All of its Outstanding

7.750% Senior Notes due 2024

(CUSIP Nos.: 00107V AA1 and P1000C AA2; ISIN Nos. US00107VAA17 and USP1000CAA29)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina , Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 13, 2023 , AES Argentina Generacion S.A. (" AES Argentina " or the " Company ") announced the commencement of its offer to exchange (the " Exchange Offer ") any and all of its outstanding 7.750% Senior Notes due 2024 (the " Old Notes ") for newly issued 9.50% Notes due 2027 (the " New Notes ") and cash consideration, as applicable, each upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the exchange offer memorandum (the " Exchange Offer Memorandum "), dated July 13, 2023 , as supplemented and amended by the press release issued by the Company on July 26, 2023 (the " Press Release "), extending the Early Participation Date and the supplement to the Exchange Offer Memorandum (the " Supplement ") dated August 8, 2023 , and the related eligibility letter (the " Eligibility Letter " and, together with the Exchange Offer Memorandum, the Press Release and the Supplement, the " Exchange Offer Documents "). Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Exchange Offer Documents.

AES Argentina hereby announces that it is extending the period to be eligible to receive the Early Exchange Consideration in respect of the exchange offer and the Expiration Date from 5:00 p.m. , New York City time on August 10, 2023 (the " Original Expiration Date "), to 5:00 p.m. New York City time on August 17, 2023 (such time and date, the " Expiration Date ").

Morrow Sodali International LLC, acting as information and exchange agent for the Exchange Offer (the " Information and Exchange Agent "), advised AES Argentina that as of the Original Expiration Date (i) U.S. $36,534 ,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 13.31% of the aggregate principal amount of Old Notes outstanding, have been tendered (and not validly withdrawn) in the Exchange Offer under Option A, and (ii) U.S. $98,475,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 35.87% of the aggregate principal amount of Old Notes outstanding, have been tendered (and not validly withdrawn) in the Exchange Offer under Option B, totaling a participation of U.S. $135,009 ,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, representing approximately 49.18% of the aggregate principal amount of Old Notes outstanding.

Based on the aggregate principal amount of Old Notes tendered in the Exchange Offer as of the Original Expiration Date, Eligible Holders that tendered their Old Notes under Option A at or prior to the Original Expiration Date would receive (assuming no additional participation) an Early A Consideration of U.S. $739.0869 in cash and U.S. $266 of New Notes per U.S. $1,000 of principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange, respectively. The Exchange Consideration will be determined following the expiration of the Exchange Offer (as extended by this announcement).

Eligible Holders who have not already done so may tender their Existing Notes for exchange until the Expiration Date (as extended by this announcement). The Withdrawal Date expired on July 26, 2023 , and has not been extended. As a result, any Existing Notes validly tendered on or after the date hereof and prior to the Expiration Date may not be withdrawn. Eligible Holders who validly tender their Old Notes on or before the Expiration Date are eligible to receive the Early Exchange Consideration in connection with any such Old Notes accepted for exchange and there will be no Late Exchange Consideration.

Given that AES Argentina has extended the Expiration Date under the Exchange Offer, the settlement date for the Exchange Offer is now expected to be August 23, 2023 , in compliance with Argentine Central Bank's requirements to access the foreign exchange market (the " Settlement Date "), and the issue date, interest payment dates, record dates, principal payment dates, optional redemption and other related dates under the New Notes will be adjusted accordingly to reflect the new Settlement Date.

The other terms of the Exchange Offer remain unchanged (including the Withdrawal Date). The terms and conditions of the Exchange Offer are described in the Exchange Offer Memorandum, as supplemented and amended by the Press Release and the Supplement, as amended by this announcement. AES Argentina's obligations to accept any Old Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn and to pay the Exchange Consideration for them and the conditions to such obligations (including but not limited to the Minimum Participation Condition) are set forth in the Exchange Offer Memorandum, as supplemented and amended by the Supplement and the Press Release, as amended by this announcement. The Exchange Offer is made by, and pursuant to the terms of, the Exchange Offer Memorandum, and the information in this announcement is qualified by reference to the Exchange Offer Memorandum.

Only holders who have electronically submitted a duly completed Eligibility Letter certifying that they are (1) "qualified institutional buyers" ("QIBs") as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or (2) holders of Old Notes other than " U.S. persons" (as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act) who are located outside of the United States , who are qualified offerees in other jurisdictions, are authorized to receive the Exchange Offer Memorandum and to participate in the Exchange Offer (such holders, "Eligible Holders").

Questions or requests for assistance related to the Exchange Offer or for additional copies of the Exchange Offer Documents may be directed to the Information and Exchange Agent at the following email address: [email protected] . You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Exchange Offer. The Exchange Offer Documents are available for Eligible Holders at the following web address: https://projects.morrowsodali.com/AES .

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Santander US Capital Markets LLC are acting as dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") for the Exchange Offer. Banco Santander Argentina S.A., Banco Itau Argentina S.A., Itau Valores S.A. and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Argentina) S.A.U . are acting as local placement agents.

Subject to applicable law, the Exchange Offer may be amended in any respect, extended or, upon failure of a condition to be satisfied or waived prior to the Expiration Date or Settlement Date, as the case may be, terminated, at any time and for any reason. Although AES Argentina has no present plans or arrangements to do so, the Company reserves the right to amend, at any time, the terms of the Exchange Offer (including, without limitation, the conditions thereto) in accordance with applicable law. AES Argentina will give Eligible Holders notice of any amendments and will extend the Expiration Date if required by applicable law.

Eligible Holders of Old Notes are advised to check with any bank, securities broker or other intermediary through which they hold Old Notes as to when such intermediary would need to receive instructions from an Eligible Holder in order for that Eligible Holder to be able to participate in, or withdraw their instruction to participate in, the Exchange Offer before the deadlines specified in the Exchange Offer Documents. The deadlines set by any such intermediary for the submission of instructions will be earlier than the relevant deadlines specified above.

To reimburse the time and cost of processing the tender of Old Notes in the Exchange Offer, AES Argentina will pay a processing fee to brokers in Argentina acting on behalf of certain Eligible Holders. In Argentina, the processing fee will be payable to direct participants in Caja de Valores S.A.'s ("Caja de Valores") depositary system acting on behalf of beneficial owners of Old Notes in Argentina who are individuals tendering, through Caja de Valores, Old Notes for exchange in the Exchange Offer with respect to individual tenders of up to U.S. $250,000 aggregate principal amount of Old Notes per each Eligible Holder that are accepted for exchange and will be in an amount equal to 0.25% of the principal amount of such tendered Old Notes that are accepted for exchange. This processing fee will be payable in Argentine pesos at the Communication "A" 3500 exchange rate published by the BCRA on the Argentine business day prior to the Settlement Date. No such fee shall be payable to brokers outside of Argentina.

Important Notice

This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States , and none of the New Notes has been or will be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities law. They may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. This press release does not constitute an offer of the New Notes for sale, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, in any state or other jurisdiction in which any offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any person considering making an investment decision relating to any securities must inform itself independently based solely on an offering memorandum to be provided to eligible investors in the future in connection with any such securities before taking any such investment decision.

This announcement is directed only to holders of Old Notes who are (1) "qualified institutional buyers" ("QIBs") as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act, or (2) other than " U.S. persons" (as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act) who are located outside of the United States , who are qualified offerees in other jurisdictions, are authorized to receive the Exchange Offer Memorandum and to participate in the Exchange Offer. No offer of any kind is being made to any beneficial owner of Old Notes who does not meet the above criteria or any other beneficial owner located in a jurisdiction where the Exchange Offer is not permitted by law.

The distribution of materials relating to the Exchange Offer may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. The Exchange Offer is void in all jurisdictions where it is prohibited. If materials relating to the Exchange Offer come into your possession, you are required by the Company to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the Exchange Offer, including this communication, do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the Exchange Offer be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a dealer manager or any affiliate of a dealer manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the Exchange Offer shall be deemed to be made by the dealer manager or such affiliate on behalf of the Company in that jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions on the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, and factors over which the Company has no control. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, and does not intend to do so, unless otherwise required by law.

Notice to Investors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom

The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA"). For these purposes, (a) a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (the "Insurance Distribution Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"); and (b) the expression "offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the New Notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to subscribe for the New Notes. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore otherwise offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the United Kingdom . For these purposes: (a) the expression retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the "FSMA") and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA and (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; and (b) the expression an offer includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the New Notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to subscribe for the New Notes. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the " UK PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.

The Information and Exchange Agent for the Exchange Offer is:

INFORMATION AND EXCHANGE AGENT Morrow Sodali International LLC

Offer Website: https://projects.morrowsodali.com/AES

E-mail: mailto:[email protected] In Stamford :

333 Ludlow Street , South Tower , 5th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

United States

Telephone: +1 203 609 4910 In London :

103 Wigmore Street

W1U 1QS, London

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 20 4513 6933

Any question regarding the terms of the Exchange Offer should be directed to the Dealer Managers.

The Dealer Managers for the Exchange Offer are:











Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street , 4th Floor

New York, New York 10013

United States Attention: Liability Management Group

Call Collect: (212) 723-6106 US Toll-Free: (800) 558-3745 HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. 452 Fifth Avenue ,

New York, New York 10018 Attention: Global Liability Management Group U.S. Toll-Free: (888) HSBC-4LM Collect: (212) 525-5552 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC 383 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10179 Attn: Latin America Debt Capital Markets U.S. Toll-free: +1 (866) 846-2874 Collect: +1 (212) 834-7279 Santander US Capital Markets LLC 437 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10022

United States Attention: Liability Management

Collect: +1 (212) 940-1442 Toll Free: +1 (855) 404-3636

















The Exchange Offer Memorandum shall be available online at https://projects.morrowsodali.com/AES until the consummation or termination of the Exchange Offer.

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SOURCE AES Argentina Generacion S.A.
ST. PAUL, Minn. , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 3M (NYSE: MMM) announced today that Audrey Choi , retired Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, Morgan Stanley, has been elected to 3M's Board of Directors, effective August 9, 2023. In connection with Ms. Choi's election, the Board of Directors increased its size from 10 to 11 members.

Ms. Choi was Morgan Stanley's first Chief Sustainability Officer and a member of the firm's Management Committee from 2017-2022, overseeing sustainability for a global financial services firm with offices in 41 countries. She was also Chief Marketing Officer from 2017-2021. Over the course of her 16-year career at Morgan Stanley, she founded and led the Global Sustainable Finance Group, the Institute for Sustainable Investing, and the Community Development Finance Group. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, she served in senior policy positions in the U.S. Government's Executive Branch, including as Chief of Staff of the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House.

Ms. Choi has a long record of service in the philanthropic and non-profit sector, including as a board member of the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Wildlife Conservation Society, StoryCorps, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, New York Cares, the Impact Investing Alliance, and the Kresge Foundation. She is a frequent speaker on sustainable investing, economic development, and public-private partnerships. Ms. Choi earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard College and master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

"We are very pleased to welcome Audrey to 3M's board, a highly accomplished leader with a proven track record in complex and cross-functional environments, including the private sector and government," said chairman and CEO Mike Roman . "Audrey's background in sustainability will be invaluable as we continue to prioritize progress in Science for Climate, Science for Circularity, and Science for Community, and continue to move 3M forward."

About 3M

3M (NYSE: MMM) believes science helps create a brighter world for everyone. By unlocking the power of people, ideas, and science to reimagine what's possible, our global team uniquely addresses the opportunities and challenges of our customers, communities, and planet. Learn how we're working to improve lives and make what's next at 3M.com/news.

Investor Contact:

Bruce Jermeland

651-733-1807

or

Diane Farrow

612-202-2449

or

Eric Herron

651-233-0043

Media Contact:

Tim Post

[email protected]

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SOURCE 3M
COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber , has visited Barbados , meeting with Prime Minister Mia Motley and addressing leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

President-Designate, Dr. , has visited , meeting with Prime Minister and addressing leaders of the (CARICOM). In his address, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber acknowledged the significant impact climate change has already had on the region and stressed the COP28 Presidency's vision for a paradigm shift in global efforts to reduce climate change and support regions, like the Caribbean , that are most vulnerable to its impacts.

acknowledged the significant impact climate change has already had on the region and stressed the Presidency's vision for a paradigm shift in global efforts to reduce climate change and support regions, like the , that are most vulnerable to its impacts. "The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts. And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world."

have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts. And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world." "Last month I laid out the COP28 Presidency's vision Fast tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; Fixing climate finance; Focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; And underpinning everything with Full inclusivity."

Presidency's vision Fast tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; Fixing climate finance; Focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; And underpinning everything with Full inclusivity." "Many of you will be familiar with the global goal I have called for to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030."

Right here in Barbados , the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year.

, the and plants are expected to displace 1000 tons of CO2 and save nearly in diesel fuel costs every year. "Addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28 ."

." "As a first step, I have called on donor countries to "show me the money", when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge."

finance pledge." "I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century."

"We need to ensure the right balance between mitigation finance and adaptation finance. This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience."

"I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finances goes to adaptation in the future."

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados , Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- COP 28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has visited Barbados to meet with Prime Minister Mia Motley and address distinguished leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In his speech, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber reaffirmed the COP28 Presidency's commitment to support communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and to push the international community to close the climate finance gap and address social and economic development in-step with climate action.

Dr. Al Jaber said: "The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts.

And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world."

In his address to CARICOM, the COP28 President-Designate emphasized the critical role climate finance will play in the global energy transition, reminding those present that 'fixing climate finance' is one of four of his key 'Action Plan' priorities for COP28 alongside 'focus on people', 'lives and livelihoods' and underpinning everything with 'full inclusivity'.

"As a first step, I have called on donor countries to "show me the money", when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge. I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century. In short, all forms of finance must be more available, more accessible, and more affordable," added Al Jaber.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also praised the work of The Bridgetown Initiative, which he noted was "a wake-up call for the global community to make good on past promises and modernize a financial architecture that was built for the last century." Spearheaded by Barbados , The Bridgetown Initiative seeks to facilitate access to international financing, an effort that aligns with the COP28 Presidency's own commitment to modernize global financial infrastructure to support climate action.

In his speech, the COP28 President-Designate also highlighted that Barbados represents "a living example of renewable energy's potential not only to deliver carbon free power, but to lower energy costs and create new avenues for economic growth." He noted that the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1,000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year. The UAE itself has partnered on carbon and cost-saving projects across 16 Caribbean nations through the Abu Dabi Fund for Development and Masdar. However, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber noted that the cost of capital is proving a stumbling block to progress.

"We all know that the cost of capital has slowed the adoption of renewable energy in this region, alongside many other climate vulnerable regions of the world. That is why addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28 ," Al Jaber added.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also warned of the importance of striking the "right balance" between mitigation finance and adaptation finance, noting this will be critical as world leaders begin outlining the parameters for a new, collective goal for finance during COP28 , and beyond. "This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience. That's why I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finance goes to adaptation in the future," Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said.

During his visit to Barbados , Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also announced that the UAE will host a meeting of the Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance in August. The two-day meeting will bring together world-leading economists, private sector leaders, the COP28 Presidency and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and will prepare the ground ahead of COP28 , ensuring the event delivers tangible action on international finance reforms.

During his stay in Barbados , the COP28 President-Designate held a bilateral meeting with several other dignitaries, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Minister of Energy and Business Development. He also conducted a tour of the island, visiting key ecological sites and climate adaptation projects, including the energy-efficient, hurricane resilient homes of the Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) project and the sea defense installation at Holetown, which is designed to protect the local community from rising sea levels.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber's visit to Barbados follows a trip to Brazil , where he delivered remarks at the Amazon Summit and Collaboration for Sustainable Development and urged leaders to build on President Lula's achievements in reducing deforestation.

Notes to Editors COP28 UAE:

COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023 . The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors.

will take place at Expo City from . The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors. As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE will deliver the first ever Global Stocktake  a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals.

will deliver the first ever Global Stocktake  a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals. The UAE will lead a process for all parties to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a "leave no one behind" approach to inclusive climate action."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183826/COP28.jpg

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NEW YORK and LONDON , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (" Davidson Kempner "), a global investment management firm, announces the signing of a binding agreement with X3 Group ("X3"), a subsidiary of ION, for the sale of Prelios S.p.A. ("Prelios").

Established in 1990 in Milan, Italy , Prelios is the Italian leader in alternative asset management, servicing and specialized property services with more than 40bn of assets under management across non-performing loans, unlikely-to-pay exposures and real estate funds.

Since investment funds advised by Davidson Kempner acquired the business in 2018, Prelios has been able to grow its revenue from 100m to over 300m while significantly improving profitability.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the authorization of the relevant authorities.

Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor and Linklaters LLP provided legal advice to Davidson Kempner .

Lazard acted as financing advisor to Prelios.

The law firm Russo De Rosa Associati acted as tax and legal advisors for the management.

UBS acted as financial advisor, Gattai, Minoli, Partners and Chiomenti provided legal advice, Facchini Rossi Michelutti provided tax advice to ION.

Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas led the consortium of banks, also including Banco BPM, Standard Chartered Bank and Mediobanca, that are providing financing to X3 for the transaction. BNP Paribas and Mediobanca acted as financial advisors to X3. Milbank provided legal advice for the financing to X3 and Latham & Watkins advised the lenders.

About Davidson Kempner Capital Management

Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP is a global investment management firm with over 40 years of experience and a focus on fundamental investing with a multi-strategy approach. Davidson Kempner has more than $37 billion in assets under management and over 500 employees across seven offices: New York , Philadelphia , London , Dublin , Hong Kong , Shenzhen and Mumbai . Additional information is available at: www.davidsonkempner.com .

About Prelios

Prelios is the leading, vertically integrated Italian player offering a one-stop shop for investors and banks in alternative asset management and high value-added services across the real estate and credit value chains. Prelios is the first private player in the unlikely-to-pay segment leveraging on its first mover advantage and highly innovative DNA, long-term partnerships with the two leading Italian banks and sizeable management structure in the market, while also leading in the non-performing loans servicing segment. Prelios acts as operating partner of choice for large global and domestic institutional investors ensuring end-to-end coverage from scouting of new market opportunities, structuring, asset management and exit. Additional information is available at: https://prelios.com.

About ION

ION is a permanent capital investment holding company focused on software and data to digitize and automate mission-critical workflows. Additional information is available at: https://iongroup.com/.

Press Contacts

Davidson Kempner

Greenbrook

Rob White / Teresa Berezowski

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 207 952 2000

Community

Roberto Patriarca

Email: [email protected]

Tel: + 39 335 6509568

ION

https://iongroup.com/media-inquiry/

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SOURCE Davidson Kempner; ION
BOGOTA, Colombia , Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC, the "Company") informs that the redemption price of the notes issued in 2013, maturing in September 2023 , was USD1,000.167 per USD1,000 principal amount, for a total prepayment of principal plus make whole amount of USD821,613,148.865 , plus accrued interest as of the redemption date of August 7, 2023 .

This prepayment was announced by the Company in a press release on July 7, 2023 in furtherance of the objectives of the financial plan and reaffirms Ecopetrol S.A.'s commitment to its refinancing strategy and investment plan for 2023.

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia , it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico ), Brazil , and Mexico , and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil , Chile , Peru , and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile , and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets

Carolina Tovar

Email: [email protected]

Head of Corporate Communications

Marcela Ulloa

Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
MELBOURNE, Australia , Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: TLX, Telix, the Company) today announces that a first patient has been dosed in China in the pivotal Phase III registration study of TLX591-CDx (Illuccix, Kit for the preparation of 68Ga-PSMA-11),[1] for the imaging of prostate cancer using positron emission tomography (PET).

The Phase III Illuccix China study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05847348) is a prospective, open-label, single-arm, multicenter study in Chinese patients with biochemically recurrent (BCR) prostate cancer that is intended to bridge to the marketing authorisation granted to Illuccix by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study  a collaboration with Telix's strategic partner for the Greater China region, Grand Pharmaceutical Group Limited (Grand Pharma)  is required to establish that the diagnostic utility of TLX591-CDx is equivalent in Chinese and Western populations. This study will enrol up to 110 patients with BCR prostate cancer, and data will support a future marketing authorisation application for TLX591-CDx in China .

Dr Shams UL Arifeen , Regional Medical Director, Telix Asia Pacific said, "We are pleased to have commenced this study, which brings advanced PSMA-PET imaging[2] one step closer for Chinese men with prostate cancer. With our strategic collaborator in the region, Grand Pharma, we would like to express our gratitude to Dr Yong He , principal investigator at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University as well as his clinical research team, and the patients who will contribute to this important study."

About Prostate Cancer in China

The Asia Pacific region comprises approximately one third of the world's male population and includes many nations whose populations are ageing or increasingly adopting a more affluent, "Western-style" lifestyle, the two main demographic trends driving increasing cancer incidence rates. Consequently, the incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in many parts of the region.

In China , 115,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, increasing by approximately 6% each year.[3] In line with government policy supporting wider geographic access to nuclear medicine, the number of PET/CT cameras installed in China is forecast to reach 1,240 by the end of 2023, compared with 133 in 2010.[4]

About Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited

Telix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. Telix is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with international operations in the United States , Europe ( Belgium and Switzerland ), and Japan . Telix is developing a portfolio of clinical-stage products that aims to address significant unmet medical need in oncology and rare diseases. Telix is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: TLX).

Visit www.telixpharma.com for further information about Telix, including details of the latest share price, announcements made to the ASX, investor and analyst presentations, news releases, event details and other publications that may be of interest. You can also follow Telix on Twitter (@TelixPharma) and LinkedIn.

Telix's lead product, Illuccix (TLX591-CDx), has been approved by the U.S. FDA,[5] by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration,[6] and by Health Canada.[7]Telix is also progressing marketing authorisation applications for this investigational candidate in the United Kingdom and the European Union.[8]

About Grand Pharmaceutical Group Limited

Grand Pharma is an international pharmaceutical company of technological innovation. Its core businesses cover three major areas, namely pharmaceutical technology, nuclear medicine anti-tumour diagnosis and treatment and cerebro-cardiovascular precision interventional diagnosis and treatment technology and biotechnology. Based on the pharmaceutical and biological industries, Grand Pharma focuses on the needs of patients, and take technological innovation as the driving force. In response to the unmet clinical needs, Grand Pharma will increase its investment in global innovative products and advanced technologies, enrich and improve its product pipelines, consolidate and strengthen its industrial chain layout, and fully leverage Grand Pharma's industrial strengths and R&D capabilities to provide more advanced and diverse treatment solutions to patients worldwide.

Telix Investor Relations

Ms. Kyahn Williamson

Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited

SVP Corporate Communications and Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited Disclosure Committee on behalf of the Board.

Legal Notices

This announcement is not intended as promotion or advertising directed to any healthcare professional or other audience in any country worldwide (including Australia , United States and the United Kingdom ). This announcement may include forward-looking statements that relate to anticipated future events, financial performance, plans, strategies or business developments. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "outlook", "forecast" and "guidance", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's good-faith assumptions as to the financial, market, regulatory and other risks and considerations that exist and affect the Company's business and operations in the future and there can be no assurance that any of the assumptions will prove to be correct. In the context of Telix's business, forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about: the initiation, timing, progress and results of Telix's preclinical and clinical studies, and Telix's research and development programs; Telix's ability to advance product candidates into, enrol and successfully complete, clinical studies, including multi-national clinical trials; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, manufacturing activities and product marketing activities; the commercialisation of Telix's product candidates, if or when they have been approved; estimates of Telix's expenses, future revenues and capital requirements; Telix's financial performance; developments relating to Telix's competitors and industry; and the pricing and reimbursement of Telix's product candidates, if and after they have been approved. Telix's actual results, performance or achievements may be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and the differences may be adverse. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Except as required by applicable laws or regulations, Telix does not undertake to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. Readers should read this announcement together with our material risks, as disclosed in our most recently filed reports with the ASX and on our website.

2023 Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited. The Telix Pharmaceuticals and Illuccix name and logo are trademarks of Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited and its affiliates (all rights reserved).

[1] For regulatory reasons, Telix refers to its 68Ga-PSMA-11 kit as Illuccix in markets where it has received regulatory approval, and TLX591-CDx when referring to its use in both approved and unapproved markets. Registrations vary country to country. Always refer to local labelling. [2] Imaging of prostate-specific membrane antigen with positron emission tomography. [3] Ye Dingwei et al. Lancet Oncology, 2022. [4] Goetz Partners research 2020. [5] Telix ASX disclosure 20 December 2021 . [6] Telix ASX disclosure 2 November 2021 . [7] Telix ASX disclosure 14 October 2022 . [8] Telix ASX disclosure 3 April 2023 .

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SOURCE Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited
An endovascular surgeon, successful model and TV presenter, happy wife and mother of many children, Iryna Bilotserkovets first learned first-hand what Russian aggression is back in 2014, when she was forced to flee her native Sevastopol after the occupation of Crimea. On 26 February 2022, she tried to evacuate with her children from the war-torn Kyiv region. In the end, Iryna was seriously injured, losing half of her face and one eye.

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Despite this, she found the strength to overcome all the difficulties and return to normal life. Moreover, Iryna became the heroine of the first printed issue of Ukrainian Playboy during the full-scale war, which was sent to the frontline and will not be on the shelves. Bilotserkovets told about her injury, her difficult path and her desire to live in an interview with the "" (to see photos and videos, scroll to the bottom of the page).

An enemy bullet changed the model's face and almost took her life, but Iryna proved to be stronger.

"All I remember from that day is hearing a shot. I told my children: 'I love you, get down, I'm dying'... I heard the shot, but I thought it was somewhere near me, but it was right in my head. When I was in the car, my head was twisted, but I could still see my children," the woman recalls with tears in her eyes.

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The woman's next memories were from the hospital. She realised that she had lost an eye and suffered many other serious injuries. However, the only thing that worried Iryna was whether her children were safe.

"I understand that I am in a city hospital and that I am alive, but I cannot see. I can hear the tubes around me, I'm on artificial respiration. Then the doctor came and told me that the children were safe. When the operation was going on, I must have woken up, because I remember that I was missing one eye, but then I couldn't see with both eyes. There were injuries on my face from all sides," said Bilotserkovets.

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After that, she underwent a long treatment in Germany. Iryna says that in Ukraine she would not have been able to receive the necessary treatment, so she could have died. Timely transportation to a German clinic, a 10-hour surgery and long-term rehabilitation helped the victim of Russian terror get back on her feet.

After returning to Ukraine, the model's younger son, who was 1.4 years old at the time, did not recognise his mother, who had changed. Iryna cannot remember that period without crying.

After the occupation of Sevastopol, the native Crimean woman and her family moved to Kyiv, where she was forced to build her life from scratch. Iryna found a job as a surgeon, but now, because of the Russians, she cannot return to her favourite profession. However, the Ukrainian woman is not going to despair and give up. Playboy has become one of the factors that helped her to feel the taste of life again.

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"For most people, Playboy is like pornography. My mum talks to me and says: "You know, maybe you needed this. You seem to have come alive.' I say that I didn't come alive because of Playboy, I came alive when the Cultural Front offered us this trip to the Zaporizhzhia region. And there and from that moment on. This is the spirit that these men have, who defend their lands and families. This is what Playboy gave me," said the heroine of the cult magazine.

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Iryna still has many more surgeries ahead of her, but she is already returning to normal life at a fairly rapid pace: she drives a car, goes to the gym and is even going to learn the profession of psychotherapist to help those whom the war also tried to break. There are difficulties, but the woman perceives them as challenges that she bravely accepts and overcomes.

"When you say hello to death, you start to appreciate your life even more. If you are left here, you have to do something. You can't let yourself go sour," Bilotserkovets concluded.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL wrote about Ukrainian lawyer and soldier Masi Nayem, who lost one eye at the front as a result of an injury. He has become one of those who symbolise the strength and resilience of the entire Ukrainian people. The lawyer went to war back in 2015, serving in combat positions near Horlivka and then in Avdiivka, Donetsk region. In peacetime, he continued to fight. He fought for justice and transformation of his native country, although he was born in Afghanistan.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
WASHINGTON , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of record-breaking temperatures in June, NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Aug. 14 , to discuss its latest climate data.

The news conference will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson , along with leading climate experts from the space agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will discuss new findings from both agencies.

During the call, NASA also will underscore the breadth of its research, technology, and development aimed at measuring and mitigating climate change, which is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration.

Additional participants in the call include:

Kate Calvin , chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters

, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters Gavin Schmidt , director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies , New York

, director, , Carlos Del Castillo , chief, Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

, chief, at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Sarah Kapnick , chief scientist, NOAA

To participate virtually, media must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the event to Jennifer Dooren at: [email protected]. NASA's media accreditation policy is online.

In addition to expert interviews in English, Del Castillo is available for interviews in Spanish.

In July, NASA hosted a similar media event to highlight its climate work in the wake of NASA's June 2023 data showing that month as the hottest June on record.

To learn more about NASA's climate work, visit:

https://climate.nasa.gov

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SOURCE NASA
WUHAN, China and SAN DIEGO , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurophth Therapeutics, Inc. ("Neurophth"), a China's leading gene therapy company for ophthalmic diseases, announced the closing of nearly 95 million USD in Series C+ financing. The round was co-led by Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund, Wuhan Optical Valley Financial Holding Group, Wuhan Hi-Tech Holding Group, Hubei KTLC and Guangzhou Jinkong Fund. Additionally, several prominent investment firms participated, including CMG-SDIC Capital, Silicon Paradise Asset Management and Yangtze River Industry Fund. The raised funds will be directed towards advancing clinical trials for Neurophth's core products, enhancing the firm's R&D capabilities and expanding its pipeline.

Neurophth completed its Series C financing in 2021, co-led by CMG-SDIC Capital and Sequoia Capital China, with further investment from Sunshine Life Insurance and China Merchant Bank International Capital. This follows the closing of Series B financing co-led by Guofang Capital and InnoVision Capital, with additional capital from Oriza Holdings, Harvest Capital, Grand Mount Capital, Sequoia Capital China and Northern Light Venture Capital. In early 2020, the firm finalized its Series A financing, co-led by Sequoia Capital China and Fosun, following the conclusion of its angel round of funding in August 2018 , co-led by Miracle Light Venture , the venture arm of BGI Genomics, with additional investment from BOHE Angel Fund and Northern Light Venture Capital.

In early 2023, Neurophth's leading candidate NR082 (rAAV2-ND4) marked a historic milestone as the first gene therapy drug to complete patient enrollment for a Phase III clinical trial in China . Additionally, the company concluded the enrollment of the first patient for Phase I/II clinical trials in the US. NFS-02, Neurophth's second candidate and the world's sole gene therapy targeting ND1-LHON, is under development and has received IND approval from both the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, Neurophth is conducting a global multi-center clinical trial of the drug candidate.

"We're honored to have earned the trust of top investment institutions in the biopharmaceutical sector," said Professor Bin Li , Founder, Chairman and CEO of Neurophth. "Since the beginning of this year, we've made substantial progress in the clinical trials of our products. We plan to keep focusing on developing gene therapies for ophthalmic patients worldwide. With the support of our investors and our technological acumen, we're positioned to accelerate our clinical trials and R&D of new drugs, delivering gene therapies to patients more quickly."

"We extend our sincere gratitude to leading investment firms for acknowledging Neurophth's past accomplishments and future potential. This round of financing is expected to bolster clinical trials for our key products while helping expedite the development and commercialization of new drugs," stated Neurophth CFO Su Zhang . "To address the unfulfilled needs of patients, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to increasing R&D investments, enhancing technological capabilities and broadening the pipeline."

"Unwavering support from our investors provides a solid foundation for Neurophth's continuous growth," stated Eric Lin, Secretary of the Board and Senior Vice President of Neurophth. "The firm is committed to advancing the gene therapy sector through ongoing innovation and R&D of new drugs, aiming to become a global leader in ophthalmic gene therapy, in line with our investors' support and expectations."

"We fully recognize Neurophth's strength and potential in the gene therapy field, evidenced by their swift progress and outstanding achievements in technology R&D and clinical trials," noted Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund. "This financing round has also received strong support from the state-owned platform Donghu New Technology Development Zone . In the future, we along with various state-owned platforms will further collaborate with Neurophth to support the company's innovative development on a global scale. We anticipate Neurophth's continued growth and development of pioneering gene therapies that will benefit patients worldwide."

"With a strong commitment to the biomedical and healthcare industries, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund provides comprehensive support to exceptional companies across various segments," commented Huang Cheng , Chairman of Guangzhou Jinkong Fund. "As a distinctive provider of gene therapies, Neurophth boasts significant product advantages, a leading gene therapy R&D platform and cutting-edge CMC production technology. In addition, the founder, Bin Li , contributes a wealth of scientific knowledge and clinical experience. Given the substantial unmet clinical need for ophthalmic diseases and the considerable market potential, we are highly optimistic about Neurophth's prospects for growth."

"CMG-SDIC Capital is thrilled to continue our participation in Neurophth's latest financing," mentioned the life science team of CMG-SDIC Capital. "We fully acknowledge Neurophth's leadership in China's gene therapy sector and plan to continue our partnership with Neurophth to foster the company's growth and further the development of the industry. We look forward to the launch of Neurophth's therapies, which will have the potential to benefit patients globally."

About Neurophth

Neurophth is China's leading gene therapy company for ophthalmic diseases. With subsidiaries in China ( Wuhan , Shanghai and Suzhou ) and the US ( San Diego, CA ), Neurophth is striving to develop genomic medicines for patients suffering from genetic diseases globally. Our AAV platform has been successfully validated through data from an investigator-initiated retinal gene therapy study. The significant findings from the research have been published in Nature-Scientific Reports, Ophthalmology and EBioMedicine. Our most advanced investigational gene therapy drug candidate, NR082, used for the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) associated with mtND4 mutation (ND4-LHON), has been granted orphan drug designation (ODD) by the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It is the first Chinese gene therapy drug to receive Investigational New Drug (IND) approval for clinical trials from both China's NMPA and the FDA. Neurophth has completed patient enrollment for the Phase III clinical trial in China and established several clinical research centers in the U.S. Recently, our second gene therapy drug candidate NFS-02 has been granted IND clearance from the FDA and NMPA and is undergoing a global multi-center clinical trial. The company's pipeline also includes autosomal dominant optic atrophy, optic neuroprotection, vascular retinopathy, and other preclinical candidates. To learn more about us and our growing pipeline, please visit www.neurophth.com.

About Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund

Hubei Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund Management Co., Ltd ("Yangtze River-CMB"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMB International, manages Yangtze River-CMB International Industry Fund. The fund has built a strategic presence in a number of high-tech sectors, including medical technology, renewable energy and intelligent manufacturing. Utilizing capital as a key catalyst, the firm remains committed to facilitating the rapid growth of high-tech companies.

About Guangzhou Jinkong Fund

Guangzhou Jinkong Fund Management Co., Ltd ("Guangzhou Jinkong Fund"), a subsidiary of Guangzhou Finance Holdings Group, is a leading private equity investment fund management platform with a registered capital of 1.1 billion yuan . With headquarters in Guangzhou and a strategic focus on the Guangdong -Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area , the company has a global reach in its investment initiatives. Guangzhou Jinkong Fund's investment strategy centers on fostering innovation and growth throughout various industry chains. To achieve this, the company has developed a diverse portfolio that includes a science and innovation master fund, a state-owned enterprise innovation fund, a district-level investment fund, an urban renewal fund, a rural revitalization fund, a life and health fund, and a hard science fund. Through a unique five-in-one service model, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund emphasizes the attracting of top-tier businesses, development of industrial parks, provision of financial services, creation of listing platforms and formation of industrial clusters. This comprehensive approach enables the company to offer invested enterprises a full spectrum of innovative financial solutions, ranging from industry chain integration and capital operation to leveraging government resources. Currently, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund oversees 26 industrial equity investment funds and 3 government investment funds, with assets under management totaling 48.277 billion yuan . The company's funds have been invested in 281 projects, including 48 companies that have gone public.

About CMG-SDIC Capital

CMG-SDIC Capital, a leading private equity management firm in China , strategically targets investments in the advanced manufacturing sector. We prioritize technological innovation and place tremendous value on supporting exceptional entrepreneurs and their teams. Our diverse investment portfolio encompasses intelligent manufacturing, smart electric cars, life sciences, and information and communication technology. We are deeply committed to driving the evolution of the manufacturing industry towards sustainability, digitization and service-oriented growth. The team manages cumulative assets exceeding 100 billion yuan , with a diverse investor base that includes financial institutions, social security trust funds as well as state-owned and private companies.

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SOURCE Neurophth Therapeutics, Inc.
REI expert, Pace Morby , hosts an event for community members to celebrate the growing success of his mentorship program.

PHOENIX , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pace Morby, co-star of popular A&E television show, 'Triple Digit Flip', and founder of real estate investing course, 'SubTo', celebrates hitting 10,000 members with an exclusive party designed for his community members. This event is scheduled to take place on Friday, August 11th in Phoenix , Arizona.

Set in Pace's home state of Arizona , the celebration is scheduled to take place on Friday, August 11th . Members are in for an immersive afternoon planned alongside Pace himself, and fellow enthusiastic SubTo community members. The agenda is jam packed with inspiring speeches from key figures integral to the success of the SubTo journey, and includes insights from Pace himself. Drinks and food will be provided throughout the event. For more information visit www.subto.com/10k-celebration

Understanding that many of the SubTo community will not be able to attend in-person, a live Zoom link will be available, ensuring all members can be part of this significant milestone.

SubTo is an online mentorship course for real estate professionals, teaching creative financing methods in real estate investing and providing his students with resources, and a community filled with real estate entrepreneurs and investors nationwide.

Pace Morby is an author and investor, who took the entrepreneurship world by storm, acquiring over $250 million in real estate investing, without previous credentials through creative financing.

New Reach Education (NRE), a company based in Tempe, Arizona , with focus on financial and investment education, partnered with Morby three years ago to help bring SubTo to the success it sees today. When CEO Curtis Weeks was asked about the milestone SubTo is celebrating, he said, "Pace and team have built a rich community of student-members who genuinely want to help each other succeed and focus on collaboration over competition. The fact that we have welcomed over 10,000 student-members into our community is both exciting and humbling. We have a big responsibility to continue to invest in and develop our members. I could not be more proud of what SubTo and Pace have accomplished in just four years"

For additional media inquires, please contact:

Kasey Zollo

201.336.4560

Public Relations Coordinator

[email protected]

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SOURCE New Reach Education
TULSA, Okla. , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Tulsa is preparing to welcome 151 National Merit scholars to campus as new students this fall  more per capita than any university in the country.

The University of Tulsa is welcoming more National Merit scholars per capita than any university in the U.S. this fall.

"We are thrilled that so many National Merit scholars have enrolled at The University of Tulsa as first-time college students. They recognize TU's legacy of high academic standards and what's possible when students are supported holistically," said President Brad R. Carson . "From internationally ranked STEM programs, a curriculum rooted in the arts and humanities and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, TU offers a unique educational experience for top students."

TU is a small, private, research university with just under 4,000 students. Known internationally for engineering and cyber studies, undergraduates receive a foundation in the liberal arts.

TU anticipates 151 National Merit scholars this fall  nearly 80% of whom are from outside Oklahoma . The university provides generous financial aid packages to National Merit finalists and semifinalists as well as a job placement guarantee for all new undergraduates, making a TU degree one of the nation's most valuable.

"When I was trying to decide which college to attend, TU was not originally on my list. I checked out the school website and was immediately attracted to the beautiful architecture. I was pleased to discover the college's firm commitment to liberal arts and to the classical studies," said National Merit Finalist Georgia Rabaey , 18, of Marshall, Minnesota .

Many National Merit scholars and other academically successful students are drawn to TU's Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge and new Honors College.

"With a major in biology and a minor in neuroscience, I was delighted by the flexibility of the curriculum, particularly on the pre-med track," said National Merit Finalist Abhay Bindroo, 17, of Little Elm, Texas .

The University of Tulsa is located on a 200-acre residential campus along historic Route 66 just two miles from downtown Tulsa . TU is among the top 15% of U.S. News & World Report's best colleges and was ranked No. 20 among U.S. universities that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math by Forbes Magazine. With a perfect score from Money Magazine for Best Colleges in America, TU is in elite company nationwide for graduation and placement rates, cost of attendance, financial aid and alumni salaries. To learn more, visit utulsa.edu.

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SOURCE University of Tulsa
Announcement Coincides with International Youth Day ( August 12 ) and Z Zurich Foundation's Support of Global Youth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Junior Achievement USA (JA) announced today a four-year commitment from the Z Zurich Foundation to update its K-5 curriculum. Through this collaboration, the curriculum, which has a strong emphasis on financial literacy, will be redesigned with enhanced digital components and to be more reflective of the communities Junior Achievement serves. The announcement coincides with International Youth Day on August 12 in recognition of the Z Zurich Foundation's commitment to JA programs around the world, including in Spain , Italy , the United States , Canada , Indonesia and several countries in Africa .

Research by educators in the K-5 grades has repeatedly demonstrated the cumulative value of introducing and reinforcing financial literacy, career and entrepreneurship topics to young students as a foundation for more focused and specific lessons in later years. Introducing learning opportunities with real-world topics and skills allows students to practice and apply creative thinking and problem solving at an early age, providing the building blocks for developing the self-esteem and self-sufficiency needed to pursue more rigorous academic and real-world challenges. The K-5 curriculum redesign focuses on prevention and intervention at the earliest stages and provides programming to address systemic challenges caused by a lack of financial literacy.

"Financial literacy education in elementary school establishes a basis for greater financial capability later in life," said Jack E. Kosakowski , President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "With the Z Zurich Foundation's support, our redesigned K-5 learning experiences will have even greater impact on millions of young people each year."

The collaboration between the Z Zurich Foundation and Junior Achievement USA, supported by Zurich North America, will focus on the following objectives:

Contribute to filling gaps in U.S. school system approaches to financial literacy education for young learners.

school system approaches to financial literacy education for young learners. Redesign K-5 curriculum to be more accessible and reflective of the communities Junior Achievement serves, including enhanced digital elements.

serves, including enhanced digital elements. Engage Zurich North America employees through in-person and virtual volunteerism in 810 geographic locations in the U.S.

"This four-year program with Junior Achievement USA is a significant opportunity to support proven and sustainable system change solutions in youth empowerment through financial literacy. The prevention aspect of this program enables us to equip young people with the tools and resources to thrive and reach their full potential. Our joint ambition with Junior Achievement USA and Zurich North America for this grant is to impact millions of American students, as well as thousands of educators and Zurich North America volunteers," said Gregory Renand , Head of the Z Zurich Foundation. "We are very proud of this new collaboration, building on impactful programs we have already built with Junior Achievement around the world."

Many Zurich North America employees are already active JA supporters, and this new collaboration will expand the organization's volunteer efforts. "We are so pleased to be part of this commitment to Junior Achievement USA," said Brian Winters , Head of National Accounts Broker Execution, U.S. National Accounts at Zurich North America. "Zurich North America employees are eager to volunteer and support JA efforts to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. This amazing organization inspires students to dream big and reach their potential, and we're proud to support programming enhancements that will help make an even greater impact on students."

About Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 3.3 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Z Zurich Foundation

The Z Zurich Foundation works alongside Zurich Insurance Group employees and other stakeholders as well as with governments and NGOs in pursuit of a future where people can thrive in the face of increasing climate hazards, where those of us feeling the stresses of life are empowered to speak up, and where the marginalized in our society can reach their full potential.

The Z Zurich Foundation is a Swiss-based charitable foundation established by members of the Zurich Insurance Group. It is the main vehicle by which Zurich Insurance Group delivers on its global community investment strategy.

Visit the Z Zurich Foundation's website to learn more about its work: https://zurich.foundation. Follow Z Zurich Foundation on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America is one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals. Our customers represent industries ranging from agriculture to technology. Zurich North America is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer serving people and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience.

Reflecting its purpose to "create a brighter future together," Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has the highest-possible ESG rating from MSCI. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil .

The Group has about 56,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland . Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.

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SOURCE Junior Achievement USA
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy technology industry press releases from PR Newswire, including PayPal's stablecoin launch and AI updates in web3 and edtech.

NEW YORK , Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the business technology industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

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FILE PHOTO: A general view of the sun rising behind the White House in Washington, U.S. January 22, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

By Andrea Shalal and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's comment about China being a "ticking time bomb" referred to internal economic and social tensions that could have an effect on how Beijing interacts with the world, a White House official said Friday.

White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that one area of concern regarding China was "the way that they bully and coerce and intimidate countries around the world" by offering high-interest infrastructure loans and then seizing assets when countries defaulted.

He said that concern explained the administration's request for supplemental funding of $3.3 billion to boost the World Bank's lending to developing countries and provide a credible alternative to what he called China's "dangerous" loans. The request was unusual since supplemental budgets are usually reserved for emergency needs, including wars and disasters.

Kirby defended the funding request, saying, "Yes, this is an urgent need for us to be able to provide an alternative."

Biden's comments on China, made during a political fundraiser in Utah, drew a sharp response. Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu warned Washington against "scapegoating" Beijing and fanning "division and confrontation."

"We oppose the U.S. side seeking to make an issue of China, smearing China or talking down Chinas prospects," he said in a statement to Reuters on Friday, without mentioning Biden.

Biden told donors: "China is a ticking time bomb ... China is in trouble. China was growing at 8% a year to maintain growth. Now close to 2% a year," he said, misstating its growth rate. Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed the economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter and 6.3% in the second, with gross domestic product up just 0.8% in April-June from the previous quarter after a 2.2% expansion in the first quarter.

Liu said China's GDP growth continued to provide an important support for the development of the global economy.

Kirby said the United States - which also moved this week to limit outbound investment in certain Chinese sectors - had been consistent about pushing back against China's behaviors.

"We've never shied away from calling it like we see it when it comes to (China's) behavior, intimidation and coercion of not only their neighbors, but countries around the world," he said.

"This is a difficult, complex bilateral relationship, the most consequential one in the world. The president understands that," he said. "But that doesn't mean there isn't still a need to continue to improve our lines of communication."

Kirby did not comment on whether the latest comments would scuttle plans for Biden to meet with President Xi Jinping later this year, possibly on the sidelines of next month's Group of 20 leaders summit in India.

China, which has the world's second largest economy, said this week said it was "gravely concerned" about the executive order on outbound investment and reserved the right to take measures.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Michael Martina; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
Satellite model is placed on Telesat logo in this illustration taken April 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - Satellite operator Telesat has given space tech firm MDA a C$2.1 billion ($1.56 billion) contract to build 198 satellites for its low-earth orbit program.

The deal announced on Friday sparked a more than 45% surge in both Telesat's Canadian and U.S. shares, putting them on track for their best day ever. MDA, meanwhile, rose about 29%.

Telesat said it had earmarked $3.5 billion as capital expenditure for the Lightspeed project and that the MDA deal had helped it save $2 billion.

The launches are scheduled to commence in mid-2026, with polar and global services scheduled to begin in late 2027.

By using MDA's beam-forming array antennas and integrated regenerative processor, the redesigned Telesat Lightspeed network will achieve increased network efficiency and enhanced flexibility to focus and deliver capacity to users, the company said in a statement.

The technology would also allow each satellite to be slightly smaller than the ones Telesat was previously considering.

Telesat's Lightspeed network is designed to serve the connectivity requirements of enterprise and government users, with highly secure, resilient, low-latency broadband connectivity anywhere in the world.

The company launched its first LEO 3 demonstration satellite aboard Rocket Lab's Electron rocket in July.

Telesat earlier on Friday also reported second-quarter results. The company posted a profit of C$519.9 million, compared with a year-ago loss of C$4.38 million.

Revenue fell 4% to C$179.8 million.

($1 = 1.3449 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru and Denny Thomas in Toronto; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shounak Dasgupta)
QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean legislative candidate Estefany Puente, who is running for a seat in the province of Los Rios, said on Friday she was lightly injured in a shooting attack the day before.

The incident follows the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down as he left a campaign event on Wednesday evening, less than two weeks before the election.

(Reporting by Aelxandra Valencia; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Sandra Maler)
FILE PHOTO: Ford logo is pictured at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Ford's Brazilian unit on Friday said it reached a transfer agreement with the government of Bahia state to give it ownership of a factory complex closed since 2021.

The automaker said the agreement will provide it with "compensation in amounts compatible with the market," but did not disclose an amount.

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has shown interest in the complex, located in the Camacari industrial park. The automaker has since at least mid-2022 been trying to reach a deal with Ford and the Bahia government to acquire the asset.

BYD said in a statement that it "continues with the planning to invest in the Camacari industrial park, maintaining the necessary negotiations with the Bahia government."

It was not immediately clear whether the industrial unit mentioned by the company involves the Ford area.

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The Western Azerbaijani Community condemns the joining of vehicles filled with the aid collected from several cities and regions of France to a truck caravan that Armenia had aimed to send to Garabagh under the guise of humanitarian aid without the consent of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing a Facebook post of the Community.

The Western Azerbaijan Community has recently called on cities and regions of France to refrain from a policy of double standards, which they view as an insult to international law. This comes in response to a truck with "aid" collected from a number of French cities and regions joining a car convoy that Armenia wants to send to Karabakh without the sanction of Azerbaijan.

The Community's statement points out that France, where Islamophobia and Azerbaijanophobia are rampant, tries to gain its geopolitical interests, which had lost in Africa, in the South Caucasus.

France, where Islamophobia and Azerbaijanophobia are rampant, is attempting to heighten tension in the South Caucasus region and turn it into a scene of geopolitical competition. The West Azerbaijan Community calls on the French cities and regions to avoid such cheap and ridiculous practices, and the policy of double standards, which is an insult to international law, the statement reads.
Explosions erupted in Kyiv during an air alert around 10 a.m. on August 11. The authorities reported the work of air defense forces. The missile debris fell on the territory of one of the children's hospitals in the Obolonskyi district of the city. Preliminarily there are no casualties or damage, all missiles flying at the Ukrainian capital were shot down.

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"Explosions in the city. Stay in shelters!" Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klychko reported as of 10:02. Emergency services have rushed to the scene, he said.

In addition to the children's hospital, two more places of debris fall in Obolonsky district were found, the mayor informed.

"The roof of a private house on the Bohatyrska is damaged. Debris in the open area in one of the Obolon's dacha cooperatives was also found. There are no victims," he stated.

The residents were asked to stay in shelters during the alarm.



"Air defense is working in the capital!" Kyiv RMA reported. At the same time, the Head of the Office of President Andriy Yermak urged Ukrainians not to shoot the work of air defense.

The Air Force of the AFU warned of missile danger throughout Ukraine as of 9:49. It reported that a Mig-31K fighter jet carrying supersonic Russian Kinzhal missiles took off from the Savasleika airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Region.

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Kinzhal launches were recorded in the direction of the Kyiv region. The threat of strikes was also reported in Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

"Mig-31K took off from the Savasleika airfield. Launches of X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from Mig-31K in the direction of Kyiv were recorded! Stay in the shelters!" the message says.

The air alert in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine was canceled as of 10:33 a.m. RMA spokesman Mykhailo Shamanov said the air defense forces had shot down all Kinzhal missiles flying towards the capital.

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FILE PHOTO: AR-10s for sale at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center Gun Show, after the state of Illinois passed its "assault weapons" ban into law, in Belleville, Illinois, U.S., January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Kate Munsch/File Photo

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Democratic-backed ban on assault-style rifles and large-capacity magazines enacted after a deadly mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb in 2022 that left seven people dead and dozens of others wounded.

The state's high court in a 4-3 vote rejected arguments by a group of plaintiffs led by a Republican state Representative Dan Caulkins, that the ban violated the Illinois Constitution by not applying the law equally to all citizens.

Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in a statement called the ruling "a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives."

In January, he signed into law the measure, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans the sale and distribution of many kinds of high-powered semiautomatic "assault weapons," including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, and large-capacity magazines.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford, a Democrat, wrote that the constitution's equal protection and special legislation clauses did not bar the state's legislature from treating certain citizens differently than others by exempting them from the law.

Those exemptions applied to people who complete firearms training while employed in law enforcement, the military and private security and individuals who already owned the prohibited guns before the ban was enacted.

"The Act attempts to balance public safety against the expertise of the trained professionals and the expectation interests of the grandfathered individuals," Rochford wrote in an opinion that was joined by three of her fellow Democratic justices.

The ruling reversed a lower-court judge's ruling in the plaintiffs' favor. Justices Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet, both Republicans, and Mary Kay OBrien, a Democrat, dissented.

The plaintiffs also argued the law violated the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. But Rochford said the plaintiffs waived that argument by not raising it at the lower-court level.

That Second Amendment argument is central to separate ongoing federal lawsuits also challenging Illinois' law.

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court last year in striking down New York state gun limits on carrying concealed firearms announced a new legal standard requiring firearms restrictions to be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

That ruling has made it more difficult for lower courts to uphold new or existing gun regulations, several of which have been declared unconstitutional.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexia Garamfalvi)
By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA (Reuters) - Frontline doctors in Nigerian public hospitals on Friday ended a three-week strike to press for a pay rise after the removal of a subsidy on petrol, the doctors' union said.

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) said the decision to end the strike followed "a very fruitful meeting" with lawmakers, led by the president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, in the capital Abuja.

"From our interaction with the President of the Senate and the practical demonstration he did before us today, we are very confident that there will be light at the end of the tunnel," NARD president Orji Emeka Innocent told reporters.

The doctors were the first public sector workers to strike after fuel prices more than tripled and increased transport fares following President Bola Tinubu's decision to scrap the popular but expensive subsidy at the end of May, worsening the cost of living crisis in Africa's biggest economy.

Resident doctors are medical school graduates training as specialists. They are pivotal to frontline healthcare in Nigeria as they dominate the emergency wards in its hospitals.

Akpabio commended the doctors for their "decision not only to cancel the planned public protest, but to also call off the strike in the interest of the suffering masses."

Tinubu, who has embarked on Nigeria's boldest reforms in decades, has been under pressure from unions to offer relief to households and small businesses after he scrapped the subsidy that kept petrol prices cheap but cost the government $10 billion last year.

The president, who was sworn in at the end of May following disputed elections in February, still does not have a team of ministers. But lawmakers on Aug. 7 approved 45 cabinet nominees, paving the way for their swearing-in as government ministers.

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Sandra Maler)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Thursday, in a bid to be the first power to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted deposits of water ice.

The launch was livestreamed by Russia's space agency.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Jamie Freed)
FILE PHOTO: Semi truck trailers are pictured at freight trucking company Yellows terminal near the Otay Mesa border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico, after the company filed for bankruptcy protection, in San Diego, California, U.S., August 7, 2023

By Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) - Former customers of bankrupt trucking firm Yellow can expect to see rates rise at least 10%-20% from the rock-bottom levels that helped usher in the demise of that nearly 100-year-old firm, industry analysts and executives said on Friday.

Yellow, formerly known as YRC, was one of the largest U.S. trucking firms and a leader in the "less-than-truckload" (LTL) market that combines shipments from multiple customers on a single truck. Rivals who are picking up Yellow's business say they are not dropping their own prices do so.

Two long-time industry executives told Reuters that Yellow's rates were roughly 10% to 20% below those of rivals. Loads in the so-called LTL market do not trade on the spot market and they vary based on the type and size of shipments, they said.

"Yellow was way below" market rates, said Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight and Analytics, which operates one of North America's largest truck freight marketplaces.

Former Yellow customers should expect to see rates rise at least that much to reach market parity, said Chris Pickett, an analyst and chief operating officer at Flock Freight, which matches shippers to fill up individual trucks.

That, however, may not be the end of the increases, Pickett said. Unlike the highly fragmented trucking market, LTL is dominated by about a dozen players. Those companies have more pricing power, and with Yellow gone there is less competition for the freight they handle.

Some providers are already raising rates, which could send LTL rates up 10% to 15% from current levels, Pickett said. "That's going to create some sticker shock."

Large companies like Walmart, Amazon.com and Home Depot will likely see the smallest rate increases as they shift cargo from Yellow.

Savvy customers like those likely locked up new carriers prior to Yellow's bankruptcy on Aug. 7, Adamo said.

Yellow has blamed the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union for its failure. But the union and analysts blamed mismanagement, saying the debt-laden company's sub-market rates made it difficult to offset the high cost of running the companies it bought as separate entities.

Now rival trucking firms like Forward Air are benefiting from Yellow's failure.

Forward Air picked up some of Yellow's business, CEO Thomas Schmitt said on the company's Aug. 3 earnings call.

"Yellow leaving the market will further accentuate pricing discipline ... I do believe the bottom is behind us," Schmitt said of the sector's current "freight recession."

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
FILE PHOTO: SAG-AFTRA actors and Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers walk the picket line outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California, U.S., July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Negotiators for striking Hollywood writers and the major studios will return to the bargaining table on Friday, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) said as the strike marked more than 100 days.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group representing Walt Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery and other studios, is expected to provide responses to proposals from the WGA, the union said in a statement on Thursday.

The strike began on May 2 after talks between the WGA and the major studios reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers' rooms and residual payments in the streaming era, among other issues.

Writers also sought to regulate the use of artificial intelligence, which they fear could replace their creative input.

Studio executives have signaled their desire for a timely resolution to the labor unrest during recent earnings calls.

Both sides met on Aug. 4 to discuss resuming talks and the issues each intended to bring to the bargaining table. But the WGA put out a statement afterwards critical of the studios, a sign that talks were strained.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday extended an olive branch to Hollywood writers and actors, citing his deep respect for creative professionals.

"Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships with the creative," Iger said. "I have deep respect and appreciation for all those who are vital to the extraordinary creative engine that drives this company and our industry."

Iger, who has a reputation as talent-friendly, angered striking Hollywood workers last month when he said that their demands were "not realistic."

The strike by about 11,500 writers has led to late-night shows cancelling new episodes, disrupted most production for the fall TV season and halted work on big-budget movies.

The 160,000-member Screen Actors Guild (SAG) went on strike on July 14 also over pay and artificial intelligence, for the first dual strike since 1960.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman)
By Dan Peleschuk

KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy broadened his battle against graft on Friday, firing all the heads of Ukraine's regional army recruitment centres as the war with Russia enters a critical stage.

Zelenskiy said a state investigation into centres across Ukraine had exposed abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite a wartime ban on them leaving the country.

He said 112 criminal cases had been opened in a wide-ranging probe launched after a graft scandal at a recruitment office in Odesa region last month. He used harsh rhetoric likely to be welcomed by Ukrainians appalled by cases of wartime corruption.

"This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said, adding that those fired would be replaced by recent veterans and soldiers wounded at the front.

Ukraine has made cracking down on graft a priority as it fends off Russia's full-scale invasion and seeks membership of the European Union and has fired or prosecuted a string of high-ranking officials implicated in sleaze.

Friday's move comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Kyiv with its long-touted counteroffensive hampered by extensive Russian defences across swathes of the southeast.

Zelenskiy said that any sacked army recruitment officers who are not being investigated should head to the front to fight for Ukraine "if they want to keep their epaulettes and prove their dignity".

"But let me emphasize: the army is not and never will be a substitute for criminal punishment. Officials who confused epaulettes with perks will definitely face trial," he said in his statement.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed or wounded in fighting since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Ukraine has increasingly faced recruitment challenges as the war, now in an brutally attritional phase, nears the 18-month mark. The military has been occasionally hit by scandals involving graft or heavy-handed recruitment tactics.

Last month, the head of the Odesa region's recruitment centre was ordered into pre-trial detention on suspicion of illegal enrichment. Ukrainian media reports found his family had acquired lavish property in Spain.

Videos purporting to depict army recruiters aggressively pursuing or becoming violent with would-be draftees have gone viral on social media in the country, which has been under martial law since the invasion.

Zelenskiy said top general Valery Zaluzhny would be responsible for implementing Friday's decision and that new candidates for the posts would first be vetted by Ukraine's domestic security service, the SBU.

Despite recent moves against graft, Ukraine still ranks 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

A Transparency-commissioned opinion poll in June found that 77% of Ukrainians believe corruption is among Ukraine's most serious problems.

Zelenskiy was elected in 2019 on a campaign pledge to stomp out graft.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; editing by Tom Balmforth and Philippa Fletcher)
FILE PHOTO: NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

By Andrea Shalal and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House stressed on Friday that there would be restrictions on what Iran could do with any funds unfrozen under an emerging agreement that has led to the release of five Americans from prison to house arrest in Tehran.

White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the United States would have "full visibility" into where any released Iranian funds are directed and used. An estimated $6 billion in Iranian assets are now held in South Korea.

"Essentially, the funds can only be accessed for food, medicine, medical equipment that would not have a dual military use," he said. "And there will be a rigorous process of due diligence and standards applied with input from the U.S. Treasury Department."

The five Americans will be allowed to leave Iran after the funds are unfrozen, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

While stressing that negotiations are ongoing and "the deal is not done," Kirby said there would be "no impediment" to the transfer of the restricted account from South Korea to Qatar, where Iran would then be able to access the funds.

The potential transfer has drawn Republican criticism that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is effectively paying a ransom for the U.S. citizens. Moreover, they contend that allowing Iran to use the money for humanitarian goods could free up funds for its nuclear program or to back militias in nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Thursday that the deal does not mean that Iran would be getting any sanctions relief.

As a first step in what may be a complex set of maneuvers likely to take weeks, Iran allowed four detained U.S. citizens to move into house arrest from Tehran's Evin prison on Thursday. A fifth was already under home confinement.

Under the deal, the United States would release some Iranians from U.S. prisons, Iran's mission to the United Nations said.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying Iran has significantly slowed the pace at which it is accumulating near weapons-grade enriched uranium and has diluted some of its stockpile.

Kirby said he could not confirm the report but said "any steps that Iran might take to slow down enrichment certainly would be welcome."

"We're not in active negotiations about the nuclear program," he added. "But certainly those sorts of steps, if they were to be true, would be welcome."

Tensions have boiled since then-U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal designed to curb Iran's atomic program. Negotiations between the Biden administration and Iran for resumption of the accord have failed. Iran has denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick and Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman)
A U.S. airman who is accused of raping a British citizen three times at RAF Croughton is out on bail after pleading not guilty in a U.K. court, according to media reports.

Keiran Lee Bogstad, 22, entered the plea Thursday in Northampton Crown Court, the BBC and other news outlets said.

Bogstad is a senior airman stationed at Croughton, the 501st Combat Support Wing told Stars and Stripes on Friday but declined to say what his Air Force job is.

All necessary details have been provided. Any additional information will be released following the proceedings, a wing statement said.

The judge granted Bogstad conditional bail and set a trial date for September 2024. He is barred from contacting the alleged victim and is also not allowed to leave the country, according to a report in The Independent.

Northamptonshire police said the Air Force had fully cooperated with their investigation, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors say the rapes occurred between November 2020 and February 2021, according to news reports. In court Thursday, Bogstad spoke only to confirm his identity and enter his plea, they said.

The NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the relationship between allied host countries and the U.S. military forces stationed there, allows for local prosecution of service members accused of violating the host-nations laws.

In Bogstads case, the British citizenship of the accuser may have driven U.K. authorities to pursue prosecution in domestic courts, said Andrew D. Cherkasky, a New York defense attorney and former Air Force JAG lawyer who has extensive experience with military justice abroad.

The host nation often takes cases where there is a specific public interest, Cherkasky said.

The military is allowed to try service members after prosecution by the host country.

It would not be double jeopardy for this airman to be tried by the U.K. and the military because they are separate sovereigns, Cherkasky said.

Another attorney whose firm represents military defendants, Robert F. Capovilla, said the Air Force has an array of options to consider besides bringing charges. The options include expulsion from the service.

That separation process may already be happening, Capovilla said. Theres no requirement that they must wait until the case is resolved in the U.K.s legal system.

Stars and Stripes reporter Kyle Alvarez contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON  The Army National Guards top personnel officer, who oversaw sexual assault prevention and equal opportunity programs, was fired following a service investigation into complaints of sexism.

Maj. Gen. Eric Little was fired as commander of the National Guard Bureaus manpower and personnel directorate, a job that he held since October 2020.

Littles dismissal followed an investigation by the Army inspector general into allegations that he led an office that was the center of "a toxic cacophony of misconduct," according to a news report by USA Today. The general was removed from his job after the inspector general substantiated allegations that included outright sexism that dates back to Littles previous job as a senior officer in the Guards budget office, according to the news report.

The United States Army inspector general agency has concluded its investigations into allegations against Maj. Gen. Eric K. Little with several substantiated findings," service spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said in a prepared statement. "Maj. Gen. Little received appropriate administrative action and is now currently serving as the special assistant to the chief, National Guard Bureau. We consider this matter closed."

Smith declined to say when Little was fired. She also did not provide the findings from the investigation or the administrative actions that the Army took against him. General officers who lose their jobs are often placed in special assistant positions until their retirement.

One of the complaints against Little was filed just days before he was promoted to two-star general, according to USA Today.

Little began his military career in August 1992 with the Illinois National Guard. He later deployed to Iraq from December 2003 to January 2005 and Afghanistan from September 2008 to September 2009.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Tribune News Service)  The Navy has moved into the final leg of a real estate competition to replace its obsolete NAVWAR facilities and remake the rest of the 70.3-acre military campus that bumps up against Interstate 5 in San Diego's Midway District.

The federal government said Thursday that it received proposals from shortlisted development teams, but did not disclose how many proposals it received, identify the developers participating in the solicitation or provide a description of the bids.

Detailed bids for the expansive property were due Wednesday with proposers asked to submit site and design drawings for new government facilities, a demonstration of proposed private development concepts, financial models and a proposed schedule.

The competition is expected to culminate with the Navy selecting a winning proposal before the end of the year. The parties would then enter into an exclusive negotiation period.

"I'm pleased to see progress on this important project," Rear Adm. Doug Small, who heads the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, said in a statement. "As we march forward towards the goal of new mission-capable facilities for NAVWAR, we look forward to continuing our close partnership with the city and local community."

Owned by the Navy since the mid-1990s, the Old Town Campus at Naval Base Point Loma is home to the military's Naval Information Warfare Systems Command and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific divisions. The property, commonly referred to as NAVWAR, consists of two large parcels straddling Pacific Highway with 1.68 million square feet of administrative, lab and warehouse space spread across World War II-era hangars that are said to be past their useful life.

In November, the Navy formally put the property on the market, asking development teams to respond with their resumes and high-level visions for the site. In April, the agency said that it had invited four development teams to respond with more detailed submissions.

The Navy is offering the land for "in-kind" consideration, meaning it wants to exchange the property, in lieu of cash, for new facilities. The government's preference is to transfer the property through a 99-year ground lease, subject to approval by the secretary of the Navy.

The format is modeled after the agency's 2006 agreement with Manchester Financial Group for the 12-acre Navy Broadway Complex opposite San Diego Bay. The experimental public-private partnership eventually resulted in a 17-story, waterfront office building for Navy Region Southwest, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest and Navy Region Southwest Reserve Component Command. Manchester later sold off the remainder of the site to developer IQHQ, which is currently building a large life science complex and public park.

Teams participating in the NAVWAR competition are likely proposing mixed-use projects with new Navy facilities and a substantial number of residential units alongside hotels, office buildings and retail shops. A preliminary environmental analysis conducted by the Navy studied a development concept with 19.6 million square feet of development  including 10,000 residential units  all spread across 109 buildings as high as 350 feet. The development intensity is possible because the Navy's land is not subject to local zoning laws or building height restrictions.

Although Navy officials have repeatedly stated a desire to be good neighbors, the agency has taken a closed-door approach to its solicitation process in an effort to maintain the confidentiality of negotiations. Participating teams, bound by a non-disclosure agreement, have been barred from talking to the media or openly discussing their plans for the site with community groups.

"The Navy has a very large budget. They do a lot of real estate transactions, but most of the things that the Navy does is already on government property," said Mark Balmert, who is president and CEO of the nonprofit San Diego Military Advisory Council, or SDMAC. "As big as the Broadway complex was in that public-private venture, this is several times larger. This is probably the largest public-private real estate (deal) that the Navy has ever done. Maybe that's what makes them extra cautious."

The Navy said Thursday that it will also continue to evaluate the feasibility of a NAVWAR-only development funded by traditional military construction methods. The statement references the aforementioned environmental work, which was paused after backlash to conceptual models that depicted a wall of skyscrapers towering over Interstate 5. The federal agency is required by the National Environmental Policy Act to prepare an environmental impact statement evaluating multiple development alternatives, and work on the document is expected to resume once the real estate competition concludes.

2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Visit sandiegouniontribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The sky over Vnukovo airport was closed in Moscow on the morning of August 11. The authorities declared the "Carpet" plan. The airspace over Kaluga airport was closed as well.

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According to Russian media, a drone was spotted near the town of Kubinka in the Moscow region. It was allegedly flying towards the Russian capital. "Vnukovo airport is closed for arrivals and departures of flights, some planes are redirected to other airports", the press service of the airport said.

According to the Vnukovo online board, more than a dozen flights were delayed, including those to Tyumen, Tehran, Istanbul, Ufa, Vologda, Grozny and St. Petersburg.

Arriving flights were also delayed. Some of the planes were redirected to another Moscow airport, Domodedovo.

The Russian media citing a "representative of the aviation authorities" then said that the airfield over Kaluga airport and Vnukovo was closed "for the safety of civil aircraft flights."

Vnukovo lifted flight restrictions and continued operating normally at 10:50, the airport's press service said.

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The news is being updated.
The Transportation Security Administration has altered a plan that would have required all travelers enrolled in Clears expedited screening program to undergo additional identification checks, even as reports have surfaced about additional security incidents.

In a letter to the company last week, the TSA said it would require that a smaller proportion of Clear members undergo additional identity vetting, according to two people Thursday who have seen the letter but werent permitted to speak publicly about it. The shift from screening all travelers to a lower percentage is a victory for a company whose business model depends on speeding travelers through the airport screening process, in part, by skipping the same identification checks required of other travelers. Clear has aggressively pushed back against the TSAs plan.

The change  which still would slightly increase the number of passengers screened because TSA never came close to its short-lived goal of all passengers  comes despite reports of security breaches at two airports involving Clear earlier this year.

TSA officials would not comment on the reason for the shift. In a statement, the agency said it is committed to ensuring the highest degree of aviation security.

TSA is responsible for ensuring that all systems and programs, including those provided by private companies, meet requisite standards and will take necessary steps to ensure security needs are met, the agency said in a statement. Accurate and reliable verification of passenger identity is foundational to aviation security.

Clear did not respond to questions about the change.

Several lawmakers say they are concerned about Clears operations and whether the company is doing enough to close security gaps.

After being briefed that there have been multiple security breaches over the past year due to Clears lax security controls, TSA needs to ensure all travelers identities are verified by TSA in real time, as we have urged TSA to do since December, said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. Further delaying this puts our aviation system at unnecessary risk.

In the wake of a security breach involving Clears screening program last year, Thompson was among lawmakers who demanded the TSA require Clear members show their physical identifications to TSA personnel before being allowed to enter the screening line. In a report that accompanied a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee also strongly encouraged TSA to verify the identity of all passengers enplaning at TSA-regulated airports, including those who are part of registered traveler services, such as Clear.

TSA appeared to be heeding those calls. In a letter to the company in July, TSA said a requirement to check IDs of all passengers would take effect at the end of that month, according to three people with knowledge of the exchange who werent permitted to speak publicly.

In a January incident, first reported by Politico, a Clear employee allowed a passenger to enter the TSA screening line, even though the persons boarding pass was for a flight departing from a different airport. The mistake was discovered when the person realized the mistake and went back to the to the TSA checkpoint, two people with knowledge of the incident told The Washington Post.

In February, a traveler found a discarded boarding pass in an airport garbage can and used the Clear line to get through to airport screening. The mistake was discovered when the person tried to board the flight. The person to whom the boarding pass belonged already had boarded the flight, the people said.

In an emailed statement, Clear spokeswoman Annabel Walsh said the employees involved in the two incidents violated the companys strict protocols by improperly bringing two travelers to TSA security without properly verifying them. Walsh said the employees and their supervisors were fired. The company is now retraining employees at all its locations.

In a July 2022 incident, first reported by Bloomberg, a man used a fake ID to enroll in Clear and was able to fly from Alabama to Reagan National Airport. On his return trip, he was flagged by TSA officers after they found ammunition in his carry-on bag. When questioned, they discovered he was traveling with false identification.

Most people pay $189 a year for a Clear membership, although some airlines and credit card companies offer discounts. Once enrolled, Clear members have access to their own security lines at 52 U.S. airports. After Clear members verify their identities at company kiosks, they are escorted to the front of the security line for screening.

The TSA operates its own expedited screening program, PreCheck, which also gives enrollees access to a separate security line. As part of the program, which costs $78 for five years, individuals undergo a background check, interview and provide fingerprints. PreCheck customers still must have their identification checked by a TSA officer, but once cleared, they dont need to remove their shoes, belts, travel-sized liquids, laptops or jackets during screening.
HASTINGS, England - Mussadiq was at his hotel in this seaside town when he received the letter threatening to deport him to Rwanda.

The three-page missive said Britain's Home Office wouldn't even consider the substance of his asylum claim before exhausting whether he could be sent to another country, including the central African nation with which it has a new deal.

"I risked my life to come here," said Mussadiq, 27, who fled Afghanistan after he was forced to fight for the Taliban. He crossed the English Channel in a small boat, overcrowded with migrants, which sprung a leak along the way and required a coast guard rescue. Like other migrants interviewed for this article, he spoke on the condition that his last name be withheld, in the interest of protecting his asylum chances.

But his hopes for a less precarious life have run up against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop the boats" and a new asylum policy that places Britain on the extreme end of the spectrum in Europe - and aspires to something like Australia's mandatory detention and offshoring.

The United Kingdom's Illegal Migration Act 2023 - passed by Parliament and granted royal assent last month - effectively bans those who enter Britain via unofficial means from applying for asylum here. The law places a legal duty on officials to detain and deport people back to their birth country, if that's possible, or to a "safe third country," including Rwanda, where their asylum claims can be processed. Once relocated, asylum seekers would be barred from ever entering Britain again.

"It is this country, and your government, who should decide who comes here, and not criminal gangs," Sunak said at a news conference.

In its essence, what Britain is trying to do is an outgrowth of Brexit, driven by a desire to "take back control" of the borders. But beyond the British particulars, the effort has captured the interest of other nations that would similarly like to outsource the issue of migration.

"A lot of other countries are watching the U.K. experiment closely, and they are hoping it succeeds," said Jeff Crisp, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

The United Nations was alarmed enough to issue an unusual statement, saying that Britain was at odds with international law and was setting "a worrying precedent for dismantling asylum-related obligations that other countries, including in Europe, may be tempted to follow."

The U.K. approach is "a blanket removal process, enshrined in law, basically removing [asylum seekers] without adequate examination of the merits of the case. It's quite brazen," said Nadia Hardman, a researcher in the refugee and migrants rights division of Human Rights Watch.

Within Britain, the tough line on migration goes over well with the pro-Brexit base and other key voting target groups of the ruling Conservative Party. Nearly 60 percent of Conservative voters say immigration is one of the most important issues facing the country, according to YouGov surveys. So Sunak's government is trying to show it can make headway on the issue before the next election, expected next year.

Voters are also focused on a cost-of-living crisis - which economists say has been driven by Brexit. So the government has framed the migration issue as an economic issue, too, regularly noting that the public is paying nearly $7.6 million a day to put asylum seekers up in hotels.

In a highly symbolic move billed as a cost-saving measure, the government retrofitted a giant, hulking barge called the Bibby Stockholm to house 500 migrants. But the effort to rehouse migrants on the barge has been beset with problems. After a series of delays, on Monday, a small group moved onboard. Amid criticism of the arrangement, Lee Anderson, the deputy chair of the Conservative Party, said Tuesday that migrants who don't want to live on a barge could go "back to France," using an obscenity. On Friday, the vessel was being evacuated over health concerns.

A further aspect of Brexit is influencing Britain's asylum approach. Since leaving the European Union, Britain can no longer legally return asylum seekers to the first E.U. country they entered. Rwanda - which agreed to take 1,000 people over the first five years of a pilot project - is the only "safe third country" with which the U.K. has a deal.

The legality of that arrangement, however, is in doubt after an appeals court ruled that Rwanda should not be considered a safe country where asylum claims would be fairly processed. The British government is appealing to the Supreme Court.

Sonia Lenegan, an immigration lawyer, said the letters mentioning Rwanda that some migrants are receiving are intended "mainly to terrify. . . . In practice, no one is going to Rwanda anytime soon."

Deportation flights are not expected before next year, at the earliest.

If third-country deportations ultimately go forward, though, they would be a big deal - impacting not only the lives of asylum seekers but the global framework for refugees.

Crisp of Chatham House noted that Britain was one of the original signatories of the 1951 Refugee Convention. If the U.K. "is able to dump its refugees on another country, what message does it send to the world's least-developed and poorest nations, who already bear the brunt of the refugee burden? The whole international refugee system is based on the notion of cooperation," he said.

Britain is far from the only country trying to make migration someone else's issue. The E.U. has effectively adopted a "fortress Europe" mentality and sought various ways to block migrants well beyond its borders. It helped build up the Libyan coast guard to intercept migrants in the Mediterranean. It recently signed a deal with Tunisia, offering millions in return for help stopping migrants from making the journey to Europe. And it has indicated to Balkan countries that their E.U. candidacy will be influenced by their ability to curtail migration along the "Balkan route."

"Europeans are effectively bribing third countries to help better manage the problems they are having with migrants," said Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst with Eurasia Group.

But while the E.U. has talked about establishing asylum processing centers in North Africa, and Denmark at one point signed a deal with Rwanda on the possible transfer of asylum seekers, those plans didn't get very far.

Britain would set the precedent.

"Very few countries take the U.K.'s extreme stance," said David Cantor, director of the Refugee Law Initiative at the University of London. "In some ways, it goes further now even than Australia. Perhaps the closest parallels are with the ways that countries like North Korea or Bhutan treat the refugee issue."

Cantor said the British plan is vastly more severe than the Biden administration's asylum policy, which is also caught up in legal challenges.

"The U.S. functions as a carrot-and-stick approach. The U.K. has no carrot, just a stick," Cantor said.

The Biden administration has said those who don't follow the rules and enter the United States illegally could face deportation or criminal prosecution. The administration has also been working to set up remote asylum processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala. But the idea, Cantor said, is to give people who fulfill the criteria a "direct, safe and legal pathway" to asylum in the United States, allowing them to avoid long and dangerous journeys on smuggling routes.

Britain isn't offering legal pathways of that sort, he said.

Sunak insists that Britain remains a "compassionate and generous country." He notes that it has offered special visas to Ukrainian refugees and Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution. But he says the system is overwhelmed by people who aren't "genuine refugees."

"People must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal," he said. "Once this happens, and they know it will happen, they will not come, and the boats will stop."

Refugee advocacy groups say Britain is facing a manufactured crisis.

Yes, channel crossings are on the rise. Last year, more than 45,000 people came to Britain in small boats - a huge increase from the 300 who did so in 2018. But Britain received far fewer asylum applications than Germany or France. And, when comparing numbers of applicants as a proportion of population, Oxford's Migration Observatory found that in 2021, the latest figures, Britain ranked 19th in Europe.

Refugee advocates say that if the cost of housing people is the concern, Britain could save money by clearing its unnecessary backlog of applications.

Instead, asylum seekers are being kept in a state of limbo.

Many of those interviewed outside a hotel in Hastings said they were hoping to settle in Britain because they had family there, or saw their best chances in an English-speaking country, and that the government's new policies were not a deterrent - but were frightening.

Bidias, 32, from Cameroon, said he found himself poring over news reports on the government's latest efforts.

"The barge looks like a jail . . . and I can't go back to Africa," he said. "We came here knowing England was a safe country, that we could find some help here. We are surprised by all of this."

The Washington Post's Emily Rauhala in Brussels contributed to this report.
TOKYO  When Barbie, the live-action movie about a plastic doll, opened Friday in Japan, it did so without Oppenheimer, the rival film with which it shared a bill in the United States.

Oppenheimer, a biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, has no opening date in Japan, thus far, and Universal Studios has said nothing about the film coming to the only country targeted in anger with atomic weapons.

Barbie arrived divorced from its trendy Barbenheimer partner, a phenomenon in July in the United States but a cultural faux pas in Japan.

Film distributors will consider whether the movie will turn a profit before deciding to show it in Japan, said Kazuhiro Maeshima, a professor of global studies at Sophia University in Tokyo by phone Thursday. Later openings in Japan for U.S. films are not unusual, he said.

They may decide that its better not to show it in Japan because of this reaction to the Barbenheimer controversy, Maeshima said.

The two films were married on social media in a lighthearted, social-media meme called Barbenheimer that encouraged U.S. moviegoers to see the contrasting films in one day. Both movies opened July 21 in the U.S.

Summer to remember

Oppenheimer is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the U.S. project during World War II that was first to develop an atomic weapon.

An Internet meme in late July that grafted images of its star, Cillian Murphy, with one of Margot Robbie, star of Barbie, unleashed outrage in Japan for its apparent insensitivity.

Warner Bros. official Barbie account on X, formerly known as Twitter, re-tweeted a fan-art poster showing Murphys Oppenheimer carrying Robbie as Barbie superimposed over a mushroom cloud.

Its going to be a summer to remember, declared the tweet, since deleted.

Warner Bros. Japan was among the first to react.

We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of Barbenheimer fans, Warner Bros. Japan tweeted on the Barbie Japan account.

We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action, the tweet read. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.

The Warner Bros. Film Group the next day offered a sincere apology for its recent insensitive social media engagement.

Sachiko Ishikawa, a YouTuber from Tokyo who tries to demystify Japan by talking about its misconceptions, addressed the Barbenheimer flap in a video, #Barbenheimer in Japan?!, posted Wednesday.

Its not that the memes werent a problem, but what made it all snowball was the response, Ishikawa told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday. The memes wouldve happened regardless, but the backlash was caused by the Barbie official X reply.

Living memory

Ishikawa said she found the Japanese attitude toward Oppenheimer interesting. The comments on her video focus less on the meme controversy and more on the history of the atomic bomb.

People in Japan associate the atomic bomb and the mushroom cloud with an estimated 110,000 who died immediately and thousands more who suffered from the bombings, Maeshima said. Living survivors tell their stories to subsequent generations, so the atomic bombings are a reality for them, he said.

The Japanese are reminded of the bombings every August with the anniversaries of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

By contrast, in the U.S., the bombings are generally considered a good thing that quickly ended the war, and victims stories are reported less frequently, Maeshima said.

Even if the movie reaches Japanese theaters, it may fall flat following the Barbenheimer incident, he said.

It depends on whether one can imagine the tragic situation the bombings have brought on people when thinking about the mushroom cloud, he said.
Public meetings in early August to give Guam residents information about an advanced, 360-degree missile defense project on the U.S. island territory left many unanswered questions, according to two who attended.

The Missile Defense Agency, a branch of the Pentagon, held three scoping meetings in Hagat, Dededo and Tumon Bay, some of Guams most populous areas, between Aug. 2 and Aug. 4. Agency representatives made presentations and took questions on the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System first announced in March.

The agency describes the project as a comprehensive, persistent, 360-degree defense of the island against ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles. The plan calls for 20 rotating sites and cutting-edge technology such as the SM-3 Block IIA missile thats still under development.

Robert Underwood, chairman of the Guam-based think tank Pacific Center for Island Security, was concerned about the new technology.

Youre not making me feel better by telling me youre giving me the most sophisticated equipment and sophisticated technical expertise when theres open questions about the efficacy of the system that youre advocating for, he told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Douglas Williams, director of testing for the Missile Defense Agency, expects to test SM-3 Block IIA missiles for the first time with the Aegis Weapon System sometime in December 2024, online news site Breaking Defense reported Wednesday. Williams spoke that day at the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., according to Breaking Defense.

The Missile Defense Agency did not respond by Friday to emailed requests for comments on Thursday.

Underwood, previously Guams delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, asked whether the project would make Guam a bigger target. The 210-square-mile island is already home to strategically important bases including Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, along with smaller installations.

Were spending this much money on an anti-missile defense system, are you spending any money on preparing people for an attack - like bunkers and things like that? he said.

Agency officials and representatives from Joint Region Marianas also made presentations to Guam legislators, the governors office and local elected officials.

Guam Sen. Chris Barnett said he has only more questions.

Of course, everyone wants Defense of Guam but that has to be more than a slogan or blind trust, Barnett said Friday by email to Stars and Stripes. Given the lack of real information the military has shared, its hard to see how anyone could just say, I support the MDAs missile defense proposal.

Thats unfortunate, he said, because the MDA and the local command in Guam have the answers, but they are not being shared with the people and public officials.

Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander of Joint Region Marianas, acknowledged public frustrations.

I know there are lots of questions and concerns and it can be frustrating that we dont have all of the answers right now, he told Stars and Stripes in a Thursday email. Id like to remind the public that we are at the very beginning of this process and the feedback we receive will shape some of the answers to your questions.
The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment plans to recognize two of its Marines for rendering first aid to a Filipino driver during an exercise in the Philippines in July, according to a regimental spokeswoman.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Garza, 34, of Texas, and Staff Sgt. Kyle Bougeno, 28, of Missouri, both assigned to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, helped to quickly resuscitate their driver, who stopped breathing during a seizure, according to a Marine news release July 24.

Garza said he and a Filipino woman provided lifesaving CPR that stabilized Salvador, a middle-aged father of five, until he reached a local clinic.

The regiment plans to nominate the Marines for awards but no specifics were immediately available, spokeswoman 1st Lt. Annie Pentaleri said by email Aug. 4.

I couldnt be more proud of these Marines, regimental commander Col. John Lehane said by email Aug. 3. Marines and sailors are willing to step forward when a bad situation presents itself, he said.

The Marines arrived on Luzon, the Philippines northernmost island, in early July for Marine Aviation Support Activity 23, an aviation exercise with Philippine forces, according to the release.

Several local drivers ferried the Marines daily from place to place, Garza, a communications officer, said by phone Aug. 4 from Hawaii. Salvador stood out by his pleasant demeanor and sharp sense of humor.

At lunch July 15, Salvador, his last name unknown to the Marines, came up to take a seat with about six Marines and the other drivers, Bougeno, an intelligence analyst, said by phone Aug. 4 from Hawaii.

He didnt make it all the way down, Bougeno recalled. He kind of slumped there, like he was frozen in place, and I asked if he was OK.

Salvador struggled to breathe, Bougeno said. The driver clenched his teeth, foamed at the mouth and began to shake. Bougeno and the other Marines lowered him to the ground.

Bougeno cleared the drivers airway and rubbed his chest to help him regain consciousness. The other Marines called for an ambulance and cleared the area.

A Filipino woman with medical training emerged and began chest compressions while Garza provided mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Garza said.

After several rounds, the driver began to breathe on his own, he said. An ambulance took him to the clinic.

Salvador remained hospitalized for two days, with his wife by his side, and made a full recovery, Garza said. The Marines stayed in the Philippines another week before returning to Hawaii.

It feels good knowing that I was able to do something to send somebody back to their family, Garza said.
KYIV, Ukraine  Russia fired missiles at western Ukraine that killed an 8-year-old boy, local officials said, and drones that Russian officials blamed on the Ukrainian military targeted Moscow for a third straight day but reportedly didn't cause significant damage.

Also Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the firing of all the heads of regional conscription centers, part of his crackdown on corruption since the outbreak of Russia's war in Ukraine more than 17 months ago.

The missile that killed the boy struck a house in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, about 60 miles from the Polish border, according to the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general.

But Ukrainian air defenses frustrated Russia's daylight attack on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Debris from intercepted missiles fell on residential areas of the city, including the premises of a children's hospital, without causing casualties, local authorities said.

Falling wreckage of missiles and drones has in the past killed people on the ground and damaged buildings in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, a drone fell in western Moscow after Russian air defense systems stopped it, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Nobody was hurt, he said.

The drone plunged onto the Karamyshevskaya Embankment, officials said, which is about 3 miles from a Moscow business district that was hit twice in previous drone incidents.

Reports of drones in the area disrupted flights at two Russian airports. Flights later resumed at Vnukovo airport, one of Moscow's busiest and at Kaluga airport, southwest of the city. It was the third day in a row that Vnukovo airport halted flights due to drone attacks.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy announced the dismissal of the heads of conscription centers across Ukrainian regions. The step was taken after Ukrainian security services presented details of 112 criminal cases against draft board officials suspected of taking bribes and engaging in corrupt practices.

Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that the jobs should instead go to war veterans, including those with injuries.

Zelenskyy previously fired senior officials suspected of corruption. That has sent a signal to Western allies providing Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military aid that Ukraine is serious about clamping down on graft, which has long plagued the country's military.

The long-simmering issue of corruption in Ukraine's draft system burst into the open last June when a media investigation was published about Odesa's regional draft commissar Ievhen Borysov, igniting a scandal.

The investigation reported on millions of dollars' worth of real estate and luxury vehicles allegedly owned by Borysov's family members in Spain. Borysov denied any wrongdoing, saying he had nothing to do with what his family purchased.

After the report, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation and its Security Service detained scores of draft board staff suspected of bribery and corruption.

Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the heads of all of his country's regional military recruitment centers Friday, a sweeping move he said was aimed at combating corruption and ensuring that the recruitment system is "run by people who know exactly what war is."

Zelensky announced the blanket dismissal after a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, which he heads. He cited instances of "illicit enrichment," laundering "illegally obtained funds" and "illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border."

"Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency - that's the only difference," Zelensky said in a statement published on the official presidential website. "The cynicism is the same everywhere." Zelensky did not specify the total number of regional recruitment heads.

Ukrainian forces are struggling to advance in their two-month-old counteroffensive against Russia, and there are growing signs of fatigue among Ukrainians after a year and half of grinding conflict.

Zelensky's announcement is part of a wider campaign launched to root out official corruption, particularly in the military. Critics contend that this campaign is largely for show - aimed at appeasing Western allies and keeping aid money flowing - and has not targeted corruption at the highest levels.

In January, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov resigned after he was accused of overseeing a scheme to purchase military foodstuffs at inflated prices. Shapovalov denied the charges.

In June, one of the country's leading news outlets, Ukrainska Pravda, or Ukrainian Truth, published an investigation showing that the family of Yevhen Borysov, the head of the Odessa regional draft center, had "purchased property and cars worth millions of dollars on the Spanish coast" during the war. Borysov denied the charges but was relieved of his duties soon afterward.

An investigation of the country's recruitment centers followed. Last week, in one of his nightly video addresses, Zelensky said the audit has found widespread malfeasance. "The inspection reveals many abuses. Frankly, disgusting ones," he said.

Last week, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on its official Telegram channel that it has uncovered "a large-scale scheme of issuing certificates of unfitness for military service," after conducting nearly 100 searches across the country. In one instance, draft officials were selling the certificates for $10,000, the ministry said.

On Friday, Zelensky said that 112 criminal proceedings have been launched against 33 suspects, but he did not provide further details.

The shake-up of the military recruitment system appeared to be all-encompassing: Even officials against whom "no evidence of crimes or violations had been found" would be dismissed, the president said. If they want to keep their rank "and prove their dignity," he added, "they should go to the front."

The commander of Ukraine's military, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, will oversee the replacement of the recruitment center heads. In their place, Zelensky said, would be "warriors who have gone through the front or who cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have retained their dignity and have no cynicism."

Latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

Kyiv's mayor said first responders rushed to the children's hospital after missile fragments fell on its grounds on Friday. Vitali Klitschko also reported sounds of explosions and urged residents to stay in shelters. The Kyiv military administration then lifted air raid warnings.

 Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday's drone crashed in a forest in the Moscow region after being intercepted by electronic warfare systems. It said the drone was targeting a facility in Moscow and did not provide further details. Moscow's mayor said the drone had attempted to fly over the city; he reported no injuries or serious damage. A day earlier, Russian authorities said they thwarted two drones near the capital and 11 others over the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed illegally in 2014.

 A spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence said security was "increasingly distant" for Moscow residents. "Given the dynamics of recent months  it would be logical to assume an increase in daily attacks," Andriy Yusov said in an interview with the Kyiv Post published Friday. The Kremlin has blamed mounting drone attacks in Moscow on Ukraine. While Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility, Ukrainian officials are increasingly asserting that they see targets in Russia as part of the war.

 A top United Nations official in Ukraine was "appalled" by a Russian strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia. Thursday's attack, the second in Zaporizhzhia in about 24 hours, killed one person and injured at least 19 others, including four children, officials in the southeastern region said. The strike pounded a hotel used by U.N. personnel and other aid workers in Ukraine, said Denise Brown, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

 The co-founder of Russian technology giant Yandex called the war in Ukraine "barbaric," in a rare display of dissent among the Russian elite. Arkady Volozh, who has lived in Tel Aviv since 2014, told the Bell news outlet that he had friends and family in Ukraine and was "horrified by the fact that every day bombs fly into the homes of Ukrainians." Volozh resigned from the company last year after being placed under European Union sanctions. He said he felt a "share of responsibility" for Russia's actions.

 The military administration of Ukraine's Kupiansk ordered an evacuation of civilians from the area in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Authorities have said thousands of civilians would need to leave towns and villages near the combat zone around Kupiansk, where Ukrainian and Russian officials separately reported a raging battle.

 Kyiv will probably go another year without F-16 fighter jets, The Washington Post reports. A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to finish training on the U.S.-made aircraft before next summer, after delays in an instruction program, according to Ukrainian officials. Although the Ukrainian pilots are fluent in English, they must first undertake English lessons in Britain to learn terminology associated with the jets before combat training, officials said.

 Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut as they fight to encircle Russian troops in the eastern city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian. Maliar cited progress in outflanking enemy forces after months of deadly battle. The Washington Post could not immediately verify the claims.

 About 1,000 Ukrainian marines are returning home after six months of training in Britain, the British Defense Ministry said Friday. The marines received training that included conducting beach raids using inflatable boats. Ukrainian units have had to cross waterways, including the Dnieper River, when attacking Russian positions.

 Britain will host an energy conference around the second anniversary of the Ukraine war in February, focusing partly on energy security, the government said. It said Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will invite senior government ministers and industry leaders to the conference in London, which follows European efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy.

 President Biden has asked Congress to approve $20.6 billion more in funding for Ukraine, including $13 billion to be allocated to military aid. The United States has committed more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine during the war.

The Washington Post's Serhiy Morgunov and Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.
A resurgence in tensions between the U.S. and Iran in Middle Eastern waters is harkening back to the playbook of clandestine maritime conflicts that has pitted the two countries against each other for more than four decades, according to analysts.

Approximately 3,000 Marines and sailors landed in the Middle East this week, ostensibly to prevent Iranian interference with commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf.

The military buildup, which includes recent deployments of a naval destroyer and advanced fighter aircraft squadrons, comes on the heels of U.S. claims that Iran has harassed or seized 20 commercial ships since 2021.

The Iranian military responded with a warning this week saying it may seize U.S. vessels on the basis of any perceived provocations, as reported by Al-Monitor, a regional news outlet.

Iran also launched unannounced military exercises last week that showcased new missile systems, Al Jazeera reported Aug. 2.

The latest round of saber-rattling recalls similar episodes, notably the Tanker War of the 1980s, when both nations naval forces openly engaged in hostilities, said Nicholas Carl, an Iran specialist at the American Enterprise Institute.

The Tanker War started as part of the conflict between Iraq and Iran from 1980 to 1988. First Iraq and then Iran began attacking oil tankers and commercial ships.

The U.S. stepped in and began escorting reflagged oil tankers in 1987. After an Iranian mine struck and almost sank the USS Samuel B. Roberts in 1988, the U.S. launched a one-day operation that sank five Iranian boats, including a frigate.

Many tactics the Iranian military uses today, such as swarming with small fast boats, developed out of necessity during the Tanker War, said Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.

In the decades since, Iran has expanded its capabilities, developing cruise missiles, aerial drones, bomb and missile boats and fortified islands.

They are much more capable of fighting a direct conflict today than they were three decades ago, Nadimi said.

However, despite their public bravado, Irans leaders are aware of the countrys limitations in a conventional conflict against the U.S., and they do not want open naval warfare, such as what occurred during the Tanker War, analysts said.

A full-scale conflict that includes attempts to shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz also would run counter to the interests of major stakeholders like China, a crucial Iranian partner heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East, analysts said.

Even during the Tanker War, Iran was unable to stop the flow of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz despite its best efforts, said Martin Navias, a research fellow at Kings College in London who wrote a much-cited book about the conflict.

Instead, Tehran seeks to use proxies or conduct shadowy operations so as to claim plausible deniability, antagonizing its adversaries without inviting open warfare, analysts said.

This was evident in a series of limpet mine attacks on oil tankers in 2019 that the U.S. blamed on Iran. Tehran denied responsibility.

The most recent flareup seems to be a tit-for-tat move in which Iran is telling the U.S. to stop seizing its ships as part of sanctions against the country, Carl said.

At the end of the day, their objective is to influence American policymakers, he said. Its not to achieve some decisive military victory over the United States because they realize thats not really in the cards.

Nevertheless, saber-rattling and military shows of force can increase the risk of unintended escalation, as illustrated by two tragedies during the Tanker War that resulted from mistaken identity.

In one, an Iraqi jet fired on the frigate USS Stark in 1987, killing 37. In another, the missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian civilian airliner with 290 people on board in 1988, reportedly believing it was a fighter jet.

And amid more acrimony between Washington and Tehran in 2020, Iran shot down a Ukrainian civilian airliner, apparently thinking it was an American cruise missile. All 176 people on board w.ere killed.

As we saw back in the Tanker War, when we have U.S. and Iranian forces operating in such close proximity to one another in such an unstable and unpredictable environment, there is always the potential for miscalculation and for tensions to flare unexpectedly, Carl said.
BEIRUT  Gunmen have ambushed a bus carrying Syrian soldiers in the country's east, killing at least 20 and wounding others, opposition activists said Friday.

The Thursday night attack was believed to be carried out by members of the Islamic State group whose sleeper cells in parts of Syria still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in 2019.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack on a desert road near the eastern town of Mayadeen in Deir el-Zour province that borders Iraq.

Another activist collective that covers news in eastern Syria said 20 soldiers were killed and others were wounded.

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the attack occurred Thursday night, "killing and wounding a number of soldiers." It gave no further details, nor a breakdown in the casualty numbers.

ISIS controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq where they declared a caliphate in June 2014. Over the years they lost of the land and were defeated in Iraq in 2017 and two years later in Syria.

In one of their deadliest in a year, ISIS sleeper cells attacked workers collecting truffles near the central town of Sukhna in February, killing at least 53 people  mostly workers but also some Syrian government security forces.

Experts who follow Jihadi groups say it is too early to say if the new spate of attacks marks a new resurgence by the extremists that ruled millions of people in Syria and Iraq with terror.

Last week, ISIS announced the death in Syria of its little-known leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi  who headed the extremist organization since November  and named his successor. He was the fourth to be killed since its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in 2019 by U.S. troops in northwest Syria.

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.
ISLAMABAD  When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Shukria Sediqi knew her days in safety were numbered. As a journalist who advocated for women's rights, she'd visited shelters and safe houses to talk to women who had fled abusive husbands. She went with them to court when they asked for a divorce.

According to the Taliban, who bar women from most public places, jobs and education, her work was immoral.

So when the Taliban swept into her hometown of Herat in western Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S. was pulling out of the country, she and her family fled.

First they tried to get on one of the last American flights out of Kabul. Then they tried to go to Tajikistan but had no visas. Finally in October 2021, after sleeping outside for two nights at the checkpoint into Pakistan among crowds of Afghans fleeing the Taliban, she and her family made it into the neighboring country.

The goal? Resettling in the U.S. via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media and aid agencies.

But two years after the U.S. left Afghanistan, Sediqi and tens of thousands of others are still waiting. While there has been some recent progress, processing U.S. visas for Afghans has moved painfully slowly. So far, only a small portion of Afghans have been resettled.

Many of the applicants who fled Afghanistan are running through savings, living in limbo in exile. They worry that the U.S., which had promised so much, has forgotten them.

"What happens to my children? What happens to me?" Sediqi asked. "Nobody knows."



During two decades in Afghanistan after its 2001 invasion, the U.S. relied on Afghans helping the U.S. government and military. Afghan journalists went to work at a growing number of media outlets. Afghans, often women working in remote areas, were the backbone of aid programs providing everything from food to tutoring.

Since 2009, the U.S. has had a special immigrant visa program to help Afghans like interpreters who worked directly with the U.S. government and the military.

Then, in the waning days of the U.S. presence in the country, the Biden administration created two new programs for refugees, expanding the number of Afghans who could apply to resettle in the U.S.

The visas, known as P-1 and P-2, are for aid workers, journalists or others who didn't work directly for the U.S. government but who helped promote goals like democracy and an independent media that put them at risk under the Taliban.

The programs were intended to help people like Enayatullah Omid and his wife  Afghans who helped build the country after the 2001 Taliban ouster and were at "risk due to their U.S. affiliation" once the U.S. withdrew.

In 2011, Omid started a radio station in Baghlan province with the help of the U.S.-based media training nonprofit Internews and funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was the station's general manager but did everything from reporting on-air to sweeping the floors at night. His wife, Homaira Omid Amiri, also worked at the station and was an activist in the province.

When the Taliban entered Baghlan on Aug. 9, 2021, Omid said he did one last thing: He burned documents to keep the Taliban from identifying his staff. Then he and his wife fled.

They stayed at shelters arranged by a committee to protect Afghan journalists until the Taliban shut them down. Internews referred Omid to the U.S. refugee program in the spring of 2022. Told he had to leave Afghanistan for his case to proceed, Omid and his wife went to Pakistan in July 2022.

Even in Pakistan Omid doesn't feel safe. Worried about the Taliban's reach, he's moved three times. There are police raids targeting Afghans whose visas have run out. As he spoke to The Associated Press, he was getting text messages about raids in another Islamabad neighborhood and wondered how much he should tell his already stressed wife.

He said America has a saying: Leave no one behind.

"We want them to do it. It shouldn't be only a saying for them," he said.

The American airlift in August 2021 carried more than 70,000 Afghans to safety, along with tens of thousands of Americans and citizens of other countries  plane after plane loaded with the lucky ones who managed to make their way through the massive crowds encircling Kabul airport. Most gained entry to the U.S. under a provision known as humanitarian parole.

Many more are still waiting. There are about 150,000 applicants to the special immigrant visa programs  not including family members. A report by the Association of Wartime Allies said at the current rate it would take 31 years to process them all.

Separately, there are 27,400 Afghans who are in the pipeline for the two refugee programs created in the final days of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, according to the State Department. That doesn't include family members, which potentially adds tens of thousands more. But since the U.S. left Afghanistan it's only admitted 6,862 of these Afghan refugees, mostly P-1 and P-2 visa applicants, according to State Department figures.

In June, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has relocated about 24,000 Afghans since September 2021, apparently referring to all the resettlement programs combined.

Among the refugee program applicants are about 200 AP employees and their families, as well as staff of other American news organizations still struggling to relocate to the U.S.

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said the U.S. refugee process in general can be agonizingly slow, and waits of as long as 10 years are common. Furthermore, former U.S. President Donald Trump gutted the refugee system, lowering the annual number of accepted refugees to its lowest ever.

Other challenges are unique to Afghan immigrants, said Vignarajah. Many Afghans destroyed documents during the Taliban takeover because they worried about reprisals. Now they need them to prove their case.

"The grim reality is that they'll likely be waiting for years on end and often in extremely precarious situations," Vignarajah said.

In a recent report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a body created by Congress to oversee government spending in Afghanistan, faulted the various resettlement programs set up for Afghans.

"Bureaucratic dysfunction and understaffing have undermined U.S. promises that these individuals would be protected in a timely manner, putting many thousands of Afghan allies at high risk," the report said.

It also criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the refugee programs, which it said has left Afghans considering whether to leave their country to await processing without "critical information" they need for such a crucial decision.

In a sign of the confusion surrounding the process, applicants like Omid and his wife were told they had to leave Afghanistan to apply, a costly endeavor involving selling their possessions, going to another country and waiting. They, like many others, ended up in Pakistan  one of the few countries that allows Afghans in  only to discover the U.S. was not processing refugee applications there.

That changed late last month when the State Department said it would begin processing applications in Pakistan.

However, Congress has so far failed to act on a bill that seeks to improve efforts to help Afghans still struggling to get to America.

The State Department declined an AP request for an interview but said in a statement it is committed to processing Afghan refugee visas. In June, Blinken applauded the efforts that have gone into helping Afghans resettle in America but emphasized the work continues.

At the same time, the Biden administration has made progress in recovering from the Trump-era curtailment of the refugee system. The administration raised the cap on refugees admitted to the U.S. to 125,000 a year, compared to Trump's 15,000 in his final year in office. It's unlikely the Biden administration will reach the cap this year, but the number of refugees and Afghans admitted is increasing.

Shawn VanDiver, who heads a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts called #AfghanEvac, said he doesn't agree with criticism that the refugee programs are a failure.

They have gotten off to a "really slow start and there are vulnerable people that are waiting for this much needed relief," he said. "But I also know that ... from my conversations with government, that there is movement happening to push on this."

Left with little information, Afghans in Pakistan compare what they hear from U.S. officials about their cases in What's App chat groups that have organized social media protests demanding swifter U.S. action.

"Avoid putting our lives in danger again," one post read.

Pakistan was already home to millions of Afghans who fled decades of conflict when the Taliban returned to power and an estimated 600,000 more surged into the country. While many had valid travel documents, renewing them is a lengthy and costly process. Raids looking for Afghans with expired visas have heightened tensions.

Abdul, who declined to give his surname for fear of arrest because his visa has expired, worked as head of security for an aid group in Afghanistan that specialized in economic help for women. The risks were enormous; three colleagues were killed while he worked there.

One of his last tasks was getting the group's foreign staff to the airport to escape. The organization stayed open into 2022, when the Taliban detained Abdul for two weeks. After his release, a Taliban member said he could protect his family  if Abdul gave him his daughter in marriage.

Abdul knew it was time to leave. He, his wife and children fled that night to Iran. Late last year, when they were told their referral to one of the refugee programs had been approved, they went to Pakistan. Since then, there's been no information.

Their visas now expired, the family is terrified to leave the house.

"The future is completely dark," Abdul said. "I'm not afraid to die, I'm just really worried about the future of my children."

Santana reported from Washington. AP reporters Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.
The 24-year-old wife of an occupier who is fighting against Ukraine killed her nine-month-old son in Volgograd, Russia. She left the baby alone in the apartment. Four days later his grandmother found him dead. The grief-stricken mother confessed that she deliberately committed the murder. The father was urgently summoned from the "special operation".

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Details of the gruesome story were told by the Russian media. According to neighbors, the young couple moved into a new apartment about a year ago, they are not locals. It is known that the woman has two more children from another marriage. They are 3 and 5 years old.

The husband is a military man in the Russian army fighting against Ukraine. Neighbors last saw him during a vacation in May, when the couple went for a walk with a stroller. Then he left again.

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The other day a terrible odor appeared in the building. It was thought that it was a dump nearby but later turned out that it was a dead baby.

The Russian woman left the child alone in the apartment on August 3. He was alone and no one fed him or took care of him. The boy was found dead by his grandmother on August 7, who had not been warned.

The mother of the dead child was detained on the other side of Volgograd on the same day. She had been drinking with acquaintances.

"The last time I was here (at home. - Ed.) on the 3rd of this month. I fed him and went to work," the wife of the occupant said on the way to the department. When asked whether she did not appear at home anymore, she said that she "coudn't do it as no transport was available".

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The woman does not work anywhere. Neighbors do not know what she was doing. They say that almost nobody saw her, but they often heard loud music from her apartment.

"She only goes to the store for beer and back. We hardly ever see her. Her music is always loud ike there's some kind of party. We haven't seen any big companies, just one friend. The music is at full volume every day. We listen to it 24 hours a day, it's like a drum. How did the child even live there?" they said.

None of the neighbors even hear the crying of the child, but the corpse smell appeared suspiciously fast. Therefore, residents suspect that the child may have been killed or died in an accident before his mother left.

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The suspect's social media accounts include photos of children from her first marriage, but not her nine-month-old son. There are also many quotes about the happiness of motherhood.

A criminal case has been opened against the woman. At the first interrogation, she admitted that she "went on vacation, fed him one last time and that's it". When asked why she left the child, she replied, "to kill him."

Russian investigators will insist on her arrest and intend to demand the deprivation of parental rights to two other children, who now live with the mother of the detainee.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, after the explosion at the plant in Sergiev Posad in Moscow, a local resident decided to loot other people's things. Moscow resident took a mosquito net that fell out of one of the windows in the house.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
TEL AVIV  The United States and Saudi Arabia are in the early stages of negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between Riyadh and Israel, an Israeli official said this week.

"We know that the two sides are very serious on this issue," Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told a group of international reporters, referring to the United States and Saudi Arabia, adding that Israel has been "intimately" updated on the advancement of the talks and expects a draft of a deal as early as December.

The establishment of formal ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel could radically alter Middle Eastern geopolitics and would be a major foreign policy win for President Biden as he prepares for his 2024 reelection campaign. Though the two countries have historically been bitter foes, they have in recent years quietly cooperated on security and commercial matters in a shared effort to counter Iran.

"There's a rapprochement underway," Biden said at a campaign event in late July, a day after his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, arrived for a second official visit to Saudi Arabia.

But serious obstacles stand in the way of any prospective deal. Hanegbi made clear that Israel was not prepared to make meaningful concessions on the issue of Palestinian statehood, long assumed to be a precondition of a regional rapprochement. And Riyadh is seeking significant security guarantees from Washington, which could risk further entangling the United States in Middle Eastern conflicts.

On Wednesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby cautioned against media reports that have "left some people with the impression that discussions are farther along . . . than they actually are."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made Saudi normalization a central theme of his election campaign last year, promising to build on the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords and "expand the circle of peace." In 2020, Israel established diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. The American hope, so far unfulfilled, is that other Middle Eastern countries would follow suit. If Saudi Arabia signs on, the thinking goes, the rest of the region will follow.

But Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to be driving a hard bargain, seeking U.S. munitions and a NATO-style collective security pact with Washington. Such an agreement would oblige the United States to respond militarily in the event of an attack on Saudi soil. As recently as 2019, two of the monarchy's major oil fields were struck by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia also wants help developing a civilian nuclear program, though there are disagreements over what role the United States might play. Riyadh wants to enrich its own uranium fuel, while Washington would prefer a deal similar to the one it has with the UAE, which imports reactor fuel. While the Saudis have said they would prefer nuclear power cooperation with the United States, there are others potentially willing to help, including rivals such as China and Russia.

Less clear is what Riyadh would be prepared to accept on behalf of the Palestinians. Israeli officials have signaled that they would not be willing to meet Saudi requirements for Palestinian statehood. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud reasserted that demand in June, even as he said that normalizing relations with Israel would be "in the interest of the region." Notably, Faisal did not refer to a Palestinian state with 1967 borders, which was the basis of a failed Saudi peace initiative in 2002.

Israel has also indicated that it would not compromise on the final status of Jerusalem. Palestinians claim occupied East Jerusalem as their capital.

"The Palestinian issue will not be an obstacle to peace with Saudi Arabia," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the Saudi-owned news site Elaph on Sunday, adding that Israel would take steps to improve the Palestinian economy. "This peace will change the relationship between the Jewish and Islamic worlds."

The shuttle diplomacy to Saudi Arabia by Biden officials in recent weeks coincides with a chill in U.S.-Israel relations. The administration has been unusually pointed in its criticism of Netanyahu's contentious plans to overhaul Israel's judiciary and has repeatedly condemned his hard-line coalition partners. Among them are Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler activist who has aggressively advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, the territory that Palestinians envision as part of their future state.

Smotrich has funneled billions of shekels toward expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied territory, which would render the two-state solution  a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy  effectively impossible. On Tuesday, Smotrich halted the transfer of hundreds of millions of shekels earmarked for Palestinian towns in Israel, claiming in a Facebook post that the money "often goes to criminal and terrorist organizations."

A string of major Israeli military raids in the West Bank and the emergence of new Palestinian militant groups have made the past year one of the bloodiest in the region in decades.

"For normalization with Saudi Arabia, Israel would not pay the price of Israel's security," Hanegbi said. He added that a deal would enable further Saudi investment in Palestinian infrastructure projects.

But Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in a briefing last week that "economic benefits are no longer sufficient for the Palestinian people." Statehood, he said, was still Palestinians' primary goal.

He ruled out the possibility of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks "under the current Israeli government" but said the Palestinian Authority welcomed the involvement of Saudi Arabia, as well as China, "which wants to increase its presence in our region to reflect its political weight."

China brokered a detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March, which experts say was a wake-up call for the United States, highlighting its diminished role in the Middle East.

"Israel saw that once the Chinese got involved, it compelled the U.S. to get involved," said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat and adviser to prime ministers.

By making a concerted push for a Saudi-Israel deal, Pinkas said, Washington may also be hoping to blunt the influence of Israel's far right, potentially forcing the government to backtrack on its judicial overhaul and slow the expansion of settlements.

"No one's expecting a Palestinian state next week; no one can deliver on that," Pinkas said. "But talks of this deal might serve the purpose of holding a mirror up to Netanyahu, to try to get him to stop."

Any agreement would need to be approved by a two-thirds majority in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans would likely be averse to delivering Biden a monumental pre-election win.

While Biden has supported the efforts of Sullivan, his national security adviser, and Brett McGurk, the National Security Council's Middle East coordinator, to "see what is in the realm of the possible," Kirby said Wednesday, "the bottom line is there is no agreed-to set of negotiations. There is no agreed-to framework to codify normalization."

"There are a number of matters that are under discussion between the three countries, and we'll continue to work towards that aim, recognizing that it's a long and difficult process," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller added Wednesday, noting that reports of preliminary agreements "vastly overstate where things stand."

DeYoung reported from Washington.
UNITED NATIONS  Five United Nations staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18 months ago by an al-Qaida affiliate have walked free, U.N. officials said Friday.

David Gressly, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said the five men -- four Yemenis and one from Bangladesh  were "in good health, good spirits ... but they went through a very difficult period of isolation."

The five were freed after lengthy negotiations that included officials from Oman, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Gressly, who spoke to U.N. reporters after flying with the four Yemenis to the country's southern port city of Aden, said: "I can confirm that the hostage-takers were al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula."

Also known as AQAP, the group has been active in southern Yemen for years and is considered one of the global al-Qaida network's most dangerous branches. It has attempted to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland.

"This is a threat that remains here in in Yemen  and remains actually an increasing threat," Gressly said of al-Qaida.

In February 2022, suspected al-Qaida militants abducted five U.N. staff members in southern Yemen's Abyan province, Yemeni officials told The Associated Press at the time.

In a statement earlier Friday, the U.N.'s Haq named the freed men as Akm Sufiul Anam; Mazen Bawazir; Bakeel al-Mahdi; Mohammed al-Mulaiki; and Khaled Mokhtar Sheikh. All worked for the U.N. Department of Security and Safety, he said.

Sufiul Anam, a retired Bangladeshi lieutenant colonel who was the department's field coordinator, told a news conference after arriving at Dhaka airport Wednesday that he never thought he'd return home after a "horrifying" experience in Yemen's hills and desert at the hands of "terrorists."

"There was a fear of death every day; it cannot be expressed in words; it is seen in films only," Sufiul Anam said, according to Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom-alo. "I was blindfolded all the time. The terrorists changed my location 18 times and kept me at 10 places. Fortunately, they did not torture me."

Bangladesh's National Security Intelligence Director Imrul Mahmud was quoted by the newspaper as saying it was a long process to free him: "The kidnappers had demanded $3 million in ransom, but we did not need to pay any money."

Gressly said the United Nations never pays ransom, which is one reason the U.N. staffers may have been held for so long.

Three Yemeni security officials and a tribal leader also said that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the kidnapping in Abyan province. Sufiul Anam said they were kidnapped as they were returning to Aden from the village of Mudiyah after a field mission.

The Yemeni security officials and tribal leader said that after a series of fraught negotiations mediated by tribal leaders, a ransom was paid to the al-Qaida militant group and the U.N. employees were subsequently released. The three security officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not briefed to speak with journalists. The tribal leader requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals.

U.N. deputy spokesman Haq responded to their statements that a ransom was paid reiterating: ""The U.N. does not pay ransoms and we do not encourage other parties to pay ransom."

No further details about the alleged payment were provided, and the security sources did not specify which body or individual presented the random funds.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognized government in its war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue of the ransom.

The AP was unable to reconcile the account of the Yemenis with Gressly's and Haq's statements on the U.N.'s no-ransom position.

Gressly told reporters he did not want to give details about the staff members' captivity.

"They're extremely pleased to be back here in Aden," he said. "I think now's the time for us, simply to celebrate their return, to give them time to get back with their families."

"There's a lot that will have to be processed in the days and weeks to come for them," he said. ""This is a very difficult situation to for anybody to live through, but they seem to have come through in remarkable condition."

Kidnappings are frequent in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and militants take hostages to swap for prisoners or cash.

War has ravaged the country since 2014, when Houthi rebels seized the country's capital, Sanaa, and much of the north, and forced the government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition that included the United Arab Emirates intervened the following year to try to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power.

Al-Qaida has since exploited the conflict to cement its presence in the country.

Al-Haj reported from Sanaa. Jack Jeffery in Cairo contributed reporting.
The Federal Election Commission has begun a process to potentially regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political ads ahead of the 2024 election, a move advocates say would safeguard voters against a particularly insidious form of election disinformation.

The FEC's unanimous procedural vote on Thursday advances a petition asking it to regulate ads that use artificial intelligence to misrepresent political opponents as saying or doing something they didn't  a stark issue that is already being highlighted in the current 2024 GOP presidential primary.

Though the circulation of convincing fake images, videos or audio clips is not new, innovative generative AI tools are making them cheaper, easier to use, and more likely to manipulate public perception. As a result, some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race  including that of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis  already are using them to persuade voters.

The Republican National Committee in April released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show the future of the United States if President Joe Biden is reelected. It employed fake but realistic photos showing boarded-up storefronts, armored military patrols in the streets, and waves of immigrants creating panic.

In June, DeSantis' campaign shared an attack ad against his GOP primary opponent Donald Trump that used AI-generated images of the former president hugging infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.

SOS America PAC, which supports Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, also has experimented with generative AI, using a tool called VideoAsk to create an AI chatbot in his likeness.

Thursday's FEC meeting comes after the advocacy group Public Citizen asked the agency to clarify that an existing federal law against "fraudulent misrepresentation" in campaign communications applies to AI-generated deepfakes.

The panel's vote shows the agency's intent to consider the question, but it will not decide whether to actually develop rules governing the ads until after a 60-day public comment window, which is likely to begin next week.

In June, the FEC deadlocked on an earlier petition from the group, with some commissioners expressing skepticism that they had the authority to regulate AI ads. Public Citizen came back with a new petition identifying the fraudulent misrepresentation law and explaining it thought the FEC did have jurisdiction.

A group of 50 Democratic lawmakers led by House Rep. Adam Schiff also wrote a letter to the FEC urging the agency to advance the petition, saying, "Quickly evolving AI technology makes it increasingly difficult for voters to accurately identify fraudulent video and audio material, which is increasingly troubling in the context of campaign advertisements."

Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson said in Thursday's meeting he remained unconvinced that the agency had the authority to regulate deepfake ads.

"I'll note that there's absolutely nothing special about deepfakes or generative AI, the buzzwords of the day, in the context of this petition," he said, adding that if the FEC had this authority, it would mean it also could punish other kinds of doctored media or lies in campaign ads.

Dickerson argued the law doesn't go that far, but noted the FEC has unanimously asked Congress for more authority. He also raised concerns the move would wrongly chill expression that's protected under the First Amendment.

Public Citizen President Robert Weissman disputed Dickerson's points, arguing in an interview Thursday that deepfakes are different from other false statements or media because they fraudulently claim to speak on a candidate's behalf in a way that's convincing to the viewer.

"The deepfake has an ability to fool the voter into believing that they are themselves seeing a person say or do something they didn't say," he said. "It's a technological leap from prior existing tools."

Weissman said acknowledging deepfakes are fraud solves Dickerson's First Amendment concerns too  while false speech is protected, fraud is not.

Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen's executive vice president, said under its proposal, candidates would also have the option to prominently disclose the use of artificial intelligence to misrepresent an opponent, rather than avoid the technology altogether.

She argued action is needed because if a deepfake misleadingly impugning a candidate circulates without a disclaimer and doesn't get publicly debunked, it could unfairly sway an election.

For instance, the RNC disclosed the use of AI in its ad, but in small print that many viewers missed. Gilbert said the FEC could set guidelines on where, how and for how long campaigns and parties need to display these disclaimers.

Even if the FEC decides to ban AI deepfakes in campaign ads, it wouldn't cover all the threats they pose to elections.

For example, the law on fraudulent misrepresentation wouldn't enable the FEC to require outside groups, like PACs, to disclose when they imitate a candidate using artificial intelligence technology, Gilbert said.

That means it wouldn't cover an ad recently released by Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis, that used an AI voice cloning tool to imitate Trump's voice, making it seem like he narrated a social media post.

It also wouldn't stop individual social media users from creating and disseminating misleading content  as they long have  with both AI-generated falsehoods and other misrepresented media, often referred to as "cheap fakes."

Congress, however, could pass legislation creating guardrails for AI-generated deceptive content, and lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have expressed intent to do so.

Several states also have discussed or passed legislation related to deepfake technology.

Daniel Weiner, director of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said misinformation about elections being fraudulently stolen is already a "potent force in American politics."

More sophisticated AI, he said, threatens to worsen that problem.

"To what degree? You know, I think we're still assessing," he said. "But do I worry about it? Absolutely."

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
(Tribune News Service)  A band of Republican lawmakers on Thursday threatened to cut off funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless President Joe Biden ousts one of his cabinet secretaries, adopts GOP border legislation that would curtail asylum claims by migrants or makes other border changes.

The letter signed by 15 House Republicans, all from Texas, raises the possibility of a shutdown of the cabinet department as soon as Oct. 1.

Essential workers like customs and border, Transportation Security Administration and Secret Service agents as well as Coast Guard personnel would work without pay in that scenario while so-called non-essential personnel would be sent home for the duration of the shutdown.

The group has considerable leverage if most of its members stick to their demands because of House Speaker Kevin McCarthys tenuous grip on power.

Under rules changes enacted earlier this year, McCarthy could face a no-confidence vote from his own party should he fail to meet the demands of conservatives. Putting a stopgap funding measure on the floor that includes Homeland Security funds without the changes could mean his downfall.

Simply put, no member of Congress should agree to fund a federal agency at war with his state and people, the letter organized by Texas Republican Chip Roy.

The letter sets out a list of four demands and makes clear that neither stopgap nor full year funds should be permitted unless some of them are met. The demands include the resignation, firing or withholding the pay of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; signing a partisan Republican border bill that increases enforcement and curtails the ability of migrants to claim asylum in the U.S.; new tools for border enforcement; and $10 billion in funds to reimburse Texas for its own border security spending.

The White House has threatened to veto the House-passed border bill and has shown no willingness to fire Mayorkas or reimburse Texas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 144,571 encounters on the southern border in June, the lowest monthly number since February 2021, one month after Biden took office. Thats despite worries of a surge of border-crossing migrants after the end of pandemic-era restrictions in May.

With assistance from Gregory Korte

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(Tribune News Service)  Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Marlette, South Dakota National Guard Adjutant General, retired after 36 years of military service to his community, state and nation. A retirement ceremony was held at the Joint Force Headquarters, Camp Rapid, on Aug. 4.

Brig. Gen. Mark R. Morrell was promoted to the rank of major general and assumed command of the South Dakota National Guard during a change of command ceremony on August 5., and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem officiated the change of command ceremony.

Marlette retired as South Dakota's 22nd Adjutant General, a position he has held since June 8, 2019. He also serves on Gov. Kristi Noem's cabinet as the Adjutant General. He was responsible for the preparation of more than 4,200 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen and more than 1,000 full-time federal and state employees to respond in times of state or national emergencies.

"Thank you all for being here with us. I can tell you this has been a tremendous honor and privilege for me to serve in this role and wear this uniform," Marlette said.

He began his South Dakota National Guard career in 1980 and received his commission as a second lieutenant through the South Dakota Military Academy Officer Candidate School program in 1982, branching as an engineer officer.

He served at every level of command and was the first commander of the 196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. He also served as the state's Assistant Adjutant General  Army from April 2011 to October 2012.

Marlette deployed to Iraq 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the commander of 2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery. The battalion was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for their outstanding performance during the deployment.

During his tenure as the Adjutant General, the South Dakota National Guard had more than 1,000 Soldiers and Airmen deployed to more than 30 countries and supported 25 different state active duty missions. Marlette's units and members received 54 national and individual awards for superior performance, safety, and strong financial stewardship.

"We've had soldiers and airmen deployed every day since 9-11," Marlette said. "It's a tough job and a big job but you're up for it."

Marlette has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Action Badge, Ancient Order of Saint Barbara, and multiple other awards.

He holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in education administration from Northern State University in Aberdeen. He also earned an Education Specialist Degree from the University of Sioux Falls, and a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

"For many years Maj. Gen. Marlette and his wife Sandy have not only been advisors but people who have lead by example and they've been friends," Noem said during Marlette's retirement ceremony. "I have been able to make the right decision because of this man [Marlette], because this man who cared about doing things right and correct. He's helped me become a better leader."

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The science conference had all the hot topics you'd expect, from artificial intelligence to gene therapy. But this year's annual gathering of brains in Kyiv had a decidedly Ukrainian twist - the innovations on exhibit were for war.

A maker of attack drones was diversifying to unmanned ground combat vehicles. From the Academy of Sciences came a prototype underwater robot for finding and collecting submerged land mines. One start-up was developing low-cost combat communications; another, a Web-based test to find warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

In the 18 months since Russia's invasion, Ukraine's resilience with the help of mainly NATO-member weaponry has come to define the war. Less noticed is a cottage industry of battlefield gadgetry that's starting to bear fruit.

Ukraine, like Russia, has a strong science base, a legacy of the Soviet-era focus on math and engineering. While no single device will change the course of the conflict, the government is trying to consolidate the nation's sometimes chaotic entrepreneurial output in the belief that - taken together - it can make a difference.

One such innovation, explosive sea drones, has been under intense development in Ukraine since last year. At the weekend, the newest iterations were able to strike and cripple both a Russian warship and oil tanker in the Black Sea. That followed the success of a year-old project that helped accelerate the development and production of aerial drones.

To package everything in one place, Ukraine's government in April started an incubator for all forms of military innovation, called Brave 1. Organizers say they've registered about 400 projects in four months, and Ukraine's armed forces have so far vetted 186 as potentially useful. Sixty are in robotics, more than 25 in AI, and 70 are for unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs.

"Our task is to develop military technologies in Ukraine," said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister for digital transformation, who described Brave 1 as the institutionalization of his Army of Drones program. Success ultimately will be judged on how many projects get state contracts, he said.

There are plenty of contenders. Some are adapting existing kit, others are making cheaper versions of Western equipment Ukraine can't afford, and others again just respond to feedback from friends on the battlefield.

Take Himera Tech. It set out to build affordable, jam-resistant radio handsets shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces attacked in February 2022. It took until April this year for the first units to roll off their production line and about 600 are now in use at the front, according to co-founder Misha Rudominski. The company registered with Brave 1 in May.

The trick to building cheaper is the software the company developed to maximize performance in commercially available chips, Rudominski said. Radio sets made with military grade chips are more secure, but also cost thousands of dollars apiece. With as many as 250,000 combat soldiers to equip, that's a bill Ukraine can't foot.

"We wanted to build a solution that is just good enough," Rudominski said at his stall at June's Inscience conference in Kyiv. "This wouldn't defeat U.S. or Chinese electronic warfare systems, but it doesn't need to. We're fighting the Russians."

Himera Tech expects to produce 2,000-3,000 units per month by the end of the year. It isn't yet selling to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, but that's the aim and the company reckons it could then scale to 10,000 units per month. A model that can compete with military grade kit is in development, according to Rudominski.

Another Kyiv-based outfit, Power Kit, uses discarded electronic cigarettes to make power banks. Ivan Volynets, who founded the nonprofit together with five other IT specialists, described how in the first days of the Russian invasion they asked friends on the front line what they needed. The answers boiled down to night vision, power banks and weapons.

They made a night vision device paired with its own power bank and took it to the defense ministry. To their surprise, it was the power bank the army wanted, because they charge all the electronics front-line soldiers rely on, including night-vision gear, drones and communications.

The first Power Kit emerged in May 2022, built in the kitchen of the hotel the team were staying at in Lviv, western Ukraine, said Volynets, 30. They've since made more than 2,100 at a cost of about $15 each and distribute them free of charge to soldiers.

Yevhenii Rvachov was an IT specialist working with civilian drones in the northern city of Kharkiv before the invasion. He too consulted with soldiers after co-founding a company, Skylab, to make a bomb-dropping quadrocopter - a drone with four rotors - in April last year.

They told him they needed ground robots to make supplying forward positions less dangerous. So Skylab built the Sirko-S, a remote-controlled go-cart-like carrier with thermal cameras that can be used to bring up supplies or evacuate wounded. They'll cost of $8,000-$10,000 each.

The company's $5,000 "Johnny" is a shoe-box-size version, with a view to forward surveillance, kamikaze bombing runs or to help emergency services find survivors in collapsed buildings, according to Rvachov. All three products are registered with Brave 1, with grants approved, according to the organizers. Ten quadrocopters are in action at the front.

Close to the Polish border, a company called Citius-S is converting six-wheel drive cargo trucks into armored vehicles for clearing land mines and unexploded ordinance. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine saw the prototype in action last month and ordered 33 units, according to the company.

For underwater mines, the Institute for Problems of Artificial Intelligence at Ukraine's Academy of Sciences is developing a submersible device to find and retrieve ordinance left behind by the Russians. A prototype of the cuboid robot just began tests of its electronic systems, according to Sergii Simchenko, a PhD candidate in physics and math at the institute, who is working on the project.

Not every innovation or adaptation is about weapons, though. The Bohun amphibious all-terrain vehicle has huge tires with fin-like tread to climb over fallen trees or cross lakes and rivers. It was designed for Ukraine's hunters and fishermen, and since the Russian invasion a number were adapted for military use and sent to the front.

But in June, six of the newer Bohun-2 model also were converted to help evacuate victims of the flooding around the city of Kherson that followed destruction of a dam on Ukraine's massive Dnieper River. Lights and loudhailers were added outside the cabins, as well as extra batteries, removable seats and helicopter-ready metal stretchers inside.

Back at the Inscience conference, Sergiy Danylov was showing off the software his team at Anima have created. It uses an image-based test to measure levels of depression and anxiety with a web cam that follows eye movement to add objectivity.

The test involves looking at a series of trigger images, such as snakes, spiders and mutilated corpses, in each case on a split screen with more emotionally neutral options opposite. The key lies in how subjects respond, with some looking away to avoid the danger signals and others unable to take their eyes off them.

That helps with diagnosis of battle stress, which if caught early can be prevented from developing into PTSD, said Danylov, who has a PhD in neurobiology. The Anima program is for now aimed at soldiers and refugees, but the Ukrainian Health Ministry said last year that PTSD could end up affecting 57% of the population.

Anima has given the software to combat psychologists, who are using it unofficially to measure stress levels among troops and rest those at risk. The program has not yet been approved and licensed by the regulator, a years-long process.

But it's already on the radar of the Brave 1 program. "Know this team," Iryna Supruniuk, Communications Lead at Brave 1, said in an emailed response to questions. Anima wasn't yet on her platform, she said, but it seems only a question of time. "Really nice solution."
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed financial sanctions against four Russians on the board of Alfa Group, one of Russia's largest conglomerates with interests in oil, natural gas and banking.

The sanctions are part of continuing efforts to place restrictions on the economy of Russia and its wealthiest powerbrokers, a response to its invasion last year of Ukraine and the ensuing war. Sanctioned by Treasury are Petr Olegovich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev.

"Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. "Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."

Also sanctioned is the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The group is involved in the technology sector and has helped Russia counteract other sanctions stemming from the war, the Treasury Department said.

All four people were already sanctioned by Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Fridman is a founder of Alfa Group and ranked as one of Russia's wealthiest tycoons. The group's Alfa Bank, Russia's largest nonstate bank, was sanctioned by the EU in March 2022 and Fridman left the board thereafter to try to help the bank skirt sanctions. Aven headed Alfa-Bank until March 2022, but like Fridman left the board after EU sanctions.

The sanctions against the individuals would block access to their U.S. properties and financial interests.
WASHINGTON  The Utah man who was shot dead by FBI agents after he had made numerous threats against President Joe Biden was an Air Force veteran, according to military records.

Craig Deleeuw Robertson died early Wednesday after he was shot by special agents attempting to serve a warrant at his home in Provo, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Salt Lake City. The warrant was prompted by threats that Robertson had made against Biden ahead of the presidents arrival in Utah that included a visit to a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act, a law designed to expand veterans health benefits, officials said.

Robertson, a 75-year-old Utah native, had made a series of threatening posts on his social media accounts, including one that made reference to camouflaging himself and dusting off his M24 sniper rifle when Biden arrived in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, authorities said. By the time of the shooting, Robertson had been charged with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, as well as FBI agents who were investigating him, according to court documents.

Robertson also wrote in social media profiles that he was a veteran from the Vietnam War era.

Military records show Craig D. Robertson was an Air Force veteran who entered active duty in February 1970 but his service did not extend beyond four years, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

Robertson reached the rank of airman first class and was a metalworker helper who had been stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois, which was shut down in the 1990s, according to the records.

The criminal complaint against Robertson, which was unsealed Wednesday, shows multiple screenshots of social media profiles attributed to Robertson that repeated threats of violence against Biden and other prominent figures, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is leading a fraud investigation into former President Donald Trump.

"The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!" one Facebook post from Robertson stated in late 2022. Another taunted the FBI for monitoring his social media and reads, Checking so I can be sure to have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.

Federal authorities did not immediately disclose details of the shooting that killed Robertson, but The Associated Press reported he was armed during the early morning encounter with FBI agents. One of Robertsons social posts from last November includes a photo of three assault-style rifles and a caption that reads, Just getting ready for the 2024 election cycle. Another shows a sniper rifle that he nicknamed a Democrat hipocrit eradicator.

After Robertson was killed, neighbors told Utah news reporters that he was a staunch Trump supporter and his social media posts grew more and more extreme. In one post, he reportedly called himself a MAGA Trumper, which is a reference to Trumps Make America Great Again campaign slogan.

He definitely had his political views, which he was very public about on Facebook, neighbor Andrew Maunder told The Salt Lake Tribune. But I think deep down, he was just a cranky old guy who was harmless.

Roberstons family posted a statement to social media Thursday that downplayed Robertsons behavior online and seemed to defend his motivations.

We, the family of Craig Deeluew Robertson, are shocked and devastated by the senseless and tragic killing of our beloved father and brother, and we fervently mourn the loss of a good and decent man, they wrote in a lengthy statement on Facebook. He was understandably frustrated and distraught by the present and ongoing erosions to our constitutionally protected freedoms and the rights of free citizens wrought by what he, and many others in this nation, observed to be a corrupt and overreaching government.

As an elderly  and largely homebound man, there was very little he could do but exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and voice his protest in what has become the public square of our age  the Internet and social media, the statement continued. Though his statements were intemperate at times, he has never, and would never, commit any act of violence against another human being over a political or philosophical disagreement.

Robertson pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct in 1997 and paid a small fine, according to Provo public records. Records show he owned a business called Craigs Custom Woods LLC and a newspaper obituary said he and his wife married in 1971 and divorced in 1986. She died in 2019.
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (Tribune News Service)  Art Fishman, a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific in WWII, had been involved in the planning of the city's WWII memorial for 10 years.

On Thursday, the first phase of the project was dedicated and Fishman, 95, was there.

"As you walk on these bricks, you're walking with the Greatest Generation," Fishman said.

The first phase of the Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial includes more than 1,400 Walk of Honor paver bricks, a statute, flag poles for the branches of the military, the footing for a Wall of Stars and more statues, and the first two boulders in the War in Words.

Construction began last year.

The memorial honors the efforts and sacrifice of the WWII veterans who fought in the war and those on the home front, including the original Rosie the Riveters, said John Maten, president of the Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial.

"We're well known for being the Arsenal of Democracy, but the entire state contributed in so many ways," Maten said.

Original Rosie the Riveters like Virginia Rusch, 96, helped make combat planes in Michigan.

"... I soldered cones for the planes," said Rusch, who is from Detroit. "(The memorial) brings back memories. I went through a lot."

The site represents the state and all Michiganians, especially the 15,458 who made the ultimate sacrifice, officials said.

"Every day we lose another of our World War Two veterans," said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, who was at the dedication ceremony. "Soon they will no longer be with us but they will always be with us in spirit and in our hearts, and we will always have a place here 13 Mile and Woodward to come."

George Leland, 98, flew B-24 bombers manufactured at Henry Ford's Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti. He flew in 28 combat missions in the European theater.

The memorial, he said, is "great, lovely. I'm just proud to be able to be here."

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose husband, Sgt. Ryan Friedrichs, was in the Army, would like the memorial to serve as a reminder when people drive or walk by the site of what war means, she said Thursday.

"That is what this memorial represents to me as a military spouse and as the Michigan secretary of state: a reminder to all of us of the ongoing and never-ending sacrifice that so many of you here today as service members, veterans and your families have made," Benson said.

The late-U.S. Rep. John Dingell was a WWII veteran, said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who attended the gathering.

"You know why this memorial matters?" Dingell said. "It's the stories. It's the memories. We need to remind all generations of the men and women who won one of the most important moments in history protecting our freedoms."

Sisters Joan Webb and Pat Maslowsky brought their granddaughter and great-grandchildren to honor the sisters' father, Burt Miner. Miner, a WWII veteran, flew 30 missions in a B-17 bomber, including one over Normandy. He died in 2009.

They've been waiting for the memorial for years.

"To see it here today is just really touching," Maslowsky said. "The momentum I hope really grows with every person here to share the word to make more donations."

U.S. Army's Phillip Flegel, one of seven brothers who enlisted, four in World War II, and Phillip and two others in the Korean War, tried to sum up the moment and the significance of the memorial.

"I guess you can't really describe it, really, you know," he said. "I guess it's almost a privilege to come home. I just don't think people realize what war is, basically. Our television people glamorize it. There's nothing glamorous about it."

The next phase of the memorial, for which organizers are raising funds, is the Wall of Stars.

Volunteer, donate or learn more about the memorial.

Francis Masters, 101, was at the ceremony, she said, on behalf of WWII veterans and home front workers.

"Right after high school, I heard they were building a plant in Willow Run, so I jumped at the chance," said Masters. "I said, 'I want to help the American people; we want to win this war.' "

Masters had two brothers in military service, she said. She wasn't in the military, but she joined the war effort.

"... I did my job riveting airplanes  B-24s," she said.

Daniel Mears contributed.

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As the quest for consensus intensifies, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz, are set to engage in a second round of deliberations today to finalise the crucial appointment of the caretaker prime minister.

Following an initial meeting that concluded without a definitive outcome, both leaders are expected to resume discussions to reach a decision that aligns with the constitutional requirements.

The corridors of power in Islamabad are abuzz with anticipation as the political discourse pivots around this critical dialogue between the two influential figures.

Under the constitutional framework, the prime minister extended an invitation to the opposition leader to deliberate on the appointment of the caretaker prime minister. As per constitutional provisions, both leaders have a three-day window to mutually agree on a candidate.

Failing an accord, the responsibility will be handed over to a parliamentary committee for resolution. If the committee encounters an impasse, the Election Commission of Pakistan will assume the authority to make the final decision.

No imported person

In a candid statement to the media, Opposition Leader Raja Riaz conveyed the progress of their discussions. I asked the premier to consider the names proposed by my side, and we concurred that further consultations will be pursued on the remaining six names, Riaz shared.

He emphasised the commitment to the democratic process, indicating that the eventual nominee will not be disclosed prematurely.

Raja Riaz also underscored a principle of paramount importance, stating, No imported person will be made the head of the interim set-up.

Saqiq Sanjrani among favourites

On the other hand, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has emerged as a noteworthy figure in the selection process for the caretaker PM.

Media sources added that Sanjrani is garnering substantial support and is being viewed as a favorite candidate for this pivotal position.

With the intricate deliberations between the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition, the name of Sadiq Sanjrani has prominently entered the fray for consideration.

Raja Riaz finalises three names

The opposition leader responding to another question that the name for interim PM had already been finalised by ruling PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader responded: Say whatever you want, I have my own opinion.

He went on to say that he had completed deliberations with his allies on the name of the caretaker PM.

My three names are 90% finalised, he said without elaborating further.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with President Hakainda Hichilema of Zambia. The parties discussed, in particular, the implementation of the Ukrainian Formula for Peace.

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The phone call took place on Friday, 11 August. This was reported by the Office of the President.

Zelenskyy invited Zambia to join the next meeting at the level of diplomatic advisers on the implementation of the Peace Formula, as well as to prepare for the Global Peace Summit.

"The Peace Formula is more relevant than ever. This is the only way to a just peace and stability in the world that can be taken as a basis. And we are actively working with partners to prepare the Global Peace Summit," he said.

The parties also discussed the need to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative. They agreed on the inadmissibility of using food as a weapon.

"Together, we must put an end to Russian attempts to use food as a weapon, as well as to Russian blackmail of the world with hunger and high food prices," Zelenskyy said.

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In addition, the heads of state discussed the holding of the Ukraine-Africa summit. They also discussed cooperation in the context of other upcoming international events.

In addition, the President of Ukraine thanked his colleague for visiting Kyiv and Bucha in June 2023 together with other African leaders.

As a reminder, a two-day summit with African countries took place in St Petersburg, Russia. Despite Moscow's efforts, most African leaders ignored the summit. Only 17 out of 55 heads of state came to see Putin.

The main topic discussed during the event by representatives of the African continent was the issue of grain supplies. In particular, they called on Russia to return to the grain deal. In return, Putin promised to send 25-50 thousand tonnes of grain to six African countries that had previously supported Russia's position at the UN free of charge.

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Putin's "free grain" for several African countries "a handful of donations" that will not be able to fully eliminate the serious consequences of the termination of the "grain deal". Such a decision by the Russian Federation would lead to a large-scale price increase in many countries.

The US also reacted to Putin's statement about "free grain" for Africa. The State Department said that these statements by the Russian dictator would not save the situation.

German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze said that the Russia-Africa summit was nothing more than a PR show by Putin.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
It is also unclear whether they are linked to a gun attack in Hyde Road at 5.15am on Tuesday or a separate incident when shots were fired at a house in Garryowen, Limerick, after 10pm on Monday.

Three bullet holes have been found in a wall of the family home of April Collins, the woman who helped put two of the main leaders of the McCarthy-Dundon gang in jail for life.

Gardai carrying out a search of Ms Collinss home in Limerick discovered the holes this week.

It is not known when the shots were fired at the property in Hyde Avenue.

It is also unclear whether they are linked to a gun attack in Hyde Road at 5.15am on Tuesday or a separate incident when shots were fired at a house in Garryowen, Limerick, after 10pm on Monday.

No one was injured in any of the incidents in the McCarthy-Dundon stronghold and no arrests have been made.

A burnt-out stolen car, which officers believe could be linked to at least one of the shootings, has been recovered.

There have been other incidents in Hyde Road recently.

In June, a car was driven by a house while people were inside and shots were fired. No one was injured.

The life and crimes of Ger Dundon

That incident followed another the month before.

Ms Collins (36) was the partner of McCarthy-Dundon gangster Ger Dundon.

Dundon is serving a 15-year jail sentence in England after being convicted over an extortion plot in which he threatened to shoot two men in the head.

Ms Collins broke off her relationship with Dundon 13 years ago when he was behind bars for a separate campaign of extortion in Limerick.

It was a month before she gave a statement to gardai about the death in 2008 of rugby player Shane Geoghegan.

Ms Collins gave evidence at the Special Criminal Court that helped lead to murder convictions for John and Wayne Dundon in connection with the fatal shootings of two innocent men.

The first was at the trial of John Dundon, who was being tried for Mr Geoghegans death.

Mr Geoghegan was an innocent man walking home from a night out when he was gunned down by killer Barry Doyle in a case of mistaken identity.

Ms Collins admitted witnessing John Dundon ordering the hit on gang rival John McNamara less than 48 hours before Mr Geoghegans death.

She testified that, on the night of the murder, she had heard John Dundon order Doyle to kill McNamara, who lived near Mr Geoghegan.

I was in the house when John Dundon ordered the hit, she told the court.

She also gave evidence against gang boss Wayne Dundon, who was jailed for life for the 2009 murder of innocent businessman Roy Collins.
Judge Gerard Jones fined Stokes 300, disqualified him from driving for 10 years and jailed him for six months.

An uninsured driver who went on to the wrong side of the road, forcing other vehicles out of his way, has been jailed for six months.

Bernie Stokes (26) has been battling addictions to alcohol and cocaine, and his family said it was a great relief when he went into custody.

The defendant had 12 previous convictions for uninsured driving, a court heard.

Judge Gerard Jones fined Stokes 300, disqualified him from driving for 10 years and jailed him for six months.

The defendant, of Shancastle Avenue in Clondalkin, admitted dangerous and uninsured driving at Fonthill Road in Clondalkin on February 18, 2023.

A garda witness told Blanchardstown District Court gardai were on mobile patrol when they saw Stokes driving a silver Ford Fiesta.

Gardai followed the defendant, who drove away at speed and on the wrong side of the road, forcing other vehicles out of his way.

The court heard Stokes abandoned the vehicle and fled into a house. Gardai made the demand for his insurance details on a later date.

In a separate incident, gardai said they received a call about a suspicious male hiding in bushes at Castle Way, Adamstown, in Lucan, on February 9, 2023.

Gardai found Stokes hiding under a pickup truck, and when they spoke to him, he asked: What the f**k am I being arrested for?

Defence solicitor Simon Fleming said Stokes was a married man with two children.

Mr Fleming said Stokes had serious problems with alcohol and cocaine, and his family felt great relief when he went into custody so he can get the help and support he needs.

Stokes wished to apologise for his behaviour, Mr Fleming said, adding that the defendant knew it was wrong.
Judge Jones accepted Agu had been used, but he said she nevertheless committed a crime. The judge ordered Agu to donate 500 to Pieta House and left her without a conviction.

A student was duped into laundering more than 4,500 by a man she believed was her boyfriend, a court heard.

Winnie McDonald Agu (24) let the man use her bank account, and when the money was taken out he blocked her number and she has not heard from him since.

The case came before Judge Gerard Jones for finalisation after Judge David McHugh had ordered Agu to complete the restorative justice services programme.

Defence solicitor Liam Cadogan said Agu had successfully completed the programme and he asked the judge to be lenient.

Judge Jones accepted Agu had been used, but he said she nevertheless committed a crime. The judge ordered Agu to donate 500 to Pieta House and left her without a conviction.

The defendant, of Avondale Park in Mulhuddart, previously admitted possession of 4,822, which was the proceeds of crime, at AIB, Westend Retail Park in Blanchardstown, between June 14 and June 19, 2018.

Sergeant Maria Callaghan outlined the allegation for Judge Jones.

She told Blanchardstown District Court that gardai were contacted by AIBs fraud unit who said money from an invoice had been redirected from a company in Germany. The bank had tried to reclaim the money but it had been taken out of the account.

Sgt Callaghan said Agu was interviewed by gardai, and she told them a friend had asked her if he could use her account.

Agu told gardai she was unaware of the fraud, and she did not gain anything from it.

Sgt Callaghan said the company had not been reimbursed the money.

The court heard Agu had no previous convictions and had not come to trouble since.

Mr Cadogan said his client was completing a masters degree in forensic psychology.

Mr Cadogan said Agu was only 18 at the time of this incident. She had been fooled by a man, who she believed was her boyfriend. She gave him permission to use her bank account and as soon as he got what he wanted he blocked her phone and shes had no contact with him since.

Agu felt betrayed by this man, and was embarrassed at her own naivete, he added.
These persons face a criminal conviction and the long term impacts of such a conviction

Gardai have released the details of their involvement in a massive Interpol-led global operation targeting the notorious West African crime gang known as the Black Axe.

Dozens of people have been arrested in Ireland while thousands of euro have been recovered as part of Operating Jackal that was carried out in 21 countries around the world.

Searches were also carried out in Dublin, Wicklow and Longford throughout April and May as the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) led the Irish campaign against the Black Axe, a criminal organisation formed in West Africa in the mid-1970s that is now operating worldwide.

The various search operations and detentions were co-ordinated by the GNECB and included assistance from local Garda units in counties including Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Limerick, Kerry, Laois, Longford, Cork.

Interpol in action

As a result, three premises were searched in Dublin, Wicklow and Longford while nine people were arrested and detained under Organised Crime legislation.

Another four people were arrested and detained for money laundering offences while 33 others arrested and charged for money laundering. One person was arrested and charged with gangland offences and money laundering.

There were nine incidents of stolen money recovered from foreign bank accounts and more than 400,000 in stolen monies recovered for Irish companies.

Gardai also provided examples of cases where money was recovered from Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud in Ireland.

In one case, a complaint was made by a company that over 98,000 was stolen in a BEC fraud and transferred to a bank account in Portugal. In this case, working with the financial institution, the payment was cancelled and all the money was recovered.

Another 149,000 was stolen in a BEC from a victim buying an apartment in Spain. Money was laundered through an account in Spain but, working with the financial institution, GNECB was able to recover nearly 76,000 laundered through a secondary account in Spain.

Meanwhile, more than 91,000 was recovered from a total of 95,000 that was stolen in a BEC in USA in early April 2023 and laundered through an account in Ireland.

In seven cases involving Irish companies, with over 475,000 cash stolen, over 400,000 was recovered by the GNECB.

Assistant Commissioner Kelly, Organised and Serious Crime said Operation Jackal highlighted the internationally recognised expertise and professionalism of the members of An Garda Siochana, particularly those attached to GNECB.

Operation Jackal is called Operation Skein in Ireland, a GNECB run investigation into an International Criminal Organisation which commit mainly BEC and Romance Frauds worldwide and launder the proceeds through networks of bank accounts in Ireland.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan, Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said the 34 persons arrested and charged as part of this phase of Operation Skein had facilitated the criminal activities of organised crime groups, by allowing their bank accounts to be used to move criminally gained money.

They also facilitated and contributed to the theft of money from other individuals and companies, he said. This is a crime. These persons face a criminal conviction and the long term impacts of such a conviction.

DSupt Cryan appealed to people not to allow any other person have access to or use your account to transfer money.

If you are approached on social media or other platform, with a promise of easy money, beware, your bank account is your information and your responsibility.

"If you believe your account has been compromised in some way, contact your financial institution and An Garda Siochana.

This investigation was launched with a request for assistance from an EU country, via Europol in early 2020 after 1.1 million was stolen in a BEC fraud and laundered through Asia.

The fake emails originated from Ireland and electronic devices seized during this investigation indicated for the first time that the crime gang was operating from Ireland and not just laundering through Ireland.

Gardai said that so far, their investigative and enforcement activity has resulted in 84 arrests under organised crime legislation while 327 people were arrested for money laundering offences

A total of 204 people have been charged to date with 22 juveniles admitted to the Juvenile Diversion Programme.
Sources say that gardai are probing whether the shooting is linked to a personal row rather than organised crime.

A man with close links to a Kinahan cartel enforcer has emerged as a suspect for a shooting incident in which a 31-year-old man was shot in the leg.

The incident happened at Poddle Park in Kimmage at around 9.10pm on Thursday and gardai said that the victim was taken to hospital as a precaution.

The Crumlin man is not known to gardai for involvement in crime and he is expected to make a recovery from his injuries.

Sources say that gardai are probing whether the shooting is linked to a personal row rather than organised crime.

There has been an ongoing argument for a number of weeks which is personal in nature and this is the most likely motive for this shooting, a source explained.

There was a number of threats issued as part of this dispute including to a teenage boy, the source added.

There have been no arrests so far in the case which is being investigated by Sundrive Road gardai.

The suspect in the case is known to gardai but does not have the same criminal pedigree as his cartel linked associate who cannot be named here as he is facing charges before the courts.

The enforcer is a convicted drug dealer who has been a target for the Criminal Assets Bureau and has multiple previous convictions including for possession of a firearm.

This individual has been involved in serious organised crime for well over 15 years and he is very close to the suspect for Thursday nights shooting but the suspect for the shooting has nothing like this individuals criminal pedigree, a source said.

Shootings in the Crumlin area have been extremely rare in recent times compared to 20 years ago when the bloody Crumlin/Drimnagh feud was at its height leading to firearms incidents occurring in the locality on a weekly basis.

That deadly drugs feud claimed the lives of 15 men.
Gardai said they were alerted to the discharge of a firearm in Dublin 12, at around 9.10pm.

Gardai at the scene of a shooting at a park in Crumlin, Dublin 12 Thursday evening. Photo: Damien Storan

A man is in hospital after a gun was fired in the Crumlin area of Dublin last night.

Gardai said they were alerted to the discharge of a firearm in Dublin 12, at around 9.10pm.

One man has been taken to hospital as a precaution.

Its understood he was shot in the leg and his injuries are not life-threatening.

Investigations are ongoing. No further information is available at this time, a statement said.
Up to 30 cabin crew were allegedly working as escorts.

Detectives in Vietnam have arrested a group of air cabin crew this week who were allegedly offering sex to punters in a luxurious hotel for 800 per 90 minute romps.

A squad of police moved in on the pricey venue in Ho Chi Minh on Wednesday evening where they reportedly found three flight attendants engaging in extracurricular activities with different punters.

Vo Thi My Hanh admitted to contacting many flight attendants, 'hot girls' and photo models, then sent pictures of prostitutes in flight attendant uniforms to get customers to hire them for sex, Vietnamese police said in a statement.

Arrest (Vietnamese Police)

Vo Thi My Hanh is the alleged ring leader of the operation and she is now being held in custody on suspicion of prostitution and brokering sex services. At least one of her colleagues worked as a model.

The 26-year-old was an air hostess with Vietnam Airlines but apparently packed that in earlier this year to focus on a new business venture.

She has been pictured alongside planes whilst wearing her work uniform.

Men would allegedly transfer money to Vo Thi My Hanh who would then arrange the meeting between the men and the cabin crew - many of them her former colleagues and girls from other airlines.

She is alleged to have targeted the air hostesses and local models with offers of extra income while they were on stop overs in Vietnam.

Cops allege Hanh had up to 30 women working for her and was charging 800 for a 90-minute session with the girls or 2,300 for an overnight stay.

Police also said that the woman had made more than 38,000 for herself since the operation began.

She posted pictures of herself on expensive boats and staying at luxury locations around the world online but detectives claim this was part of a secret plan to draw other girls into her lifestyle.

Cops are now trying to trace others involved in the prostitution ring and have appealed for other people involved to come forward with more information.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department said in a statement on Thursday: "On August 9, 2023, the Criminal Police Department presided over and coordinated with the District 1 Police to deploy the plan to dismantle the sex ring.

Arrest (Vietnamese Police)

"An inspection was conducted of the hotel on Le Thi Rieng Street of Ben Thanh ward, District 1, where officers found that in four rooms, there were four subjects engaging in prostitution.

"Three were flight attendants and one was a model all in their twenties.

"The suspect Vo Thi My Hanh was detained for the act of brokering sex.

"At the police station, the four women claimed to have been employed by the suspect who sold them for sex at the hotel for 1,000 to 3,000 USD.

"Currently, the Investigative Police Department, City Public Security and Criminal Police Department continue to consolidate documents and evidence while investigating the case and strictly handling it in accordance with the law.

"The Investigation Police Agency calls on the accomplices of the suspect to come to the headquarters of the Criminal Police Department in Ho Chi Minh City to surrender and be granted leniency.
London Ambulance Service raced to the scene last year but the baby boy died.

Lady Justice on top of Old Bailey the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in London

A teenage girl has appeared in a UK court today charged with infanticide over the death of a new-born baby.

The young woman appeared before magistrates in the Old Bailey this morning.

Police were called at 5 am on January 30 last year following the discovery of the little boy in New Eltham, south-east London.

London Ambulance Service raced to the scene but the boy was sadly pronounced dead.

The 16-year-old girl, who cannot be named due to her age, was charged in July. She will next appear in court for a plea hearing on 17 November.

The defendant appeared at the Old Bailey accused of causing the death of a child under the age of 12 months.

No trial date was set during the hearing and she remains on unconditional bail, according to reports from the UK.
The fourth power unit had an incident with water leakage from the first to the second circuit due to the criminal actions of the occupants at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Therefore, the Russian invaders decided to put the power unit from "hot" into "cold shutdown".

ADVERTISIMENT

At the same time, the occupants want the sixth power unit of ZNPP to be in the state of "hot shutdown", which is another violation of the license conditions and requirements of Enerhoatom. The press service of the national nuclear power generating company reported this on the morning of August 11 in Telegram.

The water leakage incident occurred as a result of the Russian occupants ignoring the rules of equipment operation, as they ordered to leave the fourth power unit "hot".

There was no radiological release into the environment during the incident.

"It occurred due to the violation of the integrity of the third steam generator located in the sealed shell of the unit. Consequently, the occupation management began to put the fourth power unit of ZNPP into "cold shutdown" mode, Enerhoatom said.

ADVERTISIMENT

The invaders will do this within three days.

President of Enerhoatom Petro Kotin emphasized that incompetent illegitimate "management" of the plant from Rosatom is consistently putting ZNPP units out of operation.

"This crime is made with deliberate damage to the equipment of the fourth power unit, which led to the violation of the integrity of three of the five existing physical barriers to the spread of radiation. Leakage of potentially radioactive water of the first circuit beyond the established limits and damage to expensive equipment of the first circuit will be investigated," he said.

Kotin is confident that all those who continue to follow Rosatom's criminal orders and bring the plant's equipment to a critical state will be held accountable after the de-occupation of our territory.

ADVERTISIMENT

Enerhoatom's president also said that the 750 kV high-voltage communication line has been repaired. ZNPP was connected to the main power line on August 10 at 19:02.

As OBOZREVATEL wrote:

- The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost power through the main 750 kV external power line on the night of August 10. The only available 330 kV backup line had to be temporarily used.

- Polish President Andrzej Duda is convinced that the probability of an accident at the ZNPP is higher than the probability of Russia using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

Only verified information from us in Telegram channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Its impossible that one so lively and vivacious could no longer be with us

11/08/2023 Garda coleagues form a guard of honour as the cortege makes its way to church pictured this afternoon at the funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn who died in a fire onboard a boat in Carrick on Shannon at the start of the week...Her funeral took place in St. John the Evangelist Church, Ballinteer...Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Garda colleagues formed a guard of honour as the cortege made its way to the Church for the funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Gardai lining the streets for a guard of honour after the funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The remains of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn being carried into St. John the Evangelist Church, Ballinteer today. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Garda colleagues form a guard of honour as the cortege makes its way to church at the funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn who died in a fire onboard a boat in Carrick on Shannon. Photo: Colin Keegan / Collins

A garda detective who died tragically in a boat fire on Monday has been remembered as a lively and vivacious woman who had a love for life and family.

Garda Detective Deirdre Finn, who was in her 50s, died when her boat in Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim caught fire.

The experienced Dun Laoghaire-based garda, also known as Dee, was a prominent and respected member of the Garda Representatives Association (GRA), and in her lengthy and distinguished career had been involved in a number of important investigations.

She had been due to retire in the coming months having reached 30 years of service.

Deirdre Finn

Det Gda Finn, late of Ballinteer and Ballycullen in Dublin, is survived by her father Pat, brothers Cormac and Dermot, and a wide circle of family and friends. She was pre-deceased by only a few short months by her mother Agnes, who died last November.

At St John the Evangelist Church, Ballinteer, symbols brought to the altar to represent Det Gda Finns life included her garda cap, her long service and centenary medals, the flag that flew from the back of her boat, her soft toy pigs, a Leinster rugby jersey, her make-up bag, a wine glass to represent her love of company and a good party, and a family photograph.

Fr Jim Caffrey, who has known the Finn family for many years, paid tribute to her and said he had been shocked by the news of her death.

It was impossible, it seemed, that one so lively and vivacious, could no longer be with us, he said.

He said he read many tributes to Det Gda Finn on the RIP.ie website, but picked out one from a 15-year-old from Co Clare who never knew Deirdre, but was so touched by her death that they left a tribute. In the tribute, the teen said Deirdre seemed like a loved family member and a fantastic member of An Garda Siochana, something which they aspired to be some day.

Fr Caffrey said Deirdre was like a magnet who drew people to her all the time.

Ive known her since she was around 16, and every time I met her I went away with a smile, he said.

How can anyone explain something like this? How can terrible things happen to good people? How is Deirdre taken away so young? It would be stupid of me to even attempt an answer, he added.

Gardai lining the streets for a guard of honour after the funeral of Detective Garda Deirdre (Dee) Finn. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

At the end of mass, Dees brother Cormac paid a loving tribute to her on behalf of the family.

He described how the news of her death last Monday brought shock, disbelief, denial, numbness, devastation and heartbreak.

He said Dee was friendly, kind, welcoming, and loved having the craic.

She was great at organising everyone, but more probably, you thought you were organising things but she was actually at the back pulling the strings, said Cormac, describing his sister as a happy person and an amazing friend with personal connections with people that lasted a lifetime.

Dee had a genuine interest in people. She wanted to get to know you. Not only you, but your family and your children, he said.

He praised An Garda Siochana, and said she loved working with them. And he praised the boating community in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Cormac said Dee had bought her boat five years ago, and loved it.

When Dee was on her boat, she was in her happy place. She was mapping out the next chapter in her life, she was going to spend more time on the Shannon, do something different, but sadly that wasnt to be.

Dee lived her life to the full. When you remember Dee, remember happiness, remember laughter, remember to live life to the full. Remember her smile, Remember your friend. On Sunday night our dear Dee went to sleep never to wake. She was in her happy place, and in her happy place she stayed, he added.

Deirdres father Pat addressed the mourners to thank them for making the loss of Dee easier to bear.

You have made me the proudest father in the country because you thought so much of my Dee, he said.

Guards of honour were formed by members of An Garda Siochana as the hearse bearing Dees remains arrived and left the church.

High ranking members of the force, including Assistant Commissioners Angela Willis, Cliona Richardson, and Michael McElgunn; Dan Laoghaire Chief Superintendent Matt Nyland, and Chief Superintendent Peter Duff from Ballymun Garda Station, were in attendance.

Following the funeral mass, the remains of Dee Finn were brought to Kilmashogue Cemetery in Rathfarnham for burial.
Frank Staples suffered a brain haemorrhage as a result of the incident and fell into a coma which lasted ten days.

The man accused of throwing the punch which left Wexford-native Frank Staples in critical condition in an Australian hospital has been bailed in Perth Magistrates Court. Angus William Jones (22), who works as a furniture remover, was charged with grievous bodily harm over the incident which took place outside a McDonalds restaurant in Northbridge, Perth on Monday, July 24.

The West Australian newspaper reported that, during the brief hearing, Jones, who appeared in the dock wearing a white boilersuit, allegedly punched Francis Arthur Staples, a man who was unknown to him, rendering him unconscious and causing him to hit his head on the ground.

Frank suffered a brain haemorrhage as a result of the incident and fell into a coma which lasted ten days. He has since shown signs of improvement and is continuing to be treated in the ICU at the Royal Perth Hospital.

Police did not oppose bail being granted, saying their primary concern was flight risk but based on the seriousness of the offence were seeking a sizeable personal undertaking and reporting conditions. Mr Jones, was granted bail on a $3000 personal undertaking and ordered to report to police twice weekly.

Another 22-year-old man who was allegedly involved in the incident has been charged with assault causing bodily harm. He has yet to appear in court. Mr Jones is expected to appear in court again in late August.

Although he has now emerged from the coma, Franks family, speaking on Tuesday, say his long-term prognosis remains unclear. Part of his skull has been removed to ease the swelling on his brain and doctors are continuing to run tests on Frank, but his dad, Jim, who flew out within hours of hearing of the assault, says they have no idea if he will make a full recovery.

He has improved, hes coming round a bit, hes been taken off the ventilator and now has a tracheostomy tube in; but the doctors dont know what the long-term prognosis is going to be, said Jim (71). At the beginning they gave us the worst situation, they have to do that; Frank was totally unconscious, in a coma, with tubes coming out of everywhere, it was frightening to see it. But four days ago he came out of the coma, as in he woke up, but he still doesnt really see us when were there in front of him, doesnt recognise us.

Franks sister, Sarah, has also arrived in Perth, coming from her home in San Diego to add her support. And she says they are all still in shock.

At the moment the doctors are just trying to make him follow commands, open your eyes, squeeze my hand, things like that. Its so hard to see my brother like this, its the kind of thing you never think will happen to your own family.
Mr. Quirke collapsed during a game in Semple Stadium last year.

Tragic Tipperary hurler Dillon Quirke was honoured over the weekend in Tipperary as his first anniversary mass took place in the playing grounds which have been re-named after him.

The 24-year-old collapsed during a game in Semple Stadium last August, was stretchered off the field shortly afterwards and sadly died.

His club pitches in Clonoulty were officially re-named on Saturday where the president of the GAA was in attendance.

Hurling manager Liam Cahill spoke about how Dillon will always be part of the team and will always be a source of inspiration to the entire squad of players and management alike.

A plaque was unveiled by Larry McCarthy of the GAA in Dillons to honour Quirke and the event.

A sad occasion but a great occasion and the community came out in droves this evening not just from here. It has been a very quick year but Im sure it hasnt been a quick year for the family, Larry said.

The creation of the Dillon Quirke Foundation has helped build a positive out of such a terrible tragedy:

The foundation was set up in honour of our beloved Dillon who collapsed during a hurling match and died of SADS on the 5th of August 2022 in Semple Stadium Thurles.

Dillon's family

Sudden adult death syndrome (SADS) takes 100 young lives in Ireland every year. With your help, our aim is to raise awareness and save lives by screening every GAA player both male and female from the age of 12 upwards, the Foundations website says.

Larry McCarthy was very impressed with the efforts of Dillons relatives to help others.

Kudos to the Quirke family for pushing forward with this idea. Sometimes out of tragedy great things evolve and grow. This is an example of that. All credit to the family for allowing Dillons name to be memorialised through the Foundation, said the GAA President.

Poems were read and songs were sung at the special event.

Dillon's uncle, Andrew Fryday, chairman of Clonoulty-Rossmore, previously spoke about his nephew to RTE:

"He was a pure gentleman, a lovely, lovely young man who had anything youd want in a hurler. A fine, big strong man. Fit and able - a leader on the field. He was captain of our club team, he led from the front.
However, the coroner, Aisling Gleeson, was informed that there was no evidence that the victim had consumed alcohol at any stage.

A teenager who died as a result of a drowning incident at a lake in Co Monaghan two years ago was afraid of the water, an inquest has heard.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court into the death of Adam McCormick (14) also heard evidence that the teenager was among a group of young people from whom a garda had confiscated alcohol a short time earlier.

However, the coroner, Aisling Gleeson, was informed that there was no evidence that the victim had consumed alcohol at any stage.

Adam, from Cabra, Threemilehouse, Co Monaghan, was pronounced dead at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on July 26, 2021  just under 24 hours after he had got into difficulty while swimming with friends at Holywood Lake near Scotstown, Co Monaghan.

A pathologist who carried out a post-mortem on the boys body informed the coroner that blood samples taken to test for alcohol were found to be unsuitable for analysis.

The pathologist, Michael McDermott, said the boys injuries were consistent with the accounts of eyewitnesses that he had been submerged under water for over five minutes followed by a prolonged period of attempts to resuscitate him.

Dr McDermott said he had also suffered a prolonged, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest which had a high mortality rate.

The inquest heard that significant interventions by medical staff failed to halt a deterioration in Adams condition and he passed away around 23 hours after being taken from the water at the hospital in Dublin where he had been transported by helicopter.

Dr McDermott attributed the cause of the boys death to a lack of oxygen and blood to the brain which had caused multi-organ failure.

The pathologist said it was regrettable that the inability to conduct analysis of the blood samples taken from Adam meant it was not possible to either confirm or deny that he had consumed alcohol at the time.

The inquest heard medical notes indicated that alcohol may have been a contributory factor in the incident.

However, Adams mother, Aoife McCormick, told the inquest that her son was not a strong swimmer and that he was afraid of the water.

I believe that is the main factor in what happened, said Ms McCormick.

She acknowledged that her son knew some of the other teenagers who had alcohol taken away by a garda.

However, Ms McCormick stressed that she did not want anything to be assumed about Adam.

He might have been in their company but it doesnt mean he was part of all that, she added.

Garda Brian Foley of Scotstown garda station told the inquest that he had carried out a foot patrol at Holywood Lake at around 3.40pm on July 25, 2021 where he found a large group of teenagers who had large quantities of alcohol with them.

Garda Foley said he had got the teenagers to pour out the alcohol in his presence and instructed them to move along.

He said some left the area while others stayed around as they were waiting for a lift.

Garda Foley said he had left the area when he got a call a short time later to return to the lake amid concern that a youth was drowning.

In response to questions from the coroner, Garda Foley said he was satisfied that he had removed all alcohol from the scene during his earlier visit.

He also told Ms Gannon that he had no interaction with Adam and he was not aware of the boy at the time.

Garda Foley said he had no evidence to indicate that Adam had consumed alcohol.

In a written submission, another teenager said there was a large group of young people at the lake but he did not know everyone.

The boy said someone was celebrating their 17th birthday and everybody was in good form with some having alcohol.

He said they were subsequently in bad form after a garda had taken the drink away from them.

The teenager recalled that Adam was playing a game of slaps as a bit of fun before he and a group of friends decided they would jump in the water.

He said he and other onlookers originally thought Adam was messing when he started waving his hands in the water.

The inquest heard someone went to help him but Adam was unable to hold on.

Another boy also got into difficulty but was able to get out of the water.

Conor Cahill, who had gone to the lake with his son, said he became aware of a group of young people, some of whom had been consuming alcohol, being visibly distressed at around 4.20pm.

Mr Cahill said he grabbed a ringbuoy and jumped in the water.

He recalled that visibility in the water was extremely poor and it was around his fifth attempt at diving before he found Adam.

Mr Cahill said he struggled for around 40 seconds to bring the teenager, who was completely unresponsive, to the surface.

The inquest heard that Mr Cahill and Marion McCormack, a nurse who was also at the lake with her children, continued to provide CPR to the boy until paramedics arrived on the scene.

Returning a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said she was satisfied that there was corroborating evidence from a number of witnesses about what had happened at the lake.
As a school community we are truly heartbroken and our thoughts and prayers are with her parents, her brother and the extended family circle.

A Co Antrim primary school has said Scarlett Rossborough was an energetic, bubbly little girl with an infectious giggle in a heart-breaking online tribute.

Scarlett (8) from the Larne area  who was due to celebrate her 9th birthday next month  sadly passed away at the scene of a car accident in Carrickfergus yesterday.

Scarlett was a pupil at Linn Primary School in Larne, which paid tribute to her in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon.

"Everyone connected with Linn Primary School is devastated to hear about the sudden death of our much loved pupil Scarlett, they said.

"She was an energetic, bubbly little girl with an infectious giggle and a sense of fun who brought a breath of fresh air to our school. As a school community we are truly heartbroken and our thoughts and prayers are with her parents, her brother and the extended family circle.

Meanwhile, the PSNI has sent its condolences to Scarletts family following the fatal road crash yesterday.

A boy, understood to be five years old, has also been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast.

His injuries are understood not to be life-threatening after the collision.

District Commander for Mid and East Antrim Superintendent Gillian Kearney said: My colleagues and I are profoundly saddened by what occurred in Carrickfergus yesterday morning.

It is too soon to fully comprehend exactly what happened, and we understand the significant impact and unimaginable pain this dreadful event will have on the family, the other children involved, the staff and their families, she added.

Ms Kearney also said that two dedicated family liaison officers had been assigned to the family to offer specialist help to them during this difficult time.

We have appointed two dedicated family liaison officers to offer specialist support to the bereaved family during this incredibly difficult time, and our thoughts are very much with them as they come to terms with the loss of their daughter under such tragic circumstances, she said.

The welfare of all of those involved, including members of the public who provided assistance at the scene, our own officers and our colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service who responded to carry out emergency CPR, remains a top priority and we will be doing everything we can to support them.

I would also like to pass on my sincere thanks to wider members of the community who remained patient during and after the incident, this never goes unnoticed and was greatly appreciated.

Now that a police investigation is under way, we would ask that media respect the privacy of the family at this deeply upsetting time.

Police have asked that anyone with information regarding the accident contact them via 101.

Mid and East Antrim District Council have set up a dedicated space in Carrickfergus to allow the public to pay tribute to Scarlett.

"We recognise that the local community may wish to pay tribute to Scarlett, therefore a dedicated space at Castle Green in the town is available for anyone wishing to leave floral tributes and messages for her family, said a spokesperson.

Tributes to Scarlett have continued to pour in online, with a number of local groups and businesses in both the Larne and Carrickfergus areas expressing their condolences.

Carrickfergus Official Glasgow Rangers Supporters Club said they had held a minutes silence in memory of the eight-year-old.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in yesterdays tragic accident in High Street, they said.

Thinking of everyone involved, particularly the friends and family of eight-year-old Scarlett Rossborough who sadly lost her life and continuous best wishes for the five-year-old boy still in the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Breandan Coleman was convicted in 2020 of causing unnecessary suffering to a black Patterdale terrier-type dog and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the animal.

A massive dog show which took place in Craigavon last week was run by a man who is banned from keeping dogs for 10 years due to cruelty, we can reveal.

Breandan Coleman was convicted in 2020 of causing unnecessary suffering to a black Patterdale terrier-type dog and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the animal.

Last night Coleman told the Sunday World he was surprised anyone had raised any objections to him running the show.

In 2018, hed left the pregnant dog in his car in soaring hot temperatures while he was at the Irish Game fair in Antrim.

Shortly after the incident he told the Sunday World: I am devastated by the loss of one of my favourite dogs through an unfortunate series of circumstances.

But an investigation launched by animal welfare officers from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council into the incident ultimately saw him prosecuted at Antrim Magistrates Court.

A judge told him it was a serious case and in the courts view the dog suffered unnecessarily, which resulted in its death.

He handed him a three-month jail sentence, suspended for one year, and banned him from keeping any animal for 10 years.

The court also heard that at the time Coleman was on a suspended sentence for an unrelated assault on a first responder and that the dog incident had pre-dated that.

Concerned dog lovers contacted the Sunday World this week to complain that Breandan Coleman was going ahead with his dog show on the shores of Lough Neagh today.

The North Armagh Working Terrier Dog Show starts at noon and the 39-year-old has been promoting it over the last month on his Facebook page where he has changed his profile name to Brendy O Colman.

According to his posts advertising the event, which he had been running for years before Covid and his conviction for dog cruelty, there will be dozens of prizes given to a plethora of dog breeds including pit bulls, lurchers and whippets.

He also posted a picture of all the trophies, rosettes and prizes which will be won today.

Theres no suggestion Coleman is doing anything illegal by hosting the event but it has left some dog lovers barking mad.

One caller said: Hes banned from keeping animals for 10 years because he let a dog die in his car but yet hes able to run a dog show? Theres something not right about that. If you are banned from keeping any kind of animal you shouldnt be allowed to hold an event like a dog show.

Breandan Coleman with a pike

Another angry caller told us: He has changed his name to the Irish spelling of it. Is he hoping nobody will know its him or something?

Hes been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years and he shouldnt be anywhere near them. He is organising it. This is his show.

People should know that the man behind this show has been convicted of animal cruelty. Its unbelievable that hes carrying on as if hes got no criminal record for animal cruelty.

Coleman runs the North Armagh Working Terrier Club whose badge is a terrier dog beside a large shovel.

Last night he defended his decision to run the dog show and claimed the profits were going to charity, though he didnt detail which one.

He told the Sunday World: I am surprised that anyone would object to me being involved in the organisation of a dog show.

As you are aware, a peculiar set of circumstances led to my being banned from keeping animals for 10 years. I would stress that there was no intentional cruelty involved in the incident.

I have observed the ban but still retain a lifelong interest in dogs and as I have extensive experience of organising successful and incident-free dog shows it was not surprising that local canine interests suggested I get involved in organising this show.

I would also stress that I have never shown dogs at one of the events where I am involved and, obviously, I will have no involvement whatsoever in handling, judging or the ownership of any dog present.

In fact, the unfortunate circumstances which led to my ban has made me take additional steps to make sure nothing like this could happen at the planned show.

The show has been organised to ensure the highest standard of judging, sportsmanship and safety of dogs and handlers.

cried

During his sentencing in his dog cruelty case, Coleman cried in court after a barrister argued he should be banned from keeping animals.

Prosecution barrister Jennifer Gilpin told the court women approached the car and said the dog was dead and there was no air into the car, and they had tried CPR, but to no avail.

When interviewed, the defendant said he had come back to check on the dog and had been away for a maximum of half-an-hour.

The prosecutor said a vet report said the temperatures were 23C outside and 27C inside the car, and the temperature in the vehicle would have risen to 32C after around half-an-hour.

Ms Gilpin added: The vet concluded the cause of death was heatstroke.

The prosecutor asked the court to consider disqualifying the defendant from keeping any type of animal.

Coleman became emotional in court and said he was not accepting that.

He added: It was a tragic accident, thats all it was, I have been round dogs 30 years.

He said he had not intentionally put the pet into the car to die, saying the death had broke my heart and that of his childs.
The spider's venom is so powerful it is even being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments

A venomous spider whose bite can cause painful hours-long erections in men led to a supermarket being evacuated in Austria this week.

An alert store manager reportedly spotted a Brazilian Wandering Spider in a Penny shop in Krems an der Donau, outside Vienna on Tuesday.

Emergency services were scrambled over fears the four-inch black and red spider, that is still at large, may have reached Europe by hiding in bunches of bananas.

One of the planet's most venomous spiders, its bites can prove fatal after causing hypothermia, blurred vision, convulsions and even erections.

The spider's venom is so powerful it is even being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments after it was found that a bite from one of the spiders can give male victims a painful four-hour erection.

Reports say the shop will likely remain closed until next week as exterminators examine the scene and banana crates in the store are sealed.

A spokesman for the Rewe retail group said that comprehensive cleaning and disinfection measures are now under way to prepare the store for reopening.

But authorities added that: Despite an extensive search, no spiders have been found to date.

Some 4,000 people are bitten by the Brazilian Wandering Spider each year, with some of those bitten eventually dying leading to death.

An effective anti-venom has been created to reduce the likelihood of death but just one bite from the spider can also cause severe cramping and tachycardia, or an increased heart rate.

The Brazilian Wandering spider whose scientific name - Phoneutria - is Greek for murderess is listed appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most venomous arachnid.

They are called the wandering spider as they do not build webs, and instead walk the jungle floor at night looking for prey.

They often take refuge in houses and cars In urban areas, where they are easily disturbed by humans.

In 2021, taxi driver Joe Stein found one of the spiders among a bunch of bananas purchased from a Sainsbury's in West Wickham, Bromley.

He opened the bag to find a two-inch dark mass hanging from the fruit.

Mr Stein, from Beckenham, Kent, said: I sort of had to refocus my eyes so I could see his big bony, hairy legs. It was a bit shocking.

Obviously I was shocked, my girlfriend was a bit shocked, finding out it was a venomous spider if alive.

Luckily I think it was dead, but it was enough to make us both jump and feel on edge.

In 2015, a British family were left fearing one of the spiders had disappeared in their house after noticing a suspicious white spider cocoon on a bunch of bananas.

Michaela Egan from Rainham, Essex posted an image on her Facebook page and friends suggested it could be a Brazilian Wandering spider.

The mother-of-two immediately put it in a sealed bag and returned it to the Rainham Tesco where staff offered her a full refund before sending the banana off to be tested.

The full-time mother said that she could have easily handed the banana to her daughter for her packed lunch.
Im just a different kind of Inbetweener now

As Fiat 500-driving teenager Simon Cooper in The Inbetweeners, Joe Thomas found fame while wobbling across the tumultuous tightrope from boyhood to manhood.

Now, the 39-year-old dad-of-one is on the cusp of another tricky life transition, and trying not to overthink it. Oh God, oh Jesus! he exclaims of his upcoming big birthday in October. I dont know what Ill do. I dont know what you do on a 40th  I suppose Ill just try and not freak out, I think.

A decade and a half after his breakout role as one of the quartet of boys who think theyre men, these days, the actor tells Magazine+ its more the other way around.

Still airing almost nightly, the cult Channel 4 comedy also made overnight stars of Simon Bird as bookish Will, James Buckley as vulgar Jay and Blake Harrison as dopey Neil as it ran over three seasons from 2008 to 2010, sparking two subsequent movies in 2011 and 2014.

So Joe, who played the most relatable of the four in Si, is under no illusion that many of those coming along to his first Irish stand-up gig, taking place as part of the inaugural Ballaghdream Arts Fest  running from August 5-13 in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon  will be expecting a few Simon-isms.

It would be naive to think theyre not 95pc Inbetweeners fans probably, but thats OK, says the Essex native, who made his comedy debut in 2021. Im not, like, fighting that character.

If it was like Blake, who plays Neil  Neil is basically just an idiot  you would have to do quite a lot of spade work to be like, Im not just a moron. Whereas my character, theres enough of me (in him).

If theyre coming expecting to see that character, Im not one of these people whos like, You have to believe that Im not this person. Mainly, its just that Im a bit older, he laughs.

Any stand-up, really they just want an audience, so Im really very lucky that I get an audience because I was lucky enough to be in this show that everyone really liked.

And, yeah, there probably is a little bit of baggage, but the alternative would be going to Edinburgh (Festival Fringe) and having three people in the audience and having to come up that way  thats what most people have to do, so the fact that Ive managed to avoid that is lucky for me.

Joe found fame with James Buckley, Simon Bird and Blake Harrison on The Inbetweeners

Due to wed fellow actor Hannah Tointon, who played girlfriend Tara on the show where they met, Joe also became a father last year, when the couple welcomed a baby daughter.

And the Taskmaster star admits hes full of nothing but cliches about his other new chapter in life.

Im enjoying it, he begins. Its like you start to think about your whole life differently, and how you will educate a child and be responsible for their character  I mean, its terrifying!

Its potentially the most power youll ever have and its kind of scary and you just want to do it responsibly, I suppose.

You start to think, Why the hell did I not make more use of the time that I had! You have to get used to doing things in these inbetween moments.

So, as a different kind of inbetweener, one that perhaps has more in common with Simons embarrassing dad Alan (played by Martin Trenaman) than the 18-year-old fans last saw, could he see himself getting behind the wheel of the Yellow Peril on the big or small screen once more?

Its funny, it is still a really, really apposite term, says Joe. I do exactly feel like that. Thats very well put. Its the kind of thing where youre like, How do I bracket myself here? I know Im not a kind of young gun, like, I cant be in a band, but also it would be weird of me to start saying, Well, Im just sort of winding things down.

I guess the idea of the show... that sense of pretending to be the more mature (guy) you hope youll become, that never really goes away. One thing I will say is I love those writers (Damon Beesley and Iain Morris), and we do all like each other, so I would always love to work with them again.

I dont know how youd do it now, but I would trust those writers to come up with something that worked. It would obviously have to be about old guys!
The Purcell family have had to vacate their home for six weeks while the film is being made there, with furniture also being moved.

ONE of Irelands top beef barons has moved out of his family home for several weeks to make way for Hollywood star Diane Lane.

A major Hollywood film company is renting millionaire Gerry Purcells Dublin mansion as it stands in for an American house in upcoming movie, Anniversary.

We had to sign agreements with the company that is making the movie, so I cant discuss it at all, Gerry told Sunday World.

Myself and my wife are bound by a non-disclosure agreement.

The Purcell family have had to vacate their home for six weeks while the film is being made there, with furniture also being moved.

But sources close to the family deny six-figure sums being bandied about by neighbours as to the amount the Purcells are being paid, although lately big American film companies have been known to offer over 10,000 a week to take over Irish houses to make movies here.

Our pictures show Oscar nominated Lane on set in Donnybrook during the week, wearing a cream straw hat, dark sunglasses, long grey cardigan, back top, green pants and sandy boots.

The Purcell family home in Dublins Donnybrook

Also on location for the movie this week was Bafta-nominated Irish actor Daryl McCormack.

A couple of cars with Maryland number plates are parked in the driveway of the house, which is pretending to be located in the US and has an American flag flying from its roof.

Also in Dublin shooting for the movie is McKenna Grace, who known for playing Phoebe Spengler in Ghostbusters Afterlife and Faith Newman in The Young and the Restless.

Diane Lane filming in Donnybrook

Wolf of Wall Street and Argo star Kyle Chandler appears to be playing Lanes onscreen husband, while Irish actor Paul Tylak, who has starred in Kin and Harry Wild, also has a role.

The movie is about a close-knit family which is torn part as new movement The Change envelops the country.

Gerry Purcell has been CEO of Purcell Brothers meat company for 31 years.

Since 1970 Purcell Brothers has shipped cattle and sheep from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Southern America to countries such as England, Libya, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Portugal, Spain, the Caribbean and China.

The company was founded by Seamus Purcell, who was regarded as a pioneer in the cattle and livestock business and turned Purcell into the largest livestock exporter of cattle in the world.

Gerry Purcell

New Yorker Diane Lane starred in Streets of Fire and The Cotton Club, which were commercial and critical failures, and her career languished as a result.

But Laine (58) battled back and picked up an Emmy nomination for the 1989 series Lonesome Dove.

She earned further recognition for her role in A Walk on the Moon, and that was followed by her performance alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in the 2000 blockbuster The Perfect Storm.

Diane Lane filming on set in Donnybrook

She picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role in the 2002 film Unfaithful. Lane has also played the recurring role of Martha Kent, the adoptive mother of Superman, in Man of Steel (2013) and subsequent films of the DC Extended Universe.

Her most recent film is the 2020 neo-Western Let Him Go, with Kevin Costner.

Tipperary actor Daryl McCormack (30) recently picked up a Bafta nomination for his role as a male prostitute in the film Good Luck To You Leo Grande, in which he starred opposite Emma Thompson.
Series one focused on a west Belfast-based former republican paramilitary turned crime boss and his links to the security services

The republican crime gang led by John Lynch (James McIntyre) in series one of Blue Lights

The first season of blue lights focused on republican crime

Belfast cop drama Blue Lights will go true blue in series two with a storyline focusing on loyalists, the Sunday World can reveal.

The team behind the hit drama are scouting for locations in east Belfast with cameras ready to roll.

Producers Two Cities Television revealed this week that the countdown is on to start filming after a script read-through.

Cast favourites Sian Brooke and Martin McCann are due to return as well as Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff as rookies and Joanne Crawford and Andi Osho as senior officers.

Blue Lights writers Lawn & Patterson

And after series one focused on a west Belfast-based former republican paramilitary turned crime boss and his links to the security services, the second run will focus on loyalists, sources say.

The six-part series which aired in March was a huge hit for the BBC with episode one attracting more than seven million viewers.

Critics said writers Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson had created a near perfect cop drama.

The show, the brainchild of TV and film producer Louise Gallagher of Gallagher Films, was also lauded by TV heavyweights Russell T Davies as raw, funny and exciting and The ABC Murders writer Sarah Phelps who praised its grit, heart and gallows humour.

The republican crime gang led by John Lynch (James McIntyre) in series one of Blue Lights

The series has also been screened in Australia where it was described as TV drama that matters, while review site Rotten Tomatoes gave it a healthy 88 per cent score. With the pressure on the writing team to repeat the success of the first series, insiders say theyve decided to move their focus from nationalist to loyalist Belfast.

Series one was filmed mainly around Turf Lodge and Lenadoon in west Belfast, and it was praised for the authentic way that it dealt with post-ceasefire issues.

The attention to detail in the first series was impressive  so many series about here get the accents wrong, but not Blue Lights.

You had the camogie team using Irish and many other wee things that all added together to make it true to life.

The challenge will be how to do the same thing in loyalist areas. Its only the people who live there who will be able to judge it. And it will be really interesting to find out what the various plots are and if they will be shining a light on loyalist paramilitaries.

There will be a huge appetite for the second series, which is scheduled to air next year.

People in Northern Ireland loved the show and there is a lot of goodwill out there for it. Sometimes theres a cringe factor with drama from here but it didnt have any of that, the insider said.

It was so successful with a realistic portrayal of what policing is like in Belfast, but it also had a mass appeal outside Northern Ireland.

The writing and casting were so good last time they can take the same characters, in the same city, and it could feel like a completely different show.

Production company Two Cities Television whetted viewers appetites this week with a message on X, formerly Twitter. After an exciting table read the countdown is now on to shoot day #1 as our cast & crew gear up for S2 of Blue Lights, it said.

The companys joint CEO Stephen Wright, executive producer of Blue Lights, earlier this year said, Belfast is a vibrant, dynamic and complex place and we have a wealth of stories yet to come from our characters.

We cant wait to bring these to the fans.

Lindsay Salt, BBC Director of Drama, said the series had been a surprise success.

Blue Lights has been a breakout hit.

We cant wait to have it back on BBC One and iPlayer for a second series.
The Russian occupation army hit a civilian object in Prykarpattia with a missile on the morning of August 11. The terrorist attack killed a child.

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There are also wounded. This was reported by the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration (RMA) Svitlana Onyshchuk in Telegram.

The news is being updated.
DEMOCRACY HQ: A Personal view

with Steve Morri s

Tauranga has lost a dose of common sense with the passing of former city councillor Bill Faulkner.

First elected in 1983, Bill served eight non-consecutive terms during 30 years, often focusing on what he saw as essential infrastructure over more glamorous projects. His legacy is the best quality water in New Zealand, a harbour free from sewer overflows, and motorways built.

Bills determination helped bring microfiltration technology to Taurangas water plants years ahead of other cities. He wasnt afraid to take unpopular stances, such as leading the charge on water meters, even though it cost him his seat once. His perspective was clear: why should you pay for your neighbour to waste water when you only use it for necessities? It bought Tauranga 15 years before we needed the next water plant.

Bill led the $100m Southern Pipeline project to connect the Chapel St and Te Maunga wastewater treatment plants.

Eliminating sewage overflows into the harbour. He had the vision to support the construction of Route P (now Takitimu Drive), Route J, and the Route K toll road. Essential roads that council had to build because the Government of the day refused.

Beyond utilities, Bill looked out for future ratepayers by supporting the acquisition of Smiths and Paurau Farms as future parks and reserves. Sadly, these are in the process of being sold off.

Bill kept residents up-to-date on happenings in council in his Faulkner's Corner column here in The Weekend Sun. Some of his former colleagues didnt always welcome his appraisals!

Bills pragmatic approach has left a mark on Tauranga. His concentration on tangible improvements over nice-to-have projects may have upset some. Still, his influence is undeniable every time you turn on your tap, flush the toilet, or drive your car.
Its out with the coal and in with the biofuel for steam tram no. 100, which will operate on a renewable energy source made from trees at MOTAT Live Day on August 20.

Developed by Crown Research Institute, Scion, the biofuel will undergo its largest trial to date, which will see 250 kilograms of briquettes supplied to MOTAT to keep the little tram that could, running all day.

The briquettes are made using forest residues such as bark, branches, and low-quality stem wood  all woody biomass that is currently seen as a waste product in the industry. Scion is on a mission to unlock the potential of this waste, seeing massive opportunities in the estimated four million tonnes of harvest and thinning residues that currently remain in production forests.

While over two million tonnes of coal were burned in New Zealand in 2022, there has never been a more critical time to find an alternative to fossil fuels. Scion believes forestry may hold the solution for providing coal burners with a clean and renewable energy source.

Scion Integrated Bioenergy portfolio lead Paul Bennett says a biofuel future is essential for New Zealand to meet its global climate change commitments.

Energy use contributes to around 90 per cent of New Zealands carbon dioxide emissions. If Aotearoa is going to achieve its net zero target, it needs to address emissions from energy use.

This is currently the most achievable target for New Zealand to reduce carbon emissions. However, its not a target that can be achieved only by Scion. It requires connections with the industry and the public.

To bring biofuel to the market and successfully replace coal, the technology needs to be tested at a range of scales. This partnership with MOTAT is the ideal first step to demonstrate the effectiveness of biomass briquettes at a larger scale, with a like-minded company that wants to reduce its environmental impact, Bennett says.

MOTAT Collection Workshops Manager Graham Anderson says the museum is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and the trial is another step in the journey toward becoming carbon neutral.

MOTAT tram no. 100 will be powered by trees on August 20.

However, we acknowledge the challenges to this objective when it comes to operating many of our heritage collection objects that require burning coal, such as the Pumphouse and Beam Engine, steam trains and steam tram. Its a balancing act between sharing with our visitors how these magnificent examples of science and technology work, while keeping carbon emissions to a minimum.

Steam tram no. 100 has a fascinating history, says Anderson.

Built in the United States in 1891, it was shipped to Sydney where it operated on the New South Wales Government Tramway system until 1905 when electric trams replaced steam services.

It was briefly used by the private Saywells Tramway at Rockdale and then brought to Whanganui, New Zealand in 1910 for construction of the Gonville and Castlecliff Tramway Board's electric tramway extensions to the Wanganui system.

This work was completed in 1912 and the tram was then placed in storage. It was briefly pressed into service hauling passengers between July and October 1920 when the electric tramway power supply failed. It was restored to operational condition by MOTAT in 1971, and today runs on MOTATs tramway from Great North Road to Motions Road.

Although MOTAT has a licence to burn coal and complies with all legislation, it is investigating options for more sustainable, clean, or cleaner, fuel alternatives. The collaboration with Scion is an opportunity to further this research.

Working with like-minded organisations, such as Scion, allows us to learn and share knowledge and brings MOTAT closer to achieving our own sustainability goals and supports innovation and research occurring elsewhere in Aotearoa, Anderson says.

Scion scientists have been developing the biofuel since the early 2000s, but recently accelerated their pace of progress with significant breakthroughs in the past 12 months.

Scion scientist Dr Bing Song says the success to date is a culmination of more than 20 years' work.

The project team are experts in this field. While the machinery is not new and the concept of continuous briquetting has been around for decades, the magic is really in the method. Our deep knowledge and understanding allow us to see results not yet recorded in scientific journals.

We have been excited to be seeing positive developments of the biofuel in the past 12 months. And with further engineering innovations in the pipeline, were feeling confident about the future of this project.

To produce a briquette, forest residues are first dried, and their size reduced to fine particles smaller than three millimetres. These particles are then heated to approximately 100 degrees Celsius and pressed into briquettes.

Scion Solid Biofuels Project team members Martin Cooke-Willis, Ben Davy, Bing Song, Karl Molving and Peter Hall.

For a true coal replacement, forest residues must be densified and upgraded to a heating value comparable with coal. The resulting briquettes must also be durable, meaning they can hold their shape and not break or crumble during transportation and handling.

Thermal coals average bulk density is approximately 700 to 800 kilograms per cubic meter. To date, Scion has achieved a density of around 550 kilograms per cubic meter with a durability greater than 91 per cent, qualifying the briquettes as a coal replacement for medium/low process heat supply.

While there are biofuel pellets on the market internationally, the geometry of these mean they sometimes cannot meet the requirements of all existing coal users/boilers. They are typically too small and will fall straight through the ash grate at the bottom of the boiler. Scions briquettes overcome this limitation and we will continue to experiment to determine the best shape, Dr Song says.

He adds that his door is open for individuals and organisations interested in bringing the solid biofuel to market.

If its a question, some consultation or even a collaborative event, please reach out to Scion. I am positive and ambitious to say that we can phase out our use of coal as a country, but only by working together.

Biofuel briquettes could one day replace coal in traditional boilers.

MOTAT Live Day: Travel by Tram event details:

Date: Sunday 20 August 2023

Time: 10am  4pm

Tickets: Included in MOTAT general admission (prices found here)

More information: https://www.motat.nz/events/live-day-travel-by-tram/
Government action on pay transparency announced today is being hailed a significant step in closing the pay gap for Kiwi women.

Around 900 entities with more than 250 employees will be required to publicly report their gender pay gap, and later those with over 100 workers, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti and Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan have announced.

The reality is that women have different experiences in the workplace than men, and change is needed. Requiring companies to publish their gender pay gap will encourage them to address the drivers of those gaps and increase transparency for workers, says Minister for Women Jan Tinetti.

Countries we compare ourselves to including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already successfully introduced gender pay gap reporting. We need to ensure were staying in line with international standards to attract highly skilled women to New Zealand and do whats right as an inclusive and forward-thinking country.

Today marks an important step to address inequity in the workplace. Initially, around 900 entities will be required to report their pay gap, and then after four years, this will increase to almost 2,700. Action plans will be voluntary at the start, and we will review this after three years to determine whether it needs to be made mandatory, says Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

We know that many businesses are leading the charge and are already reporting their gender pay gap. Around 200 companies including Spark, Air New Zealand, My Food Bag, and Sharesies are already or committed to voluntarily reporting their gender pay gap. Well be engaging with them to learn from their experience and establish a universal model for reporting so there is consistency and guidance for employers and workers.

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions welcomes todays announcement on progressing pay transparency in New Zealand.

This morning, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti and Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan, announced that pay gap reporting would be made mandatory for businesses with more than 250 staff. After four years, this would include businesses with over 100 staff.

NZCTU National Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges says the announcement was a great start to improving the culture of pay transparency.

We know that a culture of greater transparency will empower working people to continue to improve their pay."

Ansell-Bridges also encourages the Government to ensure that ethnic pay gaps would be included as well.

Research shows us that income inequity is compounded further for ethnic minorities. All marginalised workers need action on pay transparency.

We think every worker should have access to greater pay transparency and hope to see the range of businesses included increase in the future. We would also like to see prohibitions on pay confidentiality clauses and requirements to advertise pay ranges in job ads."




Kevin Jagusch was a family man and a community man.

The 73-year-old Tauranga man loved his three adult sons, loved his grandkids, and loved his wife Pamela with whom he should have been celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

He also loved his community and for 35 years had been a very active member of the Otumoetai Lions club, and the National Lions organisation, for whom he was national distributor of Lion Mints, which raise funds for community projects around the country.

Google his name, and youll find a photo of him and a colleague gifting a washing machine theyd bought through fundraising for a breast cancer support service.

Kevins life was cut short around midday on June 22 last year by Jade Joseph Wihongi, whod just been on a four-day methamphetamine binge and was driving at high speed when he slammed into the front of the couples car as they drove home from a holiday in Hawkes Bay.

Wihongi, 47, was driving from Hamilton to his home in Wairoa.

As he made his way over the Napier-Taupo Road numerous witnesses saw his Holden Commodore driving at speeds of 130km/h and overtaking vehicles in a dangerous manner, just managing to squeeze back into the correct lane before hitting oncoming vehicles.

At about 11.35 am, Wihongi was about 80km from Napier, when he drove around a sweeping right-hand bend and crossed the centre-line into the northbound lane, causing a vehicle travelling towards him to swerve onto the road shoulder in order to avoid a collision.

Seconds later Wihongis car struck a car that had been following the one that swerved, causing it to spin out of control and come to rest on the side of the road with significant damage and injuries to the driver.

It was then that Wihongis car, still in the wrong lane, smashed head-on into the Honda Jazz being driven by Pamela, with Kevin in the passengers seat beside her.

Kevin was removed unconscious from the car and CPR was performed on him until medical staff arrived on the scene, but he couldnt be revived and died at the scene.

Pamela suffered serious injuries including a brain bleed, multiple broken ribs, an extensive abdominal wall injury and deep open wounds to her legs. A rescue helicopter flew her and Wihongi to Hawkes Bay Hospital.

Wihongi refused to provide a blood specimen, so police had to obtain a search warrant to access a specimen that had been taken by the hospital. It was found to contain methamphetamine, and he admitted taking the drug the night prior to the crash.

Wihongi pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death, two of dangerous driving causing injury, refusal to provide a blood specimen, possession of a pipe and using methamphetamine.

He was sentenced by Judge Richard Earwaker in the Napier District Court on Thursday.

Before sentencing took place the court heard victim impact statements read by Pamela and two of the couples sons, Dean and Blair, both of whom reside in the US and appeared by video link.

Kevin, left, with Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service service manager Helen Alice, and Otumoetai Lions president Lionel Raven lifting a washing machine into a Tauranga resident's home. Photo: Chris Callinan/SunLive.

They spoke of the huge impact the loss of Kevin had had on the family, emotionally and financially, and the lasting impacts that would be felt by Pamela, who had been fit and healthy prior to the crash, but now suffered from fatigue, loss of feeling in arms and legs, and was still unable to return to full time work.

Your decision to take meth and drive rests solely on your shoulders. Nobody made you do this. It was your decision alone, Pamela told Wihongi.

The day of the accident you took the love of my life, she said through tears.

The brothers spoke of their love for their parents and the loss Wihongi had inflicted on themselves and their mother.

Dean outlined the impacts on his family and business and asked that Wihongi be held accountable for his actions to the full extent of the law.

Blair said his fathers death occurred on his birthday, and said every birthday would now be marked by the loss of his dad and the severe injuries suffered by his mum.

Wihongis lawyer Eric Forster said Wihongi, a truck driver, had spent the four days prior to the crash on a methamphetamine binge in which he had not slept. He accepted he should not have been driving and was remorseful.

Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker questioned the level of Wihongis remorse, noting he had never sent a letter of apology and a report writer had noted his lack of acknowledgement for his victims.

Judge Earwaker said it was very serious offending involving deliberately aggressive and dangerous driving, but alerted the Jagusch family that sentencing was bound by principles that included consideration of sentences for similar offending in the past and a requirement to impose the least restrictive sentence appropriate in the circumstances.

He jailed Wihongi for four years and disqualified him from driving for three years following his release.

-Marty Sharpe/Stuff.
A Tauranga mother is the first from New Zealand to attend a gathering in the United States of specialists, parents and survivors of a rare condition that affects her own son.

Heather Kalischs 20-month-old son, James, has Prune Belly Syndrome. It gets its name from the wrinkled stomach thats typical of babies born without abdominal muscles. The cause is still unknown but its common for those with PBS to have kidney or urinary tract problems.

There are literally just a handful of people in New Zealand with PBS that I know of, says Heather.

Thanks to a grant from the Lottery Ministers Discretionary Fund, she was one of about 100 attendees at the Prune Belly Syndrome Convention in Columbus, Ohio, from July 19-22.

It paid for my flights and accommodation. I couldnt have done it without that grant. Im so appreciative.

Doctors first caught an abnormality at Heathers 13-week pregnancy scan in 2021. They noticed an enlarged bladder that meant her babys urine was getting blocked.

It was a difficult whirlwind of a pregnancy having to go back and forth to Auckland during the 2021 lockdown. We spent the whole time not knowing whether James was going to live or die.

When he was born, James was diagnosed with Prune Belly Syndrome. Statistics from medical research estimate that just one in 50,000 babies are born with this condition, says Heather. Most doctors in New Zealand have never seen a case. I learned so much so fast and Im still learning so much. I wish I didnt have to, but I do.

Looking for answers

With no support network in New Zealand, Heather looked to the US for answers. Theres a doctor in Columbus whos researching whether theres a genetic cause of PBS. Shes the only one in America and one of only a few around the world who would be considered experts, so I wanted to hear her speak.

Heather also attended lectures by medical experts from urologists and nephrologists to physiotherapists. But it wasnt just the doctors who passed on valuable advice. For the first time ever, I met someone else with Prune Belly Syndrome. I cant even describe how special that was. That, and meeting other families on a similar journey to ours, was priceless.

Renewed hope

For Heather, hearing about breakthrough surgical methods such as muscle transposition has given her renewed hope for James future.

Its not the fault of our doctors here; its simply a rare condition that most have never seen. Theres no reason James cant have the best medical care here.

Going to the states and finding out what theyre doing for people with Prune Belly Syndrome means Ive returned to New Zealand armed with more tools and awareness to fight for what James needs.
Enjoy Malaga's gourmet fairs this month August is usually the hottest time of the year and to cool it down there are some refreshing events where visitors can enjoy free gazpacho, porra or even sweet muscatel wine

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It may not be the month with the most food festivals and gourmet events in Malaga, but it has some of the most important of the summer. August is usually the hottest month of the year and to cool it down there are some very refreshing events, where visitors can enjoy free gazpacho, migas or even sweet moscatel wine.

The fairs started at the beginning of the month with the espeto (sardines on skewers) competition in Torremolinos, the Fiesta de Gazpacho in Alfarnatejo and the Dia de la Uva Moscatel in Iznate.

The Axarquia and the Guadalhorce Valley hold some of the main events which showcase the flavour of the province, although there are also some on the western Costa del Sol.

These are some of the gourmet events coming up that shouldn't be missed:

Until 15 August, Estepona is holding the world cured ham cutting competition (Certamen Mundial del Jamon 'Popi' Ciudad de Estepona). Cured ham producers from all over Spain will meet on the promenade in Estepona and offer visitors a taste of some of the best Iberian jamon in the country. Other traditional products will also be available to try and buy such as cheeses and sausages.

Every night there will be live music and the event has become very popular with thousands of people attending every year. It has been declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalucia.

15 August is the date for the annual Noche del Vino de Competa, although it isn't just a night time event. The festival starts at around 11am and after mass there is the traditional treading of the grapes by a chosen 'celebrity' in the village.

Ampliar Noche del Vino in Competa. SUR

At lunch time portions of the the local dish of migas with cod and salad 'arriera' are offered to residents and visitors, with plenty of the local muscatel wine to wash it down.

At 10pm the night time festivities start with a flamenco show and live music late into the night. This event has been declared of Interes Turistico Nacional de Andalucia.

Also on 15 August is the competition, auction and tasting of this year's Huevo de Toro (bull's ball) tomato harvest in the Parque de San Agustin in Coin.

Ampliar Huevo del Toro tomatoes. SUR

The judges have to pick the best box of these giant tomatoes which have been entered into the competition by local growers.

The winning box is then auctioned off for charity. These tomatoes raise big money, the winning lot last year was sold for 4,000 euros.

There are more tomatoes to buy from stall holders, as well as other local products such as oil, wine and cheese.
Local grape harvest brought forward due to lack of rainfall Two weeks ahead of schedule, on expert advice, the Trujillo family is picking Syrah grapes from their vines in Mollina

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The sun has not yet risen but the wheels of a tractor can already be heard approaching the fields. More than 1,100 vines are getting ready to welcome the new day. This is clear to see as the first rays of the sun settle on the blueish colour of these small grapes. The clock is ticking and the trailer, with capacity for 4,000 kilos of grapes, awaits to be filled on this August morning.

Mollina might be basking in a cool 16C right now, but the high temperatures and drought have forced this inland Malaga province community to bring the harvest forward. The time for picking those inky reds has arrived. The green John Deere tractor has now come to a halt between the first rows of the vineyard. Javier Trujillo, a viticulturist, steps off the tractor and, despite it being only seven in the morning, looks ready for the day ahead. "Let's get started," he declared, while looking at his father, Francisco, who is also ready with his gloves on to start picking for yet another year.

The only sound that can be heard is that of father and son tugging at the vines to release the bunches of grapes. All done by hand.

"Fifteen years ago seven million kilos of grapes were harvested and now only one million are," said Trujillo Jr about the decline in grape production around Mollina

"In spite of seeing black grapes from other plots being harvested last night with specialised, automated pickers, we prefer to do it manually, since this way there is less damage to the vine," said the son.

Degrees of sweetness

The ideal moment to pick this grape variety is usually in two weeks' time. However, low rainfall in the spring, which is the most important period for grape development, has meant that harvesting has been brought forward to early August. What happens if the grapes are left on their vines for longer?

"The grapes would dry up," said Francisco while tasting one of them. The decision to start picking on the first Friday of August at seven in the morning was made by the wine-growing experts of the Virgen de la Oliva Andalusian Agricultural Cooperative Society (SCAAVO), to which this winegrower belongs.

"The most important thing for the quality of the wine is that the vineyard is capable of getting the required amount of sweetness into the grapes," explained Javier.

The Trujillo family rents two plots of land for growing vines. The first of them occupies a Spanish 'fanega', (6,440 square metres of land), and is dedicated to the cultivation of Syrah grapes planted some 15 years ago.

Moving along the path that runs along the lower part of this land, and passing an olive grove to the left, can be found the second plot of land rented by the family. Here there are 14 fanegas of Pedro Ximenez grapes, planted in 1986, which still have another two weeks before being picked.

Francisco carries the bucket full of the bunches of inky black grapes on his shoulder at all times and father and son move perfectly in sync. Each time they dump a bucket-load into the trailer they move the tractor a little further on to the next vines, and so on.

"I started picking grapes at the age of 16 when I left school, there have always been grapes here," said the son, as he stands looking over the vineyard with all its trellises.

By 9am the temperature is already making us aware that it is summer in Malaga. The youngest generation in this family, Javier and Carmen, also talk of the heat. Their summer morning has a mission: to support the family tradition even though it is not what they want as a career.

"We do it of our own free will," stated Javier, the eldest at 15. The girl (13), for her part, looks at once to her father to lend her his grape cutters to speed up her picking. From two rows away their father observes them: "I would prefer that my children do not follow in my path, working the land is increasingly difficult, especially thanks to the weather conditions because fertiliser can be tweaked, but the weather cannot."

The decline in grape production in Mollina is something mentioned repeatedly by the family, despite the fact that grape production has greatly benefitted the local economy.

"Fifteen years ago, seven million kilos were collected and now only one million are picked, the vineyard is a crop that is labour-intensive; if the prices are not competitive, people choose to pull out and plant other crops," said Trujillo Jr.

Father and son explain that the Syrah grape can only yield around 4,000 kilos per hectare, unlike other grapes native to the Malaga area, such as Doradilla, which yields around 15,000 kilos per hectare.

Grape prices are not known until the following year when the market closes, although they estimate it will be around 40 cents per kilo. This particular year they expect to harvest 3,000 kilos of Syrah and 60,000 of Pedro Ximenez.

"It is vital the fruit spends as little time as possible from being pulled off the vine to reaching the winery," said the son as he dumped another bucket into the trailer, which has a blue awning over it so that the grapes do not oxidise en-route.

This process is repeated until one o'clock in the afternoon, clocking-off time for harvesting - until the next morning - as now it's time to take the grapes to the cooperative so they can start the process of turning them into wine.

The forecast by the Andalusian Agricultural Cooperative Society "Virgen de la Oliva" (Scaavo) in Mollina, regarding the Syrah harvest there, is 20,000 bottles produced this year.

This organisation, which has more than 1,200 members, bottled a total of 70,000 bottles in 2022. "This morning we took delivery of around 4,000 kilos of Syrah grapes and a week ago we began the harvest of the white muscat grapes, which today are already in the fermentation vats," the manager of SCAAVO, German Luna, told SUR.

Since the beginning of July, they have been taking samples to determine when each type of grape should be harvested.

Once fermented, which involves spending half a year in barrels, the wine is then bottled and laid down for another six months.

In the warehouse where these large wooden barrels full of wine are stored, Luna cannot help but show us one barrel in particular, the oldest at the cooperative, dating from 1807, whose aroma is evidence of a long life.
The detainee was also involved in a violent assault in the Guadalhorce town, along with another man who is being sought by the authorities

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The Guardia Civil, as part of operation 'Touro', has arrested a man for two crimes committed in Coin.

The first incident investigated was a robbery with violence committed when a man driving through Alhaurin el Grande was approached by two individuals asked him for help to get to Coin, to which he agreed.

Once he had taken them to the town, the pair assaulted the victim, robbing him of the cash he was carrying and his mobile phone, threatening him with a knife, the Guardia Civil said in a statement.

The second offence was the theft of a laptop from the open sacristy of the church of San Juan Bautista in Coin.

Officers said the arrested man has a long police record and that he had recently been held for other similar crimes committed in Alhaurin el Grande and Fuengirola.

His accomplice has not yet been identified and efforts are under way to locate him, Coin Guardia Civil said.
Constant "troubles" such as explosions and airport closures, which have recently become more frequent in the Russian capital Moscow and the Moscow region, are the result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and a kind of "punishment from God". They prove that Russia's power has been significantly overestimated by the international community, and that the Russian army is not close to being the "second army of the world".

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Drone attacks and explosions at military defence enterprises show that the ruling regime in Russia is less and less able to control the situation in its own country, and the war unleashed by Russia has long been going off plan. This was stated by Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, during a telethon.

He called the explosions, drone attacks and the paralysed Russian airports "God's punishment".

"These are the consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a demonstration to the whole world that the second army is certainly not the second in the world, and that it cannot even cope with the defence of its own capital in the swamps. God's punishment is happening," Yusov said.

He also drew attention to the fact that the Russian authorities are making more and more efforts to prevent photos and videos from the "cotton" site in the Russian Federation and in the occupied parts of Ukraine from leaking to the Internet. This, in his opinion, indicates that events for Russia are unfolding with less and less compliance with the "SVO plan".

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"We are at war, we are defending the country from the aggressor, and so it is understandable that we are asking citizens to restrict this information, not to record, not to film, not to shoot. Everything is clear to us. Here, the situation is a little different. If everything is going according to plan, why should they prohibit their own citizens from posting anything?" - Yusov asked.

In his opinion, the Russian authorities have a chronic inability to admit their mistakes. Therefore, when the bans on the publication of videos and photos reach Moscow, it will be an indication that the situation is not unfolding according to the aggressor's plan, or that this plan is not of such high quality.

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Yusov also joked in response to a question about Russia's official version of the explosion at the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant in the Moscow region on the eve of 9 August. The explosion, which injured dozens of people and caused significant damage, was explained as an accident at a "pyrotechnic warehouse" in the plant's rented premises. Yusov advised the occupiers to set up more pyrotechnic warehouses, especially at defence industry enterprises.

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He also touched on the issue of "drone attacks", which are increasingly taking place in Moscow and the Moscow region. The attacks are becoming not only more numerous, but also better.

"And their geography is expanding. This means that Putin's regime has less and less control over the situation in Russia. Indeed, instead of defending their own country and their own sky, they are engaged in a genocidal war against another independent state that has not attacked anyone," Yusov said.

The events of recent months, according to the representative of Ukraine's military intelligence, have put Russian society in general and the military and political leadership of the aggressor state in particular in a dilemma: either to return air and missile defence systems and the Russian army from Ukraine to Russia and take control of the situation, or to continue to pretend that everything is going "according to plan".

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"If Russia withdraws all its troops from the occupied Ukrainian territories, extradites war criminals and compensates for all the damage caused to the Ukrainian people and Ukraine, then, of course, their lives will be easier, calmer and safer," the DIU representative outlined a "recipe for peace" for Russians.

On 9 August, a massive explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant in the Moscow Region. At least 60 people were injured, and 12 people are missing. A number of buildings on the plant's premises were destroyed and damaged, and glass was blown out of 38 apartment buildings nearby.

According to official reports, the explosion occurred in a rented warehouse of pyrotechnic products. The authorities also acknowledged the death of one of the victims in hospital. One of the most popular Russian social media outlets, citing its own sources, reported finding "fragments of the bodies of 10-15 people" under the rubble.

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Interestingly, local authorities were desperate to downplay the scale of the incident. Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov claimed that the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant had long been producing only pyrotechnics. However, Russian journalists found evidence on the public procurement website that the plant has been involved in the development of a new generation stealth bomber since 2019. It also fulfilled other orders from the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
New footage has appeared online showing damage to the Russian landing ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak and the SIG tanker in the Black Sea. They were attacked by Ukrainian naval drones.

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The photos and videos were published on Thursday, 10 August, on Telegram channels. Damage can be seen on the port side of the Olenegorskiy Gornyak.

It can also be seen that there are holes in the SIG's side.

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It should be noted that the Russian SIG tanker was attacked by naval drones on the night of 5 August, 30 miles from the Kerch Strait. It suffered a hole in the engine room. The crew remains on the ship, as there is allegedly no threat of sinking, the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport said.

However, Russian propagandists have distributed an audio recording of a conversation between the SIG captain and the dispatcher, in which the former said that the ship could not sail on its own due to the damage.

As you know, the SIG was transporting aviation fuel from Russia-occupied Crimea to Syria, for which it was included in the US sanctions list.

The large amphibious assault ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak was damaged on 4 August. It was attacked by a naval surface drone in the Novorossiysk Bay. It was reported that the vessel had sustained a serious hole, had fallen overboard and was no longer able to carry out its combat missions.

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On 10 August, it became known that the Russians had taken it to a floating dock for repairs. The occupiers probably hope to repair the Olenegorskiy Gornyak, although a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, previously stated that it would not be possible to restore the ship in the near future.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the British Ministry of Defence noted that both "civilian" vessels were used for the needs of the aggressor state's army. And putting them out of action would be very painful for the Russians.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
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Kingston, N.Y.  If you want to eat like a rock star, head to Upstate New York.

Carlos Santana grabbed a meal at Frank Guidos Little Italy in Kingston this week, photos posted by the restaurants owner show. The rock legend known for hits like Black Magic Woman and Smooth was in the Hudson Valley to perform during a Miles Davis tribute at the Ulster Performing Arts Center.

Santana enjoyed his meal at the Italian restaurant, owner Frank Guido said.

He said he will be back, Guido wrote in a Facebook post below a photo of Santana posing with a smiling restaurant worker. (Check out photos of Santanas visit on the restaurants page.)

It wasnt the first time a celebrity has stopped by the popular Italian restaurant: Johnny Depp was photographed at Frank Guidos eatery last year, the Hudson Valley Post reported.

Frank Guidos Little Italy opened on Thomas Street in Kingston in 2007, according to the restaurants website. Its menu includes classic Italian dishes ranging from lasagna with Bolognese sauce to Margherita pizza.

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Robert Pattinson dines at restaurant in charming Upstate NY village

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Russell, N.Y.  The fugitive killed during a shoot-out with police in the North Country was trying to avoid going to prison for shooting his former fiancee, officials said.

Shawn G. Sheridan was heavily armed when officers found him Thursday in a remote, wooded area in St. Lawrence County, the New York State Police said. The wanted Canton man fired at officers, shooting a troopers K-9 partner, troopers said.

Officers fired back, shooting and killing Sheridan, troopers said. He was 34 years old.

Troopers rushed the wounded K-9 to a veterinary hospital for treatment. The dog is expected to recover, St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua told WWNY.

Officers had been searching for Sheridan since July 25 when he failed to show up in court to be sentenced for shooting his then-fiancee in the neck, reported the Watertown Daily Times. Sheridan remained on the run for over two weeks, avoiding his 12 1/2-year prison sentence, the newspaper said.

The name of the trooper who shot Sheridan has not been released yet. Sheridans autopsy is expected to take place Friday at Canton-Potsdam Hospital.

Along with troopers, the New York State Attorney Generals Office is investigating.

READ MORE

Fugitive killed, police dog shot in Upstate NY shoot-out, troopers say

Upstate NY teacher posed as student to get explicit videos from middle schoolers, feds say

Drunk woman drives into North Country restaurant, drives out and hits tree, troopers say
Buffalo, N.Y.  About 850 pounds of cocaine were found this week stowed in a semi-truck at a Buffalo truck stop, prosecutors said Friday.

The drugs were packed in duffle bags and boxes.

Ahmed El Kady, 37, of Hamilton, Canada, was charged with possession of the cocaine, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of New York said in a news release Friday afternoon.

El Kady was surveilled by investigators since entering Michigan from Canada on Monday, prosecutors said.

El Kady was seen making a series of exchanges with another semi-truck driver at a parking lot in Dexter, Michigan, prosecutors said. Investigators followed him as he drove through Ohio before stopping at a truck stop near Buffalo.

He left the truck on Thursday to drive to Niagara Falls. Investigators searched the truck and found the cocaine packed in the cab, prosecutors said.

El Kady has been charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.

About 850 pounds of cocaine were packed into boxes and duffle bags in the cab of a semi-truck, prosecutors said on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (provided photo)

Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.
An Albany man has been arrested after throwing a party that led to a teenanger getting drunk and driving nine other kids, including two in a trunk, in a Honda Civic, state troopers said Thursday.

Daquan R. Williams, 24, was charged Wednesday with endangering the welfare of a child, troopers said in a news release.

Police are accusing Williams of advertising the party in Nassau on social media. A drunken 16-year-old drove from the party at more than 100 mph in a 45 mph zone in New Lebanon in late July, police said.

Nine other kids were in the car. Two were in the trunk.

Police pulled the car over around 5:20 a.m. They charged the driver with four counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Williams was given an appearance ticket to Nassau town court for Aug. 30, police said.

Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A Syracuse man was found guilty Friday morning of fatally shooting a gas station employee just days after threatening to shoot him in the head.

Kareem Huggins, 32, was found guilty of murdering Raouf Muharram, 32, on Jan. 16, 2022 inside the Blue Star gas station at 1410 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.

The jury delivered its verdict just after 10 a.m.

A video of the murder was the prosecutions main piece of evidence. It was shown to the jury multiple times and reanalyzed during Senior Assistant District Attorney Anthony Mangovskis closing arguments.

Mangovski took still photos from the video and compared the man seen in the video to Huggins mugshot taken just after his arrest. Since his arrest, Huggins appearance has changed. Judge Matthew Doran said in a previous court appearance that Huggins had gained weight and grown out his hair.

Mangovski said it is obvious that the man seen on the video is Huggins.

In his closing arguments, Huggins defense attorney, Patrick Hennessy said that while the man in the video resembles Huggins, the jurors cannot convict him only if they think he probably did the crime.

The jury appeared to agree with Mangovski as they only deliberated for a little over an hour after hearing testimony over the course of three days.

Mangovski said he was very pleased that Muharrams family -- including his sister who flew out from California -- were able to get justice.

The final witness was another employee at the Blue Star Gas Station -- which has since closed -- who heard Huggins threaten Muharram three days prior to the murder.

Huggins threatened to shoot Muharram in the head and that he wouldnt see it coming. Mangovski said that Huggins made good on his promise.

Huggins can be seen on video shooting Muharram at least twice, once in the midsection and once in the head, before fleeing the store.

Related article: Man was talking to wife minutes before he was shot dead at Syracuse gas station

Huggins was also found guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for possessing the murder weapon.

After the murder, Huggins fled to Ohio in his cousins Jeep, which she had reported stolen. The Jeep was also the car Huggins used to flee the murder scene.

Huggins was also found guilty of fourth-degree possession of stolen property for driving a car that had been reported stolen.

Huggins mom earlier this week in court accused the cousin of lying after the cousin testified. The exchange -- which four jurors heard -- delayed the trial and led to Hennessy to request a mistrial.

The judge ruled that the jurors hearing a member of the defendants family accusing a witness of lying did not rise to the level of declaring a mistrial or replacing any member of the jury.

Mangovski said that while he felt bad for Huggins mother -- who was also losing someone -- it was incredibly frustrating that she was trying to intimidate witnesses. He said that he hopes this case shows that no matter what people do to get in the way, his office will find a way to get justice for the victims.

There was really no doubt here that this man is guilty of this cold-blooded execution, Mangovski said.

Huggins faces a maximum sentence of 42 years to life. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12.

Raouf Muharram, 32, pictured with his three children. He was fatally shot while working at the Blue Star gas station on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. (Courtesy Alfeah Muharram)

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
Join NY Cannabis Insider at our next industry networking event on Aug. 15 at Madame Mikettes in NYC. Tickets will sell out.

The mood outside Ulster County Courthouse shifted from morose humor to pep rally, as more than 50 Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licensees and supporters coped with a judges decision to halt the conditional cannabis retail program for at least two more weeks.

We might have lost the battle today, but were going to win the war, Jeremy Rivera, CEO of Terp Bros Cannabis dispensary  which was supposed to open next week  said to a crowd of about 60 people after the court proceeding.



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Minutes prior, Judge Kevin Bryant had ruled that a temporary injunction he placed on the CAURD program Monday as part of a lawsuit would remain in place until another hearing in two weeks.

While he extended the injunction, Judge Bryant made clear that he understands the harm it may cause CAURD licensees, and implored plaintiffs and defendants to communicate and reach an agreement that satisfies all parties.

What is clear now is the impact on everyone involved  I dont want anybody in the state to feel unnecessary pain, Judge Bryant said I do believe that there is some space that you can all find together to bring this to a resolution that allows everyone to progress.

Plaintiffs in the case originally included Carmine Fiore, Steve Mejia, William Norgard and Dominic Spaccio, a group of service-disabled veterans that planned to pursue adult-use dispensary licenses.

However, on Friday, Judge Bryant allowed the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis  a group representing some of New Yorks medical cannabis companies, and is suing the Office of Cannabis Management in a separate case  to join as plaintiffs.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Brian Burns, argued that the OCM and CCB improperly limited eligibility for the CAURD program  only allowing justice-involved individuals who own a profitable qualifying business  when they created it last year.

Burns said the OCM superseded the MRTA when it specified only justice-involved individuals could receive CAURD licenses. The MRTA specifies six social equity groups eligible for special benefits, Burns said. That list does not include justice-involved people, but does include service-disabled veterans.

Burns also noted the text of the MRTA specifically states the initial dispensary licensing application period will open for all applicants at the same time. His clients were at risk of being irreparably harmed, he said, because they could lose first-mover advantage in New Yorks cannabis market, as well as available real estate.

The regulatory bodies  violated that expressed statutory requirement, and theyre violating the New York constitutional principle of separation of powers, Burns said. MRTA puts [my clients], as service-disabled veterans, in a priority category pertaining to licenses.

A spokesman for the plaintiffs declined to comment following the hearing.

Representing the New York Attorney Generals Office, attorney Shannan Krasnokutski disputed the plaintiffs assertion that OCM essentially overruled state legislators by creating the CAURD program. The legislature approved a state budget, which allocated $50 million to the DASNY investment fund. That money will pay out loans to CAURD businesses for dispensary buildouts.

Writing it into the budget bill and funding it through DASNY, I think, is pretty clear evidence that they did intend for the program to exist, Krasnokutski said.

Krasnokutski also said the CAURD program is separate from the general licensing application process, which OCM said will begin in early October. She added that some changes to the CAURD program would require changes to proposed regulations, which would cause a significant delay.

The OCM introduced the proposed regulations last November, Krasnokutski said, and state law only allows agencies one year to propose and approve regulations  if not approved by November, regulators will need to start the process again.

However, Krasnokutski appeared shaky and unprepared at times  she wasnt able to quantify harm CAURD licensees would incur amid an extended injunction, and initially misstated dispensary buffer zones, among other errors.

Attorney Jorge Vasquez, who joined the lawsuit to represent CAURD licensees affected by the injunction, contended that his clients would suffer more under an injunction than plaintiffs. CAURD licensees he represents are already paying rent on spaces, have spent money building out their stores and have to maintain payroll for employees theyve hired.

Everything that the plaintiffs have submitted is purely speculative, Vasquez said. We have leases signed, we have places that are built out.

CAURD licensee Coss Marte, who was planning on opening CONBUD dispensary in Manhattans Lower East Side next month, told NY Cannabis Insider hes invested nearly $1 million in his business.

Its just a disaster, Marte said in an interview. If we dont solve this  within three to four months, I could be bankrupt.

Rivera, CEO of Terp Bros, was planning on opening his store in Astoria on Tuesday. Extending the injunction for two weeks means thats not going to happen, and Rivera worries that some of the more than 20 workers he hired might leave.

This two week intermission is so much more harmful than people realize, Rivera said. As of right now, the irreparable harm thats being placed on the CAURD applicants who are ready to open is tremendous.

Outside the courthouse following the decision, Osbert Orduna, CEO of The Cannabis Place in Queens  which currently delivers weed, and is planning on opening a brick-and-mortar location  decried corporate interests involved in the case.

Orduna, a service-disabled veteran himself, noted that CAURD licensees include many men and women who served  and were injured  in the military. He suggested that medical cannabis Registered Organizations  which are mostly large multi-state operators  stand to gain from the CAURD programs failure. ROs currently only operate in the states medical program, but can begin expanding into the adult-use market in a few months.

The longer that  social equity programs are delayed and the longer that this is enjoined, it just gives them more time to quickly operationalize once December comes around, Orduna said.

Everything stops and halts  the farmers go into bankruptcy, the processors start going into bankruptcy  whos able to step into that void and benefit immediately?
By Brendan J. Lyons | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  Aides to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo have been circulating a transcript of a deposition last month of Ana Liss-Jackson, who was one of 11 women listed in a searing 2021 state attorney generals report that accused the former governor of engaging in a pattern of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace conduct.

Liss-Jackson had been deposed by Cuomos attorneys in Rochester in connection with a lawsuit filed by a female State Police investigator against Cuomo and two of his former top aides  Richard Azzopardi and Melissa DeRosa  as well as the State Police. Liss-Jackson is one of multiple women named in the attorney generals report who have been subpoenaed by Cuomos attorneys in the case filed against him by the investigator, who alleges he sexually harassed her.

The release of the July 10 deposition set off an immediate firestorm this week. Donald G. Rehkopf Jr., a Rochester attorney representing Liss-Jackson, filed a letter in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn Wednesday opposing the release of his clients deposition transcript  a filing that was made after he became aware it had been leaked. In a footnote, Rehkopf noted it had been released to a reporter for the Washington Post and to a pro-Cuomo social media group which has been trashing her online.

Rehkopf declined to comment for this story, pointing to his court filings. Cuomos team denied providing the deposition to anyone other than news reporters.

The distribution of the deposition transcript comes as the attorneys for two other former Cuomo aides, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, filed motions recently seeking to block the former governors subpoenas of their clients. The subpoenas seek their testimony as well as a trove of documents, including phone and text records, work histories and communications in social media accounts.

Rehkopfs letter alleges his clients deposition transcript was released in violation of a confidentiality order issued by the judge handling the investigators case. But Cuomos team contends that a 10-day period for requesting the sealing of that document had expired. They also say Rehkopf had objected only to the release of two portions of the 482-page document  one involving questions about his clients testimony in the attorney generals investigation and the other involving text messages she had exchanged with Boylan.

The transcript details hours of questioning of Liss-Jackson by attorneys for Cuomo and the other defendants in the investigators lawsuit. Their questions included asking Liss-Jackson about her decision to go public two years ago and recount what she had described, in hindsight, as inappropriate conduct by the governor.

Liss-Jackson noted that she had never accused Cuomo of sexual harassment but that she later believed his conduct, which included calling her sweetheart, kissing her hand, touching her back and asking about her boyfriend, had been improper.

I dont believe that the governor, to be clear, sexually harassed me, Liss-Jackson said last month. It was on the heels of the MeToo movement and there was a cultural shift around what was, and was not  what is and what is not  appropriate conduct in the workplace.

Liss-Jackson said her intention in speaking to reporters two years ago was to help buttress the more serious allegations being leveled against Cuomo by other women. But she also implied that the way her story was reported in the Wall Street Journal and Gothamist had not been what she hoped to convey. She did not say those stories were inaccurate, only that they didnt fully, accurately characterize what I was trying to get across and that in some news reports her comments were taken out of context.

And it felt like I was just thrown into this group of women who said the governor sexually harassed me and I wanted to be clear that the governor didnt sexually harass me, she said. I dont think that that ever came clear. So now in my experience to this day, when and if it comes up, I always try to be clear with people that, Hey listen, I wasnt  I didnt  I was not sexually harassed by the governor. I was speaking up for other elements of the workplace that I felt were questionable and problematic that caused me to look elsewhere for employment.

Liss-Jackson noted that rumors often flew through Cuomos office. They ranged from subjects about a suspected extra-extramarital affair involving the former governor and a staffer to a perception that Cuomo had cultivated a work environment where many of his female staffers  especially those who were in his proximity or had regular contact with him  were young and beautiful. When she spoke to reporters about her observations, she noted in her deposition, she was careful to relay what she knew from firsthand knowledge and when something had been relayed to her by others and needed to be verified.

But I felt that it was my duty as a woman to speak up and say, I experienced this as a fellow working in the governors office, " she said. And overall, it was a somewhat inappropriate workplace environment, a little bit dangerous for younger, vulnerable people, particularly women.

Its unclear whether the distribution of Liss-Jacksons pre-trial deposition by Cuomos team will become a factor in the federal judges decision on the pending motions by the attorneys for Boylan and Bennett to block the suboenas of their clients. An attorney for the State Police investigator, who is anonymously identified in court filings and the attorney generals report as Trooper 1, has also filed a motion opposing the subpoenas.

Unable to mount a credible defense ... Cuomo now seeks to punish his victims further by peering into their sex lives, Valdi Licul, an attorney for Trooper 1, wrote in a motion filed recently. He wants to know whether Boylan had a work affair and whether Bennett was sexually assaulted in college, issues that have little, if any, relevance to whether Cuomo sexually harassed the two women.

Liculs motion cites a federal rule intended to shield victims of alleged sexual harassment from embarrassment or sexual stereotyping by introducing evidence that they had engaged in other sexual behavior. He said the relevant value of the evidence must substantially outweigh the danger of harm to any victim.

Boylans attorneys, Julie Gerchik and Danya Perry, said there is no precedent for the barrage of third-party subpoenas Mr. Cuomo has served on Ms. Boylans former employers, her professional contacts, and even Verizon to try and obtain Ms. Boylans personal phone records. This is nothing more than yet another thinly disguised campaign of retaliation and harassment by Mr. Cuomo.

Cuomos attorney, Rita Glavin, said the records are being sought because Trooper 1s lawsuit invoked the allegations of the other women to buttress her accusations. Cuomos former aides have accused Boylan of giving misleading testimony under oath to the state attorney generals office when she recounted a very bad experience with her former state government supervisor, Howard Zemsky, who was at the time chair and CEO of Empire State Development.

Boylan, who was the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, detailed many of her allegations in a February 2021 story in Medium in which she described a toxic work culture under Cuomo and accused the former governor of kissing her on the lips in his Manhattan office without her consent.

In Bennetts case, Cuomos attorneys have issued subpoenas to her and Hamilton College, where she and three other women had been alleged in a 2017 federal lawsuit of falsely accusing a male student of sexual misconduct several years earlier. Two of the women later withdrew their complaints and the male student was found not responsible for a third womans allegation. But a college panel found that he had engaged in sexual misconduct with the fourth woman during an encounter in 2014.

The former male student, who was identified in the court case as John Doe, said the colleges sexual misconduct policy and the process for investigating those matters was discriminatory toward men and that he was wrongly expelled and banned from campus weeks before he was supposed to graduate.

Hamilton College and the former male student later reached an undisclosed settlement and the case was dismissed.

Bennett has filed her own federal lawsuit against Cuomo. Her attorneys, in their motion to block Cuomos subpoenas, said they are designed to harass and intimidate Bennett and that Cuomo has the ability to seek discovery of that type of material in her case rather than pursuing the information through the troopers case.

Ever since Charlotte Bennett came forward publicly with her allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against defendant Andrew Cuomo, he and his enablers have relentlessly sought to retaliate against Ms. Bennett and destroy her personal and professional life, including by publicly smearing her, Bennetts attorneys wrote.

There is no timetable for when the federal judge overseeing the State Police investigators case will rule on the subpoenas. The investigator alleges the former governor had kissed her on the cheek and also made inappropriate and sexually charged comments to her when she was working on his security detail.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
Tim Balk and Molly Crane-Newman | New York Daily News

New York  New York Attorney General Letitia James office dropped its role Thursday defending the Hochul administration in litigation over the states responsibility to shelter migrants, a highly unusual step that appeared to suggest policy differences between two of the states most powerful Democrats.

The Manhattan law firm Selendy Gay Elsberg has replaced James legal team in the case, according to a filing in Manhattan Supreme Court. The move came in a case centered on the citys right-to-shelter mandate established in 1981, which mandates the city provide shelter to anyone who requests it.

Mayor Adams administration has struggled to meet the requirements of the provision over the last year, with the city strained by the arrival of about 100,000 asylum seekers. The Legal Aid Society has asserted the state must do more to help the city.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo Democrat, has in turn argued that the right-to-shelter rule only applies to the five boroughs. Delaney Kempner, a spokeswoman for the attorney generals office, declined to comment on the decision to drop from the case.

But the decision by James  first reported by Politico  raised eyebrows. Its uncommon for the attorney generals office  which typically serves as the states lawyer  to withdraw from representing the state in a case, and even more so without an explanation.

Its extremely rare, said Mark Peters, a former commissioner for the city Department of Investigation who worked in multiple roles in the attorney generals office in the early 2000s and now leads the firm Peters Brovner LLP.

And Steven Cohen, who served as chief of staff in then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomos office, said in a text message that New York attorney generals do not decline their role as lawyer for the state except when there is an institutional conflict that cannot be reconciled or there is a fundamental and meaningful policy conflict.

Cohen added that the attorney general doesnt step away in favor of a private law firm for no-good reason.

In 2017, the attorney generals office under Eric Schneiderman withdrew from representing his predecessor and then-Gov. Cuomo in two federal civil rights cases after New York appeared to jeopardize a settlement giving people with mental illness the chance to leave institutions and reenter the community, citing disagreements about how to handle the case.

At a news conference in Albany Thursday, Hochul downplayed the shift in the migrant case, presenting the change as a consequence of the complicated nature of the litigation.

Its not uncommon for outside counsel to be brought in, said Hochul, herself a lawyer. This is going to come down to a very sophisticated constitutional question. Weve brought in outside constitutional experts to assist with managing this.

Hochul said her office could offer other examples of the attorney generals office not representing the state, but the governors office did not immediately provide them.

The governor added that she was convinced that the state is not a party to the civil settlement that orders New York City to provide shelter to anyone who needs it.

The right to shelter does not expand to the whole of the state, the governor said. That being said, we are still being very supportive.

Josh Goldfein, a senior attorney with the Legal Aid Society, which petitioned the court to hold an emergency conference for judicial intervention after migrants languished for days outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, said Hochul was wrong about the right to shelter.

The right to shelter derives from the New York State Constitution, and the New York State Constitution applies statewide, Goldfein said. He said the landmark settlement outlined the right to shelter under Article 17 in the state Constitution.

In 1981, city and state officials signed a compact requiring the city to provide shelter to the homeless. The so-called consent decree stemmed from a Manhattan Supreme Court case, Callahan v. Carey, that began in 1979.

The timing of James withdrawal from the current case  an outgrowth of Callahan v. Carey  came immediately after the citys submission of a court-ordered list of needs to the state to help deal with the migrant crisis. The state has until Aug. 15 to respond.

The city has declined to publicly release the list.

 With Michael Gartland

____

2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com.
The terrorist country Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine using Kinzhal airborne missiles on the morning of August 11. There was air raid alarm throughout the whole country followed by explosions in Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia regions from 10:00 Friday morning,

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Local military administrations warned of air defense work. People were urged not to take photos but to go to the shelter immediately.

The Air Forces of the AFU warned about the takeoff of the Russian Mig-31K from the Savasleika airfield at 09:59 (Nizhny Novgorod region of the Russian Federation) and the launch of X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles in the direction of Kyiv region. A few minutes later, the entire Ukraine became "red" due to an air raid alert. The attack lasted about half an hour.

Kyiv region

The first sounds of explosions began to be reported by Kyiv citizens just a few minutes after the sirens went off in the capital.

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Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klychko announced that the defenders had shot down an enemy missile over the city already at 10:16. According to him, the debris fell on the territory of one of the children's hospitals.

"There are no casualties or damage. Emergency services are heading to the site," he wrote.

Head of Kyiv RMA Serhiy Popko specified that several pieces of the destroyed Russian missile fell in Obolonskyi district. Data on the victims and destruction are being clarified.

"Two more places of debris fal in Obolon district of Kyiv are found: the roof of a private house.on the Bohatyrska street is damaged. The debris in the open area in one of the Obolon's dacha cooperatives is also found. There are no casualties," Klychko confirmed.

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Head of Kyiv region RMA Ruslan Kravchenko urged the inhabitants of the region to keep informational silence, not to film and not to post the work of our defenders on the network.

Khmelnytskyi region

It was loud in the region. The first deputy head of the RMA Serhiy Tyurin said that air defense systems were working in the region.

"You can hear explosions in the region. Air defense is working. Stay in shelters! Take care of yourselves and your loved ones!" he noted.

Vinnytsia region

Explosions were also reported in Vinnytsia region. The head of the RMA Serhiy Borzov urged people to go to shelters.

"I ask everyone to go to the shelters! Do not neglect your safety! The defense forces of the region are working!" he declared.

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An air raid alert was heard across the country at about 10:35 a.m.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the Russian Federation tried to attack Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi regions with kamikaze UAVs on the night of August 10. The air defense system was working. The defenders shot down seven Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Drivers across New York are getting enrolled automatically in expanded, more expensive car insurance thanks to a state law that took effect Aug. 1.

The new law auto-enrolls drivers across the state in supplemental spousal liability coverage, according to WKBW in Buffalo. Depending on when your auto policy renews in the coming year, your insurance company will either notify you of the change or just add the coverage, an expert told the station.

The added coverage will cost $20 to $84 annually, according to The Buffalo News.

The new coverage pays out in some specific situations.

If spouses are involved in an accident and one is driving and at fault and the other is injured, the injured spouse generally cant sue the other to recover money from that spouses insurance policy, according to the News.

Supplemental spousal liability coverage changes that. If that supplement is in effect, the injured spouse can sue and seek payment from the driving spouses insurance company for damages, including pain and suffering, the News said.

But the new state law requires insurance companies to add all drivers in the state to supplemental spousal coverage, even if theyre not married, according to WHEC in Rochester.

About half of New Yorks driving population wont benefit from the extra coverage since theyre not married, according to the News. Insurance companies warned Gov. Kathy Hochul about that fact last year, but Hochul signed the bill into law in December without insisting on changes to narrow the coverage requirement, the News said.

New Yorkers can opt out of the coverage. Youll need to contact your insurance company and fill out a form, according to the News.

You can find the form online.

The chairman of the state Senate Insurance Committee, Sen. Neil Breslin, sponsored the law requiring the coverage. He told the News hes open to changes and doesnt want people paying for coverage that wont give them any benefits.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley of Batavia, a realtor and insurance agent, told WKBW the law wasnt thought out very well.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
By Ben Joe | Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls

The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) has determined that, when it comes to the use of facial recognition technology for security in schools, the risks may outweigh any documented benefits.

The New York State Education Department released a statement with a link to the ITS report on Monday, saying that the State Education Commissioner will consider the report and its recommendations in determining whether to authorize the purchase or utilization of biometric identifying technology in public schools.

State Assembly member Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, said the ITS report validated her concerns about the technology. Wallace in 2020 co-wrote the legislation that led to a statewide moratorium on the use of biometric identifying technology in schools, pending a state study of the implications, and when the moratorium was signed into law, Lockport City School District was required to shut off its newly acquired, $2.7 million facial and object recognition-based camera system.

Concerns about the technology, expressed by Wallace and New York Civil Liberties Union among others, include invasion of privacy, an environment of surveillance and the technologys shortcomings in accurately identifying females and people of color.

I questioned whether the use of this particular very expensive and potentially dangerous technology is the best way to keep students safe, Wallace said on Tuesday. There are other, more proven ways like hardened doors and resource officers that are better vehicles for making sure that kids are safe in school.

The ITS report echoes those concerns and suggests facial recognition technology has limited value as a security tool.

Many claims have been made about the potential of FRT security systems to make schools safer, but little information is available about real-life situations where technology detected and helped prevent violent incidents, the report says. It is noteworthy that, regardless of the type of technology used, a schools staff must have some type of forewarning that an individual should not be allowed access to a school for any technology to be effective.

The Lockport district to date has been the only public school district in New York state to employ facial recognition technology for security purposes.

The district applied for and received a grant of $4.2 million through the state Smart Schools Bond Act of 2015 and spent $2.7 million of it on an Aegis software-powered facial and object recognition system operated through security cameras. The system went live in January 2020, with NYSEDs approval, and in June 2020, the Civil Liberties Union sued NYSED in an attempt to get that approval overturned. That suit was made moot by the moratorium.

Now that ITS has delivered its assessment of biometric identification technology in schools, Wallace said shes reading the report with an eye on possible follow-up legislation to outlaw use of the technology for security purposes in public schools.

Meanwhile, Lockport district superintendent Mathis Calvin III said administration has no plans to move forward with utilizing biometric identifying technology in our schools.

The ITS report states that theres less risk involved in the use of facial recognition technology for purposes other than system wide identification  which involves searching a database  such as opening a tablet. It also says other non facial recognition biometric identification technology, such as fingerprint reading, has been useful for scoring tardiness or lunch payment in other school districts, and the choice to use such technology should be left up to individual districts.

___

(c)2023 the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)

Visit the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) at www.niagara-gazette.com
Washington  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to visit Skaneateles later this month to help Rep. Brandon Williams kick off his reelection bid with an exclusive reception for big campaign donors.

Tickets to the Aug. 23 private event with McCarthy range from $1,000 to $6,600 per person, according to an invitation obtained by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.
Geddes, N.Y.  One of Central New Yorks most well known non-for-profits wont host a booth at the New York State Fair this year, citing unspecified frustration with changes being made by fair leaders.

The Baldwin Fund, a non-profit founded by Carol M. Baldwin and dedicated to cancer research, announced on Facebook it wont be at this years fair, which opens Aug. 23. Its the first time in 33 years the non-profit wont attend.

After a meeting this past week I can no longer stand for the changes being made by the leaders at the State Fair, Elizabeth Baldwin, the funds executive director, posted on Facebook. We the vendors and organizations are the heart of the NYS Fair and our voices are not being heard.

Baldwin added that the decision was not made lightly, and thanked people who have come to share their stories at the fair over the years.

Last year, Carol Baldwins famous son, actor Alec Baldwin, visited the Baldwin Fund booth at the Science & Industry building at the fair.

Alec Baldwin was spotted at the New York State Fair Sunday by the Baldwin Foundation's booth in the Science & Industry building. (Provided photo - Jeff Forsyth)

The state fair is under relatively new leadership this year, and some vendors have expressed frustration with rising costs and new policies.

Sean Hennessey was named interim fair director in May 2022. This is his first full year in charge of the event.

Hennessey came from the Department of Transportation. He took over after a rocky few years at the fair, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The fair was operating at a deficit of as much as $7 million in recent years. Last year, Hennesseys efforts cut that deficit to roughly $3 million.

Fair officials said the Department of Agriculture and Markets does not comment on individual organizations Fair contracts. However, Alice Maggiore, a Fair spokeswoman, said the Fair values the partnership that it has had with the foundation and its recycling program, which has raised money for Breast Cancer Research.

We continue to wish the Foundation success and welcome the opportunity to work together again in the future, she said. From a recycling perspective, recycling remains a priority for the Fair and for New York State, as demonstrated by Executive Order. The Fair is currently working on finalizing a contract with a recycling vendor, and will share more when it can.

Read Baldwins full statement about not tabling at the fair this year:

For The past 33 years the Baldwin Fund has been proud to be a part of The New York State Fair. Thousands of volunteers have partnered with us, the community has come to learn about our mission, celebrate survivors and honor the warriors who have and will battle breast cancer.

Our mission is always to serve our community and that will not change.

Changes happen, and I have remained committed but I can no longer participate and feel it is time to take a stand for what is right for the organization and the people who work so hard to help us. After a meeting this past week I can no longer stand for the changes being made by the leaders at the State Fair. We the vendors and organizations are the heart of the NYS Fair and our voices are not being heard. When you can no longer feel good about the task at hand and it becomes a distraction to serving our community it becomes time to make a change. This year you will not see the Baldwin Fund at the NYS Fair. This decision was not made lightly.

Again I want to give my very sincerest thank you to all who have given of their time and talents, all who have stopped and shared your stories and your loved ones stories with us over the years. We are still here, we will continue to focus on the mission of raising critical funding for treatment and a cure for breast cancer. #TogetherWeWillFindACure

READ MORE:

Popular beer and moonshine slush stand pulls out of 2023 NYS Fair

NYS Fairs finances improve, but it took a $7M bailout to break even last year

Introducing the NYS Fair Food Hall of Fame: A tribute to the 10 most iconic fair dishes

NYS Fair adds dinosaur experience to 2023 lineup; free with admission

Rapper returning to Syracuse 5 years after one of NYS Fairs biggest concerts

The New York State Fair lost money during Covid despite a $10M boost from taxpayers

Hochul, lawmakers agree to raise New York State Fair ticket, parking prices

Hes suddenly in charge of the 2022 NYS Fair: Meet Sean Hennessey
Ukrainian Air Defense Forces shot down one Kinzhal missile during a massive Russian attack on the morning of August 11. It was hit in the Kyiv region. The enemy launched four missiles aiming at the Kolomiia airfield Kolomyi in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

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This was reported in the Air Forces of the AFU. "Today at about 10:00 the enemy launched four X-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from four Mig-31K aircraft. The launches were carried out from the airspace of the Tula and Lipetsk regions of the Russian Federation", the message stated

The AFU added that the missiles entered Ukrainian airspace from the northern direction, heading southwest to the area of Kolomiia airfield.

"One X-47 missile was destroyed within the Kyiv region. The rest struck near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure and housing sector facilities were hit. According to the Ivano-Frankivsk RMA, a child was killed and there are casualties", Air Force said.

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The Ukraine became "red" because of the air alert at about 10:00 am. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Khmelnystkyi and Vinnytsia regions. Air Defense was working.

It is known that the debris of the shot-down missile was found in the capital on the territory of the children's hospital in the Obolonskyi district, as well as in the open area of the dacha cooperative on Bohatyrska street (the roof of a private house was damaged). No victims were recorded.

Later in Ivano-Frankivsk OVA said about the flight on a residential house in Kolomiya district, as a result of which died an 8-year-old boy.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Ukrainian air defense destroyed seven kamikaze drones on the night of August 10. Unfortunately, there were hits in the Rivne region, where an oil depot was destroyed.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Altrozed BHPian

Join Date: Jan 2023 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 138 Thanked: 410 Times

Re: Tata Motors confirms the launch of 4 new Electric Cars Quote: cool_dube Originally Posted by ) when it comes to EV launches, it is imperative that they beef their service network up pronto! It is lagging far far behind in proportion to sales numbers they are clocking month over month. Not only are their already overloaded ASCs unable to handle the additional load of EVs, most of these also lack the required expertise and necessary infrastructure to handle EVs. For instance, the TASS closest to my location redirected me to another one (which was quite far for me) for HV battery replacement (under warranty) that my Nexon EV had to undergo recently. This level of customer service can only be tolerated till their monopoly exists in the EV 4-wheeler space. The moment we have competition (Mahindra, are you listening?), people will move on. While it is heartening to see Tata Motors firing on all cylinders (or should I say cells) when it comes to EV launches, it is imperative that they beef their service network up pronto! It is lagging far far behind in proportion to sales numbers they are clocking month over month. Not only are their already overloaded ASCs unable to handle the additional load of EVs, most of these also lack the required expertise and necessary infrastructure to handle EVs. For instance, the TASS closest to my location redirected me to another one (which was quite far for me) for HV battery replacement (under warranty) that my Nexon EV had to undergo recently. This level of customer service can only be tolerated till their monopoly exists in the EV 4-wheeler space. The moment we have competition (Mahindra, are you listening?), people will move on.



Products are from different department just like A$$ and Media PRO's. How the products are performing should be a topic not the A$$ in this thread at least.

Yes, TML Service is definitely lot more desiring but as a product(car), they are really doing well.



Quote: GoBabyGo Originally Posted by Hi, in my view Tata Motors need "Nexa" kind of set-up for their premium products & EVs. Tata should hire better quality manpower, trained them and then induct in their premium dealership. I would prefer these new dealership should have 80% female & 20% male ratio for sales team at the showroom & also at the Service centres.

"Nexa" doesnt ooze anything premium. Their premium service centers are equally flooded with Taxis. While their regular service centers dozens of Taxis everyday and none bats an eye.



Quote: sunilarkt Originally Posted by Battery costs upto 50% of the EV car and with current technology, Harrier EV will probably cost 30L+. 500km range target would make it even more expensive.



Quote: NajSaf Originally Posted by To be honest, I am not a big fan of Nexon EV mainly due to dated interiors. I hope Tatas give out the more futuristic designs as seen with Hyundai or Kia. Harrier is a large SUV. So I assume the battery would also be similar sized to at least go till 500 kms. I would love to buy an EV that can go to +500kms on a single charge -- but does not cost a bomb. Maybe in another decade I have a hope to buy...



Do we carry rice and dal loaded gunny bags in boot anticipating that we might get stuck in some undesired location ? Mahindra started the EV after acquiring Reva and can be seen where they stand now. Just like How Tata dominated SUV space and MM took it over. There is no rule or yardstick to show the future performance based on past statistics. How they are performing today and what progressive plans do they have for future matters.Products are from different department just like A$$ and Media PRO's. How the products are performing should be a topic not the A$$ in this thread at least.Yes, TML Service is definitely lot more desiring but as a product(car), they are really doing well.After many years, their dealers have started enjoying profits(read in TBHP Itself). We never knew that TML might separate EV division at least for Tier 1& 2 Metros."Nexa" doesnt ooze anything premium. Their premium service centers are equally flooded with Taxis. While their regular service centers dozens of Taxis everyday and none bats an eye.More the battery size, range need not be necessarily translated. The battery pack load is driven every day for future anticipation drives too.Charging infra should be developed more than the car's driving range. Carrying a full tank petrol isnt much load to the car than carrying a heavy battery without being used.Do we carry rice and dal loaded gunny bags in boot anticipating that we might get stuck in some undesired location ?




Virgin Galactic has taken its first tourists to the edge of space, with an 80-year-old British ex-Olympian saying the trip exceeded my wildest dreams. On board the VSS Unity were Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle, who had competed in canoeing at the 1972 Games in Munich, Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her 18-year-old daughter Anastatia Mayers, a University of Aberdeen student. The crew took the passengers about 55 miles (88km) above Earth where they experienced zero gravity during the flight which lasted just over an hour. Sky News

A prototype brain-like chip could make artificial intelligence (AI) more energy efficient, its developer, technology giant IBM, has said. Concerns have been raised about emissions associated with warehouses full of computers powering AI systems. IBM said its prototype could lead to more efficient, less battery-draining AI chips for smartphones. Its efficiency is down to components that work in a similar way to connections in human brains, it said. Compared to traditional computers, the human brain is able to achieve remarkable performance while consuming little power, said scientist Thanos Vasilopoulos, based at IBMs research lab in Zurich, Switzerland. BBC



Disney will dramatically increase the price of its streaming service. Disney+ prices will rise by as much as 27 per cent, with the company saying that it is facing a challenging market. At the same time, the company will roll out an ad-supported tier in the UK, that will allow customers to subscribe for 4.99 per month. And its chief executive, Bob Iger, said that next year it would be looking to launch a password-sharing crackdown to attempt to force different households to have their accounts. Independent

Amazon workers in the US are being tracked and penalized for not spending sufficient time in the companys offices, an email sent to employees this week revealed, as tech companies push back against work-from-home practices that flourished during the pandemic. Some staff members were alerted on Wednesday they were not currently meeting our expectation of joining your colleagues in the office at least three days a week, according to emails shared with the Financial Times. The emails were also discussed on the anonymous corporate message board platform Blind. The Guardian



A flying taxi owned by the billionaire boss of Ovo Energy has crashed in the Cotswolds. Vertical Aerospace, founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, was dealt a blow on Wednesday when a test flight failed in dramatic fashion. The Bristol-based startup, which is producing a five-seater flying taxi that can reach speeds of up to 200mph, said in a short statement that its prototype had crashed during a test of the aircrafts manoeuvrability. Mr Fitzpatrick has incorporated Vertical Aerospace into his sprawling business empire, the bulk of which is made of Ovo Energy, Britains fourth-largest gas and electricity supplier that serves 4.5m customers. Telegraph
At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Large, color display

Key metrics shown on scale

Data-rich app Cons Visible metrics in app you cant access with this scale

Potential issues distinguishing between users Our Verdict Theres no denying that this is a good smart scale, but it doesnt deliver enough for its price point to make it a must-buy.

There are three models in Withings latest line of smart scales: the Body Scan, the Body Comp, and the Body Smart.

You can read our reviews of the excellent, mid-range Body Comp and the flagship Body Scan to find out more, but bear in mind that the Body Scan is not yet available in the U.S.

The Body Smart is the basic model although, compared across brands, its not a cheap device. Its considerably more expensive than a budget scaleand it doesnt do a huge amount more. Still, the Withings user experience is polished and the app provides far more information on what each metric means and why its important.

In eyes-closed mode, numerical body measurements wont appear on the scale itself. This offers a gentler way to track a fitness journey without having to confront its harsh realities every morning.

Many other more budget-friendly models will offer a similar number of body composition measurements. The key difference is that the Body Smart will also measure your resting heart rate. This is something that few competitors offer, although the Eufy P2 Pro doesat around half the price.

This review is part of TechHives in-depth coverage of the best smart scales.

What do you get when you buy a Withings Body Smart?

The Withings Body Smart is a simply designed and attractive device, with a durable glass surface on a plastic base and an easy-to-read, full color screen that displays a number of key metrics. Less-expensive scales tend only to display weight on the scale itself, meaning youll need to open the app for the rest of your measurements.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The scale comes in black or white. Weve tested the black model. It looks good but its glossy surface is prone to picking up fingerprints and other marks.

It measures 13 x 13 inches (33 x 33cm), which is a generous size and you will feel secure standing on even if youre a larger person.

The scale is powered by four AAA batteries, which are provided and which Withings estimates will give you 15 months of use. At this price point, wed really like to see USB charging, but Withings reserves that only for its priciest model, the Body Scan. Even if you spend $199.99/189.95 on the Body Comp, youll still only get a battery-powered scale.

Buy the Body Smart and in the box, youll get the scale itself and four wide feet you can attach if you want to use it on carpet. The way to get the most accurate and consistent measurements, however, is to use it on hard flooringand to weigh yourself at the same time of day each time.

How easy is the Withings Body Scan to set up?

Youll need to download the Withings Health Mate app for iOS or Android. Its probably the best smart scale app currently available and its free to download and use. You can then pair your scale.

In some respects, its unfair to judge a smart device by a single, poor set-up experience. Its hard to say whether its an issue with the device itself, a wobbly Wi-Fi moment, the weather, the alignment of the stars, or perhaps a whimsical adjustment to the simulation were all stuck in.

But the fact remains that the Body Smart was not easy to set up and dropped connectivity several times during the process. It should also offer Bluetooth if connecting via Wi-Fi proves difficult, but this did not appear as an option.

Once its set up, youll need to create a profile. With this done, the app offers a guide on how to use the Body Smart, suggests you set a fitness goal, and helps you to add additional users.

You can also choose a mode. These include athlete (sadly, not applicable here), weight only, or eyes closed.

In eyes-closed mode, numerical body measurements wont appear on the scale itself. This offers a gentler way to track a fitness journey without having to confront its harsh realities every morning.

A pregnancy mode will be added soon in a software update.

Using the Withings Body Smart with the Withings Health Mate app

Like all smart scales, the Body Smart uses bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) to measure your body composition.

This means standing on the scale with bare, dry feet. If youve never used a smart scale before, its not a painful process. In fact, you cant feel it at all.

The Body Smart will measure your weight and use that (along with the height and age you input) to calculate your BMI (body mass index). It will give you a body percentage estimate for muscle, fat, and bone and show your muscle, fat and bone mass.

The scale provides a separate measurement for visceral fat (the more worrying type of fat that wraps around your organs, as opposed to the more visible subcutaneous fat that sits closer to the surface) and calculate your lean and water mass.

The scale will also display your resting heart rate. Youll see this in the app as well, but only the latest measurement; you cant see a trend graph.

The key measurementsweight, body composition, and heart rateare on the home page and you can click on them to see trend graphs, trend figures and related measurements. BMI, for example, is displayed when you click on weight.

You can click through from key measurements for trend graphs and related metrics. Foundry

What might be confusing at first is that if you click on all measurements, youll see that youre only tracking three of a possible six body measurements and one of a possible 13 heart metrics.

Youll also get feedback in the form of Insights, which is basically just the app commenting on your weigh-in numbers. You might be happy to know you can switch this feature off.

But all these possible measurements are only available if you either buy a pricier Withings scale or another Withings product, such as the Withings Thermo, the brands smart temporal thermometer ($99.95/ $89.95).

It feels deliberately designed to give you FOMO and make you wish youd bought the equivalent of an all-access pass.

But this is balanced out by the amount of useful additional information the app provides. There are handy primers on a range of topics, from body composition to muscle mass, which will give some context to what are otherwise only numbers on a trend line.

The primers on different topics are useful but people may not enjoy the apps insights into their weigh-in information, as shown on the right. Foundry

Youll also get feedback in the form of Insights, which is basically just the app commenting on your weigh-in numbers. You might be happy to know you can switch this feature off.

In the app, you can also customize the metrics shown on the scales screen and adjust the way information is presented on your phone.

You can log food intake and share a health report, perhaps if you wanted to send information to a personal trainer. At this stage, however, you cant join Withings+, a subscription service that includes six week habit-building health modules. Thats only available if you buy the Body Scan or Comp, with which youll get a free trial of the service.

If you want to be able to export your data to another app, Withings plays nicely with plenty of the major fitness apps, including Apple Health, Google Health, and MyFitness Pal, among others. You can see the full list of partner apps for the U.S., and the E.U., and UK at the Withings website.

There are handy primers on a range of topics, from body composition to muscle mass, which will give some context to what are otherwise only numbers on a trend line.

In terms of day-to-day use, the only problem I had while testing was when introducing a second profile for another user. When you create a profile, youll need to add basic measurements, including height and weight. Why do you need to assign weight to a profile when youre just about to weigh yourself? Well, thats how the scale decides which profile to send weigh-in information to.

If the given weights of the users are too close, it can have trouble deciding which measurements to send to which account. This created a sort of Frankenprofile with two sets of measurements combined and was a bit of a hassle to unpick. Id suggest that if two people of similar weights want to use the scale seamlessly, you underestimate the lower weight and overestimate the higher one to create more of a gap between them.

Personally, Id like to see an option to choose a profile before a weigh-in.

Is the Withing Body Smart worth it?

If you regularly use a Withings smartwatch or activity tracker and want an accompanying smart scale, but dont want to pay more than $100/ 100, buying the Body Smart is a no-brainer. Its comprehensive and polished, with a great user experience.

Its harder to justify the price of this scale if youre not already a Withings user. The Body Smart doesnt do much more than a scale half its price. If youre not interested in the Health Mate apps explainers and insights, theres not much added value. Plus, theres the fact that youll be painfully aware of all the features you could access if youd only ponied up for the deluxe Body Comp.

All in all, its a solid scale but its neither cheap enough nor feature-packed enough to be a must-buy.

If this isnt the smart scale for you, have a look at our round-up of the best smart scales around for more options at all price points.
Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received the Ambassador of Lithuania to Azerbaijan Egidijus Navikas, Azernews reports, the tweet by the Lithuanian Ambassador.

The Ambassador noted that it is pleasure to meet Azerbaijans Top Diplomat for a farewell courtesy call. He underscored that despite fact that his activities in Azerbaijan fell on period of COVID-19 pandemic, during this period there was a positive trend in the development of relations between the two countries.
The Ukrainian Air Force redeploys Su-24 bombers every 24 hours. They are capable of carrying long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles. The redeployment is carried out to protect the aircraft from Russian strikes. There are a small number of them in our country.

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Bild writes about this. It is noted that the entire network of USSR airfields has been restored and new ones have been equipped for the relocation to Ukraine. In addition, secret runways on motorways are being used.

To protect operational airfields, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have deployed several IRIS-T and Patriot anti-aircraft systems.

These long-range missiles are used by Ukrainian aviation very successfully, so their storage sites are also under constant protection.

The newspaper writes that Su-24 attacks on bridges, warehouses and command posts of the Russian Federation provoke missile attacks on our country's airfields. In particular, the aggressor country recently attacked Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi region because tactical aviation is based there.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, on 6 August, the Ukrainian Defence Forces struck two key road bridges along the territories important to Russia, connecting the occupied Crimea and part of the Kherson region. They forced the aggressor to redirect traffic from shorter eastern routes to longer western ones.

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Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
In brief: The proliferation of generative AIs like ChatGPT has impacted many areas of society, not least education, where students are using chatbots to cheat on their exams. Now, colleges are looking at ways to AI-proof test questions and assignments.

Timothy Main, a writing professor at Conestoga College in Canada, illustrated the extent of students cheating with chatbots by telling AP, "I had answers come in that said, 'I am just an AI language model, I don't have an opinion on that.'"

"I've caught dozens," he said. "We're in full-on crisis mode."

The fear is that while students need to know about generative AI, overreliance on the systems to produce work will stop them from absorbing the information and learning skills. Moreover, it's been shown that reliably detecting whether text has been created by an AI is impossible. OpenAI's own detection tool was shuttered soon after launch due to its low rate of accuracy.

One of the educators looking to "ChatGPT-proof" their courses is Bonnie MacKellar, a computer science professor at St. Johns University in New York. She is making the students in her intro course handwrite their code, and the paper exams will count for a higher percentage of the overall grade.

"There is going to be a big shift back to paper-based tests," she said. "I hear colleagues in humanities courses saying the same thing: It's back to the blue books."

Bill Hart-Davidson, an associate dean at Michigan State University's College of Arts and Letters, suggests changing the way questions are posed as one possible solution. An example would be to give a description that has errors in it and ask students to point them out.

Hart-Davidson added that assignment questions should include a request for students to be "explicit and reflective about the moves they are making." Other professors suggested that students show their editing history and drafts in completed assignments. A document that displays corrected typos and rephrased sentences could help prove it was created by a human.

AP notes that research tools such as library databases have seen a decline in use following the emergence of chatbots. The tools have also impacted the growth of Chegg Inc., an online company that offers homework help and has been cited in a number of cheating cases.

In January, just as ChatGPT was taking off, New York School officials said that the AI tool would not be accessible through the district network or devices. The move was due to fears that students could use it to easily write their essays or to cheat during exams.
Why it matters: China's internet giants are securing as many Nvidia GPUs as they can, a new report suggests. Recent sanctions imposed by the White House have forced Asian companies to spend billions on the devices, which are essential if they want to develop their own generative AI systems.

The US government is increasing its pressure on American tech companies to curb exports of advanced computing technologies to China. The Chinese government said it will retaliate, while Chinese companies are currently investing billions of dollars to purchase (or likely pre-purchase) GPU cards made by California-based company Nvidia.

A new report states that Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent have collectively placed orders for 100,000 Nvidia A800 GPUs, spending around $1 billion. The A800 card is a neutered version of the Ampere-based A100 processor, a stripped-down version of a three-year-old GPU technology that Nvidia cooked up for Chinese customers after Washington imposed strict limitations on GPU interconnection speeds.

According to unnamed people familiar with the issue, the aforementioned companies also placed further orders for Nvidia GPUs for an additional $4 billion. These new chips would be delivered next year, but there are no additional indications about what GPU models have been purchased. Nvidia could now be selling Chinese companies the H800 chip, a less powerful and capable version of the Ada Lovelace GPU generation for GPGPU and HPC applications.

An employee from Baidu, the Chinese web search giant and one of the largest AI and internet companies in the world, confirmed that the GPUs are essentially mandatory to train new large language models (LLM). With no new Nvidia GPUs, Chinese organizations will not have the hardware required to develop or improve their own LLMs.

Baidu recently developed a series of machine learning-based models under the "Ernie Bot" (Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration) moniker, including a language generation model (Erine 3.0 Titan) and a text-to-image generation tech (Ernie-ViLG).

US lawmakers have recently asked federal authorities to impose even stricter limitations on export of "AI accelerators" to China, with lower performance and data bandwidth caps. US companies are still making and designing specific AI chips to sell to Chinese customers, though. Intel recently announced a nerfed version of its Gaudi2 AI accelerator, while AMD is developing its own, sanctions-abiding offering for the Chinese market.
A new study found that long-term usage of acid reflux drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may increase the risk of dementia.

Extended Use of Acid Reflux Drugs Raises Dementia Risk

The study addresses the concerns surrounding the extended use of PPIs, which are commonly employed to mitigate acid reflux. Acid reflux occurs when stomach acid enters the esophagus, often after meals or when lying down, leading to conditions such as heartburn and ulcers.

In more severe cases, frequent acid reflux can result in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and potentially increase the risk of esophageal cancer. However, it's important to note that this study only establishes an association and does not definitively establish a causal relationship.

PPI, the medications under scrutiny, function by targeting stomach lining enzymes responsible for acid production, thereby reducing stomach acid levels.

The research, conducted by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis and led by study author Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, MBBS, PhD, explored the potential correlation between long-term PPI usage and the risk of dementia.

While these medications are widely recognized as useful tools to manage acid reflux, previous studies have raised concerns about their association with a higher likelihood of stroke, bone fractures, and chronic kidney disease. Therefore, the team's investigation aims to explore their potential link to dementia.

The study encompassed 5,712 participants aged 45 and above who were dementia-free at the study's commencement, with an average age of 75. Researchers assessed PPI usage by reviewing participants' medication histories during study visits and annual phone calls.

Of the participants, 26% (1,490 individuals) had used PPIs. The participants were divided into four groups based on their PPI usage duration: those who didn't use PPIs, those who used them for up to 2.8 years, those who used them for 2.8 to 4.4 years, and those who used them for over 4.4 years.

Over the subsequent median period of 5.5 years, 10% of participants (585 individuals) developed dementia. Adjusting for factors like age, sex, race, blood pressure, and diabetes, researchers found that those using PPIs for more than 4.4 years faced a 33% elevated risk of developing dementia compared to those who had not used the drugs.

It's important to emphasize that the study does not indicate an increased dementia risk for individuals who used PPIs for less than 4.4 years.

Read Also: AI-Powered Tool Shows Promise in Detecting Dementia and Alzheimer's

More Research Needed

Kamakshi Lakshminarayan urged further investigation to substantiate the findings and delve into the possible connection between long-term PPI use and dementia risk.

"While there are various ways to treat acid reflux, such as taking antacids, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding late meals and certain foods, different approaches may not work for everyone," Lakshminarayan said in a statement.

"It is important that people taking these medications speak with their doctor before making any changes, to discuss the best treatment for them, and because stopping these drugs abruptly may result in worse symptoms," she added.

However, the team noted a limitation of the study lies in its annual assessment of medication usage, which could lead to inaccuracies in estimating use between check-ins.

Moreover, the study could not assess over-the-counter PPI usage among participants. The study's findings were published in the journal Neurology.

Related Article: Hearing Aids May Help Decrease Dementia Risks, New Study Finds

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An international team of researchers has harnessed the potential of AI-powered technology to detect the presence of malaria parasites in returning travelers.

As the World Health Organization advocates for robust parasite-based diagnoses before commencing treatment, this approach holds promise in enhancing accuracy and efficiency in detecting the disease caused by Plasmodium parasites.

The researchers explored the capabilities of a fully automated system that melds AI detection software with an automated microscope. The objective: to determine if this system could yield clinically valuable accuracy in diagnosing malaria.

AI Detects the Presence of Malaria Parasites

The study's lead author Dr. Roxanne Rees-Channer, a researcher at The Hospital for Tropical Diseases at UCLH in the UK, elaborated on the findings, saying that the AI system achieved an impressive diagnostic accuracy rate of 88% compared to microscopists.

The implications suggest that this AI system could indeed serve as a valuable tool for malaria diagnosis in suitable healthcare settings.

The study involved an extensive analysis of over 1,200 blood samples collected from travelers who had returned to the UK from regions endemic with malaria.

Within a controlled clinical environment, the research team assessed the accuracy of the AI-microscope system, pitting it against the benchmark of manual light microscopy.

The results showed that manual microscopists correctly identified 113 samples as positive for malaria parasites, while the AI-powered system accurately pinpointed 99 positive samples, culminating in an impressive accuracy rate of 88%.

The significance of this study lies in its clinical application of AI within a crucial diagnostic process. Rees-Channer underlined this aspect, emphasizing that this study was not confined to preliminary assessments but explored the AI system's effectiveness within a genuine clinical use case.

The automated malaria diagnostic system, under scrutiny in this study, harmonizes both hardware and software components. A computerized microscopy platform scans blood films, with advanced malaria detection algorithms scrutinizing the images to swiftly identify parasites and quantify their presence.

Read Also: Are AI Detection Tools Effective in Assessing Artificially-Made Results? Here's Why They Aren't Always Reliable

AI Approach to Malaria Diagnosis

As the research team underscored, this approach to malaria diagnosis harbors several potential benefits. Even the most adept microscopists can be prone to fatigue and errors, particularly when managing substantial workloads.

The integration of AI into malaria diagnosis could alleviate this strain on microscopists, potentially enhancing the patient load they can manage effectively.

Furthermore, automated diagnostic systems ensure consistency in results and can be readily implemented across diverse healthcare environments, according to the team.

While the AI system demonstrated an impressive 88% accuracy rate, it is vital to note that it also misidentified 122 samples as positive for malaria, which could potentially lead to patients receiving unnecessary anti-malarial treatment.

"The AI software is still not as accurate as an expert microscopist. This study represents a promising datapoint rather than a decisive proof of fitness," said Rees-Channer.

The findings of the team were published in the journal Frontiers in Malaria.

Related Article: Are Talking Spaceships Coming Soon? NASA to Revolutionize Space Exploration with AI-Powered ChatGPT-Like Interface

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
With Twitter's migration to X, Elon Musk has already finalized his plans to auction some memorabilia which reminds everyone of the iconic blue bird.

Would you believe that even the big logo on the side of Twitter's former building was also put on auction? Here are the other crazy items that you can buy from the billionaire.

Elon Musk Will Auction Twitter Memorabilia

A month after Musk rebranded Twitter to simply "X," he already decided to sell the memorabilia from the former social media app.

With this move, Musk has confirmed "And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."

According to a report by The Guardian, there are 584 listings in the Twitter auction which include some of the things you can't imagine including bird cages and pebble seats.

At the moment, Musk and his team have not yet removed the popular blue bird logo of the microblogging site. It was still mounted in the headquarters of the company.

According to the listing, the person who will purchase this logo will be responsible for hiring an SF Licensed Company with "appropriate Permits."

The entire "Twitter Rebranding: Online Auction Featuring Memorabilia, Art, Office Assets & More!" auction is the latest auction that Musk hosted in 2023.

Heritage Global Partners, the partner auction house in the event, says that each auction item begins at $25.

Prior to the Twitter rebranding, the tech entrepreneur held a San Francisco auction back in January. At that time, Musk put up Twitter's bird statue on sale along with other office memorabilia such as office drawers and sofas. The bird statue was bought for $100,000.

Surprisingly, the auctions came right after Musk announced the company layoffs.

Related Article: X Blue, formerly Twitter Blue, Lets You Hide the Verification Checkmark if You're Ashamed

What Items Can You Buy From Twitter Memorabilia Auction?

According to Buzzfeed, the Twitter memorabilia auction is composed of the weirdest stuff that you can only encounter at the event.

Aside from the gigantic Twitter bird logo on the side of the building, here are the other items you can purchase during the X-rebranding era.

wooden Twitter bird table

Soda machine with Twitter logo

One-person privacy booth

Twitter bird mesh screen

Huge hashtag planner

Big "what is happening?" sign

Birdcage

A very large hashtag with Twitter bird logo

Oil painting featuring "Four more years" tweet

Twitter tribute for Robin Williams in photo mosaic of celebrities' tribute tweets

A bird art with white frame

Another bird art

Work stations

Multiple conference rooms

Peach, orange and maroon lockers

A podium with Twitter logo

A 1-4 person meeting room

A privacy desk

Restaurant booths which are intended for Twitter employees

Argentine tree stump tables

A kegerator beer dispenser

A few pebble seats

Built-in restaurant tables and booths

Musical instruments including keyboards and guitars

A dream vinyl wall for collectors

A "bird cage" swing

A "Blue Room" sign

A glowing Twitter Bird sign with lights

An oil painting of the Oscars selfie

"The Lodge," a repurposed barn

The auction will start on Sept. 12 until Sept. 14 only.

Read Also: XPro Becomes New TweetDeck of X as Part of Twitter's Rebranding

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The sales of an author's AI-generated novels on Amazon are alarming the literary community. Famous author Jane Friedman has expressed alarm about the increasing role of AI in the creative process after discovering works attributed to her that she did not write.

Jane Friedman found her unofficial works on Amazon through a diligent reader searching for more of her books. However, it was clear from a closer look that the prominent author had not written the books being sold on the platform, according to CNN.

The topics covered in the titles were similar to those Friedman usually writes about but the content was created by a generative AI model trying to imitate her writing style.

As she described her findings, Friedman said that when she checked the books' pages and the bio, it was "obvious" to her that it had been mostly, "if not entirely, AI-generated." She expressed concern that AI could mimic her approach because of her substantial internet output.

Generative AI Being Utilized to Replace Human Writers?

This episode highlights legitimate worries that writers and authors have about the possible degradation of their work caused by the rise of AI-generated material. The quick development of substantial persuasive writing has been made possible by emerging technologies like ChatGPT, which tests authors' creativity.

Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, expressed the danger of AI invading the creative realm of authors, per Quartz. According to her, "Generative AI is being used to replace writers," taking their writing without their consent, integrating it into the framework of those AI models, and then providing those AI models to the general public, to other corporations,

Over 10,000 writers, including well-known authors like James Patterson, Roxane Gay, and Margaret Atwood, signed an open letter urging openness and fair pay from AI industry leaders when utilizing their work to train AI models in response to these concerns.

Read Also: Zoom Implements Hybrid Work Model: Employees Asked to Work Onsite Twice a Week

Friedman addressed the problem on social media, which sparked conversations among other writers who had experienced similar instances of their work being falsely credited. Amazon quickly withdrew the unauthorized titles published under her name as a sign of its dedication to upholding trustworthy shopping experiences and protecting consumers and writers from platform abuse.

A brief update: After going back a few times with Amazon on this issue, I was notified the books would not be removed based on the information I provided. Since I do not own copyright in these AI works and since my name is not trademarked, I'm not sure what can be done. https://t.co/F5KuK4F36X  Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) August 7, 2023

A Serious Challenge

The episode did, however, bring to light the difficulty in combating such book-selling schemes, particularly in the era of advanced generative AI technologies. Friedman said she encountered pushback and challenging requests for evidence of infringement when she tried to report the fake titles to Amazon, according to Daily Beast.

Beyond the incident, the matter has wider ramifications since it raises the issue of how AI utilizes protected works for learning. In a letter to the Australian government, Google recently argued in favor of scraping the internet by AI systems while conceding the necessity for opt-outs. AI-generated material is still mainly governed by US copyright regulations as of right now.

The episode involving Jane Friedman is a significant example in the continuing discussion regarding the relationship between AI, copyright, and writers' creative rights. Debates over AI's ethical and legal ramifications are predicted to become more heated as its capabilities develop.

Related Article: Journalists Pen Open Letter to Push for AI Regulations, Preserve Public Trust in Media

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Amazon is gradually removing some of the private label brands as part of its cost-cutting strategy. The move will also look forward to addressing the antitrust concerns from the regulators.

Amazon Plans to Eliminate Some Home Brands

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, some of the household brands in Amazon are expected to leave anytime soon.

From third-party products to private label brands, the e-commerce giant will cut wider costs.

27 out of 30 clothing brands will be axed in the latest move. These include Goodthreads, Lark & Ro, and Daily Ritual. With this, Amazon Aware, Amazon Essentials, and Amazon Collection will be the only house-label brands that will stay in the clothing division.

According to the Vice President of Amazon Private Brands Matt Taddy, the affected house brands are those that did not resonate well with the buyers.

"We always make decisions based on what our customers want, and we've learned that customers seek out our biggest brands - like Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials - for great value with high-quality products at great price points," Taddy said.

As of writing, Amazon did not specify the exact number of private brands that will be leaving soon. However, it only indicated that a dozen of brands are expected to be exiting from the e-commerce website.

Aside from the cost-cutting plans, Amazon is doing this action to keep up with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against the Seattle firm.

Amazon is Facing FTC Antitrust Lawsuit

In another report by CNBC, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company has been continuously engaging in cost-cutting strategies to combat the economic swing.

The company also slowed down the expansion of its warehouse and froze corporate hiring in the meantime. Just recently, Amazon fired 27,000 workers which is regarded to be the biggest tech layoff that happened in its history.

Some third-party sellers accused Amazon executives of copying products from the seller data. The tech titan denied the claims thrown by the lawmakers.

Previously, the House Antitrust Subcommittee launched an investigation that operated for 16 months. The agency uncovered that Amazon and other Big Tech firms have been engaging in such unfair practices in the market.

Former Amazon head Jeff Bezos responded that the company has a special policy that opposes the use of seller-specific data in their private-label operations.

According to the third richest person in the world, while this policy has been existing, he could not guarantee that the said rule has never been violated.

FTC is finalizing its move to shut down Amazon through the ground-breaking lawsuit. The organization looks forward to investigating other issues including the company's retail dominance.

In other news, Tech Times reported that a woman from British Columbia, Canada has been receiving over 50 Amazon packages she never ordered.

According to the report, the United Parcel Service (UPS) has already sent her more than $300 because of the unsolicited shipments. The woman claimed that the deliveries came even though he did not request them.

Read Also: TSMC Chip Plant Battle: US Labor Union Criticizes Taiwanese Workers for Prioritizing Profit Over Safety

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a remarkable breakthrough, an international team of scientists led by Egyptian researchers has unearthed a long-lost chapter in the story of marine evolution.

The discovery of a new species of extinct whale, called Tutcetus rayanensis, has sent ripples through the scientific community, revealing unprecedented insights into the evolution of aquatic life in Africa's ancient seas some 41 million years ago.

The Pharaoh Whale

We learn from a report shared by Phys.org that Tutcetus rayanensis, a small member of the basilosaurid family, offers a fresh glimpse into the past.

This family of fully aquatic whales represents a pivotal point in the transition from land-dwelling creatures to majestic marine beings. Think of it as when legs turned into flippers and tails transformed into paddles.

Imagine a whale the size of a small car, roughly 2.5 meters long and weighing around 187 kilograms. But its small size doesn't diminish its importance. In fact, its subadult stature provides an exceptional opportunity to understand the early life stages of these ancient marine giants.

Why the peculiar name, you ask? "Tut" pays homage to the legendary Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, while "cetus" - Greek for whale - captures its aquatic essence.

This nomenclature highlights its size and commemorates the uncovering of King Tutankhamun's tomb a century ago, coinciding with the imminent opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

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A Remarkable Discovery

The results of the team's research have been published in Communications Biology.

Mohammed Antar, the lead author from the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center and the National Focal Point for Natural Heritage, commented that "Tutcetus greatly expands our understanding of the size diversity among basilosaurid whales and highlights significant differences among whales during the middle Eocene period."

Hesham Sallam, a Vertebrate Paleontology Professor at the American University in Cairo and leader of the project reflects on the significance of this find: "Tutcetus is a remarkable discovery that documents one of the first phases of the transition to a fully aquatic lifestyle that took place in that journey."

Its existence suggests that the Southern Hemisphere was a hub for these early aquatic pioneers. As the waters warmed and shallow breeding grounds emerged, the stage was set for the rise of basilosaurids like Tutcetus. These findings broaden our understanding of how whales conquered the oceans.

Sanaa El-Sayed, a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study, explains the significance of Tutcetus's small size: "The relatively small size of Tutcetus (188 kg) is either primitive retention or could be linked to the global warming event known as the 'Late Lutetian Thermal Maximum (LLTM).' This groundbreaking discovery sheds light on the early evolution of whales and their transition to aquatic life."

Erik Seiffert, Chair and Professor of Integrative Anatomical Sciences at the University of Southern California, sums it up aptly: "The discovery of Tutcetus demonstrates that this region still has so much more to tell us about the fascinating story of whale evolution."

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Fossil Reveals Fish's Fatal Encounter with an Ammonite 180 Million Years Ago

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Unsealed court documents show a covert legal dispute between Twitter and former President Trump, including a covert search order, Twitter's opposition, and resulting punishment, with Trump expressing disappointment when he caught wind of the news.

(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images) Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prepares to deliver remarks at a Nevada Republican volunteer recruiting event at Fervent: A Calvary Chapel on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Trump's Issued Warrant

In order to look into Donald Trump's Twitter data, including perhaps suppressed postings, US special counsel Jack Smith acquired a clandestine search warrant in January.

Even though the details of the order are still unclear, its disclosure has raised questions about the data that the authorities are looking for.

Twitter originally resisted obtaining a warrant, but a judicial battle over a gag order resulted. A dispute over openness and privacy rights resulted from Twitter's legal team arguing that consumers should be informed about search warrants.

Despite complying with a search request, Twitter was fined significantly because it missed the court's deadline by three days.

Read Also: Donald Trump is Back on Facebook, Meta Ends Suspension with New Security Rules

Court Fines for Twitter

Twitter was subject to a $350,000 punishment for contempt of court after failing to meet a deadline set by the court, underscoring the importance of legal responsibilities and the penalties for non-compliance.

The choice of Twitter to put openness ahead of compliance raises concerns about how to strike a balance between ethical standards and legal requirements.

Bringing Back Trump

Papers show that Donald Trump was expelled from X during the disturbance at the Capitol in 2021. Elon Musk conducted a poll, and Trump was reinstated on the platform.

Nevertheless, after regaining access, Trump has opted not to post on X and has instead adopted his personal social network, Truth Social. This tactical choice raises concerns about Trump's intentions and the potential financial ramifications of his commercial dealings with Truth Social.

Documents show the legal environment in which Trump operates, with Jack Smith-led investigations focusing on the 2020 election and handling sensitive information.

These charges have a continuing effect on Trump, bringing to light the persistent legal difficulties he encounters in his post-presidential narrative.

Related Article: Donald Trump's Truth Social Conducts Layoffs, Affecting Half a Dozen People

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On Friday, 11 August, Ukraine held its first consultations with the UK government on security guarantees for our country. This is provided for in the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, which is the basis for the development of relevant bilateral documents.

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This was reported by the press service of the Office of the President. The Ukrainian delegation was headed by the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak.

"The UK has consistently demonstrated leadership and example in making and implementing the boldest decisions to support Ukraine. The Ukrainian people greatly appreciate the assistance already provided, and we are confident in further strengthening our strategic partnership both before and after the victory," he said.

It should be added that the UK became the second country after the US with which Ukraine started such negotiations and continued the positive dynamics of implementation of security agreements with key international partners.

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As a reminder, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said that his country was entering into agreements on a declaration of security guarantees for Ukraine. Riga intends to continue to support the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russia's barbaric aggression, and is ready to bring war criminals to justice.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Sergey Prokopyev, commander of Expedition 69, made history by becoming the first cosmonaut to travel on a robotic arm while doing a spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS).

This noteworthy feat, which occurred on August 9, served as a critical test of the European Robotic Arm's (ERA) dependability and endurance, strengthening the space station's operational capabilities.

The ERA eagerly anticipated its first operational test before joining the ISS with the Nauka multipurpose scientific module in July 2021. The robotic arm, though, was formally placed on the Russian portion of the station in April 2022, according to Space.com. The ERA tested its skills by moving an experiment airlock and a large radiator during its first operational spacewalk.

Flawless Execution

Prokopyev stepped atop the ERA, which had a mobile workstation, to assess the arm's stability for this historic occasion. The robotic limb was expertly moved by cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev while operating inside the Nauka module, displaying its accuracy and control. The test went off without a hitch, demonstrating the robotic arm's suitability for various jobs.

The workstation's launch constraints and no longer-needed antenna coverings were discarded during the spacewalk. This was the 267th spacewalk specifically intended for ISS construction and maintenance, adding to the station's continuous improvements, per Spaceflight Now. This spacewalk added to Prokopyev and Petelin's combined experience of eight and six spacewalks, respectively.

Read Also: Russia to Launch Lunar Mission on Friday, After 47 Years

Prokopyev's impressive track record of spacewalks, which includes 55 hours and 15 minutes spent working outside the ISS, positions him twelfth among spacewalkers with the most experience. The total amount of time spent on 267 ISS spacewalks has now impressively reached 70 days, 16 hours, and 26 minutes.

A Vital Component of The ISS

The ERA's unusual inchworm-like movement is made possible by its design, which resembles a human arm with two hands. Transferring payloads between various ISS regions has already shown how versatile the component is. The ERA helps with spacewalk assistance, payload transfers, and even assisting astronauts tied to the space station outside because of its capacity to transport up to 17,600 pounds (8 metric tons).

While the ERA's talents have been lauded, political unrest has also surrounded it in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's threat to refuse ERA access and stop installation operations at the Russian segment of the ISS in July 2022 highlighted the importance of the robotic arm in the context of geopolitical dynamics. Despite contentious arguments between the Russian space agency and its European colleagues, the robotic arm got connected to the Russian orbital component, as reported by Gizmodo.

Related Article: International Space Station Is Contaminated With Disturbing Levels of Harmful Chemicals

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Sweden's proposal to construct 10 new nuclear reactors within the next two decades has ignited controversy and drawn sharp criticism from environmental experts.

The government's plan, aimed at meeting escalating electricity demand and climate goals, has been met with skepticism over its feasibility, cost, and alignment with evolving energy trends.

Sweden Eyes Building 10 New Nuclear Reactors

As Bloomberg reports, climate minister Romina Pourmokhtari announced on Wednesday the intention to double electricity production in the next 20 years to align with the nation's climate targets.

This would entail a significant departure from the current nuclear power capacity, which stands at six reactors in Forsmark, Oskarshamn, and Ringhals, contributing approximately 30% of Sweden's electricity output.

However, experts such as Lars J Nilsson from Lund University and the European climate advisory board cast doubt on the necessity of such expansion, asserting that the current trajectory leans toward wind power.

Experts Voice Out Concerns

The Guardian reports that Nilsson labeled the proposed reactors as more symbolic than functional, suggesting that the government's primary objective is to project commitment to climate goals rather than effecting real change.

He highlighted that the momentum for progress now comes from the EU and Brussels, and Sweden's reputation as a green leader could be undermined by this nuclear push.

Critics like Karin Lexen, Secretary General of Naturskyddsforeningen, Sweden's largest environmental organization, argued that the plan deviates attention from immediate needs and fails to acknowledge advancements in energy storage and alternative solutions.

Lexen challenged the conventional notion that nuclear expansion is a prerequisite for ramping up wind power.

Read Also: US Scientists Hit Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, Higher Energy Output Recorded in Experiment

The projected cost of these reactors is also a focal point of concern. Nilsson warned that the financial burden could disproportionately fall on taxpayers, dampening enthusiasm for the proposal.

Previously debated, the announcement of the new reactors has not generated overwhelming support and has been met with a lukewarm response from the public.

Sweden's Nuclear Energy Portfolio

Sweden's commitment to nuclear energy has undergone shifts over the years. The country, once poised to phase out nuclear power, reversed course in 2010 as Parliament repealed the 1980 policy.

The current administration, a coalition comprising the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals, and Sweden Democrats, is pushing for more reactors, bolstering investments through credit guarantees and pricing modifications.

Vattenfall AB and Finland's Fortum Oyj are exploring small modular reactor options, potentially operational in the next decade. However, Uniper SE, the operator of Sweden's largest reactor, dealt a setback to the government's aspirations by expressing a lack of interest in further technology investment.

Data from the World Nuclear Association suggest that Sweden's nuclear power currently contributes about 40% of its electricity generation. The country has made strides to extend reactor lifespans and has added capacity through updates.

Despite this, the proposed expansion plan has raised doubts about its compatibility with contemporary energy trends and its potential impact on Sweden's position as a sustainability leader.

As the government contends with criticism and navigates complex energy landscapes, the coming years will reveal whether this expansion strategy can balance Sweden's growing energy demands, climate commitments, and evolving preferences for cleaner alternatives.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: India's Nuclear Power Sector to Open Doors for Private Firms

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In a letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, United States Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, expressed concerns regarding the rollout of Med-PaLM 2, a large language model (LLM) designed for use in healthcare settings.

Google announced in April that selected healthcare clients will have restricted access to Med-PaLM 2 to evaluate the model and offer comments on its potential healthcare use cases. The tech giant's release coincided with a peak in generative AI interest, according to Health IT Analytics.

However, numerous doctors and academics have called for a cautious and rigorous approach to introducing AI into medicinal settings.

Calls For Greater Transparency

The letter from Senator Mark Warner highlights some of the underlying worries about the use of generative AI in healthcare. The legislator strongly emphasizes the need for increased openness, protecting patient privacy, and creating ethical standards.

Senator Warner acknowledges the immense potential of AI to improve patient care and health outcomes. However, he worries that premature deployment of untested technology could erode trust in medical professionals and institutions, worsen racial disparities in health outcomes, and increase diagnostic and care-delivery errors.

Amid concerning reports that Google is testing an AI chatbot in real medical settings, Im calling for more transparency and accountability. We must put patient wellbeing over risky rollouts.  Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 8, 2023

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One of Senator Mark Warner's worries is the possibility of errors in the Med-PaLM 2 model and the moral issues surrounding its use, data sources, and possible biases. The lawmaker expressed concern about Google's efforts to avoid bias and let patients know about AI's role in their treatment.

In his letter, Senator Warner also takes issue with current efforts in healthcare that use generative AI. He makes the case that major tech firms like Google and Microsoft may be racing to create and implement healthcare AI models to attain market domination, possibly endangering patient privacy and safety.

The legislator also asks Google twelve direct questions about anything from the data sources used to train the AI model to patients' capacity to refuse AI participation in their treatment.

Large Number of American Adults Not At Ease with Healthcare AI

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also advised caution when using AI-generated huge language model tools to safeguard human welfare, security, and autonomy, as per a report from The Messenger.

Meanwhile, Forbes reported that, according to a Morning Consult poll, around 70% of American citizens have voiced reservations regarding the use of AI in healthcare, with Baby Boomers having the highest reservations (77%).

The survey indicated that respondents feel most at ease having AI take notes during medical sessions and aid with administrative work. However, the use of AI in surgery was correlated with the most minor level of comfort.

Related Article: New AI-Powered Microscope Detects Malaria Parasites in Returning Travelers

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The autonomous sidewalk delivery robot firm, Serve Robotics, based in San Francisco, has taken a big step toward going public by concluding a reverse merger with Patricia Acquisition Corp.

The completion of the merger came after this month's successful investment round for Serve, which raised $30 million prior to the merger, according to a TechCrunch report. The investment increases Serve's total fundraising to $56 million, including participation from new investors Mark Tompkins and Republic Deal Room and previous investors Uber Technologies, NVIDIA, and Wavemaker Partners.

A Winning Move

Since its origins as Postmates X, the robotics section of on-demand delivery firm Postmates, Serve Robotics, has swiftly developed. In several Los Angeles areas, it deployed autonomous sidewalk robots delivered to Postmates clients in 2018. A commercial service was then provided in 2020. Postmates X split into a separate startup called Serve Robotics after Uber's $2.65 billion purchase of Postmates in late 2020.

Former Postmates X CEO Ali Kashani is the co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics. He underscored the company's dedication to giving going public due thought. However, Kashani emphasized that using a reverse merger to go public provides a quicker and more effective option to take advantage of the company's expansion.

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Due to a bank run in March brought on by doubts over the viability of Silicon Valley Bank, the most recent fundraising round for Serve Robotics became additional relevance. The need for a more extensive investor base was rapidly recognized by the startup, which kept all of its money with SVB. This insight came simultaneously as a blank-check merger opportunity, which allowed Serve to change its financial approach.

Next Step: Business Expansion, Upgrades

Having successfully completed the reverse merger, Serve Robotics intends to use the increased funding to grow into other areas throughout the US and enhance its technology. The business plans to expand its current fleet of 100 robot delivery vehicles. Notably, Serve and Uber have a business arrangement to use up to 2,000 robots with Uber Eats, FinSMES reported.

Today @ServeRobotics announced $30M in financing and a go-public transaction, enabling us to enter new markets and deploy up to 2,000 robots on @ubereats 



We're pleased to have continued support from @uber and @nvidia



Learn more: https://t.co/RTBmhaqRC6  Serve Robotics (@ServeRobotics) August 10, 2023

The company Serve Robotics specializes in designing, creating, and managing zero-emissions robots for usage in public spaces, initially focusing on food delivery. The company's self-driving robots have made tens of thousands of contactless deliveries in locations like Los Angeles and San Francisco since it was founded in 2017 as a Postmates subsidiary.

Compared to other food automation firms' difficulties, Serve's smooth transition to public markets stands out. Due to financial restrictions, many businesses have shut down or laid off staff, especially in hard-tech industries like robotics, according to Spoon. Within five years, Serve Robotics went from being a Postmates initiative to a stand-alone business to a publicly listed firm, illustrating the startup's extraordinary history.

Related Article: Lyft Plans to End Surge Pricing Following Q2 2023 Earnings Report

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Virtual reality (VR) headsets can spell a privacy disaster when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) according to the researchers.

In the latest study, a group of experts uncovered how the machine learning assist makes it easier to invade a person's privacy in an instant.

VR Headsets Can Known More About You

A team of researchers from University of California, Berkeley unveiled that AI can accurately predict personal information such as height, weight, age, and even marital status by analyzing the movements of users immersed in VR experiences, per Bloomberg.

What is striking is that this data is derived without users explicitly sharing these personal details, sparking a thought-provoking discussion around potential privacy breaches.

Among the remarkable findings, the Berkeley study demonstrated an impressive accuracy of over 94% in identifying a particular individual among a pool of 50,000 VR users based on just 200 seconds of motion data.

Another noteworthy research project revealed that a person's height, weight, foot size, and home country could be accurately determined with an accuracy rate surpassing 80%, using data from players of the popular VR game "Beat Saber."

Surprisingly, personal characteristics like marital status, employment status, and even ethnicity could be predicted with more than 70% accuracy.

Related Article: Meta Debuts All-New $499 Quest 3 VR Headset Bound for Fall 2023 Launch

How VR and AI Are Connected

The underlying mechanism involves a machine learning model that scrutinizes the data captured by VR headsets, such as eye and hand movements, per Game is Hard.

According to lead researcher Vivek Nair, the model effectively decoded various movement patterns to discern characteristics like age, gender, ethnicity, and country of origin.

Furthermore, the model's ability to extrapolate more nuanced information, such as income level, health status, disabilities, and even political inclinations, is both impressive and thought-provoking.

This revelation introduces significant privacy considerations, as VR headsets capture data beyond the realm of traditional websites or applications. They delve into unique aspects like a user's gaze, body language, body proportions, and facial expressions, unveiling unparalleled insights that expand the realm of data privacy discussions.

Meta, for instance, which has been famous for its Quest 2 VR headset, has been relying on the power of AI to store user's information in the database. This is usually used in ads.

While their intention is to enhance user experience, the extent to which VR data is utilized for this purpose remains a subject of inquiry.

To address these concerns, the tech giant has taken steps to offer users privacy controls, such as the option to secure avatars, profile pictures, names, and usernames. Additionally, they assure users that data stored on their servers will be dissociated from individual accounts once its purpose is fulfilled.

Human Privacy is Still an Area of Priority

Navigating privacy in the realm of VR headsets presents novel challenges compared to traditional platforms. Experts have proposed potential solutions, including data encryption and limitations on stored information. However, the intricate relationship between technology advancement and user data underscores the complexity of the issue.

The existing gap in public awareness regarding VR data collection and privacy controls necessitates a collaborative effort between industry players, researchers, and users to establish transparent standards.

In an era where AI and VR are unlocking new dimensions of human experience, safeguarding personal privacy remains a crucial priority.

By fostering a comprehensive understanding and implementing robust privacy measures, society can harness the potential of AI and VR while ensuring user data remains secure and respected.

Read Also: Meta Quest VR Improvements Include Hand Tracking and Live Captions

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In a recent joint committee hearing on child exploitation, X (formerly Twitter) executives Kathleen Reen and Nick Pickles stunned Australian politicians with revelations that exposed contradictions within the company's policies concerning child abuse material on their platform.

As News.com.au reports, the executives' statements ignited fury and bewilderment across the political spectrum, prompting intense scrutiny of X's approach to tackling such sensitive content.

Conflicting Statements

At the heart of the controversy were conflicting statements made by Reen and Pickles during the hearing.

Kathleen Reen opened the session with a resolute assertion of a "zero tolerance" approach to child abuse material on X. She affirmed, "Any content that features or promotes that content and abuse is prohibited and will be immediately removed, their accounts permanently suspended."

However, as the hearing progressed, Nick Pickles contradicted this stance by suggesting that accounts sharing child abuse material and other graphic or abusive content could potentially be reinstated.

He explained, "We have a zero-tolerance approach to this content, and permanent suspension is one of the options we have. But there are circumstances where someone shares content out of outrage, and under review, we decide the appropriate remediation is to remove the content but not the user."

Australian Politicians Left Aghast

This revelation left committee members, including Senator David Shoebridge and Senator Helen Polley, perplexed and incensed.

Shoebridge specifically questioned the executives about a case involving Elon Musk, who reinstated an account that shared child abuse material after it was suspended.

Shoebridge pressed, "How does that in any way comply with your opening statement?"

The executives maintained that they were not present to address individual cases. Despite their reassurances, Senator Polley and Louise Miller-Frost stressed that the motive behind sharing child abuse material, even if driven by outrage, should not excuse keeping an account active.

Read Also: Elon Musk Auctions Blue Bird Memorabilia Following Twitter's 'X' Rebrand: Here's Everything You Can Buy

They emphasized that regardless of intention, sharing such content perpetuates the victimization of children.

Dan Repacholi, another committee member, raised a poignant question: "Would you be upset if this was one of your children?" This query underscored the seriousness of the issue, resonating with concerns about X's approach to enforcing its policies.

X on Child Abuse Policies

The Guardian reports that X's recent actions were also brought under scrutiny, with Pickles highlighting that the company had suspended 2.5 million accounts for sharing or engaging with child abuse material since Musk's takeover in October of the previous year.

Despite this, the committee challenged the inconsistency between the company's stated "zero tolerance" policy and the reinstatement of accounts like the one associated with Musk.

X's child sexual exploitation policy, outlined in a public document, declares a "zero-tolerance child sexual exploitation policy" and categorically states the types of content and behaviors considered violations.

The policy also differentiates between discussions that involve child sexual exploitation and those that do not promote or glorify such behavior.

In response to the committee's criticism, Pickles appreciated the feedback and said he would discuss strengthening X's approach internally.

The executives' insistence on "removing content but not the user" remained a focal point of contention, raising questions about whether X's policies aligned with their commitment to eradicating child abuse material.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: X Fined $350,000 After Contempt Charges from Court Due to Failure to Hand Over Trump Data

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A historic launch took place today, as Russia sent a rocket to the Moon, fulfilling a mission amidst the chaos with Ukraine and the world, heading for the lunar south pole. The mission is to find water on the lunar surface, as it was previously confirmed that water molecules were found in the area, hoping for this one source of life to be present on the Moon.

The Russian moon missions are back again after 47 years since it last took place from the massive Eurasian country, with other active ventures in their space programs.

Russia Flew to the Moon to Visit Its South Pole

(Photo : KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Engadget reported that Russia has already launched its planned mission towards the Moon earlier today, and it took flight aboard the Soyuz 2.1v rocket which carried the Luna-25 spacecraft lunar lander. Russia's goal is to find water on the Moon, as per the previous reports of NASA regarding the water molecules found in its South Pole.

It is believed that the water ice lies underneath the Lunar surface, with an earlier mission from India's Chandrayaan-3 Lunar mission which is also in search of the Moon's waters.

Read Also: Russia to Launch Lunar Mission on Friday, After 47 Years

Russia Hopes to Land by Aug. 21 Smoothly

According to Reuters, with the Moon mission underway, Russia's next challenge is the Luna-25's landing on the Moon's surface, which the country wants to do earlier than its original plan.

Initially, Russia aims for the Luna-25 to have its soft landing by August 23 as per Roscosmos, but now, it targets an August 21 landing according to its space chief.

"Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," said Yuri Borisov, Russia's space chief, when he addressed workers at the Vostochny Cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.

Russia's Space Ventures and the World

Russia's ongoing conflict with Ukraine has caused it to be cast away by the world, with the country left on its own in various aspects, including the development of its technology. The Eurasian country made do with its resources available, with the Russians reportedly making their planes and spacecraft to supply its needs.

Initially, Roscosmos retaliated with the US sanctions and others from the world, saying that it will deorbit the International Space Station if it continues. Despite this threat, Russia claimed that it will continue to stay on the ISS until 2028, taking back what it claimed earlier regarding its exit from the neutral space station.

Ruissia's space ventures are still booming as it is a significant player in supplying rockets to different companies and agencies, including the US Air Force and United Launch Alliance.

With Russia set on its challenges for spaceflight, the company brought back its longstanding Luna mission, aspiring for its soft landing on the Moon earlier, by August 21.

Related Article: Russian Cosmonaut Takes Historic Ride on Robotic Arm During Spacewalk Outside ISS

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In its quest to bring a safer browsing experience to the public, Google has introduced a way to make the internet better protected against possible breaches via its weekly updates for Chrome. The company would start with these weekly security updates with the upcoming Chrome version 116, and this would continue for the succeeding weeks.

Generally, the internet is filled with massive security breaches, and in one wrong move, users may compromise their data unknowingly, with Google looking to change this.

Google to Release Weekly Chrome Security Updates

(Photo : KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP via Getty Images)

Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, speaks at Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, in San Francisco on June 28, 2012.

While some are welcome to constant change and frequent updates, this new initiative from Chrome may not be as appealing to some, especially as it will deliver weekly updates for the browser. According to Google's latest blog post, the company is looking to bring weekly Stable channel updates for the renowned browser.

Starting on Google's upcoming Chrome 116, users may see a weekly security patch from the company, regularly updating the browser.

Additionally, every four weeks, Google will release a "milestone" update for the Chrome browser which would deliver the major changes to enhance the experience.

Read Also: Google: WebGPU to Enhance In-Browser Gaming as Default Feature in the Upcoming Chrome 113

Chrome is Looking for a Safer Internet Browsing

As per Google's statement, the team is looking to minimize the so-called "patch gaps" which the internet company regards as where threat actors usually take advantage of to initiate its attack.

"The time between the patch being landed and shipped in a Stable channel update is the patch gap," said Google.

Its goal is to deliver patches more frequently and avoid having threat actors exploit this said gap in its patch timeline.

Google Chrome Breaches, Safety Efforts

Google is all about safety and security with its browser use, with one of the most recognizable browsers in the world with the top user base among all programs, with Chrome standing atop of it all. That being said, Google is no longer tolerating the excessive and invasive presence of cookies on Chrome's latest 114 update with the Privacy Sandbox.

However, it does not end there, as threat actors have embedded themselves in different parts of the Chrome browser to steal information and sensitive data from users unknowingly. This is via the previously removed Chrome extensions which already saw as much as 75 million downloads, with 32 said extensions found to have malicious intent.

Browsing is presenting both the good and bad parts of the internet, and sometimes, it cannot be helped to fall victim to these schemes as they pose as legitimate websites or are underlying on one of the many links to click.

To avoid users falling to the tactics and efforts of these threat actors, Google is looking to fortify Chrome with weekly security patches for all to enjoy.

Related Article: Goodbye Google Chrome's Download Bar at the Bottom, Hello New Tray at the Taskbar

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Virgin Galactic has achieved a significant milestone by successfully flying its first group of private tourist passengers to the edge of space. The historic journey marked the company's commitment to expanding space access for a diverse global community of astronauts.

Galactic 02 Mission of Virgin Galactic

The mission, named "Galactic 02," carried passengers Jon Goodwin from the United Kingdom, as well as Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastasia Mayer, both from Antigua.

According to Virgin Galactic, the flight marked numerous achievements, including being the first female astronauts from the Caribbean, the inaugural mother-daughter duo in space, the most women flown in a single space mission, and the youngest person to venture into space.

It also includes the first Olympian to journey beyond Earth, the first majority female spaceflight, the sixth and seventh Black women to travel to space, the second person with Parkinson's to explore space, and the third oldest person to embark on a space voyage.

Galactic 02's take-off time was at Spaceport America, in the state of New Mexico, at 8:30 a.m. local time. The altitude was 44,300 feet when the Galactic's VSS Unity spaceplane was released from the carrier Eve.

The apogee reached a height of 55 miles. The top speed achieved was Mach 3. The landing time at Spaceport America occurred at 9:30 a.m. or just an hour after taking off.

Read Also: Virgin Galactic Wants 1000 Passengers To Purchase Its $450,000 Tickets; What are the Inclusions?

Historic Leap Forward

"Today, Virgin Galactic took another historic leap forward by flying our first private astronaut mission and demonstrating how our spaceflights will broaden access to space," Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said in a statement.

"Jon, Keisha and Ana each embody our fundamental belief that space is for everyone, and we are proud that today's flight has inspired people and communities around the world. This is just the beginning, as we plan to continue flying monthly spaceflights while also developing our Delta Class production spaceships to scale our business," he added.

On the other hand, VSS Unity Commander CJ Sturckow said, "It is a surreal and humbling experience to have flown Unity today. The wonder and excitement of spaceflight never loses its magic. I had the honor of being joined in the cockpit by Kelly Latimer, one of the first female commercial spaceship pilots. I'm proud of the work we're doing here at Virgin Galactic to fly more people to space."

With this achievement, Virgin Galactic is embarking on post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for the upcoming commercial space mission, 'Galactic 03,' scheduled for September.

The company is committed to maintaining a monthly flight cadence to continue making space travel accessible. Virgin Galactic has already booked about 800 customers, with tickets ranging from $250,000 to $450,000.

Related Article: Virgin Galactic Space Tourism Sold 700 Tickets Already, Price Increase to $450k Each Sells 100 More

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Author Jane Friedman has raised concerns about the sale of books on Amazon under her name that appear to have been authored by artificial intelligence (AI).

According to CNN, Friedman, known for her work in the writing and publishing industry, discovered the fake titles when a reader purchased one. Although the titles aligned with her usual subjects, the text seemed to be generated by AI attempting to mimic her style.

Upon closer inspection, Friedman noted that the books' opening pages and biographical details appeared to have been mostly, if not entirely, generated by AI.

According to the author, her extensive online content, accumulated through years of blogging, may have provided sufficient material for an AI to replicate her writing style.

The AI Fears of Authors

The proliferation of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, has raised concerns among writers and authors who fear that AI-generated content might replace their work. These concerns extend to the use of their work for training AI models capable of imitation.

During her interview with CNN, Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, a nonprofit authors' advocacy group, highlighted the issue of generative AI replacing writers and incorporating their work into AI models.

She expressed that writers are understandably distressed by this trend. In response to these concerns, US lawmakers recently engaged with representatives from creative industries, including the Authors Guild, to discuss the implications of AI.

During a Senate subcommittee hearing, Rasenberger called for legislation to safeguard writers from AI-generated content, including requirements for transparency from AI companies regarding their model training methods.

Over 10,000 authors, including prominent figures like James Patterson, Roxane Gay, and Margaret Atwood, endorsed an open letter urging AI industry leaders like Microsoft and OpenAI to seek consent from authors before utilizing their work to train AI models and to ensure fair compensation.

To address the issue, Friedman posted a thread on X (formerly Twitter) and published a blog post outlining her experience. Her actions led to fellow authors sharing similar encounters with AI-generated content bearing their names.

"We desperately need guardrails on this landslide of misattribution and misinformation. Amazon and Goodreads, I beg you to create a way to verify authorship, or for authors to easily block fraudulent books credited to them. Do it now, do it quickly," Friedman wrote in her blog post.

Read Also: SAG-AFTRA Announces Strike After Unsuccessful Negotiations With Hollywood Studios on 'AI Replicas'

Amazon Responds to the Issue

Amazon, the platform where the fake books were listed, subsequently removed the counterfeit titles associated with Friedman's name.

The company affirmed its content guidelines aimed at preventing such imitations and emphasized its commitment to a secure shopping environment for customers and authors.

Amazon has assured Friedman that it is investigating the handling of her claims and intends to enhance its processes in response.

Related Article: Harvard University Introduces AI to Computer Science Coding Modules, Helping Students Learn via Bots

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
During the day, on 11 August, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had to engage in 25 direct clashes with the enemy. The Russian occupiers tried to break through in five directions, but were unsuccessful and suffered losses.

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This is stated in the evening report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 10 August 2023. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces continue to advance in the south of our country.

The situation has not changed in the Volyn and Polissya directions.

In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, the occupiers fired mortar and artillery shells at more than 20 settlements, including Kliusy in Chernihiv region; Seredyna-Buda, Vodologi, Loknya in Sumy region and Odnorobivka, Udy in Kharkiv region.

In the Kupyansk sector, the occupiers tried to advance in the area of Synkivka and Ivanivka in Kharkiv region. The enemy launched air strikes in the areas of Kyslivka and Pervomaiske in the Kharkiv region. In addition, more than 15 settlements, including Kupyansk, Kurylivka, Kyslivka, Kotlyarivka, Tabaivka, Krokhmalne in the Kharkiv region, came under enemy artillery and mortar fire.

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In the Lyman sector, Russian occupants conducted air strikes near Nevske and Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Vesele, Zaliznyanske and Klishchiyivka in Donetsk region. More than 25 localities were also shelled by the enemy, including Nevske, Dibrova, Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Zarichne, Yampil, Serebryanka in Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut sector, the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensives in the area of Bohdanivka, Klishchiyivka and Bila Hora in the Donetsk region. At the same time, more than 20 localities suffered from enemy artillery shelling, including Ivanivske, Klishchiyivka, Kurdyumivka, Ozaryanivka, Diliyivka and Druzhba in Donetsk region.

In the Avdiivka sector, Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled attacks near Avdiivka in Donetsk region. However, more than 10 localities came under artillery fire, including Oleksandropil, Keramik, Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, Avdiivka and Siverene in Donetsk region.

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In the Maryinka sector, the Ukrainian Defence Forces continue to hold back the Russian offensive near the town of Maryinka in Donetsk region. At the same time, the occupants attacked Krasnohorivka, Maryinka and Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region from the air. More than 10 settlements came under artillery fire, including Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Maksymilianivka, Paraskoviivka, Novomykhailivka and Elizavetivka in the Donetsk region.

In the Shakhtarsk sector, the occupiers tried unsuccessfully to regain their lost ground near Urozhayne in Donetsk Oblast. The enemy also conducted an air strike in the area of Staromayorsk, Donetsk region. Vodiane, Vuhledar, Bohoyavlenk, Prechystivka, Zolota Niva and Blahodatne in Donetsk Oblast came under artillery fire.

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In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the invaders attacked the areas of Novodanilivka and Orikhove from the air. More than 20 settlements also came under artillery fire, including Zaliznychne, Gulyaypilske, Bilohirya, Novoandriivka, Mali Shcherbaki, Stepove in Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson sector, the occupiers shelled more than 25 localities with artillery, including Beryslav, Tokarivka, Antonivka, Komyshany, Kyzomys in Kherson region and the city of Kherson; Kutsurub, Ochakiv in Mykolaiv region.

At the same time, Ukrainian defenders continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions. Our defenders are consolidating their positions and taking counter-battery measures.

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Over the last day, the aviation of the Defence Forces carried out 1 strike on the area of concentration of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment. Also, our defenders destroyed 4 reconnaissance UAVs of operational and tactical level.

In addition, missile and artillery units destroyed 1 enemy surface-to-air missile system "Arrow" over the course of the day.

As a reminder, the Pentagon has assessed the tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the war against the aggressor country of Russia. They called it a miracle that Ukrainian defenders were able to drive the occupiers into defence, "given the state of the Ukrainian army at the time of the invasion".

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL, on 10 August, the Ukrainian Defence Forces continued counter-offensive actions in at least three frontline areas and advanced in the south near the borders of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. At the same time, bloggers in the Russian Federation accused the occupiers of fabricating statements about the destruction of Ukrainian equipment at the front.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander captured a striking selfie during its mission on the Red Planet from June 5 to July 12, 2008. The imagery was achieved through its Surface Stereo Imager (SSI), comprising over 100 distinct SSI pointings, each taken through three different filters.

NASA Mars Phoenix Lander Takes Selfie



The mosaic marks the culmination of the lander's three-month study of Martian ice, soil, and atmosphere, commemorating the mission's completion 15 years ago in August 2008.

The Phoenix Mars Lander aimed to unravel the history of water in the Martian Arctic, investigate signs of a habitable zone, and evaluate the potential for life at the ice-soil boundary. On a broader scale, the mission strived to uncover traces of past Martian life, understand the planet's climate and geology, and pave the way for future human explorations.

The lander collected soil samples in search of ice, subsequently confirming the presence of water on Mars. Further analysis indicated that the soil comprised various salts and chemicals, including perchlorate, sodium, magnesium, chloride, and potassium.

However, the lander encountered challenges. On October 28, 2008, the lander entered safe mode due to insufficient sunlight and harsh weather conditions as winter arrived on Mars.

During this period, non-essential activities were halted while the spacecraft awaited commands from mission control. Though communication persisted from October 30 to November 2, 2008, no signals were received after November 2, 2008, signaling the mission's conclusion.

Read Also: More Americans Prefer NASA Missions Against Killer Asteroids Instead of Mars Expeditions: Survey

Mars Is Spinning Faster

In related news, a recent study has revealed that Mars is undergoing an accelerated rotation, spinning faster than previous observations. This new revelation comes from data collected by NASA's InSight lander, which has garnered insights into the Red Planet's rotation.

Numerous factors influence planetary behaviors, and Mars is no exception. The study highlighted that Mars is progressively spinning faster, with a rate of around 4 milliarcseconds per year, as evidenced by the collected data.

NASA's InSight Mars lander played a pivotal role in facilitating this study by providing critical information about the planet's behavior. The accelerated rotational motion of Mars results in a marginal reduction in the length of a Martian day, with each year witnessing a fraction of a millisecond shaved off.

The research also uncovered Mars's tremors, attributed to the movement of its molten metal core. Moreover, the team's findings encompassed phenomena like ice buildup on the polar caps or post-glacial rebound, which involves landmasses rising after being buried under ice.

Sebastien Le Maistre, the study's lead author and principal investigator of RISE (Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment), shared insights into the study's intricacies.

Le Maistre elaborated that the team sought minute variations spanning a few centimeters over the course of a Martian year. He emphasized that such investigations necessitate extensive data accumulation and time to detect such subtle fluctuations.

The juxtaposition of Phoenix's historical self-portrait and the recent insights into Mars' rotation underscores the enduring fascination with the Red Planet and humanity's ongoing quest to understand its mysteries.

Related Article: Mars' Crust Made of 'Heavy Armor' says New Study, Will this Tough Exterior be a Problem Soon?

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Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are getting all the attention from the media about their upcoming cage fight.

Back in June, many speculated that the "Tech CEO brawl" will be staged in the prestigious Vegas Octagon. Now, reports have confirmed that the "epic location" of their match will take place in Ancient Rome in Italy.

Musk vs Zuckerberg Fight Goes to Ancient Rome

According to the latest report by Daily Mail, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has "tweeted" on the Twitter-turned-X platform that a local has already permitted them to take their epic fight to Italy.

The tech boss adds that UFC won't be the one to manage the fight since it will all be handled by his and Zuck's foundations.

The 52-year-old business magnate says that the livestream of their fight will be shown on X and Meta's platforms. When asked where the earnings from the event will go, Musk says that all of the proceeds will go to a special charity for veterans.

The fight will be managed by my and Zucks foundations (not UFC).



Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.



I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023

Musk told TMZ that the Italian Minister of Culture approached him regarding the potential venue of the fight. He later tweeted that the epic fight might happen in Ancient Rome, particularly in the Colosseum.

Related Article: Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg Fight Confirmed: Match Details Revealed

Musk and Zuckerg Are Preparing Seriously For the 'CEO' Fight

In another story by NDTV, Musk confirmed that he's been preparing hard for the upcoming brawl with Zuck. He said that he's "been lifting weights throughout the day" despite his busy time at work.

On the other hand, Zuckerberg boasted that he was "not holding his breath" prior to the showdown. He said that he could take on Elon Musk now. The tech boss was reportedly sparring with Lex Fridman, a popular Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt.

The 39-year-old Meta head added that he's been training with two UFC contenders Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski for the upcoming cage match.

So much for that, Elon might need to undergo surgery before the fight. According to Tech Times, he's been experiencing massive back pain for quite a long time. That's why he got an MRI of his neck to know if there are underlying issues.

If the surgery will push through, several adjustments are to be made for the high-profile event. Its schedule will be moved or its location will be changed.

At the time, fans could not contain their excitement to know that Rome's Colosseum will be the potential location of the upcoming fight. After all, who wouldn't get interested in seeing one of the most beautiful seven wonders of the world with bare eyes?

We haven't seen gladiators brawl for ages, and this might be the perfect time to witness them in their most modern look.

Read Also: Elon Musk Auctions Blue Bird Memorabilia Following Twitter's 'X' Rebrand: Here's Everything You Can Buy

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tesla cars might have already "figured out some aspects of AGI," according to Elon Musk. Because of this, the business tycoon believes that they have "a mind" of their own.

Tesla Vehicles Have a Mind

As automation evolves, more vehicles are receiving huge upgrades. With the likes of Tesla EVs in the market, Musk claims that the company's true worth is devoted to self-driving.

By late 2023, Musk says that the company will achieve full self-driving capability to their vehicles. While this is viable, it's still hard to say if Tesla can really hit its goal after a few months.

According to Electrek, the Tesla community still remains divided because some people think that the company over-delivers its promises. However, there are doubters who believe that all Tesla does all year long is to miss its deadlines.

As seen on X, the rebranded version of Twitter, Musk's fans are expecting to see the goodness within Tesla's FSD beta.

For Musk, the EV firm is progressing at a pace where its Tesla cars have already figured out some aspects of artificial general intelligence or AGI.

"I think we may have figured out some aspects of AGI. The car has a mind. Not an enormous mind, but a mind nonetheless," the business magnate claims.

Speaking of the self-driving program, the tech billionaire sticks to his words that Tesla's strength lies in FSD if it wants to achieve AGI.

Tesla uses a more unique approach when it comes to self-driving. Musk believes that there's a way to autonomously drive a vehicle just like a common take to an Optimus robot.

While some people are skeptical about Musk's statement about Tesla vehicles having a mind, it's not easy to ignore that the FSD beta could sometimes act like a first-time 14-year-old driver, according to Electrek.

Related Article: Elon Musk Enhances Tesla's AGI, Improving Navigation, Performance

Tesla Y Fatal Crash

According to Forbes, authorities are currently investigating Tesla's recent fatal crash. The report suggests that the accident is linked to its autopilot system.

Since 2016, the automaker has been involved in 35 car crashes. Regulators blamed that the automated driving system is the culprit behind the accidents.

The investigation of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the Tesla Model Y crash took place last July 19 in Warrenton, Virginia.

At that time, authorities reported that the driver died on the spot after the car hit the tractor-trailer truck.

Meanwhile, the probe concluded that the driver of the tractor trailer was reckless in driving.

While the improved Tesla Autopilot might be safe when put to good use, it's still not guaranteed to work anytime. If that's the case, the company needs to evaluate and run a test for the system.

Although the car is being autonomously operated, Tesla reminds the drivers that the system still requires "active human supervision" for safety.

Read Also: Futuristic Tesla Cybertruck Could Come Sooner Than Expected: How Much Will It Cost?

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The newest version of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), created by the US Army, will be evaluated by members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, stationed at Fort Drum, New York.

The IVAS version 1.2, an enhanced heads-up display meant to improve fighting capabilities, the testing schedule is set on August 18, per Defense News. Throughout the week-long evaluation, soldiers will use the heads-up display interface to plan missions while putting the IVAS version 1.2 through rigorous fit and comfort testing, assessing weapon compatibility, scrutinizing its lowlight sensor capabilities, and performing other duties.

The testing procedure's goal is to ensure that the improved technology satisfies the strict demands of troops in different combat situations.

Outcome of Test to Determine Future of IVAS Production

Lt. Col. Denny Dresch, the IVAS product manager for Program Executive Office Soldier, emphasized the importance of this assessment, saying that it is "crucial in determining the IVAS version 1.2's readiness for production. The US Army officer added that the performance of the gadget was refined and improved through the comments and insights obtained from the warriors.

The $22 billion IVAS version 1.2 program may start production by 2025 if testing and development continue as anticipated, according to the Army Times. The military gadget will go through a thorough set of examinations, from squad-level assessments to platoon and potentially battalion-level testing, before entering its final manufacturing phase.

According to Dresch, the US military is "committed to carrying out testing at scale to assure the operational efficacy of the IVAS version 1.2." Moreover, the troops have made all necessary preparations to examine testing options at the battalion-size level to verify the technology's capabilities.

IVAS 1.2 features an improved form factor and a lower profile heads-up display with distributed counterweight for improved user interface and comfort. #technology #SoldierWarrior pic.twitter.com/Ht2mgsNXBV  PEO Soldier (@PEOSoldier) March 30, 2023

Read Also: FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's Bail in Jeopardy Amid Harassment Allegations

How Does IVAS Help US Troops?

The IVAS Version 1.2 is designed to provide various features customized for certain troops and their teams. Its ground-breaking capacity to turn every soldier into a sensor has the potential to create a networked battlefield that would allow for effective troop information exchange. The military networking strategy is becoming more critical as tactical computing develops, enabling troops to operate as information nodes and sensors for higher-level commanders stationed in tactical operations centers.

The device's capacity to monitor a soldier's location, health, and weapon use gives commanders a thorough picture of the dynamics of their formations. Previously, these insights were only available in aggregated data reports, sometimes needing more real-time precision.

An important development step for the IVAS version 1.2 prototypes has just been made with their recent deployment. The IVAS, outfitted with augmented reality and heads-up display technology, intends to transform warfare tactics by providing improved sight through smoke, around corners, and even in low light conditions, according to Defense Post.

The US Army bought 5,000 copies of the IVAS 1.0 and 1.1 versions from Microsoft in 2022. In order to improve the design for versions 1.2 and beyond, older versions were sent to Army Training and Doctrine Command units for review and input.

Related Article: California Firefighters Harness AI with ALERTCalifornia Program to Swiftly Spot Wildfires

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A US Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) has launched a sweeping investigation of cloud-based identity and authentication infrastructure vulnerabilities to improve cyber security in the face of growing threats.

Reuters tells us in a report that the scope of this review includes a meticulous assessment of the recent Microsoft breach, which had far-reaching consequences, including the theft of emails from US government agencies.

Review on Cloud Security

In a recent press release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed its plans for the comprehensive review, underscoring the vital role cloud computing plays in modern digital ecosystems.

This probing inquiry aims to shed light on the intricacies of cloud computing security and provide actionable recommendations to safeguard against malicious attacks.

"We must as a country acknowledge the increasing criticality of cloud infrastructure in our daily lives and identify the best ways to secure that infrastructure and the many businesses and consumers that rely on it," emphasized CSRB Chair and DHS Under Secretary for Policy, Rob Silvers.

The review's focus will be the recent breach of Microsoft's Exchange Online, a staggering intrusion that rocked the tech world. Initially reported in July 2023, the breach involved hackers exploiting a cryptographic key compromise and a coding flaw.

This enabled them to gain unprecedented access to the company's cloud email platform, leading to the exfiltration of sensitive emails from US government entities.

Read Also: X Executives Rock Australian Parliament with Shocking Revelations on Child Abuse Policies

Government Bodies Urged to Act

Microsoft's cloud breach prompted US Senator Ron Wyden to call for swift action from regulatory bodies. In a letter from Wyden, the Federal Trade Commission, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Justice Department were all urged to take a stand against the breach.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas highlighted the importance of the CSRB's work, stating, "Cloud security is the backbone of some of our most critical systems, from our e-commerce platforms to our communication tools to our critical infrastructure."

The CSRB's focus on cloud-based identity and authentication infrastructure extends beyond the Microsoft incident. Its examination will encompass government and industry approaches and the roles of Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). The overarching goal is to equip organizations with actionable insights to enhance their cybersecurity practices in the cloud environment.

"The Board's findings and recommendations from this assessment will advance cybersecurity practices across cloud environments and ensure that we can collectively maintain trust in these critical systems," expressed CISA Director Jen Easterly.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Easterly proposed that Microsoft should "recapture the ethos" of what its co-founder Bill Gates called "trustworthy computing" back in 2002. During that time, Gates had advised employees to prioritize security over adding new features.

This initiative is not the CSRB's first foray into cybersecurity. Previous reviews analyzed vulnerabilities in the widely-used Log4j software library and dissected attacks attributed to the Lapsus$ hacker group.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: US Government Launches Cyber Contest to Harness AI for National Security

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Are you looking for good Microsoft app deals this weekend? Look no further since the Microsoft Office For Mac Home & Business 2021 standalone license is dropping a few days from now.

If you want to amp your productivity anywhere you go regardless if it's school or work, then this weekend deal is definitely a must-grab for you.

Save 86% By Purchasing Microsoft Office For Mac

As Apple Insider reports StackCommerce, a trusted Microsoft partner is currently selling a lifetime license for the Microsoft Office For Mac.

For just $34.97, you can never go wrong with this one-time purchase. Say goodbye to extra subscriptions once you buy this standalone license.

At an 86% discount, the Microsoft Office For Mac Home & Business 2021 will grant you wide access to MS-exclusive tools including PowerPoint, Excel, Word, OneNote, Outlook, and more.

Upon installation, you can enjoy using it non-stop. However, Microsoft clarifies that its security updates will stop after Oct. 13, 2026, so you still have three years.

It's important to note that you can redeem the code within 30 days of purchase. It's suited for desktop owners who want to upgrade their productivity on Mac to the next level.

StackCommerce's Support Team is willing to assist you regarding your order. Make sure to contact them through this link for more information.

Related Article: This $200 Lego Icons Concorde Is a Perfect Replica of the 1978 Supersonic Jet: When Will It Go on Sale?

Other StackCommerce Deals to Check

If you're still on the hunt for a worthy Microsoft tool, you can check the other deals that might interest you including the following.

Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for Windows + Windows 11 Pro Bundle: $39.99 (79% off)

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro: $39.99 (79% off)

Babbel Language Learning Lifetime Subscription (All Languages): $199.99 (66% off)

Outside Microsoft, you can find other software that will help speed up your learning in school. If you're in the mood to talk with an AI, why not try the 2023 Ultimate ChatGPT and Python Bundle for just $29.97?

According to Tech Times, this deal is not just for students, but also for professionals who want to start the new school year with a bang.

With an AI-powered chatbot, you can ask a simple question and fish for a short answer. The responses depend on the prompts and if they are tailored to your queries.

Of course, this educational online course bundle will guide you on how to use Python in programming and make the most out of ChatGPT this year.

If you're a complete newbie, don't worry since it's also created for those who want to get started in programming. The courses included are for beginners and advanced learners.

Just like the previous Microsoft Office for Mac 2021 deals, this offer won't last long as it's only available until Aug. 13. Make sure to check it out before it expires this weekend.

Read Also: Lenovo Deals: Snag Next-Gen Laptops For Up to 77% Off

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In 2023, apprehension overpowered the enthusiasm surrounding AI's potential. Hinton expressed worries about the effects of advanced language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, noting that his goal was to have an open discussion about possible risks associated with AI's unrestrained development rather than to criticize Google.

(Photo: GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images) British-Canadian cognitive psychologist and computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as the 'godfather of AI' speaks with Nick Thompson of The Atlantic (off frame) during the Collision Tech Conference at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on June 28, 2023.

Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Harmless?

Hinton's concerns are a result of the knowledge that AI has the potential to go out of control and endanger humans.

He originally saw the promise of AI in speech recognition, picture analysis, and translation, but more recent advancements, particularly those involving big language models, have made him take a closer look at the broader effects of AI development.

Hinton presented the fundamentals of AI, emphasizing its capacity for language comprehension, knowledge transfer across models, and improved learning algorithms.

He recognized the enormous transition AI has experienced by stating that robots now have more knowledge than human brains.

Read Also: Major AI Companies Visit the White House to Offer Voluntary Safety Commitments

Future Capabilities

Hinton predicts that in twenty years, AI systems will outperform human intellect, raising doubts regarding the timing of this change.

He disputes the popular understanding that anthropomorphizing robots is inappropriate, contending that AI systems educated on human-generated data may exhibit language-related behavior that is more plausible than previously thought.

AI, according to its detractors, lacks first-hand knowledge and can only forecast outcomes based on statistical patterns.

Hinton refutes this by arguing that people also have indirect experiences of the environment through perception and interpretation. The ability of AI to anticipate and comprehend language suggests understanding and engagement with the outside world.

Fears of Sentience

AI systems may be sentient, which raises moral and intellectual concerns. Hinton challenges conventional ideas about consciousness and blurs the distinctions between human and machine perception by making the ironic suggestion that AI's subjective experience may not be fundamentally different from our own.

His idea of a coexisting AI and human society is based on analog computing and takes cues from nature. A more safe and regulated growth of AI is encouraged by analog systems' resistance to the seamless merger, which might result in hive intelligence.

Related Article: UN Security Council to Hold First Meeting Regarding AI's Risks

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Zoom has finally responded to user concerns by reversing its terms of service related to AI training.

The company has committed to not using consumer data for AI model training following a wave of backlash from users from every social media platform, who raised concerns about privacy and data usage.

Zoom found itself in hot water earlier this week when an update to its terms of service suggested that the platform could use customer data without explicit consent for training AI models.

Tech news blog StackDiary was among the first to spot these bizarre terms and conditions from the video conferencing company. This change ignited a firestorm of criticism, forcing Zoom to rethink its approach.

Public Backlash

According to Insider, several individuals expressed their concerns about Zoom on X. Anthropology professor at Harvard, Gabriella Coleman, shared her thoughts by stating, "Well time to retire @Zoom, who is basically wants to use/abuse you to train their AI."

Video game developer Brianna Wu took a similar stance, addressing Zoom directly, "Dear @Zoom, I pay for your product. I do not want my private meetings to be used to train AI. I am canceling my account today. I will simply use one of your competitors."

Zoom Updates Controversial AI-Training Terms

The company quickly realized the gravity of the situation and responded with a series of updates to its terms of service.

Smita Hashim, Zoom's Chief Product Officer, took to the company blog to address the concerns and outline the changes.

Hashim stated, "Following feedback received regarding Zoom's recently updated terms of service, particularly related to our new generative artificial intelligence features, Zoom has updated our terms of service and the below blog post to make it clear that Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen-sharing, attachments, or other communications like customer content to train Zoom's or third-party artificial intelligence models."

The revised terms now unequivocally state that Zoom will not utilize any form of customer communication or content for AI training, putting users' privacy concerns to rest.

Read Also: Japanese Start-Up to Introduce AI Technology for Real-Time Emergency Detection

Zoom's initial update raised questions about consent. Engadget notes that the previous version mentioned using data "without customer consent," which was a gray area for users participating in meetings where organizers agreed to the terms.

Generative AI Features with User Control

In the blog post mentioned above, Zoom introduced two powerful generative AI features-Zoom IQ Meeting Summary and Zoom IQ Team Chat Compose.

These features offer automated meeting summaries and AI-powered chat composition, respectively. Importantly, account owners and administrators maintain control over enabling these features for their accounts, allowing users to opt into AI-enhanced experiences.

Transparency and Continuous Improvement

Hashim reaffirmed Zoom's commitment to transparency and user empowerment. "We remain committed to transparency, and our aim is to provide you with the tools you need to make informed decisions about your Zoom account," she stated.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Zoom Introduces Privacy-focused Features to European Customers

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
European and American analysts are wrong in their assessment of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. They have no practical experience of their own and rely on their measuring tools based on the experience of past wars.

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Western experts do not realise the need to change their approach and the fact that in the realities of any war there are no unchanging principles of military art. This opinion was expressed by Major General Viktor Nazarov, Chief Consultant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with the Military Courier.

According to him, the forms and methods of warfare are changing due to the emergence of new technologies, weapons and military equipment.

"In fact, the strategic vision of Western military science has not developed in the 30 years since the collapse of the USSR. For example, since the Cold War, NATO countries have had established approaches (principles and standards) that must be followed and are supposedly not to be exceeded. At least that's the impression you get when you talk to your European and American colleagues at relevant meetings," Nazarov said.

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He explained that analysts in their assessments do not take into account a number of facts specific to Ukrainian realities, including the lack of command and control bodies for the current number of troops, ensuring a sufficient level of training in a short time, and the fact that all weapons are actually on wheels, while NATO troops prepare for their operations for months.

"If we add to this the lack of air superiority, firepower on the battlefield, limited capabilities against UAVs and EW, it becomes clear that under such conditions it is almost impossible or extremely difficult to carry out operational-scale activities," said consultant Zaluzhnyi.

"The approach of Western experts is academic in form, it does not take into account changes in the nature of the armed struggle, the real capabilities and state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine before a full-scale aggression. Therefore, their analysis is not strategic in nature. From a military point of view, it is tactical, with elements of operational," Nazarov added.

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He expressed hope that Western analysts would recognise their mistakes and draw conclusions for the future.

Earlier, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska said that our country wants the war to end as soon as possible, so the world should speed up its support for the Ukrainian people in the war against Russia.

"We constantly hear from our Western partners that they will be with us for as long as it takes. But the word 'long' is not the word we should use. We should use the word 'faster'," the First Lady said.

She emphasised that the aggressor's victory would be the worst case scenario for all of humanity.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- Ukraine provided the Pentagon with the first report on the use of American cluster munitions in the war with Russia. In particular, information was provided on the number of DPICM shells fired and the number of targets destroyed;

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- On 9 August, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff in a special format - with the narrowest circle of key officials. The Head of State and the Armed Forces commanders discussed plans for the Ukrainian army's offensive in the near future.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Washington is trying to instill a doctrine in its allies to jointly assume that China is a threat to the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conducted a Pacific tour in late July in an attempt to strengthen Washington's influence in the region by sowing discord between China and Pacific island countries.

The tour is the latest U.S. effort to implement its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," which involves strengthening military cooperation with its regional allies and pitching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to exclude China from regional trading systems and supply chains.

With the aim to maintain its global hegemony by building an alliance in the Asia-Pacific against China, the so-called "strategy" has raised alarming concerns due to its potential to escalate conflicts and foster division in the region.

Bloomberg : The Global South is severing ties with the US-led world order.



The countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean basin, the Pacific islands and Asia see their chance to establish their own future and abandon the demands of the US and the West and lead an pic.twitter.com/TUb12G5sRJ  Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) August 9, 2023

LAYERS OF ALLIANCES

In line with the "Indo-Pacific strategy" unveiled by the Biden administration in early 2022, the U.S. has been trying hard to encircle China by establishing multiple layers of alliances. The most recent demonstration of these efforts was seen during the Pacific tour by Blinken and Austin.

During his stop in Tonga, Blinken labeled China's engagement in the region as "problematic behavior." In New Zealand, Blinken tried to persuade the country to join the trilateral AUKUS alliance and in Papua New Guinea, Austin announced the deployment of a U.S. coast guard ship to the Pacific nation.

Moreover, the United States is vigorously promoting military alliances with Japan and South Korea, aiming to build a trilateral military alliance. It is also accelerating the implementation of the AUKUS agreement and Quad alliance (formally the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) while strengthening military ties with the Philippines through joint exercises.

It has deployed "strategic assets" more frequently around the Korean Peninsula and sought further military cooperation with South Korea and Japan, as a U.S. nuclear submarine docked at South Korea's southeast port of Busan last month, the first time in over four decades.

Beyond the Korean Peninsula, the United States is also strengthening the construction of military bases in Papua New Guinea, Palau, the Marshall Islands and other places in the Pacific region. NATO, a trans-Atlantic cold-war relic led by the United States, is also trying to extend its reach to the Asia-Pacific.

#WATCH | The Malabar exercise featuring navies of 4 Quad countries: India,the US, Australia and Japan, will take place off Sydney from Aug 11-21. The nations aim to expand overall maritime cooperation in Indo-Pacific where China has increased military muscle flexing in recent yrs pic.twitter.com/QJekLR1DzY  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) August 11, 2023

CAUSING CONCERNS

The U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is dividing the most vibrant region of the world and driving it closer to confrontation and conflicts, said experts.

"Such actions not only escalate regional tensions and confrontation, raising the risk of war on the peninsula, but also provoke arms races in the region, which is worrisome. Countries in the region, including South Korea, should be on high alert," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of South Korea.

For half a century, China and South Pacific island countries have enjoyed bilateral cooperation covering a wide range of fields. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, China always respects the sovereignty and needs of the island countries, and adheres to the principle of "island countries-led and island countries-owned."

However, the United States is trying to instill a doctrine in its allies in the region to jointly assume that China is a threat to the region, said Yanyan Mochamad Yani, a professor of international relations at Indonesia's Padjadjaran University.

What the U.S. has done in terms of a so-called construction of regional balance is nothing new, while its commitment to the prosperity of the region remains uncertain, said Yani.

For regional countries, experts believe that aligning themselves with the U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is imprudent and perilous. The Asia-Pacific countries are also clear about this, with Tonga's government saying that it had no concerns about its relationship with China and New Zealand refusing to join AUKUS.

"It is unwise and dangerous for South Korea to abandon its balanced and neutral diplomacy and stand at the forefront of bloc politics by supporting the U.S.-led 'Indo-Pacific strategy,'" Woo said.

The Philippines should continue to strive for what it calls an independent or, in other words, a balanced foreign policy, said Aaron Rabena, a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.

US, Papua New Guinea Hold Talks on Military Agreement

The US is expanding military ties in the Asia Pacific as part of its strategy against China

by Dave DeCamp@DecampDave #PapuaNewGuinea #PNG #AsiaPacific #IndoPacific #China https://t.co/LtT1G38I37 pic.twitter.com/RI2L98shUc  Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) February 13, 2023

IPEF SERVES U.S. SELF-INTEREST

U.S. officials have claimed that the IPEF, an economic arm of the "Indo-Pacific strategy," would become an important platform for the U.S. and Indo-Pacific countries to enhance economic links, and provide an alternative to China for the region. However, without arrangements such as an exemption of customs duties or market access provided, the so-called high standard set by the United States is only serving its own interests.

Keshmeer Makun, a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific based in the Fijian capital Suva, said the Pacific country leaders are focused on what their partners offer, especially in the face of an infrastructure deficit, poverty and an existential threat posed by climate change, and China has provided the Pacific region with economic options.

China's Belt and Road Initiative, featuring openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results, adopts an open approach without setting limits, while the U.S. IPEF, like an exclusive circle, is selective and vague in nature, which runs counter to "freedom, openness and inclusiveness," Woo said.

The stability of the Asia-Pacific region should be based on respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and on a harmonious and win-win development order.

A Cold War mentality and concept based on a zero-sum game will inevitably lead to the destruction of the international order and social instability, said Zhao Shaofeng, deputy director of the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center.
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Pope Francis addresses journalists during the traditional press conference on his flight back to Rome, following a two-day visit at Fatima, Portugal, Saturday, May 13, 2017. Pope Francis added two Portuguese shepherd children to the roster of Catholic saints Saturday, honoring young siblings whose reported visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago turned the Portuguese farm town of Fatima into one of the world's most important Catholic shrines. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool Photo via AP)
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 One Sydney morning about three weeks ago, Jonathon Riley hopped on his new Ducati motorbike, turned west on the highway out of Harbour City and began a 13-day, overland trek that ended on the other side of the country at the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in dusty outback Kalgoorlie. Riley, an anaesthetist who has been riding Italian-made Ducatis for 40 years, just happens to be interested in the globes energy transition to combat damaging climate change, and is a rusted-on shareholder of star lithium miner Liontown Resources. Anaesthetist Jonathon Riley rode from Sydney to Kalgoorlie to attend the Diggers and Dealers conference. Credit: It was kind of a coincidence that I was going to be heading in the direction of Kalgoorlie at the time of Diggers and Dealers and I thought, Oh, well Im near Kathleen Valley, Im near Diggers and Dealers, so Ill drop in and have a look at the [Liontown mine] site, and then Ill drop in and hopefully listen to [chief executive] Tony Ottaviano give his talk,  he says. Its not hard to see why Riley is heavily invested in Liontowns future. The anaesthetist-turned-outback-motorcycle enthusiast bought a sizeable chunk of stock five years ago at 11 a share when the miner was a little known exploration company trying to raise money to turn its Kathleen Valley lithium prospect into a working operation. Since then, the miners shares have been on a tear, hitting $2.74 this week, a 9000 per cent increase over five years.

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Im not a sophisticated investor. I dont run a managed fund or anything like that. Im just a guy who got lucky four or five years ago. Lucky enough to help fund his retirement, he says. After arriving in Kalgoorlie, Riley realised he wasnt registered for the conference and didnt have accommodation. When I looked at the prices, I thought it seems silly to pay $1000 just to listen to a 20-minute talk. So, I ended up not going, he says. If he had stayed, he would have heard other lithium hopefuls talking up their prospects. Critical shift Diggers and Dealers is an annual event that this year attracted up to 2700 miners, riggers, surveyors, drillers, heavy machinery makers, financiers and other mining industry types to the remote hard-bitten West Australian mining town, perhaps best known for its skimpily clad barmaids and the enormous open-cut Super Pit butting up to its backstreets. Loading This year the forum, once dominated by gold miners and nickel prospectors, was awash with lithium and critical minerals companies  heralding a lithium gold rush. The element is a key component in modern home and grid batteries used to store the renewable energy generated from wind and solar or to power electric cars. Vehicle manufacturers across China, Europe and the US are scrambling to secure supplies as they pivot to making all-electric transport, a shift that is fuelling mining explorers and established companies such as Pilbara Minerals and Liontown that will supply the raw material.

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The outlook for lithium is looking pretty spectacular, says Pilbara chief executive Dale Henderson, who kicked off the conference with news his company has significantly increased its resource estimate for its Port Hedland Pilgangoora operation. It now thinks the mine will yield 413.8 million tonnes of measured, indicated and inferred resource, a 36 per cent increase that adds about 109 million tonnes to its previous outlook. The world needs a lot of lithium above and beyond all the identified assets so far. Pilbara chief executive Dale Henderson The world needs a lot of lithium above and beyond all the identified assets so far, he said. Like Pilbara, another lithium producer, IGO chief executive Matt Dusci, believes a gap is looming between what is currently being dug up and what car and battery manufacturers will actually need. We need to fill that gap, he says. If IGO and other miners like it cant, there is a risk manufacturers will pivot to alternative battery technologies. Thats when youre at risk of technology changes and being forced out because, if you cant supply, someone will find an alternative. China produces about 246,400 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year. If you fast-forward to where Western Australia will be by 2030, we will be producing about the same amount of lithium hydroxide here as China produces now, Dusci predicts.

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Scratching the surface Unlike Australias big iron ore producers  BHP, Rio Tinto or Fortescue Metals Group  that see little value in owning downstream steelmaking plants (BHP spun off BlueScope Steel in 2002), lithium players are keen to capture profits from processing their spodumene and to foster a local battery-making industry. Spodumene is a high-purity lithium ore that is generally sold to China where most of the worlds critical minerals are refined and produced. Along with one of Chinas top producers Tianqi Lithium Corporation, IGO owns the newly developed Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery where it processes ore from Australias largest lithium deposit, the Greenbushes mine about 250 kilometres south of Perth. Production is a risky and complex process, and IGOs ramp-up of the facility is being held back by legacy engineering issues. Were producing battery grade lithium hydroxide [and are the] first company to produce battery grade lithium hydroxide outside of China, Dusci says. Dusci says mining explorers are just starting to scratch the surface potential of other large-scale lithium finds. This is an industry that didnt exist ... eight years ago. Such is the hype around future facing metals, it prompted the boss of one of the countrys largest gold producers, Evolution Minings Jake Klein, to opine: Australian gold miners should be really, really happy. But were not. Maybe its envy because over the last 12 months critical minerals ... have stolen all the headlines.

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Klein maintains Australia has got significantly wealthier in the past 32 years as a result of Chinas emergence as a superpower. Loading I spent the first part of my career building gold mines in China right through that golden period of globalisation. It was a fantastic window to the heart of the China and Australia relationship, which was amazingly strong, he says. But he sees real risks to Australia from the Wests rapid pivot towards decoupling from the Asian manufacturing giant  driven by Americas desire to maintain technological superiority and boost its supply chain security. Thats worrying and dangerous, Klein says. Unfortunately, that is good for gold. Chinas decoupling, combined with the Ukraine conflict, and the potential for a polarising and destabilising election in the US next year will feed uncertainty and drive investors to gold as a safe haven, he says. They [investors] just needed to be reminded how important gold is in commodities markets. Theres very good reasons to believe why gold is going higher, he says. I think its definitely going above $US2000 an ounce.

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HEALTH

Foreign Bodies

Simon Schama

Simon & Schuster, $59.99

It will be of no surprise to readers familiar with the erudite polymathy of Simon Schama that much of his introduction to Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations consists of a potted biography of renowned and intermittently notorious 18th-century French writer Voltaire.

Fascinating stuff to be sure, especially in Schamas dab hands, as Voltaires fluctuating fortunes see him hurled into the Bastille, exiled to England, before finding himself an honoured guest of Louis XV at Versailles, preparing a divertissement for the Kings wedding in 1725.

Simon Schama has written a grand tour of the history of vaccination. Credit: Eddie Knox

And diverting as all this is, Voltaire makes his cameo in Schamas grand tour of the history of vaccination because two years earlier the philosopher and satirist had nearly died of smallpox and, while reflecting afterwards upon the ghastly experience and barbaric remedies to which he had been subjected, became one of the first writers to extol the virtues of inoculation.
Entries for this years City2Surf are expected to reach pre-COVID numbers as more than 78,000 have already signed up for the running event.

The event, on Sunday, has already topped last years entry numbers of about 60,000, while in 2021 and 2020 the event was held virtually due to the pandemic.

More than 78,000 people have signed up for this years City2Surf on Sunday. Credit: Tim Bardsley-Smith

In 2019, the event was sold out with 84,328 runners registered, which was a record for City2Surf.

From 7.40am, participants will be making a 14 kilometre trek from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach.
Investigators working to determine the cause of a house fire on an island off Brisbane that killed five children and their father say no suspicious circumstances have been identified.

Police released an update on Friday about the investigation into the Russell Island fire on August 6, which killed Wayne Godinet, 34, and his sons Zac, 11, Harry, 10, four-year-old twins Kyza and Koah, and Nicky, 3.

Wayne Godinet and Samantha Stephenson. Credit: Nine News

The childrens mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28, escaped the Todman Street home as it went up in flames, and raised the alarm.

Neighbours rushed to help, but the blaze also damaged two nearby properties.
The Commonwealth is prepared to pay the clean-up bill for the contaminated Maribyrnong Defence Site to end a decades-long development stalemate on one of Melbournes largest housing lots, potentially opening up thousands of new homes near Highpoint shopping centre.

Almost 20 years after the federal and state governments began talking about transforming the 127-hectare site for housing, the property remains inaccessible even for dog walking and is fenced off to the public.

The 127-hectare Maribyrnong Defence Site.

Responsibility for the cost of remediation of the site  estimates are up to $200 million  has been a major obstacle to progress on a site at which thousands of workers made explosives for both the first and second world wars.

But in an exclusive interview with The Age this week, Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the Albanese government had overturned a Turnbull-Morrison government position and would wear the cost of remediation if necessary.
Faced with the prospect of leaving a bankrupt estate, Hancock Prospectings lawyers claim founder Lang Hancock spent his final days trying to reverse moves he made siphoning money out of the empire to fund mansions, luxury cars and a private jet for wife Rose Porteous.

Langs epiphany came in 1992 amid pointed questions from BHP about the shifting of lucrative mining tenements between his entities, which threatened to derail a quick asset fire-sale for much-needed cash.

Gina Rinehart, right, her children John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, top, and Rose Porteous with Lang Hancock.

Unable to prove he did so lawfully, Hancock Prospectings lawyer Noel Hutley, SC, told the court Lang embarked on an eleventh-hour bid to reverse them.

For years, Hutley said, Lang had engaged in a textbook breach of fiduciary duty, transferring assets, including the Hope Downs mine now at the centre of a multibillion-dollar Supreme Court row, out of Hancock Prospecting to entities in his family trust.
The nations peak business group will intensify its campaign against federal workplace laws it says will burden employers with billions of dollars in higher costs, naming a new chief to lead its case while calling for full disclosure of Labors plan.

The Business Council of Australia has chosen former Coalition adviser Bran Black to replace outgoing chief executive Jennifer Westacott, risking tensions with leaders in Canberra and the states by selecting someone without Labor ties.

Outgoing Business Council CEO Jennifer Westacott and her successor, Bran Black (right) plan to step up their campaign against Tony Burkes workplace reforms. Credit: Natalie Boog; Alex Ellinghausen; Supplied

But Black said he would seek common ground whenever possible, including on the workplace reforms, and pointed to his background as chief of staff to former NSW Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet as proof he could work with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Black said he backed the federal plan for an Indigenous Voice to parliament as well as climate action to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050  policy areas where Perrottet was often at odds with his federal Liberal colleagues.
A top mountaineer has been forced to defend herself after accusations that her team climbed over a dying Sherpa as they headed to the summit of the K2 mountain to secure a new world record.

Images of climbers clambering past the injured Pakistani on a treacherous ridge on the same day that Norways Kristin Harila ascended have been condemned by fellow mountaineers.

Mohammed Hassan can be seen lying on the ground in footage posted to Instagram. Credit: lakpa_mountaineering

They claimed a Western climber would not have been left to die and said the scenes would be unthinkable in the Alps, igniting a row about how local Sherpas are used in the Himalayas.

Harila, 37, climbed Pakistans K2 on July 27, securing her 14th highest peak in just over three months to become the worlds fastest climber to scale all peaks above 8000 metres.
Two years ago, 44 per cent of Americans said the alliance with Australia made the US more secure. That has since jumped by 14 points to 58 per cent, a record high, according to polling commissioned by Greens study centre. This is, no doubt, a reflection of Americans fears of China and an appreciation of AUKUS. Loading Ambassador Kennedy nominates two reasons that the Pacific region is the most important. One is its significance strategically. Biden has said America is in a competition with China and other countries to win the 21st Century. Why is Australia and the Pacific important to that competition? Kennedys family history in the Solomons helps illuminate. The Japanese Imperial Army occupied the Solomons and Papua New Guinea to isolate Australia from its friends and allies. This would have two key consequences. It would take Australia out of the war, and it would deny the US the ability to use Australia as a base of operations against Japan. Thats why America began its offensive against Japan in the Solomons, the Battle of Guadalcanal, named after one of the islands in the Solomons group.

Geography doesnt change. Australia and the Pacific are just as central in todays American effort to win the 21st century. Like Imperial Japan before it, China today seeks to dominate the Pacific islands that straddle Australias commercial and military lifelines. Loading Australia needs to counter these efforts for its own survival. And the US, which again plans to use Australia as a base for military operations in any potential Pacific war, is determined to help it. The director of the Lowy Institutes international security program, Sam Roggeveen, is concerned that this makes Australia a bigger target for Chinas missiles: Australia has taken the decision to bring US combat forces, and its military strategy to fight China, on to our shores, Roggeveen writes in the latest edition of the Australian Foreign Affairs journal. We have also chosen to build military capabilities of our own that are designed expressly to contribute to American operations to defeat China. These fateful decisions threaten to draw Australia into a war that is not central to our security interests, and which could end in nuclear catastrophe.

Kennedys response? Australia is investing in its own defence, and, I think, also believes that deterrence is the most effective way to preserve peace and stability, she tells us. Nothing is inevitable and I think both our governments believe that securing their own respective defences, strengthening the alliance and our ability to work together is the best way to preserve peace. Loading So the Solomons was a pivot point in world history. Is it again, we ask Kennedy? I dont know  [pause]  yet. In a recent visit, she met the Solomons Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare. Sogavare had earlier alarmed Canberra, Washington and many capitals in between when he signed a security agreement with Beijing. Kennedy said she came away from her meeting with Sogavare reassured that he wants to work with the US. The second reason that Kennedy nominates for Pacific centrality is climate change. Its effects are stark in the Pacific, she says. The island my father swam to is now two islands because of rising sea levels. Its definitely time that these nations got support and assistance and that we listen and try to learn from their experience and prevent that kind of climate crisis from happening in more places.

But, of course, looming over everything the Biden administration does, over all its plans with its allies, is the spectre of Donald Trump. Biden believes in alliances and he believes in the need to act on global warming. Theres scant evidence that Trump believes in either. As president, Trump toyed publicly with abrogating Americas treaty obligations to its NATO allies. When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, Trumps first response was: Genius! Illustration: John Shakespeare. Credit: Trump has said of Chinas dictator, Xi Jinping: Smart, brilliant, everything perfect. Theres nobody in Hollywood like this guy. Trump, agent of chaos, is once again the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency. Surely he presents deep risk to allies dependent on US support?

Not according to Kennedy: I think that foreign policy historically, and certainly now and certainly in this region, enjoys real bipartisan support. Im confident that Australia should be able to count on us. Loading There are two US congressional delegations in Australia at the moment, taking part in the annual Australian-American Leadership Dialogue. Both are bipartisan, and both carry much the same message. Asked about Trumps reliability as an ally, Republican Mike Gallagher, chair of the US House committee on China, told the ABC on Friday: Whoever occupies the presidency, there will remain the deep reservoir of support for the US-Australia alliance. Im confident with Republicans and Democrats working together we can do what is necessary to deliver on AUKUS. And a former deputy chief of staff to Trump, Emma Doyle, told me last week that he felt strongly about Australia: I remember he hosted a state dinner for Australias prime minister [Scott Morrison] and it was incredibly moving. I think he sees the sense in preserving the alliance.
2024 Subaru Forester Trim Transmission Applicable Options MSRP MSRP + Destination & Delivery ($1,295) Forester CVT 01, 02 $26,895 $28,190 Forester Premium CVT 11, 15 $30,095 $31,390 Forester Sport CVT 21, 24 $31,665 $32,960 Forester Wilderness CVT 21, 22 $34,720 $36,015 Forester Limited CVT 31, 32 $33,775 $35,070 Forester Touring CVT 41 $37,195 $38,490

2024 Subaru Forester Option Packages Forester CODE 01: Standard Model N/A CODE 02: Alloy Wheel Package + Roof Rails $625 Forester Premium CODE 11: Standard Model N/A CODE 15: BSD/RCTA + Power Rear Gate $1,165 Forester Sport CODE 21: Standard Model N/A CODE 24: RAB + 8-inch Multimedia Plus + Harman

Kardon Speaker System + Power Rear Gate $1,645 Forester Wilderness CODE 21: Standard Model N/A CODE 22: 8-inch Multimedia Plus + Harman

Kardon Speaker System + Power Rear Gate $1,850 Forester Limited CODE 31: Standard Model N/A CODE 32: RAB + 8-inch Multimedia with Nav + Harman Kardon Speaker System + Heated Steering Wheel $1,695 Forester Touring CODE 41: Standard Model N/A

Destination & Delivery is $1,295 for Forester and may vary in the following states: CT, HI, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI and VT. D&D is $1,445 for retailers in Alaska.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced pricing on the 2024 Forester, one of the automakers most popular SUVs thanks to its safety, capability, versatility and value. The 2024 Forester is offered in six trim levels: Base, Premium, Sport, Wilderness, Limited and Touring. The compact SUV will begin arriving in Subaru retailers this fall with a starting price of $26,895.The 2024 Forester delivers the optimal blend of SUV capability and car-like ride and handling with standard Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, Active Torque Vectoring and Vehicle Dynamics Control. The standard 8.7 inches of ground clearance for Forester (9.2 inches for Forester Wilderness) is greater than that of many SUVs, yet the compact SUV maintains a comfortably low step-in height for both front and rear passenger entry.All 2024 Forester models are powered by a 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine paired to a Lineartronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). The highly efficient engine produces 182 hp and 176 lb-ft of torque, while delivering an EPA-estimated 33 mpg on highways. Standard SI-DRIVE Engine Performance Management system features driver-selectable Intelligent and Sport modes for a customizable driving experience.The Forester comes standard with 60/40 split flat-folding seats offering up to 74.2 cubic feet of cargo space. The rear gate opening maximum width is 51.2 inches, allowing customers more flexibility for loading items. A power rear gate is standard on Limited and Touring trim levels and available as an option for Premium, Sport and Wilderness. For additional versatility, the SUV has a towing capacity up to 1,500 pounds (3,000 pounds for Wilderness) and comes standard with Trailer Stability Assist.Standard EyeSight Driver Assist Technology features Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control; Pre-Collision Braking; Pre-Collision Throttle Management; Lane Departure and Sway Warning and Lead Vehicle Start Alert. Automatic Emergency Steering is included on models equipped with Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert. The safety feature works with EyeSight and Blind-Spot Detection to assist with steering control to help avoid a collision at speeds less than 50 mph.As in prior model years, all Forester models come standard with seven airbags: driver and front passenger frontal airbags, side curtain airbags, side pelvis/torso airbags and a drivers knee airbag.The Subaru Forester received the 2023 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK award. This marks the 17th consecutive year Forester has earned an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK (2007-2023) - more than any other small SUV. In addition, Forester received the highest possible rating for front crash prevention from IIHS.The Subaru Forester has the lowest 5-Year Cost to Own in its class and the Best Resale Value in its class according to KBB.com. The compact SUV has held both honors for four years running. Recently, the MotorTrend Buyers Guide Ultimate Car Rankings (Spring-Summer 2023) gave the compact SUV a top ranking in its class.The 2024 Subaru Forester continues the automakers long-running practice of offering top safety and value across the model line. The 2024 Subaru Forester has a starting price of $26,895 and comes equipped with a long list of standard features including Steering Responsive LED headlights (low and high beam) with High Beam Assist; Rear Seat Reminder; remote keyless entry system with engine immobilizer; power windows, door locks and side mirrors; a multi-function display; and combination meter with color LCD.The SUBARU STARLINK 6.5-inch Multimedia system with a high-resolution touchscreen; smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility; and Bluetooth hands-free streaming and phone connectivity is standard. The front center console comes equipped with a USB-A input/charge port and 3.5mm auxiliary jack. Audio and Bluetooth controls for phone and multimedia are conveniently located on the steering wheel.A popular option package is available on Forester that adds 17-inch silver-finished alloy wheels and black-finished roof rails with convenient tie-down points. The roof rails offer a dynamic capacity of 176 pounds with a 700-pound static load limit, which is robust enough for a rooftop tent. The option package is priced at $625 MSRP.The 2024 Forester Premium builds on the Base trim with more comfort, convenience, and technology for a starting price of $30,095. The Premium adds a standard All-Weather Package with heated front seats, heated exterior power-adjustable exterior mirrors and a windshield wiper de-icer. A 10-way, power-adjustable drivers seat; 17-inch alloy wheels in black with machine finish; X-MODE with Hill-Descent Control; panoramic power moonroof; leather-wrapped steering wheel; ladder-style roof rails; and Keyless Access with Push-button Start are also standard on Premium. New for 2024, LED fog lights and a Crystal Black Silica rear roof spoiler are standard.The Premium upgrades to the SUBARU STARLINK 6.5-inch Multimedia Plus system with high-resolution touchscreen, smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming connectivity; HD Radio; SiriusXM and TravelLink (4-month free Platinum Plan subscription); and CD player. The front center console is equipped with dual USB-A input/charge ports.The Premium offers a single option package that includes Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; Automatic Emergency Steering; dual USB-A charge ports in the rear center console; and a Power Rear Gate with automatic close and height memory. The MSRP for the package is $1,165.The 2024 Forester Sport, which is priced from $31,665 MSRP, adds unique interior and exterior elements to set it apart from the Forester range with an eye toward customers looking for a practical SUV with flair. The Forester Sport adds exclusive gloss black exterior trim in the front and rear, black-finished 18-inch alloy wheels and a black rear roof spoiler. On the sides, orange accents adorn the cladding and roof-rail mounts. Inside, the Forester Sport features unique dark gray cloth upholstery with orange contrast stitching on the seats, shift knob, steering wheel and center console.For drivability, the Forester Sport adds SUBARU SI-DRIVE with driver-selectable Intelligent and Sport Sharp modes. For more engaging drives, the Lineartronic CVT includes steering wheel-mounted paddle-shift controls with 7-speed manual shifting. The Sport also upgrades to dual-function X-MODE for more off-road confidence. Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert comes standard along with Automatic Emergency Steering.An option package for Forester Sport includes the 8.0-inch SUBARU STARLINK Multimedia Plus system; Harman Kardon premium audio with 576-watt equivalent amp and nine speakers; Power Rear Gate; and Reverse Automatic Braking for $1,645 MSRP.The rugged Forester Wilderness returns for 2024 and adds a bevy of exterior, interior, and mechanical additions for adventure-seekers starting at $34,720. The Forester Wilderness does not sacrifice the SUVs quiet, car-like ride and exceptional outward vision with its increased capability, making it the perfect companion on the way to the trailhead and beyond.The 2024 Wilderness increases ground clearance to 9.2 inches thanks to longer coil springs and shock absorbers. The enhanced suspension also increases trail capability while delivering the comfortable ride the Forester is known for. The Wilderness subs in 17-inch matte-black alloy wheels wrapped in All-Terrain Yokohama GEOLANDAR tires for increased traction on muddy or wet roads or trails. A full-size spare is tucked underneath the cargo area for added confidence off the pavement.The Wilderness also gets a unique front fascia with hexagonal front grille and hexagonal LED fog lights, as well as a useful anti-glare hood decal in matte black to diffuse direct sunlight on the trails. Larger cladding around the wheels and a front skid plate help to protect the Forester Wilderness off-road, while offering a visually distinct appearance from the rest of the lineup.Inside, water-resistant StarTex seating surfaces, all-weather mats, and a cargo tray are all well-prepared for muddy feet and gear with wash-and-ready attitudes. The Wilderness also benefits from more robust ladder-type roof rails that can support up to 800 pounds when stationary, which is an increase of 100 pounds above the standard roof rails.The Forester Wilderness offers a smart option package with an 8.0-inch SUBARU STARLINK Multimedia Navigation system, Harman Kardon premium audio with 576-watt equivalent amp and nine speakers and Power Rear Gate for $1,850 MSRP.Starting from $33,775, the 2024 Forester Limited is well-equipped with convenience features that make it a standout among competitors without sacrificing capability. The Limited builds on the Premium trim level and adds 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels in black with machine finish, body-colored exterior mirrors with integrated turn signals, and black geometric-textured fog light covers, the last of which are new for 2024.The Limited is thoughtfully equipped with Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert; SUBARU STARLINK 8.0-inch Multimedia Plus System; dual USB-A charge ports in the rear center console; dual-zone automatic climate control with voice-activated controls; one-touch folding rear seatbacks; and Power Rear Gate. Inside, the Limited is finished with leather-trimmed upholstery, including a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift lever handle and a center dash panel finished with silver metallic and gloss black.A single option package for Limited adds the 8.0-inch SUBARU STARLINK Multimedia Navigation system, Harman Kardon premium audio with 576-watt equivalent amp and nine speakers, Reverse Automatic Braking and a heated steering wheel for $1,695 MSRP.The Forester Limited sits atop the range for 2024 and is equipped with standout features making it equally comfortable and capable. Priced at $37,195, the Touring offers convenience features not typically found at its price point including the innovative DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System including gesture control capability that allows the driver to raise and lower the automatic climate control temperature via hand gestures.Other convenience features include rear heated seats at the outboard positions, a heated steering wheel, black perforated leather-trimmed upholstery with silver stitching or saddle brown perforated leather-trimmed upholstery with silver and brown stitching. The drivers seat is 10-way power adjustable with power lumbar adjustment and two-driver memory and the passenger seat is 8-way power adjustable.The Forester Touring is visually distinct from the rest of the lineup with 18-inch alloy wheels in dark gray with machine finish, satin chrome exterior folding mirrors with integrated turn signals, and LED fog lights with black and chrome textured covers. The Forester Touring includes roof rails with a silver finish; chrome exterior badging; and front, rear and side valances with silver metallic finish. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise , which is the companys vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
2023 Toyota Tundra HV 4x4 Capstone Crewmax  Review by David Colman +VIDEO

Pickup truck luxury at its finest







Lexus doesn't make a pickup truck. Or do they? If you overlook the Toyota branding on the grill, tail, and steering wheel hub of the 2023 Capstone Tundra, it takes no leap of faith to convince yourself that this ultra-luxurious machine is really a Lexus masquerading as a Toyota. The Capstone represents the seventh and top level of distinction in the Tundra truck line. The SR Tundra starts the ball rolling at $38,965, followed by the SR5 ($44,470), the Limited ($50.565), the Platinum ($60,775), the 1794 Edition ($61,460), the TRD Pro ($70,920) and finally the model we drove, the Capstone Crewmax, with a base price of $77,645. Add $1,045 for Advanced Variable Suspension (AVS), and the all-in tag for our test truck came to $78,460.

Why would anyone pay exactly twice as much for the Capstone as the SR? Because the Capstone is an absolutely beautiful piece of equipment, thats why. If you need a truck to beat around construction sites and haul cement blocks, then by all means go for the SR. If your travel requirements tilt off-road, then select the TRD Pro model. But if you cherish Lexus-style luxury but still demand the ultimate in load capacity and off-road prowess, then the Capstone is the model you want. This eighty grand truck is worth every bit of its lofty price.

Here's a brief outline of the Capstone features that distinguish it from lesser Tundra models. You get to plop your butt into super-soft, semi-aniline, black leather front seats which complement the simplified black and white interior motif. The front seats are 10-way adjustable, with power lumbar, and both front and rear seats are heated and ventilated. Real walnut wood grain trim adds a classic note of distinction to the dash, door and center console surfaces. The center console is a brilliantly conceived Rubik's Cube for storage.

Power-operated running boards are standard on the Capstone to facilitate entry and exit. An override switch allows you to turn them off if required. A folding step to facilitate access to the Capstone's 5.5 foot bed is standard, as is a 10-inch color head-up display. But note that Polarized sunglasses render the heads up graphics invisible. Finally, a set of spectacular looking 22 inches "dark chrome and machine finished" alloy rims provide just the right note of flash to complement our test truck's rather sober exterior shade of blue called Blueprint. These wheels mount Bridgestone Dueller H/T radials (265/50R22) carrying a durable TW 520 rating.

Despite all these interior enticements, the Capstone's big news lies under the hood and behind the fenders. The optional AVS suspension offers 6 levels of ride choice, starting with Eco, and progressing through Soft, Normal, Sport, Sport+, and finally, Custom. If you can't find a happy spot in that lineup, then you need counseling. So click your way to ride happiness with the big chrome ride mode dial on the center console. The entire dash remains a tribute to true pickup truck simplicity, with every switch and knob very clearly labeled, and easy to manipulate, even when wearing gloves. In particular, we loved the huge dash-face mounted 14-inch multimedia screen. It was large enough and bright enough to permit close perusal of the record album covers Pat Boone plays on his weekly "Fifties" platter spin on SiriusXM.

The other big news flash on the Capstone story is the rocket hybrid motor beneath the "I-FORCE MAX" emblazoned hood. Toyota has eliminated all V8 power from its truck line, the only major pickup manufacturer to do so currently. Instead of gas-swilling eights, the Tundra line depends on a variety of more efficient 6-cylinder power options. The Capstone's Twin Turbocharged, 24-valve, DOHC, Dual VVT-I, V6 stands at the pinnacle of the power train parade. Its output of 437hp and 583lb.-ft. of torque will make slower traffic disappear like it evaporated. That's because the internal combustion engine is augmented by an electric motor generator that provides a surge of instant electric boost when you floor the throttle.

In addition, that monstrous torque output, which peaks at just 2400 rpm, ensures that this top Tundra qualifies as your perfect tow vehicle. It's fitted with all manner of back-up bells and whistles, including hitch location monitoring and "Trailer Backup Guide with Straight Path." In case you should waver, there's an overhead camera that shows your Tundra's position from above as well as from the side. Although the Capstone may seem unduly expensive for a pickup truck, this vehicle offers so many possibilities for travel and adventure that Marco Polo would have bought one in a New York minute.

2023 TOYOTA TUNDRA HV 4X4 CAPSTONE CREWMAX



Engine: 3.4 liter V6, Twin Turbocharged, 24 valve, DOHC, Dual VVT-I + Motor Generator

HORSEPOWER: 437hp@5200rpm

TORQUE: 583lb.-ft.@2400rpm

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 19MPG City/22MPG Highway

PRICE AS TESTED: $78,460

HYPES: Massive Tow Capability, Lexus-Like Craftsmanship

GRIPES: Uncomfortable Back Seats

STAR RATING: 10 Stars out of 10
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8, 2023 -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has filed an application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to support the development of a pilot project that would utilize organic waste such as chipped wood, along with nut shells, and turn it into renewable natural gas (RNG).

If approved, the project would be the largest RNG project in the state of California, producing up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of fuel each year from 400,000 to 500,000 tons of agricultural waste, some of which would otherwise be burned. It would more than double already historic deliveries of RNG in 2022 from existing projects within SoCalGas's service territory and could deliver carbon-neutral or negative fuel equivalent to taking up to 52,000 gasoline vehicles off the road each year.

The project would be developed by San Joaquin Renewables LLC in the City of McFarland. Pursuant to CPUC direction, SoCalGas proposed funding its portion of the project  about $13 million  with cap-and-trade funds. If approved, which could come as soon as May 2024, the project is planned to come online in late 2026.

"As the State of California has recognized, renewable natural gas remains a critical tool, along with other decarbonization pathways such as electrification, hydrogen and carbon management, in our efforts to decarbonize our great state," said Neil Navin, Chief Clean Fuels Officer at SoCalGas. "Instead of burning this agricultural waste, this project could produce more RNG annually than the entire state of Hawaii uses each year, putting this waste to good use to help shore up energy reliability and resiliency as we transition to a clean energy economy."

"Converting biomass into renewable natural gas provides a sustainable and renewable source of energy from waste material," said T.J. Paskach, President of San Joaquin Renewables. "Additionally, the San Joaquin Renewables facility will help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, will help clean the air of the Central Valley by producing a carbon negative fuel, and will provide hundreds of high-quality jobs in McFarland."

The project will work by using a non-combustion process to turn agricultural waste into a mixture of gases, including hydrogen. The mixture is then cleaned, compressed and is then usable as RNG.

In February 2022, the CPUC adopted the Renewable Gas Procurement Standard, which sets goals for the procurement of renewable gas made by capturing methane emitted by organic waste from wastewater treatment plants, dairies, landfills, agricultural waste, and forestry residues. The standard also requires SoCalGas to replace approximately 12.2 percent of the traditional gas it delivers to core customers with renewable natural gas by 2030. The CPUC also required SoCalGas to submit an application proposing at least one gasification or pyrolysis pilot project focused on conversion of woody biomass to biomethane.

RNG is a key tool in decarbonizing the gas system as it can be carbon neutral or even negative, depending on its source. RNG, along with carbon management and clean fuels like hydrogen, is one in a suite of tools SoCalGas is utilizing to help achieve its aim to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

More information about SoCalGas' renewable natural gas efforts can be found here: https://socalgas.com/rng.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to over 21 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transitionproviding electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment.

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy infrastructure company in America . In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra , an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego.

For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook .

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.
Armenian minority living in Garabagh has expressed intention to obtain Azerbaijani citizenship. According to Dilara Afandiyeva, head of the Centre "Women: Peace and Security" operating under the Dilara Aliyeva Azerbaijan Society for Protection of Women's Rights, Armenians communicate mainly via WhatsApp, Azernews reports, citing Khazar TV.

Dilara Afandiyeva said that the calls to the "Hotline" created for Armenian minority in Garabagh are mainly related to express their needs to become Azerbaijani citizen.

Some Armenians who contacted the "Hotline" said that Russian peacekeepers ask for a bribe to pass through the Lachin road. Also, as most Armenians living in Garabagh are elderly people, they apply for pensions," said Dilara Afandiyeva.

We present more detailed video material on the topic.




Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Mostly clear. Low 58F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 58F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Cloudy. Low around 65F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low around 65F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Eden Mill St Andrews appoints new CEO

Premium gin and whisky distillery Eden Mill has announced the appointment of Rennie Donaldson as new chief executive officer (CEO) under its chair Stella Morse.

Donaldson has been confirmed in the lead role, with the objective of delivering the brand's plans to grow international trade, rebranding its portfolio and delivering a new state of the art distillery and visitor centre on the banks of the River Eden, due to open in summer 2024.

Before joining Eden Mill as chief operating officer (COO) in February 2022, Donaldson was with William Grant & Sons, with brands such as Glenfiddich and The Balvenie as part of its portfolio. His career begun as a group financial controller at spirits group Edrington.

Commenting on his appointment, Donaldson said: I have spent eleven years of my career working for two of Scotlands most notable spirits businesses and bring with me a personal ambition to secure Eden Mills successful future offering premium Scottish gin and single malt whisky brands to the global market.

Chair Morse added: There is nobody better or more experienced to lead Eden Mills future growth and success than Rennie Donaldson and I am delighted to announce his new position of CEO at such an exciting and pertinent time for the business.

As work continues on our new iconic distillery and visitor centre in St Andrews, the executive leadership team, led by Rennie will support our commercial growth with a drive to reposition and premiumise Eden Mills portfolio within the Scotch whisky and gin category, driving international distribution and building our reputation particularly within the US and Asian markets, to ensure Eden Mill is recognised alongside other premium Scottish spirits producers.

11 August 2023 - Bradley Weir
They sent a few bags over to Edge HQ for us to try. The pizza flavour does pack a bit of a spicy kick so they werent lying about the 'Fire and Fury'. The burger flavour - which was agreed to be the best flavour of the two - tasted almost off-puttingly similar to a famous burger we all love, almost, iykyk.
Army chief General Manoj Pande receives ceremonial welcome in UK





By Aditi Khanna

LONDON,

ARMY chief General Manoj Pande received a ceremonial welcome with a Guard of Honour at Horse Guards Parade in London at the start of his UK visit on Thursday. Gen. Pande was received by the UKs Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Sir Patrick Sanders, before he inspected a Guard of Honour by the Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards, one of the oldest regiments in the British Army dressed in their iconic scarlet tunics and black bearskin caps. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Band of the Grenadier Guards, conducted by Director of Music Captain Robert Smith, performed a bespoke programme of music in support of the occasion to illustrate the harmony between the two nations.

Framed by the Old Admiralty on one side, No. 10 Downing Street on the other, and with a clear view of Buckingham Palace, it is here that the King takes the salute from the very same spot during the Trooping of the Colour ceremony for his official birthday in June, the MoD said. There was a powerful sense of faithful continuity about the ceremonial welcome. The regiments represented on parade are among the most historic in the British Army and have enjoyed a reputation of world renown for their dual role excellence in combat operations and ceremonial duties for almost 400 years, it said.
MEANINGLESS





THE speech of Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Mr. Rahul Gandhi during the debate on the Oppositions Motion of No-Confidence against the Narendra Modi Government was meaningless, demonstrating his immaturity. In the 35-plus minutes that he spoke for in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gandhi seemed to have had no idea what he actually was aiming at. It was a wayward expression that lacked focus and a sense of responsibility. That was the reason why he used some words that had to be expunged from the parliamentary records. He appeared to be in a hurry to leave for whatever assignment, and missed a good opportunity to blast the Modi Government on whatever the issues the Opposition might have planned to take up. If the Manipur situation was the main issue the Opposition was harping upon, then Mr. Rahul Gandhis speech was a total disappointment. Except shouting rather senselessly that the Government had killed the country in Manipur, he had nothing to say. That has been the tragedy with Mr. Rahul Gandhi all along. No matter his bravado, Mr. Gandhi does not have much material with which to pin the Modi Government down. This is the story with the rest of the Opposition leaders as well. None of them really prepares well to pin down the Government and make the Ministers eat their own words. They pick up a shallow political narrative and start blasting the Modi Government senselessly. In the process, they forget the elements of dignity and balance and indulge in statements that somehow happen to help the Modi Government rather than pinning it down.

All this happened with Mr. Rahul Gandhis speech. He spent much time in talking about his Bharat Jodo Yatra, but was confused enough to admit that he did not know the purpose of the whole across-the-nation walk when he started the exercise. And then he tried to be philosophical about it, but ended in a heap of words whose meaning he hardly seemed to understand. He picked up analogies from Ramayan and tried to link those with the current scenario -- only to a damning effect. For, the comparisons he drew were poorly calculated and lacked the detailed and intended punch. The worst part was Mr Gandhis effort to talk philosophical. In that effort, he sounded totally out of his wits and did not know to state things the way those were originally planned in the Oppositions strategy-planning meet. So clueless did Mr. Gandhi become that he called himself a wolf that got converted into an ant -- once he got exposed to the country and people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He was hardly the lion his party leaders had claimed him to become once he arrived back in the Lok Sabha.

Actually, the Treasury benches should not have created disturbance in the speech of Mr. Rahul Gandhi at all. For, that gave him an uncalled edge and scope to complain that his speech was not allowed in full flow as the ruling party members disturbed him and blocked his speech. In real terms, the speech had nothing that should have upset the ruling party members. They should have allowed Mr. Rahul Gandhi to complete his speech by greeting it with a total silence. That would have been befitting. Whatever points Mr. Rahul Gandhi had about Manipur situation were only shallow and did not have anything to push the Government into a tight corner. Obviously, he had not prepared for the moment -- and therefore spent precious time talking about unrelated issues such as Adani and and how Mr. Modi worked under such influences. Mr. Gandhi also tried to compare Mr. Narendra Modi with Ravan the villain of Ramayan. But that was very thoughtless and the whole House realised it. That was the point when the House realised that Mr. Gandhis speech was a flop-show.
Meghdambri to adorn Shivaji statue at Mahal





Staff Reporter

To commemorate the 350th year of coronation of Chhatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Maharaj, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has finalised a plan to erect Meghdambri over the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj situated at Gandhi Gate in Mahal area. As the term indicates, Meghdambri means the brass roof over the statue as after coronation, Shivaji Maharaj assumed the title of Chhatrapati. So to ensure that the statue gets it proper decorum, it was decided to go for Meghdambri that would add to the grandeur of the statue. As per the plan finalised by the DPDC cell of NMC, a sum of Rs 19 lakh is earmarked for the same. In it, brass would be used for crafting the Meghdambri to gel with the elegance of the statue. Along with it, there is also plan to carry out beautification at the area so that the grandeur of the statue is enhanced.

Confirming the project, Kamlesh Chavan, Executive Engineer, DPDC Cell, NMC, said Pravin Datke, MLC, has sanctioned funds for the said project from his constituency fund. The only other place having statue of Chhatrapati Shivrajiraje Bhosle Maharaj is at the Shivraj Litho Works on Subhash Road. The statue at Gandhi Gate portrays Maharaj holding the sword and it falls in Prabhag 18 of civic body and stands tall in the circle. The project reports mention that brass plate of 2.35 mm should be used by the contractor for casting the Meghdambri or the roof over Maharajs statue. The roof will be at the height of nearly 18 inches from the ground and same would stand on the columns whose thickness too has been prescribed. The design of Meghdambri is as per the one that stands at Raigad Fort where massive statue of Chhatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Maharaj stands.

The roof would have hexagonal dome shape spanning 2x2.4 inches shape. The contractor bagging the project would have six months period to execute the work. Chavan said on the first call, only one party had submitted bids but his papers were not in order and hence, NMC went for second call and is expected to finalise the work order soon. Several programmes are held near the statue, especially to mark birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Maharaj and also his death anniversary. Spectacular programmes are held during the coronation day and hence NMC has decided to enhance beauty of the area surrounding the statue to make it more attractive for visitors. Sometimes back, Ramesh Stapute, social activists, wrote to Maharashtra Government to ensure that all the statues of Chhatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle should have compulsory Meghdambri.
MSTA allows felling of 25 heritage trees for various projects





Staff Reporter

Maharashtra State Tree Authority (MSTA), in its 8th meeting, allowed to fell 25 heritage trees in city for three different projects on the proposal of Nagpur Municipal Corporation recently. In the first proposal, NMC sought permission from MSTA to fell six heritage trees for the construction of 6-lane cable stayed Railway over Bridge (RoB) at Ajni. NMC, in the proposal, informed that it is the project of Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDCL) at Ajni. Project Proponent has confirmed that the compensatory plantation of the trees would be undertaken at Dighori Railway Station Yard. Total of 1,168 trees are proposed to be planted as a compensatory plantation. MRIDCL also informed the Authority that it will use Miyawaki plantation method for compensatory plantation. The Authority advised MRIDCL to plant new trees of native species as part of compensatory plantation equivalent to the cumulative age of the trees which are proposed to be cut under this project.
Niger Coup & Conflict





By Jody Ray

ON JULY 26, a splinter faction of the Niger military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, confining him to the presidential palace. While telecommunications infrastructure was still intact, a tweet from the premiers office claimed Bazoum and family were in good health but were prepared to call upon the National Guard to attack if the rebelling soldiers did not back down. Within forty-eight hours, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, surrounded by nine other officers, took control of national airwaves, declaring he had put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance. The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned the effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected President two years ago in the nations first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its Independence from France in 1960. European leaders, along with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, condemned any effort to seize power by force and urged respect for Nigers Constitution, while the United States expressed deep concern and called for Bazoum to be released from captivity. How regional powers would respond to this crisis was, according to Nigerias recently elected President, Bola Tinubu, a litmus test for West Africas democracy.

This coup is the seventh to take place in Africas Sahel region, which stretches from Mauritia in the west to Eritrea in the east, since 2020; most recently, Mali and Burkina Faso have suffered three coups in as many years. This political tumult threatens to open fissures across the region. Mali and Burkina Faso, both States currently held by putschists, have stated that they will respond to any attempt by ECOWAS, a political and economic bloc made up of largely Western-allied West African nations or outside military forces, to restore Bazoum with a full-scale invasion. Whilst Nigers beleaguered premier has called for US intervention, the juntas in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have aligned with Russia since taking charge. After military takeovers in Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso in 2020, the West and its allies saw Niger as an integral part of its attempt to maintain power in a region in which pro-Russian sentiment is growing and Islamist groups hold sway. On July 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that constitutional order should be restored while at the same time, Wagner Groups Yevgeny Prigozhin released a voice message on the Telegram app denying any involvement in the coup.

Niger is home to twenty-seven million people, 40 per cent of whom live in extreme poverty and 50 per cent on $2.15 a day. At $15 billion, its GDP is less than one-tenth of that of Washington, DC, whose population numbers just over seven hundred thousand. The state imports nearly one-third of its food and is ranked 189th out of 191 in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index, with a per capita GDP of US$594.90, one of the lowest in Africa. Since 1945, and well after Frances African colonies gained Independence in the 1960s, France instituted or imposed the West African franc (CFA) as the currency of its West African colonies. The currency is backed by the French treasury and pegged to the Euro, and its accepted in fourteen member countries, including the last three countries that underwent a coup: Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Niger provides 5 per cent of the worlds uranium and has helped to sustain Frances nuclear energy sector. Reports have suggested that the West African nations new Government plans to ban exports of the mineral to France, a move whose significance is easy to overstate amidst the ensuing chaos. However, in the short or medium term, this shift, were it to take place, would not put significant constraints on Frances access to uranium. Australia, Canada, and Kazakhstan are three of the four largest producers of the mineral and each of these countries plans to increase its output to global markets. France and the Wests concerns over the fall of Niger cannot, therefore, be easily attributed to anxieties about resource scarcity.

More significant in understanding the geopolitics of the region is the role that the West has played in guaranteeing the security of nations in the Sahel without the state capacity to do so themselves. Governments in the Sahel have often invited France in to assist or bolster security measures in vast swaths of the country where the growing presence of jihadist movements threaten the stability of the Central Government. French security in exchange for CFA loyalty is the tacit geopolitical agreement here, but the former colonial power has long failed to uphold its side of the bargain and quell the unrest in the remote regions of the Sahel. As a result, governments fall to coups, and French troops are forced to withdraw, as they did in Mali and Burkina Faso. This leads to regional powers turning to Russia and the Wagner Group for security. Were the West or its allies to intervene, it would likely come into conflict with these Wagner Groupbacked forces in Mali and Burkina Faso, effectively opening another front in the proxy war with Russia. The humanitarian consequences of such an intervention would be significant. It would certainly increase the flow of refugees from the region into the West, exacerbating anti-migrant politics in Europe and providing a pretext for unsavoury alliances between Europe and Mediterranean nations willing to do the blocs dirty work and detain people fleeing poverty and war.
PM Narendra Modi to visit Madhya Pradesh on Saturday





Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. At around 2:15 pm, he will reach Sagar district, where he will perform bhoomipujan at Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidasji Memorial Sthal. At around 3:15 pm, Prime Minister will participate in a public programme at Dhana where he will lay the foundation stone for Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidas ji Memorial.

Honouring prominent saints and social reformers has been a special hallmark of the work done by the Prime Minister. Driven by his vision, Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidasji Memorial will be constructed in an area of more than 11.25 acres and at a cost of more than Rs. 100 crore. The magnificent memorial will have an impressive art museum and gallery to showcase the life, philosophy and teachings of Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidas ji. It will also have facilities for devotees visiting the memorial like Bhakt Niwas, Bhojanalay etc. During the programme, Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of rail and road sector projects worth more than Rs. 4000 crores.

Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the project marking the completion of the doubling of the Kota-Bina rail route. The project, which has been built at an estimated cost of more than Rs 2475 crores, passes through Kota and Baran District in Rajasthan, and Guna, Ashoknagar and Sagar District in Madhya Pradesh. The additional rail line will increase capacity for better mobility and will help improve train speed along the route. Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of two road projects at a cost of more than Rs. 1580 crores. These include a four-laning road project connecting Morikori-Vidisha-Hinotiya and a road project that will connect Hinotiya to Mehluwa.
Protesting NSUI members cane-charged





Staff Reporter

In two different incidents, police used cane-charge on members of National Students Union of India (NSUI) who reached Jabalpur Collectorate and Rani Durgavati University to stage gherao with their 5-point demands on Thursday.

Police firstly tried to stop them from entering the premises of both Collectorate and University, but when the NSUI members remained adamant on staging gherao, police used cane-charge to disperse the crowd.

NSUI workers were protesting against New Education Policy, Patwari Scam, irregularities in Vyapam examination, Agriculture exam, Junior Engineer Recruitment Exam and other recruitment process in which hefty amounts are being demanded to select candidates. According to NSUI leaders, Madhya Pradesh enlisted second in the country in terms of unemployment, but the State Government is engaged in recovering money from ineligible candidates in exchange of their appointment and kept eligible ones on waiting. Hundreds of NSUI workers under the leadership of State President, Ashutosh Chouksey, former State Vice-president, Saurabh Gautam and District President, Sachin Rajak assembled at Civic Centre and reached the Collectorate.

They carried out a massive rally chanting slogans against Shivraj Government, when reached close to the Collectorate, police tried to stop them by installing barricades. But NSUI members removed barricades to go ahead, following which police harshly used cane charge on them. As a result, NSUI State President, Chouksey and District President, Rajak became critically injured and were admitted in ICU at a private hospital for treatment. Simultaneously, Karan Tamveshwar, Mohammed Ali, Abhishek Patel, Ajan Quraishi, National Secretary, Pinku Mudgal and other students were also injured. Many of them were arrested by the police. Criticising the lathicharge, MLA Vinay Saxena mentioned that not only the NSUI workers were physically injured in the lathicharge but it equally affected the morale of every youth in the state. Former State Vice-president, Gautam announced to stage gherao at SP Office on Friday for suspension of guilty policemen.
Tomatoes being imported from Nepal to meet demand and check prices: Nirmala





NEW DELHI,

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Government is taking steps to control inflation and as part of the measures tomatoes are being imported from Nepal to meet the demand and check prices. Lot of steps have been taken to contain inflation. Group of Ministers has been taking timely steps to control prices which are hitting common people, Sitharman said while participating in a debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

Sitharaman said Tur dal is being imported from Mozambique, Urad dal will be imported from Myanmar, while around three lakh tonnes of onions have been procured to create a buffer stock. She said tomatoes are being procured from Maharashtra and Karnataka, and distributed in Delhi-NCR, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and other cooperative societies.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met for the first time on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperate in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations. In the first summit between the two country's leaders since December 2019, Yoon urged Xi to play an "active and constructive role" in resolving the North Korean nuclear impasse.

President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday. /Yonhap

Xi voiced hopes of South Korea "improving inter-Korean relations" and expressed support for Yoon's proposal of massive economic incentives to the North if it gives up its nuclear weapons. A joint statement issued after the summit said, "Marking the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations, the two leaders pledged to develop bilateral relations to a more mature level based on mutual respect and co-prosperity."

President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and first lady Kim Keon-hee arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday.

While Yoon and Xi agreed that the North Korean nuclear menace threatens their common interests, there were subtle differences in opinion. Yoon pointed out that North Korea's nuclear and missile threats have escalated recently and asked China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a "more active and constructive role" as a neighbor of the North. But Xi responded by saying only that Seoul and Beijing must protect peace on the Korean Peninsula to safeguard their "common interests." Yoon returned to Seoul early Wednesday morning.
Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 54,000 shares of the semiconductor companys stock, valued at approximately $5,023,000. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing accounts for 2.0% of Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltds portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TSM. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Schubert & Co boosted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 374.4% during the 4th quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 427 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 666.7% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 345 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 16.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of TSM stock opened at $94.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.99. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $110.69. The company has a market capitalization of $491.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4724 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

A number of research analysts have commented on TSM shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $108.33.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors.

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Anexo Group Plc (LON:ANX  Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 58 ($0.74) and last traded at GBX 58 ($0.74), with a volume of 31515 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 60.50 ($0.77).

Anexo Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of 71.98 million, a P/E ratio of 352.94 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 62.42 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 88.49.

About Anexo Group

(Get Free Report)

Anexo Group Plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated credit hire and legal services to the clients involved in a non-fault accident in the United Kingdom. It operates in two divisions, Credit Hire and Legal Services. The company offers replacement vehicles and associated legal assistance to consumers involved in non-fault motor accidents.

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Shares of Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC  Get Free Report) have received an average rating of Hold from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.33.

BSAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Banco Santander-Chile from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Banco Santander-Chile from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday.

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View Our Latest Report on BSAC

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

Banco Santander-Chile Trading Up 0.7 %

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 24.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,162 shares of the banks stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 8.5% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,746 shares of the banks stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 65.2% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 60,122 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 23,726 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the second quarter valued at about $839,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Banco Santander-Chile by 67.4% in the second quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 333,275 shares of the banks stock valued at $6,282,000 after acquiring an additional 134,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.47% of the companys stock.

Shares of BSAC opened at $20.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 1.85. Banco Santander-Chile has a 52-week low of $13.37 and a 52-week high of $21.81. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.75.

Banco Santander-Chile Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking products and services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services.

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Bank of Hawaii Co. (NYSE:BOH  Free Report)  Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Bank of Hawaii in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, August 7th. Zacks Research analyst S. Jhunjhunwala now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.95 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.97. The consensus estimate for Bank of Hawaiis current full-year earnings is $4.04 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Bank of Hawaiis Q4 2023 earnings at $0.73 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $3.94 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $0.92 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.87 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.02 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.13 EPS.

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Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Odeon Capital Group started coverage on Bank of Hawaii in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They issued a sell rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Bank of Hawaii from a market perform rating to an underperform rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Hawaii to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Bank of Hawaii from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Hawaii currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $52.80.

Bank of Hawaii Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of BOH opened at $56.21 on Wednesday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $47.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.03. Bank of Hawaii has a 52 week low of $30.83 and a 52 week high of $85.45.

Bank of Hawaii (NYSE:BOH  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $243.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.52 million. Bank of Hawaii had a net margin of 23.76% and a return on equity of 18.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share.

Bank of Hawaii Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. Bank of Hawaiis payout ratio is 55.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert W. Wo, Jr. bought 6,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.85 per share, for a total transaction of $259,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,179.15. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Hawaii

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Hawaii by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,977,581 shares of the banks stock valued at $302,774,000 after acquiring an additional 49,163 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Hawaii by 6.0% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,457,029 shares of the banks stock valued at $127,962,000 after purchasing an additional 139,133 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Bank of Hawaii by 10.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,777,119 shares of the banks stock worth $149,136,000 after buying an additional 174,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Hawaii by 15.6% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,078,580 shares of the banks stock worth $44,470,000 after buying an additional 145,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank of Hawaii by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 912,961 shares of the banks stock valued at $47,544,000 after buying an additional 12,768 shares in the last quarter. 73.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank of Hawaii

(Get Free Report)

Bank of Hawaii Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hawaii that provides various financial products and services in Hawaii, Guam, and other Pacific Islands. It operates in three segments: Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; residential mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans and leases, personal lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and credit cards; private and international client banking, investment, credit, and trust services to individuals and families, and high-net-worth individuals; investment management; institutional investment advisory services to corporations, government entities, and foundations; and brokerage offerings, including equities, mutual funds, life insurance, and annuity products.

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Valaris (NYSE:VAL  Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $80.00 to $84.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

VAL has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Valaris in a research report on Wednesday, July 5th. They issued a buy rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Valaris from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Valaris in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a sell rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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Valaris Stock Down 1.8 %

Insider Activity

Valaris stock opened at $72.93 on Monday. Valaris has a fifty-two week low of $45.81 and a fifty-two week high of $80.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16 and a beta of 1.27.

In related news, major shareholder Hill Advisors Lp Oak sold 4,200,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $307,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,766,016 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $348,395,769.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Valaris news, major shareholder Hill Advisors Lp Oak sold 4,200,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $307,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,766,016 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $348,395,769.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Colleen Grable sold 5,034 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $377,550.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,074 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,130,550. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Valaris by 4.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 546,867 shares of the companys stock worth $28,421,000 after acquiring an additional 24,288 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $2,086,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $52,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth $6,315,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Valaris by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,115,824 shares of the companys stock worth $57,989,000 after acquiring an additional 47,895 shares during the period. 94.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Valaris

(Get Free Report)

Valaris Limited provides offshore contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry. The company owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs. It serves international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico, South America, the North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

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Westlake (NYSE:WLK  Free Report) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $123.00 to $133.00 in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals companys stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded Westlake from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $127.67.

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Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $132.15 on Monday. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $122.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.13. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $81.29 and a fifty-two week high of $138.39. The company has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 2.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firms revenue was down 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Westlake by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Westlake by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $30,017,000 after acquiring an additional 10,077 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Westlake by 236.9% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 6,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $118,000. Institutional investors own 29.44% of the companys stock.

Westlake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.

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The influential sister of North Korea's leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take "quick, overwhelming action" against the United States and South Korea -- one day after a nuclear-capable B-52 flew over the peninsula.

The United States flew the bomber to the Korean Peninsula for a joint drill with South Korean warplanes, and the allies' militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Kim Yo-jong didn't elaborate on any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

"We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment," Kim Yo-jong said in the statement carried by state media.

"The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them," she said.
US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,831,142 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 86,342 shares during the period. US Bancorp DEs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $196,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 475 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 74.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMY. HSBC initiated coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued a reduce rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. SVB Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, July 10th. They set a market perform rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.14.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 1.1 %

Bristol-Myers Squibb stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.28. The stock had a trading volume of 23,791,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,426,304. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $59.71 and a 12-month high of $81.43. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $63.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.20.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 50.51%. The business had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs payout ratio is 60.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total transaction of $44,754.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,584 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $402,545.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Bunge (NYSE:BG  Free Report) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $133.00 to $141.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials companys stock.

BG has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bunge from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Bunge in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Bunge from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Bunge in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Bunge from $115.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.13.

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Bunge Price Performance

Bunge stock opened at $112.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.67. The businesss fifty day moving average is $100.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.83. Bunge has a 52 week low of $80.41 and a 52 week high of $116.59.

Bunge (NYSE:BG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.69 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $15.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.35 billion. Bunge had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 3.09%. The businesss revenue was down 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bunge will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bunge

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BG. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bunge by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,539 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Bunge by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,700 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Bunge by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Bunge by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,943 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in Bunge by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,282 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.60% of the companys stock.

Bunge Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bunge Limited operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. The Agribusiness segment purchases, stores, transports, processes, and sells agricultural commodities and commodity products, including oilseeds primarily soybeans, rapeseed, canola, and sunflower seeds, as well as grains comprising wheat and corn; and processes oilseeds into vegetable oils and protein meals.

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California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,943,976 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 36,627 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Abbott Laboratories worth $298,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $131,000. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $96,257,000 after acquiring an additional 15,521 shares during the period. Kinneret Advisory LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.08% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $120.82.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,775,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.77. 4,708,219 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,051,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $107.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.09. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.25 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.67.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.71 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 20.50%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 69.62%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,539,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 91,269 shares during the quarter. Pfizer comprises about 0.6% of California State Teachers Retirement Systems investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. California State Teachers Retirement Systems holdings in Pfizer were worth $389,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in Pfizer by 25.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 7,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 861,739.5% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 4,559,131 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $186,013,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558,602 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 11,034.8% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,670,224 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $68,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655,224 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in Pfizer by 3.5% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 549,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $22,424,000 after acquiring an additional 18,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 64,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,642,000 after buying an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.80% of the companys stock.

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Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $35.72. 18,695,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,473,770. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.65 and a twelve month high of $54.93. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.46. 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 $201.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 28.55% and a net margin of 27.55%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. Pfizers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $41.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.35.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Pfizer

Pfizer 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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China Feihe Limited (OTCMKTS:CFEIY  Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a decline of 50.0% from the July 15th total of 200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

China Feihe Stock Performance

CFEIY opened at $6.37 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $5.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.33. China Feihe has a 1 year low of $5.35 and a 1 year high of $10.27.

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About China Feihe

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China Feihe Limited, an investment holding company, produces and sells infant milk formula products in Mainland China and the United States. The company provides a range of raw milk, adult milk powders, liquid milk products, and health care products, as well as soybean powder and goat milk powder. It is also involved in the retail of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other nutritional supplements.

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Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL  Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Citigroups target price points to a potential upside of 10.68% from the stocks current price.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of BXSL stock opened at $27.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.84. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $22.08 and a fifty-two week high of $29.11.

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Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 10th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $264.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.46 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 48.55% and a return on equity of 14.30%. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, President Carlos Whitaker purchased 3,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.68 per share, for a total transaction of $100,023.60. Following the acquisition, the president now directly owns 3,895 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $100,023.60. The purchase 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 investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 358,586 shares of the companys stock worth $9,997,000 after acquiring an additional 168,883 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $1,029,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 147.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 98,741 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,753,000 after buying an additional 58,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $2,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.59% of the companys stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).

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Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E (OTCMKTS:CIBEY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 120,600 shares, an increase of 369.3% from the July 15th total of 25,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 86,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, May 26th.

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Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E Stock Performance

About Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E

Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E stock opened at $1.27 on Friday. Commercial International Bank has a 1-year low of $1.07 and a 1-year high of $1.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.18.

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Commercial International Bank (Egypt) SAE provides retail, corporate, and investment banking services in Egypt. The company operates in following segments: Corporate Banking, Investment, Retail Banking, and Others. It offers current and saving accounts, easy accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit; and personal/overdraft/mortgage, educational, solar, travel, car finance, and unsecured personal loans, as well as revolving overdraft salary upfront services.

Further Reading

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Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) Director Heisz Leslie Stone sold 3,303 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.87, for a total value of $260,507.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,980 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,127,912.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE:EW opened at $78.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.15 and a 200-day moving average of $84.26. The company has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.02. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $67.13 and a 52 week high of $105.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 3.15.

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Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 24.56% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Friday, July 14th. 58.com reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $92.68.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on EW

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Core Alternative Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 96.1% in the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 353 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 79.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

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Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases.

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Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $615.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $408.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LLY. StockNews.com lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $447.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, 22nd Century Group restated a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $517.00.

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Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $521.49 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $396.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $495.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.62, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $296.32 and a one year high of $538.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 20.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total value of $261,174.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,978 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,602,163.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 752,017 shares of company stock valued at $356,230,646 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 236,413 shares of the companys stock valued at $110,873,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,314 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,224,000 after buying an additional 5,299 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 754 shares of the companys stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 739 shares of the companys stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. 87.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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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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Great Portland Estates Plc (OTCMKTS:GPEAF  Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of Reduce from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $533.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPEAF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Great Portland Estates from GBX 600 ($7.67) to GBX 625 ($7.99) in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. Peel Hunt raised shares of Great Portland Estates to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. HSBC cut shares of Great Portland Estates from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Great Portland Estates from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Great Portland Estates from GBX 520 ($6.65) to GBX 442 ($5.65) in a research note on Monday, July 17th.

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Great Portland Estates Price Performance

About Great Portland Estates

Great Portland Estates stock opened at $4.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.95. Great Portland Estates has a 12-month low of $4.42 and a 12-month high of $6.98.

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We are a FTSE 250 property investment and development company owning 2.5 billion of real estate in central London. We proactively manage our portfolio, flexing our activities in tune with London's property cycle to deliver long-term out-performance. We create in-demand spaces that people want to be part of; helping our occupiers, local communities and the city to thrive.

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Russia's defense minister accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a defense exhibition that featured the North's banned ballistic missiles as the neighbors pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported Thursday.

The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, and a Chinese delegation including a Politburo member arrived in North Korea this week for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War celebrated in North Korea as "Victory Day."

The missiles were banned under UN Security Council resolutions adopted with Russian and Chinese support but this week they provided a striking backdrop for a show of solidarity by three countries united by their rivalry with the U.S.

Shoigu is making the first visit by a Russian defense minister to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union. For North Korea, the arrival of the Russian and Chinese delegations marks its first major opening up to the world since the coronavirus pandemic. Shoigu gave Kim a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean media reported.

Kim thanked Putin for sending the military delegation led by Shoigu, saying the visit had deepened the "strategic and traditional" relations between North Korea and Russia.

"(Kim) expressed his views on the issues of mutual concern in the struggle to safeguard the sovereignty, development and interests of the two countries from the high-handed and arbitrary practices of the imperialists and to realize international justice and peace," North Korean media said. "He repeatedly expressed belief that the Russian army and people would achieve big successes in the struggle for building a powerful country," it said.

The official [North] Korean Central News Agency did not refer to the war in Ukraine but North Korea's defense minister, Kang Sun-nam, was reported as saying North Korea fully supported Russia's "battle for justice" and to protect its sovereignty.

Kim led Shoigu on a tour of an exhibition of new weapons and military equipment, KCNA said. State media photographs showed Kim and his guests at a display of some of the North's ballistic missiles in multi-axle transporter launchers. Another image showed what analysts said appeared to be a new drone.

One analyst said Shoigu's inspection of the North Korean missiles visit suggested Russian acceptance of North Korea's nuclear program. "We've come a long way from when North Korea would avoid showing off its nuclear capabilities when senior foreign dignitaries from Russia and China were in town," said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, calling the tour "remarkable."

"The personal tour for Shoigu -- and Shoigu's willingness to be photographed with Kim in the course of this tour -- is evidence that Moscow is complacent with North Korea's ongoing nuclear modernization," he said.

Kim also met Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong for talks and was handed a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean media reported.

The visit by Li's delegation showed Xi's commitment to "attach great importance to [North Korea]-China friendship," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
Victoria Gold (OTCMKTS:VITFF  Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at HC Wainwright from C$20.00 to C$24.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Victoria Gold Price Performance

VITFF stock opened at $5.21 on Friday. Victoria Gold has a 52-week low of $4.77 and a 52-week high of $8.45. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $6.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.68.

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About Victoria Gold

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Further Reading

Victoria Gold Corp. acquires, explores, and operates mineral properties in Canada and the United States. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship property is 100% owned Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle and Olive-Shamrock Gold deposit covering an area of approximately 555 square kilometers located in central Yukon, Canada.

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Hippo (NYSE:HIPO  Free Report) had its price target trimmed by JMP Securities from $70.00 to $50.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the stock.

Hippo Price Performance

Shares of Hippo stock opened at $10.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.74. Hippo has a 12 month low of $10.25 and a 12 month high of $27.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.81 million, a P/E ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 0.89.

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Hippo (NYSE:HIPO  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported ($4.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($2.31) by ($2.30). Hippo had a negative net margin of 240.20% and a negative return on equity of 56.30%. The firm had revenue of $47.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.00 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hippo will post -8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hippo

Hippo Company Profile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIPO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hippo by 10.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 105,944 shares of the companys stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,991 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hippo by 1,031.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 58,390 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 53,228 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hippo by 135.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,042,378 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,934,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655,415 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Hippo in the first quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hippo by 4.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,877,537 shares of the companys stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 72,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.22% of the companys stock.

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Hippo Holdings Inc provides home protection insurance in the United States and the District of Columbia. Its insurance products include homeowners' insurance against risks of fire, wind, and theft; and personal and commercial insurance products. The company distributes insurance products and services through its technology platform; and offers its policies online, over the phone, or through licensed insurance agents.

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Holmen AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:HLMNY  Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at DNB Markets from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Holmen AB (publ) Stock Performance

OTCMKTS HLMNY opened at $19.64 on Friday. Holmen AB has a 12 month low of $18.71 and a 12 month high of $22.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.46.

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Holmen AB (publ) Company Profile

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Further Reading

Holmen AB (publ) engages in forest, paperboard, paper, wood products, and renewable energy businesses in Sweden and internationally. Its Forest segment offers logs and pulpwood; and manages forests. The company's Paperboard segment provides paperboards for consumer packaging to brand owners, converters, and wholesalers.

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Westlake (NYSE:WLK  Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $123.00 price target on the specialty chemicals companys stock, up from their prior price target of $120.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.92% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WLK. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Westlake in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a neutral rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $127.67.

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Westlake Trading Down 0.5 %

Westlake stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $132.15. The company had a trading volume of 600,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.95. Westlake has a 12-month low of $81.29 and a 12-month high of $138.39. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $122.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.28.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The companys revenue was down 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Westlake by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $30,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,077 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 23.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Westlake by 236.9% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 6,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.44% of the companys stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.

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Audioboom Group plc (LON:BOOM  Get Free Report) insider Michael Tobin acquired 5,128 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 195 ($2.49) per share, for a total transaction of 9,999.60 ($12,779.04).

Michael Tobin also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, June 2nd, Michael Tobin acquired 6,666 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 285 ($3.64) per share, for a total transaction of 18,998.10 ($24,278.72).

On Wednesday, May 24th, Michael Tobin purchased 2,769 shares of Audioboom Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 324 ($4.14) per share, for a total transaction of 8,971.56 ($11,465.25).

Audioboom Group Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of LON:BOOM opened at GBX 197.50 ($2.52) on Friday. Audioboom Group plc has a 1 year low of GBX 152.55 ($1.95) and a 1 year high of GBX 837 ($10.70). The company has a market cap of 32.35 million, a PE ratio of -368.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stocks 50-day moving average is GBX 232.30 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 343.69.

About Audioboom Group

Audioboom Group plc, a podcast company, operates a spoken-word audio platform for hosting, distributing, and monetizing content primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. The company's platform allows content distributed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Saavn, Stitcher, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as a partner's own websites and mobile apps.

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Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA  Get Free Report) and Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Groups revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ballston Spa Bancorp N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Shinhan Financial Group $23,857.66 billion 0.00 $3.25 billion $6.53 4.09

Shinhan Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ballston Spa Bancorp N/A N/A N/A Shinhan Financial Group 17.86% 9.18% 0.70%

Dividends

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Shinhan Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Shinhan Financial Group pays out 19.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ballston Spa Bancorp and Shinhan Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ballston Spa Bancorp 0 0 0 0 N/A Shinhan Financial Group 0 3 0 0 2.00

Shinhan Financial Group has a consensus price target of $32.31, suggesting a potential upside of 20.92%. Given Shinhan Financial Groups higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Shinhan Financial Group is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.7% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shinhan Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.24, suggesting that its share price is 124% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shinhan Financial Group has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Shinhan Financial Group beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

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Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home equity, construction, auto, boat, RV, personal, small business, term, and commercial real estate loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. It also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; custodial; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, eStatements, and mobile wallets. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.

About Shinhan Financial Group

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Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. provides financial products and services in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through six segments: Banking, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, Credit, and Others. It offers retail banking services, including demand, savings, and fixed deposit-taking; checking accounts; mortgage and home equity, and retail lending; electronic banking and automatic teller machines (ATM); and bill paying, payroll and check-cashing, currency exchange, and wire fund transfer services. The company also provides corporate banking services, such as investment banking, real estate financing, overseas real estate and development project financing, infrastructure and structured financing, equity/venture investments, mergers and acquisitions consulting; securitization and derivatives services comprising securities and derivative products, and foreign exchange trading; and working capital loans and facilities loans. In addition, it is involved in treasury and investment activities in international capital markets consisting of foreign currency-denominated securities trading, foreign exchange trading and services, trade-related financial services, international factoring services, and foreign banking operations. Further, the company offers real estate trust, investment advisory, venture capital, non-life insurance, trust account management, securities brokerage, and asset management services, as well as leasing and equipment financing, savings banking, loan collection and credit reporting, collective investment administration, private equity investment, and financial system development services. Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

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Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI  Free Report)  Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for Robert Half in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 8th. Zacks Research analyst S. Bose now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.97. The consensus estimate for Robert Halfs current full-year earnings is $3.76 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Robert Halfs FY2023 earnings at $3.69 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.57 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $6.04 EPS.

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Several other research firms also recently weighed in on RHI. StockNews.com raised shares of Robert Half from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $63.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $84.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. They set a buy rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Robert Half has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.22.

Robert Half Price Performance

Robert Half stock opened at $76.26 on Friday. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $75.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.81. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.32. Robert Half has a fifty-two week low of $64.65 and a fifty-two week high of $89.78.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.69 billion. Robert Half had a return on equity of 34.51% and a net margin of 7.84%. The businesss revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Robert Half by 26.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 59,082 shares of the business services providers stock worth $4,276,000 after buying an additional 12,203 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Robert Half by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,759 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in Robert Half by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 287,318 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $21,747,000 after purchasing an additional 97,058 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Robert Half by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,819 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Robert Half by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,264 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 10,563 shares during the last quarter. 89.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Robert Half

In other Robert Half news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,050 shares of Robert Half stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.15, for a total value of $152,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,934 shares in the company, valued at $959,056.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the companys stock.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. Robert Halfs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.10%.

Robert Half Company Profile

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Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.

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First Farmers and Merchants Co. (OTCMKTS:FFMH  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 800 shares, a growth of 700.0% from the July 15th total of 100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

First Farmers and Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FFMH stock opened at $29.00 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $28.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.90. First Farmers and Merchants has a 12 month low of $19.00 and a 12 month high of $32.49.

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First Farmers and Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 30th.

First Farmers and Merchants Company Profile

First Farmers and Merchants Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Farmers and Merchants Bank that provides various banking and financial services in Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama. The company's deposit products include personal and business checking and savings, and individual retirement and investment accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

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Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CNQ) had its price objective increased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus price objective points to a potential upside of 17.38% from the stocks current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$88.00 to C$90.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. ATB Capital dropped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$94.00 to C$90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 17th. UBS Group set a C$90.00 price target on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Desjardins lowered their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$97.00 to C$95.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$86.00 to C$87.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$89.56.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Insider Activity

TSE CNQ opened at C$82.64 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of C$61.23 and a fifty-two week high of C$84.25. The stock has a market capitalization of C$90.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$75.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$76.87.

In other news, Director Stephen W. Laut sold 60,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.46, for a total value of C$4,527,600.00. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).

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StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WidePoint (NYSE:WYY  Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the stock.

WidePoint Stock Performance

NYSE WYY remained flat at $1.80 on Thursday. 2,479 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,184. WidePoint has a 12-month low of $1.70 and a 12-month high of $3.05. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 million, a PE ratio of -0.65 and a beta of 1.17.

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About WidePoint

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WidePoint Corporation provides technology management as a service (TMaaS) to the government and business enterprises in North America and Europe. The company offers TMaaS solutions through a secure federal government certified proprietary portal and secure enterprise portal that provides ability to manage, analyze, and protect communications assets, as well as deploy identity management solutions that provide secured virtual and physical access to restricted environments.

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Iran confirmed Thursday that it has transferred four American prisoners to house arrest in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in Korea, a development that comes as Tehran for months has indicated it is open to a prisoner swap with Washington.

"Under the deal mediated by a third country, five Iranians jailed in the United States will be released and Iran's frozen funds in Korea will be unblocked and transferred to Qatar," Tehran said, according to state news agency IRNA.

Iran said the deal with the U.S. involved between $6 billion and $7 billion that had been frozen as a result of sanctions.

The four prisoners are being moved from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison to house arrest at an undisclosed hotel where they will be held under guard by Iranian officials, human rights lawyer Jared Genser said in a statement Thursday.

Genser added that a fifth American -- an unnamed woman whose detention was just recently made public -- is already under house arrest. Genser identified three of the prisoners as Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz. Genser did not identify the fourth individual.

Earlier Thursday, the three and the unidentified fourth American hostage reportedly were brought together to the Prison Office, according to the lawyer. There, the four prisoners were informed they would be transferred to house arrest.

"The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development," said Genser, pro bono counsel to Namazi. "While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more. But there are simply no guarantees about what happens from here."
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In todays difficult economy and especially in the aftermath of numerous global economic upheavals, corporate players are devising creative ways to keep their businesses afloat. Employees and other stakeholders are in like term looking for ways to keep their jobs alive and active. Part of that creative efforts to wade through the storm include but not limited to being open to, and developing new abilities to connect with new productive ideas.

On their parts, government Ministries, agencies, Commissions and Departments across the world are rethinking the age long axiom which says that government has no business in business. To public office holders desirous to serve and save the masses particularly the poor, governance is no longer viewed from leisurely prism but approached from the perspectives of discipline and anchored on sustainability and productive collaborations with private sectors and development driven Civil Society Organizations(CSOs).

From the above standpoint, there is a legitimate need for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Federal Government, to revisit, persevere and implement the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, a successor plan to both the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) and the Vision 20:2020, launched in December, 2021, by the out gone President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.

Indeed, the president has not left anyone in doubt of the direction of his administration's economic policy, which revolves on lifting impediments to a friendly business climate, revenue generation, elimination of multiple taxation, monetary policy reforms, ease of doing business, growth of the economy that would engender prosperity. This fact notwithstanding, the 2021-2025 national development policy remains a document worthy of national attention and too important to be relegated to the background for whatever reason.

To use the words of the former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, sets the tone for Nigerias next economic destination and prioritizes robust infrastructure, economic stability, improved social indicators and living conditions of Nigerians.

First, infrastructural provisions enable development and also provide the services that underpin the ability of people to be economically productive. Infrastructure investments, from what development professionals are saying, help stem economic losses arising from problems such as power outages or traffic congestion. The World Bank estimates that in Sub-Saharan Africa closing the infrastructure quantity and quality gap relative to the worlds best performers could raise GDP growth per head by 2.6 per cent per year.

Aside from the evidence that the current plan has the future we all desire and will play a sizeable role in the product complexity space internationally and adopt measures to ease constraints that have hindered the economy from attaining its potential, particularly on the product mapping space, going by what experts are saying, another practical importance that qualify the Development Plan as exemplary is the new awareness that for the first time in our planning history as a nation, we are having a Development Plan that is divided into three volumes and comprehensively enriching.

In the past, we always had one volume, which is the plan itself. But this time, we have three volumes. Volume one is the main plan. Volume two is a prioritized and sequential list of programmes and projects that will be fed into the annual budgets while Volume three contains the legislative imperatives.

Also, in line with the global belief that every government must find ways to create a sustainable economy, find solution to the harmful effects of poverty upon the poor and upon those who are not poor but know that countless men and women are ravaged by hunger but choose to look away, the plan is laced with opportunities for inclusiveness for young people, women, people with special needs, and the vulnerable ones, mainstreaming women gender into all aspects of our social, economic and political activities.

Another compelling reason as to why the present Federal Government must not abandon the plan is that for a very long time, Nigeria has become adversely reputed for changing economic plans with every change in leadership. This fear cannot be described as unfounded as we have as a country had several economic plans in the past. They had a huge sum of money injected into them but none achieved its targeted result. They were all aborted on the way by corruption, incompetence, and change in administration and in some cases a combination of these factors.

As noted elsewhere, since independence in 1960, the country has demonstrated that there is no development plan which has achieved its core objective. There is always a disturbing laxity in marching plan targets with practical and unfailing consistency. The result is that the country remains one of the most politically and economically dis-articulated countries in the world.

In my view, what has all these years abbreviated Nigerias socioeconomic growth, or accelerated development of other nations, is by no means a function of development plans but predicated on, and traceable to the existence of deformed leadership styles.

Take as an illustration, for most of our political history, public office holders in Nigeria assume self-sufficient attitude, despise others and view themselves as the exclusive possessor of what they have, as well as claim excellence not possessed. Unfortunately, such characterizes the leaderships sphere, not just in Nigeria but Africa as a continent; a factor thats largely responsible for leaders inability to provide direction, protection, orientation, shape norms or manage conflicts in their various places of authority. The bitter truth is that no matter how good a plan or system of government may be, bad leaders must bring harm to their people.

This piece is not alone in this line of argument.

While underlying the problem of Nigerias underdevelopment exacerbated by the failure in the leadership system, Chinua Achebe, in his book, The Trouble with Nigeria, remarks that there is nothing wrong with Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. But concludes that the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.

Looking ahead, two questions that are important are; what strategy can the nation deploy to arrest such ugly narrative in ways that will make this recently developed national plan not end in shame like previous experience but bear the targeted result? Two, how can the present handlers of the nation effectively diversify the nations revenue sources, bearing in mind that such arrangement will reduce financial risks and increase national economic stability as a decline in particular revenue source might be offset by increase in other revenue sources?

The above questions call on leaders in the country to reassess their priorities via development of ability to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future by subsidizing things that improve the earning powers of citizens  education, housing and public health and placement of emphasis on, and understanding that the economy would look after itself if democracy is protected; human rights adequately taken care of, and the rule of law strictly adhered to.

Therefore, as we hope to build the Nigeria of our dreams, one point President Tinubu must not fail to remember is that Nigeria, according to a report, is the only, or among the few oil-producing countries without adequate metering to ascertain the accurate quantity of crude oil produced at any given time.

What the above tells us as a country is that there is more work to be done and more reforms to be made. The masses on their part must develop the keen interest in holding their leaders accountable.

Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via; [email protected] , 08032725374 .
People with Disabilities in Ebonyi State have decried the high level of disenfranchisement of their members by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the 2023 general election in Nigeria.

The group spoke Wednesday through its Woman Leader, Ugochinyere Ugwu, in an interaction with our correspondent in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

Ugwu, who described the 2023 polls as total rejection for people with disabilities, especially women, alleged that INEC skillfully excluded them from the voting process by failing to create the conducive environment for their impaired members to participate.

She noted that apart from widespread violence before and during the polls which constituted a discouragement, its members with hearing, sight and mobility impediments were not provided for in terms of logistics and proper guidance.

Although Ugwu commended INEC, for training their blind members on usage of Braille version of some voting materials prior to the elections, she regretted that the Commission denied them participation by not providing the promised necessary facilities to enable them vote.

Ugwu further explained: "In the local government area where I observed for instance, the polling boots were located on high pedestals (staircases) where Persons with disabilities found it difficult to access.

"The hearing impaired persons who were supposed to exercise their rights of franchise according to their conscience were denied the chance because there was no interpreter; someone to communicate them on happenings at the boot.

"The fact that they were not carried along was an emotional scare.

"During the process, INEC did some trainings for the blind persons on how to use Braille version of voting materials, but to our greatest surprise, when we got to the polling boots, we did not see anything like that.

"The blind persons who came out to vote were stranded because there were no Braille version as promised.

"That is why I said it was a total rejection for us."

The disability women's leader urged Nigeria Government and the INEC to begin early enough to fashion out ways of taking care of specific needs of all social groups in next elections in the country.

"We are asking for inclusion in the whole electoral process and procedure come 2027 and beyond", Ugwu stressed.
A political divide on the issue has grown, with the Republican-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the party's leader, Donald Trump, who has been very skeptical of the war. And American support for the effort has been slowly softening.

While the last such request from the White House for Ukraine funding was easily approved in 2022, there's a different dynamic this time.

The request also includes $12 billion to replenish U.S. federal disaster funds at home after a deadly climate season of heat and storms, and funds to bolster enforcement at the border with Mexico, including money to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. All told, it's a $40 billion package.

The Biden administration on Thursday asked Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin's deeply entrenched forces.

White House budget director Shalanda Young, in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, urged swift action to follow through on the U.S. "commitment to the Ukrainian people's defense of their homeland and to democracy around the world," as well as other needs.

The request was crafted with an eye to picking up support from Republicans, as well as Democrats, particularly with increased domestic funding around border issues -- a top priority for the Republican Party, which has been highly critical of the Biden administration's approach to halting the flow of migrants crossing from Mexico.

Still, the price tag of $40 billion may be too much for Republicans who are fighting to slash, not raise, federal outlays. As a supplemental request, the package the White House is sending to Congress falls outside the budget caps both parties agreed to as part of the debt ceiling showdown earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement that there was strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.

"The latest request from the Biden administration shows America's continued commitment to helping Americans here at home and our friends abroad," he said. "We hope to join with our Republican colleagues this fall to avert an unnecessary government shutdown and fund this critical emergency supplemental request."

President Joe Biden and his senior national security team have repeatedly said the U.S. will help Ukraine "as long as it takes" to oust Russia from its borders. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress -- and American public -- for the costs of a war with no clear end.

"For people who might be concerned the costs are getting too high, we'd ask them what the costs -- not just in treasure but in blood, perhaps even American blood -- could be if Putin subjugates Ukraine," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said this week.

Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has waned with time. An AP-NORC poll conducted in January 2023 around the one-year mark of the conflict found that 48 percent favored the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, down from the 60 percent of U.S. adults who were in favor of sending weapons in May 2022. While Democrats have generally been more supportive than Republicans of offering weaponry, their support dropped slightly from 71 percent to 63 percent in the same period. Republicans' support dropped more, from 53 percent to 39 percent.

Dozens of Republicans in the House and some GOP senators have expressed reservations, and even voted against, spending more federal dollars for the war effort. Many of those Republicans are aligning with Trump's objections to the U.S. involvement overseas.

That means any final vote on Ukraine aid will likely need to rely on a hefty coalition led by Democrats from Biden's party to ensure approval.

The funding includes another $10 billion to counter Russian and Chinese influence elsewhere by bolstering the World Bank and providing aid to resist Russian-aligned Wagner Group forces in Africa.

Domestically, there's an additional $60 million to address increased wildfires that have erupted nationwide. And the request includes $2.2 billion for Southern border management and $766 million to curb the flow of fentanyl. There is also $100 million earmarked for the Labor Department to ramp up investigations of suspected child labor violations.

To ease passage, Congress would likely try to attach the package to a must-pass measure for broader government funding in the U.S. that's needed by Oct. 1 to prevent any shutdown in federal offices.

Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a "robust program" to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.

Ukraine is pushing through with its ongoing counteroffensive in an effort to dislodge the Kremlin's forces from territory they've occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The counteroffensive has come up against heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications.

The U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russia's invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the front lines. Congress approved the latest round of aid in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.

"We remain confident that we'll be able to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes," said Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder.

There were questions in November about waning Republican support to approve the package, but it ultimately passed. Now, though, House Speaker McCarthy is facing pressure to impeach Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct and it's not clear whether a quick show of support for Ukraine could cause political damage in what's expected to be a bruising 2024 reelection campaign.

Trump contends that American involvement has only drawn Russia closer to other adversarial states like China, and he has condemned the tens of billions of dollars that the U.S. has provided in aid for Ukraine.
Durban, South Africa, August 9, 2023Ethiopian authorities must immediately release journalist Bekalu Alamrew, founder and chief editor of Alpha Media, a YouTube-based news channel, and ensure the protection of press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On Sunday, August 6, at approximately 2 p.m., three uniformed police officers and two other people in civilian clothes arrested Bekalu at his home in the capital city of Addis Ababa, according to a report by independent news website Ethiopia Insider, an Alpha Media report and a person familiar with his case who spoke to CPJ by phone and asked not to be named due to safety concerns.

The following morning police searched Bekalus house and confiscated his laptop, CDs and USB flash drives.

During times of conflict and emergencies, the Ethiopian governments apparent default position is to silence critical journalism by targeting independent voices based on vague allegations, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. Bekalu Alamrew and all fellow journalists currently detained for their reporting and commentary must be unconditionally released and allowed to work freely without legal harassment and censorship.

The person familiar with the case said Bekalu had not appeared in court within 48 hours of his detention nor been informed of the reason he was being held  a legal requirement under Article 19 of Ethiopias constitution  and was being held at the Federal Police Crime Investigation Main Department.

Prior to his arrest Bekalu extensively covered the ongoing violent confrontation in Amhara state between government forces and Fano, an armed militia operating within the state. This conflict resulted in the declaration of a six-month-long state of emergency and an ongoing internet shutdown in the region.

According to CPJs review, the state of emergency proclamation grants expanded powers to the State of Emergency Command Post, enabling it to order the closure, termination, revocation of licenses, or restriction of activities of any media organization or entity suspected of acting against the objectives outlined in the decree.

Bekalu has been arrested several times previously and released without charges. He was arrested in November 2020 on charges of disseminating false information, again in June 2021 when he was held for more than six weeks without access to family or legal representation, and once more in June 2022 on accusations of incitement to violence through media appearances, as documented by CPJ and news reports.

In Ethiopia, several journalists who were detained in April continue to remain in custody after authorities pressed terrorism charges.

Federal police spokesman Jeylan Abdi did not reply to CPJs requests for comment sent via email and messaging app.
War in Sudans Darfur region has triggered a refugee crisis in eastern Chad and raised concerns that turmoil could spread. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Enrica Picco draws upon research at the Chad-Sudan border to explain the challenges facing NDjamena.

What is happening?

Chad was facing a turbulent time even before April, when fighting broke out in Sudans Darfur region on its eastern border, and things have only got worse since then. President Mahamat Deby Itno, who took over on an ostensibly interim basis after his father unexpectedly died in 2021, appears set on staying in power. Discontent with his regime is growing, despite efforts led by the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS) to facilitate an agreement among key political parties on how to handle the transition after, in October 2022, a police crackdown killed more than 200 demonstrators. The repression has weakened the political opposition and civil society, prompting several leaders to leave the country. Key Chadian rebel groups remain excluded from the transition, while others are dissatisfied with the governments disarmament and reintegration program, which is supposed to be their bridge back to civilian life. Since May, the military has clashed with armed groups in the northern Tibesti region and in the north of the neighbouring Central Africa Republic (CAR), near Chads southern border, while the late July coup in Niger threatens to unsettle the western frontier.

But even against this troubled backdrop, the situation in Darfur may be the biggest challenge that NDjamena faces. The border between Sudan and Chad has long been volatile. Since Chad won independence from France in 1960, Darfur has served as a safe haven for Chadian rebels. In the 2000s, cross-border ties among ethnic Zaghawa led to years of proxy warfare between Chad and Sudan. Late Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno directly supported Darfuri rebel groups, such as the Justice and Equality Movement, now led by Jibril Ibrahim, and the Zaghawa wing of the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement, led by Minni Minnawi. He allowed them to use Chad as a rear base to fight Khartoum-backed Arab militias in Darfur. In response, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir backed Chadian rebel groups that launched an offensive on NDjamena in 2006 and another in 2008. To calm tensions, Khartoum and NDjamena signed a non-aggression pact in 2010, but cross-border family and clan connections remain strong, with the potential to influence national politics.

How is the Sudanese conflict unfolding in Darfur?

Since April, the Sudanese army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been engaged in a disastrous power struggle with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti Dagalo. The war has displaced more than four million people and devastated several parts of the country, pushing the Sudanese state to the brink of collapse. While the capital, Khartoum, has thus far been the main battleground, the two sides are also fighting in other places, notably the far western region of Darfur, which borders Chad, Libya and CAR.

The war has displaced more than four million people and devastated several parts of the country, pushing the Sudanese state to the brink of collapse.

Darfur has suffered armed conflict over land, natural resources and power for decades. In the early 2000s, Darfuri rebel groups joined forces to rise up against Khartoum, which they perceived as neglecting the countrys peripheries and oppressing non-Arab minorities. The central government hit back with a brutal campaign aimed at the rebels as well as non-Arab ethnic militias (eg, comprising Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur fighters) suspected of supporting them. Khartoum also committed atrocities against civilians from these communities, relying mainly upon local Arab-identifying ethno-linguistic groups whose militias came to be known as the Janjaweed. The vicious, indiscriminate campaigns in which the Janjaweed sacked villages and killed civilians  tactics echoed in Sudans current conflict  drove more than one million people from their homes. Many Arab men from neighbouring Chad joined the pro-Khartoum militias, some driven by the political crisis in their country and others by financial motives. They received support from the Bashir regime in the following years.

Amid a mounting international outcry, the Sudanese government and Darfuri rebels signed a peace agreement in 2006. The agreement was followed the next year by the deployment of a hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping mission, UNAMID. In 2009 and 2010, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Bashir, who was charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed in Darfur. But despite these efforts at peacemaking and accountability, the underlying tensions persisted.

A popular uprising that spread throughout Sudan starting in late 2018 inaugurated a new phase in the countrys internal dynamics. After the army toppled Bashir in 2019, Sudans transitional authorities entered negotiations with a range of rebel movements, including Darfuri ones, from long-neglected regions of the country. The parties signed a deal, the Juba Peace Agreement, in October 2020. The deal allowed for representatives from armed groups in the countrys peripheries to take government posts and for significant public money to go to these areas. It represented little, however, but a division of spoils among elites, as it failed to redress the imbalances of political power and resource allocation between the centre and peripheries. Meanwhile, the RSF, which had its origins in Khartoums counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur and since 2013 had become something like a praetorian guard for Bashir, grew even more powerful after its erstwhile patron fell. For five years, it was in effect an equal partner with the army in ruling Sudan, both openly and behind the scenes; in October 2021, the army and RSF worked together to upend the civilian-led transitional government in a coup.

The fragile equilibrium between the two forces did not last, however, and in April the Sudanese army and RSF came to blows, roping Darfuri tribal militias into their bloody war. The RSF and its Arab-identifying allies in western Sudan took control of several towns in Darfur, including El Geneina and Kereneik (West Darfur), Nyala (South Darfur) and al-Fashir (North Darfur). In May, eyewitnesses report that RSF fighters targeted non-Arab Darfuri communities that had sided with the army at the beginning of the conflict. A group of young Chadian Arab men reportedly joined them, mainly to earn money. (There is no evidence that the RSF set out to recruit Arabs across the region.) Although the army then gave weapons to non-Arab militias to confront the RSF, the latter quickly gained the upper hand.

Refugees told Crisis Group that army soldiers in the area, meanwhile, were unwilling or unable to protect civilians.

Refugees told Crisis Group that army soldiers in the area, meanwhile, were unwilling or unable to protect civilians. On 14 June, Arab militias killed the West Darfur governor, Khamis Abdallah Abbakar, hours after he told a Saudi news channel that RSF and affiliated fighters had pillaged El Geneina and were committing genocide against non-Arabs while the army stood by. Khamis was a former Masalit rebel leader and a Juba peace deal signatory. The following week, Arab militias murdered hundreds of Masalit civilians and went on a looting spree in what appeared to be a targeted campaign of tribal violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented freshly dug mass graves in the area, and senior UN officials have highlighted reports of conflict-related sexual violence. All these events are highly reminiscent of past horrors in Darfur.

Adre, the main entry point for refugees from Sudan, experiences waves of refugees fleeing Darfur. Authorities estimate, on average, 1,500-2,000 new arrivals per day. July 2023.Crisis Group / Enrica Picco

How many refugees have arrived in eastern Chad?

The resurgence of fighting in Darfur has also uprooted hundreds of thousands of civilians, as it did in the 2000s. Over the past three months, the UN refugee agency has registered 329,000 newly arrived Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad, as well as some 48,000 Chadian citizens who have fled Darfur. Between late April and early May, fighting in West Darfur drove almost 9,000 non-Arab Sudanese, primarily Masalit, from their homes. In mid-May, a second wave of around 85,000 refugees arrived, including officers from the Sudanese army and police, fleeing the RSFs attacks.

By the end of June, Adre, the main entry point for refugees from Sudan, 30km west of El Geneina, was seeing still more refugees stream in. Most of them were women and children with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many refugees established makeshift camps on the border, telling Crisis Group that they were awaiting the arrival of other family members. In Adre, Medecins Sans Frontieresreceived about 600 patients with gunshot wounds over three days, with many having been shot in the legs as they ran away. Accounts of sexual violence against women and girls were also common.

At the time of writing, Adres authorities are recording 1,500 to 2,000 new arrivals per day, mainly Masalit. The actual refugee numbers are likely to be much higher than those registered by the UN, as many Sudanese have found shelter with Chadian hosts. Aid agencies are gradually arriving in the area, but the humanitarian response is still falling short.

Humanitarian aid is gradually arriving in the area to attend to the more than 329,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad and some 48,000 Chadian citizens that fled Darfur. July 2023.Crisis Group / Enrica Picco.

How has Chad responded?

President Deby closed the border with Sudan the day the conflict broke out in Khartoum (though not to refugees) and deployed troops in the area. He adopted a neutral stance and called for dialogue between the warring parties in Sudan. France, which is Chads main security ally and has about 3,000 soldiers in NDjamena that had been part of Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, has sent forces to the east to help the national army with logistics. There, they will also be in a position to gather intelligence on any threat to Chads stability. Yet securing the 1,400km Chad-Sudan frontier remains a challenge. Contraband trade in fuel and other essential commodities has thrived. Reports indicate that the RSF and affiliated militias are willing to pay up to $100 for a 20l barrel of fuel, which ordinarily would fetch only about $20 in Chad. Concerns about weapons smuggling are also widespread.

The transitional government swiftly responded to the refugee crisis. Local authorities have made land available to build refugee camps, while NDjamena has allowed UN agencies and international NGOs previously based in Sudan to relocate their operations to eastern Chad. The Chadian army, meanwhile, is escorting aid workers along the border, reportedly in return for financial compensation. On 17 June, shortly after the governors murder in El Geneina, Deby spent three days in Adre to call attention to the dire humanitarian situation. According to several local sources, he said Sudanese refugees are welcome in Chad but that the issues in Sudan should remain confined to Sudan.

Still, eastern Chad is struggling to accommodate the new arrivals. In Adre, Sudanese refugees outnumber the permanent residents by a factor of three. Prices of fuel and charcoal have doubled. Housing is increasingly scarce, compelling many refugees to camp on what should be working farmland. The priority for NDjamena is now building new camps well into the countrys interior. This measure should ease pressure on Chadians living along the border and lower the risk that the RSF and its Arab allies will pursue Masalit fighters seeking shelter in Chad. Masalit refugees are getting most of the attention, prompting growing frustration among Arabs on both sides of the border, who feel they are being unfairly associated with the RSF and its allied militias. They are victims of the conflict, too, they say, since the RSF has reportedly gone after Arabs who had helped Masalit get into Chad. Meanwhile, Chadian Arabs say their livelihoods have dried up because trade with Sudan has stopped. They are confining themselves to their ferricks (villages) for fear of retaliation from non-Arabs, who accuse them of sending their sons to Darfur to fight with the RSF.

What are the risks to Chads stability and political transition?

President Deby is under increasing internal and external pressure to choose a side in the Sudan conflict. On one hand, Zaghawa elites in Chad are reportedly expecting NDjamena to support Zaghawa militias in Darfur, including materially, as they seek to counter Arab militias. The Zaghawa elites hope these militias might unite with the Chadian army in the event of a new rebellion against the Chadian authorities, like they did in the 2000s. This is likely one reason why the troops Deby deployed along the Sudanese border are mostly Zaghawa. Observers also believe that former Darfuri rebel leader Minni Minnawi, a Zaghawa who was backed by Debys father in the early 2000s, traveled to NDjamena in June in order to secure the authorities support.

President Deby is under increasing internal and external pressure to choose a side in the Sudan conflict.

These efforts may be hard for Deby to ignore, given that he needs the Zaghawa clans political backing to stay in power. Moreover, clan members in Chad are already making clear their discontent with recent decisions that Deby  who is Zaghawa on his fathers side and Gorane on his mothers  has taken. These include forcing the retirement of more than a hundred generals in the past couple of months, a move perceived as an attempt to reshuffle the army. Addressing their grievances, including by siding with the Zaghawa in Darfur, could make Deby stronger overall in Chad but might incur hostility among the Chadian Arabs who are also part of the ruling coalition of northern elites in NDjamena. Any support for the Zaghawa in Darfur would of course be poorly received by the RSF and its allies in Darfur.

But Deby is reportedly being pulled in other directions as well. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a powerful supporter of the RSF, appears to be pushing Deby to take a stance of positive neutrality toward Hemedti. Abu Dhabi has been trying to strengthen ties with NDjamena, and signs of its influence in Chad are multiplying. In mid-June, Deby visited Abu Dhabi to sign a military cooperation agreement that resulted in the delivery of armoured vehicles and security equipment several weeks later. In July, the UAE opened a field hospital in Amdjarass, a city in north-eastern Chad. These moves are raising concerns, which observers have expressed both privately and publicly, about the UAE using Chad as a base for transferring material support to the RSF in Darfur. Though not verified, these rumours might affect perceptions of whether Debys stance is truly neutral and contribute to increasing dissatisfaction among the Zaghawa clan in Chad. That disaffection, in turn, could prepare the ground for a power struggle among the ruling elite that could deeply destabilise the country.

At the local level, another risk to Chads stability comes from the pressure exerted by the arrival of Sudanese refugees on Chadians living in the east. As the harvest season approaches, farmers have lost access to their fields, where refugee camps now sit. The resulting socio-economic stress has not triggered a significant reaction from the local population just yet. As a traditional chief stated to Crisis Group, We support each other and follow orders. The massive presence of the Chadian army has also, for now, deterred the transformation of growing discontent into something more volatile. But more refugees are arriving, and they will likely stay in Chad for a long time. The country is already hosting around 400,000 Sudanese refugees from the 2000s Darfur war. To accommodate the new ones, local authorities will likely appropriate still more agricultural land. The land available for transhumance corridors  where herders pass through with their livestock  will likely also be reduced. Such actions could exacerbate tensions with refugees as well as existing intercommunal conflicts between herders and farmers in the Ouaddai region, as Crisis Group warned in 2019.

The Darfur violence could affect Chads political transition.

Finally, the Darfur violence could affect Chads political transition. The transitional authorities are due to hold a constitutional referendum on 17 December, followed by legislative and presidential elections in 2024. But Deby could use the emergency in eastern Chad to justify another delay in the transitional calendar, which he has already extended beyond what was initially agreed upon. In July, Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo implied that such a change could be in the works, telling diplomats in NDjamena that the scale of the refugee crisis might require modifying the transition.

It is not clear whether putting these key dates further out will have an immediate impact. Although it could deepen discontent among Chadians and (if it permanently derails the transition) deal a serious blow to both governance and prospects for stability over the long term, the short-term effects are more uncertain. The governments post-October 2022 repression has left the political opposition and civil society unable to organise mass protests. Meanwhile, Western countries, including the U.S., France and other EU member states, may be tempted to place near-term security needs above democratic principles, as Chad remains their only ally in the Sahel after the July coup in Niger. They may turn a blind eye to delays in scheduled votes, as well as to efforts by Deby and his circle to retain power, notwithstanding the conditions imposed by the AU. Precisely this scenario has worried Chads political opposition and civil society since the summer of 2022, when the national dialogue (which most such groups decided not to attend, perceiving it as insufficiently inclusive) began. In October 2022, the dialogue participants determined that members of the transitional leadership could run for election, leading to violent protests.

What should Chad do?

The war raging in Darfur presents myriad risks for NDjamena. Pressure from domestic clans and foreign powers to choose sides in the Sudan conflict, as well as the humanitarian crisis in eastern Chad and attendant land issues, could have destabilising effects on a country that has already been somewhat shaky of late. Authorities could point to the situation as a reason for Chads own transition timetable to slip once more. To mitigate these risks, the Chadian transitional authorities should urgently take the following measures with support from international donors.

First, President Deby, along with the militarys top brass, should hold firm to Chads non-interventionist position, including in formal diplomatic settings. On 13 July, in Egypt, the leaders of Sudans six neighbours agreed to work together to resolve the Sudanese conflict, establishing a follow-up mechanism that held the first of a series of meetings in NDjamena on 7 August. As part of this initiative, Deby should make clearer his position that Chad will not be dragged into the conflict in Darfur, focusing instead on using its historical relationships with key players (including ties formed by Debys father) to facilitate de-escalation and promote political and security arrangements that can help stabilise that region. Deby took an important first step in this direction in mid-July, when he hosted a meeting between Hemedtis influential brother, Abdulrahim Hamdan Dagalo, and two Juba peace deal signatories, Minnawi and Jibril Ibrahim. Similar initiatives could contribute to mediation efforts to end the war in Sudan.

Secondly, in partnership with Chadian authorities, donors should scale up assistance to Sudanese refugees in the east of Chad. As international aid agencies start setting up operations on the border, coordination is vital for a more targeted and effective response.

Thirdly, the authorities should anticipate and work to alleviate current and potential future socio-economic pressure on communities in eastern Chad with the following measures. Before they relocate Sudanese refugees to the interior, they should enhance coordination with traditional chiefs and community leaders to build consensus regarding land use. Given that these leadership roles are traditionally occupied by men, womens organisations should also be involved in efforts to address the influx of refugees, not least in order to ensure that the needs and priorities of the large proportion of women refugees, and their children, are addressed. Chadian authorities should establish mixed committees involving refugees and local representatives responsible for identifying suitable sites for new refugee camps that do not interfere with the activities of farmers and herders. Meanwhile, collaboration with international aid agencies is crucial for providing some form of compensation to Chadians affected by the humanitarian emergency. One form could be local development projects focused on infrastructure and economic growth. These measures could help prevent tensions from escalating between refugees and long-time residents, as well as address existing grievances between herders and farmers.

Finally, Chadian authorities should not use current and future security challenges as a pretext for simply shelving the idea of a transition. Though the opposition, civil society and foreign partners may have no leverage to press the government to stick to the transitional calendar, or to insist that members of the transitional leadership decline to run when election day arrives, Deby should build on the ECCAS efforts at reconciliation led by the Democratic Republic of Congos President Felix Tshisekedi and resume dialogue with all the parties involved in the political process ahead of the 2024 elections. Above all, he should ease tensions by reconsidering the eligibility of the transitional leadership in the forthcoming elections, consistent with the AUs above-referenced terms, and by publicly committing to transferring power to civilians at the end of the transition. This is the best way to avoid turning Chads transition into a source of lasting grievance and instability in a region that scarcely needs more such problems.
Chinese grey investors key immigration concern

PHUKET: Preventing the rising spread of Chinese grey investors while coping with a marked increase in the number of Chinese tourists were key issues discussed at the conference of the 26th ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and related meetings.

Friday 11 August 2023 04:40 PM

The conference, held at the Angsana Laguna Phuket resort, began on Monday (Aug 7) and concluded today (Aug 11).

Speaking to the press at the event yesterday, Thai Immigration Deputy Commander Maj Gen Chuchat Thareechat said that efforts were discussed in raising the level of intercepting the movement of transnational crime and strengthening a healthy tourism sector were key issues discussed by the ministers, and immigration chiefs from the 11 ASEAN member countries.

Specifically, blocking the movement of transnational crimes, illegal immigration and human trafficking in the Asian region and nearby regions, were key concerns addressed, he said.

The current border situation has changed a lot, especially the camouflage of identity used by various nationalities moving to embed in one country to inflict a target effect on another country, Maj Gen Chuchat said.

This is especially with cases involving crimes using technology. and financial cases. Therefore, cooperation among consular and immigration agencies must be tightened. In terms of technology and law, to create a mechanism for flexible joint practice, he said.

As such, the theme of the meeting was Building Security, Fostering Collaboration and Sustaining the Future, Maj Gen Chucchat noted.

Among the related meetings held as part of the conference was the 18th ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs Meeting Plus Australia Consultation, or simply the 18th DGICM + Australia Consultation.

Three dialogue partner countries, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, also attended the meeting, said an official report of the event.

There was a discussion that included China on how to solve the problems of Chinese grey investors to reduce and suppress all transnational crime groups and to elevate sustainable tourism, the report said.

It is expected that the number of tourists from China will increase by 15%, the report noted.

More than 500 attendees attended the five-day event, which included a gala dinner.

With Thailand the host country for the talks this year, the Royal Thai Police chose Phuket as the host location for the meetings to help stimulate tourism after the COVID-19 crisis, the official report noted.

Thailand previously hosted the conference in 2002 and 2012. The 25th edition of the conference was held in Singapore in August last year.
Farmers to seek ownership of plots in Bang Khanun protected forest

PHUKET: Farmers with plantations in the Bang Khanun Protected Forest Reserve will submit a formal request to be granted ownership of the plots they occupy in the protected forest in the name of maintaining their livelihoods.

landmilitaryenvironmentnatural-resourcesconstruction

By The Phuket News

Friday 11 August 2023 01:57 PM

The news was revealed by Uthai Suksirisamphan, Chairman of the Board of Farmers Federation of Thailand, at a meeting of those affected at Darul Abideen Mosque in Sakhu yesterday (Aug 10).

Presented at the meeting was a copy of a resolution by the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Cooperatives in 2003 requesting that the Royal Forest Department allow 265 farmers in the forest be allowed ownership of the plots they occupy through the payment of tax receipts for the land (TorPor 4).

The request was issued after a complaint was filed by farmers in the area in 1998.

The total area the the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Cooperatives requested be handed over to local farmers in 2003 covered 2,678 rai 1 ngan 53 talang wah.

The Bang Khanun Protected Forest Reserve, in the hills inland from Nai Yang Beach, covers a total of 3,763 rai. Many of the elevated areas afford sea views.

Of note, a tax receipt is evidence of possession, but does not confer ownership rights with possession. However, it is useful when applying for a Certificate of Possession (SorKor 1), explains Thai legal firm Tilleke & Gibbins.

Once a SorKor 1 has been issued for a parcel of land, the occupier can then start the process to elevate the document for land possession status, over time and step by step, all through way through to full ownership through a Chanote.

Also of note, and explained at the meeting yesterday, the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Cooperatives also requested that there must be no arrest of people because it is an area that has been conducted with agreement of all parties.

On this basis, the farmers present at the meeting yesterday said they had full rights to claim the land they occupy in the protected forest. Representatives from the group will now take steps to achieve that, the group was told.

However, the representatives at the meeting yesterday emphasised that claiming actual ownership of land in the forest was not their goal.

The goal was to maintain use of the land in the forest so that families that rely on the income made from farming areas in the forest can continue to provide for their families. The farmers were even happy to rent the land from the government, said an official report of the meeting.

The move by farmers to claim ownership of land in the forest comes in response to the Royal Forest Department handing over rights to all 3,763 rai of the Bang Khanun Protected Forest Reserve to the Royal Thai Navy, which plans to build Naval facilities in the forest.

The Royal Thai Navy plans to use the forest land to create a new home for the 22nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion, the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment, the Anti-Aircraft Command Unit, an Air Defense and Coastal Defense Center and the 4th Naval Police Battalion of the Naval Police Department.

While still designated a protected forest reserve, the Bang Khanun Protected Forest has long been classified by the Royal Forest Department as a degraded forest, with no special characteristics worthy of a higher protection classification.

Vice Admiral Arpakorn Yookongkaew, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, has already recognised 265 cases had been approved use of areas within the forest.

However, more than 100 local residents occupying land within the forest last month presented a formal request for the Royal Thai Navy to remove a barbed-wire fence from the area.

On Tuesday, Chamrun Koetdam, President of the Network of Gulf of Thailand-Andaman Conservation Areas, submitted a petition to Thalang District Chief Bancha Thanu-in, asking the Thalang District Office to specifically order two tambon administrative organisations in the district to enforce the Building Control Act in one particular area of Bang Khanun reserve forest.

Citing information supplied by several groups of environmentalists working in Phuket, Mr Chamrun said past major flooding at Phuket International Airport might have been caused by this widespread deforestation, which has also occurred on mountains close to the airport.

We have received information about serious encroachment and deforestation in the reserve forest. This is a threat to the countrys natural resources and to tourism, he said, reports the Bangkok Post.
Interview with the French Owner of a new Cleaning Phuket Company

In the heart of the tropical paradise of Phuket, where stunning beaches and vibrant culture collide, there lies a unique story of entrepreneurship and dedication. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Arnaud M., the passionate French owner of Cleaning Phuket, a renowned cleaning company that has been making waves in the hospitality and residential sectors of Phuket. In this exclusive interview, Arnaud shared his journey, challenges, and insights into the cleaning industry on this enchanting island.



By Advertorial

Friday 11 August 2023 12:49 PM

Background and Beginnings in the cleaning business industry

From France to Phuket: A Bold Move

Arnauds journey originated in the charming neighborhoods of Paris, France, where his dedication to cleanliness and keen eye for detail laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial path. With a dream of exploring new horizons, he made the audacious decision to move to Phuket and start his own cleaning company.

Navigating Cultural Nuances

Adapting to a new culture was not without its challenges. Arnaud expressed how understanding the local customs and etiquette was crucial in establishing his business. He emphasized the importance of building strong relationships within the Thai community, which ultimately contributed to his companys success.

The Evolution of Cleaning Phuket Company

Inception and Ideology

"Cleaning Phuket was born out of a desire to provide top-notch cleaning services that align with the natural beauty of Phuket," Arnaud explained. He elaborated on how his team incorporates eco-friendly practices and locally sourced products to ensure minimal environmental impact.This cleaning service Phuket stands as a reliable and versatile choice for all things cleaning and maintenance in the vibrant Phuket community.

Challenges and Triumphs

Arnaud recounted the initial hurdles of building a client base in a competitive market. He emphasized the significance of reliability and consistent quality, which gradually earned him the trust of both residential clients and and luxury businesses alike.

Comprehensive Cleaning Services and Convenient Laundry Service in Phuket

Arnauds company, "Cleaning Phuket," has become a cornerstone of cleanliness in Phuket. They offer a comprehensive range of services to cater to both residential and commercial needs. For those seeking to maintain the pristine allure of their living spaces, Cleaning Phuket provides top-notch residential cleaning for houses, condos, villas, and even Airbnb properties. Additionally, their commercial cleaning services extend to shops and offices, ensuring a polished and inviting atmosphere for businesses. Going beyond traditional cleaning, they excel in sofa and mattress cleaning, rejuvenating your furniture to its original splendor. Moreover, in the spirit of convenience, Arnauds company also offers a convenient pick-up Phuket laundry service, addressing the laundry needs of Phukets residents and visitors. With a dedication to perfection and a wide array of services.
Seven held over fake royal projects

BANGKOK: Police have arrested suspected members of a gang that they say defrauded people into investing in non-existent development projects in the Northeast since 2021 using the name of the royally established Chaipattana Foundation.

crimecorruptionpolice

By Bangkok Post

Friday 11 August 2023 11:00 AM

Police take a suspect accused of defrauding people into investing in false development projects, to search his vehicle. Photo: Supplied via Bangkok Post

Investigators had gathered evidence and found 10 suspects who were complicit in the scam, Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan, the Crime Suppression Division chief, told journalists yesterday (Aug 10).

This week, police teams were dispatched to search locations where the fraud took place in Chaiyaphum, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Kalasin, Chiang Mai, Lampang and Suphan Buri, he said.

Police have so far captured seven suspects and charged them with fraud, he added.

They were identified as Somchai Namsom, 59; Suriyaphan Sattayapitak, 61; Aukkarawat Promkamnoi, 59; Prasan Saengsawang, 65; Niphon Phukongka, 61; Warapon Suwankammun, 58; and Somsak Khanthong, 51. They all denied the charges, reports the Bangkok Post.

Police said they had confiscated documents containing the details of 20 projects used to lure victims, 18 passbooks, three ATM cards and four mobile phones.

Police are searching for two more suspects - identified as Kittisak Saiprom, 58, and Metta Khanthong, 53 - in connection with the case.

Another suspect, Lerdpong Chaiwonglerd, 60, is currently serving time for another criminal offence.

Pol Maj Gen Montree said police were first alerted to the gangs activities by the Chaipattana Foundation in 2021.

The gang had duped more than 20 victims out of a combined B1.5 million, which they said would be invested in 90 non-existent kaem ling (monkey cheeks) projects for water retention in the Northeast, he said.

The suspects claimed to represent a construction company contracted by the foundation, he added.
Cho Min said on social media, "I will diligently attend the trial and will humbly take responsibility if there is anything I am responsible for."

"According to the facts established by the Supreme Court, Cho Min's involvement is considerable and she played a leading role rather than being merely a beneficiary" of the forgeries, a prosecution spokesman explained. The spokesman added that her "testimony during the investigation was not consistent and she continues to deny some of the charges."

Prosecutors on Thursday indicted fly-by-night Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter Cho Min for forging documents she submitted for admission to university. Her parents have already been convicted over the cheat.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office charged her with two offenses. The first is obstructing the business of admissions officers at Pusan National University's medical school by submitting in June 2014 a forged award she claimed to have received from the chancellor of Dongyang University.

Her mother, Chung Kyung-shim, a former professor at the university, has been convicted of the forgery and other crimes and is serving a four-year prison term.

The other charge is obstructing the business of admissions officers at Seoul National University's medical school by submitting in June 2013 false internship records from SNU's law school, where Cho Kuk was a professor.

The ex-minister was sentenced to two years in prison early this year but an appeal is pending. Prosecutors took some time deciding whether to indict Cho Min since she seemed repentant and has already been stripped of her degrees. Last month she dropped lawsuits against PNU and Korea University, which annulled her admission.

But when she was questioned by prosecutors last month, Cho apparently denied some of the charges against her again, prompting prosecutors to check whether the former justice minister has also rowed back on the charges. And indeed Cho Kuk now denies them all, saying he was far too busy to know what his daughter was up to.

One legal expert said, "Cho Kuk and his daughter both show no real signs of remorse, which appears to have prompted prosecutors to indict her."

The statute of limitations on her charges expires on Aug. 26.

Prosecutors are also investigating allegations that the ex-minister's son, Cho Won, forged documents to gain admission at Yonsei University's graduate school. He applied to the school in 2018 and is suspected of submitting forged internship records from SNU and a law firm. His father is also charged with forging documents to help him.

The proceedings are highly politically charged since now-President Yoon Suk-yeol, in his role as prosecutor-general, was instrumental in bringing charges against Cho Kuk, a crony of then-President Moon Jae-in.
Rena Murshud

A few days ago, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis expressed his admiration towards Armenians with his supportive post on his Twitter. He allegedly expressed concern about the grave humanitarian consequences of blocking the Lachin road and immediately ensure unhindered movement in accordance with the order of the ICJ.

The question arises of what serious humanitarian consequences can be discussed if Armenia is engaged in contraband on the Lachin road.

But this is not the point, but the fact that making such a statement, "Mister" Gabrielius Landsbergis forgot what was happening in Kaliningrad. Or rather, international pressure on Slavic residents living in the Baltic countries; non-systemic politics, as well as the sad situation in the humanitarian sphere for Slavic-speaking speakers abroad. The most horrifying moment is that parents cannot send their children to schools, and the population that does not speak Lithuanian is not provided with medical and social assistance. Also, compared to previous years, the number of Slavic inhabitants in the area has decreased significantly. In addition, residents are forbidden to speak Russian anywhere except in churches.

And the question is asked, Dear Landsbergis, do you understand what you are talking about? On what grounds can a Lithuanian official demand from another country actions to which his own country does not comply?

The AZERNEWS editorial turned to a Belarusian political analyst, an expert of the Belarusian pro-presidential public association "Belaya Rus", Petr Petrovsky, who could comment on this topic in more detail.

"I don't think Mr. Landsbergis is considering any evidence. I even have great doubts that he knows what Lachin Road is and where it is generally located. Because he does not conduct an independent foreign policy, he fully acts according to the instructions on which he is dictated from abroad."

According to the Belarusian expert, Lithuania is formally independent, but in fact a non-sovereign state dependent on external financial and military assistance from countries. Therefore, it cannot be said that, with such statements, the FM somehow analyzed the situation or understood what was happening there. In general, we should question the extent to which Minister Landsbergis knows the geography of the countries of the world, where Garabagh and the Lachin road are located, and possibly even Azerbaijan and Armenia. Therefore, we must question the competence of those people who today work in the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania.

Further, Petr Petrovsky told us how every year the external political course and the level of diplomacy of Lithuania fundamentally degraded. It got to the point that the Republic of Lithuania recognized Taiwan de facto, and relations with the People's Republic of China deteriorated sharply. Cared for the rights of the Uighurs, Mongols, and other minorities in China. Although, for example, it undermined its economy by actually destroying the transit of Chinese products through its territory under the Belt and Road program.

"As for the issues of nationality within Lithuania, the expression of certain moments of criticism against other countries, including Azerbaijan, is not the first case. Lithuania itself has its own ethnic problems, for example, the infringement of the rights of the Slavic-speaking population; the issue is not only with the Russian-speaking community but also the Polish population. There is a struggle with signs in different languages. Let me remind you that in Lithuania itself there are areas where Lithuanians constitute an ethnic minority," Petr Petrovsky emphasized.

And in conclusion, the expert spoke about the requirements from Azerbaijan, which the Lithuania itself does not comply with in the Kaliningrad region.

"And as for the violation of the transit potential between the Kaliningrad region of Russia and Belarus, as well as attempts to block the borders between Lithuania & Belarus, and Lithuania & Russia, all this suggests that Lithuanian foreign policy is not independent and not sovereign, but is a conductor of the policy of their overseas masters, first of all, Great Britain and the US are fused to escalate conflicts, support conflicts, and not solve them. We see all this in foreign policy both in the region and in the world as a whole," Petr Petrovsky added.
North Korean leader Kim Jon-un has called for his country to prepare "in an offensive manner" for a possible war, state media said Thursday.

Kim made the call at a meeting of the Workers Party as South Korea, the U.S. and Japan prepare to meet at Camp David later this month.

Kim "deeply summarized and analyzed the present situation of the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity and made an important conclusion on further stepping up the military's war preparations in an offensive way," the offical [North] Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim stressed the need for a strong military to preempt the enemy's use of military power and subdue various kinds of enemy offenses in a war.
An abrupt order issued by the state health department on Wednesday, a day before the counselling for the post-graduate medical course MD and MS course ends on Thursday evening, triggered controversy among the medical fraternity.

The health department, headed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, issued an order on 9 August saying, The Covid-19 related duty shall be considered as rendering service in difficult area in order to avail in service quota for inservice candidates of Dept. of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of West Bengal till the cut off date 31.03.2023.

This is for NEET PG & NEET MDS 2023 Counselling. The order has prompted different doctors bodies to protest against the move. In order to give some undue advantage to a group of candidates belonging to the ruling party, the health department took such an illegal step so that these candidates could get a chance in the post graduate MD/MS course under service quota.

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How could the Swasthya Bhaban issue the abrupt order on Wednesday, just a day before when the counselling ends on Thursday evening? asked Dr Manas Gumta, secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors (AHSD). As per the service quota rules, 40 per cent of the total post graduate medical seats in the state are reserved under this category.

Doctors who have served government healthcare facilities in rural and difficult zones in districts for three years are eligible to appear at the MD/MS entrance examination, according to the rules of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Swasthya Bhaban strategically gave undue advantages to those candidates who could produce certificates on Covid19 related so that the latter could claim themselves belonging to service quota for the entrance exam, Dr Gumta alleged. How can it be claimed Covid-19 related duty when the health department itself has already abolished Covid wards? The order will prompt some candidates to arrange Covid19 related duty certificates illegally. We demand the health department to withdraw this unethical move, he said.
Rattled by strong demands by a section of agitating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, the state leadership appointed a new president for its organizational district in Jadavpur ahead of a visit by party national president JP Nadda on Friday. Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP president, appointed Manoranjan Joddar as president of Jadavpur organizational district in the southern part of the city, removing Kuntal Chowdhury. As the countdown for the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled next year, begins, the saffron camp has decided to set up an organizational district in parliamentary constituencies each in the state.

The party has already appointed presidents for its newly-formed organizational districts in 42 Lok Sabha seats each. About four days ago, the state leadership of the party had appointed Kuntal Chowdhury as president of Jadavpur but a section of workers of the party hit the road protesting against the decision. The agitating workers staged a dharna at Salt Lake and demanded removal of Chowdhury. Faced with strong protest, the leadership on Thursday made a change by appointing Joddar president of Jadavpur. Jadavpur district president will look after the organizational activities in South Kolkata parliamentary constituency.

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Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan held the 18th Dr. A K Saha Memorial Young Scientist Experimental Project Inter School Contest on August 10.

The project was initiated by two former students of the school, Dr. Abhijit Saha and Dr. Prasenjit Saha in memory of their late father, Dr. A K Saha, former scientist, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.

The annual event aims to encourage research, observation, experimentation and a spirit of curiosity and innovation among budding scientists as well as provides them a platform to address environmental, economic and social challenges, to build a better future, shaped and shared by all.

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This year, the theme of the contest was Connect, Transform and Engage with the Future.

The event was presided over by Naresh Priyadarshi, CEO, Innovation and Incubation Centre, IIT Delhi, New Delhi.

In his address, the chief guest encouraged the young scientists to be passionate and persistent with their innovative ideas and aspire to become the Change makers of the future who can help in solving global challenges.

Welcoming the guests, Ritu Madan, Principal, Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan highlighted the relevance of the theme and impressed upon the students that the most important issue to be addressed by science today is to bring human nature back to humans and use the knowledge of science with conscience to make this earth a much better place to live in.

The Overall trophy of the A K Saha Memorial Inter School contest was won by Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan. But being the host school it was handed over to Springdales School, Pusa Road. Birla Vidya Niketan bagged the Runners-up trophy.

Dr. A Sankara Reddy, Chairman, Managing Board, Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan, lauded the participants for their hard work done.

Dr. A Sankara Reddy, along with the chief guest, presented the trophies to the winners.
Actor David Harbour, who is well known for his role as police officer Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, has said that he is already looking to the future after completing his time in the Upside Down.

According to Deadline, in an interview with the Insider, the 48-year old actor said: The first year of Stranger Things, I remember having a discussion with a publicist and her saying, Maybe you dont want to be associated with the show so much, and I was like, Why? I love this show. I love the character. And I do love the show. And I do love the character. But I dont want to be just that character. I dont want to be just that guy.

David has been in Hollywood for a long time, but never became as big a name until he starred in the sci-fi horror series which suddenly skyrocketed his reputation, and gave him immense fame and success. Though late in his career, Stranger Things earned him two Emmy Awards nominations, a Golden Globe nod and a win at the Critics Choice Television Award.

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Talking about his late achievement, Harbour said: I have always been waiting for the main roles. My 20s never worked for me. For guys like me, were always waiting to be 40, even when were, like, 19. Were waiting for the hairline to go. Those are the guys that I admired growing up, and those are the guys I wanted to emulate.

David later went on to draw parallels with George Clooney, as he was another actor who achieved his success late before becoming the household name that he is today.

I think about George Clooney leaving ER. Now we just see him as George Clooney, he continued. But there was a time when it was, The guy from ER is doing a movie with Nicole Kidman.

Im trying to navigate some of that, and its tricky because you dont want to s*** on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love. But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. I got more in me. I got different stuff in me, and I want you guys to see that. I dont want people yelling Hopper on the street every five minutes for the rest of my life, he added.

Indeed, the actor had begun to look to the future a while back only as he has gained a good strong reputation ever since Stranger Things with films such as Violent Night, Hellboy, Black Widow, No Sudden Move with his latest film being Gran Turismo.
Rani Mukerji, famously known as the Babli of Bollywood, has opened up about a personal tragedy she experienced before shooting her latest movie Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway.

Mukerji, who is married to Aditya Chopra, shared about her second pregnancy amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the unfortunate loss of the pregnancy in the fifth month.

The Indian film star, addressing the audience at the 2023 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, disclosed that she had previously kept this sorrowful chapter of her life private. However, she unveiled that amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, she experienced the heartbreak of losing her second child halfway through her pregnancy. The actress expressed that revealing her narrative ahead of the movies launch would have been considered as a part or tactic used for promotional strategies.

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Maybe this is the first time I am making this revelation because in todays world every aspect of your life is discussed publicly, and becomes an agenda for talking about your film to get more eyeballs. Obviously, I didnt speak about this when I was promoting the film because it would have come across as me trying to speak about a personal experience that would propel the filmso, it was around the year when COVID-19 struck. It was 2020. I got pregnant with my second baby at the end of 2020 and I unfortunately lost my baby five months into my pregnancy, she mentioned.

Rani Mukerji shared that Nikhil Advani, one of the producers of Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, contacted her just 10 days after her loss.

After I lost my baby, Nikhil (Advani) would have called me probably like 10 days later. He told me about the story and I kind of immediately not that I had to have the loss of a child to feel the emotion but sometimes there is a film in the right time of what you are going through personally to be able for you to connect with it instantly. When I heard the story, I was in disbelief. I never thought in a country like Norway an Indian family would have had to go through, she said.

Rani Mukerji expressed her deep anger as an Indian, witnessing such a situation unfold for a fellow Indian mother. Her movie, Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, draws inspiration from the emotionally distressing real-life account of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, an Indian couple whose children were removed by Norwegian child welfare authorities due to concerns about their upbringing.

Rani Mukerjis initial child, Adira, arrived prematurely by two months. She tied the knot with producer-director Aditya Chopra in 2014, and the following year, they joyfully welcomed their daughter, Adira. The couple maintains a private stance regarding their family life, abstaining from social media presence.

Earlier this year, Rani also conversed with Kareena Kapoor on her show, What Women Want, where she mentioned Adiras premature birth and her subsequent stay in the NICU due to her tiny size.
Two cars met with an accident near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, police said.

According to the police, both drivers seemed to be intoxicated.

No serious injuries occured to the drivers, police said.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier on Sunday, a 22-year-old woman died after the car she was driving got stuck between two speeding trucks, police said.

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The accident took place near Delhis Chandgiram Akhara at 12 am on Sunday.

An accident took place near Delhis Chandgiram Akhara when a car, driven by a 22-year-old woman got stuck between two speeding trucks. The woman died in the accident, an official said.
BJP Kerala president K Surendran alleged that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) front in the state has become the front of thieves, robbers and scamsters.

Speaking to media persons on Friday at Maranellore in Thiruvananthapuram, Surendran said a businessman, who runs an industry related to natural resources, gave Rs 96 crore to leading politicians and officials associated with the INDIA in Kerala. Why would he give such a big amount if was running his business in a transparent manner, Surendran asked.

The latest is that Pinarayi Vijayan got more money than Veena Vijayan, her daughter, he said, adding the dotting in the tell-all diary, PV, stands for Pinarayi Vijayan,

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Along with Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and Kunhalikutty, Pinarayi Vijayan too is in the list of those who got kickbacks. This is the politics of give and take of the LDF and UDF, he said.

Surendran said with the Rs 96 crore changing hands a big scandal has come to light. It is certainly a deal worth thousands of crores of rupees. The ruling and the Opposition alliances might have thought they could get away with this sort of deals together, but it wont work anymore, he asserted.

He said it is now clear that the INDIA is an unholy alliance of the corrupt and looters. Pooh-poohing Congress leader VD Satheesan claim that the Opposition did not raise Veena Vijayans issue in the Assembly because it would not stand as per sections 50-52 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Satheesan said he is making a mockery of himself, he said.

Satheesan is the one who made porridge for the thief, he added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister V Muralidharan strongly criticised the CPI-M state secretariats statement on the allegations against the Chief Ministers daughter. He questioned the basis on which the party gave a certificate of honesty to Veena Vijayan.

He asked why the CPI-M is trying to whitewash the company (CMRL) that was fined for tax evasion. He concluded that the Congress and the CPI-M are on the same page on corruption.
The Supreme Court, which had set up a committee comprising three woman judges to enquire into the violence against women in Manipur, has tasked it with collecting information on such incidents, as well as monitoring the conditions at relief camps and deciding on compensation to victims.

A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, in their judgment, uploaded late night on Thursday, asked the committee, which comprises Jammu and Kashmir High Courts former Chief Justice, Justice Gita Mittal, Bombay High Courts retired judge, Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, and Delhi High Courts former judge, Justice Asha Menon  to collect information from all available sources including personal meetings with survivors or their family members, local or community representatives, relief camps, FIRs or media reports.

The bench said that the objective of constitution of such a committee is to restore the faith and confidence of the community in the justice system and secondly, to ensure that the rule of law is restored.

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It asked the committee to submit a report before it on the steps required to meet the needs of the survivors of gender violence, and ensure that the relief camps set up for the displaced have clean rations, basic medical care, essential products, free sanitary pads, suicide prevention services, etc.

The committee has been empowered to issue directions for the appointment of nodal officers at relief camps and the provision of toll-free helplines to provide updates on any investigation, missing persons, and the recovery of dead bodies. The nodal officers must also ensure that they maintain a database of all persons who are housed in their respective relief camps, the Supreme Court ordered.

The committee has been entrusted with the payment of compensation and restitution to victims of violence. It has been empowered to issue directions to the State Legal Services Authority to ensure payment of compensation to all victims. Where the victim is deceased, the next of kin should be identified for the payment of compensation, the apex court judgment said.

The committee can issue directions to the state government to settle compensation for damages caused to the movable and immovable properties of persons affected by violence. It will submit its updated status report on a fortnightly basis directly to the apex court.
This Independence Day, as we commemorate the 76th year of our nations freedom, it is imperative that as we celebrate our political independence we also explore the diverse and delectable culinary heritage that defines India.

The Indian food industry is surely undergoing a renaissance, embracing the assortment of regional flavours that have long been cherished within our borders.

Moreover, a vibrant street food culture has been adding immense attraction to a citys food scene and offering experiences to travelers. Godrej Food Trends Report 2023 states that the last decade has seen a steady rise in interest in street food. Digital media has taken a keen interest in street food, amplifying tales ranging from the extraordinary to the unconventional, so much so that the Indian traveler is opting for destinations just to discover local street food.

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Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, Managing Director of Perfect Bite Consulting and Curating Editor of the annual Godrej Food Trends Report says, This Independence Day, lets celebrate the diversity of food in India. With its multifarious population, India is a treasure trove of local foods waiting to be discovered. Not only does each region of the country boasts its own distinct flavors, ingredients, and cooking styles, but also has a rich repertoire of local street foods. Indian street food is as varied as its regional cuisines. This Independence Day, let us celebrate our gastronomic freedom and love for all things chatpatta masaledar, and crispy that unite us as Indians.

Indias street food reflects the countrys rich and varied culture, with each region offering its own unique flavors and dishes. On this Independence Day, we proudly salute the culinary custodians for their role in preserving the authentic flavors of Indias diverse regions. Their efforts not only safeguard our culinary heritage across different regions but also facilitate cross-cultural exchange and deeper appreciation.

Godrej Food Trends Report 2023 mentions some of the Indian street food destinations that will see the most interest in 2023.

Lucknow: Regarded as the prime street food destination by 63 per cent of experts, the city is expected to attract a growing number of travelers who will indulge in the delights of local street foods.

Kolkata: Following closely, 57 per cent of the panel anticipates an increased demand for local street food in Kolkata, solidifying its reputation as a hub for culinary exploration.

Amritsar: 55 per cent of experts predict that Amritsar will witness more interest among people who seek to delve into the realm of local street food.

Indore: Notably, 47 per cent of experts express a belief in the rising curiosity among consumers to uncover the treasures of local food in Indore, suggesting an emerging trend in the citys culinary scene.

Indias street food is a microcosm of the countrys diverse culture and its designed to hit the high note. Also, Indian street food is easily accessible, affordable, and tasty at the same time. Hence it gives travelers an opportunity to experience the common citizens life and highlight the connections between history, geography, religion, and food and relate to why people eat what they eat.
Despite its struggles with the middle-income trap over the past three decades, Brazil ~ the B in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China) bloc founded over a decade ago ~ has an important role to play in the evolving international order against the backdrop of the rise of China. As Latin Americas premier military and economic power, Brazil understandably wants to increase its global heft and aspires to follow an autonomous strategic and foreign policy. But before it can do so, it has to work out its terms of engagement with its northern neighbour and the worlds pre-eminent power, the USA.

Simultaneously, moves in Washington to pull Brazil into an anti-China coalition must be eschewed. Bruce Jones, Sophia Hart, and Diana Paz Garcia of the Brookings Institute in a new paper argue that US policymakers will have to come to terms with recognising that an autonomous Brazil can help advance a stable international order. When Brazilian President Lula da Silva returned to power in 2022, one of the first initiatives he undertook was to emphasise strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy in the context of emergent, and intensifying, Sino-US competition. This was apparent in Mr Lulas actions ~ the effort to carve a leading role for Brazil in peace negotiations around the Ukraine war; his official visit to Beijing; his statement about the alleged American role in encouraging the war in Ukraine; and ensuring the election of former President Dilma Rousseff to the position of president of the BRICS New Development Bank, the most important non-Western ordering institution, at a moment when Washington is seeking to defend the existing order. These were markers that underlined how Brazil saw the world, which is clearly not through an American lens.

But, as Jones and his colleagues point out, Brazil also welcomed the US decision to provide $500 million to the Amazon Fund; the Lula administration worked closely with the Joe Biden administration to establish alignment between Brazil and the USA at the International Atomic Energy Agency in the face of Chinese efforts to frustrate the Australia-UK-USA agreement on nuclearpowered submarines; and President Lula was an active participant in the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where he was a special invitee. Brazil is clearly intent on resurrecting its profile as the most important country in Latin America and a significant player in global affairs. President Lulas timing could not have been better as great power rivalry is playing out in every region of the world including the western hemisphere. As the 10th largest economy and seventh most populous country in the world, Brazil can emerge as an important partner for other liberal, democratic middle powers such as India that are broadly US-inclined but retain the right to engage with China and with other countries on terms that are in keeping their respective national interests.

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China officially put Korea back on a list of destinations for large group tours for the first time in six years and five months on Thursday.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Thursday said group travel is now permitted to 78 countries, which newly include Korea, Japan and the U.S., now that the global threat of COVID has eased.

Earlier this year China permitted group tours again to most of the world but pointedly kept the three countries off the list amid a deepening cold war with the U.S.

The lifting of the ban is good news for some industries in Korea like duty-free malls that used to depend almost entirely on Chinese mass tourism.
Much has already been said about Manipur over the last few months but to no avail. Our daughters are raped, Manipur burns, and women are molested. Manipur continues to burn, innocents are hacked to death. Manipur remains in flames, weapons are looted from police armories. Religious places are razed to the ground and Manipur continues to burn. Children are terrified but astonishingly the fire continues to burn our Manipur.

God only knows what more needs to be seen yet. The tale of horror continues; fear persists; dismay, disgust and revulsion in the populace are palpable. Human life seems to be so cheap and discounted that every day it has become a mere number of total lives lost on that day. And the count swells incessantly even when we take into account just the officially reported killings. The situation is certainly grim and grave, and necessitates immediate action by the government.

As we all know, the hilly north-eastern state of Manipur borders Myanmar and houses an approximate population of a 3.3 million. The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53 per cent of Manipurs population while 24 per cent are Nagas and 16 per cent Kukis. In the ongoing violence more than 180 people have been killed, over 400 wounded and close to 60,000 have been displaced. Police, Manipur Rifles and IRB Battalion armouries have been looted and pillaged at will.

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Their vehicles, equipment and infrastructure have been destroyed; and ironically, no attempt was made to prevent this loot, no firing by these forces even in self-defence. It was an abject surrender to the miscreants. And bizarrely, there is no action against those who surrendered meekly to the troublemakers and misguided terrormongers.

One fails to comprehend how long we will ignore Manipur; for how long our Manipuri brothers and sisters will have to spend sleepless nights, for how long will Manipuri children fearfully listen to the wailing men and women who are living through the tales of death and terror every day. It is time that the people who matter, both in the State and the Centre, rise to the occasion and restore normalcy, lest the fire engulfs the entire North-eastern region.

Unfortunately, even today some of the media channels continue to project Manipur through the lens of insurgency, conflict, and violence without recognising the fact that Manipur and the Northeaster region had shunned insurgency a couple of years back and had limped back to normalcy. Since 2010, barring a few sporadic and infrequent incidents of terror, nothing could mar the spirit of Manipuris who had shunned insurgency and comprehensively rebuffed militancy ~ till the current turmoil.

Regrettably, the violence has now taken such an ugly turn that it has spiralled out of the hands of the ruling government and has taken an ethnic tinge that the state and the Centre are finding hard to fathom. Rarely will you find an instance in the history where the state government was found absolutely helpless and myopic under similar circumstances. It is time that the government comes to terms with the fact that the solutions will have to be found out, and that too, sooner than later.

The government very well knows that both the Meitei as well as Kuki communities have legitimate historical grievances. Both communities rightfully stake claims to land and resources in the state. The divide is evident, the misunderstanding runs deep and the stand-off is apparent. The conflict seemingly involves a multifaceted interplay of a number of issues rather than merely being an ethnic wrangle. Any one-sided narrative in favour of any single group would certainly hinder any serious efforts at mutually acceptable solution between the two communities.

Besides ensuring regional amity and harmony, the nation needs to understand that Manipur is critical from the strategic point of view. It is the fulcrum on which hinges the Act East policy. This state renders pivotal stability to our ASEAN forays and eastward projection of soft power. Thus, Manipur merits urgency and the government needs to accord priority in ensuring that it comes back to normalcy at the earliest.

The way forward will have to be thought through, and expeditious actions will need to be taken to render stability to the state. A suggested approach towards the way-forward for speedy return to normalcy can be termed as an ABCDE Approach as highlighted below: * Accountability: The situation warrants that accountability of Police, Intelligence Agencies and Civil Administration be fixed. Even the media, which has become habituated to promoting what-aboutry from the airconditioned environments of their studios in metropolitan cities and the NCR needs to be made answerable to the nation.

The system of selective and biased reporting ought to be nipped in the bud. * Book the Defaulters: Certain hard decisions need to be taken to book the defaulters, sans any community or socio-political allegiance. This should be done without any further delay and without any prejudice. * Collective Effort: The ruling outfit has to reach out to all political parties with a view to project a political unity of purpose since the national security is at stake.

Civil Society Organisations, retired defence personnel, academicians and intelligentsia will all have to demonstrate a shared perspective and commitment to restore normalcy in Manipur. * Disarm the Society: A weaponised society is a sure recipe for disaster. Therefore disarming the armed cadres and those who have looted the weapons is the need of the hour.

Mere appeals to them to return the weapons has no meaning. Concerted and deliberate operations will have to be launched coupled with incentives for those who voluntarily surrender. * Enroll and Invite the Youth for Talks: Multi layered interaction with youth leaders and other selected youth will have to be undertaken since the youth will play a major role in ensuring that Manipur returns to normalcy at a faster pace.

Lastly it would not be incorrect to state that a vibrant, dynamic and effective Unified Command structure will have to be thought through to steer Manipur out of this mess. Any reference to religion in any manner will certainly be disastrous and hence needs to be kept away. The psycho-social damage that has cast its shadow on the minds of children will need to be wiped out through a well-planned strategy at the school and college levels.

As a nation we must understand that the geo-strategic dimensions of prolonging this stand-off will severely dent our national security and national interests. Let us all, as nation, take a resolve that we will neither succumb to the propagandist designs of any biased media reporting nor allow any inimical elements to push their divisive narratives down our throats, be it in Manipur or anywhere else in the country. Let us all hope that we see a peaceful and stable Manipur without any further delay

(The writer, a retired Lt General, PVSM, AVSM, SM, is a former DG Assam Rifles and superannuated from the Indian Army in May 2021, after having spent a major part of his career in the North-east)
Data from the European Unions climate observatory shows surface temperatures of the worlds oceans surged to an unprecedented 20.96 degrees Celsius on July 30. This is indeed concerning as it surpasses all previous records. The urgency of addressing this trend has been underscored by the EUs Copernicus Climate Change Service. Climate change remains a critical issue, and efforts to address it are crucial. Rising ocean surface temperatures have significant implications for both marine ecosystems and global climate.

Addressing the implications of rising ocean surface temperatures requires concerted efforts to mitigate climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect marine ecosystems through sustainable practices and conservation measures. This calls for international cooperation and policies to safeguard the health and resilience of the worlds oceans and the countless benefits they provide to the planet and human societies. Ironically, addressing climate change and its impact, including warmer oceans, has been a complex and challenging process. While some progress has been made, there are several reasons for the perceived slowness in action.

Climate change is a multifaceted and interconnected problem that involves various sectors of society, from energy production to transportation, agriculture, and more. Finding comprehensive solutions requires coordinated efforts across different industries and regions. Climate policies can be politically sensitive and face resistance from various stakeholders, including industries that may be impacted by regulatory changes. Balancing short-term economic interests with long-term environmental goals can lead to delays in decision-making. Transitioning to more sustainable practices and technologies may require upfront investments and potentially disrupt established economic systems. Some governments and leaders may be hesitant to make these changes due to concerns about economic stability and growth. Climate change is a global issue that requires collaboration among countries with differing priorities, resources, and responsibilities. Negotiating and implementing international agreements can be time-consuming. While public awareness of climate change has grown, sustained pressure from citizens and advocacy groups is necessary to motivate governments and leaders to take decisive action. Developing and implementing effective policies that lead to meaningful change can be complex, and requires careful planning, resources, and monitoring. Politicians often have relatively short terms in office, which can lead to a focus on shortterm goals rather than long-term, complex issues like climate change. Despite these challenges, there have been important developments, such as the Paris Agreement, increased investments in renewable energy, and growing awareness of climate issues.

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As awareness continues to grow and the impacts of climate change become more evident, there is hope that governments and global leaders will increasingly prioritise action to mitigate climate change and address the warming of our oceans. Public pressure, technological advancements, and a shared understanding of the urgency of the situation are all factors that can contribute to accelerating the pace of change. The elephant in the room though is the growing economic divide between the people of the world; the rich are getting richer by polluting more, while the poor find themselves increasingly unable to combat the impacts of this excess.
In a rare public letter, since her mysterious arrest in China three years back, Australian journalist Cheng Lei has expressed her longing for her kids and her native countrys psychedelic sunsets.

A former anchor for Chinese public broadcaster CGTN Chen Lei has faces charges of supplying state secrets overseas.

Cheng Lei is in custody since August 2020. But she wasnt actually taken into custody until February 2021.

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The verdict and Chengs punishment might result in a life sentence in jail. The court has postponed the hearing.

In a message dictated to Australian officials from her cell, Cheng outlines her deplorable incarceration conditions. She sheds new light on a long-standing source of contention between Canberra and Beijing.

Considered a love letter to Australia, the message said, I miss the sun. reads the message,

The sun shines through the window in my cell, but I can only stand in it for 10 hours a year.

The mother of two wrote a moving statement in which she expressed her longing for Australias beaches, bushwalks, and psychedelic sunsets and claimed that she had not seen a tree in three years.

She claimed that just once a year was her inmate bedding removed for airing.

Even the Australian ambassador to China was prevented from attending the court to observe the trials proceedings last March. It took place behind closed doors.

She was absent when her kid started high school. Lei is their only kid, and her parents are becoming older. Time is therefore becoming increasingly valuable, Coyle said on Thursday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

On Thursday night, Chengs partner, Nick Coyle, posted her message on the social media site X and to Australian news agencies.

Penny Wong, the foreign minister for Australia, stated on behalf of the entire nation that Cheng should reunite with her children.

There are several comparisons of her with that of Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Jun. The latter is facing detention in China since 2019 on vaguely defined espionage charges.
Ministry of External Affairs has issued an advisory asking Indian nationals whose presence is not essential in Niger to leave the country as soon as possible, following the coup in the African nation.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing on Friday that the Indian government is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and also asked the people to reconsider their plans if they are travelling to Niamey.

Government of India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. They may bear in mind that airspace is currently closed. When departing through a land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security. Those who may be planning travel to Niger in the coming days are also similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalizes, said MEA.

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All those Indian nationals who have not registered with the Indian embassy in Niamey (Niger capital) are strongly advised to do so expeditiously. Indian nationals can reach emergency contact in the embassy of India in Niamey: +22799759975, added MEA.

Responding to the question about the number of Indians stuck in Niger, Bagchi said, About 250 Indians are there. MEA is requesting those who have not registered their names to the Indian embassy to register themselves. Indian Embassy in Niamey is in touch with the Indian communities and we have been told that they are safe.

Niger has been engulfed in political chaos since late last month when the countrys President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup. Following the military coup Abdourahamane Tiani, the commander of Nigers presidential guard has declared himself the countrys leader.

The uncertainty has rattled residents in Niamey, the capital. Some people flocked to supermarkets to purchase staples like rice and cooking oil in bulk, while others attempted to flee. Employees of local bus companies said most lines out of the capital were fully booked, CNN reported.

At the busy Wadata market, east of the capitals centre, many shoppers buying food and necessities Monday voiced apprehension about what might come.

Pro-junta demonstrators, meanwhile, gathered Sunday at a 30,000-seat stadium in Niamey to voice their support for the military government and their opposition to ECOWAS sanctions, CNN reported. (
A Nepali lawmaker, Sunil Kumar Sharma, found himself in cuffs on Thursday, facing allegations of fabricating educational certificates. According to reports, the Nepali Congress MP managed to acquire a high school diploma from Bihar, India, and employed it to further his education in China.

This revelation raised eyebrows as he represents Morang-3 in the House of Representatives. His alignment is with the Shekhar Koirala faction within the Nepali Congress.

Sharmas academic credentials, specifically his I.Sc. certificate, have come under scrutiny as the National Examinations Board in Sano Thimi, Bhatkapur, revealed the certificates non-verification status.

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The grounds for Sharmas arrest stem from Article 103 (6) of Nepals Constitution, which led to an investigation into an allegedly fraudulent academic certificate attributed to an Indian institute.

Interestingly, Sharmas apprehension coincided with his prior call for the resignations of Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat. He demanded their accountability over a recent incident involving the seizure of 100 kg of smuggled gold.

Evidently, Sharmas case is not an isolated occurrence. Certain medical practitioners also managed to attain Nepal Medical Council registrations by submitting counterfeit certificates from Indian institutions and participating in the councils registration exams.

Sunil Kumar Sharmas arrest elicited a reaction from fellow legislators, particularly within the (Unified MarxistLeninist) UML party. During a House of Representatives session on Friday, UML MP Jwalakumari Sah voiced her objections to the apprehension of Congress MP Sunil Sharma. MP Sah argued that Sharmas arrest seemed to diverge from legal norms.

Other Nepali Congress MPs have started raising concerns in the issue. Chandra Bhandari, a Nepali Congress MP, accused the government of a retaliatory motive behind MP Sunil Sharmas arrest. Bhandari contested the necessity of detaining Sharma and keeping him in custody, suggesting that the arrest might not be rooted in valid reasons.
Russia successfully launched its first spacecraft, Luna-25 bound for the moon in almost five decades. This aims to achieve a historic soft landing on the lunar south pole. This significant step comes shortly after Indias Chandrayaan-3 mission took flight.

Russias lunar lander will arrive roughly at the same time as Indias spacecraft on August 23. The Russian vehicle will journey for about 5.5 days to reach the moons vicinity. Following this, it will spend three to seven days orbiting at an altitude of around 100 kilometers. That is approximately 62 miles before making its descent to the lunar surface.

Russias space agency, Roscosmos, has expressed its intent to demonstrate the nations capability to deliver payloads to the moon. It emphasizes the importance of securing reliable access to the moons surface.

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Historically, only three countriesnamely the Soviet Union, the United States, and Chinahave achieved successful moon landings. Now, both countries are vying to become the first nations to accomplish a soft landing at the moons south pole.

The Luna-25 spacecraft embarked on its flawless journey from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in Russias Far East, as confirmed by Roscosmos live video feed. This spaceport holds special significance for Russian President Vladimir Putin, forming a crucial part of his vision to elevate Russias status in space exploration and gradually shift launch operations from Kazakhstans Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The lunar south pole carries particular intrigue for scientists due to its potential to house water resources in the form of frozen ice within permanently shadowed craters. Experts envision that this frozen water could serve as a valuable resource for future spacefarers. Scientists want to see if they can convert it into breathable air and essential rocket fuel.

While Chandrayaan-3 plans to conduct a series of experiments over a two-week span, Luna-25 is designed for a more extended stay, with a mission duration of one year. Notably, Japans private space company ispace faced a setback in April as its attempt at a pioneering moon landing encountered difficulties.

Originally slated for launch in October 2021, the mission endured almost a two-year delay. The European Space Agency had initially intended to contribute its Pilot-D navigation camera to the Luna-25 project. However, due to the geopolitical situation, it severed ties with the initiative after Russias involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
In the wake of yet another devastating shipwreck in the Mediterranean, three UN agencies voiced their concerns, advocating for enhanced, secure routes for migrants and asylum-seekers heading to the EU.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and the UN Childrens Fund (Unicef) pressed for a more unified approach to search and rescue operations, said the UN News on Thursday.

This recent tragedy, unfolding between August 3 and 4, saw only four individuals rescued  by a commercial ship. These survivors, later escorted to Lampedusa by the Italian Coast Guard, shared that they were initially a group of 45. Sadly, 41, including three children, remain unaccounted for.

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Lending support during the disembarkation and initial reception stages, IOM, UNHCR, and Unicef collaborate with local authorities in Lampedusa. Their aim is to guarantee that those in need of international protection receive it and to identify individuals with particular needs promptly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Such incidents contribute to the escalating death toll from shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean. Data from IOMs Missing Migrants Project indicates that more than 1,800 individuals have either died or gone missing on this route in 2023 alone. Shockingly, this path represents more than 75 per cent of all Mediterranean fatalities over the past decade.

The vessel involved, an iron barge that embarked from Sfax, Tunisia, fell victim to the merciless Mediterranean waves. The UN agencies emphasise the heightened risks associated with iron vessel crossings, especially under adverse weather conditions, UN News said.

These heart-wrenching events illuminate the smugglers utter lack of humanity towards the migrants and refugees. This is further exemplified by a recent incident off Lampedusa where a pregnant woman and her child perished, according to UN News.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, highlighted the need for improved management of these migration flows.

On the social media platform X (previously Twitter), Grandi emphasised addressing underlying issues, responses in transit nations, trafficking, and establishing secure migration routes. Without further commitment from states towards structured and coordinated sea rescues, he warns, tragedies like this will undoubtedly recur.
At least 53 people have now been killed by the Lahaina fire as the firefighting efforts continue in Hawaii, CNN reported citing Maui Countys statement.

Maui County in the statement said, As firefighting efforts continue, 17 additional fatalities have been confirmed today amid the active Lahaina fire. This brings the death toll to 53 people.

More than 14,000 people have been shifted from the island of Maui on Wednesday (local time) amid raging wildfires. Hawaii Tourism Authority in a news release said that an additional 14,500 people are expected to be moved off by the end of Thursday, according to CNN.

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The people who have been moved from Maui have been sent to other places in Hawaii to finish their vacation or were sent back home, CNN reported citing the release.

The wildfire that devastated the Lahaina area of Maui is now 80 per cent contained, the county said on Thursday (local time), according to CNN. According to PowerOutage.US, Lahaina remains without electricity with around 11,000 people in Maui without power.

State and county crews continue to make efforts to clear roads. However, entry into Lahaina remains restricted, CNN reported. The Pulehu fire in Kihei is 70 per cent contained and firefighters are still determining the containment of the Upcountry fire in the centre of the island, where state forestry workers are making efforts on the northern slopes of Haleakala.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden on Thursday declared Hawaii wildfires a major disaster and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the wildfires since August 8. Bidens action makes federal funding available to impacted people in Maui County.

A White House statement said, Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaii and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires beginning on August 8, 2023, and continuing.

The assistance announced by Biden includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to the White House statement.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private non-profit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Maui County and assistance for emergency protective measures for Hawaii County. Maona N Ngwira of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas, according to the White House statement.
When you walk down a city street, what do you see? Most of us encounter graffiti and urban art as part of our daily experience. These drawings and poetic codes break our routine patterns; they modify the scenery around us, confuse it. Often, graffiti artists seek to shock  there is something transgressive about creativity, and urban art brings it to the fore. The marginal, the unmentionable, that which only circulates as rumor and the transfiguration of the sinister are expressed to us in broad daylight, since this work is done in the public space; therein lies part of the astonishment graffiti unleashes. The street is an immense stage onto which graffiti bursts, like an unforeseen color in the citys landscape: on train cars and other means of transportation, in tunnels, subways and public restrooms, and especially on walls. It is worth refraining from prematurely  or ideologically  judging this complex social phenomenon, in order to understand its nuances.

We tend to expect urban landscapes to be legible, but graffiti and street art destabilize and infiltrate that legibility with an alternative vision of the world, if only for a moment. They draw attention to walls: while walls serve to defend privacy and private property, graffiti transgresses them  attacks them  and, in so doing, exposes the territorial and the private. Graffiti offers a visual language to look through the wall and create imaginary spaces. This work shows us that boundaries are not really boundaries, and that border walls are rhetorical acts of security, sponsored by ideologies with particular interests. Graffiti has functioned as a tool of dissent in protests. Clearly, this art will endure; try to erase it and it will reappear.

Graffiti artists are the repositories of the fantasies, fears, anger and disillusionment of our cities. As social agents, they clandestinely deploy their strategies, sometimes risking fines, imprisonment or even their own lives by clinging to unstable sites. In 2011, Mexican artist Ana Teresa Fernandez placed a huge ladder against the border wall separating Playas de Tijuana from San Diegos Border Field State Park and, using a paint spray gun, she set about painting the bars sky blue (Fernandez envisioned a world without border walls). In her imagined spaces, the steel sheets that separate the two countries disappear, and rusted bars are transfigured into a bluish sky. The border manifests itself as a powerful symbol, a site of utopian possibility. At the same time, the border wall is a reminder of violent subjugation. As Fernandez commented, I was very happy when, late in the afternoon, a runner came from far away and told us that for a moment he thought that part of the wall had collapsed.

In the 1970s, graffiti was an important part of the revolutionary processes in Somozas Nicaragua. Omar Cabezas and Dora Maria Tellez  the Sandinista revolutions heroine who is also known as Comandante Dos [Commander Two], who was recently released from a Nicaraguan prison  describe it in their book La insurreccion de las paredes [Insurrection on the walls]: We threw them out of power and out of the barracks, [but] we first evicted them from the walls... The voice of the silenced took the walls by storm. Graffiti is one of the ways of recovering a voice, a popular and creative practice of cracking the monolithic discourses of power and institutions. I say that the evidence [of the fact] that the people are with the revolution can be [seen] on the walls, Tellez concludes.

In addition to its accusatory potential, graffiti can also serve as a humanist and deeply psychological project, a product of the confrontation between the human being and the wall; the signs of the forbidden, of repression, adhere to these drawings that are done impulsively and incognito, but are visible to all. According to the French-Hungarian photographer Brassai, the unconscious manifestation of graffiti is irrefutable proof of the existence of a primitive creative force. As early as 1933, in his book From the Wall of the Caves to the Wall of the Factory, he exclaimed: How hard is stone! How rudimentary are its instruments! What does it matter! It is no longer a question of playing, but of controlling the frenzy of the unconscious. Brassai finds symbols similar to the ones in Pompeii, the caves of Dordogne and the Nile valley, insinuated on walls that are a stones throw away from the Paris Opera. The same anguish that covered caves walls with a chaotic world of engravings depicting hunting, migration or procreation, today gives rise to drawings about themes specifically related to survival.

These places where walls speak and overthrow laboriously established canons enrich our movements through urban space, inviting us to pay attention to the curious, enigmatic or ideological provocations that the walls might be whispering to us.

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An opinion piece that you describe, praises or criticizes, on the whole or partly, to cultural or entertainment work. It must be written by an expert on the matter

A film about pioneers and about the existence of God and the power of his two most relevant creations, the Earth and the human being  the former as a force capable of subduing the latter through the wrath of nature  which is at the same time a western and the best kind of adventure film, mystical and physical. It makes perfect sense, because the extremes sometimes align. And auteur cinema, complex and transcendent, can be rooted in certain aspects of genre cinema. Thus, by giving each other meaning, they end up composing a major work.

Godland, the third feature film by Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason, presented to wide acclaim in the Un Certain Regard selection of the Cannes Film Festival, could be the film of the summer for the most exploratory cinephiles, those who look beyond the confines of what everyone else sees. Like the protagonist, a Danish priest who, at the end of the 19th century, is commissioned by his church to travel to inhospitable Iceland, to that miserable flock of wretched and mediocre people, to build a church and photograph its inhabitants. In fact, an opening text informs viewers that the story is inspired by the first surviving photographs of the Icelandic coast, of which there are just seven, taken with the wet collodion process.

Along with the concepts of travel, frontier, and conquest in the style of the western genre (in the words of its director, it would almost be better to describe Godland as a northern) presented with purpose and continuity in the first half of the story, there is the confrontation between two energies: that of progress, the mind, spirituality, theological wisdom and even technology (and that primitive camera), represented by the Protestant pastor; and that of tradition, physical strength and the wisdom of the land, personified in the man who guides him from civilized Denmark to Iceland, a land without trees, at a time when the latter country was not yet independent from the former. A fascinating tussle of mind and body combat that ends up merging because in this moral as well as physical journey, which involves the conquest of the new territory, both men contaminate each other until they become conflicted.

A film of a dazzling plasticity as ethnographic as it is pictorial, Godland also appears on the screen in unusual forms, which fit perfectly with its photographic origin: in 1.33:1 format, narrow, almost square, and with the four corners of the frame rounded, in the manner of ancient images. The impression for the spectator, therefore, is that of another trip, this one cinematographic, to a time and a place that forms at the antipodes of the room in which the film is projected.

Between the imposing landscapes, through which the journey to its destination takes place, and the inclement weather, Alex Zhang Hungtais dissonant soundtrack emerges as a constant omen of danger and estrangement. And Palmason applies rigor in its staging, with beautiful lateral movements and a composition that in its interior shots may refer to Carl Theodor Dreyer, but in it exteriors, aided by the old format, that of silent films, displays almost mirror images of that denouement in the vast desert of Avarice (1924), by Erich Von Stroheim.

The protagonist priest is a man of the church whom God, through his creation, the Earth, intimidates with his omnipotence, degrading him to the point of becoming aware of his insignificance. Godland, cinematographically, reminds us of our own before a supreme screen.

Godland Director: Hlynur Palmason. Starring: Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson, Vic Carmen Sonne. Genre: Drama. Iceland, 2022. Duration: 143 minutes. Premiere: August 11.

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According to new government data released on Thursday , the number of suicides in the United States reached an all-time high last year, with approximately 49,500 people taking their own lives. This marks the highest number ever recorded and has raised concerns among experts and advocates who are calling for urgent action to address this alarming trend.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which published the data, has not yet calculated the suicide rate for the year. However, available data suggests that suicides are now more prevalent in the US than at any time since World War II. This troubling increase has left many individuals and families devastated and searching for answers.

Experts caution that suicide is a complex issue influenced by various factors, including higher rates of depression and limited access to mental health services. While the growing availability of guns is identified as a significant driver of the increase, it is important to note that suicide is a multifaceted problem that cannot be attributed to a single cause.

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, highlights the role of firearms in suicide attempts. Suicide attempts involving guns are more likely to result in death compared to those involving other means. With the booming sales of firearms, more households now have access to these lethal weapons, increasing the risk of fatal outcomes.

A recent analysis conducted by Johns Hopkins University revealed that the nation's overall gun suicide rate reached an all-time high last year, based on preliminary 2022 data. Alarmingly, for the first time, the gun suicide rate among Black teens exceeded that of white teens. This underscores the urgent need to address the underlying factors contributing to these disparities.

Moreover, the data shows that suicide rates among older adults have seen the largest increases, with deaths rising nearly 7% in individuals aged 45 to 64 and over 8% in those aged 65 and older. White men, in particular, face significantly high rates of suicide. It is crucial to prioritise efforts to reduce stigma and improve access to mental health support for these vulnerable populations.

While the statistics are stark, there are signs of progress and reasons for optimism. The launch of a national crisis line a year ago, accessible by dialing 988, has made it easier for individuals across the US to reach mental health specialists in times of crisis. The CDC is also expanding its suicide prevention program to allocate more funding for preventive initiatives in different communities.

The release of this data underscores the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address the rising suicide rates in the United States. Efforts should focus on improving mental health services, reducing access to lethal means, and promoting awareness and destigmatization of mental health issues. By addressing these complex factors, it is hoped that the nation can stem the tide of this tragic trend and provide support and hope for those who are struggling.

Increasing awareness of mental health issues and the importance of seeking help has also contributed to positive developments. In 2022, there was an over 8% decrease in suicides among individuals aged 10 to 24, potentially attributable to increased attention and support for youth mental health. However, it is crucial to recognize that even a single suicide is a tragedy that affects families profoundly.

The devastating impact of suicide is keenly felt by families who have lost loved ones. Christina Wilbur, a Florida woman whose 21-year-old son died by suicide last year, speaks to the deep pain and emptiness experienced by survivors. She emphasises the difficulty of finding affordable professional help and highlights the importance of support groups, such as the Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors, in providing solace and understanding.

(With inputs from AP)
As the tumultuous Monsoon session of Parliament ends on Friday, the Congress trained its guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating the Parliament's valuable time could have been saved "had the Prime Minister given up his stubbornness and arrogance earlier."

The Prime Minister's two-hour speech was also criticised by the Congress as a "poll speech."



Party president Mallikarjun Kharge took to social media platform X to hit out at Modi for his refusal to address the Manipur issue earlier. "Thank you Prime Minister, At last, you spoke in the House on the Manipur violence."



"Had you given up your stubbornness and arrogance earlier, the valuable time of the Parliament could have been saved. Important bills would have been passed with good discussion," the Congress chief said.



Kharge also accused the Prime Minister of using the House as an election rally and said the Opposition was pained because it had to use a "parliamentary weapon like a no-confidence motion on an unprecedented issue like the Manipur violence."



The Congress also alleged that the Prime Minister had "Congress-phobia" and that was why he criticised the party throughout his speech and spoke little about Manipur during his reply to a debate on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha.



The Opposition MPs had staged a walkout from Lok Sabha when Modi was replying, alleging that there was no reference to Manipur in the first 90 minutes of his speech. Besides Opposition MPs, members of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also walked out of the House subsequently.



Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate, said the BJP's nationalism is "fake" and expressed hope that the INDIA bloc would defeat the BJP. "No doubt, seeing the unity of INDIA parties in front of him shouting INDIA, INDIA, has spooked the prime minister. Therefore, instead of speaking about Manipur, he spent most of his time criticising the Congress party," Gogoi told reporters after they staged the walkout.



He also hit out at the Prime Minister, stating he refused to answer the three questions raised by the Opposition. "Why hasn't the prime minister made any plans to go to Manipur? Why hasn't the prime minister made any concrete statement on Manipur? Why hasn't he asked his chief minister to resign? It is only arrogance which makes them blind to the pain of Manipur people."



Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal termed the prime minister's speech "dull, boring and unoriginal". "Even though INDIA compelled PM Modi to give up his boycott of Parliament and break his silence on Manipur, this was a speech that leaves the Indian people confused and sorely disappointed. In a 2 hour 13 minute speech, he had 3 minutes of empty platitudes on Manipur, and he hid behind his already-flopped Home Minister or the same old drivel about the past," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.



Congress MPs to meet Sonia



The Congress MPs will attend a meeting called by CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi at 10.30 am on Friday to discuss the suspension of Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The meeting has been called at the CPP office at the Parliament.



Kharge had condemned the suspension of Chowdhury and termed it "undemocratic" and "unfortunate" and that it "reflects the arrogance of power and the maliciousness of authorities". "This tradition will prove very fatal for both the constitution and parliamentary democracy. We strongly condemn this," Kharge said in a post on X', a micro-blogging site previously known as Twitter.



Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha on Thursday for "repeated misconduct" pending an investigation by the privileges committee. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for Chowdhury's suspension, saying he disturbs the House whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers speak or a debate is going on. The resolution was passed by a voice vote.



The resolution was moved after certain remarks by Chowdhury on the prime minister during the no-confidence motion debate triggered outrage from the treasury benches.


The last day of Monsoon Session of Parliament witnessed stormy scenes as the Congress protested the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the Lok Sabha. In a surprise move on Thursday evening, the Congress leader was suspended from the lower House for 'repeated misconduct'.

Slamming the suspension on 'flimsy grounds', Congress president and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge urged vice president and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar to protect democracy. Kharge said: "He has been suspended on a flimsy ground. He just said 'Nirav Modi'. Nirav means calm, silent. You suspend him over that?"

Kharge added that Chowdhury is a member of the public accounts committee and business advisory committee, and a suspension would mean he is deprived of these institutions.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had moved the resolution for Chowdhury's suspension on Thursday after the Congress leader repeatedly disrupted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was responding to the debate on the no-confidence motion.

Ahead of the parliament session on Friday, Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc discussed the suspension of the Chowdhury, Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha ,and the way ahead. The Congress' Whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore wrote to Speaker Om Birla for moving a motion for the adjournment of business in the House to discuss the issue of the suspension.

It is a matter of deep concern that Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a dedicated member of this House, was suspended without any proper reason yesterday as he spoke about Nirav which means 'Silence' in Hindi and compared it with the silence of Prime Minister Modi. This incident raises serious questions about the essence of our democratic principles, which prioritise freedom of speech and the right to express genuine concerns," Tagore said in his notice.



As soon as the House convened, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi raised the issue and several leaders said that Chowdhury has always respected the Chair. Amid the ruckus, the proceedings were adjourned till noon.

The INDIA bloc MPs walked out from Lok Sabha and marched to the Ambedkar statue at the Parliament premises.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continued to target the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Manipur violence issue, claiming that the Army can restore peace in the state in two to three days, but the government is not willing to deploy it.

The PM wants Manipur to burn and not douse the fire, the Congress leader said on Friday.

He said the prime minister was laughing and raising slogans in Parliament, and seems to have forgotten the plight of the people of Manipur. "The prime minister, sitting in the middle of Parliament, was shamelessly laughing. The issue was not Congress or me, the issue was what is happening in Manipur and why it was not being stopped."

The Congress leader pointed out that the prime minister devoted a mere two minutes to Manipur in his two-hour reply to a no-confidence motion brought against his government by the opposition in Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said his recent statement that PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had "murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur" is not hollow words, and asked Modi to leave petty politics behind and speak as the representative of the people.

He urged the prime minister to visit the strife-torn state and talk to the communities.

Reacting to Gandhi's charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said it seems that the Congress leader has not heard the PM's reply. He claimed that the Congress and the other opposition parties never thought that the government would agree to a discussion on Manipur.

Like PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah said, we should be sensitive about the issue. "...I think Gandhi lost his mental balance, it appears like that. He has not heard the reply. He did not come to the House. It is very unfortunate that the so-called grand old party is behaving so irresponsibly," Joshi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The Congress launched a coordinated attack by the national and state leadership on the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, accusing it of collecting 50 per cent commission from petty contractors.

The attack is reminiscent of a similar 40 per cent corruption attack on the BJP government by the Congress in Karnataka during the recent assembly polls.

The allegations, which have been taken up by the partys national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh at the national level, are based on a viral letter that is supposed to have been written by a Gwalior-based association of petty contractors to the chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, through its Gwalior bench. The BJP has, however, called the letter fake.

The letter was first shared by former Madhya Pradesh Congress president Arun Yadav on Thursday on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Yadav wrote: This is proof that no payment is made to any contractor in Madhya Pradesh without giving 50%. Madhya Pradesh's Small Contractors Association wrote a letter to the Chief Justice, (that) in Madhya Pradesh, payment is received only after paying 50% commission. Chief Minister Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) ji, is this game going on under your supervision?

In the letter, signed by Gyanendra Awasthi (no designation mentioned) of Laghu evam Madhyam Shreni Samvidakari Sangh, it has been alleged that the petty contractors, who are subcontracted the work by original contractors, have to work for just 40 per cent of the original contract value, as the contractors have to pay 50 per cent money as commission and keep 10 per cent money for themselves. The 50 pc commission is paid by the main contractor to get the payment of the work released.

The petty contractors are involved in road, buildings, ponds and other government construction works.

The letter stated that huge payments of petty contractors for old works have been due for the past several months with no budget allocated for the purpose in various districts. It mentioned that a delegation of the petty contractors met the chief minister recently with the issue and the CM had spoken to his OSD (office on special duty) to resolve it. However, the OSD reportedly told the association members that 50 per cent of the commission taken was used as party expenses in the election year.

The letter said earlier 15-20 per cent commission was taken, which was acceptable, but the 50 per cent commission was meant to force the contractors to compromise with the quality of the work and to harass them.

The letter demanded a probe into the issue by a High Court judge and the release of the pending payment.

Using the newspaper cutting based on Yadavs allegations related to the letter, Priyanka Gandhi, on Friday, said on X platform: The union of contractors in Madhya Pradesh has written a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court complaining that payment is received only after paying 50% commission in the state. The corrupt BJP government in Karnataka used to collect 40% commission. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP has gone ahead to break its own record of corruption. The people of Karnataka ousted the government with 40% commission, now the people of Madhya Pradesh will remove the BJP government with 50% commission from power.

Ramesh wrote: BJP had a government with 40% commission in Karnataka. The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh is even a step ahead of that. Here the matter of 50% commission is coming to the fore. Just like the people of Karnataka removed the corrupt BJP government, similarly the people of Madhya Pradesh will also throw out this corrupt government from power.

Quoting Gandhis tweet, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath posted on X: Respected Priyanka ji, you have exposed the demon of corruption spread in Madhya Pradesh in front of the whole world and made it clear that how the people of Madhya Pradesh are becoming victims of commission and loot of the ruling party. In Madhya Pradesh, more than 50% commission scam is being done from nutritional food for pregnant women to the construction of Lord Mahakal's complex. In Madhya Pradesh, there is a government of Goshnaveer Natwarlal (scammer, making a slew of announcements), which is running on the principle of "give money, take work".

The MP Congress posted several tweets from its X handle on the issue, trying to corner the BJP government on alleged corruption.

The viral letter of allegations has a Vasant Vihar Colony, Lashkar, Gwalior address with no contact number. An e-mail address is mentioned, but when THE WEEK sent a mail to the address, it bounced back. Gyanendra Awasthi could not be traced or contacted till the filing of this report.

Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai, while speaking to THE WEEK, said the letter was a fake and the entire issue was a political stunt of the Congress. As the elections draw near, the opposition will resort to many such tricks, but that wont work, Bajpai said.
The ministry of external affairs on Friday advised Indians stuck in Niger to leave the country as soon as possible. The ministry advised Indian nationals to exercise precaution while crossing the land border.

Talking to presspersons, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is closely monitoring the situation in Niger. In light of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals whose presence is not essential are advised to leave the country as soon as possible. They may bear in mind that airspace is currently closed. When departing through land border, utmost precautions may be taken to ensure safety and security.

The ministry also advised citizens to not to travel to the country until situation normalizes. Those who may be planning travel to Niger in the coming days are also similarly advised to reconsider their travel plans until the situation normalizes."

On July 26, members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum's house and detained him.

The mutinous soldiers, who call themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, took to state television and announced they had seized control because of deteriorating security and poor economic and social governance in the nation of 25 million people. They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, and closed all the borders.

The attempted coup was reportedly led by the head of the presidential guard, General Tchiani, who the president had planned to relieve from his position, Niger analysts say.
In a major step towards revamping the criminal justice system in the country, the Centre brought in three keys bills, replacing the British era criminal laws with several changes, like the removal of sedition law, prescribing punishment for lynching, several women and child-centric provisions, and digitalising the justice process and reducing its time.

Home Minister Amit Shah introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, to replace Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Evidence Act, respectively. These new laws are expected to ensure speedy justice, make the legal process less taxing for the victims and address the situation according to the times.

By bringing the laws a day after the no-confidence motion was defeated, and ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis 10th and last Independence Day speech of this tenure, the government has given a political message too. We will remove all signs of ghulami (slavery), Shah said while introducing the bills on the last day of the Lok Sabha.

The prime minister is likely to refer to these changes which impact the lives of all citizens in his Independence Day speech. The BJP may also include these wide-ranging laws in its election campaign for 2024 polls.

Shah said under the old laws, there were references to colonial era terminology and institutions at 475 places, with words like the Crown, British parliament, jury, and Lahore government, which have now been removed.

These changes have been made in the 75th year celebrations of the countrys Independence, and when India will start its journey from the 75th year to the 100th year, Shah said.



Shah said the these laws were brought in to strengthen the British government and establish their rule. But the soul of the new legislation is to protect the citizens as per the constitution of this country. It is not to penalise but to give justice and penalties necessary to stop the crimes, he added.



Unlike the previous IPC where the main sections were related to the establishment of the government rule, the new legislation has its first section dedicated to women, followed by crimes against a person. This has been done to make the person central to the spirit of law; against the earlier laws where murder was in section 302, now it will be in 99, Shah said.



The IPC, which had 511 sections, will now have 356; 175 sections have been changed, eight new ones introduced, while 22 have been removed.



The IPC was introduced on the recommendation of the first law commission, set up in 1834, under the chairmanship of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, after which IPC, 1860 was set up. It continues till today.

The new legislation, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, aims at simplifying legal procedure so that ease of living is ensured to the common man. The government also considered making existing laws relevant to the contemporary situation and providing speedy justice to the common man.



The bill replacing IPC also proposes to provide community service as one of the punishments for petty offences. The offences against women and children, murder, and offences against the State have been given precedence. The various offences have been made gender-neutral.

In order to deal effectively with the problem of organised crimes and terrorist activities, new offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added in the bill with deterrent punishments. A new offence on acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India has also been added. The fines and punishment for various offences have also been suitably enhanced, the statement said.

Shah said provisions have been made to allow trials through video conferences, compulsory visits of forensic teams for cases where punishment is over seven years, charge sheet within 90 days, and ensuring that a decision is given in three years.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which regulated the procedure for arrest, investigation, inquiry and trial of offences under the Indian Penal Code. Under the existing CrPc, delays in the delivery of justice due to complex legal procedures, large pendency of cases in courts, low conviction rates, low level of use of technology in legal system, delays in the investigation system, complex procedures, and inadequate use of forensics were the biggest hurdles in speedy delivery of justice.

Shah proposed to repeal the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and enact a new law, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. It provides for the use of technology and forensic science in the investigation of crimes and furnishing and lodging of information and service of summons through electronic communication. Specific time-lines have been prescribed for time-bound investigation, trial and pronouncement of judgments.



Citizen-centric approach has been adopted for the supply of copy of the first information report to the victim and to inform them about the progress of the investigation, including by digital means. In cases where the punishment is seven years or more, the victim shall be given an opportunity to be heard before the withdrawal of the case by the government. Summary trial has been made mandatory for petty and less serious cases. The accused persons may be examined through electronic means, like video conferencing. The magisterial system has also been streamlined.

Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will replace Evidence Act enacted in the year 1872 which governs laws relating to evidence. Keeping in mind the changed times, the new legislation provides that 'evidence' includes any information given electronically, which would permit the appearance of witnesses, accused, experts, and victims through electronic means.

Shah referred the three bills to the parliamentary standing committee for wider consultations.


Rescuers on Thursday evacuated inundated areas of southeastern Norway and residents braced for more landslides and flooding as rivers swollen by days of heavy rain carried large amounts of water through the mountainous landscape.

People living near waterways were moved to safety, taking their belongings from their homes and moving their cars to higher ground. Helicopters were on standby to help move people out of remote areas while volunteers assisted in towns like Hnefossen.

The Begna river, which runs through the town, had gone over its banks Thursday and because of fear of landslides, the municipality announced an evacuation. Some 200 people were taken in buses to a nearby hotel, aided by people from the Red Cross and the civil defense.

Darn, this is bad. I dont think everyone understands how much water we are talking about. The peak is far from being reached. More is to come when the locks are opened, Tone Velo, a local resident, wrote on Facebook.

Authorities did not provide a nationwide count of evacuees, but Norwegian broadcaster NRK said it was up to at least 4,000.

The initial damage estimate was at 1 billion kroner (nearly $100 million), according to the Norwegian Natural Perils Pool, an insurance regulator.

We expect far more damage reports in the future, spokeswoman Stine Neverdal said, stressing the figures were preliminary.

Although the rain has mostly stopped, authorities say the flooding is expected to continue until at least Friday. Major roads and train lines were likely to be closed for days.

The catastrophic flooding, among the worst in the Scandinavian country in recent years, was triggered by days of heavy summer rain.

In 2020, 10 people were killed in a landslide in Ask, a village north of Oslo, in one of the worst landslides in Norways modern history. A landslide in the central part of the country in 1893 killed 116 people.

On Wednesday, a dam partially burst after Norways largest river spilled over and broke through the structure. Downstream communities had been evacuated and no casualties were reported. Police said the situation at the dam was being continuously assessed but as of Thursday it no longer deemed critical.

There had been fears that a train bridge over the Lagen River would collapse because of the large volume of water, but railway officials said Thursday that it was now stable. All traffic across the bridge was halted Monday.

For the first time in 35 years, the popular Peer Gynt open-air festival will end two days early, on Friday, because of the flooding, according to its chief executive, May Brit Stve.

The nine-day event features dance, concerts, art exhibitions and more and is held in a picturesque valley near Lillehammer, which hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics. The festival has been held since 1989.

Storm Hans battered northern Europe starting Monday, causing damage and disruptions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Ferries were canceled, flights were delayed, roads and streets were flooded, people were injured by falling branches and thousands remained without electricity. Southeastern Norway was particularly badly affected.

Norways acting police chief Hakon Skulstad said the situation is serious and constantly developing.

On Thursday, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate raised its warning for floods and landslides from orange to red for parts of southern Norway.

Norwegian royals were to visit some of the affected areas: Norways King Harald and Queen Sonja on Friday while his son, Crown Prince Haakon who is heir to the thrown, on Saturday.

In neighboring Sweden, parts of the harbor in the second-largest city, Goteborg, remained flooded. Roads and train lines in the area were closed due to the water.

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued orange warnings - the second highest level  because of a risk of flooding in parts of the country along the border with Norway.

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Addressing the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today, the states Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, told the Samajwadi Party that it would not win a single seat in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.



Adityanath was speaking at the Monsoon session which kicked off on August 7. Recounting his governments achievements, he said that the opposition should have the ability to accept the truth, even though it is bitter.

He addressed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and said, Those born with silver spoons do not know the pain of the poor and the downtroddenYou need not worry about the state as you will not be able to open your account in 2024.

The public has rejected you in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022for you, the lines of Hindi poet Dushyant Kumar, that you have no ground beneath your feet are most apt, he said.

There were also jibes reserved for chacha-bhatija (uncle and nephew), a term that is used for Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh. In reference to the duo, the CM said that between 2012-17 (when SP was in power), the younger Yadav gave no money to the irrigation ministry a portfolio which was held by Shivpal. He was scared that chacha would overshadow him, Adityanath said.

The CM also returned to the elder Yadav when someone from the opposition shouted about the damage being caused to farmers by BJPs bulls. Adityanath said, Yes, they are our bulls, we worship them as NandiShivpal ji dont you worship Nandimake them (SP legislators) understand that, he said. And again he said that there had been grave injustice against Shivpal, and that his partys complete sympathies lay with him.

He also took on the opposition for saying that Gorkahpur was plagued by water logging during the monsoon. The people of Gorakhpur are happythere is no water logging..yet you could only pick up that example from the state, he said.

Listing the achievements of the government, the CM also said that during the SP rule, those impacted by floods were only given dry bread to eat. There was no compensation, no relief. The allocated money was eaten up, he said.
In Russia's first moon mission in nearly 50 years, its Soyuz 2.1v rocket, carrying the Luna-25 lunar landing craft, blasted off from the Vostochny spaceport on Friday.

The Luna-25 is racing to land on the south pole of the moon, a region believed to hold coveted pockets of water ice, ahead of India's Chandrayaan-3.



Russia's space agency Roscosmos confirmed that the rocket carrying the lander blasted off at 2:11 a.m. on Friday Moscow time, with its upper stage boosting the lander out of Earth's orbit toward the moon over an hour later.



The Russian lander is expected to reach the moon on August 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov clarified on Friday, though initially it was expected to touch down n the lunar surface on August 23. Luna-25 will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon's vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometres before heading for the surface, said reports. Chandrayaan-3 is due to run experiments for two weeks.



"Now we will wait for the 21st. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax.



Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moon's south pole.



Luna-25 is roughly the size of a small car and would work on the moon for at least an Earth year. However, landing on the terrain could be difficult and India's attempt to land at the south pole in 2019 failed. "From the point of view of science, the most important task, to put it simply, is to land where no one else has landed," said Maxim Litvak, head of the planning group for the Luna-25 scientific equipment, told Reuters.



"There are signs of ice in the soil of the Luna-25 landing area; this can be seen from the data from orbit," he said. Luna-25 will reportedly use a scoop to take rock samples from a depth of up to 15 cm (6 inches) to test for the presence of frozen water.



Interestingly, this comes amid sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine. The sanction had made it harder for it to access Western technology, impacting its space programme. "Russia's aspirations towards the moon are mixed up in a lot of different things. I think first and foremost, it's an expression of national power on the global stage," Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University, told Reuters.


China's spy agency has arrested an employee of a Chinese defence firm for supplying "core information" to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), reports said.

The announcement was made by the Ministry of State Security (MSS), which is Beijings top intelligence and counter-intelligence agency. MSS officials identified the 52-year-old man as "Zeng" who worked for an arms supplier with access to confidential information.



Zeng came into contact with the CIA when he was sent to Italy by his unit for studies, South China Morning Post quoted MSS statement.



Interestingly, Chinese officials have named the CIA this time unlike earlier where it would just use terms like "foreign agent" and "certain countries". The MSS report said Zeng was befriended by "Seth", an official of the US embassy in Italy. Seth took the initiative to get close to Zeng and the duo formed a close bond through activities such as dinner parties, outings, and watching operas.



The report added that Zeng gradually fell for Western values and became psychologically dependent on him. Seth went on to reveal his identity as a member of the CIA Rome station and promised a huge amount to Zeng as well as help his family emigrate to the US, the MSS said.



The Chinese signed a pact with the CIA after underdoing its training process. He returned home soon and continued to secretly meet CIA personnel many times, "providing a large amount of Chinas core information and collecting espionage fees", it said.



The ministry said Zeng has been arrested after a proper investigation and has been transferred to prosecutors for indictment.



The arrest comes just days after the US arrested two Navy sailors for sending sensitive US military information to Chinese intelligence officers. According to US officials, Jinchao Wei, a machinists mate on the USS Essex, allegedly entered into a "handler/asset" relationship with a Chinese intelligence officer, sending him photos and videos of the Essex and other Navy ships as well as dozens of technical and mechanical manuals relating to the ships layouts and weapons systems.



Another sailor, petty officer Wenheng Zhao, provided sensitive US military information, including operational plans for a major military exercise in the Indo-Pacific, to a person posing as a maritime economic researcher. That person was actually a Chinese intelligence officer.



CIA head William Burns had also recently claimed that the US made progress and was working hard over recent to develop the spy network.


Former South African President Jacob Zuma was taken back to prison on Friday after his parole was ruled invalid, only to be released again within two hours under a new programme to reduce overcrowding in jails.



The move raised more questions over whether the 81-year-old is receiving preferential treatment to avoid serving out a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

The remissions programme was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa and made public for the first time Friday. While it aims to release more than 9,400 inmates from jail and put them under correctional supervision at home, Zuma appeared to be the first to benefit from it.

Zuma reported to the Estcourt Correctional Centre in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province at 6 a.m., ostensibly to serve the remaining 13 months of his sentence. But he was released sometime after 7 a.m. when his remission was processed, said Makgothi Thobakgale, the acting national commissioner of the corrections department.

Zuma later arrived back at his rural Nkandla estate in a convoy of black SUVs, according to video broadcast by South African media.

Surprise, surprise, he is the first beneficiary of a brand new policy, said John Steenhuisen, the leader of South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. This is a cynical manipulation of the justice system.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said President Ramaphosa had taken the decision to remit the sentence of his predecessor under the constitutional authority he has to remit the sentence of any offender at any time.

The president's decision is to remit sentences of offenders across the country. It is not a specific decision about former president Zuma. It's about all the offenders across the country, Lamola said.

Friday's twist continued a two-year legal wrangle over Zuma's sentence. He was sent to prison in July 2021 for defying a court order to testify at a corruption inquiry, but was released on medical parole having served just two months.

That medical parole was then ruled invalid, forcing South Africa's Department of Corrections to make a new call on whether Zuma should go back to jail to serve the outstanding 13 months or whether his time on medical parole should count as him having served his sentence.

Instead, the corrections department went for neither. Including Zuma in the newly announced remissions programme to ease prison congestion was viewed as a fudge by some to avoid the kind of violent unrest that erupted in South Africa the first time Zuma was sent to jail.

In 2021, more than 350 people died in some of the worst violence the country has seen since the final days of apartheid in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as rioting swept across Zuma's home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the economic hub province of Gauteng.

South Africa had deployed the army to provide extra security in four provinces last month when the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma's early release on medical parole was improper, and security forces were on high alert again this week.

Zuma has recently returned from Russia where he received medical treatment for an undisclosed illness.

He is also on trial for corruption in a separate case. He faces a 15-year jail sentence having been charged with corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Those charges were laid in early 2021 but the trial which centres on a multibillion-dollar arms deal South Africa secured before Zuma was president has been bogged down in hearings and no testimony has yet been heard.

Zuma was acquitted of rape in a trial in 2006 and revived his political career to be elected president of Africa's most developed economy in 2009. He was forced to resign in 2018 in the face of corruption allegations and was later called to testify at a judicial inquiry into the alleged graft during his tenure.

At the inquiry, witnesses testified to massive graft during Zuma's presidency, mostly involving huge contracts at state-owned businesses. Zuma refused to testify, leading to him being convicted of contempt of court. (AP) GRS GRS 08111437
Among all the things that Gadar 2 aims to achieve, it surely hits the bull's eye in one aspectevoking nostalgia. Back in 2001, when the original Gadar was released, 'Udja Kale Kawan' became a superhit, even as Sunny Deol stole hearts as the lovable Sardar who could dance, sing, love, and fight with equal passion. That is the kind of expectation that Gadar 2 had to meet; but alas, it couldn't. This is nothing but an unnecessary sequel that ended up becoming a hotchpotch. Neither Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) nor his wife Sakeena (Ameesha Patel) have any impact on us; they are simply forgotten the moment the film is over.



Director Anil Sharma casts his son, Utkarsh (the same little boy who played Tara Singh's son 21 years back), in a bid to take the story forward, but the plot lacks the necessary power and punch to keep us absorbed. The story goes like this; high on patriotism, Tara Singh goes on a rampage in Pakistan again, this time to rescue his son from the clutches of the cruel and venomous Major General Hamid Iqbal who wants to avenge the death of his family during Partition and 40 soldiers whom Tara Singh had killed while rescuing Sakeena from Pakistan.



As the fear of war between India and Pakistan looms large, Lieutenant Colonel Devendra Rawat from Punjab asks Tara's help to deploy his trucks and send ammunition at the border to help Indian soldiers. In the firing that ensues, Tara disappears along with six Indian soldiers. Charanjit Singh (Utkarsh Sharma) Tara's son thinks his father may have been taken captive by Pakistan and goes to the country to bring him back. In the process, he gets captured and it is up to Tara to come to his rescue.



Everything happens so abruptly in the movie, and it almost feels like a video game being played out on a big screen.



Utkarsh looks good in wide shots, but he fails to emote convincingly during close-up scenes. While the first half shows him as an innocent young guy aspiring to be an actor, he turns into a bearded action hero in the second half. Sunny Deol's talent sizzles on screen, both during action sequences as well as lighter, romantic scenes. However, there are multiple times when he goes overboard and comes across as garrulous and vain as if the gifted actor is trying hard to make an impact. Ameesha Patel is mostly wooden-faced, failing to convey the rage and despair her character has.



Overall, Gadar can be missed if the other films playing in theatres at the same time are worth your time.



'Gadar 2' movie cast: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Utkarsh Sharma, Simrat Kaur, Manish Wadhwa, Gaurav Chopra, Rakesh Bedi

'Gadar 2' movie director: Anil Sharma

'Gadar 2' movie rating: 1/5
Bengaluru, India, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Britannia's legacy in India spans over 106 years, its roots and history firmly rooted in Indian soil. On the 77th anniversary of the country's Independence, Britannia's '1947% More History' campaign is an ode to an entire generation of freedom fighters and to the very few living freedom fighters we have amongst us today.



In today's times, where deep discounts of 45%, 65% and sales have taken centre stage on key days, Britannia chose to unpack '1947% more history' innovatively through technology and bring it alive using its packs as the medium. The stories are delivered through augmented reality on the packs of its more popular brands like Britannia Breads, Good Day, Marie Gold, Milk Bikis and Winkin' Cow beverages.



The campaign promise is simple. Listen to the stories of a few of India's last living freedom fighters on the favourite Britannia packs. Simply click www.Britannia1947more.com and enjoy the incredible experience through Augmented Reality.



This campaign captures the essence of Britannia's commitment to India's collective history, society, and rich heritage. Through a process of research along with a content partner, Britannia was honoured to tell the stories of 5 nonagenarians from across the country- Shrimati Leela tai, Lt. Asha Sahay, Lt. R Madhavan, Lakshmi Krishnan Agvl. & Shri Gour Hari Das.



The campaign film uses Generative AI technology to portray rich visuals of the freedom movement and recreate the younger profiles of the 5 protagonist freedom fighters whose stories have been told by themselves. The campaign was conceptualised by Talented Agency and executed in partnership with Rooted Films and Pixel Party.



Talking about the campaign, Amit Doshi, CMO, BritanniaIndustries Ltd. said, "As one of India's centurion companies, we feel proud of our history that witnessed the birth of India's freedom and further followed its incredible rise to becoming an economic superpower. As a company with a 106 year old heritage, it is our privilege to bring alive some incredible stories of how our freedom was won, and we decided to use technology to do so through our packs."



He added, "These inspiring stories of India's few living freedom fighters, come alive through an AR experience that can be triggered with a range of Britannia products found in every home. History is in our fridge, our kitchen shelves, and now we'll hear it speak to us. By celebrating these heroes, we unite around the power of resilience, compassion, and courage. This campaign is not just about history; it's about understanding our identity and cherishing the values that define us as a nation."



About the campaign Sandipan Deb, Creative at Talented said, "When we look back at how far India has come, it's hard not to feel a sense of absolute awe and pride. But 77 years after the struggle, it's natural to take our freedom for granted. Independence Day has been reduced to a day filled with retail offers. There's no sentimental value anymore. We wanted to change that - and if there's one brand that has the stature and legacy to do this, it is Britannia. Brut India, Rooted Films and Web Dimension have been amazing collaborators to make this campaign come alive. We hope every time we sit down to drink chai with Marie Gold, or make a sandwich, we think of our country, even if it's for a second, and the brave people who selflessly fought for us."



Campaign Credits



Britannia Industries



 Chief Marketing Officer - Amit Doshi



 Head Digital Marketing & PR  Dipti Sudhir



 Brand Manager  Pavanshu Aggarwal



 Digital Manager  Prabakaran K



 PR Manager  Vignesh Shankar



 E-Com Manager  Utkrishat Vineet



Team Talented



 Aabhaas Shreshta



 Aaliya Sheikh



 Amith Nair



 Balaji P



 Binaifer Dulani



 Diya Manek



 Devargh Mukherjee



 Dhruv Shingala



 Karthik Nambiar



 PG Aditiya



 Prashant Gopalakrishnan



 Radhika Subramanian



 Samyu Murali



 Sandipan Deb



 Tasha Dsilva



 Varun Khiatani



 Yash Dugar



PH - Rooted films



 Ronak Chugh



 Yash Shanghavi



Tech - Web Dimension:



 Achint Bhatnagar



 Kaushal Verma



 Kalpit Dwivedi



 Mihir Mainkar



 Ram Pratap Singh



 Sachin Kaushik



 Vishal Singh



Brut India:



 Aakash K



 Anjali Bhardwaj



 Barkha Goenka



 Mehul Munjpara



 Saima Iqbal



About Britannia Industries



Britannia is a 100+ year old Company and is a market leader in the Bakery category in India with an annual revenue of over Rs 150 Billion. The company is into 2 large snacking categories-Bakery & Dairy, with trusted & iconic brands such as Good Day, Marie Gold, Milk Bikis & Nutrichoice. Britannia products are available in over 80 countries. The Company manufactures its products in nearly 100 factories, which are made available in over 6 Million outlets to eventually reach 180 Million households in the country. The Company's vision is to be a responsible global, total foods company, and delight consumers with delicious, nutritious and wholesome snacks and beverages through the day.



Media Contact:

Bristi Mondal

+91 8951855438

bristi.mondal@genesis-bcw.com



Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183950/Britannia1947more_history.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) on Friday posted a 40 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 333.76 crore for the June quarter due to lower income.

It had clocked a net profit of Rs 557.91 crore in year-ago quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company's total income dropped to Rs 3,226.88 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to Rs 3,847.17 crore in the year-ago period.

Odisha-based NALCO is one of the largest integrated aluminium producers in the country.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 94.24 apiece on the BSE on Friday, down 0.81 per cent from its previous close.
Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) HDFC Bank chief Sashidhar Jagdishan on Friday flagged funding as a risk for the lender after the successful USD 40 billion amalgamation with its parent.

"As you know, the risks of the merger is the funding part of it," Jagdishan told shareholders of the largest private sector lender at its maiden annual general meeting after the merger came into effect from July 1.

It can be noted that the bank has not been fully successful in getting all the forbearance it had sought from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the liabilities front. The RBI refused to provide any exemptions on Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) requirements on the deposits that come from HDFC, which was a deposit-taking entity.

Additionally, questions were raised about the likely impact on HDFC Bank with respect to the RBI's move to put an incremental CRR of 10 per cent on deposit accretions in all the scheduled commercial banks after May.

Jagdishan exuded confidence that the bank will be able to surmount the funding challenge, pointing out that the board, senior leadership and staff are cognizant of the work at hand.

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director said the merger, and the timing, made sense because of the advantages that it offers, and added that the staff is "excited" to take on the funding challenge.

"I think time will tell but we're extremely confident at the way that we have grown over the last 10 years, there is no reason why we will not be able to surmount the challenges and even grab the opportunity to grow similarly over the next many years," he said.

The bank has sought shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 50,000 crore from bond issuances going ahead and will be active on this front as part of its liabilities management, Jagdishan said.

Merger with HDFC is all set to impact the Net Interest Margins (NIMs) of the bank because of the higher proportion of the low-interest yielding housing loans which get added, Jagdishan said, adding that the same will be visible from the results for the September quarter itself.

However, the housing loans also present advantages in terms of better repayment ratios which lower the credit costs on such advances, Jagdishan said.

The bank, which has always reported NIMs between 4-4.4 per cent range, is confident of getting the profitability or the returns back to historical levels in up to 18 months, he said.

"It's been always a philosophy that we will not compromise growth for profitability," Jagdishan said.

Amid some issues of misbehaviour by staff being flagged on social media, including a loud shouting by a senior employee to a subordinate for not meeting business targets, Jagdishan said employees' satisfaction and organisational culture are priorities for the bank management and the board.

He also promised to publish employee satisfaction survey results along with the annual report from next year.

More than 7 per cent of the bank's overall spending is towards technology, Jagdishan said.

He, however, said that more security features may lead to some inconvenience.

Meanwhile, the bank's Non-Executive Chairman Atanu Chakraborty said erstwhile HDFC's Chairman Deepak Parekh cannot join the board of the bank because of a RBI policy not allowing directors above 75 years of age.

Key executives Renu Karnad and Keki Mistry have joined the bank's board.

Jagdishan said a request for approval has been made to the RBI for inducting erstwhile HDFC's Chief Financial Officer V Srinivasa Ranjan to the board.

The bank scrip closed 1.05 per cent down at Rs 1,619.05 a piece on the BSE on Friday as against a 0.56 per cent correction on the benchmark.
Kathmandu, Aug 11 (PTI) India and Nepal have both expressed appreciation for the strong cooperation in the developmental partnership between the two nations, including through the Line of Credits that is extended to the Himalayan nation for infrastructure development.

During the 10th India-Nepal Line of Credit (LOC) Review Meeting held on Thursday, both sides acknowledged their cooperation and reviewed the progress of projects which are at various stages of implementation, according to the press release by the Indian Embassy here on Friday.

The Indian delegation also conducted site visits to ongoing road projects being built with the Government of Indias (GOI) LOCs.

Indias LOCs in Nepal include four projects totalling USD 1.65 billion. These LOCs are dedicated to infrastructure development as prioritised by the Nepal government. GoIs LOC portfolio is more than USD 30 billion and is spread across more than 60 partner countries.

So far, these LOCs have financed more than 40 road projects (1,105 km completed), 6 projects in hydropower and transmission lines, and several others in housing and reconstruction, the release said.

Power transmission infrastructure in Nepal has been augmented with major LOC projects, such as the Koshi Corridor (220 kV), Modi Lekhnath (132 kV), Solu Corridor (132 kV) and the Dhalkebar-Bhittamod (400 kV) projects. As of now, up to 452 MW of power export is being carried out through the Dhalkebar-Bhittamod 400 kV line.

GoI has also agreed to fund Bheri Corridor, Nijgadh-Inaruwa and Gandak Nepalgunj Transmission lines and associated substations under Indian LOC at an estimated cost of USD 679.8 million.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with his Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and reviewed various aspects of the India-Nepal cooperation to strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between the two countries.

The two leaders reviewed various aspects of the India-Nepal bilateral cooperation and followed up on discussions held during Prime Minister Prachanda's recent visit to India from May 31 to June 3, so as to advance the bilateral partnership and to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between the two countries, PMO had said.

Nepal, a close and friendly neighbour, is a key partner in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, it had said.
Kolkata, Aug 8 (PTI) Actor Swastika Mukherjee, who will be acting with Amitabh Bacchan in the yet to be released Bollywood courtroom drama 'Section 84' feels that a woman regardless of her social status, has to work 200 per cent harder to prove herself.

Swastika who is also essaying the role of a police officer in Bengali web series 'Nikhoj' for the first time in her two-decade long career, said that gender stereotyping existed with a belief that women after marriage and children may not be able to work as well as they did before.

"A strange gender bias exists. It is presumed a woman will be unable to deliver as they have to look after their ghar sansar (home and families) and chhele pule (Bengali for children). Nikhoj delineates this issue," the actor told PTI here.

The 42-year-old actor, who is currently working with back-to-back projects in Mumbai and Kolkata, also said she does not believe in having a film release every month.

She delivered an impressive performance in 'Qala', which was released on Netflix in December 2022, and recently acted in a Bengali film 'Shibpur' inspired by the real life character of a woman gangster in Howrah in the '70s.

In the women-centric 'Shibpur' and 'Nikhoj', the central character is seen waging a fight to protect her family and her clan.

The woman don, Mandira Biswas that Swastika portrays in 'Shibpur' is protective of her in-laws and her children. In 'Nikhoj' she plays the role of a deputy commissioner of Kolkata Police trying to find her missing daughter, a case that is officially assigned to her.

Speaking about the two diametrically opposite characters portrayed by her, she said, "These two characters share shades of similarities so far as their battle in their respective workplaces are concerned workplaces are usually ruled by men".

Swastka said in 'Nikhoj' she had to strive a lot to strike a balance between the persona of a mother and a hard working policewoman.

"I had to see that one identity did not overshadow the other ... I was playing the character of a working single mother and I remember I used to ask director Ayan Chakraborty after every shoot whether I have been able to strike the right balance.

"It was easy to let the character of the mother get precedence over that of the investigator. But I was careful about the personality shift while enacting the police officer's role", she said.

Nikhoj, which also stars 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' actor Tota Roy Chowdhury, will be streamed on a leading Bengali OTT platform from August 11.

To questions about her future roles, she said "I don't believe in doing a large number of movies. For me quality is more important than quantity. If I have films lined up for release every month, will you remember all of them? No. I prefer doing less work but in projects which will leave some impression in the people's minds, like 'Shibpur'".



Swastika's her next assignments are 'Durgapur Junction' by Arindam Bhattacharya and a Bollywood film being shot in Mumbai. "I am contract bound not to disclose the name of the Mumbai project," the actor said.

Swastika is, however, candid about her nervousness when she worked with megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the courtroom thriller 'Section 84'.

"I had 5-6 scenes with him (Amitabh Bachhan) and I remember how nervous I was on the first day of my shooting with him. I had never been so nervous in my entire acting career," the actor said.

She explained that though Bachhan took trouble to make other actors feel "very comfortable on the sets", his presence also made many feel nervous.

"How can I forget I am actually seeing Amitabh Bachchan before my eyes as my co-actor? I remember I rehearsed my role well but when Bachchan ji spoke in his familiar baritone in the final take after the drill ... I felt completely blank ... But while acting I had to ensure that this feeling of a awe-struck fan completely did not surface and I become the character," Swastika said.


The U.N. Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Koreas dire human rights situation since 2017 next week, the United States announced Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, will brief council members at the Aug. 17 meeting.

We know the governments human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program, Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and crimes being perpetrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Ils regime against its own people as well as the people of Japan and South Korea.

Thomas-Greenfield, who is chairing the council during this months U.S. presidency, stood with the ambassadors from Albania, Japan and South Korea when making the announcement.

Russia and China, which have close ties to North Korea, have blocked any Security Council action since vetoing a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of its intercontinental ballistic missile launches. So the council is not expected to take any action at next weeks meeting.

China and Russia could protest holding the open meeting, which requires support from at least nine of the 15 council members.

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Koreas first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking  so far unsuccessfully  to cut funds and curb the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

At a council meeting last month on Pyongyangs test-flight of its developmental Hwasong-18 missile, North Koreas U.N. Ambassador Kim Song made his first appearance before members since 2017.

He told the council the test flight was a legitimate exercise of the Norths right to self-defense. He also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia to the brink of nuclear war, pointing to its nuclear threats and its deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in 14 years.

Whether ambassador Kim attends next weeks meeting on the countrys human rights remains to be seen.

In March, during an informal Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea  which China blocked from being broadcast globally on the internet  U.N. special rapporteur Salmon said peace and denuclearization cant be addressed without considering the countrys human rights situation.

She said the limited information available shows the suffering of the North Korean people has increased and their already limited liberties have declined.

Access to food, medicine and health care remains a priority concern, Salmon said. People have frozen to death during the cold spells in January, and some didnt have money to heat their homes while others were forced to live on the streets because they sold their homes as a last resort.

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Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) The Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in partnership with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) on Friday announced their fresh line-up of GenNext designers, presented by INIFD, for the upcoming gala, scheduled to be held from October 11-15 in New Delhi.

Three designers Arnav Malhotra (No Grey Area), Sonam Khetan (Sonam Khetan) and Prasoon Sharma (Triune) were named the winners for the 36th edition of GenNext, one of the most coveted talent discovery programmes in India.

According to a press release, the shortlisted designers presented their collections to a jury comprising Harman Dhillon, vice president at Hindustan Unilever Limited; Sabina Chopra, GenNext mentor; Mehernaaz Dhondy, editor in chief, Grazia India; Amit Aggarwal, renowned fashion designer; and Jaspreet Chandok, group vice president, Reliance Brands.

Embracing the future of fashion begins with the creative minds they discover and foster through the Gen Next programme at Lakme Fashion Week X FDCI, Dhillon said.

"As we return to Delhi, this season's GenNext designers represent not only the resilience and creativity of a new era but also our commitment towards identifying, nurturing, and empowering young talents who will sculpt the future of global fashion with the transformative power of artistry.

"We are thrilled to spotlight the GenNext winners as they unfold their creativity, in line with Lakme's vision as a fashion forward beauty brand with product lines and collection themes bringing forth a blend of fresh perspectives and avant-garde styles that will illuminate the path for the future of fashion," Dhillon said in a statement.

Chandok described the GenNext initiative as a platform for outstanding young talent in the country to debut and showcase their work to industry leaders in a competitive fashion environment.

"For a decade and more, this initiative has successfully introduced remarkable designers, some of whom have achieved recognition in both the Indian and global fashion arenas. From the highly promising entries, the winners of the 36th batch of GenNext designers have been carefully selected, and I am excited to witness their growth and success in the fashion industry," he added.

The Mumbai edition of the fashion gala was held in March.
New York, Aug 11 (PTI) No charges will be pressed against the Sikh man and his co-worker who were being probed by the US authorities for "assaulting" a suspected thief who tried to rob their convenience store, the video of which became viral.

The incident took place on July 29 at a 7-Eleven store in California's Stockton city.

"The Stockton 7-11 Store Clerks are not & have never been, suspects of the San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office," District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Any Investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened & attempted to rob them," he said.

In the viral video, a masked man is seen emptying shelves of cigarettes and other products from the stores shelves before two employees of the shop stepped in to stop him. The clip shows one of the employees pinning the alleged thief down, while the Sikh man beats him with a stick.

Stockton police on Sunday said they were investigating the assault of the 7-Eleven robbery suspect by the two convenience store workers.

"It has been brought to our attention that a video of two 7-Eleven employees assaulting a robbery suspect has been circulating. We are aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing," it said.

The suspected thief is believed to have robbed the store two other times within the same 24-hour period.

The case has been assigned to our Investigations Bureau for follow-up interviews and evidence review. Once the investigations are complete the findings will be forwarded to the San Joaquin County District Attorney for review, the police had said.
Johannesburg, Aug 11 (PTI) South Africa will host a four-day trade fair alongside the BRICS Summit in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the leaders of Brazil, China and the host country will gather here later this month.

The BRICS bloc - comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 per cent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per cent of the global trade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate virtually in the Summit, to be held from August 22-24, due to an ICC warrant that would have obliged South Africa to arrest him if he came in person.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, together with the South African BRICS Business Council, will host the BRICS Trade Fair at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from August 19-23.

The exhibition will serve as a platform for showcasing products and services from the BRICS countries as well as business-to-business interaction aimed at increasing intra-BRICS trade and investment, the Department said in a recent statement.

The fair will be officially opened by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel together with his BRICS counterparts on August 19.

Sectoral sessions which will be hosted include energy cooperation; accelerating infrastructure development through government business and private partnerships, and embracing the digital economy for transformation and advancement.

The sessions will also have BRICS dialogue on airlift strategy; the importance of skills for emerging and future jobs; oceans economy high-level dialogue; pandemic preparedness; and Africas economic place in the BRICS alliance.

The sessions will be hosted by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency. Gauteng province, though the smallest of the nine in South Africa, is the economic hub of the country.

Exhibitors from the other BRICS partners will join their South African counterparts to showcase their products and services. Among the sectors at this exhibition will be agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, energy and energy infrastructure.

South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS -- a grouping of heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China. It will host the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg under the theme: 'BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism'.

The summit will be preceded by the Inward Buying and Investment Missions from Brazil, Russia, India and China that will take place in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal from Aug 13-23; the official opening of the BRICS Trade Fair on Aug 19; and the BRICS Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre on August 22.
Islamabad, Aug 11 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme in a unanimous verdict on Friday struck down a law modifying the review process of its judgements, dampening the hopes of former premier Nawaz Sharif who was seeking to challenge his lifetime disqualification from holding any public office.

The apex court ruled that the Supreme Court (Review of Judgments and Orders) Act 2023 was "unconstitutional".

The law is aimed at facilitating and strengthening the Supreme Court in exercising its powers to review its judgements and orders.

Pakistan's government in May enacted the law to provide the right of appeal against conviction by the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction.

Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was disqualified in 2017 by a five-member bench of the apex court but he couldn't file an appeal as there was no law to challenge the judgment of the top judiciary.

In 2018, he became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict.

The 73-year-old former premier has been living in London since November 2019 for medical treatment after a Pakistani court allowed him a four-week reprieve.

Sharif, who has served as the prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, was serving seven-year imprisonment in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore in the Al-Azizia corruption case before he left for London.

Politician Jahangir Tareen was also disqualified under Article 62 of the Constitution by the Supreme Court.

Had the verdict today been in favour of the petitions, both leaders would have had an opportunity to challenge their disqualifications, keeping in view their political ambitions amid the upcoming general elections in the country following the completion of the tenure of the National Assembly, Geo News reported.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar heard multiple petitions challenging the controversial law.

The detailed verdict said that the law was repugnant to and ultra vires the Constitution while being beyond the legislative competence of Parliament.

It is accordingly struck down as null and void and of no legal effect, the order said.

The order said that any attempt by way of ordinary legislation to interfere in the scope of the Supreme Courts powers and jurisdiction, including but not limited to its review jurisdiction, would constitute a wrong and erroneous reading and interpretation of the Constitution.

The judgement further said that there was no express authorisation in the Constitution which empowered Parliament to enlarge the Supreme Courts review jurisdiction under Article 188.

In addition, the 2023 Act does not enlarge review jurisdiction, it creates a new appellate jurisdiction which has no constitutional basis, sanction or authorisation, the order said.

It further said that any legislation interfering with the independence of the judiciary, would by its nature and from its very inception, be unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect.

It said that a constitutional amendment was needed to convert the courts review jurisdiction into an appellate jurisdiction.

It is a well-recognised principle that ordinary law cannot amend, change, delete or add to the Constitution, the order said.

The order said that the so-called enlargement of the apex courts jurisdiction had no constitutional sanction or basis and was not anchored in any provision of the Constitution relating to the judiciary or the Supreme Court.
Taipei (Taiwan), Aug 11 (AP) China has detained a worker from a military industrial group on suspicion of spying for the CIA, national security authorities said on Friday, adding to the list of public accusations of espionage between Beijing and Washington.

The Ministry of State Security, the country's civilian spy agency, said in a statement that a military industrial worker surnamed Zeng had been providing military secrets to the CIA in exchange for large sums of money.

The 52-year-old suspect had been sent to Italy to study by his employer. There, he met an official with the US embassy, who later turned out to be a CIA agent, the ministry claimed.

Zeng gradually developed a psychological dependence on (the US official), who took the opportunity to indoctrinate him with Western values, the statement, posted on the ministry's WeChat page, read.

It added that the US official promised the Chinese suspect large amounts of money and to help his family emigrate to the United States in exchange for sensitive information about China's military, which the worker had access to through his job.

Having finished overseas study, Zeng returned to China and continued to have multiple secret meetings with the CIA agents and provided a great amount of key intelligence and collected funds for spying, the ministry said.

It added that the suspect had been detained and the case was being further investigated.

The announcement is the latest in a string of public accusations of espionage between Washington and Beijing.

Last week, the US arrested two US Navy sailors on accusations of providing military secrets to China.

Relations between China and the US plunged to their lowest level in years after the US earlier this year shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had flown over US territory. (AP) PY

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, Aug 11 (AP) Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger's junta had told a top US diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It's unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it. Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast's president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn't in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn't intervene.

It is our business, not theirs. They don't even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger," said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

On Friday the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS' decision and called on the junta to urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization. It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. The African Union is expected to meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in Niger.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted. U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger's size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Niger.

The situation is alarming. ... We'll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it's unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there's irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The UN has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger's foreign ministry about doing the same within the country. (AP)

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Jakarta, Aug 11 (AP) The dry season and motorised vehicles are the main causes of the air pollution in Jakarta, Indonesian authorities said Friday, after a Swiss air quality technology company named the city as the most polluted in the world.

Thick smoke and gray skies have appeared every morning for the past few months in Jakarta, the capital city of the world's fourth most populous country.

Jakarta routinely tops listings of the world's most polluted cities, most recently in a ranking by IQAir, which is based in Switzerland.

In fact, the condition of Jakarta's air quality throughout 2023 has fluctuated quite a bit, Asep Kuswanto, head of Jakarta Environment Agency said at a conference on Friday.

Indonesia is now in the dry season, which runs from July to September, when air pollution will peak. Air quality in the greater Jakarta area deteriorates as it is impacted by dry air from the eastern side of the country.

The use of motorised vehicles is also a major factor. Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said 44% of air pollution comes from transportation, compared to 31% from industry.

Jakarta's streets are clogged with inefficient and polluting vehicles, especially motorcycles. Maintenance standards are poor and rarely enforced. A lack of public transportation means most people are dependent on private vehicles, which can be stalled in traffic for hours at a time.

The city of Jakarta is home to more than 11 million people, with a total of 30 million in the greater metropolitan area. Air pollution has become a sensitive issue, with millions commuting into the city daily from satellite communities.

In 2021, an Indonesian court ruled that President Joko Widodo and six other top officials had neglected citizens' rights to clean air and ordered them to improve the poor air quality in the capital.

Cases of respiratory diseases believed to be linked to air pollution are on the rise. The Jakarta health office also acknowledged that there was an increase in health problems caused by air pollution in 2023, compared to 2022.

It is increased compared to 2022. And it is almost the same condition we found in 2019 and 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dwi Oktavia, head of disease prevention and control at the Jakarta Health Agency, said.

In order to prevent further increases, "we should actively be using public transportation and bicycles, Oktavia said.

On Monday, President Widodo acknowledged that air pollution in Jakarta had been a problem for years. Moving the capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara, on the island of Borneo, is one of the solutions, Widodo said.

First proposed in 2019, Widodo's plan to move the capital would involve constructing government buildings and housing from scratch around the seaport of Balikpapan, about 2,000 kilometers northeast of Jakarta.

One solution is to reduce the burden on Jakarta so that some of it will later be moved to Nusantara. And the mass transportation is a must, Widodo said. (AP) SCY

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New York, Aug 11 (PTI) A 150-year-old Banyan tree imported from India and one of the largest in the US is today struggling for its survival as deadly wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island of Maui, scorching buildings and killing more than 50 people.

The 46-trunk Banyan tree, called paniana in Hawaiian, was a mere 8-foot sapling when it was planted in Maui's Lahaina town in 1873, according to the online portal lahainatown.com.

The reason for its harvest was the 50th anniversary of the first American protestant missionary in Lahaina  a monumental event that forever altered Lahainas trajectory, it states.

Imported from India and planted in front of the Lahaina Courthouse and Lahaina Harbour on 1873, this sprawling tree -- one of the largest banyan trees in the United States -- along Front Street is the size of an entire city block and stands more than 60 feet high, online portal gohawaii.com states.

According to a CNN news report, there was widespread destruction in the historic town of Lahaina. Anything in the town centre is just completely devastated. The fires have left little to no vegetation on the precious and sprawling banyan tree.

The banyan tree celebrated its 150th birthday in April this year.

While its condition is unclear, images suggest that the tree has been burned but remains standing. The town's website suggested the tree would recover, saying that "if the roots are healthy, it will likely grow back".

"I tend to believe it'll be fine. It's really very hard to kill a banyan tree," Theo Morrison, the executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, told the BBC.

"I would be very surprised if it wasn't fine," she said.

A major landmark in Lahaina, the tree has provided cooling shade to generations of locals and visitors beneath its massive, sweepy branches and dangling vines, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Events and art exhibits often have been held under its boughs.

The tree has 46 major trunks in addition to its massive original one and shades nearly two-thirds of an acre, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

Its health and shape are maintained by the Maui County Arborist Committee, the CNN report said.

The devastating wildfires in Maui have so far claimed at least 55 lives. Thousands of people remain displaced.
Islamabad, Aug 11 (PTI) Pakistan's President Arif Alvi on Friday asked outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and outgoing Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz to propose a name for the appointment of caretaker premier by Saturday.

The premier and opposition parties began rounds of meetings to pick a caretaker prime minister following the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9.

As many as six names were discussed in the meeting on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported, adding that Sharif and Riaz were expected to meet again on Friday for another round of deliberations.

In a letter written to Sharif and Riaz, the president recalled that he had dissolved the National Assembly on the prime minister's advice on August 9.

Under Provision of Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution, the president appoints the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the [outgoing] prime minister and leader of the opposition in the outgoing national assembly," the letter said, adding that both the parties were required to propose the name for the appointment within three days of the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament.

Alvi then directed Sharif and Riaz to propose the name of the interim premier not later than August 12.

In case the two fail to agree on a name, the matter would be referred to a parliamentary committee and if the committee too fails to make any decision then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will have two days to choose the caretaker prime minister from the list of names shared with the commission.

Some in political circles believe that Sharif wants to stay in office till August 14 to be able to attend the flag-hoisting ceremony on Independence Day, after which a caretaker premier will take an oath.

The prime minister on July 12 this year had said that his governments tenure would end on August 14, although the information minister later clarified that the premier had gotten the date wrong.

According to the Constitution, Sharif can act as the caretaker prime minister till the appointment of the head of the interim set-up.

According to sources, one of the reasons for the delay in deciding the name of the head of the interim set-up is believed to be the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) desire to see its own man in office.

Sources said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari were calling the shots on the issue of the appointment in consultation with the third party.

Meanwhile, the Senate Secretariat has postponed its committee meetings until the appointment of the caretaker government.

Consequent upon the dissolution of the National Assembly, the prime minister, as well as the federal ministers and ministers of state, have ceased to hold the office. Furthermore, the caretaker prime minister and cabinet are yet to be appointed. Therefore, the competent authority has directed to postpone all Senate committee meetings till the notification of the caretaker prime minister/cabinet, a notification said on Friday.

As both the premier and the leader of the opposition held the names of nominees close to their chest after Thursdays meeting, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani also emerged as one of the strongest contenders for the coveted slot.

A senior leader of the PML-N said that Anjrani, who held separate meetings with Sharif, also President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was one of the strongest candidates.

Other possible contenders are Jalil Abbas Jilani, the former diplomat, former finance ministers Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, ex-justice Tassaduq Jilani, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Pir Pagaro, and Makhdoom Mehmood Ahmed.

Sharif on August 9 recommended the dissolution of the National Assembly, three days before the original date of suspension of the 342-member assembly.

The move will lead to general elections in cash-strapped Pakistan within 90 days as the ruling coalition government gets ready to face polls after the five-year term of Parliament on August 12.

The Constitution provides that if the assembly completes its tenure, elections are to be held in 60 days, but in case of premature dissolution - which will be the case here - this period is extended to 90 days.
London, Aug 11 (PTI) Disruptive technologies and innovations enhancing the capabilities of the instruments of war are making the present-day battlespace more complex and lethal, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said during his UK visit on Thursday.

In his historic address as the first Indian to represent King Charles III at the Sovereigns Parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Gen. Pande said it is the unwavering resolve, courage and valour of soldiers on the battlefield that will determine the ultimate victory.

In a motivational speech for the 185 Officer Cadets of Commissioning Course No. 223 who pass out from the prestigious academy with the customary parade, the army chief called on them to lead by example as they don the mantle of a military leader and hone their ability to adapt to change.

While the character of warfare is undergoing a change, the potential of the disruptive technologies, advancements in cyber, space and innovation domains and progression in the capabilities of the instruments of war are making the present-day battlespace more complex and lethal, he said.

The recent and ongoing conflicts have brought to the fore many important lessons at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. The import of these will serve as pointers as you prepare for future wars, he said.

The army chief stressed that the significance of the man or woman behind the gun remains undiminished, despite the tech advancements and the changing nature of modern-day warfare.

In his role as the Sovereigns Representative, Gen. Pande represented the British monarch as the Inspecting Officer for the 201st Sovereigns Parade at the military academy in Berkshire, south-east England.

The senior general was escorted by the academys Commandant, Major General Zac Stenning, as he inspected the ranks of the Senior Division on parade, made up of those who have completed the 44-week long commissioning course, stopping periodically to chat with the male and female cadets standing to attention before him.

Gen. Pande, who was accompanied by wife Archana, also presented the awards for the top performing cadets on the course as the Kings representative.

The Sword of Honour went to Senior Under Officer WJ Clark, considered by the Commandant to be the best cadet in the intake, ahead of his commission into the Royal Gurkha Rifles.

The Queens Medal went to Officer Cadet Grimbaldeston-Cherry for the top military, academic and practical scores in the intake.

The International Sword was conferred upon Officer Cadet Daniel Chintu from Zambia, considered to be the best International Cadet, and the International Award went to Officer Cadet Paul Milbers from Germany as the top international cadet in military, academic and practical scores.

In addition to those passing out into the British Army, there were 43 international cadets from 28 countries from as far afield as Ethiopia to Papua New Guinea. They will return to their respective militaries taking with them the best leadership training available to serve as commissioned officers.

Gen. Pande said their involvement was a reflection of the "highest standards and worldwide reputation of this prestigious academy".

Meanwhile, the new British cadets would need to wait a few hours until the stroke of midnight on Friday to officially take up their Kings Commission duly celebrated with friends and family at the Commissioning Ball.

The Sovereign's Parade closed in time-honoured fashion with the Sword of Honour winner, Officer Cadet Clark, being the last to march into Old College closely followed by the Academy Adjutant, Major Andrew Dunlop, riding up the steps and in through the doors on his horse Sovereign's Shadow.

Earlier this week, Gen. Pande received a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Horse Guards Parade in London at the start of his four-day visit to the UK on Thursday.

The Indian Army has dubbed the visit a momentous milestone in strengthening the diplomatic, military, and cultural ties between India and the UK, promoting mutual cooperation and understanding in the realms of defence and security.
Police guard the National Service of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Ecuador, where the remains of Fernando Villavicencio were taken. KAREN TORO (REUTERS)

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced Thursday that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team will assist in the investigation into the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The mission of the U.S. agents will be to aid the Ecuadorian authorities in determining the motive for the crime and identifying the perpetrators. The gunman who fired the shots that killed Villavicencio died at the scene of the attack, which occurred after a campaign rally in northern Quito. The Prosecutors Office reported Thursday that six suspects, all Colombian nationals, had been arrested in connection with the assassination.

Villavicencio was shot dead seconds after getting into a vehicle supplied by the state to move around Quito. The assassin fired into the window opposite the door through which the candidate had entered. The vehicle was not armored and Villavicencio was not wearing a bulletproof vest, despite reporting threats from local criminal groups that he accused of having links to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. Interior Minister Juan Zapata and Police Commander Fausto Salinas have been unable to clarify the failings of Villavicencio security set-up, but stated that he was under armed police escort. Neither did they speculate about the motive for the attack.

At a press conference in Quito, the officials did not take questions and limited themselves to discussing the six Colombians arrested as suspects, all of whom have criminal records, it was confirmed. They had been arrested a month ago but the judge did not remand them in custody, instead ordering them to report the court periodically, which they failed to do.

In several raids in the sector of Conocoto and the south of the city, we managed to apprehend six subjects: Andres M., Jose N., Adey G., Camilo R., Jules C., Jhon R., all foreigners, said the Minister of Interior. The police found a rifle with two magazines, a submachine gun, four pistols, three grenades, four boxes of ammunition, two motorcycles and a vehicle that had been reported stolen.

Villavicencio, a proponent of an iron fist to tackle the problem of organized crime in Ecuador, had received threatening messages the leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, a local group allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel, which is locked in a struggle with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for control of drug production and trafficking operations in the country.

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Niamey (Niger), Aug 11 (AP) Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger's junta had told a top US diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighbouring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It's unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it. Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighbouring Ivory Coast's president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region, Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn't in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn't intervene.

It is our business, not theirs. They don't even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger," said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey on Friday waving Russian flags and screaming Down with France. Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS' decision and called on the junta to urgently halt the escalation with the regional organisation. It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger expected on Saturday was postponed.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported all conclusions adopted. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the US supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A US official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorised to speak to the media.

The threat to kill Bazoum is grim, said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger's size and population would be unprecedented, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the UN resident coordinator in Niger.

The situation is alarming. ... We'll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it's unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between Niger and member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there's irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The UN has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger's foreign ministry about doing the same within the country. (AP) PY

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New York, Aug 11 (AP) The transfer of more than a million barrels of oil from an aging tanker moored off the coast of war-torn Yemen has been completed, avoiding an environmental disaster, the United Nations said Friday.

In a statement, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the operation had prevented monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe.

An international team began siphoning the oil from the dilapidated vessel known as SOF Safer on July 25. All of the oil is now aboard a replacement tanker called Nautica.

Before the transfer, the Safer carried four times as much oil than was spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska, one of the world's worst ecological catastrophes, according to the U.N.

International organisations and rights groups warned for years of the potential for a spill or an explosion involved the tanker, which has not been maintained and has seawater in its engine compartment and damaged pipes.

It is moored 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from Yemen's western Red Sea ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa, a strategic area controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who are at war with the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

The warring sides blamed each other for blocking a salvage operation to remove the oil until a UN-led initiative succeeded in accessing the ship and raising money from international donors.

The transfer marks a major milestone in a plan that the U.N, says now needs additional funding to transport the oil away and to move the SOF Safer.

The United States welcomed the news of the operation's success and called on other countries to contribute to see the job through to the end.

The U.N. urgently needs the international community and private sector's financial support to fill the remaining USD 22 million funding gap needed to finish the job and address all remaining environmental threats, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

The tanker, a Japanese-made vessel built in the 1970s, was sold to the Yemeni government during the 1980s to store for export up to 3 million barrels pumped from oil fields in eastern Yemen's Marib province. The ship is 360 meters (1,181 feet) long with 34 storage tanks.

Yemen's ruinous civil war began in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, intervened the following year to try to restore the internationally recognized government to power. (AP)



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Dubai, Aug 11 (AP) The United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement this week that will eventually see five detained Americans in Iran and an unknown number Iranians imprisoned in the US released from custody after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets are transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar.

The complex deal  which came together after months of indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials  was announced on Thursday when Iran moved four of the five Americans from prison to house arrest. The fifth American had already been under house arrest.

Details of the money transfer, the timing of its completion and the ultimate release of both the American and Iranian prisoners remain unclear. However, US and Iranian officials say they believe the agreement could be complete by mid- to late-September.



A look at what is known about the deal.

WHAT'S IN IT?

Under the tentative agreement, the US has given its blessing to South Korea to convert frozen Iranian assets held there from the South Korean currency, the won, to euros.

That money then would be sent to Qatar, a small, energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula that has been a mediator in the talks. The amount from Seoul could be anywhere from USD 6 billion to USD 7 billion, depending on exchange rates.

The cash represents money South Korea owed Iran  but had not yet paid  for oil purchased before the Trump administration imposed sanctions on such transactions in 2019.

The US maintains that, once in Qatar, the money will be held in restricted accounts and will only be able to be used for humanitarian goods, such as medicine and food. Those transactions are currently allowed under American sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic over its advancing nuclear program.

Some in Iran have disputed the US claim, saying that Tehran will have total control over the funds. Qatar has not commented publicly on how it will monitor the disbursement of the money.

In exchange, Iran is to release the five Iranian-Americans held as prisoners in the country. Currently, they are under guard at a hotel in Tehran, according to a US-based lawyer advocating for one of them.



WHY WILL IT TAKE SO LONG?

Iran does not want the frozen assets in South Korean won, which is less convertible than euros or US dollars. US officials say that while South Korea is on board with the transfer it is concerned that converting USD 6 or USD 7 billion in won into other currencies at once will adversely affect its exchange rate and economy.

Thus, South Korea is proceeding slowly, converting smaller amounts of the frozen assets for the eventual transfer to the central bank in Qatar. In addition, as the money is transferred, it has to avoid touching the US financial system where it could become subject to American sanctions. So a complicated and time-consuming series of transfers through third-country banks has been arranged.



WHO ARE THE DETAINED IRANIAN-AMERICANS?

The identities of three of the five prisoners have been made public. It remains unclear who the other two are. The American government has described them as wanting to keep their identities private and Iran has not named them either.

The three known are Siamak Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges. Another is Emad Sharghi, a venture capitalist serving a 10-year sentence.

The third is Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.

Those advocating for their release describe them as wrongfully detained and innocent. Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.



WHY IS THIS DEAL HAPPENING NOW?

For Iran, years of American sanctions following former US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers has crushed its already-anemic economy.

Previous claims of progress in talks over the frozen assets have provided only short-term boosts to Iran's hobbled rial currency.

The release of that money, even if only disbursed under strict circumstances, could provide an economic boost.

For the US, the administration of President Joe Biden has tried to get Iran back into the deal, which fell apart after Trump's 2018 withdrawal. Last year, countries involved in the initial agreement offered Tehran what was described as their last, best roadmap to restore the accord. Iran did not accept it.

Still, Iran hawks in Congress and outside critics of the 2015 nuclear deal have criticized the new arrangement. Former Vice President Mike Pence and the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, as well as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have all compared the money transfer to paying a ransom and said the Biden administration is encouraging Iran to continue taking prisoners.



WILL THE US RELEASE IRANIAN PRISONERS HELD IN AMERICA?

On Friday, Iran's Foreign Ministry made a point of bringing up those prisoners. American officials have declined to comment on who or how many Iranian prisoners might be released in a final agreement. But Iranian media in the past identified several prisoners with cases tied to violations of US export laws and restrictions on doing business with Iran.

Those alleged violations include the transfer of money through Venezuela and sales of dual-use equipment that the US says could be used in Iran's military and nuclear programmes.



DOES THIS MEAN IRAN-US TENSIONS ARE EASING?

No. Outside of the tensions over the nuclear deal and Iran's atomic ambitions, a series of attacks and ship seizures in the Mideast have been attributed to Tehran since 2019.

The Pentagon is considering a plan to put US troops on board to guard commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of all oil shipments pass moving out of the Persian Gulf.

A major deployment of US sailors and Marines, alongside F-35s, F-16s and other aircraft, is also underway in the region. Meanwhile, Iran supplies Russia with the bomb-carrying drones Moscow uses to target sites in Ukraine amid its war on Kyiv. (AP) PY

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London, Aug 11 (AP) China's plans to build a new embassy near the Tower of London have stalled following local opposition to what would be the biggest diplomatic compound in Britain.

The borough of Tower Hamlets, the local government council in London responsible for the area, blocked the project in February, citing concerns about the increased risk of terror attacks, protests and traffic in an area visited by millions of tourists each year.

Chinese authorities had until Thursday to appeal the decision to the UK government but did not, Tower Hamlets said.

If the applicant wanted to appeal through the public inquiry procedure then they would have already needed to have given notice to us as the local planning authority,'' Tower Hamlets said in a statement. We haven't received any such notification from the applicant.

China's plans called for comprehensive redevelopment of a 5.2-acre site that was home to the Royal Mint from 1811 to 1968, demolishing some of the existing buildings and restoring others. The new embassy compound would include some 57,000 square metres (610,000 square feet) of floor space, including offices, a cultural exchange building and 225 apartments.

That's about 18 per cent bigger than the new US embassy in London, which opened in 2018 with 48,000 square metres of space.

While Tower Hamlets planning officials recommended authorizing the project, the borough council voted on February 10 to refuse planning permission.

The Chinese Embassy in London called on the British government to intervene.

It is the international obligation of the host country to provide facilitations and support for the construction of diplomatic premises, the embassy in a statement. We urge the UK side to fulfil its relevant international obligations.

British authorities did not comment on the Chinese Embassy proposal, which in theory could come before the central government, where the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities oversees the planning system.

But the government said it takes its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations extremely seriously and we will continue to do so, and stressed that planning decisions are made by local councils, which give applicants the opportunity to appeal.

There is growing concern in the UK about Chinese investments in critical infrastructure, as well allegations that it has attempted to influence British politicians and university researchers.

The decision in February to block the embassy project came four months after a pro-democracy protester had to be rescued by police after he was dragged onto the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester. After that incident, Britain's foreign secretary summoned the Chinese ambassador's deputy to his office and demanded an explanation.

The Tower Hamlets council said the proposed embassy compound would strain local police resources, increase road congestion and have a negative impact on the area surrounding Tower of London.

The proposed embassy would result in adverse impacts on local tourism, due to concerns over the effect of potential protests, acts of terrorism and related security mitigation measures on the sensitive backdrop of nationally significant tourist attractions, the council said in announcing its decision. (AP) PY

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Washington, Aug 11 (AP) Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won't sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month.

Why would I sign it?" Trump said in an interview on the conservative cable network Newsmax. I can name three or four people that I wouldn't support for president. So right there, there's a problem.

He declined to name the candidates he wouldn't support, saying there's no reason to insult them. But he singled out South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy for praise, saying they have been very nice.

Trump said he will announce next week whether he'll participate in the debate, scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, but his refusal to sign the pledge suggests he plans to make good on his threat to skip it. Trump has repeatedly questioned why he should debate his rivals given his substantial polling lead and has suggested he might hold a competing event instead.

On Wednesday, he pushed back against former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's taunts, telling Newsmax's Eric Bolling that there's no upside to participating in a debate when he's already leading by a wide margin.

Its not a question of guts. It's a question of intelligence, Trump said.

Eight candidates say they have met qualifications to be on stage in Milwaukee, with former Vice President Mike Pence announcing this week he had secured enough donors. Candidates need to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.

They also must sign a statement pledging not to participate in any debates not sanctioned by the party, including the general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and to support the winner of the Republican primary.

I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination of President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden, the pledge says, according to a copy posted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Candidates also must pledge not to run as an independent, write-in candidate or third-party nominee.

The pledge has been criticised by some candidates including Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has been fiercely critical of Trump.

Despite his critique of the GOP's pledge verbiage, Trump did apparently recently sign a document with a similar attestation that he would generally back the party's nominees next year.

On Aug. 5, just after headlining the South Carolina Republican Party's Silver Elephant fundraising dinner, Trump paid the $50,000 filing fee and signed paperwork for South Carolina's Feb. 24 Republican primary, according to state party officials.

The filing form includes an affirmation by the candidate noting, I generally believe in and intend to support the nominees of the Republican Party in the 2024 general election.

A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately return a message on Friday seeking comment on the paperwork filing.

Only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitively that he will not sign the 2024 pledge, though he has not met the polling and fundraising thresholds required to attend. He said he won't support Trump, who has been indicted three times, if he becomes the eventual nominee. (AP) MRJ

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Aurangabad, Aug 10 (PTI) A key road on the Autram Ghat passing through the Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary near here in central Maharashtra has been shut for heavy vehicles following an order of the Bombay High Court, an official said on Thursday.

The decision has been taken for wildlife protection and to avoid frequent traffic jams in the Autram Ghat, said a release issued by the Superintendent of Police (Aurangabad Rural).

Heavy vehicles on the busy stretch will be rerouted from Talwada in Aurangabad and Nandgaon in Nashik district. The Aurangabad rural police have deployed personnel and set up barricades to curb the movement of heavy vehicles through the sanctuary, said the release.

The ghat spanning Aurangabad district in central Maharashtra and Jalgaon district in the northern part of the state lies on the National Highway 52 that stretches from Karnataka to Punjab.

While hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Aurangabad bench of the HC recently ordered to stop movement of heavy vehicles in the ghat to ensure wildlife protection in the sanctuary and to avoid traffic jams.

Police have deployed 20 personnel (as many more have been kept in reserve), three cranes and set up barricades to implement the court order. Another 30 staffers have been provided seven police vans for patrolling the stretch, said the release.

Heavy vehicles heading to Chalisgaon in Jalgaon district from Aurangabad will now go via Daulatabad T point, Kasabkheda, Shivur Bangla, Talwada and Nandgaon. The same route will be used by heavy vehicles coming towards Aurangabad from Chalisgaon, it added.
Ranchi, Aug 11 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has claimed that efforts are being made to attack the tribal community in the country, citing the ethnic strife in Manipur.

He also said that indigenous people are fighting for their existence.

Soren said Jharkhand is the first state in the country which passed a resolution in assembly seeking the inclusion of Sarna as a separate religion code to establish the identity of tribals in society.

"There are several communities in the country that have population lesser than that of tribals but have separate identities. Why shouldn't tribals have their own identity?" the chief minister said during a discussion on 'Indeginity -- a way of life' at the concluding ceremony of two-day 'Jharkhand Adivasi Mahotsav' here.

Around 13 crore tribals in the country should get an identity, he said.

"There is a separate tribal affairs ministry at the Centre but authorities are not ready to recognise tribals. Some call them 'Vanvasi', while some ask them 'Janjati'. This is very contradictory as 'Vanvasi' people are not tribals.

"A planned strategy is underway to attack tribals. They are being tortured in many parts of the country. One can see what is going on in Manipur. Many tribals, who had gone there during the British era, are returning to Jharkhand. We are providing them with shelter," the JMM leader said.

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May and has been continuing for the last three months, killing more than 160 people and leaving thousands homeless.

Soren also claimed that Jharkhand is the "first state in the country, which passed a resolution in the assembly, seeking inclusion of Sarna as a separate religion code".

"The matter is pending with the Centre. Tribals will have to fight for it," the chief minister said.

Soren also spoke about climate change, and alleged that policymakers discuss environmental problems but "the way they prepare policies makes things worse".

Speaking on the purpose of the tribal festival, he said such an event was never organised in Jharkhand.

"In a bid to connect tribes of other states and protect tribal roots in the ongoing development pattern, our government decided to organise Jharkhand Adivasi Mahotsav in 2022. This is the second year when this festival was organised where tribals can be seen participating in large numbers," he said.

Apart from Kalpana Soren, the wife of Hemant Soren, the concluding day ceremony was attended by several cabinet ministers, including Alamgir Alam, Champai Soren, Joba Manjhi, Badal Patralekh and Hafijul Hassan and top government officials.

Jharkhand BJP, however, termed the two-day festival as 'Soren Raj Pariwar Divas'.

State BJP president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi said, "In the name of tribal day, Soren Raj Pariwar Divas was celebrated. Crores of rupees were spent in the promotion of the festival, but photos of great personalities of the state, such as Sido Kahnu, Chand Bhairav, Tilka Manjhi and Bhagwan Birsa Munda were missing from posters and banners."
Kolkata, Aug 11 (PTI) BJP president J P Nadda will embark on a three-day visit to West Bengal from Friday during which he will hold a meeting with office bearers of the party's state unit to take stock of the organisation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.

He will also meet the BJP's winning candidates in the recently held rural elections and also victims of poll violence, said a party leader here.

Nadda will arrive in the city on Friday evening.

"Nadda ji will be on a three-day visit to West Bengal from Friday. On Saturday, he will hold Panchayati Raj Sammelan in Howrah. Later on Saturday evening, he will meet the party's winning candidates in panchayat elections and the victims of poll violence at Science City Auditorium," the state BJP leader said.

Nadda will on Sunday hold meetings with all elected representatives of the party -- MPs, MLAs, and zilla parishad members -- from the state.

"Later on Sunday, he will hold a meeting with the state office bearers and take stock of the party's organisation in West Bengal," he said.

Nadda will also offer puja at the Dakshineswar temple.

The ruling Trinamool Congress declined to attach much importance to the scheduled visit of the BJP president.

"As Lok Sabha polls are approaching, BJP leaders will come to the state more frequently. But they should visit Manipur, which is burning," senior TMC leader Tapas Ray said.

Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah had set a target of winning more than 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. The BJP won 18 out of the 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state in 2019.

Notably, former union minister Babul Supriyo, party MP Arjun Singh and six legislators, including national vice-president Mukul Roy, have switched to TMC since the 2021 assembly polls.

The Trinamool Congress came to power for the third consecutive term in the state in 2021 by winning 215 of the 292 assembly seats to which polling was held, while the BJP bagged 77.
Kolkata, Aug 11 (PTI) Scientist Bikash Sinha, a former director of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, died here on Friday.

Saha was 78. A recipient of Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhusan in 2010, he was suffering from old age-related ailments.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, condoling his demise, described him as a talented nuclear physicist and illustrious son of Bengal.

"Saddened to know about the untimely demise of the great scientist Bikash Sinha," Banerjee tweeted.

Sinha was the director of the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.

He was conferred by the West Bengal government the state's highest award 'Bangabibhushan' in 2022 and also the 'Rabindra Smriti Puraskar' in the same year, Banerjee said.
Itanagar, Aug 11 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh government on Friday inked a tripartite memorandum of understanding with a Delhi-based private hospital and healthcare company to strengthen the tertiary healthcare services of the state.

The MoU was signed by state Health and Family Welfare Secretary Liyon Borang, Director (Medical) of Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Satendra Katoch and Dr Rashmi Salija, Executive Chairperson of Religare Enterprises Ltd.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Health and Family Welfare Minister Alo Libang and Chief Secretary Dharmendra were also present on the occasion.

According to the MoU, the state government will work with New Delhi-based Ganga Ram Hospital and aided by Religare, for strengthening tertiary care health services of the state.

The technical advisory support would cover various areas of the healthcare ecosystem, including the work on addressing the skill gap in specialised branches of medical care. Moreover, the initiative would involve establishing a Centre of Excellence for renal sciences at the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), the first medical college in the state.

"The MoU is a step forward to fulfil the vision of providing affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare services to the people of the state. It is an endeavour of the government to bring the best of the tertiary healthcare services near to home thereby reducing the cost and also the psychological trauma the family has to go through for seeking such medical care," Khandu said.

The chief minister said that by joining hands with Sir Ganga Ram hospital and Religare group, the government is looking forward for bringing about changes that positively impact the lives of the people and also the entire healthcare landscape of the state.

Observing that kidney diseases has become a major problem for most people of the state, Khandu expressed hope that the Centre of Excellence for Renal Sciences will offer best of the treatment and care to patients, especially those hailing from rural areas.

He requested officials of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Religare and state health services to explore more avenues to collaborate so that the best treatments are made available to the people within the state.

Speaking on the occasion, Libang informed that in the first phase of the partnership, Religare would help the state in establishing a state-of-the-art healthcare facility dedicated to renal sciences and related research.

"This facility will ensure that patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation receive the same level of care as those in other parts of the country. Moreover, healthcare professionals in the state will receive appropriate training to enhance their skills and bring them in line with their counterparts in leading states and superior healthcare facilities," Libang added.

Later addressing a press conference at a city hotel here, the Executive chairperson of Religare Enterprise Ltd Dr Rashmi Saluja stated that the collaboration would greatly enhance the state's healthcare infrastructure and contribute to the professional development of healthcare practitioners.

"We believe that this partnership will give us a unique opportunity to serve the people of the state and make the state a healthcare services hub in the Northeast," she added.

Chairman, of the Board of Management of Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Ajay Swaroop, said, "We are committed to improve the healthcare ecosystem in the state and it is our firm believe that working along with the states healthcare professionals, we will able to bring a qualitative difference to the healthcare services in the region."

Responding to a media query, state special health secretary Vivek #.P informed that the cost of organ transplantation would reduce significantly with the collaboration.

He added that the state government at present provides Rs 10 lakh per patient for kidney transplantation.
No other country handles such a high ratio of tons of cocaine per capita as Ecuador. The South American nation, a hinge between the two major coca leaf producers in world, Colombia and Peru, has become logistical platform for large transnational criminal organizations over the past 15 years. Among these, the Sinaloa Cartel stands out. The Mexican criminal group has nearly half a century of experience in smuggling drugs to the worlds largest consumer market, the United States.

The assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for the presidency of Ecuador, has been linked to drug cartels. Villavicencio had consistently spoken of threats and intimidation against himself and his team by Los Choneros, an alleged ally of the Sinaloa Cartel in Ecuador. Villavicencio accused the gangs suspected leader, known as Fito, of sending him threatening messages. Fito apparently had been angered by Villavicencio using his name in interviews with the media as an example of the crime and corruption that plague the country.

Villavicencio was shot dead in Quito on Wednesday and everything appears to point directly to Los Choneros, a criminal group that emerged on the northern coast of Ecuador in the late 1990s. However, hours after the assassination, a group of hooded men dressed in black released a video claiming responsibility for the attack. In the video, one of them claimed to be a member of Los Lobos, a splinter group of Los Choneros, and accused Villavicencio of not fulfilling some kind of agreement.

Things became even more complicated Thursday when another group of men, dressed in white and with their faces visible, also released a video claiming to be true members of the GDO [organized crime group] Los Lobos, and denied any involvement in the candidates assassination. Whether or not Los Lobos were responsible has led to speculation about the groups international relations, specifically their alleged links to Mexicos emerging brand of organized crime, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Members of the criminal organization Los Lobos, who released a video denying involvement in the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio.

Sinaloa or Jalisco: that is the question. Beyond names and identities, their presence in the equation requires an understanding of their role in the dynamics of Ecuadorian organized crime. How do supposedly transnational criminal alliances influence the workings of local criminal activity? In an interview with an Ecuadorian media outlet a month and a half ago, academic Fernando Carrion spoke of a holding logic by which Mexican cartels use gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos to transport cocaine, import materials for its production, and other logistical operations.

The numbers highlight the need for cooperation between the criminal organizations. Carrion explained that Ecuador distributes between 700 and 800 tons of cocaine every year. Most of it goes north to the United States, while some goes to Brazil  the worlds second largest consumer of cocaine and its derivatives  while some remains in Ecuador, feeding increasingly important local markets, a phenomenon common to the rest of Latin America.

Daniel Ponton, dean of the School of Security and Defense at Ecuadors Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, explains that the presence of Mexican organizations in the country dates to the early 2000s. In recent years, posters have appeared in some prisons that mention the CJNG, he says. Regarding the Mexican influence, the expert imagines a scheme of contacts, far removed from standard business logic. Organized crime does not function as a private company; they are made up of contacts and franchises, letterheads that people from here use based on the contacts they establish and that guarantee security for the management of certain drug-trafficking routes.

Forensic experts work in the area where Fernando Villavicencio was murdered in Quito. Jose Jacome (EFE)

Ecuadors problem of violence is endogenous: it is ours

Mexican academic Cecilia Farfan-Mendez assumes that Mexican criminal groups like the Sinaloa Cartel run international drug trafficking networks, but she is cautious about establishing their forms and dynamics. There is always this discussion of which is the most powerful criminal group, along with its international reach, she explains. But the reality is that it is very difficult to gain solid information and concrete data on the expansion of these groups.

Ponton formulates a similar thesis. Ecuadors problem of violence is endogenous: it is ours. Here we have experienced a very particular process of complex violence. Of course, it is largely financed by international organized crime. But I dont know to what extent the Mexican cartels pull the strings here, he says. The truth is that there is little information. A lot of journalistic research has been done, but neither academia nor the institutions have a clear map of what we have.

The main problem, Farfan-Mendez argues, is that given the number of intermediaries involved in the different illicit economies, what makes someone an affiliate of an organization like the Sinaloa Cartel? The expert, who directs the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and has studied the Sinaloa Cartels business model, points out that much of the time information on the size of groups comes from interested parties, such as the DEA. In July, the US anti-drug agency estimated that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have around 45,000 members.

The shape and interests of the international chapters of Mexicos cartels go to the heart of the matter. How much blame do they bear for the rise in homicidal violence in Ecuador? And for the prison violence that has left hundreds dead in the country over the past four years? These are questions that lead to the attack against Villavicencio. Beyond their direct involvement, the criminal methods employed in the north of the continent could be permeating the south.

Farfan-Mendez invokes Los Zetas, one of the best-known criminal brands of the early 2000s. Los Zetas were the media favorite; they talked about something sophisticated, large, and with firepower. And then in many places, the talk was of the Zetas moving in. If you are a criminal, you have an incentive to say that you belong to a group of some renown. It might help you. I mean, its not that there are no relationships, but there are incentives to use brands that can help you extract profits or whatever youre looking for.

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New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks criticising the opposition on the Manipur issue, saying those who were "silent" were the ones "playing politics".

Sibal's attack on the prime minister came a day after Modi hit out at the opposition during his reply in the Lok Sabha to a no-confidence motion brought by the INDIA bloc against his government.

Modi said the opposition was never interested in discussing the Manipur situation. He added that the Union home minister explained the issues in great detail with patience and without any politics.

In a tweet, Sibal said, "PM: Opposition 'playing politics' over Manipur. Not quite. Remember, the Supreme Court suo motu expressed deep concern over violence against women. Said was 'unacceptable in a constitutional democracy'."

"Not the opposition, but those who were silent were 'playing politics'," he said.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during UPA I and II, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support.

He has floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The ethnic violence in Manipur dominated the Monsoon session which ended on Friday with Parliament witnessing repeated disruptions and protests by the opposition in both Houses and a fiery debate in the Lok Sabha where a no-confidence motion against the BJP government was defeated.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion. Lok Sabha also passed a unanimous resolution appealing for peace in the northeastern state.

The Houses were adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous session that also saw the suspension of four members - two each of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - with leader of Congress in the Lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury being among them.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 45 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha about 63 per cent during the session that started on July 20 and had a total of 17 sittings.

The motion of no-confidence in the Council of Ministers moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi was discussed for around 20 hours and saw participation of 60 members, including ministers. Prime Minister Modi replied to the debate on the motion before it was negated by a voice vote.

"During this session, we held 17 sittings which lasted for 44 hours and 13 minutes," Speaker Om Birla said in Lok Sabha, adding that 20 government bills were introduced and 22 draft legislations were passed by the Lower House.

In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said a total of 50 hours and 21 minutes during the 17 sittings of the House were lost due to avoidable disruptions, adversely impinging on the overall productivity of this session.

At the conclusion of the session, he asked members "to make an assessment of the ground we have covered in our journey towards meaningful governance and legislative action".

"Once again, we yielded to the allure of narrow interests and allowed disorder to be the 'new normal' in the proceedings of the House. It appears that my appeals have not resonated well with our members. The frequent unwholesome spectacle of disruptions only indicates that my message has not found the attentive audience it deserves," Dhankhar said.

He said the House was able to pass a few bills during the session that witnessed some lively and animated debates and the Question Hour could be taken up on a few occasions. "But I feel the productivity of the Question Hour could have been much better."

He noted that the Rajya Sabha witnessed a positive development of giving fair representation to women members to be part of the panel of vice-chairpersons and using their managerial skills for the smooth conduct of the proceedings of the House.

"I think, they have vindicated their role and made us proud. In a similar vein, the Secretariat, in a laudable move, undertook a progressive initiative to empower its women employees by affording them the opportunity to attend to the significant table duties within the hallowed Chamber," the chairman said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi said that during the session, 20 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha and five bills in Rajya Sabha. As many as 22 bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 bills by Rajya Sabha, he said.

One bill each was withdrawn from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the total number of bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the session was 23, he said.

A large part of the entire session was marred by the opposition's protests over the Manipur violence issue.

The opposition in both Houses demanded a discussion on the Manipur issue under a rule that entails voting, but the government said it was ready for a discussion under a different rule.

The opposition also demanded the statement of the prime minister on the Manipur violence, but some BJP members countered it saying there should also be a discussion on atrocities and crimes against women in some states ruled by opposition parties and cited the examples of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, all of which are going to polls in the next few months.

Lok Sabha saw the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and AAP's Sushil Kumar Rinku. Rajya Sabha suspended two AAP members - Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

After Chowdhury was suspended for gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct, it further angered the opposition members, who boycotted the valedictory address by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and later boycotted the customary tea hosted by him.

Some important bills that were passed during the session were the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, National Dental Council Bill, Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, and the Armed Forces Organization (Command, Control, and Discipline) Bill.

On the last day of the session, the Upper House was adjourned twice in the pre-lunch session amid an uproar by opposition members who demanded a discussion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in the House on the situation in Manipur.

Manipur has been engulfed in ethnic violence since May 3. More than 150 people have been killed in clashes between the majority Meiteis and the tribal Kuki community.

Before being adjourned sine die, Rajya Sabha returned to Lok Sabha two proposed legislations on the Central and Integrated GST laws by a voice vote without any discussion. The proposed laws seek to levy 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar regretted that despite his best efforts and the government's willingness, the Manipur violence issue could not be discussed in the House.

"In Lok Sabha, the honourable home minister for more than an hour reflected only on Manipur. The honourable prime minister in his discourse focussed on Manipur, indicated to the nation a soothing and healing touch... 'Ab socho humne kya khoya, kya paya' (Now ponder what have we lost and what have we got?" Dhankhar told the House, where most of the opposition members were absent in the post-lunch session of the last day.

The chairman further said, "This House on account of unruly conduct, indecorous behaviour could not avail the historic opportunity of guiding the Lok Sabha on Manipur and that was on account of our actions. This was very painful. Once again we yielded to the allure of narrow interest, and allowed disorder to be the new normal in the proceedings of the House."

Taking a dig at members of opposition parties who trooped to the well of the House during the session, he said, "Disorder cannot be allowed to be the order of the House. This has been weaponised as a political strategy and that is anti-democratic, anti-constitutional."
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) India is seeking a consensus among G20 nations against fugitive economic offenders to ensure their faster extradition and asset recovery, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here on Friday.

Ahead of the crucial G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting in Kolkata on Saturday, he said economic offences have been a problem faced by many, especially when offenders flee the country's jurisdiction.

"All countries are on the same page as far extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets are concerned. But different laws of the member states pose a problem in this regard," said Singh, the Union Minister of State for Personnel.

He said a consensus is already in the offing for collective and joint action to deal with this menace and deployment of sophisticated technologies is also being explored.

"India is seeking consensus among G20 nations against fugitive economic offenders to ensure faster extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets, both domestically as well as abroad," the minister said.

Singh said the G20 meeting is making a good headway for a consensual approach.

It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had presented a nine-point programme to take action against fugitive economic offenders during his address at the G20 Summit in Argentina, he said.

Singh said that PM Modi had highlighted the importance of cooperation in legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime, early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime.

Singh pointed out that India had organised a unique event on exploring G20's perspective on synergizing gender sensitivity with anti-corruption strategies on the sidelines of the second G20 ACWG meeting in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh in May this year.

"The event saw the participation of high-level keynote speakers and governmental experts of G20 countries and international organisations," he said.

Referring to a series of G20 meetings in various parts of the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states among others, Singh said it gave India an opportunity to showcase not only its prowess in various sectors but also demonstrated the varied culture and diversity of India.

The third and final meeting of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) is being held from August 9 to 11 in Kolkata. Over 154 delegates from G20 members, 10 invitee countries and various international organisations are attending the meeting.

It will be followed by the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting on 12th August 2023, which will be chaired by Jitendra Singh. This will be the second-ever ministerial meeting of the G20 ACWG and the first in-person ACWG ministerial meeting.

The deliberations at the level of ministers will impart a further political impetus to combating corruption as ACWG plays a crucial role in leading international efforts to fight corruption, the statement said.

Under India's G20 presidency, ACWG has been able to achieve significant progress on anti-corruption cooperation regarding action against fugitive economic offenders and return of assets, guided by the nine-point agenda for action against fugitive economic offences and asset recovery, presented by the prime minister to G20 nations in 2018, it said.

During the first and second ACWG meetings held in Gurugram and Rishikesh respectively, India was able to forge a consensus in G20 to advance the international anti-corruption agenda by finalising three outcome documents on important and sensitive issues, the statement said.

These pragmatic and action-oriented highest-level commitments will contribute towards prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption offences, strengthening domestic anti-corruption institutional frameworks, extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets of such offenders from foreign jurisdictions, it added.

ACWG is also focusing on the role of audit institutions in tackling corruption, the statement said.

Earlier this year, side events were organised to highlight the use of information and communication technologies in reducing corruption in public administration and delivery of public services and gender-related issues of corruption, it added.

The discussion on the impact of corruption on women initiated under India's presidency will generate further concrete action towards collective initiatives for adopting gender-sensitive and gender-responsive approaches in anti-corruption strategies, the statement said.

"The third ACWG meeting in Kolkata will give direction to the future work of ACWG and further the commitments made on law enforcement cooperation, strengthening asset recovery mechanisms, and enhancing integrity and effectiveness of anti-corruption authorities during Indias G20 presidency," it said.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Teachers of Syed Jamaluddin Afghan School, a school for Afghan refugees, staged a protest outside the Afghanistan embassy here on Friday over non-payment of their salaries.

The protesting teachers have alleged that they have not received their monthly salary since the last five months and that even the school principal's salary is due for the last five months.

We have gathered here today over non-payment of salaries. We teachers are overworked but not paid. One of the officials from the embassy spoke to us and had a word with the principal. We haven't got any assurance for our salaries yet, one of the protesting Afghan refugee teacher said.

On Friday, twenty out of twenty-one teachers who teach at Syed Jamaluddin Afghan School gathered at the Afghanistan embassy, which is responsible for providing funds to the school, and submitted a letter specifying their demands.
Bahraich (UP), Aug 11 (PTI) Four people, including a man and his daughter, were arrested in a village near the Indo-Nepal border here for allegedly luring Hindus to convert to Christianity, police said on Friday.

The arrests were made during a raid in Harkhapur village under the Murtiha police station area on Thursday, they said.

Information was received on Thursday that some people were planning to convert Hindus to Christianity by offering them money, Superintendent of Police Prashant Verma said.

Based on the information, Harkhapur village was raided and four people -- Samtu and his daughter Lalsa Devi, Mithai Lal and Jeevan Lal -- were arrested, he said.

Police have registered a case under Indian Penal Code sections related to outraging religious feelings, criminal intimidation and rioting.

Earlier too, similar cases of religious conversion have been reported from villages near the Indo-Nepal border.

Last month, 18 people were arrested in two cases of illegal religious conversion in Nanpara and Murtiha Kotwali areas near the border.
Chandigarh, Aug 11 (PTI) Punjab Police busted a cross-border drug smuggling racket and arrested an alleged smuggler after recovering five kilograms of heroin from his possession, a senior official said on Friday.

The accused has been identified as Harpal Singh alias Bhala, a resident of village Lakhna in district Tarn Taran.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said in an intelligence-led operation, the counter intelligence team of Amritsar apprehended Harpal, when he was going on his motorcycle, during a special checking at village Wan Tara Singh-village Basarke road near Dera Radha Swami in Tarn Taran.

During a search, police recovered five kilograms of heroin from his possession, he added.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested accused was actively involved in trans-border drug smuggling, the DGP said, adding that the heroin consignment is delivered via drone.

Assistant Inspector General Sukhminder Singh Mann said investigations are on to identify Pakistan-based smugglers and persons, who were supposed to receive this consignment.

Further investigations are on, he added.
Gurugram, Aug 11 (PTI) Amid a call by some Hindu groups to "complete" on August 28 the religious march that was attacked last month in Nuh triggering a communal riot, the Gurugram police Friday appealed to the residents not to take out any rally or procession without permission.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession called the 'Braj Mandal Yatra' was attacked by a mob on July 31 in Nuh which triggered a communal riot that spread to neighbouring districts, killing six people.

VHP division minister Devender Singh told PTI on Friday, "All the Hindu groups decided to complete the yatra on August 28 which was attacked on July 31 in Nuh. Hope that the yatra will be completed with admiration and enthusiasm."

Also, a message has been doing the rounds on social media that the "Mewat Dharma Yatra will be completed on August 28, 2023".

It also claimed the yatra covering the entire area of Manesar will be flagged off from the Baba Nyaramdas Mandir Gaushala.

In an official statement, the Gurugram Police Friday requested the general public to refrain from raising provocative slogans, making speeches, carrying banners or indulging in acts that may hurt the sentiments of any community and disturb the peace.

"We have not made this appeal for any specific procession. The situation is normal in the district and we appealed only to maintain peace, law and order in the district," said Varun Dahiya, ACP crime.

Meanwhile, most people offered Friday prayers at their homes with very few turning up at mosques. Police said they deployed personnel around all mosques, idgahs and at open spaces.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh met representatives of various social organisations and villagers of Tigra, Badshahpur, Palda and Wazirabad in at a PWD rest house on Friday.

He appealed them to maintain peace and order.

He said apart from being the financial capital of Haryana, Gurugram has a distinct identity of its own at the global level.

"Such incidents are unfortunate in a developed city like Gurugram. G-20 meeting is proposed in Delhi in the month of September. In such a situation, while maintaining peace and order in Haryana, we all have to make collective efforts so that such incidents do not occur in future," he added.

He said police are taking action against those responsible for the riots

"During this, refrain from making any kind of statements or demonstrations till the completion of the investigation. The situation is normal in the district and a close watch is being kept by the central and state government on those spreading any kind of fake news, rumour or provocative speeches through social media," Rao said.

He said no innocent would be punished and no guilty spared.

Earlier, he also visited the Medanta Hospital and met policemen injured during the clashes in Nuh. Two police personnel are still at the hospital, while others have been discharged.

Rao met the youths and their families at the Lakhuwas village in Sohna who are injured during.
Jaipur, Aug 11 (PTI) Two weeks after an FIR was lodged against Congress MLA Gopal Meena and five police officers for harassing a Dalit man here, officials Friday dismissed the allegations as false and baseless.

Preliminary investigation suggested that the the FIR was registered at the behest of a ex-IPS officer Navdeep Singh to mount pressure on police to close a case registered against him in a land-related dispute, Rajasthan Police said in a statement issued here.

Meena allegedly forced the Dalit man to lick his shoe and an officer urinated on him, while other police officers beat him up, according to the complaint registered on July 27.

The politician, too, refuted the charges and said that fake allegations have been made against him due to a property-related dispute.

It is a tactic to mount pressure on me. Some people want me to help them with illegal land encroachment. I do not know the man who registered this case, the Jamwa Ramgarh MLA said.

The dispute revolves around a piece of land where tribals and Dalits reside, the police statement said.

However, Singh, who retired in 2018 as DG Home Guard, said he was not behind the registration of the FIR in the matter.

The FIR was lodged on July 27 on a court's direction under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 448 (house trespassing), 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the police said.

The complainant alleged that Circle Officer Shivkumar Bhardwaj urinated on him post the incident, which occurred on June 30 when the police picked him up while he was working in a farm and took him to a place where the MLA forced him to lick his shoe.

Jamwa Ramgarh SHO Sitaram Saini said that after the case was registered, the matter was sent to CID (CB) for investigation. He added that apart from the Circle Officer, the SHOs of four police stations have been named in the FIR.

The police statement called the allegations "false" and "baseless", adding, It is notable that Navdeep Singh is having a dispute with the local tribal and Dalit people living on the land in Todaldi Aandhi village of Jamvaramgarh area," the statement said.

To remove the tribals and Dalits from the particular land, Singh allegedly used his influence and called the patwari of another area and wanted to get demarcation, the statement said.

The particular Patwari was suspended by the district collector as he tried delegating duties outside his jurisdiction, it added.

A case was registered by the local residents against him (Singh) under various sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The case was being investigated by Circle Officer Shiv Kumar Bhardwaj," the statement said, adding that the ex-IPS officer started putting undue pressure on police to close the case immediately.

The Rajasthan police also said that Singh has several criminal cases registered against him.

When contacted, Singh said the land was purchased in the name of his wife's company but the local officers were creating hurdles in the demarcation of the land, which was to be done by a Patwari.

The local officers are under the influence of the MLA. The demarcation was scheduled on June 30 but it was not done because the officers wanted instructions from the MLA, he said.

I am not behind the FIR. It is for the complainant to say what allegations he has made, he added.
Chandigarh, Aug 11 (PTI) A wanted criminal was arrested from Ludhiana in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Uttar Pradesh police's Special Task Force, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Friday.

Arvind Kashyap alias Pintu, a close associate of mafia-don Dhruv Kuntu, was allegedly involved in the 2013 murder of former Sagri MLA Sarvesh Sipu and the Uttar Pradesh Police had declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest, the police chief said.

Sipu was shot dead in broad daylight allegedly by the members of Pintu's criminal gang at the behest of Dhruv Singh Kuntu, he said.

DGP Yadav said Pintu, a resident of Chakia Kasrawal in UP's Azamgarh district, has a criminal history with more than 16 cases related to murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and the Arms Act registered against him.

Promod Ban, the additional DGP of the anti-gangster task force, said that acting on reliable inputs the police teams carried out a special operation and arrested Pintu from an area under the Daba Police Station of Ludhiana.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Friday expressed concerns over the "storm of hatred" in the country, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to the 'Mann Ki Baat' of Muslims.

Citing recent incidents like the Nuh riots and the killing of four persons by a railway police jawan on a running train, Bukhari suggested in his Friday sermon at the historic mosque that PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah hold dialogue with intellectuals from the community.

"I have been compelled to speak due to the existing situation in the country. The situation in the country is worrisome and a storm of hatred is posing grave danger to peace in the country," Bukhari said.

"You say your 'Mann Ki Baat' but you also need to listen to the 'Mann Ki Baat' of Muslims. The Muslims are troubled due to the prevailing conditions and worried about their future," Bukhari said, referring to PM Modi's monthly radio programme.

The Imam of Jama Masjid alleged the law is proving to be "weak" in dealing with hate and communal violence.

"The people of one faith are being openly threatened. Panchayats are being held where boycott calls for Muslims and ending trade and business with them was proclaimed. There are 57 Islamic countries in the world where non-Muslims also live but do not face any threat to their lives or livelihood," Bukhari said.

He lamented that the "relationship" between the Hindus and Muslims were "endangered". "Why this hatred in India? Was the freedom won by our ancestors for this day? Will the Hindus and Muslims now live separately?."

Bukhari said it's in the hands of the government to control the situation.

"I want to say to the prime minister and the home minister to be generous and talk to the Muslim intellectuals. I want to ask you on behalf of the Muslims of the country to talk to us, we are ready," he said.

Bukhari suggested the Centre could hold a meeting with the members of Muslim community to "save the country" from the prevailing "storm of hatred".
Educational exposure of ideas, assumptions or hypotheses, based on proven facts" (which need not be strictly current affairs) Value in judgments are excluded, and the text comes close to an opinion article, without judging or making forecasts , just formulating hypotheses, giving motivated explanations and bringing together a variety of data

The situation in Niger, both in terms of welfare and security, was far from encouraging before the military uprising led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani on July 26. But now, while the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) is hesitating to carry out its ultimatum of military intervention in the country to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, all realistic options for Niger lead to the same point, and none of them are good.

Should intervention materialize, it would exponentially increase the prospect of a regional war of incalculable consequences. The coup plotters have already made clear their intention to cling to power by any means necessary. They have a limited Armed Forces  the number of troops at their disposal is estimated at between the 12,000 usually reported by the primary international sources and the 40,000 that Bazoum himself cited a few months ago  incapable of guaranteeing the security of a country of 1.2 million square kilometers and 5,500 kilometers of borders. And although there are signs of internal discord between the Presidential Guard, headed by Tchiani, and other high-ranking military commanders, for the moment it does not seem that any of them is willing to challenge his power.

In any case, they have given unequivocable signs that they are prepared to resort to all imaginable methods to resist a hypothetical onslaught. Among these  in addition to seeking the collaboration of the Tuaregs living in the northern part of the country  is to request the help of neighbors where military juntas are in power, such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, or Mali, who have already shown their willingness to align themselves with the new Nigerian authorities. None of these countries possess vast military power, but they constitute a reinforcement whose destabilizing potential cannot be underestimated if violence breaks out. The same can be said of the foreseeable involvement of the Wagner mercenary group, spearhead of the Russian strategy to gain influence in the Sahel by taking advantage of the mistakes made by France and the United States.

Facing them is a force made up of several members of Ecowas, with Nigeria at the head, backed by Benin, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. The military potential of this bloc  taking into account that Nigeria has few idle units to be incorporated into a possible regional coalition  does not indicate that in an uncertain armed confrontation it could achieve an immediate and definitive victory. Such a scenario would only be feasible with Western support; an even more worrying option, given the growing anti-French and anti-Western sentiment in the country and the region.

From the military point of view, if an intervention were to take place, it would most likely combine a direct action to take control of Niamey in an attempt to force the reinstatement of Bazoum, with incursions into Nigerien territory from several directions, forcing the coup plotters to maintain a wide deployment to close the avenues of advance and leaving them with fewer forces to defend their position in Niamey.

But if a regional intervention fails to materialize, the resulting scenario is by no means better. On the one hand, it would mean validating a new coup detat, distancing the Sahel from governments legitimized at the ballot box, with rulers more concerned with consolidating their privileges than providing for their fellow citizens. On the other, in light of the first decisions taken by Tchiani, it would open the door for renewed Russian influence in the region, hand in hand with a mercenary group that is not exactly distinguished by its respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

However many mistakes have been made by Paris, Washington and Brussels  relying on the support of highly questioned rulers, as long as they conform to the dictates of their Western patrons  there is nothing to suggest that the situation will improve under Moscows hand, either in terms of welfare (around 90% of the 27 million inhabitants of Niger live below the poverty line), or in terms of security. Precisely in the latter sphere, even if Ecowas does not intervene, the coup leaders are redeploying their forces to consolidate control of the capital, which immediately translates into a reduced capacity to face the threat posed by Al Qaeda-linked jihadist groups such as Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

History has repeatedly shown that appeasement does not work. If there is no military intervention and no sanctions are applied  70% of the electricity consumed by Niger comes from Nigeria, through whose territory it carries out the bulk of its foreign trade  the coup plotters will understand that they have a free hand. And so will those who dream of imitating them.

Jesus A. Nunez Villaverde is co-director of the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action (IECAH).

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New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Friday directed officials to issue separate tenders for recruitment of data entry operators (DEOs) at all MCD-run hospitals.

She said this during a review meeting with the chief medical officers and senior doctors of hospitals under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The mayor inquired about the services provided by the MCD at its hospitals and availability of medicines, test facilities, ultrasound, dialysis, X-ray, MRI etc. facilities, the MCD said in a statement.

Doctors informed the mayor that MRI facilities "were not available in most of the hospitals", besides there was a shortage of radiologists.

Apart from this, emphasis was laid on the need for ultrasound machines at Hindu Rao Hospital, Mrs Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital, Kasturba Hospital and Mata Gujri Hospital.

Doctors told the mayor that there is a "huge shortage of staff, nursing staff, data entry operators, MTS (multi-tasking staff), sanitation staff at hospitals, and Hindu Rao Hospital is running with only 30 per cent staff, which has put extra burden on existing staff", the statement said.

Apart from this, the need for construction of a new OT block at Swami Dayanand Hospital was emphasised during the meeting, it said.

Apart from this, in view of the problem of shortage of data entry operators, the mayor directed that "separate tenders should be floated for the recruitment of DEOs in all hospitals as per the requirement so that the work can run smoothly".

Oberoi also inquired about the dengue cases reported at hospitals and the preparations made for dengue tests and treatment.

Deputy Mayor Aale Mohammad Iqbal said many security guards "do not behave properly" with relatives of patients and "misbehave at Girdhar Lal and Kasturba Hospital".

He flagged that toilets at these hospitals were "very dirty" and there is "no proper sitting arrangement" for attendants of patients.
Thane, Aug 11 (PTI) A court in Navi Mumbai sentenced three persons to three years of rigorous imprisonment for manhandling and beating up a driver of a civic bus in an incident of road rage.

Adhoc district and assistant sessions judge K R Deshpande of Belapur court on Wednesday found the accused guilty of charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

The trio were sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,500 each on them.

Additional public prosecutor E B Dhamal told the court that on November 24, 2015, the accused who were in a car allegedly intercepted a bus and entered the driver's cabin and beat him up for not letting their vehicle pass through.

The trio were found to be in an inebriated state, he said.

Six witnesses including the victim were examined in the case, he said, adding that Rs 5,000 will be given to the victim driver as compensation.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the Bihar government as to how many of the convicts, granted remission in April this year along with former Lok Sabha MP Anand Mohan, were held guilty of murdering public servants on duty.

The Bihar government informed the top court that a total of 97 convicts, including Mohan, who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah, were prematurely released at the same time.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta posted the plea filed by the wife of the slain IAS officer challenging the remission granted to Mohan for final hearing on September 26.

The top court allowed senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, to file an additional affidavit giving the details of the released convicts who were held guilty of killing a public servant.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of the slain officer, requested that the state be asked to serve upon them the original records of remission granted to Mohan so they can prepare their response.

Kumar objected to the request and said if Luthra's client wanted original records of remission, she can file an application under the Right to Information Act.

"There was no wrongdoing. Total of 97 persons including Mohan were released at the same time," Kumar said.

Justice Datta asked whether all these 97 people, who were granted remission, had been convicted of murdering a public servant and, if not, how many were guilty of such an offence.

Kumar said he does not have such data and needed further instruction on the details of all the convicts who were granted remission and released prematurely.

The bench said the petitioner's case is that the remission policy was changed to benefit Mohan.

"You (Kumar) furnish the details about the persons who were convicted for the murder of public servants and were granted remission," Justice Datta said.

On May 19, the top court had directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records with regard to the remission granted to Mohan, a gangster-turned-politician.

It had told the counsel appearing for the Bihar government that no further adjournment will be granted in the case, and directed him to place the complete records for perusal by the court.

Luthra had argued the state government changed the policy retrospectively and released Mohan.

Mohan was released from Saharsa jail on April 24 after serving 14 years following an amendment to the Bihar prison rules by the state government.

The petitioner has contended the life imprisonment awarded to Mohan meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life and it cannot be mechanically interpreted to last just 14 years.

"Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission," she has said in her petition.

Anand Mohan was awarded death penalty on October 5, 2007 by the trial court which was commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Patna High Court on December 10, 2008 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2012.

The remission of Mohans sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in the killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.

Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.

Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession, and was alleged to have instigated the mob to kill Krishnaiah.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Expressing anguish over the manner in which women were subjected to grave atrocities in Manipur, the Supreme Court has said that mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the other community and the state is bound to stop this.

The court also asked the three-member committee of retired judges constituted by it to inquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence is completely unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy.

"Mobs commonly resort to violence against women for multiple reasons, including the fact that they may escape punishment for their crimes if they are a member of a larger group.

In time of sectarian violence, mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the community that the victims or survivors hail from.

Such visceral violence against women during conflict is nothing but an atrocity. It is the bounden duty of the state  its foremost duty, even  to prevent people from committing such reprehensible violence and to protect those whom the violence targets, the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said in its August 7 order, which was uploaded on Thursday night.

More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The top court also said that it crucial for the police to identify and arrest the accused person expeditiously because they may be required for the completion of investigation.

Further, the accused may attempt to tamper with or destroy the evidence, intimidate witnesses, and flee from the place of the crime, the bench said, adding significant delay in the identification and arrest of the accused for no reason at all cannot be countenanced by it.

Observing that sectarian strife has also led to large scale destruction of residential property and places of worship, the apex court said it is duty bound to step in while performing its plain constitutional obligation.

This court is also of the opinion that its intervention will be a step towards the guarantee of non-repetition that victims of such crimes are entitled to, it said.

The remedies which have been granted are those which the court feels will be even handed across all communities and do justice to all those who have been injured (in any manner) by the sectarian violence.

The victims of violence must receive remedial measures irrespective of their community. Likewise, the perpetrators of violence must be held accountable irrespective of the source of violence, it said.

The top court said there are serious allegations, including witness statements, indicating that the law-enforcing machinery has been inept in controlling the violence and, in certain situations, colluded with the perpetrators.

Absent a proper investigation, this court will not enter a finding of fact on these allegations. But, at the very least, such allegations require an objective fact-finding to be conducted.

Those who are responsible for a breach of public duty must equally be brought to account, regardless of their rank, position, or post, it said.

The apex court said every officer or employee of the state who is guilty not only of dereliction of constitutional and official duties but of colluding with perpetrators to become offenders themselves, must be held accountable without fail.

This is the promise of justice that the Constitution demands from this court and from all branches of the state, it said.

In order to ensure that the violence ceases, the perpetrators of violence are punished and the faith and confidence of the community in the justice system is restored, the top court constituted a committee of three former high court judges, including Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, former Judge of the Bombay High Court and Justice Asha Menon, former Judge of the Delhi High Court.

The apex court said the mandate of the three-member committee would be to enquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in Manipur from May 4 from all available sources, including personal meetings with survivors, members of families of survivors, local/community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports.

The committee will also submit a report to it on the steps required to meet the needs of the survivors, including measures for dealing with rape trauma, providing social, economic, and psychological support, relief and rehabilitation in a time bound manner, the bench said.

Directing that the process of investigation shall be monitored by the apex court, the bench also appointed former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar to supervise the investigation by the CBI into the FIRs transferred to it and the investigation by the investigative machinery of the state into the remaining FIRs.

For the purpose of ensuring proper investigation of the FIRs which are transferred to the CBI, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs shall place at the disposal of the CBI five officers drawn from the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and NCT of Delhi at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

At least one of these five officers shall be a woman. For this purpose, the Directors General of Police of the above States shall nominate an officer at least of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police for deputation to the CBI, it said.

On deputation, the officers shall perform their functions under the overall structure of the CBI and submit periodical information and reports as may be required Padsalgikar, it said.

Dattatray Padsalgikar is also requested to investigate the allegations that certain police officers colluded with perpetrators of violence (including sexual violence) during the conflict in Manipur.

The Union Government and the State Government shall provide any assistance required in order to carry out this investigation. The findings shall be submitted to this Court in the form of a report, the bench said.
Chennai, Aug 11 (PTI) Tamil Nadu has no other option but to approach the Supreme Court to get Cauvery water, the state government asserted on Friday and said Karnataka has changed its stand and has come forward to release only a reduced quantum of 8,000 cusecs.

Referring to the Cauvery Water Management Authority meet deliberations on Friday in Delhi, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said the requirement for Cauvery water was emphatically put forth by state officials during the over 3-hour discussions. "However, Karnataka as usual changed its stand and categorically said that it could only release 8,000 cusecs and that too only till August 22."



The Minister underlined that on August 10, in the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee meeting it was unanimously decided that 15,000 cusecs per day would be released by Karnataka for 15 days to Tamil Nadu. The meet was held following persuasion by Tamil Nadu.

"Hence, the Tamil Nadu government has no other option but to approach the Supreme Court. Soon, a case will be filed in the apex court. Justice will win and we will get water and the Chief Minister M K Stalin-led government is determined to get water," he said.

The combined storage capacity of the four dams in Karnataka is 114.571 tmc ft of water and it has 93.535 tmc storage, which is about 82 per cent, the Minister pointed out.

In a statement, Duraimurugan alleged Karnataka does not 'have a heart' to share water with Tamil Nadu though it has water and this has been the stance of the Karnataka government ever since the Cauvery dispute arose decades ago. Karnataka is not concerned even if the standing crops (Kuruvai, short-term paddy crop) are going to wilt, he alleged.
Meerut (UP), Aug 11 (PTI) A 70-year-old man was shot dead by his grandson in a village here on Friday, police said.

The incident happened in an area under Mawana police station of the district. Accused Tarun has been arrested, they said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rohit Singh Sajwan said Jagat Singh, from Paharpur village, was returning home after withdrawing money from the bank, when his grandson Tarun shot him dead.

The accused youth killed his grandfather to take over his land, he said, adding that further action is being taken in the matter.
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing down the curtain on the Monsoon session of Parliament that witnessed persistent protests over the ethnic violence in Manipur and a fiery debate on the no-confidence motion against the BJP government.

The discussion on the no-confidence motion, initiated by Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, lasted for nearly 20 hours and saw participation of 60 members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the debate on the motion, which was rejected by a voice vote.

The session also witnessed suspension from the House of the leader of the Congress party, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, for gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct, an action which further angered the opposition members, who boycotted the valedictory address by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

"During this session, we held 17 sittings which lasted for 44 hours and 13 minutes," Birla said, adding that 20 government bills were introduced and 22 draft legislations were passed by the lower house.

Some important bills that were passed during the session were the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, National Dental Council Bill, Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, and the Armed Forces Organization (Command, Control, and Discipline) Bill.

Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die earlier in the day.
A Connecticut man was arrested Wednesday and charged with several federal crimes, including assaulting a law enforcement officer, for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol
Heartbreaking shipwrecks of migrant-filled boats departing from the Tunisian coast for Europe have surged in recent months. The latest tragedy claimed the lives of 41 people near Italys Lampedusa Island in early August. The alarming death rate reveals a trend that has been unfolding since the beginning of the year: Tunisia has supplanted Libya as the main starting point in the Mediterranean for migrants desperate to reach the shores of the European Union (EU).

According to data from the Italian Interior Ministry leaked to the Agenzia Nova news agency, at least 34,761 migrants arrived on the Italian coast from Tunisia in the first six months of 2023, more than the 27,859 people who departed from Libya. The number of migrants departing from Tunisia this year is almost five times higher compared to the same period last year, when it did not exceed 7,000. A record 20,000 people departed from the North African country in July alone.

Recently, a huge number of boats have departed from Tunisia. Just this past weekend, around 2,000 people left the country, said Oscar Camps, director of the Spanish non-profit Pro Activa Open Arms. Camps has recently spent several weeks aboard a ship rescuing migrants in the central Mediterranean. The migrants boats usually head for Lampedusa, an Italian island just 110 miles (180 kilometers) from the city of Sfax in Tunisia, and 186 miles (300 kilometers) from the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Approximately 90,000 migrants have reached the Italian coasts in 2023, double the number from the previous year. Italy has become the top destination in the EU, drawing over 65% of all irregular migrant arrivals in Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Once again, the busiest route is across the western part of the Mediterranean Sea.

In Libya, specifically in the eastern half of the country, efforts to exert more control over outbound migration have intensified. Reuters reports that Libyan authorities there led by General Khalifa Hafter operate with significant autonomy from the central government in Tripoli, and have recently deported thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt. Tunisia has yet to adopt such measures.

'Aita Mari,' a rescue ship operated by the Spanish non-profit Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario, approaches a migrant boat near Lampedusa (Italy); June, 2023. DAVID MELERO (EUROPA PRESS)

According to Italian government data confirmed by Romdhane Ben Amur, a migration researcher at the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), Italy provides information on migrant nationality rather than their departure countries. This [data] indicates that Tunisia has become the main departure point for Europe, surpassing Libya, he said. The most common migrant nationalities declared to Italian authorities this year are Guinea (12%), Ivory Coast (11%), Egypt (8%) and Tunisia (7%). Ben Amur says there are two reasons for the sudden increase in departures from Tunisia. There has been a rise in migrants coming here by land through Algeria, due to the leniency of the Algerian police. And routes through the Canary Islands and the Balkans been closed off, so many migrants shifted to Tunisia.

Tunisian presidents speech sparks racist attacks

Ben Amur also attributes the trend to a speech given by Tunisian President Kais Saied before the countrys National Security Council in February. A lot of sub-Saharan migrants who were staying in Tunisia temporarily to work, save up, and pay for their trip to Europe actually decided to speed up their migration plans because of the racist attacks caused by Saieds statements, said Ben Amur. Saied lashed out about a criminal plan to change the demographic composition of Tunisia and replace its Arab and Muslim population with hordes of sub-Saharan migrants. In the days after his speech, Tunisian mobs lynched Black migrants with the complicity of security forces, while many others were fired from jobs and evicted from homes.

In early July, a new wave of racist attacks broke out in Sfax, the Tunisian city with the largest sub-Saharan migrant community. The presidents visit provoked more attacks, and a young Tunisian was killed in one confrontation. The police then deported over 1,500 people to the borders with Libya and Algeria, said Franck Yotedje, director of the Sfax-based Africa Intelligence non-governmental organization. At least 20 deportees died from lack of water, food and protection against the extreme heat.

The rise in deaths at sea is another consequence of state-sanctioned racism in Tunisia. Opportunistic smugglers capitalized on the surge of migrants by using unsafe boats. According to the IOM, 40% of the 2,387 people who lost their lives or went missing in the Mediterranean this year left from Tunisia (467 died in March and April alone). Lately, there have been instances of very flimsy sheet metal boats departing from Sfax that take on water almost immediately, said Oscar Camps of Pro Activa Open Arms.

Tunisian President Kais Saied and the EC President Ursula von der Leyen; Tunis; July 16, 2023. TUNISIAN PRESIDENCY (via REUTERS)

Camps highlights a third factor that explains the mass migrations from the Tunisian coast: the deliberate utilization of migration as a means to extort the European Union. The situation in Tunisia is scandalous. Radio conversations between Tunisian fishermen and the coast guard indicate clear collusion to aid the passage of these boats, he said. Camps used a drone camera and easily detected a jetty on the coast where dozens of people were making these dangerously flimsy boats. The Tunisian authorities cant possibly miss this, he said.

Camps claims align with a confidential analysis of the EU borders conducted by Frontex and obtained by EL PAIS. The report indicates that Tunisian fishing boats frequently approach migrant boats stranded at sea and offer to tow them close to Lampedusa for money. If the migrants say no, the fishermen resort to intimidation tactics and churn up dangerous waves that imperil the unstable boats.

Renewed attention from the European Commission

The increase in migration from Tunisia has led to renewed attention from European and Italian authorities in the small North African country. On July 16, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EC) traveled to Tunisia with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, to sign a strategic partnership agreement. The aim is to make it a role model for other countries in North Africa. The main focus of the pact is cooperation in controlling border flows; the EC will give Tunisia $115 million (105 million) to enhance its capacities in this area. The EC will also offer Tunisia an additional $164 million (150 million) in budgetary support and promises another $986 million (900 million), pending the signing of a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Tunisian analysts, Saied showed great interest in signing the agreement and ending the countrys international isolation after its self-coup in 2021 and his own racist remarks in February. The country urgently needs international support due to its severe and ongoing financial crisis. As part of the agreement, Saied has proposed increased collaboration with the EU to expedite the repatriation process of irregular Tunisian migrants in Europe. If youve noticed a growing number of boats on the Tunisian coast, its because Saied is still in talks with the EU, said Camps. The ranking of the countries sending these boats is changing accordingly. It used to be Turkiye, now its Tunisia, and soon it will be Algeria. Its just how theyre managing the borders now.

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Sylvia Santana, a state senator in Michigan, has extended a formal apology to her Arab and Muslim constituents following her participation in a recent trip to Israel alongside fellow lawmakers. Santana, whose district encompasses parts of Detroit, Dearborn, and Dearborn Heights, areas with significant Arab and Muslim populations, expressed her regret on social media.

In her statement, Santana acknowledged the discontent and disappointment her presence on the trip had evoked within the Arab and Muslim communities. She asked for forgiveness and said that her intent was not as the trip was portrayed.

There is no perfect combination of words that I can offer that truly reflects the feelings in my heart. My only goal was to learn about this region of our world and to improve my understanding of matters related to Michigan, Santana stated.

Santana said the journey was an annual trip offered to state lawmakers to learn more about Michigans relationship with Israel. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit confirmed its role in facilitating the trip for several lawmakers.

Osama Siblani, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Arab American News based in Dearborn, shared on Facebook that the trip occurred at the end of July. He noted that a planned meet-and-greet event at the Arab American-owned Custard Company in Dearborn had to be canceled due to the growing controversy surrounding the visit.

Siblani said the Arab American community was shocked over Santanas participation, describing it as a letdown after the communitys previous support and respect for the senator. Santanas district overlaps with that of Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, who has faced criticism for her anti-Israel and antisemitic statements and postures.

Meanwhile, a group of 24 Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives embarked on their own trip to Israel this week, led by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and previous House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their efforts against antisemitism, false accusations, and support for Israels security.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Donald Trumps valet, Walt Nauta, appeared before a judge on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to conspiring with the former president to obstruct the investigation into his possession of classified documents at his Florida estate.

But the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, was again unable to enter a plea in the case because he still hasnt secured a Florida-based attorney, which is required under local court rules.

The magistrate judge also formally accepted the latest not guilty plea of Trump, who told the judge in court papers last week that he is not guilty and waived his right to appear at the hearing in person.

De Oliveira and Nauta appeared in the federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, on an updated indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging they schemed with the Republican former president to try to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance video sought by investigators.

Trump, Nauta and De Olivera face charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice in the case stemming from secret government documents found at Trumps Palm Beach club after he left the White House in 2021.

Nauta and Trump were charged in June and previously pleaded not guilty, but a new indictment handed down late last month added more charges and De Oliveira to the

case.

De Oliveira made an initial appearance in court in July but didnt enter a plea because he hadnt retained local counsel. The judge on Thursday set a new arraignment date for Aug. 15.

Trump was already charged with dozens of felony counts, and the indictment added new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information.

Its one of three different criminal cases Trump is facing this year as he tries to reclaim the White House in 2024. Hes also gearing up for a possible fourth indictment, in a case out of Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and his Republican allies to illegally meddle in the 2020 election in that state. The county district attorney, Fani Willis, a Democrat, has signaled that any indictments in the case would likely come this month.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has characterized all the cases against him as politically motivated.

He pleaded not guilty in Washingtons federal court last week in a second case brought by Smith that accuses him of conspiring with allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Smiths team is expected on Thursday to propose a trial date for that case. Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in a New York state case stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 election and in May in the classified documents case.

The updated indictment in the documents case centers on surveillance footage at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump is alleged to have asked for the footage to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House.

Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the governments case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room  an act alleged to have been done at Trumps direction and in an effort to hide records not only from investigators but also from Trumps own lawyers.

Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say, De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee the boss wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didnt believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the boss wanted it done, asking, What are we going to do?

Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadnt even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.

De Oliveiras Washington attorney, John Irving, told reporters after the last hearing that he looks forward to seeing what potential evidence the Justice Department has, and he declined to comment about whether De Oliveira has been asked to testify against Trump.

The new indictment also charges Trump with illegally holding on to a document hes alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey.

(AP)




Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smiths team asked a judge on Thursday to set a Jan. 2 trial date for former President Donald Trump in the case charging him with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Prosecutors said in court papers that they want the case before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to move to trial swiftly in Washingtons federal court, setting up a likely battle with defense attorneys who have already suggested they will try slow things down. Smiths team says the governments case should take no longer than four to six weeks.

The date is just under two weeks before the first votes are set to be cast in the Republican presidential race, with Iowas first-in-the-nation caucuses scheduled for Jan. 15.

The early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States for what prosecutors say was a weekslong plot to subvert the will of voters and cling to power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

The indictment accuses Trump of spreading lies about election fraud he knew were false to sow distrust in the democratic process and pressuring Vice President Mike Pence and state election officials to take action in a brazen attempt to cling to power.

Trump, who pleaded not guilty last week, says he is innocent and has portrayed the investigation as politically motivated. His legal team has indicated it will argue that he was relying on the advice of lawyers around him in 2020 and had the right to challenge an election he believed was rigged.

Trump was already scheduled to be in a courtroom in the heat of next years presidential primary season, with a March 25 criminal trial scheduled in a separate case in New York stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

The former president is scheduled to go to trial in May in another case brought by Smith over his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Hes also gearing up for a possible fourth indictment, in a case out of Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged efforts by him and his Republican allies to illegally meddle in the 2020 election in that state. The county district attorney, Fani Willis, a Democrat, has signaled that any indictments in the case would likely come this month.

Trump has already said he will push to have the 2020 election case moved out of Washington, claiming he cant get a fair trial in the heavily Democratic city, which voted overwhelmingly for Biden. But its extremely difficult to convince a judge that a jury pool is so biased that a trial must be moved. And judges in Washington, including Chutkan, have repeatedly rejected similar efforts by Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Smiths Washington case accuses Trump of orchestrating schemes to enlist slates of fake electors in seven battleground states won by Biden to sign false certificates representing themselves as legitimate electors and try to use the investigative power of the Justice Department to launch sham election fraud probes. When his efforts failed, prosecutors say, he badgered Pence to disrupt the ceremonial counting of electoral votes before Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, the day an angry mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol.

In an early glimpse into the intense legal fighting to come in the case, prosecutors and defense attorneys have been arguing over a protective order that would place rules on what Trumps legal team can do with evidence handed over by the government as they prepare for trial. Protective orders are not uncommon in criminal cases and are usually imposed with little legal wrangling.

But Trumps lawyers say prosecutors proposal  which seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from publicly disclosing evidence handed over by the government  is too broad and would restrict his First Amendment rights. They are urging the judge to impose a more limited protective order that would restrict only the public sharing of information deemed sensitive, like grand jury materials.

In urging the judge to impose the order, prosecutors noted Trumps tendency to use social media to talk about the legal cases against him and expressed concern that he would share sensitive information that could intimidate witnesses.

Chutkan is expected to hold a hearing on the matter on Friday in Washingtons federal court.

(AP)




All 16 Michigan Republicans accused in a fake elector scheme to keep former President Donald Trump in power are challenging the charges, after the final nine either pleaded not guilty or had a judge enter the pleas on their behalf Thursday in state court.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges last month against the 16 Republicans who investigators say met following the 2020 election and signed a document falsely stating they were Michigans duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president. Seven entered not guilty pleas in previous court appearances.

The nine defendants who appeared virtually in Ingham County District Court on Thursday were arraigned on eight criminal charges, including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

The court appearances in Michigan come one week after Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges related to his effort to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss. Prosecutors say the former president, along with six unnamed co-conspirators, orchestrated a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

Kathy Berden, a Michigan committeewoman for the Republican National Committee, and Amy Facchinello, a Grand Blanc school board member who is facing a recall effort, were among those arraigned on Thursday.

Two of the others accused of being involved in the scheme, Mari-Ann Henry and Meshawn Maddock, a former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, appeared in court last week and have also pleaded not guilty.

The court appearances mark the beginning of whats expected to be a lengthly legal battle. Many of those charged in the scheme have maintained that they did nothing wrong and accused Nessel, who is a Democrat, of being politically motivated.

Kurt Krause, a lawyer representing one of the fake electors, John Haggard, said in court Thursday that the probability of conviction is low, given the dubiousness of the factual basis asserted by the government.

Investigators allege that the group of Republican electors met at party headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020, and falsely signed the fake electors document. The fake electors falsely asserted that they met in the state Capitol, which they were denied entry to by Michigan State Police.

Investigations are underway in some other states that submitted fake electors, but not all.

A Georgia prosecutor investigating possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election has agreed to immunity deals with at least eight fake electors. And Arizonas Democratic attorney general is in the very early stages of a probe. Nevadas attorney general, also a Democrat, has said he wont bring charges, while Wisconsin has no active investigation and the attorney general has deferred to the U.S. Justice Department.

(AP)




The nations most prominent gun safety groups are joining together to back President Joe Biden in 2024, an early endorsement that underscores Bidens grip on key Democratic coalitions as the party seizes on gun policy as a politically advantageous issue ahead of his reelection campaign.

The endorsement represented the first time the groups have jointly announced support for a presidential candidate. The groups include Brady and its youth-led arm, Team Enough; Community Justice Action Fund; Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action; and Giffords.

It also follows similar joint endorsements from abortion rights groups, labor unions and climate organizations  a strategy meant to demonstrate Bidens strength among various party constituencies as he faces nominal primary challengers and skepticism from many Democratic voters over whether he should run for a second term.

In their endorsement, the groups pointed to the Biden administrations record in establishing policies meant to reduce gun violence  most notably a bipartisan law enacted last year that marked the most comprehensive effort to restrict access to firearms in three decades.

President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading the strongest gun-sense administration in American history, a title they have earned by doing everything in their power to protect our families and communities, said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action.

In all, the groups represent 15 million members. The endorsement also comes as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an Everytown event in Chicago on Friday.

Officials said the endorsement allows them to make an early and frequent contrast with Republican presidential hopefuls who are seeking to loosen gun laws at a time when gun violence is on the rise in the U.S., while mobilizing voters critical to Bidens re-election strategy, such as suburban women, voters of color and younger voters.

Bidens rhetoric has grown ever stronger around guns, including routinely calling for banning so-called assault weapons, political term to describe guns most often used in mass shootings with the capacity to kill a lot of people quickly. And he pushes a platform restricting guns that was all but politically unthinkable for Democrats as recently as Barack Obamas term.

We have taken the politics of yore and turned them on their head, said Peter Ambler, the executive director of Giffords. It is now a scarlet letter, not a badge of honor, to have the NRA endorsement.

Ambler also added that Biden is not just the beneficiary of a shifting politics on this issue, he is one of the people that shaped the politics of this issue through his decades of service in the Senate.

Indeed, Biden has a lengthy and often personal history with the various gun groups. In its endorsement, Brady noted that the organization worked alongside Biden in 1994, when he was a senator, to pass a federal ban on certain high-powered firearms. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was nearly killed in a mass shooting in 2011 and the namesake of one of the groups that endorsed Biden, has spoken about the support from the then-vice president as she recovered from her injuries.

His aides say Biden has long understood that calling for tougher gun laws resonates with Americans, particularly after meeting with countless survivors and family members of gun violence victims, which has emboldened him to speak frequently about the topic.

I think one of the things thats most exciting about being president is that you can help change the conversation and change the narrative by being willing to go out there and speak boldly about an issue, said White House staff secretary Stefanie Feldman, who previously worked at the Domestic Policy Council. And he has done that since day one of his administration, even back on the campaign in 2020.

In separate endorsements, Giffords, Everytown and Brady threw their support behind Biden in March 2020  a time when the former vice president was campaigning to lock up the Democratic nomination against independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Community Justice Action Fund did not endorse in 2020.

With their very first executive action on public safety, President Biden and Vice President Harris made historic investments in community violence intervention, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to treating gun violence as the public health emergency that it is, and taking the most significant strides toward ending this crisis in decades, said Greg Jackson, executive director of Community Justice Action Fund.

Just over half of voters want to see nationwide gun policy made more strict, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago. And there are clear partisan divides. About 9 in 10 Democrats want stricter gun laws, compared with about 3 in 10 Republicans.

In addition to last years bipartisan law, Biden issued an executive order that cracked down on ghost guns, homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check. Hes also moving to tighten regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces like one used in a Boulder, Colorado shooting that left 10 dead.

And last month, he announced another order that aimed to stiffen background checks to buy guns, promote more secure firearms storage and ensuring law enforcement agencies get more out of the bipartisan law enacted last summer.

President Biden and Vice President Harriss unflinching commitment to ending gun violence has been evident from Day One, said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, campaign manager for Bidens reelection, said Biden and Harris were humbled to receive the endorsement and added that the work is far from over, as MAGA Republicans in Congress continue to side with the NRA and stonewall common-sense legislation that would save American lives.

(AP)




North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to sharpen its war plans and signed off on expanding combat operations of frontline units, state media said Thursday, as the United States and South Korea prepare for a large-scale combined military exercise.

Condemning the allies expanding drills as invasion rehearsals, Kim has used them as a pretext to further accelerate his weapons demonstrations, which have included the testing-firings of more than 100 missiles since the start of 2022, driving tensions on the Korean Peninsula to their highest point in years.

Experts say Kims nuclear push is aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power so he can eventually negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Thursdays meeting of the North Korean ruling Workers Partys central military commission, which Kim controls as chairman, was to discuss advancing his militarys war readiness and establishing offensive countermeasure plans to deter his adversaries, which state media said were getting more blatant in their reckless military confrontation with the North.

After talks of boosting North Korean frontline units and stepping up war drills to incorporate new strategies and weapons, Kim signed an order to implement unspecified important military measures, Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency said.

During the meeting, Kim stressed that the military must acquire more powerful strike means to bolster his nuclear deterrent and make speedier deployments of those weapons to combat units. He called for the countrys munitions industry to step up mass production of various weapons and systems, and for the military to actively conduct actual war drills to digest those systems and enhance its war-fighting capabilities, KCNA said.

Photos of the meeting published by state media showed Kim pointing to spots in a blurred map of the Korean Peninsula. The spots appeared to be the metropolitan region surrounding the South Korean capital of Seoul, where half of the countrys 51 million people live, and an area around the central city of Daejeon, the location of South Koreas army headquarters.

Kim also made personnel changes during the meeting, appointing Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil as his new chief of general staff to replace Gen. Pak Su Il, KCNA said.

Since he began his rule in late 2011, Kim has shown a tendency to swiftly replace senior government and military officials if he was unhappy with their performances or needed to hold them responsible for broader policy failures, which the North never pins on its supreme leader.

The decision to sack Pak eight months into the job possibly indicates that Kim was dissatisfied about his ability to craft military strategies and went back to a more trusted hand in Ri, who had a lengthy previous stint as chief of general staff, said Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute.

When asked about Kims comments, Ahn Eun-ju, a spokesperson at South Koreas Foreign Ministry, said it was deplorable that North Korea was talking about boosting war readiness while ignoring the plight of its desperately poor population. Some experts say the Norths economy is likely at its worst since Kim took power. COVID-19 restrictions further shocked an economy crippled by decades of mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions imposed over his nuclear ambitions. That hasnt stopped Kim from channeling the countrys limited resources into expanding a nuclear arsenal he sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

North Korea should instead pay attention to the safety of its citizens with a typhoon approaching, Ahn said, referring to Tropical Storm Khaunun, which pounded South Korea with intense rains and winds on Thursday and was expected to blow into North Korea early Friday.

We are maintaining a firm readiness posture, and North Koreas empty threats of force will not work with us, she said.

Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities were closely monitoring North Korean weapons development activities and possibilities of provocations.

Kims comments during the meeting echoed what he said last week during a three-day tour of the countrys key weapons factories, including a facility that produces launcher trucks for his intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the U.S. mainland, and called for significant improvements to the countrys arms and war readiness.

Kims visits also included an artillery factory that deepened outside concerns that North Korea was preparing to export artillery and other arms supplies to Russia as President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the U.S.

Kim invited Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party officials to share center stage at a giant military parade in Pyongyang where he rolled out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States. Shoigus presence at the July 27 parade came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, which demonstrated North Koreas support for Russias invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia.

During Thursdays meeting, North Korean officials also agreed to hold another military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of its governments founding. The Sept. 9 parade would be the countrys third event in 2023 alone. Analysts say the North has never staged military parades more than twice in the same year.

(AP)




Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Thursday met with Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman about the latters plan for a pilot program of separate swimming hours at some springs of the Nature and Parks Authority.

The program was scheduled to begin in August at the Ein Haniya and Einat Tzukim nature reserves. The separate swimming hours were to be held only after the normal operating hours in order not to impinge on the general public.

However, during the meeting, Baharav-Miara told Silman that she believes that the Nature and Parks Authority does not have the authority to allow separate swimming and that such a program would require legislation. She added that the very possibility of separate swimming is a violation of equality, despite the fact that the pilot was planned to take place after regular operating hours.

UTJ leader Moshe Gafni responded to the report by saying: In the Attorney-Generals Office, the word equality exists only for a certain public and not when it comes to the Chareidi, religious, and Arab public. The natural springs in Israel are for everyone and not only for certain communities. Can someone explain to me why a Chareidi woman who wants separate swimming doesnt deserve equality?

This system is anti-social and lacking any sensitivity to the different needs of populations in Israeli society, men and women. They decide and do only whats convenient for them.

My bill to legislate the issue is on the Knesset table and in light of the suspension of the planned pilot program, well have to advance it.

UTJ MK Yitzchak Pindrus said: Only an attorney-general who is disconnected from the people and condescending to them is able to ignore the needs of millions of citizens, men and women, Chareidi, religious and traditional, who are interested in a few sites for separate swimming on vacation daysit turns out that they only protect the rights of those who suit them.

Shai Glick, the head of BTzalmo, a right-wing human rights organization, said: The decision of the Attorney-General proves again and again that in the Justice Ministry, human rights belong only to the secular public and Kaplan protesters, as well as terrorists and their families. The religious and Chareidi public and the victims of terrorism will not obtain any legal relief there.

This is unfortunate and outrageous and proves once again how much we need legal reform that will actually ensure the rights of all Israeli citizens.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




In the wake of Supreme Court president Esther Hayuts unprecedented decision to deliberate petitions against the Reasonabless Law with a 15-judge panel, Attorney Avi Segal, on behalf of the Lavi Association, submitted an urgent petition to the Supreme Court on Thursday demanding that Hayut be disqualified from heading the panel due to her public comments slamming the law.

Hayut excoriated the proposed law in a public speech in January and even slammed what she perceives as the motives for the law, calling it an unbridled attack on the legal system, a plan to crush to crush the legal system.

The petition claims, among other things, that out of fear of bias and harm to the justice system, Hayut must disqualify herself from participating in any discussion related to the issue in order not to harm the legitimacy of any judicial decision that is made.

Any other judge who would have expressed firm and public positions on this or that issue would have been disqualified from sitting in the court on the same issue. It is unfathomable to accept double standards and such obvious conflicts of interest just because the person in question is the president of the Supreme Court.

Adv. Avi Segal said: We are sorry that the honorable President of the Supreme Court did not see fit to even respond to two early inquiries addressed to her. We are confident that the Supreme Court panel that will deliberate the petition will immediately issue a conditional order directing the Honorable President to provide a reason why she should not disqualify herself from sitting at the head of the panel that will hear the petitions in connection with the Reasonableness Law. And as long as the president chooses not to disqualify herself, then we believe that the court itself will issue an absolute order instructing her to do so.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he wont sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month.

Why would I sign it? Trump said in an interview on the conservative cable network Newsmax. I can name three or four people that I wouldnt support for president. So right there, theres a problem.

He declined to name the candidates he wouldnt support, saying theres no reason to insult them. But he singled out South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy for praise, saying they have been very nice.

Trump said he will announce next week whether hell participate in the debate, scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, but his refusal to sign the pledge suggests he plans to make good on his threat to skip it. Trump has repeatedly questioned why he should debate his rivals given his substantial polling lead and has suggested he might hold a competing event instead.

On Wednesday, he pushed back against former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies taunts, telling Newsmaxs Eric Bolling that theres no upside to participating in a debate when hes already leading by a wide margin.

Its not a question of guts. Its a question of intelligence, Trump said.

Eight candidates say they have met qualifications to be on stage in Milwaukee, with former Vice President Mike Pence announcing this week he had secured enough donors. Candidates need to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.

They also must sign a statement pledging not to participate in any debates not sanctioned by the party, including the general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and to support the winner of the Republican primary.

I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination of President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden, the pledge says, according to a copy posted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Candidates also must pledge not to run as an independent, write-in candidate or third-party nominee.

The pledge has been criticized by some candidates including Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has been fiercely critical of Trump.

Only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitively that he will not sign the 2024 pledge, though he has not met the polling and fundraising thresholds required to attend. He said he wont support Trump, who has been indicted three times, if he becomes the eventual nominee.

(AP)




By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Home

Very often, a particular Mitzvah is associated with one particular Parsha in the Torah. Pidyon Shvuyim, the rescuing of captives is one of the greatest Mitzvos in the Torah. I would like to suggest that this Mitzvah is particularly associated with this weeks Parsha, Reay.

The Rambam writes that whoever fulfills this Mitzvah is mekayem no less than 8 Mitzvos in the Torah. Three of these Mitzvos are found in Parshas Reay. Before we enumerate the these Mitzvos, however, I would also like to suggest that there is a forgotten hero of Pidyon Shvuyim. He is a man that engaged in this Mitzvah on his own  on three separate occasions in just one day over half a century ago.

I remember that day. My parents, aleihem HaShalom, talking about that fateful day 53 years ago. And since it was my mothers yahrtzeit, I tried to meet that forgotten hero. Yesterday, I found him and spent a good part of that day with this 91-year-old forgotten hero. I video-taped Uri Bar Lev for several hours this past Thursday. He revealed to me many details of what had transpired, and a few of them  for the first time.

It was the fifth of Elul, 5730  September 6th, 1970. This was a time when evil people first began to take guns and explosives to threaten human lives  hundreds of innocent human lives. It was also a time when people first began to blow up airplanes.

On September 6th of 1970, four planes were hijacked. The planes were flown to an abandoned British airfield in Jordan. Rav Hutner zatzal and his daughter were on one of those planes.

But there was another plane that evil people had planned to hijack. It was El Al Flight 219. What follows is a description of three events that took place on that flight, and an expression of Hakaras HaTov to Captain Uri Bar Lev, of whom no book was ever written about, no documentary ever made, and no movie ever produced.

El Al Flight 219 originated from Ben Gurion Airport to Amsterdam going onto New York. The new crew, including its captain, Uri Bar Lev, took over from Amsterdam to New York.

Also boarding that flight were two suspicious people: Leila Khaled and Patrick Arguello  flying under assumed names.

Soon after takeoff, Uri Bar Lev and his co-pilot got word that two terrorists were hijacking the plane. They locked the door to the cockpit. The terrorists had shot and gravely wounded an El Al flight attendant. They put a gun to the head of a stewardess and told her to tell the pilots that if they did not open the door, they would shoot her in the temple.

Bar Lev had a plan. Years earlier, a Boeing trainer had told him that the new 707 had the versatility of a real fighter plane. Bar Lev who flew for the Israeli air force then asked him if the 707 was capable of doing climbing and diving maneuvers. The instructor said, Yes, but dont go over negative 2 G.

Bar-Lev had to save the stewardess, and all of the passengers that were about to be hijacked. He had had enough altitude to put the plane in a steep dive. The aircraft plummeted 3,300 meters in under 60 seconds. His passengers would be in for the ride of their lives, but they were all seated and strapped in.

On the other hand, a terrorist does not strap himself in nor does he or she sit down. They would be too easily overpowered. As Uri Bar Lev knew would happen, Arguello and Khaled would be thrown to the floor by virtue of the G forces.

Bar Lev, who had stowed one of the Shabak sky marshals in the cockpit because of his suspicions instructed him to go out the moment that he levelled back. Both that sky marshal and the second Shabak sky marshal who was in the back, came forward and shot Arguello dead. Khaled was subdued.

His superiors in Israel were aware of the other hijackings, but did not tell Bar Lev. They had instructed him to fly immediately back to Israel. But one of the stewards was injured. He looked at him and saw him a very pale white. The steward said, Uri, mah yikreh li  Uri, what will be with me?

A doctor on board told Captain Bar Lev that the steward will be fine. Captain Bar Lev inquired as to the doctors specialty. He answered that he was a dentist. Uri Bar Lev then disobeyed the orders of his superiors, and radioed into Londons Heathrow Airport, requesting permission for an emergency landing.

It was granted.

I told Uri of the Mishnah in Sanhedrin that says, Whomsoever saves one life..  although completely secular, he finished the Mishna by himself. He told me that his zaideh was a Rav in Ukraine and Poland.

But back on the plane, he knew that there would be an investigation because there was the matter of the dead body of Arguello. Three months earlier an Israeli sky marshal had killed a terrorist in France and was placed in jail. Captain Uri Bar Lev radioed another El Al pilot and in coded Hebrew worked out that the two Shabak men would leave via the luggage compartment and enter into the same on another airplane. Tickets were issued to the two Shabak men and they were regular passengers on the second plane.

In the meantime, the steward, Shlomo Videl, was taken to the hospital in London and survived.

What happened to Captain Uri Bar Lev? The Israeli government was not happy with him for disobeying instructions. There were hearings and inquiries, but Bar Lev stood his ground. What is the chain of command in such an event? Is the captain in charge of the safety of his passengers? Or does the Shin Bet retain authority? Ultimately, it was resolved that the captain is in charge, but there were repercussions to his career.

This author believes that from a halachic perspective, Captain Uri Bar Lev did everything right. He was a true hero in every sense of the word. El Al and Shabak did not see things the same way. Captain Bar Lev retired 3 and  years later.

Terrorist Leila Khaled, spearheaded the hijacking movement which culminated in what we know as the Post 9-11 world we live in today. Every time we take off our shoes, belts, and laptops out of their cases before we board our flights we must thank Leila Khaled. Indeed, a sycophantic adulatory movie was made about her while the Pidyon Shvuyim hero, Captain Uri Bar Lev, remains obscure.

The new administration of El Al should perhaps consider looking into this matter and maybe correct this half century wrong. The world has gone mad and morally bankrupt. We need true heroes, and Captain Uri Bar Lev is an unsung hero.

What were his three separate actions that day? He saved a planeload of people from becoming hostages  pidyon shvuyim in the most pristine form. He saved the Shabak sky marshalls. More pidyon shvuyim. And he saved steward Shlomo Videl the steward from death. In each of these 3 actions he fulfilled the Rambams 8 Mitzvos in Pidyon Shvuyim. (8 times 3= 24)

1] Lo saametz es Levavcha  Do not tighten your heart(Dvarim 15:7)

2] veLo Sikpotz es yadcha  Nor shall you tighten your hand (Dvarim 15:7)

3] Lo saamod al dam rayacha  Do not stand idly by your brothers blood (VaYikra 19:16)

4] Lo yirdeno beferech leainecha  Do not let him go down in excessive labor in front of your eyes (Vayikra 25:53)

5] Pasoach tiftach es yadcha lo You shall surely open your hand for him (Dvarim 15:8)

6] Vechai achicha imach  And your brother shall live with you (Vayikra 25:36)

7] Veahavta lerayacha kamocha love your friend as yourself (Vayikra 19:18)

8] Hatzel lakuchim lemavais  Save those taken toward their death (Mishlei 24:11)

This week is the parsha of Pidyon Shvuyim. It isnt just in paying ransom money. We see from the geulah in Egypt that the verb Pidyon refers to physically taken captives out as well. We can redeem these shvuyim physically as Captain Uri Bar Lev did. Wishing everyone a gut Shabbos, and to the Bar Lev family as well.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
In 2022 the commodity turnover between Kazakhstan and North Macedonia grew by 5.5 times, Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu said following the meeting with visiting OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, Azernews reports, citing Kazinform.

The minister stressed Kazakhstan may increase its export commodities and mutual sales by 350 million dollars.

Nurtleu said the sides agreed to actively use resources of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation for maintaining business ties development pace. They agreed to focus on promising sectors such as new technologies, energy, agriculture, mining, and tourism.

During the meeting, they also debated a visa-free regime between the two nations.
The Gaspar de Villarroel neighborhood of Quito, in the financial heart of Ecuadors capital, awoke Thursday paralyzed by fear. Several businesses opted not to open, while others tried to continue with their daily routine after the authorities removed the police tape investigators had collected the 64 shell casings that were fired on the afternoon of August 9 at the gates of the Anderson School. It was there that presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in an attack that briefly turned the neighborhood into a war zone and plunged the country into crisis with fewer than 10 days remaining before the August 20 elections. The attack is further evidence of a wave of terror being suffered by Ecuadorians, a brutal onslaught by organized crime which, according to President Guillermo Lasso, is a challenge to the rule of law and an attempt to sabotage the electoral process. The campaign has been halted, but will continue, even amid a state of emergency decreed by the president. Meanwhile, the country is attempting to recover from a tragic afternoon.

I woke up shocked, very sad, says Passy Cevallos, who from early morning was waiting in front of the morgue, located in the north of Quito, with another group of citizens demanding justice. They killed our president! cried a group of Villavicencios supporters, who used to accompany the candidate on his tours. During the campaign, the mayor of Manta, a key port for drug trafficking, and a candidate to the National Assembly were also murdered. We cannot talk about security. We are helpless, unable to do anything, Villavicencios supporters said.

In the capital, silence and anger reign, as expressed by Luis Fernandez, Villavicencios lawyer. This is a crime of the state, he says. He was not given adequate protection even though the police acknowledged there was a high risk, 97%, of an attempt on his life. The lawyer points out that the threats started from the moment Villavicencio announced his candidacy. Wherever he went, there were always bomb threats. He had to be removed immediately from the location, adds Fernandez, who admits that they did not make these threats public so as not to hinder the campaign. In any case, he insists, they were real and state officials knew about every one. Villavicencio himself publicly denounced, even in the hours before his assassination, intimidation which he attributed to a group linked to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.

The 59-year-old politician, a journalist by profession, was murdered in the vehicle that the authorities had arranged for his travel that day, a white double-cabin pickup truck that lacked armor. Police commander Fausto Salinas explained that the candidate did have an armored vehicle of his own. He used that car on Wednesday morning to attend a political meeting in Guayaquil, but then he boarded a plane to Quito and switched to the transportation provided for him.

Experts work at the site where Fernando Villavicencio was murdered. KAREN TORO (REUTERS)

He made his planned tours in Quito in that vehicle, which was not equipped to withstand an attack, under police escort. However, he did not have tactical protection, but the police commander stated in a press conference that the candidate had a triple security ring. During the hearing, presided over by the Minister of Interior, Juan Zapata, it was not clarified what went wrong in the security set-up, nor what the motive of the crime was. The officials did not take questions and dedicated the eight minutes of the conference to discussing the six people arrested as suspects, of Colombian nationality and with criminal records. They had been arrested a month ago but the judge did not remand them in custody, instead ordering them to report the court periodically, which they failed to do.

Villavicencios killer, who died shortly after the attack in a confrontation with security forces, had also been arrested in June for illegal possession of a weapon but was released. According to Salinas, all belonged to organized crime groups operating in the country, without providing further details.

In recent days Villavicencio had made reference to a criminal group known as Los Choneros. In one of his last interviews, he had accused the authorities of not doing enough to contain the most serious wave of violence Ecuador has witnessed in its recent history. More specifically, he spoke of threats from a criminal nicknamed Fito, who had sent him intimidating messages. If I continue mentioning Fito and Los Choneros, they will break me, he warned. However, he refused to back down: Here I am, I am showing my face, I am not afraid of them.

Los Choneros is a drug trafficking organization whose origins date back to the late 1990s in the coastal city of Manta. After years of growth, it has become one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Ecuador and currently works for the Sinaloa Cartel in cocaine trafficking. Among its adversaries are Los Lobos, Tiguerones, and Chone Killers, three gangs that carry out logistics operations in the country for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the most prominent criminal group in Mexico.

Regardless of the authors and motive for Villavicencios assassination, Ecuador is now living through an electoral campaign that has been placed on high alert. President Lasso described the attack as a political crime. After declaring three days of national mourning and a state of emergency lasting 60 days, Lasso was adamant about the need to go ahead with the electoral process. His argument: suspending the elections would mean handing a victory to the cartels. We are not going to hand over power and democratic institutions to organized crime, he said. As such, the candidates are set to resume campaigning and compete at the polls as scheduled on August 20.

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Efforts are well underway to launch a Hatzalah emergency response service for the growing Cleveland community. As preparations get underway to make the squad a reality, Hatzalah of Cleveland already has the broad support of the various kehillos in Cleveland, including numerous rabbanim and civic leaders.

The introduction of Hatzalah to the Cleveland community comes following years of deliberation and painstaking planning to ensure that the organization would provide real tangible benefits to residents and make a Kiddush Hashem even amongst those who do not use its services.

Although currently in its planning stages, Hatzalah of Cleveland is led by a well-rounded Executive Board, Rabbinic Board, and Operational Board working in tandem to fine-tune all aspects of its future operations ahead of sending members into service.

Hatzalah of Cleveland will be opening an EMT Course for prospective members shortly after Sukkos, as well as providing professional and halachic training, overseen by Rav Boruch Hirschfeld, the rav of Ahavas Yisroel and the Rosh Kollel of Torah Life Kollel. The goal is to onboard 30 EMTs by next summer, when Hatzalah is scheduled to become fully operational.

Our top priority is ensuring that every EMT who joins Hatzalah is an individual of refined temperament and upright character who will serve as a living Kiddush Hashem, Rabbi Nissim Abrin, a member of Hatzalahs rabbinic board, told YWN.

At its outset, Hatzalah of Cleveland will not be providing transports to hospitals. Rather, its members will act to stabilize patients until the arrival of local EMS, thereby cutting the response time of a qualified EMT from minutes to sometimes seconds.

Hatzalah of Cleveland has received approval from Rabbi Yechiel Kalisch, the CEO of Chevra Hatzalah, and is currently working with existing Hatzalah organizations around the country, including those in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and South Florida, to establish a service that will provide the highest quality care possible to the community, with competence, empathy, and utmost professionalism.

To learn more, or to apply to join Hatzalah of Cleveland, visit https://www.hatzalahcleveland.org/ You can also email [email protected] or call 216-353-6613. (Please note this is a non-emergency number.)

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
After owning the original 1995 Honda CR-V, I was intrigued to try the latest sixth-generation model. And this time, the Japanese brand has gone big.

It's 80 mm (3 in) longer with a 40 mm (1.5 in) longer wheelbase than the one it replaces.

It's also more than 7.6 in longer, 3.3 in wider, with a 3 in longer wheelbase and half an inch lower than the 1990s first-generation CR-V.

Growing reputation: Sixth-generation CR-V hybrids are larger than the original

I drove the new first Plug-In Hybrid version, which you can charge up at home to give you up to 50 miles of zero-emissions motoring. On longdistance trips, there's no EV range anxiety and a maximum total range of 513 miles.

The CR-V 'e:Phev' is powered by a 148 hp, 2-litre petrol engine which also charges up an onboard 17.7 kWh electric battery-generator supplying additional electric power, giving a total of 180 hp.

Acceleration from rest to 62 mph is 9.4 seconds up to 121 mph.

Performance, especially in sport mode, is much more energetic and engaging than I'd expected, while styling  particularly the interior  remains conservative and distinctly unflashy.

But that's never troubled Honda buyers who put more store on practicality and reliability. Properly and regularly serviced, CR-Vs seem to go on for ever, though older models can be thirsty on fuel  something the PHEV helps resolve. Fully charged, it offers up to 353 mpg equivalent, dropping to around 45.5 mpg without charge.

The original CR-V cost around 16,000. My highly specced e:Phev is 53,995. The standard hybrid starts from 45,895, up almost 5,000 on its predecessor. Order books open on Monday for deliveries from October.

Ray owned from launch  and drove for many years a fetching 'passion orange' shade  the original 1995 CR-V

Available only as a five-seater, there's lots of space for rear passengers whose seats recline in eight steps by 10.5 degrees.

Riding on 18 in wheels, it also gains an extra 72 litres of boot space  658 litres in total  because the batteries are under the floor.

A system which projects the blind spot behind you onto the screen when turning left helps spot cyclists on your inside.

After owning the original 1995 Honda CR-V, Ray was intrigued to try the latest sixth-generation mode

It's 80 mm (3 in) longer with a 40 mm (1.5 in) longer wheelbase than the one it replaces

Acceleration from rest to 62 mph is 9.4 seconds up to 121 mph

Available only as a five-seater, there's lots of space for rear passengers whose seats recline in eight steps by 10.5 degrees.

 Slide me  Riding on 18 in wheels, it also gains an extra 72 litres of boot space  658 litres in total  because the batteries are under the floor

I speak from experience as I owned from launch  and drove for many years in a fetching 'passion orange' shade  the original 1995 CR-V (which arrived in the UK in 1997) which redefined and arguably created the family recreational SUV market. Along with the Toyota RAV4 it provided 'soft-roader' 4X4s with car-like driving manners that suit domestic grass-and-gravel off-roading, but nothing too extreme . I've also owned subsequent generations of the CR-V.

Charging the new CR-V plug-in hybrid takes 2.5 hours. The 50 miles of EV-only range provided is ideal for daily commutes and school runs - to save on fuel and CO2 emissions.

How they compare on size First generation Sixth generation Length: 4510 mm Width: 1780 mm Height: 1678 mm Wheelbase: 2620 mm Length: 4705 mm (+195 mm) Width: 1865 mm (+85 mm) Height: 1665 mm (-13 mm) Wheelbase: 2700 mm (+80 mm)

As well as sport mode, you can also choose Normal, Eco, Snow and Tow. When pulling a trailer or caravan, 'Tow' mode uses sat-nav to predict when to save battery power for predicted steep inclines ahead.

Another first is the front cross traffic which warns the driver of out-of-sight cars approaching as you nose out from tricky blind-sided T-junctions. It works.

Head-up display is great and Parking Pilot helps automatically park your car into a tight space. There's even a volume control button on the central dashboard screen, as well as on the steering wheel.

My initial reaction on seeing the new and larger sixth-generation CR-V was: 'My, how you've grown.'

But after driving it I'm more tempted to say: 'My, how you've grown up.'

Vauxhall banishes 'boring'

Here's a glimpse of things to come from Vauxhall which aims to banish 'boring' from its design vocabulary.

The car shown above is expected to be the basis of a sporty new Manta fastback coupe  but the overall styling will be used on all future Vauxhall models.

Vauxhall Experimental: A glimpse of things to come from Vauxhall which aims to banish 'boring' from its design vocabulary

Codenamed Vauxhall Experimental, the battery-electric crossover has its world premiere at this year's IAA Mobility in Munich, from September 5 to 10, which replaces Germany's Frankfurt Motor Show.

The vehicle is based on parent company Stellantis's battery electric platform, is all-wheel drive, dispenses completely with chrome trim and showcases Vauxhall's 'pioneering spirit.'

Mark Adams, vice-president for design at Vauxhall and its German sibling Opel said: 'Our new Vauxhall Experimental gives shape to our vision of the future.'
Artificial Intelligence has captured mainstream attention over the past year like never before.

While AI has been a part of the public consciousness for decades to some degree, it has recently taken a major leap forward. The emergence of ChatGPT showing how powerful the tech has now become.

Investors have taken note. From the largest institutions running trillions of pounds to individuals looking after a nest egg of a few thousand, AI is an investment trend being watched very closely.

The sector is moving at break-neck speed. OpenAIs ChatGPT, also known as GPT 3.5, became GPT 4 within a few months. Recently, Elon Musk announced the creation of X.AI, which he hopes will rival OpenAI and the other players in the space.

Artificial Intelligence has captured mainstream attention over the past year like never before

So-called Large Language Models (LLMs) used to power generative AI oracles like ChatGPT and Google Bard are just one application of the rising technology. There is a myriad of other opportunities emerging.

From self-driving cars to achieving medical breakthroughs, there is virtually no limit to the possibilities for AI.

The key for investors is to identify the most promising and potentially lucrative entry points within the flood of options.

There are some obvious plays of course, such as Nvidia and AMD.

These tech companies provide a large portion of the graphic processing units (GPUs) OpenAI and others use to power their algorithms and build the models. They are commonly referred to with the catch-all phrase chip makers but this doesnt do their specialism justice.

In these cases, much of the near and mid-term upside will already be priced in though because everyone is thinking the same thing. Nvidia has surged 177 per cent over the past year to $470 (365) per share, as of 19 July (5-year performance: 536 per cent).

To see some big profits others havent spotted yet, investors may need to expand their horizons and think laterally.

From self-driving cars to achieving medical breakthroughs, there is virtually no limit to the possibilities for AI

There are a number of sectors and companies that stand to potentially benefit greatly from advances in AI away from the GPU makers, and tech giants Google (Alphabet) and Microsoft.

Smart investors will look beyond companies where the AI itself is the product. Those which form the supply chains for the GPU firms are a good place to start.

While Nvidia and others have their name on the final products, they work with a variety of computer component suppliers and manufacturing partners to bring their offerings to market.

There is also great potential to be found in companies which use AI to become more profitable in a separate industry entirely.

Companies with complex logistics needs like retailers are a good example of this, as are management consultants, which can sell expertise in AI-based services to their corporate clients.

eToros Global Markets Strategist Ben Laidler

We asked eToros Global Markets Strategist Ben Laidler for his take on this exciting investment opportunity.

'Artificial intelligence is now moving from investment hope to reality as first movers Nvidia and Microsoft start to see big boosts to their sales,' he said.

The next driver will be as these early AI use cases spread across the broader tech sector and then across the whole economy.

Laidler added that specific use cases and company winners remain uncertain to some degree, but the broader adoption trend is not in doubt and can be broken down into three parts.

Firstly, pick and shovel suppliers of the needed hardware like Seagate, TSMC, ASML, or lesser-followed AI product pioneers like BAIDU.

Second, there are the consultants and software companies helping companies get the best from AI. These include companies like Accenture, IBM, and SAP.

The third set are those companies standing to benefit the most, or moving quickest, to capture the efficiency benefits. Examples here include the likes of supermarket giant Walmart and BT Group.

Smart investors will look beyond companies where the AI itself is the product

Nine AI stocks to look at

Here is Laidlers full set of picks that fit the bill.

1. SEAGATE  The provider of mass-data storage to data centres and cloud-based services will benefit as AI drives an ever-higher need for their offerings.

2. TSMC  The worlds largest semiconductor foundry will make the AI chips designed by Nvidia and other GPU suppliers such as AMD.

3. ASML  Monopoly maker of the high-end lithography equipment essential to the increasing miniaturization of computer chips.

4. BAIDU  Chinas internet search leader is leading the local AI race with its Ernie model said to be outperforming ChatGPT in some ways.

5. ACCENTURE  The worlds largest IT consulting firm will be called in by those grappling with how to adapt to AI.

6. IBM - The Watson inventor is a big provider of AI, cloud, and consulting services and could also cut 30,000 jobs thanks to AI based efficiencies.

7. SAP  The third largest software company in the world and enterprise resource planning (ERP) leader is helping companies benefit from advances in AI.

8. BT GROUP  Britains telecoms giant is taking a lead in AI produced cost savings with plans for 55,000 job cuts - 40% of its workforce - partly thanks to AI.

9. WALMART  The worlds largest retailer. There are opportunities to use AI to cut costs in its massive global supply chain and reduce its 2.2 million employees.

You can invest in all these stocks on eToro.

While picking individual stocks which may tap into AI successfully may be a good option, there are other ways to gain exposure to the theme.

A diversified approach can reduce your risk versus attempting to pick a small handful of AI winners.

eToros Smart Portfolio AI-Revolution is one way to do this.

By consolidating multiple AI stocks into a single basket, investors can gain access to a well-curated and diversified selection of opportunities with a single investment.

eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This communication is for information and education purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice, a personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without taking into account any particular recipients investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past or future performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as, a reliable indicator of future results. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication.
The last six months has seen a more than 27 per cent jump in the number of investment funds described by analysts as serious and persistent underperformers, research reveals.

BestInvest's latest 'Spot the Dog' report shows a combined 46.2billion of savings are withering in so-called 'dog' funds, up a whopping 142 per cent since February's total of 19.1billion.

There are thousands of funds on offer to UK investors across a variety of asset classes, sectors and regions, making it difficult for the average DIY fund buyer to work out the best place to park their cash.

But twice a year Bestinvest names and shames underperforming investment funds, with the investment platform's Spot the Dog report revealing which funds belong in the dog house and which have exceeded expectations.

In the dog house: Bestinvest has published its list of 'dog funds' which have underperformed the benchmark over 3 years

Which big name funds are in the dog house?

The report reveals that 56 equity funds have been identified as serious and persistent underperformers, a 27 per cent increase on the 44 funds named in Februarys report.

The investment giant with most vehicles in the list is St. Jamess Place with six funds on the list, twice as many as any other individual fund group.

It currently has 29.3billion held across these funds, 63 per cent of the total dog fund assets in the survey. The second worst performer, Artemis, has just 5.8 per cent.

There are three SJP funds from the global sector - Global Quality, Global Growth and International Equity - as well as two European and one emerging market fund.

Artemis has three dog funds, namely its two US funds - North America and North American Smaller Companies - largely because theyve been underweight Apple, Nvidia and Tesla, and were exposed to the now-defunct First Republic Bank.

Its Global Select fund is also on the list.

Other notable inclusions are Columbia Threadneedle which has four funds on this years list, with combined assets of 1.9billion, and abrdn which has two funds on the list, down from three in the last report.

BNY Mellon and M&G dodged the list entirely, while Baillie Gifford had just one fund on the list.

How does a fund get labelled a dog?

Global stock markets have enjoyed a better year than last year, but the biggest gains have been made by megacaps - or the world's largest companies - that have benefited from interest in artificial intelligence.

While more global funds have entered the dog house, Bestinvest doesnt name and shame a fund just because theres been some market volatility.

Instead it looks at funds that have a more deep-rooted problem to address, rather than just a short-term wobble. To qualify as a dog, a fund must have delivered a worse return than the market it invests in for each of the last three years.

This rules out those that have just had a bad year, but it is worth noting that many experts prefer to judge funds on their five or even ten-year performance.

Secondly, a fund must also have underperformed the returns delivered by the market by more than 5 per cent over the three-year period under review.

It only looks at funds that have share classes open to retail investors, taking out those only accessible to institutional investors.

Which funds have done particularly badly?

Global funds are in the kennel of shame, with 24 funds making the list up from 11 funds last time. It represents 15 per cent of overall assets in the sector, up from 3 per cent last time, equivalent to 32.14billion.

Global funds have had a rocky ride as the benchmarks came to be dominated by the US and technology. Bestinvest suggests many managers have been wrongfooted by 2022s selloff and then again in 2023, with big technology names and the US market coming out top again.

St Jamess Place funds make up 26.05billion of this, with its 11.47billion Global Quality fund, 7.09billion Global Equity and 7.49billion Global Growth funds making the list.

Other big names include Columbia Threadneedles Responsible Global Equity fund, one of a number of responsible/sustainable funds on the list.

Also shamed are FP WHEB Sustainability Fund, Jupiter Global Sustainable Euqities Fund and the Sarasin Responsible Global Equity fund.

While the exclusion of fossil fuels may have been a drag on performance last year, Bestinvest says it should not have made the difference between a good and bad fund.

There were five UK All Companies funds, just 3 per cent of the overall market, but it still accounts for 3.4billion of assets.

Scottish Widows UK Growth has been a repeat offender say Bestinvest, showing no sign of better behaviour. Other funds include The Unicorn Outstanding British Companies fund, which has struggled with its higher weighting in small and medium-sized companies, Trojan Income and AXA Framlington UK Sustainable Equity.

The Invesco UK Equity High Income is now out of the dog house having responded to the discipline imposed by new managers Ciaran Mallon and James Goldstone.

Which funds are a better breed?

Some sectors are better-behaved than others, with Japans smaller companies and emerging markets having just one or two dog funds to their name.

After trailing its international peers, Japan has seen somewhat of a revival this year. A slump in the Yen has boosted the competitiveness of Japanese exports and the value of overseas earnings for Japanese companies.

The 183million T Rowe Price Japanese fund, which made the list, makes up 1 per cent of overall assets in the sector. Bestinvest says its growth approach has not found favour.

There were also no global equity income funds on the list this year because of the revival in dividend investing.

What to do with your savings if theyre in a dog fund

While the report highlights some of the worst performing funds, it is not a list of funds that should be sold automatically because past performance is not necessarily a guide to how well the fund will perform in the future.

Jason Hollands, managing director of Bestinvest said: Of course, every fund manager will go through weaker periods  whether that is a run of bad luck, or they are sticking to a style or process that may be temporarily out of fashion.

'Identifying whether these are short-term or structural factors is key and investors should ask some questions before deciding to stick with a fund or switch.

Things to consider include whether a fund has become too big, which might constrain its agility, or if there have been subtle but important changes in the management team.

'Also, is the manager straying from a previously successful approach or are they now too burdened with additional responsibilities?
The word of the month in the property world is 'resilience'. It has been used by Halifax to describe the state of the residential market, and by the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey.

Unveiling the housebuilder's latest results, Jennie Daly said: 'I am pleased that we have delivered a resilient performance, with first-half completions slightly ahead of our expectations.'

Performance at Bellway has also been 'resilient', according to Jason Honeyman, the group's chief executive.

Bricks and mortar: Taking a bet now on housebuilder shares involves looking beyond their falling profit margins, their declining sales and other dispiriting details of their circumstances

In light of the gloomy forecasts for house prices, these assessments will seem surprising to some  and delusional to others.

But I would argue that they are a signal to take a closer look at housebuilders, against the background of what Alan Dobbie, co-manager of the Rathbone Income fund, calls 'our cultural relationship with property  and the long-term structural need for more housing'.

At present, housebuilders face huge obstacles. These difficulties are economic and political.

Would-be homebuyers have been hit by sharply higher living and borrowing costs. The average five-year mortgage rate is 6.06 per cent, against 3.81 per cent a year ago.

Such has been the increase in rates that there is a new word to describe certain young professionals who have 'given up on property ownership' the Guppies.

Both the Government and Labour make much of their aspirations to deliver more homes, with housing likely to be a key general election battleground.

But the official target of building 300,000 homes a year in England was abolished in late 2022, and the Help to Buy scheme was withdrawn in March this year.

Taking a bet now on housebuilder shares involves looking beyond their falling profit margins, their declining sales and other dispiriting details of their current circumstances.

It represents a gamble on the companies' resilience  which should be supported by their cash reserves and their land banks.

The Artemis Alpha investment trust holds Berkeley Homes, Bellway and Redrow because, as the managers John Dodd and Kartik Kumar point out, 'the UK faces an accumulated supply deficit of over 1m homes'.

London is calculated to need about 90,000 new homes with a value of under 1m a year. Since 2020, some 30,000 have been delivered. This underlines the extent of the opportunities nationwide, which housebuilders are ready to seize when the time comes.

Richard Donnell, head of research at the Zoopla platform, says: 'I sense that they are hunkering down until the next election, and hoping for some more leadership on new development and the need for more homes.'

In the meantime, these companies are better positioned than before to withstand the slowdown.

Dobbie says: 'At the start of the global financial crisis in 2007-2008, the balance sheets of many housebuilders were in a difficult state.

'But this time around they have been preparing for a downturn, pulling back from land purchases; their balance sheets are strong.'

Rathbone Income has stakes in Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Redrow and Persimmon and Redrow. Shares in the first four have risen since the start of the year, but Persimmon's price has fallen by 7 per cent, reflecting the view that it is reliant on first-time buyers.

It would be tempting to assume that you should apportion some cash to all the housebuilders' shares and sit back and wait for better times. But this may not be a restful experience, given the prediction that the sector's output may not return to its 2021 level until 2026.

Oli Creasey, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, argues in favour of being more discerning.

He suggests avoiding Persimmon, and also Vistry which has less of a cash buffer than its peers.

He says: 'In our view Taylor Wimpey is the company best-placed to weather the ongoing storm, with a very comfortable net cash position and one of the lowest overall gearing ratios in the sector  at around 4 per cent.'

The gearing ratio is a measure of company's debts to shareholders' capital. Creasey also cites Berkeley. This group is more dependent than the rest on the South East and London, where there is most downward pressure on prices, as Halifax reports. But there should be demand from overseas buyers exploiting sterling's weakness to acquire prime pieces of London real estate.

Berkeley's dividend yield is 5.93 per cent. Taylor Wimpey offers 8 per cent. The whole sector is generous towards shareholders.

Think of these payouts as some recompense for the volatility of housebuilder shares, which even the sector's biggest fans admit that they can find unnerving.

The ups and downs are accentuated by the incessant flow of property news  it is a national obsession, after all.
CC Japan Income & Growth Trust plc (LON:CCJI  Get Free Report) insider June Aitken bought 380 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 167 ($2.13) per share, with a total value of 634.60 ($810.99).

CC Japan Income & Growth Trust Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of CCJI opened at GBX 165.50 ($2.12) on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of 222.98 million and a P/E ratio of 1,837.56. CC Japan Income & Growth Trust plc has a twelve month low of GBX 130.50 ($1.67) and a twelve month high of GBX 174.81 ($2.23). The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 165.16 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 158.60.

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CC Japan Income & Growth Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 6th were issued a GBX 1.55 ($0.02) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. CC Japan Income & Growth Trusts payout ratio is 5,555.56%.

CC Japan Income & Growth Trust Company Profile

CC Japan Income & Growth Trust plc is an equity mutual fund launched and managed by Coupland Cardiff Asset Management LLP. It invests in the equity markets of Japan. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across the diversified sectors. CC Japan Income & Growth Trust plc was formed in 2013 and is domiciled in the United Kingdom.

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Gooch & Housego PLC (LON:GHH  Get Free Report) insider Susan Searle purchased 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 557 ($7.12) per share, with a total value of 5,570 ($7,118.21).

Susan Searle also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Wednesday, June 21st, Susan Searle purchased 1,700 shares of Gooch & Housego stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 639 ($8.17) per share, with a total value of 10,863 ($13,882.43).

Gooch & Housego Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of GHH opened at GBX 558 ($7.13) on Friday. Gooch & Housego PLC has a 1 year low of GBX 388 ($4.96) and a 1 year high of GBX 868 ($11.09). The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 599.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 549.72. The stock has a market cap of 141.56 million, a PE ratio of -13,950.00 and a beta of 1.02.

Gooch & Housego Cuts Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 22nd were issued a GBX 4.80 ($0.06) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.86%. Gooch & Housegos payout ratio is presently -32,500.00%.

Separately, Peel Hunt reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 750 ($9.58) price target on shares of Gooch & Housego in a report on Tuesday, June 6th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GHH

Gooch & Housego Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Gooch & Housego PLC engages in the manufacture and sale of acousto-optics, electro-optics, fiber optics, and precision optics and systems in the United Kingdom, North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Aerospace and Defence, Life Sciences/Biophotonics, and Industrial.

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The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc (LON:EDIN  Get Free Report) insider Aidan Lisser acquired 1,540 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 655 ($8.37) per share, with a total value of 10,087 ($12,890.73).

The Edinburgh Investment Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of LON EDIN opened at GBX 659 ($8.42) on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of 1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -1,116.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 3.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 646.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 660.98.

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The Edinburgh Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 8th were paid a dividend of GBX 6.70 ($0.09) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. This represents a yield of 1.02%. The Edinburgh Investment Trusts payout ratio is -4,406.78%.

About The Edinburgh Investment Trust

The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Majedie Asset Management Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United Kingdom. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in dividend paying growth stocks of companies.

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Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc (LON:MINI  Get Free Report) insider Peter Dicks bought 168,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1 ($0.01) per share, for a total transaction of 1,680 ($2,146.96).

Peter Dicks also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, August 4th, Peter Dicks acquired 31,778 shares of Miton UK MicroCap Trust stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1 ($0.01) per share, with a total value of 317.78 ($406.11).

On Tuesday, May 30th, Peter Dicks acquired 100,000 shares of Miton UK MicroCap Trust stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1 ($0.01) per share, with a total value of 1,000 ($1,277.96).

Miton UK MicroCap Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

MINI opened at GBX 55 ($0.70) on Friday. Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc has a 52-week low of GBX 51 ($0.65) and a 52-week high of GBX 72 ($0.92). The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 54.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 58.50. The company has a market cap of 52.05 million and a P/E ratio of -95.53.

Miton UK MicroCap Trust Announces Dividend

About Miton UK MicroCap Trust

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 28th will be paid a dividend of GBX 0.15 ($0.00) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a yield of 0.29%. Miton UK MicroCap Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently -0.02%.

(Get Free Report)

Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Miton Trust Managers Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United Kingdom. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in stocks of micro-cap companies having market capitalizations of less than 150 million.

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CMC Markets plc (LON:CMCX  Get Free Report) insider Euan Marshall bought 224 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 134 ($1.71) per share, for a total transaction of 300.16 ($383.59).

CMC Markets Stock Performance

Shares of CMC Markets stock opened at GBX 131 ($1.67) on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of 366.56 million, a P/E ratio of 882.67 and a beta of 0.51. CMC Markets plc has a 52 week low of GBX 128.80 ($1.65) and a 52 week high of GBX 271.26 ($3.47). The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The firms 50 day moving average is GBX 155.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 189.89.

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CMC Markets Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 13th will be issued a GBX 3.90 ($0.05) dividend. This is an increase from CMC Marketss previous dividend of $3.50. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. CMC Marketss dividend payout ratio is presently 4,666.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CMCX. Shore Capital upgraded shares of CMC Markets to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating and issued a GBX 190 ($2.43) price target on shares of CMC Markets in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CMC Markets

CMC Markets Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CMC Markets plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online retail financial services to retail, professional, stockbroking, and institutional clients in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, and internationally. The company offers its clients with the ability to trade contracts for difference and financial spread betting on a range of underlying shares, including indices, foreign currencies, commodities, and treasuries through its trading platform.

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At what point did my life become accessible only on vacation? Azahara Alonso asked herself when she arrived in Gozo, a small island in Malta. There, the Spanish philosopher intended to regain control and enjoy life on sabbatical; her only purpose was to be unproductive. Things turned out well for her, as she began to create Gozo, a novel essay in which she reflects on free time and tourism; its poetic praise of laziness. I often wonder how long it takes to do nothing, she reflects in its pages. Alonso devoted a year to doing that. She was able to do so thanks to a scholarship, a frugal lifestyle and some not-so-regular jobs, as she recounts in her book. Its partly fictionalized, the experience wasnt exactly the same, she says in an exchange of audio messages. For her, as for most people, this lifestyle is only available during vacation.

One of summers greatest pleasures is taking off ones watch. In doing so, one sees how the mark it leaves on the wrist, the snowy shadow of routine, begins to fade from our skin. As the sun erases the signs of our real life, that life begins to seem stranger, more alien, until it disappears. The nagging question of what time is it? begins to be replaced by much more interesting ones like what are we having for dinner today? Schedules begin to fray around the edges. They cease to be dictated by the clock and are instead governed anarchically by the sun, hunger, leisure and sleep. One begins to lose track of time but get healthier. And when enough time has passed, the calendar blurs as well, and one doesnt quite know what day of the week it is.

The mind cant perceive time directly, explained Adam Osth, a memory psychologist at the University of Melbourne, in an article in The Conversation. But there are often a number of cues in our environments that signal what day it is. These cues are usually work-related: on weekdays you take public transport, you go to the office, you eat out of Tupperware. On Wednesdays, you have painting or perhaps swimming. On Fridays, you go out with friends and on Sundays you eat at your parents house. And then its back to square one. But these signals are altered when we go on vacation.

In particular, this happens when we visit a place weve seen a thousand times: we are not tourists but simple loafers, and we travel back to childhood rather than to a specific geographical destination. I think it recaptures that way of living, this break that connects with what is most human, which [is] not having the sense of wasting time, but rather of enjoying it, reflects Alonso.

Two people rest in the sun on the Malvarrosa beach, in Valencia. Biel Alino (EFE)

The history of the clock is closely tied to the history of capitalism. In agricultural economies, time was more in tune with the natural rhythms of days and seasons. But with industrialization and the advent of railroads in the early 20th century, humanity was forced to establish rigorous timekeeping. Tiny clocks clung to workers arms like mechanical ticks. You could know what time it was at any hour. Julio Cortazar used to say that when someone gives you a watch, in reality, you are the gift. And that is what happened. Millions of watches were bought and given away, tying us to time. Since then, the working day has conditioned our lives, establishing even free time as priced, measured and timed.

In 2019, the Norwegian island of Sommaroy declared that it was abolishing time to become the worlds first time-free zone. The news was too good to be true: within days, it was found to be part of an advertising campaign. But the ads virality made society ask a tantalizing question: can we stop measuring time?

There are three times that govern our chronobiology, explains Maria de los Angeles Rol de Lama, a professor of Physiology and the director of the Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Murcia (Spain), in a telephone conversation. There is the internal one, which influences our biological clock; the environmental one, which is mainly comprised of natural light-dark cycles, and the social one. The last onewhich is determined by our work schedules and measured to the second by clocksis the one that relaxes during the holiday period, and it is the one that we could abolish, letting the other two govern our lives.

Our internal clock, defined by so-called circadian rhythms, is not exact and varies from person to person. There are night owls and early birds, the expert explains. Morning people are active right away, and in the evening, they lose steam quickly. Night owls are the opposite, she adds. During vacation, night owls and early birds fly freely, but sooner or later they must return to their cages. Then, they put a watch on their wrists like a flattering new shackle and submit to capitalisms strict schedules.

Thats what Azahara Alonso had to do, figuratively speaking, when she returned to Spain. Although she abides by its dictates (its impossible to detach oneself), she maintains an aversion to the clock and a vague fear of the calendar. They give too clear an idea of finitude and how we are wasting hours on unchosen obligations that are [necessary for survival], she explains in a final WhatsApp audio message. She then apologizes for the format of the conversation. She would have preferred to have a phone chat with her interviewer, but shes swamped and doesnt have time. You know, Im hung up on the clock, she laments.

Five summers when the author completely lost track of time The summer I discovered Stephen King: I may have been physically in Javea, Spain, but mentally I spent two months in Maine, the setting for all of the author's novels. I was 14 years old, and I was fascinated. I read his books on the beach, smearing them with sunscreen and sand; on the sofa in my apartment, while everyone else was napping; in my bed, until the wee hours of the morning.... The summer I learned to catch a wave: Once, at a job interview, the human resources manager asked me about my greatest virtue. I told him that I could catch a wave. Not with a surfboard or anything, just with my hands. I even did the pose, with both arms raised as if I were Superman stranded on land or an exalted man of indistinct ideology. Obviously, I didn't get hired, but the anecdote serves to illustrate that the summer I learned to surf bareback was the happiest of my life. I still think that knowing how to catch a wave is my greatest virtue. The first summer I got a failing grade: Many students experience failure as a drama. For me, it was an escape, an excuse to stay home alone for the first time, at the age of 16. So, I exchanged my Stephen King books for math books and the waves for parks at sunset. Madrid in August is an empty and fascinating city, a movie set where, for the first time, I was the main character. My summers in Ibiza: For a while, I had the best job in the world. I wrote for the magazine of a famous Ibizan nightclub. Basically, my job consisted of going to clubs, restaurants, beaches and concerts and writing about it. The only schedule I had was the one set by the printer once a month. Checking which DJ was working that night was the most practical way to know what day of the week it was. My honeymoon: There is nothing in the world tackier than a honeymoon trip to all-inclusive Caribbean resorts. There's also nothing cooler. All I had to worry about was where we were going to eat (and drink), which temples and cenotes we had to visit and which paradisiacal beach wed go to for a swim. Besides, it's a 15-day vacation given to you by the state and a trip given to you by your guests. You have to get married more often.

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Vanquis Banking Group plc (LON:VANQ  Get Free Report) insider Graham Lindsay bought 16,693 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 119 ($1.52) per share, for a total transaction of 19,864.67 ($25,386.16).

Vanquis Banking Group Price Performance

VANQ stock opened at GBX 114 ($1.46) on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 182.82. Vanquis Banking Group plc has a 12-month low of GBX 110.40 ($1.41) and a 12-month high of GBX 248.40 ($3.17). The stock has a market capitalization of 289.45 million, a PE ratio of 356.25 and a beta of 1.55.

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Vanquis Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th will be given a GBX 5 ($0.06) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. Vanquis Banking Groups payout ratio is 4,687.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VANQ shares. Numis Securities reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 655 ($8.37) target price on shares of Vanquis Banking Group in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. Shore Capital reiterated a house stock rating on shares of Vanquis Banking Group in a research report on Friday, July 28th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on VANQ

About Vanquis Banking Group

(Get Free Report)

Vanquis Banking Group plc provides personal credit products to the non-standard lending market in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It offers credit cards products, and unsecured personal loans products. The company also provides vehicle finance for cars, motorbikes, and light commercial vehicles.

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Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW  Get Free Report) and Otsuka (OTCMKTS:OSUKF  Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Arrow Electronics and Otsukas 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 Arrow Electronics $37.12 billion 0.19 $1.43 billion $19.65 6.43 Otsuka N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Arrow Electronics has higher revenue and earnings than Otsuka.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Arrow Electronics 3.35% 22.19% 5.92% Otsuka N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Ratings

This table compares Arrow Electronics and Otsukas net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Arrow Electronics and Otsuka, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Arrow Electronics 1 4 1 0 2.00 Otsuka 1 0 0 0 1.00

Arrow Electronics currently has a consensus price target of $129.57, indicating a potential upside of 2.61%. Given Arrow Electronics stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Arrow Electronics is more favorable than Otsuka.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.6% of Arrow Electronics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Arrow Electronics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Arrow Electronics beats Otsuka on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arrow Electronics

(Get Free Report)

Arrow Electronics, Inc. provides products, services, and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Global Components and Global Enterprise Computing Solutions. The Global Components segment markets and distributes semiconductor products and related services; passive, electro-mechanical, and interconnect products, including capacitors, resistors, potentiometers, power supplies, relays, switches, and connectors; and computing and memory products, as well as other products and services. The Global Enterprise Computing Solutions segment offers computing solutions, such as datacenter, cloud, security, and analytics solutions. This segment provides access to various services, including engineering and integration support, warehousing and logistics, marketing resources, and authorized hardware and software training. The company serves original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, managed service providers, contract manufacturers, and other commercial customers. Arrow Electronics, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is based in Centennial, Colorado.

About Otsuka

(Get Free Report)

Otsuka Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of system integration, support, and other services in Japan. The System Integration Business segment offers management systems and collaborative software, such as ERP packages and groupware to cover a range of specialized fields, including CAD and web technologies; and provides software, hardware, intranet, and security products for the construction and expansion of computer networks, as well as intermediary services between manufacturers and system integrators. The segment also sells computers, copiers, and communications equipment and software; and develops consigned software. The Service and Support Business segment involved in the provision of emergency computer rescue services for corporate and individual clients; coordination of multi-vendor efforts consisting of pick-up, repair, and return of computers. The segment also offers 24/7 network support and comprehensive services for planning, design, construction, and operation of corporate information systems, as well as out-sources system engineers. It also provides educational support services. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Bank of America lowered shares of Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI  Free Report) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $10.00 price objective on the real estate investment trusts stock, down from their prior price objective of $12.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Douglas Emmett from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Douglas Emmett from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 4th. TheStreet lowered shares of Douglas Emmett from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Douglas Emmett from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $14.50.

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Douglas Emmett Stock Performance

Douglas Emmett Dividend Announcement

NYSE:DEI opened at $13.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Douglas Emmett has a fifty-two week low of $10.09 and a fifty-two week high of $22.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.35 and a beta of 0.99. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $13.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.20.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. Douglas Emmetts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 230.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Douglas Emmett

In other news, Director William E. Simon, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of Douglas Emmett stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.42 per share, for a total transaction of $124,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 91,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,130,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 13.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 88,337 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 218,255 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $7,294,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 97,549 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Douglas Emmett by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 73,366 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Douglas Emmett by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,540 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. 97.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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Humana (NYSE:HUM  Free Report) had its price objective raised by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $468.00 to $628.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance providers stock.

HUM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Humana from $610.00 to $541.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Humana from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $637.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Humana in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. They set an overweight rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Humana from $615.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $591.89.

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Humana Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HUM opened at $494.91 on Monday. Humana has a 52 week low of $423.29 and a 52 week high of $571.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $61.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.67. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $463.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $490.59.

Humana (NYSE:HUM  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The insurance provider reported $8.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $8.88 by $0.06. Humana had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 3.42%. The firm had revenue of $26.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.67 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Humana will post 28.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 45.5% in the second quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 8,000 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $3,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Humana by 474.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 104,518 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $10,928,000 after purchasing an additional 86,327 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Humana by 23.9% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,635 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Humana in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in Humana by 2.4% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.21% of the companys stock.

About Humana

(Get Free Report)

Humana Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Insurance and CenterWell. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It also has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits.

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Angel Oak Mortgage REIT (NYSE:AOMR  Get Free Report) and Forestar Group (NYSE:FOR  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.4% of Forestar Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Angel Oak Mortgage REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Forestar Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Forestar Groups revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Angel Oak Mortgage REIT -$67.48 million -3.54 -$187.83 million ($5.87) -1.64 Forestar Group $1.52 billion 1.00 $178.80 million $2.91 10.43

Analyst Ratings

Forestar Group has higher revenue and earnings than Angel Oak Mortgage REIT. Angel Oak Mortgage REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Forestar Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Forestar Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Angel Oak Mortgage REIT 1 1 1 0 2.00 Forestar Group 0 1 2 0 2.67

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT presently has a consensus target price of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.38%. Forestar Group has a consensus target price of $25.83, suggesting a potential downside of 14.88%. Given Angel Oak Mortgage REITs higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Angel Oak Mortgage REIT is more favorable than Forestar Group.

Profitability

This table compares Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Forestar Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Angel Oak Mortgage REIT -128.16% -11.30% -1.04% Forestar Group 11.45% 11.70% 6.19%

Risk and Volatility

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forestar Group has a beta of 1.65, suggesting that its share price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Forestar Group beats Angel Oak Mortgage REIT on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Angel Oak Mortgage REIT

(Get Free Report)

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT, Inc., a real estate finance company, focuses on acquiring and investing in first lien non- qualified mortgage loans and other mortgage-related assets in the United States mortgage market. It offers investment securities; residential mortgage loans; and commercial mortgage loans. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Angel Oak Mortgage REIT, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Forestar Group

(Get Free Report)

Forestar Group Inc. operates as a residential lot development company in the United States. The acquires land and develops infrastructure for single-family residential communities. It sells its residential single-family finished lots to local, regional, and national homebuilders. The company is headquartered in Arlington, Texas. Forestar Group Inc. is a subsidiary of D.R. Horton, Inc.

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Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR  Free Report) by 17.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,809 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 37,356 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Ventas worth $10,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 53.8% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 806 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the companys stock.

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Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $43.56 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $47.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.84. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.33 and a 1 year high of $53.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 229.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.20.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 30th. Ventass dividend payout ratio is presently 947.42%.

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $60.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued an overweight rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $57.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ventas from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.90.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ventas

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,242 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.57, for a total transaction of $52,871.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,156.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ventas Company Profile

(Free Report)

Ventas Inc, an S&P 500 company, operates at the intersection of two large and dynamic industries healthcare and real estate. Fueled by powerful demographic demand from growth in the aging population, Ventas owns a diversified portfolio of over 1,200 properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 665,005 shares of the technology companys stock after buying an additional 29,512 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $10,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. New Hampshire Trust purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. First Manhattan Co. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 89.4% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,413 shares of the technology companys stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1,019.8% in the 1st quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the period. 81.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HPE. Barclays cut their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. They set a neutral rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $16.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CFO Tarek Robbiati sold 159,180 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.01, for a total value of $2,548,471.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,073 shares in the company, valued at $2,546,758.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 33,417 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $534,672.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,776 shares in the company, valued at $156,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tarek Robbiati sold 159,180 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 0.3 %

HPE opened at $17.62 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52 week low of $11.90 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.77. The firm has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 30th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 5.05% and a net margin of 3.46%. Hewlett Packard Enterprises revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Hewlett Packard Enterprises dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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The Detroit police chief said hes setting new policies on the use of facial-recognition technology after a woman who was eight months pregnant said she was wrongly charged with robbery and carjacking in a case that was ultimately dismissed by prosecutors.

The technology, which was used on images taken from gas station video, produced leads in the case but was followed by very poor police work, Chief James White said.

We want to ensure that nothing like this happens again, White said Wednesday.

His comments came two days after the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced a lawsuit on behalf of Porcha Woodruff, a 32-year-old Black woman, who was arrested in February while trying to get children ready for school. There have been two similar lawsuits against Detroit.

Woodruff was identified as a suspect in a January robbery and carjacking through facial-recognition technology. She denied any role. The Wayne County prosecutors office said charges later were dropped because the victim did not appear in court.

White said his officers will not be allowed to use facial-recognition-derived images in a photographic lineup. Period.

He said two captains must review arrest warrants when facial technology is used in a case, among other changes. The new policies will be presented to the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners.

White said there must be other evidence, outside the technology, for police to believe a suspect had the means, ability and opportunity to commit the crime.

Critics say the technology results in a higher rate of misidentification of people of color. Woodruffs lawsuit says facial recognition identified her, although the victim had never described the carjacker as visibly pregnant.

She spent hours in jail following her arrest.

Its particularly difficult when youre talking about someone who was eight months pregnant, so we empathize with that, White said. We recognize we have to do better and there will be accountability on this mistake.

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 20:33 | All, World, Japan

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Football: Japan exit Women's World Cup with 2-1 last-8 loss to Sweden

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Japan's women's football team exited the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Sweden following a nail-biting finish to their quarterfinal Friday at Auckland's Eden Park.

Sweden led 2-0 before substitute Honoka Hayashi breathed life back into Japan's campaign in the 87th minute, with the 2011 champions pushing desperately for an equalizer during more than 10 minutes of stoppage time.

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U.S., Japan, Australia, India begin joint naval exercise in Sydney

SYDNEY - The naval forces of the United States, Japan, Australia and India began their Malabar joint defense exercise in Sydney on Friday, marking the first time Australia has hosted the war games amid China's growing assertiveness in the region.

The four Indo-Pacific nations, part of a cooperation framework known as the Quad, will conduct joint training involving maritime and air defense drills through Aug. 21 in Sydney Harbor and off Australia's east coast, with some 2,000 personnel taking part, including around 170 Japanese.

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Japan sees heavy summer holiday traffic after COVID-19 downgrade

TOKYO - Travelers flooded airports and train stations in Tokyo and other cities in Japan on Friday to head to their hometowns in the first summer holiday season since the legal status of COVID-19 was downgraded to the same category as seasonal flu.

Travelers lined up for security checks at Haneda airport in Tokyo, but some were concerned about a powerful incoming typhoon that is expected to bring stormy weather from around Monday to the country's eastern and western regions.

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Family to face murder charges over decapitated man found in Sapporo

SAPPORO - Police plan to serve a fresh arrest warrant to a woman and her parents over the death of a man found decapitated in Sapporo, northern Japan, charging them with murder, investigative sources said Friday.

Runa Tamura, 29, her father, Osamu, a 59-year-old psychiatrist, and her mother, Hiroko, 60, were first arrested in July on suspicion of mutilating and abandoning a corpse.

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FEATURE: Cancer-suffering doctor helping terminal patients die with dignity

TOKYO - A leading palliative care doctor, who himself is battling stage-4 cancer, continues to pursue his life's work of providing in-home support to terminally ill patients to allow them to live their final days with dignity.

Fumio Yamazaki, 75, started his career as a doctor at a hospital in the 1970s and witnessed first-hand the suffering and despair of people dying of cancer in hospital wards.

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Holidaymakers to boost spending as Japan growth at tipping point

TOKYO - Summer holidays without COVID-related curbs, higher bonuses and a travel demand comeback appear to signal consumers are ready to ramp up spending, in a boon to the Japanese economy.

For the Bon holidays in mid-August, bookings for domestic flights offered by major Japanese airlines have returned to some 94 percent of 2019 levels and those for shinkansen bullet trains and other local lines are also near pre-pandemic levels.

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Japan's smoking rates continue to decline for men, women in 2022

TOKYO - Smoking rates for men and women in Japan continued to fall in 2022, a health ministry survey showed, highlighting increased health consciousness and the impact of a revised law to crack down on secondhand smoke.

The male smoking rate dropped 3.4 percentage points from the previous survey in 2019 to 25.4 percent, while the female smoking rate was down 1.1 points to 7.7 percent.

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Death toll in Hawaii wildfire rises to 53, national disaster declared

HONOLULU - Local authorities on Hawaii's Maui Island said Thursday 17 additional fatalities have been confirmed in the wildfires which began earlier in the week, bringing the death toll to 53.

U.S. President Joe Biden approved the same day a national disaster declaration for Hawaii, making federal funding available to affected local residents.

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Video: Gobies in a Wakayama stream
KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 09:49 | All, World

The U.N. Security Council will hold next week its first formal, open meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea since 2017, the United States said Thursday, as this month's rotating chair of the panel.

The meeting is scheduled to be held on Aug. 17, following a request by Albania, Japan, South Korea and the United States, according to a joint statement from the countries delivered by U.S. Ambassador to the world body Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

The 15-member council has failed to convene an open session on the topic in recent years due mainly to reluctance from China and Russia, both of which maintain close ties with Pyongyang. But a senior U.S. official suggested the panel is likely to secure the votes to go ahead with the plan this time.

Such procedural votes are not subject to veto by the council's five permanent members, which include China and Russia.

Among those set to brief the council in the planned session are U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea, the statement said.

Thomas-Greenfield accused Pyongyang of perpetrating "daily" crimes against its population as well as people from Japan and South Korea, an apparent reference to North Korea's abductions of citizens from the two countries.

"We know the government's human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles programs," she said.

In recent years, the council has held only informal and closed-door discussions on the issue of rights abuses in North Korea.

China, a major economic benefactor of Pyongyang, has argued that discussing the rights situation in North Korea is not within the mandate of the council, which is tasked with the maintenance of international peace and security.

In March, China blocked an informal meeting on rights in North Korea from being webcast online by the United Nations' broadcasting arm. Speaking at the event, a Chinese official said that the decision to hold the meeting was "not constructive in any way" and "a waste of U.N. resources."

Related coverage:

Japan holds junior high school "summit" on abductions by North Korea

Ex-Japan abductee to North Korea asks PM Kishida to meet with leader Kim

North Korea raps Japan over abduction symposium, repeats issue resolved
When war in Sudans capital forced Sarah al-Sharif and her family to flee, the 19-year-old information technology student left her books and computer behind.

Now in Sennar, 30km (18 miles) southeast of Khartoum, she lacks a stable internet connection or passport to travel abroad and like many others sees no way of continuing her studies while fighting between rival military factions rages.

The conflict, which began in mid-April, has pushed Sudans faltering education system into a state of collapse, with many schools shut down or repurposed to host displaced people, and most national end-of-year exams cancelled.

This war has spelled the end of education in Sudan, and things have turned from bad to impossible, said Sharif.

The conflict has brought daily battles to the streets of Khartoum, a revival of ethnically-targeted attacks in Darfur, and the displacement of more than 4 million people within Sudan and across its borders.

According to Simone Vis of UNICEF in Sudan, there are an alarming number of reports that both boys and girls are being recruited by armed groups.

At least 89 schools across seven states are being used as shelters for the displaced, according the United Nations, raising fears that many children will have no access to schools in the new academic year and could be exposed to child labour and abuse.

On Wednesday, the education minister cancelled most end of year school exams in war-affected areas.

In the current circumstances, anyone would see that it is impossible to have a new academic year, said Sahar Abdullah, a displaced teacher from Khartoum also seeking refuge in Sennar.

TEACHERS STRIKE

Even before the war between Sudans army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Save The Children ranked Sudan as one of the top four countries globally where education was at extreme risk.

Now the number of children out of school has risen to 9 million from 6.9 million, more than one million school-aged children have been displaced and at least 10,400 schools have been closed since fighting started, according to the charity.

While Khartoum has a proud intellectual tradition, the schooling system had been run down by underinvestment, political interference and a grinding economic crisis. It was then disrupted by street protests before and after the 2019 ousting of former leader Omar al-Bashir, by unusually heavy floods in 2020 and by the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to overcrowded school classrooms, some of the students would bring chairs with them to class. There werent enough textbooks to help teachers do their job, said Abdullah, the displaced teacher.

State-employed teachers staged a three-month strike over pay and working conditions just before the war broke out. As many as 300,000 teachers have not been paid since March, a senior member of the Sudanese Teachers Committee said.

I havent been paid a salary in four months, and I have no idea when Ill return to work, said Fatima Mohamed, a displaced teacher who fled Khartoum to Gedaraf state after her school was overtaken by the RSF.

WAIT AND HOPE

Despite the interruptions in recent years, Rabab Nasreldeen had managed to get to the third year of law studies at the University of Khartoum when the war broke out.

Then she too had to flee, abandoning educational certificates and papers that might allow her to continue studying elsewhere. The only option we have is to wait and hope for the best, she said.

Aid workers are trying to help alleviate the crisis, setting up safe learning spaces and providing children with psychosocial support.

Education Cannot Wait, the U.N. global fund dedicated to education in emergencies, has raised $12.5 million and aims to provide educational services for 120,000 children in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents in wealthy countries didnt want the children to wait a year or a month for their education, said Yasmine Sherif, the funds executive director.

So why should we expect them (in Sudan) to wait for education until the conflict is over?

Some of those who have fled Sudan are seeking entry to schools and universities outside its borders, including in Egypt. But in Chad, where more than 377,000 refugees have arrived, there are no such options.

I cannot go back to continue my education and I lost contact with my family, Khalifa Adam, a displaced student who escaped to Adre, Chad from Darfur, told Reuters. I was told I can continue studying online but the internet connection here in Adre is very bad.

Source: Reuters
The funeral for a member of An Garda Siochana who died in a boat fire has heard she was the life and soul of the party.

Detective Garda Deirdre Dee Finn, a well-respected garda attached to Dun Laoghaire Garda Station, died while off-duty in Carrick-on-Shannon in the early hours of Monday.

A Garda guard of honour lined the roadside as a funeral procession carried her coffin into St John The Evangelist church in Ballinteer, Dublin, on Friday.

Her brother Cormac described the shock, disbelief, denial, numbness, devastation, and heartbreak following Ms Finns death.

Dee was an amazing person. Friendly, kind, welcoming  loved having the craic.

She was a happy person, loved a good laugh, and always had a smile.

He thanked her garda colleagues: There is no doubt about it, this has been the toughest week of our lives and having each and every one of you supporting us, brings us tremendous comfort.

We know her death has shocked her colleagues to the core.

He said Ms Finn began her training on August 23 1993 and had planned to retire next year after attending a reunion later this month.

Sadly, neither of those things are going to be.

He said Ms Finn was an amazing big sister to him and their brother Dermot.

He said she was in her happy place when she was on her boat  the Doll Finn  which she bought five years ago.

He concluded: When you remember Dee, remember her happiness, remember her laughter, remember to live life to the full, remember her smile, remember your friend.

Finally, on Sunday night our dear Dee went to sleep, never to wake. She was in her happy place and in her happy place she stayed. We all love you Dee, you are now with mam. Rest in peace.

Father Jim Caffrey noted that it was only a number of months previously when the family and members of the garda community had gathered for the funeral of Ms Finns mother Agnes.

It seems almost surreal that its the same church, the same mourners, the same readings, the same music  much of which Deirdre herself organised when we gathered here some months ago to say farewell to our beloved Agnes.

So shes very much present and with us in spirit.

The parish priest paid special tribute to the strength of her father Pat in the context of the loss of his daughter and wife in the space of a few months.

Pat Finn thanked those who had attended the service and comforted the family since her death: You have made me the proudest dad in this country, to think that you thought so much of my Dee.

You have made this journey so very easy for me, you have carried me along.

Fr Caffrey said the Finn family was extraordinary and full of kindness and love.

Deirdre was certainly no exception to all of that. In fact, a leader in all of that.

He described her as so lively and vivacious.

Fr Caffrey paid particular tribute to An Garda Siochana.

Deirdre was a guard to her fingertips and she loved being a guard. She loved being a member of the GRA [Garda Representative Association].

Today is an opportunity for all of us to say to Deirdre and also to the many gardai who are present: Thanks for your family. Thanks for your service, also thanks for being guardians of the peace and looking after all of us so well.

We are truly proud of An Garda Siochana.

Fr Caffrey read out a tribute to Ms Finn posted online by a 15-year-old teenager in Co Clare who wanted to become a member of An Garda Siochana

He noted the gospel says happy are the peacemakers and described Ms Finn as a peacemaker through her work with An Garda Siochana.

Friends, colleagues and relatives presented a selection of memorabilia at the top of the church.

Her first garda cap and her long-service medal were among the items.

Her brother Cormac said: Dee was a very proud guard, she loved her job, she loved her colleagues.

Other items included a collection of pig trinkets she was fond of, a makeup bag, a family photo and a Leinster rugby jersey, and an ensign flag to symbolise her love of boating.

Ms Finns boating family who helplessly witnessed her tragic death were also acknowledged in the service.

As a wine glass was also brought up, her brother commented to knowing laughter: Deirde loved a good party. Deirde was the life and soul of many a party, and many a party didnt happen unless Deirdre was involved.
[August 11, 2023] Coinstore, the first choice for the initial launch unveiled in Coinstore Brand Launch Conference 2023 Tweet

SINGAPORE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinstore is a world-leading digital asset trading platform that strongly focuses on emerging high-growth markets. Founded in December 2020, our team comprises seasoned financial and blockchain experts from top-tier investment banks, hedge funds, and the world's leading digital asset trading platforms. Since the launch of our spot trading system 1.0 on June 11, 2021, we have served over 500 global projects, with more than 3.6 million registered users and a peak daily transaction volume of 110,000 users as of May 2023. Our services span across 175 countries and regions, with Indonesia, India, and Nigeria being the top three countries with the highest user population. We anticipate surpassing 10 million users by 2025. In the face of industry challenges brought by other platforms, Coinstore has grown rapidly and emerged as the most promising exchange. This success is a result of our clear market positioning, long-term goals, and continuous improvement in market operations. Coinstore: Uniting Premium Assets, Empowering Global Project Premieres. Bringing together premium assets from around the world, Coinstore aims to establish itself as the leading global platform for exclusive premier listings. In the rapidly evolving landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinstore, based in Singapore, stands out by thoroughly analyzing our business logic and positioning. With a strong emphasis on product and service experiences, we proudly present our brand positioning and value proposition as "The Premier Global Platform for Exclusive Premier Listings." Coinstore believes in providing users with a wider range of tradable high-quality assets, delivering better trading experiences, and higher investment returns. With utmost responsibility to provide projects with convenient and valuable end-to-end services, we strive to continuously innovate and improve our products, ensuring premium services for our users.



Continuously innovating: Building a User-Centric Product Ecosystem The blockchain industry is a realm of disruptive innovation, and our team embodies the vibrant spirit of youth and a relentless pursuit of innovation. We are constantly refining and iterating our products to provide users with premium services. Over the past two years, Coinstore Exchange has focused on excelling in digital asset spot trading. In August 2022, we officially launched Launchpad, selecting a total of 18 projects. On average, these projects achieved a remarkable oversubscription rate of 92% and a Prime oversubscription rate of 41 times, raising a total of 4.55 million USDT. As of June, the average increase in value for projects launched on Prime was 1071%. Launchpad has become a popular and successful product for Coinstore. On December 1, 2022, our in-platform live streaming brand, CS Live, was officially launched. By June 2023, we had conducted 22 live streaming sessions, covering various context, attracting a total of 176,000 viewers, with the highest viewership of 12,000 people in a single session. In March 2023, Coinstore introduced Web3.0, leveraging wallets as the gateway to bridge the gap between Centralized Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX). Looking ahead, Coinstore will continue to introduce more financial innovations, aiming to provide more inclusive digital financial services to users worldwide. We strive to offer a one-stop digital asset management service, catering to the diverse investment needs of our users. Unparalleled Service: Establishing a Project-Centric Delivery System As the leading platform for global premier listings, Coinstore is committed to providing customized services that cover the entire lifecycle of a project. We believe that our service truly begins once a project is listed on our exchange. To better serve project teams, Coinstore has established a dedicated delivery department. Each project is assigned a dedicated individual who oversees and assists with the entire process, including listing, marketing, operations, and technical services. We design customized plans that align with the platform and project's specific requirements, while closely adapting to market changes. We continuously enrich application scenarios and engage in community activities to strongly support high-quality projcts and elevate overall project quality. Our exceptional listing services have received unanimous recognition and high praise from industry projects.



To achieve this, we have made a series of efforts. We provide global promotion and event services for high-quality projects, organizing industry conferences of the highest caliber worldwide, facilitating the international development of numerous exceptional projects. Additionally, we plan various forms of operational activities to meet the diverse trading needs of projects and users. Indeed, we maintain rigorous assessment criteria for projects and have established a professional risk control system to safeguard the interests and fund security of project teams and users. We strive to become the preferred platform for the global premier listings of more high-quality assets. Focusing on "emerging markets" and cultivating regional traffic

We have effectively established a network of global sites and business centers in emerging markets, strategically positioned to capitalize on the growing opportunities these markets offer. With over 200 international staff and 13 centers worldwide, we are committed to providing localized professional connections and services to our global user base. Our dedicated local teams in the United Kingdom, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other regions demonstrate our deep commitment to serving our users with expertise and understanding of their local markets. Coinstore has built a service team focused on project services. On the business side, we have established 13 overseas operational centers with localized teams in the United Kingdom, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries, allowing us to quickly reach 70% of blockchain projects worldwide. On October 18, 2022, Coinstore signed an MOU with the Indonesian government in Jakarta, aiming to jointly enhance the quality of the Indonesian crypto ecosystem. On June 8, 2023, Coinstore signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Philippine government in Manila, promoting the compliance process of Coinstore in the Philippines. To establish a stronger presence in regional markets and mobilize local resources, Coinstore has launched two major offline conference brands, 'CS Connect' and 'Cryptalk,' regularly held in various emerging markets. These conferences bring together local project teams, media, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and investors to explore the latest trends and developments in the cryptocurrency field. To date, more than 15 conferences have been held, covering countries such as Colombia, London, Thailand, Russia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and many more. In the second half of 2023, Coinstore is expected to host more than 20 Cryptalk events and 30 Connect events, covering over 20 countries. In response to local KOLs, Coinstore introduced the Teamster and CS League programs in September 2022, gathering an alliance of KOLs from various emerging markets such as Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each KOL has a fan base ranging from 1,000 to 100,000, covering 32 major countries across different industries. They are committed to supporting Coinstore's online promotion efforts in the long term. As of 2023, a total of 978 captains have participated in the program. Coinstore's Mission and Values. At Coinstore, we are deeply committed to 'global compliance' and have curated a robust product lineup that encompasses spot trading, over-the-counter (OTC) services, Launchpad, wallets, staking (Earn), contracts, derivatives, and Labs. These offerings provide a diverse range of digital asset financial services to our global user community. Coinstore has embraced a noble mission and set of values since its inception, striving to establish itself as a world-class digital asset exchange. With passion and determination, we face the challenges posed by every user, every partner, and the entire industry. Since its establishment, Coinstore has upheld the notion of "integrity-driven": in actively promoting the healthy development of the industry; fostering a collaborative ecosystem with peers instead of denigration, safeguarding the interests of project parties by refraining from market manipulation; and placing utmost importance on user value, striving to protect the security of every investor's funds and service rights. Coinstore adheres to the concept of 'long-termism' over a decade and practices the craftsmanship spirit of 'one step at a time,' never pursuing short-term gains or compromising the interests of users and partners. In the face of questioning, we continuously reflect, optimize our products, user experience, and customer service. Coinstore will always remember its original intention, forge ahead, and consistently prioritize its mission and user value, putting forth relentless efforts towards that goal. Prioritizing User Needs and Asset Security Coinstore is committed to becoming the "Swiss Bank" of exchanges, prioritizing user needs and asset security above all else. With a resolute dedication to being the most trusted and secure exchange worldwide, Coinstore is determined to offer unparalleled services to its global user base. Providing round-the-clock, multilingual customer support, Coinstore has proven its unwavering commitment to users over the past year. Recovering millions of USDT worth of assets lost due to user errors, Coinstore understands the urgency when it comes to user asset security. The team firmly believes that steadfast perseverance will lead to long-term rewards. Looking into the future, digital assets represent a crucial revolution for all of humanity, ushering us into an era of boundless possibilities within the digital world Coinstore aims to establish itself as the foremost digital asset services platform, offering the most extensive range of cryptocurrencies, boasting the largest user base, ensuring the utmost asset security, providing an exceptional customer experience, and maintaining the most stable technological infrastructure. Our short-term goal is to establish ourselves as the leading global exchange specializing in emerging, high-growth markets. Bill Gates once said, "Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years." While Coinstore may not be that powerful today, we firmly believe that in ten years, Coinstore will astonish the entire digital world and create even greater value for its users and the entire industry. Coinstore's Objectives Coinstore aims to be the foremost digital asset service platform, offering the most extensive selection of cryptocurrencies, boasting the largest user community, ensuring utmost asset security, delivering exceptional customer experiences, and upholding a rock-solid technological foundation. Our immediate objective is to establish ourselves as the leading global exchange in burgeoning high-growth markets. By 2025, our ultimate ambition is to cement our status as the primary entry point for digital assets, catering to millions of users worldwide, and becoming the premier global platform in emerging markets. About Coinstore Coinstore is a world-leading digital asset trading platform that strongly focuses on emerging high-growth markets. As of May 2023, the platform boasts over 3.6 million registered users and an impressive peak daily transaction volume of 110,000 users. With its services extending across 175 countries and regions, Coinstore's services span across 175 countries and regions, with Indonesia, India, and Nigeria being the top three countries with the highest user population. Coinstore is gearing up to exceed the milestone of 10 million users by the year 2025. Coinstore Social Media Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | Telegram Discussion | Telegram Announcement View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/coinstore-the-first-choice-for-the-initial-launch-unveiled-in-coinstore-brand-launch-conference-2023-301898736.html SOURCE Coinstore.com

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[August 10, 2023] COP28 President-Designate visits Barbados, meeting with Prime Minister and leaders of the Caribbean Community to keep focus on reforming climate finance Tweet

COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber , has visited Barbados , meeting with Prime Minister Mia Motley and addressing leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

President-Designate, Dr. , has visited , meeting with Prime Minister and addressing leaders of the (CARICOM). In his address, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber acknowledged the significant impact climate change has already had on the region and stressed the COP28 Presidency's vision for a paradigm shift in global efforts to reduce climate change and support regions, like the Caribbean , that are most vulnerable to its impacts.

acknowledged the significant impact climate change has already had on the region and stressed the Presidency's vision for a paradigm shift in global efforts to reduce climate change and support regions, like the , that are most vulnerable to its impacts. "The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts. And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world."

have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts. And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world." "Last month I laid out the COP28 Presidency's vision Fast tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; Fixing climate finance; Focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; And underpinning everything with Full inclusivity."

Presidency's vision Fast tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; Fixing climate finance; Focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; And underpinning everything with Full inclusivity." "Many of you will be familiar with the global goal I have called for to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030."

Right here in Barbados , the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year.

, the and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1000 tons of CO2 and save nearly in diesel fuel costs every year. "Addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28 ."

." "As a first step, I have called on donor countries to "show me the money", when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge."

finance pledge." "I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century."

"We need to ensure the right balance between mitigation finance and adaptation finance. This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience."

"I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finances goes to adaptation in the future." BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Aug. 10, 2023 /CNW/ -- COP 28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has visited Barbados to meet with Prime Minister Mia Motley and address distinguished leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In his speech, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber reaffirmed the COP28 Presidency's commitment to support communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and to push the international community to close the climate finance gap and address social and economic development in-step with climate action.



Dr. Al Jaber said: "The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts.

And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world." In his address to CARICOM, the COP28 President-Designate emphasized the critical role climate finance will play in the global energy transition, reminding those present that 'fixing climate finance' is one of four of his key 'Action Plan' priorities for COP28 alongside 'focus on people', 'lives and livelihoods' and underpinning everything with 'full inclusivity'. "As a first step, I have called on donor countries to "show me the money", when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge. I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century. In short, all forms of finance must be more available, more accessible, and more affordable," added Al Jaber. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also praised the work of The Bridgetown Initiative, which he noted was "a wake-up call for the global community to make good on past promises and modernize a financial architecture that was built for the last century." Spearheaded by Barbados, The Bridgetown Initiative seeks to facilitate access to international financing, an effort that aligns with the COP28 Presidency's own commitment to modernize global financial infrastructure to support climate action. In his speech, the COP28 President-Designate also highlighted that Barbados represents "a living example of renewable energy's potential not only to deliver carbon free power, but to lower energy costs and create new avenues for economic growth." He noted that the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1,000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year. The UAE itself has partnered on carbon and cost-saving projects across 16 Caribbean nations through the Abu Dabi Fund for Development and Masdar. However, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber noted that the cost of capital is proving a stumbling block to progress. "We all know that the cost of capital has slowed the adoption of renewable energy in this region, alongside many other climate vulnerable regions of the world. That is why addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28," Al Jaber added. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also warned of the importance of striking the "right balance" between mitigation finance and adaptation finance, noting this will be critical as world leaders begin outlining the parameters for a new, collective goal for finance during COP28, and beyond. "This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience. That's why I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finance goes to adaptation in the future," Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said. During his visit to Barbados, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also announced that the UAE will host a meeting of the Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance in August. The two-day meeting will bring together world-leading economists, private sector leaders, the COP28 Presidency and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and will prepare the ground ahead of COP28, ensuring the event delivers tangible action on international finance reforms. During his stay in Barbados, the COP28 President-Designate held a bilateral meeting with several other dignitaries, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Minister of Energy and Business Development. He also conducted a tour of the island, visiting key ecological sites and climate adaptation projects, including the energy-efficient, hurricane resilient homes of the Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) project and the sea defense installation at Holetown, which is designed to protect the local community from rising sea levels. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber's visit to Barbados follows a trip to Brazil, where he delivered remarks at the Amazon Summit and Collaboration for Sustainable Development and urged leaders to build on President Lula's achievements in reducing deforestation. Notes to Editors COP28 UAE: COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023 . The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors.

UAE will take place at Expo City from . The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors. As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE will deliver the first ever Global Stocktake  a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals.

UAE will deliver the first ever Global Stocktake  a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals. The UAE will lead a process for all parties to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a "leave no one behind" approach to inclusive climate action." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183826/COP28.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cop28-president-designate-visits-barbados-meeting-with-prime-minister-and-leaders-of-the-caribbean-community-to-keep-focus-on-reforming-climate-finance-301898406.html SOURCE COP28

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 22:51 | Japan, All, Coronavirus

Nearly 30 percent of prefectures across Japan experienced crowds surpassing pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in the first half of this year, with local areas outpacing Tokyo, according to private sector data.

Based on an analysis of major train stations in each of Japan's 47 prefectures, 13 locations, or 28 percent, recorded more people than during the same period in 2019. Conversely, 21 locations, or 45 percent, witnessed a decline in crowds, but this decrease was less than 10 percent.

The Miyazaki station in southwestern Japan saw the most significant crowd increase at 11.2 percent compared to 2019. The surge is believed to be due to the opening of a commercial facility in front of the station in 2020 and enhanced public transport in the city.

Miyazaki was followed by Sendai, northeastern Japan, up 7.5 percent, and Matsue, western Japan, up 6.0 percent, according to the analysis.

The worst performer was Tokyo's Shinjuku station, down 21.4 percent from 2019, with some economists attributing the decline to an increase in work-from-home policies and fewer drinking parties in the wake of the pandemic.

Yokohama, south of Tokyo, followed with a fall of 20.9 percent, and Omiya in Saitama Prefecture, with a fall of 17.0 percent.

"The slower recovery in the flow of people into the Tokyo metropolitan area is largely due to changes in working styles, while the recovery in rural areas can be attributed to increased leisure demands," said Toru Suehiro, chief economist at Daiwa Securities Co.

In the Tokyo area, many office workers and people in the IT industry switched to working remotely amid the pandemic, and that practice has continued since, Suehiro said.

Due to a shift in drinking culture, fewer people are staying out late at night as they did before, and train operators have moved up the departure times of the last trains, contributing to this change, he said.

Kyodo News came up with the analysis based on population flow data collected by X-Locations Inc. from GPS data on smartphone apps. It looked into the number of people within a 500-meter radius of major train stations.
[August 10, 2023] Chery Automotive Deploys 100+ ForwardX AMRs in Phase One of Its Super Factory Tweet

CHICAGO, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chery Super Factory, a state-of-the-art global automobile manufacturing plant, has partnered with ForwardX Robotics, a leading provider of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), to implement a groundbreaking smart automotive manufacturing solution. The collaboration aims to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance automation in the assembly workshop of the factory. Chery is a pioneer in the industry, being one of the first to adopt vision-based AMRs for automated material movement in the assembly workshop. In this first stage of deployment, more than 100 AMRs have been integrated with the factory's Logistics Execution Systems (LES) software to enable unmanned material movement across various assembly lines. In the post-installation line, ForwardX's Flex 300-L AMRs transport materials from the staging area to designated workstations. In the interior line and door line processes, ForwadX's Lynx U1000 autonomous tugger AMRs integrate into the SPS system and trasport materials from the staging area to the line-side workstations. In the chassis line process, Chery Super Factory reuses old racks and employs ForwardX's Apex 2000 autonomous forklifts, promoting an eco-friendly approach and reducing waste.



Since implementing ForwardX Robotics' smart automotive manufacturing solution, the Chery Super Factory has successfully lowered the logistics cost per vehicle by an impressive 10%. Moreover, the system keeps the line-side over-supply rate below 15% and the assembly error rate of less than two per-thousand vehicles. By effectively managing inventory levels and eliminating assembly errors, the new distribution process minimizes the possibility of production line disruptions, resulting in a 200% increase in efficiency and a significant reduction in operational costs. By leveraging ForwardX Robotics' innovative solutions, Chery accelerates its transformation into a global technology company, remaining committed to its goal of creating an intelligent, automated, and digitized logistics factory.

About ForwardX Robotics: ForwardX Robotics is a global leader in vision-based AMR technology, delivering innovative end-to-end material handling solutions for warehousing and manufacturing facilities. With its advanced fleet management software and the widest range of vision-first Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), ForwardX Robotics helps businesses achieve higher performance and value within their supply chain operations. ForwardX has deployed over 3,000 AMRs in over 150 facilities across 4 continents. With offices in the US, Japan, Korea, and China, along with partnerships around the globe, ForwardX is expanding and applying its proven solutions to empower the workforce of tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.forwardx.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/chery-automotive-deploys-100-forwardx-amrs-in-phase-one-of-its-super-factory-301897820.html SOURCE ForwardX Robotics

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[August 10, 2023] Vantage awarded Best Australian Broker by Ultimate Fintech for the second year running Tweet

SYDNEY, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-asset broker Vantage Markets was awarded two Ultimate Fintech (UF) awards at this year's UF APAC Awards ceremony in Bangkok. Vantage picked up the award for Best Broker and Best Customer Support for the Australian market. Vantage has now won both these categories for two years running (2022 and 2023). These awards are a testament to Vantage's efforts in strengthening its platforms and enhancing its client offerings over the past year. The UF Award wins also add to other recent recognition of Vantage's offering, including the Best CFD Broker  Australia award given by Business Tabloid. The UF APAC Awards recognise top B2C and B2B brands in the online trading and fintech space and aim to provide traders and businesses with an industry benchmark of the best companies to trade and do business with. These awards were awarded based on the votes received from traders between 5 June and 16 June. Vantage Markets was established in Sydney in 2009 and has been building a strong presence in the country ever since. In recent years, the team has been focused on enhancing their Australian clients' trading experience. These include the establishment of the Vantage Academy with free educational materials and market insights, the partnership with renowned Trade with Precision to bring to market multiple webinar series that target its trader audiences, and the addition of PayPal as part of their payment gateway solutions, among others. Vantage has also recently announced a $100,000 donation to UNHCR Australia, as part of its effort to give back to the community. Jack Kelly, Head of Sales, Australia at Vantage Markets, aid "To be awarded Best Broker and Best Customer Support for Australia two years running at the UF Awards is a testament to the commitment of the Vantage team in creating the best possible trading experience for our clients. Our clients are our biggest motivation to keep getting better, and so it is an honour to be recognised by such a reputable, performance-based organisation like Ultimate Fintech."



About Vantage Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd (ACN 157 768 566) ("Vantage") is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) AFSL no. 428901.

Vantage is a multi-asset broker offering clients access to a nimble and powerful service for trading CFD on Forex, Commodities, Indices, Shares, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies, and Bonds. With more than 13 years of market experience, Vantage entities now have over 1,000 employees/personnel across more than 30 global offices. Vantage is more than a broker; it provides a lightning-fast execution trading ecosystem, an intuitive mobile trading app, and a faster and simpler trading platform that enables clients to seize trading opportunities. Trade smarter @vantage. https://www.vantagemarkets.com/en-au/ Risk Warning: Trading derivatives carries significant risks. It is not suitable for all investors and if you are a professional client, you could lose substantially more than your initial investment. You have no entitlement, right or obligation to the underlying financial assets. Past performance is no indication of future performance and tax laws are subject to change. The information in this article is general in nature and doesn't take into account your personal objectives, financial circumstances, or needs. You should consider whether you're part of our target market by reviewing our Target Market Determination (TMD), read our Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), and other legal documents to ensure you fully understand the risks before you make any trading decisions. We encourage you to seek independent advice if necessary. The use of information in this article is not intended for residents outside Australia or by any person in a country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/vantage-awarded-best-australian-broker-by-ultimate-fintech-for-the-second-year-running-301894304.html SOURCE Vantage

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[August 10, 2023]

Plug and Play Partners Enterprise Singapore to Launch the GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme to Support Singapore Startups' Global Expansion to the US

SINGAPORE, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), is excited to announce the launch of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) San Francisco Acceleration Programme, providing an excellent opportunity for Singapore startups to explore and expand their products in the dynamic tech hub of San Francisco and the US.

The GIA is an initiative of Enterprise Singapore, comprising a network of Singapore and overseas partners in major innovation hubs and key demand markets with a focus on technology and innovation[1]. The GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme is organised by Plug and Play, a global innovation platform with a proven track record of fostering startup success.

The programme is set to begin this October and aims to empower Singapore-based early-stage tech companies with the resources and knowledge to thrive in one of the world's largest and most diverse markets.

San Francisco Bay Area - A World Leader in Innovation

A global leader in entrepreneurship and tech, San Francisco emerged as one of the 20 leading cities for startup growth, outpacing other cities such as Los Angeles and New York. Home to a staggering 7.5 million people , the city boasts one of the largest consumer markets in the world and ranks top in GDP growth at 4.8%; its thriving economy making it an attractive destination for startups. Some well-performing tech industries in San Francisco include social media, mobile apps, AI, big data, biotech and clean tech  setting the stage for tech startups to achieve new success in this exciting market.

Amidst the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the region continued to see an optimistic increase in over 100,000 new jobs between 2021 and 2022. San Francisco remains at the forefront of innovation and is attractive to startups due to its highly-educated demographic, accessibility to funding opportunities, and business-friendly policies that make it a highly-sought after destination for startup expansion. Some reasons for San Francisco to be an attractive hub for startups to grow include:

Access to Funding Opportunities

A significant influx of venture capital investments and deal flows in the region presents startups with the promising opportunity of raising funds and a highly favorable environment to further scale their companies. In 2022, the region witnessed an impressive $238.3 billion in venture capital investments and more than 15,800 deals. Such numbers reflect the continued interest from investors in funding startups and the promise of the startup ecosystem in San Francisco.

Beyond the sheer volume of investment, startups can also benefit from the attractive nature of the fundraising rounds, with seed rounds averaging $2.1 million, and median series A funding rounds standing at an impressive average of $14 million . With such robust financial support and access to capital, startups are better positioned to scale their companies and pursue their growth ambitions.

Skilled Talents

San Francisco's allure extends beyond its thriving economy, with its influx of skilled tech talents from all corners of the globe. The Bay Area has earned a reputation for attracting the brightest minds in the world, making it a hub of innovation and technological advancement. One major reason for this is the direct pipeline to tech and innovation roles, thanks to its proximity to prestigious educational institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UCSF, where talents often find themselves seamlessly transitioning into the region's dynamic tech ecosystem.

The demand for international talent is also on par with that of domestic talent. According to a California 100 Report on the Bay Area, the city also draws in professionals from around the world with highly-sought after expertise in engineering, computer science, and biotech , fostering further innovation and promoting diversity at large tech companies.

Innovation Culture

San Francisco also has a rich culture and history of innovators who have grown through trial and error. The presence of 7 leading tech companies, including the likes of Google and Apple , in San Francisco cements the city's reputation as a hotbed for innovation and technological advancements. The interaction between startups and established tech companies also plays a crucial role in the region's innovation culture. Startups often serve as a breeding ground for fresh ideas and agile experimentation, while established companies provide resources, mentorship, and market access to fuel growth. This symbiotic relationship fosters a cycle of innovation and continuous improvement, benefiting both the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the tech industry as a whole.

What to Expect from the GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme

The GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme offers three main pillars to support participating startups:

Practical Training: Interactive workshops led by industry experts will cover essential topics such as understanding the business culture in San Francisco , navigating the investment and fundraising landscape, legal and finance considerations, and talent acquisition. These workshops will be accompanied by one-on-one discussions through office hours to provide personalized guidance. Targeted Mentorship: Each startup will be matched with a mentor who will provide tailored support across various aspects, including marketing, product development, partnership building, investment assistance, and pitch polishing. Business Development Opportunities: The programme will culminate with a 2-week in-market immersion in San Francisco featuring panel discussions, business meetings with startups, investors, and corporates, and a showcase during Plug and Play's Silicon Valley Summit. This summit will provide startups with an opportunity to pitch and showcase their solutions to a regional network of corporate partners, investors, and industry leaders.

Throughout the 6-week programme, startups will receive support and pitch polishing both virtually and in-person for each respective segment.

Innovation Partnership Between Enterprise Singapore & Plug and Play

The GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme is designed to mitigate market expansion risks and accelerate startups' global business development. Early-stage tech startups looking to gain insights into the US market will benefit from the San Francisco programme's offerings, while startups with an existing presence in San Francisco can also tap into its resources to further scale their business.

"The United States presents immense opportunities as a market for business growth and San Francisco is a good starting point for Singapore companies and startups, in many areas of tech such as biotech, fintech, sustainability and digital economy," said Lim Seow Hui, Director for Americas, EnterpriseSG. "We are very heartened to partner Plug and Play to support tech startups in building connections and capabilities to grow their businesses as they expand into the United States."

Jupe Tan, Managing Partner at Plug and Play APAC, added, "We believe that the GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme will be an exceptional opportunity for Singapore startups to tap into the innovation culture and networking opportunities in Silicon Valley. Through our tailored mentorship and business development support, we aim to empower startups to make valuable connections and accelerate their growth trajectory."

Batch 1 Launch

Interested startups can participate in the upcoming cohort of the GIA San Francisco Acceleration Programme by applying through this application form . Startups can also find out more about the programme on our website here .

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, driving technological advancement through accelerator programmes, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC. Since 2006, Plug and Play's presence has grown to 51 locations worldwide, supporting startups across diverse industries in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 30,000 startups, 500 corporate partners, active investments from 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and over 700 networking events per year, the Plug and Play ecosystem has raised over $9 billion in funding, boasting successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, and PayPal.

Plug and Play launched its Asia-Pacific (APAC) headquarters in Singapore in 2010, expanding into Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, multiplying innovation efforts through industry-specific accelerator programmes with investments in 50+ startups and collaborations with various governments and multinational corporations.

For more information, visit www.plugandplayapac.com .









[1] The GIA collaborates with in-market industry players to facilitate inbound and outbound programmes, connecting companies to overseas business and tech communities, and potential opportunities in 17 cities globally.



View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/plug-and-play-partners-enterprise-singapore-to-launch-the-gia-san-francisco-acceleration-programme-to-support-singapore-startups-global-expansion-to-the-us-301897751.html

SOURCE Plug and Play APAC
[August 11, 2023] Study by Hong Kong PolyU Reveals U.S. Manufacturers' Operations Suffered in U.S.-China Trade War Tweet

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has conducted a collaborative study exploring the intricate effects of the U.S.-China trade war on U.S. firms. Scholars from Hong Kong, Australia, and the USA examined the complexities of outsourcing and supply base, challenging prevailing business strategies. U.S. firms with supply partners in China have borne the brunt of the trade war, suffering worse performance in inventory efficiency and profitability. On average, their days of supply were delayed by 8.21 days, and profitability dropped by 1.29%. "Products nowadays are sophisticated, requiring knowledge, expertise, and materials from all over the world," Dr. Di Fan, the lead researcher of this study, said. "Any trade barriers can undermine the opportunities of domestic companies to use offshored low-cost production, unique natural resources, and market expansion." While diversification has often been advocated as a means to reduce risk, the research discovered that the negative impacts were more severe for firms with high degrees of supply chain diversification. Dr. Di Fan shed light on the unexected role of diversification, stating, "Contrary to common belief, supply chain diversification not only failed to mitigate the trade war's negative impacts but actually worsened them." He elaborated, "Businesses must approach diversification with caution. What might seem logical can create unexpected challenges."



The research shows that supply chain diversification can inadvertently introduce complexity, reducing a firm's responsiveness to cope with the trade war's shocks. This complexity can hinder coordination among supply chain partners, leading to unforeseen challenges and inefficiencies. The key researcher Dr. Yi Zhou from Monash University explained, "Our findings suggest that a simplified supply chain might be more effective in increasing responsiveness. By streamlining processes and fostering closer coordination among supply chain partners, firms can be better positioned to deal with risk events like trade wars." The team's comprehensive examination of the U.S.-China trade war adds depth to the understanding of geopolitical risks. It sends a clear message to the business community: strategic thinking and careful consideration of supply chain dynamics are paramount, and a one-size-fits-all approach may not be the solution to geopolitical tensions.

The research has been published in the Journal of Operations Management: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joom.1225 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810455611/en/

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[August 11, 2023] Davidson Kempner Capital Management Announces the Signing for the Sale of Prelios S.p.A. Tweet

NEW YORK and LONDON, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ -- Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP ("Davidson Kempner"), a global investment management firm, announces the signing of a binding agreement with X3 Group ("X3"), a subsidiary of ION, for the sale of Prelios S.p.A. ("Prelios"). Established in 1990 in Milan, Italy, Prelios is the Italian leader in alternative asset management, servicing and specialized property services with more than 40bn of assets under management across non-performing loans, unlikely-to-pay exposures and real estate funds. Since investment funds advised by Davidson Kempner acquired the business in 2018, Prelios has been able to grow its revenue from 100m to over 300m while significantly improving profitability. The completion of the transaction is subject to the authorization of the relevant authorities. Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor and Linklaters LLP provided legal advice to Davidson Kempner. Lazard acted as financing advisor to Prelios. The law firm Russo De Rosa Associati acted as tax and legal advisors for the management. UBS acted as financial advisor, Gattai, Minoli, Partners and Chiomenti provided legal advice, Facchini Rossi Michelutti provided tax advice to ION. Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas led the consortium of banks, also including Banco BPM, Standard Chartered Bank and Mediobanca, that are providing financing to X3 for the transaction. BNP Paribas and Mediobanca acted as financial advisors to X3. Milbank provided legal advice for the financing to 3 and Latham & Watkins advised the lenders.



About Davidson Kempner Capital Management Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP is a global investment management firm with over 40 years of experience and a focus on fundamental investing with a multi-strategy approach. Davidson Kempner has more than $37 billion in assets under management and over 500 employees across seven offices: New York, Philadelphia, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Mumbai. Additional information is available at: www.davidsonkempner.com .

About Prelios Prelios is the leading, vertically integrated Italian player offering a one-stop shop for investors and banks in alternative asset management and high value-added services across the real estate and credit value chains. Prelios is the first private player in the unlikely-to-pay segment leveraging on its first mover advantage and highly innovative DNA, long-term partnerships with the two leading Italian banks and sizeable management structure in the market, while also leading in the non-performing loans servicing segment. Prelios acts as operating partner of choice for large global and domestic institutional investors ensuring end-to-end coverage from scouting of new market opportunities, structuring, asset management and exit. Additional information is available at: https://prelios.com. About ION ION is a permanent capital investment holding company focused on software and data to digitize and automate mission-critical workflows. Additional information is available at: https://iongroup.com/. Press Contacts Davidson Kempner Greenbrook

Rob White/Teresa Berezowski

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 207 952 2000 Community Roberto Patriarca

Email: [email protected]

Tel: + 39 335 6509568 ION https://iongroup.com/media-inquiry/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/davidson-kempner-capital-management-announces-the-signing-for-the-sale-of-prelios-spa-301898607.html SOURCE Davidson Kempner; ION

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[August 11, 2023] ZPMC Releases First ESG Report, Further Enhances and Optimizes Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG Management Tweet

SHANGHAI, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries ("ZPMC") has officially released its first ESG report, detailing the group's ESG development impact from the three scopes with key data and diagrams as well as actively responding to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report systematically reveals the company's achievements in corporate governance, market development, sci-tech innovation, environmental conservation, employee support and care, social welfare, media communication and more in the previous year, divided into three chapters. Sustainable growth to build a better ecology ZPMC, committed to achieving "dual-carbon" goals, strives to build "zero-carbon ports" through the establishment of intelligent ports. This is done by providing effective carbon reduction solutions for global ports. The company's self-developed straddle carrier has upgraded from the original diesel and lithium hybrid power system to the pure electric 601330 system of hydrogen-fueled cell and lithium battery, achieving zero emissions. ZPMC also continually conducts R&D on welding fumes, reducing the concentration value by 60 percent on averag at each operation point. This is lower than the national standard and significantly improves the working environment of production workshops.



Giving back to win a brighter future ZPMC upholds the principles of fulfilling social responsibilities and giving back to society. In 2022, ZPMC donated 1 million yuan (USD 138,700) to support the development of Lanping County in Yunnan Province, which included hiring 111 local employees. It hosted various public welfare events to support both the employees and students in Yunnan, helping them to realize their wishes.

Transformation and innovation to achieve high-quality development ZPMC is driving high-quality development with innovation. It has initiated a series of vital science and technology projects, including the R&D of autonomous technology for key subsystems of single-unit automation for harbor machinery, enhancing its industry chain with greater independence and control. ZPMC's flagship portfolio expanded in 2022 with groundbreaking achievements, including the world's largest 140-meter-class pile-driving barge, the "Wudongde" and "Baihetan" wind power construction vessels, and the world's first automatic disassembly and locking machine. "Looking ahead, ZPMC will continue to uphold our original vision and commitments, thrive to meet the expectations of our stakeholders to fulfill our responsibilities, further seek more advanced development, and create greater value for the society," said Liu Chengyun, Party Secretary and Chairman of ZPMC. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/zpmc-releases-first-esg-report-further-enhances-and-optimizes-corporate-social-responsibility-and-esg-management-301898668.html SOURCE Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.,ltd.

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[August 11, 2023] Pivotree Announces Second Quarter and 2023 Results Tweet

Pivotree Inc. (TSXV:PVT) ("Pivotree" or the "Company"), a leader in frictionless commerce solutions, today reported financial results for the three and six month period ended June 30, 2023. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. "We are encouraged by the momentum we're seeing in products through the leading indicators of pipeline growth and year to date ARR bookings, which grew 17% year-over-year and more than 100% over the last quarter. At the same time, we are highly focused and committed to delivering profitability and have executed on additional restructuring activities in the second quarter that will keep us on the path of sustained positive Adjusted EBITDA as we exit the year," said Bill Di Nardo, CEO of Pivotree. "While professional services activity during the second quarter was impacted by the macroeconomic headwinds we previously articulated, we continue to support our clients in a consistent manner through their digital transformations as managed services has shown steady progress by growing in each of the last six quarters." Pivotree also announced today that it has released a letter to shareholders from Bill Di Nardo, CEO. The letter can be accessed from the Company's website at investor.pivotree.com and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights (All figures are in Canadian dollars and all comparisons are relative to the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 unless otherwise stated): Total Revenue of $22.7 million, a decrease of 14.2% or a decrease of 18.0% in constant currency.

Managed Services Revenue of $10.7 million, an increase of 7.2%, or 2.4% in constant currency. The year-over-year growth was primarily the result of a shift of customer revenue from professional services to managed services, upsell on existing customers and addition of new customers to offset declines in Oracle revenue.

Professional Services Revenue of $12.0 million, a decrease of 27.1% or 30.4% in constant currency. The year-over-year decline was primarily due to a shift of customer revenue from professional services to managed services, conclusion of project timelines, and delayed close of current pipeline deals, offset partially by the addition of new customers.

Annual Recurring Revenue 1,2 as at June 30, 2023 of $42.6 million, an increase of $0.2 million or 0.5%. This increase was related primarily to the growth of Data Management and Supply Chain recurring services as well as upsell within existing customers.

as at June 30, 2023 of $42.6 million, an increase of $0.2 million or 0.5%. This increase was related primarily to the growth of Data Management and Supply Chain recurring services as well as upsell within existing customers. ARR Bookings 1,2 of $1.9 million, an increase of $0.3 million or 17.1% year over year.

of $1.9 million, an increase of $0.3 million or 17.1% year over year. Total Bookings 1,2 of $11.6 million, a decrease of $2.6 million or 18.2% year over year.

of $11.6 million, a decrease of $2.6 million or 18.2% year over year. Gross profit of $10.3 million, a decrease of 13.2% and representing 45.5% of total revenue compared to $11.9 million or 45.0% of revenue for the prior year period.

Net loss of $2.6 million compared to a net loss of $3.7 million for the prior year period. Included in the second quarter 2023 net loss is $0.8 million in restructuring charges that will contribute to future cost savings.

Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $0.04 million compared to an adjusted EBITDA 1 loss of $0.1 million for the prior year period.

of $0.04 million compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.1 million for the prior year period. Adjusted Free Cash Flow2 of ($0.6) million compared to adjusted free cash flow of ($0.7) million for the prior year period. 1 Please refer to "Key Performance Indicators" section of this press release. 2 Please refer to "Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures" section of this press release. Second Quarter 2023 Business Highlights In Commerce, launched a new self-service B2B customer portal for Groupe Touchette, one of the largest Canadian-owned tire distributors, resulting in a marked increase in usage on the transactional website with over 94% of orders going through the site, up from below 80% on the previous platform. We are also active on several opportunities through discovery contracts that are expected to lead to larger program investments with our customers.

Data Management had improved sequential bookings from the first quarter with several managed services cross sell wins and key wins that included a leading quick service restaurant chain, a publicly traded global engineering products company and a leading games publisher.

Supply Chain had several new Control Tower wins that added to ARR bookings in the second quarter including customers in the retail, sporting goods, pet care industries and a managed services and Control Tower win with a large multinational cosmetics company. Second Quarter 2023 Results Selected Financial Measures







Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 $ Change % Change 2023 2022 $ Change % Change $ $ $ % $ $ $ % Managed Services 10,660,781 9,944,300 716,480 7.2% 21,671,935 19,772,777 1,899,158 9.6% Professional Services 12,015,894 16,490,048 (4,474,154) -27.1% 26,051,107 31,158,695 (5,107,588) -16.4% Total Revenue 22,676,675 26,434,348 (3,757,674) -14.2% 47,723,042 50,931,472 (3,208,430) -6.3%

Key Performance Indicators Three Months Ending

June 30 YoY Change Six Months Ending

June 30 YoY Change 2023 2022 Change % Change 2023 2022 Change % Change Total ARR (1) 42,597,576 42,387,812 209,764 0.5% N/A N/A N/A N/A YTD ARR Bookings 1,864,630 1,592,297 272,333 17.1% 2,743,328 3,071,624 (328,296) -10.7% YTD Non-Recurring Bookings 9,761,707 12,614,977 (2,853,270) -22,6% 24,993,519 30,147,918 (5,154,399) -17.1% YTD Total Bookings 11,626,337 14,207,274 (2,580,937) -18.2% 27,736,847 33,219,542 (5,482,695) -16.5% Net Revenue Retention Rate in Constant Currency (1) 89.0% 92.1% -3.1% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Note: (1) Point-in-time metrics for current quarter only Non-IFRS Metrics Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 Adjusted EBITDA 37,013 (114,534) 907,165 70,545 Adjusted Free Cash Flow (610,547) (714,961) (315,588) (1,106,493) Results of Operations The following table outlines our consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 $ $ $ $ Revenue 22,676,675 26,434,348 47,723,042 50,931,472 Cost of revenue 12,363,641 14,550,161 25,805,152 28,623,008 Gross profit 10,313,034 11,884,187 21,917,890 22,308,464 Operating expenses General and administrative 2,953,763 4,317,871 6,231,085 7,527,667 Sales and marketing 2,564,337 2,666,775 5,413,597 4,818,200 Research and development 561,426 1,198,885 1,399,939 2,247,384 IT and Operations 3,838,397 4,102,622 7,614,458 7,863,309 Loss (gain) on foreign exchange 358,098 (287,430) 351,647 (218,639) Amortization and Depreciation 1,596,148 2,293,128 3,222,021 4,979,797 Stock based compensation 230,481 284,927 469,055 553,458 Restructuring and Other 784,849 71,418 915,430 185,129 Interest 73,401 87,533 182,812 159,443 12,960,900 14,735,729 25,800,044 28,115,748 Income before other items (2,647,866) (2,851,542) (3,882,154) (5,807,284) Other items (expenses) - - - - Interest income 64,161 23,860 75,885 44,533 Operating loss (2,583,705) (2,827,682) (3,806,269) (5,762,751) Current taxes (1,286) (1,157,180) (197,092) (1,737,506) Deferred taxes - 311,197 - 523,591 Net income (loss) (2,584,991) (3,673,665) (4,003,361) (6,976,666) Other comprehensive income (loss) Foreign translation adjustment (770,922) 545,216 (829,181) (441,691) Comprehensive income (loss) (3,355,913) (3,128,449) (4,832,542) (7,418,357) Income (Loss) per share - basic (0.10) (0.14) (0.15) (0.27) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic 26,642,201 26,176,317 26,633,623 25,740,078 Cash Flows Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 $ $ $ $ Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 15,838,651 19,958,709 17,346,028 24,570,287 Net cash provided by (used in): - - - - Operating activities (3,953,427) 259,579 (5,033,280) (3,898,471) Investing activities (384,373) (4,217,029) (589,649) (4,408,324) Financing activities (411,037) 487,602 (633,285) 225,369 Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents - - - - Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash (4,748,837) (3,469,848) (6,256,214) (8,081,426) Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 11,089,814 16,488,861 11,089,814 16,488,861 Conference Call Management will host a live Zoom Video Webinar on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 8:30 am ET to discuss these second quarter 2023 results. The webinar can be accessed through the following registration link: https://pivotree.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y8O3fgruQ7CrmDgD7QJFMg. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live event and posted on https://investor.pivotree.com/. Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS measures including key performance indicators used by management and typically used by our competitors in the technology industry. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. These non-IFRS measures and technology metrics are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and liquidity and thus highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. We also believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures, including technology industry metrics, in the evaluation of companies in the technology industry. Management also uses non-IFRS measures and technology industry metrics in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, the preparation of annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of executive compensation. The non-IFRS measures and technology industry metrics referred to in this press release include, "Recurring and Non-Recurring Revenue", "Adjusted EBITDA" and "Free Cash Flow". Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA is used by management as a supplemental measure to review and assess operating performance and provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of operating performance and our ability to generate cash-based earnings, as it provides a relevant picture of operating results by excluding the effects of financing and investing activities which removes the effects of interest, depreciation and amortization expenses as non-cash items that are not reflective of our underlying business performance, and other one-time or non-recurring expenses. The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) excluding taxes, interest and finance costs, amortization and depreciation, restructuring and other, and share based compensation. Management believes that these adjustments are appropriate in making Adjusted EBITDA an approximation of cash-based earnings from operations before capital replacement, financing, and income tax charges. Adjusted EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and is not a measure of operating income, operating performance or liquidity presented in accordance with IFRS and is subject to important limitations. The Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA may be different than similarly titled measures used by other companies. The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the periods indicated: Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 Net Income (loss) (2,584,991) (3,673,665) (4,003,361) (6,976,666) Depreciation & Amortization (1) 1,596,148 2,293,128 3,222,021 4,979,797 Interest (2) 9,240 63,673 106,928 114,910 Taxes 1,286 845,983 197,092 1,213,915 EBITDA (978,317) (470,881) (477,320) (668,044) Stock-Based Compensation (3) 230,481 284,927 469,055 553,458 Restructuring & Other (4) 784,849 71,420 915,430 185,131 Adjusted EBITDA 37,013 (114,534) 907,165 70,545 Notes: (1) Depreciation and amortization expense is primarily related to depreciation expense on right-of-use assets ("ROU assets"), intangibles and property and equipment. (2) Interest expenses are primarily related to interest and accretion expense on the secured debentures and convertible promissory notes. Included within is also the interest incurred on lease obligations. (3) Stock-Based Compensation represents non-cash expenditures recognized in connection with the issuance of share-based compensation to our employees, advisors, and directors. (4) Restructuring & Other expenses are related to restructuring, merger and acquisitions and extraordinary events that are not considered an expense indicative of continuing operations. Adjusted Free Cash Flow Adjusted Free Cash Flow is defined as adjusted EBITDA from operations less payments to property and equipment, deferred development costs and principal lease payments. The following table provides a proxy of cash flow from the business: Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 Adjusted EBITDA 37,013 (114,534) 907,165 70,545 Cash Financed Capital Expenditure (237,208) (175,439) (442,483) (315,790) Payment of Capital Leases (253,946) (328,486) (526,176) (664,594) Deferred Development (147,166) (32,829) (147,166) (81,744) Interest (1) (9,240) (63,673) (106,928) (114,910) Adjusted Free Cash Flow (610,547) (714,961) (315,588) (1,106,493) Note: (1) Interest expenses net of interest income Key Performance Indicators Due to our service model, we recognize revenue within managed and professional services based on the recurring nature of the work and the actual effort extended. Both managed and professional services carry a recurring component where we recognize revenues based on the contractual committed fees with contract terms being one to three years, providing for a high degree of visibility into near-term revenues. Management uses a number of metrics, including the ones identified below, to measure the Company's performance and customer trends, which are used to prepare financial plans and shape future strategy. Our key performance indicators may be calculated in a manner different than similar key performance indicators used by other companies. ? Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). We define Annual Recurring Revenue as the annualized equivalent value of the most recent quarter's recurring revenue of all existing managed services and professional services contracts that contain a minimum committed spend with total ARR being inclusive of related overage fees and customer credits as at the date being measured, and excluding any non-recurring set up fees and short-term standalone projects. The revenues captured are related to customer contracts that generally span a one to three-year contract term with most of the managed services being non-cancelable. Almost all of our customer contracts, contributing to ARR, automatically renew unless canceled by our customers. Actual ARR versus new ARR Bookings would be expected to increase with the related overage charges and through the upsell of additional services across our categories. ARR provides us with visibility for consistent and predictable growth to our cash flows. ARR will continue to be a key performance indicator for the Company on a go-forward basis. See "Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures - Recurring and Non-Recurring Revenue" for the recurring revenue in the most recent quarter to support ARR. ? Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) bookings: This is defined as the new contractual bookings with existing and new customers for services that include minimum committed levels that automatically renew and generally span a one to three-year contract term. This amount may also include set up fees associated with deployment of services. The bookings on renewals of similar services are recorded using the net incremental amounts to provide readers with revenue growth expectations. The bookings conversion to revenue will depend on the time it takes to deploy a given purchased service, which is driven by the complexity of the solution. The actual impact on revenue could vary from actuals once overage and seasonal consumption charges are captured, as they are not estimated and recorded at time of booking. The revenue conversion may also be impacted as booking will capture amendments in existing services that convert on demand services to longer term agreements with minimum commitments. It is important to note that while this is an indicator of revenue and future potential revenue, it cannot be reconciled to actual revenue recognized or industry book to bill metrics. ? Non-Recurring Bookings: This is defined as contractual bookings with existing and new customers primarily for professional services projects but would also include one-time managed service set up fees, and short- term managed services arrangements. The conversion to non-recurring revenue, will depend on the start date and ramp up with revenue being recognized through the duration of the projects, as the defined scope is delivered. The bookings amount may differ from actual revenues where the fees are based on a time and material structure. ? Total Bookings: This is defined as ARR booking plus the contract value of the Non- Recurring Bookings ? Net Revenue Retention Rate in Constant Currency: We define Net Revenue Retention Rate in constant currency for a period by considering the group of customers on our platform as of twelve months prior and dividing our ARR attributable to such group of customers at the end of the period by the ARR at the beginning of such period. By implication, this ratio excludes any ARR from new customers acquired during the period, but it does include incremental sales added to the cohort base of customers during the period being measured. The benefits of cross selling and expanding our level of integrations and support is realized when we can achieve high Net Revenue Retention Rates. We reach constant currency for the reported period by applying the average foreign exchange of the comparable period from twelve months prior to translate the reported period results. Annual Recurring Revenue, Bookings and Net Revenue Retention Rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 are as follows: Three Months Ending

June 30 YoY Change Six Months Ending

June 30 YoY Change 2023 2022 Change % Change 2023 2022 Change % Change Total ARR (1) 42,597,576 42,387,812 209,764 0.5% N/A N/A N/A N/A YTD ARR Bookings 1,864,630 1,592,297 272,333 17.1% 2,743,328 3,071,624 (328,296) -10.7% YTD Non-Recurring Bookings 9,761,707 12,614,977 (2,853,270) -22.6% 24,993,519 30,147,918 (5,154,399) -17.1% YTD Total Bookings 11,626,337 14,207,274 (2,580,937) -18.2% 27,736,847 32,219,542 (5,482,695) -16.5% Net Revenue Retention Rate in Constant Currency (1) 89.0% 92.1% -3.1% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Note: (1) Point-in-time metrics for current quarter only Forward-looking information This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to the Company's future financial outlook and anticipated events or results and may include information regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, growth strategies, addressable markets, budgets, operations, financial results, taxes, dividend policy, plans and objectives. Particularly, information regarding the Company's expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which the Company operates is forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "outlook", "forecasts", "projects", "prospects", "strategy", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" occur. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. The forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to, proposed expansion of the Company's market position and potential acquisitions. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, estimates and assumptions that, while considered by the Company to be appropriate and reasonable as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with market conditions and the satisfaction of all applicable regulatory requirements, as well as risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business and finances in general. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the opinions, estimates or assumptions underlying forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results or future events might vary materially from those anticipated in forward-looking information. The opinions, estimates or assumptions referred to above and the risk factors described in the "Risk Factors" section of the prospectus of the Company dated October 23, 2020 should be considered carefully. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other risk factors not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes is not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date made. Forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the Company's expectations as of the date of this press release (or as of the date they are otherwise stated to be made), and are subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws. About Pivotree Pivotree, a leader in frictionless commerce, designs, builds and manages digital platforms in Commerce, Data Management, and Supply Chain for over 250 major retail and branded manufacturers globally. Pivotree's portfolio of digital solutions, managed and professional services help provide retailers with true end-to-end solutions to manage complex digital commerce platforms, along with ongoing support from strategic planning through platform selection, deployment, and hosting, to data and supply chain management. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada with offices and customers in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, Pivotree is widely recognized as a high-growth company and industry leader. For more information, visit www.pivotree.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811946665/en/

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[August 11, 2023] Elevate the Extended Weekend with Junglee Rummy's '?7.7 Crore Azadi Week' Campaign Tweet

NEW DELHI, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Junglee Rummy, India's Most Trusted Rummy Site, launched its exclusive campaign: 'Azadi Week.' Marking the celebratory long weekend of India's 77th Independence Day, this exclusive campaign boasts an impressive ?7.7 crore prize pool. The campaign went live today and will conclude on 15th August, promising a 5-day extravaganza of exciting contests, abundant rewards, and incredible winnings. The Azadi Week campaign aims to offer players across the country an engaging and entertaining online rummy experience, featuring a dynamic line-up of free and rummy cash tournaments, exclusive cashback rewards, and offers. The campaign's highlight will be a rapi leaderboard, which will be active only on 15th August 2023.



Junglee Rummy conceptualized Azadi Week with the goal of players coming together, enjoying the online rummy experience, and celebrating as one big rummy community. Therefore, all the rummy competitions in this campaign will honor its vast player base, which spans over 7 crore individuals, each with varying skill levels. Leading up to Azadi Week, the Azadi Tournament Series was introduced in late July with a prize pool of ?5 crores, giving players a preview of what's to come and getting them into the spirit for the grand celebration.

The Azadi Week campaign becomes the latest addition to a series of initiatives taken by Junglee Rummy to make all the festive occasions bigger, better, and truly rewarding for its users. About Junglee Rummy Junglee Rummy is the flagship product of Junglee Games India Pvt. Ltd., the fastest-growing skill games company. Junglee Rummy is one of the largest rummy brands in the world and is India's Most Trusted Rummy Site with over 7 crore registered users who play online rummy on the platform. The platform offers a positive, entertaining, and responsible gaming experience with enhanced features and a robust security infrastructure. Offering exciting rummy variants, Junglee Rummy is known for being the industry leader when it comes to the fastest withdrawals in the industry and highly responsive 24X7 customer support. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2035419/JUNGLEE_RUMMY_NEW_LOGO.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/elevate-the-extended-weekend-with-junglee-rummys-7-7-crore-azadi-week-campaign-301898673.html

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ONLINE TRADING PLATFORM CONTINUES TO DOMINATE FUTURES FUNDING EVALUATION SERVICES

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Apex Trader Funding, an innovative online trader funding platform offering the easiest to pass, lowest cost and highest contract plans, announced today that their platform has paid out over $5.4 million in the past month with over $14 million paid out to traders in the past 90 days.







With these figures, Apex Trader Funding proves it is the dominant leader in future funding while other firms scramble to try and stay open. Apex Trader Funding, which is less than two years old, has already exceeded a monumental $30 million in total payouts to date.

Apex also uses a trailing threshold/stop, which has resulted in nearly a 50 percent higher customer pass rate of an evaluation, compared to competitors who use end-of-day stops.

"The trailing threshold helps traders be more focused, learning discipline in managing profit, risk, and size," said Darrell Martin, CEO of Apex Trader Funding. "In addition, the trailing stop is removed once risk is mitigated in a passed evaluation paying account. Many competitors use gimmicks when the reality is, the proof is in the numbers, not the noise."

Apex's remarkable success is built on tangible results, higher pass rates, fewer rules, and unparalleled payouts.

About Apex Trader Funding

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Apex Trader Funding is a community of traders offering the easiest to pass, lowest cost, highest contract funding plans. Founded in 2021 by Darrell Martin, Apex Trader Funding is a thriving community of traders from over 150 countries.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apex-trader-funding-announces-latest-payout-amounts-to-traders-301898537.html

SOURCE Apex Trader Funding
[August 11, 2023] Wolters Kluwer Expert Points to Potential Risks 2023 Bank Failures Pose for Non-bank Lenders Tweet

After this spring's rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, the banking industry is closely measuring the possible regulatory after-effects. Those impacts may include closer regulatory scrutiny for both traditional and non-bank lenders, according to Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions expert Kevin Wilzbach. "Depository institutions can expect closer scrutiny of financial positions and investment strategies. We'll almost certainly see a push for more oversight by both federal and state authorities of risk management at nonbanks - not just mortgage banks, but fintechs, hedge funds, crypto, etc.," Wilzbach argues in his article, "How Bank Failures May Soon Impact Non-Bank Lenders," published by National Mortgage News. "The Financial Stability Oversight Council has already proposed rules that would facilitate the designation of nonbanks as systemically important, subjecting them to Federal Reserve supervision, and an 'analytic framework' that it would use when evaluating a company's 'potential risk or threat to U.S. financial stability,'" he writes. Wilzbach also discusses how fair lending practices, servicing loss mitigation efforts and unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices will likely be under increased focus. "Data and analytics and advanced compliance systems are essential in preventing 'failures' in the broadest sense of that term - not only catastrophic financial events, but major, significant compliance problems that can create reputational damage. Data is a strategic asset, enabling deep insight into customer behavior, and informed decision-making," Wilzbach notes. "It also is essential in meeting compliance obligations, a core element in risk management and can be a competitive differentiator. Better data and analytics and dashboards can provide greater transparency for your C-Site and Board. Data can also provide early warning signs for major lending issues, such as redlining, appraisal bias or to identify practices that could be deemed unfair or abusive."



National Mortgage News is an award-winning, comprehensive digital information resource serving the entire residential mortgage industry, including depositories, nonbank lenders and servicers, brokerage firms, vendors, and regulators. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. banks, credit unions, insurers and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer's Financial & Corporate Compliance (FCC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business. Wolters Kluwer FCC is also home to CT Corporation, the leading provider of registered agent services, incorporation services, and legal entity compliance.

About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software, and services for professionals in healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of 5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,900 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811469056/en/

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 08:15 | All, Japan, World

The leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea will agree to hold trilateral summits on a regular basis, at least once a year, when they meet next week, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

The three countries are planning to mention the agreement in a joint statement on the results of their meeting, to be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden at his Camp David retreat near Washington on Aug. 18, according to the sources.

Among other points, they are expected to agree to hold joint drills of the three countries' armed forces around the Korean Peninsula on a regular basis, improve intelligence sharing and work more closely on new areas, such as cybersecurity and supply chains for key industrial sectors, the sources said.

Their statement will also likely say that the three countries will begin real-time information sharing about North Korean missile launches at an early date.

Strongly welcoming the improved ties between Japan and South Korea, whose bitter wartime memories have long and often divided them, the Biden administration seeks to boost cooperation with its key Asian allies.

The idea of Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressing their commitment to regular summits was proposed by the U.S. administration, according to the sources.

In the face of China's growing clout and North Korea's belligerence, the momentum among U.S. officials to institutionalize the three-way framework is greater than ever.

The upcoming summit will mark the first time for Biden to welcome foreign leaders to Camp David since he took office in 2021.

It will also be the first standalone summit between the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea, as past trilateral discussions were all held on the sidelines of international meetings.

On Wednesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that Camp David has been "a historic setting for summit meetings and significant foreign policy conversations" when asked by a reporter about the choice of venue.

Kirby also said Biden will host Kishida and Yoon for what the United States believes will be "a discussion of historic proportions in terms of the importance of this trilateral relationship to the Indo-Pacific region and, frankly, to the world."

Related coverage:

U.S. says 3-way summit with Japan, S. Korea to be "historic"

Japan, U.S., South Korea mull regular summits to demonstrate close ties

Biden to host summit with Japan, South Korea on Aug. 18: White House
[August 11, 2023] ZincFive Wins Mission Critical 2023 Top Tier Product Award in the UPS Category Tweet

ZincFive, the world leader in nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery-based solutions for immediate power applications, has won the 2023 Mission Critical Magazine Top Tier Product Award in the UPS Systems category for its BC 2 UPS Battery Cabinet. The BC 2 Battery Cabinet was selected for the unparalleled power density, reliability, industry-leading footprint, and unmatched safety it offers in UPS applications for data centers and other mission critical environments. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811319448/en/ ZincFive's BC Series UPS Battery Cabinets are the first nickel-zinc battery energy storage solutions with backward and forward compatibility with megawatt class UPS inverters. (Graphic: Business Wire) ZincFive's BC Series UPS Battery Cabinets are the first nickel-zinc battery energy storage solutions with backward and forward compatibility with megawatt class UPS inverters. The BC 2 offers the smallest footprint per kilowatt, improving on the previous record-holder, ZincFive's original BC battery cabinet. In addition, ZincFive's NiZn technology offers minimal maintenance requirements, no thermal runaway, and the higher reliability demaned for mission-critical data centers while placing an emphasis on sustainability. ZincFive's nickel-zinc batteries have a significantly lower end-to-end climate impact than lead-acid and lithium batteries, as validated by an expert third-party analysis.



"We are incredibly proud that our BC 2 UPS Battery Cabinet has been awarded the prestigious Mission Critical 2023 Top Tier Product Award in the UPS Systems Category," said Tim Hysell, Co-founder and CEO of ZincFive. "Our next-generation nickel-zinc battery cabinet represents an advancement in our already industry-leading system footprint, while maintaining the unparalleled safety, reliability and sustainability of our nickel-zinc battery technology. Receiving this award is a testament to the innovation and excellence we strive for at ZincFive." The BC 2 Battery Cabinet measures only 21" in width, giving it an industry-leading compact linear footprint. The cabinet is robust, having passed a seismic shake test to an S DS of 2.29 g, resulting in a strong global seismic footprint. Other features include a wide operating temperature range, active cooling to reduce recharge time, simple maintenance, and easy conduit landing connections. ZincFive's newest BC 2 Battery Cabinet provides optimized design and packaging while utilizing the same reliable NiZn batteries that have been delivering best-in-class power density as well as superior safety and sustainability for over 12 years. The BC 2 Battery Cabinet ships fully assembled with batteries in the cabinet and delivers a strong Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) advantage for mission-critical data centers.

"There are so many sides to the mission critical story," said Sarah Harding, group publisher for Mission Critical." What I love about this contest is that it recognizes so many aspects of the industry - from power solutions, thermal management, and safety to cabling, IT equipment, and software. Like our past winners, the 2023 Top Tier Products demonstrate manufacturing excellence while embracing safety, energy efficiency, and innovation." About ZincFive, Inc. ZincFive is the world leader in innovation and delivery of nickel-zinc batteries and power solutions. Supported by an impressive portfolio of international patents, ZincFive technology harnesses The Power of Good Chemistry to propel the world forward. ZincFive technology leverages the safety and sustainability of nickel-zinc chemistry to provide unparalleled high power density and performance to mission critical applications. ZincFive is a privately held company based in Tualatin, Oregon. For more information, visit www.zincfive.com. ZincFive and the ZincFive logo are registered trademarks and The Power of Good Chemistry is a trademark of ZincFive, Inc. Follow ZincFive: LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811319448/en/

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[August 11, 2023] Freeport-McMoRan Investigating Cybersecurity Incident Tweet

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: FCX) is investigating a cybersecurity incident affecting its information systems. The Company is assessing the impact and proactive measures are being taken to address the situation. The Company is working closely with third-party experts and law enforcement. To date, there has been limited impact on production. Transitional solutions are being planned and implemented to secure information systems as quickly as possible. FCX continues to prioritize safety and responsible production practices. A prolonged disruption could impact future operations. Future updates for stakeholders will be available on fcx.com. FREEPORT: Foremost in Copper FCX is a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. FCX operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold and molybdenum. FCX is one of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers. FCX's portfolio of assets includes the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia, one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits; and significant mining operations in North America and South America, including the large-scale Morenci minerals district in Arizona and the Cerro Verde operation in Peru. By supplying responsibly produced copper, FCX is proud to be a positive contributor to the world well beyond its perational boundaries. Additional information about FCX is available on FCX's website at fcx.com.



Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding FCX's potential future performance. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts, such as plans, projections or expectations relating to the cybersecurity incident. The words "anticipates," "may," "can," "commitments," "plans," "pursues," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "endeavors," "initiatives," "seeks," "goal," "predicts," "strategy," "objective," "projects," "targets," "intends," "aspires," "likely," "will," "should," "could," "to be," "potential," "opportunities," "assumptions," "guidance," "forecasts," "future" and any similar expressions are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. FCX cautions readers that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, expected, projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the preliminary nature of our investigation into this cybersecurity incident, which is still ongoing, may uncover additional facts presently not known to us, which may cause us to reassess the impacts and scope of the cybersecurity incident on our business and operations. Further, our ability to fully assess and remedy the cybersecurity incident, and the legal, reputational and financial risks resulting from this or other cybersecurity incidents, could also cause our results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made above. Important factors that can cause FCX's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in FCX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned that many of the assumptions upon which FCX's forward-looking statements are based are likely to change after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Further, FCX may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. FCX cautions investors that it undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, notwithstanding any changes in its assumptions, changes in business plans, actual experience or other changes.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811627968/en/

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[August 11, 2023] Fort Worth Selected as Host Site for a 4th Time for Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON! Tweet

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time is running out to apply to participate in the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp hosted by Elevate in Fort Worth. Applications for the no-cost bootcamp are closing soon!

The AI bootcamp is targeted toward underserved high school students (9th12th grade) and offers participants a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI. Elevate has been selected as one of the 28+ host companies across the U.S. for fall 2023. If accepted, participants will engage in a four-week bootcamp held on consecutive Saturdays from October 14th to November 4th. It is imperative that students commit to attending all four sessions. The bootcamp sessions will take place from 1pm5pm CT. No prior experience in computer science, programming, or robotics is required. The applications for both students and parents can be submitted through markcubanai.org/elevatepr. During the bootcamp, students will explore the world of artificial intelligence, including ethical implications and real-life applications, such as, TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Participans will also discover the features of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, which can answer questions, create original stories, and even generate computer code.



To provide a beneficial learning environment, trained volunteer corporate mentors, who are knowledgeable in AI, machine learning, and data science, will lead the students through the curriculum. Throughout the bootcamp, students will have the opportunity to work with open source tools and develop their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and Elevate work together to provide food, information on transportation options, and access to laptops for students at no-cost to use during the bootcamp. This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp Program's media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.

"It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world."  Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several U.S. cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/elevatepr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq. Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation

Phone: 309-840-0348

Email: [email protected]



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[August 11, 2023] Casper Labs Identified as Sample Vendor in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Open Source Software, 2023 Tweet

ZUG, Switzerland, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casper Labs, the enterprise blockchain software leader, announced today it has been recognized by Gartner as a Sample Vendor in the Open Source Software Hype Cycle, 2023.

According to the report, 2023 marks 40 years of free and open-source software as we know it, but powerful forces are still pushing modern OSS evolution. Software engineering leaders need to track changing usage rules, control supply chain risks, and tap into OSS communities to accelerate innovation and time to value. Gartner recognized Casper Labs as a Sample Vendor for Web 2.5. Were thrilled to be included in Gartners Hype Cycle for Open Source Software, 2023, demonstrating the transformative power of decentralized technology in open source solutions, said Mrinal Manohar, CEO of Casper Labs. Businesses today are facing ongoing challenges to do more with less, requiring leaders to seek new solutions that will allow them to remain competitive. At Casper Labs, were delivering blockchain software and services that drive revenue and radical efficiency for companies. Casper Labs is an enterprise blockchain company that has designed the first layer-1 blockchain for the unique scale and operational needs for business. As institutions are adopting blockchain technology at higher rates than ever yet a knowledge gap persists between blockchain and cryptocurrency, Casper Labs provides solutions that drive efficiency, transparency and security or all business transactions.



Gartner states, Gartner Hype Cycles provide a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities. Gartner Hype Cycle methodology gives you a view of how a technology or application will evolve over time, providing a sound source of insight to manage its deployment within the context of your specific business goals. Read the Hype Cycle for Open Source Software, 2023 report here ( For Gartner Subscribers only ) .

Gartner, Hype Cycle for Open Source Software, 2023, By Oleksandr Matvitskyy, Mark Driver, Anne Thomas, and Nitish Tyagi, Published 21 July 2023. Gartner, Gartner Hype Cycle GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartners research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About CasperLabs

CasperLabs is the enterprise blockchain software leader. CasperLabs built the first layer-1 blockchain for the scale and operational needs of business, creating complete transparency and trust for all business transactions. CasperLabs delivers applications and services that drive revenue and radical efficiency for companies and governments. We are on a mission to build the essential foundation for an entirely new era of customer value and business success. For more information, visit https://casperlabs.io/ . Contact

LaunchSquad for Casper Labs

[email protected]



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David Maman and Divya Chander to Keynote CharmHealth Third Annual Innovation Challenge & Showcase

CharmHealth, a leading provider of healthcare technology solutions, today announced that Binah.ai CEO and Founder David Maman and Divya Chander, chair of neuroscience, faculty in medicine at Singularity University, will be the keynote speakers for the 2023 Innovation Challenge. Maman and Chander will address key challenges facing the healthcare industry while providing advice to startups, entrepreneurs, students and nonprofits on how they can effectively create and deploy solutions. Talks will be delivered at CharmHealth's signature event being held Sept. 2-3 at Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, California.

"We are delighted to welcome David and Divya as keynote speakers at this year's Innovation Challenge," said Pramila Srinivasan, Ph.D., CEO of CharmHealth. "I am certain that all Challenge participants will learn a great deal from their experiences, knowledge and passion for creating a healthier world. David and Divya will set the perfect tone for this incredible event."

Maman's Binah.ai is a leader in health and wellness check software which makes health data more accessible for better care at lower costs. Under his leadership, Binah.ai has been recognized as a top startup, winning several awards, including the health and wellness innovation award at CES. As a serial entrepreneur and startup mentor, he has guided numerous companies from inception to execution to acquisition. Maman's management style and startup acumen led him to be named one of the "Top 40 Israeli Internet Startup Professionals" by The Marker Magazine and one of the "Top 40 under 40 - Most Promising Israeli Business Professionals" by Globes Magazine.

Dr. Divya Chander is a physician, neuroscientist and futurist who trained at Harvard, UCSF, UCSD and the Salk Institute. She is currently the chair of neuroscience and faculty in medicine at Singularity University. She is also a visiting scholar in the Stanford Department of Medicine, Biomedical Informatics, and was a member of the Stanford Anesthesiology Faculty for eight years. Dr. Chander has a precision medicine initiative focused on understanding genetic variability in responses to anesthetic drugs and brain oscillations. One of the goals across her work is to understand neural mechanisms of consciousness as well as the evolution of human consciousness secondary to human augmentation.

Additional speakers include David Fajgenbaum, M.D., MBA, MSc, physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Every Cure; Joshua Tamayo-Sarver, M.D., Ph.D., FACEP, FAMIA, vice president of innovation at Vituity and Inflect Health; Aman Rajpal, M.D., chief of endocrinology at Alameda Health System; Uli Chettipally, M.D., MPH, founder and president of InnovatorMD; and Ramesh Dontha, founder and CEO of The AI Entrepreneurs.







Last Call for Proposals

The 2023 Innovation Challenge is a unique event that provides a platform for digital health thought leaders to share groundbreaking ideas with investors, incubators and partners who can bring them to market and effectively advance care. Representatives from Inflect Health and Bioverge will be on hand throughout the Innovation Challenge to connect with participants. These firms have strong track records of investing in exceptional organizations. Inflect Health's recent investments include Biocogniv and Decoded Health, while Bioverge recently invested in My Diabetes Tutor and GigaMune.

To participate in the Innovation Challenge, organizations and entrepreneurs are invited to submit proposals until Aug.15, 2023, to be considered for Pitch Day. The 15 selected finalists will then present their solutions to an innovation panel for the chance to win cash prizes as well as the opportunity to secure funding, partnerships and mentorship.

Submissions will be considered across six focus areas, broadly defined to encourage a range of disruptive ideas and solutions. Focus areas for proposals include: Telehealth and Telemedicine, Tech-led Innovations, Digital Therapeutics, Drug Discovery, mHEALTH and Disease Management. Innovators can submit in one of four categories: Startup Entrepreneurs, Developers, Students or Nonprofits and Research Groups.

In addition to access to capital, partners and mentors - as well as participating in fruitful knowledge exchange and collaboration - finalists also have the opportunity to integrate their products or solutions with CharmHealth's existing platform. This integration can offer significant market access, distribution channels and exposure to a wide customer base, accelerating the growth and adoption of the winning startups.

CharmHealth has received numerous honest reviews of its products including accolades from our users on the Software Advice platform, recently acquired by Gartner. In fact, CharmEHR was rated as the best overall pick and best value for money among urgent care EMR peers while the CharmHealth Patient Engagement Portal was rated as the best overall pick and best value for money among family practice EMR peers. Additionally, CharmTelehealth secured best overall pick and best value for money and CharmBillerPro led the way among medical billing products peers. CharmHealth was also recently named the Best E-Prescribing Software for Small to Midsized Practices by Forbes.

To participate in the CharmHealth Innovation Challenge, interested individuals, startups and organizations can submit their proposals through the official challenge website at https://charmhealthchallenge.com/. The submission period closes on Aug. 15, 2023. All submissions will be carefully evaluated by a panel of esteemed judges with expertise in healthcare technology and innovation.

For more information about the CharmHealth Innovation Challenge, including guidelines, eligibility criteria, and important dates, please visit the challenge website or contact [email protected].

About CharmHealth

CharmHealth is a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions that empower healthcare organizations to deliver efficient, high-quality care. With a focus on interoperability, patient engagement, and streamlined workflows, CharmHealth offers a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of modern healthcare. For more information on CharmHealth, visit www.charmhealth.com. To get breaking news, follow the company @charmhealth and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/charmhealth.

The Software Advice logo is a service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner Digital Markets reviews are shared across its different brands sites and constitute the subjective opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences and do not represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates.

All brand names and solution names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Tags: CharmHealth, Innovation Challenge, Pramila Srinivasan, AI, artificial intelligence, generative AI, digital health, healthcare, health care, healthcare innovation, venture capital, healthcare investment, telehealth, telemedicine, disease management, mHealth, insurtech

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811562260/en/
[August 11, 2023] Miami Dade College Will Once Again Host Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON! Tweet

MIAMI, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time is running out to apply to participate in the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp hosted by Miami Dade College in Miami. Applications for the no-cost bootcamp are closing soon!

The AI bootcamp is targeted toward underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and offers participants a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI. Miami Dade College has been selected as one of the 28+ host companies across the U.S. for fall 2023. If accepted, participants will engage in a four-week bootcamp held on consecutive Saturdays from October 14th to November 4th. It is imperative that students commit to attending all four sessions. The bootcamp sessions will take place from 2pm-6pm ET. No prior experience in computer science, programming, or robotics is required. The applications for both students and parents can be submitted through markcubanai.org/mdcpr. During the bootcamp, students will explore the world of artificial intelligence, including ethical implications and real- life applications, such as, TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Participants will also discover the features of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, which can answer questions, create original stories, and even generate coputer code.



To provide a beneficial learning environment, trained volunteer corporate mentors , who are knowledgeable in AI, machine learning, and data science , will lead the students through the curriculum. Throughout the bootcamp, students will have the opportunity to work with open source tools and develop their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and Miami Dade College work together to provide food, information on transportation options, and access to laptops for students at no-cost to use during the bootcamp. This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp Program's media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.

It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several U.S. cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/mdcpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq. Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation Phone: 309-840-0348 Email: [email protected]



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[August 11, 2023] Richardson Selected as Host Site for Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON! Tweet

RICHARDSON, Texas, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time is running out to apply to participate in the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp hosted by The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson. Applications for the no-cost bootcamp are closing soon!

The AI bootcamp is targeted toward underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and offers participants a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI. The University of Texas at Dallas has been selected as one of the 28+ host companies across the U.S. for fall 2023. If accepted, participants will engage in a four-week bootcamp held on consecutive Saturdays from October 14th to November 4th. It is imperative that students commit to attending all four sessions. The bootcamp sessions will take place from 1pm-5pm CT. No prior experience in computer science, programming, or robotics is required. The applications for both students and parents can be submitted through markcubanai.org/utdpr. During the bootcamp, students will explore the world of artificial intelligence, including ethical implications and real-life applications, such as, TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Participants will also discover the features of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, which can answer questions, create originalstories, and even generate computer code.



To provide a beneficial learning environment, trained volunteer corporate mentors , who are knowledgeable in AI, machine learning, and data science , will lead the students through the curriculum. Throughout the bootcamp, students will have the opportunity to work with open source tools and develop their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and The University of Texas at Dallas work together to provide food, information on transportation options, and access to laptops for students at no-cost to use during the bootcamp. This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp Program's media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.

"It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several U.S. cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/utdpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq. Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation Phone: 309-840-0348 Email: [email protected]



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[August 11, 2023] Anchorage Selected as Host Site for Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON! Tweet

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time is running out to apply to participate in the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp hosted by The Odom Corporation in Anchorage. Applications for the no-cost bootcamp are closing soon!

The AI bootcamp is targeted toward underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and offers participants a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI. The Odom Corporation has been selected as one of the 28+ host companies across the U.S. for fall 2023. If accepted, participants will engage in a four-week bootcamp held on consecutive Saturdays from October 14th to November 4th. It is imperative that students commit to attending all four sessions. The bootcamp sessions will take place from 10am-2pm AKDT. No prior experience in computer science, programming, or robotics is required. The applications for both students and parents can be submitted through markcubanai.org/coca-colaakpr. During the bootcamp, students will explore the world of artificial intelligence, including ethical implications and real- life applications, such as, TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Participants will also discover the features of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, which can answer questions, create origina stories, and even generate computer code.



To provide a beneficial learning environment, trained volunteer corporate mentors , who are knowledgeable in AI, machine learning, and data science , will lead the students through the curriculum. Throughout the bootcamp, students will have the opportunity to work with open source tools and develop their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and The Odom Corporation work together to provide food, information on transportation options, and access to laptops for students at no-cost to use during the bootcamp. This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp Program's media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.

It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several U.S. cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/coca-colaakpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq. Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation Phone: 309-840-0348 Email: [email protected]



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[August 11, 2023] Madison Selected as Host Site for Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON! Tweet

MADISON, Wis., Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Time is running out to apply to participate in the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp hosted by Fetch in Madison. Applications for the no-cost bootcamp are closing soon!

The AI bootcamp is targeted toward underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and offers participants a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI. Fetch has been selected as one of the 28+ host companies across the U.S. for fall 2023. If accepted, participants will engage in a four-week bootcamp held on consecutive Saturdays from October 14th to November 4th. It is imperative that students commit to attending all four sessions. The bootcamp sessions will take place from 1pm-5pm CT. No prior experience in computer science, programming, or robotics is required. The applications for both students and parents can be submitted through markcubanai.org/fetchpr. During the bootcamp, students will explore the world of artificial intelligence, including ethical implications and real- life applications, such as, TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Participants will also discover the features of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, which can answer questions, create original stories, and even generate computer code. To provide a beneficial learning environment, trained volunteer corporate mentors , who are knowledgeable in AI, machine learning, and data sience , will lead the students through the curriculum. Throughout the bootcamp, students will have the opportunity to work with open source tools and develop their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Generative AI.



The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and Fetch work together to provide food, information on transportation options, and access to laptops for students at no-cost to use during the bootcamp. This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp Program's media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals. It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant

Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several U.S. cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/fetchpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq. About Fetch

Founded in Madison, Wis., Fetch, formerly Fetch Rewards, is on a mission to help people have fun and save money with every purchase. The No. 1 rewards app on the market, Fetch, has 18 million monthly active users who have collectively submitted more than 5 billion receipts and earned more than $725 million in rewards points. Fetch is available to download free on the App Store and Google Play Store and has more than 4 million five-star reviews from happy Fetchers. Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation Phone: 309-840-0348 Email: [email protected]



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[August 11, 2023] Rockefeller Global Family Office Welcomes Angela Mwanza, Jordan Powell and Team, Further Expanding Firm's New York Presence Tweet

Rockefeller Global Family Office ("Rockefeller"), the wealth management division of Rockefeller Capital Management, today announced that Angela Mwanza and Jordan Powell, two of the industry's preeminent private wealth advisors, and their four-person team, Oryx Legacy Partners, have joined the firm. Mwanza, a Managing Director and Private Advisor, has over 23 years of experience advising ultra-high-net-worth families on sophisticated strategies at the intersection of family, finance, and philanthropy. She executes investment strategies with a focus on managing risk, liquidity, and is one of the earliest advisors to embrace sustainable and impact investments. She joins Rockefeller from UBS Private Wealth Management where she spent 15 years as a Private Wealth Advisor and one of a select few Family Office Consultants. Prior, she served as a Private Banker at Lehman Brothers Private Investment Management, and Fleet Private Client Services after beginning her financial services career at J.P. Morgan Private Bank (Morgan Guaranty Trust). She earned an M.B.A. from Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Konstanz, Germany. Mwanza serves on the Board of Directors of Jumia, a for profit e-commerce platform operating in Africa, and is also on the Board of Directors of Summit Junto, LLC. She is the Chair of the Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business College Leadership Council and is on the Board of Directors of Grace Farms Foundation, as well as Project Drawdown which focuses on climate solutions. She also serves on Pharrell's YELLOW Advisoy Council.



Powell brings over 17 years of experience in financial services. Prior to Rockefeller, he joined UBS Private Wealth Management from BNP Paribas where he was a Vice President in Global Equities, Commodities and Derivatives. He holds a B.A. from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from New York University's Stern School of Business. Powell holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mwanza and Powell are joined by Private Advisor Mimi Kuo-Chin Shih.

Shih has nine years of experience in the industry holding roles at UBS Private Wealth Management and CIBC Wood Gundy in Vancouver, Canada, where she advised high-net-worth individuals on tax advantaged investing, non-resident investing, and structured products. She holds a B.S. from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A from the University of Toronto. "Angela and her team are widely recognized as being among the industry's leading purpose-driven wealth management professionals, and we are pleased to welcome them to Rockefeller," said Christopher Dupuy, Co-President of Rockefeller Global Family Office. "The team's extensive experience as trusted advisors helping business owners, investors, and their families navigate the complexities of wealth strengthens our ability to attract and serve clients in the New York Metro region and beyond," added Michael Outlaw, National Field Director of Rockefeller Global Family Office. Oryx Legacy Partners also includes Wenyi "Jason" Wang, CFA, Vice President and Wealth Manager; Przemyslaw "Shem" Filipek, Associate Vice President and Wealth Manager; and Allissa Purkey, Senior Client Associate. To learn more about Oryx Legacy Partners, visit: https://rcm.rockco.com/oryx-legacy-partners/. About Rockefeller Capital Management Rockefeller Capital Management was established in 2018 as a leading independent financial advisory services firm. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the Firm has evolved to offer strategic advice to ultra- and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations from 46 locations across the United States and one in London. As of March 31, 2023, the Firm was responsible for over $100 billion in client assets across its three businesses, Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management, and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811034660/en/

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 10:50 | Feature

Smoking rates for men and women in Japan continued to fall in 2022, a health ministry survey showed, highlighting increased health consciousness and the impact of a revised law to crack down on secondhand smoke.

The male smoking rate dropped 3.4 percentage points from the previous survey in 2019 to 25.4 percent, while the female smoking rate was down 1.1 points to 7.7 percent.

The survey of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare classified smokers as respondents in their 20s and over who said that they either "smoke every day" or "sometimes have days where I smoke."

For male smokers, the 2022 figures represent a fall to one in four people from one in two in 2001, when 48.4 percent of men were smoking.

The revised health promotion law came into effect in April 2020, and its measures include banning smoking indoors at many locations and requiring businesses that do allow indoor smoking to install separate spaces for smokers.

The survey showed the rate of tobacco use was highest among men in their 40s, at 34.6 percent, followed by 32.6 percent of men in their 50s and 29.9 percent of those in their 30s.

Among women, those in their 50s accounted for the largest group at 12.0 percent, while those in their 40s made up 11.6 percent. Women in their 30s made up 9.0 percent.

While smoking rates among people from their 30s to 50s were particularly high, almost all age groups logged a fall from the 2019 survey.

==Kyodo
[August 11, 2023]

Government of Canada releases updated plan to put spectrum to work for Canadians

New Spectrum Outlook outlines plan to make spectrum available for more affordable wireless services, faster rollout of 5G and improved rural connectivity

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ - Access to fast, reliable and affordable Internet and wireless services is essential for Canadians. That is why the Government of Canada continues to make more spectrum available to improve the quality, coverage and price of telecom services.

Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the release of Spectrum Outlook 2023 to 2027, outlining the government's plans to use spectrum to deliver affordable and high-quality telecom services, support faster deployment of 5G, improve rural connectivity, promote the use of wireless technologies that will help address climate change, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. The Spectrum Outlook also lays out the government's spectrum release plans for the coming years, ensuring that enough spectrum is available for the services Canadians depend on.

Building on a number of spectrum accomplishments since the release of Spectrum Outlook 2018 to 2022, the government will also continue to advance its "use it or lose it" approach to spectrum so that it is put to use promptly for the benefit of all Canadians.

Quotes

"When put to good use, spectrum can drive innovation, improve rural connectivity, promote competition and even support efforts to address climate change. The Government of Canada will continue to make more of this important public resource available and ensure it is quickly put to use to strengthen the telecom services Canadians depend on."

 The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

"Improving connectivity in rural, remote and Indigenous communities will always be a core objctive of the government's spectrum policies. By making more spectrum available with the right rules, we can continue to improve access to high-quality services and ensure that Canadians, no matter where they live, benefit from the latest wireless technologies and innovations."









Quick facts

When planning spectrum releases and consultations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada considers the demand for various wireless services, international spectrum allocations, the development of telecom equipment ecosystems, and standards that allow Canadians to access the latest technologies.

The 3800 MHz auction, scheduled to begin on October 24, 2023 , will be the third major auction to make spectrum available for 5G, following the 600 MHz auction in 2019 and the 3500 MHz auction in 2021.

, will be the third major auction to make spectrum available for 5G, following the 600 MHz auction in 2019 and the 3500 MHz auction in 2021. The government will be making more 5G spectrum available in the future, including through non-competitive local licensing and an upcoming auction for millimetre wave spectrum.

Associated links

Stay connected

Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED.

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
[August 11, 2023] Kaleyra Announces Changes in Management Team Tweet

Kaleyra announces changes in the management team: Nicola Junior Vitto departure and new appointment of Mauro Carobene NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) ("Kaleyra" or the "Company"), an enterprise Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS), announces certain management changes. As previously disclosed, on June 28, 2023, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Tata Communications Limited, a company listed on BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ("Tata Communications"), pursuant to which, at the closing, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications. Nicola Vitto has announced his resignation from his position as Chief Product & Technology Officer of Kaleyra, Inc. (the "Company"), with such resignation to become effective on September 4, 2023. In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company has ceased its search for a new Chief Executive Officer. It is contemplated that Dario Calogero will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company up to the closing of the Merger and Mauro Carobene, the Company's Chief Business Officer has recently entered into an agreement to become the Head of the Kaleyra Business. Dario Calogero, CEO of the Company, commented: "I want to thank Nicola for his service with Kaleyra throughout these years for the outstanding work in building our platforms and services across our regions and I wish him all the best for his future endeavors. At the same time, I want to personally congratulate Mauro for the nomination as Head of the Kaleyra Business." About Kaleyra Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) is a global group providing mobile communication services to financial institutions, e-commerce players, OTTs, software companies, logistic enablers, healthcare providers, retailers, and other large organizations worldwide. Through its proprietary platform and robust APIs, Kaleyra manages multi-channel integrated communication services, consisting of messaging, rich messaging and instant messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail, voice services, and chatbots. Kaleyra's technology makes it possible to safely and securely manage billions of messages monthly with over 1,600 operator connections in 190+ countries, including all tier-1 US carriers. For more information, please visit www.kaleyra.com .



Marketing Contacts



Zephrin Lasker

Senior Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances

[email protected]

Lori Perkins

Senior Director  Marketing and Communications

[email protected]



Investor Contact

Shannon Devine / Mark Schwalenberg

MZ North America

+1 203-741-8811

[email protected] Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its omnichannel and other product and global customer developments, and its expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business plans of Kaleyra's management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements referenced or contained on this Form 8-K are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Kaleyra in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Kaleyra as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Kaleyra will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including Kaleyra's ability to regain compliance with the NYSE Listing Company Manual, the mix of services utilized by Kaleyra's customers and such customers' needs for these services, including any variability by geography, market acceptance of new service offerings, the ability of Kaleyra to expand what it does for existing customers as well as to add new customers, that Kaleyra will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated, and the impact of other geopolitical and macroeconomic factors such as the war in Ukraine, may have on Kaleyra's operations, the demand for Kaleyra's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. Additional risk factors that that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all; (ii) the satisfaction (or waiver) of closing conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction; (iii) potential delays in consummation the proposed transaction; (iv) the ability of Kaleyra and Tata Communications to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance or condition that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (vi) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (vii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (viii) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Kaleyra's business, including current plans and operations; (ix) the ability of Kaleyra to retain and hire key personnel; (x) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (xi) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting Kaleyra's business; (xii) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xiii) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which Kaleyra operates; and (xiv) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect Kaleyra's financial performance. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. The Company refers you to the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and comparable sections of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings, which have been filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kaleyra-announces-changes-in-management-team-301899040.html SOURCE Kaleyra US

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[August 11, 2023] North Carolina's Piedmont Community College Selects YuJa Video Platform to Provide Robust Video Capabilities Across Two Campuses Tweet

Part of the North Carolina Community College System, Piedmont Community College has selected the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to serve the institution with a media creation, hosting, storage and distribution solution campuswide. YuJa will replace VidGrid, its former video platform, which has phased out its education offering. Piedmont Community College administrators wanted a Video Platform with similar functionalities as its former vendor but that provided more robust features to its learning environment. In addition to traditional use cases such as recording and editing lectures, the college will benefit from auto-captioning and the ability to edit captions, video editing, embedding video quizzes, in-video commenting, and the ability to share media both internally and externally. Piedmont Community College and its learners also will benefit from comprehensive analytics, gradebook integration, adaptive bitrate streaming, device compatibility, and other user-friendly features that enabl success for instructors and students. YuJa's Video Platform integrates with the Blackboard Learning Management System.



"One of the key elements for the institution was ease of use. YuJa offers a simple, intuitive, efficient and cost-effective solution that meets the needs of the institution, instructors and students," said Nathan Arora, Chief Business Officer at YuJa, Inc. "We work with a number of institutions in the North Carolina Community College System to provide quality ed-tech solutions, and we're pleased to expand our relationship with the system by adding Piedmont Community College." ABOUT PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Serving North Carolina's Person and Caswell counties, Piedmont Community College is a public two-year institution operating under the direction of a local Board of Trustees and a dedicated leadership team. The two-campus institution, part of the North Carolina Community College System, offers a wide variety of curriculum programs designed to prepare students for the workforce or transfer to a four year college or university. ABOUT YUJA, INC. YuJa is a leader in ed-tech solutions. Our platforms provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve learning enterprises within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811076600/en/

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[August 11, 2023] VerticalScope Announces Normal Course Issuer Bid Renewal Tweet

VerticalScope Holdings Inc. ("VerticalScope" or the "Company") (TSX: FORA), a technology company that has built and operates a cloud-based digital platform for online enthusiast communities, today announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has accepted the Company's notice of intention to renew their normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"). Under the NCIB program, the Company is authorized to purchase up to 920,374 of its subordinate voting shares ("Shares") in total, which represents 5% of the issued and outstanding Shares as of August 2, 2023. As of August 2, 2023, the Company had 18,407,481 Shares issued and outstanding and a public float of 9,856,030 Shares. Purchases will be made through normal course purchases effected through the facilities of the TSX, other designated exchanges and/or alternative Canadian trading systems, or such other means as may be permitted by the Ontario Securities Commission or Canadian Securities Administrators. Pursuant to the NCIB, the Company may acquire, from time to time, up to 5,033 Shares per day (which is equal to 25% of 20,135 Shares, being the average daily trading volume on the TSX for the Company's Shares for six calendar months prior to the date hereof), subject to certain exceptions, including block purchase exceptions. All shares purchased by the Company under the NCIB will be canceled. Purchases may commence on August 16, 2023 and will conclude on the earlier of the date on which the Company has purchased the maximum number of Shares under the NCIB and August 15, 2024. Pursuant to the terms of the Company's credit facilities, it may expend no more than 6% of the net cash proceeds from public equity offerings, including its initial public offering, to acquire Shares under the NCIB. Previous purchases under a NCIB within the past 12 months were made by the Company on the open market through facilities of the TSX and alternative Canadian trading system at the market price at the time of acquisition. The maximum number of securities sought and approved for purchase was 918,143, of which 100,200 Shares were actually purchased with the weighted average price paid per Share of $5.77. In deciding to establish the NCIB, the Company believes that the market price of the Shares may not adequately reflect their value and that current market conditions provide opportunities for the Company to acquire Shares at attractive prices. In the Company's view, having the option to opportunistically repurchase Shares could be an effective use of its cash resources and could be in the best interests of the Company and its sharehoders. It would both enhance liquidity for shareholders seeking to sell and provide an increase in the proportionate interests of shareholders wishing to maintain their positions.



Purchases will be made by the Company in accordance with the requirements of the TSX and the price which the Company will pay for any such Shares will be the market price of any such Shares at the time of acquisition, or such other price as may be permitted by the TSX. In connection with the NCIB program, the Company has entered into an automatic repurchase plan with its designated broker to allow for purchases of its Shares during certain predetermined black-out periods, subject to certain parameters to be determined as to price and number of shares. Outside of these predetermined black-out periods, shares will be repurchased in accordance with management's discretion, subject to applicable law.

About VerticalScope Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, VerticalScope is a technology company that has built and operates a cloud-based digital platform for online enthusiast communities in high consumer spending categories. VerticalScope's mission is to enable people with common interests to connect, explore their passions, and share knowledge about the things they love. Through targeted acquisitions and development, VerticalScope has built a portfolio of over 1,200 online communities and over 90 million monthly active users. VerticalScope is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: FORA). Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation that reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future events. When used in this news release, words such as "should", "could", "intended", "expect", "plan" or "believe" and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information, including the Company's intention to renew and commence the NCIB; the timing, quantity and funding of any purchases of Shares under the NCIB; the expected facilities through which any such purchases may be made, and other matters, is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. The material assumptions made in making these forward-looking statements include the following: VerticalScope's view with respect to its financial condition and prospects; the stability of general economic and market conditions and currency exchange rates; the availability of cash resources for, and the permissibility under our credit facility of, repurchases of outstanding Shares under the NCIB; the existence of potentially superior uses for VerticalScope's cash resources than Share repurchases; compliance by third parties with their contractual obligations; compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to the NCIB; that we will continue to have sufficient financial resources to fund currently anticipated financial actions and obligations and to pursue desirable business opportunities. Although the Company believes that its assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances, they may prove to be inaccurate. Such forward-looking statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the availability of cash resources for, and the permissibility under our credit facility of, repurchases of outstanding Shares under the NCIB; compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to normal course issuer bids; a reduction in the size of our "public float" as a result of repurchases made under the NCIB; VerticalScope's future capital requirements; market and general economic conditions; and unforeseen legal or regulatory developments, as well as the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2023, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Actual results could differ materially from those projected herein. VerticalScope does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230811305711/en/

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[August 11, 2023]

NASA to Discuss Temperature Data, Climate Goals

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of record-breaking temperatures in June, NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Aug. 14, to discuss its latest climate data.

The news conference will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, along with leading climate experts from the space agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will discuss new findings from both agencies.

During the call, NASA also will underscore the bradth of its research, technology, and development aimed at measuring and mitigating climate change, which is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration.







Additional participants in the call include:

Kate Calvin , chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters

, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters Gavin Schmidt , director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York

, director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Carlos Del Castillo , chief, Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

, chief, Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Sarah Kapnick , chief scientist, NOAA

To participate virtually, media must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the event to Jennifer Dooren at: [email protected]. NASA's media accreditation policy is online.

In addition to expert interviews in English, Del Castillo is available for interviews in Spanish.

In July, NASA hosted a similar media event to highlight its climate work in the wake of NASA's June 2023 data showing that month as the hottest June on record.

To learn more about NASA's climate work, visit:

https://climate.nasa.gov

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-to-discuss-temperature-data-climate-goals-301899108.html

SOURCE NASA
Today's life lesson . . . The newspaper isn't very fond of trying to figure out a profit model.

Here's their not so hot take when it comes to a Missouri lawsuit considering Prez Biden's plans . . .



"Costs of education continue to rise, while state allocation of resources to public universities dwindle. Loans often are the only way to go for students. And if youre offered a Congressionally-approved 2007 program that will forgive your loans for a career of public service, you should get what youre promised."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
A glimpse at Johnson County celebrating the life of a police officer rather than cutting funding as is our KCMO tradition . . . Here are the deets . . .



"Jonah Oswald, who died Monday from wounds sustained in a shootout Sunday at a Mission gas station, will be honored Friday evening with a parade of blue starting in Overland Park that will pass through several northeast Johnson County cities, ending with a candlelight vigil in Prairie Village."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Parade of Blue, vigil and funeral announced for fallen Fairway police officer Jonah Oswald Visitation and memorial services have been announced for Fairway, Kansas police officer Jonah Oswald.

Remembrance of Fairway officer Oswald to include 'parade of blue' Friday night The remembrance of fallen Fairway police officer Jonah Oswald will continue starting Friday night and running through early next week.

Gov. Kelly orders flags at half-staff in honor of fallen Fairway officer Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is directing flags be flown at half-staff Monday to honor fallen Fairway Police Officer Jonah Oswald

Fairway police chief speaks on fallen officer Jonah Oswald, upcoming funeral, observance events announced Fairway Chief of Police J.P. Thurlo offered public remarks on fallen Fairway officer Jonah Oswald Thursday afternoon.

Fairway officer Jonah Oswald will be honored with a 'parade of blue' and vigil. Here are the details Jonah Oswald, 29, died from his injuries Monday after a shooting at a QuikTrip in Mission. On Friday, Aug. 11, a "parade of blue" will start in Overland Park and pass through several Johnson County cities.

Developing . . .
This is the first year that City of Toronto's Cultural Hotspot initiative has focused its programming and events exclusively on Little Jamaica. - City of Toronto/image
The new mayor chose to elevate a mix of veteran and rookie left-leaning councillors to the most important positions, while also finding spots for allies of her right-leaning predecessor John Tory.
Andrew Palamarchuk is a reporter with Metroland Media Toronto and toronto.com. He has been covering the crime beat since 2002 and has a passion for giving a voice to those affected by tragedy and looking at societal issues that may have contributed to it.
By Keiichiro Otsuka, KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 08:42 | Arts, Feature, All

The Japanese-American author of a book about the hardships her mother experienced in the United States during World War II calls on young people to learn more about the era's immense suffering and work toward ridding the world of such conflicts.

"One of my major goals is to recruit high school, college and graduate students" to tell the story to the next generations, said Shirley Higuchi, a 64-year-old lawyer in Washington, during an interview ahead of the 78th anniversary of Tokyo's Aug. 15 surrender in the war.

In 2020, Higuchi published "Setsuko's Secret," a nonfiction book based on the life story of her mother Setsuko who was incarcerated at a U.S. camp with her family after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The book's Japanese translation was released in March this year.

Two months after the Japanese attack, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order that authorized forcible relocation efforts and led to U.S. authorities transferring more than 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans to some 10 camps.

Setsuko was 11 years old when she and her family were taken from their home in California to the Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming, Higuchi said.

The executive order was justified as an attempt to prevent spying activities and attacks on military facilities of the United States by residents including Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans. But Higuchi said, "There was no evidence of any such activities."

At Heart Mountain, the five family members including Setsuko lived in a 45-square-meter room in the camp's wooden barracks, with shared bathrooms and showers. The property was surrounded by barbed wire and had armed guards on duty around the clock.

When Higuchi, as a grown-up, sought details about the wartime confinement of her mother's family, Setsuko did not talk much about it and simply said, "I was happy," or that the camp had been a "fun place" where she met her husband.

Unbeknownst to Higuchi until after her mother's death in 2005, Setsuko had also given more than $100,000 to help convey the history of the incarceration camps.

Higuchi later became chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and worked to open a museum in 2011 called the Interpretive Center, which preserves and exhibits materials related to the old camp.

Norman Mineta, a former Heart Mountain incarceree and the first Japanese-American to assume U.S. Cabinet posts, including secretary of commerce, contributed to the project.

"I got the impression that the Japanese students are very sheltered," Higuchi said. She visited Japan in 2019 and talked to high school students in Tokyo.

"Japanese young people need to open up their minds and know what is going on in the world, and more importantly, know their history -- good and bad -- of Japanese in America," she said.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Ex-Japan soldier held in Soviet labor camp gives talks to children

Complete list of WWII U.S. internees of Japanese descent unveiled

Wartime Japanese flag to be returned to family from U.S. naval museum
United Way Greater Toronto CEO Daniele Zanotti has announced $250,000 in grants supporting the leadership of Black-led and Black-serving community service organizations and African refugees and asylum seekers. - Justin Greaves/Metroland file photo
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 17:12 | All, Japan, Travel/Tourism

Travelers flooded airports and train stations in Tokyo and other cities in Japan on Friday to head to their hometowns in the first summer holiday season since the legal status of COVID-19 was downgraded to the same category as seasonal flu.

Travelers lined up for security checks at Haneda airport in Tokyo, but some were concerned about a powerful incoming typhoon that is expected to bring stormy weather from around Monday to the country's eastern and western regions.

"Because the coronavirus pandemic has settled down, we can have a gathering with our relatives," said Yusuke Tada, 44, who was heading to Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan from Chiba Prefecture with four other family members.

"But we may return earlier than planned depending on the typhoon," he added.

JR Tokyo Station's shinkansen platform was crowded from the morning onward, with many people carrying large suitcases.

The Bon holiday period in mid-August is one of Japan's main vacation seasons.

Reserved seats for the week beginning this Thursday were up 1.5 times from a year earlier on local and bullet trains to 2.7 million, or 92 percent of the level seen in 2018 before the global outbreak of the coronavirus, according to figures released late last month by Japan Railway companies.

Reservations for domestic flights were also 1.2 times higher to 3.7 million, while those for international flights doubled to 556,000.

In May this year, the government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza and greatly relaxed health restrictions, marking a major shift in approach after three years of dealing with the coronavirus.

Rules on face masks were lifted in March, leaving the decision about whether to wear one in public up to individuals.

Related coverage:

Holidaymakers to boost spending as Japan growth at tipping point

Japan welcomes return of Chinese group tours amid labor shortage fear

China resumes Japan-bound group tours after COVID-19 hiatus
Caribbean Airlines has put passengers on notice for disruptions and or delays in their fligh
'Ice mouse' survived Arctic cold in the age of dinosaurs

Paleontologists working in northern Alaska have discovered a tiny fossil mammal that thrived in what may have been among the coldest conditions on Earth about 73 million years ago.

The researchers, led by Jaelyn Eberle of the University of Colorado Boulder, described the Late Cretaceous animal in a study published this month in the "Journal of Systematic Palaeontology." They gave it the scientific name Sikuomys mikrosfrom Siku, an Inupiaq word for ice, and mys and mikros, the Greek words for mouse and little.

Photo by Kevin May

Scientists excavate a site called Pauls Pearls, from which teeth of the newly described mammal Sikuomys mikros were found. Left to right: Patrick Druckenmiller, JP Cavigelli, and Jaelyn Eberle.

Its a fitting title. While the little ice mouse wasnt actually a mouse, instead belonging to a now-extinct family of mammals called Gypsonictopidae, it was certainly tiny. The furry critter may have looked a bit like a modern-day shrew and weighed an estimated 11 grams, or less than an empty aluminum soda can. It also lived year-round in northern Alaska, which at the time lay much farther north, above the planets Arctic Circle. There, the ice mouse likely weathered as much as four months of unending darkness in the winter and temperatures that fell below freezing.

These guys probably didnt hibernate, said Eberle, curator of fossil vertebrates at the CU Museum of Natural History and professor in the Department of Geological Sciences. They stayed active all year long, burrowing under leaf litter or underground and feeding on whatever they could sink their teeth into, probably insects and worms.

She and her colleagues had to be equally tenacious to discover the fossil animals: The researchers identified the new species from only a handful of tiny teeth, each about the size of a grain of sand.

I always like working at the ends of the Earth, Eberle said. You never know what youre going to find, but you know its going to be new.

Those minute fossils are giving researchers a new window into ancient Alaska, said study co-author Patrick Druckenmiller, director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Seventy-three million years ago, northern Alaska was home to an ecosystem unlike any on Earth today, he said. It was a polar forest teeming with dinosaurs, small mammals and birds. These animals were adapted to exist in a highly seasonal climate that included freezing winter conditions, likely snow and up to four months of complete winter darkness.

Venturing north

Getting to the ends of the Earth isnt always easy.

The researchers, including paleontologists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Florida State University, unearthed the fossils from sediments along the banks of the Colville Rivernot far from the Beaufort Sea on Alaskas northern coast. The site, part of what's called the Prince Creek Formation, is so remote the team travels the 75 or so miles from Deadhorse, Alaska, by snowmobile or bush plane.

Photo by Kevin May

Crew members excavating at a site in the snow to find Cretaceous mammals along the Colville River, northern Alaska.

Our team's research is revealing a Lost world of Arctic-adapted animals, said Gregory Erickson, a co-author of the study at Florida State University. Prince Creek serves as a natural test of these animal's physiology and behavior in the face of drastic seasonal climatic fluctuations.

The late William Clemens of the University of California, Berkeley was also a co-author of the new research.

Unlike dinosaurs from the same time period, which left behind large bones, the only fossils remaining from the regions mammals are a few teeth and fragments of jaws. To recover these precious specimens, the group collects buckets of dirt from the riverbanks. In the lab, the researchers wash away the mud and sort what remains under a microscope.

You look under the microscope and see this perfect little tooth, Eberle said. its so tiny.

Safety underground

In the case of the ice mouse, those perfect little teeth have inspired a perfect little mystery.

For some groups of mammals on Earth, species tend to get bigger at higher latitudes and cooler climates. The ice mouse and its close cousins seem to follow the opposite pattern. Paleontologists have found related species living thousands of miles to the south that were three to five times larger than Sikuomys mikros.

Eberle suspects the ice mouse was so small because there was so little to eat during the winter in Alaska.

We see something similar in shrews today, she said. The idea is that if youre really small, you have lower food and energy needs.

Sikuomys mikros may have spent the cold months in Alaska underground. In the end, such a subterranean lifestyle may have been a blessing for animals like the ice mouse. Burrowing mammals may have stood a better chance of surviving the harsh conditions that followed the meteorite crash that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Marmian Grimes, 907-474-7902, mlgrimes@alaska.edu. Patrick Druckenmiller, 907-474-6989, psdruckenmiller@alaska.edu.
In the temporarily captured territories of Ukraine, the Russian invaders continue to exploit civilian infrastructure to expand repression against the local population and conceal own crimes.

Thats according to Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar, Ukrinform reports.

In August, the enemy is seen urgently setting up in Pervomaivka, Kherson region, a new prison based on a local food supply base. The surrounding area is already guarded by personnel of the Russian military police on a permanent basis.

In Tokmak, Zaporizhzhia region, the invaders seized non-residential premises from local entrepreneurs at gunpoint. Now the Russians hold detainees in the said buildings, Maliar noted.

In Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia region, in a college dormitory, the Russians have set up a room where local residents are interrogated, including using torture, the deputy minister of defense emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to Petro Andriushchenko, the adviser to the Mariupol mayor in exile, more than 10,000 civilians have been arrested in Mariupol, the town temporarily captured by the Russians, and their whereabouts and fate remain unclear.
From March to July, the Canadian Armys medical technicians trained nearly 130 combat medics from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Thats according to the General Staff, Ukrinform reports.

Video: General Staff of the Armed Forces, Telegram

The training course was held within the program under the leadership of the Republic of Poland in March-July 2023, the report reads.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, 20,000 Ukrainian recruits have already undergone basic military training as part of the multinational training operation Interflex on British soil.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 11, 2023 - 20:54 | All, World

At least 55 have been killed in the wildfires that began earlier in the week on Hawaii's Maui Island, local authorities said Thursday, with the historic town of Lahaina devastated and the full scale of the disaster still unclear amid power and communication outages.

U.S. President Joe Biden approved a national disaster declaration for Hawaii the same day, making federal funding available to affected residents.

In terms of casualties, it is the second worst wildfire disaster in the United States over the past 100 years after a 2018 wildfire in California that killed 85 people, U.S. media reported.

About 80 percent of the fires that engulfed Lahaina, a major tourist spot once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, were brought under control as of Thursday morning, according to the local authorities.

Over 1,000 structures have been reduced to ashes or damaged, while thousands of residents are believed to have fled their homes.

The Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu said it has not received any report of Japanese nationals being among the victims.

Maui Island is the second largest island of the Hawaii archipelago, spanning around 1,900 square kilometers and with a population of around 120,000 people.

Related coverage:

At least 36 killed as Hawaii wildfires continue raging

Hitachi driverless passenger railway opens in Honolulu, first in U.S.
From February 24, 2022 to August 11, 2023, Ukraines Defense Forces eliminated 252,780 Russian invaders, including 580 in the past day.

Thats according to an update by the General Staff of the Armed Forces, seen by Ukrinform.

Also, Ukraines forces destroyed 4,290 enemy tanks (+12 in the past day), 8,318 (+15) armored fighting vehicles, 5,043 (+15) artillery systems, 713 (+2) MLR systems, 471 (+2) air defense systems, 315 ( +0) warplanes, 313 (+0) helicopters, 4,197 (+18) UAVs, 1,377 (+0) cruise missiles, 18 (+0) warships/cutters, 7,511 ( +16) trucks and tankers, and 756 (+10) units of specialized equipment.

The incoming data on enemy losses are being verified.

Read also: White House turns to Congress for additional funding for Ukraine

As Ukrinform reported earlier, last day the Air Force of Ukraine carried out 10 strikes on enemy manpower and equipment clusters and two on the anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as downed seven Shahed-136 one-way attack UAVs.

Missile and artillery forces struck four Russian artillery systems in firing positions, two manpower and equipment clusters, two e-warfare systems, and a communication hub.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, General Daniel Zmeko discussed the Ukrainian army needs for weapons, ammunition, and air defense systems.

"We held a constructive meeting, worked at one of the command posts. I familiarized my colleague with the situation at the front, the course of our defensive and offensive operations, told about the actions of the enemy," Zaluzhny posted on Telegram.

According to the Commander-in-Chief, the current needs of the Ukrainian army for weapons, ammunition, and air defense systems were also discussed, and the importance of training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters was emphasized.

Zaluzhny thanked his Slovak colleagues for the visit and support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.

As reported, Minister of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of Slovakia Peter Balik said that his country would actively support President Zelenskys 10-point Peace Formula.
One of the four enemy Kh-47 missiles was shot down in Ukraine on the morning of Friday, August 11.

Around 10:00, the enemy launched four Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles from four MiG-31K aircraft. The missiles were fired from the airspace of Tula and Lipetsk regions of the Russian Federation, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Telegram.

The missiles entered Ukraines airspace from the northern direction, heading southwest to the area of the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

One Kh-47 missile was destroyed within Kyiv region. The rest struck near the airfield. Objects of civilian infrastructure were hit, and one of the missiles struck a residential sector.

According to the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Military Administration, a child was killed and people were injured in the Russian missile attack.
Approximately 900 Ukrainian marines have completed the course in the United Kingdom, which was conducted by Royal Marines and Army Commandos, during a six-month UK programme supported by international partners.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to the UK government website.

The training was announced by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during President Volodymyr Zelenskys visit to the UK in February.

It is the first programme of amphibious training delivered by the UK to Ukraine, culminating with the Ukrainian marines planning and conducting raids by both day and night.

Each training cohort underwent a rigorous five-week programme, developing individual skills including fieldcraft, battlefield first aid, close quarters combat, and fitness, and unit planning in realistic scenarios, the report says.

The training will further support Ukraines capability to develop its own marine force and develop an international training concept for marines.

It is noted that equipment used in the training is the same as some of the military support the UK has provided to Ukraine, with more than 10,000 anti-tank weapons including thousands of NLAW systems already provided.

After completing training, Ukrainian military personnel are returning to Ukraine.

The UK has led the way in training the Armed Force of Ukraine, providing world-leading training in frontline combat skills to more than 20,000 of Ukraines Army recruits through Operation Interflex. This programme of training, delivered by elite British commandos, will support Ukraine to build its own distinct marine force and expand its capability to operate in a maritime environment, said British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

As reported by Ukrinform, the best instructors of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, the Australian Union, the Kingdom of Denmark, Canada, the Republic of Lithuania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Norway, Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, and Ukraine are involved in the multinational training operation Interflex in 2023.

Photo: Ministry of Defense UK
Within the framework of the Ukraine-USA-European Commission-Romania-Moldova meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction, Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov discussed ways to increase the volume of Ukrainian exports, including through the Danube.

The minister reported this on Facebook, Ukrinform saw.

"Today in Galati, Romania, within the framework of the Ukraine-USA-European Commission-Romania-Moldova meeting we worked on ways to increase Ukrainian exports. The Romanian part of the Danube, in conditions of limited navigation, is important for reorienting our exports," the comment reads.

According to Kubrakov, the development of navigation along the Danube remains among the priority issues, where key areas include speeding up the passage of ships through the canals, increasing the throughput capacity on the Sulina Canal, and organizing additional locations for raid transshipments outside the Romanian port of Constanta.

Work is also underway to include the Ukrainian part of the Danube in the maps of the Trans-European Network of Inland Navigation Routes (TEN-T), which will contribute to the full-fledged operation of businesses on the market of Ukrainian Danube transportation.

In addition, Ukraine, together with the Romanian side, is working to launch full freight transportation at the Krasnoilsk - Vicovu de Sus and Dyakivtsi - Rakovec road checkpoints. There are also plans to increase the throughput capacity of Porubne  Siret by at least 20% and open two more checkpoints.

"All our actions are aimed at achieving one goal  to provide as many opportunities as possible for Ukrainian exporters. From this, both the defense capability and the economy will win," Kubrakov added.

As reported earlier, Romania is working on finding new ways to transport Ukrainian grain after Moscow suspended participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and has been shelling Ukraines port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.
On August 11, Ukraine and the United Kingdom launched the first round of negotiations at the working level regarding the bilateral agreement on security guarantees.

This was announced by the Ukrainian Presidents Office, Ukrinform reports.

The Ukrainian delegation is headed by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak.

The relevant talks are envisaged by the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, which is the basis for the development of bilateral agreements.

The UK became the second country after the United States of America with which Ukraine started relevant negotiations and saw positive dynamics of implementation of security commitments on the part of Kyivs key international partners.

"The United Kingdom has consistently demonstrated its leadership and example in making and implementing the boldest decisions to support Ukraine. The Ukrainian people highly appreciate the assistance already provided and we are confident in further strengthening our strategic partnership both before and after the Victory," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

Photo: Presidents Office

It is noted that the mentioned bilateral guarantees for Ukraine are an element of strengthening common security in the entire Euro-Atlantic region.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on July 12, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations approved the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine.

On August 3, Ukraine began negotiations on a bilateral agreement on the provision of security guarantees with the United States of America.
Ukraine will hold the Defense Industries Forum this fall, with the aim of making domestic production part of the overall NATO defense complex.

This was stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, who spoke at an Instagram stream, Ukrinform reports.

"Everything indicates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will use NATO-type weapons. When we have aviation, when the F-16s arrive, then the last remaining large non-decommunized segment of the Armed Forces will switch to NATO standards. This is an inevitable process," the minister said.

"That's why we need production to become part of this general NATO production complex, that's why we have this initiative  to hold a large Defense Industries Forum in Ukraine," he emphasized.

Kuleba added that preparations for the Forum will be done jointly with the Ministry of Strategy and Industry, Ministry of Defense, and Presidents Office, in order to bring together Ukrainian and foreign manufacturers and government officials.

Ukraine needs other governments to make political decisions on cooperation and integration of their defense industries with that of Ukraine, Kuleba stressed.

Publication by Dmytro Kuleba (@dmytro_kuleba)

The minister for foreign affairs added that the forum is set to be held this fall.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced the holding of the Defense Industries Forum during a meeting with the heads of Ukraines diplomatic missions.
The Office of the Commissioner for Persons Gone Missing Under Special Circumstances is developing new methods of searching for those missing in the temporarily occupied territories.

Thats according to Oleh Kotenko, the Commissioner for Missing Persons, Ukrinform reports.

Kotenko, together with legal adviser Ivan Angelin and the commissioners envoy for Kyiv region Anastasia Holishevska, held a meeting with the families of missing soldiers in Bila Tserkva. The event was also attended by local authorities and the military.

During the meeting with the families of the missing persons, Kotenko reported the current results of the search efforts, outlined the ways of interaction with other responsible agencies, and once again recalled the algorithm of actions in cases when soldiers go missing in action.

"Search work is productive only when there is understanding and cooperation of the Commissioner's Office not only with the responsible agencies, but also with the families of missing persons. We are very much counting on our further cooperation because thanks to your information and new evidence, the search may speed up," said the commissioner.

The Commissioner's Office constantly introduces new search methodology not only in the territory under Ukraines control, but also in temporarily captured regions, Kotenko emphasized. "The search efforts dont stop for a moment," he noted.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and non-government organizations presented a booklet for the families of mobilized soldiers, which will help them reach out to the relevant military bodies if necessary, and also explain how to act in case their family member in the army ranks does not get in touch with their loved ones.

Photo: Getty Images
A music band performs at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

BUDAPEST, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Sziget Festival, Hungary's much-anticipated summer highlight, kicked off here on Thursday, promising a week of electrifying performances and cross-cultural celebrations.

Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 15, the festival 2023 will host an array of international stars, and artists from 62 countries and regions will perform in various genres across more than 50 program venues. Nearly 200 Hungarian talents will also showcase their creativity.

From its humble inception in 1993, Sziget Festival has grown into a global phenomenon, attracting participants from over a hundred countries and regions. In 2018, the festival reached its zenith with a record-breaking 565,000 attendees in a single week.

With a history spanning three decades, the festival has evolved into a magnet for music enthusiasts and adventure seekers alike. Last year saw an astonishing turnout of approximately 450,000 festivalgoers.

The 30th anniversary edition of the festival embodies an international spirit, drawing visitors primarily from the Netherlands, followed by the United Kingdom and Ireland, while maintaining a near-even split between foreign and domestic attendees, according to Tamas Kadar, the event's main organizer.

Following a turbulent period, including the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has emerged stronger, embracing innovative enhancements while returning to its former glory, Kadar said. 

People pose for photos at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

A music band performs at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

People enjoy a concert at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

Members of the music band "Son Mieux" perform at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)

People perform acrobatics at the Sziget Festival 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Hao)
UNODC Commemorates the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, Highlighting Progress in Central Asia

On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (WDATIP), the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reaffirms its commitment to ending this severe violation of human rights, aligning with this year's theme, "Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind." UNODC underscores its comprehensive and robust efforts, spotlighting significant strides taken across Central Asia to combat human trafficking.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) continues to affect millions of people worldwide. However, tangible progress is witnessed across Central Asia, a region demonstrating resolute determination to tackle this crime. With UNODC playing a pivotal role, the collective endeavors have paved the way for significant advancements.

UNODCs multifaceted approach fosters dialogue, enhances legal frameworks, and spearheads targeted capacity-building initiatives. Through these measures, UNODC has been at the forefront of raising awareness about TIP, empowering communities and relevant authorities with the necessary knowledge to identify and prevent such crimes. Over 900 practitioners from Central Asia have recently benefited from UNODCs regional and national counter-TIP initiatives.

Mentioning the WDATIP, UNODC intensified its efforts in reaching out the community of Central Asia to inform and warn about TIP crimes, its trends and threats, as well as the ways to avoid of being trapped into TIP on TV, online media and social networks. The current situation on TIP in Central Asia, TIP cases, indicators of TIP and how to prevent from being trapped into TIP, as well as the UNODCs role in combatting TIP in the region was discussed.

Another key achievement was raising and building responsible specialists' awareness and capacity through regional and national initiatives.

The annual regional networking of over 80 key practitioners under the international conference Strengthening National and International Partnerships in Combating Trafficking in Persons was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in July 2023, earlier this year, the Regional Workshop on International Standards and Best Practices in Adjudication of TIP Cases, promoting dialogue among the Central Asian judiciary and the victim-centred adjudication of TIP cases, was organised in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as well as the regional workshop Toward a more effective response to TIP, particularly in women and girls for sexual exploitation on handling TIP cases was facilitated in Tbilisi.

In Uzbekistan, UNODCs commitment to capacity-building has been evident through lectures and training sessions for law enforcement, judiciary, international airport staff and other front-line specialists, benefiting 400 practitioners, including 180 women. In Kyrgyzstan, UNODCs capacity building activities for law enforcement and pro bono lawyers contributed to developing the expertise of 228 practitioners, including 44 women. In Turkmenistan, the policy development and capacity building initiatives have reached 273 practitioners, including 61 women.

Ashita Mittal, the UNODC Regional Representative to Central Asia, remarked: "We commend Central Asia's progress in combatting trafficking in persons. The UNODC has been at the forefront of a coordinated response. Still, much must be done, and we remain steadfast in supporting Central Asia as we continue this critical fight."

Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser on Countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants for Central Asia, emphasized: "Central Asia's dedication and the collaborative efforts with UNODC have brought tangible results in the fight against trafficking in persons. We have witnessed the power of partnerships in creating the real change. As we stand together, especially on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we recommit ourselves to work tirelessly until every person is free from exploitation and their rights are safeguarded."

As the world unites in solidarity on the WDATIP, the UNODC calls on governments, civil society, and individuals to join hands in the global fight against TIP. Together, we can ensure that no person is left behind, paving the way for a future where human rights and dignity are universally protected, and where the scourge of TIP is eradicated once and for all.
(@FahadShabbir)

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued a report on the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance of the United States for the first time on Friday

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued a report on the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance of the United States for the first time on Friday.

The report reviewed U.S. performance on following WTO rules, and expressed concerns over U.S. policy measures that undermine the multilateral trading rules, impose unilateral sanctions, manipulate double standards in industrial policies, and disturb global industrial and supply chains.

The concerns cover 11 areas, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, industrial subsidies, agricultural subsidies, trade remedies, standards and technical regulations, trade in services and intellectual property rights.

The United States has not only selectively implemented WTO rulings, but has also blocked appointments of new Appellate Body members, which led to the "paralysis" of the Appellate Body.

The United States has a long history of taking unilateral measures against other members under the guise of so-called "national security," "human rights" and "forced technology transfer," and has also coerced others into abiding by its diplomatic policies and illegitimate demands, the report said.

In addition, the United States has implemented exclusive and discriminatory subsidy policies, and has disrupted other countries' industrial development through means like export control, the report added.

It has instigated decoupling and fragmenting industrial and supply chains, tried to utilize unilateral tariff measures to force re-shoring of industrial chains, established U.S.-centered industrial and supply chains through massive subsidies, and promoted near-shoring and friend-shoring based on so-called "values," the report said.

As the world's largest economy and an important founder and principal beneficiary of the multilateral trading system, the United States should have set a good example by abiding by the rules, honoring its commitments, and upholding the authority and efficacy of the multilateral trading system, according to the report.

China will, as always, maintain close communication and cooperation with all parties, fully and deeply participate in the reform of the WTO, and work together to promote the multilateral trading system to play a bigger role in global economic governance, said the MOC.
BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed during a meeting here on Friday to tap new areas of cooperation to chart a new course for bilateral relations.

Noting that China-Singapore relations maintain stability and continuity, show vitality and play a demonstrative role, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that the bilateral cooperation conforms to the current situation and helps each other boost development.

China and Singapore elevated bilateral ties to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership this year, fully demonstrating the high level of mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said.

"Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of our two countries, we will work with the Singaporean side to inherit the fine traditions, expand new areas of cooperation, and chart a new course for bilateral relations," Wang said.

Wang also called on Lawrence Wong, the leader of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership team, to make new contributions to bilateral relations.

Noting that the current world is full of chaos, Wang stressed the only right way to jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law. "Major countries should take a lead in the course," Wang said.

"China-Singapore relations are conducive for regional peace, stability and development. We are willing to strengthen coordination in multilateral affairs with the Singaporean side under the newly-elevated bilateral relations," Wang said.

China is committed to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by comprehensively promoting Chinese-style modernization, which will bring new opportunities to countries within the region including Singapore, Wang stressed.

China will work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members to advance the five proposals on building a shared home together and push forward ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with continuous and steady efforts, Wang noted, saying he hopes that Singapore will contribute more to building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

For his part, Wong noted that the upgrading of Singapore-China relations has bumped new energy into bilateral cooperation, and the two countries have achieved fruitful results in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Singapore will actively participate in China's modernization, and he is looking forward to visiting China and jointly chairing the meeting of the bilateral cooperation mechanism, said Wong.

Singapore appreciates China's important role in promoting regional sustainable development and maintaining stability, he said, adding that Singapore welcomes and supports China's efforts to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Singapore opposes jungle rules and power politics. It will jointly maintain regional peace and stability, uphold the World Trade Organization rules, and maintain a fair, open, and inclusive cooperation framework, Wong stressed.
Omagh, United Kingdom, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :On a bright Saturday in August almost 25 years ago, Kevin Skelton was rejoining his family shopping for new school shoes in Omagh's town centre when a massive bomb went off.

Amid the ensuing carnage, he clambered through a hole in the shop's storefront trying to reach his wife Philomena and their three girls.

"I found Mena lying face down in the rubble," said Skelton, who recalled checking her for a pulse. "I could find nothing." Philomena, who was aged 39, was one of 29 people killed when the car bomb planted by the Real IRA exploded next to the shop on August 15, 1998. The dead included two unborn twins.

Skelton's daughter Shauna was among the more than 200 people who were injured, while his other two girls escaped physically unscathed.

It was the deadliest attack in three decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as "The Troubles".

Skelton is still haunted by the apocalyptic scene and "the cries of pain" as he searched for his family that day.

"What in God's name was it all for?" the 68-year-old asked.

Although Northern Ireland has remained largely peaceful during that time, he fears a similar attack by paramilitary groups, which are vastly diminished but remain a serious threat.

"You always have that fear. You only need one lunatic to put a bomb in the boot of a car... and park it in a main street and walk away," Skelton told AFP.
Guests visit an exhibition featuring former U.S. general Joseph Stilwell's life at the Stilwell Museum in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Aug. 8, 2023.Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

CHONGQING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A series of commemorative events have been organized lately in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to mark the 140th birth anniversary of Joseph Stilwell, a former U.S. general who helped the Chinese government and people during the fight against Japanese aggression.

During his 42-year military service, Stilwell made five visits to China and resided in the country for 12 years.

While serving in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, he provided support to the Chinese people in their resistance against Japanese aggression. His efforts contributed to the final victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

In 2015, Stilwell was posthumously honored with a medal for fighting side by side with China during World War II.

Stilwell's great-granddaughters Susan Cole and Nancy Millward visited his former residence in Chongqing, which has now been transformed into a museum -- the only museum in the country named after a foreign military figure.

An exhibition featuring Stilwell's life started Tuesday in Chongqing. Nearly 200 historical photographs and more than 60 items have been put on display. They vividly capture the life and military career of Stilwell, as well as his passion for traditional Chinese culture and his profound love for the Chinese people.

"I think one of my personal favorites when seeing these photos in the exhibit is when General Stilwell was with the Chinese troops. When he was training them and when he went to the frontline, he was really with Chinese soldiers. To me, that's the most touching," Millward said.

The Stilwell family has unwaveringly promoted people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, and Stilwell's daughters established a scholarship fund in 1982 to support Chinese students at U.S. universities. Over the past four decades, this scholarship has benefited more than 50 Chinese students.

During this visit to Chongqing, Cole and Millward also brought their children.

According to Millward, people-to-people exchanges are very important for the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Her motivation for bringing her children to China on this occasion is to show them a different world, driven by her conviction that despite differences, people still need unity, friendship, inclusiveness and mutual understanding. "This is also the spiritual legacy left to us by General Stilwell."

"Chinese people never forget a friend," General Stilwell's 83-year-old grandson John Easterbrook said, speaking via video link. "Stilwell's legacy of friendship with the Chinese people and the contributions that flowed from that friendship should be remembered and built upon."

Tao Yan, the curator of the museum, said the museum will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the U.S. side, continue to collect, preserve and study historical documents, and carry forward the spirit of General Stilwell's contribution to people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States. 

Susan Cole, former U.S. general Joseph Stilwell's great-granddaughter, receives an interview in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Aug. 8, 2023.(Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)
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Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Aug, 2023 ) :Russia on Friday said it had improved its fighting positions around the northeast Ukraine town of Kupiansk, where its advance has prompted Ukrainian officials to urge residents to evacuate.

Moscow also launched a volley of hypersonic missiles at western Ukraine, killing an eight-year-old boy in a part of the country largely spared from attacks.

Kupiansk and the surrounding areas of the northeast Kharkiv region were recaptured by Kyiv's forces in September, but Moscow has since pushed back, forcing Ukraine to order civilian evacuations.

According to Moscow's defence ministry, Russian units had "continued offensive operations on a wide front and improved the tactical situation" in Vilshana and Pershotravneve, east of Kupiansk.

The situation around the town was "difficult, given the power of the enemy group, but controlled", said Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine's eastern forces.

Ukrainian officials in Kupiansk on Thursday urged residents in 37 settlements wedged between the town and Russian lines to evacuate to Kharkiv, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) west, where they would have the option to move to safer regions, they said.

Russia's drive in Kupiansk has sought to draw Ukrainian forces away from Kyiv's own counteroffensive.

Ukraine launched its highly anticipated push in June after stockpiling Western weapons but has struggled to make headway in the face of stiff Russian resistance.

In Brussels, an EU spokesman said Friday the bloc has delivered 223,800 shells to Ukraine out of a planned one million artillery rounds due by next spring to help Kyiv's fight against Russia.

Fears have been voiced in some EU capitals the bloc will struggle to hit its target.

To date, the EU and its member states say they have spent some 20 billion Euros supplying weaponry of all kinds to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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Chairman of One-Man Commission on Minorities Rights, Dr Shoaib Suddle on the occasion of National Minority Day, organized by National Police Bureau here on Friday said the Constitution of Pakistan guaranteed basic rights to all citizens including religious minorities and the Police had an important role to play in the protection of these rights

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :Chairman of One-Man Commission on Minorities Rights, Dr Shoaib Suddle on the occasion of National Minority Day, organized by National Police Bureau here on Friday said the Constitution of Pakistan guaranteed basic rights to all citizens including religious minorities and the Police had an important role to play in the protection of these rights.

Addressing the National Minority Day celebrations, the One-Man Commission Chairman further said that minorities form an integral part of Pakistan's diverse society and have immensely contributed to the social and economic development of Pakistan, a news release said.

Suddle said the Constitution of Pakistan, especially Article-25 categorically recognizes the equality of citizenship for all citizens and also stresses on equal protection of all citizens by law.

He informed participants that the Commission has so far made progress in the implementation of the Supreme Court Judgement of 19 June on Minority rights in terms of recovery of communal property, removal of hate material from textbooks, and implementation of a five per cent minority job quota. He however stressed that policing could be further made responsive to the issues of religious minorities.

On the occasion, the Director General of, the National Police Bureau, Dr. Ehsan Sadiq stated that the criminal justice system in Pakistan should be responsive to play a very instrumental role in the protection of the rights of minorities. While policing issues of minorities, the officers must consider other social facts that enhance the marginality of the minorities.

He stated that the learnings at the top cadre level shall translate to junior officers adopting citizen-centric and victim-centred approaches.

Marry James Gill, from the Centre for Law & Justice, stated that state institutions should empathetically and institutionally respond to the problems of minority communities and neighbourhoods keeping in mind that they are marginalized, and hardened policing may enhance that.

Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director of Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) discussed that community policing, if adopted, can help address various issues and challenges in the protection of the rights of religious minorities.

The event was attended by officials of the Police Force, Civil Society Organizations and representatives from religious minority communities.
Ukraine said Friday that Russian forces had fired Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on western Ukraine, targeting an airfield but killing an eight-year-old boy who lived nearby

Kyiv, Ukraine, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :Ukraine said Friday that Russian forces had fired Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on western Ukraine, targeting an airfield but killing an eight-year-old boy who lived nearby.

Of four missiles fired from southern and central Russia, one was shot down over the Kyiv region by air defences, but the rest struck close to an airfield in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region at around 0700 GMT, the Ukrainian air force said.

The brunt of fighting between Ukrainian forces and invading Russian troops has played out in the industrial east of the country but Moscow sporadically launches strikes targeting infrastructure in western Ukraine too.

Prosecutors said missiles struck civilian facilities and a residential area in the region in the Carpathian mountains known for its ski slopes.

"The missiles hit territory near a private house in the Kolomyia district, where a family with three children lived. An eight-year-old boy died as a result of the shelling," their statement said, accompanied by pictures of a house and outbuilding with destroyed roofs.

Kolomyia is a smallish city in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

The boy, named only as Volodya, short for Volodymyr, was in the yard when the attack came and "received numerous shrapnel wounds", the mayor of Kolomyia, Bogdan Stanislavskyi, wrote on Telegram messenger service.

He was hospitalised but doctors could not save him, the mayor said, announcing two days of mourning at the weekend.

The boy had moved to the area with his family at a young age and attended kindergarten and school there, finishing second grade this year, the mayor said.

"He was a very inquisitive, diligent and cheerful child," he added.

"This is a terrible and very painful loss." Prosecutors added they were clarifying information about other possible victims.

Kinzhal missiles make up part of an arsenal of weapons that Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed were indestructible because of the speed at which they travel.

The air force said that Russia had launched the missiles from Tula, some 180 kilometres south of the Russian capital and Lipetsk, around 460 kilometres from Moscow.
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The United Nations' rights chief voiced alarm Friday at the worsening conditions facing Niger's detained leader and his family, warning they could amount to inhuman treatment under international law

Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2023 ) :The United Nations' rights chief voiced alarm Friday at the worsening conditions facing Niger's detained leader and his family, warning they could amount to inhuman treatment under international law.

"I am extremely concerned about the rapidly deteriorating conditions in which President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, his wife and his son have been arbitrarily detained," Volker Turk said in a statement.

Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup by members of his guard on July 26, and concern has been mounting for his health and safety.

Turk said he had received "credible reports" indicating that "the conditions of detention could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law.""I have received reports that electricity has been cut, and they have no access to clean drinking water -- amid hot temperatures in Niger -- and to necessary medicine," he said.

"Those responsible for the detention of the President must ensure the full respect and protection of his human rights, and of all others being held."
USM Study Abroad Program in Italy Gives Students Firsthand Perspectives on Migrant Crises

Fri, 08/11/2023 - 12:33pm | By: David Tisdale

USM Students and faculty participated in the universitys Human Rights and Social Justice in Italy study abroad program in May, where they learned firsthand the challenges facing migrants and asylum seekers looking for a better life in Europe (submitted photo).

Students at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) recently gained a greater understanding about one of the various humanitarian crises facing Europe through the schools Human Rights and Social Justice in Italy study abroad program, which featured interdisciplinary frames of instruction and guidance for participants.

Held in May, the program focused on human rights and social justice issues relating to refugees and asylees in what is considered a priority destination for many migrants; Italys island of Lampedusa is one of the main ports for those trying to get to Europe, who come from many places to include West Africa, Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine, and who flee their native lands for multiple reasons.

Surviving the trip is a daunting task for migrants traversing the Mediterranean Sea to find a new life in Italy, as it is one of the most dangerous routes to take. Earlier this year, Italian political leaders called for a six-month state of emergency because of the increase in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa.

Students in the program and their faculty coordinators stayed in two Italian cities, Perugia and Pettinengo, which continue to host many migrants. There, they met migrants and hear their stories, as well as to learn from Italian humanitarian workers helping migrants to obtain legal services, housing, job training, advocacy, and other social services. The program also featured excursions to Italys capital, Rome.

Jannie Nguyen practices greetings in Italian with an African migrant in Pettinengo, Italy during on USMs Study Abroad program Human Rights and Social Justice in Italy (submitted photo).

USM faculty members Karen Aderer, a lecturer in its School of Social Work, and Dr. Bob Press, a professor in the universitys School of Social Science and Global Studies, served as facilitators for the program.

Aderer described the trip to Italy as an incredible opportunity to observe how wars, climate change, and political and financial instability are influencing migration, as well as to see how one European country is handling this crisis.

We worked with some amazing agencies who are helping place migrants in safe housing, feeding them, teaching them Italian, and helping them to find jobs, she continued. We had many powerful and transformative interactions with migrants during this time, but one that sticks out to me, as a woman and a teacher, was meeting young Afghan girls whose families had fled the Taliban. They are now enrolled in school and Italy, and very proudly talked to us about what they are learning.

One of their mothers has even received a grant to open her own grocery store in Perugia. Their trajectories would have been so different without this chance for a new life that they found in Italy.

Dr. Press concurred with Aderer, further noting that for students taking part in the program, they adapted quickly and had good conversations with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and various African countries, among others.

Many of these students had also never been out of the country or flown on a plane, so they indeed earned the new title of world traveler with this experience, he said.

Jenna Dittman of Dayton, Ohio, a graduate student in cultural anthropology at USM who traveled to Italy on the program, said a common misconception about the study abroad group was that they were there to help migrants. However, she explained that it was the students who ultimately were the beneficiaries of the experience, learning from and being inspired firsthand by the refugees and asylum seekers through their stories of survival and determination to find a better life for themselves and their families.

Their courage and eagerness to live without fear not only affected the way I perceive life as to take beauty from each and every moment, but also in the way I extend grace and love to each person's story, no matter what the distance or cultural difference is, Dittman said.
Joshua Gutierrez has actively partnered with the UTSA University Career Center since his role as Googles Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) outreach lead. He was instrumental in setting up the HSI Career Collaboratives Los Angeles roadshow, which was hosted by Netflix, where he currently serves as the pathways engagement programs lead.

While in Los Angeles, UTSA faculty members Sean Kelly (Interdisciplinary School for Engagement in the Humanities), Paul Ardoin (associate professor and director of the Film/Media Studies Program) and Guillermina Zabala Suarez (professor of practice in the Film/Media Studies Program) introduced employers to its Hispanic Student Film Incubator. Launched in fall 2022, the incubator is ensuring that students from all backgrounds are able to pursue great opportunities as filmmakers and content creators.

The Los Angeles roadshow was the second in a series organized by the HSI Career Collaborative. In June, the Collaborative hosted a roadshow in Chicago, where members met with employers from various industries such as AbbVie, PepsiCo, John Deere, Constellation Brands and McDonald's Corp. to advocate for graduates in a variety of degree programs.

The HSI Career Collaborative has undertaken the initiative of organizing this roadshow with the aim of providing our esteemed member HSIs with an exceptional platform. This program serves as a unique opportunity for our members to engage with prominent employers in crucial markets, fostering valuable connections that benefit both UTSA and all HSIs, said Mario Vela 04, 08, UTSA assistant vice provost of career-engaged learning. The roadshow aims to facilitate not only employment prospects on behalf of our students and alumni but also the enrichment of curriculum offerings through these meaningful relationships. We are thankful to Joshua Gutierrez and Michael Orozco Jr., program manager of talent acquisition for strategic programs at Netflix, for their partnership and commitment to HSIs.
The basics of ChatGPT, a new artificial intelligence (AI) communication program, will be the subject of a webinar Friday, Aug. 18.

Alex Gunter will present a Wyoming Community Navigator Program (CNP) webinar titled ChatGPT 101 from 11 a.m.-noon. To register, go here. Registration is free.

The Wyoming CNP, through the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network at the University of Wyoming, provides small-business resources and assistance for traditionally underserved entrepreneurs throughout Wyoming.

In this introductory webinar to ChatGPT, small-business owners will learn what the program is and how they can use generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to launch or expand their businesses.

Gunter, a UW MBA graduate and a digital transformation consultant, is passionate about helping organizations leverage AI for enhanced productivity. With a rich learning background from top-tier seminars at Stanford and Harvard universities, Gunter envisions a future where AI and robotics significantly elevate the quality of life.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.
Photo released by State Bank of Pakistan on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a commemorative coin in Islamabad, Pakistan. (SBP/Handout via Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday announced to issue a commemorative coin of 100 Pakistani rupees to mark the 10th anniversary of the launching of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the SBP said in a statement.

Both the obverse and reverse sides of the coin present a crescent moon and star and a group of five stars that represent the national flags of Pakistan and China, the central bank said.

The words "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" in Urdu, Chinese and English scripts are represented on the reverse side, the SBP said, adding that "celebrating 10 years of CPEC" in English script and "the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" in Urdu script are written on the obverse side.

"The coin is in round shape milled with serrations on edge, with a diameter of 30.00 mm and a weight of 13.5 grams, and has cupro-nickel metal contents (copper 75 percent and nickel 25 percent)," the SBP added.

The CPEC has contributed greatly to Pakistan's infrastructure and economic development since its inception in 2013, the central bank said. 
Lucy Kiruthu, director of Europe and Commonwealth Affairs at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, speaks during a farewell reception-cum-award-ceremony for Kenyan students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Kenya on Thursday hosted a farewell reception-cum-award-ceremony for 48 local students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023.

A total of 48 Kenyan students are scheduled to leave for China early next week to pursue various studies at some of the leading universities. The students drawn from local tertiary institutions will pursue disciplines like public management, engineering, international relations and Chinese language at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Speaking at the ceremony in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Zhang Zhizhong, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said that China and Kenya share a long history of friendship since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Chinese government welcomes more Kenyan students to pursue further studies in China and promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Henry Rotich, chairman of the Kenya-China Alumni Association, said during the ceremony that studying in China offers an unparalleled educational experience, denoting that China's rapid growth and technological advancements have positioned it as a global leader in innovation and research.

"By immersing yourselves in this dynamic environment, you gain access to cutting-edge knowledge and the chance to collaborate with world-renowned scholars and experts," said Rotich, hoping all students to study hard and embrace a better future.

Jacob Oloo, a doctoral candidate admitted to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said that China plays an important role in today's world and it is a great opportunity for him to study and explore the country.

"I am very grateful to the Chinese government for providing us with scholarships to study in China. I will study hard and come back to build the country and contribute to Kenya-China cooperation," he said.

Oloo noted that the next four years of study and life in China will completely change his fate. "May our studies in China be transformative, and our experiences serve as a springboard for realizing the boundless potential that lies within us. Carry with us the spirit of collaboration, the thirst for knowledge, and commitment to leave a lasting impact," he said.

Since 1982, the Chinese government has provided scholarships for thousands of Kenyan students.

Lucy Kiruthu, director of Europe and Commonwealth Affairs at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, told students during the ceremony that she went to Beijing University 27 years ago and the experience has been fruitful and cultivated her international political literacy and vision.

She hoped that all students would cherish the opportunity to study in China and make contributions in their respective professional fields. 

Kenyan students who are beneficiaries of the Chinese Government Scholarships 2023 pose for a group photo in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)
As Chinese Australian journalist Cheng Lei nears three years in detention in China this Sunday on murky espionage charges, she has issued a rare public statement about the harsh conditions she faces and her longing to reunite with her children.

In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year, Cheng wrote in a letter shared by her partner Nick Coyle, who obtained the missive from Australian diplomatic officers. Its not the same in here. I havent seen a tree in 3 years.

Cheng, who used to work as a business television anchor for a Chinese state-run broadcaster, was found guilty of national security charges in a closed-door trial last year. She had been initially arrested in August of 2020. Chinese authorities have yet to hand down a final verdict in her case and her alleged crimes have not been made public.

In her message, Cheng wrote about her nostalgia for life in Australia and the difficulty of being separated from her children. I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush, she wrote. Most of all, I miss my children.

Chengs partner, Coyle, who used to be the head of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, told VOA Friday that while Cheng is managing things as well as she can, the separation from her children and elderly parents has been difficult for her.

She cant make phone calls to her children or family, and its certainly challenging, he said.

Coyle said Cheng has several cell mates and she has access to a 30-minute consular visit by Australian Embassy officials once a month. Its difficult and restrictive, he said.

Rights front and center

The Australian government has repeatedly raised its concerns about Cheng.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement released Friday that Australia will continue to support Cheng and her family and advocate for her interests and well-being.

Australia has consistently advocated for Ms Cheng, and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment to be met for Ms Cheng, in accordance with international norms, Wong said.

When Cheng was detained diplomatic tensions were rising between China and Australia. China put blocks on exports from Australia and froze relations after Australian accusations of Chinese interference in Australian politics and intimidation of the local Chinese community as well as Australian support for an investigation into the orgins of COVID-19.

Just before Coyle shared the statement on Twitter, though, relations appear to be on the mend. Last week, Beijing dropped anti-dumping tariffs and countervailing duties on Australian barley, a move that could pave the way for a visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to China this year.

However, the continuous detention of Cheng and other Australian citizens in China, shows that human rights must be front and center in Canberras negotiation with Beijing, rights advocates say.

Australia wants to have a positive environment for trade with China but that needs to come with a transparent, accountable government that respects the rule of law and human rights and thats not what we are seeing now, Elaine Pearson, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

She added that Australia cannot move forward in its relationship with Beijing as long as the cases of detained Australian citizens remain unresolved.

Hostage diplomacy

Cheng is not the only Australian citizen in Chinese custody. Chinese Australian writer Yang Heng-jun was arrested at Guangzhou airport in January 2019 under espionage charges, and the verdict on his case has been repeatedly delayed for more than four years.

Feng Chongyi, an associate professor of China studies at the University of Technology Sydney and Yangs former adviser told VOA that while Yang no longer experiences torture or interrogation and his physical conditions have improved, the verdict on his case has been delayed by national security authorities in China 11 times.

The biggest challenge for Yang is the ongoing psychological pressure because his case has been hanging there for more than two years, Feng said, adding that the opacity of Chinas criminal justice system makes it difficult for the outside world to predict how Yangs case may develop.

Yang and Cheng are held as hostages by the Chinese government, and these cases show that Beijing will persecute Chinese or foreign citizens if there is a political need to do so, Feng told VOA.

Despite repeated criticism of its criminal justice procedures, the Chinese Embassy in Australia told VOA that Chinese judicial authorities have handled the cases according to law.

It must be stressed that China is under the rule of law, and the lawful rights of Cheng are under full protection, the embassy said in an e-mail statement.

Based on humanitarian considerations, China is ready to listen to Australias demands and provide assistance within the scope of legal provisions, the embassy added.

Pressure coalition

While Australia focuses on repairing trade ties with China, Feng said Canberra should not soften its stance on human rights and the interests of its detained citizens when negotiating with Beijing.

If Australia does not stand its ground, Australian citizens doing business in China could face the risks of being arbitrarily arrested or charged with espionage, he told VOA. Changing its position on issues related to Australias interest and core values will put the Australian government in a morally indefensible position.

Since China has also arrested citizens from Canada and Japan under espionage charges in recent years, Pearson said she thinks Australia should consider working with other countries in pressuring Beijing to release foreign citizens detained on murky national security grounds.

I think the Australian government needs to build a coalition with other governments and increase its pressure on the Chinese government to release all those who are arbitrarily detained in China, she told VOA.

On Friday, Prime Minister Albanese also urged Chinese authorities to resolve Chengs case said he will not make the outcome of the case a condition of his possible trip to Beijing which has not been confirmed by the Australian or Chinese government.

I believe it is clearly the case that Cheng Lei, who now has had three years in detention, this issue should be resolved, he told a press conference at a New South Wales barley farm.

As Ive said consistently over a long period of time, visits and engagement and dialogue should not be transactional. Visits and dialogue are something that in themselves are constructive, he said.
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VOA  CONNECT

EPISODE # 291

AIR DATE: 08 11 2023

TRANSCRIPT





OPEN

((VO/NAT/SOT))

((Topic Banner))

Modernism

((SOT))

((Kevin Kemper

H3K Home+Design))

Hollywood glam had a direct influence on a lot of things that happened in Palm Springs. If you look at the mid-century modern architecture of the East Coast, it tends to be a little more of the woodsy, more natural look versus here where its a little more exaggerated with colors and use of metals and fun furniture.

((Animation Transition))

((Topic Banner))

A Gathering Place

((SOT))

((Anne Rowe

Director of Heritage, Sunnylands))

They were bringing people together from different worlds. You would have Prince Charles with Bob Hope, with Frank Sinatra, and with Ronald Reagan.

((Animation Transition))

((Topic Banner))

A Modern Lifestyle

((SOT))

((Jackie Thomas

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

I think this house is a wonderful expression of our different personalities. We love color. We love light. We love textures. And so, it has a lot of traditional, mid-century modern features.

((Open Animation))





BLOCK A





((PKG)) PALM SPRINGS (PART 1)

((TRT: 04:18))

((Topic Banner: Mid-Century Modern Architecture In Palm Springs))

((Producer/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))

((Map: Palm Springs, California))

((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))

((Sub characters: 1 female; 0 male))

((Blurb:

Blurb: Mid-century architecture of Palm Springs was developed in 1950-1960s: houses were built with concrete, steel and glass, and celebrating in design a beautiful California climate, - with the concept of bringing outside into the building via large glass windows and walls. We visited some of the houses.))

((MUSIC/NATS))

((Kevin Kemper

H3K Home+Design))

Modernism is actually a celebration of the mid-century architecture of Palm Springs. From 1955 to about 1965, thats when the development of Palm Springs really happened. And they built these homes and these buildings that really were mid-century modern architecture. And so, they do Modernism Week every year that kind of brings a bunch of people who appreciate modernism and celebrate it. They have lectures, seminars, tours, and you get to know more about mid-century modern and make it a learning experience.

((Kevin Kemper

H3K Home+Design))

The reason that mid-century modern kind of like really kind of got a kick-off is because it was after World War Two, when everyone was coming back from the war, and I think there is an optimism in America. You had a lot of money. You had a lot of, you know, happiness in the country. And so they really kind of used that to express themselves in the architecture.

((NATS))

((Lisa Vossler Smith

Modernism Week))

The architecture of the mid-century modern period is really unique because it was some of the first affordable building materials that came on the market after World War Two. Houses were built with concrete, steel, and glass, which were materials different from the wood and clapboard siding of traditional architecture.

In Southern California, we have a beautiful climate, wonderful sunny days, and it allowed to build large glass windows and walls, and bring the outside into the building, with the beautiful visual vistas of the landscape.

((MUSIC/NATS))

((Haily Zaki

Modernism Week))

This is The Hidden Frey. This house was designed in 1966 by Albert Frey, who is the father of Desert Modernism. It was actually forgotten for almost 30 years. It was recently rediscovered and restored to its former glory. Everything you see is actually below grade, except for the pool which is at grade. And so thats kind of why the name Hidden Frey is really appropriate. Its completely hidden and private.

((Kevin Kemper

H3K Home+Design))

The architecture in Palm Springs is very interesting because, I think, once the [19]50s hit, and there was this ability to have air conditioning, which is obviously very important in a desert community, people were able to come here, live here. They could be here more full time. And then because we are kind of part of the Hollywood system, where the Hollywood celebrities were able to come from, you know, L.A. and travel easily to Palm Springs and kind of hang out here, Hollywood glam had a direct influence on a lot of things that happened in Palm Springs, especially compared to the other parts of the country. If you look at the mid-century modern architecture of the East Coast, it tends to be a little more of the woodsy, more natural look versus here where its a little more exaggerated with the colors, and light and bright, and use of metals and fun furniture.

((Lisa Vossler Smith

Modernism Week))

I think that the mid-century modern style has been translated over the last 50 years. What was once considered very simple and industrial and relatively inexpensive, has now become trendy and coveted and collectable.

((NATS))

((Jody

Palm Springs Visitor))

That pink door, I dont know if youve seen the pink door that has its own Instagram account.

All the doors are a pop of color because if you look around, a lot of homes are beige and white to blend with the desert, but then the colors and the modernism part of everything, the architecture, and the colors, the pop of the door, are what make the home stand out.

It was so interesting to learn about all these architects that created this whole movement of the architecture. What you see in Palm Springs, it was a movement. And people want their homes done in the style of these architects, and to paint your doors really cool colors.

((Lisa Vossler Smith

Modernism Week))

There is a lot of joy expressed through the minimalist design, and things like the television show Mad Men, and many of the things happening in pop-culture has certainly brought back a vintage culture and, you know, social media and Instagrammable-type lifestyle for mid-century modern design. So its more than a trend. Its really about a lifestyle and a way that people are choosing to live today.

((NATS/MUSIC))





TEASE

((VO/NAT/SOT))

Coming up

((Topic Banner))

A Place of Worship For All

((SOT))

((Rabbi Steven Rosenberg

Temple Isaiah, Palm Springs))

We label ourselves as a contemporary progressive congregation. So, we welcome people, no matter what the color of their skin are, what the background is, whats their sexual orientation is.





BREAK ONE

USAGM SHARE

((LogOn Voice Diagnosis Tech (TV/R)

HEADLINE: LogOn: Could Your Voice Help Diagnose Your Next Illness?

TEASER: Technology analyzing thousands of voices may play a role in the future of medicine

BYLINE: Julie Taboh

DATELINE: Washington

PRODUCER: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum

SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Amy R

TRT: 1:54 & 2:00

[[Voice experts have long known that a person's voice can provide important information about their emotional, physical and mental health. Now a U.S. government-funded project is collecting and analyzing thousands of voices and using artificial intelligence to diagnose illnesses. VOAs Julie Taboh has more.]]

((Courtesy: Allison Long/USF Health))

((NATS  patients voice being tested))

((NARRATOR))

Dr. Yael Bensoussan examines the vocal cords of a patient.

At the University of South Florida Health Voice Center, she treats patients with a range of voice disorders, such as upper airway, voice and swallowing disorders.

And lately, shes been helping to lead a new project to build a database of 30,000 human voice recordings and train computers to detect diseases through changes in the human voice.

((Radio track: She spoke with VOA via Skype.))

((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))

Not only to build that data, but also to develop the guidelines on how to share that data, how to collect that data, and also how to use that data for future AI [artificial intelligence] research. ((Courtesy: Weill Cornell Medicine))

((NARRATOR))

She works with a team of 45 investigators across 12 different universities in North America as well as a startup in Europe. ((NATS - Parkinsons voice demo, Text on graphic: "Parkinson's disease"))

They study voice samples to help them detect illnesses like Parkinsons disease

((NATS - Glottic cancer voice demo, Text on graphic: "Glottic cancer"))

((NARRATOR))

cancer

((NATS - Vocal fold paralysis demo, Text on graphic: "Vocal Fold Paralysis"))

((NARRATOR))

And voice disorders such as vocal fold paralysis

The team also studies mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.

((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))

So when somebody is depressed, sad, has anxiety, of course their speech changes.

((NARRATOR))

((Courtesy: NIH))

The study is one of four data-generation projects funded by the National Institutes of Health's Bridge to Artificial Intelligence program, designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.

((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))

They realized that there was such a big gap between the technology that we had available, and the clinical knowledge, and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.

((NARRATOR))

And doing it while maintaining participants privacy.

[[Radio track: Grace Peng is one of the coordinators of the National Institutes of Healths Bridge2AI program. She spoke with VOA via Zoom.]]

((Grace Peng, National Institutes of Health)) ((Zoom))

We want to think about the ethics associated with collecting people's voices. And how do we keep it private? ((NARRATOR))

((Courtesy: NIH))

The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year. ((Julie Taboh, VOA News, Washington))

BUMP IN ((ANIM))





BLOCK B





((PKG)): PALM SPRINGS (PART 2)

((TRT: 06:26))

((Topic Banner: Inspiring the Powerful and Serving the Religious))

((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))

((Map: Palm Springs, California))

((Main characters: 1 female; 2 male))

((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))

((Blurb:

Sunnylands in Palm Springs was created as a getaway estate for powerful politicians to come, to relax and build friendships with each other, while deciding on the fates of the world, and mid-century modern architecture served that purpose, - as well as in synagogue Temple Isaiah, that was designed to look like Noahs Arch, where the architectural style is meant inspire the worshipers.))

((NATS))

((Anne Rowe

Director of Heritage, Sunnylands))

Walter and Leonore Annenberg were both American diplomats and they were philanthropists. And in 1963, they decided to build a marvelous mid-century home here in the desert.

They paired up with a Quincy Jones, who was a famous architect in Southern California and beyond that, and they designed this masterpiece.

So the mid-century modern movement really occurred across the globe. And the way it was interpreted in Southern California took many shapes and forms.

In the Annenbergs case, they had it in their mind and they brought to the table, to the architect, that they wanted a Mayan influence, they called it. They had toured through Mexico. They had toured the pyramids, and hence they wanted a pyramidal roof on their mid-century home.

When they designed this house, they were not yet diplomats. They were successful publishers. They were very wealthy power couple.

What happened was they built this home for themselves. And as the history of the home unfolded with one of the first guests being President Eisenhower, and its just snowballed from there. One dignitary came after another, and they saw the power of place here. They saw their friends coming out of Washington, D.C. and other places in the world, and coming to this tranquil environment. And they saw really interesting conversations happen here. And then later, it became more conscious effort to use this property for diplomatic outreach.

They were bringing people together from different worlds. For instance, on the patio, we know from the guest books, you would have Prince Charles with Bob Hope, with Frank Sinatra, and with Ronald Reagan.

There were some relationships forged through this property. For instance, it was actually Mr. Annenberg who introduced Ronald Reagan to Margaret Thatcher. That became a very famous pairing and a powerful pairing through the 80s. It impacted policy, you know, across the pond, so to speak.

What the Annenbergs wished for their property after their residency was that we continue to provide what they naturally provided, and make the home a place to gather people who have impact in the world, for the greater good, really to bring peace to the world. That was their goal. And so they asked us to do the same, to bring people, important people, to the property, to be in the home, to relax and have important conversations.

One of our recent guests was President Obama during his term, and he brought to the property, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and they had an important summit here, and a lot of good work was decided out of that meeting here.

President Trump did not opt to use the property, but it certainly was available to him.

As a presidential retreat, President Biden is more than welcome to plan meetings here, and we would welcome him and his administration as we would any president.

((NATS))

((Rabbi Steven Rosenberg

Temple Isaiah, Palm Springs))

This was the original chapel that was built in 1947.

In the [19]50s, in the United States, the American style was very different than the European style of synagogues. Everything that was almost the antithesis of the Baroque Victorian, very grand. Things were much more simplistic.

So, if you look at these pictures, mid-century architecture with synagogues was very utilitarian, with not much interpretation. That was the ark that looked like a box. That was the era.

The idea of we say, well, you know, do you get spirituality of it? Thats kind of a 21st century word.1950s, if you went to the average Jewish person and said, you know, where do you find your spirituality? They may not know what youre talking about.

As a rabbi, Id say, you know, I find our much more moderate space upstairs, for me, much more spiritual than this space.

This isthis served a purpose a long time ago. Is it relevant for the era that we live in now? Probably not, but it was then.

When Frank Sinatras mother died, Rabbi Horowitz did one of the eulogies. The Sinatra family was so moved by what Rabbi Horowitz said, and Frank Sinatra came up to Horowitz and said, If theres anything you ever need, just call me. Ill be more than happy to help you.

Well, a few years later, they wanted to expand the temple, but they needed like four million dollars. Four million dollars, in 1982, is a lot more than today in U.S. dollars.

Mr. Sinatra to come help him to do some benefits or what not, and they raised, they raised all of that.

It is important when you walk into a worship space, regardless if its Jewish or Christian or Catholic, that youre inspired when you walk in. When you come in from the back and you see this vista, with these gorgeous mountains, and through this window, it really gives such an impression of just majesty and the grandeur of God.

The building itself, this wing was really designed to look like Noahs Ark. And if you notice, there is a lot of use of these colors of a rainbow. Part of the Noahs story is that after the world floods and the waters recede, and God puts the rainbow in the sky, saying, I am never going to destroy the world again. Its a sense of hope. Its a sense, a promise of continuity.

We label ourselves as a contemporary progressive congregation. So, we welcome people, no matter what the color of their skin are, what the background is, what their sexual orientation is.

((Mitchell Karp

President, Temple Isaiahs Board of Trustees))

With me being and openly gay president of a conservative movement temple, and with Rabbi Rosenberg, we want to make sure that this is a, quote, safe space for everybody.

((NATS/MUSIC))



TEASE

((VO/NAT/SOT))

Coming up

((Topic Banner))

A Modern Lifestyle

((SOT))

((Michael Ostrow

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

In California, in general, the light is much brighter than, lets say, it is in New York. It is different feel for the light. I think American optimism and enthusiasm is reflected in the architecture. You see the openness and the brightness of the houses.





BREAK TWO

USAGM

((LogOn Underwater Drones (TV, R)

HEADLINE: LogOn: Underwater Drones Take Off Like Those in the Air

TEASER: The discovery of the Endurance shipwreck in Antarctic waters this year has encouraged hobbyists to take up underwater drones

BYLINE: Genia Dulot

VIDEOGRAPHER: Genia Dulot

PRODUCER: Genia Dulot

SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn

TRT: 2:01

[[As they overcome the challenges of operating in water, underwater drones are becoming more available for hobbyists, researchers and public agencies. Genia Dulot reports.)) ((NARRATION))

Jesuit Robotics, a high school robotics team from Sacramento, California, has been designing remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, for more than a decade.

[[For Radio: Charlie Diaz, a member of the Jesuit Robotics team]]

((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))

We developed the grippers ourselves, the cameras, our modularly adjustable buoyancy systems.

((BROLL: Shots of Jesuit Robotics team))

((NARRATION))

Jesuit Robotics recently exhibited its underwater drone at a competition in Long Beach, California. Called the Manatee, this underwater drone can map shipwrecks or work on environmental projects.

((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))

We have our custom AI detection software.  Our bottom gripper helps us to restore seagrass beds.

((NARRATION))

((Courtesy: FALKLANDS MARITIME HERITAGE TRUST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC / AFP))

Entrancing many, the recent discovery by ROV of the Endurance, which sank in Antarctic waters in 1915. That effort cost an estimated $10 million.

ROVs have been slow to take off among hobbyists, however. Several startup companies are making design changes and adding technology to make drones work better underwater and reduce costs.

Blue Robotics, a Los Angeles firm, works on waterproofing underwater drone parts such as the thruster, which propels the ROV in the right direction, and has added various sensors measuring temperature, pressure and depth.

[[For Radio: Rustom Jehangir is founder and CEO of Blue Robotics]]

((Rustom Jehangir, CEO Blue Robotics))

Instead of trying to protect the motor from the water, why dont we make a waterproof motor? Thats really the innovation here.

((Courtesy: Blue Robotics))

((NARRATION))

These new underwater drones cannot go to the deep sea, but they are being used in conditions unsafe for human divers, and by hobbyists, says Fritz Stahr, an ocean technology expert.

[[For Radio: Fritz Stahr, a judge at the competition, and chief technology officer at Open Ocean Robotics, a marine technology firm.]]

((Fritz Stahr, Ocean Tech Expert))

The ability for everybody or more people to be that explorer, to be that person who understands whats going on in their local environment, is really important.

((NARRATION))

Unlike aerial drones, technology has yet to solve the problem of underwater communications. For now, these drones are controlled by a tether.

((Genia Dulot for VOA News, Los Angeles))

BUMP IN ((ANIM))





BLOCK C



((PKG)) TINY HOUSES

((TRT: 05:37))

((Topic Banner: A Modern Lifestyle))

((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))

((Map: Palm Springs, California))

((Main characters: 2 female; 2 male))

((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))

((Blurb:

Two LGBTQ couples are showing us their mid-century modern houses in Palm Springs, talking about their love to this architectural and design style.))

((NATS))

((Roger Stoker

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

Hi! Welcome to our home! Im Rogers Stoker.

((Michael Ostrow

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

And I am Michael Ostrow.

((Roger Stoker

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

And we live in a Stan Sackley home in Palm Springs in the beautiful Indian Canyon neighborhood. The house was built in 1975, and Stan designed a lot of the houses on the street, and mostly for second homes.

Stan Sackley always did a very private front, and then you walked in, and usually a step-down living room, and then a very open back. With the clear-story windows, it really takes advantage of the views and the beautiful blue sky.

The great thing about having the sliders in the back is you kind of feel like this is an extension of your living space. And we have a hedged backyard, which is very private. We have living space. We have lounging space. We have dining space and the great pool right outside of our living room door.

It is sunny 360 days of the year, and pretty much 75 degrees (fahrenheit) [24 degrees celcius] and beautiful, so you can really enjoy indoor outdoor lifestyle.

This is a great example of the full height door. When you open it up, it really makes the rooms flow together. They dont feel like separate spaces. So the full height door is a very important feature of Stan Sackleys home.

Again, in the master bedroom, we have the wall of glass, which brings outdoors in. So, this is a huge platform tub, sunken Roman tub, and it had an area with a skylight for plants behind it, so you felt like the outdoors were even in your bathroom.

We are interior designers, and we have a shop called Grace Home Furnishings, but we love use of color, bright color. And the light is so much different in Palm Springs that when you use the bright color, it becomes very saturated. It really changes your mood to come out here and use fun color.

((Michael Ostrow

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

I also think that in California, in general, the light is much brighter than, lets say, it is in New York. It is different feel for the light. I think American optimism and enthusiasm is reflected in the architecture. You see the openness and the brightness of the houses.

((Roger Stoker

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

This is our dog, Grace. She loves the modern architecture. She loves running in and out of the slider door to play in the yard and

((Michael Ostrow

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

she loves the cool floors. She loves how open everything is. Nothing is closed. Theres not a lot of doors. Shes able to kind of run free.

((Roger Stoker

Owner, Seventies Sackley))

And she loves jumping in the pool.

((NATS))

Cookie, doggie. Wheres the doggie? Oh, let me get this.

((NATS))

((Jackie Thomas

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

I am Jackie.

((DeeAnn McCoy,

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

I am DeeAnn.

((Jackie Thomas

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

And we come from advertising and marketing backgrounds. We met in PortlandPortland, Oregon, where DeeAnn had an advertising agency, and I worked for Nike. And along way, we decided that we wanted to balance our work-life environment, so we moved to Palm Springs.

This house was built in 1974, so its a little post-modern. Its got a lot of traditional, mid-century modern characteristics. Its got floor-to-ceiling windows. Its got tremendous lighting.

I think this house is a wonderful expression of our different personalities. We love color. We love light. We love textures. And so, it has a lot of traditional, mid-century modern features. I think the scale shifts a little bit. Its really grand. And there are some nuances from 1970s that the architecture added.

When you look at the front of the house, there are those really cool kind of medallions that are in the front, and we just had never seen that before. And we loved that. We thought it felt like it had a really cool kind of a Marrakesh-Moroccan vibe, and we just loved it. We thought lets take that, and blend kind of a modern and the Moroccan together, and see if we can come up with something kind of really fresh and exciting.

That was the inspiration for what we call, Moroccan Modern.

((DeeAnn McCoy,

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

There are mid-century modern homes everywhere, but very few places where you find the density of homes like you will here. And the education level, that people understand what mid-century modern is all about. And that goes beyond just the architecture and the design. Its kind of a lifestyle, because in the [19]50s and [19]60s, the U.S. was coming out of World War Two. There was so much optimism. Everyone was excited. They were buying homes. They were having children, you know, baby boom. We are the part of the baby boom generation. And I just remember watching my parents, loved it, you know, poolside, cocktails after a hard day, having guests over, their friends for dinner. It was just a wonderful lifestyle.

((Jackie Thomas

Owner, Moroccan Modern))

And so for us, the boomers, were kind of saying, you know what? Weve worked really hard and we loved what we did, but theres going to be something else. So we want to redefine how we define success. And I think there is a real synergy between those two, and certainly for us.

((NATS))



((PKG)) TINY HOUSE COMMUNITY

((Previously aired June 2021))

((TRT: 03:05))

((Topic Banner: Tiny House Community))

((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Arturo Martinez))

((Producer: Zdenko Novacki))

((Map: Mount Laguna, California))

((Main characters: 3 female; 0 male))

((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))

((MUSIC/NATS))

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

A tiny home is a home that is under 400 square feet [37 m2]. So, yeah, this is definitely it.

((MUSIC/NATS))

It's always been my dream to live in a tiny house. I saw the documentary, Minimalism when I was 17 [years old], and I started to realize that you could live in a way that was different and that we don't necessarily need all of these things that the American dream tells us that we need: getting a bigger house, or a better car, and just always trying to accumulate possessions that are a reflection of who we want people to think that we are, but really, we just bought those things and it has nothing to do with who we are at all, and we should be focusing on relationships.

((NATS/MUSIC))

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

I think that the push is coming from the younger generation, especially just with the way the economy is and affordability of having your own space. Living in a tiny home makes it so attainable and affordable to do so. It really does.

((NATS/MUSIC))

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

There is 25 houses here at Tiny House Block. Some of them are individually owned, a few of them are, but then most of them belong to the community. Jon and Melissa Block [Affordable housing entrepreneurs] started Tiny House Block because they saw the need for and the demand for a place that is safe and legal to park a tiny home. I do housekeeping, and then I also do the social media, and I'm responsible for the newsletter.

((NATS/MUSIC))

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

Hi.

((Erica Moslander

Tiny House resident))

Hi. How are you?

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

I'm good. How's my little Iggy?

((Erica Moslander

Product owner, Tiny House resident))

Lovely as always.

This is my house. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's not my house. I'm renting it. I'm working internet-based. So, as long as I can tap into the internet, we're all good.

((Gail Arnold

Retired, Tiny House owner))

Come, come sit with me. Come see me and Bodhi. How was your weekend?

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

It was good. We went out for sushi, and we played Mario Kart.

((NATS/MUSIC))

((Gail Arnold

Retired, Tiny House owner))

Oh, I'm full.

((Erica Moslander

Product owner, Tiny House resident))

Yeah, me too. Ive eaten a lot today.

((Gail Arnold

Retired, Tiny House owner))

Oh, yeah. So true. Yeah.

((Erica Moslander

Product owner, Tiny House resident))

I will say that you have brought like such a dynamic of community.

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

I agree.

((Erica Moslander

Product owner, Tiny House resident))

Yeah. Like the first time you knocked on my door with like Julian apple pie and then

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

So sweet.

((Erica Moslander

Product owner, Tiny House resident))

Its like, just definitely like encourages that sense of community.

((Gail Arnold

Retired, Tiny House owner))

Yeah.

((NATS/MUSIC))

((Natalie Cornacchione

Student and Employee, Tiny House Block))

I feel like I'm my best self when I'm very connected to nature and the community. And being here at Tiny House Block gives me both of those things every single day.

((NATS/MUSIC))





((PKG)) NATURE: MOOSE

((TRT: 02:00))

((Topic Banner: Nature: Moose in Alaska))

((Text on screen:

Grazing moose in the wetlands of Homer, Alaska and moose cows taking care of their calves.))

((Camera/Editor: Gabrielle Weiss))





BREAK THREE

USAGM SHARE

((LogOn: Space Camera (TV, R)

HEADLINE: LogOn: Giant Camera Focuses on the Invisible

TEASER: Camera will document the universe for 10 years, gathering data for dark energy and dark matter research

BYLINE: Matt Dibble

VIDEOGRAPHER: Matt Dibble

PRODUCER: Matt Dibble

SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Reifenrath

TRT: 1:55

[[In California, a camera the size of a car is being prepared for its mission: documenting unseen phenomena in the universe. Matt Dibble has the story.]]

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

At the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

engineers are building the worlds largest digital camera. The LSST camera, as its called,

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))

((NARRATOR))

will be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in southern Chile to record images of the night sky over a ten-year period.

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))

((NARRATOR))

By observing a wide swath of the universe over time, researchers expect to gain insight into some of sciences biggest questions.

[[For Radio: PhD student Theo Schutt is running final tests on the camera.]]

((Theo Schutt, Stanford University Ph.D Student))

How old is the universe, how fast is it expanding, why is it expanding?

So we're really like going for the 95% of the universe that we basically don't understand at all.

((Courtesy: NASA))

((NARRATOR))

Scientists theorize that 95% of the universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter, which cant be seen directly.

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

However, the effect that dark energy has on its surroundings can potentially be detected if observed over time.

[[For Radio: ...says astrophysicist Aaron Roodman, who leads the camera project.]]

((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))

We can study it by looking at galaxies, ((Courtesy: NASA)) studying how the light from distant galaxies has been bent by all the matter between us and the distant galaxy.

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA/ Todd Mason Productions))

((NARRATOR))

The camera will record on most nights, essentially compiling a time-lapse movie.

((NARRATOR))

Each image will be made up of about 3 billion pixels, ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA)) about 300 times the size of a smartphone image. ((end courtesy))

((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: SLAC))

Funded by the US government, the project will share images ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))

with international researchers, directing attention to short-lived phenomena as they happen.

((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))

Within two minutes, we will compare ((Courtesy: NASA))

the objects we see in it  the stars, galaxies, asteroids ((end courtesy))  with how they previously appeared in prior images. And we will flag any differences.

((NARRATOR))

Researchers are eagerly expecting the unexpected.

((Matt Dibble for VOA News, Menlo Park, California))

BUMP IN ((ANIM))





SHOW ENDS


















Cheng Lei, the Australian journalist who this Sunday will mark three years of detention in China, says she misses the sun.

In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window, but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year, Cheng Lei said in an open letter to the people of Australia, dictated to diplomats who are able to speak to her each month and released by her partner. I miss the sun.

The letter is the first time Cheng has spoken publicly since she was detained in Beijing in August 2020. She was later accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas in an ongoing saga that experts say highlights the lack of press freedom in China.

Cheng is a former television anchor at the Chinese state-run TV channel CGTN. Beijing has still not revealed the verdict of her closed-door national security trial that took place in March 2022.

In what she called a love letter to 25 million people, Cheng details all that she misses of Australia and the harsh conditions she has been forced to endure behind bars.

This is a love letter to 25 million people and 7 million square kilometers [4.3 million square miles] of land, land abundant in nature, beauty and space. It is not the same in here. I havent seen a tree in three years, she said.

I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets. I secretly mouth the names of places Ive visited and driven through, Cheng said.

The journalist added that she misses the Queensland tropics, sand between her toes, the never-ending blue skies of western Australia and encounters with wildlife.

Chengs plight underscores the fact that China ranks among the worlds worst jailers of journalists and has one of the worst press freedom records in the world.

Her case is emblematic of the severe restrictions on press freedom under [China President] Xi Jinping and how authorities wield national security charges to arbitrarily deny due process rights, Angeli Datt, a China researcher at the free expression advocacy group PEN America, told VOA. Her recent statement from detention shows a yearning for freedom.

In an emailed statement to VOA, the spokesperson of Chinas Washington embassy said, China is a country governed by law. China's judicial authorities have been dealing with cases independently and the rights of the person involved are fully protected.

The Chinese government protects citizens freedom of speech in accordance with [the] law, and gives full play to the role of the news media and citizens in supervising public opinion, Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson, continued.

Reading the letter was particularly difficult for Emily Angwin, who worked in Beijing with Cheng at CGTN until Chengs 2020 arrest.

Leis beautifully written letter was heartbreaking to read and brought me to tears, Angwin, now a freelance reporter in the Philippines, told VOA. Imagine not seeing a tree for three years? Imagine being deprived of basic human rights, like sunshine and contact with your children?

I am angry and in disbelief that Lei has been detained for three years and we are no closer to a resolution, Angwin added. Her letter highlights what an incredibly strong woman she is  as the conditions shes being held in would break even the strongest of people.

In the letter, Cheng said, Every year the bedding is taken into the sun for two hours to air. When it came back last time, I wrapped myself in the doona and pretended I was being hugged by my family under the sun.

Yaqiu Wang, who researches China at Human Rights Watch, said the letter is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Her words showed her extraordinary resilience and her love for life and for her children, Wang told VOA. But the fact that three years later, she is still languishing in detention on dubious state secret charges just lays bare the abusive, impervious and politicized nature of Chinas justice system.

Wang added that Canberra should make clear that the reporters release is critical to the future of Australian-Chinese relations.

Earlier this year, Canberra expressed deep concerns over the delay in announcing the outcome of Chengs trial, which Australian diplomats were barred from attending.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Friday that Chengs letter makes clear her deep love for our country.

All Australians want to see her reunited with her children. Australia has consistently advocated for Ms. Cheng, and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment be met for Ms. Cheng, Wong said.

Cheng, who was born in China, moved to Australia when she was 10 years old.

Growing up as Chinese-Australian, I had two identities that would often fight for the upper hand depending on the context and company, she said in the letter.

But in humor, the Aussie humor wins hands down every time, she said. We take fun seriously and make fun of seriousness.

Cheng added: It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all I miss my children.
An American woman and her daughter have been released 13 days after they were kidnapped in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Gangs have kidnapped hundreds of people, mostly Haitians, since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. As VOAs Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, Haitians are taking to the streets to demand aid, and Kenya is considering sending a multinational force. Camera: Matiado Vilme
Taiwans vice president and presidential front-runner, William Lai, departs Saturday on a seven-day trip to Paraguay. Along the way, he will make transit stops in New York and San Francisco, something China has strongly protested.

While the United States and Taiwan have characterized Lais stops as "routine" for Taiwanese officials, China says it firmly opposes such "sneaky visits," especially by someone like Lai, a politician Beijing has branded a Taiwan "independence separatist."

Analysts say Taipei and Washington will try to ensure Lais stopovers do not further exacerbate U.S.-China tensions, but the visit comes as challenges to relations between the worlds two biggest economies continue to mount.

"Taiwan and the U.S. will try to make this trip meaningful for Lai but not in a way that pokes the bear," Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA.

Taiwanese presidential candidates have visited the U.S. during election campaigns in the past but experts say Lais role as Taiwans sitting vice president will make Washington handle his transit more carefully because it does not want to be perceived as endorsing Lai.

"The U.S. can neither treat Lai too well nor too badly, so letting him transit through New York and San Francisco is a compromise in my opinion," Chen Fang-yu, a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan, told VOA.

Chen added that at a time when Washington hopes to have more military and diplomatic engagement with China, with Washington inviting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit Washington next month, it will try to make Lais stopovers "less formal" to avoid triggering any overreaction from Beijing.

"Diplomatically, the U.S. would like to avoid too many surprises," he said.

So far, Taiwanese authorities have not revealed details of Lais itinerary, but sources with knowledge of the arrangement told VOA that he may hold events with the Taiwanese American community. On his way to attend the inaugural ceremony for Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Pena, Lai will stop in New York on Saturday and make another stop in San Francisco on Wednesday before returning to Taiwan.

Lai made similar transit stops in the U.S. in January 2022 as part of his trip to Honduras. During those stopovers, he conducted online meetings with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Tammy Duckworth and met with members of the Taiwanese community. This time, it is unclear whether he will have such high-level discussions.

Beijings response

With about five months to go before Taiwan holds its hotly contested presidential election, Lais transit stops come at a sensitive time for Taipei, Beijing, and Washington.

Lai has been consistently leading in most opinion polls but his track record of characterizing Taiwan as a sovereign state has increased the Chinese governments distrust in him.

China views Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory and has long opposed high-level engagement between officials from Taiwan and other countries. In recent years, Beijing has increased the frequency of deploying fighter jets and naval vessels into Taiwans air defense identification zone or crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which serves as an unofficial demarcation between Taipei and Beijing.

Over the past year, China staged two large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in response to visits, once after Pelosis visited to Taipei last August and again in April when Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

Following Tsais stopover in California and meeting with McCarthy and other U.S. lawmakers, Beijing staged a multiday, blockade-style military exercise around Taiwan.

This time, experts think Beijing will launch a military response to Lais stopovers in the U.S., but the scale will depend on how "official-looking" his trip is. "This includes who he meets with, what he says, and how public those meetings are," Amanda Hsiao, senior China analyst at the International Crisis Group, told VOA.

As Taiwan gears up for the presidential election, Hsiao said she thinks Beijing will try to moderate its response to Lais transit stops, as any reaction deemed too provocative could help increase Lais chance of winning the election. However, she added that Beijing also worries about sending the wrong signal if its responses are deemed too weak.

"They may respond with a small-scale military exercise, and it can simply be an increase in what they already do on an almost daily basis," she said.

China has deployed 79 military aircraft and 23 naval vessels to areas near Taiwan since Sunday, according to Taiwans National Defense Ministry. Among them, 25 military craft have crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or intruded Taiwans southwestern and southeastern air defense identification zone.

Making a good impression

For Lai, the trip is an opportunity to make a good impression and his positions both on relations with China and the U.S. clear.

Before departing for the trip, in an interview with Taiwanese broadcaster SETN, Lai emphasized that Taiwan is not a part of China, expressed his willingness to "be friends" with China, and highlighted the importance of Taiwans relationship with the U.S.

"Pushing away our best partner, the U.S., would be unwise," he said.

Analysts say Lai has largely inherited the "four commitments" put forward by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in 2021, which focus on defending Taiwans democratic system, safeguarding Taiwan's sovereignty, pushing back against pressure from China, and letting Taiwan's people determine the islands future.

"Tsais approach has earned international recognition so its a safe approach for Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party," Chen from Soochow University told VOA.

Nachman from National Chengchi University said he thinks Lai should continue to try to make a good impression on the U.S. government.

"He needs to prove that he can be 'Tsai Ing-wen 2.0' and this trip is one of the big tests," he told VOA.
Lebanon is considering banning the Barbie movie because the culture minister said the film promotes homosexuality and contradicts religious values, in a move that some experts say underscores the poor state of free speech and gay rights in the country and throughout the Middle East.

Mohammad Mortada, Lebanons culture minister, moved to ban Barbie Wednesday, saying it was discovered to promote homosexuality and sexual transformation and contradicts values of faith and morality by disparaging the significance of the family unit.

Kuwait soon followed suit, with the state news agency, KUNA, reporting Thursday that the government had banned Barbie and the supernatural horror film Talk to Me in order to protect public ethics and social traditions.

Experts on human rights and free speech in Lebanon said the potential Barbie ban is a symptom of Beiruts broader efforts to degrade free expression and LGBTQ rights in the country.

Its ridiculous and deadly serious at the same time, said Justin Shilad, an expert on press freedom in the Middle East for the advocacy group PEN America.

Shilad said it may seem almost comical for Lebanon to consider banning Barbie, which brings to life the iconic childs doll and follows her on her journey of self-discovery after an identity crisis. But, he said, it comes within the context of government officials increasingly restricting free speech, targeting critical journalists and amplifying anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

It speaks to this increasing willingness of all different power centers in Lebanon to crack down on dissent, crack down on those who are different, to increasingly ostracize an already marginalized community as part of this overall move to increasingly crack down on free expression, Shilad told VOA from New York.

Based on Mortadas move, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi then asked the general securitys censorship committee  which falls under the interior ministry and is usually responsible for censorship decisions  to review the film and give its recommendation.

Meanwhile in Kuwait, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Press and Publication Lafy Al-Subeie said both Barbie and Talk to Me were banned because they promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order.

The bans in Lebanon and Kuwait underscore the prevalence of censorship throughout the region as well, according to Shilad.

It also speaks to a larger trend in Lebanon, where free expression and the free exchange of ideas is increasingly becoming contested, Shilad said. This is also indicative of a larger regionwide phenomenon.

Shilad believes Kuwaits reasoning about banning the films was intentionally vague.

Its this very vague nod to stability, or moral or cultural values, Shilad said. And the reason why its so vague and so ill-defined is because under that umbrella, you can crack down on a broad range of speech and suppress a broad range of expression.

Kuwaits Washington embassy did not reply to VOAs email requesting comment.

In response to a request for comment, Lebanons Washington embassy directed VOA to the countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, which did not reply to VOAs email requesting comment.

This isnt the first time the film has proven surprisingly controversial on the global stage. In early July, the Vietnamese government banned the film due to its perceived inclusion of Beijings controversial nine-dash line in a map.

Lebanon was once held up as a relatively safe haven for the LGBTQ community in the Middle East. In 2017, it became the first Arab country to host a gay pride week.

In 2018, a court ruled that same-sex conduct is not illegal, but since that decision, the situation for the countrys LGBTQ community has grown more and more worrisome. For example, last year, Lebanons Interior Ministry banned any events aimed at promoting sexual perversion, referencing gatherings of LGBTQ people.

Politicians are increasingly targeting vulnerable populations, such as LGBT[Q] people in Lebanon, said Ramzi Kaiss, who researches Lebanon at Human Rights Watch.

Kaiss and Shilad think Lebanese lawmakers are ramping up their use of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to distract the publics attention from more pressing issues  like the struggling economy, government corruption and the status of the investigation into the devastating 2020 Port of Beirut explosion.

Instead, theyre busy cracking down on freedom of expression and LGBT[Q] rights and banning the Barbie movie, Kaiss told VOA from Beirut. I think its outrageous that this is the main priority for the government, while there is a range of other actions that need to be taken.
Aid groups and the government of Cameroon say they distributed rice, millet and beans to at least 30,000 people this week along the central African states northern border with Chad and Nigeria.

Refugee populations and host communities are among the recipients.

The government and relief agencies now aim to reach a total of 4 million people over the next six weeks.

Distribution is complicated by torn-up roads and ongoing clashes between government troops and separatist groups in Cameroons Northwest and Southwest regions.

Aid agencies have also reported sporadic Boko Haram attacks but the government has said it will protect all aid workers.

Ayissi Nouma is coordinator of the Emergency Food Project at the Cameroon Red Cross, one of the agencies distributing food aid.

Nouma said undernourishment, famine and movement of people out of their communities in search of food in Cameroon's northern border with Chad and Nigeria are the direct consequences of severe floods and attacks by elephants and migratory birds on plantations. Nouma said Boko Haram terrorism and clashes between herders and fishers that displaced more than a 100,000 people, including farmers to Chad, are among the causes of current food shortages.

Nouma spoke on Cameroon state broadcaster CRTV on Friday.

The separatist crisis in the west and Boko Haram attacks in the north have disrupted food production and left millions of Cameroonians facing hunger in recent years.

Russias invasion of Ukraine made the situation worse. Before Russias Black Sea blockade, Cameroon imported 60% of its wheat from Ukraine. The cutoff led to a nearly 50% increase in the price of bread.

More recently, floods that swept through towns also rendered several hundred homeless and hungry, the government said. Those affected include the economic hub, Douala, and Buea and Limbe, both English-speaking western towns.

Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroons agriculture minister, said climate shocks added to the present food shortage Cameroon is witnessing.



"Agropastoral production has been disrupted due to climate hazards, high rainfall in the northern part of the country, sudden cessation of rains in the southern part which did not allow crops to complete their cycle, Mbairobe said.

Crop pests as well as the destruction of fields by elephants and sociopolitical and intercommunity conflicts are affecting 27,000 producers, he added.

Mbairobe said Cameroons government and its partners are ready to provide emergency food and nutritional supplies to people threatened by hunger and disease.

He said besides distributing food aid, Cameroon is providing hybrid seeds and fertilizers to farmers who agree to return to their farms.



The government said it has also distributed drought-tolerant crops to several thousand farmers on Cameroon's northern border with Chad and Nigeria.

Meanwhile Cameroon's livestock ministry reports that several hundred heifers, which quickly adapt to harsh climatic conditions and produce more milk than the local breed of cattle, have been distributed to herders in the area.
SHIJIAZHUANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As of Thursday, 29 people had been killed in disasters triggered by the recent round of heavy rain in north China's Hebei Province, while 16 people remained missing, local authorities said on Friday.

According to a press conference held on Friday morning, torrential downpours and severe flooding have wreaked havoc across 110 counties, cities and districts in the province.

Infrastructure including transportation, power, communication and water facilities in the disaster-stricken areas suffered damage. The province had incurred a direct economic loss of 95.81 billion yuan (about 13.38 billion U.S. dollars), and the overall extent of the disaster was still being assessed and verified.

As of Thursday, the flooding had affected an estimated 3.89 million people. A total of 319,700 hectares of crops had been affected, with 131,500 hectares demolished.

Residential areas also suffered losses, with 40,900 houses having collapsed, while 155,500 houses were severely damaged. A total of 1,150 primary and secondary schools, along with kindergartens, suffered damage. 
IPVM, a U.S.-based security and surveillance industry research group, says the Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua is selling cameras with what it calls a "skin color analytics" feature in Europe, raising human rights concerns.

In a report released on July 31, IPVM said "the company defended the analytics as being a 'basic feature of a smart security solution.'" The report is behind a paywall, but IPVM provided a copy to VOA Mandarin.

Dahua's ICC Open Platform guide for "human body characteristics" includes "skin color/complexion," according to the report. In what Dahua calls a "data dictionary," the company says that the "skin color types" that Dahua analytic tools would target are "yellow," "black," and "white." VOA Mandarin verified this on Dahua's Chinese website.

The IPVM report also says that skin color detection is mentioned in the "Personnel Control" category, a feature Dahua touts as part of its Smart Office Park solution intended to provide security for large corporate campuses in China.

Charles Rollet, co-author of the IPVM report, told VOA Mandarin by phone on August 1, "Basically what these video analytics do is that, if you turn them on, then the camera will automatically try and determine the skin color of whoever passes, whoever it captures in the video footage.

"So that means the camera is going to be guessing or attempting to determine whether the person in front of it  has black, white or yellow  in their words  skin color," he added.

VOA Mandarin contacted Dahua for comment but did not receive a response.

The IPVM report said that Dahua is selling cameras with the skin color analytics feature in three European nations. Each has a recent history of racial tension: Germany, France and the Netherlands. 'Skin color is a basic feature' Dahua said its skin tone analysis capability was an essential function in surveillance technology. In a statement to IPVM, Dahua said, "The platform in question is entirely consistent with our commitments to not build solutions that target any single racial, ethnic, or national group. The ability to generally identify observable characteristics such as height, weight, hair and eye color, and general categories of skin color is a basic feature of a smart security solution." SEE ALSO: France Urged to Tackle Racism in Policing IPMV said the company has previously denied offering the mentioned feature, and color detection is uncommon in mainstream surveillance tech products. In many Western nations, there has long been a controversy over errors due to skin color in surveillance technologies for facial recognition. Identifying skin color in surveillance applications raises human rights and civil rights concerns. "So it's unusual to see it for skin color because it's such a controversial and ethically fraught field," Rollet said.

SEE ALSO: Racism In The Ranks: Dutch Police Film Spurs Conversation Anna Bacciarelli, technology manager at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told VOA Mandarin that Dahua technology should not contain skin tone analytics.

"All companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, and take steps to prevent or mitigate any human rights risks that may arise as a result of their actions," she said in an email.

"Surveillance software with skin tone analytics poses a significant risk to the right to equality and non-discrimination, by allowing camera owners and operators to racially profile people at scale  likely without their knowledge, infringing privacy rights  and should simply not be created or sold in the first place."

Dahua denied that its surveillance products are designed to enable racial identification. On the website of its U.S. company, Dahua says, "contrary to allegations that have been made by certain media outlets, Dahua Technology has not and never will develop solutions targeting any specific ethnic group."

However, in February 2021, IPVM and the Los Angeles Times reported that Dahua provided a video surveillance system with "real-time Uyghur warnings" to the Chinese police that included eyebrow size, skin color and ethnicity.

IPVM's 2018 statistical report shows that since 2016, Dahua and another Chinese video surveillance company, Hikvision, have won contracts worth $1 billion from the government of China's Xinjiang province, a center of Uyghur life.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission determined in 2022 that the products of Chinese technology companies such as Dahua and Hikvision, which has close ties to Beijing, posed a threat to U.S. national security.

The FCC banned sales of these companies' products in the U.S. "for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes," but not for other purposes.

Before the U.S. sales bans, Hikvision and Dahua ranked first and second among global surveillance and access control firms, according to The China Project. 'No place in a liberal democracy'

On June 14, the European Union passed a revision proposal to its draft Artificial Intelligence Law, a precursor to completely banning the use of facial recognition systems in public places.

"We know facial recognition for mass surveillance from China; this technology has no place in a liberal democracy," Svenja Hahn, a German member of the European Parliament and Renew Europe Group, told Politico.

Bacciarelli of HRW said in an email she "would seriously doubt such racial profiling technology is legal under EU data protection and other laws. The General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union regulation on Information privacy, limits the collection and processing of sensitive personal data, including personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin and biometric data, under Article 9. Companies need to make a valid, lawful case to process sensitive personal data before deployment."

"The current text of the draft EU AI Act bans intrusive and discriminatory biometric surveillance tech, including real-time biometric surveillance systems; biometric systems that use sensitive characteristics, including race and ethnicity data; and indiscriminate scraping of CCTV data to create facial recognition databases," she said.

In Western countries, companies are developing AI software for identifying race primarily as a marketing tool for selling to diverse consumer populations.

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2020 that American cosmetics company Revlon had used recognition software from AI start-up Kairos to analyze how consumers of different ethnic groups use cosmetics, raising concerns among researchers that racial recognition could lead to discrimination.

The U.S. government has long prohibited sectors such as healthcare and banking from discriminating against customers based on race. IBM, Google and Microsoft have restricted the provision of facial recognition services to law enforcement.

Twenty-four states, counties and municipal governments in the U.S. have prohibited government agencies from using facial recognition surveillance technology. New York City, Baltimore, and Portland, Oregon, have even restricted the use of facial recognition in the private sector.

Some civil rights activists have argued that racial identification technology is error-prone and could have adverse consequences for those being monitored.

Rollet said, "If the camera is filming at night or if there are shadows, it can misclassify people."

Caitlin Chin is a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank where she researches technology regulation in the United States and abroad. She emphasized that while Western technology companies mainly use facial recognition for business, Chinese technology companies are often happy to assist government agencies in monitoring the public.

She told VOA Mandarin in an August 1 video call, "So this is something that's both very dehumanizing but also very concerning from a human rights perspective, in part because if there are any errors in this technology that could lead to false arrests, it could lead to discrimination, but also because the ability to sort people by skin color on its own almost inevitably leads to people being discriminated against."
Ecuador has arrested six Colombian nationals in connection with the assassination Wednesday of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

Another suspect, also Colombian, died from wounds sustained in a shootout with police.

Villavicencio, known for speaking out against drug cartels, had reported that he had received death threats.

"The national police now have the first arrests of the alleged material authors of this abominable event and will employ all of their operative and investigative capacity to discover the motive of this crime and its intellectual authors," Interior Minister Juan Zapata said.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said the killing would not stop Ecuador from holding the presidential vote Aug. 20.

Lasso has asked for FBI help in the investigation of the shooting of Villavicencio. An FBI delegation is expected to arrive in the country soon.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
Former South African president Jacob Zuma was released under a remission process Friday after he surrendered himself to a correctional facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Zuma had received a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 on corruption charges, but only served two months. He was released on a medical parole.

Fridays appearance could have sent him back to prison to finish his term but instead he was granted a remission, which relieves him of completing the rest of his sentence.

The remission program, approved by current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, is designed to reduce South Africas low-risk prison population.

Zumas imprisonment in 2021 sparked weeks of violent protests in which 300 people were killed.

A court found his release from imprisonment in 2021 unlawful.

However, the 81-year-old former president was freed from custody Friday after about two hours.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africas main opposition party, says it will challenge the remission of the former president.
Human Rights Watch has called on the military coup leaders of Niger to ensure the safety and well-being of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and others arbitrarily detained.

The human rights group also urged the military to show that they respect fundamental human rights by releasing the arbitrarily detained and bring about a swift transition to civilian democratic rule.

Niger's ousted leader has been in detention at his residence since members of the presidential guard took power on July 26. Human Rights Watch said it talked with Bazoum, his doctor, his lawyer, a former communications adviser and a family friend on Wednesday and Thursday.

Nigerien coup leaders are subjecting Bazoum and his family and undisclosed others to abusive treatment in violation of international human rights law, Carine Kaneza Nantulya, the groups deputy Africa director, said in a statement Friday. All those arbitrarily detained should be immediately released and provided with adequate food, basic services, and access to doctors, lawyers, and family members.

Bazoum told Human Rights Watch that his treatment has been inhuman and cruel and that he has been without electricity since August 2 and without human contact since Aug 4.

He also said that he has not been able to talk with family and friends who bring him food and supplies.

In addition, Bazoum said his son, who suffers from a heart condition, has not been allowed to see a doctor.

Nigerien military leaders should recognize that they are accountable for any human rights violations against those in custody, including Bazoum, his family, and others they have detained, Nantulya said. Nigers regional and international partners should press the Nigerien authorities to fully respect everyones human rights and bring about a prompt transition to democratic rule.
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ECOWAS leaders concluded their meeting on the security situation in Niger, calling for a restoration of the countrys democratically elected president. Plus, reaction from Ecuador after a presidential candidate was killed a little over a week before the countrys run-off election.
Dozens of teachers, students and labor leaders marched to a Miami school district headquarters Wednesday to protest Florida's new standards for teaching Black history, which have come under intense criticism for what they say about slavery.

The protesters who marched to the School Board of Miami-Dade County objected to new curriculum standards that, among other things, require teachers to instruct middle school students that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly defended the new language while insisting that his critics, including Vice President Kamala Harris and two leading Black Republicans in Congress, are intentionally misinterpreting one line of the sweeping curriculum.

"These new state standards that DeSantis has come up with will not be tolerated in our schools. We will not let our children be taught that slaves benefited from their slavery. That's a lie," said march organizer Marvin Dunn, a professor emeritus of psychology at Florida International University.

About 50 protesters who started the 1.6-kilometer trek from Booker T. Washington Senior High School in Miami's historically Black Overtown neighborhood chanted, "What do we want? Truth. When do we want it? Now. What if we don't get it? Shut it down!"

They were greeted by another 50 protesters at the school board building, where speakers addressed the crowd. Among them was Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson who was propelled into the national spotlight after being expelled from the Republican-dominated legislative body for leading a gun control protest on the House floor. He was reinstated by local officials and then won a special election.

"The true history is that Black people have always fought to make America what it ought to be, and it has always resisted what it could be," Pearson told the crowd. "We've always fought for the America that we know is possible. That is not here yet."

Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, traveled to Florida last month to condemn the curriculum. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is the chamber's sole Black Republican and is also seeking the White House, issued a direct rebuke of DeSantis.

Critics said the new school standards are the latest in a series of attacks on Black history by the governor's administration. At the beginning of the year, DeSantis' administration blocked a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, saying it was contrary to state law.

DeSantis also has pushed through the "Stop WOKE Act," a law that limits discussions on race in schools and by corporations, and it banned state universities from using state or federal money for diversity programs.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says it's "difficult to say" how long it will take for the Americans released from prison and now under house arrest in Iran to return to the United States.

Kirby, speaking with VOA on Thursday, said, "We don't know exactly how long it's going to take to get them home and until they get home, and this negotiation is complete, we're going to be careful about what we say publicly."

"This is Iran you're talking about and so we're going to be pragmatic as we move forward," he added.

Also, as the second anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan approaches, Kirby said, "We are very focused now, and we certainly have been focused over the last two years, in making sure that we can continue to get our Afghan allies and their families out of the country, and certainly resettled in the country of their choice."

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: We learned about the prisoners released today. What is the timeframe for the return of these people? And what will Iran get in return?

John Kirby, National Security Council spokesperson: We don't know exactly how long it's going to take to get them home and until they get home, and this negotiation is complete, we're going to be careful about what we say publicly. It's a good thing that they're out of prison today, intolerable, brutal, atrocious conditions. They're out of prison, but they're not out of Iran. And so we're going to continue to monitor their health and their condition as best we can, and we're going to continue to negotiate as appropriate with the Iranians to get them home safe and sound with their families where they belong. How long is that going to take? Difficult to say, we think a matter of weeks, but again, this is Iran you're talking about and so we're going to be pragmatic as we move forward.

VOA: We are at the second anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. What is the administration's assessment of the past two years?

Kirby: We are very focused now, and we certainly have been focused over the last two years, in making sure that we can continue to get our Afghan allies and their families out of the country, and certainly resettled in the country of their choice. Many, many thousands have decided to choose to settle here in the United States, and we're very focused on helping them in that resettlement process, that transition, and helping them to get on their step to citizenship.

VOA: During the past two years, Washington has remained in contact with the Taliban. However, there's no normal ties yet. How long will this deadlock take?

Kirby: You call it a deadlock. I don't know that I would call it a deadlock. We have not recognized the Taliban, you're right about that. You're also right that as appropriate and as needed, we have continued to talk to the Taliban, as you must, particularly if you're trying to continue to get your allies and their families out of the country, and to make sure that humanitarian assistance that nongovernmental organizations and other nations that are helping provide it to the people of Afghanistan is actually getting to people of Afghanistan. So there have been discussions as appropriate and as needed, and that will continue.

VOA: Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. has remained the biggest donor to the people of Afghanistan in humanitarian assistance. But there are concerns that the Taliban have access to the funds. What is the administration doing to ensure that the funds reach those in need?

Kirby: We don't give any funds to the Taliban. We give funds to our partners, our humanitarian partners that have the ability to get into Afghanistan and to marshal those funds. And we're constantly monitoring that. We're constantly talking to our partners about how that aid is being spent, where it's going, who's benefiting from it, and we'll continue to do that. We'll be just as judicious about that as we possibly can.

VOA: Recent attacks in Pakistan have raised tensions between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. Do you think that the continuation of these tensions will harm the U.S. interest in the region, and what can Washington do to decrease these tensions?

Kirby: Look, I think we all have shared interests and concerns here, especially between the United States and Pakistan, with respect to these terrorist groups that tend to thrive on that spine between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pakistani people, sadly, they know what it's like to fall victim to these terrorist networks. So we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, we're going to continue to try to explore opportunities against this shared concern. And as you heard the president say when we pulled out of Afghanistan, that we're going to make sure we can continue to improve our over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability, and we're doing that, and we're going to keep at it.

VOA: China has started to increase military activities around Taiwan this week. What is your message to China?

Kirby: The message to China is the same that it's always been. There's no reason to escalate. There's no reason to increase tensions around the strait and around Taiwan. Since there's been no change in American policy. No change to our one China policy. We don't want to see the status quo changed unilaterally. We certainly don't want to see a change by force. We don't support Taiwan independence. There's no reason for the PRC to overreact or to be more bellicose and more and more aggressive. All that does is increase tensions. All that does is increase the possibility for miscalculation, and then that could lead to somebody getting hurt. And nobody wants to see that.
Suspected Islamic State militants attacked a bus carrying soldiers in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, killing over 20 people and wounding others, state media and a war monitor group reported.

The late Thursday attack took place in the southeastern part of the restive province, according to Syrias official news agency, SANA, which quoted a military source.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, or SOHR, a Britain-based war monitor group, said the attack killed 26 Syrian government soldiers and wounded at least 10 others.

The attack comes two days after another attack blamed on IS in the nearby province of Raqqa, the terror groups former de facto capital in Syria. At least 10 Syrian troops were killed in that attack, according to local news reports.

Despite losing nearly all territory it once held in Syria and Iraq, IS continues to carry out occasional attacks in both countries.

Rami Abdulrahman, director of SOHR, attributed the recent uptick in violence by IS in eastern Syria to its ability to recruit informants in government-held areas.

The deteriorating economic situation in regime-held areas, particularly in eastern Syria, has allowed [IS] to recruit locals who provide intelligence and coordinates about government military positions, he told VOA.

This is a new tactic that Daesh is relying on, Abdulrahman said, using an Arabic acronym for IS, also known as ISIS.

In addition to Syrian government troops and their allies, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces control large parts of both Deir al-Zour and Raqqa provinces. Those areas have also come under attack by IS militants.

U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday that the U.S.-led Global Coalition against IS conducted 11 partnered operations in July against IS elements, killing three IS operatives and detaining six others.

Thanks to the efforts of our Coalition-supported partners, we have seen a dramatic reduction in ISIS activity and effectiveness across our area of operations, Major General Matthew McFarlane, the commander of the U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force, said in a statement.

But Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the New York-based Soufan Center, said that despite successive decapitation strikes against Islamic State leadership in Syria, the group can and will remain a persistent threat.

ISIS has built up an insurgent infrastructure over the better part of the last decade, he told VOA. Dismantling that will be extremely difficult, and it's likely that a low-level insurgency that flares up at various times is simply a fact of life for certain areas in Syria outside of regime control.

This story originated in VOAs Kurdish Service.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Friday the safe release of five staff members who were kidnapped and held for 18 months by a branch of al-Qaida in Yemen.

The secretary-general is profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of their families and friends have finally come to an end, spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters, adding that Guterres called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

All five worked for the Department of Safety and Security. They were kidnapped while returning to Aden from a field mission in the southern governorate of Abyan in February 2022.

The United Nations would not comment on the negotiations that led to their release but did thank the government of Oman for assisting. The organization also has a policy of not paying ransom.

Bangladeshi national Akm Sufiul Anam arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday. He told reporters there he never thought he would get home alive.

"I thought the terrorists might kill me anytime," Agence France-Presse reported Anam said.

Anam said he was not physically tortured but had often been kept blindfolded.

The other four hostages were Yemeni nationals. The U.N. identified them as Mazen Bawazir, Bakeel Al-Mahdi, Mohammed Al-Mulaiki and Khaled Mokhtar Sheikh.

U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator David Gressly told reporters in a video call that he had arrived in Aden a few hours earlier from the southern port city of Mukalla with the four freed Yemenis. He said they are unharmed and in good health.

I had a chance to speak with them on the way back, Gressly said. I am very much impressed by not only their good spirits, but the strength that they have exhibited under extraordinary circumstances.

Two other U.N. staff members have been in detention in Houthi-controlled Sanaa since November 2021. A Jordanian staffer from the World Food Program was also shot and killed in southwest Yemen on July 21.

Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse.
The White House says it is committed to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in the U.S. once such training programs in Europe have reached capacity.

White House spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing Friday that it is important to speed up the process of pilot training on the military aircrafts as well as caring for maintenance and other logistics.

"It's going to be a while before jets can show up in Ukraine and for them to be integrated into the air fleet, he said. And it's not just a function of the transfer of actual airframes, but the appropriate training for pilots as well as setting up all the maintenance, logistics and sustainment efforts.

Kirby noted that Western countries  Denmark and the Netherlands in particular  work together on developing a training program for Ukrainian pilots, and that English language training for Ukrainian specialists is critical.

"All the tech manuals are in English and all the controls inside the aircraft are in English, said Kirby. A pilot is going to have to have at least some basic proficiency in the language.

"All that we can say is that there's a multi-step process, and we're committed to helping our allies move that process along as quickly as it possibly can."

Corruption



Ukraines Defense Ministry on Friday said it was not involved in a purchase of low-quality uniforms worth $950,000 after the director of a textile company was arrested for selling unfit gear for Ukraine's Territorial Defense.

The textile company won three state contracts in 2022 to supply uniforms, which, according to laboratory tests, proved unseasonable for winter combat the Ministry of Interior said.

The director of the company faces up to 12 years in prison and is banned from holding certain positions for three years. Law enforcement is currently collecting information on others involved in the scheme.

According to the Defense Ministry's statement, the contracts were concluded between the factory and a military unit without the ministry's involvement.

"Departments of the Defense Ministry were NOT INVOLVED in the procurement process of identifying the need, finding a contractor, concluding a contract, and monitoring the implementation of technical conditions," the press statement said, emphasizing that the ministry has "zero tolerance for corruption."

According to an investigative report by Ukrainian outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia on Thursday, the Defense Ministry purchased $33 million worth of "winter" clothes for the military from a Turkish company in 2022.

The associated contracts were reportedly tampered with during shipment to inflate the price, and the clothes turned out to be unusable for winter weather conditions.

Earlier Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that he was firing directors of the country's regional military recruitment centers amid concerns of corruption  ranging from illegal enrichment to the transportation of draft-eligible men across the border in the middle of a wartime ban.

Zelenskyy said the new appointments would be offered to war veterans.

"This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said.

So far, Ukrainian security services have cracked down on graft, charging senior officials with 112 criminal cases of bribery and engaging in corrupt practices. An additional 33 suspects are about to be charged.

Kyiv is battling corruption while fighting Russia's full-scale invasion and hopes to join the European Union.

Russian airstrikes

Russia's latest airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure in western Ukraine and killing one child constitute "war crimes and must not go unpunished," France's foreign ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would reinforce its military support to Ukraine, notably in strengthening air defense capacities, in close cooperation with its partners.

"France's support to Ukrainian and international jurisdictions to fight against the impunity of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine remains total," the statement read.

Earlier Friday, Russian airstrikes killed an 8-year-old boy in western Ukraine, while Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow for a third consecutive day.

Several explosions were heard across Kyiv early Friday. Mayor Vitali Klitschko had urged residents to go to air raid shelters and Ukrainian officials had issued a nationwide air raid alert.

Ukraine shot down a missile Friday near a childrens hospital in the city. Debris from the missile fell near the Kyiv hospital, but there were no reported injuries.

US aid

The Biden administration has asked Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense funding to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year.

The White House supplemental spending request for Ukraine may prove to be too much for Republicans, who are facing great pressure from the partys presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, who has a tepid attitude toward the war, while a recent CNN poll indicated declining support for the effort among some voters.

The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new round of sanctions Friday, targeting prominent members of Russias financial elite, along with a Russian business association.

Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people, said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

As a result of the latest batch of sanctions, Adeyemo said, all property, and interests in property, of the persons named in the fresh sanctions who are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked.

Some information in this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
JUBA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Health officials in South Sudan's Unity State on Friday confirmed 21 more measles deaths among children between 5 years and 10 years of age, bringing the total death toll to 61 since July.

Elijah Nyuon Kuoyuot, the health surveillance officer in Rubkona County, said the latest deaths have been recorded in Rubkona and Koch counties, and in Bentiu internally displaced persons camp where some of the returnees and refugees who fled ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan are being hosted.

"Measles death cases have rapidly increased due to congestion in the reception centers and in internally displaced persons camps in Bentiu," Kuoyuot told Xinhua in an interview over the phone.

The Unity State Ministry of Health initially confirmed 40 measles deaths and more than 800 admitted cases of measles in July alone.

Kuoyuot said they fear for the worst amid daily new arrivals of returnees and refugees across the border with Sudan.

"As I am talking now some death cases are not being reported to health facilities, so we are encouraging mothers and caretakers to immediately report any suspected case of measles disease to any nearest health facility," he added. 
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are facing criticism over their response to a stunning increase in the number of women reported missing in recent years.

Data provided by the federal government on July 26 in response to an inquiry by an opposition member of Indias Parliament disclosed that 9,765 women and girls were reported missing from their residences in the union territory between the years 2019 and 2021.

That marks an almost three-fold increase over the 3,300 women and girls reported missing in Jammu and Kashmir during the previous three years, according to a 2019 report from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Even within the earlier timeframe, the number of reported disappearances rose steadily from 943 in 2016, to 1,044 cases in 2017, and 1,335 cases in 2018.

The problem of disappearing women is not confined to Jammu and Kashmir. Data provided by from National Crime Records Bureau in response to the same parliamentary query showed that more than 1.31 million females were reported missing nationwide during the years 2019 to 2021.

In response, the federal government has introduced a range of measures to strengthen womens safety. These include the establishment of specialized investigative units to address offenses such as rape, dowry death, abduction, human trafficking and domestic violence.

Not all the stories of disappearances have unhappy endings. The parents of 18-year-old Hina, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, suffered through three days of anguish after their daughter failed to return home from school one day in October 2021. She was finally located at the home of a relative.

But for other families, the search ends in tragedy, as it did for Rouf Amin Najar, the brother of 14-year-old Milad Najar, who went missing from her Srinagar neighborhood last year. Her lifeless body was pulled from the Jhelum River a week after she disappeared.

Similarly, the family of 27-year-old Ruksana Ali underwent a month of anguish when Ruksana disappeared January 18, 2021. The family tirelessly searched for her until her body was retrieved from the Jhelum River about 30 days later.

As is often the case in Jammu and Kashmir, at the requests of the families no autopsy was performed on either of the bodies pulled from the river, leaving the causes of both deaths uncertain.

In a demonstration last week, scores of supporters from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gathered in Srinagar to highlight the issue of missing women and girls, demanding action from authorities.

We have gathered here to seek answers about the missing women from all districts of Jammu and Kashmir Valley. Where are they? Who has abducted them? asked AAP Youth President Hakim Rizwan Illahi.

Illahi contrasted the federal governments well publicized campaign in support of young women, which bears the slogan Educate the Girl Child, Save the Girl Child, with the reality of missing women. The government may talk about empowering and safeguarding girls everywhere, but we demand to know where our mothers and sisters have disappeared, Illahi said.

Another organizer of the protest was Shamima Firdous, a former chairperson of the State Womens Commission and a member of the womens wing of the regional opposition party National Conference.

Firdous raised disturbing possibilities about the fates of the missing women, including concerns about trafficking, violence or forced marriages. She urged the government to conduct an impartial investigation into the disappearances and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Iltija Mufti, daughter of Mehbooba Mufti who served as the last chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2016 to 2018, also criticized the government for failing to trace more of the women.

It is a huge number, this is worrying, she said in an interview.

Mufti said the number of disappearances reflects a failure on the part of the current regional government to address the issue effectively, arguing that the data suggests minimal efforts have been made to locate the missing women.

VOA approached three regional government departments seeking a statement about their efforts to account for the missing women but received no replies.

While the authorities have offered no clear reason for the rising number of disappearances, some possible explanations have been put forward by Qurat ul Ain Masoodi, chair of an NGO dedicated to womens empowerment and other social issues known as AASH  Hope of Kashmir.

One of the contributing factors to this phenomenon is the significant influx of migrant workers into Kashmir over the years, she said. Many girls are eloping with these migrant workers, but a considerable number of cases go unreported, concealed by families.

Masoodi also identified poverty as a factor driving the rise in some of the cases.

Economic constraints push some women to leave their families without informing them, seeking earning opportunities elsewhere, she said.
U.S. intelligence agencies are looking to vastly expand the roster of countries, companies and even nonstate actors with whom they partner in order to get  and share  information on threats to the United States and its allies.

The change is part of a "rethink" ordered in the nation's new National Intelligence Strategy, unveiled Thursday, which aims to better prepare the U.S. for a range of threats that are no longer limited to traditional nation-state competitors such as China and Russia or terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

"The United States faces an increasingly complex and interconnected threat environment," according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who cited a range of challenges from global powers such as China and Russia to climate change and pandemics like COVID-19.

"Subnational and nonstate actors  from multinational corporations to transnational social movements  are increasingly able to create influence, compete for information, and secure or deny political and security outcomes, which provides opportunities for new partnerships as well as new challenges to U.S. interests," she wrote in the 2023 strategy.

Global challenges, disruptive advances

"In addition, shared global challenges, including climate change, human and health security, as well as emerging and disruptive technological advances, are converging in ways that produce significant consequences that are often difficult to predict," Haines said.

The seeds for the new strategy, and the emphasis on finding new partners like those in the private sector, have been in the works for months.

Since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has been selectively declassifying intelligence to better share information with allies and partners.

The effort, credited with building support for Ukraine while catching Russia off guard, is already becoming part of a formal U.S. game plan for countering threats.\

Haines publicly called for more outreach to the private sector and technology companies as recently as April, during an appearance at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"In many scenarios, they see things before we do," she said at the time.

The U.S. intelligence community's annual threat assessment, issued in February, likewise warned of "an evolving array of nonstate actors," global emergencies such as climate change, and emerging technologies that "have the potential to disrupt traditional business and society with both positive and negative outcomes, while creating unprecedented vulnerabilities and attack surfaces."

The new strategy seeks to counter those trends by strengthening existing intelligence partnerships, including the "Five Eyes" arrangement with Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and by forging new ones.

Specifically, the strategy envisions U.S. intelligence agencies exchanging information with private companies and what it describes as "nonstate and subnational actors."

That includes relationships with nongovernmental organizations, think tanks and other entities that could help provide the U.S. intelligence with local or on-the-ground expertise.

It is also likely to include the type of intensified cooperation and information sharing that has been part of so-called U.S. hunt forward cyber operations in countries such as Latvia and Albania, or even more outreach along the lines of what has been done with state and local governments in the U.S. to help secure elections.

'Essential' partnerships

Some former intelligence officials call such outreach a necessity.

"It is a simple fact of how elections and communications infrastructure work that tech companies in the private sector are best positioned to be aware of many such threats first, and so close partnership with them is essential," said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer who now teaches at Georgetown University.

"There will always be delicate negotiations about exact sharing arrangements to give due respect to values such as personal privacy," Pillar told VOA. "But government and the private sector already have gotten into that a lot."

The new U.S. intelligence strategy also emphasizes better understanding of new technologies and supply chains to make sure countries such as China "are not able to undermine our competitiveness and national security."

The strategy is meant to guide all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It replaces the previous strategy issued in 2019, which focused on "speaking truth."

"We need to reassure the policymakers and the American people that we can be trusted  despite the stresses that are persistent in the current environment," said then-Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Some key U.S. lawmakers are welcoming the updated intelligence strategy.

"The National Intelligence Strategy appropriately organizes the Intelligence Community around seminal challenges: a rising China, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and the opportunities and complexities presented by emerging technologies like AI [artificial intelligence]," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said in a statement shared with VOA.

"An expert workforce, robust partnerships and resilient capabilities will be central to this effort," Warner noted.
Six months after massive earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, people are still reeling from enormous challenges, such as finding decent housing, sanitation, and access to clean water. Aid groups have expressed concern, particularly for people in northwest Syria who are isolated from international assistance and face challenges over cross-border supply access.

Coupled with 12 years of civil war, the earthquakes exacerbated an already dire situation in Syrias northwest, a predominately rebel-held area of 4.3 million people.

David Miliband, who heads the New York-based International Rescue Committee, said the area has a number of challenges.

"The earthquake interfered with the electricity supplies; it destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, and so life is really, really, really tough for everyone in northwest Syria, including our civilian aid workers," he said. "Its a very, very challenging operating environment because the material situation is grave. Lots of people in tents, lots of people fearful of being in buildings in case further tremors destroy more buildings."

Thomas Weiss of Malteser International, the relief organization of the Catholic Order of Malta, visits northwestern Syria regularly as head of the groups Middle East department.

Working with local partners, the organization provides medical services through hospitals and a maternity clinic, as well as mobile medical units sent to the earthquake-affected areas. It also supplies clean water and sanitation services in some of the camps for the internally displaced.

Weiss said international aid groups are concerned about the ability to bring in humanitarian assistance safely.

"Humanitarian access to Syria must be safe, consistent and especially protected from politicization," he said. "The cross-border mechanism has been an essential component of this protection. We have a protracted situation that has gone on for many years now in the northwest. There is a risk to abandon northwest Syria and the many millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian support and is of extreme great concern."

For the last nine years, a border crossing between Turkey and northwest Syria, Bab al-Hawa, has been authorized under a U.N. Security Council resolution to bring in aid, eliminating the need for Syrian government permission. Russia, a member of the Security Council, last month vetoed an attempt to renew the deal authorizing use of the crossing.

This past week, the U.N. said it had reached a deal with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to reopen Bab al-Hawa.

While the Assad government has offered to allow the U.N. to use Bab al-Hawa, humanitarian groups find the conditions required violate their principles of neutrality and impartiality.

The International Rescue Committee reports that Al-Rai and Bab Al-Salam, two other crossing points that were opened after the earthquake, are now authorized to remain open until November. Those crossing points are also on the border with Turkey.
The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia, providing Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed revenue as it wages war on Ukraine.

The sales, which are legal and unsanctioned, have raised alarms from nonproliferation experts and elected officials who say the imports are helping to bankroll the development of Moscows nuclear arsenal and are complicating efforts to curtail Russias war-making abilities.

The dependence on Russian nuclear products  used mostly to fuel civilian reactors  leaves the U.S. and its allies open to energy shortages if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to cut off supplies. The challenge is likely to grow more intense as those nations seek to boost production of emissions-free electricity to combat climate change.

We have to give money to the people who make weapons? Thats absurd, said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Washington-based Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. If there isnt a clear rule that prevents nuclear power providers from importing fuel from Russia  and its cheaper to get it from there  why wouldnt they do it?

Russia sold about $1.7 billion in nuclear products to firms in the U.S. and Europe, according to trade data and experts. The purchases occurred as the West has leveled stiff sanctions on Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, blocking imports of such Russian staples as oil, gas, vodka and caviar.

The West has been reluctant to target Russias nuclear exports, however, because they play key roles in keeping reactors humming. Russia supplied the U.S. nuclear industry with about 12% of its uranium last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Europe reported getting about 17% of its uranium in 2022 from Russia.

Reliance on nuclear power is expected to grow as nations embrace alternatives to fossil fuels. Nuclear power plants produce no emissions, though experts warn that nuclear energy comes with the risk of reactor meltdowns and the challenge of how to safely store radioactive waste. There are about 60 reactors under construction around the world  300 more are in the planning stages.

Many of the 30 countries generating nuclear energy in some 440 plants are importing radioactive materials from Russias state-owned energy corporation Rosatom and its subsidiaries. Rosatom leads the world in uranium enrichment, and it is ranked third in uranium production and fuel fabrication, according to its 2022 annual report.

Rosatom, which says it is building 33 new reactors in 10 counties, and its subsidiaries exported around $2.2 billion worth of nuclear energy-related goods and materials last year, according to trade data analyzed by the Royal United Service Institute, a London think tank. The institute said that figure is likely much larger because it is difficult to track such exports.

Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachyov told the Russian newspaper Izvestia the company's foreign business should total $200 billion over the next decade. That lucrative civilian business provides critical funds for Rosatom's other major responsibility: designing and producing Russia's atomic arsenal, experts say.

Ukrainian officials have pleaded with world leaders to sanction Rosatom to cut off one of Moscows last significant funding streams and to punish Putin for launching the invasion.

Nuclear energy advocates say the U.S. and some European countries would face difficulty in cutting off imports of Russian nuclear products. The U.S. nuclear energy industry, which largely outsources its fuel, produces about 20% of U.S. electricity.

The reasons for reliance on Russia go back decades. The U.S. uranium industry took a beating following a 1993 nonproliferation deal that resulted in the importation of inexpensive weapons-grade uranium from Russia, experts say. The downturn accelerated after a worldwide drop in demand for nuclear fuel following the 2011 meltdown of three reactors at Japans Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

American nuclear plants purchased 5% of their uranium from domestic suppliers in 2021, the last year for which official U.S. production data are available, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The largest source of uranium for such plants was Kazakhstan, which contributed about 35% of the supply. A close Russian ally, Kazakhstan is the worlds largest producer of uranium.

Europe is in a bind largely because it has 19 Russian-designed reactors in five countries that are fully dependent on Russian nuclear fuel. France also has a long history of relying on Russian-enriched uranium. In a report published in March, Greenpeace, citing the United Nations Comtrade database, showed that French imports of enriched uranium from Russia increased from 110 tons in 2021 to 312 tons in 2022.

Some European nations are taking steps to wean themselves off Russian uranium. Early in the Ukraine conflict, Sweden refused to purchase Russian nuclear fuel. Finland, which relies on Russian power at two out of its five reactors, scrapped a trouble-ridden deal with Rosatom to build a new nuclear power plant.

Despite the challenges, experts believe political pressure and questions about Russias ability to cut off supplies will eventually spur much of Europe to abandon Rosatom.

Based on apparent prospects [of diversification of fuel supplies], it would be fair to say that Rosatom has lost the European market, said Vladimir Slivyak, co-chair of the Russian environmental group Ecodefense.
Congress is reviewing a proposal from President Joe Biden to renew the economic provisions of long-standing treaties with three Pacific Island states: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.

First signed in the early 1980s, the Compacts of Free Association provide billions of dollars of economic and security assistance to the nations and deny Beijing access to 5.6 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. The economic portions of the agreements must be renewed every 20 years.

VOA spoke to the chief U.S. negotiator for the compacts, Ambassador Joseph Yun, to learn more. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

VOA: Thanks for joining VOA. What is so critical about these agreements, in light of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy?

Ambassador Joseph Yun, U.S. special presidential envoy for compact negotiations: Essentially the three island states cover the northern half of the Pacific, and they have control over the seas and over the air and land between Hawaii and the Philippines.

Compact agreements are very unique in U.S. foreign policy in that the United States guarantees these island states their security. In return, these island states have given us full defense rights. Not only are we responsible for defending them, we are also responsible for keeping out anyone we - and they - deem not appropriate.

These countries, their citizens, have the right to come and live in the U.S. and work and of course go to school in the U.S. without visas, and that's a unique right. Lastly, the United States helps them out economically through economic assistance. Every 20 years the provision of these economic systems expire, and they have to be renewed.

VOA: What is the agreement that you've negotiated?

Yun: So for three countries together, we have offered them $6.5 billion over the next 20 years. Approximately $3.3 billion has been devoted to Micronesia, between $900 million and $1 billion to Palau and about $2.3 billion to the Marshall Islands.

VOA: How would you describe the pressure on you to close these deals as an increasingly aggressive China pursues its own agenda in the region?

Yun: It would be fruitless for me to deny that China is a big factor in the urgency and the necessity of the deal. The Chinese have been very aggressive in the Pacific. Parts of these three states are critical for the control of the overall Pacific.

VOA: In practical terms, how does the relationship between the United States and these three Pacific Island nations provide an advantage to the U.S. given increased Chinese military presence in the region?

Yun: Through the compacts, we really have a number of key advantages. These countries have opened their land and their seas to the U.S., and so we have built a number of military facilities in this region. In the Marshall Islands, we have an army garrison - army base - essentially in Kwajalein [Atoll] that will track long-range ICBMs that are fired from either Alaska or mostly California. We also have facilities in Palau. Our agreements allow for additional facilities in these countries. These countries have allowed us to deny anyone who may want to come in there.

VOA: The Marshall Islands agreement has been the most difficult to reach. The U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests there between 1946 and 1958, and there are still radioactive isotopes in the water, in the air, in the food sources. What is the U.S. responsibility to the Marshallese people to increase the level of compensation so that they can feel satisfied the U.S. military presence there is worthwhile?

Yun: Forty years ago, the U.S. and Marshall Islands signed an agreement which states that through payment of $150 million at that time, the U.S. met its legal responsibilities for nuclear damages, and the Marshall Islands accepted that. But we recognize that there is ongoing suffering both in the people and among the people who have been displaced from their homes. We have made it clear that some of the money that we are giving to the Marshall Islands could be spent on development, health care, environment issues of the affected islands within Marshall Islands. We have left that decision to the Marshallese government as they wanted it.

VOA: Are there additional mechanisms in your agreements to make sure that Congress has proper and extensive oversight so that the money can be spent properly?

Yun: Very much so. In the compact trust fund, the decisions are made by the central governments. Ultimately, the U.S. government has the decisive say on how the money is spent.

VOA: Whats your assessment of how soon we'll see Congress authorize this $7 billion? Will it happen by the [September 30] deadline so that there is no interruption in the Compacts of Free Association?

Yun: Everyone in Washington  Republicans, Democrats, everyone alike - agrees that our highest foreign policy item is China. If we fail to enact [this], we send the wrong signal not just to the compact states, but worldwide. I'm quite optimistic we can get it done.
A Russian missile hit a hotel that United Nations staff often used in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday evening, leaving one person dead and 16 wounded, Ukrainian officials said.

"Zaporizhzhia. The city suffers daily from Russian shelling. A fire broke out in a civilian building after the occupiers hit it with a missile," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

U.N. staff reportedly stayed at the Reikartz Hotel when they worked in the city, Denise Brown, the humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, told Reuters.

"I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia shortly ago," she said in an email. "I have stayed in this hotel every single time I visited Zaporizhzhia."

Among the 16 injured in the strike, four were children. It was the second strike on Zaporizhzhia in two days.

Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia has also become a focal point of the war because it is the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the plant lost connection to its last remaining external line and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said Thursday.

"Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project's design, and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit," Energoatom said on Telegram.

A blackout at the power plant is looming, Energoatom added.

Later Thursday, Ukraine's navy said a new temporary "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea had started working. The first ships are expected to use it within days, the navy said.

The corridor will be for commercial ships blocked at Ukraine's Black Sea ports and for grain and agricultural products, Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, told Reuters.

Despite the opening of the corridor, the risk posed by mines in the Black Sea, coupled with the military threat from Russia, persisted.

Russia's decision to back out of the Black Sea grain deal was predicted to feature prominently this past weekend at Saudi Arabia-hosted peace talks about Russia's war in Ukraine.

Ukraine's foreign minister said the talks were a "breakthrough" for Kyiv.

"If a country wants to be in the front seat of world politics, it has to become part of these coordination meetings," Dmytro Kuleba said in a Thursday interview with Reuters.

"We are fully satisfied with the dynamics of this process," he said. "I believe the meeting in Jeddah was a breakthrough because for the first time, we brought together countries representing [the] entire world, not only Europe and North America."

In the days leading up to the talks, it was unclear whether China would participate. But officials from China, and more than 40 countries in total, ended up participating.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a challenge by President Joe Biden's administration to the legality of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement, putting on hold a deal that would shield its wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over their role in the country's opioid epidemic.

The justices paused bankruptcy proceedings concerning Purdue and its affiliates and said they would hold oral arguments in December in the administration's appeal of a lower court's ruling upholding the settlement. The Supreme Court's new term begins in October.

Purdue's owners under the settlement would receive immunity in exchange for paying up to $6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by states, hospitals, people who had become addicted and others who have sued the Stamford, Connecticut, company over its misleading marketing of the powerful pain medication OxyContin.

In a statement, Purdue said it was disappointed that the U.S. Trustee, the Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog that filed the challenge at the Supreme Court, had been able to "single-handedly delay billions of dollars in value that should be put to use for victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement for communities across the country and overdose rescue medicines."

"We are confident in the legality of our nearly universally supported plan of reorganization, and optimistic that the Supreme Court will agree," the company added.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

At issue is whether U.S. bankruptcy law allows Purdue's restructuring to include legal protections for the members of the Sackler family, who have not filed for personal bankruptcy.

500,000 deaths

Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 to address its debts, nearly all of which stemmed from thousands of lawsuits alleging that OxyContin helped kickstart an opioid epidemic that has caused more than 500,000 U.S. overdose deaths over two decades.

Purdue estimates that its bankruptcy settlement, approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in 2021, would provide $10 billion in value to its creditors, including state and local governments, individual victims of addiction, hospitals and others who have sued the company.

The Biden administration and eight states challenged the settlement, but all of the states dropped their opposition after the Sacklers agreed to contribute more to the settlement fund.

In May, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the settlement, concluding that federal bankruptcy law allows legal protections for nonbankrupt parties like the Sacklers in extraordinary circumstances.

The 2nd Circuit ruled that the legal claims against Purdue were inextricably linked to claims against its owners, and that allowing lawsuits to continue targeting the Sacklers would undermine Purdue's efforts to reach a bankruptcy settlement.

Members of the Sackler family have denied wrongdoing but expressed regret that OxyContin "unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis." They said in May that the bankruptcy settlement would provide "substantial resources for people and communities in need."

In a court filing, the administration told the Supreme Court that Purdue's settlement was an abuse of bankruptcy protections meant for debtors in "financial distress," not people like the Sacklers. According to the administration, Sackler family members withdrew $11 billion from Purdue before agreeing to contribute $6 billion to its opioid settlement.

Many other stakeholders have responded in opposition to the administration's request to halt the settlement.

A group comprising more than 60,000 people who have filed personal injury claims stemming from their exposure to Purdue opioid products told the Supreme Court they support the settlement, including legal immunity for members of the Sackler family.

"Regardless of how one feels about the role of the Sackler family in the creation and escalation of the opioid crisis," the group told the justices, "the fact remains that the billions of dollars in abatement and victim compensation funds hinge on confirmation and consummation of the existing plan."
Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had decided to deploy a "standby force" aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger's junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It's unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would deploy, and how reports of the threats against Bazoum would affect a decision by the 15-member bloc to intervene. Conflict experts say it the force would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast's president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

"Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements. ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region," Ouattara said on state television. 'It is our business'

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, has claimed it could do a better job than Bazoum's government of protecting the nation from jihadi violence, and has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn't in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn't intervene.

"It is our business, not theirs. They don't even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger," said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

'Down with France'

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey on Friday waving Russian flags and screaming "Down with France." Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS' decision and called on the junta to "urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization." It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger is expected to take place on Monday.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported "all conclusions adopted." U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated "the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis" and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers who ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue, and have refused to release the president.

Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorized to speak to the media.

"The threat to kill Bazoum is grim," said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Bazoum's son sick

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene militarily. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

"An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger's size and population would be unprecedented," said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger.

"The situation is alarming. ... We'll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it's unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between Niger and member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there's irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.
Its been just over nine years since the Islamic State groups genocidal attack on Yazidi religious minority in Northern Iraq. Speaking to VOA from a camp for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan Region, some survivors say they are still waiting for word about loved ones kidnapped by IS. Kawa Omar has more from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in this report narrated by Rikar Hussein.
But it was not immediately clear what might happen now that the standby force has been ordered to be activated.

Niger's ousted leader has been in detention at his residence since members of the presidential guard took power on July 26. Bazoums party said Wednesday that he and his family are running out of food and have been living without electricity and running water for a week.

An adviser told The Associated Press that the family has only rice and canned goods left to eat.

On Wednesday, a former rebel leader and Niger politician launched a movement opposing the military junta that seized power two weeks ago  the first sign of organized resistance to army rule in the West African country.

In a statement, Rhissa Ag Boula said his group, the Council of the Resistance for the Republic, will aim to reinstate Bazoum. Boula is a former minister of tourism and a leader in two Tuareg ethnic insurgencies in Niger, one in the 1990s, the other from 2007 to 2009. Until Wednesday, Nigers military junta had rejected diplomatic overtures.

But they allowed two envoys sent by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu into the country, despite its closed borders: Lamido Muhammad Sanusi and Abdullsalami Abubarkar, both prominent traditional leaders.

Sanusi met with General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the coup leader, and Abukarkar met with other representatives at the airport.

"Well continue to do our best to bring the two parties together to improve understanding. This is the time for public diplomacy," Sanusi told reporters upon his return to Abuja.

A day earlier, Nigers military junta had rejected a proposed diplomatic mission from West African states, the African Union and the United Nations. The junta leaders said a climate of threatened aggression made it impossible to hold talks on ending the constitutional crisis in Niger.

Late on Tuesday, ECOWAS said in a statement that it would "continue to deploy all measures in order to restore constitutional order in Niger." The 15-member bloc, along with Western allies of Niger, have placed a series of financial sanctions against the country since the coup. The financial sanctions could lead to a default on Niger's debt repayments, Reuters reported.

ECOWAS has threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum but a deadline on Sunday for Nigers military to stand down passed without any military intervention.

The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile, has told Americans to avoid the presidential palace and downtown parts of the capital, Niamey, warning of an increased security presence to monitor demonstrations.

The embassy said Wednesday it is aware of reports that cash and some goods are becoming scarce. A U.S. State Department spokesperson on Tuesday said the United States still has hope for reversing Niger's coup but was "realistic.

"We do still have hope, but we are also very realistic," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. "We do have hope that the situation will be reversed, but at the same time, we are making clear, including in direct conversations with junta leaders themselves, what the consequences are for failing to return to constitutional order.
SACRAMENTO, the United States, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal environmental authorities have decided to investigate whether California's water agency discriminated against Native Americans and other people of color by failing to protect the water quality of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

A coalition of tribes and environmental justice groups in California filed a civil rights complaint to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) late last year against the California State Water Resources Control Board.

The groups accused the state water agency of discriminatory water management practices, which they said had led to the ecological decline of the Bay-Delta.

The EPA accepted the request for investigation, giving California's water board 30 days to respond, according to an EPA letter to the state dated Tuesday.

The EPA was expected to issue its findings within the next six months unless both sides agree to resolve the issue informally, according to the letter posted on the website of Restore the Delta, one of the groups that filed the complaint.

"Recreational users and fishermen who depend on the fish here are particularly affected by harmful algal blooms," said Artie Valencia, community organizer of Restore the Delta, in a statement on Wednesday.

"I see Stockton residents, mostly immigrants and people of color, fishing in Stockton waterways often for sustenance. For fishermen, the fish that once thrived in the Delta become fewer and fewer in number every year," said Valencia.

The groups said the agency "has intentionally excluded local Native Tribes and Black, Asian and Latino residents from participation in the policymaking process associated with the Bay-Delta Plan," according to the EPA letter.

They also charged the board with giving preferential treatment to large agricultural interests and said the delta's deterioration can be linked to the state's historical legacy of racism and oppression of Native people, according to the complaint.

The state water agency has allowed "waterways to descend into ecological crisis, with the resulting environmental burdens falling most heavily on Native tribes and other communities of color," the complaint said.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which flows into San Francisco Bay, is a major water source for much of California, supplying drinking water for almost 27 million people and feeding the state's hulking agriculture industry.

The complaint said California water agency could restore the estuary by releasing more water from the surrounding mountains into the area, but instead it "prevents more than half of that water from reaching the San Francisco Bay every year." 
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON  Broadcasters from more than 45 African countries, meeting this week in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, said radio reigns supreme over all other mass media on the continent, including TV, internet, newspapers, and social and digital media.

No more than 600 million of the continent's more than 1.3 billion people have access to the internet, African broadcasters said, and even when they do, connectivity is either slow or too expensive for a majority of the continent's poor, hungry civilians.

Radio, however, remains a reliable and cheap medium for getting vital information.

John Omo, secretary-general of the African Telecommunications Union, or ATU, took part in the Yaounde meeting. He said participants at the meeting plan to inform Africa's international partners that neglecting radio broadcasting denies a majority of the continent's population an important tool for development.



"We are going to ensure that we send proposals that are meant to help Africa," Omo said. "We have several areas of our continent that are still not connected to ICTs [information and communications technology] and radio communication is really the lifeblood. Without radio, you can't transport communication to our rural population."

Omo said radio connects listeners to their community. In times of emergency and disaster, which are frequent in Africa, radio is one of the most powerful and effective ways of delivering early warnings.

The broadcasters said 2023 online penetration in Africa is between 30% and 43%, which is below the global average of about 70%.

The broadcasters said they will identify close to 20,000 frequencies that can be used for FM broadcasting in Africa without harmful interference.

The ATU said that the number of people who trust and rely on radio information is increasing as population increases. It gave no further details, but added the increase means there is pressure on the available radio frequencies, and especially on FM radio broadcasting.

Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Cameroon's communications minister and government spokesperson, said radio remains the most trustworthy medium for Africans, and African governments would not want to deprive citizens of that means of communication.

Sadi said Africa should speak with one voice during the World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai, set for November 20 to December 15, 2023.

World Radiocommunication Conferences are held every three to four years. Participants review and revise radio regulations determined by international treaty governing the use of the radio frequency spectrum and the geostationary satellite and non-geostationary satellite orbits. Revisions are made on the basis of an agenda determined by the International Telecommunication Union Council.
Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS' decision and called on the junta to "urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization." It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger is expected to take place on Monday.

On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported "all conclusions adopted." U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated "the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis" and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers who ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue, and have refused to release the president.

Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorized to speak to the media.

"The threat to kill Bazoum is grim," said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Bazoum's son sick

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene militarily. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

"An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger's size and population would be unprecedented," said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger.

"The situation is alarming. ... We'll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it's unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.
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The Kenyan government is creating shelters for survivors of human trafficking. Authorities say the goal is to help victims recover from their traumatic experiences, rebuild their lives and prosecute human traffickers. For VOA, Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo
President of Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara speaking about the political crisis in Niger following the toppling of President Mohamed Bazoum by the presidential guard, which ignored a Sunday deadline to reinstate him or face military action. ECOWAS has warned of military action in Niger.
Amid the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, aid donors have provided some $1.5 billion in assistance. Nonprofit groups working in the conflict areas say that funding is inadequate, and the shortfall is causing major challenges. Meanwhile, those fleeing Sudan say they are returning home.
Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

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Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.
Lil Tay. Photo: Lil Tay Youtube

After a dizzying 24 hours, TMZ reported on August 10 that Lil Tay is alive despite a post on her Instagram claiming otherwise. When she was 9 years old, Lil Tay, born Tay Tian, became a controversial viral social-media star, professionally flexing on the internet with celebrities like the late Xxxtentacion, under the direction of her older brother, Jason Tian. But Lil Tays online presence had been almost nonexistent after her account shared unverified legal documents with accusations against her family in 2018. That is, until August 9, when a statement was uploaded to the 14-year-olds feed alleging both she and her 21-year-old brother were dead. Below, what we know about the apparent death hoax so far, and whether we can expect a Lil Tay comeback.

Who started rumors of Lil Tays death?

A now-deleted announcement was posted on Lil Tays Instagram account on August 9 from the perspective of two parents claiming that Lil Tay, who is referred to as Claire Hope, and her brother Jason had died. It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claires sudden and tragic passing. We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock, the now-deleted post read. Her brothers passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief. During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brothers passing are still under investigation. Claire will forever remain in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her. It is unclear at this time who posted the message and why. Vulture reached out to Lil Tays manager for comment but did not hear back.

When did Lil Tay supposedly speak out about the death hoax?

The social-media star and her family reportedly came forward to TMZ on August 10, a full 24 hours after news of her and her brothers deaths had gone viral. They alleged Lil Tays Instagram account was compromised and the post was falsely made by a third party. The statement reads, I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but Im completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. Its been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess. My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong, it continues. My legal name is Tay Tian, not Claire Hope. On August 12, a Meta spokesperson confirmed to TMZ that Tays account was hacked.

Is there a police investigation?

Vulture spoke to a spokesperson from Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police Department, near where Tay is from, who confirmed that neither the BRCMPD nor the Vancouver Police Department were investigating Tays death. A report from HuffPost also confirms that multiple agencies in Canada had knowledge of her death but were not investigating it, as claimed by the post. The New York Post also reported that Tays father had declined to comment or confirm Tays death on August 9.

How did the internet react?

Initially, reactions were split between mourning Tays death and being suspicious of the legitimacy of the claims. Even people in Tays life, like producer John Cunningham, told the Daily Beast that he was really fucking confused on August 9 regarding her death. Tays former manager, Harry Tsang, also told the Daily Beast that he could not definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement. Tsang also spoke to Page Six, claiming that neither Tays dad nor Duane Laventure, Tays former social-media manager, would confirm Tays death on August 9, which cast doubt in his mind. Tsang also has questions about Tays claims that her account was hacked. I dont believe anything that they say about the hacking, he said. Im glad that shes okay. Theres also renewed attention to allegations of abuse between Tay and her parents, Chris Hope and Angela Tian. In July 2018, Tay posted the words help me to her Instagram Story. In 2021, her brother posted a plea for Tays followers to help raise money for what he alleged were legal fees against their father, who Jason claimed was abusive and demanding custody, money, and control over her career. The GoFundMe Jason established raised $15,000.

Is Lil Tay coming back?

Its definitely possible. On August 18, both Lil Tays Instagram account and the Canadian law firm MacLean Laws Instagram account posted a statement from attorneys for Angela Tian, Lil Tays mom. According to the statement, the firm has obtained orders in the British Columbia Supreme Court that have enabled Lil Tay to advance her career. Under a custody agreement, Lil Tays mom will have sole day-to-day and final decision-making powers and responsibilities in the best interests of her daughter. Lil Tay will live primarily with her mom, and the pair are allowed to move out of Vancouver. Meanwhile, Lil Tays dad must pay around $275,000 in missed child support payments since 2014, as well as ongoing monthly child support.

This post has been updated.
Thick atmosphere and a gleeful mean streak make up for a premise with a foregone conclusion in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Photo: Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Col

A movie like The Last Voyage of the Demeter must drive some members of the spoiler police nuts. Its based, as an opening credit tells us, on a brief episode in Bram Stokers novel Dracula  a captains log from the doomed Russian schooner that carries the legendary vampire and his crates of Transylvanian earth from Romania to London. The film itself begins with the discovery of the corpse-filled ship on a dark and stormy night, before flashing back to the first days of its journey with an unsuspecting crew of hardened sailors. So we know the story, we know whats in those mysterious boxes emblazoned with the image of a dragon, and we know just about everybody on the boat is going to meet an unsavory end.

But this is where a real filmmaker gets to show their chops. With the ending basically a foregone conclusion, they cant hide behind the drip-drip-drip of narrative disclosure. The characters may not know what exactly theyre dealing with, but we do; pretend that we dont and youll lose us. That means the suspense has to come from, yes, cleverly engineered scenes of pursuit and carnage but also from atmosphere and character, those noble virtues so many genre films nowadays skimp on.

The movie has certainly got atmosphere. Like a proper haunted ship, the Demeter moves through treacherous lashings of rain and seemingly endless gray mist, its lanterns feebly lighting the way. One wonders if Norwegian director Andre vredal (Trollhunter, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) has spent some time staring at J.M.W. Turner and George Philip Reinagle and Caspar David Friedrich paintings; the films mood of doomed romanticism suggests he has.

The despair outside reflects the desperation inside. The crew of sailors, led by veteran Captain Elliot (Liam Cunningham) and the haunted-eyed first mate, Wojchek (David Dastmalchian, who makes everything hes in better), are themselves a mercenary lot, suspicious and cynical and impulsive. Theyre eager to sail fast because theres a bonus in it for them if the ship arrives early. Joining them on the voyage is a young, Cambridge-educated doctor, Clemens (Corey Hawkins), who is initially rejected because hes too well dressed and his hands are not rough enough. But then he saves the captains young grandson Toby (Woody Norman) from getting crushed by a falling crate, and hes invited onboard.

The film does set up a potentially intriguing philosophical debate between the curious, scientific-minded Clemens and the rough men around him. I want to understand the world, he tells them. Perhaps it needs to be experienced, comes the reply. The deck is stacked against him, of course; there is, after all, a vampire on the ship. As a bizarre, bald, fanged figure starts to appear to the crew in brief, half-imagined glimpses, the pigs and goats and chickens onboard are mysteriously torn open, and the rats disappear. (A boat without rats? Such a thing is against nature!) The crew discovers a half-dead Romanian stowaway (Aisling Franciosi) with suspicious marks on her neck, and soon enough shes warning them about whats going to happen. Watching Clemens try and insist that there must be material explanations for all these occurrences could have easily become annoying, but Hawkins brings to the character a touching sense of anxiety: We understand that he needs to believe in reason and science because thats all hes got in this world. You feel for the guy.

But enough about the characters. What truly distinguishes Last Voyage of the Demeter, beyond its thick atmosphere of dread, is its gleeful cruelty, the delicious mean streak with which it sets up its suspense set pieces and its kills. All too often, studio horror films  especially ones based on classic monsters  can feel a little too tame, too bland, partly as a result of efforts to broaden their appeal. Not this one. Last Voyage of the Demeter certainly isnt afraid to go for the gore, and it isnt afraid to do away with characters we assumed would be off-limits, often in the nastiest possible ways. The film is filled with delightfully savage surprises. And suddenly, in this most predetermined of movies, anything seems possible.
Chinese ambassador to Ghana Lu Kun (at the podium) speaks at an inauguration ceremony of a China visa application center in Accra, Ghana, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

ACCRA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Ghana on Thursday inaugurated a China visa application center in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to foster easy traveling arrangements for Ghanaian travelers to China.

The embassy said the center, opened with the cooperation of the China Tourism Group Corporation Limited, would ensure quality service and timely processing of visa applications for Ghanaians.

At the inauguration ceremony, Lu Kun, the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, said the center became necessary due to the anticipated surge in the number of Ghanaians who would be interested in visiting China.

"In light of this new situation and drawing on the common international practices, the center is now being opened in Accra. It aims to provide visa applicants with more convenient, high-quality, and efficient services," said Lu. "We believe it will greatly contribute to the bilateral exchanges and China-Ghana relations. I am convinced the center will open a new chapter in the people-to-people exchanges between our two countries."

Lu added that the economic and trade exchange between the two countries has been flourishing, with China remaining Ghana's biggest trading partner.

Mavis Nkansah Boadu, Ghana's deputy minister for foreign affairs and regional integration, welcomed the center, saying that the event marked a significant milestone in the bilateral relations between China and Ghana.

She said Ghana recognized the importance of strengthening its relations with China and fostering greater people-to-people exchanges, adding that the center would help enhance tourism, business ventures, academic collaborations, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

She also announced that Ghana would reciprocate the laudable effort by the Chinese government to roll out new visa application systems with enhanced security features strengthened by a machine-readable visa hardware system. 
Uma Thurmans accent. Truvada product placement. The tonal equivalent of a Disney Channel original gay porn. Make it all make sense. Photo: Amazon Studios/Jonathan Prime/Prime Video

Rachel Handler: Jackson, hello. Im sorry that it has come to this, both of us in a Google doc typing on a beautiful summer day. But its time to talk about the bisexual elephant (non-Republican-affiliated) in the room: the long-awaited Prime Video movie adaptation of Red, White, & Royal Blue. First off, I just want to say that I love this book, as well as Casey McQuistons second novel, One Last Stop, which is about lesbians time-traveling via the New York subway, and I was genuinely excited to see this movie. Unfortunately, watching it was a grim experience. And then I made you watch it.

Jackson McHenry: With the strongest possible recommendation, which is that it was potentially brain-breaking. (I also heard from a friend that the movie seemed to exist to be made fun of on The Other Two, which was tantalizing in its own eldritch way.) I should say that I havent read the book and was only vaguely familiar with the concept/cover art from various gays Instagrams, but the movie itself seems to exist in a strange, depth-free reality akin to a Netflix and/or Hallmark holiday movie where all the props look made out of cardboard and so do all the performances. Where to begin, other than with the essential question: What did you make of the romance between our heroes, Snooty Blonde Prince and Self-Important Son of Texas President? They hate each other and then fall for each other but cant come out with their love for fear of alienating president moms voters and also angering the royal family! Its a tale as old as slash-fiction.

RH: This movie definitely exists within an unholy Venn diagram alongside the Netflix Christmas Universe, which you and I are intimately familiar with and which has claimed its rightful place in history as perfect lobotomy cinema. I would argue that the performances in RW&RB, specifically that of Taylor Zakhar Perez (Self-Important Son of Texas President Alex Claremont-Diaz), feel more Disney Channel Original Gay Porn than anything else. Perez plays Alex  who everyone in the movie insists is charismatic, as if that automatically makes it true  as a hammily arrogant, overtelegraphed, maniacally grinning, staggeringly ripped (why??) DCOM protagonist who occasionally seems to have accidentally wandered onto the set of MTVs Undressed. He is constantly giving both Overtrained Child Star and Did Somebody Order a Big Sausage Pizza and seems, quite understandably, as confused as I am about the tone of this movie.

Unlike the book, which is snappy and sweet and filthy all at once, the film vacillates randomly and abruptly between an anodyne, PG-rated network-sitcom blandness and glaringly lit, impressively thrust-y sex scenes with a Wattpad-esque quality likely responsible for its (undeserved) R-rating. I am generally more than happy to see both of these things on screen (especially the latter, in this economy!!), but it is disorienting to try to accept both within the same, already tenuous fictional universe. If anything, I wanted the whole movie to feel as goofily bowchickabowwow as the sexier scenes do. But instead, I felt like I was watching Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical suddenly and without warning start humping after their lifeguarding shifts at the country club. And while Perez is out here doing Hannah Montanacore, Nicholas Galitzine (Snooty Blonde Prince Henry) is in an entirely different movie altogether, an archly charming British rom-com about a chilly prince with a gooey heart that feels like a sibling to the (good) 2003 Amanda Bynes movie What a Girl Wants. As a result of this flagrant dissonance, their pairing feels fundamentally off. What did you make of their chemistry/sex scenes?

JM: Honestly, its nice to see a few thrusts. The gays never get onscreen thrusts, so when Alex and Harry made it to a hotel room in Paris (with the Eiffel Tower within view, of course) and the movie didnt cut away immediately, I had to give its director Matthew Lopez a little credit. They dont put the thrusts on Heartstopper. (There is, admittedly, also a good joke about how the prince went to British boarding school so he knows how to fuck.) Unfortunately, like the rest of the movie, the sex is not the stuff of great visual beauty. Its over-lit, and were in statuesque near-zero percent body fat territory, so it felt a little like watching someone smash two Ken dolls together. (Greta Gerwig, why did you not consider putting that in Barbie?) Lopez also wrote The Inheritance, a play that had a similarly Gay Ken ensemble with the occasional near-smutty sex scene followed by reaches for serious meaning. Red, White, & Royal Blue definitely knows its a trifle, but the more it tried to make Alex and Henrys predicament seem big and important, the more I just wanted to go back to hooking up. Theres an unsteady quality that you see in actual smut where the characterization gets rushed so the writing can just get to the steamy stuff, except its reversed here, and the movie kept trying to jump back from heir-on-heir action to pontificating about how its hard to be royal and gay and how Texas could go blue(???) in an election. That plotlines less believable than Umas Sienna Miller-esque approach to a Southern accent.

RH: Thats such a good point about it feeling like reverse smut  a much more elegant way of expressing my point about it feeling like two tonally detached movies. Lopez described the movie as the most expensive fanfiction ever made, which inadvertently functions as my pithiest review of it. I could handle Umas Southern accent until she started using it to warmly lecture her (sexually experienced, 20-something) son about Truvada, HPV, topping, and bottoming over pizza in the Oval Office. When I told a gay film critic friend of mine about this, he was aghast: I dont want Amazon knowing all that about my lifestyle! Though I understand its good intentions, that scene felt particularly forced and surreal, like a bad parody of the right-wing this is the future liberals want memes: A woman president hawking pharmaceuticals to her bisexual son beneath a portrait of Harriet Tubman.

It was just one of the dozens of moments that took me out of the movie to wonder desperately about the choices that had been made therein, including but not limited to those involving the cheap, flat, unimaginative green-screen visuals: The fact that Alexs New Years party looked like a Marriott commercial you might see on a plane before your in-flight movie starts, the inexplicable overreliance throughout on the static medium shot, the fact that the costume designer kept dressing all the men in two shirts stacked on top of each other (one tank, one unbuttoned), the fact that the meager crowd scenes all felt like CGI  did this movie have no budget or was all of it spent on Alexs plastic New Years Eve tent, or maybe on that gigantic cake? Why didnt Truvada pony up more cash for that astoundingly unforgettable product placement?

JM: I am haunted by the image of the giant cake toppling toward the two of them. It takes up the whole screen and yet appears to have no weight of its own, a phenomenon sure to baffle even our nations greatest physicists  the former child actors of Oppenheimer. Not having read the book, I can see how it might be difficult to translate a heightened meet-cute like that to the real world, but the Wayfair-catalog aesthetic here drains the wish fulfillment out of the romance. Speaking of Umas Oval Office PrEP PSA, I also had a lot of trouble connecting with Alexs coming-out plotline because his relationship with Harry (which grows out of antagonistically making fun of each others Instagram presences  relatable) is supposed to be a big awakening, but then he also freely admits that hes hooked up with  an evil gay political reporter in the past! I guess a lot of gay media with a straight audience in mind  and this story, in particular, smacks of all the tropes of yaoi-style stories written about gay men, typically to be consumed by an audience of not us  cant resist making coming out the centerpiece of the narrative, but my dude, if youve already spent hot tub time with a blogger, you cant claim youre suddenly discovering the wonders of the male body. Having a reporter hooking up with his sources is already a tacky trope, and obviously, his retaliation via forced outing is not the best plan, but Im ready to hear Mr. Reporters perspective. Must sting when your regular low-key trick is like, Actually, I can only embrace attraction when it comes from a prince. Give him a Max original spinoff series where he sleeps his way through Washington, outing political figures right and left (pun intended; I imagine this series to be full of terrible puns).

RH: Thats one of several things thats tweaked from the book  as far as I can recall, Henry is Alexs first Real Gay Experience in the novel, and that all makes a lot more sense (it would also make the left-field Presidential PrEp commercial feel a little less uncanny-valley). I know plotlines and people must be streamlined and sanded down as a matter of course when a story is translated from page to screen, but they really did a lot of the OG characters dirty here, which bums me out because theyre so well-drawn in the book. For instance, Nora, Alexs best friend, is this witty queer MIT graduate in the novel who gets a storyline of her own; in the movie, she exists almost solely as a receptacle for Alexs general whininess. And whither Alexs entire sister, June? On the page, the two main characters are layered, funny, and explicitly legible as rom-com protagonists  among other things, Alex is 43 percent less smarmy. Their flirty banter is smarter, weirder, fresher, and generally, much less cringe-inducing than first-draft lines in the movie like, Did your parents send you to snobbery school or does looking down on people come naturally to you? Which is another reason why the movie is so baffling to me  the book was very obviously inspired by rom-coms of yore. It should have been a relatively easy graft, screenplay-wise. And I wont even get into the total sidelining of Henrys sister Bea (aka The Powder Princess), who has a book storyline about a previous cocaine problem and recovery, which, come on, at least give us some cocaine!

JM: Wait, I was denied cocaine???

RH: I do think certain sequences in this movie make you feel like youre on cocaine, like the part where Alex and Henry lock eyes across the Marriott New Years Eve party as they fail to get appropriately low during Get Low. Or at the end when Uma wins the White House again, and theyre waving at her supporters but nobody is actually physically there. Or the scenes when Henry and Alex speak their text messages aloud as the actual texts race past their faces on screen, or when they FaceTime across the globe but Lopez places them next to each other on a bed.

JM: The montage of Alex on the campaign trail in Texas felt similarly surreal. The crowds are never big enough. And his approach to fieldwork seems centered on drawing a big thermometer for donations in the middle of the office. I have no idea why the people of America are supposed to love him so. The movie tries to sell us on Alex and his father feeling like outsiders as Latinos in America, but its hard to take that seriously when they currently possess a massive bit of real estate in Texas with a dock purpose-built for bathing suit lounging. I shudder at the implication near the end of the movie that Alex is going to run for office next when I imagine his true passion  as for all children of political dynasties  would lie somewhere closer to posting the odd meme video online and doing a few product endorsements. Given that this is being released on Prime Video, I would not be surprised if they added little pop-ups so that you could, for instance, buy the swimsuits they are wearing as you watch. What is e-commerce if not the logical next step for gay media with representation as its only goal?
Photo: Michael Kovac/FilmMagic

When Sarah Silverman sued artificial-intelligence titans OpenAI and Meta Platforms on July 7, her copyright lawsuits seemed to present a relatively straightforward allegation: These companies didnt secure Silvermans and other authors permission before using their copyright works, including her 2010 autobiography The Bedwetter, which isnt okay, per these suits. Silverman is joined by two other authors, novelists Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey, in these suits; their civil complaints are seeking class-action status which, if green-lit by the court, means that many, many more writers could take action against these companies.

Indeed, OpenAIs ChatGPT and Metas artificial-intelligence projects rely on the mass trawling of books to learn language and generate text, the suits say. Silvermans suit contends that these AI projects didnt secure her and other authors permission for using their works before inhaling them, violating intellectual-property law. They also claim that these AI systems gained access to these books via spurious means, using libraries of pirated texts  or as the suits co-attorney Matthew Butterick puts it to Vulture, Creators work has been vacuumed up by these companies without consent, without credit, without compensation, and thats not legal.

Silverman claims that ChatGPT and Metas generation of text is the very receipt that proves they consumed them. If they can spit out summaries of The Bedwetter and other copyrighted works, her suit contends, then these systems must have used pilfered books to do so. The proposed class action is asking for financial damages as well as permanent injunctive relief to stop these AI systems from gobbling down their work  and then using that to create text  without permission or payment.

While these are copyright cases, they might present an opportunity to learn more about the shadowy world of AI as litigation unfolds, and tech-wary catastrophizers such as this author might wonder whether their outcome could actually impact AIs operation. If a judge or jury decides that ChatGPT cant consume copyrighted material with abandon, will that ruling potentially limit what AI can do? Another way: Could a lawsuit over The Bedwetter thwart a Skynet-like situation? Vulture spoke with Butterick, as well as two experts on law and AI, to learn more about what this litigation can and cant do. Neither OpenAI nor Meta immediately responded to requests for comment.

What exactly is AI doing with copyrighted books thats so bad?

Butterick, who is joined in co-leading the suits with attorney Joseph Saveri, said the core issue is that AI isnt just coming up with stuff that just coincidentally happens to sound like The Bedwetter or other books  its relying entirely on peoples creations. These artificial-intelligence systems, its kind of an ironic name, because they are built entirely and exclusively on the work of human creators. All of these generative-AI systems rely on consuming massive quantities of human creative work, whether its text for these language models or whether its images for these AI image generators, he says. Thats how these neural networks function: They take in the training material, and what they do is they try to emulate it. When we talk about artificial intelligence, we have to understand where its really from: Its human intelligence, [but] its just been divorced from the creators. The lawsuits also claim that the books are gathered from sketchy online sources that dont have the green light to have them in the first place.

I view this as an existential issue for creators, says Jacqueline Charlesworth, who repped publishers in litigation against the Internet Archives library-like book-lending system. A judge ruled in March that the Archives book-sharing setup violated copyright law. Whats going on right now is AI suddenly entered popular culture, and tools were made available to everyone, basically, and it seemed like an explosion overnight. Even though we know a lot of these models were being developed over time, [they] exploded. Theres also the issue of whether humans have a right not to be used by AI, be they authors or people generally. People really should have the right to opt out of having their works, their data, used in those models, Charlesworth argues.

What, if anything, will the suits tell us about AI?

One of the major concerns about AI is the secrecy around how, exactly, platforms like ChatGPT are operating these days. Its becoming more and more enmeshed with our daily lives, which means that a lack of specifics about this system could prevent neutral parties from seeing problems or potential dangers, experts told Fast Company in March. For example, AI is known to reflect bad biases  such as racial prejudice  that we see among humans. Without knowing exactly whats up with how it learns or picks up potential biases, its hard to address it in AI, per University of Michigan-Dearborn professor Samir Rawashdeh.

The discovery phase of Silvermans lawsuits could potentially lift the veil on how these systems work. A discourse thats been promoted and pushed by the AI companies themselves is that these systems are essentially magic black boxes and they learn like a human, and there are all these metaphors that are thrown out to essentially dissuade people from scrutinizing how they work, Butterick says. And by doing so, they are trying to insulate themselves from any kind of legal inquiry. Thats part of what these cases are about: Lets open the black box. Lets see whats inside.

Charlesworth voices similar sentiments about AI proceedings. We are going to learn a lot more about exactly how the models work and what the training data is, she notes. Theres not a lot of transparency there, and I think, particularly if your model is based on pirated books already, thats a huge red flag. Youre copying books without permission. Thats infringing.

Could Silverman win?

Its impossible to predict the outcome of any lawsuit. But theres some doubt that the case is going to be a slam dunk for authors due to a landmark case involving Google Books nearly a decade ago. The U.S. Supreme Court determined in 2016 that Google Books practice of summarizing texts  and showing excerpts to users  didnt violate copyright law, according to the Associated Press. Deven Desai, a professor of business law and ethics at Georgia Institute of Technology, says that law presently permits the use of books to train software. Desai notes that the Google Books case resulted in the ability to use books in transformative ways, including creating snippets and training software in that sense, for machine learning, so machines can use books to learn under the law.

As for a copyright case staving off an AI revolution? Its not really about GPT systems taking over [the world], but about whether they have to pay for their training data. If OpenAI didnt buy copies of the books, they probably just should have. Perhaps the pen wont be mightier than the sword in a robot war after all.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday limiting U.S. investments in advanced technology industries in China. The ban undermines the interests of companies and investors from both sides as well as the wider world, observers have said, and drew widespread concerns from both home and abroad.

"We hope the final rules allow U.S. chip firms to compete on a level playing field and access key global markets, including China," the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) responded just hours after the order was signed.

It is not the first time the SIA has made such an appeal. In a statement issued in July, the industry group had warned that such unilateral restrictions risk diminishing the U.S. semiconductor industry's competitiveness, disrupting supply chains, and causing significant market uncertainty.

During a recent White House meeting, U.S. semiconductor giants also weighed in with opposition. The chief executive officers of Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm criticized Washington's relentless approach, saying the restrictions would surely backfire, depleting them of a big revenue source.

In fact, China is the world's largest single semiconductor market, accounting for 180 billion U.S. dollars in chip purchases last year, or more than a third of the world's total, SIA statistics show. In 2019, 36 percent of all U.S. chip sales came from China.

"If we are deprived of the Chinese market, we don't have a contingency. There is no other China, and there is only one China," Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said. The company's Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress also said in June that over the long term, restrictions on China will "result in a permanent loss of opportunities for the U.S. chip industry."

The investment restrictions will be further "rippling out," non-profit research institute Foundation for Defense of Democracies noted. It will "affect U.S. investors' willingness to dive into other sectors" such as solar power and electric vehicles, where China is ahead of the rest of the world.

In the past five years, the return rate of China's foreign direct investment has reached 9.1 percent, according to the 2023 U.S. Exports to China report. More than 70,000 U.S. companies have invested and operated in China, and nearly 90 percent of the operations are profitable.

Luca David Opromolla, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, deems the potential restrictions "risky." These constraints lead to "a loss of knowledge not only about the Chinese market but also about the complexity of dealing with business operations in foreign countries," Opromolla said.

"Measures to curb China risked damaging relations with its Asian allies," former chip engineer and Samsung executive Yang Hyang-ja was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

She also said that the more the United States sanctions China, the harder China will try to make rapid technological progress. "The U.S. should abandon its current approach of trying to get something out of shaking and breaking the global value chain," she added.

"The segmentation of the global market will create very capable Chinese chip competitors since Chinese buyers now have no choice but to buy from domestic chips makers, giving them a large captive market," Victor Shih, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Amid fraying tensions with China, the U.S. has adopted a buzzword to describe its strategy: "de-risking." "With high-level summitry and calls to keep trade flowing," the United States continues to "roll out tech and investment restrictions on China," said a recent article in The Economist. "The aim is to limit the risk of escalation in both the political and economic spheres," but "it is unlikely to work." 
Murgia died in Rome after battle with cancer.

Michela Murgia, the award-winning Italian writer, intellectual and rights activist, died in Rome on Thursday aged 51, a few months after announcing that she had stage four kidney cancer.

A prominent feminist and champion of liberal values, Murgia spoke out frequently on themes including LGBTQ+ rights and euthanasia, penning opinion articles for left-wing publications and speaking in public debates.

Born in Cabras, Sardinia in 1972, Murgia studied theology and began her career as a religion teacher before publishing her first work, Il mondo deve sapere (The World Must Know) in 2006.

This tragicomic novel about the world of call centres inspired the play of the same name, adapted by David Emmer, as well as the 2008 film Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzi.

In 2008 she published the travel book Viaggio in Sardegna and in 2009 her novel Accabadora established her as one of the most important authors of a new generation of Italian writers, winning the Premio Campiello and the Mondello International Literary Prize.

In 2011 she published Ave Maria, a reflection on the role of women in a Catholic context, and in 2013 she co-authored L'ho uccisa perche l'amavo. Falso! with Loredana Lipperini, which tackled violence against women in Italy.

In 2018 she wrote a manual on How to be a Fascist, an ironic look at the logic that attracts increasing numbers of voters to right-wing populism.

In July of this year she married actor and director Lorenzo Terenzi surrounded by a circle of close companions she referred to as her "queer family".

Her funeral will be held in Rome's Chiesa degli Artisti in Piazza del Popolo at 15.30 on Saturday 12 August.
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What can the rich countries of the world do to help preserve the Amazon? The European Parliament passed a law in April that would require companies selling commodities such as soy, beef, cocoa and coffee in the European Union to verify they were not grown on land deforested after 2020. The EU is also trying to attach new environmental conditions to ratify an agreement with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc.

Neither of these initiatives have proved particularly popular among the leaders of the eight Amazonian nations gathered this week the Brazilian city of Belem located in the Amazonian state of Para for a summit to discuss strategies to stop the degradation and destruction of the worlds largest rainforest. If there is a commodity the rich world should ban, identified unanimously by indigenous leaders and environmental activists in Belem as one of the most destructive products to come out of the region, it is illegally mined gold.

Brazil exported 104 tons of the precious metal in 2021, according to the latest government statistics. Buyers in Group of Seven countries bought more than half of the mineral. Almost 33 tons went to Canada. Switzerland took another 25. What neither the Canadians nor the Swiss are likely to brag about is that much of it likely originated in illegal mines torn into the rainforest.

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According to the Instituto Escolhas, an organization pushing for new strategies to preserve the Brazilian rainforest, 47% of the 500 tons of gold commercialized in Brazil from 2015 to 2020 is suspicious. This means from land overlapping indigenous territories or otherwise protected areas, with paperwork claiming origins in mines where there is no evidence of activity or are in areas outside designated mining zones. All of Brazils gold production is exported, Sergio Leitao, who runs Escolhas, told me. This international trade is polluted by extremely serious traces of illegality.

This is not an exclusively Brazilian story. Gold mining is the biggest driver of deforestation in Venezuela and one of the largest in Bolivia. Peru, the largest producer in Latin America, churns out around 150 metric tons of artisanal gold every year, according to the Artisan Gold Council, much of which is illegally produced.

There are 4,472 localities where illegal mining is happening in the Amazon region, according to RAISG, the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information. Half are in Brazil and about a third are in Venezuela. They affect over 17% of protected natural areas in Amazonia and 10% of indigenous territories.

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It is big business. So-called artisanal mines, known in Brazil as garimpos, commonly evoke the stunning images of miners swarming enormous mud pits in the Serra Pelada mines, captured by Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado in the 1980s. They project a sense of grit: impoverished workers with few alternatives chewing a livelihood from the earth.

But while not all garimpos are illegal, the wildcatting imagery is misleading. Many of these mines are large operations, using mechanized equipment to dredge rivers and tear through the earth in forested areas. Left behind are lakes infused with mercury, which is used to separate gold ore from other sediment, that flows into the rivers and through the food chain, and poisons communities hundreds of miles downstream. One study found that 61% of Brazilian gold deemed illegally mined in 2019 and 2020 came from mines controlled by six proprietors; 71% was purchased by three financial institutions.

And it is spreading fast, encouraged by a doubling in the price of gold since 2015 to a record of around $2,000 an ounce. More than 10,000 hectares were cleared for illegal mining in Brazil in 2020 compared to some 5,300 in 2017, a faster pace than that of land clearing for legal mines. Over 11,400 hectares were cleared in 2021. In land occupied by Brazils Yanomami people in Roraima along the border with Venezuela, the area destroyed by garimpos increased by 54% in 2022 for a total of more than 5,000 hectares, according to Brazils Socio-Environmental Institute, up from just over 2,000 hectares at the end of 2018.

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Organized crime is taking over, bringing heavy weaponry into the business. O Primeiro Comando da Capital, one of Brazils largest criminal groups, which originated in the prisons of Sao Paulo, has moved into gold mining in Roraima, running protection rackets and extortion, controlling pits and making partnerships with gangs in Venezuela. In fact, illegal gold mining has become an integral part of growing ecosystems of criminal enterprises, which include the harvesting and sale of precious wood, drug trafficking, and deforestation to seize land.

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Swayed by its promise of riches (and by the mining lobby) governments have been slow to respond to illegal minings threat to the rainforest. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro passed a decree to encourage garimpos and tried to open indigenous territories to mining, arguing that the war between Russia and Ukraine would deprive the agribusiness industry of needed potassium.

And yet evidence of the environmental damage is starting to change the conversation. After taking power in January, Brazils president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stopped both of Bolsonaros initiatives. And he sent the army to clear garimpeiros out of Yanomami territory.

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The government is now putting pressure on DTVMs  the financial institutions allowed to buy gold from artisanal mines, de facto entry points to the legal market  to ensure the legal origin of the precious metal. In March, tax authorities started requiring that all paperwork for gold transactions from artisanal miners be recorded online, to make the metal easier to trace and make it difficult to launder it by simply fibbing about its origin on a paper-based sales receipt.

Following a Supreme Court decision, the Brazilian Central Bank announced last month it would no longer presume that gold traded by financial institutions had legal origins, nor that the purchaser acted in good faith. And DTVMs are no longer allowed to own garimpos.

Much more needs to be done. Leitao of the Escolhas Institute, which lobbied for the new Central Bank stance, argues that a good next step would be to establish a monitoring system for Amazon gold similar to that deployed to stem the trade of blood diamonds used to finance war in Africa. After all, he says, Amazonian mining is getting bloody too. Among a long list of aspirations, the eight Amazonian leaders gathered in Belem highlighted how destination countries should lend a hand to squelch illegal trafficking of Amazonian products, including gold.

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This might not satisfy the European farm lobby, so concerned about the environmental damage wrought by South Americas beef and soy. But it might sway the Canadians and the British, not to say the Swiss, to stop buying the gold that finances much of the Amazons destruction.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Mexico and US Are Divided by Guns and Fentanyl: Eduardo Porter

 Brazils Oil-Rich Cities Are Saving for a Rainy Day: JP Spinetto

 Gold Is No Longer a Good Hedge Against Bad Times: Tyler Cowen

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Eduardo Porter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin America, US economic policy and immigration. He is the author of American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise and The Price of Everything: Finding Method in the Madness of What Things Cost.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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We hear a lot about climate wake-up calls. Heres one you would do well not to ignore: Antarctica had the most extreme heatwave ever recorded. In March 2022, east Antarctica saw temperatures of up to 38.5C higher than average for the time of year. A so-called atmospheric river brought warm air and moisture from Australia into the heart of the frozen continent, raising temperatures to -10C (14F) from the norm of -50C (-58F). Had the UKs 2022 heatwave  which saw the nation exceed 40C for the first time  been that severe, we would have hit 60C.

Its just one of many extreme events brought together in a new report published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. What Antarcticas future looks like is uncertain, but one sure thing is that continued fossil-fuel burning puts the worlds southernmost continent at increased risk of catastrophic cascades. The extreme heat in 2022, for instance, led to surface warming of land ice, the breaking up of sea-ice and the subsequent collapse of the Conger Ice Shelf  a frozen platform the size of Rome.

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Other events noted include record low sea ice levels, marine heatwaves and unprecedented surface melting. In terms of sea ice extent, this year has been particularly unusual. Julys sea-ice levels were three times further from the average than what had ever been seen previously. These events are detrimental to Antarcticas iconic wildlife: Between 2018 and 2022, 42% of emperor penguin colonies likely experienced total or partial breeding failure due to fast ice breakup in at least one year.

These are arguably climate-related tipping points  when something goes beyond the point of no return  already happening in the South Pole. When we see large icebergs shear off from the continent, large ice shelves collapsing and sea ice area reducing, what might not be appreciated is that these things cannot easily be fixed, if at all. Anna Hogg, co-author and associate professor in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, says that weve never seen an ice shelf recover in our lifetimes.

Irreparable losses in one of the most precious and unique areas on Earth are devastating and an ugly legacy for mankinds actions. Thats reason enough to prevent further degradation where possible. But theres another reason to worry. As Jane Rumble, co-author from the study and head of the Polar Regions Department for the UKs Foreign and Commonwealth Office, told journalists before the reports release What happens in Antarctica, does not stay in Antarctica. It has global consequences.

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Take sea levels, for example. Today, thanks to fossil-fuel burning, the Antarctic ice sheet contributes six times more mass to the ocean than it did three decades ago. The reservoir of ice on Antarcticas ice sheet is vast  if it were to melt completely, which scientists dont expect will happen anytime soon, it would raise global sea levels by 57 meters on average. Unlike the glaciers that would melt and then stop contributing to sea level rise, Antarctica would keep going and going  posing challenges that may be existential for some low-lying regions and coastal population centers, from Jakarta to Miami.

The other fear is that Antarctica stops being our planets refrigerator and starts acting more like a radiator. At the moment, Antarcticas ice reflects a large amount of solar radiation back into space, helping keep the world cool.

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Only 0.2-0.4% of the continent is exposed above the ice at the moment, but that proportion is likely to increase with further warming. That reduces the albedo  or reflectivity  of the surface and increases the heat absorbed by the planet. Its an effect were already seeing in the Arctic, which is now warming four times faster than the rest of the planet. If Antarctica starts acting like the Arctic, that would have grave consequences for everywhere else.

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It might be many thousands of miles away, but you can bet that well all feel the effects of a changing Antarctica. Just one more reason to add to the library of justifications for rapid and bold climate action.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Earths Climate Tipping Point Could Come in the 2030s: F.D. Flam

 A 36-Year-Old Treaty Is Slowing the Arctic Melt: David Fickling

 Rising Seas Are Next Crisis for Worlds Ports: Francis Wikinson

(Fixes Fahrenheit conversion in paragraph two.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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The head of Nigers presidential guard has declared himself the new leader of the uranium-rich country, a linchpin in the fight by Western and African forces against the spread of Islamist militancy across the Sahel. The move follows five successful coups in the past three years across the impoverished region. If the latest power grab succeeds  which looks likely  it would create a belt of military-run countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea  most of which are more closely aligned to Russia than to the West.

1. What happened in Niger?

General Abdourahamane Tiani appeared on state television on July 28 to name himself leader two days after his soldiers said they had detained President Mohamed Bazoum. The head of the army backed the coup, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. But the Economic Community of West African States, a 15-nation regional bloc, condemned the action and threatened to use force to restore the democratically elected leader. On Aug. 10, it activated a standby military force to deploy as a last resort. The African Union, the US, France and others suspended some aid and called for the immediate release and reinstatement of Bazoum, who hasnt resigned. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern over the living conditions being imposed on the president and his family. The coup leaders have closed Nigers airspace to most flights, saying the step was to counter the threat of foreign intervention.

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2. What makes Niger strategically significant?

It has been a relative bastion of stability in one of the worlds most insecure regions and a key western ally. The US has a military drone base in the country, which it used to target insurgents affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State in cooperation with the French military. The European Union also sees Niger as an ally in its efforts to tackle illegal immigration from Africa, some of which passes northward through the country en route to the Mediterranean. The bloc gave Niger $1.1 billion in aid between 2017 and 2020, with a quarter of the money aimed at migration control measures. Niger  more than twice the size of France  ranks among the least-developed countries and has one of the highest birth rates in the world.

3. Why has the region been so prone to coups?

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The events in Niger follow two coups each in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso and another in nearby Guinea. The leader of Sudan in the eastern Sahel was overthrown in 2021, the same year Chads military replaced its late president with his son, an army general. All the military takeovers have been rooted in the economic malaise and weak governance that have fed frustration among civilians and  in West Africa in particular  the spread of extremist violence. However, despite claims by the new strongmen that they are tackling insecurity, the number of people killed in the Sahel region surged in the first half of the year, with much of the region now under military rule.

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4. What are the implications for the broader region and the fight against terrorism?

The coups in Mali and Burkina Faso saw their governments replaced by juntas that are hostile to ex-colonial power France, which had led the fight against extremism in the region for a decade, and are more friendly with Russia. Mali and Burkino Faso kicked out French troops and hired mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group. Niger has seen its role as the Wests most important regional ally grow as a result  but the new junta has severed its security ties with France.

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5. What are the economic stakes?

Niger is Africas second-biggest uranium producer, and exports most of its output to France, according to the World Nuclear Association. It produced 2,020 tons of the metal last year. Its unclear whether the coup will affect production, but all the other countries that have experienced military takeovers in recent years are resource-rich, and few have seen major disruption to mining operations despite the changes in power. In his statement, Tiani asked for support from Nigers international partners and vowed to honor its agreements with them.

--With assistance from Katarina Hoije.

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Uganda is a tough place to be LGBTQ and the authorities are making it even harder. President Yoweri Museveni signed off this year on a draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act, which extends colonial-era laws against sodomy and envisions violators being sentenced to lengthy prison terms or even death. Civil rights groups have condemned the measure amid warnings that it may deter foreign aid and investment in one of Africas fastest-growing economies. The World Bank, for one, said the new law contradicted its values and halted new loans to the country.

1. Whats the backdrop?

Homosexuality is banned in more than half of the 55 African nations and frowned upon in many others. That includes Uganda, which inherited its original anti-gay laws from Britain, the former ruling power. Ugandan lawmakers and religious leaders  often encouraged by US evangelical groups  have said LGBTQ practices are contrary to their culture and have no place in Uganda. Museveni has described homosexuality as degeneration and a threat to procreation.

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2. What does the new law say?

It states that the nations capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional, heterosexual family must be enhanced and that Ugandans need protection against activists who promote homosexuality. These are some of its main provisions:

 The death sentence may be imposed on those who engage in so-called aggravated homosexuality. That categorization includes same-sex intercourse involving someone who is HIV positive or under the age of 18.

 Individuals can be sentenced to up to life imprisonment if they are convicted of other homosexual acts.

 Persons under the age of 18 who are judged to have engaged in homosexuality can be jailed for as long as three years.

 Legal entities that are convicted of promoting homosexuality can be fined 1 billion shillings ($268,500).

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An earlier version of the legislation approved by lawmakers in March sought to punish people for merely identifying as LGBTQ, but that provision was removed after Museveni requested changes.

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3. Is this constitutional?

The Constitutional Court struck down similar anti-gay legislation in 2014 that Museveni had signed. But that was on the grounds that lawmakers approved the law without the required quorum, and no determination was made on its constitutionality. Some legal experts have argued that discriminating against people based on their sexual identity or practices could constitute a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of expression, association and liberty. A civil rights group and 10 individuals filed a lawsuit in May challenging the validity of the new law. Its unclear when the court will make its ruling.

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4. How has the bill been received internationally?

Outside Africa, the law was widely condemned. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk described it as probably among the worst of its kind in the world. The World Health Organization cautioned that the legislation risks stunting progress made in reducing the spread of HIV in Uganda. President Joe Biden ordered a review of US aid to Uganda, including AIDS-related services; the US provided nearly $1 billion in health and development assistance in 2022. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other civil rights groups warn that homophobic attacks could increase. The African Union, though, refrained from commenting. Countries including Kenya and Ghana have indicated that they may tighten their own anti-homosexuality laws. A survey released this year of 4,500 young adults across 15 African countries found about 60% were opposed to strengthening LBGTQ rights.

5. Whats the economic fallout?

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The World Bank in August said it wont make any more loans available to Uganda, which triggered a drop in the shilling and forced the government to revise its 2023-24 budget. The banks portfolio of International Development Association funding to the country stood at $5.4 billion at the end of 2022. Its decision puts the governments plans to transform Uganda into an upper-middle income country by 2040 at risk, given that it is heavily dependent on external financing. The International Monetary Fund has said it expects Ugandas economy to expand by an average of more than 6% annually over the next five years. However, the new law could make operating in the East African nation awkward and derail billions of dollars of investments at a time when companies such as TotalEnergies SE are looking to start producing oil there. Museveni said Uganda will develop with or without loans and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Musevenis son, tweeted that the country could do without foreign investors.

--With assistance from Fred Ojambo, Thomas Pfeiffer, Anna Kitanaka and Siraj Datoo.

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PHOENIX  An Arizona judge has rejected the state Democratic Partys lawsuit targeting the new No Labels Party, which many Democrats fear will boost former President Donald Trumps bid to return to the White House. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Secretary of State Adrian Fontes properly recognized No Labels as a political party earlier this year, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper wrote in a decision dated Monday. Cooper rejected Democratic claims that there were deficiencies in the paperwork No Labels filed but said she may allow Democrats to refile the lawsuit with new arguments.

This is an important win for American democracy and a testament to the power of over 41,000 Arizona voters who signed to give No Labels ballot access in Arizona, No Labels leaders Benjamin Chavis Jr. and Jay Nixon said in a statement.

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No Labels says it is seeking ballot access in many states and will run a bipartisan unity ticket for president if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees. Group leaders say theyll stand down if theres not a clear path to victory.

Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans worry a No Labels candidate couldnt win but would tip the scales in favor of Trump or a Trump-like Republican.

No Labels has also gained ballot access in states including Alaska, Colorado and Oregon, but the stakes are especially high in Arizona, a battleground state where Democratic President Joe Biden won in 2020 by a little over 10,000 votes, less than half a percentage point. Biden won two other states by less than one percentage point.

The Arizona Democratic Party has separately filed a complaint with the secretary of states office looking to force No Labels to disclose its donors or lose its status as a political party.

We are, as always, evaluating all of our options and will continue to fight to protect Arizonans right to know who is bankrolling this organization as they inject themselves into our elections, Morgan Dick, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, said in a text message.
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WASHINGTON  The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump warned Friday that there are limits on what the former president can publicly say about evidence in the investigation as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Presiding over her first hearing for the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington heard arguments on how to structure a protective order for evidence turned over by prosecutors, a common step in criminal cases. But she also used the forum to address the cases unprecedented mix of legal and political concerns.

Chutkan stressed that political considerations wouldnt guide her decisions. She also repeatedly said Trump was subject to the courts rules as a defendant before trial even as he runs for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

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Your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet, Chutkan told Trumps lawyers.

The judge said that the more anyone makes inflammatory statements about the case, the greater her urgency will be to move the case more quickly to trial to prevent witness intimidation or jury pool contamination. She noted that arguably ambiguous statements could be construed as intimidation or harassment of potential witnesses.

I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of the case, she said.

A prosecutor said the Justice Department was prepared to turn over an initial batch of more than 11 million pages of evidence to Trumps lawyers in the first criminal case seeking to hold Trump accountable for his efforts to cling to power before an angry mob of supporters fueled by his election lies attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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Chutkan agreed with Trumps defense team on a looser version of a protective order barring the public release only of materials deemed sensitive, like grand jury materials. But prosecutors consider most of the evidence in the case to be sensitive, and she largely sided with the government on what will get that label and protections.

Thomas Windom, a top deputy to special counsel Jack Smith, also argued Trump needs safeguards when he reviews case materials. In another sign of the unique circumstances facing the former president, Windom quipped about the indictment Trump faces in Florida after classified materials were discovered in his Mar-a-Lago residence.

He has shown a tendency to hold on to material to which he should not, Windom said.

The protective order became an early flashpoint in the case as prosecutors last week called the judges attention to a post on Trumps social media platform, Truth Social, including a screen shot where he said he would be coming after those who go after him.

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They warned Trump, who has railed against prosecutors and the judge online and during campaign events, could improperly share sensitive evidence that could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses.

Prosecutors had wanted a broad order that sought to prevent the public release of all evidence they hand over to Trumps defense as they prepare for trial, instead limiting evidence to a small circle of lawyers and possible witnesses.

The defendant has broadcast their strategy, and that is to not try this case in the courtroom, Windom said.

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But the defense argued the governments proposed order went too far and would restrict his free speech rights, especially as he runs for president. They argued that the need to protect sensitive information does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.

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John Lauro, an attorney for Trump, raised the example of former Vice President Mike Pence  who is both competing against Trump for the Republican nomination and a potential witness in the case before Chutkan. Trump has repeatedly attacked Pence for being disloyal.

President Trump has the ability to respond fairly to political opponents, Lauro said.

Trump, the early front-runner in the GOP presidential primary, says he is innocent of the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. He has portrayed investigations of him as politically motivated.

Prosecutors say a substantial amount of evidence theyre ready to turn over to Trumps legal team includes sensitive and confidential information  like transcripts from the grand jury that investigated the case and evidence obtained through sealed search warrants. Grand jury proceedings are secret.

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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, prosecutors wrote in their motion.

Sensitive material that will be covered by the protective order include documents related to witness interviews and material obtained from other governmental entities.

The case unsealed last week comes as Trump faces two other criminal cases and tries to reclaim the White House.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Democrat Joe Bidens electoral victory. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

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Smiths team has indicated that it wants the case to move to trial swiftly, and this week it proposed a Jan. 2 trial date. Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in a New York case stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in another case brought by Smith accusing the former president of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in June imposed a similar protective order in the Florida case that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval.

___

Follow the APs coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.
by Song Siyi

URUMQI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tursunhan Hujaahmat, a Uygur tour guide, holds a unique bond with water. She works in Turpan City of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and always reminds visitors from home and abroad of the importance of every single drop of water.

In Turpan, often dubbed China's "land of fire," water is particularly a valuable resource. The average annual precipitation here is only 16 mm, while the evaporation rate measures about 3,000 mm. Despite such dry weather, the place is never a barren land. Instead, it is flourishing with large oases and numerous vineyards.

Whenever curious visitors inquire about this, Tursunhan, who works with Turpan Karez Paradise, a museum site dedicated to Karez wells, replies with pride that the key to the region's prosperity lies in the unique Karez wells.

Tursunhan's ancestors, and people of other ethnic groups in Xinjiang, developed the Karez wells thousands of years ago, providing the local people with a steady flow of water for drinking and irrigation.

"It's our fountain of life," Tursunhan said.

A Karez well consists of a vertical shaft connected to underground channels that surface in the form of ditches and small ponds. The channels are supplied with water from the melted ice and snow in Xinjiang's Tianshan Mountains, while the underground structure of the wells prevents water from evaporating.

Spanning over 5,000 kilometers across Xinjiang, the Karez wells ingeniously transport water from deep underground to the surface. Regarded as one of China's most remarkable historical feats, these wells join the ranks of esteemed man-made structures such as the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.

Every day, Tursunhan leads visitors of the museum down to a Karez well, navigating through the winding underground channel, telling them about the history and construction process of the well. As they walk along a glass trail, cool and clear water flows beneath their feet.

"An underground channel of Karez well is usually at least three kilometers long, and every channel was dug by hand," she told the surrounding visitors.

"In old times, workers had to kneel to dig the mud in the cramped and dark underground channels, with their legs immersed in the icy water. Many workers suffered from rheumatism as a result," she said. "They used kantuman, a kind of hoe and shovel used by Uygur people for digging. One strike only dug down a nut-size amount of mud. We can only imagine how long it had taken to dig several kilometers."

"So, we ought to value even more the water that has been acquired through the blood and sweat of the workers," she added.

Working as a tour guide for 19 years, Tursunhan holds a unique passion for Karez wells, largely because of her father.

"My father volunteered to dig the wells. He died at his post. His rope broke when he was lowering himself down in a vertical shaft. I was five at that time," Tursunhan said.

However, the tragic experience didn't dampen her enthusiasm. "At first, I found it hard to work here, for it's a place full of sad memory. But later I realized that the spirit of my father and other workers needed to be inherited," she added.

For centuries, the wisdom embodied by the Karez wells has sustained and enriched the lives of the local people. However, several decades ago, due to the pressures of modern irrigation and pumping practices, some of the wells dried out.

The number of the wells dropped to around 270 in 2009 from over 1,200 during its peak time, according to Gupur Nuridin, vice secretary general of Xinjiang Karez Research Association.

Subsequently, these wells underwent a resurgence through diverse interventions and the active involvement of local residents, yielding impactful results. As of 2022, a total of 165 wells in Turpan had been successfully rejuvenated and reinforced.

The volume of water flow of Miyimu Bay Karez well, which passes through the Turpan Karez Paradise, has increased from 90 liters per second in 2014 to 240 liters per second in 2021, Gupur Nuridin said.

While Tursunhan didn't physically partake in well excavation or direct recovery efforts, she is striving to preserve the precious legacy through her own unique contribution -- telling more people the story of Karez wells and creating awareness about the importance of saving the painstakingly procured water.

She said she hopes that her efforts will ensure the enduring vitality of the Karez wells and that the stories will reach a broader audience, thus perpetuating the essence and legacy of past generations.

"The spirit will pass on, generation by generation, just like the water in the underground channels never stopped flowing," said Tursunhan, adding that her daughter is also working as a tour guide in Turpan Karez Paradise. 
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NICOSIA, Cyprus  The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it was extremely concerned over the return of more than 100 Syrian nationals from Cyprus to Lebanon without being screened to determine whether they need legal protection and who may be deported back to their war-wracked homeland. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The UNHCR office in Cyprus said deportations and transfers between states without legal and procedural safeguards for persons who may be in need of international protection are against international and European law.

Such transfers could result in people sent back to a country where they may face the risk of persecution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm, the agency told the Associated Press.

The 109 migrants had all reached Cyprus aboard three separate boats between Jul. 29-Aug. 2 before being returned by boat under Cyprus police escort.

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The Cyprus government said such returns are being lawfully carried out in line with a bilateral agreement the island nation and neighboring Lebanon signed in 2004.

According to senior Interior Ministry official Loizos Hadjivasiliou, the agreement obligates Lebanon to prevent and stop illegal border crossings and illegal migration of individuals who depart from Lebanon.

Hadjivasiliou told the Associated Press these individuals are returned to Lebanon, which is deemed safe and where they enjoy benefits afforded to the hundreds of thousands of refugees in the country.

Under these circumstances, we believe that they dont face any danger and their choice to set sail toward a European Union member country is being made for clearly economic reasons.

Lebanon hosts some 805,000 UN-registered Syrian refugees, but officials estimate the actual number is far higher, ranging between 1.5 and 2 million. An increasing number of would-be migrants - both refugees and Lebanese - have attempted to leave Lebanon by sea since the country fell into a crippling economic crisis over the past four years. About 90% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live below the extreme poverty line, according to UNHCR.

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Hadjivasiliou said in line with the bilateral agreement, Cypriot authorities dont process migrants asylum claims because their arrival is clearly a matter of illegal trespass.

The Cyprus Republic is in no way implicated in pushbacks and never refuses assistance in case of a search and rescue operation to first and foremost protect human lives, Hadjivasiliou said.

Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou traveled to Lebanon last month for talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Azmi Mikati and other top officials to ensure that the bilateral agreement remains in effect and to bolster cooperation on stemming migrant arrivals.

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Lisa Abou Khaled, a spokesperson for the UNHCR office in Lebanon, told the Associated Press that most all 109 migrants that were returned from Cyprus were deported to Syria after being investigated by the Lebanese army.

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Khaled said the UNHCR maintains that anyone who wishes to re-enter Lebanon and who may fear returning to their country of origin should be readmitted so that their protection needs can be properly addressed.

Lebanon has stepped up Syrian refugee deportations in April, as anti-refugee sentiment in the crisis-hit country intensifies.

Lebanese authorities have pointed to a 2019 regulation allowing unauthorized refugees who entered the country after April of that year to be deported, but human rights groups argue that the forcible return of refugees to a country where they might face persecution or torture violates international law.

Cyprus has in recent years sought EU help to cope with a large influx of migrants including from sub-Saharan Africa that have taxed the small countrys limited resources.

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The EU is co-financing the construction of a new reception center for migrants, with capacity for 1,000 people, while their asylum claims are being processed or initially turned down.

Cypriot authorities see the agreement with Lebanon as a key legal barrier to potentially opening the floodgates for people smugglers to bring huge numbers of migrants to EU territory on the promise of better benefits.

In recent months, Cyprus has seen a significant uptick in boat arrivals from Lebanon and Syria. As a result, the government decided to exclude migrants who arrived after Jan. 1st of this year from eligibility for relocation to another EU country.

The aim of this policy is for the relocation program not to become a point of attraction for citizens of a specific third country who may take advantage of the program and use Cyprus as a waystation to other European Union member states, a statement said.

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But measures to stem migrant arrival numbers have produced results, according to official figures.

Asylum applications between May and July of this year were down 53% from the same period last year, dropping down to 4,976 claims. Moreover, some 3,670 people have been returned to their home countries, up by more than 1,300 from the same period last year.

____

Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb contributed from Beirut, Lebanon.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark  Authorities were on standby to evacuate more people in southeastern Norway Friday, where huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, were thundering down the usually serene rivers after days of torrential rain. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow despite two days of dry but overcast weather, with houses abandoned in flooded areas, floating hay bales wrapped in white plastic, cars coated in mud and camping sites swamped.

In the Bagdammen lake, a helicopter with a net and cables attached was used to push a caravan toward the shore where it was pulled in by firefighters.

One of the most affected places was the town of Hoenefossen where the Begna river had gone over its banks and authorities were considering moving more people downstream for fear of landslides. A total of 3,600 people are estimated to have been already evacuated, the Norwegian news agency NTB said.

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We constantly try to think a few steps ahead. We are ready to press an even bigger red button, Magnus Nilholm, a local emergency manager in the Hoenefossen region, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

This has been like a disaster movie, Solveig Vestenfor, the mayor of Aal municipality that has been affected by the floods, told NRK.

Ivar Berthling of Norways Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) told NTB that the water levels around Hoenefossen, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Oslo, were expected to continue rising and remain high until at least Monday. Up north, near the Strondafjorden lake, the water level was reported to be 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) above normal.

We are still facing critical days, the Ringerike municipality, where Hoenefossen lies, said in a statement.

Being evacuated is a dramatic event in everyday life, especially for children, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said as he visited one of the affected areas Friday.

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Norways 86-year-old King Harald V was given a briefing at the NVE headquarters, west of Oslo, on Friday, while his wife, Queen Sonja, was seen scribing on a notepad. The aging king who uses crutches, later met with volunteers who have worked with those evacuated.

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This was really extreme, Harald told reporters.

His wife added, I think we have to wait a few days and see, before we can breathe a sigh of relief.

Authorities did not provide a nationwide count of evacuees. According to a rough estimate, damage so far could amount to 1 billion kroner (nearly $100 million).

Authorities on Friday urged people not to check on their cabins in the devastated part of the country.

Hytte, the Norwegian word for cabin, is part of the Scandinavian countrys outdoors lifestyle, and thousands of Norwegians have access to a cabin  some in the mountains, others by the coast  that they use as a retreat from everyday life.

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We fully understand that many cabin owners are anxious about the cabins condition after the ravages of the extreme weather, but we hope people will abstain now from making the trip just to check, Lars Aune of the National Police said in a statement. This is to avoid unnecessary strain on exposed roads.

Storm Hans on Monday and Tuesday battered northern Europe, leading to transportation distruption, flooding and power cuts across the Nordic and Baltic region. At least three people were killed.

Southeastern Norway was particularly badly affected. A hydroelectric river dam collapsed Wednesday as water forced its way through, and earlier this week a train derailed in neighboring Sweden when a railway embankment was washed away by floods.
It doesnt make me feel particularly good, said Chang, who retired in 2018 but still appears at TSMC events. I would rather stay relatively unknown. Over a recent three-hour discussion in his office, Chang made it clear that he identifies as American  he obtained his US citizenship in 1962  at a time when the company he founded is at the centre of a technological cold war between the United States and China. Even as the rivalry for tech leadership intensifies, he does not give China much of a chance for semiconductor supremacy. Inside a TSMC chip factory in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Credit: Lam Yik Fei/The New York Times We control all the chokepoints, Chang said, referring collectively to the United States and its chipmaking allies such as the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. China cant really do anything if we want to choke them. More than a dozen people familiar with Chang, many of whom knew him as a colleague at TSMC, said he built the company  and outmanoeuvred giants such as Samsung and Intel  by being meticulous, stubborn, trusting his best people and, crucially, having boundless ambition and making daring moves when justified. When TSMC stumbled after the 2008 financial crisis, he returned as CEO at age 77 to take over again.

Hes probably the only person left in the chip industry who was present at the creation of the industry itself, said Chris Miller, author of the book Chip War and an associate professor of international history at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. That hes not only still in the industry but at the centre and top of it is extraordinary. Changs unlikely entrepreneurial journey helped Taiwan become an economic giant, restructured the way the electronics industry worked and ultimately charted a new geopolitical reality in which a linchpin of global economic growth lies in one of the worlds most volatile spots. To understand the tech industrys future, it is crucial to understand the world through Changs eyes and how he made that initial bet when others didnt. And unlike todays tech moguls  such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have publicly considered a cage fight  Chang has shown more restraint. If competition between the global tech giants is a series of high-stakes poker games, he is the quiet man who runs the casino. Almost an automaker

Chang was born in 1931 in a China on the brink of war. Before the age of 18, he lived in six cities, changed schools 10 times, experienced bombings in Guangzhou and Chongqing, and crossed the front lines as his family fled Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II. When he made it to Hong Kong in 1948 with his family, who by then were trying to get away from the Chinese Communist Partys advancing army, there was no going back. Loading In 1949, Chang moved to the United States, attending Harvard before transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study mechanical engineering. In 1955, when he twice failed a qualifying exam for a doctoral degree at MIT, he decided to test out the job market. Many years later, I considered failing to be admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Ph.D. program as the greatest stroke of luck in my life! he wrote in his autobiography.

Two of the best offers arrived from Ford Motor Co. and Sylvania, a lesser-known electronics firm. Ford offered Chang $US479 a month for a job at its research and development centre in Detroit. Though charmed by the companys recruiters, Chang was surprised to find the offer was $US1 less than the $US480 a month that Sylvania offered. When he called Ford to ask for a matching offer, the recruiter, who had previously been kind, turned hostile and told him he would not get a cent more. Chang took the engineering job with Sylvania. There, he learned about transistors, the microchips most basic component. That was the start of my semiconductor career, he said. In retrospect, it was a damn good thing. Changs relationship with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang helped make company the worlds most important designer of artificial intelligence chips. Credit: AP In 1958, he jumped to a buzzy new semiconductor company, Texas Instruments. The Dallas company was youthful and energetic, with many employees working more than 50 hours a week and sleeping overnight in the office. Four years later, Chang became an American, an identity he considers primary.

In the late 1970s, Texas Instruments turned its focus to the burgeoning market for calculators, digital watches and home computers. Chang, then in charge of the semiconductor side, realised his career there was approaching a dead end. It was time for something different. Putting the puzzle pieces together If the first puzzle piece that led to TSMCs creation was the textbook, the second was an experience that Chang had toward the end of his time at Texas Instruments. In the early 1980s, Texas Instruments opened a chip factory in Japan. Three months after the production line began churning out chips, the plants yield was double that of the companys factories in Texas. Yield is a key statistic that refers to how many usable chips emerge from production.

Chang was dispatched to Japan to solve the yield mystery. The key was the staff, he found, with turnover surprisingly low among well-qualified employees. Loading But try as it might, Texas Instruments could not find the same calibre of technicians in the United States. At one US plant, the top candidate for a supervisor job had a degree in French literature and no engineering background. The future of advanced manufacturing appeared to be in Asia. In 1984, Chang joined General Instrument, another chip firm, where a third puzzle piece fell into place. He met an entrepreneur who later started a company that would only design chips without also making them, which was then uncommon. He spotted a trend that would prove to have staying power: Today, most semiconductor companies design chips and outsource manufacturing. This final piece coincided with Taiwans transition from a labour-intensive and heavy industry economy to a high-tech one. When Taiwanese officials set their sights on developing the semiconductor industry, they asked Chang, whose reputation as a chip expert was established, to lead an institute for supercharging innovation.

So, in 1985, Chang, then 54, left the United States for a place he knew only from several visits to a Texas Instruments factory. I certainly had no plan to spend nearly so much time in Taiwan, he said. I thought I was going back in maybe just a few years, and I really had no plan to set up TSMC, to set up any company in Taiwan. Morris Changs TSMC puts the most-advanced chips in iPhones, cars, supercomputers and fighter jets. Credit: FDC Within weeks of Changs arrival, Li Kwoh-ting, a government official who became known as the godfather of Taiwans tech development, asked him to make the state-led chip project commercially viable. When Chang assessed Taiwans strengths and weaknesses, he sensed an opening. I concluded that Taiwan was a lot more similar to Japan than the US, he said, referring to his experience with the Texas Instruments factory in Japan.

In 1987, Chang founded TSMC. The business model was clear in his head: TSMC would make chips for other companies and not design them. That meant it just had to win over those inside the industry and then focus on what it could do best  manufacturing. Closing the Apple contract In April 2009, angry TSMC employees  many who had recently been let go by the company  set up a protest camp at a leafy playground in Taipeis quiet residential neighbourhood of Dazhi. They were down the street from Changs upscale apartment building. As dark fell, the protesters rolled out sleeping bags next to a slide and jungle gym, covering themselves with a large sign that read TSMC lies lies lies. Throughout its more than two-decade history, TSMC had never laid off employees. Yet, after the 2008 financial crisis, Changs successor, Rick Tsai, began letting employees go. Chang, then 77, decided he could no longer stay on the sidelines. He took back his job, rehired the talent Tsai had let go and more than doubled TSMCs spending.

Coming at a tough time for the industry, the move was not appreciated by investors. Elizabeth Sun, TSMCs former head of investor relations, recalled her reaction to the news: When I heard it, I felt like banging my head against a wall. But the bet paid off. In 2010, Chang got the call that would turbocharge TSMCs growth and clinch its lead over Samsung and Intel. Jeff Williams, a senior vice president at Apple, reached out through Changs wife, Sophie Chang, who is a relative of Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, Apples largest assembler. The call led to a Sunday dinner with all four of them, which turned into negotiations the next day. When the deal with Apple was complete, Chang borrowed $US7 billion to build the capacity for making millions of chips for the iPhone.

In the ensuing years, Apple briefly turned to Samsung for iPhone chip production again, but TSMC became its primary chipmaker. Apple is now TSMCs largest client, accounting for about 20% of revenue. Spurring the AI revolution Among the awards and photos with world leaders that stud the walls of Changs Taipei office, one is a framed comic portraying his close relationship with Jensen Huang, co-founder of chip firm Nvidia. If Apple turbocharged TSMC, it was Chang who helped make Nvidia the worlds most important designer of artificial intelligence chips. The cartoon tells the story. In the mid-1990s, when Nvidia was a startup, Huang sent a letter to Chang asking if TSMC would make its chips. After a call with Huang, Chang agreed. I liked him, Chang said of Huang.

Loading By taking that chance, Chang helped spur the AI revolution in the United States. At his office, he still keeps a Bloomberg terminal. He also makes regular public appearances around Taiwan to discuss global politics and the economy. Like many, he worries about a potential conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan, although he believes the chance of such a confrontation is low. As the conversation wound down, Chang said he had some regrets that he could not be in the drivers seat as TSMC faces geopolitical challenges. But he said the timing of his retirement in 2018 made sense, driven by technology and not politics. I was literally sure that we had achieved technology leadership, he said of that time. I dont think well lose it.
The opening scene of the 2010 hit movie, The Social Network, is a cracking piece of screenwriting.

Nineteen-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg)  fast-talking, conceited and obnoxious  is desperately trying to impress his girlfriend at drinks until she has finally had enough.

Movies about tech bros ... clockwise from top right: The Social Network, BlackBerry and Dumb Money. Credit: Composite

You are probably going to be a very successful computer person, she says in a zingy slap-down written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. Youre going to go through life thinking that girls dont like you because youre a nerd.

I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that that wont be true. Itll be because youre an asshole.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing a farmer revolt over plans for vast networks of power lines needed to shift the electricity grid from coal-fired to renewable energy.

Albanese visited Tamworth on Friday where he heard farmers concerns about the planned rollout of thousands of kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines linking solar and wind farms to the grid, which threatens to erupt into a major political stoush.

There is growing farmer opposition to thousands of kilometres of power lines, which are being built to connect a network of rural wind and solar farms to cities. Credit: Janie Barrett

The National Farmers Federation has vowed to oppose any widespread compulsory acquisition of farmland needed for power line corridors to the bitter end.

But energy experts say compulsory land purchases may be needed to speed up the rollout, which is running behind schedule, potentially jeopardising both Australias ability to compensate for looming closures of coal-fired power plants and the governments climate targets.
DAMASCUS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As many as 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded early on Friday when Islamic State (IS) militants ambushed a military bus in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a war monitor reported.

The IS militants attacked the bus in the desert region of al-Mayadeen City in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS militants prepared the ambush and opened fire on the bus with light and medium-sized weapons. 
Anthony Albanese does not hide his disdain for Max Chandler-Mather when the young Greens MP takes a shot at the prime minister in parliament. Albanese has mocked his opponent as a student politician and dismissed him as a joke in one exchange at the end of question time.

The prime minister knows exactly what this young Turk is up to with his all-out assault on Labor to force it to spend more on housing and do more to help renters. After all, Albanese was a young Turk himself. The leader and the upstart both came from Labor families, both joined the Labor left in their teens and both muscled their way past their seniors and into political office.

A tense exchange in parliament between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

For Albanese, this meant being branded a radical from the hard left of his party. For Chandler-Mather, it meant quitting Labor at the age of 21 and winning the prize Brisbane seat of Griffith  Kevin Rudds old seat  for the Greens.

Now the tension between the two men sums up the competition between Labor and the Greens on a single, totemic issue: the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund that Albanese promised at the last election but Chandler-Mather will not accept. Part of the conflict is ideological  because the Greens always want to spend more money on social policy  but a big part of it is generational.
Home owners banking on improved public transport links in Sydneys west and inner west are anxiously awaiting greater clarity on the future of the Metro West line.

The planned line from Westmead to the CBD, now under review, has been an increasing drawcard for home buyers recently as work got under way on the 24-kilometre metro.

Thomas Van Harskamp and Gavin Ward bought an apartment in Sydney Olympic Park days before the future of the Metro West line was put in doubt. Credit: Janie Barrett

But now with the route, number of stations and their locations under review, and doubt hanging over the project, owners are concerned the benefits they were banking on  from improved commutes to better capital growth  may not come to fruition.

Gavin Ward and Thomas Van Harskamp bought an apartment in Sydney Olympic Park days before Premier Chris Minns said the project was being reviewed and refused to rule out axing it altogether.
Australias ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, was blocked from entering the closed court in Beijing to attend her trial in March last year. The Australian government has few details on the specific charges against her. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has raised her case in every meeting with her Chinese counterparts, including with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in July. I want to acknowledge Ms Chengs strength, and the strength of her family and friends through this period, Wong said in a statement. In Chinas opaque legal system, the delays can mean one of two things: prosecutors still have not found enough evidence of espionage to guarantee a guilty verdict would be delivered by the Beijing court, which maintains a 99 per cent conviction rate. Or her fate is linked to the relationship between Australia and China, and Cheng is a pawn in a broader diplomatic dispute that has consumed four years and involved $20 billion in trade strikes, two governments, and the 48-year-old mother of two. Her compatriot Yang Hengjun has spent more than four years behind bars on vague national security charges.

I havent seen a tree in three years, Cheng says in the messages dictated to Australian officials on their most recent consular visit to the mother of two in July and released by her partner, Nick Coyle, on Thursday. Most of all I miss my children. Loading Coyle says three years is a long time for Cheng and her family in Melbourne and Perth to be stuck in an endless cycle of uncertainty. She has missed her daughter going to high school. Her parents arent getting any younger and Lei is their only child. So time is getting more and more precious, he says. Its the big things and all those little things that we take for granted about life in Australia.

Coyle says Cheng continues to show remarkable resilience. Its something everyone should be very proud of, he says. She has a lot of very good reasons to get through this and to get through to the other side. Cheng, who was born in China, grappled with her identity growing up. Like many immigrant children, she oscillated between the traditions of her parents and the kids who surrounded her at school. Cheng says memories of kindness have helped sustain her during her detention. But she grew to appreciate the ocker and the yiayias, the salt water whirling in her ears, the Sunday flea markets and the immigrant family-run takeaway shops. Brisbane in the 1990s was a pot of suburban Australia, and Cheng melted right into it.

I had two identities that would often fight for the upper hand depending on the context and company, she says in her dictated messages. Loading Even when I was a bewildered 10-year-old in 1985, I remember arriving on a Qantas flight and experiencing sitting on a toilet for the first time. I received such kindness from strangers and friends. My [teacher] taught me hot and cold by running my hands under the tap. When I was assaulted in my own house, the kindness that I experienced from people, including [police] officer Mabbutt, ... helped me. Memories of this kindness have come back to me now and restored me. This is a love letter to 25 million people and 7 million square kilometres of land, abundant nature, beauty and space. Once a year, Chengs bedding in jail is taken into the sun for two hours to air.
Washington: Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to additional charges related to his handling of classified documents, this time over accusations that he sought to delete security footage in a bid to thwart federal investigators.

The charges also accuse two Trump employees of conspiring with the former Republican president to delete the footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort, which the government believed would show how boxes of sensitive White House files were moved or hidden before they could be searched.

Donald Trump looks on before the LIV Golf Invitational at his golf course in Bedminster, NJ, on Thursday. Credit: Getty Images

Trump chose not to appear in court in Florida, authorising his lawyer to issue the not-guilty plea on his behalf. His co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos Oliveira, appeared in person  the former pleading not guilty, while the latter will have to wait until next week to be arraigned because he did not have a local lawyer.

The charges form part of a superseding indictment filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith a fortnight ago, six weeks after Trump was arraigned in Miami on 37 charges relating to the same case.
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Washington: Lately, Ive had little green men on my mind. Could it really be that the truth is out there, but governments simply dont want us to know about it?

That was the message delivered at a congressional hearing I attended recently where three military veterans testified that UFOs are real, commonly sighted by pilots, and that the Pentagon may even have alien aircraft  and alien remains  in its possession.

Ryan Graves, David Grusch and David Fravor arrive for the House oversight and accountability committees hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/REUTERS

As a North America correspondent based in Washington, Ive sat through my fair share of hearings on Capitol Hill, from the low-key confirmation of Caroline Kennedy as the US ambassador to Australia, to the heartbreaking testimony of children who survived the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Manager Xiaoyu (R) communicates with a staff member at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

Owner Ni Rui communicates with a staff member through written words at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Photo by Li Xinyi/Xinhua)

Manager Xiaoyu makes coffee at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Photo by Li Xinyi/Xinhua)

Manager Xiaoyu (L) takes order for a customer at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

Manager Xiaoyu (R) communicates with a customer through written words at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Photo by Li Xinyi/Xinhua)

Staff members work at Dugout Coffee & Brunch in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 10, 2023. All the seven employees of Dugout Coffee & Brunch are hearing-impaired people. The owner of the coffee hopes to pass on the positive attitude of the employees to more people. (Photo by Li Xinyi/Xinhua)
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Analysts in Malaysia have foreseen lower output to support crude palm oil (CPO) prices.

Maybank Investment Bank said in a note on Friday that Malaysia's seven month CPO output which dropped 2 percent year on year, came in lower than its expectation, raising concerns that 2023 output could end up lower than 2022.

"While we anticipate CPO price to weaken in the second half on seasonal output recovery, we now raise our 2023 and 2024 CPO average selling prices (ASPs) per tonne to 3,700 ringgit (807 U.S. dollars) and 3,500 ringgit from 3,400 ringgit and 3,200 ringgit on lower-than-expected output," said the research house.

According to Maybank, CPO price has stayed relatively resilient at spot CPO ASP of 3,917 ringgit. Besides El Nino and war risk premiums, the prices were driven by the weaker-than-expected CPO output in 2023 year to date.

The higher-than-expected year to date CPO ASP was also in part supported by recent widening in price gaps between CPO and other major vegetable oils, and weakened ringgit against U.S. dollar, according to Maybank.

"The wide price gaps are needed to stimulate demand in anticipation of seasonal peak crops in the coming months. Hence, we expect CPO price to be under pressure in the second half," said the research house.

As for 2024, its base case assumption is for CPO output to post a recovery unless hit by a severe El Nino. (1 ringgit equals 0.22 U.S. dollar) 
CANBERRA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced new funding for research to help farmers prepare for droughts.

Speaking at the Bush Summit on Friday, Albanese committed 38 million Australian dollars (24.8 million U.S. dollars) for six research projects undertaking long-term trials of new and emerging agricultural practices, including drought-resistant crops and livestock feed.

Albanese said the funding, which will come from the 5 billion Australian dollars (3.2 billion U.S. dollars) Future Drought Fund, would help Australia's farmers prepare for the impacts of climate change.

"Australian farmers are always gearing up for the next drought -- it's a matter of when, not if," he said in a statement.

"Being prepared for drought is not just good for farmers; it's also important for rural and regional communities, supermarket consumers and Australia's trade industry."

The biggest beneficiaries of the package will be researchers at Flinders University in South Australia, who will receive 8 million Australian dollars (5.2 million U.S. dollars) over six years for their research into the climate resilience of cropping, livestock and mixed farms across low, medium and high rainfall zones.

Murray Watt, the minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said the program represents a new direction for the Future Drought Fund with a new focus on long-term funding for sustainable change.

"This program is about advancing projects that we hope will make a real difference in future droughts," he said.

"These projects -- like crop rotations, soil management, grazing techniques and infrastructure -- will arm farmers with robust information to invest in technologies and practices that have been proven across different landscapes and conditions." 
Today

Mostly sunny and continued dry and pleasant; a bit warmer than Saturday. Some haze is possible later in the day from Canadian wildfire smoke.

Tonight

Mostly clear skies.

Tomorrow

Partly sunny, very warm, and more humid; spotty late shower or t-storm possible, especially north, however most remain dry.
LONDON (AP)  Northern Irelands top police officer apologized Thursday for what he described as an industrial scale data breach in which the personal information of more than 10,000 officers and staff was released to the public.

The incident is particularly sensitive given the delicate security situation in Northern Ireland, which is still trying to overcome decades of sectarian violence known as The Troubles. Twenty-five years after a peace agreement largely ended the violence, many police officers continue to shield their identities because of continuing threats from dissident elements of the republican and unionist communities.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne told reporters that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of information about police officers circulating on WhatsApp following the incident, and that authorities are advising officers and staff about how to deal with that and any further risk they face.

An early worst-case scenario that we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data to intimidate, corrupt or indeed cause harm to our officers and staff, Byrne said after he attended an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast.

The breach occurred Tuesday when the force responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking information about the number of officers and staff of all ranks and grades across the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The response accidentally included a table that contained the surnames, initials, location and departments for all employees, along with the information requested.

A second breach that occurred in July was revealed Wednesday. That breach involved the theft of documents including a spreadsheet containing the names of more than 200 serving officers and staff, as well as a police-issued laptop and radio.

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents rank-and-file officers, said Wednesday that it had been inundated with calls from worried officers following the data breach.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued a report on the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance of the United States for the first time on Friday.

The report reviewed U.S. performance on following WTO rules, and expressed concerns over U.S. policy measures that undermine the multilateral trading rules, impose unilateral sanctions, manipulate double standards in industrial policies, and disturb global industrial and supply chains.

The concerns cover 11 areas, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, industrial subsidies, agricultural subsidies, trade remedies, standards and technical regulations, trade in services and intellectual property rights.

The United States has not only selectively implemented WTO rulings, but has also blocked appointments of new Appellate Body members, which led to the "paralysis" of the Appellate Body.

The United States has a long history of taking unilateral measures against other members under the guise of so-called "national security," "human rights" and "forced technology transfer," and has also coerced others into abiding by its diplomatic policies and illegitimate demands, the report said.

In addition, the United States has implemented exclusive and discriminatory subsidy policies, and has disrupted other countries' industrial development through means like export control, the report added.

It has instigated decoupling and fragmenting industrial and supply chains, tried to utilize unilateral tariff measures to force re-shoring of industrial chains, established U.S.-centered industrial and supply chains through massive subsidies, and promoted near-shoring and friend-shoring based on so-called "values," the report said.

As the world's largest economy and an important founder and principal beneficiary of the multilateral trading system, the United States should have set a good example by abiding by the rules, honoring its commitments, and upholding the authority and efficacy of the multilateral trading system, according to the report.

China will, as always, maintain close communication and cooperation with all parties, fully and deeply participate in the reform of the WTO, and work together to promote the multilateral trading system to play a bigger role in global economic governance, said the MOC. 
READING, Pa. - Governor Josh Shapiro held a ceremonial signing of his budget bill inside Reading's Millmont Elementary School Friday.

The budget includes a $567 million increase for basic education. Around $50 million will go toward universal free breakfast in Pennsylvania schools.

"We understand that if you're going to have good outcomes in this Commonwealth, it starts with these folks right here," said Governor Shapiro.

It is the largest basic education funding increase in Pennsylvania history.

"Schools are going to be able to have the money to start this in, you know, the next couple of weeks when they begin classes," Shapiro explained.

Education Secretary and former Reading School District superintendent Khalid Mumin said the breakfast will be free regardless of income status.

"Across Pennsylvania, this will benefit 1.7 million children. Here in Berks County, it's going to help 68,000 students," said Mumin.

In a statement, a House Republican Caucus spokesperson said in part that Friday's event:

"Is nothing but a reminder of the biggest missed opportunity in this budget  the failure to transform our education system so that it will truly be a child-first, family-focused experience."

Reading's current superintendent, Jennifer Murray, called the increase a very impactful decision.

"We all know that a nutritious start to the day is key and allows students to focus on their learning," said Murray.

Governor Shapiro said he hopes to see what is in his first budget sustained over time.
ALLENTOWN, Pa.  At a special meeting of the Allentown School District Board of Directors Thursday night, the board approved the purchase of two Brainfuse online on-demand tutoring and associated services. Superintendent Dr. Carol Birks and Board President Audrey Mathison and other board members enthusiastically endorsed the purchase.

HelpNow Support Suite, for use across Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 at a cost of $143,000 and High Dosage Tutoring, BoostHDT, for small groups at a cost of $356,832, were approved unanimously.

Brainfuse online tutoring provides a combination of mutually reinforcing services, designed to provide students opportunities to seek assistance in a variety of ways.

The suite of services includes: Expert help 24/7 live on-demand tutoring; small group tutoring; targeted tutoring; online writing lab; study tools; individualized learning plans; language lab; video lesson library; college and career exploration; and collaboration tools.

Students and families can access Brainfuse from any internet-connected device including mobile phones. Data dashboards for both families and schools provide insights regarding student growth.

Bilingual tutors and AI-based translation feature enable tutors and students to communicate in almost any language.

Brainfuse HelpNow provides 24/7 on-demand tutoring across all K-12 subjects. It can be student-initiated instant access or parent/school-initiated for individuals or small groups in tackling classroom challenges. HelpNow connects students with tutors.

Brainfuse High Dosage Tutoring has ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Tier 1 effectiveness research on improving student academic achievement. High dosage tutoring occurs on a sustained basis with a consistent tutor who monitors progress. Their services are aimed at leading to improvements in K-12 students capacity to: Identify, formulate, and solve problems using appropriate information and approaches; evaluate new concepts and implement new skills independently; develop greater academic confidence and independent learning skills; and demonstrate improved comprehension of content.

Student Handbook

Also, the board approved revisions to Allentown School Districts Student & Family District Handbook for the 2023-2024 school year pending solicitor approval.

The Allentown School Districts Student & Family District Handbook provides families and students with an understanding of district guidelines, important information and expectations related to behavior in order to support a safe and nurturing teaching and learning environment. The cost of publishing the handbook is $35,994.

Health and Safety Plan

The board approved moving a vote on the Health and Safety Plan to the Aug. 24 voting meeting.

As a recipient of ESSERS (Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund) funding, the Allentown School District must have an approved Health & Safety Plan in place, and review the plan every six months. The district will continue to monitor and review the latest guidance and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, Pennsylvania Department of Health, The Allentown Health Bureau, St. Lukes, and Lehigh Valley Health Network.

The guidance, along with the Lehigh County COVID Community Levels, will be used to determine appropriate prevention and mitigation strategies. The plan is a fluid document and may be updated at any time.

Critical components and updates to the 2023  2024 Health & Safety Plan include:

Masking - Asymptomatic individuals who are COVID positive and able to return following a five day quarantine are required to mask for an additional five days.

COVID Reporting - Individuals who are COVID positive are required to continue to report their positive result to their school nurse or supervisor.

Quarantine - COVID positive individuals must quarantine for 5 days and may return if asymptomatic on day 6 and continue to mask through day 10.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown School District is calling students back in just a couple weeks, but they're still in limbo on one piece of critical funding - the Level Up Program.

"We're hopeful, we're prayerful, that we will get those resources but it's really putting us at a critical state right now because we're concerned," said Superintendent Carol Birks.

Level Up was designed two years ago to get more funding to the state's poorest districts. Allentown is one.

This year's budget included $100 million for it. But the Shapiro administration has not released the money, saying it needs separate fiscal code passed by the legislature, along with about $300 million in other programs.

Negotiations among lawmakers have stalled after the Gov. Josh Shapiro vetoed a separate private school program.

State Rep. Peter Schweyer, (D)-District 134, and his Democratic colleagues disagree that the funding needs separate code.

"This has been in law. We have a formula. We have a formula that's been used multiple times," Schweyer said.

Birks says with previous Level Up money Allentown hired 38 teachers for new art and physical education programs, and more.

"With the additional funding we're receiving, we're focused on early learning so we can assure academic success, as well as workforce development and early college experience so we can prepare kids for school but also life beyond high school," Birks said.

Republican state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, (R)-District 16, does not support Level Up and thinks it won't be easy to get lawmakers to agree on the funding.

"I think the budget is far from over, I don't know what the end result will be or if they'll get their funding," Coleman said.

Senate Republicans are not scheduled to come back to session until mid-September.
On. Nov. 1, Wells Fargo & Co. will close its branch on Airport Road as the move toward banking by phone surges ahead.

Big banks across the U.S. are shutting branches as customers switch to making transactions on their phone instead of visiting an office.

The 1840 Airport Road, Hanover Township, Lehigh County, branch will be open for about two-and-a-half months.

"Wells Fargo made the difficult decision to close the Airport Road on Wednesday, November 1, 2023," according to a statement from the bank. The branch at the Airport Road Shopping Center near Allentown will remain open for business as usual until then.

"This is not an easy decision or one we take lightly," the bank said.

After the office closes, customers will find branches nearby at 1602 Union Blvd., Bethlehem, at the Westgate Mall and at the Schadt Avenue branch in Whitehall Township.

"Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers, and we continuously evaluate our branch network in light of changing customer needs, the increase in the use of digital banking and market factors," the bank statement said.

Wells Fargo has closed branches in the Lehigh Valley and nearby. In June 2022, it opened a new office in downtown Allentown.

The bank was founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William Fargo. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo's wagons carried goods and precious metals in America's frontier days.

Wells Fargo is one of America's Big Four banks, along with Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

Shares in Wells Fargo are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WFC. As of noon Friday, the share price was $43.80, giving the company a market capitalization of $160.7 billion.

In the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded as high as $48.84 and as low as $35.25.
STROUDSBURG, Pa.  The Stroud Area Regional Police Department (SARPD) has obtained arrested homicide warrants for two people involved in a drive-by shooting last summer.

Police say Kylan Coombs, 23, and Alexandra Hidalgo, 27, are wanted for their alleged involvement in Aug. 7, 2022, shooting in the 600 block of Stroudsburg's Main Street. Police recovered a .233 caliber shell from the scene last year, but no firearms.

According to police, both Coombs and Hidalgo "have a history of incidents involving firearms" and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Those with information are asked to contact SARPD Detectives Capone or Knowles at (570) 421-6800.
BLUE BELL, Pa.  Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) are asking for the public's help to identify the woman involved in a "theft by deception" at Mid Penn Bank in Blue Bell.

Police said that on July 26, the woman tried to withdraw money from an unidentified person's bank account using that person's passport and Social Security number.

According to police, two other withdrawals from the same account were attempted on July 23. These withdrawals originated in California, and it is not clear if they are related to the July 26 bank incident, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PSP Bethlehem at (610) 861-2026.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election.

Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of President Joe Biden's son, as the special counsel. It comes as plea deal talks in Hunter Biden's case hit an impasse.

The attorney general noted the extraordinary circumstances of the matter in making the announcement at the Justice Department.

Garland said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel."

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel, Garland said.

Hunter Bidens attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Friday.

The announcement of a special counsel is a momentous development from the typically cautious Garland and comes amid a pair of sweeping Justice Department probes into former President Donald Trump, who's Joe Biden's chief rival in next year's election.

It also comes as House Republicans are mounting their own investigation into Hunter Bidens business dealings. The Republicans are struggling to connect the son's work to his father, and so far they have not been able to produce evidence to show any wrongdoing.

Justice officials did not explain what prompted the sudden move after years of investigating Hunter Biden, who used drugs and whose personal entanglements have trailed his father's political career.

Legal proceedings are dramatically shaping the 2024 presidential race in an unprecedented way. Garland has now named special counsels to investigate Trump's handling of classified records and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as well as Friday's announcement into Biden's son.

Garland said he expects Weiss, as special counsel, to work expeditiously and in an even-handed and urgent manner." He said Weiss will have all the resources he requests to probe the matter.

Last month, Hunter Bidens plea deal over tax evasion and a gun charge collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics.

Republicans had derided that agreement as a sweetheart deal as they pushed their own probe.

Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, has been leading the congressional inquiry into Hunter Bidens financial ties and transactions. The Kentucky lawmaker has obtained thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.

Shortly after Hunter Biden reached an initial agreement with the government, Comer joined forces with two chairmen of powerful committees to launch a larger investigation into claims by two IRS agents who said the Justice Department improperly interfered in the yearslong case.

The Republicans claimed Weiss was being blocked from becoming a special counsel. It's a claim Weiss and the Justice Department denied.

Since then, Comer has brought in a former business associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, who provided fresh insight during closed-door testimony into how the Democratic presidents son capitalized on his relationship with his father, who was then vice president, to court foreign investors.

Archer said Hunter Biden was using the illusion of access in Washington. But he offered no tangible evidence that Joe Biden played any role in his sons work beyond saying hello during their daily family calls.

By being named special counsel Weiss will have broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.

Weiss was nominated by Trump to serve as Delaware U.S. attorney in 2017 and was retained after Biden took over so he could continue to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation. He had been a prosecutor for years before, handling both violent crimes and white-collar offenses, and worked in private practice between stints in the federal prosecutors office.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Nomaan Merchant contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration has asked Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin's deeply entrenched forces.

The package requested Thursday includes $12 billion to replenish U.S. federal disaster funds at home after a deadly climate season of heat and storms, and funds to bolster the enforcement at the Southern border with Mexico, including money to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. All told, its a $40 billion package.

While the last such supplemental spending request from the White House for Ukraine funding was easily approved in 2022 despite reservations from Republicans, theres a different dynamic this time.

A political divide on the issue has steadily grown, with the Republican-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the party's leader, Donald Trump, who has been very skeptical of the war. And American support for the effort has been slowly softening.

White House budget director Shalanda Young, in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, urged swift action to follow through on the U.S. commitment to the Ukrainian peoples defense of their homeland and to democracy around the world as well as other needs.

The request was crafted with an eye to picking up support from Republicans, as well as Democrats, particularly with increased domestic funding around border issues  a top priority for the GOP. The Republicans have been been highly critical of the Biden administrations approach to halting the flow of migrants crossing from Mexico.

Still, the price tag of $40 billion may be too much for Republicans who are fighting to slash, not raise, federal outlays. As a supplemental request, the package the White House is sending to Congress falls outside the budget caps both parties agreed to as part of the debt ceiling showdown earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement there was strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.

The latest request from the Biden administration shows Americas continued commitment to helping Americans here at home and our friends abroad, he said. "We hope to join with our Republican colleagues this fall to avert an unnecessary government shutdown and fund this critical emergency supplemental request.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has championed of support for Ukraine, was more subdued.

I look forward to carefully reviewing the Administrations request to make sure it is necessary and appropriate," McConnell said in a statement, "to keep America safe, secure our borders, support our allies, and help communities rebuild after disasters.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., released a statement urging Congress to swiftly pass critical funding for disaster relief programs while separately considering military aid for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden and his senior national security team have repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine as long as it takes to oust Russia from its borders. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress  and American public  for the costs of a war with no clear end.

For people who might be concerned the costs are getting too high, wed ask them what the costs  not just in treasure but in blood, perhaps even American blood  could be if Putin subjugates Ukraine, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said this week.

Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened with time. An AP-NORC poll conducted in January 2023 around the one-year mark of the conflict, found that 48% favored the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, down from the 60% of U.S. adults who were in favor sending Ukraine weapons in May 2022. While Democrats have generally been more supportive than Republicans of offering weaponry, their support dropped slightly from 71% to 63% in the same period. Republicans support dropped more, from 53% to 39%.

Dozens of Republicans in the House and some GOP senators have expressed reservations, and even voted against, spending more federal dollars for the war effort. Many of those Republicans are aligning with Trumps objections to the U.S. involvement overseas.

That means any final vote on Ukraine aid will likely need to rely on a hefty coalition led by Democrats from Bidens party to ensure approval.

The funding includes money to counter Russian and Chinese influence elsewhere by bolstering the World Bank and providing aid to resist Russian-aligned Wagner forces in Africa. Domestically, theres an additional $60 million to address increased wildfires that have erupted nationwide. And the request includes $4 billion for the Southern border, including $2.2 billion for border management and $766 million to stop the flow of fentanyl and provide prevention and recovery support. There is also $100 million earmarked for the Department of Labor to ramp up investigations of suspected child labor violations.

To ease passage, Congress would likely try to attach the package to a must-pass measure for broader government funding in the U.S. thats needed by Oct. 1 to prevent any shutdown in federal offices.

Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a robust program to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.

Ukraine is pushing through with its ongoing counteroffensive, in an effort to dislodge the Kremlins forces from territory theyve occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The counteroffensive has come up against heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications.

The U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russias invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the frontlines. Congress approved the latest round of aid in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.

We remain confident that well be able to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

There were questions in November about waning Republican support to approve the package, but it ultimately passed. Now, though, House Speaker McCarthy is facing pressure to impeach Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct and its not clear whether a quick show of support for Ukraine could cause political damage in whats expected to be a bruising 2024 reelection campaign.

Trump contends that American involvement has only drawn Russia closer to other adversarial states like China, and has condemned the tens of billions of dollars that the United States has provided in aid for Ukraine.

Long reported from Chicago.
Stormy weather across northern Europe has killed at least one person and caused airport delays, suspended ferry services and a trains partial derailment. Police in Sweden said no one was injured when two of the trains passenger cars went off the tracks on Monday. They say the derailment happened because the embankment has been undermined by the heavy rain and landslides. The rain also kept ferries linking Poland to Sweden, two German islands to mainland Germany and Norway to Denmark remained in harbor. Latvian television reported trees getting knocked over in wind gusts of up to 108 kilometers per hour (67 miles per hour). In Denmark, the greater Copenhagen fire department urged people to stay away from parks and forests.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran has moved five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea, U.S. and Iranian officials said Thursday, as part of a tentative deal that follows months of heightened tensions between the two countries.

Iranian officials at the United Nations told The Associated Press that the prisoner transfer marked a significant initial step" in the implementation of the agreement, which is still being negotiated and could eventually lead to the full release of the Americans.

Iran acknowledged that the deal involves $6 billion to $7 billion that were frozen as a result of sanctions. Iranian officials said the money would be transferred to Qatar before being sent on to Iran if the agreement goes through.

The final transfer of the money  and the release of the five detainees  is expected in the next month or so due to the complicated nature of the financial transactions, officials said.

My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare and the nightmare that their families have experienced, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference in Washington, adding that more work would be necessary to free the five.

State Department officials spoke to the prisoners on Thursday, he said.

The deal unfolded amid a major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf, with the possibility of U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil shipments pass.

The agreement is bound to open U.S. President Joe Biden to fresh criticism from Republicans and others that his administration is helping to boost the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to U.S. troops and Mideast allies.

U.S.-based lawyer Jared Genser, who represents one of the prisoners, said the five will likely be held at a hotel under guard. There are simply no guarantees about what happens from here, he said.

Neda Sharghi, whose brother, Emad Sharghi, is among the prisoners, said in a statement that her family "has faith in the work that President Biden and government officials have undertaken to bring our families home.

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White Houses National Security Council, described the negotiations for the release as ongoing and delicate.

While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens ... should have never been detained in the first place, she said in a statement.

It remains unclear how many Iranian-Americans are held by Tehran, which does not recognize dual citizenship.

The prisoners include Siamak Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges; Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years; and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.

The fourth and fifth prisoners were not identified.

Iran, meanwhile, has said it seeks the release of Iranian prisoners held in the U.S.

American officials declined to comment on who or how many Iranian prisoners might be released in a final agreement. But Iranian media in the past identified several prisoners with cases tied to violations of U.S. export laws and restrictions on doing business with Iran.

The alleged violations include the transfer of money through Venezuela and sales of dual-use equipment that the U.S. alleges could be used in Irans military and nuclear programs. Iran has been enriching uranium and stockpiling it as part of its advancing nuclear program.

The deal hinges on the frozen assets in South Korea. In the dispute over the money, Tehran seized a South Korean oil tanker and threatened further retaliation this month.

Definitely Iran will not remain silent, and we have many options that could harm the Koreans, and we will certainly use them, said Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament who sits on its influential national security and foreign policy committee.

In Seoul, South Korea's Foreign Ministry declined to offer specifics, but said it had "been closely coordinating with the United States, Iran and other relevant countries to resolve the issue surrounding the frozen funds, and we look forward to an amicable resolution.

Iran and the U.S. have a history of prisoner swaps dating to the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis following the Islamic Revolution. Their most recent major exchange happened in 2016, when Iran came to a deal with world powers to restrict its nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions.

Four American captives, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, flew home from Iran, and several Iranians in the United States won their freedom. That same day, President Barack Obama's administration airlifted $400 million in cash to Tehran.

Iran has received international criticism over its targeting of people with dual citizenship. The West accuses Iran of using foreign prisoners as bargaining chips, an allegation Tehran rejects.

Negotiations over a major prisoner swap faltered after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal in 2018. From the following year on, a series of attacks and ship seizures attributed to Iran have raised tensions.

Biden entered office with hopes of restarting the deal, but diplomatic negotiations on the accord have been stalled for a year.

Though none of the money frozen in South Korea will enter the U.S. financial system on its way to Qatar, the release is being done with American approval and is bound to draw disapproval from the GOP.

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said the proposed deal would provide Iran with money to produce drones for Russia and fund terrorism.

China and Russia, who are also holding Americans hostages, now know the price has just gone up, Pence said in an online statement.

The troop buildup may insulate Biden from criticism from Arab nations in the Persian Gulf, which rely on American security guarantees. The U.S. also is negotiating with Saudi Arabia over potentially recognizing Israel diplomatically, a deal that may involve further guarantees about military support against Iran. Riyadh reached a detente with Iran in March after years of tensions.

Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) jointly announced the introduction of block trading, or manual trades, under the mutual market access program on Friday.

Under Stock Connect, offshore investors will be able to conduct block trades on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange through the northbound trading link, while mainland investors will be able to conduct manual trades on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd. through the southbound trading link.

The initiative will further enhance the Stock Connect arrangements, make available more trading mechanisms, improve trading efficiency, and promote the mutual development of both capital markets, said the announcement.

The CSRC and the SFC will supervise the respective exchanges and clearing houses on both sides in studying the business, technical, and regulatory arrangements to introduce block trading, conduct market consultation as appropriate, and develop an implementation proposal.

Data showed that net capital inflow under the northbound trading of the Stock Connect programs between the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges and the Shenzhen and Hong Kong exchanges totaled 1.02 trillion yuan (about 142.5 billion U.S. dollars) and over 930 billion yuan, respectively, by the end of July. 
Myrna and Abraham Ah Hee react as they stand in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. The Ah Hees were there because they were looking for Abraham's brother. Their own home in Lahaina was spared, but the homes of many of their relatives were destroyed by wildfires. They haven't been able to get in touch with Abraham's brother.
Burnt out cars line the sea walk after the wildfire on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed multiple people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations  but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
Community volunteer Yu Qiao (L) talks with an elderly villager in Maoqi Village, Ezhou City, central China's Hubei Province, July 18, 2022.(Xinhua)

WUHAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As in many parts of rural China, the young people of Maoqi, a village along the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, left long ago. As they headed off to cities to look for work, they left their elderly parents behind in the countryside.

Located in the city of Ezhou, Maoqi has a population of just over 2,000 but less than 500 are permanent residents, 203 of whom are above 60 years old. In the absence of nearby family, however, this elderly population do have someone to turn to.

Since 2016, a dedicated community volunteer, 33-year-old Yu Qiao, has been a guiding light for the elderly population of Maoqi. Yu extends her helping hand to those who are confined by illness, unfamiliar with digital devices, or require assistance in accessing crucial health care.

In 2021, an unconscious 82-year-old woman was found in the woods. After receiving the call for help, Yu immediately informed a village doctor and rushed to the scene. With their swift intervention, the woman regained consciousness. Yu and her fellow volunteers also reached out to the family, working in tandem to arrange her transportation to the hospital for a thorough examination. Fortunately, it turned out that the elderly woman's dizziness was merely the result of a cold.

The incident deeply affected Yu, as it mirrored a similar event involving her grandmother. In 2018, her grandmother fainted at home, alone. Unfortunately, her neighbors noticed too late, and her grandmother had passed away before help could be called.

"I could not sleep for a long time," she recalls.

A few months later, she returned to work and gave her cell phone number to all left-behind seniors.

"I didn't want the same tragedy to happen to them," she said.

Like most of her peers, Yu did not see a future in the countryside. Following her high school graduation in 2007, she left for Guangdong Province in search of employment. However, in 2010, familial responsibilities brought her back home, as her father had become wheelchair-bound due to a factory accident. By 2016, she had found employment as a community patroller in Maoqi, and soon after she got married and became a mother of two.

Yu exudes remarkable patience and innate helpfulness. She diligently visits each household, meticulously noting down each individual's challenges and actively looks for solutions.

In her pursuit of enhancing village life, Yu is dedicated to personal growth. Her endeavors have seen her acquire driving skills, delve into legal studies, and undergo emergency medical training-all aimed at better serving her community.

Supported by the local government, Yu set up a volunteer team in 2019, which soon attracted more young people. Ever since, they have worked together to help those in need of assistance.

After her story was reported in the media, Yu won wide acclaim and a host of accolades, including the "Hubei May Fourth Medal," the highest honor for young people in the province.

Since then, numerous villages across the province have also set up similar teams to offer support for the elders.

Cooperating with local tech companies, all of the village's seniors now have emergency alert bracelets; a simple button press sends an alert to her office.

"Yu is the 'little cotton-padded jacket' of the whole Maoqi Village," said Ke Huanzhi, a local elderly woman, citing a Chinese proverb that likens a daughter to the garment as it brings warmth to her parents.

Amid China's ongoing urbanization, a significant influx of young and middle-aged workers from rural areas into major cities is evident. This migration has brought to the forefront a concern: the well-being of those left behind. The issue has even been highlighted in the government's agenda. Yu and her dedicated team have emerged as one promising solution to address the challenges. 
Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust plc (LON:BGEU  Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Thursday, August 10th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a dividend of GBX 2.20 ($0.03) per share on Friday, September 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This is a positive change from Baillie Gifford European Growth Trusts previous dividend of $0.70. The official announcement can be accessed at this link.

Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust Stock Performance

BGEU traded up GBX 1 ($0.01) during trading hours on Thursday, reaching GBX 94.80 ($1.21). The companys stock had a trading volume of 593,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,235. The firm has a market cap of 339.94 million, a PE ratio of -140.00 and a beta of 1.01. Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust has a 52 week low of GBX 73.50 ($0.94) and a 52 week high of GBX 102.40 ($1.31). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.93, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.20. The companys 50-day moving average is GBX 93.91 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 94.45.

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The European Investment Trust plc is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited. The fund is co-managed by Edinburgh Partners Limited. It invests in public equity markets of Europe, excluding the United Kingdom. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China strives to make frontier breakthroughs in science and technology via the advancing computing power of artificial intelligence (AI) that has seen explosive growth in the country.

Scientists and AI developers applauded the revolution of AI-driven scientific research at the two-day AI for Science Summit in Beijing, which started on Thursday.

"AI development benefited from science," said Tang Chao, a professor from the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (AAIS) at Peking University, at the meeting. "Now, we're looking forward to embracing a stage where AI facilitates scientific progress."

AI for Science (AI4Science) can form an interdisciplinary platform and help scientists to solve complicated problems to improve research efficiency and quality, said E Weinan, president of the AI for Science Institute in Beijing.

AI4Science demands four pillars of infrastructure -- algorithm models and software, effective measures to represent experimental data, database and knowledge repository, and integrated computing platform, said E.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China jointly kickstarted a project to promote the use of AI in frontier sci-tech research in March.

The project will deploy AI models and algorithms in gene research and biology breeding breakthroughs.

Also, interdisciplinary research and development teams will be brought together to promote the establishment of an innovation consortium and build international academic exchange platforms to offer solutions to human scientific challenges, including cancer treatment and the climate crisis.

E said AI4Science might bring revolutionary changes in new materials, energy, aviation, and pharmaceuticals.

Using AI and one of the world's fastest supercomputers, Chinese scientists have already started to engineer otherwise unknown chemicals to be clinically used in the future.

With the Tianhe-2 supercomputer in south China's Guangdong Province, scientists and computer experts with Beijing-based AI startup Galixir developed a practical deep-learning toolkit to predict the biosynthetic pathways for natural products, the primary source of clinical drug discovery.

Empowered by AI-based algorithms, the computer also offers clinicians tools to discern types of gastric cancer and discover signs of nasopharynx cancer among high-risk populations.

The new application scenarios are also a source of opportunities for the AI industry. "Scientists can bring giant advancement to AI when they're solving problems," said Wang Jian, director of Zhejiang Lab. 
Hosking Partners LLP lowered its position in shares of Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP  Free Report) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,459 shares of the banks stock after selling 18,741 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP owned 0.12% of Credicorp worth $12,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Credicorp during the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Credicorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Credicorp by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 979 shares of the banks stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Credicorp by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the banks stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Credicorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors own 71.48% of the companys stock.

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Credicorp Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE BAP traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $157.72. 319,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 359,585. The businesss 50-day moving average is $149.45 and its 200-day moving average is $138.48. Credicorp Ltd. has a twelve month low of $118.33 and a twelve month high of $160.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BAP shares. TheStreet raised Credicorp from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Scotiabank raised Credicorp from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Credicorp in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $153.00.

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Credicorp Ltd. provides various financial, insurance, and health services and products primarily in Peru and internationally. Its Universal Banking segment includes granting various credits and financial instruments to individuals and legal entities; and various deposits and checking accounts. The Insurance and Pensions segment includes the issuance of insurance policies to cover losses in commercial property, transport, marine vessels, automobiles, life, health, and pensions; management services for private pension funds.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP  Free Report).

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White Pine Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL  Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,029 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. White Pine Capital LLCs holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 35,208 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 184.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 31,989 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $5,295,000 after buying an additional 20,753 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,100 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,665,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 786,556 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $130,199,000 after buying an additional 14,653 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $421,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Gail Peterson sold 934 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $163,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,567 shares of the companys stock, valued at $274,225. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.33, for a total value of $435,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,975 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,347,386.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gail Peterson sold 934 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $163,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,567 shares of the companys stock, valued at $274,225. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,502 shares of company stock valued at $5,172,054 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $172.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ecolab from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ecolab from $164.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $192.43.

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Ecolab Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $185.00. 1,063,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,106,066. The firm has a market cap of $52.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.02. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.04 and a 12-month high of $191.41. The firms 50-day moving average price is $182.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.86 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 7.96%. The businesss revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 18th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Ecolabs dividend payout ratio is currently 51.58%.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free Report)

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.

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1ST Source Bank raised its stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,267 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Banks holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $4,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AGG. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,370 shares of the companys stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the companys stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 2,611 shares of the companys stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the companys stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 31,284 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.13% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:AGG traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.37. 15,463,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,229,899. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $93.20 and a 12 month high of $103.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.50.

About iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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1ST Source Bank cut its stake in shares of iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF (BATS:GVI  Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,547 shares of the companys stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Bank owned approximately 0.24% of iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF worth $6,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,992 shares of the companys stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 77,962 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,146,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the companys stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Vigilant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the companys stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 745 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF Price Performance

iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.56. The stock had a trading volume of 59,292 shares. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $102.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.56.

iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF Announces Dividend

iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF Profile

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 5th were given a $0.234 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 3rd.

(Free Report)

The iShares Intermediate Government\u002FCredit Bond ETF (GVI) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of US Treasury, agency and investment-grade corporate bonds with remaining maturities of 1-10 years. GVI was launched on Jan 5, 2007 and is managed by BlackRock.

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1ST Source Bank decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET  Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,388 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Banks holdings in MetLife were worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in MetLife by 11.4% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,847 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the first quarter worth about $225,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 179.7% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 540,081 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $37,957,000 after buying an additional 346,999 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 937.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,861 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 5,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 114.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.83% of the companys stock.

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MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.66. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,914,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,155,947. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $77.36. The firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.10. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $57.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

MetLife ( NYSE:MET Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. MetLife had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $16.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. MetLifes revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 3rd that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 7th. MetLifes payout ratio is presently 80.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded MetLife from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MET

MetLife Profile

(Free Report)

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.

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1ST Source Bank cut its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the companys stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Banks holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 26,141 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,939 shares of the companys stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,065 shares of the companys stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 525 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,987 shares of the companys stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. 77.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.07. 1,201,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,350,152. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.85 and a 12 month high of $105.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.33. The firm has a market cap of $149.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.69.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.63% and a negative return on equity of 127.84%. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 22nd. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. 22nd Century Group reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $109.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.40.

View Our Latest Stock Report on PM

Philip Morris International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 22,912 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock, valued at approximately $5,672,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up 0.7% of Manchester Capital Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $464,988,000. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 85.57% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $284.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $304.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $284.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,300 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.13, for a total value of $360,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,157 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,429,159.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $4.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $277.21. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,282,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,198. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $262.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $215.90 and a 1-year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Companys quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.06%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

(Free Report)

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company's BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.

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Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,383 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 5,617 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,001 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,477,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter.

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Portland General Electric Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:POR opened at $46.61 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $47.81 and its 200 day moving average is $48.44. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Portland General Electric has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $56.37.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

Portland General Electric ( NYSE:POR Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.05). Portland General Electric had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The business had revenue of $648.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $571.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Portland General Electrics quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 25th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio is 79.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on POR. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Monday, May 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Portland General Electric from $50.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. StockNews.com raised Portland General Electric from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, 58.com restated a downgrade rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $50.83.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Portland General Electric

Insider Activity

In other Portland General Electric news, VP Anne Frances Mersereau sold 1,071 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.83, for a total value of $50,154.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,962 shares in the company, valued at $841,160.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the companys stock.

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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Alteryx (NYSE:AYX  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Truist Financial from $65.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a buy rating on the stock. Truist Financials price objective would indicate a potential upside of 38.22% from the stocks previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Alteryx from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alteryx from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities dropped their target price on Alteryx from $95.00 to $60.00 and set a market outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered Alteryx from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on Alteryx from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.58.

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Alteryx Price Performance

Insiders Place Their Bets

Shares of Alteryx stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.94. 2,633,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,641,245. The firms fifty day moving average is $41.58 and its 200-day moving average is $49.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.86. Alteryx has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $70.63. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 0.53.

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $43,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,464 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,752,495.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 13.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Alteryx by 11.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,029,902 shares of the companys stock valued at $574,379,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alteryx by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,522,028 shares of the companys stock valued at $394,991,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Alteryx by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,966,668 shares of the companys stock valued at $134,242,000 after purchasing an additional 370,704 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Alteryx by 471.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,468,167 shares of the companys stock worth $86,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211,237 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alteryx by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,376,201 shares of the companys stock valued at $69,732,000 after purchasing an additional 28,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.54% of the companys stock.

About Alteryx

(Get Free Report)

Alteryx, Inc operates in analytic process automation business in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and internationally. The company's analytics platform enables organizations to enhance business outcomes and the productivity of their business analysts, data scientists, citizen data scientists, and data engineers.

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Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC  Free Report) (NYSE:MFC)  Equities research analysts at Cormark issued their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Manulife Financial in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 10th. Cormark analyst L. Persaud expects that the financial services provider will earn $0.88 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Manulife Financials current full-year earnings is $3.17 per share. Cormark also issued estimates for Manulife Financials Q2 2024 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.96 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $3.65 EPS.

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A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$28.00 to C$30.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Desjardins set a C$28.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$28.15.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

MFC stock traded up C$0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$26.32. 615,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,275,872. Manulife Financial has a 52-week low of C$20.81 and a 52-week high of C$27.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.88, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 124.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$25.37 and a 200-day moving average of C$25.71. The firm has a market capitalization of C$48.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.17, a P/E/G ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.13.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported C$0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.79 by C$0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 52.92% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The business had revenue of C$12.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$15.64 billion.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 22nd. Manulife Financials payout ratio is 28.80%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council announced the appointment of officials on Friday.

Xu Dachun was appointed vice minister of natural resources.

Xu Zhongshun was appointed deputy head of the National Fire and Rescue Administration. 
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT  Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at KeyCorp from $162.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. KeyCorps price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.13% from the companys current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AIT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $160.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company.

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Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 6.7 %

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

Shares of AIT stock opened at $151.50 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $140.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.48. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $156.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 1.21.

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 1,655 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.01, for a total value of $215,166.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 316,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,156,355.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,001,286 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $718,751,000 after acquiring an additional 459,302 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,863,708 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $499,893,000 after purchasing an additional 136,174 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,383,105 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $142,156,000 after buying an additional 10,144 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,287,246 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $162,232,000 after buying an additional 8,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.0% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,283,113 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $182,369,000 after acquiring an additional 157,775 shares during the period. 92.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates through two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Fluid Power & Flow Control. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.

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Atalaya Mining Plc (LON:ATYM  Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Thursday, August 10th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share on Thursday, September 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. This is a positive change from Atalaya Minings previous dividend of $0.04. The official announcement can be accessed at this link.

Atalaya Mining Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of LON ATYM opened at GBX 334 ($4.27) on Friday. The stock has a market cap of 467.20 million, a PE ratio of 2,193.33, a PEG ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 325.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 339.56. Atalaya Mining has a 52-week low of GBX 183 ($2.34) and a 52-week high of GBX 385 ($4.92). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.42, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.69.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATYM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 600 ($7.67) target price on shares of Atalaya Mining in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 420 ($5.37) target price on shares of Atalaya Mining in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Atalaya Mining from GBX 590 ($7.54) to GBX 600 ($7.67) and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday.

About Atalaya Mining

(Get Free Report)

Atalaya Mining Plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mineral exploration and development in Spain. The company's flagship property is its 100% owned Proyecto Riotinto mine, an open-pit copper mine located in the Andalusia region of Spain. It produces copper concentrates, including silver by-products.

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Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,490,858 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after selling 1,057,440 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.94% of EOG Resources worth $629,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EOG. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in EOG Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 9,118 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,019,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC increased its position in EOG Resources by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 10,569 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC increased its position in EOG Resources by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its position in EOG Resources by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 6,360 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in EOG Resources by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,262 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 89.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on EOG shares. Scotiabank raised EOG Resources from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and decreased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on EOG Resources from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on EOG Resources from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $145.32.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.81. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,081,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,549,230. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.00. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.52 and a 52-week high of $150.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $76.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.55.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy exploration company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.21. EOG Resources had a net margin of 33.58% and a return on equity of 28.52%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.74 billion. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 16th. EOG Resourcess payout ratio is presently 22.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total value of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,607 shares in the company, valued at $4,409,796.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other EOG Resources news, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.87, for a total value of $579,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 149,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,344,464.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total value of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,607 shares in the company, valued at $4,409,796.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock.

EOG Resources Company Profile

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ  Free Report) by 42.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,400 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 6,970 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.s holdings in Block were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,359,972 shares of the technology companys stock worth $713,861,000 after buying an additional 6,791,842 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,954,000. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,470,931 shares of the technology companys stock worth $718,829,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467,630 shares during the period. Echo Street Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Echo Street Capital Management LLC now owns 2,353,238 shares of the technology companys stock worth $147,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,567 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 9,733,484 shares of the technology companys stock worth $668,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.97% of the companys stock.

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Block Stock Performance

SQ stock traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,653,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,678,670. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.18. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.34 and a fifty-two week high of $89.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.32 billion, a PE ratio of -141.45 and a beta of 2.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

Block ( NYSE:SQ Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.10 billion. Block had a negative return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post -0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Block news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 2,357 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total value of $140,500.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 486,262 shares of the companys stock, valued at $28,986,077.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Block news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,668 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.66, for a total transaction of $215,164.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,321.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alyssa Henry sold 2,357 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total transaction of $140,500.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 486,262 shares in the company, valued at $28,986,077.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,868 shares of company stock valued at $2,545,857 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Block from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Block from $103.00 to $95.00 in a report on Sunday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Block

Block Profile

(Free Report)

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ  Free Report).

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Dominion Energy (NYSE:D  Free Report) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities providers stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on D. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Dominion Energy from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Dominion Energy from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, June 9th. 51job reissued a maintains rating on shares of Dominion Energy in a research report on Friday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Dominion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Dominion Energy from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Dominion Energy currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $57.30.

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Dominion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE D opened at $49.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.45. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.04. Dominion Energy has a 52-week low of $48.32 and a 52-week high of $86.28.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.05. Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Dominion Energys revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Dominion Energy will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dominion Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Dominion Energys payout ratio is currently 98.89%.

Insider Transactions at Dominion Energy

In other Dominion Energy news, COO Diane Leopold sold 6,250 shares of the companys 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 100,115 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,921,653.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,630 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,635 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 394 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 40,479 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $3,440,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the companys stock.

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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Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,283,225 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after buying an additional 285,099 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $157,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 523,121 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $36,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 60.4% during the first quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 40,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 15,250 shares in the last quarter. Hudock Inc. increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 6,171 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.0% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 7,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.5% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 74.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BMY shares. SVB Leerink reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Monday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $72.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Atlantic Securities lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total transaction of $44,754.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,545.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BMY opened at $61.28 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $63.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $59.71 and a 52-week high of $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $128.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.42.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 50.51% and a net margin of 17.62%. The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio is 60.64%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE  Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,372,104 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 5,954 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.17% of NextEra Energy worth $259,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. White Pine Capital LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 0.8% in the first quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Brainard Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $214,000. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 10,576 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 28,855 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,224,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.5% in the first quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,115 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.70% of the companys stock.

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NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $68.29. 7,943,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,149,105. The firm has a market cap of $138.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.89. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.91 and a 1-year high of $91.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

NextEra Energy ( NYSE:NEE Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.07. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.4675 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. NextEra Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 46.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine 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 an average target price of $91.36.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on NEE

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $299,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO John W. Ketchum purchased 13,600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,009,936.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 184,485 shares of the companys stock, valued at $13,699,856.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $299,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,770.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

NextEra Energy Profile

(Free Report)

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, coal, and natural gas facilities. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.

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Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY  Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,600 shares, a decline of 59.8% from the July 15th total of 61,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 79,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Central Japan Railway Stock Performance

CJPRY stock opened at $12.58 on Friday. Central Japan Railway has a twelve month low of $10.85 and a twelve month high of $13.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 3.67 and a current ratio of 3.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.48 and a 200-day moving average of $12.12.

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Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Central Japan Railway had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 17.60%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Central Japan Railway will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Central Japan Railway

Central Japan Railway Company engages in the railway and related businesses in Japan. The company operates through Transportation, Merchandise and Other, Real Estate, and Other segments. It primarily operates Tokaido Shinkansen, a transportation artery that links metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, as well as a network of 12 conventional lines centered on the Nagoya and Shizuoka areas.

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Channing Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH  Free Report) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,647 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 22,870 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 0.08% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $16,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 54,270 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $12,780,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,628 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,692 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,812,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 26,387 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $6,054,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 5,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.57, for a total value of $1,057,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,275 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,231,731.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 5,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.57, for a total value of $1,057,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,275 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,231,731.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 212 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $50,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,825,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,012 shares of company stock valued at $2,366,598. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the companys stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LH traded down $2.20 on Thursday, reaching $214.02. The stock had a trading volume of 608,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,735. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $166.93 and a 12-month high of $222.33.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical research company reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.77 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.69 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 7th. Laboratory Co. of Americas payout ratio is 31.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $265.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $254.25.

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Laboratory Co. of America Profile

(Free Report)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics and Labcorp Drug Development.

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Stantec (TSE:STN  Get Free Report) (NYSE:STN) had its target price increased by investment analysts at CIBC from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBCs price target suggests a potential upside of 8.68% from the companys previous close.

STN has been the subject of several other research reports. ATB Capital boosted their price target on Stantec from C$85.00 to C$90.00 in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Stantec from C$88.00 to C$90.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Stantec from C$86.00 to C$93.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Stantec from C$93.00 to C$105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on Stantec from C$87.00 to C$89.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of C$92.40.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on STN

Stantec Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of TSE STN traded up C$1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$89.25. 188,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 82.00, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.48. Stantec has a 52 week low of C$58.88 and a 52 week high of C$90.86. The company has a market cap of C$9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$86.38 and a 200-day moving average price of C$80.34.

Stantec (TSE:STN  Get Free Report) (NYSE:STN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported C$0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.94 by C$0.05. The company had revenue of C$1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$1.23 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 5.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Stantec will post 3.5896302 EPS for the current year.

About Stantec

(Get Free Report)

Stantec Inc provides e professional services in the areas of infrastructure and facilities to the public and private sectors clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company provides consulting services in engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics.

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Hong Kong: Fraud cases surge in first-half 2023

The number of crimes reported in the first half of 2023 was 42,923 cases, a 36.5% increase over the same period in 2022, mainly due to a rise of over 6,400 deception cases and societys resumption of normalcy.

The number of deception cases increased 52.1% to 18,743 in the first half of 2023. More than 75% of the reports were Internet-related.

The majority of cases were e-shopping scams, phishing scams, employment fraud, investment fraud and telephone deception - a jump ranging from 23% to one-fold.

The Anti-Deception Coordination Centre intercepted over $600 million in payments and prevented victims of 192 deception cases from wiring money to fraudsters.

Police noted that although the increase in deception cases led to the rise of overall crime, over the past six months, the increase in fraud cases had already moderated.

While the number in the first quarter of 2023 represented an increase of 65% over the same period last year, the pace of increase was narrowed to 42% in the second quarter when compared to the same period in 2022.

There were 4,759 violent crime cases, a rise of 16.5%.

The number of robbery and burglary cases registered an increase of 43.9% and 50.1%.

The force explained that the rise in burglary cases was mostly attributed to those involving residential premises. Burglars had apparently preyed on homes which were left unattended when people had resumed work, schooling and trips.

Citizens are advised to properly lock windows and doors and take anti-theft measures.

As for National Security Law enforcement, as at June 30 this year, Police arrested a total of 260 people, around 60% of which have been charged.

Police reiterated that Hong Kong's overall law and order situation remained stable, adding that compared with other international cities, it has all along been maintaining a low crime rate.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed at least 12 members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkiye's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

In a statement, the ministry said the Turkish armed forces "neutralized" the YPG members when they were "preparing for an attack" in northern Syria.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" in their statements to imply the surrender or death of terrorists.

The ministry's statement, released on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, was accompanied by drone footage of several targets being struck in the region.

The ministry said that with the latest operation, the number of "terrorists" eliminated since Thursday in the northern regions of Turkiye's neighboring Syria and Iraq has reached 21.

Turkiye has retaliated against the YPG's killing of six of its soldiers this week by launching operations in the two neighboring countries, where the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Syrian branch YPG are hiding.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Free Report) by 39.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 601 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 169 shares during the quarter. Clear Investment Research LLCs holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the companys stock worth $5,031,669,000 after buying an additional 10,722,435 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 75,894,046 shares of the companys stock worth $4,820,308,000 after buying an additional 447,835 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,090,088 shares of the companys stock worth $3,662,834,000 after buying an additional 4,147,833 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the companys stock worth $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $2,937,315,000. 68.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $60.92. The companys stock had a trading volume of 7,614,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,259,309. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The firms 50-day moving average price is $61.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.31. The company has a market capitalization of $263.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.54.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 23.81%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Colas dividend payout ratio is 75.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Wedbush upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $71.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Coca-Cola

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total transaction of $9,705,609.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total transaction of $9,705,609.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,210,343. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Henrique Braun sold 16,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $1,085,308.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,682,196.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,240 shares of company stock valued at $13,923,918. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.

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CMC Markets plc (LON:CMCX  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as GBX 127 ($1.62) and last traded at GBX 128 ($1.64), with a volume of 543617 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 131 ($1.67).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CMCX. Shore Capital upgraded CMC Markets to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and set a GBX 190 ($2.43) price objective on shares of CMC Markets in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th.

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CMC Markets Stock Down 2.3 %

CMC Markets Increases Dividend

The companys fifty day simple moving average is GBX 154.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 189.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of 358.17 million, a PE ratio of 853.33 and a beta of 0.51.

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 13th will be given a dividend of GBX 3.90 ($0.05) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 13th. This is an increase from CMC Marketss previous dividend of $3.50. This represents a yield of 2.3%. CMC Marketss payout ratio is currently 4,666.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David Fineberg acquired 196 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 153 ($1.96) per share, for a total transaction of 299.88 ($383.23). In other news, insider Euan Marshall purchased 224 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 134 ($1.71) per share, with a total value of 300.16 ($383.59). Also, insider David Fineberg purchased 196 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 153 ($1.96) per share, with a total value of 299.88 ($383.23). Over the last quarter, insiders bought 588 shares of company stock worth $89,908. Company insiders own 64.83% of the companys stock.

CMC Markets Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CMC Markets plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online retail financial services to retail, professional, stockbroking, and institutional clients in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, and internationally. The company offers its clients with the ability to trade contracts for difference and financial spread betting on a range of underlying shares, including indices, foreign currencies, commodities, and treasuries through its trading platform.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 295,579 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYSs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.08% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

ABT traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $105.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,477,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,041,109. The company has a market cap of $182.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.48, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.67. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $93.25 and a 12-month high of $115.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $107.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.08.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.71 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.50% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firms revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 69.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,829,785.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,829,785.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Raymond James increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $120.82.

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Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC  Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 535,655 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 20,212 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYSs holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $50,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. First Manhattan Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 303 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 328 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.68% of the companys stock.

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WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEC traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,957. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $89.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.82 and a 1-year high of $108.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

WEC Energy Group ( NYSE:WEC Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.05 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.57% and a return on equity of 11.48%. WEC Energy Groups revenue was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. WEC Energy Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, June 30th. 888 restated a reiterates rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, June 30th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $98.80.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WEC

About WEC Energy Group

(Free Report)

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other.

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Victoria Gold (TSE:VGCX  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Cormark from C$19.00 to C$17.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormarks target price indicates a potential upside of 136.49% from the stocks current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Victoria Gold from C$20.00 to C$24.00 in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Victoria Gold from C$10.50 to C$11.50 in a research report on Monday, April 17th.

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Read Our Latest Report on Victoria Gold

Victoria Gold Stock Up 6.0 %

About Victoria Gold

Shares of VGCX stock traded up C$0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching C$7.40. The companys stock had a trading volume of 149,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,059. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$8.23 and a 200-day moving average price of C$8.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.29. The company has a market cap of C$492.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.63. Victoria Gold has a one year low of C$6.56 and a one year high of C$11.16.

(Get Free Report)

Victoria Gold Corp. acquires, explores, and operates mineral properties in Canada and the United States. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship property is 100% owned Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle and Olive-Shamrock Gold deposit covering an area of approximately 555 square kilometers located in central Yukon, Canada.

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DHT (NYSE:DHT  Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $112.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $109.95 million. DHT had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 22.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 108.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share.

DHT Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of DHT traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $9.71. 2,622,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,421,841. DHT has a 1-year low of $6.96 and a 1-year high of $12.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.77 and a 200-day moving average of $9.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of -0.13.

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DHT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 22nd. DHTs payout ratio is presently 129.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DHT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of DHT in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of DHT from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. TheStreet upgraded shares of DHT from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of DHT from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in DHT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in DHT by 64.5% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,598 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DHT during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of DHT by 148.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,929 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 7,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of DHT during the 4th quarter valued at $119,000. 61.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About DHT

(Get Free Report)

DHT Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates crude oil tankers primarily in Monaco, Singapore, and Norway. As of March 16, 2023, it had a fleet of 23 very large crude carriers. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Further Reading

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CellaVision AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:CLVSF  Get Free Report) and Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares CellaVision AB (publ) and Edwards Lifesciences net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets CellaVision AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A Edwards Lifesciences 24.56% 25.43% 18.04%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.0% of CellaVision AB (publ) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio CellaVision AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Edwards Lifesciences $5.38 billion 8.84 $1.52 billion $2.26 34.64

This table compares CellaVision AB (publ) and Edwards Lifesciences top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Edwards Lifesciences has higher revenue and earnings than CellaVision AB (publ).

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for CellaVision AB (publ) and Edwards Lifesciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score CellaVision AB (publ) 0 1 0 0 2.00 Edwards Lifesciences 1 9 8 0 2.39

Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus price target of $92.68, suggesting a potential upside of 18.40%. Given Edwards Lifesciences stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Edwards Lifesciences is more favorable than CellaVision AB (publ).

Summary

Edwards Lifesciences beats CellaVision AB (publ) on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CellaVision AB (publ)

(Get Free Report)

CellaVision AB (publ) develops and sells digital solutions for blood and body fluids analysis in Sweden and internationally. The company provides CellaVision DM1200 and CellaVision DM9600, which automatically capture digital images of cells from blood smears and body fluid preparations; CellaVision DC-1, an analyzer to enable low-volume hematology labs to implement CellaVisions digital methodology for performing blood cell; and DIFF-Line that automates and digitizes the process of analyzing peripheral blood smears. It also offers CellaVision Peripheral Blood Application that enables laboratories to automate, standardize, and simplify morphological examination of peripheral blood smears; CellaVision Advanced RBC Application, which enables to perform comprehensive examination of red blood cell morphology; CellaVision Body Fluid Application that enables laboratories to automate, standardize, and simplify morphological examination of body fluid preparations; and CellaVision Remote Review Software, which removes restrictive geographical constraints from the smear review process. In addition, the company provides CellaVision Server Software that creates a single streamlined workflow within one or multiple testing sites; CellaVision Proficiency Software, a cloud-based software designed to help laboratory managers assess, monitor, and promote staff competency in cell morphology; CellaVision CellAtlas, which combines a series of mini lectures with an extensive cell image library; and CellaVision VET that offers digital solutions for medical microscopy in the field of hematology. Further, it offers reagents to identify cell and tissue morphology, parasites, and bacteria in diagnosing various diseases; and instruments, including RAL SmearBox, RAL Stainbox, and RAL Stainer. The company sells its products to hospital and commercial laboratories. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Lund, Sweden.

About Edwards Lifesciences

(Get Free Report)

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases. The company also provides the PASCAL and Cardioband transcatheter valve repair systems for minimally-invasive therapy. In addition, it offers surgical structural heart solutions, such as aortic surgical valve under the INSPIRIS name; KONECT RESILIA, a pre-assembled aortic tissue valved conduit for patients who require replacement of the valve, root, and ascending aorta; and HARPOON Beating Heart Mitral Valve Repair System for patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation. Further, the company provides critical care solutions, including advanced hemodynamic monitoring systems to measure a patient's heart function and fluid status in surgical and intensive care settings; and Acumen Hypotension Prediction Index software that alerts clinicians in advance of a patient developing dangerously low blood pressure. The company distributes its products through a direct sales force and independent distributors. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

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EnerSys (NYSE:ENS  Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $908.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $968.70 million. EnerSys had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 4.74%. EnerSyss quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. EnerSys updated its Q2 guidance to $1.77-1.87 EPS.

EnerSys Stock Performance

ENS stock traded down $11.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,222,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,421. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.64. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $106.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.75. EnerSys has a 12 month low of $56.72 and a 12 month high of $113.34.

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EnerSys Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 15th. EnerSyss payout ratio is currently 16.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on EnerSys in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of EnerSys from $110.00 to $119.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. CL King assumed coverage on shares of EnerSys in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of EnerSys from $100.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th.

View Our Latest Analysis on EnerSys

Insider Activity at EnerSys

In other news, insider Andrew M. Zogby sold 10,537 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total value of $1,098,060.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,135,783.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EnerSys

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in EnerSys by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,944,608 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $229,457,000 after buying an additional 37,493 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in EnerSys by 3.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,414,007 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $122,849,000 after acquiring an additional 45,139 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in EnerSys by 7.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,403,889 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $104,691,000 after acquiring an additional 101,062 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EnerSys by 4.2% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,755 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $67,919,000 after buying an additional 31,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of EnerSys by 13.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 593,407 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $34,988,000 after buying an additional 69,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the companys stock.

EnerSys Company Profile

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EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries.

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EnerSys (NYSE:ENS  Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Oppenheimers price objective suggests a potential upside of 28.66% from the stocks previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ENS. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of EnerSys in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price objective on EnerSys from $100.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Finally, CL King initiated coverage on EnerSys in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They set a buy rating and a $137.00 target price for the company.

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EnerSys Stock Performance

NYSE:ENS opened at $90.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34. EnerSys has a twelve month low of $56.72 and a twelve month high of $113.34. The companys 50-day moving average price is $106.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

EnerSys (NYSE:ENS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.09. EnerSys had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 5.69%. The firm had revenue of $908.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $968.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EnerSys will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EnerSys

In other EnerSys news, insider Andrew M. Zogby sold 10,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total value of $1,098,060.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,495 shares in the company, valued at $2,135,783.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EnerSys

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENS. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EnerSys during the first quarter valued at $264,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in EnerSys by 12.9% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,670 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in EnerSys by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 47,723 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,406 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in EnerSys by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,118 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of EnerSys by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,403,889 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $104,691,000 after purchasing an additional 101,062 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EnerSys

(Get Free Report)

EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries.

Further Reading

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Galway Metals Inc. (CVE:GWM  Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as C$0.32 and last traded at C$0.32, with a volume of 29650 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.33.

Galway Metals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$24.00 million, a PE ratio of -2.00 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$0.39 and a 200 day moving average price of C$0.50.

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Galway Metals (CVE:GWM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 30th. The company reported C($0.03) EPS for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Galway Metals Inc. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Galway Metals Company Profile

Galway Metals Inc engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada. The company primarily explores for gold, zinc, copper, silver, and lead deposits. It holds a 100% interest in the Clarence Stream project located in southwest New Brunswick, Canada; and Estrades mine, related Newiska concessions, and adjacent Casa Berardi claims located in western Quebec, Canada.

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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations announced on Friday that five staff members who were kidnapped by the al-Qaeda terror group in Yemen have been released after 18 months in captivity.

The four Yemeni nationals and one foreign staff member were abducted by the al-Qaeda militants in the southern Abyan province on Feb. 11, 2022.

According to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly, the released staff were all in good health after being freed earlier this week.

"I was extremely pleased to see for myself that the four Yemeni colleagues were in good health when I flew with them to Aden from Mukalla today," Gressly said in a written statement released on Friday. "All five of our staff are receiving support. They are in good spirits and are in contact with their families."

While the details of how the UN staff members were released were not provided, Gressly thanked the government of Yemen and others who helped secure their release.

He also noted that there are other UN staff still being detained in Yemen against their will, adding that "we stand in solidarity with them."

The ongoing civil war and power vacuum in Yemen have allowed al-Qaeda's Yemeni faction, referred to as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to flourish, posing a severe security threat within Yemen's borders and beyond. 
Goldstein Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:EFAV  Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,861 shares of the companys stock after selling 367 shares during the quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,492 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,740 shares of the companys stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the companys stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,275 shares of the companys stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,487 shares of the companys stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Performance

EFAV stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.95. 325,353 shares of the stock traded hands. iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF has a one year low of $64.68 and a one year high of $76.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.68.

About iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF

The iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (EFAV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of developed-market equities, ex-US and Canada, selected and weighted to create a low volatility portfolio subject to constraints including sector exposure.

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Hanlon Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Free Report) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,229 shares of the companys stock after selling 6,128 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 5.8% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 41,773 shares of the companys stock worth $2,100,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 15,000 shares of the companys stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 78.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,808 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 17,015 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,807,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 13.9% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 450,991 shares of the companys stock worth $22,667,000 after acquiring an additional 55,103 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Performance

BATS EFV traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,705,699 shares. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 1-year low of $49.15 and a 1-year high of $59.57. The company has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.33 and a 200-day moving average of $49.10.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC  Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of Hold from the four brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HMC. Macquarie raised shares of Honda Motor from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered shares of Honda Motor from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Finally, Nomura lowered shares of Honda Motor from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honda Motor

Honda Motor Price Performance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HMC. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 4.1% during the second quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 9,159 shares of the companys stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 52.2% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,233 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Honda Motor by 4.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,872 shares of the companys stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Harrington Investments INC raised its position in shares of Honda Motor by 1.4% during the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 35,279 shares of the companys stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.57% of the companys stock.

Shares of Honda Motor stock opened at $31.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stocks fifty day moving average is $30.86 and its 200 day moving average is $27.83. The stock has a market cap of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.76. Honda Motor has a one year low of $21.43 and a one year high of $32.62.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.10). Honda Motor had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 5.11%. The business had revenue of $33.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.49 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Honda Motor will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

About Honda Motor

(Get Free Report

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, power, and other products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.

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Horizon Investment Services LLC lessened its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW  Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,863 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLCs holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 1.0% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,918 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management grew its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 7,921 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 939 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 5.2% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.46% of the companys stock.

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Pinnacle West Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:PNW opened at $77.08 on Friday. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $59.03 and a twelve month high of $86.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.47. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $81.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.75.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

Pinnacle West Capital ( NYSE:PNW Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.25). Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.865 per share. This represents a $3.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 31st. Pinnacle West Capitals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PNW shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Friday, July 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $84.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $89.00 to $88.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $77.33.

Read Our Latest Report on PNW

Pinnacle West Capital Profile

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Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Company, provides retail and wholesale electric services primarily in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and solar generating facilities.

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Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF  Get Free Report) insider Olusegun Ogunsanya sold 666,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 111 ($1.42), for a total value of 739,454.25 ($944,989.46).

Airtel Africa Trading Up 0.5 %

AAF traded up GBX 0.60 ($0.01) on Friday, hitting GBX 116.10 ($1.48). 3,360,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,951,074. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 114.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 115.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 110.95, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.53. Airtel Africa Plc has a 12 month low of GBX 102.20 ($1.31) and a 12 month high of GBX 148.90 ($1.90). The stock has a market capitalization of 4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 825.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.09.

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About Airtel Africa

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Airtel Africa Plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications and mobile money services in Nigeria, East Africa, and Francophone Africa. It offers prepaid and postpaid wireless voice, international roaming, and fixed line telephone services; data communication services, including 2G, 3G, and 4G; and mobile money services, such as digital wallet payments systems, microloans, savings, and international money transfers.

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Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 25.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 70.0% in the 1st quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 962 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.80% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Credit Suisse Group lowered shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.35.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.72. The stock had a trading volume of 18,950,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,473,770. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.65 and a twelve month high of $54.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.55%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is 43.62%.

Pfizer Profile

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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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Lucapa Diamond Company Limited (ASX:LOM  Get Free Report) insider Ross Stanley acquired 6,216,253 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of A$0.04 ($0.03) per share, for a total transaction of A$248,650.12 ($163,585.61).

Lucapa Diamond Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.53.

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About Lucapa Diamond

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Lucapa Diamond Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, evaluation, mining, and development of diamond projects in Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, and Australia. It primarily operates the Lulo Alluvial mine in Angola; and the Mothae Kimberlite mine in Lesotho. The company was formerly known as Lonrho Mining Limited and changed its name to Lucapa Diamond Company Limited in October 2012.

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MAG Silver (TSE:MAG  Get Free Report) (NYSEAMERICAN:MAG) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Raymond James from C$25.50 to C$23.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Raymond James price target suggests a potential upside of 50.43% from the stocks current price. Raymond James also issued estimates for MAG Silvers Q3 2023 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.34 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.34 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.29 EPS.

MAG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of MAG Silver from C$26.00 to C$22.75 in a report on Thursday, July 13th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of MAG Silver from C$27.00 to C$25.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on shares of MAG Silver from C$26.00 to C$24.50 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MAG Silver has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$23.56.

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MAG Silver Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:MAG traded down C$0.06 on Wednesday, reaching C$15.29. 5,008 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,138. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$15.37 and a 200-day moving average of C$16.54. MAG Silver has a twelve month low of C$13.93 and a twelve month high of C$22.96. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.17, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 11.76, a quick ratio of 25.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

MAG Silver (TSE:MAG  Get Free Report) (NYSEAMERICAN:MAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The company reported C$0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.09 by C($0.02). On average, research analysts predict that MAG Silver will post 0.7346535 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MAG Silver Company Profile

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MAG Silver Corp. engages in the exploration and development of precious metal mining properties. The company explores for silver, gold, lead, copper, and zinc deposits. It primarily holds 44% interest in the Juanicipio project located in the Fresnillo District, Zacatecas State, Mexico. MAG Silver Corp.

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Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 23,429.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after purchasing an additional 19,915 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $2,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ossiam lifted its holdings in EOG Resources by 1,206.7% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 196 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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EOG Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

EOG traded up $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $131.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,342,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,566,141. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.91. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.52 and a 12-month high of $150.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.55.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

EOG Resources ( NYSE:EOG Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy exploration company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 28.52% and a net margin of 33.58%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 10.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 16th. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio is presently 22.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EOG Resources news, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total value of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,607 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,409,796.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total transaction of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,607 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,409,796.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.87, for a total value of $579,350.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 149,689 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,344,464.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut EOG Resources from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on EOG Resources from $170.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on EOG Resources from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EOG Resources has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $145.32.

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EOG Resources Company Profile

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK  Free Report) by 1,236.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,647 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 15,401 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLCs holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 447.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.13% of the companys stock.

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Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $92.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,634,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,871. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.99. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.76 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $6.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 8.89%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be given a $1.025 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Duke Energys payout ratio is presently 126.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Sunday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $109.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Eight 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 a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $101.55.

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Duke Energy Profile

(Free Report)

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.

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People watch the performance staged during the celebration event marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Aug. 10, 2023. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a scene of the celebration event marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

Dancers perform during a celebration event marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Aug. 10, 2023. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows an equestrian show staged in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows an equestrian show staged in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows a scene of the celebration event marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Hezuo City, northwest China's Gansu Province. A celebration event was held here to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)
Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) by 290.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 468 shares of the information technology services providers stock after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLCs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,835,423 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $5,760,149,000 after purchasing an additional 727,494 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,071,786 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $2,745,763,000 after purchasing an additional 288,522 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,452,974 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,728,956,000 after purchasing an additional 499,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,510,904 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,360,578,000 after purchasing an additional 90,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,254,159 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,255,320,000 after purchasing an additional 8,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.72% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on ServiceNow from $500.00 to $640.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on ServiceNow from $586.00 to $630.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. 22nd Century Group reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $660.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on ServiceNow from $465.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $589.48.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NOW traded up $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $557.00. The stock had a trading volume of 349,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,606. The companys 50-day moving average is $561.96 and its 200 day moving average is $495.41. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12-month low of $337.00 and a 12-month high of $614.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $113.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $551.52, for a total value of $49,636.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,879 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,999,986.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ServiceNow news, COO Chirantan Jitendra Desai sold 13,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total transaction of $6,995,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 40,558 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $21,826,287.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $551.52, for a total value of $49,636.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,879 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,999,986.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,824 shares of company stock valued at $13,371,472. Insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

(Free Report)

ServiceNow, Inc provides enterprise cloud computing solutions that defines, structures, consolidates, manages, and automates services for enterprises worldwide. The company operates the Now platform for workflow automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, electronic service catalogs and portals, configuration management systems, data benchmarking, encryption, and collaboration and development tools.

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Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (TSE:MFC) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Barclays from $31.00 to $33.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services providers stock. Barclayss target price would suggest a potential upside of 69.06% from the companys previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MFC

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $19.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.14. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.92 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40. The company has a market cap of $35.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.10.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $9 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MFC. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 10.1% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 878,359 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $18,753,000 after acquiring an additional 80,450 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 7.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,503 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth about $428,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 43,078 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 32.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,560 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares during the period. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Manulife Financial

(Get Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (NYSE:MFC) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at CIBC from C$27.00 to C$28.00 in a report issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBCs target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.99% from the stocks previous close.

MFC has been the topic of several other reports. Cormark dropped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$30.00 to C$29.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$28.00 to C$30.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Desjardins set a C$28.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$28.65.

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Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Manulife Financial stock traded down C$0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$26.17. 1,365,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,281,459. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$25.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$25.71. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of C$20.81 and a 52 week high of C$27.50. The stock has a market capitalization of C$48.15 billion, a PE ratio of 5.16, a P/E/G ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 124.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.88.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported C$0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.79 by C$0.04. The firm had revenue of C$12.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$15.64 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 52.92% and a return on equity of 18.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.1695122 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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Decatur Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 997 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Mettler-Toledo International accounts for about 1.1% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Decatur Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTD. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 8.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 176 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 19.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 176 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 48.9% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 834 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 4.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,305 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $21,817,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 1st quarter worth about $626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.89% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christian Magloth sold 725 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,384.65, for a total transaction of $1,003,871.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 730 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,010,794.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Gerry Keller sold 449 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,400.00, for a total transaction of $628,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian Magloth sold 725 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,384.65, for a total value of $1,003,871.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 730 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,794.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,417 shares of company stock valued at $4,731,561 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Down 0.1 %

Analyst Ratings Changes

Shares of NYSE MTD traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,243.44. The stock had a trading volume of 199,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,170. The company has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,065.55 and a 1-year high of $1,615.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,306.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,418.61.

MTD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,660.00 to $1,520.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,700.00 to $1,650.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com cut Mettler-Toledo International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,650.00 to $1,525.00 in a research report on Sunday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,454.00 to $1,366.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $1,470.14.

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Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report).

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Monarch Mining Co. (TSE:GBAR  Get Free Report) shares fell 16.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as C$0.02 and last traded at C$0.03. 1,130,000 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 916% from the average session volume of 111,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.03.

Monarch Mining Trading Down 16.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$0.04 and a 200 day moving average of C$0.05. The company has a market capitalization of C$6.10 million, a P/E ratio of -0.06 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.66, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.20.

About Monarch Mining

(Get Free Report)

Monarch Mining Corporation, a gold mining company, engages in the exploration and development of mining properties in Canada. It owns 295 square kilometers of mining assets, including the Beaufor mine, Croinor property, McKenzie property, Swanson property, and Beacon Mill. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Saint-Sauveur, Canada.

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BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA  Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts companys stock. Morgan Stanleys target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.33% from the stocks previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BWA. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on BorgWarner from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BorgWarner from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BorgWarner from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Bank of America raised shares of BorgWarner from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BorgWarner from $43.98 to $50.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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BorgWarner Stock Performance

Insider Buying and Selling at BorgWarner

BorgWarner stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,856,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,312,155. The company has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. BorgWarner has a 12-month low of $31.14 and a 12-month high of $51.14. The companys fifty day moving average is $45.99 and its 200-day moving average is $46.94.

In related news, Director Alexis P. Michas sold 7,173 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.45, for a total transaction of $318,839.85. Following the sale, the director now owns 76,441 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,397,802.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Stefan Demmerle sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $238,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 177,614 shares in the company, valued at $8,456,202.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alexis P. Michas sold 7,173 shares of BorgWarner stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.45, for a total value of $318,839.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 76,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,802.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,383 shares of company stock worth $566,697 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of BorgWarner by 100,784.0% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 260,453,189 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $12,738,765,000 after buying an additional 260,195,018 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in BorgWarner in the 2nd quarter valued at $161,247,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 1,080.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,956,068 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705,713 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BorgWarner during the 4th quarter worth about $92,430,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in BorgWarner by 10,047.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,711,145 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $83,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,282 shares during the period. 91.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BorgWarner Company Profile

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BorgWarner Inc provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. It offers turbochargers, eBoosters, eTurbos, timing systems, emissions systems, thermal systems, gasoline ignition technology, smart remote actuators, powertrain sensors, canisters, cabin heaters, battery modules and systems, battery packs, battery heaters, and battery charging.

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Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR  Free Report)  Equities researchers at KeyCorp reduced their Q4 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Murphy Oil in a research report issued on Sunday, August 6th. KeyCorp analyst T. Rezvan now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $1.01 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.16. KeyCorp currently has a Overweight rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Murphy Oils current full-year earnings is $4.39 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Murphy Oils Q4 2024 earnings at $1.04 EPS.

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A number of other brokerages have also commented on MUR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, May 15th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $60.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.90.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MUR opened at $44.08 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $31.90 and a 12 month high of $51.28. The companys 50-day moving average price is $39.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.67. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 25.86%. The company had revenue of $814.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $779.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. Murphy Oils revenue was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,923 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,048 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,390 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 28,180 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. 77.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Mireles sold 14,500 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.14, for a total transaction of $509,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,372 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,051,192.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 100,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $4,330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,499,831 shares in the company, valued at $64,942,682.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Mireles sold 14,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.14, for a total value of $509,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,051,192.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 124,500 shares of company stock worth $5,269,030. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Murphy Oils dividend payout ratio is currently 17.03%.

About Murphy Oil

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Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.

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CAE Inc. (TSE:CAE  Free Report) (NYSE:CAE)  National Bank Financial reduced their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for CAE in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 9th. National Bank Financial analyst C. Doerksen now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.25. The consensus estimate for CAEs current full-year earnings is $1.17 per share.

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CAE (TSE:CAE  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CAE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 31st. The company reported C$0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$0.35. The firm had revenue of C$1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$1.21 billion. CAE had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 5.35%.

CAE has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of CAE from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of CAE from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of CAE from C$35.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Thursday. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of CAE from C$37.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on shares of CAE from C$37.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, CAE presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of C$37.38.

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CAE Price Performance

CAE stock traded up C$0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$32.21. 127,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,724. CAE has a 12 month low of C$20.90 and a 12 month high of C$32.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 70.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.00. The businesss 50-day moving average is C$28.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$29.79. The stock has a market capitalization of C$10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.99.

About CAE

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CAE Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides simulation training and critical operations support solutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa, and Rest of Americas. It operates through three segments: Civil Aviation, Defense and Security, and Healthcare.

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RingCentral (NYSE:RNG  Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $42.00 to $46.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the software makers stock. Needham & Company LLCs target price indicates a potential upside of 48.20% from the stocks current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on RNG. Truist Financial decreased their target price on RingCentral from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. StockNews.com raised RingCentral from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on RingCentral from $60.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on RingCentral from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on RingCentral from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RingCentral currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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Read Our Latest Report on RNG

RingCentral Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE RNG traded up $1.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.04. 2,066,752 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,906,708. RingCentral has a 12 month low of $25.32 and a 12 month high of $54.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.40, a PEG ratio of 52.84 and a beta of 0.91.

RingCentral (NYSE:RNG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The software maker reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $533.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $527.66 million. Equities research analysts predict that RingCentral will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Vladimir Shmunis sold 59,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.22, for a total transaction of $2,029,211.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 507,200 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,356,384. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Vladimir Shmunis sold 59,299 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.22, for a total value of $2,029,211.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,200 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,356,384. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sonalee Elizabeth Parekh sold 4,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $115,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,005 shares in the company, valued at $3,514,096.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,276 shares of company stock worth $3,231,069. 6.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RingCentral

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of RingCentral by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 168,116 shares of the software makers stock valued at $5,509,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Beck Bode LLC increased its stake in RingCentral by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 153,182 shares of the software makers stock worth $5,015,000 after buying an additional 16,515 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of RingCentral by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,013 shares of the software makers stock valued at $21,700,000 after purchasing an additional 19,478 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of RingCentral during the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of RingCentral by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 176,900 shares of the software makers stock valued at $5,790,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 88.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RingCentral Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

RingCentral, Inc provides cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center software-as-a-service solutions worldwide. The company's products include RingCentral Message Video Phone (MVP) that provides a unified experience for communication and collaboration across multiple modes, including HD voice, video, SMS, messaging and collaboration, conferencing, online meetings, and fax; RingCentral Contact Center, a collaborative contact center solution that delivers AI powered omni-channel and workforce engagement solution with integrated RingCentral MVP; and RingCentral Engage Digital, a digital customer engagement platform that allows enterprises to interact with their customers.

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OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lowered its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM  Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,172 shares of the restaurant operators stock after selling 650 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N As holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 22,079 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,921 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 20,143 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $2,580,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 10,902 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.82% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.46, for a total value of $179,100.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $165,789.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,877 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,325 shares in the company, valued at $7,791,614. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,332 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.46, for a total value of $179,100.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares of the companys stock, valued at $165,789.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,013 shares of company stock worth $2,468,504 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They issued a neutral rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $179.00 to $173.00 in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $148.84.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.15. 465,224 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,604,742. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.96 and a 52 week high of $143.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $135.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.01.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were given a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 26th. Yum! Brandss dividend payout ratio is currently 48.99%.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Free Report)

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.

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BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Quan, one of China's most wanted graft fugitives, has returned to China and turned himself in after about eight years of being at large overseas, the country's anti-corruption authorities announced Friday.

Zhou, a former official of an ocean shipping company based in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, is accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Commission of Supervision.

He fled overseas in March 2015 and was listed on an Interpol Red Notice in May 2016.

In a statement issued on Friday, the office responsible for fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, operating under the central anti-corruption coordination group, reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to pursue every corruption fugitive and bring them to justice. 
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (NYSE:OR  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 9th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of 0.045 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, October 16th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This is a boost from Osisko Gold Royaltiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.04.

Osisko Gold Royalties has increased its dividend by an average of 3.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Osisko Gold Royalties has a payout ratio of 39.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Osisko Gold Royalties to earn $0.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.6%.

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Osisko Gold Royalties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OR opened at $13.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.20 and a beta of 0.74. Osisko Gold Royalties has a one year low of $9.19 and a one year high of $17.96. The companys fifty day moving average is $14.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Osisko Gold Royalties ( NYSE:OR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $44.07 million during the quarter. Osisko Gold Royalties had a positive return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 43.40%. Analysts forecast that Osisko Gold Royalties will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Separately, TheStreet raised shares of Osisko Gold Royalties from a d rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, May 25th.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Osisko Gold Royalties by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,555 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Osisko Gold Royalties by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 65,154 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Vident Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Osisko Gold Royalties by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 16,504 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Osisko Gold Royalties by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 122,673 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Osisko Gold Royalties by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 14,858 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.56% of the companys stock.

Osisko Gold Royalties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd acquires and manages precious metal and other royalties, streams, and other interests in Canada and internationally. It also owns options on offtake; royalty/stream financings; and exclusive rights to participate in future royalty/stream financings on various projects. The company's primary asset is a 5% net smelter return royalty on the Canadian Malartic mine located in Canada.

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Piper Sandler reiterated their overweight rating on shares of PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC  Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $27.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on PWSC. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PowerSchool from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PowerSchool from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of PowerSchool from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of PowerSchool from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of PowerSchool in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $26.91.

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View Our Latest Analysis on PWSC

PowerSchool Stock Up 0.8 %

Insider Activity

NYSE PWSC opened at $20.37 on Tuesday. PowerSchool has a 12 month low of $15.60 and a 12 month high of $26.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The companys fifty day moving average price is $20.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.46.

In other news, CEO Hardeep Gulati sold 30,284 shares of PowerSchool 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 590,642 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,115,882.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other PowerSchool news, CEO Hardeep Gulati sold 30,284 shares of PowerSchool stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.82, for a total value of $569,944.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 590,642 shares in the company, valued at $11,115,882.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 4,542 shares of PowerSchool 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 129,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,345,905.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,399,870. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PowerSchool

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in PowerSchool by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,540,357 shares of the companys stock worth $89,990,000 after purchasing an additional 711,695 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PowerSchool by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,629,874 shares of the companys stock valued at $59,929,000 after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in PowerSchool by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,619,128 shares of the companys stock worth $71,731,000 after acquiring an additional 607,248 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PowerSchool by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,360 shares of the companys stock worth $59,963,000 after buying an additional 314,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of PowerSchool by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,981,738 shares of the companys stock worth $59,098,000 after buying an additional 1,526,052 shares during the last quarter. 62.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PowerSchool Company Profile

(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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River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,899 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 5,010 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 0.9% of River & Mercantile Asset Management LLPs holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. River & Mercantile Asset Management LLPs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 494.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the companys stock.

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Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.67. The company had a trading volume of 11,397,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,288,199. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $35.25 and a 52 week high of $48.84. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $43.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

Wells Fargo & Company ( NYSE:WFC Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 16.18%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Wells Fargo & Companys revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Companys previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $54.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Odeon Capital Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $43.75 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $48.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

(Free Report)

Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.

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Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OBDC  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an outperform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canadas price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.52% from the stocks current price.

Separately, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Blue Owl Capital from $15.25 to $15.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday.

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Blue Owl Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:OBDC traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,098,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,717,478. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.92. Blue Owl Capital has a twelve month low of $10.18 and a twelve month high of $14.32.

Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OBDC  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. Blue Owl Capital had a net margin of 59.50% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The business had revenue of $377.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $365.07 million. Analysts expect that Blue Owl Capital will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Blue Owl Capital

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Blue Owl Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in direct and fund of fund investments. The fund makes investments in senior secured, direct lending or unsecured loans, subordinated loans or mezzanine loans and also considers equity-related securities including warrants and preferred stocks also pursues preferred equity investments, first lien, unitranche, and second lien term loans and common equity investments.

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Savaria (TSE:SIS  Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Stifel Nicolaus target price suggests a potential upside of 51.42% from the stocks current price.

Savaria Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of TSE:SIS traded up C$0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$16.51. 40,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 74,411. The businesss 50-day moving average price is C$16.88 and its 200 day moving average price is C$16.38. Savaria has a 12 month low of C$12.82 and a 12 month high of C$17.70. The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 42.72 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.15, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.89.

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Savaria (TSE:SIS  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The company reported C$0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.18 by C($0.05). Savaria had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 8.47%. The company had revenue of C$211.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$202.32 million. Analysts predict that Savaria will post 0.6993215 earnings per share for the current year.

Savaria Company Profile

Savaria Corporation provides accessibility solutions for the elderly and physically challenged people in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Accessibility, Patient Care, and Adapted Vehicles. The Accessibility segment designs, manufactures, distributes, and installs accessibility products, such as stairlifts for straight and curved stairs, vertical and inclined wheelchair platform lifts for commercial and residential applications, and commercial accessibility and home elevators.

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Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.75-2.95 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $3.39. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.40-5.60 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.85 billion. Sealed Air also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $2.75-$2.95 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sealed Air from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sealed Air from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised Sealed Air from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sealed Air in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Sealed Air from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.91.

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Sealed Air Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SEE traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $38.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,080,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,203. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 1.25. Sealed Air has a one year low of $37.34 and a one year high of $59.66.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 196.19% and a net margin of 7.25%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Sealed Air will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Sealed Air Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Sealed Airs dividend payout ratio is 28.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Sealed Air by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 24,679,011 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,133,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,808 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,576,676 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $737,828,000 after buying an additional 97,907 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Sealed Air by 7.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,261,503 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $149,736,000 after buying an additional 237,391 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sealed Air by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,046,259 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $139,537,000 after acquiring an additional 69,232 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Sealed Air by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,513,313 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $125,364,000 after acquiring an additional 116,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the companys stock.

Sealed Air Company Profile

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Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and NewZealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety and shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, and dairy markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.

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Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Get Free Report) CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.31, for a total transaction of $65,310.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 962,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,854,931.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $63.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.32. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $56.85 and a 1-year high of $74.66.

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Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.10 million. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Service Co. Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Service Co. Internationals dividend payout ratio is 34.40%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 53,353 shares of the companys stock worth $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 12,498 shares of the companys stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 2nd quarter worth $267,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 23,684 shares of the companys stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Service Co. International by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 145,024 shares of the companys stock worth $9,367,000 after buying an additional 53,982 shares in the last quarter. 86.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Service Co. International in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Service Co. International

Service Co. International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Funeral and Cemetery segments. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses.

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Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) by 121.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,161 shares of the information technology services providers stock after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltds holdings in ServiceNow were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lakewood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 7,087 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $3,294,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 99,888 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $46,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 138 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 86.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 69 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.30, for a total transaction of $31,277.70. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 4,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,834,505.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 69 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.30, for a total transaction of $31,277.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,047 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,834,505.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $551.52, for a total transaction of $49,636.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,879 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,999,986.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,824 shares of company stock worth $13,371,472. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $518.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $506.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $586.00 to $665.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $586.00 to $630.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $553.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $589.48.

Read Our Latest Research Report on ServiceNow

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE NOW opened at $554.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.02. The companys fifty day moving average is $561.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.41. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52-week low of $337.00 and a 52-week high of $614.36.

About ServiceNow

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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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SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX  Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,500 shares of the shipping service providers stock after selling 943 shares during the period. FedEx accounts for approximately 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsels holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsels holdings in FedEx were worth $4,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,236 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,098 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 16,651 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laraway Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,490 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other FedEx news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 19,270 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $4,740,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,483,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 19,270 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $4,740,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,875 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,483,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael C. Lenz sold 5,745 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.88, for a total value of $1,504,500.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,478 shares in the company, valued at $5,886,538.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,816 shares of company stock worth $8,822,147. Insiders own 8.62% of the companys stock.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $266.53 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $248.37 and its 200-day moving average is $227.77. The firm has a market cap of $66.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.35. FedEx Co. has a 1-year low of $141.92 and a 1-year high of $270.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $21.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.55 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.32% and a net margin of 4.41%. FedExs quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.87 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on FedEx from $261.00 to $284.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Raymond James decreased their price target on FedEx from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on FedEx from $273.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on FedEx from $180.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on FedEx from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $246.14.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FDX

About FedEx

(Free Report)

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.

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Tokuyama Co. (OTCMKTS:TKYMF  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 88,200 shares, a decline of 54.1% from the July 15th total of 192,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Tokuyama Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:TKYMF remained flat at $15.10 during midday trading on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $15.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.95. Tokuyama has a 52 week low of $13.56 and a 52 week high of $15.10.

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Tokuyama Company Profile

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Tokuyama Corporation produces and sells various chemical products in Japan. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Cement, Electronics Materials, Life Science, Eco Business, and Others. The Chemicals segment offers caustic soda, soda ash, calcium chloride, sodium silicate, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride resin, propylene oxide, chlorinated solvents, and hydrogen.

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SHENZHEN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei generated 310.9 billion yuan (43.4 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the first half of this year, up 3.1 percent year on year, according to the business results announced on Friday.

The net profit margin was 15 percent in the first six months, Huawei said, adding that the overall performance was in line with forecast.

The company's information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure business contributed 167.2 billion yuan, while its consumer business contributed 103.5 billion yuan to the revenue.

Meng Wanzhou, the company's rotating chairwoman, said Huawei invested heavily in foundational technologies to harness digitalization, intelligence, and decarbonization trends, focusing on creating value for its customers and partners.

In 2022, the company generated total revenue of 642.3 billion yuan, up from 636.8 billion yuan the previous year. The R&D expenditure rose to 161.5 billion yuan in 2022, accounting for 25.1 percent of the company's total revenue.

Based in Shenzhen, Huawei is a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices. 
Cathedral Energy Services (OTCMKTS:CETEF  Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from C$2.00 to C$1.90 in a report released on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Stifel Nicolaus target price would suggest a potential upside of 183.58% from the stocks previous close.

Cathedral Energy Services Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CETEF traded up C$0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$0.67. 1,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,693. Cathedral Energy Services has a 12-month low of C$0.36 and a 12-month high of C$1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$0.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$0.68.

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Cathedral Energy Services Company Profile

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Cathedral Energy Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, offers directional drilling services to oil and natural gas companies in western Canada and the United States. It provides horizontal and directional drilling services, measurement-while-drilling systems, positive displacement mud motors, rotary steerable systems, drilling jars, shock subs, drill collars, and drilling optimization and well planning services.

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BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of TELUS International (Cda) (NYSE:TIXT  Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $11.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $21.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on TIXT. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on TELUS International (Cda) from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of TELUS International (Cda) in a report on Friday, July 14th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of TELUS International (Cda) from $30.00 to $18.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of TELUS International (Cda) from $15.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on TELUS International (Cda) from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.33.

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TELUS International (Cda) Price Performance

Institutional Trading of TELUS International (Cda)

TIXT stock opened at $9.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.64. The company has a market capitalization of $658.12 million, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.57. TELUS International has a 52-week low of $8.74 and a 52-week high of $31.52.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TIXT. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of TELUS International (Cda) during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in TELUS International (Cda) during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in TELUS International (Cda) by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,781 shares of the companys stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in TELUS International (Cda) in the first quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC bought a new position in shares of TELUS International (Cda) in the third quarter worth approximately $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.30% of the companys stock.

TELUS International (Cda) Company Profile

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TELUS International (Cda) Inc design, builds, and delivers digital solutions for customer experience (CX) in Europe, North America, the Asia-Pacific, and the Central America. The company provides digital experience solutions, such as AI and bots, omnichannel CX, enterprise mobility solutions, cloud contact center, big data analytics, platform transformation, and UX/UI design; and customer experience solutions, including work anywhere/work from home, contact center outsourcing, technical support, sales growth and customer retention, healthcare/patient experience, and debt collection.

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Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,655 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $31,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,292 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 181,906 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $17,070,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the last quarter. Barings LLC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth $5,001,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,603 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth $232,000. 70.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LYB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $102.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $92.00 to $99.00 in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $98.88.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LYB stock traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $100.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,361,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,015,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.16 and a 200-day moving average of $92.70. The company has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.22. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $71.46 and a 12-month high of $101.30.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $10.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.79 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 4.92%. The businesss revenue was down 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 26th. This is a positive change from LyondellBasell Industriess previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio is 77.64%.

About LyondellBasell Industries

(Free Report)

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

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Toho Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:TKCOF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 529,800 shares, a growth of 78.4% from the July 15th total of 297,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5,298.0 days.

Toho Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS TKCOF remained flat at $41.46 during mid-day trading on Friday. 2 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,829. Toho has a 1-year low of $33.66 and a 1-year high of $41.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.29.

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About Toho

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Toho Co, Ltd. engages in the motion picture, theatrical production, and real estate businesses in Japan. It is involved in producing, buying/selling, and renting movies; producing and selling television programs, movie pamphlets, and video software; and business related to merchandising rights, and other activities.

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TOR Minerals International, Inc. (OTCMKTS:TORM  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a decline of 96.0% from the July 15th total of 2,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

TOR Minerals International Trading Up 2.7 %

OTCMKTS:TORM traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $2.29. 100 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 634. TOR Minerals International has a 52 week low of $2.03 and a 52 week high of $2.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.41.

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About TOR Minerals International

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TOR Minerals International, Inc produces and sells specialty mineral products in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company offers alumina trihydrate and boehmite halogen-free flame retardant and smoke suppressant fillers for plastics, rubber, and specialty applications; and beige and gray colored titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments for use in paints, coatings, plastics, paper, and various other products.

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Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA  Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,876 shares of the energy companys stock after acquiring an additional 22,553 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Ormat Technologies worth $27,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ormat Technologies by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ormat Technologies by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,330 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ormat Technologies by 142.0% in the 1st quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,749 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Finally, Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ormat Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.23% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays started coverage on Ormat Technologies in a report on Monday, May 22nd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ormat Technologies from $86.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. TheStreet cut shares of Ormat Technologies from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm raised shares of Ormat Technologies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ormat Technologies in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a sell rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $92.29.

Ormat Technologies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Ormat Technologies stock opened at $77.15 on Friday. Ormat Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.56 and a 52-week high of $101.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.52 and a 200-day moving average of $85.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44.

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $194.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $196.74 million. Ormat Technologies had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 5.17%. Ormat Technologiess revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ormat Technologies, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Ormat Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Ormat Technologiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.97%.

Ormat Technologies Profile

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Ormat Technologies, Inc engages in the geothermal and recovered energy power business in the United States, Indonesia, Kenya, Turkey, Chile, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Ethiopia, New Zealand, Honduras, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electricity, Product, and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment develops, builds, owns, and operates geothermal, solar photovoltaic, and recovered energy-based power plants; and sells electricity.

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Ur-Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:URG  Get Free Report) (TSE:URE)s stock had its buy rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $2.80 price objective on the basic materials companys stock. HC Wainwrights target price would suggest a potential upside of 138.30% from the stocks previous close.

URG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet cut Ur-Energy from a c- rating to a d rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Ur-Energy to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Alliance Global Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Ur-Energy from $2.75 to $2.25 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Ur-Energy in a report on Friday, April 14th.

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Ur-Energy Price Performance

Insider Transactions at Ur-Energy

Shares of URG stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.18. 1,770,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,079. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $1.22. Ur-Energy has a 1-year low of $0.82 and a 1-year high of $1.50. The company has a current ratio of 9.31, a quick ratio of 8.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $311.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 1.46.

In other news, COO Steven M. Hatten sold 62,409 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.03, for a total value of $64,281.27. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 288,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,206.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.35% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Ur-Energy by 413.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,943 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19,276 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Ur-Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Benedetti & Gucer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ur-Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ur-Energy by 71.5% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 30,401 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 12,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Ur-Energy by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,146 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 14,382 shares in the last quarter. 49.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ur-Energy Company Profile

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Ur-Energy Inc engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of uranium mineral properties. The company holds interests in 12 projects located in the United States. Its flagship property is the Lost Creek project comprising a total of approximately 1,800 unpatented mining claims and three Wyoming mineral leases covering an area of approximately 35,400 acres located in the Great Divide Basin, Wyoming.

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US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 825,760 shares of the companys stock after selling 18,394 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.05% of Philip Morris International worth $80,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,403,883,000 after acquiring an additional 411,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,296,422 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,061,665,000 after acquiring an additional 449,971 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,050,540 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,332,355,000 after acquiring an additional 260,832 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 100,700.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,640,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,582,939,000 after acquiring an additional 15,624,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,197,784 shares of the companys stock worth $1,307,133,000 after purchasing an additional 173,451 shares during the last quarter. 77.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PM. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $111.40.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.01. 1,040,030 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,348,707. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.69. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.85 and a 12-month high of $105.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.56 and a 200-day moving average of $97.33.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 127.84% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 23rd were issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is currently 98.26%.

About Philip Morris International

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:VGT  Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,893 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.s holdings in Vanguard Information Technology ETF were worth $5,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,305,682 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,014,099,000 after buying an additional 1,696,758 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 73,743.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,635,747 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,800,114,000 after buying an additional 5,628,115 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,983,595 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $633,580,000 after buying an additional 90,569 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 1,178,424 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $376,400,000 after buying an additional 474,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vanguard Information Technology ETF by 848.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,039,711 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $332,094,000 after buying an additional 930,095 shares during the last quarter.

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Vanguard Information Technology ETF Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of VGT traded down $2.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $423.65. The company had a trading volume of 629,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 608,851. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $396.23. The company has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 1.16. Vanguard Information Technology ETF has a 12-month low of $291.61 and a 12-month high of $462.97.

About Vanguard Information Technology ETF

Vanguard Information Technology ETF seeks to track the investment performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index, a benchmark of large-, mid-, and small-cap United States stocks in the information technology sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $175.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WMT. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Walmart from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $171.39.

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Walmart Trading Down 0.0 %

WMT opened at $160.26 on Wednesday. The firms fifty day moving average is $156.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $431.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart has a twelve month low of $128.07 and a twelve month high of $162.10.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $152.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.91 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 6,600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.78, for a total value of $975,348.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,532,487.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 6,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.78, for a total transaction of $975,348.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,532,487.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 455,060 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.98, for a total transaction of $68,249,898.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 245,256,456 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,783,563,270.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,219,373 shares of company stock worth $1,422,922,576. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,356,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 239.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,434,871 shares of the retailers stock worth $110,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,019 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,797,775 shares of the retailers stock worth $439,753,000 after acquiring an additional 142,256 shares during the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 190,757 shares of the retailers stock worth $29,983,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the retailers stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 31.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

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Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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SYDNEY, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, pledges further exchanges with the Australian parliament as a senior Chinese legislator finished a five-day visit to the country on Friday.

During her visit to Australia, Tie Ning, vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, said the China-Australia relations are stable and improving. The Chinese side is ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Australian side, and implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, she said.

She noted that the NPC is willing to work with the Australian parliament to contribute positively to the healthy development of China-Australia relations.

The Australian side made positive comments on bilateral relations and expressed willingness to further strengthen dialogue and exchanges with the Chinese side to promote mutual understanding and to make positive efforts to push forward the bilateral relations.

Tie also visited the state of New South Wales and discussed with state parliament leaders on sub-national cooperation and exchanges.

During the visit, Tie met respectively with President of the Senate Sue Lines, Speaker of the House of Representatives Milton Dick, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts, Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade of the Parliament Shayne Neumann, Shadow Minister for Science and Arts Paul Fletcher and Carina Garland, chair of the China group under the Australia-East Asia Parliamentary Network. 
White Pine Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (BATS:HEFA  Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,001 shares of the companys stock after selling 789 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLCs holdings in iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF by 10.2% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,518 shares of the companys stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its stake in iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF by 44.5% during the second quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the companys stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 270,411 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF by 6.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 193,966 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF by 93.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 41,804 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 20,165 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF Trading Up 0.5 %

HEFA traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.52. 411,323 shares of the company traded hands. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.70. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $30.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.84. iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF has a 1 year low of $26.88 and a 1 year high of $30.88.

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF Dividend Announcement

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF Profile

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th were issued a $0.5543 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 3rd.

(Free Report)

The iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (HEFA) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted, USD-hedged index of large- and mid-cap stocks from developed countries outside the US and Canada. HEFA was launched on Jan 31, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Free Report)  Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Lohia now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $1.51 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.45. The consensus estimate for Archer-Daniels-Midlands current full-year earnings is $7.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Archer-Daniels-Midlands Q4 2023 earnings at $1.59 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $7.08 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $1.42 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $1.34 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.49 EPS.

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A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ADM. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $98.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their price objective 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 began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $99.27.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $85.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.62. 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 has a 12-month low of $69.92 and a 12-month high of $98.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.30. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $25.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 24.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 1,455 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.80, for a total value of $126,294.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,809 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $938,221.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Archer-Daniels-Midland

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 180,417 shares of the companys stock worth $13,012,000 after purchasing an additional 14,341 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 205,458 shares of the companys stock worth $15,524,000 after purchasing an additional 9,540 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 203.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 4,807 shares of the companys stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 381,638 shares of the companys stock worth $28,980,000 after purchasing an additional 56,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,222,988 shares of the companys stock worth $167,969,000 after purchasing an additional 138,417 shares in the last quarter. 78.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

(Get Free Report)

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities, products, and ingredients in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.

Further Reading

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...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values of 105 to 115 expected. * WHERE...Southern Illinois and southeast Missouri along with the westernmost portions of southwest Indiana and western Kentucky. * WHEN...From noon today to 10 PM CDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...This will likely be the worst heat wave we have experienced this summer in terms of duration. The multiple day aspect of this excessive heat will add to the impact. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
TEHRAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian official said on Friday the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States will take place "simultaneously" with the release of Iran's frozen assets in banks of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

"The U.S. prisoners in Iran will leave simultaneously with the irreversible release of our illegally held citizens and the full transfer of illegally held assets in South Korea, similar to the recently freed assets in Iraq," Mohammad Jamshidi, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, said in a post on X, previously known as Twitter.

The prisoner swap and unfreezing of assets were announced Thursday night in a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said that the country's funds "had been illegally frozen in the ROK's banks for a few years by the United States," adding that "Iran has obtained the necessary guarantees from the U.S. for its continued commitment to obligations in this regard."

It is estimated that Iran has funds worth over 7 billion U.S. dollars in ROK's two banks, which refuse to process them for fear of possible U.S. penalties.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement on Thursday that Washington had received confirmation about the release of the "unjustly detained Americans," whose number she put at five, in Iran.

In remarks at a press conference on the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there would be no sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for the release of the Americans.

Iranian authorities say the Americans were arrested and jailed on spying charges.

Over the past months, Iran has repeatedly expressed its readiness to swap prisoners with the United States as a humanitarian issue under the precondition that the latter acts "realistically." 
For 100 days, some 10,000 writers in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been engaged in a battle against the giant corporations that dominate the film, internet streaming and television industry. Braving the hottest summer in modern history, striking writers and their supporters have picketed outside studios and corporate offices in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, while their co-workers in Australia and the United Kingdom have held rallies in support.

Writers and actors picketing in New York City on July 21, 2023.

The current strike is now the second longest in the history of the WGA, surpassing the 2007-2008 strike. As was the case in that strike 15 years ago, the studio executives, with billions in assets at their disposal, are more than willing to bleed out writers until they start losing their apartments and losing their houses, as one executive put it.

The writers were joined one month ago by 65,000 actors, beginning the first dual strike by the two sections of workers since 1960. The combined strike of some 76,000 writers and actors is the largest strike in Hollywood film and television history. It could be much larger given that only a fraction of the 161,000-strong SAG-AFTRA membership is currently on strike.

As the strike has gone on and the corporations have dug in their heels, actors and writers have made statements pointing to the broader issues involved.

It used to be kings and queens and emperors, and now its captains of industry, Alan Ruck of Succession said earlier this week. And they think that the world and everything on it and in it, everything in the air and the ocean belongs to them. At a July 25 rally in New York, fellow Succession star Arian Moayed drew a direct comparison between the fascistic Roy family in the show and the current studio executives. We deserve to work together to make beautiful art so people can enjoy it. Its like these people havent seen f***ing Succession. Its about you!

Leila, a striking actress, told World Socialist Web Site reporters last month, Im glad were joining what other workers are going through right now. Hotel workers, nurses. ... I think we need a general strike in this country. We absolutely need to withhold our labor.

These statements, and there are many more like them, express a broader sentiment, but it is necessary to draw out the implications.

First, writers and actors are engaged in a class struggle, which is pitting them not only against the gigantic media corporations, but behind them the banks and Wall Street, which are demanding an enormous escalation in the exploitation of workers everywhere. A fight against these captains of industry and modern-day kings and queens and emperors must be waged as a class fight, mobilizing the full strength of the working class.



Indeed, the actors and writers strike is part of a developing class movement in the US and throughout the world. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, cited by Politico this week, more than 200,000 workers at large companies participated in work stoppages last month, easily topping the 126,500 that were involved in strikes in the entirety of 2022.

The soaring cost of living, one of the consequences of escalating war and the bailout of the rich, has sparked social unrest throughout the world this year, from the protests of millions in France, to the strikes of hundreds of thousands in the UK, the strike of dockworkers in Canada and mass protests in Sri Lanka against austerity.

What is blocking the development of these struggles into a united movement of the working class is the trade union apparatus, controlled by individuals in the top 5 or even top 1 percent of the population, which functions as an instrument of isolation and suppression.

In the initial weeks of the strike, many writers and actors were enthusiastic about the prospect of a joint struggle with 340,000 UPS workers, which would have enormously strengthened both sections of the working class. The Teamsters apparatus, however, after first blocking a strike at Yellow Freight that paved the way for the companys bankruptcy, announced a last-minute sellout contract on July 25, which it is currently trying to get workers to approve.

On the West Coast, over 22,000 dockworkers have been without a contract for over 13 months. Yet the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has yet to hold a strike authorization vote as it conspires behind the scenes to try to get passed an agreement that no worker has seen. Earlier, the ILWU scabbed on the Canadian dockworkers strike by accepting cargo ships that were diverted to ports in Seattle and San Francisco.

As for WGA and SAG-AFTRA, they have counseled strikers to direct their support to strike-breaking Democratic politicians. The leadership of SAG-AFTRA only called a strike of the actors after a semi-revolt from the membership, in the form of an open letter warning the union officials not to sell out their struggle.

After the strike began, without a single discussion, much less a vote among the membership, the SAG-AFTRA bureaucracy agreed to allow non-Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers studios to apply for interim agreements. These agreements have provoked an outpouring of anger among striking workers, who rightly see them as a stab in the back.



This brings us to the second point: Every class struggle, as Marx and Engels put it in the Communist Manifesto, is a political struggle. That is, it inevitably raises, in the course of its development, the question of power. Who controls society? And in whose interests?

If the ruling class owns everythingperhaps not yet all the oceans and the airthen it is a question of reorganizing society on entirely different lines, where the productive forces of society are not owned by a tiny fraction of the population but are controlled democratically, on the basis of social need. That is, it is necessary to replace capitalism with socialism.

Writers and actors, along with the working class as a whole, must confront the fact that the entire political establishment exists to represent one class in the class struggle, namely, the capitalist class. While the Republican Party plumbs the depths of fascism, the Democrats, no less a party of Wall Street, are focused entirely on the escalation of war, now against Russia and soon against China.

Both parties are united in their determination to make the working class pay for the crisis of capitalism, though the Democrats prefer to utilize the services of the union apparatus to assist in the process.

The imperative for a socialist reorganization of economic life is inextricably connected to the future of cultural production itself. If the ruling class has its way, and it is determined to do so, the population will have no art to enjoy but propaganda and pablum. The fight to defend serious artistic work must be infused with and connected to the development of a working class movement against capitalism.

From these points flow two conclusions. First, it is imperative that the strike by writers and actors break free from the constraints imposed upon it by the trade union apparatus. The WSWS urges television and film workers to form a rank-and-file committee, as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). An urgent appeal must be directed to every section of the working class for a united fight, independent of and in opposition to the trade union apparatus.

Second, this must be connected to a political struggle against the entire state apparatus of the ruling elites and the social system it defends, capitalism. To think that this is possible outside of a mass, revolutionary movement of the working class is the most unrealistic form of utopianism. The modern kings and queens and emperors will no more willingly give up their wealth and privileges than their predecessors.
In a presidential executive order issued on Wednesday, the Biden administration has announced sweeping measures to block US investment in high-tech Chinese companies together with bans on Americans working in collaboration with them.

The order is aimed at reinforcing the bans on exports of high-grade computer chips and other advanced technology to China imposed last October and shortly to be further enhanced.

A man reads Global Times article titled "US has resisted strong skepticism about restricting investment in China" on a public newspaper bulletin board in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. [AP Photo/Andy Wong]

The aim of both measures, enacted on the grounds of protecting US national security, is nothing less than crippling the rise of the Chinese economy, the worlds second largest, which the US regards as the greatest threat to its global dominance.

It also requires that American citizens doing business in China inform the US government about investment in artificial intelligence and work in the production of advanced semiconductors.

The executive order did not specifically name China. It referred to countries of concern, but an appendix named only three: China and the territories of Hong Kong and Macau.

According to the order, these countries of concern, that is, China, eliminate barriers between civilian and commercial sectors and military and defence sectors, not just through research and development, but also by acquiring and diverting the worlds cutting-edge technologies, for the purposes of achieving military dominance. Rapid advancement in semiconductors, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence capabilities by these countries significantly advance their ability to conduct activities that threaten the national security of the United States.

This implies that, far from the claims being advanced by the US that the bans will be limited, as the Biden administration pursues what national security adviser Jake Sullivan has called a small yard, high fence strategy, they will be extended across the board.

This is because there are no barriers which have to be eliminated. All developments in the design and manufacture of semiconductors and artificial intelligence by their very nature have military applications.

And as for the convergence of the commercial and military sectors, which the US maintains is the hallmark of Chinas economy, there is no country where this process has been more developed than the US. The term military-industrial complex was coined more than 60 years ago to characterise the economic development of the US, above all in high-tech areas.

The executive order claims the US is in favour of open capital flows that create valuable economic opportunities and promote competitiveness, innovation, and productivity, and the United States supports cross-border investment, where not inconsistent with the protection of United States national security interests.

But these interests are not just immediate military developments. As multiple reports, both by official government bodies and influential think tanks, have made clear, the economic rise of China, the continuation of which depends on high tech, is in and of itself an existential threat to the economic position of the US and thus endangers its national security.

The broad scope of the order is indicated in a stipulation that the Treasury secretary shall identify transactions that pose a particularly acute national security threat because of their potential to significantly advance the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities of countries of concern and US citizens will be prohibited from engaging, directly or indirectly, in such transactions.

Virtually every development in these areas has, by its very nature, the potential to enhance military capacities.

The executive order seeks to extend its scope beyond US firms requiring notification to the Treasury Department of any transaction by a foreign entity controlled by a US person that would be a notifiable transaction engaged in by the United States person.

But in imposing its technology and now investment bans on China, the US is confronted with an objective economic problem. The development of every commodity today, and above all high-tech commodities, is the product of a complex international division of labour extending across the world.

Chip design is carried out in one country, very often the US, the equipment for the laser writing of the complex electronic circuits is manufactured in another, the Netherlands, the production of the most highly developed chips is carried out in Taiwan, manufacturing processes integral to the production of chips and computers take place in South Korea and so on.

Concerns are now being raised in other countries about where the US is heading and the impact of its sanctions and restrictions on high-tech production. They were given voice in an interview conducted by the Financial Times with Yang Hyang-ja, a former chip engineer and Samsung executive, now a member of the South Korean parliament.

In a warning to Washington, she said that if it 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.

So far, she said, the US tech war measures had not harmed South Korea but indicated that could change.

The more the US sanctions China, the harder China will try to make rapid technological progress. China will provide more national support for the goal. Then it will pose a crisis to South Korea, given Chinas abundant talent and raw materials. The US should abandon its current approach of trying to get something out of shaking and breaking the global value chain.

The US has no intention of doing any such thing. The executive order contains a provision that it may add to the list of products which affect national security, while in Washington there are calls for even more severe measures.

Republicans have criticised the order for not going far enough. Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN in the Trump administration and now a presidential aspirant for the Republican party, said it was not even a half measure.

To stop funding Chinas military, we have to stop all US investment in Chinas critical technology and military companies, period, she said.

The inexorable logic of the US measures against China, aimed at bringing high-tech production back to its shores or confining it to what it regards as its closest and most reliable allies, is military war, to which the lessons of history speak loud and clear.

The lead-up to Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was the oil embargo imposed on Japan on July 26, 1941. In todays world, high tech is just as much the lifeblood of the capitalist economy as was oil at that time.

Accordingly, the economic warfare against China is being accompanied by a relentless military buildup, the efforts to create anti-China alliances, the increased involvement of NATO in Indo-Pacific affairs, the virtual scrapping of the One China policy as it attempts to goad China into some kind of military response in relation to Taiwan, the same kind of provocation that set off the US-NATO war in Ukraine.

There is only one way to counter this war drive and that is the mobilisation of the international working class on a socialist anti-war program. Imperialist war, of which the latest moves by the Biden administration are a component, arises from the fundamental contradiction between global economy and the nation-state system, a contradiction which assumes an excruciating form in the development of high tech.

The US proposes to resolve this contradiction by ensuring that it remains the dominant economic and military power, threatening in pursuit of that goal to plunge humankind into a nuclear holocaust.

The working class must resolve it by advancing its political struggle for world socialist revolution, not as some kind of far-off perspective, but as the only realistic program of the day.
The climate of fear in Florida schools created by far-right censorship laws has reached its logical conclusion: districts are beginning to limit students access to William Shakespeares plays, long a staple of the curriculum in any American school, and among the highest products of world culture.

William Shakespeare

This week, the school board of Hillsborough County, Florida, which includes all of the city of Tampa, issued new curriculum guides for teachers. According to a district spokesperson, Tanya Arja, students will no longer read entire works of Shakespeare, but only excerpts, in consideration of the law. Arja was referring to the 2022 Parental Rights in Education law, better known as the dont say gay law, which restricts sexual content in materials that students read or see.

Hillsborough School Board chairperson Nadia Combs told the media earlier this week, We have to protect our teachers and make sure they are not at risk, and they dont feel at risk, to be arrested or anything inappropriate happening to them.

Other county school boards in Florida have already banned Shakespeare for certain younger grades. Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, noted in a media comment, The reason why districts are choosing to interpret it that way is because they want to avoid having objections filed in the first place. Because the minute you have an objection filed for that reason, you put at risk the district of going all the way with a book to the special magistrate, which is very costly.

The Hillsborough district has also canceled student participation in the Advanced Placement (AP) psychology course and exam, because of a dispute between the College Board, which administers the curriculum of the course and gives the exam, and the Florida Department of Education, which has raised objections over the courses references to gender identity and sexual orientation. While the Department of Education now allows students to take the course, if taught in an age-appropriate manner, school administrators complain that these guidelines are vague, and it is not clear if whole parts of the AP courses scope will need to be changed.

Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which evaluates AP and similar college-credit courses, said, My biggest concern about the law is that it prohibits the analysis of a large area of psychology. You can dress it up in a variety of ways, but this is censorship, saying a whole area in the field of psychology is not available for study.

One Hillsborough County School Board member, Jessica Vaughn, said on Facebook that the decision was made by the district without knowledge of the entire school board. She noted that she had spoken to dozens of outraged parents about the Boards action, and commented: Denying access to things like AP psychology, accurate black history, critical thinking and Shakespeare is not benefitting or protecting our children. Its giving them a disadvantagenationally.

In response to the Hillsborough districts decision, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education told the Tampa Bay Times: The Florida Department of Education in no way believes Shakespeare should be removed from Florida classrooms. In fact, eight works by Shakespeare are included in the sample text list within the (state) Standards for English Language Arts, including Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

To reinforce the point, Floridas education commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr., added Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet to his August books of the month list, released on Tuesday. This months book recommendations provide a variety of reading materials that students will find uplifting and will spark a love for literacy, he said in a statement.

Commissioner Diaz doth protest too much. Education in Florida has been ravaged by book banning for the last year under the dont say gay law as well as other laws that allow parents to object to almost anything in curriculums. In fact, according to the Parental Rights in Education law, Diaz is inviting any Florida educator to lose his or her jobor worseby verbally recommending Romeo and Juliet to a student or including it in a curriculum.

The confusion and fear sown in Floridas educational standards are a part of the wrecking operation by far-right groups such as Moms for Liberty and their would-be Il Duce, Floridas governor, Ron DeSantis. A small Evangelical Christian and fascist-minded constituency has lit the bonfire of book banning in Floridas schools and in those of other American states.

As the WSWS noted in April:

The numbers and types of books that have been removed from Florida schools are truly staggering. In February, in Martin County, Florida, over 80 works, by authors such as Toni Morrison, James Patterson and Jodi Picoult, were removed from elementary school libraries at the request of a single parent, who wrote that these works had no serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for students. The parent, Julie Marshall, is the head of the local chapter of Moms for Liberty. One of the books removed, Picoults novel The Storyteller (2013), is a bestseller that tells the story of the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor who meets a former SS officer. Banning The Storyteller is shocking, Picoult told the Washington Post, as it is about the Holocaust and has never been banned before. This ban recalls the censorship of the graphic novel Maus in Tennessee, an action with distinct overtones of anti-Semitism. When one parent in Pinellas County [Florida] complained that Morrisons first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), had a rape scene in it, the principal of the local high school banned it, and it was subsequently banned in the entire county. In February over 100 high school students protested the decision.

Recent banning also includes a graphic novel based on the diary of Holocaust victim Anne Frank, which was removed from the library at Vero Beach High School in Florida after a complaint from one parent.

The crusade against culture is not simply one of exclusion, but of active historical falsification. Last month Floridas State Board of Education approved standards for African American history curriculums that include such historical revisionism as the claim that slavery gave black people a personal benefit because they developed skills, and that a racist pogrom against blacks in Ocoee, Florida, in 1920 included acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.

This week, Ron DeSantis, now a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, reinforced his fascist credentials by telling the media that the standards are probably going to show some of the folks [i.e., slaves] that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.

This is little more than a rephrase of the South Carolina senator and arch-defender of slavery John C. Calhouns notorious 1837 speech before Congress, arguing that African American slaves had attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically but morally and intellectually  in the course of a few generations it has grown up under the fostering care of our institutions, as reviled as they have been, to its present comparative civilized condition.

A Civil War was fought to destroy the fostering care of those institutions, and it is a marker of the decline of political culture under capitalism that DeSantis can openly echo the reactionary sentiments of the slaveowners.

The book banning, restrictions on Shakespeare and the teaching that slavery was a positive good serve to wipe away all that is progressive and enlightened in world culture and American history and to teach subservience, conformity and worship of authority to a generation of young people now coming into struggle against war, climate change and the very fascism with which the Republicans, with the acquiescence of the Democrats, are poisoning the cultural air.
Attend an online meeting on Monday, August 14, at 7 p.m. EDT to unite the struggles of University of Michigan graduate students, Detroit teachers, workers and parents to oppose the assault on wages, living conditions and education. The meeting is hosted by the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Committee and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at U-M and Wayne State University. Register here.

On Monday, the University of Michigan released a letter to graduate student instructors (GSIs) and graduate student staff assistants (GSSAs) in the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), who have been on strike since late March, threatening to fire and replace any grad student workers who fail to return to work by the beginning of the fall semester on August 28.

University of Michigan graduate students on strike, March 29, 2023.

The statement demanded that the striking grad students, whose average pay is currently at the poverty level of $24,000, accept the universitys contract offer, which fails to increase their real wages or address their need for childcare and healthcare improvements as well as protection from the ongoing COVID pandemic.

The leadership of the GEO, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is politically dominated by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a pseudo-left faction of the Democratic Party. In alliance with the AFT bureaucracy, it is seeking to push through a sellout contract based on the universitys offer, using the threat of mass firings and its own refusal to mobilize the strong support for the grad students that exists among AFT campus workers, students and workers more broadly to overcome the resistance of the grad student strikers.

In response to these developments, members of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality club at U-M have issued statements defending the grad student workers and calling for workers and students to mobilize against the universitys strikebreaking.

**

Statement in support of striking grad student instructors by Dylan, the president of the University of Michigan IYSSE:

As the president of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) and an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, I would like to address the ongoing strike by the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) and advocate for the establishment of rank-and-file committees among our dedicated graduate student instructors, who keep our university running as we know it.

First and foremost, I would like to express my solidarity with the GEO members who have taken a brave and principled stand in their pursuit of fair wages, improved working conditions and a stronger voice in the decision-making processes that directly affect their lives and the quality of education at our university. The commitment and passion displayed by the GEO members are a testament to their dedication to the values of justice, equality and academic excellence.

In this crucial moment, I urge the administration and the university leadership to recognize the legitimacy of the demands put forth by the GEO. Graduate student instructors are an integral and invaluable part of our academic community, contributing significantly to the learning experience of countless undergraduate students like myself. It is only just that they are provided with the support and respect they deserve.

Furthermore, I strongly advocate for the establishment of rank-and-file committees among graduate student instructors. These committees will empower our educators to actively participate in shaping the policies that impact their lives and the education they provide. Every member of our academic community, regardless of their role, should have a say in matters that affect them directly. By creating a platform for genuine representation, we can collectively work towards a university that values the contributions of all its members and strives for the highest standards of education and well-being.

**

Statement in support of striking grad student instructors by University of Michigan IYSSE member Mazin:

As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I stand in support of the graduate students, who have played and will continue to play a critical role in my education and the education of thousands of students every year.

Amidst the war in Ukraine, the commitment of the university leadership to maintain poverty wages for graduate student instructors represents an important action in the broader movement of the ruling class to damage the education system in favor of a drive towards militarization and overseas bloodshed.

Moreover, the refusal to properly compensate employees at the Flint and Dearborn campuses further cements the deep wealth disparities that prevent the flourishing and rebuilding of Michigans local communities.

As the GEO union has time and time again attempted to sell out the graduate students in favor of maintaining the status quo, we at the IYSSE on the University of Michigans campus strongly encourage the GSIs to take action and form a rank-and-file committee that exercises direct democratic decision-making and oversees all contract negotiations.

We are all implicated in this struggle, as quality education lays the foundation for the legitimate socialization of democracy and abolition of class inequality.

**

Statement in support of striking grad student instructors by University of Michigan IYSSE member Gabe:

When the GSIs started their strike during the winter-spring term, I was hopeful that their efforts would significantly improve the compensation for their work. But as the strike progressed, it became evident that their efforts were losing steam as both the U of M administration and the GEO bureaucracy acted as forces against the success of their strike.

What is particularly concerning is the U of M administrations willingness to terminate GSIs and replace them, rather than give the existing ones better pay. To me, it seems imperative that GSIs keep an open mind toward forming independent rank-and-file committees. Doing so should give striking GSIs another avenue to advocate for themselves and improve the chances that they achieve their demands.

For information on forming a rank-and-file committee at U-M, fill out the form below.
This photo taken on June 29, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

With the aim of maintaining its global hegemony by building an alliance in the Asia-Pacific against China, the U.S. effort to implement its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" has raised alarming concerns due to its potential to escalate conflicts and foster division in the region.

HONG KONG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conducted a Pacific tour in late July in a useless attempt to strengthen Washington's influence in the region by sowing discord between China and Pacific island countries.

The tour is the latest U.S. effort to implement its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," which involves strengthening military cooperation with its regional allies and pitching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to exclude China from regional trading systems and supply chains.

With the aim to maintain its global hegemony by building an alliance in the Asia-Pacific against China, the so-called "strategy" has raised alarming concerns due to its potential to escalate conflicts and foster division in the region.





LAYERS OF ALLIANCES

In line with the "Indo-Pacific strategy" unveiled by the Biden administration in early 2022, the United States has been trying hard to encircle China by establishing multiple layers of alliances. The most recent demonstration of these efforts was seen during the Pacific tour by Blinken and Austin.

During his stop in Tonga, Blinken labeled China's engagement in the region as "problematic behavior." In New Zealand, Blinken tried to persuade the country to join the trilateral AUKUS alliance and in Papua New Guinea, Austin announced the deployment of a U.S. coast guard ship to the Pacific nation.

Moreover, the United States is vigorously promoting military alliances with Japan and South Korea, aiming to build a trilateral military alliance. It is also accelerating the implementation of the AUKUS agreement and Quad alliance (formally the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) while strengthening military ties with the Philippines through joint exercises.

It has deployed "strategic assets" more frequently around the Korean Peninsula and sought further military cooperation with South Korea and Japan, as a U.S. strategic nuclear submarine docked at South Korea's southeast port of Busan last month, the first time in over four decades.

Civic groups and local residents take to the streets to protest against the U.S. biological labs near a U.S. military base in Busan, South Korea, April 5, 2022. (Photo by James Lee/Xinhua)

Beyond the Korean Peninsula, the United States is also strengthening the construction of military bases in Papua New Guinea, Palau, the Marshall Islands and other places in the Pacific region. NATO, a trans-Atlantic cold-war relic led by the United States, is also trying to extend its reach to the Asia-Pacific.





CAUSING CONCERNS

The U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is dividing the most vibrant region of the world and driving it closer to confrontation and conflicts, said experts.

"Such actions not only escalate regional tensions and confrontation, raising the risk of war on the peninsula, but also provoke arms races in the region, which is worrisome," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of South Korea. "Countries in the region, including South Korea, should be on high alert."

For half a century, China and South Pacific island countries have enjoyed bilateral cooperation covering a wide range of fields. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, China always respects the sovereignty and needs of the island countries, and adheres to the principle of "island countries-led and island countries-owned."

However, the United States is trying to instill a doctrine in its allies in the region to jointly assume that China is a threat to the region, said Yanyan Mochamad Yani, a professor of international relations at Indonesia's Padjadjaran University.

What the United States has done in terms of a so-called construction of regional balance is nothing new, while its commitment to the prosperity of the region remains uncertain, said Yani.

For regional countries, experts believe that aligning themselves with the U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy" is imprudent and perilous. The Asia-Pacific countries are also clear about this, with Tonga's government saying that it had no concerns about its relationship with China and New Zealand refusing to join AUKUS.

"It is unwise and dangerous for South Korea to abandon its balanced and neutral diplomacy and stand at the forefront of bloc politics by supporting the U.S.-led 'Indo-Pacific strategy,'" Woo said.

The Philippines should continue to strive for what it calls an independent or, in other words, a balanced foreign policy, said Aaron Rabena, a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.





IPEF SERVES U.S. SELF-INTEREST

U.S. officials have claimed that the IPEF, an economic arm of the "Indo-Pacific strategy," would become an important platform for the U.S. and Indo-Pacific countries to enhance economic links, and provide an alternative to China for the region. However, without arrangements such as an exemption of customs duties or market access provided, the so-called high standard set by the United States is only serving its own interests.

Keshmeer Makun, a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific based in the Fijian capital Suva, said the Pacific country leaders are focused on what their partners offer, especially in the face of an infrastructure deficit, poverty and an existential threat posed by climate change, and China has provided the Pacific region with economic options.

China's Belt and Road Initiative, featuring openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results, adopts an open approach without setting limits, while the U.S. IPEF, like an exclusive circle, is selective and vague in nature, which runs counter to "freedom, openness and inclusiveness," Woo said.

This aerial photo taken on April 26, 2023 shows a construction site of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a major infrastructure project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Kelantan, Malaysia. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

The stability of the Asia-Pacific region should be based on respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and on a harmonious and win-win development order. A Cold War mentality and concept based on a zero-sum game will inevitably lead to the destruction of the international order and social instability, said Zhao Shaofeng, deputy director of the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center.
The following article is the first of a two-part series. Part two was posted on August 13, 2023.

One month has passed since the Communication Workers Union (CWU) led by Dave Ward and Andy Furey succeeded in pushing through their pro-company Business Recovery, Growth and Transformation Agreement in a ballot whose results were announced July 11.

The impact of the CWUs agreement is already being felt by tens of thousands of Royal Mail workers: punitive new attendance procedures and reduced sick pay; the shuttering of parcel collection offices; cuts to indoor sorting time forcing delivery workers to pound the streets for longer with impossible workloads; unknown numbers earmarked for redeployment and redundancy as automated super hubs come into operation.

Ward and Furey are despised figures among militant postal workers. Thousands have resigned from the union, while discussions are underway at delivery offices and mail centres on the lessons of the year-long dispute.

Postal workers on the picket line at Aylesbury, December 14, 2022

The struggle at Royal Mail has exposed the unbridgeable gulf between the privileged bureaucracy serving as an arm of corporate management, and the membership.

Rank-and-file opposition erupted just four months into the disputeafter the CWUs cancellation of strikes following legal threats from the company. Workers began denouncing Ward and Furey, demanding action to defeat the companys aggressive revisions to terms and conditions. But the CWU stared this down, entering talks at conciliation service ACAS and allowing the company to impose its workplace agenda through bullying and coercion.

From October through March, the World Socialist Web Sites coverage of the dispute won a growing audience among Royal Mail workers. Its exposure of the CWUs pro-company agenda chimed with the sentiments of thousands of workers who were determined to fight.

This led to the formation of the Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (PWRFC) on April 2, 2023. The committee advocated a path of independent struggle against the CWU bureaucracy. Affiliated to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), it forged links with postal workers in Belgium, Germany, Australia and the United States. The committees statements circulated widely at Royal Mail, especially after the CWUs pro-company agreement was published in April.

Between April and June, the CWU bureaucracy was plunged into crisis, terrified that workers anger would coalesce into organised mass resistance, breaking its stranglehold over the dispute.

The rank-and-file committee won a sympathetic hearing among postal workers, but Ward and Furey maintained control and were able to ram through the companys attacks. Their ability to do so was made possible by Britains pseudo-left organisations. Groups such as the Socialist Workers Party, Socialist Party and Workers Power intervened throughout the dispute to promote illusions that the CWU bureaucracy could be pressured to fight for workers interests, concealing its fundamental role as an arm of corporate management and the state.

These groups, representing sections of the upper middle class including those with lucrative positions in the apparatus of the trade unions, formed the left flank of efforts by the Stalinist Morning Star, the pro-Corbyn Canary and newly formed campaign group Enough is Enough to protect the labour and trade union bureaucracy from a rank-and-file insurgency, block the fight for socialism and channel workers behind a future Labour government.

Dave Wards political backers

In April, Ward addressed an online meeting of CWU reps, attacking extreme political groups who sometimes look to infiltrate trade unions and who have no interest in you and the future of this company. Acknowledging widespread opposition to the CWUs pro-company agreement, he declared, What I dont accept is that they [political groups] should over-influence our members in this particular dispute.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn with Dave Ward (right), General Secretary of the CWU, August 1, 2016. [Photo by Anthony Devlin, PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo]

Wards attack was a pathetic attempt to whip-up prejudices against socialism and Marxism while he and the CWU sought to over-influence workers on behalf of Royal Mail shareholders. In his 1998 essay, Why are trade unions hostile to socialism?, David North reviewed the historical development of trade unions from the mid-19th century, showing their universal tendency to suppress the class struggle, which finds its most conscious expression in the union bureaucracys hostility to socialism: Standing on the basis of capitalist production relations, the trade unions are, by their very nature, compelled to adopt a hostile attitude toward the class struggle. Directing their efforts toward securing agreements with employers that fix the price of labor-power and determine the general conditions in which surplus-value will be pumped out of the workers, the trade unions are obligated to guarantee that their members supply their labor-power in accordance with the terms of the negotiated contracts. As Gramsci noted, The union represents legality, and must aim to make its members respect that legality. The defense of legality means the suppression of the class struggle.

While Ward and the bureaucracy repeatedly attacked the WSWS, they promoted the Labour Party and its right-wing politics. Labour MP Darren Jones was invited by the CWU to its national briefing of reps on April 21, presented as the saviour of postal workers and given a standing ovation. Jones publicly supported the CWUs surrender document.

Labour MP Darren Jones congratulating the CWU on Twitter over its rotten pro-company deal [Photo: screenshot: Darren Jones/Twitter]

Royal Mail workers confronted a political struggle from the start against a Tory government rushing through essential services legislation to break the strike and a Labour opposition whose leader Sir Keir Starmer threatened to sack any shadow cabinet MP who visited a picket line. Their vicious response to the strike was part of efforts to suppress a growing strike wave they feared could bring down the government, jeopardising NATOs proxy-war in Ukraine against Russia. In October, with Trusss premiership in meltdown, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was summoned to the White House for urgent discussions that were later described as beyond belief.

If thousands of Royal Mail workers were blindsided by Wards betrayal of the strike, this was above all the responsibility of the Socialist Party, SWP and similar petty-bourgeois groups which built him up for years as a left. After Ward became general secretary in 2015, defeating incumbent Billy Hayes, the SP urged delegates to the CWUs conference to let Ward know they expect him to deliver on the more assertive stance that his election campaign indicated. Despite Ward having worked with Hayes to ensure smooth passage of Royal Mails privatisation in 2013, the SP wrote, Socialists in the union should demand that Dave Ward campaigns on the unions progressive policies and gives members and reps the confidence to stand up to management.

The backing of Ward by Britains pseudo-left was consolidated through their joint support for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who spent his five years in power suppressing the class struggle and capitulating to the Blairites on every front.

In 2016, SWP National Secretary Charlie Kimber interviewed Ward in Socialist Worker under the headline, CWU leader Dave Ward says, We need a strategy to beat the Tories. Kimber gushed, Like us, youve been enthusiastic about Jeremy Corbyns election. Ward responded by saying Labour had to be prepared to say it will shift wealth to workers. But he cautioned, we have to be patient. If Corbyn is elected saying he will renationalise three industries and he manages one, thats still an improvement, still a success. Kimber then politely alluded to the difficulties Corbyn is facing over an issue like Trident, i.e., the Parliamentary Labour Partys insistence that Trident nuclear weapons would remain Labour policy. Ward replied, I think saying were all against nuclear weapons is the wrong starting point. Wards de facto endorsement of nuclear weapons passed without comment by the SWP. Corbyn retained support for Tridentalongside NATOin Labours election manifesto.

Socialist Party

Aside from the Morning Star, published by the Stalinist Communist Party of Britain, the most naked defender of Ward and Furey during the dispute was the Socialist Party. With thousands of postal workers denouncing the CWUs surrender document, the SP was plunged into crisis. It was a full five days before the SP could bring itself to comment on one of the most savage betrayals by the union bureaucracy in recent history.

On April 26, a statement by Socialist Party members in the CWU appeared in The Socialist. It claimed the negotiators agreement had forced Royal Mail back on a number of issues, before noting regretfully that this was not enough and calling for a no vote by members. The SP claimed the agreement was the outcome of anti-trade union management, hell-bent on smashing our union. This was a political cover for the CWU national executive, which co-authored the agreement with Royal Mails board. The SP portrayed the bureaucracys actions as a mistake which could be rectified through friendly advice: The CWU leadership was unprepared for the type of battle this has turned into The unions leadership should have prepared, through discussion at all levels of the union, for escalating action.

While the CWU executive was being denounced by workers as company stooges, the SP was calling on the executive to fight for Royal Mails renationalisation, particularly when CEO Simon Thompson and co threatened administration. But it was Ward and Furey threatening financial Armageddon against CWU members if they failed to endorse the union-company agreement. The SPs absurd appeals served definite political ends, subordinating the working class to the Labour Party and to the Sunak government. It even suggested that both Starmer and the Tories could be pressured to oppose Royal Mails attacks: The CWU leadership should have demanded that Keir Starmer publicly commit to the policy passed at last autumns Labour Party conference, of taking Royal Mail back into public ownership. That could have put real pressure on Sunaks Tory government who have backed Royal Mail bosses.

To be continued
This still image from a video published by the Russian armed forces showed destroyed Leopard 2 battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles that were used as part of Urkaine's offensive operations.

US President Joe Biden called on Congress Thursday to allocate another $24 billion to the war in Ukraine. The supplemental funding request would include $14.1 billion in direct military aid, plus $8.5 billion in economic payouts.

To date, Congress has approved $113 billion in spending on the war, including $70 billion directly on weapons.

The Ukraine war has unleashed a level of bloodletting unseen in Europe since the Second World War. Approximately 50,000 Ukrainians have lost limbs in the conflict, indicating, based on the ratio of casualties to deaths, that hundreds of thousands have been killed.

The tens of billions more that Biden is planning to send will be used to perpetuate what is a mass slaughter of already historic proportions, with total indifference to the lives of the Ukrainian population, which US imperialism sees as cannon fodder.

The request, taking the form of a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, stated:

First, the president has reaffirmed that we will stand with Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty for as long as it takes, a strategy that has successfully united our allies and partners and equipped Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression. Previous supplemental appropriations for direct military aid, economic and humanitarian assistance, and other support have been committed or nearly committed. The administration is requesting supplemental security, economic, and humanitarian assistance funding that would support Ukraine.

Beyond this paragraph, the letter includes no explanation of why the money is needed or what will be done with it.

In a press briefing Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder reiterated that the United States would continue to fund the war as long as it takes.

When it comes, broadly speaking, to support for Ukraine, I would say that as we have said in the past, we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, Ryder said.

The massive new spending proposal comes as the magnitude of the military debacle in Ukraine is becoming clear. In an article published this week, the New York Times admitted the existence of a unit whose entire composition was either killed or injured three times over, and thus had to be replaced three times.

The Times wrote: The heavy losses were not a shock to them. Most of the commanders said that they had seen units, including their own, decimated at times during the past 16 months of fighting. The battalion commander, Oleksandr, said that casualties were so high during the counteroffensive in Kherson last year that he had been forced to replace the members of his unit three times.

Increasingly frank statements are appearing in the US media about the disastrous situation confronting the Ukrainian military and the total failure of its counteroffensive. CNN reported this week that US allies have received sobering assessments about Ukraines ability to capture any more territory.

Theyre still going to see, for the next couple of weeks, if there is a chance of making some progress. But for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think, its extremely unlikely, one senior western diplomat told CNN.

The diplomat added that Russians have several defensive lines and the [Ukrainian forces] havent really broken through the first one. He continued, Even if they continue fighting for the next several weeks, if they havent been able to make more breakthroughs in the past seven or eight weeks, what is the likelihood that they will suddenly, with more depleted forces, succeed? Because the conditions are so challenging.

Picking up on a similar theme, The Hill carried a report entitled Alarm grows as Ukraines counteroffensive falters, which warned that There is growing alarm about the pace and prospects of Ukraines counteroffensive, with few signs of progress in recent weeks and Russian lines holding strong.

The article cited Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who compared the Ukrainian military to a junior high team playing a college team, adding, They cant win.

Russian officials have claimed that Ukraine has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the offensive, adding to the hundreds of thousands that have likely died in the war so far. Ukraine has lost dozens of tanks and armored vehicles supplied by the US and its allies in the latest offensive.

Under these conditions, there is growing pressure on the United States and NATO to escalate their involvement in the conflict to stave off a potential Ukrainian collapse.

In June, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Rasmussen raised the prospect that NATO members would deploy troops on the ground in Ukraine.

Rasmussen said at the time, If NATO cannot agree on a clear path forward for Ukraine, there is a clear possibility that some countries individually might take action. We know that Poland is very engaged in providing concrete assistance to Ukraine. And I wouldnt exclude the possibility that Poland would engage even stronger in this context on a national basis and be followed by the Baltic states, maybe including the possibility of troops on the ground.

He continued, I think the Poles would seriously consider going in and assembling a coalition of the willing.

These words give an ominous tone to the ongoing buildup of Polish troops now occurring on its border with Belarus, whose government is allied with Russia in the present conflict.

On Thursday, Polands Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak said the country would deploy 10,000 troops to the border, just one day after he announced that Poland would be sending 2,000 troops to the same area.

It will be about 10,000 soldiers, 4,000 of whom will be directly engaged in border police support operations and 6,000 others as reinforcements, Baszczak told Polish public radio.

Highlighting the surge of troops to the eastern borders of the military alliance, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Monday, NATO has significantly increased its defensive presence in the eastern part of the alliance in response to Russias aggressive actions, and we continue to do what is necessary to deter any threat and protect every inch of allied territory.
NEW DELHI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A local leader of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was gunned down in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said Friday.

Anuj Chaudhary, 34, was fired upon by three men on a bike Thursday evening when he was walking outside his residence in Moradabad district, about 355 km northwest of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

He was immediately rushed to a local hospital but later succumbed to his wounds during the treatment, according to the police.

Police have registered a case in this regard and are trying to track down the accused.

"Five teams have been formed to arrest the wanted accused. Strict legal action will be taken by arresting them soon," a statement issued by police said.

Reports said Chaudhary had unsuccessfully contested a local election in his area and was an active member of the BJP.

Chaudhary's body has been sent for post-mortem. 
DAMASCUS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As many as 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded early on Friday when Islamic State (IS) militants ambushed a military bus in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a war monitor reported.

The IS militants attacked the bus in the desert region of al-Mayadeen City in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS militants prepared the ambush and opened fire on the bus with light and medium-sized weapons.

The Syrian army was on alert in the desert region, searching for soldiers who had gone missing, while the attackers disappeared into the desert, as reported by the observatory.

The army confirmed the incident in its statement but did not provide information about the death toll.

According to the observatory, the IS had intensified its attacks in the desert region, noting that 387 people, mainly soldiers, have been killed by the IS in the desert since the beginning of 2023. 
QUITO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso Thursday decreed three days of national mourning for presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was assassinated Wednesday at a political rally in the capital Quito.

Lasso also decreed a 60-day state of emergency throughout the country "due to serious internal upheaval," which included the mobilization of the armed forces and the police to maintain order and public safety.

The assassination, which the government attributed to organized crime, occurred amid the electoral campaign for elections, which will go ahead as planned on Aug. 20, Lasso said.

So far, six people have been arrested in the case, while one suspect died after being wounded during a gun battle with the police.

The 59-year-old presidential candidate was a journalist and former National Assembly member, who forged his political career with a series of denunciations of corruption. He was, according to polls, in fourth place for early general elections. 
50 Cent has revealed that he hopes to get a feature from Lil Wayne soon.

Fif was asked which Hip-Hop artist he still desires to work with during an interview with Capital XTRA. The G-Unit founder responded and stated that he hopes to get into the lab with the Louisiana native.

I didnt do one with Wayne directly, he said. Hes one of the ones that, like  Wayne has been trained. 50 Cent then revealed that, while theyve never worked on a track together, he was on tour with Mr. Carter early in their careers on 2002s Cash Money/Ruff Ryders tour.

DMX, Juvenile, and Eve headlined the tour with appearances from Lil Wayne, Swizz Beatz, The LOX, Big Tymers, B.G., Drag-On, and Turk. And 50 Cent served as one of the many opening acts for the stacked tour.

need to hear this ? @50cent reveals who he'd like to work with next! pic.twitter.com/zh4VsoOpc8  Capital XTRA (@CapitalXTRA) August 11, 2023

People dont know, I was on the Cash Money/Ruff Ryders tour  before they opened the curtain, he admitted. Before the show started, people were still walking in and sh*t, and I was doing my sh*t. They thought I was lightweight, but then I came back around.

However, the two mens inability to find a studio together may have something to do with their often forgotten will-they-wont-they beef. Things began to heat up in 2007 when 50 Cent called Lil Wayne a wh*re for hopping on every artists songs during an interview with Funkmaster Flex.

A wh*re sleeps with whoever will pay em. So we gotta call him a whore if hell just go with whoever pay him to be on their records, he insisted. He makes those records good. Its just that he works with anybody. You gotta kinda make it an event.

Fif then followed up with the track Part-Time Lover the same year, calling out Birdman and the Young Money leader for sharing a kiss. You make me wanna kiss you like Baby kiss Wayne; And make you call me daddy like Baby do Wayne; Damn that sh*t sounds gay, its insane; I guess thats the price the lil ni**a pays for fame

Between 2008-2010, the two would trade shots over an array of tracks, such as Fifs Love, Hate, Love and Waynes Louisianamal, which featured Boosie.

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No matter how well a job interview begins for Marianne Winkler (Juliette Binoche), things inevitably hit a wall when shes asked a dreaded question: Why is there a 23-year gap on your resume?

Her standard answer is an economic horror story that women have feared for centuries. She gave up her career to focus on being a stay-at-home mom, only for her husband to leave her and force her to fend for herself. With no career development since college, shes effectively entering the workforce as a recent graduate, competing with people half her age despite having significantly more expenses and less time to move up the ranks.

More from IndieWire

Its a touching story  except none of it is true. As it turns out, Marianne is a world-renowned author who decided to briefly eschew her life of glamor in preparation for her next book. When she came up with the idea to write about poverty in Northern France, she posed a challenge for herself: She would give herself a frumpy makeover and live on pennies a day for as long as it took her to find full-time employment. Once she received a permanent job offer, she would decline it and return home to write her masterpiece.

After working a few odd jobs, she finds herself making friends within the local community of day laborers who take whatever shifts are offered to make ends meet. She soon becomes close with Chrystele (Helene Lambert) a single mother who often works 18 hours a day (not counting her hour-long walk to work at 5 a.m.) at three different jobs. Marianne offers to start driving her to work, and the two women bond over shared complaints about cleaning the local ferry and the simple pleasures they find to make life bearable. But the more she immerses herself in Chrysteles life, the harder it becomes for Marianne to keep her secret.

Marianne doesnt have a specific idea for her book when she first goes undercover, preferring to let inspiration strike her at its own pace. Emmanuel Carreres film utilizes a similarly loose structure, drifting from a politically charged piece of social commentary to an ensemble piece about a community of women to a two-hander about a single relationship as it tries to figure out what it wants to be. The script appears to be just as confused as Marianne is about what the next day will hold, which allows us to follow her on an organic journey of self-discovery that ends with an appropriate amount of ambiguity.

We meet Marianne when she is already immersed in her experiment, so its a long time before we see her in the elite circles where she thrives. Because we witness everything from her perspective, were effectively stuck between two worlds in the same sense that she is. That narrative device turns Marianne into a difficult character to wrap ones mind around  even if we know that shes doing an objectively weird thing with potential to backfire spectacularly, we cant help but empathize with her plan because were never seeing anyone push back on it.

That lack of pushback threatens to derail the film at times  there are points where Marianne risks becoming a distasteful Mary Poppins-type figure who teaches the poor people how to have fun. But the film is ultimately able to offer a nuanced illustration of the situation that acknowledges both her good intentions, her exploitative actions, and the way she simultaneously helps and hurts the people around her. Binoche gives a predictably excellent performance, embodying Marianne with just the right amount of elite obliviousness without ever turning her into a caricature. Its touching to see her become more empathetic as the story progresses, even if eventually snapping back to her old ways was the only possible outcome.

Despite the politically minded intentions of its protagonist, Between Two Worlds ultimately has less to say about class than friendships. Its a thoughtful examination of the close bonds that can form between two people and the limits of what those friendships can withstand. Marianne and Chrystele bond over their bleak shared circumstances, but their friendship evolves into something much deeper. Marianne views their spiritual kinship as something that can transcend economic status, but Chrystele sees much of her affection evaporate once their lives diverge. The film raises two questions that it never fully answers. Can a friendship ever survive without any shared circumstances? And does empathizing with someone from a distance have any real value  or is Mariannes distant activism worth less than the paper its printed on?

Grade: B+

Between Two Worlds is now playing in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

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Bar Pace near Lake Como, Italy, has been review-bombed after a TripAdvisor user said they were charged 2 euros for their sandwich to cut in half. VeselovaElena

An Italian cafe went viral for charging a diner 2 euros, or about $2.20, to cut a sandwich in half.

The owner of the cafe has doubled down on the charge and said the extra "work must be paid for."

But she said she wouldn't have insisted on the fee if the customer had disputed it before paying.

The owner of a bar cafe in Italy has defended her decision to charge a diner 2 euros, about $2.20, to cut their sandwich in half.

Bar Pace, a winery and cafe near Lake Como, made local headlines last week after a customer wrote on TripAdvisor that they were charged 2 euros for their sandwich to be sliced.

Posting a photo of the receipt, the customer said they were dining in a group of two and wanted to share the dish.

"Unbelievable but true," the reviewer wrote in June. The receipt showed they spent 15.70 euros and had been charged for a service called "diviso a meta." The customer did not reveal their identity, but their TripAdvisor profile says they are a woman from Milan between 50 and 64 years old.

The comment went viral in early August, and Bar Pace has since been getting review-bombed on Facebook, Google, and TripAdvisor by people offended by the practice.

TripAdvisor has since suspended new reviews for the cafe, citing concerns about ratings from people who had never visited.

"Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing," TripAdvisor wrote.

Cristina Biacchi, who owns Bar Pace with her husband, has questioned why the upset customer didn't raise their concern before paying the bill.

"We would have explained to him that each additional service must be paid for," she told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Sunday. "We had to use two plates instead of one and the time to wash them doubled, and then two placemats."

"To cut it in half took us some time, and work must be paid for," Biacchi added.

The cafe owner said time was money because of rising industry costs, but she also told La Repubblica that Bar Pace wouldn't have insisted on the fee if the customer had disputed it.

"All of this would not have happened," Biacchi told the outlet.

Meanwhile, a flood of new negative reviews has sunk Bar Pace's Facebook star rating to 2.7 out of 5 stars.

"It's strange when someone who writes a negative review has never actually been to this bar," one user said of review-bombers.

"People are using social media to warn others to avoid this bar, and they're absolutely right to do so," another user said. "If you care so much, go ahead and keep going there, paying 9.5 euros for a toast."

Bar Pace did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Insider
The 11-year-old rescue canine recently competed in the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge & Surf Dog Competition in California

Purina Pro Plan

Cherie is the canine queen of the surf!

The rescue French bulldog recently won first place in the small dog surfing contest at the 26th Annual Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge & Surf Dog Competition at Huntington Beach, California.

It was a back-to-back win for the 11-year-old canine, who placed first in the same competition in 2022, which made the success even sweeter. The win was significant for Cherie and her owner Dan Nykolayko because it will likely be the dog's last at the Incredible Dog Challenge.

"This is going to be the last year that we compete. So the win at the Incredible Dog Challenge was super special," Nykolayko tells PEOPLE.

Cherie has decided to step back from competitive canine surfing to focus on enjoying her golden years. However, the dog isn't getting out of the water altogether  the pup already has a surf party in the works for her 12th birthday in September.

Purina Pro Plan

After adopting Cherie from the French Bulldog Rescue Network in March 2012, Nykolayko "totally stumbled into" surfing with the pup.

The pet parent brought Cherie to a dog beach in California a year after welcoming the Frenchie home to see how the pup would react.

Related: Gifted Golden Retriever Shows Off Their Summer-Ready Surf Skills in Adorable Video

"She shot down the shore, and there were these two big dogs playing in the water, chasing a ball, and she just went straight in," Nykolayko says.

Cherie's early interest in the beach led her and Nykolayko to dog surfing lessons hosted by the Helen Woodward Animal Center at the Delmar Dog Beach.

Nykolayko admits he initially thought dog surfing sounded like "the dumbest idea I've ever heard" but quickly changed his mind after the first lesson with Cherie.

Purina Pro Plan

"We went down there, and it was so much fun that we ended up signing up for all the other classes that particular summer in 2013," he adds.

Over the next two years, Cherie and Nykolayko honed their surfing skills and formed a deep bond.

"Those first couple of years, we really learned, both her and I, how to read each other, and we got much closer. It's like I could tell when it was time to call it a day and just come back in and play in the sand," Nykolayko says.

Related: Therapy Dog Wins Award for Helping Mom Through Childbirth: She Makes Every Day Easier

Cherie competed in her first Incredible Dog Challenge in 2015, placing third in the small dog surfing competition. Since then, she has participated in numerous competitions, rode countless waves, and raised thousands for animal welfare charities.

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And while Cherie is almost retired from competitive surfing, she and Nykolayko are still looking forward to all the beach days ahead.

"She and I have a great time playing out in the water together, and it brings smiles to people's faces when they get to see it, and we're doing our best to make a little difference in the world," Nykolayko says.

To learn more about the Incredible Dog Challenge and how to watch Cherie's winning surf, visit the competition's website.



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Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann continued to engage in disturbing activity in the months leading up to his July arrest, police say.

Hes somebody that was still engaging in activity that was disturbing, be it his internet searches, be it engaging in other activities that he shouldnt be engaging in," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said, according to Newsday. "Thats something I was very, very passionate about, regarding, We need to see what his lifestyle is."

Harrison also noted that he cant talk about if [Heuermann] was preparing to kill again.

Heuermann, 59, was arrested July 13 at his Massapequa, Long Island home and charged with the murders of three sex workers: Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello, whose remains were discovered near Gilgo Beach in 2010. The father of two is also the main suspect in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

RELATED: Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach Murders Case Turn Over "Massive Amount of Evidence Against Rex Heuermann

The investigation took a turn when investigators, who had been keeping tabs on Heuermann for months, obtained the New York City architects DNA from discarded pizza crust, which matched DNA found on the burlap that was used to wrap the victims, prosecutors have said.

A mugshot of Rex Heuermann

Rex Heuermann Photo: Suffolk County Sheriffs Office via AP

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said that a massive amount of material has been collected over the span of the investigation, after handing over eight terabytes-worth of evidence against Heuermann in court earlier this month.

Harrison is optimistic about the strength of the case against the Long Island native, according to Newsday. The police commissioner also defended his previous comments about Heuermann, in which he called him a demon that walks among us, a predator that ruined families during a press conference after the arrest.

Im very confident that Mr. Heuermanns our subject, Harrison told the news outlet Wednesday. Because of my confidence, Im gonna call him what I wanna call him  somebody that ruined families, somebody whos a predator, somebody who shattered lives. And not just one, several, and there may be more. I didnt say that there is, but there may be more. If the family members have a problem with me calling him a demon, then Ill apologize.

RELATED: "My Children Cry Themselves to Sleep": Wife of Accused Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Speaks Out about Police Raid

Heuermann pleaded not guilty last month to multiple charges of first- and second- degree murder relating to the 13-year-old Gilgo Four case.

In total, the bodies of 11 people were found across two Long Island counties in 2010 and 2011.

We were able to bring comfort to three families, were very close to a fourth one, but we still have more work to do to identify the subject or subjects that were involved with the other bodies that were discovered, Harrison told Newsday.

Gilgo Beach Map 2

Photo: Suffolk County Police Department

Last week, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office identified Jane Doe No. 7, found near the bodies of the Gilgo Four, as 34-year-old Karen Vergata.

Tierney shared in a press conference that Vergata was working as an escort in midtown Manhattan when she disappeared around February 14, 1996. At the time, no one reported her missing.

RELATED: Sex Workers Are Coming Forward About Alleged Encounters with Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Suspect Rex Heuermann

The investigation into Vergatas death is ongoing, however, Tierney noted that Heuermann has not been charged in connection to her death or that of any of the other bodies found other than Waterman, Barthelemy and Costello.

When asked if Long Island residents should be concerned that a serial killer is still at large in relation to the other bodies, Harrison said: I wish I could give you an answer. I cant tell you at this time. Is Rex Heuermann going to be held accountable for the other bodies on Ocean Parkway? Time will tell.
Halle Berry wants to encourage other women to fight societal pressures to have kids by a certain age.

The Oscar winner told Womens Health in an article published last week that she wants women to own wherever you are.

If youre in your twenties, own that. Own the era of exploration, she said. Earn the era of real curiosity. Earn the era of trying to figure out who you are.

She later continued, If youre in your mid-thirties, dont be bogged down by the idea that you have to have children by a certain age. You decide.

Berry then pointed out that women should only have children because they want to, not because of old ideologies that this is what women have to do.

Do it only if you want to, because you give up a lot of your personal life to growing those other lives, she said. And maybe youre not a woman who wants to do that. No harm, no foul, no judgment.

Berry, who welcomed her first child at 41, explained earlier in the article that she was challenging stereotypes about women and aging and that she feels her best self at 56 years old.

I have the most to offer. I have zero blanks to give anymore, she said. Im solidly in my womanhood.

Halle Berry photographed at the Oscars on March 12 in Hollywood, California.

Halle Berry photographed at the Oscars on March 12 in Hollywood, California.

Berry has talked about her experiences in motherhood on several occasions.

The Bruised director has a 15-year-old daughter, Nahla, whom she shares with her ex Gabriel Aubry. She is also mom to 9-year-old son Maceo, whom she shares with her ex-husband Olivier Martinez.

During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in 2012, Berry said, according to The Cut, that she was so glad she waited to have kids in her 40s. She said at ages 21 and 25 she was just a little baby, just trying to figure it out.

In 2021, Berry told Womens Health that she was a much better mother to her kids since being in a relationship with her current partner, musician Van Hunt.

I feel happy in my life romantically, as a mother, as an artist, she said. Im a much better mother in this circumstance than I would have been had I stayed in a romantic relationship that didnt serve me and didnt make me feel the way I need to feel as a woman.

Berry and Hunt publicly confirmed their romance in September 2020.

Related...
"It was truly like we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but we wanted to help," shared volunteer Mia Kittelson exclusively with PEOPLE

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

The impact of the devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui continues to be felt by its residents.

After several large wildfires were first reported on the island on Tuesday, Maui County issued an update on Thursday, indicating that the death toll has risen to 53 individuals. The update comes after the county shared earlier on Thursday that 80 percent of a fire in Lahaina had been contained, with 70 percent of a fire in Pulehu having also been suppressed.

With much of the island being forced to evacuate and seek emergency shelter, Haiku resident Mia Kittelson tells PEOPLE that she found her way through the tragedy by offering hope and comfort to others.

Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/ZUMA Press Wire

Related: Everything to Know About the 2023 Hawaii Wildfires, Including Ways to Help the Victims

"I woke up in the day having absolutely no idea what was going on," she recalled of the emergency situation.

So she had breakfast and headed to work, where she runs social media. When she logged onto platforms, the picture became clear.

It was just devastating seeing everything, she says of photos capturing the devastation. We all sat around like, 'Wow. We can't just sit here. We've got to do something.'"

Kittelson, 23, tells PEOPLE that she and her coworkers at Maui Longevity Rx teamed up with MODO Medical to help hand out supplies, evacuate people, and connect individuals with their loved ones.

Jack Truesdale/Civil Beat/ZUMA Press Wire

"We actually had no idea what was open for us," she explained. "Nobody knew." Communication was difficult, with Kittelson describing it as "the blind leading the blind," adding, "It was truly like we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but we wanted to help."

Related: How to Help Pets and Rescue Animals Affected by the Hawaii Wildfires

With the determination to take action, Kittelson says that her experience began by seeing "people on the side of the road" and feeling like it was "something out of a movie."

"They were just walking and had no direction, nowhere to go," she says. "We pulled over, gave them food, water, comfort, obviously. I hugged a lot of people. One guy had shared with me that he had just lost everything. He gave me his contact to his children and asked me as soon as I could to call them and let them know that he's alive and that he loves them."

Jack Truesdale/Civil Beat/ZUMA Press Wire

Amanda Bratton, a resident of Lahaina who got engaged to her fiance Stevie Meskill in July, tells PEOPLE that she watched the nightmare unfold while she was in Georgia to plan her wedding.

"Our whole town is gone. Our jobs are gone. Our house is gone," she explained. "Our cars are gone and our whole community is just, I mean, it's the entire town. So it's like I've never seen anything this tragic since 9-11. It's like, what do you do when you weren't expecting your entire town, all the buildings and businesses and houses, to just be wiped out?"

The 28-year-old had left her 3-year-old golden retriever Remington with a sitter in Maui, which made the experience even more horrific.

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"The dog sitter, their house caught on fire while they were there and in order to get out of the house quick enough, she had to grab whatever was available," Bratton says. "So she only grabbed their leashes and she grabbed their dog food and she left all her own personal belongings behind, and so she sacrificed taking her own things to take our dog's food, which I mean when I heard that, I mean, I got hysterical because I hadn't heard from them during the fires."

Due to many residents being without signal, it took until the following morning for her to learn that Remington was okay. While the experience put her wedding planning on hold, Bratton tells PEOPLE that her "priority is life... Not wedding, that's for sure." Bratton's family began a fundraiser to help her and Meskill start over, raising over $11,000 so far.



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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore, on Aug. 10, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, here on Thursday met with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, with the two sides pledging to keep promoting the Belt and Road construction.

The two sides, during the meeting, spoke highly of the current sound development momentum of China-Singapore relations, saying that in accordance with the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, they will take the opportunity of upgrading China-Singapore relations to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership to continue to push forward the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.

Both sides will promote the continuous achievement of connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation, so that it will better benefit the people of the two countries and the region.

The two sides will make sound preparations for the meeting of the bilateral cooperation mechanism at the vice-premier level, which is to be held this year, plan the next stage of cooperation and expand new areas of cooperation.

The Singaporean side highly appreciates the recent measures taken by China to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and the two sides will speed up the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, as well as closer exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges, tourism and so on.

The two sides also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and international issues. They will strengthen communication and coordination, jointly promote the positive achievements of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation, and jointly safeguard regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. 
Dorothy, her 94-year-old daughter, described the achievement as "hard to believe" but a "blessing"

ABC13 Elizabeth Francis

A Houston woman just celebrated her 114th birthday, making her the oldest-living person in Texas, and one of the oldest-living people in the United States.

But for Elizabeth Francis, age is nothing but a number.

"I don't know," she told ABC affiliate KTRK-TV when she was asked about how it feels to be 114. "I just thank the good Lord for keeping me."

Francis, who was decked out in a tiara for the occasion, celebrated her special day with five generations of her family at her bedside, including her 94-year-old daughter Dorothy Williams and 68-year-old granddaughter Ethel Harrison. Longevity, it seems, runs in her family.

Related: 102-Year-Old Woman Still Teaching Babies to Swim After More Than 50 Years: 'It Makes Me Happy'

A film crew from Norway and a researcher from Florida were also on hand to document the festivities, where the Houstonian told a reporter a few secrets to her longevity.

Francis doesnt smoke or drink but said she eats "everything."

Harrison shared that her grandmother was always one to cook at home.

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"She always grew her vegetables in the backyard, she told KTRK-TV. I never saw her go to a fast food restaurant ... like Chick-fil-A and all the places I liked to go. She never did that.

Harrison added, "Whenever you went to her house, I don't care what day of the week, she was cooking. So, I just think that had a lot to do with it, too. Just how she took care of her body and things like that."

Related: 105-Year-Old Woman Who Survived 1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed Her Mom Dies After COVID Battle

Francis was born on July 25, 1909  when William Taft was president  in Louisiana, according to LongeviQuest, an organization which maintains the authoritative database of super-centenarians.

She moved to Houston as a child, and in the 1970s and early '80s, she ran the coffee shop at KTRK-TV, per the outlet and LongeviQuest.

Related: Grandma Who Attended Disneyland's 1955 Opening Returns to Celebrate 100th Birthday

But through it all, her faith and family have been the headlines for Francis, who has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren. Her sister, Bertha Johnson, died in 2011 at the age of 106, per LongeviQuest.

"It's hard to believe, but it's a blessing," her daughter Dorothy told KTRK-TV. "Because she has been a wonderful mother and grandmother to all of us. She has been our backbone."



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EXCLUSIVE: James Martins Spanish Adventure, which was the subject of a formal bullying complaint and led to the presenter being rapped by ITV, will air shortly and be sold to international buyers at Mipcom.

ITV is pushing on with plans to play the TV series  in which the under-fire TV chef travels around Spain cooking and meeting locals  in the autumn. The shows distributor, DCD Rights, meanwhile, which has sold many of Martins travelogues made by his indie Blue Marlin, said it will be launched at Mipcom to international buyers as planned.

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A Deadline investigation late last month revealed that Martin had been told to change his behavior by ITV following a complaint on the set of Spanish Adventure. Martin, who has hosted ITVs Saturday Morning for six years and the BBCs Saturday Kitchen for a decade before that, was accused of berating people, reducing them to tears in front of other colleagues, and changing schedules at the last minute, giving his team just a few hours of sleep before the following mornings shoot.

Furthermore, Deadline revealed a formal complaint was made to the presenter and his Blue Marlin co-owner Fiona Lindsay in 2018 by staff members over repeated incidents of inappropriate, intimidating and bullying behavior on James Martins Saturday Morning.

ITV has already said it will closely monitor Martins future productions but plans to continue working with him, and it is pushing on with the Spanish Adventure scheduling. The broadcaster has told Blue Marlin to update its processes to reflect best practice.

In response to the allegations last month, a Blue Marlin statement said Martin and the indie had agreed that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV. Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITVs recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing, it added. Martin subsequently issued a further statement saying that he was being treated for a cancer diagnosis when the 2018 complaint was made and apologizing for any offence or upset caused.

Mipcom is taking place in October and factual distributor DCD Rights is making Spanish Adventure a key part of its slate.

The distributor, which also sells the likes of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Aussie Gold Hunters, said: DCD Rights has represented James Martins travelogue and cookery series produced by Blue Marlin for a number of years. Following a series of statements from the broadcaster ITV, James Martin and Blue Marlin, the new series  Spanish Adventures  will shortly be broadcast by ITV and will be launched at MIPCOM to international buyers as planned.

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Turns out, you just can't take the girl out of the city.

In the newest episodes of Max's And Just Like That, on-again, off-again paramours Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Aidan (John Corbett) have finally reunited after 13 years and now split their time between New York City and Aidan's home in Norfolk, Virginia. However, Carrie has not actually been shown at the Virginia farm. According to the show's creators, that's not necessarily something fans should expect.

"We didn't necessarily want to do 'Carrie goes to Virginia,'" showrunner Michael Patrick King said on Thursday's episode of HBO's And Just Like That... The Writers Room podcast.

King, who was joined by series writer-producers Elisa Zuritsky, Julie Rottenberg, and Susan Fales-Hill for the conversation, added, "The reality is we didn't want to do it artistically. Production-wise it was hard. It was winter  it was not supposed to be winter in this episode."

John Corbett, Sarah Jessica Parker MAX And Just Like That... Season 2 - Episode 8

Craig Blankenhorn/Max John Corbett and Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That...' season 2, episode 8

No matter though: This week's episode revealed that Carrie is moving into a dreamy, bigger pad to accommodate any future visits from Aidan and his children, conveniently giving the show no real reason to spend time outside NYC.

It was an episode of big changes all around, as the series also finally introduced Aidan's ex-wife, Kathy, on screen. Rosemarie DeWitt made her debut in the role  though she's long had a fun little connection to the broader Sex and the City universe. In real life, DeWitt is married to actor Ron Livingston, who played Carrie's infamous ex Berger who memorably broke up with her on a Post-It Note.

On the podcast Thursday, King said of casting DeWitt as Kathy, "She has everything. She's intelligent. She's beautiful. She's an event, and she's such an amazing actor."

And Just Like That season 2 streams Thursdays on Max.

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360 Icons Awards Dinner - Credit: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

HIP-HOP WAS BORN IN THE BRONX IN the summer of 1973. To celebrate the musics 50th anniversary, Rolling Stone will be publishing a series of features, historical pieces, op-eds, and lists throughout this year.



Fifty years on, the details of that historic night in the Bronx  the night everyone now says gave birth to hip-hop  still elude DJ Kool Herc, the man at its center that evening. I remember the equipment, the turntables, he says in an accent that still retains traces of his upbringing in Jamaica. We werent a band. But were DJs. Were rock stars now.

Aug. 11, 1973, was a typically nutso (and 90-degree) day in New York City in the Seventies. Two suspicious fires broke out in the Bronx, and city workers were still pulling bodies and rubble from the Aug. 3 collapse of a Greenwich Village hotel, which also housed a performance space (the Mercer Arts Center) that launched the New York Dolls. For anyone who still wanted to see live music that night, the options included R&B legend Jerry Butler at Philharmonic Hall, Johnny Nash (of I Can See Clearly Now fame) at the Bitter End, and Joe Walshs post-James Gang band, Barnstorm, in Central Park.

More from Rolling Stone

But at an apartment complex at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, Herc  also known at the time by his birth name, Clive Campbell  the sonic and vocal roots of rap started to coalesce. In a community rec room, Herc spun hard funk records on two turntables; echoing his love of reggae and toasting, he (and his friend and fellow DJ Coke La Rock) gave shout-outs to friends in the house.

Kool Herc and Grandmixer DXT in front of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue

That day is now the basis for the musics 50th-anniversary celebrations and marketing campaign. Last month, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer shepherded the Schumer-Cassidy resolution, which designated Aug. 11 as Hip Hop Celebration Day.' Schumer himself (or a speechwriter) made reference to the rec room where hip-hop was first created by DJ Kool Herc. Today, the actual anniversary, a replica of the front of the Sedgwick Avenue building will be erected at Yankee Stadium, which will also present an all-star show.

Its like a volcano, right? Herc says. It bubbled up and broke grounds. And it progressed into a phenomenon. Its official.

Hercs skills and parties are widely acknowledged and respected in hip-hop, especially the way he would pioneer the art of separating and replaying the drum breaks on early funk and dance records to create a continuous party track for a crowd. Herc was a selector, says Paradise Gray, the former X Clan member who is now chief curator at the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York. He knew which breakbeat to play that the b-boys wanted to dance to. He brought more awareness and more raw drum tracks to hip-hop rather than just playing popular music.

But echoing the dissection of that day and its place in history, Gray adds, Theres more of the story to be told.

AS HERCS SISTER Cindy Campbell tells the story, it was all about style. In need of cash to buy new clothes for the approaching school year, she decided to throw a back-to-school jam at 1520 Sedgwick, where she and family were living after they had moved from Jamaica in the Sixties. Her brother would provide the music.

Growing up in the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, young Clive was immersed in U-Roy, the Skatalites, and other local acts, and saw and heard his first systems. After he arrived in New York in 1967, Campbell danced at clubs and did some graffiti art, eventually earning the nickname Kool Herc: a combination of the then-ubiquitous commercials for Kool cigarette and his track-and-field skills (he was nicknamed Hercules). His own DJ skills started at home. His father, a mechanic, already had a sound system; Herc himself would sometimes pull speakers out of abandoned cars. My father brought a PA system and didnt know how to hook it up, he said in a 1989 interview. I was messing around with the music and I started out by buying a few records to play at my house.

The white-walled rec room at 1520 Sedgwick, a complex of 102 units, was usually home to birthday parties and tenant meetings, and Cindy rented it for $25. Writing out invites on index cards, she charged 25 cents for girls, double that for the boys. We came up with that idea, and it usually went according to the soda that was selling or how much a package of Wrigleys gum was, she says. We were kids, and we just had change.

A disco ball dangled from the ceiling, and Herc hauled the sound system from the familys second-floor apartment to the party room. As Herc told RS last year, it included two six-foot-tall speakers, all of it moved into an adjoining room. You didnt see the equipment, Cindy Campbell says. You just heard the music, and you never saw them. They had a little secret way of entering that room. Nobody was able to come in there. The DJ booth was separate.

Herc and his father got soda and beer from a nearby grocery, and, over the course of a few hours, several hundred kids came in and out of the room. It was, they now say, a safe space, especially during that rattling time in the city and the Bronx. There were no gangs there, Herc says. It was a party, and lets have some fun. Adds Cindy, All of these guys were looking for something. They didnt want to join a gang. So when we came out with these parties, you could go someplace and hear music and dress differently and hear toasting on the mic. It just evolved.

The music played and created that night is a bit more difficult to pin down. No recordings or film footage of the event appear to exist, and Herc himself cant recall exactly which records he spun that night. He may have started playing some reggae or dancehall LPs, but since those genres were still largely unknown to American listeners, he switched to R&B: In Rome, you do what the Romans do, he says. He may well have played some of the funk records released that year, including the Incredible Bongo Bands Apache, and LPs in his collection by James Brown (with Give It Up or Turnit a Loose) and Rare Earth.

Whatever the records, Herc focused on those with the best breaks  the parts where the drums and percussion were all you heard. By looking closely at the different shadings on the vinyl grooves, he could play those parts of a record, then drop the needle back down and extend them. Eventually he developed a two-turnable style he called the Merry-Go-Round, using two turntables and a mixer that allowed him to switch back and forth between breaks without interruption. One night I was watching the crowd, and thought I could extend the party, he told RS last year. I went right to the breaks and that was it: Oh, I like that! He and Coke La Rock would also get on the mic, giving shout-outs to friends and laying one of the foundations for MCing. I noticed that if you called peoples names, Herc says, they get a bounce.

Herc DJing in Blackpool, in the U.K., in 2000.

When it was over, Cindy (who is also said to have turned her brother on to some of the records he played) had raised a few hundred dollars to buy new duds. The parties continued in the rec room for a bit, but they soon outgrew the space and reemerged in nearby parks; among those who saw Herc in action was future DJ legend Grandmaster Flash, who also developed the two-turnable technique. As for Herc, he found a calling. I was like a shepherd, he says. I was watching the flock.

ALTHOUGH NO INDEX-CARD invites exist for that August night, it still became legendary. Starting in the Nineties, Herc began talking up that party and date, and it was further cemented in history thanks to stories in The Source magazine and journalist Jeff Changs vital hip-hop history, Cant Stop Wont Stop. Its the breaks, say Dan Charnas, author of two essential hip-hop histories, The Big Payback and Dilla Time. Herc found these particular records and played a crucial role in the creation of the breakbeat canon.

At the same time, the focus on one specific day has led some in the hip-hop community to wonder: Is it possible to narrow down the birth of the music to a single moment? Was that day the genesis or one of raps many important evolutionary steps along the way? Its an arbitrary designation that I accept out of respect for Hercs contribution and the contributions of all pioneers, says Gray. It is very good that we have this anniversary because it gives us a point in time to analyze. We know that the culture of hip-hop was affected by the sociopolitical and economic realities of the Bronx. But who was that first person who picked up that first guitar and did that first rock lick? When was gospel created? We dont know any of these things!

As Gray and others have pointed out, Herc wasnt the only DJ prepping the world for a new genre. In Harlem, DJ Hollywood was talking over records around the same time; another Bronx native, Disco King Mario, was also pumping the music. For Gray, who grew up in the Bronx, another icon was DJ Smokey, a now obscure but influential DJ whom Gray would see engage in turntable battles with Herc. If Smokey had won some of those battles, wed be celebrating Smokey, he says. But Herc had something that Smokey didnt have  power. Herc could set up right across from Smokey and turn on his equipment and you couldnt hear Smokey anymore. Herc used his sound system well. Everyone he battled, he blew them out.

Given the important records that were released in 1973, maybe that year, as much as Hercs DJ work, should be seen as a pivotal moment in rap, as Charnas argues. It was a landmark year for hip-hop because it was the moment that DJs started thinking about emphasizing the breaks in a crucial way, he says. And when they did, they picked records of the day like Apache. If Aug. 11 is the first of anything, its not the birth of the hip-hop genre or hip-hop culture per se. Its the birth of the hip-hop religion  the sainthood, the anointments, the sacraments, and the debates.

Others point to the many antecedents of hip-hop, from Muhammed Alis freestyle rhymes to the Last Poets, the late-Sixties collective of poets and musicians who also helped pioneer what could be called rapping. Then theres Rappers Delight, the 1979 hit by the Sugarhill Gang (based on Chics Good Times) that was the first rap hit. Gray says this complicated backstory will be laid in a future exhibit at the Universal Hip Hop Museum, opening next year.

HERC, NOW 68, and based on Long Island, scoffs at the thought of alternative birthdays, especially when Rappers Delight is brought up. Listen, listen, he says. They [dissenters] werent there. We did something that everybody jump on. Rappers now, what do they know? They have to go back to us, and it blew up. Thats it.

Like a turntable, Hercs life has sped up and slowed down in the decades since. Because he never made any records, other DJs, like Flash or Jam Master Jay, attained more prominence. Prior to the current 50th-anniversary celebrations, the music business devoted far more energy to documenting rocks history than raps, and Hercs reputation suffered as a result. He was stabbed in a club and later battled drug addiction. Cindy Campbell, as important to the saga as her brother, went on to work in the fashion and real-estate businesses and with a nonprofit dedicated to preserving hip-hop culture.

Herc admits he doesnt keep up with modern hip-hop but has kept an ear open to pop of the last two decades  with, shall we say, sobering results. I listen to the radio, he says. Thats how I found Amy Winehouse. Guess what? I went to rehab and she died. Thats the difference. It was tough times. Dont do that no more. I won. It worked. Guess what? Im still here, man.

Last year, at least, Herc finally got paid, quite literally. Realizing the time had come to part with all their souvenirs and memorabilia from the old-school days, he and Cindy teamed up with Christies to auction off more than 200 items from their archives, including turntables, Polaroids, fliers, turntables, and clothing. The two speakers from the 1973 parties were nabbed for $107,000, one of Cindys later index-card invites went for $27,720, and a box of the LPs Herc would play on his turntables sold for $20,160. Not including Christies cut, the auction brought in $851,143.

All Herc will say about that auction is that it was successful. Was it difficult parting with anything with particular? Everything, man, he says. It had to go. Its gone.

Further vindication for Herc arrives this November, when hell be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a Musical Influence Award. Despite health issues that can make it difficult for him to walk, hes planning on attending the ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. As for those long-ago days on Sedgwick Avenue  a building that fell into disrepair but was salvaged and is still an affordable-housing complex  Herc himself remains the opposite of nostalgic. He says he hasnt returned there in years. Why go back? he says. I have nothing there. For what? Its over, man. We had the party, and we dont go back.

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Latest BBC Comedy From Fleabag Maker Sets Cast

Dinosaur, the latest BBC series from Fleabag maker Two Brothers Pictures, has set cast and commenced filming. David Carlyle (Its A Sin), Lorn Macdonald (Bridgerton) and Danny Ashok (Roadkill) are aboard along with a range of support cast, while co-creator Ashley Storrie plays the lead of Nina, an autistic woman in her 30s who adores her life living with her sister and best friend Evie. When Evie rushes into an engagement after only six weeks and makes Nina her maid of honor, Nina is floored. Co-created by Matilda Curtis, the show has commenced filming in Scotland and will air on BBC Three and BBC Scotland. Two Brothers also makes hit BBC shows The Tourist and Back to Life.

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Canadas Blue Ant Merges With Marblemedia

Canadas Blue Ant Media has merged production and distribution operations with Netflixs Blown Away outfit Marblemedia. Production outfits Marblemedia, Blue Ant Studios, Saloon Media and Look Mom! Productions will be housed under one roof, in addition to sales houses Distribution360 and Blue Ant International. Blue Ant Co-Founder Michael MacMillan said Marblemedia has long been regarded as one of the most respected production and distribution companies in the unscripted and scripted space, having created huge hits for the biggest streamers and broadcasters in the industry. Sam Sniderman will serve as Blue Ant Medias Chief Commercial Officer, working closely with MacMillan and CFO Robb Chase on business development, partnerships and M&A. Laura Michalchyshyn will continue her duties as Chief Creative Officer, nurturing and attracting talent for the companys overall business worldwide. Blue Ant-owned Beach House Pictures will continue to operate independently out of Singapore.

BBC Buys Australias Black Snow

The BBC has bought Australian crime drama Black Snow. The Stan/Sundance Now US series stars Vikings Travis Fimmel and is set in a small-town Australian high school which gathers for the ceremonial opening of a time-capsule buried by a class some 20 years ago, shortly after the murder of class-member Isabelle Baker. Isabelles family and the police are shocked when the capsule is opened to reveal cryptic messages in Isabelles written statement. Australias South Sea Island community is the fascinating setting for this dark and haunting murder mystery  its twists and turns will keep viewers guessing until the very end, said BBC Head of Programme Acquisition Sue Deeks. The move comes in the same week that ITV bought ABC Australia comedy Fisk for its ITVX platform. All3Media International sold the show and it was produced by Goalpost Pictures.

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Government officials in Lebanon and Kuwait have moved to ban Warner Bros.' "Barbie" after determining that the billion-dollar blockbuster does not align with the countries' "values" and "beliefs."

Lebanon's culture minister, Mohammad Mortada, has urged the country's general security agency to prevent the movie from playing there, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Mortada said screening "Barbie" in Lebanon would "contradict values of faith and morality" and "promote homosexuality."

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti ministry of information's committee on cinematic censorship announced Tuesday that "Barbie" has been banned from opening in the country. The committee ruled that the comedy about life-sized dolls promotes "ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order," according to a statement published by state-run news agency KUNA.

Read more: How 'Barbie' crossed a line in Vietnam's dispute with China and ended up banned

The head of the committee, Lafy Al-Subei'e, noted that the government typically opts to censor select scenes "that run counter to public ethics," but "Barbie" has been blocked altogether for generally promoting "alien concepts" and "unacceptable behavior." The A24 horror hit "Talk to Me" has also been prohibited from playing in Kuwait for the same reasons given by the committee.

"Barbie" is scheduled to open in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Talk to Me" was banned in Kuwait not due to the contents of the film, but because of the cast, which includes transgender actor Zoe Terakes. Terakes responded to the report in an Instagram post pointing out that the thriller "doesn't have queer themes" or "ever mention" their transgender identity.

Read more: 'Barbie' movie is allowed in the Philippines  but will Warner Bros. edit the film?

"I am a trans actor who happened to get the role," Terakes wrote. "Im not a theme. Im a person. Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first.

"This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanising and means to harm us. As much as it is very sad to be on the receiving end of this, what is even more heartbreaking is what this precedent means for the queer and trans people of Kuwait."

The cast of "Barbie"  which contains no overtly sexual scenes or references to LGBTQ+ rights  also includes a trans actor, Hari Nef.

"Eliminating trans actors on screens will not eliminate trans people (as much as the government of Kuwait wishes it would) but it will eliminate a lot of hope," Terakes said. "And hope is such a large part of how we live as marginalised people."

Read more: Guerrero: The 'Barbie' movie's radical message: We all need more 'Kenpathy'

Lebanon and Kuwait are not the first countries to forbid "Barbie" from opening in theaters.

The picture was previously banned in Vietnam for depicting a map with a dotted line that China uses when drawing its borders in the South China Sea. Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines  along with the United States and much of the international community  have disputed the border line.

Warner Bros. declined to comment. Front Row Media, which distributes "Talk to Me" in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.

Times staff writer Jonah Valdez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Linda Haynes, who notably appeared in films including Coffy, Rolling Thunder, The Drowning Pool and Brubaker, died July 17 in South Carolina  the news had not spread widely until Friday. She was 75.

It is with great sadness that I report that my mother, Linda Haynes Sylvander has passed away, peacefully at home, her son Greg Sylvander wrote on Facebook on Friday. She had moved to South Carolina three years ago to live with Greg. As an only child, I have dreaded these times my entire life. I find peace in the knowing that my mother was at peace and had the most beautiful life these final years together with her grandchildren, Courtney Sylvander and I. We are going to miss my mom immensely.

Haynes first film was 1969s Latitude Zero, an international co-production directed by legendary Japanese filmmaker Ishiro Honda. The movie co-starred Joseph Cotton and Cesar Romero, among others. It was in the 1970s, though, that Haynes really made a name for herself, appearing in Jack Hills Blaxploitation sensation Coffy, Robert Mulligans The Nickel Ride and The Drowning Pool, Stuart Rosenbergs adaptation of the Ross Macdonald novel.

But Haynes real breakthrough came in 1977s Rolling Thunder. The movie, directed by John Flynn from a script originally written by Paul Schrader (Schrader shares credit on the finished movie with Heywood Gould), was a commercial hit but was received by critics with indifference. It has since been re-appraised as one of the great movies of the decade.

This consensus has been helped along by Quentin Tarantino, who adored the movie and even briefly named a distribution company after the film (Rolling Thunder Pictures). He devoted a chapter to the movie in his nonfiction book Cinema Speculation. Theres also a rumor that Tarantino will be remaking part of the movie for his final film, The Movie Critic, which is set in the 1970s.

On the page Haynes son set up for her obituary, Tarantino is quoted: ROLLING THUNDER, I just love. THE performance of the film for me is Linda Haynes as Linda Forchet! She was in one of the sleepers for the first QT fest THE NICKEL RIDE, she was in Pam Griers COFFY she was the girl that reaches into Griers afro when she has the razors in there and aaaahhhh. But Linda Forchet is my favorite female character in a Paul Schrader movie. She has that look that Ava Gardner got, you know blousy, but it took Ava years to do it, and Linda Haynes just did it naturally. And I mean that in a good way.

In 1980 Haynes appeared in the TV miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, with Powers Boothe playing the infamous cult leader. In 1980 she was in Rosenbergs terrific based-on-a-true-story Brubaker. And after that she disappeared. In 1995, Tarantino and writer Tom Graves tracked her down  a decade later, Graves would write an essay about her.

After her career wound down, she worked as a legal secretary and remained a member of the Actors Studio. Even though her career was relatively brief, she left behind a wonderful array of deeply felt performances and helped inspire one of the most influential filmmakers of our time.

The post Linda Haynes, Star of Rolling Thunder and The Drowning Pool, Dies at 75 appeared first on TheWrap.
Organisers of Malaysias Good Vibes Festival are seeking RM12.3 million (AUD $4 million) from The 1975 in damages following their recent set at the festival in July. The British band were midway through performing at the festival when frontman Matty Healy criticised the Malaysian government over its anti-LGBTQ laws.

Healy kissed bassist Ross MacDonald onstage, before telling the audience that it was fucking ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that and that [gestured to groin] If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can fuck off. Ill take your money, you can ban me, but Ive done this before and it doesnt feel good, and Im fucked off.

Matt Healy Criticises anti-LGBTQ Laws Onstage in Malaysia

The set was cut short and the remaining two days of the festival were completely cancelled by Malaysias Ministry of Communications and Digital. The band was subsequently banned from performing in the country ever again.

Earlier this week, Future Sound Asia  the organisers of the festival  offered a statement to Rolling Stone flagging that legal action was on the horizon, saying The 1975s actions amounted to an intentional breach of contract.

Mr. Healys representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr. Healy and The 1975s live performance shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations during their set in Malaysia, the statement read. Despite this, the assurance was ignored, and the bands actions clearly contravened the agreement with Future Sound Asia. This led to the cancellation of the festival which, in turn, caused significant losses to Future Sound Asia.

Future Sound Asia have now ordered the band to pay the AUD $4 million fee before Monday, 14th August, or face legal action.

Additionally, according to Rolling Stone a number of Malaysian musicians and food vendors are joining in a class action lawsuit against The 1975 over losses caused by the festival cancellation.

The 1975 are yet to comment on the demand from Future Sound Asia  but Healy did appear to reference the Good Vibes incident while on stage in Hawaii earlier this week. All Ill say is that I dont give a fuck about any white saviour complex bullshit, Healy told the crowd.

What Ill say is that doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice and very little reward. And being seen to do the right thing requires very little sacrifice, and thats when you get all the rewards. And me and Ross [MacDonald] nearly shaved our heads because we thought we were going to prison for being f*gs.

Further Reading

The 1975 Banned from Malaysia After Matty Healy Vents Frustration at Anti-LGBT Laws

Rina Sawayama Appears to Call Out Labelmate Matty Healy of The 1975 During Glastonbury Set

Matty Healy Says Ice Spice Podcast Controversy Doesnt Actually Matter

The post Malaysias Good Vibes Festival Seeks $4 Million in Damages from The 1975 appeared first on Music Feeds.
"I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of Maui," the Fleetwood Mac co-founder said

Lester Cohen/Getty Mick Fleetwood attends the 65th GRAMMY Awards on February 05, 2023

Mick Fleetwood confirmed that his restaurant Fleetwoods on Front St. was among the businesses damaged in the Maui wildfires.

On Wednesday, the Fleetwood Mac co-founder, 76, sent his condolences to the community, noting that the "main priority" is to ensure the safety of the restaurant's staff.

Maui and the Lahaina community have been my home for several decades. This is a devastating moment for Maui, and many are suffering unimaginable loss, the drummer wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

shutterstock Fleetwood's on Front St. in Lahaina, Hawaii

Fleetwood's on Front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken, our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members, Fleetwood continued. On behalf of myself and my family, I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of Maui. We are committed to supporting the community and those affected by this disaster in the days and months and years to come.

Related: Airlines Send Empty Planes to Hawaii, Add Flights to Evacuate Thousands of Tourists Amid Wildfires

Fleetwood's on Front Street was a popular restaurant on the Hawaiian island of Maui known for its American cuisine and a rooftop bar with ocean views. Its website now includes a statement that it is closed until further notice.

"We do not have enough information at this time regarding Fleetwoods on Front St or any of our neighbors to share," the establishment's staff wrote on Instagram. "Mahalo for your continued thoughts and prayers for our ohana, community and our first responders."

google maps Fleetwood on Front St.

The Maui wildfires began on Tuesday. On Thursday, authorities announced that the death toll had risen to at least 53 people and rescue efforts remain underway, per the Associated Press.

These past few days, the resolve of our families, business and visitors have been tested like never before in our lifetime, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement posted to Facebook Wednesday. With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other in this inconsolable time.

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In a Thursday morning update, Maui County officials confirmed that 80 percent of the wildfire that caused "widespread damage" to Lahaina was contained. The fire department was also making progress fighting the Lahaina fire and fires in Pulehu and Upcountry Maui. The Pulehu fire was reported to be 70 percent contained Thursday morning.

Related: Pro Surfer Rescues Family Stranded in Hawaii Home During Flood: 'It Was Really Scary,' Dad Says

Other celebrities have commented on the situation. Jason Momoa, a native of Hawaii, shared ways for people to help Maui wildfire victims through donations on Instagram. The actor reposted a message from the nonprofit Aina Momona, which is supporting the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui County Strong Fund.

RICHARD OLSTEN/AFP via Getty Helicopter surveys wildfire damage in Maui, Hawaii

On Thursday, Momoa continued highlighting the natural disaster by sharing before and after photos of Maui previously published by the group Kako'o Haleakala. This just kills me ... A magical community I once called home, actor Jeremy Renner commented.

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Female directors have had a hard time at the Academy Awards. Over the first 95 years of the Oscars, only seven women have ever been nominated for Best Director: Lina Wertmuller in 1977 for Seven Beauties, Jane Campion in 1994 for The Piano and in 2022 for The Power of the Dog, Sofia Coppola in 2004 for Lost in Translation, Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for The Hurt Locker, Greta Gerwig in 2018 for Lady Bird, Emerald Fennell in 2021 for Promising Young Woman, and Chloe Zhao in the same year for Nomadland.

That Fennell and Zhao were nominated in that same year is history in and of itself. That is the one and only time that more than one woman has been nominated for Best Director in the same year. But could that be about to change this year? There are a number of strong contenders who could be looking to join that short list of female directors to earn Best Director bids.

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First, there is Celine Song, who directed Past Lives. She is the only female director we are currently predicting will earn a nomination. At this time of writing, we are predicting that Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), and Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) will be nominated alongside Song.

Songs movie stars Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends who are torn apart after Noras family emigrates from South Korea to the USA.Two decades later, however, they are reunited for one week and their past connection comes soaring back in a moving exploration of love and destiny. Best Director has previously gone to more technical movies (think Ang Lee with Life of Pi or Alfonso Cuaron with Gravity). However, recent years have seen a slight shift in that pattern. Zhaos Nomadland was a more poetic work than a technical one while Campions The Power of the Dog was a thoughtful character study. Perhaps voters are going back to the days when dramas and quieter, more emotional films won Best Director  like Robert Bentons Kramer vs. Kramer or Robert Redfords Ordinary People. That would bode well for Song and Past Lives, which is all about emotion and character.

That would also bode well for Justine Triet, who directs Anatomy of a Fall. That movie follows Sandra Huller (who also stars in Glazers The Zone of Interest) as a woman who is suspected of murdering her husband. The sole witness of the event is the couples blind son. Triet sits outside of our predicted nominees but could go the way of Bennett Miller and Foxcatcher by bringing to life an intense drama involving murder.

Fennell is also outside of our top five predicted nominees but could return to contention with Saltburn, which stars Barry Keoghan as a college student who becomes infatuated with his classmate (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to meet his rich, aristocratic family over the summer. This feels like it could ring the same bells as The Talented Mr. Ripley, which landed five Oscar nominations in 2000. Plus, we know that the academy likes Fennell. They nominated her in 2021 for her first film as a director (Promising Young Woman), for which she won Best Original Screenplay. They may like ner new film, which likely will have more striking social satire sewn into it, just as much.

And lastly, there is Gerwig. She is outside of our predicted five nominees but surely  SURELY  she will secure a place in that predicted lineup and earn her second Best Director nomination for Barbie, which is the film of 2023: Its earned rave reviews, has grossed over $1 billion dollars, and has gone down as a cultural icon. The film follows Margot Robbie as a Barbie who begins to have an existential crisis and must travel to the real world to find out whats gone wrong with the help of Ryan Goslings Ken. Barbie is at once a feminist triumph, a biting social satire, and a hilarious comedy. I mentioned earlier about voters admiring technical achievements. Well, this is that. Barbie has emotion, heart, and laughter to boot but it is also a brilliantly made film. It has tons of practical effects, its costumes and sets are off the scales good, and Gerwig toed the tonal line spectacularly. Its truly an impressive achievement and Gerwig should find herself in our predicted five nominees for Best Director. She is on the precipice at the moment, just behind Villeneuve and Dune: Part Two.

But how about winners? Out of those eight aforementioned nominations for female directors, three were turned into wins. Bigelow became the first-ever woman to win the award with The Hurt Locker while Zhao won with Nomadland and Campion won on her second nomination with The Power of the Dog. Currently, we are predicting that Scorsese will take home his second Best Director Oscar (he won his first and only Oscar in 2007 for The Departed), with Nolan close behind him. Song is in third place. However, it feels like a tall order for any of these brilliant filmmakers to overcome the titanic duo of Scorsese and Nolan. Lets see how things play out.

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Dont miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

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* China's grain-producing province of Heilongjiang has been hit hard by floods.

* Due to the impact of Typhoon Doksuri, many paddy fields were flooded.

* Typhoon Khanun has brought a new spell of rainfall to the province as of Thursday.

HARBIN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rice plants are beginning to form ears in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the country's top grain producer. However, due to the impact of Typhoon Doksuri, many paddy fields were flooded.

While still grappling with the consequences of the extreme rainfall caused by Typhoon Doksuri, Heilongjiang has activated a second-level emergency flood control response to cope with the impact of approaching Typhoon Khanun, according to the provincial meteorological authority. Typhoon Khanun has brought a new spell of rainfall to the province as of Thursday.

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 9, 2023 shows flooded paddy fields in Xingye Village of Anjia Town in Wuchang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Wang Wei, an official of the provincial emergency management department, said reservoirs were required to increase their discharge to accommodate potential flood water.

Rain-soaked fields, affected by Typhoon Doksuri since Aug. 2, have raised concerns of drowning crops and lower yields in the province, which has remained China's top grain producer for 13 consecutive years.

Water conservancy experts warned that strong precipitation had already raised rivers' water levels, while the soil is saturated with water.

The grain-producing province has been hit hard by the flood disaster. The provincial agriculture and rural affairs department and the provincial academy of agricultural sciences have sent experts to help farmers minimize losses.

The province has also dispatched at least 530 agricultural machinery service teams, 116,900 disaster-relief personnel, 22,322 sets of machines and tools, and 4,148 water pumps to aid water drainage work in crop-growing areas. So far, 1.95 million mu (130,000 hectares) of crop fields have been saved.

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows the intelligent control devices for water supply in a modern agricultural industrial park in Wuchang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Heilongjiang boasts grain growing areas amounting to more than 200 million mu. Yellow water pumping trucks can be seen in flooded fields, while excavators are being used to dig channels in fields to help with drainage.

In the city of Wuchang, Ai Houbao, a rice grower who had been evacuated to a nearby shelter site during the heavy downpours, returned to his home to check on his house and paddy field after the flood receded.

Wuchang, famous for Wuchang rice, is known as the main production area of high-quality rice in Heilongjiang. Since Aug. 2, large and medium-sized reservoirs in the city have begun to see water exceed flood-limit levels.

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows rice seedlings in a modern agricultural industrial park in Wuchang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

"My rice field has been flooded. It was only two months away from harvesting," he said.

Wuchang has set up 68 resettlement sites and relocated 53,699 people from 138 villages.

"The flood entered the village on Aug. 4, inundating large areas of farmland," said Chen Guoliang, an official in Lianhua Village, Wuchang.

He said since the flood receded, villagers have been making intense efforts to drain out water. "The more water that can be pumped out, the more rice we can save."

Ai Houbao said he had bought agricultural insurance, which would help him recover some losses. He earned more than 100,000 yuan (about 13,870 U.S. dollars) from the rice harvest last year.

"I hope the flood water can be pumped out soon. I will see then how much rice the land can produce," he said.

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows meteorological monitoring devices in a modern agricultural industrial park in Wuchang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

As of Wednesday afternoon, Wuchang had recorded 1.51 million mu of flood-affected fields of rice, corn, soybean and other crops.

Li Yanjun, a plant protection researcher with the city's agricultural technology promotion center, said that despite the flooding, the rice output would not fall drastically compared with previous years, because a large area of rice in Wuchang is growing normally.

Heilongjiang produced about 77.63 billion kilograms of grain in 2022, accounting for 11.3 percent of the country's total.

(Video reporters: He Shan, Zhu Yue, Liu Heyao, Zhang Yue, Jin Di, Liu Haodong, Ma Xiaocheng, Ji Yang, Wei Meng, Wang Fan, Yan Linyun, Wang He, Zhang Tao, Si Xiaoshuai; Video editors: Hong Ling, Zheng Xin, Mu Xuyao, Zhao Xiaoqing) 
Viola Davis shines in Ben Afflecks Air, which tells the true story of how Nike signed Michael Jordan and made the Air Jordan shoe. Matt Damon portrays Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro who negotiates a deal with Jordans mother. As Deloris Jordan, Davis deliver a powerful performance.

The actress imbues quiet strength, a sense of duty and honor, and a fierce motherly love into the stony exterior of an ambitious woman who knows her sons worth and loves her family. Its an enjoyable performance and it helps elevate the film from the average depths it likely would have sunken to without her. And critics agree.

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Peter Travers (ABC News) explained: Jordan himself insisted that only one actress could play his mom  EGOT winner Viola Davis. Smart choice since the triumphant Davis is a primal force who powers the role of Deloris by nailing every nuance with maternal fire and feeling.

Ray Greene (The AV Club) observed: Her fierce gift always eats the screen. For a masterclass in turning throwaway schtick into truth, watch Davis suppress a laugh when a meeting with the Teutonic directors of Adidas plays out as Vaccaro told her it would. We need to see Deloris bemusement, even if the Adidas suits cant. Davis manifests the moment effortlessly.

And Justin Chang (Los Angeles Times) wrote: Jordans mother, Deloris, the solid rock and gently guiding hand behind his every career move. Deloris is played, superbly, by Viola Davis, whose soft-toned, gravel-edged voice is authority itself.

However, despite her outstanding performance and those enthusiastic reviews, Davis is currently outside of our predicted nominees for Best Supporting Actress, which we currently think will be Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks (both The Color Purple), Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), and Julianne Moore (May December).

However, do not rule out Davis just yet. She is an academy favorite amassing four Oscar nominations and one win so far. She won Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for Fences while she was also nominated in that category in 2009 for Doubt. She also has two Best Actress bids to her name, too  for The Help in 2011 and Ma Raineys Black Bottom in 2021. She could land her fifth nomination with Air, not least because this performance fits several patterns that Oscar voters have stuck to.

First, shes portraying a real-life person. We know Oscar voters like nominating actors for playing real people and that is no different in this category. Aunjanue Ellis was nominated in 2022 for her take on Oracene Brandy Price (the mother of Venus and Serena Williams) in King Richard. Amanda Seyfried landed a bid in 2021 for playing actress Marion Davies in Mank. And Kathy Bates was nominated in 202 for her work as Barbara Bobi Jewell (Richard Jewells mother) in Richard Jewell.

Ellis and Bates are just two examples of supporting actresses earning Oscar bids for playing mothers. Academy voters love to acknowledge maternal figures in this category. Angela Bassett was nominated in 2023 for playing a mother (and a Queen) for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Scarlett Johansson was nominated in 2020 for playing a mother in Jojo Rabbit, Regina King won in 2019 for playing a mother in If Beale Street Could Talk, and both Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) and Allison Janney (I, Tonya) were nominated in 2018 for playing mothers, with Janney winning.

Plus, the academy loves a short but sweet performance that packs a punch. Davis doesnt have much screen time in Air at all, but neither did Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love or Ruby Dee in American Gangster. Dee only has about five minutes of screen time in American Gangster but was still nominated (for playing a mother!) for Best Supporting Actress in 2008. Meanwhile, Dench had around eight minutes of screen time in Shakespeare in Love but won Best Supporting Actress in 1999.

Other short but powerful performances include Anne Hathaway, who won in 2013 for Les Miserables, Gloria Grahame, who won in 1953 for The Bad and the Beautiful, and Beatrice Straight, who won in 1977 for Network. Davis was nominated for this type of performance in Doubt, in which she only appeared in one scene. However, it was a pretty powerful scene about a mother (!) trying to do her best for her son.

Davis knows how to make the biggest impact with what shes given, whether thats a leading role or a smaller supporting role and she does that again here in Air. She may not have the most screen time but, boy, does she make the most impact. And that makes her a sure-fire contender for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar this year. Lets see.

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Dont miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

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parks and rec reunited strike - Credit: jfizzy/Star Max/GC Images; Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

Cast members from Parks and Recreation, including the beloved mini-horse Lil Sebastian, reunited on the picket lines for the SAG-AFTRA strike outside of Amazons offices in Culver City, California on Friday. Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman, Retta, Adam Scott, Jim OHeir, Sam Elliott, Ben Schwartz, Alison Becker, among others, banded together to show their support for their fellow actors.

Plaza carried a sign that read, Ann Perkins works for the AMPTP, referring to Rashida Jones character on the show, whom Plazas character hated, and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which represents the movie studios and streaming services. Rettas sign said, I sold that little red thing for health insurance. Others held signs that read Pawnee Is a Union Town and SAG-AFTRA on Strike!

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Plaza and Offerman have been especially visible, as the actors strike began last month. On July 20, Offerman posted a photo of himself holding a picket sign to Instagram with the caption, It is a privilege to picket in solidarity with [the Writers Guild] seeing new friends and old, all of us laborers striking for fair pay and so much more. If it aint on the page, it aint on the stage, folks. That same day, Plaza posted a photo of herself holding a sign that said, Do you have fair wages? Itd be a lot cooler if you did. Scott posted a pic earlier this month of Offerman and him picketing side by side.

Parks and Recreation ran from 2009 to 2015 on NBC with a follow-up special airing in April 2020. The series is now available to stream on Peacock and other services from which the actors likely want a fair share of residual royalties.

SAG-AFTRA started its strike on July 14, a month and a half after the Writers Guild started its strike on May 2. Both unions want similar goals: a larger cut of royalties and assurances that artificial intelligence wont be used to replace them. The Writers Guild indicated this week that it intended to start negotiations with AMPTP on Friday.

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Enough is pumping that dough into doubling the output capacity of its first production site in the Netherlands, completed last September. Enough was founded as 3F BIO in 2015 by Jim Laird, who has a background in food operations. The companys proprietary technology feeds fungi with sugars from renewable feedstocks and then ferments it similar to the way beer is made.
TIFF has begun announcing their Conversation With (ICW) series for this years fest with Oscar winner Pedro Almodovar, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau and Concrete Utopia Korean stars Lee Byung-hun and Park

Seo-jun set to sit down for chats.

TIFFs 2023 In Conversation With series exemplifies our belief that film can ignite perspectives and fuel

transformation, said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. We are delighted to welcome a powerhouse lineup of international iconoclasts from Spain, South Korea, and Hong Kong for film lovers of all genres.



Almodovar is already set to receive TIFFs Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media this year at the fests Tribute Awards. His short, Strange Way of Life, which played at Cannes, will also make its North American premiere at TIFF. Short follows the relationship between a sheriff (Ethan Hawke) and a rancher

(Pedro Pascal) and their shared past.

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Concrete Utopia stars Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-jun will be on hand to discuss the disaster epic which is currently in theaters in South Korea. Lee and Park began their careers in Korean television, with Lee appearing in such popular K-drama series as Tomorrow Love (19921994) and Beautiful My Lady (1997) before starring in Park Chan-wooks international art-house hit Joint Security Area (2000) and Kim Jee-woons back-to-back megahits A Bittersweet Life (2005) and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008). Lee has also starred in such Hollywood films such as G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) and The Magnificent Seven (2016),

Korean blockbusters like I Saw the Devil (2010) and Inside Men (2015).

Park Seo-jun starred in several wildly popular K-dramas and sitcoms, including Fight for My Way

(2017) and Whats Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018), and ran away with one of the lead roles in the

action-comedy hit Midnight Runners (2017). Park starred in the lead role of the Netflix breakout hit Itaewon Class (2020) and his memorable supporting role as Min-hyuk, who triggers the plot in Bong Joon-Hos Academy Awardwinning class satire Parasite. Hell star in the The Marvels due out in cinemas this November.

Lau is the star of Ning Haos The Movie Emperor, also playing TIFF this year. He started out in the early 1980s as an actor for Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), Hong Kongs premier television network. He landed his first feature film role in Ann Huis Boat People (1982), a central work of the Hong Kong New Wave. In the late 1980s, Lau fully transitioned to working in film and enthralled audiences and critics alike in Wong Kar Wais As Tears Go By (1988) and Days of Being Wild (1990). Lau launched his own production company in the early 1990s and has starred in over 160 feature films, including Johnnie Tos relentless police thriller Running Out of Time (1999), Andrew Lau and Alan Maks twisty and unpredictable Infernal Affairs (2002) and Infernal Affairs III (2003), Zhang Yimous martial arts epic House of Flying Daggers and Frant Gwos mega-action blockbuster The Wandering Earth 2 (2023).

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Tory Lanez is continuing to maintain his innocence in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

The Canadian rapper, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, said he refused to apologize "for something that I did not do" after a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison this week over the altercation in a Los Angeles court.

"I have never let a hard time intimidate me. I will never let no jail time eliminate me," Lanez, 31, wrote in a statement shared on Instagram Thursday following his conviction. "Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will."

Tory Lanez, Megan Thee Stallion

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images Tory Lanez, Megan Thee Stallion

He said he "took full responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved" and "that's it," adding, "In no way shape or form was I apologizing for the charges I'm being wrongfully convicted of. I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."

Lanez also noted that he refused "to stop fighting till I come out victorious. Tough times don't last, tough people do."

The social media statement appears to be a reversal from his remarks shared in court during the sentencing, in which he apologized for his actions.

"If I could turn back time on the series of events that night, I would," Lanez said, according to The New York Times. "The victim was my friend and someone I still care about to this day. Everything I did wrong that night I take full responsibility for."

Lanez was found guilty in December of all three felony firearm counts against him, including assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, for shooting Stallion (real name Megan Pete) in her foot after a party in the Hollywood Hills at Kylie Jenner's house in July 2020. He faced up to 22 years in prison and the possibility of deportation.

Stallion told Gayle King in an interview last April that an argument had stemmed from her wanting to leave Jenner's house, but her companions, including Lanez, did not. It escalated when she stepped out of the car, and "all I hear is this man screaming, and he said, 'Dance, b----.' And he started shooting," she recalled to King, referencing Lanez. "He shot a couple of times. And I was so scared."

She explained that she was initially not truthful to police about what had transpired, first stating that she had stepped on glass, due to the recent police killing of George Floyd.

"Even though this person just did this to me, my first reaction was still to try to save us," the rapper said. "I didn't want to see anybody die."

Last December, Stallion testified about the toll the shooting had taken on her physical and mental health, revealing that she experienced suicidal thoughts. In a written statement shared prior to the sentencing, she said she has "not experienced a single day of peace" since the shooting.

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Travis Scott celebrated his Billboard 200-topping album Utopia on Monday (Aug. 7) with a performance at Romes Circus Maximus.

The event marked the global live debut of the record-breaking album, with more than 60,000 attendees and a rare Kanye West appearance.

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The show also got a bit rowdy, as CNN reported that at least 60 people required medical attention after someone sprayed pepper spray into the audience during the show according to Romes civil protection department; at press time it was unclear if the pepper spray was employed by venue security or a fan. A 14-year-old who climbed a false wall in an attempt to see the show for free was also reportedly injured after falling 13 feet.

Circus Maximus served as Scotts replacement show for his canceled Pyramids of Giza concert in Egypt. Live Nation Middle East tweeted their reasoning for the cancellation, citing complex production issues, while Scott responded to fans seeking a further explanation. Egypt in the pyramids will happen but due to demand and detail logistics they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands. I will keep up posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll, he wrote on Twitter.

Utopia blasted in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 12), marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release. The project bows with 496,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Luminate.

See below for photos from the Circus Maximus show.

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Two Memphians will be inducted into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame this year.

Flora Payne, owner of Paynes Bar-B-Que, is one of four inductees in the 2023 Hall of Fame class.

Bill Arnold, the founder of Blues Hog Barbecue, is being honored posthumously as one of the three legacy inductees.

Flora Payne: A 50-year Memphis barbecue legacy

Since 1972, Paynes Bar-B-Que at 1762 Lamar Ave. has been serving up its signature chopped pork sandwich and famous mustard sauce that attract barbecue aficionados from across the world.

It is truly an honor to be recognized for something that you've put your heart into for so many years, Payne said.

Payne has been running Paynes, alongside her children, Ronald Payne and Candice Payne-Parker, since her husband's death in 1984. The family has continued the legacy started by Floras husband, Horton, and her mother-in-law, Emily.

Flora Payne of Paynes Bar-B-Que chops ribs in the kitchen as Gannett food writers Brad Schmitt of The Tennessean and Jennifer Chandler of The Commercial Appeal tour Memphis barbecue on Friday, May 10, 2019.

The key ingredient is to love what you do, Payne said. We love our customers. They are like family  some have been with us since day one.

Payne is grateful the legacy that was started over 50 years ago will continue on with the third generation of her family. Being able to work with my children Candice and Ronald has been a joy, she said. My husband and mother-in law left us with a legacy that we are proud to carry on. God has blessed us.

MEMPHIS BARBECUE: Memphis pitmaster part of program to invest in future of Black barbecue culture

Bill Arnold: The man behind Blues Hog Barbecue Sauce

Bill Arnold created the award-winning Blues Hog Barbecue Sauce.

Arnold discovered his passion for cooking at an early age while watching locals make 'squirrel stew' near his grandmothers home in Memphis, Tennessee. Arnolds journey in barbecue was full of memorable moments, from late-night hog cookouts to impromptu fiddle music sessions," according to a news release from American Royal.

Blues Hog Barbecue Sauce owner Bill Arnold chuckles as he reflects on why he started making barbecue sauce Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, at Elmcroft Senior Living facility in Jackson. "Well, I got hungry," said Arnold, a native of Jackson. "[My sauce is] sweet with the right amount of heat, just like me."

Despite his death in 2021, Arnold's legacy lives on as the sauce created in his garage continues to delight barbecue enthusiasts worldwide.

What is the BBQ Hall of Fame?

As part of its mission to recognize, document and preserve barbecue heritage, the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame annually recognizes several individuals for their significant contributions to the barbecue community and demonstration of achievement in barbecue excellence.

Payne and Arnold join the following Memphians in the Hall of Fame: Melissa Cookston of Memphis Barbecue Co. was inducted into the hall of fame in 2017, Charlie Vergos of The Rendezvous was posthumously inducted in 2018 and Desiree Robinson of Cozy Corner was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Cozy Corner matriarch Desiree Robinson, right, is officially inducted into the The American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, receiving her trophy for the award from Memphis Barbecue Co.'s Melissa Cookston.

Additional 2023 inductees into the Barbecue Hall of Fame include Byron Chism of Freeport, Florida; Dave Raymond of Wooddale, Illinois; and Darren Warth of Des Moines, Iowa. Columbus B. Hill of Denver and Rick Schmidt of Lockhart, Texas, have been named as legacy members.

WE KNOW BBQ: AI is no Memphis barbecue expert: How Jennifer Chandler schooled ChatGPT

By demonstrating exceptional excellence, passion and unwavering commitment to the barbecue craft, this year's inductees have earned their place in the Barbecue Hall of Fame," said Jackie McClaskey, president and CEO of the American Royal Association. A thorough evaluation process involving 90 nominees and 10 finalists was conducted by the Barbecue Hall of Fame nominating committee and living members of the Barbecue Hall of Fame to select the inductees. We are proud to celebrate their remarkable achievements to the barbecue heritage by welcoming them into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.

The 2023 inductees will be recognized during the 43rd American Royal World Series of Barbecue planned for Sept. 27-Oct. 1 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.

If you want to keep up with the tastiest news in the Bluff City  like the story above, sign up for our Eat Drink Memphis weekly newsletter for a hearty serving of stories on everything from restaurants to recipes. You can sign up here.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Two Memphians to be inducted into Barbecue Hall of Fame
As a whistleblower claims the United States government has evidence of extraterrestrials visiting Earth, companies are making strides for human beings to leisurely explore space. On Thursday (Aug. 10), hopeful space tourists arrived at Spaceport America in New Mexico to take off on Virgin Glactics Galactic-02 space-flight mission on the VSS Unity.

According to Space.com, the space plane does not enter orbit, but its trajectory does create several minutes of weightlessness for the passengers, at an altitude high enough for them to see the curvature of Earth against the blackness of space.

Passengers included six people total  three professionals and three private passengers. Leading the journey were the commander and former Nasa astronaut CJ Sturckow, the pilot Kelly Latimer, and Beth Moses, Virgin Galactics chief astronaut instructor. Former Olympian Jon Goodwin and Antiguan mother-daughter duo Keisha Schahaff and Anastasia Mayers were also aboard for the historic moment.

Space tourists Keisha Schahaff, center, Anastatia Mayers, left, the mother-daughter duo of the Caribbean island of Antigua, and Jon Goodwin, an 80-year-old British adventurer and former Olympian, answer questions during a news conference after their Virgin Galactic flight to the edge of space from Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Virgin Galactic is taking its first space tourists on a long-delayed rocket ship ride.

According to the Associated Press, Goodwin was among the first to purchase a $200,000 ticket for the mission in 2005. The 80-year-olds later diagnosis of Parkinsons Disease would prevent him from being able to participate as the trip was delayed for years. AP reported the trip now costs $450,000.

That was by far the most awesome thing Ive ever done in my life, detailed Goodwin.

Virgin Galactics mothership Eve, carrying the rocket-powered plane Unity 22, takes off from Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Virgin Galactic is taking its first space tourists on a long-delayed rocket ship ride

Schahaff and Mayers were able to earn their astronaut stripes through a fundraiser with the nonprofit organization Space for Humanity, which strives to make spaceflight more accessible to diverse peoples across the globe.

A childhood dream has come true, said Schahaff. According to AP, she took pink Antiguan sand with her for the journey.

I have no words. The only thought I had the whole time was Wow! added Mayers.

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Wint, a so-called "water intelligence" company that says it uses AI to detect and stop leaks, has raised $35 million in a Series C round of funding.

Founded in Israel in 2011, Wint has developed a water management system comprising AI-enabled software and connected hardware that alerts users when there may be a leak, with the ability to configure the system to automatically shut down where the leak is detected. Customers may include anyone from facility managers and construction firms, to data centers and any enterprise looking to bolster their carbon emission reports with hard data.

The company claims an impressive roster of clients, including Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, HP and Dell.

Wint raised a $15 million Series B round of funding just last year led by Insight Partners, the New York-based investor that has previously backed the likes of Twitter, Tumblr and Shopify. Insight has returned for the Series C round, which it co-led alongside Czech climate tech fund Inven Capital. Taronga Ventures also participated in the round.

The raise comes amid growing concerns around water scarcity in many regions of the world, a problem that many startups are trying to solve.

"We're excited to close this round at a time when water scarcity and climate change are becoming some of humanity's greatest challenges, while the costs of water leak damage in buildings are reaching unacceptable levels for insurers, owners, developers and contractors," Wint CEO Alon Geva noted in a press release.
Google's Waymo and GM's Cruise have secured approval from California's regulators to be able to charge fares for fully driverless rides any time of the day in San Francisco. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has voted 3 to 1 in favor of allowing the companies to expand their driverless services after evaluating whether they had met the licensing requirements and hearing public testimonies arguing for and against the expansion.

Waymo said it's going to "gradually welcom[e] more riders into the service" and "begin charging fares for rider-only trips in the city" in the coming weeks." Apparently, it already has 100,000 signups in its waitlist and expects demand to be "incredibly high," so it wants to take an unhurried approach "to ensure riders receive a reliable service." The company promises to make its fully autonomous trips "available to everyone over time." Meanwhile, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said his company will continue collaborating with regulators to achieve their shared commitment to deliver "safer, cleaner and more accessible transportation options."

Thrilled to announce that the California Public Utilities Commission just approved @Cruise for fared operation 24/7 across all of San Francisco!



Its a huge milestone for the AV industry, but even more importantly a signal to the country that CA prioritizes progress over our  Kyle Vogt (@kvogt) August 11, 2023

At the moment, Waymo is operating 200 cars in San Francisco, while Cruise has 300 vehicles in its autonomous fleet. Before securing CPUC's approval, Cruise could only offer fared passenger rides in limited areas of San Francisco from 10 PM to 6AM without a safety driver onboard and paid rides any time with a safety driver. Waymo, on the the other hand, could only charge passengers any time of the day with a safety driver present.

According to The San Francisco Standard, commission President Alice Reynolds and commissioners Darcie Houck and John Reynolds voted in favor of the expansion. However, commissioner Genevieve Shiroma voted against it, arguing that the CPUC didn't have sufficient information needed to be able to accurately evaluate the impact of autonomous vehicles on first responders. Their decision was the final hurdle the companies had to face to offer 24/7 fared rides across the city. It came after listening to public concerns about the safety of autonomous vehicles and to testimonies about how the technology could help the elderly and people with disabilities be more independent.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday welcomed the release of five of its security personnel who were kidnapped in Yemen on Feb. 11, 2022.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was delighted to learn of the release, his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, adding that "available information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health."

The UN chief was profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of their families and friends have finally come to an end, Haq said in a statement.

"The secretary-general reiterates that kidnapping is an inhumane and unjustifiable crime and calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable," Haq said. "He also expresses his solidarity with other people still held against their will in Yemen."

David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, also welcomed the development.

In a statement, he thanked the government of Yemen and all others that helped secure the release of the five UN personnel and contributed to ensuring their health during such a long time in captivity.

"While the entire UN family in Yemen is relieved that our colleagues are free, we also recall other UN staff are still held against their will in Yemen. We stand in solidarity with them," Gressly said. 
ROME  Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.

According to RAI and ANSA news agency, the four were first rescued by the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Rimona in the Straits of Sicily. They were then transferred to the Italian coast guard, which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.

The island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, is a frequent destination for migrant smugglers and has seen its migrant holding center repeatedly overcrowded with new arrivals this summer.

Bamboo mats, ice, pasta bans: How people around the world are dealing with extreme heat

Libyan border guard provide water to migrants of African origin who reportedly have been abandoned by Tunisian authorities, following their arrival in an uninhabited area near Al-Assah on the Libya-Tunisia border. Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia. Four survivors who were rescued and brought to land on Aug. 9, 2023.

Four survivors found

Alessandra Filograno, a spokeswoman for the Italian Red Cross, confirmed four survivors arrived at the Lampedusa center Wednesday morning: two men, a woman and an unaccompanied minor. Filograno had no further information.

Neither ANSA nor RAI provided attribution for the information but reported the four survivors  who hailed from Ivory Coast and Guinea  as saying that 41 people died, including three children.

Landowners permission Texas arrests separating migrant families may hinge on a key element

In this file photo, migrants are carried by a MSF rescue team boat after being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Several shipwrecks amid influx of migrants in Italy

This summer, there have been numerous shipwrecks of smugglers boats leaving from Tunisia bound for Italy. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 93,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, more than twice the 45,000 who arrived during the same period in 2022.

The top nationalities of those arriving are from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Tunisia.

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 to crack down on smuggling operations, but the boats continue to set off.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Migrant shipwreck: 41 believed dead; boat capsizes near Italy, Tunisia
The U.S. military's response to the devastating wildfires on Maui was crucial in the early response to the blazes that have devastated the island and the historic town of Lahaina.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Hawaii's National Guard and active-duty forces on the island have all pitched in to help.

Given the magnitude of Tuesday night's fire that placed so many people in harm's way in Lahaina and close to the water's edge it was the U.S. Coast Guard that was first to respond, sending a Dolphin MH-65 helicopter and a 45-foot Medium Response Boat to rescue 17 survivors who had plunged into the waters off of Lahaina as the fire swept through the town.

PHOTO: Honolulu Fire Department vehicles and personnel are secured onto a C-17 Globemaster III, Aug. 10, 2023, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. (U.S. Air National Guard)

The active-duty military has a major presence on Hawaii with nearly 40,000 active-duty military personnel stationed on 14 major military bases, most of them on Oahu, but as with most natural disasters, the military's first response falls to a state's National Guard under the command of a state's governor.

And that's what happened Tuesday night as Hawaii's Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who was serving as acting governor while Gov. Josh Green was out of state, activated Hawaii's National Guard and dozens of guardsmen were ordered to assist with traffic control on both Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii.

MORE: US announces historic $345 million military aid package for Taiwan

The National Guard's aviation unit was also activated to assist with fire suppression on both islands once the winds died down enough.

PHOTO: The Coast Guard responds during the Lahaina wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 9, 2023. A total of 17 people were saved from the water and 40 survivors were located ashore by Coast Guard Station Maui boat crews. (U.S. Coast Guard)

However, the number of Hawaii National Guard helicopters available to assist was less than normal since many of them were in transit back to Hawaii after having participated in a large exercise in Louisiana.

Guardsmen supported the firefighting efforts on Tuesday by doing 58 aerial water drops of more than 100,000 gallons of water, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

PHOTO: A helicopter with the Hawaii Army National Guard performs aerial water bucket pick up to fight wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Aug. 9, 2023. (U.S. Dept. of Defense via AFP/Getty Images)

But additional resources were needed and the active-duty military resources available in Hawaii were called upon to assist.

Story continues

The Army's active-duty 25th Infantry Division, based on the neighboring island of Oahu, was readied to provide some of its helicopters to assist with firefighting efforts and Navy aviation units on Oahu were placed on stand-by to assist with local search and rescue if needed.

PHOTO: A member of the Hawaii Army National Guard uses aerial water bucket drops from a Chinook helicopter to fight fires on the Island of Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 9, 2023. (U.S. National Guard)

By Wednesday morning, two Blackhawk UH-60's and another Chinook from the 25th Infantry Division were sent to the Big Island to do the same with the fires that were blazing there.

MH-60R Seahawk helicopters from the Navy's Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 were also sent to Maui to help the US Coast Guard's search and recovery operations.

U.S. Air Force C-17's have also transported Honolulu Fire Department vehicles and personnel to Maui to assist with search and rescue efforts and fire suppression.

MORE: US not seeking permanent new base in Papua New Guinea, Austin says

As of Thursday, 134 Hawaii National Guardsmen had been activated to assist local authorities, 99 from the Army National Guard and 35 from the Air National Guard.

Since the initial water rescues, Coast Guard Station Maui boat crews have operated on shore and have helped locate as many as 40 survivors.

MORE: Defense secretary makes historic visit to Papua New Guinea

All of the active-duty and National Guard forces assisting on Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii are under the command of Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara, the adjutant general for the State of Hawaii.

Creating unified commands under the authority of the state's top Guard officer has become standard practice when both reserve and active duty military forces respond to natural disasters.

How the US military is helping put down Hawaii's wildfires originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The Port of New Orleans planned $1.8 billion container facility is in the spotlight after a south Louisiana parish sued to block construction.

St. Bernard Parish District Attorney Perry Nicosia filed a lawsuit on Aug. 4 in 34th Judicial District Court, saying the Port of New Orleans doesnt have the authority to build and operate the planned Louisiana International Terminal, which targets 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) in capacity, in St. Bernard Parish. The port handles up to 1 million TEUs annually today.

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It was unmistakably clear that the Port of New Orleans had no general jurisdiction whatsoever in the Parish of St. Bernard, the suit said. All general jurisdiction in St. Bernard Parish was statutorily given to and imposed upon the Port of St. Bernard.

The suit references legislation passed in 1992 identifying the St. Bernard Port as a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana with complete and exclusive jurisdiction to operate its international port within the parish borders.

The legislation in 1992 made it clear that no other port has jurisdiction in St. Bernard Parish, Nicosia said in a statement.

The Port of New Orleans first announced in 2020 that it had purchased 1,100 acres in Violet, Louisiana, a small town located along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish. It struck an agreement with the St. Bernard Port to build a downriver container facility to allow the port to compete with other Gulf-area ports for big ship business.

We are aware of the filing and will review and respond in due course, said Port of New Orleans CEO Brandy D. Christian. However, any challenge to the Port of New Orleans jurisdiction to operate an international marine terminal in St. Bernard Parish is meritless, and we are confident that this will be demonstrated in the legal process.

According to the lawsuit, the Port of New Orleans and the St. Bernard Port District have worked together under a joint cooperation and marketing agreement since 2004. In 2022, the Port of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana inked a deal with two private operators who would chip in $800 million to help build the terminal as well as finance infrastructure improvements. The lawsuit aims to terminate that cooperative agreement and declare the sale of the 1,100 acres void.

The Port of New Orleans board also recently approved $8 million in contracts to finalize design and begin construction. Earlier this year, the state of Louisiana removed $130 million of $180 million earmarked for infrastructure improvements from the state budget.

Opponents of the project argue that the facility would disrupt life for area residents and potentially cause environmental damage. But Christian said the Port of New Orleans has taken the local population in consideration throughout this process and hopes this issue can be resolved amicably among all parties. A series of meetings in March solicited public opinion on the proposed project, which the port describes as an economic engine creating more than 18,000 new and indirect jobs by 2050 along with more than $97 billion in industry sales.

A rendering of the planned $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal at Port NOLA.

The design of the new terminal has incorporated extensive public feedback from the community and St. Bernard public officials, she said. And we will continue to work with local stakeholders every step of the way to deliver a project that brings opportunity to St. Bernard Parish and the state of Louisiana.

The Louisiana International Terminal is positioned as a major upgrade to the export-focused port. When the project was announced in December, Tom Van Eynde, terminal investment director for the North American region for TiL, a Geneva-based terminal operator, said the expansion would strengthen Port NOLAs competitiveness, making it a key facility in the Gulf of Mexico capable of handling ultra-large container vessels.

Today, the container trade in Port NOLA mainly consists of export cargo, making it an exception among U.S. ports, which are usually import-heavy. LIT will attract new container trades, providing access for local industry to cost-competitive shipping options, he continued, using the acronym for the terminal project. The development of this facility cements TiLs commitment to further strengthen American infrastructure, making Port NOLA accessible for larger vessels and increasing its throughput capacity in a sustainable way that will bring measurable benefits to the community.

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There's a misconception that jewelry is nothing more than a fashion accessory. The reality is that jewels have long played an important role in society as monikers of history. As a matter of fact, many gemstones and iconic pieces of jewelry have storied (and sometimes infamous) pasts that give historians and admirers alike a peek at what the world was like at the time of their creation.



Some have been plundered from conquered lands from ancient times. Others purchased as gifts by famous for their spouses and lovers or lived in the crown jewel collections of royals around the globe. All showcase the brilliance and artisanal talents of their makers. Undeniably, the world remains fascinated by the lore and notoriety of many of these jewels' rich (and sometimes scandalous) beginnings.



Here, we take a deep and fascinating dive into some of the most renowned sparkling stones. Discover the history behind a cursed black diamond that made collectors superstitious, the sapphire once loved by Indian royalty, and 17 other dazzling gems. Read on to learn about the most famous jewels in the world.

The Hutton-Mdivani Necklace

Throughout history, jadeites have been treasured and worn by the world's leading fashion icons and renowned female leaders. The most famous perhaps being the astonishing necklaces gifted to American socialite and heiress Barbara Hutton. The Hutton-Mdivani Necklace is composed of 27 graduated jadeite beads, all in an impeccable emerald shade, with a clasp set made of caliber-cut rubies and baguette diamonds. In 2014, the jadeite bead necklace sold for more than $27.4 million at Sothebys auction to the Cartier Collection.

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The Star of Asia

Thought to be one of the crown jewels of Indias Maharajah of Jodhpur, the Star of Asia was found at the ancient Mogok mines in Burma. It's considered to be one of the worlds finest star sapphires for the gem's impressive, coming in at 330 carats. Another unique characteristic is the six-rayed star at the center of the perfectly-cut sapphire. The Star of Asia is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

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Napoleon Diamond Necklace

Emperor Napoleon commissioned the Napoleon Diamond Necklace from the jewelry firm Etienne Nitot and Sons of Paris for his second wife, Marie-Louise, to celebrate the birth of their first son. The original necklace featured 234 diamonds: 28 old mine-cut diamonds, a fringe of nine pendeloques, and 10 briolettes. It's believed the cost necklace at that time was the equivalent to the Empress's entire annual household budget. Today, the Napoleon Diamond Necklace is one display at the National Museum of Natural History.

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The Dresden Green

At 41 carats, the Dresden Green is the largest natural green diamond in the world. Thought to be mined in the Golconda region of India, the diamond's history dates back to the early 18th century, when it was purchased by Friedrich Augustus I of Saxony for 400,000 thaler. At the time, that sum was equal to the value of four tons of gold. The diamond is now on view at Dresden Castle in Germany.

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La Peregrina Pearl

Supposedly found off the coast of Panama in the mid-16th century, the La Peregrina Pearl was gifted to King Phillip II of Spain (Panama was a colony of the country at the time). He then turned around and presented the 58.5-carat pearl to Queen Mary of England as a bridal gift. It was glorified as being the most symmetrical natural pearl ever discovered and was eventually bought by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.

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The Taylor-Burton Diamond

In 1966, Harry Winston purchased a rough diamond at 241 carats, which was cut into a pear-shaped, nearly 70-carat, flawless diamond. Eventually, this iconic stone was purchased by Richard Burton as a gift for his wife Elizabeth Taylor, and the stone was renamed the Taylor-Burton Diamond. Now, the jewelry house pays homage to the remarkable diamond with pieces like the Diamond Loop necklace that glorify the original's pear shape.

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The Graff Pink

After purchasing a 24.78-carat pink diamond in 2010, Laurence Graff of the renowned eponymous jewelry house set out to realize the stone's true potential. He had the diamond reshaped and removed 20 natural flaws before renaming it The Graff Pink. The stone is now the most flawless pink diamond in the world, with vivid color, no internal flaws, and weighing in at 23.88 carats.

Graff

The Hope Diamond

Perhaps one of the most well-known diamonds in the world, the Hope Diamond has a long, and supposedly cursed, history. It's said to have originated in India and was first owned by King Louis XIV of France in 1668 before it was stolen and later appeared in the English royal court. The 45.52-carat blue diamond now resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Hope Diamond

Grace Kelly's Engagement Ring

Grace Kelly's engagement ring from Prince Rainier marked the beginning of her transformation from Hollywood starlet to royalty. Princess Grace wore her 10.47-carat engagement ring everywhere, even in the film High Society, where she appeared alongside Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Its film appearance made it one of the most famous rings in the world, and today, the ring is worth over $4 million.

Grace Kelly's Engagement Ring

L'Incomparable Diamond

L'Incomparable Diamond and necklace weighs in at 637 carats and is considered to be one of the most expensive necklaces in the world  it even has a Guinness World Record! The piece is valued at $55 million. The deep yellow 407.48-carat diamond featured as the focal point pendant is the largest internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

L'Incomparable Diamond

The Koh-I-Noor Diamond

Claims suggest that the Koh-I-Noor Diamond started out at 793 carats and has been passed by rulers throughout the world for more than 5,000 years. After being whittled down throughout the years to 109 carats, the diamond was presented to Queen Victoria after Great Britain's conquering of the Punjab state of India and has remained in the possession of the British royal family ever since. It is now housed in the Tower of London and sits atop the 1937 coronation crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

koh-i-noor diamond

The Black Orlov Diamond

Believed to be the reason behind the deaths of two Russian princesses and a New York diamond dealer, the Black Orlov Diamond comes to 67.5 carats and was discovered in the early 19th century in India. After Princesses Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky and Nadia Vygin-Orlov both jumped to their demises, diamond dealer J. W. Paris attempted to break the spell by cutting the stone into three pieces, but he was unsuccessful and also committed suicide.

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The Marie-Louise Diadem

The Marie-Louise Diadem was a wedding gift from Napoleon to his bride Empress Marie-Louise. The original emeralds set in the diadem were replaced with 79 Persian turquoise stones in the 1950s, which allowed Van Cleef & Arpels to sell the emeralds in individual pieces of jewelry. The company later donated the diadem, complete with its original 1,006 original mine-cut diamonds, to the Smithsonian.

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Princess Diana's Engagement Ring

The 18-carat sapphire surrounded by diamonds that now sits on Catherine Middleton's finger as her engagement ring actually started out as Princess Diana's engagement ring. And although it originally cost just $60,000, its significance in the royal family has made it one of the most belovedand most famousjewels in recent history.

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The Henckel Von Donnersmarck Tiara

Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck was married to Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, a member of a noble German family and the second wealthiest in the country by the end of the 19th century. Thought to be the work of Chaumet, the Von Donnersmarck Tiara in total has 500 carats of gemstones and was gifted to Katharina by her husband. The stunning headpiece boasts some of the world's rarest emeralds that first belonged to Empress Eugenie of France.

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The Duchess of Windsor's Panther Bracelet

Wallis Simpson was a known collector (thanks to King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor and her husband) of Cartier creations. Among her treasures is Jeanne Toussaint's iconic panther design. The creative director of the house at the time was known for her love of the big cat, and it has become her long-living trademark. Simpson started her cat collection with two Cartier panther brooches and followed it with this Cartier panther bracelet in 1952.

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The Cora Sun-Drop Diamond

This 110.3-carat pear-shaped yellow diamond originated in South Africa and was unearthed in 2010, but it is believed to have formed (according to expert research) in the earth's crust anywhere between 1 and 3 billion years ago. The Cora Sun-Drop Diamond also broke records for being the most expensive yellow diamond ever sold when it brought in between $10.9 million and $12.4 million at a Sotheby's auction.

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The Tiffany Diamond

The iconic yellow Tiffany Diamond is synonymous with the house, and it has become a symbol of Tiffany & Co.'s enduring grandeur. The diamond was mined in 1877 from the Kimberley mines in South Africa at a mind-boggling, nearly 288 carats, and in 1878, Charles Lewis Tiffany purchased the stone and had it cut to its current 128.54 carats. In 2012, the stone was reset into a necklace accented by white diamonds in celebration of Tiffany's 175th anniversary, and it is now on permanent display in the brand's Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City.

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PHOENIX  Arizonas Medicaid program added 31 more providers, some Native American- owned and operated, to its list of fraudulent healthcare providers who participated in a multi-million dollar statewide Medicaid scam that targeted Native Americans.



Native News Online reported in May that Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced that more than 100 healthcare providers are under investigation for insurance fraud that targeted American Indians and scammed the states Medicaid program hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the months leading up to the states announcements, the reports surfaced of Navajo Nation citizens being picked up in white vans or SUVs and being taken off tribal lands to sober living facilities. Some people have been reported as missing and, in some situations, have been found in behavioral health facilities in Arizona. Victims are often left abandoned, with no way to get home.

Arizona law enforcement authorities and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) received reports alleging that many of the named facilities do not provide the services they are paid to provide. Instead, patients are untreated, sometimes given drugs and alcohol, and enrolled in the AHCCCs American Indian Health Plan (AIHP), which pays the facilities for services.

AHCCCS said in a fact sheet on its website that credible evidence has been established that individuals were targeted and aggressively recruited with false promises of food, treatment, and housing, only to be taken to facilities where providers billed for services that were not provided or were not appropriate or necessary.

AHCCCS also provided several examples of how some providers were billing for services, including billing for excessive hours of services in a 24-hour period for a single person, billing a single person for multiple services during the same time period, or billing for services that werent provided.

As a result of the states May announcement, many providers ended operations leaving many people displaced. The same week of the states announcement, the Navajo Nation launched Operation Rainbow Bridge to assist its tribal citizens who may need assistance finding services at another location or transportation to or near the Navajo Nation. Leaders have called the scam a widespread humanitarian crisis.

While Arizona authorities are cracking down on fraudulent healthcare providers and prosecuting bad actors per the May 16 announcement, the scam has spread beyond the states borders as far as Montana.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, wrote a letter on July 19, 2023 to Honorable Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, saying Montana Tribal citizens were recruited and abandoned in the fraud scheme.

While it is unacceptable the Arizona State Medicaid program allowed this fraud to plague Arizonas Tribal Communities for so long that it spread to other States, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also failed to identify this fraudulent waste of taxpayer dollars in the agencys oversight capacity, Senator Tester wrote to CMS, a federal agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. State Medicaid programs and CMS share responsibility for ensuring that Medicaid is used to deliver health care services and not misused for fraud, waste, or abuse, and its clear that responsibility was not taken seriously.

The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council in Montana passed a resolution on August 3, prohibiting the solicitation and recruitment of individuals within the Blackfeet Reservation's exterior boundaries to attend fraudulent behavioral health treatment facilities anywhere in the State of Arizona. The resolution also establishes a civil penalty, including permanent banishment from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Laura McGee, a Blackfeet Nation Intergovernmental liaison, told Native News Online that tribes need to take preventative measures to protect their citizens.

I would like protocols and vetting to be done by our Tribes, McGee said. Detox centers at our Indian Health Service (IHS) hospitals, along with inpatient treatment services for opioids.

Housing is not a service provided by AHCCCS, but because the reimbursement rate was so high, many providers invested in properties to house clients. They then filled properties with as many people as possible while billing them for staying in them or receiving services 24 hours a day. Some properties let people come and go because legally they can, and alcohol and drug use has been reported at some locations. Some also discharged people from their properties for any reason or no reason at all.

There is widespread activity of people who also abuse the loopholes in the system, jumping from location to location to see which provider can offer the most benefits. Its an easy way for people evading the law to go to as well, where background checks are not required for people receiving healthcare services. If clients are threatened by owners, they respond with claims to report providers to the state.

AHCCCSs Office of Inspector General and the Attorney Generals Office said on its website that it became aware of potential fraudulent billing practices, including significant increases in billing for outpatient behavioral health services.

These circumstances triggered a multi-agency review and investigation of potential fraud, waste, and abuse, AHCCCS said in a fact sheet. Ultimately, this led AHCCCS to connect the irregular billing of these services with alleged criminal activity targeting Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable Arizonans.

Since the states announcement in May, AHCCCS has made a number of changes that affect both providers and patients in the behavioral health service industry. Reimbursement for services has been lowered for providers who are licensed to provide behavioral and mental health services, and enrollment in the AIHP must be completed in person.

Previously, reimbursement rates for providing intensive outpatient treatment, or IOP as its called in recovery communities, were upwards of $1,400 for three hours of service per day. Since May 1, the reimbursement rate for IOP services has been nearly $150 per day.

AHCCCS announced on June 28 that it will no longer accept enrollment into the AIHP over the phone. The change is an additional measure to prevent fraudulent enrollment. Also, all new enrollment requests must be submitted in writing to AHCCCS by fax or email by an Indian Health Service (IHS), Tribally-owned/and or operated 638 facilities, or Urban Indian Health Organization on behalf of a member. Previously, all one needed to do to enroll in the AIHP was submit a photo of ones tribal enrollment or identification card, or a copy of ones tribal identification, over the phone.

Last month, U.S. Attorneys Office announced that a Mesa woman pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18, 2023. Through various businesses, she admitted she received more than $22 million in payments from fraudulent billing practices targeting people enrolled in AHCCCSs AIHP. She billed people for services who were deceased or incarcerated and omitted information required when applying for licensure by the state.

Some of the added suspended providers include Blue Sage Healing Center and Sunrise Native Recovery, both Phoenix-based providers that claim to be Native American owned and operated. Together, they allege to have provided services to hundreds of Native American clients over the last several years. Emails to both were left unanswered.

Our own Native American people are involved, as well, said McGee, whose advocacy also facilitated Senator Testers letter to CMS and resulted in a resolution passed by the Tribal Council. Some companies include Native in their company names, often misleading others who are legitimately seeking help.

About the Author: "Darren Thompson (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) is a staff reporter for Native News Online who is based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Thompson has reported on political unrest, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous issues for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Indian Country Today, Native News Online, Powwows.com and Unicorn Riot. He has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Voice of America on various Indigenous issues in international conversation. He has a bachelor\u2019s degree in Criminology & Law Studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "

Contact: dthompson@nativenewsonline.net
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That sharp pain in your neck when you finally lie down after a long day? It's the worst (aside from waking up with a stiff neck, that is). A more comfortable pillow could help alleviate it. There are so many pillows in diverse heights, fabrics, and filling levels for different sleeping styles that there has to be a solution, right? Actually, there are so many that purport to help that it's hard to know where to start. That's why we asked sleep experts to help us find the very best pillows for neck pain.

New Yorkbased sleep psychologist Janet Kennedy, PhD, is a neck pain sufferer herself, and she has done a lot of the hands-on research and testing to determine the best pillows for neck pain. Like many important purchases for the home, it's a trial-and-error process. It's also extremely personal. "Pillows are even harder than great mattresses to find," Kennedy says. "There is not a one size fits all situation. I think because our neck is very delicate, it's very specific to each person."

The right thickness is key because it helps maintain the proper alignment. "As an osteopath, I pay close attention to the body's alignment and recommend holistic solutions to pain prevention and to treat pain and pillows do play a role in pain," says Carlos Cespedes, PhD, of Key West Med Spa. "When you spend a lot of time on your back while sleeping, you'll want a medium-height pillow; if you sleep on your side, you'll want a higher pillow; and if you sleep on your stomach, choose a thinner pillow."

Ultimately, you won't know how your neck really feels about a pillow until you sleep on it. Be sure to check the return policy before you click buy. Ready for a night free of neck pain? Here are the best pillows for neck pain that give you just the right level of support, from memory foam to latex.

Neck Pillow

For a restful and pain-free sleep, Tempur-Pedic has designed a pillow specifically for the neck, featuring its exclusive Tempur material, which is ergonomically contoured to provide proper alignment, support, and comfort. Depending on your body type and sleep preference, you can choose from three sizes and available in three sizes.

Shop Now Neck Pillow tempurpedic.com $119.00

Avocado Molded Latex Pillow

Delivered from restful sleep heaven, the Avocado Molded Latex Pillow is a firm pillow designed to give back and side sleepers the neck support they need. The shape is maintained by a charcoal-infused latex core, which has the bonus of keeping you cool. It comes with a removable and washable cover so you can get more years out of your pillow.

Shop Now Avocado Molded Latex Pillow avocadogreenmattress.com $129.00

The Original

The brand offers a What Pillow is Best For You? quiz where you input a series of specific needs, from the type of sleeper you are (side, back, stomach, combination) to any specific pain points, such as the neck, and whether you like a soft, medium, or firm pillow. The Coop Original Pillow is recommended for neck pain since you can adjust the fill of the pillow yourself to ensure so your neck never feels strained or sore in the morning. You can simply remove the memory foam and microfiber fill or put it back to make the pillow lower or higher to fit your needs.

Shop Now The Original coophomegoods.com $72.00

Original Foam Pillow

When you need a pillow to come through for you when your neck has been aching, the Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow is made of moldable and supportive foam that gives with the curve of your neck. Also, to prevent overheating, this pillow comes with a sweat-wicking graphite layer that draws heat away from your body.

Shop Now Original Foam Pillow $100.00

Organic Latex Molded Pillow

Since sleepers with neck pain need to keep their necks neutral to avoid discomfort, the Organic Molded Latex Pillow by Coyuchi offers medium-firm support thanks to its organic latex insert. Your head sinks comfortably into the pillow's natural spring interior. To create airflow and promote breathability at night, there are tiny holes inside the latex insert.

Shop Now Organic Latex Molded Pillow coyuchi.com $128.00

Foam Pillow

Designed specifically to create ergonomic support for head and neck alignment, the Casper Foam Pillow has supportive inner layers and plush outer layers. The pillow also features a breathable jersey knit layer that helps to keep air circulating for a cooling effect.

Shop Now Foam Pillow casper.com $89.00

Adjustable Cervical Memory Foam Pillow

Cervical support pillows, which often have this butterfly shape, are one of the best kinds you can get for neck support. Kennedy says they're designed to allow the natural curve of the cervical vertebrae, while still supporting your head. (As a bonus, it can help with snoring!)

Shop Now Adjustable Cervical Memory Foam Pillow amazon.com $45.96

NekGenic Cervical Traction Neck Pillow

Although this isn't a pillow in the traditional sense, this neck traction device is a great accessory to help with neck pain. Kennedy suggests lying on it before you go to bed (or anytime during the day) to create space in the cervical vertebrae, which helps restore natural shape to that part of the spine. "It can't just be your pillow that fixes the problem because we're doing all kinds of stuff to our neck all day," Kennedy says. "Particularly looking at screens, whether we're looking down or just extending the head forward, all of that's creating strain." This affordable device can help ease it in a way that helps you rest.

Shop Now NekGenic Cervical Traction Neck Pillow zamatsleep.com $59.99

ChillingQ Pillow

This cooling pillow comes with a gel cover that keeps you cool throughout the night, which is more important than you might realize. "The temperature of your head regulates your core body temperature, so if you're overheating on your head, then it can affect your whole sleep quality," says Kennedy. On top of that, the button at the center creates a divot to cradle your head for good alignment.

Shop Now ChillingQ Pillow ZAMAT $99.00

Long Body Pillow

Holding a body pillow while you sleep is a great way to maintain better alignment throughout the night. The position supports both your upper and lower body at same time. "When you hug a pillow, it keeps your shoulders aligned," Kennedy says. "You're not leaning forward and twisting your thoracic spine when you do that. It's also comforting and soothing to do that."

Shop Now Long Body Pillow amazon.com $69.20

Firm/Extra-Firm Down Alternative Bed Pillow

This great value pillow has a luxurious feel thanks to a down-alternative polyester fill and 350-thread count cotton cover. Its firmness works best for side and back sleep positions, while the fill is great for those who have allergies.

Shop Now Firm/Extra-Firm Down Alternative Bed Pillow homedepot.com $42.97

Allswell Extra Firm Adjustable Memory Foam Standard Bed Pillow

Too high? Too low? The CertiPUR-US Certified memory foam fill in this Allswell pillow can be removed or added depending what your neck needs. The filling comes in a reusable storage bag, so you can test out the pillow over time until youve reached optimal comfort. Also, keeping the pillow clean over time is easy thanks to the removable and machine washable knit cover.

Shop Now Allswell Extra Firm Adjustable Memory Foam Standard Bed Pillow walmart.com $49.96

How Many Pillows Do I Need?

Don't feel the need to cover your bed in pillows. It's important not to overcomplicate your sleep environment. "If you need 15 pillows arranged in some kind of very specific way, then your sleep starts to feel really fragile and not very portable," Kennedy says. "You want to find something that's reasonably simple, but with your body's needs in mind."

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What Pillow Type Is Best For Each Sleep Position?

Stomach Sleepers: This is a trickier position for spinal alignment as it puts pressure on different points in your spine. But we know some people just can't sleep any other way! "If you're a stomach sleeper, your pillow needs to be thinner because otherwise you're extending your neck in a way that hurts both your neck and your lower backunless you put a support under your lower legs or even under your pelvis, which gets to be a little bit elaborate," Kennedy says.

Back Sleepers: This position calls for a pillow with good neck support to keep your airway open throughout the night. "It's really important to have proper neck support because sleeping on your back makes you more vulnerable to changes in the structure of the back of your throat," Kennedy says. "That can contribute to snoring or sleep apnea even."

Side Sleepers: Think about total body alignment when selecting pillows for this position since its easy to sleep in a crooked posture. "You have to think about neck support, whether your shoulder is sort of jammed into the mattress, and then also you have to think about your pelvic alignment," Kennedy says. "It's easy to sleep in kind of a twist, and that can put a lot of strain on your lower back in ways that might start to be bothersome over time."

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The Greek Islands are a bucket-list trip, but if a budget-bending vacation isnt in the cards this year, theres somewhere a lot closer to home that can serve as the perfect stand-in. Tarpon Springs, Florida, located on the Gulf of Mexico just north of Tampa, could easily pass for Mykonos with just a tiny stretch of the imagination. The town got its start when sponge beds were discovered off its coast in the early 1900s. In 1905, Greek sponge divers were brought to the area, and the rest is history. The Greeks and the sponge industry built Tarpon Springs, and a century later, both have remained central to the town. In fact, Tarpon Springs has the largest percent of Greek Americans of any city in the U.S.

When youre squeezing fresh lemon over your chargrilled octopus, while listening to the table next to you animatedly converse in Greek, you might forget where you are. And as you stroll along Dodecanese Boulevard watching boats flying Greek flags pull up to the dock, Florida may be the furthest place from your mind. Growing up, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Mamma Mia! were two of my favorite movies, mostly because I couldnt get enough of the gorgeous Greek villages they took place in. So, when I had the chance to fulfill a few of my Greek vacation dreams right here in the South, I jumped at the opportunity. Heres how to spend a dreamy weekend in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

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The Best Things To Do In Tarpon Springs

Mimic the exhilarating shock of touching down in a foreign land and immersing yourself in a new culture by starting your Tarpon Springs vacation at the Historic Sponge Docks. This was once the center of Tarpon Springs booming sponge industry, and thousands of sponges were delivered to the docks by sponge boats each week. Today, sponge boats pulling up after a dive arent quite as common, but this is still the center of activity in town. Greek restaurants line the bustling streets, gift and souvenir shops sell sponges pulled fresh from the Gulf, and theres always a line outside the many bakeries. Spend time browsing in the 30 specialty shops of outdoor shopping village The Sponge Exchange, take a picture with the sponge smiley outside of Sponge Diver Supply, and buy homemade olive oil soap at Loris Soap & Sponge.



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If youre curious to learn more about Tarpon Springs history and heritage, book a sponge diving boat tour with St. Nicholas Boat Line. Youll cruise around the Anclote River, while owner and Tarpon Springs native George Billiris shares the history of sponge diving in Tarpon Springs and even sends a live diver (dressed in traditional diving equipment) to the ocean floor to retrieve a sponge. A 5-minute drive from the Sponge Docks, you can learn more about Tarpon Springs at two downtown landmarks, the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum and Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, both of which are open to the public. After you visit the museums exhibits, take a stroll around Spring Bayou at Craig Park, which is located just outside the museum. The deep blue waters are the sight of the towns annual Greek Orthodox Epiphany Celebration and cross-diving ceremony.



Tara Massouleh McCay

From the park, you can walk a few blocks and find yourself in the center of downtown Tarpon Springs. You wont see as much Greek influence here, but in its place theres plenty of charm and lots to explore including coffee shops, boutiques, and antique stores. For modern home goods, gifts, and local art, stop into Sunshine Supply Company, or get a hit of nostalgia at Replay Museum, where theres a collection of 100 vintage arcade and pinball games that adults can play all day for $14.

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If your idea of a Greek vacation involves a place in the sand and an uninterrupted view of the ocean, Tarpon Springs can deliver on that as well. Head to Fred Howard Park, a 155-acre natural area thats popular for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and more. Take the mile-long causeway out to the white-sand beach at Howard Park Beach. Set up for the day and enjoy splashing around in the calm waters of the Saint Joseph Sound. If the Atlantic Ocean is calling you deeper offshore, you can take a quick ride to the neighboring town of Dunedin and join a boat tour with Parrotdise Express. The 4-hour excursion will take you to a semi-private island where you can snorkel to see colorful fish, rays, and seahorses. You can also dive for sand dollars, starfish, and shells in every shape, size, and color imaginable.



Tara Massouleh McCay

The Best Places To Eat In Tarpon Springs

The only thing that rivals the views in Greece is the food, and the same is true in Tarpon Springs. Here, youll find some of the most authentic Greek cuisine anywhere off the actual islands. For a crash course in all things Greek dining, put yourself in the capable hands of the Salivaras family, who own Mykonos and Dimitris on the Water. The brother-sister team of Koula and Dimitri took over the family restaurant business from their parents and are committed to serving fresh, high-quality ingredients and traditional recipes. You may have to wait for a seat at Mykonos, but its well worth it for the exceptional chargrilled octopus, dressed simply with a squeeze of lemon, and the flaming saganaki cheese. The portions here are huge, but if youve got a crowd, order the Lamb Fricassee, a caveman-sized lamb shank covered in sauteed endive and swimming in an egg-lemon-dill-sauce.

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Across the street at Dimitris on the Water, youll find a more upscale dining experience with a view of the Anclote River and a menu of steakhouse favorites, as well as updated Greek specialties. Order the Whole Fish of the Day Plaki Style, youll get dinner and a show when a waiter will debone it for you tableside and drizzle it with creamy lemon sauce. There are dozens of other worthy Greek restaurants to check out at the Sponge Docks, but one thats worth deviating from the tourist track for is Katerinas Taverna & Grill. The traditional pork gyro, wrapped up with tomato, onion, tzatziki, and fries, is excellent, as is the Avgolemono (Greek chicken lemon soup).



For traditional Greek sweets, join the all-hours-of-the-day line at Hellas Bakery, where youll have the difficult job of choosing from overwhelming display of Greek pastries and desserts that stretch far beyond baklava. We recommend picking an array, but then snagging a box each of Melomakarona (Greek Christmas honey cookies) and Kourabiedes (Greek shortbread-style butter cookies) to take home.

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Greek food is the ticket in Tarpon Springs, but you absolutely shouldnt leave town without making a reservation at Rusty Bellies, a waterfront restaurant that started as a family fishing business and seafood market. Three generations and three decades later, a table at Rusty Bellies is one of the most sought-after in town. Most of the seafood served at the restaurant is brought in fresh everyday by the familys own fishing and shrimping boats. The portions are gargantuan, and the freshness is unmatched. The menu features everything from seafood tacos and sandwiches to steak and chicken for the seafood averse. Order the E. Sea Rider (grilled shrimp skewers, sea scallops, and your choice of fish) for a taste of it all.



The best breakfast in Tarpon Springs can be found at downtowns Toulas Trailside Cafe. Located along the Pinellas Bike Trail, its a popular spot for hungry riders as well as locals looking for a hearty homemade breakfast or lunch. From sweet and savory crepes to Benedicts, stuffed French toast, and a Greek-inspired scrambler called the Bougiourdi (feta, tomatoes, sweet and hot banana peppers, basil, garlic), youre guaranteed to leave happy.

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If you want to celebrate your pseudo-Greek vacation with a tipple, Tarpon Springs has plenty of places to grab a pint (especially for its size). Options include Two Frogs Brewing Company, Brighter Days Brewing Company, Unrefined Brewing, Sponge City Brewing, and 5 Branches Brewing. Theres also Tarpon Springs Distillery, a retirement project of couple Barry and Lisa Butler that took on a life of its own once their spirits started winning awards. The small-batch artisanal spirits range from a hot and dirty gin distilled with green olives, juniper, coriander, and peppers to rye malt whiskey. The tasting rooms bartenders are endlessly creative, which means your cocktail could feature anything from the traditional Greek liquor ouzo (distilled in house) to aquavit.



Tara Massouleh McCay

The Best Places To Stay In Tarpon Springs

Though its got a big personality, Tarpon Springs remains a small town, so lodging options are somewhat limited. If you want to live like a local, there are several private rentals on Airbnb and Vrbo that can suit anything from a Big Fat Greek Wedding-style family reunion to a getaway for two. Another great option is The 1910 Inn. Located in a seafoam-painted Victorian home with stacked circular porches, the inn is hard to miss. Inside, the homes been restored to its original glory and is filled with one-of-a-kind vintage pieces. Innkeeper Annie Samarkos is a Tarpon Springs native and perfect person to introduce you to her little slice of Greek paradise.

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Britney Spears' sons Jayden and Sean, who live with dad Kevin Federline in Hawaii, are confirmed to be safe amid the Maui wildfires.

Federline's attorney Vincent Kaplan told Page Six that the teens are not affected personally by the deadly fires, but "there's people in the area that are dying and having their homes destroyed, so it's very traumatic."

Kaplan added, "Obviously, right now, everyone is very sad about what's going on there with the fires and the casualties from the fires, but other than the trauma from that, they're very happy to be there."

A source close to Federline also told TMZ that the family isn't directly affected because their rental home, which they moved into two weeks ago, is on a neighboring island.

>>> Sign up for Parade's Trending News newsletter and we'll keep you in the know on the viral pop culture moments and celebrity news everyone is talking about <<<

Multiple wildfires started on the Hawaiian island on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Lahaina, a popular tourist town, has seen the most devastation, with up to 55 people killed and the whole area destroyed.

In a video shared on social media, a Lahaina native showed how apocalyptic the town looks after being ravaged by the fires.

"This is what it looked like earlier on Maui. If you've been to my hometown of Lahaina...I fear it is no longer. I dread what it will look like in the morning. An apocalyptic scene is unfolding due to the fires raging across my island. Please pray for us," read a tweet, which showed footage taken from a boat, showing the town ablaze.

This is what it looked like earlier on Maui. If you've been to my hometown of Lahaina...I fear it is no longer. I dread what it will look like in the morning. An apocalyptic scene is unfolding due to the fires raging across my island. Please pray for us. pic.twitter.com/88V2kjjpyV  HawaiiDelilah  #MauiStrong (@HawaiiDelilah) August 9, 2023

Those who want to offer help to the Maui community can find information on trustworthy charities here.

Next: 'Devastated' Jason Momoa Addresses Tragic Maui WildfiresOther Celebs Also Show Support
Correction: Thomas Giffin is the president of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association. His last name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.

On the southwest side of Elmwood Avenue Cemetery, one of Burlington's oldest cemeteries, sits the modest grave of a George W. Greene.

A simple dyer and motorman who lived and died in Burlington, Greene is arguably more interesting in death than he ever was living. He was certainly no Levi Allen or Timothy Follet, two of Burlington's biggest names who were also laid to rest in the historical site located in the city's Old North End neighborhood.

Greene's claim to intrigue? His tombstone. Despite being born in 1860, less than a year before the start of the Civil War, his burial marker does not have a death date.

George W. Greene, a dyer and a motorman in life, is one of 1700 people buried in Elmwood Avenue Cemetery, which is located on Elmwood Avenue in Burlington's Old North End neighborhood. One of the oldest cemeteries in Burlington, Elmwood is the final resting spot for some of the city's most prominent figures, including Timothy Follet and Levi Allen. The cemetery was once very popular, but reached its maximum capacity by the end of the 19th century. Although Elmwood no accepts burials or cremations, the cemetery remains open to the public for exploration by appointment.

Is it possible that an immortal Greene, perhaps now with a taste for blood and aversion to sunlight, still prowls the streets of Burlington?

A quick search on findagrave.com tells us unsurprisingly that, no, he in fact died in 1948 at the age of 88.

So, why is his death date not recorded on his tombstone?

Although Greene is an anomaly, he is far from the only dead person in this predicament.

Potential explanations

Since Greene was buried next to his mother and uncle, whom both died decades before him, it's likely the family plot and his tombstone were purchased well before his death. That would explain why his birth year is etched onto his gravestone, even if his death date isn't.

"Often people (my grandparents and parents are examples) would have their stones bought and paid for, placed in the cemetery and would have their dates of birth put on their monument," said Thomas Giffin, the president of Vermont's Old Cemetery Association. Giffin has led several clean-up efforts at Elmwood Avenue Cemetery to repair and revitalize aging gravestones.

So what are possible reasons for the lack of a death date?

George W. Greene (right) is buried in Elmwood Avenue Cemetery next to his mother, Mary Ann Richardson Greene (middle), and his uncle, Moses Edgar Greene. Mary Ann died when George was approximately a year old, and Moses (not to be confused with George's grandfather Moses Edgar Green Senior) died almost two decades before George was born. George's daughter Nina May is also buried on the family plot -- albeit with no gravestone. The rest of the Greene family are buried elsewhere, as near as Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington to Florida.

"When there's no death date, there's likely no family left," said Holli Bushnell, Burlington's cemetery assistant. "There's someone to bury him but maybe not to coordinate the engraving on the stone. Family also could have moved away or just never got around to it."

According to records from findagrave.com, ancestory.com and the Burlington Free Press archives, Greene did indeed have few remaining relatives at the time of his passing. Preceded in death by his parents, half-brother and ex-wife, Greene was survived only by his adult daughter and his half-sister, the latter of whom was living outside Vermont with her husband and children by that time.

Greene's daughter, Nina May Greene, never married or had children and remained in Burlington until her own death in 1964 at the age of 73 due to a myocardial infarction  a heart attack. Although she still lived in town when he died, her myriad health conditions  including heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis  and likely meager single income from housekeeping may have prevented her from updating her father's gravestone.

"She had a handful of things wrong with her health-wise when she died," said Thea Lewis, a local historian and author known for her Queen City Ghostwalk tours. "And, she was in her 60s when her father passed, so it might just have been that nobody had the money or energy to deal with finishing the stone."

Giffin concurred. He said when his own grandparents passed, the cost of inscribing their death dates on their tombstones was added to the total cost of the funeral.

"Sometimes that detail is forgotten or maybe the family did not have the funds to have it put on the stone," Giffin said.

Still, Greene's predicament is an outlier.

From her research, Lewis noted that if a gravestone only displays one date, it is almost always the birth date that is left out.

"It's fairly unique that there's so obviously a birth date with no death date," Bushnell said.

What's George W. Greene's story?

George W. Greene was born on Aug. 21, 1860, in Burlington to cigar manufacturer and music teacher Edmund Burke Greene (1939-1929) who would serve in the Union Army in the Civil War and Mary Ann Richardson Greene (1839-1861). Mary Ann died when Greene was approximately a year old.

During the Civil War, which lasted through much of Greene's formative years, Edmund Burke served as a private in the16th Connecticut Infantry in Company B. A Burlington census record from 1870, when Greene was 10 years old, suggests Greene may have been raised by his grandparents, Moses E. Greene (1813-1897) and Louisa R. Proctor Greene (1818-1904), even after Edmund Burke returned from battle. As further evidence for this theory, a Burlington Free Press clipping from 1925 reported that Edmund Burke (who by then lived in Windsor, Connecticut) said he had only visited Burlington once since the Civil War. No records could be found indicating Greene ever lived anywhere other than in Burlington.

In 1864, Greene's father was remarried to Mary Cronin Greene, who gave birth to Greene's half-brother Eugene Holmes Greene roughly two years later in Burlington. The couple and their son had moved to Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, by 1870 at the latest.

Greene married Georgiana Robinson Green (1858-1926) on June 10, 1883. Their only child, Nina May Greene (1886-1964), was born three years later in Burlington when Greene was 25. Nina May won third place in G. S. Blodgett & Co.'s "handsomest babies under two" contest when she was four months old, as documented by the Burlington Free Press.

According to Greene's obituary, he served many years under Thomas Jones as a motorman for the Burlington Traction Co. Before that, he likely worked as a dyer for Wells & Richardson Co. as a youth.

In 1889, Greene's father got hitched a third time to Julia Sophronia Wyart Greene (1863-1936) in Gill, Massachusetts. Later that year, Greene's half-sister Camilla Estelle (1889-1970) was born in Hartford, Connecticut. No records were found indicating what happened to Edmund Burke's second wife, Mary Cronin.

At some point between Nina May's birth and 1900, Greene and Georgiana Robinson got divorced, as evidenced by a Burlington census record from 1900 that also indicates he was only living with his grandmother Louisa R. Proctor and his maternal aunt, Mary Marie Antoinette Richardson (1827-1910) at the time. Georgiana Robinson's 1900 census also states she was divorced and that only Nina May, now age 14, and two female boarders were living with her in Burlington at the time.

However, Georgiana's census records from 1910 and 1920, Georgiana claimed she was widowed, but that would be unlikely because she died before Greene and there are no records indicating she remarried. Greene's death certificate also indicates he was widowed. Due to the time period, it's likely they wrote they were widowed to avoid societal stigma wrought by divorce.

Georgiana Robinson died in 1926 and was buried in Lakeview Cemetery, which is located on the edge of Burlington's New North End neighborhood, with other Robinson family members.

In Dec. 1929, Greene's father died, and Julia Wyart received his Civil War pension. Seven years later, Eugene died.

In his obituary, Edmund Burke was described as "a well-known and highly respected citizen." He and Julia Wyart are buried at Lakeview Cemetery.

George W. Greene's death certificate

Greene died on Nov. 9, 1948, in Burlington at the age of 88 in the Mary Fletcher Hospital due to a posterior myocardial infarction described in his obituary as a "long illness." A city directory from that year shows Nina May had moved in with Greene, likely to take care of his ailing health. Greene's funeral was held on Nov. 12 in Burlington at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, now called the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.

The last of the Greene family, Nina May and Camilla Estelle (who adopted her husband's last name of Eddy), died in 1964 and 1970, respectively.

Her death certificate shows that Nina May was buried with her father in Elmwood Avenue Cemetery, although her grave is not marked with a stone  likely for the same reasons Greene's tombstone lacks a death date.

To make an appointment to visit Elmwood Avenue Cemetery  and possibly the Greene Family  contact Bushnell at 802-863-2075 or hbushnell@burlingtonvt.gov.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Mystery behind Burlington motorman's 19th century grave unraveled
Software engineer Miana Windall has about 25 implants under her skin, ranging from magnets to RFID tech. While that might make your skin crawl if youre squeamish, for the most part, theyre not really noticeable, she told Engadget. At the DEF CON security conference on Thursday, Windall talked about how she became interested in the implants, and her experience programming them for personal use, like scanning into her former office building.

RFID tech powers scannable technology like subway cards or tap to pay. The relatively simple tech was first patented in the 1970s, and body modification dates back millennia. Despite this, RFID implants still havent reached their full potential, and theyre still a gimmick for a lot of people, Windall said. But if you want to go clubbing and not bring a bag, you can buy the right style of lock and implant a sensor that you cant lose to scan in and out of your home.

Still, theyre not magic. Chip implants don't work like Hollywood movies, founder of biohacking and implant service Dangerous Things Amal Graafstra told Engadget. They're not even active or alive or energized when there's no reader that is within a very close proximity

That means the scope of use for RFID implants is pretty limited and its mostly a foundational tech that youd have to be able to hack yourself for it to be useful. There are limited out-of-the-box use cases, like the Tesla keycard implant that lets you start your car, but usually a user has to be able to copy certain key configurations onto it themself. When we sell the transponder, were selling a key but not the lock, Graafstra said. The user has to have some technical savvy to make the lock.

Its helpful to know that before going to a body modification artist or piercer to get one put in, or else you might end up with a chip you cant use. Do your research and make sure what you want as possible before you have surgery, Windall said. Although, Windall herself does have some inactive ones that are harmless to keep under the skin.

Companies are now looking for ways to use RFID implants as security tools, too. Theres an inherent vulnerability associated with RFID tech because it requires access credentials to be open to being stolen. But having those credentials as an implant at least prevents someone from easily stealing your access card or information.

The chances of someone coming along and being able to scan your credential without you knowing about it, it's probably not that high, Windall said. You can't have your hand pickpocketed, at least not without a machete.

Plus as authentication becomes more important to prevent unauthorized account access, these implants could be used to prove your identity. As companies look to replace two-factor authentication with passkeys, putting those credentials under your skin could be possible. Your passkey can be uploaded to a chip implant that can verify your identity, as opposed to a hardware key that could get lost or a text message verification that can be duped, according to Graafstra.

RFID implants dont require FDA approval because theyre not medical devices. While they appear generally safe and secure, there are risk factors to consider, according to professor in the College of Media at the University of Colorado Boulder Harsha Gangadharbatla, PhD.

Consumers should be fully aware of the hidden costs (privacy, risks, and advertising messages) associated with such tech and not just the cost of getting such implants, he said in an email to Engadget.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the news that the ship-to-ship transfer of oil from the FSO Safer, a deteriorating tanker off the coast of Yemen, to a replacement vessel has been safely concluded on Friday, his spokesman said.

The removal of oil from the Safer avoided what could have been "a monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman For Guterres, said in a statement.

Guterres reaffirmed the UN's commitment to successfully complete this project, including through the delivery of a specialized buoy to which the replacement vessel will be safely and securely tethered, Haq said.

"Additional funding will be needed to finish the project and remove any remaining environmental threat to the Red Sea," he said.

Haq noted that "the secretary-general urges donors to contribute funds at this crucial time to conclude this operation."

The Safer tanker was originally constructed as a supertanker in 1976 and later converted to a floating storage and offloading facility (FSO) for oil. After years of neglect because of civil conflict, the FSO Safer is on the brink of breaking up, raising concerns about a potential oil spill that could wreak havoc on the fragile marine ecosystem and exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.

According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the cargo of oil aboard the FSO Safer has been pumped onto the replacement vessel, named MOST Yemen, in a ship-to-ship transfer that began on July 25, 2023.

As much of the 1.14 million barrels has been extracted as possible. However, less than 2 percent of the original oil cargo remains mixed in with sediment that will be removed during the final cleaning of the Safer, the UNDP said.

"There is still work to be done, but today we can say with confidence that the immediate threat of a spill has been averted," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a press release.

"Today is a great milestone," said David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, who has led UN system-wide efforts on the Safer since September 2021.

"A remarkable global coalition came together under the UN umbrella to prevent the worst-case scenario of a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea. We need to finish the work the UN started," Gressly said. 
There's some concern for the state of Massachusetts following the news of Dunkin's new spiked iced coffees.

As we all know, America runs on Dunkin'but no locale more than Boston loves its morning Dunks, nor a good night out on the town. When you combine the two? Let's just say, outsiders looking in are a little nervous for what's to come, with one Twitter user dramatically suggesting that the entire state "will not survive" the new product.

It's "what actually happened to Boston in The Last of Us," one person jokingly replied, referring to the post-apocalyptic video game and HBO series that begins in Boston 20 years after a fungal outbreak turned the bulk of the world into zombie-like creatures.

going to the grocery store anyone want anything pic.twitter.com/VYsMH6cf8W  Dr.Sigma Freud, PhD (@yurimoding) August 11, 2023

"going to the grocery store anyone want anything?" another reply asked, including a gif from the Fallout video gamesa post-nuclear fallout series, the fourth of which takes place in the Boston area.

Similar imaginings followed suit:

this photo of Harvard Square was taken 48 hours after the Dunkin spiked coffee dropped pic.twitter.com/qi5JzGuce3  Sam Haft (@SamHaft) August 11, 2023

Boston after the spiked Dunkin' is released pic.twitter.com/EhS4yF3S5H  Julia Claire (@ohJuliatweets) August 11, 2023

Residents aren't too concerned about the internet's implications, though.

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"I swear to god I just saw the roof of the Massachusetts State House split in half to shoot a golden beacon of light into the sky," one joked, with others comparing it to the once-dubbed "blackout in a can" Four Loko, which local colleges issued warnings about before it was reformulated.

I swear to god I just saw the roof of the Massachusetts State House split in half to shoot a golden beacon of light into the sky https://t.co/czaXN20Fp2  Cant stop putting bionicle pieces in my mouth (@doulbedoink) August 10, 2023

It's "the New England version of a Four Loko," one tweet suggested, while another called it their "religion."

the New England version of a Four Loko https://t.co/CmBE8aIjv4  Amy  (@birbstille) August 10, 2023

Another assured everyone that residents would be just fine, suggesting that half of them are already pouring "a sleeve of whipped cream flavored Smirnoff nips" into their beverages each day.

half the state is already consuming their Dunkin with a sleeve of whipped cream flavored Smirnoff nips every day. its gonna be fine https://t.co/MbcKYxQQRp  Magdalene J. Taylor (@magdajtaylor) August 10, 2023

Others also jumped to the defense of Bostonians:

People are overestimating the impact Spiked Dunkin will have on Boston because they're underestimating how many Bostonians are already spiking their Dunkin right now.  Strike Lee (@BostonJerry) August 11, 2023

people see the dunkin donuts spiked coffee drinks and think it will destroy boston from within, but real ones know it legitimately has a chance of bringing peace upon the city  todd bonzalez (@doinkpatrol) August 10, 2023

Some also took a moment to point out the missed opportunity in naming the new offerings "Drunkies," "Drunkin'," or "Pumpkin Spiked Lattes," but it's not too late for a rebrand!

Next: Rebel Wilson Updates Fans Following On-Set Injuries
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Heres how the shows production team outfitted the captains kitchen.

Paramount

By episode two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramounts latest entry in the iconic franchise, we learn that the captain of the Enterprise, Christopher Pike, is a cookand an accomplished one at that. Children of the Comet opens with a party hosted in the captain's private quarters. He greets his guests in a heavy duty denim apron with leather accents and a glistening rack of ribs displayed in the kitchen, which he occasionally seasons with barbecue sauce using a basting mop. In the Star Trek universe, where most meals are replicated using futuristic technology similar to 3D printing, food prepared by scratch is an outlier.

To make this aspect of his character feel realistic, the shows production team went to great lengths to curate cooking tools that reflect Pikes history and personality. Before joining the Enterprise, Pike lived on a ranch in Montana, and Jim Murray, the prop master for both seasons of the show, says over the phone that this location inspired most of the kitchen products he used on set.

Paramount

Its very rustic and earthy, with lots of wood and leather, Murray says of the tone he was trying to set with Pikes kitchen tools. It was all about the cowboy vibe.

In one scene in Children of the Comet, for instance, you see the ships engineer, Hemmer, chopping carrots on a thick walnut cutting board. Murray also employed a leather pouch (typically visible in the background of several kitchen-centric scenes) to hold Pikes knives, which he says the character would have collected on his many adventures around the galaxy.

Paramount

Pike also would have brought all his cast iron cookware from his Montana ranch on board the Enterprise. Tanya Osmond, a food stylist on season two of Strange New Worlds, says that it was important to include cast iron in Pikes repetitore because it's versatile cookware that can be used forever and eventually passed down to another generation of cooks.

Murray agrees that Pike would love cast iron, and even pointed to Lodge as one brand he might use. In fact, you can clearly see a cast iron wok in Children of the Comet. Its timeless  even in the future you would be using it. It tells the story of what it does. So we used a lot of cast iron with a sprinkle of futuristic stuff in there, Murray says.

Paramount

When Pike cooks, he likes to create a family atmosphere, Murray explains. Its a communal space where everyone can gather and talk. And that spirit of community and togetherness comes through in the warm, well-loved cooking gear Pike uses on the show.

Pike is definitely someone who likes to gather people together, Osmond says. Characters who share intimate conversations over scratch-made meals make a show that can sometimes feel alien, just a little bit more relatable.

Here, we found five products inspired by Captain Pikes kitchen on Strange New Worlds. Now you too can outfit your kitchen in Star Trek-approved space cowboy style.

Lodge 14-Inch Seasoned Cast Iron Wok

Amazon

$90

$50

Buy on Amazon

Made in USA Walnut Wood Cutting Board

Amazon

$85

Buy on Amazon

Cuisinart Cast Iron Basting Pot and Brush

Amazon

$25

$20

Buy on Amazon

Hudson Durable Goods 8 Pocket Knife Roll

Amazon

$26

Buy on Amazon

Hedley and Bennett Essential Apron

Hedley & Bennett

$85

Buy on hedleyandbennett.com

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Smartwatches are ugly. It's the one fault that I always hear from watch people, as well as people with certain luxury tastes. We know a few things about watches (and luxury) here at Esquire, and most of us are bearish on smartwatchesmostly down to how they look. But I'm making an exception for Samsung's new Watch Classic, which after one generation, two years away, has been brought back to life in the form the Galaxy Watch6 Classic.

I went to the brand's big Galaxy Unpacked event in the Seoul, South Korea back in July. I saw a lot of product, but the Watch6 Classic was the one thing I came home really excited about. The Watch4 Classic was good, but it wasn't perfect. If Samsung could just pair a great smartwatch with a more traditional timepiece look, they'd have this market cornered.

Well, did they do it this time? I say yes. If you want an Android smartwatch, this is the one I'd go with. It's as good as we've ever gotten in a package that looks like this. But there are, as always, some things that could be improved on.

Shop Now Galaxy Watch6 Classic $399.99 amazon.com

Let me start with the good. I've already given it away, but Watch6 Classic looks really, really good. It's the best looking smartwatch out there, bar none. Maybe Montblanc's smartwatch beats it on looks, but currently it's a ways off on smartwatch functionality so not a competitor. As far as the Big Three smartwatch brands gowelcome to the club, Google Pixelthis is as good looking as it gets. That alone puts it at the top of my list.

First is the face. I really enjoyed it with the Always On feature, which makes it feel like more of a real watch, not black hole on your wrist. It's not a new feature, but the Classic-specific face looks a lot cleaner than the standard options, so it does feel fresh. With Always On running, the watch is supposed to have around 30 hours of battery life, which I found to be about right. I never ran it to death, but there was enough juice the one time I went morning-to-morning without charging. It's a huge upgrade on the previous Samsung watches that are known for having bad battery life.

That said, the battery was the biggest technical upgrade. Samsung added cloud storage, which was a big plus. It also touted a revamped health monitoring system, which can run an EKG in the background and give you an AFib notification. All useful stuff, but ultimately pretty standard on smartwatches. I just kept being drawn to the design of the watch, the looks and the tactile touches.

Chief among those tactile touches is the rotating bezel. God, it's so good. Instead of swiping a tiny screen, you can scroll with clockwise and counter-clockwise turns of the bezel. The clicks are satisfying, and I found myself using it as much as the watch would allow. It's a small touch, but one that makes the watch feel a lot more tactile, a lot more real.

Generally that's where the Watch6 Classic shines. The bezel is nice and tactile. The standard band features a decent faux-leather, and there will surely be nicer options from Samsung and other third-party sellers later in the release cycle. The design of the face is prettier. It feels infinitely more real, more analog, than any other smartwatch, and it looks whole lot better, too.

Samsung

As what didn't excite me, it's really down to the difficulty of cross-brand usage. First and foremost, you can't use it with an iPhone. This is an existential tech issue though, not a Samsung one. No Android watches are compatible with iPhones, so I'm just wishing here. That said, Samsung isn't totally blameless. I borrowed a friend's Google phone to try and pair the watch, and setup a lot more difficult than with a Samsung device. Instead of a few seamless taps, it was a handful of apps and a couple minute-long load screens. Google's Pixel Watch, on the other hand, is pretty seamless regardless of the phone used.

Beyond that... I didn't dislike anything about the watch, but I'm easy to convince. Samsung brought back the best looking smartwatch on the market, slimmed it down a bit, and improved the battery life. I'm sold. But they're playing a dangerous game relying solely on looks. As far as Android watches go, the first Google Pixel Watch, which released October 2022, was an incredible debut. The Pixel Watch 2 is rumored to release around the same time in 2023. If Google seriously improves on its first iteration, Samsung is going to get a run for its money.

But like I said, this is Esquire. I'm in it for looks and luxury, tech specs come second. Right now, Samsung has this market of good looking smartwatches cornered. So unless an unexpected competitor pops up the Watch6 Classic is going to be the best looking and most satisfying to use smartwatch of the year. If you're an Android user, this is the only smartwatch I'd recommend wholeheartedly.

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Cost-cutting moves at Hanesbrands include shipping a few hundred U.S. jobs offshore.

After a review of global operations, the North Carolina-based clothing company made several structural changes to take costs out of the business, CEO Stephen Bratspies told Wall Street analysts during Hanesbrands quarterly conference call Thursday morning.

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We reorganized and relocated approximately 250 corporate roles to leverage our talent pools outside the U.S., standardized processes, and reduced expenses by approximately $15 million, he said.

A spokesperson declined to comment on which roles are affected by the shakeup.

Hanesbrands, which enacted another round of layoffs earlier this year, this week found itself in the crosshairs of an activist investor who wants the legacy firm to install new leadership, pay down debt and slash inventory. Reporting on second-quarter results, Bratspies said Hanesbrands cut inventory 12 percent from a year ago, unlocking $255 million in working capital.

The CEO went on to say that the Champion owner is actively looking at opportunities to enhance shareholder value.

This includes options to address our debt to further simplify the business and to accelerate revenue growth and margin improvement, Bratspies said.

In another move aimed at trimming expenses, Hanesbrands will no longer lay claim to domestic cut-and-sew operations when the Arkansas hosiery factory it runs in Clarksville shuts down next month. The employer of 68,000 in more than 40 countries said it would support the roughly 230 affected workers through the transition.

Click here to read the full article.
Wildfires raged through Maui, Hawaii, last week, devastating the islands communities.

According to local officials, more than 96 people are confirmed dead from multiple blazes, fueled by high winds from Hurricane Dora.

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Much of the devastation has been centered in the town of Lahaina on the western shore of the island. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has said the fire that razed the area could be considered the worst natural disaster in the states history, leaving thousands homeless and leveling at least 1,000 buildings.

Efforts to support the survivors and their recovery have already begun in earnest. Oprah Winfrey, a part-time resident of Maui, was spotted on Aug. 10 distributing pillows, blankets and other necessities at the War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, which is being used as a shelter. And Lauren Sanchez, partner to Jeff Bezos, who owns property on the island, shared on social media that the pair will create a fund to donate $100 million toward the recovery.

In the footwear community, Ryan Ringholz, founder and CEO of Plae, which is based in Honolulu, told FN hed received a personal request for help providing slippers or shoes to survivors. Through a neighbor, he was told that busloads of people are coming in with nothing on their feet, at Maui hospitals and shelters.

Ringholz said Plae is working to pull together what it can, but he welcomed assistance from others in the industry. The brand also announced on Aug. 11, it is matching its any customer donations of Plae Rewards points, with all proceeds going directly to the Hawaiian Community Foundations Maui Strong Fund.

Footwear charity Soles4Souls is mobilizing its efforts as well. Chief marketing officer Rod Arnold told FN on Aug. 11, We are currently working with our established partners on the ground in Hawaii to assess the need and determine how we can help.

OluKai has been focused on the crisis in Maui since news emerged of its terrible impact. On Aug. 9, the footwear brand donated 100 percent of proceeds from its website and stores stores that day to go toward emergency and relief efforts. And its charitable arm, the Ama OluKai Foundation, is now focusing its donations toward Maui (OluKai matched the first $200,000 in gifts to the foundation).

As this fight is far from over, we are working with teams on the ground to determine the most immediate, intermediate and long-term needs, and setting up our Ama OluKai Foundation to take direct donations, the brand wrote on Instagram on Aug. 12.

Skechers, which lost its store in the Maui Outlets due to the fire, announced on Aug. 12, it would donate $250,000 to the Maui Strong Fund to support the recovery of affected communities. It also plans to distribute 20,000 pairs of footwear and 20,000 pieces of apparel, in addition to backpacks and socks, from its stores in Hawaii as well as its distribution center in Southern California. And its employees stateside are mobilizing to assist with essentials such as blankets, towels, undergarments and toiletries, in partnership with leaders in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and other local businesses.

Other retailers with stores the Maui Outlets included Adidas, Crocs, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, Coach, Kate Spade, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Hurley, Tommy Bahama and Michael Kors.

In a statement sent to FN, Crocs said: Our hearts go out to those affected by the devastating wildfires continuing to burn in Maui, including our dedicated employees at our Crocs brand retail locations across the island.  As the safety and well-being of our employees is a top priority, we are offering housing assistance and necessary support to any employees who have been impacted by this tragedy.



Additionally, in effort to provide immediate and ongoing support to impacted families and communities, Crocs, Inc. will provide shoes and is making a monetary donation to the Hawaii Community Foundations Maui Strong Fund, the brand said.

Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, Patagonias global movement, issued a statement on Aug. 11. urging the fashion industry to see the wildfires as a wakeup call.

This has been a summer full of signals that climate change is not a future threat, its now; its heart wrenching as we see the devastation of ecosystems and communities all around us. We are leaning into our community of action as a way to both support each other and keep working toward a healthier future, Williams said in the statement.

As part of the statement, she shared a list of local organizations in Hawaii that have been vetted for donations by 1% for the Planet, including Hawaii Community Foundation, Aloha United Way, American Red Cross Hawaii, Maui Food Bank, World Central Kitchen, Salvation Army Hawaii and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

This article has been updated to reflect new developments related to the Maui wildfires.

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The denim industry wants to know where their cotton comes from, according to the results of a Kingpins poll.

In July, the denim trade show organizer polled the industry about transparency. Some 99 people responded, according to Andrew Olah, show founder and CEO. All respondents said they care about data and knowing where the cotton comes from. They all likewise said they would endorse having a garment tag that gave the whole story, in a unanimous vote for transparency.

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The recent poll had eight questions with few respondents passing on any of them. They ranged from whether industry professionals cared about environmental data on products they buy, or sustainability information like CO 2 , water and energy use on garments.

Some 75 percent of respondents said they felt it was their human right to know how cotton was grown, particularly in denim. Respondents were almost evenly divided on whether the exact plot the cotton came from had to be identified, roughly 52 percent saying no, not necessary, while roughly 48 percent said yes, theyd want to be that specific.

Olah keeps banging the transparency drum, gathering information despite the fact that full-transparency U.S. cotton already exists in the form of Fibermax, has existed since 2007, and that he was instrumental in its genesis.

Focus groups in Portland, Maine, and Milwaukee, in 2008, confirmed that made in U.S.A. cotton had a higher perceived value. The fact that Fibermax, renamed e3, is languishing in marketing limbo is nothing but a transparency failure, in Olahs view. Responses to Kingpins survey indicate that it could be a success if market forces turned in its favor.

The response to the survey may have come in response to Olahs founders letter published in July, where he outlined the trajectory of e3 and where it stands today. It started with Fibermax, a seed, he wrote, that changed the life of Texas farmers. According to Olah, this seed allowed for optimal tracing from each farm and each plot within the farm, it promised transparency from seed to bale and could demonstrate continuous environmental improvement.

Despite all that, e3 could never win approval as suitable for Better Cotton and got rejected every time it was submitted. According to Olah, Australian and Brazilian farms and farmers were accepted, despite 99.9 percent of those farms having no data whatsoever. At the same time, some cotton branded Fibermax was found not to be pure Fibermax product but a mix of it with other cottons. This was what led Bayer Cropscience, which owned it, to develop a verification system.

Olah asserts that the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is aware that Better Cotton is not implementing a program of full transparency or plot-by-plot environmental data and turns a blind eye.

He asks how the industry can ever realize the goal of being fully sustainable if major players know what to do but dont do it. Cellulose factories have all their data available, but 99 percent of cotton sold does not, he said. How can cotton compete? Cotton farmers are being taken advantage of by those who dont play fair.

On behalf of the Transformers Foundation, which he founded in 2020, and armed with the recent poll results, Olah aims to achieve full industry transparency by 2028.

Click here to read the full article.
The pint-sized outfits were crocheted by NICU nurses.

Saint Francis Hospital - Memphis

The smallest patients at a Memphis hospital recently dressed up in celebration for Elvis Week, and the photos have us all shook up.

NICU patients at Saint Francis Hospital paid homage to the King of Rock and Roll this week by donning bejeweled leisure suits, black wigs with sideburns, and a whole lot of bling.

Saint Francis Hospital - Memphis

Dressing the babies up for Elvis Weeka first for the Tennessee hospitalwas the idea of NICU nurse manager Maggie Dibble.

Elvis Week, an annual week-long pilgrimage to Graceland attended by fans from around the world, spans from August 9 - 17.

Saint Francis Hospital - Memphis

We dress the babies up for a number of other holidays and thought, Why not Elvis Week? she explained.

The pint-size Elvis costumes were made possible by several current and former NICU nurses, who volunteered to crochet the costumes and props. They even recreated Elvis and Priscilla's 1973 wedding photos.

Saint Francis Hospital - Memphis

Everyone on the NICU team has gotten into this, Dibble said in a statement. One of our neonatologists, who loves to take photographs as a hobby, volunteered to photograph the babies, and all our staff from the nurses to the respiratory therapists have had a hand in dressing the babies up. It makes such a special and fun memory for the parents and is a wonderful nod to a figure who is such a part of Memphis music history.



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Elcielo has already received a Michelin star for its Miami location (as well as its Washington, D.C., outpost). And now the Colombian restaurant is trying its hand at a second restaurant in the 305.

The chef Juan Manuel Barrientos Valencia, known as Juanma, has just opened an Elcielo at the SLS South Beach, as the spot aims to expand its international reach. Unlike the other locations, this one will offer an a la carte menu, as an alternative to the $258 menu served at the first Miami outpost. Some classic dishes will still be available, alongside those unique to the SLS dining room.

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Corn Caviar

We are thrilled to bring our second Elcielo Miami location to the beautiful SLS South Beachan iconic destination recognized for its exceptional dining offerings and dynamic atmosphere, Juanma said in a statement. Known for its opulent style and world-class guest experience, this property provides the perfect backdrop for Elcielos expansion.

Among the offerings will be decadent truffle bunuelos (a type of Latin American donut) with torched foie gras and crab empanadas with Caribbean spices. Guava BBQ pork ribs come served with smoked vegetable rice and pickled radishes; ceviche gets a fruity kick from passionfruit milk; and roasted quail is stuffed with mushrooms and guanciale. The Tree of Life, found on the other locations tasting menu, is a made-for-social-media combination of cassava, cheese, and basil. And while there may be no Chocotherapy on the menu, there is the traditional Colombian meringue-based dessert merengon, made with the spirit Aguardiente.

Ceviche

After first opening in Colombia (with locations in Medellin and Bogota), Juanma opened the original Elcielo Miami in 2015. It received a Michelin star in Floridas first-ever Michelin Guide in 2022 and retained its ranking this year. The Washington, D.C., location, which opened in 2020, garnered a Michelin star in 2021, making it the first Colombian restaurant abroad to receive that honor, according to the restaurant.

We are delighted to welcome Elcielo as our esteemed partner in delivering an extraordinary dining experience to our guests, Simon Sorpresi, the area vice president for SLS South Beach, said in a statement. We are excited to embark on this culinary journey together and create unforgettable moments for our discerning guests.

Thats the goal even without the chocolate hand bath.

Click here to see all the images of Elcielo.

A selection of dishes from the restaurant

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Back in June, Montana homeowner Jamie Goguen shared a series of photos that showed an enormous grizzly bear tearing up her 6-foot tall generator shed. A biologist estimated the bear's weight at nearly 1,000 pounds, and the pictures quickly went viral on social media. Now, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) has teamed up with Goguen to equip the shed with electric fencing that's designed to the deter the over-sized bruin from making any future visits.

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In an August 7 Facebook post, FWP said the bear that roughed up Goguen's shed is a breeding-age male that's been frequenting her property for years. The shed is used to house her gas-powered generator. It contained no food or other common attractants that would typically draw in a wandering grizz, the agency said.

"Bears are often curious about wood stains/oils/varnishes/shellacs and other outdoor treatments and will readily chew and rub on these treated woods," FWP wrote on Facebook. "Once a scent post is created, other bears traveling in the area will rub in the same spot to make their presence known."

The series of photos that prompted FWP to electrify Goguen's shed are truly staggering. One shows the grizzly reaching up to rip down a piece of facia board with its immense claws. In another, the animal stands up on its haunches to scratch its back against the shed while its pumpkin-like head towers above the roof. A final photo shows the bruin lying down at the base of the shed next to a pile of shredded boards.

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At first glance, it looks like one of the giant coastal brown bears that inhabit southwest Alaska. FWP wildlife management specialist Justine Valeries estimated the grizzly's weight at somewhere between 700 and 800 pounds. On average, male grizzlies in Montana tend to weigh roughly 400 to 500 pounds.

Read Next: Grizzly Bear Mauls Surveyor in Wyoming Backcountry

Goguen's shed is located on Montana's eastern front, where the state's rolling prairies collide with the towering peaks of the northern Rocky Mountains. According to FWP, grizzlies began returning to the area in 2020 when a lone bear was spotted in the community of Big Sandy. That sighting represented the "farthest expansion east of known grizzly bear movement" in Montana in modern times, the agency said in a press release.
The Sourcing at Magic trade show in Las Vegas this week drew exhibitors from across the globe, signaling a full return to in-person browsing and buying on the expos 20th anniversary.

The trade events footprint reached more than 200,000 square feet this August, up from about 112,000 square feet in February. The show drew over 1,600 exhibitorsits largest turnout yet, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers.

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The Sourcing event has undergone both growth and transformation over the course of two decades. It has evolved, and we will continue to evolve into the future, vice president of Sourcing at Magic at Informa Markets Fashion Andreu David said. The focus is responding to the marketlistening and addressing the needs of our audience.

When it comes to sourcing relationships, Buyers have become more in tune with what their true needs are, and theyre much more focused in what theyre looking for, David said. Where brands were once almost entirely driven by capacity and cost when developing partnerships, their checklists now prioritize social and environmental performance. Sustainability legislation, the UFLPA and tariffs are also contributing to the evolving mindset, David said.

Notably, for the first time since the health crisis abated and global Covid travel restrictions relaxed, Chinese mills and manufacturers made up the vast majority of exhibitors. China was in lockdown for several years, and their exhibitors are hungry to get back to business, David said. With the countrys export volumes down and its economy edging toward deflation, vendors, (along with Chinas government, which subsidized participation) were eager to recapture market share at the event.

China-based exhibitors made up a majority of exhibitors at the show this week.

Governments and trade associations from across the globe help make participation possible for most vendors, David added. Bangladesh, Turkey, India, Pakistan and Vietnam were all strongly represented, along with several African nations and South American countries like Peru and Colombia. Meanwhile, Central American suppliers, along with Mexico, have been hindered from attending by a lack of such support. David said he believes buyers came to the show this week looking for diversity, especially small-to-medium size enterprises looking to scale.

Todays event offers more opportunities for connection than it did in its earliest days, when it drew just several hundred manufacturers to a corner of the Magic showroom floor called the Sourcing Zone. The phasing out of import quotas under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing in 2005 liberalized global textile trade among WTO members, and gave more nations greater incentive to attend the show, organizers said.

The development also marked the start of Chinas competitive rise in the textile and apparel sourcing spacea trend that has continued until the present day. Outreach to governments and industry associations across the world has also continued as show runners seek to strike a balance in representation, and offer buyers more options.

Buying and selling are also no longer the events sole focus. Since taking the reins in 2019, David said he has been committed to providing more education surrounding sustainability and carving out a domain for retail technology, both areas that brands and retailers have been prioritizing heavily in recent seasons. Weve moved sustainability to the forefront, transporting the shows Sustainability section from the back of the Sourcing hall to the entrance, accounting for more than 6,000 square feet of event space.

The Sustainability Gallery at the Sourcing show.

Three years ago, the show brought on Hey Social Good, a social impact analytics firm that assesses and verifies businesses efforts surrounding social impact and sustainability, as a partner. Spearheaded by founder and CEO Cindy J. Lin, the integration of sustainability content began with the creation of a Sustainability Gallery which showcased the work of suppliers vetted by the organization, from textile mills to material innovators, cut-and-sew operations and other artisans.

In its early seasons, the area represented a resource for conscious buyers looking for sustainable sourcing, but its mission has grown as issues surrounding social and environmental compliance have become a part of everyday industry discussions. While about a dozen verified suppliers were featured in the first Sustainable Alternatives gallery, that number has more than doubled to 30, Lin said. Suppliers that invest in areas like circularity, green energy and material innovation want to stand out from a pack of thousands and attract brands that are willing to invest in what they have to offer. Undergoing verification by Hey Social Good has help put them in front of the right buyers, Lin said.

The show has also invested in creating a platform specifically for discussions with brands and innovators, as well as compliance-focused organizations and educational institutions. This week, panels focused on designing for circularity, sustainable fibers, end of life solutions for apparel, and more. Lin said she believes engaging with both buyers and suppliers through these talks has led to greater understanding about the need for sustainable advancement in the supply chain and the importance of investment on the brand side. Were seeing more educated questions, she added.

A student project inspired by True Religion's classic designs.

Spaces for emerging designers have also been integrated into the Sourcing experience, including a sewing and draping workshop hosted by experts from the Garment Learning Studio, Fashion & Trade Academy, Viking Sewing Gallery and Ragfinders of California. Nearby, nine alumni of Otis College of Art and Design showcased their final projects. Students were mentored by industry experts from labels like Nike and True Religion, and some were tasked with developing capsules inspired by the brands using upcycled scrap materials. A key pillar of our event is entrepreneurship, David said.

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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The high-stakes oil transfer from a decaying tanker off the coast of war-torn Yemen has been safely concluded, the United Nations announced Friday, avoiding what the global body warned could have been a devastating environmental catastrophe.

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement that the two-week-long ship-to-ship operation to pump more than 1 million barrels of crude oil from the dilapidated FSO Safer tanker to a temporary storage vessel was finished successfully on Friday.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the news that the ship-to-ship transfer of oil from the FSO Safer to the Yemen replacement vessel has been safely concluded today, avoiding what could have been a monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe," the statement said.

Haq said the UN chief thanked the Yemeni authorities for their support and expressed his gratitude to the many countries, companies and individuals who contributed funds to avert disaster.

But he noted additional funding is still needed to remove the empty Safer tanker and eliminate any remaining environmental threats.

The FSO Safer, marooned off the port of Hodeidah since 2015, had been a ticking time bomb containing approximately 1.1 million barrels of oil. As the vessel's condition continued to deteriorate, concerns escalated regarding the potential for a devastating oil spill, which the UN warned could surpass the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in scale.

The ship-to-ship transfer from the decaying FSO Safer to a replacement tanker, the Yemen, began on July 25, 2023. 
Historic Lahaina, a town on Maui's west coast, has been destroyed in the devastating wildfires that have burned across the island this week.

Lahaina is a "place where the past is present," David Aiona Chang, a professor and Native Hawaiian historian at the University of Minnesota, told the Washington Post. "Native Hawaiians, were very emphatic that were not giving up on that  our culture is still alive, our language is still alive  and that makes Lahaina very important to us."

Print Collector - Getty Images

Lahaina's history mirrors that of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kaniela Ing, who founded Our Hawaii and is seventh-generation Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiian), tells NBC News. Ing explains, "If you start from one end of Front Street and walk to the other end, its like a physical timeline of the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom. You can actually see the flow in the buildings stemming back 150 or more years. Its remarkable and just the thought that that history may have been lost in this fire or any bit of that history is heartbreaking."

Before the unification of Hawaii, Lahaina was the royal capital of Maui. In 1795, Lahaina was conquered by Kamehameha I, and established the town as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaiieven before the unification of the Hawaiian islands.

Print Collector - Getty Images

According to Lahaina's official history, "In 1802, King Kamehameha made Lahaina the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He built a brick palace there, along with residences and other royal buildings, and Lahaina served as the center of the Hawaiian government for over 50 years, until permanently relocating to Honolulu for its harbor."

While it was the capital, Hawaiian kings and queens attended Wainee Church (now Waiola Church). Buried in the graveyard there include Queen Keopuolani (King Kamehameha I's wife), King Kaumualii, Queen Kalakua, Princess Nahienaena, Governor Hoapili, and Governess Liliha.

Lahaina served as a whaling port and fishing town, making it a global trade destination. "When the whaling industry got established and they pushed out subsistence fishing, there were protests on construction pretty much every step of the way," Ing said. "Our ancestors, especially Native Hawaiians fought them every step of the way. Front Street is also a reminder of that history of resistance."

In 1873, Sheriff William Owen Smith planted an Indian banyan tree, where Kamehameha's first palace was located. However, Smith, the son of missionaries, didn't plant it for royal reasons, but rather "to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina," according to the town's history.

Peter Bischoff - Getty Images

Fires have reportedly damaged the old banyan tree. In addition, The Baldwin Home Museum in Lahaina, which is the oldest house in Maui, Waiola Church, and numerous other historic structures have been damaged or destroyed in the wildfires.

Banyan Tree in Lahaina smoldering at the base, but still standing. Just about the only thing left, other than the Lighthouse. pic.twitter.com/t0lGeOwY2H  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 10, 2023

Fifty-five people have died so far, and hundreds more are missing. Looking for ways to donate and show your support? A full guide to how to help, right here.

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After more than four years as Macys first chief supply chain officer, Dennis Mullahy has left the company, according to his LinkedIn acsount. Macys confirmed to Sourcing Journal that his last day was July 14. The companys supply chain organization is now led by Bryan Riviere, senior vice president, supply chain sourcing; Sandra Han, senior vice president, supply chain integrated planning; and Sean Barbour, senior vice president, supply chain strategy and product flow. They will report to Adrian Mitchell, chief operations officer and chief financial officer.

Adrienne Lazarus

J.Crew Group named Adrienne Lazarus president of Madewell, effective next month. She will report to Libby Wadle, J.Crew Group CEO.

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Most recently, Lazarus served as co-CEO of Cuup, a direct-to-consumer intimates brand, and a senior advisor at McKinsey & Company, leveraging her expertise in the retail, wholesale and digital sectors to drive growth and business transformation for the firms retail and apparel clients.

Brands

Christopher Hufnagel

Wolverine Worldwide terminated CEO Brendan Hoffman without cause, the company announced this week. He also resigned as director of the company. Effective immediately, the board of directors appointed Christopher Hufnagel, president of Wolverine, as president, CEO and a member of the board.

Hufnagel joined the company in 2008 and has served in leadership roles across the organization. Before being named president in May, he was president of the companys active group, responsible for Merrell, Saucony, Chaco, the kids group and global licensing. Prior to joining Wolverine, he held senior leadership roles at Under Armour, Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Canada Goose announced the voting results from its annual shareholders meeting on Aug. 4. Michael D. Armstrong, Joshua Bekenstein, Jodi Butts, Maureen Chiquet, Ryan Cotton, John Davison, Stephen Gunn, Dani Reiss and Belinda Wong were the nominees for election as directors. Davison, currently an independent director, was appointed to the position of lead director of Canada Goose, replacing Chiquet. Davison will also serve as the chair of the audit committee.

Topo Designs

Colorado outdoor brand Topo Designs has named Matt Williams as CEO. Williams, who previously served as the companys chief operating officer, succeeds co-founder Mark Hansen. The transition is effective immediately, with Hansen retaining his involvement on Topo Designs board of directors, supporting growth initiatives such as retail expansion and forging wholesale partnerships.

Technology

Stord

Cloud-based supply chain technology company Stord announced that Melanie Kalemba joined the companys board as an independent director. She has an extensive background in e-commerce and logistics software, bringing with her a wealth of experience in those areas as well as OMS systems. Kalemba has previously served as general manager, Americas, for Amazon Pay and as SVP, global sales and channels, at BigCommerce.

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Todd Snyder has made the jump to Miami.

As part of his plan to add 15 stores in major U.S. markets, the New York-based designer has opened a 2,700-square-foot store at Miamis Bal Harbour Shops. This brings his store count to 14.

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Weve taken our time expanding outside the New York Metro market and have been very strategic when choosing new locations by carefully assessing each city and where our key demographic is more apt to shop, Snyder said. Weve spent a lot of time growing our customers here and know there is still an endless opportunity to attract a fresh new audience locally and internationally. Bal Harbour Shops is a retail institution and we are honored to join the ranks of other premier luxury brands here.

The Miami shop features a familiar design but updated for the coastal city. The storefront features floor-to-ceiling tiles in custom green made in London accented by solid walnut and glass doors. The interior light fixtures from Roman and Williams Guild illuminate the custom-built stained oak lower walls and white-painted board and batten walls and archways. The upper walls are finished in custom Portola plaster and the floors sport custom terrazzo tile floors with accents of the brands olive tone.

The store features a Miami-inspired design.

The rear of the store has a hand-carved walnut cash wrap and stocked bar, and a Carrera marble and brass display showcasing vintage watches and jewelry sourced by New York-based brand Foundwell. The fitting rooms also feature walnut paneling accented by rattan wallpaper and coffered ceilings. Snyder partnered with design duo Jeanne Martin-Taton and Marie-Marie Vergne of Les Crafties, the Brussels-based design studio, to develop custom hand-finished curtains portraying abstract scenes inspired by the Miami coastline using fabric sourced from interior designer Rose Uniacke of London.

I design all of my stores with the intent of transporting the customer into my world, he added. For me, that means midcentury influences with a utilitarian twist. We spent a lot of time meticulously selecting every detail, while honoring the rich history of design that Miami continues to influence.

The store features the designers full assortment of menswear, from classic tailoring to utility-inspired workwear and sportswear. It also offers a collection of third-party brands and collaboration product from Champion Sportswear, D.S. & Durga and Bennett Winch as well as a shoe shop, an Aesop apothecary boutique, and an assortment of rare books and rugs from ABC Carpet & Home that are also available for purchase.

We are strategic about using our shops as a hub for goods and services that will naturally bring people through the door and convert them into a Todd Snyder customer, he said.

This marks the designers 14th U.S. store.

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Nearshoring and onshoring have become buzzwords in the industry, particularly since the pandemic, when brands and retailers experienced the pitfalls of sourcing from faraway places. Nowhere else have we seen the benefits of sourcing closer to consuming markets than in the Western Hemisphere. More so, free trade agreements like the U.S.-CAFTA-DR have helped to ease sourcing companies into the region as part of a global sourcing strategy.

These days, the market is experiencing a major slowdown. The question is which apparel-producing region will benefit when it turns around. We think it will be Central Americaa destination for $4 billion of U.S. textile and apparel exports and 81 percent of U.S. spun yarn exports alone. This co-production chain is the solution to the inventory issues facing brands and retailers and elongated, non-transparent supply chains that have created both financial and ethical risks.

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Here, we breakdown key themes surrounding the Central America region as a go-to sourcing locale.

Central America, the U.S. and Capitalizing on Nearshoring Momentum

Patricia Figueroa: The recent momentum started when the pandemic hit, and the co-production chain between the region and the U.S. stepped up to the desperate call for personal protective equipment (PPEs) to address severe shortages in this hemisphere. We went from total shutdown to turning around our factories to make gowns and masks for our population and the United States. This showed the importance of producing close to market, where long-term relationships with U.S. textile producers were maximized for the greater good.

Kimberley Glas: Brands and retailers recalibrated their supply chains during the pandemic, looking for diversification from elongated supply chains out of Asia to proximity to the U.S. market. In the past 18 months alone, this vibrant partnership with the region has spawned $2 billion in investments in both the U.S. and Central America, as brands and retailers continue to look for ways to diversify their supply chains. We are really excited about this trend and poised to meet the opportunity ahead.

Pandemic Aftermath: Weighing Investments and Commitments

P.F.: Companies will continue to invest in the Region and diversify production as we continue forging alliances with several brands and retailers highly committed to the region. They usually have a presence in the area; they have committed to building our sourcing capabilities and are willing to invest time and resources to expand and innovate. These types of brands and retailers also consider the many benefits of doing business in the region when comparing the cost of sourcing from other regions.

K.G.: The CAFTA region is a leading destination for U.S. textiles, and theres little wonder why: the diversity of products and available capacity to make this vast array of products is enormous. Nearshoring and onshoring are here to stay and will only grow into the future. Central America came out of the pandemic quickerwith 70 percent growth in apparel exports to the U.S. in 2022 compared with the 2020 Covid downturn year. That trend, compared with the major investments, is a major sign that companies are invested for the long term.

Patricia Figueroa.

Capacity and Capability of the CAFTA Region

P.F.: The CAFTA-DR countries are the third largest supplier of apparel to the U.S. We have achieved higher diversification of category or type of product we are producing, and in 2022 the largest export categories from the region, apart from mens and boys knit shirts, were mens and boys trousers and shorts and womens and girls trousers, slacks, and shorts. Our region also manufactures dresses, cotton coats, baby garments, sportswear, and workout clothes. New investments will further enhance this diversification.

K.G.: The U.S. and regional co-production chain offers a diversity of products. This co-production chain has the capabilities and capacity to meet the needs of brands and retailers, and its all supported by a strong regional base of spinners, knitters, and weavers with installed capacity ready to go. In new yarn capacity installation alone, the region is on track to manufacture more than a billion additional new apparel and home textile items with sustainability, transparency, diversification, capacity, proficiency and efficiency as core competencies of this critical co-production chain.

The Importance of the Yarn-Forward Rule

P.F.: To Central America-Dominican Republic Apparel and Textile Council (CECATEC-RD) members, maintaining the yarn-forward rule of origin is pivotal for our present and future success. It is the backbone of the US-CAFTA-DR textile and apparel supply chain. The investment in recent years has been based on that premise, and there is substantial programmed private investment currently in the pipeline geared towards more verticalization of the supply chain and higher value-added products.

K.G.: The yarn-forward rule of origin, fully supported by the Biden administration, facilitates trade, investment, and economic development in the United States and the region. It ensures that the agreements benefits accrue to the signatory partners by driving massive investment and providing business certainty while providing a leg up against countries like China that continuously use predatory trade practices to undermine our domestic and regional industry.

Opportunities in the Western Hemisphere Supply Chain

P.F.: I advise acting now for the near-term opportunities that nearshoring brings us. I also advise engaging with us, the associations, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. administration in aligning our vision of what we want the Western Hemisphere to look like in the coming years.

K.G.: The pandemic created a shift in thinking in boardrooms worldwide. The calculus turned to prioritizing sourcing diversification and leveraging closer proximity to market. People contacted our industry. We heeded the calls. They asked for solutions, which we offered. In turn, apparel exports more than doubled from the region. We dont want to be your solution for just three to six weeks. We want to be your solution for the next 60 to 100 years and we are here to help.

The CAFTA-DR trade pact has succeeded because it has proven to be a mutually beneficial trade agreement bolstering U.S. and regional textile mills and clothing companies throughout Central America. This free trade agreement is not an abstract government program. Its real, and its working. And it represents success not only for today but for tomorrow, too. Many companies have already invested in the region and more will in the future as production continues to ramp up and global sourcing diversifies. Now is the time to explore the U.S.-CAFTA-DR textile and apparel production chain.

Kimberly Glas is the president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and former Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods and Materials.

Patricia Figueroa is the executive director of the Central America  Dominican Republic Apparel and Textile Council (CECATEC-RD).

Click here to read the full article.
Johannesburg  The leaders of a group of West African nations met Thursday for an emergency summit to decide on the bloc's next move as it grapples with how to handle the recent military coup in one of its own member states. The leaders of the ECOWAS bloc have threated to use military force, but made it clear they prefer diplomacy to restore democracy in Niger.

In closing remarks, the 17-country ECOWAS group pledged to enforce sanctions and travel bans on those preventing the return to power of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and ordered the activation of its standby force.

"No option is off the table, including the use of force as a last resort," said Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, and current ECOWAS chair, at the end of the summit.

The ECOWAS leaders were meeting two weeks after the July 26 coup in Niger shocked the region.

In an early Thursday morning televised address, the generals who seized power over the country and locked Bazoum up in his home announced a new set of leaders. The junta said its newly appointed government included 21 ministers and was led by interim Prime Minister Lamine Zeine Ali Mahamane, who would also act as the Minister of Economy and Finance.

The defiant announcement of a new government came a day after Niger's military rulers accused France of violating the country's airspace, attacking a military camp and freeing "terrorists." The foreign ministry in France, the former colonial power in Niger, later denied the accusations.

Bazoum has accused the junta of keeping him and his family in "cruel" and "inhumane" detention at his official residence in the capital city of Niamey. Officials close to him have told CBS News he and his wife and son have no running water, no electricity and no access to doctors.

Some former government ministers were being held in another building near the presidential residence, while others remained in hiding in Niamey. One close aide to Bazoum who remains in hiding told CBS News on Thursday that despite the conditions, the president's "morale is very high."

The aide said the deposed leadership of Niger believed ECOWAS was likely to attempt one more round of mediation before launching any military intervention.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced his concern Wednesday about the reported "deplorable living conditions" of Bazoum and his family, calling for the leader's "immediate, unconditional release and his reinstatement as Head of State," according to a statement from a spokesperson.

Former government minister Rhissa Ag Boula, meanwhile, announced the formation of a new anti-coup group aimed at reinstating Bazoum. He said the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CCR) was in favor of resolving the standoff through diplomacy but would use "any means necessary" to stop the military takeover of Niger.

Thousands of supporters of the military coup in Niger gathered at a Niamey stadium on August 6, 2023. / Credit: AFP/Getty

The Thursday ECOWAS meeting in neighboring Nigeria's capital Abuja came after the junta met with two prominent traditional leaders from Nigeria, Lamido Muhammad Sanusi and Abdullsalami Abubarkar the previous day. Sanusi, who met coup-leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, later told journalists that he and Abubarkar would "continue to do our best to bring the two parties together to improve understanding. This is the time for public diplomacy."

Acting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland travelled to Niger earlier in the week and met the junta's defense chief, Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou. He's a well-known figure to Washington as he's spent the last decade at the helm of the special forces in Niger, which had become a valuable U.S. military partner in the tumultuous region of northern Africa known as the Sahel.

She described the talks to journalists as "extremely frank and at times quite difficult, because, again, we were pushing for a negotiated solution."

She said the junta was "quite firm in their view on how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the constitution of Niger."

Barmou was himself trained by U.S. forces, and he worked closely with U.S. military leadership at two bases in Niger run jointly with the Americans.

Nuland was not allowed to meet with coup leader Tchiani or with President Bazoum.

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HOLLISTON  This year, Holliston joins a long list of Massachusetts cities and towns to offer free, full-day kindergarten, but getting the program started wasn't child's play.

The new full-day free kindergarten program was announced in Holliston Superintendent of Schools Susan Kustka's summer newsletter. In it, she said that the program is now an annual appropriation in the annual school budget, meaning money is now set aside to fund the program.

"Now all of our kids have equal opportunities to get the same amount of literacy and we're thrilled from that respect. We feel like given the constraint from COVID and the regression from COVID, it's also part of our plan to help these kids socially and academically and kind of level off," Kustka said in an interview Tuesday.

Holliston Schools Supt. Susan Kustka, left, and Placentino Elementary School Principal Jaime Slaney, in a kindergarten classroom, Aug. 10, 2023.

Why educators in Holliston believe free full-day kindergarten is necessary

The new program will also help with equity problems in the school district, according to Kustka. Previously, Holliston families had to pay $3,475 in order to send children to full-day kindergarten. Holliston's half-day program was always provided by the school district.

"Sometimes it would be our students that were having socio-economic concerns were the same ones that weren't attending full-day-K," Kustka said.

With the implementation of the program, Holliston joins a majority of municipalities in Massachusetts to offer the program, with only a few Commonwealth school districts not offering the program. According to school and town officials, implementing the program was years in the making.

Back to School 2023-2024: When will School Zones and traffic increase in the area? Here's when school starts

Kustka explained that she began the process of trying to implement this when she joined Holliston Public Schools in 2020.

"I put together a proposal and surveyed parents and found out even though 10% of our students were not attending full-day-K, 63% of our families were saying they were struggling somewhat or more than somewhat to pay for it," Kustka said.

Holliston Placentino Elementary School sign welcoming kindergarten students, Aug. 10, 2023.

Where is the money for full-day kindergarten coming from

Town Administrator Travis Ahern said that the original plan of implementing free kindergarten involved removing the fee over three-to-five budget years so as not to cut other critical services. But, with improved Chapter 70 funding from the state, the town was able to get full-day kindergarten into the 2024 fiscal year operating budget.

Chapter 70 is a state program that provides aid to public elementary and secondary schools. In addition to providing state aid to support school operations, Chapter 70 also establishes minimum spending requirements for each school district and minim requirements for each municipality's share of school costs.

Hackers attack: Hopedale police say they have their Facebook page after losing control earlier

"The Select Board was excited to support the School Committee's request, and the recommendation of the ARPA Steering group, to dispose of a long-standing fee for service that had previously put a financial burden on young families in Holliston who chose to have their child go to full-day kindergarten, rather than half-day," Ahern said in an email to the Daily News.

Holliston Schools Supt. Susan Kustka, right, and Placentino Elementary School Principal Jaime Slaney, in a kindergarten classroom, Aug. 10, 2023.

For the 2023 fiscal year, Holliston received $8,671,139 in Chapter 70 aid. This was an increase from the $8,014,336 received in the previous fiscal year, according to state data.

Enough bus drivers? For school districts from Marlborough to Medway it's mixed results

Kustka explained that the increase in money was from an increase in students in the half-day program, which went from 110 to 220.

"This fee for service is an antiquated model considering the importance of kindergarten in early childhood development and Holliston was one of only a handful of communities in the Commonwealth that had yet to remove it," Ahern said.

Ahern said is excited the town finally removed the fee for good.

When does kindergarten start in Holliston

Kindergarten opening day in Holliston is on August 30.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Holliston full-day kindergarten is now free for all. How it happened
The boyfriend of a missing Cape Coral man was extradited on an out-of-state warrant, nearly three weeks after the man's disappearance.

Jail records indicate that Christopher Davis, 35, was extradited Thursday to South Carolina, more than a week after Cape Coral Police arrested him Aug. 1.

Cape Coral Police arrested Davis on an active warrant out of Columbia, South Carolina, for probation violation dated July 11, 2018.

Davis' violation is related to a 2013 conviction on one county of grand larceny and two counts of credit card fraud, said Anita Dantzler, spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Cape Carol Police Chief Anthony Sizemore on Aug. 4 said the disappearance of Barry Schmalbach, 56, was "suspicious in nature."

As the two-week mark approaches in the search for a missing Cape Coral man approaches, authorities announced Tuesday the reward has more than doubled in as many days. Cape Coral Police Department is asking for help in locating resident Barry Schmalbach, 56, after a friend reported him missing when he tried to kick out a roommate.

Sizemore said they have a person of interest in custody, but didn't provide his identity or the charges he could face. He said that person of interest is being helpful, but added that he had not always been so.

Schmalbach's family and friends haven't heard from nor seen him since the evening of July 19, according to police.

According to an incident report from Cape Coral Police, Davis called police three days later, on July 22, to report the disappearance.

Sizemore has said the reporting party didn't give any indication that it was unusual or an exigent situation.

He added that authorities suspect foul play. The search for Schmalbach covers several counties.

Detectives with the Cape Coral major crime unit are asking residents and visitors with any tips on Schmalbach's whereabouts to contact them at 239-574-3223 or submit a tip to CCPDtips@Cape Coral.gov or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at (800) 780-8477.

Tipsters may also be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000 if their tip leads to an arrest. The reward later rose to $16,000 with donations from friends and relatives of Schmalbach.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Authorities extradite Barry Schamlbach's boyfriend on unrelated case
MONTAGUE, Texas  Two criminal cases against suspended Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde will move to Montague County in a change of venue, officials said.

The prosecution and defense both agreed on a change of venue for charges in connection with a July 12, 2021, incident involving a couple who contend Lyde illegally held them in the Clay County Jail, officials said.

Lyde is expected to go on trial Sept. 11 at the Montague County Courthouse for charges of official oppression and tampering with government documents.

The agreement headed off a hearing set to take place for the change of venue request from Lyde's defense attorneys Friday morning at the Montague County Courthouse.

But Lyde was still set to have his day in court at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Montague for a hearing in the petition to remove him from elected office.

Senior Justice Lee Gabriel will listen to his arguments to get rid of the suspension order keeping him from his day-to-day duties as sheriff until a petition for removal is resolved and to dismiss the petition.

Lyde's defense attorneys sought to have the two criminal cases moved from Clay County in a motion filed June 22. They cited negative publicity and community discussion that his attorneys believe tainted the jury pool in Clay County so much that Lyde cannot receive a fair trial.

Their push for a change of venue points to pretrial publicity in media outlets from the Times Record News to the Rolling Stone to local TV and radio stations following Lyde's prosecution.

"The media feeding frenzy has become such that those involved as witnesses have been treated as regionalcelebrities," Lyde's lead defense attorney Bob Estrada and co-counsel Randall D. More of Fort Worth wrote in the motion.

A citation notes a story in the Times Record News about Sarah Lynn Johnson, the woman making allegations about being held illegally in jail.

Randall D. Moore

The motion also cited Clay County Rants & Raves on Facebook and "a personal campaign by local social media journalist Dusti Butler."

More: Couple files federal lawsuit against suspended Sheriff Lyde, Clay County

Butler, a citizen journalist, has a Facebook page, FOR THE RECORD, CLAY COUNTY, TX EDITION, where she posts Facebook Live videos and documents about developments in the county.

What's more, Lyde's attorneys said in the motion that, "Influential people in the Clay County community have undertaken actions constituting public comments on the Defendant's purported guilt."

Those actions might not only compromise seating a fair, impartial jury, but they have also given rise to a climate that "may spawn violence, create potential for jury intimidation and/or jury tampering, and create a circus-like atmosphere," Lyde's attorneys said in the motion.

Special Prosecutor Staley Heatly, who is the district attorney for the 46th district, apparently changed his mind about moving the criminal cases.

He filed a response opposing a change of venue July 6: "The news coverage in this case has not been pervasive nor has it been inaccurate and inflammatory. In addition, there is no evidence that a dangerous combination of influential people is working to influence the manner in which the trial against Defendant proceeds."

In any case, in the two official oppression charges against Lyde, he is accused of holding Johnson and her boyfriend, Landon Paul Goad, in jail and not releasing them after a magistrate determined there was no probable cause for their arrests.

The couple had been arrested at their home for misdemeanor domestic violence charges.

Lyde also faces two charges of tampering with a government document in connection with affidavits for the domestic violence charges against Johnson and Goad. Lyde maintains his innocence of the charges in connection with the couple.

Clay County Sheriff Jeff Lyde exits the courtroom after his suspension hearing is postponed Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.

Official oppression and tampering with a government document are a class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The couple filed a civil rights lawsuit against Lyde, Clay County and others in connection with their allegations against the suspended sheriff.

Lyde also faces three charges of official oppression related to sexual harassment and another charge of official oppression connected to assaulting a woman by hitting her on the buttocks, according to allegations in indictments filed in December. The accusations involve three women working at the Sheriff's Office.

Moore has said those allegations are politically motivated.

It was unknown early Friday afternoon whether those cases would also move to Montague County.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, covers education, courts, breaking news, investigative projects and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Change of venue for two criminal cases against suspended Sheriff Lyde
What a homecoming from summer travels in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania.

Thanks, Florida Power & Light!

I returned to flat South Florida from a weeks vacation to record-setting extreme heat, 94 degrees at noon on Tuesday that felt more like 100+ and, poof, apagon  a blackout a la Cuba. The electricity is gone in my end of our scorching world, taking along with it Comcast and all internet service.

I wait, and wait, for the return of civility.

This isnt, after all, poor Cuba, where electricity is rationed and outages can last all day long.

But tough luck on this, the hottest-ever recorded summer in our warming globe. A four-hour power outage in the middle of the day, from 12:12 pm to 4:14 pm, plagued 1,636 of us who live on the west side of Miami Lakes.

The reason given to customers: Damage to FPL equipment.

Unrelenting heat no joke

Long exposure to heat, which can have grave health and economic repercussions, is no joke.

I had a taste of what prolonged time in the heat can do when I recently spent too much time mowing, weeding and raking.

Too hot, too humid, my brain was telling me to rest, but I wasnt listening  until I felt nauseous and dizzy. I got off easy. I lost a days work.

Unlike with an oncoming hurricane, theres no warning, no prep time to cope with a long-lasting power outage in this new world of climate change-induced conditions. The situation is made worse because losing electricity also leaves you without other much-needed services.

No Wi-Fi.

Only a tiny bar was visible on my iPhone, sitting there like a lonely tip of an iceberg dropped on its side.

SOS Only, the phone ominously read right after a last call rings  from the boss  and youre uselessly screaming hello, hello.

Theres nobody there.

Youve been officially cut off from the world.

How hot is South Florida? Beach sand was 137 degrees and playground floor reached 177

Perishables in the fridge

There there the loss of perishables in the refrigerator.

The power went off as I was walking in the door and rushing to store $189.30 worth of groceries from Whole Foods  mostly seafood, poultry, sushi, cheese, milk, salads and other vegetables that require refrigeration.

Silly me, hadnt even noticed the electricity gone, but one of the smoke alarms started beeping.

Darn it, do I have a new 9V battery somewhere?

I thought the problem was that small until I opened my darkened refrigerator and realized what was happening  one appliance at a time. The stoves clock was off and Alexa was silent when I coaxed her to wake up: Good Morning!

Mitigation mode

A hurricane pro by now, I went into mitigation mode  disaster from the loss of food and money was abated by one factor: Early June, whether theres a hurricane or not menacing the Caribbean, I prep for storms and/or power outages by stashing mounds of ice in different sized Ziploc bags in the freezer.

So I ice-packed the most at-risk food and prayed that the rest would survive in the still-cool refrigerator. I ate the sushi for lunch, followed later, when the outage seemed interminable, by a snack pack of salmon flakes, plus cucumber and radish slices.

With all the electronics out and no one to talk to, I read a week-old Sunday New York Times I bought at Pittsburghs Indie Riverstone Books. And I consoled myself thinking that I can survive any apocalypse as long as Im surrounded by the thousands of books I own.

But, can I really?

Hurricane prediction raised for remaining season, thanks to a steamy Atlantic Ocean

Never as prepared as you think

The personal fan I bought with a rechargeable battery and a six-hour run time didnt work. I shouldve checked it, instead of buying and storing it awaiting a hurricane.

Likewise, a charging stick had barely enough juice to add a few percentage points to the phone.

I started a pricey to-get list of improvements: Install a generator. Upgrade charging/connection capacity  and quickly recognized how privileged I am to be able to do so while others not only suffer in Cuba but right here in the United States, hailed as the richest country in the world.

No matter how much I tried to not let the power outage ruin my last day of vacation, the familiar anxiety of hurricane season kicked in.

I had been happily roaming the gorgeously green and summer-hot  yet, cooler  Laurel Highlands, so much so that I canceled my return flight and opted for the 1,223-mile drive through West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Blame that move on my infatuation with John Steinbecks classic, Travels with Charley, his epic 1960 account of cross-country travel with his dog to take the countrys temperature. As Steinbeck brilliantly put it, People dont take trips  trips take people.

Thats exactly what happened to me.

In West Virginia, the GPS instructed me to get off Route 79  then, left me stranded on a scenic but endlessly No service road going around a mountain as if I were on a carousel. The only soul in sight, a man standing outside a trailer that has seen better days, wanted me to go inside to use his alleged internet. But this old newshound knows better.

I kept driving south, reaching the town of Clay, where there was internet, though I no longer trusted it  and three locals at a nice gas station fought over which route I should take.

The experience turned into a priceless travel moment, but by the time I made it home past midnight on Tuesday, all I wanted was to kiss my cool, tiled floor.

Extreme heat to stay

The joy was short-lived, but distress is the better teacher.

Many of us have invested in wind protection by installing hurricane-impact windows, and finally this year in Miami-Dade, low-income residents are getting some financial assistance to do so from the government.

But the warming Earth is more complicated  and here to stay. This summers experience calls for still more ways to better prepare for extreme heat situations and new policies from government and service providers.

Tuesdays prolonged outage wasnt due to a construction accident nor the result of increased demand from extreme heat on the power grid, FPL spokesman Shawn Johnson told me Friday.

Some underground equipment went bad and had to be replaced, he said.

The company said in a statement: Initially, roughly 2,400 customers were impacted by the outage, but FPL crews restored service to half of those customers within about 30 minutes using smart grid technology.

Heres hoping everyone in South Florida gets that kind of service.

Were living in a new natural and political world order thats threatening our way of life.

The last thing we need is people, politicians and the corporations that serve us with their heads stuck in the hot sand.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) showed he was proud of suspending Orlando state attorney Monique Worrell this week after he said she couldnt fulfill the duties of the position.

At a presidential campaign stop in Iowa Thursday, DeSantis said Worrell was suspended because she refused to prosecute certain crimes. He blamed environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policy  a corporate ethics theory that has become a political punching bag for conservatives.

When [ESG] overtakes criminal justice, you see these prosecutors who say theyre not going to prosecute people, theyre not going to hold them accountable in places like Los Angeles and Chicago, and communities end up less safe as a result of that, DeSantis said at the event.

In Florida, we just acted. We had a prosecutor in Orlando, she wouldnt prosecute cases. Shes putting people back on the street, he added. So I removed her from her post! Im not going to just sit there and take that.

Worrell was suspended from her position Wednesday, sparking widespread criticism from Democrats in the state. Worrell, a Democrat elected in 2020, is a criminal justice reform advocate.

If we are mourning anything this morning, it is the loss of democracy, Worrell said Wednesday. I am your duly elected state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit, and nothing done by a weak dictator can change that.

Worrell and others claimed the move was political retaliation and fueled by the governors run for president.

DeSantis is in the Hawkeye State for the Iowa State Fair this weekend where he will appear Saturday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
JINAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Huayu, former vice president of the China Everbright Bank, was sentenced Friday to 12 years and six months in prison for accepting bribes and abusing his personal influence.

According to the verdict issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Heze City in east China's Shandong Province, Zhang was also fined 1.3 million yuan (around 181,600 U.S. dollars).

His illicit money and items that have been sealed up or seized will be confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.

The court found that, between February 2001 and September 2021, Zhang took advantage of his various positions in the bank to assist others in coordinating loans, expanding business and employment, and accepted money and valuables worth over 7.73 million yuan in return.

Zhang was also found guilty of taking advantage of his previous positions in the bank to assist others on matters related to loans, credit rating adjustment and employment between January 2019 and November 2021 with the help of other state functionaries. In return, he accepted money and valuables worth over 6.9 million yuan.

The verdict was made in light of various facts, including that Zhang has pleaded guilty, accepted punishment and turned over most of his illegal gains, said the court. 
Pueblo planners on Wednesday gave initial approval to another phase of the North Vista Highlands subdivision despite objections from some neighbors who fear the city already can't keep up with road repairs and stormwater runoff issues in the area.

The subdivision is located north of the Colorado State University Pueblo campus and is being built on both sides of Walking Stick Boulevard. The Phase 7 plan introduced Wednesday encompasses 248 acres to be subdivided into 19 parcels and calls for the eventual extension of Walking Stick Boulevard.

Although there are no proposed uses for the latest subdivision, it will be set aside for future development.

The subdivision owner, David Resnick of Castle Rock, could end up selling that portion to another developer for the construction of residential housing, said Michael Cuppy of North Star Engineering. The land will stay as it is for now but the development processes is starting to help planners solidify road alignment, he said.

A Richmond American model home sits in the North Vista Highlands subdivision on Thursday, August 10, 2023.

Residents voice concerns about roads, drainage

Nearby resident Dana Dorr expressed opposition to further development in the neighborhood because he said he has "zero confidence the city will be able to maintain the streets and roads."

"In the whole area of University Heights and the CSU campus, the lack of attention to the streets is comically horrible," he said.

Dorr pointed out that Jerry Murphy Road is "completely deteriorated and in such poor condition."

"I am not here to be a whiner  I love Pueblo. I am just a citizen who wants to be proud of where we live," Dorr said.

Another neighbor, John Millea, said he fears a flood event like the May 14 storm that damaged homes in University Hills and University Park neighborhoods.

"I feel let down by the city. As we continue to put money into our homes I am scared about what's going on up the hill and whether we will all of a sudden find our homes flooded," Millea said.

Millea said a huge arroyo in the area fills with water every time it rains.

"I come here more out of fear. If something happened to my home I would just be devastated," he said.

Chad Demarco, another neighbor, voiced concerns about drainage and said he lives off Overton Road where services are limited and "a smaller problem could become catastrophic."

Cuppy explained that the city has a new drainage protocol for reducing runoff and detention of stormwater to "reduce runoff from the site at or below historic levels." He explained that some of the large components of stormwater detention facilities were under construction by another developer but were not complete when the May 14 storm hit.

"Those arroyos do carry a lot of water and they will be flattened and widened to slow the water down at or below historic levels so the goal will be to make it better than it is today," Cuppy explained.

More on North Vista Highlands: Pueblo's signs of growth continue with three subdivision plans

The majority of the 1,186-acre total subdivision is owned by Resnick. He has sold a 289-lot portion to Gary Burke of Pueblo Sprout Development LLC, an Ohio-based company, and another 304 lots to an investment group managed by Dan Dinwiddie. In Phase 1A, North Vista Highlands will have 162 affordable homes and a town center.

Richmond American Homes already has built 17 homes in the subdivision and a model home is located at the corner of Plaza Oeste Circle and Manassa Street just off Walking Stick Boulevard. Pure Zero Construction also has homes underway that feature energy-efficient construction techniques resulting in lower energy costs, cleaner interior air and whisper-quiet living.

The community will feature an expansive park, childrens play area and wide concrete biking and walking paths. Pointing out, "this section of the city is proposed for growth," in the master plan, Mike Castellucci, planning and zoning commission chair, and the rest of the board voted unanimously to recommend Pueblo City Council approve the plan.

The 248-acre North Vista Highlands subdivision Filing No. 7 won initial approval from the Pueblo Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday.

Barkman Library expansion wins initial approval

In other business, the commission also voted unanimously to recommend city council approve a plan that calls for the expansion of the 1990s Barkman Library at 1300 Jerry Murphy Road in the Belmont neighborhood. The plan calls for a 2,643-square-foot addition and parking lot expansion that will add another nine parking spaces to the 41-space parking lot.

The plan also calls for the construction of a pedestrian bridge to allow access to the library from Belmont Park.

More on North Vista Highlands: University Hills residents voice concerns with plans for north Pueblo subdivision

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: North Vista Highlands expands; neighbors voice concerns for roads, flooding
One of the larger fireworks businesses off Carowinds Boulevard in Fort Mill may one day be the site of a new fast food restaurant -- or two.

The owner of House of Fireworks at 3474 U.S. Highway 21 has applied to rezone the almost three-acre site. The new zoning would allow a fast food restaurant with a drive-thru. Current zoning does not allow that use for the site, despite the propertys location among several similar restaurants. House of Fireworks sits just beside a McDonalds.

The York County planning commission will hear the case Aug. 14.

The property up for rezoning is a 20,000-square-foot fireworks business. The large red and yellow building is prominent as one of several big firework retailers along Carowinds Boulevard. For decades that area has been a fireworks hot spot due to its close proximity to I-77 and the North Carolina border. Fireworks sales are legal in South Carolina, but not in North Carolina.

According to its website, House of Fireworks has been a family-owned business for more than 50 years.

Crazy, screaming noise: S.C., N.C. fireworks fans flooding York County

Several other large firework retailers surround House of Fireworks.

Four years ago, a fire broke out on July 4 in a storage unit between neighboring Davey Jones Fireworks and House of Fireworks. It sent sights and sounds of fireworks exploding into the sky until fire crews were able to contain it. That fire eventually was ruled as arson.

Morning sky ablaze in South Carolina town as fireworks containers burn on July 4th

According to the zoning information from the county, the 20,000-square-foot building, which includes firework sales along with auto repair and rental services would be demolished. The property owner proposes construction of two new quick serve restaurants, each with a drive-thru.

A site plan submitted by the property owner shows a two-restaurant layout with access off U.S. 21, and another access to the rear of the property. The site plan and other documents sent to the county dont identify the new restaurants.

A more than 2,800-square-foot restaurant at the center of the site would have two full drive-thru lanes with two ordering stands, according to the site plan. That would be similar to how a Cook Out or Chick-fil-A might be oriented.

The smaller restaurant would be about 2,300 square feet on the side facing McDonalds. It would have one drive-thru lane that splits into two ordering stands, according to a site plan, the way a McDonalds might be oriented.

The Carowinds Boulevard area near I-77 has grown in recent years and has a variety of fast food options. Near the main entrance to Carowinds at Regent Parkway there are a Wendys, Moes, McDonalds, Burger King, Bojangles, Zaxbys, Culvers, Starbucks, Jimmy Johns and two Subways.

The two proposed new restaurants would start their drive-thrus toward the rear of the property and exit on the U.S. 21 side. There is a planned Pennies for Progress road improvement in the area. It will realign U.S. Highways 21 and 51. As part of that work, access points to properties in the area will be evaluated to fit the new road layout.

Gas station, vet office

The county has other rezoning proposals to consider when the planning commission meets. One would bring back a convenience station at S.C. 160 and Gold Hill Road, between Fort Mill and Tega Cay. Another would allow for a veterinarian beside a popular Lake Wylie attraction.

Here is a preview:

An attorney for Sams Commercial Properties has applied to rezone half an acre at 2891 S.C. 160. There was a gas station there previously but it hasnt been open in some time, so now the site needs rezoning to allow a new one.

The original plat for the since-closed gas station dates back to 1979 when Gold Hill Road was listed as Tega Cay Road. A new site plan shows an almost 2,400-square-foot metal building with three gas pumps. According to the application, existing structures will remain on-site as part of the reopening. A specific gas station company isnt named.

Another zoning proposal involves the Lake Wylie Bowl N Bounce shopping center off S.C. 49. The 20-acre shopping center developed a decade ago by York Development Group at 4035 Charlotte Highway would be allowed more business use types with the zoning change. Specifically, a veterinarian could set up shop there.

The zoning change wouldnt impact the ability of existing businesses in the 51,000-square-foot shopping center.

All of the zoning requests must go to the county planning commission for a recommendation. That recommendation then goes to York County Council, which will have final say. Council would need three votes and a public hearing to change any property zoning.
Ophelia Averitt speaks as Margo Sommerville, president of Akron City Council and Dan Horrigan, mayor of Akron, listen during a ceremony designating the corner of Frederick Boulevard and Copley Road as Ophelia Averitt Lane in Akron on Saturday.

Ophelia Averitt, a local author and former, long-time head of the Akron NAACP, will be recognized for her 40 years of community service from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In addition to heading Akrons NAACP chapter, Averitt also was the first vice chair of the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP for 10 years and is a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors. She helped start five new NAACP college chapters, including at the University of Akron, Kent State University, and the College of Wooster.

Weather permitting, the event will be outside the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center by the Little Free Library at the corner of South High Street and University Avenue. If the weather is poor, the event will be inside the Stubbs building at 217 S. High St.

The event also will mark the two-year anniversary of the installation of the Little Free Library, which is funded by the Akron Host Lions Club.

More: Little Library installed outside Akron police/court building

Averitt will have copies of her recently published book, called Shadows of the Past and Hope for the Future, available for purchase.

Light refreshments will be served.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ophelia Averitt to be honored for 40 years of community service
WORCESTER  A former curator is suing leaders of the Worcester Art Museum, accusing its director and the head of curatorial affairs of discrimination and retaliation action in employment in violation of Massachusetts General Laws.

According to a lawsuit filed July 18 in Worcester County Superior Court, Rachel Parikh, the former associate curator of the arts of Asia and the Islamic world, alleged she was mocked and ridiculed because she is a brown-skinned woman of South Asian (Indian) descent and subjected to a hostile and offensive work environment and retaliation during her employment at the museum.

Parikh, who has numerous art degrees including a Ph.D. in the history of art and architecture from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, brought this action against Matthias Waschek, the museums director, and Claire Whitner, the museums director of curatorial affairs and curator of European art, as well as four officers of the Worcester Art Museum executive committee.

Parikhs complaints include racism and unwelcome and offensive behavior from Waschek and his spouse during a brunch on November 2021 and a dinner on March 2022.

In addition, Parikh alleges the museum refused to promote her and treated new hires more favorably. She also expressed her fear of retaliation in the suit.

Parikh is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from India in 1979.

In January 2020, the Worcester Art Museum offered Parikh a position of assistant curator of Asian art, with a starting salary of $50,000. She was appointed to the position on Feb. 18, 2020.

In January 2022, she was promoted to associate curator of the arts of Asia and the Islamic world with a salary of $63,000.

Parikh resigned on Sept. 16.

The lawsuit details several alleged incidents.

In March 2021, Whitner, who was Parikhs direct superior, said to Parikh that Wascheck had complimented her on a recent virtual lecture the month before but, he said, she (Parikh) needs to look like a curator, according to the lawsuit.

Whitner then proceeded to tell Parikh that she needed to zhuzh up, that Parikh should wear makeup, perhaps little earrings, a necklace, a ruffled blouse, and needed to look like a curator, the lawsuit states.

Parikh defended herself and noted that she wore a black sweater and a silver necklace. Whitner continued to tell Parikh that she needed to wear makeup, according to the lawsuit.

Whitners comments to Parikh, a person of color, suggested that she was being viewed as unkempt and primitive,  the lawsuit states. There is no standard for what a curator should look like, the lawsuit continues.

Telling the only curator of color at WAM that she needs to look like a curator, had both sexist and racial connotations, especially since the curatorial field is predominantly white, the lawsuit alleges.

In November 2021, a few days after Parikh moved to Worcester, Waschek and his spouse met Parikh for a Welcome to Worcester gathering at a local restaurant.

Questions over 'real name'

During the event, the lawsuit says, Waschek asked Parikh, What is your real name?

Parikh responded, It is Rachel. That is my name.

Rachel is your real name? Waschek continued. Why is your name Rachel?

She said, It is a personal story.

According to the lawsuit, Wascheks questions were deeply personal and were tied to her parents immigration story and the racism they faced in the 1970s after moving to the United States.

Furthermore, Waschek and his spouse made references to a British TV comedy series, Goodness Gracious Me!, about an Indian family in Britain, and they told her one of the skits, in which the family goes to an English restaurant and they have a hard time pronouncing the waiters Western name. Waschek and his spouse acted out the scene with while imitating Indian accents, according to the lawsuit.

These comments were unwelcome, offensive and the incident was humiliating and deeply disturbingOver the past 24 years, nobody had ever spoken to her or humiliated her in this way until this brunch, the lawsuit states.

In March 2022, Waschek invited Parikh at a dinner party at his home.

Wascheks spouse at one point imitated the voice of an Indian woman at a Indian grocery store, according to the suit.

In addition, Waschek and his spouse asked very personal and offensive questions about Parikhs upbringing, her parents background and economic situation and the languages that she knew. They asked her to speak in those languages. Parikh felt extremely uncomfortable, offended and 'othered.' 

The suit also cites several other incidences of unwelcome and offensive behavior during the March 2022 dinner party.

In May 2022, the museum hired an outside consultancy firm, LAM & Associates, to investigate Parikhs claims of harassment and retaliation. In the firms final report, delivered in July, the authors said investigator Laurie Margolis could not substantiate Parikh's claims with other colleagues, but found her statements credible.

Waschek calls allegations false

In a statement to the T&G, Waschek characterized the allegations in the lawsuit as false: I have been dismayed by the false allegations that have been made in this lawsuit and the homophobic tropes that are invoked. I have worked hard over the last thirty plus years to build a reputation of professionalism and integrity. As a gay man who has experienced discrimination first-hand, I have always held DEAI (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Inclusion) issues as a core value, and have sought to do my best to eliminate discrimination from the workplace and build a culture of inclusivity. To read these patently false statements and to see my husband, who doesnt even work at the Museum, dragged into it and similarly maligned, is staggering.

Violation of policies cited

The lawsuit states that Margolis concluded Waschek had violated numerous Worcester Art Museum policies and that those violations created a hostile and offensive work environment in possible violation of state and federal law.

Parikh also said that she felt that Waschek had publicly outed her as the plaintiff in an investigation and disparaged her, which is an act of retaliation and is against the museum's policy.

The Board had endorsed and approved the discriminatory and retaliatory behavior in complete disregard of Dr. Parikhs rights by failing to take her seriously and refusing to hold Mr. Waschek accountable even though the outside investigator had concluded that Mr. Wascheks behavior was completely unacceptable, the lawsuit states.

On Sept. 16, 2022, Parikh resigned due to the discriminatory and retaliatory treatment she had endured while an employee at the museum, citing specifically Wascheks racist and offensive behavior, the boards sanctioning of that behavior, and the resulting hostile and psychologically unsafe work environment.

The Worcester Art Museum responded to the allegations in a statement.

"Worcester Art Museum remains committed to providing a workplace where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, so we take these allegations very seriously. The complaint filed in Worcester Superior Court reveals confidential HR information. This has put the Museum in a position where the only way to set the record straight would be to disclose confidential and private information in a manner that would violate our own policies and compromise the privacy of current and former employees. We look forward to addressing these claims through the legal process."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Worcester Art Museum curator Rachel Parikh files lawsuit
A former district director of a political action committee that calls for reduced cockfighting penalties has been charged with a felony following a cockfight bust in Carter County.

Chance Campo, a 46-year-old former district director for the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, is accused in Carter County District Court of felony servicing or facilitating a cockfight.

The charge follows a June 19 cockfight bust that reportedly led to a total of 12 people charged  some with felonies and others with misdemeanors.

KTEN-TV reported Carter County District Attorney Melissa Handke saying:

The evidence consisted of items that are needed for a cockfight to occur, like knives, gaffs  they are things tied to the rooster. There were 55 roosters that were seized. Some of them had to be put down, and some were bleeding and not in good shape."

Campos felony charge is described in court documents as including but not limited to promoting or refereeing birds at a cockfight, advertising a cockfight or serving as a stakeholder of any money wagered on any cockfight.

The felony charge can carry up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $25,000.

More: Tough penalties remain for cockfighting activities in Oklahoma

Man charged was formerly a district director for Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission

As of Thursday afternoon, Campo was listed as a district director for the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission. However, he is no longer with the organization, according to its president, Anthony DeVore.

The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission does not promote, condone nor participate in any illegal activities, DeVore said in a statement to The Oklahoman. Mr. Campo's personal actions do not represent or reflect the purpose, direction or values of the commission. Mr. Campo has resigned his position as a district director with the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission.

News of Campos felony charge brought swift condemnation from cockfighting opponents.

Mr. Campos arrest only confirms what weve long known  people involved in the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission are cockfighters and they are intent on gutting a key state anti-cruelty ... law so they can avoid legal jeopardy for their felonious activities, Wayne Pacelle, president of the Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, said in a statement.

Tough penalties for cockfighting remain despite some Oklahoma legislative efforts

Cockfighting has been illegal in Oklahoma for nearly 20 years after a statewide election that saw 56% of voters approve the ban.

In February, The Oklahoman reported the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission donated more than $70,000 to state lawmakers in a push to decrease penalties for participating in the illegal sport, although the group does not report the source of its funds.

More: Poll shows Oklahomans are strongly opposed to cockfighting

The political action committee donated to dozens of state lawmakers, including $2,000 to Gov. Kevin Stitt, The Oklahoman reported.

DeVore told The Oklahoman none of its money comes from cockfighting revenue.

Multiple bills attempted to reduce punishments for cockfighting found momentum during this year's legislative session as the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission maintained a consistent lobbying presence.

The bills would have let individual counties decide whether cockfighting and other activities  like breeding fighting animals  should be a felony.

Despite their effort, every attempt to pass legislation failed.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma cockfighting PAC director charged with cockfighting
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest, U.S. officials said Thursday. The move comes after Tehran has spent months suggesting a prisoner swap with Washington in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea.

Iranian officials at the United Nations confirmed the deal to The Associated Press, saying that the prisoner release marks a significant initial step in the implementation of this agreement.

Iran also acknowledged that the deal involved $6 billion to $7 billion frozen in South Korea. The U.N. mission said that money would be transferred to Qatar before being sent onto Iran if the agreement goes through.

The complicated, multinational deal comes amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. A major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf is underway, with the possibility of armed U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes.

It remains unclear whether the transfer of the Iranian-Americans guarantees that they will make it home. Iran in past months has overstated progress in talks, likely conducted with mediation from Oman and Qatar, on a potential trade.

The U.S. in March called remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that a deal for a swap was close a cruel lie.

U.S.-based lawyer Jared Genser identified three of the transferred prisoners as Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz. Genser, who has represented Namazi, did not identify the fourth and fifth prisoners. The five likely will be held at a hotel under guard until they possibly leave Iran, Genser added.

The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development, Genser said in a statement. While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more. But there are simply no guarantees about what happens from here.

Sharghis sister, Neda Sharghi, also acknowledged the transfer.

My family has faith in the work that President Biden and government officials have undertaken to bring our families home and hope to receive that news soon, she said in a statement. Until that point, I hope you can understand that we do not think it will be helpful to comment further.

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White Houses National Security Council, acknowledged the prisoners move to house arrest and described the negotiations for their release as ongoing and delicate.

While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens ... should have never been detained in the first place, she said in a statement. We will continue to monitor their condition as closely as possible. Of course, we will not rest until they are all back home in the United States.

It remains unclear how many Iranian-Americans are held by Tehran, which does not recognize dual citizenship.

The three released prisoners cited by Genser whose identities are known are Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges; Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years in prison; and Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.

Comments by U.S. officials in recent months had suggested there could be a fourth detainee in Iran, and an Iranian newspaper in August had reported there was a fifth prisoner, revealing the case amid apparent negotiations for the release.

Iran, meanwhile, has said it seeks the release of Iranian prisoners held in the U.S.

Iranian media in the past identified several prisoners of interest with cases tied to violations of U.S. export laws and restrictions on doing business with Iran.

The alleged violations include the transfer of funds through Venezuela and sales of dual-use equipment that the U.S. alleges could be used in Irans military and nuclear programs. Iran has been enriching uranium and stockpiling it as part of its advancing nuclear program.

The deal hinges on Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks due to international sanctions on Tehran. Already, Tehran seized a South Korean oil tanker amid the dispute and threatened further retaliation in August.

Definitely Iran will not remain silent, and we have many options that could harm the Koreans and we will certainly use them, said Fadahossein Maleki, a member of Irans parliament who sits on its influential national security and foreign policy committee.

Iran and the U.S. have a history of prisoner swaps dating back to the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis following the Islamic Revolution. The most recent major exchange between the two countries happened in 2016, when Iran came to a deal with world powers to restrict its nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions.

Four American captives, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, flew home from Iran, and several Iranians in the United States won their freedom. That same day, the Obama administration airlifted $400 million in cash to Tehran.

Iran has received international criticism over its targeting of dual nationals amid tensions with the wider world. A United Nations panel has described an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals. The West accuses Iran of using foreign prisoners as bargaining chips in political negotiations, an allegation Tehran rejects.

Negotiations over a major prisoner swap faltered after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal in 2018. From the following year on, a series of attacks and ship seizures attributed to Iran have raised tensions. While President Joe Biden entered office with hopes of restarting the deal, diplomatic negotiations on the accord have been stalled for a year.

It remains unclear how any possible deal would affect Biden, who now is ordering the Persian Gulf buildup. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama received withering criticism from Republicans over that prisoner swap, though he already was nearing the end of his second term. Biden will face reelection in November 2024, potentially against Trump.

Those in the U.S. long critical of diplomacy with Iran began questioning the deal immediately after Gensers announcement.

Paying $6 billion in ransom payments means the regime will only take more hostages, said Mark Dubowitz of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which led criticism of the Iran nuclear deal. This has become a lucrative means of international extortion for Irans supreme leader.

That troop buildup, however, may insulate Biden from criticism from Gulf Arab nations in the Persian Gulf, who rely on American security guarantees. The U.S. also is negotiating with Saudi Arabia over potentially recognizing Israel diplomatically, a deal that may involve further guarantees about military support against Iran. Thats even as Riyadh reached a detente with Iran in March after years of tensions.

Also long missing in Iran is retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished on the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. A 2013 Associated Press investigation revealed he had been sent on an unauthorized CIA mission. The U.S. alleges he was abducted by Iranian government agents. Iran has denied arresting Levinson or knowing his whereabouts.

He is presumed to have died in Iranian custody. He would be 75 years old now.
For King + Country opens the Iowa State Fair in 2023.

It might not be Christmas in Des Moines, but For King + Country will give audiences a taste of that holiday spirit when the Australian-born act kicks off day one of the Iowa State Fair on Thursday.

The Grammy Award-winning duo composed of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone will perform at the Grandstand at 8 p.m., bringing all of For King + Country's hits and one undisclosed Christmas song with them  though it's no secret the band has covered Little Drummer Boy and previously released an album covering holiday classics.

For King + Country will be joined by the multi-generational family band We The Kingdom.

Ahead of Thursday nights show, Luke Smallbone spoke to the Des Moines Register in a phone call from New Mexico about living out ones dreams, state fairs and taking his personal story of family to the big screen.

Note: Answers edited for clarity and length.

For King + Country band members Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone, a Christian pop duo, performs at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday night.

Des Moines Register: For King + Country has performed at the Iowa State Fair previously, including in 2017. Do you have any memories from those shows, or is there anything you are hoping to experience this time around?

Luke Smallbone: One thing I love about fairs  because we get into this time of year, we're here in New Mexico, we're playing a fair as well here  is when you go do your own shows, you rent out an arena, people promote the shows, you got radio stations involved and then you come and do your thing and you move on to your next city. The state fair and the fairs, its communal. People aren't just there just for a music night, but they're there for the livestock. They're there to have their own version of a theme park. They're there for the food. They're there for music, and it's just so communal. That's something that having played Iowa State Fair in the past is just a beautiful thing. You guys are, I think, probably world-renowned being the Iowa State Fair and it's always an honor to come and be a part of it.

More: Things to do and see on the first day of the 2023 Iowa State Fair

Des Moines Register: The movie Unsung Hero, which will be released in April 2024, follows your family leaving Australia to come to America. What its been like translating something personal onto the big screen?

Luke Smallbone: We arrived in America. We struggled significantly as a family, but we just pulled up our bootstraps and bonded as a family, and we got to see some incredible miracles and it was an incredible journey that we were on and so recognizing that it was a unique story, I actually went to a producer friend of mine and said, Hey, what do you think about developing a script for this story? Because I think right now family needs encouragement. Family is messy. Family is hard. We don't have a lot of stories that actually demonstrate what it means to be family and I think people think, even with this movie, that we're going to demonstrate what a perfect family looks like. Man, my family is messy, but its in the messiness of family that that's part of the reason why you can call it family because you stick together no matter what. You go through thick and thin, and you come out the other side.

More: These top three dishes compete for Best New Food at the Iowa State Fair in 2023

Des Moines Register: Can you talk a little bit more about the messages of For King + Countrys most recent album, What Are We Waiting For? and the meaning behind the title of the album itself?

Luke Smallbone: We wrote the album during the latter stages (of) the pandemic one of the things that I stumbled upon just thinking through life during that period was life had become very fragile for all of us. And we got to see that around the world. We had so many people saying, Hey, I had tickets bought for my family to come to this event with you and that person didn't end up making it through the COVID-era of sickness. Life became very, very fragile but I also realized that there are a lot of people that had stored up hopes and dreams that they actually weren't living out in their life. Because of the fragility of life that was demonstrated through that period of time, I think people started asking themselves, Well, what am I waiting for? What are we actually as a world waiting for? I often think of dreams that are almost exclusive to each individual person and if that person doesn't actually live out their dreams, then they're actually not doing, in some cases, what they were designed to do because dreams don't always transfer to individuals, they're yours. Theyre something that you were designed to do. Our hope was that we could write an album that was reflecting some of the things that we were going through as not just the nation  which is very unique, this was something that we're going through as a world  and one of those questions that I think that we all should be asking ourselves, and a lot of times when we write these songs, Joel and I are asking ourselves these questions of, What are we waiting for? What are the things that we feel like God has laid on our heart, that we have dreams to do, that we say, I'll get to that in my 40s or I'll get to that my in 60s. What if we start asking ourselves what are we waiting for and we actually just got to it.

More: This Iowan has been obsessed with the Iowa State Fair since childhood. Now, hes the CEO

Des Moines Register: After over a decade of performing and releasing music, how has For King + Country evolved, in terms of music, sound or influences?

Luke Smallbone: I don't think that Joel and I have ever felt like our work here is done and that if that song does this, then at that point that you will feel satisfied. If that makes sense. What Ive realized is music is a gift and that it's a journey I believe that music is inherently a spiritual thing that it brings people together. I've literally seen people before a song and you can see their hearts are maybe a little hardened. And then that song can play for three minutes and 30 seconds, and in that three minutes and 30 seconds, something transpires in their life to when, after that song is finished, they're no longer the same person. I'm not sure how much we've changed or evolved but my hope is in some cases that I still remember the beauty and the magic of  that's part of the reason why I think it's inherently spiritual is because I don't know anything else in the world that can do that to someone's heart, with three minutes and 30 seconds, that much change can take place. For however long we decide to keep doing this for, my hope is that we keep that at the forefront of our minds.

More: Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line talks discovering his solo voice ahead of State Fair

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at PBarraza@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: For King + Country to kick off Iowa State Fair Grandstand concerts
Map of Libya with pre-Gaddafi and post-Gaddafi era flag

Libya, a mostly desert oil-rich country, has become a key springboard for migrants heading for Europe, and a source of international tension as rival governments in the west and east seek to establish nationwide control.

Libya was under foreign control for centuries until it gained independence in 1951. Soon after, oil was discovered and earned the country immense wealth.

Colonel Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled for four decades until he was toppled and killed in 2011 in a rebellion assisted by Western military intervention.

Since 2014, Libya has been divided into competing political and military factions based in different parts of the country. The two sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, but political rivalries continue.

Read more country profiles - Profiles by BBC Monitoring

STATE OF LIBYA: FACTS

Capital: Tripoli

Area: 1,759,541 sq km

Population: 7 million

Language: Arabic

Life expectancy: 70 years (men) 75 years (women)

LEADERS

Prime Minister: Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (Government of National Unity)

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh

A Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed in March 2021, based in Tripoli, with Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as the internationally-recognised prime minister.

This was Libya's sole government for the first time in nearly seven years, successfully replacing the parallel administrations that had existed since 2014.

But that this was short lived, and in March 2022 the country was divided again when the eastern-based parliament formed the rival Government of National Stability (GNS) under the leadership of prime minister Fathi Bashagha.

The GNS has struggled to assert its legitimacy internationally.

MEDIA

The capital Tripoli includes a mix of ancient and modern buildings

Libya's media environment is highly-polarised and virtually unregulated, reflecting the country's political instability.

Satellite TV is a key news source and many outlets are based outside Libya.

Journalism is fraught with danger; reporters face threats and attacks.

TIMELINE

Muammar Gaddafi seized power as a young officer and became increasingly eccentric during his four decades in power

Some key dates in Libya's modern history:

643AD - Arabs under Amr Ibn al-As conquer Libya and spread Islam.

16th Century - Libya becomes part of the Ottoman Empire, which joins the three provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan into one regency in Tripoli.

1911-12 - Italy seizes Libya from the Ottomans.

1920s - Libyan resistance to Italian rule grows.

1931 - Italy breaks resistance through combination of major armed operations and concentration camps for rebel population.

1934 - Italy steps up Italian migration as part of an eventual plan for the incorporation of Libya into a Greater Italy.

1942 - Allies oust Italians and their German allies from Libya after a two-year campaign.

1951 - Libya becomes independent under King Idris.

1956 - Development of Libya's oil reserves starts.

1969 - Muammar Gaddafi, deposes King Idris.

1971 - National referendum approves proposed Federation of Arab Republics (FAR) comprising Libya, Egypt and Syria. However, the FAR never takes off.

1977 - Col Gaddafi declares a "people's revolution", changing the country's official name from the Libyan Arab Republic to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah and setting up "revolutionary committees".

Libya was accused of involvement in the downing of the 747 PanAm airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland

1992 - UN imposes sanctions on Libya over the bombing of a PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988.

2011 - Violent protests break out in Benghazi and spread to other cities. This leads to civil war, foreign intervention and the overthrow and death of Colonel Gaddafi.

2016 - Following years of conflict, a new UN-backed government is installed at Tripoli. It faces opposition from rival governments and a host of militias.

2021 - Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh takes over as prime minister of the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli.

2023 - Rival sides agree to set up a committee to oversee the sharing of oil revenues.

Libya was a major battleground during World War Two
Megan Clay administers a COVID-19 test to Angel Alsammarraie in West Valley City on July 6, 2022. The World Health Organization is worried about a new strain of COVID-19. | Ben B. Braun, Deseret News

EG.5, the new COVID-19 variant nicknamed Eris, is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

The new strain descends from the omicron subvariant XBB.1.9.2 and, based on current evidence, has not been causing severe symptoms, the agency said. But the incidence of infection is growing.

WHO said the country with the highest prevalence of Eris is China, followed by the U.S., the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal and Spain.

Related

What experts say

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson told Politico, At this time, there is no evidence indicating EG.5 is able to spread more easily, and currently available treatments and vaccines are expected to continue to be effective against this variant.

Reuters reported that the director of the CDC, Mandy Cohen, said that updated vaccines in September will offer protection against Eris, and that the new variant does not represent a major shift.

Cohen added, We are likely to see this as a recommendation as an annual COVID shot just like we have an annual flu shot, per Reuters.

Christina Pagel, professor of operational research at the University College London, told The Guardian that Eris will probably cause a wave of more cases and all the problems that brings  (such as) more hospitalizations and Long Covid  but (there is) no reason at the moment to think (that will be) worse than previous waves this year.

Related

About Eris

USA Today said the U.K Health Security Agency reported that Eris became the second-most-common variant in that country as of July 20, accounting for roughly 14.55% of cases and growing at a rate of 20.51% per week.

Eris accounts for about 17% of all current U.S. COVID-19 cases, becoming the most prevalent strain of COVID-19 in America, after an increase of about 5% from calculations recorded on July 22, Politico said.

Meera Chand, deputy director of the U.K. health agency, told The Guardian that the UKHSA continues to analyze available data relating to Sars-CoV-2 variants in the UK and abroad.

Chand added, Vaccination remains our best defense against future Covid-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible, per The Guardian.

Cohen said the CDC predicts updated vaccines are going to be available for most folks by the third or fourth week of September, after authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC recommendations are established, Reuters reported.
A U.S. District Court judge has sentenced two East St. Louis brothers to more than 30 years in prison each for kidnapping a man they had accused of stealing tooth jewelry from one of them.

The victim is still missing after three years, according to prosecutors with the office of Rachelle Aud Crowe, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

They discussed the fact that its reasonable to assume that hes no longer alive, but (the defendants) were only charged with kidnapping, not murder, said spokeswoman Larren Barry. Theres no body.

On Nov. 10, 2022, a federal jury found Kendrick Frazier, 36, and Kenwyn Frazier, 39, guilty of kidnapping during a joint trial at the Melvin Price Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in East St. Louis.

Witnesses alleged that the brothers are members of the notorious Waverly Crips street gang, historically known for drug trafficking.

This week, Judge David Dugan sentenced Kendrick Frazier (nicknamed Kae Killa) to 396 months and Kenwyn Frazier (Fattz Da Dondada) to 365 months in prison in separate hearings.

The lengthy sentences represent the severity of the defendants crimes and their blatant disrespect for human life and the law, Crowe stated in a press release Thursday.

The victim, Kein Eastman, of East St. Louis, hasnt been seen or heard from by law enforcement or family members since his abduction on Aug. 13, 2020, according to prosecutors.

They argued that video from a Ring doorbell camera outside an apartment on Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis showed Kendrick Frazier shooting and wounding Eastman, then 36, as he tried to escape and going after him in a vehicle that was later found destroyed by fire.

The brothers have been in federal custody since they were captured and arrested by U.S. marshals on Hillwood Drive in Belleville on Jan. 20, 2021, about a month after arrest warrants were issued.

Chicago-based attorney Vadim Glozman, whos representing Kendrick Frazier, said Thursday that they plan to appeal.

Kendrick Frazier was disappointed with the jurys verdict, and we believe that there are several legal issues that are ripe for the (U.S. Court of Appeals) Seventh Circuit to consider, Glozman said.

Chicago attorney Beau Brindley, whos representing Kenwyn Frazier, didnt return a call for comment.

This Associated Press file photo shows tooth jewelry known as a grill made of white gold and blue diamonds worn by the hip-hop artist Rudy in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Two brothers in East St. Louis were sentenced this week for kidnapping a man they had accused of stealing a similar mouthpiece. Cathie Rowand/Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Friend covered Ring camera

Jasmine Crawford, 25, of East St. Louis, also was charged in the case. The criminal complaint stated that she was outside the apartment when she noticed that the Ring camera was recording as the Fraziers were getting in their vehicle, a gray Dodge Durango.

The complaint included a description of video footage by lead investigator Nicholas Manns, director of the East St. Louis-based Public Safety Enforcement Group of the Illinois State Police.

I then observed Jasmine take some type of cloth rag and cover the Ring Video Doorbell with her left hand, he stated. After just less than one minute, Jasmine removed the cloth rag.

Crawford pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. She was sentenced to four years of probation on Dec. 7, 2022, a month after the Frazier trial.

Federal court documents paint a dramatic picture of events on Aug. 13, 2020, starting with a visit by Kenwyn Frazier and Jasmine Crawford to the apartment of Lola Eckford, mother of Eastmans infant son.

Based on witness testimony, the Ring video and other evidence, prosecutors argued that:

Kenwyn Frazier woke up from a nap on the couch and realized that his jeweled decorative mouthpiece, also known as a grill or grillz, worth thousands of dollars was missing.

Frazier suspected the mouthpiece was stolen by Kein Eastman, who had stopped by the apartment to see his son.

Frazier left in a gray Dodge Durango and found Kein Eastman at the home of his grandmother, Charlene Eastman.

Frazier confronted Kein Eastman and took him at gunpoint from the home and drove him back to Eckfords apartment, forcing him to look for the mouthpiece for about two hours.

At some point, Kenwyn Frazier summoned his brother, and Eastman locked himself in an upstairs bathroom, yelling for someone to call police.

Kendrick Frazier arrived at the apartment and, after the brothers kicked in the bathroom door, dragged Eastman down the stairs and out the front door.

Kenwyn Frazier was following behind Kendrick Frazier and appeared to be holding a gun, and they were ordering Eastman to take us to our shit.

As they walk out, Kein tries to break free and run, but Kendrick holds him saying, Im gonna pop your dumb ass, according to investigator Manns description of the Ring video.

Kein is taken to the front of the neighbors yard ... after which he is ordered to lay on the ground. Kein is heard begging, On my momma, I aint got your shit while Kenwyn and Kendrick stand over him and verbally threaten him, with Kenwyn repeating kick his ass.

Kendrick Frazier appeared to shoot Eastman, who fled the scene, bleeding from his face, according to investigators.

Durango destroyed by fire

Prosecutors argued that the brothers went after Eastman in the Durango, which was found two hours later on fire and burned to the frame with no physical evidence remaining.

Investigators determined that Edward Morton had rented the vehicle from Avis while accompanied by Kenwyn Frazier, and that Morton later reported it stolen from outside his residence on North 80th Street.

Manns noted in his affidavit that he had come to know Morton as a member of the Waverly Crips street gang through a prior federal investigation.

After jurors found the Frazier brothers guilty of kidnapping, defense attorneys filed a joint motion on Dec. 12, 2022, for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, calling the prosecutions case speculation and conjecture.

For years, the government claimed that there was undisputed evidence that the Fraziers shot Kein Eastman, and that he was bleeding so badly that there was a trail of blood spanning the block, the motion stated. Yet the evidence showed otherwise.

Despite presenting numerous witnesses who were only feet (away), none of them testified that they saw Eastman get shot. The trail of blood turned out to be a few droplets.

The motion also argued that testimony didnt support the prosecutions claim that Eastman was forced to leave his grandmothers house at gunpoint or stay at Eckfords apartment against his will.

The defense maintained that the judge and prosecutors made several mistakes before and during the trial, including a misleading statement of law in jury instructions.

Judge Dugan denied the motion for a new trial on July 12, 2023.

The Waverly Crips street gang formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s in East St. Louis, according to a 2017 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit, which upheld a district-court decision to sentence the gangs co-founder, Ayiko Paulette, to 300 months in prison.

Paulette had pleaded guilty to eight counts of drug trafficking. He was described as the gangs leader and manager of its vast drug trade in East St. Louis and Washington Park.

Things unraveled, though, after Paulette sold 105 grams of cocaine to an informant during two controlled buys in May 2014, the justices wrote. Two months later, authorities were waiting when Paulette and eight travel companions got off a train in St. Louis.

They were returning from a supply run to Texas. Seven of them were carrying a total of 2.4 kilograms of cocaine in packages concealed under their clothing.

The Frazier trial and sentencing followed an extensive investigation by Illinois State Police and other law-enforcement agencies, according to Manns affidavits and testimony.

(The investigation) included dozens of interviews of family members, friends, and witnesses, along with the acquisition and review of corroborating videos, documents, and records, to include cellular telephone records and associated cell site data, he wrote.
KIGALI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 23 baby mountain gorillas born in the last 12 months will be named during this year's naming ceremony scheduled for next month in Rwanda, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has announced.

The annual ceremony, locally known as Kwita Izina, will take place on the foothills of Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi, Musanze district, in northern Rwanda on Sept. 1.

RDB chief executive officer Clare Akamanzi said the ceremony reflects celebration of the gains made in the country's tourism and conservation efforts, notably the majestic mountain gorillas.

"Last year, Rwanda's gorilla tourism was the best performing segment, and the trend shows that 2023 is expected to grow further and take us beyond recovery and towards our national targets," she said in a statement Thursday.

"This means the communities are benefiting more, tourists getting enhanced experiences, and the gorilla populations are thriving thanks to all stakeholders who actively participate in their daily conservation."

Officials say Rwanda's conservation efforts have enabled the gorilla population to thrive and provide better trekking experiences to visitors.

Since the first naming ceremony in 2005 a total of 374 baby gorillas have been named.

Rwanda generated 247 million U.S. dollars in the first half of 2023 from tourism, up 56 percent from the 158 million dollars posted for the same period last year, according to official data.

The naming ceremony will be preceded by a conversation conference and launch of community projects funded through a tourism revenue share program.

Under the program introduced by the government in 2005, some 10 percent of all park revenue is returned to the communities surrounding the various national parks.

Over the years, more than 10 billion Rwandan francs (about 9 million dollars) has been spent on more than 1,000 community-based projects around Akagera, Nyungwe, Volcanoes, and Gishwati-Mukura National Parks, according to RDB data. 
For more than 30 years, the Republican Party was defined by Ronald Reagans famous three-legged stool: a coalition of fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and national security hawks.

Its not Reagans party anymore.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

Today, a majority of Republicans oppose many of the positions that defined the party as recently as a decade ago, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released last week.

Only around one-third of Republican voters takes the traditionally conservative side on each of same-sex marriage, entitlements and Americas role in the world  three issues that defined George W. Bushs 2004 reelection campaign and correspond with each leg of Reagans stool.

*The question asked in 2005 was specifically about Social Security privatization; when Pew later asked the question used in the Times/Siena survey in 2013, 53 percent of Republican-leaners preferred debt reduction. Sources: New York Times/Siena College (July 2023 poll); Pew Research Center (2005). The sample includes Republicans and Republican-leaning voters.

Instead, the survey suggests that the Republican Party and conservative movement have been redefined by the rise of Donald Trumps conservative populism. On trade, immigration, entitlements and foreign affairs, a majority of Republicans side with Trump on the very issues that badly split Republicans a decade ago.

Trumps first primary campaign amounted to a hostile takeover of the old Republican Party. He said he opposed the Iraq War and favored an America First foreign policy. He ran against the fiscal conservatives, epitomized by Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney, who would cut entitlement spending to reduce the debt. And while he did not run against social conservatives, no one could confuse Trump for a member of the religious right. Instead, immigration, crime and political correctness figured more prominently in his campaign than opposition to abortion or same-sex marriage.

Perhaps surprisingly, the poll found little evidence that Republican voters who still sit upon Reagans stool make up an outsize share of the GOP opposition to Trump. The voters who take the Bush-Reagan side of same-sex marriage, entitlements and foreign affairs offer nearly as much support to Trump as the rest of the party does  a finding that holds even if one substitutes an alternative set of questions about abortion, preference for tax cuts over tariffs, and aid to Ukraine to define the Reagan wing. Either way, Trump has more than 50% of the primary vote among the Reaganites  and more than 50% of the anti-Reaganite vote.

Trumps support among the vestigial, traditionally conservative wing of the party is a reminder that his takeover of the party didnt necessarily amount to a total repudiation of the conservative agenda. After all, Trump still cut income taxes, attempted to repeal Obamacare and appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

Trumps alliance with social conservatives, in particular, seems to play a crucial part in sustaining his support among traditional conservatives overall. Republican voters who oppose same-sex marriage and abortion offer Trump even greater support than voters with more moderate views on these issues. This seems to cancel out the more modest reservations traditional conservatives have about Trumps views on foreign affairs and entitlements.

Yet at the same time, Republicans remain divided by the new issues that defined Trumps candidacy in 2016, including trade and immigration along with an isolationist foreign policy and defense of entitlements. In these cases, voters are siding with Trumps populist conservatism over the positions taken by Reagan and Bush. Free trade and support for immigration reform may not have amounted to a leg of a Bush-Reagan stool, but the opposing view on these issues might amount to a leg in any golden stool Trump might one day seek to build.

Republicans who take Trumps view on trade, immigration, entitlements and foreign affairs back him by an overwhelming margin in the primary. The Republicans who disagree with Trumps view on these issues oppose the former president by just as much. But those who agree with Trumps positions greatly outnumber those who do not.

Source: New York Times/Siena College poll, July 23-27. The sample includes Republicans and Republican-leaning voters.

Of course, its possible  even likely  that loyalty to Trump plays a crucial role in shaping Republican attitudes on these issues, rather than attitudes on the issues driving loyalty to Trump.

Either way, theres not much room for an issue-based, ideological challenge to Trump in todays Republican Party. While large numbers of Republicans may disagree with him on an issue here or there, a frontal assault on the tenets of Trumpism is unlikely to go anywhere. Zombie-Reaganism certainly will not.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Last spring, in the midst of all the overheated debate over transgender issues in Frankfort, Rep. James Tipton did a very sensible thing. He wrote a letter to a University of Kentucky healthcare clinic to see if they performed any gender-affirming surgery.

It turns out UKs Transform Health Clinic had performed some mastectomies on transgender teens, so small a number that they wouldnt even say how many because it might violate HIPPA laws. (In my experience with UK, that means fewer than five cases.)

But then, Tipton did the political thing. He turned the UK letter over to Republican leadership. It was mentioned in a floor speech by Sen. Lindsay Tichenor in March. But instead of using the letter to answer a lot of questions, or hold a press conference, they sat on it until the governors race got heated up, then released it to a right-wing media site called the Washington Free Beacon.

That left a lot of people  including Gov. Andy Beshear, LGBTQ advocates and some media  with egg on their face because they had said gender reassignment surgeries dont happen in Kentucky. UK could have also made this issue more clear, but they were keeping quiet in the middle of a political maelstrom, caught in the constant trap of trying to do the right thing, like provide non-surgical healthcare to trans children, without annoying the legislative GOP super-duper majority which thinks they know better than those childrens parents.

In truth a lot of people dont think of mastectomies or top surgery as gender reassignment surgery, but the general public does. Chris Hartman of the Fairness Campaign said his group didnt do any open records requests, but in constant conversations, it was well known that gender reassignment or bottom surgery didnt happen here on minors. Nonetheless, theres a good adage to use here: Trust but verify.

Still, this issue is dumb because the one thing that everyone  Republicans, Democrats, Gov. Beshear, LGBTQ advocates, your Aunt Sue and cousin Jack  agree on is that its fine to have a ban on gender reassignment surgery for anyone under 18. Beshear has said so repeatedly. He vetoed SB 150 not because it banned such surgery but because it was a cruel and unnecessary bill that violated medical privacy, took rights away from parents, and added onerous problems for our teachers and schools. He absolutely did the right thing.

This is a wholly politically manufactured story, Hartman said. It is suspicious and politically convenient that they sat on this letter for half a year and waited until election season.

Its been a good gotcha, in which challenger Daniel Cameron got to score off the governor for a hot minute. But its strange Cameron would pick up this particular cudgel when it worked so poorly for the person who really embraced it, third place primary finisher Kelly Craft. In the end, trans issues affect about 2,000 kids statewide, .068 percent of a Kentucky population that suffers from some of the worst educational, health and employment outcomes in the country.

Culture wars are what happen when you dont have much policy to run on.

Its also a tenuous culture war. In March, polling from Data for Progress asked voters about the more than 400 pieces of legislation working their way through statehouses, aimed at limiting the rights of transgender and gay people in America. Sixty-four percent of respondents, including 55 percent of Republicans, sided with the statement This is too much legislation. Politicians are playing political theater and using these bills as a wedge issue. A later Fox News poll found that 57 percent of registered voters said that attacks on transgender children and families are a major problem.

One reason Republicans have embraced anti-trans rhetoric is they no longer have abortion as the red flag to bring the party faithful to the polls. And that may be a risk as well, as we can see from Ohio, a red state where voters rejected GOP attempts to limit their ability to put abortion rights on an amendment. Most people regardless of party do not want government getting between them and their doctors, whether theyre pregnant, transgender, or getting a checkup.

Real people are so fatigued by the fascination and focus that GOP legislators have on a population that is so small, Chris Hartman said. Its shocking that Cameron would do it after it failed in a Kentucky primary. Hes putting his eggs in the wrong basket.

No one is fooled by the idea that these laws gives parents more rights. But political campaigns abhor nuance, facts or rationality. No reason why the most publicized governors race in the nation should be any different.
If former President Donald Trump's court timeline ahead of the 2024 election conflicts with his campaign schedule, the fault solely lies with him, conservative attorney George Conway told CNN's Erin Burnett Thursday in response to a question regarding Trump's social media rant about the special counsel's requested trial date of Jan. 2, 2024, in the election interference case. In a post to Truth Social Thursday evening, the current GOP frontrunner decried the proposed date as another attempt at interfering with his presidential bid.

"Well, that's his problem and not the court's and not the Justice Department's and not the public's," Conway said during the segment, adding that "the fact of the matter is if he's so confident that he's so far ahead, I think he is far ahead, I don't see why he needs to campaign that much. He could save his money and save his energy and work on defending himself." Though the conservative attorney recognized the special counsel's suggested trial date is "aggressive," he also believes the proposal is a strategy for negotiations like "bidding for a house." Conway added, "You come in with a low bid, the other side's gonna come in with a sky-high bid, and [Judge Tanya S. Chutkan will] probably do something in between, probably early next year or definitely no later than the summer."
The World Bank has cut off new funding for Uganda over the countrys recently enacted anti-LGBTQ+ law, which provides for execution or life imprisonment for same-sex relations.

Ugandas Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Groups values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality, said a statement the institution issued Tuesday. This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world.

Immediately after the law was enacted, the World Bank deployed a team to Uganda to review our portfolio in the context of the new legislation, the statement continued. That review determined additional measures are necessary to ensure projects are implemented in alignment with our environmental and social standards. Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are currently under discussion with the authorities.

No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested.

Uganda adopted the law in May. It provides for the death penalty for what it calls aggravated homosexuality, including sex with a minor, sex while HIV-positive, and incest. Those convicted of having same-sex relations that are not of the aggravated variety can be imprisoned for life. The law has been condemned by world leaders, including President Joe Biden, and human rights groups.

A previous anti-homosexuality law that did not include the death penalty was struck down in court in 2014, not because of its content but because of the manner in which it was passed by Parliament.

Okello Oryem, Ugandas state minister for foreign affairs, said bank officials are being hypocritical because the World Bank makes loans to countries with similar laws.

There are many Middle East countries who do not tolerate homosexuals, they actually hang and execute homosexuals, in the United States of America many states have passed laws that are either against or restrict activities of homosexuality ... so why pick on Uganda? he said, according to Reuters. The World Bank has been put under pressure by the usual imperialists.

Another Ugandan official, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi, told Agence France-Presse Wednesday that the countrys leaders are discussing the matter with the World Bank. However, the World Bank and others should be reminded that Uganda is a sovereign country, which takes decisions in the interests of her people, and this is the spirit of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, he added.

After the World Bank announcement, Ugandas health ministry issued an order to health care providers saying no one should be denied services or discriminated against in any way because of sexual orientation or other factors, AFP reports. The anti-LGBTQ+ law had led to concerns that such discrimination could arise.

As of last year, the bank had lent $5.4 billion to Uganda through its International Development Association. Funds that have already been approved will continue to go out even though there will be no new IDA financing, a source told Reuters.

The International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, divisions of the World Bank that deal with the private sector rather than government agencies, will consider future loans selectively, while taking any steps necessary to prevent discrimination, Reuters reports.

The World Bank is run by 189 member countries.

The Convening for Equality Coalition, made up of human rights groups, welcomed the World Bank's action but called for more. The World Banks decision to not proceed with any new public financing in Uganda in light of the Anti-Homosexuality Act is an important step by the international financial institution to respond to the pernicious impacts of Anti-Homosexuality Act," Clare Byarugaba, who works with Chapter Four Uganda and is a co-convener of the coalition, said in a statement. "We hope that this will spur further action from others committed to inclusive economic development and the protection of basic human rights to take concrete action in the face of Ugandas horrific law. Other countries considering similarly discriminatory laws should take notice of the World Banks decision and the negative economic impact on their economies. Open and inclusive societies are better for business and better for economic growth.

To be clear, there are no additional measures which can make this law acceptable," added Frank Mugisha, an activist with Sexual Minorities Uganda and co-convener of the coalition. "Ugandas Ministry of Health has tried to reassure international funders of a commitment to nondiscrimination in health care, but the lived reality for LGBTIQ Ugandans living under this law tells a very different story  one filled with discrimination, fear, and violence because of this law and those who support it. The only way forward is for Ugandas courts to stand up for the principle of nondiscrimination - already enshrined in our constitution  and rule that the law is unconstitutional as soon as possible.
You are the owner of this article.
Jasper Kenzo Sundeen's reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com.
WA man accused of threatening Obama, others should be released on bail, argue attorneys
ALGIERS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and nine others injured after a truck collided with a bus in the northern Algerian province of Djelfa on Friday, Algeria's Civil Protection Authority said in a statement.

Ambulances and rescue teams rushed to the scene after the accident took place near the city of Ain Oussara, according to the emergency response service.

The injured people have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, it added, without elaborating on the cause of the accident.

More than 90 percent of road accidents in Algeria are caused by human errors, particularly drivers' negligence. Other causes include the poor state of roads and cars and environmental factors, according to Algeria's National Center for Prevention and Road Safety. 
WA state task force deploying to Hawaii in wake of fires. Here's its makeup and mission
Kathy Geil, manager of the Yakima Valley Local Crime Lab, speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the lab in Zillah Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. The lab will allow police agencies to test and analyze evidence more quickly.
A man tests a Yadea electric scooter during the Electric Mobility Showcase 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug. 11, 2023. A variety of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and scooter brands such as Letin Mengo, Yadea and Sunra were showcased here on Friday, attracting hundreds of visitors in Cambodia.(Photo by Sovan/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A variety of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and scooter brands such as Letin Mengo, Yadea and Sunra were showcased here on Friday, attracting hundreds of visitors in Cambodia.

As oil prices have soared, some people in the Southeast Asian country have shifted to using electric cars and scooters because they will save them a lot of money on fuel.

Udom Pisey, an EV manager at the Car4you Co., Ltd., which imports Letin Mengo EVs from China, said using EVs have not only saved money, but also protected clean environment.

"EV prices are similar to those of petrol or diesel vehicles, but the running cost of an EV is much lower than petrol or diesel vehicles," she told Xinhua at the Electric Mobility Showcase 2023 in Phnom Penh.

"Users will save a lot of money because charging an EV is much cheaper than filling petrol or diesel," she added.

Pisey said EVs have very low maintenance costs because they don't have as many moving parts as an internal combustion vehicle.

Ly Na, a sales executive at EVX Auto Company, the exclusive distributor of Made-in-China Sunra scooters in Cambodia, said either electric cars or electric two-wheel vehicles are eco-friendly, reducing air and noise pollution.

"Our sales are quite good as many Sunra scooters have been sold out each month, and I believe that the demand will continue to rise thanks to rising oil prices," she told Xinhua at the expo.

"Sunra scooter are high in quality and their speeds range from 70 kilometers to 135 kilometers based on models," she added.

The one-day event was participated by 19 exhibitors displaying electric cars and scooters made in different countries including Cambodia, China, South Korea and Singapore.

"Electric mobility is the future of sustainable transportation," Andy Chun, managing director of South Korean electric two-wheel vehicle supplier Verywords Co., Ltd., said.

The Cambodian government has been encouraging people to use EVs and electric motorcycles, saying that they are environment-friendly and save users' money.

According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, some 800 new EVs had been registered in the kingdom as of February 2023, as the number of electric two-wheel vehicles was unavailable.

"The government is committed to having 40 percent of EV cars and 70 percent of electric motorbikes by 2050 in order to reduce carbon emissions," Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said.

To achieve this target, the government has reduced import duties on electric vehicles since 2021 to nearly 50 percent of taxes on traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, he said, adding that Cambodia also encouraged investments in EV assembling plants.

"This is providing an incentive for people to shift towards electric vehicles," he said.

Chanthol said EVs also have health and environmental benefits through reduced air pollution that would result in public health benefits.

"Moreover, the operating cost of an EV over one kilometer is almost half that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicle," he said. 
Today

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low around 75F. Winds SSE at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low around 75F. Winds SSE at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tomorrow

Sunny. High 93F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (R) in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

SINGAPORE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed during a meeting here on Friday to tap new areas of cooperation to chart a new course for bilateral relations.

Noting that China-Singapore relations maintain stability and continuity, show vitality and play a demonstrative role, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that the bilateral cooperation conforms to the current situation and helps each other boost development.

China and Singapore elevated bilateral ties to an all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership this year, fully demonstrating the high level of mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said.

"Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of our two countries, we will work with the Singaporean side to inherit the fine traditions, expand new areas of cooperation, and chart a new course for bilateral relations," Wang said.

Wang also called on Lawrence Wong, the leader of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership team, to make new contributions to bilateral relations.

Noting that the current world is full of chaos, Wang stressed the only right way to jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.

"Major countries should take a lead in the course," Wang said.

"China-Singapore relations are conducive for regional peace, stability and development. We are willing to strengthen coordination in multilateral affairs with the Singaporean side under the newly-elevated bilateral relations," Wang said.

China is committed to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by comprehensively promoting Chinese-style modernization, which will bring new opportunities to countries within the region including Singapore, Wang stressed.

China will work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members to advance the five proposals on building a shared home together and push forward ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with continuous and steady efforts, Wang noted, saying he hopes that Singapore will contribute more to building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

For his part, Wong noted that the upgrading of Singapore-China relations has bumped new energy into bilateral cooperation, and the two countries have achieved fruitful results in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Singapore will actively participate in China's modernization, and he is looking forward to visiting China and jointly chairing the meeting of the bilateral cooperation mechanism, said Wong.

Singapore appreciates China's important role in promoting regional sustainable development and maintaining stability, he said, adding that Singapore welcomes and supports China's efforts to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Singapore opposes jungle rules and power politics. It will jointly maintain regional peace and stability, uphold the World Trade Organization rules, and maintain a fair, open, and inclusive cooperation framework, Wong stressed. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L, Center), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (R, Center) in Singapore, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
The municipal court of Budapest on Thursday ruled to extradite a local lawyer, a woman of Hungarian nationality and wanted by the Italian authorities for organised crimes including fraud and money laundering committed in association with the Ndrangheta, the Hungarian court said in a statement.

According to the statement, the court of Catanzaro had issued a European warrant for the lawyer, in connection with 9 counts of criminal activities punishable by a combined 20 years imprisonment.



The suspect, arrested in January, is believed to have formally operated a law office in Budapest, and managed companies in Hungary, which were in fact under control by the leader of the gang and which were used as a cover for illegal property transfers and money laundering, the statement said.
Set in picturesque countryside, Hungarys historic array of castles reflect the countrys colourful history. Most are national symbols of courage, many are perched on picturesque hilltops, one is nestled by a lovely tranquil lake and another is the guardian of the Danube Bend.

Many of you will have already visited Buda Castle, the former royal palace overlooking Chain Bridge in the capital  now heres your chance to explore more.



1. Boldogko Castle: Dating Back to the 1200s

Tucked away in the Zemplen hills, Boldogko exudes an air of tranquillity and mystery.



Accessible by a picturesque hike, this medieval fortress offers a peaceful retreat amidst lush greenery. Its well-preserved walls, towers and quaint chapel make it a hidden gem that now rewards visitors with an entertaining day out thanks to major renovation in the early 2000s.



Although this years annual medieval has just taken place, you can still look forward to Septembers regular feast of pork and palinka brandy. See the Facebook page for details.



Boldogko Castle

3885 Boldogkovaralja.



2. Diosgyor Castle: Festival Heritage

In the leafy outskirts of Miskolc, Hungarys third city towards the Slovak border, Diosgyor Castle is a medieval fortress that has long been used for music festivals. Under reconstruction since 2021, it should slowly reopen  before it does, events take place at the Lovagi Tornak tere alongside.



Diosgyor Castle

3534 Miskolc, Var utca 24.



3. Eger Castle: A Symbol of Courage



Eger Castle, located right in the middle of this charming town of wine and spas in eastern Hungary, is renowned for its role in defending Hungary against the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.



The castle's heroic resistance has become a source of national pride, and its beautifully restored walls, towers and underground passages offer a glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of Hungary's past.



Eger Castle

3300 Eger, Var 1.



4. Jurisics Castle: Gateway to the Past



Nestled inside the border with Austria, within charming town of Koszeg, this medieval fortress claims a history that spans over a millennium. Its imposing walls, defensive towers and charming courtyards transport visitors back in time.



The castle's fascinating exhibitions provide insights into its strategic significance, particularly the section on the Ottoman siege of 1532.



Jurisics Castle

9730 Koszeg, Rajnis utca 9.



5. Sumeg Castle: Legends and Panoramas

Perched atop a volcanic hill north of Lake Balaton, Sumeg Castle offers both a glimpse into medieval life and breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.



This well-preserved fortress has witnessed centuries of history, and visitors can explore its towers, dungeons, and interactive exhibits that bring its stories to life.



Regular equestrian demonstrations add a touch of enchantment to an already captivating destination.



Sumeg Castle

8330 Sumeg, Varoldal utca 5.



6. Tata Castle: Reflected Elegance

Home of the Kuny Museum showing the development of Tata through various standpoints  nobility, the guilds and the arrival of the Esterhazys  Tata Castle is surrounded by the shimmering waters of Lake Oreg,



Visitors can combine medieval history with leisurely waterside walks, perhaps enjoying a meal at the two-Michelin star restaurant next door, Platan.



Tata Castle

2890 Tata, Varalja utca 1-3



7. Visegrad Castle: Hilltop Landmark

As your train follows the Danube to or from Slovakia, this atmospheric ruin is what you see, perched on a hilltop just inside the border with Hungary.



This medieval landmark consists of two main sites, upper and lower, fortifications built in the mid-1200s after the Mongol invasion and used as a summer residence by Hungarian royalty until the Ottoman conquest of the mid-1500s.



Much is open to the public, with exhibitions on the history of the castle and the Holy Crown, as well as a regular series of themed events.



Visegrad Castle

2025 Visegrad, Varhegy.



Main photo: Sumeg Castle



If you have a favourite thats not in this list, please so let us know by clicking here.



Words by Peterjon Cresswell for Xpatloop.com

Peterjon has been researching the byways of Budapest for 30 years, extending his expertise across Europe to produce guidebooks for Time Out and his own website liberoguide.com
A Grand Island woman faces charges after a road rage incident Monday evening on Interstate 80 near Kearney.

Marjiek Lual, 20, of Grand Island, was arrested for attempted second degree assault, criminal mischief, willful reckless driving and traffic violations after the incident. She was lodged in Buffalo County Jail.

At approximately 6:20 p.m. Monday, the Nebraska State Patrol received a report of a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 80 near mile marker 266. The reporting party stated that one of the vehicles involved, and Audi SQ5, had been forced into the median where it came to a stop. The driver was not injured. NSP also received a description of the vehicle that had left the scene of the crash, a Honda Civic.

A few minutes later, a trooper located the Honda as it was traveling eastbound at approximately 95 miles per hour on I-80, near mile marker 277. The trooper observed damage to the drivers side of the vehicle. The trooper performed a traffic stop. A Buffalo County Sheriffs Deputy was also able to make contact with the driver of the Audi and observed damage to the vehicle.

During the investigation, the trooper determined that the driver of the Honda had intentionally struck the Audi twice, forcing it into the median. The driver of the Honda, Lual, was arrested.
YORK COUNTY  This week, representatives from the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) met with the York County Commissioners to talk about the entitys recent acquisition of the K-Junction Solar Project by McCool Junction.

As a public utility, we actively respond to the growing energy needs of our customers, but were always looking for better ways to serve our communities and stakeholders, said Brad Underwood, vice-president of OPPD systems transformations. Thats why OPPD has acquired rights to the potential K-Junction Solar Project from EDF Renewables North America.

Underwood said further, on behalf of the public power district, OPPDs interest in acquiring this project does not guarantee that construction or other activities will being immediately. Rather, it will allow us to assess the viability of the opportunity and determine necessary next steps. We are committed to conducting thorough due diligence, including evaluating technical feasibility, financial considerations, environmental constraints and community impacts. This process will support informed decisions that align with our long-term goals and core value of honoring the communities we serve and in which we operate.

He stressed several times that the project is very much still in the infancy stage.

What does this acquisition mean? OPPD says it acquired the K-Junction Solar project, including the rights and agreements affiliated with it. Perennial Public Power District would continue to serve local customers while OPPD would collaborate with others to deliver power to the energy grid that serves all of Nebraska through the Southwest Power Pool. The earliest anticipated commercial operating date would some time in 2027. EDF has already obtained interconnection approval from SPP, which he said is a significant benefit that OPPD would be remiss to not pursue on behalf of all Nebraskans.

Underwood said OPPD has been working with Saunders County to advance solar, and weve learned a lot working there and with our counties. We will share that information as we continue our discussions here. Yes, we acquired the entity, bought the land leases and bought the ability to connect to the transmission system. This has been an important acquisition for us. So the first thing we did is come to you to say we bought it. It shows our transparency. This would be a 310-megawatt facility on 2,800 acres. The project is currently in its infancy and we are doing our technical due diligence and working on our community conversations to find out how the community feels  are they excited or concerned?

We are very happy to be here and we understand York County is reviewing its zoning regulations, Underwood continued. That is a complicated process and we want to be a resource for the community. We can help the county orient itself with whats happening as we go along. All public power districts work well together, we have extraordinary coordination. What we are proposing is interconnecting with the system.

One lesson weve learned is the tax payments are significant for communities, Saunders County has seen great benefits, Underwood said. We know its important to the community.

We have a fair amount of people here at this meeting, and they would appreciate Q&A time with a meeting or an event in the future, with you, said Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier. I highly recommend that happens in the near future. One thing I know will be brought up, because OPPD is a public power district, is if you will use the power of eminent domain. Will that be out there for you to use? Because that scares people and it doesnt go over well.

Regarding eminent domain, landowner rights are at the center of the conversation, Underwood responded. This project involves willing landowners who are deciding what they want to do with their land. Eminent domain does not factor into this conversation because these are willing leases. And in general, 97% of the time we dont use eminent domain when acquiring easements, leases, for projects.

Commissioner Woody Ziegler asked about the tax payments Underwood mentioned earlier, asking if those would change if OPPD owned the project, as a public power entity.

Underwood said the proposed project at this point includes a third party operating the solar field. There has been no change in how the project has been proposed. It is very early and that is a challenge with being transparent quickly, in that we dont have all the answers to the questions right now.

If OPPD should decide to own and operate, the name plate tax would go away, correct? asked Commissioner Daniel Grotz.

Underwood said yes, that would be the case, but the plan is still to have a third party operator although OPPD, at this immediate moment, is the only entity involved.

And as far as the landowners who already entered agreements, some have said they have buyers remorse, if you will, Grotz added. Has any thought been given to, if a landowner now wishes they hadnt signed up, could they be allowed to opt out?

Im not aware of those types of conversations, Underwood said, but if that were the case, wed sit down with them and see where that goes.

Earlier, you said it would be a 310-megawatt facility, Grotz said. And some of the discussions that have been held, as the county works on regulations, has been if those set-backs shrink the amont of land youve leased and you want more, if you needed extra land and dont have the willing landowners, would eminent domain be something you could use if you wanted or would you commit to not utilize it?

We have to evaluate if (regulations) shrink the size of the facility, wed have to replace it with something, Underwood said. We do not anticipate using eminent domain because we have willing landowners and we want to have community conversations.

So the landowners would pay the real estate taxes? asked Commissioner Stan Boehr.

Underwood replied that this has always been the case because the ownership of the land will not change.

What about the taxes on the equipment thats on the land? Boehr asked further.

The name plate tax would not be required for OPPD, but if a third party, as proposed, operated it, that entity would pay that tax, Underwood said.

Right now, OPPD is the standalone on this project, correct? said Obermier.

We have constant coordination and conversations about partnerships, Underwood said. Im sure our teams are already talking, but right now we are the only owners.

We will be out here as much as you will have us, Underwood told the county board members. We have learned to go slow and methodical through the zoning process and we hope to be as much help to the county as we can.

The people we represent really need to have conversations with you and I really, again, encourage you to do so, Obermier said.

Ziegler asked about the benefits to the county, as OPPD is a public entity. Underwood said the tax and investment benefits to the community would remain the same as before as they are still proposing a third party is the operator of the solar field. There would be benefits to the community, no change in that.

OPPD says the benefits will include power for approximately 59,000 average homes; an estimated local construction impact of $180-plus million; and approximately 300 construction jobs  plus the added tax revenue (when a third party is the operator).

OPPDs official statement on the project, from Javier Fernandez, OPPD president and CEO, says, This is an exciting venture for OPPD, our customers and York County. We are looking forward to collaborating with the county and local communities on an effort that will not only bring local benefits, but also help meet the growing energy needs of all Nebraskans.

While this weeks conversation with the commissioners ended at that point, it will certainly not be the last of the discussion as this process will be ongoing for a considerable amount of time.
New Delhi: Born into a humble and impoverished family, armed with nothing but a mere 200 rupees and an unwavering determination, he set out on a remarkable journey of resilience and ambition. Starting as a utensil cleaner, with dreams far grander than his circumstances, he defied the odds stacked against him. Today, against all expectations, he stands at the helm of a sprawling business empire, a living testament to the power of sheer grit and unyielding tenacity.

This is the inspiring tale of a man who transformed his life from rags to riches, defying adversity, and rewriting the script of his destiny.

Who Is Prem Ganapathy?

Prem Ganapathy is an Indian businessman and the creator of the restaurant chain Dosa Plaza. There are currently 72 locations for the chain across the UAE, Oman, New Zealand, and India.

Customers can choose from 105 different dosa variants at the eatery. Ganapathy, who was born in a small Tamil Nadu hamlet, launched his company with a little sum of money.

Prem Ganapathy: Early Life And Struggles

Prem Ganapathy was born in the Tamil Nadu region of Thoothukudi, in the village of Nagalapuram. He quit school after completing the tenth grade and travelled to Chennai in search of employment.

He tried to maintain his family by working numerous jobs in Chennai before escaping to Mumbai in 1990. Unfortunately, he encountered several difficulties in his early days in Mumbai.

Ganapathy was poor and illiterate in the local tongue. He was left without employment and stranded. A Tamil family saw him one day and assisted him in finding employment. He eventually found employment doing dishwashing at a bakery.

In order to get money, Ganapathy began working at various bakeries and eateries. After two years, he managed to save some money and made the decision to start his own company.

Prem Ganapathy began selling dosas with a pitiful investment of Rs 1000. In 1997, he leased a storefront and started selling a variety of dosas to the public. He desired to be distinctive and to produce something distinctive.

In 2003, Ganapathy set up shop in a mall in Mumbai's Vashi neighbourhood. There was no turning back after this. Ganapathy put a lot of effort into realising his aspirations, going from having no money to launching his own company.

Prem Ganapathy: Net Worth

And now he turned his Rs 1000 business into Rs over 50 crore and gained popularity as also famed as the Dosa King.
America is regarded as a nation of opportunity, where everyone may succeed. To access these opportunities, hundreds of Indians travel to the United States every year. But have you ever wondered what obstacles people must surmount in order to survive in a foreign country?

Kanjibhai Manchhu Desai, the first Indian motel owner in the US, is one such person who with his unwavering spirit of fighting created a name for himself in a foreign land.

In the early 1940s, he purchased the Goldfield Hotel in the heart of San Francisco. He also created chances for other Patels to visit America from India and lease a motel. He faced many obstacles because of his unlawful status and linguistic limitations, but Kanjibhai's indomitable spirit and ability to persevere in the face of insurmountable challenges earned him a place in American culture and history. The life of Kanjibhai Manchhu Desai, who overcame impossible obstacles to succeed in America, remains a timeless story.



The journey from Surat to America

Kanji Manchhu Desai set out for America in search of solutions to better his family's circumstances back in India. Although his quest was dangerous, his unwavering spirits kept him on track which eventually helped him find livelihood in America. In 1937, Desai arrived in the US. The combination of his unlawful status, racial persecution, and linguistic difficulties ought to have made him leave. But he persisted and eventually landed work of picking fruit on a farm for incredibly little pay, the only work he could get given his unauthorised status.

The first Indian to open a hotel in America

During the era of Japanese internment that followed the attack on Pearl Harbour in the 1940s, Kanjibhai discovered the hotel industry in California. A Japanese woman who had to leave everything there sold Kanjibhai a hotel lease. He rented hotels with single-room occupancy (SRO).

Kanjibhai had the unshakeable will to persevere in the face of insurmountable challenges in order to carve out a place for himself in American culture and history. He began advancing his hotel business to success with the help of the Indian philosophy "Atithi Devo Bhava".

How Kanjibhai helped numerous Patels to acquire hotel leases in the US?

When Kanjibhai became the lessee of his first SRO, he used it for any Patel who desired to migrate to America. He created possibilities for other Patels to come to America from their native country and save the money needed for the down payment on a hotel lease. In his SRO, his fellow Patels could dine and stay until they had saved enough money for a down payment on a hotel of their own. Kanjibhai and other Patels also provided handshake loans without requiring repayment.

Starting a business in a foreign land is not an easy job. There are inevitable hurdles that founders must overcome while launching a business. The success of founders in the US market like that of Kanjibhai is evidence of their tenacity and adaptability. Founders like Kanjibhai have demonstrated their ability to overcome obstacles by breaking down barriers and thriving in a foreign land. Kanjibhai's struggle, challenges and triumphs will keep his story alive for generations to come.
New Delhi: Twenty-four students of a municipal school in Delhi's Naraina area were taken ill on Friday allegedly due to a gas leak incident nearby, officials said. Nineteen students were rushed to the RML Hospital while the rest nine were sent to the Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital, a senior hospital of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi told PTI.

"The students fell sick apparently due to some gas leak incident near the school. All students are fine, they are being attended to by doctors at the two hospitals," he said.

Officials from the civic health department rushed to the two hospitals and also to the school and the education department of the MCD is also on the job, the official added.



"We will be probing from our level too as to what caused this incident," he said.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the Bihar government as to how many of the convicts, granted remission in April this year along with former Lok Sabha MP Anand Mohan, were held guilty of murdering public servants on duty. The Bihar government informed the top court that a total of 97 convicts, including Mohan, who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah, were prematurely released at the same time.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta posted the plea filed by the wife of the slain IAS officer challenging the remission granted to Mohan for final hearing on September 26. The top court allowed senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, to file an additional affidavit giving the details of the released convicts who were held guilty of killing a public servant.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of the slain officer, requested that the state be asked to serve upon them the original records of remission granted to Mohan so they can prepare their response. Kumar objected to the request and said if Luthra's client wanted original records of remission, she can file an application under the Right to Information Act.



"There was no wrongdoing. Total of 97 persons including Mohan were released at the same time," Kumar said. Justice Datta asked whether all these 97 people, who were granted remission, had been convicted of murdering a public servant and, if not, how many were guilty of such an offence. Kumar said he does not have such data and needed further instruction on the details of all the convicts who were granted remission and released prematurely.

The bench said the petitioner's case is that the remission policy was changed to benefit Mohan. "You (Kumar) furnish the details about the persons who were convicted for the murder of public servants and were granted remission," Justice Datta said. On May 19, the top court had directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records with regard to the remission granted to Mohan, a gangster-turned-politician.

It had told the counsel appearing for the Bihar government that no further adjournment will be granted in the case, and directed him to place the complete records for perusal by the court. Luthra had argued the state government changed the policy retrospectively and released Mohan. Mohan was released from Saharsa jail on April 24 after serving 14 years following an amendment to the Bihar prison rules by the state government.

The petitioner has contended the life imprisonment awarded to Mohan meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life and it cannot be mechanically interpreted to last just 14 years. "Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission," she has said in her petition.

Anand Mohan was awarded death penalty on October 5, 2007 by the trial court which was commuted to rigorous life imprisonment by the Patna High Court on December 10, 2008 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2012. The remission of Mohan's sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in the killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.

Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district. Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession, and was alleged to have instigated the mob to kill Krishnaiah.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in China's recent floods, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

"We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of precious human lives due to floods in China. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the affected people and the bereaved families," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.

In this difficult time, Pakistan stands ready to provide utmost support and humanitarian assistance to China, the spokesperson said.

"Pakistan stands ready to work with China to achieve our shared objectives of mitigating climate change and upgrading our respective capacity for disaster management and prevention," the spokesperson said. 
NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it does not behove the Indian Prime Minister to laugh and crack jokes in Parliament when Manipur has been on fire for months. Gandhi criticised the Prime Minister for his reply to the no-confidence motion brought against his government by the Opposition in Lok Sabha, saying he devoted just two minutes to Manipur in his over two-hour speech.

"I watched the PM yesterday speaking for two hours laughing, joking, 'lagaoing naaras' (raising slogans). The Prime Minister seems to have forgotten that the state of Manipur is on fire and has been on fire for many days," Gandhi said. "The Prime Minister sitting in the middle of Parliament was shamelessly laughing...The issue was not Congress or me, the issue was what is happening in Manipur and why it was not being stopped," he said.

#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "Yesterday the PM spoke in Parliament for about 2 hours 13 minutes. In the end, he spoke on Manipur for 2 minutes. Manipur has been burning for months, people are being killed, rapes are happening but the PM was laughing, cracking jokes. It pic.twitter.com/WEPYNoGe2X  ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

Gandhi said his remarks that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had "murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur" were not hollow words. "Hindustan has been murdered by BJP in Manipur," he said. Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister "wants Manipur to burn and not douse the fire". He said the Army can bring peace in 2-3 days but the government was not deploying it
In an awe-inspiring narrative of determination and benevolence, Savji Dholakia's journey from a 13-year-old school dropout to a revered diamond tycoon is a testament to human resilience and compassion. Hailing from the rustic village of Dudhala in Gujarat's Amreli district, Dholakia's unconventional path led him to establish Shri Hari Krishna Exports, a global diamond jewelry empire. Notably, Dholakia's legacy is not solely defined by business success; his philanthropic endeavors have touched the lives of thousands, offering homes, cars, and jewelry to over 4,000 employees. With a Padma Shri award adorning his accomplishments, Dholakia's story serves as an embodiment of unwavering dedication and transformative impact.

From Humble Beginnings to Daring Ventures:

The Early Years Savji Dholakia's remarkable journey traces back to his roots in the quaint village of Dudhala. At the tender age of 13, he made a bold decision to veer away from traditional educational pursuits and joined his uncle's diamond business. This early exposure to the world of diamonds laid the foundation for his future endeavors.



A Spark Ignites:

The Genesis of Shri Hari Krishna Exports Dholakia's unwavering determination led him to carve his own path in the diamond industry. After initially working with his uncle, he ventured into diamond polishing, honing his skills and insights over a decade. In 1991, armed with experience and ambition, Dholakia established Shri Hari Krishna Exports, marking the inception of a visionary enterprise.

Empowering Employees:

A Legacy of Benevolence Beyond business acumen, Dholakia's hallmark has been his unwavering commitment to his employees. Acknowledging their dedication and contribution, he initiated a tradition of gifting, bestowing cars, homes, and precious jewelry upon over 4,000 employees. This philanthropic gesture extends beyond material possessions, with Dholakia annually offering tours to the parents of his employees, fostering a strong sense of community and familial bonds within his organization.

A Diamond Empire's Ascension:

Phenomenal Growth and Recognition While Shri Hari Krishna Exports started modestly, under Dholakia's visionary leadership, it rapidly grew into a global diamond powerhouse. The company's turnover surged beyond INR 400 crores, showcasing Dholakia's remarkable ability to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. With over 6,000 employees, the enterprise reflects his commitment to both sustainable business growth and employee welfare.

Honors and Legacy:

The Philanthropic Pioneer Savji Dholakia's contributions extend beyond business realms. His philanthropic initiatives earned him the prestigious Padma Shri award, a recognition of his remarkable impact on society. Dholakia's ethos of service and giving back echoes in his dedication to nurturing his employees as if they were his own family, thereby fostering an environment of trust, gratitude, and mutual support.

Conclusion:

A Trailblazer of Compassion and Enterprise Savji Dholakia's journey encapsulates the transformative power of determination, innovation, and benevolence. From an unconventional start to the helm of a global diamond empire, his story resonates as an inspiring testament to human potential. Dholakia's legacy reminds us that success is not solely measured in material wealth but in the positive and enduring impact one leaves on the lives of others.
New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of party Lok Sabha MPs on Friday morning to discuss the suspension of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. According to sources, the meeting is scheduled to be held at the party's parliamentary office at 10:30 am on Friday. "Congress Lok Sabha MPs meeting called by CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is scheduled at 10.30 AM today to discuss the suspension of the leader of the opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha," party sources said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday evening moved a resolution for Chowdhury's suspension in Lok Sabha, saying he disturbs the House whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers speak or a debate is going on. The resolution was passed by a voice vote. The resolution was moved after certain remarks by Chowdhury on the prime minister during the no-confidence motion debate triggered outrage from the treasury benches.

Reacting to his suspension from Lok Sabh pending an investigation by the privileges committee, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that 'Nirav' means to be silent and his intention was not to insult Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



"I have not insulted PM Modi. Modi ji speaks on everything but on the Manipur issue, he is sitting 'Nirav', which means sitting silent. 'Nirav' means to be silent. My intention was not to insult PM Modi. PM Modi did not feel that he was insulted, his courtiers (darbari) felt so and brought this proposal against me. I came to know that (the matter) has been referred to the privilege committee and I have been suspended," Chowdhury said.

He alleged that PM Modi every day insulted Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi and it is on record. "We have no objection even if PM Modi becomes the Prime Minister for hundred times," he said."I am ready to face the punishment but everything is on record and citizens of the country should know that there was no attempt to insult the PM," he added.

Chowdhury further said, "For the last three days the debate is going on over a no-confidence motion and today the Prime Minister addressed the Lok Sabha and tried to answer the questions raised but he overlooked the most contentious issue. I discussed with the PM that we had to force him to come at the Parliament over no confidence motion and I did not feel good over it."

Chowdhury said that he said two things and if it is misinterpreted then it is not his fault. "I gave an example as a metaphor and had no intention to insult to PM. The second thing I said is that PM starts speaking on everything." Chowdhury said that 'Nirav' was said in the context of Manipur.
TupiTea is a natural supplement that aims to support male reproductive health. In this depth blog, we are going explore the potential benefits, ingredients, and efficacy of TupiTea. As concerns about male reproductive wellness continue to grow, natural remedies like TupiTea have gained popularity for their promising effects. We are committed to providing an unbiased analysis of TupiTea, backed by scientific evidence and real user experiences.

What is TupiTea?

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By incorporating TupiTea into their daily routines, individuals may experience improvements in various aspects of male reproductive health, such as boosting vitality, improving stamina, and supporting overall performance. However, as with any supplement, it is essential to consult a healthcare professional before use to ensure it aligns with individual health needs.

Looking to explore the benefits of TupiTea firsthand? Visit our website to learn more about this natural supplement and how it can support your male reproductive health journey.

Understanding the Ingredients of TupiTea:

The efficacy of TupiTea lies in its thoughtfully chosen ingredients, each playing a crucial role in promoting male reproductive health. Let's delve into the key components that make up this natural supplement:

1. Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium): This herb, known for its traditional use in Chinese medicine, is believed to support blood flow and boost libido, contributing to improved male reproductive health.

2. Tribulus Terrestris: This plant extract has long been recognized for its potential to enhance testosterone levels, which may positively influence reproductive function and overall vitality.

3. Panax Ginseng: As an adaptogenic herb, Ginseng is thought to combat stress and fatigue while potentially promoting endurance and stamina, benefiting male reproductive wellness.

4. Maca Root: Hailing from the Andes, Maca Root is celebrated for its potential to increase energy levels, enhance performance, and support hormonal balance, all of which contribute to reproductive health.

5. L-Arginine: An essential amino acid, L-Arginine is believed to boost nitric oxide production, helping to relax blood vessels and improve blood flow, vital for male reproductive function.

6. Zinc: This trace mineral plays a pivotal role in male reproductive health, supporting testosterone production and sperm quality.

Combined, these natural ingredients form a powerful blend in TupiTea, aiming to provide comprehensive support for male reproductive health. However, individual results may vary, and it is crucial to consult a healthcare professional to determine if TupiTea is suitable for one's unique needs.

Efficacy of TupiTea:

The efficacy of TupiTea in supporting male reproductive health is backed by scientific studies and real user experiences. The carefully selected blend of natural ingredients in TupiTea is believed to work synergistically to address various aspects of male reproductive wellness.

Scientific research has shown that key ingredients like Horny Goat Weed, Tribulus Terrestris, and Panax Ginseng may have positive effects on blood flow, hormone levels, and stamina, contributing to enhanced reproductive function and vitality.

Furthermore, the presence of L-Arginine and Zinc in TupiTea supports nitric oxide production and testosterone synthesis, which play crucial roles in maintaining male reproductive health.

Many users have reported positive experiences with TupiTea, noting improvements in libido, energy levels, and overall well-being. However, as with any health supplement, it is essential to use TupiTea as part of a healthy lifestyle and consult a healthcare professional to assess its suitability for specific health goals.

Benefits of Using TupiTea:

Incorporating TupiTea into a daily wellness routine may yield several notable benefits for male reproductive health. The carefully curated blend of natural ingredients offers a holistic approach to support overall well-being.

1. Enhanced Blood Flow: TupiTea's formula, enriched with L-Arginine, may promote improved blood circulation, leading to better oxygen and nutrient supply to vital organs, including those related to male reproductive function.

2. Increased Libido: Certain ingredients like Horny Goat Weed and Maca Root in TupiTea have been traditionally linked to boosting libido and desire, contributing to a heightened sense of intimacy.

3. Vitality and Stamina: TupiTea's inclusion of Panax Ginseng and Tribulus Terrestris may help combat fatigue and support endurance, potentially increasing energy levels and physical performance.

4. Hormonal Balance: The presence of Zinc and other essential nutrients in TupiTea may assist in maintaining hormonal balance, crucial for male reproductive health.

5. Overall Reproductive Wellness: Regular use of TupiTea may positively impact various aspects of male reproductive health, encompassing fertility, virility, and general well-being.

It is important to note that individual responses to supplements can vary, and results may take time to manifest. Before incorporating TupiTea into a daily regimen, seeking guidance from a healthcare professional is recommended to ensure its suitability for specific health needs.

For more information on the individual ingredients in TupiTea and their scientific benefits, check out our comprehensive guide on our website.

Drawbacks of Using TupiTea:

While TupiTea offers potential benefits for male reproductive health, it's essential to consider certain drawbacks that users should be aware of before incorporating the supplement into their routine.

1. Individual Variability: The effects of TupiTea may vary from person to person. Some individuals may experience significant improvements, while others may observe minimal or no noticeable changes.

2. Health Considerations: As with any supplement, it's crucial to consult a healthcare professional before using TupiTea, especially for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions or those taking medications. Interaction with certain medications could occur.

3. Delayed Results: Achieving desired outcomes with TupiTea may require consistent usage over an extended period. Immediate results should not be expected, and patience is key.

4. Limited Availability: Depending on geographical location, TupiTea may not be readily available in all regions, potentially limiting access for interested consumers.

5. Cost Considerations: The cost of TupiTea may be higher than some alternative male reproductive health supplements, impacting long-term affordability for certain users.

Overall, while TupiTea holds promise in supporting male reproductive health, potential users must weigh its benefits against the drawbacks and make informed decisions based on their individual circumstances and health requirements.

Comparison with Other Similar Products:

In the competitive landscape of male reproductive health supplements, TupiTea distinguishes itself by offering a unique blend of natural ingredients targeted towards improving blood flow and overall reproductive wellness. Let's compare TupiTea with other similar products to understand its advantages:

1. Ingredient Selection: TupiTea's formulation stands out due to its thoughtfully chosen ingredients, each backed by scientific research. While other products may contain similar components, TupiTea's specific blend aims to optimize male reproductive health.

2. Scientific Support: Unlike some competitors, TupiTea boasts scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of its ingredients in promoting blood flow, hormone balance, and vitality.

3. User Experiences: Real user reviews often highlight TupiTea's positive impact on libido, stamina, and overall well-being. This favorable feedback sets it apart from products with less verifiable testimonials.

4. Comprehensive Approach: TupiTea takes a holistic approach to male reproductive health, addressing multiple aspects of wellness, including blood flow, hormone levels, and endurance.

5. Safety and Quality: TupiTea is manufactured following stringent quality standards, ensuring consumer safety and satisfaction.

While there are various products in the market, TupiTea's unique formula and positive user experiences position it as a compelling option for those seeking natural support for male reproductive health. However, individual preferences and needs should guide product selection, and users are encouraged to explore and compare products carefully before making a decision.

Want to see how TupiTea stacks up against other male reproductive health supplements? Find out in our in-depth comparison on our website.

Customer Reviews of TupiTea:

Customer reviews play a vital role in assessing the effectiveness of any supplement, and TupiTea is no exception. Feedback from users who have incorporated TupiTea into their daily routines offers valuable insights into its impact on male reproductive health.

Many users have expressed satisfaction with TupiTea, reporting positive experiences related to increased libido, improved energy levels, and enhanced overall well-being. Some individuals have noted that consistent usage of TupiTea over time has contributed to a boost in confidence and a sense of vitality.

While the majority of reviews are favorable, it's important to acknowledge that individual responses may vary. Some users may observe rapid improvements, while others may require more time to experience desired outcomes.

As with any supplement, potential users should consider multiple reviews, weigh the experiences shared, and recognize that individual results may differ. Consulting with a healthcare professional before using TupiTea can provide personalized guidance and ensure it aligns with specific health goals.

Dosage and Recommendations:

To maximize the potential benefits of TupiTea and ensure safe usage, adhering to the recommended dosage is crucial. The dosage may vary based on the product's formulation and concentration of ingredients, so it's essential to follow the manufacturer's instructions provided on the product label or packaging.

Typically, TupiTea is consumed as a powdered supplement or in capsule form. The recommended dosage is often one or two servings daily, preferably with meals. However, individual needs may differ, and it's important not to exceed the recommended daily intake.

For optimal results, consistency is key. Regularly incorporating TupiTea into one's daily routine allows the natural ingredients to accumulate in the system, potentially leading to improved male reproductive health over time.

As with any supplement, consulting a healthcare professional before starting TupiTea is advisable, especially for individuals with pre-existing health conditions or those taking medications. Seeking professional guidance ensures the dosage aligns with individual health needs and goals, supporting a safe and effective usage experience.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, TupiTea offers a promising natural solution for those seeking to support male reproductive health. With a thoughtfully curated blend of ingredients, backed by scientific research and positive user experiences, TupiTea presents a comprehensive approach to address various aspects of male wellness.

The potential benefits of TupiTea, including enhanced blood flow, increased libido, and improved vitality, make it a compelling option for individuals looking to optimize their reproductive health.

While TupiTea has received positive feedback from users, it's essential to recognize that individual responses may vary. As with any supplement, consulting a healthcare professional before incorporating TupiTea into their routine ensures personalized guidance and safety.

As the landscape of male reproductive health continues to evolve, TupiTea's commitment to quality and potential efficacy solidifies its position as a valuable contender in the market. Understanding individual health needs and considering various factors will empower users to make informed decisions about integrating TupiTea into their wellness journey.

To get started on revitalizing your male wellness with TupiTea, click here to visit our website and explore the potential benefits for yourself.

FAQ:

1. Are there any drawbacks to using TupiTea?

While TupiTea has shown promise in supporting male reproductive health, individual responses may vary, and some users may experience limited results. Additionally, it's essential to consult a healthcare professional before use, especially for those with pre-existing medical conditions or taking medications. Interaction with certain medications could occur.

2. What are the side effects and precautions of TupiTea?

TupiTea's natural ingredients are generally well-tolerated, but individual sensitivities may occur. Common side effects are rare but may include mild digestive discomfort. Users should adhere to the recommended dosage and consult a healthcare professional if they experience any adverse reactions.

3. How does TupiTea improve gut health?

TupiTea's blend of ingredients, such as Maca Root, may contribute to improved gut health due to its potential prebiotic properties, supporting beneficial gut bacteria.

4. How to incorporate TupiTea into your daily routine effectively?

Taking TupiTea as per the recommended dosage, preferably with meals, can optimize its potential benefits. Consistency is key to experience positive outcomes.

5. Who can benefit from using TupiTea?

TupiTea is intended for adult males seeking natural support for reproductive health. As with any supplement, consulting a healthcare professional is advised to determine individual suitability.

6. What are the physical and mental health benefits of TupiTea?

TupiTea's potential benefits encompass enhanced blood flow, increased vitality, improved libido, and overall well-being, positively impacting both physical and mental health.

7. Is TupiTea worth the hype?

TupiTea's unique formulation and positive user experiences support its potential efficacy. However, individual outcomes may vary, and it's essential to manage expectations.

8. What are the claims made by TupiTea reviews?

TupiTea's claims typically revolve around its ability to enhance male reproductive health, vitality, and energy levels, as reported by users in their testimonials.

9. Can you share some real user reviews of TupiTea?

Real user reviews often highlight improvements in libido, stamina, and overall well-being, providing valuable insights into TupiTea's potential effectiveness.

10. How does TupiTea compare with other similar products in the market?

In comparison, TupiTea's unique formulation, scientific support, and positive user experiences position it as a competitive option for male reproductive health support. However, individual preferences and needs should guide product selection.

(This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Lts Consumer Connect Initiative, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility or liability for any claims, errors or omissions in the content of the article.)
New Delhi: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu shared his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhus brave battle with cancer on Thursday. He posted pictures of her smiling during her fifth chemo session. He said he would take her to Manali for a much-needed break. Navjot Kaur was diagnosed with stage-2 invasive cancer in March and underwent surgery. The wounds have healed but the mental scars of this ordeal will remain. Fifth chemo underway. finding a good vein was a challenge for sometime and then Dr. Rupinders expertise came handy She refused to move her arm so I spoon fed her.

"Keeping in view massive vascular reactions after the last chemo aggravated by heat and extreme humidity time to take her to Manali for some solace !!, Siddhu wrote.

The wounds have healed but the mental scars of this ordeal will remain. Fifth chemo underway. finding a good vein went all in vain for sometime and then Dr. Rupinders expertise came handy.. She refused to move her arm so spoon fed her.



Keeping in view massive vascular pic.twitter.com/y4EF9OHWUj  Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) August 9, 2023

Siddhu has been keeping his followers updated on his wifes treatment on social media. The Congress leader who was in jail for 10 months after being convicted in a 34-year-old road-rage incident, was released from jail earlier this year.

After losing the Punjab Assembly election in February 2022, he had to resign as state Congress chief. Later, he also faced party action for indiscipline and anti-party activities.
New Delhi: Actor Rani Mukerji made a shocking revelation at the 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. 'Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway' actress opened up about her miscarriage and why she never discussed this personal crisis before. She said, I got pregnant with my second baby at the end of 2020 and I unfortunately lost my baby five months into my pregnancy.

Married to filmmaker Aditya Chopra, the couple is raising a daughter together. As per a report by Firstpost, the actress said, Maybe this is the first time I am making this revelation because in todays world every aspect of your life is discussed publicly, and becomes an agenda for talking about your film to get more eyeballs. Obviously, I didnt speak about this when I was promoting the film because it would have come across as me trying to speak about a personal experience that would propel the film so, it was around the year when Covid-19 struck. It was 2020. I got pregnant with my second baby at the end of 2020 and I unfortunately lost my baby five months into my pregnancy."

Post the tragedy, Rani was approached by Film Director Nikkhil Advani, she said, ''He told me about the story and I kind of immediately not that I had to have the loss of a child to feel the emotion but sometimes there is a film in the right time of what you are going through personally to be able for you to connect with it instantly. When I heard the story, I was in disbelief. I never thought in a country like Norway an Indian family would have had to go through.



Speaking about 'Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway', Rani Mukerji said, I love to be a part of stories where the woman is the agent of change, where a woman is strong enough to take on a system and alter it for the good and where a woman dares to take on patriarchy, the so-called glass ceiling and smash it with her ambition and talent. These are the roles that I naturally gravitate to because I have always wanted to show women as fiercely independent builders of our nation.
NEW DELHI: The World Health Organization has classified the EG.5 coronavirus strain circulating in the United States and China as a "variant of interest" but said it did not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other variants. The fast-spreading variant, the most prevalent in the United States with an estimated more than 17% of cases, has been behind upticks in the virus across the country and also has been detected in China, South Korea, Japan and Canada, among other countries.

"Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation. A more comprehensive evaluation of the risk posed by EG.5 was needed, it added.

COVID-19 has killed more than 6.9 million people globally, with more than 768 million confirmed cases since the virus emerged. WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic in March 2020 and ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 in May this year.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said EG.5 had increased transmissibility but was not more severe than other Omicron variants. "We don't detect a change in severity of EG.5 compared to other sublineages of Omicron that have been in circulation since late 2021," she said.

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus deplored that many countries were not reporting COVID-19 data to WHO. He said that only 11% had reported hospitalizations and ICU admissions related to the virus.

In response, WHO issued a set of standing recommendations for COVID, in which it urged countries to continue reporting COVID data, particularly mortality data, morbidity data, and to continue to offer vaccination.

Van Kerkhove said that the absence of data from many countries was hindering efforts to fight the virus. "About a year ago, we were in a much better situation to either anticipate or act or be more agile," she said. And now the delay in our ability to do that is growing. And our ability to do this is declining.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has launched the all-new CD110 Dream Deluxe. Prices for the motorcycle start at Rs 73,400, ex-showroom. As the next generation of Honda's most affordable motorcycle in India, this new model is set to redefine the entry-level motorcycle segment with its latest technology, enhanced comfort features, and attractive styling. The updated avatar of the commuter motorcycle is now OBD-2 compliant, and it now also gets the optional 10-year warranty. Furthermore, the motorcycle is now loaded with new graphics for a fresher look. While the exhaust muffler is finished in chrome, the 5-spoke alloy wheels are silver finished.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Tsutsumu Otani, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, With the launch of the all-new OBD2 compliant CD110 Dream Deluxe, we are excited to redefine affordability and performance in the Indian motorcycle market. This next-generation motorcycle, packed with comfort, convenience and reliability, reflects HMSI's commitment to providing unmatched value to our customers.



Watch Honda Shine 100 Review:

Introducing the all-new offering from HMSI, Mr. Yogesh Mathur, Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, Building on the rich legacy of brand CD, we are proud to introduce the all-new CD110 Dream Deluxe. The motorcycle offers a comprehensive package of comfort, convenience, and style. We are confident that the attractive pricing and unmatched value will appeal to a wide range of customers, making it the perfect choice for daily commuting.

Also Read - Conman Sukesh Chandrashekar's Luxury Car Collection Worth Crores To Be Auctioned By ED Today: IN PICS

Powering the Honda CD110 Dream Deluxe is a 110cc single-cylinder engine with a peak power output of 8.67 hp and 9.30 Nm of max torque. It gets a 4-speed transmission, and the rims on the CD110 Dream Deluxe measure 18-inch in diameter, shod with tubeless tyres. The motorcycle now also comes with a side-stand indicator and combined braking system. The CD110 Dream Deluxe will be available in four attractive colours - Black with Red, Black with Blue, Black with Green and Black with Grey.
Toyota has just taken the wraps off the Rumion - Maruti Suzuki Ertiga-based MPV. Now, the company has also filed a trademark registration for the Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor name. It is highly likely to be the Toyota-based iteration of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx. Multiple media reports have earlier confirmed that Toyota is working on a Fronx-based model. The Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor will don a host of changes, in comparison to the Fronx. However, these will be cosmetic changes, majorly. The front end is expected to get a revised nose with a slightly different grille and a reprofiled bumper.

Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor is expected to come with a different set of alloy wheels, along with an altered glow pattern for the tail lamps. On the inside, it will remain unchanged, except for the addition of the Toyota logo on the steering wheel and the inclusion of the Toyota i-Connect. The interior will do with the existing 9-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, which offers wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay. Also, the Fronx is offered with a 360-degree parking camera, heads-up display, keyless entry & go, auto-dimming IRVM, automatic climate control and more.



Watch Maruti Suzuki Fronx Review:

Powering the Maruti Suzuki Fronx are two engine choices. There is a trusted-old 1.2L K12C motor that pushes out 90 PS and 113 Nm of max power and torque outputs, respectively. In addition, a 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol is part of the list, which develops 100 PS against 140 Nm. Transmission choices include a 5-speed MT, 5-speed AMT, and 6-speed AT. Interestingly, the Fronx is also available with the option of a factory-fitted CNG kit.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor is expected to go on sale with the festive season this year, with a sligh price hike over the Maruti Suzuki Fronx. The Fronx is currently priced from Rs 7.46 lakh and goes up to Rs 12.97 lakh, ex-showroom.
TVS Motor Company has launched the TVS Raider Super Squad Edition (SSE) in India, with prices starting from Rs 98,919, ex-showroom Delhi. The new line of motorcycles draw inspiration from the iconic Marvel Super Heroes - Black Panther and Iron Man. TVS Raider has been a digital native brand since inception, and has received an overwhelming response from Gen Z customers. TVS Raider is a distinct sporty motorcycle, and the powerful character traits of Black Panther and Iron Man will add to its unique appeal. Pricing for the regular variants of the Raider, on the other hand, start from Rs 95,219, ex-showroom Delhi.

Commenting on the launch, Aniruddha Haldar - Senior Vice President (Marketing)  Commuters and Corporate Brand & Dealer Transformation, said, The launch of TVS Raider Super Squad Edition with two iconic Marvel characters marks another step in our successful collaboration journey with Marvel. TVS Raider has received an overwhelming response, especially from Gen Z since its launch in 2021. This Offering will further build brand love for TVS Raider.

TVS Raider gets a 124.8 cc air & oil-cooled 3V engine churns a maximum power of 8.37 kW @ 7,500 rpm and torque of 11.2 Nm @ 6,000 rpm. The motorcycle boasts a best-in-class acceleration of 0-60 km/h in 5.9 sec and a top speed of 99 km/h. It gets gas-charged 5-step adjustable mono-shock suspension, low friction front suspension and split seat, 5-speed gearbox and 17 alloy chunky wide tyres.



Also Read - Conman Sukesh Chandrashekar's Luxury Car Collection Worth Crores To Be Auctioned By ED Today: IN PICS

Also, the Raider now comes equipped with a 5 inch TFT console that connects the user with the motorcycle through an exclusive mobile application. This Bluetooth enabled system showcases a range of riding analytics to help riders review their ride and style. Additionally, the motorcycle offers voice and navigation assist, incoming call feature, image transfer options and ride reports.
Eight-year-old boy killed as Russian Kinzhal missiles strike western Ukraine 11 August, 05:21 PM In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, a rocket hit a private house, a child died (Photo:   via Telegram)

Russian aeroballistic missiles screamed into Ukraine on the morning of Aug. 11, impacting in the west of the country and killing an eight-year-old-boy in his home, Ukrainian authorities said.

One of the Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, launched from Russian aircraft flying over Russian territory, struck a private house in the Kolomyia district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, killing the child, reported the Office of the Prosecutor General. The agency also published photos from the scene of the tragedy.

Video of day

Information about the other casualties is being verified. The blast wave and debris from the missile impact partially destroyed an outbuilding.

A pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been initiated, Ukrainian prosecutor said.

The four Kinzhal missiles launched at Ukraine by Russia targeted a military airfield and young pilots who will soon be traveling to Europe for training, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said later on Ukrainian national television.

"This is another attack by terrorists with Kh-47 missiles," the military officer said, using the formal name of the Kinzhal missile.

The missiles were aimed at military airfields that have been under enemy fire for months. And the Starokostiantyniv airfield (Khmelnytskyi Oblast - ed.) is currently experiencing the consequences of the Russian occupiers' attacks, Ihnat said.

This time, our youth, our young pilots, who are about to leave for training, are in the crosshairs. Young pilots will be trained under a different program, and we know that the UK and other countries will train them for a new type of aircraft, Western equipment, primarily the F16. Thus, the enemy wanted to strike at our youth, depriving us of the prospect of further rearmament with the latest Western models of equipment.

Ihnat added that although one missile was shot down in Kyiv Oblast, all of them had been headed for Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in western Ukraine.

The morning attack was carried out by four Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from four MiG-31K aircraft from the airspace of Russias Tula and Lipetsk oblasts, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a later statement.

"The missiles entered Ukrainian airspace from the north, heading southwest to the Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast," the statement said.

We managed to destroy one Kh-47 missile within Kyiv Oblast. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure facilities were hit, and one of the missiles hit a residential area.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

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New Delhi: According to a report by mid-day.com, Prabhas-starrer 'Adipurush' is now streaming on your TV Screens on OTT platforms. Directed by Om Raut, the film boasts of a stellar cast. It featured Prabhas as Lord Ram, Kriti Sanon as Sita, Sunny Singh as Laxman, and Saif Ali Khan as Raavan. The movie was released in theatres on June 16. After nearly 2 months of its theatrical release, the film is all set to stun the audience on Netflix and Prime.

Adipurush's Netflix description read, "While serving a long exile, a righteous warrior prince sets out on an epic journey across land and sea to rescue his wife from a demon king."

Post its theatrical release, the audience reaction had boiled up the controversy around 'Adipurush.' As per the comments on social media, the script, VFX and dialogues were targeted. Poeple had called out on Lord Hanuman`s lines in the film and termed it as `disrespectful`.



Opening up to mid-day.com, Actor Vatsal Sheth, who played the role of Indrajit, said, It is very upsetting, he said reacting to the failure of `Adipurush'. For Adipurush, I put in a lot of effort that I have not put in any of my films or projects to date. I had grown a beard, I had done workshops."

The director had a specific vision for this film and we all went by it. I did not take up any projects during that time. I worked out because he wanted the character of Indrajit in a certain way, he added. There was so much negativity around the film that a lot of people did not go and watch it including my close relatives. They assumed that jaayenge toh maar peet hoga. I was like let people decide whether they like it or not. You cant create this (negativity) around a film. There were issues, but the team accepted them, and it was changed. But there is so much effort that goes into making a film and so many people working hard on it and is just very very heartbreaking. But again that`s life, he concluded.
New Delhi: Anil Sharma's much-awaited romantic drama 'Gadar 2: Ek Katha' starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in lead roles arrived in theatres today, i.e. August 11. The movie is a sequel to 2001 blockbuster 'Gadar' and has taken the internet by storm upon its release. Sunny, Ameesha and Utkarsh Sharma are reprising their roles from the first film. According to reports, the film has been made at a budget of Rs 75-80 crores and released in theatres today.

The film, which has been helmed by Anil Sharma, focuses on Tara Singh, played by Sunny Deol, who returns to Pakistan to rescue his son Charanjeet Singh, who he believes is imprisioned by the army. The film is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

As per a DNA report, lead actors Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel took home pay cheques of Rs 20 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively. Utkarsh Sharma, who reprised his role as Tara Singh and Sakeena's son Charanjeet Singh aka Jeete, earned approximately Rs 1 crore from the makers.



The report further mentioned that Manish Wadhwa and Luv Sinha, who also play key roles in the film, earned Rs 60 lakh each.

Actress Simrat Kaur, who plays Charanjeet's love interest - Muskan in the film, earned Rs 80 lakh for her role.

Actor Gaurav Chopra, who plays an Army officer in the film, reportedly charged Rs 25 lakh for his role.

As per a report, director Anil Sharma will hold a special screening of 'Gadar 2' for the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, on August 13. He said, "Yesterday, we received a call from the censor board. They informed us that the President wishes to watch our film. We feel honoured and thrilled that 'Gadar 2' has garnered such recognition. The screening is scheduled for Sunday, and the entire team is overjoyed," he told in an exclusive interaction with India Today.

The music of 'Gadar 2' is composed by Mithoon while lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri. The background score is composed by Monty Sharma.
New Delhi: When someone offers a car or transportation for you to attend their important event, you truly feel like a VIP. Such actions are typical in a nation like India where hospitality is equated with how gods should be treated. But have you ever come across this situation in a professional setting?

Well, a resident of Bengaluru did when he decided to take a Rapido ride to an event, only to learn that the rider wasn't just on a fancy bike, but was also a staff member of the organisation that was holding the event he wanted to attend! (Also Read: A South Indian Who Worked As A Utensils Cleaner Left Home With Only Rs 200 In Hand Is Now The Owner Of A Million-Dollar Firm, Earning In Crores)

Isn't this the same as waiting for a person assigned by the company to pick you up? however, paying for it yourself! (Also Read: Tourist Shocked As This Restaurant Slaps Rs 180 Charge For Cutting Sandwich Into Half)



As he was making his way to an event, Twitter user Nishit Patel posted this amazing experience with a Rapido booking. You won't believe the weird Peak Bengaluru moment I had today, he recalled.

My Rapido captain drew up next to a Royal Enfield Hunter as I was heading to a Kubernetes meetup. It transpires that he works as a DevOps engineer for a firm that oversees enterprise Kubernetes clusters. In the tech hub of India, it's just another day. Exactly by chance!

Social media users quickly responded to this amazing occurrence with their thoughts. Someone jokingly observed, "Bro's maximising his efficiency. Getting paid to go to Kubernetes meetup" "Did you ask (about) his turnover from the side business?" a different person mockingly questioned.

In addition, Patel revealed that he had reserved a Rapido transport while in transit to a cloud computing-related event during a conversation with Moneycontrol. He was shocked to see the rider approach the stunning Royal Enfield Hunter. Patel struck up a chat with the cyclist out of curiosity and discovered that he was also an engineer.

He revealed, adding that the rider was uninformed of and had no connection to the event, "He was working in the same company that was curating the event that I was going to attend."

However, when the voyage was over and Patel had paid the fare of Rs. 80, the two parted ways, but the bond they had formed truly embodied the ideal Peak Bengaluru moment.
The Egmore metropolitan magistrate court issued a six-month prison sentence to Jaya Prada, a veteran film star from South and Bollywood, as well as a former Member of Parliament. This ruling came in response to allegations of failing to pay the Employees State Insurance (ESI) funds for the workers employed at a cinema theatre she owned in the city. The decision was reached following a formal complaint lodged by the theatre workers who asserted that Jaya Prada had neglected to fulfil their ESI financial obligations.

These workers, who had been associated with the cinema for a decade even though it remained closed during that time, reported that though ESI deductions were being made from their earnings, these funds were not being remitted to the state insurance corporation. Faced with the denial of their rightful dues, they opted to approach the judicial system for redress.

Both Jaya Prada and the trio of employees managing the theatre had submitted a plea to the Madras High Court, urging an intervention to halt the proceedings in the Egmore court. Regrettably, the High Court dismissed all three of these petitions.



In the subsequent hearing held at the Egmore court, Jaya Prada made an offer to settle the amount owed to the workers. However, the legal representative for ESI raised objections to this proposal, resulting in the judge passing a six-month imprisonment sentence for the actor.

Several years ago, Jaya Prada and her associates were proprietors of a cinema hall situated in Chennai. Unfortunately, due to substantial losses incurred, they were compelled to cease its operations. The staff members who had been employed at this cinema instituted a legal case against the partners, citing their failure to reimburse the ESI funds that had been deducted from their salaries.
How would you feel if you are kept in a dark room and are not allowed to see the sun, breathe fresh air, eat or drink water, and if you get ill then you are not given medical treatment? You might be thinking that this is some imaginary third-degree torcher that cannot be real in any part of the world. But this inhumane practice was a harsh reality for the citizens of India in the pre-independence era who fought for India's freedom. The freedom fighters were put through the horrendous punishment of "Kala Pani" in the 18th and 19th centuries by the British colonial rulers in India. Prisoners were taken to the Cellular Jail situated in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The construction of one of the most feared prisons of the pre-independence era began in 1896 and was completed in 1906.

Kala Pani Ki Saza: What And Where

The Kala Pani Ki Saza was introduced by the British to deal with the rebels, mutineers, and freedom fighters who posed a threat to their colonial rule. Under this inhumane punishment, convicts and political prisoners were taken to remote penal colonies located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, far away from the Indian mainland. The journey to these penal colonies was often arduous and perilous, involving a long and treacherous sea voyage across the "black waters" of the Indian Ocean. The prisoners were confined to cramped and overcrowded ships, enduring unspeakable conditions. They were subjected to extreme physical and psychological torture, with the British authorities employing fear and intimidation as tools of control.

How Prisoners Were Torchered In Kala Pani?

Reportedly, prisoners were subjected to backbreaking tasks of hard labor, clearing forests, and building infrastructure on the island making their life filled with immense suffering. Prisoners were not given enough food, or water, and were devoid of medical facilities which lead to the death of many convicts.

Prisoners were treated as disposable commodities, and any attempt to escape or rebel was met with severe punishment, often resulting in death. The British colonial rulers aimed to crush the spirit of resistance and break the will of those who dared to challenge their authority.

How Kala Pani Fueled The Indian Independence Movement

The brutal punishments and inhumane treatment inflicted upon prisoners left deep scars on the socio-cultural fabric of the country. Families were torn apart, communities were disrupted, and countless lives were lost in the pursuit of colonial control. The suffering endured by those who were subjected to Kala Pani Ki Saza also played a significant role in fueling the Indian independence movement. The stories of resilience and courage exhibited by the prisoners in the face of unimaginable hardships inspired subsequent generations to fight for freedom and justice.
BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that he will retire from politics if accusations that he took bribes from contractors were proved true. Some Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) contractors have alleged that the Karnataka government has not cleared their pending dues and according to some reports some of the BBMP contractors have alleged that the current government has demanded 15 per cent commissions.

Responding to media queries here today, Sivakumar said, "Opposition leaders including former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior MLA R Ashoka, are talking about the contractors bills. Why was the contractor's bill not paid when your government was in power?" "Bommai or Ashok, who in their government prevented the payment of the contractor's bill? Did they not have money? Was the work not done properly? Let BJP leaders answer this question first. I will answer the rest to the contractors, Shivakumar said.

I will retire from politics today if I asked anyone for a commission, but If allegations get proven against former CM Basavaraj Bommai and R Ashoka will they announce their political retirement, he said. Shivakumar said that after Congress came to power in the state the chief minister had ordered a probe following the complaints of Karnataka State Contractors Association Kempanna's complaint and request made in the House to investigate the irregularities in the contract works.



So now when an investigation is being done only and after that will be paid so can't they wait for a couple of months? asked Shivakumar.
NEW DELHI: Amid a row over Rahul Gandhis flying kiss to female parliamentarians after concluding his speech in Lok Sabha, Bihar Congress MLA Neetu Singh has now defended fellow party leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he has no dearth of women and why would he blow a kiss to a 50-yar-old woman. A row began after Nitu Singh was seen saying in a viral video, "Our Rahul Gandhi does not have any dearth of women. If he had to give a flying kiss, he would have given it to a younger woman. Why will he give a flying kiss to an old woman? All these allegations are baseless." With the video becoming viral, the ruling BJP has raised objections to Neetu Singh's statement.





If Rahul Gandhi wants to give flying kiss he has many women available



He wont give it to a 50 year old budhiya



Congress MLA from Bihar : Neetu Singh



Anti women Congress can even defend Rahuls misdemeanours inside the House pic.twitter.com/oXRz67ZqlX  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) August 10, 2023

Rahul Gandhi Under Fire Over Flying Kiss

Rahul Gandhi had caused an uproar in the lower House on Wednesday by blowing a kiss in the Parliament in the presence of over 20 female MPs, who later signed and send a letter to Speaker Om Birla, demanding action against the Congress MP from Wayanad.

If Rahul Gandhi wants to give flying kiss he has many women available



He wont give it to a 50 year old budhiya



Congress MLA from Bihar : Neetu Singh



Anti women Congress can even defend Rahuls misdemeanours inside the House pic.twitter.com/oXRz67ZqlX  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) August 10, 2023

In their complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the women MPs stated that Rahul Gandhi behaved in an "indecent manner" which not only "insulted the dignity of women members in the House, but also brought disrepute and lowered the dignity of this august House". Objecting to his statement, BJP MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani called him a misogynist and stated that the House had never witnessed such an indecent act.

Sharing the video, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, Anti-women Congress can even defend Rahuls misdemeanours inside the House.

If Rahul Gandhi wants to give flying kiss he has many women available



He wont give it to a 50 year old budhiya



Congress MLA from Bihar : Neetu Singh



Anti women Congress can even defend Rahuls misdemeanours inside the House pic.twitter.com/oXRz67ZqlX  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) August 10, 2023

Other BJP leaders too shared the CCTV footage of the action but it could not be established whether Rahul Gandhi indeed blew a flying kiss inside the House. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said it was an affectionate gesture and not aimed at women parliamentarians only.

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra took a jibe at Smriti Irani and asked why she was silent on Brij Bhushan. "When a BJP MP was accused of harassment and molestation by our champion wrestlers, we did not hear one word out of the women and child development minister and now she is talking about some flying kiss, where are your priorities, madam."

"Union WCD minister is very angry. But, I cannot understand where that anger goes away when, just two rows (in Parliament) behind her, a person called Brij Bhushan Singh sits," Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said.

The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against the six-time MP on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Zonal Meteorological Center situated in Lucknow has provided a weather forecast for Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming days. The center predicts a series of rainy days ahead. On August 12, the forecast indicates widespread rainfall across the state. Western Uttar Pradesh and certain areas in Purvanchal are expected to experience rainfall during this period. There's also a cautionary prediction for heavy rainfall in isolated locations within eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The state of Uttar Pradesh is expected to encounter rain on August 12, both in the western and eastern regions. The Meteorological Department has issued a warning for heavy rainfall and lightning in some areas of the eastern part. Moving forward, August 13 is predicted to bring rain to western Uttar Pradesh and isolated areas in the eastern part. The subsequent days, August 14, 15, and 16, also hold chances of rain across the state.

The Meteorological Department specifically identifies regions including Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Santakbirnagar, and Basti, where intense rainfall might occur along with their adjacent areas. An alert has been issued for approximately 28 districts due to anticipated thunderstorms and lightning.



The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'Red' Alert and 'Orange' Alert for most of the districts of Uttarakhand from August 11 to August 14. There has been heavy rain in many districts of the state for the last couple of days, causing waterlogging and flooding and disrupting the normal lives of the people.

Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Thursday rescued several people trapped in their houses in the Kashipur area in Rudrapur, which have been submerged in waters due to the heavy rain. According to the officials, about 80 people trapped in the submerged houses were safely evacuated with the help of rafts and taken to a safe place by the SDRF team after reaching the spot and carrying out the rescue operation. (With agency inputs)
HYDERABAD: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President and Telangana minister K. T. Rama Rao believes that winning elections proves more demanding than cracking the UPSC examination. He observed that if young individuals embarking on a political journey engage in politics at the grassroots level, their success is assured.

Interacting with students at the launch of the 8th batch of the Advanced Management Programme in Public Policy (AMPPP) in Indian School of Business (ISB) at Mohali on Friday, he, answering a question on career in politics, said that to attain success, sacrifices are imperative, and this truth applies universally, even to politicians.

"Opting for a career in politics presents a landscape filled with challenges. The realm of politics calls for professionals hailing from diverse backgrounds to contribute their expertise," he said. On present day leadership qualities, KTR, as the minister is known popularly, said that leadership means learning every day.

"Successful politics is always about one thing. If you as a leader are able to offer the hope that people's tomorrow is better than today, then you are going to survive, people are going to vote and you'll come back. As they say, a leader is a dealer of hope," he added. About his personal experience, KTR said that being born into a political family, he had the opportunity of participating in the grassroots activities, especially in the Telangana movement.

During his inaugural address, he shared Telangana's growth journey and recounted his governance experiences and the phenomenal success achieved by Telangana after the formation of the state, the initiatives that contributed to rural and urban development, Telangana development model, and other aspects.

KTR also spoke about Telangana turning into the most successful startup state, the innovation ecosystem created in the state, the leading industrial sectors, and the five revolutions ushered in agriculture and allied sectors. He pointed out that the state's Per Capita Income which was Rs 1.12 lakh in 2014, increased to Rs 3.17 lakh this year, which is the highest in the country. The GSDP of the state increased from Rs. 5.05 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs. 13.27 lakh crore this year. The minister mentioned that with innovative policies like TS-iPASS, more than 24,000 industrial clearances were given in the past eight years.

"More than 50 billion dollars investment was raised in the state and 24 lakh direct job potential was created," KTR added. Presenting the staggering growth in the technology sector in Telangana, the minister said that out of 4.5 lakh technology jobs created in India last year, 1.5 lakh were from Hyderabad, which is 33 per cent. And this year, 44 per cent of total jobs created in India were from Telangana.

"In 2014, the total number of jobs in technology in Hyderabad were 3,23,000. As of March this year, it grew to 9,15,000. IT exports from Telangana were Rs 56,000 crore in 2014, which increased to Rs 2,41,000 crore this year, KTR said. Stating that the life sciences sector has been the strength of Hyderabad and the state, he said that 9 billion doses of vaccines are produced from Hyderabad, which makes it 33 per cent of global vaccine production. He asserted that by next year, the vaccine production will be 14 billion doses which is 50 per cent of world's vaccine production.

The minister highlighted that while the whole world is talking about the swift construction model demonstrated by the Chinese, the world's largest lift irrigation project, Kaleshwaram Project, in Telangana was completed in four years. "This accomplishment is a testament to Telangana's commitment to progress and development," he said.
New Delhi: Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Friday said that the much-anticipated cage fight with Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will live stream at an epic location in Italy. Musk on X (formerly Twitter) posted that "I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location."

"The fight will be managed by my and Zucks foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in the camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all," he added. (Also Read: A South Indian Who Worked As A Utensils Cleaner Left Home With Only Rs 200 In Hand Is Now The Owner Of A Million-Dollar Firm, Earning In Crores)

In a subsequent post Musk said that "Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy. And all proceeds go to veterans". The tech billionaire also went for an MRI recently. (Also Read: Bengaluru's Rockstar Rapido Driver: Meet The Rider Whose 'Royal Enfield Hunter' Is Making Waves In India's Silicon Valley)



When a user asked in the post, "How was the MRI?"

Musk replied: "I spent 3 hours in an MRI machine on Monday. Bottom line is that my C5/C6 fusion is solid, so not an issue. However, there is a problem with my right shoulder blade rubbing against my ribs, which requires minor surgery. Recovery will only take a few months."

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.
Former Aidar Battalion company commander discusses raids on occupied territory and counter-offensive in the south 11 August, 02:49 PM Exclusive Ukrainian soldiers near the front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, July 31, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi)

Yevhen Dykyi, a former company commander of the Aidar Battalion, shared his insights on the operations of Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups in enemy-held territories, as well as the ongoing situation in the Kupyansk area, in an interview with Radio NV on Aug. 10

 Lets start with Northern Luhansk Oblast. There are reports from Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi that the Russians have established a foothold there for a breakthrough in the Kupyansk direction. How plausible is it that the Russians, besides actively advancing, might also capture something?

 Honestly, I dont see a significant threat there mainly because no one will allow them to capture anything. However, its crucial to understand why they are doing this in the first place. The fact is that their offensive in Sloboda (Kharkiv Oblast) is actually the smartest move theyve made this summer. Credit must be given where its due: The enemy, unfortunately, is learning from its mistakes.

Video of day

They are employing a vastly different strategy now compared to when they first arrived here. However, the most challenging front is not that one; it lies in the south, where we are on the offensive. This is where were attempting to breach the Surovikin Line, which, in reality, consists of a staggered defense with three lines of Russian forces. For the Russians, it is fundamentally crucial to divert our forces elsewhere.

For the Russians, its crucial that at least some of these newly created brigades, specifically trained for the summer offensive and currently breaching the defense in the south, dont make it all the way there but are compelled to fight in another part of the front. This is the primary purpose of the Russian offensive in Sloboda. They have both a maximum and a minimum plan. Theyre realists; they understand very well that even with a force of 100,000 in Kharkiv, they wont make significant progress.

However, their maximum plan is to capture Kupyansk and Lyman and establish a new defense line along the Oskil River. I dont believe anyone will allow them to execute this maximum plan. But theres also a minimum plan. The minimum plan is to draw as many forces there as possible, forces that would otherwise be engaged in the south and Zaporizhzhya. Unfortunately, this minimum plan has already been successful for them. These are indeed, lets say, inevitable matters. It was evident that a force of 100,000 was substantial. Ill remind you that a year-and-a-half ago, 180,000 Russians attempted to occupy the whole of Ukraine.

 They came from six directions, 180,000 of them. Now, its under 100,000 in a single direction.

 Just under 100,000 in one direction  truly a formidable force. Hoping that the two or three fatigued brigades stationed there since last autumn could hold it was clearly unrealistic at that point. Sending reserves became necessary. Thus, the Russians have executed their minimum plan, diverting a portion of the forces that would otherwise be breaking through their defense in the south. As for the exact number? We wont discuss that. Lets just say significant reinforcement was required for the Sloboda direction. Consequently, the Russians now face limited prospects for achieving real success there. In the worst-case scenario for us, we may need to deploy something from the reserve there. I believe that neither Kupyansk nor Lyman will be handed over to them.

However, the key intrigue in this direction is whether we can repel their offensive with the forces at hand, because, once again, every soldier, every battalion is currently most valuable precisely in the southern direction. Were carefully assessing how many people were sending to Sloboda. A force of 100,000 is indeed significant. Nonetheless, we must maintain a balanced allocation of proportionate forces.

 Now, if we return to Kupyansk, the fact that Syrskyi specifically visited there. There are even photos of his visit. Typically, officers of such high rank, generals at this level, come when something could be extremely dangerous.

And this closed or narrow-circle meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chiefs Staff, which President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy mentioned the previous evening, is indeed a situation when people recognize the threat. They personally participate in minimizing this threat, at the very least. What are your thoughts on this?

 First of all, I wouldnt lump Syrskyis visit to Kupyansk with the closed Staff meeting, about which we dont know and shouldnt know the specifics. Combining them together is purely speculative. I believe that judging even from the composition of participants in that closed Staff meeting, a much broader range of issues was discussed, not just Kupyansk. At the very least, and maybe not even Kupyansk at all.

However, Syrskyis visit is a different matter. Its directly related to what we just discussed. Our command must make a very complex decision each time: how many forces should be diverted to Kupyansk in Sloboda, and how many forces should remain in reserve for the south?

In essence, its regrettable to send any units to Kupyansk. But, on the other hand, theres no alternative. Strengthening that area is necessary; we cant allow them to break through there. Most likely, Syrskyis visit is precisely to assess on the ground what minimum additional forces and resources are necessary to detach from the offensive and put into defense there.

 About the south. Yesterday, I read on Facebook the impressions of a Ukrainian soldier who mentioned that cluster munitions were being used effectively. The Wall Street Journal states that these same cluster munitions have provided momentum to the Defense Forces offensive operations. But the specific phrase was given impetus, how would you translate that?

 Its better to ask the authors of that statement. To be candid, Im not particularly fond of the amount of time we devote to assessments from what seem to be entirely irrelevant  pardon me for saying  not in the political sense, but in terms of Western so-called experts. If you look closely, 90% of them have no connection whatsoever to wars or the military. There are some political scientists, retired diplomats who have never witnessed not only our war, which is very unique, but have never seen any war at all, not even their wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

So, forgive me, this entire rear-echelon crowd, looking at maps of countries theyre unfamiliar with, is pontificating about impetus. Frankly, we spend too much time analyzing white noise. On the other hand, there are some general trends there that are worth knowing. And these general trends, for the time being, are quite unpleasant. Its precisely for this reason that this rear-echelon, civilian crowd initially came up with the notion that as soon as our offensive begins, the Russians are obligated to crumble and retreat immediately. When that didnt happen, its because it wasnt supposed to happen in the first place.

And here, by the way, no one in our army expected that as soon as the first Leopard appeared on the horizon, it would signal the Russians to immediately retreat back to Moscow. We didnt harbor such naive illusions. However, in the West, not among Western military personnel, but rather among certain Western civilians, they initially spun a fairy tale to themselves that as soon as our offensive begins, the Russians are obligated to flee. When it turned out that the Russians hadnt received that memo and, in fact, were putting up desperate and substantial resistance, the narrative changed. There was a wave of information stating, Oh, the offensive is being delayed, oh, nothing is working out.

Now, against this backdrop, a few optimists are grasping at straws, saying, Look, they brought in cluster munitions, theyve given it an impetus. Listen, this impetus was never lost. Our offensive began in early June, and its been ongoing since then. It hasnt stopped for a single day. But its progressing at a pace thats feasible with our resources, a pace where were forced to fight in platoon and, at most, company-sized groups. As soon as we assemble even a battalion-sized group, Russian aviation, which dominates the skies tenfold, swoops in and immediately halts our advance. We discovered this in the first two days of the offensive, and we havent repeated that mistake.

In essence, were inching forward, taking a few hundred meters of the defensive line. Literally inching forward, meter by meter. Were doing this with small, as I mentioned, platoon and company-sized groups, and this determines the pace. So, for two months, weve been neutralizing the first line of Russian defense. Towards the end of the second month, we reached the second defensive line. Thats what an impetus means. Cluster munitions are quite helpful, but no single type of weapon is decisive. Theres no such thing as a silver bullet for vampires; it doesnt exist. Cluster munitions are very useful, and theyve helped compensate for a severe shortage of ammunition.

Cluster munitions have two advantages. The first is that one projectile essentially replaces several. But the second, perhaps even more important advantage, is that the U.S. Army has something like up to three million of them stockpiled. Not just cluster munitions, but the global market has practically exhausted them. There was simply a physical shortage. These cluster munitions, in essence, finally allowed our artillery to at least come close to parity with the Russians in terms of the number of rounds we can afford to produce. Thats the real story behind the impetus.

 About the work of the Ukrainian artillery. Ive heard reports from our personnel that, over the past year-and-a-half, weve seen, for the first time, that our artillery can operate 24/7, working intensively and powerfully. Theres no longer an issue of having to ration each shell, worried about running out. So, would you agree with that assessment?

 Yes. In fact, the supply of cluster munitions allowed us to solve this problem. We were facing a severe ammunition shortage. When the Russians were firing even 10,000 shells a day and still complaining about shortages  not to mention last summer when they were firing 60,000 shells a day  but even recently, they were firing from 10,000 to 20,000, and they were crying out on all platforms about shortages. So, we were firing three to four thousand shells a day.

Currently, were firing eight thousand shells a day, truly day and night. This is a huge difference. But, for it to be clear why there was a shortage, we had to switch to NATO calibers because wed completely exhausted all the Soviet shells available on the global market not controlled by Russia or China. In free countries, there werent many Soviet calibers available. We switched to NATO calibers. However, even there, no one had been preparing for a major war for the past 30 years.

 Ive read all these stories about the rates of ammunition production in the United States. They could return to the production rates of the late 1980s, the end of the Cold War, in just a few years.

 In three years, yes. Theyre investing billions now to reach the production volume from that time in three years. But Ill give you one number that answers all the questions. Currently, were firing eight thousand shells a day. The annual ammunition standard for the French army is seven thousand shells. Annually. And, in fact, finding these cluster munitions in the U.S. Army depots, which hadnt been used for a long time because some countries fundamentally refuse them, has complex political nuances involved.

So, finding these three million cluster munitions finally allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief, and our artillery can now work not only accurately but also in sufficient quantities. All this time, weve been compensating for the number of Russian shells with the accuracy of our own. Our artillery is much more precise and much better. But still, excuse me, three thousand shells versus ten thousand  thats a huge difference. However, ten thousand versus eight thousand  thats a different story.

 Ive even seen reports suggesting that the Ukrainian army needs a minimum of 11,000 shells a day, and ideally, even more  up to 20,000. Can we achieve that pace?

 You understand that theres no such thing as having too many shells, but theres definitely a problem when theres too few. Even now, at eight thousand, its day and night compared to what we had at 3,000. Its clear that 11,000 would be better. Im afraid we just physically cant find where to get more.

 Now lets talk about another interesting aspect in the southern direction. Initially, for several weeks, there were talks about battles in the Dachi area, near Oleshky in Kherson Oblast, on the left bank of the Dnipro River. Reports a few days ago indicated that the occupiers once again launched an offensive from there to dislodge our defenders, and things didnt go entirely in their favor.

And suddenly, theres a report of a limited but successful landing operation in the Kozachi Laheri area. And is this precisely what were trying to do as a mirror response to what the occupiers are doing on the Kupyansk front  to hold their forces there and prevent the Russians from transferring reinforcements to the Zaporizhzhya direction?

 The scales are somewhat different. If were looking at where were replicating what theyre doing on the Kupyansk direction, we need to consider a completely different perspective. Lets return to the left bank of the Dnipro for a moment.

For us, a city like Bakhmut is quite significant. From a military standpoint, it should make little sense for the Russians to (stay in) Bakhmut. There wouldnt be much strategic value in holding onto it. But thats the military perspective. From a political standpoint, its their sacred Artyomovsk (the old Soviet name for Bakhmut). They spent 10 months capturing Artyomovsk. They deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, and according to various estimates, 20,000 to 40,000 of them were killed.

Finally, we were pushed out. And this was their only, very conditional, and quite dubious victory in terms of cost, but still, it was their sole victory within a year. And to give it back to us a few months later, from a propagandistic point of view, would be a catastrophe. Although from a military perspective, it wouldnt be a catastrophe. But for propaganda, its a disaster.

Theyve issued a purely ideological order: Hold Artyomovsk at any cost. And for us, this is very advantageous. Ill share something somewhat paradoxical: right now, its not as important for us to capture Bakhmut as it is to hold onto it for as long as possible. Because theyve shifted 50,000 troops to maintain sacred Artyomovsk.

And so, these 50,000 troops no longer have deep reserves that can be brought in from Russia or even from Crimea. Everything has shifted within the front lines. Theyve scraped together these 50,000 troops who would otherwise have either defended the Surovikin Line or been part of the offensive force they assembled in the Sloboda region. But instead, theyre holding onto Bakhmut. And for us, this is very beneficial. We tie them down there and try to maximize the use of the Bakhmut situation to divert their reserves. As for the left bank of the Dnipro, theres not much we can divert from there.

In other words, its not strategically feasible to draw large forces from there. But there, were causing unrest in their rear areas. Reconnaissance and sabotage groups operate there regularly. Recently, there was a notable incident in Kozachi Laheri, which gained media attention, where there were relatively many fighters involved, several dozen simultaneously.

Usually, reconnaissance and sabotage groups consist of small teams of up to 10 people. They engage in disrupting activities in the enemys rear areas, preventing them from feeling completely secure, and disrupting their logistical operations. This has been ongoing since the liberation of Kherson. Starting from November, even during winter, this was a continuous effort.

And as soon as the weather improved in the spring, it became more extensive. Our Special Operations Forces regularly land behind enemy lines, causing disturbances. This happens at a distance of about 15-20 kilometers from the Dnipro Rivers shore. This area can be considered a certain gray zone that isnt fully controlled by the Russian forces. However, we cant establish permanent positions there; we can only conduct raids. The only foothold weve managed to successfully hold is the one near the Antonivsky Bridge in Oleshky. The Russians werent able to dislodge our defenders from there, even though they used Iskander missiles.

However, they managed to surround the area from all sides in such a way that expanding the foothold is currently not feasible. In other words, theres no possibility to break out of it further. So, there was a significant intrigue surrounding Kozachi Laheri; whether it was an attempt to create a permanent foothold and expand it, or just a raid.

It turned out to be a powerful and quite prominent raid. They even brought an entire unit of prisoners to the right bank, not just wounded soldiers. Essentially, were demonstrating who the true masters of the entire Dnipro floodplain are. But for now, this isnt a strategic story. Its still a tactical operation.

 So, its not a foothold, its a raid, but a successful and notable one, which caught the attention of Russian war correspondents. Officers ended up as prisoners, along with weapons, information, mobile phones, and radios. They seem to have had quite an eventful time there.

 Exactly, a whole platoon, led by a major, ended up as prisoners. In terms of the number of casualties they suffered, its quite clear that it was more than significant.

 Now, lets discuss the lines of defense of the occupiers. Phrases like weve breached the first line, now advancing to the second are constantly heard, and theres talk about reaching the second line near Staromayorsk. What can civilians confidently understand about these defense lines?

 Whats mythical, mysterious, or unclear about it? Its straightforward to understand but very challenging to storm. Its an echeloned defense with three lines. Lets start from a distance. The third line is the deepest. Its, to a certain extent, the lifeline for the first two lines. Holding it separately will probably be unrealistic. However, the first two lines are designed precisely to withstand our assaults for a long time. The first line was constructed with continuous minefields, hundreds of square kilometers of mined territory.

Behind those mined fields, theres a dotted line of so-called strongholds, defensive positions situated on dominant heights where they provide fire support. The second line is constructed differently. It wasnt feasible to create a continuous large minefield there because it would hinder their movement between the first and second lines. However, its still heavily mined, but there are numerous passageways. Instead, the line itself consists of extensive trenches and fortifications, almost all interconnected to form a vast network, with reinforced bunkers every 5-10 kilometers.

Such fortifications havent been seen in Europe since World War I, making it a kind of immortal classic. Back then, Europe was crisscrossed with trench lines like these, and the Surovikin Line resembles those from the early 20th century. Since Im not on-site, I cant judge which line is easier to breach: the first one, with individual strongholds but a continuous minefield, or the second one, with less frequent minefields but a substantial continuous fortification. Either way, both are exceptionally challenging.

However, on three fronts  Staromayorsk, Robotyne, and Orikhove  weve essentially left the remnants of the first line of defense behind and closely approached, practically reached, this second line. It shouldnt be expected that there will be a quick breakthrough. Miracles happen, but if were not counting on a miracle, it took us about two months to deal with the first line. There are grounds to believe that the second line will be taken at a similar pace.

 So, if these are solid lines of trenches and communications, can we imagine that once we reach a section of these trenches, we can move further within the trenches in a perpendicular direction, so to speak?

 Thats precisely what happens. In fact, the culmination of close combat occurs when our defenders jump into their trenches. Then, they run inside the trenches and engage in this close, direct combat. Its one of the most challenging types of battles that exist. This is when you genuinely see the face of your enemy.

Its not about shooting from your trench to theirs from a distance, but when youre in the same trench with the enemy. Sometimes, this can even transition to hand-to-hand combat. Its the toughest kind of combat, requiring tremendous courage. But without it, enemy positions cant be taken. The decisive moment is when they jump into those trenches, and from there, the battle expands within the fortifications themselves.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
San Francisco: Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is rolling out a new multi-account feature on Android beta.

Beta users will now be able to add additional accounts to the app, reports WABetaInfo.

Users can add a new account by selecting the arrow icon next to the QR code button.



On the same menu, users can also switch to a different account.

This feature will help users to keep their private chats, work conversations and other chats all in one application.

Users can switch between accounts without using multiple devices or additional apps as this feature keeps their chats and notifications separate.

The multi-account feature is currently available to some beta testers that install the latest updates of WhatsApp beta for Android, and is rolling out to more over the coming weeks, the report said.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the messaging platform was working on a new passkey feature for account verification on Android beta. A passkey is a short sequence of numbers or letters that is used to verify users' identity.

Last month, the company had released new safety tools on Android beta for when users receive messages from unknown phone numbers.

The platform also rolled out a 'link with phone number' feature on Android beta, which allows users to link their account to WhatsApp Web by using their phone number.

In June, the Meta-owned platform had released a feature which allows users to send high-quality videos on Android beta.

While this feature preserves video dimensions, minor compression will still be applied to the video, thus sending videos in their original quality is not possible.
New Delhi: Elon Musk-run X Corp (formerly Twitter) has banned a record 23,95,495 accounts in the 'June-July' period in India, mostly for promoting child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity. Between May 26 and June 25, X banned 5,44,473 accounts in India.

The micro-blogging platform also took down 1,772 accounts for promoting terrorism on its platform in the country. (Also Read: Bengaluru's Rockstar Rapido Driver: Meet The Rider Whose 'Royal Enfield Hunter' Is Making Waves In India's Silicon Valley)

X, in its monthly report in compliance with the new IT Rules, 2021, said that it received 3,340 complaints from users in India in the same time frame through its grievance redressal mechanisms. (Also Read: A South Indian Who Worked As A Utensils Cleaner Left Home With Only Rs 200 In Hand Is Now The Owner Of A Million-Dollar Firm, Earning In Crores)

The report came about a week late as it did not appear on the portal on the first day of the month. X Transparency typically posts the report on the first day of the month, like other social media platforms like Meta and WhatsApp.

"Looks like this page doesn't exist. Here's a picture of a poodle sitting in a chair for your trouble," read the message when clicking on the IT Rules report for the May-June 2023 period.

Moreover, between June 26 and July 25, X banned 1,851,022 accounts and also took down 2,865 accounts for promoting terrorism on its platform in the country. The microblogging platform received 2,056 complaints from users in India in the same time frame through its grievance redressal mechanisms.

In addition, X processed 49 grievances which were appealing account suspensions between June 26 and July 25. "We overturned 1 of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation. The remaining reported accounts remain suspended," said the company.

"We received 14 requests related to general questions about Twitter accounts during this reporting period," it added. Most complaints from India were about abuse/harassment (1,783), followed by hateful conduct (54), privacy infringement (48), and child sexual exploitation (46).

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
Germany may provide Ukraine with modified Taurus missiles  media reports 11 August, 01:46 PM Taurus missiles (Photo:Military)

Germany may provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles in the coming months, but they are expected to be modified to make it impossible for them to strike Russian territory, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 11, citing its own sources.

A reconsideration about supplying Ukraine with the long-range weapons is now taking place, even though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hesitated to provide Ukraine with them due to concerns that Kyiv could attack the Russian territory, the report said.

Over the past few weeks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has asked the Taurus manufacturer to integrate a corresponding target programming limitation into the cruise missiles, the magazine claimed.

Video of day

Industry circles say the implementation of such a restriction is possible but will take several weeks, Der Spiegel wrote.

Scholz reportedly wants to approve the supply of Taurus missiles only when he is convinced of the appropriate technical modification, while he has no other fundamental reservations about the transfer of the missiles to Ukraine.

Berlin emphasizes the restriction does not apply to possible attacks on targets in Ukraines Crimea, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.

It is not yet known exactly how quickly the missiles can be delivered, the report says.

Military officials say deliveries of cruise missiles by the United Kingdom and France to Ukraine mean they are still sufficiently equipped with such weapons systems for the coming weeks.

Earlier Germanys ruling party claimed that the German air force had greenlighted the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Infographics: NV

On July 26, the chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, representative of the Free Democratic Party Marcus Faber, stressed the need to provide Taurus missiles for the needs of the Ukrainian defense forces.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again stated on Aug. 3 that Germany would not transfer Taurus to Ukraine, citing Washingtons reluctance to provide Kyiv with ATACMS missiles.

Two prominent members of Germanys Social Democratic Party, headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, advocate for Berlin to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 6.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Member of Central Election Commission fled to US before invasion, hasnt returned since 11 August, 03:36 PM Yuriy Buhlak (Photo:www.radiosvoboda.org)

Yuriy Buhlak, a member of Ukraines Central Election Commission or CEC, left Ukraine 12 days before Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has not returned since, an investigation by U.S.-funded Radio Libertys Skhemy project revealed on Aug. 10.

Buhlak lives with his family in the U.S. state of Florida near the coast city of Miami. He received a salary and other payments throughout 2022 totaling UAH 1.5 million ($41,019), including financial assistance from the state budget for solving social and household issues. From the spring of 2023, he took paternity leave while retaining his position.

Video of day

Journalists found out that he is a member of the Flea Market Miami group on Telegram, while his wife is a member of the Live in Miami, Speak Russian group. She posts photos from Hollywood, a town on the Atlantic coast outside Miami.

Photo: www.radiosvoboda.org

Photo: www.radiosvoboda.org

In a comment to Skhemy, Buhlak said that he had personal circumstances, and in his opinion, he did not violate Ukrainian laws as he had left before the invasion, and with its beginning, the CEC switched to remote work.

I worked and will continue working for my country, he said.

There were no violations on my part, on the part of my organization. Everything that happened was on legal grounds. Both departure, and work, and being somewhere where youre looking for me.

At the same time, Buhlak refused to reveal his whereabouts.

I wont answer this question, he said.

Youre an investigative journalist and youre able to establish my location.

In turn, the journalists have established Buhlaks whereabouts from the social networks of his wife, Tetiana Rtyshcheva. In her LinkedIn profile, she indicates that she has been living in Hollywood, Florida, since January 2022.

Photo: www.radiosvoboda.org

Rtyshcheva also posted a photo, thanks to which journalists managed to establish the location, namely The Wave residential complex in Hollywood, Florida.

Photo: www.radiosvoboda.org

Back on Feb. 14, two days after Buhlaks departure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on all state officials to return to Ukraine within 24 hours. However, Buhlak appears to have ignored the call.

Every person at a certain moment has an individual situation that affects his life, health, his family, etc., the official said, explaining his decision not to comply with the presidents call.

Im not an oligarch, and Im not a lawmaker.

The CEC has a completely unique feature as it was one of the first in the country to make the decision to work remotely, Buhlak said.

Tell me, is there a difference between being, for example, in the town of Uzhhorod or in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, or in the city of Vinnytsia, or in some foreign city, working and receiving a salary? What is the difference? In the city of Kosice and the town of Uzhhorod. What is the difference for an official if he has the right to work remotely?

Meanwhile, CEC Chairman Oleh Didenko claimed that he had no legal grounds to file a motion to dismiss Buhlak.

At the same time, there may be many questions from the moral side.

But I have no right to comment on my colleagues actions since Im also the member of the Central Election Commission as others, Didenko said.

When Im elected as the head, I have certain additional administrative and organizational functions, but theyre not literally directly subordinate to me. I dont hire and fire them. Its probably not my right to comment on my colleagues actions.

Buhlak departed from Boryspil International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 12, 2022. He had a scheduled leave from Feb. 13 to March 9, after which the official has not returned to Ukraine.

Buhlak has been a member of the Central Election Commission since 2019. He is the former chief legal advisor of the Roshen confectionery corporation and former Member of Parliament from the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko party.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Russia launches big missile attack, targets Kyiv and western Ukraine 11 August, 01:55 PM People in the Kyiv metro during a Russian missile attack (Photo:REUTERS/Alina Smutko)

Explosions were heard in Kyiv during an air raid alert on Aug. 11, seconds after the sounds of air defenses roared across the Ukrainian capital, as Russia launched a now rare daylight missile attack.

Two loud explosions were heard widely across the capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram soon confirmed that the citys air defenses had been activated, and Russian missiles had been shot down.

Just a few minutes before the explosions over Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from MiG-31K aircraft flying over Russian territory. The missiles were then reported to be heading in the direction of Kyiv Oblast.

Video of day

The head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, later clarified that missile fragments fell on the grounds of a children's hospital in the capitals Obolonskyi District, in the north of the city.

"There were no injuries, no fires and no casualties," the statement said.

Debris was also found in one of the residential areas of the district. Emergency services examined the situation. A fire was extinguished. There is no information about casualties.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko the reported two more places where debris had fallen in the Obolonskyi District of Kyiv.

"The roof of a private house was damaged on Bohatyrska Street," the official wrote on his Telegram channel.

Also in Obolon, a fragment was found in an open area in one of the dacha cooperatives (an area of small private housing). No one was injured.

In addition to Obolonskyi District, debris fell in Kyivs Dniprovskyi District, according to the local authorities.

Reuters has published a video of missile trails in the sky over Kyiv from today's Russian attack.

Photo: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Photo: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Major General Viktor Yahun, reserve officer of Ukraines SBU security service, suggested that the target of the missile attack on Kyiv may have been the towering Motherland monument on the banks of the Dnipro River.

"The monument where the Soviet coat of arms was changed to a trident, (was) probably (a target)," Yahun told Radio NV.

Russian missiles also flew towards other parts of the country. The Telegram channel of public broadcaster Suspilne also reported explosions in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi oblasts in western Ukraine.

First deputy head of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration Serhiy Tyurin, commenting on the explosions in the region, said that air defenses had been operating.

The attack on Kyiv comes a day after Russia launched a cruise missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya. Two cruise missiles struck the citys Reikartz Hotel on the banks of the Dnipro River. The hotel is frequentlyused by United Nations personnel when they are visiting the city. The double attack, with two high precision Russian cruise missiles striking the hotel within seconds of each other, appears to have been deliberate.

A day before that, on the evening of Aug. 9, Russia fired a Kh-35 missile at a residential area of Zaporizhzhya. Three people were killed and eight injured. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the missile hit a playground, destroyed a church building, and damaged windows in high-rise buildings and shops nearby.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Satellite imagery contradicts Moscow's pyrotechnics explanation for Sergiyev Posad explosion 11 August, 07:14 PM The site of the explosion on the territory of the Zagorsky Optical and Mechanical Plant, Serhiyiv Posad (Photo:Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)

The massive explosion in Sergiyev Posad, Moscow Oblast, Russia on Aug. 9, did not take place in a building rented by the pyrotechnics company Piro-Ross, contrary to the claims of propagandists and representatives of the Kremlin regime, a journalist has said.

Radio Liberty journalist Mark Krutov made the claim on Twitter on Aug. 11, after analyzing satellite images from the company Planet.

Read also: Moscow airports in chaos after multiple reports of drone attacks

Allegedly, Piro-Ross rented a warehouse on the premises of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant, which supplied the Russian army with binoculars, night-vision devices, and other products.

Video of day

Satellite photos taken on Aug. 10 show that the Piro-Ross building was not damaged, and the crater produced by the huge explosion is located next to another building. It is not known what is inside this building, and the journalist did not rule out that it could also be rented by Piro-Ross.

Meanwhile, OSINT analyst D. mojavensis also wrote on Twitter that, judging by one of the videos of the explosion, it did not occur in the building marked on Google Maps as belonging to Piro-Ross.

Russian news outlet Agentstvo noted that immediately after the explosion, Piro-Ross CEO Sergei Chankaev claimed that the explosion did not occur in the pyrotechnics warehouse, but in a neighboring room where, according to him, "metal pipes were stored."

After police interrogation, Chankaev claimed that he "did not know" the cause of the explosion, although he had earlier claimed that his employees had heard sounds similar to the strike of a drone.

According to the Kremlin, at least one person was killed, about 80 were injured, and eight were reported missing following the huge explosion in Sergiyev Posad, a town in Moscow Oblast about 70 kilometers north-northeast of the Russian capital.

Russian authorities claim that the explosion "occurred in a warehouse with pyrotechnic products" and that it was caused not by a drone strike but by "human factors."

Later, videos of shells near the explosion site were posted online. This prompted specualation that the "pyrotechnics warehouse" was actually an ammunition store.

The Russian outlet Agentstvo also reported, citing the Russian government procurement website, that the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant was involved in the development of a new generation of Russian strategic bomber, called the Poslannik.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

So should Alpha Exploration (CVE:ALEX) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.

View our latest analysis for Alpha Exploration

How Long Is Alpha Exploration's Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. As at June 2023, Alpha Exploration had cash of US$1.9m and no debt. Importantly, its cash burn was US$3.1m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from June 2023 it had roughly 7 months of cash runway. That's quite a short cash runway, indicating the company must either reduce its annual cash burn or replenish its cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Is Alpha Exploration's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Alpha Exploration didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. With the cash burn rate up 4.2% in the last year, it seems that the company is ratcheting up investment in the business over time. However, the company's true cash runway will therefore be shorter than suggested above, if spending continues to increase. Alpha Exploration makes us a little nervous due to its lack of substantial operating revenue. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow.

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Can Alpha Exploration Raise More Cash Easily?

Since its cash burn is increasing (albeit only slightly), Alpha Exploration shareholders should still be mindful of the possibility it will require more cash in the future. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

Alpha Exploration's cash burn of US$3.1m is about 7.3% of its US$42m market capitalisation. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.

How Risky Is Alpha Exploration's Cash Burn Situation?

On this analysis of Alpha Exploration's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its cash runway has us a bit worried. Looking at the factors mentioned in this short report, we do think that its cash burn is a bit risky, and it does make us slightly nervous about the stock. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 4 warning signs for Alpha Exploration (of which 2 are concerning!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
By Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy

(Reuters) - Analysts are raising earnings estimates for Asian companies for the first time in four months as easing price pressures boost consumption while receding fears of a recession in developed markets is expected to help to lift export revenues.

Equity analysts have upgraded Asian companies' forward 12-month net profits by 2.3% over the past month, based on Refintiv data. That compares with a meagre 0.7% increase in global companies' profit estimates in the past month.

"The Asian profit picture is improving slowly but surely," said Manishi Raychaudhuri, Asia-Pacific head of equity research at BNP Paribas. Some of the key drivers are domestic consumption, a likely capital spending cycle, and hopes of a policy stimulus in China, Raychaudhuri said.

Also helping to lift estimates were strong earnings performance by Asian companies in the second quarter so far. Half of the region's companies have reported their March-June quarter earnings, with 56% of them beating consensus estimates.

In most markets, margin expansion has been playing a major role in driving overall earnings growth, HSBC analysts said.

Across sectors, consumer discretionary led with 2.8% of earnings upgrades over the past month, while utilities and financials sectors also got an upward revision of 2.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

China's tortuous post-pandemic recovery has cast a shadow across the world, with firms ranging from automakers to machinery makers warning of slowing earnings in the world's second-biggest economy.

Refinitiv data, though, showed that analysts have turned positive on China's forward 12-month earnings, lifting the consensus earnings estimates by 0.5% over the past month after three straight months of cuts.

The majority of the upgrades followed a Politburo meeting, where China's top leaders pledged policy support, focusing on boosting domestic demand and signalling on more stimulus steps.

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Rajat Agarwal, Asia equity strategist at Societe Generale, said China's earnings estimates have been resilient in 2023 with growth of 20% expected, despite the economic slowdown.

"A potential policy support can boost both the market sentiment and earnings."

Substantive actions will need to follow policymakers' words to help shore up shaken confidence in China, investors and analysts said.

Sunil Tirumalai, an emerging markets and India strategist at UBS, said the announcements after the Politburo meetings appear growth oriented, and have positive incremental messaging on key areas like property.

"We see China market performance picking in the coming months  especially given the low expectations and valuations."

While the MSCI Asia-Pacific index climbed 4.6% last month, taking the year-to-date gains to about 10%, the index's forward price-to-earnings ratio languished at 14.08, still below last 3-year average of 14.3.

Timothy Moe, chief Asia Pacific strategist at Goldman Sachs, said earnings would be the main source of returns for Asian markets from here on.

"Markets are past the hope phase in the cycle, where valuations expand in anticipation of fundamental improvement and are now in the growth phase, where earnings delivery is the key performance driver."

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Baker Technology Limited (SGX:BTP). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Baker Technology

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Baker Technology

The Executive Director Benety Chang made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for S$1.9m worth of shares at a price of S$0.61 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than S$0.57 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Baker Technology insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Baker Technology

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Baker Technology insiders own about S$79m worth of shares (which is 68% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Baker Technology Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Baker Technology insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Baker Technology insiders feel good about the company's future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Baker Technology has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course Baker Technology may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Advisor explaining the best retirement plans to young adults

Young adults have many priorities, from advancing their careers to planning for a family, which often leads to saving for retirement being placed on the back burner. However, being a young adult offers a significant advantage when it comes to building wealth for retirement due to the advantage of time. The power of compound interest can have remarkable effects over the long term, allowing even small amounts saved now to yield substantial rewards in the future. Fortunately, there are several retirement plans for young adults to put their money to work in 2023. To find the right one for you, you may want to talk to a financial advisor.

Best Retirement Plans for Young Adults

Retirement plans are crucial for individuals to secure their financial future and build a comfortable retirement. Here are the pros and cons of each of the best retirement plans available:

Defined Contribution Plans

Defined contribution plans are employer-sponsored retirement plans that have largely taken the place of pensions in the last several decades. The most commonly found defined contribution plan in the private sector is the 401(k), with the 403(b) functioning similarly in the nonprofit space.

Pros:

Portability : These plans are typically tied to the individual, making it easy to transfer and continue contributions when changing jobs.

Investment control : Individuals can choose how to invest their contributions from various funds and indexes, potentially leading to higher returns.

Employer contributions : Many employers match a portion of the employees contributions, providing free money to boost retirement savings.

Tax advantages : Contributions are usually made with pre-tax money, reducing current taxable income.

Contribution limit: Employees can contribute $22,500 annually to this plan in 2023, more than triple the limit for IRA contributions.

Cons:

Market risk : The performance of investments directly impacts the account value and fluctuations in the market can lead to potential losses.

Responsibility for investment decisions : Individuals bear the responsibility of managing their investments, which can become overwhelming, especially for those with limited knowledge in the realm of investing.

No guaranteed income : The final retirement income depends on the performance of the investments. On the other hand, pensions guarantee income for the rest of your life.

Limited options: Unlike a brokerage account, 401(k)s have a select number of funds and account types. As a result, you might not be able to invest in the specific slice of the economy you think will have the best returns.

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Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

A young couple looking for the best retirement plans

Traditional and Roth IRAs

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) allows you to set aside money for retirement regardless of employment circumstances. There are several types of IRAs. First are traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. Contributions to a Traditional IRA are tax-deductible, reducing your taxable income for the contribution year. The funds grow tax-deferred, meaning you pay taxes when you withdraw funds during retirement. On the other hand, you contribute to a Roth IRA with after-tax money, so theres no immediate tax deduction. However, the earnings and withdrawals in retirement are entirely tax-free.

Spousal IRA

Next, a Spousal IRA comes in traditional and Roth varieties and allows couples to save when one spouse has little or no earned income. It allows the non-working or lower-earning spouse to contribute to an IRA and benefit from tax-advantaged retirement savings. The working spouse must have enough earned income to cover their own IRA contributions and the contributions to the Spousal IRA.

SEP IRA

Additionally, a SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension IRA) allows self-employed individuals, small business owners and their employees to invest for retirement. SEP IRAs typically have higher contribution limits: in 2023, you can contribute 25% of your annual pay or $66,000, whichever is less. Plus, employees become fully vested in the fund without contributing to the plan.

SIMPLE IRA

A SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees IRA) is another retirement plan option primarily suited for small businesses and self-employed individuals. Its usually easy to administer and affordable for employers, encouraging employee participation through employer contributions. SIMPLE IRAs have lower contribution limits than SEP IRAs but higher than Traditional and Roth IRAs. Employees can make salary-deferral contributions up to a certain percentage of their compensation.

Pros:

Tax advantages : Traditional IRAs offer tax-deferred growth, while Roth IRAs provide tax-free withdrawals in retirement. So, you can reduce your tax burden while working or during retirement, depending on your chosen type.

Rollover functionality : You can roll a 401(k) or an old IRA into a new IRA, allowing continued investment without losing any funds. Remember, switching account types can have tax implications, such as rolling a traditional IRA into a Roth.

Investment flexibility : IRAs offer various investment options to suit individual risk preferences.

Additional savings: Individuals can contribute to an IRA in addition to employer-sponsored plans, allowing for greater savings potential.

Cons:

Contribution limits : IRAs have annual contribution limits, which may restrict higher-income earners from maximizing their retirement savings. Specifically, you can contribute $6,500 to your IRA in 2023.

Early withdrawal penalties : Withdrawals made before age 59 are usually subject to taxes and penalties, discouraging early access to funds.

No employer contributions: Unlike employer-sponsored plans, IRAs do not come with matching contributions.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Traditional IRAs require you to start taking RMDs once you reach age 72. As a result, you must begin taking distributions from the account upon turning 72 even if you dont need them, leading to higher tax liabilities.

Solo 401(k) Plan

A solo 401(k) allows business owners and their spouses to save for retirement. As the sole employee of your company, you can contribute $22,500 in 2023. In addition, as the business owner, you can contribute another 25% of your compensation (maxing out at $66,000).

Pros:

High contribution limits : Solo 401(k)s allow for heftier contributions than traditional IRAs, enabling more retirement savings for self-employed individuals.

Employer and employee contributions : Self-employed individuals can contribute both as an employer and an employee, further boosting retirement savings.

Investment control: As with other defined contribution plans, you decide which funds get your investment money.

Cons:

Limited to self-employed individuals : As the name suggests, solo 401(k)s for self-employed individuals with no employees. Youll have to shutter the plan if you hire a worker for your company.

Administrative responsibilities: Managing a solo 401(k) involves additional administrative tasks and potential costs compared to other retirement plans.

Traditional Pensions

A traditional pension is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that guarantees a specific amount of income to employees during their retirement based on factors like years of service and final salary. Employers fund the plan and employees typically dont contribute directly. Pensions offer a guaranteed income for life and relieve employees from making investment decisions. However, they have become less common as employers shift to defined contribution plans like 401(k)s.

Pros:

Guaranteed income : Traditional pensions provide a predictable stream of income in retirement, usually based on years of service and salary.

No investment risk : The employer manages the investments and assumes the market risk.

Lifetime benefits: Pensions often offer benefits for life, ensuring financial security throughout retirement.

Cons:

Declining availability : Traditional pensions are becoming rarer in the private sector, with many companies shifting towards defined contribution plans.

Limited control : Employees have little control over the pension plans management and investment decisions.

Vesting requirements : Employees may need to work for a certain number of years before they become eligible to receive pension benefits.

Funding issues: Pension funds can fail, reducing your income level during retirement.

Guaranteed Income Annuities (GIAs)

Guaranteed income annuities (GIAs) provide a predictable income stream for a specified period or the rest of your life. You purchase an annuity from an insurance company, creating a contract between yourself and the corporation. While you work, youll pay installments to the insurance company and in return, the insurance company promises to provide regular income payments in the future.

Pros:

Lifetime income : GIAs provide a guaranteed income stream for life, protecting against the risk of outliving ones savings.

Predictable returns : The income generated by GIAs is not subject to market fluctuations, providing stability in retirement.

Tax advantages: Some annuities offer tax-deferred growth, which can benefit retirement savings.

Cons:

Irreversibility : Annuities are typically irreversible once purchased, which means the funds used to buy the annuity are no longer accessible in a lump sum.

Limited liquidity : Annuities may restrict withdrawals during the accumulation phase, limiting access to funds if needed.

Fees and commissions: Some annuities come with high fees and commissions, potentially reducing the overall returns.

The Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

The Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings plan for US federal government employees and members of the uniformed services, including the military. It is one of the largest defined contribution retirement plans in the world and operates similarly to a 401(k) plan in the private sector.

Pros:

Low fees : The TSP is known for its low administrative and investment fees. Specifically, youll pay 0.0004% of your account balance. This figure is exponentially lower than other account types, which range between 0.5% and 2%.

Employer matching : You receive an annual 5% employer contribution, which includes a 1 percent non-elective contribution. Plus, your employer matches all of your contributions up to 3% of your salary and half of your contributions for the next 2%.

Contribution flexibility : You can make pre- or post-tax contributions, simulating the effect of a traditional or Roth account.

Various investment options: The TSP offers a range of investment funds with different risk profiles, allowing participants to diversify their portfolios. Options include the S&P 500 index, which has provided an average annualized return of over 11% since its inception.

Cons:

Limited to federal employees : The TSP is exclusively available to federal government employees and uniformed service members.

Limited investment flexibility: While the TSP provides multiple investment options, the choices might not be as extensive as some other retirement plans.

How Young Adults Can Boost Retirement Savings

Being proactive about retirement savings is crucial to building a solid financial foundation. Heres how to set yourself up for a comfortable and secure retirement in the future:

Start Now: The most critical step for young adults to boost retirement savings is to start saving as early as possible. Time is a powerful ally in building wealth through compound interest. Even small contributions made early on can grow significantly over time, providing a substantial retirement nest egg. Allocate Funds to Your 401(k): If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, take advantage of it. Contribute as much as you can, up to the maximum the plan allows. 401(k) contributions are made with pre-tax dollars, reducing your taxable income while growing tax-deferred until retirement. Take Advantage of Matching Contributions: If your employer offers a 401(k) match, aim to contribute at least enough to get the full matching amount. An employer match doubles your investment money for free, acting like jet fuel for your retirement savings. Start an IRA: Consider opening an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) in addition to your 401(k). IRAs provide additional tax advantages and investment options. For example, you can establish tax diversification by having both a traditional 401(k) and a Roth IRA, giving yourself one tax deduction now and one during retirement. Automate Your Savings: Set up automatic contributions to your retirement accounts. By automating your savings, a portion of your paycheck goes into your retirement account without any effort on your part. This setup ensures consistent contributions and helps you avoid the temptation to spend the money elsewhere. Trim Extraneous Spending: Take a close look at your expenses and identify areas where you can cut back. In addition, if you dont have a budget, theres no better time than now to make one. Then, you can locate and reduce unnecessary expenses, such as eating out or impulse spending. Redirect the money saved from these cutbacks into your retirement accounts to accelerate your savings growth.

Bottom Line

An advisor explaining the best retirement plans to a young adult

Choosing the best retirement account for young adults depends on your unique circumstances and financial goals. Whether its a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k) or other options, maximizing contributions is key to securing a financially stable future. If youre unsure about which retirement plan is best for your needs, its best to seek guidance from a qualified financial advisor, as they can provide personalized advice to help you make informed decisions for a successful financial journey.

Retirement Planning Tips

The right financial advisor can help simplify your retirement planning and make it way easier to achieve your long-term goals. Finding a financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Assess your progress towards your retirement goals with SmartAssets free retirement calculator. Determine if youre on the right track to meet your retirement aspirations.

Photo credit: iStock.com/jacoblund, iStock.com/dragana991, iStock.com/Georgijvic

The post Best Retirement Plans for Young Adults appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.
Bossier Parish Community College and the University of Louisiana Monroe have signed an agreement to collaborate and share resources in the redesign of English remedial courses.

Board of Regents institutions will now offer a corequisite model, where students with developmental needs enroll in English 101 together with a supplemental laboratory course. By working together, the two institutions can share resources and best practices in writing instruction.

ULMs English Program will provide graduate student tutors for BPCCs online English students, as well as students attending BPCCs Nights Online Weekend (NOW) College. BPCC will provide externship opportunities for ULMs English graduate students.

Dr. John Pratte, Dean of the College of Arts, Education, and Science at ULM, said its a win-win for both institutions.

This agreement represents a great educational opportunity for students from both BPCC and ULM, Pratte said. Freshmen at BPCC will receive additional tutoring help with their composition and writing courses, while graduate students at ULM will get much-needed experiences in applying what they have learned in their studies.

This agreement continues the commitment the two institutions have for developing innovative, world-class transfer pathways focusing on the unique needs of today's college students.

Communication is the key to higher education, said Vicki Dennis, Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at BPCC. If we can teach students to write and to speak, then they can go out and find the job that they need. This agreement is incredibly important to providing resources to our students.

For more information on these programs, visit www.bpcc.edu for BPCC and https://www.ulm.edu/ for ULM.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: BPCC, ULM sign collaborative agreement
(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday rolled out a $350 billion infrastructure investment plan designed to boost Brazils economy and kickstart a green transition.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The leftist leader, who returned to Brazils top office in January promising to restore economic prosperity and prioritize sustainable development, touted the plan as a centerpiece of his presidency.

My third term as president starts today, Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, said during an event to launch the program in Rio de Janeiro. Growth will be correct, fast and sustainable.

The government estimates the plan will create 4 million jobs, and aims to make most of its investments  $264 billion  by the end of his term in 2026, although it did not say how much of that total would come from public funds. Lulas allies have painted the initiative as a Brazilian version of President Joe Bidens efforts to stimulate the US economy with roughly $1 trillion in new infrastructure projects and clean energy initiatives.

The proposal carries the same name of a plan Lula created in 2007  Growth Acceleration Plan, or PAC. This time, however, the government says it will place more focus on greener development alongside traditional infrastructure investments.

It will rely on a mix of federal funds, concessions and public-private partnerships to help finance a combination of transportation, sanitation and ecological transition projects. About $220 billion will come from public funds, with the private sector kicking in an additional $125 billion, according to an official statement.

Energy transition projects will receive a total of $110 billion.

Despite its scope, the PAC will not prevent the government from zeroing Brazils budget deficit in 2024 as it has promised, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said. All of the plans public investments will fit within spending limits set by a new fiscal framework that Brazils congress is currently finalizing.

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Read More: Brazil Readies ESG Bond Debut in Next Overseas Sale This Year

Elements of the plan, Haddad said in Rio, are part of a larger effort to begin an ecological transformation of Brazils economy that will also include new regulations for carbon markets and the issuance of green bonds. The government is preparing to hold the countrys first-ever sustainable bond sale later this year.

The suite of proposals will make Brazil more attractive to investors while also helping Lula deliver on pledges to combat poverty, Haddad said.

Our plan cannot and will not be the same as those of developed countries, he said. The profile of emissions is different, which justifies a different strategy. And the challenge of overcoming poverty in a country still marked by profound social inequality is just as important as the environmental challenge.

Lula has sought to strike a balance between economic development and his green agenda early in his presidency, especially amid a standoff between his top environmental agency and Brazils state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, over its exploration plans in an ecologically sensitive offshore region.

The PAC proposal also includes financing for the Ferrograo railway, a project that would transport grain through part of the Amazon rainforest region and was suspended over environmental concerns. Brazils Supreme Court earlier this year allowed technical studies of the project to resume.

Read More: Brazil Moves to Allow Amazon Oil Drilling, Marring Lulas Summit

But Environment Minister Marina Silva, who criticized the previous PAC program over its lack of concern for the environment, praised the design of the new version.

Being able to see development and sustainability within the same plan is an unimaginable gain, she said during the launch event.

Petrobras, as the state-run oil giant is known, will contribute $66 billion to the program, chief executive officer Jean Paul Prates said. The company, which played a prominent role in the original PAC, has a $78-billion, five-year strategic plan and is mulling an increase for the period between 2024 and 2028. It plans to earmark as much as 15% of its total investments for low-carbon projects.

The New Development Bank  an institution created by the BRICS bloc of emerging market nations that includes Brazil  will contribute $2.7 billion in financing for sustainable projects, said Aloizio Mercadante, the head of Brazils national development bank.

The previous Growth Acceleration Plan helped increase public investment and led to the construction of hundreds of highways, bridges, hydroelectric dams and other projects under Lula and his successor, former President Dilma Rousseff.

But many of those projects, which were handled by large local infrastructure companies, later faced investigations over corruption allegations. The program helped lead to the rise of Operation Car Wash, the years-long corruption probe that put hundreds of business and political leaders  including Lula, temporarily  behind bars.

The PAC program also financed the construction of oil refineries, like a major petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro, and the Belo Monte dam, a hydroelectric project in the Amazon region that drew fierce opposition from Indigenous tribes and environmentalists.

Its legacy may create challenges for the current plan. The corruption investigations drove many of the involved companies into bankruptcy, while the ensuing end of an era of massive public investments hit firms that hadnt been implicated, resulting in heavy debts, layoffs and legal disputes.

As a result, the government will have to carry out large projects without many of the major contractors that delivered them in the past.

At first, local companies are likely to form consortia with foreign partners in order to participate in investment projects, Chief of Staff Rui Costa told reporters at the event. After they get stronger and are able to obtain financing, they will be able to handle projects by themselves, he said.

(Recasts lead, adds Lula comments from second paragraph and additional details throughout.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Insiders who bought US$580k worth of System1, Inc.'s (NYSE:SST) stock at an average buy price of US$4.85 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 17% decrease in the stock. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$268k, which is not great.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for System1

System1 Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Co-Founder Michael Blend bought US$197k worth of shares at a price of US$5.00 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$2.24). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months System1 insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

System1 is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does System1 Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that System1 insiders own 20% of the company, worth about US$53m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At System1 Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in System1 and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for System1 you should know about.

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.
BYD calls on China automakers to unite, 'demolish the old' in global push FILE PHOTO: Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai

(Reuters) - A patriotic call by China's bestselling automaker to band the industry together and "demolish the old legends" of the global market has gone viral, drawing both raves and a rebuke from a rival.

BYD used an event this week to mark a production milestone to celebrate a bigger purpose: the emergence of China as a global auto manufacturing powerhouse.

"I believe the time has come for Chinese brands," BYD founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu said at the event, standing in front of an image of the logos of 12 major Chinese automakers.

"It's an emotional need for the 1.4 billion Chinese people to see a Chinese brand becoming global."

The call by BYD  Tesla's closest rival in the global electric vehicle sales race  prompted widespread praise, and underscored how China's automakers are riven by competition at home and chasing growth overseas.

China's automakers are locked in a bruising price war that was started by Tesla in January and which shows no signs of easing. They are also all competing in the same global markets, where they face consumer wariness and sometimes regulatory roadblocks.

At its event on Wednesday, BYD released a video marking the founding of a dozen rivals from state-run automaker FAW Group in 1956 to commercial EV startups Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto in the past decade.

The video shows historical footage, sweeping vistas and cars being loaded for export. "Our stories are different from each other but share the same direction," the narrator says, adding in reference to overseas markets: "There's no distinction between 'you' and 'me'."

It ends with a call for China's automakers to "demolish the old legends and achieve new world-class brands," under the slogan, "Chinese Autos".

"FACE THE REALITY OF COMPETITION"

The video went viral on Chinese social media. Executives from BYD's rivals posted notes of appreciation. "I feel proud for Chinas auto industry!" said William Li, CEO of Nio on Weibo. "We should learn from BYD's success."

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"Salute to BYD!" said Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, who reposted the BYD video. "Let's give a thumbs up to every participant in the new energy era!"

Other automakers warned the message could raise regulatory risks for Chinese brands overseas, including in Europe, where Chinese EV exports face potential anti-dumping scrutiny.

A senior executive of China's Great Wall Motor shot back that Chinese automakers should embrace the "reality of competition".

"At such a critical moment, how can Chinese automakers be together?" Wang Yuanli, Great Wall Motor's Chief Technology Officer, posted on his social media Weibo account on Friday. "If we only talk about being together but keep our bitterness in our hearts, it would be better to have the fight first."

Wang said later he had been quoting a senior editor from China's Auto Business Review.

In July, the industry group representing China's automakers retracted a pledge to avoid "abnormal pricing" brokered between 16 automakers, including BYD. The China Association of Auto Manufacturers said it recognized the agreement had violated China's antitrust law.

In May, Great Wall said it had filed a report with China's regulators against BYD, claiming two top-selling hybrid models did not meet emissions standards. BYD rejected the claim and said it could take legal action.

BYD has extended its lead in China's new-energy market, which includes plug-in hybrids and EVs, with a 37% share in the first seven months, up from 29% a year earlier. It also topped Volkswagen brand, China's longtime sales leader, in total sales.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh, editing by Kevin Krolicki and Miral Fahmy)
Key Insights

The projected fair value for PVA TePla is 22.10 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

PVA TePla's 19.19 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Analyst price target for TPE is 28.17, which is 27% above our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of PVA TePla AG (ETR:TPE) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for PVA TePla

The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) 25.0m 43.5m 31.4m 31.1m 30.9m 30.9m 30.8m 30.9m 30.9m 31.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x7 Analyst x4 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ -0.51% Est @ -0.25% Est @ -0.07% Est @ 0.05% Est @ 0.14% Est @ 0.20% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.7% 23.4 38.2 25.8 24.0 22.4 20.9 19.6 18.3 17.2 16.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 226m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.4%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 31m (1 + 0.4%)  (6.7% 0.4%) = 488m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 488m ( 1 + 6.7%)10= 255m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is 481m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of 19.2, the company appears about fair value at a 13% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at PVA TePla as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.273. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for PVA TePla

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Currently debt free.

Weakness

No major weaknesses identified for TPE.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For PVA TePla, we've put together three additional aspects you should look at:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for PVA TePla that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does TPE's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
ChatGPT fever spreads to US workplace, sounding alarm for some FILE PHOTO: Illustration picture of ChatGPT

By Richa Naidu, Martin Coulter and Jason Lange

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many workers across the U.S. are turning to ChatGPT to help with basic tasks, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, despite fears that have led employers such as Microsoft and Google to curb its use.

Companies worldwide are considering how to best make use of ChatGPT, a chatbot programme that uses generative AI to hold conversations with users and answer myriad prompts. Security firms and companies have raised concerns, however, that it could result in intellectual property and strategy leaks.

Anecdotal examples of people using ChatGPT to help with their day-to-day work include drafting emails, summarising documents and doing preliminary research.

Some 28% of respondents to the online poll on artificial intelligence (AI) between July 11 and 17 said they regularly use ChatGPT at work, while only 22% said their employers explicitly allowed such external tools.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 2,625 adults across the United States had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 2 percentage points.

Some 10% of those polled said their bosses explicitly banned external AI tools, while about 25% did not know if their company permitted use of the technology.

ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app in history after its launch in November. It has created both excitement and alarm, bringing its developer OpenAI into conflict with regulators, particularly in Europe, where the company's mass data-collecting has drawn criticism from privacy watchdogs.

Human reviewers from other companies may read any of the generated chats, and researchers found that similar artificial intelligence AI could reproduce data it absorbed during training, creating a potential risk for proprietary information.

"People do not understand how the data is used when they use generative AI services," said Ben King, VP of customer trust at corporate security firm Okta.

"For businesses this is critical, because users don't have a contract with many AIs - because they are a free service - so corporates won't have run the risk through their usual assessment process," King said.

Story continues

OpenAI declined to comment when asked about the implications of individual employees using ChatGPT, but highlighted a recent company blog post assuring corporate partners that their data would not be used to train the chatbot further, unless they gave explicit permission.

When people use Google's Bard it collects data such as text, location, and other usage information. The company allows users to delete past activity from their accounts and request that content fed into the AI be removed. Alphabet-owned Google declined to comment when asked for further detail.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'HARMLESS TASKS'

A U.S.-based employee of Tinder said workers at the dating app used ChatGPT for "harmless tasks" like writing emails even though the company does not officially allow it.

"It's regular emails. Very non-consequential, like making funny calendar invites for team events, farewell emails when someone is leaving ... We also use it for general research," said the employee, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak with reporters.

The employee said Tinder has a "no ChatGPT rule" but that employees still use it in a "generic way that doesn't reveal anything about us being at Tinder".

Reuters was not able independently confirm how employees at Tinder were using ChatGPT. Tinder said it provided "regular guidance to employees on best security and data practices".

In May, Samsung Electronics banned staff globally from using ChatGPT and similar AI tools after discovering an employee had uploaded sensitive code to the platform.

"We are reviewing measures to create a secure environment for generative AI usage that enhances employees' productivity and efficiency," Samsung said in a statement on Aug. 3.

"However, until these measures are ready, we are temporarily restricting the use of generative AI through company devices."

Reuters reported in June that Alphabet had cautioned employees about how they use chatbots including Google's Bard, at the same time as it markets the programme globally.

Google said although Bard can make undesired code suggestions, it helps programmers. It also said it aimed to be transparent about the limitations of its technology.

BLANKET BANS

Some companies told Reuters they are embracing ChatGPT and similar platforms, while keeping security in mind.

"We've started testing and learning about how AI can enhance operational effectiveness," said a Coca-Cola spokesperson in Atlanta, Georgia, adding that data stays within its firewall.

"Internally, we recently launched our enterprise version of Coca-Cola ChatGPT for productivity," the spokesperson said, adding that Coca-Cola plans to use AI to improve the effectiveness and productivity of its teams.

Tate & Lyle Chief Financial Officer Dawn Allen, meanwhile, told Reuters that the global ingredients maker was trialing ChatGPT, having "found a way to use it in a safe way".

"We've got different teams deciding how they want to use it through a series of experiments. Should we use it in investor relations? Should we use it in knowledge management? How can we use it to carry out tasks more efficiently?"

Some employees say they cannot access the platform on their company computers at all.

"It's completely banned on the office network, like it doesn't work," said a Procter & Gamble employee, who wished to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

P&G declined to comment. Reuters was not able independently to confirm whether employees at P&G were unable to use ChatGPT.

Paul Lewis, chief information security officer at cyber security firm Nominet, said firms were right to be wary.

"Everybody gets the benefit of that increased capability, but the information isn't completely secure and it can be engineered out," he said, citing "malicious prompts" that can be used to get AI chatbots to disclose information.

"A blanket ban isn't warranted yet, but we need to tread carefully," Lewis said.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu, Martin Coulter and Jason Lange; Editing by Alexander Smith)
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese banks extended the smallest amount of monthly loans since 2009 in July, a further sign of weak demand in the worlds second-largest economy that raises the risk of prolonged deflation pressure.

Most Read from Bloomberg

New loans reached 345.9 billion yuan in July, the Peoples Bank of China said Friday, less than half the 780 billion yuan economists had forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, was 528.2 billion yuan last month, also well below estimates.

It is a big disappointment, proving the fragile status of the recovery in China, said Kiyong Seong, lead Asia macro strategist at Societe Generale. The probability of further PBOC easing in the near term is notably rising, he said.

The plunge in loans is another sign of weak demand in China, and adds to a raft of negative data recently showing deflation in the economy, plunging exports and a slump in manufacturing activity. On top of that, the property market crisis is worsening, with fears mounting of another default of a major developer.

The offshore yuan extended a decline shortly after the data, dropping as much as 0.2% to 7.2558 per dollar, the weakest since July 7.

What Bloomberg Economics Says...

Chinas much lower-than-expected credit growth in July sends a clear signal that the rate cut in June by the Peoples Bank of China was not enough to boost sentiment in the economy. Credit demand by private enterprises and households turned sluggish after a short-lived jump in June as weak confidence continued to hinder investment and home purchases.

David Qu, China economist

For the full report, click here.

The gloomy economic news is adding pressure on policymakers to boost monetary and fiscal stimulus. However, the PBOC has been proceeding cautiously, held back by several factors, including a weak yuan and financial stability risks, given high debt levels in the economy.

Story continues

Xing Zhaopeng, a senior China strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, said with the PBOCs focus on stabilizing the currency, it likely cant do much in the short term.

It is hard to see credit growth turning around, he said. Deflationary risk will remain in place going forward.

July is traditionally a weak month for financing activities, with banks not in a rush to meet their lending targets at the beginning of the quarter. June was also a strong month for credit, which could have affected last months demand.

Other key highlights of the PBOCs data:

Household mid- and long-term loans, a proxy for mortgages, contracted by 67.2 billion yuan in July, a sign that households continued to make early pre-payment of mortgages

Medium and long-term loans to companies also plunged in July from the previous month, dropping to 271.2 billion yuan in July

The year-on-year growth rate of broad M2 money supply slowed sharply to 10.7%, while growth in the stock of credit grew 8.9%, the slowest pace in data going back to 2017.

Economic fundamentals are not great, particularly in the property sector, said Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. Household credit numbers are very weak and businesses also dont seem to have a strong motive to borrow.

He said the most direct action the central bank can take is to cut interest rates. There is still a window for rate cuts in the coming two to three months, but the room for the reductions will be limited, he said.

The PBOC is expected to keep a key rate on its one-year policy loans  known as the medium-term lending facility  unchanged at 2.65% next week, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

--With assistance from Wenjin Lv.

(Updates to add further detail. A previous version of the story was corrected to reflect new loans in billions of yuan.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE PHOTO: Cars are pictured during morning rush hour on the A100 city highway in a Berlin

Chip shortage in Germany's car industry will last years - Audi manager FILE PHOTO: Cars are pictured during morning rush hour on the A100 city highway in a Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Semiconductor shortages that have created bottlenecks for Germany's car industry will take years to resolve despite chipmakers' plans to build factories in the country, a senior Audi manager was quoted as saying on Friday.

German automakers and electronics producers have been hit hard by manufacturing delays, caused by a global shortfall of chips. Executives and policymakers are re-thinking supply lines and trying to reduce reliance on a handful of Asian and U.S. chip suppliers.

Berlin has been courting the world's largest contract chipmakers with billions of euros in subsidies. Chipmakers such as U.S. Intel and Taiwan's TSMC this year announced plans to build factories in Germany.

"It takes years, after all. It's about billions of dollars are being invested," Renate Vachenauer, head of procurement at Volkswagen-owned Audi, was quoted as saying by Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

Vachenauer said carmakers could ease the bottlenecks by reducing the varieties of chips used from the 8,000 different types in vehicles today.

"We have to use many levers to stabilize the supply of semiconductors and also stock up on the broker market to some extent," she added.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Sainsburys stopped offering new mortgages to customers in 2019 - Reuters

The Co-operative Bank has struck a deal to buy Sainsburys 480m mortgage business.

Sainsburys Bank will offload 3,500 customers to its rival, as it formally exits the UK mortgage market after years of trying.

The sale was announced on Friday, although the handover will not be complete until next year.

It is the Co-op Banks first portfolio acquisition in more than a decade and comes after previous reports suggested a breakdown in the deal over price.

Sainsburys stopped offering new mortgages to customers in 2019, just two years after it expanded its range of products.

The freeze was part of a major overhaul of Sainsburys Bank to stop it weighing down on the retail groups profits.

It is not the first major supermarket to scrap its lending business, as Tesco previously sold off its mortgage book to Lloyds Banking Group in 2019, citing challenging market conditions.

Jim Brown, chief executive of Sainsburys Bank, said: Closing the chapter on our mortgage offering is a big step in simplifying our business.

Sainsburys previously explored selling its financial services arm in 2020.

However, the grocer called off talks with interested parties a year later after concluding that the offers were not good value for shareholders.

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.
Crypto Centralized Exchange Bittrex Will Pay $24M in Settlement With the SEC

Other U.S. regulatory organizations have also been investigating Bittrex

Bittrex, a US cryptocurrency exchange, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States reached a $24 million settlement.

The SEC had earlier in April filed a lawsuit against Bittrex and its former CEO William Shihara, alleging that the exchange had been operating illegally as a securities exchange, broker, and clearinghouse.

The agency claimed that between 2017 and 2022, Bittrex made more than $1.3 billion in revenue illegally. The SEC further asserted that Bittrex instructed cryptocurrency issuers to delete statements that would suggest violations of securities laws.

In accordance with the settlement, Bittrex must pay $14.4 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest of $4 million, and civil money penalties of $5.6 million. It's noteworthy that Bittrex did not confirm or deny the SEC's allegations.

Other U.S. regulatory organizations have also been investigating Bittrex, which filed for bankruptcy in May and shut down its U.S. operations.

It received a $53 million fine in 2022 from the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged violations of several American sanctions programmes, marking it the highest fine ever levied against a cryptocurrency company by the Treasury Department. Over $24 million and $29 million in fines were imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), respectively.
(Bloomberg) -- Sagard Holdings, the alternative asset manager controlled by Canadas billionaire Desmarais family, is working to boost sales of its private-asset funds to retail investors.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Sagard struck a deal last month to bring on Bank of Montreal and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ as minority investors in the firm. When complete, the transaction will dilute Power Corp. of Canadas ownership of Sagard to just over 50%, the company disclosed Friday. But it will mean new avenues of growth, Power Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Orr said.

The BMO partnership might help with retail distribution, Orr told analysts on Friday. I think a lot of the growth over the next decade is going to come not just from institutions, but its going to come from high net worth, ultra-high net worth and retail channels.

Sagard and its sister company, Power Sustainable, offer a variety of investment strategies, including private equity, private credit, green energy and real estate funds. Sagard also has a venture capital arm thats focused on financial-technology startups.

The two alternative managers remain a small part of Montreal-based Power, which derives the bulk of its profits from control of one of Canadas largest insurance companies, Great-West Lifeco Inc., and from mutual fund and wealth-management firm IGM Financial Inc.

Read More: Billionaire Desmarais Family Quietly Reshapes a Financial Empire

Sagard and Power Sustainable had about C$22 billion ($16.4 billion) of assets under management, including unfunded commitments, as of June 30. Its not large enough yet to be profitable; the firms posted a combined C$18 million operating loss in the second quarter.

Story continues

But that will change as they draw in more outside investors, Orr said in response to analysts questions.

We have said we are all about creating value  and, ultimately, profitability  in our investing platforms, but we were looking to do that through third-party capital, he said.

Power shares rose as high as C$38.98 on Friday in Toronto, the highest price since April 2022.

Sagard is led by Paul Desmarais III, the grandson of the late Paul Desmarais, who took over Power more than 50 years ago and used it to gain control of Great-West, IGM and a large portfolio of financial, media and industrial assets. Power has a stock market value of about C$26 billion.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
NEW YORK  Disgraced cryptocurrency Sam Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked Friday and was remanded to custody ahead of his his multi-billion dollar fraud trial, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Feds say Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, engaged in witness tampering by leaking to the New York Times private writings of his ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator, Caroline Ellison, asking the judge to revoke his $250 million bail.

Bankman-Frieds lawyers argued they cant prepare his case with him in jail because of the jumble of paperwork Bankman-Fried has to help them through, due to restricted technology access at Brooklyns federal jail.

Kaplan ordered the disgraced crypto entrepreneur back to New York City from house arrest in California, where hes confined to his Stanford Law professor parents house, to hear further arguments on prosecutors motion to revoke his $250 million bond.

Bankman-Frieds court appearance on Friday was the latest pretrial hearings where the fallen billionaire has been admonished for his behavior and communication with the press  which the feds say is witness tampering.

Following the leaking of Ellisons notes, Judge Kaplan placed restrictions on media communications by everyone involved in the case in a gag order opposed by the Times and press freedom groups.

Kaplan had already twice admonished Bankman-Fried this year for communicating with a potential witness and using a VPN to watch the Super Bowl  violating his strict bail conditions. Federal prosecutors raised the leak at a hearing on July 26.

Bankman-Fried has faced a dramatic fall from grace as the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX. Hes accused of financial fraud comparable to the late notorious Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. If hes convicted at his trial, set for October, he could face decades in prison.

Ellison, his ex-lover, is one of three of Bankman-Frieds former executives cooperating against him after pleading guilty to fraud charges soon after he was arrested. Shes expected to be a key witness in the trial.

Story continues

Bankman-Fried was a star in the cryptocurrency world before it all flamed out with his Bahamas arrest and the implosion of FTX. He ranked 32 on the Forbes rich list in 2021, which described him as the wealthiest self-made newcomer in its history, worth $22.5 billion.

Prosecutors say, the 31-year-old boy wonder from Palo Alto, California, secretly siphoned billions from customers of his globalized crypto exchange in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history. According to court papers, many of those victimized and ruined by FTX didnt have much to begin with.

Hes charged with using the stolen deposits to cover debts and risky bets by his hedge fund Alameda Research, run by Ellison, exposing oblivious customers to massive risk. According to the indictment, he also laundered stolen funds on Caribbean real estate and to buy political influence. The routine and brazen misappropriations resulted in an $8 billion hole in FTXs accounts Alameda was unable to repay, the feds say.

A number of A-listers including Gisele Bundchen, Larry David, Tom Brady and Shaquille ONeal endorsed FTX in paid ads claiming it was the safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto. Now, theyre up against a proposed class-action lawsuit filed last year in Florida that seeks to hold celebrities accountable for giving credibility to Bankman-Frieds dubious platform.

The feds hit Bankman-Fried with more charges months after his arrest, alleging he covertly flooded the U.S. political system with illegal campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans, totaling tens of millions, to influence crypto legislation in Washington.

Prosecutors recently dropped the campaign contributions charge brought after his extradition to respect a treaty with the Bahamas  where FTX was based, and Bankman-Fried was arrested  but said Tuesday they plan to incorporate it into the original charges in filings next week.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad fair value estimate is RM8.00

Current share price of RM5.08 suggests DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad is potentially 36% undervalued

Our fair value estimate is 49% higher than DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad's analyst price target of RM5.37

Does the August share price for DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad (KLSE:DKSH) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

Check out our latest analysis for DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM138.8m RM140.4m RM142.9m RM146.3m RM150.2m RM154.6m RM159.5m RM164.7m RM170.2m RM176.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 1.80% Est @ 2.33% Est @ 2.69% Est @ 2.95% Est @ 3.13% Est @ 3.26% Est @ 3.34% Est @ 3.41% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 14% RM122 RM108 RM96.7 RM86.8 RM78.2 RM70.7 RM64.0 RM58.0 RM52.6 RM47.8

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM785m

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 14%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM176m (1 + 3.6%)  (14% 3.6%) = RM1.8b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM1.8b ( 1 + 14%)10= RM476m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM1.3b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM5.1, the company appears quite undervalued at a 36% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 14%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.522. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year is below its 5-year average.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Trade Distributors market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad, there are three pertinent factors you should look at:

Risks: To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) . Future Earnings: How does DKSH's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Coca-Cola HBC (LON:CCH). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Coca-Cola HBC with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola HBC

How Quickly Is Coca-Cola HBC Increasing Earnings Per Share?

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. We can see that in the last three years Coca-Cola HBC grew its EPS by 15% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Coca-Cola HBC maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 23% to 10b. That's encouraging news for the company!

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

You don't drive with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, so you might be more interested in this free report showing analyst forecasts for Coca-Cola HBC's future profits.

Story continues

Are Coca-Cola HBC Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Coca-Cola HBC has a market capitalisation of UK8.4b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Holding 60m worth of stock in the company is no laughing matter and insiders will be committed in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. That's certainly enough to let shareholders know that management will be very focussed on long term growth.

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Coca-Cola HBC, with market caps over 7.3b, is about 4.7m.

Coca-Cola HBC offered total compensation worth 4.1m to its CEO in the year to December 2022. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Does Coca-Cola HBC Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One important encouraging feature of Coca-Cola HBC is that it is growing profits. The growth of EPS may be the eye-catching headline for Coca-Cola HBC, but there's more to bring joy for shareholders. With company insiders aligning themselves considerably with the company's success and modest CEO compensation, there's no arguments that this is a stock worth looking into. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for Coca-Cola HBC that you need to take into consideration.

Although Coca-Cola HBC certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Who doesnt love a bargain? Buying quality for a low price is one of the thrills of the market system  and that applies to stock markets as well. The trick is knowing which rock-bottom stocks are the right ones to buy.

Plenty of stocks are priced low, and bargain-hunting investors need to find the ones whose fundamentals are sound. The sheer volume of stocks, and the reams of data they produce, makes that difficult  but Wall Street analysts make their living by taking deep dives behind the scenes of the stock market, and their recommendations are always worth a read.

Using the analyst reviews as a guide and backing them up with the latest data from TipRanks, weve picked out two stocks that should attract the interest of bargain-minded investors. Both stocks hold Strong Buy ratings from the analysts, and both are showing significant losses over the past year, on the order of 50% or more. Lets take a closer look.

ADTRAN, Inc. (ADTN)

Lets start with ADTRAN, a company based in Alabama that offers open, disaggregated networking and communications solutions on a global scale. ADTRANs product range encompasses voice, data, video, and internet communications solutions, all adaptable to existing network infrastructures. Collaborating with service providers worldwide, the company facilitates scalable management of services, linking individuals, locations, and devices.

ADTRAN maintains offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, catering to millions of customers in governmental and private sectors. The companys portfolio covers network infrastructure, fiber access, aggregation, open optical networking, residential and business solutions, cloud software, as well as services and support.

Shares in ADTRAN are down 59% so far this year, with a series of disappointing earnings results not helping its case, as happened in the recently released Q2 print. The 2Q23 numbers showed a top line of $327.4 million, for a 90% y/y increase  but missing the forecast by $2.3 million. Looking ahead, ADTRAN anticipates 3Q23 revenue to range between $275 million and $305 million, which lags behind the consensus estimate of $352.5 million.

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This global telecom firm has caught the attention of Rosenblatts 5-star analyst Mike Genovese, who defends the company, and points out in his recent note several reasons why investors should consider owning the stock. Laying out the case, Genovese writes: 1) The stock is inexpensive at under 0.5x EV-to-2024 sales. 2) The company has won more Huawei replacement business than any other (six EMEA Tier 1 wins) and the revenue growth from these wins is still ahead. 3) We expect 2024 to be a good year, and think Adtran will likely grow revenues by double-digits. 4) Industry comps, and inventory correction pressures, should become much easier in 4Q23, compared to 3Q23, and continue to improve in early 2024. In other words, we think 3Q23 is the bottom for the industry.

Tracking forward from these comments, Genovese rates ADTN shares as a Buy, and his price target, of $11, implies a one-year upside potential of ~44%. (To watch Genoveses track record, click here)

Overall, there are 4 recent analyst reviews on ADTN shares, breaking down 3 to 1 favoring Buys over Holds, to make the Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares have a current trading price of $7.65, and the $13.50 average price target suggests the stock will gain ~76% in the next 12 months. As an added bonus, ADTRAN pays a forward annual dividend yield of 4.7%. (See ADTRAN stock forecast)

IGM Biosciences (IGMS)

The second beaten-down stock were looking at is a biomedical research firm, IGM Biosciences. This company is working in the field of antibody medicines, using IgM antibodies as the starting point in its development therapeutic agents designed to surpass the shortcomings of existing IgG antibody medicines. The company has used IgM technology to create several super antibodies, which are forming the base of a new class of advanced drug candidates.

IGM has put together a proprietary pipeline with seven active research tracks. Of these, one is still in preclinical development, but the other six have moved to Phase 1 clinical trials. These pipeline research tracks include both monotherapy and combination therapy programs, and target a variety of cancers. The leading drug candidate, aplitabart, is the subject of three trials, in combination with other anti-cancer drugs, against colorectal cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and solid tumors.

IGM reported several positive steps in its pipeline programs. Prominent among these was the rehash of positive clinical data from the Phase 1 trial of aplitabart + Folfiri in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The company reported that 51 patients on the drug combination showed promising activity in terms of progression-free survival.

Furthermore, the companys drug candidate imvotamab, a potential treatment for autoimmune diseases, received FDA clearance for two Phase 1b clinical trials. The first will target severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) while the second will focus on severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both trials are expected to initiate during 3Q23.

However, despite all this activity, shares in IGMS are down 54% so far this year. That brings the price down, and Stifel analyst Stephen Willey sees that as a buying opportunity. In his comments, the 5-star analyst notes the ongoing progress of aplitabart, before coming to a bullish conclusion:

We continue to believe the biology of simultaneously modulating extrinsic/intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathways has much-broader applications beyond mCRC and Aplitabart remains the centerpiece of our longer-term estimates/valuation We believe managements disclosure of incremental patient efficacy/safety data from the single-arm, dose-expansion cohorts evaluating the combination of Aplitabart 3mg/kg + FOLFIRI  bevacizumab (Bev) in mostly 3L+ mCRC patients is directionally-positive and further-confirms our confidence in the underlying biological hypothesis (simultaneous extrinsic/intrinsic apoptosis pathway modulation) and longer-term path forward.

Multiple additional disclosures/updates expected from this development program by YE23 now provide important near-term catalysts for what we believe remains an undervalued/underappreciated stock, Willey summed up.

To this end, Willey rates IGMS shares as a Buy, and his target price of $26 shows his confidence in a robust 230% gain in the coming year. (To watch Willeys track record, click here)

Overall, IGMs 11 recent analyst reviews, including 8 Buys to 3 Holds, support the stocks Buy rating, while the average price target of $24.45 and trading price of $7.86 combine to suggest a 211% upside potential on the one-year horizon. (See IGM stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like CACI International (NYSE:CACI). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide CACI International with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

View our latest analysis for CACI International

How Quickly Is CACI International Increasing Earnings Per Share?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. We can see that in the last three years CACI International grew its EPS by 9.5% per year. That growth rate is fairly good, assuming the company can keep it up.

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 CACI International achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 8.1% to US$6.7b. That's encouraging news for the company!

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of CACI International's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

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Are CACI International Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since CACI International has a market capitalisation of US$7.8b, 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. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$89m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. This should keep them focused on creating long term value for shareholders.

Should You Add CACI International To Your Watchlist?

One important encouraging feature of CACI International is that it is growing profits. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. These two factors are a huge highlight for the company which should be a strong contender your watchlists. We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for CACI International that you should be aware of before investing here.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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.
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Burkhalter Holding is CHF95.89 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Burkhalter Holding's CHF90.00 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Peers of Burkhalter Holding are currently trading on average at a 43% premium

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Burkhalter Holding AG (VTX:BRKN) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Burkhalter Holding

The Method

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (CHF, Millions) CHF45.6m CHF48.9m CHF50.0m CHF50.8m CHF51.3m CHF51.8m CHF52.0m CHF52.2m CHF52.4m CHF52.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 2.28% Est @ 1.60% Est @ 1.12% Est @ 0.79% Est @ 0.56% Est @ 0.39% Est @ 0.28% Est @ 0.20% Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 5.2% CHF43.3 CHF44.2 CHF43.0 CHF41.5 CHF39.9 CHF38.3 CHF36.6 CHF34.9 CHF33.3 CHF31.7

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CHF387m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 0.01%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 5.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CHF52m (1 + 0.01%)  (5.2% 0.01%) = CHF1.0b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHF1.0b ( 1 + 5.2%)10= CHF617m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CHF1.0b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CHF90.0, the company appears about fair value at a 6.1% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Burkhalter Holding as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 5.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.030. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Burkhalter Holding

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Swiss market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

Dividends are not covered by cash flow.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Burkhalter Holding, we've put together three essential elements you should further research:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Burkhalter Holding that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does BRKN's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Swiss stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Key Insights

Fu Yu's estimated fair value is S$0.16 based on Dividend Discount Model

Fu Yu's S$0.15 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Industry average discount to fair value of 8.1% suggests Fu Yu's peers are currently trading at a higher discount

Does the August share price for Fu Yu Corporation Limited (SGX:F13) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Fu Yu

The Model

We have to calculate the value of Fu Yu slightly differently to other stocks because it is a machinery company. Instead of using free cash flows, which are hard to estimate and often not reported by analysts in this industry, dividends per share (DPS) payments are used. Unless a company pays out the majority of its FCF as a dividend, this method will typically underestimate the value of the stock. We use the Gordon Growth Model, which assumes dividend will grow into perpetuity at a rate that can be sustained. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a company's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this case we used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.0%). The expected dividend per share is then discounted to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.1%. Relative to the current share price of S$0.2, the company appears about fair value at a 7.0% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

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Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)

= S$0.01 / (8.1%  2.0%)

= S$0.2

dcf

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Fu Yu as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.216. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Fu Yu

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

No major weaknesses identified for F13.

Opportunity

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine F13's earnings prospects.

Threat

Dividends are not covered by cash flow.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Fu Yu, we've compiled three pertinent elements you should look at:

Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Fu Yu (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Singaporean stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
(Bloomberg) -- The World Bank arbitration court awarded $77 million to Exxon Mobil Corp. in a resubmitted claim worth $1.4 billion over the nationalization of Venezuelas Cerro Negro and La Ceiba crude projects in 2007.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The award is the result of a long legal battle that ended with the International Center for Settlement of International Disputes deciding July 10 most of the $984.5 million compensation granted to Exxon already had been paid in a separate claim with the International Chamber of Commerce, which resulted in Exxon receiving $907.5 million in 2011.

If Exxon wants to receive the full amount it is seeking from Venezuela, it must return what it previously received, according to a copy of the award document seen by Bloomberg.

That would leave $76.9 million in favor of the Texas-based firm, plus a little over $1 million to cover part of their legal expenses. The award isnt public because it requires consent from both parties to be published, an ICSID press official said.

Read More: World Bank Court Annuls $1.4 Billion Venezuela-Exxon Award

Exxon said it would not comment on details of the award but on balance, ICSID ruled in our favor, Todd Spitler, Exxon spokesperson, said in an email.

Venezuelas information ministry did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The amount of the initial compensation awarded to Exxon was challenged by the ICSID in 2017 when it partially annulled a previous ruling that ordered Venezuela to pay $1.4 billion. The court stated at the time the compensation was not calculated under applicable law, among other issues. Exxon reintroduced the claim one year later.

Exxon was the first international oil company to abandon Venezuela after the late President Hugo Chavez nationalized oil assets a decade ago.

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ConocoPhillips, which also filed for arbitration for the seizure of its Hamaca and Petrozuata assets in 2007, could soon see a slice of the proceeds. The company is among the top creditors to be paid when shares in Citgo Petroleum Corp.s parent company are sold at auction in October.

--With assistance from Kevin Crowley.

(Updates with information on Conocos claim in the ninth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the amount of compensation previously granted to Exxon.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
SeventyFour / iStock.com

Advances in technology usually lead to advances in fraud and thats been the case with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Fraud and theft involving food stamps are on the rise, mainly due to skimming of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards used to pay for SNAP purchases.

Food Stamps: New SNAP Work Requirements Go Into Effect Sept. 1  Heres Who Qualifies

Learn: How To Save $200 on Your Grocery Bill Every Month

With skimming, thieves use a device to steal the card number and PIN off of someone elses EBT card. The cards are designed to work like debit cards but dont have the same built-in protections as bank-issued debit or credit cards.

One possible solution to the SNAP fraud problem is artificial intelligence, according to Ali Solehdin, the Chief Product and Strategy Officer at INETCO, an online fraud detection and cybersecurity software firm. The companys BullzAI platform is used by government agencies and payment administrators to detect and block fraudulent EBT transactions due to card skimming and account takeovers.

In a recent op-ed for the Banking Exchange website, Solehdin cited Government Accountability Office data showing that EBT fraud costs taxpayers up to $4.7 billion a year and called it a criminal epidemic.

Billions of dollars of SNAP/EBT benefits payments [are] now being siphoned away from their intended recipients through card skimming and other forms of fraud on an annual basis, Solehdin wrote.

In addition to card skimming, fraudsters can also steal EBT funds through account takeovers, he added, thanks to a wealth of data and ill-gotten account information available through channels like the Dark Web.

One potential fix is to overhaul the SNAP/EBT program to ensure chips are included in all benefits cards, Solehdin noted. But while this solution is being reviewed in several states, it would likely take years to implement.

Even if this was achieved in a best-case scenario time frame of around two years, states could still be susceptible to $9 billion more damage in EBT fraud during that window, Solehdin wrote.

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A better solution, he said, is for states and their SNAP/EBT distributor partners to rapidly deploy fraud prevention technology that can detect anomalies in real-time, bolstered by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In fact, the technology already exists. As Solehdin pointed out, AI-driven machine learning models can create individual profiles for each EBT card. The systems can then apply behavioral analytics to automatically detect fraudulent activity related to EBT cards in real time.

This technology can also train itself to evolve over time to detect new schemes and forms of payments fraud and does not require data scientists or deep technical expertise to operate, Solehdin wrote. This is a far more efficient means of detecting, deterring and mitigating SNAP/EBT fraud than replacing millions of benefits cards or setting up sting operations to capture criminals, both of which are extremely costly and require enormous manpower.

Another benefit of fraud prevention tools underpinned by AI and machine learning is that they can be deployed in only 60 to 90 days.

Applying this type of solution would have the potential to save taxpayers billions of dollars a year, while also freeing up significant funds and resources for states and government agencies to direct to other areas of need, Solehdin wrote.

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For now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture  which oversees the SNAP program  recommends taking these steps to avoid theft and fraud:

Keep your PIN secret. Dont share it with anyone outside your household, and cover the keypad when you enter your PIN on a machine. You also should change your PIN frequently.

Check your EBT account regularly for unauthorized charges. If you notice any unfamiliar charges, change your PIN immediately to stop the thief from making any new purchases.

Double-check card reading machines. Make sure theres nothing suspicious overlaid or attached to the card swiper or the keypad. Overlays can be difficult to detect but are often bigger than the original machine and might also hide parts of the machine.

If you believe youve been the victim of a skimming or phishing scam, contact your local SNAP office immediately. You also can report SNAP fraud by state on the USDAs fraud page.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Food Stamps: New AI Safeguards Proposed To Prevent SNAP Benefits Fraud Would Save States Billions of Dollars  But Time Is Critical Factor
A police department in central California received a call on Monday afternoon about an elderly man stranded in his electric wheelchair in front of the Auto Zone auto parts store, according to the local chief.

"On arrival, it was determined that the chairs battery needed a charge," Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador wrote in a Facebook post.

And that's where the Ford F-150 Lightning enters the picture.

The police chief titled the news release: "New Electric Pickups Save The Day."

The police in Atwater, which is about 160 miles east of San Francisco and named for a wheat farmer, have two all-electric pickup trucks because of a grant provided to the city by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The region is known for high rates of asthma and other ailments related to air quality.

"These vehicles, assigned to the Code Enforcement Unit, are equipped with the ability to transfer power from the vehicles battery drive chain, using a feature called pro power onboard, to other battery operated or electric devices," the Facebook post said. "This capability was used in this case to assist the stranded person by charging the electric wheelchair enough to make it operational once he was delivered to his residence."

The Facebook update received 204 thumbs up and heart emojis.

Larry Farren posted on that Atwater Police Facebook page, "Great service and good rescue."

The Atwater Police Department, in Merced County, California, used its Ford F-150 Lightning to assist a man in a wheelchair whose battery had died on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023.

Salvador said in a statement: With temperatures over 100 degrees, it was important to get this wheelchair operational and get the stranded person out of the heat. These new vehicles have provided the department with a host of new capabilities that have yet to be fully explored."

The chief wrote, "These trucks are the first in what the department hopes is a transformation of our fleet to alternative fuel vehicles that lower emissions, fuel, and maintenance costs."

'Really cool'

On Thursday, Salvador told the Detroit Free Press that he writes the news releases himself and he's just really proud of how his team handled assisting a man in need.

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"It was really, really cool," he said. "I mean, we're glad we were able to help this guy out. We charged up his wheelchair and then drove the man home. It was so hot," Salvador said. "We (just) took possession of two brand spankin' new Ford F-150 Lightning special service vehicles from Ford. We ordered them last year, used an air pollution reduction incentive grant for public agencies to help offset the cost. Then we waited a year for these pickup trucks."

A code enforcement driver called the chief and ask permission to "try something" unorthodox in response to the call for help. He wanted to use the electric pickup truck with electrical power outlets on board to charge the chair.

"I think these vehicles are going to hit a really big sweet spot for us," Salvador said. "My city is 6 square miles. We purchased these vehicles for animal control and code enforcement. Now that we've had them for a week, I'll probably end up asking my council to get another grant to buy two more for administration and animal control, and expand that fleet for dog catcher trucks. That just makes sense."

Code enforcement is getting three days of driving on a full Lightning charge, he said. "For us, the Lightning really fits."

More: Ford F-150 generator saves Farmington Hills wedding reception during power outage

New uses for police

Meanwhile, Ford learned of the Atwater police post from the Free Press on Thursday.

"The ability to off-board energy from the Lighting completely changes how many ways the truck can help in daily life," Marty Gunsberg, Ford spokesman for the F-150 Lightning, told the Free Press. "We're very happy to see an F-150 Lightning assist another electric vehicle."

Mike Levine, Ford North America product communications manager, added, "Were happy to see the police charging something else besides criminal behavior."

Ford is a top supplier of pickup trucks for police use, including the Lightning. The company designs vehicles to provide additional safety for law enforcement officers. The all-electric Ford pickup has been used to power homes during outages in Texas and Ford has been tapped by PG&E to provide electricity during natural disasters in California.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford F-150 Lightning saves the day for man stranded in wheelchair
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Foreign home buyers have played a prominent role in certain U.S. housing markets, buying up properties and leaving competing buyers empty-handed. But it appears that even foreign buyers have grown weary of high prices and rising mortgage rates, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

See: Could You Afford a Vacation Home in Europe? Check Out the Prices in These 8 Cities

Discover: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

Foreign buyers purchased $53.3 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2022 through March 2023, according to the NAR  a decline of 9.6% from the prior year. A total of 84,600 properties were bought by international buyers during the period, which was down 14.2% from a year earlier and marked the fewest number of homes bought since 2009, when NAR began tracking the data.

Real Estate Agents Say: Buy Property in These 5 States To Be Rich in 5 Years

International house hunters seem to be deterred by the same housing trends that have kept many U.S. buyers on the sidelines  at least for now.

Sharply lower housing inventory in the U.S. and higher borrowing costs across the world have dented international buyers for two straight years, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release. However, recovering international travel following the end of the pandemic will bring more foreign transactions in coming months and years.

On a positive note, foreign buyers are willing to dish out more money for their homes these days  mainly because they have little choice. The average existing-home price paid by international buyers was $639,900 during the period, while the median price was $396,400. Both were the highest ever recorded by the NAR, rising 7% and 8.3%, respectively, from the previous year.

Chinese buyers paid the highest average purchase price among international buyers, at $1.23 million. One-third of Chinese buyers purchased property in California. The number of 2023 Chinese home purchases is the highest since 2018, CNBC reported, though their reasons for buying have shifted.

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Only about one in every 10 Chinese buyers is purchasing purely as an investment, which is a big change from the mid-2010s, when wealthy Chinese consumers looked to diversify their wealth out of China, Kashif Ansari, Juwai IQI co-founder and group CEO, told CNBC. In 2023, the typical Chinese buyer is no longer an offshore investor but is on their way towards becoming an American resident and citizen.

After China, the four countries with the most U.S. existing-home buyers were Mexico, Canada, India and Colombia. The top U.S. destinations for foreign buyers were Florida (23%); California and Texas (12% each); and North Carolina, Arizona and Illinois (4% each).

All-cash sales accounted for 42% of international buyer transactions vs. 26% of all existing-home buyers, according to NAR. Non-resident foreign buyers (52%) were more likely to make an all-cash purchase than resident foreign buyers (32%). Two-thirds of Colombian buyers (67%) made all-cash purchases  the highest share among the top five foreign buyer nations.

Theoretically, fewer foreign buyers should open up more housing inventory to U.S. buyers. When that happens, home prices tend to go down. But dont expect lower interest from foreign buyers to have much impact on the market as a whole.

As CNBC noted, international buyers only account for a little more than 2% of all buyers, so they dont play a major role in the broader U.S. market. However, there could be help on the margins in certain cities with a lot of foreign buyers.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Foreign Buyers Lower Interest in the US Affects Your Housing Market
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 20% in the last quarter. But at least the stock is up over the last five years. However we are not very impressed because the share price is only up 55%, less than the market return of 66%.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

See our latest analysis for General Mills

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, General Mills achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 3.7% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 9% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, General Mills' TSR for the last 5 years was 84%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

Investors in General Mills had a tough year, with a total loss of 3.4% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 5.9%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 13% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for General Mills you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Transparency Market Research

The demand for halal and kosher empty capsules is being driven by an increase in environmental and health consciousness, a rise in the number of vegetarians and vegans, and a rise in the number of people who rigorously observe halal and kosher religion.

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global market for halal and kosher empty capsules was estimated to have garnered a market valuation of around US$ 1.4 billion in 2021. The market is anticipated to grow with a robust 8% CAGR from 2022 to 2031 and by 2031, the market is likely to gain US$ 2.9 billion.



The halal empty capsules are being used more often in the packaging of pharmaceutical as well as cosmetic items due to the rise in awareness of halal and kosher products among the Islamic and Jewish populations, respectively. Halal nutraceuticals offer a greater commercial appeal with non-Muslim customers, who ascribe such goods to ethical consumerism and have more stringent quality control requirements, in addition to the sizeable Muslim community that demonstrates strong allegiance to halal certification.

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When transacting business with Muslims, halal may also establish itself as a benchmark of acceptable standards and compliance for non-Muslims. Throughout the projection period, market growth is anticipated to be fueled by rising environmental and health concerns surrounding the use of animal meat.

Key Findings of the Market Report

In the next years, it is projected that the prevalence of various diseases will rise, which would benefit the halal and kosher empty capsule industries.

Capsule formulation is a better option for those who cannot swallow tablets.

Capsules are readily accessible, biodegradable, and have high rates of absorption.

During the projection period, it is predicted that the gelatin capsules type segment would control a significant portion of the market.

The worldwide market for halal and kosher empty capsules is predicted to be dominated by Europe.



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Market Trends for Halal and Kosher Empty Capsules

During the projection period, it is predicted that the gelatin capsules type segment would control a significant portion of the market. Gelatin capsules serve as ideal carriers because they can encapsulate medications that are both hydrophilic as well as lipophilic and can shield them from deterioration. These capsules have higher absorption rates and can function as a powerful matrix for solubilizing substances.

Performance-wise, gelatin-based IR, ER, and DR formulations outperform traditional formulations, results in higher patient compliance and increased effectiveness. Gelatin capsules have a high capacity for adsorption, which is followed by a high capacity for dispersion in water, which results in a high sustained release of different medications. The popularity of gelatin-based halal and kosher empty capsules is being driven by these advantages.

Request for customization of this research report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=76513

Halal and Kosher Empty Capsules Regional Market Outlook

The worldwide market for halal and kosher empty capsules is predicted to be dominated by Europe. The market's expansion, the prominence of important players, and the early uptake of emerging technologies in the area may all be attributed to the market's growth. Market expansion in Europe is also being driven by an increase of preference for halal and kosher empty capsules within the pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals industries.

The presence of major international pharmaceutical companies and the expansion of the halal nutraceuticals and vaccines markets in the area are what propel the industry in North America.

During the projected period, a significant rate of market growth is anticipated across the Middle East and Africa. Market expansion for halal goods, rising healthcare costs, increasing frequency of different ailments, and an increase in senior patients are the primary drivers of this region.



Global Halal and Kosher Empty Capsules Market: Key Players

The market for halal and kosher empty capsules is quite fragmented, and several major competitors are present. The majority of businesses dominate their regions. Businesses in the sector are concentrating on meeting the demands of the medical community and patient population by producing new goods.

Leading companies are focusing on research and development efforts and participating in mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships in order to increase their market share for halal and kosher empty capsules globally. Several well-known companies participating in the market include ACG, CapsCanada (a Lyfe Group Co.), Erawat Pharma Limited, Farmacapsulas S.A., Healthcaps, Lefancaps, Lonza, and Qualicaps.

Some developments by the key players in the global market for halal and kosher empty capsules are:

NZMP , a well-known brand owned by the renowned dairy business Fonterra, collaborated with Maypro in March 2022 . Maypro will be the official North American distributor of NZMP's two probiotic strains, LactoB HN001 and BifidoB HN019, with this collaboration.

A formal deal was struck by Brightstar Capital Partners to buy Capstone Nutrition, a maker of nutritional supplements, vitamins, and anti-aging products, in September 2019.

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Global Halal and Kosher Empty Capsules Market Segmentation

Type Gelatin Capsules Vegetarian Capsules Enteric Capsules

End-user Food Supplements/Nutraceuticals Pharmaceuticals & Biopharmaceuticals Others

Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa South America



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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(Bloomberg) -- California regulators voted in favor of robotaxi operators expanding their paid driverless services in the city of San Francisco, a major milestone toward commercializing the technology.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The states Public Utilities Commission voted 3 to 1 to allow General Motors Co.s Cruise LLC and Alphabet Inc.s Waymo to increase the areas of the city where they can operate a car without a safety driver, and charge riders a fare for it.

Alphabet fell less than 1% at 12:51 p.m. Friday in New York, while GM was down 1.3%.

The commission, which met in San Francisco on Thursday, heard hours of public testimony arguing for and against the expansion of Waymo and Cruises turf. Robotaxis have increasingly become a normal sight on the Northern California citys roads, with Waymo running a fleet of about 200 cars. Such services are currently limited in where they can drive, and the companies typically cant charge passengers. Cruise has 300 cars across three cities  San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix  averaging 1,000 trips a day. Both services have thousands of individuals on waiting lists to try them out.

Cruise said the decision will help it revamp an unsafe transport system. Itll also support the companys further expansion, Chief Executive Officer Kyle Vogt said.

A year ago we were in one city and today we have about seven, eight that will begin imminently, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday. We will see that route expansion in the Sun Belt.

Waymo called it a huge milestone that will enable its growth as well.

Read More: Waymo, Cruise Robotaxis Are All Over San Francisco: Tech Daily

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Multiple people at the hearing expressed the view that expanding the services of driverless taxis would better serve those with disabilities. Human-driven ride-share vehicles often neglect the needs of picking up individuals with physical challenges, such as stopping abruptly at a curb, some said. Others said autonomous taxis would eliminate discrimination from the process of hailing a ride.

I experienced rideshare drivers who have left me on the street and refused to open their vehicles. Drivers can discriminate against vulnerable populations, including queer, black, and trans folks, far more than any computer, city resident Sean Durkin told commissioners at the meeting.

Others who testified argued that expanding autonomous vehicles would make the citys streets safer.

I never have to guess if Cruise is going to decide to follow traffic rules today, said San Francisco resident Jason Stafford. Im tired of seeing my family put in danger when we have a solution to the danger that human drivers cause.

Read more: Cathie Wood Keeps Up Tesla Robotaxi Hopes After Six-Year Letdown

On the opposing end, many of the individuals who testified against the expansion of autonomous vehicles said it would put jobs at risk, including drivers for traditional ride-share apps like Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.  both based in San Francisco  as well as workers for delivery services. Others focused on concerns about the safety and accountability of vehicles that companies like Waymo and Cruise allow to navigate the city.

I encourage you to think about the 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States, and to think that Cruise is currently rolling out delivery vehicles that they call driverless delivery with the express intent of replacing delivery drivers, long-haul truckers, and affecting the livelihood of millions of American families and working people,  city resident Graham Isom said during the testimony.

The verdict expands how Waymo and Cruise vehicles can operate. Prior to Thursdays decision, Cruise could only charge a fare in a limited section of the city, while offering a free service covering almost all of the peninsula. Waymo did not charge a fare in San Francisco.

Read More: GMs Driverless Car Jams Threaten Its San Francisco Expansion

The resolutions permit the autonomous vehicles to operate without a human safety driver during the day or at night, throughout the entire city of San Francisco.

--With assistance from Aisha Counts and David Welch.

(Updated with Cruise CEO comment. A previous version was corrected to remove inaccurate regulatory information.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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FILE PHOTO: A view of a Nvidia logo at their headquarters in Taipei

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Australia-listed investment firm GQG Partners added more shares of Nvidia Corp in the second quarter, ending June with $5.9 billion invested in the chipmaker, according to regulatory filings on Friday.

Shares in Nvidia are up roughly 180% year to date and reached $1 trillion in market capitalization, amid excitement over advancements in artificial intelligence.

In the beginning of June, Chief Investment Officer Rajiv Jain told Reuters he had been meaningfully increasing the firm's position in Nvidia, as he believed the stock had room for more gains.

GQG held 13.9 million shares of Nvidia at the end of June, or 5.7 million more than it did on March 31.

The firm also built a new position in Amazon.com Inc of roughly $2 billion, besides increasing existing positions in some of the other so-called "magnificent seven" megacap stocks": Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based GQG, manages $108 billion in assets.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York, editing by Deepa Babington)
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. For example, the Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) share price is down 22% in the last year. That's well below the market return of 5.9%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 8.0% in three years. And the share price decline continued over the last week, dropping some 13%. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

If the past week is anything to go by, investor sentiment for Hawaiian Electric Industries isn't positive, so let's see if there's a mismatch between fundamentals and the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Hawaiian Electric Industries

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Unhappily, Hawaiian Electric Industries had to report a 4.7% decline in EPS over the last year. This reduction in EPS is not as bad as the 22% share price fall. This suggests the EPS fall has made some shareholders are more nervous about the business.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Hawaiian Electric Industries' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Story continues

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Hawaiian Electric Industries, it has a TSR of -20% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Hawaiian Electric Industries shareholders are down 20% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 5.9%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 1.6% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Hawaiian Electric Industries that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, names synonymous with the technological revolution, made an unexpected choice when it came to their own childrens interaction with the products they helped create. Despite championing the digital age, both Gates and Jobs chose to restrict their kids access to technology.

During a joint press conference with then-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Microsoft Corp. Co-Founder Bill Gates made a statement that caught the attention of the press.

Gates and his then-wife Melinda took a decisive step by limiting screen time to 45 minutes for games, with an additional hour allowed on weekends. This was in addition to the time required for homework.

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My kids get limited computer time, he said. Just because youre the daughter of Bill Gates does not mean you get to play on your computer all day long.

Gates, who also held off on providing his kids with cell phones until they turned 14, said he also set a time that his kids had to stop using computers to help them get to sleep at a reasonable hour. He looks for ways to balance technology for learning and social interaction while recognizing the perils of overindulgence.

Youre always looking at how it can be used in a great way  homework and staying in touch with friends  and also where it has gotten to excess, he told the Mirror in the U.K.

The late Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.s co-founder, echoed Gates reservations about technologys impact on his own family. In a 2011 interview with The New York Times shortly before he passed away, Jobs said he banned his kids from using the newly released iPad.

We dont allow the iPad in the home. We think its too dangerous for them in effect, he said when asked whether his kids love the iPad.

>> How can you invest in early-stage startups if you dont know the founders? Easy. Click here for a list startups you can invest in today.

Despite touting the iPad as a game-changer for education, web browsing, video consumption and social interaction the year before, Jobs recognized the devices addictive nature. He understood that once the iPad became a constant presence, resisting its allure would be a challenge.

Story continues

While its widely recognized that monitoring phone usage is important for kids, its worth acknowledging that adults also spend a significant amount of time on their phones, and that time may not always be productive. Thats where Mode Mobile comes into the picture.

Mode Mobile is on a mission to transform your phone into something more than a device for scrolling or texting. With over 40 million registered beta users spanning 170-plus countries, Mode Mobile is creating earning opportunities for users. Its innovative approach has led to more than $50 million in revenue.

For those looking to be part of the next big thing, investing in Mode Mobile offers a chance to be part of an idea that reflects the kind of creative disruption Jobs admired.

Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.

This article Hidden Side of Steve Jobs And Bill Gates: They Banned Their Kids From iPads And Other Devices They Created originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Writers and actors represented by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions picket in Hollywood. Los Angeles is seeing an increasing amount of cross-union solidarity. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

It's hot, sweaty and built on solidarity: Los Angeles has become a city of picket lines this summer, with more than 100,000 workers out on strike in the region.

Each set of workers  screenwriters, actors, hotel employees, city staffers and more  is fighting its own particular fight, but organized labor is having a moment on the streets of L.A.

Theres a perception that we have little in common, but were both fighting for our future, playwright Sam Chanse said recently as she walked a picket line alongside hotel workers.

But is this hot labor summer just a perfect storm of organizing, economics and contract expiration? Or is this a new normal?

Strike activity in the U.S. has quadrupled since last year, and Los Angeles is the work stoppage capital for 2023, largely because of the huge number of L.A.-area writers and actors represented by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions.

Read more: Column: Hollywood saw global TV as strike insurance. Workers of the world have other plans

Nationally, however, this level of labor action is a return to pre-pandemic form. More than 400,000 workers went on strike in both 2018 and 2019, which saw the "Red for Ed" teacher strikes and a major work stoppage at General Motors. This year's picket population has topped 300,000 so far  but still has time to break a recent record, if the nearly 150,000 workers at the Big Three automakers go out on strike after their contracts expire in September.

On a longer time scale, the last decade has seen significantly less industrial action than most decades of the 20th century, when union membership was much higher across the U.S. And despite a wave of new union organizing at companies such as Starbucks and Amazon, workers have had a difficult time bargaining first contracts and fending off anti-union tactics from employers.

Still, it's hard to deny that there's something in the air this season. Johnnie Kallas, a doctoral candidate at Cornell University who runs the Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker, which keeps tabs on labor actions nationwide, points to the pandemic as a proximate cause.

Story continues

"For a lot of these workers, this is the first contract that they're negotiating since the beginning of the pandemic," Kallas said.

Meanwhile, the cost of living has been jumping, which means even standard raises are still tantamount to pay cuts; corporate profits have been on the rise across the economy since 2020; and unemployment has remained low, giving workers more bargaining power.

That potent combination of factors, Kallas said, has made workers willing to fight.

"The pandemic had the effect of delegitimizing management in every which way," said Nelson Lichtenstein, who teaches labor history at UC Santa Barbara.

Especially in the early days of the pandemic, managers "were discredited whether or not they tried to do the right thing," Lichtenstein said. Office workers learned that they could have been working from home the whole time, even before lockdown rules made it necessary. "Essential workers," who had to report to work in person, learned that their health was less important than the bottom line.

Read more: Column: Employers and governments aren't protecting workers from extreme heat. Unions might

Then, as the COVID-19 recession turned into a stock market boom, rising prices ate away at the spending power of the average employee while many of the companies they worked for reported strong earnings.

"Corporations lost their credibility," Lichtenstein said, "and it was very intimate. It wasn't something like a Madoff or big banks doing something. It was right there in everyone's face."

Los Angeles in particular sits at the vanguard of two trends: increasingly expensive housing and an increasing amount of cross-union solidarity.

Unite Here Local 11, the union representing workers on strike at dozens of hotels across the region, has explicitly tied its demands at the bargaining table to housing issues. In negotiations, the union has asked hotel owners to charge customers a new fee that would feed into a fund to help workers obtain affordable housing and support a 2024 ballot measure that would require Los Angeles hotels to rent vacant rooms to unhoused people.

The decades-long decay in regular residual payments and show staffing has also put housing costs front and center for writers and actors who are on strike.

Read more: We cant pay our rent. Actors on the picket line reveal harsh reality of trying to make it in Hollywood

Even a group representing local businesses agrees that housing costs are contributing to labor unrest.

Maria Salinas, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said that her group is "very concerned about the affordability issues, mainly in housing" and that it advocates for regulatory changes to increase housing construction.

According to a recent informal poll of about 100 chief executives, Salinas said, "the top issue was housing affordability, followed by tightness in the labor market," both of which are making it difficult to recruit and retain workers in Los Angeles.

Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center, noted that housing costs also motivated the statewide UC graduate student worker strike last year, with workers facing "tremendous difficulty making ends meet, especially given the rising cost of housing."

"The other major factor is that Los Angeles is an important focal point for the new American labor movement," Wong said. Since Miguel Contreras assumed the leadership of the L.A. County Federation of Labor in the mid-1990s, the local labor movement has been at the forefront of organizing immigrant workers, nonunion workers and young workers across industries to push for political change, such as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and beyond.

Read more: Column: This 'hot labor summer' is unifying Los Angeles in a way few could have imagined

The L.A. labor movement is working together more than it has in past years. In March, L.A. schoolteachers represented by United Teachers Los Angeles coordinated a joint three-day strike with L.A. school workers represented by SEIU Local 99. Within weeks of the joint action, both unions secured contracts with major raises  21% for the teachers and 30% for the workers represented by SEIU. This year is also the first time since 1960 that screenwriters and actors are simultaneously on strike, and the local Teamsters have committed to honoring their picket lines.

But still, organized labor in the U.S. is relatively weak compared with earlier decades  and efforts to organize new groups of workers and get them under union contracts have faced stiff opposition from employers.

"Normally when you think of moments of mobilization and discrediting of the old order, from the '30s to the '60s and '70s, organization expands," Lichtenstein said. "But right now thats not happening."

Read more: 'I feel duped': Inside the fast-food industry's push to dismantle a new California labor law

To explain the gap, Lichtenstein points to weaker labor laws and management hostility.

"The management strategy now is basically to not recognize the union and wait it out, even if they take a reputational hit, and that's often successful," Lichtenstein said. "The playbook works, given the current state of the labor laws," which hit employers with small penalties for violations and have little power to force employers to the bargaining table.

"In this country, management is very antagonistic to the idea of unions and collective bargaining, even when it could be in their interest or lead to good outcomes," said Kallas, the Cornell researcher. Starbucks workers, for instance, have organized unions at more than 300 coffee shops, but the company has waged an intense campaign to avoid recognizing them or bargaining a first contract.

But if hardball tactics from management keep colliding with a workforce that's losing purchasing power, losing their homes and losing their patience, then workers could keep organizing and keep resorting to strikes when negotiations fall apart.

The summer's strikes are a reflection of "an upsurge in worker consciousness and a reflection of a deep dissatisfaction with a status quo that is not working for most workers," Wong said.

Wong added that economic inequality in California grew during the pandemic despite the ostensibly pro-labor makeup of the state government. "More workers are seeing the necessity of organizing, mobilizing and fighting for better wages and conditions at the work site."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) has abolished all of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

CFTOD, formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District, governs the land of Walt Disney World Resort. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees control CFTOD.

The district said that the decision came "after the Reedy Creek Improvement District implemented hiring and contracting programs that discriminated against Americans based on gender and race, costing taxpayers millions of dollars."

After an internal investigation, the district is dissolving its DEI committee and removing all DEI-related job responsibilities. District employees will no longer be permitted to use staff time to pursue DEI initiatives.

"The so-called diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board and they were illegal and simply un-American," CFTOD District Administrator Glenton Gilzean said in a press release.

"Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal. As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences."

The press release also stated that the Reedy Creek Improvement District had a routine of awarding contracts based on gender and racial goals. Specifically, businesses were chosen on the grounds of their owners' race and gender. To meet the gender and racial quotas, the district had to pay millions of dollars more in order to find businesses that could comply, according to the press release.

Check out:

Elon Musk has reportedly bought 6,000 acres of land just outside of Austin. Heres how to invest in the citys growth before he floods it with new tech workers.

Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. With as little as $100, average investors are becoming landlords thanks to this Jeff Bezos-backed startup.

Story continues

Disney Vs. DeSantis

The Walt Disney Co. filed a lawsuit against DeSantis in April, accusing him of retaliating against it for speaking out against a classroom bill limiting discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity.

"A targeted campaign of government retaliation  orchestrated at every step by Gov. DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech  now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights," Disney said in a court document.

The lawsuit was filed after state officials voided a development deal and replaced a Disney-approved board for the governing district with appointees chosen by DeSantis.

DeSantis's office responded by saying that the dispute centers around Disney's special tax and governance privileges rather than any alleged political vendetta.

"We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state," DeSantis's communications director Taryn Fenske said in a statement.

"The lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law."

Disney Stock Making A Comeback?

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) just reported earnings.

In the third quarter of the company's fiscal 2023, which ended July 1, revenue grew 4% year over year to $22.3 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.03 per share, down from the $1.09 per share it earned in the year-ago period.

Revenue from Disney's Parks, Experiences and Products segment rose 13% year over year to $8.3 billion for the quarter. The segment's operating income also improved, by 11% to $2.4 billion.

Investors liked what they saw. On the trading day following the earnings report, Disney shares surged 4.9%.

Year to date, Disney is up about 3.1%. To put that in perspective, the S&P 500 climbed 16.9% during the same period.

The stock market remains a volatile place. If you don't like the large swin

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This article 'Illegal And Simply Un-American': The DeSantis-Controlled Disney World District Just Abolished All Of Its Diversity, Equity Initiatives  Here's What You Need To Know originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
(Bloomberg) -- Indias new regime for handling data transfers abroad is intended to help the domestic industry flourish and shouldnt increase the burden on Big Tech companies from Google to Meta Platforms Inc. operating in the worlds most populous nation, the countrys technology minister said.

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The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 is aimed at establishing long-term rules to protect users while guiding the operations of foreign multinationals as well as domestic firms, Technology Minster Ashwini Vaishnaw told Bloomberg Television.

Years in the making, the new regulations passed this week and allow companies to export data to any country except those singled out by New Delhi. The move is considered a boon for global enterprises such as Alphabet Inc.s Google and Meta as it eases data flows and reduces their compliance burdens. But it also requires companies to get consent before collecting personal data, and prevents them from using it for purposes not specified in the terms of use. That means companies cant anonymize personal information for advertising or products such as artificial intelligence models.

We wanted to create a very balanced model, where citizens data is protected online, as well as an innovation ecosystem that continues to grow, Vaishnaw told Bloomberg Television anchors Rishaad Salamat and Yvonne Man. It doesnt increase their compliance burden.

US internet giants have clashed with Narendra Modis administration in past years over issues from misinformation to privacy, after the government stepped up efforts to combat what it viewed as dangerous content online.

The bill needs the presidents assent before it becomes law. Roughly half of Indias 1.4 billion people use the internet, making the region a key growth market for global technology players. India, like governments around the world, is trying to balance the needs of businesses with individuals rights to data privacy.

Story continues

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Investor demand has driven fund fees down to half of what they paid two decades ago, as they continue to pour most of their cash into the cheapest 20% of ETFs and mutual funds.

Competition among asset managers to offer investors the lowest fees isnt likely to subside any time soon, according to Morningstar Inc.s latest annual fund fee study. What may seem like moderate fee cuts add up to significant savings for retail investors. Investors saved nearly $9.8 billion last year as the asset-weighted average expense ratio fell to 0.37% in 2022 from 0.4% the year priora 0.3% decrease.

I think fee pressures will continue but that pressure will be concentrated in areas where fees are still high relative to cheaper (and largely passive) alternatives, Zachary Evens, associate manager research analyst at Morningstar, told etf.com.

Investors are pushing the fee competition forward by continuing to prioritize exchange-traded funds with lower than average fees. Morningstar said 100% of the net positive inflows in eight of the past nine years have gone into the cheapest 20% of funds.

The top 80% of more expensive funds have seen outflows over the same period. Last year, for the first time in five years, the lowest-fee quintile of funds had a net flow advantage of over $1.1 trillion compared with 80% of more expensive funds.

The average asset-weighted expense ratio across all mutual funds and ETFs was 0.37% in 2022, which is half of what investors paid two decades ago.

Fund fee cuts have coincided with the rise in financial advisor costs, according to the report. As financial advisors point their clients to the lowest quintile of funds, they also are charging for financial advice.

Investors employing a fee-based advisor may not be pocketing the difference from lower fund fees but redirecting those dollars to cover the price of advice, analysts wrote in the report.

Active ETFs

Passive investors have largely reaped the benefits of fund cuts. Passive fund fees have declined by 60% since 1994. Active ETFs have declined by 40%. More recently, passive funds saw fees fall by 10% from 2021 to 2022, while active ETFs' fees fell 3%.

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Evens predicts the fee cut competition will continue to be amplified for managers of active funds, especially as active ETFs gain popularity: The active ETF landscape is largely dominated by systematic active providers like Dimensional Fund Advisors and Avantis who price their products to compete with passive offerings.

Contact Lucy Brewster at lucy.brewster@etf.com





Permalink |  Copyright 2023 etf.com. All rights reserved
Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. To wit, the BAVARIA Industries Group share price has climbed 46% in five years, easily topping the market decline of 7.6% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 3.7%.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for BAVARIA Industries Group

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, BAVARIA Industries Group actually saw its EPS drop 44% per year.

This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Because earnings per share don't seem to match up with the share price, we'll take a look at other metrics instead.

It is not great to see that revenue has dropped by 14% per year over five years. It certainly surprises us that the share price is up, but perhaps a closer examination of the data will yield answers.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

BAVARIA Industries Group shareholders are up 3.7% for the year. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, the longer term returns (running at about 8% a year, over half a decade) look better. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand BAVARIA Industries Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with BAVARIA Industries Group (including 1 which is concerning) .

Story continues

But note: BAVARIA Industries Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
(Bloomberg) -- Ant Group Co.s quarterly profit rose 17.4%, marking a sign of improvement at a company emerging from more than two bruising years of a Chinese regulatory crackdown.

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The Hangzhou-based company contributed nearly 4.4 billion yuan ($610 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., a filing showed Thursday. Based on Alibabas one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 13 billion yuan in profit for the fintech companys March quarter. That compares with a 56% fall in profit in the previous quarter. Ants earnings lag a quarter behind Alibabas.

The company declined to comment in an emailed statement.

Read More: Alibabas Sales Beat Estimates in First Step of Comeback Effort

A multi-year government crackdown on the tech sector is nearing an end after Beijing slapped more than $1 billion of fines on Ant and Tencent Holdings Ltd. in July. Ant awaits a financial holding company license, which would pave the way for a revival of an initial public offering.

The companys valuation was trimmed to about $79 billion in a recent proposed share buyback, far below its peak of $280 billion before the scrapped IPO.

Billionaire Jack Ma, who has largely remained out of public sight in recent years, has said he will cede control of the company amid a broader retreat. He returned to China in March after a long period of staying overseas.

Ant last month proposed to buy back as much as 7.6% of its shares, giving investors a chance to reduce exposure to the company. Investors including Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Carlyle Group and GIC Pte are among the top foreign shareholders that arent participating in the buyback, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar this week. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. have agreed to sell some shares.

Story continues

Ant is also preparing to break off its international business, blockchain and database management services, people familiar with the matter have said. Its affiliate Alibaba has decided not to sell any of its one-third stake in Ant.

--With assistance from Adam Haigh.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Allkem Limited

Figure 1

Plan view showing drilling conducted during the 2023 drilling program (blue dots)

Figure 2

Section view of the NW Sector (looking NE)

Figure 3

Mineral Tenure Map showing claims held by Allkem as of August 9th, 2023.

Figure 4

Isometric and section view (looking north) of modelled pegmatite dykes

Figure 5

Spodumene observed both in outcrop and drill core

Figure 6

Isometric and section view (looking north) of Li2O Block Grades

Figure 7

Isometric and section view (looking north) of the Mineral Resource Classification

BRISBANE, Australia, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE, Allkem or the Company) is pleased to provide an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its James Bay Lithium Project in Quebec, Canada.

HIGHLIGHTS

The updated Mineral Resource of 110.2 Mt @ 1.30% Li 2 O includes 54.3 Mt @ 1.30% Li 2 O in the Indicated category, and an additional 55.9 Mt @ 1.29% Li 2 O in the Inferred category, solidifying the status of the James Bay Lithium Deposit in Quebec as a tier-1 lithium pegmatite mineral resource and long-life asset

The maiden Inferred Mineral Resource in the NW Sector remains open along strike and at depth with excellent growth potential

A significant campaign of infill and extensional drilling is planned during the Canadian winter to test for along-strike and down-dip extensions of the pegmatite dykes beyond the area included in this MRE



Managing Director and CEO, Martin Perez de Solay said, James Bay is now one of the largest spodumene lithium assets and clearly has the potential to grow even further as the boundaries of mineralisation are tested through an additional drilling program commencing later in the year."

The size and grade of this resource is amongst the best in the world and will underpin Allkem plans for future production and processing of lithium in Quebec.

MINERAL RESOURCE UPDATE

The MRE outlined in this announcement is a culmination of two drilling campaigns conducted on the Project since early 2022, adding approximately 37,500 m of delineation drilling to the deposit since the release of the previous feasibility study. The deposit remains open both along-strike and at depth, and Allkem has implemented a resource growth strategy to continue to grow the MRE with additional drilling. A plan view of drilling conducted in the 2023 drilling campaign is shown in Figure 1, with a section through the NW Sector shown in Figure 2.

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SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd., an independent mining consultancy based in Toronto, Canada, was engaged to update the MRE based on a drilling database dated May 19th, 2023. The pegmatite dykes have been classified based on a 40 m to 50 m spacing for Indicated Mineral Resources, and approximately an 80 m spacing for Inferred Mineral Resources.

The updated Mineral Resource for the James Bay Lithium Project, effective August 9th, 2023 is presented in Table 1 below. In addition, the Mineral Resource has been presented by Sector.

Table 1: James Bay Mineral Resource effective August 9th, 2023

Mineral Resource Estimate for the James Bay Lithium Project reported at 0.5% Li 2 O cut-off grade.

Category

Tonnage Grade Contained Metal Mt % Li 2 O (000) t Li 2 O Measured - - - Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Measured + Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Inferred 55.9 1.29 724 Total Mineral Resource 110.2 1.30 1,430



Mineral Resource Estimate for the James Bay Lithium Project reported at 0.5% Li 2 O cut-off grade separated by Sector.

Sector

Category

Tonnage Grade Contained Metal Mt % Li 2 O (000) t Li 2 O Main Deposit

Measured - - - Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Measured + Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Inferred 25.3 1.15 290 NW Sector

Measured - - - Indicated - - - Measured + Indicated - - - Inferred 30.7 1.42 434 Total

Measured - - - Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Measured + Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Inferred 55.9 1.29 724

Notes:

The Independent Competent Person, as defined by the JORC Code 2012, responsible for the preparation of this MRE is Mr. Luke Evans, P.Eng, a full-time employee of SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc. Mr. Evans is a member of LOrdre des Ingeniers du Quebec, a Recognised Professional Organisation defined by the JORC Code 2012. The effective date of the mineral resource is the 9 th August 2023.

The Mineral Resource Estimate has been reported within a conceptual pit shell at a cut-off grade of 0.50% Li 2 O

The Mineral Resources are Inclusive of Ore Reserves.

The conceptual pit shell used to constrain the MRE has been defined using a spodumene concentrate price of USD1,500 per tonne, an exchange rate of CAD:USD of 1.33, a total ore-based cost of CAD33.92 per tonne, a mining cost of CAD4.82 per tonne, a concentrate transport cost of CAD86.16 per tonne, and a metallurgical recovery of 70.1%.

The statements of Mineral Resources conform to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) 2012 edition.

Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves, as they do not demonstrate economic viability.

The Competent Persons are not aware of any problem related to the environment, permits or mining titles, or related to legal, fiscal, sociopolitical, commercial issues, or any other relevant factor that could have a significant impact on this MRE.

The number of tonnes has been rounded to the nearest 100,000 tonnes, with any discrepancies observed in the totals due to rounding effects.

All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes.



The Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.50% Li 2 O, based on both geological and metallurgical considerations. The Mineral Resource is reported inside a pit shell using a USD1,500 per tonne spodumene concentrate price which satisfies the requirements for Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE) as defined in the JORC Code (2012) and is potentially minable by open cut methods.

Importantly, the Inferred Mineral Resource in the NW Sector is higher-grade than the remainder of the deposit and represents a potential opportunity to improve the grade profile of the future operation. The reader is cautioned that Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves, as they do not demonstrate economic viability. There is no guarantee that the Inferred Mineral Resources described in this announcement will convert to Indicated Category, nor convert further to Mineral Reserves.

A description of the major factors contributing to the changes between the December 2021 MRE and the August 2023 MRE are:

Addition of 37,500 m of exploration and delineation drilling over two drilling campaigns since the last mineral resource update, increasing the extent of pegmatite dykes by 800 m to the north-west.

Changes in resource classification, notably the addition of tonnage associated with the pegmatites discovered in the NW Sector in the Inferred category.

Changes in economic assumptions resulting in a deeper RPEEE pit shell (updated mining and processing costs, updated spodumene concentrate sale price).

Reduction of the reporting cut-off to align with new economic assumptions and metallurgical considerations.

A comparison between the December 2021 MRE and the June 2023 MRE is presented in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Comparison between the December 2021 MRE and the August 2023 MRE for the James Bay Lithium Project.

Mineral Resource

Category

Tonnage Grade Contained Metal Mt % Li 2 O (000) t Li 2 O December 2021

Feasibility Study



0.62% Li 2 O cut-off

Measured - - - Indicated 40.3 1.40 564 Measured + Indicated 40.3 1.40 564 Inferred - - - August 2023 Mineral

Resource



0.50% Li 2 O cut-off

Measured - - - Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Measured + Indicated 54.3 1.30 706 Inferred 55.9 1.29 724 Difference (%)

Measured - - - Indicated +35% -7% +25% Measured + Indicated +35% -7% +25% Inferred No Inferred Resources quoted in 2021

Due to the relatively consistent distribution of lithium grade within the pegmatites, the Mineral Resource is generally insensitive to Li 2 O cut-off grades in the 0.2% to 0.6% range (Table 3).

Table 3: Sensitivity of the Mineral Resource to changes in the Li 2 O% cut-off grade.

Cut-Off Grade (Li 2 O)

Indicated Inferred Tonnage

(Mt) Grade (Li 2 O) Contained Metal (Li 2 O) Tonnage

(Mt) Grade (Li 2 O) Contained Metal (Li 2 O) 0.20 57.4 1.25 718 59.1 1.25 736 0.30 56.6 1.26 716 58.4 1.26 734 0.40 55.6 1.28 712 57.3 1.27 730 0.50 54.3 1.30 706 55.9 1.29 724 0.60 52.6 1.32 697 54.0 1.32 714

Notes: The tonnages and grade shown above are for comparative purposes only, and do not constitute an official Mineral Resource statement.

Further metallurgical test work is required to demonstrate acceptable metallurgical recoveries below the current 0.5% Li 2 O cut-off grade, and the Company is considering this as an opportunity to be addressed in future studies.

Figure 1: Plan view showing drilling conducted during the 2023 drilling program (blue dots)

Plan view showing drilling conducted during the 2023 drilling program (blue dots)





Figure 2: Section view of the NW Sector (looking NE)

Section view of the NW Sector (looking NE)





NEXT STEPS

The Company is currently planning an additional drilling campaign to start in mid-November 2023 to expand on the updated MRE presented in this announcement. The drilling program will have the following objectives:

Infill drilling in the NW Sector to convert Mineral Resources currently in the Inferred category to Indicated category.

Infill drilling at depth to convert any blocks of Inferred category within the new RPEEE pit shell to Indicated category.

Step-out exploration drilling to the north-west with the objective of discovering new pegmatites beneath thin glacial overburden.



JAMES BAY RESOURCE ESTIMATE  SUMMARY INFORMATION REQUIRED BY LISTING RULE 5.8.1

Mineral Tenement and Land Tenure Status

The Project comprises two contiguous packages of mining titles located on NTS map sheet 33C03, covering an area of approximately 11,130 hectares (Figure 3). The 224 claims are classified as map designed claims, also known as CDC-type claims under the Quebec governments mining title classification system and provide the holder the exclusive right to explore for mineral substances on the land subject to the claims. The claims are registered under either Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc. (GLCI), Galaxy Lithium (Ontario) Inc. (GLOI) or Select Lithium Corp. Both GLCI and GLOI are wholly owned subsidiaries of Allkem. As of the date of this announcement, 131 claims registered under Select Lithium Corp. acquired by GLCI on May 2, 2023, located to the north and south of the project are currently being transferred to GLCI. The transaction between Select Lithium Corp. and GLCI closed on June 22, 2023. All claims are in good standing, with expiry dates between June 12, 2024, and November 2, 2025.

As of August 9th, 2023, two net smelter return (NSR) royalties remain on the James Bay Lithium Project:

0.50% NSR royalty previously held by Gerard Robert, which was subsequently sold to Ridgeline Royalties Inc. Portions of the mineral resources subject to this royalty are located on six claims (claim numbers: 2329097, 2329098, 2238480, 2238478, 2329101 and 2329100) of the James Bay project.

1.50% NSR royalty previously held by Resources dArianne Inc., subsequently sold to Lithium Royalty Corp. Allkem has the right to buy back 0.5% of the NSR for $500,000 Canadian dollars, reducing the royalty to 1.00%. Portions of the mineral resources subject to this royalty are located on two claims (claim numbers: 2126988 and 2126860) of the James Bay project.

Figure 3: Mineral Tenure Map showing claims held by Allkem as of August 9th, 2023.

Mineral Tenure Map showing claims held by Allkem as of August 9th, 2023.





Geology and Geological Interpretation

The Project is found in the northeastern part of the Superior Province. The site lies within the Lower Eastmain Group of the Eastmain greenstone belt, which consists predominantly of amphibolite grade mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks, metasedimentary rocks and minor gabbroic intrusions. The James Bay Lithium Deposit is located at a major tectonic break between the La Grande sub-province to the north, and the Nemiscau sub-province to the south.

The property is underlain by the Auclair Formation, consisting mainly of paragneisses, of probable sedimentary origin, which surround the pegmatite dykes to the northwest and southeast. Volcanic rocks of the Komo Formation occur to the north and east of the pegmatite dikes. The greenstone rocks are surrounded by Mesozonal to Catazonal migmatite and gneiss. Paleoproterozoic diabase dykes traverse the area, cutting the stratigraphy north-south, with some northwest-southeast orientations.

As of August 2023, a total of 67 individual pegmatite dykes have been identified within the deposit (Figure 4). The pegmatite dykes are located within a deformation corridor that has been identified in drilling and outcrop along a strike length of over 5 km. The dykes present as en-echelon orientations, varying in length from 200 m to 400 m, and perpendicular to the strike of the deformation corridor. The dykes have been traced to depths of up to 500 m vertically from surface and are mostly open at depth.

Spodumene is the dominant lithium-bearing mineral identified within the pegmatites (Figure 5). Concentrations of spodumene within the pegmatite dykes vary between 2% up to 40%, with most crystals between 1 cm and 8 cm in length. Some minor occurrences of lepidolite have been visually noted in drill core, however these observations are rare and significant accumulations of lepidolite have not been identified in laboratory test work. Trace holmquistite has been observed within discrete veins in the encasing paragneiss in proximity (< 1 metre) to pegmatite contacts.

Figure 4: Isometric and section view (looking north) of modelled pegmatite dykes

Isometric and section view (looking north) of modelled pegmatite dykes





Figure 5: Spodumene observed both in outcrop and drill core

Spodumene observed both in outcrop and drill core





Drilling Techniques

Drilling at the James Bay Lithium Project has been conducted by two previous operators: Lithium One and Galaxy Lithium. Drilling has been conducted exclusively using diamond drilling methodologies, with some channel sampling of surface outcrops using mechanized methods.

Since the December 2021 Mineral Resource, two significant drilling campaigns have occurred on the Project. Both campaigns were completed by Major Drilling, who provided personnel and equipment to complete the drilling campaigns.

Between February 28th and March 31st 2022, a small resource delineation drilling campaign was undertaken to close-off the perimeters of the dykes to the north of the known outcrops, and to test for IP geophysical anomalies. A total of 50 drill holes totalling 8,255 m was drilled. NQ diameter drill core was obtained, and downhole surveys were collected every 3 m using a multi-shot REFLEX EZ-TRAC tool and/or a gyroscopic tool. Drill hole collars were surveyed using RTK methods by a local contractor in UTM Zone 18N, NAD83 datum.

Between December 2nd, 2022 and April 12th, 2023 a large exploration and resource delineation drilling campaign was undertaken to test for extensions of the deposit to the northwest and to infill areas of the deposit where gaps existed in the drill spacing. A total of 130 drill holes for 29,124 m was drilled, which includes four condemnation drill holes and three exploration holes to the east of the deposit. NQ diameter drill core was obtained, and downhole surveys were collected every 3 m using a multi-shot REFLEX EZ-TRAC tool. Drill hole collars were surveyed using RTK methods by a local contractor in UTM Zone 18N, NAD83 datum.

For both campaigns, drill core was processed at Allkems onsite core facilities by local geological contracting firms. Drill core was logged by qualified geologists, or geologists in-training under the supervision of qualified geologists registered in the Province of Quebec. Samples were obtained from lengths of sawn half-core varying between 0.5 m and 1.5 m depending on logged lithological contacts.

Sampling, Analysis Method, and QA/QC

Core samples were shipped to ALS Minerals in Val-dOr for preparation and analyses. The laboratory is accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by the Standards Council of Canada for various testing procedures, however, the scope of accreditation does not include the specific testing procedure used to assay lithium.

Sample preparation involved the sample material being weighed and crushed to 70% passing 2 mm. A sample split was taken using a riffle splitter to obtain a 250 g sub-sample. The crushed sub-sample was then pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns before being analysed. Frequent QAQC tests were undertaken on the granulometry during the process.

At ALS Minerals Vancouver, prepared samples were assayed for mineralization grade lithium by sodium-peroxide fusion and inductively coupled plasma  atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) finish (method code ME-ICP81). The method used has a lower detection limit of 0.001% lithium and an upper limit of 10% lithium. Lithium grades were converted to Li 2 O grades using a factor of 2.153.

In the 2022 and 2023 drilling campaigns, Allkem implemented external analytical quality control measures including the insertion of control samples (blanks, certified standards, and field duplicates) at an overall QA/QC insertion rate of 11%, with sample batches submitted for assaying at ALS Minerals. Considering the recommendations of previous studies, a sodium-peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish analysis route was chosen (previously a 4-acid digest) to ensure full digestion of all refractory minerals. QA/QC results were monitored actively during the drilling campaign, and no failures were observed (outside of 3 standard deviations of the expected assay value).

No geophysical or portable XRF tools were used to identify or determine concentrations of mineralization.

Estimation Methodology

Assays were composited to 1.5 m run lengths, with any residuals less than 0.25 m-long absorbed into the previous interval. All unassayed intervals were assigned a zero Li 2 O grade. No capping was applied to the Li 2 O assays before compositing.

A sub-blocked and rotated block model was produced using Leapfrog Edge v2022.1.1. The parent block size was set at 3 m (X) by 5 m (Y) by 5 m (Z) with each dimension sub-blocked by a factor of 4. The sub-blocks were triggered using the pegmatite dyke wireframes, topography, and the base of overburden interpretation.

For the purposes of variography, pegmatite dykes were grouped based on morphology (similar dip and strike) and location. Experimental variograms were calculated and interpreted using spherical variogram models with two structures with major-axis ranges varying generally between 120 m and 150 m.

Considering the quality of the variograms and the consistency of the lithium grade continuity within the pegmatites, Ordinary Kriging (OK) was selected as the interpolation method.

Grade estimation was conducted into the parent blocks using a four-pass estimation strategy. For the first two passes, a minimum of 4 composites and a maximum of 12 composites were required. The search ellipse dimensions were based on variogram model ranges and represent approximately 50% and 80% of the average variogram range. For the third and fourth passes, a minimum of one composite and a maximum of 12 composites were required, with search ellipse representing 120% and 200% of the variogram range. For all passes, a maximum of three composites was allowed from each drill hole.

Hard boundaries were used for all pegmatite domains. Blocks outside the pegmatites were assigned a zero Li 2 O grade.

Validation of Li 2 O block grades was undertaken using both local and global methods. Swath plots were interrogated in all three dimensions, and grade estimates were compared to both Inverse Distance Squared (ID2) and Nearest Neighbour (NN) interpolation methods. The block grades were found to be a good representation of the composite grades, and are shown in Figure 6.

Bulk density was coded into the pegmatite blocks using a regression curve with Li 2 O grades based on 128 analyses, and mean bulk densities were applied to waste blocks depending on lithology.

Figure 6: Isometric and section view (looking north) of Li 2 O Block Grades

Isometric and section view (looking north) of Li2O Block Grades





Classification Criteria

The block model was classified according to the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (May 2014) and the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (November 2019). These classifications are consistent with those outlined in the JORC Code (2012).

The block classification was based primarily on drill hole spacing, geological and grade continuity and the average distance of composites to a given block. The block classification was subsequently manually modified to ensure a coherent, contiguous classification suitable for mine planning purposes. Within the pegmatite dyke wireframes, the following criteria was used:

No Measured Mineral Resources were identified.

Indicated Mineral Resources were identified in areas supported by drill spacings up to approximately 50 m.

Inferred Mineral Resources were identified in areas supported by drill spacings up to approximately 80 m.



Block classifications are shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Isometric and section view (looking north) of the Mineral Resource Classification

Isometric and section view (looking north) of the Mineral Resource Classification





Cut-off grades and modifying factors

The block model was re-blocked to 3 m x 5 m x 5 m block size before input into GEOVIA Whittle software. To demonstrate Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE), the Mineral Resource was constrained and reported within an optimised pit shell using the following parameters:

Table 4: Whittle Parameters

Whittle Parameters Unit Value Mining Dilution % - Mining Loss % - Process Recovery % 70.1% Concentrate Grade % Li 2 O 5.6% Exchange Rate CAD/USD 1.33 Spodumene Concentrate Price (5.6% Li 2 O) USD/t conc. 1,500 Transport & Insurance USD/t conc. 86.16 Plant Costs CAD/t ore 13.23 G&A Cost CAD/t ore 13.86 IBA Forecast Payments CAD/t ore 4.49 Royalty % 0.32 Closure & Reclamation CAD/t ore 1.27 Sustaining Capital CAD/t ore 1.07 Ore Based Cost CAD/t ore 33.92 Break-even Cut-off Grade Calculated % 0.16% Raised Cut-off Grade % 0.50% Mining Cost CAD/t mined 4.82 Overall Slope Angle Deg 47.50



The lower cut-off was raised from 0.16% Li 2 O to 0.50% Li 2 O due to geological and metallurgical recovery considerations.

RESOURCE AND RESERVE CONTROLS & GOVERNANCE

Allkem ensures that quoted Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates are subject to internal controls, peer review and validation at both project and corporate levels. Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves are estimated and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.

Allkem stores and collects exploration data using industry standard software that contains internal validation checks. Exploration samples from drilling have certified reference material standards introduced to the sample stream at set ratios. These are reported as necessary to the relevant Competent Persons to assess both accuracy and precision of the assay data applied to resource estimates. In resource modelling, block models are validated by checking the input drill hole composites against the block model grades by domain.

The Company has developed its internal systems and controls to maintain JORC compliance in all external reporting, including the preparation of all reported data by Competent Persons who are members of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy or a Recognised Professional Organisation. As set out above, the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve statements included in this announcement were reviewed by suitably qualified Competent Persons (below) prior to their inclusion, in the form and context announced.

This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.





Allkem Limited



ABN 31 112 589 910



Level 35, 71 Eagle St

Brisbane, QLD 4000 Investor Relations & Media Enquiries



Andrew Barber

M: +61 418 783 701 E: Andrew.Barber@allkem.co



Phoebe Lee

P: +61 7 3064 3600 E: Phoebe.Lee@allkem.co Connect







info@allkem.co

+61 7 3064 3600

www.allkem.co

IMPORTANT NOTICES

This investor ASX/TSX release (Release) has been prepared by Allkem Limited (ACN 112 589 910) (the Company or Allkem). It contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Companys periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au.

This Release does not take into account the financial situation, investment objectives, tax situation or particular needs of any person and nothing contained in this Release constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or other advice, nor does it contain all the information which would be required in a disclosure document or prospectus prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act). Readers or recipients of this Release should, before making any decisions in relation to their investment or potential investment in the Company, consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own individual investment objectives and financial situation and seek their own professional investment, legal, taxation and accounting advice appropriate to their particular circumstances.

This Release does not constitute or form part of any offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to acquire, purchase, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, or issue, any Shares or any other financial product. Further, this Release does not constitute financial product, investment advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) or recommendation, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision.

The distribution of this Release in other jurisdictions outside Australia may also be restricted by law and any restrictions should be observed. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.

Past performance information given in this Release is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as (and is not) an indication of future performance.

Forward Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and, by their nature, are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performances and achievements to differ materially from any expected future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risk of further changes in government regulations, policies or legislation; the risks associated with the continued implementation of the merger between the Company and Galaxy Resources Ltd, risks that further funding may be required, but unavailable, for the ongoing development of the Companys projects; fluctuations or decreases in commodity prices; uncertainty in the estimation, economic viability, recoverability and processing of mineral resources; risks associated with development of the Company Projects; unexpected capital or operating cost increases; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones at the Companys Projects; risks associated with investment in publicly listed companies, such as the Company; and risks associated with general economic conditions.

Subject to any continuing obligation under applicable law or relevant listing rules of the ASX, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this Release to reflect any change in expectations in relation to any forward-looking statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Nothing in this Release shall under any circumstances (including by reason of this Release remaining available and not being superseded or replaced by any other Release or publication with respect to the subject matter of this Release), create an implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company since the date of this Release.

Competent Person Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results pertaining to the James Bay Project is based on information compiled by James Purchase, P.Geo, MAusIMM (CP), a Competent Person who is both a member of LOrdre des Geologues du Quebec (License No. 2082) and a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Purchase is a full-time employee of Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc. Mr. Purchase has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Purchase consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this announcement that relates to Mineral Resources pertaining to the James Bay Project is based on information compiled and supervised by Luke Evans, P.Eng, a Competent Person who is a member of LOrdre des Ingenieurs du Quebec (License No. 105567). Mr. Evans is a full-time employee of SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc. Mr. Evans has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Evans consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Technical information relating to the Companys James Bay project contained in this release is derived from, and in some instances is an extract from, the technical report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study James Bay Lithium Project, Quebec, Canada released on January 11th, 2022 (Technical Report) which has been reviewed and approved by James Purchase, P.Geo, MAusIMM (CP) (who is an employee of Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc.) as it relates to geology, drilling, sampling, exploration, QA/QC and mineral resources in accordance with National Instrument 43-101  Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Technical Report will be available for review under the Companys profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Not for release or distribution in the United States

This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. Any securities described in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from, or not subject to, the registration of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

APPENDIX 1  JORC 2012 TABLE 1 DISCLOSURE

Section 1: Sampling Techniques and Data

JAMES BAY LITHIUM PROJECT SAMPLING AND DATA Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cut channels, random chips, or specific specialized industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc.). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.

Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.

Aspects of the determination of mineralization that are Material to the Public Report.

In cases where industry standard work has been done this would be relatively simple (e.g. reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverized to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay). In other cases, more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralization types (e.g. submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. 2008/2009 Exploration Drilling  Lithium One



Lithium One (subsequently acquired by Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc.) drilled a total of 102 diamond drill holes for 13,487 m on a pattern ranging between 50 m and 60 m spacing. Drill holes were for the most part inclined towards the southeast to intersect the spodumene mineralization perpendicular to the dyke geometry. Drill hole diameter was NQ.



The 2008/2009 drill hole collars were initially surveyed by handheld GPS, and subsequently resurveyed using RTK by Galaxy Lithium Canada in 2017. A total of 84 out of 102 drill holes were located and resurveyed by RTK.



Downhole survey methods for the 2008 drilling are unknown, however downhole surveying in 2009 was conducted at 3 m intervals using a REFLEX Flexit tool.



2009/2010 Channel Sampling  Lithium One



Surface outcrops of pegmatite were channel sampled in 2009 and 2010 using a dual-blade diamond saw to ensure consistent widths during cutting. A total of 53 channel samples were collected for a combined length of 810 m. Channel lengths ranged from 2 m to 41 m, and sampling was conducted on 1.5 m intervals. Channel samples were terminated at the contact with surrounding lithologies.



2017 Resource Definition Drilling  Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc.



Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc. conducted a program of infill and extensional diamond drilling in 2017 with 157 holes drilled for a total meterage of 33,339 m. Drill hole diameter was NQ. All drill hole collars were resurveyed using a RTK method. Downhole surveys were recorded every 3 m using a multi-shot camera (REFLEX EZ-TRAC).



2017/2018 Geotech and Metallurgical Drilling  Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc.



Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc. conducted a program of diamond drilling in 2017 and 2018, with 102 holes drilled for a total meterage of 10,900 m. Drill hole diameter was HQ for metallurgical drill holes, and NQ for the remaining geotechnical holes.



2021 - 2023 Sterilisation, Exploration and Resource Delineation Drilling  Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc.



Galaxy Lithium (Canada) Inc. conducted two programs of diamond drilling during the winter of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, with 231 holes drilled for a total meterage of 43,600 m. Drill hole diameter was NQ and drilling was undertaker by Major Drilling. All drill hole collars were resurveyed using a RTK method by an independent land surveyor. Downhole surveys were recorded every 3 m using a multi-shot camera (REFLEX EZ-TRAC) or a gyroscope. Drilling techniques Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc.) and details (e.g. core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc.). Diamond Drilling:



Drilling campaigns between 2008 and 2018 were conducted by Chibougamou Drilling using either NQ or HQ drilling diameters. Triple tubing was not necessary as the rock is fresh and highly competent starting from the base of the overburden. Recoveries were excellent (> 95%).



Drilling campaigns conducted between 2021 and 2023 were carried out by Major Drilling using NQ drill diameter.



Exploration and resource definition drill holes vary in depth from 50 m to 300 m, with the occasional deep exploration hole up to 500 m depth.



Metallurgical drill holes are HQ diameter and vary in depth between 10 m and 105 m.



Geotechnical and sterilisation drill holes are NQ diameter and are generally 70 m to 120 m deep. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.

Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc.) photography.

The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. All drill core processing was performed at the Relais Routier Km 381 Truck Stop, with logging and sampling conducted by employees and contractors of GLCI. Lithology, structure, mineralization, sample number, and location were recorded by the geologists in a GeoticLog log database, with a backup stored on an external hard drive for additional security.

Drill core was stored in wooden core boxes and delivered to the core logging facility at the camp twice daily by the drill contractor. The drill core was first aligned and measured for core recovery by a technician, followed by RQD measurements. Due to the hardness of the pegmatite units, the recovery of the drill core was generally very good, averaging over 95%. The core was then logged, and sampling intervals were defined by the geologist. Before sampling, the core was photographed using a digital camera and core boxes were marked with box number, hole ID, and aluminium tags indicating from and to measurements. All drill holes were logged in full. Sub- sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether sampled wet or dry.

For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. 2008/2009 Drilling and Channel Sampling

Standardized core sampling protocols were used by Lithium One. Initially, during the 2008 drilling program, core was sampled at 2.5 m intervals, and subsequently at 1.5 m intervals. A selective sampling procedure was used based on lithological contacts, where the maximum (and most common) sample interval was 1.5 m. Shorter samples were collected to define geological domains. Channel samples were also sampled at 1.5 m intervals.

Sample intervals were marked by appropriately qualified geologists. Two sample tags were placed at the beginning of each sample interval, while a third copy remained in the sample booklet along with the associated from and to information recorded by the geologist.

A geo-technician was responsible for core cutting and for preparing the samples for dispatch to the preparation laboratory  Table Jamesienne de Concertation Miniere in Chibougamau (TJCM). Assay samples were collected on half-core sawed lengthwise using a diamond saw; the remaining half was replaced in the core box for future reference. Quarter core duplicates were collected frequently.





2017/2018 Drilling

Sample intervals were determined based on observations of the lithology and mineralization and were marked and tagged by the geologist. The typical sample length was 1.5 m but varied according to lithological contacts between the mineralized pegmatite and the country rock. In general, one country rock sample was collected from each side of the contact with the pegmatite.

The drill core was split lengthwise; one half was placed in a plastic bag with a sample tag, and the other half was left in the core box with a second sample tag for reference. The third sample tag was archived on site. The samples were then catalogued and placed in rice bags for shipping. Sample shipment forms were prepared on site, with one copy inserted with the shipment and a second copy given to the carrier. One copy was kept for reference.

The samples were transported regularly by contractors truck directly to the ALS Canada Ltd  ALS Minerals laboratory in Val-dOr, Quebec. At the ALS facility, the sample shipment was verified, and a confirmation of receipt of shipment and content was sent digitally to the Galaxy project manager.

The sample sizes (half-core, NQ diameter) are appropriate for the style, thickness and consistency of the mineralization at the James Bay Lithium Project.





2021  2023 Drilling

Sampling techniques and preparation were consistent with the 2017/2018 drilling campaigns, with sampling lengths reduced to 1 m within pegmatite lithologies. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.

For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc., the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.

Nature of quality control procedures adopted (e.g. standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision have been established. 2008 - 2010 Assaying

Samples were shipped from site in secure containers to Table Jamesienne de Concertation Miniere (TJCM) in Chibougamau for preparation. The protocol for sample preparation involved weighing, drying, crushing, splitting and pulverizing.

The pulverized pegmatite core samples were shipped from the TJCM to the COREM Research Laboratory (COREM) in Quebec City. COREM was accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by the Standards Council of Canada for various testing procedures on April 30, 2009. The scope of accreditation did not include the specific testing procedures used by COREM to assay lithium (method code B23).

Lithium One also utilized SGS Mineral Services Lakefield Laboratory (SGS) as an umpire laboratory to monitor the reliability of assaying results delivered by the primary laboratory COREM.

At COREM, prepared samples were assayed using three-acid digestion (nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, perchloric acid) in boiling water. The dissolved sample was analysed by atomic absorption (AA) spectrometry. At SGS, check samples were assayed by sodium peroxide fusion and atomic absorption spectroscopy. At ALS Minerals, prepared samples were assayed using four-acid digestion (perchloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) with ICP-AES finish. Although a four-acid digest is considered a near-total digest, common practice for the analysis of pegmatite material is a sodium-peroxide fusion. Significant verification test work has been undertaken and has demonstrated that the acid digest method is robust, and no bias has been observed when compared to the sodium-peroxide fusion check assays.

Samples from 2008  2010 represent roughly 14% of the total meterage of the drilling on the project.





2008 - 2010 QA/QC

Lithium One relied partly on the internal analytical quality control measures implemented by COREM laboratory. Additionally, Lithium One implemented external analytical quality control measures consisting of using control samples (field blanks, in house standards and field duplicates) inserted with sample batches submitted for assaying in 2009 and 2010, and coarse reject duplicate samples in 2008. Standards were non-certified and were custom-made from a bulk sample of the outcropping pegmatite material from the project.

Field duplicates were generated from quarter core samples and inserted every 40 samples.

Total insertion rate for QA/QC in 2008  2010 was 4.2%, with an additional 2.6% when including umpire assays.

Although the insertion rate of QA/QC in 2008  2010 was below industry standards, subsequent check assays have shown that the assay results are valid. Also, the results from the limited QA/QC undertaken at the time of drilling show no issues.





2017/2018 Assaying

Samples were shipped to ALS Minerals in Val-dOr for preparation and analyses. The laboratory is accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by the Standards Council of Canada for various testing procedures, however, the scope of accreditation does not include the specific testing procedure used to assay lithium.

Sample preparation involved the sample material being weighed and crushed to 70% passing 2 mm. The ground material was then pulverized to 90% passing 75 microns before being analysed.

At ALS Minerals, prepared samples were assayed for mineralization grade lithium by specialized four-acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma  atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) finish (method code Li-OG63). An approximately 0.4-g sample was first digested with perchloric, hydrofluoric, and nitric acid until dry. The residue was subsequently re-digested in concentrated hydrochloric acid, cooled and topped up to volume. Finally, the samples were analysed for lithium by ICP-AES. The method used has a lower detection limit of 0.005% lithium and an upper limit of 10% lithium.

Samples from 2017 represent roughly 44% of the total meterage of the drilling on the project.





2017/2018 QA/QC

GLCI relied partly on the internal analytical quality control measures implemented by the ALS Minerals laboratory, which involved routine pulp duplicate analyses. GLCI also implemented external analytical quality control measures including the insertion of control samples (blanks, in house standards and field duplicates) with sample batches submitted for assaying at ALS Minerals in 2017. In 2017, a number of pulp samples were also re-submitted to the SGS laboratory in Lakefield, Ontario for umpire check assays. In 2020, additional pulp samples were resubmitted to Nagrom Analytical, Perth.

Duplicate samples were inserted into each sample series at a rate of one in every 20 samples. Duplicates corresponded to a quarter core from the sample left behind as reference.

Total insertion rate for QA/QC in 2017 was 12.4%, with which increases up to 16.6% when including umpire assays.

The rate of insertion of QA/QC samples in 2017 was much improved compared to 2008  2010 period. No biases were identified, and a minor failure was identified in the low-grade standard, which was investigated and no issues were identified.





2021 - 2023 Assaying

Samples were shipped to ALS Minerals in Val-dOr for preparation and analyses. The laboratory is accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by the Standards Council of Canada for various testing procedures, however, the scope of accreditation does not include the specific testing procedure used to assay lithium.

Sample preparation (code PREP-31A) involved the sample material being weighed and crushed to 70% passing 2 mm, with a riffle split of 250 g pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns before being analysed.

At ALS Minerals, prepared samples were assayed for mineralization-grade lithium by sodium-peroxide fusion and digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma  atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) finish (method code ME-ICP81). The method used has a lower detection limit of 0.001% lithium and an upper limit of 10% lithium.

Samples from 2021 - 2023 represent roughly 42% of the total meterage of the drilling on the project.





2021 - 2023 QA/QC

GLCI implemented external analytical quality control measures including the insertion of control samples (blanks and in house standards) with sample batches submitted for assaying at ALS Minerals at a rate of 1 QA/QC sample for every 9 samples.

A number of pulp samples were also re-submitted to the SGS laboratory in Lakefield, Ontario for umpire check assays.

Total insertion rate for QAQC between 2021 and 2023 was roughly 12% when including umpire assays.

No biases were identified, and two minor blank failures were identified and a re-analysis was requested. The re-analyses returned similar results to the original assays. Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.

The use of twinned holes.

Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.

Discuss any adjustment to assay data. James Purchase, P. Geo, Geology Manager for Galaxy Lithium Canada Inc. has visually assessed and verified the drilling results and protocols described in this announcement and has witnessed outcropping spodumene mineralization in the field. A selection of drill collar coordinates was validated by handheld GPS, and core and sample storage and security facilities were inspected. Channel sample outcrops were also inspected and found to be of high-quality. Mr. Purchase has conducted numerous site visits since 2021, the most recent being in June 2023.



In addition, Luke Evans, P.Eng of SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc. and the Independent CP for the Mineral Resource visited the site in June 2023 and inspected outcrop, drill core and sampling storage facilities.



It should be noted that the drilling between 2021 and 2023 was managed by independent geological contractors and was conducted by professional geologists registered in the Province of Quebec.



Data collection and entry procedures were also reviewed and found to be adequate. Various reanalyses of pulps have shown that there are very immaterial differences between analysing using a standard 4-acid digest and a peroxide fusion for the James Bay lithium deposit.



No clear and consistent biases were defined during investigations into QAQC performances, and any failures were duly investigated and found to be minor. Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.



Specification of the grid system used.



Quality and adequacy of topographic control. Drill collars were surveys by an external contractor using RTK methodology in UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) Zone 18N. Datum is NAD83.



Downhole surveys were completed using an EZ-TRAC multishot tool provided by REFLEX. Declination (-14.2) was removed to correct the data from magnetic north to geographic north. At the collar, a TN14 tool was used to measure the dip and azimuth of the casing.



Topographic controls are informed by a LiDAR survey completed recently on the project. Data Spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.



Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.



Whether sample compositing has been applied. In the NW Sector, drilling has been completed on a nominal 80 m x 80 m spacing.



Most of the Main Deposit has been drilled at a nominal spacing of approximately 50 m to satisfy the classification as Indicated Mineral Resources.



No sample compositing has been undertaken. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.



If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. As the pegmatite dykes in the NW Sector are concealed by 5 m to 15 m of glacial till, it was difficult to accurately orientate the drilling at a perpendicular angle to the pegmatites as limited information was available at the time. As drilling progressed, it become apparent that the drilling was intersecting the pegmatites at a sub-optimal angle, and that the true thickness of pegmatites in drilling represent between 60% to 80% of the apparent thickness (downhole thicknesses). Although this angle is sub-optimal, the author does not believe this has introduced a sampling bias.





The orientation of the dykes is well understood for the remainder of the deposit where outcrop is abundant, and drilling has been oriented perpendicular to the dyke contacts. Sample Security The measures taken to ensure sample security. Drill core, sample rejects and sample pulps are stored in a secure environment (in a locked dome structure) at the Relai Routier 381 truck stop. Sample pulps are stored in a locked container adjacent to the dome. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data Sampling techniques were reviewed by previous employees of Galaxy Lithium, and also by James Purchase, P.Geo, the QP of the previous Mineral Resource released in the 2021 feasibility study. In addition, external geological contractors were engaged during drilling activities to monitor the QA/QC data and logging procedures to ensure that industry best practises were followed.



Lastly, Luke Evans, P.Eng of SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc. and the Independent CP for the Mineral Resource visited the site in June 2023 and inspected outcrop, drill core and sampling storage facilities.



Section 2: Reporting of Exploration Results

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.

The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a license to operate in the area. The Project comprises 224 mining titles located primarily in NTS map sheet 33C/03, covering an area of approximately 11,130 hectares. The boundaries of the claims have not been legally surveyed. All claims are in good standing, with expiry dates between June 12, 2024, and November 2, 2025. The claims are CDC-type claims which gives its holder the exclusive right to search for mineral substances. No Mining Lease has been issued for the project. The claims are registered under Galaxy Lithium (Canada) inc. (GLCI) and Galaxy Lithium (Ontario) Inc. (GLOI).





Project level approvals at both Provincial and Federal level jurisdictions are underway, final approval is anticipated in Q3 2023. Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. Prospector Jean Cyr first discovered spodumene pegmatite outcrops on the property in 1964. The property was staked in 1966 by Mr. Cyr and was optioned by the SDBJ in 1974, who after conducting some exploration on the property, returned it to Mr. Cyr on June 10, 1986.





Commencing in 1974, SDBJ conducted an exploration program that consisted of geological mapping, systematic sampling and diamond drilling of the mineralized outcrops to evaluate the lithium potential of the property. The mapping defined an area of 45,000 square metres of outcropping spodumene dykes.





The Centre de Recherches Minerales du Quebec conducted concentration tests and chemical analyses in 1975. A composite sample of the spodumene pegmatite grading 1.7% Li 2 O yielded a spodumene concentrate grading an average of 6.2% Li 2 O with a recovery factor of 71%.





LithiumOne acquired the claims in 2007 and embarked on an exploration campaign designed to produce a maiden mineral resource on the property. In 2012, Galaxy Resources Limited merged with Lithium One.



Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralization. The Project is in the northeastern part of the Superior Province. It lies within the Lower Eastmain Group of the Eastmain greenstone belt, which consists predominantly of amphibolite grade mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks, metasedimentary rocks and minor gabbroic intrusions.



The property is underlain by the Auclair Formation, consisting mainly of paragneisses of probable sedimentary origin which surround the pegmatite dykes to the northwest and southeast. Volcanic rocks of the Komo Formation occur to the north of the pegmatite dykes. The greenstone rocks are surrounded by Mesozonal to catazonal migmatite and gneiss. All rock units are Archean in age.



The pegmatites delineated on the property to date are oriented in a generally parallel direction to each other and are separated by barren host rock of sedimentary origin (metamorphosed to amphibolite facies). They form irregular dykes attaining up to 60 m in width and over 200 m in length. The pegmatites crosscut the regional foliation at a high angle, striking to the south-southwest and dipping moderately to the west-northwest.



Spodumene is the principal source of lithium found at the Project. Spodumene is a relatively rare pyroxene that is composed of lithium (8.03% Li 2 O), aluminium (27.40% Al 2 O 3 ), and silica (64.57% SiO 2 ). It is found in lithium rich granitic pegmatites, with its occurrence associated with quartz, microcline, albite, muscovite, lepidolite, tourmaline and beryl.





Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes: easting and northing of the drill hole collar

elevation or RL (Reduced Level  elevation above sea level in meters) of the drill hole collar

dip and azimuth of the hole

down hole length and interception depth

hole length. All drill collars and hole directions are presented in Appendix A. Most holes are inclined 45  70 degrees towards the southeast. Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (e.g. cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.

Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high-grade results and longer lengths of low-grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.

The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. No exploration results have been included in this announcement, however Allkem uses the following procedures to report exploration results.





Capping is not applied for the purpose of reporting exploration results.





Lower cut-off used for reporting is 0.4% Li 2 O%; minimum 4 m true width interval; maximum 2 m of internal waste.





No metal equivalent values are used.





Li% assays have been multiplied by 2.153 to transform them to Li 2 O%.



Relationship between mineralization widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

If the geometry of the mineralization with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (e.g. down hole length, true width not known). Lithium mineralization in the NW Sector occurs as thick, steeply dipping pegmatite dykes ranging between 4 m and 30 m thick (true thickness), with some dykes coalescing up to 85 m true thickness in the core of the pegmatite swarm.





Due to the sub-optimal angle of intercept between the drilling at the assumed orientation of the pegmatite dykes in the NW Sector, true widths have been estimated at between 60% and 80% of downhole widths.



Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views. A map view and 3D view has been provided.

Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results. No exploration results have been included in this announcement. Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk sample size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. Bulk sampling was conducted on the property in 2011, four test pits were dug to obtain metallurgical samples.



An IP survey undertaken in 2020 and 2021 has uncovered potential extensions of mineralization to the east of the property, east of the Billy-Diamond Highway.



Re-assaying of pulps using multi-element sodium-peroxide fusion methods has not returned economic concentrations of tantalum, tin or other elements of economic importance apart from lithium. Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (e.g. tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. Downhole televiewer survey is planned to determine geometry of newly discovered pegmatites in the NW Sector. In addition, an aeromagnetic survey covering NW Sector has just been concluded and results should be available shortly.





Infill drilling to convert the NW Sector to Indicated category is planned, and also deeper drilling to convert any enclaves of Inferred category within the RPEEE pit shell.



Section 3: Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resources  James Bay Lithium Project

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary



Database integrity Measures taken to ensure that data has not been corrupted by, for example, transcription or keying errors, between its initial collection and its use for Mineral Resource estimation purposes.

Data validation procedures used. The drilling database is hosted within a relational SQL database, with all key information stored in various tables. Original copies of assay certificates are stored on a secured server.





All data pertaining to the 2022 and 2023 drilling campaigns were managed externally by geological contractors and verified by Allkem personnel for accuracy.





As part of the data verification process, SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc. compared assay certificates for all drilling campaigns with the drilling database used in the mineral resource calculation and found no material errors.





Site visits Comment on any site visits undertaken by the Competent Person and the outcome of those visits.

If no site visits have been undertaken indicate why this is the case. The Independent CP for the Mineral Resource (Mr Luke Evans, P.Eng. of SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc.) visited the site between the 5th and 7th June 2023. Mineralised outcrop was visited, and drill core was inspected and compared to assay certificates. Sample and drill core storage facilities were also inspected.



Geological interpretation Confidence in (or conversely, the uncertainty of) the geological interpretation of the mineral deposit.

Nature of the data used and of any assumptions made.

The effect, if any, of alternative interpretations on Mineral Resource estimation.

The use of geology in guiding and controlling Mineral Resource estimation.

The factors affecting continuity both of grade and geology. The geological interpretation is considered robust as it supported by both extensive outcrop and drilling. The continuity of the mineralised pegmatites is well demonstrated between drill holes and can be correlated with surface outcrops.





Surface diamond drill holes have been logged for lithology, structure, geotechnical, alteration and mineralisation information.





The lithological logging of pegmatite in combination with the Li 2 O, assays, including grain size and mineralogical differentiation, have been used to guide the sectional interpretation of the pegmatites in Leapfrog Geo modelling software. Both an overburden (glacial till) model and a lithological model have been constructed based on lithological logging.





Due to the consistent nature of the pegmatites identified in the resource area, no alternative interpretations have been considered.





No further grade-based domaining has been used, and the current pegmatite wireframes include minor intervals of barren pegmatite without spodumene mineralisation.





Dimensions The extent and variability of the Mineral Resource expressed as length (along strike or otherwise), plan width, and depth below surface to the upper and lower limits of the Mineral Resource A total of 67 individual pegmatite dykes have been identified within the deposit. The pegmatite dykes are located within a deformation corridor that has been identified in drilling and outcrop along a strike length of over 5 km, of which 2.8 km has been delineated to form the current Mineral Resource.





The dykes present as en-echelon orientations, varying in length between 200 m and 400 m, and perpendicular to the strike of the deformation corridor. The dykes have been traced to depths of up to 500 m vertically from surface and are mostly open at depth.





Dyke width vary between 5 m to 40 m, and sometimes coalesce up to widths of 80 m.



Estimation and modelling techniques The nature and appropriateness of the estimation technique(s) applied and key assumptions, including treatment of extreme grade values, domaining, interpolation parameters and maximum distance of extrapolation from data points. If a computer assisted estimation method was chosen include a description of computer software and parameters used.

The availability of check estimates, previous estimates and/or mine production records and whether the Mineral Resource estimate takes appropriate account of such data.

The assumptions made regarding recovery of by-products.

Estimation of deleterious elements or other non-grade variables of economic significance (e.g. sulphur for acid mine drainage characterisation).

In the case of block model interpolation, the block size in relation to the average sample spacing and the search employed.

Any assumptions behind modelling of selective mining units.

Any assumptions about correlation between variables

Description of how the geological interpretation was used to control the resource estimates.

Discussion of basis for using or not using grade cutting or capping.

The process of validation, the checking process used, the comparison of model data to drillhole data, and use of reconciliation data if available. Grade estimation for Li 2 O%, has been completed using Ordinary Kriging (OK) into pegmatite domains using Leapfrog Edge software. No other elements have been estimated into the block model.





Hard boundaries have been used at all domain boundaries for the grade estimation. The pegmatite boundaries have been modelled to honour the geological contacts without consideration for the Li 2 O% grades.





Compositing has been undertaken within domain boundaries at 1.5 m with residuals less than 0.25 m absorbed into the previous composite.





No top-cutting (capping) has been applied as no statistical outliers were identified.





Variography has been completed in Leapfrog Edge software on pegmatites grouped by orientation and geographical location. There were insufficient samples to model variograms for each pegmatite dyke independently.





No assumptions have been made regarding the recovery of any by-products.





The drill hole data spacing is approximately 50 m in Indicated areas and approximately 80 m in Inferred areas.





The block model parent block size is 3 m (X) by 5 m (Y) by 5 m (Z), which is considered appropriate for the widths of the pegmatite dykes and the proposed mining selectivity. A sub-block size of 0.75 m (X) by 1.25 m (Y) by 1.25 m (Z) has been used to define the mineralisation edges, with the estimation undertaken at the parent block scale.



Pass 1 estimations have been undertaken using a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 samples into a search ellipse set at approximately half of the variogram range. A 3 sample per drill hole limit has been applied in all pegmatite domains.

Pass 2 estimations have been undertaken using a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 samples into a search ellipse set at approximately 80% of the variogram range. A 3 sample per drill hole limit has been applied in all pegmatite domains.

Pass 3 and Pass 4 estimations have been undertaken using a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 12 samples into a search ellipse set at 120% to 200% the variogram range, respectively. A 3 sample per drill hole limit has been applied in all pegmatite domains. The Mineral Resource estimate has been validated using visual validation tools combined with volume comparisons with the input wireframes, mean grade comparisons between the block model and composite grade means and swath plots comparing the composite grades and block model grades by northing, easting and elevation. In addition, the OK grade estimate was compared with ID2 (Inverse Distance squared) and NN (Nearest Neighbour) interpolation methods.





No selective mining units are assumed in this estimate.





No correlation between variables has been assumed.







Moisture Whether the tonnages are estimated on a dry basis or with natural moisture, and the method of determination of the moisture content. Tonnes have been estimated on a dry basis.



Cut-off parameters The basis of the adopted cut-off grade(s) or quality parameters applied For the reporting of the Mineral Resource Estimate, a raised cut-off grade of 0.5 Li 2 O% was used to report the block model within a USD1,500 per tonne Whittle pit shell.





The open pit discard cut-off grade was calculated at 0.16% Li 2 O, however due to the absence of metallurgical test work on low-grade material, the cut-off was raised to 0.5% Li 2 O.





Mining factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible mining methods, minimum mining dimensions and internal (or, if applicable, external) mining dilution. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential mining methods, but the assumptions made regarding mining methods and parameters when estimating Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the mining assumptions made. A Whittle pit optimisation has been run at various spodumene concentrate prices in order to generate pit shells for Mineral Resource reporting purposes and to meet the RPEEE reporting requirement.



The mining assumptions/parameters applied to the optimisation are:

Spodumene concentrate (6.0% Li 2 O)  USD$1,500 per tonne.

Li 2 O% metallurgical recovery  70.1%

Concentrate Transport  USD$86.16 per tonne concentrate

NSR Royalty  0.32%

Processing  CAD$13.23 per tonne ore

G&A  CAD$13.86 per tonne ore

Closure + Sust. CAPEX + IBA  CAD$6.83 per tonne ore

Mining Cost  CAD$4.82 per tonne USD exchange rate of 1.33 (CAD:USD) has been applied in the Whittle optimisation.



Both Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource classifications have been utilised in the RPEEE optimisation.





Metallurgical factors or assumptions The basis for assumptions or predictions regarding metallurgical amenability. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential metallurgical methods, but the assumptions regarding metallurgical treatment processes and parameters made when reporting Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the metallurgical assumptions made. An overall Li 2 O% metallurgical recovery of 70.1% has been applied during the pit optimisation and generation of the RPEEE pit shell and is based on numerous campaigns of metallurgical test work on samples sourced from the Mineral Reserve pit design.



Environmental factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible waste and process residue disposal options. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider the potential environmental impacts of the mining and processing operation. While at this stage the determination of potential environmental impacts, particularly for a greenfields project, may not always be well advanced, the status of early consideration of these potential environmental impacts should be reported. Where these aspects have not been considered this should be reported with an explanation of the environmental assumptions made No environmental factors or assumptions have been incorporated into this Mineral Resource Estimate, and there is no current surface infrastructure to constrain the eventual pit footprint.



No protected zones that would obstruct the award of a future mining lease are present at the project. Allkem received the federal approval of the ESIA in January 2023, and provincial approval is expected in the coming months.



Bulk density

Whether assumed or determined. If assumed, the basis for the assumptions. If determined, the method used, whether wet or dry, the frequency of the measurements, the nature, size and representativeness of the samples.

The bulk density for bulk material must have been measured by methods that adequately account for void spaces (vugs, porosity, etc), moisture and differences between rock and alteration zones within the deposit,

Discuss assumptions for bulk density estimates used in the evaluation process of the different materials. In the block model, bulk density within the pegmatite lithology was assigned using the following regression formula:





Bulk Density (g/cm) = (0.0669 x Li 2 O %) + 2.603





Outside the pegmatite wireframes, the mean bulk densities shown in the table below were assigned into the block model by lithology. Overburden was assumed to have a bulk density of 2.2 g/cm3.

Lithology # Samples Mean Bulk Density (g/cm3) Pegmatite 299 2.72 Metasediments 104 2.76 Diabase 4 3.04 Biotite Schist 31 2.89 Feldspar Porphyry 1 2.67 Classification The basis for the classification of the Mineral Resources into varying confidence categories

Whether appropriate account has been taken of all relevant factors (i.e. relative confidence in tonnage/grade estimations, reliability of input data, confidence in continuity of geology and metal values, quality, quantity and distribution of the data).

Whether the result appropriately reflects the Competent Persons view of the deposit. The resource classification has been applied to the MRE based on the drilling data spacing, grade and geological continuity, quality of the estimation and data integrity.



The block classification was based primarily on drill hole spacing, geological and grade continuity and the average distance of composites to a given block. The block classification was subsequently manually modified to ensure a coherent, contiguous classification suitable for mine planning purposes. Within the pegmatite dyke wireframes, the following criteria was used:

No Measured Mineral Resources were identified.

Indicated Mineral Resources were identified in areas defined by a nominal drill spacing of 50 m x 50 m.

Inferred Mineral Resources were identified in areas defined by a nominal drill spacing of 80m x 80m. The classification reflects the view of the Competent Person.





Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of Mineral Resource estimates. The Mineral Resource estimate for the James Bay project has been produced independently of Allkem by SLR Consulting (Canada) Inc., and peer reviewed and validated internally by Allkem employees (James Purchase, P.Geo., M.AusIMM(CP) and Albert Thamm, F.AusIMM).



The tonnages and grades have been verified in more than one software package.



Discussion of relative accuracy/



confidence Where appropriate a statement of the relative accuracy and confidence level in the Mineral Resource estimate using an approach or procedure deemed appropriate by the Competent Person. For example, the application of statistical or geostatistical procedures to quantify the relative accuracy of the resource within stated confidence limits, or, if such an approach is not deemed appropriate, a qualitative discussion of the factors that could affect the relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate

The statement should specify whether it relates to global or local estimates, and, if local, state the relevant tonnages, which should be relevant to technical and economic evaluation. Documentation should include assumptions made and the procedures used

These statements of relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate should be compared with production data, where available The relative accuracy of the Mineral Resource estimate is reflected in the reporting of the Mineral Resource as per the guidelines of the 2012 JORC Code.





No geostatistical study has been conducted to quantify accuracy nor confidence within confidence limits (conditional simulation)





Grade estimates are local on a domain-by-domain basis and drill spacing is sufficient for a local grade estimate suitable as input into mine planning.





No reconciliation data is available as the deposit is not in production.











Infographics accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/60a88966-f737-4888-901a-c805c743aecb

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b2210f08-30e4-4182-bbee-ff7bcfa98bc6

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5f7abf91-4b04-4dc7-a745-cf790965d980

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff21cde7-d3d0-4129-8783-31a037f929db

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/830bac62-912d-4eb6-b0f0-f6fc7319dc9f

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7549c7dc-3333-47bf-97eb-f49c811ec6e3

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/794ab1d0-cab7-4d22-aacb-0701d986b036




By buying an index fund, investors can approximate the average market return. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, Japan Foods Holding Ltd. (Catalist:5OI) shareholders have seen the share price rise 40% over three years, well in excess of the market return (12%, not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 2.4% in the last year , including dividends .

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Japan Foods Holding

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Japan Foods Holding was able to grow its EPS at 59% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 12% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems investors have become more cautious about the company, over time.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It is of course excellent to see how Japan Foods Holding has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Japan Foods Holding's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Japan Foods Holding's TSR for the last 3 years was 64%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

Story continues

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Japan Foods Holding shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 2.4% over the last year. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 1.2%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Japan Foods Holding that you should be aware of before investing here.

We will like Japan Foods Holding better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Singaporean 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.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday while in Chicago for a gun control convention that the solutions to gun violence in America dont require a whole lot of creativity.

So much of this issue can be addressed by common sense, reasonable gun safety laws, but we need elected officials who have the courage to act, Harris told the crowd gathered at McCormick Place for Everytown for Gun Safety Action Funds annual Gun Sense University conference.

Her visit came one day after Everytowns political arm and its subsidiaries Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action joined with other gun control groups in endorsing Biden and Harris for reelection.

The vice president touted the bipartisan gun violence legislation President Joe Biden signed into law in June 2022 that seeks to toughen background checks for the youngest firearm buyers, beef up penalties on gun traffickers and disburse money to states and communities to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.

Harris called it the first meaningful gun legislation in 30 years.

It is historic, she said. And it is a drop in the bucket. We still have so much to do.

The vice president called for stronger red flag laws and background checks and an end to legal immunity for gun manufacturers in her 30-minute conversation with actor Jason George and Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala.

Harris didnt directly mention gun violence in Chicago, nor did she say anything about Fridays Illinois Supreme Court ruling that upheld Illinois ban on high-powered guns and high-capacity magazine. She did call for a federal ban on so-called assault weapons.

It is reasonable to say that a weapon of war, a weapon that was literally designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly, has no place on the streets of a civil society, Harris said.

Harris has been keeping an active political schedule in recent weeks speaking to what the White House has called key constituencies for the reelection effort. That includes two previous visits in the last month to Chicago, where she addressed Rainbow/PUSH Coalition on one occasion and Latino organization UnidosUS on another.

Story continues

Little more than a week ago, speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Milwaukee, Harris noted that the scourge of gun violence has become the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

Right now, in our country, 1 in 5 Americans has a family member that was killed by gun violence. Yet we have these feckless, so-called leaders who dont have the courage to agree that its a false choice to say youre either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyones guns away, she said at the Aug. 3 event.

On Thursday, Everytown was part of a first-of-its-kind joint announcement by gun control groups to endorse the Democratic presidential ticket. Other groups joining in the endorsement were GIFFORDS, Brady PAC, Team ENOUGH and the Community Justice Action Fund.

John Feinblatt, Everytowns president, said Biden and Harris have demonstrated unflinching commitment to ending gun violence and cited Bidens signature on bipartisan gun safety legislation and executive orders including a crackdown on so-called ghost guns that are homemade and lack serial tracing numbers.

The White House said that ahead of next years election, each of the organizations have robust plans to educate and mobilize their broad coalition and called them key to a Biden-Harris victory. The groups have an estimated overall membership of 15 million.

The endorsement by the gun control groups is part of a Biden strategy that has included sewing up joint endorsements from labor unions and abortion rights organizations to show support among key Democratic constituencies even as some Democrats have questioned whether he should run for a second term.

Harris address to the gun control group came as the Illinois Supreme Court earlier Friday upheld the state constitutionality of a Democratic-backed ban on high-powered firearms and large-capacity ammunition magazines. The law still faces a Second Amendment challenge in federal court.

Her visit to Chicago also marked the third anniversary of selection by Biden as his running mate. Before her arrival the reelection campaign issued a memorandum lauding her as an essential partner in the tickets electoral success in 2020 and a strong political force for 2024.

Harris remains uniquely popular with the key constituencies that make up the Biden-Harris coalition that resulted in the most votes for a presidential ticket in American history in 2020, the campaign said. It also labeled her a fearless voice on many of the issues that are most important to the core voters in the Biden-Harris coalition.

The campaign also described her as a prolific fundraiser, contending that for several high-dollar events including one held during her July 24 visit to Chicago, we had to turn off the registration link because the venue couldnt physically fit more people.

Harris husband, Douglas Emhoff, was scheduled to be in Chicago Friday for a campaign fundraiser associated with the evenings Bruce Springsteen concert at Wrigley Field.

In an appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe earlier Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised the administration as he acknowledged Harriss visit.

This is an administration that truly has fought for gun safety, probably the best administration on that subject in my lifetime, Pritzker said.

In her talk at McCormick Place, Harris praised the activists gathered at the convention, which is focused on training and organizing people to fight for gun control, and highlighted the critical role young people have in the effort.

Harris recalled visiting the sites of many mass shootings. She visited the scene of the Highland Park mass shooting the day after it occurred in July 2022.

There is literally blood on the streets. The failure to act is not without consequence, she said. We need these so-called leaders to hear the people and act.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com

rap30@aol.com
ReportLinker

The Kaolin Market size is expected to grow from 44.16 million tons in 2023 to 54.77 million tons by 2028, at a CAGR of 4.40% during the forecast period (2023-2028). The COVID-19 negatively impacted the market in 2020.

New York, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Kaolin Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484176/?utm_source=GNW

The Kaolin Market size is expected to grow from 44.16 million tons in 2023 to 54.77 million tons by 2028, at a CAGR of 4.40% during the forecast period (2023-2028).



The COVID-19 negatively impacted the market in 2020. However, the market has now been estimated to have reached pre-pandemic levels and is expected to grow steadily in the future.



Key Highlights

The paper industry uses more kaolin because people are becoming more aware of the environment and the price of pulp is going up.This, along with the growing need for high-quality ceramics, is driving market growth.

High costs and regulations in mining and the adoption of other substitutes are expected to hinder market growth.

Further, growing demand for sanitary ceramics is expected to act as a market opportunity in the coming years.

The Asia-Pacific region dominated the market around the world, with countries like China, India, and Japan being the biggest consumers.



Kaolin Market Trends



Growing Demand from Paper and Ceramics Industries



Kaolin is primarily used in the paper industry; it makes paper smoother and whiter, and it also acts as a filler in the interstices of the sheet.

The use of kaolin supports gaining properties such as adding ink receptivity and opacity to the paper sheet and coupling to coat the surface, which in turn supports producing sharp photographic illustrations and bright printed colors.

Kaolin has perfect opacity, which is an extremely important property for the paper industry. The use of kaolin gives brightness, gloss, and viscosity properties to paper. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), U.S.A., about 60% of kaolin is used only by the paper industry.

In ceramics, kaolin is used for whiteware products, insulators, and refractories. Kaolin has excellent molding properties and adds dry and fired strength, dimensional stability, and a smooth surface finish to the ceramic products.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, India exported ceramic and glassware goods worth more than USD 3.28 billion (INR 258.24 billion) in the fiscal year 2022 thus supporting market growth.

Further, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2021, the United States produced 67.5 million metric tons of paper and paperboard, a nearly 2% increase over the previous year. The United States is the worlds second-largest producer of paper and paperboard.

Therefore, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the demand for kaolin is expected to increase significantly during the forecast period.



Asia Pacific Region to Dominate the Market



Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global market owing to the highly developed ceramic sector and paper and paperboard production in China and India, coupled with the continuous investments made in the region to advance the plastic and rubber technology sectors through the years.

The growing ceramic industry in China and India increases the utilization of kaolin. Especially products like sanitaryware, tableware, and tiles had decent growth in recent years. According to the Ceramic World Web, China stands first globally, followed by India, in ceramic tile manufacturing in the current scenario.

In Asia-Pacific, the major usage of kaolin is in the paper industry because of the cost and limitations of pulp in the production of paper and paperboard.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, around 11.6 million metric tons of processed paper and cardboard were produced in China in September 2022, reflecting an increase of nearly 8% compared to August 2022.

Recently, the usage of kaolin in paints, rubber, plastics, medicines, adhesives, and cement sectors has been significantly growing due to its abrasion resistance, dimensional stability, and chemical inertness properties.

According to the Rubber Board, in FY 2022, India consumed more than 1.2 million metric tons of natural rubber, an increase of 13% annually. In 2021, India will be the worlds second-largest user of natural rubber. thus boosting market growth significantly in the region.

Thus, the increasing demand from various applications is likely to surge the demand for kaolin in the region during the forecast period.



Kaolin Industry Overview



The kaolin market is partially consolidated in nature. Some of the major players in the market include BASF SE, SCR-Sibelco NV, EICL, Quartz Works GmbH and Imerys, among others (in no particular order).



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484176/?utm_source=GNW



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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's (KLSE:KLK) stock is up by 4.1% over the past three months. Given its impressive performance, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad is:

12% = RM1.9b  RM16b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every MYR1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of MYR0.12.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's Earnings Growth And 12% ROE

At first glance, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 9.1% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This certainly adds some context to Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's exceptional 32% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

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We then compared Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 22% in the same 5-year period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad has a three-year median payout ratio of 50% (where it is retaining 50% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 53% of its profits over the next three years. As a result, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 9.5% for future ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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.
Workers at a Starbucks in Roxbury Township voted to unionize Thursday evening, according to a Friday morning press release.

The move makes the Starbucks in the Ledgewood section of Roxbury the fifth Starbucks in New Jersey to unionize. Workers voted 17-4 to form a union and join Starbucks Workers United, joining more than 340 locations nationwide.

The other stores are in Hopewell, Hamilton, Summit and Montclair. The election went on throughout the day Thursday, according to a notice posted on the National Labor Relations Board website.

According to Starbucks Workers United, the NLRB has to certify the election results, which could take up to a week.

"The parties have five business days from the date of the count to file objections," explained Kayla Blado, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board. "If no objections are filed, the result will be certified and the employer is required to bargain in good faith with the union."

Workers at the Starbucks at 40 South Park St. in Montclair will be voting this summer on whether to join the union, Starbucks Workers United.

I voted to unionize in order to have a better work-life balance and be secure in the knowledge that Im working in a healthy environment, said Kimberly Lecount, a shift supervisor of two and a half years at the Ledgewood store.

Starbucks workers who support the union have said they are short-staffed and are burning out.

At a store in Montclair for example, worker James Cruz in a letter to then-CEO Howard Schultz complained that they were understaffed, improperly trained and that equipment didnt work properly.

Cruz wrote that a hostile environment of union busting has fostered a culture of fear, which stands "in stark contrast to Starbucks' values."

In response to worker complaints about understaffing, management has cut hours, the letter read.

"We respect the right of all partners to make their own decisions about union representation, and we are committed to engaging in good faith collective bargaining for each store where a union has been appropriately certified," Andrew Trull, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said in an email. "Our intent throughout the union election process was to ensure that they could trust the process was fair and their voice would be heard."

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Starbucks Workers United, in the Friday morning statement, alleged a pattern of "union-busting that includes threatening workers' access to benefits, firing over 230 union leaders across the country, and shuttering union stores." Trull called the union claims "unfounded."

Still, the National Labor Relations Board has sided against Starbucks in multiple instances of allegedly anti-union behavior, like in upstate New York according to USA TODAY.

During the last eight months, Starbucks lost 16 of 17 cases decided by National Labor Relations Board administrative law judges, according to Bloomberg Law.

The effort of Starbucks workers to unionize has garnered the support of elected officials like U.S Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, who told Starbucks executives in March to negotiate with their employees.

The other four unionized stores have been waiting between six and 10 months to form a first collective bargaining agreement.

Whether you agree or disagree with these proposals, the National Labor Relations Act provides all New Jerseyans the right to bargain in good faith with you as their employer regarding their pay, hours, and workplace conditions, the senators wrote. We do not expect Starbucks to immediately accept all of the proposals made by the union. However, we urge you to sit down with union representatives in an honest attempt to form a collective bargaining contract in accordance with requirements set forth under the NLRA.

How the union affects customers

James Brudney, a law professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York, told the Asbury Park Press last year that in the short term, there could be worker actions designed to put pressure on the company if negotiations are drawn out. But there is little clarity about what would follow.

Starbucks, for example, could increase prices to cover the costs of higher wages and extra benefits, experts say, but would have to be mindful of whats being done by the competition.

The union could insist on rigidly adhering to rules on breaks or overtime, and customers could be left in line watching as a barista clocks on.

On the flip side, the union also could demand more stability in scheduling and more workers to help out, presumably leading to improved morale and more satisfied customers.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Starbucks workers in Morris County town vote to unionize
Lithium Ionic Corp.

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH; OTCQB: LTHCF; FSE: H3N) (Lithium Ionic or the Company) reports that it has filed a technical report, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), with respect to an NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate (the MRE) for the 100%-owned Itinga Lithium Project (Bandeira and Outro Lado deposits), located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, titled Mineral Resource Estimate for Lithium Ionic, Itinga Project, near Aracuai Village, Minas Gerais State, Brazil (the "Technical Report") and dated August 10, 2023 (with an effective date of June 24, 2023).



On June 27, 2023, the Company announced a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate on its Itinga Lithium Project (the Project) in Minas Gerais, Brazil, of 7.57 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1.40% lithium oxide (Li2O) of Measured and Indicated (M&I) and 11.86Mt grading 1.44% Li2O of Inferred resources. Please refer to the Companys press release dated June 27, 2023 and the Technical Report for additional information regarding the MRE and the Project.

The Technical Report was prepared for Lithium Ionic by SGS Geological Services (SGS). The Qualified Persons responsible for preparing the MRE and the Technical Report are Maxime Dupere, P. Geo, and Faisal Sayeed, P. Geo.

The Technical Report can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Lithium Ionics issuer profile and on the Company's website at www.lithiumionic.com.

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a Canadian mining company exploring and developing its lithium properties in Brazil. Its flagship Itinga and Salinas projects cover 14,182 hectares in the northeastern part of Minas Gerais state, a mining-friendly jurisdiction that is quickly emerging as a world-class hard-rock lithium district. The Itinga Project is situated in the same region as CBLs Cachoeira lithium mine, which has produced lithium for +30 years, as well as Sigma Lithium Corp.s Grota do Cirilo project, which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Americas.

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Qualified Persons

Each of Maxime Dupere, P. Geo, and Faisal Sayeed, P.Geo, of SGS is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data regarding the MRE included in this news release. Each of Mr. Dupere and Mr. Sayeed is independent of Lithium Ionic. All other scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by Carlos Costa, Vice President Exploration of Lithium Ionic and Blake Hylands, CEO and director of Lithium Ionic, and both are Qualified Persons.

Investor and Media Inquiries:

Blake Hylands

+1 647.316.2500

info@lithiumionic.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-statements. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the prospectivity of the Companys mineral properties, the MRE, the Technical Report and the Companys future plans. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Information and links in this press release relating to other mineral resource companies are from their sources believed to be reliable, but that have not been independently verified by the Company.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.




sturti / Getty Images/iStockphoto

You may have heard that theres decent money to be made in real estate. There are real estate investors who believe that flipping is the way to go, while others prefer to rely on short-term rentals. To learn more about getting rich through real estate, GOBankingRates contacted real estate investors to learn about properties that made them rich.

Real Estate Transfer: Baby Boomers Secure Generational Wealth by Transferring Property to Children

Learn: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

There are many ways to make money from real estate, but these three investors have different strategies that have helped them build significant wealth.

Property No. 1: Industrial Building Space

Upfront cost: $2.85 million

Additional cost: $100,000 in legal expenses from the city suing them

Profit: $5.75 million

Location: Hamilton, Ontario

Derek Conorton doesnt often get involved in house flipping, but he found himself in a unique situation with a commercial property in Hamilton, Ontario. Conorton bought an industrial building space that brought him a $5.75 million profit. The intent was to buy this industrial space, put a real estate investing business there and to flip both, eventually. The company they sold to just ended up buying the space. The building was purchased for $2.85 million and sold for $8.6 million three and half years later.

Conorton stressed the importance of paying tax professionals. Conorton had to deal with legal issues as the City of Hamilton brought 21 charges against them for allegedly opening and operating illegally. They were able to beat all of the charges, but it took $100,000 in legal fees to do so.

At first, I was reluctant to spend money on the professionals who had experience in this space, until I nearly made a million-dollar tax mistake, Conorton said. It was then that I smartened up, because losing a million dollars is far worse than spending $15,000 on professionals to assist in constructing a solid deal.

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Im a Real Estate Agent: Dont Buy Real Estate in These 5 States If You Want To Be Rich in 10 Years

Property No. 2: Hoarder House

Upfront cost: $140,000

Additional cost: $80,000

Profit: The home is worth $425,000 in unrealized gains.

Location: Dallas, Texas

Tom Brickman of House Money purchased a hoarder house that he worked on for an extended period to restore so that he could rent it out. Brickman spent $80,000 on a new roof, kitchen renovation, two bathrooms and HVAC work. This figure doesnt include the time involved and mortgage interest expenses. The property is now worth $425,000 and is bringing in money as a rental.

While Tom doesnt plan on selling the property anytime soon, because the unit is bringing in decent money, the appreciation is significant, and he could earn an amazing return on his investment if he were to sell today.

Property No. 3: Risky Real Estate

Upfront cost: $200,000

Additional cost: $50,000 for property and closing fees; $12,000 for the debt servicing

Profit: $118,000

Location: Central Massachusetts

Cody Berman took a risk on a property that brought in $118,000 in profit after five months of complete rehab. The property was sold for $380,000 when all of the work was completed.

What did the rehab on the property involve?

New floors

New kitchen cabinets

New paint

Both bathrooms redone

Fixed up the electrical

Completed the basement

How did Berman even find this property?

Nobody else wanted to touch the property because of a potential encroachment, Berman explained. We saw an opportunity, paid $3,000 for a survey and found out there was no encroachment. Taking this risk allowed us to get the property far below market value.

Berman took on this risk knowing that he couldve had some struggles along the way. In the worst case scenario, we were prepared to pay the neighbor for an easement, which would have cut into our profits, but the deal would still have huge profit potential.

Lessons Learned From Real Estate Investing

The real estate investors shared these lessons that they learned from their investments.

The Process Can Be Intimidating

Brickman expressed how emotionally draining it was to deal with the hoarder house and how its easy to get intimidated by all of the work involved.

As I emptied [the house], I had to find and return three items to the seller, Brickman said, describing the struggle of cleaning out the property. It was draining. I could tell it started two months after his wife died. I could feel his sadness as I emptied it. I dont think I would do another hoarder house.

Opportunities Arent Always Clear To See

Problems are opportunities, noted Berman, who took on a major risk with his real estate investment. People dont like doing hard things. If you can be the one to figure out the problem, youll be the one taking home the profits.

From the outside, it may seem like a foolish idea to invest in a hoarder house or to take a big risk on commercial property, but youre going to have to take some calculated risks if you want to get rich in real estate.

Building Relationships Is Crucial

I ruined a lot of deals and left a lot of money on the table by focusing more on the transactions than the relationships involved, Conorton reflected on his real estate journey. Some of my most profitable deals in real estate investing have come from strong relationships built over time, and these relationships have even resulted in multiple highly profitable deals.

This means that youre going to want to make connections with tax professionals, home contractors, real estate agents and other professionals who are involved in real estate. Youre also going to have to take the time to develop these relationships, since real estate is rarely a short-term game.

Closing Thoughts

As you can see from these three examples of properties, theres money to be made in real estate if youre willing to take risks. The key word here is risk. You cant ignore the risks that these real estate investors took, from dealing with legal expenses to gutting an entire hoarder house.

Its essential that you understand what youre getting into if you want to try your hand at real estate investing.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Real Estate Investor: This Is the Property That Made Me Rich
(Bloomberg) -- A US cybersecurity advisory panel will investigate malicious targeting of cloud computing environments, including Microsoft Corp.s role in a recent breach of government officials email accounts by suspected Chinese hackers, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Friday.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The review by the Cyber Safety Review Board, which was created by the Biden administration to investigate major cybersecurity events, will focus on approaches cloud service providers, the government and industry should employ to strengthen identity management and authentication in the cloud, according to a DHS statement.

Homeland Security officials began considering whether the email breach would be an appropriate subject for board review immediately upon learning of the incident in July, according to the statement.

Organizations of all kinds are increasingly reliant on cloud computing to deliver services to the American people, which makes it imperative that we understand the vulnerabilities of that technology, said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Cloud security is the backbone of some of our most critical systems, from our e-commerce platforms to our communication tools to our critical infrastructure.

Bloomberg News, citing two people familiar with the matter, previously reported the board would review cloud security and Microsofts role in the email breach. Shares of Microsoft were down about 1% on Friday morning in New York.

The boards decision to focus on cloud computing follows a request last month by Senator Ron Wyden to investigate Microsofts role in the breach. In a July 27 letter, Wyden asked Attorney General Merrick Garland, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly to investigate Microsoft and hold the company responsible for its negligent cybersecurity practices.

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Microsoft didnt respond to requests for comment.

Wyden, in a statement, said he applauded the decision. The government will only be able to protect federal systems against cyberattacks by getting to the bottom of what went wrong, he said.

Microsoft, the worlds largest software maker, is facing increasing scrutiny from computer security experts and government agencies over its ability to protect customers from breaches. Amit Yoran, the chief executive officer of the cybersecurity company Tenable Holdings Inc., criticized Microsoft, saying on LinkedIn that the companys lack of transparency applies to breaches, irresponsible security practices and to vulnerabilities, all of which expose their customers to risks they are deliberately kept in the dark about.

Easterlys agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security and known as CISA, manages the board and is responsible for convening it after significant cybersecurity events, according to a 2022 statement when the board was established. Following the conclusion of an investigation, the board issues a report detailing what went wrong and makes recommendations for future changes.

In an interview, Easterly suggested that Microsoft should recapture the ethos of what Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called trustworthy computing in 2002, when he instructed employees to focus on security over adding new features.

I absolutely positively think they have to focus on ensuring their products are both secure by default and secure by design, and we are going to continue to work with them to urge them to do that, Easterly said of Microsoft.

The hack of US officials email, which included the accounts of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and State Department officials, took place in the weeks before Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China to meet President Xi Jinping. The hackers got into the networks by taking a Microsoft consumer signing key, which allowed them to obtain access to officials emails.

Government emails were stolen because Microsoft committed another error, Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, said in his letter. Microsoft should not have had a single skeleton key that, when inevitably stolen, could be used to forge access to different customers private communications.

Wyden has also pushed for US officials to investigate the so-called SolarWinds attack, saying in his letter that Microsoft never took responsibility for its role. In that attack, which was disclosed in 2020, Russian state-sponsored hackers compromised computer networks in the federal government and private sector.

SolarWinds was planned as the first investigation carried out by the board, according to the executive order that created it. But that probe never happened. Instead, the board investigated the Log4j software vulnerability and later, the Lapsus$ hacking group, which breached major US companies. The boards report on Lapsus$ was released on August 10.

Wyden said he has been rebuffed in getting CISA and the Department of Homeland Security to direct the board to study the SolarWinds breach.

Had the board studied the 2020 SolarWinds hack, as President Biden originally directed, its findings might have been able to shore up federal cybersecurity in time to stop hackers from exploiting a similar vulnerability in the most recent incident, Wyden said, in his statement released on Friday.

(Updates with additional information in first four paragraphs.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Reuters) - A U.S. cybersecurity advisory panel will investigate risks in cloud computing that will also include Microsoft Corp's role in the recent breach of government department email systems by suspected Chinese hackers, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) will focus on risks to cloud computing infrastructure, including identity and authentication management, and will look at all relevant cloud service providers, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report comes after Oregon Senator Ron Wyden in July asked the Federal Trade Commission, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Justice Department to "take action" against Microsoft following the hack.

Microsoft has been under increasing scrutiny following revelations that hackers allegedly operating on Beijing's behalf got hold of one of its cryptographic keys and took advantage of a coding flaw to win sweeping access to the company's cloud email platform.

That access was used to spy on the communications of U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior State Department diplomats.

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee last week said it was opening an investigation into China's suspected involvement in recent breaches of Commerce and State department email systems.

Microsoft and CISA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Jamie Freed)
Costs for nursing homes and adult care jumped by the largest monthly amount in July, according to new inflation data.

The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday showed that the costs for nursing homes and adult care increased by 2.4% in July from the previous month, the biggest gain on records dating back to 1997. Overall consumer prices were up 0.2% month over month.

"We will need to wait to see if this was a one-time aberration or part of a longer-term trend," Beth Mace, an economist and senior advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, told Yahoo Finance.

"Keep in mind that the unusually large July increase followed three months of declines in April, May, and June. Its certainly something to watch, but not to be alarmed by at this time," she said.

While it may be too soon to tell whether it's a blip or a trend until more data follows, the increase does underscore how much people need to plan for their oldest and costliest years as they save for retirement.

(Getty Creative)

"In general, the costs in health and medical expenses tend to rise faster than other sectors of the economy. This could very well be illustrative of that tendency," Edward A. Miller, chair of the department of gerontology at The University of Massachusetts Boston, told Yahoo Finance.

But "the rise in prices could reflect, in part, a rebound in demand as occupancy rates rise once again [after the pandemic]. The demand is only likely to grow going forward given the aging of the large baby boom cohort."

And that will likely mean "continued and steep increases in prices going forward," Miller added.

Contrary to a common belief, Medicare does not cover all healthcarerelated expenses, including the cost of long-term care facility services, such as a long-term stay in a nursing home.

"The high cost of these services can translate to tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs for people who need this care, many of whom end up having to spend down all of their savings to qualify for coverage through Medicaid," Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF, a nonprofit organization focused on health policy, told Yahoo Finance.

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Long-term care facilities such as skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities are by far the most expensive category of out-of-pocket spending, according to an AARP breakdown. The average traditional Medicare beneficiary who stayed in such a facility in 2019 spent $25,395 out of pocket.

An apartment in an assisted-living facility had an average rate of $73,000 a year as of the second quarter of 2023, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC)  and costs go up as residents age and need more care. Units for dementia patients can run more than $90,000.

"But few people are well-prepared for these expenses," Miller said. "They seem so far off in the future  denial is common  or they feel that family will be available to take care of them or they believe, erroneously, that Medicare covers long-term care or that Medicaid will do so without them having to impoverish themselves first."

(Getty Creative)

Hes right about that.

A hefty 34% of those polled by Schwab in a new survey were like deer in headlights when it came to estimating what their expenses might be in retirement. But one thing for certain is that healthcare costs, including assisted living and nursing care, are likely to be a bigger chunk of your budget than you might anticipate.

About 15% of the average retiree's annual expenses will be health-related, per Fidelity. The after-tax cost for medical expenses throughout retirement for a single, 65-year-old retiree is $157,500, or $315,000 for the average retired couple at the same age, according to Fidelitys 2023 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, which tracks retiree healthcare expenses annually.

One way future retirees can prepare now to meet those future cost challenges is a health savings account, or HSA for short, which allows investors to contribute, invest, and withdraw money tax-free when used for qualified medical expenses.

Read more: The best high-yield savings account rates for August 2023

If you use your HSA money on something other than qualified medical expenses, your withdrawal will be subject to income tax, plus a 20% penalty. But at age 65 and older, you can take penalty-free distributions from the HSA for any reason. However, in order to be both tax-free and penalty-free, the distribution must be for a qualified medical expense.

HSAs are not an option for everyone, though. Some workers do not have access to this type of account at their jobs, while others may not have a high-deductible health plan which these are tied to.

One tiny piece of good news. HSA account balances increased by 11.9% over year-end 2022, according to a new survey from Bank of America, which tracks about 4 million clients employee benefit programs.

"We're seeing positive trends across HSA contributions, with more participants saving rather than spending on current expenses," Lisa Margeson, managing director of external affairs, retirement research, and insights at Bank of America, told Yahoo Finance.

That's encouraging because it "highlights the importance of preparing holistically for retirement and long-term wellness."

Kerry Hannon is a Senior Reporter and Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a workplace futurist, a career and retirement strategist, and the author of 14 books, including "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in The New World of Work" and "Never Too Old To Get Rich." Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon.

More Yahoo Finance inflation coverage:

Click here for the latest personal finance news to help you with investing, paying off debt, buying a home, retirement, and more

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) has seen a daily gain of 2.35% and a 3-month gain of 12.78%. Despite these positive movements, the stock's Earnings Per Share (EPS) stands at 5.89, leading to questions about its valuation. Is Occidental Petroleum overvalued? This article aims to answer this question by diving into a comprehensive valuation analysis of the company.

Company Overview

Occidental Petroleum Corp is an independent exploration and production company with operations across the United States, Latin America, and the Middle East. As of the end of 2022, the company reported net proved reserves of 3.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The net production averaged 1,159 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2022, with a ratio of 75% oil and natural gas liquids and 25% natural gas. The company's stock price stands at $65.23, while the GF Value, an estimation of fair value, is $50.78.

Is Occidental Petroleum Modestly Overvalued? A Deep Dive into its Valuation

Understanding the GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock, derived from GuruFocus's exclusive method. The GF Value Line gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors:

Historical multiples (PE Ratio, PS Ratio, PB Ratio, and Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow) that the stock has traded at. GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth. Future estimates of the business performance.

The stock price will most likely fluctuate around the GF Value Line. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued, and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

At its current price of $65.23 per share and the market cap of $57.70 billion, Occidental Petroleum stock appears to be modestly overvalued. Because Occidental Petroleum is relatively overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be lower than its business growth.

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Is Occidental Petroleum Modestly Overvalued? A Deep Dive into its Valuation

Financial Strength

Investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss. Therefore, it's essential to review a company's financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company's financial strength. Occidental Petroleum has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.02, ranking worse than 92.61% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks Occidental Petroleum's financial strength as 5 out of 10, suggesting a fair balance sheet.

Is Occidental Petroleum Modestly Overvalued? A Deep Dive into its Valuation

Profitability and Growth

Investing in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term, poses less risk. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. Occidental Petroleum has been profitable 6 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $31.50 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $5.89. Its operating margin is 29.55%, which ranks better than 72.91% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Occidental Petroleum at 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability.

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term stock performance of a company. A faster-growing company creates more value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth of Occidental Petroleum is 12.3%, which ranks better than 54.63% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 33.1%, which ranks better than 71.67% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry.

ROIC vs WACC

Another way to look at the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital and the weighted cost of capital. Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. We want to have the return on invested capital higher than the weighted cost of capital. For the past 12 months, Occidental Petroleum's return on invested capital is 10.98, and its cost of capital is 9.02.

Is Occidental Petroleum Modestly Overvalued? A Deep Dive into its Valuation

Conclusion

In conclusion, the stock of Occidental Petroleum appears to be modestly overvalued. The company's financial condition is fair, and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks better than 71.67% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry. To learn more about Occidental Petroleum stock, you can check out its 30-Year Financials here.

To find out the high-quality companies that may deliver above-average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Onto Innovation (ONTO) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.83 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.28 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -4.82%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment would post earnings of $0.88 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.92, delivering a surprise of 4.55%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Onto Innovation , which belongs to the Zacks Nanotechnology industry, posted revenues of $190.66 million for the quarter ended June 2023, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.08%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $256.31 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Onto Innovation shares have added about 74.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 16.4%.

What's Next for Onto Innovation?

While Onto Innovation has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

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Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Onto Innovation: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.96 on $203.65 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.64 on $813.71 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Nanotechnology is currently in the top 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Another stock from the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, Globant (GLOB), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2023.

This information technology services provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +9.8%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Globant's revenues are expected to be $496.47 million, up 15.7% from the year-ago quarter.

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly accepted a long list of luxury trips from a cadre of conservative billionaires. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

If you thought you could no longer be shocked by the lavish gifts conservative billionaires have reportedly bestowed on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Thursdays remarkable investigative report from ProPublica might surprise you. It reveals even more of the depth of Thomas corruption.

The report exposes Thomas pattern of secretly accepting private flights, yacht trips and other luxuries from a cadre of super-wealthy conservative donors over three decades in violation of legal and ethical standards. None of these donors knew Thomas before he joined the court.

These undisclosed gifts represent intolerable corruption within the highest court in the land.

Read more: Calmes: Why does Justice Alito keep making things worse for the Supreme Court?

ProPublica reported that these wealthy benefactors have treated the justice to at least 38 vacations, including a previously unknown yacht trip around the Bahamas, 26 flights on private jets, helicopter rides, box seats at sporting events and stays at luxury resorts.

Thomas misuse of his lofty position to enrich himself and live a life of luxury is just the kind of thing that has eroded the publics confidence in a crucial institution. The Supreme Courts perceived legitimacy has dropped to an all-time low .

Thomas appears to have violated the law by failing to disclose these gifts, according to ethics experts. They also raise the possibility of conflicts of interest and improper influence. As the ProPublica writers point out, Thomas billionaire donors work in industries significantly impacted by the courts decisions.

More fundamentally, corruption can spring from an officials conscious or unconscious sense of debt to those who treat him favorably and a tendency to share their worldview. The recipient of such extravagant gifts can hardly help but feel pressure to conform his beliefs to the expectations of the people footing the bill for his luxury flights, yachts and lodging. Its not unreasonable to question whether Thomas has been guided by the good of our country or is unable to abandon the ideological preferences of his wealthy allies  particularly at the risk of losing a lifestyle to which he and his wife have become accustomed.

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Read more: Abcarian: What Clarence Thomas calls hospitality looks a lot more like corruption

And yet even in light of these shameful ethical lapses, we need the Supreme Court, and we need it to be effective and respected. It has been a last line of defense for individual rights, with a history of checking elected officials who would enhance their own power by diminishing ours.

Making the Supreme Court accountable to ethical rules is the road to restoring its credibility. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency ( SCERT ) Act, which focuses on standards for recusal from cases by the justices, is a critical and constitutionally appropriate step toward that goal.

Another would be an investigation of Thomas apparent ethical violations by the Department of Justice or Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., as one of us has previously urged .

Like other judges and indeed most Americans in any profession, the justices must be subject to an enforceable code of conduct. The Supreme Court clearly needs a reminder that although judges interpret the law, they are not above it. Americans can and should remind them of that in a variety of ways.

Citizens can call or write to their congressional representatives and urge them to act on legislation to hold the court accountable. Lawyers can speak out through groups such as the American Bar Assn., which this week announced a Task Force on Democracy led by esteemed former federal appellate Judge J. Michael Luttig.

Every one of us can make it clear that this type of corruption of the court is unacceptable. Justice Thomas, sadly, will leave a legacy of failure to abide by ethical and legal standards. Its a legacy Americans must resoundingly reject.

Noah Bookbinder is the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and a former federal prosecutor. Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor who is of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- Portuguese firefighters are on high alert after containing a blaze that threatened to cross the border into neighboring Spain, where red alerts have been issued for extreme heat.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A wildfire in Argozelo, northern Portugal, was brought under control early on Friday, before it could spread to Zamora in Spain. More than 1,000 firefighters are still on the ground in Portugal, mostly on standby, after a huge blaze near Odemira burned a hotel and forced the evacuation of several villages earlier this week.

Parts of Andalucia in Spain may exceed 44C on Friday, after the mercury climbed to 46.8C at Valencia airport on Thursday. Red alerts have been issued in Gran Canaria, with little easing in temperatures overnight.

Extreme weather has hit the Northern Hemisphere from the US to China this summer, bringing fires, floods and violent storms as climate change increases the intensity of heat waves. At least 55 people died on the Hawaiian island of Maui after a blaze driven by hurricane-force winds. That comes after the worlds hottest ever month in July.

Read more: July Declared Hottest Month on Record, Hitting Paris 1.5C Limit

In Greece, where a huge blaze forced thousands of tourists to flee the island of Rhodes last month, the authorities have tackled 42 wildfires in the past 24 hours. About 50,000 trees were damaged on Rhodes, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Strong winds on Friday mean that six Greek regions, including greater Athens and also parts of the island of Crete, are on high alert for wildfires.

Scandinavia is dealing with the aftermath of Storm Hans, with torrential rain and strong winds leaving a trail of destruction, including the partial collapse of a hydroelectric dam. Flood warnings remain in place for southern Norway, while the far north of the country faces wildfire risks.

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Large parts of Western Europe will get warmer next week, with above-average temperatures forecast from Paris to Frankfurt, according to Maxar Technologies Inc.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
President Biden speaks to reporters on July 8 Alex Wong/Getty Images

China's economy is plagued with problems and is a "ticking time bomb," President Biden said.

The president pointed to sluggish growth and high unemployment in the nation.

China has seen a so-far disappointing economic recovery since dialing back pandemic restrictions.

China's economy is a "ticking time bomb" as the nation sees sluggish growth in its economy and worrying demographic issues, according to President Joe Biden.

At a Utah fundraiser on Wednesday, the president pointed to various problems plaguing China's economy, including the country's weak growth prospects and high unemployment rate.

"They've got some problems. That's not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things," Biden said, per Reuters.

China has posted a so-far disappointing economic recovery since dialing back its zero-COVID restrictions in early 2023. The nation slipped into deflation this week, per its latest Consumer Price Index data, reflecting consumer demand that has failed to rev up since Beijing lifted strict lockdown restrictions at the end of last year.

Meanwhile, China's youth unemployment rate notched a record 21% in July, due to a lack of high-skilled and high-paying jobs in the nation. The country is on track to lose half of its current population by 2100, according to an estimate from the consultancy firm Terry Group.

US-China tensions have been inflamed over the past year as US politicians signaled their support for Taiwan and have moved to trim economic ties with the nation. Most recently, Biden signed an executive order that limits US investment in Chinese tech, which infuriated Chinese officials.

"China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the US's single-minded rollout of restrictions on investments in China," the nation's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "This is blatant economic coercion and tech bullying," it later added.

Beijing officials have suggested China could retaliate if its companies continue to face harsh treatment in the US. That could put US-China relations on "collision course" that ends up weighing on the global economy, according to "Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The headquarters of Principal Financial Group in downtown Des Moines.

Principal Financial Group employees will soon return to the office, bringing one of the metro's biggest groups of workers back to downtown Des Moines more than three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders of the financial services firm, which has allowed most employees to work remotely, recently told workers "within a certain radius" of the Des Moines and Charlotte, North Carolina, campuses that they need to report to the office at least three days a week, spokesperson Sara Bonney said in an email Friday.

Bonney did not confirm the news, first reported by Axios Des Moines, that the mandate starts Nov. 6 and applies to all workers who live within 30 miles of the offices. Principal employs about 6,500 workers in Des Moines.

"Well continue to offer a variety of work arrangements, including remote positions, and embrace flexibility as a core tenet of our culture," Bonney said. "We look forward to how this new guidance will strengthen collaboration and connection in our offices."

Downtown real estate agents have struggled to fill vacancies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 13% of multitenant units in Des Moines were unoccupied in the second quarter of this year  double the amount of unoccupied space in 2019, according to figures recently reported by the Business Record.

Some agents told the publication they saw momentum in comparison to the previous year, an optimistic sign for downtown businesses that rely on weekday diners and shoppers. In a strategic plan released in February, the Greater Des Moines Partnership proposed reconfiguring empty downtown offices to create spaces suitable for smaller companies and offering incentives to lure businesses to downtown.

Other employers cutting back on downtown space

Principal's return to office comes as some other key employers have reduced, or are planning to shrink, their downtown footprints.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has allowed employees to work from home since 2020. The company has reached a tentative agreement to sell one of its two downtown offices, at 1200 Locust St., along with a parking garage and lot to the city of Des Moines, which is seeking a new police headquarters and room for other, scattered municipal offices. The City Council voted Aug. 7 to hold a public hearing on the $56.3 million sale at a date yet to be set.

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The Nationwide building at 1200 Locust St. in downtown Des Moines.

Wells Fargo & Co. announced in January that most of its downtown Des Moines employees will be moving to the company's South Jordan Creek Parkway campus in West Des Moines. The company, which is trying to sell four downtown Des Moines offices and a parking garage, has not disclosed how many workers are affected.

Wells Fargo's downtown office at 801 Walnut St. in Des Moines.

The Krause Group, which owns Kum & Go, announced in May that it had reached an agreement to sell the convenience store chain to the Salt Lake City-based Maverik stores. The Krause Group has not said whether any employees at its 1459 Grand Ave. offices will lose their jobs in the pending sale. A development agreement with the city requires the Krause Group to maintain a Kum & Go headquarters at the office, known as Krause Gateway Plaza, to continue receiving incentives.

The Krause family businesses are housed in the Krause Gateway Center, which opened in November 2018 in downtown Des Moines.

In another move that will subtract workers from downtown, the Executive Council of Iowa, comprised of the governor and Cabinet members, on Tuesday approved the purchase of a vacant Wells Fargo office building east of the Des Moines International Airport. The acquisition will pave the way for vacating the long-deficient Henry A. Wallace Building, which houses 540 state employees adjacent to the Iowa Capitol.

A classic car drives past the Henry A. Wallace Building during the 2022 Iowa State Fair Parade.

Principal workspace is designed to be flexible

Principal is one of the biggest property owners in the metro, with buildings valued at $335 million, according to the Polk County Property Appraiser. The company's holdings include its headquarters at 711 High St. and other major offices at 750 Park St. and 655 Ninth St. downtown.

The company also owns the 801 Grand skyscraper, the tallest building in Iowa, and spent much of the last decade completing a $400 million renovation of its campus.

Bonney, the spokesperson, said Principal had embraced flexible work prior to the pandemic, and designed ithe buildings in its downtown campus to enable employees to choose the environment that best suits them.

"Teams are assigned to neighborhoods within their respective buildings," she said. "Additional amenities and shared spaces are available across the campus that employees can choose to work from throughout the day. Principal encourages employees to consider the entire campus their workspace."

Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Principal Financial Group employees to return to Des Moines offices
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at Australian Agricultural Projects (ASX:AAP) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Australian Agricultural Projects, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.0048 = AU$74k  (AU$19m - AU$3.6m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, Australian Agricultural Projects has an ROCE of 0.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Food industry average of 3.9%.

View our latest analysis for Australian Agricultural Projects

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Australian Agricultural Projects' ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Australian Agricultural Projects' past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Australian Agricultural Projects Tell Us?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Australian Agricultural Projects doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 0.5% from 3.7% five years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

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Our Take On Australian Agricultural Projects' ROCE

We're a bit apprehensive about Australian Agricultural Projects because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 49% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Australian Agricultural Projects does come with some risks though, we found 6 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 3 of those are a bit unpleasant...

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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.
Ashley Regal and Richard Murphy show off a portion of the Redden Building in downtown Buchanan that will open this autumn as a maker's market.

Those working on the ongoing revitalization of downtown Buchanan believe that three of the small citys shortcomings will be addressed with the completion of the historic Redden Building before the end of the year.

The project, which was undertaken by residents Michael and Elaine Rowland, will provide about 3,000 square feet for a new restaurant, cidery and meadery called Thistledown, which will be operated by Brian Dougherty, co-founder of the nearby River St. Joe.

More: Renovation of prominent building will nearly complete restoration of downtown Buchanan

In addition, the building will include two short-term rentals on the second floor because the nearest hotel rooms are located in Niles. And perhaps most importantly, space is being set aside to create a type of incubator for area food vendors, retailers and other businesses.

Ashley Regal, director of LiveBuchanan and the citys assistant director of community development, has been overseeing the effort to bring a makers market to the Redden Building at Front Street and Days Avenue.

So far, three businesses have signed up for space in the market  including McBain Lane Farms, which will offer fresh farm goods and groceries, as well as Taqueria Don Chepe and Dianas Kitchen, which have been testing the market with food trucks at Munchie Mondays in downtown since mid-May.

There will be inside and outside seating at the maker's market that should be ready for opening later this year in Buchanan. The space will contain food and retail vendors.

Regal expects another food and retail vendor when the space  called The Hometown & Co. Mercantile and Food Market  is ready to open sometime in October, about the same time as the restaurant Thistledown.

Plans keep developing and expanding for the downtown area, which was languishing just a decade or so ago until antiques dealers from the Chicago area started moving to the area, attracted by the historic buildings in the citys core.

More: Marijuana boom brings jobs and new life to factories, storefronts in southwest Michigan

And they were followed by cannabis dispensaries that restored and took over many of the remaining spaces in the historic downtown district. Except for the Redden in the center of town, most of the once-empty spaces are now occupied.

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Richard Murphy stands by the portion of the Redden Building along Days Avenue that will be converted into a restaurant called Thistledown.

The Redden project is huge because of the size of the building and its prominent location, says Richard Murphy, Buchanans director of community development. When this is completed, everything else is downhill.

The completion of the Redden will address three of the biggest requests from residents  restaurants, shops and space where visitors can stay  but it will also serve as one of the main hubs of a social district that the city is developing along Days Avenue moving south from Front Street.

This shows the outdoor space that Buchanan plans to develop along Days Avenue in the heart of downtown.

Among other things, Days connects to Buchanan Common  the citys main gathering spot  and is wider than usual because it once served as a gateway from the train station to the commercial district. Though the Hometown Mercantile space will have limited indoor seating, most will be outside around the building, Regal says.

As the building prepares to open this autumn, festive overhead string lights will be installed above Days, and the Buchanan District Library will make its wall along the street available for public art displays, further enlivening the area.

More: Restaurant and brewery River Saint Joe brings a whole new meaning to farm to table dining

Perhaps as soon as next year, a streetscape project could get underway that would include trees, sidewalk improvements and even an outdoor fireplace to make the space more of a year-round destination.

Buchanan knows its currently nearing the crest of a wave caused by the interest of the cannabis industry. But no one knows how long and to what extent that will last because it already has five dispensaries within about a mile along Front.

This is an artist's rendering of the Redden building in Buchanan. The prominent building will include a maker's market, a restaurant and short-term rentals.

The restaurant and retail makers market inside the Redden is aimed at ensuring further infilling of spots as they become available, and Regal points out that another incubator  aimed at potential tech and service providers  is planned for the second floor of the library.

Already, spaces that have been revamped are finding higher and better uses, that can afford higher rents and prices that come with a town thats on the rise. Honor Credit Union, for example, just recently moved from its old location at 117 N. Red Bud Trail to a new spot at 128 Main St. that previously housed a Chemical Bank branch.

After nearly a $1 million renovation, Honor turned a bank building, which had been empty for several years, into a bright, modern branch for its growing business in the community while also providing new space for Redbud Insurance Services, which it purchased in December 2021.

Its apparent that Buchanan is on the rise and Honor wants to be there to support the community as it grows, says Karol Behrle, a Buchanan resident and community development officer for the Berrien Springs-based credit union.

Teller Heather Miller works inside the new home of Honor Credit Union in Buchanan. The credit union recently took over an old Chemical Bank branch that had been sitting vacant.

Beyond investing in a new branch office, Honor also is partnering with the new makers market as a monetary sponsor and also as an educational resource for the budding entrepreneurs, who might need assistance developing financial skills as their businesses grow.

Hopefully, some of those businesses will grow and take the next step, finding a permanent spot in Buchanan. After testing the market, Don Chepe and Dianas Kitchen already are taking a first step by moving into the Redden.

Aimed at attracting food trucks for lunch and dinner by creating a regular event, Munchie Mondays already has been extended through the end of August and operators already are asking if it might be extended even longer, Regal says.

Residents and visitors alike enjoy the opportunity for outdoor dining along Days and in Buchanan Common. Imagine what that might turn into with streetscape improvements and an outdoor area that allows for adult beverages.

Nearly a year-round venue.

Michiganders dont mind a little winter, Murphy says.

Have you heard?

Waka Dog Cafe in the Campus Shoppes at 1809 S Bend Ave., South Bend, plans to close at the end of business on Saturday Aug. 12. The owner said the closure was the result of the still rising costs of running a family-owned restaurant, and that the family would instead focus its energy on its rapidly growing cleaning company. It sounds as if employees at Waka Dog will be absorbed by the cleaning business. The business originally started in Mishawaka more than 15 years ago.  KPot Korean BBQ is moving into the space that was once occupied by Bar Louie at University Park Mall in Mishawaka. K-Pot is Korean cuisine consisting of grilling meat that you prepare yourself at your table. The chain is mostly located on the East Coast. It hopes to open before the end of the year.

Email Tribune Market Basket columnist Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Buchanan focuses on placemaking as a way to keep momentum rolling
The place for all things cold chain.

Hello, and welcome to the coolest community in freight! Here youll find the latest information on warehouse news, tech developments and all things reefer madness-related. Im your controller of the thermostat, Mary OConnell. Thanks for having me!

All thawed out

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Produce champion of the grocery store, Fresh Del Monte is making some changes to its supply chain. Recently it announced a partnership with Flowspace, a software platform and distribution network for e-commerce logistics. This partnership will help Del Monte branch into the e-commerce space. Right now, few CPG companies are venturing into the e-commerce space due to the lack of fulfillment partners that are able to provide temperature-controlled facilities despite e-commerce being the next biggest opportunity for fast CPG growth.

This new partnership plus the existing partnership with Tricount Logistics as Del Montes 3PL puts Del Monte in the perfect position to ramp up its e-commerce offering. Frank Garcia, senior vice president of operations at Flowspace, said in a news release, Together with Tricont, we are reshaping the logistics landscape for CPG companies, setting a new standard for excellence in fulfillment.

Temperature Checks

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Theres a new dog in the cold chain fight, SnoFox Sciences, a company that specializes in cold chain analytics. It just received an additional $4.5 million in seed funding from Voyager Venture, which previously invested $1.2 million. SnoFox is helping cold chain shippers reduce waste and reach efficiency and sustainability goals. Its technology helps provide insights to what is already in place versus having to refit an entire warehouse with the latest and greatest.

A SnoFox spokesperson told Fleet Owner, A cold storage facility can spend over $1 million a year on electricity. Cooling processes alone can account for 60-70% of the total electricity demands in a warehouse. It is crucial, both for financial and environmental reasons, to enhance efficiency and reduce the energy expended on temperature control.  Leveraging existing facility data and their proprietary algorithms, SnoFox provides advanced analytics solutions that identify areas within cooling systems that can be improved to increase energy efficiency.

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Food and drugs

(Photo: Twitter)

Remember that one time back in 2017 when the internet did its job so hard that McDonalds brought back its Szechuan sauce for one day? After a joke about the sauce was introduced in an episode of Rick and Morty, fans were desperate for the sauce to return. Well, in this instance McDonalds is getting ahead of the demand with the new As Featured In Meal, with fan favorite menu items that have made appearances in music, TV and film. This event will start Monday and comes with some exclusive merch from London-based skate and streetwear brand PALACE. PALACE will be doing a pop-up fashion experience at the very first McDonalds in Downey, California.

According to a Foodmarket article, For a limited time, fans can relive the magic of their favorite characters and artists with one of three main menu items and sides. A newly branded Sweet N Sour Sauce is inspired by Marvel Studios Loki Season 2, streaming Oct. 6 on Disney+ will be included in this promotion as well.

Cold chain lanes

(SONAR Tickers: ROTVI.DBQ, ROTRI.DBQ)

This weeks reefer market is Dubuque, Iowa. Outbound tender rejections in Dubuque hit new heights as it took a 105.9 basis point increase from last week. Rejections are currently sitting at 15.6% in Dubuque, which is the highest rate since retail peak season last year. Before looking at the USDA AGRATE coming out of there, its a pretty good sign that harvest season has come to Iowa as contracted reefer carriers are rejecting loads to haul for harvest season. Capacity will likely only be constrained for a few weeks as the fields empty out then its back to business as usual.

Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!

Shelf life

Emergent Cold LatAm starts operations in the Dominican Republic and positions itself as a hub in the region

UPS Healthcare launches UPS Premier service across India

Nearly 400 Workers to be Impacted by Tysons Corydon Plant Closure

Blue Apron Cuts 20% Corporate Workforce After FreshRealm Sale, Eyeing Sales Growth in 24

Houston Restaurant Family Steps in to Alleviate Sriracha Shortage With Own Brand

Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you must be pretty chill. Join the coolest community in freight and subscribe for more at freightwaves.com/subscribe.

The post Running on Ice: Del Monte fruit cups slide into e-commerce world appeared first on FreightWaves.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo

Russia is scrambling to keep its ruble from falling further in value.

The nation's central bank announced it would stop foreign currency purchases through the end of 2023.

It has also begun to pilot program for a digital ruble in an attempt to prop up its currency.

Russia is halting its purchases of foreign currencies, and is launching a digital version of its ruble as it scrambles to prevent its currency from spiraling even further as war drags on in Ukraine.

The nation will no longer purchase currencies on the global market from August 10 through the end of the year, Russia's central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. It will, however, continue to sell foreign currencies located in its sovereign wealth fund worth up to 2.3 billion rubles or $23 million dollars a day, which it has been using to help fund its war against Ukraine.

In a separate statement, the central bank added it had begun pilot testing a digital version of the ruble, which it has planned to do since July to prop up its weakening currency.

The digital ruble will be tested with a limited number of clients across 13 banks, though the Russian central bank aims to launch the currency for public use by 2025.

The moves are part of Russia's efforts to prop up its weakening economy, with the ruble recently plunging to its lowest level since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The nation has been slammed by sanctions which have slashed Moscow's energy revenue.

In July, the ruble blew past a key "comfort zone" for the Kremlin in the aftermath of Wagner's short-lived rebellion, sparking concern as Russia's purchasing power in international markets grew weaker.

Russia's currency slipped further on Thursday, trading at 97 to the US dollar. That's about a 30% decline from what the ruble was worth in January, making it one of the worst-performing currencies this year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
selfridges

Selfridges is to launch a consultation with staff over job cuts as it battles with a mounting debt pile.

The luxury department store told staff at its head office that some of their roles are at risk as it pushes ahead with an efficiency drive intended to cut costs.

A spokesman for the retailer said: We are in the process of reviewing how best to structure our head office to best deliver for customers. We will work through the details of this with our teams through the consultation process. The consultation period is expected to run for around 45 days, with staff at its stores understood to be unaffected by the consultation.

At the end of last year, Selfridges employed around 2,800 workers across its head office and stores, although the majority of its staff are in its shops. The retailer is thought to employ hundreds of people in its head office. No decision has yet been made on how many roles are at risk, with executives expected to determine where costs will be cut in the coming weeks.

Selfridges called a meeting with staff on Friday to set out the consultation process after informing them of the planned cuts in an email sent out on Thursday.

Trade union Usdaw said it would be engaging with the company. Usdaw national officer Jayne Allport said: Usdaw will begin full and meaningful consultation with the company, with a view to minimising redundancies and mitigating their impact. In the meantime we will continue to provide our members with the support, advice and representation they need at this very difficult time.

Most recent accounts for Selfridges show sales at its retail business jumped 28pc to 653m in the year to February 2022, compared with a year earlier. However, this remained 200m lower than before the pandemic.

At the same time, Selfridges has been lumbered with more debt in recent months under a structure which has split its property out from its retail operations. It comes after the luxury store was sold by the billionaire Weston family in 2021.

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Earlier this year, it emerged that its Thai and Austrian owners had booked new loans through trading and property entities. The Telegraph revealed in March that the London branch of Bangkok Bank had provided a loan of 1.7bn which is secured against the freehold of Selfridges flagship London store.

Another large loan was provided by Swiss lender EFG Bank and secured against Selfridges Exchange Square site in Manchester, although the size of this loan was redacted in corporate filings.

Writing to staff this week, Selfridges managing director Andrew Keith said the retailer was looking at job cuts as part of efforts to be fit for the future, aligned, and working in the most efficient way.

Mr Keith, who took over as head of Selfridges in February 2021, said: Regrettably this is likely to mean some of our head office teams, including some small teams in retail who support our stores, will be resized and reshaped.

It follows a wave of redundancies at the luxury department store in July 2020 - equal to 14pc of its workforce - as it struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

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The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) will pay a dividend of $0.605 on the 8th of September. The dividend yield is 0.9% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

View our latest analysis for Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If it is predictable over a long period, even low dividend yields can be attractive. Before making this announcement, Sherwin-Williams was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 24.0% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 24%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Sherwin-Williams Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.52 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of $2.42. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 17% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

Sherwin-Williams Could Grow Its Dividend

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Sherwin-Williams has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 6.9% per annum. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Sherwin-Williams' prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Sherwin-Williams Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Sherwin-Williams might even raise payments in the future. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Sherwin-Williams that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Sherwin-Williams 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.
GAYLORD  Ever since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022 to bring inflation under control, the national economic narrative has been gloomy.

Frequently there were forecasts of layoffs, consumers pulling back on spending and some economists even talked of a potential recession.

Yet the negative talk has remained just chatter at this point as the national unemployment rate is below 4 percent and here in Northern Michigan, small business startups have been stable with some areas like Gaylord experiencing a surge.

"There has always been a desire for people to pursue a dream. I think we are very entrepreneurial whether you are in agriculture, technology or services," said Buck Love of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA) in Boyne City. He described the pace of small business startups in the region as "steady."

Small business openings are considered a critical component of an area's economy. Small businesses create new employment opportunities and also bring innovation and, in many cases, new services to a community.

Love said there was a definite spike in business startups post COVID-19 in July 2022, according to data from Bridge.

"As of March 2023 they are showing that about 700 new businesses starting per month in the state," he said.

In talking to small business entrepreneurs in Northern Michigan, everyone acknowledged that the economic talk was not optimistic. Yet they all said they believed that this is the right time to start a business.

It used to be that the biggest obstacle for many small business owners was obtaining financing. While that is still a hurdle, many owners said securing a reliable work force is just as difficult now.

"Talent acquisition is an ongoing challenge and will be for many years to come. It is going to be tougher for someone opening up a restaurant. That will be a challenge versus an insurance professional that has an office of three to four people," Love said.

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Financing is always difficult, especially for those who are starting a new business that doesn't have a track record, according to Love.

"Different lenders have varied standards. Some may want to provide for those starting car washes or a self storage operation and some may not," said Love. "I don't know if it is any more difficult than it was 10 or 20 years ago."

Untapped market

Missy Leverett of Malted Vinyl in Petoskey expects to open the new business over Labor Day weekend.

Just one month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan, Missy and Jesse Leverett bought the home they planned to retire in, expecting to move in full time 10-15 years later.

They ended up moving to the area full time in March 2020 instead.

Then, last year, after spending 25 years with the company where she met her husband, Missy Leverett was offered a buyout. Thats when the family came up with the idea of Malted Vinyl.

Missy said she noticed an untapped market in downtown Petoskey where there weren't too many places to be able to sit and get a drink without wanting to get a full meal.

Malted Vinyl is designed to fill that niche and the Leveretts plan to open the business Labor Day weekend.

"Probably the biggest thing that impacted us was looking at the labor market," said Missy. "We looked at the most desirable jobs to create and in doing so we wanted to focus on more service positions as opposed to the back of the house."

The Leveretts took out a second mortgage on their house to obtain financing. Missy said she approached a few people about getting a business loan.

"That was much harder to find than I thought it would be. I met with some local bankers and even though I had a good credit score, I didn't have the track record of building a small business so there wasn't much of an opportunity to get grants. They really wanted to have the business already launched," said Missy.

Location, location and location

For several years, Jill Ann Rambo has operated The Little Gift Shop in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. When the opportunity came up to get into a building at 341 W. Portage near the Soo Locks, Rambo jumped at the chance.

"We have had the same shops in the downtown that stay open year round. But sometimes the traffic is not as heavy as the area near the locks and I have always wanted to be closer to the locks," said Rambo.

Jill Ann Rambo cutting the ribbon to open her newest business on Portage Street, the Soo Locks Gift Gallery.

The Soo Locks are the area's top tourist attraction, and Rambo said there aren't many vacancies near it. Like she did with her first shop, she self-financed the new store.

"I had a lot of consignments so there wasn't a huge investment at the beginning. I just kept expanding (the first store)," Rambo said.

Rambo is keenly aware of the economy and all the negative talk.

"My husband and I can't believe some of the prices at the grocery store. Still people are traveling, however, I don't think there is as much travel as last year and definitely not as much as in the Covid year," she said.

Rambo said recruiting staff for her two shops is a challenge, especially because the positions are part time.

"When I put an ad out I will get one response or no response," said Rambo. "I have had to be creative, so I actively talk to people in the stores to see if they would be interested in working here. I have also called those that I think would be a good fit for the shop."

Sweet homecoming

Michael Collins grew up in Gaylord, and after graduating from Gaylord High School he went off to college and then embarked on a professional career. For many years, he had always wanted to return to his hometown.

Earlier this year, Collins and his partner, David Zawicki, opened Drift Ice Cream Shop in the city. Collins had heard the talk about an economic downturn. Yet Collins and Zawicki were not deterred.

In May Michael Collins and David Zawicki opened the Drift Ice Cream Shop in Gaylord.

"We had been planning this and watched the economic indicators," Collins said. He worked at Pfizer for many years and also has operated several small businesses.

"I have Wall Street experience and Main Street experience and the one thing that I have learned is that one of the things that seem foolproof in life is medicine/health care and specialty items like ice cream," he said. "If we are in a recession we might not get a new car but ice cream is something we want so we can celebrate the good moments in life."

Collins and Zawicki didn't borrow money to open the shop so financing wasn't an issue. Early on they realized the labor market was tight in Gaylord.

"We have had businesses in the Detroit area and we struggled in hiring people and that was our biggest fear in opening this business," said Collins.

The Collins family has a long history in Gaylord. His sister operates Hogan's Jewelers in downtown Gaylord and his parents have been community leaders for years.

"We were able to cast a wide net and they (employees) came in large numbers," he added.

Collins and Zawicki were able to fill all 13 openings at the ice cream shop by the time it opened in May.

Cheboygan County

Sharen Lange is the economic development services coordinator for Cheboygan County and she said in general the area is experiencing an increase in small business openings.

"Both the City of Cheboygan, and Indian River, are continuing to develop their downtowns. Enhanced street scapes, weekly attractions such as farmers markets and live music, as well as actively seeking and supporting both existing and new businesses contribute to the growth trend," said Lange.

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Rather than financing, Lange said workforce recruitment has become a bigger issue for small businesses in the county.

"With many funding options and business support programs available through organizations such as the SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) and MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corp.), in addition to business-friendly local lenders, I would say the bigger challenge is definitely talent attraction. The lack of housing at all levels is the key debilitating factor and directly limits new and existing business growth," said Lange.

 Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Small business openings defy gloomy economic narrative
By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) - (This Aug. 11 story has been corrected to say 'National Center for Public Policy Research v. Schultz et al., No. 22-00267, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington,' not 'Craig v. Target Corp. et al., No. 23-00599, U.S. District Court, Middle District Of Florida,' in paragraph 16)

A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed as frivolous a conservative activist investor's lawsuit against Starbucks' board for the coffee chain's diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) sued in August 2022 over Starbucks' setting hiring goals for Black and other people of color, awarding contracts to "diverse" suppliers and advertisers, and tying executive pay to diversity.

The nonprofit, which holds around $6,000 in Starbucks stock, said those policies require the company to make race-based decisions that violate federal and state civil rights laws.

Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Spokane, Washington, rejected the allegations at a hearing in the case on Friday, saying the lawsuit centered on public policy questions that are for lawmakers and corporations, not courts, to decide.

"If the plaintiff doesn't want to be invested in 'woke' corporate America, perhaps it should seek other investment opportunities rather than wasting this court's time," he said.

Starbucks said it was pleased with the decision and said it remains committed to "creating a culture of warmth and belonging."

Starbucks' attorney Gregory Watts argued at the hearing that NCPPR has condemned the "evils" perpetrated by "woke" corporate America, and that the group has made demands of many other corporations, including JPMorgan Chase and American Airlines Group Inc.

"The use of such language shows what is motivating plaintiffs, and it is not the business interests of Starbucks," he said.

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The lawsuit is similar to those recently by conservative activist groups opposing corporate diversity and inclusion efforts in the wake of a June Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling declared unlawful the race-conscious student admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

On Friday, Daniel Morenoff of The American Civil Rights Project, who represents NCPPR, argued that Starbucks policies seeking to increase racial diversity among its suppliers, vendors, and employees were discriminatory and that NCPPR's cause was in the corporate interest.

Bastian rejected that argument, saying the group's complaint did not represent the interests of Starbucks shareholders and failed to follow required legal procedure.

NCPPR may not refile its complaint, and Starbucks may seek legal fees, he said.

NCPPR spokesperson Scott Shepard called the judge's comments "surprising and disappointing."

"We will continue to pursue relief from illegal discrimination on behalf of shareholders and employees," he said.

The case is National Center for Public Policy Research v. Schultz et al., No. 22-00267, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)
About 200 Loretto Hospital workers will return to work after their union reached a tentative contract agreement with hospital leadership Thursday, following an 11-day strike.

The union SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Loretto announced Thursday evening that they reached the tentative agreement, which provides wage increases for all employees and a Juneteenth paid holiday.

Under the new agreement, all positions at Loretto will pay at least minimum wage. Employees will also become eligible for wage increases based on years of service.

Juneteenth was declared an official state holiday in Illinois in 2021. As of January 2022, it is a paid holiday for state employees if it falls on a weekday.

Loretto workers hope the new contract will reduce burnout and curtail the annual staff turnover rate, currently around 60%. In some divisions around the hospital, up to 35% of positions remain vacant, underscoring the state of the hospitals staffing crisis  as well as concerns about lack of support through low staff-to-patient rates.

We know we could make more at another hospital, but we stay here because we care about our patients and community, said Carla Haskins, a Loretto patient care tech and bargaining committee member. This contract isnt just a win for us  this is a win for all of Austin. This fight has always been about securing quality health care for Loretto patients and Austin community members  a community we workers belong to ourselves. This contract is a major first step that will help Loretto retain and hire more workers to address the staffing crisis.

Loretto Hospital leadership said in a statement that it is critical that the hospital remains open and accessible to the Austin community. We will continue to partner with SEIU, clergy, corporate and community stakeholders to secure the funding and resources needed for the hospitals long-term growth.

The workers went on strike July 31, saying that low pay at Loretto has led to short staffing and compromised care for patients. The workers include patient transporters; patient care technicians; emergency room technicians; mental health and behavioral health workers; respiratory and radiology technicians; and those who work in housekeeping, among others.

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The hospital previously said in statements to the media that the unions pay demands were not sustainable, given that Loretto is a safety net hospital.

For some Loretto employees, contract disputes have become a matter of gaining dignity and respect in the workplace, Regina Smith, a food service aide, said Thursday.

We have been working for a very long time under short staffing conditions, Smith said. It has impacted the community, and it has impacted the employees of Loretto hospital as a whole.

To SEIU Healthcare Executive Vice President Erica Bland-Durosinmi, the contract battle represented a failure on the part of Loretto Hospital to invest back in the oldest and most careworn employees of the hospital. Some striking employees have worked at the hospital for more than 20 years.

There are so many workers who started and then left after a day or a week, Bland-Durosinmi said at an Aug. 8 news conference.

Mental health challenges are common among Loretto patients, Bland-Durosinmi said. Nurses and staffers feel they are unfairly compensated for the emotional labor that comes with frequently handling patient outbursts and responding to overdoses and schizophrenic episodes.

The amount that it would cost to do right by these workers is negligible at this point, Bland-Durosinmi said.

Loretto serves the predominantly Black community of Austin. Over 33,000 patients each year are treated at Loretto. Many are on Medicaid, a state and federally funded health insurance program for people with low incomes and/or disabilities.

Loretto kept its doors open during the strike, though to far fewer patients than usual.

At a Thursday morning vigil, Chicago political and faith leaders called publicly for an end to the strike. Some, like Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., appealed to both sides to reach a resolution in good faith. Others, including Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., chastised Loretto for holding back in negotiations enough to bring the strike into a second week.

You are the backbone of our critically important health care system, state Rep. Justin Slaughter told striking workers Thursday, referring to the strike as a protective measure for both workers and Loretto patients. When youre understaffed, underpaid, and the working conditions are unsafe, were putting everybodys lives at risk.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently stepped down as president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and state Rep. La Shawn Ford, who resigned from Lorettos board of trustees in 2021, also mobilized in favor of strikers shortly before a final agreement was reached.

As a safety net hospital, Loretto provides care to patients even if they cannot pay. Last year, 77.5% of Loretto patients were on Medicaid, and 2.20% did not pay for their care at all.

One of 24 safety net hospitals in Illinois, Loretto received just over $1.3 million per month in state funding last year.

The Health Care Council of Chicago found in a 2021 study that safety net hospitals in Chicago are on track to lose at least $1.76 billion in operational funds by 2024.

According to the studys authors, safety net hospitals lose money when they are not fully reimbursed by the government or insurance companies for procedures done on patients who cannot pay themselves. Medicaid may only reimburse up to 30% of what hospitals might recoup from a private insurance company following an emergency procedure, according to Chicago Policy Review.

Safety net hospitals can also struggle to hire new specialists, which can make it difficult to provide advanced care for elderly and terminally ill patients. In many cases, behavioral health concerns are disproportionately treated at safety net hospitals as compared to other health care facilities.

SEIU is the countrys largest health care workers union, with more than 1 million members nationwide and 90,000 in the Midwest.

Staffing levels, contract disputes and patient care concerns have led to multiple health care worker strikes in the Chicago area over the past several years.

In January 2023, 440 workers at Howard Brown Health clinics, represented by the Illinois Nurses Association union. went on a three-day labor strike to protest recent layoffs. Several months later, the National Labor Relations Board found the layoffs to be unfair labor practices, with settlement action between Howard Brown and the INA still pending.

In 2021, more than 900 nurses from Cook County Health went on a one-day strike. Despite a court injunction limiting the size of the strike, many strikers were from Stroger Hospital, forcing the safety net hospital to send ambulances and surgical cases elsewhere.

In July 2020, 720 nurses at Ascension St. Joseph in Joliet went on a two-week strike for a better contract after working without one for five months. Two months later, Illinois Nurses Association members went on a seven-day strike from University of Illinois hospitals, demanding higher staff-to-patient ratios and better personal protection equipment.
For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But every investor is virtually certain to have both over-performing and under-performing stocks. So we wouldn't blame long term Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust Plc (LON:SERE) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 31% over a half decade. And some of the more recent buyers are probably worried, too, with the stock falling 27% in the last year.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Over five years Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings per share dropped significantly, falling to a loss, with the share price also lower. The recent extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But we would generally expect a lower price, given the situation.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust's TSR for the last 5 years was 3.4%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

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A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 1.7% in the last year, Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust shareholders lost 21% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 0.7% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust (1 can't be ignored) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on 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.
(Bloomberg) -- Chinas 6 trillion yuan ($832 billion) hedge fund industry is bracing for a historic shakeup that will likely cause thousands of smaller managers to shut and impose stricter regulations on larger peers that have become a growing force in local markets.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Draft rules set to take effect as soon as September will impose a 10 million yuan asset minimum on Chinese hedge funds, a threshold that is expected to force the liquidation of more than a third of the existing products tracked by Shanghai Suntime Information Technology Co. The rules will also cap leverage levels and the size of investments hedge funds can make in single securities.

China is revamping its hedge fund regulation as officials seek to professionalize an industry that has grown sevenfold over the past decade and stands out globally for its large number of players. While Chinas smaller funds often sit at the top of performance rankings, many also deploy high levels of leverage and experience extreme volatility. Analysts expect larger firms such as Perseverance Asset Management and Bridgewater Associates LP to benefit from the new rules even as they face higher operational and legal costs.

The compliance pressures for smaller funds are turning acute, and its foreseeable that a big number of them will exit the stage, said Zhou Yiqin, president of GuanShao Information Consulting Center, a financial regulations specialist. The competitive edge of the big firms will only become more evident.

Almost 35,000 products, or about 37% of all existing hedge funds, were smaller than even half of the 10 million yuan minimum asset requirement, the Shanghai Suntime data show.

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The new threshold first appeared in the Asset Management Association of Chinas new registration rules for all private funds, which took effect May 1. The association followed up with draft rules governing the operations of hedge funds specifically, requiring any product to liquidate if the net asset value stays below that threshold for 60 consecutive trading days.

The AMAC said the draft remains in the feedback stage and it will earnestly analyze opinions collected and optimize the guidelines.

Unlike in the US where the largest 500 hedge funds manage about 57% of industry assets, the market in China is more concentrated, with the top 500 firms holding about 84% of assets, according to an AMAC report in 2021, leaving little to small peers. Those that lack size, however, are making up for it with outsized returns in the first half of this year, according to Shenzhen PaiPaiWang Investment & Management Co., a data provider.

Under the level of 500 million yuan in assets  deemed the survival line  managers tend to face difficulties to cover expenses unless they can sustain higher-than-average performance fees, according to Jiao Runmeng, a senior product manager at Suntime.

Smaller funds are already planning for the upcoming changes. Many products managed at the previously top-ranked Xinhong Investment, a small firm based in Dongguan in the Guangdong province, will likely be liquidated, said general manager Lu Weidong. The smaller products often serve smaller investors, who often put in the minimum 1 million yuan but are a more stable source of funding than larger or institutional investors.

The small businesses in the industry are already struggling, and its not easy to get a license in the first place, Lu said. These rules take away the hope of future growth, he said.

More onerous requirements on asset size make it more difficult for small firms to employ multiple strategies, hampering efforts to diversify and reduce risk, said Huang Weimin, a former hedge fund manager. That would make them more likely to lose clients  not just their best managers  to bigger rivals.

Its now a good opportunity for the big fish to eat the small, said Huang, who now provides asset allocation advice to entrepreneurs and business associations.

The draft hedge fund rules also laid out restrictions ranging from a 200% cap on leverage to a 25% ceiling on a funds net assets in any single investment. They also block loopholes such as providing channel services that typically skirt requirements on investment scope, leverage or investor qualifications.

Premier Li Qiang toughened the curbs in July by approving a broad regulation on private funds that raised penalties for violations. The first State Council-level legislation on the industry would also enable criminal investigations into irregularities like illegal fundraising and insider trading, and can invalidate contracts that breach rules, according to law firms.

Diverse Strategies

The concentration ceilings, among others, threaten to hamper the strategies of companies including top performers such as Shanghai Bull Asset Management Co., whose distressed-debt fund scored a 523% gain last year by investing in bonds like Tsinghua Unigroup Co. and CIFI Holdings Group Co. 

Strategies like ours need to be concentrated, chief investment officer Shi Yafei said. When you are already targeting distressed issuers, the more scattered your holdings are, the more likely youll end up buying more risky ones.

The increased compliance costs and regulatory risks will significantly reduce the appeal of running a hedge fund, GuanShaos Zhou said.

For Shanghai Bulls Shi, local hedge funds face the prospect of losing some of their flexibility and competitiveness compared with rivals in other markets.

This industry needs both big and small players, Xinhongs Lu said, comparing the small asset managers to small and medium-sized enterprises that the government often supports for job creation and tax contribution. The big ones started out as small ones.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
CHENGDU, China, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As a pioneer of the "park city" philosophy, Sichuan Tianfu New Area is committed to creating a first-class business environment.

A view of Sichuan Tianfu New Area

To optimize the business environment and stimulate market vitality and social creativity, Tianfu New Area recently released an innovative reform action plan for the business environment.

Under the plan, it will implement 98 initiatives under eight reform actions: market access, government services, policy services, investment facilitation, new regulatory methods, legal guarantees, element aggregation and innovation capability.

A series of new policies will be implemented to improve government service efficiency as well as the experience of enterprises and the public in handling affairs.

The government-enterprise public welfare service zone was launched on July 20 in the Sanli Square in Chengdu. Shortly after, Beike Dental Clinic obtained the first business license issued by the service zone.

Li Yuting, the person in charge of Beike Dental Clinic, said the service zone is a great convenience for nearby businesses.

In the process of improving service efficiency, Tianfu New Area also pays special attention to the continuity of policies and implements reform measures that answer the needs of market entities.

With the continuous growth of market entities, Tianfu New Area is improving its online and offline government-enterprise communication mechanisms, establishing enterprise service centers and improving the 12345 hotline to enhance the sense of satisfaction for enterprises.

This year, it has held five sessions of government-enterprise communication activities, with the participation of more than 70 market entities. Through these activities, Tianfu New Area has collected 115 demands.

Next, the Tianfu New Area will conduct government-enterprise exchanges regularly.

According to the plan, it will also establish an enterprise service center and build a "one enterprise, one specialist "system to provide enterprises with comprehensive and coordinated services.

Story continues

Efforts will also be made to increase the support and guarantees for enterprises and talents to facilitate their development.

Tianfu New Area has established a public employment service platform with local characteristics, through which the Chengdu-based Sea Pioneers Tech recruited new employees recently.

It includes one online platform, one main offline office, nine branch stores in streets, 119 community service stations and several service outlets in residential areas.

In response to difficulties faced by enterprises in financing, recruiting and retaining talent, Tianfu New Area will carry out a series of new measures to facilitate these.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tianfu-new-area-stimulates-market-vitality-and-social-creativity-301898569.html

SOURCE Sichuan Tianfu New Area
Did you read the Sentinels expose on freshman State Rep. Carolina Amesty?

I havent cringed that much since I watched a compilation video of skateboarding wipeouts. Every new paragraph induced another wince.

Reporters Annie Martin and Leslie Postal provided detailed reports about tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on a home and business, bogus claims about the nonprofit university Amestys family runs and records that raised all kinds of questions.

One unpaid tax bill totaled $19,000 on a shuttered restaurant she owned. (Amesty paid those taxes after the reporters inquired about them.) Another is for $18,000 in taxes on a house Amesty lived in.

The unaccredited Central Christian University that pays her $107,000 salary also houses a private, K-12 voucher school that got $100,000 in state money one year when the schools tax records said it had no employees.

The university gave state officials the names of professors who told the Sentinel theyd never worked there. And the schools website featured an instructor who supposedly had degrees from Stanford, Cornell and Purdue  three schools that all told the Sentinel that wasnt true.

All this at a supposedly global university that operates out of a building in Pine Hills that reporters described as nearly deserted during four visits by Sentinel reporters and had a broken window on their last visit in mid-July.

Move over, Harvard.

The story went on to raise questions about the 28-year-old Amestys business claims, the year she graduated from college  even from the property appraisers office, which rejected a tax-exemption request from her family after the office concluded the million-dollar home in Keenes Pointe was not providing an educational purpose.

If you havent read the piece yet, check it out. Ill wait.

Rep. Amesty leaves trail of falsehoods, unpaid taxes and bills, records show

The two Sentinel reporters spent months researching this story, pulling records and consulting experts  on tax law, nonprofit guidelines and government ethics. All had questions, which the reporters tried to pose to Amesty.

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In fact, this excerpt from the story was revealing: Amesty did not respond to the Sentinels repeated attempts to reach her for comment on this story. Reporters called her, texted her, emailed her a detailed list of questions and requested to speak with her at the university campus and at her district office, where they left letters seeking an interview and printed copies of their questions.

Not exactly gotcha journalism.

Yet, after the piece was published online Tuesday, Amesty responded on Twitter, saying the piece was nothing more than a litany of lies, innuendo, and outrageous misrepresentations.

Im not sure how you misrepresent a tax bill.

This all reminds me of previous pieces the Sentinel wrote about two other Florida legislators with questionable finances. Both also fumed at the Sentinel and urged the public not to believe what they read. Both were also kicked out of office by voters shortly thereafter.

The most recent one was Democratic State Rep. Daisy Morales. I wrote last year about several puzzling aspects of her finances  including records that showed shed somehow loaned her campaign $50,000 right after listing her entire net worth at $49,800. The Sentinel also learned that she had a homestead exemption on one home but was registered to vote at another.

My column infuriated Morales. The Orlando Democrat said Id peddled misinformation and sent out a press release that said: Honesty and transparency are just not in Maxwells vocabulary.

Yet would you like to know what Morales also did after I wrote that column? Amended the very financial disclosure report Id written about. Voters then removed her from office.

To the Democratic Partys credit, they didnt rally to defend Morales. Instead, they rallied to find better candidates to run against her. And it worked.

Meet the Florida Democrat other Democrats want out of office | Commentary

About 10 years earlier, we saw something similar with another former lawmaker, aspiring House Speaker Chris Dorworth, whod made a bunch of embarrassing and brow-raising headlines for his personal finances and behavior.

Dorworths house was facing foreclosure. Hed skipped so many toll booths, the state had taken steps to suspend his license. He was so delinquent in paying an election fine that the state had to sic a collections agency on him. And there were other questions about his financial reports and campaign spending.

New mess proves Dorworth unfit to run House | Commentary

Unlike Democrats, who wanted Morales out, Republicans rallied to Dorworths defense. In response to one piece I wrote, his buddy Matt Gaetz penned a guest column entitled: Lets count the ways Dorworth impresses.

Eleven days later, Seminole voters kicked Dorworth out of office  from a district that had been drawn for him to win.

What Ive learned through the years is that, while some politicians and party bosses are fine with financial scandals or unanswered questions, most voters are not.

It will be interesting to see how party leaders and voters respond to the new details about Amesty.

So far, GOP stalwarts seem unfazed. One of Gov. Ron DeSantis lead campaign voices told Amesty on Twitter that she should consider the Sentinel piece a badge of honor.

Unpaid taxes are an odd thing to be proud of.

Well see what happens next. GOP leaders could do what Democrats did after they decided Morales was a mess and look for someone new for the district that encompasses Disney World. Amesty could theoretically account for everything and try to make a fresh start. Or everyone can just dig their heels in.

But the evidence suggests that voters from both parties take this kind of stuff seriously  even when the politicians in question claim theres nothing to see.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
(Bloomberg) -- The US is holding back a rare cargo of Polish wheat being imported into Houston, a move that may spark tensions with the European Union, according to people familiar with the matter.

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The vessel Yochow, carrying about 30,000 tons of Polish wheat, is being prevented from unloading at the port of Houston, according to shipping data and the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Authorities are citing contamination with corn, the people said.

The US is resorting to purchases of European wheat after a drought pushed local prices higher. While there are enough American supplies for the nations flour mills, its cheaper to bring in grain from Poland than to haul it from the Midwest to places like Texas and Florida.

The rare imports are a blow to US farmers, which have been losing power in the global market for years to top shipper Russia. A final rejection of cargo could spark tensions with the EU. The US has in the past accused other countries of imposing non-tariff barriers to trade when American cargoes were rejected in places like China.

US Customs and Border Protection didnt provide a comment. The Polish Grain and Feed Chamber didnt have an immediate comment when contacted by phone, and a European Commission spokesperson declined to comment.

Read More: Drought-Hurt Crops Force US to Resort to Rare Wheat Imports

The Yochow left Poland on July 13 and arrived in Houston on Aug. 6, according to ship-tracking data. EU data shows two cargoes  one carrying about 29,000 tons and another 33,000 tons  sailed from Poland to the US in July.

--With assistance from Megan Durisin, Tarso Veloso and Konrad Krasuski.

Story continues

(Updates with response from European Commission and Polish chamber in fifth paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Hong Kong: Erick Tsang visits Jiangmen

Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang visited Jiangmen today and met Secretary of the CPC Jiangmen Municipal Committee Chen Anming to discuss deepening Hong Kong's high-level co-operation with the city.

Mr Tsang said that while opportunities and potential for co-operation between Hong Kong and Jiangmen are ample, there is plenty of room for collaboration between the two places in different areas.

Hong Kong is the best partner for Jiangmen to expand overseas, Mr Tsang added.

He stressed that Hong Kong and Jiangmen will continue to achieve complementarity and deepen exchange on various fronts with a view to contributing to the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area.

After wrapping up his visit in Jiangmen, Mr Tsang returned to Hong Kong this evening.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
(Reuters) - While the market mostly shrugged off President Joe Biden's move to prohibit some U.S. technology investments in China, U.S. investors said they were worried Beijing would retaliate or pull back from buying American technology.

Aiming to protect national security and prevent U.S. capital and expertise from aiding China's military modernization, Biden this week issued an executive order barring some new U.S. investments in China in sensitive technologies including computer chips, while regulating others.

U.S. investors were unfazed by the initial news, saying that the restrictions, at first blush, were more limited than feared and unlikely to extend to passive investments in public Chinese stocks. But several portfolio managers said the bigger worry was whether China would strike back, as it has in the past.

"Much depends on how China decides to react to that. The very significant technology war between the countries is a big negative and the administration seemed to be trying to make that announcement without making too many waves with China," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.

The iShares MSCI China Exchange Traded Fund, one of the largest ETFs of U.S.-listed China-based companies, finished up 0.7% on Thursday, while the rest of Wall Street finished flat.

In response to Biden's executive order, China's commerce ministry said it was "gravely concerned" and reserved the right to take counter-measures. Some China analysts said Beijing's options are limited and would unlikely escalate the matter.

Others, though, thought that view was too optimistic.

China in May targeted U.S. chip maker Micron Technology after Washington imposed a series of export controls on American components and chipmaker tools to China, and the U.S. has accused Beijing of penalizing other U.S. companies amid growing tensions between the two global economic powerhouses.

"It is naive to think that there won't be some type of retaliation from China," said Tom Plumb, CEO of mutual fund Plumb Funds. China could restrict exports of rare earths used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and other components, or target other U.S. technology companies, Plumb said.

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SELF-SUFFICIENCY

China hawks in Washington say American investors have transferred capital and valuable know-how to Chinese technology companies that could help advance Beijing's military capabilities. Beijing, for its part, has been seeking self-sufficiency in the intensifying tech disputes, which could also stem the flow of capital into U.S. companies and markets.

"This is obviously going to put China in a position where they're going to try to reduce their dependency on any U.S. company for higher levels of technology," said Plumb.

U.S. private equity and venture capital investors, which have already pulled back from China, are likely to sit on the sidelines while they await more clarity on how the rules will be implemented, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Some portfolio investors are also reducing their exposure to China.

Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, said some clients had already asked for reduced or zero China exposure via stocks, bonds and ETFs.

"After the government's announcement, I suspect that we may receive a few more similar requests," he said.

Phillip Wool, a co-portfolio manager of Rayliant Quantamental China Equity ETF, said U.S.-China tensions were causing investors to miss out on China growth.

"The bigger risk for investors is not allocating to a market where valuations are so low - relative to other equity markets and Chinas own history - and where there are plenty of companies with strong fundamentals undergoing rapid growth."

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan, Amruta Khandekar, Chibuike Oguh, Laura Matthews, Herbert Lash, Davide Barbuscia; writing by Michelle Price; editing by Grant McCool)
ReportLinker

The vanilla Market size is expected to grow from USD 0.96 billion in 2023 to USD 1.42 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 8.13% during the forecast period (2023-2028). Due to its numerous applications in food and associated industries, vanilla is one of the more expensive spices traded on the international market.

New York, Aug. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Vanilla Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484350/?utm_source=GNW

The vanilla Market size is expected to grow from USD 0.96 billion in 2023 to USD 1.42 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 8.13% during the forecast period (2023-2028).



Due to its numerous applications in food and associated industries, vanilla is one of the more expensive spices traded on the international market. The primary contributor to the fragrance, flavor, and pleasing aroma is vanillin, an essential compound in vanilla beans. The manufacture of ice creams, chocolates, baked products, puddings, medicines, alcoholic beverages, and perfumes mainly involves using vital vanilla essence.



Vanilla has been one of the most popular flavors in various applications. The markets growth is driven by its diversified applications in end-user industries, ranging from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals. It is extensively used as a flavoring agent in the food and beverage sector, which is the primary application augmenting the market growth. The ice cream and chocolate industries cover a large portion of the market.



As there is an increasing consumer awareness regarding health and regulatory standards effect on the environment, some of the major market players, namely Nestle, General Mills, and Hersheys, announced that they might be using natural colors and flavorings in their products. This is projected to drive the demand for vanilla globally.



Vanilla Market Trends



Expanding Demand for Natural/Clean-label Food



Over the review period, it has been observed that manufacturers of products, including food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and fragrances, have been seeking ingredients marketed or claimed as clean-label. Popular clean-label claims include Natural, Organic, and Non-GMO, among others.? This factor may be attributed to the growing number of consumers who are increasingly reading product labels and have been seeking products containing clean ingredient lists that are shorter and feature recognizable ingredients sourced naturally. The demand for global natural flavors is broadly driven by surging consumer consensus to perceive food products as healthy if derived from natural ingredients, such as vanilla. With consumers now using both terms synonymically, it often influences them to skip products formulated with artificial ingredients, further benefitting the market studied.



Thus, the growing emphasis on transparency, growing focus on health, and greater interest in what is incorporated in regularly consumed food and beverages, among other products, have led to a growing number of consumers staying vigilant while purchasing these products. For instance, in May 2022, Solvay announced an investment in Suanfarmas Cipan manufacturing site located in Lisbon, Portugal, to develop its biotechnological capabilities and support the development of natural vanillin.?



Wide Application of Vanilla in North America



United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), has approved the use of vanillin as a food additive as it is not associated with any adverse effects. Significant food manufacturers like Nestle, Unilever, and Kelloggs had made a commitment to remove artificial flavors and substances from their products. For instance, Nestle United States has made a commitment to remove artificial flavors and use FDA-certified flavors in food products. This is expected to increase the demand for clean label Vanilla for the forecast period. Vanilla in the United States is widely used in the food and beverage industry as a flavoring ingredient in preparing jellies, jams, and syrups. The antioxidants and antibacterial properties of vanilla make it suitable for skin cleansing and treating damaged skin-related problems. It is also known to alleviate anxiety disorders and depression. These benefits associated with the consumption of vanilla are expected to boost the demand among consumers in the United States, and subsequently, in North America.



Apart from this, the high per capita incomes and living standards of consumers are strengthening the growth of vanilla in the countries, such as Canada. With the high demand for products, especially in the food and beverage sector, key players in the country are partnering with foreign manufacturers to cater to the domestic market.



Vanilla Industry Overview



The global vanilla market is highly competitive. The major international players have been continuously expanding their geographical reach and creating brand awareness, which gives them a competitive advantage. Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Inc., Synthite Industries Ltd (Symega), McCormick & Company, and Symrise AG hold a strong market position supported by their broad range of vanillin offerings worldwide and extreme penetration in the market. McCormick & Company is one of the leading players in the market. It adopted mergers and acquisitions as the most effective growth strategy to strengthen its position further in the market studied.



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06484350/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Warren Buffett says the best business to own can do this 1 special thing over an extended period of time  here are 3 prime examples in his current portfolio to build your own riches

Investing is a noisy industry, but Warren Buffett is often able to cut through this noise with his simple but powerful advice.

One of his most overlooked nuggets of wisdom is about focusing on the right type of businesses: [T]he best business to own is one that over an extended period can employ large amounts of incremental capital at very high rates of return, he once told his investors in 1992.

And that thinking appears to hold true three decades later.

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In other words, the best businesses are the ones that can continuously reinvest and thereby multiply their profits. Buffetts portfolio is full of these high-quality, rapidly expanding businesses.

Here are the top three examples that highlight the power of compounding growth.

HP Inc. (HPQ)

Buffett has been steadily building up a massive stake in a legacy consumer tech company that Wall Street has overlooked. HP Inc. rarely gets mentioned as a tech giant. Its not on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence or augmented reality. But it certainly looks like an undervalued and lucrative business.

HP has a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 25.4%, enough to double its investments within three years thanks to the effect of compound growth. It meets Buffetts definition of a great business, which is probably why hes been buying a sizable position in the company over the past year.

According to Berkshire Hathaways most recent 13-F filing, the company owns 12% of all outstanding HP shares. Its the ninth largest holding in the portfolio.

Read more: Warren Buffett gets gloomy: America's 'incredible period' is coming to an end. Here's what nervous investors can do right now

Story continues

Apple (AAPL)

Buffetts largest holding, by a wide margin, is the iPhone maker based in Cupertino, California. Apple represents 46.44% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio as of mid-2023. Thats partly because Buffett has been raising his stake in the company and partly because the stock is up by more than 50% year-to-date.

Buffetts confidence in Apple is justified by the underlying financials. Apple has sustained a double-digit return on capital for several years and is currently operating at a ROIC of 32.5%.

The continued popularity of the iPhone, lucrative margins in the software business and new products like the Apple Vision Pro headset could sustain this pace of growth.

Coca Cola (KO)

Americas most famous beverage maker has been in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for decades. Buffett started accumulating Coca Cola stock in 1988. By last year, he could boast of having earned over $700 million in dividends from his stake.

After all these years, KO is still the fourth largest holding in the portfolio, accounting for 7.6% of assets. Thats probably because Coke hasnt lost its market-leading position in global soft drinks over the years. Its still a highly profitable business with ROIC of 16%.

The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio above 25, which is arguably justified for a company with such a stellar track record of dividend growth.

Few other companies represent Buffetts investment style better than Coke. Investors looking for a safe bet should probably add this classic Buffett stock to their watch list.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
(Bloomberg) -- Yellow Corp. has drawn additional interest from potential financiers who are offering alternative bankruptcy financing for the short-haul trucking company thats more affordable than a loan from lenders led by Apollo Global Management.

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Yellow lawyer Patrick J. Nash said Friday during a court hearing that funders are offering to provide a Chapter 11 loan to the company with payment priority behind Apollo and other lenders. Such a concession is rarely offered in Chapter 11 financing, which usually sits ahead of all other debt because lending to bankrupt companies is risky.

Nashville-based Yellow filed for court protection on Sunday after dismissing almost all of its 33,000 workers. The company said it plans to liquidate after facing long-running financial troubles and a dispute with union leaders over a revitalization effort. Competition to provide funding for the liquidation shows lenders are confident the company will repay all its outstanding senior debt, including a $700 million Covid-19 era loan from the US government.

Yellow is evaluating financing options announced earlier this week from hedge fund MFN Partners LP, Yellows largest shareholder, and rival trucking company Estes Express Lines. Nash said MFN has amended its offer so that its payment priority would fall behind that of Apollo. Estes and Yellow have exchanged a term sheet for Estes offer to extend as much as $230 million to fund Yellows liquidation, he said.

Nash said Yellow expects to finalize a Chapter 11 loan by next week. Its next appearance in bankruptcy court is scheduled for Aug. 15

Everything youve described sounds like good news and the way things ought to work, Judge Craig T. Goldblatt said Friday.

Story continues

Dennis Dunne, a lawyer representing funds managed by Apollo, said the firm has been working with Yellow on possible issues with the proposed financing and hopes to resolve them by next week. Although Apollo is supportive of new Chapter 11 financing thats junior to existing debt, Dunne said financiers should only be permitted to bid on Yellows assets if it means existing debt is paid-off first. Credit bidding allows lenders to use debt theyre owed to acquire a bankrupt companys assets.

Were working through these issues and hopefully, you know, we can resolve them before next Tuesday, Dunne said.

Yellows assets have been valued at roughly $2.1 billion and include a substantial real estate portfolio with about 300 service centers, 42,000 trailers and 12,700 tractors. Nash said earlier this week that the companys service centers are located throughout the country, many in fully-developed urban areas, where such terminals are no-longer being built.

The case is Yellow Corp. 23-11069, US Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware (Wilmington).

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The living room area and primary living space where pews used to sit at a former church, that was recently remodeled as a home on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End. The church was built in 1866 and once housed the York Street Methodist Church and now is for sale for $1.6 million.

CINCINNATI  An 1800s church-turned-mansion featured on Zillow Gone Wild is up for sale in Cincinnati.

The page, which is dedicated to highlighting unique Zillow properties across the country, highlighted the West End home at 1835 Baymiller St.

The 9,756-square-foot building has been renovated to include three separate living spaces, five bedrooms and five full bathrooms, according to its Zillow listing. The original asking price was approximately $1.65 million but the price recently dropped to $1.49 million.

The building was owned by the Allegheny West Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1970 to 2017, according to the Hamilton County auditor's website. Current owner Abdiel Acevedo-Santiago bought the space to restore it in 2021.

"It's really awesome to be able to save these buildings rather than tear them down," Acevedo-Santiago, a Xavier University grad, said.

A former church was remodeled to a five-bedroom, six bathroom home on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End. The owner recently put the home on the market for $1.6 million. Photo shot Tuesday July 11, 2023.

Organ pipes provide a backdrop in living room space after it the building was remodeled on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End. The church was built in 1866 and once housed the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church.

The former York Street Methodist Epsicopal Church was remodeled to a five-bedroom, six bathroom home on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End.

Renovations in 2021 of a former church in the West End into a home that is now for sale for $1.6 million.

'House filled with love': Pink Boston home on Zillow Gone Wild gives Barbie dream home vibe

Acevedo-Santiago began renovations on the church during the pandemic and even got his own contractors license to see his vision through. He currently lives in the property's upstairs area  which houses an organ, a front-facing stained glass window, original hardwood floors and a grand piano  and uses the two downstairs units as short-term rentals and Airbnbs.

Details of the building's former life can be seen throughout the property. Cellar rooms with arched entryways still house coal. Ceiling art, which would need some restoring, is tucked away beneath tile. Acevedo-Santiago has a photo of the old baptismal pool, which has been traded in for an open-concept downstairs unit.

"Everybody wants to know what's in here," he said of the property. "I think the building was built to be shared, and it's nice that we have a platform that we can do that."

Story continues

The church was originally built in 1866 and was first called the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church, per the owner. The Cincinnati Daily Star printed a bulletin for it in 1878.

The living room area and primary living space where pews used to sit at a former church, that was recently remodeled as a home on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End. The floors are the original pine that was covered with carpet and plywood. The church was built in 1866 and once housed the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church and is now for sale for $1.6 million.

One of five bedrooms in a former church in the West End that was remodeled in 2022. The church was built in 1866 and once housed the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church and is now for sale for $1.6 million.

One of six bathrooms at a recently remodeled building that once housed the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church in the West End. The church was built in 1866 and now is for sale for $1.6 million.

A double staircase at a former church is now a single-family home on York and Baymiller Streets in the West End photographed Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The church was built in 1866 and once housed the York Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom house is selling for $1.6 million.

More: Extraordinary artwork inside 'ordinary' Ohio home up for sale featured on Zillow Gone Wild

There have been five fires in the church, Acevedo-Santiago said. One basement fire in 1941 happened during a church service. An article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, said firefighters "worked so quietly" to put out the fire that the service continued uninterrupted.

Is it a haunted house?

The two questions Acevedo-Santiago said he gets most often about the property are: "What is the price of gas and electric" ($500 per month) and "Is it haunted?"

An Enquirer article says a Sunday school teacher died at the "York Street Methodist Church" from heart disease in 1928. However, there is also a York Street United Methodist Church at 816 York St., which was first reported on in 1968. It's unclear which one the article was referring to.

Acevedo-Santiago said he's never seen or felt any paranormal presences, and that the building "has a really good spirit to it."

The property is considered single-family dwelling. New owners could operate it as short-term rentals or make the whole church their full-time home. Acevedo-Santiago, who lived around the corner on Dayton Street before moving into the church's upper level, said the renovation was a "labor of love."

"I just always loved Dayton Street and I knew that I wanted to be in this neighborhood," he said. "This whole Zillow Gone Wild situation is really funny because people are like, 'Wait, this is in Cincinnati!?' And it makes me a little bit sad because there's so much that Cincinnati has to offer."

Contributing: Camille Fine, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Look inside the Cincinnati church-turned-mansion going viral on Zillow
The Spotsylvania School Board on Monday will consider adopting a new policy on the treatment of transgender students that is based on the model policy released by the Virginia Department of Education under the direction of Gov. Glenn Youngkin last month.

Like the model policy, Spotsylvanias new policy JA is titled, Ensuring Privacy, Dignity and Respect for All Students.

It states that parents must be informed and given an opportunity to object before counseling services pertaining to gender are given to a student and that the school division personnel can only refer to a student by the name in the students official record or any nickname commonly associated with the name that appears in the students official record, and only with the pronouns appropriate to the sex appearing in the official record.

School personnel can use a different name or pronoun only with written permission from the students parent.

The policy also states that students must use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex that appears on the students record and that participation in any school program, event, or activity (including extracurricular activities) that is separated by sex ... shall be determined by sex rather than gender or gender identity.

The VDOE policies that were in effect before July were enacted under Youngkins predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam. They allowed transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities that matched their gender identity.

In a statement about the new policies, Youngkin said they reaffirm my administrations continued commitment to ensure that every parent is involved in conversations regarding their childs education, upbringing and care.

Advocates for LGBTQ+ children have called the new policies dangerous.

Today, Gov. Youngkin and the VDOE made a dangerous, politically motivated decision to ignore the thousands of Virginians who submitted public comments in opposition to his proposed model policies  policies which single out transgender and nonbinary youths in our schools, said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia, in a statement issued upon the release of the new policies.

roddy bell-shelton biggs, intern minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns and lowercase letters, said transgender and nonbinary youth they have talked with about the VDOE policies are terrified.

biggs said for trans and nonbinary students, use of their preferred pronouns and names is not just a matter of respect, but of safety.

They pointed to data gathered by The Trevor Project, showing transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having their pronouns respected by all or even some people in their lives attempted suicide at half the rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected.

Even if you have just one supportive adult figure in your life, that decreases those risks of suicidal ideation, self harm or completed suicide, biggs said. So having policies that say teachers arent even allowed to be that supportive person without fear of losing their job is dangerous.

biggs also said a policy preventing students from accessing counseling without parental notification could be dangerous.

Because maybe talking to that counselor is your way of saying, I know that if I told my parents, they would kill me, and now your counselor has to tell your parents, biggs said.

Approval of the new policy is one of three action items on the agenda for Mondays meeting, but the board is scheduled to authorize other actions as part of a consent agenda packed with 13 items.

Consent agenda items are generally voted on together in one block, rather than being discussed and voted on individually. The consent agenda comes before public comments on the agenda for Mondays meeting.

Among the consent agenda items are approval of a change in the deadline for submitting an application for a charter school from Sept. 30 to Dec. 20 of the year prior to which the charter school desires to open.

The school division said Thursday the new date works better with the school calendar, but did not answer a question about whether it expects to receive a charter school application this year.

The board routinely approves donations as part of the consent agenda. This month, the list of donations includes 92 books that were originally donated by teachers and librarians to Smith Station Elementary School in March of this year.

These books have been under review by the school division since May.

The list of donations to be approved Monday also includes two copies each of 26 titles donated to the school division by Brave Books, which according to its website publishes faith-based childrens books that teach traditional values.

We founded Brave Books because, while we were trying to raise our children to love their God and country, we became more and more aware that there is a real war being waged for the hearts and minds of the next generation, a description of the company on its website reads. BRAVE Books created an alternative to the current progressive agenda dominating childrens literature. Each book teaches a new traditional value that makes America so special.

In one of the donated titles, children will learn that boys are not girls, and Elephants Are Not Birds, the description of the book reads. Another, Paws Off My Cannon, is a childrens book that teaches kids the importance of the Second Amendment.

Also on the consent agenda is the reclassification of 10 vacant full-time teaching positions to paraprofessional positions.

According to staff, there is a lack of qualified applicants in the area of elementary education.

As a result, the number of teachers assigned to each (school) was reduced, and class size increased in some areas. To support schools impacted by this, administration is recommending that up to 10 vacant teaching positions be reclassified to para positions for FY 2024 to allow schools to hire full time paras to support teachers and/or grade levels with increased class sizes, the agenda notes.

The School Board has already approved the reclassification of 60 full-time teaching positions to interim teachers for the school year that began this week.

Interim teachers only need an associates degree or at least 60 college credits and must be actively enrolled in a teacher education program.

As of July 24, the division had 130 vacant teaching positions, or 7% of all teaching positions, according to a report provided to the board at the last regular meeting.

Schools with the highest percentage of vacant teaching positions are Cedar Forest Elementary, with 16.7% of positions vacant; Chancellor High School, with 13.8%; Courthouse Road Elementary with 10.5%; Harrison Road Elementary with 14.8%; Parkside Elementary with 11.6%; and Salem Elementary with 12.8%.
After several more hours of debate Tuesday about the impact a massive data-center campus would have on King George County, the Planning Commission recommended approving most of the rezonings sought by Birchwood Power Partners.

The group is looking to build a complex of several data centers that would total 7.5 million square feet and ultimately be operated by Amazon, said Charlie Payne, the lawyer representing Birchwood. He disclosed for the first time Tuesday night that Amazon would be the end-user of the development along the State Route 3 corridor near the King George Regional Landfill.

The Planning Commission serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Supervisors, which has ultimate approval, and the planners recommend that a 265-acre parcel south of Route 3 not be included in the package.

During discussions last month and again this week, planners noted they wanted to limit the project to the triangle created by Routes 3 and State Routes 665 and 605. Such limits would keep the low-intensity industrial development in areas that dont adjoin the Rappahannock River, according to the motion which was approved.

However, Payne said on Wednesday that Birchwood will move forward with its plan to present the entire 869 acre-package to the Board of Supervisors. The supervisors will hold a public hearing on the matter Tuesday; the meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the Revercomb Administration Center.

We believe the application as presented is reasonable and consistent with the countys long-term economic development planning, Payne said, noting the applications mitigates impacts and generates significant tax revenue.

He said the anticipated tax revenue for King George from 1 million square feet of data center space is $16 million to $18 million annually  and over the course of 15 years, Birchwood plans to develop 7.25 million square feet of data centers.

The math on that number is a game changer for any community, Payne said.

Planner Joseph DaCorta, along with a number of residents who spoke out against the plan, worried about other aspects of change the project would bring.

Were giving up a significant amount of farmland inventory, DaCorta said about rezoning acreage from agricultural to industrial, some of the most beautiful farmland in Virginia.

Janice Ray told the planners her family moved to King George from the City of Baltimore in 2021 in the hopes of raising our children in a rural country environment. She said they chose King George because her kids could look outside and see stars at night.

Ray said her property on Fletchers Chapel Road will have a direct view of the data center project.

I really would hate to move, but this is just not what I want and I feel like I speak for a lot of people in this room and in the area, she said. As citizens and taxpaying residents, we dont want this here.

Residents also had cited concerns about noise from the data centers, which Gina Debernard, whose family are longtime property owners in the county, compared to a vacuum cleaner running from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Were a small community and I think were jumping in really quickly to approve such a large project without making sure we have taken care of everything that needs to be taken care of, she said.

Birchwood adjusted its project in light of concerns about noise. As part of a new proffer, the partners committed to reducing the noise level from the earlier rate of 70 decibels to 60 decibels during the day and 55 decibels at night.

Even though this is the first data center project brought before King George officials, its not the first time the county discussed the possibility of them, Curry Roberts, president of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, recently told The Free LanceStar. He started working with economic development directors and county or city administrators in Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford in 2018 to come up with tax rates and depreciation schedules for data centers.

The idea was, the localities wouldnt get into a bidding war with each other, he said. Were the only region in the state thats done that.

Both the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors in King George approved the rates and the notion of marketing their community for this type of industrial development, Roberts said.

However, the Birchwood plan does extend beyond the industrial borders of the former power plant and beyond whats outlined in King Georges Comprehensive Plan, its long-term footprint for growth. Planners did not approve changing the language of the plan as part of the Birchwood project, even though the rezonings they approved contradict whats in the Comprehensive Plan.

Planner Denise Flatley said changing the plan makes it less powerful.

It makes it lame, she said. Changing it basically says it can be altered and if it can be altered, then its not really a plan. Its disorganized growth.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin brought his Parents Matter conversation to Stafford County on Thursday and discussed, as hes done in three other Virginia locales, the potentially harmful influence of social media on children and teens.

A mother in the audience underscored his remarks with her own experience.

Georgia Athenry said one of her three children got into a really dark place in middle school, when he developed a dislike for school. A high achiever before then, he suddenly felt unable to demonstrate his abilities because the curriculum put more emphasis on meeting standards of learning. He wrote that he was depressed and hopeless, felt no joy and wasnt learning anything.

The middle-schooler did an online search to see if others had the same feelings and that led him to a dangerous social media platform, his mother said.

We got into a really scary, scary spot as parents, Athenry added.

She paused for a moment, then said her son is currently in a governors school program at high school and doing well.

Getting him through middle school was very dangerous for us, she said.

Some of the more than 100 people in the audience applauded, seemingly relieved that the young man had been able to turn the corner. But the issues he faced are hardly unusual in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the mental health problems left in its wake, Youngkin said.

Coupled with the influence from social media, the incidence of self harm has literally doubled among teenagers, he said. Studies show 80% of Virginia teens are deeply engaged with social media daily, and 25% say they have access around-the-clock, he said.

Think through that, theyre sleeping with their phones on. Weve got a real challenge, Youngkin said, adding its part of a mental health crisis that is really manifesting itself in our children in such a challenging way.

Del. Tara Durant (R-Stafford) agreed. She sat on a stool next to the governor in a meeting area set up in the bay of the Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department.

Its heartbreaking, she said, turning to Athenry. To hear your story, I wish it was unique. Its not. Im so glad your son is doing better now.

Highlighting the potential dangers of social media  which include cyberbullying and invasion of privacy, identity theft and increased risk of suicidal ideas  as well as encouraging parents to become more engaged in their childrens lives have been some of the common themes in the governors Parents Matter conversations.

On Thursday, Youngkin also addressed expectations for children and noted that state standards were lowered in recent years to the point that Virginia went from one of the best states in America for having high expectations to being one of the worst.

Then, classrooms were shuttered because of COVID and things got even worse, the governor said.

All the test scores show us Virginia kids have the largest learning loss in the nation, particularly in fourth grade math, Youngkin added.

He talked about his administrations efforts to revise curriculum as well as change the way core content is taught, such as learning how to read. He stressed that if children arent proficient readers by grade 3, they may never be.

One parent and teacher in the audience, Juliette Schreider, wondered if the state should create a third grade and a half program for children who arent ready to be promoted.

I know No Child Left Behind, she said, referencing the law from 2002-15 that penalized schools that didnt show improvement in test scores, but we need to leave people behind and make them learn something and then they can catch up.

Youngkin jotted down notes from the conversation in a notebook he carries, especially as others in the audience suggested ways to alert parents, and students, about the darker influence of social media.

One mother noted the Boy Scouts required parents to sign a contract with their children, pledging to discuss the dangers of social media. Another suggested watching the documentary, The Social Dilemma.

Jenni Soult wondered if there could be a mandatory class for parents and students on the first day of middle school. She recalled when her stepdaughter was about to get her drivers license, and students and parents had to appear in court and listen to other parents describe their childrens deaths in automobile accidents.

Shock the kids and the parents into realizing what can happen on social media, Soult said. Some people are really too busy to realize the content thats on it (and may need) some type of awareness.

Youngkin also discussed the need for schools to provide multiple pathways to students for academic development. Last year, the General Assembly awarded $100 million to the state education department for programs that stress innovative education. Currently, there are 20 lab schools either in operation or gearing up for it, he said.

One grant went to Germanna Community College, which will work with local schools on learning loss. A second is a collaboration between the University of Mary Washington and Stafford County that will focus on STEM classes.

We have to prepare our kids to be able to do life, Youngkin said.
My son and his wife bought a new Tesla.

He is the first member of my family to get an all-electric vehicle.

They were looking for a hybrid (gas and electric) but couldnt find one. Apparently, some key part for those cars is made in Ukraine and, well, you know whats happening in that war-torn country.

My son told me about his purchase during the familys trip to the beach. He wasnt sure how I was going to take the news because he thinks I am too traditional.

He doesnt remember that I was one of the first people in the county to install a satellite dish back in the 1980s (one neighbor accused me of using it to communicate with the Russians) and buy a diesel car when gas prices started to rise.

I quickly bombarded my son with questions. How much did it cost? I know that is none of my business, but I wanted to find out whether or not I could afford one.

After a $7,500 tax credit, the Tesla was cheaper than most standard-size cars and about half what one of those big old pick em up trucks cost (I still think they should be banned because they wont fit in a parking space and their lights blind me at night).

How far will the Tesla go without being recharged?

About 280 miles.

In contrast, my Toyota Corolla will go about 475 miles on 11 gallons of gas.

How much does it cost to recharge the vehicle and how long does it take?

The highest my son said he had paid to recharge was $12.75, about one third of what a tank of gas costs at $3.75 a gallon (the current price).

According to my son, it takes about 45 minutes to recharge the vehicle, a lot longer than it takes to pump 10 gallons of gas.

Given the distance limitations, you must do some planning when driving an electric car. Thats obvious. You dont want to be caught out in the Badlands of South Dakota when your battery reaches the end of its charge.

But then I began to think that I must do the same thing with my cell phone. The old landline phones were always charged and ready to go, but offered no mobility. For the sake of convenience, I gave up my wall phone that was always ready for a cell phone that I can take anywhere but must keep charged. If I can charge my phone overnight, I can also charge an electric car.

Does an electric car have power? My son assures me that it does. A buddy of mine got one of the first Teslas about 10 years ago and he and another friend took it out on the bypass about 2 in the morning (when he hoped all the cops were asleep) and stomped on the gas, excuse me, the electricity.

Both swore it went from zero to 60 in about two-tenths of a second (a slight exaggeration, Im sure) and roared down the highway (actually it hummed down the highway) at speeds I wont relate because there might be a policeman reading this.

One of the features my son is enthralled with is a turn signal that sounds like a whoopee cushion. I kid you not. He sent me video. It makes the sound both inside and outside the vehicle and you dont even have to pull its finger. Four-year-olds would love this.

Im not sure whether or not he had to pay extra for this feature, but I hope he had better sense.

The world is slowly getting used to (but not always embracing) everything electric. While writing this column a friend sent me a message fussing about her electric string trimmer that does not have enough power to do the job.

But then again, a few weeks ago a neighbor farmer told me how much he loves his battery-powered chainsaw. But will it drop an 18-inch diameter tree, I asked. Thats the test. He didnt know. He had only used it on small branches that were hitting the cab of his tractor.

All this electric stuff may be good for the environment, but somewhere along the line it takes coal, oil or nuclear power to make the electricity that charges the batteries. There is always a trade-off, a price to pay.

I looked at an old pickup truck the other day with 273,000 miles on it. I had a Stihl chainsaw that lasted 25 years and helped me clear 10 acres of forest. I have my doubts that any electric tool  except maybe a drill  will last that long. Still, I could be wrong.

Im not yet ready for an electric vehicle, but that time is getting closer. If thats what the future holds, I at least want to be on the curve, if not ahead of it (no pun intended).

But I promise you I wont pay extra for a turn signal that sounds like a whoopee cushion.

Im not that crazy!
The City of Fremont is in the process of creating a Broad Street heavy truck traffic task force, officials revealed on Thursday, in an effort to help resolve concerns about semi-tractor trailer traffic on the primarily residential section of Broad Street between Military Avenue and 23rd Street.

Justin Zetterman, Fremonts director of Public Works, said the proposed task force is still being developed and formed, but will most likely be composed of representatives from the Fremont Police Department; city Planning Director Jennifer Dam; himself and City Council Members James Vaughan and Dev Sookram.

It was something I suggested to several council members. Dev Sookram and James Vaughan are the council members whove been most interested. Jennifer Dam asked to be on it, and it will include the police department officials, Zetterman explained. The group will come up with a format to better get public comment and feedback to give to the city council.

Zetterman said one issue thats arisen with addressing the proposed ban on heavy truck traffic during city council meetings is the format of public comment.

During the last council meeting of each month, citizens have 30 minutes to discuss issues with the council. However, any item on the meeting agenda cannot be commented on under council rules. If the truck ban proposal is a regular agenda item, then citizens can ask to make public comments during the councils discussion of the issue.

Zetterman noted that the rules in place, as well as the issue not normally being on an agenda for every meeting created a challenge in getting input and opinions on the proposed truck ban from both residents and business owners with heavy truck needs.

Hence, his idea for the taskforce.

Our plan is to kind of set up the task force, one that can meet with the public, meet with trucking companies, he explained. As a group, we can then determine if we need members of the public on the task force and make it bigger to allow (the public) to be involved.

The specifics of when the task force will meet and its proposed members are not finalized, Zetterman stressed, but was an idea that he said he had recommended to both Vaughan and Sookram following several city council meetings in July.

During the July 11 and July 25 meetings of the council, both residents of the several-mile stretch of Broad Street and officials from companies that utilize heavy trucks for their business needs complained to the Fremont City Council about the truck traffic on the street.

Those concerns centered on a possible plan by the City of Fremont to totally ban heavy truck and semi-tractor trailer traffic on Broad Street between Military Avenue and 23rd Street. The proposal was part of the change in jurisdiction of the roadway, shifting from the State of Nebraska ownership to the City of Fremont control.

On Nov. 29, 2022, the city council unanimously voted to accept an agreement with the State of Nebraska which would shift the jurisdiction of the 3.4-mile segment of U.S. Highway 77 from the intersection of the highway and Cloverly Road on the south side of the city to the intersection of the highway with Judy Avenue and Judy Drive north of 23rd Street.

That change was due in large part to the new Fremont Southeast Beltway, a bypass route of U.S. Highway 77 that shifts traffic from going through downtown Fremont and instead allows that traffic to connect to U.S. Highway 275 south of Morningside Road.

The main goal of the Fremont Southeast Beltway, a 3.2-mile segment of four-lane highway, was to help reduce heavy truck traffic through the city center of Fremont, replacing the route directly through the citys downtown on Broad Street.

The Broad Street corridor is still an officially designated truck route under city ordinance and any change to that would require council approval over three readings and votes. On July 11, the council heard an agenda item that would have banned heavy truck traffic on the stretch of street. No action was taken on the proposed ordinance due to heavy criticism of the plan that was lobbed at elected leaders, including Mayor Joey Spellerberg.

Zetterman provided an update to the council on the proposal in July 11, telling the seven members present that the citys Utilities and Infrastructure Board had recommended not changing the route until the Bell Street viaduct/bridge construction project is completed  estimated completion is in November.

When do we no longer allow heavy trucks from Military (Avenue) to 23rd (Street)? Zetterman asked. Our recommendation is to wait 'til after the viaduct is opened.

Following his comments, multiple representatives and business owners  as well as a local attorney  spoke out against the proposal to ban heavy trucks, stating that they and many other local, Fremont-headquartered businesses use the stretch of Broad Street daily and banning tractor trailer trucks on it would be financially harmful to their businesses.

During the discussion of the proposed ban, Vaughan said he understood business owners concerns, and asked Zetterman about how the city could set the section of road as a local trucks only route and somehow ban non-Fremont trucks from using the route.

Zetterman said doing something like limiting certain trucks is hard.

The police department would need to work enforcing something like that, he said of Vaughans suggestion. That could be difficult. We would also need to come up with a definition of local trucks.

On July 25, another group came to the council to complain about allowing trucks  this time being composed of residents of the many historic homes that line both sides of Broad Street from Military Avenue to 23rd Street. Those residents said that city leaders had promised residents many years ago that once the beltway opened, heavy trucks would be banned from their street.

Several speakers also noted how many homes are in the stretch of street, how many residents live there and that a new pedestrian crosswalk path is planned to cross Broad Street at 19th Street. And, the newly expanded and renovated Keene Memorial Library is also on that segment of Broad Street, and attracts children and families who at times walk to the facility.

Zetterman, who worked for the city of Fremont for several years before leaving to work in Omaha, and then returning to a job with Fremont in 2022, said he had no recollection of any assurances possibly made to residents about totally banning heavy trucks.

But, he said council members like Vaughan, Sookram and the mayor are very interested in getting more robust and fuller feedback from all stakeholders in the situation as well as doing as much research and analysis as possible before any decision is made.

And, for now, he noted, there are no changes to the citys official truck route and the Broad Street corridor can be used by any heavy trucks or agricultural vehicles as needed through the start of winter at the least.
The modest workshop for Greg Ames high-tech sensor business appears as a dot on the map of downtown Colorado Springs, a place where the storylines of celestial bodies and humanitys workings intersect.

Behind office buildings shadows, where dead-end streets and train tracks meet, the old 4,800-square-foot brick AT&SF Freight House serves as Blue Line Engineerings laboratory, test site, manufacturing facility and distribution center.

There, the companys 15-person team designs and creates precision sensors for telescopes and satellites, as well as air- and spacecraft for agencies and companies such as NASA, Lockheed Martin and the federal government.

Ames, 76, started the company in 1994 in what used to be a chicken coop and coal bin for an 1896 carriage home where he and his wife of 54 years, Gypsy Ames, a former costume design professor at Colorado College, live several blocks east of downtown's heart. Ames converted the dirt-floored area into an office for his company that would later manufacture sensors that now operate the likes of the James Webb Space Telescope.

While Colorado Springs promise as a manufacturing hub entered a new chapter as foundries and fabricators funneled into the city during the past year and a half with Microchip, Entegris, Meyer Burger and other manufacturing powerhouses, Blue Line Engineering has kept deep roots embedded below the feet of Pikes Peak.

Blue Line Engineering was recently awarded by Colorado Manufacturing Awards 2023 Manufacturer of the Year. Despite accolades, Ames, like his workshop, is unassuming.

His curious blue eyes peer out behind a pair of sleek, wire spectacles befitting a professor, or in this case, an engineer, as he fiddles with a metal rod the length of a ruler. Sensors attached to the rod monitor it and display a signal on a computer screen represented by a red dot in the center of the screen.

I can give it the breathalyzer test, Ames said in his soft-spoken tone before letting out a short puff of air near the metal rod.

Suddenly, the dot on the screen shoots upward in a line.

Just the heat and moisture from my breath cause it (the rod) to be warped. Ames said, The world we live in, like they say, is a rubber world. This is the precision that is required.

The sensor, which can detect with fine accuracy the effect from the warmth of a persons breath on metal, demonstrates the caliber of technology Blue Line makes.

Around the corner from the demo station, two women in blue coats and latex gloves sit behind microscopes, coiling wire in the production section of the workshop. Each of the 100 to 200 sensors Blue Line Engineering produces every year is handmade.

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When it says it was Made in Colorado  it was made in Colorado, Ames said. Not just assembled in Colorado.

When it comes to Blue Line's product delivery, such care is taken that a sensor, small enough to fit inside a lunchbox, is packed into a single cargo crate and transported within a half-semitrailer. Only two crates are put into the trailer and are reinforced from within to protect the sensor during transport. The truck's drivers cannot stop for breaks except to refuel the semi.

Whether it is the cautious delivery process, or the meticulous handiwork of coiling wire for the hardware, Ames needs more employees and more room as Blue Line intends to grow production over the next two to three years, said Greg Biscone, the companys executive vice president and chief operating officer, or as he describes himself, the getting stuff done guy.

For Biscone, a retired Air Force three-star general, and the rest of Blue Lines staff, titles are a formality.

We have a primary job title, because people need titles, I guess, Biscone said. But the functional responsibilities are truly integrated.

That type of integration is important as the company gears up to increase production tenfold, thanks to three upcoming projects, Biscone said, although he would not disclose the exact details of those projects.

It's not for profit; it's to meet (a) mission, Biscone said. Greg is a veteran, I'm a veteran. One of the very attractive things about Blue Line to me, before I came on, was his mission focus, meaning, 'what can I do for the nation and our customers?'

That's why staff such as lead engineer Phil Zercher have stayed with Blue Line for more than 20 years.

Zercher and another staff member gather around a table inside the labs test area.

This is kind of our main, little, quiet room, environmentally controlled for doing a lot of the testing, Zercher said. So, the optics bench there floats on air if you needed it to, to vibration isolate for taking really careful measurements.

For objects hurled into space that detect minute changes of temperature and movement, every millimeter counts.

These are basically pistons that are designed to float this entire table, Zercher says motioning to the thick legs below.

Floating tables are one of the many curiosities inside Blue Line Engineerings workshop. Another might be the train car Ames refurbished into an office. Whatever it might be, it all comes back to the company's mission to manufacture high-precision sensors.

"The work that were doing now, Ames said, whether its for the ground, air or space, kind of transcends that whole boundary  the boundary of that thin, blue line on earth's horizon that his company is named after.
An El Paso County judge on Friday ruled that DNA evidence taken from Joshua Johnson, who is accused of killing 17-year-old Riley Whitelaw in a Colorado Springs Walgreens last year, can be used at his upcoming jury trial, despite protests from Johnson's attorneys.

Defense attorneys representing Johnson filed a motion to suppress all DNA evidence at trial taken from Johnson on the grounds that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by police after his arrest.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge in the killing of Whitelaw, his co-worker, in a Walgreens breakroom on June 11, 2022. An autopsy report by the El Paso County coroner found Whitelaw had died of multiple sharp force injuries.

It was reported after her death that Whitelaw made complaints to her manager about Johnson, who had made her uncomfortable, and requested different hours so she would no longer have to work with him, according to police. However, when Whitelaw asked for additional hours, she was told it would require her to work with Johnson.

Johnson was arrested a day after Whitelaws death by Colorado State Patrol while walking along Interstate 25 outside Trinidad.

According to Johnson's attorney, Deana O'Riley, after Johnson was arrested police took swabs of the injuries on his body and confiscated the clothes he was wearing without a search warrant or verbal consent from Johnson. O'Riley stated that a search warrant wasn't granted until hours after police had already conducted the DNA swab and confiscated Johnson's clothes.

As a result, O'Riley stated that any subsequent DNA samples taken from Johnson should also not be admissible in trial because the initial DNA evidence  that she claims was taken illegally  taints all further DNA evidence taken from Johnson.

"This is a warrantless search, and a violation of the Fourth Amendment," O'Riley said. "There was a serious violation of Mr. Johnson's rights."

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Prosecutor Brent Nelson argued that all DNA evidence taken from Johnson should be admissible in trial, including the evidence taken from officers prior to a search warrant being granted.

Nelson argued that officers were within their right to conduct the search on Johnson and take swabs due to the "visible observations of the officers" and a desire to preserve any evidence on Johnson's body or clothes.

The prosecution called one witness to the stand during the motions hearing: Colorado Springs detective Steven Aulino, who conducted the interview with Johnson after the arrest. Aulino stated during his testimony that he saw visible scratches and blood on Johnson and his clothing, and in an attempt to preserve an potential evidence he and another Colorado Springs detective took swabs of the visible injuries and blood on Johnson's body, as well as confiscating his clothes.

The samples taken from Johnson during that interview came back positive with DNA of Whitelaw, Judge Eric Bentley noted at one point during the proceedings.

After hearing arguments from both sides Bentley ruled against the defense's motion, determining that there was no Fourth Amendment violation by law enforcement and that all DNA acquired can be used at Johnson's upcoming trial.

"The evidence (the DNA samples taken off Johnson the night he was arrested) was subject to immediate disappearance," Bentley stated during his ruling. "There was probable cause to arrest Mr. Johnson, and probable cause to believe those swabs would result in evidence of a homicide."

Johnson is scheduled to begin his trial next month on Sept. 25, but he and his attorneys will return to court prior to that for his pre-trial readiness conference scheduled Sept. 7.

Johnson remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a $10 million bond, and faces the lone charge of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Whitelaw.
Kevin Edwards Le, a 23-year-old Army soldier, has been found guilty of attempting to commit sexual assault on a child, soliciting child prostitution, and patronizing a prostituted child.

Le was found guilty by a jury on Aug. 9, as reported by the Colorado Springs Police Department. He's scheduled to be sentenced in November.

The CSPD Internet Crimes against Children Unit was reportedly conducting an undercover investigation into subjects who lure and exploit minors using the internet, which led to Le's arrest in September 2022.

Colorado Springs police lead the ICAC Task Force, which is composed of approximately 98 affiliate law enforcement agencies across the state and beyond, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division.
A student at a Colorado Springs middle school was hospitalized after being assaulted by another student Wednesday, according to Harrison School District 2.

According to a message sent from the district to parents Wednesday, one student "physically assaulted" a second student at Carmel Community School, located northeast of the intersection of Chelton Road and South Academy Boulevard. The assault happened on school grounds at the end of the school day, during dismissal, the district said.

The message said staff "responded immediately" and called 911. The victim was taken to a local hospital, officials said.

In a statement to local media, District 2 said it "does not tolerate violence" on school grounds and will "fully implement" its Code of Conduct and work with the Colorado Springs Police Department to address the incident.

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Officials did not provide the ages or grade of the students involved. The extent of the victim's injuries is unknown.
Bringing Colorado Springs into the future and solving some of its most important issues requires a common vision and collaboration between its top leaders.

With that goal in mind, they gathered Friday at the Penrose House  Mayor Yemi Mobolade and his administration, alongside the nine members of the City Council and their staff  to discuss where they want to take the city, the challenges it faces and how to jointly address pressing topics like public safety, development and land use, economic vitality, homelessness, mental health and others.

The group won't decide concrete solutions in one day, City Council President Randy Helms said early Friday afternoon at the annual Mayor Council Retreat. The event brings the executive and legislative branches of the local government together to discuss imperative issues Colorado Springs faces, promotes trust between both branches, and helps them uniformly serve residents.

"Today, our objective is to gain the trust and confidence between the mayor, his administration, the City Council and our staff so that we can work together to eventually come up with solutions to some of these major issues," Helms said. "... We have the trust between the mayor's office and the council, so how do we continue that?"

Mobolade hoped the group would take away a few "actionable items" at the end of the retreat to help them address the day's discussion topics. Development and public safety emerged as two of the most critical items.

"A critical question that came up this morning when it comes to development is what type of city do we want to be in the next 20 to 50 years, and how do we work backward?" Mobolade said. "Because what we don't want to do is be too much in the minutiae, making everyday decisions without being a futurist about where our city is going."

Leaders need to be mindful about balancing the need for housing of all types and for all income brackets and ensuring the city can keep up with growth, he said.

Some residents at recent land use meetings have questioned the need for more housing in the city. For example, neighbors in Pine Creek opposed to a proposed affordable housing project at the intersection of North Powers and North Union boulevards have said sources like apartments.com, an online apartment listing website, show Colorado Springs already has thousands of vacant apartments.

Public safety is another critical issue at the top of officials' minds, Mobolade and Helms said. Data show Colorado Springs Police Department average response times have worsened since 2019, a symptom police officials said was due to ongoing staffing shortages the department is working to address.

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The Police Department has 730 sworn officers, and 37 people who are in the academy and will join the department later this year, according to figures the department provided July 10. The city has designated enough funding for 818 sworn police officers but retaining them has also been a challenge.

"We want our city to go forward not only in a safe manner, but (also) in a positive manner as we grow, because we know we're going to grow again," Helms said, adding that public safety is a broad topic encompassing police and fire response, offices of emergency management, traffic and emergency evacuations. "We want to provide a safe city. We want to provide a wonderful city (where) people want their kids and grandkids to stay."

The Police Department's continuous hiring model, holding academies every 15 weeks, can help get more trained officers on city streets faster, Helms said. More officers working can reduce response times, Colorado Springs police officials said last week.

On Monday, Mobolade, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez and city CFO Charae McDaniel provided the City Council more details about a possible ballot question this November that would allow the city to retain $4.75 million in excess tax revenues to help build a second police academy. Mobolade and Vasquez have said another academy is critical to keeping the community safe and would "positively impact" the department's ability to recruit new officers and retain current officers.

Councilmembers said they generally supported building a new facility for police training, but some disagreed over using excess tax revenues to fund the project. Some residents told the board during its regular meeting July 25 they would prefer those extra dollars address affordable housing or homelessness.

Colorado Springs' economic vitality is another important issue, Helms said.

"We seem to be doing really well right now," he said.

Swiss solar manufacturer Meyer Burger recently announced plans to spend $403.5 million to expand into Colorado Springs and create more than 350 high-paying jobs, the latest deal in a series of new local economic development efforts.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved an agreement between the city and an unidentified Colorado Springs-based aerospace and defense engineering company that wants to spend $3.4 million over 10 years to expand into Colorado Springs and add an estimated 620 high-paying jobs to the community over the next eight years.

High tech manufacturers Entegris and Microchip Technology have also announced their intent to expand their existing Colorado Springs operations in recent months, adding more than 1,000 jobs and making combined investments of nearly $1.5 billion. Zivaro, a Denver-based information and technology firm, has also announced it will bring more than 300 jobs to the city.
About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the United States, the highest number ever, according to government data released Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which posted the numbers, has not yet calculated a suicide rate for the year, but available data suggests suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II.

Deaths by suicide in El Paso County also saw a record high last year, up by about 10% in 2022 over 2021, for a total of 194, according to Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly, chief medical examiner.

After three years of relatively flat total suicides during the pandemic, were trending up," Kelly told The Gazette last month in releasing his final 2022 annual report.

The increase may indicate the pendulum is swinging toward a new pattern.

"This year were tracking ahead of last year, Kelly said of local suicide data from January through April.

While suicide is a complicated issue that involves many factors, a rise in drug overdoses, particularly involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl, more murders and the regions population growth contributed to last year's numbers, he noted.

El Paso County's previous record was 180 deaths by suicide in 2019, the year before the pandemic hit.

In 2020, the number of local people taking their lives fell to 178, then dropped to 176 in 2021.

El Paso County again led the state last year, among 64 counties, for the most people killing themselves, according to the State Demography Office.

Deaths by suicide declined statewide last year, with 1,287 people taking their lives, down from 1,370 in 2021, according to the Colorado Center for Environmental Health and Data.

Also, teen suicides in El Paso County had dropped dramatically to four in both 2021 and 2022, but this year are rising, with deaths by suicide of children under age 18 already surpassing four by April, according to Kelly.

There's something wrong. The number should not be going up, said Christina Wilbur, a 45-year-old Florida woman whose son shot and killed himself last year.

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My son should not have died, she said. "I know it's complicated, I really do. But we have to be able to do something. Something that we're not doing. Because whatever we're doing right now is not helping."

Experts speculate that the recent increases nationwide might be driven by higher rates of depression and limited availability of mental health services.

But a main driver is the growing availability of guns, said Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Suicide attempts involving guns end in death far more often than those with other means, and gun sales have boomed  placing firearms in more and more homes.

A recent Johns Hopkins University analysis used preliminary 2022 data to calculate that the nations overall gun suicide rate rose last year to an all-time high. For the first time, the gun suicide rate among Black teens surpassed the rate among White teens, the researchers found.

I dont know if you can talk about suicide without talking about firearms, Harkavy-Friedman said.

U.S. suicides steadily rose from the early 2000s until 2018, when the national rate hit its highest level since 1941. That year saw about 48,300 suicide deaths  or 14.2 for every 100,000 Americans.

The rate fell slightly in 2019 and 2020, which some experts linked to a phenomenon seen in the early stages of wars and natural disasters, when people pull together and support each other.

But in 2021, suicides rose 4%. Last year, according to the new data, the number increased by 3% for a total of 49,449, which represents more than 1,000 more people than in 2021, according to provisional data from U.S. death certificates.

Nationally, the largest increases were seen in older adults. Deaths rose nearly 7% in people ages 45 to 64, and more than 8% in people 65 and older. White men, in particular, have very high rates, the CDC said.

Many middle-aged and elderly people experience problems like losing a job or losing a spouse, and it's important to reduce stigma and other obstacles to them getting assistance, said Dr. Debra Houry, the CDCs chief medical officer.

Despite the grim statistics, some say there is reason for optimism. A national crisis line launched a year ago in which anyone in the U.S. can dial 988 to reach mental health specialists.

Colorado also has a crisis hotline, 844-493-8255, or text "TALK" to 38255.

The CDC is expanding a suicide program to fund more prevention work in communities. And there's growing awareness of the issue and that it's OK to ask for help, health officials say.

Gazette reporter Debbie Kelley contributed to this report.
(This Aug. 10 story has been corrected to locate Maui north and west of Big Island instead of east in paragraph 11)

By Jonathan Oatis

(Reuters) - Wildfires on Hawaii's Maui island and Big Island have killed dozens of people, forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate, and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina. Here are some key questions and answers about the disaster.

HOW DID THE FIRES START?

The causes of the fires, which started on Tuesday night, have not yet been determined. However, the National Weather Service had issued warnings for the Hawaiian Islands for high winds and dry weather - conditions ripe for wildfires - which it canceled late Wednesday.

Nearly 85% of U.S. wildfires are caused by humans, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Natural causes include lightning and volcanic activity. The Hawaiian Islands have six active volcanoes, including one on Maui.

Record-setting heat this summer has contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe and western Canada. Scientists say climate change, driven by fossil fuel use, has led to more frequent and more powerful extreme weather events.

WHAT'S DRIVING THE HAWAII WILDFIRES?

Winds from Hurricane Dora, hundreds of miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, have fanned the flames across the U.S. state, officials say.

In addition to Dora, a low-pressure system to the west near Japan is also contributing to the high sustained winds. Dry vegetation is also a contributing factor.

The spread of flammable non-native grasses such as Guinea grass in areas of former farmland and forest have created large amounts of small, easily ignited materials that increase the risk and severity of fire.

WHERE ARE THE FIRES?

The fires have caused widespread devastation in Lahaina, a beach resort city of about 13,000 people on northwestern Maui that was once a whaling center and the Hawaiian Kingdom's capital and now draws 2 million tourists a year.

Fires have also burned around Kihei, a coastal city in South Maui, and destroyed parts of Kula, a residential area in the mountainous center of the island, as well as scorching parts of the Big Island.

Some 271 structures were destroyed or damaged, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said, citing official reports from the U.S. Civil Air Patrol and Maui Fire Department.

Hawaii is an archipelago about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of the U.S. mainland. It is made up of eight main islands, including Hawaii, known as the Big Island. The island of Maui sits to the north and west of the island of Hawaii.

(Writing by Jonathan Oatis; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday granted former U.S. President Donald Trump leeway to publicly share some non-sensitive evidence that will be used in his trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, but she warned him to tread carefully before making inflammatory public statements about the case.

Even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel- if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors - can threaten the process," U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said on Friday.

I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.

Chutkan's warning came at a federal court hearing on Friday where prosecutors and Trump's lawyers hashed out disagreements over how much evidence in the case Trump can share with the public.

Chutkan's decision to permit Trump to share some non-sensitive material went against the objections of prosecutors, who pointed to threatening messages Trump posted last week on social media as evidence that he might try to use details of the confidential evidence to intimidate witnesses.

The judge ruled that the government had not met its burden to show why all of the evidence should be subject to a "protective order," which safeguards evidence from being shared with the public in order to prevent witness intimidation or tainting a jury pool.

At the same time, however, she agreed to protect certain records from disclosure that Trump wanted to share, such as excerpts from the hundreds of transcripts of witness interviews and recordings.

She later officially approved a protective order that will allow Trump to share any records that are already in the public domain or that he obtained independently.

He is not, however, permitted to share other kinds of materials such as those arising from the grand jury or items obtained through sealed search warrants.

He is a criminal defendant. He is going to have restrictions like every single other defendant. This case is proceeding in the normal order, Chutkan said.

The fact the defendant is engaged in a political campaign is not going to allow him any greater or lesser latitude than any defendant in a criminal case."

The charges at issue in Friday's hearing are one of three prosecutions currently targeting Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that he orchestrated a plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to keep himself in power.

The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision, Chutkan said.

It is standard for federal prosecutors to request protective orders before sharing evidence with defense lawyers to protect confidential records and ensure the integrity of the trial.

Often, defense lawyers do not oppose them because doing so slows down the government's production of evidence, a process known as "discovery," to help them prepare.

But Trump's attorneys said the scope of the protective order was too broad, and ran afoul of his constitutionally-protected free speech rights.

"This kind of blanket order is extraordinary," Trump's lawyer John Lauro said on Friday. "We have to face the fact we are in uncharted waters."

Federal prosecutors revealed on Friday that they will soon release to Trump's defense team 11.6 million pages and records of evidence, in addition to a hard drive containing images extracted from electronic devices.

'I'M COMING AFTER YOU'

The government's request for a protective order last week cited a threatening message Trump posted last week on social media: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU."

Since then, Trump has also attacked Smith's character as well as that of former Vice President Mike Pence, a key witness in the case, calling his former No.2 "delusional."

As a condition of his release, Trump agreed he would not try to intimidate or threaten any witnesses in the case, though no one has accused him of violating those conditions.

Chutkan sought to remind Trump's lawyers about this on Friday, saying she will be watching his statements and "scrutinizing them very carefully."

Trump is separately facing a second set of charges brought by Smith's office in Florida for retaining highly classified records after leaving the White House and New York state charges over hush-money payments to a porn star.

He has pleaded not guilty in those cases as well.

At Friday's hearing, prosecutors asked the judge not to let Trump view sensitive evidence in a room by himself, noting he has been criminally charged in the Florida case with willfully retaining classified material.

He has shown a tendency to hold onto material," prosecutor Thomas Windom said.

Chutkan ruled that Trump will be allowed to view the evidence without his lawyers present, but during that time he will be banned from having access to electronic devices.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
(Reuters) - Outgoing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has unveiled a list of people expected to feature in a new cabinet, including several sons and daughters of close allies and serving ministers.

Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, is in the process of handing over power to his son, Hun Manet, after their Cambodian People's Party swept an election last month from which the main opposition was barred.

The 71-year-old on Thursday nominated about 50 people for his son's cabinet, many of whom are directly related to ministers and senior officials in his administration.

Hun Sen did not specify what positions they would hold. The rubber-stamp parliament is set to approve the new prime minister and cabinet on Aug. 22.

Among those expected to be in the new cabinet are Cham Nimul, daughter of industry minister Cham Prasidh, Sar Sokha, son of interior minister Sar Kheng and Tea Seiha, son of defence minister Tea Banh.

While giving up the job of prime minister, Hun Sen looks set to remain engaged with government.

He has said he will become head of the upper house Senate, meaning he will be acting head of state when the king is away, and he will lead the ruling party.

He also recently said he would step back into the prime minister's job if his son did not perform well.

Western-educated Hun Manet, 45, has said little about his vision for Cambodia, which, under his father's rule, developed into what the World Bank calls a lower middle-income country but at the cost of what critics say has been the trampling of human rights.

Hun Sen's government has rejected accusations of rights abuses as well as of corruption and nepotism.

This week, Hun Sen announced that Khuon Sodary had been designated as president of the National Assembly, the first woman to hold the position.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; editing by Robert Birsel)
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said he would be willing to use drone strikes against drug cartels in Mexico as part of "whatever force we need to defend the country."

The Republican 2024 presidential candidate was listening to questions at an Iowa campaign event when a voter asked whether he would consider drone strikes against the cartels. "We will absolutely reserve the right if they're invading our country and killing our people," DeSantis responded.

UP FOR DEBATE: TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND 2024 GOP HOPEFULS' STANCES ON ABORTION

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares to pose for a photo with supporters, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at Iowa River Power Restaurant in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette via AP) Geoff Stellfox/AP

"We will lean in against the drug cartels. ... We have the right to hold them accountable, and it's not just if they happen to come over our border. If Mexico is not going to help us with that, well, then we're going to have to do what we have to do," the Florida governor added, per the Hill.

Concerns over illegal immigration and crime festering at the border have been one of Republicans' chief talking points in the lead-up to the 2024 election. DeSantis has taken perhaps the staunchest closed-border approach of all GOP presidential hopefuls.

In June, the Republican governor came out in support of allowing federal law enforcement on the southern border to use "deadly force" against dangerous criminal organizations who attempt to break into the United States.

"If the cartels are cutting through the border wall trying to run product into this country, they're going to end up stone-cold dead as a result of that bad decision," DeSantis said to applause while at an event in Texas.

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Drug cartels and their stranglehold on power in regions of Mexico remain a problem for the United States's southern neighbor and, consequently, the U.S. too. Lawmakers, particularly Republicans, have voiced discontent with the Mexican government's inability to diminish their violence and influence.

Casey DeSantis, wife of Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, takes the stage next to her husband on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at Iowa River Power Restaurant in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette via AP) Geoff Stellfox/AP

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DeSantis's wife, Casey DeSantis, joined her husband onstage at an event in Iowa City, Iowa, on Thursday, as the Republican governor searches for ways to make up ground on the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, former President Donald Trump.

He had already found himself in a distant second place to Trump after he declared his candidacy for president, but in recent weeks, DeSantis has seen his polling decrease, prompting him to shake up his campaign team and strategy before the first Republican presidential debate later this month.

Original Location: DeSantis suggests he would use drone strikes on Mexican drug cartels

Washington Examiner Videos
Former President Donald Trump denounced a proposal from U.S. prosecutors to start the trial in less than five months on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election results.

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge to begin Trump's trial on Jan. 2, 2024, two weeks from when voters would first cast their ballots in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

UP FOR DEBATE: TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND 2024 GOP HOPEFULS' STANCES ON ABORTION

"Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses," the current GOP front-runner wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday evening.

Smith has vowed that his office will seek a "speedy trial" after Trump was indicted and arraigned in a third case this year, with the latest criminal case including six unnamed co-conspirators who have yet to be indicted.

His proposed time frame for the trial did outline a date for a motions hearing, which is when requests for specific evidence to be excluded are made, but suggested by Sept. 25, both parties would need to have filed their written pretrial defense motions. The hearings would start no later than Nov. 13 and go to early December, and Smith proposed jury selection would start Dec. 11. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will make the final call on the schedule.

"Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!" Trump said.

The Iowa Republican presidential caucuses will be held on Jan. 15, and they have long been an indicator of a presidential candidate's viability.

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"Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION," Trump continued on Truth Social. "The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Trump pleaded not guilty in a Washington, D.C., courthouse to four criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and is under investigation on multiple other fronts. His attorneys have attempted to delay the hearing in the case after rejecting a protective order from Smith, claiming it would infringe on Trump's right to free speech.

Chutkan set the hearing on a proposed protective order for Friday morning.

Original Location: Donald Trump slams Jack Smith court date request for timing regarding Iowa caucuses

Washington Examiner Videos
Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis sent a memo to her staff ahead of an expected barrage of advertisements by former President Donald Trump's campaign attacking Willis.

Willis, in an email to staff obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, claims that the Trump campaign will put an advertisement that will have "derogatory and false information" about her. The message comes as Willis is widely expected to indict Trump next week. She reminded staff in the email that "this is business, it will never be personal."

UP FOR DEBATE: TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND 2024 GOP HOPEFULS' STANCES ON ABORTION

"Many of you are quite kind to me, very protective, and will become very defensive if someone attempts to attack me, the office or your colleagues. You may not comment in any way on the ad or any of the negativity that may be expressed against me, your colleagues, this office in coming days, weeks or months. We have no personal feelings against those we investigate or prosecute and we should not express any. This is business, it will never be personal," Willis said in the memo.

"We have a job to do. In this office, we prosecute based on the facts and the law. The law is non-partisan. You should feel no need to defend me," Willis continued.

Willis then reminded employees not to comment on matters before the district attorney's office publicly. The email comes ahead of an expected indictment of Trump in the Peach State, which Willis has said the Atlanta area is ready for.

The Trump campaign released an advertisement last week titled "The Fraud Squad." It went after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and special counsel Jack Smith, along with Willis. The video describes Willis as "incompetent," "corrupt," and "dishonest."

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Trump is widely expected to be indicted in Georgia next week on charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 loss in the Peach State. The former president was arraigned for a third time this year in Washington, D.C., last week on charges also related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The former president pleaded not guilty to the four charges brought against him in the federal court in Washington. The charges against Trump included 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.

Original Location: Fani Willis tries to get ahead of Donald Trump attack ad as indictment is expected soon

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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Biden administration and a pipeline company Friday.

A three-judge panel unanimously approved the construction of an over 300-mile-long natural gas pipeline, known as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, set to run through parts of Virginia and West Virginia. It has a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day and is already over 94% completed. It has been on pause due to ongoing litigation.

UP FOR DEBATE: TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND 2024 GOP HOPEFULS' STANCE ON CLIMATE AND GREEN AGENDA

Mountain Valley argued that Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-WV) bipartisan bill to raise the federal debt ceiling earlier this year took away the court's jurisdiction in the case, to which the panel agreed. According to the law, a Washington, D.C. court has true jurisdiction, even though the pipeline does not cross into the capital's territory.

The pipeline has received criticism from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and conservation groups, including the Sierra Club.

"Construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline across the slopes and streams of Appalachia will threaten communities and harm imperiled species," Sierra Club's Southeast communications director Carolyn Morrison wrote in a statement. "Yet, apparently MVP has been given a free pass to edge out vulnerable species and steamroll communities."

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This comes less than a month after the Supreme Court vacated judicial stays that prevented developers from completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Previously, the Fourth Circuit Court had issued two stays against the project.

Manchin's language in the debt ceiling bill, signed by President Joe Biden in June, is expected to protect Mountain Valley from further legal challenges.

Original Location: Federal court in Virginia rules in favor of Mountain Valley Pipeline

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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is calling for President Joe Biden to put action behind his words that offered support for nuclear test victims.

Biden was asked about compensating those affected by government nuclear testing while speaking in Belen, New Mexico, at a wind tower factory on Wednesday. He said, "I'm prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of."

HAWAII FIRE: FIREFIGHTERS DROP 150,000 GALLONS OF WATER AS FIRE DEVASTATES ISLANDS

The president's comments came a week after he watched the film Oppenheimer, a dramatic retelling of how the New Mexico nuclear testing site came to be.

Hawley praised Biden's willingness to offer aid, taking it as an endorsement of legislation he designed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

"Compensating victims of government-caused nuclear contamination and negligence should not be a partisan issue. It's about justice. I am glad President Biden has announced his support of our amendment, but now we need action," Hawley said in a statement Thursday. "This amendment must be included in the final negotiated defense bill that the President signs into law. And we also must hear from the Biden Administration about their next steps to support victims in the St. Louis area and beyond."

Hawley's amendment was approved by the Senate by a 61-37 vote last month. His sponsorship came after the Weldon Spring site in Missouri criticized the Department of Energy's cleanup and monitoring efforts in 2021. As a result, the senator asked for compensation for victims of radioactive contamination at a site in St. Charles County, Missouri, as well.

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Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) also sponsored the amendment on behalf of the constituents in his state affected by the federal government's testing of the nuclear bomb between 1942 and 1945. The site, named after the experiment Trinity, is now the White Sands Missile Range and is owned by the Department of Defense. It is available for tours two times a year.

Oppenheimer earned $552.9 million since its release three weeks ago. This makes it the highest-earning film about World War II.

Original Location: Hawley says 'we need action' after Biden is open to providing aid to Oppenheimer nuclear test victims

Washington Examiner Videos
Former President Donald Trump reacted to the surprise Friday news that Attorney General Merrick Garland had appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the investigation into Hunter Biden by slamming President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice.

"Crooked Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the entire Biden Crime Family have been protected by the Justice Department for decades even though there is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartel's own financial gain," a Trump spokesperson said in a campaign statement.

INFLATION COMPLICATES BIDEN'S PATH BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Federal investigators in Delaware had targeted Hunter Biden for a money laundering scheme beginning in 2019, which led to a subpoena of the younger Biden'snow-infamous laptop. Weiss, an appointee of Trump, led the investigation that culminated in a failed plea deal in which Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter into a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid a felony gun charge.

"If this special counsel is truly independent - even though he failed to bring proper charges after a four year investigation and he appears to be trying to move the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue - he will quickly conclude that Joe Biden, his troubled son Hunter, and their enablers, including the media, which colluded with the 51 intelligence officials who knowingly misled the public about Hunter's laptop, should face the required consequences," Trump's spokesperson continued.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and those running for president had widely denounced the agreement between the younger Biden and the Justice Department as a "sweetheart deal." GOP lawmakers have also criticized a "two-tier" Justice Department in the wake of Trump facing three federal indictments in 2023. As of Friday afternoon, federal prosecutors and attorneys for Hunter Biden had hit an "impasse" on the agreement signaling the case will likely head to trial.

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Garland agreed to elevate Weiss to special counsel after Weiss requested the authority this week. "Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said.

The White House and Biden administration has declined to comment on the appointment of Weiss as special counsel.

Original Location: Hunter Biden investigation: Trump slams Biden family after special counsel announced

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Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Des Moines Register political soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday as his former boss and 2024 rival, ex-President Donald Trump, fumed on social media over their 2020 election disagreement.

The two men have long disagreed over what role the former vice president had in refusing to certify the 2020 election results after President Joe Biden won. Pence has consistently said he was obligated to follow the Constitution and certify the results. Trump has argued Pence had the power to send votes he disputed back to the states.

UP FOR DEBATE: TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND 2024 GOP HOPEFULS' STANCES ON ABORTION

Pence had skirted around fully taking on Trump as he marched closer to launching a presidential bid, but in the wake of last week's federal grand jury indictment against the former president over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent Jan. 6. Capitol riot, Pence had stepped up his pointed criticisms against Trump. His old boss was not amused.

"I never asked Mike Pence to "disregard the Constitution." Nor did I tell him that he was "too honest." He is under great pressure and getting very bad advice from Marc "Long" and perhaps some of his other advisers," Trump wrote on Truth Social while Pence was speaking to the Iowa crowd. "His Poll numbers have just gone down from an already anemic level. Liddle' Mike now wants to be a tough guy. He could have had greatness, but chose another path!"

Meanwhile, Pence acknowledged his combative relationship with Trump during a question-and-answer portion when an attendee asked about why he "committed treason" on Jan. 6. "There's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could pick the American president," Pence said after referencing Article 2 of the Constitution that states he had to certify the electoral votes after an election as president of the Senate. "The American presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone."

"I'll always believe by God's grace I did my duty that day," Pence continued. "People deserve to know that on that day, the former president asked me to choose him over my oath to the Constitution. I choose the Constitution, and I always will."

The spat between Trump and Pence comes ahead of the Republican National Committee's first primary debate later this month on Aug. 23. Pence's campaign announced this week that he qualified for the debate after meeting the fundraising and polling qualifications. But Trump has refused to sign the RNC's loyalty oath and said he will make a decision on whether to attend the debate by next week.

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Pence will later participate in a "Fair Side Chat" with Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) on Friday, as are most 2024 rivals, excluding Trump, who has publicly feuded with Reynolds over her neutrality in the primary race. The former president also skipped the Des Moines Register political soapbox.

At the debate, Pence will likely reiterate a message he stressed in Iowa: "We need new leadership in the White House but I also believe we need new leadership in the Republican Party."

Original Location: Pence speaks about GOP leadership change at Iowa State Fair as Trump fumes

Washington Examiner Videos
Thousands of San Francisco students could receive financial support under the city's free college program, Democratic Mayor London Breed announced Thursday.

The city's budget will allocate $2.1 million to help waive fees from unpaid transcripts, materials, or late withdrawal fees for students who attended between August 2017 and December 2022.

INFLATION COMPLICATES BIDEN'S PATH BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE

"Removing financial barriers that City College students face is crucial to their success," Breed said in a statement.

Partnering with City College and the city and county of San Francisco, the Free City College program will help around 13,000 people become eligible to enroll in classes again, as a fee as little as $10 or as large as $200 can prevent students from signing up.

The city budget this year provided $16.8 million to help San Francisco residents with tuition. San Francisco currently waives a $46-a-unit fee for city residents to take classes via its Free City program. The program did not cover student activities such as health services, library fees, or internet access.

"City College provides residents with enriching higher education classes, career training courses, and opportunities to build new skills," Breed said. "With this funding, thousands of community members who couldn't previously enroll in classes will now be able to continue their education."

City College serves more than 60,000 students per year and has 11 sites citywide. The Free City College program was launched in 2017, and it has since fought to remain viable as enrollment rates are dropping.

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San Francisco officials praised the initiative that invests in "the academic potential and dreams of our students of all ages."

"This further enhances access to quality education for those who might otherwise face challenges in affording college education," said Maria Su, the executive director of the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.

Original Location: San Francisco to relieve millions in outstanding student fees for thousands of residents

Washington Examiner Videos
Donald Trump must testify. And the trial must be televised. In the Washington, D.C., trial of allegations that Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 Presidential election through fraud  conduct touching upon the Jan. 6 siege of our U.S. Capitol  the former POTUS must testify in his defense. Under oath. Streamed throughout America.

It is not a close call.

Of course, like everyone accused of a crime in America, Trump enjoys a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent (he hates that one) and not to be compelled to give testimony against himself. But taking the Fifth is the cowards way out  and Trumps tough guy persona cannot survive the perception that he is hiding behind his attorneys.

By the way, Trump is innocent. Just ask him.

The case is the attempted political assassination of President Bidens past and (likely) future rival by Bidens hand-picked prosecutor. These are the clear, unqualified claims of his attorneys, supporters, and the man in the dock himself, DJT. Those are out-of-court statements. They are easy and riskless. That is not good enough for former president.

And innocent people do not need the protections of the Fifth Amendment. Just ask him.

Since his invocation of the Fifth Amendment 97 times during his 1990 divorce from Ivana, Trump has boldy and repeatedly espoused what most Americans think: the innocent have no need for the Fifth Amendment.

In 1998, Trump said of Bill Clintons impeachment investigation, [i]ts a terrible thing for a president to take the Fifth Amendment  Trump was right. The American military he led as commander in chief needs to see the steely resolve that characterized his engagements with our near peer competitors, China and Russia.

In 2014, Trumps tweeted unsolicited advice to Bill Cosby facing sexual assault allegations was if you are innocent, do not remain silent. You look guilty as hell! Trump was right again. His millions of MAGA devotees expect in court that he will stand by his public statements about his innocence and stand up to his deranged accuser, Jack Smith.

In 2016, in speaking of the investigation of Hillary Clintons handling of classified documents (sound familiar?), Trump observed [y]ou see the Mob takes the Fifth. If youre innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment? It is a fair question, and one that resonated with those who elected Trump to the presidency, including some who chanted lock her up at various rallies.

But the former president seems to be backsliding on his beliefs. Almost exactly one year ago, when confronted with a mere civil action by the Trump-targeting New York attorney general, Trump used Truth Social to announce:

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When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice.

Here, Trump is wrong. He does have a choice. It is precisely during a political witch hunt trying to convict and incarcerate an innocent man and would-be POTUS on unfounded charges that a man of Trumps character must testify.

Trump is smarter than a deranged prosecutor. Trump possesses the truth. America deserves to see that truth tested in a court of law  and simultaneously viewable by all Americans.

The federal courts long have refused to grant the public video-recorded access to their proceedings for reasons that defy principles of transparency, accountability, and modernity. This case  more than any other single federal case in memory  commands a departure from the antiquated court rules. Reporters, pundits, transcripts and sketch artists can only give their skewed impressions of an event America must judge for itself.

Any outcome hidden from every interested voter will be questioned, doubted and the source of more conspiracy theories that will haunt us for a generation. Or more. No, we must have this trial streamed, and Trump must have the courage to take an oath, take Jack Smiths questions, look the jurors in the eye  look us in the eye  and speak his truth.

Any defense attorney worth their law license would advise against it, but that is advice for someone who puts their own individual self-interest ahead of Americas  like any run-of-the-mill criminal defendant. That case is bigger than Trump and he knows it. The judge knows it. We know it.

There is no good outcome to this trial, whether it be conviction or acquittal. But if Americans can witness the proceedings, hear and see the evidence, and judge Donald Trumps testimony for themselves  maybe, just maybe, we can more quickly move past what has quickly become one of the unsightliest blemishes in the history of our government.

The courts perceived integrity and impartiality will be judged by the decision whether to permit maximum transparency.

DJT will be judged by his decision: whether to protect himself or put America first. Is Donald Trump a courageous champion of the truth who loves our country more than himself, or just another moblike defendant who looks guilty as hell?

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute and president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts The George Brauchler Show on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.
Colorados Legislature cant seem to get past its contempt for the citizens initiative. Thats the process in which voters exercise their right to do their lawmaking by petitioning proposals directly onto the ballot. And our elected lawmakers never stop trying to undermine that right.

The citizens initiative is voters end run on the Legislature when it wont act in their interest. The Legislature resents it  especially when it comes to taxes. Rank-and-file voters like to cut taxes, of course, and plenty of lawmakers will do anything to stop them.

Hence, an outrageous if little noticed assault by majority-Democratic lawmakers on the citizens initiative back in 2021. They passed a bill  deceptively labeled Voter Transparency in Ballot Measures  mandating the use of ballot verbiage intended to kill any proposed tax cut.

Among its provisions, the law requires any citizens initiative proposing to cut taxes to include at the beginning of the ballot title the wording,  thereby reducing state revenue, which will reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to  the three largest areas of state spending at the time of the proposal. Think, schools or transportation  i.e., spending cuts the authors of this devious law knew would give the public heartburn.

It was a cynical and smug attempt to force voters to make tough choices. But it was a false choice  not to mention a potentially unconstitutional encroachment on citizens First Amendment right to free speech by forcing them to use the states approved ballot language.

Which is why some prominent Coloradans filed suit against the law this week in federal court. Led by the advocacy group Advance Colorado, plaintiffs in the action include former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown  whos also a former University of Colorado president  and assorted local elected officials. They are represented by former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid.

Their case seems pretty straightforward.

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As Advance Colorados Michael Fields said, The requirement to include this language on citizen-initiated ballot measures represents a clear example of unconstitutional compelled speech, and even worse, it requires compelled false speech.

Fields, a lawyer, explained, "The language must be used even when there is no guarantee that a reduction in tax rates 'will reduce funding' for any particular state program. Even worse, it is required even when it is provably and mathematically false.

Indeed, a tax cut might or might not result in the named programs getting dinged. Tax revenue could surge once again in coming years due to economic growth and  depending on the size of the tax cut  result in no net reduction to state coffers.

As well, lawmakers could make some tough choices of their own  for a refreshing change  and exercise greater budget discipline if voters enacted a tax cut. Meaning, they might hold harmless some of the essential programs the tax cuts authors were forced to specify in their ballot title  and instead cut budget fluff to accommodate the tax cut. As they should.

This isnt the first time the Legislature gutted tax cuts before the public even had a chance to vote on them. In the same 2021 legislative session, ruling Democrats sabotaged a property-tax cut proposed for that falls ballot.

Just before the spring session adjourned, lawmakers passed a bill scrambling the states property-tax classifications in a way that nearly mooted the ballot proposal.

That the Legislature always wants more of your tax dollars is probably a given. Whats noteworthy is that it would stoop so low in its relentless money grab.
A leader steps in

Recent events have distinguished a true leader from a verbose orator in city government. Let me compare and contrast Councilmember Dave Donelson to Mayor Yemi Mobolade. Donelson is showing voters he has courage, intelligence and the best interest of residents. It was Donelson that voted against the Lauchpad project, citing serious concerns about the geological study. Donelson also voted in favor of the Kettle Creek residents in their appeal of unwanted and unsafe development.

Mobolade, who at every on-camera opportunity expresses concern about the safety of our citizens, remained silent. In fact, Mobolade remains silent regarding other hot topics such as the low-income, high-density Royal Pine Apartments in Briargate. The Planning Department reports to you, Mayor Mobolade. A leader steps in. A leader does not choose projects, events or circumstances.

An orator just talks, maybe inspiring a few in the process. Now, Mobolade wants to use TABOR funds for a police academy. Has Yemi, disclosed once approved, it will be permanent? Well never see TABOR dollars again. Thats an orator for you! In contrast, Donelson suggested using emergency funds for the police academy and letting taxpayers keep their TABOR money. Thats a leader!

Although Mobolades been in office a short time, hes demonstrating that hes all talk. Former rival Sallie Clark was rewarded with a plum, $138K job as were his other buddies. Hes creating bureaucracy. Its time for Mobolade to demonstrate his much self-touted leadership skills and start fulfilling those empty campaign promises.

Sandra Vicksta

Colorado Springs

Incredibly poorly done

Just wanted to let the city of Colorado Springs street maintenance personnel know that the outreach and planning for the repaving of Montarbor Drive was incredibly poorly done. At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, I got notified by the project inspector that the Linden tree planted in the easement in front of my property would prevent the needed sidewalk repair due to roots, so my 35-year-old Linden tree was removed. In an hour. Thanks so much, since as the inspector let me know, they tried to cut other roots, but damaged the machine so the trees have to go.

Wonderful decision, but it seemed expeditious for the project only. Three trees all donated by the city where there were few trees in this neighborhood, specifically to plant in the easement, with good directions on how deep and wide the hole needed to be. Three trees generating oxygen and scrubbing C02 are now waste products. Great job Colorado Springs, was the city forester consulted before these trees were slaughtered today? I certainly was not.

Ken Gonzalez

Colorado Springs

Someone elses mail

Please if you get someone elses mail please do not toss it. Either deliver it if close by or mark on the envelope delivered wrong address and drop back in the mail.

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Yesterday I received mail that was addressed to someone a few streets away from where I live. It was a bill, and I got a call from my MD asking about a bill they sent me which I never received. Also my daughter sent me a birthday card two years ago. I never received it.

Barbara Miller

Colorado Springs

Being vocal, informed patriots

A political party is a collection and assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of America. Today, there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles or even policy views as within the Republican Party for America.

These are words were delivered today by J. Michael Luttig, a conservative retired federal judge and key adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence. Why arent more respected Republicans speaking out? Are we a nation of zombies worried that the base will eat our brains? (Or, has that happened?)

I just watched a video of the farewell address delivered to the nation by President Ronald Reagan in 1989. He talked about our duty to be informed patriots. Words to live by. How about: vocal, informed patriots?

I am a retired veteran and registered Republican. For the life of me, I cannot understand why leaders in the Republican party endorse a wealthy (elitist?), amoral (immoral?) person. He put the lives of patriots at risk by hoarding highly classified documents in unsecured rooms.

He has repeatedly and publicly denigrated patriotic members of the military community (not to mention John McCain). He has been caught lying as our president on far too many occasions. He is also a convicted slanderer and an indicted adulterer. Oh, and then theres that Jan. 6 thing.

OK, he deserves his day(s) in court. I am willing to let the American justice system work  as much as it would work if I kept and denied having classified documents. Meanwhile, we should seek alternatives who have the qualities of Reagan.

Lets band together and be vocal, informed patriots.

Peter Knepell

Colorado Springs
Colorado is on the sidelines as Republicans prepare for their first presidential debate later this month in Milwaukee.

That's in contrast to four years ago, when two of the state's leading Democrats took center stage in the race for the White House, for a few nights at least.

At this point in the 2020 election cycle, presidential long shots Michael Bennet, the state's senior U.S. senator, and John Hickenlooper, the former two-term governor, were forging ahead in the wake of the Democrats' second presidential debate, where they'd sparred with more than a dozen other Democrats hoping to deny President Donald Trump a second term.

The field was vast. The Coloradans joined 18 other Democrats under the lights split over two nights in Detroit on July 30 and 31, 2019. Those debates roughly echoed the arrangement a month earlier for the first round of debates in Miami on June 27, when the two shared a stage on the second night of a pair of debates that also featured 20 candidates, though the lineup was slightly different.

In one of the more memorable interactions in the Democrats' early debates that cycle, Hickenlooper and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats and describes himself as a democratic socialist, threw their hands in the air in dueling gestures demonstrating their frustration with each other's policies. If the Democratic nominee runs on Sanders' single-payer health care system, Hickenlooper said: "You might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump."

Bennet drew high marks after both debates from national pundits who suggested he could step into the moderate lane if frontrunner then-former Vice President Joe Biden faltered.

It was the first time in history two Colorado politicians had made it to the preliminary rounds of a presidential campaign simultaneously, though it wasn't the first time two of the state's leading Democrats sought the White House in the same cycle.

Ahead of the 1988 election Gary Hart, then state's senior senator and the runner-up for the nomination in the previous cycle, and U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, at the time an eight-term lawmaker from Denver, both mounted campaigns. Hart suspended his campaign in May 1987 amid a scandal involving allegations of an affair with a Miami model. Schroeder, who had chaired Hart's campaign, spent several months after his withdrawal exploring a run but ended her bid in September 1987 before making her candidacy official.

Bennet and Hickenlooper both scored some points in Miami and Detroit, but neither did enough to break from the back of the pack into the crowded upper tier, which mostly held steady for months, comprised of Biden, Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttiegieg.

Others who flirted with the top group included Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and businessman Andrew Yang.

That left Bennet and Hickenlooper jostling for attention with a revolving cast of fellow dark horses. At various times, their ranks contained New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, billionaire Tom Steyer, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and author Marianne Williamson.

The record-setting number of contenders was deemed unwieldy on a single debate stage, leading organizers to divide the first two rounds of debates into two nights each. Democrats tightened the requirements to qualify for the subsequent nine debates, held one a month until February, which featured two, narrowing the field of debtors enough to appear on a single night on each occasion.

Although the Coloradans both met the polling criteria required to make the first two debates  scoring 1% or better in four national or early-state polls  they fell short on the alternative threshold, which involved amassing 65,000 individual donors. Ahead of the third debate in mid-September, however, the Democratic National Committee raised the bar to qualify  requiring that candidates meet both the polling level, which doubled to 2%, and a fundraising mark, also doubled to 130,000 unique donors  leaving Bennet and Hickenlooper out in the cold.

By the time the DNC announced the 10 candidates bound for the next debate, Hickenlooper had already ended his bid and returned to Colorado. Soon after that, he jumped in the primary for Colorado's other U.S. Senate seat, held by Republican Cory Gardner. More than a year later, Hickenlooper defeated Gardner and joined Bennet in the Senate.

Switching to what his strategists described as an "insurgent" campaign, Bennet stayed in the presidential race for another six months but suspended his candidacy hours after finishing poorly in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11, 2020.

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The two left their marks during the three nights they faced off on national television with fellow Democrats  sharing the stage on the second night of debates in Miami and appearing on consecutive nights a month later in Detroit.

It was a starkly different political environment that summer than will greet the Republican candidates when they meet in Wisconsin on Aug. 23. Trump was mid-way through his third year in the White House, the global COVID pandemic was still more than six months in the future, and Jan. 6 was an date like any other, significant only to experts in transfer of presidential power.

It's up in the air whether Trump, far and away the frontrunner in this cycle's GOP primary, will participate in the first debate, since he has so far refused to comply with one of the requirements set by the Republican National Committee to score a spot on stage. Like several other candidates who have met polling and donor thresholds, Trump hasn't signed a pledge to back the party's eventual nominee.

The Republicans who have satisfied all three requirements are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, CNN reported on Aug. 10. Three candidates in addition to Trump would otherwise qualify but haven't signed the pledge: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and businessman Perry Johnson have reached one of the polling or fundraising criteria but so far haven't attained the other.

In the inaugural debate four years ago in Miami, Bennet and Hickenlooper stood near the edge on opposite sides of the stage, which featured Biden, Sanders, Harris and Buttigieg in the middle. Hickenlooper, on the left, was flanked by Williamson on one side and Yang on the other, while Bennet's lectern was positioned between Gillibrand and Swalwell.

Pegged as occupants of the primary field's moderate lane, Bennet and Hickenlooper both took swings at Sanders and the party's more left-leaning proposals, maintaining that Democrats had to prevent Republicans from being able to brand their fellow partisans as socialists or risk handing another term to Trump.

"I think the bottom line is that if we dont clearly define that were not socialists, the Republicans are going to come at us every way they can and call us socialists, said Hickenlooper, provoking a heated response from Sanders.

Arguing that Americans would reject Democrats if the party ran on Sanders' single-payer, Medicare for all health care proposal, Bennet said the robust public option he'd proposed would be a more palatable way to reach the universal coverage all the candidates agreed they wanted.

He also ripped Trump's family separation policy, invoking the journey undertaken by his mother, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust and was separated from her parents for years before the family reunited to emigrate to the United States after World War II.

The president has turned the border of the United States into a symbol of native hostility that the whole world is looking at when what we should be represented by is the Statue of Liberty, which has brought my parents to this country to begin with," Bennet said. "We need to make a change."

Ernest Luning has covered politics for Colorado Politics and its predecessor publication, The Colorado Statesman, since 2009. He's analyzed the exploits, foibles and history of state campaigns and politicians since 2018 in the weekly Trail Mix column.

Colorado Republicans clash over proposal to boot unaffiliated voters from GOP primaries | TRAIL MIX

Colorado boasts record as host of presidential primary, general election debates | TRAIL MIX

In top-ticket Colorado races, rematches only rarely flip election results | TRAIL MIX
Recent remarks by Gov. Jared Polis that Democrats believe abortion is "bad" and should be minimized, and his implication that parents should find a "solution" if they need more preschool hours than what the state offers, have irked his Democratic allies in Colorado.

In response to the criticism, the governor defended his comments, saying society needs to find ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

Abortion has become the most divisive issue separating progressives and conservatives. The Democratic orthodoxy is to view abortion as health care and to insist that the right to the procedure should be unfettered. Many conservative Republicans believe that abortion should be illegal, while others advocate for restrictions based on the term of the pregnancy and the viability of the unborn child.

Polis made the remark on abortion on July 23, when the governor appeared with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on CNN's "State of the Union." The two, who are members of the Western Governors' Association, discussed an initiative on how politicians can work together better.

Polis' comments about abortion came in response to a question from host Dana Bash, who suggested it might be naive for Democrats to call for more respectful debate when Republicans are trying to restrict abortion access or LGBTQ+ rights.

As the nation's first openly gay governor, "how would you disagree better with someone who says your marriage is not legitimate?" Bash asked.

"You start with common ground on something like abortion choice," Polis responded. "Democrats don't believe abortion is good. We believe it's bad. It should be minimized. How do you prevent unwanted pregnancies, to make sure people are empowered with the information they need?"

He added: "There's common ground there to have constructive discussion about how families can be healthier, people can be healthier. It doesn't mean we will agree on a very difficult and challenging issue, but at least we can have a conversation on a better level."

The comment drew criticism from the governor's party mates and their progressive allies, including Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, the sponsor of one of several bills passed in the 2023 session to bolster the rights of individuals to seek abortion or gender-affirming care, which includes social, psychological or medical interventions for transgender individuals, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures.

"He's a man talking about abortion and has a hard time, like men do, talking about abortion," Titone, Colorado's first elected transgender legislator, told Colorado Politics.

The remarks show the "governor has aspirations above his position and is trying to win people over," she added.

Polis has repeatedly downplayed the notion of running for higher office, although the sentiment that he is eyeing the White House is widespread among Democrats and Republicans alike. His name is perennially mentioned as a presidential contender.

Titone said such remarks are not appreciated by Democrats, including her, "who have been working very hard to advance the things he thinks is bad. Abortion is health care, and he has a hard time saying that. I wish he would understand that it upsets a lot of people when he takes a soft stance to appeal to the other side."

"Whose side are you on here?" she asked.

In a statement, Polis, via his office, said he is "proud" to use "strong, independent voice to speak out on common sense issues that unite us rather than divide us."

"He is staunchly pro-choice but never afraid to speak out about how our state can continue to reduce unwanted pregnancies and ensure that Coloradans have access to affordable birth control," his office said.

Other groups piled on.

In a news release on Thursday, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights said it is "disappointed to hear the governor of our state, who has signed multiple bills protecting a Coloradans right to choose and access abortion care, such as our bill known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA), would tell the media that abortion is bad. Coloradans support abortion."

"A majority of Americans believe that abortion should be protected," the group said.

Colorado's abortion law, which Polis signed last year, is among the most permissive in the country. It affirmed in state law the right to choose an abortion or carry a pregnancy to term. Fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights under the law, and it prohibits state and local public entities from denying or restricting a person's right to use or refuse contraception, or to either continue a pregnancy or have an abortion. The law does not place time limits on abortion.

New Era Colorado, another abortion-rights group, said the governor's comments are confusing.

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Natasha Berwick, the group's political director, told Colorado Politics that Polis campaigned on protecting the right to choose.

"Young people elected him because we believed he would champion everyones freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. His recent comments confuse us. Has his stance changed? We hope the governor can clarify the intent behind his words," Berwick said. "At New Era Colorado, we believe abortion is safe and good. One in 4 people have had an abortion and everyone knows someone who has had one. No matter the reason, everyone should have the freedom to make decisions about their bodies and their future.

The governor's praise of Focus on the Family at the inauguration of Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade also drew the ire of Titone.

During the June 6 event, Polis said that Colorado Springs is a city "whose heart is big enough to embrace one of the most successful gay pride events in the state and have Focus on the Family," which he said provides services to people and families of faith.

Focus on the Family is a Christian organization that, among other things, advocates against abortion and for traditional marriage.

Polis, who won his election by 20 points last year, also invited Democrats' disdain following a TV interview in which he talked about the state's pre-kindergarten program.

Former state Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, on social media called the governor's appearance on 9News on Wednesday "junior varsity politics."

The TV station had delved into how parents are complaining that they could not get their children into their preferred slots for the state's early childhood education program, and that in order for their children to attend full-day pre-kindergarten, they would have to pay hundreds of dollars to cover the difference between what the state pays for  15 hours a week  and full-time.

9News' Marshall Zelinger said families thought they qualified for "full-day" preschool.

"Do you you believe they're just seeking child care?" Zelinger asked. "And their debate isn't, Oh man, I missed out on the state funding, it's, Oh man, I missed out on free child care?'

In the interview, Polis responded that families should be asked if they want to pick up their child at 2:30 p.m. or 5 p.m.

"If they say 2:30, then they're in it for the full-day preschool, because they value that academic experience. If they're saying 5 (p.m.), because I work and I can't pick up my kid until 5, they need a child care solution. So, I'm sure it's some of both, and you probably need to pose that question to individuals," Polis said. "But I can assure you as somebody who's reviewed the scientific data and the literature, the biggest academic benefit from preschool is in that 15- to 20-hour range.

The remarks elicited critical comments on social media.

Sara Chatfield, a political science professor at the University of Denver, said on X that the problem is "they lied to people about how many hours they were getting, and now are shaming them for seeking 'child care' when they just planned around what they were told to expect."

Chatfield added: "I listened to the interview and it 100% felt like shaming parents for the horror of HAVING A JOB (and then expecting the state to follow through on things they were clearly told to expect)."

Salazar called it "a wildly privileged statement to make."

"Thats just as frustrating for those see [early childhood education] as an essential ingredient in the recipe for economic prosperity. Where are people supposed to find help beyond those 18 hours?" added Scott Wasserman of the Bell Policy Center. "Who pays? And what of the providers and professionals who are trying to make this all work?"

But many also agreed with the governor on his implication that, for some, preschool is a substitute for child care.

The governor's office said families are saving thousands of dollars because of the state's preschool program.

"Even while celebrating the launch of free universal half-day preschool, which is saving families over $6,000, he is boldly advocating for more low-cost child care options and expansion of full-day preschool," Polis' office said.
A Douglas County judge did not provide a clear reason why she designated a man a "sexually violent predator" and subjected him to lifetime sex offender registration, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday.

Under Colorado law, a person convicted of a sex offense is labeled a sexually violent predator when, among other things, the defendant pursued a relationship with the victim primarily to abuse them sexually. The law also requires judges to make specific factual findings when deciding whether to apply the designation, which generally leads to lifetime sex offender registration.

Ditlev Andrew Hutchison pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted sex assault on a child relative. He underwent a sexually violent predator risk assessment. An evaluator found Hutchison broadly met the criteria for the designation, but at the same time indicated Hutchison had not met the relationship component.

Although it was unclear whether Hutchison did or did not fulfill all criteria, District Court Judge Patricia Herron adopted the evaluator's findings "in full" without elaboration.

"Mr. Hutchison does meet the criteria for sexually violent predator and will be designated as such," she said. "I don't think I need to go through them each for the record at this time. If you want me to, I can, but I don't know that I really need to. I don't think I'm really required to."

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Case: People v. Hutchison Decided: August 10, 2023 Jurisdiction: Douglas County Ruling: 3-0 Judges: Stephanie Dunn (author) Jerry N. Jones Katharine E. Lum Background: Colorado appeals court reiterates fake police personas can be 'victims'

Hutchison appealed, arguing there was no evidence he pursued a relationship with the victim for sexual purposes and the evaluator had said as much. The Colorado Attorney General's Office agreed the facts did not support Herron's ruling.

"(G)iven the inconsistent statements in the presentencing report and evaluations, along with the district courts vague reference to adopting the 'findings of the evaluator,' we cant say with any confidence what the district court found," wrote Judge Stephanie Dunn in the Aug. 10 opinion for a panel of the Court of Appeals.

Because it could not tell whether Herron reached the correct decision, the panel reversed the sexually violent predator designation and ordered Herron to redo her ruling.

The case is People v. Hutchison.
While some El Paso County commissioners and residents have clashed in recent weeks over the definition of proper racial minority representation, a coalition of local chapters of national civil rights groups recently stepped into the redistricting process with claims of racial discrimination that one commissioner calls "insulting."

In a letter penned July 31 to the El Paso County Redistricting Commission, several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and NAACP of Colorado Springs, state that current county commissioner districts uphold a continuing legacy of racial exclusion in that its members consistently fail to reflect their Black and Brown constituents despite the fact that people of color currently make up 34% of the countys population  up from 23% in 2000  according to the most recent U.S. Census redistricting data.

The letter, whose signatories also include the Latina Equity Foundation, Colorado Latinos Vote, Citizens Project, League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region and Rocky Mountain NAACP, urges the current five members of the county Board of Commissioners  who tasked themselves in April with redrawing their voter districts for the first time since 2017  to design districts that will ensure this rich diversity is reflected on the board.

Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez, a Hispanic man, said the claims are offensive to himself and to Ed Jones and Darryl Glenn, two Black former commissioners who served from 1995 to 2003 and 2011 to 2019, respectively. All three men are Republicans.

When I first came onto this board (in 2017) ... 40% of the (board) was represented by minorities, Gonzalez told The Gazette. I still remain on this board as a representative of the Hispanic and minority community.

What they meant is that they want Democrats, but they dont want to put that on paper ... (that is) unfortunately insulting to people of color like me, he added. What they meant is that we dont count.

Taylor Pendergrass, ACLU of Colorados director of advocacy, said there is a conceptual difference between Gonzalezs and the letters definition of what minority representation looks like.

Historically, voter precincts in southeast Colorado Springs have been split between three commissioner districts  a move called cracking that residents have said effectively dilutes the minority and Democrat vote  given that a Democrat has not sat on the board since Stan Johnson's election in 1970.

Pendergrass said that dilution has made it impossible for minority voters to elect their preferred candidate in the past, and while people of color have sat on the county commissioner board, they were not widely supported by minority voters in their district.

Citing data from a racially polarized voting analysis performed by the coalition behind the letter, Pendergrass said that while Gonzalez is Hispanic, only 17 to 27% of non-White voters selected Gonzalez in the 2020 commissioner election, compared to 88%-98% of White voters.

(Jones, Glenns and Gonzalezs) representation and the barriers that they broke as people of color in those positions should not be undervalued, Pendergrass said. (But) Gonzales, (partly) because of the way that districts are drawn, did not capture a majority of the minority vote in El Paso County.

The letter states that El Paso Countys current districts may violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits election systems from denying any American citizen the right to vote on account of race or color and from giving racial minorities less opportunity than other members of the electorate to ... elect representatives of their choice.

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The coalition also said that because El Paso Countys minority population is sufficiently large and geographically compact to create a potential majority if consolidated into one district and tends to vote in a political bloc (in this case, Democrat), and because its majority White voters are also politically cohesive and "tend to defeat the minority's proposed candidate," the county meets all three pre-conditions for a VRA violation.

According to U.S. Census data, the county's Black and Hispanic population is heavily concentrated in southeast Colorado Springs south to Fountain and Security-Widefield.

Pendergrass disputed the claim that the coalition is specifically seeking Democratic control of a district in El Paso County.

If you were to draw districts where minorities were included in a way that allowed them to exercise their preference for a candidate, and the candidate they chose to represent them was a Republican, or a Green Party member, or a Democratic Socialist or a Democrat, all of that would satisfy the Voting Rights Act.

Pendergrass said the organization does not comment on potential litigation and could not confirm whether it would take legal action against the county if it believed a finalized map did not satisfy the VRA.

During the redistricting process, residents have requested that commissioners consolidate into one district southeast Colorado Springs, defined as a region of roughly 30 precincts west and northwest of the Colorado Springs Airport that each have a minority population of 45% or greater.

In recent weeks, commissioners enacted guidelines that could create a potentially left-leaning district by eliminating any previously created maps that split the area between districts and blocked from future consideration any new maps that did not keep the southeast intact.

On Tuesday, commissioners honed in on three finalist maps that all keep the 28 southeast precincts together, but split Monument into northern District 1 and into District 3, which also incorporates Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City.

Mike Williams, executive director of Citizens Project, one of the letters signatories, said that while the southeast may be kept intact, joining part of Monument and the southwest portion of the county in one district will make District 3 less politically competitive.

It reemphasizes stuff in the letter, Williams said.

The redistricting commission will hold a final meeting at 1 p.m. on Aug. 15, when it is set to select a final map.

While Tuesday was the last day for the public to address commissioners in person, residents have until 11:59 p.m. on Friday to submit public feedback on the finalist maps to the county's redistricting portal.
Dave Schlitter of Clear Lake has been named retail sales supervisor at Woodford Lumber and Home in Clear Lake.

According to a press release, Schlitter brings a solid background in retail sales, management, and customer service to Woodford Lumber and Home with experience at hardware stores, Menards, Lowes, and community banks in Iowa and Minnesota. He graduated from Iowa State University with a major in ag business and a minor in finance.

After being a Do-It-Yourselfer for most of my life and having worked in the hardware and building materials businesses, working here is a natural fit, Schlitter said. I really enjoy meeting with people and assisting them in meeting their needs.

He and his wife, Lori, moved from Spring Valley, Minnesota to Clear Lake in March 2020. They have three children and six grandsons. Schlitter said he is looking forward to getting involved in some community organizations. His hobbies are do-it-yourself projects, landscaping, spending time with family and attending their activities.
The earliest histories of the Russian ballet were written in the 18th century by European tourists to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Many of these travelers were drawn from their native Paris, Berlin, or London to see the highly touted Russian ballet companies with their own eyes. These ballet enthusiasts marveled at the strength and elegance of the performers of the great ballet companies of Russia. By the 1840s, Russian prima ballerinas routinely traveled to Paris, where they amazed Parisian audiences with their artistry. While sophisticated Europeans were keenly aware of the caliber of ballet performed in Russia, they never doubted that the art of the ballet, as practiced by Russian dancers, was exclusively and inviolably French. It did not occur to dance historians and critics of the 19th century that the great Russian ballet companies were forging a new, distinctly Russian, ballet tradition. This Russification of ballet occurred at the Kirov and Bolshoi ballet companies throughout the 19th century. Drawing on Russias incomparably rich folklore and highly developed folk music and dance traditions, Russian choreographers and dancers expanded the French art of ballet, adding their own cultural preferences. Two clear examples of these Russian features of ballet can be seen in the vigor of male dancing and the elegant arm movements of the female dancers.



1. It can be inferred from the passage that



A.. the productions of the Kirov and Bolshoi ballet companies included distinctly Russian elements.

B. European travelers went to Russia primarily to watch the ballet.

C. Russian culture changed the art of ballet all over the world.

D. the first historians of Russian ballet were French.

E. French ballet was less elegant than Russian ballet.





2. The highlighted sentence has which of the following functions in the passage?



I. Articulate the main idea of the passage.

II. Transition to a new idea.

III. Persuade the reader of the authors argument.



A. I Only

B. II Only

C. III Only

D. I and II Only

E. II and III Only A.. the productions of the Kirov and Bolshoi ballet companies included distinctly Russian elements.B. European travelers went to Russia primarily to watch the ballet.C. Russian culture changed the art of ballet all over the world.D. the first historians of Russian ballet were French.E. French ballet was less elegant than Russian ballet.I. Articulate the main idea of the passage.II. Transition to a new idea.III. Persuade the reader of the authors argument.A. I OnlyB. II OnlyC. III OnlyD. I and II OnlyE. II and III Only
CHATHAM  On the eve of the start of classes for the new year, Tuesday nights Pittsylvania County School Board meeting resembled the mood often felt leading up to Christmas Day.

Chairman Calvin Doss said he went to open houses hosted Monday at schools throughout the county, and at every turn he saw  and felt  the excitement among teachers.

He then quizzed audience members if they were excited ahead of Wednesdays opening.

I am too, and I dont even go to school anymore, he said.

When it came time for Jessica Jones, the president of the Pittsylvania Education Association, to head to the podium for her presentation, Doss asked her if she was ready for the new year.

I was born ready, Jones said, noting shes noticed a high energy level and a sense of positivity.

I do want to say, its a beautiful thing to see the excitement in my colleagues that we are all in this for yall, Jones said as she turned toward four students, all school board representatives from the countys high schools.

Jones specially gave a shout out to Gretna Elementary School in particular for a retro-themed vibe for the year.

Are you feeling groovy about learning, she asked the board. Because you should be.

She then asked Pittsylvania County Schools Superintendent Mark Jones if he felt groovy.

He nodded with a smile.

The superintendent heaped praise on the central office staff for work over the break, but especially highlighted teachers for the good work that theyve done over the summer.

Even though they are on a 10-month contract, Jones knows instructors spend the down time working, planning and preparing for the next school year.

On other note, Jones said the school system in the coming months should have a better grasp on how much revenue the 1% sales tax will bring in for school construction. That started in July after voters approved a referendum last November.

The increase brought the sales tax rate to 6.3% but does not apply to groceries, essential personal hygiene projects, agriculture items and medication.

One main goal will be to get rid of the mobile units at the countys elementary schools and upgrade the heating, ventilating and air conditioning  commonly called HVAC  in the classrooms.

There are six elementary schools that use the mobile units because theres not enough adequate space.

Also, an attack-resistant film product to cover glass will go up soon in the county schools, as another safety matter, Jones said.

Kenyon Scott, assistant superintendent of operations for Pittsylvania County Schools, provided an overall update that highlighted a recent mass-casualty drill at Gretna Middle School, marking the largest by undertaking the county  and region  to date.

About 170 admin, teachers and support staff took part of the mock shooting situation in the northern edge of the county.

Among other notes, he assured board members that despite an ongoing nationwide shortage of school bus drivers, the system stands ready to have all 173 routes covered. In fact, there are about 10 teachers  who also have a license to drive a school bus  who are enlisted to help.
Announcements

The Department of North Carolina AMVETS will celebrate the chartering of the Gate City Amvets Post 336 at 5 p.m. Aug. 12 at Transform Greensboro, The Carolina Room, 111 Bain St. in Greensboro.

National AMVETS 1st Vice Commander Bil Clark and North Carolina State Commander Mark Beaver will conduct the induction. Dinner will be served beginning at 5 p.m. with the swearing in of new and founding members at 6:30 p.m.

For information, call 336-268-7631 or email DLakemlc260@gmail.com.

* * * *

Summit Rotary Club inducted a new member, Alex Spencer, during the current Rotary year (July 2022  June 2023). Spencer is a purchasing manager for CarMax and was sponsored by Deborah Friedman.

To learn more about the club or to attend a regular Friday meeting, email Bonnie Cienek at bcienek@gmail.com, message them on Facebook (Summit Rotary Club) or tweet (@summitrotarync).

* * * *

Healthy Communities A3 has planned a hike for Aug. 13 at the Robbins Branch Trailhead, 5527 Lassiter Mill Road in Asheboro.

Hikers should meet at 2 p.m. at the trailhead or at 1:30 p.m. at the Asheboro Farmers Market, 134 S. Church St., for directions and carpooling. The hike will take about two hours.

This is a good summer time hike, all in the shade and with no steep climbs.

Dogs are welcome but must remain on a leash at all times.

For information, contact Mary Joan Pugh at 336-963-2715 or maryjoan.pugh@randolphcountync.gov.

Also, visit www.healthycommunitiesa3.com and consider joining as a member and receive a T-shirt.

* * * *

The High Point Literary Leagues fall meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13 at the High Point Country Club, 800 Country Club Drive.

The guest author is Fiona Davis, author of The Spectacular and The Lions of Fifth Avenue.

While the event is private, a book signing will follow the luncheon, and it is open to the public.

For information, call 336-847-5577; also, visit the league on Facebook.

* * * *

The Greensboro Pacesetters Track Club Youth Junior Olympic Cross Country Team is starting its new season, Aug. 15-Dec. 10.

The club is for boys and girls, ages 8 to 14.

All abilities are welcome.

Meet at 5:45 p.m. Aug. 15-16 at Mimosa Park, 2105 Mimosa Drive in Greensboro.

For information, visit www.greensboropacesetters.com.

* * * *

The Greensboro Scottish Country Dance Society will hold its fall Open House at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Guilford Grange, 4920 Guilford School Road in Greensboro.

Scottish Country Dance is the traditional ballroom dance of Scotland, from which came many of the square and contra dance styles of dancing in the United States today. The Greensboro society is part of the Carolinas Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, which has headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The local society dances weekly on Tuesdays through the school year at the Grange. It sponsors an annual St. Andrews Ball in November (scheduled for Nov. 18 this year), and it also performs Scottish dance demonstrations at schools, churches and festivals throughout the region.

Admission to the open house is free (with COVID-19 shots), and partners are not required. Society dues begin at $25 per semester for the weekly dances and other events. The society also sponsors Robert Burns Dinners in January and Tartan Day events in April, and many of its members dance at area Highland Games.

For information, contact Esther Leise at 336-676-0939 or from Tom Dillon at 336-725-2760 in Winston-Salem. Also, visit www.gsoscds.org.
As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

That old chestnut has proven true in modern American elections more times than not. Since 1964, Ohio has chosen the winning president in every contest, whether Democrat or Republican  that is, except one. In 2020, Ohio voted for Donald Trump over Joe Biden, by eight points.

A new ballot issue, voted on just this week, could be a bellwether of things to come in 2024  or, it could be a blip. But you best believe the Republican candidates running for President will be paying attention. Or, rather, they should be.

On Tuesday night, Ohio voters shot down a GOP proposal, known as Issue 1, which would have raised the minimum threshold of votes needed to amend the state constitution from a simple majority up to 60%.

This was both surprising and significant  it means that a proposed constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights is much more likely to pass in November, something Republicans were trying to thwart.

The amendment would essentially prohibit Ohio from intervening in a womans abortion, contraception and fertility decisions, thus enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.

Ohios resounding rejection of the GOP effort to make it easier to ban abortion echoes another states surprising rebel yell just last year. In August of 2022, Kansas voted against a constitutional amendment that would have declared abortion was not a right in that state, and would have given Kansas the power to prosecute people involved in abortions. The amendment was defeated by a whopping 18-point margin.

These two examples are perhaps anecdotal but no less significant. Ohio and Kansas are red states  Kansas voted for Trump 15 points over Biden in 2020, and Ohio voted for Trump twice, in 2016 and 2020.

But in Ohio, where the anti-abortion referendum failed, the loss is especially acute.

A USA Today and Suffolk University poll in July found that 58% of Ohio voters supported keeping abortion rights in the state constitution. Thats in a state that is more Christian than the rest of the country, whiter than the rest of the country, older than the rest of the country, and less educated than the rest of the country.

This should be a wake-up call for Republicans, who are aiming to strip away abortion access all over the country, even where that is an unpopular thing to do.

Earlier this year in Florida, flailing 2024 presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that banned abortions after six weeks, despite a majority of Florida voters opposing abortion bans. Its earned DeSantis the ire of fellow Republicans, including South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who called it a non-starter.

In Texas, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a trigger law effectively banned all abortions except in the case of saving the life of the mother. Despite Texas being a reliably conservative state, 60% of voters there support access to abortion in all or most cases.

While most Americans still oppose abortion in the later months of pregnancy, support for legal abortion in the first three months shot to a record 69% in the wake of the Dobbs ruling.

The polls are clear, and have been since the inception of polling on abortion attitudes in America. Voters support legal abortion with some restrictions, and that hasnt changed since 1975.

But has anybody told that to Republicans?

Do they notice or care that their anti-abortion measures are unpopular and failing all over the country, even in red states?

Do candidates running for office, including the presidency, have a memory of the not-too-distant past in 2022, where abortion proved to be a massive turnout driver in the midterms, and an issue that persuaded those coveted swing voters to pour out to the polls?

Apparently not.

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley has said shed support as strict a bill as Congress could pass.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says hed sign a federal 15-week abortion ban.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he favors a federal abortion ban with no exceptions.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott says he would sign the most conservative pro-life legislation you can bring to my desk.

If these are meant to be dog whistles to conservative voters theyre having the opposite effect  alerting Democrats to the very real probability that a Republican president would limit abortion access even more than state legislatures already have.

Its a risky strategy considering where the country is on abortion. And that is firmly with Democrats.

Ohio Republicans just learned that the hard way. When will the rest of the GOP?
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 VA Health Care System recently received recognition by Beckers Hospital Review for patient recommendations made for its Fort Harrison hospital.

Fort Harrison VA Medical Center was one of eight Montana hospitals to receive a five-star rating for patient recommended hospitals from Becker's. The others were Barrett Hospital & Healthcare in Dillon, Clark Fork Valley Hospital of Plains, Community Hospital of Anaconda, Great Falls Clinic Hospital, Logan Health-Whitefish, St. Patrick Hospital of Missoula and St. Vincent Healthcare of Billings.

The rating is based on patients recommending this hospital to their friends and family.

This is not the first five-star Beckers rating for the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center in 2023, Montana VA officials said. Earlier this year, Fort Harrison received five-star recognition for physician communication with veteran patients, which was announced July 17, and a second five-star rating on staff responsiveness, which was announced July 28.

Beckers Healthcare compiles a list of the best hospitals for patient experience nationwide using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This five-star rating from Montanas veterans is one of the greatest acknowledgements we could receive," Montana VAs Chief of Staff Dr. Greg Normandin said in an email.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, along with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, developed the survey to provide a standardized way to collect data about a patients thoughts on their hospital care.

The survey is given to random patients throughout the year in the medical, surgical or maternity service lines after discharge. Patients are asked about 10 areas of their experiences including nurse communication, responsiveness of hospital staff, communication about medications, cleanliness of hospital and their willingness to recommend that hospital to others.

Montana VA serves more than 47,000 enrolled veterans, cared for by 1,500 staff at 18 sites.

Read the Becker's review at https://bit.ly/3Yxn7oH.
The Helena City Commission recently allocated some of its about $1 million in remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds, including an additional last-minute $100,000 toward funding a solution to the city's immediate unsheltered crisis.

Rad, the leader of a self-proclaimed sobriety camp that sits as of Friday afternoon on U.S. Forest Service Land south of Helena, recently made an appeal to leaders of the city and county for help.

Rad helped raise his kids in Helena, but his alcoholism and run-ins with the law left him on the streets, in and out of jail and banned from the only shelter in the area.

He was not immediately available for comment Friday as he was reportedly taking his pit bull terrier, that recently gave birth to a litter of puppies at the camp, for a follow-up veterinarian appointment.

A federal government-imposed camping limit required the camp be disbanded Friday. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said in an interview Friday he has been monitoring the situation and he believes a tentative deal has been struck with the owner of the private land adjacent to USFS territory the group was previously camping on.

Matthew Ferrell, a spokesman for the USDA Forest Service, said in an email Friday, "All we can say is that the unsheltered camp in Oro Fino Gulch has exceeded their 16-day stay limit. The matter is now being dealt with by our Law Enforcement Officers. I am unable to comment further at this time."

City of Helena spokesman Jacob Garcin said in an Aug. 4 email that neither City Manager Tim Burton nor Helena Police Chief Brett Petty were "aware of any solutions presented by the City at this point."

On Aug. 7, City Commissioner Melinda Reed amended a resolution allocating more than half a million ARPA dollars, considered savings in the general fund resulting from the ARPA aid, to seven community projects by tacking on an additional $100,000 to fund a potential solution to the lack of shelter in the city.

Those original allocations included $250,000 to Family Promise of Greater Helena, a nonprofit helping unsheltered families, to buy property to expand its family-oriented shelter services, and $134,000 to Good Samaritan Ministries to administer an adult day program that provides services for unsheltered people during the day.

"I think the Good Samaritan project is an amazing piece of a puzzle, and it solves the daytime," Reed said. "What it does not solve is the night time. I think currently we have emergency sheltering services coming from God's Love, which addresses some people. We have the Friendship Center, which addresses some people. The Family Promise will address some other people. But there is still a large group of people who do not fit in any of those services at night."

Reed said Helena has "a big gap."

"In speaking with some of the service providers, they all recognize this gap, and I think if we can set the funds aside ... we can find out what we can do and specifically identify things to address the issue. ... I think there are ideas, but we don't have a way execute them unless we have the funding and commitment to do so."

When City Commissioner Sean Logan pressed Reed on what specific things the additional funds might be spent on, she said she did not know.

"But I think this gives us a pool of funding to draw from when someone comes up with a plan, because right now if someone came to us with a plan, we could say 'Good idea. We don't have any way to support it.'"

The ARPA allocations approved Monday also included $120,000 for the development of a comprehensive city recreation plan, a $50,000 community aid grant for Kay's Kids program, $26,000 to Exploration Works for expanded offerings, $2,000 to Last Chance Pow Wow, and $98,000 for a public restroom downtown, a proposal brought forward recently by the Helena Business Improvement District.

Reed said if the no solution comes about, the money would be returned to the general fund like any of the other allocations should they fall through.

The resolution passed as amended by Reed on a 5-0 vote.

"This is a great idea, Commissioner Reed," Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins said during the meeting. "We don't have time on our hands so to speak. ... So I hope we'll take that into consideration and have that discussion as soon as possible."

The group of unsheltered people living in Oro Fino Gulch previously asked the commission for help, but not the financial kind.

"We're not asking for money," Good Samaritan Executive Director Theresa Ortega said during the city's July 24 meeting. Ortega and her organization have been advocating for the camp. "How do we do this, make this place? Because obviously we don't have enough homeless shelters here in town, and this was taken on partly because of that."

SK Rossi of Central House Strategies spoke to the commission Monday on behalf of The Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness, offering the coalition's expertise in the coming discussion.

"Helena has dedicated community members seeking a short-term solution to keep folks safe until more permanent solutions can be found," Rossi said in an email Thursday. "In the long term, we are grateful that the City Commission and Mayor are investing dollars and coming to the table to figure this out. It says a lot about the Citys willingness to address the need."

They pointed to estimates from the National Low Income Housing Coalition that state only 45 affordable home are available for every 100 extremely low-income renters, and that Montana would need an additional 15,741 housing units to meet current demands.

"MCSH steering committee, which includes shelter directors and advocates working in communities around the state, are meeting regularly to develop a range of solutions where Montana can make progress and better support those living unhoused," Rossi said. "We will continue to listen to those with lived experience and work until everyone has a safe, affordable place to live. We know it is a long road, but we are and will remain optimistic. What other choice do we have?"

Reed said in the interview that she hopes to incorporate not only the organizations doing the work on the ground, but also those affected by any future decision.

"My preference is not for task forces or administrative things, but to get the right people in the room and come up with actionable solutions," she said.
Touro University has officially opened its Great Falls campus, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, touting it as the first nonprofit medical school in Montana.

The college, also known as TouroCOM, features a 100,000-square-foot building with state-of-the-art labs, a simulation lab and a kosher cafeteria. It will host up to 125 students and 60 faculty in its inaugural year and up to 500 medical students at full capacity. Ground was broken Oct. 6, 2021.

There was a grand opening for the 2801 18th Ave. S. campus on Monday in which Gov. Greg Gianforte was among those who attended.

As we focus on creating greater and better access to health care, and lowering costs for Montanans, TouroCOM Montana is building a new pipeline of health care leaders to serve with compassion, excellence, and integrity in our communities, he said in a news release.

Officials said they hope the new school will help address Montanas and the nations health care crisis and physician shortage by educating and retaining health care professionals in the state and providing needed care to rural and tribal populations.

But it is not Montanas first medical school. In July there was a grand opening ceremony at Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine in Billings. Up until recently, Montana was one of four states without a medical school.

In Montana, 11 of the 56 counties lack a practicing physician and 52 counties identified as areas with health professional shortages.

One of the core pillars of our Touro University mission is to support underserved communities and the opening of TouroCOM in Great Falls represents a further expression of that, Dr. Alan Kadish, president of Touro University, said in a news release.

He said the school was eager to train the next generation of health care providers and offer much-needed medical care to Montana.

TouroCOM will clinically affiliate with several area medical providers, including Benefis Health System, to serve the local Great Falls community and improve access to medical care throughout Montana.

Benefis CEO John Goodnow said in an email Friday that increasing the education pipeline of medical professionals is the best way to address the country's doctor (and nurse) shortage.

"I have to really commend Touro for coming to Great Falls, Mont., and helping to increase the pipeline. We are so happy they are here," he said.

Touro officials said they hope to develop residency programs with Benefis.

Elizabeth Palmarozzi, founding dean of TouroCOM Great Falls, thanked the community and Benefis for its support.

Opening our doors and getting our students settled into the new facilities marks just the beginning of our contribution to the healthcare community in Montana and surrounding regions, she said in a news release.

Kenneth Steier, executive dean of TouroCOM, said Touro aims to "increase representation of Native American students in our classrooms, while also promoting primary care presence in small rural communities.

Our new presence in Great Falls speaks to our institutional vision of bringing exceptional educational opportunities to areas where they are needed and to the people who will truly benefit from our expertise," he said.

TouroCOM also has campuses in Harlem and Middletown, New York.

Nearly 30% of the student body in Touros osteopathic medical schools is comprised of underrepresented minorities, 55% of graduates practice in underserved communities and 60% enter the field of primary care.

Touro University is a system of nonprofit institutions of higher and professional education chartered in 1970. Touro was founded primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage and to serve the larger American and global community, the college said in a news release.

Nearly 19,000 students are enrolled at Touro Universitys various schools and divisions, which encompass 37 campuses and locations in New York, California, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. Great Falls is Touro's sixth medical school.

For more information, visit www.touro.edu.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state's semiautomatic weapons ban in a 4-3 decision on Friday.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote the majority opinion. Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justices P. Scott Neville Jr. and Joy Cunningham concurred in the judgment and opinion.

Justice Lisa Holder White dissented, with opinion, joined by Justice David Overstreet. Justice Mary OBrien dissented, with opinion.

The court's ruling reverses a Macon County Circuit Court decision on a lawsuit brought forth by State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, who alleged that Illinois' semiautomatic weapons ban constituted special legislation and denied equal protection to members of the public who weren't classified as exempt from the ban.

The higher court rejected Caulkins' claims.

"First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes," Rochford wrote in the majority opinion.

The court's ruling was not unexpected given the court's Democratic majority but nevertheless clears the deck of constitutional questions at the state level.

However, the battle over the law is far from over as full attention turns to ongoing federal lawsuits alleging that it violates the Second Amendment.

Caulkins told reporters in Springfield Friday he was disappointed but not surprised by the courts decision.

You know, this is Illinois, and when you have a supreme court where the last two justices that were elected benefited greatly from political contributions from the governor, its really hard to be, to realistically expect any kind of an outcome that would not make him happy, Caulkins said. So, were disappointed, but kind of the odds have always been against us.

Caulkins was referring to Justices OBrien and Rochford, whose campaigns both receive donations from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

OBrien notably dissented in Caulkins v. Pritzker, ultimately siding with Caulkins in his claim that the legislation in question violates the special legislation provision in the state constitution.

In dissenting, I do not pass judgment on the intent of the legislation. Rather, I only consider whether it meets the constitutional requirements under the equal protection and special legislation provisions of our Illinois Constitution, OBrien wrote in her dissent. When we limit peoples rights, even the rights we might not like, we have to do so in a way that honors the constitution.

Caulkins praised what he called a very thoughtful opinion from OBrien, but accused the courts majority of partisan politics.

The majority opinion dances all around that issue (of equal protection), and it's very politically written, he said. It shreds precedent in previous opinions. This is very dangerous. This supreme court has now shown itself to be very, very political.

Caulkins was far from the only Illinois Republican upset with the ruling. The courts decision also drew a fiery response from former state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, who failed to upset Pritzker in the 2022 gubernatorial race and who recently announced a bid for Illinois 12th Congressional District.

This is a blow to Illinois. This is a blow to our freedoms. This is a blow to our constitution, the Second Amendment, Bailey said in a video posted to his Facebook page. This is a blow to this great republic. My question to you is how much more of this are we going to take, friends?

Im standing here on my front porch  If need be, this front porch will be my final stand, Bailey continued. I will not allow anyone to infringe on my property, on my Second Amendment rights. I will not allow anyone to come and take anything from me. And if need be, as I quoted before, I will die on this front porch before I give up any of my Second Amendment freedoms.

Lawmakers passed and Pritzker signed the legislation banning semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines in January. It took effect immediately, making Illinois the ninth state in the country with a ban on the books.

It came less than six months after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in north suburban Highland Park left seven dead and dozens wounded.

This is a common sense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship, said Pritzker in a news release Friday. Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state  whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work  and thats precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes.

Caulkins accused Pritzker of using the weapons ban debate as a launching pad for future political ambitions.

This is nation-leading legislation. This law is the first of its kind in the country. This is part of Gov. Pritzker treating Illinois like a petri dish in his quest to run for president, Caulkins said. You know, we've seen it on every social issue that he can attack now every issue that the radical left will find attractive in a presidential primary, Gov. Pritzker has enforced right here in Illinois. And because he has a super majority in the House and the Senate, and now control of the Illinois Supreme Court, we are going to suffer for his political aspirations.

Other state Democrats seized on the courts decision as a win for public safety  and a victory over gun lobbyists.

The Supreme Courts ruling upholds the legislatures commitment to value the lives of our children over guns, said Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, D-Hillside, in a statement. This ruling makes it clear that the safety of our cities, our suburbs, and our small towns is not subject to the veto of the gun lobby.

Welch thanked the bans legislative sponsors for ushering through one of the nations strongest gun safety laws.

He also didnt hesitate in getting in a partisan jab.

I encourage our Republican colleagues to join in these efforts as partners, rather than litigants, Welch said.

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, echoed some of his fellow Democrats claims.

This is a victory for common sense, Harmon said. Weapons of war have no place on our streets. I am proud to have worked on it and even prouder to see it upheld in court today.

In a statement, Attorney General Kwame Raoul also celebrated the decision, saying the legislation is a critical part of the state's approach to addressing gun violence.

The states chief legal officer also released a statement celebrating the decision.

We are firmly committed to protecting Illinois residents from the gun violence that impacts too many communities throughout the state," he said. "We will continue to defend the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act and other measures that reduce gun violence in our communities.

The law banning semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines faced a slew of legal challenges immediately following its passage. At the state level, separate lawsuits brought by Caulkins and former attorney general candidate Tom DeVore alleged that the law violated the state constitution.

Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that the process by which the law was passed violated requirements from the Illinois Constitution that legislation get three public readings on three separate days in both houses, and that each bill be limited to a single subject. They also argued that the law violates the constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law by exempting certain classes of people, such as corrections officers and retired police.

At oral arguments in May, attorney Jerry Stocks also argued that the law violated the Second Amendment and that any analysis of the case had to start there. For this, Theis took him to task, noting that their case was based on other questions.

"Bruen, etc. are all about the Second Amendment. That's not what you brought," Theis said, referring to a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found a New York State gun law unconstitutional. "You framed this in a totally different way. You could have joined the three cases  the federal cases. You chose to shape it in a different way about the special legislation and equal protection. It's much different analysis." 

Although his case has reached its end in the Illinois court system, Caulkins said he is consulting his legal team on potential next steps.

The Illinois Supreme Court is the final voice. And we now have their verdict, and it was not favorable. So we have to decide if we want to pursue another avenue. And we'll continue to work with the federal court, the other groups that are in federal court. Support them.

This story may be updated.

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BLOOMINGTON  A new facility is expected to bring wind and solar technicians from across the country to train in Bloomington.

EDP Renewables, the company behind three of McLean Countys wind farms, unveiled its new technician training facility, located at 1616 E. General Electric Road, on Thursday. It is the global energy companys first site in Illinois dedicated to training in renewable energy.

This is really the cutting edge of energy, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, after touring the facility with EDP leaders.

Technician trainees will come from across the country and Canada, to take part in a two-week induction training period at the Bloomington facility to learn about how wind and solar operations work with an emphasis on safety, CEO Sandhya Ganapathy said.

Im super excited that we have something like this and really hoping that we can get many of them trained over the years, and we can churn out a lot of really talented, skilled people, she said.

Close to 50 technicians have been trained at the facility in the last few months as part of a soft launch. In accordance with the policies of the Global Wind Organisation in regards to capacity and trainer-trainee ratios, Ganapathy said they will be able to train at least 100 people on an ongoing basis every year, including new training and more advanced training.

It is unclear how many operations managers will be on-site in Bloomington training new technicians.

Durbin said the facility represents exactly what we need to ensure technicians are trained to do their jobs effectively and safely.

The senator, who visited the Normal manufacturing facility of electric automaker Rivian Automotive before the EDP unveiling, said Central Illinois has a bright, optimistic, positive future ahead of us, leading in renewable energy and innovation.

He said it wasnt long ago when Illinoisans considered themselves part of the Rust Belt, yesterdays success story, and wondered whether this area had a future.

We wondered if the next wave of innovation and creativity would include us, he said. Now, take a look around and see whats happening here. We have had dramatic increases just in this Bloomington-Normal community.

We are looking at new sources of energy that are good for our environment, he said, noting the effects of climate change seen in the extreme heat this summer and extreme weather events that have increased in recent years. Things are changing and weve got to adjust to that change. Part of it is looking for renewable energy sources, using what God has given us  and making certain that we build the kind of facilities that will serve our state and our nation for many years to come.

EDP Renewables has been in McLean County for 15 years with $2.5 billion invested in the area and five wind farms across Central Illinois  with two of those split into two phases  producing 1,200 megawatts, which is enough to power more than 412,000 homes.

"Were planning to increase (training) as our investments increase (and) embrace people from profiles, different backgrounds. We want a really diverse workforce; thats something that Im committed to, thats something that the company truly believes in, Ganapathy said.

Since the company began to expand in Illinois, its CEO said, the state has embraced EDP.

So when we were thinking about where exactly we want to install and house this facility, we couldnt think of a better place, she said, standing between training areas of the Bloomington facility. Im really happy that we got the space.

Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said the unveiling was truly a celebration of a new chapter of engagement and empowerment, as EDPs vision extends beyond the horizons of energy production and embraces the goal of inspiring and nurturing the talents of the next generation.

He called the training facility a gift to the next generation, an invitation to embrace the challenges and rewards that await. It will serve as a launch pad of knowledge where bright individuals can learn, experiment and innovate. A place to encourage curiosity, sharpen skills and forge our future leaders."

Mwilambwe said EDPs values perfectly align with ours, including employee-centric policies, gender equity and sustainability.

The mayor also said adding this training facility to the opportunities available in Bloomington is a dedication to sustainability, not just in terms of clean energy production but also in terms of sustainable growth of our workforce.

Bringing trainees into Bloomington and Central Illinois could help to keep them here, Mwilambwe said.

One of the best ways to attract people to a community is to actually have them experience the community, he said.
CRYSTAL LAKE  The four members of a suburban Chicago household who died after a shooting this week were identified Thursday, including the suspected aggressor.

Authorities have not said what sparked the violence in unincorporated Crystal Lake early Wednesday.

Three women were killed and a fourth badly wounded. A news release from the McHenry County Sheriff's Office on Thursday gave no update on the wounded woman's condition. She has not been identified.

The shooter died after being taken to a hospital in serious condition, but his cause of death was not listed in Thursday's report by McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein.

The coroner identified the three women as Lauren Smith-Song, 32, Yuna Song, 49, and Chang Song, 73. The suspected aggressor was 44-year-old Jean Song. Autopsies were to be performed Thursday, Rein said.

Officers responded around 4 a.m. Wednesday to a report of one member of the household shooting their relatives, Deputy Tim Creighton said during a news briefing hours later.

Crystal Lake is about 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.
Seven years after North Carolina voters said yes to the $2 billion Connect NC Bond, one of the items that it funded officially opened last week.

The North Carolina National Guard held a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 3 for its newest regional readiness center in Morganton. The 66,000-square-foot facility now stands at 5155 Western Ave., Morganton, where the former Western Youth Institution was located.

Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, adjutant general of North Carolina, thanked everyone who had a hand in getting the new readiness center built, including legislators and local leaders, as well as support from the local community. He noted the support the community has long given to state facilities in Morganton.

Hunt also pointed out the Spanish soldiers who built Fort San Juan in Morganton in 1567.

They would be in awe if they saw this building today, Hunt told the crowd.

The three-building facility that sits on 38 acres will be the home and training center for the 630th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1451st Transportation Company and 626th Maintenance Company of the 113th Sustainment Brigade, along with the 878th Engineer Company of the 505th Engineer Battalion, 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, according to the North Carolina National Guard.

Hunt said the new facility will help the National Guard with its modernization and its ability to support the community, the nation and the civilian population in Morganton and the Foothills area.

Both N.C. Sen. Warren Daniel, R-46, and N.C. Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-86, told the crowd about how the initial plan for the readiness center was to renovate and reuse Western Youth Institution. However, it was decided after the Connect NC Bond passed that it would not be feasible.

The 16-story former prison was imploded in July 2020 to make way for new construction for the readiness center.

Blackwell said having the readiness center built in Burke County is fitting, noting the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, a group of volunteer soldiers, rendezvousing in Morganton on their march to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Military historians, he said, believe that was a turning point in the war for the patriots.

He said the facility was a great thing to have been able to work on and great to have in the community and the state.

Col. Rodney Newton, NCNG Construction Facilities Management officer, said the National Guard units built in the 1950s and 1960s have become inadequate for todays soldiers. Parking lots were smaller because not as many owned a vehicle, military equipment was smaller, bathrooms and locker rooms didnt account for the numerous female soldiers that make up todays military, and computers and digital training were non-existent, he said.

Newton said the new state-of-the-art readiness center has a multitude of classroom space and a distance learning lab that surpasses modern standards. It provides bathrooms, showers and lockers for both male and female soldiers. It also has a well-equipped fitness center and a break room and an Army combat fitness track and field, he said.
According to the FBI, events unfolded as follows. A murderous crook named Frank Nash was in the federal United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, for one of several 25-year stints, when he escaped on Oct. 19, 1930. Less than a year later, Nash managed to help seven other prisoners bust out of Leavenworth as well. In the meantime, the FBI mounted a giant manhunt that spanned the continent. They finally tracked down Nash in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

It was now just a simple matter of getting their felon back to Kansas via train. But then some of Nash's buddies got wind of the transport and cooked up a scheme to free him when the train showed up.

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The story goes that Floyd and his sidekick, Adam Richetti, happened to drive into Kansas City the day before the train was due. They met up with Nash's pals and offered to help with the scheme to free him. When Nash arrived, he was escorted to a waiting car by seven officers. They were nearly all seated inside the vehicle when, from out of nowhere, gunmen opened fire on them.

Four officers died; two survived by playing dead and Nash, the very person the crooks were trying to free, was shot dead in the back seat of the car. The gunmen fled, and Floyd and Richetti were identified as they ran.

Pretty Boy Floyd, who made a habit of boasting about his crimes, maintained to the very end of his life that he had nothing to do with what became known as the Kansas City Massacre. But it didn't matter. J. Edgar Hoover had already eliminated John Dillinger, whom he'd dubbed Public Enemy No. 1, and now he turned his sights on Pretty Boy Floyd.

" " Several shot up cars are seen in front of the Kansas City railroad depot moments after what's now known as the Kansas City Massacre. FBI
The African continent has long been a tapestry of diverse nations, each with its unique challenges and aspirations. Amongst these nations, Niger now finds itself in the spotlight due to recent political developments that have raised concerns and sparked debate across the region. The recent unconstitutional change of power in Niger has raised alarm bells across the African continent. The African Regional Organization of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has taken a firm stance against the use of military intervention as a solution to the political impasse in Niger.

On July 26th, Niger witnessed an unsettling turn of events as the Presidential Guard declared martial law and deposed the sitting president, leading to concerns about the preservation of constitutionality and democracy. ITUC-Africa swiftly condemned this unconstitutional change of power, reaffirming its commitment to the principles of democracy and the rule of law that are essential for fostering stable governance and sustainable development across the continent.

While the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has historically been at the forefront of promoting regional stability and resolving conflicts, the organizations ultimatum, and threat of military intervention in Niger have raised concerns within the African labor movement. ITUC-Africa underscores its opposition to the use of military force in resolving the political impasse, advocating for a diplomatic and political approach instead.

The Sahel region, where Niger is situated, has long been grappling with complex security challenges. Extremists, terrorists, and insurgents have sowed discord, leading to tragic consequences: loss of lives, abduction of children, destruction of schools, and displacement of countless families. The impact of these attacks on agriculture and livelihoods has contributed to high poverty rates, internally displaced persons, and overall instability in the region. Considering these realities, ITUC-Africa finds ECOWAS military intervention proposal concerning.

As ITUC-Africa emphasizes, the situation in Niger has not yet escalated into violence, offering a window of opportunity for diplomatic resolution. The call for dialogue over military action is rooted in a conviction that peaceful options exist and must be explored wholeheartedly.

ECOWAS must reverse course and tactically embrace diplomatic and political dialogue to resolve this impasse. Until now, no single bullet has been shot, and no death has been recorded in Niger because of the coup. This situation should not be allowed to degenerate into violent military hostilities. We are convinced that peaceful options exist and must be genuinely pursued. We say NO to military intervention and YES to inclusive and genuine dialogue, said ITUC-Africa declaration.

ITUC-Africa called upon ECOWAS to embrace a robust and swift diplomatic dialogue to address the crisis at hand. The organization believes that military intervention would not only destabilize Niger further but also have far-reaching negative repercussions for the entire West African sub-region and the broader African continent.
Digital infrastructure company Equinix is investing US$42 million for its fourth international business exchange data centre in Mumbai called MB4 as part of its plan to support Indias growing digital economy, which is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2026.

According to JLL, a global commercial real estate and investment management company, the Indian data centre industry reached 637MW as of H1 2022 and is expected to reach 1,318 MW by 2024.

In addition, the Equinix Global Tech Trends Survey 2023 indicates that 85% of IT leaders surveyed in India plan to increase spending on interconnection in the next twelve months.

MB4 will address the rising demand for data centre and interconnection services among businesses.

The availability of MB4, expected in Q4 2023, will allow us to continue serving our customers needs in India, enabling them to leverage our interconnection platform for efficient connectivity to multiple cloud service providers, network service providers and other businesses. This will help existing and new customers accelerate their digital transformation journey, commented Equinix India managing director Manoj Paul.



MB4 will offer expanded connectivity options to major telco networks. Its Metro Connect will be connected to data centre sites MB1 and MB2 in Mumbai.

Scheduled to open in Q4 2023 (subject to regulatory approvals), the first phase of MB4 will provide an initial capacity of 350 cabinets. When fully built, the facility is expected to provide 700 cabinets.

Equinix operates 250 data centers across 71 metros, providing digital infrastructure for more than 10,000 of the worlds leading businesses.

In Asia Pacific, Equinix currently operates 52 data centres in key metros across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

The company also recently announced its plans to enter Malaysia and Indonesia to support business expansions into these emerging markets in the region.

In March 2022, Equinix announced its plan to enter the Chennai market with a land acquisition of over 5.5 acres. In June 2022, Equinix announced plans to expand its footprint with an investment of over US$86 million to build its third data centre in Mumbai, called MB3.
Red Hat's recent decision, to make it more difficult for others to gain access to the source code for its enterprise Linux, has resulted in three companies joining to try and nullify the impact of this change.

Red Hat, which was bought by IBM in 2019, said in its June announcement that RHEL source code would be available only to paying customers.

In a statement on Thursday, SUSE chief technology and product officer Dr Thomas Di Giacomo said his company had formed the Open Enterprise Linux Association along with Oracle and CIQ, the last-named being the company that is behind Rocky Linux, an RHEL clone.

The statement said OpenELA would encourage development of distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux by providing open and free Enterprise Linux source code.

SUSE, the biggest independent open source company,that it would invest more than US$10 million (A$15.34 million) to fork the publicly available RHEL source code and make it available with no restrictions.

From 2002 until 2014, a project named CentOS was distributing RHEL without Red Hat's trademarks  the only proprietary bits  until Red Hat bought it and took it in-house. In December 2020, Red Hat shut down CentOS and created a development stream called CentOS Stream.

Oracle has taunted Red Hat about the June move, while AlmaLinux, set up after the December 2020 shutdown of CentOS, has said from now on it would only seek ABI compatibility with RHEL due to difficulties in obtaining source code.

While RHEL source code could now be obtained from CentOS Stream, it would not be the same as in an RHEL release as CentOS Stream is an upstream environment.

Source code that is available from Fedora, Red Hat's community distribution, would be even more outdated as it is upstream to CentOS Stream.

Collaboration is critical to fostering innovation, which is why we welcome everyone to be part of this association and help us uphold open community standards, Dr Di Giacomo said.

SUSE is a strong believer in making choice happen. Together with the open source community we will redefine what it truly means to be open and deliver a stronger future for EL [Enterprise Linux].

CIQ chief executive Gregory Kurtzer said: Today's announcement marks the beginning of a new era for EL. With OpenELA, CIQ, Oracle and SUSE join forces with the open source community to ensure a stable and resilient future for both upstream and downstream communities to leverage Enterprise Linux."

Wim Coekaerts, head of Oracle Linux development at Oracle, added: "Many large organisations reached out to us to express the importance of community-driven source code for EL that can act as a starting point for compatible distributions.

OpenELA is our response to this need, and it represents a commitment to helping the open source community continue to develop compatible EL distributions.

Red Hat has not made any public comment about the formation of OpenELA.
An unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server appears to have been the entry point for the attackers who breached the systems of the UK Electoral Commission, a fact disclosed by the agency on Wednesday 10 months after it was spotted.

Well-known British security researcher Kevin Beaumont said in a blog post on Thursday that the Electoral Commission was running the software on IP 67.98.206.41 and it was online until later in 2022, with Outlook Web App being exposed to the Internet.. The incident came to the agency's notice in October of that year.

Using Shodan.io, a search engine that can be used to look for various types of servers connected to the Internet, Beaumont showed [graphic below] that the server was still online in September 2022, and later stopped responding.

In its Wednesday statement, the UK Electoral Commission, an independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK, said the attackers appeared to have first gained access to its systems in August 2021.

Beaumont said the version number of Exchange Server was visible  it was 15.1.2507.12. "This corresponds to Exchange Server 2016, last security updated in August 2022." he wrote

He said the Electoral Commission or its IT supplier was doing the right thing. "They were applying security patches quickly during this time in 2022. [But] 2021 data isnt available, so it is unknown how well they were patching prior during the ProxyShell and ProxyLogon Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities."

In late September that year, a vulnerability chain, named as ProxyNotShell by Beaumont in October 2022, became public knowledge. when he tweeted out details of the issue.

Beaumont recalled that Microsoft had issued temporary mitigations for ProxyNotShell and took until November 2022 to fix the two bugs in question.

"The Electoral Commission was running Exchange Server in this configuration during the main incident timeline," he said.

"They were vulnerable to ProxyNotShell attacks. ProxyNotShell allows remote code execution on their Exchange email server, or in other words complete compromise of their network (Exchange Server runs with highly privileged Active Directory accounts by default)."

Contacted for comment, an UK Electoral Commission spokesperson said: "Were not able to comment. The Commission is under investigation by the Information Commissioners Office, and cannot release any information that could compromise their investigation."

Microsoft was also contacted for comment, but a company spokesperson said it had nothing further to share.
The US has put in place further restrictions on China, aiming to reduce the flow of American investment to firms that it claims could help boost Beijing's armed forces.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday, which would take effect next year, imposing curbs on access to technologies around AI, quantum technology and semiconductors.

While the Department of Treasury talks of the order being applicable to "the policies and actions of countries of concern which seek to... exploit US outbound investments to develop sensitive technologies and products critical for military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber-enabled capabilities" an annex identifies only one country: China along with Hong Kong and Macau.

Its notice of the rule said: "Advanced technologies and products that are increasingly developed and financed by the private sector form the basis of next-generation military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber-enabled capabilities.

"For example, certain advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence systems will underpin military innovations that improve the speed and accuracy of military decision-making, planning, and logistics; enable the compromise of encryption and other cyber security controls; and advance mass surveillance capabilities.

"The potential military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber-enabled applications of these technologies and products pose risks to US national security particularly when developed by a country of concern such as the PRC [People's Republic of China] in which the government seeks to (1) direct entities to obtain technologies to achieve national security objectives; and (2) compel entities to share or transfer these technologies to the governments military, intelligence, surveillance, and security apparatuses."

The European Union has said that it will react to this proposed order later in the year.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: "China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the USs single-minded rollout of restrictions on investments in China. We have made serious demarche to the US.

"Restricting US companies investments in China with national security as a front is a clear act of overstretching the concept of security and politicising business engagement.

"The moves real aim is to deprive China of its right to develop, and selfishly pursue US supremacy at the expense of others.

"This is blatant economic coercion and tech bullying, an act that seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, undermines the international economic and trading order, destabilises global industrial and supply chains and hurts the interests of both China and the US and the global business community. This is de-globalisation and a move to phase China out.

"President Biden committed to not seeking to 'decouple' from China or halt Chinas economic development. We urge the US to follow through on that commitment, stop politicising, instrumentalising and weaponising tech and trade issues, immediately cancel the wrong decisions, remove the restrictions on investments in China and create an enabling environment for China-US business co-operation.

"China will follow the developments closely and resolutely safeguard our rights and interests."

Last October, the US issued a new set of rules which prevent companies which do business in the US from selling the latest semiconductors to China.

Also put in place were curbs on American citizens or green-card holders from working for Chinese semiconductor factories.
SPRINGFIELD  A group of Livingston County 4-H youths sat under a shade tree as they lunched on fried appetizers and mini-burgers Thursday afternoon at the Illinois State Fair.

Teenagers feasting on fair food is a common site there, but what was different was that the main ingredient in their meal was copi, the new consumer food brand for invasive carp. They were eating copi nuggets, rangoon, empanadas and sliders.

"Last year, they had samples of (copi) and it was phenomenal, so we had to come back and get some more," 4-H leader Cheryl Hansen, of Flanagan, said of the copi giveaways at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Conservation World exhibit area.

This year, IDNR has arranged for the new Flippin Fish Shack food truck from Grafton to sell a variety of copi menu items throughout the fair, which will continue through Aug. 20. The Fish Shack will be open daily during Conservation World hours, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Flippin' Fish co-owner Darla Drainer said her husband, commercial fisherman Randy Drainer, has helped supply his sister's fried fish stand for 30 years now, so they decided to put this experience to work opening a food truck of their own.

Drainer said she and her husband heard IDNR was looking for a vendor to sell copi at this year's state fair, so they answered this call. She said they are accustomed to cooking up catfish and buffalo fish, so they needed to test various invasive carp recipes in preparation for the fair.

For their copi needs, the food vendors turned to fish processed by Sorce Freshwater Co. in East Peoria and sold by Humphrey's Market in Springfield. Drainer said she was pleasantly surprised by how well this mild fish paired with many ingredients, such as being a substitute for crab in rangoons.

Drainer said Flippin' Fish, which may now offer copi at other festivals and special events, encourages those who may be skeptical about eating invasive carp to give it a try.

"It's not what they think. This is completely different," Drainer said.

IDNR launched the copi brand in June 2022, with the goal of rebranding invasive carp to combat public misconceptions and increase consumer interest. IDNR reported that Illinois processors have doubled their sales since the launch, and nationwide sales are now available online.

Copi is described as a mild, clean-tasting fish with heart-healthy omega-3s and very low levels of mercury. IDNR reported that increased consumption will help keep the fish from decimating other fish populations in the Great Lakes and restore an ecological balance to waterways downstream.

We know theres a lot of curiosity about copi, and the Illinois State Fair is a perfect time for people to find out what all the buzz is about, IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said in a press release. Anytime IDNR has offered copi during the fair, people walk away impressed by how light, delicious and versatile it is.

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
Wells Fargo & Co. has informed its federal regulator  the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency  of the official closing of another 14 branches nationwide, though none in North Carolina.

The bank also declared its intentions to close another 23 branches, also none in the state.

There have been at least 65 Wells Fargo branch closings in North Carolina, including three in Winston-Salem and nine in the Triad, since July 2020.
Solid Friday. Whatre you going to do with your weekend?

Two words spring to mind when thumbing through accounts of Phillip White v T.W. Garner Food Co., a lawsuit wending its way through the federal court system.

Tort reform.

The suit, which more than a handful of casual observers might call frivolous, was filed last year in the U.S. Central District of California.

In it, plaintiff White is seeking an undeclared amount of damages  compensatory and punitive  because he bought a $3 bottle of Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce and only learned afterward that Texas Pete is, in fact, made right here in Winston-Salem rather than the Lone Star state.

Oh, the horror. How did the poor man survive?

T.W. Garner, a homegrown company thats been making Texas Pete here since 1929, responded that only an ignoramus could get his (or her) nose out of joint over a label on a bottle of hot sauce.

OK. Thats paraphrasing. But what their lawyers actually wrote wasnt that far off, though.

The packaging does not imply that Texas Pete is made in Texas, the company says, and a reasonable consumer would understand that the trademark symbol next to the Texas Pete name shows that its a brand.

The key word there, of course, is reasonable.

Still, a federal judge in California this week allowed White v. Garner to proceed because some consumers, after looking at the label could believe  erroneously  that the products originated in Texas.

Or as they say in Texas, those people might be all hat and no cattle. Besides, California has a rather low legal bar for claiming false advertising and breach of contract.

So, here we are.

Not long after word of the suit started making the rounds, a friend compared the aggrieved Californian to another plaintiff  the woman who sued McDonalds over hot coffee in the 90s.

Interesting comparison. But with all due respect, its 180-degrees wrong.

The McDonalds case was held up for years as the prime example of a frivolous lawsuit  and used as a rallying cry for tort reform.

One problem, though.

The plaintiff in that case suffered third-degree burns from scalding coffee that required skin grafts. Corporate policy was to serve coffee hot enough to burn in seconds; McDonalds had received more than 700 prior complaints about injuries caused by its coffee and had paid settlements.

The woman, Stella Liebeck of New Mexico, offered to settle for $20,000  enough to cover lost wages and medical bills  but the company refused to offer more than $800. The suit went to trial and a jury awarded Liebeck $3 million in punitive damages, an amount later reduced.

Im neither a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, but I know this much: Unless that bottle of Texas Pete contained lye as an ingredient to give it an extra hot zing, that plaintiff couldnt possibly have suffered damage the same way as Stella Liebeck.

Thanks to a federal judge in California, it would seem that we may have a new leader in the clubhouse to define frivolous lawsuit for the American masses.

More mimes, please

WINSTON-SALEM  Ever seen a wall or a street crossing that could use a little something different?

If so, the Public Art Commission might have something for you.

The commission is seeking proposals for public art projects. The guidelines, as you might imagine, are a bit open-ended; we suspect thats on purpose to encourage creativity.

Projects can be two or three-dimensional  think murals and paintings or sculptures  and can be temporary or permanent. Temporary is self-explanatory; the piece may be installed for a few weeks or up to a year.

(Were not sure whether the call for proposals includes performance art. But we do know that the city could use more mimes. Lots of mimes.)

The commission has a budget of $40,000 and will pay for up to four projects. Artists must be over 18 and a resident of Winston-Salem. The deadline to apply is Sept. 25.

Proposals should have a budget to cover such things as materials and insurance and a location, though the commission can help applicants find a suitable spot if need be.

The commission has set up three meetings  two in person, one virtual  to provide feedback on seedling ideas.

In-person meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the Delta Arts Center on New Walkertown Road; and 7 p.m. Sept. 7 at INBTWN (DOSE Collective Art Space) at 606 Trade St. A Zoom meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sept. 18.

Contact the Public Art Commission for details.
Its easy to be cynical about politicians. Disappointment and betrayal breed cynicism.

Fortunately, there are people  on both sides of the aisle  who redeem the profession by doing the right thing, even when there is a price to be paid for doing it.

Take Rusty Bowers.

On Feb. 1, 2022, HB 2596 was introduced in the Arizona House of Representatives. The bill would have altered voting in primaries and in the general election by eliminating early voting and by restricting all voting to paper ballots.

More troubling was a provision that would have given the legislature the power to accept or reject the results of an election, and if the legislature rejected the results, a single elector would have had the power to demand that a new election be held.

Standing in the way of the passage of HB 2596 was the Republican speaker of the House, Russell Rusty Bowers, 30 years an elected official, father of seven, beekeeper, orchardist, watercolorist and fierce lover of the Constitution.

If Rusty Bowers had simply wanted to kill the bill, he could have sat on it. It wasnt likely to pass anyway. But he wanted to make a statement. He sent the bill to committee. Well, not to a committee. He sent it to 12 committees, a legislative maneuver that, according to New York Times reporting, left even veteran statehouse watchers in Arizona awe-struck at its audacity.

We gave the authority to the people, Bowers told Capitol Media Services. And Im not going to go back and kick them in the teeth.

Shortly after the 2020 election, Bowers famously clashed with Donald Trump, Rudy Guiliani and John Eastman in a series of phone calls.

To Bowers, who described himself as a conservative Republican (who) voted for President Trump and worked hard to reelect him, the purpose of the calls was shocking.

According to the recent indictment of Donald Trump, the president and Guiliani asked Bowers to replace legitimate electors for Biden with a new slate for the Defendant.

Bowers recalled his response when he testified before the Jan. 6 committee: (They were) asking me to do something that is counter to my oath, when I swore to the Constitution to uphold it. And it is a tenet of my faith that the Constitution is divinely inspired. So, for me to do that just because someone asked me to is foreign to my very being. I will not do it.

In an interview on ABC News, Bowers explained, The idea of throwing out the election of the president is like, OK, so what part of Jupiter do I get to land on and colonize?

Bowers courageous defense of the Constitution did not go unnoticed.

In April 2022 he was named a recipient of the Profile in Courage Award, along with Liz Cheney, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Fulton County (Ga.) election worker Shaye Moss and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Each (was) chosen for the courage theyve shown protecting democracy in the United States and abroad, the program said.

Meanwhile, back home, Rusty Bowers learned that there is sometimes a price to be paid for taking a righteous stand.

Ive had people walk up and say, you know, just cold turkey, Im ashamed of you,  he said. He was called a traitor and a pedophile and told that the price of treason is hanging.

The noise and disturbances in front of Bowers house on Saturday nights upset the neighborhood and was especially disturbing to his daughter, who was seriously ill inside.

Kacey Rae Bowers, 42, died on Jan. 28, three weeks after the assault on our nations Capitol, seven days after Joe Biden was inaugurated.

The final blow  politically speaking  came in July 2022 when the chairwoman of the Arizona GOP, Kelli Ward, issued a news release in which she announced, The AZGOP Executive Committee formally censured Rusty Bowers tonight. He is no longer a Republican in good standing, and we call on Republicans to replace him at the ballot box in the August primary.

Bowers lost his bid for a seat in the Arizona Senate to an opponent who had been endorsed by Trump.

For the first time in three decades Rusty Bowers no longer served the people of Arizona in an elected position.

If you are persecuted for righteousness sake, Jesus said, youre in good company. For so persecuted they the prophets  and an occasional politician  who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12; my paraphrase.)
A Lincoln man is facing at least 20 years in prison at his sentencing in September after being found guilty at trial Wednesday of sexually abusing a young girl.

Prosecutors charged Alvaro Monterroso, 50, with first-degree sex assault of a minor and another sexual offense last year on the allegations.

According to court records, a woman in her 20s had come forward about multiple incidents of sexual abuse that had occurred over a six-year period when she was a child.

In a recorded call with law enforcement officers listening in, Monterroso made admissions.

At the end of a trial this week, the jury deliberated for 15 minutes before finding him guilty as charged.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Bill Clinton's presidential center is planning a major expansion that will include a new Hillary Rodham Clinton Institute holding personal archives from the former Democratic presidential nominee and first lady, the Clinton Foundation announced.

The Clinton Foundation did not release information on the size or cost of the planned expansion of the center, saying it expected to unveil more details next year. The center, which opened in 2004, features the former president's library and museum and is located in a 29-acre park in downtown Little Rock.

The foundation said that the expansion would enhance the the center's ability to host exhibitions, convene global leaders and provide educational opportunities.

The Clinton Foundation said it planned to work with Studio Gang, a Chicago-based architecture and urban design practice, to design the project. Studio Gang will work with Little Rock-based architecture firm Polk Stanley Wilcox.

The new Hillary Rodham Clinton Institute will also serve as a hub for the former first lady's nonprofit and advocacy work, the foundation said. Hillary Clinton's papers from her time as first lady are already held in the presidential library's archives.

The center houses Clinton's papers from his presidency and features a museum about his time in office. The center is also home to the Little Rock offices of the Clinton Foundation and the University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service. More than 5 million people have visited the center since it opened, the foundation said.

Photos: Bill Clinton, America's 42nd president, through the years 1978: Elected governor of Arkansas 1980: Birth of daughter Chelsea 1980 1980: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 1980: Campaigns with President Jimmy Carter 1982: Elected as Arkansas governor after 1980 defeat 1983 1984 1984 1984: Wins third term as Arkansas governor 1986: Wins fourth term as Arkansas governor 1987 1988: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 1988: Plays saxophone on "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" 1991: Sworn in for fifth term as Arkansas governor 1991: Announces candidacy for president 1991 1992: "60 Minutes" interview 1992 1992: Calls himself "Comeback Kid" after second-place finish in New Hampshire primary 1992 1992 1992: Plays saxophone on "The Arsenio Hall Show" 1992: Picks Al Gore as his running mate 1992 1992: Accepts Democratic nomination for president 1992 1992: Presidential debates 1992: Presidential debates 1992: Presidential debates 1992 1992: Wins election as nation's 42nd president 1992 1992: Meets with President Bush at White House 1992 1993: Inaugural festivities 1993: Inaugural festivities 1993: Inaugural festivities 1993: Inaugural festivities 1993: Sworn in as 42nd president of the United States 1993: Gives first inaugural address 1993: Inauguration Day 1993: Inauguration Day 1993: Nominates Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Supreme Court 1993: Enacts "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military 1993: Signing of peace accord between Israel and Palestinians 1993: Signs bill creating National Service Program 1993: Signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law 1993: Signs NAFTA into law 1994: Lifts 19-year trade embargo against Vietnam 1994: Nominates Stephen Breyer to Supreme Court 1994: Witnesses signing of agreements between Jordan, Israel 1995 1995 1995 1995: Establishes formal ties with Vietnam 1995 1996: Campaigns for reelection 1996: Negotiates Middle East peace with Arafat, Netanyahu 1996: Debates Bob Dole in presidential reelection contest 1996: Elected to second term as president 1997: Gives second inaugural address 1998: Denies sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky 1998: Takes 11-day trip to sub-Saharan Africa 1998: Gives testimony to grand jury over Monica Lewinsky relationship 1998: Impeached by US House of Representatives 1999: Acquitted by Senate on impeachment charges 2000: Campaigns with Al Gore during his presidential run 2000 2000: Visits Vietnam 2002 2003 2004 2004 2004: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 2004: Campaigns with John Kerry during his presidential run 2004: Opening of Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark. 2005: Tapped by President Bush to raise money for tsunami-battered regions 2005 2006: Presidential portrait unveiled 2006 2007: Campaigns with Hillary Clinton during her presidential primary run 2007 2008 2008: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 2008: Campaigns with Barack Obama during his presidential run 2009 2009 2010 2010 2012: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 2012 2013 2013 2015: Campaigns with Hillary during her second presidential run 2016 2016: Speaks at Democratic National Convention 2016 2017 2017 2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2021
For the first time since 2006, there will be a new residence hall at Creighton University in Omaha.

On Friday, 400 freshmen will move into the $37 million Graves Hall, which is named after donors Lee and Judy Graves and located along 23rd Street south of Burt Street.

The five-story hall has four floors dedicated to housing students in two-room suites that accommodate four students. Each suite has a shared bathroom. The halls on each level each feature a kitchenette as well as spaces to socialize.

The first level has space for interfaith programming, wellness, study areas and academic counseling as well as recreational space for activities such as yoga. Creightons blue and white colors adorn the halls walls.

Graves Hall is Creightons first residence hall built exclusively for freshmen since the 1960s. Creightons president, the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, noted the halls opening comes as Creighton has enrolled more than 1,000 freshmen per year over the past decade. He added that the hall helps the university continue to offer a supportive and comfortable atmosphere to its students.

For this to be a freshman facility, we knew this will cultivate a great sense of community among themselves, Hendrickson said.

Outside, students can socialize and play in the Simpson Courtyard, which is named after donors Kathy and Jim Simpson. Courtyard amenities include artificial turf that can be converted to a volleyball court, two ping pong tables, a bocce ball court, two fire pits, an event stage and seating.

Freshman year is definitely that first time we get to make those connections with students. I think having this courtyard is a great opportunity to have lots of conversations and meet a lot of different people on campus, said Lauren Harris, a Creighton senior majoring in nursing.

Graves Hall will come with some notable infrastructure equipment. Perhaps the most notable are the VirtuHOT solar thermal collectors that heat the residence halls water.

The tube collectors, which have been placed on the halls roof, will generate about 70 kilowatt hours of thermal energy. Hendrickson said the tubes, which are produced by Naked Energy and distributed by ELM Companies, are the first of their kind to be installed on a North American facility.

Our students are really committed to issues of energy conservation and sustainability, Hendrickson said. This is really exciting to be the first institution on the continent to be able to install these.

Solar panels are also present on the hall roofs southern exposure.

Last year, Creighton tore down Gallagher Hall, which was built in 1961 and was one of the universitys oldest residence halls.

Graves Halls opening comes as Creightons profile is expanding.

The university opened a new School of Dentistry building in 2018 and is scheduled to open the $75 million, 130,000-square-foot CL Werner Center for Health Sciences Education next month. That will be followed early next year by the opening of the $17 million Jerome Nadal, S.J., Jesuit Residence.

The opening of Graves Hall is part of the universitys Forward Blue $650 million fundraising campaign. The largest fundraising campaign in the universitys 145-year history, Hendrickson said the campaign has three main components: scholarship support for students with limited financial means, academic programming to support initiatives such as research, and facility construction and improvements.

According to Creightons alumni website, $621 million has been raised so far through Forward Blue.

Close Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson gives a tour of a dorm room at Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A dorm room at Graves Hall. Creighton University President Creighton Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Photos: Creighton opens new freshmen residence hall Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson gives a tour of a dorm room at Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A dorm room at Graves Hall. Creighton University President Creighton Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo.
The City of Omaha is preparing to repeal a raft of its gun ordinances that conflict with a new Nebraska state law, but the City Council president is looking into new regulations to mitigate the damage.

City Attorney Matt Kuhse has advised the council that it must repeal 22 sections of city code pertaining to firearms, City Council President Pete Festersen said.

According to City Council documents, the ordinances the council will ditch include a requirement to obtain a permit to buy a handgun, a prohibition on people under 21 possessing guns that can be concealed, and restrictions on carrying concealed weapons without a state permit and transporting certain firearms.

That's because the Omaha ordinances are in violation of LB77, which the Nebraska Legislature passed and Gov. Jim Pillen signed into law, Kuhse said.

The bill will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The bill will apply statewide and invalidate any local ordinances limiting that ability. It will take effect Sept. 3.

"We don't want to be doing this," Festersen said. "It's required by the new law."

Mayor Jean Stothert, a majority of the Omaha City Council and Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer opposed LB77. Schmaderer told the Legislature he was concerned that the bill would make it easier for people with criminal offenses to access firearms. He pushed, without success, to alter the bill with exceptions for Omaha, saying that he believed the bill had loopholes that would threaten police and the general public in Omaha.

LB77 says cities, counties and villages in Nebraska cannot "regulate the ownership, possession, storage, transportation, sale, or transfer of firearms or other weapons, except as expressly provided by state law." And it declares any city ordinances, including Omaha's, that do regulate those matters to be null and void, Kuhse said.

"It's important that they're taken off the books because the public needs to know that," Kuhse said. "... Maybe they'd look it up, see something out there, and believe (the city gun regulations) are still intact and call the police or something. The public needs to be aware that this is what the Legislature wanted."

Festersen said he's very concerned about the effects of the new state law in Omaha. He said Omaha's gun ordinances have been effective in getting illegal guns off the street and have helped Omaha police combat gun violence.

"LB77 failed to recognize that cities are facing a different situation and do need local control," he said.

Festersen is asking the City Law Department to research what he calls "new common-sense gun regulations" in cooperation with the Omaha Police Department and City Council.

In a memo sent Wednesday to Kuhse, Festersen asked for research into "regulating ghost guns, banning bump stocks, and making sure public places such as schools, public buildings, and event centers are protected." Festersen also asked Kuhse to determine whether LB77 prohibits a city from adopting "red flag" laws, or banning or regulating assault weapons within city limits.

Festersen's memo cited portions of Lincoln city code that ban guns and other dangerous weapons in city or county facilities and bans "multi-burst trigger activators."

"I want to pursue new measures that can better address illegal guns and violence in the community and increase community safety," Festersen said. He also has police officer safety in mind, he said.

Kuhse said Thursday that he had just received the memo and that his office will go to work on the request. Festersen asked for research and opinions by Aug. 25. The council is expected to have a public hearing and vote on repealing the ordinances Aug. 29.

"We're going to be looking to see what we can do within the confines, the guardrails, set by LB77," Kuhse said. "Both the police and the mayor's office have also been looking at it to see what can be done. We want to make sure it's something that will work. We've got to make sure it's something we can enforce. We don't want to have a law just to be symbolic."

The US surpasses 160 mass shootings in 2023. Here's every event mapped The US surpasses 100 mass shootings in 2023here's every event mapped Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space Mass shootings have happened in gun-friendly statesand some stricter ones Mass shootings take place in nearly every type of public and private space
RACINE  A suspect in the New Year's Day bar shooting that killed two was arrested Thursday.

Abdullah Rashada was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshall's Service in Chicago. Sgt. Kristi Wilcox said the Racine Police Department does not have a date for Rashada's extradition.

Rashada, who was identified as a suspect Jan. 9, is charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of endangering safety/reckless use of a fire arm.

About 2:34 a.m. Jan. 1, RPD officers responded to a report of a shooting at Reruns lounge, 1111 Washington Ave.

The victims were 66-year-old Avery T. Stewart and 56-year-old Billy R. Petty, both of Racine. Stewart was the owner of the bar.

A witness told investigators that a fight broke out and shots were fired, according to the criminal complaint.

On Jan. 3, investigators obtained security video that allegedly shows a man arguing with Stewart and Stewart trying to calm the man down by returning money to him, the complaint said.

The video also reportedly shows Petty coming over to help, and as he approaches the man, Petty allegedly hit the man in the face while holding a handgun.

According to the criminal complaint, the gun accidentally discharged and Stewart was struck by a bullet, causing him to fall back onto a barstool.

The video then allegedly shows Rashada near the front door.

According to the complaint, Rashada fired a handgun at Petty, who fell to the ground before Rashada allegedly fired 10 more times.

The complaint said Rashada left Reruns and allegedly fled northbound.

An initial appearance date at the Racine County Courthouse has not been set for Rashada.

Today in history: Aug. 11 1949: Omar N. Bradley 1952: Hussein bin Talal 1992: Mall of America 1993: John Shalikashvili 1997: Bill Clinton 2012: Allyson Felix 2014: Robin Williams 2020: Kamala Harris
CALEDONIA  Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network started work to create open-water wetlands at Cliffside Park on Thursday, following permitting delays.

The project aims to rehabilitate the area by bolstering native vegetation and removing invasive species. The converted wetland area will serve as a habitat for wildlife populations, including migratory birds and pollinators. Upon completion, improvements to the land are expected to limit runoff to the eroding bluffs.

The Wind Point Watershed Restoration Plan, which is approved by both the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency, identifies the project as "highly critical."

This is going to be an incredible project, said Root-Pike WIN Executive Director Dave Giordano at the event, thanking supporters of the project.

Work was initially scheduled to begin in June, but due to permit issues that Giordano attributed to backlog from the pandemic, the project was delayed.

It wasnt that there was anything particular about the project that was causing a delay, he said. Its just that with COVID there was a huge back-up in a lot of different things.

Calling the land a rare space in Southeastern Wisconsin, Giordano spoke on the importance of Cliffside Park as one of the few open spaces left.

The one thing this park is missing is what it used to be before settlement, and that is a substantial number of wetlands, said Giordano, emphasizing the necessity of wetlands to the environment.

Giordano expects the project to conclude by the end of September, though he noted that three years of stewardship will follow that end date.

During this time, he explained, Root-Pike WIN will make sure that everythings planted properly and growing properly.

Work on the wetlands restoration project will temporarily reroute visitors on the trail away from the site, though Giordano said this change will only last a couple months.

When the project is complete, there will be a platform for visitors to look down into the wetlands, which Giordano said will make for a better experience.

Giordano also noted that he considers this phase one in a series of Root-Pike WIN projects to restore the park, including further removal of invasive species and the restoration of a ravine.

Photos: Quebec coast fights climate change by retreating Climate Change Coastal Erosion Climate Change Coastal Erosion APTOPIX Climate Change Coastal Erosion Climate Change Coastal Erosion Climate Change Coastal Erosion
KENOSHA  Kenosha community activists and area residents decried the actions of some local police officers who they said brutalized and detained the wrong person at an Applebees restaurant. The incident last month occurred after a hit-and-run crash at Green Bay Road and Highway 50.

The mans arrest was captured on a video by a restaurant patron and has since gone viral on social media. The incident has sparked headlines across the region.

The crash happened at about 11 p.m. on July 20 and vehicles ended in the parking lot at the Applebees, 6950 Green Bay Road.

In the video, the man who is being subdued tells police to let him go while a woman screams to someone telling them to get the baby. The man and the baby are then seen on the floor when the man tells at least two officers to let him go and someone appears to pull the child away.

Officers continue to wrestle the man to the ground until they handcuff him behind his back.

However, the video appears to show an officers arm and elbow moving repeatedly over the man while the person recording tells them to stop. Another officer tells the man recording the scene to step back. Officers from Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie police departments were on scene.

Officers later learned they had arrested the wrong man along with the woman he was with.

Tanya McLean, executive director of Leaders of Kenosha, organized a protest Wednesday evening at the Public Safety Building, 1000 55th St. Leaders of Kenosha is a nonprofit organization that advocates for equity and social justice.

McLean was accompanied by members of local groups Congregations United to Serve Humanity (CUSH), the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism, the NAACP Kenosha Branch and the Urban League of Racine and Kenosha.

Were meeting today because weve all watched the video that is circulating about a young African American male who was assaulted by a police officer at Applebees in Kenosha, McLean told the 30 to 40 people in attendance.

We really are disheartened by how the police officers chose to go to that family. There was just a lack of de-escalation. Everything happened so quickly. It elevated so quickly. It just didnt seem that anyone was a voice of reason that had a uniform on. The only person that seemed to have a voice of reason was the Applebees employees, you know, trying to get the baby. But the police officers, it just does not appear that they were using good judgement and thats just not OK.

McLean also said they want to know why police officers are not being respectful to community members here in this city.

What is it that makes you feel as if you need to be so overly aggressive, so confrontational? McLean said. What is it that just frightens you because we know that when people are fearful they act in irrational ways. So what is it that youre so afraid of? When you see me, when you see another person of color, what is it thats rattling you so bad that you feel like you have to escalate something to that level?

McLean said she has been in contact with the Illinois man. McLean demanded any police body camera footage of the arrest be released to the public.

Now we have another situation where a young man was assaulted with a baby in his arms and harm was brought to the baby. That is unacceptable, McLean said. What is it that youre so fearful of that you have to use that level of force against a young man, a baby and his wife?

Angry, deeply saddened

The Rev. Monica Cummings, vice president of CUSH, said that when she watched the video of the incident she was first, angry, and then, deeply saddened. She opened her remarks with a moment of silence.

(I was) heartbroken that an incident where a Black man experienced the trauma of being forced to the ground by police for no reason while eating with his family, Cummings said.

Heartbroken that a Black baby now has to live with the trauma of experiencing and witnessing her father being yelled at and her little Black body being yanked at by police. Heartbroken that a mother had to experience the trauma of standing by helpless while her partner and baby were being traumatized and hearing her baby cry and powerless to do anything about it.

Cummings said I dont think its too much to ask for police to be guardians to the communities they are sworn to protect and serve and not military-minded warriors who behave like an occupying force and treat certain citizens like enemy combatants.

Alex Whitaker, vice president of the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism, said the brutality in the viral arrest video was unacceptable.

The Coalition for Dismantling Racism calls on the police department to initiate a thorough and transparent investigation into the details of that arrest, Whitaker said.

We also request a third-party report as to whether use of force training protocols were followed by the arresting officers that night. ... We also call for a third-party assessment of the current culture within the Kenosha Police Department, Whitaker said.

Recent and not-so-recent interactions between officers and the community reveal the possibility of a culture of us vs. them that has arisen and possibly impacts the interactions of officers and those they are there to serve, especially as it relates to historically marginalized groups. The purpose of our calls is reform.

Organizers asked the dozens in attendance to write to their locally elected officials.

The man was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer. The woman was arrested on the same charges and for possession of THC.

Police investigating incident

Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said Sunday he was aware of the video and that the incident is undergoing an internal investigation.

Patton said the Wisconsin Department of Justice requires police to perform a use of force review.

This use of force didnt meet that requirement, but us as a department, we go a step further by policy and we investigate all uses of force, Patton said, referring to the department policy which was initiated in 2022 and put in practice by early January.

The process involves completing use of force logs, after an initial investigation indicates that such force is used, Patton said. That triggers an internal investigation for which a use of force expert is in the process of reviewing the incident. He said that process began the day after the incident occurred.

The case was assigned to the Kenosha Police Departments office of professional standards.

Patton has said that officers were following a lead in good faith that led to the couple in the restaurant that had matched the description of suspects in the hit-and-run.

Patton said he did not know what injuries that man had, but said that pepper spray was involved while officers subdued him. The man was transported to a local hospital following the incident.

People fled. They went into Applebees. We went and made contact with the Applebees employees and they pointed them out, Patton said.

The chief said the man and woman matched the description given to police. Patton said the review will look to determine aspects that may have gone wrong or right, disciplinary action that may or may not be taken and whether additional training is needed.

Ultimately, we were able to determine that they werent them, they just matched the description, Patton said.

He said according to some Applebees employees, the couple had been acting nervous.

However, the real suspects, the actual suspects that did commit the hit-and-run, were hiding in the bathroom, Patton said.

IN PHOTOS: CUSH anti-Semitism cleansing walk in Downtown Kenosha on April 2, 2022 CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK CUSH CLEANSING WALK Cleansing Walk
1. Yes. As long as the basic ordinance is still intact, its smart to adjust to the local market.

2. Yes. If part of the ordinance isnt workable, it doesnt make sense to force the issue.

3. No. City staff worked hard on those design standards; its not fair to scrap them now.

4. No. Developers and builders shouldnt get to set their own rules. Keep the standards intact.

5. Unsure. Its best if the city and developers work together, but the city has the last word.

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Wisconsin's open records law states government custodians must respond to a records request "as soon as practicable and without delay."

However, advocates for government transparency- Bill Leuders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and Tom Kamenick, president of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, say accessing records in Wisconsin in a timely manner is a "huge problem."

Leuders said the "fundamental problem" is that Wisconsin's open records law doesn't provide a finite deadline on when custodians need to respond to a request.

"What does that mean? Does that mean five days? Does that mean five months? There's never been any clarity in the law," Leuders said.

Because of this, Lueders said custodians have recently began to take a long time to respond to records requests. He said there haven't been any changes in the law or in court decisions, but it's just something custodian's started to do.

"Custodians are saying, 'we're getting more records requests than we've ever gotten and we don't have the staff to deal with these things more promptly  that's why it's taking a year and a half to get you the records you requested' so by the time you get them, you no longer have any interest in them," Lueders said.

Lueders said his pushback on that response is that they need to allocate more resources.

However, Kamenick said if custodians want to delay a records request there's "little we can do about it."

"You can bluster and threaten to sue or you can actually file a lawsuit, but once you sue they could just turn the records over right away and it goes away," Kamenick said.

Kamenick said District Attorneys also very rarely even prosecute against a delay in records requests.

"We get some variation of, 'we've got real crimes that we're trying to prosecute here and it's just not where our priorities are,'" Kamenick said.

Because of this, Kamenick said government custodians are either "intentionally" or "in the back of their minds" know that they're unlikely to get sued or be prosecuted for any of these violations and don't feel motivated to produce the records in a timely manner.

"There just isn't much of an incentive to follow the law strictly or act quickly on these things," Kamenick said.

Lueders said the Wisconsin open records law states providing people with record requests is "declared to be an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of officers and employees whose responsibility it is to provide such information."

"Basically the law is saying giving people records when they ask for them is one of the most important parts of their job and they need to treat it as such," Lueders said.

"It's a core body of government- being able to access records, so why is it treated as an after-thought? It should be something that's given high priority," Kamenick said.

Lueders said if staffing is the main problem, then government officials need to find a way to get more staff.

Kamenick also suggested altering the law to establish deadlines so records can be produced in a timely manner.

"It matters for a lot of local people who are trying to research problems in their local community, but it also matters for the media. How do they report in a timely manner when you can't get the information that you need from government agencies to file a report on this?" Kamenick said.

In Kenosha, their clerk of courts website reads: "Our goal is to service the community by providing friendly and efficient services and equal to all users."

There is a $5 search fee in Kenosha when looking at civil, criminal traffic, family, habitual traffic offender, inmate prisoner, juvenile injunction, misdemeanors, ordinance violations, paternity post judgement, restraining orders, small claims and traffic forfeiture records.

To inspect records, JoEllen Storz, Kenosha County Register of Deeds, said there's a fee "depending on which records."

She said there's no charge to view certain records in her office, however, if someone chooses to view them online there's a "statutory fee of $2 for the first page and $1 for each additional page" of the downloaded document.

Kamenick proposed implementing a law that states custodians can only charge a fee if they meet their deadline.

"You have to have a ready and inexpensive access to records. It's a huge priority," Kamenick said.
Hong Kong: Tse Chin-wan concludes Zhejiang trip

Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan today concluded his trip to Zhejiang Province by visiting the State Grid Corporation of Chinas flexible low-frequency transmission pilot project in Hangzhou.

The project, with the highest voltage level and the largest transmission capacity in the country, was put into operation in June.

It provides flexible electric energy support for the area where the main venue of the Hangzhou Asian Games is located, so as to meet the peak electricity demands during the event.

Yesterday, Mr Tse was in Zhoushan visiting the offshore electricity transmission research base, where he received a briefing on the development of the technology and equipment for power transmission and transformation in the Mainland.

The environment chief then toured a converter station to gain a deeper understanding of the application of flexible direct current (DC) transmission technology.

This project has created multiple world records, including the worlds first five-terminal flexible DC transmission project as well as first and longest connectorless DC submarine cable, signifying that the country is at the forefront of flexible DC transmission technology in the world.

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Five public libraries in Vernon County, along with the Driftless Writing Center, are hosting the conclusion of the seventh annual Vernon County Reads adult reading program.

This summer residents have been checking out books in the Northern Lakes Mystery Series by Wisconsin author Jeff Nania. The four-book series engages readers with a variety of twists and turns as we follow a storyline featuring former law enforcement officer John Cabrelli.

Vernon County Reads will conclude with a presentation by Jeff Nania on Thursday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Coon Valley Legion Hall. Admission to the event is free of charge. Copies of the books will be available for purchase at the book signing immediately following the program.

In his Northern Lakes Mystery Series, Nania draws upon his years serving as a decorated sheriffs deputy and in-depth knowledge of Wisconsins natural resource issues to weave together stories that keeps readers wondering who is on the right side of the law in the small town of Musky Falls.

Representatives from the Driftless Writing Center will be at the Aug. 24 event. Joining them will be representatives from the participating libraries  Viroqua, Westby, Coon Valley, La Farge and Hillsboro.

For more information about this event, contact McIntosh Memorial Library at 608-637-7151 or www.mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org. Information is also available through the Driftless Writing Center at 608-492-1669 or driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com.
Chippewa County Circuit Court judge Steve Gibbs is expected to issue a decision this winter whether the 15-year-old accused of killing and raping 10-year-old Lily Peters will be tried as an adult.

After three days of testimony this week, both the prosecution and defense are expected to submit additional briefs by Nov. 17. Responses to the briefs will be due Dec. 8. Gibbs is likely to rule on the reverse waiver late in 2023 or early in 2024.

The accused, who cannot be named because he is underage but has been listed as C. P.-B. in court filings, is currently charged as an adult because of Wisconsin law pertaining to intentional homicide cases. C. P.-B. was 14 years old at the time of Peters death.

If the case were to remain in adult court, then C. P.-B.s name would be unsealed.

The reverse waiver hearing began Monday, with prosecuting attorney Wade Newell asking to have the case remain in adult court and defense attorney Michael Cohen seeking to have the matter sent to juvenile court.

The defense tried to demonstrate that C. P.-B. has an autism spectrum disorder  calling on three witnesses Wednesday, one of whom testified that C. P.-B. shows signs of poor decision-making along with a lack of impulse control  and presented testimony from specialists who work for the Department of Corrections.

The specialists explained what treatment and/or rehabilitation for a person who had committed a violent, sexual act would look like. This included an explanation of the differences in care that someone convicted of such acts might receive should the accused be convicted as an adult versus being convicted as a juvenile.

The specialists also testified that C. P.-B. would fare better in a juvenile facility because adult facilities might not be able to provide the kind of therapeutic support necessary to help the teen.

Prosecutors pointed to the violent way that Peters was killed, claiming that moving C. P.-B. to juvenile court would diminish the fact that he needed to be held accountable for his alleged actions.

Peters was killed in April 2022 as she was riding her bike home from her aunts house. Her parents reported her missing after she didnt arrive as expected. The next morning, her body was discovered in the woods close to her home.

When interviewed, investigators say C. P.-B. told police he punched Peters in the stomach, struck her on the head three times with a heavy stick and then said he strangled her to death before having sex with her body.

He later returned to the scene to cover her body with leaves.

The teen is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child younger than 13 resulting in great bodily harm.

The defendant is currently being charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault. Hes being held in the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire on a $1 million cash bond.

Several people following the case attended the hearings and said they hope for a quick resolution and for justice to be served.

I know who he is. He did it. I know he did. Thats not the question. I want to know why the courts and police arent doing something, said 48-year-old Ronald Charleston outside of the Chippewa County Courthouse on Wednesday.

Ronalds wife, Bertha Charleston-Macke, said she believes the justice process is too slow.

Why is this part of the process so difficult? So, so hard, she said. Wouldnt it be better for everyone involved if we could speak his name? And by we, I mean the media but also everyone. I mean he may be, legally, a kid, but nothing about what he did was juvenile. Its time to hold a human accountable for the horrors he did.

While no decision has been made about how C. P.-B. will be tried, he remains presumed innocent of all charges until convicted by a court of law.
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP)  Ron DeSantis largely dismissed his own decision to replace his campaign leadership team as he returned to Iowa in the midst of a weekslong reset. The Republican presidential hopeful also made no mention of the two rounds of campaign layoffs he made recently in response to unexpected fundraising troubles.

Instead, the Florida governor on Thursday leaned into his central message  a self-described war on woke  and flashed a big smile as he courted an audience of roughly 200 cheering Republicans gathered at a family restaurant for the first of four scheduled stops on his latest bus tour through the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

Were clicking. Were doing well, DeSantis told reporters after a fiery speech, dismissing questions about the turmoil that has plagued his White House bid in recent weeks. He said the average voter is far more focused on his plans for the country than his campaign leadership. This process stuff, I think, is way overblown.

Whether DeSantis acknowledges his challenges or not, they have not gone away.

Five months before the first votes are cast in Iowa's opening presidential contest, a growing chorus of would-be supporters within his own party is questioning DeSantis' core message and political instincts amid a prolonged effort to stabilize his campaign that has involved three significant personnel decisions so far  the two rounds of cuts and replacement of the campaign manager. At the same time, new signs of tension have emerged between DeSantis' formal campaign and an allied super PAC that's now planning to dramatically increase spending on paid advertising to help make up for DeSantis' financial challenges.

It remains to be seen whether or not he can save his campaign. Hes not run a particularly effective one to date, obviously, said Eric Levine, a New York-based Republican donor who has been calling for the GOP to unify behind an alternative to former President Donald Trump. He needs to be able to speak to a broader range of issues than the culture wars. To me, that is fundamentally at the core of his problem.

That message still resonates with many Iowa Republicans, who frequently mention DeSantis as one of their top two or three picks heading into the caucus. But most successful campaigns require steady leadership and donors who are willing to stick out the tough moments  and that's where DeSantis appears vulnerable.

After cutting one-third of his staff last month, DeSantis this week replaced campaign manager Generra Peck with James Uthmeier, his chief of staff in the Florida governor's office. Uthmeier, who has never managed a campaign, was a central figure in some of DeSantis' most controversial moves as governor, including the decision to fly migrants from Texas to an island off the Massachusetts coast last year.

As part of the leadership overhaul, DeSantis tapped veteran political operative David Polyansky, a senior adviser to his allied Never Back Down super PAC, to serve as deputy campaign manager. Some close to DeSantis operation believe that while Uthmeier has the campaign manager title and DeSantis trust, Polyansky will be effectively running the campaign given his extensive experience in presidential politics, especially in Iowa.

While DeSantis shrugs off his challenges, his allies are aware that multiple rounds of staffing cuts and stagnant polling numbers are undermining the campaign's central message that DeSantis is better positioned than Trump to defeat President Joe Biden next fall.

Still, the DeSantis campaign tried to project optimism in a memo shared with campaign supporters and donors earlier in the week and obtained by The Associated Press.

During the last few weeks, we have seen great success as a result of the changes we have made to run an insurgent campaign focused on the early nominating states, the memo says, highlighting an increased reliance on interviews with mainstream media to spread his message and a new focus on smaller, more intimate events organized by the super PAC at no cost to the campaign.

In adopting the new strategy, DeSantis is testing the limits of federal laws that prohibit direct coordination between campaigns and super PACs by leaning more heavily on the Never Back Down super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money  unlike the campaign, which is bound by strict fundraising limits.

Never Back Down has effectively adopted the role of candidate travel organizer, having chauffeured him, his wife and his children by bus to roughly 20 Iowa events over the past month, including this weekend's three-day trip. Technically, DeSantis is only a guest of the super PAC, which is paying for the transportation and setup costs.

In another shift, the super PAC is increasing its Iowa advertising investment, which was never the super PAC's primary function, in direct response to the campaign's cash crunch. Reports of ad purchases in Iowa for the coming weeks show the super PAC tripling its spending in the state.

DeSantis' increasing reliance on the super PAC comes as Never Back Down faces the prospect of financial trouble of its own. The organization's biggest individual donor, hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, told Reuters last week that he would not donate any more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach.

Extremism isnt going to get you elected," Bigelow said.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who told Politico last year that he was ready to back DeSantis if he ran for president, has not met with DeSantis or donated to his campaign since its May launch, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private deliberations.

Griffin has been unsettled by DeSantis policies about teaching gender and sexuality in Florida schools and his ongoing fight with Disney, according to the person. The Republican megadonor is also concerned that DeSantis has been pursuing policies that undermine individual rights and liberties.

Griffin declined to comment on any particular campaign, but said in a statement that he was assessing how the policies of each candidate will strengthen our democracy.

Meanwhile, DeSantis is showing no interest in backing off his focus on culture wars, which are popular with the GOP's most passionate voters and remained a central focus of his stump speech this week in Iowa.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said he gets a lot of questions about culture and made a direct connection between cultural issues and the economy. Specifically, he pointed to his opposition to ESG  or environmental, social and governance investments that are guided by corporations' policies.

That is taking an ideological agenda and using the economy to try to advance it, DeSantis said. Thats bad because those policies are things that most Iowans dont support and that I dont support.

DeSantis allies are also divided about his primary strategy.

The super PAC continues to stress its commitment to winning or finishing a close second in the first three states  Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina  while they spend big to build out a pro-DeSantis political organization in several of the so-called Super Tuesday states that vote on March 5. Yet DeSantis' campaign has shifted sharply toward Iowa in recent weeks.

By the end of Friday, DeSantis will have appeared at more than two dozen events in Iowa since mid-July. Thats compared to just two events in New Hampshire and South Carolina over the same period.

On Thursday, DeSantis noted that he was touching down in his 31st Iowa county and promised to campaign in all 99 on Iowas sprawling checkerboard before the state's Jan. 15 presidential caucuses. But when asked, he avoided predicting a clear victory over Trump, who is the early heavy favorite.

What you have to do is you have to win a majority of the delegates, you know, DeSantis told reporters after a brief stop in Cedar County's Tipton Family Restaurant. In Iowa, he added, I think were ahead of where we thought we would be, thus far.
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 11, 2023

Wall Street and London Lashing Out as BRICS Summit Approaching

Aug. 10, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)As this news service has frequently reported, an historic sea-change is underway globally, being led by the members of the BRICS and their growing allies within the developing world. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to it some months back, the Global Majority is currently finding its voice and demanding a new future, free from the neocolonial and oligarchic yoke of the past. This emerging new world, characterized by its assertion that there are no good reasons for ongoing underdevelopment and global inequality, is the reason behind the desperate and irrational drive for confrontation, as seen in the hotspots around the world. A major opportunity to consolidate this orientation and increase its momentum is the BRICS summit hosted by South Africa later this month, slated to discuss the expansion of the group. Altogether 22 nations have applied to join from around the world, with many more leaning in their direction.

With the Ukrainian counteroffensive failing, and more snippets of truth emerging about the horrific casualties experienced by the Ukrainian army, those forces intent on global hegemony are moving towards other theaters of crisis to ratchet up tensions. This is classic geopolitics, but its also endgame for the old neoliberal system. Polands recent deployment of troops to its border with Belarus, first of 2,000 and now of 10,000, indicates this danger.

Indeed, the major mouthpieces of the Western establishment have made that explicitly clear in their continued attempts to stir up tensions among BRICS members in the run-up to their summit. Both the Atlantic Council and The Economist have joined the fray this week, spinning rumors and stories about supposed divisions within the membership. Whether or not you see it as such, youd better believe that Western elites know exactly what theyre doing. As The Economist itself admits, shifting the BRICS from its current track by the end of the Johannesburg summit, will determine the future shape of the bloc. As South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the other day, I think theres someone whos trying to spoil our summit.

And theres more. A presidential candidate in Ecuador was assassinated Wednesday night, likely by foreign drug cartels that have increasingly come to dominate whole parts of the Western Hemisphere. These same cartels have trafficked over 7 million people through the Americas and into the United States over the past three years, increasing their dominance in entire countries and creating ungovernable situations.

Similarly Pakistans Parliament has been dissolved amid an ongoing crisis in the country, in the wake of what has now been revealed as a U.S.-encouraged overthrow of the previous Prime Minister last year. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has now been sentenced to three years in prison, and banned from running for election for five years, despite his overwhelmingly high popular support.

The situation in Niger also remains very much on edge following the military coup there last month. On Aug. 10, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with major ties to French and other Western powers, announced that it was readying a standby force for potential intervention into Niger, while at the same time emphasizing diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach. What will happen is unclear, but given Nigers relationship with China, and the fact that it is a key supplier of raw materials and the headquarters of the U.S.s Africa Command, Nigers potential shift towards this emerging world with the BRICSincluding kicking out its former colonial mastersis an option some would rather start a war over than accept.

Short of a full-scale war, which many admit would likely engulf the entire African continent, some in the British establishment are scheming for what will need to be their next strategy to maintain some level of imperial control. As the Financial Times editorial board wrote Aug. 1:

For too long, both Europe and the U.S. ignored both Africas potential and strategic importance in favor of an anachronistic view of the continent as a purely humanitarian problem. Both have recently woken up to the fact that, in failing to see Africas significance, they have ceded ground to China and increasingly Russia. Only by taking the continent more seriously and by helping it prosper can they make up lost ground.

What a noble proposal! If the Financial Times and statesmen in Europe and the U.S. want to help Africa prosper, then we have an idea: Build the Grand Inga Dam! Discussed by the presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact on June 22-23 in Paris, the Inga Dam would generate over 70 GW of badly-needed electricity and would benefit more than a dozen African countries.

However, if the statements from those Western posturers are merely meant to nudge Africa back into the geopolitical orbit of the rules-based order, then it is doomed to failand may just bring the world into global nuclear war on the way.

Real Americans and Europeans who have a love for not only their nations, but also for the common heritage of humanity itself, must act on the basis that the interests of each coincide with the interests of all, and thereby bring an end to the depraved policy of war and colonialism which still grips the world today. A major advancement in this fight happened last weekend with the internationally-coordinated Humanity for Peace rallies, which demonstrated that there are no two people so different that they cant fight together for a common future.

Activate yourself if you have not already done so, and build this movement.
Wildfires on Hawaiis island of Maui have killed at least 55 people and destroyed a historic town, officials said.

The number of deaths is expected to rise even higher. Officials said it will take years to rebuild Lahaina, the one-time capital of the former kingdom of Hawaii.

Governor Josh Green said the fire was the worst natural disaster in the state's history, making thousands of people homeless and burning as many as 1,000 buildings. In 1960, a tsunami killed 61 people in the state.

"It's going to take many years to rebuild Lahaina," Green said at a Thursday news conference.

Lahaina was once the home of King Kamehameha, who united Hawaii under a single kingdom. Kings and queens are buried on the grounds of the 200-year-old stone Waiola Church, one of burned sites.

Lahaina draws 2 million visitors each year, or about 80 percent of the island's visitors.

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, at least three wildfires burned on Maui this week.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said one fire moved so fast that it was impossible to warn people of the emergency. What we experienced was such a fast-moving fire ... they were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice, Ventura told the Associated Press.

Thousands of visitors and locals were evacuated from the western side of Maui, which has a year-round population of about 166,000. Locals sheltered on the island or the neighboring island of Oahu. And visitors gathered in Kahului Airport, waiting for flights back home.

Some people fled the immediate danger by jumping into the Pacific Ocean.

Among them was Vixay Phonxaylinkham, a visitor from Fresno, California. He said his family was trapped in a car as the fires neared, forcing the family to jump in the water. They held onto pieces of wood to stay above water.

"We floated around for four hours," the man told Reuters from an emergency shelter. "It was a vacation that turned into a nightmare. I heard explosions everywhere, I heard screaming, and some people didnt make it. I feel so sad," he said.

Many survivors suffered burns and other injuries.

"It was so hot all around me, I felt like my shirt was about to catch fire," said Nicoangelo Knickerbocker, a 21-year-old from Lahaina. Knickerbocker heard cars and a gas station explode. He fled from the town with his father and the family dog. "It sounded like a war was going on," he said.

Officials said Thursday that they have contained about 80 percent of the Lahaina fire. There was no immediate estimate for others. However, experts say the fires are likely to change Hawaii in unwanted ways. They include a threat to coral reefs, drinking water, and its soil.

Wildfires, often caused by record-setting heat, have become more common around the world this summer. They forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Greece, Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe. In western Canada, several unusually severe fires sent clouds of smoke over a large part of the United States, polluting the air.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press.

_________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tsunami - n. a very large, high wave in the ocean usually caused by an earthquake under the sea

evacuate - v. to remove people from a dangerous place

nightmare - n. a very bad and frightening situation

scream - v. to suddenly cry out because of pain and fear
CURTIS  In a testament to the enduring legacy of Chandra Castle, two promising agriculture students were honored in May as the recipients of the prestigious Chandra Castle Memorial Scholarship for the upcoming academic year at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

Donald Rohr, of rural Gosper County and a Cambridge High School graduate, and Tailyn Thompson, of Genoa, Colorado, and a graduate of Limon High School, each received the coveted Chandra Castle Memorial Scholarship for $1,000. Both students are poised to begin their sophomore year at NCTA.

This award is a testament to their dedication, much like Chandra, to the field of agriculture and their pursuit of higher education. At the awards ceremony in May, student adviser Kevin Martin said, The selection for this scholarship is not typical, as we choose to honor those who are like Chandie; they are hard workers, know what they want, and theyre just super kids.

The scholarships legacy is rooted in the memory of Chandra Castle, a student who tragically lost her life in a car accident in January 2008. Before her untimely passing, Chandra had completed the requirements for an associate degree in agribusiness and was on the cusp of earning her second degree in production agriculture. Her family, based in Olathe, Colorado, has continued to honor her passion for agriculture and NCTA by annually supporting students pursuing similar dreams through these scholarships.

The loss of Chandra was devastating to all of us, Martin said. She was perfect for NCTA. She was everything that this place embodies. She worked really, really hard, she had to work hard, the culture fit her, everything fit her. Her namesake Chandies Castle Deli, and a Colorado Blue Spruce planted in her honor are lasting reminders of the legacy of her time here as a student.

Tailyn Thompsons agricultural journey was nurtured on the family farm in Colorado. Her love of the process of crop production led her to study agronomy and compete on the crops judging team.

Donald Rohr is majoring in animal science with a focus on feedlot management. NCTA is a familiar place to him, growing up just 30 minutes east in Gosper County. Donald has excelled in FFA and 4H, showing and judging cattle.

Rohr and Thompson embody Chandie Castles qualities: hard work, determination, kindness, and a sincere enthusiasm for agricultural studies.

For more information about NCTAs programs and scholarship opportunities, please visit ncta.unl.edu or contact 1-800-3CURTIS.
Two men have been jailed for causing a bar room brawl on board a holiday jet bound for Jamaica.

Patrick Connors was sentenced to a year in prison and Francis Coyle has been sentenced to three months for offences relating to the incident in January 1999.

The men were part of a group of 12 travelling on an Airtours flight to Montego Bay but the plane had to be diverted to the US after a fight erupted.

During the trial, the jury heard how the group were boisterous and continued ordering drinks, including vodka and champagne, until cabin staff refused to serve anymore.

Jurors were told that the group became increasingly rowdy and that Connors clashed with a Jamaican passenger.

The man, who was not questioned by police, told Connors to shut those women up and threw two drinks over him.

The court heard how Connors and Coyle then tried to fight the Jamaican and had to be restrained by cabin crew.

The altercation caused some of the 300 passengers to cry and scream at the group to sit down, jurors were told.

Sentencing the men on Friday, Judge Austin Issard-Davies told the pair: It is bad enough to have to contend with loud, boorish or drunken behaviour in streets, bars or railway trains.

In the cramped confines of a crowded aircraft it is infinitely worse. Six months of Connors sentence and six weeks of Coyles sentence were suspended.

Three women  Elizabeth ODriscoll, Angela ODriscoll and Josephine Cooper  were earlier acquitted of charges of being drunk on board the same flight.

Relatives of the men were adamant they had done nothing wrong.

Speaking after the verdicts, Francis Coyles sister said he was not a violent man.

Hes known as the gentle giant. He wouldnt harm anybody, let alone petrify anybody, she said.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The case was the latest in a series of so-called air rage incidents.

By the time Connors and Coyle were imprisoned several people had already been jailed by British courts for offences on aircraft.

In 1998 British Airways reported a 400% rise in air rage incidents globally over the previous three years.

In response the government passed additional legislation to strengthen laws already in place to deal with disruptive passengers.

The new measures were designed to target offences such as smoking, drunkenness and anti-social behaviour and carried penalties of up to two years in prison or a 2,000 fine.
The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has invited a group of local youth aged between 12 and 35 years to a docent visit to its Taipa Community Office. The event was conducted in two parts, with the first part being a seminar conducted by CCAC officers about anti-corruption laws and information, as well as an introduction to law-enforcement tools. There was also a venue tour in which visitors could witness an identification parade. The second part comprised an investigation of a mock case through AR technology to aid visitors understanding.

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Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng will sit in a parliamentary plenary meeting at 3 p.m. this afternoon to answer questions raised by lawmakers. The questions are usually not released to the public in advance. The government said in a statement that, through similar sessions, it hopes to improve communications with lawmakers and public awareness of the work of the government. The session will be broadcast online and offline by public broadcaster TDM, as well as on the parliaments, the governments and the Chief Executive Offices website, in addition to the YouTube channels of the latter two.

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China has increased the number of countries that its big-spending tourists can visit by more than 70 following the lifting of its last COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The decision comes as international flights to and from the country gradually return to their pre-pandemic levels.

China implemented strict lockdowns and draconian travel controls within the country and closed its borders almost entirely after the virus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Those restrictions began to be lifted late last year, but the government has been hesitant to resume issuing passports and allowing in foreign tourists, as well as giving its citizens the ability to travel abroad.

The expanded options for travel began yesterday.

The government agencies in charge will provide businesses in the tourism sector with the necessary guidance for the implementation, the Foreign Ministry said. At this moment, we would like to remind all outbound tourists to be well-prepared before each journey, stay safe and healthy and show civility as they travel, enjoy the trip and have a safe journey home.

Chinese tourists, who generally travel in groups organized by agencies, are known for spending lavishly on hotels, tours, souvenirs and designer brands. Pre-pandemic, they traveled in larger numbers and spent more as a whole than any other nationality, accounting for $255 billion in revenue in 2019, according to business consultancy McKinsey & Company.

Thailand, Japan, Australia and EU countries such as Germany have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the Chinese tourist spending, given the relative ease of obtaining visas and the availability of flights.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki yesterday said Japan and China agreed to revitalize exchanges of people between the two countries when their leaders held talks in November.

The Japanese government also plans to promote active exchanges of people between the two sides, Isozaki said.

Though it is unclear how quickly activities by Chinese tour companies will restart, a resumption means Chinese group tourists will return to Japan for the first time in more than three years and will be a major boost for Japanese inbound tourism.

Chinese travelers to Japan totaled about 9.6 million or about 30% of the 31.8 million total foreign tourists in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. MDT/AP
Well into the pandemics fourth year, how profound a toll COVID-19 has taken on heart health is only starting to emerge.

We are seeing effects on the heart and the vascular system that really outnumber, unfortunately, effects on other organ systems, said Dr. Susan Cheng, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

For up to a year after a case of COVID-19, people may be at increased risk of developing a new heart-related problem, anything from blood clots and irregular heartbeats to a heart attack - even if they initially seem to recover just fine.

Among the unknowns: Whos most likely to experience these aftereffects? Are they reversible  or a warning sign of more heart disease later in life?

Heart disease has long been the top killer in the U.S. and the world. But in the U.S., heart-related death rates had fallen to record lows in 2019, just before the pandemic struck.

COVID-19 erased a decade of that progress.

Heart attack-caused deaths rose during every virus surge. Worse, young people arent supposed to have heart attacks but Chengs research documented a nearly 30% increase in heart attack deaths among 25- to 44-year-olds in the pandemics first two years.

An ominous sign the trouble may continue: High blood pressure is one of the biggest risks for heart disease and peoples blood pressure has actually measurably gone up over the course of the pandemic, she said.

Some of these patients have whats known as long COVID, the catchall term for dozens of symptoms that often include fatigue and brain fog. The National Institutes of Health is beginning small studies of a few possible treatments for certain long COVID symptoms, including a heartbeat problem.

But Cheng said patients and doctors alike need to know that sometimes, cardiovascular trouble is the first or main symptom of damage the coronavirus left behind.

Blood flow jumps when people move around and subsides during rest. But some long COVID patients dont get enough of a drop during rest because the fight-or-flight system that controls stress reactions stays activated.

Some also have trouble with the lining of their small blood vessels not dilating and constricting properly to move blood through, she added.

How big is the post-COVID heart risk?

To find out, Washington Universitys Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly analyzed medical records from a massive Veterans Administration database. People whod survived COVID-19 early in the pandemic were more likely to experience abnormal heartbeats, blood clots, chest pain and palpitations, even heart attacks and strokes up to a year later compared to the uninfected.

Based on those findings, Al-Aly estimated 4 of every 100 people need care for some kind of heart-related symptom in the year after recovering from COVID-19.

Per person, thats a small risk. But he said the pandemics sheer enormity means it added up to millions left with at least some cardiovascular symptom. While a reinfection might still cause trouble, Al-Alys now studying whether that overall risk dropped thanks to vaccination and milder coronavirus strains.

More recent research confirms the need to better understand and address these cardiac aftershocks.

An analysis this spring of a large U.S. insurance database found long COVID patients were about twice as likely to seek care for cardiovascular problems including blood clots, abnormal heartbeats or stroke in the year after infection, compared to similar patients whod avoided COVID-19.

[Abridged]
* Not too pricey

 The new plots in Taipa being auctioned for residential development will sell a bit below market prices, Centaline told the Times

* Gaming | Wynns revenue surges along with tenant retail sales

* Taste of Edesia

* The Andaz Macau will open its doors to the public on September 15, just ahead of the National Day golden week

* Lawmaker calls on govt to allow Coloane residents to receive medical care at Islands hospital

* China expands the number of countries for travel

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Friday, August 11, 2023  edition no. 4306
The insurance sales over the second quarter of this year from Manulife Hong Kong and Macau have set a record high, the company reported.

According to the release, the Q2 annualized premium equivalent (APE) sales were HKD2.1 billion, which represents a twofold increase compared to the same period last year.

The company added that the APE sales to domestic customers continue to reflect the ongoing consumer demand for savings, health, and protection products.

During Q2, increased momentum from mainland visitors drove APE sales across distribution channels, notably broker and bancassurance, contributing to a record percentage of mainland visitors sales to Manulife Hong Kong and Macaus total APE sales.

Among the new products launched during the quarter in analysis were the FlexiFortune Annuity Plan and regular-premium versions of Prestige Saver and Prestige Preserver, which were said to have had a greater acceptance among those in this market segment.

The New Business Value (NBV) also increased by 31% year-on-year to HKD1.1 billion, driven by greater sales volumes partially offset by changes in product mix.

The company noted that the results obtained in Q2 made a significant contribution to Manulifes strong APE sales growth in Asia and momentum across the region.

Our sales for the second quarter of 2023 have exceeded the pre-pandemic records set in 2019. We are encouraged by the momentum we are driving across our Hong Kong and Macau business and the future earnings we expect that these sales will generate, Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau said, adding, with a firm commitment to growth, we plan to continue to expand our distribution network and customer service facilities meaningfully by the end of this year, while also fully supporting the establishment of after-sales insurance service centers in mainland Greater Bay Area cities.
The plots of land to be auctioned by the government are not expected to sell for high amounts, an executive from a regional realty agency told the Times yesterday.

On Wednesday, the government announced that two plots of land, identified as BT8 and BT9a, would be put up for public semi-blind auctions. Bidding will end at 12 noon on Sep. 26, and all bids will be revealed to the public on Sep. 27, at 10am for BT8 and at 3 p.m. for BT9a.

In an exclusive interview, John Ng, principal regional sales director at Centaline Macau Enterprise Limited, said that despite all the good messages represented by the news about a land auction after 15 years, he did not expect the closing price of the auction to be high. The two land plots  diagonally across Nova Mall in Taipa  come with starting prices of MOP1.136 billion and MOP777 million.

Ng did some calculations and concluded that the per-square-foot price is about MOP3,000. Judging from the current pricing of residential apartments in Taipa, he believed the closing price is unlikely to be higher than MOP6,000 per square foot. However, he pointed out that land auction is not a simple procedure and will involve many processes, so the price may fluctuate.

Another critical factor having impact on the price is the presence of external bidders. This auction is open to external bidders, and Ng thought that bidders from Hong Kong and mainland China might be interested, because to external bidders, land auction is a more transparent manner of land assignment.

On the other hand, he finds the auction a very positive message from the government that it strives to ensure supply of housing to the people. Recalling the past years, there has not been enough supply of real properties in Taipa. Although there has been some private transaction of land ownership or development rights, it was not an official auction, he emphasized. Moreover, the two land plots are located in the emerging center of Taipa, with a lifestyle shopping mall a block away, so it will provide support to the real property market. As a result, he sees this as a very strong message from the government.

When asked about the segmenting of the future development, Ng expects it to be high-end residential projects, with the mode of land acquisition and general price levels in Taipa being influential.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) has announced that a local trade union reported a suspected social media identity theft, in which a lucky draw was run without the unions consent.

The police disclosed that on Aug. 7, a local trade union notified them of the matter. The union told the police that one of its social media pages had been stolen or replaced by an impostor page. The impostor page announced that on Aug. 1, details of a lucky draw would be released.

The post has generated many replies, which is the way to enter the lucky draw. The impostor page later picked winners from the list of commenters, and asked them to follow a link to a website, which presented the same information about the same lucky draw.

The union approached the police to report the case. It suspected that its page had been stolen and its website on the pages information page replaced by an address to an unknown but fraudulent website.

No suspect has been identified, but the case was referred to the investigation division of the police.

Separately, four days ago Wynn Resorts Macau, S.A made an announcement on its social media claiming that a page impersonating the resort operator had been discovered. AL
Lawmaker Zheng Anting has called on the government to consider the needs of the residents of Coloane, namely the elderly, by allowing them to use the new Islands Hospital. The hospital is expected to commence operations late this year as a common public hospital.

Zhengs call was made at the Legislative Assembly in a spoken inquiry delivered before the plenary session earlier this week.

The lawmakers noted that, in recent years, several public and private housing developments have been built in Coloane, which resulted in a population explosion in that area.

Zheng, citing statistical data, said that in a period of 10 years, between 2011 and 2021, the number of residents of Coloane increased by 754%, reaching 36,384, a fact that puts even more pressure on the healthcare facilities of that area, which were already struggling.

Citing complaints mostly from residents of the Seac Pai Van public housing estate, Zheng said that the medical services provided by the Healthcare Center of Seac Pai Van are limited and that many of the residents need additional services that can only be provided at the public hospital, which is very far from residents and where transportation is inconvenient.

Zheng said that is not only their hope, but a promise from previous governments that the construction of the Islands hospital had the purpose to provide, among others, better specialty and emergency health care to the residents of Coloane and Taipa, a promise that seems to have been forgotten, as the government is changing the purpose of the long overdue medical unit to a commercial purpose, according to the lawmaker.

The lawmaker suggests the government create a special green lane for the residents of Coloane to be able to access medical care at the facility just like in the public hospital without need of a reference from the Health Bureau.
HAWAII | WILDFIRES

LAHAINA, Hawaii  The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that claimed 53 lives, making it the deadliest in the U.S. in recent years.

A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighborhoods that had been a vibrant vision of color and island life now reduced to gray ash. Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago. Boats in the harbor were scorched and smoke hovered over the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island's west side.

Tiff any Kidder Winn's gift store Whaler's Locker, which is one of the town's oldest shops, was among the many businesses destroyed. As she assessed the damage Thursday, she came upon a line of burned-out vehicles, some with charred bodies inside them.

"It looked like they were trying to get out, but were stuck in traffic and couldn't get off Front Street," she said. She later spotted a body leaning against a seawall.

Winn said the destruction was so widespread, "I couldn't even tell where I was because all the landmarks were gone."

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched growth covering the island and then anything else in its path.

Hawaii's governor said Thursday that 53 people were killed in Maui, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise.

The Hawaii toll could rise as rescuers reach parts of the island that were inaccessible due to obstructions of the three ongoing fires, including the one in Lahaina that was 80% contained on Thursday, according to a Maui County news release.

More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that are still burning in Lahaina and surrounding areas.

"Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down," the governor told The Associated Press.

"We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern," Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday.

He said search and rescue teams still won't be able to access certain areas until the fire lines are secure and they're sure they'll be able to get to those areas safely.

Minutes to act<

The flames left some people with minutes to act and led some to flee into the ocean. The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke.

A Lahaina man, Bosco Bae, posted video on Facebook from Tuesday night that showed fire burning nearly every building on a street as sirens blared and wind-blown sparks raced by. Bae, who said he was one of the last people to leave the town, was evacuated to the island's main airport and was waiting to be allowed to return home.

Marlon Vasquez, a 31-year-old cook from Guatamala who came to the U.S. in January of last year, said that when he heard the fire alarms Tuesday, it was already too late to flee in his car.

"I opened the door and the fire was almost on top of us," he said Thursday from an evacuation center at a gymnasium. "We ran and ran. We ran almost the whole night and into the next day, because the fire didn't stop."

Vasquez and his brother Eduardo escaped via roads that were clogged with vehicles full of people. The smoke was so toxic, he vomited. He said he's not sure his roommates and neighbors made it to safety.

'We barely made it out'

Lahaina residents Kamela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described their harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.

"We barely made it out," Kawaakoa, 34, said at an evacuation shelter, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.

As the family fled, they called 911 when they saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility across the road erupt in flames.

Communications have been spotty on the island, with 911, landline and cellular service failing at times, making it difficult for many to check in with friends and family members. Some were posting messages on social media.

Chelsey Vierra's grandmother, Louise Abihai, was living at Hale Mahaolu and the family doesn't know if she got out. "She doesn't have a phone. She's 97 years old," Vierra said Thursday. "She can walk. She is strong."

Relatives are monitoring shelter lists and calling the hospital. "We got to find our loved one, but there's no communication here," said Vierra, who fled the flames. "We don't know who to ask about where she went."

Major disaster

As the fires raged, tourists were advised to stay away. About 11,000 flew out of Maui on Wednesday, with at least another 1,500 expected to leave Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in the thousands who are displaced.

The fires were fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

The Big Island also is seeing blazes, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there were no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster on Maui. He pledged that the federal response will ensure that "anyone who's lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately."
A developer wants to demolish a strip mall that holds one of the states premier laser tag venues and replace it with a four-story housing project with mostly lower-cost units near West Towne Mall.

Lincoln Avenue Capital of Santa Monica, California, is proposing to raze the strip mall that holds Ultrazone laser tag and other businesses for the four-story housing project offering 60 units  including 51 lower-cost units  at 680 Grand Canyon Drive on the West Side.

The same developer has city approvals for a $192.8 million low-cost housing project with 553 units in two buildings near the former Oscar Mayer property on Madisons North Side, and to demolish the Fast Forward Skate Center on Verona Road on Madisons Southwest Side for a roughly $20 million, four-story low-cost housing project with commercial space and underground parking.

Now, Lincoln Avenue Capital is seeking to demolish the gray, 20,280-square-foot strip mall, built on 1.1 acres in 1985, for an L-shaped housing project with a sloped roof, also valued at about $20 million.

The strip mall is home to Ultrazone, KBS Kitchen & Baths, Aerus Electrolux and empty storefronts.

The mall is outdated and needs repairs and updating, Lincoln Avenue Capitals application to the city says. The sites 2023 assessment is $1.89 million.

Under the Citys Odana Area Plan, the site is part of a broader effort to redevelop the area that is primarily a retail and office hub to include a broader mix of uses such as residential and mixed-use developments, said Kevin McDonell, vice president and regional project partner for Lincoln Avenue Capital.

In addition to the many nearby retail opportunities, the site is located within a quarter mile of a city park, within a half mile of multiple grocery stores, and under a mile from the public schools, he said.

Also, the census tract is one of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authoritys high-scoring areas of economic opportunity, scoring maximum points as a high-need area based on the shortage of affordable housing when measured against the number of available jobs within the area, McDonell said.

WHEDA also has identified the area as one of the states top job centers and job growth areas, he said.

The proposal

The redevelopment would deliver 14 one-bedroom, 31 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units, and underground parking for 67 vehicles and space for 76 bikes. Fifty-one units would be set aside for those making up to 60% of area median income, or $62,280 for a household of three. Lincoln Avenue Capital has already secured WHEDA low-income housing tax credits to support the project.

The project would provide a community service facility, a common area and an exercise room on the first floor.

The community service facility space would provide office and classroom spaces for local nonprofit community partners, McDonell said. We are excited about the partnership that weve formed with the Employment & Training Association to utilize the space and hope to collaborate with additional community partners as well.

According to the application, a combination of porches and balconies creates a more traditional residential appearance while fitting in with adjacent neighbors, and the project will add significant greenspace to the site compared with the current use. Also, there will be a large grass/greenspace area between the building and the street that will aid with stormwater management and provide a buffer from the street for most of the structure.

The path forward

The future of existing businesses at the site is unclear. Ultrazone management could not be reached for a comment.

Ultrazone is a popular establishment, and we need more options for youth activities throughout the city, said Ald. Kristen Slack, 19th District, who represents the area. I am hopeful that Ultrazone can relocate somewhere in the area, perhaps in a location convenient to even more neighborhoods on the West Side.

But ultimately it is the owners prerogative to sell the building, she said. Given a possible sale, affordable housing, especially affordable three-bedroom units, are desperately needed in Madison. This proposed development is attending to that need, in addition to partnering with a local agency to offer workforce training and support services on-site.

McDonell said, It is our hope that the existing tenants will coordinate with the current owner of the property to find new locations for their businesses.

Weve communicated with many of the local brokers in the market with over a million square feet of vacant retail space and they are very hopeful that existing tenants will be in position to find new spaces to move into by next spring, he said.

The redevelopment proposal requires Plan Commission consideration for both a demolition permit and conditional use approval, with a hearing set for Sept. 18, City Principal Planner Kevin Firchow said.

As staff understands the application, Urban Design Commission and City Council review isnt required for the land use review, he said.

If approvals are secured, Lincoln Avenue Capital would start construction in the spring of 2024 and complete the project about a year later.

Photos: Take a look inside the new Von Maur store at West Towne Mall Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens Von Maur opens
A Heyburn police officer has returned to work nearly three months after being placed on administrative leave as an independent law enforcement agency reviewed the May 27 shooting of two dogs along Interstate 84 near Exit 211.

The Jerome Police Department, a member of the Magic Valley Regional Critical Incident Task Force, found the officer was justified in killing the dogs that were causing safety concerns on the freeway.

The findings of the investigation were announced Friday at Heyburn City Hall.

Heyburn Police Chief Ryan Bertalotto said his department is reviewing and updating department policy following what he called a difficult matter.

The incident, captured in a video by an animal rescuer and posted on social media, drew outrage from people who questioned the officers actions and called for his removal.

The Heyburn Police Department has not revealed the officers name.

To continue to advance the level of service to our community, we have recognized the incident as an opportunity to examine Heyburn Polices policies, training, and resources, Bertalotta said in a news release. As a result, we have already purchased and implemented animal control equipment as well as reviewed and updated the department policy. ... We have also begun internal discussions on animal control solutions as a city.

In addition, the police department is discussing with the Idaho Transportation Department ways to warn motorists of safety hazards and traffic stoppages in high-risk areas such as mile marker 211, Bertalotta said.

The Mayors office and City Council recognize the effect the incident and subsequent investigation have had on our community, Mayor Dick Galbraith said in the release. We trust that the officers of the Heyburn Police Department will continue to serve our citizens with the utmost care and that they remain committed to keeping our community safe.

Stephanie Carsner of Declo took the video of the incident, from a vehicle, and posted it on social media that night, calling for charges against the officer.

We need to come together as a community & as people that believe animals deserve better & bring some justice for these fur babies, Carsner wrote in a post.

In a release at the time, Heyburn police said officers tried to capture the dogs by whistling, calling and shouting, and that the dogs were not in range for a taser to be utilized.

These circumstances are not easy for first responders or the public, the release said.
Exchange students clean Twin Falls homeless shelter

We are very proud of all of the participants who took part in this years International J1 Exchange day. As they share their cultures with ours and us with them we developing the worlds future leaders, GEC President Dave Causer said in the release. Giving back to the community is a just one of the many ways they have enriched the USA by being here for this short-term exchange this summer.
All Idahoans need a roof over their heads, but todays housing market challenges residents across the income spectrum. Rapid population growth has led to home costs outpacing wages, with monthly rents climbing an average of $475 in Idaho  a staggering 41% increase  over the past three years.

And a worrisome trend in out-of-state investors scooping up large swaths of properties is only exacerbating the situation.

While many landlords operate in good faith, state laws allow bad actors to take advantage of having the upper hand in a tough market. Renters sometimes have no other options than to pay exorbitant application fees, exploitative charges, and steep rent hikes. Idahoans are often surprised to learn how little recourse renters have against these practices.

With so much at stake for families, Idaho Democrats have worked hard to enact basic consumer protections. While there is much more progress to make, we have scored critical wins toward leveling the playing field.

Until 2020, landlords could demand any level of rent increase once a lease expired with no advance notice, which often left renters scrambling. House Democratic Leader Ilana Rubel led the passage of the Fair Warning Act, requiring a 30-day notice for rent increases or terminations of a residential lease. This gives families a fighting chance at landing on their feet.

This year, Sen. Ali Rabe, who leads an eviction prevention nonprofit, brought legislation to stop the surprise fees and wildly unreasonable charges she has seen unscrupulous landlords spring on renters. In one incident, a landlord billed a family $300, claiming that a praying mantis kept in a jar for a science fair was an unauthorized pet.

While 34 Republican legislators voted against this commonsense legislation  a compromise between lobbyists for landlords and renters advocates  enough Republicans sided with Democrats to ensure fees are reasonable and spelled out in the lease ahead of time in the future.

Idaho Democrats have also played defense against state legislation threatening city-level consumer protections. One city passed an ordinance to curb some landlords deceptive practice of charging exorbitant rental application fees and collecting fees from applicants even when no unit was available. Republican legislators attempted to restrict the power of local governments to tackle this issue through state law. Fortunately, we have been able to block this legislation.

We have a lot of unfinished business, such as Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrows bill requiring landlords to justify deductions from security deposits, which Republican legislators blocked. But all our wins have been hard-fought, multi-year efforts to get the Republican supermajority to come along. And Idaho Democrats will continue fighting for a housing market that works for all Idahoans.
If you are from Idaho, you are probably aware of our deepening struggle with school facilities and determining a path forward. The historic growth of our state has only increased the demand on our classrooms.

This is an issue I often hear about from parents and teachers. As a former school board member of Idaho Falls School District 91, growth, aging facilities, and property taxes were issues we wrestled with on a regular basis. Now as a state senator and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, I am committed to bring solutions to these longstanding issues. My objective is to provide a path forward for school facilities while decreasing the reliance on local school-related property taxes.

The issue is not as simple as it may seem.

As our school facilities age, parents and teachers become frustrated by their condition and functionality. The Idaho Legislature has a constitutional responsibility to provide adequate facilities that provide a safe and productive learning environment for our students.

Historically, this funding has been shared with citizens through local property taxes. However, passing bonds has become increasingly difficult because school levies are one of the few places that residents vote on related to their taxes. We have also seen the cost of new construction continue to climb to a point that the possibility of a new school is out of the question for many of our smaller communities.

Additionally, over the last few years, we have experienced an unprecedented escalation of home valves that has contributed to tax increases.

NECOCHEA: Democrats fight for fairness in our housing market IDAHO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: All Idahoans need a roof over their heads, but todays housing market challenges residents across the income spectrum.

There is a long history to the school facilities issue. The Idaho Supreme Court has taken up school funding at least five times since 1992. In a 2006 ruling on this issue, the court reiterated the legislatures responsibility to reduce the level of reliance on local property taxes to funds public school facilities. While some measures were put in place at the time, the costs of maintenance, remodeling, and new construction have outpaced most communities ability to fund the majority of costs. This is compounded by the fact that many communities just do not have the population numbers to pay for bonds of todays magnitude.

Last summer, I co-chaired an interim legislative committee to address the issue. Our committee brought several proposals to the table including bench marking other states, standardized building designs, creating a revolving loan fund, utilizing revenue from state endowment lands, school impact fees, school schedules, modifying Bond Levy Equalization, school district debt relief, lowering voter threshold requirements, and others.

Quote The Idaho Legislature has a constitutional responsibility to provide adequate facilities that provide a safe and productive learning environment for our students.

Two of these were moved forward last session. The state endowment lands revenue bill did not make it out of committee and H292 (tax relief) was signed into law.

Thanks to efforts by Gov. Brad Little and the Idaho Legislature, we are assisting school districts without increasing taxes. House Bill 292 is the property tax reform bill that did several things, one of which was creating a fund that school districts could access for facilities in place of property tax levy money.

In total, H292 provided $317.4 million in property tax relief this year. Of that amount, the homeowner property tax account received $186.6 million, the school district facilities fund received $106.2 million and $24.6 million went to all property taxpayers. Statewide, homeowners are 51% of property taxpayers which means homeowners received 80% of the $317.4 million of property tax relief.

This is a huge step forward in helping school districts meet their needs without raising taxes. Additionally, this year we plan to again attempt to leverage revenues form state endowment lands to a prioritized list of school facility needs across the state.

Bringing efficiencies and effectiveness to our school facility management will require changes. This year, I was appointed by Gov. Little to represent the Idaho Senate on the Permanent Building Fund Advisory Council. This group is responsible for all state-owned buildings. This includes everything from Boise State dormitories to the new Idaho State Police building in Idaho Falls. Local K-12 buildings are excluded because they are district-owned.

I believe we can leverage several strategies from this council to address ongoing K-12 facility issues. As an example, we recently applied for federal funding to complete a statewide building evaluation that will provide a baseline and help set prioritization of new state funds for school facilities.

While addressing our school facilities needs and reducing property taxes are big issues to tackle, we are making significant strides forward and we will continue to do so.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp. reported a 55-percent increase in core net income in the first half of 2023, lifted by solid contributions from banking, property and power generation businesses.

Ayala said in disclosure to the stock exchange Friday first-half core net income amounted to P20.5 billion, or 38 percent higher than the pre COVID levels.

Ayala president and chief executive Cezar Consing said the positive results from Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land Inc. and ACEN Corp. compensated for the P2.4 billion one-off provisions booked by AC Industrials. Including one-off items, the conglomerates net income was up 13 percent to P18.4 billion.

For the balance of the year, we will build on our solid first-half results and continue to recycle capital wherever it makes sense to do so, Consing said.

BPIs net earnings grew 23 percent to P25.1 billion driven by average asset base expansion, margin growth and reduced provisions, while ALIs profit jumped 41 percent to P11.4 billion as its property development and commercial leasing businesses registered higher revenues. ACENs net profit jumped 94 percent to P4.2 billion on higher net generation from a stronger wind regime and increased operating capacity.

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The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) eyes the propagation of 100 million coconut trees in a bid to reassert the countrys dominance in coconut production.

According to PCA deputy administrator Roel Rosales, while the Philippines remained the top coconut exporter, Indonesia and India were ahead in terms of production volume.

We used to be the dominant coconut producer, but no more. That threatens our position in the international market, Rosales said.

The coconut planting directive came from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also heads the Agriculture department, Rosales said.

Rosales said the program would be implemented in Mindanao and some areas in Northern Luzon.

Mindanao is certainly one of the regions. A lot of areas therecan be utilized for it. We are looking for areas in the north to populate northern provinces with more coconut. We will work with IPs (indigenous peoples), he said.

We only work in open areas. We do not cut forest trees to give way to coconut trees, the official added.

He noted that coconuts grow in various terrain, even on sandy land and high altitudes.

We also need to fertilize our coconut so we can improve productivity on a per hectare basis, he said.

Rosales acknowledged a decline in the market for coconut this year.

2022 was a good year for coconut. We earned P3 billion. But there was a decline because the demand is soft. China is not yet there, he said.

What affected is that the stock ng Indonesia na inipon noong pandemic, nilabas nila kaya the market is down. Mababa ang presyo, he added.

(Indonesia released its pandemic stock, so the market is down. The price went down.)

Rosales promoted the use of coconut, ahead of the 37th Coconut Week from August 22 to September 1.

Coconut is something we can find in our homes on a daily basis, both food and non-food items. Let us promote better utilization of coconut. We want the coconut week to be the avenue for that, he said.

We really need to support our coconut farmers especially at the time of food insecurity, he told the public.

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Fishermen on Pag-asa Island on Friday said they opposed a military plan to train them to become part of a reserve force in the face of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In an interview over radio dzBB, Larry Hugo, the president of the Pag-asa Island Fisherfolk Association which operates about 36 fishing boats, said they would prefer to simply report any untoward incident in the area.

That would be difficult for us fishermen, he said of the military plan in Filipino, adding that their group of 36 boats would not agree to carry firearms.

On Thursday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said they are considering putting up a maritime militia in the West Philippine Sea to strengthen their presence in the area.

Brawner said the military is looking at Filipino fishermen to be part of the reserve forces.

He issued the statement after Chinese vessels used water cannons and engaged in dangerous maneuvers against Philippine boats on a resupply mission for troops manning the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on Aug. 5.

A Philippine Navy officer who was on board the resupply vessel that was fired upon with water cannons said they received radio challenges from the Chinese ships.

At a press conference at the Western Command headquarters in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Lt. Ramsey Gutierrez said the supplies and goods that were supposed to be delivered to troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre were destroyed because of the incident.

The rice got wet. The other food provisions were hit by the water cannon, so they were destroyedthe vegetables and meat, Gutierrez said.

The Navy officer also said they were boxed in by the Chinese ships, and their movement was heavily restricted.

He said there were two militia vessels on the starboard and port side and a Chinese Coast Guard vessel right behind them.

There was no way for the boat to sail on the intended track, Gutierrez said.

Only one vessel was able to resupply the Marines on the BRP Sierra Madre, he said.

Lt. Junior Grade Darwin Datwin, who was on one of the boats, said the Chinese ships tried to ram their vessel.

Our boats going there are only at 24 meters. Made of wood. This is a civilian chartered boat. The distance between them [Chinese ships] is less than five meters to the starboard of the boat, Datwin said.

The AFP said another resupply mission will be conducted soon because only half a months worth of food and water was successfully delivered to the military outpost in Ayungin Shoal.

AFP WESCOM chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said he hoped the reception would be less aggressive, given the international attention now focused on Chinese actions in the area.

But former Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio urged the government to do joint patrols with like-minded allies on the next resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre.

Carpio, who played a pivotal role in securing a legal victory for the Philippines against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, said the Philippines can follow the examples of Malaysia and Indonesia.

These countries continued their survey and naval drills in their exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea, together with the United States and Australia, despite warnings from the Chinese Coast Guard.

We can have joint patrols with the US at the same time [in the next resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal]. We can calibrate it. Remember, Malaysia and Indonesia were able to survey and drill despite warnings from the Chinese Coast Guard that the area falls within the nine-dash line

They sent their Navy together with the survey ship and the drilling ship, and, at the same time, the US and Australia conducted naval drills in the same area, thats for Malaysia. For Indonesia, the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan happened to pass by, Carpio said.

The Americans are there. They did the favor for the Malaysians and Indonesians without a defense treaty. And the Australians also did the same for Malaysia. Why are they doing this? Because they want to preserve freedom of navigation We can do all these things. Its up to us if we have the political will, he added.

Carpio made the statement during a forum on Thursday organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with the United States Institute of Peace.

Government officials and local and foreign experts attended the forum and discussed various issues, including the current security environment in the West Philippines.

Carpio said Ayungin Shoal is one of the flash points in the Philippines-China relationship. Ayungin Shoal is about 20 nautical miles from Mischief Reef.

The arbitral tribunal ruled that Mischief Reef is a low-tide feature forming part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

Despite this, China illegally reclaimed Mischief Reef and converted it into the largest air and naval base of China in the Spratlys. Because of Ayungin Shoals proximity to Mischief Reef, China wants to seize Ayungin Shoal from the Philippines Carpio said.

At the same forum, Stratbase President Dindo Manhit urged the government to maximize joint patrols and have like-minded allies shepherd Philippine vessels on their next resupply mission. He said this was not aimed at starting a war, but simply to let the country exercise its rights based on international law. Our military facility is within our exclusive economic zone, he said.

Former US Air Force official and security expert Raymond Powell said that one of the leverages the Philippines can use against dealing with an extremely large and aggressive country like China is its partnerships with like-minded allies. Powell, also a fellow at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University in the United States, said the Ayungin Shoal, including the BRP Sierra Madre, is the most vulnerable outpost in the entire South China Sea and needs to be reinforced.

Its vulnerable not just because of how few people are there and their inability to defend themselves but the fact that their outpost is deteriorating and will ultimately succumb to time and the weather and the elements. That will happen unless the Philippines, with its US allies, are able to come up with some other solution to repairing or replacing, somehow lifting, circumventing, and defeating the ongoing Chinese blockade, Powell said.

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Twenty journalists remain behind bars in Turkey despite 15 being released last month

Istanbul, TurkeyEven in a country which regularly holds the world record for jailing journalists, the case of Turkish investigative reporter Baris Pehlivan stands out.

Pehlivanwhose latest book accused Turkeys last interior minister of having links with organized crimeis about to be locked up for the fifth time in three years.

Having been jailed, released on parole and locked up again, this time Pehlivan has been ordered back behind bars by text message.

The order has been widely condemned, with 19 international human rights and media freedom organizations uniting to decry the repeated judicial harassment of Pehlivan, who is exercising his fundamental right to free speech as a journalist.

Pehlivan has already been incarcerated four times due to his journalism, two of those for the same sentence, they added.

This order would mark his fifth time behind bars.

The journalist said he was informed by the Turkish justice ministry on August 2 that he had to turn himself in at the Marmara Detention Center, formerly known as Silivri prison, where many of the critics of Turkeys government are held, on August 15.

Pehlivan and six other journalists were sentenced to three years and nine months in prison in 2021 for reporting the funeral of a member of Turkeys MIT secret services who was operating in Libya, where Ankara supports the UN-recognized Tripoli government.

While his death has never been denied by the Turkish authorities, the reporters were charged with revealing state secrets.

Abusive prosecutions

Pehlivan, editor in chief of the OdaTV website and a contributor to the secular daily Cumhuriyet, was conditionally freed on May 15, then sent back to jail for a day after multiple cases were opened against him.

On Wednesday, Turkeys justice minister cancelled a meeting with the main opposition party about the case at the last minute, to the fury of the CHP MPs.

A few minutes before the meeting, the minister announced that he had something very important to do, said CHP MP Ali Mahir Basarir.

Pehlivanwhose name means wrestler in Turkish  said he was resigned to turning himself in for the fifth time.

I have neither killed nor raped anyone, he wrote on Twitter, now known as X.

I have never sold anyone drugs.

In its open letter to the Turkish government, press freedom groups including PEN International and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Ankara to reverse the decision to reimprison Pehlivan and end the systematic judicial harassment against him and other journalists.

It also highlighted how the journalist was targeted after co-writing a book, SS, about the then interior minister Suleyman Soylu, in which he accused him of having ties to organized crime.

The press freedom groups said Pehlivans parole was revoked before he was even charged with insulting Soylu, who is deputy chairman of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans AK Party.

Soylu has denied being linked to the Turkish mafia despite being named by exiled mob leader Sedat Peker in a series of sensational YouTube videos, which detailed alleged ties between politicians and the criminal underworld.

RSFs Erol Onderoglu said the threat of prison hangs over the press at every turn in Turkey, which came 165th out of 180 countries in its latest press freedom index.

Pehlivan should not spend another day in prison, he told AFP. The truth is that he is constantly the victim of abusive prosecutions.

Twenty journalists remain behind bars in Turkey despite 15 being released last month, according to press freedom groups. AFP

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With the shadow of so many actual and potential wars hovering over so many places in the world, including the Korean peninsula, we need signals of hope

After a long wait and a one-year postponement caused by the pandemic, World Youth Day (WYD) 2023 was celebrated in Lisbon, Portugal, from August 1 to 6.

The central idea for this years World Youth Day is derived from Luke 1:39, which states: Mary arose and went with haste.

When questioned about his selection of Mary as the theme for World Youth Day, Pope Francis explained, Mary wasted no time when she learned she would become the mother of God.

She didnt linger for selfies or seeking attention. Her immediate action was to embark on a purposeful journey, quickly moving to aid and serve.

You also should draw inspiration from her, embarking on a journey to assist others.

In the multitude of raised flags symbolizing nations both big and small around the world, Pope Francis conveyed to approximately 500,000 energetic and spirited young individuals that Gods invitation is directed towards every individual personally, rather than their online identity.

You are not here by mistake, he told the mass of people in Lisbons Eduardo VII Park Aug. 3 for the welcome ceremony for World Youth Day. You, you, you, over there, all of us, me, we were all called by our names.

While social networks know young peoples names, tastes and preferences, all this does not understand your uniqueness, but rather your usefulness for market research, he said at his first World Youth Day event.

The illusions of the virtual world attract us and promise happiness but later show themselves to be vain, superfluous things, substitutes that leave us empty inside, the pope said.

Ill tell you something, Jesus is not like that; he believes in you, in each one of you and us, because to him each one of us is important, and that is Jesus.

Amidst the youth scattered across the park, basking in the Lisbon sunlight for hours prior to the popes arrival, was 18-year-old Tyler Nguyen from Colorado.

He shared with Catholic News Service that among young individuals striving to uphold their faith, the most significant hurdle they face is presented by social media since Catholics are often perceived online as being extreme.

But in the church, Pope Francis said, there is space for everyone, and when there isnt, please, lets work so that there isalso for who makes mistakes, for who falls, for who it is difficult.

Departing from his prepared speech, he asked all the young people to repeat with me: Everyone, everyone, everyone! before waves of todos, todos, todoseveryone in Spanish and Portuguesespread throughout the crowd.

That is the church, Francis said, the mother of all; there is room for all.

Throughout the crowd there were flags from countries with large Catholic populations such as Spain and Brazil, but also proudly displayed banners from countries where Catholics represent a small portion of the population.

Throughout his time as Pope, the Holy Father has encouraged young individuals during World Youth Day to respond to the Gospels summons and embrace Jesus within their hearts.

Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, the Holy Father said on July 28, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World Youth Day held local diocesan celebrations on Palm Sunday in 2014. In his message to young people that year, the Holy Father said: Young people who choose Christ are strong.  Have the courage to be truly happy!

In his 2015 message for World Youth Day, which the Church celebrated in local dioceses, Pope Francis said, The greatest good we can have in life is our relationship with God.

World Youth Day was conceptualized by Pope John Paul II and debuted in Rome in 1986.

The inception of World Youth Day occurred subsequent to the engagement of numerous youths hailing from diverse global regions who answered the Popes call to take part in the International Jubilee of Youth in 1984 and the United Nations International Year of Youth in 1985, both hosted in Rome.

Pope John Paul II drew inspiration from the churchs Youth Jubilee (1984), a significant gathering between the pontiff and young Catholics at the culmination of the 198384 Year of Jubilee, as well as from the United Nations International Youth Year (1985), when he initiated the creation of World Youth Day in 1986.

Concluding World Youth Day in Portugal with a grand Mass, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to cast away fear.

He also revealed that the next World Youth Day, marking the first time in three decades, will be hosted in Asia.

Addressing approximately two million participants at the Catholic event in Parque Tejo, Lisbon, the Pope emphasized the Churchs reliance on them and encouraged them to pursue their aspirations.

He then disclosed that Seoul, South Korea, would be the host of World Youth Day in 2027.

The venue for the next World Youth Day could not be more appropriate.

With the shadow of so many actual and potential wars hovering over so many places in the world, including the Korean peninsula, we need signals of hope.

And what greater sign of hope can we have than that of the faithful youth, perhaps led by BTS and other K-pop artists leading, songs of courage, peace, love, and solidarity.

Website: tonylavina.com.

Facebook: tonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

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DIGITAL PILIPINAS AND THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS. Digital Pilipinas Convenor Amor Maclang (standing, in white) as the movement welcomes its convenors and partners for the upcoming Digital Pilipinas Festival x Philippine Fintech Festival on November 21-24 in Manila. Present for this momentous occasion were Atty. Christine Red-Allego  Assistant Vice-President, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI); Vega Postrano  Manager, Strategic Government Relations, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI); Alexander Titov  Co-founder, Astrolabe; Gilbert Trinchera  Partner-Technology Consulting, KPMG in the Philippines; Tashfeen Suleman  Chief Executive Officer, CloudMEdx; Dr. Mike Vergara  Chief Executive Officer, LabX; Manan Mehta  Senior Vice President, Collabera; Mark Anthony Sy Quimsiam  Country Manager, Jia; Bobby Purugganan  Channel and Alliances Director (APAC), CyberQ Group; Andrew Garcia  Assistant Vice President of Sales  Digital Services, Transaction Banking Group, UnionBank of the Philippines; Erika Dizon  Senior Vice President; Head of Corporate Product Management, Transaction Banking Center, UnionBank of the Philippines; Martin Penaflor  Chief Executive Officer, Tangere; Emilio Mina  Owner, Caruso Ristorante Italiano; Amor Maclang Philippine Fintech Festival; Co-Founder, One ASEAN Fintech Movement; Co-Founder, GeiserMaclang and Dennis Gatuslao  Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, Bayad.

In a remarkable display of the power of partnerships, Digital Pilipinas has garnered overwhelming support from government partners, technologists, private sector leaders, and industry leaders for the upcoming Digital Pilipinas Festival and Philippine Fintech Festival Year 2. The highly anticipated event is scheduled to take place from November 21 to 24, 2023, in Manila.

The massive support showcases the steadfast commitment of Digital Pilipinas and its convenors to redefine the nations digital narrative by positioning itself as the new innovation hub in ASEAN.

Amor Maclang, convenor of Digital Pilipinas and the Philippine Fintech Festival and co-founder of One ASEAN Fintech Movement and GeiserMaclang, states, We extend our heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering support that has transformed this platform into a thriving hub for collaboration among all stakeholders  from visionary innovators and dedicated entrepreneurs crafting impactful solutions, to forward-thinking venture capitalists and angel investors seeking visionary ideas and teams, and regulators shaping policies that foster innovation. Together, we solidify a robust foundation for our nations transformative digital journey.

The special thanksgiving and partnership signing ceremony held recently at Caruso Ristorante Italiano were attended by a powerhouse cast of Digital Pilipinas convenors and partners including Manan Mehta, Senior Vice President of Collabera; Erika Dizon-Go, Senior Vice President and Director Fintech Business Group Head of Unionbank; Andrew Garcia, AVP Sales  Digital Services, Transaction Banking Center, also of Unionbank; Martin Penaflor, CEO for market research company Tangere; Gilbert Trinchera, Partner-Teochnology Consultant from KPMG Philippines; from Bayad, Lawrence Ferrer, the President and CEO and Dennis Gatuslao  Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer; Dr. Mike Vergara, CEO, of the health technology company LabX; from BPI, Atty. Christine Red-Allego, Asst. Vice-President, and Vega Postrano, Manager, Strategic Government Relations; Alexander Titov, Co-founder of Astrolabe; Tashfeen Suleman, Chief Executive Officer of CloudMEdx; Mark Anthony Sy Quimsiam, Country Manager of Jia; and Bobby Purugganan, Channel and Alliances Director (APAC) of CyberQ Group.

The Digital Pilipinas Festival and Philippine Fintech Festival Year 2, slated for November 21-24, 2023, at SMX Aura in BGC, will shine a spotlight on ASEAN as the next frontier for business, investment, and innovation. Themed World Meet AiSEAN, the festival will navigate groundbreaking technologies addressing real-world challenges, provide exclusive global learning programs and tech summits, and celebrate the Philippines and ASEANs world-class ideas and talent.

Festival highlights include the ASEAN Digital Economies Summit, the Global Investments Forum, the first ever ASEAN meet for the Women Economic Forum, a Tech Career Expo, Masterclasses on Frontier Technologies to which class and even festival attendees will be awarded with certificates from the Global FinTech Institute (GFI) which is the most internationally recognized certification that allows you to build your digital footprint and unlock credit for your ventures, and celebrating the Voice of the Digital Filipinos and the Digital Pilipinas Awards which celebrates trailblazers and honors visionaries and innovators shaping the Philippines future.

We express our profound gratitude for the ongoing outpouring of support, says Maclang. This is just the start of a series of celebrations dedicated to our valued partners. As we embark on this journey, we extend an open invitation to other organizations, communities, and companies eager to join hands in this dynamic Digital Pilipinas movement.

To know more about Digital Pilipinas and the Digital Pilipinas Festival and Philippine Fintech Festival Year 2, please visit https://digitalpilipinas.ph

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A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:

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No, a Dominion Voting Systems-owned bank didn't give Ron DeSantis $2 million

CLAIM: A bank owned by Dominion Voting Systems, Sequoia Capital, donated $2 million to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

THE FACTS: A venture capitalist with Sequoia, a firm that finances emerging companies, contributed $2 million to a political group that is supporting DeSantis' presidential bid.

But Dominion does not own Sequoia Capital; it bought the assets of an unrelated company called Sequoia Voting Systems in 2010. Yet social media users are twisting the facts to suggest that DeSantis is being financially supported by Dominion, a company that was at the center of false claims and conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.

"Of course Ron DeSantis is now claiming the 2020 election was not stolen," reads one popular tweet on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, referencing DeSantis' recent comments about the last presidential race. "The dude took in a 2 million dollar donation from Sequoia Capital Bank, owned by DOMINION."

In reality, a filing with the Federal Election Commission shows that Doug Leone, a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital, contributed $2 million to Never Back Down  a super PAC supporting DeSantis. But Dominion doesn't own Sequoia Capital, a firm that invested in companies such as Apple, Google and Airbnb. "Dominion Voting Systems has no business connection to Sequoia Capital," the company said in a statement to the AP. "Any claims about a business or financial relationship between Dominion Voting Systems and Sequoia Capital are completely false." The claim seems to conflate Sequoia with an unrelated entity: Dominion purchased the assets of a company called Sequoia Voting Systems in 2010. Court records show Sequoia Voting Systems' parent company filed for bankruptcy that year.

 Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in New Jersey contributed this report.

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A viral Facebook hoax is falsely claiming that a serial killer is on the loose in various US cities

CLAIM: A mug shot circulating on social media shows a serial killer who is currently on the loose and is abducting women after hitting their cars with his truck.

THE FACTS: This is a viral hoax that has spread in Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Alabama and elsewhere in the U.S. The mug shot is of Jose Gilberto Rodriguez, a man accused of killing three people over four days in the Houston area in 2018  but he has been in a detention facility awaiting trial since then and remains behind bars, officials in Harris County, Texas, confirmed this week.

"There's a serial killer or abductor who is currently hunting in Putnam, my friend was almost taken by him," reads a post that appeared in a Putnam, Indiana-area Facebook group, along with Rodriguez's mug shot. "He drives a truck with led lights and hits Cars of women alone and once they pull over he takes them. Multiple disappearances. If you are in the area and you are hit by a truck with led lights keep driving and call the cops. Please Stay safe."

Tom Sutherlin, chief deputy at the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, said that he is not aware of any active investigations of a serial killer in the area or of someone who is a danger to the community.

A reverse image search of the mug shot shows it matches one that appeared in news articles about Rodriguez's arrest in July 2018. John Donnelly, a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's office, confirmed to the AP that Rodriguez is the man in the booking photo circulating online. Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland, a public information officer at the Harris County Sheriff's Office, said Rodriguez is being held in an area detention facility while awaiting trial. The Amarillo Police Department in Texas said in a Facebook post that the posts with Rodriguez's mug shot spreading online are part of a scam that is meant to "cause panic and alarm." As the AP reported, Rodriguez is accused of killing three people in Houston over a period of four days in July 2018  a 62-year-old woman found dead at her home, as well as 28-year-old and a 57-year-old who worked at two different mattress stores. He was arrested the same month, after he violated his parole prior to the fatal shootings. His trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22, 2024, Donnelly said.

 Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed this report.

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Video of Biden on MSNBC was altered to make it appear like he struggled to speak for a full minute

CLAIM: Video shows President Joe Biden struggling to speak for a whole minute as he stumbles over his words in an interview with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC.

THE FACTS: Footage of a 20-minute interview with Biden on the network in June has been edited down to only show moments where Biden briefly faltered in his speech.

Biden gave a rare televised interview to MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" in June, where he discussed topics including the Supreme Court and his reelection campaign. But over a month later, social media users are sharing an altered clip from the appearance that makes it appear that the president spoke incoherently for more than a minute. The clip, circulating on Instagram, shows Wallace introducing Biden, and the president then appears to fumble in his response, failing to complete his thoughts and a full sentence.

"I just find it. I don't know how to express it," Biden says, before various clips of him stuttering on words such as "I" and "and," interspersed by footage of Wallace nodding. However, the video is not an accurate depiction of the interview. The full interview, which can be seen on MSNBC's YouTube channel, doesn't show Biden struggling to speak for a minute straight. The video takes sections of the far longer interview where Biden  who has been fighting a stutter since childhood  trips over or repeats a word, and strings these moments into one short clip. MSNBC did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

 Associated Press writer Karena Phan in Los Angeles contributed this report.

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Video of a beach party in Kyiv is being used to raise doubt around the war in Ukraine

CLAIM: A video showing a beach club in Kyiv proves the war in Ukraine is "fake."

THE FACTS: The video does show partygoers at a beach club in Kyiv, but it doesn't prove the war is fictitious. The front line of the war is in the eastern part of the country, far from Ukraine's capital city. But that has not spared the Kyiv, which has regularly been attacked by Russia with missiles and drones.

Social media users are sharing the video of young people partying by a pool to downplay the impact of Russia's invasion. "The war in Ukraine is FAKE," reads a post sharing the video on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The video was originally posted Sunday on TikTok by a user who confirmed to the AP that he took the video but did not provide his full name. He also posted on X when he realized his video was being used to misrepresent the situation around the war. "I am the original author that made this video on my TikTok page and I am only showing that people in Ukraine can live a normal life thanks to all the air defense systems that we have received from USA, Germany etc," reads the post on X. He also posted a new video on TikTok, saying he wanted to show that in times of war people can still live and have the "ability to enjoy life." The original video was taken at Fifty Beach Club in Kyiv. Multiple Instagram accounts that shared photos and tagged the club match the location of the pool in the video.

While removed from the worst of the fighting, Kyiv has not been spared. For example, Ukrainian officials said their air defenses shot down 20 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia mostly at the Kyiv region in July. Wreckage fell on four districts of the capital, wounding two people and destroying several homes. In May, Russia launched dozens of drones and missiles at the city almost every night, forcing residents to spend the night in shelters.

Other cities have come under attack as well. Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown on July 31, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said. The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelenskyy. Closer to the fighting, Ukrainian authorities on Thursday ordered a mandatory evacuation of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkiv region, which is more than 400 kilometers away from Kyiv. The U.S. has sent money to Ukraine, and this Thursday the AP reported that Biden plans to ask Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency aid to the country to help sustain its ongoing counteroffensive.

 Karena Phan

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No highway noise here! The beauty of nature abounds as you travel to this lovely one acre lot above the the quiet, Cattail Creek community. Take in the long-range winter views (year-round views possible with selective trimming) while listening to the sounds of the natural waterfall at the property's edge. Enjoy the quiet life in the mountains, yet live only 20 minutes to downtown BurnsvilleLandUndisturbed and wooded, one acre lot in quiet mountainside community. Small waterfall above the property boundary adds to the serene mountain getaway feel. Region & ClimateBurnsville, NC is a gem of a mountain town in western North Carolina featuring fresh air, outdoor activities, and a quaint downtown experience. Burnsville is also home to Mt. Mitchell-the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Fishing opportunities abound amongst the South Toe, North Toe, and Cane rivers that run through Yancey county. LocationThis peaceful one acre lot is located 20 minutes from downtown Burnsville, one hour to Asheville, and 50 minutes to ski resorts.

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MORGANTON  Three people who have been charged with various crimes across the Carolinas have connections to multiple violent crimes, including a July home invasion in Morganton.

Authorities this week arrested Carlton Javius Fuller, 23, of of 106 S. Anderson St. in Morganton, on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, three counts of second-degree kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, robbery with a dangerous weapon and larceny, according to arrest warrants filed at the Burke County Courthouse.

The charges came after a family was tied up with duct tape and held at gunpoint during a July 8 home invasion on Tate Street, according to the warrants for Fullers arrest. Authorities said at the time one of the victims had been pistol-whipped, and two children had been tied up and put in a closet.

Charging documents accused Fuller of stealing cash, a PlayStation 5, Xbox One S, two Nintendo Switches, an Xbox Elite controller and a wedding ring during the home invasion.

Authorities took Fuller into custody Monday afternoon at an apartment on South Anderson Street in Morganton.

Investigators with the Morganton Department of Public Safety had been conducting surveillance on the home for days waiting on an opportunity to bring him into custody with minimal threat to the public or officers.

During Monday afternoons storms, Fuller walked out on his balcony and apparently locked himself out of his home. Officers approached the home and asked him to surrender. Instead, Fuller jumped from the balcony and ran before trying to wrestle an officers handgun away from him, said MDPS Lt. Nick Edwards.

Fuller was taken into custody and the officer did not require medical treatment, Edwards said. Fuller initially was transported to the hospital to be checked out before he was booked in jail.

Edwards said officers executed a search warrant at the apartment and located two guns that were stolen from pawn shops in Hickory, as well as evidence from the Tate Street home invasion.

This isnt the only crime Fuller is accused of committing.

In April, Fuller and 18-year-old Joshua Adam King Jr., of 6955 Knuckolls St. in Morganton, are accused of shooting into an occupied dwelling in Hickory.

Court documents indicate Fuller and King both have been charged with discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle, five counts each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

An incident report from the Hickory Police Department said on April 2 around 12:20 a.m., five people were victims of a shooting into an occupied dwelling at 623 1st St. S.E., Hickory.

Officers recovered 30 shell casings from the scene, according to the HPD incident report.

The pair was charged again in July after multiple guns were stolen from a South Carolina business.

The Kershaw County Sheriffs Office in South Carolina said in a Wednesday post on Facebook that Fuller and King were charged in connection with a July 14 break-in at Freedom First Outfitters in East Camden, South Carolina.

Ten guns were stolen from the store, KCSO said.

Theyve both been charged with violent burglary in the second, grand larceny, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a stolen vehicle and criminal conspiracy, KCSO said in the Facebook post.

King also was a suspect after a firearm was stolen out of a mans car at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on North Green Street, Morganton, in February, according to court documents.

A search warrant filed at the Burke County Courthouse showed officers were called to the store Feb. 21 after a Glock 19X was stolen out of a vehicle. The owner of the vehicle told investigators a Glock 19X was stolen from inside his locked dash.

Surveillance video showed two men arrive at the scene, go inside the store then come outside and break into the vehicle before stealing the gun, the search warrant said.

While officers were on scene investigating the crime, a store employee found a wallet left behind in the mens bathroom. The wallet had Kings drivers license and birth certificate inside it, and further review of the surveillance footage confirmed King as one of the suspects in the incident, the search warrant said.

King was taken into custody by MDPS on July 26. He was found in possession of a stolen Glock handgun at the time of his arrest, said MDPS Chief Jason Whisnant.

Just a couple days before the Kershaw County crime, officials believe King and another man played a role in a shooting into an occupied dwelling in Rutherford County.

Capt. Chris Lovelace with the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office said King and 22-year-old Zachariah Davine Hines, of 552 White Oaks Drive in Morganton, have been charged in connection with a shooting into a home on Chase High Road around 5:30 a.m. Another person also was charged in connection with the shooting.

There were two adults and three children in the home at the time, but no one was injured.

In Forest City, authorities have connected that shooting with a July 13 homicide investigation where investigators believe a man walked up to a home on Harmon Street and shots were fired, according to a release from the Forest City Police Department.

Investigators believe the suspect left the scene on foot, but may have left the neighborhood in a gray Ford Fusion, the release from FCPD said.

Brandon Gerard Holland, of the home, was hit multiple times by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene. Haley Elizabeth Davis, of Forest City, also was shot multiple times, but she was expected to recover, the release said.

No charges had been announced in the shooting Friday morning, but authorities previously announced the homicide had been linked to the Chase High Road shooting by physical evidence found at both scenes, according to another FCPD news release.

Forest City investigators told The News Herald they still are running down leads on the murder investigation.

FCPD Detective Dylan Radford said officers have taken out charges against Hines for three counts of trafficking fentanyl, nine counts of possession of a stolen firearm and a count of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver marijuana.

Fuller, King and Hines all are in custody at the Burke County Jail. Fuller is being held under a $1.065 million secured bond, while King and Hines each are being held under $200,000 secured bonds.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The United States is set to roll out a powerful new weapon in the long fight against sexually transmitted infections: a decades-old antibiotic repurposed as a preventative pill.

DoxyPEP, or doxycycline used as a post-exposure prophylaxis, has been found to significantly cut the risk of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis when used after condomless sex.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is developing national guidance for clinicians, will need to weigh the need to contain record high rates of STIs impacting millions of Americans against potentially giving rise to more antibiotic-resistant strains.

"Innovation and creativity matter in public health, and more tools are desperately needed," senior CDC official Jonathan Mermin told AFP.

But the recommendations, set for publication this summer, will remain narrow in scope.

They will likely target only the most at-risk groups of gay men and transgender women with histories of prior infection.

As word spreads, some clinics are already prescribing DoxyPEP.

Malik, a 37-year-old man in Washington, said his doctor recently told him he could start using doxycycline as a "morning-after pill" following risky sex, something he's had to do twiceincluding after a partner did not warn him he had removed his condom.

Two-thirds reduction

Reported cases of the three bacterial infections grew to 2.5 million in the United States in 2021, following about a decade of growth.

Several issues are behind the rise: fewer people are using condoms since the advent of PrEPdaily pills that significantly reduce chances of contracting HIV.

And people who are on PrEP are recommended to undergo screening every three months, likely increasing the identification of infections.

Then there is the basic epidemiological fact that the greater the number of people infected, the more they can further infect.

Researchers have found DoxyPEP efficacious in three of four trials.

"What we found was there was about a two-thirds reduction in sexually transmitted infection every three months," Annie Luetkemeyer, who co-led a US trial, told AFP.

The physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco recruited some 500 people in San Francisco and Seattle among communities of men who have sex with men and transgender women.

Efficacy was greatest for chlamydia and syphilis, both of which were reduced by about 80 percent, while for gonorrhea it was about 55 percent. There were few side effects.

Antibiotic resistance

Broadening access to doxycycline has prompted concerns about causing antibiotic resistance, particularly in gonorrhea, which is fast mutating.

But early research hasn't shown cause for alarm.

Connie Celum of the University of Washington, who co-led the US study, told AFP researchers tested gonorrhea samples from breakthrough infections in the DoxyPEP group and compared them to the group who didn't receive the pill.

Though they found the rate of resistant gonorrhea slightly higher in the DoxyPEP group, she says the finding could simply mean the pill is less effective against already resistant strains, rather than causing that resistance.

DoxyPEP could even boost responsible antibiotic stewardshipcutting the incidence of infections, thus also cutting need for antibiotic treatment.

If it slashed gonorrhea cases by some 50 percent, it could reduce the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment with the current frontline treatment drug, ceftriaxone, which doctors are eager to preserve.

Longer term study is required, on both impacts on STIs but also "bystander" bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, which live inside people's noses but sometimes cause serious infections.

'Additional tool'

Malik said that while he is glad he could use DoxyPEP as a last resort, he wishes more men were willing to use condoms. Since moving to America from South Asia, he gets relatively little interest on dating app Grindr when he says he's not willing to have condomless sex.

But Stephen Abbotta doctor at Washington's Whitman-Walker clinic who prescribes and uses DoxyPEPsaid it's crucial to meet people where they are.

"From speaking with patients, and being part of the community that's now on PrEP... I think the age of prevention through condoms is fading," he told AFP.

A 42-year-old man in London who runs a cultural organization told AFP that word had spread about DoxyPEP through the international gay party circuit and he had procured a supply on the black market and through a partner who buys in bulk in Mexico.

It had largely worked for him, though he did have one breakthrough infection of throat gonorrhea. He said he was looking forward to the United Kingdom adopting similar guidance so that people have the right information and aren't left to guess at the right dosage.

For Luetkemeyer, DoxyPEP won't be "the answer" to the STI epidemic, and there is considerable interest in the development of a gonorrhea vaccine.

"But I'm optimistic... I think this is an additional tool," she said.

 2023 AFP
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Adjusted within-individual change in cycle length from the average length of three cycles pre-event and the event cycle (A) or the post-event cycle (B) across groups and age groups. Credit: Obstetrics & Gynecology (2023). DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005343

A new international study finds that individuals with COVID-19 disease may experience small, temporary changes in menstrual cycle length. Researchers emphasize changes are minor and typically return to normal in next menstrual cycle.

The study, published today in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, was an international collaborative effort led in part by Oregon Health & Science University reproductive health services researcher Blair Darney, Ph.D., M.P.H.; physician-scientist Alison Edelman, M.D., M.P.H.; and Alexandra Alvergne, Ph.D., of the University of Montpellier.

Their findings build on prior work from the same research team that first identified an association between COVID-19 vaccines and menstrual cycle changes. However, existing literature on the effects of COVID-19 disease itself on the menstrual cycle is limited. This study aimed to identify these effects, as well compare any changes to those seen with COVID-19 vaccination.

"As the prevalence of COVID-19 has increased, the public has reported a range of menstrual cycle changes, including longer length of cycle. Knowing this was a widespread concern, our teamalong with other reproductive health experts across the globemade this research a top priority," said Edelman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

"Menstrual health is significantly understudied and underrepresented in research and medicine. This work is important and necessary to provide answers that can reassure individuals who are experiencing menstrual changes following a COVID-19 infection."

In the retrospective cohort study, researchers analyzed menstrual cycle data from more than 6,000 individuals in 110 countries using Clue, a menstrual and reproductive health platform.

"We are proud to contribute to such important research on the effects of COVID-19 on the menstrual cycle and to work closely with world-class researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and the University of Montpellier," said Amanda Shea, Ph.D., head of science at Clue.

"This research underlines the power of Clue's de-identified user data and its impact in advancing research into menstrual cycles and reproductive health; benefitting society via a more accurate understanding of reproductive health."

Among unvaccinated participants reporting COVID-19 illness, researchers found, on average, a 1.45-day increase in menstrual cycle length compared with participants' previous cycle length average. These increases were consistent with changes reported among the cohort who had received a COVID-19 vaccination.

Researchers emphasize that in both cohorts, changes resolved in the first cycle after vaccination or illness. Additionally, they note that the immune and reproductive systems are known to interact with each other, so while these findings aren't surprising, they should validate the public's experiences and provide reassurance that if changes in flow occur during or after COVID-19 infection, they are likely to be small and temporary.

"Changes to your menstrual cycle can be concerning and even frightening," said Darney, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine. "We want this research to reassure individuals that on a population level, these changes are not typically a cause for concern."

Cycle changes are likely due to temporary, disease-related activation of immune response, but because individuals naturally experience variations in menstrual cycle duration and bleeding patterns, researchers say that it is challenging to isolate COVID-19 as a sole cause. The research team also notes that the study was not focused on individuals known to be experiencing long COVID-19. The physician-scientists also advise that individuals who notice prolonged changes in menstruation should seek guidance from their clinician.

Looking forward, researchers hope to learn more about the biological mechanism of these changes and will continue to leverage data from cycle tracking apps to investigate other reported variations in menstruation following vaccination, including missed cycles, unexpected vaginal bleeding and pain.

More information: Alexandra Alvergne et al, Associations Among Menstrual Cycle Length, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and Vaccination, Obstetrics & Gynecology (2023). DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005343 Journal information: Obstetrics & Gynecology
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A Monash University-led study has proposed a solution for the urgent need to capture real-time data on the impact of climate change-related events on human health, health care workforces, and health care systems at the point of care.

As the global community faces growing climate challenges, the study calls for action, collaboration, and innovation to safeguard human health and well-being in the face of environmental crises.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, the study highlighted key climate and natural disaster-related concepts, such as heat wave and drought, that need to be integrated in standardized medical terminology.

Monash University Nursing and Midwifery Associate Professor Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins led the project with an international group of researchers.

"Climate change, a critical risk driver of natural disasters, is rapidly jeopardizing global environmental sustainability, planetary health, population health, and sustainable development goals," Associate Professor Lokmic-Tomkins said.

"Our research indicates that current clinical terminologies lack the necessary depth to capture the full range of hazards associated with climate change, particularly those linked to environmental and meteorological factors.

"This gap hinders our ability to genuinely understand the extent of the impact of climate-related natural disasters on human health, but also how we plan to deliver effective health care during disasters, and plan interventions to support health care systems in times of crisis."

The study highlighted the need for comprehensive clinical terminologies to capture climate-driven disaster and hazard-related events that impact human health and the provision of sustainable health care services across preparation, response and recovery associated with these events.

It mapped the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-International Science Council (UNDRR-ISC)'s Hazard Information Profiles (HIP) to SNOMED CT International, a widely used clinical terminology for electronic health records.

The resulting paper called for global collaboration to expand SNOMED CT International to include unique geographical and regional hazard contexts disproportionately experienced in countries most affected by climate change.

"By including diverse perspectives and contributions globally, the clinical terminology can better reflect global health needs and improve disaster preparedness and response efforts," Associate Professor Lokmic-Tomkins said.

"This means capturing hazards linked to meteorological clusters, such as heat waves and droughts, which have significant impact on human health across the lifespan.

"Enhancing globally agreed terminology would enable clinicians, public health officials, and health informaticians to manage vast volumes of clinical data, and retrieve, analyze, and contextualize it to specific climate-related situations.

"This data can be utilized to develop evidence-based interventions, predict future impacts more precisely, and support informed decision-making by policymakers and government leaders for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies."

The work uncovered gaps in clinical terminologies available to health care professionals during disaster-related events. Notably, hazards related to meteorological, hydrological, extraterrestrial, geohazard, environmental, technological, and societal factors were poorly mapped.

Associate Professor Lokmic-Tomkins said one of the most concerning findings was the absence of hazards such as 'heat wave' and 'drought' in SNOMED CT International.

"These phenomena have intensified due to climate change and have significant impacts on human health, migration patterns, and armed conflict situations globally," she said. "Correcting this deficit in SNOMED CT is crucial to capturing these events as causative factors of health-related issues."

The study also highlights inequities in global health information systems infrastructure, particularly in areas where health systems lack the capacity to use standardized terminologies. This data gap further exacerbates challenges in providing basic care for vulnerable populations in resource-limited settings, hindering sustainable health care efforts.

"Our work is just beginning," Associate Professor Lokmic-Tomkins said. "By addressing these challenges and expanding clinical terminologies, we can help develop resilient health care and community systems that can effectively cope with the increasing frequency and intensity of climate change-related disasters."

More information: Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins et al, Evaluating the representation of disaster hazards in SNOMED CT: gaps and opportunities, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (2023). DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocad153 Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
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Factors associated with healthy aging in Latin American populations. Credit: Nature Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02495-1

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin study the factors influencing healthy brain aging in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries and find the lessons learned there, can also be applied to home.

Aging is not a uniform process across the globe. Most research into cognitive and functional aging has been conducted in the US and Europe, in high-income settings. Researchers from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at Trinity College are filling the knowledge gap that exists for Latin American populations on the factors associated with healthy aging. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The study found that social/health disparities significantly influence healthy aging differentially across countries and regions. Researchers believe the same can be expected of other countries and regions, including Ireland.

Researchers set out to investigate the combined impact of social determinants of health (SDH), lifestyle factors, cardiometabolic factors, mental health symptoms and demographics (age, sex) on healthy brain aging across Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries with different levels of socioeconomic development. In LAC countries, there is an urgent need to assess regional diversity and deliver tailored evidence for diverse populations.

Previous studies in high-income countries (US and Europe) that capture risk factors of healthy and pathological brain aging were not accurate for low-income and middle-income countries. Assessing specific risk factors in LAC countries constitutes a critical priority for understanding healthy aging globally.

Dr. Augustin Ibanez, co-lead author of the study, GBHI Faculty at Trinity College and Director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), said,"This study emphasizes that aging is influenced by more than just biological factors such as age and sex."

"It suggests that other factors, such as social determinants of health, mental health symptoms, and cardiometabolic risks, profoundly impact healthy aging. While the study is specific to Latin American countries, it considers a new perspective for understanding aging in Ireland, encouraging a more holistic approach in considering all these factors."

Researchers employed machine-learning models to analyze the complex interplay of factors associated with aging. The study's findings suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach to understanding healthy aging is insufficient.

So, while the specific results in the Latin American context may not be directly applicable to Ireland due to cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental differences; the research methodology and overarching themes can be utilized to study aging in the Irish demographics. The use of machine learning models to analyze the complex interplay of factors can be applied to understand Ireland's unique challenges and risks.

Dr. Ibanez, said, "This study provides a valuable lens to reconsider how we approach healthy aging in Ireland and highlights the need for region-specific, data-driven health strategies."

Professor Brian Lawlor, Site Director, Global Brain Health Institute and Professor of Old Age Psychiatry, Trinity College, said, "This study enhances our understanding of the importance of inequities and the social determinants of health as drivers of brain health and aging, which is core to the mission of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) based at Trinity College Dublin."

"This research, led by Atlantic Fellow at GBHI and Trinity Faculty member Agustin Ibanez, highlights why we need to adopt diverse perspectives and avoid simplistic models of aging if we are to successfully tackle the challenges of aging and brain health on a global scale."

More information: Hernando Santamaria-Garcia et al, Factors associated with healthy aging in Latin American populations, Nature Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02495-1 Journal information: Nature Medicine
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A single hardwired brain circuit might be responsible for male sexual drive, a new mouse study reports.

Researchers have singled out in lab mice a brain region that controls sexual interest, libido, mating behavior and pleasure, said senior researcher Dr. Nirao Shah, a professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, in California.

This region uses sensory input from the environment to recognize the sex of another mouse"Aha, this is a female, maybe I can mate if she's willing," Shah said.

"That recognition is then transformed into the desire to mate and the act of mating by this circuit," he added. "Also, the circuit enables the behavior to be pleasurable so animals will seek to do it again, which is very important, because for a species to survive, animals need to reproduce."

While this study was in mice, Shah said similar brain structures have been found in other mammalsand perhaps even humans.

"There are analogous anatomical counterparts we think in the human brain, but of course their function in the human brain remains to be determined," he noted.

For their experiments, Shah's team used adult virgin male mice that had not seen a female mouse after being weaned at about 3 weeks of age. That way, the brain activity and behavior they observed would not have been shaped by social influences.

The researchers meticulously mapped the brain cells and connections that compose this particular circuit, called the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (POA).

Earlier work by the research team had found they could turn on and off male mice's recognition of an unfamiliar female mouse by manipulating neurons that communicate to the POA from the amygdala, which is the seat of human emotion.

The specific signals came from a part of the amygdala called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, or BNST.

"We had no reason to believe that this POA region would not only control the act of mating, but also regulate the desire to mate or regulate the pleasurable feelings elicited by mating," Shah said.

"In principle, those three aspects of sexual behaviorthe act of mating, the physical act itself, the urge to mate and the pleasure that accompanies itthose could be embodied in different brain regions," he added. "But what we found is that the POA has these attributes."

In this new study, the researchers zeroed in on a small set of genetically distinct BNST neurons that secrete a slow-acting signaling protein, or peptide, called Substance P.

The scientists also found another small set of neurons in the POA that carried receptors for Substance P, essentially forming a connection with the BNST neurons.

The POA neurons ramped up their activity when stimulated by the Substance P-secreting BNST neurons. And about 10 to 15 minutes after that happened, male mice would go through their full sequence of mating behaviormounting, penetration and ejaculation.

Substance P sensitizes the POA neurons so they become increasingly active, the researchers concluded.

Directly infusing the peptide to the POA accelerated mating behavior; in fact, direct activation of the circuit even led to mating with inanimate objects, the findings showed.

Stimulation of the POA also cut short the mice's refractory period, or the stretch of recovery time required before full sexual drive and capability is restored after ejaculation.

For the mice used in this study, the normal refractory period is five days. But directly stimulating the POA with Substance P prompted male mice that had just ejaculated to immediately repeat their sexual mating routine.

"It took one second or less for them to resume sexual activity," Shah said in a news release. "That's a more than 400,000-fold reduction in the refractory period."

On the other hand, blocking the POA completely eliminated the mating urge in male mice, Shah said.

"When we switch off the center, the POA in the male mouse, he simply stops mating," Shah said. "Even if he has a willing female in his cage. Even if there's no danger. Even if there's ample food. He just stops mating."

There seem to be no other effects researchers can see, he said.

"He walks about normally. There's no problems in other behaviors like aggression. He will still fight with males, because they're competitors. He simply doesn't mate," Shah said.

Further, Substance P receptor-containing neurons in the POA connect to two downstream brain centers that are known to be critical to voluntary movement and experiencing or anticipating pleasure.

"Importantly, similar structures exist in creatures less complex than mice such as birds, that are not even mammals," Shah said.

"In monkeys, studies done some years ago showed that switching on one of the centers that we worked on in the mouse actually does elicit male mating behavior, suggesting a functional correspondence between the mouse and the monkey counterpart in the brain," he added.

"So there seems to be anatomical correspondences between birds, mice, monkeys, humans and these brain regions, and there seems to be functional correspondence as well between mice and monkeys," Shah said.

The findings could lead to drugs that tamp down the sex circuitry in the brains of men with hyperactive sex drives. Alternatively, new treatments might boost sex drive in men who suffer from a lack of desire.

"If these centers exist in humansand now we know where to lookit should be possible to design small molecules that can be used to regulate these circuits," Shah said

"But whether this is feasible is unknown because first we would need to identify these centers in the human brain and, moreover, regulating libido is enormously complex in humans with lots of social, political, ethical and other considerations that need to be addressed prior to thinking about any such approach," he added.

A sex-stimulating drug aimed at the human equivalent of the POA would act very differently than erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, Shah said.

Instead of stimulating blood flow in the small blood vessels, such drugs would directly act upon the specific brain area that controls the male libido, he explained.

Shah's group is also trying to find equivalent brain circuits in females.

The new study was published online Aug. 11 in the journal Cell.

More information: Daniel W. Bayless et al, A neural circuit for male sexual behavior and reward, Cell (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.021 Journal information: Cell

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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An increase in 39-week induction rates and a decrease in cesarean delivery (CD) rates were seen following publication of A Randomized Trial of Induction vs. Expectant Management (ARRIVE) in August 2018, according to a research letter published online Aug. 10 in JAMA Network Open.

Rachel Wood, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined whether publication of the ARRIVE trial in August 2018, which revealed that low-risk nulliparous patients who were induced at 39 weeks of gestation had a reduced risk for CD, was associated with observable obstetric practice changes in the United States. Data were obtained for 2,860,942 births (66 and 34 percent from the pre-ARRIVE and post-ARRIVE periods, respectively).

The researchers observed an immediate increase in 39-week induction rates after the dissemination period, with a 39-week induction rate of 15.0 percent compared with an expected 13.8 percent based on trends during the pre-ARRIVE period (adjusted incident rate ratio [aIRR], 1.10); CD rates were significantly lower than expected (24.7 versus 25.1 percent; aIRR, 0.988). Significant ongoing temporal changes included an increase of 0.009 39-week inductions and a decrease of 0.0014 CDs per month.

"These findings suggest that the publication of the ARRIVE trial was associated with an increase in 39-week induction rates and a reduction in CD rates for low-risk nulliparous patients across the United States," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biomedical and medical technology industries.

More information: Rachel Wood et al, Rates of Induction of Labor at 39 Weeks and Cesarean Delivery Following Publication of the ARRIVE Trial, JAMA Network Open (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.28274 Journal information: JAMA Network Open

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
State officials are looking to connect with people affected by a 2021 fire that ravaged homes and property along the south end of Flathead Lake.

As the trial for the man accused of starting the massive blaze inches closer, the Montana Attorney Generals Office and Lake County Attorneys Office seek details from Lake County residents impacted by the fire.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell announced in May 2022 that Craig A. McCrea was charged in connection with the Boulder 2700 fire, which started on July 31, 2021. The fire quickly grew to over 1,000 acres and destroyed more than a dozen homes, buildings and structures in the area. It also forced numerous evacuations for Finley Point residents.

Locals whose property was either destroyed or damaged, or people who were evacuated because of the fire, are encouraged to reach out to Lake County Det. Brian Hines at 406-883-7301.

McCreas trial date is scheduled for Oct. 13, 2023. Hes facing three felony arson charges. Evidence gathered by prosecution alleges he started a series of forest fires near Flathead Lake that grew into a large blaze. Damages from the fire were estimated at several million dollars.

The Montana Attorney Generals Office is prosecuting the case.
When Kaylene Big Knife was 17 and working as an assistant for a print shop at Stone Child College, she never imagined that shed one day produce an art piece for a video game giant.

But this summer, thats exactly what happened.

In June, Big Knife got a call from Xbox, a video gaming brand owned by Microsoft, asking if shed be interested in doing a project. Big Knife jumped at the opportunity, but so did lots of Indigenous artists, who entered into a pool hoping to be selected by Xbox. Big Knife and other Native graphic designers submitted portfolios and presentations.

After several rounds, Big Knife, who is Chippewa Cree and grew up on the Rocky Boy Reservation, was selected to create a piece for the gaming giant as part of its campaign to increase representation of Indigenous people.

Once she was selected, Big Knife and the Xbox team entered several rounds of design decisions. First, Big Knife presented three mood boards, and the Xbox team picked one, which featured ribbon skirts and ribbon shirts. Next, she submitted artwork based on that concept and entered several rounds of revisions with Xbox.

It was a crazy amount of deliverable assets, Big Knife recalled. I think I turned in more than 40 different designs. Its definitely one of the most intense projects Ive ever been a part of.

A few months later, Big Knife had her design.

Her piece  featuring deep purples, bright oranges and vibrant greens  includes flowers, geometric shapes and the "X" symbolizing Xbox as the glowing sun. She said she intentionally chose a balance of cool and warm colors and avoided typical design schemes, like portraying a yellow sun against blue sky. The piece, called "Dancing in the Arbors," is featured on Xboxs social media pages, and players can use it as a free wallpaper, profile picture or for their avatar in games.

Big Knife drew inspiration for the piece from an old black-and-white photograph of her great-grandfather. The floral designs in her graphic mirror the flowers on his regalia.

Overall, the design scheme is reminiscent of summertime in Rocky Boy, Big Knife said. During powwow, Id be at my Grandma Minnies house. She lives over the hills, and when the powwow goes late into the night, people are still out there, there are stars and lights on the arbor. Its a very lively place.

Big Knife studied at Stone Child College on the reservation and went on to earn a degree in graphic design from the Institute of Native American Art. She also has degrees from the University of Arizona and University of Montana. In her early college years, Big Knife said she played a lot of Xbox and made lifelong friendships through gaming.

Its a dream come true, she said of the piece. I never thought Id be doing something like this for a video game giant like Xbox. Its just funny to see life come full circle. It was just an incredible experience.

Despite her success, Big Knife said her pursuit of graphic design wasnt always easy. There were times she considered leaving the field altogether and times when she worried her art wouldnt be taken seriously since it wasnt tactile, like beading or weaving. But, as Big Knife put it, Life always led me back to graphic design. Its what Im good at.

Now, Big Knife said she appreciates the medium more than ever. She uses graphic design for more than just art  helping local organizations promote events, create business cards and logos, and shes even created free materials to help preserve the Cree language.

The digital realm is a very powerful place to be, she said. Indigenous professionals and organizations need art, whether its branding or selling merchandise.  We, as Indigenous people, need to have a presence in digital art and in digital spaces. This is how I contribute to my community.

To learn more about Kaylene Big Knifes work, visit kaybigknifedesign.com.
When Sergio Papa Ruark attended a presentation at his university about Two-Spirit people, he was awestruck.

I approached the presenter after, and I asked, Are there really more people like us  queer and Native? Papa Ruark recalled. And he said, Yes. He told me to search for Two-Spirit gatherings on Google, and thats what I did.

Two-Spirit is an umbrella term, referring to Indigenous people who occupy a traditional third gender. Different tribes had different words in their languages for these people, who often held important roles within cultures, seen as medicine people, negotiators, name-givers or critical to certain ceremonies.

When Papa Ruark, 42, turned to Google to learn more, he found a link for the Montana Two-Spirit Society Gathering, a multi-day event that includes powwows, dance and celebration.

For more than 25 years the Montana Two Spirit Society, a Missoula-based organization, has been hosting its annual gathering event, which includes, powwow, ceremony, pageants and presentations on generational trauma, legislation updates and healing. The event celebrates Two-Spirit culture and community and promotes healing.

Papa Ruark, who is Indigenous to Peru, registered for the event, but he was worried.

Im Indigenous, but Im Indigenous from South America, he said. I was a bit afraid because I didnt know how they would take that.

To Papa Ruarks surprise and delight, the Montana Two Spirit Society embraced him. Papa Ruark said someone at the gathering asked him what Two-Spirit culture was like in Peru, and Papa Ruark said he was embarrassed to say he didnt know.

I didnt know much about the Two-Spirit part of my culture, he said. I thought it didnt exist. So that was my next homework  to go back to my family and community and ask.

Community connection

This years Montana Two Spirit Society Gathering will occur Aug. 16 through 20, and David Herrera, co-founder and executive director, said this years event has been wildly popular. About a month before the gathering, more than 130 people had registered for the event and dozens had joined the waitlist, which was more than Herrera had seen in the past. He added that some panels will be catered toward youth, as a record 45 young people registered for the event.

The community aspect matters because theres strength in numbers, Herrera said. Its a way for us to come together and support one another, to learn from each other on ways we can strengthen our communities, ways that we can overcome generational trauma.

Herrera said he suspects the increased interest this year could be a reaction to the record amount of anti-trans legislation proposed in statehouses nationwide. In Montana, Republican lawmakers censured the states first transgender woman lawmaker, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, and Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a bill banning transgender care for minors.

A lot more people are interested in the gathering this year, and I think its because they feel the need to connect with community, Herrera said. They want to come and enjoy an incredible event, learn about Two-Spirit culture, history and traditions.

The event, which began with a handful of people, has grown to attract people from all over the world, including from Samoa, Hawaii and the Philippines.

This year, the multi-day event will feature presentations on generational trauma, transgender and non-binary issues, a legislative update as well as sessions catered to young people. Herrera said there will be a talent show, as well as dancing and drumming and traditional games. The event will also feature its annual pageant, where a Mr. and Ms. Montana Two-Spirit are crowned.

I can be me

When Papa Ruark returned home after his first Two-Spirit gathering in Montana, he started to research his own culture.

I found out there is a dance that is practiced in honor of the androgynous warriors, and I was like, What? he recounted. I couldnt believe people dont talk about this.

Papa Ruark dove deeper into his research, and soon, the research itself was a form of healing for him. As he researched more, Papa Ruark began to dance again. Hed stopped dancing when he was 12 or 13 because he was told he wasnt allowed to dance in a skirt or dress.

I started dancing again because now I knew that in my culture, there were men that dressed as women, and they were warriors and heroes and leaders, he said.

He was eager to return to the gathering in Montana to share what hed learned, and when he gave his presentation last summer, in part through dance, he was crowned Mr. Montana Two-Spirit at the event. Papa Ruark said for him, the best part of the gathering is the community.

Its chosen family, he said. You hear stories from other Two-Spirit relatives, and you feel connected to them. We face discrimination, we face racism and classism, and this is basically the only time where I can wear my skirt, wear my dress and my earrings. I can be me.

Herrera said Papa Ruarks story epitomizes the goals of the Montana Two Spirit Society. He said when people educate their own communities and families on culture, tradition and ceremony, they can ultimately change hearts and minds.

Thats how we are going to overcome a lot of this hatred, Herrera said. Its one person at a time really sending that message that were all human.
By Alex Pologruto | Aug 11, 2023

MURRAY, Ky.  The Murray State University Department of Art & Design and University Galleries are pleased to announce three exhibit openings in August in the Clara M. Eagle Galleries and Mary Ed Mecoy Hall Gallery on the sixth floor of the Price Doyle Fine Arts Building located on Murray States campus. Each exhibit will include an accompanying artist talk.

runs with scissors by Ramona Sonin. (graphite, charcoal and ink on paper, 84x48)

Ramona Sonins exhibit Ramona Sonin: Tulle will be on display from Aug. 15  Oct. 4 in the Mary Ed Mecoy Hall Gallery. Sonin will also give an artist talk on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. in Price Doyle Fine Arts room 623.

Sonin is the founder and creator of a sustainable couture/wearable art studio where art and fashion blur lines and float. While delicate and tender in palette, her designs are imbued with the armored feminine  both formally and materially. The loosened whimsy of tulle, silk, hand-embroidered and sculpted florals have a sophisticated counterpoint in disciplined, masterful linework. Like the artist herself, the work is bewitched, an ethereal crusade: steam pink and unearth bound. Sonin is an associate professor and the program coordinator of the Fashion Design and Merchandising Department at the University of Memphis. She has worked in costume in the film industry, including assisting costume stylist/designer Arianne Phillips on the Oscar winning film Girl, Interrupted; worked freelance in textile and fashion design; written fashion design curriculum; and served as an invited board member with fashion technology companies as well as museums. Her work has been exhibited in the Los Angeles area, regionally in the American South, and internationally at the World Fashion Exhibition in Paris, France and the Devonport Regional Gallery, in Tasmania, Australia. Although she spends most of her time in the south, she still makes her way back to the eccentric beach city of Venice Beach, California, where she lived for two decades and which continues to influence her designs and drawings.

Such As the Wind-Flower by Greely Myatt. (reclaimed metal, 57x90x3)

Greely Myatts exhibit Tool will be on view in the Clara M. Eagle upper gallery from Aug. 15  Oct. 26. Myatt will visit campus for an artist talk on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. in Price Doyle Fine Arts room 623.

Myatt is widely recognized for his whimsical sculptural objects and monumental installations made from found materials. Engaging with surrealism, pop, folk and outsider art, he has developed a compelling visual language of truly reimagined but recognizable forms. His works provoke a dialogue with the viewer around a plethora of relationships, connections and effects among genre and style, form and content, scale and site, identity and place, time and space, art and its history, and concepts of art and craft. Myatt was born in Mississippi, teaches at the University of Memphis and lives and works in West Memphis, Arkansas. He received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and is a long-time professor of art at The University of Memphis. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the United States, Europe and Japan.

The Magic Silver Show Elena Diane Curris Juried Photo Exhibit will be on view from Sept. 7  Oct. 17 in the Clara M. Eagle Gallery. Frances Jakubek, Magic Silver juror for the Magic Silver show, will visit campus for an artist talk on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. in Price Doyle Fine Arts room 623. A reception for the exhibition will follow in the main gallery.

The Elena Diane Curris Endowment for the Visual Arts was established with gifts from the Curris family in memory of Elena Curris, the daughter of Jo Hern Curris and Dr. Constantine Curris, the sixth president of Murray State. The endowments goal is to support the strength and reputation of the Universitys visual arts programs.

Frances Jakubek, juror for this years Magic Silver Show, is an image-maker, independent curator, and consultant for artists. She is the co-founder of A Yellow Rose Project, past director of Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York City and past associate curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Massachusetts. Recent curatorial appointments include Critical Mass, Filter Photo, The Griffin Museum of Photography, British Journal of Photography, Les Rencontres dArles, Save Art Space and Photo District News. Jakubek has been a panelist for the Massachusetts Cultural Councils Photography fellowships, speaker for SPE National, and lecturer for the School of Visual Arts Masters of Photography i3 Lecture Series.

The University Galleries visitor hours for fall 2023 are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m.  4:30 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m.  6 p.m. Admission to the galleries is free and open to the public. For more information about the Department of Art & Design, visit murraystate.edu/art or follow them on Instagram at instagram.com/murraystateart.
A former Muscatine man is arguing his conviction for a deadly stabbing at a party should be overturned and has petitioned for post-conviction relief, court documents show.

Milton Serrano Jr., 23, is seeking a new trial after appealing his second-degree murder conviction only for it to be affirmed earlier this year by the Iowa Court of Appeals. He was convicted in 2021 for the stabbing death of Chantz Stevens, of Wilton.

Serrano has until Sept. 2 to file specific claims for relief. The state will then have a month to file a response. After the filing of the states answer, a notice of civil trial setting a conference will be sent to all related parties. Judge Jeffrey Bert will hear the case.

There exists evidence of material facts, not previously presented and heard, that requires vacation of the conviction or sentence in the interest of justice, the petition says. It argues the conviction is a violation of the Constitution.

The petition further argues that defense counsel failed to bolster his theory of self-defense concerning the use of mind altering substance.

It cites several witnesses had testified to alcohol and drug use at the party, but the defense did not offer any expert testimony as to the drug usage or mob mentality. It states Serrano feels this deprived the jury of evidence to his state of mind and why he felt his life was in jeopardy.

On July 19, 2020, Serrano was arrested at a residence in Muscatine after reports of a farm party that turned into a fight at 938 Quincy Ave. in Clarence, Iowa. Police reports say Serrano had attended the party and allegedly keyed a silver Toyota Camry, resulting in about $1,000 damage.

On Oct. 12, 2021 after a six-day long trial, a Dubuque jury took two hours to convict Serrano of second-degree murder. He was not convicted of first-degree murder, which would have brought mandatory life in prison. During the trial, the prosecution brought over 20 witnesses to testify and entered pieces of evidence, including videos of the fight and of Serrano making a confession. The defense, which argued self-defense in the case, did not bring any witnesses.

According to evidence presented at the six-day trial, two physical altercations occurred as Serrano was asked to leave the party. During the first altercation, Serrano made reference to having a knife and threatening to stab people. During the second altercation, with Stevens, Serrano removed the knife from his pocket and stabbed Stevens twice in the abdomen. Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene. Testimony said the knife had punctured his heart.

Other people at the scene got the knife away from Serrano. Police reports also say Serrano made reference to getting a gun from his vehicle before being convinced to leave the party. Later that night Serrano posted on Facebook Live about the fight.

Serrano was sentenced on Oct. 30, 2021 to 50 years in prison. He must serve 70% before he is eligible for parole. He is currently incarcerated in Anamosa State Prison.
Salome Wairimu, the Principal Secretary for Correctional Services, has announced plans to alleviate prison overcrowding nationwide, aiming to enhance the inmates living conditions.

Kenyan prisons are currently accommodating 62,000 inmates, surpassing their designed capacity of 22,000.

Wairimu indicated that nearly half of the current inmate population consists of remandees, who are eligible for release by year-end through leniency measures.

Those slated for release will primarily include individuals imprisoned for minor offenses, as well as inmates  even those with lengthy sentences  who can exhibit tangible evidence of their reformation.

Furthermore, Wairimu announced that whereas past releases were solely at the discretion of the President, this instance will involve a meticulous assessment conducted by the Power of Mercy Committee.

The PS said they are actively collaborating with the Judiciary and other key players within the justice sector to streamline the process of prison decongestion.

She has advocated for an expansion of Prohibition Services Orders by judicial officers as a viable approach to tackling the issue of overcrowding.

In addition, Wairimu said the implementation of programs such as scaling up Alternative Dispute Mechanism initiatives is part of the broader strategy to decongest Kenyan prisons.

The PS noted that issues such as minor theft, land disputes, and family conflicts can be resolved outside the courtroom, as the department is focused on implementing reforms rather than emphasizing punishment.

Wairimu also announced plans to allow convicts to access higher education through the Open University of Kenya, a virtual university recently inaugurated by President William Ruto.

The Ministry of Education has established an educational division within the prison system, complete with computer facilities and classrooms, the PS said.

The Principal Secretary said the government also intends to reinstate inmate visitation, which had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
President William Ruto has said the Government is committed to increasing trade volumes with Mozambique.

He said this will help create a favourable trade balance for Kenya.

He noted that the two countries are exploring opportunities that will guarantee a win-win outcome.

The President explained that between 2018 and 2022, imports from Mozambique increased from Ksh 3.2 billion to Ksh 5.2 billion, while Kenyan exports to Mozambique only increased from Ksh 1.2 billion to Ksh 1.4 billion over the same period.

In this burgeoning win-win relationship, Mozambique has the upper hand in trade balance terms, yet the opportunities before us take the form of a tide that will lift both our boats, he said.

He made the remarks on Thursday in Maputo during a two-day State Visit hosted by his counterpart President Filipe Nyusi.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of eight MoUs aimed at strengthening the ties between the two nations

The cooperation agreements include Mutual Legal Assistance, Diplomatic Training, Public Service Training, Investment Promotion, Blue Economy and the Mutual recognition of driving licences.

President Ruto committed to the full and speedy implementation of the agreements for the benefit of the people of the two nations.

I am of the view that it is imperative for us to take advantage of the momentum generated in these engagements to expeditiously implement all the bilateral instruments that have been signed, he said.

Later, the President visited Maputo Municipal Hall and addressed members and other government officials.

He was presented with Keys to the City of Maputo, the Highest distinction given to an individual.

The Head of State and the First Lady also laid wreaths at Heroes Square.

The President noted that Maputo and Kenyan coastal towns have a lot in common, citing opportunities in tourism, fisheries and the blue economy, maritime transport, agriculture, manufacturing, trade and industry.

Present were First Lady Rachel Ruto, Cabinet Secretaries Alfred Mutua (Foreign Affairs), Aden Duale (Defence) and Attorney General Justin Muturi among others.
More than 10,000 members of the Luo community are advocating for a referendum to establish their own separate nation, citing perceived discrimination by the Kenyan government.

In a lawsuit submitted to the Milimani High Court on Monday, representatives from the Luo community, led by Ojijo Ogillo Mark Parscal, are requesting the court to mandate the government, represented by Attorney General Justin Muturi, to facilitate a referendum for the purpose of allowing the Luo community to exit Kenya.

Ojijo is acting as the spokesperson for the over 10,000 petitioners who are demanding a referendum on multiple grounds. Among these reasons is the assertion that the Attorney General (the respondent) has exhibited a pattern of discrimination, profiling, harassment, torture, and oppression against the Luo community.

We, the Luos of Kenya, guided by Article 20 of the African on Human and Peoples Right (as adopted in 1981 in Nairobi, Kenya, and entered into force in 1986), hereby file a complaint with the African Commission on Human and Peoples Right, in Banjul, The Gambia; The United Nations Human Rights office; the East African Court; and the High Court of Kenya; to grant us our human rights of self-determination of forming our own state; as provided for in Article 20 (1) and 20 (2), the court papers read in parts.

Over 103 years since the declaration of Kenya as a colony by the colonialists in 1920, and up to 60 years after independence, Luos have consistently been profiled, hated, abused, threatened, tortured and harassed.

Ojijo is urging the court to grant urgent certification to the application, aiming to accelerate the process of the communitys endeavor to establish its own sovereign state.

Unless the matter is addressed urgently, the ethnic profiling, discrimination, lack of development, and harassments shall continue and these shall prejudice, harm and limit the applicants submission to self-determination, the Luos said.

The petitioners contend that both current and previous government administrations have perpetuated a culture of impunity, citing alleged instances of manipulated elections that hinder the ability of the Luo community to assume leadership roles and achieve economic progress.

Ojijo argues that the principle of self-determination should be extended to the Luos, as it is enshrined in the constitution.

He asserts that citizens have the inherent right to determine their own destiny in areas encompassing politics, territorial matters, and livelihoods, underscoring the fundamental right to self-determination.

The right to self-determination consists of Luo rights to freely pursue their economic, social and economic development, ideally through democratic governance, Ojijo argues.

Denying the right to self-determination through peaceful means, the Luos may be forced to forceful means to gain their independence leading to loss of life and property, the petitioners add.

Additionally, the Luos are requesting court orders to prohibit the state from intervening in their pursuits related to self-determination activities.

An order be issued to the respondent (AG) to give the applicant a date of beginning the self-determination negotiations within the state of Kenya, Ojijo seeks on behalf of all the 10,000 petitioners.
Parliament is considering the implementation of legislation that would prohibit elected officials from traveling together in a single vehicle or plane, aiming to minimize potential losses in the event of an accident.

The legislators made the proposal while deliberating on the floor of the assembly on Thursday.

The proposal comes in the wake of a recent unfortunate road incident, wherein a vehicle carrying three MCAs collided with a Boda Boda, resulting in the tragic death of one MCA and severe injuries to two others.

Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed concern regarding the well-being of the ward representatives, highlighting the necessity to reevaluate their welfare.

The MPs at the same advocated for the implementation of strict regulations governing the boda boda industry.
Photo: Parliament of Canada South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings.

In late July, the federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for British Columbia submitted its final report outlining the new boundaries of federal electoral districts in this province.

I covered earlier draft reports of this commission in a previous column, but I felt it would be good to go over the final outcome as there are substantial changes to the electoral map of B.C.

Every 10 years, Elections Canada takes the data from the most recent census and undertakes a process to assign new seats to provinces that have grown in population, and redraws the boundaries of electoral districts (commonly known as ridings) to ensure there is fair representation from across the country in the House of Commons.

This time, Elections Canada assigned one new riding for British Columbia, and appointed a three-member non-partisan commission to take on the difficult task of deciding where to put that riding and to redraw the boundaries of existing ridings to accommodate the changing population of the province.

It decided to place the new riding around Vernon and came out with its first draft of new boundaries about a year ago. A lengthy public consultation process followed, including town halls around the province, to allow citizens to comment on the boundaries of the ridings. That first draft changed the riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay by carving off the west half of Penticton and adding the east half of the Similkameen Valley.

There was considerable opposition to this plan from residents of Penticton, the Similkameen and members of Penticton Indian Band, with all groups obviously concerned that their areas should not be divided.

Earlier this year the commission tabled its second draft, which contained drastic changes from the first. Penticton was made whole again and the entire Similkameen added to the riding, successfully dealing with the concerns heard in the public meetings and the written briefs.

But to accommodate this addition of population, several areas in the eastern half of the riding were removed and added to neighbouring ridings. The eastern Arrow Lakes, including Nakusp, and the entire Slocan Valley were added to the new Vernon-Monashee riding, while suburbs of Castlegar and the Beaver Valley, part of greater Trail, were added to the East Kootenay riding.

That caused a great deal of concern in the West Kootenay, as that areaa distinct part of the provincewas now going to be in three separate ridings. Unfortunately there was no public process at that stage, so I had to take those concerns to the commission through a House of Commons committee.

I feel elected representatives shouldnt play such a direct role in the establishment of electoral boundaries, so I would rather the process be changed to provide a public process at this stage and eliminate MP involvement. But I also felt it was important that the thousands of residents who sent me their concerns should have their voices heard.

So what was the final outcome? The commission decided to retain the changes made in the second draft, but did agree to return the northern suburbs of Castlegar (Pass Creek, Brilliant, Thrums, etc.) so that they would be in the same riding as Castlegar. In answer to the demands of local residents to keep Trail together with the Beaver Valley (including Montrose and Fruitvale), the commission decided to move Trail into the East Kootenay riding with the Beaver Valley.

In doing so, it separated Trail from its western neighbours, Warfield and Rossland, which have just as close ties to Trail as the Beaver Valley. The new riding will be called Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay, while the riding to the east will be Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies.

As I said at the start, the commission has a very difficult job trying to balance the integrity of communities with ridings that have populations as close to the provincial average as possible. Ive already heard considerable disappointment from residents in the West Kootenay that their arguably unique voice has been split into three ridings.

But I also know when these new boundaries come into effect in the next federal election, the MPs elected to represent them will do their best to make sure that voice is heard.

Richard Cannings is the NDP MP for South OkanaganWest Kootenay.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Napa County supervisors have another wine country growth controversy to resolve  whether to allow Le Colline, a vineyard proposed near the Linda Falls preserve in the mountainous Angwin area.

Download Napa Valley Register news app today! Your story lives in the Napa Valley. Get in-depth stories from the Napa region and beyond  including news, sports, features and politics.

Its the latest dispute over removing forest or woodlands and planting vines in the Napa Valley watershed. The question is how to balance agriculture  the primary rural land use under county policy  with the environment.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors will hold the appeal hearing in its chamber at 1195 Third St. in Napa.

When this is all over, we hope the economics of Le Colline will allow my wife and I to make a living growing grapes and produce a site-specific wine on our property, applicant Dave DiCesaris told the Napa Valley Register earlier this year.

But the Center for Biological Diversity says the project's environmental impact report is inadequate.

This is the latest in a long line of vineyard conversions that are seriously damaging Napa's biodiversity, Frances Tinney of the nonprofit group said earlier this year.

Here is a summary of the dispute.

What is Le Colline?

As approved by the Napa County, Le Colline would be a 20.55-acre vineyard, which is an 18% reduction from the original request. Altogether, about 28 acres would be disturbed, counting access roads. Forest, oak woodland and shrubs would be removed.

Dave and Kathleen DiCesaris proposed the vineyard for their 90-acre property at 300 Cold Springs Road in 2014. The site is in the mountains northeast of St. Helena.

Napa County in 2019 released a 280-page draft environmental impact report for Le Colline and in late 2022 published a 730-page final report. The final study responded to 100 comment letters.

These environmental reports by the consultant Analytical Environmental Services concluded the vineyard creation would result in "less than significant impacts" with mitigations.

What is the controversy?

New vineyards proposed in the Napa Valley watershed are often controversial. But Le Colline has a twist.

Among the issues raised by opponents is the proximity of the Linda Falls preserve on an abutting property. Linda Falls preserve comprises 177 acres where people can hike forested land owned by the Land Trust of Napa County and see Conn Creek tumble over volcanic rocks.

A few dozen emails, letters and postcards received by the county in recent weeks regarding Le Colline show the nature of the objections.

The significant impacts of this development to the Conn Creek watershed, Linda Falls and Lake Hennessey simply cannot be mitigated, wrote Beth Novak Milliken of Spottswoode winery. Once removed, forest and all its benefits to the natural environment are gone forever, irreplaceable.

Briana Forgie struck a similar tone.

I have lived in Angwin most of my life and this pristine environment is like nowhere else in the valley, she wrote. This project negatively affects many while only one person benefits.

The appeal by the Center for Biological Diversity is more technical. For example, it said the environmental report incorrectly concluded that the property has no suitable habitat for foothill yellow-legged frogs, California red-legged frogs and California giant salamanders.

What do the proponents say?

In May, Dave and Kathleen DiCesaris sent a letter to Angwin residents giving their side.

Le Colline is a quarter mile upslope from Linda Falls and is not visible from Linda Falls or Linda Falls Trail. Seventy percent of Le Colline's property will remain in its natural state. They will implement water quality monitoring for Conn Creek, they wrote.

I am a retired commercial lender and all we want to do is settle in the valley to make a living growing grapes on our property, Dave DiCesaris wrote.

Points of contention

Both the applicants and appellants recently submitted letters to the county. The letters at times form a kind of point-counterpoint.

Tinney of the Center for Biological Diversity was skeptical that the vineyard would reduce wildfire risk, as the final environmental impact report said. In fact, numerous scientific studies show development in highly fire-prone areas increases fire risk, she wrote.

Napa County fails to consider that placing more people, trucks and traffic in this area on a single-lane road would increase the chance of a fire igniting. Such a fire would impair evacuation routes for residents, she continued.

Attorney Thomas Adams, speaking on behalf of Le Colline, wrote that the project doesnt claim to mitigate fire risk. Nevertheless, that will likely be the case for the project area and Angwin.

Vineyard development will result in fire risk reduction by decreasing fuel loads and replacing unmanaged wildlands with maintained, irrigated crops, Adams wrote.

Plus, vineyard avenues will provide firefighters with increased firefighting access, he wrote.

Tinney questioned Dave DiCesaris' claim that vineyard operations will generate net zero greenhouse gas emissions. It isn't substantiated by science and relies on voluntary commitments, such as using electric tractors and an electric van to transport workers and planting 650 trees, she wrote.

Environmental impact report estimates of carbon released from destroying forests and woodlands are too low, according to Tinney. The "misguided" tree-planting program lacks enough detail to determine if it will be effective, with appropriate tree species planted in appropriate places, she wrote.

"If the county is truly committed to implementing projects that effectively mitigate (greenhouse gas emission) impacts," wrote Tinney, "deeper analyses using the best available science and a clearly disclosed plan are needed."

Adams disagreed that greenhouse gas emissions are being lowballed and explained why in technical terms. Among other factors, the project calculations didnt include credit for greenhouse gases sequestered by the planned vines, he wrote.

The owners voluntarily decided to operate the vineyard with net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This decision is made mandatory through a county condition of approval, Adams wrote.

All of this and more information is before the Board of Supervisors for the appeal hearing. The board packet listed online runs to more than 450 pages, and there are hundreds of more pages available on Le Colline beyond that, if supervisors want to delve yet deeper.

Photos: Soscol Junction a Napa congestion reliever in the making Soscol junction project 4 Soscol junction project 2 Soscol junction project 3 Soscol junction project 1 Soscol junction project 5 Soscol junction project 6 Soscol junction project 7 Soscol junction project 16 Soscol junction project 13 Soscol junction project 14 Soscol junction project 15 Soscol junction project 8 Soscol junction project 9 Soscol junction project 10 Soscol junction project 11 Soscol junction project 12
A printed sign, 12 by 24 inches, is the latest clue that plans to open a Costco in Napa continue to move forward, if slowly.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES, reads the poster.

Download Napa Valley Register news app today! Your story lives in the Napa Valley. Get in-depth stories from the Napa region and beyond  including news, sports, features and politics.

The familiar black-and-white placard of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has been attached to a chain-link fence at 1025 Kaiser Rd. in south Napa.

It is literally the first sign publicly displayed to announce the membership warehouse club's impending arrival. All California businesses that sell alcohol, such as Costco, are required to post such a notice before opening.

There are few street signs, but the old Napa Pipe industrial site is located along the Napa River on Kaiser Road about a quarter-mile north of the Butler Bridge on Highway 29. It is owned by Napa Redevelopment Partners, and Oakland-based Catellus Development Corp. is the development manager for the project.

Altogether, Napa Pipe will eventually come to include 945 residences, a hotel, light industrial uses, parks, trails and a Napa Valley Vine Trail connection, wetlands, a beach club, water uses and the Costco. It could also include housing for seniors.

Keith Rogal referred questions about Costco to Catellus. Representatives from Catellus could not be immediately reached to comment on this story.

However, in 2022, Tom Marshall of Catellus said that Costco remained a part of the Napa Pipe project.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in Costcos original plan to open before 2023, according to Marshall, who explained at that time: Were still playing catch-up. And talk of a recession and the stock market gyrations add just another layer of challenges, he added. Yet, with any long-term project like Napa Pipe, youve got to be able to navigate through different market environments, said Marshall.

According to the ABC website, the primary owner of the application is Costco Wholesale Corp. As of June 15, the status of the 21 - Off-Sale General license is pending.

This isn't the first time Costco has applied for a liquor license in Napa. In 2019, the warehouse club submitted an application, but withdrew it after two years.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday the deployment of 11 members from California search-and-rescue task forces to assist the hardest-hit areas from devastating wildfires on the island of Maui that have killed at least 53 people this week in Hawaii.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency worked closely with Newsom as the California governor directed the state's Office of Emergency Services to also deploy state personnel specializing in urban search-and-rescue and mass fatality management to support Hawaiis operations.

The specialized team includes local government firefighting personnel from Sacramento, Riverside and Oakland.

The wildfires and devastation that Maui is experiencing is all too familiar and all too horrifying. We stand at the ready to aid Hawaii in its time of need, Newsom wrote in a social media post.

Newsom spoke with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Wednesday on how California could support the island state through its response and recovery from the devastating wildfires, according to a Cal OES news release.

Nancy Ward, director of Cal OES, said she has been on the phone with Hawaiis emergency management director, Kenneth Hara, to coordinate the types of resources that they need.

We have expertise, as everyone knows, in wildfires. We have expertise in debris removal, which is something that Hawaii has done for hurricanes  fires a little bit different because you have possibly remains, possibly hazmat materials, Ward said in a released statement. We have sent two of our subject matter experts on fire resources to Hawaii already.

Several hundred volunteers with the American Red Cross are flying to, if not already in, Maui to give their support. The Red Cross has a deep pool of volunteer roles from sheltering to nurses to mental health and spiritual care as they work with local governments and evacuees during the crisis, officials said.

Red Cross Gold Country, a local California chapter of the American Red Cross, has already sent four volunteers from Northern California, three shelter-trained and one a government liaison, according to Steve Walsh, the chapters communications director.

Walsh said all volunteers will spend a two-week term in Maui and, because this is planned to be an extended event, that the Red Cross is constantly looking for new volunteers, which make up 96% of its work force.

Those who are interested in volunteering with the American Red Cross can register online at www.redcross.org/volunteer. All costs of travel and board are covered by the nonprofit, which also relies heavily on donations.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia received the EU Ambassador

Azerbaijani units fired from fire arms towards the Armenian combat outposts in the vicinity of Verin Shorzha

Ararat Mirzoyan will participate in a strategic conference in Slovenia

Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire on Armenian positions in Akhpradzor section. Armenian Defense Ministry

Greek authorities have rescued about 60 migrants traveling by boat from Turkey to Aegean islands

Iran will launch a locally manufactured Tolou-3 satellite into orbit by the second half of March

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry tries to justify its regular fire to disrupt wheat harvesting. Artsakh Defense Army

The Azerbaijanis once again targeted the 'Syunik' civil airport. Gor Tsarukyan

Artsakh State Minister: Azerbaijani Armed Forces hold at gunpoint the only wheat field in Sarushen community

Azerbaijan refuses to allow the body of the Artsakh girl to be taken to her homeland. MFA

Armenia PM is informed about plans to invest another $15M in Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine

Azerbaijan does not allow body of young woman who died in tragic Armenia road accident to be sent back to Karabakh

Azerbaijan plans to try abducted Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan

Dollar, euro drop in Armenia

Armenia deputy PM, Poland envoy confer about regional developments

Central Electoral Commission registers electoral lists of political forces to run in Yerevan municipal elections

Karabakh MoD: Azerbaijan statement, video footage are utter falsehood

Ambassador Kvien emphasizes US support for Armenia sovereignty, security (PHOTOS)

Karabakh MFA: We expect UN Security Council member countries to demonstrate consistency, principled stance

Armenia ex-FM: Perhaps international community keeps open possibility of changing today's negotiation agenda

Armenia MoD: Azerbaijan disseminates another disinformation

London Coptic Church leader, UK Armenian Apostolic Church primate discuss crisis in Karabakh

11 medical patients from Karabakh are transferred to Armenia through Red Cross

MFA official: China is closely following of North-South international corridor current operation

Armenia battalion deputy commander is charged with causing soldier to commit suicide

Armenia MFA: It is evident that Azerbaijan continues distorting international community appeals

Armenia FM stresses to UN deputy secretary general urgency of reopening Lachin corridor

US ambassador to Armenia visiting Jermuk town (PHOTOS)

Artsakh President meets with group of militia fighters

Karabakh President receives Free Motherland-UCA Faction MPs

Presidential advisor: Azerbaijan cut fiber optic internet cable, disrupting Karabakh's stable internet connection

Azerbaijan fires on tractor working in Karabakh village field

Ardshinbank recognized as Retail Bank of the Year in Armenia by Asian Banking & Finance magazine

Azerbaijan fires in direction of Armenias Kapan city airport

EU Special Representative for South Caucasus meets with some other European officials, in Yerevan cafe

Newspaper: What to expect after UN Security Council emergency meeting on Lachin corridor issue?

France cities, regions want to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged Karabakh

China interested in development of relations with Armenia

Ambassador to Armenia on Zangezur corridor: Chinese initiative has nothing to do with it

Armenia MoD: Azerbaijan fired in direction of Yeraskh village

Mher Grigoryan, Toivo Klaar discuss humanitarian crisis in Karabakh

Fan Yong: China is concerned about situation around Lachin corridor

Armenia FM to Romania colleague: Karabakh crisis resolution requires international community to take clear steps

Dollar gains, euro loses value in Armenia

Ocampo: Armenians should not be side victims of Ukrainian conflict

Chaarat Gold announces selling Kapan mine in Armenia for $54.5M

Azerbaijan again fires at combine harvester working in Karabakh village field

Armenia ambassador-at-large: Azerbaijan is blaming Karabakh children for eating cookies on their birthdays

Demonstration in support of Karabakh held outside Israel MFA (VIDEO)

Pashinyan: Next week we will start Yerevan-Kapan regular flights

Armenia PM heads from Yerevan to Kapan by plane, tests new airline

Arman Tatoyan: Azerbaijan is preparing new fascist disaster for Armenia

Kirby: We continue to stay engaged diplomatically to encourage peaceful resolution between Armenia, Azerbaijan

Karabakh presidential advisor: UN Security Council recorded that we are starving, but what does that change?

Karabakh MoD: Azerbaijan defense ministry statement is completely false, disinformation

Azerbaijan MFA tries to distort content of UN Security Council meeting on Lachin corridor issue

Armenia ombudsperson sends letter to Azerbaijan counterpart 1 month ago, not received reply yet

MoD: Azerbaijan fires at combine harvester working in Karabakh village field

Armenia government petitions to European Court regarding soldier captured by Azerbaijan

Armenia statements about Karabakh blockade are groundless, Bayramov tells Klaar

Armenia PM: Azerbaijan is subjecting Armenians of Karabakh to genocide through starvation

Armenia ombudsperson: Azerbaijan statement that Vagif Khachatryan committed crime as part of armed group is not true

Azerbaijanis attack Armenian family outside UN headquarters in New York

Karabakh MoD: Azerbaijan violated ceasefire

Armenia MoD: Azerbaijan disseminated another disinformation

EU representative at UN: Dialogue between Karabakh Armenians and Baku should be encouraged

Azerbaijan representative speaks at UN Security Council, accuses Armenia

US representative at UN: We call for direct talks between Baku authorities and Karabakh representatives

Speech of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia at the UN Security Council urgent meeting

Russia representative at UN: We proposed parallel opening of Aghdam and Lachin corridors

Armenia MFA spox: As there is meeting at UNSC, Azerbaijan opened fire on border several times in past 3 days

President: People of Karabakh are anxiously anticipating todays special session of UN Security Council

N Koreas Kim, Russias Putin exchange letters

55 dead from clashes in Libya's capital

Armenia MoD: Azerbaijan fired at Armenian positions

Alen Simonyan, Valentina Matviyenko discuss details of humanitarian disaster in Karabakh

Photo of Armenia reservist detained by Azerbaijan appears in Azerbaijani domain of social media

OSCE Chairman-in-Office reiterates his call, asks Personal Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk to visit Lachin area

Armenia ranks 3rd in most visits to Georgia

Azerbaijan MoD announces name of captured Armenia serviceman

Azerbaijan MFA makes accusations against Armenia

Azerbaijan holds tour for foreign diplomats to familiarize them with Aghdam road being proposed to Karabakh

Group of Turkey intellectuals appeal to world regarding humanitarian disaster in Karabakh

Azerbaijan soldiers approach Armenian reservist, apprehend him: Armenia MoD releases video footage

France FM expresses concern about Azerbaijan shooting during patrol of EU monitors in Armenia

Concerned citizens staging protest in front of UN office in Armenia

Armenia FM heads for New York

MoD: Theory of Armenia reservist ending up on Azerbaijan side is being investigated

Azerbaijan announces capture of Armenia soldier

Azerbaijan praises advantages of Aghdam road to Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan MoD tries to misinform foreign embassies military attaches

Armenians prevented Ataturk statue installation in Prague, Turkish ambassador says

Armenia MoD: Reservist deserts combat position

Azerbaijan fires at grain-harvesting combine in Karabakh (PHOTOS)

Armenia to host Eurasian Intergovernmental Council special meeting

Armenians continue demonstrations outside Los Angeles consulates of UN Security Council member countries

US State Department: We urge Azerbaijan government to restore free transit through Lachin corridor

Azerbaijan accuses France of efforts to aggravate the tension in South Caucasus

Senators Menendez, Padilla send letter to US representative at UN regarding situation in Karabakh

Karabakh residents block Russian military base entrance, peacekeepers reopen it
A murder took place in Yerevan Thursday, shamshyan.com reports.

At around 11:25pm, the police received information that an argument had taken place at Mergelyan park and there was an injured person.

While the police and investigators were working at the scene, a call was received from a hospital to the police that a person with a cut and puncture wound to the chest was brought to this medical center and that he had died without regaining consciousness.

The police and investigators who went to this hospital found out that the deceased was Yerevan resident Armen Hakobyan, 37.

Also, the police found out that on the same day at around 11:10pm, an argument over personal matters had taken place in the aforesaid park between the deceased and Yerevan resident Davit Grigoryan, 25, during which the latter had stabbed Hakobyan in the chest, and this had become the cause of his death.

The police found the suspect Grigoryan in the aforementioned park, then took him to a police precinct.

A knife was found in his possession.

The police handed Grigoryan, the report on him, and the aforesaid knife over to the local investigation department, where criminal proceedings on murder charge were launched.
The best solution to the situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is the removal of the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, and the start of the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue within the framework of the international mechanism. This was announced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at Fridays regular Cabinet session of the Armenian government.

"Armenia, in turn, continues to reaffirm its commitment to the peace agenda, and calls on official Baku to refrain from steps aimed at nullifying the historic opportunity to establish peace," Pashinyan added.

According to him, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to deepen and expand.

Pashinyan said that the ban by Azerbaijan on the entry of humanitarian goods into Nagorno-Karabakh makes the statements about Azerbaijan's policy of subjecting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to genocide more credible.

"There are opinions from international expert circles that Azerbaijan's policy of causing a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor can be considered from the point of view of the December 9, 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I believe that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor has developed to the point that greater efforts should be made to provide an international legal assessment of the situation, especially since Azerbaijan continues to fail to comply with binding decisions of the International Court of Justice about ensuring the unimpeded movement of people, goods, and vehicles through the Lachin corridor," the Armenian PM emphasized.

Pashinyan recalled the decisions of the International Court of Justice to reopen the Lachin corridor, and noted that Azerbaijan continues to not comply with the court's decision.

"The highest international courts confirmed in their statements in recent times that Azerbaijan's comments on the decisions of the International Court of Justice have nothing to do with reality, and that Azerbaijan is obligated to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the corridor," the Armenian premier noted.
Photo: Pique file photo.

A man was found dead Thursday, Aug. 10 on a Whistler mountain bike trail after what appears to be "a tragic accident," policed have confirmed.

Police responded to a call on Thursday afternoon regarding the sudden death of one adult male on a local trail, according to Insp. Robert Dykstra, Officer in Charge with the Sea to Sky RCMP.

The confirmation comes following a tweet Whistler RCMP issued at 12:25 p.m. Thursday asking the public to avoid "Kill Me, Thrill Me," a challenging black diamond trail on the west side of Highway 99 north of Green Lake, as emergency services were working in the area.

Police said the deceased mountain biker was not reported missing, but reportedly failed to return home after heading out for a ride on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

Foul play is not suspected. Police are investigating in consultation with the BC Coroners Service.

In a statement, Dykstra said Our hearts go out to the family of the male who appears to have died from a tragic accident while mountain biking on one of the more challenging trails in the area."

Victim services are available to assist anyone affected by the incident, he added.
The road to Nagorno-Karabakh through Azerbaijans Aghdam will eventually be opened. An interlocutorin Russian state institutionsfamiliar with the situation in the region told the Kommersant newspaper about this.

According to him, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had proposed an option which was initially agreed to by both the Azerbaijani side and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The essence of it was to open the road through Aghdam and start importing to Nagorno-Karabakh everything necessary through the Red Cross. And exactly one day after the beginning of the movement through that place, according to Moscow's proposal, the traffic through the Lachin corridor would also be restored.

"This version was highly prepared," the source of  said.

In Moscow, they assess the situation as very difficult and believe that Azerbaijan is not in the mood for concessions.

"All attempts to somehow calm the situation, initiated by us, Westerners, international organizations, do not lead to anything. Baku is not backing down," the source said.

Moreover, he noted, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities are also persistent.

But, according to him, Nagorno-Karabakh then set a condition so that the Lachin corridor would be reopened not after 24 hours, but immediately; then it announced that products of Azerbaijani origin should not be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh through Aghdam, then took place the scandal related to Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan, whose immediate release the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities demand. And as a result, no compromise was reached.
After a few years, the whole region will be rearranged, including Turkey, and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will become a republic which will include Syunik Province of Armenia and some territories from Azerbaijan, military analyst Hayk Nahapetyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"If Artsakh wanted to receive humanitarian aid from Azerbaijan via the Aghdam road, it would be the first step of integration. [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev will arrest thousands of people on charges of war crimes, turn Artsakh into a filtration camp, and also persecute the authorities. Russia realizes this well. And if the integration program suddenly succeeds, then what are the Russian peacekeepers [in Artsakh] to do? Russia will do everything to stay in Artsakh. According to my information, recently there was a closed meeting in Moscow between the participants of Russia and Azerbaijan. That meeting was ineffective; probably the Russian side set a condition before Azerbaijan that even if humanitarian aid enters [Artsakh], the Russian peacekeepers got a different status," he said.

The military analyst rules out that Russia will cede the region to Turkey.

"If there is going to be integration, will be some territories of [Armenias] Syunik [Province] and Azerbaijan to Artsakh. After a few years, Artsakh will become a republic, Russia will not come out of Artsakh," he said.

According to Nahapetyan, Russia cannot do anything to reopen the Lachin corridor. There is no point about it in the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, according to which Russia is not a party, but a mediator. In this case, as per the military analyst, the Lachin road was closed with the agreement of the authorities of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"The authorities of Armenia have done everything with Azerbaijan to close the checkpoint. [Armenian PM] Nikol Pashinyan is accountable for this," Hayk Nahapetyan added.
No change to Indonesian helper fees, govt reiterates

No change to Indonesian helper fees, govt reiterates

Labour minister Chris Sun on Friday said any changes in the hiring arrangements for Indonesian domestic workers should not lead to higher costs for their Hong Kong employers.



The official made the remark a day after meeting with the acting consul-general of Indonesia, who Sun said had confirmed there is no change to the cost structure of fees for Indonesian helpers coming to work in Hong Kong.



Sun said he had also been told that an Indonesian agency association that visited Hong Kong last week to discuss a "new HK$5,000 fee for employers" did not speak on behalf of Jakarta.



The labour secretary said he had stressed to the acting consul-general that the Indonesian Manpower Placement Agency Association should not have made an announcement on its own, as its comments may have led people to believe that it spoke on Jakarta's behalf.



"And I also made it very clear to the acting consul-general of Indonesia in Hong Kong that, whatever change is being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian foreign domestic helpers, it should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should it affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian helpers in Hong Kong," Sun said.



Thomas Chan, who heads the Union of Employment Agencies, said the sector plans to correspond with Jakarta to get further clarification on the matter.



Chan said he believes the Indonesian association did not come to the SAR without permission from the country's authorities.



"They very firmly told us they came here not because of their own intention to collect [extra fees] from employers, rather they were under the instructions of the [Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Board] to come here and explain to the employers and Hong Kong agencies that they want to collect the fees," he told RTHK.



Chan said agencies will not put up fees for employers just yet.
Coup supporters gather near French base in Niger

Supporters of Niger's National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) gather for the demonstration in Niamey. Photo: AFP

Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders gathered on Friday near a French military base on the outskirts of the capital Niamey, AFP reporters saw.



Protesters shouted "down with France, down with Ecowas", a reference to the West African bloc which on Thursday approved deployment of a "standby force to restore constitutional order" in Niger.



Many brandished Russian and Niger flags and yelled their support for the country's new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani.



"We are going to make the French leave! Ecowas isn't independent, it's being manipulated by France, there's outside influence," said one demonstrator, Aziz Rabeh Ali, a member of a students' union.



Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was toppled on July 26 by members of his guard.



The move has been condemned by fellow countries in West Africa, the United Nations and Western countries, including France, the former colonial power and a close ally of Bazoum.



A hostile rally outside the French embassy on July 30 prompted France to organise voluntary evacuations of its citizens.



France has around 1,500 military personnel in Niger, sent to help the country in its eight-year-long struggle against a bloody jihadist insurgency.



Many are deployed in the air base near Niamey, a facility that is co-run with Niger's armed forces.



France last year pulled its forces out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also battling jihadists, after falling out with juntas that ousted elected leaders. (AFP)
PRNewswire Udaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 11: The Indian Institute of Management,Udaipur (IIMU), opened admissions for its unique one-year full-time MBA programmes inGlobal SupplyChain Management (GSCM)andDigital Enterprise Management (DEM).The Programmes are for professionals with a minimum of 3 years of experience in any domain. The GSCM program offers a solid foundation in Management Fundamentals and intensive specialisation in Global Supply Chain Management & Logistics. The DEM Programme focuses on managing digital systems and using them to make decisions for the digital transformation of businesses and lead complex and diverse initiatives in digital environments. Admission to these purely residential programmes will be based on GMAT/GRE/CAT exams. It requires candidates to hold a graduate degree from a recognised university and three-plus years of work experience in any field. The program starts in April every year and ends in March of the following year. The previous batches have experienced a great response from the industry, with leading companies from consulting and other domains recruiting students. The last batches of the program saw 100% placements. The programmes are also inviting corporates, the public sector and government agencies to sponsor their employees. The current GSCM Batch has students sponsored by the Indian Navy. The Programmes have an Advisory Board consisting of highly experienced founders and business leaders of several successful companies in the country, including Infosys, Flipkart, IBM, Delhivery, Tata Digital, Deloitte, DP World and Info Edge India. Eligibility Criteria * Graduate with a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in any discipline from a recognised university. * ValidGMAT/GRE scores or CAT scores of tests from 2020 or later * Minimum full-time work experience of 36 months as of February 29, 2024 Selection Procedure After Filling the Application Form: * Applicants areshortlisted on the basis of the eligibility criteria and called for the second round, where they are screened through a personal interview. * An offer of admission is made on the basis of the candidate's overall academic profile, work experience, score inGMAT/GRE/CAT and performance in the personal interview. About IIM Udaipur: IIM Udaipur is well on its way to becoming a globally recognised B-School. It has broken new ground by focusing on world-class research and transforming students into tomorrow's managers and leaders. The Institute arrived on the global education stage by securing accreditation from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) in merely eight years of its establishment. With this accreditation, IIM Udaipur is counted in the same league of global institutes, such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the MIT Sloan School. IIMU has been listed on the Financial Times (FT) Global MIM Ranking 2022 as well as the QS Global MIM Ranking 2020, only the 4th IIM, along with IIMs Ahmedabad, Calcutta, and Bangalore, to be in the FT Global MIM Ranking and only the 7th IIM in the QS 2021 Global MIM Rankings. In both Rankings, IIM Udaipur is the youngest B-School in the world! IIMU is also currently ranked 4th in India, after ISB, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, for research in management according to the methodology used by UT Dallas, which tracks publications in the leading global journals. Photo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183219/IIM_Udaipur_Campus.jpgLogo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183220/IIMU_Logo.jpg (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Photo: Royal Roads University Bryce Casavant is a former B.C. conservation officer who lost his position after saving two bear cubs from his superior's orders to euthanize them

Bryce Casavant, a former B.C. conservation officer who lost his position in 2015 after refusing an order to euthanize two bear cubs, has lost another appeal to regain his job.

In his second trip to the B.C. Court of Appeal, Casavant had challenged a B.C. Supreme Court decision that his dismissal was lawful.

Im disappointed but I respect the court's decision, he told Glacier Media Wednesday.

The latest decision means Casavant has exhausted all legal avenues in B.C.

The only other steps left are the Supreme Court of Canada, he said. Were considering all our options, but its shaping up that way.

Casavants journey through the courts began following his well-publicized refusal to kill two bear cubs in Port Hardy, in 2015.

A conservation officer at the time, he declined to euthanize the bears, despite being ordered to do so by his commanding officer. Instead, he made his own determination that the cubs had not eaten any garbage in a residential lot. He transferred the cubs to safety but euthanized their mother.

The cubs were placed in a recovery centre and reportedly freed to the wild thereafter.

In a settlement agreement, Casavant had agreed to be transferred to a position as Natural Resource officer-senior compliance and enforcement specialist in a different ministry, with the same pay. But Casavant later challenged the agreement at the Labour Relations Board, which struck down his application.

Casavant appealed the boards decision to the B.C. Court of Appeal, which nullified it.

B.C.'s highest court ruled Casavant had been erroneously dismissed from his post as a conservation officer through arbitration and the board. The court said those proceedings should have been conducted under the Police Act.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application by the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union to appeal that B.C. Court of Appeal ruling.

Following that ruling, Casavant went back to negotiations with the provincial government only to have those fail. Casavant once again returned to B.C. Supreme Court to seek a declaration, via a judicial review, that his dismissal was unlawful.

However, a judge ultimately ruled Casavants original settlement agreement was valid, despite the prior B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that the process was flawed.

This most recent ruling by B.C. Court of Appeal Justice John Hunter agreed that the lower judge properly analyzed the legalities of settlement agreement.

Casavant said the case is not really about me anymore. Pointing to its implications for environmental policing more broadly, he said conservation officers coming up today put on a uniform and gun, and go to work in the morning without knowing this is the law, this is their rights.

A conservation officer today cannot know if they are making a constabulary decision in the field or not, and they cannot know  if they're accused of a disciplinary default  what their rights are, Casavant said.

Its up to the union and the government to decide. It's not set in stone. And that's a very vulnerable position to be in, especially for younger officers who are new recruits.

Reached to comment on the ruling, a spokesperson for the BC Conservation Officer Service said it had no comment at this time.

Casavant is a former Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served in Afghanistan and now lectures on humanitarian studies and the environment at Royal Roads University.

 With files from Stefan Labbe
PRNewswire Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 11: Britannia's legacy in India spans over 106 years, its roots and history firmly rooted in Indian soil. On the 77thanniversary of the country's Independence, Britannia's '1947% More History' campaign is an ode to an entire generation of freedom fighters and to the very few living freedom fighters we have amongst us today. In today's times, where deep discounts of 45%, 65% and sales have taken centre stage on key days, Britannia chose to unpack'1947% more history'innovatively through technology and bring it alive using its packs as the medium. The stories are delivered through augmented reality on the packs of its more popular brands like Britannia Breads, Good Day, Marie Gold, Milk Bikis and Winkin' Cow beverages. The campaign promise is simple. Listen to the stories of a few of India's last living freedom fighters on the favourite Britannia packs. Simply clickwww.Britannia1947more.comand enjoy the incredible experience through Augmented Reality. This campaign captures the essence of Britannia's commitment to India's collective history, society, andrich heritage. Through a process of research along with a content partner, Britannia was honoured to tell the stories of 5 nonagenarians from across the country-Shrimati Leela tai, Lt. Asha Sahay, Lt. R Madhavan, Lakshmi Krishnan Agvl. & Shri Gour Hari Das. The campaign film uses Generative AI technology to portray rich visuals of the freedom movement and recreate the younger profiles of the 5 protagonist freedom fighters whose stories have been told by themselves. The campaign was conceptualised by Talented Agency and executed in partnership with Rooted Films and Pixel Party. Talking about the campaign,Amit Doshi, CMO, BritanniaIndustries Ltd.said, "As one of India's centurion companies, we feel proud of our history that witnessed the birth of India's freedom and further followed its incredible rise to becoming an economic superpower. As a company with a 106 year old heritage, it is our privilege to bring alive some incredible stories of how our freedom was won, and we decided to use technology to do so through our packs." He added, "These inspiring stories of India's few living freedom fighters, come alive through an AR experience that can be triggered with a range of Britannia products found in every home. History is in our fridge, our kitchen shelves, and now we'll hear it speak to us. By celebrating these heroes, we unite around the power of resilience, compassion, and courage. This campaign is not just about history; it's about understanding our identity and cherishing the values that define us as a nation." About the campaignSandipan Deb, Creative at Talentedsaid,"When we look back at how far India has come, it's hard not to feel a sense of absolute awe and pride. But 77 years after the struggle, it's natural to take our freedom for granted. Independence Day has been reduced to a day filled with retail offers. There's no sentimental value anymore. We wanted to change that - and if there's one brand that has the stature and legacy to do this, it is Britannia. Brut India, Rooted Films and Web Dimension have been amazing collaborators to make this campaign come alive. We hope every time we sit down to drink chai with Marie Gold, or make a sandwich, we think of our country, even if it's for a second, and the brave people who selflessly fought for us." Campaign Credits Britannia Industries * Chief Marketing Officer - Amit Doshi* Head Digital Marketing & PR Dipti Sudhir* Brand Manager Pavanshu Aggarwal* Digital Manager Prabakaran K* PR Manager Vignesh Shankar* E-Com Manager Utkrishat Vineet Team Talented * Aabhaas Shreshta* Aaliya Sheikh* Amith Nair* Balaji P* Binaifer Dulani* Diya Manek* Devargh Mukherjee* Dhruv Shingala* Karthik Nambiar* PG Aditiya* Prashant Gopalakrishnan* Radhika Subramanian* Samyu Murali* Sandipan Deb* Tasha Dsilva* Varun Khiatani* Yash Dugar PH - Rooted films * Ronak Chugh* Yash Shanghavi Tech - Web Dimension: * Achint Bhatnagar* Kaushal Verma* Kalpit Dwivedi* Mihir Mainkar* Ram Pratap Singh* Sachin Kaushik* Vishal Singh Brut India: * Aakash K* Anjali Bhardwaj* Barkha Goenka* Mehul Munjpara* Saima Iqbal About Britannia Industries Britannia is a 100+ year old Company and is a market leader in the Bakery category in India with an annual revenue of overRs 150 Billion. The company is into 2 large snacking categories-Bakery & Dairy, with trusted & iconic brands such as Good Day, Marie Gold, Milk Bikis & Nutrichoice. Britannia products are available in over 80 countries. The Company manufactures its products in nearly 100 factories, which are made available in over 6 Million outlets to eventually reach 180 Million households in the country. The Company's vision is to be a responsible global, total foods company, and delight consumers with delicious, nutritious and wholesome snacks and beverages through the day. Media Contact:Bristi Mondal+91 8951855438bristi.mondal@genesis-bcw.com Photo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183950/Britannia_1947_more_history.jpg (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Actor Rani Mukerji is on a roll. She bagged the Best Actress award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) on Friday. She received the trophy for her performance in 'Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway'. I feel incredibly proud and grateful that Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway has been embraced and loved by audiences worldwide. It's a universal story that showcases the power of a mother's Shakti. Winning the Best Actress Award is a true honour, and I sincerely thank everyone for their applause and appreciation of my performance, Rani said. As I have always mentioned, receiving an award is like receiving love and adulation from the people who watch my movies. This Best Actress Award for Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway holds a special place in my heart, as I receive it here in Melbourne at IFFM and it is my first award for the film. The topic we believed in from the beginning has proved its global impact, emphasising once again that the language of good cinema transcends all boundaries. In the film, Rani essays the role of an immigrant mother who fights against all odds to win back the custody of her children. (ANI)
Marking the release of his web series 'Commando', producer-director Vipul Amrutlal Shah on Friday visited National War Memorial in Delhi to pay homage to real-life commandos. Speaking to ANI, Shah said, The commandos of our country or the person who is in uniform is a true hero and the stories of such heroes should be spread to the people. Even if it is fictional it should be presented and with this thought, we started 'Commando'. And now we are bringing their stories in the form of a web show. I think it is our good fortune that we can create these stories and take them to the people. Prem Parija, who essays the lead role in the series, was also present along with Shah at the National War Memorial. 'Commando' series sees Prem Parija sharing screen space with Adah Sharma, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Shreya Singh Chaudhry, Amit Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sial, Mukesh Chhabra and Ishteyak Khan in pivotal roles. On being asked about his experience working with Adah, Prem said, "It feels like she is my childhood friend. She is extremely funny. It did not feel like I have worked with her for the first time." The Commando web series is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Thursday blamed the National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti's families for the atrocities on the Kahmiri Pandits since 1989. Hitting out at Abdullahs and Muftis, Tarun Chugh said that both the families have been hand-in-glove with the Pakistan ISI to allow large scale killings of the Kashmiri Pandits and make them leave the state in the 1990s. Taking strong exception to Farooq Abdullah's contention in the Parliament that his government in 1989 tried to protect the Kashmirir Pandits, Chugh said, "It was a bundle of lies that Abdullah was saying." The fact, he said, is that "Abdullah was wart of the design to victimise the Kahsmirir Pandits, commit atrocities on them by murders and rapes and made them leave the state." Chugh said it was the anti-national politics of Abdullahs and Muftis that brought Jammu and Kashmir to the brink of collapse. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the abrogation of Article 370 Chugh said a new era has dawned on J-K ever since and people have started living a new life of development and progress. They don't talk about curfews and stones, they talk about progress and development. He said that Abdullahs and Muftis are bent upon taking J-K back to the stage of violence and disturbance, but now their anti-national designs will not succeed because people have woken up to their wicked political plots. The Centre abrogated special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5, 2019. (ANI)
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attended the concluding program of Jharkhand Adivasi Mahotsav, 2023 in Ranchi on Thursday and said that the tribals are fighting a battle for their existence. Speaking on the occassion, the chief minister said that the search for tribal identity is still on, adding that the state was also carved out for the identity of the tribals. "The tribals are fighting a battle for their existence. During the days of unified Bihar or even after the creation of Jharkhand such type of function was never celebrated, but after my government came into power, we are doing the celebrations again," he said. CM Soren said that the tribals are eager to carve out their identity. Tribal population of 13 crore will not be lost as long as he is in the state. Talking about the Sarna Code, the chief minister said that the demand of Sarna Code is related with the identity of the tribals. The tribals should get some identity due to which among the community there is a demand that when in history the place of tribals which was fixed is being extinct. "There are many communities in the country who are less in population as compared to the tribals but they have their own identity. Jharkhand is the first state in the country where a proposal has been passed from the assembly on the issue of tribal identity and sent to the centre. The issue was pending before the centre and tribals have the habit of dragging long struggle," he added. CM Soren said that the tribals are sometimes seen as Vanvasi. There are departments for their welfare at the central and the state level but they do not consider them as tribals which is very contradictory. "The manner in which the political movement is taken up and my inspiration my grandfather it is a long journey. A woman had spoken in Santhali when the event was inaugurated Yesterday and the exact meaning of that speech is that our forefathers like Bhagwan Birsa Munda Sobran Soren and his son Shibu Soren and now Hemant Soren the batton of struggle has been passed from one generation to another. I can proudly say that I am a tribal Chief Minister. It is a big challenge to reach this post," he said. Speaking on theAdivasi Mahotsav, the chief minister said that this state is different from other states. Jharkhand has 42 percent mineral reserve in the country from coal to uranium and many organisations have been working around these mineral wealth. He said that the function is aimed at connecting the people. Many new decisions were taken in the state including implementation of Universal Pension Scheme. (ANI)
Security has been scaled up across Udhampur district in view of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, with security forces patrolling and manning the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. India will be celebrating its 76th Independence Day and the Prime Minister is scheduled to address the nation on the occasion from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort. https://twitter.com/i/status/1689822275439316993 Besides, round-the-clock security checks, security forces are conducting checking of vehicles across the region. "As India gears up to celebrate Independence Day, security measures have been significantly heightened in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur region, with a special focus on the crucial Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. In a proactive measure, round-the-clock security checks and frisking of vehicles are being conducted across the region," Sources said. The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban (DKR) Range, Sunil Gupta on Thursday led a comprehensive security assessment and case evaluation during his visit to Kishtwar district. The primary objective of the visit was to ensure robust security arrangements in anticipation of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations and the "Meri Matti Mera Desh" campaign. DC Srinagar Aijaz Asad told media on Thursday that the main Independence Day function in Kashmir is scheduled to be held at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar. Shopian Police organised a Tiranga Rally under the banner of "Meri Maati Mera Desh" on Thursday. During his latest address of Mann ki Baat, the Prime Minister said 'Meri Maati Mera Desh' campaign will be launched to honour our braveheart men and women. PM Modi had informed, "Under this, many programs will be organized across the country in memory of our immortal martyrs. In memory of these luminaries, special inscriptions will also be installed in lakhs of village panchayats of the country. Under this campaign, 'Amrit Kalash Yatra' will also be organised across the country." Earlier, the Additional Director General of Police of Jammu Zone Mukesh Singh on Wednesday held a meeting with Army, BSF, CAPF, Intelligence agencies, Security wing and Civil administration to discuss the Police and security arrangements, in view of the Independence Day celebrations. (ANI).
Photo: Colin Dacre

A North Vancouver senior has been bilked out of $9,000 after falling for the latest version of the grandparent scam.

Con artists called the local resident on Tuesday, telling them their grandson was in trouble and needed a $9,000 cash bond to be released from jail, said Const. Mansoor Sahak of the North Vancouver RCMP.

After the senior went to the bank to withdraw the money, the scammer showed up at the home and collected the cash.

Only afterwards did the senior realize the ruse was a con and called police.

A short while earlier, another senior narrowly avoided being taken in by the same scam after receiving a similar call. In that case, however, the woman became suspicious, hung up and called police right away, said Sahak.

Police believe the incidents are linked. We believe its the same suspect, he said.

The suspect is described as an Asian man wearing a light shirt, jeans and sunglasses. He was driving a small white vehicle with a red stripe.

Sahak said police arent exactly sure how the victims are being chosen, but obviously their target is elderly people.

Police believe one of the reasons the con artists ask for an amount under $10,000 is that typically cash transactions of more than $10,000 must automatically be reported by banks.

Sahak said police are hoping that all residents with older family members will make them aware of the scam, in the hopes of avoiding future victims.

Versions of the grandparent scam have been around for years, and prey on a seniors desire to help a family member.

Last year, an 80-year-old West Vancouver resident narrowly avoided being taken in after receiving a call from a man pretending to be a police officer, who told the man his grandson had been arrested and needed bail money. He convinced the senior to withdraw $16,000 from the bank, but when the scammer arrived wearing plain clothes with no police ID, the senior became suspicious.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that he will retire from politics if accusations that he took bribes from contractors were proved true. Some Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) contractors have alleged that the Karnataka government has not cleared their pending dues and according to some reports some of the BBMP contractors have alleged that the current government has demanded 15 per cent commissions. Responding to media queries here today, Sivakumar said, "Opposition leaders including former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior MLA R Ashoka, are talking about the contractors bills. Why was the contractor's bill not paid when your government was in power?" "Bommai or Ashok, who in their government prevented the payment of the contractor's bill? Did they not have money? Was the work not done properly? Let BJP leaders answer this question first. I will answer the rest to the contractors, Shivakumar said. I will retire from politics today if I asked anyone for a commission, but If allegations get proved against former CM Basavaraj Bommai and R Ashoka will they announce their political retirement, he said. Shivakumar said that after Congress came to power in the state the chief minister had ordered a probe following the complaints of Karnataka State Contractors Association Kempanna's complaint and request made in the House to investigate the irregularities in the contract works. So now when an investigation is being done only and after that will be paid so can't they wait for a couple of months? asked Shivakumar. (ANI)
The Arunachal Pradesh government on Friday signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with a Delhi-based private hospital and healthcare company to strengthen the healthcare services of the state. The MoU was signed between the Arunachal Pradesh government, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Religare Groups CSR arm Religare Care Foundation (RCF) in Itanagar on Friday. Under the MoU, Ganga Ram Hospital and its partner Religare Care Foundation (RCF) will offer technical assistance to GoAP to strengthen the hill states tertiary healthcare systems and infrastructure. To begin with, a Centre of Excellence for Renal Sciences will be established at the Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS). Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Health and Family Welfare Minister Alo Libang and Chief Secretary Dharmendra were also present on the occasion. Expressing happiness at the association,Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the MoU is a step forward to fulfil the vision of providing affordable, accessible and equitable Health care services to the people of Arunachal Pradesh. It is an endeavour of the Government to bring the best of the tertiary health care services near to home thereby reducing the cost and also the psychological trauma the family has to go through for seeking such medical care. By joining hands with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Religare group, we look forward to bringing about changes that positively impact the lives of the people and also the entire Health care landscape of the State, he said. Observing that kidney diseases have become a major problem for most people of the state, Khandu expressed hope that the Centre of Excellence for Renal Sciences will offer best of the treatment and care to patients, especially those hailing from rural areas. He requested officials of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Religare and state health services to explore more avenues to collaborate so that the best treatments are made available to the people within the state. Health Minister Alo Libang informed that in the first phase of the partnership, the Group will assist in establishing a state-of-the-art healthcare facility dedicated to renal sciences and related research. This facility will ensure that patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplants receive the same level of care as those in other parts of the country. Moreover, healthcare professionals in the state will receive appropriate training to enhance their skills and bring them in line with their counterparts in leading states with superior healthcare facilities, he added. The MoU was signed by state Health and Family Welfare Secretary Liyon Borang, Director (Medical) of Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Satendra Katoch and Dr Rashmi Salija, Executive Chairperson of Religare Enterprises Ltd. Dr Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Religare Enterprises Ltd expressed gratitude to the state government for the opportunity to collaborate. This collaboration will greatly enhance the states healthcare infrastructure and contribute to the professional development of healthcare practitioners. We believe that this partnership will give us a unique opportunity to serve the people of Arunachal Pradesh and make the state the healthcare services hub in the North East, Saluja said. Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital assured commitment to improve the healthcare ecosystem in the state. He expressed optimism that by working along with the states healthcare professionals a qualitative difference will be brought to the healthcare services in the region. In its Budget for 2023-24, the state has allocated 5.1 per cent of its expenditure on health. Through Ayushman Bharat, the state has seen the establishment of health and wellness centres and dispensaries, which have greatly enhanced healthcare services. (ANI)
Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah were also present.

The Monsoon Session, 2023 of Parliament which commenced on July 20, 2023, was adjourned sine die on Friday. The Session provided 17 sittings spread over a period of 23 days.

During the Session, 20 Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha and 5 Bills were introduced in Rajya Sabha. 22 Bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha. One Bill each was withdrawn with the leave of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.

The total number of Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the Session is 23.

A Bill replacing the Ordinance, namely, The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 which was promulgated by the President before the Monsoon Session, was considered and passed by the Houses.

The Bill empowers the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to control Group A services in Delhi including on matters relating to appointments, transfers and postings. The bill was passed after a division in which 131 MPs voted in favour of the legislation and 102 against it.

No-confidence motion in the Council of Ministers moved by Gaurav Gogoi was discussed for approx 20 hours. 60 Members including Ministers participated in the discussion, which was replied to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Motion was negatived by the House via voice vote.

The productivity of the Lok Sabha was approximately 45 per cent and that of the Rajya Sabha was approximately 63 per cent. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], August 10 (ANI/TPS): Israel airlifted 204 people mostly Israeli nationals, but some individuals who qualify for citizenship the Prime Ministers Office and Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. According to the announcement, 174 individuals in Gondar and another 30 from Bahir Dar, both in northern Ethiopia were instructed to reach meeting points where they were taken by bus to the airfields of those two cities and flown to the safety of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. A civil war in northern Ethiopia has been raging since 2020. The Israelis were trapped in the Amhara region as fighting escalated between the Ethiopian army and the Fano militia escalated. Israel had recently issued an advisory against travelling in that region. Among the trapped individuals were workers for the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental agency which facilitates immigration, as well as the number of Israelis visiting the region, and Ethiopian Jews eligible to immigrate under Israels Law of Return for Jews. The Foreign Ministry set up a situation room in Jerusalem to monitor the evacuation. The State of Israel takes care of its citizens, whoever they are, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the last few days, citizens of Israel and Aliyah [immigration] have entered from Ethiopia into distress in the battle zones. I ordered them to be taken out of there. I want to thank the National Security Headquarters, the people of the Prime Ministers Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the people of the agency for a quick, quiet and above all successful operation. Netanyahu added that the 204 will be brought to Israel, but did not specify when. We will receive them here with warmth and welcome, he said. Around 165,000 Jews from Ethiopia and their descendants live in Israel. (ANI/TPS)
West African leaders on Thursday ordered the "immediate activation" and the "deployment" of a regional standby force to restore constitutional order in the coup-hit Niger, CNN reported. Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held a meeting in Nigeria's Abuja after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum they gave to Niger's military junta. ECOWAS leaderscalled for a deployment to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger, Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, said in a statement. The statement stressed a "determination to keep all options on the table for the peaceful resolution of the crisis," according to CNN. Niger has been engulfed in political chaos since July after Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup detat by the presidential guard. After the coup, ECOWAS announced sanctions and issued an ultimatum to Niger's ruling military junta: stand down within a week or face a potential military intervention. The deadline on August 6 expired without any change in the political situation.ECOWAS leaders have said their preference is to find a diplomatic solution to the situation and would dispatch troops as a last resort. The regional bloc will "uphold all measures and principles" agreed upon by the extraordinary summit held on Niger in July, according to CNN report. Enacting strong sanctions against Niger's military junta were decided in the summit. Omar Alieu Touray warned of consequences for member states who by their action directly or indirectly obstructed the peaceful resolution of the crisis, CNN reported. Mali and Burkina Faso, led by soldiers who seized power, have expressed solidarity with Nigers junta. The two West African nations said that any military intervention would be seen as a declaration of war. Meanwhile, Guinea has also expressed support for Niger. Earlier this week, Nigers coup leaders closed the countrys airspace after rejecting an ultimatum from West African states to reinstate Niger President Mohamed Bazoum or risk military intervention, Al Jazeera reported. The move announced late on Sunday, came as tens of thousands of coup supporters gathered at a stadium in Nigers capital, Niamey, to cheer on the generals who seized power or the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the CNSP, cited the ECOWAS' military intervention threat for the airspace closure, as per the Al Jazeera report. Abdramane said in a statement read out on national television, that there had been a pre-deployment of forces in two Central African countries in preparation for intervention. However, he did not share details. In the face of the threat of intervention, which is becoming clearer through the preparation of neighbouring countries, Nigers airspace is closed from this day on Sunday for all aircraft until further notice, Al Jazeera quoted Abdramane as saying. He added, "Nigers armed forces and all our defence and security forces, backed by the unfailing support of our people, are ready to defend the integrity of our territory." (ANI)
The first round of discussion regarding the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan was held between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz Ahmed in Islamabad on Thursday, Radio Pakistan reported. PM Sharif had invited the leader of the opposition for consultation regarding the appointment of the caretaker Prime Minister as per provisions of the Constitution. During the meeting, the two leaders decided to hold another round of talks on Friday to further ponder upon this matter of national importance, Radio Pakistan reported. Radio Pakistan is a part of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), the Pakistan Government's broadcast service. Later talking to the media, Raja Riaz Ahmed said that he shared his list of names for the coveted slot with the Prime Minister and vice versa. He said the meeting with the Prime Minister was held in a cordial and conducive environment and they, at length, exchanged views over the subject matter. He expressed confidence that the caretaker Prime Minister will be nominated with consensus in consultation with Shehbaz Sharif, Radio Pakistan reported. The Leader of the Opposition said it has been agreed that both he and the Prime Minister will ponder upon the names forwarded by both of them to each other. After the meeting, LoP Riaz said, "I will deliberate on the names given by the PM, and similarly, the PMsahibwill go through the names given by me a meeting will be held again tomorrow (Friday), he said. While refusing to reveal any of the candidates under consideration for the caretaker PMs slot, Riaz said six names came under discussion during todays meeting and all of them were respectable people. We will hold further deliberations tomorrow (Friday) and hope that things will become pretty clear after that, he added. The coalition governments regime ended on Wednesday after President Alvi dissolved the lower house of the Parliament, three days before the completion of its five-year tenure, the Dawn reported. The outgoing government has so far failed to name the caretaker prime minister who would lead the interim set-up till general elections, which are likely to be delayed after the notification of the latest census, the Dawn reported. However, till the appointment of the caretaker prime minister, PM Shehbaz will act as the caretaker prime minister. According to Article 94 of the Constitution, The president may ask the prime minister to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of prime minister. The premier and the outgoing opposition leader in the NA have three days to decide the name of the interim prime minister. In case the two fail to agree on a name, the matter would be referred to a parliamentary committee. If the committee fails to make any decision, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will have two days to choose the caretaker prime minister from the list of names shared with the commission, the Dawn reported. Meanwhile, aDawnreport said the list of candidates for the office of the caretaker prime minister continued to swell, and a new name Jalil Abbas Jilani came to the fore. Abbas is said to be on the list of three nominees shared by the PPP with the PM. PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi confirmed that his party presented the name of Jalil Abbas Jilani for the office. Before Jilani emerged as the strong contender for the coveted post, former finance minister Dr Hafeez Sheikh was said to be the best bet. Now, political observers believed that the former foreign secretary was the most likely candidate, the Dawn reported. Other candidates who are in the run for the coveted slot include Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, ex-chief Justice Tassaduq Jilani, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Pir Pagaro, and Makhdoom Mehmood Ahmed. But PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said on Dawn News show Live with Adil Shahzeb today that two other leaders from his party, Ishaq Dar and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, were not being considered for the post, the Dawn reported. (ANI)
Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday announced the fresh program at a press conference at the partys Naya Paltan central office.

The BNP leader sought the cooperation of the police in carrying out the program, Dhaka Tribune reported. However, he also said that this program will be held without permission.

He said BNPs Dhaka south and north city units will bring out separate processions after Jummah prayers to press home their one-point demand, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Besides, Fakhrul said other opposition parties who have been carrying out the simultaneous movement will also observe a similar program from their respective positions.

The BNP leader hoped that the government will not obstruct their program which will be held peacefully.

He warned that the government will be held responsible for any untoward incident if it obstructs the processions, Dhaka Tribune reported.

On the other hand, The Bangladesh Awami party's youth wing, Jubo League submitted a four-point memorandum to the Election Commission and home, law and foreign ministries demanding a "ban on BNP politics" and cancellation of its registration altogether, The Daily Star reported.

Meanwhile, a copy of the memorandum was sent to the foreign ministry. (ANI)
Green, who was most recently Australia's ambassador to Germany, succeeds Barry O'Farrell.

Green welcomed the entire High Commission team to his home for afternoon tea, the commission informed further.

"Australia's High Commissioner-Designate Philip Green has arrived in India with his wife Prof Susan Marks. He welcomed the entire High Commission team to his home for an afternoon tea. Welcome Philip!," the Australian High Commission wrote on Twitter.

"You are welcome in India, Philip and Susan," the Australian Commission wrote in Hindi.

Last month in June, Australia announced the appointment of Green as the country's next High Commissioner to India.

Australia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced this in an official media release.

As per the release, Green is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Australia's Ambassador to Germany.

He has previously served overseas as Australia's High Commissioner to Singapore, South Africa, and Kenya.

According to Wong, the Australia-India relationship has never been closer, the two countries share perspectives, challenges, and democratic heritage.

Wong said that Australia and India are working together through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and as Quad partners, to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty is respected.

The Australian Foreign Minister further said, "Along with our deepening defence and security cooperation, Australia and India have a mutually beneficial economic partnership, which will expand as we work towards finalising an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement." (ANI)
South Africa: Providing water a top priority for government

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured local communities in Tsomo in the Chris Hani District Municipality that providing water to communities is governments priority.

Izimbizo are meant for government to listen to communities, whether you have a complaint, you have an opportunity here, President Ramaphosa told residents on Friday.

The President was speaking at the ninth Presidential Imbizo held in Tsomo in the Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.

The Presidential Imbizo serves as a platform for face-to-face engagement between citizens and senior government leaders, holding the administration accountable and allowing government to consult and update communities on development and service delivery in the relevant areas.

President Ramaphosa commended those people who did not only raise their concerns or grievances, but also commended what government is doing to improve peoples lives.

There is a lot that government is doing to improve peoples lives, for all your grievances, there are answers, President Ramaphosa said.

President Ramaphosa also commended the local communities for heeding the call to attend the Imbizo.

This is the biggest community Imbizo we have ever been to, I thank you all for coming, said President Ramaphosa.

The local communities were given an opportunity to raise their concerns before President Ramaphosa and his Cabinet ministers.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu assured the locals that government is doing everything in its power to ensure that there is water in communities.

We are working in ensuring that our communities get water. We have already started with some of the projects, Mchunu said.

Mchunu told the locals that money has been allocated to the municipalities to speed up water projects.

Most raised concerns about water, poor road conditions, lack of job opportunities and other services.

Today is the ninth Presidential Imbizo since government commenced with the District Development Model (DDM) programme in March 2022 in Mahikeng in the North West province.

The DDM is an integrated planning model for Cooperative Governance that seeks to ensure an integrated, district-based service delivery approach aimed at fast-tracking service delivery.

The Presidents visit here in Tsomo brought hope to many people in the Chris Hani District Municipality.

Siyamthanda Maqoko from Cofimvaba told SAnews that she is happy that the President has visited their area.

I hope the President is going to address the many challenges that we have here. We have a water problem, our roads are not good. We hope the President is going to address our grievances and all our challenges, Maqoko said.

Asked how she feels about 30 years of democracy, Maqoko said she is happy because government has done a lot to improve peoples lives.

Even though there are still challenges, many people who did not have houses, they now have houses, new schools have been built and most households now have electricity, she said, adding that people now participate in the running of the government.

Maqoko expressed concern about the high number of young people who are taking drugs, appealing to government to create more job opportunities for young people.

Government must create job opportunities for young people, this will make our youth to stop taking drugs, she said.

A learner from Tsomo Mission in Tsomo, Ovayo Booi, told SAnews that the President must intervene and ensure that those who do not have houses should be assisted to get houses.

Government must help our communities to get houses, water and electricity. Government must also build more schools, Booi said.

Thabisa Zwakala, a mother of three, said she is happy that the President is in their area, which means government has not forgotten about them.

For the President to come here, this shows that we are important and that government is going to address our grievances, Zwakala said, adding that she believes that the communities are going to change for the better.

Our area is very poor, no water and our roads are very bad, she said.

Prior to engaging with the local communities, President Ramaphosa started the Imbizo by visiting the local Water Treatment Plant which is expected to help provide water in the area.

Upon his arrival, President Ramaphosa was briefed about the plant by the municipal officials.

He then conducted a walkabout at the plant and thereafter proceeded to the Imbizo venue where he was welcomed by the locals.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-08-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Photo: The Canadian Press Francois-Philippe Champagne

Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has been accused of meddling with the independence of the Competition Bureau after he tweeted his support for a complaint by media organizations over Metas decision to block news on Facebook and Instagram.

In a joint letter to Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell this week, broadcasters and publishers asked him to investigate Metas decision to block Canadians access to news on Facebook and Instagram, a decision the company made in response to the federal governments Online News Act.

The letter urged the competition watchdog to use his powers to force Meta to reverse course, saying the tech giant has abused its dominant position and is guilty of anti-competitive conduct.

Mr. Champagne said in his tweet: I am determined to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that Canadians can have access to reliable news  across all platforms. I fully support the complaint made to the Competition Bureau by CND media groups against Meta in their effort to promote a free & independent press.

Mr. Champagnes department has been carrying out consultations into modernizing the Competition Act, which establishes the competition commissioners role. He also is responsible for re-appointing Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell next year at the end of his five-year term, or choosing a successor.

Mr. Champagnes public intervention was criticized as a misjudgment, given his role appointing and reappointing the competition commissioner, who is independent of government.

Michael Geist, the University of Ottawas Canada Research Chair in internet law, said there is at least an appearance of conflict and that alone is deeply troubling.

The Competition Bureau is an independent enforcement body, but Champagne wields significant power, including the ability to re-appoint the current Commissioner, he said. It is simply inappropriate for a minister to pre-judge a complaint to the bureau and Champagnes comments appear to have done so and undermine the integrity of the process.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said as the commissioners appointment is not independent from cabinet, the Minister should not be giving his views on complaints to him or inquiries.

Ministers should be staying away from any decisions they would make because that undermines their independence even more, he said.

The CBC, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and News Media Canada said in their letter to the commissioner this week that social-media platforms are so dominant, they are now a key way for media outlets to reach people.

Having positioned itself as an unavoidable intermediary or gatekeeper between news organizations and their audiences, Metas blocking of news content removes a critical channel through which Canadian news organizations distribute their news content, the letter says. (The Globe and Mail is a member of News Media Canada, an advocacy and public policy association that represents hundreds of daily and community media outlets.)

If Meta is allowed to proceed unchecked, it could inflict significant damage to Canadian news organizations ability to offer quality news services to Canadians, which is critical to the functioning of a free and democratic society, the letter adds.

Meta began restricting Canadians access to news this month in response to the federal Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18. The legislation was designed to support the news industry, which must now compete with tech giants for advertising revenue, by making Meta and Google compensate publishers for using their news content.

Audrey Champoux, a spokeswoman for Mr. Champagne, said the minister keeps a keen eye on issues of potential anti-competitive conduct and welcomes the bureau examining the blocking of Canadian news by Facebook.

The Competition Bureau said it had been monitoring news blocking by Meta closely and was already in the process of conducting a preliminary review of this matter when it received the complaint.

As the bureaus preliminary review is ongoing and there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time, it would be inappropriate to speculate as to potential outcomes, timing, or appropriate next steps. Should the bureau conclude that the conduct in question falls within the Competition Act, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action, said spokesman John Power.

Paul Deegan, president and chief executive of News Media Canada, said he was not surprised to learn that the Competition Bureau had already been looking into Metas news blocking, which is an abuse of its dominant position.

We still have months to go before the regulations are drafted, so we invite our friends at Meta to work with us, the broadcasters, and Google to ensure that the regs allow for everyone to thrive together for many years to come, he said.
The UKs Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, is in India for a three-day visit to bolster bilateral cooperation on security initiatives and attend the third G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting to be held in Kolkata on Saturday. Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence, he added further. Before travelling to Kolkata for the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial, which will take place on 12 August, Minister Tugendhat will visit the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by child sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud. He will also meet with the Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The UK Government recently launched a Fraud Strategy, which includes a new National Fraud Squad that will work with local forces, international partners including the CBI and the UK Intelligence Community, to ensure that callous fraud cells are shut down. At the G20, Minister Tugendhat will emphasise the UKs unwavering commitment to fighting corruption, which undermines national security and global prosperity. The G20 discussion will complement work already underway by the UK Government to deliver a new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy. During a meeting with Indias External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Thursday, Minister Tugendhat announced new funding to enhance the UKs capability to tackle Pro-Khalistan Extremism. The 95,000-pound investment will enhance the governments understanding of the threat posed by Pro-Khalistan Extremism, complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the Joint-Extremism Task Force. Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat said, The living bridge between India and the UK reflects our deep and enduring friendship. As the worlds oldest and largest democracies, we have many shared opportunities to make the world a safer and more prosperous place." A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. Im committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism, whatever form it takes," he added. British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said, The unique connection between our people brings both huge opportunities and security challenges. Through mechanisms like the Joint Extremism Task Force we are acting jointly on countering threats, including pro-Khalistan extremism, as well as on migration, to keep our people safe." Our migration and mobility relationship is a pillar of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which also includes ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific and tackling the biggest challenges facing the world around climate and health. This is a partnership for now, including Indias G20 Presidency, and for the future," he added. (ANI)
New Zealand is aware about foreign intelligence agencies, including those from China, who persistently and opportunistically conduct espionage operations against Wellington, it said in a report released on Friday. The report titled, "New Zealand's Security Threat Environment 2023" revealed that the primary target of the foreign intelligence agencies remain the government but now there are broaderobjectives that can see corporates, research institutions and government contractors in focus. The information foreign agents aim to steal is increasingly broad too. Anything from military capabilities to sensitive intellectual property, or even personal information is being sought in order to gain strategic advantage. "This report highlights the activities of three states in particular: the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia," the report read. "NZSIS has detected interference activity from a number of foreign states. Most notable is the continued targeting of New Zealands diverse ethnic Chinese communities. We see these activities carried out by groups and individuals linked to the intelligence arm of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC)," it further added. The report further stated that China's efforts to advance its political, economic, military and security involvement in the Pacific is a major factor driving strategic competition in New Zealand. "Strategic competition is contributing to this unpredictability, evident in both a growing assertiveness from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and in international reactions to thatassertiveness, as well as through largescale conflicts such as Russias illegal military invasion of Ukraine," the report said. "What is foreseeable is that an increasing competition between states creates fewer opportunities for more collaborative approaches to statecraft. As a result, we see greater incentives for states to reach for covert tools such as espionage and interference. Thissituation is especially evident in an environment where some states are moving away from, and attempting to rewrite, accepted international rules and norms of state behaviour. In a complex strategic environment, more states are likely to turn to intelligence to avoid surprise and gain an advantage," It added. The report further stated that PRCs efforts to advance its political, economic, military and security involvement in the Pacific is a major factor driving strategic competition in our home region. PRC has significant and growing intelligence and security capabilities, and its efforts are increasing New Zealands exposure to the consequences of strategic competition. "Our analysis is not about predicting what individuals or foreign states will do. No intelligence agency has access to that kind of crystal ball. Instead it is about understanding the factors thatmotivate or drive particular choices so we can better prepare ourselves for security threats, present and future," Andrew Hampton, NZSIS's director-general of security, said in a statement. "I would like to think this assessment contributes to the vision outlined in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019. The reportcalled for a more mature conversation about our national security. Being open and transparent with one another about the threats we face is one way we can have this important discussion," he added. (ANI)
The United Kingdoms Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has announced new funding to enhance the UKs capability to tackle 'pro-Khalistan extremism.' Tugendhat made the announcement after a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the national capital on Thursday (10 August), the British High Commission in India said. The UK minister is in India for a three-day visit to bolster bilateral cooperation on security initiatives and participate in the third G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting in Kolkata on August 12. The 95,000 pound investment will enhance the governments understanding of the threat posed by pro-Khalistan extremism, complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the Joint-Extremism Task Force, the British High Commission said in a statement. The UK minister said, The living bridge between India and the UK reflects our deep and enduring friendship. As the worlds oldest and largest democracies, we have many shared opportunities to make the world a safer and more prosperous place." A deeper partnership between our two nations means we can more effectively tackle the security threats we both face. Im committed to working together to enhance our understanding of and capabilities against extremism whatever form it takes," Tugendhat said. Corruption also harms our prosperity, damages our society and threatens our national security. I am delighted to be attending the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial meeting, presided over by India, to continue strengthening global resilience and cracking down on its corrosive influence, he added. Tugendhat will also visit the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to discuss joint challenges posed by child sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud. He is also scheduled to meet with National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The UK Government recently launched a Fraud Strategy, which includes a new National Fraud Squad that will work with local forces, international partners including the CBI and the UK Intelligence Community to ensure that callous fraud cells are shut down. The G20 discussion will complement work already underway by the UK Government to deliver a new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy. British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said, The unique connection between our people brings both huge opportunities and security challenges. Through mechanisms like the Joint Extremism Task Force we are acting jointly on countering threats, including pro-Khalistan extremism, as well as on migration, to keep our people safe." Our migration and mobility relationship is a pillar of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which also includes ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific and tackling the biggest challenges facing the world around climate and health. This is a partnership for now, including Indias G20 Presidency, and for the future," he added. (ANI)
The United States has requested a public UN Security Council meeting on August 17 to review North Korea's human rights record and how it relates to global peace and security, Voice of America (VOA) reported. North Korea launched numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as a large number of ballistic missiles this year, according to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. North Korea frequently claims that the joint military drills between the United States and South Korea are to blame for the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and claims that its missile programme is designed to intimidate and "strike fear" into its adversaries, VOA reported. We know the governments human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in a joint interaction with the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan and Albania. The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, the US envoy said about the systemic human rights abuses, VOA reported. The United States holds the 15-nation Security Councils rotating presidency this month and Thomas-Greenfield has said that human rights would be the core theme. It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is long overdue. Russia and China often argue that the Security Council is not the correct UN venue to discuss human rights issues. But a senior US official who briefed reporters Thursday said none of the other forums focuses on the links between North Koreas WMD (Weapon of mass destruction) and ballistic missile advancements, which is why the Security Council must be briefed on the issue, VOA reported. Moscow and Beijing could call for a procedural vote in a bid to block the meeting. Nine of the 15 council members would then have to vote in favour of holding it for the meeting to happen. The senior US official said Washington is in a comfortable place in terms of having sufficient council support. The council will be briefed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk and the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in North Korea Elizabeth Salmn, as well as a civil society representative, VOA reported. Protecting people around the world is an integral part of the UN Charter and an important responsibility of the Security Council, the ambassador said. And that means holding the DPRK regime accountable for its human rights abuses and violations, the ambassador added. DPRK is the abbreviation for North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. The senior US official said that Pyongyangs use of forced labour to fund its illicit weapons programs would also be highlighted at the session. The Kim governments human rights abuses are well known. The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) and other independent human rights experts have documented testimony from hundreds of defectors. In 2014, the COI found that North Koreas violations had risen to the level of crimes against humanity. Among them, the report found, extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation. According to VOA, the last time the council discussed North Koreas human rights was at an informal, Arria style meeting in March. China objected to it, saying it was not constructive and would not ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and blocked the consensus necessary to broadcast it on the United Nations website. (ANI)
Just a few months before the new term started in Canada, Northern College's Scarborough campus revoked the admission offers, plunging students, particularly from Punjab, into a state of disarray, KhalsaVox reported. Students, who are preparing for months to months to go into college, received a sudden blow and caused a wave of disappointment and uncertainty. The official explained that this disruptive move was due to the overwhelming surge in applications received by the institution. Sunil, a specialist in Canada student visa cases at Pyramid e-Services, an immigration agency located in Jalandhar, revealed that the college was inundated with an unprecedented flood of responses. The college extended more offer letters than available positions, assuming that not all students would successfully obtain embassy clearance and visas. However, the rejection rate proved to be unexpectedly low on this occasion, forcing the colleges hand in retracting admissions, he explained. In an attempt to cool down the agitated and disappointed students, the institution said that they will fully reimburse students fees. Furthermore, they extended the option to students to secure offer letters from alternative educational institutions, with the potential to transfer the corresponding fees to their chosen alternative, according to KhalsaVox. Harmanjot Singh, a hopeful student from Kapurthala who had applied for a two-year business diploma at Northern College, expressed his dismay. Having already invested substantial resources, including the purchase of a non-refundable ticket valued at Rs 1.12 lakh for an August 29 departure, he and his peers were left astounded by the colleges 11th-hour verdict. The communication came in the form of an email, revealing the unfortunate lack of available seats at the college. Beyond its immediate impact on students, the abrupt withdrawal of admissions has sparked widespread concern within Canadas Sikh community. Various advocacy groups, including the World Sikh Organisation of Canada, have united their voices in protest against the colleges actions, urging a reconsideration of the decision. Parents of the affected students have also voiced their grievances, highlighting the logistical and financial predicaments precipitated by this sudden change of plans. With a mere month before the anticipated September term, the colleges last-minute admission cancellation has left students in a state of limbo. These young minds had already committed significant funds toward accommodations and airfare, poised for their upcoming Canadian voyage, reported KhalsaVox. (ANI)
Pakistan's Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ruled that the Review of Judgments and Orders Act, 2023 was "unconstitutional", crashing all the hopes of Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, who was seeking to challenge his lifetime disqualifications, Geo News reported. A three-member bench of the apex court announced the decision reserved on June 19 after six hearings from June 7 to June 19 on multiple petitions challenging the law, enacted in late May. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the Supreme Court Review Act is against the Constitution and added that the verdict was passed unanimously and a detailed order will be issued later. The detailed 87-page long order said the Ais "repugnant to and ultra vires the Constitution [...] being beyond the legislative competence of the Parliament." "It is accordingly struck down as null and void and of no legal effect," the order mentioned, according to Geo News. Ghulam Mohiuddin, Zaman Khan Vardak, the Jurists Foundation, through its CEO Riaz Hanif Rahi, and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had challenged the vires of the act. Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan had during the hearing of the case asked the court to dismiss the pleas against the law, explaining that it broadens the court's jurisdiction and does not curb its powers. Earlier in May, President Arif Alvi signed the Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Act 2023, Samaa English reported. Samaa English is the English language portal of Pakistan's news channel Samaa TV. Legal experts said that now PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen will also be able to exercise the right of appeal against their lifetime disqualifications within 60 days. Legal expert Kamran Murtaza says the law will benefit everyone equally."Anyone can take one-time benefits under the law. Even if that time has passed, a person can say that person A was given the benefit today, the same thing happened to me yesterday. Otherwise, it will be discrimination and Article 25 will be violated," he added. The law further says the appeals will be heard by a bench larger than the adjudicating bench, reported Samaa English. In 2017, the Supreme Court disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office in a landmark decision on the Panama Papers case, reported Dawn.(ANI)
United States President Joe Biden on Thursday described China as a ticking time bomb, pointing to the countrys underlying economic challenges, The Hill reported. He was speaking to supporters at a fundraiser in Utah, where he suggested that China was in trouble because of slowing growth and a high unemployment rate. China is a ticking time bomb in many cases, Biden said. Theyve got some problems, he added. Thats not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things, The Hill quoted Biden as saying. Notably, the Presidents comments risk exacerbating tensions with Beijing at a time when the relationship between the two countries is already tense, though US officials have conducted outreach events in recent weeks. Earlier this week, the Biden administration issued an executive order restricting certain US investments in Chinese technology sectors, citing the risk that those investments could be used to help Beijings military and intelligence programs. The order will ban venture capital and private equity firms from investing money into Chinese efforts to make semiconductors and other microelectronics, quantum computers and certain artificial intelligence applications, according to the report. Administration officials said that the decision was taken to protect national security, according to The New York Times report. The US Treasury Department, in a statement, said, "The Biden administration is committed to keeping America safe and defending Americas national security through appropriately protecting technologies that are critical to the next generation of military innovation." Meanwhile, Thursday was not the first time Biden spoke more openly than usual about China at a political fundraiser. During a July swing through California, Biden said at a fundraiser that Chinese President Xi Jinping was a dictator who got upset when a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of the US earlier in the year, as per The Hill. That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didnt know what happened, Biden said at the time. (ANI)
On media reports of a Chinese ship arriving in Sri Lanka's port, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, on Friday, said that he would emphasize the government to carefully monitor any development having a bearing on India's security interests and to take necessary measures. "I've seen reports of a Chinese ship there. I'm not sure whether it is a warship or not. I will only say that having seen these reports, I would emphasize the government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on India's security interests and takes all necessary measures to defend them," Bagchi said while addressing a weekly briefing. This reaction came after the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy warship HAI YANG 24 HAO arrived at the port of Colombo on Thursday morning, according to Sri Lankan based news site Adaderana. The 129m long ship which arrived in Colombo is manned by a crew of 138 and it is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. Meanwhile, the ship is scheduled to depart the island on August 12, the Sri Lanka Navy said. Earlier, on August 16, 2022, Chinas satellite tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 arrived at Sri Lankas southern Hambantota Port. India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at Hambantota as it was shown as a research vessel while the spy ship can map the ocean bed which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy. Notably, Hambantota port, located around 250 km from Colombo was built with high-interest Chinese loans. The Sri Lankan government struggled to repay the debt they had taken from China following which the port was handed over to the Chinese on a 99-year lease. (ANI)
India continues to remain in touch with the German authorities, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi regarding the baby Ariha Shah case. At the weekly media briefing on Friday, MEA reiterated its stand on the case over the girl's cultural rights and her rights as an Indian citizen and added that the ministry will continue to press the German authorities for the early return of the child to India. "As we had mentioned earlier, we continue to remain engaged with German authorities on this case. Let me reiterate that we believe that the child who's currently in foster care, as you mentioned, is being denied her cultural rights and her rights as an Indian citizen. We will continue to press the German authorities for the early return of the child to India", said MEA. Earlier this morning, Dhara Shah, mother of Ariha Shah, an Indian baby in German foster care, held a demonstration on Friday at Jantar Mantar demanding that German authorities allow Ariha to celebrate Independence Day with the Indian Community in Germany in order to protect her cultural rights. Ariha's family says they will go to the German embassy and request the German Ambassador that since the Indian Independence Day is around the corner, Ariha should be allowed to celebrate the Independence Day of her country. Dhara said that it is her cultural right and it needs to be preserved. "We will go to the German embassy. We will request the German ambassador that the 15th of August is coming and every Indian has the right to celebrate it. We will ask him to let Ariha celebrate Indian independence day. She should not be deprived of her cultural identity," Dhara Shah said while speaking to ANI. (ANI)
The town of Nankana Sahib marks the spot where the first Sikh Guru was born, and houses several historic Gurudwaras, each built to commemorate a different miraculous occurrence of Guru Nanaks life, Khalsa Vox reported. The town of Nankana Sahib was formerly called Talwandi. It was founded by a wealthy merchant Rai Bhoi. It was later renamed by his grandson, Rai Bular Bhatti, in honour of Guru Nanak. However, it remains a sad fact that a place with such spiritual prominence and historical significance is lying in ruins due to persecution and neglect by Pakistan, according to Khalsa Vox. Gurudwara Nankana Sahib marks the spot where the first Sikh Guru was born to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta. The shrine, also known as Gurudwara Janam Asthan, is located in the Punjab Province of Pakistan about 75 km from the city of Lahore. The Gurudwara was built in 1600 EC by Nanak Devjis grandson, Baba Dharam Chand, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh is said to have repaired it between 1819 1820 EC. Nankana Sahib houses several historic Gurudwaras, each built to commemorate a different miraculous occurrence of Guru Nanaks life. These shrines are surrounded by 18,750 acres of land bestowed upon the Guru by Rai Bular Bhatti, who was a Muslim headman of Talwandi village. His descendants have severed Guru Nanak Devji over centuries, Khalsa Vox reported. Gurudwara Janam Asthan, is a vast and imposing complex with manned gates, that is located at the end of the main artery that runs through the city and marks the spot where once his house was situated. Gurudwara Bal Lila Sahib is situated on the eastern side of the city, where Nanakji played as a child. Over the past few years such smaller Gurudwaras, which lay in ruins, have been resurrected telling a tale of the beloved life and times of Nanak Devjis life, weaving it in the rich tapestry of Sikhheritage. There is another one in the vicinity called Gurudwara Patti Sahib where the Guru is said to have received his early education. It is a relatively small shrine, surrounded by a courtyard around which several rooms have been constructed to accommodate pilgrims who used to travel to Nankana Sahib in pre-partition times. Presently, however, these rooms are being used by Sikh families who moved to the city after fleeing from the Taliban in Pakistans tribal areas, Khalsa Vox reported. Giani Pratab resided on these premises and taught Sikh children Adhi Granth, giving them access to divine Sikh poetry written in Gurumukhi. This, he felt was, essential, because otherwise, Sikh children Studying in the Pakistani education system would be unaware of their holy scriptures. Several years later, Mastan Singh, a prominent resident of Nankana Sahibs Sikh community, established the Guru Nanak High School in the vicinity. This was the only school that imparted religious learning in accordance with secular education in the city. After this, the makeshift school at Gurudwara Patti Sahib was shut down. According to Khalsa Vox, in Punjabi, patti refers to a slate on which children learn writing in the early days of education. Guru Nanak Devji Mastered Sanskrit and also taught Persian and Arabic as they were the dominant languages of those times. The place where he received this education from Maulana Qutub-ud-din came to be known as Gurudwara Patti Sahib and today this is where, even decades later, young Sikhs learn Gurmukhi. This was also the place, where Guru Nanak, the poet, was born. He added massively to the Punjabi language, in terms of words, phrases, and symbols, which was at that time not considered very literary. Thus, Nanak Devji not only led the spiritual development of Sikhs but also played an irrefutable role in its linguistic development. A couple of kilometres, east of Gurudwara Bal Lila lies Gurudwara Kiara Sahib. It is a simple, humble square building with a domed sanctum with a circumambulation verandah around it, built on raised plinths. There is a legend around this piece of land. It is said that once Guruji took his fathers herd of cattle for grazing and while he was engrossed in meditation, the cattle damaged the crop in a farmers field who complained to Rai Bular. However, when the field was inspected, no damage was found. To commemorate this miracle, this field came to be called Kiara (field or plot) Sahib and a Gurudwara, at the same spot, was raised by Sant Gurmukh Singh Sevavale in the 1930s, as per Khalsa Vox. Gurudwara Sri Malji Sahib lies about one and a half kilometre from Gurudwara Janam Asthan. It is said that in this spot a venomous cobra was seen shading the sleeping Nanak against the afternoon sun as the shade of the Mal tree, under which Guruji was sleeping, receded. The Gurudwara here was first built by Diwan Kaura Mall and later renovated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is larger and more imposing than Kiara Sahib, the interiors being decorated with ancient ceramic tiles, about four inches square, each depicting a cobra. When Guruji was 18 years old, his father sent him to Chuharkhana with some money to do business, instead the former fed hungry villagers with the money and later hid under an old van tree which resembled a tambu (tent) as he feared Mehta Kalus rebuke. Extreme East of the main Gurudwara now lies this Gurudwara Tambu Sahib which is a double-storeyed domed structure in the centre of a square hall with architectural embellishments similar to Gurudwara Mal ji Sahib, Khalsa Vox reported. There are two more shrines, Gurudwara Sri Arjan and Gurudwara Sri Hargobind Sahib, located near Tambu Sahib, but both share a common boundary. These commemorate the visits of the two Gurus to these sites. Only buildings stand here as Guru Granth Sahibs prakash does not take place here. The last shrine in the vicinity is Gurudwara Nihang Singhan stands between Tambu Sahib and Hargobind Sahib. Coming back to Gurudwara Nankana Sahib, as one enters the premises, a Palki Sahib made of pure gold (sent from Delhi) can be seen in a glass case. Near the main gate hangs a beautiful painting of Guru Nanak and his closest companions, Bhai Mardana and Bai Bala. A hanging banner explains the 5 articles of faith Kangha, Kara, Kesh, Kachera, and Kirpan. It consists of the main square, Saroor Sahib (holy pool of water), Sikh Shaheedi, Langar Khana (dining room), and a sprawling sitting area for the devotees. The complex has a residential block of about 500 rooms for pilgrims to stay. Every year Sikhs from all across the globe visit the shrine in November to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Khalsa Vox reported. The inner premises of the Gurudwara have white marbled flooring and the facade is painted in hues of pale yellow. The structure itself is massive and two stories tall with white domes at the top. These domes spring from a floral base and are adorned with inverted lotus symbols. Nankana Sahib stands tall and proud as a cherished testament to the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism. The journey of Guru Nanak not only shapes the foundations of Sikhism but also fosters interfaith harmony, which reminds us of his timeless message of love, compassion, and humility. However, it is deeply saddening to acknowledge that in Pakistan, the very land where Guru Nanak preached harmony and peace, the Sikh minority faces persecution and neglect. Many historic Gurdwaras, which hold immense spiritual significance for Sikhs worldwide, lie in ruins due to neglect and lack of maintenance. These Gurdwaras should stand as beacons of spiritual enlightenment, but their dilapidated state reflects a disregard for their cultural and religious importance, Khalsa Vox reported. (ANI)
Photo: The Canadian Press

Akwesasne Mohawk police say they recently detained 13 people who were allegedly attempting to cross illegally into the United States from Canada.

Police say they received a call on Saturday regarding foreign nationals on the American side of the territory in the village of Kana:takon, also known as St. Regis.

Officers found a family of four walking down the road and another family of nine in a private home, and turned them over to Canadian authorities.

The news comes after the bodies of eight Indian and Romanian migrants were found near an overturned boat in March in the waters off Akwesasne, which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

The body of 30-year-old Casey Oakes, who had last been seen operating the boat, was found last month.

Akwesasne police say human smuggling is a serious crime and are encouraging residents to report any suspicious people or activities.
India came forward to help during tough times, said Sri Lankan Finance Minister Shehan Semansinghe in Mumbai on Friday. Semasinghe said, "India played a major role in Sri Lanka's recovery process and stabilization process. And I'm sure will play a major role in the growth of the economy, too. So we are thankful to the government of India as well as to the Indian people because India stepped in during the most crucial period of economic crisis. And I'm sure Indians also could be happy that Sri Lanka has recovered." Semasinghe while appreciating the support of India in difficult times said that "India helped us to get a good rating from IMF and that told the world that Srilanka is back in business." He added, "Past 3 months were extremely difficult for us. There was food shortage fuel shortage, Electricity cuts etc... After the EFF was approved this changed drastically. We are happy to say that we engage positively with our mutual creditors. We are happy that we have recovered and we are well on the positive roadmap of recovery and soon we will start growing." The Sri Lankan Minister also explained the present situation in the country and said that the new anti-corruption law has been introduced, a new budget office of parliament is opened, and a new central bank act which will keep the central bank from any interference is also being introduced. He also mentioned the role of the tourism sector in regaining economic stability in the country and said that our tourism is growing and we still think that our full capacity is not being utilised fully for tourism, India is our first priority. He further added, "We want to prioritise our few sectors for investment, Energy sector is one the most prominent sectors, Renewable energy is also a key sector, PM Modi and President Vikarmshinghe discussed this in their recent meeting. We are open to the whole world. We have learnt a lot from our crisis and we are sure that there won't be any issue with our debt". Referring to the import restrictions on Sri Lanka said, "Now as we are establishing, and our reserves are getting better we are relaxing our import restrictions and we expect that by the end of September, all the import restrictions will be done away except the automobile." Last Year, India extended aid worth USD 3.9 billion to help Sri Lanka sustain itself in the face of the acute economic and financial crisis and meet its immediate needs such as medicines, cooking gas, oil and food items, Sri Lanka-based news publication News 19 reported. In February 2022, India in order to help Sri Lanka overcome its fuel shortage, signed an agreement for the supply of petroleum products worth USD 500 million from the Indian Oil Company through a credit line. This was expanded by an additional USD 200 million worth of petroleum products in April 2022. India's EXIM bank and State Bank of India, for the import of essential commodities, extended export credit facilities worth USD 1,500 million to Sri Lanka. India also concluded a USD 400 million agreement with Sri Lanka to help preserve the country's forex reserves. A USD 1 billion credit line for essential goods, a USD 500 million credit line for fuel, and a USD 55 million credit line for fertiliser have been extended to Sri Lanka, News 19 reported. India has been helping Sri Lanka with donations out of goodwill and humanitarian assistance. India will supply Sri Lankan Transport Department with a fleet of 500 buses. A total of 75 buses were handed over to Sri Lanka by India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagalay. According to News 19, India's support to Sri Lanka is in line with its 'Neighbourhood First' policy under which India prioritises the security and development of its neighbours. (ANI)
During the trip, Lapid met with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The three-hour meeting laid the groundwork for relations between the countries, and well continue to work together to deepen our joint interests and relations, according to Lapid.

Knesset regulations require that the Ethics Committee approve such trips in advance.

Currently, I am not aware of a request. As soon as it is submitted, the committee will discuss it similarly to any request, Ethics Committee Chairman Yinon Azoulay said.

Lapid, who has previously served as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, claims he received approval.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen slammed the development, saying, There is a government that knows how to conclude agreements, and there is a former foreign minister who knows how to take pictures.

We promise to conclude more agreements so that Lapid will have more people to take pictures with, added Cohen.

Abdullah bin Zayedvisited Jerusalem last September, and he was also in Israel in March 2022for the Negev Summitalong with his Bahraini, Moroccan, Egyptian and U.S. counterparts.

At the time, the top diplomats agreed to form a forum to discuss regional issues.

In May, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahuwas invited to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, scheduled to run from November 30 through December 12.

It will be his first official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Netanyahu was premier when Jerusalem normalized relations with Abu Dhabiin 2020 under the auspices of the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords. However, he never visited the UAE, because of repeated election campaigns in 2019-2022 and the coronavirus pandemic. (ANI/TPS)
An eight-year-old child was killed by a Russian missile targeted at the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine, CNN reported citing Kyiv authorities. At about 10 a.m. (local time), the Russian military fired aerial ballistic missiles at the infrastructure of the Ivano-Frankivsk region," the Prosecutor Generals Office stated. "The missile hit the territory of a private house in the Kolomyia district." "An 8-year-old boy died as a result of the attack. Information about other victims is currently being clarified, CNN quoted the office. Svitlana Onyshchuk, the head of Ivano-Frankivsk region military administration has said that the child was taken to hospital in critical condition, but doctors were unable to save him. In another incident, several missile fragments fell on the territory of a children's hospital in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district Friday morning, CNN reported citing the city's military administration. "Information on casualties and damage is being clarified," said Serhii Popko, head of the military administration in Kyiv. Earlier in the day, Moscow claimed that it has eliminated another drone flying over the city and coming down near the Karamyshevskaya embankment Another drone has been seen flying over the Russian capital Friday, with Moscow authorities saying it has been "eliminated." Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram: "A drone attempt was made to fly over the city. As a result of the air defence work, it was eliminated. No one was hurt when debris fell in the area of the Karamyshevskaya embankment. There are no serious damages. Emergency services are on site." Meanwhile, several restrictions were placed on aircraft movements at Vnukovo airport south-west of Moscow, CNN reported citing TASS News Agency. Earlier on Thursday, the local authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city and surrounding areas following intense Russian shelling, CNN reported. The order stated that the mandatory evacuation has been announced for the residents of Kupyansk city, as well as of Zaoskilya, which lies on the east bank of the Oskil River. In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified attempts to break through Ukrainian front lines east of the Oskil River and have increased the frequency of air strikes and artillery barrages against settlements on both sides of the river. (ANI)
South Africas former president Jacob Zuma has been released from prison under a remission process to address overcrowding in the jail CNN reported. His release came just an hour after he was returned to prison on Friday to comply with a ruling that his release on ill health was unlawful. Jacob Zuma reached the Estcourt correctional detention facility at 6 am (local time) and was "admitted to the system" before being swiftly released, CNN reported citing Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale. Zuma, who was South Africa's President from 2008 to 2018, started serving a 15-month prison sentence in July 2021 after being charged with contempt of court for violating summons to appear at an inquiry into corruption during his time in office. His initial arrest resulted in protests across the country that killed dozens of people. In September 2021, the South African government's correctional services department said Zuma had been released from prison on medical parole due to ill health, CNN reported. The department said that Zuma had been released from prison in October 2022. However, South Africa's Court of Appeal in November ruled that the former South African President should return to prison and the decision to release him on medical parole was unlawful. To comply with the court's decision, Jacob Zuma returned to prison on Friday. However, he benefited from South African President Cyril Ramaphosas policy of giving remission to non-violent offenders in South Africa in a bid to reduce overcrowding in prisons, according to CNN. On Friday, Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said prison overcrowding "poses a direct threat to inmate health, security, and management, and it could lead to a surge in gangsterism." Lamola further said that overcrowding hinders the departments ability to conduct development and rehabilitation programmes. (ANI)
A scandal linked to the procurement of war-time supplies prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire all officials in charge of regional military recruitment centres on Friday, reported CNN. This also led Ukraine's deputy defense minister Viacheslav Shapovaloc to resign after allegations of corruption surfaced in the media. CNN reported that Zelenskyy announced the latest dismissals in a statement on Friday. I have just held a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, he said in a video clip. One key issue is the results of the inspection of military registration and enlistment offices," Zelenskyy said following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council. In total, there are 112 criminal proceedings against officials of the military registration and enlistment offices, added Zelenskyy. Among the issues, Zelenskyy cited Illicit enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, unlawful benefit, illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border. He said the decision was to dismiss all regional military commissioners. "This system should be managed by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war are high treason," he said. Zelenskyy added that soldiers who have been to the front or who cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have saved their dignity and have no cynicism They can be entrusted with this recruitment system. Every military commissioner against whom there is a criminal investigation will be held accountable, he said. Officials who confused their shoulder straps with profit will definitely be brought to justice. The mass sacking came as Ukraine urged civilians near the northeastern front line to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture territory already seized once during the conflict. Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency thats the only difference. The cynicism is the same everywhere, the Ukrainian president said. Illicit enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, illegal benefit, illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border. We are dismissing all regional military commissars. This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war constitute treason. Zelenskyy said the move is aimed at eliminating corruption in the military and said he was immediately filling the positions with Ukrainian soldiers who have been taken off the battlefield after being wounded. The Ukrainian president is under pressure to root out and protect against corruption in Ukraines government to maintain support from the US and other allies who have provided and committed more than USD 165 billion in military, financial and reconstruction support. (ANI)
The Sindh Assembly in Pakistan has been dissolved on Friday as the province's Governor Kamran Tessori signed and gave approval to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shahs summary for the dissolution of the provincial legislature, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The dissolution of the Sindh Assembly comes just days before the completion of the Sindh Assembly's five-year tenure, which began on August 13, 2018. Earlier this week, the Pakistan National Assembly was also dissolved before the completion of its term. In a notification issued by the government, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori said, "As advised by the chief minister and in exercise of powers conferred upon me under clause (1) of Article 112 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and other provisions enabling me in this behalf, I, Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori, governor of Sindh, hereby dissolve the Provincial Assembly of Sindh on Friday, the 11th day of August, at 9 pm." On Thursday, the opposition Grand Democratic Alliance and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan announced that they have reached a consensus over their candidates for the office of the caretaker chief minister, according to Dawn. However, they said that they would make a formal announcement regarding the candidates after the dissolution of the Sindh Assembly. Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leader Sardar Rahim said that both the opposition parties have finalized their names. However, it was not appropriate to announce them until the appointment of Pakistan's caretaker PM and the dissolution of the Sindh Assembly. The retired bureaucrats Shoaib Siddiqui, Younus Dagha, and senior politician Safdar Abbasi were among the candidates shortlisted by the GDA and MQM-P for the position of caretaker Chief Minister, Dawn reported citing sources. According to sources, these names will be given to the Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Rana Ansar. He will then present these names to Murad Ali Shah. Until the caretaker CM is finalized, Murad will remain Sindh's Chief Minister, Dawn reported. While addressing the last provincial cabinet session on Friday, outgoing Sindh CM Murad said he, his cabinet members, and all the PPP MPAs were going "back to the people with dignity and respect." He recalled that at the beginning of the term in 2018, the then-federal government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was not ready to cooperate and attempted to destabilize the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government in Sindh, according to Dawn report. He said, "But under the guidance of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, we kept serving our people steadfastly." Murad Ali Shah said that the province was still tackling the COVID-19 pandemic when the disastrous floods of 2022 swept the majority of the regions of Sindh. Sindh CM said, "I had almost lost hope to drain out such a deluge of the water but the cabinet members, party workers, and the leadership supported me and finally the water was disposed of, and wheat crops were sown," Dawn reported. He stated that all party leadership, ministers, advisors, special assistants, coordinators, MPAs and party workers "stood shoulder-by-shoulder" with the flood-impacted people. (ANI)
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced that he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election. The Trump-appointed US attorney who is probing US President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been given special counsel status, CNN reported. The development comes after plea talks between the US Justice Department and Hunter Biden fell apart. Prosecutor David Weiss asked Attorney General Merrick Garland for the new authority after plea talks for the resolution of tax and gun charges fell apart, with a trial now likely. Garland's decision gives Weiss more powers than a typical US attorney and puts the US in uncharted territory, with three special counsels at the Justice Department currently probing the sitting president, his son and the former president. The investigation appeared to have reached its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June. In an agreement, Hunter Biden planned to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would drop a separate felony gun charge in two years if he remained out of legal trouble and passed a drug test, according to CNN report. Furthermore, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend probation and no jail time for Hunter Biden. The GOP had slammed the plea deal and accused Weiss of providing preferential treatment to US President's son. However, during the court hearing in June, the deal nearly collapsed underscrutiny from the federal judge overseeing the case. District Judge Maryellen Noreika described the intertwined deals to resolve the tax and gun charges as confusing, not straightforward, atypical and unprecedented," CNN reported. At the end of the hearing, Noreika directed the US Justice Department and Hunter Bidens lawyers to register additional legal briefs defending the constitutionality of the agreement. On Friday, David Weiss said talks had failed. Prosecutors wrote, "After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse." They further said, "A trial is therefore in order." With Weiss being named as a special counsel, Garland gave him further independence from the US Justice Department as he begins an unprecedented trial against the son of the sitting US President and as Republican lawmakers claim that the department is politicized, CNN reported. Weiss and prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss the tax charges registered in Delaware federal court as part of the plea deal in anticipation of possibly bringing future tax charges in California or Washington, DC. Previously, the parties agreed that the plea agreement will be handled in Delaware federal court, according to CNN report. However, prosecutors have said that the venue is no longer appropriate as the plea deal no more exists. Garland on Friday said that "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding the federal criminal probe into Hunter Biden contributed to his decision to give special counsel status to the top prosecutor in the investigation, the report said. Garland's order regarding Weiss' appointment said he is authorized to carry out the "ongoing investigation...as well as any matters that arose from that investigation or may arise as the probe continues," CNN reported. Merrick Garland said that Weiss will continue to serve as the US attorney for the Delaware district as he takes on this new responsibility. He further noted that Weiss in the special counsel position will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department." (ANI)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Friday accepted the resignations of 25 members of the province's interim cabinet in line with the directives issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan-based The News International reported. Haji Ghulam Ali's decision comes after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's interim Chief Minister Azam Khan asked his cabinet members to tender their resignation after receiving a letter from the ECP regarding the politically affiliated people in the cabinet. Earlier in July, the ECP instructed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim Chief Minister to immediately "denotify" ministers, advisers and special assistants "involved in politics." According to the notification, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor accepted the resignation of 14 ministers and 11 advisers and special assistants, The News International reported. Former caretaker ministersShahid Khattak and Adnan Jalil have already submitted their resignations from their posts. On Thursday, former provincial information minister Firdous Jamal Shah said that interim CM Azam Khan had decided to de-notify his ministers, according to The News International report. Shah said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's interim CM had invited the ministers for tea and asked them for their resignations. He further said that those who do not submit their resignations would then be de-notified. In the letter issued in July, the electoral body briefed the interim CM on Article 218(3) and the role the caretaker setup plays in carrying out the elections. The secretary in the letter said, "The caretaker government including cabinet members, advisers, special assistants and other relevant functionaries can only provide an objective environment if they do not involve themselves in politics and election campaigns in violation of provisions of Section 230 (1)(d) and 2(g) of the Elections Act, 2017." The ECP expressed regret that it had noticed that some cabinet members were "appointed on the basis of political affiliations." It also gave the example ofShahid Khattak, the former interim transport minister, who resigned after he was found indulging in "political activities." The ECP said that the "attitude" of some cabinet members was "against the very spirit" of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's caretaker government which has been mentioned in the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017, The News International reported. Multiple parties have complained regarding the interim setup in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the caretaker cabinet members are either affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) or their appointees, The News International reported. Earlier in July,Shahid Khan Khattak had to submit his resignation after he faced criticism when he addressed a public meeting in the Nowshera district. (ANI)
Russian attacks against Kherson, Komyshany, and Beryslav on Aug. 11 killed a civilian and wounded seven more people, including two police officers, according to Ukrainian authorities.

A 53-year-old man died after suffering severe chest injuries and traumatic shock when Russian forces hit an apartment building in the city of Kherson, the regional governor Oleskandr Prokudin wrote.

Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak reported earlier that the Kherson attack had also wounded a woman and a 44-year-old man.

The same morning, Russia struck Kherson Oblast's Beryslav with drones, wounding two police officers, according to Prokudin. A projectile hit the roof of their car, the official said.

Earlier, Russian troops attacked the village of Komyshany, hitting a residential building, the regional administration wrote.

Three women aged 50 to 84 received injuries and were hospitalized.

Kherson and other regional settlements on the Kyiv-controlled west bank of the Dnipro River have been continuously subjected to Russian shelling since Ukrainian forces liberated them in November 2022.

Russian forces were pushed to the river's east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.

Read also: Russian attacks kill 4, injure 41 over past day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
11xAI announced the closing of a $2 million pre-seed round led by Project A Ventures today. In conjunction with its fundraise, the company also launched its service.

The London-based company builds automated digital workers that can be used in lieu of human employees. It has built an AI sales development representative called Alice and plans to create James, focused on automated talent acquisition and Bob, targeting automated human resources work in the upcoming years.

Speaking to TechCrunch, co-founder and CEO Hasan Sukkar believes autonomous agents are the future of the workforce and specifically designed 11xAI to help smaller businesses increase their productivity to better compete with larger companies.

The goal is that businesses hire autonomous workers for all parts of their business, creating an AI-powered workforce that runs on autopilot.

Our mission is to help people rise above mundane, repetitive tasks, and that way, we can focus on the more creative and more human-driven tasks, Sukkar told TechCrunch, adding that he hopes to also develop a monetized infrastructure platform that would allow anyone to build an autonomous worker.

While generative AI techniques have found lots of market interest in recent quarters, the technology remains a work in progress. Sukkar told TechCrunch that his company has a product strategy to prevent bias in the AI models, one that includes audits and monitoring, regular bias testings, and a diverse data set.

Sukkar called his startup's recent fundraising journey relatively easy, as investors understood 11xAI had much potential to scale, especially given the current artificial intelligence boom.

Mila Cramer, a principal at Project A Ventures, said recent AI advancements allowed her and her team to imagine a future with automated end-to-end processes carried out by digital workers. We are very excited to support 11x in bringing us that future today, she told TechCrunch. Hasan has an incredible, unique level of dedication and conviction, which made us immediately believe that he will do something special.

No Label Ventures, Tiny Ventures, and angel investors Felipe Navio and Mandeep Singh also participated in the round.

Sukkar plans to expand his current team of six by hiring more engineers; he also hopes to expand more into the U.S. market and, of course, is planning to launch two other digital workers.

This company launch comes full circle for Sukkar, who remembers creating his first online marketplace when he was just 14 years old.

In 2015 at the age of 17, he immigrated as part of the Syrian Refugee Crisis to the U.K. He studied engineering at the University of Exeter and began navigating the British business landscape. He worked in venture capital, where he learned ethnic minorities like himself always have to come overly prepared. That journey has led him here with 11xAI.

In two years, we believe that Digital Workers will be a regular part of how companies around the world work," Sukkar said. "And we want to enable this outcome."

This piece was updated to clarify the year Sukkar came to the U.K.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump agreed with the defense on a looser version of a protective order for evidence in the case, but she largely sided with the prosecution on what sensitive materials should be protected as she vowed to keep politics out of her rulings.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington on Friday repeatedly said that Trump was subject to the courts rules as a defendant before trial even though he is also running for president at the same time. She warned that she would not let political considerations affect her rulings.

Your clients defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet, Chutkan said.

Chutkan rejected prosecutors broader protective order proposal that sought to prevent the public airing of all evidence they hand over to Trumps defense as they prepare for trial. She instead seemed poised to impose a more limited protective order that would bar the public release only of materials deemed sensitive, such as grand jury materials.

She did, however, block other defense requests to broaden the scope of who can see discovery and what should be considered sensitive.

The government considers the vast majority of evidence in the case to be sensitive. The judge sided with the prosecution on what materials are considered sensitive and therefore protected under the order.

When prosecutors proposed the protective order, it became an early flashpoint in the case. The prosecutors called the judges attention to a post on Trumps social media platform in which he said he would be coming after those who go after him.

They warned Trump could improperly share sensitive information online that could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses. They accused Trump of objecting to their proposal because he wants to be able to use the governments evidence to try the case in the media rather than in the courtroom.

Lawyers for Trump, who has railed against prosecutors and the judge on social media and during campaign events, said the governments proposed order went too far and would restrict his free speech rights.

John Lauro, an attorney for Trump, raised the example of former Vice President Mike Pence  who is both competing against Trump for the Republican nomination and a potential witness in the case before Chutkan. Trump has repeatedly attacked Pence for being disloyal.

President Trump has the ability to respond fairly to political opponents, Lauro said.

Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, says he is innocent of the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. He has portrayed investigations of him as politically motivated.

Prosecutors say that they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence to Trumps legal team and that much of it includes sensitive and confidential information  like transcripts from the grand jury that investigated the case and evidence obtained through sealed search warrants. Grand jury proceedings are secret.

Prosecutors filing last week seeking the protective order included a screenshot of a post from Trumps Truth Social platform that same day in which the Republican ex-president wrote, in all capital letters, If you go after me, Im coming after you!

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, prosecutors wrote in their motion.

A Trump spokesperson said the Truth Social post was made in response to dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs and is is the definition of political speech.

The prosecutors proposed a protective order barring 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. They also asked for stricter limits on sensitive materials, which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants. In those instances, Trump could only be shown the documents, not get a copy himself.

Trumps team, meanwhile, asked for a more narrow order that would bar the public release only of the materials deemed sensitive, such as grand jury documents. Defense attorneys wrote in court papers that the need to protect sensitive information does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.

The case, unsealed last week, is the first criminal case that seeks to hold Trump accountable for his efforts to cling to power before an angry mob of supporters fueled by his election lies attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It comes as Trump faces two other criminal cases and tries to reclaim the White House.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress certification of Democrat Joe Bidens electoral victory. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

Smiths team has indicated that it wants the case to move to trial swiftly, and this week it proposed a Jan. 2 trial date. Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in a New York case stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in another case brought by Smith accusing the former president of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Smith charged Trump in June with dozens of felony counts alleging the former president illegally kept classified records after he left the White House and obstructed government efforts to get them back. A new indictment recently unsealed in that case accuses Trump of scheming with Mar-a-Lago staffers to try to delete security footage sought by investigators.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in June imposed a similar protective order in that case that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval.

Trump has characterized all the cases against him as an effort to take down his 2024 campaign. His legal team has indicated that it will argue in the latest case that he had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020 and that filing it represents an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Trump has also lashed out at the judge overseeing the case, writing on his Truth Social platform that his legal team would be immediately asking for recusal of this judge, as well as to move the case outside of Washington.
Nina Sandbech, Rolf Ekroth Show, Latimmier Show. Christian Vierig/Getty Images, Matt Jelonek/Getty Images, Alena Zakirova/Getty Images

Copenhagen Fashion Week took over the Danish capital from August 7 to 11.

It's often regarded as the fifth official fashion week after New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

This installment also featured a surprise debut from another Hadid sister, Alana.

For those obsessed with the second season of FX's "The Bear," the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, where episode 4 is set, will likely be in your search history. What those outside the fashion community likely don't know is that the Nordic city hosts a fashion week to precede the four major global fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

As with many young designers, the presentations at Copenhagen Fashion Week are often experimental and aim for a shock factor. The biggest shock during the spring/summer 2024 shows was Alana Hadid, older sister of supermodels Bella and Gigi, opening the show for Saks Potts, a well-known Copenhagen-based brand.

Copenhagen Fashion Week focuses on highlighting hot designers from the region. Here's a look at some of the week's best and boldest looks on and off the runway.

Influencer Nina Sandbech was reminiscent of a pineapple ring outside the Lovechild 1979 show in a yellow applique dress.

Nina Sandbech Attends the Lovechild 1979 show at Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 8. Christian Vierig / Getty Images

Alana Hadid made a surprise runway debut, opening the Saks Potts show in a sequinned skirt over jeans with silver flip-flops.

Alana Hadid poses on the runway at the Saks Potts show during Copenhagen Fashion Week spring/summer 2024 on August 7, 2023, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

A guest outside the Stamm show decided that one hair bow just wasn't enough.

A guest attending the Copenhagen Fashion Week Stamm show on August 8. Edward Berthelot / Getty Images

It was raining all week, but that didn't stop this guest from bringing the sun with her neon-yellow outfit.

A guest at the Lovechild 1979 show at Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 8. Edward Berthelot / Getty Images

Rolf Ekroth sent a model down the runway with real roses slotted into a net-overlay suit.

A model at the Copenhagen Fashion Week Rolf Ekroth show on August 8. Matt Jelonek / Getty Images

A model at the Helmstedt show rocked a beaded strawberry bralette. Move over, Hailey Bieber; this is the real strawberry girl.

A model on the Helmstedt runway at Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 10. Matt Jelonek / Getty Images

The runway at Mark Kenly Domino Tan made lampshades chic.

A model on the Mark Kenly Domino Tan runway at Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 10. Alena Zakirova / Getty Images

Amelia Stanescu, an influencer and stylist, recreated Maleficent's shoulders with a leather maxi dress, a far cry from the Scandinavian aesthetic that most guests opt for.

Amelia Stanescu at the Copenhagen Fashion Week Lovechild 1979 Show on August 8. Christian Vierig / Getty Images

Bicycles are a favorite mode of transport during Copenhagen Fashion Week. This guest pulled up outside Lovechild 1979 in a gold gown and sneakers, because why not?

A guest at the Copenhagen Fashion Week Lovechild 1979 Show on August 8. Edward Berthelot / Getty Images

Danish brand P.L.N. invites its clientele to wear their designs intuitively, but on the runway, no one thought to show this model how to wear a jacket.

A model on the P.L.N. runway at Copenhagen Fashion Week, on August 8. Alena Zakirova / Getty Images

Designer Henrik Vibskov straddles the space between fashion and art. The models at his show were sent down the runway with what appeared to be bandaids on their faces.

A model at the Henrik Vibskov show at Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 9. Matt Jelonek / Getty Images

Ervin Latimmier guided the runway of his namesake brand dressed as his alter-ego drag-queen personality Anna Conda.

Ervin Latimmier at his own Copenhagen Fashion Week show as Anna Conda, held on August 7. Alena Zakirova / Getty Images

A guest outside the Stamm show sported an "I heart me" T-shirt for the most fitting fashion week statement.

A guest outside the Copenhagen Fashion Week Stamm fashion show, on August 8. Edward Berthelot / Getty Images

Read the original article on Insider
A 13-year-old was arrested after leading deputies on a high-speed motorcycle chase, according to a California sheriffs department.

A deputy tried to pull a motorcyclist over for a traffic violation on Aug. 9, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said in an Aug. 10 news release.

The rider, however, did not stop, and led deputies on a nearly 8-mile-long chase through the streets of Hesperia, reaching speeds of 65 mph and ignoring multiple stop signs, the sheriffs department said.

The chase ends after the rider drove to his home and then ran inside, deputies said.

Deputies said they detained the rider, who they learned was a 13-year-old boy.

The teen was arrested and is facing charges of evading a police officer with disregard for public safety and evading an officer by driving opposite of traffic, deputies said. He was booked into juvenile detention.

Hesperia is about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

12-year-old was driving stolen SUV  with a gun and 4 passengers, New Mexico cops say

Two juveniles took car with 4-year-old inside, then crashed it during chase, CMPD says

Driver, just 13, is accused of stealing a car and causing fatal crash in Woodland
NEW CASTLE, Ind.  A 14-year-old New Castle boy will face prosecution on a murder charge as an adult.

The youth  who was 13 at the time of the May homicide, at 21st Street and A Avenue  in recent days was waived from juvenile jurisdiction to adult court. On Aug. 4, he was charged with the murder count, which carries a maximum 65-year sentence, in Henry Circuit Court 1.

The teen's prosecution stems from the slaying of Ernest Thornsberry Jr., found mortally wounded at the eastside intersection about 8:30 p.m. on May 2.

Investigators at first thought the 47-year-old victim might have been struck by a vehicle, but witnesses said they heard gunfire, and it was determined the New Castle man had been shot in the head.

He was later pronounced dead at Henry County Hospital.

More: Henry prosecutor wants boy, 13, charged as adult in fatal shooting

Interviewed soon after the slaying, the suspect and other juveniles said they had approached Thornsberry from behind as he walked on A Avenue and at first shouted insults at him, then threw rocks in his direction.

Thornsberry reportedly told the juveniles to leave him alone. When that did not happen, he displayed a pocket knife and approached his pursuers, according to the teen, who told police he had responded by pulling a 9mm handgun from his pants, firing one shot into the air, and then two shots in the direction of Thornsberry.

Police said the teenager at first denied any knowledge of the shooting, then indicated another person had fired the gunshots, and finally told officers, "I did it."

The gun had reportedly earlier been stolen from the home of an acquaintance of the teen.

The firearm was later recovered under a storage shed outside a home in the 1600 block of H Avenue. A police report indicated the gun was in a plastic bag and wrapped in a shirt.

A witness told police the teen charged in the slaying had "made comments... recently about wanting to shoot someone."

Henry County Prosecutor Michael Mahoney said in May he would seek to have the homicide case transferred out of juvenile jurisdiction.

The court official who approved the transfer wrote they found no evidence "in the best interest of the juvenile and the safety and welfare of the community for him to remain within the juvenile justice system."

The waiver order indicated the youth for the time being would continue to be held at a juvenile facility in Vincennes, about 175 miles southwest of New Castle.

On Thursday, the youth participated in an initial hearing via a video link to the Vincennes facility.

Judge Bob Witham scheduled the teen's trial for Nov. 27. The youth was about four weeks from his 14th birthday at the time of the slaying.

In most instances, The Star Press does not publish the name of criminal defendants under the age of 16 prior to a conviction.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: New Castle boy, 14, to face murder charge as an adult
When it comes to Nashville's bottom line, mayoral candidates Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli take divergent approaches.

Rolli has pledged not to raise property taxes, relying instead on Nashville's continued growth to swell its tax base enough to cover the city's expenses, so long as it adheres to operating within its means. She would advocate for changes to state legislation to create and increase other Metro revenue streams, though she acknowledges these are longer-term strategies.

"It is not as if our overall tax base is not increasing by the minute, so responsibly managing a city that is growing that fast from a tax base I think is perfectly possible, separate from (other strategies that require state cooperation)," Rolli told The Tennessean on Thursday.

O'Connell said Nashville's growth  particularly in its downtown core  has built property and activity tax efficiencies that lend "incredible capacity that should give the mayor a platform to invest locally in a way that sustains the region."

"I don't think it's responsible to make pledges about either debt or revenue, particularly on the property tax piece," he said during a mayoral forum hosted by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. Any conversation about taxes is also a conversation about what they pay for, he said: investments in schools, sidewalks, safety programs, transit and infrastructure repair.

Mayoral candidate Alice Rolli during the third Nashville Mayoral Debate at American Baptist College in Nashville , Tenn., Thursday, July 6, 2023.

"We know from the work of the business community that we can be responsible and still make sure that our government is growing in a way that allows investments to continue sustainably," O'Connell said.

Property taxes and Nashville's budget are topics of lingering sensitivity following the passage of a 34% tax hike in 2020, an urgent move made to balance Metro's books after the Tennessee Comptroller's Office threatened to take over the city's finances in late 2019.

It was the city's first increase since 2012. After a scheduled reappraisal, the tax rate for the city's urban areas dropped from $4.22 per $100 of assessed value in 2021 to $3.29 in 2022. The current tax rate, $3.25, falls below the tax rates in Clarksville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Memphis.

Property taxes make up more than 51% of Metro's revenue, with local option sales tax and contributions from other government agencies making up smaller pieces of the pie, according to budget documents. Nearly 38% of Metro's budget goes toward education. About 13% goes toward debt service, and the remaining operating funds are used for city operating expenses.

O'Connell's take on taxes

Freddie O'Connell addresses supporters during an election night party on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn.

"The way we got to the 34% property tax rate increase  unfortunately in the middle of a pandemic  had to do with decisions that got made prior to that," O'Connell said Thursday.

Nashville was spending beyond its revenue and too frequently falling back on non-reoccurring revenue to pay for reoccurring expenses, the comptroller said in 2019.

Nearly a decade without tax increases left the city vulnerable to "volatility and disruption" of some of Metro's revenue sources, O'Connell said.

Related: Nashville mayoral candidates Freddie O'Connell, Alice Rolli weigh in on East Bank redevelopment

"We started digging a hole where we started having to pay for government by asset sales or severe cuts," O'Connell said. "Those are the kinds of risks if you know what your total cost of government is and you refuse to actually cover what you need from a revenue standpoint."

O'Connell said the Tennessee Comptroller offered Nashville two choices: "We raise revenues to the level that is appropriate or we start taking over your checkbook.'"

Nashville has taken steps to make sure that doesn't happen again.

During this council term, Metro passed a policy restricting mayors and councils from being able to easily dip into Metro's "rainy day" reserve funds to cover operational shortfalls.

O'Connell shares Rolli's goal of working with the state legislature to establish the ability to levy impact fees  one-time fees paid by developers on new development  to help pay for the infrastructure, services and schools needed to support that development.

But "a new tax pledge that requires changes in state law to find additional revenue sources to replace (property taxes)" could make it "precipitously difficult" to continue to keep Nashville's teachers the best paid in the state, or ensure wages for support staff and others keep pace with the cost of living, he said.

Rolli's take on taxes

Rolli said the state comptroller also gave Nashville a third choice: "run the city living within our means."

(Comptroller Justin Wilson told the Metro Council at the time that it could balance the city's budget by raising revenue and cutting spending, but the comptroller was solely concerned with the end product.)

"Sometimes that means making decisions about what is most important to fund: What are the must-haves, and what are nice to have?" Rolli said during Thursday's forum.

Her "must-haves" include fully-staffed public safety and emergency services departments, and infrastructure maintenance, something that could be aided by state and federal contributions.

Aside from Nashville's growing property tax base, Rolli would look toward the General Assembly for help carving out additional revenue for Metro.

"I think this is a place where understanding the history of what got us here and being able to articulate a conservative position with our partners in the General Assembly and with other regional mayors is really unique," she said.

She, like O'Connell, would collaborate with other Tennessee mayors to seek legislation allowing for the collection of impact fees, something currently barred in some counties by the 2006 County Powers Act.

Rolli would also join an effort by the Tennessee Municipal League to push the state for a higher percentage of state-shared sales tax. Municipalities have received a percentage of state sales tax revenue since 1947. Tennessee sets aside 4.6% of its total annual sales tax revenues designated for the general fund, distributing the money to municipalities based on population.

The state raised its tax rate from 6% to 7% in 2002, but has yet to increase municipalities' cut. In 2002, Rolli said, Tennessee was in an "austerity budget position," but that's no longer the case.

"It is a conservative position to shift back to what that ratio was in 2002 to help finance some of the work here," she said.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville taxes: What mayoral candidates Freddie O'Connell, Alice Rolli say
KINGSTON - Three men have been indicted by an Ulster County grand jury for murder in the July 27 shooting death of a 27-year-old man.

Nyqwuan Monroe, 25, of New York City; Maliek Fredericks, 25, of Schenectady; and Shaliza Dhanraj, 26, of Rotterdam; were indicted for second-degree murder, and first-degree burglary (acting in concert), both felonies. Monroe also was indicted for second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, and Fredericks also was indicted for criminal possession of a firearm, a felony.

They are being held without bail in the Ulster County jail following arraignment before Kingston City Court Judge Philip Kirschner.

All three were charged in the July 27 shooting of Dominique Green, who was found dead on Prospect Street near Greenkill Avenue in Kingston around 9:20 p.m. that night.

Federal lawsuit: Town of Monroe sued over local law limiting ownership of residential rental properties

Police and prosecutors have not released any details about a possible motive for the shooting.

"The indictment is just one of the first steps in bringing justice to Dominique Green, who was shot and killed in his own home, and to Dominique Green's family and many loved ones," Assistant District Attorney Jenna Hastings of the Special Victims Bureau in the district attorney's office, who is leading the prosecution, said in a statement.

Manslaughter plea: Newburgh man sentenced in 2022 shooting death of 29-year-old near Washington Street

Jason Richland, Monroe's attorney, declined to make a comment on his client's behalf. Joey Drillings, Fredericks' attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment. Dhanraj reportedly has changed attorneys and the name of his current lawyer could not immediately be learned.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Kingston man shot in July: Case against three accused moves forward
Three women who were caught dancing to a Ukrainian song in Russian-occupied Crimea. Photo: screenshot from Krymsky Smersh Telegram

A Russian-controlled court in occupied Crimea has fined three young women 15,000 roubles (approximately US$150) after they were caught dancing to a song by Verka Serdiuchka, a Ukrainian artist, in an Alushta water park.

Source: Russian-controlled Ministry of Internal Affairs in Crimea; Krymsky Smersh Telegram channel

Details: The women, aged 19, 20 and 26, were caught dancing to a Verka Serdiuchka song at their workplace in the Alushta water park in Crimea. The song contains lyrics that roughly translate as "Ukraine has not died if we get to have fun like this".

The video of the three women was posted on the Krymsky Smersh Telegram channel; Krymsky Smersh is a Crimean social movement whose participants persecute those who oppose Russias war against Ukraine.

Another video of the women was posted on Krymsky Smershs Telegram later. In the video, they apologise for their "rash actions", say they support the so-called "special military operation" [the euphemism Russia uses for its war against Ukraine] and its participants, and sing a song which contains the lyrics "Vladimir Putin is a good guy".

On 10 August, the Russian-controlled Ministry of Internal Affairs in Crimea said that the women were suspected of undermining and discrediting the Russian army, and called the song at the centre of the incident a "hot-topic song with an unacceptable message, by a Ukrainian artist".

Quote from the Russian-controlled Ministry of Internal Affairs in Crimea: "The court has found these citizens guilty of administrative offences. The offenders were sentenced to an administrative fine of 15,000 roubles [approximately US$150  ed.]."

Background:

In August 2022, a DJ was arrested in Crimea for playing the song Dyke Pole (Wild Field) by YARMAK, a Ukrainian rapper.

In September 2022, Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Russian occupation government in Crimea, said that criminal liability for members of the pro-Ukrainian movement in Crimea would be increased.

On 27 April 2023, Antytila (Antibodies), a Ukrainian band, announced a concert in Yalta, Crimea, on 23 August 2024; they have stated that they expect Crimea will be liberated by then.

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!
A new highway intended to route commercial truck traffic toward the Valley of Juarez has become the scene of drug cartel shootings, including the deaths of four men on the desert road southeast of Juarez.

Chihuahua state police said that officers responding to reports of gunfire at 1 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, found four men shot to death and five bullet-riddled pickup trucks and SUVs at various locations near a toll booth on the Samalayuca-Tornillo highway.

The Samalayuca-Tornillo highway runs for 31 kilometers (19 miles) traveling from just north of the sand dunes town of Samalayuca (south of Juarez) east to the Tornillo-Guadalupe international bridge (southeast of El Paso).

Immigration: False rumor sparks migrant protest at El Paso border

The hour-long shootout was a rolling confrontation between members of La Linea and the Sinaloa drug cartels fighting for control of the region along the new highway, Chihuahua State Attorney General Cesar Gustavo Jauregui Moreno said at a news conference. There had been no arrests.

A Chihuahua state police SWAT officer looks out from inside an armored vehicle during a recent operation to arrest drug dealers in Juarez, Mexico.

Investigators counted nearly 70 bullet casings at the shooting scenes, state police said. The victims remained unidentified, except for one, Eduardo Francisco P.F., a toll booth guard, who was killed, possibly in the crossfire.

Three of the vehicles had Texas plates  a gray 2020 GMC Yukon XL, a black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado and black 2012 Toyota Sequoia. None had been reported stolen, state police said.

The other two vehicles were: a red 2016 Dodge Ram 1500, which had no plates and had been stolen in 2021, and a white 2011 GMC with Chihuahua plates. Blue camouflage-style clothing was inside two of the trucks.

It is unknown how many others may have been wounded and then transported to hospitals by other drug cartel members. No weapons were seized.

Beauty queen, ex-police officer previously attacked

In recent months, there have been several shootings in the region of the new highway in the Valley of Juarez, Jauregui Moreno said.

In late May, a beauty queen, Miss Guadalupe, and her parents were wounded when gunmen chased and fired at their car. In a separate attack that month, a former municipal police officer and his 15-year-old son were killed in a shooting, according to local news reports.

Archives: Sinaloa cartel assassins group leader 'Grim Reaper' gets life in 'Wedding Murders' case

The attorney general said that extra police and federal security forces are expected to be sent to the region.

The Valley of Juarez, with its rural communities along the Rio Grande southeast of Juarez, has been a smuggling hot zone for decades.

The Samalayuca-Tornillo highway was built with the intent to alleviate some of the commercial truck traffic passing through Juarez and direct it toward the Tornillo-Guadalupe border crossing.

Construction on the highway began in 2021, though plans for the roadway date back to 2009. Mexican federal infrastructure funding for the project was authorized in 2017, the Norte Digital news site reported.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 4 dead as Mexican drug cartels battle on new highway outside Juarez
Four Miami-Dade homicide detectives and a sergeant in a Northside task force have been relieved of duty.

I can confirm there was a group of officers relieved of duty from the north end of the county, Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said on Friday. But I dont know the details at this time.

Miami-Dade Police Deparment Alvaro Zabaleta also confirmed five suspensions but would not provide any further details.

But several law enforcement told the Herald the moves came pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of overtime pay abuse..

Information, at least officially, remained sketchy. But according to several sources, the group worked as part of a gang unit that teamed with the FBI and federal agencies. Those sources told the Miami Herald that it was federal agents who made the discovery and who are investigating any possible wrongdoing. Zabaleta said Miami-Dade Police would lead the investigation of the suspended officers.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said that 58 countries have supported the preparation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

Source: Yermak on air of the 24/7 national joint newscast, quoted by Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "If last time [at the meeting in Jeddah on 5 August  ed.] we had 43 countries, today there are already 58. And this is not the end, and I can also say that we have a large number of countries that want to join."

Details: Yermak said that 10 groups have been set up for each point of the peace formula. "Our [Ukrainian  ed.] specialists will work in these groups, and international experts will also be involved," he said.

Quote: "Our plan is to develop this detailed program for each point of our formula and to do so by the end of this month. So that in a month's time, as we agreed in Jeddah, we can hold the next meeting at the level of advisors and discuss the date and location of the summit."

Background:

On 5 August, a meeting was held in Saudi Arabia to discuss the upcoming Peace Formula Summit proposed by official Kyiv.

The meeting in Jeddah, which is the second meeting on the Peace Formula Summit (after the first in Copenhagen), was attended by national security advisors and political advisors to leaders from about 40 countries. Among them were those that are not part of the Western camp, such as China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Chile and South Africa. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister called China's participation a "major breakthrough". Russia, as it is known, was not invited to participate.

After the meeting in Saudi Arabia, Andrii Yermak said that Ukraine plans to hold two summits on the peace formula presented by Zelenskyy, one of which will involve Russia.

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!
A federal appeals court this week cast further doubt on the constitutionality of a federal law that bans gun possession by illegal drug users, overturning the conviction of a Mississippi cannabis consumer who dared to exercise his Second Amendment rights. In a decision published on Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals Court for the 5th Circuit unanimously concluded that the law, 18 USC 922(g)(3), is not "consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

That is the constitutional test required by the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which overturned that state's restrictions on public possession of handguns. The 5th Circuit's ruling, which upheld an "as applied" challenge, is technically limited to one criminal case. It nevertheless illustrates the difficulties that government lawyers have encountered in trying to satisfy the Bruen test, which made long-accepted gun restrictions newly vulnerable to constitutional challenges.

"Our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person's right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage," the 5th Circuit says in an opinion by Judge Jerry E. Smith. "Nor do more generalized traditions of disarming dangerous persons support this restriction on nonviolent drug users."

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), which filed a brief in support of this challenge to a Section 922(g)(3) prosecution, welcomed the decision. "As we explained in our brief, there is no tradition of disarming Americans based solely on their use of an intoxicant, and the government failed to prove that marijuana users are especially dangerous," said Joseph Greenlee, director of constitutional studies at the FPC Action Foundation. "Therefore, as the court held,  922(g)(3) is inconsistent with America's tradition of firearm regulation and thus unconstitutional."

The case, United States v. Daniels, began with an April 2022 traffic stop in Hancock County, Mississippi. Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr. was pulled over for driving without a license plate. One of the officers was a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, who "approached the vehicle and recognized the smell of marihuana." A search of the car discovered "several marihuana cigarette butts in the ashtray," along with a 9mm pistol and a semi-automatic rifle. Daniels was arrested and taken to a local DEA office. Although the DEA never conducted a drug test or otherwise investigated whether Daniels was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the stop, he admitted to smoking pot on a regular basis, something like 14 times a month.

That admission was enough to charge Daniels with violating Section 922(g)(3), a felony that was punishable by up to 10 years in prison at the time of his arrest. (Congress later raised the maximum sentence to 15 years.) A jury convicted Daniels in July 2022, and he was sentenced to nearly four years in prison, plus three years of supervised release. The felony conviction also meant he was permanently barred from owning guns under another provision of the same statute.

When Daniels challenged his indictment as a violation of the right to keep and bear arms, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. said it was not clear that Daniels was part of "the people" protected by the Second Amendment, because his marijuana use meant he was not a "responsible, law-abiding citizen." And even assuming that cannabis consumption does not exclude someone from "the people," Guirola said, Section 922(g)(3) meets the Bruen test.

Guirola likened that ban to "longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill," which the Supreme Court has suggested are "presumptively lawful." He also noted that, while Congress did not enact Section 922(g)(3) until 1968, many states had previously imposed similar bans. As the 5th Circuit notes, Guirola's cursory opinion "engaged with few historical sources from the Founding or Reconstruction," instead relying on pre-Bruen cases in which other federal courts had concluded that Section 922(g)(3) "was supported by the historical practice of disarming those who 'exhibit a dangerous lack of self-control.'"

The 5th Circuit's ruling rejects the idea that "the people" are limited to "law-abiding citizens." In the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, Smith notes, the Supreme Court held that the phrase, which appears in the Bill of Rights five times, "unambiguously refers to all members of the political community, not an unspecified subset." The Court also held that "the Second Amendment right is exercised individually and belongs to all Americans."

References to gun ownership by "law-abiding citizens" in Heller and Bruen, Smith says, should not be read to mean that anyone who breaks the law thereby sacrifices his Second Amendment rights. Rather, as the 5th Circuit suggested in United States v. Rahimi, a 2023 decision against the federal ban on gun possession by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders, that phrase should be read as "shorthand" alluding to "people who were historically 'stripped of their Second Amendment rights.'"

Do marijuana users fall into that category? The closest historical analogs that the Biden administration has cited in defense of Section 922(g)(3) are lawsone from the 17th century, one from the 18th century, and a few from the late 19th centurythat prohibited people from publicly carrying or firing guns while intoxicated. But those laws addressed a specific hazarddrunken gun handlingwith narrow restrictions. They applied only in public and only to people who were actively intoxicated. They did not apply to private possession of firearms, let alone impose a categorical ban on gun ownership by drinkers.

"Under the government's reasoning," Smith says, "Congress could ban gun possession by anyone who has multiple alcoholic drinks a weekbased on the postbellum intoxicated carry laws. The analogical reasoning Bruen prescribed cannot stretch that far."

The government also argued that Section 922(g)(3) is analogous to "longstanding prohibitions" on gun possession by "the mentally ill." That argument, Smith notes, is based on the premise that people who are "briefly mentally infirm as a result of intoxication" are similar to people who are "permanently mentally infirm" due to "illness or disability." But again, that argument makes sense only as applied to people who are currently intoxicated, as opposed to everyone who intermittently uses intoxicants, whether alcohol or illegal drugs such as marijuana.

Smith asks "which is Daniels more like: a categorically 'insane' person? Or a repeat alcohol user?" In light of "his periodic marihuana usage," Smith says, "Daniels is firmly in the latter camp. If and when Daniels uses marihuana, he may be comparable to a mentally ill individual whom the Founders would have disarmed. But while sober, he is like the repeat alcohol user in between periods of drunkenness."

Finally, the government argued that marijuana users are similar to "dangerous" classes of people who were traditionally disarmed, such as Catholics in 17th-century England and Loyalists during the Revolutionary War. Those laws, Smith says, were "generally based on concerns for the safety of the polity, but each disarmament also had its own unique political or social motivations. Almost all the laws disarming dissidents were passed during wartime or periods of unprecedented political turmoil. Indeed, Founding era governments did not disarm Loyalists because they were thought to lack self-control; it was because [they] were viewed as potential threats to the integrity of the state. The same was true of religious minoritiesthe perceived threat was as much political as it was religious."

Still, Smith concedes, it is true that "Founding-era governments took guns away from persons perceived to be dangerous." But a broad application of that principle, he notes, would be perilous to civil liberties: "The legislature cannot have unchecked power to designate a group of persons as 'dangerous' and thereby disarm them. Congress could claim that immigrants, the indigent, or the politically unpopular were presumptively 'dangerous' and eliminate their Second Amendment rights without judicial review. That would have 'no true limiting principle'and would render the Second Amendment a dead letter."

Under Bruen, Smith says, "the government must show that a historical danger-based disarmament is analogous to the challenged regulation." Yet "the government identifies no class of persons at the Founding (or even at Reconstruction) who were 'dangerous' for reasons comparable to marihuana users."

Cannabis consumers "are not a class of political traitors, as British Loyalists

were perceived to be," Smith writes. "Nor are they like Catholics and other religious dissenters who were seen as potential insurrectionists. And even if we consider the

racially discriminatory laws at the Founding, Daniels is not like the minorities who the Founders thought threatened violent revolt."

Smith notes that "neither Congress nor the states disarmed alcoholics, the group most closely analogous to marihuana users in the 18th and 19th centuries." As with "the government's analogy to mental illness," he says, "we must ask: Which are marihuana users more like: British Loyalists during the Revolution? Or repeat alcohol users? The answer is surely the latter."

In short, Smith writes, "Daniels's  922(g)(3) conviction is inconsistent with our 'history and tradition' of gun regulation." While the immediate impact of that assessment is limited to Daniels, it is clearly relevant to other prosecutions under that provision, as Judge Stephen Higginson notes in his concurring opinion.

As Higginson also notes, the Supreme has agreed to hear the Biden administration's appeal of the 5th Circuit's ruling in Rahimi. The outcome of that case should illuminate the extent to which Bruen threatens laws that deprive people of their Second Amendment rights based on legislative whims with little logical or historical basis.

The 5th Circuit joins at least two federal judges in concluding that Section 922(g)(3) fails the Bruen test. It also fails tests of fairness and common sense.

Although 38 states allow medical use of marijuana, including 23 that also have legalized recreational use, the drug is still prohibited under federal law. That means gun owners who use cannabis, even in states where it is legal, are guilty of the same felony as Daniels. If they falsely deny marijuana use on the form required for gun purchases from federally licensed dealers, they are guilty of two additional felonies, one punishable by up to five years in prison and the other by up to 10 years. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year, added yet another felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison: "trafficking in firearms," which Congress defined broadly enough to cover cannabis consumers who buy guns.

Biden says marijuana use should not be treated as a crime, a position reflected in his mass pardon for people convicted of simple possession under federal law. Yet his administration simultaneously insists that marijuana use justifies the loss of Second Amendment rights, arguing that cannabis consumers are so dangerous that they cannot be trusted with guns, even when they are completely sober. According to Congress, in fact, they are so dangerous that the government is justified in sending them to prison for years if it catches them with guns. The fact that conservative judges appointed by Republican presidents readily recognize the fallaciousness of that argument underlines how flimsy it is.

The post 5th Circuit Says Prosecuting a Cannabis Consumer for Possessing Guns Violated the Second Amendment appeared first on Reason.com.
Photo: Anaheim Police

Prosecutors say a Southern California judge accused of killing his wife had texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her.

A court filing seeking new bail conditions for Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson states his text said: I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I wont be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. Im so sorry. He was charged Friday with murder. Authorities say 47 weapons were seized from his home.

Prosecutors say Ferguson and his wife had been arguing at a restaurant on Aug. 3. They continued arguing after returning home.

The court document says the wife said something to the effect of why dont you point a real gun at me? and he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest.

The document says their adult son called 911 and said his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom.

Ferguson also called 911 to vaguely report the shooting.

Ferguson, 72, was arrested last week after his adult son called 911 to report his mother, Sheryl Ferguson, had been shot at the familys home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills, the district attorney's office said in a statement. He was released a day later on $1 million bail.

Prosecutors want additional bail conditions because authorities recovered 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of his home. A rifle registered in his name is not accounted for, the statement said.

They want Ferguson to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor.

Fergusons attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions. This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more, they said.

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He handles criminal cases in the Orange County city of Fullerton.
A trio of Republican elected officials must pay $75,000 in sanctions after losing their defamation case against a former Democratic state lawmaker, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.

The unanimous opinion from the three-judge panel upheld the decision of a lower court judge that U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, state Sen. Anthony Kern and former lawmaker Mark Finchem are on the hook for $75,000 in attorney fees.

The trio's lawsuit was frivolous and not justified, Yuma County Superior Court Judge Levi Gunderson ruled in April 2022. That triggered the award of attorney fees as a form of sanction.

Finchem and Kern, at the time both state House representatives, in 2021 sued then-House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez because she shared a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the two for their participation in the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol that turned violent.

Rep. Charlene R. Fernandez, D-Yuma, looks on during debate of HB 2898, a K-12 education bill, during the House Appropriations Committee hearing at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on May 25, 2021.

The letter also asked for an investigation into the role of Gosar and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for their roles in encouraging the protest and possibly helping to plan it.

Although every other Democrat at the state Legislature signed the letter, Finchem and Kern singled out Fernandez, saying she had shown particular animus toward them. Gosar later signed on to the lawsuit; Biggs did not.

The appeals court ruling, issued Tuesday, upheld the sanctions since the defamation suit was groundless and based in bad faith.

From left, Former Arizona state Rep. Anthony Kern, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar and former Arizona state Rep. and Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem.

Attorney David Bodney, who represented Fernandez, applauded the ruling.

This decision sends the important message that groundless cases, and claims pursued in bad faith, have no place in our judicial system," Bodney wrote in a statement.

Beyond providing justice for Fernandez, the ruling affirms the right of all citizens to share serious concerns about public safety with federal officials, Bodney said.

There was no immediate response for attorneys representing the lawmakers.

Bodney, an attorney with Ballard Spahr, frequently has served as The Republic's counsel in media law matters. He noted the sanctions will grow beyond the $75,000 from the lower court case. The appeals court has allowed Fernandez to seek attorney fees in the appeal as well. Bodney did not have an estimate at hand.

Bodney said there are legal means to collect the sanctions if the lawmakers balk. One of those methods was publicized earlier this week when Finchem paid $49,000 in sanctions after he was sent a discovery request seeking an exhaustive list of his assets, from real estate to guns.

The query into his financial details prompted Finchem to pay the sanctions stemming from his case contesting his loss in last fall's race for Arizona secretary of state.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Appeals Court backs $75K in sanctions against Gosar, Kern, Finchem
Developers say the Elevate Quarter will be "one of Europes largest life science campuses"

Plans for a new 15-building life science campus in Hertfordshire costing 900m have been approved.

The campus would provide 1.6 million square feet (148,645 sq m) of space for labs, offices and manufacturing facilities in Stevenage.

Developers UBS Asset Management and Reef Group said the project, named the Elevate Quarter, will be "one of Europes largest life science campuses", and claimed it could create up to 5,000 new jobs.

The space would also include restaurants, cafes, leisure facilities and three transport hubs providing multi-storey car and bike parking.

The buildings would be set around a central green with an interconnecting network of paths and open spaces.

Stevenage Borough Councils planning and development committee approved the plans, which would be located alongside drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline's global research and development facility and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.

The approval follows the company's existing project in Stevenage - the redevelopment of The Forum shopping centre into new manufacturing facilities, which was approved in February.

'Ideally positioned'

Piers Slater, joint chief executive of Reef Group, said: "The approval of our new life science campus further cements its position as Europe's leading cluster for advanced therapies.

"Stevenage is ideally positioned to attract world-class talent and the campus will facilitate further collaboration between major multinationals and biotechs.

"The campus has been designed to allow these life science businesses to grow and scale-up over time and to create an open and accessible environment for both employees and the wider public."

Dr Sally Ann Forsyth OBE, chief executive officer of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, added: "This is a landmark day for Stevenage and UK science, strengthening our position on the global stage for technological and scientific excellence."

Construction was expected to start at the end of the year with completion of the first phase for the end of 2025.

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 woman watched in horror Wednesday morning as her boss was robbed at gunpoint by a man who would soon after be fatally shot by police, according to 911 calls released Friday.

The woman, who did not give her name to the dispatcher, called 911 just before 7 a.m. Wednesday from inside her office at the Franklin County auto title bureau office, 45 Great Southern Blvd., on the Far South Side.

More: Suspect dead, Columbus police officer injured in shooting on Far South Side

Her tone was calm as she told the dispatcher there was a young man with a gun in the parking lot, but her demeanor quickly changed once she realized who else was outside.

"Oh my God! He's pointed it... He is outside; I am inside. He is pointing it at the cars. He's pointing it at my boss," she said, her voice quickened and shaking.

The woman described the man whom Columbus police later identified as Austin Paige Huntzinger, 29, who she said got into her boss' car and started to drive away. She watched the carjacking take place, punctuating the occasional silence on the line with the phrase, "Oh, God."

Columbus police arrived at the scene as Huntzinger started to drive away.

"Police are here," the woman told the dispatcher. "Jesus, they caught him."

Almost as soon as police arrived, an exchange of gunfire could be heard in the background. Columbus police accuse Huntzinger of firing at officers once they arrived on the scene, hitting one in the leg. At least one officer returned fire, hitting Huntzinger.

The woman exclaimed once more and beckoned her boss back inside the title office.

More: Man killed by Columbus police Wednesday had complicated history with law enforcement

Huntzinger was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he died at 7:21 a.m. The injured officer is expected to make a full recovery.

Columbus police released Huntzinger's name Thursday morning, along with few details about two officers involved in the shooting: One is a 15-year veteran of the Columbus Division of Police, and the other is a 12-year veteran of the department. Police are not releasing the officers' names, citing Marsy's Law, which aims to protect crime victims.

Police also denied The Dispatch's public records request for body camera footage of the shooting, also citing Marcy's Law and claiming the recording is defined as "restricted" because of its contents.

This is the second shooting involving Columbus police in August and the fourth since July 4. On July 6, a Columbus police officer was injured after being shot during an exchange of gunfire on Interstate 70, near West Mound Street.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 911 call: Suspect tried to steal a car before Columbus police shooting
Helpline Center CEO Janet Kittams speaks about the upcoming launch of the 988 crisis line on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Sioux Falls.

The first year of the 988 phone number, meant to provide citizens mental help support and access to resources, has been a success in South Dakota.

Thats according to Janet Kittams, the CEO of the Helpline Center in Sioux Falls. Kittams spoke about how 988 has been implemented in South Dakota during the second annual We Need to Talk Suicide Prevention Conference on Thursday in Sioux Falls.

I'm very, very pleased with the response that we have seen with 988, Kittams said.

Since the number was launched last July, over 7,000 people across South Dakotas 66 counties have used it.

Remind me how 988 works

The three-digit number, similar to 911, is intended to be an easy-to-remember nationwide number for people who have a mental health concern or are in a mental health crisis to use to get the help they may need in the moment.

988 also helps supplement the 1-800 National Suicide Prevention hotline. Since its launch, the 988 contact volume has gone up 130% compared to the 1-800 suicide prevention hotline.

More: 988 national suicide prevention hotline launches in July. What will it mean for South Dakotans?

That tells me that people are responding to that easy to remember phone number of 988 that resonates with people, Kittams said. They're using it much more so than the 1-800 number.

In South Dakota, 988 is run through a partnership between the Helpline Center and the Department of Social Services. DSS provides financial resources and planning while the Helpline Center staffs the call center with trained mental health counselors who interact with the callers.

Additionally, the 30 emergency dispatch centers across the state are also able to connect people in crisis to the 988 call center, helping reduce the number of law enforcement responses to mental health crises.

Kittams explained previously, 911 would dispatch law enforcement to mental health crisis calls and sometimes that doesnt have the most positive outcome because that person whos in that behavioral health crisis  it's quite jarring to have somebody show up at your doorstep who's wearing a badge and gun and maybe not what that person needs at that moment in time.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline logo

Over the past year, 96% of 988 calls didnt require further intervention, such as calling law enforcement or emergency responders, Kittams said.

Once someone calls 988, within an average of 13 seconds, theyre connected to a mental health counselor who talks with them about what the caller is experiencing, can do a crisis risk assessment and start the process of getting the caller connected to resources. At the end of the call, the counselor will offer to do a follow-up call within 24 hours to check in. A majority of the callers accept the offer.

It's very interesting when you talk [to them], Kittams said, adding 60% of people pick up for the follow up call. We get a lot of people who say, Oh, I didn't think you were really going to call So they're surprised that we made the call with them. We get a lot of comments from people like, You really are interested in making sure I'm doing okay even after I make that that first phone call to you.

The caller can also request additional follow up calls in the future.

Reaching everyone

Of the 7,281 contacts made to the 988 number between July 2022 and July 2023, which includes calls, texts and chats, 93% were calls.

And of those contacts, 40% were crisis-related showing that not everyone who is reaching 988 is experiencing a mental health crisis.

Kittams attributed the statistic to the success of the 988 marketing campaign.

More: Sioux Falls announces partner for 'street teams' to help city's unhoused population

988 is literally for any kind of mental health question or concern or crisis. Obviously you could still call it if you're in crisis, but I do want to encourage people to continue to share the message that it's not just for crisis.

Kittams explained the most common reasons for calling were concerns that included depression and anxiety, suicide and family struggles.

Around 46% of people age 29 or younger reached out to 988 and of that age group, 79% used the chat function.

Whats next?

In the coming months, there will be a heavy marketing push across social media, television and radio to let people know 988 is there when they need it.

South Dakota Urban Indian Health is also partnering with the Helpline Center to train the 988 staff on culturally competent responses for when Native American callers reach out. The partnership, which is also funded by a federal grant, will create awareness campaigns for Native Americans.

More: Sioux Falls will see a slight risk for severe thunderstorms Thursday night, NWS warns

Kittams expects the number of callers to fluctuate by months, but does anticipate an increase in calls as more people learn about the number.

988 is always a kind voice. Somebody who's compassionate, Kittams said. Somebody will be there to listen when they need it the most.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 988 in South Dakota a success with over 7000 contacts made
(Bloomberg) -- The collapse of the Dutch government is unlikely to derail plans for a partial sale of the states stake in ABN Amro Bank NV, according to the lenders head of finance.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Dutch state-holding company NLFI said in February it was planning to reduce its stake in ABN Amro to under 50% through a sale of depositary receipts, ending a five-year hiatus in the disposal of the lenders shares.

NLFI held a 56.3% stake at the time of the publication of ABN Amros 2022 annual report in March.

Its my full expectation that the current plan is just continuing, ABN Amros Chief Financial Officer Ferdinand Vaandrager said in an interview. To my knowledge, they are in execution of that program.

The February announcement came about a year after Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag asked NLFI to reconsider conditions under which the holding can be reduced. The last sale took place in September 2017, when the government sold a 7% stake for about 1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruttes coalition government abruptly collapsed last month, pausing policy-making and decisions ahead of an election scheduled for November.

I cannot say what the new government will look like, but the decision has been taken and they are in execution, Vaandrager said. NLFI acts independently from the Ministry of Finance.

Expressing Interest

The Dutch government bailed out ABN Amro during the 2008 financial crisis with a 22 billion rescue, transforming it from one of the worlds biggest banks to a consumer-focused lender for the domestic market. ABN Amro returned as a publicly traded company in November 2015, after the government sold a 23% stake in an initial offering.

While BNP Paribas SA and other lenders have previously expressed interest in a potential purchase of ABN Amro, talks with the government havent progressed meaningfully, Bloomberg reported in June last year, citing people familiar with the matter.

Major consolidation in European banking has stalled since the financial crisis despite the widely held view that greater scale would make struggling lenders more competitive. Rising rates that are lifting profit may now boost the prospects for dealmaking.

There will always be speculations, about ABN and other banks, Vaandrager said about a possible consolidation of banks involving the Dutch lender. But its absolutely not a top-of-mind topic for us.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
In this 2018 file photo, supporters gather outside the Justice Center in Daytona Beach to celebrate Ponce's Law, which addresses animal abuse.

A man suspected of brutally killing a rooster on Flagler Avenue in New Smyrna Beach last month could soon face severe animal cruelty charges.

According to state law, "a person who intentionally commits an act to any animal  which results in the cruel death, or excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering, or causes the same to be done, commits aggravated animal cruelty," a third-degree felony.

The suspect, who hasn't officially been charged, could face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000 if convicted.

The likelihood that he will face these penalties is higher since the Florida Legislature in 2018 passed Ponces Law, which increases the chances that an animal abuser will go to prison.

Several comments on the New Smyrna Beach Police Department's Facebook post about the incident called for the full application of the law.

More coverage: NSB police identifies accused rooster killer; animal cruelty charges ahead

But why does Ponces Law make it easier for animal abusers to get jail time? Here is what you need to know:

What is Ponces Law?

Ponces Law was signed in March 2018, increasing the likelihood of prison time and other punishments in animal cruelty cases.

The law is named after Ponce, a Labrador retriever puppy beaten to death in a Ponce Inlet backyard in April 2017.

According to the State Attorneys Office, the law increases a person's score on sentencing guidelines for felony animal cruelty from a Level 3 (16 points) to a Level 5 (28 points), bringing an offender closer to a prison term. Someone with an offense greater than 44 points scores prison time. In addition, the law also allows for a Florida judge to prohibit a convicted animal abuser from owning, possessing, keeping, harboring, or having custody or control over any animal for a period of time determined by the court.

Port Orange resident Debbie Darino led the charge for the law, organizing rallies and later founding a local nonprofit organization  The Ponce Animal Foundation  which helps animals in need of medical care and emergency treatment.

Why are there roosters on Flagler Avenue?

The roosters wandering up and down along Flagler Avenue are no strangers to New Smyrna Beach. They have been in the area for many years, and it is difficult to determine exactly where they came from or when locals and visitors started noticing them.

Several can be spotted during the day at the Columbus Avenue public parking lot, right next to the Coronado Civic Center.

A rooster wanders around the Columbus Avenue parking lot near Flagler Avenue in New Smyrna Beach, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

From there, these roosters explore the citys iconic street as they wish, visiting restaurants and stores.

Although they have become part of the Flagler Avenue scene, their relationship with people is not always good.

Every few years, one or two have reportedly chased and clawed at people walking by in the street.

Flagler restaurant reopens: Almost 3 months after devastating fire, Ocean Breeze Tiki Bar restaurant reopens in NSB

But that has never turned into a bigger issue in the city, and residents even manage to find the fun in the situation.

There is even an Instagram profile called Flagler Ave Rooster, with a bio that states, in part, I love you all. Dont chase me.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Alleged rooster killer in NSB could face Ponce's Law punishments
People gather while waiting for flights at the Kahului Airport in Kahului, Hawaii, on Wednesday, as fires swept across the island. (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

The Hawaiian island of Maui is asking visitors to stay away as it tries to recover from devastating wildfires.

Officials said Thursday morning that two of the three fires on Maui were largely contained. But the damage to portions of the island is extensive, particularly in the tourism-heavy region of West Maui, where fire appears to have incinerated much of the historic town of Lahaina.

The Kahului Airport on Maui remains open, at least in part because of all the people being evacuated (officials have asked all visitors on "non-essential" trips to leave). With the wildfires causing more than 50 deaths and an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion in damage and economic losses, the Hawaiian government is strongly discouraging tourists from coming to the island.

If you had a vacation planned, this is what you need to know.

Read more: Mapping how the Maui fires destroyed Lahaina

Should I cancel my trip to Hawaii?

The state tourism authority emphasized that most parts of Hawaii continue to welcome visitors. Travel to Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai" and parts of Hawaii Island other than the Mauna Kea resort area "are not affected at this time, the authority said on its website Wednesday. By Thursday, the Mauna Kea Resort on the big island was open again after three fires in the area were brought under control, the authority said.

Maui, and particularly West Maui, is a different story. The tourism authority said Wednesday night that visitors bound for West Maui in the coming weeks are encouraged to consider rescheduling their travel plans for a later time.

In the days and weeks ahead, our collective resources and attention must be focused on the recovery of residents and communities that were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses, the authority said.

Read more: Death toll in Maui fires rises to 67: 'We have not yet searched' buildings

What can I do about my flight to Hawaii?

Some major airlines offer customers the ability to obtain refunds for travel to Maui in the coming weeks, as well as the option to reschedule their flights. The exact terms depend on the airline.

At United Airlines, if you had paid for a flight to Kahului Airport between Aug. 11 and Aug. 31, you can cancel and get a refund, according to the United website. You can also reschedule your trip and the change fees and fare differences will be waived under certain circumstances.

If your new trip is after Aug. 31 or is to a destination outside Hawaii, United will still waive any change fees, but you may have to pay a fare difference, depending on the flight.

At Delta Air Lines, customers who can't reschedule their trips to Maui may cancel their reservations and apply the ticket cost to the purchase of new flight  but that flight has to be booked no more than a year after the Maui ticket was purchased, the airline's website says.

If you schedule a new flight on or before Aug. 18 at the same level of service as the Maui flight, Delta's website says it will waive the change fee and any difference in fare. After that, only the change fee will be waived.

The American Airlines site suggests that refunds are possible for flights to or through Maui if you cancel by Aug. 13. You can apply for one on the airline's website.

If you want to reschedule your flight, American will waive the change fee if you rebook by Aug. 13, but you may have to pay any difference in the fare. To see if your flight is eligible for a refund or fee waiver, use the Find your trip tool on the airline's website. If you can't change your trip online, call Reservations for help.

At Alaska Airlines, if you'd purchased a ticket to or from Maui by Aug. 9, you can obtain a refund as long as you cancel before the original flight's departure date, the airline's website says. You can also reschedule onto a new flight to or from Maui or three other Hawaiian airports through Aug. 31 at the same fare if you stay in the same cabin. But you have to exchange their tickets prior to the departure of their original flight.

Hawaiian Airlines is allowing customers to cancel their flights in exchange for a refund or a credit for future flights, or to change their flights to a different island, its website says. To change or cancel your flight, call the airline's reservations line at 800-367-5320.

A spokesperson for the airline said, We ask guests with non-urgent inquiries to please call back later so that we can assist travelers with immediate needs. Guests traveling through Kahului should continue to check their flight status on our website or app before coming to the airport."

Read more: How to help Maui residents displaced by the devastating wildfires

Will my hotel charge me a fee to cancel my stay in Maui?

Under normal circumstances, many hotels penalize last-minute cancellations by charging fees that can be considerable. Some in West Maui are waiving those fees at the moment, but figuring out the policy at the hotel you've booked can be a challenge  the closer it is to the fire, the more likely that its power and phone lines are down.

The Hyatt family of hotels is waiving cancellation fees for arrivals in the coming days, the company said in a statement. It suggested that guests with reservations call its customer support line at 800-233-1234 for additional details and assistance in alternate accommodations. It also noted, however, that canceled reservations made through online booking sites and other third parties may be governed by those sites' policies.

An Expedia spokesperson told The Times in an email that it is working with hotels that book through Expedia and Hotels.com to institute a flex policy for reservations on the full island of Maui through Aug. 31. This means that travelers with upcoming bookings in the impacted area can change or cancel their hotel booking without penalty, she said. The flex policy can be accessed when you engage with a virtual agent once you log into your account or provide your itinerary number to the virtual agent.

Expedia and Hotels.coms customer service agents are available 24 hours a day by phone or online to help with travel arrangements.

According to a spokesperson for Marriott hotels, the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Ka'anapali, the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and the Ritz-Carlton Maui in Kapalua have been evacuated and will close temporarily due to extended power outages. Cancellation fees at the three hotels have been waived through Aug. 31. She advised travelers to the area to follow the news and MauiCounty.gov for local situation updates. To adjust reservations, guests should visit Marriott.com or the Marriott app.

If youre headed for other parts of Maui or the Mauna Kea resort area on the island of Hawaii, the state tourism authority says, you should talk to the hotel you booked for updates about how you might be affected.

Hotels in Maui may still be taking reservations, and some are providing refunds up to the date of travel. For example, you could book a room for next week at the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort on Thursday afternoon, even though the power and phone lines at the resort were out, according to a reservation agent.

Read more: 'Gone forever': Fire devastates historic Lahaina, former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom

Can I cancel my Vrbo or Airbnb?

Expedia Group, which owns Vrbo, said in a statement that it is "applying an extenuating circumstances exception for eligible Vrbo reservations in Maui where travelers will be able to get a full refund." It added, "We will continue to work with our Vrbo hosts who have upcoming bookings in impacted areas to make sure all of our travelers are treated fairly."

Airbnb customer service says that they will provide penalty-free cancellations in parts of Maui for hosts and guests who request them. However, people need to call the site's customer service line at (844) 234-2500 to make sure that they are eligible.

Travelers whose accommodations arent directly affected by the fires may have a harder time obtaining a refund.

One reader told The Times that he and his wife wanted to heed the governments request and cancel their trip to Maui, but their Airbnb host declined to give them even a partial refund on their $2,000 stay. According to Airbnbs site, cancellations and refunds are up to the hosts , not Airbnb.

Will travel insurance cover me?

According to the insurance comparison site Insuremytrip.com, If a wildfire that affects your trip is known before you purchase a plan, your coverage may be extremely limited. So if you are thinking of purchasing travel insurance now for a trip in the coming weeks, dont bother.

What you can do is see if wildfires fall under the definition of natural disaster on your travel insurance policy. You may also be eligible for coverage under trip delay if your flight is canceled, trip interruption if your accommodations or primary residence are damaged, or trip cancellation if your destination has been evacuated, Insuremytrip says.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Kakapo birds will soon be found on New Zealands mainland for the first time in 40 years  thanks to an effort to discover suitable alternative habitats.

Its a boost for conservation efforts, which drew from modern science and Maori knowledge to bring the bird back from the brink of extinction.

In 1995, it was thought that only 51 kakapos were still in existence, but between 2016 and 2022, the population reached a high of 252.

1. Last week we translocated 4 critically endangered #kakapo back to mainland NZ  the first time in living memory. One way well keep a close eye on them is through their smart transmitters connected to a data network  as on other kakapo islands. #Tech4Wildlife #conservation pic.twitter.com/TJU93weVkA  Dr Andrew Digby (@takapodigs) July 28, 2023

Kakapos are flightless birds  they are also known as owl parrots  and last lived on the New Zealand mainland in the 1980s, when efforts to move them offshore and away from predators began.

They were hunted to near extinction by predators, and now most live on five offshore islands. Five birds were in captivity on the North Island in the 1960s, but theyve not been seen there since.

The effort to bring them back to the mainland has been spurred by the Department of Conservation and the South Islands Ngai Tahu tribe.

Four male birds will be relocated in the program on Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. While they arent being brought to breed, this is still a symbolic step for the future of the kakapo population.

Bunker was one of four juvenile male #kakapo released into Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain last week, in the first translocation to the mainland in living memory. Well monitor them closely to ensure they settle in well. #conservation #returnofthekakapo pic.twitter.com/xbVzGfYcBF  Dr Andrew Digby (@takapodigs) July 24, 2023

According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation blog, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is as close to a pre-human ecosystem as you can get in New Zealand. The addition of a 29-mile fence keeps predators out so kakapo and other species can thrive.

If the translocation is a success, five or six more could join the initial group later in 2023.

Deidre Vercoe, the Department of Conservations manager for kakapos, said in a statement, Until now, kakapo[s] have been contained to a few predator-free offshore islands, so to have them now returning to the mainland is a major achievement for all involved.

Its still unknown whether they will successfully establish here long-term, Vercoe continued. The main focus of this translocation is to learn if kakapo[s] can thrive in a fenced sanctuary, while taking pressure off the islands ahead of future breeding seasons.

Bunker the kakapos first encounter with the Maungatautari ngahere. Congratulations to all connected to @maungatautari_s for all the hard work required to realise this dream. pic.twitter.com/rimJfxbJIV  Bruce Clarkson (@BruceClarkson2) July 20, 2023

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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, as well as any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation.

"I'm here today to announce the appointment of David Weiss as a special counsel consistent with the Department of Justice regulations governing such matters. In keeping with those regulations, I have today notified the designated members of each House of Congress of the appointment," Garland said at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Weiss is the federal prosecutor who has investigated the business dealings of Hunter Biden and brought charges against him in Delaware. His appointment as special counsel indicates that, contrary to Hunter's defense lawyers' claims, the Justice Department investigation into President Biden's son is not over.

Garland said Tuesday that Weiss told him that "in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be appointed."

MONEY GUY: THIS HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS PARTNER COULD BLOW THE LID OFF BIDEN FAMILY'S BUSINESS DEALINGS

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe.

"Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

A senior Justice Department official said the White House was not informed of Garland's decision before the announcement.

In July, Weiss announced a probation-only plea agreement for Hunter in which he'd plead guilty to tax evasion charges. However, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, rejected the agreement after expressing several concerns over its provisions.

Republicans had criticized the agreement as a "sweetheart" deal and have pursued their own investigation into the Biden family's business dealings, with an eye towards impeaching the president.

Talks between federal prosecutors and Hunter's defense team subsequently broke down after the government acknowledged he was still under federal investigation.

JOE BIDEN LETTER TO DEVON ARCHER UNDERSCORES HIS CLOSENESS TO HUNTER BIDEN'S BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

U.S. Attorney David Charles Weiss has been named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Garland confirmed Friday that investigation is still ongoing. In a press release, the Justice Department said Weiss will serve as special counsel "for the ongoing investigation and prosecutions referenced and described in United States v. Robert Hunter Biden, as well as for any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation."

That language leaves open the possibility that other members of the Biden family, including President Biden, could be part of this investigation. When asked if President Biden is being investigated as part of this probe, a Department of Justice official declined to comment.

House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, blasted Weiss' appointment in a statement issued through a spokesman.

"David Weiss cant be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familys corruption. Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it. We will continue to pursue facts brought to light by brave whistleblowers as well as Weisss inconsistent statements to Congress." said Jordan spokesman Russell Dye.

BILL BARR SAYS HUNTER BIDEN PROBE LEGITIMATE, BUT HIS ACTIONS CAN BE SHAMEFUL WITHOUT BEING ILLEGAL

President Biden, left and his son Hunter Biden are targets of a Republican-led congressional investigation into the Biden family's allegedly corrupt business dealings.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., accused the DOJ of attempting to "cover up" the Biden family's alleged crimes.

"This move by Attorney General Garland is part of the Justice Departments efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of the House Oversight Committees mounting evidence of President Joe Bidens role in his familys schemes selling the brand for millions of dollars to foreign nationals. The Justice Departments misconduct and politicization in the Biden criminal investigation already allowed the statute of limitations to run with respect to egregious felonies committed by Hunter Biden. Justice Department officials refused to follow evidence that could have led to Joe Biden, tipped off the Biden transition team and Hunter Bidens lawyers about planned interviews and searches, and attempted to sneakily place Hunter Biden on the path to a sweetheart plea deal," Comer said.

He continued: "Lets be clear what todays move is really about. The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption. The House Oversight Committee will continue to follow the Biden familys money trail and interview witnesses to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised and corrupt, and our national security is threatened. We will also continue to work with the House Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means to root out misconduct at the Justice Department and hold bad actors accountable for weaponizing law enforcement powers."

Weiss' appointment as special counsel will grant him broad authority to conduct a sweeping investigation of Hunter Biden without interference from the Biden administration. Fox News Legal Editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn, a former spokesperson for Attorney General Wiliam Barr, said Friday the appointment also provides Weiss and Garland "some protection and coverage."

"It protects [Weiss] and allows him to keep looking at things," Urbahn told Fox News. "It also allows Attorney General Garland to create some distance between Main Justice and this investigation as well, which is at a minimum politically expedient for him."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo: The Canadian Press Donald Trump likes being on television. But the most dramatic moment of his political career  standing trial in the U.S. capital on charges of trying to subvert democracy  is set to transpire beyond the gaze of cameras. This artist sketch depicts former President Donald Trump, right, conferring with defense lawyer Todd Blanche, left, during his appearance at the Federal Courthouse in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Dana Verkouteren

Donald Trump likes being on television. But the most dramatic moment of his political career  standing trial in the U.S. capital on charges of trying to subvert democracy  is set to transpire beyond the gaze of cameras.

A growing chorus of voices, including from the former president's own defence team, hopes to convince the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to change that.

"The public not only has a right but has a need to see what happens in that courtroom," said Dan Shelley, president and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association.

"The only way the world can have any modicum of trust in whatever the outcome of the case is if they're able to see it and hear it with their own eyes and ears."

The RTDNA has been advocating for American broadcast journalists since 1946, the very same year the U.S. court system first prohibited photography or broadcasting during federal criminal proceedings.

That 77-year symmetry will come full circle when the association leads a coalition to petition the Judicial Conference, a policy-making arm presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, to make an exception for Trump.

The high court began streaming live audio of arguments back in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roberts opted last year to leave the feature in place even after the courtroom doors were reopened to the public.

"It's not too much of a leap to go from that to video," Shelley said.

"But there seems to be something in the DNA of the federal judiciary, particularly most if not all of the nine sitting members of the U.S. Supreme Court, who feel like that would be a step too far. And it makes no logical sense to us."

Trump's own lawyer, John Lauro, has said he would welcome live coverage. And a group of Democrats in Congress also wants cameras allowed at both the D.C. trial and the classified documents trial playing out in Florida.

"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 38 Democrats, including California Rep. Adam Schiff, wrote to the conference.

"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."

Time appears to be of the essence: prosecutors in Washington proposed Thursday that Trump's trial begin as soon as Jan. 2 of next year to "vindicate the public's strong interest" in a speedy trial.

It's only the latest step in a long, meandering journey that has produced a patchwork landscape across the U.S., from networks that offer gavel-to-gavel coverage of state murder trials to federal courtrooms where even cellphones are banned.

It began in the 1930s with the trial for Richard Hauptmann, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in the sensational kidnapping case of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old son.

"The Lindbergh trial is often blamed as the watershed moment when cameras were pushed out of the courts," said Mary Angela Bock, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

"It took until the mid-20th century for various state court systems to allow cameras back at different levels, but the federal courts have resisted it every single step of the way."

It's a far cry from Canada, a country that has only dabbled with cameras  with the odd exception of the Supreme Court itself, which livestreams arguments that are later carried on the Canadian Parliamentary Access Channel.

"Canada has been always, at least at the trial level, more measured," said Janice Tibbetts, a journalism professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who teaches a course on covering Canada's legal system.

"The law profession in Canada is generally pretty conservative. And they have strongly argued against the potential of impeding a fair trial  so I don't think you're going to see Canadian Court TV any time soon."

There are compelling arguments for keeping cameras outside the courthouse, Tibbetts noted, including the protection of witnesses and victims, ensuring the integrity of their testimony and discouraging lawyers from grandstanding.

"There are all of these things that can really change the way a trial happens because there are cameras there to capture it."

And Bock pointed out that amending the rules for a single high-profile accused would risk jeopardizing one of the most sacrosanct principles of the justice system: equal treatment under the law.

"The essence of this particular federal case is that he is not above the law, and therefore must be treated just like everybody else."

Indeed, during a hearing Friday that Trump did not attend, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan made clear to his lawyers that their client would receive no special treatment just because he's running for president.

"If that means he can't say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, then that's how it's going to be," Chutkan said.

Trump was contesting restrictions proposed by prosecutors who fear the former president's penchant for picking fights on social media could be used to intimidate witnesses or disclose sensitive information.

Chutkan agreed that the protective order need not be as restrictive as the one government lawyers had requested, and instead appeared inclined to limit only the release of certain secret materials, such as grand jury evidence.

Rarely does the sheer magnitude of a trial change how the legal system operates. But prosecuting a former U.S. president  let alone one as outspoken as Trump  is already proving seismic.

"This criminal trial is being conducted in the name of the people of the United States," Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general and decorated D.C. litigator, wrote last week in the Washington Post.

"It is our tax dollars at work. We have a right to see it. And we have the right to ensure that rumour mongers and conspiracy theorists don't control the narrative."
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel in the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, signaling a wider probe of President Joe Biden's son ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Garland announced Friday that he is elevating David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has led the Hunter Biden investigation for five years, to special counsel status.

Garland, delivering a surprise statement from the Justice Department headquarters, said Weiss informed him on Tuesday that "his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel" and asked for the appointment.

"Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers a statement at the U.S. Department of Justice Aug.11 in Washington. Garland announced that U.S. Attorney David Weiss will be appointed special counsel in the ongoing probe of Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden.

The move marks a significant turn in the Justice Department's ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden, whose plea deal with prosecutors to resolve tax evasion and gun charges unraveled in court last month.

Shortly after the special counsel appointment, prosecutors filed a motion stating that the two sides are at an "impasse" and that the government expects the matter to go to trial. The Justice Department is seeking to move the case to either a federal court in Washington or California, which prosecutors argue would be the appropriate venues for the alleged crimes.

Chris Clark, Hunter Biden's attorney, said the special counsel designation "doesnt change our understanding of Mr. Weiss authority over the 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden."

"For years, both Mr. Weiss and the Department have assured us and the public that Mr. Weiss had more authority than a special counsel and full authority to negotiate a resolution of his investigation  which has been done," Clark said. "Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and well do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.

As special counsel, Weiss will have the authority to bring charges in any federal court he chooses.

A federal judge in Delaware last month would not accept a plea deal between Hunter Biden and prosecutors after the judge raised concerns about the terms of the agreement including assurance Hunter Biden's legal team sought for immunity from any future criminal charges.

Hunter Biden's last court appearance ended with him pleading not guilty to two misdemeanor charges for failing to pay his taxes in 2017 and 2018, when he received more than $1.5 million each year. The plea deal also covered a gun charge and would have allowed him to enter a pretrial diversion program that could eventually wipe the charge off the record.

The White House declined to comment on the appointment of a special counsel.

Weiss' special counsel designation comes as House Republicans have accelerated their wide-ranging investigation into Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings while he was chairman of the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.

Republicans have tried to tied Hunter Biden's business activity to actions from then-Vice President Joe Biden, pointing to recent testimony from Devon Archer, a business associate of Hunter, before the House Oversight Committee that Hunter Biden put his father on the speakerphone 20 times with his business partners present. But Archer said business was never discussed, and Republicans have yet to present evidence supporting their claims that Joe Biden accepted bribery payments.

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, departs the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Wilmington, Del. Biden pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prosecution on an additional gun charge. However, the federal judge overseeing the case unexpectedly delayed Biden's plea deal and deferred her decision until more information is put forth by both the prosecution and the defense.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the Oversight Committee, slammed Garland's appointment of a special counsel, saying it is "part of the Justice Departments efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup" after his committee's "mounting evidence" he claims implicated Joe Biden.

Lets be clear what todays move is really about," Comer added. "The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption."

The campaign of former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, had a similar take.

The fix is in, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. David Weiss cut Hunter Biden an unprecedented plea deal that attempted to give Joe Biden's corrupt son blanket immunity. Now, Merrick Garland expects us to trust Weiss to be the Special Counsel that finally brings Hunter Biden to justice.

Gary Shapley, an FBI agent who supervised the Hunter Biden investigation, told the House Ways and Means Committee last month that the Justice Department had denied earlier requests from Weiss for a special counsel. The Justice Department disputes that account. Garland said Weiss in a July letter to Congress said he had not sought a special counsel designation to that point.

The Justice Department is facing unprecedented scrutiny from Republicans as Special Counsel Jack Smith pursues criminal charges against Trump in separate cases involving Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election and failure to return classified documents after he left the White House.

Garland in January also appointed a special counsel, Robert Hur, to investigate classified documents found in Bidens home in Delaware and personal office in Washington. The investigation is ongoing.

As special counsel, Weiss, a Trump appointee, will not be subject to day-to-day supervision by anyone in the Justice Department, Garland said. Weiss will remain the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware.

Garland said the special counsel appointment confirms his commitment to "provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests." He said it also "reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs" to conduct a thorough investigation and continue to "take the steps he deems appropriate independently based only on the facts and the law."

Following the special counsel's investigation, Garland said Weiss will provide him a report detailing decisions on whether to prosecute. Garland said the Justice Department will "make as much of his report public as possible."

"The appointment of Mr. Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland said.

Contributing: USA TODAY White House correspondent Francesca Chambers. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AG Garland appoints special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden
CAPTCHA Real Smooth

Researchers have found that bots are shockingly good at completing CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), which are those small, annoying puzzles designed  ironically  to verify that you're really human.

In fact, as the team led by Gene Tsudik at the University of California, Irvine discovered, the bots are actually way better and faster at solving these tests than us, a worrying sign that the already-aging tech is on its way out.

As detailed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper, the researchers found that despite CAPTCHAs having "evolved in terms of sophistication and diversity" over roughly two decades, techniques to "defeat or bypass CAPTCHAs" have also vastly improved.

"If left unchecked, bots can perform these nefarious actions at scale," the paper reads.

"We do know for sure that [the tests] are very much unloved. We didnt have to do a study to come to that conclusion," Tsudik told New Scientist. "But people dont know whether that effort, that colossal global effort that is invested into solving CAPTCHAs every day, every year, every month, whether that effort is actually worthwhile."

Turing Guessed

The researchers found that 120 of the 200 most popular websites used CAPTCHAs to verify users were human. They then asked 1,400 participants of various levels of tech savviness to complete a total of 14,000 of these CAPTCHAs and compared the accuracy to bots designed to defeat the puzzles.

The major takeaway: CAPTCHA-beating bots that have been created by researchers over the years soundly beat these human participants, not only in speed, but accuracy as well: human accuracy ranged from 50 to 84 percent, while bots boasted a stunning 99.8 percent accuracy.

"Theres no easy way using these little image challenges or whatever to distinguish between a human and a bot anymore," co-author Andrew Searles, also a researcher at UC Irvine, told New Scientist.

Recent progress in the development of machine learning has given the bots a huge leg up. In fact, OpenAI's GPT-4 was even able to fool a human into solving a CAPTCHA on its behalf earlier this year.

"In general, as a concept CAPTCHA has not met the security goal, and currently is more an inconvenience for less determined attackers," Shujun Li at the University of Kent, UK, who was not involved in the study, told New Scientist, adding that we need "more dynamic approaches using behavioral analysis."

More on CAPTCHAs: Uh Oh, OpenAI's GPT-4 Just Fooled a Human Into Solving a CAPTCHA
As the AI industry's market value continues to balloon, experts are warning that its meteoric rise is eerily similar to that of a different  and significant  moment in economic history: the dot com bubble of the late 1990s.

The dot com bubble  and subsequent crash  was an era defined by a gold rush-like frenzy and inflated valuations. Hungry to cash in on a new, lucrative age of technology, venture capitalists took to throwing large sums at companies that, though they made all the right promises about their ability to change the world, had yet to actually prove their viability. And when the vast majority of these ventures ultimately fell short, they failed, swallowing roughly $5 trillion in fundraising as they sank into www dot oblivion.

Fast forward to today, as The Wall Street Journal details in a new report, and that same gold rush energy is palpable in the burgeoning AI marketplace. VCs are all too happy to pour massive amounts of cash into a growing constellation of AI firms, even those that have yet to turn a profit. Or, for that matter, have yet to even introduce a discernible product.

Company leaders, meanwhile, continue to make sweeping claims about the transformational power of their tech, which they consistently argue could save the world, destroy it, or  conveniently  both. Investors keep biting, and, per the WSJ, the stocks keep rising  shares of Nvidia, for example, the chipmaker whose GPUs are sought after for AI projects, have tripled in value this year, while tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, which are all working on AI tech, have seen their stock prices skyrocket by 154 percent, 65 percent, and 35 percent, respectively.

And yet, though the tech is impressive, its true value  nevermind path to profitability  is still wildly unclear.

"There's a huge boom in AI  some people are scrambling to get exposure at any cost, while others are sounding the alarm that this will end in tears," Kai Wu, founder and chief investment officer of Sparkline Capital, told the WSJ. "Investors can benefit from innovation-led growth, but must be wary of overpaying for it."

Another striking similarity between AI and dot com? Market concentration. Per the WSJ, the ten biggest stocks in the S&P 500 right now make up more than a third of the total market, and this "concentration of leadership," as Mike Edwards, the deputy chief investment officer at the firm Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, told the WSJ, is "the market story that rhymes most with the internet bubble."

But while the comparisons between these economic times certainly shouldn't be ignored, there are some big differences as well. Most notable is that most of the biggest players in the AI industry are longtime Silicon Valley behemoths, and have been working on developing the technology for a while. Think Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and so on. Some of these firms are even dot com survivors, and for decades have been able to keep themselves afloat amid various technological trends.

And sure, a fair share of newer companies have entered the public mainstage. But even the most prominent newbie of the bunch, the heavily Microsoft-funded OpenAI, was founded by a gaggle of Silicon Valley vets  Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, since-defected Elon Musk, et al  with deep tech industry ties. The same goes for ventures like Character.AI and Humane Inc., founded by ex-Google and Apple executives, respectively.

"It's not like 1999 when investors were racing to hot IPOs for companies that had no chance of making money," Edwards told the WSJ. "Today's winners are disciplined, enormous companies that have moats in place and data sets to exploit."

Still, even the most seasoned companies, executives, and VCs can get too caught up in the hype of it all, and may well stumble in the race to establish their dominance and relevancy in a changing technological landscape. Plus, as a general rule, a high-dollar feedback loop never feels particularly healthy, and cracks in some leading industry players are already starting to show.

As a select few dot com firms did, some AI ventures will likely stick around. But a lot of them probably won't, and given what we know about the ghosts of dot com's past, wariness  something often lost in the fog of war  is more than warranted.

More on AI: The Company Behind Stable Diffusion Appears to Be Crumbling into Chaos
Ukrainian forces intercepted one out of four Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles that Russia targeted at an airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on Aug. 11, the Air Force reported.

The report said that four Russian MiG-31K fighter jets launched the missiles at around 10 a.m. from the northern direction from Russia's Tula and Lipetsk oblasts, aiming at the Kolomyia airfield in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

According to the Air Force, one of the projectiles was shot down over Kyiv Oblast. In the capital, missile debris fell in three locations in the Obolonskyi district, including a children's hospital territory, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reported. There were no casualties.

The other Kinzhals struck near the Kolomiia airfield and damaged civilian infrastructure. One of the missiles hit a private residence in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, killing an 8-year-old child, the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said that Russian forces targeted military airfields, as well as young pilots who are scheduled to undergo training on Western F-16 fighter jets.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, which borders Romania, is a rare target of Russian attacks. The region lies hundreds of kilometers away from the front lines.

Read also: Russias Kinzhal missile is not hypersonic. Nor is it invincible

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The Ukrainian authorities have announced an air-raid warning across the country due to the risk of missile strikes. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, and the Kyiv City Military Administration (KCMA) reported that air defence was responding.

Source: air-raid warning map; Ukrainian Air Force and the KCMA on Telegram

Details: At around 10:00, the Air Force reported a missile threat throughout Ukraine due to the take-off of a Russian MiG-31K interceptor jet from Savasleyka airfield.

At 09:59, the Air Force reported that X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles were launched from the MiG-31K towards Kyiv Oblast, and urged people to take cover.

Quote from the Head of the KCMA, Serhii Popko: "Air defence is responding in the capital! The missile threat continues! Stay in shelters!".

Update: At 10:30, the all-clear was given.

Quote from the Air Force of Ukraine: "The threat has been averted. Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts remain under threat due to the activity of enemy tactical aircraft from the southeastern direction."

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!
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam  The U.S. Air Force is rethinking how it would medically evacuate thousands of wounded American troops from the Pacific in a matter of weeks if the military sustained high casualties in a war with China.

Such a conflict would force the militarys flying ambulances to reckon with thousands of miles of open ocean, a lack of full-service health facilities and the logistical challenges of transporting and cooling medical supplies across the region, airmen told Air Force Times during a recent visit to Guam.

To save the lives of their fellow service members, they said, medevac units will need to fly longer, triage more injuries and illnesses in midair and work more closely with their international partners than ever before.

Inside the Air Force's massive mobility war game in the Pacific

Its the readiness factor, ensuring that were not just mission-capable [in] how we have been doing aeromedical evacuation as we always have, said Lt. Col. Stephanie Ellenburg, who sets the standard for patient care across nearly three dozen medevac units as commander of the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Are we truly getting ready [for] what potentially is out there? she asked.

A new paradigm

Medics from the U.S. Air Force and six allied countries sought to answer that question last month at Mobility Guardian, the Air Forces two-week, biennial training exercise for its airlift and aerial refueling units.

Their efforts will shape a new framework for aeromedical evacuation at Air Mobility Command, the branch of the Air Force that manages medevac units.

The initiative is part of AMC boss Gen. Mike Minihans push to transform his command for major operations in the Pacific, after the Pentagon named China as Americas top competitor in military strength, technology development and global influence.

Minihan warned airmen in a memo earlier this year to prepare for a potential war with China as early as 2025.

Lt. Col. Stephanie Ellenburg, 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron commander, speaks to the AE crew during joint medical training on a Royal Air Force A400M Atlas over the Indo-Pacific region July 14 during Mobility Guardian 2023. (Staff Sgt. Devin Rumbaugh/Air Force)

If the U.S. responds to a Chinese attack on Taiwan  the democratically self-governed island that maintains military and trade ties with the United States but is claimed by China  Air Force medics could face an onslaught of combat wounds and a limited number of aircraft on which to treat them.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, has estimated that 6,900 to 10,000 U.S. troops would be killed, wounded or missing in a conflict with China. Those killed in action could comprise around half of the casualties.

In three weeks, the United States will suffer about half as many casualties as it did in 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the think tank said in a Jan. 9 report.

That volume of casualties would put immense pressure on military medevac to carry as many troops to safety as possible.

Officials say that requires a shift in the Air Forces current aeromedical evacuation enterprise, on which the military relies to move patients between major bases and hospitals around the globe.

In a typical medevac, troops would call for help and wait for air planners to assign medics and an aircraft to pick up a wounded or ill patient. But in the Pacific, vast distances and schedule demands  and potentially, combat losses  mean the coalition may not have the luxury of waiting for on-call units from nearby bases to arrive.

Reorganizing those teams can help. At Mobility Guardian, small medical crews armed with large backpacks of supplies traveled with airlift squadrons to respond to simulated emergencies on the spot. Airmen had to use their own judgment and prioritize treatment for those with the highest chance of survival, the Air Force said in a July 20 release.

That approach also helps keep missions moving if a unit cant speak to troops on the ground or receive orders from higher headquarters.

The Air Force should be able to tack more airmen and equipment onto those basic teams, depending on the situation, Ellenburg added. For instance, a unit may need to pick up pediatric supplies or a respiratory therapist in Guam.

Aeromedical evacuation teams will also need to keep patients stable in flight for longer periods of time, as they hop between facilities that provide lower-level care on their way back to major military hospitals in the U.S., like Hawaiis Tripler Army Medical Center. That will require airmen to balance the amount of equipment they carry on flights with the need to travel light on aircraft full of other cargo.

Royal Canadian Air Force and U.S. Air Force aeromedical evacuation personal work on simulated patients during Mobility Guardian 23 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, July 10. (Tech. Sgt. Sean Carnes/Air Force)

Those teams could start small and localized on aircraft like the C-130 Hercules cargo plane, which can land on austere outposts with dirt strips instead of full-fledged runways. Later, they could hand off patients to teams on faster C-17 Globemaster III airlifters, which have more room for people and supplies.

C-17s, seen as the gold standard for aeromedical missions because of their built-in power supply, lighting and square footage, could then ferry their patients to their final destination.

Working together

Ideally, Ellenburg said, the U.S. and its allies will standardize their teams, processes and lingo so that injured troops receive the same level of care, regardless of who picks them up.

That means American medevac teams need to be jacks of all trades like their foreign counterparts, and less beholden to checklists that can be thorough but cumbersome.

Interoperability is made easier when countries fly the same aircraft, like the C-17s the U.S. shares with Australia or the C-130s it has in common with Japan.

On a July 10 training sortie, American airmen joined their Australian counterparts on a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 to go through the motions of loading litter-bound patients onto the plane and checking their vitals in flight.

Royal Australian Air Force aviators, assigned to the 3rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, and U.S. airmen, assigned to the 375th AES, conduct joint medical training July 10 on a RAAF C-17 Globemaster III over Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for Exercise Mobility Guardian 23. (Staff Sgt. Devin Rumbaugh/Air Force)

In the belly of the jet, medics wove multicolored tubes and cords through the skeletons of metal litter racks that would hold four patients  plastic dummies adorned with faux gashes and burns.

Four airmen, one for each handle on a litter, began the carefully choreographed steps to bring victims up the ramp: squat, lift, forward.

Leading Aircraftwoman Rachel Koch, an Australian medical technician, barked directions. Prepare to rack. Rack!

Two Australians and two Americans slid a patient into place on the shelf.

Staff Sgt. Audrey Allen, an American technician with the 375th AES, offered Koch tips to secure the patients as they strapped three other dummies to the floor.

Theyre very similar, but in learning the different team dynamics, it helps us understand how were going to integrate together if were going to fly AE missions together, Royal Australian Air Force Flying Officer Alyssa Collins, officer in charge at the 3rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, said in a public affairs video July 11.

Medical training dummies wait at the bottom of the ramp of a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III July 10 during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (Staff Sgt. Devin Rumbaugh/Air Force)

Still, coalition air forces faced other logistical hurdles that may require further policy tweaks.

Some biomedical cargo was stuck on the flight line because of inspection processes that crews hadnt anticipated, Ellenburg said. And units may have to find a way to support heating-and-cooling equipment so medicine doesnt go bad in the field.

Ellenburg said Mobility Guardian highlighted the struggles that its going to take to redesign aeromedical evacuation, but praised the seven-member coalitions effort to figure it out for a new generation of airmen.

Ive had the greatest opportunities to work with lots of different international partners, she said. Not all of our U.S. forces have.  Its opening their eyes [to] really, truly, what we can do.
Amazon staff in the US received a warning email from the firm for not spending enough time in the office after their attendance was tracked.

Some employees were told they were "not currently meeting our expectation of joining your colleagues in the office at least three days a week."

Amazon is not the first tech giant to depart from flexible working rules ushered in during the pandemic.

Disney has already done so and this week Zoom ordered staff to the office.

Amazon's office attendance mandate for American employees took effect in May and stipulates that they have to "badge in" to the office at least three days a week.

The email, sent this week and seen by the BBC, targeted employees who came into the office fewer than three days a week for five or more of the past eight weeks, or for three or more of the past four weeks.

It appeared to exacerbate existing tensions within the company, as some employees said they had received the email in error.

Amazon workers gather for a rally during a walkout event at the company's headquarters on May 31, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.

Some Amazon employees in the US staged a walkout to protest the return-to-office push in June.

They said morale at the company was at an "all-time low" due to a series of "short-sighted decisions" by leaders.

Some workers questioned whether the warnings were a sign of an even more strict attendance requirement to come.

In a response to the concerns, Amazon said the message was sent to those who fell short of the policy despite their building being ready for staff's return.

Amazon also admitted that the warnings may have been sent out by mistake in some cases.

"While we've taken several steps to ensure this email went to the correct recipients, we recognize that there may be instances where we have it wrong," the company said.

During pandemic-related lockdowns, many firms opted for remote work. It remains far more prevalent than it was before Covid, due to the flexibility and autonomy it gives workers.

Some companies are rolling back their policies over fears they might dent productivity, but the majority have adopted hybrid working in some way.

When Amazon sent out a memo to inform employees about the new attendance requirements in May, its boss Andy Jassy said the change would help strengthen communication, career development and corporate culture.
The Biden administration is working actively to ensure that Ukraine has sufficient air defense capabilities to defend itself, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said in an interview with LB.ua on Aug. 11.

"This (air defense) is one of the main priorities for the United States, on which the entire administration is actively working," Markarova said.

"There are many nuances: the question of production, the availability of the current systems, and the willingness of other countries to provide us with systems that are already in service."

Washington is negotiating both with allied countries and private manufacturers to ensure further supplies for Kyiv, the ambassador added.

Markarova named the provision of advanced air defense systems such as Patriots, NASAMS, or IRIS-T and their munitions as the priority for Ukrainian diplomats in the U.S. Other key goals include artillery and aircraft, including planes, helicopters, and drones, she said.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal warned that Russia will likely attempt to destroy Ukraine's critical infrastructure during the following winter, as it tried to do in the winter of 2022-2023.

According to Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine's Presidential Office, Ukraine needs at least 10 to 12 Patriot batteries to protect the entire country from Russian strikes.

Markarova also commented on the shifting mood among the U.S. expert community since the start of the full-scale invasion. According to her, there are much fewer voices now arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin has to have an opportunity to "save his face."

However, the idea that Russia must be stopped at all costs is still not a prevalent opinion in the U.S., she added. The ambassador emphasized that Ukrainian diplomatic staff is working to convince Washington to focus its efforts on direct support for Ukraine rather than waiting for Putin's reactions.

Read also: Pentagon: US to further increase 155 mm ammunition production

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Sometimes events occur in a sequence that, considered together, divulges greater truths. Or, if not truths, revelations.

That's what happened to me last week when I read in this newspaper the latest story by my colleague Tony Kennedy about logging authorized by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on state wildlife management areas (WMAs) and aquatic management areas (AMAs).

Kennedy reported the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) dropped the hammer on the DNR for letting logging contracts on WMAs and AMAs without prior federal authorization to ensure the cuttings were done primarily to help wildlife, which is the required purpose.

Logging on those lands has been in dispute since DNR field staff wrote to Commissioner Sarah Strommen four years ago saying it was "scientifically dishonest" to claim, as DNR administrators were, that logging on the two areas was occurring primarily to benefit wildlife.

Kennedy's story quoted Strommen saying: "We manage for wildlife purposes.''

Huh, I thought, upon reading that. Not quite sure if that's accurate.

That same day, in the second of two events I tied together  connecting the dots, as it were, if only in my mind  I heard that Robbie Robertson, the great songwriter and lead guitarist of The Band, had died.

Robertson, as anyone who has followed his music knows, didn't have a dishonest bone in his body. What he believed and sensed he channeled directly through his Fender Stratocaster and made music.

"I really have to feel," Robertson once said, "a sense of freedom in my storytelling."

Huh, I thought. That sounds about right.

The letter written to Strommen by 28 DNR field managers four years ago didn't convince the commissioner to stop logging on state fish and wildlife management areas.

In fact, Strommen's reply essentially told her subordinates that there was nothing here to see, and that they should move on.

Nor did Strommen yield to a group of retired DNR wildlife and forestry managers who repeatedly complained she was turning the principle of wildlife management on its head by giving DNR foresters, rather than wildlife managers, greater say over the types of trees  and sizes of cuttings  to be felled.

Martha Minchak, a retired DNR wildlife manager, told the Star Tribune last year, "Forestry holds sway over everything else right now. Wildlife management is being sacrificed for timber harvest."

Gretchen Mehmel, another retired DNR wildlife manager, agreed. "It's a battle right now over trees on WMAs," she said.

The scrum over WMA and AMA trees arose after a 2018 pact known as the Sustainable Timber Harvest Initiative was signed by various Minnesota stakeholders. The agreement, which increased stumpage on state lands available to loggers, was produced at the request of the timber industry, which supports some 63,000 jobs in Minnesota and is well-connected politically.

A commonly held belief among some observers, in fact, is that, in the WMA and AMA logging conflict, Strommen is doing the bidding of her boss, Gov. Tim Walz, who in turn is kowtowing to timber producers.

"This issue has been in the news for four years  four years!'' said former DNR deputy commissioner and attorney Steve Thorne in an e-mail to the Star Tribune. "Yet [Walz] has done nothing to prevent the DNR commissioner from violating the law and endangering millions of dollars of critical funding. Whether he has been hoodwinked by his commissioner or knowingly approved her actions, allowing this disaster to unfold is simply bad management."

This "disaster," as Thorne describes it, ended last week when Strommen finally yielded to what the great Vikings receiver Randy Moss once described as "straight cash, homie.''

Twenty-two million dollars, to be exact.

That's how much the FWS will withhold in federal funds until the DNR produces documentation that logging it has authorized complies with federal rules, and that future logging will, too.

At issue is the purchase, in part, of the fish and wildlife areas with funds contributed by hunters and anglers through the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 and the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950.

Both federal laws tax fishing and hunting equipment, and the funds are apportioned to states for habitat restoration and related programs. The states must agree not to divert the money from its intended purpose, which generally is to benefit fish and wildlife  not loggers.

Chuck Traxler, FWS Midwest acting regional director, told Strommen in a letter last week, "The DNR has acknowledged that it sold logging permits without providing the necessary advance documentation of the habitat purpose of these sales."

Such documentation is necessary, Traxler wrote, to ensure the logging complies with three federal laws "and other grant requirements."

Strommen, in response, told Kennedy she has "zero concerns'' the DNR can provide the required paperwork.

Which will be interesting, because it's unlikely the same field staff who have criticized WMA and AMA logging for four years will now produce, willy-nilly, the homework Strommen needs to free up the $22 million.

Which brings me back to Strommen and Robbie Robertson.

As a gifted and successful artist, Robertson lived free of many of the occupational encumbrances and compromises that burden the rest of us. For a rock star, or something on that order, he didn't even like to tour, and didn't much.

Strommen, meanwhile, is more like you and me, torn professionally in a lot of directions.

But too often, it could be argued, she bends to the loudest voices in the room, while forgetting those who suffer, silently, our communal slights  the nuthatches and bluejays, woodpeckers and squirrels, ruffed grouse and wood ducks, for example, that depend on the WMA and AMA trees that have fallen to loggers' axes.

Logging isn't bad and no one is saying it shouldn't occur on these lands. But in these instances, fish and wildlife should be considered first  not only because it's required, but because it's the right thing to do.

The irony is that if Minnesota DNR commissioners more often stood up to loggers who want to target wildlife lands, farmers who want to drain wetlands, developers who want to build and pave, and the politicians who do their bidding, as well as other resource exploiters, the commissioners' popularity among the rank and file would increase. And they would be more likely, not less, to keep their jobs.

As it is now, if they don't jump high enough, when told, they could be out the door tomorrow.

And Strommen's been jumping.

Robertson, in his own way, once spoke to the importance of doing the right thing for its own sake, and enjoying the reward, if only personally, of making the effort.

"Some bands today,'' he once said, "have the experience of really working together and honing their craft. And other bands are very much like, 'I just got a guitar for Christmas, let's start a band.'

"And you can hear the difference.''
The sun shines through clouds over wildfire wreckage in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

AUGUST 4 - 10, 2023

Wildfires burn in Hawaii, police set off a smoke bomb in New York to disperse a crowd, and a diver transplants coral fragments off the coast of Florida.

This gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by Associated Press photographers in North America.

The selection was curated by AP photo editor Patrick Sison in New York.

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Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court, Thursday June 15, 2023, in New York. Bankman-Fried is returning to New York City for a court hearing Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, that could decide whether the fallen cryptocurrency wiz has to go to jail while he awaits trial. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sent to jail Friday to await trial after a bail hearing for the fallen cryptocurrency wiz left a judge convinced that he had repeatedly tried to influence witnesses against him.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered Bankman-Fried's bail revoked after prosecutors said he'd tried to harass a key witness in his fraud case last month when he showed a journalist her private writings and in January when he reached out to the general counsel for FTX with an encrypted communication.

His lawyers insisted he shouldnt be jailed for trying to protect his reputation against a barrage of unfavorable news stories.

Kaplan said he had concluded there was probable cause to believe Bankman-Fried had tried to tamper with witnesses at least twice since his December arrest.

A defense lawyer said an appeal of the incarceration order would be filed and asked for an immediate stay of the order.

The 31-year-old has been under house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, since his December extradition from the Bahamas on charges that he defrauded investors in his businesses and illegally diverted millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency from customers using his FTX exchange.

Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail package severely restricts his internet and phone usage.

Two weeks ago, prosecutors surprised Bankman-Fried's attorneys by demanding his incarceration, saying he violated those rules by giving The New York Times the private writings of Caroline Ellison, his former girlfriend and the ex-CEO of Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading hedge fund that was one of his businesses.

Prosecutors maintained he was trying to sully her reputation and influence prospective jurors who might be summoned for his October trial.

Ellison pleaded guilty in December to criminal charges carrying a potential penalty of 110 years in prison. She has agreed to testify against Bankman-Fried as part of a deal that could lead to a more lenient sentence.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers argued he probably failed in a quest to defend his reputation because the article cast Ellison in a sympathetic light. They also said prosecutors exaggerated the role Bankman-Fried had in the article.

They said prosecutors were trying to get their client locked up by offering evidence consisting of "innuendo, speculation, and scant facts."

Since prosecutors made their detention request, Kaplan has imposed a gag order barring public comments by people participating in the trial, including Bankman-Fried.

David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, had written to the judge, noting the First Amendment implications of any blanket gag order, as well as public interest in Ellison and her cryptocurrency trading firm.

Ellison confessed to a central role in a scheme defrauding investors of billions of dollars that went undetected, McGraw said.

"It is not surprising that the public wants to know more about who she is and what she did and that news organizations would seek to provide to the public timely, pertinent, and fairly reported information about her, as The Times did in its story, McGraw said.
Judy Greer is no stranger to skirting the conventions of the typical time travel movie. Before starring in writer and director Jared Moshes Aporia, in theaters this weekend, the star had done that twice already.

Greers role as Hollywoods most famous character actress means that she has traversed into just about every genre under the sunand done it multiple times. Aporia is her third time-bending venture, and certainly her most substantive. Thats not really a tall order, given that she was almost entirely cut out of 2015s Tomorrowland, and her role in 13 Going on 30 (though renowned) didnt give the actress much space to give anything more layered than the archetypal high-powered publishing super-biotch. But Greer has always made a meal out of a morsel, and in Aporia, she is not scrounging for scraps by any means.

In the film, Greer plays Sophie, a grieving widow who lost her husband, Malcolm (Edi Gathegi), in a drunk-driving accident, leaving Sophie and their daughter, Riley (Faithe Herman), achingly distant as they battle their pain.

When Sophie comes upon a machine that can change the course of her current life and end her familys misery by killing someone else in the past, she reluctantly feels she has nothing more to lose. And though Aporia has little in the way of originality or style, Moshes screenplay benefits from its focus, never reaching for too many lofty answers about the human condition. But its Greer who shines the brightest; amidst all of Sophies turmoil, Greer delivers a tender and relatable performance that opts for modesty over histrionics. It might just be her best dramatic performance yet.

The science of the machine that Aporia revolves around is murky at best, which some genre enthusiasts may find a detriment. But time travelor, in this case, sending a gunshot-like burst of matter back through time via calculated coordinatesis not exactly a real and proven science in the first place. These films demand the suspension of disbelief, and for what its worth, Aporias way into its science fiction element seems distinctly plausible (at least to this writer, who got a C in high school physics).

Malcolms best friend Jabir (Payman Maadi), whom Malcolm bonded with over their mutual love of physics and engineering, offers Sophie a way out of her grief. His solution is a machine he says can essentially fire a bullet into the past. Malcolm, who came to America as a refugee after his own family was killed, understands the unique pain that Sophie is feeling, but has been too apprehensive to use it to cure his own grief. He extends the machines power to Sophie, who first refuses, before succumbing to her heartache by pushing one little button.

Red, White & Royal Blue Finally Lets Gays Be Really Freakin Dumb in a Movie

Before any matters of space and time come into the picture, Greer is already commanding the film. Her expressions carry a heaviness that reflects the immenseness of Sophies loss and gives Aporia its necessary layer of believability, even when the films science-fiction component starts to falter. Malcolm does indeed come back to her, but while their reunion is emotional, its also burdened by the viewers suspicion that something very annoying is about to happen.

The effects of time travel on reality are a necessary component for any writer to examine when developing a film like this, but can typically be the most exasperating aspect. Ripples happen, people forget parts of their lives, things go missing, world and personal histories become worseyou get the picture. Having set itself up with an interesting skew on the genre, Aporia could easily lose all of that good faith with some obnoxious over-examination of the repercussions of Malcolms return. Instead, the movie studies the moral quandaries that arise between Sophie, Malcolm, and Jabir when Malcolm must eventually be told what happened to him.

Courtesy of Well Go USA

As any of us might when given the chance to thrust a burst of matter into someones brain, somewhere in the past, the films core triad gets mixed up in how they might be able to change the world. But keeping with the films tight focus, they only are concerned with being able to correct the misfortune that surrounds them. Could there really be any harm in stopping a school shooter from causing mass tragedy? Certainly not, but the answer is far less simple when it comes to Sophies zeal for helping the widow of the drunk driver she killed by bringing Malcolm back.

Aporia finds just enough edge in the fallout from Malcolms return to keep its slightly overlong runtime from being a burden. Moshe carefully deals with the logistics of human virtue and the increasingly crushing weight of Sophies morality. Because of that, Aporia settles itself nicely beside films like Safety Not Guaranteed and About Time, which are both similarly understated. Its a quieter entry into the genre, but the emotions are much more powerful when they arent clouded by schematics and unnecessary scientific dialogue.

Courtesy of Well Go USA

Though Gathegi and Maadi make for a realistically warm best-friend dynamic, its Greer who carries Aporia through its slumps. She knows when to dial her performance back so Sophie doesnt become a caricature of a grieving widow, and when to push the strain of her guilt to the front. That remorse, paired with Sophies refusal to let Malcolm go again, creates a potent push and pull that contrasts against Moshes flat directing.

Aporia has virtually zero distinct style, but its lack of any visual flair isnt a hindrance purely because of Greer's ability to command the frame. Its because of her that the film transforms itself into something absorbing, even if its modest time travel story may be a little too planted in reality to make any significant change.

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Gov. Katie Hobbs told The Republic on Thursday she would sign extradition papers so that Lori Vallow Daybell can be prosecuted in Arizona.

A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said it had delivered a requisition for extradition paperwork to Hobbs' office on Thursday morning.

Vallow Daybell started serving a life sentence in Idaho last week after being convicted in the murder of her daughter and son, in a case that landed her the nickname "Doomsday Mom." A former friend testified that Vallow Daybell told her she thought her kids were zombies.

This combination photo of undated photos released by National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, two children murdered by their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, who has been sentenced in Idaho to life in prison for their murders.

She now awaits extradition to Arizona to face an active murder case in Maricopa County. Vallow Daybell faces a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow.

Here's what to know about the Lori Vallow Daybell extradition process.

After the request is signed by the governor and sent to authorities in Idaho, the process could take several more months, the County Attorney's Office said. Vallow Daybell could either agree to the extradition or fight it.

If Vallow Daybell agrees to be extradited, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office would pick her up in Idaho and bring her to Maricopa County to await trial.

If both governors of Arizona and Idaho approve of the extradition, but Vallow Daybell challenges it, an extradition hearing would be held in Idaho.

Typically in extradition challenges, according to legal experts at FindLaw.com, a defendant must be turned over as long "as the process and procedure found in the U.S. Constitution and federal law have been followed."

The U.S. Supreme Court only allows a handful of reasons to legitimately block a transfer, FindLaw says. In Vallow Daybell's case, those are specifically whether the extradition request is proper, and whether she has been charged with a crime in Arizona.

The County Attorney's Office said it typically takes three to six months for the extradition process to be completed.

County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said at a news conference on Wednesday she hoped to prosecute Vallow Daybell in Maricopa County by the end of the year. Mitchell would not yet say if her office would be seeking the death penalty against Vallow Daybell.

Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger contributed to this article.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lori Vallow Daybell extradition to Arizona in murder of ex-husband
The independent No Labels Party can stay on the 2024 presidential election ballot, an Arizona judge ruled this week.

The ruling is a blow to the state Democratic Partys attempt to oust a political opponent which they fear could help former President Donald Trump win the state.

Democrats argued that No Labels filed incomplete paperwork when they were approved for the 2024 ballot in March. A state judge disagreed, affirming their place on the ballot.

This is an important win for American democracy and a testament to the power of over 41,000 Arizona voters who signed to give No Labels ballot access in Arizona, No Labels leaders Benjamin Chavis Jr. and Jay Nixon said in a statement.

No Labels pitches itself as a centrist party intended to bypass divisive, partisan politics with bipartisan appeal.

Figures from both parties, but especially Democrats, have denounced the group as a potential spoiler in elections where outcomes could be decided by just a few thousand votes.

President Biden won Arizona in 2020 by just over 10,000 votes.

No Labels is currently recruiting candidates for a unity ticket, the organization said.

Leaders from the group have stated that it isnt interested in helping get Trump elected, but Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans have criticized the organization for considering a run at all.

The state Democratic Party has also filed a separate complaint against the group attempting to force it to disclose its donors.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Carl Panzram had always been a bad egg, as he put it. Born in 1891, he grew up on a farm in Minnesota where his parents would force him and his six siblings to work the farm through the night. Abused and starved, all the kids fled. He was first arrested at age 8 for being drunk and disorderly. Things did not get better from there.

As a youth, he was arrested for drunkenness and theft a number of times and was often sent to any number of reform schools, even attempting to burn one of them down. He ran away from home and the law at 14, but things didnt get easier for the young man. Life on the lam back then meant he took the occasional beating and was often raped by homeless men.

Panzram made his way about the country, still getting into trouble with the law for theft and public intoxication. After a night of drinking, he accidentally enlisted in the U.S. Army. Sent to Montanas Fort William Henry Harrison in 1907, he didnt exactly excel at being a soldier, either. He was insubordinate and refused to follow orders. After stealing $80 worth of Army supplies (more than $2,400 in todays dollars), he was arrested.

His sentence was a two-year stint in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Keep in mind, this wasnt the Leavenworth prison we all know today. This was a nearly medieval place, where prisoners did hard time, hard labor, and heard other prisoners get executed by hanging. William Howard Taft, then the Secretary of War, personally approved Panzrams sentence.

Carl Panzram would never forget or forgive President Taft. He would later say that any shred of goodness left in him when he was sentenced to Leavenworth was gone by the time he got out. He left the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks with a dishonorable discharge and was a large, muscular and evil man, by his own admission.

Mugshot of serial killer Carl Panzram taken in Washington, DC, September 2, 1928.

Once freed, he again became a career criminal, but this time his crimes were much more than stealing apples. He called himself rage personified and began stealing anything he wanted. When he robbed men, he would usually use his newfound strength to rape them, too. All across America, he robbed people, was arrested, imprisoned under an assumed name, released, and free to repeat the cycle.

In September 1920, he finally caught up to President Taft, who had served as President of the United States between 1909 and 1913. He broke into Tafts mansion in New Haven, Connecticut, stealing jewelry, bonds, and his M1911 pistol. He used the money from the theft to buy a yacht, and then went on an eight-year international killing spree.

He would get sailors drunk in New York City, take them to his boat and beat them before raping, robbing, and murdering them with Tafts gun. Even after he sank his yacht, he continued his spree that even extended into Africa. Most of his worst criminal exploits are too terrible even to write here. It was only after a botched robbery in Washington, DC, that Panzram was finally caught  and none too soon. He was planning some kind of mass killing.

When they realized who he was and all hed done, Panzram began confessing to a litany of unsolved murders, many of which authorities were able to confirm. He was sentenced to 25 years to life and sent to the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Within a year of his sentence, Panzram killed a fellow inmate and was sentenced to death.

He refused any help from anti-death penalty crusaders, saying, "The only thanks you and your kind will ever get from me for your efforts on my behalf is that I wish you all had one neck and that I had my hands on it."

While on death row, he wrote an autobiography of his crimes, admitting to 21 murders and more than a thousand rapes, along with untold smaller crimes. He also said he had no remorse about any of them. Panzram was hanged on Sept. 5, 1930.
A US website claims the daughter of World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab said "permanent climate lockdowns" are coming soon. This is false; the Geneva-based organization confirmed the article and related posts misconstrue Nicole Schwab's comments on the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Klaus Schwab's Daughter Threatens Humanity with 'Permanent Climate Lockdowns Whether You Like It or Not," says the headline of an August 3, 2023 article from The People's Voice, a website that AFP has previously fact-checked for spreading misinformation.

The claim also spread on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X" -- including in Finnish and German.

Screenshot of an Instagram post taken August 11, 2023

Screenshot of a People's Voice article taken August 11, 2023

However, WEF spokesman Trevor Chueu told AFP that Nicole Schwab, the director of 1t.org and nature-based solutions at the organization, made no such threat.

"We can confirm that this is fake news," Chueu said in an August 10 email.

In the clip referenced in the People's Voice article and an accompanying Rumble video, Schwab does not discuss climate lockdowns. Instead, she talks about her outlook on how policies adopted during the pandemic could be repurposed to create a more sustainable economy.

"I see it as a tremendous opportunity to have this great reset and to use this huge flow of money -- to use the increased levers that policymakers have today in a way that was not possible before -- to create a change that is not incremental, but that we can look back and we can say this is the moment where we really started to position nature at the core of the economy," Schwab says in the video.

The video was originally posted in July 2021 by InTent (archived here). In its description for the clip, which also appears on YouTube (archived here), the sustainability organization says the segment was filmed in Yvorne, Switzerland in June 2020.

AFP found no trace of advocacy for "climate lockdowns" on the WEF website.

Unfounded 'Great Reset' theories

The article and social media posts build off conspiracy theories that the WEF, an international non-governmental lobbying organization, controls governments, food supplies and health systems.

In the video, Schwab mentions the "Great Reset," a concept spearheaded by the WEF and Britain's King Charles to remodel the global economy around principles of economic fairness and environmental sustainability following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The idea has been the target of unfounded claims about population control via manufactured epidemics and climate lockdowns.

The People's Voice article also mentions 15-minute cities, an urban planning concept aimed at designing neighborhoods that provide all residents' needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride (archived here). Experts have previously told AFP the philosophy's goal is not to restrict people's movement.

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation about the WEF is available here.
A week before Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022, Violetta Shcherbachuks father let out the familys dog, a German shepherd named Shaman, to play one evening after work.

Shaman didnt come home that night  a surprise for Shcherbachuk, who said that the dog was so smart and always found his way home. The family started searching their neighborhood the next morning.

The search didnt last long. When war broke out, Shcherbachuk had to forget about Shaman and flee Dnipro, the fourth-largest city in Ukraine, to come to Sacramento with her parents and older brother. Her family arrived first in Mexico, where they could fly without a visa, before receiving U.S. humanitarian parole and crossing the land border into California on March 28, 2022.

Shcherbachuk, now 20, didnt speak English when she came to the U.S. The California Department of Human Assistance referred her to Asian Resources, Inc., an organization founded in the 1980s to support Southeast Asian refugees, for classes and employment services.

Eight months later, she was able to confidently hold an hour-long conversation about her experiences and hopes. Previously pursuing an economics degree in Ukraine, she plans to resume classes at American River College in the fall, working five hours per day as a DoorDash driver in the meantime  both opportunities ARI helped her find.

Ukrainian churches and community organizations bore the brunt of meeting Ukrainian refugees at the border. They brought as many as 20,000 refugees to Sacramento since last March, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian American House, a Sacramento-area nonprofit that has assisted the state with its refugee support programs.

After securing housing, getting jobs and help with English  which UA House estimated only 5-10% of Ukrainian refugees speak upon arrival  are the biggest challenges the refugees face. Thats where a network that began with the Asian American movement of the 1960s and now encompasses refugees of all stripes steps in to help.

While its headquarters in south Sacramento continued to provide various services to Chinese and Vietnamese communities, ARI opened an office in Citrus Heights in 1992 to serve Serbian and Slavic refugees fleeing the Yugoslav wars. Between last September and June, the offices staff  now consisting of one Ukrainian, one Russian-speaking Kazakhstani and two Afghan caseworkers  served 296 Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

Today, ARI is one of ten refugee employment services providers to receive federal funding through the Sacramento Employment Training Agency, a joint city and county agency. The ten providers  including several other originally Southeast Asian organizations  will together serve around 3,400 clients by September, refugee services director Michelle OCamb said.

Help them stand on their own feet

ARI helps refugees stand on their own feet instead of relying on cash assistance and other initial support provided by the California Department of Human Assistance, ARIs Citrus Heights site director Farhad Noorzada said.

Clients backgrounds vary widely, from those who speak little English and are open to any job to doctors, engineers, and other highly educated people from various industries.

ARI helped one client do on-the-job training at a gas station, which then hired him as a stocker and later promoted him to be a cashier. Three months later, the man is still working there and is very satisfied with his job, Noorzada said. Many clients have similar stories, being placed to do basic service work starting out.

Experienced clients can be more reluctant to accept entry-level jobs, but ARI encourages them to just get started somewhere. Many are promoted quickly, Noorzada said. One client became a manager at a technical company just three months after starting in an entry-level position.

Noorzada himself was a refugee who quickly climbed his organizations ladder after fleeing Afghanistan in October 2021, just months after completing an MBA in the country.

The DHA, where Noorzada went for help with food, healthcare and other benefits, referred him to ARI for job help services in July 2022. As it turned out, ARI had a job for him as a caseworker within the organization, hiring him in August 2022 and promoting him to director of the Citrus Heights center just four months later.

From the Asian American movement to modern refugee programs

SETAs refugee program has a direct connection to the Asian American movement of the 1960s and 70s, a wave of student and grassroots efforts to create a pan-Asian identity and pan-Asian institutions. The term Asian American itself was created by student organizers in 1968 as part of the movement.

Several UC Davis students set up an organization called Asian Community Services in 1969, providing English classes for older community members along with other programming such as childrens after-school programs. The organization eventually merged with the Japanese Community Center in Sacramento and became the Asian Community Center in 1979.

The JCC hired Sacramento State social work masters student May O. Lee as its first paid employee in 1976. In 1980, she became the founding director of ARI, founded to address an increasing demand for English classes and job placement services for immigrants.

The Vietnam War drastically affected that country as well as Cambodia and Laos, where 540,000 tons of U.S. bombs killed as many as 500,000 civilians in the CIA-led secret war to disrupt Communist supply lines. Refugees fled the three Southeast Asian countries in the 1970s and 80s, and today Sacramento is home to the third-largest community of Hmong people  an ethnic group whose members the U.S. recruited to fight in Laos instead of sending in its own troops  in the U.S.

In the 1980s, ARI helped form the Sacramento Refugee Forum, a coalition of around 25 community groups, mutual aid associations and churches coordinating support for the influx of Southeast Asian refugees. When federal funding for refugee employment services became available in the following years, SETA used the forum to build its network of providers.

ARI and other established organizations are uniquely capable of serving refugees due to the community and employer relationships they have built over time, OCamb said.

Theyre going to Chamber of Commerce meetings. Theyre sharing the good word about hiring refugees, the work ethic that you get, the integrity, the loyalty  it really does separate them from other organizations, she said.

Today, ARI has expanded to provide COVID testing and vaccination, hate crime prevention and language access services, and even has an advocacy branch for healthcare equity.

In addition to its South Sacramento and Citrus Heights centers, ARI currently operates a job center in midtown Sacramento that mainly serves Black, Latino and white Sacramentans. But employment services are still a core bread and butter of the organization, Lee said.

Cynthia Corral, center, distributes backpacks to refugee children at the Asian Resources Community Services offices Wednesday in Citrus Heights. Kevin Neri/kneri@sacbee.com

Stay or return? Refugees face unclear futures

Ultimately, employment services can only do so much for refugees, who face uncertain futures affected by limited parole periods and job prospects.

In Ukraine, Shcherbachuks mother worked as an accountant at a large firm and her father as the assistant director of a large company. Though they also came to ARIs English classes, the language didnt stick like it did with Shcherbachuk. Her father got a job at a church through a family connection, while her mother worked as a waitress at a restaurant.

It was enough money for the family to rent an apartment of their own. But the difficulty of rebuilding a career in the U.S. means Shcherbachuks parents hope to return to Ukraine once the war ends.

My mama come and she start to work as waiter. My mama dont like this at all, Shcherbachuk said. If in the future (my mother can get a similar-level job as) in Ukraine here, of course she wants to work accounting here  when you come here and you start again for at first level, its kind of hard.

Shcherbachuk and her brother Alexis, on the other hand, are hopeful about building a life in the U.S. Shcherbachuk watched many American movies in Ukraine and dreamed of coming to the country, she said.

The standard of living is also higher in the U.S., allowing Shcherbachuk time and money for travel and shopping, she said. Shes been to Las Vegas, Miami and Hawaii since arriving in the country last year.

In Ukraine, if you work, its so small salary for starting, so you cannot have something to enjoy, she said. I dont travel (alone) in Ukraine at all, only with my family. Here I can do this by myself.

Noorzada says he is happy at ARI and wants to stay for at least a few more years before getting an MBA in the U.S. and building a career in business. Noorzada sees his work as helping not just refugees in the U.S., but also families back in their country.

A lot of the people, including myself, whatever I earn I divide to send and support my family back in my hometown, he said.

While Afghan refugees who worked with the U.S. military are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas, granting them permanent residency and work authorization, many other Afghan refugees and most Ukrainian refugees are on humanitarian paroles that will expire within the next year.

Shcherbachuks one-year humanitarian parole was extended until March 2024, while a separate Temporary Protected Status residency and work authorization expires this October. Her family has not applied for permanent asylum because it is a long process for which she is not sure they are eligible.

Until a clear pathway to permanent residency appears, her only option is to keep applying for re-parole and TPS extensions as they become available. She wants to stay in Sacramento, after all.

I like everything here. I dont want go back, Shcherbachuk said. (My brother and I) want stay here. We want work here. We want see our live(s) here.
Asylum-seekers have been removed from a controversial barge in southern England after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water  days after experts warned of the risk of infection.

Thirty-nine asylum-seekers disembarked the Bibby Stockholm barge, a UK Home Office spokesperson said in a statement Friday  just days after they were first housed in it.

Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, and can cause Legionnaires disease, a serious lung infection. The spokesperson said that no individuals on board the barge showed symptoms of Legionnaires and that the asylum-seekers were being provided with appropriate advice and support.

The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel, the statement said adding that Legionnaires does not spread from person to person.

The discovery of the bacteria comes at the end of what the UK government had billed as Small Boats Week  a campaign hoping to demonstrate the action it had taken to limit the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the country via small vessels across the English Channel.

The government announced in April its plans to house around 500 single adult men on the Bibby Stockholm, which was meant to serve as a deterrent to those hoping to seek asylum in the UK. The barge was originally designed to house 222 people, but was retrofitted to increase its capacity.

On Tuesday, the first asylum seekers boarded the barge in Portland, on the Dorset coast, despite public health experts warning of the possible risk of infection in living conditions that campaigners branded as inhumane.

The UKs Fire Brigades Union has also described the barge as a death trap and an accident waiting to happen.

Rival protesters argue in Portland, Dorset, after the barge docked on July 18, 2023. - Ben Birchall/PA/AP

Human rights campaign groups quickly responded to the discovery of Legionella in the barges water.

The presence of life-threatening bacteria onboard the Bibby Stockholm is just another shocking revelation that weve seen unfold over the past few weeks. This Governments punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system is not just cruel, its dangerous, Kolbassia Haoussou, director of survivor empowerment at Freedom from Torture, said in a statement to CNN.

The UK government has made stemming the flow of asylum-seekers to Britain a priority, as the number of migrants arriving on small boats across the English Channel last year reached around 46,000  a record level.

On Thursday, the number of Channel crossings hit a record daily high, with 755 people making the dangerous journey.

CNNs Catherine Nicholls and Sana Noor Haq contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
An Athens man went to an online dating site in January 2022 and sure enough he found a date.

Then about 16 months later the 32-year-old man discovered that the date whom he had sent about $60,000 through a cash app was playing him just for the money.

An Athens-Clarke police report shows the man confronted the person he knew as Veronica about the fraud.

She told him by text message today (Aug. 4) that she did not feel bad about taking his money and that she was not paying the money back to him, according to police.

The man called police that same day.

The man was contacted by the Athens Banner-Herald, but he declined to comment saying "it's a long story."

The dating scam is just one of many frauds perpetrated on residents of Athens and the surrounding counties.

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Oconee Blotter: Thousands of dollars lost in multiple scams on Oconee residents

We are overwhelmed with financial cases dealing with different types of scam, police Lt. Jody Thompson said Thursday. This includes dating scams to the scams where people believe they face possible arrest due to a warrant.

We have one older guy who lost over $100,000 because he was told he needed virus software on his computer, Thompson said.

Many of the scams are what the officer described as short cons.

The short con is when they call you out of the blue, he said. They put immediate pressure on you to pay the money.

The long cons are like the dating ones. It takes a while to build a relationship and it can take months. They dont ask for money immediately and they wont even for the first three to four months.

These people take their time to earn the victim's trust, he said.

Its catfishing 101, Thompson remarked about the term used to describe someone who creates a fake identity on a social network to scam someone.

The Better Business Bureau on its website warns people about romance scams.

In 2021, BBB's across North America received 276 reports on romance scams, a 13% increase from 2020. In 2022, the number of reported romance scam cases more than doubled in the first two months of the year when compared to the same period last year, according to the BBB in a 2023 report.

The BBB offered these tips about con artists who are baiting their victims:

Too hot to be true. Scammers offer up good-looking photos and tales of financial success. Be honest with yourself about who would be genuinely interested.

In a hurry to get off the site. Catfishers will try very quickly to get you to move to communicate through email, messenger, or phone.

Moving fast. A catfisher will begin speaking of a future together and tell you they love you quickly. They often say theyve never felt this way before.

Talk about trust. Catfishers will start manipulating you with talk about trust and its importance. This will often be the first step to asking you for money.

Dont want to meet. Be wary of someone who always has an excuse to postpone a meeting because they say they are traveling or live overseas or are in the military.

Hard luck stories. Before moving on to asking you for money, the scammer may hint at financial troubles like heat being cut off or a stolen car, or a sick relative, or they may share a sad story from their past.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens man falls victim to dating scam and loses $60,000
A 28-year-old Athens man was sentenced to prison last week after he pleaded guilty to child molestation and statutory rape in Clarke County Superior Court.

Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard imposed a sentence of 20 years with the first five years in prison on Jose Mauricio Godoy Acevedo.

The sentence was reached through a plea agreement between the District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez and the defendants attorney Arturo Corso of Gainesville.

The indictment against Acevedo accuses him of molesting a girl under the age of 16 at his home on Danielsville Road on Nov. 14, 2021.

Acevedos attorney had filed a motion earlier seeking an evaluation for his client, reporting that Acevedo has symptoms of serious mental development problems with low intellectual functioning and "very little education."

Stephens did order the evaluation in November 2022.

Romance scam: Athens man confronts a scammer about stealing $60,000. See these tips to avoid the cons.

Dog tossed: Witness says Athens woman tossed a dog out of a car window on to Athens Perimeter

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: An Athens man pleaded guilty to child molestation and statutory rape
A Syrian army soldier on a road in the country's north in 2020 (-)

At least 26 soldiers have been killed in an Islamic State group assault in eastern Syria, a monitor said Friday, the deadliest in a new wave of attacks blamed on the jihadists.

Despite losing their last piece of territory in Syria in 2019, IS has maintained hideouts in the vast Syrian desert from which it has carried out ambushes and hit-and-run attacks.

IS "members targeted a military bus" in Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The number of dead has risen to 26" soldiers, it said, calling it the extremists' deadliest attack on government forces this year.

The jihadists surrounded the bus in the desert near Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province and opened fire, the Observatory added.

Eleven other soldiers were wounded, with some in critical condition, said the Britain-based group which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

IS claimed the attack later Friday, saying it had carried out an ambush "on two military buses", targeting them "with heavy weapons and rocket-propelled grenades" and setting one on fire, according to a statement from the jihadists' Amaq news agency.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the "terrorist attack" had caused a number of military casualties, citing an unidentified army source.

Syrian government forces and allied pro-Iranian armed groups deployed in the area were on high alert on Friday, the Observatory reported.

The war monitor's Rami Abdel Rahman said IS "has recently been escalating its deadly military attacks... aiming to cause as many deaths as possible".

By doing so, the jihadists are trying to show that IS "is still active and powerful despite the targeting of its leaders", he told AFP.

Last week, IS announced the death of its leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, who it said was killed in clashes in northwestern Syria.

A spokesman for the group announced a new leader, known as Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, in a recorded message on its channels on the Telegram messaging app.

- Spate of IS attacks -

In March 2019, IS lost the last territory it held in Syria to a Kurdish-led counteroffensive backed by a US-led coalition, but jihadist remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks.

Targets have included civilians and Kurdish-led fighters as well as government troops and allied pro-Iranian fighters.

IS members in recent weeks have increased their attacks in the north and northeast.

Thursday's attack was the third carried out by the jihadists this month alone.

Earlier this week, 10 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an IS attack in the former jihadist stronghold of Raqa province, the Observatory said.

Last week, the jihadists attacked a convoy of oil tankers guarded by the army in the Syrian desert, killing seven people including two civilians.

And last month, IS claimed responsibility for a rare bombing in Damascus that killed at least six people near the capital's Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.

The Sunni Muslim extremist group's brutal rule was marked by beheadings and mass shootings.

IS has had five leaders since it lost the last remnant of the once sprawling "caliphate" it proclaimed across large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

Four of them were killed, including the group's first "caliph", Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died in a US raid in October 2019.

Civil war first broke out in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad's government crushed peaceful protests in 2011. It has since drawn in foreign powers and global jihadists.

The conflict has killed more than half a million people and driven half of the country's pre-war population from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.

lar/lg/kir
Photo: The Canadian Press Secret service agents watch through their binoculars as a rainbow appears in the sky before President Barack Obama arrived at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 26, 2015. Members of Ethiopias LGBTQ+ community say they face a wave of online harassment and physical attacks and blame much of it on the social media platform TikTok, which they say is failing to take down posts calling for homosexual and transgender people to be whipped, stabbed and killed. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Members of Ethiopias LGBTQ+ community say they face a wave of online harassment and physical attacks and blame much of it on the social media platform TikTok, which they say is failing to take down posts calling for homosexual and transgender people to be whipped, stabbed and killed.

A local LGBTQ+ support group, House of Guramayle, said that some TikTok users are also outing Ethiopians by sharing their names, photographs and online profiles on one of the countrys most popular social media platforms.

In Ethiopia, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The East African country whose population of close to 120 million is split between Christianity and Islam is largely conservative, and while LGBTQ+ people have long suffered abuse, activists say the hostility has reached a new level.

TikTok is being used to incite violence, said Bahiru Shewaye, co-founder of House of Guramayle. Bahiru said several videos have been reported to TikTok but we are still waiting for them to take action.

The Associated Press on Thursday reviewed several videos that appeared to violate TikToks community guidelines by inciting violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A TikTok spokesman, Ben Rathe, said on Friday evening that the platform had removed the content and banned the accounts for violating its community guidelines.

In one video, seen by the AP, a popular evangelical Christian pastor calls for gay people to be stripped naked and publicly whipped.

Then (gay) people all over the world would say, 'Oh, these (Ethiopian) people, this is what they do to gays, therefore we will not go to that country,' says the pastor, whose account has over 250,000 followers. The video was posted on Aug. 5.

In another video posted Aug. 2, a TikTok user calls for gay men to be stabbed in the buttocks. In a third, posted in the past week, a young man says, We should find them and kill them, before making a stomping gesture with his foot.

The videos are in Amharic, Ethiopias main language.

Its not clear what sparked the videos, but Bahiru said Ugandas new anti-LGBT law that prescribes the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality is playing a role.

LGBTQ+ Ethiopians said the surge of abusive content has left them feeling unsafe, with several fleeing abroad in recent weeks. One nonbinary person said they are now in neighboring Kenya after they were attacked by a group of men in Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital, last month.

It is very terrifying, to be honest, they said. I think I will stay here as long as the situation continues in Ethiopia.  It has always been bad, but this time it feels different.

Another LGBTQ+ man, a student in Addis Ababa, said he has been outed twice on TikTok. In May, shortly after the first outing video appeared online, he was badly beaten at a restaurant by a group of classmates, who fractured his cheek.

I dont feel safe at school after that, so I stopped going, he said. He said the video was later removed.

The second outing video appeared in late July and has attracted over 275,000 views. It is a slideshow of individual and group photographs under the banner Homosexuals live freely in Ethiopia. The top comment says Lets kill them, give us their address.

Ethiopian public institutions have been accused of fanning the discrimination. Last week, Addis Ababas tourism bureau in a statement posted on Facebook told hotels not to allow homosexual activities on their premises and warned action will be taken if this happens. The bureau is part of the Addis Ababa city administration.

Soon afterward, the citys police department launched a hotline for reporting illegal activities that deviate from the law and social values.

This was a vulnerable group in the first place, Bahiru said. But the new scale of these calls for violence, it has grown out of control.

LGBTQ+ advocates have long warned that online hate and harassment can lead to violence offline.

All major social media platforms  including TikTok  do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment, especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group GLAAD said in its Social Media Safety Index earlier this year.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed David Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who has led the investigation into Hunter Biden, as a special counsel overseeing the investigation.

The move comes as a pending plea deal involving Biden, the presidents son, appears to be unwinding.

Garland said he made the decision in the politically explosive case after Weiss asked for the appointment.

On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed, Garland said in a statement to the press Friday.

Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel.

Attorney General Merrick Garland

Attorney General Merrick Garland announces the appointment of David C. Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, as Special Counsel in Hunter Biden Inquiry at the Justice Department in Washington D.C., on August 11, 2023.

Republicans have sharply criticized how the tax probe into Biden was handled, citing claims from two IRS whistleblowers that Weiss was blocked from seeking special counsel status  a claim Weiss and the DOJ have consistently denied.

The whistleblowers, IRS investigators Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, also claimed that the Justice Department slow-walked the case, gave Biden preferential treatment, and declined to pursue charges in other jurisdictions with stronger evidence.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has indicated it could be a ground for a possible impeachment of Garland, noting differences between the whistleblowers testimony and Weiss and Garlands recap of the prosecutors authority.

Garland on Friday reiterated his prior claims that Weiss, even without special counsel status, had the authority to see prosecution for Biden in any district, a claim that the IRS investigators disputed.

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As I said before, Mr. Weiss would be permitted to continue his investigation, take any investigative steps he wanted and make the decision whether to prosecute in any district, Garland said.

Weiss last month denied again that he ever sought special counsel status.

Chris Clark, counsel for Hunter Biden, said in a statement that Garlands announcement doesnt change our understanding of Mr. Wiess authority over the 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden.

For years, both Mr. Weiss and the Department have assured us and the public that Mr. Weiss had more authority than a special counsel and full authority to negotiate a resolution of his investigation  which has been done, Clark said. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and well do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.

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There are two statutes on the books governing such appointments and the powers associated with them, Weiss noted, including a status allowing him to file charges outside his district of Delaware.

To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation pursuant to 28 CFR  600 et seq. Rather, I had discussions with Departmental officials regarding potential appointment under 28 U.S.C.  515, which would have allowed me to file charges in a district outside my own without the partnership of the local U.S. Attorney, Weiss wrote in a July 10 letter.

I was assured that I would be granted this authority if it proved necessary.

Garland said Friday the change came at Weisss request, echoing his earlier testimony before Congress that Weiss would be granted any change in authority he saw necessary.

This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests. It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently based only on the facts and the law, Garland said.

As special counsel he will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has previously exercised to oversee the investigation and decide where, when, and whether to file charges.

Meanwhile, in a court filing just moments after Garlands announcement, the Justice Department indicated the parties had come to an impasse on reaching a plea agreement in Bidens case.

The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial, prosecutors wrote in court filings Friday.

Bidens plea deal had come under scrutiny both in Congress and in court.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika put on hold Bidens proposed plea agreement during a whirlwind hearing last month, telling prosecutors and Bidens attorneys to submit in writing their responses to various concerns the judge posed.

The proposed agreement was twofold. Biden would agree to plead guilty to two tax offenses while also entering a pretrial diversion program on a gun charge, which would allow the presidents son to avoid a formal charge if he follows certain conditions.

But in a court filing Friday, the Justice Department urged the judge to set aside the written briefing deadlines.

The Courts briefing order is premised on the idea that the parties intend to continue towards a guilty plea in Criminal Action No. 23-mj-00274 and diversion in Criminal Action No. 23-cr-00061, prosecutors wrote.

But that is no longer the case, they continued. Following additional negotiations after the hearing held on July 26, 2023, the parties are at an impasse and are not in agreement on either a plea agreement or a diversion agreement. Therefore, the Government believes the Courts briefing order should be vacated.

The judge ordered Bidens attorneys to respond to the request by Monday.

Prosecutors also asked that the tax charge agreement be dismissed so the Justice Department can instead bring the charges in Washington, D.C., or California, where the venue would be proper for a trial.

That detail nods to testimony from the IRS whistleblowers, who said some of the strongest evidence in the case was gathered in those two locations, rather than in Delaware.

Weisss elevation to special counsel is likely to fuel probes from House Republican into the foreign business dealings of President Bidens family members. Republicans have aimed to put scrutiny on the president himself as they reveal more details of foreign payments to Hunter Biden and his associates, with McCarthy even floating an impeachment inquiry into the president surrounding issues with their investigation.

On Friday, however, top Republicans in the House portrayed Weisss new special counsel status as a negative development.

House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said the move was a Justice Department attempt to stonewall congressional oversight, while a spokesperson for House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the special counsel cant be trusted.

McCarthy said House Republicans continue to pursue the facts for the American people.

This action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption, he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?

Updated at 2:20 p.m.

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WASHINGTON  U.S. Attorney David Weiss was appointed special counsel in the ongoing probe of the president's son Hunter Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday.

Weiss will be responsible for the ongoing investigation" of President Joe Biden's son "as well as for any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation," the Justice Department said in a statement. Weiss, who was already overseeing the Hunter Biden probe and is based in Delaware, asked to be appointed special counsel on Tuesday and Garland agreed it was "in the public interest" to do so, the attorney general said.

The move was announced shortly before prosecutors from Weiss's team revealed in a court filing the plea talks over tax and gun charges against the president's son had broken down and the case would likely have to go to trial in California or Washington, D.C. Later Friday, prosecutors suggested they could bring different charges against Hunter Biden in the new case.

DOJ noted that Weiss was nominated by then-President Donald Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in 2018.

Garland said the appointment "reinforces for the American people the Departments commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters."

In a statement, Hunter Biden's lawyer Chris Clark said, "Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution on behalf of our client."

He said Weiss "has diligently been investigating my client for five years and he had proposed a resolution which we fully intend to pursue in court. It is hard to see why he would have proposed such a resolution if there were other offenses he could have successfully prosecuted, and we are aware of none. We are confident when all of these maneuverings are at an end, my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully."

Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges related to his failure to pay income taxes earlier this year. But while standing in court last month waiting to enter the plea, the agreement fell apart over confusion about a separate gun charge.

The judge asked the parties to hammer out the agreement and return later, leaving Hunter Biden to enter a not-guilty plea while it's litigated.

Lawyers for Hunter Biden had also indicated they believed that the plea agreement would settle all matters facing the president's son, but prosecutors said that other investigations continued.

"After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse. A trial is therefore in order," prosecutors said in their Friday filing.

In another filing later in the day, prosecutors suggested Biden could be facing new charges. "The Government, in the exercise of its prosecutorial discretion, is considering what tax charges to bring in another district and may elect to bring the same charges set forth in the instant information or different ones," the filing said.

Two sources familiar with the situation told NBC News the White House had no advance notice of the special counsel appointment.

Image: Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, leaves the U.S. District Courthouse in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) (Kenny Holston / The New York Times / Redux )

Documents in the failed plea agreement were made public last week.

The White House declined comment, referring reporters to the Justice Department and Hunter Biden's lawyers.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chair of the House Oversight Committee who's been investigating the Biden family's business dealings, blasted Weiss's appointment as "part of the Justice Department's efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup."

"The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden familys corruption," Comer said.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, also ripped the appointment despite previously calling for a special counsel.

David Weiss cant be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familys corruption. Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it," said his spokesperson, Russell Dye.

Dye added that We expect the Department to fully cooperate with our investigation, including not interfering with the 11 transcribed interviews we have requested" from DOJ and FBI officials involved in the probe "and David Weiss upholding his commitment to testify."

In a July 25 letter to House Republicans, Weiss offered to publicly testify before Congress in late September or early October.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., echoed Comer and Jordan, tweeting, "This action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?"

Under the terms of the now-scrapped deal, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes in return for prosecutors recommending a sentence of probation. A separate felony gun possession charge for illegally owning a Colt Cobra .38 Special handgun would have been dropped in two years if Biden honored the terms of whats known as a diversion agreement.

In a plea hearing last month, a Trump-nominated judge declined to sign off on the deal, saying she wanted more information from the two sides about some atypical provisions, including one that could theoretically have protected Biden from other tax-related crimes.

Garland has named two other special counsels since he took over the Justice Department in 2021.

In November 2022, Garland named Jack Smith as a special counsel to conduct two investigations into former President Donald Trump: his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Smith has secured two indictments against Trump, the first in a Florida court that accuses him of mishandling national secrets and the second earlier this month in a Washington, D.C. court, which accuses him of defrauding the U.S. in the bid to prevent the transfer of power.

In January, Garland named Robert Hur to investigate classified documents that were found in President Biden's office and residence. The documents were from his time as vice president.

NBC News reported earlier Friday that the president's attorneys and Hur have been negotiating for about a month over the terms under which he would be interviewed.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
[Source]

Cheng Lei, a Chinese Australian journalist who has been jailed in China for three years, detailed her detention conditions in an open letter to her partner, Nick Coyle.

A love letter to 25 million people: On the three-year anniversary of her detention, Cheng, 48, described her nostalgia and longing for her family and life in Australia in a note she described as a love letter to 25 million people, reported Reuters.

In the letter, Cheng recalled the kindness of people and how the memories of such kindness have restored her behind bars. While she misses nature, such as the beach and the blue skies of Western Australia, Cheng noted that she misses her children most of all. In the three years she has been locked up, her daughter has reportedly entered high school, while her son will soon follow, according to Coyle.

Reliving memories: Cheng also described her lonely living conditions in jail, which have led her to constantly reminisce upon past memories.

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"I miss the sun. In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year. I can't believe I used to avoid the sun when I was living back in Australia It'll probably rain the first two weeks I'm back in Melbourne. I haven't seen a tree in three years I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets. I secretly mouth the names of places I've visited and driven through."

About Chengs arrest: Cheng worked for Chinas state broadcaster CGTN when she was detained in August 2020 for allegedly sharing state secrets. She faced a closed-door trial in Beijing in March 2022 after being detained for over 19 months. The trial ended in less than a day, with the court deferring its verdict. The details of her alleged crimes have not been made public, and Cheng has yet to receive a verdict.

Australian Foreign Ministers statement: On Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Chengs message to the public makes clear her deep love for our country, adding that the nation will continue to advocate for her interests and well-being.

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All Australians want to see her reunited with her children, Wong said. Australia has consistently advocated for Ms Cheng, and asked that basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment be met for Ms Cheng.

Improving relations: Coyle, who remains hopeful about the situation, believes that Chengs release would greatly improve the atmospherics with regard to the bilateral relationship at a time where both countries are making efforts to improve relations.

Australia previously accused China of political interference and intimidation, leading to a diplomatic dispute. However, their relations have been gradually easing with Australias new administration.

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The multi-award winning, best-selling novelist Zadie Smith is among the writers who signed the letter

Over 50 authors have called on the Edinburgh International Book festival to cut ties with one of its sponsors over climate concerns.

A joint letter urges organisers to put pressure on Baillie Gifford over its investment in fossil fuels.

The festival director later called for an "open discussion" about the issue during the event, which starts on Saturday.

Baillie Gifford has said it is not a significant investor in the sector.

Zadie Smith, Ali Smith and Gary Younge are among those who have signed the open letter ahead of the literary festival.

It comes after climate activist Greta Thunberg last week cancelled an appearance at the event.

The authors of the letter expressed solidarity with those harmed by the climate crisis, including people in the global south and in the UK, who have lost their homes, livelihoods and been forced to migrate.

They also highlighted the injustice of corporate greed and profit from the fossil fuel industry at a time when millions across the UK suffer from fuel poverty and the cost of living crisis.

Edinburgh-based author Mikaela Loach, who is due to appear at the event, said organisers "must stand by their 'climate positive' commitment and drop Baillie Gifford as a sponsor."

She added: "Edinburgh International Book Festival wouldn't burn books, so why are they ok with burning the planet?"

Novelist Yara Rodrigues Fowler added recent global wildfires, flooding and extreme heat showed the destruction being caused by the fossil fuel industry.

She said the book festival was giving companies like Baillie Gifford a "social licence" to continue funding "the destruction of our only home".

Greta Thunberg had been due to appear at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 13 August

Festival director Nick Barley thanked the writers for the letter and described them as "the lifeblood of this festival".

He added: "We fully acknowledge your concerns about the devastating impact of fossil fuel exploitation on the climate: as individuals and as a charity we firmly agree.

"For these reasons we promise to think about your letter carefully. The last thing we want is to let anyone give the impression we are on opposite sides."

However Mr Barley warned the arts organisation would not have enough funds to operate without private sponsorship.

He also said Baillie Gifford was investing in companies that were seeking to resolve the crisis, such as Danish windfarm specialist, rsted.

The International Book Festival is due to kick off on Friday 12 August

Mr Barley urged the writers to discuss their concerns during the festival and vowed he would "keep a open mind" about how to proceed.

He added: "Let's talk in the Authors' Yurt, in the bookshop, in the cafe and in the festival courtyard.

"Let's talk in our theatres too: I'd like to find a time when we can invite representatives from across the spectrum of opinion to come on stage and have a discussion which will be open to the public.

"We'll find a date when that's possible and you'd be more than welcome to join us."

Greta Thunberg had been due to speak at an event called It's Not Too Late To Change The World at the Edinburgh Playhouse but pulled out after accusing the sponsors of "greenwashing".

Baillie Gifford, which has sponsored the book festival for 19 years, said 2% of its clients' money invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels compared to a market average of 11%.

The Ferret reported last month that Baillie Gifford had billions invested in firms that profit from fossil fuels.

A spokesperson for the firm previously said: "Of those companies, some have already moved most of their business away from fossil fuels, and many are helping to drive the transition to clean energy.

"Currently, 5% of our clients' money is invested in companies whose sole purpose is to develop clean energy solutions."

The Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from 12-28 August, alongside the Fringe.

The 2023 event will feature over 500 events and 550 authors.
A group of authors are threatening to boycot next years edinburgh International Book Festival if the events main sponsors do not end fossil fuel investments. (Robert Perry/PA)

Authors appearing at this years Edinburgh International Book Festival are threatening to boycott next years event if organisers dont end their link with fossil fuel companies.

More than 50 of the authors and event chairs taking part in this years festival  which gets underway on Saturday (12 August)  have said that if main sponsor Baillie Gifford does not divest billions of cash, organisers should find alternative sponsors.

If this does not happen, all authors should commit to boycotting the festival in 2024, the group said.

Leading writers including Ali Smith, Zadie Smith and Gary Younge have signed the open letter to festival organisers, accusing investment management firm Baillie Gifford of making huge profits from global disaster.

They added that the firm was seeking to hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said the festival would consider the authorss concerns carefully and keep an open mind about how to proceed.

The letter comes in the wake of climate activist Greta Thunberg pulling out of an appearance at this years event, after accusing Baillie Gifford of greenwashing  when an organisation spends more time and money marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimising its environmental impact, according to Business News Daily.

The investment management firm rejected Thunbergs claims that it invests heavily in fossil fuels, saying just two per cent of its clients money was invested in the sector.

@edbookfest returns this weekend to the beautiful and relaxing setting of @eca_edinburgh.



Come and join the conversation, search for your new favourite book, meet authors and writers and relax in the idyllic surroundings.



Explore the full programme now. https://t.co/5M9r4uEOfj pic.twitter.com/1bO7IKg7M6  Edinburgh Festivals (@edfests) August 9, 2023

However, in their open letter to festival organisers, the authors and event chairs said Baillie Gifford has up to 5bn invested in fossil fuel corporations.

They stated: These corporations fuel the climate crisis. Theyre making huge profits from global disaster, and hide behind esteemed cultural institutions, like the Edinburgh Book Festival, as sanction for its continued operations.

The group said they stand in solidarity with all people harmed by the climate crisis, including people in the global south who have lost their homes, their livelihoods and been forced to migrate.

(PA Archive)

They also expressed their solidarity with people in the UK, including those whose homes have been flooded, whose health has been damaged by air pollution, and those who continue to suffer the dire consequences of corporate greed and political negligence.

Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of There Are More Things, said: This summer has been defined by global wildfires, flooding and extreme heat: the climate crisis is here.

In the midst of climate breakdown, Baillie Gifford is investing almost 5bn into the cause of this crisis: companies that profit from the fossil fuel industry.

Edinburgh International Book Festival allowing them to sponsor cultural events gives them a social licence to continue funding the destruction of our only home.

Mikaela Loach, author of Its Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World, stated: Edinburgh International Book Festival wouldnt burn books, so why are they OK with burning the planet?

Baillie Giffords whopping 5bn in investments in corporations making money from the fossil fuel industry is unjustifiable in a climate crisis caused and exacerbated by these same companies who have invested more into climate denial and delay than they have into green energy.

Edinburgh International Book Festival must stand by their Climate Positive commitment and drop Baillie Gifford as a sponsor.

Guy Gunaratne, the author of Mister, Mister, said: In recent years the Edinburgh International Book Festival has gone a long way in facilitating conversations about climate and environmental justice, featuring some of the most prominent authors currently writing on the issue.

For these conversations to go beyond words on the page, they must send a clear message to their sponsors, he added. We call on them to show us that they truly understand the urgency of the situation, and its impact on peoples lives worldwide.

Responding to the letter, Barley said: We fully acknowledge your concerns about the devastating impact of fossil fuel exploitation on the climate  as individuals, and as a charity, we firmly agree.

For these reasons, we promise to think about your letter carefully. The last thing we want is to let anyone give the impression we are on opposite sides.

Just as we promise to listen carefully to you, we ask that you allow us some time to consider your comments. Wed also like to share with you the reasons why we have accepted this sponsorship agreement.

Barley continued: Like all arts organisations in the UK, we wouldnt have enough funds to operate without private sponsorship. We looked very closely at the work of Baillie Gifford and it seems to us that they are, in fact, investing in companies that are seeking to resolve the crisis.

Those companies include Orsted, the Danish wind farm specialist, he said. Orsted was mandated by the Danish government to keep two coal-fired power stations open until 2024 as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine  and that is the only reason why a small percentage of their income still comes from fossil fuels.

I hope you will talk with me and my colleagues, and discuss the complexities of this issue with us.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill speaks during a press conference at the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office about Salt Lake City police officer Matthew Farillas unjustified use of deadly force in 2020 against a 13-year-old boy suffering a mental health crisis in Salt Lake City on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Gill said despite finding the use of force unjustified, the DA is unable to criminally prosecute Farillas due to the burden of proof required and ethical safeguards. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

A Salt Lake police officer was not legally justified when he shot a 13-year-old boy multiple times while the boy was having a mental health crisis and running away from police in 2020, investigators announced Friday.

But Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he will not file any criminal charges against officer Matthew Farillas because of the high burden of proof that his team would have to meet in court to successfully prosecute the officer.

Nearly three years after 13-year-old Linden Cameron was hit by five of the 11 shots fired at him by Farillas in an incident that received nationwide attention, Gill announced his conclusion Friday into the police shooting investigation. Linden survived the shooting but was hospitalized and still requires long-term care.

"We cannot say that the shooting of an unarmed 13-year old child suffering a mental health crisis  who never presented even a facsimile of a weapon or an object which could have been mistaken for a weapon, and who did not act in a manner in which a fair inference would suggest a weapon  was reasonable," Gill's final report states. "However, in spite of the unjustified use of force, in applying the current law, the burden of proof required for a criminal prosecution, and the ethical safeguards imposed upon the prosecution, we are unable to proceed with a criminal prosecution."

On Sept. 4, 2020, Golda Barton called police asking for help with her son, Linden. Barton said Linden is autistic and was previously diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, and, that night, was having an emotional episode while she was at work. She drove home and called 911 and asked for officers with Crisis Intervention Team training to respond.

"I explained to them he's upset. He's having an episode, he needs to go to the hospital," Barton told police.

Linden Cameron, 13, lies on the ground after being shot by a Salt Lake police officer on Sept. 4, 2020. The officer was not legally justified in shooting the unarmed autistic boy, but the district attorney said Friday no charges will be filed against the officer. | Salt Lake police

Officers responded to a report of a juvenile having a "violent psychological issue," according to police. In the 911 call, Barton tells dispatchers that Linden has had violent tendencies in the past.

Three officers  all of whom had Crisis Intervention Team training, including Farillas  responded and met with Barton down the street from her home in the area of 500 South and Navajo Street (1335 West). She explained that her son is afraid of police, doesn't like officers and would likely try to run if they yelled and chased after the boy. She also said she wasn't sure if Linden had a BB or pellet gun with him, but was fairly confident he did not have a real gun.

"I need him to go to hospital," a fatigued Barton tells the officers. "I cannot do this every night."

As two officers go to Barton's front door and knock, an officer in the driveway yells that someone was in the backyard.

"Police. Stop running!" the officer yells at the boy.

At one point, Linden can be heard telling the officer, "No," as he scales a wooden fence.

Linden Cameron, then 13, was shot multiple times while running from officers on Sept. 4, 2020. The officer who shot him was not legally justified, the district attorney announced Friday. But no charges will be filed against the Salt Lake police officer. | Wesley Barton

Officers chased Linden down an alley, and at one point kicked through the wooden fence to get to him. In police body camera video, just before the boy is shot, one officer says, "Pull your hands out, dude. Pull your hands out!" It is not clear in the videos exactly what prompted the officer to shoot.

"Based on a review of the body-worn camera recordings, it appears that about 1 minute and 46 seconds elapsed between when officers first knocked on the front door and when officer Farillas fired his weapon; about 1 minute and 24 seconds elapsed between when officer Farillas first yelled commands to (Linden) and when he fired; and about 8 seconds elapsed between when officer Farillas began yelling to 'Get on the ground' and when he fired," the district attorney's report states.

The body camera videos were critical to investigators in piecing together what happened that night, according to the report. But Gill also notes that "the videos fail to clearly capture (Linden's) words and actions in the moments immediately preceding the shooting. Overall, the video images are low-resolution, grainy and with poor lighting. The audio quality is poor."

When interviewed as part of the shooting investigation, Farillas admitted his vision, while running after Linden, was obstructed by the fence. He also said he remembered a prior incident one of his lieutenants had told him about during which the lieutenant rounded a corner while running after a gunman and was shot at. Because of that, Farillas says he had his gun out and ready.

"I saw him trying to hop a fence into a neighbor's house. I was concerned that if he got into that house he was going to shoot them, or it would turn into a hostage situation," he told investigators, according to the report. "He had came off of the fence. And as I'm giving him commands to get on the ground, I see his hand go to his right waistband. I'm thinking, 'He has a gun. He's going to try to kill me or kill someone else,' and that's when I made the decision to fire. I didn't feel like there was an opportunity to use a Taser just because of the gap.

"He was looking right at me, but he did not say anything," Farillas said during follow-up questions.

"Did you ever see a weapon in his hand?" the investigator asked.

"I did not. I do not recall," Farillas responded.

"But were you able to see his full hand or was it covered by his clothing or anything?"

"So his hoodie went down to his wrist, and then I saw his hand go here. From what I saw, part of his hands here did disappear," he responded.

Golda Barton talks to journalists outside Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City on Sept. 7, 2020. Her 13-year-old son, Linden Cameron, who has Aspergers syndrome, was shot multiple times while he was running from officers three days earlier. | Stuart Johnson, KSL-TV

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office also had two court-qualified expert witnesses review the shooting. The final report from the experts was not received by the office until just three weeks ago.

One expert, Natasha Powers, a retired police sergeant from Colorado, concluded that Farillas did not use good judgment and his "actions were not in concert with established police practices and guidelines," according to the report.

"It is important to know that officer Farillas NEVER said, 'Show me your hands, hands in the air,' or anything that would have commanded (Linden) at minimum to show his hands. Additionally, (Linden's) hands can be seen off and on during this encounter and there does not appear to be anything in his hands," Powers wrote in her opinion.

Furthermore, Powers noted in his interview with shooting investigators, that Farillas "continues to misstate the facts of this case. This call never came out, 'that the juvenile had a gun' and was making threats to use 'that' gun."

The second expert, however, Eric Daigle, an attorney and retired police officer from Connecticut, concluded that Farillas was justified in using deadly force.

"Officer Farillas was faced with a split-second decision in this rapidly evolving, tense and uncertain event, which left him with no choice but to respond with the use of deadly force," his report states.

It was, in part, because of the differing expert opinions that Gill said his office decided it could not proceed with criminal charges.

However, Gill's report addresses the notion that Farillas believed Linden had a gun when he shot at him, and that "he was nevertheless factually, objectively wrong about the necessity for him to use deadly force."

"(Linden) did not and could not have threatened officer Farillas with death or serious bodily injury because (he) did not have a gun on him or any other means to do so. In addition, (Linden) did not have, nor did he present at any time, any facsimile of a weapon or other object which could reasonably have mistaken to be a gun. Even though officer Farillas testified that he believed deadly force was necessary, it was not," the report states.

Gill says it is important to note that Farillas, in his interview, never gave a reason why he believed Linden had a gun.

"Indeed, we know that (Linden) never had a gun on him during the incident and that (he) did not have anything in his hands as he was trying to climb the fence," the report states. "Further, we are not aware of any threatening words, gesture, behavior, or act by (Linden); for example, at no time did (he) make any verbal threat to the officers, position himself to fight or attack, take a fighting stance, or create less distance or advance on an officer.

"Furthermore, officer Farillas himself explained that his 'plan was to tackle (Linden). That in itself speaks to that he did not think (Linden) had a gun. Finally, in the moments before the shooting, officer Farillas did not call out 'gun' or tell (Linden) to show him his hands. Rather he commanded (Linden) to get on the ground," the report states.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill speaks during a press conference at the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office about Salt Lake City police officer Matthew Farillas unjustified use of deadly force in 2020 against a 13-year-old boy suffering a mental health crisis in Salt Lake City on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Gill said despite finding the use of force unjustified, the DA is unable to criminally prosecute Farillas due to the burden of proof required and ethical safeguards. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

As the situation unfolded, Gill said the evidence should have led officers to believe that Linden was simply trying to run away.

In this case, the burden of using force falls on the officer who was trained in responding to a person having a mental health crisis, Gill notes in the report, adding that he is very concerned about how the incident was handled by all of the officers involved.

"In this case, we are concerned by the pattern of decision-making by the officers throughout the call for service and believe that their decisions and actions gave rise to the final confrontation where the use of force was ultimately used. This was an avoidable shooting that did not need to escalate to the point where lethal force was used.

"The outcome in this case  i.e., the shooting of a child suffering a mental health crisis  was the consequence of procedural missteps by the police throughout their response to the call for service. Such an outcome must be prevented from reoccurring," the report says.

Eleven months ago, Linden's family announced they had reached a $3 million settlement with Salt Lake City over the shooting.

In a statement released when the settlement was announced, the family maintained that the police "acted recklessly," but they sought the settlement out of a "desire to provide for Linden's long-term care, to minimize the family's emotional trauma associated with the shooting and to resolve the case outside of formal litigation." The statement noted the payment was the largest settlement paid by Salt Lake City in a shooting case of this type.

Gill is now holding a press conference to go over the findings of his report.

This story will be updated.
The Fort Lauderdale airport terminal that was shut down for more than two hours last weekend came after a sheriffs K-9 dog indicated repeatedly that there could be an explosive in an unattended bag.

There was none, and the owner was eventually reunited with her forgotten suitcase.

A recap of the precautions taken last Sunday was explained to a great degree when the Broward Sheriffs Office released documents Friday about the case.

The incident at the departures floor of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airports Terminal 1 had prompted an evacuation and temporary road closure that left scores of travelers outside for hours.

The precautions began about 10:30 a.m. Sunday when a passenger flagged down a sheriffs deputy about an unattended black bag at the ticket kiosk at Southwest Airlines. The canine team at the airport specializes in identifying explosive devices or materials, and within minutes, a K-9 named Pac arrived.

The K-9 unit searched the bag and had a change in behavior and sat down near the suitcase. This indicated that there may be explosives in the suitcase, according to the incident report released by authorities Friday.

The deputy had his K-9 partner check the bag 2-3 more times and each time, Pac would sit after briefly sniffing the suitcase, according to a report.

Within 12 minutes, after supervisors had been notified, the public started getting ushered out of the building Sunday.

Two bomb squad detectives checked the bag, found no explosives, and issued an all-clear. (The sheriffs report didnt say what was in the bag.) Investigators found the owner, who took her bag and booked the next flight home to Tennessee with her family.

At 12:30 p.m. that day, TSA was allowed back into the building, followed by employees.

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The terminal was opened to the public just before 1 p.m. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., about 29 flights were affected by this incident, according to Celina Saucedo, assistant director of Aviation/Administration.

The Tennessee woman who had the bag couldnt be reached for comment Friday.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
Jackson County prosecutors will be allowed to defend the manslaughter conviction of former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere at a hearing early next month, a Missouri Court of Appeals judge ruled Thursday.

Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and attorneys from her office will be given 10 minutes to speak during oral arguments scheduled for Sept. 5 at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in Kansas City. DeValkenaere, who is white, is seeking a new trial or to have his conviction overturned in the 2019 shooting death of a Black man named Cameron Lamb.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has said the conviction should be overturned and that he would refuse to argue in support of the conviction. The attorney general, whose office is responsible for arguing on behalf of the state, filed a brief agreeing that DeValkenaere was wrongly convicted.

In the order Thursday, Judge W. Douglas Thomson wrote that attorneys for DeValkenaere would be given 10 minutes to present their arguments. Baileys office would have 10 minutes to reply.

Bakers office will have 10 minutes to argue in support of the conviction and DeValkenaeres attorney will have three minutes to present their rebuttal.

Ruling on Jean Peters Baker request to defend DeValkenaere conviction by Ian Cummings on Scribd

DeValkenaere convicted in Cameron Lamb shooting

DeValkenaere was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty during a bench trial of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of Lamb.

It was the first time that a white Kansas City police officer has been convicted in the shooting death of a Black man.

DeValkenaere shot and killed Lamb on Dec. 3, 2019, about nine seconds after he and his partner, Troy Schwalm arrived at Lambs home while investigating a report of a traffic incident. The 26-year-old Lamb was backing his pickup truck down a sloped driveway into his garage when DeValkenaere shot him.

DeValkenaere was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury in June 2020. He testified during a criminal trial that Lamb pointed a handgun at Schwalm when he opened fire.

Police found Lamb inside the truck with his left arm and head hanging out of the drivers side window. A handgun was found on the ground near Lambs left hand, police said at the time.

At trial, prosecutors argued the crime scene and staged and evidence was planted.

Baileys office has argued that DeValkenaere did not act with criminal negligence in causing Mr. Lambs death and that he reasonably used deadly force in defense of his partner.

Baker described the move not to defend the conviction as unprecedented. Her office sought to intervene in the appeal because, with the attorney generals decision, no one would advocate to affirm the sentence and judgment.

Since the conviction there have been multiple efforts to lobby Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to pardon DeValkenaere. However, Parson has said he has not met with DeValkenaere or his attorneys but he has the legal authority to grant the pardon.

In response, Baker made public a letter that urged Parson not to follow through with the pardon.
The Barbershop, a local hair place, is hosting its 6th annual back-to-school event by providing DCPS students with free backpacks, food and discounted haircuts.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The event runs from Aug. 11 to 13 during business hours, and is meant to help DCPS students check the last boxes off their checklist before heading back to school Monday morning.

The event will be hosted by all three Barbershop locations, which can be found below:

Read: Olympic gold medalist and family to bring new swim school to St. Johns County

All kids cuts come with a free drawstring bag with school supplies while supplies last.

For more information, check out the Barbershops Instagram.

Read: Orlando police escort fallen officer Kevin Valencias son to first day of school

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Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
A Barstow couple was arrested on suspicion of having firearms, ammunition, and drugs inside a home where several children lived, police said.

Around 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 4, Barstow detective Bryce Carson and officers conducted a follow-up investigation about the illegal possession of firearms at a home in the 500 block of Lillian Drive, according to police.

The area is located south of Main Street and Lillian Park, and a few blocks from Barstow Superior Court.

Officers said they served a search warrant at the address, where they spoke with 34-year-old Daniel Silva, and 27-year-old Dolores Reynoso, according to police.

Inside the home, detectives said they found methamphetamine, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, six rifles, four shotguns, and nine pistols. Three of the firearms were reported stolen out of Victorville and Barstow, the police report stated.

Detectives also learned that several children lived in the home and had access to loaded firearms and drugs, Barstow police officials said.

Silva was arrested on suspicion of being a felon while possessing a firearm, possessing a controlled substance while armed, and child endangerment. Reynoso was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance while armed, and child endangerment, according to police.

They were booked into the San Bernardino County Sheriffs High Desert Detention Center.

Silva was released on bail the day after his arrest according to sheriffs booking records that show no information on Reynoso.

A woman claiming to be Reynoso contacted the Daily Press on Friday disputing the police report. She claimed children were not in the home or on the property, and that police made contact away from the residence. She also disputed the charges and said police did not serve the search warrant.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to contact Detective Bryce Carson at 760-255-5160 or bcarson@barstowca.org. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the WE-TIP hotline at 800-79-CRIME (27469) or wetip.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Police arrest couple after children found in home with drugs, firearms
Photo: Chung Chow. Jennifer Natland, vice-president of real estate at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, said that acquiring new land is where the port is afeeling the pincha

Metro Vancouvers industrial land squeeze is no secret, but the pain it is expected to cause is becoming harder to manage.



With no simple fixes in sight, the stakes are rising for Canadas largest port  and the local and national economies it supports.



The Port of Vancouver  the most-diversified port in North America  is struggling to acquire the land it needs to support trade, a growing population and economic activity. The consequences are already manifesting in businesses looking to other provinces for industrial land, and in inefficient supply chains at a time when job action also threatens the expeditious movement of goods.



How that manifests in terms of inefficiency is a container that would arrive at the Port of Vancouver today, with goods that are destined for the local market, are actually being put onto a train and transported outside of the province to markets such as Calgary, said Jennifer Natland, vice-president of real estate at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the organization that manages federal lands and waters within the Port of Vancouver.



[The goods] are then sorted and trucked back to the region before their final distribution within [Metro Vancouver].



Natland said that this type of activity will only increase if land isnt allocated for warehouses and distribution centres in the region.



Metro Vancouver as a whole needs 404.7 hectares (1,000 acres) of land over the next 10 years to properly support trade to Canada through the Port of Vancouver, she said.



Natland would not indicate how many acres of land the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority needs.



Chris MacCauley, executive vice-president at commercial real estate company CBRE, estimates that the port itself needs 607 hectares (1,500 acres) of land over the next decade.



We simply don't have 1,500 acres of industrial land in Vancouver, said MacCauley.



And that's just what the port needs, that doesn't even take into account what our local industrial needs are, other things that are not port related, new entrants coming to the market or existing companies that need to expand. You have many stakeholders at the table looking for a piece of the pie and there's no pie.



The Port of Vancouver borders 16 municipalities and encompasses roughly 16,000 hectares of water, 1,500 hectares of land and hundreds of kilometres of shoreline.



A potential solution to the land squeeze  albeit a controversial one  may lie in B.C.s agricultural land reserve (ALR), MacCauley said.



We've been talking about [multi-storey and stacked industrial] for years now and it's been proven across North America that it is not the answer. That is a solution for certain problems, but it's not a solution when we're talking about trade enabling lands, said MacCauley.



Instead of constructing new industrial parks, MacCauley proposes adding ALR land to existing industrial parks. He emphasized that the focus would be on land that is not being utilized for agricultural purposes but is still protected under the ALR designation.



I'm not saying that we have to give up food security or pave over good agricultural land that is currently producing, he said. I think what we really have to do is revisit a 50-year-old charter and find a balance of what is needed for the agricultural community and what is needed for the industrial community.



Kim Grout, CEO at the provincial Agricultural Land Commission, said that she understands the need for more industrial land, but acknowledged that agricultural land is also in short supply.



There's lots of ALR that's owned by people who intend to hold it, in some cases for a generation in the hopes that it'll be something else in the future. There's no restriction on ownership in the ALR, which sometimes is the challenge, she said.



The agricultural land commission would not support the ALR being bought by the port for industrial uses, said Grout.



This article is first in a two-part series on industrial land. Read the second part of this story here.


FALL RIVER  A 28-year-old New Bedford man was convicted of violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend this week after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court despite the victims refusal to testify in the case, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Matthew Torres was convicted of aggravated assault and battery with serious bodily injury and domestic assault and battery. He was sentenced by Judge Susan Sullivan to serve five years in state prison.

On Sept. 23, 2022, New Bedford Police were dispatched to a residence for a domestic disturbance after a third party called police to state that his friend had just been attacked by her ex-boyfriend.

Upon arrival at the home, police met with the female victim, who told police that the defendant was high on drugs when he attacked her.

She said he punched her in the face multiple times and locked her in a dog kennel for about 10 minutes.

A 28-year-old New Bedford man was convicted of violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend this week after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court despite the victims refusal to testify in the case.

The victim was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a fractured eye socket and a broken nose.

During the trial, the victim cut off her testimony and refused to answer any questions despite being granted immunity by the court.

After being given several opportunities to continue her testimony, Judge Sullivan eventually jailed her overnight for contempt of court.

Despite the victims refusal to testify, Assistant District Attorney Courtney Cahill was still able to go forward with the trial, utilizing the victims statements to police at the time of the incident as evidence, as well as testimony from the 911 caller, two police officers, an EMT and the emergency room doctor.

The defendant is a repeat offender with a nine-page criminal record, which includes at least three other jail or state prison sentences for crimes ranging from domestic violence to burglary.

The defendant committed a brutal assault against the victim, which resulted in a broken nose and fractured facial bones. Unfortunately the victim would not cooperate with the prosecution despite the severe beating and the granting of immunity by the court. This is something Ive rarely seen in my career. As the judge indicated, this undermined the court proceedings and is an affront to the administration of justice. Its very sad. However, I commend the jury for using their common sense and concluding no one else couldve inflicted these serious injuries. The defendant has a significant record and needs to be kept off the street to protect this victim and society, Quinn said.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford man found guilty of violent assault; victim refused to testify
The end of the road may be near for WeWork. The company, which describes itself as a "global workplace provider committed to delivering flexible solutions, inspiring, safety-focused spaces, and unmatched community experiences," recently released its Q2 2023 financial information, and the outlook seems grim. WeWork has lost nearly $700 million since the beginning of the year, according to its newest SEC filing, and the accompanying press release states that "substantial doubt exists about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

This pessimism is also felt among WeWork's investors, as the company's price-per-share on Wall Street is currently less than a dollar. This follows a continuing dip in WeWork's stock, which "has plunged 85% so far in 2023," Barron's reported. Amid all of these financial woes, the company said it's exploring a stock sale or sale of assets to try and raise more money.

WeWork has been on the decline for a while. The company first gained prominence in 2019 after failing to go public and has had several rounds of layoffs since. But this appears to be the first real admission from company executives that WeWork, once valued at more than $40 billion, is nearing the end of its lifespan. How did WeWork get here, and what's next?

The beginnings and troubles

Founded in 2010, WeWork was established in Brooklyn by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and began offering "eco-friendly" coworking spaces across New York City. Within the next few years, the company grew rapidly. In 2014, WeWork was the "fastest-growing lessee of new office space in New York," Forbes reported, and was set to "become the fastest-growing lessee of new space in America" the next year, in addition to branching out internationally.

In 2015, WeWork was named one of Fast Company's 50 most innovative brands and continued raising massive amounts of capital. By 2017, it had a valuation of $20 billion, and in January 2019, it raised money at $47 billion, the company's largest-ever valuation. During this rise, WeWork launched an initial public offering (IPO) later that year, but the company "faced intense scrutiny of its finances and leadership from investors and the media," Insider reported.

While WeWork's business model was known to be "expensive and have little path to profitability since at least 2015," The Guardian reported, it was the company's IPO filing that shed light on its financial troubles. In particular, WeWork had "relied on documents distributed to potential venture investors" that downplayed the company's problems, The Guardian added. Despite "fantastical profit projections  in 2017 WeWork had lost $883 million, despite having some $886 million in revenue." In 2018, the Financial Times reported that WeWork was "worth closer to $3 billion than the $20 billion valuation" it had at the time and lost $1.9 billion from $1.8 billion of revenue.

The full scope of WeWork's business practices revealed by its IPO led to the delay of the public offering. The company laid off 2,400 employees at the end of 2019, and there have been additional layoffs since. While WeWork finally went public with its IPO in 2021, its operating costs have continued to climb, and "since the end of 2017, WeWork has lost $15 billion," The New York Times reported. Neumann would eventually exit the company due to WeWork's exorbitant spending and received a $1.6 billion payout to do so. The brand once worth $47 billion is now valued at an estimated $450 million.

The future

To save itself, WeWork is banking on the continued shift toward remote and hybrid work, as "employers would be more wary of signing long-term leases and would turn to WeWork's flexible models instead," Bloomberg reported. While the outlet noted this is still a possibility, it hasn't been happening quickly enough, and "more customers were leaving and fewer new members were signing up than it had anticipated." This was notably slicing the occupancy rate among WeWork's offices.

The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on office spaces has left "WeWork heavy on debt and struggling to generate cash," CNBC reported, and "key factors for whether WeWork can remain a going concern include limiting capital expenditures, increasing revenue and seeking capital through debt or equity issuance." WeWork is also looking for a full-time CEO following the departure of Neumann's replacement, Sandeep Mathrani, earlier this year.

It seems that many prior investors may be souring on the idea of WeWork's continuance. Masayoshi Son, the CEO of investment management portfolio SoftBank, "poured billions of dollars into the company  only to later call the investment 'foolish,'" The Washington Post reported.

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Ever since Xena: Warrior Princess dipped its toe into the musical genre in 1998, it seems that the musical episode has become something of a rite of passage for any long-running series. Ranging from the uproariously funny to, well, the CW, for every hit musical episode theres a real dud. (Riverdales four attempts at a musical episode, Im looking at you.)

This year, however, weve finally been graced with a musical Star Trek episode: Strange New Worlds Subspace Rhapsody. And whats the best way to mark this occasion? By picking the most enduring musical episodes and having them duke it out (at least inside my mind) to find out which is the best of the best.

The criteria are simple. First, to be regarded as a musical episode, the musical portion needs to take up at least half an episodes runtimeso no musical interludes. Second, the series we considered couldnt already be known as musical series, like Glee, Schmigadoon!, or Smash. Episodes will be listed worst to best. And lastly, all episodes will be judged by how well they hold up against objectively the best musical, Legally Blonde: The Musical. I wont be taking any questions on that.

With the rules out of the way, here is the definitive list of the best musical episodes on TV.

8. The Simpsons

All Singing, All Dancing (Season 9, Episode 11)

Im cheating right off the bat to shoehorn The Simpsons onto the list. After decades of musical numbers, it would be unfair to not see it placed somewhere. One of The Simpsons clip-shows, All Singing, All Dancing draws on the best songs up to Season 9, as Homer (Dan Castellaneta) rails against Paint Your Wagon for not being the violent western he expected. When he expresses a dislike for musicals, Marge (Julie Kavner) reminds him that he loves singing.

What follows is a series of musical clipsinterrupted by Snake (Hank Azaria) repeatedly breaking into the Simpsons home that includes an enviable greatest hits of The Simpsons music. From The Monorail Song to See My Vest and Baby on Board. Its a reminder that weve never had it quite as good as in the golden years of The Simpsons.

7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Once More With Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7)

It would be fair to argue this episode should be rank higher. This is a soundtrack that peaked at Number 49 on the Billboard 200, after all. With the musical stylings of Anthony Head (star of the criminally underrated Repo: The Genetic Opera) and anchored by Sarah Michelle Gellar expertly balancing singing and portraying Buffys continuing grief after her resurrection, Once More With Feeling is a quintessential TV musical episode and a smart way to explore the complicated emotions floating around Buffys sixth season.

Unfortunately, with hindsight, those songs that we all loved in 2001 dont quite stack up as well two decades later. Similarly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer will forever be tainted by the allegations that surfaced against Joss Whedon in recent years. This episode, in particular, has his fingerprints all over itWhedon directed the episode and composed the songs and lyrics. As a result, its become increasingly difficult to call Once More With Feeling the best musical episode, despite the surprisingly strong musical theater stylings of the cast, but it deserves its due as likely the most enduring.

6. Lucifer

Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam (Season 5, Episode 10)

For a series that spent four-and-a-half seasons using Tom Ellis musical talents while portraying a singing, piano-playing Devil, it sure took a long time (and a jump to Netflix) for Lucifer to get a musical episode. Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam is an episode curiously true to the shows lore, given that the catalyst for the gang singing 80s and 90s hits is mischief from a visiting God (Dennis Haysbert).

Plenty of shows have had a stab at a jukebox musical (and I am begging Ryan Murphy to stop it), but Lucifer does it bestif only because the entire cast is both fully committed to the bit and entirely aware how ridiculous an episode it makes. The whole thing is anchored, like the rest of the show, by Ellis charisma, as well as a playlist, including Another One Bites the Dust (sung over a dead body) and Debbie Gibson guesting on Every Breath You Take. Its nostalgic, cheesy, and a factory for second-hand embarrassmenteverything a TV musical episode should be.

5. Futurama

The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings (Season 4, Episode 18)

Theres something about animation that always elevates musical episodes in a way their live-action counterparts struggle to do. Through the holophonor, an instrument that projects a hologram of the subject of the music, The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings is no different. When a lack of musical talent makes it hard to impress Lela (Katey Sagal), Fry (Billy West) makes a deal with the Robot Devil (Dan Castellaneta) for musical excellencea deal that backfires on the Devil, as he and Fry swap hands.

This Futurama episode pushes my completely arbitrary criteria to the limit, with the actual musical in this episode lasting, maybe, seven minutes. But once Frys operetta begins it becomes clear that this is exactly the kind of musical one would expect from a Matt Groening production, with sharp lyrics, talented singing, and a heartfelt underlying messageall wrapped in a bitesize sci-fi opera, which is interrupted by the Devils attempts to regain his digits. The show must go on as, after a series of hand swapping, Lela asks Fry to continue the musical even after his talent is gone and Im not crying, you are.

4. Xena: Warrior Princess

The Bitter Suite (Season 3, Episode 12)

Some maintain that new is always better, but in the case of TV musicals, few surpass the episode that may have popularized the concept. Two Emmy nominations attest to just how beloved an episode The Bitter Suite is in an already beloved show. Sure, its a little rough around the edges, but thats part of its charm. The rest of the charm is drawn from how surprisingly excellent everyone is at singingexcept Renee OConnor and Hudson Leick, they were dubbed so well never know. But Lucy Lawless, Kevin Smith, Ted Raimi, and Willa ONeill all do their own singing and sound fantastic.

The bright colors, sometimes flimsy sets, and some truly diabolical CGI mean The Bitter Suite is wrapped in a kind of surrealism on which musicals thrive. All of which makes this one of the best episodes across both Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Kevin Sorbo would never). Look out for baby Karl Urban, too!

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Subspace Rhapsody (Season 2, Episode 9)

Lets get one thing straight, the songs in Subspace Rhapsody arent great. They melt into each other almost as soon as the second number, Connect to Your Truth, starts. Though, that theres an albums worth of original music is impressive (10 songs from Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, of Letters to Cleo fame). The main reason this is on this list is that, after more than 50 years, Star Trek finally has a musical episode. While the music may be middling, the episode is steeped in everything that makes Star Trek (and Strange New Worlds) so great: a random space doohickey makes everyone sing and, while singing, the crew have to stop it. Thats it.

Is it goofy? Yes. Does it take characters way out of their typical personalities? You bet. Does Captain Dad (Anson Mount) sing? He gives big Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! energy, but he sure does.

Is any of that bad? Not in the slightest. I cannot stress how Subspace Rhapsody, despite meh songs, is one of the best episodes of Star Trek weve ever had.

2. Scrubs

My Musical (Season 6, Episode 8)

This episode starts with a woman (played by Stephanie DAbruzzo) collapsing, which causes her to hear all conversations as playful songs. It ends with her having a life-threatening brain aneurysm surgically removed. If thats not the perfect epitomisation of Scrubs balance between comedy and drama, I dont know what is.

If the set-up is perfect, the actual music in My Musical is even better, parodying everything from Les Miserables to Disney musicals like Beauty and the Beast. Like the best musicals, however, the fun comes with a strong emotional core. In this case, thats a relatable story of doctors dismissing patients and labeling real, life-threatening conditions as psychosomatic. You know, with a song about poo thrown into the mix.

1. Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The Nightman Cometh (Season 4, Episode 13*)

Like The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings, the musical of The Nightman Cometh doesnt appear until the second act. The first half is made up of a surprisingly sincere Charlie (Charlie Day) trying to put on a musical with his friends, ostensibly just because he wants to. The gang, in turn, try to ruin it by making it about themselves and persistently questioning why anyone would write a musical without an angle. Naturally, because this is Its Always Sunny, there is an angle: its all a ploy to get The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) to marry him.

Whats so great about The Nightman Cometh, and what fires it to the top of this list, is that it is at once a sendup of and a loving homage to the TV musical episode; an ungodly mix of cynicism, satire, and showbiz that manages to be both peak Its Always Sunny and the pinnacle of TV musical episodes. Though, while it even spawned a live version of the episode for a while, its not as good as Legally Blonde: The Musical. Nothing is. But The Nightman Cometh is the best TV musical episode.

*This episode is often listed as Episode 12 on streaming as Episode 3, America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model was pulled.

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US President Joe Bidens administration has submitted a request to Congress to allocate more than US$22 billion by the end of the year to support Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Associated Press

Details: The White House request refers to more than US$13 billion in military aid and US$8 billion in humanitarian support.

The request is for a total of US$40 billion. In addition to the funds provided to support Ukraine, it also includes US$12 billion to replenish the federal disaster response fund after a series of events this summer, as well as funds to improve law enforcement measures on the border with Mexico.

The outlet suggests that approving the funds this time may be more difficult than in previous cases, because Republicans in Congress feel a lot of pressure to support their fellow party member, former President Donald Trump, who has questioned the need for such significant support for Ukraine, and among American voters, support for aid to Ukraine has somewhat decreased.

In a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, White House budget director Shalanda Young calls for swift action.

The request was immediately framed in such a way as to increase the chances of bipartisan support, including increasing funding for border protection, which is a priority issue for the Republicans.

Background:

The White House has said that it sees no evidence of decrease in Americans' support for sending military aid to Ukraine.

The United States allocated over US$66 billion in total aid to Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
WASHINGTON  Attorneys for President Joe Biden and the special counsel appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents have been negotiating for about a month over the terms under which he would be interviewed, two people familiar with the matter said.

Discussions between Bidens lawyers and special counsel Robert Hurs office are focused on how, when and where the interview might take place, as well as the scope of the questions, these people said. They stressed that the negotiations are ongoing and that no agreement has been reached.

The back-and-forth suggests that the probe  now in its eighth month  may not be wrapping up imminently. But an interview with the person at the center of an investigation typically takes place near the end of the process.

A spokesperson for Bidens personal attorney, Bob Bauer, declined to comment Thursday, as did a spokesperson for Hur.

The White House declined to comment and referred questions to the Justice Department, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

For months now, Bidens lawyers have been gaming out various scenarios for an interview, with the expectation that he would provide one once his legal team and the special counsel agreed on the specifics.

Negotiating those conditions includes, in part, settling on whether the interview would be in person and, if so, where it might happen  as well as the range of topics and questions that would be covered, said the people familiar with the negotiations.

Most of the classified documents discovered in November and this year were related to Bidens time as vice president, according to his attorneys, though some also pertained to his time as a U.S. senator. The documents were found in an office Biden used after he left the vice presidency and at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

The searches, however, also turned up a large number of notebooks Biden kept during his time in public office before he was elected president that could contain sensitive information.

It is unclear exactly how many documents were seized for review and whether that is still a major factor contributing to the length of the investigation.

The Biden team would like to know in advance, ideally, whether a sit-down with the special counsel would include questions about material beyond the vice presidency, and they would prefer to limit the scope, one of the people familiar with the negotiations said.

Biden has pledged to cooperate fully and completely with the Justice Departments investigation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur in January, two months after he named Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the investigation into former President Donald Trumps handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump in June was indicted in the classified documents probe on 37 counts stemming from seven charges, including violating the Espionage Act, with a superseding indictment adding charges that he sought the destruction of security video at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump has cast the indictment and a subsequent one related to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election as politically motivated by the Justice Department. The White House has said the Justice Department is acting independently, and Biden has sought to avoid discussing any Trump investigations.

Polls show Biden and Trump could face a rematch next year, with Trump far ahead of his rivals for the Republican nomination.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, also a presidential candidate, found classified documents from his time in office at his home in Indiana, as well. Garland did not appoint a special counsel for Pence; the Justice Department cleared him of any potential wrongdoing.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Biden on Thursday described China as a ticking time bomb, pointing to the countrys underlying economic challenges in some of his starkest comments about Beijing to date.

Biden, speaking to supporters at a fundraiser in Utah, suggested China was in trouble because of slowing growth and a high unemployment rate.

China is a ticking time bomb in many cases, Biden said.

Theyve got some problems, he added. Thats not good, because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.

The presidents comments risk exacerbating tensions with Beijing at a time when the relationship between the two countries is already tense, though U.S. officials have conducted outreach in recent weeks.

Biden earlier this week issued an executive order restricting certain U.S. investments in Chinese technology sectors, citing the risk that those investments could be used to help Beijings military and intelligence programs.

Thursday was not the first time Biden has spoken more openly than usual about China at a political fundraiser.

During a July swing through California, Biden said at a fundraiser that Chinese President Xi Jinping was a dictator who got upset when a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of the U.S. earlier in the year.

That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didnt know what happened, Biden said at the time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The appointment on Friday of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden likely ensured that the probe of the presidents son, and the headlines it produces, will doggedly shadow his fathers reelection campaign for the duration of it.

While no evidence has yet been presented to connect Hunter Bidens business dealings with President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice's decision to allow for a special counsel adds fuel to a storyline that many on the right have feverishly gripped as the key to the presidents political downfall.

And yet, it was an outcome that still managed to please no one.

Inside the White House, U.S. Attorney David Weiss selection as special counsel was met with private frustration. Those close to Biden believed that the appointment was the result of a GOP pressure campaign intended to distract from the legal troubles surrounding their partys presidential frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.

But many Republicans also voiced unhappiness, expressing their belief that the appointment of a special counsel was actually meant to protect the president by creating a mechanism to stall the various Hunter Biden probes being conducted by the GOP-led House of Representatives.

What was certain in the aftermath of Attorney General Merrick Garlands announcement was that as much as the White House had tried to turn the page, the specter of Hunter Bidens legal problems would hang over his fathers reelection bid.



This is exactly, exactly why Im trying to raise the alarm, said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has toyed with the idea of challenging Biden in a Democratic primary and encouraged others to do so.

It is another reason why I wish this call to action that I'm trying to inject into the Democratic Party would be heard, Phillips said. The data, the polling is a huge risk. The president's age is a risk. And now the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the president's son  essentially, what, 16 months before the 2024 election  is almost certain to ensure that this is front and center during the most consequential campaign in perhaps history.

It was barely two weeks ago that the younger Biden was mere minutes away from a plea deal that could have put his legal worries to rest. But a federal judge in Delaware balked at the expansiveness of the immunity being granted. Garland said Friday that he approved the request from Weiss  who had been investigating Hunter Biden and approved the plea deal  to assume the title of special counsel to continue the probe. Weiss, a Trump appointee, said Friday that plea agreement talks had broken down and that a trial was likely.

Outwardly, Biden world downplayed the development and promised full cooperation with the newly empowered special counsels investigation.

"This doesnt change our understanding of Mr. Weiss authority over the five-year investigation into Mr. Biden, said Chris Clark, one of the attorneys for Hunter Biden. For years, both Mr. Weiss and the Department have assured us and the public that Mr. Weiss had more authority than a special counsel and full authority to negotiate a resolution of his investigation  which has been done. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and well do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.

A narrow reading of the appointment could suggest, some experts said, that in the aftermath of the plea deal collapse, Weiss simply needed the broader powers of a special counsel to prosecute crimes committed outside of his Delaware jurisdiction. Some of the matters Hunter Biden is facing occurred in California and the District of Columbia and there was no certainty that Weiss would expand the probe beyond existing charges.

But there was suggestion, at the plea hearing, of other investigations. And history suggests that Friday represented an expansion of the scope of Weiss work, not just an effort to access new venues  some special counsels probing previous administrations have at times dramatically broadened the scope of their inquiries.



Few, if any, Democrats believe that a trial would be anything but a lengthy distraction from the campaign, though several argued that the appointment of Weiss would diffuse a Republican talking point that the DOJ was trying to impede the investigation.

Attorney General Garland has committed to avoiding even the appearance of politicization at the Justice Department, and his appointment of a Special Counsel in this matter demonstrates that commitment yet again, said Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in June found that most Americans said the Hunter Biden plea deal does not affect their likelihood of voting for Biden next year.

The White House and Biden campaign declined comment on the appointment.

The investigation into Hunter was discussed by the Biden family prior to launching the 2024 campaign. First lady Jill Biden made clear last year that it would not play a decisive role in whether or not the president would run for reelection. But the impact that the scrutiny of another campaign might have on Hunter Biden was weighed, according to three people not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.

The president had long expressed private frustration with the length of the federal investigation into his son  now five years and counting  and has worried deeply about the toll it took on Hunter, who has been open about his drug addiction issues, according to two people close to the elder Biden not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. The plea deal would have been a marker, the first couple hoped, of a new era in Hunter Bidens life. Biden calls to check on his son nearly every day, people close to him said, to voice his love, concern and support for Hunter staying sober.

Biden aides  while believing that most voters dont care about the allegations into Hunter  have grown accustomed to the growing number of accusations being levied by Republicans against the so-called Biden Crime Family. Even though a number of alleged witnesses and whistleblowers have yet to provide evidence of illegality, Republicans have seized on the allegations  and even discussed impeachment.

But many Republicans were not happy with the appointment of a special counsel  even though they had called for exactly that.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy posted on social media that this action by Bidens DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldnt get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise echoed the notion, declaring: Dont be fooled. Garland appointing Weiss as a sham special counsel on Hunter is a way to block info from Congress while claiming theyre investigating.

The House Republican Judiciary Committee also issued a statement blasting the appointment, although in February it tweeted: Why hasnt DOJ appointed a special counsel for the Hunter Biden investigation?

While no one in the White House nor Bidens reelection team was happy about the appointment  least of all the president  the White House does believe that many Americans, especially those with addictions in their own family, are, and will be, sympathetic to the Bidens. And aides have long believed that many of the Hunter Biden allegations were known before the 2020 election and didnt dissuade voters.

Still, many Democrats worry that Hunter Biden  along with the presidents age  loom as real tripwires for the presidents reelection bid even if it is against a Republican standard-bearer facing multiple criminal trials of his own.

We may know the scale here is dramatically different. I mean, we have one individual who tried to overthrow our democracy and behave like a fascist dictator.  Hunter Biden is a guy who had substance abuse problems, said one national Democratic strategist. Clearly hes done some things that arent right. But for voters, unfortunately, in this partisan environment were in, its going to be hard for voters to make a distinction. And I think that really, seriously hurts Biden.

Jennifer Haberkorn and Lauren Egan contributed to this report.
Joe Bidens team thinks his path to victory in 2024 could look an awful lot like it did in 2020. But people close to the president believe that voters enthusiasm about abortion rights could also unlock new roads to another term.

The most straightforward route that those in Biden world see includes protecting the blue wall of Rust Belt states that were essential to his success three years ago, while preparing for repeat battles in the new swing states of Georgia and Arizona that he swiped from the Republican column.

Bidens aides also are moving to expand the map. Above all else, they believe North Carolina, where a 12-week abortion ban has gone into effect, is a legitimate pick-up opportunity and no longer Democratic fools gold. A senior Biden campaign official, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly, said it would be crazy to not put North Carolina on the map since the president only lost it by 1 percentage point in 2020.



Bidens campaign and the Democratic National Committee have aired ads there as well as in former President Donald Trumps home base of Florida, where an amendment to restore abortion rights could be on the ballot next fall. And after this weeks election in solidly red Ohio, where voters defeated a proposal designed to restrict abortion rights, a handful in Bidens orbit have begun to dream a little bit bigger: thinking that state could maybe, just maybe, be in play.

I never count out Ohio, said American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a close ally of Bidens. What you saw [this week] in terms of Ohio is that fairness won out.

Becca Siegel, a senior adviser who led the Biden campaigns data and analytics efforts in 2020, said the teams goal at this early stage in the race is to maximize the chances of reaching 270 electoral votes in whatever way it can.

Its an approach that the Biden operation also took in 2020, she said, when it put states like Georgia and Arizona on their list of possibilities even though that shortest path to winning was flipping back the Rust Belt states that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. She said the strategy is designed to protect against uncertainty: in both polling as well as in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin  the states Trump unexpectedly flipped in 2016. Biden went on to take those battlegrounds back last election, as well as Georgia and Arizona.

Strategists in Biden world are clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning in Florida and Ohio  few share Weingartens optimism about the Buckeye State and others say Florida is wishful thinking. Both states, once the ultimate battlegrounds (Barack Obama won them both, twice), have moved decisively to the right in recent cycles.

Instead, the presidents map begins with that trio of Rust Belt states he took back from Trump, according to five sources close to the Biden campaign who were granted anonymity because they arent authorized to speak publicly. They think the Sun Belt states of Georgia, Arizona and Nevada are also among the top toss-ups.

They also foresee a likely rematch with Trump.

Will it probably just be the same states? Yeah, probably, said one of the people close to the Biden campaign.

But, the source added, the abortion issue is alive and well and gives the Biden campaign a certain advantage: You have an abortion referendum in places like Florida and Ohio. Well, that makes you take a good look at things.  Maybe all of a sudden Ohio is in play.

The White House has spent more than two-and-a-half years zeroing in on the states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, repeatedly dispatching the president and top advisors to union halls and construction sites there.

But there are questions about the blue walls sturdiness. A round of recent polling shows Biden in a dead heat with Trump in the three battlegrounds.

An Emerson College poll of Michigan voters released last week found Biden and Trump each at 44 percent, with Trump sneaking ahead if Green Party candidate Cornel West is on the ticket. A Marquette Law School survey released the week before showed Wisconsin voters a 50-50 split between Biden and Trump. And a Pennsylvania poll by Quinnipiac University released a month prior told a similar story, with Trump edging Biden 47-46, though it was well within the margin of error.

Those tasked with securing the president a second term are not overly worried, but they admit that the race will be tight. They argue that Bidens legislative record, his leadership on the world stage, and the economic growth coming out of the pandemic will help propel him to another win. They also believe that Trumps legal challenges, litany of scandals and MAGA positions will alienate swing voters.



At the same time, they acknowledge Trumps strength in those swing states, particularly among white working-class voters. Trump has also picked up support among union workers, despite Bidens close relationship with organized labor. And all three of the Rust Belt states feature large cities, including Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee, where Biden needs to reverse a drop in enthusiasm in both young voters and Black voters, particularly men.

In the midterms and throughout elections this year, we've seen that President Bidens message is the winning one for 2024. That said, we fully expect this to be a competitive election and will take nothing for granted, said Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the Biden campaign. We must earn every American's vote, which is why we're already investing in our battlegrounds and key voting blocs.

Of the three Rust Belt states, the people close to the Biden campaign feel the most confident about Michigan. But even they dont think it is a sure thing. Pennsylvania, many believe, will be closer. Biden has spent more time there than any other swing state and hails from neighboring Delaware. But Trump showed remarkable strength with white working-class voters in the state, and Biden did not quite meet projections with that same group in 2020, according to two sources familiar with internal campaign data.

In fact, some in Bidens orbit believe that demographics indicate Pennsylvania may be where Ohio was ten years ago, only growing more challenging for Democrats with each passing cycle. Others are less bearish, pointing to wins by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman in 2022 as proof of strong momentum in the state.

Wisconsin, most of the sources believe, will be the closest state on the map and quite possibly the races tipping-point state. Arizona, those people think, will likely be next, followed by Georgia and Nevada.

Georgia, though, could be more challenging depending on the nominee. Some close to the president believe that it arrived as a swing state ahead of schedule and only Trumps presence at the top of the ticket puts it in play  especially if coverage of his likely election interference trial there saturates the state. Another Republican, in their view, likely carries it.

But there are differing takes on that front. The senior Biden campaign official disagreed, saying that Georgia is in play even if other Republicans win the nomination. And broadly speaking, the person argued that it is too early to have too firm of opinions about what the map will look like next November.

Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who was a senior advisor to Marco Rubios 2016 presidential campaign, said a big question for Biden is whether his base returns to him.

Does he recover his footing with younger voters, with non-white voters? Can he get those numbers back up? he said. If not, it makes states like North Carolina and Nevada really tough for him.

Trump, he said, faces his own challenges. For Trump, can he improve his standing with independents? My sense is that he has not so far. If he cant, due to reminders of January 6, then you could see Pennsylvania fall off the map, maybe Arizona and Georgia get tougher, too.

Not every Democrat is dreaming of new paths to 270 electoral votes. Jim Messina, who served as then-President Barack Obamas 2012 reelection campaign manager and has at times informally advised Biden, said that 2024 will feature the smallest map in the history of American politics. Thats a reflection, he added, of two candidates who are so well-known and the increased political tribalism in the country in recent years.

Though polls suggest concerns about Bidens age and a lack of enthusiasm even among voters who like him, the presidents team is confident in their chances in a second round with Trump.



And abortion, they think, will be key. They expect it to drive turnout, including among suburban women and voters who may be lukewarm to the president.

When Roe v. Wade was struck down, there was a huge shock of Oh my god, this really happened. They really took away a right. And as these states have been more and more extremist, youre seeing more women and families wondering why their government is taking rights away from them, said Weingarten. I do think it is expanding the map.
While experts applaud nuclear power for its ability to reduce carbon emissions, the Biden administration is restricting the mining of a key input in the process.

On Tuesday, Biden announced the formal designation of the 917,618-acre Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument to prevent public lands held sacred by local Native American tribes from hosting new uranium mines. New uranium mines have been prohibited in the area since 2012 due to an Obama administration moratorium that was set to expire in 2032. Biden's move has made that ban permanent.

According to a senior administration official, the area hosts 1.3 percent of the country's known uranium reserves. But this figure doesn't tell the whole story.

"Maybe if you're trying to count molecules then it's only 1.3 percent, but I'd say it's 100 percent of America's high-grade uranium deposits locked up in the monument," says Curtis Moore, senior vice president of marketing and corporate development at Energy Fuelsa uranium-mining company that owns the Pinyon Plain mine in the Grand Canyon area. "And grade typically corresponds to lower-cost, more-accessible, and lower-environmental-impact mining. For every ton of ore you pull out of the ground, there is more uranium in that ton."

By prohibiting uranium mining, the administration is looking to preserve groundwater near the Grand Canyon. "Creeks and streams [flow] into the Colorado River, supporting farms and ranches across the Southwest and bringing clean water to 40 million Americans," said Biden during a Tuesday speech in Arizona.

"The area's unique hydrology has supported Indigenous peoples and other forms of life since time immemorial and is essential in providing drinking water and supporting agricultural production and other services for millions of people across the Southwest," noted a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

However, the claim that uranium mining near the Grand Canyon contaminates the water doesn't hold up to scrutiny. A 2021 study by the U.S. Geological Survey sampled 206 groundwater sites in the Grand Canyon region and found that "195 sites (95%) had maximum observed uranium concentrations less than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Maximum Contaminant Level of 30 g/L for drinking water."

"Some uranium mines, particularly the ones that were used for nuclear weapons production, were not operated well and leave a legacy impact," explains Adam Stein, director of the Nuclear Energy Innovation program at the Breakthrough Institute. "However, modern uranium mining is very different, in both technology and regulatory requirements, from the uranium mines of the past."

A major political factor at play for Biden is the support of local Native American communities. These communities played an important role in helping Biden win Arizona during the 2020 election. "It is likely a strategic decision to focus on the Grand Canyon," Gabriel Sanchez, a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told The New York Times. "Many Native Americans do not vote based on party, but on which candidates will do the most to advance the interests of Native American communities."

"I fail to see any rationale in this proposal beyond a selfish political agenda that locks away the very resources we depend on for our daily lives," said Rep. Bruce Westerman (RArk.), chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, in a statement.

Biden's authority to designate national monuments derives from the Antiquities Act of 1906, a comprehensive statute that "authorizes the President to proclaim national monuments on federal lands that contain historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest," allowing the president to regulate how the land is used. The new monument is the fifth of Biden's presidency.

"Although regulations on land use have not caused significant issues with uranium mining in the past, over time, more and more areas have been subject either to new mining bans or the use of national monuments to prevent new mining on a permanent basis," notes Stein.

The new monument will have a detrimental effect on the U.S. uranium industry, which has struggled in recent years. After experiencing a boom from the 1940s to the 1980s, domestic uranium production fell when prices dropped after the Chernobyl disaster. According to the World Nuclear Association, U.S. uranium mining production decreased from 1792 tonnes U in 2013 to 75 in 2022.

This production is essential for nuclear power. "Today, nuclear provides about 20 percent of all electricity in the United States and about 50 percent of our carbon-free electricity," notes Moore. "And that's all powered by uranium."

The possibility of the U.S. applying sanctions on Russian uranium has made the industry's need for domestic mining more urgent. When the U.S. threatened sanctions on Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation in 2022, the price of uranium skyrocketed to about $60 per pound.

"The United States imports about 50 percent of our uranium in U.S. nuclear power plants from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, and Russia has their hands on quite a bit of Kazakh uranium production," explains Moore. "As we're trying to reduce our reliance on Russia, we should be trying to develop our own domestic sources of uranium."

If the Biden administration is serious about building clean energy projects, hindering an industry that's vital to the production of nuclear power is the wrong approach.

The post Biden's New Grand Canyon Monument Will Hamper Clean Energy Production appeared first on Reason.com.
A Georgia man and his son were driving to pick up a paycheck when a hitchhiker on the side of the road stuck his hand out, he told news outlets.

I told my son, Lets get him, Russell Jimmerson told WXIA. I help everybody.

He didnt know it at the time, but he told the news outlet the man he picked up was later identified as a murder suspect from North Carolina wanted in a multi-agency manhunt, according to state officials.

Police told McClatchy News the man had been hitchhiking before he was found.

Deputies had received information that a man killed a person and disposed of the body, Rabun County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. They reached out to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Aug. 6 for assistance in the investigation, deputies said.

A day later, state and county law enforcement found the body in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, according to the sheriffs office.

That prompted a manhunt for 23-year-old Keegan Cleve Phillips that ended near a small town of Gillsville, about 50 miles from where officials said the body was found.

Several county sheriffs offices, the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office and the Georgia State Patrol descended on the area near Gillsville Highway, according to a new release.

They found Phillips Aug. 8 when a resident of Gillsville tipped off local authorities, according to the Hall County Sheriffs Office. A K-9 unit located him, and he was arrested and charged with murder, officials said.

Another man was arrested in connection with the killing, deputies said. The 62-year-old man from Lula was charged with concealing a death and unlawful disposal of a body. He and Phillips are being held at the Rabun County Detention Center, records show.

The investigation is ongoing, authorities said. They have not released the name of the victim.

Gillsville is about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.

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FILE PHOTO: Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina speaks during interview in his office in Banja Luka

By Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia has charged Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik with defying decisions by the international official overseeing peace in the country, the state prosecutor's office said on Friday.

Any official in Bosnia who fails to implement a decision of the international High Representative or obstruct it in any way can be jailed for from six months to five years under rules brought in to prevent the country sliding back to war.

Dodik has moved to separate the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia over the past two years and repeatedly criticised his political opponents and Western ambassadors to the country, where around 100,000 people died in a 1992-5 conflict.

The Serb leader, who has close ties with Russia, last month signed two laws that the peace envoy, German ex-government minister Christian Schmidt, had revoked saying they defied Bosnia's constitution and the terms of the peace deal.

One law suspended rulings by Bosnia's constitutional court and the second ended publication of the peace envoy's decrees and laws in the Serb Republic's official gazette. The state prosecutor said gazette director Milos Lukic was also charged.

"The prosecution of Bosnia-Herzegovina indicted Milorad Dodik and Milos Lukic for the criminal act of failing to execute the decisions of the High Representative," the prosecutor's office said, adding that the charges had been sent to the state court for confirmation.

Dodik, who is president of Bosnia's Serb Republic, has long advocated the secession of the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia, in which it coexists with a federation shared by Bosniaks and Croats under the country's 1995 U.S.-backed peace deal. His office rejected the indictement.

"The Republika Srpska (RS) President is indicted because he has obeyed the explicit provisions of the RS constitution and did not allow anyone and anything to rise above the RS constitution and its institutions, particularly not the decree of an unelected foreigner without legitimacy," Dodik's office told the Serb news agency Srna.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
During a rally in support of Monique Worrell Thursday, voices were calling out Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying he was wrong for suspending her.

However, there was also people in the crowd saying she has not done her job, and justice was served.

Dozens of people and politicians gathered outside City Hall in downtown Orlando condemning DeSantis.

We are fighting back by supporting Monique Worrell unapologetically, Rep. Anna Eskamani said.

READ: Orange Avenue closed, building evacuated due to unstable scaffolding in downtown Orlando

The loudest voices in the crowd were from the people who voted for her, like Ben King.

Ms. Worrell should appeal this, he said. This is an illegitimate action.

However, other loud voices said they are on board with the governors decision to suspend Worrell, saying she has dropped the ball when it comes to getting justice.

READ: Newly appointed Orange-Osceola state attorney says hell review cases, speed up trials

Tawanna Burke said her son Melvin Wilcoxs murder case was never prosecuted.

I have been fighting Monique Worrell all year, she said. Orange county Homicide Division, the detective did their job and did their work but the moment it hit her office they didnt do their job and did not do the work.

Burke said she commends what the governor did.

(Worrells) incompetence has affected me, she said.

Read: Andrew Bain: Who is the state attorney appointed to replace Monique Worrell?

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.
Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, poses for a photo at his business office in Farmington on April 13, 2023. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

More than 60 conservative Utah lawmakers endorsed Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson to run for U.S. Senate, according to Wilsons spokesperson.

Wilson hasnt formally announced a run for the Senate but opened an exploratory committee in April for a possible 2024 run for the seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney.

I am honored and encouraged to have the support of so many leaders from all corners of this great state, said Wilson in a press release.

Utah needs a bold, conservative fighter in the U.S. Senate and I am humbled at the support and encouragement weve received so quickly.

Romneys office did not comment on the news, and Romney has not said yet whether he will run for reelection.

Romney is prepared should he decide to run. He filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission in April, allowing his campaign to begin fundraising.

Romney told a CNN reporter in May hes not in a rush to make a decision.

Its just giving myself the time to see how much can get accomplished in the time I have, and in the time Id have with six more years. Theres no hurry, he said. Last time I announced I was running for Senate, I did so in February of the year of the election, and maybe Ill wait until then.

He also said (t)he more the merrier, about possible primary challengers.

A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll from June found that 52% of Utah voters either strongly approved or somewhat approved of Romneys performance. But when asked whether he should run for reelection, 47% said yes and 51% said no.

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Meanwhile, three-quarters of Utah House Republicans and over two-thirds of Senate Republicans have thrown their support behind Wilson.

Utah House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said he has worked alongside Wilson for the past nine years and called Wilson the conservative champion we need in the U.S. Senate.

Wilson, Speaker of the House in the Utah Legislature, was first elected to the statehouse in November 2010.

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams called Wilson collaborative and said he has a history of delivering victories for conservative principles here in Utah.

We have worked together to pass tax cuts for Utahns three years in a row, provide parents with unprecedented school choice and expand Second Amendment protections, said Adams, R-Layton.

Related

If Wilson enters the race he will face Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who has already announced he is challenging Romney for his seat.

Staggs has also earned endorsements  including from Turning Point USA, a non-profit that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, the Utah Republican Veterans caucus and the Utah State Fraternal Order of Police.
(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday rolled out a $350 billion infrastructure investment plan designed to boost Brazils economy and kickstart a green transition.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The leftist leader, who returned to Brazils top office in January promising to restore economic prosperity and prioritize sustainable development, touted the plan as a centerpiece of his presidency.

My third term as president starts today, Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, said during an event to launch the program in Rio de Janeiro. Growth will be correct, fast and sustainable.

The government estimates the plan will create 4 million jobs, and aims to make most of its investments  $264 billion  by the end of his term in 2026, although it did not say how much of that total would come from public funds. Lulas allies have painted the initiative as a Brazilian version of President Joe Bidens efforts to stimulate the US economy with roughly $1 trillion in new infrastructure projects and clean energy initiatives.

The proposal carries the same name of a plan Lula created in 2007  Growth Acceleration Plan, or PAC. This time, however, the government says it will place more focus on greener development alongside traditional infrastructure investments.

It will rely on a mix of federal funds, concessions and public-private partnerships to help finance a combination of transportation, sanitation and ecological transition projects. About $220 billion will come from public funds, with the private sector kicking in an additional $125 billion, according to an official statement.

Energy transition projects will receive a total of $110 billion.

Despite its scope, the PAC will not prevent the government from zeroing Brazils budget deficit in 2024 as it has promised, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said. All of the plans public investments will fit within spending limits set by a new fiscal framework that Brazils congress is currently finalizing.

Read More: Brazil Readies ESG Bond Debut in Next Overseas Sale This Year

Elements of the plan, Haddad said in Rio, are part of a larger effort to begin an ecological transformation of Brazils economy that will also include new regulations for carbon markets and the issuance of green bonds. The government is preparing to hold the countrys first-ever sustainable bond sale later this year.

The suite of proposals will make Brazil more attractive to investors while also helping Lula deliver on pledges to combat poverty, Haddad said.

Our plan cannot and will not be the same as those of developed countries, he said. The profile of emissions is different, which justifies a different strategy. And the challenge of overcoming poverty in a country still marked by profound social inequality is just as important as the environmental challenge.

Lula has sought to strike a balance between economic development and his green agenda early in his presidency, especially amid a standoff between his top environmental agency and Brazils state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, over its exploration plans in an ecologically sensitive offshore region.

The PAC proposal also includes financing for the Ferrograo railway, a project that would transport grain through part of the Amazon rainforest region and was suspended over environmental concerns. Brazils Supreme Court earlier this year allowed technical studies of the project to resume.

Read More: Brazil Moves to Allow Amazon Oil Drilling, Marring Lulas Summit

But Environment Minister Marina Silva, who criticized the previous PAC program over its lack of concern for the environment, praised the design of the new version.

Being able to see development and sustainability within the same plan is an unimaginable gain, she said during the launch event.

Petrobras, as the state-run oil giant is known, will contribute $66 billion to the program, chief executive officer Jean Paul Prates said. The company, which played a prominent role in the original PAC, has a $78-billion, five-year strategic plan and is mulling an increase for the period between 2024 and 2028. It plans to earmark as much as 15% of its total investments for low-carbon projects.

The New Development Bank  an institution created by the BRICS bloc of emerging market nations that includes Brazil  will contribute $2.7 billion in financing for sustainable projects, said Aloizio Mercadante, the head of Brazils national development bank.

The previous Growth Acceleration Plan helped increase public investment and led to the construction of hundreds of highways, bridges, hydroelectric dams and other projects under Lula and his successor, former President Dilma Rousseff.

But many of those projects, which were handled by large local infrastructure companies, later faced investigations over corruption allegations. The program helped lead to the rise of Operation Car Wash, the years-long corruption probe that put hundreds of business and political leaders  including Lula, temporarily  behind bars.

The PAC program also financed the construction of oil refineries, like a major petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro, and the Belo Monte dam, a hydroelectric project in the Amazon region that drew fierce opposition from Indigenous tribes and environmentalists.

Its legacy may create challenges for the current plan. The corruption investigations drove many of the involved companies into bankruptcy, while the ensuing end of an era of massive public investments hit firms that hadnt been implicated, resulting in heavy debts, layoffs and legal disputes.

As a result, the government will have to carry out large projects without many of the major contractors that delivered them in the past.

At first, local companies are likely to form consortia with foreign partners in order to participate in investment projects, Chief of Staff Rui Costa told reporters at the event. After they get stronger and are able to obtain financing, they will be able to handle projects by themselves, he said.

(Recasts lead, adds Lula comments from second paragraph and additional details throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva gives a statement to the media at the end of the Amazon Summit, at the Hangar Convention Center in Belem, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Belem hosted the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization that met to chart a common course for protection of the bioregion, and to address organized crime. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday unveiled a plan to spend 1 trillion reais (nearly $200 billion) on infrastructure, energy and transportation over the next four years, part of a larger effort to boost economic growth and employment in Latin Americas largest nation.

The Growth Acceleration Program, known under its Portuguese acronym PAC, has been met with skepticism from analysts and investors, who say previous, similarly ambitious programs have included projects that never saw the light of day and opened the door to vast corruption schemes.

Funding included in this year's PAC is expected to go towards infrastructure projects including new highways and ports as well as energy efficiency and urbanization programs in slums.

More than a public investment portfolio, the new PAC is a collective compromise (...) born out of many conversations with governors and mayors," Lula said at an event in Rio de Janeiro attended by government ministers, state governors and representatives of the private sector. This will ensure that the projects chosen "will reflect the specific needs of each of the country's regions, he added.

The government has not said how it will fund the nearly $200 billion but will have to do so when it sends its final proposed budget to Congress by Aug. 31. The plan then needs to be approved by Congress and included in the annual budget in December.

Lula launched the first PAC in 2007, soon after assuming office for a second presidential term. It included a package of investments in infrastructure, popular housing and highways, as well as easier access to bank loans.

The new plan is being praised by members of Lula's administration, who say public investment is needed to boost economic growth.

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad this week called the last ten years in Brazil a tragic decade pointing at the country's sluggish growth. We cannot continue to grow 1% a year on average, which is what has been happening in Brazil for a decade," Haddad said on a podcast.

Its a very ambitious program, said Gilberto Braga, a finance professor at Ibmec university in Rio de Janeiro. It has a lot to do with the political objectives of the government, to create a legacy of (Lula's) third term as one of great works, great achievements, a greater Brazil.

Investors in Brazil have historically been skeptical at the leftist Workers Partys commitment to fiscal restraint. In addition, critics say too many projects included in previous PACs were either abandoned or left unfinished. In their view, public money has too often been spent in the wrong areas or wasted on poorly-executed projects.

These are very robust numbers for a country that does not have good governance when it comes to the use of public resources, Zeina Latif, an economist with consulting firm Gibraltar, said in a phone interview. In Brazil we have a bad track record of investment quality.

Government officials say that unfinished infrastructure projects will be a priority, mainly around slums, which will receive the bulk of the investment under PAC. This includes the launch of new, affordable housing programs and investments in sewage and flood prevention around slums.

The second largest investment involves energy efficiency and energy transition. But while Lula and other government officials have said the country will boost investment in renewable energy and the use of natural resources, oil state-controlled Petrobras will receive the bulk of energy-related investments.

Petrobras President Jean Paul Prates said Friday at the event that the company is working on energy transition in order to produce biodiesel, even when it's embroiled in a dispute with an environmental organ that refused to grant it a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon river.

Petrobras was also among the Brazilian companies behind the 2014 corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash, which revealed a sprawling graft scheme involving top businessmen and high-ranking politicians.

Brazil officials estimate that including private sector-led initiatives and private-public partnerships total investments over the next four years could reach 1.7 trillion reais (around $350 billion)  a figure that is raising eyebrows among investors and analysts.

____

Associated Press writer Carla Bridi contributed from Brasilia
British intelligence said Friday that Wagner fighters, seen here in Russia, were "likely" training soldiers in Belarus amid tensions with Poland. File Photo by Arkady Budnitsky/ UPI

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- British intelligence issued a warning Friday on the "realistic possibility" that mercenaries with Russia's Wagner Group are training Belarusian troops near Poland's border, where 10,000 soldiers were sent a day earlier as Warsaw braced for a potential attack.

The British Defense Intelligence Ministry emphasized "a small number of Wagner Group advisors acting in a training role" in Belarus amid escalating tensions over Polish airspace and illegal border crossings by Wagner Group fighters, who were flowing into Poland through the Suwalki Gap, near the Baltic Sea and the strategic enclave of Kaliningrad in westernmost Russia.

Observable military drills appeared to be non-threatening so far and were "highly likely part of the Belarusian military's routine training cycle," the ministry said in its latest update.

However, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expressed worry Thursday over Wagner troops advancing toward the border city of Grodno, describing the situation as increasingly dangerous and warning that the mercenaries could infiltrate Poland by posing as migrants.

Earlier this week, Belarus announced that its 6th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade would conduct training in the Grodno region of northwest Belarus, near Poland and Lithuania, where the unit is based.

However, British authorities said there was no indication the unit was preparing to launch a strike, and suggested Moscow might be attempting to create fresh frustrations for NATO as the Ukraine war dragged on.

The Wagner Group, a private military battery fighting for Russia in Ukraine, arrived in Belarus in mid-July after the mercenaries staged a brief uprising in which they commandeered a military outpost in southern Russia before marching toward Moscow.

The fighters quickly withdrew in a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who offered safe haven to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin after he claimed the revolt was only intended as a protest over the Kremlin's handling of the war.

On Thursday, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Warsaw's massive troop mobilization at the border with Belarus was intended to "scare the aggressor so that he does not dare attack us."

Lukashenko has reaffirmed ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin during several sit-downs amid the war, with the leaders agreeing to expand regional ties and economic cooperation.

Their meeting at the Kremlin in April was held the same week that Finland officially joined NATO, expanding the international military alliance to 31 countries and delivering a stinging blow to Moscow by doubling NATO's shared border with Russia.

The month before, Putin announced a plan for Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which raised eyebrows throughout the international community.

Moscow justified the move, saying it had grown more concerned about its national security, especially along its western border.

Elsewhere Friday, British Commandos wrapped up six months of training with nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines, who returned home Friday after learning how to conduct amphibious operations and beach raids using small inflatable boats.
For deaf children, teachers and scientists, talking about things like "greenhouse gases" or "carbon footprint" used to mean spelling out long, complex scientific terms, letter by letter.

Now they are among 200 environmental science terms that have their own new official signs in British Sign Language (BSL).

The deaf scientists and sign language experts behind the update hope the new vocabulary will make it possible for deaf people to fully participate in discussions about climate change, whether it's in the science lab or classroom.

"We're trying to create the perfect signs that visualise scientific concepts," explains Dr Audrey Cameron.

Dr Cameron, who is profoundly deaf, leads the sign language project at Edinburgh University, which has just added the new terms to the BSL dictionary.

She described how, in her own scientific career, a lack of vocabulary meant she was excluded from important meetings and conversations.

"I was involved in research for 11 years and went to numerous meetings but was never was truly involved because I couldn't understand what people were saying," she told BBC News. "I wanted to talk with people about chemistry and I just wasn't able to."

Glasgow-based biology teacher Liam McMulkin has also been involved in the sign-creation workshops, hosted by the Scottish Sensory Centre. "The beauty of sign language - particularly for science - is that it's a visual language," he explained.

"Some of the concepts are abstract, but sign language can really help children to understand them."

Mr McMulkin used the sign for "photosynthesis" as an example, which uses one flat hand-shape to represent a leaf, while projecting the fingers - like the sun's rays - from other hand.

"When I do this [move the sun hand towards the leaf hand], you can see that the energy is being absorbed by the leaf," he explained.

The science glossary project, funded in part by the Royal Society, has been running since 2007 and has added about 7,000 new signs to BSL.

The signs have been created to support deaf children in schools

Describing the process by which signs are developed, Dr Cameron explained: "We take a list of terms from the school curriculum and then work together to come up with something accurate but also visual of the meaning."

The newest signs are themed around biodiversity, ecosystems, the physical environment and pollution. There is an online video video glossary demonstrating the terms.

Missing words

The glossary is designed to support deaf children in schools. And as 13-year-old Melissa, a deaf student at a mainstream school in Glasgow explained: "they really help you understand what's happening."

Melissa showed me the difference between laboriously finger-spelling greenhouse gases (G-R-E-E-N-H-O-U-S-E G-A-S-E-S), and using the new sign that includes moving her closed fists around like gas molecules in the air.

"With the sign I can see something is happening with the gas," she said.

Mr McMulkin, who is Melissa's science teacher and is also profoundly deaf, added that hearing people were "constantly learning and acquiring knowledge" wherever they go, "but deaf people miss out on so much information".

Deaf scientists develop the new signs in workshops

"That's why it's so important to use sign language in science lessons in schools," he said. "It allows deaf children to learn in their natural language."

Dr Cameron also highlighted the value in education of depicting intricate scientific concepts in hand movements - for both hearing and deaf children.

Dr Cameron recalled observing a class in which five-year-olds were learning about how things float or sink. "They were learning about how things that are less dense will float, which is quite complex," she explained. "And the teacher was using the sign for 'density'."

The sign explains that concept by using one closed fist and wrapping the other hand around it - squeezing and releasing to represent different densities.

"I thought - these five-year-olds are not going to get this. But some time after the end of the lesson, they were asked a question about why things float or sink and they all used the sign for density," Dr Cameron said.

"So I've seen how much of an impact this can have. And my passion has just grown as the glossary has grown."

Prof Jeremy Sanders, chair of the Royal Society diversity and inclusion committee, said: "We hope these new signs will inspire and empower the next generation of BSL-using students and allow practising scientists to share their vital work with the world."

Additional reporting by Kate Stephens and Maddie Molloy

Hear more about the mission to create this visual vocabulary on Radio 4's Inside Science on BBC Sounds
A British man was lured to his death in Turkey by an alleged 19-year-old honey-trap suspect, according to local media reports.

Murat Arpapay, who was born in the UK and then moved to Turkey in the 1990s, was killed by a lethal injection after being tied to a chair, a special report by broadcaster CNN Turk disclosed this week.

Mr Arpapay, 57, had been working in Istanbul as a translator when he befriended some locals, including teenager Muhterem Percikli, who then allegedly decided to rob and kill him.

Reports said that Mr Arpapay first met his future killers in a cafe and eventually struck up a romantic relationship with Ms Percikli.

It is alleged that Ms Percikli went with the victim into his apartment, having tricked him into thinking they could be lovers. But once he got inside, he was beaten unconscious by her accomplices and handcuffed.

CCTV footage published by Turkish media appeared to show the moment that Mr Arpapay walked into the apartment.

CCTV footage published by Turkish media appears to show the moment that Mr Arpapay walked into the apartment - Newsflash

CNN Turk reported that he was killed by having an unidentified chemical injected into his body. His body was thrown down a ventilation shaft and discovered the following day.

Police initially struggled to establish the cause of death as his body lacked any obvious wounds but the grim circumstances were later established in a post mortem, at which point his death became a murder investigation.

Mr Arpapays killers also allegedly went to his home and stole money which he had been receiving on a regular basis from relatives still living in the UK.

Several members of the group that allegedly killed him, including Ms Percikli, have been arrested according to the CNN Turk report.

It was not immediately clear how the alleged killers were caught. Local media reports suggest that they told police during interviews that they knew Mr Arpapay had lived in England for a number of years and was receiving payments from his family there.

The Telegraph was not able to independently confirm the details of the alleged murder, which was widely reported in Turkish media but had been commented on by Turkish police officials or prosecutors.

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An orange cat and a small family of capybaras. Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images and JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images

An orange cat has become a Malaysian zoo's biggest attraction after it was adopted by capybaras.

Oyen the cat is so popular that his presence sometimes doubles visitor numbers, the zoo says.

Zoo Negara thinks Oyen was abandoned in 2020, and has officially included the cat in the enclosure.

A stray orange cat has been stealing the show at Malaysia's national zoo ever since it started living among a herd of capybaras.

Thousands of parkgoers now flock to see Oyen the ginger cat at Zoo Negara every weekend, doubling visitor numbers on some days, the zoo's vice president, Rosly Rahmat Ahmat Lana, told local newspaper Bernama.

"Every day, 95% of the visitors are here just to see Oyen. He is very popular," Rosly told the outlet on Tuesday.

Zookeepers aren't sure when Oyen moved into the Kuala Lumpur park's capybara enclosure, but they believe he was abandoned at the zoo during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosly told Free Malaysia Today.

The ginger tabby has repeatedly gone viral on social media, via clips of him lounging around the enclosure and snuggling with the capybaras, who seem unperturbed by their feline visitor.

Zoo Negara officially introduced Oyen as part of the enclosure in June, when it added his name to the exhibit.

Rosly told Bernama that Zoo Negara is feeding Oyen and monitoring the cat's health, and plans to find him a partner in hopes of establishing a capybara-inclined cat bloodline.

"Unlike before, Oyen is now docile and approachable. Should Oyen fall ill one day, it will be easy for us to hold and treat it," he said.

Capybaras, the world's largest rodents, have over the last two years been growing in popularity on the internet for their calm temperament and droopy demeanor, featuring in thousands of viral memes.

Zoo Negara did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
Signage for the Ballys Chicago casino in the former Medinah Temple in River North on July 18, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

With Ballys Chicago likely weeks away from opening its temporary casino at Medinah Temple, the talent pool for filling a variety of nongaming positions just got larger.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Friday allowing convicted felons to apply for hospitality positions at the states soon-to-be 14 casinos. Previously under state law, anyone with a felony conviction was ineligible to work at a casino in any position.

Here in the Land of Lincoln, we believe that people deserve second chances  and that includes the formerly incarcerated and those who have been convicted of a felony, Pritzker said in a news release.

The legislation, which was supported by unions, casino companies and the Illinois Gaming Board, removes automatic disqualification for nongaming positions such as restaurant staff, maintenance and housekeeping. Qualified applicants will be considered for an occupational license on a case-by-case basis, weighing everything from the circumstances of the crime to evidence of rehabilitation.

Convicted felons are still ineligible to hold a gaming position at a casino, such as a dealer.

This law preserves the IGBs necessary ability to protect the integrity of Illinois gaming while providing an opportunity for gainful employment in nongaming casino positions to applicants with prior convictions, Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in the release.

The change comes as Ballys Chicago is staffing up in preparation to open its temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North. The target date, which has been pushed back several months, is now slated for September, the casino company said during its second quarter earnings call last week.

Rhode Island-based Ballys won a heated competition last year to build a $1.74 billion casino at the 30-acre site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant in River West, which is expected to open in 2026. The historic Medinah Temple will serve as a temporary casino for up to three years.

In May, Ballys Chicago put out a help wanted sign, looking to hire more than 700 positions  everything from card dealers and security to housekeeping and marketing  for the temporary casino. Ballys said Friday the new legislation will help it find qualified applicants for the states largest casino and keep its hiring commitments to the city.

At Ballys, we strongly believe that the gaming industry can provide deserving, qualified individuals with gainful employment and a compelling career path, George Papanier, president of Ballys, said in the release. This belief is embedded in our community-first policy, which focuses on generating substantial employment opportunities in the communities in which we operate.

As part of the casino application process, Ballys agreed to create well-paying union jobs and hire 50% of the projected 3,000 employees at the permanent facility from within Chicago.

Unite Here Local 1, which represents hospitality workers in Chicago, praised the new law Friday.

Our union has worked hard to ensure that hospitality workers at Illinois casinos can have a path to good jobs, Karen Kent, president of Unite Here Local 1, said in the joint release. But our work is incomplete if so many of our friends, our neighbors, beloved members of our families and our communities, are forever locked out of these jobs because of a prior conviction. Today, were giving people hope for a second chance.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
German Bundestag members call on the government and Chancellor Olaf Scholz to provide Ukraine with Taurus long-range cruise missiles as soon as possible.

Source: ntv, writes European Pravda

Details: According to Roderich Kiesewetter, the lawmaker from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, "now that the discussion about Taurus has begun and is still ongoing, Russia is going to further escalation", therefore, he believes, "if we really want to stop this escalation from the Russian Federation, we must use everything that stands in the way of escalating the war".

At the same time, he repudiated the argument that is often put forward against the supply of said missiles, suggesting that this could allegedly lead to an escalation of the war. Kiesewetter stressed that it is Russia, not Ukraine, that is escalating the conflict.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the Bundestag Defence Committee, said Taurus missiles were "urgently needed by Ukraine". In her opinion, this "is in line with international law, because if Ukraine knows where it is being attacked from, it can deliver preventive strikes to stop the attacks".

"I think the problem is again in the office of the chancellor (Scholz), where they are trying to prevent this issue from coming to the surface," she concluded.

Scholz party co-chair Saskia Esken admitted that her party "has never had red lines in any arms-supply debate" but that Germany is "coordinating closely with the Allies".

Background:

Earlier, it was reported that the German government is considering the possibility of supplying Ukraine with Taurus long-range cruise missiles from the Bundeswehr in the coming months, while Chancellor Scholz is ready to provide Ukraine with the long-range missiles if they are programmed not to hit the territory of the Russian Federation.

Earlier, it was reported that the German government may soon decide to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 kilometres.

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!






Deep underneath the flat plains of the Australian outback, a massive object lies buried.

The hulking structure, which has magnetic anomalies, is likely a colossal asteroid crater, according to a study published in the journal Tectonophysics.

If it is indeed a crater, it would be the largest ever found on Earth.

Scientists determined the object, known as the Deniliquin Structure, was likely a fallen space rock by conducting an analysis of nearby geophysical evidence.

They used core samples from the ground and magnetic data from the air to help paint a clearer picture of the mysterious structure.

They found it has all the features that would be expected from a large-scale impact structure, Andrew Glikson, one of the study authors, wrote in The Conversation.

For instance, magnetic readings of the area reveal a symmetrical rippling pattern in the crust around the structures core, Glikson, a professor at the University of New South Wales, said. This was likely produced during the impact as extremely high temperatures created intense magnetic forces.

Using their geophysical data, they also determined the underground object has a minimum diameter of 273 miles, making it wider than the state of Utah.

That would mean it is far bigger than South Africas roughly 186-mile-wide Vredefort impact structure, considered to be the biggest in the world, Glikson said. He estimated the crater to be about 445 million years old and said the asteroid may have caused a mass extinction event.

The Australian continent is home to 30 known craters, the oldest of which date back over 1 billion years, according to Australian Indigenous Astronomy.

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Days after rapidly spreading wildfires began racing through areas of the island of Maui in Hawaii, families and friends are still hoping to hear from missing loved ones.

Officials said at least 93 people had died and the death toll will likely continue to rise as search and rescue operations continued.

Families search for missing people online

Some have turned in recent days to a crowdsourced online effort as a combination of power outages and cell phone signal loss has left them out of contact. The spreadsheet created by Maui resident Ellie Erickson and shared widely on social media showed people from around the globe trying to reach people they know on the island.

Many of the names on the list had been accounted for, scattered at emergency shelters, the airport or turning up with family members. But hundreds of people were still marked not located and more names were being added.

Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years.

Erickson created the spreadsheet Wednesday morning after seeing Facebook posts get flooded with comments by people looking for their loved ones.

I noticed a need for people because the Facebook comments were just getting overwhelming with people posting the same people or someone being found and nobody being able to find that information, Erickson told USA Today.

Many areas in Maui still dont have power or cell service and many phones are dead, Erickson said, making it nearly impossible for people to get in contact even if they are safe.

Its been super hard seeing the names of people that I know and care about that havent been found yet, Erickson said. However, being normally the person who gets notified when people are found is so special that feeling when somebody is safe it makes it really all worth it.

Erickson said she hopes the spreadsheet will help streamline the process of people finding out their loved ones are safe and accounted for, rather than having to go through thousands of posts and comments on Facebook.

I really hope that it can be kind of a place where if people are wondering about their friends, their loved ones, if they know somebody is safe they can come onto here and hopefully just give people peace of mind, Erickson said.

Gusting winds, low humidity, lack of rainfall and dry vegetation lead to destructive fires in Hawaii.

A real big relief: families reconnect with loved ones

Alexis Plume, a resident of Haiku about 34 miles from Lahaina was finally able to call her brothers best friend, whose family lives in Lahaina, Thursday morning after not hearing from them since the fires first started because cell service had been down in the area.

"Its a real big relief, Plume said. Everything is really hard to watch and were all just sort of trying to figure out what we can do.

There is no central location for disaster relief that everyone [can] go to, Plume said, which makes it even more difficult to keep track of missing people. She said most residents are turning to Facebook, which has the most up-to-date, firsthand account information.

Its just devastating on so many levels. Aside from all the historic losses, we still dont know how many people didnt make it out of Lahaina," Plume said.

Netblocks, a cybersecurity company, has been monitoring the network connectivity and found Lahaina still remains largely disconnected as of Thursday.

It's crucial to remain patient if you're trying to reach loved ones in the region, said Alp Toker, founder and director of the company, on X, formerly known as Twitter. Connectivity challenges may make communication sporadic but rescue efforts are ongoing so don't lose hope.

Tianne Yamashita, a resident of Wailuku, Maui, said a short- and long-term plan for housing is crucial for locals in Hawaii who already were struggling to find affordable rentals and places to live.

I cant even begin to imagine how any of these families are going to be able to rebuild, literally from the ground up, Yamashita said. The goal after search and rescue and making sure everyone is safe is to actually keep Hawaii families on island and able to live here still.

Searching for family in Maui

Leomana Turalde's mother called him on the phone crying Wednesday morning, saying she never went to sleep on Tuesday night in Maui amid the massive fires.

Turalde said he has several aunties who live on Maui, two blocks away from Lahainas popular Front Street. Wednesday morning, one of the women went missing, he told USA TODAY. It is impossible to get in touch with some people because cellphone infrastructure on Maui burned down, he said.

Lahaina Town is now burnt down to ashes,'' said Turalde, 36, who runs a sunscreen company. "Most of the families on Maui, if you never made contact with your family before sunset last night, youre still trying to figure out where they are.

On Thursday, Leomana Turalde was at Maui's Maalaea Harbor, about 16 miles east of the worst damage at Lahaina, where he was headed to help find missing people. In every parking lot on the island it seemed there were families sleeping in their rental cars Thursday morning, with nowhere else to go, he said.

There were still some small fires burning throughout Maui Thursday, Turalde, 36, told USA TODAY. There was also heavy traffic around National Guard checkpoints and chain stores are shut down, he said.

Before and after images show Maui's Lahaina devastation from wildfires.

Turalde said he's most worried about friends and one cousin who are part of Mauis homeless community.

Theyre all devastated, he said.

If I can help out those people, thats kind of my main concern because nobody really cares about the homeless person with no ID, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Many people missing in Maui after deadly fire, mass destruction
[Source]

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has formally apologized for his offices past role in forcing over 100,000 Japanese Americans to relocate to incarceration camps during and after World War II.

Key details: Bontas office first issued the apology on Wednesday, which was followed by a video by the California attorney general uploaded to Twitter on Thursday.

Bontas offices apology notably came on the 35th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. On Aug. 10, 1998, former President Ronald Reagan signed the law that grants repatriations to surviving Japanese Americans who were interned by the U.S. government.

Bontas offices apology also came three years after California formally apologized for its past actions against Japanese Americans.

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The forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese American citizens remains among the darkest periods of our history, and the suffering it caused Japanese American families across California is incalculable, Bonta said.

Today, on the 35th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, my office formally apologized for its past role in the deprivation of Japanese Americans civil liberties during WWII. The suffering caused by these actions is incalculable and the moral injustice is undeniable. pic.twitter.com/7GgVLuG4TK More from NextShark: Man Caught on Camera Dumping Dead Cat Outside Asian-Owned Butcher Shop in Sacramento  Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) August 10, 2023

His offices initial involvement: Former California Attorney General Earl Warren testified in front of Congress in support of former President Franklin D. Roosevelts implementation of Executive Order 9066, which saw the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans living in Californias West Coast during World War II.

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Warren also enforced the California Alien Land Law of 1913, which stopped immigrants from Japan and other Asian countries from purchasing agricultural land in California.

California Attorney General Robert Walker Kenny followed Warrens footsteps in 1943 by creating a special unit within his office to enforce the land law. Kennys office also joined Oregon and Washington in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court that supported the incarceration of civil rights hero Fred Korematsu.

Addressing the past horrors: Bonta also noted that while what happened can never be erased, we must take steps to atone for past wrongs by answering the call for accountability, truth and reconciliation, racial healing and transformation.

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The California Attorney Generals Office deeply regrets its past complicity in these heinous violations of civil rights, and with this apology, recommits to its mission of protecting and defending civil liberties for all Americans, he continued.
California authorities seeking the disbarment of attorney John Eastman  an architect of Donald Trumps last-gasp effort to subvert the 2020 presidential election  say Trumps recent indictment is no basis to delay their efforts.

Eastman, whose disbarment trial began in June but was recessed until late August, asked last week to indefinitely postpone the proceedings  perhaps for years  while the criminal case against Trump is pending. Thats because the indictment references Eastman, without naming him, as co-conspirator 2, one of six alleged accomplices. His attorneys say that reference heightens the likelihood that he will face indictment and therefore need to assert his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

But Duncan Carling, the attorney leading the effort to strip Eastmans law license, said the push for delay is unjustified. Eastman, he said, has been aware of his criminal exposure for years  so much so that he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights in appearances before the House Jan. 6 select committee and Fulton County prosecutors investigating the same matters.

This is nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to delay the decision in respondents State Bar case, as his situation with regard to potential criminal charges is the same today as when the trial started, Carling wrote in a 17-page filing.

Its the latest example of tension between several tracks of accountability facing Trump and his allies for the effort to keep Trump in power despite losing the election to Joe Biden. All of the alleged co-conspirators identified in Smiths indictment are attorneys, and theyve all faced disciplinary proceedings in their respective states, some of which have lingered even as the criminal investigation neared its charging phase.



Rudy Giuliani, identified as co-conspirator 1, recently faced a disbarment recommendation from a disciplinary panel in Washington, D.C. Attorney Sidney Powell, identified as co-conspirator 3, has been the subject of sanctions in Michigan for her work on post-election litigation there. Jeff Clark, a former Justice Department attorney identified as co-conspirator 4, is battling D.C. authorities to delay his own proceedings. And Ken Chesebro, identified as co-conspirator 5, has faced an ethics complaint in New York.

Bar authorities in California say Eastman has spoken freely in recent interviews about his role in helping Trump attempt to subvert the election and continued to push false claims about election fraud, showing that hes unconcerned about enhancing his criminal exposure by speaking. In addition, they say hes already testified for several hours during the postponed trial about his efforts to aid Trump in 2020.

Eastman closely considered the need to postpone or abate his disbarment proceedings in February, they noted, when the trial was first being scheduled, and he ultimately opted against it. Nothing about his decision has changed materially, they say. The Trump indictment does not indicate that charges against Eastman are likely or imminent, they added.

[Eastman] decided not to move for abatement and to proceed with the trial, with full knowledge of the pending investigations by the Department of Justice and the Georgia grand jury, Carling wrote.

Respondent remains in essentially the same position now as when he made these original choices  criminal charges against him remain a possibility, but he has not been charged and whether he will be charged and the time frame for when any criminal charges may be filed against him remain entirely speculative, he continued. Declining to abate a trial that respondent elected to begin under similar circumstances will cause respondent no substantial prejudice.


AI and climate change represent two ways humans may ravage life as we know it on Earth, but the former can also help with the consequences of the latter. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) revealed a new program today that uses AI to detect wildfires. Created in partnership with the University of California San Diego, the Alert California AI program takes feeds from 1,032 360-degree rotating cameras and uses AI to identify abnormalities within the camera feeds. It then notifies emergency services and other authorities to check if a potential blaze warrants a response.

The program, launched in July, has already quelled at least one potential wildfire, according to Reuters. A camera reportedly recorded a fledgling fire burning at 3 am in the remote Cleveland National Forest east of San Diego. The AI spotted the inferno and alerted a fire captain who called in about 60 firefighters including seven engines, two bulldozers, two water tankers and two hand crews. Cal Fire says the flames were extinguished within 45 minutes.

A small section of the 1,032 live camera feeds used in Cal Fires AI wildfire detection program. Nine feeds are visible, showing various forest and desert areas in the Golden State.

The Alert California technology website says it uses LiDAR scans taken from airplanes and drones to create equally precise, three-dimensional information about scanned surfaces. It combines this with the physical traits of tree species to learn more about Californias forest biomass and carbon content. Cal Fire says the ML model leverages petabytes of data from the cameras to differentiate between smoke and other airborne particles.

The system was developed by UCSD engineers using AI from the California-based company DigitalPath. Cal Fire has invested over $20 million in the program over the past four years and promises an additional $3,516,000 in the near future.

Were in extreme climate right now. So we give them the data, because this problem is bigger than all of us, Neal Driscoll, geology and geophysics professor at UCSD who serves as the programs principal investigator, told Reuters. We need to use technology to help move the needle, even if its a little bit. However, Driscoll adds that the current sample size is too small to determine the programs overall effectiveness.

You can check out Alert Californias camera quilt on your computer or mobile device. The website displays a grid of the remotely operated live camera views from across the region.
A California judge was arrested and accused of murdering his wife in their Orange County home.

Prosecutors said he texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward: "I just shot my wife."

Police said they found 26,000 rounds of ammunition and 47 weapons inside the judge's house.

A Southern California judge accused of killing his wife texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her, prosecutors said Friday as they charged him with murder and sought new bail conditions.

A court filing from prosecutors says Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson texted: "I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry."

Ferguson, 72, was arrested last week after his adult son called 911 and said his 65-year-old mother had been shot at their Anaheim Hills home, the Orange County District Attorney's office said in a press release on Friday.

When officers arrived, they found Sheryl Ferguson dead with at least one gunshot wound, authorities told local outlet ABC7.

While conducting a search warrant on Ferguson's home, police found 47 weapons, "including rifles, shotguns, and handguns, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition," the DA said.

Another weapon is still missing, the DA's office said: a legally registered .22 rifle.

A court document viewed by ABC7 alleges that Ferguson used a Glock .40 to shoot his wife, who prosecutors allege he threatened "earlier in the evening by making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun at her."

Ferguson's lawyers, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Meyer and Barnett issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions: "This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more."

The judge was released on a $1 million bond and ordered not to drink or use firearms

Ferguson has been charged with three counts, including felony murder, personal discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and death, and personally using a firearm, according to court records.

He has been released from custody on a $1 million bond with a number of conditions, including not drinking or possessing firearms, the DA's office said.

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He handles criminal cases in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney's office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards. He served as president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014.

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate "with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement" and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency's findings.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

Read the original article on Insider
A California man will likely face 15 to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Friday to flying to Ohio a year ago to have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met online.

Kameron Tolbert, 28, of Suisin City, California, entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Columbus to charges of sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child pornography.

Federal court records show that Tolbert flew to Ohio from Sacramento, California to Columbus on Aug. 20, 2022 with the intent of meeting the teenage girl at her home in Jackson, Ohio, located about 30 miles southeast of Chillicothe and 75 miles from downtown Columbus.

Tolbert obtained a vehicle and parked near the teen's home, entering through her window on Aug. 21 and 22, court records said. When confronted by adults in the 14-year-old's bedroom on Aug. 22, court records state Tolbert jumped out the bedroom window, running on foot and then fleeing in the vehicle.

Tolbert was arrested the next day at a high school in Jackson. The principal of the school identified Tolbert's vehicle when police asked about it.

Court records show Tolbert had met the girl online about six months earlier, and been chatting with her on various social media applications, including Discord.

Law enforcement looked at Tolbert's electronic devices and discovered more than 500 images and more than 1,100 videos of child sexual abuse involving both prepubescent and pubescent children. There were also images of the 14-year-old with Tolbert engaged in sexual conduct, court records said.

On Friday, Tolbert agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a recommended prison sentence of between 15 and 20 years. He will be formally sentenced at a later date by Chief Judge Alegenon Marbley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: California man admits flying to Columbus to have sex with teen girl
SACRAMENTO, Calif.  Striking workers in California would get to draw unemployment benefits under a proposal Democrats are preparing to introduce in the final stretch of the legislative session.

The last-minute push, first reported by POLITICO, is likely to cause friction in the Democratic caucus, which often finds itself squeezed between labor and business interests.

The legislation, which is not yet in print, will be carried by Senate Appropriations Chair Anthony Portantino, a Southern California Democrat, and co-authored by Democratic Assemblymembers Laura Friedman and Chris Holden. It's backed by the powerful California Labor Federation, whose leader, former state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, tried to pass similar legislation in 2019.

Portantino, in an interview Thursday, said he hopes the recent momentum around workers rights will help propel the bill to the governors desk.

Coming out of Covid, I think theres more of a recognition that hardworking men and women need to have a seat at the table to discuss economic expansion, he said.

Massive labor movements this summer have put pressure on state officials and critical industries  especially in Los Angeles, where both screenwriters and actors are on strike for the first time since 1960 and hotel workers are embroiled in a contract fight.



This is embarrassing for California that we dont have unemployment insurance for striking workers, Gonzalez said in an interview, noting that New York and New Jersey offer benefits for striking workers in certain circumstances.

Legislators are already juggling several other proposals backed by mighty labor interests this session, including a bill related to fast food workers and a push to ensure a $25 minimum wage for health care workers.

It's too late in the year for lawmakers to introduce entirely new legislation, but they can can get around those missed deadlines by repurposing unrelated bills they no longer care to advance  a maneuver colloquially known as a gut-and-amend. Portantino said he is still working on gathering support for his proposal, and that he expects to move forward with the plan in about two weeks.

Gonzalezs 2019 bill was vehemently opposed by business interests, including the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Farm Bureau Federation, which argued it would politicize benefits and threaten the solvency of the states unemployment insurance fund.

Both groups confirmed to POLITICO Thursday that they have been visiting legislators this week to alert them about the upcoming legislation and urge them to vote against it.
By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) - The California Institute of Technology has reached a "potential settlement" in a high-stakes patent infringement lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom over Wi-Fi chips, according to a Thursday filing in federal court.

Caltech previously won a verdict of more than $1.1 billion from Apple and Broadcom in the case that was later overturned.

The potential settlement was disclosed in a court document filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles without further details following a telephone conference. It was unclear if the agreement involved both Apple and Broadcom.

Representatives for Caltech, Apple and Broadcom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The court ordered the parties to file a joint status report by Aug. 18.

Pasadena, California-based Caltech sued Apple and Broadcom in 2016, alleging that millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and other Apple devices using Broadcom chips infringed its wireless-communication patents. A jury ordered Apple to pay $837.8 million and Broadcom to pay $270.2 million in patent-infringement damages in 2020.

A U.S. appeals court overturned the award last year and ordered a new trial on damages, finding the amount was "legally unsupportable." A trial that had been scheduled to begin in June 2023 was postponed indefinitely in May.

Caltech told a Texas federal court on Tuesday that it had settled a related lawsuit against Samsung. The university has also sued Microsoft, Dell and HP over its Wi-Fi patents in cases that are pending.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Leslie Adler)